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HISTORY 


OF 


CHESHIRE#SULLIYM 


COUNTIES, 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


EDITED    BY 

D.   HAMILTON    HURD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.  W.   LEWIS  &   CO. 

1886. 


COPYBIGHT,    L886,   BY  J.  W.    LEWIS  &   Co. 


IA<.    U.    EODOERS    PR)  \  I  I  s MPANY, 

PHIL  IDE]  nil  v. 


N 


PREFACE 


In  presenting  this  work  to  the  public,  the  publishers  claim  that  they  have 
at  least  endeavored  to  faithfully  fulfill  their  promises.  The  most  competent 
persons  have  been  employed  in  the  preparation  of  the  work,  and  it  is  sincerely 
hoped  that  readers  in  the  various  towns  of  the  counties  will  find  the  narratives 
!  of  their  special  localities  interesting  and  instructive.  The  work  has  been  com- 
piled  from  authenticated  and  original  sources. 

The  preparation  of  the  "History  of  Cheshire  and  Sullivan  Counties"  upon  the 
within  elaborate  plan  imposed  upon  both  editors  and  publishers  a  task  of  no 
small  magnitude,  and  one  which  they  have  keenly  felt.  They  submit  the  work 
to  the   public  trusting  that  their  just  expectations  may   be  fully  realized. 

The  Publishers. 


m 


CONTENTS. 


CHESHIRE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  PACE 

I.     GENERAL   HISTORY 1 

II.     BENCH  AND  BAR 9 

III.     INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS 20 


TOWN   HISTORIES. 


ALSTEAD H4 

CHESTERFIELD 123 

DUBLIN 180 

FITZWILLIAM 200 

GILSUM 207 

HARRISVILLE 210 

HINSDALE 357 

JAFFRET 220 

KEENE 24 

MARLBOROUGH 231 

MARLOW 314 

NELSON 318 


PAGE 

RICHMOND 322 

RINDGE 332 

ROXBURY 320 

STODDARD 331 

SULLIVAN 340 

SURRY 342 

TROY 346 

SWANZEV 375 

WALPOLE 408 

WESTMORELAND 457 

WINCHESTER 04 


SULLIVAN     COUNTY 


CHAPTEB 

I.     GENERAL    BISTORY 
II.     BENCH  AND  BAR   . 


TOWN    HISTORIES 


PAGE 

ACWORTH 19 

OHARLESTI  >WN 23 

CLAREMONT 40 

CORNISH 141 

CROYDON 150 

GOSHEN 168 

GRANTHAM 170 

LANGDON 181 


PAGE 

LEMPSTER 185 

NEWPORT 200 

PLAINFIELD 310 

SPRINGFIELD 317 

SUNAPEE 336 

( MTY 384 

WASHINGTON 3'Jl 

APPENDIX 406 

V 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHESHIRE    COUNTY 


page 

Appleton,  Jesse  R 191 

Ball,  David 582 

Boyden,  Elijah 302 

Boyden,  Frederic 368 

Briggs,  Oliver  L 522 

Buffnm,  C.T 106 

Buffuni,  Haskell 518 

Burt,  William  H 15 

Carpenter,  Algernon  S 112 

Cole,  Theodore. 520 

Dickenson,  Ansel 584 

Elliot,  J 104 

Esty,  Henry 524 

Faulkner,  F.  A  12 

French,  Abijah 516 

Frost,  Rufus  S 300 

Fuller,  John  II 108 

Graves,  Josiah  G 454 

Greenwood,  Colonel  ,W.  H 304 

Ilaile,  William,  Ex-Governor 367 


pagx: 
Hale,  Samuel  W 107 

Harris,  Gordis  D 109 

Hemenway,  Luther 306 

Holhrook,  Daniel  H 110 

Holbrook,  John  J Ill 

Know] ton,  James ::il 

Lane,  F.  F 11 

Leonard,  Levi  W 103 

Map  (outliue)  of  Counties 1 

Map — plan  of  Westmoreland  466 

McCollester,  Rev.  S.  H 295 

Patten,  Daniel  W 528 

Robertson,  George 371 

Stearns,  John 37-1 

Thompson,  Albert 525 

Turner,  James  B  583 

Twitchell,  Dr.  Amos 113 

White,  Shubael 527 

Whitney,  Charles  0  308 

Winch,  Nathan 310 


SULLIVAN    COUNTY. 


PAGE 

Adams,  Daniel  N 356 

Baker,  Edward  D 15 

Balcom,  George  L 131 

Barton,  L.  W 302 

Clark,  Judge  William 132 

Colby,  Ira 13 

Dunbar,  George  W  165 

Eastman,  Charles  H 134 

Farwell,  George  N 130 

Fisher,  Leonard  P 139 

Freeman,  P.  C 14 

G Ihue,  David  P 362 

Goas,  B.  F 177 

Craves,  L.  J 137 


PAGE 

Hall,  Rufus 178 

Hatch,  Mason 298 

Howard,  Rev.  Lewis 359 

McDaniel,  Charles 363 

Parker,  H.  W 9 

Quimby,  Samuel 358 

Richards,  Josiah 138 

Runals.  A > 382 

Sanborn,  Thomas 300 

Smith,  Alvah 1H4 

Swett,  John  L 297 

Tolles,  Nathaniel .'. 135 

Wait,  A.  S 16 


Vll 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


CHESHIRE    COUNTY. 


PAGE 

Apple  ton.  Jessie  R 191 

Ball,  David 582 

Boyden,  Elijah  302 

Boyden,  Frederic 368 

Brings,  Oliver  L 522 

Buffum,  Caleb  T 106 

Buffum,  Haskell 518 

Burt,  Charles  W 19 

Burt,  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  II 15 

Carpenter,  Algernon  8 112 

Chamberlain  Family , 513 

Cole,   Theodore 520 

Dickinson,  Ansel 584 

Elliot  Family 104 

Esty,  Henry 524 

Faulkner,  Hon.  F.  A 13 

Faulkner,  Francis  A 12 

French,  Abijali 516 

Frost,  Bufus  S 300 

Fuller,  John  H Ids 

Graves,  Josiab  G 454 

Greenwood,  Colonel  W.  II '.  304 

Gustine,  Edward 113 


TAGE 

Haile,  William 367 

Hale,  Ex-Governor  Samuel  W 107 

Harris,  Gordis  D 109 

Heinenway,  Luther 306 

Holbrook,  Daniel  H 110 

Holbrook.J.  J ill 

Horton,  Edgar  K 530 

Horton,  Egbert  C 530 

Knowlton,  Janus 311 

Lane,  F.  F 11 

Leonard,  Levi  W.  C 193 

McCollester,  Rev.  S.  II 295 

Patten,  Daniel  W 528 

Robertson,  George 371 

Stearns,  John 374 

Thompson,  Albert 525 

Turner,  Family ;,83 

Twitchell,  Dr.  Amos 113 

White,  Shubael 527 

Whitney,  Charles  0 308 

Wilkinson,  Solon  S 313 

Winch,   Nathan 310 


SULLIVAN    COUNTY, 


PAGE 

Adams,  Daniel  N ."•. 356 

Baker,  Edward  D 15 

Balcom,  George  L 131 

Barton,  L.  W 302 

Clark,  William 132 

Colby, Ira 13 

Dunbar,  George  W 165 

Eastman,  Charles  II 134 

Earwill,  George  N 130 

Fisher,  Leonard  1' 139 

Freeman,  P.  C 14 

Goss,  Benjamin  F 177 

Goodhue,  David  P 362 

Graves,  L.  J 137 


PAGE 

Hall,  Rufus 178 

Hatch,   Mason 298 

Howard,  Rev.  Lewis 359 

McDaniel,  Charles 363 

Parker,  II.  W 9 

Paris,  Sherman,  residence  of 33 

Quimby,  Samuel 358 

Richards,  Josiah 138 

Runals  Family  (the) 382 

Sanborn,  Thomas 300 

Smith,   Alvah 194 

Swett,  John  L 297 

Tolles,  Nathaniel 135 

Wait,  Albert  S 16 

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HISTORY 


OF 


CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


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CHAPTER   I. 

GENERAL    HISTORY. 
BY  WILLARD  BILL. 

Geographical  —  Topographical  —  Geological  —  Botanical  — 
Manufactures — Courts  and  County  Buildings — County 
Officers — Aboriginal  Occupancy — Population  from  1867 
to  1880. 

Geographical. — The    province    of     New 
Hampshire  was  divided  into  five  counties  in  1771. 
One  of  these  was  named  Cheshire,  deriving  its 
name  from  a  county  in  the  west  of  England,  cele- 
brated   for   its  manufacture  of  cheese;    hence, 
the  name  originally.      Keene  and  Charlestown 
were  made  the  shire-towns.     July  5,  1827,  the 
county  was  divided,  the  northern  portion  taking 
the  name  of  Sullivan  County.     This  division 
left  Cheshire  County  with  its    present  limits, 
situate  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State, 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Sullivan  County,  east 
by  Hillsborough  County,  south  by  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  and  west  by  the  west  bank  of 
the  Connecticut  River.     It  extends  its  greatest 
length  thirty-one   miles  north  and  south,  and 
twenty -six    miles    in   extreme   width    east  and 
west.     It  contains  twenty-three  towns,  eight  of 
which  were  incorporated  in  the  reign  of  George 
II., — namely,    Chesterfield,    Hinsdale,    Keene, 
Richmond,  Swanzey,    Walpole,  Westmoreland 
and   Winchester, — ten  in  the  reign  of  George 
III., — namely,  Alstead,    Dublin,    Fitzwilliam, 
1 


Gilsum,  Jaffrey,  Marlow,  Nelson,  Rindge, 
Surry,  Stoddard, — and  five  under  the  govern- 
ment of  New  Hampshire, — namely,  Harris- 
ville,  Marlborough,  Roxburv,  Sullivan  and 
Troy. 

Topographical. — The  surface  of  Cheshire 
County  is  greatly  diversified.  From  the  valley 
of  the  Connecticut  on  its  west  to  the  towering 
height  of  Grand  Monadnock  on  the  east,  rising 
to  an  altitude  of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and 
eighty-six  feet,  is  a  succession  of  hill  and  valley 
and  plain,  in  various  places  of  great  natural 
beauty. 

Numerous  lakes  and  ponds  feed  a  network  of 
streams  of  greater  or  lesser  extent.  The  Con- 
necticut River  is  the  largest  stream  in  both 
State  and  county.  Rising  among  the  mountains 
of  the  extreme  north  of  the  State,  it  flows  in  a 
southerly  direction,  forming  the  boundary  line 
on  its  west  low-water  bank  between  the  States 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont ;  thence,  pass- 
ing through  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  it  empties  into  Long  Island  Sound. 

Its  valley  is  noted  for  its  productiveness.  Ex- 
cluding the  falls,  the  average  fall  of  the  river 
is  about  one  and  one-half  feet  to  the  mile.  At 
Bellows  Falls  its  descent  is  forty-nine  feet, 
furnishing  ample  power  for  manufacturing  uses. 

Other  streams  lend  beauty  and  utility  to  the 
surface  of  the  county,  the  principal  of  which 
are  the  Ashuelot,   Cold  and   branches  of    the 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Contoocook.  The  Aslmelot  River,  rising  in 
numerous  ponds  in  Washington",  Sullivan 
County,  flowing  in  a  southwesterly  direction 
through  the  towns  of  Mario w,  Gilsura,  Surry, 
Keene,  Swanzey,  Winchester  and  Hinsdale, 
where  it  empties  into  the  Connecticut,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  manufacturing  streams  in 
the  State.  All  along  its  course  are  many  im- 
proved water-powers.  It  is  fed  by  branches 
from  ponds  that  have  been  converted  by  dams 
into  reservoirs,  and  thereby  affording  many 
water-powers  of  themselves.  One  of  these  rises 
in  Stoddard  and  flows  through  the  northwest 
corner  of  Nelson,  southeast  corner  of  Sullivan 
ami  northwest  corner  of  Roxbury  to  Keene, 
and  one  from  Dublin  through  Marlborough  to 
South  Keene,  where  it  joins  the  branch  from 
Stoddard.  Another  stream  comes  from  Troy, 
flowing  through  the  southwest  corner  of  Marl- 
borough  and  joins  the  Aslmelot  in  Swanzey. 
The  Aslmelot  is  about  forty  miles  in  length, 
from  its  source  to  the  Connecticut ;  falls  about 
one  thousand  feet,  and  drains  a  basin  of  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  square  miles,  or  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  acres. 

The  Cold  River,  rising  in  Sullivan  County, 
flows,  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  seventeen 
miles  through  Alstead  and  Walpole,  and 
furnishes  water-power  to  a  limited  extent.  It 
drains  a  basin  of  sixty  thousand  acres  nearly. 

The  branches  of  the  Contoocook  River,  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  county,  furnish  some 
good  water-powers.  The  Partridge  Brook, 
rising  in  Lake  Spofford,  flows  through  Chester- 
field and  Westmoreland,  where  it  empties  into 
the  Connecticut,  is  a  rapid  stream,  falling  five 
hundred  feet  in  its  course  of  nearly  six  miles, 
and  affording  constant  water-power,  but  only 
partially  utilized.  In  a  tabulated  form  we  give 
the  principal  bodies  of  water  in  the  county, 
with  ana  of  each  in  square  miles  and  decimals 
thereof,  with  altitude  in  feet  above  the  sea, 
and   towns  where   located, — 

Area.  Altitude. 

Warnn   Pond,  Alstead 0.5  550 

Spofford  Lake,  Chesterfield 1.0  738 

Breed  Pond,  Nelson 0.7  1250 

Woodward  Pond,  Roxbury 0.3  1150 

Swanzey  Pond,  Swanzey 0.2  

Stacy  Pond,  Stoddard 0.7 


Area.  Altitude. 

Spoonwood  Pond,  Nelson 0.25       

Long  Pond,  Nelson  and  Hancock 1.2        1338 

North  Pond,  Harrisville 0.2         1218 

Geological. — When,  in  the  beginning:,  this 
planet,  earth,  was  hurled,  revolving,  into  space 
by  the  power  of  an  Almighty  hand,  a  seething, 
fiery,    gaseous     mass    of    molten     elements,   it 
gradually  took  form   from  its  revolutions,  and 
thereby  consistence  and  compactness.  In  the  pro- 
gress of  centuries  the  surface   became  crusted 
over,  holding  within  its  bosom  a  mighty  mass  of 
molten  matter,  frequently  convulsed  by  throes  of 
sufficient  power  to  elevate  mountain  heights  and 
depress  to  ocean  beds,  separating,  disintegrating 
and   mixing  the  earth's  crust  in  a  manner  to 
print  in   ineffaceable  characters  the  great  story 
of  the  Creation, — a  creation  not  yet  completed. 
In   Cheshire   County  we  find  those  characters 
frequent  and  prominent.     Briefly — very  briefly, 
for  space  forbids  otherwise — we  will  endeavor 
to  sketch  a  few  of  the  more  prominent  "  Foot- 
prints of  the  Creator."     From  the  elementary 
or    molten    period    the    earth    passed    into    the 
igneous  period.     We   now  see  the  unstratified 
rocks,  of  which  the  enduring  granite  is  the  low- 
est of  the  series  and  the  great  frame-work  of  the 
earth's  crust,  and  by  far  the  most  abundant, 
rising    to  the  greatest  heights,  thrown    up  by 
the   subterranean    forces.       From    an    endless 
monotonous  plain  these  forces  are  now  operat- 
ing with  a  power  beyond  all  human  conception 
to  transform   this  plain    into  a  broken   surface, 
from  mountain  peak  to  ocean  bed.     Of  granite, 
Cheshire   County  contributes   her  full   share  of 
earning  the  sobriquet  of  the  "Granite  State." 
Her  quarries  of  granite  are  unsurpassed.     The 
coarser   granites   are  of  the    oldest   formation. 
Cotemporary     with     the      beginning     of    the 
igneous      period,     the      atmosphere,      heavily 
charged    with    minerals     in    a    gaseous    form, 
condensing  from  the  enecf  of  the  cooling  earth, 
was  deposited,  forming  another  coating  of  rock 
material.     This  was  the  vaporous  period.     So 
far    the   earth    had     been    surrounded     by    an 
atmosphere  so  dense  and  dark  that  the  light  of 
star  nor  moon  nor  sun  could   penetrate.     Now 
the  progress  of  creation  was  ripe  for  the  settling 
of  the  atmospheric  moisture  into  the  hollows  of 


GENERAL  HISTORY. 


the  earth.  It  became  nearly  covered  with 
water.  This  is  the  aqueous  period.  Then  came 
the  long,  cold  night,  when  the  summer  sun 
failed  to  thaw  the  snow  and  ice  that  gathered 
in  mighty  masses,  covering  mountains  in 
height,  forming  glaciers  of  continental  extent, 
that  planed  and  transformed  the  rugged 
volcanic  surfaces  into  new  vestments,  and 
printing  its  history  in  characters  the  plainest  of 
all.  An  enormous  mass  of  ice,  thousands  of 
feet  in  depth,  moved  down  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut,  grinding,  crushing,  planing  its 
way.  A  tributary  glacier  flowed  down  the 
Ashuelot  Valley.  This  mass  of  ice  pressed  so 
heavily  downward  as  to  compact  the  earth  into 
the  lower  hill,  or,  what  is  generally  known, 
and  appropriately  so,  as  hard  pan. 

This  ice-sheet  carried  along  in  its  track  huge 
fragments  of  detached   rock,    which,    grinding 
and  rounding,  it  deposited  in  the  form  of  boul- 
ders, generally  upon  the  higher  lands.     In  var- 
ious   places    they  are   plentiful.     The    glaciers 
moved  in   a    southeasterly    direction,   and  this 
movement   must  have  resulted  from  a  different 
chorography  of  country  than  exists  at  the  present 
time.      The  interior  of  the  continent  must  have 
been  elevated   many  feet.     This  elevation   and 
after-depression  must  have  been  of  slow  prog- 
ress.    This  movement  is  still  operating  in  var- 
ious places.     As  the  glacier  moved   down  the 
valley,  hard -rock  fragments    were    frozen  into 
the  bottom  of  the  ice-sheet ;  these,  driven  along 
by   fearful  power,  acted  as  chisels  or   gouges, 
deeply  scratching  the  ledges  along  the  course  of 
its  progress.    These  strise  are  everywhere  found. 
Mount  Monadnock  is  striated  from  base  to  brow. 
Mr.  G.  A.  Wheelock,  a  local  geologist  of  repute, 
entertains  the   belief  that  this  mountain  was  an 
island  in  a  sea  of  icebergs,  which  struck  equally 
strong  upon  the  northwest  and  southeast  sides. 
Could  our  rocks  be  uncovered  from  the  over- 
lying earth,  they  would  generally  show  the  result 
of  their  mighty  planing  and  rounding  in  their 
striae.     Now  the  continent  slowly  depresses,  a 
geological  spring-time  dawns,  a  warmer  climate 
prevails,  the  vast  fields   of  ice  and  snow  melt 
rapidly,   mighty   floods  pour  down  the  valleys 
with  resistless  fury.       Changes  impossible  to  be 
wrought  by  a   moving  river  of  ice,  mountain- 


high,  are  easily  effective  before  a  rushing  torrent 
of  water.  Now  comes  the  era  of  modified 
drift,  with  its  deposits  of  stratified,  water-worn 
gravel,  sand,  clay  or  silt,  an  era  extending  from 
the  departure  of  the  great  northern  ice-sheet 
down  to  the  present  time.  The  glacial  or  drift 
period  embraces  two  eras, — the  drift  and  the 
alluvium.  The  former  is  characterized  by  re- 
peated elevations  and  depressions.  It  was  then 
a  "  foundering  land,  under  a  severe  sky,  beaten 
by  tempests  and  lashed  by  tides,  with  glaciers 
choking  its  cheerless  valleys,  and  with  countless 
icebergs  brushing  its  coasts  and  grating  over  its 
shallows."  The  alluvium  era  witnesses  the  per- 
fection of  the  earth  to  an  extent  that  fits  it  as 
the  proper  abode  of  man. 

"  From  harmony — from  heavenly  harmony — 
This  universal  frame  began  ; 
From  harmony  to  harmony, 
Through  all  the  compass  of  the  notes  it  ran, 
The  diapason  closing  full  in  man." 

The  eastern  portion  of  the  county  is  a  prime- 
val ridge,  though  it  was  submerged  at  times, 
and  is  underlaid  by  the  oldest  rock  formations. 
This  ridge  belongs  to  a  chain  of  ridges  that  was 
the  first  to  appear  above  the  ocean.  The  de- 
pression of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  that  embraces 
a  large  portion  of  the  county,  carries  with  it  the 
later  rocks,  and  has  been,  and  is,  the  source  of 
drainage  of  the  highlands  to  the  northward. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  county,  comprising 
portions  of  Jaffrey,  Dublin,  Harrisville,  Nelson 
and  Stoddard,  rests  upon  the  edge  of  a  large 
area  of  porphyritic  gneiss.  Another  area  of  it 
forms  the  elevated  and  rugged  portions  of  the 
towns  of  Chesterfield,  Swanzey,  Winchester  and 
Hinsdale,  while  it  appears  in  Fitzwilliam,  Jaf- 
frey and  Marlow.  A  variety  of  gneiss  known 
as  the  protogene  gneiss  extends  from  the  State 
line,  through  Winchester,  Richmond,  Swanzey 
and  Keene,  to  Surry,  where  it  changes  its  form 
and  extends  to  and  into  Sullivan  County.  In 
Surry  and  Keene  the  protogene  is  often  found 
of  a  deep  red  color.  Encircling  this  protogene 
we  find  hornblende,  schist,  and,  girting  this, 
quartzite.  A  large  surface  area  of  the  Montal- 
ban  schist  in  one  tract  extends  from  Stoddard  to 
the  State  line  through  the  towns  of  Rindge, 
Fitzwilliam,  Richmond,  Troy,  Jaffrey,  Marlbor- 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ough,  Roxbury,  Sullivan,  Nelson  and  Stoddard. 
These  rocks  are  feldspathic  and  ordinary  mica 
schist.  The  mica  is  seen  in  large  spangles, 
either  black  or  white.  In  Rindge  a  variety  is 
found  in  which  quartz  predominates,  heavily 
charged  with  iron  pyrites, that  decomposes  when 
brought  in  contact  with  the  atmosphere;  the 
rock  crumbles  and  the  soil  is  colored  reddish- 
yellow  from  the  presence  of  the  iron  peroxide. 

The  Montalban  rocks  in  Cheshire  County 
arc  supposed  to  be  of  the  same  age  with  that 
which  composes  the  summits  of  the  higher 
White  Mountains.  A  band  of  micaceous 
quartzite,  full  of  fibrolite,  two  miles  wide,  crosses 
the  towns  of  Marlow,  Alstead,  Gilsum  and 
Surry,  carrying  gigantic  veins  of  granite,  in 
which  the  mica  plates  arc  large  and  of  commer- 
cial value.  For  many  years  they  have  been 
mined  in  Alstead  for  glass.  The  latest  group 
of  rocks  so  far  found  in  the  county  are  known 
as  the  Coos  group.  Its  constituents  are  quartz- 
ite,  argil  lite  and  calcareous  schist.  A  large 
area  of  Walpole  is  covered  by  the  former,  and 
ii  is  found  in  all  the  towns  adjoining  the  Con- 
necticut River.  Mount  Wantastiquet,  in  Hins- 
dale and  (  liesterfield,  is  composed  of  argillaceous 
and  mica  schist.  The  eruptive  rocks  are  very 
sparingly  represented  in  this  county.  The  only 
eruptive  rock  of  any  extent  in  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  in  this  county  is  found  in  West- 
moreland and  forms  most  of  the  hill  southeast 
of  the  west  depot.  Inclosed  in  the  Montalban 
schists  of  Fitzwilliam,  Troy,  Marlborough  and 
Roxbury  we  find  oval  deposits  of  eruptive 
granite.  These  are  extensively  quarried,  and 
are  held  in  high  repute  for  building  and  monu- 
mental purposes.  Permeating  Surry  Mountain 
are  veins  of  quartz,  bearing  metalliferous  depos- 
its. A  large  outlay  has  been  expended  in  efforts 
to  mine  it,  but  not,  so  far,  with  success.  De- 
posits of  infusorial  silica,  formed  of  decayed 
organisms,  are  found  of  excellent  quality  in 
various  place-  and  especially  so  in  Fitzwilliam. 
Bog  iron-ores  of  the  nature  of  ochre  occur  at 
Chesterfield,  Walpole,  JafFrey  and  Surry. 

BOTANICAL. — From  papers  prepared  by 
William  F.  Flint,  B.S.,  of  Winchester,  we 
glean  the  following  facts  relating  to  the  botany 
of  Cheshire  County.      Altitude  has  much  to  do 


in  the  distribution  of  plants.  A  large  part  of 
the  area  of  the  county  has  an  altitude  of  more 
than  five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
Following  the  trend  of  the  Montalban  rocks, 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  we  find  vege- 
tation of  the  Canadian  type.  In  the  valley  of 
the  Connecticut  and  of  its  tributaries  we  find  a 
larger  number  of  species,  some  characteristic  of 
Southern  New  England.  The  county  was 
formerly  covered  by  a  dense  forest,  through 
which  the  sun  scarcely  penetrated  at  mid-day. 
Along  the  valleys  of  the  Connecticut  and 
Ashuelot  Rivers  were  forests  of  the  finest  white 
pine,'  the  most  valued  of  our  timbers,  and 
reserved  by  King  George  in  his  grants  of  the 
several  townships  for  His  Majesty's  navy.  I  lis 
officers  provoked  the  displeasure  of  the  early 
settlers  by  carving  their  "broad  arrows"  on  the 
tallest  mast-trees.  The  higher  lands  were 
covered  with  heavy  growths  of  hemlock, 
maples,  birches,  beeches  and  red  oak,  while  belts 
>f  spruce  were  common. 

The  original  .  forest  presented  the  same 
characteristics  as  at  the  present  day,  save  the 
restrictions  imposed  by  the  lumberman.  The 
old  pine  forests  are  represented  by  thick, 
thrifty  growths  of  their  saplings.  These  are 
general  all  over  the  county.  •  Their  conversion 
into  wooden-ware  has  been  and  is  a  source  of  a 
large  industry  and  of  much  wealth.  Next  to 
the  pine,  the  hemlock  is  the  most  frequently 
found  of  any  conifer;  originally  they  competed 
with  the  pine  in  diameter  and  height.  In  the 
cold  swamps  of  the  river  towns  and  throughout 
the  eastern  towns  we  find  the  black  spruce  and 
the  balsam  fir,  and  upon  the  dry  drift  knolls 
and  sandy  plains  we  find  the  pitch-pine.  In 
the  cold  peat  swamps  and  springy  lands  of 
Fitzwilliam,  Rindge  and  Jaffrev  we  find  the 
tamarack  in  abundance.  A  variety  of  the  yew, 
generally  known  as  the  "ground  hemlock,"  is 
common.  Passing  from  the  sombre  evergreen, 
we  turn  to  the  deciduous  trees,  presenting  every 
phase  of  change,  from  the  leafless  branches  of 
winter-time  to  the  delicate  green  of  spring,  the 
full  foliage  of  summer  and  the  gorgeous  hues 
of  autumn,  when  nature's  artist  paints  with 
every  conceivable  shade  of  color  in  tints  that 
art  cannot  produce,  and  giving  to  the  American 


GENERAL    HISTORY. 


5 


forests  a  beauty  nowhere  else  to  be  found.  Of 
the  deciduous  trees,  the  maple  is  the  best 
represented.  The  white  maple  is  mostly  found 
in  the  valleys,  upon  the  intervale  lands.  The 
red  maple  is  common  everywhere.  The  rock 
or  sugar  maple  is  the  largest  of  the  genus,  is 
found  in  all  of  the  towns,  and  fills  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  economy  of  the  county,  furnish- 
ing both  sugar  and  timber.  The  largest  groves 
of  the  rock  maple  are  found  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  towns  of  the  county.  Gilsum, 
particularly,  is  noted  for  its  manufacture  of 
sugar.  The  birch  is  generally  found,  but 
attains  its  fullest  development  in  the  eastern 
towns.  The  gray  and  black  birch  are  more 
common  in  the  southern  and  southwestern 
towns,  while  the  yellow  and  white  birch  arc 
found  everywhere.  The  bass  is  quite  common 
upon  the  banks  of  the  river  terraces.  The 
black  cherry  and  the  white  ash  are  found 
sparingly  in  nearly  all  the  deciduous  forests. 
Confined  to  a  strip  of  territory  five  to  ten 
miles  wide,  bordering  the  Connecticut  River, 
we  find  the  elm,  chestnut,  white  oak,  black  oak 
and  three  species  of  the  hickory.  The  red  oak 
is  very  generally  distributed.  Upon  the 
alluvial  soil  of  the  Connecticut  we  find  the 
cottonwood,  the  butternut  and  the  balm  of 
Gilead,  or  balsam  poplar.  Two  species  of  the 
poplar  are  found, — the  one  of  small  dimensions, 
often  springing  up  in  great  abundance  where 
woodlands  are  cut  away  ;  the  other,  the  black 
poplar,  is  of  more  pretentious  proportions.  In 
spring  its  young  leaves  are  clothed  with  white 
down,  that  can  be  seen  a  long  distance,  and 
thereby  readily  distinguished.  Of  the  shrubby 
plants,  the  heath  family  has  about  twenty 
species  in  the  county.  This  is  a  family  distin- 
guished alike  for  beauty  and  abundance  of 
bloom,  and  for  economic  purposes.  Included  in 
this  family  are  two  cranberries,  three  species  oi 
blackberry  and  the  huckleberry.  The  rhodo- 
dendrons  are  the  finest  of  the  heaths.  The 
maximum  species  is  found  in  Fitzwilliam  and 
Richmond.  To  this  family  belongs  the  kal- 
mias,  including  the  mountain  laurel,  found  in 
the  southern  portion  of  the  county.  The  rose 
family  is  numerously  represented.  Of  the 
herbaceous    plants    we   have   a    large    family. 


Wild  flowers  abound  everywhere.  The  space 
of  this  article  will  not  permit  us  to  mention  but 
few  of  the  species  of  vegetation  with  which  the 
Creator  has  made  glad  our  fields  and  forests. 

Soil  and  Staple  Productions. — Natur- 
ally, in  a  county  so  greatly  diversified  in  eleva- 
tion by  valleys,  plains  and  hills,  we  should  find 
the  soil  varying  materially ;  even  the  intervale 
lands  along  the  several  streams  bear  very  little 
similarity  in  fineness  or  productiveness.  Often 
we  see  the  lesser  streams  dividing:  lands  of 
striking  dissimilarity  and  of  natural  fertility. 

The  intervale  lands  along  the  Connecticut 
River  are  proverbial  for  grain-growing  capa- 
city. Some  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  entire 
State  are  found  in  the  four  towns  bordering 
upon  this  stream.  Along  the  Ashuelot  Valley 
are  extensive  plains,  whose  soils  widely  vary, 
and,  lacking  the  dense  fogs  of  the  former 
stream,  is  subject  to  later  frosts  in  the  spring 
and  earlier  in  the  autumn.  Many  fine  farms, 
however,  are  found  along  this  stream.  The 
uplands  are  of  a  granitic  nature,  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  far  less  productive  than  in  former 
times;  much  of  it  is  too  rough  for  cultivation, 
and  is  better  adapted  to  the  growing  of  timber 
than  of  grain.  The  plain  lands  are  easier  to 
cultivate,  but  require  the  best  of  husbandry  to 
produce  satisfactory  results. 

Judicious  drainage  has  converted  many  un- 
sightly, worthless  swamps  into  the  best  of  grass 
lands. 

The  census  of  LS80  conveys  an  idea  of  the 
county  staple  productions.  With  2836  farms, 
embracing  an  area  of  233,84")  acres  of  improved 
land,  there  was  grown  14,165  bushels  of  barley, 
2416  bushels  of  buckwheat,  150,788  bushels  of 
Indian  corn,  90,774  bushels  of  oats,  3958 
bushels  of  rye,  2666  bushels  of  wheat,  55,660 
tons  of  hay,  214,809  bushels  of  potatoes, 
141,218  pounds  of  tobacco,  and  orchard  pro- 
ducts to  the  value  of  S->7,X77.  These  farm- 
supported  4109  horses,  7  mules,  2222  working- 
oxen,  7792  milch  cows,  13,147  neat-stock, 
24,296'  sheep  and  4788  swine. 

The  stock  products  for  the  year  were  128,670 
pounds  of  wool,  181,281  gallons  of  milk, 
732,610  pounds  of  butter  and  63,376  pounds 
of  cheese. 


6 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  grain 

grown  within  the  county,  the  consumption  of 
Western  grain  has  yearly  been  steadily  aud 
heavily  increasing. 

Manufactures. — Cheshire  County  is,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  engaged  in  manufactures  ; 
the  southern  portion  of  the  county  espeeially 
so.  Here  the  wooden-ware  business  found  its 
early  home  and  abiding-place,  contributing 
largely  to  the  prosperity  of  several  towns.  The 
waters  of  the  Ashuelot  and  of  its  tributary 
streams  move  a  large  amount  of  cotton  and 
woolen  machinery,  while  the  manufacture  of 
pottery,  shoes,  leather,  paper,  lumber  and  ma- 
chinery receives  considerable  attention,  con- 
siderable investment  and  the  employment  of 
many  people.  At  Walpole  is  located  an 
extensive  brewery.  The  census  of  1880 
enumerated  317  manufacturing  establishments 
in  this  county,  with  an  invested  capital  of 
$3,758,815,  giving  employment  to  4523  hands, 
whose  wages  amounted  to  $1,290,427.  The 
total  value  of  raw  material  used  was  $4,502,889, 
and  the  total  product  was  $7,768,943. 

Conns  and  County  Buildings. — From 
the  division  of  the  county,  in  1827,  Keene  has 
been  the  shire-town  of  Cheshire  County.  Here 
the  Inferior  Court  held  its  first  session  in 
October,  1771,  and  the  Superior  Court  in 
September,  1772.  These  first  sessions  were, 
undoubtedly,  held  in  the  old  meeting-house 
that  stood  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Central 
Square  and  opposite  Gerould's  block.  For 
ten  years  following  the  erection  of  the  present 
Congregational  Church,  in  1786,  the  courts 
were  held  therein.  The  centre  pews  and  seats 
were  removed  temporarily  during  the  session, 
and  a  bench  and  a  table,  called  a  bar,  substi- 
tuted for  the  use  of  the  judges  and  lawyers. 

The  first  building  especially  erected  for  the 
purpose  of  a  court-house  stood  near  the  old 
meeting-house,  and  was  built  in  1796.  It  was 
built  mainly  through  individual  enterprise.  It 
rendered  service  for  twenty-eight  years,  when 
it  was  sold,  moved  and  converted  into  dwellings. 
The  next  court-house  was  erected  in  1824-25. 
[ts  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  north  end  of 
Gerould's  block  and  the  block  of  F.  F.  Lane, 
Esq.,  upon   the  corner  of  Central  Square  and 


Winter  Street.  The  county,  for  the  considera- 
tion of  five  dollars,  secured  a  deed  of  this  site, 
of  Joseph  Dorr,  March  20,  1824,  with  a  stipu- 
lated condition  that  the  lot  should  be  used  for 
county  purposes  only.  The  condition  having 
been  broken,  a  suit  was  brought  against  the 
county  for  the  recovery  o±  the  lot  and  building 
thereon  by  the  owner  of  the  reversionary  right, 
Samuel  Wood.  This  suit  was  protracted  for 
six  years.  Finally,  at  the  March  term,  1856, 
Wood's  executors  secured  judgment,  and  the  lot 
passed  from  the  possession  of  the  county. 

The  present  court-house  lot  was  secured  in 
five  different  purchases, — namely,  from  Henry 
Coolidge,  April  13,  1840,  two  thousand  six 
hundred  square  feet  for  nine  hundred  dollars  ; 
from  Abijah  Wilder  a  lot  north  and  west  ol 
above-named  lot,  July,  1K4S,  for  one  thousand 
dollars;  again  of  the  same  party,  in  1<S57,  an 
additional  tract  for  two  thousand  dollars  ;  and, 
in  1858,  another  tract.  Having  secured  a  lot, 
the  county  proceeded  to  erect  the  present  house. 
Commenced  in  1858,  it  was  completed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1859,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  twenty-eight 
thousand  dollars.  Thomas  M.  Edwards,  ot 
Keene,  Nelson  Converse,  of  Marlborough,  Sam- 
uel Isham,ofGilsum,  were  the  committee  having 
the  supervision  of  its  erection.  Gridley  J.  F. 
Bryant  was  the  architect  and  Joel  Ballard  the 
contractor.  This  building,  although  considered 
at  the  time  amply  sufficient  for  all  coming 
wants  of  a  court-house,  still  already  it  is  appar- 
ent that  more  room  will  be  required  in  the  not 
distant  future.  In  1 884  the  county  erected  a 
spacious,  costly,  and  elegant  jail  upon  lots  pur- 
chased of  J.  H.  Elliot,  long  known  as  "  the 
old  glass-factory  lot."  When  this  lot  is  com- 
pleted and  adorned  as  contemplated,  together 
with  all  the  conveniences  and  extras  that  a  lib- 
eral outlay  of  money  could  procure  in  the  plans 
of  the  buildings,  then  the  convict  class  will  in- 
deed have  a  most  elegant  residence.  Upon  the 
opening  of  the  new  jail  the  House  of  Correction 
was  removed  from  Westmoreland  and  located 
therein.  Without  enumerating  the  names  of  the 
several  justices  of  the  several  courts,  we  will 
give  a  list  of  the  several  clerks  of  courts  as 
being  more  particularly  identified  with  the 
count  v, — 


GENERAL  HISTORY. 


Clerks  of  Courts. 

Common  Pleas. 

Simeon  Jones,  October,  1771,  to  April,  1775. 
Thomas  Sparhawk,  April,  1779,  to  September,  1812. 
Salma  Hale,  September,  1812,  to  April,  1834. 

Superior  Court  of  Judicature. 

George  King,  1772  to  1778. 

George  Atkinson,  1778  to  1780. 

Samuel  Shurburne,  1780  to  October,  1781. 

Nathaniel  Adams,  October,  1781,  to  October,  1816. 

For  Both  Courts. 
Salma  Hale,  May,  1817,  to  April,  1834. 
Henry  Coolidge,  April,  1834,  to  April,  1843. 
Leonard  Biscoe,  April,  1843,  to  December,  1857. 
Edward   Farrar,    December,   1857,  to   the   present 

date. 

Judges  of  Probate. 

Simeon  Olcott,  from  1771  to  1775. 

Thomas  Sparhawk,  from  1775  to  1789. 

John  Hubbard,  from  1789  to  1802. 

Abel  Parker,  from  1802  to  1823. 

Samuel  Dinsmore,  from  1823  to  1831. 

Aaron  Matson,  from  1831  to  1835. 

Frederick  Vose,  from  1835  to  1841. 

Larkin  Baker,  from  1841  to  1864. 

Silas  Hardy,  from  1864  to  1874. 

Harvey  Carlton,  from  1874  to  1876. 

Josiah  G.  Bellows,  from  1876  to  the  present  date. 

Registers  of  Probate. 

Thomas  Sparhawk,  1771. 

Ichabod  Fisher,  1775. 

Micah  Lawrence,  1785. 

.  Samuel  Stevens,  from  1793  to  1823. 

Frederic  A.  Sumner,  from  1823  to  1827. 

Asa  Parker,  from  1827  to  1833. 

Elijah  Sawyer,  from  1833  to  1847. 

George  F.  Starkweather,  from  1847  to  1851. 

George  W.  Sturtevant,  from  1851  to  1857. 

Calvin  May,  Jr.,  from  1857  to  1859. 

Silas  Hardy,  from  1859  to  1863. 

George  Ticknor,  from  1863  to  1866. 

Allen  Giffin,  from  1866  to  1871. 

Frank  H.  Hies,  from  1871  to  1873. 

Dauphin  W.  Buckminster,  from  1873  to  1880. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  from  January,  1880,  to    the 

present  date. 

Registers  of  Deeds. 

Josiah  Willard,  from  1771  to . 

James  Campbell,  from to  1824. 

Lewis  Campbell,  from  1824  to  1837. 
John  Foster,1  from  1837  to  1838. 
Charles  Sturtevant,  from  1838  to  1845. 
Isaac  Sturtevant,  from  1845  to  1846. 

Appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Lewis  Campbell.] 


Barton  Skinner,  from  1846  to  1852. 
Charles  Sturtevant,  from  1852  to  1853. 
Harvey  A.  Bill,  from  18r>3  to  1855. 
Charles  Sturtevant,  from  1)555  to  1859. 
Calvin  May,  from  1859  to  L862 
Isaac  W.  Derby,2  from  1862  to  ISli  t. 
John  J.  Allen,  from  1863  to  1J 
Charles  C.  Buffum,  from  1883  to  present  ijate. 

High  Sheriffs. 

Previous  to  1878  this  office  was  appointive.  Subse- 
quent to  this  date  Ralph  Holt  held  the  office  from 
June,  1879,  to  January,  1880. 

Horace  A.  Perry,  from  1880  to  the  present  date. 

Road  Commissioners. 

1845 —Barton  Skinner,  Jonathan  K.  Smith,  Asahel 
I.  Humphrey. 

1846.— Jonathan  K.  Smith,  Aaron  P.  Howland, 
Daniel  W.  Farrar. 

1852.— Augustus  Noyes,  Jonathan  S.  Adams,  Jon- 
athan Harvey,  Jr. 

1853 —Augustus  Noyes,  Lanson  Robertson,  Samuel 

Slade,  Jr. 

1854.— Samuel  Slade,  Jr.,  Laban  Rice,  Edmund 
Jones. 

1855.— Nelson  Converse,  Arvin  Aldrich,  John  Sy- 

monds. 

County  Commissioners. 

John  A.  Prescott,  1857;  Lanson  Robertson,  1858  ; 
Willard  Adams,  1859;  Samuel  Atherton,  1860;  Aaron 
P.  Howland,  1861;  Jonathan  S.  Adams,  1862;  Sum- 
ner Knight,  1863;  Zebulon  Converse,  1864;  David  A. 
Felt,  1865;  Sumner  Knight,  1866;  H.  O.  Coolidge, 
1867;  Franklin  H.  Cutter,  1868;  Joshua  B.Clark, 
1869;  Aaron  Smith,  1870  ;  John  Humphrey,3  1871 ; 
Alonzo  A.Ware,  1872;  Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  1873 ;  Joseph 

B.  Abbott,  1874 ;  Charles  H.  Whitney,  1875  ;   George 

C.  Hubbard,  1876 ;  Charles  R.  Sargeaut,  1877  ;   Gard- 
ner C.  Hill,"  1878. 

Subsequent  to  the  change  of  the  Constitution 
the  following  have  been  elected : 

1878.— Charles  R.  Sargeant,  Gardner  C.  Hill,  Levi 
A.  Fuller. 

1880.— Levi  A.  Fuller,  Joseph  B.  Abbott,  George 
W.  Stearns. 

1882.— Joseph  B.  Abbott,  George  W.  Stearns,  Al- 
fred W.  Burt, 


2  Resigned  in  1863  and  John  J.  Allen  was  appointed  in 
his  place  November  10th.  He  was  elected  in  1861  and  re- 
signed in  1883. 

3  Resigned,  and  Aaron  Smith  was  appointed  to  the  va- 
cancy. 

•Trior  to  the  constitutional  change  of  1878  the  county 
commissioners  held  their  office  for  a  term  of  three  years, 
and  one  was  elected  annually  to  fill  the  vacancy  of  a  re- 
tiring member.  At  the  present  time  three  are  chosen 
biennially. 


8 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1884.— Joseph  B.  Abbott,  Alfred  W.  Burt,  Elbridge 
Kingsbury. 

Internal  Improvements. — The  early  set- 
tlement of  Cheshire  County  came  from  the 
southward  Tlie  Connecticut  River  was  its 
highwa  had  been  the  favorite  highway  of 

the  Indian.  It  was  the  first  highway  of  the 
settlers  of  the  valley  and  country  adjacent 
thereto.  At  first  the  hark  canoe  plied  upon  its 
waters  ;  then  came  the  rude  flat-boat,  followed 
by  boats  of  more  perfected  proportions,  spread- 
ing to  the  breezes  winged  sails,  and,  lastly, 
attempts,  but  not  of  practical  success,  of  steam- 
propellers.  At  one  time  boating  and  rafting 
assumed  considerable  proportions  upon  the 
liver,  but  upon  the  construction  of  the  railroad 
lines  it  passed  away.  Undoubtedly  the  first 
experiments  at  steamboating  were  made  upon 
the  Upper  Connecticut  as  early  as  1793  by  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Mory,  and  some  years  prior  to 
Fulton's  operations.  In  1827  a  steamer  named 
the  "  Barnet"  ascended  the  river  from  Hartford 
to  Bellows  Falls,  creating  no  little  curiosity  as 
it  came  puffing  up  the  river.  In  after-years 
other  attempts  at  steamboating  were  made  upon 
the  Upper  Connecticut,  but  were  not  of  long 
duration. 

Aboriginal  Occupancy. — That  portion  of 
the  Connecticut  River  valley  north  of  the  Deer- 
field  River  in  Massachusetts  was  claimed  and 
occupied  by  a  tribe  of  Indians  known  as  the 
Squakheags.  Their  territory  included  Cheshire 
County  as  far  as  the  Monadnock  Mountain  to 
tin  east.  So  far  as  known,  it  was  not  a  strong 
tribe,  and  does  not  bear  a  conspicuous  position 
in  aboriginal  history.  It  probably  was  closely 
allied  to  some  of  the  surrounding  tribes,  notably 
with  the  Xasliaways,  who  lived  upon  the 
Nashua  and  Merrimack  Rivers.  The  Squak- 
heags continued  to  occupy  this  vicinity  until 
1720,  when  it  appears  that  they  disbanded,  a 
large  portion  of  whom  must  have  passed  to  the 
northward  and  joined  the  St.  Francis  tribe  in 
Canada.  This  tribe,  in  later  years,  in  junc- 
tion with  the  French,  were  especially  active 
in  spreading  desolation  throughout  this  sec- 
tion, of  which  the  sketches  of  the  several  towns 
relate.  Tradition  has  handed  down  to  us  the 
many  favorite  resorts  in  the  county    which  the 


Indians   were  wont  to  frequent  for  hunting  and 
fishing  purposes. 


o 

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Hinsdale . 
Jaffrey .   . 
Keene  .   . 
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Mario  w    . 
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Richmond 
Rindge.    . 
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Settlement. — It  has  been  before  stated  that 
settlement  came  upward  from  the  south  along 
the  Connecticut  River;  but  it  was  retarded,  again 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


and  again  beaten  back,  mainly  through  the 
animosity  and  depredations  of  Indians.  Reach- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  Ashuelot,  it  appears  that 
it  left  the  Great  River.  Reaching  Upper  Ashuelot 
(now  Keene),  in  1734,  the  same  year  it  took 
root  at  Lower  Ashuelot  (Swanzey),  Earlington 
(Winchester).  Some  two  years  after,  in  1736, 
a  settlement  was  made  at  Hinsdale,  and  later  in 
the  towns  above  on  the  Great  River.  Until 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  settlement 
proceeded  slowly ;  it  then  took  a  new  impetus 
and  proceeded  rapidly. 

We  insert  on  the  preceding  page  a  census  table, 
containing  a  tabulated  statement  showing  the 
movement  of  population  of  the  several  towns 
in  Cheshire  County  at  each  census  since  1767, 
inclusive,  with  dates  of  incorporation  and  first 
called  names. 

In  1861  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded  high  and 
loud  over  a  startled  land,  and  the  wires  flashed 
the  dread  news  that  armed  rebellion  had  fired 
upon  Sumter's  fated  walls.  In  the  great  up- 
rising of  the  North  that  followed,  in  the  defense 
of  the  nation,  Cheshire  County  responded  to 
every  call  for  troops  with  alacrity.  On  South- 
ern soil  it  shed  its  best  blood  in  order  that  the 
country  might  live.  The  lapse  of  time  has 
dimmed  in  part  the  remembrance  of  the  heroism 
of  that  hour,  but  we  now  enjoy  the  fruits  of  no- 
ble effort  and  of  victory  won.  The  following 
table  shows  the  number  of  soldiers  furnished  bv 
each  town  in  response  to  the  several  calls,  the 
number  of  soldiers  who  were  killed  or  died  in 
the  service  and  the  amount  of  municipal  war 
loan  awarded  to  each  town, — 

Killed  Municipal 

Towns.  Soldiers,     and  Died.     War  Loan. 

Alstead 98  ...  $8,375.00 

Chesterfield 85  20  7,416.67 

Dublin 91  25  9,100.00 

Fitzwilliam 101  45  7,991.67 

Gilsum 57  ...  5,400.00 

Hinsdale 112  ...  10,533.33 

Jaffrey 119  ...  9,933.33 

Keene 404  25  37,900.00 

Marlborough 56  ...  5,600.00 

Marlow 52  18  4,866.67 

Nelson 69  6  5,981.67 

Richmond 68  14  5,050.00 

Rindge  86  16  8,250,00 

Roxbury 17  ...  1,633.33 

Stoddard 66  3  5,358.00 


Towns.  Soldiers. 

Sullivan 26 

Surry 32 

Swanzey 14S 

Troy...'. 54 

Walpole 145 

Westmoreland 82 

Winchester 134 


Killed 

Municipal 

id  Died. 

War  Loan. 

12 

2,600.00 

6 

2,666.67 

5 

12,325.00 

10 

4,425.00 

12,650.00 

10 

7,975.00 

... 

12,866.67 

CHAPTER   II 


BENCH    AND    BAR. 


Among  the  earliest  members  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  this  section  of  New  England  was 
Elijah  Williams,  a  native  of  Deerfield,  Mass., 
who  settled  in  Keene  in  1771.  During;  the  Rev- 
olntion  his  sympathies  were  with  the  mother- 
country,  and  after  the  battle  of  Lexington  he 
joined  the  British  in  Boston.  He  died  in  Deer- 
field. 

Hon.  Daniel  Newcomb  settled  in  Keene  in 
1778  and  commenced  practice  there  in  17<s.°>. 
He  was  appointed  chief  judge  of  Cheshire 
County  in  1790;  was  justice  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Judicature  from  April  I),  179(3,  to  1798. 
He  was  the  first  State  Senator  from  Keene.  He 
died  July  14,  1818. 

Hon.  Peter  Sprague  was  an  early  lawyer 
in  Keene.  He  became  prominent  here  in  1792. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1797  and  re- 
elected in  1799.     He  died  in  1800. 

Noah  Cooke  settled  in  Keene  in  1791,  and 
remained  in  practice  there  until  his  death,  on 
October  15,  1829.  He  was  admitted  as  an  at- 
torney in  1784. 

Hon.  Samuel  Dinsmoob  was  born  in  Wind- 
ham July  1,  1766.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
in  1789,  and  settled  in  Keene  in  1792.  He 
was  appointed  postmaster  in  1808,  and  in  1811 
was  elected  to  Congress.  He  held  numerous 
positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  and  was 
elected  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  in  1831, 
1832  and  1833.    He  died  March  15,  1835. 

Among  those  in  practice  in  Keene  from  1794 
to  1813  were  Hon.  Samuel  Hunt  (member  of 
Congress),  David  Forbes,  Samuel  West,  Noah 
R.  Cooke,  Foster  Alexander,  Lockhart  Willard, 


10 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Elijah    Dunbar,    Samuel    Prescott,    Seth    New- 
comb,  E.  Butterfield  and  Wm.  Gordon. 

Hon.  James  Wilsojn  commenced  practice  in 
Kccnc  in  L815.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
University  in  L789,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  L792.  In  L809  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress. He  died  January  I,  L839.  Mr.  Wilson 
was  a  lawyer  of  distinguished  ability,  and  bad 
but  few  equals  in  the  State  Joseph  Buffum,  Jr., 
commenced  practice  in  Keene  in  L816.  He  was 
elected  to  <  longress  in  1819. 

Levi  <  !h amukklain  was  one  of  the  leading 
lawyers  in  New  Hampshire.  He  held  various 
official  positions,  and  in  1849  was  the  Whig  can- 
didate for  Governor.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Peace  Congress  in  1861.  He  died  August  31, 
1868.  He  was  in  stature  tall,  elegant  in  manner, 
genial  and  witty. 

Joel  Pabker  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Keene  in  1817.  He  was  appointed  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  from  January 
S,  1833,  and  was  chief  justice  from  June  25, 
L838,  to  June  24,  1848.  He  was  subsequently 
professor  of  law  in  Harvard  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years. 

The  following  were  in  practice  in  Keene  in 
L818 :  Xoah  Cooke,  Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Foster 
Alexander,  Elijah  Dunbar,  Joseph  Buffum, 
Jr.,  .lames  Wilson,  Levi  Chamberlain,  Elijah 
Parker,  Joel  Parker,  Fr.  Gardner  and  Thomas 
M.  Edwards.  Elijah  Parker  was  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth  College  and  a  prominent  lawyer  in 
Keene  for  many  years. 

Thomas  M.  Edwards  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth in  1813.  He  was  born  in  Providence 
in  1  T'.lo,  and  was  brought  here  by  his  parents  at 
an  early  age.  He  was  postmaster  in  Keene 
from  L817  to  1829;  was  member  of  Legisla- 
ture, Presidential  elector,  member  of  Congress, 
and  was  first  president  of  the  Cheshire  Rail- 
road. He  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Keene,  a 
thorough  scholar,  an  able  lawyer  and  a  success- 
ful financier.  lie  was  a  man  of  great  energy 
ami  executive  ability.     He  died  May  1,  187o. 

Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr.,  -on  oi  Governor 
Samuel  Dinsmoor,  was  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential citizen.  lb-  was  clerk  of  the  Sen- 
ate i„  L826,  L827,  L829  and  L831  ;  he  was 
postmaster  at    Keene,  cashier  of  the  Ashuelot 


Bank  and  later  its  president,  and  was  Governor 
of  New  Hampshire  in  1849,  1850  and  1851. 
He  died   February  24,  L869. 

General  James  Wilson  commenced  prac- 
tice in  Keene  in  1823.  He  was  one  of  Keene's 
most  active,  prominent  and  esteemed  citizens. 
Except  the  years  1838  and  1839,  when  he  was 
a  candidate  for  Governor  (and  L833),  he  was  in 
continuous  service  in  the  Legislature  from  1825 
to  1840.  In  1828  he  was  Speaker  of  the  House. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1 847  and  re- 
elected  in  1849.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion   he  was  offered  a  brigadier-general's 

©  © 

commission,  which  ill  health  prevented  him 
from  accepting.  He  represented  Keene  in  the 
Legislature  in  1870  and  1871. 

Phinehas  Handerson  was  born  in  Am- 
herst, Mass.,  December  13,  1778.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  George  B.  Upham,  of 
Claremont.  Soon  after  his  admission  to  the 'bar 
he  established  himself  in  Chesterfield,  at  that 
time  one  of  the  most  flourishing  towns  in  the 
State.  He  was  president  of  Cheshire  bar  from 
the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  county  until 
his  death,  March  16,1853.  lie  removed  to 
Keene  in  1833.  Hon.  Levi  Chamberlain  speaks 
of  him  as  "one  of  the  most  respected  and  influ- 
ential members  of  the  profession,  and  that  influ- 
ence was  the  result  of  his  faithful,  upright  and 
able  performance  of  duty." 

The  various  public  trusts  to  which  he  was 
repeatedly  called  by  those  who  knew  him  best 
show  in  what  estimation  he  was  held  by  his 
fellow-citizens.  His  only  son,  Henry  C.  Han- 
derson,  served  as  captain  in  the  war;  was  after- 
wards postmaster  in  Keene,  where  he  died  in 
1874.  His  seven  daughters  are  still  living; 
two  unmarried  in  the  homestead  in  Keene. 

(See  town  history  of  Chesterfield  for  additional 
facts.) 

Salma  Hale  was  a  well-known  lawyer  of 
Kerne,  highly  respected  and  esteemed.  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  matter-  pertaining  to 
the  history  of  Keene,  and  prepared  the  "Annals 
of  Keene,"  a  volume  of  rare  interest.  Beside 
holding  other  official  positions,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  ( !ongress. 

William  P.  Wheeler  was  a  lawyer  who 
ranked  with  the  ablest  in  the  State.     He  was 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


11 


admitted  to  practice  in  1  -S 12  and  settled  in 
Keene,  where  lie  remained  until  his  death,  in 
May,  1 876.  He  was  a  >unty  s<  dicitor  for  ten  years. 
and  in  1855  and  1857  was  a  candidate  for  Con- 
gress. 

Fak.ni'.m  Fish  LANE,nowthe  oldest  membei 
of  the  Cheshire  County  bar,  and  for  several 
years  president  of*  the  Cheshire  County  Bar  As 
sociation,  was  born  in  Swanzey,  N.  H.,  March 
15,  1816. 

The  first  one  of  this  family  to  settle  in  New 
Hampshire  was  his  great-grandfather,  Elkanah 
Lane,  who  came  from  Norton,  Mass.,  aboat  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  purchased 
land  in  Swanzey,  became  a  farmer  and  was 
a  resident  of  the  town  and  left  numerous  de- 
scendants. He  was  a  man  of  perseverance  and 
sterling  honesty  of  purpose  and  thought. 

His  son   Samuel    inherited   the   farm   of  his 

lather,  married Scott   and  had  five  sons, — 

Samuel,  Elijah,  Elisha,  Ezekiel  and  Luther, — 
and  one  daughter,  Lucy.  He  served  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  and  although  a  man  of 
quiet  and  unassuming  manners,  was  a  sturdy 
patriot  and  loyal  citizen.  He  died  about  1835, 
aged  eighty-four  years. 

Ezekiel,  his  fourth  son,  was  born  in 
Swanzey  in  1790.  He  settled  on  a  farm  ad- 
joining the  ancestral  homestead  and  was  a 
life-long  resident  of  the  town.  He  was  a  kind 
husband,  good  citizen,  and,  like  his  father,  a 
man  of  retiring  disposition.  He  married,  early 
in  life,  Rachel,  daughter  of  Farnum  and  Rachel 
(Thayer)  Fish.  (Farnum  Fish  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  but  for  many  years  a  citizen  of 
Swanzey.  He  was  an  energetic  farmer  and 
man  of  note,  and  one  of  the  controlling  spirits 
of  the  town,  and  with  commendable  public 
spirit  endeavored  to  advance  its  interests.  He 
received  the  highest  respect  from  his  fellow- 
townsmen,  who  elected  him  to  various  town 
offices.  He  held  the  commission  of  justice 
of  the  peace  for  many  years  and  was  a 
captain  of  militia.  He  accumulated  consider- 
able property,  consisting  of  real  estate.  He 
died  about  1829.)  Of  the  ten  children  of  Eze- 
kiel and  Rachel  (Fish)  Lane,  eight  are  now- 
living. 

Farnum  Fish  Lane  commenced  life  without  any 


ofthe  adventitious  aids  that  arc  usually  supposed 
to  assist  in  gaining  distinction.  A  farmer's  boy, 
his  early  years,  until  he  reached  the  age  of  six- 
teen, were  passed  on  the  firm  assisting  in  the 
work.  Then  his  aspirations  for  an  education 
could  no  longer  be  restrained,  and,  leaving 
home,  he  engaged  as  a  farm  laborer  and  com- 
menced  working  and  saving  for  that  object. 
After  attending  various  academics,  principally 
at  Xew  Ipswich  and  Hancock,  he  taught  School 
for  six  winters,  and,  thinking,  with  Sydney 
Smith,  that  "the  law  is  decidedly  the  best  pro- 
fession for  a  young  man  if  he  has  anything  in 
him,"  he  entered  the  office  of  Thomas  M.  Ed- 
wards, of  Keene,  a.-  a  law  student.  He  ap- 
plied himself  with  diligence  and  assiduity  to  the 
study  of  his  chosen  profession,  and,  in  July, 
1843,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  since  that 
time  has  been  actively  employed  in  the  labors  of 
the  law. 

He  commenced  practice  in  Winchester,  and, 
in  1846,  moved  to  Walpole  and  was  there  for 
three  years.  In  1849  he  became  a  resident  of 
Keene,  and  has  advanced  agreeably  and  pros- 
perously. He  is  a  membei-  of  Social  Friends 
L«>dge,  F.  ami  A.  M.,  and  of  Cheshire  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  Keene; 

Mr.  Lane  married,  October  30,  1846,  Harriet 
Locke,  daughter  of  John  and  Harriet  (Locke) 
Butler,  of  Winchester.  Their  children  are 
Helen  L.,  who  married  Augustus  Lucke,  of 
Sherbrooke,  Canada,  and  Emily  I>. 

Mr.  Lane  was  a  Whig  until  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has 
ever  since  acted,  but  never  as  a  mere  partisan, 
or  a  politician  using  politics  for  personal  ends. 
The  law  has  been  his  sole  profession.  He  has 
never  sought  a  public  office,  and  yet  he  has 
been  rewarded  with  the  fullest  trust  and  confi- 
dence ofthe  people.  For  ten  years  he  held  the 
office  of  county  solicitor,  and  was  also  county 
treasurer.  He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
from  Walpole  in  1*47  and  1848,  and  then 
again  from  Keene  in  1862  and  1863,  that  criti- 
cal period  in  the  country's  history  when  the 
war-clouds  darkened  the  horizon  and  Legislative 
responsibilities  were  heavy.  He  is  probably 
best  known  as  a  sound  and  wise  counselor,  one 
who  labors  diligently  on  his  cases,  making  the 


12 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


most  complete  and  exhaustive  research  before 
attempting  to  present  his  ease  or  give  an  opinion. 
As  an  advocate,  he  uses  nothing  like  splendid 
action  or  boisterous  demonstration,  but,  what  is 
offer  more  account,  clear,  potent,  sober  thought, 
carrying  conviction  to  the  mind  that  can  or 
cares  to  think  There  comes  with  what  he  says 
the  feeling  always  of  an  earnest,  candid  man, 
saying  nothing  for  mere  effect,  and  only  what 
the  case  justly  warrants.  By  reason  of  this  gen- 
eral confidence,  inspired  bv  manner  and  method, 
he  is  always  a  powerful  antagonist,  who  has  the 
car  and  confidence  of  both  judge  and  jury.  Al 
though,  as  before  mentioned,  the  oldest  member 
of  the  Cheshire  County  bar,  he  is  still  in  full 
practice,  with  more  vigorous  health  than  he  has 
enjoyed  for*  years. 

Francis  A.  Faulkner. — The  Faulkner 
family  occupies  quite  an  historic  place  in  New 
England  annals.  "Mr.  Edmond  Faulkner,  the 
emigrant,  was  one  of  the  purchasers  and  first 
settlers  of  Andover,  Mass.,  which  was  bought 
from  the  Indians  about  January,  1646,  for  £6, 
and  a  coat."  The  following  extract  from  the 
will  of  Francis  Fauconec,  Gent.,  of  King's 
Cleave,  Southampton,  England,  made  September 
1,  1662,  and  proved  21st  May,  1663,  connects 
him  beyond  doubt  with  this  honorable  English 
family.  "  Item  :  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my 
bn  itlitr,  Edmund  Fauconor,  that  is  living  in  New 
England,  £200  of  lawful  money  of  England." 
This  family  is  entitled  to  bear  arms  as  follows  : 
"Arms — Sable,  three  falcons  argent,  beaked, 
legged  and  belled  or  Crest — A  garb  or  (or  gules), 
banded,  argent.  The  name  Faulkner  was  va- 
riously spelled  in  those  days,  and  in  this  will  it 
has  as  many  spellings  as  the  word  occurs  times. 

The  "  Mr."  was  of  significance  as  a  title  of 
respect,  and  showed  the  possessor  to  be  of  an 
English  tamily  of  consequence.  But  three  or 
four  in  Andover  were  entitled  to  bear  it. 
Edmond  Faulkner  was  married  by  John  Win 
throp  to  Dorothy  Robinson,  February  4,  1647, 
at  Salem.  This  was  the  firs!  marriage  recorded 
of  an  Andover  citizen.  lie  was  a  man  of  edu- 
cation, energy  and  distinction,  and  connected 
closely  and  prominently  with  all  public  affairs. 
He  was  one  of  the  ten  freeholders  who  founded 
the  church  in  Andover  in  1645.     He  kept  the 


first  inn,  which  was  burned  in  1(576  by  the  In- 
dians, and  died  January  18,  1686-87.  His  son 
Francis,  "husbandman,"  named  doubtless  from 
the  maker  of  the  King's  Cleave  will,  born  1657, 
died  1732;  married,  October  11,  1675,  Abigail, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Francis  Dane,  who  was  min- 
ister of  Andover  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Her 
name  is  prominent  in  connection  with  the  witch- 
craft delusion.  She  was  accused  of  "The  felony 
of  witchcraft,"  found  guilty  and  condemned  to 
death,  but  through  the  efforts  of  her  many 
powerful  friends  was  not  executed,  although  for 
more  than  eleven  years  the  sentence  of  death 
hung  over  her.  She  stands  out  one  of  the 
brightest  and  strongest  figures  on  that  dark  page 
of  history.  [See  for  full  account  "Bailey's  His- 
torical Sketches  of  Andover,  Mass."  This 
worthy  and  sorely-tried  couple  left  three  sons, 
Edmund,  Ammivcrhammah  and  Paul,  of  whom 
the  second  removed  to  Acton,  Mass.,  in  1735, 
erected  mills,  and  became  a  manufacturer,  dying 
August  4,  1756.  His  son,  Francis,  born  in 
Andover  September  20,  1728,  died  in  Acton, 
Mass.,  August  5,  1805.  For  thirty-five  years 
town  clerk  of  Acton,  member  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  1774,  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  and  several  important  conventions  of 
the  Revolution,  in  all  these  positions  he  proved 
himself  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  culti- 
vated mind,  and  an  able  legislator.  He  held  a 
military  commission  under  George  III.,  but  be- 
came an  ardent  patriot,  and  one  of  the  foremost 
opposers  of  the  oppressive  acts  of  Great  Britain. 
Early  in  1775  he  was  elected  major  of  a  regi- 
ment organized  to  oppose  English  invasion.  At 
sunrise  of  the  ever  memorable  L9th  of  April, 
he  marched  with  a  considerable  number  of 
men  to  resist  the  British  troops  then  on  their 
way  to  Concord.  He  participated  in  that 
historic  engagement,  and  the  pursuit  of  the 
British  to  ( lharleston.  [See  Shattuck's  "History 
of  Concord."]  He  was  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Middlesex  militia,  which  reinforced  the  Con- 
tinental army  at  i\n-  occupation  of  Dorchester 
Heights,  March,  1776,  and  commanded  the 
regiment  which  guarded  the  prisoners  of  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender  on  the  march  to  Cambridge. 
By  his  second  wife,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Kies,  of  Brookfield,   a  participant  in   that 


Eko* 


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BENCH  AND  BAR. 


13 


bloody  engagement  known  as  Lo veil's  fight, 
he  had  eleven  children,  the  oldest  of  whom 
was  Francis,  of  Billerica,  one  of  the  pioneer 
woolen  manufacturers  in  New  England.  He 
was  born  January  31,  1760,  died  February  12, 
1843.  He  was  twice  married  and  had  twelve 
children.  By  his  first  wife,  Elizabeth  Jones, 
were  Charles,  born  September  6,  1785,  died  in 
Calcutta,  August,  1809,  and  Francis,  who  was 
born  at  Watertown,  Mass.,  February  29,  1788, 
came  to  Keene  in  1809  or  1810.  June  10, 1818, 
he  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Eli  Stearns,  of 
Lancaster,  Mass.  He  died  November  29,  1842. 
His  wife  died  October  5,  1869.  Their  children 
who  lived  to  maturity  were  Charles  S.,  born 
May  17,  1819,  died  July  28,  1879;  Elizabeth 
J.,  born  May  25,  1822;  Francis  A.;  William 
F.,  born  July  7,  1831,  died  May  1,  1874. 
Francis  Faulkner  was  one  of  the  early  manu- 
facturers of  New  Hampshire,  in  which  business 
he  continued  until  his  death,  in  1842.  He  was 
a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  generous  and  wise  in 
public  matters,  as  in  private.  He  was  loved  and 
respected  by  all;  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
Unitarian  Society,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
ii  mnders. 

Hon.  Francis  Augustus  Faulkner,  son 
of  Francis  and  Eliza  (Stearns)  Faulkner,  was 
lx»rn  in  Keene,  N.  H.,  February  12,  1825.  As 
a  youth  he  was  studious,  and,  in  1841,  went  to 
that  celebrated  preparatory  school,  Phillips  Ex- 
eter Academy,  where  he  acquitted  himself  with 
ability  and  was  fitted  for  college.  He  graduated 
with  honor  at  Harvard  University  in  the  class 
of  1846,  which  numbers  among  its  members 
such  distinguished  names  as  Hon.  George  F. 
Hoar,  Prof.  Francis  J.  Child,'  Prof.  George 
M.  Lane,  Dr.  Calvin  Ellis  and  Henry  A. 
Whitney.  The  friendships  and  associations 
thus  formed  were  among  the  warmest  and 
highest  of  his  life,  and  his  love  for  the  classics  and 
general  literature  there  acquired  continued  all 
his  days,  and  showed  itself  in  his  public  and 
private  life.  Choosing  the  law  for  his  profession, 
he  began  its  study  in  1847  in  the  office  of  Hon. 
Phinehas  Handerson,  of  Keene,  and,  in  connec- 
tion therewith,  attended  the  Harvard  Law 
School.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  at  Keene, 
at   tiie  September  term  of  court  in  1849,  and 


immediately  formed  a  partnership  with  William 
P.  Wheeler,  which  firm,  as  Wheeler  &  Faulkner, 
first  appeared  upon  the  docket  at  the  May  term, 
1850,  and  from  that  time  for  nearly  thirty  years 
enjoyed  a  remarkably  extensive  and  successful 
practice,  and  was  engaged  in  nearly  every  case 
of  prominence  or  importance  tried  in  Cheshire 
County.  To  the  honorable  and  leading  position 
taken  by  the  firm  much  was  due  to  Mr. 
Faulkner. 

During  his  active  practice  Mr.  Faulkner  ac- 
complished an  amount  of  work  which  excited  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  court  and  his  asso- 
ciates at  the  bar.  To  a  finely-organized  brain 
was  united  robust,  health  and  untiring  industry, 
and  an  ardent  love  for  his  profession.  These, 
with  his  correct  and  methodical  habits,  made 
labor  almost  a  pleasure,  which  success  only  in- 
creased, while  defeat  did  not  diminish  it.  Durinir 
the  life  of  Mr.  Wheeler  the  unassuming:  nature 
of  Mr.  Faulkner,  acknowledging  the  high 
ability  of  his  partner  as  an  advocate  (and  he 
was  rarely,  if  ever,  excelled  in  this  county), 
preferred  to  take  the  more  laborious,  but  unpre- 
tending, work  of  preparing  their  causes,  both  for 
trial  of  facts  and  on  questions  of  law,  and  of 
drawing  all  pleadings  and  formal  papers,  leaving 
Mr.  Wheeler  to  present  them  to  the  court.  He 
was  always  thoroughly  prepared  in  season  for 
every  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged, 
whether  before  the  jury  or  the  court,  and  his 
patient  research,  accurate  knowledge  and  pains- 
taking care  made  his  papers  and  briefs  models 
of  skill  and  learning,  and  of  great  weight  with 
the  court. 

When  circumstances  caused  him  to  appear  as 
an  advocate,  it  was  at  once  seen  that  he  had  far 
more  than  ordinary  power  in  that  capacity. 
Always  dignified  and  courteous,  he  depended 
upon  fairness  and  ability  to  win  his  causes,  never 
resorting  to  anything  like  a  trick.  He  displayed 
a  peculiar  power  of  sifting  evidence  and  dis- 
closing the  truth,  and  knew  where  his  strength 
lay  and  how  to  use  it. 

His  memory  was  retentive,  his  knowledge  of 
human  nature  quick  and  accurate,  and  in  his 
judgment  of  the  character  of  a  client  or  witness 
he  was  seldom  at  fault.  His  arguments  to  court 
or  jury  were  concise  and  vigorous,  abounding  in 


14 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


apt  illustrations  and  citations,  expressed  in 
earnest,  simple  language,  but  conveying  a  logic 
which  was  convincing.  When  once  engaged  in 
a  case  he  made  his  client's  cause  his  own  and 
served  him  with  rare  fidelity  to  the  end.  As  an 
advisor  he  was  careful  in  forming  his  legal 
opinion,  often  giving  to  a  question  time  and 
critical  study  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  its 
pecuniary  importance;  but  when  his  opinion 
was  formed  he  firmly  adhered  to  it,  and  was 
rarely  obliged  to  modify  it.  His  temperament 
and  cast  of  mind  were  pre-eminently  judicial, 
and  it'  he  had  found  it  compatible  with  his 
wishes  to  have  accepted  the  position  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  which  he  was 
appointed,  and  again  solicited  to  take,  his  in- 
timate knowledge  of  all  matters  of  practice  and 
procedure  would  have  been  found  of  great  use 
and  his  decisions  have  been  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  legal  literature  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Faulkner  represented  Keene  in  the  State 
Legislature  in  1851,  1852,  1859  and  I860;  was 
chosen  moderator  twenty-two  times,  successively, 
in  town-meeting,  from  1857  to  1863,  and  was 
an  alderman  in  the  first  city  government;  was 
county  solicitor  from  1855  to  1800;  commissioner 
of  enrollment  during  the  Rebellion;  was  ap- 
pointed associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  1874,  but  declined  to  serve;  was  a  member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1 87(5,  and 
held  various  other  positions  of  honor  and  trust. 

He  was  largely  interested  in  the  social  busi- 
ness ami  financial  life  of  Keene;  was  a  director 
of  the  Cheshire  National  Bank  and  the  Ashuelot 
National  Bank,  and  succeeded  Mr.  Wheeler  as 
president  of  the  Cheshire  Provident  Institution. 
1 1  ighly  valued  asa  financial  advisor,  many  sought 
ami  were  profited  by  his  judicious  counsel. 

In  politics  he  was  a  stanch  Republican,  one 
of  the  strongest  local  leaders  of  that  party,  and 
a  prominent  member  of  the  State  and  County 
( lommittees.  His  upright  character,  strong  per- 
sonality, positive  convictions  and  popularity 
gave  him  influence  in  all  circles,  and  there  was 
no  one  whose  counsel  was  more  sought  in  emer- 
gencies and  whose  judgment  and  foresight  did 
better  service  in  seasonably  detecting  threatened 
evils  and  in  devising  the  best  means  for  the 
general  good.     During  the  years  of  anxiety  and 


sacrifice  of  the  great  Civil  War  he  labored  loy- 
ally for  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and,  by  his  un- 
tiring enthusiasm,  able  counsel  and  personal  ef- 
forts, did  much  more  for  the  cause  than  he 
could  have  done  in  any  other  way. 

In  religion  he  was  a  Unitarian  and  an  active 
member  of  the  society  at  Keene,  whose  liberality 
in  all  channels  of  religious  influence  was  never 
found  wanting. 

Mr.  Faulkner  married,  December  18,  1849, 
Caroline,  daughter  of  Hon.  Phinehas  Handerson. 
He  was  very  happy  in  his  domestic  life,  and 
those  who  did  not  see  him  in  his  home  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  really  known  him.  It 
was  there  that  he  threw  off  the  burdens  and  per- 
plexities of  his  busy  life  and  found  the  only  re- 
laxation he  ever  allowed  himself — in  the  society 
of  his  wife  and  children. 

They  lovingly  remember  how  his  natural 
buoyancy  and  love  of  fun,  repressed  by  hours  of 
exacting  business,  at  home  showed  itself  in  play- 
ful jokes  and  in  humorous  anecdotes,  and  in  join- 
ing, with  the  spirit  of  a  boy,  in  all  the  games 
and  sports  of  the  children. 

His  house  was  always  open  and  he  enter- 
tained with  a  generous  hospitality.  His  wide 
circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances  brought  many 
distinguished  people  as  his  guests,  and  Mrs. 
Faulkner,  a  lady  of  culture,  who  survives  him, 
presided  with  a  quiet  dignity  over  his  household 
and  made  the  charm  of  the  home  circle  com- 
plete. Their  surviving  children  arc  Francis 
( liild,  Arthur  and  Charles  Henry.  Mr.  Faulk- 
ner died  at  his  residence  in  Keene  May  22, 187l>. 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  the  Cheshire  County  bar  as  a  tribute 
to  his  memory  : 

"  In  the  course  of  Divine  Providence,  a  most  useful 
and  honorable  member  of  our  profession,  Mr.  Francis 
A.  Faulkner,  has  been  taken  from  us  by  death.  The 
occasion  is  sucli  as  excites  in  us  much  and  deep  feel- 
ing, which  it  is  natural  and  right  should  find  some 
appropriate  expression,  and,  therefore,  according  to 
the  usage  which  has  long  prevailed,  the  bar  gives  ex- 
pression to  such  feelings  by  the  following  resolutions: 

"1.  That  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Faulkner  the  profes- 
sion has  been  deprived  of  one  of  its  ablest  and  most 
useful  members,  whose  learning  and  ability,  inspired 
and  guided  by  the  truest  integrity,  have  singularly 
illustrated  and  adorned  the  bar  of  the  State  and  coun- 
try.    His  modest  and  unassuming  manners  have  bad 


i^tsC-  <-^ 


t^tyi/l 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


15 


no  small  influence  in  cultivating  the  professional 
amenities  and  courtesies,  which  add  so  much  to  the 
pleasure  of  professional  life,  and  redeem  it  from  the 
opprobrium  which  in  other  times  and  places  has  been 
brought  upon  it  by  the  unrestrained  excesses  of  pro- 
fessional zeal. 

''2.  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Faulkner 
our  most  respectful  and  earnest  sympathy." 

Lieut-Col.  William  Hexry  Burt,  son 
of  Willard  and  Martha  (Wood)  Burt,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  May  24,  1824.  He 
was  descended  from  New  England  families  of 
honor  and  respectability.  His  paternal  line  of 
descent  is  derived  from  James  Burt,  who  sailed 
from  London,  England,  to  the  Barbadoes  in 
1(335,  and  from  there  to  Newport,  R.  I.  (1639), 
afterwards  to  Taunton,  Mass.,  where  he  was 
surveyor  of  highways  in  1645,  and  took  the 
oath  of  fidelity  in  1654.  His  will  was  proven 
March  2,  1681.  The  line  to  Colonel  William 
H.  is  James  (1),  James  (2),  Thomas  (3),  Henry 
(4),  Samuel  (5),  Willard  (6),  William  H.  (7). 
On  the  maternal  side  he  derived  from  the  Wood 
family,  well  known  in  the  Plymouth  colony, 
and  through  his  maternal  grandmother,  Martha 
(White)  Wood,  he  was  connected  with  one  of 
the  White  families  so  prominent  in  New  Eng- 
land history.  Family  tradition  gives  him  as  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Peregrine  White,  of  May- 
flower fame,  but  the  stern  realities  of  record 
seem  to  deny  this,  and  to  show  his  real  White  pro- 
genitor to  be  one  who,  in  point  of  worth,  character 
and  position,  stood  even  higher, — John  White, 
the  wealthiest  pioneer  and  proprietor  of  Lan- 
caster, Mass.,  an  Englishman  of  education,  who 
was  in  Salem  in  1639.  "  His  "descendants 
have  almost  universally  held  a  respectable  po- 
sition in  society  and  in  the  church.  Some  have 
risen  to  distinction  in  military  and  civil  life."  1 
The  line  of  descent  is  most  probably  John  (1), 
one  of  the  first  planters,  captain,  etc. ;  Josiah 
(2),  selectman,  deacon,  captain,  etc. ;  Josiah  (3), 
representative,  selectman,  moderator  and  dea- 
con ;  Jotham  (4),  probably  the  Major  Jotham 
White  mentioned  in  "  History  of  Charlestown, 
N.  H.,"  as  quartermaster  in  Revolutionary 
War ;  Martha  (5),  married  Jonathan  Wood,  of 
Westmoreland,   formerly  of  Fitchburg,  Mass., 

1  History  of  Lancaster. 


1785 ;  Martha  (Wood)  Burt  (6)  ;  William 
H.(7). 

Colonel  Burt  inherited  a  strong  vitality  from 
his  ancestors,  who,  for  several  generations,  were 
quiet  agriculturists.  [His  grandfather,  Samuel 
Burt,  married  Olive  Lincoln,  in  Taunton, 
Mass.,  in  1787  (she  was  descended  from  two 
leading  families  of  that  place,  Lincoln  and 
Leonard),  and  settled  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H., 
as  a  pioneer,  accompanied  by  a  brother  and  a 
sister.  These  all  attained  great  ages,  Samuel 
dying  in  1850,  almost  ninety,  and  Olive  in 
1843,  in  her  eighty-third  year.] 

William  passed  his  early  years  with  his 
parents,  who  lived  with  his  grandparents  on  the 
old  homestead.  He  had  the  privileges  of  the 
district  schools  of  those  days,  which,  for  the  re- 
sult attained  in  self-reliance,  mental  discipline 
and  strength  of  thought,  have  had  few  equals, 
and,  attended  as  they  were  by  scholars  ambi- 
tious to  excel,  instructed  by  capable  teachers, 
and  aided  by  the  healthful  discipline  and  at- 
mosphere of  home-life,  brought  forth  good 
fruit.  His  brother  and  sisters  rauked  high  as 
scholars,  and  the  children  were  stimulated  by 
their  mother's  influence  to  improve  all  oppor- 
tunities for  intellectual  culture.  She,  a  woman 
of  rare  intelligence  and  ability,  especially  de- 
sired her  sons  to  be  liberally  educated,  and 
labored  untiringly  to  guide  and  direct  them  in 
the  paths  of  knowledge  and  virtue.  Her  warm 
sympathy  and  influence  encouraged  their  aspira- 
tions for  higher  education,  and  her  impress  was 
beneficial  in  no  common  measure  to  her  chil- 
dren. 

When  he  was  nineteen,  William  began  teach- 
ing winter  terms  of  schools,  and  also  became 
interested  in  the  study  of  phrenology  and  phys- 
iology, and  qualified  himself  to  lecture  in  the 
smaller  places  adjacent  to  his  home,  and  Mas 
quite  successful.  He  carved,  from  a  rough 
piece  of  sandstone,  with  his  jack-knife,  a  speci- 
men head,  which  was  creditable  alike  to  his  ar- 
tistic skill  and  his  understanding  of  phrenology. 
He  cherished  a  hope  that  he  might  fit  himself 
for  a  professional  life,  and  attended  three  terms 
at  Mount  Csesar  Academy,  at  Swanzey,  N.  H., 
after  he  was  twenty-one,  engaging  in  the  in- 
terim in  farm   labor  and  as  a  daguerrean  artist. 


16 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


His  ardor  for  professional  honors  was  lessened, 
however,  by  the  experience  of  his  older  brother, 
Charles,  who  found  his  way  as  a  law-student 
steep  and  difficult.  The  frugal  life  of  the  home 
circle  did  not  avail  to  eke  out  the  slender  re- 
sources of  the  farm  sufficiently  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  college-life.  When  twenty-two,  Wil- 
liam, after  carefully  considering  which  of  the 
two  courses  he  should  choose, — a  college  educa- 
tion, which  would  leave  him  heavily  in  debt,  or 
a  mechanical  pursuit,  which  would  give  him 
personal  independence, — reluctantly  decided  for 
the  latter,  at  once  went  to  Worcester,  Mass.,  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  a  carpenter  and  worked 
at  house-carpentering  and  in  a  car-shop  until 
1850.  In  the  meantime,  October,  1848,  he 
married  Hannah  L.  Williams,  of  Amherst, 
Mass.,  who  died  in  1852. 

Anticipating  greater  opportunities  in  the  new 
land  of  California,  Mr.  Burt,  with  money 
loaned  by  friends  who  had  learned  the  honesty 
and  firmness  of  his  character,  sailed  from  New 
York,  April  1,  1850,  for  San  Francisco.  Here 
he  had  varying  changes,  ill  health,  and,  finally, 
good  business  success.  After  the  death  of  two 
of  his  sisters, — Mrs.  Martha  M.  Goodnow,  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1852,  and  Mrs.  J.  Elizabeth  Beals, 
August  10,  1852, — Mr.  Burt  decided  to  return 
to  New  Hampshire,  study  law  and  be  near  his 
grief-stricken  parents.  He  had,  through  his 
industry  and  prudence,  acquired  sufficient  prop- 
erty to  admit  of  his  doing  this,  and,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1852,  he  came  to  Keene.  Receiving  kind 
encouragements  from  the  lawyers  whom  he  con- 
sulted, he  became  a  student  of  Hon.  Levi 
( Chamberlain,  a  leading  member  of  the  bar,  and 
passed  a  creditable  examination  in  April,  1854. 
California  offering  more  favorable  opportunities 
for  advancement,  he  sailed  thither  again  in 
May,  1  85  1.  Here  he  enjoyed  the  advantages 
of  the  extensive  practice  of  the  Hon.  James 
Wilson,  in  whose  office,  at  San  Francisco,  he 
was  domiciled,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
attorney  and  counselor-at-law  February  9, 
1855. 

He  returned  East,  after  a  year  and  a  half,  by 
the  Nicaragua  route.  On  the  Isthmus  an  epi- 
sode occurred  which  shows  the  character  and 
self-reliance  of  Mr.  Burt, and  the  impression  he 


made  upon  others.  The  Nicaraguans  deemed 
the  disembarking  and  unarmed  passengers  a 
band  of  Walker's  filibusters,  and  attacked 
them  fiercely.  Eight  persons  were  killed,  sev- 
eral were  wounded.  Mr.  Burt  received  bullet- 
holes  in  his  clothing,  but  no  wounds.  At  their 
request,  he  at  once  assumed  the  leadership  of 
the  passengers,  and,  by  his  efforts,  imposing 
appearance  and  persistent  exertions,  succeeded 
in  getting  the  company  to  the  Atlantic  without 
further  molestation. 

On  his  arrival  in  Keene  he  married  Ann 
Louisa  Davis,  of  Dublin,  November  8,  1855, 
and  passed  the  winter  with  his  parents,  who 
had  removed  there  from  Westmoreland  in 
1854. 

He  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Novem- 
ber term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  Keene,  1855. 

The  wonderful  tide  of  emigration  to  the  West 
interested  him,  and  before  returning  to  the 
Pacific  coast  he  concluded  to  enjoy  a  pleasure- 
trip  with  his  wife  in  the  Western  States.  Leav- 
ing Keene,  April  19,  1856,  they  visited  his 
brother  in  Detroit,  and  from  there  went  to  Dav- 
enport, Iowa,  visiting  old  friends  along  the 
way.  In  June  they  started  up  the  Mississippi 
and  stopped  at  various  points,  arriving  at  last 
at  Stillwater,  Minn.,  where  resided  a  brother 
law-student.  This  was  a  pleasant  summer  resi- 
dence, and,  to  oblige  his  friend,  who  was  called 
away  for  a  brief  period,  he  consented  to  attend 
to  his  practice  until  his  return.  The  absence 
was  prolonged  by  illness,  and  Mr.  Burt  became 
so  much  connected  with  the  business  as  to  be 
unable  to  leave,  and  continued  in  a  steadily  in- 
creasing and  valuable  practice  until  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  great  Civil  War.  He  was  ad- 
mitted as  counselor-of-law  and  solicitor  in 
Chancery  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  January  13,  1857. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  of 
Minnesota  in  1862;  served  on  committees — 
Federal  relations,  military  affairs — and  was 
chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee. 

From  the  time  that  Fort  Sumter  was  at- 
tacked Mr.  Burt  believed  that  his  duty  lay  in 
joining  the  defenders  of  the  Union,  but  val- 
uable interests  were  in  his  keeping,  and  he 
could  not  desert  his  clients.  He,  however,  took 
no  new  cases    unless   the   stipulation  was  made 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


17 


that  lie  could  give  them  up  at  any  time.  Un- 
der the  call  for  six  hundred  thousand  men, 
August  6,  1862,  Governor  Ramsey  divided 
Minnesota  into  districts  and  appointed  recruit- 
ing officers.  One  of  his  commissions  named 
William  H.  Burt  as  recruiting  officer  for  the 
farming  districts  of  Washington  and  Chisago 
Counties,  with  rank  of  second  lieutenant.  This 
was  accompanied  by  orders  to  enlist  a  company 
for  the  Seventh  Minnesota.  Mr.  Burt  was 
on  his  way  to  dinner,  August  7,  1862,  when  he 
received  the  notice  of  the  appointment.  He 
did  not  return  to  his  office,  but  assigned  to  his 
wife  the  care  of  his  papers  and  went  at  once  to 
duty.  He  was  enrolled  and  mustered  into  ser- 
vice at  St.  Paul  August  8th,  and  August  9th 
began  to  form  his  company.  He  enlisted  a  full 
company — ninety-eight  men — and  reported  for 
duty  at  Fort  Snelling  August  17th.  His  com- 
pany elected  him  captain  August  19,  and  he 
was  commissioned  August  21,  1862.  His  was 
appointed  color  company  (C),  and  ordered  into 
immediate  service. 

The  defenseless  condition  of  the  frontier  in 
consequence  of  the  removal  of  all  regular  sol- 
diers and  movable  armament,  and  the  departure 
of  the  five  regiments  of  volunteers,  exposed  the 
State  to  the  horrors  of  Indian  warfare.  A  con- 
spiracy of  Indian  tribes,  led  by  the  war-chief 
of  the  Dakotahs,  Little  Crow,  inaugurated 
the  "  Minnesota  Massacre."  Prompt  and  de- 
cided action  was  required  to  suppress  it.  The 
new  recruits,  inexperienced  and  poorly  equipped, 
were  called  upon  to  protect  the  State.  August 
26th,  Captain  Burt  was  ordered  to  march  with 
Companies  C  and  I  to  Fort  Ripley.  From 
there  his  company  was  ordered  to  Chippewa 
Agency  to  guard  the  government  stores  and 
show  the  Chippewas  the  futility  of  any  at- 
tempt at  rebellion.  A  "  council  of  peace  "  with 
this  tribe  was  soon  held  at  Fort  Ripley,  Cap- 
tain Burt  being  chosen  one  of  the  members  by 
the  Governor,  and  by  its  action  peaceful  rela- 
tions were  continued  with  the  tribe.  In  this 
Captain  Burt  rendered  good  service.  A  special 
session  of  the  Legislature  was  called  to  consider 
the  condition  of  affairs,  and  Captain  Burt  was 
particularly  requested  by  the  Governor  to  attend 
as   a    member,    and    by   special    order    he  was 


placed  on  detached  service  for  that  purpose 
and  to  secure  the  needed  clothing  for  the  poorly- 
clad  members  of  his  company,  who  had  hur- 
riedly left  their  homes  in  summer  dress,  ex- 
pecting, after  receiving  a  good  military  outfit, 
to  enjoy  a  short  furlough.  The  Legislature 
closed  its  session,  the  military  clothing  was 
promised  ;  two  days  were  taken  for  his  person- 
al matters,  in  which  time  his  books,  papers 
and  business  were  transferred  to  agents,  his 
office  vacated,  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  rejoin 
his  company.  His  life  hereafter  was  to  be 
given  to  his  country  in  hard  and  exhausting 
service,  which  finally  sapped  the  strong  vigor 
of  his  stalwart  manhood  and  caused  his  untime- 
ly death. 

The  Seventh  Minnesota  was  assigned  to 
duty  as  guard  of  the  Sioux  prisoners  at  Man- 
kato,  where  Captain's  Burt's  detachment  joined 
them,  and,  November,  24,  1862,  his  company 
was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service.  The 
military  commission  convened  sentenced  three 
hundred  of  the  captives  to  close  confinement 
and  thirty-nine  to  death.  Thirty-eight  of 
these  brutal  murderers  were  simultaneously  ex- 
ecuted by  hanging,  December  26,  1862.  Cap- 
tain Burt,  as  officer  of  the  day,  received  great 
credit  for  his  services  in  carrying  out  this  im- 
portant order.  After  guarding  the  three  hun- 
dred prisoners  until  spring,  Captain  Burt,  with 
his  company,  was  detailed  as  military  escort  to 
convey  the  Sioux  to  Rock  Island,  which  was 
successfully  done.  He  also  took  part  in  the 
campaign  of  the  summer  of  1863  against  the 
hostile  Indians  and  captured  Wo-wi-nap-a,  the 
son  of  Little  Crow.  This  expedition  drove  the 
scattered  hostiles  beyond  the  Missouri,  and  the 
troops  reported  at  Fort  Snelling  September  16, 
1863. 

The  Seventh  was  now  ordered  to  St.  Louis, 
where  it  served  until  April  20, 1864,  Captain  Burt 
being  commissioned  major  November  6,  1863. 
He  was  detailed  as  a  member  of  a  general  court- 
martial  to  be  convened  April  14,  1864  ;  but 
as  his  regiment  was  ordered  South,  he  pre- 
ferred to  go  with  it.  The  first  station  was 
Paducah,  Ky.,  which  place  they  guarded  till 
June  19th,  when  they  were  ordered  to  Mem- 
phis, and   assigned   to  the  Third  Brigade,  First 


18 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Division,  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  under  Gene- 
ral A.  J.  Smith.  From  this  time  the  service 
was  hard,  exhausting  marching,  coupled  with 
deprivations  and  splendid  fighting.  In  the 
desperate  three  days'  battle  of  Tupelo,  Miss., 
July  12th,  13th  and  14th,  the  regiment  won 
high  honors  ;  at  the  Tallahatchie,  August  7th 
and  8th,  again  gained  praise.  In  September 
the  First  Division  made  one  of  the  hardest 
inarches  of  the  war,  in  pursuit  of  General 
Trice,  through  Arkansas  and  Missouri, — three 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  nineteen  days  on 
ten  days'  rations.  Another  march  eusucd  across 
the  entire  State  of  Missouri,  the  troops  wading 
through  mud  and  snow,  and  fording  icy  rivers. 
The  corps  participated  in  the  great  battle  at 
Nashville,  December  loth  and  16th,  and  after- 
wards joined  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood  through 
Tennessee.  They  then  went  to  Clifton,  Tenn., 
next  to  Eastport,  Miss.,  then  to  New  Orleans, 
and  in  March,  18(55,  to  Dauphin  Island,  where 
the  army  was  reorganized  for  the  siege  of  Mo- 
bile. 

March  20,  1865,  the  corps  was  landed  on  the 
east    side    of    Mobile    Bay,   and    on    the    25th 
marched   to   invest   Spanish  Fort,  the  principal 
eastern   defense  of  Mobile.     This  fort  was  in- 
vested March  27th,  and  reduced  April  8th.  The 
Seventh  was  constantly  under  fire,  and  bore  the 
greaterpart  of  the  labor  and  exposure  of  the  siege. 
After  the   surrender    of  Fort    Blakely,    April 
9th,  Mobile  was  occupied  by  the  Union  army. 
The  Sixteenth  Corps  broke  camp  for  a  march  to 
Montgomery,    April    13th.      From    there   the 
Third   Brigade  went  to  Selma,  Ala.,  where  the 
Seventh   did  garrison  duty  until  it  was  ordered 
North  to   be  mustered   out  of  service,  and  left 
Selma  July  20th,  and   marched  to  Yieksburg. 
From  there  Major  Burt   was  sent  in   advance 
of  the  regiment,  first  to  St.  Louis,  then  to  Fort 
Snelling,   Minn.,  to    prepare  muster-out  rolls, 
and    thus  expedite    the  discharge   of  the  men. 
The  troops  were    discharged  August   16,1865, 
at  Fort  Snelling. 

Originally  possessed  of  a  strong  constitution, 
the  exposure  of  army  life  exhausted  Major 
Burt's  vitality,  and  although  the  surgeons  rec- 
ommended a  "  sick  leave  "  as  absolutely  essen- 
tial    to    recuperate    his    strength,    it    was    not 


granted  by  the  corps  commander,  as  such  an 
efficient  officer  could  not  be  spared.  To  him 
the  muster  out  came  too  late.  He  returned  to 
Kcene  ;  but  health  never  returned,  and  while  on 
a  visit  to  his  only  surviving  sister  (Mrs.  Shar- 
lot  A.  West),  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  he  died, 
March  15,  1866.  He  was  commissioned 
brevet  lieutenant-colonel  United  States  volun- 
teers by  President  Johnson,  March  20,  1866, 
the  rank  to  date  from  April  8,  1865,  "  for  gal- 
lant and  meritorious  services  at  the  siege  of 
Spanish  Fort,  Mobile  Harbor,  Alabama." 

Colonel  Burt  was  a  superior  man.  His  ideal 
of  life  and  its  duties  was  high.  He  felt  a  sense 
of  obligation  to  make  the  best  use  of  all  his 
faculties,  and  amid  all  discouraging  circum- 
stances he  preserved  unweakened  his  integrity 
and  independence.  The  structure  of  his  char- 
acter was  systematic,  solid  and  substantial,  and 
his  manhood  was  firmly  and  compactly  put  to- 
gether. He  had  a  tenacity  of  purpose  that, 
with  his  positive  nature,  carried  him  to  suc- 
cess where  weaker  men  would  have  failed.  1  lis 
religious  nature  developed  as  a  principle  of 
right  and  duty,  making  him  conscientiously 
honest  and  honorable  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  Irreproachable  in  character,  he  scorned 
everything  low  and  groveling,  stood  on  the 
highest  plane  of  temperance  and  purity,  and 
won  the  enduring  esteem  of  his  associates.  He 
was  a  devoted  son,  a  strong  friend  and  a  valu- 
able member  of  society. 

The  following  estimates,  from  those  well 
qualified  to  judge,  will  show  his  proper  stand- 
ing as  a  man,  soldier  and  lawyer. 

Governor  Marshall,  who  served  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  colonel  of  the  Seventh,  and  general 
of  his  brigade,  wrote  to  Colonel  Burt  from  the 
executive  chair  of  Minnesota,  December  29, 
1865, — "I  am  glad  this  long-delayed  commis- 
sion (lieutenant-colonel)  has  been  issued.  You 
well  earned  such  recognition  of  faithful  ser- 
vice." 

From  an  article  in  the  St.  Paul  Press,  writ- 
ten by  a  prominent  gentleman  of  Minnesota,  we 
make  this  extract, — "  He  loved  the  profession 
of  his  choice  and  applied  himself  to  its  study 
with  a  zeal  and  intensity  rarely  excelled.  His 
ability  and   industry   soon   secured    lor  him  an 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


19 


extensive  practice  and  a  position  at  the  head  of 
the  bar  at  which  lie  practiced,  and  he  was 
retained  on  one  side  or  other  of  almost  all 
causes  of  importance.  Owing  to  the  character 
of  the  business  of  the  St.  Croix  Valley  and  the 
financial  crisis  of  1857-58,  the  litigation  was 
extensive  and  of  a  most  important  character. 
This  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  best  legal 
minds  of  the  State,  and  as  wrell  at  nisi  prius  as 
at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  he  was  re- 
garded as  among  the  best  lawyers  of  the  State. 
He  was  true  to  his  client,  and  identified  him- 
self, even  to  a  fault,  perhaps,  with  the  cause  he 
advocated.  He  was  a  man  of  exemplary  habits 
and  strict  integrity.  He  was  very  reticent  and 
his  manners  were  somewhat  abrupt,  but  a  little 
familiarity  with  him  discovered  behind  this  ex- 
terior a  heart  alive  to  the  kindliest  sympathies 
of  our  nature.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Burt  served 
three  years  as  an  officer  of  the  Seventh  Min- 
nesota Volunteers, — first  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany C,  and  during  the  last  two  years  as  major 
of  the  regiment.  His  record  as  an  officer  was 
a  most  honorable  one.  Indeed,  his  life  was 
sacrificed  to  his  determination  to  remain  on 
duty  with  his  regiment  until  it  should  be  mus- 
tered out.  He  never  asked  for  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence. He  was  at  the  post  of  duty  always. 
At  the  battle  of  Tupelo,  Miss.,  July,  1864  ;  at 
the  Tallahatchie,  in  August ;  in  the  campaign 
in  Arkansas  and  Missouri  after  Price's  army, 
in  the  fall  of  1864;  at  the  battles  of  Nashville, 
in  December,  where  he  conducted  with  distin- 
guished gallantry  the  skirmish  line  of  his 
brigade;  at  the  siege  of  Spanish, Fort,  in  the 
Mobile  campaign,  in  March  and  April,  1865, 
he  performed  the  whole  duty  of  a  soldier  and  an 
officer.  For  these  services  he  was  recommended 
by  General  Marshall  and  honorably  promoted 
by  commission  from  the  President  as  brevet 
Lieutenant-colonel  United  States  Volunteers." 

The  eminent  jurist,  Judge  S.  J.  R.  McMil- 
lan, writes,  March  26,  1866,  in  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Burt, — "The  relations  of  your  husband  and 
myself  during  a  period  of  seven  or  eight  years 
brought  us  much  in  contact,  and  afforded  me 
ample  opportunity  of  estimating  his  character. 
During  all  my  acquaintance  with  him  I  have 
ever  had   for   him  the  highest  regard  and  re- 


spect. He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and 
uprightness  in  his  private  and  professional  rela- 
tions, and  as  a  lawyer  I  regard  him  as  one  of 
the  ablest  in  the  State.  His  professional  ability 
secured  him  a  retainer  in  almost  all  the  impor- 
tant causes  in  the  court  at  the  bar  of  which  he 
practiced,  and  brought  him  in  contact  with  the 
leading  lawyers  of  the  State,  and  placed  him 
in  circumstances  calculated  to  try  every  ele- 
ment of  his  character,  and  through  all  he  bore 
himself  manfully,  and  acquitted  himself  with 
great  credit.  Fraud,  dishonesty  and  chicanery 
he  abhorred,  and  when  presented  in  the  course 
of  his  professional  duty,  he  pursued  it  unre- 
mittingly. He  was  prompt  and  punctual  in 
everything  he  had  to  do,  and  I  do  not  remember 
an  instance  where  a  cause  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged, wTas  called  for  trial,  that  he  was  unpre- 
pared through  any  laches  of  his  own.  You 
may  well  cherish  his  memory  with  pride." 

Charles  W.  Burt,  oldest  son  of  Willard 
and  Martha  (Wood)  Burt,  and  only  brother  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  William  H.  Burt,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  November  6,  1820. 
He  attended,  supplementary  to  his  course  at 
district  schools,  Mount  Caesar  and  Lebanon 
Academies,  and  two  years  at  Norwich  (Vt.) 
University.  He  was  a  thorough  student, 
stood  high  in  his  classes,  and  was  a  popular 
teacher  of  district  schools  for  some  years.  He 
studied  law  with  Hon.  Levi  Chamberlain, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Keene,  and  prac- 
tised his  profession  at  Colebrook,  N.  H.,  from 
1848  to  1854,  when  he  removed  to  Detroit, 
Mich.,  and  engaged  in  practice.  In  1855  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  A.  B.  Maynard, 
Esq.,  of  that  city,  which  continued  until  the 
untimely  death  of  Mr.  Burt,  April  11,  1859. 
Mr.  Maynard  says  of  him, — "During  our  en- 
tire partnership  our  relations  were  of  the  plcas- 
antest  character.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
decided  ability,  and  no  young  lawyer  in  the 
city  had  a  better  reputation,  both  for  legal 
learning  and  ability  and  for  the  purity  and 
uprightness  of  his  character.  In  his  habits  he 
was  simple  and  unassuming,  and  remarkable 
for  his  industry.  Had  his  life  been  spared, 
he  would,  in  my  judgment,  have  stood  at  the 
very  head  of  the  bar  of  Michigan  as  a  learned, 


20 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


able  and  conscientious  lawyer."  From  the  re- 
port of  a  meeting  of  the  Detroit  bar  we  ex- 
tract,— "Leading  lawyers  paid  brief,  but  feel- 
ing and  earnest,  tributes  of  respect  to  the 
personal  worth  of*  Mr.  Burt,  and  of  regard  for 
his  high  personal  character.  They  spoke  of 
him  as  they  knew  him, — as  the  modest,  retiring, 
yet  self-reliant  man  ;  as  an  earnest  seeker  after 
truth  and  justice  at  all  times;  as  the  determined 
hater  of  what  was  vicious  and  wrong  ;  as  the 
warm-hearted,  sympathetic  man  and  friend, 
making  sacrifices  (when  he  hoped  to  accom- 
plish good)  which  few  would  have  done,  and 
that' few  knew  of;  as  the  untiring,  indefatigable 
student,  the  lawyer  of  sound  judgment,  exten- 
sive research  and  of  growing,  solid  reputation. 
These  tributes  paid  to  one  who  had  not  reached 
life's  mid-space  were  as  sincere,  hearty  and 
flattering  expressions  of  opinion  as  have  ever 
been  paid,  within  our  knowledge,  to  a  young 
member  of  the  Detroit  bar,  and,  coming  from 
the  senior  members  of  the  profession,  attest  the 
professional  worth  and  great  promise  of  Mr. 
Burt." 

Among  other  members  of  the  bar  are  men- 
tioned J.  Henry  Elliot,  George  A.  Wheelock, 
( '.  ( '.  Webster,  Edward  Farrar  (clerk  of  courts, 
police  justice  and  ex-mayor),  F.  S.  Fiskc,  Har- 
vey Carleton,  Don  H.Woodward,  Horatio  Col- 
ony (ex-mayor),  Silas  Hardy  (ex-judge  of  Pro- 
bate), C.  F.  Webster,  George  Ticknor,  Hiram 
Blake,  L.  W.  Holmes,  E.  P.  Dole,  Francis  C. 
Faulkner,  Daniel  K.  Healey,  Alfred  T.  Batch- 
elder  (mayor),  C.  H.  Hersey  and  J.  P.  Abbott. 

(For  additional  notices,  see  town  histories). 

The  present  members  of  the  Cheshire  bar  are 
as  follow-  : 

Edward  Farrar  (clerk  of  court),  of  Keene;  John  T. 
Abbott  (Hersey  &  Abbott),  of  Keene ;  Alfred  T.  Batch- 
cider  ( Batchelder  &  Faulkner),  of  Keene;  Hiram 
I  Make,  of  Keene;  Edmund  P.  Dole  (Lane  &  Dole, 
also  county  solicitor),  of  Keene;  William  Henry  El- 
liot, of  Keene;  Francis  C.  Faulkner  (Batchelder  & 
Faulkner),  of  Keene;  Silas  Hardy,  of  Keene;  Daniel 
K.  Healey,  of  Keene;  Farnum  F.  Lane  (Lane  & 
Dole),  of  Keene;  C.  Fred.  Webster,  of  Keene;  Leon- 
ard Wellington,  of  Keene;  Don  H.Woodward,  of 
Kiime;  Hosea  W.  Brigham,  of  Winchester ;  Edmund 
M.  Forbes,  of  Winchester;  E.J.  Temple,  of  Hinsdale; 
.1 1  isiah  G.  Bellows  (also  judge  of  Probate),  of  Walpole ; 
Bolivar  Lovell,  of  Walpole;  E.  M.  Smith,  of  Alstead; 


Amos   J.  Blake,  of  Fitzwilliam ;    Jesse   B.  Twiss,  o 
JalFrey. 

Retired  Members  of  the  Cheshire  County  Bar. 

George  A.  Wheelock,  of  Keene;  John  Henry  El- 
liot, of  Keene;  Horatio  Colony,  of  Keene;  Harvey 
Carlton,  of  Winchester ;  John  H.  Fox,  of  JaU'rey. 


CHAPTER   III. 

INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 

11 Y   HIRAM    BLAKE. 

Cheshire  Railroad. — No  ■vent  in  the 
history  of  Cheshire  County  has  resulted  in  such 
substantial  benefit  to  its  inhabitants  as  the 
construction  of  the  Cheshire  Railroad. 

From  1830  to  1840  the  manufacturing:  in- 
terests  of  the  county  had  largely  increased. 
Woolen  and  cotton-mills  had  been  erected  on 
many  of  the  numerous  streams  within  the 
county,  affording  excellent  water-power. 

Considerable  forests  of  excellent  timber  yet 
remained  ready  to  be  converted  into  lumber. 
Various  kinds  of  wooden-ware  were  manu- 
factured, and  ready  markets  for  these  commod- 
ities were  found  in  Boston  and  other  towns  on 
the  New  England  seaboard. 

The  difficulty  of  transporting  heavy  freight 
by  the  slow  process  of  horse-power  was  a  serious 
drawback  to  these  enterprises,  and  the  want  of 
railroad  communication  within  the  county  began 
to  be  seriously  felt. 

As  early  as  1840  the  subject  of  a  railroad 
through  the  country  began  to  be  earnestly  dis- 
cussed. 

A  charter  for  the  Cheshire  Railroad,  extend- 
ing from  the  State  line  between  Massachusetts 
and  .Yew  Hampshire  to  Bellows  Falls,  Yt., 
was  obtained  December  27,  Is  II.  On 
.July  1,  1845,  it  was  consolidated  with  the 
Winehendon  Railroad  Company,  chartered  in 
Massachusetts,  March  1."),  1845,  and  extending 
from  South  Ashburnham,  Mass.,  to  the  Xew 
Hampshire  line.  This  consolidated  line  forms 
the  Cheshire  corporation  as  it  exists  at  the 
present  time. 

The  opening  of  the  road  was  the  occasion  of 
great    rejoicing   to    the    citizens  of  Keene  and 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


21 


Cheshire  County.     The  event  was  celebrated  in 
Keene  with  great  splendor  May  16,  1848. 

The  day  was  unusually  fine,  and  about  five 
thousand  people,  from  different  parts  of  the 
county  and  vicinity,  attended  the  celebration. 

A  train  from  Boston,  consisting  of  fifteen 
cars  well  filled  with  people,  drawn  by  two  pow- 
erful engines,  gaily  decorated  with  flags,  ever- 
greens and  flowers,  arrived  at  half- past  one  p.m. 

Its  approach  was  announced,  when  four  miles 
from  town,  by  the  discharge  of  a  gun  two  miles 
distant.  This  was  followed  by  others  stationed 
along  the  line,  and  as  it  entered  the  town  it  was 
welcomed  by  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  cheers  of 
thousands  and  the  rapid  discharge  of  cannon. 

The  Suffolk  Brass  Band,  of  Boston,  accompa- 
nied the  train  and  furnished  excellent  music  for 
the  occasion. 

A  large  procession  proceeded  to  the  town  hall, 
where  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was  held  ; 
after  which  the  procession  was  reformed  and 
marched  back  to  the  depot,  where  fifteen  hun- 
dred people  partook  of  a  sumptuous  banquet 
prepared  by  the  citizens  of  Keene. 

After  dinner  Hon.  Levi  Chamberlain,  in  an 
appropriate  speech,  welcomed  the  assemblage  to 
Keene.  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Edwards,  president 
of  the  corporation,  followed  ;  after  which 
speeches  were  made  and  sentiments  offered  by 
many  eminent  citizens  of  Boston  and  other 
parts  of  New  England.  At  the  hour  of  de- 
parture the  train  moved  off  on  its  way  to  Bos- 
ton amid  the  cheers  of  the  assembled  multitude. 

The  remaining  portion  of  the  road,  from 
Keene  to  Bellows  Falls,  Vt.,  was  completed 
January  1,  1849. 

The  Cheshire  Railroad  is  the  connecting-link 
between  Boston  (via  Rutland)  and  Burlington. 
It  extends  through  the  county  from  Winchen- 
don,  Mass.,  through  the  southwest  corner  of 
Rindge,  through  Fitzwilliam,  Troy,  Marlbor- 
ough, Keene,  southwest  corner  of  Surry,  West- 
moreland and  Walpole,  where  it  crosses  the 
Connecticut  River  at  Bellows  Falls,  in  Vermont. 

The  entire  length  of  the  road  is  fifty-three 
and  one-half  miles.  Within  the  county  it  is 
forty-two  and  three-fourths  miles.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  thoroughly-constructed  roads  in 
the  country.     Its  bridges,  culverts    and  abut- 


ments, built  of  cut  granite,  are  models  of  civil 
engineering.  The  general  management,  from 
the  beginning,  has  been  excellent,  and  its  opera- 
tion unusually  free  from  accidents. 

The  cost  of  the  road  and  equipments  amounted 
to  $2,71 7,535.26.  The  annual  receipts  for  1884 
were  $586,685.02;  the  expenditures  for  the 
same  year,  $463,575.79. 

Four  gentlemen  have  acted  as  presidents  of 
the  road  during  its  existence  of  thirty-seven 
years,  namely,  Hon.  T.  M.  Edwards,  Thomas 
Thatcher,  E.  Murdoch,  Jr.,  and  Hon.  William 
A.  Russell. 

Superintendents,  B.  F.  Adams,  L.  Tilton,  E. 
A.  Chapin  and  Reuben  Stewart ;  Treasurers, 
C.  J.  Everett,  F.  W.  Everett  and  F.  H.  Kings- 
bury;  Master  Mechanics,  David  Upton,  George 
W.  Perry  and  F.  A.  Perry. 

Mr.  Stewart,  the  present  superintendent,  is  a 
veteran  in  the  service  of  the  company.  He 
commenced  his  service  for  the  road  in  1845, 
and  was  employed  three  years  in  its  construc- 
tion. He  subsequently  served  as  ticket  agent, 
general  freight  agent,  cashier  and  auditor.  He 
was  assistant  superintendent  for  two  years  un- 
der Mr.  E.  A.  Chapin,  and  has  held  the  office 
of  superintendent  for  the  past  twenty  years. 

Ashuelot  Railroad. — Before  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Cheshire  Railroad  measures  for  build- 
ing a  railroad  through  the  fertile  and  populous 
valley  of  the  Ashuelot  River  were  already  taken. 
The  Ashuelot  Railroad  was  incorporated  July 
10,  1846,  and  the  first  meeting  for  organization 
under  the  charter  was  called  at  Winchester 
May  27,  1848. 

John  H.  Fuller,  Esq.,  of  Keene,  was  chosen 
president;  Francis  Boyden,  of  Hinsdale,  clerk. 

In  November,  1849,  the  company  contracted 
with  Messrs.  Boody,  Ross  &  Co.,  of  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  for  building  the  road,  and  the  work 
was  speedily  pushed  to  completion. 

On  the  9th  of  December,  1850,  the  road  was 
opened  for  public  travel. 

This  road  extends  from  Keene  to  South  Ver- 
non, Vt.,  a  distance  of  twenty-three  and  three- 
fourths  miles.  Its  length  in  Cheshire  Countv 
is  twenty-three  miles. 

As  it  leaves  Keene  it  passes  through  Swan- 
zey,  Winchester  and  the  southern  part  of  Hins- 


22 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


dale ;  thence  crossing  the  Connecticut  River  at 
South  Vernon,  Vt.  It  follows  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Ashuelot  River,  which  affords 
abundant  water-power,  a  considerable  portion 
of  which  is  improved  and  a  great  variety  of 
manufactures  is  carried  on.  The  road  is  of  a 
very  light  grade  and  one  of  the  best-constructed 
roads  in  New  England. 

In  1850  the  company  leased  the  road  to  the 
Connecticut  River  Railroad  for  a  term  of  ten 
years,  from  January  1,  1851,  at  a  rent  of  thirty 
thousand  dollars  per  year. 

At  the  expiration  of  this  lease  it  was  leased 
to  the  Cheshire  Railroad  until  January,  1865,  at 
twelve  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

The  road  continued  to  be  operated  by  the 
Cheshire  Company  until  April  21,  1877,  when 
it  was  again  leased  to  the  Connecticut  River 
Road  at  a  rental  of  thirty  per  cent,  of  its  gross 
earnings,  under  which  management  it  now  re- 
mains. 

The  cost  of  the  road,  with  equipments,  to 
L875,  amounted  to  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

The  receipts  and  expenditures  are  included  in 
the  accounts  of  the  Connecticut  River  road. 

Si  llivan  Countv  RAILROAD. — The  Sulli- 
van County  Railroad,  extending  from  Bellows 
Falls,  Vt.,  to  Windsor,  in  the  same  State,  a 
distance  of  twenty-six  miles,  was  incorporated 
July  10,  1846,  and  completed  February  5,  1840. 

This  road  crosses  the  Connecticut  River  at 
Bellows  Falls,  and,  running  mainly  through 
Sullivan  County,  N.  H.,  represses  the  river  at 
Windsor. 

Nearly  two  miles  of  this  road  run  through 
the  northwest  portion  of  Walpole,  in  Cheshire 
County,  where  the  growing  village  of  North 
Walpole  is  situated. 

This  road  is  operated  by  the  Connecticut 
River  Railroad,  and  with  the  latter  forms  apart 
of  the  Central  Vermont  system. 

Concord  and  Claremont  Railroad. — 
The  original  charter  for  this  road,  extending 
from  Concord  to  the  Sullivan  Railroad,  in  or 
near  the  town  of  ( Jlaremont,  was  obtained  June 
24,  1848. 

The  corporation,  as  it  now  exists,  is  a  con- 
solidation  of  the   Contoocook    Valley,   Merri-    $22,009.01 


mack  and  Connecticut  Rivers  and  Sugar  River 
Railroads. 

The  first-named  branch  extends  from  Hop- 
kinton,  through  Plenniker,  to  Hillsborough 
Bridge,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  This  road 
was  also  chartered  June  24,  184S,  and  com- 
pleted in  December,  1849. 

The  Merrimack  and  Connecticut  Rivers  por- 
tion, constructed  under  the  original  charter, 
extends  from  Concord,  through  Hopkinton, 
Warner,  the  southern  portion  of  Sutton,  to 
Bradford,  a  distance  of  twenty-seven  miles.  It 
was  completed  July  10,  1850. 

The  Sugar  River  portion  extends  from  Brad- 
ford, through  Newbury,  in  the  county  of  Mer- 
rimack, and  through  Sunapee  and  Newport,  to 
Claremont  Junction,  on  the  Sullivan  Railroad, 
a  distance  of  twenty-nine  miles.  It  was  incor- 
porated July  2,  1860,  and  completed  for  travel 
in  September,  1872. 

The  consolidation  of  the  three  branches  above 
mentioned  was  effected  October  31,  1873,  and 
the  entire  length  of  the  road  is  seventy-one 
miles.  Its  length  in  Sulivan  County  is  about 
eighteen  miles.  It  is  now  under  the  same  man- 
agement as  the  Northern  Railroad. 

Moxadxock  Railroad. — The  Monadnock 
Railroad  was  incorporated  December  13,  1848; 
the  charter  was  revived  July  (3,  1866.  It  was 
completed  for  travel  June  10,  1871,  and  ex- 
tends from  Winchendon,  Mass.,  through  Rindge 
and  Jatfrey,  to  Peterborough,  a  distance  of  fif- 
teen and  four-fifths  miles.  Its  length  in  Che- 
shire County  is  about  ten  miles. 

Leaving  Winchendon,  it  passes  through  a  low- 
valley  between  the  hills  in  Rindge  until  it 
reaches  the  head- waters  of  the  Contoocook 
River,  near  the  village  of  West  Rindge.  It' 
then  follows  down  the  valley  of  Contoocook  to 
East  Jatfrey,  and  thence  to  Peterborough. 

The  Upper  Contoocook  furnishes  consider- 
able water-power.  Cotton  and  wooden-ware 
mills  are  located  along  its  course  in  Rindge  and 
Jatfrey,  and  this  road  has  been  of  great  benefit 
to  these  towns. 

The  cost  of  this  road  amounted  to  the  sum 
of  $366,829. 17.  The  annual  receipts  for  1884 
were  $27,342.39;   the  expenditures  for  1884, 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


23 


J.  Livingston,  of  Peterborough,  was  its  first 
president,  and  C.  A.  Parks,  of  Jaffrey,  treas- 
urer. After  its  completion  it  was  operated  by 
the  company  until  October  1,  1874,  when  it 
was  leased  to  the  Boston,  Barre  and  Gardiner 
r<  >ad  for  ninety-nine  years. 

The  lease  was  transferred  to  the  Cheshire 
Railroad  January  1,  1880,  for  six  years,  at  a 
rental  of  twelve  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
with  the  option  of  extending  the  same  for  fif- 
teen years  thereafter. 

The  road  is  still  operated  by  the  Cheshire 
Company. 

Manchester  and  Keene  Railroad. — 
This  road  was  incorporated  July  16,  1864  ;  its 
charter  was  extended  June  24,  1870,  and  June 
26,  1874. 

It  leaves  Keene  and  runs  easterly  through 
the  southwest  corner  of  Roxbury,  through 
Marlborough  and  Harrisville,  to  Hillsborough 
( 'ounty  line  ;  thence  through  Hancock  to  its 
terminus,  at  Greenfield. 

Its  entire  length  is  twenty-six  miles ;  its 
length  in  Cheshire  County  is  nearly  thirteen 
miles.  The  scenery  along  the  route,  for  variety 
and  grandeur,  is  equal  to  any  in  the  State. 


The  building  of  the  road  was  commenced  in 
the  summer  of  1876,  and  after  considerable 
delay,  occasioned  by  the  failure  of  contractors,  it 
was  completed  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1878. 

The  last  spike  was  driven  by  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Hale,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  road. 

On  the  following  day  an  engine  and  well- 
filled  passenger-car  passed  over  the  road,  and  its 
arrival  in  Keene  was  witnessed  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  spectators. 

April  30,  1880,  the  Supreme  Court,  in  be- 
half of  the  bondholders,  appointed  George  A. 
Ramsdell,  of  Nashua,  receiver,  who  repaired 
and  commenced  running  the  road. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1880,  the  mortgage 
trustees  took  possession  of  the  road  by  order  of 
court,  and  operated  it  until  October  26,  1881, 
when  it  was  sold  by  them  at  auction  for  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to 
Hon.  S.  W.  Hale,  who  afterwards  transferred 
his  title  to  the  Boston  and  Lowell  and  Concord 
Railroads,  which  corporations  continued  its  oper- 
ation. 

It  is  now  in  good  repair  and  forms  a  part 
of  the  Boston  and  Lowell  system. 


HISTORY  OF  KEENE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Geographical — Original  Grant  by  Massachusetts— First 
Proprietors'  Meeting — Laying  out  the  Grant — Early 
Votes — First  Settlements — The  Pioneers — -The  Indian 
Troubles — Building  of  the  Fort — Josiah  Fisher  killed  by 
Indians — Further  Depredations  of  the  Savages — The 
Settlement  Abandoned. 

The  town  ofKecnc  lies  near  the  centre  of 
the  county  and  is  bounded  as  follows :  On 
the  north  by  Westmoreland,  Surry  and  Gilsuni ; 
east  by  Sullivan  and  lioxbury ;  south  by  Swan- 
zey  and  west  by  Chesterfield  and  Westmoreland. 

The  territory  embraced  within  the  bounds  of 
the  present  town  of  Keene,  together  with  a  por- 
tion of  Sullivan  and  Roxbury,  was  one  of  the 
Massachusetts  grants,  made  in  accordance  with 
a  vote  of  the  General  Court  of  that  province  of 
July,  1 733.  ( )n  the  1 9th  of  October  following 
a  committee,  consisting  of  Joseph  Kellogg,  Tim- 
othy Dwight  and  William  Chandler,  was  ap- 
pointed to  lay  out  the  townships  on  Ashuelot 
River  forthwith.  They  reported  in  February, 
L734,  and  the  township  was  lotted  in  May  or 
June  following.  The  first  proprietors'  meeting 
was  held  in  Concord,  Mass.,  June  2(5,  1734,  and 
in  September  following  Jeremiah  Hall,  Daniel 
Hoar,  Josiah  Fisher,  Elisha  Root,  Nathaniel 
Rockwood,  Seth  Heaton  and  William  Puffer  vis- 
ited Upper  Ashuelot,  as  the  place  was  called,  and 
held  a  proprietors'  meeting.  They  did  not  ar- 
rive at  the  line  of  the  township  until  late  in 
the  evening  of  the  18th,  the  day  to  which  the 
meeting  was  adjourned;  and,  as  soon  as  their 
pilot  informed  them  they  had  passed  it,  they 
opened  the  meeting  and  adjourned  to  the  next 
day. 

At  the  meeting  held  the  next  day  a  vote  was 
passed  thai  the  whole  of  the  intervale  land  in 

24 


the  township  should  be  surveyed,  and  that  half 
of  it  should  be  lotted  out  in  two  inclosures,  one 
so  situated  as  to  accommodate  the  fifty-four 
house-lots  laid  out  on  the  village  plain,  the 
other  so  as  to  accommodate  the  nine  house-lots 
laid  out  on  Swanzey  line.  A  committee  was 
tdso  appointed  "  to  search  and  find  out  the  best 
and  most  convenient  way  to  travel  from  the 
upper  unto  the  lower  township." 

At  this  period  Upper  Ashuelot  was  a  frontier 
settlement,  in  the  bosom  of  the  wilderness.  It 
was,  of  course,  most  exposed  to  savage  incur- 
sions, and  was  liable  to  suffer,  in  their  ex- 
tremity, all  those  distresses  and  calamities  which 
may  be  alleviated,  if  not  prevented,  by  the 
assistance  and  good  offices  of  others.  Its  near- 
est neighbor  was  Northficld,  twenty  miles  dis- 
tant ;  Winchester,  which  was  first  granted,  not 
being  then  settled,  or  containing  at  most  not 
more  than  two  or  three  huts. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held 
at  Concord,  Mass.,  on  the  last  Wednesday  of 
May,  1735.  The  committee  appointed  to  sur- 
vey the  intervale  land  made  a  report.  The  lots 
they  had  laid  out  contained  eight  acres;  and,  as 
they  were  not  all  equal  in  quality,  the  propri- 
etors voted  that  certain  enumerated  lots  should 
have  qualification,  or  allowance,  to  consist  of 
from  two  to  four  acres  each,  and  appointed 
a  committee  to  lay  out  these  allowances.  The 
practice  of  qualifying  lots,  thus  introduced,  was 
afterwards  pursued,  and  occasioned  great  irreg- 
ularity in  the  future  allotments  of  land. 

At  this  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed 
"to  join  with  such  as  the  lower  town  propri- 
etors shall  appoint,  to  search  and  find  out 
whether  the  ground  Mill  admit  of  a  convenient 
road  from  the  two  townships  on  Ashuelot  River 
down  to  the  town  of  Townsend." 


KEENE. 


25 


At  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  in  September 
of  the  same  year,  in  the  township,  the  propri- 
etors were  assessed  in  the  sum  of  sixty  pounds, 
and  a  committee  was  "  appointed  to  bill  out  this 
money  according  to  the  proprietors'  directions." 
It  appears  by  the  record,  that  the  mode  of 
billing  out  the  money  remaining  in  the  treasury 
was  often  practiced.  A  committee  was  also  ap- 
pointed to  lay  out  a  road  to  the  saw-mill  place, 
which  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north 
from  the  house-lots.  A  vote  was  also  passed 
offering  one  hundred  acres  of  "middling  good 
land  "  and  twenty-five  pounds  to  any  person  or 
persons  who  would  engage  to  build  a  saw-mill, 
and  saw  boards  for  the  proprietors,  at  twenty 
shillings  per  thousand,  and  slit-work  for  £3  10s. 
per  thousand.  John  Corbet  and  Jesse  Root 
appeared  and  undertook  to  build  the  mill,  and 
a  committee  was  thereupon  appointed  to  lay 
out  the  land.  The  mill  was  to  be  finished  by 
the  1st  day  of  July,  1736.  Under  date  of 
May,  1735,  appears  a  record  of  the  expense  of 
laying  out  the  second  division  of  lots.  The 
surveyor  was  allowed  fifteen  shillings  (seventy 
cents),  four  others  were  allowed  twelve  shillings 
and  two  others  ten  shillings  per  day. 

On  the  30th  day  of  September,  1736,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  proprietors  was  opened,  according  to 
appointment,  at  the  house-lot  of  Joseph  Fisher, 
but  was  immediately  removed  to  the  house  of 
Nathan  Blake.  This  house  was  probably  the  first 
erected  in  the  township.  A  committee  was 
appointed  "  to  agree  with  a  man  to  build  a 
grist-mill,"  and  they  were  authorized  to  offer 
"  not  exceeding  forty  pounds  encouragement 
therefor."  The  proprietors  also  voted  to  build 
a  meeting-house  at  the  south  end  of  the  town 
street,  at  the  place  appointed  by  the  General 
Court's  committee,  to  be  forty  feet  long,  twenty 
feet  stud  and  thirty-five  feet  wide,  and  to  lay 
boards  for  the  lower  floor — the  house  to  be 
finished  by  the  26th  day  of  June,  1737. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  vote  was  passed  to 
widen  the  main  street,  which  was  originally  but 
four  rods  wide.  It  provided  that,  if  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  house-lots  on  the  west  side  of 
the  street  would  surrender  four  rods  in  depth 
on  the  end  of  their  lots  adjoining  the  street, 
they  should  have  it  made  up  in  quantity  in  the 


rear.  This  proposition  was  acceded  to,  and  to 
this  measure  the  village  is  indebted  for  its  broad 
and  elegant  main  street. 

No  person  had  hitherto  attempted  to  remain 
through  the  winter  in  the  township.  Those 
who  came  in  the  summer  to  clear  their  lands 
brought  their  provisions  with  them,  and  erected 
temporary  huts  to  shelter  them  from  the  weather. 
In  the  summer  of  1736  at  least  one  house 
was  erected ;  and  three  persons,  Nathan  Blake, 
Seth  Heaton  and  William  Smeed, — the  two  first 
from  Wrentham  and  the  last  from  Deerfield, — 
made  preparations  to  pass  the  winter  in  the 
wilderness.  Their  house  was  at  the  south  end 
of  the  street.  Blake  had  a  pair  of  oxen  and  a 
horse,  and  Heaton  a  horse.  For  the  support  of 
these,  they  collected  grass  in  the  open  spots; 
and  in  the  first  part  of  the  winter  they  employed 
them  in  drawing  logs  to  the  saw-mill,  which 
had  just  been  completed.  Blake's  horse  fell 
through  the  ice  of  Beaver  Brook  and  was 
drowned.  In  the  beginning  of  February  their 
own  provisions  were  exhausted,  and  to  obtain 
a  supply  of  meal,  Heaton  was  dispatched  to 
Northfield.  There  were  a  few  families  at  Win- 
chester, but  none  able  to  furnish  what  was 
wanted.  Heaton  procured  a  quantity  of  meal ; 
but  before  he  left  Northfield  the  suow  began  to 
fall,  aud  when,  on  his  return,  he  arrived  at  Win- 
chester, it  was  uncommonly  deep,  and  covered 
wTith  a  sharp  crust.  He  was  told  "that  he  might 
as  well  expect  to  die  in  Northfield  and  rise 
again  in  Upper  Ashuelot,  as  ride  thither  on 
horseback."  Remembering  the  friends  he  had 
left  there,  he  nevertheless  determined  to  make 
the  attempt,  but  had  proceeded  but  a  short 
distance  when  he  found  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  succeed.  He  then  returned,  and  directed 
his  course  towards  Wrentham.  Blake  and 
Smced,  hearing  nothing  from  Heaton,  gave  the 
oxen  free  access  to  the  hay,  left  Ashuelot,  and 
on  snow  shoes  proceeded  either  to  Deerfield  or 
Wrentham.  Anxious  for  their  oxen,  they 
returned  early  in  the  spring.  They  found  them 
near  the  Branch,  southeast  of  Carpenter's,  much 
emaciated,  feeding  upon  twigs  and  such  grass  as 
was  bare.  The  oxen  recognized  their  owner, 
and  exhibited  such  pleasure  at  the  meeting  as 
drew  tears  from  his  eyes. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors,  held  May  12, 
1737,  they  voted  to  assess  sixty  pounds  on  the 
proprietors  of  the  house-lots  for  the  purpose  of 
hiring  a  gospel  minister,  and  chose  a  committee 
to  agree  with  some  meet  person  to  preach  the 
gospel  among  them.  This  meeting  was  ad- 
journed, to  be  held  at  the  meeting-house  place 
on  the  20th  of*  May.  On  the  day  appointed  it 
was  there  opened,  but  was  immediately  removed 
to  the  intervale  land,  and  there  a  vote  was  passed 
that  another  division  of  meadow  land  should  be 
made.  A  committee  was  also  chosen  to  "rep- 
resent this  propriety  in  applying  to,  and  receiv- 
ing of,  the  Honourable,  the  General  Court's 
committee  for  this  township,  the  money  granted 
to  said  proprietors  when  they  shall  have  the 
frame  of  a  meeting-house  raised,  and  forty 
proprietors  settled  on  the  spot." 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  the  meeting- 
house frame,  June  30th.  Jeremiah  Hall  was 
recompensed  for  his  services  in  searching  for 
and  laying  out  a  road  to  Townsend,  and  two 
others  were  added  to  the  committee  appointed 
to  apply  to  the  General  Court's  committee  "for 
the  one  hundred  pounds"  mentioned  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  last  meeting.  It  was  also 
voted  "that  no  meeting  of  the  proprietors  be 
held,  for  the  future,  but  at  this  place,  so  long  as 
there  shall  be  seven  proprietors  inhabiting 
here." 

At  a  meeting  held  October  26th  a  vote  was 
passed  that  the  "worthy  Mr.  Jacob  Bacon  should 
draw  for  the  second  division  of  meadow  land, 
for  the  whole  propriety.*'  This  is  the  first  time 
that  the  name  of  Mr.  Bacon,  who  was  the  first 
settled  minister  of  the  town,  is  mentioned  in  the 
records. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  vote  was  passed  to 
lay  out  one  hundred  acres  of  upland  to  each 
house-lot  or  right.  The  proprietors  were  to 
draw  lots  for  choice,  and  he  who  drew  No.  1, 
was  to  make  his  pitch  by  a  certain  day;  and 
those  who  drew  the  successive  numbers  on  suc- 
cessive  day-,  excluding  Sundays,  thus  "giving 
every  man  hi-  day."  Each  lot  was  surveyed  by 
a  committee,  in  such  place  and  in  such  shape  as 
the  proprietor  drawing  it  directed.  Some  of 
the  plans  recorded  in  the  proprietors'  records 
exhibit   figures    which    Euclid    never  imagined, 


and  probably  could  not  measure.  Common 
land  was  left  in  every  part  of  the  township,  in 
pieces  of  all  sizes  and  shapes. 

Although  the  whites  were  at  this  time  at 
peace  with  the  Indians,  yet,  deeming  it  not  pru- 
dent to  remain  without  some  means  of  defense, 
the  proprietors  at  this  meeting  voted  that  they 
would  finish  the  fort,  which  was  already  begun, 
and  that  every  one  that  should  work  or  had 
worked  at  said  fort  should  briny;  in  his  account 
to  the  surveyor  of  highways  and  should  be  al- 
lowed therefor  on  his  highway  tax-bill.  This 
fort  was  situated  on  a  small  eminence  a  few  rods 
north  of  the  present  residence  of  Lemuel  Hay- 
ward.  When  completed  it  was  about  ninety 
feet  square;  there  were  two  ovens  and  two  wells 
in  the  inclosure.  It  was  built  of  hewn  logs. 
In  the  interior,  next  to  the  walls,  Mere  twenty 
barracks,  each  having  one  room.  On  the  out- 
side it  was  two  stories  high,  in  the  inside  but 
one,  the  roof  over  the  barracks  sloping  inwards. 
In  the  space  above  the  barracks  were  loop-holes 
to  fire  from  with  muskets.  There  were  two 
watch-houses,  one  at  the  southeast  corner  and 
one  on  the  western  side,  each  erected  on  four 
high  posts  set  upright  in  the  earth  ;  and  for 
greater  safety,  the  whole  was  surrounded  by 
pickets. 

January  7, 1740,  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors 
was  held.  In  the  warrant  calling  it,  an  article 
was  inserted  "  To  make  such  grant  or  grants  of 
land  to  such  person  or  persons  as  they  shall 
think  deserve  the  same  for  hazarding  their  lives 
and  estates  by  living  here  to  bring  forward  the 
settling  of  the  place."  Upon  this  article  the 
following  vote  was  passed,  which  probably  gives 
the  names  of  nearly  all  the  men  then  residing 
in  the  township  and  the  number  of  dwellings 
erected  : 

"  Voted,  to  grant  ten  acres  of  upland  to  each  of  the 
persons  hereafter  named,  viz. :  Jacoh  Bacon,  clerk; 
Josiah  Fisher,  Joseph  Fisher,  Nathan  Blake,  William 
Smeed,  Seth  Heaton,  Joseph  Ellis,  Ebenezer  Nims, 
Joseph  Guild,  Joseph  Richardson,  Isaac  Clark,  Ed- 
ward  Dale,  Jeremiah  Hall.  Ebenezer  Force,  Daniel 
Haws,  Amos  Foster,  Ebenezer  Day,  Beriah  Maccaney, 
Jabe/.  Bill,  Obed  Blake,  Jeremiah  Hall,  Jr.,  David 
Nims,  Timothy  Puffer,  Ebenezer  Daniels,  Nathan 
Fairbanks,  John  Bullard,  David  Foster,  Solomon 
Richardson,  Aimer  Ellis,  Benjamin  Guild,  Asa  Rich- 


KEENE. 


27 


unison,  Ebehezer  Hill,  Samuel  Fisher,  Ephraim  Dor- 
man,  Timothy  Sparhawk,  Jonathan  Underwood,  John 
Andrews,  Samuel  Smith,  Samuel  Daniels  (39),  and  to 
such  other  persons  having  an  interest  here,  who,  from 
the  first  of  next  March  to  March,  1742,  shall  make 
up  the  quantity  or  space  of  two  years  in  living  here, 
and  build  a  legal  dwelling-house,  to  the  number  of 
sixty,  including  those  before  mentioned." 

A  rumor  of  war  having  reached  the  town- 
ship, the  proprietors,  February  25th,  voted 
that  thev  would  build  another  fort  whenever 
seven  of  the  proprietors  should  request  it.  It  is 
not  known  that  this  fort  was  ever  built.  Thev 
also  voted  that  there  should  be  allowed  for 
every  man  who  should  work  upon  the  forts 
eight  shillings,  and  for  every  pair  of  oxen  four 
shillings,  per  day. 

The  long  and  spirited  contest  between  the 
provinces  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, respecting  the  divisional  line  between 
them,  had  been  carried  before  the  King  in  Coun- 
cil, and,  in  1740,  a  decision  was  made  that 
from  a  point  three  miles  north  of  Pawtucket 
Falls  the  line  should  run  due  west  until  it 
reached  His  Majesty's  other  governments.  This 
left  Upper  Ashuelot  far  within  the  boundaries 
of  New  Hampshire.  Upon  this  subject  the 
proprietors,  on  the  3d  day  of  October,  held. a 
meeting,  and  the  following  proceedings  appear 
upon  their  records  : 

"The  proprietors  being  informed  that  by  the  deter- 
mination of  his  majesty  in  council,  respecting  the 
controverted  bounds  between  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New-Hampshire,  they  are  excluded  from 
the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  which  they 
always  supposed  themselves  to  belong. 

"  Therefore,  unanimously  voted  that  a.  petition  be 
presented  to  the  King's  most  excellent  majesty,  set- 
ting forth  our  distrest  estate,  and  praying  we  may  be 
annexed  to  the  said  Massachusetts  province. 

"Also  unanimously  voted,  that  Thomas  Hutchin- 
son, Esq.,  be  empowered  to  present  the  said  petition 
to  his  majesty,  and  to  appear  and  fully  to  act  for  and 
in  behalf  of  this  town,  respecting  the  subject  matter 
of  said  petition,  according  to  his  best  discretion." 

Mr.  Hutchinson  had  previously  been  ap- 
pointed the  agent  of  Massachusetts  to  procure 
an  alteration  of  the  order  in  Council.  He  made 
a  voyage  to  England,  but  failed  to  accomplish 
the  object  of  his  agency. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  Deacon  Josiah  Fisher 
was  killed  as  he  was  driving  his  cow  to  pasture. 


The  road  leading  up  the  river  then  left  the 
main  street  by  Mr.  Lamson's  tan-yard,  led 
along  the  margin  of  the  meadow,  back  of  his 
house,  crossed  West  Street  a  few  rods  west  of 
Aaron  Hall's  house  and  continued  up  the  river, 
near  the  adjoining  low  land,  until  it  came  upon 
the  route  of  the  present  turnpike  above  Deacon 
Wilder's  house,  now  occupied  as  a  tavern. 
Fisher  was  found  dead  and  scalped  in  the  road, 
near  where  the  Lamson  Block  now  stands, 
and  it  was  supposed  that  the  Indian  who  shot 
him  was  concealed  behind  a  log  which  then  lay 
within  the  present  limits  of  Mr.  Lamson's  gar- 
den. He  had  a  brass  slug  in  his  wrist,  which, 
at  the  time,  was  conjectured  to  have  been  cut 
from  a  warming-pan  that  had  lately  been  lost 
by  one  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1746  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Massachusetts  sent  a  party  of  men 
to  Canada,  for  what  purpose  was  not  generally 
known.  On  their  return  they  passed  through 
Upper  Ashuelot.  On  arriving  in  sight  of  the 
settlement  they  fired  their  guns.  This,  of  course, 
alarmed  the  inhabitants,  and  all  who  were  out — 
and  several  were  in  the  woods  making  sugar — 
hastened  home.  From  some  cause  or  other  sus- 
picion was  entertained  that  a  party  of  Indians 
had  followed  the  returning  whites,  and  for  sev- 
eral days  the  settlers  were  more  vigilant  and 
more  circumspect  in  their  movements,  seldom 
leaving  the  fort,  except  to  look  after  their  cattle, 
which  were  in  the  barns  and  at  the  stacks  in 
the  vicinity. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  April, 
Ephraim  Dorman  left  the  fort  to  search  for  his 
cow.  He  went  northwardly,  along  the  borders 
of  what  was  then  a  hideous  and  almost  imper- 
vious swamp,  lying  east  of  the  fort,  until  he 
arrived  near  to  the  place  where  the  turnpike 
now  is.  Looking  into  the  swamp,  he  perceived 
several  Indians  lurking  in  the  bushes.  He 
immediately  gave  the  alarm,  by  crying  "  In- 
dians !  Indians  ! "  and  ran  towards  the  fort. 
Two,  who  were  concealed  in  the  bushes  between 
him  and  the  fort,  sprang  forward,  aimed  their 
pieces  at  him  and  fired,  but  neither  hit  him. 
They  then,  throwing  away  their  arms,  advanced 
towards  him ;  one  he  knocked  down  by  a  blow, 
which  deprived  him  of  his  senses ;  the  other  he 


28 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


seized,  and,  being  a  strong-  man  and  able 
wrestler,  tried  his  strength  and  skill  in  his 
favorite  mode  of  "trip  and  twitch."  lie  tore 
his  antagonist's  blanket  from  his  shoulder,  leav- 
ing him  nearly  naked.  He  then  seized  him  by 
the  arms  and  body;  but  as  he  was  painted  and 
greased,  he  slipped  from  his  grasp.  After  a 
short  struggle,  Dorman  quitted  him,  ran  to- 
wards the  fort  and  reached  it  in  safety. 

When  the  alarm  was  given,  the  greater  pari 
of  the  inhabitants  were  in  the  fort ;  but  some 
had  just  left  it  to  attend  to  their  cattle.  Cap- 
tain Simms,  the  commander,  as  was  the  custom 
every  morning  before  prayers,  was  reading  a 
chapter  in  the  Bible.  He  immediately  exclaimed, 
"  Rush  out,  and  assist  those  who  are  out  to  get 
in  !  "  Most  of  the  men  immediately  rushed  out, 
and  each  ran  where  his  interest  or  affections  led 
him  ;  the  remainder  chose  positions  in  the  fort, 
from  which  they  could  lire  on  the  enemy. 

Those  who  were  out,  and  within  hearing, 
instantly  started  for  the  fort ;  and  the  Indians, 
from  every  direction,  rushed  into  the  street,  fill- 
ing the  air  with  their  usual  horrid  yell.  Mrs. 
Mclvenny  had  gone  to  the  barn,  near  where 
Miss  Fiske's  house  now  stands,  to  milk  her 
cow.  She  was  aged  and  corpulent,  and  could 
only  walk  slowdy.  When  she  was  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  fort,  a  naked  Indian,  probably  the 
one  with  whom  Dorman  had  been  wrestling, 
darted  from  the  bushes  on  the  east  side  of  the 
street,  ran  up  to  her,  stabbed  her  in  the  back, 
and  crossed  to  the  other  side.  She  continued 
walking,  in  the  same  steady  pace  as  before, 
until  she  had  nearly  reached  the  gate  of  the 
fort,  when  the  blood  gushed  from  her  mouth, 
and  she  fell  and  expired.  John  Bullard  was  at 
his  barn,  below  Dr.  Adams';  he  ran  towards 
the  fort,  but  the  instant  he  arrived  at  the  gate, 
he  received  a  shot  in  his  back.  He  fell,  was 
carried  in  and  expired  in  a  few  hours.  Mrs. 
(  Hark  was  at  a  barn,  near  the  Todd  house, 
about  fifty  rods  distant.  Leaving  it,  she  espied 
an  Indian  near  her,  who  threw  away  his  gun, 
and  advanced  to  make  her  a  prisoner.  She 
gathered  her  clothes  around  her  waist,  and 
started  for  the  fort.  The  Indian  pursued;  the 
woman,  animated  by  cheers  from  her  friends, 
outran  her  pursuer,  who  skulked  back  for  his 


gun.  JSTathan  Blake  was  at  his  barn,  near 
where  his  son's  house  now  stands.  Hearing 
the  cry  of  Indians,  and  presuming  his  barn 
would  be  burnt,  he  determined  that  his  cattle 
should  not  be  burnt  with  it.  Throwing  open 
his  stable-door,  he  let  them  loose,  and  presum- 
ing his  retreat  to  the  fort  was  cut  oil*,  went  out 
at  a  back-door,  intending  to  place  himself  in 
ambush  at  the  only  place  where  the  river  could 
be  crossed.  lie  had  gone  but  a  lew  steps 
when  he  was  hailed  by  a  party  of  Indians  con- 
cealed in  a  shop  between  him  and  the  street. 
Looking  back,  he  perceived  several  guns  pointed 
at  him,  and  at  this  instant  several  Indians 
started  up  from  their  places  of  concealment 
near  him,  upon  which,  feeling  himself  in  their 
power,  he  gave  himself  up.  They  shook  hands 
with  him,  and  to  the  remark  he  made  that  he 
had  not  yet  breakfasted,  they  smilingly  replied 
that  "  it  must  be  a  poor  Englishman  who  could 
not  go  to  Canada  without  his  breakfast."  Pass- 
ing a  cord  around  his  arms  above  the  elbows, 
and  fastening  them  close  to  his  body,  they  gave 
him  to  the  care  of  one  of  the  party,  who  eon- 
ducted  him  to  the  woods. 

The  number  of  Indians  belonging  to  the 
party  wras  supposed  to  be  about  one  hundred. 
They  came  near  the  fort,  on  every  side,  and  fired 
whenever  they  supposed  their  shot  would  be 
effectual.  They,  however,  neither  killed  nor 
wounded  any  one.  The  whites  fired  whenever 
an  Indian  presented  himself,  and  several  of 
them  were  seen  to  fall.  Before  noon  the 
savages  ceased  firing,  but  they  remained  several 
days  in  the  vicinity. 

The  guns  first  fired  were  heard  at  the  fort  in 
Swanzey,  the  commander  of  which  immediately 
sent  an  express  to  Winchester,  with  information 
that  the  Indians  had  made  an  attack  upon  Upper 
Ashuelot.  From  Winchester  an  express  was 
sent  to  the  next  post,  and  so  on  from  post  to 
post  to  Northampton,  where  Colonel  Pomeroy 
commanded.  Collecting  all  the  troops  and 
militia  there,  and  pressing  all  the  horses  in  the 
place,  he  instantly,  at  their  head,  set  out  for 
Upper  Ashuelot,  and  on  his  way  added  to  his 
number  all  the  disposable  force  in  the  interme- 
diate settlements.  In  little  more  than  forty- 
eight  hours  from   the  time  the  express  started 


KEENE. 


29 


from  Swanzey  he,  with  four  or  five  hundred 
men,  arrived  at  Upper  Ashuelot,  the  distance 
down  and  back  being  at  least  ninety  miles. 
The  arrival  so  soon  of  this  relief  was  as  unex- 
pected as  it  was  gratifying  to  the  settlers.  The 
next  morning  Pomeroy  sent  out  his  men  to 
scour  the  woods  in  search  of  Blake.  While 
these  were  absent  the  Indians  again  showed 
themselves  on  the  meadow  southeast  of  the 
fort,  where  they  killed  a  number  of  cattle.  To 
recall  the  troops,  an  alarm  was  fired,  but  was 
not  heard.  In  the  afternoon  they  returned 
unsuccessful,  and  that  evening  Mr.  Bullard  and 
Mrs.  McKenny  were  buried.  The  next  morn- 
ing they  found  the  track  of  the  Indians,  and 
followed  it  until  they  came  to  the  place  of  their 
encampment  at  night.  This  was  east  of  Beech 
Hill,  not  far  from  the  present  residence  of  Cap- 
tain Chapman.  It  appearing  that  they  dis- 
persed, when  departing  from  this  place,  they 
were  pursued  no  farther.  Colonel  Pomeroy,  on 
his  way  back  to  the  fort,  found  that  a  house 
belonging  to  a  Mr.  Heaton,  and  standing  near 
the  place  where  his  son's  house  now  stands,  had 
been  burnt.  Among  the  ashes  they  discovered 
human  bones,  and  the  leg  of  an  Indian,  uncon- 
sumed.  As  it  is  known  to  have  been  the  custom 
of  the  Indians  to  take  the  most  effectual  means 
in  their  power  to  conceal  the  amount  of  their 
loss,  they  had  doubtless  placed  in  this  house, 
before  they  set  it  on  fire,  the  bodies  of  such  of 
their  party  as  had  been  killed,  which  they  had 
not  otherwise  concealed.  The  number,  as  near 
as  could  be  ascertained,  was  nine,  and  one  or 
two  were  burnt  in  the  barn  of  Mr.  Blake. 

The  next  day  inquiry  was  made  for  Mark 
Ferry,  the  hermit.  As  he  did  not  reside 
among  them,  and  had  never  performed  the 
duties  of  relation,  friend  or  companion  to  any 
of  the  settlers,  they  felt  little  solicitude  for  his 
fate ;  but,  Colonel  Pomeroy  offering  to  send  a 
party  of  men,  they  agreed  to  send  a  pilot  to 
the  place  where  they  supposed  he  might  be 
found.  This  was  Ferry  meadow,  on  the 
stream  called  Ferry  Brook,  within  the  present 
limits  of  Sullivan,  whither  he  had  repaired,  as 
to  a  place  of  safety,  when  driven  by  the  flood 
from  his  cave  from  Bui  lard's  Island.  They 
found  his  horse  confined  under  the  shelter  of 


the  root  of  a  fallen  tree,  and,  looking  further, 
espied  him  perched  high  upon  the  limb  of  a 
large  tree,  mending  his  clothes.  His  personal 
appearance  indicated  that  he  had  not  received 
the  benefit  of  shaving,  nor  ablution,  for  months. 
They  compelled  him  to  descend,  brought  him  to 
the  fort,  led  him  to  the  officers'  quarters,  and, 
with  mock  formality,  introduced  him  to  all  the 
officers  and  gentlemen  of  the  party. 

Apprehending  no  further  danger  to  the 
settlers,  Colonel  Pomeroy  and  his  men  returned 
to  their  homes. 

In  the  early  part  of  May  the  same  or 
another  party  of  Indians  hovered  about  the 
settlement,  watehing  for  an  opportunity  to 
make  prisoners  and  to  plunder.  For  several 
successive  nights  the  watch  imagined  that  they 
heard  some  person  walking  around  the  fort. 
When  it  came  to  the  turn  of  young  McKenny, 
whose  mother  had  been  killed,  to  watch,  he 
declared  he  should  fire  on  hearing  the  least 
noise  without  the  fort.  In  the  dead  of  ni^ht 
he  thought  he  heard  some  person  at  the  picket 
gate,  endeavoring  to  ascertain  its  strength. 
Having  loaded  his  gun,  as  was  usual  among 
the  first  settlers  of  the  country,  with  two  balls 
and  several  buckshot,  he  fired  through  the  gate, 
which  was  made  of  thin  boards.  In  the  morn- 
ing blood  was  discovered  on  the  spot  and  also  a 
number  of  beads,  supposed  to  have  been  cut, 
by  the  shot,  from  the  wampum  of  the  Indian. 

The  inhabitants  remained  in  the  fort  until 
March  or  April,  1747.  About  this  time  they 
passed  an  informal  vote,  releasing  Mr.  Bacon, 
their  minister,  from  all  his  obligations  to  them, 
and  resolved  to  abandon  the  settlement,  which 
resolution  was  immediately  executed.  Soon 
after,  a  party  of  Indians  visited  the  place  and 
burnt  all  the  buildings,  except  the  mill  on 
Beaver  Brook  and  the  house  in  which  the 
miller  had  resided. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  Mr. 
Blake,  when  captured,  was  pinioned  and  con- 
ducted by  an  Indian  into  the  woods.  After 
traveling  about  two  miles  they  came  to  a  small, 
stony  brook.  The  Indian  stooped  to  drink, 
and,  as  Blake's  hands  were  not  confined,  he 
thought  he  could  easily  take  up  a  stone  and 
beat  out  his  brains.     He  silently  prayed   for 


30 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


direction,  and  his  next  thought  was  that  lie 
should  always  regret  that  he  had  killed  an 
Indian  in  that  situation,  and  he  refrained. 

NO  particulars  of  his  journey  to  Canada  have 
been  obtained,  except  that  he  passed  by  ( !harles- 
town.  At  Montreal  he,  with  another  prisoner 
of  the  name  of  Warren,  was  compelled  to  run 
the  gauntlet.  Warren,  receiving  a  blow  in  the 
face,  knocked  down  the  Indian  who  gave  it, 
upon  which  he  was  assaulted  by  several,  who 
beat  him  unmercifully,  making  him  a  cripple 
for  life.  Blake,  exhibiting  more  patience  and 
fortitude,  received  no  considerable  injury.  He 
was  then  conducted  to  Quebec,  and  thence  to 
an  Indian  village  several  miles  north  of  that 
place,  called  Conissadawga.  He  was  a  strong, 
athletic  man,  and  possessed  many  qualities 
which  procured  him  the  respect  of  the  savages. 
He  could  run  with  great  speed,  and  in  all  the 
trials  to  which  he  was  put,  and  they  were  many 
and  severe,  he  beat  every  antagonist. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  at  the  village  the 
tribe  lost  a  chief  by  sickness.  As  soon  as  his 
decease  was  made  known  the  women  repaired 
to  his  wigwam,  and,  with  tears,  sobs  and 
clamorous  lamentations,  mourned  his  death. 
The  funeral  ceremonies  performed,  the  men 
-ought  Blake,  dressed  him  in  the  Indian 
costume,  and  invested  him  with  all  the 
authority  and  privileges  of  the  deceased,  as  one 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe  and  as  husband  of  the 
widow.  In  the  family  to  which  he  now  stood 
in  the  relation  of  father  there  were,  as  he  has 
often  remarked,  several  daughters  of  uncommon 
beauty.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  good  fortune, 
he  still  had  difficulties  to  encounter.  The  tribe 
was  divided  into  two  parties,  his  friends  and 
his  enemies.  The  former  consisted  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  tribe,  who  respected  him  for 
qualities  to  which  they  had  not  equal  pre- 
tensions ;  the  latter,  of  those  who  were  envious 
of  his  success  and  had  been  worsted  in  their 
contests  with  him.     These,  to  humble  his  pride, 


sent  far  into  the  northern  wilderness,  and  pro- 
cured a  celebrated  Indian  runner  to  run  against 
him.  At  the  time  assigned,  the  whole  tribe 
assembled  to  witness  the  race,  and  a  French- 
man, from  Quebec,  happened  to  be  present. 
Perceiving  the  excitement  among  then,  he  ad- 
vised Blake  to  permit  himself  to  be  beaten, 
intimating  that  fatal  consequences  might  ensue 
if  he  did  not.  The  race  was  run,  and  Blake, 
as  advised  by  the  Frenchman,  permitted  his 
antagonist  to  reach  the  goal  a  moment  before 
he  did.  He  persisted,  however,  after  his 
return  from  captivity,  in  declaring  that  he 
might  have  beaten  him  if  he  had  tried.  The 
event  of  the  race  restored  harmony  to  the  tribe, 
and  Blake  was  permitted  to  live  in  peace. 

But,  remembering  the  family  he  had  left,  he 
felt  anxious  to  return  to  his  home.  After 
much  intercession,  the  tribe  proposed  that  if  he 
would  build  a  house  like  those  of  the  English, 
he  should  be  permitted  to  go  to  Quebec.  Pre- 
suming that,  when  there,  he  could  more  easily 
obtain  his  liberty,  he  gladly  acceded  to  the 
proposition.  With  such  tools  as  the  Indians 
possessed  he  prepared  the  necessary  timber, 
splitting  the  boards  from  the  tree,  and  soon 
completed  his  task.  He  then  went  to  Quebec 
and  gave  himself  up  to  the  French.  He  had 
been  there  but  a  short  time,  when  his  Indian 
wife  came  iu  a  canoe  to  reclaim  him.  He  re- 
fused to  return,  but,  she  soliciting  and  even 
demanding  him,  he  declared  to  her  that,  if  he 
should  be  compelled  to  set  out  with  her,  he 
wrould  overturn  the  canoe  and  drown  her,  upon 
which  she  concluded  to  return  without  him. 
In  the  fall  the  French  commandant  gave  Blake 
his  election  to  pass  the  winter,  as  a  laborer,  with 
a  farmer  in  the  vicinity  of  Quebec,  or  be  confined 
in  the  common  gaol.  He  chose  the  latter,  and 
had  no  reason  to  regret  his  choice,  as  he  had  a 
comfortable  room  and  sufficient  rations  assigned 
him.  He  remained  in  confinement  until  spring, 
when   his  liberation  was  procured. 


KEENE. 


31 


CHAPTER    II. 

KEENE— ( Continued). 

Close  of  the  Indian  Troubles— Return  of  the  Settlers— Up- 
per Ashuelot  Again  Occupied — Incorporation  of  the 
Town — Captain  Jeremiah  Hall  Appointed  Agent — The 
First  Petition  for  Incorporation,  in  1751,  not  Granted 
—The  Petition  of  1753— Charter  Granted  April  11,  1753 
— First  Meeting  of  Proprietors — The  Town  Revisited  by 
Indians. 

The  year  1750  witnessed  the  return  of  the 
settlers  to  the  Upper  Ashuelot,  from  whence 
they  had  been  driven  a  few  years  previously  by 
the  merciless  Indian  war  which  was  carried  on 
by  King  Philip. 

Upon  the  reoccupation  of  the  place  the  set- 
tlers at  once  decided  to  present  a  petition  to  the 
Governor  for  the  incorporation  of  the  territory, 
and  the  first  movement  for  the  incorporation  of 
the  town  by  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  was 
under  date  of  February  11,  1750,  when 
Captain  Jeremiah  Hall  was  appointed  to  pre- 
sent the  case  to  the  Governor  as  follows : 

"  We  whose  Names   are  Hereunto  Subscribed  In- 
habitants  of  the  upper  Ashuelot  for  a  Long  time 
Labour  under  many  Great  Difficulties   for  want  of 
Town  Priviledges  we  Do  Therefore  Hereby  Constitute 
and  Impower  our  Trusty  friend  Cap*  Jeremiah  Hall 
to  Represent  our  Difficulties  to  his  Excellency  the' 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire  and  to  Any  Others  Con- 
cerned In  that  affair  that  we  may  be  Incorporated 
Into  a  Town  and  Likewise  -we  give  power  to  him  to 
Chuse  a  man  to  assist  him  In  the  affaires 
"Upper  Ashuelot  February  ye  11th  1750 
"William  Smeed  Ebenezer  Day 

Ebenezer  Nims  Gideon  Ellis 

David  Nims  Michaell  Medcalf 

Ephraim  Dorman  Michaell  medcalf  jr 

Nathan  Fairbanks  Oliver  Medcalf 

Joseph  Elles  Abijah  medcalf 

Jonathan  Underwood  Jabez  Hill 

John  Rogers  Dayid  Foster 

Nathan  Blake  Amos  Foster" 

"We  the  Subscribers  Do  hereby  Impower  Cap' 
Jeremiah  Hall  to  Pertition  In  our  behalf  for  the  Upper 
Township  on  Ashuelot  River  where  we  Dwell  to  his 
Excellency  the  Governour  of  New  Hampshire  and  all 
Concern'd  in  that  affair  In  the  same  form  that  it  was 
laid  out  by  the  Massachusetts 
"Upper  Ashuelot  Feb1*  11th  1750 

"  William  Smeed  Jabez  Hill 

Ebenezer  Nims  Jonathan  underwood 

David  Nims  John  Rogers 

Ephraim  Dorman  Elijah  Dorman 


Nathan  Fairbanks 
Joseph  Elles 
Nathan  Blake 
Ebenezer  Day 
Gideon  Ellis 
Michael  Medcalf 


David  Foster 
Oliver  medcalf 
Michaell  medcalf  jr 
Abijah  medcalf 
Samuell  Hall 
Jesse  Hall " 


February  20th,  Benjamin  Guild  was  chosen 
to  assist  Captain  Hall  in  "  Petitioning  His  Ex- 
cellency "  as  follows : 

"  We  whose  Names  are  Hereunto  Subscribed  Being 
Propriators  of  the  Upper  Ashuelot  Township  so 
called  Do  hereby  Impower  Mr  Benjamin  Guild  to 
joyne  with  Cap*  Jeremiah  Hall  in  Petitioning  His 
Exelency  the  Govoner  of  the  Province  of  New  Ham- 
shire  He  observing  the  Instructions  Given  by  others 
of  the  Propriators  to  the  said  Cap1  Hall 

"  Wrentham  Febr  20th  1750 

"  John  Whiting  William  Hancock 

Daniel  Haws  Samuel  Danils 

Joseph  Fisher  Esther  Messenger 

Samuel  Fisher  Jonathan  Whiting 

Benjamin  Guild  Jacob  Bacon 

Obediah  Blake  Nath11  Fairbnks 

Ebenezer  Daniells  Abigail  Guild 

Nathaniel  Ware  Robert  Blak 

Hannah  Dale  Seth  Heaton 

Abner  Ellis  Elijah  Blake 

Asa  Richardson  Josiah  Fisher  for  the 
Sarah  Greene  hares  of  Aaron 

Joseph  Richardson  Fisher 

Daniell  maceene  Nathan  Bucknam  " 

The  following  is  the  first  petition  for  the  in- 
corporation of  the  town,  1751  : 

"  To  His  Excellency  Benning  Wentworth  Esqr  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander  in  Chief  in  and  over  his 
Majestys  Province  of  New  Hampshire  and  to  the 
Honorable  his  majestys  Councill  for  said  Province 
"  The  Petition  of  Jeremiah  Hall  and  Benjamin 
Guild  in  behalf  of  them  Selves  and  others  Inhabitants 
Setlers  and  Proprietors  of  a  certain  Tract  of  land 
Called  the  upper  Township  on  Ashuelot  River  in  the 
Province  of  New  Hampshire  on  the  East  side  of  Con- 
necticut River  (a  plan  of  which  Tract  of  land  is  here- 
with presented)  most  humbly  Sheweth,  that  in  the 
year  1737,  in  virtue  of  a  Grant  from  the  massachusets 
Government,  a  plantation  was  begun  on  said  Tract  of 
land — That  in  the  year  1738  a  minister  was  settled 
there  and  a  meeting  house  built — That  before  the  last 
Indian  War  with  the  Indians  there  were  Thirty  one 
Dwelling  houses  built  on  said  Tract  of  land  Sundry 
barns  and  a  Fort  of  near  a  hundred  foot  square  having 
eighteen  fire  Rooms  within  said  fort  a  Saw  mill  and 
Grist  mill  built — that  the  setlers  and  others  who  were 
preparing  for  setling  there  before  the  Indian  War  had 
made  large  Improvements  there  and  laid  out  their 
Substance  in  doing  the  Same — 


32 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"That  in  the  Spring  of  ye  year  1747 — The  Indians 

burnt  down  all  the  dwelling  Houses  there  except  four 

— also  burnt  down  all  the  Barns  but  one  also  burnt 

down  the  meeting  house  and  the  Fort   also   much 

houshold  Stuff  and  killed  Considerable  Cattle  Horses 

Sheep  and  Swine  That  the  s'1  Settlers  and  Proprietors 

are  returned  and  returning  on  to  the  said  Tract  of 

land  in  order  to  cultivate  and   Improve  the  same  and 

in  case  a  peace  Continues   with  tbe  Indians  in  a  few 

years  there  will  be  forty  or  fifty  familys  in  case  there 

was  an  Incorporation — Wherefore  your  Petitioners 

most  humbly  Pray  your  Excellency  and  Honours  to 

Incorporate  the  s'1  Tract  of   land  agreeable  to  the 

bounds  thereof  by  the  plan  annexed  and  grant  to  your 

Petitioners  and   others  their   Constituents  such  Ini- 

mutys  and  Privileges  as  other  Towns  Enjoy  in  this 

Tic iv i nee    &     your    Petitioners    as   in    duty    bound 

shall  ever  pray  &c 

"March  y  4*1750-1 

"  Jeremiah  Hall. 

"Benjamin  Guild." 

This  petition,  however,  was  not  granted,  and, 

February  2,  1753,  the  following  petition  was 

presented  and  a  charter  was  granted  April  11, 

17o.'>,  under   the  name  of  Keene,  probably   in 

honor  of  Sir  Benjamin  Keene,  of  England,  who 

at    that    time    was   minister    from   England  to 

Spain  : 

"  Upper  Ashualot  Feb"  yc  2d  1753 
"  We  whose  names  are  underwritten  Do  hereby 
Authorize  and  Impower  our  Trusty  Friend  Mr 
Ephraim  Dorman  to  Prefer  a  Petition  to  his  Excel- 
lency  the  Governour  of  New  Hampshire  for  a  Town- 
ship known  by  the  Name  of  the  Upper  Ashuelot  and 
to  Pray  his  Excellency  to  Grant  a  Charter  of  this 
Land  to  the  Inhabitants  and  others  Concerned  in  said 
Lands  and  to  Insert  a  Clause  in  said  Petition  Praying 
his  Excellency  that  if  it  might  be  Consistent  with  his 
Pleasure  he  would  Insert  a  Clause  in  his  Charter 
whereby  every  man  may  be  Intitled  to  those  Lands 
which  he  Thought  himself  to  be  the  Honest  owner  of 
he  Paying  the  Charges  that  have  arisen  on  said  Lands 
to  Prevent  Endless  Law-Suits  and  other  Difliculties 
Impending  over  us  and  to  set  forth  in  said  Petition 
the  Great  Cost  and  Expence  we  have  been  at  in  Build- 
ing two  Forts  and  I '.fending  the  Kings  Lands  and 
the  Great  Losses  we  have  Sustained  by  the  Enemy  as 
set  forth  in  the  Petition  Lodged  with  M  Atkinson 
Secretary  and  to  take  the  Names  Lodged  with  Mr 
Livermore  and  annex  to  said  Petition 

"Jeremiah  Hall  David  Nims 

William  Barnes  Ebenezer  Day 

Ebenezer  Daniells  William  Smeed 

Jabez  Hill  Ebenezer  Nims 

Timothy  Harington  [saac  Clark 

Daniel  Twitchel  Nathan  Blake 

Amos  foster  Michael  medcalf ju 


Titus  Belding 
Samuel  Reed 
Benjamin  Larrabee 
David  Foster 
Benjamin  Twitchell 


Joseph  Elles 
Gideon  Ellis 
Eleazer  Sanger 
Jonah  French  " 


The  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors,  under 
this  charter,  was  held  at  Keene,  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  May.  Votes  were  passed  grant- 
ing to  Benjamin  Bellows  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  Spanish  milled  dollars  for  his  ser- 
vices and  expenses  in  obtaining  the  charter; 
and  to  Ephraim  Dorman  eight  dollars  forgoing 
to  Portsmouth  ;  raising  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  pounds,  old  tenor,  to  procure  preaching : 
and  granting  to  Theodore  Atkinson,  the  sec- 
retary of  the  province,  three  hundred  acres  of 
land. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  May  2, 
1753,  and  the  following  officers  were  chosen: 
Selectmen,  Ephraim  Dorman,  Michael  Metcalf 
and  William  Smeed;  Town  Clerk,  David 
Nims;  Treasurer,  David  Nims;  Constable, 
Ebenezer  Nims;  Surveyors  of  High  way.--, 
Gideon  Ellis  and  Isaac  Clark;  Hog-Reeves, 
Jonah  French  and  William  Barran;  Fence- 
Viewers,  Lieutenant  Seth  Hcaton  and  Nathan 
Blake ;  Field-Drivers,  John  French  and 
Samuel  Hall.  Benjamin  Bellows  was  moder- 
ator of  this  meeting. 

The  inhabitants  immediately  directed  their 
attention  to  the  concerns  of  religion.  As  a  place 
for  public  worship,  they  erected  a  building  of 
slabs,  the  earth  serving  as  a  floor;  and  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Swanzey  they  made  a  joint 
arrangement  for  the  settlement  of  a  pastor. 

In  the  warrant  calling  a  town-meeting,  to  be 
held  June  13th,  is  the  following  article  :  "To  see 
if  they  (the  freeholders,  etc.)  will  make  choice 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carpenter  for  our  minister." 
From  the  expressions  here  used  it  is  probable 
the  church  had  already  acted  on  the  subject. 
At  the  meeting  Mr.  Carpenter  was  chosen;  the 
sum  of  "fifty  pounds,  silver  money,  at  six  shil- 
lings and  eight-pence  the  ounce,  or  equivalent 
in  our  own  province  bills,"  was  offered  him  as  a 
settlement;  and  the  town  engaged  to  find  him, 
yearly,  twenty  cords  of  fire-wood.  A  contract 
was  subsequently  made  with  Mr.  Carpenter, 
which  was  to  continue  in  force  three  years,  ami 


KEENE. 


33 


in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  he  should  receive 
from  Keene  a  salary  of  twenty-six  pounds, 
lawful  money.  He  also  officiated  as  the  minister 
of  Swanzey. 

In  December  the  inhabitants  voted  to  build 
a  meeting-house,  fortv-five  feet  long  and  thirty- 
live  wide,  and  agreed  to  set  it  at  "the  crotch  of 
the  roads,  so  called,  one  road  leading  up  the 
river,  and  the  other  across  the  river  to  Ash 
Swamp." 

But  in  January,  1754,"  in  consideration  of  the 
unfitness  of  the  ground,  and  the  exposedness  to 
fire,  and  to  the  enemy,  in  case  of  a  war,"  they 
voted  to  set  the  house  "on  the  road  that  goeth 
from  the  town  street  to  the  mills,  on  the  highest 
ground,  between  the  causeway,  by  William 
Smeed's,  and  the  bridge,  by  the  clay-pits,' 
Smeed  lived  where  Dr.  Twitchell,  Sr.,  resided, 
and  the  bridge  was  north  of  what  was  known  as 
Colonel  Perry's  store. 

In  this  year  the  savages  again  committed 
acts  of  hostility.  Some  time  in  the  fall  an 
express  arrived  at  Keene  bringing  information 
that  a  party  of  the  enemy  had  appeared  in  the 
vicinity  of  Penacook  (Concord),  where  they 
had  killed  and  captured  several  whites.  This 
was  in  the  afternoon.  The  inhabitants  imme- 
diately assembled,  and  appointed  several  persons 
to  keep  guard  through  the  night,  directing 
them  to  walk  continually  from  the  house  of 
David  Ninas  (near  Lewis  Page's  house,  in 
Prison  Street)  to  the  meadow  gate  (near  Mr. 
Carpenter's),  and  agreed  immediately  to  com- 
plete the  fort,  the  rebuilding  of  which  had 
already  been  commenced.  The  next  day  every 
one  able  to  labor  went  to  work  upon  the  fort,  and 
soon  prepared  it  for  the  reception  of  the  settlers. 

When  traces  of  Indians  were  discovered  near 
any  of  the  frontiers  it  Mas  the  custom  to  fire,  as 
an  alarm  to  all  within  hearing,  three  guns  in 
regular  and  quick  succession.  If  heard  at  any 
of  the  posts,  it  was  answered  iu  the  same  man- 
ner ;  if  not  answered,  the  alarm  was  repeated. 
In  June  the  people  of  Westmoreland,  discover- 
ing traces  of  Indians,  fired  an  alarm,  which 
was  heardat  Keene.  A  body  of  men  was  im- 
mediately sentto  their  relief ;  but  they  returned 
without    discovering    the    enemy.       That    they 

3 


were  lurking  in  the  vicinity  and  that  they  fol- 
lowed home  the  party  from  Keene  is  probable, 
as  the  next  day  they  captured  Benjamin  Twitchell. 
He  had  been  to  Ash  Swamp  ;  on  his  return  he 
took  with  him  a  tub,  which,  it  is  supposed,  he 
carried  upon  his  head.  This  tub  was  afterwards 
found  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  near  where 
the  mills  now  stand  ;  and  there  the  Indians 
probably  seized  him.  He  was  conducted  up  the 
river;  in  the  meadows  west  and  north  of  Dea- 
con Wilder's  the  Indians  killed  several  oxen,  a 
horse  and  colt.  The  colt  was  cut  up  and  the 
best  pieces  of  meat  carried  off.  In  this  meadow 
they  left  a  bow,  made  of  lever-wood,  and  sev- 
eral arrows.  They  encamped  for  the  night  in 
McCurdy's  meadow,  in  Surry,  where  four 
crotched  sticks  were  discovered  driven  into  the 
ground  in  such  positions  as  led  to  the  belief 
that  to  each  was  confined  one  of  the  limbs  of 
the  prisoner.  The  party  then  proceeded  to  Que- 
bec, where  Twitchell  met  with  Josiah  Foster 
and  his  family,  who  were  captured  at  Winches- 
ter. For  the  honor  of  Foster,  the  particulars 
of  his  capture  should  be  recorded.  Returning 
home  one  evening,  he  found  his  house  in  the 
possession  of  Indians,  who  had  captured  his  wife 
and  children.  He  could  have  escaped  ;  but  he 
determined  to  give  himself  up,  that  he  might 
share  their  fate  and  have  an  opportunity  to 
alleviate  their  sufferings.  He  accompanied 
them  to  Quebec,  carrying  his  wife  on  his  back 
a  great  part  of  the  way.  There  they  remained 
until,  being  ransomed,  they  were  sent  by  water 
to  Boston.  Twitchell  was  put  on  board  the 
same  vessel ;  but,  being  taken  sick,  he  was  set 
on  shore  and  died  in  a  few  days. 

A  month  or  two  afterwards  a  party  of  In- 
dians were  discovered  in  the  meadow  south  of 
the  town  line  by  the  people  of  Swanzey.  They, 
with  four  soldiers  to  guard  them,  were  coming 
in  a  body,  and  armed,  to  work  in  the  north 
meadows.  The  soldiers,  who  were  in  advance, 
heard  a  rustling  in  the  bushes, and  one,  suppos- 
ing it  to  be  caused  by  a  deer,  fired  his  musket 
at  the  spot.  The  Indians,  supposing  they  were 
discovered,  rose  and  fired  at  the  soldiers,  who, 
frightened,  ran  to  I  he  quarter  now  called  Scot- 
land.    The  people, coming  up,  saw  the  Indians, 


34 


HIST011Y  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


attacked    them,  and  drove   them   to  the  plain 
west  of  the  factory.     An   express    was   instant- 
ly  sent  to   Keene,  and  a  party  of   fifteen   men 
under  Captain  Metcalf  went  out  to  meet  them. 
This  party   went  first    to  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
beyond   Mr.    Heaton's,  supposing  the  Indians 
would    there    cross    the    Branch.      Remaining 
there  a  short  time  without  discovering  any  In- 
dians, a  Mr.  Howard  proposed  to  go  to  another 
tor. I  still  farther  up.      Josiah  French,  a  shrewd 
man,  observed,  "Those  who  wish  to  meet  with 
the  Indians  had  better  stay  here;  I  feel  no  de- 
sire to  see  them,  and  will  go  over   the  hill  with 
Howard."     It  was  agreed  to  go  over  the  hill ; 
hut  no  sooner  had  they  reached  the  top  of  the 
nearest  eminence  than  they   discovered  nine  In- 
dians crossing  at  the  ford  they  had  left.     They 
lav  in   wait  for  them  a  few  hours,  but  did  not 
see   them  afterwards.     Returning  to  the   fort, 
Howard    received    no  mercy    from    the    men, 
women  and  children  within   it.     Several   days 
afterwards  the  men  went  in  a  body,  and  armed, 
to  hoe  Mr.  Day's  corn,  near  Surry,  and  discov- 
ered   that  an   old   house    in    that  neighborhood 
had   been  burnt;  it  was  supposed  to  have  been 
sel  on  fire   by  the  same   party  of  Indians. 

A  i't<r wards,  but   in    what  year  is  not  recol- 
lected, another,  and  the  last,  party  of  Indians 
made  a  visit  to   Keene.     The    inhabitants  had 
cleared  and  fenced  a  large  common  field  consist- 
ing  of  about  two     hundred     acres,  which    was 
used  as  a  cow   pasture,  and  the  access  to  it  was 
by  a  path  which  led  southwardly  along  the  high 
ground  east   of  the   place   where  the    turnpike 
and    Baker's  lane  unite.     When   driving  their 
cows  to  this   pasture,  it   was  the  custom   of  the 
inhabitants  not  to  go  in  the  path,  for  fear  of 
■a  surprise,    but  on  one  or  the  other  side  of  it. 
Early  one  morning  they  came  suddenly  upon  a 
party  of  Indians,  concealed  in  thick  bushes  and 
busily   engaged    in   mending    their    moccasins. 
They     instantly  stalled     up    and   escaped.     It 
was  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  leather  with 
which  they  were  mending  their    moccasins  had 
been  stolen  the  oight  before,  from  a  tannery  at 
Walpole  (or  ( !harlestown). 


CHAPTER    III. 

KEENE— {Continued). 

war  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.1 

First  Reference  to  the  War  in  Town  Records — Vote  to  get 
Stock  of  Powder,  Lead  and  Flints — Keene  in  the  Buttle  of 
Lexington — Tories — Bohea  Tea — Various  Resolutions  — 
List  of  Patriots — Battle  of  Bennington — Captain  .Mack's 
Sortie  —  Elijah  Williams — Ilis  Return  to  Keene  —  Un- 
pleasant Reception —  List  of  Foot  Company  in  Keene  in 
1773— Alarm-List  of  1774. 

The  first  reference  on  the  town  records  to  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  is  under  date  of  1774. 
In  a  warrant  calling  a  town-meeting  to  be 
held  the  26th  of  September  the  following 
articles  were  inserted  :  "To  see  if  it  be  the  mind 
of  the  town  to  provide  ammunition  for  a  town 
stock,  and  grant  money  for  the  same;"  and 
"  To  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  town  to  sign  the 
covenant  and  engagement,  which  was  sent  and 
recommended  by  the  committee  of  corre- 
spondence, relating  to  the  non-importation  agr 
ment." 

Upon  the  first  article  the  town  "  Voted,  to  get 
a  stock  of  ammunition  for  the  town,  viz.:  200 
lbs.  of  good  gunpowder,  400  lbs.  of  lead,  and 
1200  flints;  and  to  raise  twenty-four  pounds, 
lawful  money,  for  providing  said  articles." 

Upon  the  other  article  the  following  pream- 
ble and  vote  were  adopted :  "  Whereas  the  towns 
in  this  province  have  chosen  members  to  rep- 
resent them  in  a  General  Congress  of  all  the 
colonies,  now  sitting  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
to  consult  and  determine  what  steps  are  neces- 
sary for  the  colonies  to  adopt,  Voted,  therefore, 
nol  to  sign  the  non-importation  agreement 
until  we  hear  what  measures  said  Congress  have 
agreed  upon  for  themselves  and  their  constitu- 
ents." 

October  17th,  Captain  Isaac  Wyman  and 
Lieutenant  Timothy  Ellis  were  chosen  delegates 
to  attend  the  County  ( longress  at  Walpole.  No 
information  concerning  the  object  or  proceed- 
ings of  this  Congress  has  been   obtained. 

In  the  winter  of  this  year  Elijah  Williams, 
Esq.,  instituted  a  suit  against  a  citizen  of  Keene, 
the  writ  being  in  the  form  then  usual,  commenc- 


'Extracted  from  "Hale's  Annals. 


KEBNE. 


ing,  "George  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
King,"  etc.  Immediately  afterwards  a  large 
number  of  people,  many  coming  from  the  neigh- 
boring towns,  assembled  at  Keene,  seized  Wil- 
liams and  took  him  with  them  to  their  place  of 
meeting,  which  was  a  barn  standing  by  itself 
in  a  field.  They  required  him  to  stop  the  suit, 
and  to  promise  that  he  would  issue  no  more  writs 
in  the  name  of  the  King.  Perceiving  he  had 
no  alternative,  he  complied,  and  was  then  set  at 
liberty. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1775,  at  a  legal  town- 
meeting,  the  inhabitants  "  Voted,  to  come  into 
the  measures  recommended  by  the  Continental 
Congress,  in  their  association  agreement."  They 
chose,  agreeably  to  said  advice,  Isaac  Wyman, 
Timothy  Ellis,  Thomas  Baker,  Dan  Guild  and 
William  Ellis  a  Committee  of  Inspection. 
They  also  chose  Isaac  Wyman  to  represent  the 
town  at  the  meeting  to  be  held  at  Exeter  on  the 
21st  day  of  said  January,  for  the  choice  of  dele- 
gates to  the  Continental  Congress. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  February  23d,  Cap- 
tain Isaac  Wyman  was  chosen  "to  represent 
the  town  in  the  General  Assembly,  holden  at 
Portsmouth,  on  the  said  23d  day  of  February, 
and  so,  day  by  day,  during  their  sessions." 

On  the  19th  of  April  was  fought  the  battle 
of  Lexington.  The  instant  that  news  of  the 
battle  arrived  in  town,  which  was  in  the  fore- 
noon, Captain  Dorman,  who  then  commanded 
the  militia,  called  upon  Captain  Wyman. 
"The  regulars,"  said  he,  "have  come  out  to 
Concord,  have  killed  six  men,  and  the  battle 
was  raging  when  the  messenger  started.  What 
shall  be  done?"  "Send  expresses,"  said  Cap- 
tain Wyman,  "to  every  part  of  the  town,  notify- 
ing the  inhabitants  to  meet,  forthwith,  on  the 
green,  and  be  governed  by  their  decision."  Ex- 
presses were  sent,  the  citizens  met  in  the  after- 
noon, and  a  vote  was  unanimously  passed  that 
a  body  of  men  should  be  sent  to  oppose  the  reg- 
ulars. The  question  was  asked,  "  Who  shall 
lead  them  ?  "  Captain  Wyman  was  nominated, 
was  chosen,  and,  though  far  advanced  in  years, 
cheerfully  consented  to  go.  Volunteers  were 
then  called  for,  and  about  thirty  presented  them- 
selves. Captain  Wyman  directed  them  to  go 
home  immediately  and   prepare  provisions    for 


their  use,  "for,"  said  he,  "all  the  roads  will  be 
full  of  men,  and  you  can  procure  nothing  on  the 
way;"  and  he  then  appointed  sunrise  the  next 
morning  the  time,  aud  his  house  the  place  of 
rendezvous.  At  sunrise  they  met,  and  im- 
mediately started  for  Concord.  In  the  after- 
noon General  Bellows,  Colonel  John  Bellows 
and  Thomas  Sparhawk  arrived  from  Walpole, 
and,  riding  to  his  house,  inquired  for  Captain 
Wyman.  Being  answered  that  he  had  started 
at  sunrise,  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  men, 
they  exclaimed,  "Keene  has  shown  a  noble 
spirit!"  and  hastened  onwards.  They  were 
soon  followed  by  a  party  of  men  from  Walpole. 

At  an  informal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants, 
held  on  the  27th  of  April,  they  chose  Timothy 
Ellis  a  delegate  to  meet  the  committee  at  Exeter, 
and  to  sit,  as  a  member,  in  the  Provincial 
Congress,  whenever  they  convene.  He  ex- 
pressed his  willingness  to  accept  the  office,  but 
declared  that  he  had  not,  and  could  not,  in 
season,  procure  money  enough  to  bear  his  ex- 
penses. The  inhabitants,  thereupon,  "  Voted, 
that  he  might  draw  from  the  treasury  four 
pounds,  lawful  money." 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington  several 
Tories,  among  whom  was  Elijah  Williams, 
Esq.,  left  this  vicinity,  and  joined  the  British 
in  Boston. 

In  the  warrant  calling  a  town-meeting  on 
the  7th  day  of  December,  one  of  the  articles  was, 
"  To  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  town,  that  the 
names  of  those  persons  who  buy,  sell  or  make 
use  of  Bohea  tea  be  advertised  in  the  public 
prints."  At  the  meeting,  held  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, this  article  passed  in  the  negative  ;  but 
a  committee  of  inspection  was  appointed  to  see 
that  the  resolves  of  the  Continental  Congress 
be  complied  with.  After  dismissing  two  other 
articles,  relating  to  the  troubles  of  that  period, 
the  town  unanimously  adopted  the  following 
resolves,  which  may  be  termed  the  Statute  Law 
of  Keene.  And  here  it  may  be  proper  to  state 
that  no  judicial  courts  were  held  in  the  county 
from  1774  to  1778. 

"  Whereas,  by  the  unhappy  disputes  now  subsisting 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  American  Colonies, 
the  laws  of  several  of  them  have  been  entirely  sub- 
verted, or  wholly  neglected,  to  the  great  detriment  of 


36 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 


society,  and  of  individuals,  whereby  many  disorderly 
persons,  taking  undue  advantage  of  the  times,  as  a 
cloak  to  put  their  revengeful  designs  in  execution,  do 
wickedly  and  maliciously  threaten  to  abuse  and 
destroy  the  persons  and  property  of  many  of  the 
good  and  wholesome  inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  the 
executive  power  being  thrown  by;  and  the  Con- 
gresses, neither  Continental  or  Provincial,  have,  as 
yet,  found  out  or  published  any  method  or  system  of 
government,  for  the  security  of  our  persons  or  prop- 
erty; and  until  such  a  system  as  they  in  their  wisdom 
shall  see  lit.  or  some  other  be  proposed, — 

"  We,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Keene,  in  the 
county  of  Cheshire,  and  province  of  New-Hamp- 
shire,  legally  convened,  being  desirous  of  order  and 
good  government,  and  for  the  security  of  our  lives, 
persons  and  property, do  pass  the  following  Resolves: 

"•  1st.  It  is  Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  good 
and  steady  men  of  the  town  be  chosen  to  act  upon, and  a 
proper  officer  appointed  to  prosecute  the  Resolves 
hereafter  mentioned. 

"iM.  Whereas,  profane  cursing  and  swearing  are 
highly  provoking  to  Almighty  God  and  offensive  to 
every  t rue  Christ ia n,  which  we  fear,  if  not  discount- 
enanced, will  provoke  the  Divine  Majesty  to  bring 
heavy  judgments  upon  us,  and  still  heavier,  deliver  us 
up  to  the  desire  of  our  enemies  ;  to  prevent  cursing 
and  swearing,  be  it  Resolved,  that  if  any  person  or 
persons  shall  profanely  curse  or  swear,  and  shall  be 
thereof  convicted  before  the  committee,  by  sufficient 
witnesses  or  by  confession  of  the  party,  every  such 
offender  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  committee,  for 
the  use  of  the  poor  of  said  town,  a  sum  not  exceeding 
three  shillings,  nor  less  than  one;  according  to  the 
repeatedness  of  the  offence,  and  pay  cost  of  prosecu- 
tion, which  cost  shall  be  ascertained  by  tin'  committee 
before  whom  the  person  shall  be  convicted,  and  in 
case  any  person,  convicted  as  aforesaid,  shall  refuse 
to  pay  the  sum  or  sums  so  forfeited  and  adjudged,  he, 
she  or  they  shall  be  immediately  committed  to  the 
common  gaol  not  exceeding  ten  days  nor  less  than 
three  for  said  forfeiture,  and  until  he  pay  all  just 
costs. 

"3d.  Whereas,  it  is  highly  necessary  that  every 
person  of  able  body  should  betake  himself  to  some 
h '>t  calling,  and  not  mis-spend  their  time  in  loiter- 
ing and  tippling  in  licensed  house-  or  elsewhere  in 
this  town,  to  prevent  which, 

"Beit  Resolved,  that  if  any  person  or  persons,  fit 
and  able  to  work,  shall  refuse  so  to  do,  but  loiter  and 
mis-spend  Ins  or  their  time,  wander  from  place  to 
place,  or  otherwise  misorder  themselves,  by  drinking 
or  tippling  in  any  of  the  licensed  houses  or  elsewhere 
in  this  town,  after  nineo'clock  at  night,  or  continue  in 
any  of  the  aforesaid  houses  above  the  space  of  one 
hour,  unless  on  necessary  business,  all  such  persons 
being  convicted  of  any  of  the  aforesaid  articles  before 
said  committee,  by  sufficient  witnesses,  shall,  for  every 


such  offense,  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  said  committee, 
for  the  use  id'  the  poor  of  said  town,  the  sum  of  two 
shillings,  and  all  just  costs  of  trial,  which  shall  be 
adjudged  by  said  committee,  and  in  case  any  person, 
convicted  as  aforesaid,  shall  refuse  to  pay  the  sum  or 
sums  so  forfeited  and  adjudged,  he  or  they  shall  be 
committed  to  the  common  gaol,  there  to  remain  not 
exceeding  ten  days,  nor  less  than  three  days,  for  said 
forfeiture,  and  until  he  pay  all  just  costs. 

"4th.  Whereas,  personal  abuse  tends  to  promote  ill 
blood  and  discord  among  society,  to  prevent  which, 
be  it  Resolved,  that  if  any  person  or  persons  shall 
smite,  or  strike,  or  threaten  to  abuse  or  destroy  the 
person  or  property  of  another,  he  or  they  so  offend- 
ing shall,  for  the  first  offense,  pay  to  the  said  com- 
mittee, for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  said  town,  the  sum 
of  five  shillings,  and  costs  of  prosecution,  and  double 
that  sum  for  the  second  offense,  and  for  the  third  or 
any  after  offense,  shall  be  imprisoned  or  publicly 
whipt,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  committee 
before  whom  they  are  convicted,  and  in  case  any  per- 
son, being  convicted  as  aforesaid,  shall  refuse  to  pay 
the  sum  or  sums  so  forfeited  and  adjudged,  he  or  they 
shall  be  committed  to  the  common  gaol,  there  to  re- 
main not  exceeding  ten  days  nor  less  than  four,  for 
said  forfeiture,  and  until  he  pay  all  just  costs. 

"5th.  Further  be  it  Resolrcd,  that  if  any  person  or 
persons  shall  presume  to  purchase,  or  bring  into  this 
town,  any  teas,  of  what  sort  soever,  until  the  mind- 
id'  the  Congress  respecting  that  article  shall  be  fully 
known,  shall  forthwith  deliver  up  such  teas  to  one  or 
more  of  the  committee,  to  be  stored  by  them  and 
kept  for  the  owner  until  the  minds  of  the  Congress 
be  known  respecting  that  matter,  and  in  case  any 
person  shall  refuse  to  deliver  up  said  tens,  the  com- 
mittee have  power  to  imprison  him  until  he  does. 

"6th.  And  for  the  better  execution  of  all  and  every 
the  foregoing  articles,  it  is  Resolved,  that  all  and  each 
of  the  said  committee  shall  have  full  power  and 
authority  to  bring  before  them  any  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  town,  or  any  person  residing  in  said  town,  that 
shall  offend  in  any  of  the  foregoing  resolves,  and 
upon  his  or  their  own  views,  or  other  sufficient  con- 
viction of  any  such  offense,  to  impose  the  fine  and 
penalty  for  the  same,  and  to  commit  the  offender 
until  it  be  satisfied. 

"7th.  It  is  likewise  Resolved,  that  the  officer  ap- 
pointed shall  have  power  and  authority  to  carry  any 
person  that  shall  be  found  trespassing  in  any  of  the 
foregoing  particulars,  before  said  committee  for  trial, 
and,  if  need  be,  may  command  aid  and  assistance  in 
discharging  his  trust,  and  any  person  refusing  to  give 
aid  or  assistance,  as  aforesaid,  he  or  they  shall  forfeit 
the  sum  of  three  shillings  for  every  offence,  and  have 
their  name-  inserted  in  the  public  Gazette  as  un- 
friendly to  good  order. 

"A  ml  all  masters  and  heads  of  families  in  this  town 
are  hereby  directed  to  take  effectual  care  that  their 


KEENE. 


37 


children,  servants  and  others  under  their  immediate 
government  do  not  trespass  in  any  of  the  foregoing 
particulars. 

"  Chose  Thomas  Baker,  Eliphalet  Briggs  and  Dan 
Guild  as  a  committee  to  judge,  determine  and  act  up- 
on said  Resolves  and  put  them  in  execution,  and 
chose  Elijah  Blake  officer  for  the  purpose  mentioned 
in  said  Resolves." 

This  extract  informs  the  reader  of  the  origin 
of  the  Committee  of  Safety  for  the  State,  and 
enables  him  the  better  to  understand  the  follow- 
ing document : 

"  To  the  Selectmen  of  Keene  : 

"Colony  of  New  Hampshire. 

"In  Committee  of  Safety,  April  12th,  1776. 
"  In  order  to  carry  the  unwritten  Resolve  of  the 
Hon'ble  Congress  into  Execution,  You  are  requested 
to  desire  all  Males  above  Twenty-One  Years  of  Age, 
(Lunaticks,  Idiots,  and  Negroes  excepted,)  to  sign  to 
the  Declaration  on  this  paper;  and  when  so  done  to 
make  return  hereof,  together  with  the  Name  or  Names 
of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the  same,  to  the  General 
Assembly,  or  Committee  of  Safety  of  this  Colony. 

"  M.  Weare,  Chairman. 

"  In  Congress,  March  14,  1776. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several 
Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils,  or  Commit- 
tees of  Safety  of  the  United  Colonies,  immediately  to 
cause  all  persons  to  be  disarmed,  within  their  respec- 
tive Colonies,  who  are  notoriously  disaffected  to  the 
cause  of  America,  Or  who  have  not  associated,  and  re- 
fuse to  associate,  to  defend  by  Arms  the  United  Colo- 
nies, against  the  Hostile  Attempts  of  the  British 
Fleets  and  Armies. 

"  Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

(copy.)  "Charles  Thompson,  Sec'y. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  above  Resolution,  of  the 
Hon.  Continental  Congress,  and  to  show  our  Deter- 
mination in  joining  our  American  Brethren,  in  de- 
fending the  Lives,  Liberties  and  Properties  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  United  Colonics, 

"  We,  the  Subscribers,  do  hereby  solemnly  engage, 
and  promise  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  Power, 
at  the  Risque  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes,  with  Arms 
oppose  the  Hostile  Proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets 
and  Armies  against  the  United  American  Colonies. 


"  Thomas  Frink. 
Nathan  Blake. 
Eliphalet  Briggs,  Jr. 
Josiah  Richardson. 
Joseph  Blake. 
Daniel  Kingsbury. 
Dan  Guild. 
Eli  Metcalf. 
Ichahod  Fisher. 


Bartholomew  Grimes. 
David  Willson. 
Benjamin  Balch. 
Ebenezer  Day. 
John  Dickson. 
Naboth  Bettison. 
Abraham  Wheeler,  Jr. 
James  Wright. 
John  Houghton. 


Thomas  Wilder, 
Isaac  Wyman. 
David  Foster. 
Ephraim  Dorman. 
Seth  Heaton. 
Andrew  Balch. 
Gideon  Ellis. 
Thomas  Baker. 
Benjamin  Archer. 
Joseph  Ellis. 
Simeon  Washburn. 
David  Nims. 
Elisha  Briggs. 
Benjamin  Archer,  Jr. 
Samuel  Wood. 
Eliphalet  Briggs. 
Nathaniel  Briggs. 
Elijah  Blake. 
Uriah  Willson. 
John  Le  Bourveau. 
David  Foster,  Jr. 
Timothy  Ellis. 
Gideon  Tiffany. 
Jesse  Hall. 
Michael  Metcalf. 
. I  esse  Clark. 
Gideon  Ellis,  Jr. 
David  Nims,  Jr. 
Abraham  Wheeler. 
William  Ellis. 
Joshua  Osgood.    • 
Nathaniel  Kingsbury. 
Reuben  Daniels. 
Reuben  Partridge. 
Cephas  Clark. 
Ebenezer  Carpenter. 
Timothy  Ellis,  Jr. 
Eliakim  Nims. 
Caleb  Ellis. 
Joseph  Willson. 
Davis  Howlett. 
Timothy  Ellis  ye  3d. 
Benjamin  Willis. 
Samuel  Chapman. 
John  Balch. 
Ahi jab  Metcalf. 
Henry  Ellis. 
Luther  Bragg. 
Seth  Heaton,  Jr. 
Josiah  Ellis. 
Benjamin  Osgood. 
Ebenezer  Newton. 
Daniel  Willson. 
Ezra  Harvey. 
David  Harris 
Obadiah  Blake,  Jr. 
Zadoc  Nims. 
Isaac  Clark. 


Silas  Cook. 
Nathan  Blake,  Jr. 
Nathan  Rugg. 
Stephen  Larrabee. 
Robert  Spencer. 
Ebenezer  Cook. 
Joshua  Ellis. 
Jotham  Metcalf. 
Moses  Marsh. 
Simeon  Clark,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Ellis. 
Ashahel  Blake. 
Samuel  Bassett. 
Jedediah  Well  man. 
Jonathan  Heaton. 
Simeon  Ellis. 
Benjamin  Ellis. 
James  Crossfield. 
Joseph  Ellis,  Jr. 
Thomas  Baker,  Jr. 
Thomas  Wells. 
Achilles  Mansfield. 
Royal  Blake. 
William  Gray. 
Aaron  Gray,  Jr. 
John  Daniels. 
Samuel  Daniels. 
Jedediah  Carpenter. 
William  Goodenough. 
Adin  Holbrook. 
Hezekiah  Man. 
Jeremiah  Stiles. 
Samuel  Hall. 
Jonathan  Archer. 
Abraham  Pond. 
Silas  French. 
Eliphalet  Carpenter. 
Benjamin  YVillard. 
Jacob  Town. 
John  Day. 
Peter  Rice. 
Isaac  Est  v. 
Jonathan  Dwinell. 
Thomas  Dwinell. 
John  Connolly. 
Abijah  Wilder. 
Zadoc  Wheeler. 
Daniel  Snow. 
William  Nelson. 
Israel  Houghton. 
William  Woods. 
Asaph  Nichols. 
Elisha  Ellis. 
Thomas  Fields. 
Michael  Sprought. 
Benjamin  Tiffany. 
James  Eddy. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"Agreeably  to  the  within  direction,  we  have  re- 
quested all  in  this  Town  to  sign,  as  herein  set  forth; 
and  hereto  annexed  the  names  of  all  those  who  lie- 
fuse  to  sign  within  Declaration,  viz.: 


Maj.  Josiah  Willard. 
I.t.  Benjamin  Hall. 
Dr.  Josiab  Pomeroy. 
Samuel  Wadsworth. 
Robert  ( Silman. 
John  White. 
Elea/.er  Samrer. 


Abner  Sanger. 
Thomas  Cutter. 
James  Perkins. 
Benjamin  <  Osgood,  Jr. 
John  Swan, 
■lames  Hunt. 


"  Eliphalet  Briggs,  Jr.,  1    e?  t 

I    Selectmen 
"Josiah  Kiciiakdsox,        |     .  ,     ™ 

\  of  the  Town 
"Joseph  IJlake,  ,  ,-       „ 

u  _  ..  of  Keener 

"  Daniel  Kinsbury.  J 

The  representatives  of  the  General  Assembly 
having  desired  their  constituents  to  nominate 
justices  of  the  peace,  the  inhabitants,  April  3d, 
"  Voted,  unanimously,  that  it  is  the  mind  of  this 
town  that  Colonel  Isaac  Wyman  be  appointed." 

August  2d,  "  Captain  Eliphalet  Briggs  was 
chosen  a  delegate,  to  meet  with  other  delegates 
at  Walpole,  to  consult  and  agree  upon  such 
methods  as  shall  be  thought  necessary  for  the 
general  good,  and  our  mutual  defense  and 
safety."  This  convention  was  called  by  order 
of  a  subcommittee  of  the  several  Committees 
of  Safety  in  the  county. 

The  following  memorandum  is  copied  from 
the  records  of  this  year,  1777  : 

"  Whereat),  orders  were  sent  from  the  Court  to  the 
Selectmen,  desiring  them  to  assist  the  commanding 
officers  of  the  militia  in  the  town,  by  causing  a  town- 
meeting  to  be  called,  in  order  to  raise  men  for  the 
Continental  army  during  the  war,  in  obedience  to 
which,  a  legal  meeting  was  warned,  and  the  town  met 
on  the  31st  of  March,  made  several  proposals  for  en- 
couragement, and  voted  thirty  pounds  to  each  man, 
if  a  sufficient  number  would  turn  out,  but  as  not  any 
appeared,  the  meeting  was  dismissed  and  nothing 
voted  that  was  conclusive  or  valid." 

In  May  or  June  a  court,  appointed  by  the 
<  oinniittee  of  Safety  in  the  county,  was  held  at 
Scene,  before  whom  were  brought  the  princi- 
pal Tories  in  the  county,  to  be  tried  for  their 
offenses  or  opinions.  It  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained who  were  members  of  this  court,  but 
Benjamin  Giles,  of  Newport,  and  Colonel 
Hammond,  of  Swanzey,  were  probably  two. 
The  Tories  were  guarded  by  a  body  of  men,  of 
whom  Mr.  Floyd,  of  Walpole,  was  commander. 


The  court  sat  nearly  two  weeks  before  they 
came  to  any  decision  ;  and  it  was  supposed  by 
some,  at  the  time,  that  the  object  of  this  delay 
was  that  the  violent  Whigs,  by  whom  they 
were  surrounded,  might  become  weary  and  dis- 
perse,  and  leave  them  at  liberty  to  give  a  more 
lenient  judgment  than  was  demanded.  In  the 
end  the  court  decided  that  the  Tories  should  be 
confined  to  their  farms,  and  give  bonds  for 
their  good  behavior. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  June  11th  a  com- 
mittee  was  chosen  "to  state  the  price  of  articles, 
labor,  &c.,  as  the  law  directs."  The  town  "  Voted 
to  pay  to  each  man  that  has  or  shall  enlist  into 
the  Continental  army,  for  the  term  of  three 
years,  or  doing  the  war,  to  make  up  the  quota 
of  this  town,  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds,  exclu- 
sive of  the  bounty  given  by  this  State;  and 
also  to  allow  those  that  have  done  service  in  the 
war  heretofore,  in  the  same  proportion  as  fifty- 
six  pounds  is  for  three  years;  and  a  committee 
was  chosen  to  make  an  exact  proportion  of  what 
every  man  had  done  in  the  war,  in  time  past,  in 
order  that  an  exact  assessment  may  be  made  for 
the  above  said  charge." 

Mrs.  Sturtevant,  who  is  the  widow  of  Cor- 
nelius Sturtevant,  Jr.,  the  printer,  was  born  in 
177(1,  and  is  now  living  with  mental  faculties 
bright  and  vigorous,  well  remembers  that,  in 
early  girlhood,  when  going  to  school  from 
Wesl  Street  to  the  school-house  just  south  of 
the  old  Ralston  bouse,  she  passed  the  old  jail; 
standing  near  where  the  Emerald  House  now 
stands.  It  was  made  of  hewn  logs,  with  a 
small  hole  for  a  window.  She  and  her  com- 
panions often  stopped  to  hear  a  Mr.  Baxter, 
who  was  confined  there,  sing  the  "  Vicar  of 
Bray."  This  Baxter  was  a  Tory,  lived  in  Surry 
or  Alstead,  and  was  probably  then  confined  for 
Toryism.  Tradition  speaks  of  him  as  wealthy 
for  the  time,  bold,  reckless,  fond  of  enjoyment 
and  of  defying  public  (•pinion.  He  doubtless 
sang  the"  Vlcarof  Bray  "  to  reproach  andpro- 
voke  the  rebels  outside  for  having  deserted  their 
King  and  sworn  allegiance  to  the  new  govern- 
ment.     He  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia. 

The  battle  of  Bennington  was  fought  this 
year.  On  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga  urgent  calls 
came  from  the  Americans   in   that  region  to  the 


KEENE. 


39 


people  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  to 
hasten  to  their  assistance. 

Major  Ellis,  Josiah  Richardson,  Joshua  Du- 
rant  and  others  immediately  crossed  the  Green 
Mountains,  and  soon  found  themselves  in  front 
of  the  Hessian  breastwork,  sustaining  and  re- 
turning an  incessant  fire.  The  major,  some- 
what excited,  ordered  a  charge,  and  himself  and 
most  of  his  men  leaped  over,  among  whom  was 
Durant.  The  Hessians  wavered,  scattered  and 
fled.  Durant  pursued  a  party  of  three,  and 
gaining  fast  upon  them,  the  hindmost  turned 
back,  their  muskets  at  this  moment  touching 
each  other.  Durant  fired  first  and  killed  his 
antagonist.  While  reloading,  the  other  two 
turned  back  upon  him.  He  wrenched  his  bayo- 
net from  his  gun,  seized  one  by  the  collar,  and 
was  about  to  stab  the  other,  when  both  called 
for  quarter  and  surrendered  themselves  prison- 
ers. The  three  were  brothers.  For  many 
years  afterwards  Durant  occasionally  wore,  as 
trophies,  a  waistcoat  and  silver-mounted  breast- 
pin taken  from  the  man  he  had  killed. 

Mr.  Richardson  came  home  with  the  glory 
of  having  captured  three  Hessians.  He  allowed 
the  world  to  believe  the  story  to  be  true,  as  in 
fact  it  was,  but  to  his  friends  he  admitted  that, 
either  from  terror  or  dissatisfaction  with  their 
condition,  they  appeared  to  be  not  very  unwill- 
ing captives. 

In  December,  in  town-meeting,  Captain  Stiles, 
Captain  Howlet  and  Jabez  Fisher  were  succes- 
sively chosen  representative,  and  each  declined 
accepting  the  office ;  Timothy  Ellis  was  then 
chosen  and  consented  to  serve.  The  town  "  Voted 
to  empower  the  representative  to  act  in  behalf 
of  the  town  in  the  choice  of  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress."  A  similar  vote  was  af- 
terwards annually  passed,  from  which  it  may 
be  inferred  either  that  the  town  did  not  con- 
sider their  representatives  had  authority,  or  that 
the  latter  were  unwilling;  to  act  in  this  behalf 
without  such  a  vote. 

At  a  meeting  held  January  17,  1778,  the  in- 
habitants, "  after  reading  and  conferring  upon 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  voted  that  it  is  the  minds  of  the  town 
that  they  be  established  by  this  State. 

'  Voted,  further  to  instruct  the  representative 


to  use  his  influence  in  the  General  Assembly 
that  a  free  and  full  representation  of  every  town 
in  this  State  take  place  to  a  Convention,  to  meet 
at  such  time  and  place  as  the  General  Assembly 
shall  appoint,"  to  form  a  plan  of  government 
for  said  State. 

Chose  Captain  Stiles,  Major  Ellis  and  Cap- 
tain Griswold  delegates  to  meet  at  Surry,  and 
consult  with  the  delegates  of  the  other  towns. 

April  27th,  Jeremiah  Stiles  was  chosen  a 
delegate  to  meet  in  the  convention  to  be  held 
at  Concord  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Con- 
stitution and  plan  of  government  for  the 
State. 

At  a  meeting  held  March  2,  1779,  the  town 
"  Voted  that  the  selectmen  be  a  committee  to 
give  the  representative  instructions  to  use  his 
influence  that  the  delegates  from  this  State  to 
the  Continental  Congress  lay  claim  to  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  so  called,  provided  that 
Congress  will  not  confirm  the  same  into  a  new 
State." 

In  this  year  Captain  Mack,  of  Gilsum, 
probably  incited  by  some  of  the  zealous  Whigs 
in  Keene,  collected  a  party  with  a  view  of  ap- 
prehending several  Tories  who  resided  here,  and 
who  were  suspected  of  furnishing  the  enemy 
with  provisions.  On  the  evening  of  the  30th 
of  May  l  they  assembled  at  Partridge's  tavern, 
near  Wright's  mills,  on  the  road  to  Surry.  In 
the  night  Mack  sent  forward  several  men  with 
directions  to  place  themselves  separately  at  the 
doors  of  those  houses  where  the  Tories  resided, 
and  prevent  their  escape.  At  sunrise  he  rode 
into  Keene,  at  the  head  of  his  party  with  a 
drawn  sword ;  and  when  he  came  to  the  house 
of  a  Tory  he  ordered  the  sentinel  standing  at  the 
door  to  "turn  out  the  prisoner."  The  prisoner 
being  brought  out  and  placed  in  the  midst  of 
his  party,  he  proceeded  onward.  Having  gone 
through    the   street,  collected  all  of  them   and 


1  The  first  line  of  a  song,  remembered  by  an  aged  citizen, 
fixes  the  day  when  this  party  visited  Keene  : 

"  On  the  thirty-first  of  May, 
Appeared  in  Keene,  at  break  of  day, 
A  mob,  both  bold  and  stout." 

Those  who  lived  in  these  times  well  remember  thai   the 
muses  were  not  silent  amid  tlie  din  of  arms. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


searched  their  cellars  for  provisions,  of  which 
he  found  Little,  he  returned  to  the  tavern  of 
Mr.  Hall,  and  confined  them  in  a  chamber. 

But,  when  he  first  made  his  appearance, 
information  was  sent  to  Mr.  Howler,  who  then 
commanded  the  militia,  of  the  commotion  in 
the  village.  He  instantly  sent  expresses  to 
warn  his  company  to  appear  forthwith  in  the 
street,  with  their  arms  and  ammunition.  They 
came  about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  were 
paraded,  facing  south,  in  front  of  the  meeting- 
house, then  standing  south  of  where  it  now 
does — on  a  line  with  the  north  line  of  West 
Street — and  were  ordered  to  load  their  guns 
with  powder  and  hall.  Mack  paraded  his  com- 
pany across  the  street  from  the  tavern  to  the 
Watson  house,  facing  their  antagonists.  Col- 
onel Alexander,  of  Winchester,  who  then  com- 
manded the  regiment,  had  been  sent  for,  and 
now  came.  He  asked  Captain  Mack  if  he  in- 
tended to  pursue  his  object.  "  I  do,"  replied  he, 
"at  the  hazard  of  my  life."  "Then,"  said  the 
colonel,  emphatically,  "  you  must  prepare  for 
eternity,  for  you  shall  not  be  permitted  to  take 
vengeance,  in  this  irregular  mode,  on  any  men, 
even  if  they  are  Tories."  This  resolute  speech 
cooled  the  ardor  of  many.  After  deliberating 
a  while,  Mack  ordered  his  party  to  face  about, 
and  led  them  a  short  distance  southward  ;  and 
the  militia  then  went  into  the  meeting-house. 
Not  lone.-  afterwards  the  mob  faced  about  again, 
and  marched  silently  by  the  meeting-house, 
towards  Surry;  but  though  silently,  they  did 
not  march  in  silence,  for  the  women,  as  they 
passed,  furnished  noisy  and  lively  music,  on 
tin  pans  and  warming-pans,  until  they  disap- 
peared from  view. 

At  a  meeting  held  July  7th  the  town  chose"a 
committee  to  hire  and  agree  with  five  men  bo 
serve  in  the  Continental  army,  on  the  best  terms 
they  can  ;"  and  the  same  committee  were  empow- 
ered to  hire  two  men  for  the  Rhode  Island  ser 
vice,  at  the  town's  charge. 

October  2<»th  the  Town  voted  to  raise  three 
hundred  and  thirty  pounds  for  paying  the  charge 
of  raisins:  men  for  the  defense  of  the  State  of 
Rhode  Esland,  and  the  sum  of  four  hundred 
and  thirty-one  pounds  for  the  charge  of  raising 
men  for  the  Continental  service. 


June  27  1 780,  the  town  voted  to  give  fifty 
dollar-  (as  it  is  valued  and  stipulated  in  the  act 
of  court)  to  each  able  bodied  man  that  will 
engage  in  the  Continental  service,  in  behalf  of 
the  town,  for  the  space  of  six  months. 

In  the  warrant  calling  a  town-meeting,  to 
be  held  July  '20th,  the  following  article  was 
inserted  : 

"  Whereas,  by  an  act  el'  the  General  Assembly  <>i' 
this  State,  each  town  is  obliged  to  provide  (monthly) 
a  quantity  of  beef  tor  the  use  of  the  Continental  army, 
for  the  space  of  live  months;  therefore  to  see  what 
method  the  town  will  take  to  procure  said  quantity  of 
beef." 

At  themeeting  the  town  voted  "to  raise  eleven 
thousand  three  hundred  and  nine  pounds  of  beef, 
each  person  to  have  liberty  to  pay  his  equal  pro- 
port  ion  thereof  in  beef,  or  to  pay  so  much 
money  in  lieu  thereof  as  life  was  taxed  in  the 
last  State  and  Continental  tax." 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1781,  the  selectmen, 
reciting  that,  "  by  a  late  act  of  the  Gem  ral  As- 
sembly, each  town  is  oblige  to  furnish  their 
quota  of  men  for  the  Continental  army  as  soon 
as  possible,"  called  a  meeting,  to  be  held  Febru- 
ary 7th,  "to  see  what  method  the  town  will 
take  to  raise  their  quota." 

At  a  meeting  thus  called  the  following  votes 
were  passed  :  "Voted,to  choose  a  committee  to 
make  an  average  of  what  service  each  man  has 
done  heretofore,  as  to  hiring  men  or  going  per- 
sonally into  the  service  of  the  United  States." 
Upon  further  consultation  and  consideration,  it 
was  voted  to  postpone  the  average  to  some  future 
time,  and  "  Foted,  to  divide  the  ratable  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town  into  twelve  equal  classes,  and 
each  class  to  procure  a  man  to  serve  in  the  Con- 
tinental army  the  space  of  three  years,  or 
during  the  war  upon  their  own  charge,  as  soon 
as  may  be." 

At  a  meeting  held  April  16,  1782,  the  town 
voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  make  an  account 
of  the  service  each  man  has  done  in  the  presenl 
war,  and  make  an  average,  so  that  each  man 
may  have  credit  for  what  he  has  already  done; 
and  also  to  divide  or  class  the  inhabitant-  into 
twelve  equal  classes  (credit  for  what  each  man 
has  done  in  be  given  him),  and  each  class  to 
provide,  or  hire,  a    man   for  the  space  of  three 


KEENE. 


41 


years,  or  during  the  war,  upon  their  on  cost; 
said  classes  to  be  so  made  that  each  pay  equal 
taxes. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  June  19,  1783,  the 
town  "  Voted,  unanimously,  that  the  representa- 
tive be  instructed  to  use  his  influence  that  all 
who  have  absented  themselves  from  any  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  joined  with,  or 
put  themselves  under  the  protection  of,  the  ene- 
mies of  the  United  States,  be  utterly  debarred 
from  residing  within  this  State."  This  vote 
was  passed  at  the  request  of  the  representative, 
Daniel  Kingsbury,  to  be  instructed  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  hav- 
ing secured  to  the  Tories  the  privilege  of  return- 
ing to  this  country  to  collect  their  debts  and 
and  settle  their  affairs,  Elijah  Williams,  .Esq., 
came  to  Keene  for  that  purpose  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  year.  His  appearance  here  so  ex- 
asperated the  zealous  Whigs  that  they  seized 
him  and  carried  him  before  Thomas  Baker, 
Esq.,  a  justice  of  the  peace.  What  were  the 
charges  against  him,  or  whether  any  charges 
were  exhibited,  has  not  been  ascertained.  The 
justice,  perhaps  with  a  view  to  protect  him 
from  outrage,  ordered  him  to  recognize  for  his 
appearance  at  the  Court  of  Sessions,  to  be  held 
at  Charlestown,  in  April,  and  committed  him  to 
the  custody  of  the  sheriff.  With  this  the  pop- 
ulace were  not  satisfied,  and  they  discovered  an 
intention  of  assaulting;  and  beating-  him  :  but 
he  was  surrounded  and  guarded  to  his  lodgings 
by  the  old  and  the  young  men  who  happened  to 
be  present. 

The  animosity  of  the  Whigs,  aggravated 
probably  by  the  arts  of  those  who  were  in- 
debted to  him,  was,  however,  so  great  that  they 
determined  he  should  not  thus  escape  their  ven- 
geance. On  the  day  before  that  appointed  for 
the  sitting  of  the  court  a  party  concealed  them- 
selves in  the  pines  near  Fisher  Brook,  intend- 
ing, when  he  passed  with  the  sheriff,  to  get  him 
into  their  power.  The  sheriff  passed  without 
him,  relying  upon  the  promise  he  had  made  to 
appear  at  court  the  next  day.  This  circum- 
stance excited  their  suspicions  ;  they  came  im- 
mediately into  the  street,  seized  Williams  at  his 
lodgings,    and,    placing    him    in    the    midst  of 


them,  repaired  to  a  tavern  in  Ash  Swamp. 
When  he  arrived  there  two  bundles  of  black- 
beech  rods  were  produced,  from  which  it  ap- 
peared that  a  plan  had  been  concerted  to  compel 
him  to  run  the  gauntlet,  with  the  view,  proba- 
bly, of  inducing  him,  by  such  harsh  treatment, 
again  to  leave  the  country.  But  by  this  time 
a  large  number  of  considerate  citizens  had  as- 
sembled and  arrived  at  the  tavern.  A  proposi- 
tion was  made  that  the  whole  subject  should  be 
referred  to  a  committee.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed ;  their  report  was  too  favorable  to  Wil- 
liams to  suit  the  majority,  and  was  rejected. 
Another  committee  was  appointed,  who  reported 
that  he  should  leave  the  town  the  next  day  and 
leave  the  State  the  next  week.  This  report 
was  agreed  to;  but  the  minority,  still  dissatis- 
fied, privately  sent  out  messengers,  to  collect 
more  of  their  friends.  This  being  communi- 
cated to  those  who  were  disposed  to  protect 
Williams,  they  advised  him  to  retire  imme- 
diately. An  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  him 
from  mounting  a  horse,  which  had  been  offered 
him  by  a  friend.  A  conflict  ensued,  in  which 
the  horse  was  overthrown,  and  several  persons 
were  knocked  down  with  clubs.  He  at  length, 
however,  mounted,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
friends,  and  rode  through  the  crowd,  which 
continued  to  oppose  him. 

The  next  day  he  repaired  to  Charlestown, 
and  presented  himself  to  the  court,  which 
thereupon  passed  the  following  order:  "That 
Elijah  Williams,  Esq.,  now  in  the  keeping  of 
Isaac  Griswold,  by  virtue  of  a  mittimus  from 
Thomas  Baker,  Esq.,  continue  in  the  custody 
of  the  said  Isaac  until  he  shall  have  transacted 
the  business  upon  which  he  came  into  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  then  be  permitted  to  leave 
this  State,  upon  his  good  behavior,  without 
further  molestation."  After  settling  his  affairs 
Williams  repaired  to  Nova  Scotia.  Shortly 
after,  in  consequence  of  ill  health,  he  returned 
to  Deerfield,  his  native  town,  died,  and  was 
buried  by  the  side  of  his  ancestors. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  foot  company 
in  Keene  in  1773  : 


"  Lieut.  Benjamin  Hall. 
Ensign  Michael  Metcalf. 
Clerk  Simeon  Clark. 


Joseph  Gray. 
Samuel  Hall. 
Jesse  Hall. 


42 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Serj.  Elijah  Blake. 
Serj.  Thomas  Baker. 
Serj.  Isaac  Esty. 
Serj.  Jede.  Carpenter. 
Corp.  Dan  Guild. 
Corp.  Joseph  Blake. 
Corp.  Abijah  Metcalf. 
Benjamin  Archer. 
Jonathan  Archer. 
Ashael  Blake. 
John  Brown. 
Elisha  Briggs. 
John  Balch. 
Benjamin  Balch,  Jr. 
Luther  Bragg. 
Samuel  Bassett. 
John  Burt. 
Nathan  Blake,  Jr. 
Obadiah  Blake,  Jr. 
Royal  Blake. 
Naboth  Bettison. 
Thomas  Baker,  Jr. 
John  Pray  Blake. 
Cephas  Clark. 
Seth  Clark. 
Eliphalet  Carpenter. 
Ebenezer  Carpenter. 
Samuel  Chapman. 
Silas  Cook. 
Isaac  Clark. 
Simeon  Clark,  Jr. 
Jonas  Clark. 
John  Day,  Jr. 
John  Daniels. 
Reuben  Daniels. 
John  Dickson. 
Addington  Daniels. 

Ebenezer  Day,  Jr. 
Jacob  Day. 

James  Dean. 

Timothy  Crossfield. 

Joseph  Ellis,  Jr. 

Gideon  Ellis,  Jr. 

Simeon  Ellis. 

Timothy  Ellis  (3d). 

William  Ellis. 

Caleb  Ellis. 

Stephen  Esty. 

James  Eady. 

Benry  Ellis. 

Benjamin  Ellis. 

Benjamin  Ellis,  Jr. 

Joshua  Ellis. 

Jabez  Fisher. 

Silas  French. 

Da v ill  Foster,  Jr. 

Peter  Fiskin. 

Aaron  Gray,  Jr. 


Peter  Hubbert. 
Seth  Heaton,  Jr. 
John  Houghton. 
Joseph  Hills, 
Davis  Howlet. 
Ziba  Hall. 
Jonathan  Heaton, 
Luther  Heaton. 
Nathaniel  Kingsbury. 
Daniel  Kingsbury. 
Stephen  Larrabee. 
Daniel  Lake. 
Ezra  Metcalf. 
Jonathan  Metcalf. 
Moses  Marsh. 
Eli  Metcalf. 
Daniel  Metcalf. 
William  Nelson. 
David  Nims,  Jr. 
Ebenezer  Newton. 
Asahel  Nims. 
Eliakim  Nims. 
Zadock  Nims. 
Alpheus  Nims. 

Joshua  Osgood. 
Benjamin  Osgood,  Jr. 

Amos  Partridge. 
Jonathan  Pond. 
Abiachar  Pond. 

Nathan  Rugg. 
Josiah  Richardson. 

Eleazer  Sanger. 

Abner  Sanger. 

Robert  Spencer. 

Jeremiah  Stiles. 

Richard  Smith. 

John  Swan. 

Jacob  Town. 

Joseph  Thatcher. 

Abraham  Wheeler,  Jr., 

Joseph  Willson . 

William  Woods. 

Oliver  Wright. 

Jedediah  Wellman. 

David  Willson. 

Daniel  Willson. 

Thomas  Wells. 

John  White. 

.Fames  Wright. 

Zadock  Wheeler. 
Walter  Wheeler. 

Samuel  Wadsworth. 

Abijah  Wilder. 

Jonathan  Wheeler. 

Thomas  Wilder. 

Thomas  Morse. 
Ephraim  Leonard. 
Peter  Daniels. 


William  Goodenow.  Luke  Metcalf. 

John  Griggs.  Isaac  Wyman,  Jr. 

"  Errors  excepted. 

"  Ephraim  Dorman,  C. 
"  To  Col.   Josiah  Willard,  Keene,  August  7, 
1773." 

The  following  is  the  alarm-list  belonging  to 
Keene  : 

Lieut.  Seth  Heaton. 
Dea.  David  Foster. 
John  Day. 
Abraham  Wheeler. 
Nathan  Blake. 
Joseph  Ellis. 
Uriah  Wilson. 
Ebenezer  Nims. 
David  Nims. 
Gideon  Ellis. 
Lieut.  Andrew  Balch. 
Aaron  Gray. 
Ebenezer  Day. 
Eliphalet  Briggs. 
Benjamin  Archer. 
Capt.  Isaac  Wyman. 
Doct.  Obadiah  Blake. 
Lieut.  Timothy  Ellis. 
Thomas  Frink,  Esq. 
Doct.  Josiah  Pomeroy. 
Doct.  Gideon  Tiffany. 
Elijah  Williams. 
Israel   Houghton. 


Samuel  Woods. 
Samuel  Daniels. 
Jesse  Clark. 
Joseph  Brown. 
Robert  Gillmore. 
Obadiah  Hamilton. 
Peter  Rice. 
Elisha  Ellis. 
Isaac  Billings. 
Josiah  Ellis. 
Timothy  Ellis,  Jr. 
Ichabod  Fisher. 
William  Gray. 
Benjamin  Hall,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Osgood. 
Nathaniel  Hall. 
Samuel  Woods,  Jr. 
John  Connolly. 
Samuel  Colhoun. 
Ebenezer  Cooke. 
Daniel  Snow. 
Eliphalet  Briggs,  Jr. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

KEENE— (Continued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

First  Congregational  Church— Second  Congregational 
Church — Unitarian  Church — Baptist  Church — St.  James' 
Church— Methodist  Church— Roman  Catholic  Church. 

The  First  Congregational  Chubch.— 

The  first  reference  to  the  ecclesiastical  history 
of  the  town  found  on  the  old  proprietors'  records 
is  under  date  of  September  30,  L736. 

At  a  proprietors'  meeting  held  at  Keene,  then 
known  as  the  township  of  the  Upper  Ashuelot, 
September  30,  1736,  it  was  voted  "that  they 
will  build  a  Meeting-house  at  the  upper  township 
on  the  Ashuelot,  so  called,  40  feet  Long,  20  feet 
stud,  and  30  and  5  feet  wide,  at  the  south  end 
of    the    town    street    (to    underpin,  cover    and 


KEENE. 


43 


inclose  the  same,  and  lay  down  boards  for  the 
lower  floor),  at  the  place  appointed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court's  committee  ;  and  that  Messrs.  Jere- 
miah Hall,  Samuel  Daniels,  Joseph  Richardson, 
Stephen  Blake  and  Josiah  Fisher  be  a  com- 
mittee to  build  or  let  the  same ;  and  to  see  that 
said  work  be  completely  performed  by  the  26th 
day  of  June  next." 

The  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Jacob  Bacon. 
He  was  called  to  settle  as  the  minister  of  the 
new  plantation  May  5,  1 738,  and  was  ordained 
October  18th  of  the  same  year.  The  committee 
who  presented  the  call  consisted  of  Jeremiah 
Hall,  David  Foster,  Isaac  Clark,  Josiah  Fisher 
and  Ebenezer  Nims. 

The  church  was  organized  October  18,  1737, 
and  soon  after  David  Foster  and  Josiah  Fisher 
were  appointed  deacons.  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon  was 
dismissed  in  1747. 

The  town  was  chartered  in  1753,  and  at  the 
first  meeting  held  under  the  new  charter  it  was 
voted  to  build  a  meeting-house  of  slabs  for  tem- 
porary use,  and  in  the  following  December  it  was 
voted  to  build  a  meeting-house  forty-five  feet  long 
and  thirty-five  feet  wide.  This  house  was 
erected  on  the  common  and  used  till  the  fall  of 
1786,  when  it  was  removed  to  the  west  side  of 
the  common  and  rebuilt  as  the  court-house  of 
Cheshire  County. 

The  second  house  of  worship  was  erected 
in  1786,  and  was  an  enterprise  of  no  small 
magnitude  for  those  early  days.  The  pews  were 
bought  in  anticipation  of  its  being  built  and 
were  generally  paid  for  in  cattle,  which  were 
sold  at  great  discount.  The  following  items 
are  extracted  from  the  records  of  the  building 
committee  : 

"  To  a  journey  in  February,  1787,  to  Sutton,  Frank- 
lin and  Boston,  to  purchase  oil,  glass  and  vane,  £1 
4s.  Od. 

"To  a  journey  down  with  27  head  of  cattel  to 
Wrentham,  December,  1787;  also,  a  journey  to  Provi- 
dence to  buy  the  glass  for  the  rneeting-house ;  and 
expense  of  keeping  said  cattel,  £5  3s.  lOd. 

"  May,  1788. — To  a  journey  to  Providence  after  the 
glass ;  to  carting  glass  from  Providence  to  Wrentham  ; 
also,  a  journey  from  Providence  to  Boston,  19s.  Id. 

"  Paid  for  cattel  more  than  they  sold  for  in  cash, 
£16  18s.  M. 

;'  To  cash  to  defray  the  expenses  of  Samuel  Heaton 


down  to  Wrentham  after  the  glass  for  the  meeting- 
house, wagon  and  two  horses,  £1  18s.  4rf. 

"  Paid  Mr.  John  Ward  &  Co.,  Providence,  for  glass, 
£38  5s.  4d." 

The  pews  sold  for  £941  5s.  Raised  by  tax, 
four  hundred  pounds. 

The  building  committee  consisted  of  Lieu- 
tenant Benjamin  Hall,  Deacon  Daniel  Kings- 
bury, Major  Davis  Howlet,  Mr.  Benjamin 
Anher,  Lieutenant  Reuben  Partridge,  Mr.  Abi- 
jah  Wilder  and  Mr.  Thomas  Baker. 

The  pews  were  sold  at  auction,  as  follows  : 

PEWS  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  HOUSE. 

£     s. 

Daniel  Xeweomb,  Esq.,  No.  15 18    0 

Abijah  Wilder,  No.  20 18  10 

Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  No.  17 18    0 

Benjamin  Hall,  No.  18 18  10 

James  Wright,  No.  62 17    0 

Thomas  Baker,  Jr.,  No.  19 16  10 

Nathan  Blake,  Jr.,  No.  61 16  10 

Abel  Blake,  No.  57 15  10 

Isaac  Billings,  No.  46 15  10 

Josiah  Richardson,  No.  34 16     0 

Aaron  Ernes,  No.  16 15     0 

Colonel  Timothy  Ellis,  No.  63 15  10 

Thomas  Baker,  Esq.,  No.  14 15     0 

Benjamin  Hall,  Esq.,  No.  47 14     0 

Aaron  Willson,  No.  24 14    0 

Israel  Houghton  and  }  ]^Q   25  14     0 

Elisha  Briggs,  i 

Alpheus  Nims,  No.  9 14     0 

David  Howlet,  No.  21 14    0 

Isaac  Blake  and 
Joseph  Blake, 

Royal  Blake,  No.  60 14    0 

Thomas  Field,  No.  26 15    0 

Asa  Dunbar,  Esq.,  No.  35 14    0 

Alexander  Ralston,  No.  33 14     0 

John  Swan,  No.  59 13  10 

Luther  Ernes,  No.  36 13  10 

Jotham  Metcalf,  No.  28 13  10 

Daniel  Kingsbury,  No.  56 13  10 

Reuben  Partridge,  No.  31 12  10 

John  Houghton,  No  30 12    0 

Cornelius  Sturtevant,  No.  45 12     0 

Elijah  Dunbar,  No.  10 12    0 

Abraham  Wheeler,  Jr.,  No.  3 11  10 

Eliphalet  Briggs,  No.  48 11     0 

John  P.  Blake  and  j  Nq  29   _ 10  1Q 

Andrew  Slyfield,        J 

David  Nims,  Jr.,  No.  8 10  10 

William  Woods,  No.  11 11  10 

Benjamin  Archer,  No.  51 10     0 

Benjamin  Hall,  No.  49 10     0 

,  Eli  Metcalf,  No.  12 1<»  1" 


No.  27 14    0 


44 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


£   s. 

Benjamin  Balch,  No.  50 10     0 

Isaac  Griswokl,  No.  44 10     0 

Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  No.  1 10  10 

Ebenezer  Day,  No.  55 10    0 

Thaddeus  Metcalf,  No.  13 10    0 

Ephraim  Wright,  No.  42 10  10 

David  Wilson,  No.  22 10  10 

Joshua  Durant,  No.  64 10    0 

Eri  Richardson,  No.  23 10     0 

John   Dickson,  No.  43 10     0 

Samuel  Bassett,  No.  7 10     0 

David  Foster,  No.  53 10     0 

Asahel  Blake,  No.  32 10     0 

Jesse  Clark,  No.  52 10     0 

Hananiah  Hall  and)  -^ .    -_,  -.^     ,. 

Samuel  Osgood,  i 

Josiah  Willard,  No.  6 10     0 

Josiah  Willard,  No.  41 10     0 

John  Stiles,  No.  4 10  10 

Joseph  Brown,  No.  39 10    0 

Bartholomew  Dwinell  and)  x-      r  1A     A 

,.,_.,                                 r  No.  5 10     0 

John  Stdes,  J 

Daniel  Wilson,  No.  38 10     0 

Dan  (hiilil,  No.  2 10     0 

Simeon  Clark,  No.  37 12  10 

Josiah  Willard,  No.  40 10     0 

PEWS   IN   THE   GALLERY. 

Thomas  Baker,  Jr.,  No.  13  9  10 

Stephen  Chase,  No.  16 8  10 

Benjamin  Kemp,  No.  10 9  10 

Timothy  Balch  and  Ivr     14  _  .... 
Ebenezer  Kobbms,     ) 

Elisha  Briggs,  No.  15 7  10 

Eliakim  Nims,  No.  11..., 7  10 

Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  No.  8 7     0 

Elisha  Briggs,  No.  12 6  10 

Benjamin  Willis,  Jr.,  No.  20 6  15 

Isaac  Billings,  No.  6 6  15 

Elisha  Briggs,  No.  14 6  15 

A.sa   Ware    and )  Nq   2g (.  1Q 

Jonas  Osgood,     1 

Daniel  Kingsbury,  No.  19 6  05 

Eliphalet  Briggs,  No.  21 6    0 

Elisha  Briggs,  No.  7 5  10 

Nathaniel  French,  No.  9 5     0 

Millet  Ellis,  No.  22 4  10 

Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  No.  18 7    0 

Flisha  Briggs,  No.  25 4  05 

Abijah  Wilder,  No.  24 9     0 

Reuben  Partridge,  No.  5 4  05 

Thomas  Field,  No.  4 4  10 

Alexander  McDaniels,  No.  2 4  05 

Eliphalel   Briggs,  No.  8 \  05 

rimothy  Balch,  No.  1 5    0 

The  pews  on  the  floor  (sixty-three)   sold  for 


seven  hundred  and  eighty-nine  pounds  ;  those 
in  the  gallery  (twenty-five)  for  sixty  pounds  ; 
the  whole  number  for  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  pounds, — about  three  thousand  dollars. 

This  church  was  remodeled  in  1828  and  sev- 
eral times  since. 

Mr.  Bacon's  successor  as  pastor  was  Rev. 
Ezra  Carpenter,  who  was  installed  October  4, 
1753,  over  the  united  church  <>f  Keene  and 
Swanzey.     He  remained  about  seven  years. 

At  the  separation  of  Keene  from  Swanzey  the 
Keene  Church  was  organized  with  fourteen  male 
members,  and  June  11,  1761,  Rev.  Clement 
Sumner  was  ordained  as  pastor.  He  officiated 
about  eleven  years,  and  was  succeeded,  in  1777, 
by  Rev.  Aaron  Hall.  He  was  ordained  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1778,  the  church  at  this  time  consist- 
ing of  seventy-seven  members.  Mr.  Hall 
officiated  as  pastor  thirty-seven  years.  He  died 
August  12,  1814.  During  his  ministry  two 
hundred  and  eleven  members  were  received  into 
the  church. 

Rev.  David  Oliphant  was  the  next  pastor, 
installed  May  24,  1815.  He  remained  about 
three  years  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Z.  S. 
Barstow,  D.D.,  who  was  ordained  July  1,  181 S. 
Dr.  Barstow's  pastorate  covered  a  period  of  fifty 
years.  He  resigned  March  1,  1868.  Rev.  J. 
A.  Hamilton  was  his  helper  from  February  !>, 
1861,  till  August  10,  1865,  and  Rev.  J.  A. 
Leach  from  August  10,  l<S(j(),  till  September 
21,  1867. 

Rev.  William  S.  Karr,  installed  July  9,  1868, 
left  January  1,  1873. 

Rev.  Cyrus  Richardson,  from  July  10,  1873, 
till  July  10,  1883. 

The  church  at  present  (1885)  has  no  settled 
pastor. 

( '<  ).\< i i; i;< i a.tional  Society  x  (Unitarian). 
— This  society  was  organized  March  18,  1824, 
by  an  association  of  sixty-nine  men,  under  the 
statutes  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  It 
took  the  designation  of  "  Keene  Congregational 
Society."  Mr.  George  Tilden  is  now,  and  has 
been  for  some  years,  the  only  survivor  of  that 
original     membership.      Among   the    original 


'The  items  for  this  sketch  were  very  kindly  furnished  by 
Rev.  William  Orne  White. 


KEENE. 


45 


members  were  Samuel  Dinsmoor  and  Samuel 
Dinsmoor,  Jr.  (each  Governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire), Thomas  M.  Edwards  (late  a  member 
of  Congress),  Salma  Hale  (member  of  Con- 
gress) Silas  Perry  (the  Revolutionary  soldier), 
John  Elliot,  Aaron  Appleton,  John  Prentiss, 
Francis  Faulkner,  James  Wilson,  Jr.,  William 
Lamson,  Sumner  Wheeler  and  Benjamin  F. 
Adams  ;  and  Phineas  Handerson,  in  1836,  and 
William  L.  Foster,  in  1842,  added  their 
names.  Levi  Chamberlain  was  a  punctual 
attendant,  although  his  name  is  not  on  that 
early  list. 

The  time-honored  deacons,  Samuel  Wood,  Jr., 
and  Adolphus  Wright,  are  there, — the  one  serv- 
ing upwards  of  twenty-nine  and  the  other  thirty- 
five  years, — fitly  succeeded  in  office  by  John 
Clark,  who  also  served  (until  his  death)  nearly 
twenty-seven  years. 

Add  to  such  names  among  the  departed,  as 
chronicled  above,  the  sons  of  Francis  Faulk- 
ner, who,  in  a  business  career  or  at  the  bar, 
achieved  renown;  or  men  like  William  P. 
Abbott,  of  Nashua,  who,  thirty  years  ago, 
joined  the  parish  heart  and  hand  ;  and  it  be- 
comes evident  that  its  influence  has  left  its 
mark  upon  the  community.  And  yet,  without 
the  scores  of  earnest",  faithful,  industrious  men 
with  their  households,  who  have  adorned  a 
more  quiet  career,  the  society  could  not  have  let 
its  light  shine  as  it  has. 

Rev.  William  Orne  White  says  :  "  I  deemed 
myself  fortunate  in  succeeding,  in  1851,  such 
ministers  as  Thomas  Russell  Sullivan  and  Abiel 
Abbot  Livermore,  one  of  whom  had  given  nine 
and  a  half  and  the  other  thirteen  and  a  half  years 
to  the  parish,  and  had  left  behind  them  the  record 
of  earnest  work,  and  that  'good  name 'which 
'  is  better  than  precious  ointment.'  ' 

The  church  edifice  was  enlarged  by  one-third 
its  space  and  remodeled  in  1867—68. 

Early  in  1869,  through  the  gift  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars  by  the  late  Charles  Wilson,  the 
germ  of  the  Invalids'  Home  was  planted,  which 
by  subsequent  bequests  of  five  thousand  dollars 
and  upwards  from  the  late  Mrs.  Rebecca  H. 
Cooke,  and  one  thousand  dollars  from  the  late 
John  J.  Allen,  as  well  as  through  numerous  sub- 
scriptions and    the    co-operation    of  friends    in 


other  parishes  in    Keene,  has  been   enabled   to 
reach  its  present  state  of  efficiency. 

Nearly  five  thousand  dollars  were  paid  to- 
wards the  missionary  efforts  of  the  American 
Unitarian  Association  by  members  of  the 
parish  during  the  twenty-seven  years  of  Mr. 
White's  ministry,  besides  contributions  to 
Freedmen's  Schools,  the  New  Hampshire  Or- 
phans' Home  and  other  charities.  Mr.  White's 
predecessor  had  been  eminently  faithful  to  this 
department  of  parish  exertion. 

Mr.  White  recorded  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  baptisms,  all  but  a  very  few  being  in  Keene. 
In  Keene  or  its  vicinity  he  officiated,  during  his 
pastorate,  at  nearly  five  hundred  burials. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  Keene  Athenaeum 
(precursor  of  the  Keene  Public  Library) 
owed  its  origin  largely  to  efforts  of  persons  of 
our  own  parish.  Yet,  in  saying  this,  the  cor- 
dial co-operation — during  the  war  and  at  other 
times — of  generous-hearted  souls  in  all  the 
parishes,  in  the  behalf  of  the  soldiers,  freed- 
men,  etc.,  cannot  be  forgotten. 

Baptist  Church.1 — Baptists  from  Middle- 
borough,  Mass.,  located  in  the  east  part  of 
Westmoreland,  where  they  constituted  a  church 
in  1771.  This  family  spread  into  the  west  part 
of  Keene.  Here  a  church  of  the  same  faith 
was  recognized  by  an  ecclesiastical  council  on 
the  9th  day  of  September,  1816,  consisting  of 
thirteen  members.  It  was  gathered  under  the 
ministry  of  Rev.  Charles  Cummings.  The 
church  was  received  into  the  Dublin  Baptist 
Association  in  October  of  that  year.  A  small 
meeting-house,  with  square  pews  and  a  gallery, 
was  built  that  autumn.  It  was  situated  in  that 
part  of  the  town  known  as  "  Ash  Swamp,"  and 
dedicated  December  25,  181 6.2  Worship  was 
continued  here,  at  irregular  periods,  under  many 
discouragements,  till  1838,  when  Baptist  preach- 


i  By  Rev.  William  H.  Eaton,  P.P. 

2  This  meeting-house  was  built  mainly  through  the 
agency  of  David  Carpenter,  whose  son,  Caleb  Carpenter, 
paid  largely  toward  the  removal  of  the  debt  on  the  new 
house  on  Court  Street.  The  frame  of  the  old  house  still 
exists,  in  part,  in  the  dwelling-house  on  the  corner  of 
Middle  and  Summer  Streets,  now  owned  by  Mr.  James 
Donnelly.  The  bell  is  still  preserved  and  is  now  used  in 
tin'  new  church. 


46 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ing  was  commenced  in  the  village.  The  effort 
was  so  successful  that  a  brick  meeting-house, 
forty-five  feet  by  sixty-eight  and  a  half  feet, 
on  Winter  Street,1  was  dedicated  September 
17,  1839.  The  interest  in  the  village  was 
started  and  the  house  built  under  the  efficient 
labors  of  Rev.  John  Peacock.  He  baptized 
forty-six  during  the  year  and  a  half  of  his 
ministry.  Rev.  Mark  Carpenter,  late  of  Mil- 
ford,  was  publicly  recognized  as  pastor  of  the 
church  on  the  22d  of  April,  1840,  and  dis- 
missed on  the  3d  of  October,  1844,  having 
baptized  sixty  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Horace  Richardson, 
of  Cornish,  a  recent  graduate  of  Newton  Theo- 
logical Institution,  who  was  ordained  May  7, 
1845.  He  was  dismissed  April  1,  1846.  After 
him  Rev.  Gilbert  Robbins,  late  of  Rumney, 
took  charge  of  the  church,  commencing  his 
labors  in  August  of  that  year.  He  remained 
here  eleven  years,  tendering  his  resignation 
in  June,  1857.  It  was  a  time  of  sowing  and 
not  of  reaping,  though  he  had  the  privilege  in 
one  associational  year  of  baptizing  twenty- 
two. 

In  1853  a  convenient  two-story  parsonage, 
with  a  small  barn,  was  built  on  the  west  side  of 
Court  Street,  about  one-half  mile  from  the 
meeting-house.  The  lot  measured  sixty-six 
tict  front,  with  an  average  depth  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet.  The  land 
and  buildings  cost  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars. 

In  October  of  1857,  Rev.  Leonard  Tracy  be- 
came the  pastor,  and  in  June  of  1863  gave  up 
his  charge,  respected  and  beloved  by  all.  In 
the  mean  time  he  baptized  twenty-six.  In  the 
autumn  of  1863  the  attention  of  the  people  was 
directed  to  Mr.  William  X.  Clarke,  of  Caze- 
novia,  N.  Y.,  a  recent  graduate  of  Hamilton 
Theological  Seminary,  and  he  was  ordained  the 
pastor  January  14.  1864.  tie  remained  here 
five  years  and  a  half,  in  which  time  he  baptized 
twenty-two  and  gave  a  moral  impulse  to  the 
church.     While  he  was  here  a  new  organ  was 

^he  building  committee  for  the  house  on  Winter  Street 
were  Levi  Willard,  William  Stowits  and  Amasa  Brown. 
The  house  remains  on  its  original  location,  though  oc- 
cupied for  secular  purposes 


purchased,  costing  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars.    He  closed  his  labors  here  May  9, 1869. 

He  was  succeeded  bv  Mr.  Austin  V.  Tilton, 
a  graduate  of  Newton  Theological  Institution, 
and  a  sou  of  Rev.  J.  D.  Tilton,  of  Milford.  He 
was  ordained  September  30,  1869,  and  con- 
tinued his  labors  here  till  May  5,  1872.  He 
"  labored  for  direct  spiritual  fruit,"  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  adding  to  the  church,  by  baptism, 
twenty-five  in  less  than  three  years  of  his 
ministry. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  LS72,  Rev.  William  H. 
Eaton,  D.D.,  late  of  Nashua,  was  invited  to  be- 
come pastor.  After  spending  about  two  months 
with  the  people  he  accepted  the  call.  He  was  in- 
stalled September  1st.  The  question  of  a  new 
house  of  worship  had  been  under  discussion  for 
sometime.  After  the  settlement  of  Dr.  Eaton 
the  question  was  soon  revived.  All  felt  that 
extensive  repairs  must  be  made  on  the  old 
house,  or  a  new  house  must  be  built.  The  lat- 
ter plan  was  finally  agreed  upon  with  great 
unanimity.  A  lot  was  purchased  on  the  east 
side  of  Court  Street,  known  as  the  Abijah  Wil- 
der estate.  It  included  a  two-story  dwelling- 
house  on  the  corner  of  Court  and  Vernon 
Streets,  which  was  set  aside  as  a  parsonage,  while 
the  other  was  sold  for  five  thousand  two  hun- 
dred dollars.  After  disposing  of  some  of  the 
land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wilder  lot,  the  re- 
mainder, with  the  dwelling-house,  cost  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

( {round  was  broken  for  the  new  church  on  the 
3d  day  of  June,  1873,  with  appropriate  reli- 
gious services.  The  house  was  dedicated  May 
12,  1875.  It  is  made  of  brick,  and  measures, 
in  the  main  body,  fifty-nine  by  one  hundred  and 
four  feet.  The  recess  is  twenty-eight  and  a  half 
by  fourteen  feet.  The  spire  rises  to  the  height  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet  from  the 
ground,  surmounted  by  a  gilded  weather-vane 
five  feet  high.  The  style  of  architecture  is 
Romauesque.  The  auditorium  is  in  the  second 
story,  and  easily  accommodates  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  people.  It  is  finished  in  ash  and  black 
walnut.  The  orchestra  is  in  the  rear  of  the 
pulpit.  There  is  a  small  gallery  over  the  front 
vestibule  j  there  are  six  beautiful  memorial  win- 
dows, three  on  each  side.     The  acoustic  proper- 


KEENE. 


17 


ties  of  the  house  are  excellent.  The  rooms  on 
the  first  floor  consist  of  chapel,  vestry,  parlor, 
kitchen,  pantry,  toilet-room,  etc.  The  whole 
house  is  well-proportioned,  substantially  built, 
conveniently  arranged  and  tastefully  decorated. 
It  cost,  with  furniture,  exclusive  of  the  land, 
fifty-two  thousand  dollars.1  The  building  of 
this  house  of  worship  was  followed  by  great 
financial  depression  in  the  community,  which 
imposed  a  very  heavy  debt  upon  the  church  and 
society,  which  was  borne  with  a  commendable 
degree  of  patience  and  fortitude.  They  paid 
for  all  home  expenses,  on  an  average,  about 
seven  thousand  dollars  a  year,  for  twelve  years, 
and  they  now  have  the  reward  of  having  their 
valuable  church  property  nearly  free  of  debt. 
Since  1872  the  numerical  increase  of  the  church 
has  been  small,  yet  fully  equal  to  any  other 
period  of  the  same  length,  with  one  exception. 
During  Mr.  Eaton's  ministry,  thus  far,  fifty-one 
have  been  added  by  baptism  and  fifty-eight  by 
letter.  Still,  the  diminution  by  deaths  and  re- 
movals has  been  almost  equal  to  the  additions. 
However,  the  church,  through  its  entire  history, 
has  gradually  increased  from  the  original  thir- 
teen, in  September,  1816,  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety -six,  in  March,  1885. 

The  Sabbath-school,  comparatively,  is  large 
and  promising,  consisting  of  eighteen  teachers, 
two  hundred  and  eighty  scholars,  with  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five.  The  library  numbers  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  volumes ;  A.  G.  Sprague,  superintendent. 

St.  James'  Church.2 — Strictly  speaking,  the 
history  of  St.  James'  Church,  Keene?  dates  from 
the  year  1858. 

Previous  to  this  time,  however,  services  had 
been  held  from  time  to  time,  as  opportunity 
offered,  by  various  visiting  clergymen. 

For  instance,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  rector 
of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Windsor,  Vt.,  visited 
Keene,  accompanied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dunham 
and  other  parishioners,  and  held  several  services 
in  the  village  some  time  in  the  year  181(5. 


1  The  building  committee  for  the  new  church  on  Court 
Street  were  Reuben  Stewart,  Moses  Ellis,  Dauphin  W. 
Comstock,  Joseph  Foster  and  John  Flynn.  The  architect 
was  S.  S.  Woodcock,  Boston.  Mass. 

*  By  Rev.  W.  B.  T.  Smith 


Soon  after  this  visit  the  regular  services  of 
the  church  were  conducted  for  several  weeks, 
probably  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  assisted  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Moss,  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  in 
the  "  old  court-house,"  then  standing  on  the 
site  of  what  is  now  called  Gerould's  Block. 

Among  the  citizens  favoring  this  undertaking 
were  Elijah  Dunbar,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Thomas 
Edwards.    Their  services,  however,  soon  ceased. 

An  occasion  of  marked  interest  was  the  fun- 
eral of  Hon.  Ithamar  Chase,  father  of  the 
late  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase. 

The  funeral  service  was  held  in  the  Congre- 
gational house  of  worship,  and  was  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Strong,  of  Greenfield,  Mass., 
August  11,  1817. 

This  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  funeral 
service  ever  conducted  in  Keene  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
It  was  largely  attended,  and  is  said  to  have 
created  a  very  favorable  impression  of  the 
church. 

Bishop  Griswold,  of  the  Eastern  Diocese,  once 
visited  Keene,  confirming  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Ed- 
wards. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Barber,  rector  of  Union  Church, 
West  Claremont,  occasionally  officiated  in 
Keene,  and  administered  the  sacrament  of 
Holy  Baptism.  From  time  to  time,  also,  ser- 
vices were  held  in  town  by  the  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Sprague. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  was  a  native  of  Keene, 
and  improved  every  opportunity  of  extending 
the  knowledge  and  influence  of  the  church  in 
these  parts. 

Happily,  a  memorial  window  was  placed  iu 
St.  James'  Church  in  1864,  when  the  building 
was  completed,  which  serves  to  keep  alive  the 
memory  of  the  many  good  words  and  works  of 
this  faithful  servant  of  Christ. 

The  Rev.  Henrv  N.  Hudson,  of  the  Diocese 
of  Massachusetts,  also  held  a  series  of  services 
iu  Keene  in  the  summer  of  1850. 

These  services  were  sustained  bv  a  distin- 
guished  layman  residing  in  Boston, — the  late 
Henry  M.  Parker, — and  were  at  first  held  in  the 
town  hall ;  but  this  room  proved  to  be  too 
large  and  expensive  for  the  present  undertaking, 
and,  after  much  delay  and  difficulty,  Mr.  Hud- 


48 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


son  succeeded  in  securing  a  more  suitable  room. 
This  was  in  the  second  story  of  an  unoccupied 
building  belonging  to  the  late  Hon.  James 
Wilson. 

This  room  Mr.  Hudson  himself  took  gnat 
pleasure  in  putting  in  order,  making  the  furni- 
ture with  his  own  hands,  except  the  settee-, 
which,  greatly  to  his  regret,  he  was  obliged  to 
purchase,  which,  he  observes,  was  the  most  un- 
pleasant [tart  of  it  all. 

The  room  was  large  enough  to  accommodate 
about  seventy-live  individuals.  Services  were 
held  here  regularly  through  the  summer  and 
early  fall,  on  Sundays,  morning  and  evening,  and 
on  Saints'  days. 

These  services  were  well  attended  and  excited 
considerable  interest  in  church  methods.  Mr. 
Hudson  rented  a  small  musical  instrument,  and 
he  remarks  that  by  the  good  will  and  favor  of 
some  worthy  young  people,  he  had  "the  benefit 
of  a  competent  choir  and  reasonably  good 
music." 

Mr.  Hudson's  work  was  at  length  interrupted 
by  a  call  from  Bishop  Chase  to  supply  his  own 

place  as   rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Claren t, 

while  he  himself  was  absent  doing  episcopal 
duty  in  the  Diocese  of  New  York. 

There  was  no  attempt  to  organize  a  parish  in 
Keene  at  this  time,  and  when  Mr.  Hudson  was 
released  from  duty  at  Claremont  it  seemed  to 
him  to  be  impracticable  to  resume  this  mission- 
ary  undertaking;.  And  although  occasional 
services  had  been  held  from  time  to  time  in 
private  houses,  by  different  visiting  clergymen, 
nothing  further  was  done  looking  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Episcopal  Church  till  the  sum- 
mer of  1858. 

On  June  24th  of  that  year  (St.  John  Bap- 
tists' Day)  the  Right  Reverend  Carlton  Chase, 
D.D.,  bishop  of  the  diocese,  visited  Keene,  held 
evening  service  and  preached. 

He  was  encouraged,  by  the  expressed  wishes 
of  those  he  met,  to  attempt  the  permanent  es- 
tablishment of  the  services  of  the  church. 

Accordingly,  he  invited  the  Rev.  Edward  A. 
Renouf,  then  assistant  minister  at  St.  Stephen's 
Church,  Boston,  Mass.,  to  visit  KLeene  and  act 
as  his  missionary  for  a  few  weeks.  Mr.  Renouf 
at  once  accepted   the   invitation,  and,  with   the 


assistance  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fuller,  also  of  the 
Diocese  of  Massachusetts,  services  were  soon 
begun,  and,  being  well  attended,  were  continued 
regularly  through  September  and  October  fol- 
lowing. 

At  length  Mr.  Renouf  resigned  his  position 
at  St.  Stephen's,  and  directly  after  Easter,  1859, 
undertook  entire  charge  of  the  work.  Mean- 
while he  purchased  the  estate  where  he  now  re- 
sides (1885),  and,  in  July  of  the  same  year,  re- 
moved thither  with  his  family. 

On  May  13,  1859,  the  parish  of  St.  James' 
Church  was  duly  organized  and  the  usual 
officers  chosen. 

May  1 5th  certain  friends  of  the  church 
bought  of  the  Cheshire  Railroad  Company  the 
lot  now  occupied  by  the  church  edifice,  for  the 
sum  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  and  deeded  it 
to  the  parish. 

May  18th  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Renouf  was  called 
to  be  rector  of  St.  James'  Church,  and  at  once 
accepted  the  call. 

May  25th  this  parish  was  admitted  into 
union  with  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  was  represented  in  that 
convention  by  Mr.  H.  Brownson,  as  lay  dele- 
gate. 

On  Sunday,  August  7th,  the  Holy  Com- 
munion was  celebrated  in  this  parish  for  the 
first  time.  On  the  Sunday  following  (August 
4th)  the  Sunday-school  was  organized  with 
four  teachers  and  sixteen  pupils  present. 

In  Oct*  >ber,  1 86<  >,  plans  f<  >r  a  stone  church,  with 
seating  capacity  of  about  live  hundred,  were  sub- 
mitted for  approval  by  C.  E.  Parker,  architect, 
of  Boston,  Mass.,  at  an  estimated  cost  not  to 
exceed  twelve  thousand  dollars,  which,  after 
some  modifications  and  no  small  difficulty  and 
delay,  were  at  length  agreed  upon,  and  ground 
was  broken  Ascension  Day,  May  14,  1863. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  assisted  by  the  rector  and  several 
clergymen  of  this  and  the  Diocese  of  Vermont, 
June  30,  18 63,  at  which  time  an  able  address 
was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  G.  Hubbard, 
D.D.,  rector  of  Grace  Church,  Manchester, 
N.  II.  The  building  was  completed  and  made 
ready  for  use  during  the  following  summer. 

The  first    service  was   held  in   it  August    21, 


KEENE. 


49 


1864  ;  but  the  chancel  furniture  and  other  ap- 
pointments were  still  incomplete,  and  there  re- 
mained an  unliquidated  debt  of  seven  thousand 
dollars,  which  delayed  for  several  years  the 
service  of  consecration. 

On  April  17,  1868,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Renouf 
tendered  his  resignation  of  the  rectorship,  to 
take  effect  on  the  31st  of  May  following. 

During  Mr.  Renouf's  rectorship  of  nine 
years  there  were  of  baptisms  in  St.  James'  par- 
ish, 95;  confirmations,  58;  admitted  to  Holy 
Communion,  96  ;  marriages,  32  ;  burials,  64. 
The  whole  amount  of  offerings,  exclusive  of  the 
cost  of  the  church  building-lot,  was  seven  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  dollars. 

The  Rev.  George  W.  Brown  was  called  to 
be  rector  October  19,  1868.  During  his  rec- 
torship the  church  was  decorated  within,  and, 
after  prolonged  effort,  the  money  needed  to  liq- 
uidate the  debt  was  raised,  the  late  Hon.  Wil- 
liam P.  Wheeler  having  pledged  one  thou- 
sand dollars  toward  the  whole  amount  needed, 
provided  the  parish  would  raise  the  rest.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  church  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Niles,  November  22,  1877. 

Mr.  Brown  resigned  the  rectorship  April  13, 
1879. 

May  9th  of  the  same  year  the  Rev.  A.  B. 
Crawford  was  called  to  be  rector,  and  resigned 
April  9,  1882. 

June  19,  1882,  the  Rev.  Floyd  W.  Tomkins, 
Jr.,  rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Minneapolis, 
Minn.,  was  called  to  be  rector  of  St.  James' 
Church  ;  accepted,  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  rector  September  1,  1882.  Mr.  Tom- 
kins  resigned  March  1,  1884,  in  order  to  accept 
a  call  to  Calvary  Chapel,  New  York  City. 

September  15,  1884,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  T. 
Smith,  rector  of  Union  Church,  West  Clare- 
mont,  was  called  ;  accepted,  and  entered  upon 
his  duties  as  rector  Sunday,  November  23, 
1884. 

Grace  Methodist  Church  was  organized 
in  November,  1835,  with  thirty  members. 

The  present  church  edifice  was  erected  in 
1 869  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand  dollars. 

Roman  Catholic  Church. — There  is  also 
a  Roman  Catholic  Church  here,  with  Rev.  J. 
R.  Power  as  pastor. 


CHAPTER  V. 

KEENE— (Continued). 
BY   WILLIAM    S.   BRIGGS. 

The    Cemeteries  —  Gravestone    Inscriptions  —  Historical 
Notes — Reminiscences. 

To  guard  properly,  and  care  for  the  resting- 
places  of  our  dead  is  alike  the  dictate  of  affec- 
tion, Christianity  and  our  common  humanity. 
This  is  the  duty  first  of  friends  and  families ; 
but  these  all  die,  while  the  towns,  the  State, 
remain. 

I  find  in  the  records  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  town  of  Keene  that  it  was  voted,  February 
23,  1762,  that  the  neck  of  land  where  Isaac 
Clark  and  Amos  Foster  were  buried  be  appro- 
priated and  set  apart  for  a  burying-place  for 
the  town.  This  lot,  I  think,  must  be  the  one 
now  belonging  to  the  farm  of  Captain  Robin- 
son, at  the  lower  end  of  Main  Street.  Captain 
Ephraim  Dorman,  one  of  the  original  proprie- 
tors of  the  town,  living  in  Keene  in  1738,  died 
here  in  1795,  and  was  buried  in  this  place. 
This  burying-gronnd  was  probably  used  by  the 
town  to  bury  their  dead  for  more  than  thirty 
years.  The  burying-ground  on  Washington 
Street  was  not  used,  as  I  can  learn,  until  about 
1 795.  Visit  our  beautiful  new  cemetery  on  Bea- 
ver Street;  look  at  the  costly  monuments  in 
granite  and  marble,  the  beautiful  trees  and  flow- 
ers, planted  by  the  hand  of  affection ;  ask  that 
mourner  that  is  shedding  tears  above  the  new- 
made  grave,  or  the  present  owner  of  any  of 
the  lots  in  this  beautiful  place,  if  they  cotdd 
believe  any  one  that  should  tell  them  that  in 
less  than  one  hundred  years  all  these  monuments 
will  be  removed  far  from  this  place,  the  graves 
all  leveled  and  the  grounds  ploughed  and 
planted,  and  the  bones  of  their  dear  ones  go  to 
fertilize  the  soil,  that  a  good  crop  of  corn  and 
potatoes  might  be  raised, — no  one  would  believe 
this  story  ;  and  he  that  was  bold  enough  to  tell 
it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  false  prophet,  or 
one  that  should  be  confined  in  an  insane  asylum 
as  a  dangerous  person.  Yet  this  same  thing 
has  been  done  in  this  very  goodly  town  of 
Keene.     On  that  neck  of  land  set  apart  by  the 


50 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


fathers,  and  at  that  time  (17G2)  the  owners  of 
the  town,  these  men,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, were  buried  ;  costly  monuments  (for  the 
times)  were  erected,  with  their  good  deeds  and 
their  virtues  inscribed  thereon  ;  for  many  years 
their  graves  were  strewn  with  flowers,  and 
tears  were  shed  for  the  loved  ones  by  their  chil- 
dren's children  ;  but  can  one  of  the  descend- 
ants of  these  patriots  tell  where  the  bones  of 
their  ancestors  now  rest?  Not  one  of  them;  for 
their  monuments  have  been  removed,  the  ground 
leveled,  ploughed  and  planted,  as  any  other  part 
of  the  farm,  and  their  dust  goes  to  enrich  the 
land,  ('mild  towns  be  made  to  suffer,  as  indi- 
viduals, for  wrong-doing,  I  don't  know  of  any 
penalty  too  great  to  be  imposed  on  the  town  of 
Keene  for  this  great  wrong.  I  remember  more 
than  forty  years  ago  hearing  the  old  people 
talking  about  the  old  burying-ground,  and 
saying  that  it  was  a  disgrace  not  to  protect  it ; 
but  nothing  was  done  until  the  annual  town- 
meeting  March  12,  1844,  when  William  Lam- 
son  (a  man  who,  while  living,  always  protested 
against  the  desecration  of  these  graves)  made 
the  following  communication  to  the  meeting  : 

"Mr.  Edwards  (Thos.  M.  Edwards,  moderator):  I 
intended  to  request  the  selectmen  to  insert  in  the 
warrant  for  tins  meeting,  'To  see  what  the  town  will 
do  with  the  old  burial-ground  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Sam'l  Robinson,  Esq.'  There  is  a  bottom  of  a 
stone  wall  that  once  enclosed  it.  but  in  such  a  condi- 
tion that  cattle  walk  over  it;  many  of  the  grave- 
stones have  been  broken  otf,  but  few  are  now  stand- 
ing ;  one  of  these  is  that  of  Capt.  Dorman,  whose 
life  is  the  history  of  our  town.  I  now  present  this, 
hoping  that  the  town  will  choose  a  committee  to  ex- 
amine into  its  situation,  and  make  a  report  at  our 
next  town-meeting.  I  would  recommend  that  the 
committee  lie  elected  from  our  citizens  advanced  in 
life,  and  who  may  know  something  of  the  history  of 
the  town." 

A  committee  was  appointed  at  this  meeting 
consisting  of  Calvin  Chapman,  Salma  Hale 
and  Aaron  Hall.  At  the  annual  town-meeting 
held  March  11,  184o,  the  subjeel  was  referred 
to  the  same  committee,  who  were  authorized,  if 
they  deemed  it  expedient,  to  fence  the  old  bury- 
ing-ground at  the  expense  of  the  town.  No- 
thins  was  done  that  year.  At  the  annual  town- 
meeting  March  11,  1846,  it  was  voted  that  the 
selectmen  be  directed  to  cause  a  proper  fence  to 


be  constructed  around  the  old  burying-ground 
near  Mr.  Robinson's,  at  the  south  end  of  Main 
Street,  "  provided  Mr.  Robinson  consents,  and 
the  expense  shall  not  exceed  seventy-five  dol- 
lars." Nothing  was  ever  done — why,  I  know 
not ;  but  I  think  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
town  had  lost  their  rights  in  the  "  bones  of  the 
original  owners."  After  this  the  grave-stones 
that  could  stand  alone  were  taken  up  and  set 
against  the  fence;  and  those  that  knew  the 
graves  know  them  no  more.  A  few  years  ago 
Mr.  Stephen  Barker,  then  having  the  care  of 
the  new  cemetery,  to  save  the  few  remaining 
monuments  (thirteen  in  number)  caused  them  to 
be  removed  to  the  new  cemetery  and  set  up  in 
good  order  just  north  of  the  receiving-tomb. 
On  one  of  these  monuments  you  may  read, 
"  Here  lies  the  Body  of  Elizabeth,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  ('lenient  and  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Sumner,  who  departed  this  life  Feb.  20th, 
A.D.  17()7."  Now  I  propose  to  add  to  this 
inscription — "  I  once  lived,  I  died  and  was  bur- 
ied, but  where  my  bones  are  now  crumbling 
into  dust  no  mortal  man  can  tell."  Now  who 
was  this  Captain  Ephraim  Dorman,  whose  life 
Mr.  Lamson  said  was  the  history  of  the  town  ? 
I  have  searched  the  records  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  town  of  Keene,  and  find  that  he  was 
born  in  1710  and  lived  in  Keene  in  1738  ;  in 
1740  the  proprietors  voted  him  and  thirty-eight 
others  ten  acres  of  upland  for  hazarding  their 
lives  and  estate  by  living  here  to  bring  forward 
the  settling  of  the  place. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  "  An- 
nals of  Keene,"  published  in  1826  : 

"Early  in  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  April,  1746, 
Ephraim  Dorman  left  the  fort  in  search  for  his  cow. 
He  went  northwardly  along  the  horders  of  what  was 
then  a  hideous  and  almost  impervious  swamp,  lying 
east  of  the  fort,  until  he  arrived  near  the  place  where 
the  turnpike  now  is.  Looking  into  the  swamp  he 
perceived  several  Indians  lurking  in  the  hushes.  .  He 
immediately  gave  the  alarm  by  crying  'Indians!  In- 
dians!' and  ran  towards  the  fort.  Two  who  were 
concealed  in  the  bushes  between  him  and  the  fort 
sprang  forward,  aimed  their  pistols  at  him  and  fired, 
luil  neither  hit  him.  They  then,  throwing  away  their 
arms,  advanced  towards  him  ;  one  he  knocked  down 
by  a  blow,  which  deprived  him  of  his  senses;  the 
other  he  seized,  and,  being  a  strongman  and  able 
wrestler,  tried   his  strength  and  skill  in  his  favorite 


KEENE. 


51 


mode  of  '  trip  and  twitch.'  He  tore  his  antagonist's 
hlanket  from  his  shoulders,  leaving  him  nearly  naked. 
He  then  seized  him  by  the  arms  and  body,  but  as  he 
was  painted  and  greased,  he  slipped  from  his  grasp. 
After  a  short  struggle  Dorman  quitted  him,  ran 
towards  the  fort  and  reached  it  in  safety." 

Ephraiin  Dorman  was  one  of  the  original 
proprietors  to  call  the  first  legal  town-meeting 
in  Keene.  At  this  meeting,  held  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  May,  1753,  it  was  "Voted  that 
the  sum  of  eight  dollars  be  paid  to  Ephraim 
Dorman  for  his  services  in  going  to  Portsmouth 
on  business  relating  to  the  charter.  Voted  to 
Benjamin  Bellows  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
Spanish  milled  dollars  for  his  services  and  ex- 
penses in  getting  the  charter  of  Keene.  Voted 
to  raise  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  pounds, 
old  tenor,  for  the  use  of  preaching  the  present 
year.  Chose  Ephraim  Dorman  one  of  the 
assessors  of  the  town." 

At  the  second  meeting  Dorman  was  one  of  a 
committee  to  see  that  the  proprietors'  title  to 
lauds  in  the  township  be  lawful  and  good  ;  if 
so,  to  give  them  liberty  to  have  them  recorded 
in  the  proprietors'  "  Book  of  Records."  Feb- 
ruary 23,  17G2,  he  wras  on  a  committee  to  draw 
lots  for  a  division  of  lauds  among  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  town.  March  7,  1769,  he  was 
moderator  in  town-meeting.  In  1773  he  was 
captain  of  the  foot  company  of  Keene,  number- 
ing one  hundred  and  fortv-six  men :  was  also 
one  of  the  first  to  start  a  company  for  the  seat 
of  war  after  the  fight  at  Lexington,  April  19, 
1775. 

Now  does  not  this  man  deserve  a  monument 
of  marble  or  bronze,  with  this  inscription  on  it : 
"  He  gave  his  property,  his  life,  his  all,  to 
Keene  ?"  Captain  Ephraim  Dorman  died  in 
Keene  May  7,  1795,  aged  eighty-five.  To  show 
the  contrast  in  patriotism  one  hundred  years 
ago,  as  compared  with  the  present  time,  read 
the  following  :  "  At  a  town-meeting  held  in 
Keene  Sept.,  1773,  voted  to  give  Dea.  David 
Foster  liberty  to  lay  out  three  acres  of  land  on 
the  West  Beach  Hill,  in  the  common  land,  in 
such  place  as  he  may  choose,  in  recompense  for 
his  services  done  for  the  'proprietary  in  eight 
years  past." 

The  following  are  the  inscriptions  copied 
from  the  thirteen  old  slate  monuments  brought 


from  the  old  burying-ground,  and  now  in  the 
new  cemetery.  I  have  numbered  them  to  keep 
them  distinct : 

No.  1. — Elizabeth  Sumner. 

No.  2. — William  Sumner. 

No.  3. — In  memory  of  Abner,  son  of  Mr.  Nathan 
Blake,  who  died  July  7th,  1766,  in  the  6th  year  of  his 
age. 

No.  4. — Here  lie3  the  body  of  Elizabeth,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Revd.  Clement  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Sumner,  who  departed  this  life  Feb.  26th,  A.D.  1767, 
aged  7  years  anel  4  days. 

"  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death. 
0  happy  child,  how  soon  thy  race  was  run  ! 
Now  free  from  anxious  care  and  sorrow, 
While  with  thy  Saviour  and  forever  blest." 

No.  5. — In  memory  of  ye  Widow  Betsey  Fair- 
banks, ye  wife  of  Capt.  Nathan  Fairbanks  ;  she  deed. 
Feb.  ye  26th,  1772,  in  ye  69th  year  of  her  age. 

No.    6. — Here  lies   the  body   of    William,    eldest 
son  of  the  Rev.  Clement  anel  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Sumner, 
who  died  December  13th,  1765,  the  day  of  his  birth. 
''Time  how  short,  eternity  how  long  !" 

No.  7. — "  In  memory  of  Mrs.  Zipporah,  wife  of  Mr. 
Ezra  Harvey,  who  deed.  Oct.  ye  30th,  1778,  in  ye  27th 
year  of  her  age. 

No.  8. — In  memory  of  Zipporah,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Ezra  Harvey  and  Elizabeth  his  wife;  she  elied  Janu- 
uary  21st,  1778,  aged  2  years  7  mo.  21  dayes. 

No.    9. — In    memory    of     Daviel    Baker,    son    of 

Thomas  Baker,   Esq.,  and  Mrs.  Sarah,  his  wife,  who 

died  January  ye  27th,  1789,  in  ye  20th  year  of  his 

age. 

"  Time  was  I  stood  where  thou  dost  now, 

And  viewed  the  dead  as  thou  dost  me ; 

Ere  long  thou'lt  lie  as  low  as  I, 

And  others  stand  and  look  on  thee." 

No.  10. — Capt.  Ephraim  Dorman,  died  May  7th, 
1795,  aged  85.  Capt.  Dorman  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  and  an  original  proprietor  of  the  town  of 
Keene. 

No.  11. — Mrs.  Hepzibah  Dorman. 

No.    12. — In    memory  of 'Mrs.   Abigail,   wife   of 
Genl.   James  Reed,   who  departed  this  life  August 
27th,  1791,  in  the  68th  year  of  her  age. 
"  There's  nothing  here  but  who  as  nothing  weighs. 

The  more  our  joy  the  more  we  know  it's  vain  ; 

Lose  then  from  earth  the  grasp  of  fond  desire, 

Weigh  anchor  anel  some  happier  clime  explore." 

Mrs.  Abigail  Reed. 

No.  13. — Memento  Mori.  This  stone  is  erected 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  Madam  Ruth  Whitney, 
who  departed  this  life  in  the  72d  year  of  her  age. 
She  was  successively  married  to  the  Revel.  David 
Stearns,  of  Luningburg,  and  the  Revd.  Aaron  Whit- 
ney, of  Petersham,  both  of  whom  she  survived.  For 
diligence,    patience,    piety    and  knowledge,  she   was 


52 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


eminently  distinguished.  As  this  stone  cannot  tell 
all  her  virtues,  sutlice  to  say  that  as  a  wife,  she  was 
prudent  and  faithful;  as  a  mother,  discreet  and  ten- 
der ;   as  a  neighbor,   friendly   and   charitable;  as  a 

Christian,  intelligent  and  exemplary.  A  life  thus 
spent  terminated  with  composure  on  the  first  of  No- 
vember, 1788. 

"The  righteous  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance." 

The  old  burying-ground  on  Washington 
Street  has  been  used  as  a  place  for  burying-  the 
dead  since  the  year  1788.     I  remember  almost 

every  one  that  has  been  interred  here  in  the  last 
fifty  years,  and  the  number  is  between  two  and 

■ 

three  thousand.  As  I  first  remember  it,  it  was 
surrounded  on  all  sides  with  a  stone  wall,  the 
same  kind  that  may  be  found  to-day  e>n  almost 
all  our  hill  farms.  There  was  a  small  building 
in  the  back  part  of  the  yard,  painted  black,  to 
keep  the  tools  in  for  digging  the  graves,  also 
for  storing  the  biers.  There  were  two  biers, 
one  for  adults  and  one  for  children.  At  a 
funeral  the  coffin  was  placed  on  the  bier,  and  a 
black  cloth,  called  a  pall,  spread  over  it.  Eight 
persons  were  selected,  called  the  pall-bearers, 
four  to  carry  the  body,  the  other  four  to  walk 
on  before  to  assist  when  necessary,  the  mourn- 
ers and  friends  following  behind  on  foot.  Thus 
the  funeral  procession  moved  along  until  it 
reached  the  grave,  when  the  last  ceremony  was 
performed,  the  church  bell  tolling  all  the  while. 
In  those  days  the  bell  was  also  tolled  in  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  the  funeral  as  a  notice 
to  the  people  of  the  town  that  a  funeral  was  to 
take  place  on  that  day.  Alter  striking  the  bell 
a  few  times  in  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the 
funeral,  the  age  aud  sex  was  struck, — if  for  a 
male,  one  blow  ;  if  for  a  female,  two  ;  then  the 
number  of  blows  corresponding  to  the  number 
of  years  the  person  had  lived.  So  the  bell 
tolled  it-  story  and  those  hearing  its  sound 
could  tell  who  was  to  be  buried  on  that  day. 

About  1830  the  tombs  on  the  west  side  of  the 
yard  were  built  ;  those  on  the  south  some  years 
later.  These  tombs  were  used  for  manv  vcars, 
but  it  was  always  a  very  unpleasant  duty  to 
open  them  ;  coffins  would  soon  decay  and  fall 
in  pieces,  and  many  times  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  I  have  known  the  .-now  to  melt  and  run 
in    at    the    door    and   cause   the   bodies  to  floai 


around.  There  are  probably  at  this  time  the 
remains  of  about  one  hundred  bodies  in  these 
tombs.  These  receptacles  for  the  dead  are  now 
I  mi  seldom  used.  I  will  begin  on  the  right- 
hand  side  as  we  go  in  through  the  gate,  and 
give  the  names  of  the  owners  and  inscriptions 
on  their  tombs : 

No.  1. — riiinehas  Fisk. 

No.  2. — William  Lamson. 

No.  3. — Thos.  Edward  and  John  Hatch. 

No.  4.— John  Elliot. 

No.  5. — David  Carpenter. 

No.  6. — Noah  Cooke. 

No.  7. — F.  Faulkner  and  R.  Montague. 

No.  8.— Aaron  Hall. 

No.  9. — C.  Chapman,  D.  Heaton,  J.  Towns. 

No.  10.— J.  Wright,  E.  Wright,  E.  Wright  (2d). 

On  the  left-hand  side  : 

No.  1. — Samuel  Dinsmoor. 

No.  2. — James  Wilson. 

No.  3.— John  H.  Fuller.  John  H.  Fuller  died 
Fel).  24, 1869,  aged  77  yrs.  and  4  mos.  Pamelia,  wife 
of  John  H.  Fuller  and  daughter  of  Kev.  E.  Conant, 
died  July  27,  1829,  aged  30.  Foster  A.,  their  infant 
son,  1829.  Sarah  A.,  their  daughter,  Decemher  25, 
1838,  aged  19.  James  G.,  their  son,  Jan.  25,  1853, 
aged  27.  In  memory  of  Lucius  D.  Pierce,  Attorney 
at  Law,  Winchendon,  Mass.,  died  May  8,  1858,  aged 
38.  Fred  K.  Bartlett,  Attorney  at  Law  at  St.  Croix 
Falls,  Wis.,  died  Dec.  1,  1858,  aged  39,  hushands  of 
Lucy  and  Sophia,  daughters  of  John  H.  Fuller. 

No.  4. — Charles  G.  Adams. 

No.  5. — Joseph  Dorr  and  Ormand  Dutton. 

No.  6.— Eli  Metcalf,  died  August  3,  1835,  aged  85. 
Elizabeth  Metcalf,  died  Feb.  13,  1842,  aged  80.  They 
gave  th  rir  whole  property  in  charity. 

No.  7. — S.  Hastings,  L.  B.  Page,  A.  Dodge. 

No.  8. — Ahel  Blake  and  Nathan  Dana. 

In  May,  1858,  just  before  the  centennial  cel- 
ebration came  off,  the  tombs,  being  in  rather  a 
dilapidated  condition,  through  the  efforts  of 
Rev.  Z.  S.  Barstow  and  others,  were  put  in 
good  condition  and  whitewashed,  so  as  to  appear 
decent  on  that  occasion.  I  think  nothing  has 
been  done  to  them  since.  In  1847  the  town 
voted  to  build  a  new  fence  around  the  yard;  so 
the  old  wall  was  removed  and  the  present  fence 
put  up  ;  the  old  black  hearse-house  has  since 
been  taken  away. 

In  1855  the  town  purchased  of  Thomas  M. 
Edwards  what  was  then  called  the  old  muster- 
field,   lor  the  new  cemetery  on   Beaver  Street, 


KEENE. 


53 


and  many  of  the  remains  have  been  removed 
from  the  old  grounds  to  the  new,  as  the  old 
yard  was  nearly  full.  The  writer  at  the  time 
the  land  for  the  new  cemetery  was  bought  was 
one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  and,  with  a 
few,  urged  the  necessity  of  purchasing  more 
land, — that  is,  going  as  far  as  Beach  Hill, — but 
the  very  wise  men  told  us  that  this  lot  would 
answer  for  fifty  years  at  least. 

On  one  of  the  first  monuments  we  see  in  going 
into  this  old  cemetery  we  read,  "  To  preserve 
from  oblivion  the  memory  of  Wm.  M.  Pierce." 
Now  it  was  from  this  old  grave-stone  that  I 
selected  my  text,  and  by  copying  the  inscrip- 
tions on  all  of  the  monuments,  will  do  my  share 
towards  preserving  them.  I  will  let  each  stone 
tell  its  own  story,  and  should  there  be  among 
your  readers  those  that  find  the  name  of  a  dear 
relative  or  friend  among  this  long  list,  I  am 
confident  they  will  do  what  they  can  towards 
keeping  the  old  burying-ground  on  Washing- 
ton Street  sacred.  Let  it  be  a  pleasant  place 
for  us  to  visit  while  living,  and  a  safe  place  for 
our  bones  when  dead.  When  this  last  shall 
take  place,  we  will  simply  leave  this  injunction 
to  body-snatchers  and  gossips  :  "  Let  our  dead 
alone — resurrecting  neither  our  bodies  nor  our 
faults."  I  have  arranged  the  list  alphabeti- 
cally, also  giving  the  oldest  date  first  in  each 
case : 

No.  1. — In  memory  of  Lt.  Daniel  Adams,  who  died 
Oct.  27th,  1813,  aged  59  yrs. 

No.  2.— Children  of  B.  F.  and  L.  E.  Adams :  Mary 
Jane,  died  Feb.  18,  1834,  aged  2  yrs. ;  Julie  Ann, 
died  July  1,  1837,  aged  1  yr. ;  Frank  Benjamin,  died 
Dec.  5,  1842,  aged  4.V  yrs. 

No.  3. — Abigail  Adams,  died  Aug.  4,  1841,  aged  72 
yrs. 

No.  4.— Elijah  Adams,  died  Dec.  31,  1862,  aged  76 
years. 

No.  5. — Amanda  Adams,  wife  of  Elijah  Adams, 
died  July  25,  1852,  aged  66  years. 

No.  6. — Hannah  T.  Fowler  Adams,  wife  of  Levi  M. 
Adams,  died  Aug.  25,  1850,  aged  27. 

No.  7. — D.  Adams  (marble  monument). 

No.  8.— Daniel  Adams,  M.D.,  died  June  9,  1864, 
aged  90  yrs.  8  mos.  10  days. 

No.  9. — Nancy  Adams,  wife  of  Dr.  Daniel  Adams, 
died  May  14,  1851,  aged  70  yrs.  8  mos.  15  days. 

No.  10. — Edward  Knight  Aldrich,  son  of  Dunbar 
Aldrich,  died  March  27,  1831,  aged  1  yr.  8  mos. 

No.  11. — Abbott  (marker). 


No.  12. — Mary   Ann  Abbott,   daughter   of  Daniel 

and  Polly  Abbott,  died  Sept.  20,  1831,  aged  6  years  20 

days. 

"  The  fairest  flower  soon  fades  away." 

No.  13. — Frank  Fisk  Albee,  son  of  John  J.  and 
Harriet  M.  Albee,  died  Aug.  13,  1854,  aged  4  mos.  and 
22  days. 

No.  14. — Ella  Maria,  daughter  of  John  J.  and 
Harriet  M.  Albee,  died  Oct.  14, 1855,  aged  3  weeks. 

No.  15. — Harriet  Fisk  Albee,  wife  of  John  J.  Albee, 
died  July  23,  1858,  aged  34  years. 

No.  16.— Capt.  Eliphalet  Briggs,  died  Oct.  11, 1776, 
aged  42  yrs. 

No.  17.— Mary  Cobb,  wife  of  Capt.  Eliphalet 
Briggs,  died  June  9,  1806,  aged  69  yrs. 

No.  18.— Eliphalet  Briggs,  died  March  23,  1827, 
aged  62  yrs. 

No.  19. — Elizabeth  Briggs,  wife  of  Eliphalet 
Briggs,  died  March  23,  1819,  aged  49  yrs. 

"Virtue  alone  is  happiness  below." 

No.  20. — Polly  Briggs,  died  July,  1795,  aged  3  yrs. ; 
Sally  Briggs,  died  July,  1795,  aged  9  mos. ;  daughters 
of  Eliphalet  and  Elizabeth  Briggs. 

No.  21. — Eliza  S.,  daughter  of  Eliphalet  and  Emma 
Briggs,  died  Aug.  2,  1839,  aged  14  yrs. 

No.  22. — Briggs  (granite  monument). 

No.  23.— Eliphalet  Briggs,  ob.  June  13,  1853,  aged 
65  yrs. 

No.  24.— Lucy  Briggs,  ob.  Dec.  19,  1845,  aged  57 
yrs. 

No.  25.— Sarah  W.  Briggs,  ob.  July  10,  1873,  aged 
43  yrs. 

No.  26. — Nancy  A.  Briggs,  wife  of  William  S. 
Briggs,  died  Feb.  14,  1868,  aged  46  yrs. 

No.  27. — Daniel  Adams  Briggs,  born  Feb.  21,  1847, 
died  May  26,  1847. 

No.  28.— Ellen  Briggs,  daughter  of  L.  H.  and  E. 
H.  Briggs. 

No.  29. — Mary  A.,  wife  of  Joseph  W.  Briggs,  and 
daughter  of  Josiah  Colony,  born  Sept.  14,  1825,  died 
April  11,  1859. 

No.  30.— Wilder  Briggs,  died  March  15,  1827,  aged 
34  yrs.  Charles  S.,  son  of  W.  and  Sally  Briggs,  died 
May  20,  1827,  aged  4  mos.  Sally  Briggs,  wife  of 
Wilder  Briggs,  died  May  20,  1851,  aged  66  yrs. 

No.  31. — Louisa  Briggs,  1788  (granite  marker). 

No.  32.— Elijah  Blake,  died  April  3,  1791,  aged  7 
mos. 

No.  33.— Parley  Blake,  died  August  29,  1797,  aged 
6  weeks  and  4  days. 

"  And  these  babes  must  pay  their  due, 
Sure  riper  years  must  pay  it  too." 

No.  34.— Mrs.  Sally  E.,  wife  of  Capt.  Abel  Blake, 
who  died  July  16, 1803,  aged  40  yrs. 

"  Death  is  a  debt  to  nature  due, 
Which  I  have  paid,  and  so  must  you." 

No.  35. — In    memory   of  Mrs.    Elizabeth,    wife  of 


54 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Mr.  Nathan  Blake,  who  died  July  19,  1804,  aged  83 
years. 

"  Let  me  not  forgotten  lie, 
Lest  you  forget  that  you  must  die." 

No.  36.— Mr.  Nathan  Blake,  died  August  4,  1811, 
in  the  100th  year  of  his  age. 

No.  37.— Ruel  C,  son  of  Ruel  and  Betsey  Blake, 
died  Feb.  5,  1818,  aged  11  mos.  and  23  days. 

No.  38. — Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Bufua  and  Betsey 
Blake,  died  Oct.  26,  1838,  aged  16  yrs.  and  4  mos. 

No.  39. — Elizabeth  C,  daughter  of  Ruel  and  Betsey 
Blake,  died  Nov.  13,  1838,  aged  18  yrs.  and  1  mo. 

No.  40. — Sarah  R.,  daughter  of  Ruel  and  Betsey 
Blake,  died  March  20,  1834,  aged  7  yrs.  and  8  mos. 

No.  41. — Stephen  A.,  son  of  Ruel  and  Betsey 
Blake,  died  Oct.  31,  1835,  aged  6  yrs.  and  10  mos. 

No.  42. — James,  son  of  James  and  Ruth  Buffum, 
died  May  27,  1837,  aged  6  yrs.  and  5  mos. 

No.  43. — Charles,  son  of  James  and  Ruth  Buffum, 
died  June  25,  1837,  aged  1  yr.  and  1  mo. 

No.  44. — Susan,  daughter  of  James  and  Ruth  Buf- 
fum, died  March  3,  1840,  aged  6  weeks. 

No.  45.— Mary  B.  Buffum,  died  Aug.,  1869,  aged  47 
yrs. 

No.  46. — Ruth  Bliss,  wife  of  James  Buffum,  died 
Nov.  23,  1853,  aged  51  years. 

In  this  old  buiying-ground  on  Washington 
Street  have  been  buried  many  of  our  friends 
that  we  like  to  keep  in  remembrance ;  and 
amonj;  them  the  name  of  one  who,  while  in  life, 
said  the  last  words  at  the  grave  of  more  of  the 
dead  lying  here  than  any  man  now  living — the 
Rev.  Dr.  Z.  S.  Barstow,  who  for  fifty  years  was 
the  pastor  of  the  old  Congregational  Church. 
The  inscription  on  his  tombstone  tells  the  whole 
story  better  than  I  could  do  it.  Also  may  be 
found  the  name  of  Deacon  Elijah  Carter,  one  of 
Dr.  Barstow's  good  deacons;  also  of  the  Hon. 
Ith'r  Chase,  the  father  (I  have  been  told)  of  the 
late  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase.  All,  I 
think  (that  ever  knew  her),  will  agree  with  me 
in  saying  that  the  line  on  the  monument  of 
Mi>s  Eliza  Carter  Mas  strictly  true.  Although 
she  had  passed  her  three-score  years  and  ten, 
"  She  was  always  young."  The  names  of  Hon. 
Levi  Chamberlain,  the  two  Dinsmoors  (Samuel 
and  Samuel,  Jr.),  Lieutenant  Charles  B.  Dan- 
iels, who  gave  his  life  for  his  country,  Miss 
( latherine  Eiske,  the  founder  of  Keene  Female 
Seminary,  and  many  other  names  that  we  have 
known  and  respected  will  be  found  in  this 
number.     Also  the  name  of  Miss  Lydie  Beals, 


aged  one  hundred  and  two  years,   the  oldest  in 
this  burying-ground. 

No.  47. — Thomas  Baker,  died  July  15,   1806,  aged 

76. 

"  No  more  my  friends,  don't  mourn  for  me, 
I'm  gone  into  eternity. 
Make  sure  of  Christ  while  life  remains, 
And  death  will  be  eternal  gain." 

No.  48. — Sarah  Baker,  wife  of  Thomas  Baker,  died 
April  24,  1807,  aged  7.".. 

No.  49.— Benjamin  F.  Brown,  died  May  28,  1851, 
aged  43. 

No.  50. — Benjamin  F.  Brown,  adopted  son  of  B.  F. 
and  C.  Brown,  died  August  7,  1839,  aged  4  years. 

No.  51. — Sarah  Brown,  died  January  25,  1843,  aged 
34. 

No  52. — Dea.  Amasa  Brown,  died  March  22,  1843, 
aged  73. 

No.  53. — Lucy  ('.,  daughter  of  Wm.  and  Ann  W. 
Brown,  died  March  20,  1844,  aged  7  years. 

No.  54. — Ann  W.  Fiske,  wife  of  William  Brown, 
died  July  24,  1854,  aged  55. 

No.  55. — Eunice  Brown,  died  Aug.  7,  1847,  aged  39. 

No.  56. — In  memory  of  Amasa  Brown,  who  died 
April  13,  1847,  aged  80  years. 

No.  57. — In  memory  of  Hannah,  wife  of  Amasa 
Brown,  who  died  January  4,  1847,  aged  70  years. 

No.  58.— Dea.  Lebanon  Brown,  died  July  21,  1846, 
aged  35. 

No.  59. — Polly  Brown,  died  Aug.  7,  1856,  aged  64. 

No.  60.— Mrs.  Susan  Brown,  died  May  22,  1857, 
aged  61. 

No.  61. — James,  son  of  William  and  AnnaBlacka- 
dore,  died  Aug.  15,  1817,  aged  2  years  and  3  months. 

"Frail  as  the  flower  that  blossoms  but  to  die." 

No.  62. — Sally  Bond,  daughter  of  John  G.  and 
Sally  Bond,  who  died  Sept.,  1809,  aged  7  months. 

No.  63.— Mrs.  Lydie  Beals,  died  Feb.  13,  1815,  aged 
102. 

No.  64. — Charles  Barnhart,  died  June  7,  1829,  aged 
32. 

No.  65.— David  Barker,  died  Aug.  7, 1829,  aged  33. 

No.  66. — David  S.  Barker,  died  at  Havana,  Cuba, 
.June  24,  1843,  aged  21. 

No.  67. — Miss  Hannah,  daughter  of  Mr.  Aaron 
and  Mrs.  Sarah  Blanchard,  died  Nov.  25,  1832,  in  her 
31st  year. 

No.  68. — James,  son  of  Nathan  and  Harriet  Bassett, 
died  July  1,  1833,  aged  8  years  and  9  months. 

No.  69.— Samuel  Bassett,  died  Nov.  8,  1834,  aged 
81. 

No.  70. — Martha,  wife  of  Samuel  Bassett,  died 
June  19,  1842,  aged  86. 

No.  71. — Jemima  C,  wife  of  Geo.  A.  Balch,  died 
Sept.  2,  1850,  aged  4-"). 

No.  72.— (ieorge  W.,  son  of  Geo.  A.  and  Jemima 
Balch,  died  April  13,  1848,  aged  15  years 


KEENE. 


55 


No.  73—  Artemas  A.  Boyden,  died  April  30,  1844, 
aged  23. 

No.  74. — Emily  C,  daughter  of  John  and  Celecta 
H.  Bowker,  born  Jan.  12,  1842,  died  Sept.  26,  1849. 

"  Beautiful,  lovely, 
She  was  but  given, 
A  fair  bud  on  earth 
To  bloom  in  Heaven." 

No.   75. — Ellen  C,  daughter  of  John  and  Celecta 
H.  Bowker,  born  Feb.  9, 1851,  died  Dec.  30, 1853. 
"  So  fades  the  lovely  blooming  flower." 

No.  76.— Sarah  Abbie  Bridgmau,  died  July  12, 
1850,  aged  2  years  and  7  months. 

No.  77. — Frank,  son  of  Edward  and  Sarah  E.  Bow- 
tell,  died  March  25,  1852,  aged  1  year  and  4 months. 

No.  78. — George  Burrell,  died  Dec.  24,  1853,  aged 
34. 

No.  79. — Mary  Ann  Pitchard,  wife  of  C.  A.  Brooks, 
died  Dec.  4,  1854,  aged  33. 

No.  80.  — Lovey  Ann,  wife  of  Courtney  Bingham, 
died  April  16,  1871,  aged  69. 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus." 

No.  81.— Rev.  Zedekiah  S.  Barstow,  D.D.,  for  fifty 
years  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  in 
Keene,  ordained  July  1,  1818,  resigned  his  pastorate 
July  1, 1868,  died  March  1,  1873,  aged  82  years  and  5 
months. 

"  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my 
course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is 
laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day.". 

Elizabeth  Fay  Barstow,  for  fifty-one  years  the 
wife  of  Rev.  Z.  S.  Barstow,  died  September  15,  1869, 
aged  77  years. 

"  She  opened  her  mouth  with  wisdom  and  in  her 
tongue  was  the  law  of  kindness.  Her  children  rise 
up  and  call  her  blessed,  her  husband  also,  and  be 
prai-eth  her,  and  let  her  own  words  praise  her." 

Timothy  Dwight,  eldest   son    of    Rev.    Z.  S.   and 

Elizabeth  F.    Barstow,    died  Dec.    22,    1"820,  aged  5 

months. 

Elizabeth   Whitney,   only   daughter  of  Rev.  Z.  S. 

and  Elizabeth  F.  Barstow,  died  Jan.  3,  1832,  aged  7 

years  and  4  months. 

No.  82. — Z.  S.  B.  (marble  marker). 

No.  83.— E.  F.  B.  (marble  marker). 

No.  84. — James  Crossfield,  died  Feb.  25, 1853,  aged 

75. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  85.  — Hannah,  wife  of  James  Crossfield,  died 
May  18,  1809,  in  the  58th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  86. — James  Crossfield,  died  June  21,  1811,  in 
the  60th  year  of  of  his  age. 

No.  87. — Roxana,  wife  of  James  Crossfield,  died 
May  20,  1856,  aged  64. 

"There  is  rest  in  Heaven." 


No.  88.— Emily  J.,  daughter  of  K.  and  R.  G. 
Crossfield,  died  April  29,  1854,  aged  19  years  and  6 
months. 

No.  89. — Lestina,  wife  of  Samuel  Crossfield,  died 
April  2,  1857,  aged  31. 

No.  90. — Here  lies  the  body  of  Mrs.  Clarinda,  wife 
of  Mr.  Daniel  Chapman,  and  daughter  of  Mr.  Aden 
Holbrook,  who  died  Dec.  6,  1812,  aged  29. 

No.  91. — Calvin  Chapman,  born  July  28,  1776,  died 
"Aug.  3,  1855. 

No.  92. — Sarah  Nims,  wife  of  Calvin  Chapman, 
born  May  9,  1777,  died  Feb.  22,  1834. 

No.  93. — Calvin  Chapman,  Jr.,  born  Jan.  11,  1803, 
died  Oct.  26,  1872. 

No.  94.— David  W.  Chapman,  died  March  31, 1852, 
aged  45. 

"  Tread  lightly  where  thy  father  sleeps, 
Within  his  cold  and  narrow  bed, 
For  one  his  bridal  vigil  keeps, 

Above  the  wept  and  sainted  dead. 
Tread  lightly  by  his  narrow  tomb, 
And  o'er  it  plant  the  gentle  flowers, 
In  a  far  brighter  land  than  ours." 

No.  95. — Rebecca,  wife  of  David  W.  Chapman, 
died  Aug.  9,  1856,  aged  43. 

No.  96. — George,  son  of  David  W.  and  Rebecca 
Chapman,  died  March  25,  1838,  aged  2. 

No.  97. — Wan-en,  son  of  David  W.  and  Rebecca 
Chapman,  died  June  17,  1851,  aged  12. 

No.  98. — Sophronia  S.,  wife  of  King  B.  Chapman, 
died  Nov.  18,  1849,  aged  29. 

No.  99. — Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  King  B.  and 
Sophronia  S.  Chapman,  died  Aug.  4,  1849,  aged  4 
years. 

No.  100. — Jonathan  C.  Carpenter,  died  Sept.  24, 
1815,  aged  2  years  8  months  and  8  days. 

No.  101.— Mira  H.  Willard.  wife  of  Caleb  Carpen- 
ter, died  March  12,  1857,  aged  49. 

No.  102.— David  W.,  died  Sept.  18,  1832,  aged  2 
years  and  10  months ;  Julia  E.,  died  Jan.  23,  1843, 
aged  3  years  and  11  months  ;  children  of  Caleb  and 
Mira  H.  Carpenter. 

No.  103.— The  Hon.  Ith'r  Chase,  died  Aug.  8, 1817, 
aged  55. 

"  And  now,  Lord,  what  is  my  hope — 
Truly  my  hope  is  ever  in  thee." 

No.  104. — Eliza  Carter,  born  in  Dublin  March  5, 
1792,  died  in  Keene  Dec.  7,  1864. 

"She  was  always  young." 

No.  105. — In  memory  of  Charles  Carter,  died  Oct. 
20,  1817,  aged  29. 

"  There  is  rest  in  Heaven." 
(Masonic  emblem.) 

No.  106. — The  grave  of  Dea.  Elijah  Carter,  who 
died  Feb.  2,  1835,  aged  71  years. 
"  Go,  happy  spirit,  seek  that  blissful  land, 
Where  ransomed  sinners  join  the  glorious  band 


56 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Of  those  who  fought  for  truth,  blest  spirit,  go, 
And  perfect  all  the  good  begun  below." 

No.  107. — Mary,  wife  of  R.  Carter,  died  Nov.  16, 
1839,  aged  28. 

No.  108. — Benaiah  Cooke,  died  Aug.  8,  1852,  aged 
52. 

No.  109.'— Josiah  Cooke,  died  Sept.  11,1834,  aged  2 
years. 

No.  110.— Mary  Eliza  Cooke,  died  Aug.  17,  1837, 
aged  3  years. 

No.  111.— George  Cooke,  died  Feb.  6,  183S,  aged  9 
mouths. 

No.  112. — Frederick  Cooke, died  Aug.  9,  1842,  aged 

14  months. 

No.  113.— Mary  R.  Cooke,  died  Jan.  7,  1855,  aged 

15  years  and  10  months. 

No.  114.— Harriet  W.  Cady,  died  Oct,  9,  1841,  aged 
43. 

No.  115. — Rev.  Reuben  Collins,  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
died  Dec.  24,  1842,  aged  32. 

No.  116.— Comfort  Conner,  died  May  14,  1S26,  aged 
37. 

No.  117. — My  husband,  John  S.  Currier,  died  July 
31,  1844,  aged  32. 

No.  118. — Coolidge  (granite  monument). 

No.  119.— Henry  Coolidge,  obt.  1843,  aged  55. 

No.  120.— Caroline  C.  Coolidge,  obt.  1846,  aged  33. 

No.  121. — Lawson  Coolidge,  obt.  1849,  aged  41. 

No.  122.— George  H.  Coolidge,  born  Feb.  15,  1811, 
died  Jan.  26,  1868. 

No.  123.— Hannah  Taylor,  wife  of  Josiah  Colony, 
died  June  30,  1846,  aged  51. 

"  The  memory  of  the  departed  is  endeared  as  a  de- 
voted wife,  a  kind  and  affectionate  parent,  a  regardful 
neighbor.  A  calm  and  serene  death  followed  a  quiet 
and  contented  lite." 

No.  124. — Harry,  son  of  Henry  and  Mary  Colony, 
died  Sept.  12,  1855,  aged  10  months  and  26  days. 

No.  12"). — George  R.,  son  of  Willard  and  Priscilla 
Clark,  died  Aug.  18,  1847,  aged  24. 

"  No  pain  nor  grief,  no  anxious  fear, 

Invades  thy  bounds  ;  no  mortal  woes 
Can  reach  the  peaceful  sleep  here, 
While  angels  watch  its  soft  repose." 

No.  126.— Ebenezer  Clark,  died  Aug.  1,  1848,  aged 
77  ;   Eunice,  Ids  wife,  died  April  14,  1865,  aged  87. 

No.  L27.— Sands  Caswell,  died  Nov.  10,  1851,  aged 
29. 

Nd.  128  — Mrs.  Nancy  Crandell,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Esty,  died  March  2">.  1852,  aged  60. 

No.  129. — .Jesse  Corbett,  died  Aug.,  1866,  aged 
7.1. 

\o.  130.— Betsy  Twitchell,  wife  of  David  Carter, 
died  Jan.  2i».  1853,  aged  80. 

No.  131.— Levi  Chamberlain,  died  Aug.  31,1868, 
aged  80  years. 

"  How  calm  he  meets  the  friendly  shore 
Who  lived  adverse  to  sin  '." 


No.  132. — Harriet  A.  Goodhue,  the  dearly  beloved 

wife  of  Levi  Chamberlain,  died  June  26,  1868,  aged 

67. 

"  The  guileless  soul,  the  calm,  sweet  trust, 

Shall  have  a  large  reward." 

No.  133— Elijah  Dunbar,  Esq.,  died  May  18,  1847, 
aged  87. 

No.  134. — Mary  R.,  wife  of  Elijah  Dunbar,  died 
Nov.  29,  1838,  aged  70. 

No.  135. — Polly,  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Mary 
Dunbar,  died  May  25,  1795,  aged  4  years;  Laura 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Mary  Dunbar, 
died  Jan  11,  1810,  aged  three  years. 

No.  136.— Mary  Ann  Dunbar,  died  June  2,  1820, 
aged  20. 

No.  137.— Mrs.  Hannah  Dunn,  died  Oct.  8,  1828, 
aged  84. 

"  The  sweet  remembrance  of  the  just, 
Shall  flourish  when  they  sleep  in  dust." 

No.  138. — Asa  Duren,  died  April  5,  1871,  aged 
69. 

No.  139. — Maria  V.  Wood,  wife  of  Asa  Duren, 
died  May  18,  1854,  aged  64. 

No.  140. — Augustus,  son  of  Asa  and  Maria  Duren, 
died  Nov.  5,  1829,  aged  7  months  and  12  days. 

No.  141.— Cynthia  Duren,  died  April  22,  1861, 
aged  61. 

No.  142. — Dinsmoor  (marble  monument). 

Samuel  Dinsmoor,  born  July  1,  1766,  died  March 
15,  1835,  aged  68;  Mary  Boyd,  wife  of  Samuel  Dins- 
moor, and  daughter  of  Gen.  George  Reed,  of  London- 
derry, died  June  3,  1834,  aged  64;  Mary  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Boyd  Dinsmoor,  and 
wife  of  Robert  Means,  of  Amherst,  born  Dec.  2,  1800, 
died  August  16, 1829,  aged  28;  Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr., 
born  May  8,  17!i7,  died  Feb.  24,  1869,  aged  69;  Anna 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr.,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  William  Jarvis,  of  Weathersfield,  Vt., 
born  June  30,  1818,  died  July  17,  1849,  aged  31. 

No.  143. — Samuel  Dinsmoor,  died  March  15,1835, 
aged  68. 

No.  144. — Mary  Boyd,  wife  of  Samuel  Dinsmoor, 
died  June  3,  1834,  aged  64. 

No.  14"). — Mary  E.  Dinsmoor,  wife  of  Robert 
Means,  died  Aug.  16,  1829,  aged  28. 

No.  146. — Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr.,  died  Feb.  24, 
1869,  aged  69. 

No.  147. — Anna  E.  Jarvis,  wife  of  Samuel  Dins- 
moor, Jr.,  died  July  17,  1849,  aged  31. 

No.  148. — Julie  A.  Fiske,  wife  of  William  Dins- 
moor, died  Jan.  4,  1854,  aged  39. 

No.  149.— Abiathar  Dean,  died  Oct.  2,  1832,  aged 
64. 

No.  150.— George  C.  Dean,  died  Oct.  2,  1835,  aged 
35. 

No.  151. — To  the  memory  of  Charles  B.  Daniels, 
born  Aug.  30,  1818,  graduated  at  the  W.  P.  Military 
Academy  June,  1836,  was  mortally   wounded  while 


KEENE. 


57 


gallantly  leading  his  company  in  the  assault  of  the 
enemy's  works  at  Molino  Del  Rey,  Mexico,  Sept.  8, 
1847,  and  died  of  his  wounds  in  the  city  of  Mexico 
Oct.  27,  1847,  aged  31  years. 

"By  the  purity  of  his  life  and  fidelity  to  the  de- 
mands of  his  profession,  he  adorned  it  by  his  valor, 
he  fulfilled  its  sternest  demands.'' 

Xo.  152. — To  the  memory  of  Jabez  W.  Daniels, 
born  Aug.  1,  1876,  died  Oct.  7,  1852,  aged  82  years. 

"  A  just  man  who  walked  in  all  the  commandment?- 
of  the  Lord  blameless." 

No.  153. — To  the  memory  of  Eleanor  Daniels 
born  May  6,  1773,  died  June  29,  1863,  aged  90  years. 

Xo.  154. — Caroline  E.  Daniels,  daughter  of  Warren 
and  Caroline  C.  Daniels,  died  Feb.  25,  1836,  aged  8 
months. 

X"o.  155. — Davis  (granite  monument). 

Xo.  156.— Abby  Z.,  daughter  of  H.  and  A.  T.  Da- 
vis, died  July  29,1853,  aged' 5  months. 

No.  157. — Lucian  H.,  died  Dec.  16,  1845,  aged  1 
year;  Ella  A.,  died  Aug.  31,  1849,  aged  8  months ; 
children  of  Henry  and  Allura  Davis. 

Xo.  158. — Allura  T.,  wife  of  Henry  Davis,  died 
Sept.  14,  1853,  in  her  34th  year. 

No.  159. — Mary  G.,  wife  of  John  B.  Dowsman,  died 
Feb.  10,  1838,  aged  28  years. 

Xo.  160.— Martha  Ann,  died  Feb.  8,  1838,  aged  5 
years  9  months  ;  Mary  Jane,  Feb.  17,  aged  3  years  3 
months;  Chas.  Warren,  March   11,  aged  9  months  : 
children  of  Charles  and  Ann  D.  Dwinnell. 
"  The  fairest,  loveliest  sons  of  earth, 
Like  charms  may  fade  away  ; 
But  o'er  their  memory  shed  a  tear, 
That  cannot  e'er  decay." 

No.  161. — Cyrus  Dickey,  who  died  while  a  member 
of  the  senior  class  in  Dartmouth  College,  Sept.  30, 
1840,  aged  26. 

-i  True  excellence  ripens  but  in  Heaven." 

No.  162.— Chas.  Dunbrack,  died  March  2,  1844, 
aged  72.  A  native  of  Edenburgh,  Scotland,  and  for 
many  years  a  resident  of  Halifax,  N.  S. 

Xo.  163. — Catherine,  wife  of  Henry  Dowdell,  died 
June  19,  1850,  aged  35. 

No.  164.— Eliza,  wife  of  Wm.  Dort,  died  Sept.  10, 
1852,  aged  25. 

Xo.  lti">.— Lucretia  Dawes,  born  in  Boston,  Mass., 
May  23,  1788,  died  in  Keene,  X.  H.,  Oct.  20,  1855. 

"  He  that  believeth  in  me  though  he  were  dead, 
yet  shall  he  live." 

Xo.  166— Mr.  Timothy  Ellis,  who  died  March  30, 
1814.  aged  66. 

Xo.  167.— In  memory  of  Mrs.  Beulah  Ellis,  who 
died  May  22.  1822.  aged  7:',. 

No.  168.— Joshua  Ellis,  died  Aug.  31,  1838,  aged 
53. 

No.  169.— Parker  Ellis  (on  pine  board). 


No.  170. — George  Andrew,  son  of  Geo.  L.  and 
Susan  Ellis,  died  Sept.  23,  1863,  aged  24  years  6 
months. 

"  Best,  dearest  sufferer,  rest  in  Jesus'  arms." 

Xo.  171. — Paulina  Tucker,  daughter  of  Xathaniel 

Evans,  died  Jan.  25,  1831,  aged  4  yr<. 

Xo.   172. — Harriett    Wiggen,    wife    of    Xathaniel 

Evans,  died  July  5.  1835,  aged  36. 

Xo.  173. — Harriett  K.,  wife  of  Xathaniel    Evans, 

died  June  8,  1842,  aged  34. 

"  I  leave  the  world  without  a  tear, 
Save  for  the  friends  I  hold  so  dear ; 
To  heal  their  sorrows  Lord  descend, 
And  to  the  friendless  prove  a  friend." 
Xo.  174. — Rebecca  A.,  wife  of  Geo.   W.   Enter^n, 
died  April  27,  1835,  aged  25. 

Xo.  175.— George  W.  Emerson,  died  Dec.  28,  1829, 
aged  2  years;  George  W.  Emerson,  died  Sept.  6, 1830, 
aged  7  months;  children  of  Geo.  W.  and  Rebecca  A. 
Emerson. 

Xo.  176.— In  memory  of  Mr.  Charles  Fitch,  who 
died  Feb.  18,  1800,  in  his  30th  year. 

"  It  is  hard  to  leave  our  friends  behind, 

And  fair  earth's  bounteous  sweets  ; 
The  place  where  man  is  first  consigned. 

And  where  man  his  dear  partner  meets  ; 
But  we  must  all  submit  to  fate, 

And  when  our  call  is  pronounced  upon, 
We  must  leave  our  world  and  state, 

And  go  to  regions  above  unknown." 

No.  177.— John  Fitch,  died  June  22,  1848,  aged 
87. 

No.  178. — Lydia  Fitch,  wife  of  John  Fitch,  died 
May  28,  1870,  aged  84. 

No.  179. — In  memory  of  Caroline,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Waltrous  and  Mrs.  Mary  Fairchild,  who  died  Dec.  10, 
1819,  aged  11  years. 

Xo.  180.— Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  Phinehas  Fiske, 
deceased  July  11,  1821,  aged  31. 

Xo.  181. — Catherine  Fiske,  founder  and  principal 
of  the  Female  Seminary  in  Keene,  X'.  H,  for  38 
years  a  teacher  of  youth,  died  May  20,  1837,  aged  53. 

"  Reader,  whoe'er  thou  art,  do  justly,  love  mercy, 
and  walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 

Azuba  Morse,  the  mother  of  Catherine  Fiske,  died 
Nov.  9,  1837,  aged  72. 

Xo.  182. — David  Oilman  Forbes,  who  died  Feb.  5, 
1822,  aged  21. 

"  In  bloom  of  youth  behold  he  dies." 
No.  183.— John  Foster,  did!  Feb.  7,  1854,  aged  57; 
Sophia,  wife  of  John   Foster,   died   April    20,  1832, 
aged  36. 

Xo.  184. — William,  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Fos- 
ter, died  March  15,  1833,  aged  8. 

"  So  fades  the  lovely  flower 

Ere  half  its  charms  are  shed  ; 


58 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Cut  down  in  an  untimely  hour 
And  numbered  with  the  dead." 

No.  185. — Harriett  P.,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  S. 
Farnsworth,  late  of  Hillsborough,  died  March  22, 
1841,  aged  6  years. 

No.  186. — Frost  (granite  monument). 

No.  187. — Amanda  Frost,  died  1845,  aged  28. 

No.  188.— Julia  S.  Frost,  died  1844,  aged  17 
months. 

No.  189. — My  husband,  Harlow  Frost,  died  Nov. 
25,  L865,  aged  49. 

No.  190.— Our  Willie,  Willie  H.  Frost,  son  of  Har- 
low and  Eliza  W.  Frost,  died  March  28,  1843,  aged  2 
years  5  months. 

No.  191. — Roxana  Allen,  wife  of  Jason  French, 
died  Nov.  5,  1852,  aged  35. 

No.  192. — Abigail  Wood,  widow  of  Eleazer  Furber, 
died  July  15,  1853,  aged  55. 

No.  193. — Jehoshiphat  Grout,  who  departed  this 
life  Sept.  26,  1806,  aged  53. 

No.  104. — This  monument  is  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Mrs.  Anna,  wife  of  Mr.  J.  Grout,  who  departed 
this  life  Aug.  9,  1810,  aged  57. 

No.  195. — James  Gibson,  died  April  26,  1846,  aged 

38. 

"  Not  lost,  but  gone  before." 

No.  196.— Eliza  K  ,  wife  of  Caleb  S.  Graves,  died 
March  18,  1845,  aged  35. 

"Jesus  can  make  a  dyinsj  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head 
And  breath  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

No.  197. — John  B.,  son  of  A.  C.  and  L.  Greeley, 
born  March  9,  1848,  died  March  10,  1849. 

No.  198. — George  W.  B.,  son  of  A.  C.  and  L.  Gree- 
ley, born  Aug.  9,  1852,  died  Aug.  7,  1853. 

No.  199. — Oscar  S.,  son  of  Edward  S.  and  Man- 
Greenwood,  died  July  17,  1850,  aged  2. 

"  Dearest  babe,  thy  days  are  ended, 
All  thy  sufferings  now  are  o'er, 
No  more  by  our  care  befriended, 
Thou  art  happy  evermore." 

No.  200. — Sibyl,  wile  of  Benjamin  Good,  died  Jan. 
13,  1854,  aged  25  years. 

"Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil.  For  thou  art 
with  me.     Thy  rod  and  thy  stall'  tiny  com  fort  me." 

No.  201. — Reuben  I'..,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Sibyl 
Good,  died  December  26, 1850,  aged  2  years  and  10 
months. 

No.  202. — Edwin,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Sibyl  Good, 
died  Jan.  27,  1851,  aged  4  years  and  1   month. 

No.  203.— Cornelius  C.  Hall,  died  Nov.  25,  1815, 
aged  39;  Fanny  Hall,  daughter  of  Cornelius  and 
Elizabeth  Hall,  died  Dec.  21,  1806,  aged  3  years. 

No.  204.— Ednie   G,    daughter   of   Henry   C.  and 


Ellen  F.  Hall,  died  Oct.  12,  1846,  aged  4  months  6 
days. 

"  Sleep  on,  sweet  babe, 

And  take  thy  rest, 
God  called  thee  home, 
And  he  thought  best." 

No.  205.— H.  M.  (granite  stone). 
No.  206.— Major  Davis  Howlet,  died  Feb.  23,  1817, 
aged  79. 

No.  207. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Major 
Davis  Howlet,  who  died  April  1,  1826,  aged  85. 

No.  208. — Davis,  son  of  Davis  Howlet,  died  June 
21,  1700,  aged  70. 

No.  200.— Mr.  Davis  Howlet,  died  Aug.  25,  1824, 
aged  50. 

No.  210.— Mr.  William  Heaton,  who  died  Dec.  29, 
1822,  aged  33. 

No.  211. — Mary  Eliza,  daughter  of  Oliver  and 
Louisa  Heaton,  died  June  20,  1837,  aged  4  years  6 
months. 

No.  212. — Louisa  S.,  wife  of  Oliver  Heaton,  died 
Dec.  23,  1843,  aged  45. 

No.  213. — This  monument  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Miss  Mary  Holbrook,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Elihu 
and  Mrs.  Mary  Holbrook,  who  died  March  27,  1806, 
aged  14  years. 

"  Stay,  thoughtful  mourner,  hither  led 
To  weep  and  mingle  with  the  dead; 
Pity  the  maid  who  slumbers  here, 
And  pay  the  tributary  tear. 
Thy  feet  must  wander  far  to  find 
A  fairer  form,  a  lovelier  mind, 
An  eye  that  beams  a  sweeter  smile, 
A  bosom  more  estranged  from  guile, 
A  heart  with  kinder  passions  warm, 
A  life  with  fewer  stains  deformed, 
A  death  with  deeper  sighs  confess'd 
A  memory  more  beloved  and  bless'd." 

Here  will  be  found  many  old,  familiar  names; 
among  them,  that  of  Betsey  Nurss  Leonard, 
who  was  born  only  two  years  later  than  the 
organization  of  the  town  of  Iveene,  1  755,  and 
lived  to  be  more  than  one  hundred  years  old. 
I  remember  her  as  a  very  pleasant  old  lady. 
.Mrs.  Houghton,  her  daughter,  is  still  living  on 
Court  Street.  Mrs.  Leonard  on  her  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  received  her  friends.  Elijah 
Knight,  Esq.,  kept  the  old  tavern  now  owned 
by  Miss  Kate  Tyler,  on  Court  Street.  When  I 
was  a  boy  he  died  in  the  Fuller  house,  on 
Washington  Street.  Stephen  Harrington  and  his 
son,  Asaph,  both  were  model  hotel-keepers,  and 
known  everywhere.  Stephen  Harrington  was 
born  in  Lexington,  Mass.,  only  six  months  after 
tin' battle,  in    1  77o.     Major   George   Ingersoll, 


KEENE. 


59 


who  was  born  in  1754,  and  who  was  twenty- 
one  years  old  when  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence was  declared ;  Rev.  George  G.  Ingersoll, 
D.D.,  whom  to  know  was  to  love  and  respect ; 
also  the  name  of  Daniel  Hough,  whom  I  re- 
member as  a  merchant  in  Keene,  whose  store 
was  just  south  of  the  Eagle  Hotel,  now  a  part 
of  the  hotel ;  also  the  name  of  Luther  L.  Hol- 
brook, my  old  friend  and  shop-mate,  and  a  long 
list  of  names  that  we  like  to  remember. 

No.  214. — L.  L.  Holbrook,  died  at  Keeseville,  N.Y., 
Oct.  20,  1844,  aged  29.  Francis  A.  wife  of  L.  L. 
Holbrook,  and  daughter  of  Abijah  Wilder,  died  Nov. 
10,  1851,  aged  35  years. 

"  There  is  rest  in  Heaven." 

No.  215. — Betsey,  daughter  of  Rufus  and  Dorothy 
Houghton,  died  Oct.  26, 1809,  aged  2  years  8  months 
and  3  days. 

"  See  the  dear  youth  just  enter  life, 
Bud  forth  like  a  flower  in  May  ; 
Stay  long  enough  to  seal  our  hearts, 
Then  smile  and  die  away." 

No.  216. — In  memory  of  Dr.  Dan  Hough,  who  de- 
parted this  life  Feb.  26,  1828,  aged  49. 

No.  217. — Louisa  Ellis,  wife  of  Luther  Howe,  died 
March  21,  1835,  aged  54. 

No.  218.— Louisa  Howe,  died  Sept.  21,  1854,  aged 

41- 

No.  219. — Mary  A.,  wife  of  Sylvester  Haskell,  died 
April  14,  1835,  aged  33. 

No.  220. — Charles  C,  only  son  of  Charles  and 
Isabell  Hirsch,  died  Aug.  29,  1842,  aged  16  months 
11  days. 

"  Rest,  sweet  babe,  thy  days  are  ended, 
Quick  thy  passage  to  the  tomb  ; 
Gone,  by  angel  bands  attended, 
To  thy  everlasting  home." 

No.  221. — Stephen  Harrington,  born  in  Lexington, 
Mass.,  Nov.  22,  1775,  died  Oct.  25,  1847. 

No.  222. — Mary  Prescott,  wife  of  Stephen  Harring- 
ton, died  Aug.  16,  1862,  aged  80. 

No.  223.— Asaph  Harrington,  died  May  26,  1867, 
aged  57. 

No.  224.— Alfred  Hebard,  obt.  July  12,  1848,  aged 
32. 

No.  225. — Rufus,  son  of  Josiah  and  Sophronia 
Hayden,  died  Dec.  25,  1853,  aged  5  years  9  months. 

No.  226.— John  Hoar,  died  June  24,  1846,  aged 
33. 

No.  227.— Mary  Ann,  wife  of  John  Hoar,  died 
July  16,  1846,  aged  30. 

No.  228,— John  E.,  died  Sept.  15,  1840,  aged  4 
months;  Albert  A.,  died  June  30,  1845,  aged 5  weeks; 
children  of  John  and  Mary  Ann  Hoar. 


No.  229.— Daphne  Hoar,  born  Feb.  25,  1811,  died 
Jan.  31,  1873. 

No.  230.— Jason  Hodgkins,  died  July  24,  1856, 
aged  30. 

No.  231. — Harriet  M.,  wife  of  Jason  Hodgkins, 
died  May  2,  1854,  aged  23. 

"  She  died  and  left  me 
This  spot,  this  calm  and  quiet  scene, 
And  those  who  saw  her  smile  in  death 
No  more  may  fear  to  die." 

No.  232.— Lovina  Holman,  died  Nov.  17,  1856, 
aged  27. 

No.  233. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Caroline  H. 
Ingersoll,  who  was  born  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  Dec. 
5,  1797,  died  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Dec.  12,  1812,  aged 
15 ;  also,  Mary  Ingersoll  Adams,  wife  of  Charles 
Adams,  Esq.,  who  was  born  at  West  Point,  N.  Y., 
May  5,  1799,  died  at  Burlington,  Vt.,  May  4,  1832, 
aged  33;  both  daughters  of  George  and  Martha 
Ingersoll. 

"Strangers  and  pilgrims  here,  our  home  is  in 
Heaven." 

No.  234. — Martha  Goldthwait  Ingersoll,  widow  of 
Major  George  Ingersoll,  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  July 
7th,  1764,  died  in  Burlington,  Vt.,  April  24th,  1839, 
aged  74  years. 

No.  235. — The  remains  of  Major  George  Ingersoll, 
late  of  the  United  States  Army ;  born  at  Boston, 
Mass.,  April  2d,  1754,  died  at  Keene  July  16th,  1805, 
aged  51  years. 

"  In  that  high  world  which  follows  this 
May  each  repeat  in  words  of  bliss — 
We're  all,  all  here." 

No.  236. — Ingersoll  (marble  monument).  Rev. 
George  Goldthwait  Ingersoll,  D.D.,  son  of  Major 
George  and  Martha  G.  Ingersoll,  born  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  July  4,  1796,  died  in  Keene,  N.  H.,  Sept.  16, 
1863. 

"  Hope  which  entereth  within  the  vail." 

Allen  Parkhurst,  son  of  Rev.  Geo.  G.  and  Harriet 
P.  Ingersoll,  born  Nov.  10,  1823,  in  Burlington,  Vt., 
died  Sept.  8,  1859,  in  Keene,  N.  H. 

No.  237. — George  and  Harriet  (marker). 

No.  238. — George  P.  Ingersoll  (marker). 

No.  239.— Allen  P.  Ingersoll  (marker). 

No.  240.— Joseph  Ingalls,  died  Oct.  12,  1858,  aged 
83. 

No.  241. — Mrs.  Lucy  Ingalls,  wife  of  Joseph  In- 
galls, died  Oct.  12,  1822,  aged  49. 

No.  242. — Anna  L.,  wife  of  Joseph  Ingalls,  died 
July  24,  1850,  aged  58. 

No.  243. — John,  son  of  Joseph  and  Anna  Ingalls, 
died  Dec.  29,  1851,  aged  18. 

No.  244. — In  memory  of  John,  son  of  Moses  John- 
son, who  died  April  22,  1795,  aged  7. 

No.  245. — Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Harriet 
G.  Jones,  died  Oct.  6,  1839,  aged  15  mouths. 


60 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  246. — Josepheus  H.,  daughter  of  Sylvester 
and  Elizabeth  Jones,  died  June  14,  1839,  aged  13 
months. 

No.  247. — Harriet  E.,  daughter  of  Sylvester  and 
Elizabeth  Jones,  died  March  6,  1840,  aged  3  years. 

No.  248.— Widow  Abial  Keyes,  who  died  Aug.  19, 
1807,  aged  78  years. 

No.  249.— Zebadiah  Keyes,  died  Sept,  16,  1859, 
aged  83. 

No.  250. — Sybel,  wife  of  Zebadiah  Keyes,  died 
March  15,  1851,  aged  70. 

No.  251. — Fanny,  daughter  of  Mr.  Zebadiah  and 
Mrs.  Sybel  Keyes,  died  Aug.  19,  1812,  aged  2  years 
and  7  months. 

No.  252. — Sally  Ann,  daughter  of  Zebadiah  and 
Sybel  Keyes,  died  Aug.  20,  1833,  aged  19  years  and  7 
months. 

No.  253. — Mary  Ellen,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Elizabeth  Keyes,  died  April  13,  1852,  aged  5  years 
and  10  months. 

No.  254. — Ezra  Kilburn,  died  March  27,  1853,  aged 
85. 

No.  255. — Leverett,  son  of  Edmund  and  Julia 
Kimball,  died  dune  7,  1826,  aged  18  months. 

"  With  anxious  care  each  art  was  tried 
The  lovely  flower  to  save, 
But  all  in  vain — the  shaft  of  death 
Consigned  it  to  the  grave." 

No.  266. — Children  of  Charles  and  Ruby  O.  Kings- 
bury. Charles  Edward,  died  Aug.  28,  1838,  aged  15 
weeks. 

No.  257.— Stella  Maria,  Sept.  19,  1843,  aged  14 
months. 

No.  258.— Charles  Edward,  died  March  29,  1849, 
aged  5  days. 

No.  259.— Stella  Maria,  died  Oct.  1,  1853,  aged  8 
years. 

No.  260.— Cyrus  Kingsbury,  died  June  30,  1863, 
aged  65. 

No.  261. — Rachel,  wife  of  Cyrus  Kingsbury,  died 
March  26,  L843,  aged  38;  John  S.,  their  son,  died 
March  It',,  1843,  aged  8  months. 

No.  262.  -Sarah,  daughter  of  C.  and  It.  Kingsbury, 
died  Aug.  12,  1849,  aged  9  years. 

No.  263.— Elijah  Knight,  Esq.,  died  1842,  aged 
86. 

No.  264.— Martha  Knight,  died  1847,  aged  73 
years. 

No.  265.— John  McKoy,  died  May  20,  1842,  aged 
43  years. 

No.  2oii.— Here  are  the  remains  of  James  Lanman, 
who  di.d  the  22d  day  of. June,  A.i).  1809,  aged  60 
years,  formerly  deacon  of  the  church  in  Brattle  Street, 
Boston. 

"Faithful  to  his  family,  to  his  friends  and  to  the 
church  of  God.  The  sweet  remembrance  of  the  just 
shall  flourish  while  they  sleep  in  dust." 


No.  267. — Miss  Hannah  Lanman,  born  in  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  Jan.  3,  1750,  died  Jan.  16,  1837,  aged 
81. 

No.  268. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Susan  Dawes 
Lanman,  wife  of  Daniel  Gilbert,  of  Boston,  and  only 
child  of  James  and  Susanna  Lanman,  who  died  Aug. 
5,  1851,  aged  25. 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  spirit." 

No.  269. — Mrs.  Lydia   Lebourveau,  died  April  6, 

1846,  aged  83. 

No.  270. — In  memory  of  Emily,  daughter  of  Mr. 
George  W.  and  Mrs.  Betsey  Lebourveau,  who  died 
Oct.  26,  1822,  aged  16  months. 

"  Sleep  on,  sweet  babe, 
And  rest  secure; 
Thy  body's  safe, 
Thy  soul's  sure." 

No.  271. — George  W.  Lebourveau,  died  June  25, 
1828,  aged  40  years. 

No.  272.— Capt.  John  Leonard,  died  April  27, 1829, 
aged  76. 

No.  273.— Betsey  Nurss  Leonard,'  wife  of  Capt. 
John  Leonard,  born  April  27,  1755,  died  Dec.  7, 
1855,  aged  100  years  7  months  and  10  days. 

No.  274. — Rowland  Sumner  Leonard,  son  of  Joseph 
B.  and  Ruth  H.  Leonard,  born  Aug.  31,  1840,  died 
May  25,  1841,  aged  8  months  and  25  days. 

"  Shed  not  for  him  the  bitter  tear, 
Nor  sorrow  with  a  vain  regret; 
'Tis  but  the  casket  which  lies  here, 
The  gem  in  Heaven  is  sparkling  yet." 

No.  275. — Lawrence  Leonard,  died  Sept.  15,  1843, 
aged  40. 

No.  276.— Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah 
Lawrence,  died  April  19,  1843,  aged  7. 

No.  277.— Alvin  Lawrence,  died  Dec.  19,  1849, 
aged  25  years. 

No.  278. — In  memory  of  Thaddeus  MacCarty,  Esq., 
who  died  Nov.  21,  a.d.  1802,  aged  55  years. 

No.  279. — In  memory  of  William,  son  of  Doctor 
Thaddeus  and  Mrs.  Experience  MacCarty,  who  died 
Feb.  4,  1797,  aged  13  years. 

No.  280. — Martha,  wife  of  Benjamin  Mann,  Esq., 
died  May  17,  1808,  aged  65. 

No.  281.— Charlotte  Mundell,  died  Nov.  15,1828, 
aged  18. 

No.  282.— This  marble  was  erected  by  Mr.  Gilbert 
Mellen  to  preserve  from  oblivion  the  memory  of  his 
affectionate  consort,  Mrs.  Mary  Mellen,  who  died 
April  26,  1814,  aged  42. 

"  Interred  within  this  silent  grave  she  lies. 
Mouldering  dust  obscured  from  human  eyes, 
Her  soul  has  sweetly  fled  to  realms  above 
Where  vice  and  woe  are  not,  but  all  is  love." 


1  This  lady  rode  from  Kecne  to  Boston  and  back  in  the 
cars  after  she  was  one  hundred  years  old.  How  many 
women  of  the  present  'lay  will  do  it  '.' 


KEENE. 


61 


No.  283.— Cyrus  Mulliken,  died    Dec.    31,    1840, 

aged  44. 

No.  284.— Mary,  wife  of  Cyrus  Mulliken,  died 
April  16,  1845,  aged  39. 

No.  285.— Harriett  Mulliken,  born  Aug.  26,  1828, 
died  March  22,  1867,  aged  38. 

"  This  is  but  the  mortal  part." 

No.  286.— Alexander  Milliken,  died  May  14,  1854, 
aged  74. 

No.  287. — Martha,  wife  of  Abijah  Metcalf,  died 
May  11,  1838,  aged  40. 

No.  288.— Capt.  Henry  N.  Metcalf. 

"  'Tis  sweet  to  die  for  one's  country. 
Henry  N.  Metcalf,  Co.  F,  N.  H.  Vols.,  killed  at 
Gettysburg  July  2,  1863,  aged  30. 

No.  289.— Martha  Wood,  daughter  of  Abijah  and 
Martha  Metcalf,  died  Aug.  20,  1865,  aged  27. 

No.  290. — Rebecca,  wife  of  M.  Metcalf  and  mother 
of  Josiah  and  Eebecca  Capen,  died  May  16,  1851, 
aged  88. 

No.  291. — In  memory  of  Elizabeth  W.  May,  who 
died  June  16,  1835,  aged  15  years. 

"  Happy  soul,  thy  days  are  ended, 
All  thy  mourning  days  below  ; 
Go,  by  angel  guards  attended, 
To  the  sight  of  Jesus,  go." 

No.  292. — Salome,  wife  of  Silas  May,  died  April  22, 
1845,  aged  27. 

No.  293. — Harriett  C,  daughter  of  Wm.  and  Al- 
mira  Marsh,  died  March  10,  1837,  aged  3  years  and  3 
months. 

jj0  294.— George  Marsh,1  died  Feb.  14,  1851,  aged 

38. 

No.  295. — Mary  E.,  wife  of  George  Marsh,  died 
May  20,  1859,  aged  41. 

No.  296.— Charles  H.,  son  of  G.  and  M.  E.  Marsh, 
died  April  9,  1841,  aged  15  months. 

No.  297.— Sophia  Munn,  died  Oct.  3,  1842,  aged  5 
months  ;  Emeline  Munn,  died  Nov.  24,  1843,  aged  4 
months  and  11  days;  children  of  John  D. -and  Eliza- 
beth Munn. 

No.  298. — Geneve  S.,  daughter  of  Abel  H.  and 
Mary  S.  Miller,  died  Aug.  26,  1845,  aged  13  months 
and  10  days. 

No.  299. — Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah 
Ann  Mason,  died  Sept.  2,  1845,  aged  9  months  and  16 
clays. 

No.  300. — Francis  M.,  son  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  Ann 
Mason,  died  July  15,  1848,  aged  7  years  10  months 
and  7  days. 

No.  301. — Harriet  A.,  daughter  of  John  and  Ma- 
tilda W.  Mason,  died  Dec  16,  1853,  aged  12  years  and 
2  months. 

i  George  Marsh  was  killed  on  the  Cheshire  Railroad  by 
being  crushed  between  a  car  and  a  platform  of  a  freight 
depot  in  Keene. 


"  Too  soon  thou  art  gone,  thou  loved  one, 
And  left  thy  dearest  friends  to  mourn." 

No.  302.— John  W.,  son  of  John  and  Matilda  W. 
Mason,  died  May  6,  1855,  aged  18  yrs. 

No.  303. — Sabra,  wife  of  Jonathan  Mansfield,  died 
Dec.  1,  1849,  aged  58. 

"  Dear  friends,  weep  not  for  me, 
I'm  free  from  pain  and  care  ; 
The  Lord  has  called  me  hence, 
And  I  his  blessings  share." 

No.  304. — Jonathan  E.,  son  of  Laton  and  Lydia 
Martin,  died  March  14,  1849,  aged  14  months. 

"  Thou  destroyeth  the  hope  of  man." 

No.  305. — Here  lies  the  body  of  George  Newcomb, 
son  of  Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  and  Sarah,  his  wife. 
He  was  born  Oct.  16,  1783,  admitted  a  member  of 
Dartmouth  College  Aug.  28th,  1792,  and  drowned  in 
Ashuelot  River  June  10th,  1796. 

"  Cropped  like  a  rose  before  'tis  fully  blown, 
Or  half  its  worth  disclosed. 
Fate  gave  the  word,  the  cruel  order  sped, 
And  George  lies  numbered  with  the  dead." 

No.  306. — Daniel  Newcomb,  M.D.,  was  born  April 
2d,  1785,  and  died  May  13,  1809. 

"  He  healed  others — himself  he  could  not  heal." 

No.  307. — Here  lies  the  body  of  Mrs.  Sarah  New- 
comb, wife  of  Daniel  Newcomb,  Esq.,  and  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  David  Stearns,  of  Lunenburg.  She  was 
born  April  25th,  1758,  and  died  Nov.  13th,  1796,  in 
the  39th  year  of  her  age. 

"  How  loved,  how  valued  once,  avails  thee  not, 
To  whom  related  or  by  whom  begot, 
A  heap  of  dust  alone  remains  of  thee, 
'Tis  all  thou  art,  and  what  we  all  must  be." 

No.  308. — Daniel  Newcomb  was  born  at  Norton, 
Mass.,  1746  ;  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  1768  ; 
settled  at  Keene  as  attorn ey-at-law  1778 ;  was  chief 
justice  of  the  county  court  and  senator  in  the  State 
legislature ;  died  at  Keene  July  14,  1818,  aged  72. 

"  He  neither  sought  nor  declined  honours." 

No.  309. — Here  lies  the  body  of  Seth  Newcomb, 
who  was  born  Oct.  20,  a.d.  1786,  died  Oct.  31st,  1811, 
aged  25  years,  whose  life,  though  short,  was  active ; 
too  much  devoted,  however,  to  the  world,  and  too 
little  to  his  Maker  ;  and  not  till  the  chastening  hand 
of  providence  was  in  mercy  extended  to  him  did  he 
duly  estimate  the  importance  of  faithfully  examin- 
ing the  evidence  of  Christianity  ;  but  severe  and  long- 
continued  sickness  induced  reflection  and  inquiry, 
and  the  result  was  regret  that  his  conduct  had  been  so 
long  influenced  by  worldly  views,  and  full  conviction 
of  the  truth  of  our  holy  religion ;  and  he  died,  as  he 
believed,  a  humble  and  penitent  sinner,  resting  his 
hopes  of  pardon  and  salvation  on  the  merits  of  his 
Redeemer. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Nn.  310. — Hannah  Newcomb  was  horn  at  Boston, 
Mass.,  17(39,  died  at  KeeneSept.  2, 18-3 J,  aged  82  years. 
"Her  children  arise  and  call  her  blessed." 

No.  311.— Everett  Newcomb,  died  Sept.  10,  1837, 
aged  50  years. 

No.  312.— Sarah  R.  Newcomb,  died  June  19,  1873, 
aged  81. 

No.  313 — Hannah  Xewcomb,  died  June  7,  1870, 
aged  4(1. 

Nn.  314. — Phinehas  Nurse  (granite  monument). 

No.  315. — Miss  Susan  Nurse,  died  Nov.  8,  1843, 
aged  26. 

No.  316.— Sibyl  Norton,  died  July  3,  1822,  aged  19 
months. 

No.  317.— James  K.Norton,  died  Feb.  4,  1823, aged 
6  months. 

No.  318.— James  H.  Norton,  died  July  3,  1826,  aged 
6  months. 

No.  319.— Drusilla  S.  Norton,  died  Nov.  2,  1832, 
aged  5  years  and  6  months. 

No.  320.— Horace  J.  Norton,  died  Nov.  30,  1832, 
aged  2  years  and  8  months. 

No.  321.— John  L.  Norton,  died  Feb.  18,  1847, 
aged  12  years. 

No.  322.— Roswell  Nims,  died  April  24,  1855,  aged 
71. 

No.  323.— Sally,  wife  of  Roswell  Nims,  died  Oct. 
24,  1857,  aged  68. 

No.  324.— Roswell  Nims,  Jr.,  died  Sept.  25,  1838, 
aged  25. 

No.  325. — In  memory  of  Mr.  David  Nims,  who 
died  July  21,  1803  (age  is  not  plain). 

No.  326. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Nims,  wife 
of  Mr.  David  Nims.  She  died  July  13,  1799,  aged 
80  years. 

No.  327. — In  memory  of  Capt.  Alpheus  Nims,  who 
died  June  8,  1804,  aged  49  years.  Also,  George,  died 
Oct.  8,  1796,  aged  6  years ;  Nabby,  died  Aug.  9,  1794, 
aged  15  months;  Kliakin,  died  Sept.  5,  1796,  aged  It; 
months;  Josiah  Richardson,  died  March  16,  1801, 
aged  7  months  ;  Alpheus,  died  March  8,  1802,  aged  2 
days  ;  children  of  Capt.  A.  Nims. 

No.  328. — Abigail,  wile  of  Alpheus  Nims,  died 
April  9,  1816,  in  her  49th  year. 

No.  329. — Erected  in  memory  of  George,  son  of 
Alpheus  and  Abigail  Nims.  Be  died  at  Getersburg, 
Virginia,  Dec.  31,  1818,  aged  20  years  and  6  months. 

No.  330.— Esther  Newell,  died  Sept,  14,  1867,  aged 
69. 

"  Dear  mother,  gone  to  rest." 

No.  331.— John  Newell,  died  Sept.  25,  1850,  aged 
51. 

"  A  husband  dear,  a  lather  kind, 

Has  gone  and  left  his  friends  behind  ; 
Has  gone,  we  trust,  to  realms  of  light, 
Where  all  Christ's  followers  will  unite." 

No.  332.— Charles  William,  an  in  taut,  died  July  21, 
1841;  Sarah  Ann,  died    Nov.  19,  1853,  aged  9  years 


and  3  months ;  children  of  Wm.  A.  and  Susan  D. 
Norwood. 

"  Peace  to  their  ashes,  may  they  sleep 
In  arms  of  heavenly  love, 
And  when  our  pilgrimage  is  o'er, 
We  hope  to  meet  again." 

No.  333.— Freddy,  died  Jan.  12,  1856,  aged  8 
months;  Carrie  J.,  died  Jan.  10,  1857;  children  of 
Chester  and  Caroline  Nichols. 

"  Sleep  on,  sweet  babes,  and  take  thy  rest, 
God  early  called,  for  He  knew  best." 

No.  334. — Mr.  Thomas  Ocington,  who  departed 
this  life  Oct.  3,  1814,  in  the  21st  year  of  his  age. 

"  Happy  the  soul  that  does  in  Heaven  rest, 
Who  with  his  Saviour  he  is  ever  blest ; 
With  heavenly  joys  and  raptures  is  possessed, 
No  thought  but  his  God  inspires  his  breast." 

No.  335.— Samuel  Osgood,  died  July  11,  1828,  aged 
71. 

No.  336.— John  Osgood,  died  April  7,  1828,  aged 
50. 

No.  337.— Ellen,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Char- 
lotte C.  Grady,  died  June  29,  1858,  aged  11  months 
and  25  days. 

"  Thy  home  is  Heaven." 

No.  338. — To  preserve  from  oblivion  the  memory  of 
William  M.,  son  of  Mr.  William  and  Mrs.  Abigail 
Pierce,  who  died  Feb.  8, 1812,  aged  1  year. 

"  Sweet  babe,  a  dying  father  wept  for  thee, 
Its  mother  kind  mourned  the  sad  decree; 
To  Jesus  this  little  child  is  gone, 
For  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 

No.  339. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  William 
Pierce,  who  departed  this  life  March  8,  1812,  aged  43. 

"  Not  prudence  can  defend,  nor  virtue  save 
Our  dying  bodies  from  the  silent  grave; 
Tho'  mouldering  in  the  dust  this  friend  must  lie, 
His  soul  immortal  can  never,  never  die." 
No.  340.— Mrs.  Abigail,  wife  of  Mr.  William  Pierce, 

born  Oct.  28,  1775,  died  Feb.  2,  1818,  aged  42. 
"  Dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  return." 

No.  341. — His  own  epitaph. 

Here  lie  the  mortal  remains  of  John  Prentiss,  born 
in  Heading,  Mass.,  March  21,  1778.  He  established 
the  New  Hampshire  Sentinel  in  1799,  and  conducted  it 
principally  49  years.     Died  June  6,  1873,  aged  95. 

"  He  lived — he  died — Behold  the  sum, 
The  abstract  of  the  historian's  page!" 
No.  342. — Here  rest  the  remains  of  Diantha  A., 
wife  of  John  Prentiss.     She  died  March  1,  1856,  aged 
74. 

"  She  has  gone  to  the  day -break, 
Where  the  shadows  flee  away." — Sol.  Song. 

No.  343. —  In  memory  of  Pamelia  Mellen,  third 
daughter  of  John  and  Diantha  Prentiss,  who  died 
Oct.  9,  1820,  aged  13  years  and  4  months. 


KEENE. 


63 


"  Tell  those  who  sigh 
O'er  some  dear  friend's  untimely  doom 

That  all  must  die ; 
She  whom  they  saw  laid  in  the  tomb, 
In  God's  own  paradise  may  bloom." 

No.  344. — In  memory  of  Ellen  Sophia,  fourth 
daughter  of  John  and  Diantha  Prentiss,  who  died 
Dec.  28,  1825,  aged  14  years  and  8  months. 

"  Dust  to  its  narrow  home  beneath, 
Soul  to  its  place  on  high  ; 
They  that  have  seen  thy  look  in  death, 
No  more  may  fear  to  die." 

No.  345. — Edmund  S.,  son  of  John  and  Diantha 
Prentiss,  died  May  23,  1846,  aged  26. 

No.  346.— Sacred  to  the  memory  of  George  A. 
Prentiss,  commodore  United  States  Navy,  son  oi 
John  and  Diantha  Prentiss,  who  died  April  8,  1868, 
aged  59. 

"  His  hands  are  folded  on  his  breast, 
The  long  disquiet  merged  in  rest, 
How  sink  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest." 

No.  347.— Geo.  W.  Prentiss,  of  New  York,  died 
Feb.  28,  1829,  aged  37. 

No.  348.— Charles  P.  Perkins,  died  Dec.  4,  1850, 
aged  46. 

No.  349.— Mary  P.  Perkins,  died  Aug.  14,  1853, 
aged  49. 

No.  350.— Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Charles  P.  and 
Mary  F.  Perkins,  died  Sept.  5, 1832,  aged  2. 

No.  351. — Charles  Henry,  son  of  Charles  P.  and 
Mary  F.  Perkins,  died  June  1,  1838,  aged  5. 

No.  352.— Ferdinand  Preckle,  died  Nov.  19,  1833, 
aged  39. 

No.  353.— Ann  C.  Parsons,  died  Feb.  10,  1833, 
aged  21. 

"  She  was  amiable,  unassuming,  conscientious,  and 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  duty.  The  grave  of  the 
young,  whose  health  and  vigor  jjromised  many  com- 
ing years,  teaches  the  living  the  importance  of  a  con- 
stant trust  in  God,  thus  to  be  prepared  for  affliction, 
disease  and  death. 

No.  354.— James  Parker,  died  April  27, 1862,  aged 
73. 

No.  355. — Martha,  wife  of  James  Parker,  died  July 
28,  1850,  aged  64. 

No.  356. — Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  James  and  Martha 
Parker,  died  Dec.  14,  1838,  aged  17. 

"  Dearest  sister  thou  hast  left  us, 
And  thy  loss  Ave  deeply  feel  ; 
But  'tis  God  that  has  bereft  us  ; 
He  can  all  our  sorrows  heal." 

No.  357.— Jonathan  Parker,  died  Aug.  28,  A.  i>. 
1817,  in  the  56th  year  of  his  age. 

No.  358. — Hepsibeth,  wife  of  Jonathan  Parker,  died 
Nov.  21,  1848,  aged  84. 


No.  359.— Esther  P.,  wife  of  L.  B.  Page,  died  Feb. 
27,  1870,  aged  70. 

No.  360.— Alden  L.,  son  ofL.  B.  and  E.  P.  Page,  of 
Co.  C,  2d  Peg.  Maine  Vols.,  died  July  4,  1862,  aged 
25. 

No.  361.— Esther  L.,  daughter  of  L.  B.  and  E.  P 
Page,  died  May  5,  1841,  aged  7  years. 

No.  362.— Roxanna  Plantain,1  died  June  26, 1843, 
aged  46. 

No.  363. — Putnam  (granite  monument). 

No.  364. — Edward  Poole,  a  native  of  Danvers,  Mass., 
died  May  7,  1847,  aged  34. 

No.  365.— Helen  Poole,  died  Nov.  17,  1846,  aged  22 
months. 

No.  366. — Hannah  Iv.  Perham,  wife  of  Geo.  W. 
Perhain,  died  at  Nashville,  N.  H.,  Oct.  8,  1849,  aged 
28. 

No.  367. — Relief,  wife  of  Samuel  Payson,  died  July 
13,  1857,  aged  79. 

"  In  that  bright  world  which  follows  this, 
May  each  repeat  in  words  of  bliss, 
We're  all,  all  here." 

No.  368. — Ella  F.,  daughter  of  James  H.  andSusan 
Payson,  died  May  1,  1855,  aged  2  years  and  4  months. 

"  Safe  in  Heaven,  and  so  soon." 

No.  369.— Hulda  Pond,  born  Aug.  7,  1777,  died 
March  23,  1864. 

No.  370.— Mrs.  Sarah  McNiel,  wife  of  David  Rich- 
ardson, died  April  2d,  1814,  aged  24. 

No.  371. — Hon.  Josiah  Richardson,  died  Feb.  20, 
1820,  aged  74. 

No.  372. — Artemas  Richardson,  died  Nov.  4,  1845, 
aged  51. 

No.  373.— Charles  Richardson,  died  Jan.  20,  1848, 
aged  16. 

No.  374.— Martha  M.  Richardson,  died  April  6, 
1863,  aged  26. 

No.  375. — Alexander  Rolston,  a  native  of  Falkirk, 
lied  March  29,  1810,  aged  64. 

"In  mv'distress  I  called  my  God, 

When  I  could  scarce  believe  him  mine  ; 
He  bowed  his  ear  to  my  complaint, 
Then  did  his  grace  appear  divine." 

No.  376. — Jannett,  wife  of  Alexander  Rolston,  a 
native  of  Falkirk,  Scotland,  died  June  11, 1833,  aged 
85. 

No.  377.— Levi  Russell,  died  Sept.  21,  1831,  aged 
31. 

Eliza  Emeline  Russell  died  Nov.  16,  1832,  aged  5 
years  and  9  months  ;  Mary  F.  W.  died  Jan.  29,  1832, 
aged  7  months;  daughters  of  Levi  and  Elizabeth 
Russell. 

No.  378. — Rebecca  A.  Martin,  wife  of  Jeduthun 
Russell,  died  Feb.  17, 1863,  aged  74. 

1  She  was  colored  and  once  a,  slave. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  379.— Jonathan  Rand,  died  Feb.  11, 1838,  aged 
76. 

No.  380. — Anna,  wife  of  Jonathan  Rand,  died  July 
26,  1858,  aged  85. 

No.  381.— William  Rand,  died  Dec.  23,  1837,  aged 
25. 

No.  382. — Emily  A.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Julia 
A.  Rand,  died  Feb.  22,  1847,  aged  6  months. 

No.  383. — Harriet  Louisa,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Julia  A.  Rand,  died  June  8,  1857,  aged  13  years. 

No.  384. —  Betsey  H.,  wife  of  Elisha  Rand,  died 
April  7,  1851,  aged  50. 

No.  385. — Lydia  G.,  wife  of  Elisha  Rand,  died 
Sept.  21,  1855,  aged  46. 

No.  386. — Ezra  Rider,  born  in  Dublin,  died  Aug. 
11,  1850,  aged  64. 

"  Even  so  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring 
with  him  at  his  coming." 

No.  387. — Isaac  Redington,  died  Sept.  5,  1854, 
aged  83. 

No.  388.— Mercy  D.  Redington,  died  Jan.  29,  1860, 
aged  85. 

No.  389. — In  memory  of  Jeremiah  Stiles,  Esq., 
who  died  December  6,  a.d.  1800,  aged  56  years. 

No.  390. — Erected  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Mary,  relict 
of  Jeremiah  Stiles,  Esq.,  who  died  March  22,  a.d. 
1810,  in  the  29th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  391. — Death  loves  a  lofty  mark. 

Here  lies  the  body  of  Peleg  Sprague,  Esq.  He 
was  born  in  Rochester,  Mass.,  Dec.  10,  1756.  Gradu- 
ated at  Dartmouth  College  in  the  year  1787,  was 
chosen  a  member  of  Congress  in  the  year  1797,  and 
died  April  20,  1800,  in  the  44th  year  of  his  age. 

"  What  tho'  we  wade  in  wealth  or  soar  in  fame, 
Earth's  highest  station  ends  in  here  he  lies, 
And  dust  to  dust  concludes  her  noblest  song." 

No.  392. — To  the  memory  of  David,  son  of  Peleg 
Sprague,  Esq.,  and  Mrs.  Rosalinda,  his  wife,  born 
Nov.  12,  1796,  and  died  May  15,  17«>7. 

No.  393.— Aimer  Sanger,  died  Oct.  1,  1822,  aged 
83. 

No.  394. — Rhoda  Sanger,  died  June  28,  1811,  aged 
75. 

No.  395. — Sarah  Fisher,  widow  of  Cornelius  Stur- 
tevant. Jr.,  died  at  Piketon,  Ohio,  Aug.  2,  L821,  aged 
50.  Henry,  their  son,  died  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  Sept. 
6,  1812,  aged  17. 

No.  396.— Sarah,  died  Dec.  15,  1832,  aged  29; 
Maria,  died  Feh.  24,  1804,  aged  6  years  ;  daughters 
of  ( 'orneliua  Sturtevant. 

No.  397. — Isaac  Sturtevant,  died  duly  1,  1*6.".,  aged 
62.  Caroline  Maria,  died  Oct.  12,1849,  aged  !>  years; 
Anna,  died  Aug.  19,  1847,  aged  3  months;  daughters 
of  I.  and  L.  E.  Sturtevant. 

"Suffer  little  children  to  come  to  me." 

No.  398.— Milo  Stone,  who  died  July  16,  1834, 
aged  33. 


No.  399. — Charles  Adams,  son  of  Milo  and  Eunice 
E.  Stone,  died  June  29,  1834,  aged  7  months. 

No.  400. — John  Snow,  died  Dec.  18,  1845,  aged 
75. 

No.  401. — Sally,  widow  of  John  Snow,  died  May  6, 
1856,  aged  79. 

No.  402. — Esther,  daughter  of  John  and  Esther 
Snow,  died  Jan.  8,  1836,  aged  31 ;  Cyntha,  daughter 
of  John  and  Esther  Snow,  died  April  3,  1840,  aged 
19. 

No.  403.— Lucretia  M.,  only  child  of  George  M. 
and  Olivia  I.  Snow,  died  dune  3,  L844,  aged  3  years 
and  11  months. 

No.  404. — Gustavus  A.,  son  of  John  and  Jerusha 
Snow,  died  July  9,  1839,  aged  9  months  and  8  days. 

No.  405.— Luther  Smith,  died  Oct.  21,  1839,  aged 
73. 

"  Be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think 
not  the  Son  of  Man  cometh."  ' 

No.  406. — Sarah,  wife  of  Luther  Smith,  died  June 
7, 1858,  aged  90. 

No.  407.— Rosina  Smith,  died  Jan.  2,  1850,  aged 
43. 

No.  408. — Sarah,  daughter  of  Luther  Smith,  died 
Nov.  25, 1864,  aged  64. 

No.  409. — Cline  Smith  (granite  monument). 

No.  410.— Augustus  A.  Smith,  died  Aug.  8,  1843, 
aged  64. 

No.  411.— Stephen  Sibley,  died  Jan.  18,  1846,  aged 
49. 

No.  412. — Esther,  wife  of  Stephen  Sibley,  died  March 
25, 1872,  aged  70  years  and  9  months. 

No.  413.— Albinus  Shelley,  died  Sept.  22, 1848,  aged 
40. 

No.  414.— John  L.  Staples,  died  April  28, 1855,  aged 
47. 

No.  415. — Eliza  A.,  wife  of  John  L.  Staples,  died 
Jan.  10,  1851,  aged  42. 

No.  416. — Jerusha,  wife  of  Curtis  Spaulding,  died 
Jan.  7,  1852,  aged  54. 

No.  417.— George  N.,  son  of  N.  E.  and  M.  E.  Starky, 
died  Feb.  10,  1852,  aged  6  years. 

No.  418.— Mary  E.,  daughter  of  N.  E.  and  M.  E. 
Starky,  died  March  24,  1852.  aged  8. 

No.  419. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Susan  G.  Sel- 
fridge,  who  departed  this  life  Sept.  28,  1841,  aged 
62. 

"The  last  tribute  of  filial  love. 

"I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  saith  the  Sa- 
viour, lie  that  liveth  and  helieveth  in  me,  though  he 
were  dead  yet  shall  he  live.  And  he  that  liveth  and 
believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  - 


1  Luther    Smith    was    the  old  clock-maker;  he  dropped 
down  dead  while  going  into  his  house. 

2  The  Rev.  Abial  A.  Livermore  caused  this  beautiful  trib- 
ute to  be  engraved  on  this  marble. 


KEENE. 


65 


No.  420.— Thomas  Thompson,  horn  April  6,  1785, 
died  June  4,  ]857. 

No.  421. — Here  rests  the  mortal  part  of  Mrs.  Thirza, 
wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Thompson,  whose  virtues  en- 
deared her  to  her  family,  friends  and  acquaintances; 
she  died  May  11,  1822.  aged  36. 

No.  422. — Betsy,  wife  of  Thomas  Thompson,  horn 
March  1,  1786,  died  Aug.  1,  1857. 

No.  423. — In  memory  of  Thirza  Elmira  A.,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Thirza  Thompson,  who  died  Sept. 
19, 1836,  aged  17. 

"Sleep,  sister,  sleep,  for  now  the  dawn 
Of  brighter  day  has  met  thine  eye, 
The  hand  of  death  has  gently  drawn 
The  curtain  of  another  sky." 

No.  424. — In  memory  of  Thomas  Thompson,  who 
died  Feb.  24,  1813,  aged  71. 

No.  425.— Widow  Sally  Thompson,  died  April  21, 
1840,  aged  81. 

No.  426. — Julia  A.,  wife  of  Thomas  C.  Thompson, 
died  January  2,  1850,  aged  32. 

'  True  excellence  ripens  but  in  Heaven." 

No.  427. — Augusta,  daughter  of  A.  and  H.  Thomp- 
son, died  Feb.  27,  1832,  aged  4  years. 

No.  428. — George,  son  of  A.  and  H.  Thompson,  died 
Jan.  5,  1850,  aged  27. 

No.  429.— Sarah,  daughter  of  A.  and  H.  Thompson, 
died  March  30,  1849,  aged  19  years  and  10  months. 

No.  430.— Aaron  Thompson,  died  March  10,  1847, 
aged  57. 

No.  431. — Hannah,  wife  of  Aaron  Thompson,  died 
Nov.  30,  1848,  aged  57. 

No.  432. — Thompson  (granite  monument). 

No.  433.— Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  A.  and  H.  Thomp- 
son, died  Nov.  6,  1843,  aged  26. 

No.  434. — Sarah  Athea,  daughter  of  Joshua  C.  and 
Caroline  Thompson,  died  March  21, 1854,  aged  2  years 
11  months  and  7  days. 

"  Blossomed  to  die, 
O,  do  not  weep, 
Suppress  that  sigh, 
I  sweetly  sleep." 

No.  435.— Harry  Towne,  died  June  8,  1826,  aged  24. 

No.  436.— Ephraim  Towne,  died  March  24,  1849, 
aged  68. 

Xo.  437.— Harriet  W.,  wife  of  Joseph  S.  Towne, 
died  Feb.  11,  1852,  aged  36. 

No.  438. — In  memory  of  George  E.  Towne,  who 
died  Nov.  6,  1851,  aged  30. 

No.  439. — Elvira,  daughter  of  George  E.  and  Mar- 
tha M.  Towne,  died  Sept.  11,  1850,  aged  1  year  5 
months  and  21  days. 

"  Shed  not  for  her  the  bitter  tear, 
Nor  give  the  heart  to  vain  regret, 

'Tis  but  the  casket  that  lies  here, 
The  gem  that  fills  it  sparkles  yet." 

5 


No.  440.— Stephen  Trask,  died  Aug.  7,  1830,  aged 
66. 

No.  441.— Ezekiel  H.  Trask,  died  May  10,  1830, 
aged  25. 

No.  442.— Walter  Taylor,  died  Aug.  30,  1852,  aged 
64. 

No.  443.— Milla,  wife  of  Walter  Taylor,  died  Oct, 
9,  1839,  aged  52. 

No.  444.— Harriet  G.  Taylor,  died  Dec.  8,  1837, 
aged  21. 

"  Hope  is  a  pledge  of  glorious  rest, 
To  weary  mortals  given, 
A  flower  we  cultivate  on  earth, 
To  reap  the  fruit  in  Heaven." 

No.  445.— Harriet  Ada  Tilden,  died  Oct.  16,  1844, 
aged  18. 

No.  446.— Elijah  Turner,  died  May  26,  1845,  aged 
58. 

No.  447.— Win.  H.  Turner,  died  July  2,  1825,  aged 
26. 

"With  silent  lips  to  Heaven  we  give  him  up, 
»    Submissively  we  take  the  cup, 
'Tis  bitter,  but  'tis  given." 

No.  448.— Little  Georgie— George  O.,  son  of  H.  U. 
and  M.  P.  Thatcher,  died  Sept.  9, 1863,  aged  9  months. 

No.  449.— John  G.  Thatcher,  died  June  26,  1842, 
aged  56. 

No.  450.— John  Thurstain,  died  July  30,  1845,  aged 
73. 

No.  451.— Roswell  Thurstain,  died  April  29,  1850, 
aged  42.  Francis  W.,  William  C.,  Julia  A.,  Lyman 
C,  children  of  Roswell  and  Frances  Thurstain. 

No.  452. — Twitchell  (marble  monument). 

No.  453.— Amos  Twitchell,  born  in  Dublin  April 
11,  1781,  died  May  26,  1850. 

No.  454.— Elizabeth  Goodhue,  wife  of  Dr.  Amos 
Twitchell,  died  Oct.  24, 1848,  aged  60. 

No.  455. — William  Torrance,  aged  39  years.  Born 
in  Enfield,  Mass.,  Dec.  1,  1815;  graduated  at  Amherst 
College  in  1844 ;  for  years  instructor  of  Keene  Acad- 
emy and  the  first  principal  of  the  High  School  ;  died 
Feb.  3,  1855,  universally  lamented. 

"The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God." 

His  pupils  in  grateful  remembrance  of  his  virtues 
have  erected  this  monument, 

No.  456.— Elizabeth  Wright,  died  March  14,  1799, 
aged  52. 

No.  457.— James  Wright,  died  May  3,  1811,  aged 
61  years.  Martha  Wilder  died  March  16,  1819,  aged 
35. 

No.  458.— Adolphus  Wright,  born  June  13,  1785, 
died  Nov.  23,  1864. 

"Mark  the  perfect  man  and  behold  the  upright,  for 
the  end  of  that  man  is  peace. 

No.  459. — Mrs.  Jerusha,  wife  of  Mr.  Adolphus 
Wright,  died  March  17,  1828,  aged  43. 


66 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  4(50. — Sylvia,  wife  of  Adolphus  Wright,  died 
Dee.  19,  1866,  aged  79  years  and  11  months. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  461. — In  memory  of  George  Andrew,  youngest 
son  of  Adolphus  and  Jerusha  Wright,  who  died  Jan. 
29,  1819,  aged  6  years  and  6  months. 

No.  462.— Gustavus  Wright,  died  Dec.  5,  1834,  aged 
27. 

No.  463.— George  Andrew,  died  Oct.  25,  1824,  aged 
3.  Frederick  Win.,  died  March  7,  1827,  aged  16,  sons 
of  Adolphus  and  Jerusha  Wright. 

No.  464.— Mr.  Ephraim  Wright,  died  Dec.  24,  1821, 
aged  66. 

No.  465. — Sophronia  Wright,  died  July  5, 1821,  aged 
20  months.  Sophronia,  died  Aug.  12,  1822,  aged  1 
month,  daughters  of  Mr.  Ephraim  and  Mrs.  Charity 
Wright. 

No.  466.— Alba  Wright,  died  Dec.  5,  1851,  aged 
35. 

No.  467. — Betsy,  wife  of  Salmon  Wright,  died  Oct, 

3,  1837,  aged  27  years. 

No.  468. — Sewell  J.,  eldest  son  of  Salmon  and  Betsy 
Wright,  died  Aug.  31,  1837,  aged  2  years  and  3 
months. 

No.  469. — Franklin  H.,  son  of  Salmon  and  Betsy 
Wright,  died  Oct.  8, 1837,  aged  1  year  and  1  month. 

No.  470.— George  Wells,1  died  July  25, 1803. 

No.  471.— William  Wyman,  died  April  27,  1811, 
aged  36. 

No.  472.— .Alary,  wife  of  William  Wyman,  died  Nov. 

4,  1813,  aged  40. 

No.  473. — Hannah,  wife  of  Josiah  Ward,  died  Aug. 
18,  L815,  aged  •'!'_'  years.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Eben  Philips,  of  Grafton,  Mass. 

"Sleep  soft  in  dust,  wait  the  Almighty's  will  ; 
Then  rise  unchanged  and  be  an  angel  still." 

No.  474.— William  Woods,  died  March  23,  1812, 
aged  83. 

No.  475. — In  memory  of  Naome,  wife  of  William 
Woods,  who  died  Sept.  9,  1815,  aged  73. 

No.  476.— Elijah  Woods,  died  June  19,  1852,  aged 
74. 

No.  477.— Sally,  wife  of  Elijah  Woods,  died  Oct.  9, 
is  H,  aged  66. 

No.  478.— Joshua  Woods,  died  Oct.  26,  1820,  aged 
65. 

No.  479.— Charlotte  E.,  wife  of  Oren  Woods,  died 
Dec.  9,  1834,  aged  21.  Dinah,  wife  of  Oren  Woods, 
died  Dec.  21,  1850,  aged  39. 

No.  480.— Samuel  Wood, born  1764,  died  1846.  Abi- 
gail Wood,  his  wife,  born  1767.  died  1848.  Children 
of  S.  and  A.  Wood:  Abigail,  born   1793,  died  1795; 

1  This  young  man  was  drowned  iu  the  Ashuelol  River. 
There  was  formerly  a  picket  fence  with  cedar  posts  around 
this  grave;  one  of  the  posts  still  standing,  having  done 
service  over  seventy  years. 


Harriet,  born  1800,  died  1802  ;  James,  born  1807,  died 
1809 ;  Sophia  D.,  born  1804,  died  1819  ;  Mary  A.,  born 
1810,  died  1831. 

No.  481. — Deacon  Samuel  Wood,  born  at  Westfield, 
Mass.,  Jan.  3,  1791,  died  Dec.  29,  1854. 

No.  482. — Emily,  wife  of  Dea.  Samuel  Wood,  born 
at  Lancaster,  Mass.,  July  27,  1795,  died  April  10, 
1857. 

No.  483.— Martha  Wyman,  born  Dec.  27,1818,  died 
Aug.  27,  1819;  John,  born  Aug.  27,  1820,  died  July 
8,1832;  Elizabeth  Newell,  born  Feb.  20,  1821,  died 
July  8,  1844;  Samuel,  born  Feb.  20,  1824,  died  March 
29, 1824  ;  Martha  Ann,  born  March  1, 1825,  died  Sept. 
30,1825;  Abigail  Fosdick,  born  July  4,  1820,  died 
Sept.  29,  1826;  children  of  Samuel  and  Emily  Wood. 

No.  484. — Laura  Ann,  daughter  of  Almon  and  Jane 
Woods,  died  Jan.  9,  1843,  aged  1  year  and  6  months. 

No.  485. — Ann  E.,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Susan 
Woods,  died  June  11,  1857,  aged  11  years  and  6 
months. 

No.  486. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Bial,  wife  of  Mr.  Jo- 
siah Willard,  who  departed  this  life  March  31,  1805, 
in  the  26th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  487. — Jennett,  daughter  of  Roswell  and  Eliza- 
beth Willard,  died  March  2,  1816,  aged  15  months. 

No.  488. — Edwin  T.  and  George  C,  children  of 
Henry  and  Sally  Willard. 

No.  489.— Allie  Winnefred  Willard,  died  March  14, 
1859,  aged  2  years  1  month  and  15  days. 

"  This  star  went  down  in  beauty, 
Yet  'tis  shining  now 
In  the  bright  and  dazzling  coronet 
That  decks  the  Saviour's  brow." 

No.  490.— Henry  W.  Willard,  of  the  First  New 
Hampshire  Cavalry,  died  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  March 
3,  1865,  aged  16  years  and  6  months. 

No.  491.— Solomon  R.  Willard,  died  June  26,  1854, 
aged  30;  Eunice  Trask,  his  wife,  died  Oct.  3,  1S~>7, 
aged  33. 

No.  492.— Daniel  Watson,  died  June  17,  1837, 
aged  76. 

No.  493. — Susanna,  wife  of  Daniel  Watson,  died 
Feb.  26,  1850,  aged  83  years. 

No.  494. — Eliza,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Susanna 
Watson,  dieil  .Inly  19,  1817,  in  the  24th  year  of  her 
age. 

No.  195. — In  memory  of  Capt.  David  Wilson,  who 
died  Dec.  5,  1818,  aged  70  years. 

No.  496. —  .Mrs.  Ellenor,  wife  of  David  Wilson  and 
late  widow  of  Samuel  Chapman,  died  Aug.  26,  1828, 
aged  84  years. 

No.  497.— Mrs.  Becea  Wilson,  died  Feb.  27,  1831, 
aged  50  years. 

No.  498. — Harriet  C,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Roxanna  Wilson,  died  Oct.  29,  1829,  aged  10  months. 

No.  499. — Charles  Wilson,  died  May  5,  1845,  aged 
49  years. 


KEENE. 


67 


No.  500. — An  infant  daughter  of  Charles  and  Flora 
S.  Wilson,  born  and  died  Aug.  28,  1852. 

No.  501. — C.  D.  Wilson,  wife  of  Norman  Wilson, 
died  Oct.  21,  1846,  aged  38  years. 

No.  502. — Granite  monument,  David  Wilder,  Ca- 
leb Wilder  and  Lucy  Gowing. 

No.  503. — Here  lies  the  body  of  Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of 
John  Wilder.  She  was  born  the  5th  of  June,  1781, 
and  died  Oct.  20,  1809,  in  the  29th  year  of  her  age. 

"  How  loved,  how  valued  once  avails  thee  not, 
To  whom  related  or  by  whom  begot  ; 
A  heap  of  dust  alone  remains  of  thee, 
'Tis  all  thou  art  and  what  we  all  must  be." 

No.  504. — In  memory  of  our  father,  Abel  Wihler, 
died  April  3,  1862,  aged  91  years  and  7  months. 

No.  505. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Abel 
Wilder,  who  departed  this  life  July  19,  1813,  aged  36 
years. 

No.  506. — Azel,  son  of  Dea.  Abijah  Wilder,  born 
Nov.  23,  1788,  died  April  9,  1860. 

"  There  remaineth  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God." 

No.  507. — Elvira  Warner,  Avife  of  Azel  Wilder, 
born  March  2,  1792,  died  Jan.  28,  1863. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  ;  they 
rest  from  their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow 
them." 

No.  508. — Charles  Johnson,  son  of  Azel  and  Elvira 
Wilder,  died  Dec.  28,  1818,  aged  2  years  and  4 
months. 

No.  509. — Azel  Bradley,  son  of  Azel  and  Elvira 
Wilder,  born  April  3,  1825,  died  April  30, 1826. 

No.  510.— Lucius  E.  Wilder,  died  Oct.  23,  1843, 
aged  25. 

No.  511. — Lauretta,  youngest  daughter  of  Azel  and 
Elvira  Wilder,  died  May  12,  1848,  aged  18  years. 

No.  512. — Charles  J.  Wilder,  first  lieutenant  Com- 
pany H,  Thirty-ninth  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteers, 
killed  in  action  at  Derbytown  Road,  Va.,  Oct.  13, 
1864,  aged  43  years.  Elmina  X.,  widow  of  Charles 
J.  Wilder,  died  Oct.  15,  1867,  aged  44  years. 

No.  513. — Edward  Warner,  son  of  Edward  B.  and 
M.  A.  Wilder,  born  Feb.  4,  and  died  Oct.  18,  1864, 
aged  8  months  and  14  days. 

"  Little  Warner,  if  my  tears  fell  'tis   not  for  pain  I 
weep, 
I  know  that  safe  in  Heaven  God  will  keep 
The  little  babe  that  with  me  went  to  sleep." 
No.  514.— Dea.  Abijah   Wilder,  died  Jan.   9,  1835, 
aged  83  years,  who  was  forty-eight  years  an  esteemed 
officer  in  the  church.     Mrs.  Tamer,    fourth   wife  of 
Dea.   A.  Wilder,  died  Dec.   16,  1834,  aged  85  years. 
Sarah,  his  first  wife,  died  March  8,  1780,  aged  28  years. 
Martha,  his  second  wife,  died  March   28,  1774,  aged 
37  years.     Bulah,  his  third  wife,  died  Dec.  27,  1788, 
aged  31  years. 

"These all  died  in  faith." 


No.  515.— Martha  Wilder,  died  Jan.  27,  1864,  aged 
82. 

"  Beloved  as  daughter,  sister  and  friend, 
She  hath  done  what  she  could. 

"  During  forty-three  years  Superintendent  of  the 
Sabbath-school.  Her  house  was  ever  open  to  the 
disciples  of  Christ  for  prayer,  and  her  labors  were 
abundant  for  the  poor,  the  sick  and  the  afflicted. 
These  things  shall  be  told  of  her  for  a  memorial." 

No.  516. — Erected  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Wheeler,  who  died  April  23,  1826,  aged  46  years. 

No.  517. — Erected  in  memory  of  Mr.  Lynds  Whee- 
lock,  who  died  May  28, 1825,  aged  41. 

No.  518. — Sarah  F.,  wife  of  Lynds  Wheelock,  died 
Oct.  12, 1839,  aged  46  years. 

No.  519. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Sophia  Penne- 
man,  daughter  of  Mr.  Lynds  and  Mrs.  Sally  Wheelock, 
who  died  Aug.  22,  1819,  aged  2  years. 

No.  520. — Adeline,  daughter  of  Lynds  Wheelock, 
died  April  17,  1829,  aged  4  years  and  4  months. 

No.  521.— David  Warren,  died  Feb.  15,  1835,  aged 
7  weeks.  Susan  Iv.,  Jan.  9,  1840,  aged  2  years  and  7 
months,  children  of  David  and  Lydia  Warren. 

No.  522. — Julia,  daughter  of  Luther  and  Lucinda 
White,  died  Sept.  22,  1846,  aged  4  weeks  and  2  days. 

"Ah  !  lovely  babe,  no  sooner  mine 
Than  God  the  gift  reclaim  ; 
The  loss  is  ours,  the  gain  is  thine, 
Thy  bosom  knew  no  stain." 

No.  523. — (Granite  monument.)  Selden  F.  White, 
born  April  16,  1812,  died  Nov.  22,  1867.  Emily  W., 
born  May  21,  1815,  died  Dec.  11,  1857.  John,  born 
Feb.  2,  1837,  died  Sept,  2,  1837.  Emily  A.,  born 
Nov.  29,  1843,  died  May  26,  1844.  Jennie  A.,  born 
Dec.  15,  1851,  died  Dec.  20,  1853. 

No.  524. — Betsey,  wife  of  Shubael  White,  died  May 
1,  1838,  aged  28. 

No.  525. — Miss  Palmira  Warner,  died  April  26, 
1840,  aged  50  years. 

No.  526.— Alva  Walker,  died  Oct.  25,  1842,  aged  47 
years. 

No.  527. — Emily  N.,  wife  of  Benj.  E.  Webster,  of 
Boston,  Mass.,  died  June  13,  1845,  aged  26  years. 
"  Beloved  friends,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God." 

No.  528.— Mary  E.,  wife  of  E.  W.  Winchester,  died 
May  22,  1845,  aged  21  years. 

"  Known  only  to  be  loved." 

No.  .529.— Julia  A.,  daughter  of  E.  W.  and  M.  E. 
Winchester,  died  Aug.  25,  1848,  aged  4  years  and  10 
months. 

No.  530.— Miriam,  wife  of  Nathan  Willey,  died 
June  7,  1847,  aged  67. 

No.  531.— Seth  Willey,  died  March  14,  1863,  aged 
59. 

No.   532.— Charlotte  C,    wife   of  Roswell   Weeks, 
died  at  Winchester  Aug.  6,  1851,  aged  55  years. 
"  I  am  not  lost,  but  gone  before." 


68 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  533.— Ella,  daughter  of  Thos.  H.  and  Martha 

W.  Williams,    died  Nov.  2">,  1854,  aged   3   years,   1 
month  and  15  days. 

The  Old  Graveyard  at  Ash  Swamp, 
near  the  JosiAH  Sawyer  Place. — I  learn 
from  an  old  citizen  that  the  land  for  this  bury- 
ing-ground  was  given  to  the  district  by  a  man 
that  formerly  owned  the  Sawyer  place  (probably 
Abraham  Wheeler),  and  that  his  neighbors  and 
friends  turned  out  and  built  the  stone  wall 
around  it,  the  place  having  been  used  ever  since 
by  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  town  for 
a  place  to  bury  their  dead.  Near  the  entrance 
on  the  right,  as  you  go  in,  is  the  Ingersol  family 
tomb  ;  it  has  not  been  opened  for  many  years. 
I  have  been  told  that  it  has  been  the  custom  for 
a  long  time  to  bury  the  poor  and  friendless  in  a 
io\\  on  the  extreme  west  part  of  the  yard,  and 
here  you  will  find  a  long  row  of"  God's  poor;" 
but  my  religion  teaches  me  that  when  the  last 
trump  shall  sound,  many  that  were  buried  here 
will  have  as  clear  a  record  as  others  that  have 
costly  monuments,  and  had  more  friends  while 
on  earth. 

Among  the  list  of  names  found  on  the  mon- 
uments in  this  old  yard  will  be  found  many 
that  took  an  active  part  in  the  first  settlement  of 
the  town,  and  at  this  day,  although  more  than 
eighty-eight  years  have  passed  since  the  first  in- 
terment, may  be  found  many  of  their  descend- 
ants owning  or  living  on  the  farms  of  their 
ancestors.  The  old  burying-ground  has  always 
been  kept  in  good  order,  improvements  con- 
stantly being  made,  and  now,  by  taking  a  few 
rods  of  land  on  the  north,  south  and  west  sides, 
it  would  be  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  this  part 
of  the  town  for  another  century.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  list  of  the  interments  in  this  cemetery, 
with  the  inscriptions  upon  the  tombstones : 

No.  1.— Sarali  1".  Richardson,  wife  of  Niles  Aldrich, 
died  June  3,  1853,  aged  22. 

"A  wife  and  mother  gone 

To  a  better  world  we  trust ; 
Angels,  watch  ye  round  her  tomb, 
And  guard  her  peaceful  dust. 

"  Dearest  partner,  how  I  miss  thee, 
And  deplore  thy  loss  on  earth  ; 
Though  while  here  I  loved  thee  deeply, 
Now  I  feel  and  know  thy  worth. 


"  And  may  we,  while  we  mourn  the  blow, 
With  filial  reverence  kiss  the  rod, 
And  feel  that  though  she's  lost  below, 
Our  daughter,  sister,  lives  with  God. 

"Dear  as  thou  wert,  and  justly  dear, 
We  will  not  weep  for  thee, 
One  thought  shall  check  the  starting  tears — 
It  is  that  thou  art  free." 

No.  2.— Polly,  wife  of  Calvin  Allen,  died  Dec.  31, 
1863,  aged  63. 

"  We  mourn  thy  loss." 

No.  3.— Frank,  son  of  H.  H.  and  F.  J.  Ashcroft, 
died  April  17,  1X71,  aged  17  days. 

"  Many  hopes  lie  buried  here." 

No.  4.— Daniel  Bradford,  died  April  21,  1838,  aged 
67. 

No.  5. — Erected  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Sarah,  wife 
of  Daniel  Bradford,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Duxbury,  Mass., 
who  died  Nov.  21,  1823,  aged  51  years. 

No.  6. — Miss  Emily,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Sarah 
Bradford,  died  June  3d,  1815,  aged  17. 

"  Various  are  the  shafts  of  death." 

No.  7.— Thomas  Baker,1  died  April  2,  1842,  aged  89. 
No.  8. — Betsey,  wife  of  Thomas  Baker,  died  Sept. 
12,  1839,  aged  75. 

No.  9. — In  memory  of  Emily,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Thomas  and  Mrs.  Betsey  Baker,  who  died  March  17th, 
1813,  in  the  9th  year  of  her  age. 

"  So  fades  the  lovely  blooming  flower, 
Frail  solace  of  an  hour  ; 
So  soon  our  transient  comforts  fly, 
And  pleasure  only  blooms  to  die." 
No.  10. — Two  infant  sons  of  David  and  Amanda  H. 
Baker,  died  Oct.  2,  1829,  and  March  29,  1831. 
"  Departed  innocence  to  memory  dear, 
Shall  oft  receive  the  tribute  of  a  tear, 
While  fond  affections  mourn  thy  early  tomb." 
No.  11.— David  Baker,  died  April  20,  1868,  aged  72 
years  and  8  months. 

"  Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
No.  12.— Solomon  Blake,  died  Oct.  30,  1809,  in  the 
32d  year  of  his  age. 

No.  13.— Dr.  Obadiah  Blake,2  died  June  22, 1810,  in 
the  92d  year  of  his  age. 

1  Thomas  Baker,  in  1 77-">,  belonged  to  the  Foot  Guard  of 
Keene ;  in  1775  he,  with  Don  Guild  and  Eliphalet  Briggs, 
was  chosen  a  committee  to  put  in  execution  certain  resolves 
passed  by  the  town,  among  them  one  to  prevent  profane 
cursing  and  swearing ;  also  to  prevent  everybody  from 
spending  their  time  in  tippling-houses  and  being  out  after 
nine  o'clock  at  night. 

2  Dr.  Obadiah  Blake  belonged  to  the  Alarm-List  of  Keene 
in  1  77'3 ;  he  also  was  chosen  one  of  a  committee  to  hire  a 
minister  in  1761.  The  Rev.  Clement  Sumner  was  settled 
about  this  time,  and  this  committee  was  voted  twelve 
pounds,  lawful  money  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  for  the 
trouble  and  charges  in  providing  for  the  ordination 


KEENE. 


69 


No.  14. — Lydia,  wife  of  Dr.  Obadiah  Blake,  died 
June  28.  1810,  aged  77  years. 

"Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  15. — In  memory  of  Royal  Blake,  born  June  30, 
1756,  died  Oct.  9,  1827. 

No.  16. — In  memory  of  Phillis,  wife  of  Royal  Blake, 
born  Nov.  3,  1763,  died  Sept.  6,  1827. 

No.  17.— Eli  Blake,  died  July  14,  1837,  aged  70 
years. 

No.  18. — Deliverance,  wife  of  Eli  Blake,  died  April 
14,  1845,  aged  70. 

No.  19.— Joseph  Brown,  died  Jan.  3,  1836,  aged  71. 

No.  20. — Keziah,  his  wife,  died  Jan.  3,  1836,  aged 
72. 

No.  21.— Ami  Brown,  died  Sept.  27,  1858,  aged  88. 
Mary  E.,  wife  of  Ami  Brown,  died  Oct.  23,  1853,  aged 
87.  " 

No.  22. — Hepsey,  daughter  of  Ami  and  Mary  E. 
Brown,  died  Oct.,  1803,  aged  2  years  and  9  months. 

"Sleep  on,  sweet  child, 
And  take  thy  rest, 
God  hath  pronounced 
Such  children  blessed." 
No.  23. — Hepsey  Brown,  died  April  6,  1831,  in  the 
24th  year  of  her  age. 

"  Hear  what  the  voice  of  Heaven  proclaims 
For  all  the  pious  dead  ; 
Sweet  is  the  savor  of  their  names, 
And  soft  their  sleeping  bed." 

No.  24.— Allen  Brown,  died  July  10,  1840,  in  the 
31st  year  of  his  age. 

"  I  leave  this  world  without  a  tear, 
Save  for  the  friends  I  hold  so  dear; 
To  heal  their  sorrows,  Lord,  descend, 
And  to  the  mourners  prove  a  friend." 
No.  25.— Wealthy  M.,  wife  of  Allen  Brown,  died 
June  29,  1840,  in  the  28th  year  of  her  age. 
"  Stop  each  fond  parental  tear, 
And  each  fraternal  sigh, 
She  is  freed  from  all  her  troubles  here 
To  dwell  with  Ood  on  high." 

No.  26. — Sylvia  E.,  wife  of  Joseph  Brown,  died 
Jan.  10,  1857,  aged  51. 

"  Go,  peaceful  spirit,  rest, 

Secure  from  earth's  alarms, 
Go  sleep  upon  the  Saviour's  breast, 
Encircled  in  His  arms. 

"  We  weep  to  see  thee  die, 

We  mourn  thy  absence  yet, 

O  may  we  meet  thee  in  the  sky, 

And  there  our  tears  forget." 

No.  27.— Calvin  Brown,  died  Aug.  31,  1826,  in  the 
35th  year  of  his  age. 

"  My  flesh  shall  slumber  in  the  ground 
Till  the  last  trumpet's  joyful  sound, 
Then  burst  the  chains  with  sweet  sunrise 
And  in  my  Saviour's  image  rise." 


No.  28.— John  F.  Brown,  died  May  18,  1827,  in  the 
34th  year  of  his  age. 

"  Is  this  the  lot  that  all  must  die? 
Will  death  no  ages  spare? 
Then  let  us  all  to  Jesus  fly, 
And  seek  for  refuge  there." 

No.  29.— Squire  Brown,  died  Dec.  18,  1829,  aged 
31. 

"  Dear  companion,  now  in  your  bloom, 
Behold  me  mouldering  in  this  dark  tomb; 
When  God  doth  call  us,  all  must  go, 
Whether  we  are  prepared  or  no." 
No.  30. — Esther  Billings,  consort  of  Mr.  Isaac  Bil- 
lings, died  June  1,  1806,  aged  64  years. 

No.  31.— Sarah  Borsh,  died  April  1,  1852,  aged  6 
weeks. 

No.  32.— Edmund  Beebe,  died  July  3,  1848,  aged 
40. 

"  Weep  not  for  me." 

No.  33. — Lucinda  C,  wife  of  Edmund  Beebe,  died 
Nov.  7,  1855,  aged  53. 

"  Dearest  mother,  thou  hast  left  us, 
Here  thy  loss  we  deeply  feel. 
But  'tis  God  that  hath  bereft  us  ; 
He  can  all  our  sorrows  heal." 

No.  34.— Charles  E.,  died  Nov.  3,  1836,  aged  5£ 
months  ;  Elthea  Amelia,  died  March  3,  1846,  aged  18 
months,  children  of  Edmund  and  Lucinda  C.  Beebe. 

"  Farewell,  dear  idol  of  our  hearts, 
To  thee  short  life  was  given, 
Thy  morning  broke  most  sweetly  here, 
Thy  evening  closed  in  Heaven." 

No.  35. — Jane  M.,  daughter  of  Edmund  and  Lu- 
cinda C.  Beebe,  died  Nov.  11, 1857,  aged  16  years  and 
2  months. 

"  Friends  nor  physicians  could  not  save, 
My  mortal  body  from  the  grave, 
Nor  can  the  grave  confine  me  here — 
When  Jesus  calls  I  must  appear." 

No.  36. — Hannah  C,  wife  of  Stilman  Buss,  died 
Sept.  13,  1849,  aged  37  years. 

No.  37. — Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Stilman  and  Han- 
nah C.  Buss,  died  April  11,  1852,  aged  13  years. 

"  Farewell,  dear  Mary,  thou  art  gone 
To  join  thy  mother  dear, 
And  left  thy  friends  to  mourn  alone 
In  this  cold  world  so  drear. 

"  But,  Mary  dear,  we  hope  to  meet, 
In  that  world  above, 
Where  those  dear  friends  have  gone  before, 
Where  all  is  peace  and  love." 

No.  38. — Ferdinand,  son  of  Stilman  and  Hannah 
C.  Buss,  died  April  7,  1854,  aged  9. 

"  Farewell,  sweet  one  in  Heaven, 
Where  thou  art  shining  now, 


70 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


I  know  that  sin  and  sorrow 
Are  banished  from  thy  brow." 

No.  39  — Calvin  Bragg,  died  March  1,  1810,  aged 
42  years. 

No.  40. — Hally,  wife  of  Aaron  Gary  and  former 
wife  of  Calvin  Bragg,  died  Aug.  1,  1840,  aged  62 
years. 

No.  41.— Huldah  Bragg,  died  Dec.  10,  1818,  aged 
18. 

No.  42. — Mary,  daughter  of  Roswell  and  Rachel 
Bragg,  died  May  1(3,  1841,  aged  8  years  and  4  months. 

No.  43.— Eliza  Bragg,  died  Sept.  20,  1872,  aged  63 
years  5  months  20  days. 

"  (<one  but  not  forgotten." 

No.  44.— Wm.  Britton  (2d),  died  Jan.  28, 1836,  aged 
62  years.     A  native  of  Mansfield,  Mass. 

No.  45.— Sarah  S.  Banks,  died  July  2, 1836,  aged  26 
years. 

Xo.  46. — Rosdelino,  daughter  of  Theodore  and 
Betsy  Bolio,  died  July  3,  1854,  aged  1  year  and  12 
days. 

"  Weep  not ;  to  mourn  it  is  not  meet, 
For  all  that's  earthly  sure  will  lade  ; 
Look  then  above  and  hope  to  greet 
Thy  loved  one  now  an  angel  made." 

No.  47.— Andrew  H.  Blodgett,  died  May  3,  1872, 
aged  58  years. 

No.  48.— Charles  A.  Bates,  son  of  J.  M.  and  Eliza 
Bates,  died  June  16,  1866,  aged  11  years  and  two 
months. 

"  Dearest  Charlie,  thou  hast  left  us." 

No.  49.— John  Colony,  died  June  24,  1797,  aged  07 
years. 

No.  50. — Milly,  wife  of  John  Colony,  died  Jan.  24, 
L811,  aged  77  years. 

Xo.  51.— Timothy  Colony,  died  Aug.  29,  1836,  aged 
72  years. 

Xo.  52. — Sarah,  wife  of  Timothy  Colony,  died  April 
27.  1853,  aged  82  years. 

No.  53. — Mary,  daughter  of  Timothy  and  Sarah 
Colony,  died  Aug.  22,  1819,  aged  20. 

Xo.  ~>4. — George,  son  of  Timothy  and  Sarah  Colony, 
died  Feb.  i,  1820,  aged  9  years. 

No.  55. —  Lockhart,  son  of  Timothy  and  Sarah  Col- 
ony, died  December  23,  182:!,  aged  23  years. 

Xo.  56. — Lucy  IT.,  wife  of  Charles  K.  Colony,  died 
April  21,  L856,  aged  -'iii  years. 

"I  go  to  my  Father." 

Xo.  ~>7. — Georgcett  C, daughter  of  C.  K.  and  L.  II. 
Colony,  died  July  16,  1846,  aged  10  months. 

"  Beautiful  and  lovely, 
She  was  but  given, 
A  fair  hud  to  earth, 
To  bloom  in  Heaven." 

Xo.  58. — Roseoe  C,  son  of  < '.  K.  and  L.  II.  ( !olony, 
died  April  8,  1848,  aged  2  months. 


"Thou  art  gone,  dearest  boy, 
Love's  bright  cord  riven, 
Thou  hast  joined  little  sisters 
Now  angels  in  Heaven.' 

No.  59. — In  memory  of  Lovey,  daughter  of  Jesse 
<  'lark,  Jr.,  and  Delano  Clark,  who  died  Jan.  22,  1800, 
aged  15  years  and  8  months. 

No.  60. — In  memory  of  Fanny,  daughter  of  Jesse 
Clark.  Jr.,  and  Delano  Clark,  who  died  Sept.  20,1799 
aged  1  year  and  1  month. 

No.  61. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Betsey,  relict  of  Dea. 
Simeon  Clark,  who  died  Aug.  5,  1817,  aged  86  year-. 

No.  62.— Gideon  Clark,  died  Sept.  6,  1859,  aged  73 
years. 

No.  63. — Delano  Ware,  wife  of  Gideon  Clark,  died 
Oct.  22, 1867,  aged  76  years. 

No.  64. — Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Gideon  and  Delano 
Clark,  died  Oct.  6, 1825,  aged  2  years. 

No.  65.— Franklin  G.  Clark,'  died  Jan  23,  1837, 
aged  21  years. 

No.  66. — Charles  S.,  son  of  W.  and  C.  Crane,  died 
March  8,  1854,  aged  6  months. 

No.  67. — Charles  Cooke,  died  Aug.  18,  1824,  aged 
57  years. 

No.  68. — Mary,  widow  of  Charles  Cooke,  died  Nov. 
23,  1852,  aged  81  years. 

No.  69. — Harriet  M.,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Har- 
riet Cooke,  died  Aug.  19,  1818,  aged  3  years  and  7 
months. 

No.  70. — Nancy  C.  Miller,  wife  of  Wm.  P.  Cochran, 
died  Jan.  9,  1871,  aged  51  years  1  month  and  21 
days. 

No.  71. — Austin,  aged  4  years  and  4  months  ;  Cor- 
nelia, aged  2  years  and  6  months — children  of  Wm.  P. 
and  Nancy  C.  Cochran,  died  Jan.  9,  1854. 

No.  72. — William  E.,  son  of  Wm.  P.  Cochran,  died 
Nov.  25,  1874,  aged  19  years  9  months  and  1  day. 

No.  73. — John  Chamberlain,  died  Aug.  29, 1870,  aged 
75  years. 

Xo.  74. — Sylvia  P.,  wife  of  John  Chamberlain,  died 
Oct.  28, 1852,  aged  55  years. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth." 

No.  75. — John  Chamberlain,  died  Aug.  12,  1849, 
aged  19  years  and  9  months. 

"  Remember  thy  ( Jreator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth." 

No.  76. — Nancy,  wife  of  John  Chamberlain,  died 
.June  10,  L822,  aged  24  years  ;  Olive  II..  wile  of  John 
Chamberlain,  died  April  15,  182ii,  aged  34  years. 


1  1  was  an  apprentice  with  Franklin  (!.  Clark  in  my  fath- 
er's old  simp  on  Washington  Street.  At  the  end  of  hisap- 
prenticeship  Clark  started  in  the  static,  with  one  of  my 
sisters  and  her  young  child,  for  Troy,  X.  V.  The  stage  was 
overturned,  Clark  killed,  and  my  sister  and  child  badly 
hurt. 


KEENE. 


71 


No.  77. — Elisba  Chamberlain,  died  June  11,  1840, 
in  the  78th  year  of  his  age. 

"Thy  virtue  and  thy  worth 

Shall  fond  remembrance  cheer, 
And  ease  the  aching  heart, 
That  drops  the  falling  tear." 

No.  78. — Susannah,  wife  of  Elisba  Chamberlain,  died 
May  16,  1846,  aged  80  years. 

No.  79.— Ellen  E.,  daughter  of  Wm.  and  Mary 
Chamberlain,  died  March  18,  1847,  aged  3  years. 

No.  80.— Thonas  Dwinell,  died  July  9,  1866,  aged 
76.  Arabella,  died  Aug.  26,  1865,  aged  75,  wife  of 
Thomas  Dwinell. 

No.  81.— Thomas  Dwinell,  died  April  14,1838,  aged 
84. 

No.  82. — Sarah,  wife  of  Thomas  Dwinell,  died  Nov. 
29,  1845,  aged  84. 

No.  83. — Mary,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  and  Sazy 
Dwinell,  died  26  July,  1811,  aged  13  years  3  months 
and  12  days. 

No.  84. — Charles  F.,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Fanny 
Dwinell,  died  April  24,  1838,  aged  7. 

No.  85. — Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Oren  Dickinson,  died 
April  20, 1840,  aged  31. 

No.  86. — Elvie,  daughter  of  Oren  and  Emily  Dick- 
inson, died  Dec.  13, 1858,  aged  2  years  2  months  and 
12  years. 

"  She  is  gone,  aye  gone  forever, 
Dead  to  earthly  grief  and  care  ; 
But  she  lives  in  God's  own  kingdom, 
We  will  hope  to  meet  her  there." 

No.  87. — Elmer  F.,  son  of  Oren  and  Emily  Dickin- 
son, died  June  17,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  battle 
near  Petersburg,  Va.,  aged  23.  A  member  of  the  23d 
Reg.  Mass.  Vols. 

"  He  dwelleth  in  heaven,  yet  deep  in  our  hearts, 
His  image  is  grown  and  now  departs ; 
And  while  we  yet  linger  we  watch  and  we  wait, 
Till  death  who  has  parted  again  shall  unite." 

No.  88. — In  memory  of  James  Daniels,  who  died 
April  25,  1814,  aged  53. 

No.  89.— Ezra  Daniels,  died  Sept.  3,  1835,  aged 
75. 

No.  90.— Charles  Daniels,  died  March  6, 1849,  aged 
46.     Minna,  his  wife,  died  Dec.  29,  1861,  aged  59. 

No.  91. — John  D.,  son  of  Charles  and  Minna  Dan- 
iels, died  Aug.  23,  1845,  aged  3  years  and  9  months. 

No.  92.— Bethiah,  wife  of  Dea.  Eli  Dort,  departed 
this  life  June  10,  1833,  aged  71. 

No.  93.— Arvill,  wife  of  Obed  Dort,  died  June  3, 
1843,  aged  37. 

"The  storm  that  wrecks  the  wintry  sky 
No  more  disturbs  her  calm  repose, 
Than  Summer  evening's  latest  sigh, 
That  shuts  the  rose." 

(Erected  by  an  affectionate  son). 


No.  94. — Lewis  Edgar,  son  of  Obed  and  Louisa  Dort, 
died  May  5,  1854,  aged  4  years  and  6  months. 

"  My  precious  boy,  a  short  farewell ; 
'Tis  hard  to  part  with  thee. 
But  God  beheld  thee  far  too  pure 
For  our  own  society. 

"  We  miss  thy  lovely  face, 

Thy  sweet  and  prattling  voice  ; 
Lone  and  sad  your  mother  is, 
Without  her  lovely  boy. 

"Dear  mother,  weep  not;  tears  will  hide 
My  glory  from  thy  view ; 
For  soon  you'll  follow  me, 

And  then  we'll  string  the  harp  anew." 

No.  95. — Hannah,  consort  of  Mr.  Joshua  Durant, 
died  October  10,  1798,  aged  48. 

No.  96. — Mrs.  Cynthia  Emery,  died  June  5,  1823, 
aged  31. 

No.  97.— Archelaus  Ellis,  died  Feb.  26,  1845,  aged 
67. 

No.  98. — Mrs.  Polly  Houghton,  wife  of  Archelaus 
Ellis,  died  July  26,  1865,  aged  85. 

"  We  lay  thee  down  with  many  a  sigh, 
In  the  cold  lap  of  Mother  earth  ; 
But  thy  remembrance  shall  not  die, 
Nor  the  dear  memory  of  thy  worth. 

No.  99. — Miss  Fanny,  daughter  of  Archelaus  and 
Polly  Ellis,  died  March  ]0, 1832,  aged  17. 

No.  100. — Mrs.  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Archelaus 
and  Polly  Ellis,  died  Jan.  9,  1835,  aged  21. 

No.  101.— Elmina  D.,  wife  of  Eugene  S.  Ellis,  died 

March   1,  1872,  aged    57  years    10    months   and    25 

days. 

"  Mother  at  rest  in  Heaven." 

No.  102.— Mary  E.,  died  Sept.  11,  1841,  aged  10 
months  ;  Franklin  E.,  died  Jan.  18,  1843,  aged  10 
months;  children  of  Eugene  S.  and  Elmina  D.Ellis. 

"  Here  lies  the  grief  of  a  fond  mother  and  the  blasted 
expectations  of  an  indulgent  father.  They  lived  be- 
loved and  died  lamented." 

No.  103.— George  S.  Ellis,  died  Oct.  29, 1872,  aged  52 
years  7  months  and  10  days. 

"  Father  at  rest." 

No.  104.— Nathaniel  Ellis,  died  Nov.  16,  1857, aged 
28. 

"  Dearest  husband,  thou  has  left  us; 
Still  thy  loss  I  deeply  feel  ; 
But  'tis  God  that  hath  bereft  us, 
He  can  all  my  sorrows  heal. 

"Yet  again  I  hope  to  meet  thee, 
When  the  day  of  life  is  fled; 
Then  in  Heaven  with  joy  to  greet  thee, 
Where  no  farewell  tear  is  shed." 

Rosa  Jane,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Sarah  J. 
Ellis,  died  April  12,  1858,  aged  1  year  and  3  months. 


'2 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


72. 


"  Sweet  little  Rose,  have  you  gone 
To  join  your  father  dear? 
Though  hard  to  part,  Ave  must  not  mourn, 
But  hope  to  meet  you  there." 

No.  105.— Daniel  Fisher  died  March  30,  1859,  aged 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 


No.  106. — Susan  Shaw,  wife  of  Daniel  Fisher,  died 
Aug.  8,  1804,  aged  66. 

No.  107. — Thomas  S.,  son  of  Daniel  and  Susan 
Fisher,  died  Feh.  26,  1836,  aged  7  months  and  7 
days. 

No.  108. — Daniel  H.,son  of  Daniel  and  Susan  Fish- 
er, died  Jan.  2,  1841,  aged  18  years  and  11  months. 

No.  109. — Loring  S.,  son  of  Daniel  and  Susan  Fish- 
er, died  Sept.  3,  1850,  aged  18  years  and  6  months. 

No.  110. — David  Foster,  died  7  Jan.,  1798,  aged 
42. 

No.  111. — Mary,  wife  of  David  Foster,  died  March 
30, 1833,  aged  77. 

No.  112. — Sally,  daughter  of  Mr.  David  and  Mrs. 
Mary  Foster,  died  24  Aug.  1798,  in  the  2d  year  of  her 
age. 

No.  113. — Betsey,  daughter  of  Mr.  David  and  Mrs. 
Mary  Foster,  died  7  Nov.    1810,  aged  27  years. 

No.  114. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Nancy  Foster,  who 
died  Nov.  11,  1824,  in  the  31styear  of  her  age. 

No.  115.— Polly  Foster,  died  April  26,  1848,  aged 
57. 

No.  116. — Samuel  Foster,  died  Dec.  3,  1848,  aged 
67. 

No.  117. — In  memory  of  Abijah  Foster,  who  died 
April  2,  1822,  aged  59  years. 

No.  118. — In  memory  of  Artemisia,  wife  of  Abijah 
Foster,  who  died  Jan.  8,  1837,  aged  71. 

No.  119. — In  memory  of  Capt.  George  A.  Foster, 
who  died  Aug.  15,  1839,  aged  41. 

No.  120.— Elijah  W.  Felt,  died  March  20,  1855, 
aged  72. 

No.  121.— Ruth,  wife  of  Elijah  W.  Felt,  died  March 
24,  1855,  aged  62. 

No.  122.— Susan  D.,  wife  of  A.  O.  Field,  born  Aug. 
17,  1844,  died  April  23,  1866.  Edward  O.,  son  of 
A.  O.  and  S.  D.  Field,  born  Jan.  1,  1866,  died  March 
11,  1866. 

No.  123. — John  Grimes,  died  Jan.  24,  1X43,  aged 
80. 

No.  124. — Mary  S.,  relict  of  John  Grimes,  died  Aug. 
22,  1847,  aged  82  years  and  10  months. 

No.  125. — John  Grimes,  Jr.,  son  of  Mr.  John  and 
Mrs.  Mary  Grimes,  died  3  Sept.,  1813,  in  the  22d  year 
of  his  age. 

No.  126. — Our  mother,  Mary  Grimes,  wife  of  the 
late  Jotham  Stearns,  died  Feb.  3,  1875,  aged  7!»  years 
and  3  months. 

No.  127.— Alexander  Grimes,  died  April  13,  1876, 
aged  87  years  10  months  and  23  days. 


No.  128. — Abigail,  wife  of  Alex.  Grimes,  died  Sept. 
25,  1869,  aged  81  years  and  li  months. 

"Asleep  in  Jesus." 

No.  129. — Alexander,  son  of  Alexander  and  Abigail 
Grimes,  died  Sept.  19,  1826,  aged  3  years  3  months 
and  11  days. 

No.  130.— George  Grimes,  died  Sept.  3,  1865,  aged 
65. 

No.  131. — Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  George  and  Har- 
riet Grimes,  died  Dec.  12,  1845,  aged  7  years  and  8 
months. 

No.  132.— Hannah  Grimes,  died  March  11,  1876, 
aged  78  years  and  9  months. 

No.  133.— Betsey  Grimes,  born  July  20,  1786,  died 
Feb.  2(J,  1875,  aged  88  years  and  7  months. 

"  We  miss  thee." 

No.  134. — Jesse  Grimes,  died  Sept.  30,  1861,  aged 
69. 

No.  135. — Lucinda  Grimes,  died  April  14,  1875, 
aged  78  years  3  months  and  23  days. 

"  She  said,  when  speaking  of  Jesus  :  '  He  has  been 
a  very  i>recious  Saviour  to  me,  the  chief  among  ten 
thousand  and  the  one  altogether  lovely.' ' 

No.  136. — Thomas  Henry,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Nancy  E.  Grimes,  died  Sept.  27,  1854,  aged  2  weeks 
and  4  days. 

No.  137.— Ulysses  G.,  died  Nov.  9,  1872,  aged  2 
years  11  months  and  21  days.  Twin  children  of 
Chauncy  A.  and  Cornelia  R.  Grimes.  Infant  daugh- 
ter died  Nov.  19,  1869. 

"  I  take  these  little  lambs,  said  he, 
And  lay  them  in  my  breast  ; 
Protection  they  shall  find  in  me, 
In  me  be  ever  blest."  ' 

No.  138.— Aaron  Gary,  died  Dec.  24,  1845,  aged 
75. 

No.  139. — Sally,  wife  of  Aaron  Gary,  and  former 
wife  of  Calvin  Brown,  died  Aug.  1,  1840,  aged  62. 

No.  140. — Asaph  L.  Graves,  died  Sept.  6,  1849,  aged 
25. 

"  Happy  soul,  thy  days  are  ended, 
All  thy  mourning  days  below; 
Go,  by  angel  guards  attended, 
To  the  sight  of  Jesus,  go. 

"  Waiting  to  receive  thy  spirit, 
Lo  !  the  Saviour  stands  above, 
Shows  the  purchase  of  his  merit, 
Reaches  out  the  crown  of  love." 

No.  141. — Emily  15.,  wife  of  Sewell  Gurler,  died 
Aug.  18,  1863,  aged  ".0. 

"Farewell,  dear  friend,  whose  tender  care 
Has  long  engaged  my  love ; 


1  The  Grimes  family  were  ;i  long-lived  race.  Von  may 
count  up  twelve  here  whose  aggregate  ages  foot  up  eight 
hundred  and  seventy  years,  an  average  of  more  than  sev- 
enty-two years.     What  other  family  can  say  as  much? 


KEENE. 


73 


Your  fond  embrace  I  now  exchange 
For  other  friends  above." 

No.  142.— Esther  M.,  daughter  of  S.  and  E.  B. 
Gurler,  died  June  24,  1868,  aged  29  years  and  two 
months. 

No.  143.— Jacob  Hart,  died  Feb.  19,  185G,  aged 
80. 

"  My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth,  but  God  is  the 
strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  forever." 

No.  144. — Rachel  Haynes,  wife  of  Jacob  Hart,  died 
July  11, 1858,  aged  72. 

"  My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord  more  than  they  that 
watch  for  the  morning." 

No.  145. — George  J.,  son  of  Nehemiah  and  Ma- 
randa  E.  Hart,  died  Dec.  23,  1867,  aged  23  years  4 
months  and  15  days. 

"  How  we  loved  him !" 

No.  146.— Fred  H.,  son  of  W.  H.  and  Nancy  S. 
Hadley,  died  April  28,  1872,  aged  21. 

"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

Frankie,  son  of  W.  H.  and  N.  S.  Hadley,  died  Aug. 
9, 1864,  aged  11  years. 

"  Frankie. 
"  Oh,  our  darling  Frankie, 
Thou  art  gone  to-day, 
Where  no  flowers  wither, 
No  roses  fade  away." 

No.   147.— William    H.    Hadley,   died . 

Nancy   S.,   his   wife,   died   June   26,  1875,   aged  56 

years. 

"  Hadley— Father  and  Mother." 

No.  148. — Jonathan  Houghton,  died  April  8,  1849, 

aged  72. 

"  Father." 

No.  149. — Nabby,  wife  of  Jonathan  Houghton, 
died  Aug.  4,  1861,  aged  81. 

"  Mother." 

No.  150.— Abijah  Houghton,  died  Dec.  22,  1831, 
aged  84. 

No.  151. — Alice  M.,  wife  of  Henry  D.  Houghton, 
died  July  28,  1874,  aged  23  years  and  9  months. 

"  Free  from  all  life's  ills  and  troubles, 
Passed  beyond  the  billow's  foam, 
Anchored  on  the  rock  eternal, 
She  at  last  is  safe  at  home." 

No.  152.— Mrs.  Martha  Harvey,  died  Aug.  2,  1837, 

aged  74  years. 

"  Mother." 

Henry,  adopted  son  of  Henry  and  B.  H.  Mason, 
died  Sept.  18,  1837,  aged  4  years  and  7  months. 

No.  153. — Francis  S.  Wilson,  wife  of  Geo.  W.  Ham, 
died  Sept.  15, 1867,  aged  32.  Sammie,  son  of  George 
W.  and  Francis  S.  Ham,  died  Feb.  24,  1864,  aged  4 
years  and  13  days. 

No.  154. — Nancy  S.,  wife  of  F.  Holman,  Esq.,  died 
Oct.  26,  1845,  aged  25. 


"  'Tis  finished,  the  conflict  is  past, 
The  Heaven-born  spirit  is  fled ; 
Her  wish  is  accomplished  at  last, 

And  now  she's  entombed  with  the  dead." 

No.  155.— Daniel  Holbrook,  died  June  10,  1831, 
aged  67. 

"My  friends,  come  drop  a  mournful  tear 
Upon  the  dust  that  slumbers  here  ; 
And  when  you  read  this  state  of  me, 
Think  of  the  glass  that  runs  for  thee." 
No.  156. — Joanna,  wife  of  Daniel  Holbrook,  died 
Dec.  29,  1820,  in  the  54th  year  of  her  age. 

"Stoop  down  my  thoughts  that  used  to  rise, 

Converse  awhile  with  death ; 

Think  how  a  gasping  mortal  lies, 

And  pants  away  his  breath." 

No.  157.— Emily  N.,  daughter  of  A.  and  M.  H. 

Kingsbury,  died  Aug.  13,  1855,  aged  3  months. 

No.  158.— Mary  L.,  daughter  of  A.  and  M.  H. 
Kingsbury,  died  May  3,  1864,  aged  4  mos. 

No.  159. — Arathusa  Smith,  wife  of  Isaac  Lingsey, 
died  Jan.  25,  1858,  aged  58. 

No.  160. — Charlie  F.,  son  of  Luther  and  Abby 
Moon,  died  April  26,  1856,  aged  2  years. 

No.  161. — Eliza  J.,  wife  of  Frank  M.  Messinger, 
only  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  L.  Smith,  died 
March  11,  1877,  aged  19  years  8  months  and  9  days. 

"  Eliza,  asleep  in  Jesus." 
No.  162.— Emma  C.  Mason,  died  Sept.  4, 1875,  aged 
18  years  and  7  months.     Solon  S.  Mason,  died  April 
'9,  1871,  aged  9  years. 

"  Sister  and  Brother." 

No.  163. — Henry  Mason,  died  Jan.  25,  1870,  aged 

83 

"  Husband,  Father." 

No.  164. — Angeline  G.,  wife  of  Simeon  Mason,  died 
May  5,  1862,  aged  38. 

No.  165. — Hepsibah,  relict  of  Capt.  Thaddeus  Met- 
calf,  died  May  1,  1851,  aged  87. 

"My  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope." 

No.  166.— Capt.  Thaddeus  Metcalf,  died  April  11, 
1823,  aged  64. 

"  There  is  rest  in  Heaven." 

No.  167.— William  H.  Metcalf,  M.D.,  died  at 
Amoskeag,  N.  H.,  Sept.  3,  1842,  aged  35. 

"  Time  flies  and  eternity  is  thine." 

No.  168.— William  Norton,  died  April  6,  1855, 
aged  64. 

"  In  your  patience  possess  your  souls." 

No.  169.— Nathan  H.,  son  of  Mr.  Nathan  and  Mrs. 
Deba  Pond,  died  15  Feb.,  1800,  aged  10  years. 

No.  170. — In  memory  of  Mr.  Joab  Pond,  who  died 
Feb.  23,  1820,  aged  65. 

No.  171. — Joanna,  wife  of  Mr.  Joab  Pond,  died  19 
Oct.,  1806,  in  the  52d  year  of  her  age. 


74 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Go  home,  my  friends,  and  cease  from  tears, 
Here  I  must  lie  till  Christ  appears. 
Repent  in  time  while  time  you  have, 
There's  no  repentance  in  the  grave." 

No.  172.— Mr.  John  Plumley,  died  5  Nov.,  1810, 
aged  33  years. 

"  Go  home,  my  friends,  and  cease  from  tears, 
Here  I  must  lie  till  Christ  appears. 
Repent  in  time  while  time  you  have, 
There  is  no  repentance  in  the  grave." 

No.  173. — Abigail,  wife  of  Ebenezer  Perry,  died 
Jan.  5,  1875,  aged  82.  Ebenezer  Perry,  died  June  7, 
1846,  aged  64. 

"Earth's  sweetest  music  on  his  dull  ear  falleth, 
With  an  unheeded  tone ; 
Yet  heareth  he  the  still  small  voice  that  calleth. 

Come,  for  thy  task  is  done." 
(Erected  by  G.  W.  Perry.) 

No.  174. — Martha  Richardson,  wife  of  Geo.  W. 
Perry,  died  July  2,  1857,  aged  38. 

"  Earth's  love  we  know  has  passed  away, 

Exchanged  for  love  of  Heaven  more  pure, 
But  thine  for  us  without  decay, 
Deathless,  immortal,  shall  endure. 

"  Thou'lt  greet  us  when  at  length  we  come, 
From  sorrow,  sin  and  death  set  free ; 
Receive  us  to  thy  Heavenly  home, 
To  share  its  holy  joys  with  thee." 

No.  175. — Lewis  S.,  son  of  C.  K.  and  Millusa  A. 
Pemberton,  died  March  6,  1859,  aged  1  year  2  months 
and  3  days. 

"  Little  Lewis  dear, 
Short  is  the  time  that  intervenes, 
And  we  thy  face  shall  see." 

No.  176. — (Marble  monument.) 
Alden  S.  Page,  born  Aug.  27,  1802,  died  Sept,  5, 
1873.  Harriett  A.,  died  March  4,  1832,  aged  1  year 
7  months  and  14  days.  Edgar  A.,  died  April  8,  1835, 
aged  2  years  and  23  days.  Louisa  H.,  died  March  4, 
1846,  aged  1  year  and  10  months. 

No.  177. — Mariette  E.,  daughter  of  John   R.   and 
Mary  A.  Preckle,  died  Aug.  11,  1847,  aged  7  months. 
"  Thou  sweet  and  cherished  babe,  adieu  ; 
Thy  stay  on  earth  was  short ; 
But  thou  wilt  live  in  memory's  view, 
And  never  be  forgot," 

No.  178. — Zachary  Taylor,  son  of  John  R.  and  Mary 
A.  Preckle.  died  Oct.  5,  1849,  aged  10  months  and  22 
days. 

•'  Ere  sin  could  blight  or  sorrow  fade, 
Death  came  with  friendly  care; 
The  opening  bud  to  Heaven  conveyed, 
And  bade  it  blossom  there." 

No.  179. — Lucretia  A.,  wife  of  Amos  Richardson 
(2d),  died  Dec.  4,  1854,  aged  35. 

"Am  T  prepared  '.'" 


No.  180. — (Granite  monument.) 
Barzilla  Richardson,  died  April  19,  1850,  aged  57. 
"  Wife,  children,  oh,  how  dear  ! 

My  pains  were  cruel  and  severe  ; 
My  pains  arc  past,  I  am  at  rest, 
God  orders  all  things  for  the  best. 

"Then  rest  in  hope,  ye  stricken  band, 
Till  Jesus  welcomes  you  above  ; 
There  will  you  rest  in  spirit  land, 
The  husband — Father  of  your  love." 

No.  181.— Stephen  Russell,  died  Sept.  5,  1849,  aged 
82. 

No.  182. — Bridget,  wife  of  Stephen  Russell,  died 
March  5,  1844,  aged  72. 

No.  183. — Sarah,  wife  of  Dr.  Dudley  Smith,  and 
daughter  of  Alex,  and  Abigail  Grimes,  died  Dec,  17, 
1875,  aged  59. 

No.  184. — To  our  sister,  Louisa  F.Smith, died  Aug. 
23,  1868,  aged  48. 

"  Her  trust  was  in  Christ." 

No.  185.— Rhoda  E.,  died  Sept.  14,  1860,  aged  17 
years;  Willie  T.,  died  Jan.  1,  1853,  aged  7  years ; 
Webbie  D.,  died  Jan.  17,  1853,  aged  18  months;  chil- 
dren of  Henry  W.  and  Eunice  D.  Smith. 

No.  186. — William,  son  of  Charles  and  Martha 
D.  Slyfield,  died  Jan.  20,  1854,  aged  1  year  and  6 
months. 

No.  187— Jeduthun  Strickland,  died  Jan.  6,  1843, 
aged  78. 

No.  188. — Josiah  Sawyer,  died  July  5,  1876,  aged 
80  years  1  month  and  16  days. 

"  Father." 

No.  189. — Jane,  wife  of  Josiah  Sawyer,  died  Dec. 
26,  18(53,  aged  64  years  10  months  and  IS  days. 

"  Mother." 

No.  190. — Arvilla  C,  wife  of  William  W.  Sawyer, 
died  Sept.  6,  1848,  aged  29. 

No.  191.— John  G.  Stearns,  died  Dec.  2,  1840,  aged 
22  years  4  months  and  7  days. 

No.  192. — Samuel  Towns,  died  Aug.  11,  1858,  aged 
77. 

No.  193. — Susan,  wife  of  Samuel  Towns,  died  Sept. 
2,  1850,  aged  63. 

No.  194. — Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Sam'l  and  Susan 
Towns,  died  May  6,  1855,  aged  24  years. 

No.  195. — Maria  E.,  wife  of  Andrew  H.  Towns, 
died  July  30,  1849,  aged  27. 

No.  196.— John  Thayer,  died  March  L9,  L833,  aged 
50. 

No.  197. — Sally,  wife  of  John  Thayer,  died  June 
14,  1857,  aged  74. 

No.  198. — In  memory  of  Daniel,  son  of  Caleb  and 
Chloe  Washburn,  who  died  Jan.  25,  1793,  aged  8 
days. 

No.  199. — In  memory  of  Betsey,  daughter  of  Caleb 
and  ( 'hlne  Washhurn,  who  died  Nov.  17,  1800,  aged  6 
months. 


KEENE. 


75 


No.  200.— William  Winchester,  died  11  Aug.,  1808, 
aged  42  years. 

"  Here  calmly  rest,  escaped  this  mortal  strife, 
Above  the  joys,  beyond  the  waves  of  life, 
Fierce  pangs  no  more  thy  faithful  bosom  stain, 
And  sternly  try  thee  with  long  years  of  pain. 

"  Life's  journey  o'er,  he  closed  the  willing  eye, 
'Tis  the  great  birthright  of  mankind  to  die  ; 
Here  mixed  with  earth  his  ashes  must  remain, 
Till  death  shall  die  and  mortal  rise  again." 

No.  201. — Sarah  Lawrence,  consort  of  William 
Winchester,  died  Aug.  30,  1834,  aged  31. 

No.  202.— Sarah  Winchester,  born  Oct.  5,  1800, 
died  May  24,  1850,  aged  49. 

"Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  203. — Eben  Warner,  departed  this  life  Jan.  19, 
1809,  aged  53. 

No.  204.— Capt.  Isaac  Wyman,  died  April  8,  1835, 
aged  79.     A  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

No.  205 — Lucretia,  wife  Capt.  Isaac  Wyman,  died 
17  May,  1811,  in  the  53d  year  of  her  age. 

No.  206. — Capt.  Asa  Ware,  died  June  6,  1831,  aged 
80. 

No.  207. — Mary,  wife  of  Captain  Asa  Ware,  died 
Aug.,  1796,  aged  35. 

No.  208.— Solomon  Woods,  died  Oct.  29,  1837,  aged 
65  years. 

No.  209.— Widow  Elizabeth,  relict  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Wright,  died  10  June,  1802,  aged  89. 

No.  210.— William  Wilson,  died  Aug.  26,1854,  aged 
74. 

No.  211. — Erected  in  memory  of  Susannah,  wife  of 
Mr.  William  Wilson,  who  died  April  24,  1804,  aged 
21. 

"  Great  God,  I  own  thy  sentence  just, 
And  nature  must  decay  ; 
I  yield  my  body  to  the  dust, 
To  dwell  with  fellow  clay." 

No.  212. — Prudence,  wife  of  William  Wilson,  died 
March  21,  1832,  aged  53. 

No.  213. — Frances  S.,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Olive 
Wilson,  died  Dec.  26,  1834,  aged  3  years  3  months 
and  twelve  days. 

No.  214. — Florence  E.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Jo- 
anna Wilson,  died  Sept.  30,  1849,  aged  3  years  and  6 
months. 

No.  215. — Fidelia  N.,  wife  of  Benjamin  Wilson,  died 
Sept.  1, 1851,  aged  21 ;  also  an  infant  babe,  died  Sept. 
3,  aged  3  months  and  8  days. 

No.  216. — Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Fi- 
delia N.Wilson,  died  Sept.  14,  1851,  aged 2  years  and 
9  months. 

No.  217.— Joseph  Wheeler,  died  July  26, 1867,  aged 
72  years  7  months  and  4  days. 

"  The  Lord  giveth,  the  Lord  taketh." 

No.  218.— Betsy  P.,  wife  of  Joseph  Wheeler,  died 
Feb.  11,  1864,  aged  66. 


"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  219.— Solomon  Woodward,  died  Dec.  9,  1838, 
aged  70. 

No.  220. — Susannah,  wife  of  Solomon  Woodward, 
died  June  6,  1847,  aged  75. 

No.  221. — William  H.,  son  of  Solomon  and  Susan- 
nah Woodward,  died  May  30,  1812,  aged  5  years. 

No.  222.— Susan  Woodward,  died  June  24,  1840, 
aged  31. 

The  Old  Graveyard  at  the  North 
Part  of  the  Town. — Away  back  in  the  past, 
so  far  back  that  no  man  now  living  can  remem- 
ber, lived  in  the  town  of  Keene  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Israel  Houghton.  This  Mas  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years,  and  more,  ago.  He 
owned  many  acres  of  land  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town.  For  love  and  affection,  and  that  his 
son  John  might  have  lands  that  he  could  call 
his  own,  this  good  father  deeded,  in  1769,  a 
farm,  from  his  many  acres  in  the  north  part,  to 
his  beloved  son.  This  same  John  Houghton 
gave  the  land  from  this  farm  for  the  North 
Burying-Ground,  as  it  was  called,  about  one 
hundred  years  ago.  This  fact  I  learned  from 
the  late  Mrs.  Betsey  Houghton,  whose  husband 
was  a  son  of  John  Houghton.  This  Captain 
John  Houghton  for  many  years  was  a  promi- 
nent man  in  Keene  ;  was  one  of  the  selectmen 
in  1787,  and  went  from  Keene  and  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  1777.  The  last 
time  I  saw  Mrs.  Betsey  Houghton,  less  than  a 
year  ago,  she  told  me  this  incident  of  Captain 
John  :  He  left  Keene  for  Bennington,  and  went 
around  by  the  way  of  Albany,  X.  Y.  Here  he 
called  on  a  notorious  Tory,  with  whom  he  was 
well  acquainted.  The  man  being  absent,  he 
demanded  of  his  wife  only  one  large  cheese 
(he  was  a  farmer,  and  had  plenty  of  them). 
She  told  him  a  rebel  should  never  have  one  of 
her  cheeses.  He  then  told  her  if  she.  refused 
he  would  let  the  boys  in,  and  they  would  pi'ob- 
ably  take  all  she  had ;  so  she  repented,  and  he 
left  with  a  big  cheese.  He  returned  safely  to 
Keene  from  the  battle-field,  and  here  he  lived 
to  the  age  of  seventy -two.  He  died  August 
15,  1818,  and  was  buried  in  this  old  burying- 
ground  that  he  had  given  to  his  neighbors  so 
many  years  before. 

The  interments  iu  this  old  burying-ground 
are  as  follows  : 


76 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  1. — Boardwin  Brown,  died  July  20,  18G7,  aged 
60  years. 

Adeline  E.,  wife  of  Boardwin  Brown,  died  Sept.  6, 
1871,  aged  67. 

"We  trust  in  God." 

No.  2. — MaryC,  daughter  of  Boardwin  and  Ade- 
line E.  Brown,  died  Aug.  26, 1871,  aged  33  years. 

"Gone  home  to  rest." 

No.  3. — Julia  A.,  daughter  of  Boaxdwin  and  A.  E. 
Brown,  died  June  21,  1863,  aged  23. 

"  Leave  ye  the  body 

Beneath  the  cold  sod, 
She  hath  gone  homeward 
To  dwell  with  her  God." 

No.  4. — Ruth  Bateheller,  relict  of  Breed  Batcheller, 
died  June  26,  1840,  aged  94. 

No.  5. — Lucius,  son  of  Perley  and  Mary  E.  Balch, 
died  Feb.  15,  1855. 

"  One  sweet  flower  has  bloomed  and  faded, 
One  dear  infant  voice  is  fled, 
One  sweet  lost  bud  the  grave  has  shaded, 
Our  loved  Lucius  now  is  dead." 

No.    6. — Erected  to  the   memory  of     Mr.  Caleb 

Chase,  who  died  April  7,  1814,  in  the  26th  year  of  his 

age. 

"  Adieu,  my  friends,  a  long  adieu, 

To  earthly  comforts  and  to  you; 

My  Jesus  calls  me  for  to  go 

And  leave  all  earthly  things  below. 

Adieu,  my  young  companions  all, 

From  death's  arrest  no  age  is  free, 

Take  warning  from  my  sudden  call, 

And  be  prepared  to  follow  me." 

No.  7. — Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Capt.  Stephen 
Chase,  who  died  April  6,  1830,  aged  67. 

No.  8. — In  memory  of  Betsey,  relict  of  Stephen 
Chase,  died  Aug.  12,  1850,  aged  83. 

No.  9. — Sarah  Louisa,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Louisa  Chase,  died  Feb.  7,  1840,  aged  5  years  and  5 
months. 

No.  10. — Juliette  Selden,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Louisa  Chase,  died  Sept.  20,  1849,  aged  4  years  and  6 
months. 

"  Weep  not,  to  mourn  it  is  not  meet, 
,    For  all  that's  earthly  sure  will  fade  ; 
Look  thou  above,  and  hope  to  greet 
Thy  loved  one,  now  an  angel  made." 

No.  11. — Ella  Augusta,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Louisa  chase,  died  Sept.  26,  1849,  aged  1  year  and  8 
months. 

"Dear  parents  do  not  weep  for  me, 
My  aching  heart  is  now  at  rest  ; 
From  sin  and  sorrow  I  am  free, 
And  with  my  Saviour  I  am  hlest." 
No.  12. — Frank  Henry,  son  of  Stephen  and  Louisa 
Chase,  died  Sept.  23,1856,  aged  2  years,  5  months  and 
9  days. 


No.  13. — Edward  S.,  son  of  Stephen  and  Louisa 
Chase,  born  Feb.  16,  1851,  died  June  2,  1860. 

No.  14. — Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Lou- 
isa Chase,  born  Sept.  15,  1838,  died  Oct.  30,  1860. 

No.  15. — Emily  A.,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Lou- 
isa Chase,  died  Dec.  15,  1867,  aged  37. 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus." 

No.  16.— Alba  Chase,  born  July  13, 1812,  died  Nov. 
18,  1874. 

"  With  us  thy  name  shall  live 
Through  succeeding  years, 
Embalmed  with  all  our  hearts  can  give, 
( )ur  praises  and  our  tears." 

No.  17.— Charles  Chase,  born  July  17,  1803,  died 
Aug.  4,  1866. 

"  He  hath  gone  home." 

No.  18.— Charles  D.  Chase,  born  Sept.  24,  1840,  died 
at  Jackson,  Miss.,  July  20,  1863  ;  member  of  9th  Reg. 
N.  H.  V. 

No.  19. — Lucia  M.,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Han- 
nah Chase,  died  Oct.  3, 1859,  aged  15  years,  2  months 
and  17  days. 

"  We  miss  our  dear  Lucia." 

No.  20. — Charles  E.,  son  of  Charles  and  Hannah 
Chase,  died  Sept.  15, 1839,  aged  1  year,  11  months  and 
28  days. 

No.  21. — George  M.,  son  of  Charles  and  Hannah 
Chase,  died  Dec.  20,  1842,  aged  5  months. 

No.  22.— Ziba  Chase,  died  July  7,  1850,  aged  50. 

No.  23. — In  memory  of  Stephen,  son  of  Lt.  Stephen 
Chase  and  Mrs.  Betsey,  his  wife.  He  died  June  8, 
1797,  in  the  7th  year  of  his  age  ;  whose  death  was  oc- 
casioned by  the  fall  of  a  tree. 

"  How  short  the  span, 
Short  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  !" 

No.  24. — Hosea  B.,  son  of  Hosea  and  Hannah  D. 
Chase,  died  Sept.  26,  1S39,  aged  5  weeks. 

No.  25. — William  H.,  son  of  Hosea  and  Hannah  D. 
Chase,  died  Sept.  23,  1860,  aged  16  years,  11  months 
and  23  days. 

"One less  to  love  on  earth, 
One  more  to  meet  in  Heaven." 

No.  26. — Bela  Chase,  born  Dec.  2,  1795,  died  Jan. 
31,  1868,  aged  72. 

No.  27.— Charlotte  J.,  daughter  of  Albert  and  El- 
len M.  Church,  died  Sept.  9,  1850,  aged  2  years  and  9 
months. 

No.  28.— William  D.,  son  of  Albert  and  Ellen  M. 
Church,  died  Aug.  6,  1850,  aged  3  years  and  10 
months. 

No.  29. — Nancy,  widow  of  Elihu  Dort,  wife  of 
George  Allen,  died  July  13,  L875,  aged  76. 

No.  30.— David  I!.  Dort,  died  Jan.  29,  1859,  aged 
44. 

No.  31.— Charles  F.,  died  March  24,  1855,  aged  2 
years,  7  months  and  28  days  ;  an  infant  son,  died  Oct. 


KEENE. 


77 


10,    1849,  aged   6  days  ;  children   of  David   B.  and 
Frances  A.  Dort. 

"  Bud  for  time, 
Blooming  in  eternity." 

No.  32. — Edward  C,  son  of  David  B.  and  Frances 

A.   Dort,  died  Feb.    10,   1861,    aged  5  years    and  5 

months. 

"  Too  beautiful  for  earth, 

He  soared  to  Heaven." 

No.  33. — Annie  Durkee,  wife  of  Almon  Durkee, 
died  July  20, 1875,  aged  66. 

No.  34. — Betsey,  wife  of  John  Day,  died  May,  1805, 
aged  52. 

No.  35. — In  memory  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Day,  who 
died  Jan.  12, 1776,  in  the  60th  year  of  his  age. 
"  Death  conquers  all." 

No.  36. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Bathsheba  Day,  relict 
of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Day,  died  Sept.  the  5th,  1798,  in  the 
73d  year  of  her  age. 

"  Death  is  a  debt  to  nature  due, 
Which  I  have  paid  and  so  must  you." 

No.  37.— Sabra  Day,  died  Sept.  2,  1840,  aged  74. 
No.   38.— Benjamin  Dwinell,  died  July  29,  1805, 
aged  76. 

No.  39. — Mary,  wife  of  Benjamin  Dwinell,  died 
March  5,  1820,  aged  92. 

No.  40.— Henry  Ellis,1  died  Aug.  3,  1838,  aged  90 
years. 

"  His  mind  was  tranquil  and  serene, 
No  terrors  in  his  looks  were  seen, 
His  Saviour's  smile  dispelled  the  gloom, 
And  smoothed  his  passage  to  the  tomb." 

No.  41. — Millitiah,  relict  of  Henry  Ellis,  died  April 
30,  1850,  aged  98. 

"She's  traveled  her  appointed  years, 
And  her  Deliverer's  come, 
And  wiped  away  his  servant's  tears, 
And  took  his  exile  home." 

No.  42.— Samuel  Ellis,  died  Dec.  26,  1861,  aged 
81. 

No.  43.— Sally,  wife  of  Samuel  Ellis,  died  Nov.  14, 
1865,  aged  79. 

No.  44.— Milla  Ellis,  died  Nov.  22,  1870,  aged  87. 

No.  45.— John  Farrar,  died  Oct.  23,  1856,  aged  69. 

No.  46.— Martha  E.  Farrar,  died  March  30,  1852j 
aged  22  years. 

No.  47. — Sarah  C,  wife  of  Warren  Foster,  died 
March  15,  1841,  aged  25. 

No.  48. — George  Goodnow,  died  Sept.  4,  1866,  aged 
117. 

No.  49. — Marinda,  wife  of  George  Goodnow,  died 
Jan.  28,  1865,  aged  66. 

No.  50. — Hannah,  daughter  of  George  and  Marinda 
Goodnow,  died  Aug.  23,  1858,  aged  20. 

1  Henry  Ellis  belonged  to  the  foot  company  of  Keene  in 
1773. 


No.  51. — Emina  S.,  daughter  of  George  and  Marin- 
da Goodnow,  died  Aug.  6,  1866,  aged  26. 

No.  52. — Mary  F.,  daughter  of  George  and  Marinda 
Goodnow,  died  Oct.  17,  1872,  aged  30. 

No.  53.— William  Goodnow,  died  Feb.  4,  1 867,  aged 
78. 

No.  54. — Sarah  B.,  wife  of  William  Goodnow,  died 
July  12,  1843,  aged  45. 

"  Friends  and  physicians  could  not  save 
My  mortal  body  from  the  grave, 
Nor  can  the  grave  confine  me  here 
When  Christ  my  Saviour  shall  appear." 

No.  55. — William  K.,  son  of  William  and  Sarah  B. 
Goodnow,  died  May  15,  1849,  aged  22. 

No.  56. — Charles  E.,  son  of  William  and  Sarah  B. 
Goodnow,  died  March  14,  1855,  aged  26. 

No.  57. — Emily  Baker,  daughter  of  Mr.  William 
and  Mrs.  Sarah  Goodnow,  died  Sept.  22,  1832,  aged  5 
months. 

No.  58. — Daniel,  son  of  Mr.  William  and  Mrs.  Sa- 
rah Goodnow7,  died  March  16,  1832,  aged  9  years. 

No.  59. — Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  William  Goodnow, 
died  Dec.  10, 1831,  aged  69. 

No.  60. — Henry  Goodnow,  died  Jan.  25,  1844,  aged 

60. 

"  He's  gone  and  left  this  world  of  sin, 

The  dark  and  dismal  shore  ; 

We  only  part  to  meet  again, 

And  meet  to  part  no  more." 

No.  61.— William  Goodnow,  died  March  22,  1809, 
aged  58. 

No.  62.— Charlotte  Goodnow,  died  July  3,  1823, 
aged  21. 

No.  63. — Nancy  Goodnow,  died  May  4,  1823,  aged 
27. 

No.  64.— Mary  Goodnow,  died  April  26,  1818,  aged 
31. 

No.  65— Sally  Goodnow,  died  Jan.  28,  1872,  aged 
79. 

No.  66. — Hepsibah  Goodnow,  died  Jan.  18,  1858, 
aged  73. 

No.  67.— Mary  B.  Goodnow,  died  Oct.  3,  1846,  aged 
28. 

No.  68. — Frances  R.,  wife  of  Willard  Gay,  died 
March  30, 1842,  aged  24. 

No.  69. — Nancy  Graves,  died  Sept.  7,  1846,  aged 
80. 

No.  70. — Capt.  John  Houghton,  died  Aug.  15, 1818, 
aged  72. 

No.  71.— Relief  Houghton,  died  June  14,  1841, 
aged  90. 

No.  72. — My  husband.  Wheelock  Houghton  died 
July  14,  1864,  aged  86. 

No.  73.— Adin  Holbrook,  died  Aug.,  1843,  aged  91. 

No.  74. — Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Adin  Holbrook,  died 
July  29,  1^24,  aged  66. 

No.  75. — Enos  Holbrook,  born  Sept.  17,  1789,  died 
Aug.  8, 1876. 


78 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  76. — Mary  K.,  wife  of  Enos  Holbrook,  born 
Sept.  10,  1790,  died  May  24,  1867. 

No.  77. — Sarah  E.  Holbrook,  daughter  of  Enos  and 
Mary  K.  Holbrook,  born  June  13,  1823,  died  Nov.  6, 
1870. 

No.  78. — Clarinda  A.,  daughter  of  Enos  and  Mary 
K.  Holbrook,  born  Aug.  15,  1831,  died  Oct.  5,  1853. 

No.  79.— Nathaniel  Kingsbury,  died  Jan.  26,  1803, 
in  the  64th  year  of  his  age. 

No.  80. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Hannah,  wife  of  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Kingsbury,  who  died  Sept.  25,  1785,  in  her 
47th  year. 

No.  81.— Rebecca,  wife  of  Nathaniel  Kingsbury,  died 
March  16,  1824,  in  the  64th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  82.— Capt.  Samuel  Kingsbury,  died  Oct.  10, 1863, 
aged  69. 

No.  83. — Sarah,  wife  of  Capt.  Samuel  Kingsbury, 
died  Oct.  18,  1863,  aged  71. 

No.  84. — Delilah  H.,  wife  of  Josiah  Kingsbury,  died 
Dec.  11,  1870,  aged  49. 

No.  85. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Zilpah  Kilburn,  wife 
of  Mr.  Jehiel  Kilburn,  who  died  Dec.  27,  1804,  in  the 
22d  year  of  her  age. 

(Made  by  Moses  Wright,  of  Rockingham, — price, 
six  dollars.) 

No.  86.— George  Mansfield,  died  Feb.  25,  1873,  aged 
52  years  and  8  months. 

No.  87. — Susannah  T.,  wife  of  George  Mansfield, 
died  March  18, 1864,  aged  41. 

"  Not  lost,  but  gone  before." 

No.  88.— Moses  Moody,  died  Dec.  13,  1845,  aged 
42. 

"  Man  of  the  world,  as  you  pass  by, 

Look  here  beneath  this  clod  I  lie, 
And  born  of  frail  mortality, 
What  your  lot  must  surely  be, 
And  when  am  Kit  ion  fills  your  breast, 
Think  of  my  lonely  place  of  rest." 

No.  89.— Frederic  Metcalf,  died  Sept.  16,  1849,  aged 
81. 

No.  90.— Esther  D.,  wife  of  Frederick  Metcalf,  died 
Feb.  27,  1847,  aged  74. 

No.  91.— Betsey  G.  Metcalf,  died  July,  1741,  aged 
44. 

No.  92. — William  F.,  son  of  William  and  Amanda 
Metcalf,  born  Dec.  9,  1839,  died  April  2.1, 1872. 

No.  93.— Our  dear  little  Eddie.  Died  April  17, 
1860,  aged  5  years  1  month  and  26  days. 

"  Not  lost  but  gone  before." 

No.  94. — Infant  son,  aged  2  weeks. 

Xo.  95. — Harriet  Mary,  daughter  of  William  and 
Amanda  Metcalf,  died  Aug.  12,  1839,  aged  1  year  ami 
6  months. 

No.  96. — Harriet  Mary,  daughter  of  William  and 
Amanda  Metcalf,  died  Dec.  13,  1837,  aged  2  years  and 
2  months. 

No.  97. — Edward  <!..  son  of  William  and   Amanda 


Metcalf,   died  April  25,  1853,  aged  9  years  and  10 
months. 

"  Affectionate  in  life,  lovely  in  death." 

No.  98.— Levi  Pond,  died  Oct.  8,  1870,  aged  77. 

"  We  have  kissed  the  pale  lips  forever  closed, 
And  laid  him  gently  to  rest." 

No.  99. — Our  Mabel.  Mabel  E.,  daughter  of  A.  and 
E.  Pond,  died  March  24,  1868,  aged  8  years  and  7 
months. 

"  Mabel  dear,  how  we  miss 
Her  gentle  footsteps  now, 
The  low  soft  tones — the  pleasant  smile, 
The  sweet  and  sunny  brow. 

No.  100. — In  memory  of  Jonathan  Pond,1  who  died 
March  5, 1817,  aged  77. 

No.  101. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Thankful  Pond,  who 
died  Sept.  16, 1821,  aged  77. 

No.  102.— Phinehas  Pond,  died  June  12,1837,  aged 
70. 

No.  103.— Louis  Pond,  died  Oct.  12,  1842,  aged  71. 

No.  104.— Fibster  Pond,  died  Nov.  16, 1842,  aged  61 
years. 

No.  105.— Philinda  Pond,   died  Oct.  22,  1862,  aged 

59. 

"  My  glass  is  run." 

No.  106. — Edmund  J.  Perhain,  member  of  the  9th 
Reg.N.  H.  V.,  died  at  Knoxville,  Md.,  Oct.  26,  1862, 
aged  37. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be 
comforted." 

No.  107.— Martha  S.,  wife  of  E.  J.  Perham,  born 
Nov.  10, 1836,  died  Feb.  13,  1860. 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  lor  they  shall  see 
God." 

An  infant  of  E.  J.  and  M.  S.  Perham,  born  Feb.  7, 
died  Feb.  9,  1860. 

No.  108.— Silas  Perry,2  born  April  14,1763,  died 
June  3, 1852,  aged  89  years  1  month  and  20  days. 

No.  109. — Catherine,  wife  of  Silas  Perry,  died  Jan. 
4,  1830,  aged  66. 

No.  110. — (Marble  monument).     Perry. 

Joseph  Perry,3  born  March  30,  1788,  died  June  17, 
1865.  Lydia  Perry,  his  wife,  horn  Feb.  23,  1787,  died 
.July  25,  1871. 

No.  111.— Aaron  Reed,  born  April  30,  1791,  died 
July  21,  1859. 


1  Jonathan  Pond's  name  is  on  the  muster-roll  as  belong- 
ing to  the  foot  company  in  Keene  in   177:;. 

'-'  Silas  Perry  came  to  Keene  about  the  year  1792,  having 
enlisted  in  the  war  from  Westminster,  Mass.  He  was  one 
of  the  guard  at  the  execution  of  .Major  Andre. 

:1  Joseph  l'erry  was  a  great  mathematician  besides  a  life- 
long Democrat.  A  short  time  before  he  died  I  askeil  him 
to  explain  to  me  the  difference  between  a  Republican  and 
a  Democrat.     His  reply  was  the  ins  and  the  outs. 


KEENE. 


79 


No.  112.— Diantha  P.,  born  Feb.  10, 1824,  died  Aug. 
7,  1852;  Henry  W.,  born  April  25,  1827,  died  March 
19,  1832 ;  Charles  J.,  born  April  15,  1832,  died  March 
31,  1833,  children  of  Aaron  and  Mary  Eeed. 

No.  113.— Paschal  E.,  died  Dec.  3,  1812,  aged  15 
years;  George  L.,  died  Aug.  12,  1833,  aged  8  years; 
Lydia  Ann,  died  May  26,  1833,  aged  9  months,  chil- 
dren of  Obadiah  and  Mary  Reed. 

No.  114.— Cornelius  Sturtevant,1  died  March  8, 1826, 
aged  91. 

No.  115. — Sarah,  wife  of  Cornelius  Sturtevant,  died 
April  25,  1826,  aged  88. 

No.  116. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  widow  of 
Mr.  Cornelius  Sturtevant,  of  Plympton,  Mass.,  died 
May  16,  1790,  in  the  89th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  117. — This  monument  is  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Luke  Sturtevant,  who  was  instantly  killed  by 
the  fall  of  a  tree  June  22,  1811,  aged  43. 
"  Reader,  behold  as  you  pass  by, 
As  you  are  now  so  once  was  I  ; 
As  I  am  now  so  you  must  be, 
Prepare  for  death  and  follow  me." 

No.  118. — Abigail,  wife  of  Luke  Sturtevant,  died 
Sept.  19,  1839,  aged  64. 

No.  119.— John  A.  Sturtevant,  died  July  11,  1832, 
aged  27. 

No.  120. — Abigail  F.,  wife  of  Warner  C.  Sturtevant, 
died  June  13, 1843,  aged  32. 

No.  121.— Luther  Sturtevant,  died  Dec.  31,  1863, 
aged  89. 

No.  122. — Azubah,  wife  of  Luther  Sturtevant,  died 
Dec.  15,  1849,  aged  76. 

No.  123. — In  memory  of  Maj.  Isaac  Sturtevant,  who 
died  July  5,  1816,  aged  39  years. 

"  Beneath  the  sacred  honors  of  the  tomb, 
In  awful  silence  and  majestic  gloom ; 
The  man  of  mercy  conceals  his  head 
Amidst  the  silent  mansions  of  the  dead. 
No  more  his  liberal  hand  shall  help  the  poor, 
Relieve  distress  and  soften  joy  no  more." 

1  The  Sturtevant  family  have  been  identified  with  the 
town  of  Keene  almost  from  its  first  settlement  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  Cornelius  Sturtevant  was  born  in  1 735,  only 
three  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  (1732). 
Coming  from  Massachusetts  to  Keene  when  it  was  but  a 
wilderness,  he  first  settled  just  across  the  line  in  Gilsum, 
and  lived  in  a  log  house  ;  his  descendants  are  still  living 
here,  even  to  the  fifth  generation.  Cornelius  was  a  school- 
teacher as  well  as  a  farmer.  He  raised  a  large  family. 
We  of  the  present  genei'ation  remember  many  of  his 
grandchildren.  George  AV.,  Isaac,  Charles,  Fanny,  Luther, 
Linda,  Warner  and  many  more  of  them,  all  good,  substan- 
tial citizen.  Genl.  John  W.  Sturtevant,  a  great-great-grand- 
son of  Cornelius,  is  one  of  our  leading  citizens,  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  G.  H.  Tilden  &  Co.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
present  Board  of  Education,  and  is  also  a  representative 
from  Keene  in  the  Legislature. 


No.  124. — In  memory  of  Jemima  Tiffany,  who  de- 
parted this  life  Feb.  7,  1789,  in  the  78th  year  of  her 
age. 

No.  125. — Erected  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Joseph 

Turner,  who  died  April  5,  1818,  in  the  75th  year  of  his 

age. 

"  My  glass  is  run. 

Stop,  traveller,  don't  heedless  pass  me  by, 

But  stop  and  shed  a  tear  and  heave  a  sigh, 

Here  lies  a  man  whose  heart  was  kind  and  free, 

Who  was  ever  loved  with  godlike  charity." 

No.  126.— Isaiah  Wilder,  died  in  Gilsum  Oct.  11, 
1867,  aged  85  years  and  7  months. 

No.  127. — Saloma,  wife  of  Isaiah  Wilder,  died  Jan. 
28,  1849,  aged  60. 

No.  128. — Juliette  Augusta,  daughter  of  David  and 
Betsey  Wood,  died  April  6,  1863,  aged  12  years  and  6 
months. 

No.  129. — Ella  Mariah,  daughter  of  David  and 
Betsey  Wood,  died  March  11,  1863,  aged  10  years  and 
6  months. 

No.  130.— Abijah  Willson,  died  May  28,  1854,  aged 
86. 

No.  131. — Phebe,  wife  of  Abijah  Willson,  died  June 
20,  1840,  aged  73  years. 

No.  132. — Rebecca,  wife  of  Abijah  Willson,  died 
Oct.  22,  1852,  aged  74. 

No.  133.— Phebe,  died  Aug.  27,  1803,  aged  2  years 
and  6  months.  Uriah,  died  Sept,  8,  1803,  aged  14 
years  and  8  months.  Avery,  died  at  Mobile,  Ala., 
March  12,  1837,  aged  29. 

No.  134.— George  Willson,  died  Feb.  22, 1873,  aged 
63  years,  3  months  and  3  days. 

"  Gone  but  not  forgotten." 

No.  135. — In  memory  of  Relief,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Joshua  Washburn  and  Hepsibah,  his  wife,  who  died 
Dec.  20,  1791,  aged  2  years,  4  months  and  20  days. 

"  As  I  am  now  so  you  must  be, 
Therefore  prepare  to  follow  me." 

No.  136.— George  P.  Wetherbee,  died  July  17, 
1836,  aged  20. 

No.  137.— Mr.  Phinehas  Wright,  died  May  6,  1812, 
aged  60. 

No.  138.— Mrs.  Zilpah  Wright,  died  Sept.  30,  1841, 
aged  85. 

Cornelius  Sturtevant,  Jr.,  published  a  newspaper  in 
Keene  called  the  Rising  Sun,  before  the  New  Hampshire 
Sentinel  was  started  by  Mr.  John  Prentiss.  He  left  Keene, 
went  into  the  army,  and  died  in  Piketon,  Ohio,  August  2, 
1821,  at.,  the  age  of  fifty.  The  late  George  W.  Sturtevant 
was  a  small  boy  when  his  Uncle  Luke  was  killed  by  the  fall 
of  a  tree.  He  was  told  to  get  out  of  the  way,  as  the  tree 
might  fall  on  him ;  but,  instead,  his  uncle  was  instantly 
killed.  The  present  generation  know  but  little  of  the 
trials  and  hardships  of  their  ancestors  ;  their  real  life  was, 
many  times,  stranger  than  fiction. 


80 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  139.  —In  memory  of  Fanny,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Phinehas  Wright  and  Zilpah,  his  wife,  who  died 
Aug.  5, 1803,  in  the  8th  year  of  her  age.  In  memory 
of  Roxana,  daughter  of  Mr.  Phinehas  Wright  and 
Zilpah,  his  wife,  who  died  Aug.  5,  1803,  in  the  12th 
year  of  her  age. 

No.  140. — In  memory  of  Miss  Rehecca  Wright, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Phinehas  Wright  and  Zilpah,  his 
wife,  who  died  March  2,  1804,  in  the  25th  year  of  her 
age. 

No.  141.— Caleb  Wright,  died  Nov.  21,  1869,  aged 
75  years  and  9  months. 

No.  142. — Sarah,  wife  of  Caleb  Wright,  died  Nov. 
16,  1838,  aged  42. 

No.  143.— Betsey  P.,  wife  of  Charles  Wright,  died 
Dec.  20,  1858,  aged  39. 

The  Old  Graveyard  ox  West  Hill. — 
This  graveyard  is  just  off  the  road  that  leads  to 
Westmoreland,  near  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Foster's 
farm.  Probably  nine-tenths  of  the  people  in 
town  are  not  aware  that  there  is  such  a 
graveyard  in  Keene ;  but  those  of  us  who  have 
always  lived  here  and  have  seen  fifty  winters  or 
mi  >re,  will,,  as  we  read  the  inscriptions  on  these 
monuments,  have  many  of  the  old  faces  brought 
before  us  again.  The  most  ancient  monument 
in  this  yard  is  dated  1798;  the  latest,  1868. 
There  are  thirty-eight  monuments  in  good 
condition  ;  there  arc  two  others  whose  in- 
scriptions are  illegible,  and  quite  a  number 
of  graves  arc  marked  with  a  granite  head- 
stone with  no  inscription.  On  the  thirty- 
eight  monuments  I  find  only  five  died  under 
the  age  of  five  years  ;  two  between  twenty  and 
forty;  four  between  forty  and  fifty;  thirteen 
between  fifty  and  seventy ;  seven  between  sev- 
enty and  ninety  ;  and  one  lived  to  the  great  age 
of  ninety-two,  showing  conclusively  that  the 
west  side  of  the  Ashuelot  River  is  the  healthiest 
part  of  Keene.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
inscriptions  upon  the  tombstones: 

No.  1. — Horatio  S.  Black,  died  Nov.  14,  1841,  aged 
3  years  and  2  days.  Charles  H.,  died  July  6,  1841, 
aged  6  weeks.  Sebrina  J.,  died  June  1,  1840 ;  chil- 
dren of  S.  and  M.  L.  Black. 

.No.  2. — Emma  A.,  daughter  of  8.  and  M.  L.  Black, 
died  Sept.  27,  1863,  aged  2  years  10  months  and  10 
days. 

"  Our  little  prattling  Emma, 
Our  loved  and  cherished  one, 
Went  home  to  dwell  with  Jesus 
At  the  setting  of  the  sun.'' 


No.  3. — In  memory  of  John  Balch,  who  died  March 

15,  1824,  aged  66.     A  Bevolutionary  soldier. 

No.  4. — Lucy,  wife  of  John  Balch,  died  June  5, 
1831,  aged  69. 

No.  5. — Andrew  Balch,  died  May  26, 1845,  aged  58. 

No.  6.— Olive  A.  F.,  died  July  23,  1822,  aged  11 
months.  Philinda,  died  Sept.  3, 1826,  aged  15  months  ; 
daughters  of  Andrew  and  Louisa  Balch. 

No.  7. — In  memory  of  Roslinda  Balch,  who  died 
Aug.  23,  1824,  aged  23. 

"  That  once  loved  form  now  cold  and  dead, 
Each  mournful  thought  employ.'' 

No.  8. — Balcarras  Craig,  died  May  6,  1850,  aged  63. 
No.  9. — Betsy,  wife  of  Balcarras  Craig,  died  Nov. 

16,  1863,  aged  80  years  and  6  months. 

No.  10. — Lizzianua,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Eliz- 
abeth Craige,  died  July  23,  1856,  aged  17  months  and 
2  days. 

"  Sleep  on,  sweet  babe,  and  take  thy  rest  ; 
God  called  thee  home  when  He  thought  best." 

No.  11.— William  Dickinson,  died  Jan.  20,  1847, 
aged  62. 

No.  12. — Roxsalana,  wife  of  William  Dickinson, 
died  Feb.  6,  1833,  aged  44  years. 

No.  13. — Francis,  son  of  Abraham  and  Mary  Dick- 
inson, died  March  28,  1847,  aged  18  years  and  8 
months. 

"  Beloved  in  life,  lamented  in  death." 

No.  14. — Emery  Dickinson,  died  Sept.  25,  1868, 
aged  57  years  and  9  months. 

No.  15. — In  memory  of  widow  Sarah  Eaton,  who 
died  Feb.  6,  1812,  in  the  24th  year  of  her  age. 

No.  16.— Thomas  Gurler,  died  Oct.  9,  1858,  aged  83. 

"  The  slumberer  shall  awake ;  the  unsealed  eye  see 
its  Redeemer,  and  although  the  worm  destroy  this 
body,  yet  the  dead  shall  rise  to  immortality." 

No.  17. — Susannah,  wife  of  Thomas  Gurler,  died 
Sept.  14,  1835,  aged  57. 

"  Blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

No.  18.— Granite  (stone),  1798. 

No.  19. — Sarah,  wife  of  John  T.  Harvy,  died  March 

16,  1853,  aged  48. 

No.  20. — Nabby,  wife  of  Isaac  Miller,  died  Aug. 

17,  1830,  aged  46. 

No.  21. — Joseph,  son  of  Alonzo  and  Crissana  May- 
nard,  died  May  8,  1838,  aged  3  years  and  6  months. 

No.  22. — Rufus  Henry,  son  of  Liberty  and  Clarrisa 
Page,  died  Dec.  26,  1856,  aged  17  years  7  months  and 
11  days. 

No.  23. — Martha  J.,  daughter  of  Liberty  and  Clar- 
risa Page,  died  Oct.  12,  1852,  aged  1  year  and  21  days. 

No.  24. — Simeon,  son  of  Liberty  and  Clarrisa  Page, 
died  March  11,  1838,  aged  6  months  and  13  days. 

No.  25. — In  memory  of  George,  son  of  Mr.  Levi 
and  Mrs.  Lucy  Pattridge,  who  died  January,  1803, 
aged  22  months. 


KEENE. 


81 


No.  26.— In  memory  of  Mrs.  Lydia  Pattridge,  who 
died  November,  1798,  aged  51. 

"  Virtue  now  receive  a  reward, 
And  every  grace  with  sweet  accord 
Shall  now  unite  to  praise  the  Lord, 
In  hallelujahs  to  our  God." 

No.  27.— Joseph  Sylvester,  died  Feb.  16, 1824,  aged 
80  years. 

No.  28.— Mahitable,  wife  of  Joseph  Sylvester,  died 
March  9,  1824,  aged  70  years. 

No.  29.— Dea.  Daniel  Snow,  died  May  15,  1806, 
aged  80  years. 

No.  30. — Abigail,  wife  of  Dea.  Daniel  Snow,  died 
March  29,  1805,  aged  75. 

No.  31. — Esther,  wife  of  Dea.  John  Snow,  died  Feb. 
20,  1820.  aged  51. 

No.  32.— Silas  Williams,  died  Oct.  21,  1829,  aged 
88  years.     Erected  by  their  daughter  Elizabeth. 

"  Gone  but  not  forgotten.'' 
No.   33. — Charity,  wife  of   Silas    Williams,    died 
March  26,  1859,  aged  92  years. 

"  Absent  but  dear." 
No.  34. — Esther  P.,  daughter  of  Jason  and  Sally 
Williams,  died  Sept.  17,  1830,  aged  4  years. 

No.  35. — Charles  E.,  son  of  Jason  and  Sally  Wil- 
liams, died  March  16,  1836,  aged  4  months  and  16 
days. 

No.  36. — Cynthia  Jane,  daughter  of  Jason  and 
Sally  Williams,  died  June  24,  1852,  aged  18  years  11 
months  aud  15  days. 

"  Dear  Cynthia,  we  loved  thee." 

No.  37.— Eliphalet  Wilber,  died  June  29,  1841, 
aged  57  years. 

"  My  children  dear,  as  you  draw  near, 
Your  father's  grave  you'll  see, 
Not  long  ago  I  was  with  you, 
But  soon  you'll  be  with  me." 

No.  38.— James  Wilson,  died  May  14,  1837,  aged  63 
years.  Rebecca,  wife  of  James  Wilson,  died'' June  26, 
1835,  aged  46  years. 

The  Old  Graveyard  at  Ash  Swamp. — 
At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  held  February  23, 
1  762,  it  was  voted  that  the  neck  of  land  where 
Isaac  Clark  and  Amos  Foster  were  buried  be 
appropriated  and  set  apart  for  a  burying-place 
for  the  town.  This  land  had  been  used  for  a 
burying-place  for  some  years  before  1762,  but 
at  this  time  it  was  set  apart  from  the  common 
land,  by  the  original  proprietors,  to  be  forever 
kept  as  a  burying-place.  Here  I  find  a  monu- 
ment erected  to  the  memory  of  Amos  Foster, 
who  died  in  March,  1761,  so  I  am  sure  this 
neck  of  land  is  the  one  meant  in  the  old  records, 


thus  conclusively  proving  this  to  be  the  oldest 
place  of  burial  in  town.  There  are  indica- 
tions to  show  that  there  have  been  buried  in 
this  old  burying-place  about  one  hundred ;  but 
to-day  there  are  but  eleven  monuments  to  be 
found,  and  on  some  of  these  the  inscriptions 
cannot  be  made  out,  and  in  a  few  short  years 
no  monument  will  be  left  in  this,  the  first  bury- 
ing-place of  the  fathers  of  Keene,  to  mark  the 
spot  where  their  bones  lie. 

Isaac  Clark  was  buried  in  this  burying-place, 
but  no  monument  marks  the  spot.  His  home 
stood  near  where  Mr.  Leonard  Wright  now 
lives.  Possibly  there  is  not  a  soul  now  living 
in  Keene  to-day  that  cares  a  straw  whether 
Isaac  Clark  ever  lived  or  died ;  but  let  us  see 
what  the  original  proprietors  of  the  town 
thought  of  him,  some  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
years  ago  (January  7,  1740).  They  voted  to 
make  such  grant  of  land  to  such  persons  as 
they  shall  think  desire  the  same,  for  hazarding 
their  lives  and  estate  by  living  here  to  bring 
forward  the  settling  of  the  place.  Under  this 
vote  Isaac  Clark  was  granted  ten  acres'  of  up- 
land. He  was  chosen  at  the  first  meeting  of 
the  proprietors,  held  on  the  first  Wednesday  of 
May,  1753,  to  survey  the  lands  and  run  the 
bounds.  (This  wTas  when  the  charter  of  the 
town  wyas  first  adopted.)  Isaac  Clark  died 
about  1761.  His  estate  was  settled  by  Ephraim 
Dorman,  the  man  that  called  the  first  legal 
town-meeting  Keene  ever  held.  Isaac  Clark 
once  owned  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Ash 
Swamp.  The  old  records  tell  us  that  he  was 
baptized  in  Boxford,  Mass.,  February  1,  1713; 
lived  in  Ashuelot  and  Keene,  N.  H.  His  will 
was  proved  March  25,  1761.  He  married 
Mary  Dorman,  daughter  of  Ephraim  Dorman, 
December  22,  1751.  She  died  before  1761. 
He  left  no  issue. 

In  1 746,  when  Isaac  Clark's  wife  was  a  girl, 
about  one  hundred  Indians  appeared  in  the  town 
and  killed  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  (this 
was  the  time  they  surrounded  Nathan  Blake's 
barn,  making  him  prisoner  and  taking  him  to 
Canada).  Mrs.  Clark  was  at  a  barn  some  fifty 
rods  distant ;  leaving  it,  she  espied  an  Indian 
near  her,  who  threw  away  his  gun  and  advanced 
to  make  her  his  prisoner,   thinking  it  an  easy 


82 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


task  to  catch  a  white  squaw.  She  gathered  up 
her  clothes  around  her  waist  and  started  for  the 
fort  (near  the  Dr.  Adams  place,  where  Mr. 
Lemuel  Hay  ward  now  lives).  She,  animated 
by  cheers  from  her  friends,  outran  her  pursuer, 
who  skulked  back  for  his  gun.  Isaac  Clark 
and  wife  were  buried  in  this  old  burying-place, 
but  in  what  grave  no  man  can  tell,  as  the  marble 
that  marked  the  spot  has  entirely  disappeared. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  inscriptions  on  all 
the  monuments  now  standing: 

No.  1. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Hannah,  wife  of  Mr. 
Royal  Blake,  who  Dec'd  Nov.  ye  21st,  1779,  aged  19 
years. 

No.  2. — In  memory  of  Joseph,  son  "of  Mr.  Royal 
Blake l  &  Mrs.  Hannah,  his  wife,  he  Dec'd  Nov.  ye 
7th,  aged  12  weeks. 

No.  3. — In  memory  of  Mrs.  Zipporah  Blake,  wife 
of  Doct.  Obadiak  Blake,  who  Dec'd  Feb.  25,  1785, 
aged  57  years.2 

1  Royal  Blake  was  a  member  of  the  foot  company,  1773. 
He  died  October  9,  1827,  aged  seventy-one,  and  was  buried 
in  the  old  yard  rear  the  Sawyer  place. 

2  Clement  Sumner  was  the  first  settled  gospel  minister 
of  the  town  (April  27,  1761).     Dr.  Obadiah  Blake  was  one 
of  the  committee  to  make  the  settlement.     This  committee 
was  voted  twelve  pounds,  lawful  money  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  for  the  trouble  and  charge  in  providing  for  the 
counsel  at  Mr.  Sumner's  ordination  ;   also  five  pounds  for 
paying  Mr.  Sumner  for  five  weeks'    preaching  before  his 
settlement.     It  was  voted  by  the  town  this  year  that  "  the 
Rev.    Mr.  Sumner's   salary  be  stated  on   commodities   as 
they  be  now,  and  so  from  year  to  year.     Commodities  as 
they  be  now  :  wheat  at  3s.  2\d.  sterling  per  bushel  ;  pork 
at  Zd.  per  pound  ;  beef  at  2d.  per  pound  ;  Indian  corn  at 
]  s.  8d.  per  bushel ;  rye  at  2s.    6d.  per  bushel;  labour  in 
the  summer  at  2s.  per  day."    This  was  afterwards  recorded 
upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Sumner  that  the  article  of  beef 
was  stated  above  the  market  price.     Dr.  Blake  was  one  of 
t lie  selectmen  in  1762;  he  also  belonged  to  the  alarm-list 
in  177o.      He  has  one  grandson  still   living, — Mr.    Cyrus 
Blake,  now  living  in  Newton,  Mass.,  an    old    man.     Justin 
D.  Blake,  of  Ash  Swamp,  Oscar  and  Orinan  Colony,  of  the 
Cheshire  Republican,  and  Joshua    D.   Blake,   of  Surry,  are 
great-  grandsons.     The  Blake  family  was  noted    for   their 
great  strength.     Joshua    D.    Colony    told    me  that  on  one 
occasion   his  father,   with  his    horse    and    wagon    loaded 
with  one  thousand  brick,  got  stuck  in  the  mini  near  where 
Deacon    Binney  used  to  live,  and  was  about   unloading, 
when  Royal  Blake  came  along  and   told  him   to  hold  on 
a  minute.      He   crawled  under  the  wagon  and,  putting  his 
shoulder  under  the   axle-tree,   told  Colony  when  he  heard 
the  old   wagon   crack   to   put  on  the  lick.     The  load  was 
lifted  and  he  drove  along.     He  was  also  known  to  take  a 
barrel  of  cider  out   of  his  cart  alone  and  carry  it  into  the 
cellar. 


No.  4.— Dea.  Simeon  Clark,1  died  9  Dec,  1793,  aged 
70. 

No.  5. — Unity  Durant,  Consort  of  Mr.  Joshua  Du- 
mmy2 died  29  Nov.,  1781,  aged  20. 

No.  6. — Here  lies  the  Body  of  Mr.  Naham,  who 
Dec'd  [the  rest  obliterated]. 

No.  7. — Ellis ,  Henry ,  Jedatiah  Foster  [the 

rest  gone]. 

No.  8. — Here  lies  buried  Mr.  Amos  Foster/  who 
Dec'd  March  the  22,  1761,  in  the  40th  year  of  his  age. 

No.  9.— My  Father. 

No.  10.— In  Memory  of  Mrs.  Hannah,  Wife  of  Mr. 
John  Grundy,  Jun'r,  who  Dec'd  Oct.  3,  1783,  in  ye  31 
year  of  her  age. 

"Here  lies  the  grief  of  a  fond  mother, 
She  was  a  dear  and  dutiful  daughter, 
A  kind  wife  and  a  tender  mother. 
Reader,  behold  as  you  pass  by, 
As  you  are  living,  once  was  I." 

No.  11. — In  memory  of  Mary,  Daughter  of  Jere- 
miah Stiles,  Esq.,4  &  Mrs.  Mary,  his  wife ;  she  Dec'd 
April  ye  17,  1781,  aged  1  Day. 

i  He  belonged  to  the  foot  company,  1773.  In  1778  was 
paid  £2  2s.  Ad.,  balance  for  serving  in  the  late  war. 

2  He  lived  on  the  Baker  place,  Ash  Swamp.  Our  Mr. 
Joshua  D.  Colony  was  named  after  Mr.  Joshua  Durant, 
and  to  show  that  it  meant  something  in  those  days,  the 
boy  was  presented  with  a  fine  wool  sheep. 

3  Amos  Foster  left,  by  will,  one-half  of  his  property  to 
the  town.  The  value  of  the  legacy  is  not  known  ;  but,  in 
August,  1702,  the  town  voted  that  Mr.  Sumner's  settlement 
and  his  salary  for  the  first  year  should  be  paid  from  this 
fund. 

4  Jeremiah  Stiles  was  the  writer's  great-grandfather.  He 
was  a  man  whom  the  town  of  Keene  delighted  to  honor, 
for  he  was  in  some  office  in  the  town  from  February  15, 
1769,  until  his  death,  December  6,  1800 — more  than  thirty 
years.  He  lived  on  the  corner  of  Cross  and  Washington 
Streets,  where  Mr.  Clark's  house  now  stands.  He  be- 
longed to  the  foot  company  in  1773,  to  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  1776,  was  a  representative  of  the  town,  delegate  to 
the  Constitutional  Convention  held  at  Concord,  1778,  se- 
lectman, town  clerk,  assessor,  petit  and  grand  juryman, 
moderator  in  town-meeting,  one  of  the  committee  to  ar- 
range for  the  settlement  of  the  Rev.  Aaron  Hall,  and  a 
subscriber  to  the  fund  to  purchase  the  first  town-clock 
ever  in  Keene,  in  1797.  He  and  his  good  wife,  Mary, 
were  buried  in  the  old  graveyard  on  Washington  Street. 
Now  will  the  present  generation  consent  to  have  that  neck 
of  land  set  apart  by  the  first  settlers  for  a  place  to  bury 
their  dead  be  plowed  up  and  planted,  as  was  the  case  of 
the  old  yard  on  the  Robinson  farm  ?  I  can't  yet  quite  be- 
lieve it,  but  time  will  tell. 

The  town  voted,  March  3,  1780,  to  fence  the  several 
burying-places  in  the  town  and  draw  a  committee  of  four 
for  that  purpose,  who  are  hereby  authorized  to  call  on  their 
neighbors  to  turn  out  and  do  said  work  without  any  cost  or 
charge  to  the  town.   Chose  Major Willard,  .Michael  Metcalf, 


KEENE. 


83 


CHAPTER    VI. 

KEENE— ( Continued). 
BANKING  INTEREST. 

The  Cheshire  National  Bank— The  Ashuelot  National  Bank 
—The  Keene  National  Bank— The  Citizens'  National  Bank 
—The  Cheshire  Provident  Institution  for  Savings— The 
Keene  Five-Cent  Savings-Bank— Keene  Guarantee  Sav- 
ings-Bank. 

The  Cheshire  Bank  was  chartered  with  a 
capital   of    $100,000,    by   the   State   of    New 
Hampshire,  in    1803,  for   a   period   of  twenty 
years,  or  till   1824;  then  till  1844,  and  again 
till  1864,  inclusive.     The  original  corporators 
were  Judge  Daniel  Newcomb,  Noah  Cooke,  Esq., 
and   Elijah     Dunbar,    Esq.       John   G.    Bond, 
Judge  Newcomb's  son-in-law,  procured  most  of 
the  stock  subscriptions,  among  which  are   the 
names  of  Samuel  and  Nathan  Appleton,  Eben 
Francis,  Stephen  Salsbury,  John  Bellows,  Josiah 
Knapp  and  several  others  of  Boston,   Daniel 
Newcomb,  John    G.    Bond,  William   Lamson, 
Moses   Johnson,  Alexander   Ralston,  Stephen 
Harriugton,  Eben    Stearns,    Joseph   Hayward 
and  Foster  and  Luther  Alexander,  of  Cheshire 
County,  with  fifty-five  others  on  the  list. 

The  first  building  for  the  bank  was  of  brick, 
two  stories  high,  and  was  taken  down  in  1847 
to  make  way  for   the  Cheshire  Railroad's  pas- 
senger station.     Daniel  Newcomb  was  president 
from  1804  to  1811,  when  he  resigned,  and  in 
the  "  war  period,"  soon  after,  the  bank  struggled 
against  insolvency  till    November,  1813,  when 
Samuel  Grant  was  chosen  president  and  Na- 
thaniel  Dana  cashier,  in  place   of  Arba   Cady 
(who  was  elected  February,  1806,  and  whose 
predecessor  was  E.  Dunbar),  and  a  revival  of 
credit  and  business  secured.     Mr.   Grant  was 
president  till  July,  1829,  and  Salma  Hale,  his 
successor,  till  March,  1842,  at  which  time  Levi 
Chamberlain    was    made   president,    and    steps 
were  taken    to   reorganize  the  bank  under  its 
amended  charter,  available  from  1844  to  1864, 
inclusive.     In  this  reorganization  John  Elliot 


Levi  Pattridge  and  Captain  John  Houghton."  A  vote  was 
passed,  August  27,  1792,  to  fence  the  several  burying- 
grounds  ;  also,  in  March,  1795,  and  July  25, 1795,  the  town 
was  divided  into  districts  for  burying  their  dead. 


was  chosen  president;  was  succeeded  in  1856 
by  Levi  Chamberlain  and  in  1861  by  John 
Henry  Elliot,  under  whom,  at  the  expiration  of 
its  charter,  the  bank  was  made  national,  with  a 
capital  of  $200,000.  James  Henry  Williams 
was  cashier  from  1841  to  1847,  then  Zebina 
Newell  till  1855,  then  Royal  H.  Porter,  when 
the  bank's  State  charter  expired.  He  continues 
to  be  cashier  at  this  writing,  with  John  Henry 
Elliot  as  president.  The  bank's  present  granite 
building  was  erected  in  1847,  and  has  all  the 
modern  defenses  against  invasion. 

The  Ashuelot  Bank,  of  Keene,  was  incor- 
porated January  2,  1833,  with  a  charter  for 
twenty  years,  and  commenced  business  early  in 
that  year.  The  corporators  named  in  the  charter 
were  John  H.  Fuller,  Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr.. 
Phineas  Fisk,  John  Elliot  and  Justus  Perry, 
and  the  first  meeting  was  held  at  Stephen  Har- 
rington's hotel  on  February  19,  1833,  when 
forty-rive  additional  members  were  admitted  to 
the  corporation,  making  in  all  fifty. 

The  present  banking-house  was  built  in 
1833,  under  the  direction  of  John  Elliot,  at  a 
cost  of  $2998.24. 

The  first  board  of  directors  were  Samuel 
Dinsmoor,  John  H.  Fuller,  Thomas  M.  Ed- 
wards, William  Buffum,  George  S.  Root,  Phin- 
eas Handerson  and  Benjamin  F.  Adams,  the 
last-named  being  the  only  surviving  member. 

The  first  president  was  Samuel  Dinsmoor, 
who  served  until  his  death,  in  1835.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr., 
who  was  continued  in  the  office  until  he  resigned, 
in  1853. 

Thomas  M.  Edwards  was  chosen  president  in 
1853,  and  held  the  office  till  elected  to  Congress, 
in  1859,  when  he  resigned,  and  William  Dins- 
moor succeeded  him,  and  was  annually  re-elected 
until  his  resignation,  in  1869,  when  Mr.  Ed- 
wards was  again  chosen,  and  held  the  office  till 
his  death,  in  1875.  George  A.  Wheelock  was 
appointed  president  upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Edwards,  in  1875,  and  has  been  annually  re- 
elected since. 

Two  Governors  of  the  State  and  one  Repre- 
sentative in  Congress  are  among  the  foregoing 
list  of  presidents  of  this  bank. 

Samuel    Dinsmoor,  Jr.,    was    cashier    from 


84 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


March,  1833,  to  June,  1835;  Henry  Seymour, 
from  June,  1835,  to  August,  1836  ;  Thomas  H. 
Leverett,  from  August,  183(3,  to  June,  1869; 
and  Henry  O.  Coolidge,  from  June,  1869,  to 
the  present  time. 

The  hank  was  rechartered  December  1 7, 
1852,  and  was  converted  into  a  national  organi- 
zation February  17,  1865,  under  the  name  of 
"  The  Ashuelot  National  Bank  of  Keene,"  and 
its  corporate  existence  has  been  extended  to 
February  17,  1905. 

The  original  capital  was  $100,000.  In  July, 
1875,  it  was  increased  to  $150,000. 

The  present  board  of  directors  consist  of 
George  A.  Wheelock  (president),  Caleb  T.  Buf- 
fum,  Charles  J.  Amidon,  John  M.  Parker,  Al- 
fred T.  Batchelder,  Henry  O.  Coolidge  and 
Christopher  Robb. 

Keene  National  Bank. — The  Cheshire 
County  Bank  was  organized  August  11,  1855. 
First  Board  of  Directors,  Zebina  Newell,  George 
Huntington,  William  Haile,  Frederick  Vose, 
Amos  A.  Parker,  Lawson  Robertson  and  Har- 
vey A.  Bill ;  Presidents,  Zebina  Newell,  Fred- 
erick Vose,  Edward  Joslin  ;  Cashiers,  George 
\Y.  I'il den  and  J.  R.  Beal. 

Mr.  Xewcll  held  the  office  of  president  from 
organization  till  his  death,  March  29,  1858. 
Succeeded  by  Frederick  Vose,  who  held  the  office 
till  his  death,  November  24,  1871.  Succeeded 
by  Edwin  Joslin,  the  present  incumbent. 

George  W.  Tilden  held  the  office  of  cashier 
from  first  organization  till  his  death,  February 
8,  1879.  Succeeded  by  J.  R.  Beal,  the  present 
incumbent.  It  was  organized  as  a  national 
bank  February  7,  1865. 

First  board  of  directors:  Frederick  Vose, 
John  Bowker,  Edward  Joslin,  Amos  F.  Fiske, 
Reuben  Stewart  and  Horatio  Kimball. 

Original  capital,  8100,000;  present  capital, 
the  same. 

Present  board  of  directors:  Edward  Joslin, 
John  Bowker,  Elisha  F.  Lane,  Josiah  G.  Bel- 
lows and  Alfred  T.  Batchelder. 

This  bank  occupies  its  own  banking-house, 
having  purchased  the  building  of  Henry  Pond 
when  the  Cheshire  County  Bank  was  organized  ; 
rearranged  and  made  substantial  improvements 
to  the  building  during  the  year  1883. 


Citizens'  National  Bank  was  incorporated 

September  18,  1875,  and  commenced  business 
October  1,  1875,  No.  2299,  with  a  capital  of 
SI  00,000. 

The  first  board  of  directors  were  William 
Haile,  Henry  Colony,  Stephen  D.  Osborne, 
Caleb  T.  BufFum,  James  Burnap,  Samuel  W. 
Hale  and  Daniel  W.  Tenney  ;  President, 
Stephen  D.  Osborne;  Cashier,  Obed  G. 
Dort. 

In  January,  L878,  Obed  G.  Dort  was  elected 
president  and  Henry  S.  Martin  cashier,  and 
continued  in  office  until  the  present  (1885). 
Present  capital,  $100,000;  surplus,  $25,000. 

Present  officers:  Obed  G.  Dort,  president; 
H.S.Martin,  cashier;  Obed  (i.  Dort,  James 
Burnap,  John  Symonds,  Elijah  Boyden,  Sam- 
uel W.  Hale,'  Clark  N.  Chandler  and  William 
P.  Chamberlain,  directors. 

Cheshire  Provident  Institution  for 
SAVINGS  was  chartered  in  July,  1  S3:'),  and 
organized  August  13,  1833.  The  incor- 
porators were  Thomas  Bellows,  Samuel 
Grant,  John  Wood,  Salma  Hale,  Eliphalet 
Briggs,  Justus  Perry,  Aaron  Hall,  Levi  Cham- 
berlain, Azel  Wilder,  Abijah  Wilder,  >h\,  John 
Elliot,  Oliver  Holman,  J.  Colony,  Amos 
Twitchell,  Charles G.  Adams,  Levi  W.Leonard, 
John  H.  Steele,  James  Walker,  Azel  Hatch, 
Walter  Tufts,  Joseph  Weeks,  Larkin  Baker, 
Elijah  Carpenter,  Levi  Blake,  Abner  Boyden, 
William  S.  Brooks  and  George  Tilden. 

The  first  officers  were  Amos  Twitchell,  presi- 
dent ;  Justus  Perry,  first  vice-president;  Abijah 
Wilder,  Jr.,  second  vice-president  ;  George  Til- 
den, secretary  and  treasurer. 

First  trustees:  Salma  Hale,  John  Wood, 
Levi  Chamberlain,  Larkin  Baker,  John  Elliot, 
Phinehas  Fisk,  Azel  Wilder,  Walter  Tufts, 
Levi  Blake,  Levi  W.  Leonard,  Timothy  Hall, 
Samuel  Wood,  Jr.,  Oliver  Holman,  Thomas  M. 
Edwards  and  Eliphalet  Briggs. 

Board  of  investment  :  Justus  Perry,  John 
Elliot,  Samuel  Wood,  Jr.,  Azel  Wilder  and 
Levi  Chamberlain. 

The  first  deposit  was  made  September  10, 
L833,  by  Ashley  Spaulding;  amount,  $100. 

The  following  is  a  lisl  of  the  presidents  from 
is:;:;  to  L885:  Dr.  Amos  Twitchell,  from  1833 


KEENE. 


85 


to  1858,  deceased;  Hon.  Salma  Hale,  from 
1853  to  1856,  resigned ;  Hon.  Levi  Chamber- 
lain, from  1856  to  1867,  deceased;  Hon.  Sam- 
uel Dinsmoor,  from  1867  to  1870,  deceased; 
Hon.  William  P.  Wheeler,  from  1870  to  1877, 
deceased ;  Hon.  Francis  A.  Faulkner,  Esq.,  from 
1877  to  1880,  deceased ;  George  Tilden,  from 
1880  to  1883,  resigned;  Edward  C.  Thayer, 
from  1883  to  1885,  resigned ;  George  A. 
Wheelock,  from  1885 — present  incumbent.  The 
secretary  and  treasurers  :  George  Tilden,  from 
1833  to  1880;  Oscar  G.  Nims,  from  1880— 
present  incumbent. 

The  officers  for  1885  are  George  A.  Wheelock, 
president ;  A.  T.  Batchelder,  William  S.  Briggs, 
vice-presidents ;  O.  G.  Nims,  secretary  and 
treasurer ;  Trustees,  John  Henry  Elliot,  Henry 
C.  Piper,  R.  H.  Porter,  Edward  Farrar,  F.  C. 
Faulkner,  J.  R.  Beal,  George  W.  Stearns,  C.  J. 
Amidon,  Barrett  Ripley,  J.  G.  Bellows,  George 
H.  Tilden,  Silas  Hardy,  Reuben  Stewart,  F.  H. 
Kingsbury  and  Frederick  A.  Faulkner ;  Board 
of  Investment,  A.  T.  Batchelder,  Barrett  Rip- 
ley, R.  H.  Porter,  J.  R.  Beal,  Reuben  Stewart  ; 
Auditors,  J.  R.  Beal,  William  S.  Briggs,  George 
H.  Tilden,  F.  C.  Faulkner  and  Silas  Hardy. 

The  Keenb  Five-Cents  Savings-Bank 
was  incorporated  in  1868.  The  incorporators 
were  as  follows  :  John  H.  Fuller,  Allen  Giffin, 
Edward  Joslin,  John  Grimes,  Caleb  T.  Buffum, 
George  Holmes,  Dauphlin  W.  Buckminster, 
Samuel  O.  Gates,  George  W.  Ball  and  Samuel 
Woodward. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  were  Edward  Jos- 
lin, John  Bowker,  George  W.  Ball,Xaleb  T. 
Buffum,  D.  W.  Buckminster,  Clark  F.  Rowell, 
John  Humphrey,  George  Holmes,  Wm.  Haile, 
O.  Sprague,  Elijah  Boyden,  Henry  Colony,  F. 
Vose,  H.  O.  Coolidge  and  P.  Batcheller. 

The  first  officers  were  John  H.  Fuller,  presi- 
dent ;  Samuel  Woodward  and  Farnum  F.  Lane, 
vice-presidents  ;  O.  G.  Dort,  treasurer. 

The  presidents  have  been  John  H.  Fuller,  Far- 
num F.  Lane,  Samuel  Woodward,  Henry 
Colony  and  C.  T.  Buffum  ;  Treasurers,  O.  G. 
Dort  and  G.  A.  Litchfield. 

First  deposit  made  by  Nellie  I.  Rowell,  Jan- 
uary 1,  1869  ;  amount  $10.  The  present  deposits 
amount  to  81,800,000. 


The  officers  for  1885  are  C.  T.  Buffum, 
president ;  Edward  Joslin,  Elijah  Boyden,  vice- 
presidents  ;  G.  A.  Litchfield,  secretary  and 
treasurer ;  Trustees,  F.  A.  Perry,  George  AW 
Ball,  H.  O.  Coolidge,  Clark  R  Rowell,  John 
Humphrey,  Don  H.  Woodward,  N.  O.  Way- 
ward, John  O.  Jones,  John  B.  Fisk,  Obadiah 
Sprague,  Elbridge  Clarke,  F.  E.  Keyes,  Hiram 
Blake,  Joseph  B.  Abbott  and  George  C. 
Hubbard  ;  Board  of  Investment,  C.  T.  Buffum, 
Edward  Joslin,  F.  A.  Perry,  J.  O.  Coolidge 
and  Hiram  Blake. 

Keexe  Guaranty  Savixgs-Baxk  -was 
incorporated  in  1883,  with  a  guaranty  fund  of 
$50,000.  Farnum  F.  Lane,  James  Burnap, 
Henry  Colony,  John  Symonds,  Obed  G.  Dort, 
John  E.  Colony,  John  S.  Collins,  Charles  L. 
Russell  and  Asa  C.  Dort,  incorporators. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  was  composed  of 
Henry  Colony,  Obed  G.  Dort,  Horatio  Colony, 
Samuel  W.  Haile,  Farnum  F.  Lane,  George  E. 
Colbrook,  Clark  X.  Chandler,  James  Burnap, 
John  S.  Collins  and  George  G.  Davis. 

The  first  president  was  J.  Burnap  ;  treasurer, 
O.  G.  Dort. 

The  officers  for  1885  are  :  President,  J.  Bur- 
nap ;  Treasurer,  O.  G.  Dort ;  Trustees,  James 
Burnap,  John  S.  Collins,  Horatio  Colony, 
(lark  X.  Chandler,  William  P.  Chamberlain, 
Charles  H.  Hersey,  Obed  G.  Dort,  George  G. 
Davis,  George  E.  Holbrook  and  Silas  M.  Dins- 
moor  ;  Board  of  Investment,  J.  Burnap,  O.  G. 
Dort,  William  P.  Chamberlain,  C.  X.  Chan- 
dler and  S.  M.  Dinsmoor. 

The  first  deposit  was  made  October  1,  1883, 
amount,  825.  Present  amount  of  deposits, 
^225,000.  Xumber  of  open  accounts,  six  hun- 
dred.    Deposits  average  $375  each. 

This  bank  was  incorporated  and  organized 
on  the  new  guaranty  plan,  the  fourth  of  its 
kind  in  the  States.  A  capital  of  850,000 
was  subscribed  and  paid  in,  to  be  held  as  a 
special  guaranty,  that  depositors  should 
receive  the  principal  which  they  deposited 
and  the  interest  wluch  the  bank  agrees  to  pay, 
the  losses  being  chargeable  to  the  guaranty  fund. 

And  as  the  deposits  increase,  the  guaranty  fund 
must  be  increased,  and  never  fall  below  ten"  per 
cent,  of  the  general  deposits. 


86 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  management  of  the  bank  is  wholly  in  the 

hands  of  the  owners  of  the  guaranty  fund  (sub- 
ject to  the  banking  laws  of  the  State),  and  every 
officer   must  be  a  contributor  to  the  said  fund. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

KEENE — (Continued). 

EDUCATIONAL. 

First  Vote  Concerning  Schools — Judge  Daniel  Newcomb's 
Private  School— The  High  School  of  1828— Teachers' 
Institute — Catharine  Fiske's  Female  Seminary — The 
Eeene  Academy — The  Academy  and  District  Troubles — 
The  High  School. 

The  first  reference  to  educational  matters 
found  on  the  old  town  records  is  under  date  of 
1764,  when  the  town  voted  six  pounds  sterling 
to  defray  the  charges  of  a  school,  and  in  1766 
it  is  "  Voted  that  the  security  for  the  money 
given  to  the  town  by  Captain  Nathaniel  Fair- 
banks, deceased,  the  interest  of  which  was  for 
the  use  of  a  school  in  this  town,  be  delivered  to 
the  care  of  the  town  treasurer  and  his  successors 
in  office  for  the  time  being." 

Judge  Daniel  Newcomb  is  credited  by  Josiah 
J*.  Cooke,  Esq.,  in  Hale's  "  Annals,"  with  having 
founded  a  private  school  about  1793,  mainly  at 
his    own    expense,   and    as   the   best    friend    of 
"  good  learning  "  that  the  town  had. 

"In  1821  the  town  records  state  that  it  is 
voted  that  the  town  will,  at  their  annual  meet- 
ing, in  each  year,  choose  five  or  more  suitable 
persons  to  constitute  a  committee  of  examina- 
tion, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  those 
persons  who  shall  oner  themselves  as  instructors 
of  the  public  schools  within  the  town;  and  in 
1823  it  is  voted  that  Zedekiah  S.  Barstow, 
Aaron  Appleton,  .John  Elliot,  John  Prentiss 
and  Thomas  M.  Edwards  be  a  committee  to 
examine  teachers,  agreeably  to  the  vote  of  the 
town." 

In  1828  we  find,  from  the  town  records,  that 
there  was  an  endeavor  to  establish  a  High 
School,  Rev.  Z.  S.  Barstow,  Rev.  Thomas  Rus- 
sell Sullivan,  pastor  of  the  Keene  Congrega- 
tional (Unitarian)  Society,  General  Justus 
Perry,  Aaron  Hall  (son  of  the  deceased  minister 


of  that  name)  and  Azel  Wilder  being  a  com- 
mittee on  that  subject.  It  was  also  "  Voted 
that  the  instructor  of  this  school  shall  not  en- 
deavor to  inculcate,  in  school,  doctrines  peculiar 
to  any  one  religious  sect,  nor  distribute  to  his 
scholars  any  religious  publication."  It  was 
agreed  that  "  the  school  might  be  kept  during 
the  first  year,  seven,  and  during  the  second 
year,  eight  months,  which,"  it  was  urged,  "  is 
at  least  three  and  four  months  longer  than  a 
school  has  usually  been  kept  by  a  master."  It 
appears  from  minutes  kept  by  the  late  Dr.  Bar- 
stow, secretary,  that  after  two  or  three  months 
spent  in  writing  to  the  presidents  of  Dartmouth, 
Amherst,  Middlebury  and  Yale  Colleges,  Mr. 
Edward  E.  Eels,  a  graduate  of  Middlebury 
College,  was  engaged  as  High  School  teacher 
for  two  months,  at  twenty-five  dollars  a  month, 
independent  of  board.  His  term  expired 
January  29,  1829.  Subsequently,  Mr.  A.  II. 
Bennett  was  the  instructor  for  three  months, 
"at  forty  dollars  a  month,  including  board." 

In  1845,  and  for  a  short  time  previous,  a 
Teachers'  Institute  was  established  in  the 
county  by  private  subscription. 

On  March  12,  1850,  Keene  voted  seventy- 
five  dollars  for  a  Teachers'  Institute,  on  condi- 
tion of  the  co-operation  of  other  towns  in  the 
county. 

Reference  to  educational  matters  in  Keene 
would  be  incomplete  which  did  not  chronicle 
the  "School  for  Young  Ladies  and  Misses,"  in 
which,  under  date  of  1817,  Miss  Fiske  and 
Miss  Sprague  advertise  that  they  shall  "pay  all 
possible  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the 
manners,  morals  and  minds  of  their  pupils." 

April  11,  1811,  Miss  Catharine  Fiske  began 
her  school  in  Keene,  known  as  ''The  Female 
Seminary,"  conducting  it  for  twenty-three  years, 
with  signal  success,  until  her  death,  1837.  Miss 
Fiske  had  been  engaged  in  teaching  for  fifteen 
years  before  coming  to  Keene.  Rev.  Dr.Barstow, 
in  an  obituary  sketch,  published  in  the  Boston 
Recorder  for  September  1,  1837,  estimates  that 
during  the  thirty-eight  years  of  her  service, 
more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  pupils 
came  under  her  care.  He  commends  especially 
"  her  tact  in  eliciting  the  dormant  energies  of 
some  minds,  and  the  stimulus  afforded  to  those 


KEENE. 


87 


that  were  apt  to  learn."  Afterwards  the  late 
Mrs.  Stewart  Hastings  and  Miss  Barnes,  later 
Mrs.  T.  H.  Leverett,  were  among  the  teachers 
associated  with  Miss  Fiske  in  her  school.  Miss 
Withington  conducted  it  for  a  while  after  Miss 
Fiske's  decease. 

Keene  Academy. — In  the  year  1835  a 
movement  was  started  for  the  founding  of  an 
academy  in  the  town,  and  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Eliphalet  Briggs,  William  Lamson  and 
Samuel  A.  Gerould  were  chosen  to  select  a  site 
and  draft  a  plan  for  building.  A  subscription 
paper  was  circulated  and  one  hundred  and  one 
subscribers  were  obtained.  The  site,  corner 
Winter  and  Middle  Streets,  was  selected,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1836  the  building  was  completed. 
The  academy  was  dedicated  on  Christmas  eve, 
1836,  and  opened  early  in  1837. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  were  Joel  Parker, 
Amos  Mitchell,  Zedekiah  S.  Barstow,  Abial  A. 
Livermore,  James  Wilson,  Aaron  Hall,  Azal 
Wilder,  William  Lamson,  Elijah  Parker  and 
Eliphalet  Briggs,  of  Keene ;  John  Sabin,  of 
Fitzwilliam ;  Elisha  Rockwood,  of  Swanzey  ; 
Alanson  Rawson,  of  Roxbury;  Larkin  Baker, 
of  Westmoreland ;  and  Pliny  Jewell,  of  Win- 
chester. 

The  lot  was  deeded  to  the  trustees  by  Abijah 
Wilder,  May  24,  1839,  and  the  papers  were 
drawn  under  the  direction  of  Joel  Parker. 

The  academy  was  understood  to  be  an  ortho- 
dox institution.  Article  5th  of  the  trust  deed 
says,  "  The  Trustees  shall  neither  elect  nor 
employ  any  person  as  Principal  of  said  Acad- 
emy who  is  not  a  professor  of  religion  in  an 
Orthodox  Congregational  or  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  who  does  not  hold  in  substance 
the  faith  now  held  and  maintained  by  the 
church  of  the  First  Congregational  Society  of 
Keene."  It  was  also  further  stated  that  "  The 
basement  be  used  for  a  chapel  by  the  First 
Congregational  Church  in  Keene,  and  for  no 
other  purpose,  they  keeping  it  in  repair.  Also, 
the  attic  story  for  a  singing  hall  for  the  church 
of  said  society,  they  keeping  it  in  repair." J 

The    first  principal  of  the  academy  was  Mr. 

i  It  may  be  well  enough  to  state,  however,  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  subscriptions  to  build  the  academy  came 
from  the  members  of  the  Congregational  Church. 


Breed  Batchelder,  assisted  by  Miss  Mary  E. 
Parker  and  Miss  Leverett. 

Mr.  Batchelder  remained  until  the  spring  of 
1839. 

Mr.  Batchelder's  successors  were  as  follows  : 
Noah  Bishop,  from  the  spring  of  1839  till  the 
close  of  1840  ;  Abraham  Jenkins,  till  the  spring 
of  1841  ;  Mrs.  A.  E.  P.  Perkins,  till  the  autumn 
of  1844  ;  Seneca  Cummings,  from  the  fall  of 

1844  to  the  spring  of  1845  ;  Miss  L.  H.  Kim- 
ball, from  the  spring  of  1845   to   the  fall  of 

1845  ;  K  G.  Clark,  from  the  fall  of  1845  to 
the  spring  of  1847  ;  Wm.  W.  Blodgett,  from 
1847  till  the  spring  of  1848;  Mr.  Woodworth, 
from  1848  to  1850 ;  Wm.  Torrance,  from  1850 
to  1853,  being  the  last  principal  of  the  Keene 
Academy.  Mr.  Torrance  was  highly  respected. 
He  died  here  February  3,  1855,  aged  thirty- 
nine  years. 

The  erection  of  the  academy  buildings  en- 
tailed a  larger  expense  than  was  originally  an- 
ticipated (three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars), 
and  the  amount  required  (one  thousand  dol- 
lars) was  borrowed  on  the  notes  of  Elijah 
Parker,  Aaron  Hall  and  Eliphalet  Briggs,  and 
the  amount,  with  interest,  was  paid  from  the 
estates  of  these  gentlemen  by  their  administra- 
tors. Mr.  Timothy  Hall  presented  the  academy 
a  bell,  and  also  the  blinds  of  the  building,  and 
Mr.  Eliphalet  Briggs  presented  a  set  of  globes, 
valued  at  one  hundred  dollars. 

In  the  spring  of  1853  a  committee  of  the 
associated  school  districts  proposed  to  purchase 
the  property  for  a  High  School.  The  first  meet- 
ing of  the  trustees,  to  consider  the  proposition, 
was  held  at  the  academy  April  28,  1853.  Pres- 
ent— S.  Hastings,  William  Lamson,  Charles 
Lamson,  Eliphalet  Briggs,  Daniel  Aikens  and 
Levi  Chamberlain.  At  a  subsequent  meeting, 
held  June  13,  1853,  it  was  voted  to  lease  the 
property  to  the  districts  for  ten  years,  at  an 
annual  rent  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  the 
first  three  years'  rent  to  be  expended  in  repairs 
on  the  buildings.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
lease  it  was  renewed  for  three  years,  at  three 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  first  two,  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  third  year. 

December  19,  1866,  a  committee,  appointed 
by  the  districts,  was  chosen  to  select  a  lot  for  a 


88 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


High  School  building,  and  the  academy  lot  was 
decided  upon;  and  eight  days  later,  December 
27th,  they  made  application  to  buyj  the  trustees, 
however,  refused  to  sell,  claiming  they  had  no 
authority.  January  10,  1867,  a  petition  Mas 
presented  to  the  selectmen  to  lay  out  the  lot, 
with  the  buildings,  for  the  use  of  the  High  School. 
The  trustees  protested  against  the  districts''  tak- 
ing the  property,  hut  on  the  30th  of  January, 
same  year,  the  selectmen  laid  out  the  lot,  for 
the  use  of  the  High  School,  and  awarded  six 
thousand  one  hundred  dollars  damages.  The 
sum  was  not  accepted,  and  the  trustees  applied  to 
the  Legislature,  at  the  June  session,  for  the  incor- 
poration   of  the    academy,  and   a    charter   was 


given. 


September  22,  1868,  the  subject  came  up  for 
hearing  before  .Fudge  J.  E.  Sargent,  referee,  witli 
Hon.  T.  M.  Edwards  for  plaintiffs  and  Hon. 
able  W.  V.  Wheeler  for  defendants  and  the 
decision  was  in  favor  of  the  High  School. 

The  present  officers  and  trustees  of  Keene 
Academy  arc  as  follows :  W.  S.  Briggs,  pres- 
ident ;  S.  S.  Wilkinson,  vice-president;  E,. 
H.  Porter,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  W.  S. 
Briggs,  R.  H.  Porter,  Solon  S.  Wilkinson,  Bar- 
rett Ripley,  George  E.  Holbrook,  Isaac  Rand, 
John  Humphrey,  Chas.Bridgman,  S.  G.  Griffin, 
S.  D.  Osborn,  Allan  Gerould,  Jr.,  Elisha  F. 
Lane,  S.  Hale,  A/.ro  B.  Skinner  and  I.  N. 
Spencer,  trustees. 

Amount  of  the  fund  April  1,  1885,  was, 
$22,731.36. 

The  High  School  opened  with  Mr.  Tor- 
rance a-  principal,  and  the  principals  from  that 
time  to  the  present  have  been  as  follows  :  ( 'has. 
E.  Bruce,  L.  W.  Buckingham,  A.  J.  Bur- 
bank,  S.  II.  Brackett, Hooper,  and  M..  A. 

Bailey  the  present  incumbent. 


CHAPTER.  VIII. 

KEENE— (Continued)- 

MISCKLLANEOUS. 

Masonic — Odd-Fellows — ( )t  her  Societies — Public  Library — 
The  Press — The  Sentinel — The  Cheshire  Republican — Tin- 
New  Falkland  Observer— Keene  in  1 S : ;  1 — Post-Office — 
Court-House — The  King's  Cannon — Manufacturing  In- 
terests— Members  of  Congress — Governors — War  of  the 
Rebellion— Soldiers'  Monument — Physicians — City  of 
Keene — First  Charter  Election — Officers  Elected — 
Mayors,  Aldermen,  Councilmen  and  Clerks  to  Present 
Time — Present  ( tfficers. 

Social    Friends   Lodge,   F.  and  A.  M. 

was  chartered  June  8th,  1825;  but  in  1827 
the  Morgan  troubles  begun  in  Western  New 
York,  resulting  in  a  strong  Anti-Masonic  party, 
which  spread  over  the  whole  northern  part  of 
the  country,  continuing  for  ten  years,  when  it 
ceased  to  exist.  During  this  time  Socia]  Friends 
Lodge,  with  most  of  the  other  lodges  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  wound  up  its  affairs  and 
ceased  to  exist. 

In  1855  a  few  brethren  having  the  interest  of 
the  craft  at  heart,  began  to  talk  up  the  matter 
of  reviving  Freemasonry  in  this  town  ;  so  they 
met  for  rehearsals  in  Deluge  Engine-House, 
oidy  one  of  them  being  able  to  answer  a  word 
of  the  lectures.  They  soon  applied  to  the  Grand 
Master  for  a  charter;  he  told  them  he  could  not 
give  them  a  charter,  because  there  was  one 
already  in  existence.  In  the  course  of*  time 
John  Prentiss  succeeded  in  finding  the  old 
charter  of  1825,  when  they  were  allowed  by  the 
( Irand  Lodge  to  go  to  work.  Accordingly,  the 
first  stated  communication  was  held  April  !>, 
1856,  in  Odd-Fellows'  Hall,  where  the  meetings 
continued  to  be  held  until  1860,  when  the  lodge 
leased  and  occupied  the  apartments  in  the  east 
end  of  St.  John's  building. 

In  1868  the  rooms  were  found  to  be  too 
small  for  the  growing  order  of  Freemasonry, 
when  the  building  was  enlarged,  and  the  lodge 
moved  into  a  larger  hall  in  the  west  end  of  the 
buildine,  using  the  old  hall  lor  an  armory  and 
banquel  hall. 

In  1869,  owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
order,  several  of  the  older  members,  thinking  it 
would  be  for  the  good  of  the  craft    to  start  an- 


KEENE. 


89 


other  lodge,  applied  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  a 
charter  was  granted  for  the  Lodge  of  the  Temple. 

In  1874  the  Masonic  apartments  in  St.  John's 
building  were  again  enlarged,  by  increasing  the 
size  of  the  lodge-room  and  adding  a  large  ban- 
quet hall  in  the  third  story  of  the  building. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Past  Masters  : 

A.  S.  Carpenter  was  elected  W.  Master  June  11, 
1856. 

Barrett  Ripley  was  elected  W.  Master  April  26, 
1858. 

A.  S.  Carpenter  was  elected  W.  Master  again  April 
11,  1859. 

E.  H.  Porter  was  elected  W.  Master  April  2,  1860. 
T.  J.  French  was  elected  W.  Master  April  22, 1861. 
Don  H.  Woodward  was  elected  W.  Master  April 

14,  1862. 

Edward  Gustine  was  elected  W.  Master  April  18, 
1864. 

S.  S.  Wilkinson  was  elected  W.  Master  April  10, 
1865. 

S.  A.  Carter  was  elected  W.  Master  April  23,  1866. 

Horatio  Colony  was  elected  W.  Master  April  15, 
1867. 

C.  S.  Coburn  was  elected  W.  Master  April  6,  1868. 

L.  J.  Tuttle  was  elected  W.  Master  April  11,  1870. 

0.  M.  Holton  was  elected  W.  Master  March  18, 
1872. 

F.  L.  Howe  was  elected  W.  Master  March  30, 1874. 
F.  K.  Burn  ham  was  elected  W.  Master  March  29, 

1875. 

H.  W.  Hubbard  was  elected  W.  Master  March  20, 
1876. 

Elisha  Ayer  was  elected  W.  Master  March  26, 1877. 

O.  M.  Holton  was  elected  W.  Master  again  March 
4,  1878. 

George  A.  Gordon  was  elected  W.  Master  March 
3,1879. 

S.  M.  Ray  was  elected  W.  Master  March  7,  1881. 

George  H.  Eames  was  elected  W.  Master  March  6, 
1882. 

George  G.  Dort  was  elected  W.  Master  March  2, 
1885. 

Lodge  of  the  Temple  received  a  dispen- 
sation April  I!,  1869,  from  the  Most  Worship- 
ful Grand  Master  Alexander  M.  Winn,  who 
appointed  Brother  A.  S.  Carpenter  the  first 
Master,  Brother  D.  W.  Buckminster  as  the  first 
Senior  Warden,  and  Brother  Edward  Farrar  as 
the  first  Junior  Warden.  This  new  lodge  was 
an  oflshoot  of  Social  Friends  Lodge.  But  little 
work  was  done  by  the  lodge  while  under  dis- 
pensation. At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  M. 
W  .  Grand  Lodge,  the  Juno  following,  a  petition 


was  presented  asking  the  Grand  Lodge  to  grant 
a  charter  to  this  new  lodge. 

There  was  opposition  from  some  members  of 
Social  Friends  Lodge  to  granting  this  charter, 
not  in  a  factious  spirit,  but  doubting  the  expe- 
diency or  necessity  of  another  lodge  at  Keene ; 
and  it  was  argued  with  considerable  force,  by 
some  Masons,  that  two  lodges  would  be  an  in- 
jury instead  of  a  benefit  to  Masonry. 

The  weight  of  the  evidence  presented  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  convinced  them  that  the  good  of 
Masonry  would  be  promoted  by  granting  a 
charter.  Therefore  a  charter  was  granted  to 
the  new  lodge,  to  be  called  The  Lodge  of  the 
Temple,  to  be  numbered  88  and  assigned  to 
District  No.  3.  Soon  after  the  formation  of 
Lodge  of  the  Temple  business  throughout  the 
country  became  prostrated,  and  the  effect  was 
such  that  very  few  petitions  were  presented  to 
the  lodge ;  under  the  circumstances,  the  lodge 
became  financially  embarrassed,  so  much  so  that 
its  future  life,  prosperity  and  usefulness  were 
anything  but  encouraging ;  but  by  strict  econ- 
omy during  the  prosperous  times  that  followed, 
the  lodge  is  now  placed  upon  a  solid  foundation 
financially,  having  a  membership  of  over 
ninety  and  every  indication  of  a  long  and  useful 
career.  The  relations  that  exist  between  Social 
Friends  Lodge  and  Lodge  of  the  Temple  are 
of  the  most  fraternal  and  pleasant  character, 
and  the  idea  that  two  lodges  are  not  needed  at 
Keene  has,  it  is  hoped,  long  since  passed  away. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Past  Masters  : 

A.  S.  Carpenter  was  appointed  W.  Master  April  6, 
1869. 

Thomas  E.  Hatch  was  elected  W.  Master  Decem- 
ber 25,  1869. 

Edward  Gustine  was  elected  W.  Master  April  5, 
1870. 

E.  E.  Lyman  was  elected  W.  Master  April  4, 1871. 
Francis  Brick  was  elected  W.  Master  April  1,  1878. 
Daniel   McGregor   was  elected  W.  Master  June  5, 

1875. 

John  G.  Stone  was  elected  W.  Master  April  4, 
1876. 

George  J.  Appleton  was  elected  W.  Master  April  3, 
1878. 

F.  H.  Whitcomb  was  elected  W.  Master  April  6, 
1880. 

George  W.  Flagg  was  elected  W.  Master  April  4, 
1882. 

O.  G.  Nims  was  elected  W.  Master  March  28,  1884. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Cheshire  Royal  Arch  Chapter. — This 
chapter  was  reorganized  Oct.  1 2, 1859.  The  High 
Priests  have  been  :  H.  M.  Streeter,  1859  ;  Bar- 
rett Ripley,  1861  ;  T.  E.  Hatch,  1863;  J.  H. 
Elliot,  1865;  E.  Gustine,  1867;  S.  A.  Car- 
ter, 1869;  E.  Ayer,  1872;  L.  J.  Tattle,  1875; 
O.  M.  Holton,  1879;  Geo.  W.  Flagg,  1881; 
J.  B.  Fisher,  188:};  M.  V.  B.  Clark,  1885. 

The  chapter  is  in  a  flourishing  condition  ;  its 
financial  standing  is  sound,  and  its  membership 
is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  More  than  five 
hundred  members  have  been  enrolled  upon  the 
books  of  this  association  of  Masons  since  Mav  4, 
1816,  at  which  time  it  commenced  to  work  in 
Keene  under  dispensation.  The  charter  was 
granted  to  the  Hon.  John  Prentiss,  founder  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Sentinel,  and  Rev.  Brough- 
ton  White,  of  Westmoreland,  the  latter  becom- 
ing its  first  High  Priest.  The  meetings  were 
then  held  in  Prentiss'  (now  Whitcomb's)  block, 
in  the  attic  of  which  may  be  found,  to-day,  a 
part  of  the  old  chapter  furniture.  The  par- 
aphernalia, however,  was  taken  to  Iowa,  and 
used  in  a  chapter  there  by  the  late  General 
-lames  Wilson,  who  was  High  Priest  of  Cheshire 
Chapter  for  a  number  of  years  previous  to  its 
dormancy,  which  was  brought  about  prior  to 
1835,  by  the  Morgan  excitement.  The  charter 
of  Cheshire  Chapter  bears  date  of  May  1,1819, 
and  was  signed  by  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Dep- 
uty-General Grand  High  Priest,  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  Free-Masons  throughout  the  country 
and  whose  "  Masonic  Monitor"  has  found  a 
place  in  every  Masonic  library.  One  hundred 
years  ago  Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  a  book- 
binder on  Main  Street,  Keene.  He  was  ini- 
tiated as  an  Entered  Apprentice  December  24, 
1790,  passed  to  the  degree  of  Fellow  Craft 
December  27,  1790,  and  raised  to  the  sublime 
degree  of  Master-Mason  December  27,  17!mi, 
in  Rising  Sim  Lodge,  No.  1,  Keene.  Subse- 
quently he  became  very  prominent  as  a  Masonic 
author  and  ritualist,  lie  elaborated  the  ritual 
of  the  <  >rder  of  the  lied  Cross,  and,  by  borrow- 
ing  from  the  esoteric  rituals  of  both  the  lodge 
and  chapter,  connected  it  with  Masonry,  and 
thus  the  Illustrious  Order  of  the  Red  Cross 
became  a  pari  of  the  so-called  American  York 
Kite  of  Free-Masonry.     The  charter  of   Che- 


shire Chapter  was  declared  forfeited  and  ordered 
to  be  stricken  from  the  Grand  Chapter  books, 
June  14,  1843,  the  chapter  having  failed  to 
make  return  since  1835.  It  was  restored  Octo- 
ber 12,  1859.  The  early  records  are  not  extant, 
but  are  complete  since  the  revival  of  the  chap- 
ter, October  12,  1859,  since  which  time  the 
meetings  have  been  continuous. 

There  is  also  a  council  located  here  called  St. 
John's  Council,  No.  7,  with  Josiah  L.  Seward, 
T.  I.  M. 

Hugh  de  Payens  Commandery.1 — In 
1863  the  matter  of  having  a  comniandery  of 
Knights  Templar  at  Keene  was  agitated  by  the 
Masons  of  Keene  and  vicinity.  At  that  time 
there  were  but  a  very  few  Knights  Templar  in 
New  Hampshire.  The  Grand  Commandery  of 
the  State  had  been  formed.  The  Masons  of 
this  section  were  informed  that  it  would  be  nec- 
essary that  a  certain  number  of  Chapter  Masons 
should  take  the  Templar  degree,  then  apply  to 
the  Grand  Commandery  for  a  dispensation  or 
charter.  It  was  found  necessary  to  have  the 
recommendation  of  some  Sir  Knight,  who  be- 
longed to  some  commandery  and  resided  in  this 
vicinity.  Only  one  could  be  found.  That  was 
Sir  Knight  Oliver  G.  Woodbury,  of  Westmore- 
land. He  was  a  member  of  Vermont  Com- 
mandery, Xo.  4,  Windsor,  Vt.  By  the  request 
of  some  Chapter  Masons  of  Keene,  Sir  Knight 
Woodbury  made  arrangements  witli  this  com- 
mandery to  confer  the  Templar  degrees  on  the 
following  Masons  (as  the  records  show) :  Hon 
II.  Woodward,  II.  M.  Streeter,  Barrett  Ripley, 
Elisha  F.  Lane,  Edward  Gustine,  William  S. 
Briggs,  John  II.  Elliott,  Edward  Farrar,  John 
A.  Chamberlain. 

November  30,  1X63,  they  started  for  Ver- 
mont to  receive  the  degrees.  On  arriving  at 
Windsor  they  were  informed  that  the  Grand 
Commandery  of  Vermont  considered  it  essential 
that  the  council  degrees  should  be  taken  before 
receiving  the  Templar  degrees.  By  a  dispen- 
sation tiny  received  the  council  degrees  in  As- 
cutney  Council,  at  Windsor,  Vt.,November  30, 
L863.  After  receiving  the  council  degrees  they 
continued  their  journey  to  Hartford,  Vt.,  where 

1  By  Bon.  E.  Gustine. 


KEENE. 


91 


the  meeting  of  the  commandery  was  held  at 
that  time.  At  that  early  day  of  Templar  Ma- 
sonry they  had  no  particular  place  in  the  dis- 
trict for  holding  meetings.  The  officers  desig- 
nated where  and  when  the  meetings  should  be 
held.  Under  such  circumstances  they  did  not 
always  find  suitable  accommodations.  On  this 
occasion  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  attic  of 
the  hotel.  One  window  in  the  gable  end,  the 
rough  boards  and  bare  rafters  were  calculated 
to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  candidates  the 
rough  habit  and  course  fare  of  our  ancient  Sir 
Knights.  The  kind  and  cordial  greeting  that 
was  extended  to  them  by  the  Sir  Knights  made 
the  surroundings  appear  very  pleasant.  After 
two  days  of  pilgrimage  they  returned  to  their 
homes,  well  pleased  with  the  Sir  Knights  whom 
they  had  met  and  the  Templar  degrees. 

In  1866  the  Sir  Knights  applied  for  a  dis- 
pensation, which  was  granted  by  Eminent  Grand 
Commander  Charles  A.  Tufts,  August  20,  1866, 
to  Thomas  E.  Hatch,  Edward  Gustine  and 
their  associates.  Sir  Knight  Hatch  was  ap- 
pointed by  Grand  Commander  Tufts  as  his 
proxy  to  organize  this  new  commandery,  which 
was  done  September  7,  1866.  It  received  its 
charter  at  the  annual  conclave  of  the  Grand 
Commandery,  September  2o,  1866. 

Thomas  E.  Hatch  was  appointed  its  first 
Commander,  and  held  the  office  one  year.  After 
procuring  suitable  jewels  and  regalia,  on  De- 
eember  4,  1866,  the  officers  of  Hugh  de  Payens 
Commandery,  of  Melrose,  Mass.,  under  the 
command  of  Eminent  Sir  Knight  L.  L.  Fuller, 
visited  this  new  commandery  (of  the  same 
name)  and  assisted  in  conferring  the  degrees. 

At  the  annual  assembly  in  1867,  Simon  G. 
Griffin  was  elected  Eminent  Commander.  In 
1876,  Solon  A.  Carter  was  elected  Eminent 
Commander.  In  1878,  Solon  S.  Wilkinson  was 
elected  Eminent  Commander.  In  1880,  Don 
II.  Woodward  was  elected  Eminent  Com- 
mander. In  1883,  Frank  L.  Howe  was  elected 
Eminent  Commander,  and  is  its  present  Com- 
mander. The  several  Commanders  have  been 
very  efficient  and  satisfactory  officers.  The 
commandery  was  chartered  in  1866  with  nine 
charter  members  ;  in  1884  it  had  a  membership 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty. 


Accepted  Scottish  Rite  was  organized 
August  7,  1884,  under  the  authority  of  "The 
Supreme  Grand  Council,  Sovereign  Grand  In- 
spector-General, 33d  and  last  degree,  for  the 
United  States  of  America." 

Bodies  meet  jointly,  in  St.  John's  Hall,  third 
Thursday  of  each  month.  New  Hampshire 
Consistory :  Frank  H.  Whitcomb,  111.  Com.- 
in-Chief.  Cheshire  Chapter  Rose  Croix  : 
Frank  L.  Howe,  M.  W.  P.  M.  Monadnock 
Council,  Princes  of  Jerusalem  :  Brainard  T. 
Olcott,  M.  E.  S.  G.  M.  Ashuelot  Lodge  of 
Perfection  :  Frank  H.  Whitcomb,  T.  P.  G.  M. ; 
George  W.  Flagg,  Deputy  for  New  Hampshire. 

Active  members  of  the  Supreme  Council  for 
New  Hampshire,— George  W.  Flagg,  33° 
Deputy  ;  Frank  H.  Whitcomb,  33°;  Brainard 
T.  Olcott,  33°. 

The  membership  of  these  bodies  is  large,  and 
the  funds  rate  second  in  amount  among  the 
Masonic  organizations  in  this  city. 

Keene  Natural  History  Society  was 
organized  October  23,  1871,  and  incorporated 
May  31,  1880.  George  A.  Wheelock,  presi- 
dent; Samuel  Wadsworth,  vice-president;  D. 
W.  Gilbert,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  C.  F. 
Rowell,  I.  J.  Prouty,  W.  R.  Dunham,  E.  J.  C. 
Gilbert  and  H.  Blake,  executive  committee; 
Ira  D.  Gates,  custodian. 

Keene  Humane  Society  was  organized 
December  18,  1875,  and  incorporated  June  3, 
1879.  President,  Charles  H.  Hersey;  Vice- 
Presidents,  C.  T.  Buffuni,  E.  A.  Webb,  A.  B. 
Hay  ward,  E.  A.  Renouf,  S.  G.  Griffin,  Hora- 
tio Colony,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Falkner ;  Directors, 
Horatio  Kimball,  A.  B.  Skinner,  Mrs. 
C.  T.  Buffum,  Mrs.  S.  D.  Osborne,  Mrs. 
C.  Bridgman,  Mrs.  A.  S.  Carpenter, 
James  Marsh,  Mrs.  O.  G.  Dort,  Dr.  G.  B. 
Twitchell,  Mrs.  W.  P.  Wheeler ;  Secretary, 
Miss.  E.  Henderson ;  Treasurer,  Clark  F. 
Rowell ;  Prosecuting  Attorney,  John  T.  Abbott. 

Invalids'  Home  was  incorporated  Novem- 
ber, 1874.  President,  Mrs.  A.  S.  Carpenter; 
Directors,  Mrs.  G.  D.  Harris,  Mrs.  E.  C. 
Thayer,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Porter,  Miss  E.  J.  Faulk- 
ner, Mrs.  K.  C.  Scott,  F.  F.  Lane  ;  Secretary, 
Miss  B.  M.  Dinsmoor;  Treasurer,  I.  N.  Spencer. 

Public  Schools. — The  following  gentlemen 


92 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


compose  the  board  of  officers  for  Union  School 
District  :  Rev.  Edward  A.  Renouf,  chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Education  ;  Wilton  H.  Spalter,  sec- 
retary of  the  board  ;  Henry  S.  Martin,  treasurer 
of  the  district;  "Wilton  H.  Spalter,  agent 
of  the  district;  Ira  D.  Gates,  janitor  of  High 
School  building. 

The  Board  of  Education  is  composed  of  the 
following:  George  Tilden,  term  expires  March 
1885;  George  A.  Wheelock,  term  expires 
March,  1885  ;  Henry  S.  Martin,  term  expires 
March,  1885:  Wilton  H.  Spalter,  term  expires 
March,  1886 ;  Joseph  B.  Abbott,  term  expires 
March,  1886  ;  Ira  J.  Prouty,  term  expires 
March,  1886;  Rev.  Edward  A.  Renouf,  term 
expires  March,  1887;  diaries  H.  Hersey,  term 
expires  March,  1887;  John  AY.  Sturtevant, 
fcerm  expires  March,  1 887. 

High  School,  Winter  Street. — The  High  School 
building,  completed  in  187(!,  at  a  cost  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  is  a  model  in  architectural 
design,  and  wrill  accommodate  over  three  hun- 
dred pupils.  In  addition  to  the  High  School 
proper,  there  are  four  grammar  schools,  of  the 
first,  second  and  third  grades,  kept  in  the  build- 


ing. 


Tli.'  instructors  are  Middlesex  A.  Bailey, 
A.M.,  principal ;  William  F.  Gibson,  sub- 
master  ;  Miss  E.  M.  Taft,  assistant;  Miss  Alice 
M.  AYhitcomb,  assistant. 

Grammar  Schools. — First  Grade  :  High 
School  building,  Miss  M.  A.  Wheeler,  S.  Liz- 
zie Green  (assistant). 

Second  Grade  :  Room  1,  High  School  build- 
ing, Miss  Julia  D.  Hatch  ;  Room  2,  High  School 
building,  Miss  Helen  M.  Howard. 

Third  Grade:  Room  1,  High  School  building, 
Miss  Lizzie  M.  Nims;  Room  2,  School  Street, 
Mi—  ( larrie  R.  Hutchins. 

Fourth  Grade  :  Room  1,  Centre  Street,  Miss 
Carrie  E.  Whitcomb;  Room  2,  School  Street, 
Miss  Fannie  M.  Rhan  ;  Room  3,  Church 
Street,  Mi>-  Sarah  L.  Bixby. 

Secondary  Sehools. — Lincoln  Street,  Flora  E. 
Sargeant ;  Main  Street,  Harriet  A.  Hemenway; 
Pearl  Street,  Annie  M.  O'Connor;  School 
Street,  Gertrude  E.  Stone;  Washington  Street, 
S.  Annie  Strong;  Fuller  School,  Anna  F. 
Downer. 


Primary  School*. — Lincoln  Street,  Jennie  A. 
Tuttle;  Main  Street,  Anna  10.  Bates  ;  Pearl 
Street,  Nan  L.  Hart;  School  Street,  Nellie  M. 
Towne  ;  Washington  Street,  ffattie  M.  Met  calf ; 
(  entre  Street,  Jennie  S.  Abbott  ;  Fuller  School, 
Mary  A.  Conroy. 

Suburban  Districts. — The  schools  not  belong- 
ing to  the  Union  District  are  ten  in  number,  and 
are  placed  under  charge  of  a  superintendent. 
The  superintendent  of  suburban  schools  is 
Gardner  C.  Hill. 

Independent  Ordeb  of  Odd  Fellows — 
Beaver  Brook  Lodge,  No.  .*'>(>. — Eugene  M. 
Keyes,  N.  G. ;  D.  H.  Dickerson,  V.  G.  ;  Frank 
M.  Davis,  Rec.  Sec;  A.  W.  Dickinson,  Treas. ; 
Frank  E.  Joy,  Per.  Sec. 

Friendship  Rebekah  Degree  Lodge,  Xo.  (j. — 
Elsie  M.  Fay,  N.  G. ;  Ella  M.  Griffith,  V.  G. ; 
Kate  C.  Ward,  Rec.  Sec. ;  Abby  J.  Roby, 
Treas. ;  Carrie  L.  (jeer,  F.  Sec. 

Monadnock  Encamjunent,  No.  10. — Clinton 
(  ollins,  C.  P. ;  R.  W.  Ward,  S.  W.  ;  C.  Pressler, 
H.  P.;  Walter  W.  Glazier,  Scribe ;  Sylvester 
Spaulding,  Treasurer. 

United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross. 
— Keene  Commandery,  No.  90,  and  Ashuelot 
Council,  No.  833,  Royal  Arcanum,  are  situated 
here. 

Independent  Order  of  Good  Temrears. 
— Refuge  Lodge,  No.  5!>,  was  organized  Janu- 
ary 20,  1882.  ' 

Keene  Light  Guard. — Company  G.:  Cap- 
tain, Francis  O.  Nims ;  First  Lieutenant,  Edward 
P.  Kimball;  Second  Lieutenant,  Charles  W. 
Starkey ;  Sergeants,  Charles  E.  Joslin,  D.  H. 
Dickinson,  William  H.  Reyoum,  E.  O.  Upham, 
C.  H.  ('lark. 

Company  H. — Captain,  George  W '.  Fisher; 
First  Lieutenant,  Jerry  P.  Wellman  ;  Second 
Lieutenant,  Frank  Chapman  ;  Sergeants,  E.  A. 
Shaw,  F.  E.  Barrett,  O.  G.  Nims,  Sumner 
Nims. 

Battalion. — This  organization  was  organized 
October  17,  L 877,  and  comprises  Companies  G 
and  H  of  the  Second  Regiment.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  officers  of  the  Battalion:  Com- 
mander, Lieutenant-Colonel  Fred.  A.  Faulkner; 
Major,  AIL.  it  W.  Metcalf;  Clerk,  J.  C.  Reed  ; 
Treasurer,  Oscar  G.  Nims  ;   Executive  Commit- 


KEENE. 


93 


tee,  Frank  Chapman,  Jerry  P.  Wellman,  E.  M. 
I\<ycs;  Committee  on  Anns,  Equipments  and 
and  Uniforms,  Captain  G.  W.  Fisher,  Cap- 
tain F.  O.  jVims,  Lieutenant  C.  W.  Starkey; 
Armorer,   W.  W.  Ross. 

A  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public was  organized  herein  1868  ;  reorganized 
January,  1880.  L.  W.  Foskett,  ( lommander:  L. 
H.  Starkey,  Senior  Vice-Commander ;  Ambrose 
A.  Stiles,  Junior  Vice-Commander;  William 
W.  Ross,  Adjutant;  L.  D.  Darling,  Quarter- 
master ;  H.  W.  Eastman,  Officer  of  the  Day  ; 
J.  S.  Warner,  Officer  of  the  Guard  ;  Dr.  G.  B. 
Twitchell,  Surgeon ;  E.  E.  Bissell,  Chaplain. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  was  or- 
ganized April  5,  1874. 

Fire  Department,  1885. — The  officers  are : 
Chief  Engineer,  George  D.  Wheelock  ;  Assist- 
ants, J.  A.  Batchelder,  H.  H.  Barker,  William 
H.  Reyouni,  C.  L.  Kingsbury,  H.  W.  Harvey ; 
Clerk,  C.  L.  Kingsbury. 

Keene  Steamer  and  Hose  Company,  No.  1 . — E. 
S.  Foster,  captain  ;  H.  H.  Haynes,  lieutenant ; 
J.  P.  Wellwan,  foreman  of  hose ;  G.  H.  Piper, 
engineer ;  D.  E.  Ladd,  assistant  engineer ;  H. 
W.  Keyes,  clerk  ;  M.  V.  B.  Clark,  treasurer. 

Deluge  Hose  Company,  No.  1. — O.  P.  Applin, 
foreman  ;  Charles  Balch,  first  assistant ;  George 
F.  Howe,  second  assistant ;  Edward  Stone,  clerk; 
Charles  G.  Gilmore,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
Fred.  H.  Towne,  steward. 

Phcenix  Hose  Company,  No.  4. — M.  L.  Lan- 
ders, foreman  ;  Wm.  R.  Wiggett,  first  assistant ; 
( 'harles  S.  Carkin,  second  assistant ;  F.  F. 
Stearns,  clerk  ;  Frank  P.  Gaynor,  secretary  and 
treasurer  ;  F.  N.  Woods,  steward. 

Washington  Hook-and- Ladder  Company,  No. 
1. — Joseph  E.  Griffith,  foreman  ;  George  Blais- 
d<  11,  first  assistant ;  E.  A.  Seaver,  second  assistant ; 
A.  E.  Fish,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Fred  R. 
Smith,  steward. 

Public  Library.1 — In  the  old  "  Annals  of 
Keene,"  under  date  of  1815,  we  find  this  para- 
graph— 

"  We  do  not  now  stand  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
world ;  neither  our  position,  nor  the  circumstances 
that  surround  us,  present  any  features,  grand, 
remarkable  or  romantic.    .  .  .     The  deeds  of  our  an- 


1  By  Mrs.  M.  R.  Osborne. 


cestors  are  interesting  to  us,  not  merely  because  they 
were  the  deeds  of  our  ancestors,  nor  because  they  are 
viewed  through  the  long  vista  of  past  time,  but  prin- 
cipally because  they  were  performed  by  a  few  men  of 
stout  hearts  and  strong  wills,  amid  perilous  and  re- 
markable circumstances  ;  and  are  appreciated  by  the 
vast  importance  of  their  consequences.  Individuals 
are  lost  in  the  multitude,  and  a  multitude  excites  no 
interest." 

And  what  is  true  of  individuals  is  also  true 
of  institutions, — they  have  a  history  interesting 
to  none,  perhaps,  outside  of  their  own  immediate 
vicinity,  and  yet  the  annals  of  a  town  or  county 
would  be  incomplete  without  this  record. 
Hence,  this  sketch  of  the  Keene  Public  Library. 

The  Keene  Public  Library  had  its  beginning 
in  1859  in  a  joint  stock-company,  represented 
and  sustained  by  an  association  of  stockholders, 
each  holding  one  or  more  shares  at  five  dollars 
per  share,  subject  to  assessment  annually.  An- 
nual subscribers,  by  the  payment  of  two  dollars, 
were  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  library. 

In  1859  bv-laws  and  a  constitution  were 
drawn  up  and  subscribed  to,  as  follows  : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  hereby  associate  ourselves 
together  for  the  establishment  of  a  library  in  Keene, 
under  the  corporate  name  of  the  '  Keene  Public  Li- 
brary,' agreeably  to  the  preceding  Constitution  and 
By-Laws,  for  the  objects  and  upon  the  conditions  there- 
in expressed ;  and  we  hereby  adopt  said  Constitution 
and  By-Laws  as  a  part  of  our  articles  of  agreement. 
And  we  further  agree  that  our  first  meeting  be  held 
on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1859,  at  the  Town  Hall  in 
Keene,  at  7?  o'clock  P.M.,  and  be  organized  as  the 
majority  shall  decide. 

"  Wm.  P.  Wheeler.  Geo.  Cook. 

Farnum  F.  Lane.  D.  H.  Sawyer. 

Leonard  Bisco.  Edward  A.  Webb. 

Geo.  B.  Twitchell.  Gilman  Joslin. 

John  Henry  Elliot.  Wm.  Henry  Thayer." 
William  S.  Briggs. 

At  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  stockhold- 
ers a  board  of  twelve  trustees  was  elected,  c<  in- 
sisting of  the  same  persons,  with  the  addition 
of  John  Bowker.  George  B.  Twitchell  was 
chosen  chairman,  and  William  H.  Thayer  sec- 
retary (whose  duty  it  should  be  to  prepare  a 
catalogue),  and  Leonard  Bisco  librarian,  "the 
Trustees  agreeing  to  pay  him  the  sum  of  fifty 
dollars  for  the  use  of  the  room  and  the  care 
and  delivery  of  books,  including  all  the  duties 
of  Librarian  for  one  year." 


94 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"On  the  opening  of  the  Library,  Sept.  3d, 
the  Secretary  read  a  brief  address,  which  the 
Board  agreed  to  publish  in  the  Newspapers, 
with  some  alterations."  The  first  sum  voted 
for  books  was  one  hundred  dollars.  At  the 
first  annual  meeting,  in  May,  the  treasurer's  re- 
port represented  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dol- 
lars. Of  the  twelve  gentlemen  elected  trustees, 
only  four  have  departed  this  life.  Those  who 
remain  hale  and  hearty  to-day  are  F.  F.  Lane, 
Rev.  William  ().  White,  William  H.Thayer, 
M.D.,  John  Henry  Elliot,  George  Cook,  John 
Bowker,  William  S.  Briggs  and  George  A. 
Wheelock. 

In  1.SG2  the  following  vote  appears  on  the 
records :  "  Voted  to  appropriate  two  hundred 
and  five  dollars  for  the  expenses  of  the  ensuing 
year, — Ninety  dollars  for  the  purchase  of 
hooks,  Ninety  dollars  for  the  salary  of  Libra- 
rian and  Twenty-five  for  rent,  gas  and  inciden- 
tal expenses." 

Valuable  gifts  of  books  and  public  docu- 
ments were  received  from  time  to  time.  One 
hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  was  the  largest  sum 
expended  in  any  one  year  before  the  vote  to 
transfer  the  library  to  the  city,  in  1875.  A 
meeting  was  called  September  19,  1S74,  to  hear 
the  report  of  the  committee  previously  chosen 
by  the  stockholders  (consisting  of  William  P. 
Wheeler,  George  A.  Wheelock  and  F.  S.  Strat- 
ton)  to  confer  with  a  committee  chosen  by  the 
city,  in  relation  to  surrendering  the  shares  of 
the  stockholders  to  the  city,  and  take  any  action 
deemed  necessary  to  transfer  the  library  and 
any  other  property  of  the  association  to  the  city. 
The  committee  chosen  by  the  city  were  William 
Dinsinoor,  Asa  Smith  (couneilmen),  S.  S.  "Wil- 
kinson (alderman),  with  full  authority  to  con- 
summate the  transactions ;  and  on  February 
1,  1874,  F.  S.  Stratton  and  George  A.  Whee- 
lock, on  the  part  of  the  association,  and  William 
Dinsmoor,  on  the  part  of  the  city,  met  and  for- 
mally transferred  the  library  to  the  city,  under 
the  following  conditions  and  regulations,  viz.: 
"  The  city  shall  furnish  suitable  apartments,  and 
for  five  years  shall  expend  the  sum  of  not  less 
than  three  hundred  dollars,  and  after  that  a 
Mini  of  not  lc>-  than  five  hundred  dollars,  for 
the  purchase  and   repair   of  books,    until  such 


time  as  the  Library  shall  receive  an  income  of 
not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum." 
flic  city  also  voted  to  maintain  "  a  free  public 
library,  which  should  be  well  equipped  with 
standard,  historical  and  general  works,  constitu- 
ting an  armory  in  which  our  young  men  might 
furnish  themselves  weapons  for  the  intellectual 
contests  of  the  day,  and  every  care  should  be 
exercised  in  its  formation  to  guard  its  shelves 
strictly  from  worthless  books."  They  also 
decreed  that  the  joint  standing  committee  should 
have  charge  and  management  of  said  Library, 
appoint  a  librarian  and  define  his  duties  and 
make  all  such  rules  and  regulations  as  they 
shall  deem  proper.  Alderman  Wilkinson  and 
Couneilmen  Dinsmoor  and  Smith  constituted 
that  committee,  and  leased  the  rooms  of  the 
Social  Union,  and  the  books  recommended,  433 
in  number,  were  purchased,  which,  with  the 
2644  received  from  the  association,  made  a  total 
of  3077  volumes.  The  first  librarian  was  Cy- 
rus Piper,  who  reported  at  the  annual  meeting 
valuable  gifts  of  books,  reports,  public  docu- 
ments, etc.,  and  not  a  book  lost  during  the 
year. 

In  1877  the  city  passed  an  ordinance  "com- 
mitting the  Library  to  a  Board  of  Trustees 
consisting  of  six  persons,  three  of  whom  may 
be  ladies,  and  all  to  serve  without  compensa- 
tion, to  be  appointed  as  follows:  two  for  one 
year,  two  for  two  years  and  two  lor  three 
years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
office  of  each  two,  their  successors  shall  be  ap 
pointed  for  three  years."  William  P.  Cham- 
berlain, Mrs.  H.  M.  Hatch,  A.  B.  Hey  wood, 
Mrs.  M.  R.  Osborne,  D.  W.  Gilbert  and  Mrs. 
E.  J.  C.  Gilbert  constituted  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, four  of  whom  have  remained  on  the  board 
until  the  present  time,  and  the  librarian  then, 
Miss  Brooks,  who  succeeded  her  father  after  his 
decease,  is  still  at  her  post. 

The  mayor,  in  his  review  of  the  library  the 
third  year  after  its  transfer  to  the  city,  depre- 
cated the  fact  "  that  so  large  a  per  cent,  of  the 
books  read  were  fiction,  revealing  a  frivolous 
taste  prevailing  in  the  community/'  In  18*0 
the  Keeiie  Public  Library  became  a  member  of 
the  Library  Association,  and  the  trustees 
availed  themselves  of  the  valuable  aid  afforded 


KEENE. 


95 


thereby  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  their 
library.  The  lack  of  two  things  had  been  a 
hindrance  to  its  growth  and  prosperity,  viz.  :  a 
proper  classification  of  books  and  a  catalogue 
that  would  be  a  more  complete  guide  in  the 
finding  of  books. 

In  1881  a  large,  commodious  and  well- 
lighted  room  was  provided  by  the  city  in  City 
Hall  Block,  and  the  books  were  renumbered 
and  classified,  according  to  their  subjects.  A 
card-catalogue  had  also  been  completed,  based 
upon  the  same  plan,  and  containing  copious  ref- 
erences to  the  contents  of  books,  and  an  exhaust- 
ive analysis  of  the  subjects  treated  in  them.  A  new 
method  of  keeping  the  record  of  books  loaned 
and  returned,  has  been  adopted,  which,  in  effici- 
ency and  simplicity  is  much  superior  to  the  old 
ledger  system,  and  lost  books  can  be  more  easily 
traced.  The  book  committee  of  three  persons, 
chosen  from  the  board  of  trustees,  have  always 
aimed  to  carry  out  the  legitimate  object  of  a  pub- 
lic library — that  of  furnishing  the  means  of  in- 
struction and  education,  instead  of  amusement 
only,  and  have  placed  on  the  shelves  works  of  an 
enduring  character,  such  as  should  render  it  more 
valuable  as  it  increases  in  size,  instead  of  filling 
it  with  books  of  a  sensational  nature,  which  will 
become  valueless  when  their  short  day  has  passed. 
Many  valuable  gifts  have  greatly  enhanced  the 
value  of  the  library.  And  before  closing  this 
fragmentary  sketch  permit  me  to  invite  the 
citizens  of  our  county,  when  visiting  Keene  for 
business  or  pleasure,  to  step  into  our  Public 
Library,  where  our  obliging  and  business-like 
librarian  will  show  the  admirable  working  of  the 
card-catalogue  (which  cost  days  and  months  of 
continuous  labor),  where  the  anxious  seeker  after 
some  missing-link,  with  which  to  complete  his 
essay  or  discussion,  is  directed  straight  to  the 
hidden  truth  or  historical  fact,  and  thus  much 
valuable  time  is  saved.  Then,  passing  on  to  the 
Reference  Department,  pause  and  look  over 
the  table  covered  with  the  best  magazines,  and 
if  it  chance  to  be  out  of  school  hours,  you  will 
see  pupils  seated  around  it,  not  to  read  the 
stories,  but  to  glean  choice  bits  of  knowledge 
from  the  excellent  articles  on  science,  biography 
and  travel,  contributed  by  master-minds  in  our 
own  and  foreign  lands. 


But  the  grandest  portion  of  our  library  is  the 
solid  books  of  reference  and  excellent  maps  and 
charts.  Here  you  will  find  the  members  of  our 
higher  grades  of  school,  with  pencil  and  note- 
book in  hand,  carefully  noting  facts  and  dates 
to  aid  them  in  acquiring  the  liberal  education 
which  is  the  birthright  of  every  child  in  Keene. 

One  who  has  been  abroad  many  years  said, 
on  returning  here  to  his  native  city,  "  I  find  the 
beauty  of  Keene  greatly  enhanced  by  her  fine 
public  and  private  buildings,  her  broad  streets 
beautified  and  arched  by  the  spreading  branches 
of  her  noble  elms  ;  but  the  crowning  gem  to  me 
is  her  Public  Library,  with  its  almost  faultless 
appointments." 

But  this  "  beginning,"  we  trust,  is  only  the 
earnest  of  the  future  Public  Library  of  Keene, 
when,  through  the  munificence  of  our  late  gen- 
erous citizen,  John  Symonds,  supplemented  by 
the  aid  of  both  of  our  citizens,  a  fire-proof  build- 
ing, with  its  library  hall  filled  with  light  alcoves, 
holding  their  precious  treasures,  its  well- 
appointed  reading-room,  its  art  gallery  and 
museum  of  natural  history,  when  the  fifty-five 
hundred  volumes  shall  be  multiplied,  it  may  be 
five  times,  it  may  be  ten,  and  who  knows,  but  a 
hundred-fold  ! 

The  present  board  of  trustees  are  AVilliam 
P.  Chamberlain,  Dexter  W.  Gilbert,  Charles 
H.  Hersey,  Mrs.  E.  J.  C.  Gilbert,  Miss  Kate  I. 
Tilden,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Osborne;  Mrs.  L.  M. 
Converse,  librarian ;  Miss  Z.  B.  Gilmore,  as- 
sistant librarian. 

The  Press. — The  first  newspaper  in  Keene 
was  the  New  Hampshire  Recorder  and  Weekly 
Advertiser,  established  by  James  D.  Griffith  in 
1787.  This  was  continued  until  March  3, 
1791. 

The  New  Hampshire  Sentinel  was  established 
in  March,  1799,  by  John  Prentiss,  who  was 
connected  with  it  nearly  half  a  century.  His 
son,  John  W.,  became  associated  with  him  in 
October,  1828,  and  the  paper  was  conducted 
under  the  firm-name  of  J.  &  J.  W.  Prentiss 
until  June  20,  1834,  when  John  Prentiss  again 
appears  to  be  the  sole  proprietor.  In  1838  the 
firm  again  became  J.  &  J.  W.  Prentiss.  In 
1847  J.  W.  Prentiss  again  assumed  control,  and 
soon    after    Alfred    Godfrey  became  associated 


96 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


with  its  publication,  under  the  name  of  J.  W. 
Prentiss  &  Co.  July  b",  1855,  the  American 
News  was  united  with  the  Sentinel,  and  the  firm 
became  A.  Godfrey  and  G.  S.  Woodward.  It 
was  subsequently  published  by  S.  &  G.  S. 
Woodward;  later  by  Thomas  Hale,  G.  S. 
Woodward,  Albert  Godfrey  and  T.  C.  Rand. 
In  July,  1865,  the  firm  consisted  of  T.  C. 
Rand,  (J.  S.  Woodward  and  Oliver  L.  French. 
In  1866  it  was  issued  by  George  Ticknor  & 
Co.  From  December,  1866,  to  1868,  Mr. 
French  was  the  sole  proprietor.  Mr.  T.  C. 
Eland  then  purchased  an  interest,  and  the  Sentinel 
was  conducted  by  Hand  &  French  until  Sep- 
tember, 1872,  when  C.J.  Woodward  purchased 
an  interest,  and  the  paper  was  then  issued  by 
the  Sentinel  Publishing  Company,  which  name 
has  continued  to  the  present  time.  No  further 
change  appeared  in  the  ownership  of  the  paper 
until  March,  1880,  when  Mr.  William  H.  Pren- 
tiss became  a  member  of  the  firm,  and  the  Sentinel 
is  now  published  by  Messrs.  Rand,  Woodward 
and  Prentiss,  under  whose  able  management 
it  has  taken  front  rank  among  the  leading 
journals  of  the  State.  It  is  Republican  in 
politics. 

The  Cheshire  Republican,  the  leading  Demo- 
cratic paper  of  Western  New  Hampshire,  was 
established  in  Walpole,  N.  H.,  April  11,  1793, 
and  removed  to  Keene  November  14,  LX28.  It 
was  originally  called  the  Farmers'  Museum.  It 
has  been  successively  published  since  its  removal 
here  by  Nahum  Stone,  B.  Cooke,  H.  A.  Bill, 
Horatio  Kimball,  J.  X.  Morse  and  W.B.Allen, 
J.  N.  Morse,  and  Joshua  1).  Colony  &  Sons. 
The  Republican  came  into  the  possession  of 
Colony  &  Sons  in  1878  and  atonce  entered  upon 
a  prosperous  era.  They  brought  to  the  enterprise 
energy  and  ability,  which  soon  became  manifest. 
It  is  Democratic  in  politics  and  a  fearless  ex- 
ponent of  the  principles  of  that  party. 

The  following  are  obsolete  publications : 
The  Cheshire  Advertiser,  The  Coluinbian  In- 
former, The  Rising  Sun  and  the  American  News . 
The  latter  was  merged  with  the  Sentinel  in 
1855. 

The  New  England  Observer  was  com- 
menced at  White  River  Junction,  Vt.,  January 
1,  1878,  as  The  Republican  Observer.     Thomas 


Hale,  a  veteran  journalist,  was  its  founder,  and 
he  continued  to  be  its  editor  and  publisher  un- 
til June,  1880,  when  the  subscription-list  and 
material  was  purchased  by  a  stock  company 
and  removed  to  Keene,  and  the  paper  was  re- 
christened  the  New  England  Observer.  Mr. 
Hale  remained  as  its  editor  until  the  following 
spring,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  H.  L.  In- 
maii,  the  manager,  who  has  since  filled  both  po- 
sitions. The  New  England  Observer  is  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  but  not  in  an  organic  sense, 
reserving  the  right  at  all  times  to  believe  that  the 
good  of  all  is  preferable  to  the  success  of  any 
party,  when  that  party  is  clearly  in  the  wrong. 

Keene  ix  1831. — The  first  Directory  of 
Keene  was  published  in  1831,  "with  four 
original  engraving-."  This  Directory  contained 
the  names  of  thirteen  streets  and  about  five 
hundred  people.  The  business  interests,  etc., 
at  that  time  were  represented  as  follows  : 

Apothecaries. — S.  &  H.  Gerould,  A.  &  T.  Hall. 

Attorneys- at- Law. — Samuel  Dinsinoor,  Jr.,  Elijah 
Dunbar,  Thomas  M.  Edwards,  Elijah  Parker,  Joel 
Parker,  James  Wilson,  James  Wilson,  Jr. 

Booksellers. — J.  &  J.  W.  Prentiss,  Geo.  Lincoln. 

Baptist  Church. — Eev.  E.  Hale,  pastor. 

First  Congregational  Church. — Rev.  Z.  S.  Barstow, 
pastor;  Elijah  Carter,  Thomas  Fisher,  C.  H.  Jaquith, 
Abijah  Wilder,  deacons. 

Keene  Congregational  Society. — Rev.  T.  R.  Sullivan, 
pastor;  Samuel  Wood  and  Adolphus  Wright,  deacons. 

Engine  Companies. — No.  1,  John  V.  Wood,  captain  ; 
No.  2,  J.  B.  Davis,  captain. 

Insurance  Agents. — Elijah  Parker,  Thomas  M.  Ed- 
wards, Justus  Perry. 

Hotels. — Eagle  Hotel,  Stephen  Harrington,  proprie- 
tor; Phoenix  Hotel,  John  Hatch,  proprietor. 

Taverns. — Henry  Goodenow,  Abigail  Metcalf,  Josiah 
Sawyer,  J.  &  R.  Shelly  and  Samuel  Streeter. 

Libraries.  —  Cheshire  Athciueum,  Cheshire  Theolog- 
ical Institute,  Juvenile  Library,  Keene  Book  Society, 
Circulating  Library,  School  Library. 

Livery  Stables. — Stilbnan  French,  T.  E.  Sears. 

Manufacturers. — Perry,  Wheeler  &  Co.,  bottles ; 
Adams,  Hohnan  &  Dutton,  A.  &  T.  Hull,  potashes  ; 
Adams,  Holman  &  Dutton,  window-glass. 

Baker. — Amos  Wood. 

Blacksmiths. — Aaron  Davis,  J.  Daniels,  J.  Towns, 
X.  Wilder,  J.  Wilson,  N.  Wood. 

Book-Binder. — George  Tilden. 

Brick-Maker — Thomas  M.  Edwards. 

Butchers. — Barker  &  McNiel. 

Carpenters. — Nathan  Bassett,  S.  Crossfiehl,  K.  Cross- 
field,  John  Fitch,  E.  Newcomb,  Jotham  Parker,  G. 
W.  Sturdevant,  John  S.  Thatcher. 


KEENE. 


97 


Chaise- Maker. — Thomas  F.  Ames. 

Clock-Maker. — Luther  Smith. 

Clothiers. — Faulkner  &  Colony. 

Coopers. — Abel  Angier,  A.  Dodge,  Elisha  Fassett, 
E.  Hale,  James  Perry,  Silas  Perry. 

Glazier. — Walter  Taylor. 

Gravestone- Maker. — Eliphalet  Briggs. 

Gun-Maker — John  C.  Mason. 

Hair-Dresser. — Adolphus  Wright. 

Hatter. — Dexter  Anderson. 

Hoe-Makers. — Aaron  Davis,    Azel  Wilder. 

Last-Maker. — C.  H.  Jaquith. 

Masons. — J.  B.  Davis,  J.  F.  Locke,  D.  Marsh,  J. 
Parker,  C.  Wilson. 

Millers. — T.  Dwinell,  Jr.,  Faulkner  &  Colony,  E. 
Holbrook,  Geo.  Page. 

Milliners  and  Dress-Makers.— Jerusha  Brown,  Misses 
Dodge,  Harriet  Keyes,  Jane  N.  Leonard,  Eliza  R. 
Eidgway. 

Millwrights. — Enos  Holbrook,  George  Page,  Aaron 
Willson,  Jr. 

Morocco-Dressers. — Harington  &  King. 

Pail-Makers. — S.  Perry,  J.  Willson. 

Painters. — Gideon  Clark,  Charles  Ingalls,  Walter 
Taylor. 

Printers. — J.  &  J.  W.  Prentiss,  N.  Stone. 

Pump-Makers. — Page  &  Holman,  Oliver  Willson. 

Saddlery. — T.  F.  Ames,  David  Watson. 

Shingle- Maker. — George  Page. 

Shoemakers. — Harington  &  King,  C.  H.  Jaquith, 
Abijah  Kingsbury.  Wilson  &  Wade. 

Sleigh- Maker. — A.  Wilder,  Jr. 

Stone- Cutters. — A.  Dickerson,  J.  Ellis. 

Tailors. — G.  C.  Dean,  Montague  &  Wright,  Mon- 
tague &  Dinsmore. 

Tailoresses. — Mrs.  Baker,  Esther  Page,  Hannah 
Stiles,  Mrs.  Welden,  Mary  Wright. 

Tanners. — Harington  &  King,  C.  Larnson. 

Tinner. — J.  P.  Barber. 

Turners. — Page  &  Holman,  A.  Wilder. 

Jewelers. — J.  Corbett,  S.  &  H.  Gerould,  J.  H.  Pond, 
J.  Ridgeway. 

Wheel-Bead  Maker.— A.  Wilder. 

Wheelwright. — C.  P.  Perkins. 

Music  and  Musical  Instruments. — George  Tilden. 

Newspapers. —  The  Farmer's  Museum,  Xahum  Stone, 
editor;  New  Hampshire  Sentinel,  J.  &  J.  W.  Prentiss, 
circulation,  1150. 

Physicians. — Charles  G.  Adams,  J.  B.  Dousman, 
Amos  Twitchell. 

Saw-Mills.— Thomas  Dwinell,  Jr.,  Faulkner  &  Col- 
ony, Perry  &  Angier,  J.  Perry.  George  Page,  Caleb 
Wright. 

The  selectmen  for  this  year  were  Eliphalet 
Briggs,  Henry  Coolidge  and  Thomas  Thomp- 
son ;  Eliphalet  Briggs,  clerk ;  William  Dins- 
more,  postmaster  ;  Representatives,  Aaron  Hall 
and  James  Wilson,  Jr. 


There  were  fourteen  school  districts,  with  six- 
teen teachers  and  seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
scholars.  The  school  money  raised  was  thir- 
teen hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  The  enterpris- 
ing business  men,  as  evidenced  by  the  adver- 
tisements in  this  pioneer  Directory,  were  Thomas 
F.  Ames,  George  Tilden,  John  C.  Mason, 
Abijah  Kingsbury,  Adams,  Holman  &  Dutton, 
Lamson  &  Dutton,  A.  &  T.  Hall,  Evans  & 
Perkins,  Montague  &  Dinsmoor,  Perry,  Wheeler 
&  Co.,  S.  &  H.  Gerould  and  J.  &  J.  W.  Pren- 
tiss. It  contained  a  view  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  Unitarian  Church,  Phoenix  and  Eagle 
Hotels. 

Post-Office. — The  late  Hon.  Salma  Hall, 
while  compiling  his  "Annals  of  Keene,"  wrote 
to  the  Post-Office  Department  at  Washington 
in  relation  to  the  first  post-office  in  this  town, 
and  received  the  following  letter  in  reply : 

"Owing  to  the  destruction  of  a  large  part  of  the 
books  and  papers  of  the  Department,  by  the  fire  of 
1836,  we  have  no  means  of  giving  satisfactory  answers 
to  the  inquiries  contained  in  your  letter  of  the  5th 
inst.  We  are  enabled,  however,  to  state  positively 
that,  in  the  early  part  of  1795,  Asa  Bullard  was  the 
Postmaster  at  Keene,  N.  H.  (then  spelt  Keen).  His 
account,  rendered  for  the  quarter  (or  part  of  the 
quarter,  possibly)  ending  31st  March,  1795,  shows 
that  the  net  proceeds  of  the  office  for  that  quarter 
amounted  to  $1.36.  The  next  quarter,  it  appears, 
they  came  up  to  $4.49.  By  the  Auditor's  records, 
which  go  back  to  1775,  it  does  not  appear  that  any 
account,  prior  to  the  above,  was  opened  with  the 
office  at  Keene.  From  this  circumstance,  and  the  fact 
that  Keene  is  not  mentioned  in  the  list  of  offices 
(about  two  hundred  in  number,  and  believed  to  be  all 
then  in  operation  in  the  United  States),  to  which  a 
circular  of  the  Postmaster-General  was  sent,  under 
date  of  18th  June,  1792,  it  seems  very  probable  that 
Asa  Bullard  was  the  first  Postmaster  of  Keene,  and 
that  he  was  appointed  some  time  in  the  first  quarter 
of  1795,  or,  possibly,  in  the  latter  part  of  1794. 

"  It  appears,  by  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  First 
Assistant  Postmaster-General  to  Jeremiah  Libbey, 
Esq.,  Postmaster  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H,  dated  16th 
Sept.,  1794,  that  '  Ozias  Silsby's  proposal  for  carrying 
the  mail  from  Boston  to  Keen'  had  then  just  been  ac- 
cepted ;  and  contracts  were  enclosed  for  execution. 
It  is  not  stated  when  the  contract  was  to  go  into  oper- 
ation, nor  how  frequently  the  mail  was  to  be  conveyed. 
It  seems  that  the  route  to  Keene  was  by  the  way  of 
Portsmouth ;  and  it  is  not  probable  that  the  service 
beyond  Portsmouth  was  oftener  than  once  a  week, 
because  it  appears  that,  in  winter,  it  was  at  that  time 
but  twice  a  week  between  Boston  and  Portsmouth. 


98 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


How  long  the  mail  was  in  passing  between  the  two 
places  (Boston  and  Keene)  we  have  not,  from  any  of 
the  existing  records,  been  able  to  ascertain."  l 

Tin-:  Kino's  Cannon. — At  the  term  of  the 
Superior  Court  held  in  Keene  in  October,  1807, 
came  on  the  trial  of  a  prosecution  instituted  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Walpole  against  certain  citi- 
zens of  Keene  "  for  taking  and  carrying  aw  ay, 
in  the  night-time,  a  piece  of  ordnance  of  the 
value  of  two  hundred  dollars,  the  property  of 
said  town  of  Walpole." 

For  the  better  understanding  of  this  matter, 
it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  a  remote  period  of 
our  history.  In  the  early  settlement  of  the 
country,  on  Connecticut  River,  four  forts  were 
erected  on  its  banks,  and  each  was  supplied  by 
His  Majesty",  the  King  of  England,  with  a  large 
iron  cannon.  These  forts  were  numbered — that 
at  Chesterfield  being  No.  1,  that  at  Westmore- 
land No.  -,  that  at  Walpole  No.  3  and  that  at 
( "harlestown  No.  4.  These  cannons  remained  in 
those  several  towns  after  the  achievement  of 
our  independence,  were  prized  as  trophies  of 
victory,  and  made  to  speak  in  triumphant  tones 
mi  every  Fourth  of  July  and  other  days  of 
public  rejoicings.  Their  reports  sounded  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  towns  as  exulting 
claims  to  superiority,  they  having  no  such 
trophies  to  speak  for  them.  That  at  Walpole  was 
left  unguarded  in  the  Main  Street.  In  the 
spring  of  this  year  a  citizen  of  Keene,  then  a 
youth,  but  since  distinguished  in  the  service  of 
his  country,  having  received  an  elegant  sword 
for  his  gallant  defense,  in  the  War  of  1812,  of 

1  It  lias  been  ascertained  that  Asa  Bullard  was  an  officer 
in  the  Revolutionary  War — probably  a  captain,  for  he  was 
so  styled  when  he  first,  came  to  Keene.  While  here  he  re- 
ceived an  appointment  in  the  militia  which  gave  him  the 
rank  of  major,  and  he  was  afterwards  known  as  Major 
Bullard.  He  resided  and  kept  the  post-office  in  the  rough- 
ca»i  house  formerly  occupied  by  Elijah  Dunbar,  and  now 
by  Joshua  Wyman.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Walpole 
and  kept  tavern  there;  and  it  was  at  his  house  thai  for 
some  time  t he  club  of  scholars  and  wits,  who  made  them- 
selves and  the  Farmers'  Museum  famous  throughout  the 
country,  by  their  lucubrations,  and  consisted  of  Joseph 
Dennie,  afterwards  editor  of  Portfolio,  at  Philadelphia, 
Royal  Tyler,  afterwards  chief  justice  of  Vermont,  Samuel 
Hunt  ami  Roger  Vose,  both  afterwards  members  of  Con- 
gress, Samuel  West  and  others,  held  their  periodical  sym- 
posiums. 


Fort  Covington,  near  Baltimore,  arranged  a 
party  who  repaired  to  Walpole  in  the  night, 
took  possession  of  the  cannon  and  brought  it  in 
triumph  to  Keene. 

The  whole  population  of  Walpole  were  in- 
dignant at  being  deprived,  in  this  way,  of  their 
valued  trophy,  and  determined  to  appeal  to  the 
laws  to  recover  it.  Several  attempts  to  arrest 
the  offenders  proved  abortive,  but  this  only 
added  to  their  zeal.  A  respectable  citizen  of 
Walpole  was  sent  to  aid  the  sheriff.  Knowing 
that  he  whom  they  most  wished  to  secure  con- 
cealed himself  whenever  apprized  that  the  officer 
was  visible,  they  lay  in  ambush  for  him  in  the 
swamps  south  and  west  of  his  father's  residence. 
It  happened  that  Dr.  Adams  was  at  this  time 
gunning,  as  was  his  frequent  habit,  in  the  same 
grounds.  He  saw  them,  and  knowing  that  they 
saw  him,  he  walked  hurriedly  away.  They  fol- 
lowed; he  hastened  his  walk,  they  theirs,  until 
the  walk  became  a  run,  and  the  run  a  race.  His 
knowledge  of  the  minute  topography  of  the  place 
enabled  him  to  take  such  direction  as  might  best 
suit  his  purpose.  Methinks  I  see  him  now, 
lightly  springing  from  hassock  to  hassock,  from 
turf  to  log,  now  and  then  looking  back,  with 
face  sedate  and  eagle  eye,  to  see  how  his  pur- 
suers sped.  By  turning  and  winding  he  led 
them  into  a  bog,  and  gained  distance  while  they 
were  struggling  to  gain  firm  foothold.  They 
outran  him,  however,  and  arrested  him  at  his 
door;  but  were  soon  convinced  they  had  not 
caught  the  right  man,  and  returned,  not  the  less 
irritated,  to  Walpole. 

Several  of  the  delinquents  were  at  length 
arrested  and  brought  to  trial.  The  court  (Chief 
Justice  Smith,  afterwards  Governor,  presiding) 
decided  that  the  said  cannon  was  not  the  prop- 
erty of  the  said  town  of  Walpole,  and  the  de- 
fendants were  discharged.  It  was  immediately 
drawn  near  the  court-house,  loaded  and  fired. 
"May  it  please  your  honor,"  said  Counselor 
Vose,  "the case  is  already  reported.1' 

This  was  the  year  in  which  the  sufferings 
from  the  Embargo  exasperated  a  large  portion 
of  the  people  of  New  England.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  the  selectmen  of  Keene,  on  being 
legally  requested  so  to  do,  called  a  meeting  of 
the  qualified  voters  of  the  town  "  to   take  into 


KEENE. 


99 


consideration  the  present  alarming  situation  of 
our  country,  to  express  our  sentiments  thereon 
and  to  adopt  such  measures  for  a  redress  of 
grievances  as  shall  be  thought  expedient."  It 
was  the  practice  in  Revolutionary  times  for  towns 
to  resolve  and  even  act  in  their  corporate  capa- 
city in  relation  to  public  affairs ;  but  the  in- 
stances have  been  few  in  which  they  have  so 
done  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  This  instance  is  not  now  men- 
tioned to  censure  it.  It  might  be  attended  with 
many  good  results  if  all  the  citizens  of  a  town 
were  to  be  called  together  occasionally  to  dis- 
cuss public  measures.  At  such  meeting  all 
parties  might  be  heard,  and  argument  be  com- 
bated by  argument.  At  this  meeting  several 
resolutions  were  adopted,  but  no  measures  were 
determined  on. 

The  irritation  of  the  people  of  Walpole  at 
the  loss  of  their  valued  trophy,  or  more,  per- 
haps, at  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived of  it,  continued  unabated ;  and  they  de- 
termined to  take  redress  into  their  own  hands. 
They  had  been  informed  that  the  cannon  was 
concealed  in  a  granary,  in  a  back  store,  on  the 
south  side  of  West  Street,  near  Main  Street.  On 
the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July  a  plot  was  ar- 
ranged to  regain  possession  of  it.  A  confederate 
(a  stage-driver)  was  sent  immediately  to  Keene, 
in  a  huge  stage-wagon,  to  gain  information  and 
take  measures  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  the 
project.  He  ascertained  that  it  was  concealed  in 
the  place  mentioned,  bargained  for  some  grain, 
and,  at  his  suggestion,  was  allowed  to  take 
the  key,  that  he  might  get  the  grain  very 
early  in  the  morning  without  disturbing 
the  clerks.  Returning  immediately,  he  met  on 
their  way  a  cavalcade  of  about  thirty,  mostly 
young  men,  commanded  by  a  military  officer  of 
high  rank,  and  made  his  report.  They  left 
their  horses  in  the  cross-road,  then  fringed  with 
bushes,  leading  from  Court  Street  to  Washing- 
ton Street,  and  in  a  few  minutes  entered  the 
granary.  The  first  motion  of  the  cannon, 
the  night  being  still,  made  a  terrific 
noise.  The  town  bell  was  rung  and  an  alarm  of 
fire  was  raised.  The  men  in  the  granary  la- 
bored for  a  time  without  success,  and  almost 
without  hope.    Outside,  men  were  seen  skulk- 


ing behind  buildings  and  flitting  from  corner 
to  corner.  At  length,  by  a  desperate  effort, 
it  was  lifted  into  the  wagon,  and  the  team 
hurried  towards  Walpole.  At  break  of  day 
they  were  welcomed  home  by  the  ringing  of  the 
bell  and  by  the  applause  of  a  crowd  awaiting  in 
anxiety  the  return  of  their  fellow-townsmen. 

In  the  mean  time  a  large  number  of  the 
citizens  of  Keene  mounted  their  horses  and  pur- 
sued the  returning  party  ;  but  fortunately  they 
took  the  wrong  road,  and  thus  a  desperate  con- 
flict was  avoided.  A  report  was  current,  at  the 
time,  that  they  took  the  wrong  road  by  design  ; 
but  this  was  pronounced  a  base  and  baseless 
slander. 

But  the  history  of  the  King's  cannon  is  not 
yet  complete.  It  was  soon  afterwards  furtively 
taken  by  a  body  of  men  from  Westminster, 
Vt.,  to  be  used  jn  celebrating  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  ;  and  was  retaken,  on  a  sudden  on- 
set, by  a  large  body  of  men  from  Walpole,  the 
selectmen  at  their  head,  while  actually  iu  use 
for  that  purpose.  It  was  afterwards  taken  by 
men  from  Alstead,  and  report  says  that  it  was, 
after  that,  appropriated  by  an  iron  founder  and 
transmuted  into  implements  of  husbandry. 

Manufacturing  Interests. — The  Faulk- 
ner &  Colony  woolen-mill  is  one  of  the  oldest  es- 
tablishments of  its  kind  in  the  State.  The  entire 
production  of  this  mill  is  flannel.  The  founders 
of  this  interest  have  long  since  passed  away,  and 
the  business  is  now  conducted  by  their  descend- 
ants. 

The  Keene  Furniture  Company  was  estab- 
lished in  1868.  This  company  employs  about 
one  hundred  hands.  Its  principal  owner  is 
Edward  Joslin ;  F.  L.  Sprague  and  C.  L. 
Kingsbury  are  the  managers  of  the  business. 
The  works  are  located  in  the  Hope  Steam  Mill 
Company's  buildings. 

The  Cheshire  Chair  Company  is  also  located 
in  the  buildings  of  the  Hope  Steam  Mill  Com- 
pany. It  was  organized  January  1,  1869,  and 
at  present  consists  of  Edward  and  C.  E.  Joslin 
and  George  W.  McDuffee.  The  Keene  Chair 
Company  is  also  a  large  establishment,  at  South 
Keene,  of  which  Hon.  S.  W.  Hale  is  president. 

The  celebrated  "Clipper  "  mowing-machine  is 
manufactured  at  South  Keene.      Among   other 


100 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


manufacturers  are  Nims,  Whitney  &  Co.,  manu- 
facturers of  sash,  doors  and  blinds  ;  C.  N.  Tot- 
tingham  A:  Co.,  manufacturers  of  sleighs. 
J.  &  F.  French,  manufacture  the  Keene  sleigh. 
This  business  was  commenced  in  1839.  AYil- 
kinson&  McGregor  manufacture  the  celebrated 
Keene  harness.  The  Humphrey  Machine  Com- 
pany manufactures  the  I  X  L  turbine  water- 
wheel.  A  wheel  costing  ten  thousand  dollars  was 
made  at  this  establishment,  in  1884,  for  a  Low- 
ell mill;  pottery  (J.  S.  Taft  &  Co.),  brick, 
paint-brushes,  impervious  cans,  etc.,  are  also 
manufactured  here.  The  Hope  Steam  Mill 
(  'oiiipany.  in  addition  to  supplying  power  for 
other  manufacturers,  manufactures  pails,  tubs, 
etc.;  John  Simons,  tannery;  Frank  E.  Foster, 
tannery;  Morse  Bros.,  soap-works;  Upham's 
glue  works. 

Mkmhers  of  Congress. — Keene  has  fur- 
nished six  members  of  Congress  :  Peleg  Sprague, 
Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Sr.,  Joseph  Buffum,  Salma 
Hale,  James  Wilson,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  McKay 
Edwards. 

Governors. — Samuel  Dinsmoor  and  his  son, 
Samuel  Dinsmoor,  Jr.,1  have  been  the  only  Gov- 
ernors elected  from  Keene  until  1882.  In  that 
year  Samuel  W.  Hale  was  elected  Governor. 

War  of  the  Rebellion. — The  first  war- 
meeting  was  held  in  Keene  April  20,  1861.  The 
meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Hon.  Levi 
Chamberlain,  and  the  following  officers  were 
chosen:  President,  ex-Governor  Samuel  Dins- 
moor; Vice-Presidents,  ex-Governor  William 
llaile,  Colonel  David  Buffum,  Captain  J.  S. 
Adams,  William  P.  Wheeler,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Read,  Colonel  T.  A.  Barker,  F.  A.  Faulkner 
and  Hon.  Jacob  Taylor;  Secretaries,  George  H. 
Tilden  and  A.  S.  Whitcomb. 

This  meeting  was  an  enthusiastic  one,  and  one 
of  the  resolutions  adopted  at  its  close  was  "that 
we  will  encourage  ami  sustain,  with  our  approval 
and    sympathy,  and    also    with    '  material  aid,' 


1  Levi  Chamberlain  of  the  Cheshire  bar,  was  at  one  time 
the  opposing  candidate  of  the  latter.  Mr.  Chamberlain, 
well  knowing  that  in  Keene  the  men  of  his  own  political 
stripe  preponderated,  playfully  suggested,  with  his  charac- 
teristic mirth,  that  t<>  avoid  putting  the  State  to  so  much 
trouble,  Mr,  Dinsmoor  and  he  had  best  "  leave  the  case 
nut  "  to  the  decision  of  the  friends  and  neighbors  by  whom 
they  were  best  known. 


those  citizens  of  our  county  who  shall  enroll 
themselves  as  soldiers  in  response  to  the  recent 
call  of  the  Governor."  And  most  thoroughly 
was  this  resolution  carried  out.  Keene  respond- 
ed promptly  to  the  call  of  her  imperiled  country. 
Rev.  William  Orne  White,  in  speaking  of 
this  "  war-meeting,"  in  the  admirable  address 
delivered  by  him  in  Keene,  July  4,  1876, 
says  — 

"  Tt  was  a  memorable  scene,  when,  in  the  sunlight 
of  the  afternoon  of  May  20th,  1861,  the  late  Ex-Gov- 
ernor  Dinsmoor  stood  upon  the  platform  erected  for 
the  occasion,  on  Central  Square,  and,  in  presence  of 
a  multitude,  said,  as  he  introduced  to  them  Hon. 
James  Wilson,  still  happily  spared  to  us  (both  deco- 
rated with  the  red,  white  and  blue) :  '  Amid  the  gen- 
eral gloom  which  pervades  the  community  there  is 
yet  one  cause  for  congratulation, — that  we  at  last  see 
a  united  North.'  Representing  different  political  or- 
ganizations, these  honored  men  served  to  typify  the 
patriotism,  which,  in  that  trying  hour,  fused  so  many 
hearts  in  one.  How  the  women,  moved  with  a  com- 
mon purpose,  toiled  week  alter  week,  year  after  year, 
in  connection  with  the  '  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,'  or  to 
help  the  benevolent  work  of  the  United  States  Sani- 
tary Commission  !  -  How  like  romance  sound  some 
of  the  surprises  caused  by  the  handicraft  of  the  New 
Hampshire  women.3  A  Dublin  soldier-boy,  in  his 
distant  hospital,  gains  strength  to  scan  the  names  in- 
scribed upon  his  album-quilt,  and  is  strangely  stirred 
as  the  names  grow  more  and  more  familiar,  until  at 
last  he  sees  the  handwriting  of  his  own  mother. 

"  As  we  recall  those  memorable  days,  how  that  com- 
pany of  the  Second  Regiment,  moving  forth  from  our 
railroad  station,  at  the  signal  of  prayer,  comes  back  to 
our  minds,  and  those  tents  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Sixth,  as  for  weeks  together  they  whitened  the  plains 
beyond  the  Ashuelot !  How  shall  I  speak  of  the  cour- 
age, the  patience,  the  devotion  of  sueh  nun  '.'  I  aban- 
don the  attempt.  In  summer  and  winter,  week  in  and 
week  out,  they  have  their  perpetual  orator.  There 
he  stands  in  brazen  panoply  of  armor  !  If  you  have 
never  heeded  him,  you   will  not  heed    me!     But  in 


2So  early  as  March  1 1,  1862, the  town  votes  three  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  relief  of  wives,  children  or  parents  of 
volunteers. 

8  After  the  subsidence  of  the  war  five  hundred  dollars 
a  year  were  paid  l>y  a  combination  of  persons  in  the  va- 
rious religious  societies,  for  two  or  three  years,  to  the 
"  Keene  Freedinan's  Aid  Society.''  The  "Ladies'  Charita- 
ble Society  "  unites,  as  it  has  for  many  years,  the  sympa- 
thies of  all  the  parishes.  The  "Invalids'  Home  "  was 
founded  chiefly  by  the  aid  of  the  "Keene  Congregational 
(or  Unitarian)  Society,  "  its  chief  benefactor  being  the  late 
Charles  Wilson,  who  left  to  the  Home  the  sum  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars. 


KEENE. 


101 


his  meditative  attitude,  to  me  he  speaks,  uot  wholly 
of  the  storm-cloud  of  battle,  nor  of  freedom  dawning 
upon  millions  of  a  once  enslaved  race ;  he  seems  to 
dream,  besides,  of  brighter  days  for  his  country,  days 
when  '  men  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares, 
and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks,  nation  shall  not 
lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more.'  The  time  shall  come  when  no  living 
tongue  among  their  comrades  shall  be  left  to  tell  of 
Lane  and  Leverett,  of  Metcalf  and  Flint,  Crossfield 
and  Rugg,  and  Howard  and  Cheney,  and  their  asso- 
ciates, who  returned,  not  alive,  to  the  dear  old  home ! 
One  by  one,  all  who  bore  part  in  the  gigantic  contest 
shall  have  passed  onward.  Yet  even  then,  God  grant 
that  those  silent  lips  may  speak  eloquently  to  the  fu- 
ture dwellers  in  this  happy  valley,  of  those  sons  of 
Keene  who,  in  behalf  of  their  country,  presented  'their 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice.'  " 

The  record  of  Keene  during  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  is  one  in  which  her  citizens  may  justly 
feel  a  patriotic  pride.  Captain  Henry  C.  Han- 
derson  recruited  the  first  volunteers.  The  first 
company  raised  became  Company  G  of  the  First 
Regiment,  A.  J.  Sargent,  captain.  The  follow- 
ing companies  also  went  out  from  Keene :  Com- 
pany A,  Second  Regiment,  T.  A.  Barker,  cap- 
tain ;  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment,  H.  T.  H. 
Pierce,  captain ;  Company  E,  Sixth  Regiment, 
O.  G.  Do'rt,  captain ;  Company  I,  Ninth  Regi- 
ment, John  W.  Babbitt,  captain  ;  Company  G, 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  Solon  A.  Carter,  captain. 
A  portion  of  Company  K,  Third  Regiment,  was 
also  from  Keene. 

The  Sixth  Regiment  was  organized  at  Keene, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Nelson  Converse,  and 
later  by  ( 'olouel  S.  G.  Griffin,  afterwards  major- 
general.  A  portion  also  of  Company  K,  Third 
Regiment,  was  from  this  town. 

The  following  is  the  roll  of  honor : 

Captain  Henry  N.  Metcalf,  killed  at  Gettysburg. 

A.  W.  Heaton,  died  of  wounds,  May  25,  1862. 

William  H.  Hookins,  died  of  wounds,  July  25, 
18G2. 

G.  H.  Muchmore,  first  lieutenant,  killed  at  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run. 

J.  H.  Jenks,  sergeant-major,  killed  at  Cedar  Creek, 
October  19,  1864. 

Edward  E.  Sturdevant,  major,  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg. 

Henry  Holton,  died  March  17,  1863. 

John  A.  Drummer,  died  December  9,  1861. 

John  G.  Darling,  died. 

Henry  White,  died  December  9,  1861. 


C.  C.  Cheney,  died  February  26,  1862. 

Henry  Flint,  died  October  16,  1862. 

George  W.  Marsh,  drowned  August  31,  1862. 

Henry  Sprague,  died  August  17, 1863. 

C.  D.  Chase,  died  July  20,  1863. 

F.  J.  Leverett,  died  October  2,  1863. 

E.  J.  Perham,  died  October  26, 1862. 

C.  E.  Towns,  died  February  20,  1865. 

N.  T.  Dunn,  died  September  8,  1864. 

L.  M.  Parker,  died  June  20,  1865. 

Edwin  Marvin,  died  December  15,  1862. 

E.  F.  Dickinson,  died  of  wounds,  June  17,  1864. 

H.  W.  Willard,  died  March  3,  1865. 

Charles  J.  Wilder,  killed  October  13,  1864. 

Soldiers'  Monument. — The  first  move- 
ment for  the  erection  of  a  soldiers'  memorial  in 
Keene  was  started  in  1868,  when  two  thousand 
dollars  was  voted  for  the  purpose,  and  a  build- 
ing committee  chosen.  In  August,  1870,  an 
additional  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  was 
voted,  and  a  committee  of  five  chosen  to  erect 
upon  Central  Square  such  a  monument  as  they 
should  think  best. 

The  monument  stands  at  the  extreme  south 
end  of  the  park  in  Central  Square,  facing  the 
south.  It  was  designed  by  Martin  Milmore,  of 
Boston,  and  was  cast  by  the  Ames  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  of  Chicopee,  Mass. 

It  consists  of  a  bronze  figure  of  a  soldier,  eight 
feet  in  height,  standing  at  rest;  the  butt  of  the 
musket  is  placed  upon  the  ground,  and,  passing 
up  between  the  right  arm  and  the  body,  is  sup- 
ported by  the  right  hand,  which  is  raised  to- 
wards the  shoulder  and  grasps  the  piece  in  a  firm 
but  pliant  manner. 

The  figure  rests  principally  upon  the  right 
leg,  while  the  left  is  advanced  to  an  easy  posi- 
tion, giving  balance  and  repose  to  the  whole. 

The  drapery  is  that  of  a  common  soldier  in 
the  late  war,  including  the  overcoat,  which  was 
so  useful  in  active  service,  and  which  now  serves 
so  admirably  as  a  foil  to  the  stiffness  of  the  or- 
dinary costume  and  gives  to  the  figure  something 
of  the  grace  necessary  to  a  work  of  art.  The 
pose  of  the  figure  is  easy,  at  the  same  time  firm 
and  commanding.  The  countenance  ex- 
presses that  clear  intelligence  and  sterling  com- 
mon sense  which  distinguishes  the  true  American 
volunteer,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  statue  is 
that  of  the  courageous,  ready,  firm  and  patriotic 
citizen-soldier.  The  figure  stands  upon  a  pedestal 


102 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  Roxbury  granite,  composed  of  the  following 
sections : 

A  lower  base,  seven  and  one-half  feet  square 
and  fifteen  inches  high  ;  second  base,  six  feet 
two  inches  square  and  eighteen  inches  high  ; 
third  base,  five  feet  four  inches  square  and  nine 
inches  high;  fourth  base,  four  feet  ten  inches 
square  and  twelve  inches  high.  On  these  four 
bases  rest  the  die,  which  is  four  feet  square  by 
five  feet  eight  inches  in  height  ;  the  whole  sur- 
mounted by  a  cap,  five  feet  four  inches  square 
and  eighteen  inches  thick.  On  the  south  of  the 
die  is  a  bronze  tablet,  forty-eight  by  thirty-three 
inches,  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Keene  will  cherish  in  perpetual  honor  the  mem- 
ory of  her  sons  who  fought  for  liberty  and  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Republic. 

1861-1865. 
"  The  honor  of  the  heroic  dead  is  the  inspiration  of 
posterity." 

The  entire  height  of  the  pedestal  is  twelve 
feei  ten  inches,  and  the  total  height  of  the  pedes- 
tal and  statue  twenty  feet  ten  inches.  Surround- 
ing the  monument,  and  distant  from  it  ten  feet, 
is  a  granite  curbing. 

The  monument  was  dedicated  October  20, 1871, 
amid  a  large  concourse  of  people.  Many  distin- 
guished guests  were  also  present,  among  whom 
were  ( ieneral  Kilpatrick,  General  Garfield,  Gov- 
ernor Weston  and  staff,  Mr.  Mil  more,  of  Boston, 
and  others.  The  introductory  address  of  the  day 
was  delivered  by  Major-General  S.  G.  Griffin, 
who  was  president  of  the  day.  The  presentation 
address  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Geo.  B.  Twitchell, 
and  Mr.  Geo.  H.  Gilbert,  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen,  responded  with  an  address  of  accept- 
ance. The  oration  was  delivered  by  General 
Judson  Kilpatrick.  Remarks  were  also  made 
by  Governor  Weston,  Senator  Patterson,  General 
Garfield,  Colonel  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Martin 
Milmore,  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Edwards,  Hon.  Ho- 
sea  Parker,  ( ieneral  Natt.  Head,  General  M.  T. 
Donahue  and  Hon.  Peter  Sanborn. 

PHYSICIANS. — The  following  physicians  have 
practiced  in  this  town  :  Dr.  Daniel  Adams,  Amos 
Twitchell,  Chas.  E.  Adams,  (sonof  Dr.  Daniel), 
Jos.  Wheeler,  Thaddeus  Met  'arty,  Daniel  Hough, 

J.   B.   Douseman,   George  B.   Twitchell, 

Smith,  J.  F.  Jenison,  Thos.  B.  Kitteredge,  Dr. 


Cole,  A.  S.  Carpenter,  H.  H.  Darling,  Ira 
Prouty,  Wm.  Geddes  (deceased),  Wm.  R.  Dur- 
ham, Geo.  W.  Flagg,  I.  J.  Prouty,  Dr.  G.  C. 
Hill,  Mrs.  G.  C.  Hill,  G.  H.  Bridgman,  S.  M. 
Dinsmoor,  A.  B.  Thurston  and  J.  H.  Leach. 

City  of  Keene. — The  first  meeting  of  the 
legal  voters  of  Keene  for  the  choice  of  city  and 
ward  officers  was  held  on  the  second  Tuesday 
in  April,  1874,  when  the  following  officers 
were  elected;  and  on  the  5th  day  of  May  fol- 
lowing were  duly  clothed    with  administrative 

powers. 

1874. 

Mayor :  Horatio  Colony. 

Aldermen:  Ward  1,  Horatio  Kimball;  Ward  2, 
Edward  Farrar ;  Ward  3,  Hon  H.  Woodward  ;  Ward 
4,  Francis  C.  Faulkner  ;  Ward  5,  Reuben  Stewart. 

City  Clerk:  Henry  S.  Martin. 

President  Common  Council  :  Henry  H.  Darling. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Alanson  S.  Whitcomb,  Fran- 
cis French,  Franklin  J.Ware;  Ward  2,  Henry  H. 
Darling,  Miles  S.  Buckminster,  George  W.  Holbrook  ; 
Ward  3,  Joseph  K.  Beal,  James  W.  Dodge,  Nathan 
G.  Woodbury;  Ward  4,  Frederick  H.  Kingsbury, 
Leander  W.  Cummings,  Charles  N.  Wilder  ;  Ward  5, 
William  Dinsmoor,  Oscar  J.  Howard,  Horace  Ham- 

blett. 

1875. 

Mayor :  Horatio  Colony. 

Aldermen :  Ward  1,  Solon  S.  Wilkinson  ;  Ward  2, 
Edward  Farrar ;  Ward  3,  Joseph  R.  Beal ;  Ward  4, 
William  P.  Abbott ;  Ward  5,  Reuben  Stewart. 

City  Clerk  :  Frank  H.  Starkweather. 

President  Common  Council :  Frederick  H.  Kings- 
bury. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Francis  A.  Perry,  Asa  Fair- 
banks, William  L.  Davis ;  Ward  2,  George  W.  Hol- 
brook, Miles  S.  Buckminster,  Asa  Smith ;  Ward  3, 
Allen  Giffin,  William  H.  Knowlton,  Daniel  H.  Saw- 
yer; Ward  4,  Charles  N.  Wilder,  Frederick  H. 
Kingsbury,  Charles  Shrigley  ;  Ward  5,  William  Dins- 
moor, Reuben  Hyland,  Horace  Hamblett. 

1876. 

Mayor:  Edward  Farrar. 

Aldermen:  Ward  1,  Solon  S.  Wilkinson;  Ward  2, 
Thomas  E.  Hatch ;  Ward  3,  Joseph  R.  Beal ;  Ward 

4,  William  P.  Abbott;  Ward  5,  Henry  S.  Martin. 
City  Clerk  :  Frank  H.  Starkweather.1 
President  Common  Council :  Charles  Shrigley. 
Councilmen:   Ward  1,  Francis  A.  Perry,  Asa  Fair- 
banks, Samuel  O.  Gates;  Ward  2,  Asa    Smith,  Oren 

5.  Gleason,  Warren  W.  Mason  ;  Ward  3,  William  H. 

1City  Clerk  Starkweather  having  died  in  office  June  1st, 
Lucius  C.  Doolittle  was  elected  to  fill  the  place  August  8th 
following. 


KEENE. 


103 


Knowlton,  Daniel  H.  Sawyer,  William  P.  Chamber- 
lain; Ward  4,  Charles  Shrigley,  Josiah  M.  Wood- 
ward, Gardner  C.  Hill ;  Ward  5,  Horace  Hamblett, 
Reuben  Hyland,  Edward  C.  Thayer. 

1877. 

Mayor :  Edward  Farrar. 

Aldermen  :  Ward  1,  George  W.  Ball ;  Ward  2, 
Thomas  E.  Hatch  ;  Ward  3,  Ira  F.  Prouty ;  Ward  4, 
George  H.  Tilden  ;  Ward  5,  Henry  S.  Martin. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  Common  Council :  Gardner  C.  Hill. 

Councilmen :  Ward  1,  Benjamin  D.  Hutchins, 
James  S.  Taft,  Luther  Starkey ;  Ward  2,  Warren  W. 
Mason,  Oren  S.  Gleason,  Orlen  D.  Pratt ;  Ward  3, 
William  P.  Chamberlain,  Jason  French,  Harvey 
Phillips ;  Ward  4,  Josiah  M.  Woodward,  Gardner  C. 
Hill,  Joseph  Wilson ;  Ward  5,  Edward  C.  Thayer, 
Frederick  E.  Robinson,  George  F.  Sanborn. 

1878. 

Mayor :  Reuben  Stewart. 

Aldermen:  Ward  1,  George  W.  Ball;  Ward  2, 
George  K.  Wright ;  Ward  3,  Ira  F.  Prouty  ;  Ward  4, 
George  F.  Tilden ;  Ward  5,  Edward  C.  Thayer. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  Common  Council :  James  S.  Taft. 

Councilmen :  Ward  1,  Benjamin  D.  Hutchins, 
James  S.  Taft,  Daniel  R.  Cole;  Ward  2,  James  C. 
Whittle,  Orlen  D.  Pratt,  John  W.  Nye;  Ward  3, 
Charles  A.  Gale,  Jason  French,  Harvey  Phillips; 
Ward  4,  Norris  G.  Gurnsey,  Jehiel  Haflow,  Joseph 
Wilson ;  Ward  5,  George  F.  Sanborn,  Cheever  P. 
Felch,  Laton  Martin. 

1879. 

Mayor :  Reuben  Stewart. 

Aldermen :  Ward  1,  Horatio  Kimball ;  Ward  2, 
George  K.  Wright;  Ward  3,  Jason  French  ;  Ward  4, 
Norris  G.  Gurnsey  ;  Ward  5,  Luther  P.  Alden. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  Common  Council :  Charles  A.  Gale. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Charles  F.  Wilson,  Franklin 
J.  Ware,  Fred.  A.  Barker;  Ward  2,  James  C.  Whittle, 
John  W.  Nye,  Caleb  Goodnow  ;  Ward  3,  Charles  A. 
Gale,  Clark  N.  Chandler,  Albert  O.  Fisk ;  Ward  4, 
Jehiel  Harlow,  Dexter  W.  Gilbert,  Warren  O.  Wil- 
son ;  Ward  5,  Cheever  P.  Felch,  Laton  Martin,  James 
H.  Smith. 

1880. 

Mayor :  Horatio  Kimball. 

Aldermen :  Ward  1,  Charles  F.  Wilson  ;  Ward  2, 
Cyrus  Piper ;  Ward  3,  Jason  French  ;  Ward  4,  Norris 
G.  Gurnsey  ;  Ward  5,  Edward  B.  Tarbell. 

City  Clerk:  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  Common  Council :  Dexter  W.  Gilbert. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Hiram  Blake,  James 
Spencer,  Milton  M.  Parks ;  Ward  2,  Jerry  P.  Well- 
man,  James  W.  Russell,  Charles  W.  Buckminster ; 


Ward  3,  Albert  O.  Fisk,  George  W.  McDuffee,  James 
H.  Fisher ;  Ward  4,  Dexter  W.  Gilbert,  George  H. 
Richards,  Charles  W.  Shedd ;  Ward  5,  James  H. 
Smith,  Sylvanus  A.  Morse,  Henry  S.  Coulliard. 

1881. 

Mayor  :  Ira  W.  Russell. 

Aldermen :  Ward  1,  Charles  F.  Wilson ;  Ward  2, 
Cyrus  Piper ;  Ward  3,  George  W.  McDuffee ;  Ward 
4,  Dexter  W.  Gilbert ;  Ward  5,  Luther  P.  Alden. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  Common  Council  :  George  H.  Richards. 

Councilmen :  Ward  1,  Milton  M.  Parks,  James 
Spencer,  Rufus  Freeman ;  Ward  2,  Jerry  P.  Well- 
man,  James  W.  Russell,  Henry  W.  Nims ;  Ward  3, 
James  H.  Fisher,  Clark  N.  Chandler,  Austin  E. 
Howard ;  Ward  4,  George  H.  Richards,  Charles  W. 
Shedd,  Zebina  K.  Graves ;  Ward  5,  Stephen  L.  Ran- 
dall, De  Los  C.  Ball,  Henry  S.  Coulliard. 

1882. 

Mayor  :  Ira  W.  Russell. 

Aldermen  :  Ward  1,  Ralph  J.  Holt ;  Ward  2,  George 
B.  Twitchell ;  Ward  3,  George  W.  McDuffee ;  Ward 
4,  Dexter  W.  Gilbert ;  Ward  5,  Luther  P.  Alden. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  of  Common  Council :  Stephen  L.  Ran- 
dall. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Rufus  Freeman,  Albert  W. 
Shelden,  Edwin  M.  Bullard ;  Ward  2,  Henry  W. 
Nims,  George  L.  Burdett,  Charles  L.  Johnson ;  Ward 

3,  Clark  N.  Chandler,  Austin  E.  Howard",  Charles 
Bridgman ;  Ward  4,  Zebina  K.  Graves,  Clement  J. 
Woodward,  Charles  H.  Hersey ;  Ward  5,  Stephen  L. 
Randall,  De  Los  C.  Ball,  Henry  S.  Coulliard. 

1883. 

Mayor :  Horatio  Kimball. 

Alderman :  Ward  1,  Silas  Hardy  ;  Ward  2,  George 
L.  Burdett;  Ward  3,  George  E.  Holbrook;  Ward  4, 
Frederick  H.  Kingsbury  ;    Ward  5,  Reuben  Hyland. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  of  Common  Council:  Charles  H.  Her- 
sey. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  James  Marsh,  Clark  F. 
Rowell,  Daniel  C.  Howard ;  Ward  2,  Walter  W.  Gla- 
zier, Asa  M.  Holt,  Franklin  H.  Fay  ;  Ward  3,  Austin 
E.  Howard,  Virgil  A.  Wright,  Henry  A.  Stone ; 
Ward  4,  Clement  J.  Woodward,  Charles  H.  Hersey, 
Charles  Wright ;  Ward  5,  Leonard  Wright,  Marcus 
Ellis,  Frederick  A.  Barker. 

1884. 

Mayor:  Horatio  Kimball. 

Aldermen  :  Ward  1,  Daniel  C.  Howard  ;  Ward  2, 
George  L.  Burdett ;  Ward  3,  Henry  N.  Stone  ;  Ward 

4,  Frederick  H.  Kingsbury ;  Ward  5,  Reuben  Hy- 
land. 

City  Clerk  :  Lucius  C.  Doolittle. 

President  of  Common  Council :    Virgil  A.  Wright. 


104 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAxMFSHIRE. 


Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  M.  V.  B.  Clark,  Charles  S. 
Coburn,  Harrison  R.  Ward  ;  Ward  2,  William  E.  Bur- 
dett,  Franklin  H.  Fay,  John  Gould ;  Ward  3,  Henry 
Giffin,  Albert  A.  Woodward,  Virgil  A.  Wright ;  Ward 
4,  Charles  Wright,  Abel  E.  Johnson,  Charles  Abbott 
(2d) ;  Ward  5,  Frederick  A.  Barker,  William  H.  El- 
liot, Parker  C.  Butler. 

1885- 

Mayor:  Alfred  T.  Batchelder. 

Aldermen  :  Ward  1,  Daniel  C.  Howard  ;  Ward  2, 
Franklin  H.  Fay;  Ward  3,  Solomon  F.  Merrill; 
Ward  4,  Caleb  T.  Buffum ;  Ward  5,  De  Los  C.  Ball. 

City  Clerk:  Samuel  Nims. 

President  of  Common  Council :  Charles  S.  Coburn. 

Councilmen  :  Ward  1,  Charles  S.  Coburn,  M.  V.  B. 
Clark,  Harrison  R.  Ward  ;  Ward  2,  John  Gould,  Syl- 
vester Spaulding,  Charles  R.  Nims  ;  Ward  3,  Albert 
A.  Woodward,  Henry  Giffin,  Charles  Wright  (2d); 
Ward  4,  Joshua  D.  Stevens,  Samuel  A.  Gerould,  Jr., 
Henry  M.  Nims  ;  Ward  5,  Parker  C.  Butler,  Henry  0. 
Spaulding,  Lester  K.  Styles. 

City  Solicitor :  John  T.  Abbott, 

City  Treasurer  :  Henry  O.  Coolidge. 

City  Marshal :  Edwin  R.  Locke. 

Constables :  Edwin  O.  Keith  and  Edwin  R.  Locke. 

City  Messenger  :  Edwin  O.  Keith. 

Police  Justice :  Edward  Farrar. 

City  Physician  :  Gardner  C.  Hill. 

Sexton  :  Henry  Purcell. 

Superintendent  of  Water- Works  and  Sewers:  D.  H. 
Sawyer. 

Superintendent  of  Highways  :  Elmer  A.  Nims. 

Librarian  :  Mrs.  Lizzie  M.  Converse. 

Assistant :  Miss  Zeolide  B.  Gilmore. 

Trustees  of  Public  Library  :  D.  W.  Gilbert,  Charles 
H.  Hersey,  William  P.  Chamberlain,  Mrs.  E.  J.  C. 
( rilbert,  Miss  Kate  I.  Tilden  and  Mrs.  M.  R.  Osborne. 

Superintendent  of  Cemeteries  :  Henry  Purcell. 

Overseer  of  the  Poor:  William  L.  Davis. 

Health  Commissioners :  Clark  F.  Rowell,  George 
H.  Bridgman,  M.D.,  and  Don  H.  Woodward. 

Assessors :  Sylvanus  A.  Morse,  Daniel  A.  Brown 
and  Daniel  R.  Cole. 

Collector:  Luther  P.  Alden. 

Kngincers  of  Fire  Department:  George  D.  Whee- 
lock  (chief),  John  A.  Batchelder,  Henry  H.  Barker, 
William  H.  Reyoum,  Chester  L.  Kingsbury  and 
1  [enry  W.  Harvey. 

Police  Officers:  William  H.  Reyoum,  Ira  D. 
Gates,  Jacob  Staples,  Henry  H.  Haynes,  Edwin  O. 
Keith,  James  R.  Livermore,  Walter  C.  Fassett, 
Frederick  L.  Pitcher,  Frank  D.  Griswold,  Amasa 
Plastridge,  Frederick  H.  Wilson  and  Joseph  W. 
Cummings. 

Surveyors  of  Wood  :  Charles  K.  Pemberton,  M.  A. 
Stowell,  C.  A.  Mason,  Z.  K.  Graves,  H.  C.  Fairbanks, 
John  B.  Fisher,  S.  L.  Bartlett,  G.  H.  Follansbee, 
Mortimer  Reardon,  Eugene  Seaver,  S.  H.  Holman, 
T.  H.  Bolio  and  E.  R.  Gerould. 


Surveyors  of  Lumber:  C.  K.  Pemberton,  M.  A. 
Stowell,  C.  A.  Mason,  S.  H.  Holman,  H.  R.  Ward, 
J.  Wilson,  D.  C.  Thompson,  M.  E.  Buckminster, 
O.  C.  Mansfield  and  Henry  N.  Stone. 

Weighers :  H.  P.  Muchmore,  H.  A.  Woodward, 
F.  E.  Foster,  L.  P.  Alden,  William  March,  George 
Giffin,  L.  W.  Hammond  and  George  E.  Fuller. 

Selectmen:  Ward  1,  Charles  W.  Buckminster, 
Richard  W.  Ward,  Herbert  A.  Davis ;  Ward  2,  Liberty 
W.  Foskett,  George  C.  Wood,  Carlos  L.  Seavey; 
Ward  3,  Albert  W.  Green,  Frederick  W.  Chase,  Al- 
bert Wright ;  Ward  4,  Oscar  H.  Fay,  Theodore  H. 
Bolio,  Myron  C.  Ellis;  Ward  5,  Calvin  II.  Ellis, 
Charles  H.  Butler,  John  Driscoll. 

Moderators:  Ward  1,  James  Marsh;  Ward  2, 
Charles  G.  Farrar;  Ward  3,  George  E.  Whitney; 
Ward  4,  Zebina  K.  Graves  ;  Ward  5,  Frederick  L. 
Pitcher. 

Ward  Clerks  ;  Ward  1,  Ainsworth  M.  Nims  ;  Ward 
2,  George  E.  Poole;  Ward  3,  Hosea  Foster;  Ward  4, 
Michael  L.  Landers;  Ward  5,  Frank  E.  Wheelock. 


BIOGKAPHIGAL  SKETCHES. 


ELLIOT. 

Genesis  of  a  New  England  Branch  of  the  Family,  1G50  to  1880. 

The  progenitors  of  the  Elliot  stock  in  Great 
Britain  were  undoubtedly  of  Norman  origin, 
and  their  descendants  have  been  for  many  cen- 
turies more  or  less  conspicuous  in  English  and 
Scottish  annals.  The  name  abroad  carries  for 
the  most  part  a  double  I  and  a  single  t;  but  in 
New  England  it  is  often  shortened  of  an  Z,  or 
lengthened  by  a  t. 

1.  Lieutenant  Andrew  Elliot,  of  Bev- 
erly, came  from  Somersetshire,  England,  with 
his  family  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth 
eentury;  married  (1)  Grace,  (2)  Mary;  was 
representative  in  1  <i!)0-92,  and  was  one  of  the 
jurors  on  the  Witch  Trials.  Jlis  will  is  dated 
February  2(5,  17<>."5-4,  and  proved  April  2, 
1704,  in  which  he  mentions:  1st,  Mary,  his 
wife  for  forty  years  and  more;  2d,  his  son 
William,  his  present  wile,  Mary,  and  children, — 
Andrew,  William,  John,  Judith,  Mary,  Emma 
and  Elizabeth  ;  3d,  Ins  son  Andrew,  deceased, 
and  his  children, — Andrew,  Samuel,  Mercy  and 
Grace;  4th,  his  daughter,  Mary  Woodbury, 
relict  of  Nicholas  Woodbury;  5th,  his  daughter, 


E>iq 


KEENE. 


105 


Emma  Blower,  and  her  son,  Andrew  Wood- 
bury ;  6th,  grandchildren,  Joanna  and  Andrew 
Woodbury,  children  of  his  son-in-law,  Andrew 
Woodbury,  deceased. — Essex  Wills,  VIII.  95. 
No  record  is  found  in  Essex  County  of  the 
births  of  his  children,  and  they  were  probably 
all  born  in  East  Coker,  in  England,  between 
L650  and  1660.     He  had  — 

1.  Andrew,  Jr.,  born ,  drowned  off  Cape 

Sable,  September,  1688. 

II.  William,2   born    ,   his    will    proved 

February,  1721-22. 

III.  Mary,  married  Nicholas  Woodbury. 

IV.  Emma,  married  (1)  Andrew  Woodbury, 
(2)  A.  Blower. 

Andrew  Elliot,  Jr.,  married  Mercy  Shattuck 
December,  1680;  had  Mercy,  1681;  Andrew 
1683  ;  Samuel,  1686  ;  and  Grace,  1687.  Many 
of  his  posterity  are  recorded  among  the  dis- 
tinguished citizens  of  Boston. 

2.  William  Elliot,2  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Francis  Brown,  of  Newbury.  He 
had  sons, — 

I.  Andrew,3  born  March  3, 1682  ;  died  April 
20th,  same  year. 

II.  Andrew,3  born  March  14,  1683  ;  had  a 
large  family.* 

III.  William,3  born  September  14,  1685  ; 
had  a  large  family.1 

IV.  John,3  born  May  16,  1693  ;  died  April, 
1751;  and  daughters:  Judith,  born  March, 
1688  ;  Mary,  born  June,  1691 ;  Emma,  born 
May,  1697;  and  Elizabeth,  born  October, 
1699. 

3.  John  Elliot,3  married  (1)  April  10, 
1715,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Freeborn  Balch, 
who  died  May  21, 1718.     Their  children  were  : 

I.  Skipper,4  born  January  1,  1715-16;  lived 
in  Newbury. 

II.  John,4  born  March  10,  1717  ;  died  June 
25,  1781. 


*  Into  the  large  family,  either  of  William  or  Andrew, 
grandsons  of  Lieutenant  Andrew,  and  sons  of  William, 
most  probably  may  be  traced  Elias  Elliot,  born  1707 ; 
married,  1729,  Ruth  Lawrence,  of  Groton ;  had  William, 
Oliver,  Jeremiah,  Elias  and  five  daughters,  and  died  in 
1788.  His  son  Oliver  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and 
two  years. — sero  in  coelum. 


Married  (2),  April  20, 1720,  Hannah  Waldron. 
Their  sons  were  : 

II L  Nathaniel,4  born  March,  1721. 

IV.  William,4  born  July,  1731  ;  and 
daughters  :  Frances,  born  July,  1723  ;  Eliza- 
beth, born  June,  1725;  Abigail,  born  June, 
1729  ;  and  Hannah,  born  January,  1736. 

4.  Johx  Elliot,4  married  Sarah  (born 
1720,  died  1791);  settled  in  Bradford,  on  the 
Merrimac,  where  his  children  were  born ; 
subsequently  lived  a  few  years  in  Nottingham, 
and,  in  his  old  age,  near  his  sons,  in  Mason ; 
sold,  in  April,  1764,  land  in  Beverly  inherited 
from  his  father ;  died  1781. — Essex  County 
Deeds,  Lb.  X.  p.  240.     His  sons  were  : 

I.  John,  Jr.,  born  1747;  married  Rachel; 
had  Andrew,  William,  David  and  two 
daughters  ;  died  at  Hudson. 

II.  William,  Rev.,  born  December,  1748  ; 
married  Dorothy  Merrill,  and  had  a  son, 
William,  Jr.,  and  four  daughters ;  then  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Hildreth,  and  had  seven  sons — 
Israel,  Joseph,  Seth,  Jesse,  Samuel,  Abel,  Ad- 
dison David — and  four  daughters. 

III.  Andrew,  Deacon,  born  1755 ;  married 
Hannah  Dakin ;  had  John,  Andrew,  George, 
Amos,  William  and  five  daughters;  died  1811. 

IV.  David,5  "Ensign,"  born  1751;  died 
1793;  and  daughters:  Abigail,  born  1750, 
married  (1)  A.  AVinn,  (2)  W.  Barnes,  (3)  J. 
Dakin,  had  twelve  children,  died  1844;  and 
Sarah,  born  1753,  married  John  Tarbell. 

5.  David  Elliot.5 — A  soldier  with  his 
brother,  John,  Jr.,  in  Captain  Towne's  com- 
pany, of  Colonel  Reed's  regiment,  at  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  June  17,  1775.  His  company 
was  discharged  at  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  the 
spring  following;  married  (1)  1778,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Benjamin  Adams,  of  New 
Ipswich,  born  1761,  died  1789.  Their  chil- 
dren were : 

I.  Hannah,  born  1781,  died  1855;  married 
Amos  Emory  ;  their  children  were  :  David  El- 
liot, Eunice  Adams,  Eliza,  Elijah,  Harriet,  Em- 
ily, Elvira,  Hannah,  Amos,  Lucretia,  Azro, 
Henry  Everett,  Henrietta. 

II.  John,6  born  1783,  died  1865. 
Married  (2)  Lucy  Campbell,  ne'e  Emory,  born 

1756,  died  1846  ;  their  children  were  : 


106 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


III.  David,  born  1790,  dial  1798. 

IV.  Daniel,  Dr.,  born  1792,  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, 1813;  married  Abby  Greelee  ;  had  two 
sons  and  two  daughters,  viz.:  Augustus  (iree- 
lce,  Henry  Bond,  Lucy  and  Caroline;  died 
1865. 

6.  John  Elliot.6 — Business  life,  chiefly 
with  his  maternal  relative,  Aaron  Appleton,  at 
Keene,  manufacturing  window-glass  ;  he  was 
for  many  years  President  of  the  Cheshire  Bank, 
at  Keene  ;  married  Deborah  Bixby  ;  born  17N7, 
died  1880,  and  had  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, viz.: 

I.  D.  Mafia,  died,  unmarried,  in  IS 62,  aged 
fifty-one. 

II.  John  Henry,7  Harvard  University,  183"), 
A. 15.  and  A.M. 

III.  James  Bixby,  married  (1)  Harriet  R. 
Eames,  who  died  1868;  had  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  viz.  :  James  H.,  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, 1864,  Arthur  N.,  George  B.,  Andrew  R., 
( trace  and  Florence. 

Married  (2)  Jane  Savage. 

IV.  Frances,  died  an  infant,  1818. 

7.  John  Henry  Elliot,7  studied  law;  bus- 
iness life  was  spent  as  treasurer,  trustee  and  ac- 
tuary of  the  Ashuelot  Railroad  ;  secretary  and 
director  of  the  Cheshire  Railroad ;  president  of 
Cheshire  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  of  the 
Cheshire  Bank ;  and  president  or  director  in 
several  other  corporations.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Executive  Council  of  New  Hampshire 
at  the  fall  of  the  slaveholders'  reign  and  the 
rise  of  the  plutocratic  rule  of  the  nation.  Rei- 
publicce  forma — laudare  facilius  guam  evenire. 
Married,  L848,  Emily  Ann  Wheelock,  born 
1821,  died  1860  ;  their  children  were: 

I.  William  Henry,  Harvard  University, 
1872,  A.B.  andLL.B.;  married,  1882,  Mary 
Fiske  Edwards. 

II.  John  Wheelock,  Harvard  University, 
1S74,  A.B.  and  M.D.  ;  married  1883,  Mary 
Lee  Morse. 

III.  Emily  Jane,  married,  1882,  Tucker 
Daland  ;  Harvard  University,  1873,  A.B.  and 
LL.B. 

IV.  Russell  Gray,  died  an  infant,  1858. 


CALEB    T.    BUFFUM. 

Caleb  Talbot  Bufium,  son  of  James  and 
Ruth  (Bliss)  Buffuni,  was  born  in  Royalston, 
Mass.,  June  4,  1820.  His  father,  a  farmer, 
married  Ruth,  daughter  of  Nathan  Bliss,  and 
had  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  living.  (Na- 
than Bliss  was  one  of  the  "embattled  farmers 
of  1776,"  and  attained  a  great  age — over  ninety 
years.)  James  Bufl'um  moved  to  Keene  about 
1830,  where  he  now  resides,  aged  ninety-two. 

Caleb,  in  his  sixteenth  year,  went  to  learn 
the  tailor's  trade  with  Dinsmore,  White  & 
Lyon,  a  leading  mercantile  house  of  Keene. 
Remaining  with  them  four  years,  he  worked  as 
journeyman  one  year,  then,  in  IS  11,  he  formed 
a  co-partnership  with  Jonas  Parker,  under  firm- 
title  of  Bulfum  &  Parker,  and  commenced 
his  long  and  successful  business  career  as  a 
clothier  in  Keene.  For  fifteen  years  this  firm 
was  one  of  the  prominent  mercantile  houses  of 
Keene,  and  conducted  a  large  and  prosperous 
business.  Then  Mr.  Butfum,  aspiring  for  a 
larger  field  and  greater  opportunities,  closed  his 
connection  with  the  firm  of  which  he  had  been 
so  long  a  member  and  established  himself  in 
Boston  as  a  wholesale  dealer  in  clothing  and 
furnishing  goods.  This  new  sphere  of  activity 
was  highly  congenial  to  Mr.  Buffum's  business 
nature,  and  had  not  his  health  failed,  he  to-day 
would  doubtless  be  one  of  Boston's  merchants; 
but  on  account  of  his  health  he  was  compelled 
to  dispose  of  his  business  interests  in  Boston, 
and  goto  Florida  to  recuperate.  In  the  spring 
he  returned  to  Keene,  with  his  health  greatly 
improved,  and  rinding  the  bracing  atmosphere 
of  his  own  home  to  be  more  beneficial  to  him 
than  that  of  Boston,  he  repurchased  his  old 
interest  in  the  clothing  business,  and,  with  his 
brother  formed  the  firm  of  C.  T.  &  G.  B. 
Butfum,  and,  with  slight  changes,  this  was  con- 
tinued until  January,  1871,  when  Mr.  BufFum 
retired  from  active  business.  Asa  businessman, 
Mr.  BufFum  ha-  been  energetic,  far-seeing,  saga- 
cious, careful  and  conservative.  He  never 
strained  his  credit  and  believed  heartily  in  cash 
payments,  and  during  his  entire  business  life 
never  gave  but  one  note  in  commercial  transac- 
tion-.       Ili-   shrewd    common  sense   and   good 


Ena* 


; 


KEENE. 


107 


judgment  combined  with  his  financial  ability 
have  made  hiin  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
moneyed  institutions  of  Keene.  He  has  been 
for  several  years  a  director  of  the  Ashuelot 
National  Bank.  When  the  Keene  Five- Cents 
Savings-Bank  was  incorporated,  in  1868,  he  was 
one  of  the  incorporators,  was  made  one  of  the 
trustees,  and  placed  on  the  board  of  invest- 
ment, to  which  he  has  given  much  time,  and  of 
which  he  is  now  a  valued  member.  January  1, 
1876,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  savings- 
bank  and  yet  continues  in  that  office.  He  is 
actively  interested  in  the  Lombard  Investment 
Company,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Creston,  Iowa, 
of  which  he  is  a  director.  He  has  dealt  somewhat 
in  real  estate  in  Keene  and  quite  largely  in 
Western  and  Florida  lands.  He  is  interested  in, 
and  officially  connected  with,  several  financial 
and  monetary  institutions  in  the  West. 

Republican  in  politics,  he  represented  the 
town  of  Keene  two  years  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, but  has  not  sought  official  distinction  or 
political  preferment.  He  is  an  alderman  of 
Keene  the  present  year.  In  religious  belief  he 
is  a  liberal  Unitarian,  and  a  generous  contribu- 
tor to  that  church  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
He  has  been  much  interested  in  the  Society 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  and 
for  a  long  term  of  years  was  president  of  the 
Keene  Humane  Society,  resigning  the  position 
in  1884. 

Mr.  Buffum  married,  first,  April  19,  1843, 
Susan  R.,  daughter  of  Lewis  Gilmore,  of 
Charlestown,  N.  H. ;  she  died  December  21, 
1854.  Thev  had  one  child,  Ellen  A.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  married,  second, 
February  23,  1857,  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Asa 
Stratton,  of  Greenfield,  Mass.  The  two  chil- 
dren of  this  marriage  were  Fred.  Lincoln,  born 
Xovernber  14,  1860,  died  December  5,  1867, 
aged  seven  years,  and  Susie  S.,  born  April  19, 
1865. 

Since  his  retirement  from  active  business 
Mr.  Buffum  has  traveled  extensively  through- 
out the  United  States,  having  passed  three 
winters  in  Florida,  California  and  on  the 
Pacific  slope.  He  is  a  great  lover  of  hunting 
and  fishing,  and  enjoys  the  charms  which  a 
true    lover   of  nature   discovers    in    her  varied 


creations.  It  is  said  of  him,  by  one  who  knows 
him  well,  that  "  few  men  know  better  how  to 
crack  a  joke,  catch  a  fish  or  make  life  happier 
than  Caleb  T.  Buffum."  He  has  a  fine  collec- 
tion of  mounted  birds  and  animals, — trophies  of 
his  skill  with  gun  and  rod.  To  these  have 
been  added  other  specimens,  the  gifts  of  friends, 
and  various  minerals,  geological  and  antiquarian 
objects  of  interest,  the  whole  being  arranged 
and  classified  with  that  system  and  order  which 
is  an  essential  part  of  Mr.  Buffum's  nature, 
and  to  which  he  attributes  his  success  in  life. 

He  possesses  a  strong  personality,  is  leal  and 
loyal  in  his  friendships,  and  is  a  gentleman  of 
broad  and  liberal  views :  consequently  an  ex- 
tremely agreeable  social  companion.  He  is 
kind  and  affectionate  in  his  family  relations,  and 
a  worthy  citizen,  whose  character  through  life 
has  been  marked  by  honesty,  integrity  and 
honor ;  he,  to-day,  holds  no  second  place  in  the 
regards  of  his  large  circle  of  friends. 


EX-GOVERNOR  SAMUEL  W.  HALE. 

Ex-Governor  Samuel  W.  Hale  has  been  a 
well-known  resident  of  Keene  for  more  than 
a  quarter-century.  It  was  not  his  native  place, 
but  there  he  has  spent  most  of  his  maturer  years. 
He  was  born  in  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  April  2, 
1823,  and  is  descended  from  Moses  Hale,  of 
Newbury,  whose  son,  Moses  Hale  (2d),  married 
Abigail  Smith,  of  West  Newbury,  and  came  to 
Fitchburg  to  live  about  1786.  He  there 
reared  a  family  of  children,  the  third  of  whom 
was  Samuel  Hale,  who  married  Saloma  Whit- 
ney, of  Westminster,  Mass.  Both  Moses  Hale 
and  his  son  Samuel  were  farmers  by  occupation, 
and  the  old  homestead  was  situated  on  one  of 
those  magnificent  hills  which  now  overlook  the 
thriving  city  of  Fitchburg.  Among  these 
pleasant  surroundings  the  boy  Samuel  Whitney 
Hale  had  his  birth,  and  here,  by  vigorous  out- 
door labor,  a  strong  physical  constitution  was 
moulded.  As  is  always  the  case,  the  early 
teachings  of  this  home  in  moral  and  religious 
truths  have  exercised  a  constant  influence  in 
developing  character. 

The   advantages   of   the  district   school  and 
town  academy  were  the  best  to  be  had  at  home, 


108 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


but  they  were  improved  until  the  boy  graduated 
into  the  more  extensive  school  of  life's  labors. 

At  an  early  age  he  began  to  work  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  continued  to  do  so  until,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  he  left  the  parental  roof  to  en- 
gage in  business  with  his  brother,  already  es- 
tablished in  Dublin,  N.  H.  There  he  remained 
until  thi'  year  L859,  when  he  removed  to  Keene, 
then  a  busy  town,  awakened  into  life  by  new 
industries.  He  there  began  the  manufacture  of 
chairs,  at  first  in  a  small  way;  but,  as  the  busi- 
uess  prospered,  enlarging  it,  until  it  became  the 
Smith  Keene  Chair  Company,  which  has  con- 
ducted for  many  years  an  extensive  trade.  Mr. 
Hale,  from  time  to  time,  became  interested  in 
various  business  enterprises.  In  1879  he  es- 
tablished  the  Ashuelot  Furniture  Company, 
which  employed  more  than  one  hundred  men, 
until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  February, 
1884.  In  1882  he  purchased  the  Lebanon 
WOulen  Mills,  at  Lebanon,  X.  H. 

He  became  a  director  in  the  Citizens'  National 
Bank  of  Keene  and  the  Wachusett  Bank  of 
Fitchbnrg.  The  building  of  the  Manchester 
and  Keene  Railroad,  now  a  branch  of  the  Bos- 
ton and  Lowell,  was  a  great  undertaking,  and 
required  the  most  untiring  energy  and  persever- 
ance. It  was  "  confessedly  a  disastrous  failure 
until  Mr.  Hale  and  his  associates  came  to  its 
rescue."  They  succeeded  in  carrying  it  to  a 
successful  completion.  He  was  at  one  time 
treasurer  of  the  Boston,  Winthrop  and  Point 
Shirley  Railroad,  and  subsequently  president  of 
the  Boston,  Winthrop  and  Shore  Railroad. 

Ever  since  its  organization,  ex-Governor  Hale 
has  been  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party.  His  first  vote  was  cast  lor  the  Free-Soil 
candidate.     During  the  struggles    against    sla- 


0£> 


very,  in  discussion  and  in  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, his  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  freedom 
and  equality  was  uncompromising.  In  1866 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, and  re-elected  the  next  year.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Governor's  Council  in  1869  and 
L870,and  a  del.  gate  to  the  Republican  National 
Convention  in  1880.  After  a  prolonged  and 
exciting  canvass  he  was  nominated,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1882,  to  be  the  Republican  gubernatorial 
candidate.     The  campaign  was  one  of  unusual 


interest,  but,  amid  the  general  disaster  which 
overtook  the  Republicans  throughout  the  coun- 
try, Mr.  Hale  was  elected  Governor  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  filled  the  executive  office  for 
a  term  of  .two  years,  from  June,  1883.  Dur- 
ing his  administration  many  important  measures 
were  adopted.  Ex-Governor  Hale  has  been 
known  as  a  friend  of  every  good  cause.  He 
is  connected  with  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  in  Keene,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order. 

He  married,  in  1850,  Emelia  M.  Hay,  of 
Dublin,  and  has  two  children, — a  son,  William 
S.,  of  Keene,  and  a  daughter,  Mary  L.,  the 
wife  of  Rev.  William  De  Loss  Love,  of  Hart- 
ford,  Conn. 

For  many  years  ex-Governor  Hale  has  re- 
sided in  the  house  built  by  ex-Governor 
Samuel  Dinsmoor,  on  Main  Street,  Keene. 


JOHN    H.  FULLER. 

No  history  of  Keene  would  be  complete 
without  more  than  a  reference  to  John  H. 
Fuller.  Identified  with  every  business  de- 
velopment, the  largest  purchaser  of  wool  in  the 
county,  when  it  was  a  common  thing  for  a 
single  farmer  to  raise  from  one  to  two  thousand 
pounds,  he  was  yet  democratic  and  unconven- 
tional in  all  things,  with  an  honesty  that  was 
never  questioned.  His  son,  John  Quincy  Ful- 
ler, furnishes  the  steel  engraving  accompanying 
this  history  as  a  son's  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
a  worthy  father.  The  following  sketch  of  Mr. 
Fuller  was  written  by  J.  Henry  Elliot,  his 
associate  and  friend  of  years  : 

John  Houghton  Fuller  was  of  a  family  that 
emigrated  from  Lunenburg,  in  Massachusetts, 
to  Walpole,  in  this  county,  some  time  in  the 
final  decade  of  the  last  century. 

He  passed  his  minority  in  Walpole,  and  be- 
gan active  life  in  a  country  store,  first  in  Ches- 
terfield, then  in  Winchester  and  lastly  in  Keene, 
where  he  soon  engaged. in  wool  dealing,  which 
became  the  main  business  of  his  after-life. 

While  Living  in  Winchester  he  was  called  to 
act  as  adjutant-general  of  the  governmenf 
forces  stationed  at  Portsmouth  in  the  closing 
season   of  the  War  of  1812;    and   it    was  there, 


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r^z^z^Ld/ 


KEENE. 


109 


too,  that  he  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Ezra  Conant,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons  and 
three  daughters.  He  was  the  principal  pro- 
moter and  first  president  of  the  Winchester 
Bank,  of  the  Ashuelot  Railway  and  the  Keene 
Five-Cents  Savings-Bank. 

He  reclaimed,  at  great  expense,  a  large  area 
of  waste  land  in  Keene,  lying  north  of  Cross 
Street  and  between  Court  and  Washington 
Streets — laid  out  aDd  built  streets,  located  a 
school  reservation  and  aided  many  homeless 
families  to  secure  homes  upon  wise  and  practic- 
able terms. 

He  died  suddenly  in  the  winter  of  1869  at 
the  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  leaving  a  repu- 
tation of  the  highest  type  of  old  New  England 
character  and  a  well-to-do  estate,  that  was  in 
no  way  tainted  or  fused  with  false  weights  or 
measures. 


GOKDIS  D.  HARRIS. 

Arthur  Harris,  an  Englishman,  emigrated  to 
America  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  as  we  find  him  a  resident  of  Duxbury, 
Mass.,  in  1640,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers and  one  of  the  three  original  proprietors 
of  Bridgewater.  He  died  in  Boston  in  1693. 
He  had  four  children,  and  of  his  numerous  de- 
scendants, many  have  become  distinguished  in 
the  various  professions  and  callings  for  which 
their  natural  talents  and  tastes  have  fitted  them. 
The  line  to  the  present  generation  is  Arthur, 
Isaac  Abner,  Abner,  Abner,  John,  Wilder, 
Cordis  D. 

Mr.  Wilder  Harris  was  formerly  a  resident, 
engaged  in  farming  and  the  manufacture  of 
lumber,  of  Chesterfield,  N.  H. ;  in  1865  he  re- 
moved to  Brattleborough,Vt.,where  he  now  lives. 
Although  now,  (April,  1885)  nearly  eighty-eight 
years  old,  Mr.  Harris  carries  his  years  with  all  the 
activity  and  grace  of  a  much  younger  man — the 
result  of  his  vigorous  constitution,  busy  life  and 
temperate  habits.  He  has  always  been  warmly 
interested  in  religious  matters,  and  is  a  liberal 
contributor  to  the  support  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  His  children  are  George  Francis,  born 
March  7,  1818  ;  Broughton  Davis,  born  Au- 
gust 16,  1822  ;  and  Gordis  Day. 


Gordis  Day  Harris,  third  child  of  Wilder 
and  Harriet  (Davis)  Harris,  was  born  in 
Chesterfield,  N.  H.,  October  29,  1824.  His  edu- 
cation was  received  at  the  common  schools  and 
academy  of  Chesterfield,  in  which  town  he 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter.  Believing  a 
larger  place  would  give  more  remuneration  for 
his  labor,  he  removed  to  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  in 
1845,  where  he  established  a  home,  marrying, 
October  29,  1848,  Eunice  B.,  daughter  of  Ziba 
and  Nancy  (Babbitt)  Albee,  also  of  Chesterfield, 
and  resided  there  for  nineteen  years.  He  first 
carried  on  carpentering  and  building  for  several 
years  with  success.  He  began  his  long  and  ex- 
tensive connection  with  railroad  contracting  in 
1851,  by  taking  a  contract  to  build  depots  and 
turn-tables  on  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Atlantic 
Railroad ;  and,  by  steady  and  rapid  advances,  he 
was  soon  holding  contracts  involving  large 
amounts  to  build  railroads.  He  was  of  strong 
physique,  active,  resolute  and  accomplished 
much  labor.  He  always  has  had  a  pleasant 
frankness  of  manner,  which  won  many  friends. 
This  had  a  happy  influence  in  his  business  re- 
lations, which  were  highly  satisfactory.  In  May, 
1864,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  became  a  resident,  and,  with  his 
accustomed  activity,  was  soon  connected  with 
important  business  interests.  He  remained  on 
the  Pacific  slope  until  October,  1872,  passing 
most  of  that  period  east  of  the  Sierras,  pros- 
pecting and  mining  in  the  various  States  and 
Territories  of  California,  Nevada,  Idaho  and 
Utah.  His  energy,  pluck  and  perseverance  were 
handsomely  rewarded.  July  4,  1870,  he  dis- 
covered in  the  Pilot  Knob  range  of  mountains, 
in  the  extreme  west  part  of  Utah,  the  valuable 
Tecoma  mines,  rich  in  carbonate  of  silver  and 
lead.  These  were  worked  from  the  time  of 
discovery  until  September,  1872,  when  they 
were  sold  to  Messrs.  Howland  &  Aspinwall,  of 
New  York. 

Returning  to  New  Hampshire,  Mr.  Harris 
made  his  home  first  in  Chesterfield,  and  since 
1873  in  Keene,  in  close  proximity  to  the  scenes 
of  his  boyhood,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

Although  in  possession  of  an  ample  compe- 
tency, Mr.  Harris  is  of  too  active  a  tempera- 
ment to  withdraw  from  business  life.     He  is  a 


110 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


member  of  the  firm  of  Harris  Brothers  &  Co., 
general  contractors  for  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads, public  works  and  other  operations  of 
magnitude ;  and,  in  company  with  his  brother, 
Broughton  D.,  he  is  now  largely  engaged  in 
operating  the  famous  Peach  Orchard  coal-mines. 
Peach  Orchard,  at  Lowance  County,  Ivy.,  which 
they  purchased  January  1,  1884.  The  daily 
output  of  the  mines  is  at  present  four  hundred 
tons.  This  amount  they  are  proposing  to  soon 
raise  to  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  tons  per 
day. 

Mr.  Harris  has  been  a  pronounced  Whig  and 
Republican,  casting  his  first  vote  for  President 
in  1848  for  General  Taylor.  He  represented 
Chesterfield  in  the  State  Legislature  of  1873, 
and  Keene  in  that  of  1881.  He  is  a  Unitarian 
in  religious  belief,  and  a  member  of  Lodge  of  the 
Temple,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Keene.  Possessed  of  a 
powerful  will,  untiring  energy  and  industry, 
and  endowed  with  a  high  order  of  business  talent, 
he  has  overcome  all  obstacles  that  confronted 
him.  With  his  strong  physique  and  resolute 
nature,  he  has  been  a  man  of  one  purpose — his 
business.  Generous,  kind-hearted,  public  spirit- 
ed, energetic  and  wide-awake,  Mr.  Harris  is  a 
good  representative  of  the  clear-headed,  ambi- 
tious, successful  business  men  of  Cheshire 
County. 


DANIEL  H.  HOLBROOK. 

It  is  probable  that  no  other  name  is  so  inti- 
mately   connected     with    the    introduction     of 

water  into  Keene  and  the  construction  and  care 
of  the  water-works,  in  the  mind  of  the  public, 
as  Daniel  H.  Holbrook,  and  it  seems  appropri- 
ate to  give  a  space  in  this  record  to  his  life. 

Daniel  H.  Holbrook  (7),  son  of  John  and 
Mercy  (Hill)  Holbrook,  was  born  in  Swanzey, 
X.  II.,  January  8,  1800,  and  is  consequently 
seventy-nine  years  old.  He  comes  of  an  old 
Massachusetts  family,  dating  in  American  resi- 
dence to  the  early  days  of  the  colony,  and  going 
back  through  centuries  of  honorable  and  dis- 
tinguished existence  in  England,  where  the 
family  is  entitled  to  bear  arms.  The  first 
American  emigrants  of  the  name,  and  the  pro- 
genitors   of    the    greater    number    bearing    the 


name  to-day,  were  John  and  Thomas,  brothers, 
who  settled  in  Weymouth,  Mass.,  in  1640. 
According  to  the  best  authorities  attainable  the 
following  is  the  line  to  Daniel  H. :  John  (1), 
was  a  man  of  consideration,  had  quite  a  family, 
and  a  son,  John  (2),  who  became  a  resident  in 
Weymouth.  His  son,  John  (3),  settled  in  Ux- 
bridge,  where  he  was  a  man  of  public  note,  and 
entrusted  with  various  offices.  John  (4)  mar- 
ried, in  1732,  a  native  of  Mendon.  John  Hol- 
brook (6)  was  born  in  Uxbridge,  Mass.,  in  1778, 
and  was  the  son  of  John  Holbrook  (5),  a  farmer 
in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Blackstone  River. 
This  farmer,  John  (5),  married  Rhoda  Thay- 
er, of  Mendon,  a  daughter  of  a  promi- 
nent, numerous  and  honorable  family  of  New 
England,  and  emigrated  about  the  year  1800  to 
Swanzey,  N.  H.,  where  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  John  (0)  had  a  decidedly  mechani- 
cal turn  of  mind  and  learned  the  trades  of  car- 
penter, joiner  and  wheelwright.  In  1790  he 
enlisted  as  a  soldier  for  nine  months  in  the  so- 
called  French  and  Spanish  War,  to  repel  inva- 
sion. He  married,  in  Mendon,  Mass.,  Mercy, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  (Howard)  Hill. 
He  was  a  skilled  mechanic!,  and,  after  working 
at  his  trade  for  two  years,  he  also  removed  to 
Swanzey,  settling  iu  the  south  part  of  the  town, 
where,  in  process  of  time,  he  purchased  land 
for  a  home,  and  erected  buildings  thereon.  He 
lived  to  be  about  sixty, — dying  May  7,  1838. 
Although  a  strong  adherent  to  Jeffcrsonian  De- 
mocracy, he  was  not  an  active  politician,  but 
was  much  interested  in  military  matters,  and 
was  influential  in  forming  a  company  of  men, 
who,  like  himself,  were  exempt  from  military 
service.  In  this  company  he  held  a  lieutenant's 
commission,  and  was  noted  as  a  disciplinarian. 
His  children  who  became  adults  were  Rhoda, 
married  Nathan  Cheney,  resided  in  Boston, 
where  she  died,  leaving  one  child,  Ellen  ;  Dan- 
iel Hill;  Abida,  married  Hiram  Bolles,  lived 
and  died  in  Baraboo,  Wis.  ;  Sophia,  married 
<  arlostine  Blake,  and  now  live-  in  ICeene  (her 
two  children,  John  II.  and  Nathan  C,  died 
when  young  men);  Susan  A.,  married  Randall 
Bolles,  lived  and  died  in  Swanzey  (her  chil- 
dren were  Hiram  H.,  M.  Maria  (Mrs.  Angell), 
Abida   A.   (Mrs.  Abijah    Holbrook),  Ellen   E. 


Enq 


a^yJ  9/M^^ 


Z'i    i 


KEENE. 


Ill 


(Mrs.  Frederick  Farr) ;  Chloe,  married  James 
Pierce,  lives  in  Sharpsville,  Pa.  (has  children, 
Jonas  J.,  Walter  and  Wallace  (twins),  Franklin, 
James  B.);  John  ;  Mercy  H.,  married  Ebenezer 
Flanders,  of  Hopkinton,  Mass.,  and  now  lives 
in  Henniker  (Mrs.  Mercy  Holbrook  was  born 
July  1, 1800,  and  died  in  December,  1876). 

Daniel  Hill  Holbrook  was  named  from  his 
maternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Hill,  a  worthy 
farmer  of  Mendon,  Mass., — a  man  of  strong 
physique  and  of  strong  mental  qualities.  He 
fought  valiantly  in  the  Continental  army  of  the 
Revolution,  and,  at  a  hale  old  age,  was  gathered 
to  his  fathers,  honored  and  mourned  by  all. 

Daniel  Holbrook,  until  he  was  sixteen,  was 
given  such  educational  advantages  as  were  af- 
forded by  the  old-time  district  schools,  and  was 
especially  apt  and  ready  in  mathematics,  ac- 
quiring such  skill  in  mental  calculations  as  to 
surprise  even  now  many  expert  accountants. 
He  labored  with  his  father  until  1825,  both  as 
a  carpenter  and  farmer,  when  he  went  to  Bos- 
ton, and  was  a  witness  to  the  imposing  ceremo- 
nies attending  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of 
Bunker  Hill  monument.  He  remained  in  Bos- 
ton a  year  or  two,  then  returned  to  Swanzey, 
and  commenced  that  life  of  hard  work  which, 
united  with  good  judgment  and  skill,  during 
the  course  of  years,  built  up  not  only  financial 
prosperity,  but  also  a  character  for  integrity, 
ability  and  sterling  common-sense.  He  became 
a  farmer  and  also  manufactured  lumber,  which 
latter  business  acquired,  in  time,  large  propor- 
tions. 

He  purchased,  in  1832,  the  mills  known 
as  Holbrook's  Mills,  which  he  rebuilt  in  1845. 
He  became,  in  connection  with  manufacturing, 
an  extensive  dealer  in  lumber,  purchasing  the 
product  of  other  mills,  filling  many  contracts 
with  railroad  corporations,  sending  many  rafts 
down  the  Connecticut,  and  shipping  largely  to 
Keene,  Brattleborough  and  other  places. 

In  1865,  his  diligence  and  attention  to  business 
having  met  a  satisfactory  return,  he  sold  his 
mill  and  removed  to  Keene,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  He  married,  September  5,  1837,  Caro- 
line, daughter  of  Josiah  and  Sophia  (Lawrence) 
Prime.  She  died  December  5,  1880.  Their 
children  were  Ellen  S.  (died  young),  Chloe  P., 


John  J.  (sec  biography)  and  Frances  V.  (Mrs. 
D.  M.  Nichols). 

Since  his  residence  in  Keene,  Mr.  Holbrook 
has  been  most  active  in  his  connection  with  the 
water- works.  In  1868  he  was  one  of  a  commis- 
sion of  five  elected  by  the  town  to  introduce 
water  into  the  city, — build  necessary  dams, 
reservoirs,  etc.  The  greater  part  of  the  super- 
intendence of  this  work  fell  upon  Mr.  Holbrook, 
and  from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been 
prominently  connected  with  it.  He  has  been 
superintendent  and  commissioner,  and  in  1872 
he  successfully  conducted  the  water  under  the 
Ashuelot  River,  and  introduced  the  water  on 
the  north  side.  His  wise  judgment,  practical 
experience  and  mechanical  skill  have  been  of 
great  benefit  to  the  city  in  this  branch  of  public 
service.  He  consented  to  serve  as  assessor  and 
supervisor  of  Swanzey  in  1849,  but  could  not 
spare  time  from  his  business  to  accept  other 
proffered  offices.  He  was  a  Jeffersonian  in  pol- 
itics until  1872,  supporting  the  Democratic 
nominations.  Since  then  he  has  acted  indepen- 
dently of  party. 

With  a  strong  mind  and  well-preserved  phy- 
sical powers,  Mr.  Holbrook  is  passing  the  closing 
years  of  his  life,  cheered  by  the  affection  of  lov- 
ing daughters,  and  blessed  with  the  esteem  of  a 
large  range  of  acquaintance,  who  prize  him  for 
his  sterling  worth. 


JOHN   JOSIAH    HOLBEOOK,    A.M. 

John  Josiah  Holbrook,  only  son  of  Daniel 
H.  and  Caroline  (Prime)  Holbrook,  was  born 
in  Swanzey,  N.  H.,  December  10,  1844.  He 
received  an  academic  education,  showing  the 
true  qualities  of  a  successful  student,  at  the  sem- 
inaries of  his  native  town  and  Townshend,  Vt., 
and  at  the  High  School  of  Keene.  He  prepared 
for  college  at  New  London,  N.  H.,  and  entered 
Brown  LTniversity,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1872,  and  where,  as  expressed  by  one  of 
his  university  professors,  "  he  distinguished 
himself  above  all  others  by  his  taste  and  aptitude 
for  experimental  science,"  and  was  an  enthusi- 
astic and  earnest  worker.  After  graduation, 
with  deep  religious  consecration,  he  pursued  the 
three  years'  course  of  study  at  Newton   (Mass.) 


112 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Theological  Seminary,  completing  his  studies 
there  in  1875.  He  had  a  special  fitness,  however, 
as  a  teacher  of  mathematics  and  natural  sciences, 
and  deeming  that  he  could  do  efficient  service 
in  that  sphere,  and  follow  a  useful  path  of 
religious  duty  in  that  direction,  he  became  the 
professor  of  natural  sciences  and  mathematics  at 
New  London  Academy.  He  showed  great 

ability  as  an  instructor,  and,  after  two  years' 
time,  Jie  removed  to  Keene,  now  his  father's 
home.  From  1879  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Keene,  March  24,  1884,  he 
followed  the  profession  of  civil  engineering  and 
surveying. 

Mr.  Holbrook  was  a  ready  writer,  and  did 
much  valuable  work  for  the  press  during  a  pe- 
ri* id  of  several  years,  and  was  frequently  called 
to  preach.  His  sermons  were  carefully  consid- 
ered and  showed  a  deep  religious  spirit,  which 
was  the  foundation  of  his  character.  He  was 
favorably  known  in  Keene  and  in  the  commu- 
nity as  a  successful  business  man  of  Christian 
integrity.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  public 
affairs,  and  in  his  business  was  brought  into  a 
pleasant  relationship  with  many  citizens  of  this 
county,  both  in  public  and  private  matters.  He 
was  a  devoted  and  beloved  teacher  in  the  Sab- 
bath-school of  the  Baptist  Church,  of  which  he 
had  been  a  valued  member  and  earnest  worker 
for  eighteen  years. 

There  was  never  anything  in  Mr.  Holbrook's 
life  for  his  friends  to  regret,  and  there  was  much 
for  them  to  bear  in  loving  remembrance.  He 
was  exceptionally  happy  in  his  friends  and  asso- 
ciates, and  signally  so  in  the  dear  home  circle, 
where  his  aged  father  and  sisters  now  mourn 
his  "  going  before." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
the  Rev.  J.  L  Seward,  now  a  Unitarian  clergy- 
man of  Lowell,  voices  the  sentiment  of  a  large 
circle  <  >f*  sorrowing  friends,  "who  knew  him  but 
to  love  him :  " 

"I  cannot  forbear  a  word  of  sympathy  and 
an  expression  of  esteem  for  one  whom  I  so 
greatly  respected.  His  fine  presence,  scholarly 
mind  and  gentlemanly  deportment  were  all  cal- 
culated to  attract  friends  and  call  forth  their 
respect  and  approbation.  From  my  first  ac- 
quaintance with  him  our  relations  were  cordial 


and  agreeable.  I  valued  his  friendship  and 
appreciated  his  worth.  He  was  one  of  those 
noble  men  whose  enjoyment  is  in  the  attainment 
of  truth  and  knowledge ;  whose  friends  are 
not  only  their  kins-people  and  acquaintances, 
but  the  great  laws  and  truths  which  God  has 
given  for  our  study  and  contemplation  in  the 
great  book  of  nature.  I  sympathized  with  his 
love  for  mathematics  and  natural  science,  and  I 
respected  his  modesty,  his  manliness,  his  love  of 
study  and  his  devotion  to  duty." 


ALGERNON  SIDNEY  CARPENTER,  M.D. 

Algernon  Sidney  Carpenter,  M.D.,  after  a  long 
professional  life,  most  of  which  was  passed  in 
Keene,  died  March  4,  1885.  He  was  son  of 
Dr.  E.  and  Judith  (Greene)  Carpenter,  and 
was  born  in  Alstead,  N.  H.,  October  16,  1814. 
He  descended  from  a  somewhat  noted  medical 
family,  his  father  having  been  an  able  and  suc- 
cuccessful  physician ;  and  several  uncles  and 
other  relatives  were  celebrated  for  their  profes- 
sional skill.  After  an  academic  course  he  read 
medicine  with  his  father,  and  then  entered  the 
medical  college  at  Middlebury,  "Vt.,  graduating 
about  1837.  He  practiced  his  profession  a 
short  time  in  Gardner  and  Northfield,  Mass., 
and  then  settled  in  Keene.  In  1859,  Novem- 
ber 30th,  he  married  Jane  F.,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Henry  and  Calista  (Pond)  Coolidge.  They 
had  two  daughters, — Mary  Algeruiene  and 
Caroline  Sidney. 

Apart  from  his  professional  duties,  Dr.  Car- 
penter felt  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  pertained 
to  the  welfare  of  Keene,  and  was  a  prominent 
factor  in  social  circles.  He  possessed  rare  con- 
versational powers,  expressing  his  thoughts  with 
well-balanced  and  discerning  intellect  and  ready 
wit.  Few  surpassed  him  in  repartee,  and  his 
satire  was  keen  and  cutting.  He  took  a  great 
interest  in,  and  gave  much  of  his  time  to,  Free- 
Masonry.  In  1855,  the  Social  Friends  Lodge 
of  that  order  having  been  for  some  time  do r- 
niaiit,  he  caused  its  revival,  and  at  that  time  was 
the  only  Yree  Mason  in  town  who  knew  the 
work.  He  was  Master  of  the  lodge  in  185<>, 
1857  and  1859.  He  was  a  charter  member 
and    first  Master  of  the  Lodge  of  the  Temple. 


^,  '    '. 


^^<U^Pc 


Z^ 


c  ^ry^-u^j  (J c^-tL  tc/Ax  C( 


KEENE. 


113 


He  was  a  member  of  Cheshire  Royal  Arch  Chap- 
ter, St.  John's  Council  of  Royal  and  Select 
Masters,  and  Hugh  de  Payens  Commandery  of 
Knights  Templar. 

In  politics  Dr.  Carpenter  was  a  constitu- 
tional Democrat ;  he  held  to  the  doctrines  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  and  wished  to  preserve  the 
integrity  of  those  principles  which  he  consid- 
ered the  guiding  stars  of  the  republic,  and  be- 
lieved in  and  earnestly  advocated  the  success  of 
the  Democratic  party  as  the  only  way  to  consum- 
mate the  perpetuity  of  our  national  existence. 

But  it  is  not  as  a  citizen  or  politician  that  Dr. 
Carpenter  demands  our  chief  attention,  but  as 
the  kind-hearted,  successful  physician.  In  his 
profession  he  occupied  a  foremost  rank.  He 
was  a  scholarly  man,  of  quick  perceptions,  who 
made  the  case  of  his  patients  his  own,  and  his 
success  was  due  to  his  firmness,  self-reliance, 
excellent  judgment  and  discretion.  He  gained 
the  confidence,  esteem  and  regard  of  his  pa- 
tients, and  they  believed  in  him  thoroughly  and 
completely.  In  those  grave  and  desperate 
cases  where  life  and  death  were  struggling  for 
the  mastery,  he  was  watchful  and  vigilant,  skill- 
ful to  meet  any  emergency  or  change,  with  the 
best  remedial  agencies.  Although  habitually 
cautious,  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  responsi- 
bilities of  his  calling,  and  used  the  most  heroic 
treatment  if  he  deemed  the  case  demanded  it. 
Quackery,  in  all  its  forms,  he  most  heartily  de- 
spised. 

Like  most  men  of  positive  nature,  strong 
will  and  generous  impulses,  he  made  many  de- 
voted friends  and  some  bitter  enemies.  He  was, 
for  years,  a  landmark  in  this  city,  kind  and 
charitable  to  the  poor,  genial  and  pleasant  in 
his  home  and  society,  courteous  in  his  inter- 
course with  his  medical  brethren,  and  in  many 
ways  was  one  of  the  strong  representative  pro- 
fessional men  of  Cheshire  County. 


EDWARD  GUSTINE. 


Edward  Gustine  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Winchester  September  2,  1819,  the  past  twenty 
years  of  his  life  having  been  spent  in  Keene, 


where  he  now  resides.  His  father,  Edward 
Gustine,  was  a  merchant.  He  received  a  com- 
mon-school education,  learned  the  business  of 
a  machinist  and  has  been  mainly  engaged  since 
entering  active  life  as  a  gas  and  water  engineer. 
He  has  had  contracts  for  extensive  works,  both 
gas  and  water,  at  different  places  in  this  State, 
Massachusetts,  Vermont  and  New  York,  all  of 
which  have  been  carried  out  in  a  thorough  and 
satisfactory  manner. 

A  decided  Republican,  though  never  an  active 
politician,  Mr.  Gustine  has  not  been  largely  in 
public  life,  but  served  as  a  member  of  the  House 
in  1865  and  again  in  1875  and  1876,  acting  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  State  Prison  the 
latter  year,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention.  He  subsequently  repre- 
sented this  district  in  the  State  Senate.  He  en- 
joys the  full  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  re- 
gardless of  party,  and  whenever  a  candidate  for 
office,  receives  many  votes  of  those  opposed  to 
him  upon  political  questions.  In  the  Senate  he 
served  upon  the  committee  on  incorporations, 
banks  and  manufactures,  being  chairman  of  the 
latter.  He  frequently  participated  in  debates, 
and,  although  making  no  pretensions  to  oratory, 
his  suggestions,  practical  in  their  character,  were 
not  without  influence. 

Mr.  Gustine  married  Miss  Sarah  H.  Worces- 
ter, of  Lebanon,  Me.,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children, — a  son  and  daughter.  The  son,  Ed- 
ward W.  Gustine,  is  engaged  in  mercantile  bus- 
iness in  Keene.  In  religion  he  is  a  Unitarian 
and  an  active  member  of  the  society  in  Keene. 
He  has  long  been  prominent  in  the  Masonic  or- 
ganizations, local  and  State,  having  been  Master 
of  both  lodges  and  High  Priest  of  the  chapter  at 
Keene,  and  was  Grand  High  Priest  for  New- 
Hampshire  in  1870  and  1871,  and  has  held  va- 
rious other  honorable  positions  in  Masonic  bodies. 
Thoroughly  public-spirited  and  a  friend  of  all 
progressive  enterprises,  he  has  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  prosperity  of  the  flourishing 
city  in  which  he  resides. 


DR.    TWITCHELL. 
(See  Appendix.) 


HISTORY   OF  ALSTEAD. 


CHAPTER   J. 

This  town  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  :  North,  by 
Sullivan  county ;  east,  by  Marlow ;  south,  by 
Gilsum  and  Surry  ;  and  west,  by  Walpole. 

The  town  was  first  granted  by  Governor  B. 
Wentworth  to  John  Towle  and  sixty-three 
others,  by  the  name  of  Newton,  December  28, 
1752  ;  about  the  same  time  the  first  grant  was 
made  of  Acworth,  and  probably  for  the  same 
reason,  as  I  believe  no  attempt  was  made  to 
settle  the  town  under  this  grant. 

It  was  re-granted,  August  6,  1763,  to  Samuel 
Chase  and  sixty-nine  others,  by  the  name  of 
Alstead,  and  settlements  commenced  soon  after. 
In  1771  there  were  twenty-five  or  more  fami- 
lies in  town  ;  but  some  of  the  provisions  of  the 
charter  not  having  been  fulfilled,  it  was 
"  extended"  by  Governor  John  "Wentworth, 
January  25,  1772,  in  answer  to  a  petition  from 
the  inhabitants. 

The  Governor's  reservation  of  five  hundred 
acres  was  located  in  the  northwest  corner. 

Among  the  prominent  men  prior  to  1800 
were  General  Amos  Shepard,  Nathaniel  Sartell 
Prentice,  Absalom  Kingsbury  and  Rev.  Levi 
Lankton.  Captain  Jason  Wait  commanded  a 
company  in  Col.  Bedell's  regiment  in  the  Rev- 
olution. 

Petition  for  a  Grant  of  the  Towx-nir,  1750. 

"To  His  Excellency  Benning  Wentworth  Esq. 
Captn  General  &  Governour  in  Chief  in  and  over  His 
Majestyes  Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

"The  Humble  Petition  of  us  the  subscribers  for 
ourselves  and  our  associate- In  in  Lr  in  number  Fifty  one 
114 


Humbly  Sheweth  that  your  Petitioners  are  desireous 
of  Setleing  a  Township  in  some  of  the  unappropriated 
Lands  in  said  province. 

"  Wherefore  your  Petitioners  Humbly  Pray  that 
your  Excellency  will  be  pleased  to  grant  to  your  Pe- 
titioners a  Township  of  the  Contence  of  Six  Miles 
Square  in  some  of  his  Majestyes  Land,  in  said  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampshire  that  are  not  allready  appro- 
priated, Subjected  to  such  orders  and  restrictions  as 
Your  Excellency  in  Your  Great  Wisdom  Shall  See 
Meete.  And  as  in  Duty  bound  they  will  ever  pray 
&c. 


"  Boston  Sepr  10,  1750. 

"  Josiah  Con  vers 
John  Fullton 
David  Whiteing 
Thos.  Draper 
William  Fild 
Samuel  Winship 
Samuel  Smith 
John  Botherick 
David  Comee 
Jonathan  Briant 
Nathan  Newhall 
Francis  Whitemore 
Ebenezer  Frances 
William  Whitemore 
Abiel  Richardson 
Ebenezer  Shattuck 
Unite  Moseley 
AVill"'  Maxwell 
Sam1  Servise 
Bcnja  Furness 
William  Crombic 
Nath1  Wales 
Joseph  Scott 
Ebenezer  Field 


"  John  Fowle 
"  Seth  Blogget 

Archd  M°Neill 
Robert  Hill 
Jason  Winship 
Joseph  Newhall 
Jacob  March 
Thos  Bennett 
John  Bishop 
James  Pierce 
John  Skinner 
Jona  Bradish 
Benja  Bellknap 
R.  Cotton 
John  Hill 
Isaac  Kidder 
Wm  Dunlap 
Caleb  Brooks 
John   Martin 
Noah  Richardson 
John  Douglass 
Fran8  Shaw 
Will"1  Fisher 
Tim"  Winship 
Th°  Lambert 
Isaac  Fillebrown  " 


The  grant  was  made  December  28,  1752,  to 
the  foregoing  persons  and  several  others,  but  I 


ALSTEAD. 


115 


think  no  settlements  were  made  under  it,    and 
none  of  these  appear  in  the  grant  of  1763. 

Statement  of  Grievances,  1777. 

"  The  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Alstead  in  Town 
meeting  assembled  Feb.  4,  1777  to  consider  of  matters 
of  grievance  to  themselves  and  others  to  lay  before 
the  Honbl  Committee  of  the  Council  and  House  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  :  Do  mention  the  following 
articles  as  grievous  to  them  and  needing  redress. — 
That  the  present  assembly  was  not  called  according 
to  the  direction  of  the  Honble  Continental  congress  by  a 
full  and  free  representation  thro,  the  State:  for  a 
number  of  Delegates  from  a  part  of  the  Towns  of  the 
State  did  without  any  previous  notice,  and  before  the 
advice  of  the  Continental  congress  came  to  hand  did 
set  up  a  plan  of  representation,  in  our  opinion,  partial 
and  defective,  curtailing  and  abridging  the  privileges 
of  many  of  the  Towns  in  this  part  of  the  state,  as  the 
natural  right  of  one  Town  is  equal  to  that  of  another. 

"  Further  the  present  assembly  in  our  opinion  is 
not  set  up  as  the  great  Lawgiver  and  Author  of  Gov- 
ernment requires:  His  order  is  that  Rulers  be  fearers 
of  Him,  haters  of  covetousness  :  whereas  the  present 
plan  requires  no  religious  or  moral,  but  only  pecuni- 
ary qualifications  for  posts  of  office,  which  serves  to 
discourage  virtue  and  to  promote  vice  as  conjoined 
with  wealth:  The  method  of  choosing  Councillors  and 
Representatives  has  a  tendency  this  way  likewise,  as 
by  just  implication  every  person  paying  rates  man, 
woman  or  child,  however  immoral  and  wicked,  may 
vote  in  the  choice  of  members  of  the  assembly,  by 
which  means  if  the  majority  are  evil,  as  like  approves 
of  its  like,  the  vile  will  bear  rule  over  a  state  profess- 
ing true  religion.  The  present  plan  of  Government 
was  set  up  while  we  were  under  the  King  of  Britain, 
but  now  we  are  independent  of  him,  and  therefore  a 
new  form  of  Government  ought  as  soon  as  may  be  to 
be  erected,  by  a  full  and  equal  representation  of  every 
incorporated  Town  thro  the  State,  and  that  the  plan 
of  the  same  be  sent  to  each  Town  for  their  approba- 
tion, and  that  which  the  majority  agree  to,  be  con- 
sidered as  the  constitution  of  this  State.  The  act 
past  Septembr  19  1776,  we  view  as  unintelligible,  and 
by  no  means  calculated  to  answer  the  end  pretended 
of  having  an  equal  representation.  The  last  assembly 
did  not  act  a  disinterested  party  or  for  the  good  of  the 
State,  in  confining  all  places  of  trust  as  much  as  they 
could  among  themselves :  or  in  rejecting  Coll  Hunt 
from  being  High  Sheriff  of  this  county,  after  his  ap- 
pointment, even  before  he  refused  to  accept,  which, 
with  the  putting  in  of  Coll  Hale  we  suspect  was  done 
by  the  influence  of  a  certain  well  known  member  in 
these  parts. 


"  Lastly  the  giving  commissions  for  war,  is  another 
article  of  grievance,  which  is  a  thing  unprecedented 
in  any  free  state,  and  sd  commissions  are  kept  from 
the  eye  of  the  people,  and  they  are  unacquainted  with 
the  unlimited  powers  given  officers  thereby,  we  have 
expressed  these  matters  in  a  way  to  be  understood, 
and  hope  that  they  will  be  attended  to  by  your 
Honors  as  their  importance  and  the  Public  good  re- 
quires. 

"At  ye  aforesaid  meeting  was  chosen  Absalom 
Kingsbury  &  Jonathan  Shepherd  Jur.  a  committee 
for  sd  Alstead  to  present  ye  above  to  ye  Honble  Com- 
mittee. 

"Test  Absalom  Kingsbery  Town  Clerk 

"The  foregoing  is  a  True  Copy  of  ye  voate  of  the 
Town  of  Alstead  as  Matters  of  Grieveances  to  be  laid 
before  yr  Honr  Committee  from  ye  Honr  Assembly  of 
ye  State  of  New  Hampshire 

"  Test  Absalom  Kingsbery,  Town  Clerk 
"The  Committees  of  Mario  Surry  &  Westmoreland 
concur  with  ye  within  matter  of  Agreevencis." 

Petition  of  Prudence,  the  Wife  of  Simon 
Baxter. 

"  To  the  Honble  Counsel  and  assembly  for  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire — the  humble  petition  of  Prudence 
Baxter  of  Alstead  in  the  County  of  Chesire  humbly 
shews  and  gives  your  Honours  to  be  informed  that 
your  petitioner  dos  not  send  this  prayer  to  your  hon- 
ours for  riches  nor  honours — but  for  mercy  and  I  may 
say  forfited  mercy  might  be  extended  to  Simon  Bax- 
ter the  husband  of  your  petitioner — who  did  in  July 
1777  go  over  to  the  enemy — but  has  ever  sence  the 
day  he  joined  them  been  sorry  for  his  fault — and  has 
Repented  his  Erro  with  a  flood  of  Tears — I  dont  mean 
to  trouble  your  patiences  with  any  thing  but  the 
Truth,  and  Capt  Holmns  of  Walpole  and  Capt  Gil- 
bert of  Littleton  Can  and  will  if  Called  upon  Testify 
that  the  sd  Baxter  has  for  a  Long  Time  past  ben  a 
friend  to  am  erica  and  Capt  Wait  of  this  Town  who  is 
now  in  the  army  and  has  ben  a  prisoner  with  the 
enemy  Can  Testify  the  kindness  ye  sd  Baxter  shew  to 
the  prisoners  of  the  united  states  and  ever  sence  has 
had  a  Desire  to  Return  and  sware  aligence  to  the 
united  states  and  is  now  Detained  in  a  flag  in  Boston 
harbour — and  their  does  earnestly  pray  for  mercy 
— and  as  their  is  none  that  is  guilty  has  Less 
then  he  so  none  a  fairer  plea  for  pardon — o  spair  him 
I  humbly  pray — I  ask  not  for  his  Estate — only  for  his 
Life  under  such  Limitation  as  you  in  your  wisdom 
shall  see  proper  to  alow — the  sd  Baxter  did  while  hear 
do  his  part  in  the  war  as  my  familey  has  sense  with- 
out complaining — suffer  him  I  humbly  pray  to  be 
once  more  a  subject  of  this  state  and  have  the  Liberty 


116 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  the  oath  of  aligence  to  the  united  states — I  Cair  not 
how  we  Live  or  how  we  are  fed,  if  he  can  but  have 
authoritive  Liberty  to  Live  in  this  state,  the  small 
[property]  that  we  did  possess  shall  with  pleasure  go 
only  spair  him — and  as  mercy  is  the  Dealing  of  god 
and  the  Brightest  Virtue  of  the  human  mind — o  Let 
Baxter  be  one  subject  of  your  mercy — the  glory  of  a 
merciful  Deed  is  in  proportion  to  the  Crime  for  which 
the  Deed  of  mercy  was  Extended. 

"  The  arms  of  america  has  spread  Terrow  thro  the 
world — o  that  their  mercy  might  not  be  Confined  or 
Limeted — I  do,  in  my  husbands  name,  Lay  myself 
and  him  att  the  foot  stool  of  this  state  for  mercy,  and 
if  we  must  perish  we  must  perish  there — as  in  duty 
bound  shall  ever  pray 

"Alstead,  December  ye  14th,  1778. 

"  Prudence  Baxter." 

Capt.  Lemuel  Holmes,  of  Surry,  and  Capt. 
Jason  Wait,  of  Alstead,  the  men  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing,  were  prisoners  of  war  in  New 
York  when  Simon  Baxter  and  his  son  William 
were  with  the  enemy,  and,  being  old  neighbors, 
probably  received  favors  from  them. 

Simon  Baxter's  property  was  declared  con- 
fiscated to  the  State ;  and  Isaac  Temple,  Timothy 
Fletcher  and  Absalom  Kingsbury  were  ap- 
pointed commissioners  on  the  same,  with  the 
latter  as  trustee,  who  made  an  inventory  of  his 
estate,  which  includes  the  following:  "Apart 
of  the  5th  Lot  in  the  eighth  Range,  about  100 
Acres,  and  one  half  of  Lot  N°  17  in  the  North 
Range  of  Lots  in  Alstead,  and  two  acres  in  the 
Citidale  [?]  Lots — one  Dwelling  House  in  the 
Eighway."  Mrs.  Baxter  petitioned,  May  13, 
1  778,  with  the  "  approbation  of  Abram  Brown, 
Math1  S.  Prentice  selectmen  of  Alstead,"  stat- 
ing that  she  had  a  large  family  of  children, 
some  of  whom  were  small,  and  asked  that  the 
forfeiture  of  the  estate  might  not  be  exacted. 

It  seems  that  Simon  Baxter  left  the  flag;- 
ship  in  some  way,  as  he  and  Benjamin  Baxter 
were  taken  from  Alstead  to  Exeter  about 
January  21,  1779,  and  delivered  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  by  Absalom  Kingsbury,  and 
was  there  confined  in  jail  for  some  time. 

Confession  of  William  Baxter. 
"  I  left  home  28th  of  March  1778  &  went  to  Cam- 
1  nidge  there  I  found  my  father  and  he  was  to  be  ex- 


changed and  said  I  must  go  with  him  I  told  him  I 
Did  not  Love  to  Leave  my  mother  he  said  I  had 
better  go  with  him  &  I  finally  concluded  to  go  with 
him  to  Rhode  Island  which  I  Did  when  I  got  to 
Rhode  Island  I  worked  with  one  .  .  .  seaven  or 
Eight  Days  my  father  Did  not  Do  any  Business  that 
I  know  of  then  he  and  I  went  to  N  York  and  had  the 
Small  pox  together  and  was  in  N.  York  about  A 
month  then  he  told  me  I  must  go  to  Long  Island  and 
look  out  for  myself  and  Dr.  Pomroy  [Doctor  Josiah 
Pomeroy  was  an  '  absentee '  from  Keene]  would  get 
me  a  place  to  live  at  and  I  went  to  Long  Island  with 
Dr.  Pomroy  and  left  my  father  at  N  York  and  I  Lived 
with  one  Abraham  BrinkrofF  about  a  week  and  then 
my  father  come  to  me  and  told  me  he  Intended  to 
Return  to  Cambridge  for  they  Meaning  the  Regulars 
would  not  exchange  him  unless  he  would  go  into 
their  servis  &  he  said  he  would  not  Do  that — he  had 
Drawn  Rations  till  then  and  because  he  would  not  go 
into  the  Regular  Servis  they  stopt  his  Rations  then 
he  worked  in  the  same  house  with  me  till  we  went  on 
board  the  Carteal  that  lay  at  newtown  and  went  to 
N  York  before  we  went  from  Newtown  my  father  & 
Dr  Pomroy  went  Somewhere  and  then  my  father  Gave 
me  five  hundred  £  N  York  Currency  and  told  me  he 
had  it  of  Dr  Pomroy  for  which  he  told  me  he  gave 
Dr  Pomroy  a  note  for  twenty  Pounds  in  hard  money 
and  my  father  told  me  to  put  it  where  the  people  of 
the  house  could  not  find  it  and  said  when  we  got  back- 
to  Cambridge  we  could  live  well  I  told  him  we  should 
be  found  out  he  was  very  angry  with  me  &  said  he 
brought  me  to  be  a  help  to  him  but  instead  of  that  I 
was  nothing  but  a  plague  and  said  he  wished  I  was  at 
home  again — then  we  went  to  York  and  while  we 
were  waiting  for  the  flag  to  come  of  I  went  to  work  to 
help  Lode  the  Vesel  and  my  father  went  Back  to  Dr. 
Pomroy  at  Newtown  and  when  he  came  back  he 
brought  about  A  thousand  Dollars  More  as  near  as  I 
Can  Remember  and  told  me  to  hide  it  and  said  he 
was  to  have  some  more  as  soon  as  it  was  struck  of  and 
Signed — the  Next  Day  he  went  of  again  and  brought 
so  much  as  with  what  he  told  me  to  hide  the  Day  be- 
fore Made  up  A  thousand  pounds  that  I  saw  but  how 
much  more  I  Dont  Know  then  he  had  some  hard 
money  and  with  that  bought  Cloathing  to  send  by  me 
to  his  tamely — while  we  lay  at  N  York  one  evening 
Benj"    whiting   Sam1   Tarbull    Will    Stark    Robt    L. 

Fowle Blair  two  Cummins  lien  j"  Trow  my  hither 

and  myself  ware  togather  at  Jn°  Strouts  in  New  York 
and  I  see  Benj"  Whiting  have  one  thousand  Dollars 
in  forty  Dollar  bills  and  offered  my  father  if  he  would 
take  the  Money  and  put  it  of  att  Cambridge  or  any- 
where in  ye  Country  he  would  give  him  five  hundred 
Dollars  of  it  which  my  father  took  but  told  me  he  Re- 


ALSTEAP. 


117 


turned  it  Back  then  the  said  Benjamin  Whiting  Said 
if  he  could  not  get  any  Body  to  fetch  it  Meaning  the 
money  he  would  fetch  it  himself  for  all  the  DdBebels 
would  be  overcome  before  Next  year  was  out — the 
next  Day  we  Sailed  for  Boston  and  after  we  had  got 
to  Boston  I  told  my  father  I  would  not  go  back  he 
said  he  believed  I  had  as  good  go  home  and  told  me 
to  take  the  Cloathing  with  me  and  carry  it  home  to 
Mother  and  he  counted  some  money  to  me  vis  ten 
forty  Dollar  Bills  &  Seaventeen  twenty  D°  and  about 
Ninety  five  Dollars  in  good  Money  and  told  me  to  be 
carefull  I  said  I  was  afraid  it  would  hurt  me  he  said 
the  money  would  do  him  no  good  and  if  I  was  like  to 
be  hurt  by  it  I  might  burn  it — and  then  I  set  of  for 
Cambridge  and  went  to  Joseph  Welcbes  and  he  was 
going  to  Boston  and  said  he  wanted  some  paper 
money  and  Asked  me  if  I  had  any  that  I  could  spare 
I  told  him  yes  and  I  gave  him  fifty  six  Dollars  for  a 
Joannes  and  he  went  to  Boston  and  came  and  told 
ine  he  had  got  a  hors  for  me  and  a  boy  to  Carry  me 
to  Littleton  for  twenty  dollars  and  said  if  I  would 
give  him  twenty  more  he  would  find  another  hors  for 
my  baggage  and  said  he  had  some  more  hard  money 
&  if  I  would  change  fifty  paper  Dollars  he  would  let 
me  have  another  Joannes  which  I  Did  and  if  I  would 
give  him  fifty  six  Dollars  he  would  let  me  have  two 
Guinnes  which  I  Did  I  saw  a  hessian  in  Cambridge 
and  changed  fifty  Paper  Dollars  for  two  Guinnes  then 
I  left  Cambridge  and  went  to  Littleton  and  Cap'  Gil- 
bert &  I  went  to  boston  to  Get  my  father  out  of  the 
nag  but  Gen1  Heath  would  not  Permit  him  to  come 
out  &  there  I  bought  3  yd8  of  Salloon  &  3  yds  of  Lace 
&  Exchanged  3  twenty  Dollar  bills  then  I  returned 
to  Cambridge  and  there  I  Met  a  Negro  fellow  with  a 
watch  and  I  gave  him  four  twenty  Dollar  bills  and  2 
Eight  Dollar  bills  &  one  four  Dollar  bill  for  ye  watch 
then  I  returned  to  Littleton  &  from  there  to  Keen 
and  got  to  Beujn  Halls  and  his  Son  Annanias  asked 
me  if  I  had  got  any  Catchett  meaning  counterfit 
money  I  told  him  yes  he  Looked  on  it  and  told  me  he 
would  put  it  of  for  me  &  Beturn  me  two  thirds  of  it 
in  good  money  which  I  consented  to  Do  after  that 
Zibia  Hall  his  Brother  asked  me  if  I  bad  any  Cat- 
chett I  told  him  I  had  not  for  Anna'  had  got  it  he 
said  he  was  the  wrong  Person  to  give  it  too  for  he 
would  be  to  Ventersome  I  saw  Anny  after  that  he 
told  me  that  Zibia  wanted  it  for  he  had  put  of  A  large 
Some  of  it  which  if  I  mistake  not  was  four  Hundred 
Dollars  &  that  30  Dollars  was  returned  Back  which 
he  could  not  put  of  So  I  went  home  and  was  Imme- 
diately taken  up  and  then  I  sent  my  Brother  Joseph 
to  Anna  hall  for  the  money  I  left  with  him  and  he 
brought  7  forty  Dol  Bills  &  1  twenty  Do  &  1  good  Do 
&  Keep1  two  I  had  Left  ten  forty  Dollar  Bills  with 


him  &  one  twenty — My  Brother  Joseph  &  I  hid  the 
money  he  brought  from  Annas  Hall  in  the  barn 
Namely  7  forty  Dollar  bills  &  1  twenty  Do  all  the 
Money  I  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  Account  that  I 
have  not  Called  good  I  suppose  was  Counterfit — while 
I  was  at  Cambridge  at  Joseph  Welches  Welch  In- 
quired of  me  About  the  Monmouth  Battle  &  about 
ye  Brittish  troops  I  told  him  they  Suffered  a  Good 
Deal  he  said  the  Rebels  had  it  in  there  papers  that 
they  ware  beat  but  he  Did  not  Believe  it  and  said  he 
wished  to  God  that  he  was  at  New  York  with  his 
famely  and  Enquired  if  there  was  any  Houses  to  be 
Let  I  told  him  yes  but  they  ware  very  Dear  he  Re- 
peated he  Wished  he  was  there  Dear  as  they  was — 
while  I  was  in  New-York  I  saw  one  Timothy  Lovell 
of  Rockingham  and  one  Hubbard  of  Windsor  in  ye 
State  of  Vermont  two  Refugees  and  they  have  both 
stole  out  since  and  I  saw  Lovell  in  Littleton  and  he 
told  me  not  to  Mention  to  any  Body  that  he  was  out 
of  New  York  for  it  might  hurt  him  and  would  not 
Do  me  any  Good  and  he  enquired  where  Maj1"  Joseph 
Blanchard  Lived  &  said  he  was  going  there  to  Holies 
but  nobody  suspected  that  Hubbard  had  been  to  N 
York  that  I  know  of  and  he  now  Lives  peaceably  at 
home  as  I  have  heard  I  Likewise  saw  one  Joseph 
Durfey  of  New  London  in  ye  State  of  Connecticut  in 
New  York  He  said  he  Did  not  know  what  the  Reb- 
ells  would  Do  to  him  when  he  came  out  nor  Did  not 
care  a  Dd  t — d. 

"the  foregoing  Relation  is  to  the  Best  of  my  Re- 
membrance the  truth  the  whole  truth  and  Nothing 
but  the  truth  which  I  can  attest  before  the  Almighty 
God. 

"  January  8th  1779. 

"  William  Baxter. 

"N.B.  Said  Baxter  confessed  that  his  brother 
Joseph  told  him  that  annanias  Hall  told  him  he  put 
off  a  40  Dollar  bill  to  one  Hall  a  sadler  in  Keen,  in 
the  following  way  the  Sadler  gave  a  good  40  Dollar 
Bill  to  said  annanias  to  change  into  small  Bills — and 
anns  said  after  taking  the  good  Bill  &  could  not 
change  it,  and  then  gave  him  a  Counterfeit  in  Lieu." 

William  Baxter  was  arrested  by  Joel  Chaud- 
ler,  constable,  on  a  warrant  from  Nathaniel  S. 
Prentice,  taken  before  said  Prentice,  November 
11,  1778,  examined  and  sent  to  the  General 
Assembly.  At  the  examination  before  "  Squire 
Prentice,"  Captain  Lemuel  Holmes  testified  as 
follows : 

"I  Lemuel  Holmes  of  Lawful  age  Testify  and  say, 
That  as  I  was  Prisoner  on  Longisland  when  William 
Baxter  who  Left  his  home  in  Alstead  came  their  with 


118 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


his  father  who  came  from  Boston  to  Newyork  srt 
William  Baxter  whilst  he  continued  Their  Lived  with 
a  farmer  on  Longisland  &  Laboured  for  him  for  hier 
and  did  not  join  in  the  Brittish  servis  or  Draw  Either 
Money  or  Provision  from  them  to  my  knowledge  but 
Lived  in  a  Peacable  Retired  manner  with  a  farmer 
that  appeared  To  be  a  friend  to  america  :  I  further 
say  that  Simon  Baxter  father  to  ye  sd  William  De- 
clared to  me  that  he  ordered  his  son  away,  and  as  he 
found  it  more  Difficult  to  support  him  their  Than  he 
Inspected  he  thought  Best  for  him  to  Return  :  Sd 
William  Baxter  came  to  Longisland  some  time  in 
June  Last  Past  according  to  my  Best  Rememberance 
— further  this  Deponent  saith  not. 
"Alstead  Nov.2  ye  11, 1778. 

"  Lemuel  Holmes." 

This  was  sworn  before  Nathaniel  S.  Prentice. 

In  House  of  Representatives,  November  18, 
1778,  William  Baxter  was  ordered  to  be  de- 
livered to  the  sheriff,  in  order  to  be  "  sent  back 
to  New  York  by  the  first  conveyance."  It 
seems  that  he  was  not  sent,  however,  but  was 
admitted  to  bail,  the  bond  requiring  him  not 
to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  Exeter.  In  May 
following  he  had  a  pass  to  go  to  Alstead  and 
return  in  twenty  days.  In  July  he  was  granted 
a  permit  "  to  pass  and  repass  from  Portsmouth 
to  Exeter  on  Business  for  the  printers ; "  and 
in  April,  1780,  he  was  employed  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  to  carry  letters  "  to  the  County 
of  Cheshire  to  call  the  General  Court  together," 
for  which  he  was  paid  one  hundred  dollars.  I 
think  some  allowance  should  be  made  for  his 
conduct,  on  account  of  his  age  and  his  having 
been  influenced  by  his  father,  although  I  think 
his  statement  relative  to  Dr.  Ziba  Hall  was  not 
true.  Dr.  Hall  was  a  respectable  physician  in 
Keene  for  many  years. 

"State  of  New  Hampshire,  Cheshire,  ss. 

"  Alstead,  Nov.  26,  1781. 

"  Whereas  the  major  part  of  the  Selectmen  of  Surry 
refused  to  obey  the  within  precept,  being  under  oath 
to  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  having  sent  the  same  to 
the  Selectmen  of  Alstead,  the  major  part  of  whom 
likewise  refused  to  obey  the  same  on  the  same  account. 
We  the  subscribers  Selectmen  for  Alstead  and  Surry, 
and  all  the  Selectmen  in  said  Towns  that  acknowl- 
edge the  jurisdiction  of  New  Hampshire,  did  on  the 
ninth  of  this  instant  November  notify  all  the  legal 


inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Surry,  Alstead  and  Marlow 
within  mentioned  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Timothy 
Fletcher  in  Alstead  on  Monday  the  26th  day  of  this 
instant  Nov.  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  for  the 
purpose  within  mentioned.  Who  being  accordingly 
met  made  choice  of  Mr.  Absalom  Kingsbury  to  rep- 
resent them  in  the  General  Assembly  within  men- 
tioned. 

"  Timothy  Fletcher,  Selectman  for  Alstead. 

"  Wm  Russell,  Selectman  for  Surry. 
"  In   Committee  on   Claims  1 

Concord  June  13,  1783.  )  The  Bounty  paid  by 
Alstead  to  &  which  has  been  deducted  from  David 
Abraham's  account  amounts  to  Thirteen  pounds  Thir- 


teen shillings 


"Attest  Josiah  Gilman  T)'eas.,, 


David  Abraham  served  also  for  Gilsum. 

Petition  about  Taxes. 

"To  the  Honble  the  council  and  house  of  Representa- 
tives for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 
"The  Petition  of  the  Town  of  Alstead  within  said 
State  Humbly  Sheweth  That  considering  the  great 
Scarcity  of  a  medium  of  currency  we  feel  the  greatest 
impractibility  of  Discharging  our  Legal  Taxes  to  the 
State  to  which  we  belong  by  cash.  And  as  there  is  a 
number  of  Soldiers  from  amongst  us  that  have  Serv11 
in  the  continental  Service  and  a  great  part  of  there 
wages  is  yet  due — the  greater  part  of  whom  are  Nesces- 
etated  for  present  Relief  and  the  produce  of  our 
Husbandry  would  be  that  that  would  grant  them  Re- 
lief perhaps  as  well  as  the  cash — the  former  of  which 
is  in  our  Power  to  Relieve  them  with  when  the  Latter 
is  utterly  out  of  our  Power  to  Supply  with  at  present 
— Therefore  your  Petitioners  pray  that  they  may  be 
directed  in  a  mode  that  your  honours  in  your  great 
wisdom  Shall  point  to  pay  our  Quotas  of  Taxes  in 
arrears  Imediately  to  the  Soldier  for  the  reasons  above 
mentioned  and  your  petitioners  as  in  Duty  bound 
Shall  Ever  pray. 

"  Amos  Shepherd  ]         Selectmen  of 
"Nathan  Fay  Alstead 

"John  Wood  in  behalf  and 

"Tim0  Fletcher    J  by  order  of  the  Town 
"  Alstead  29th  Sepr  1783." 

General  Amos  Shepherd  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  Alstead  from  1777  until  his  death. 
He  was  noted  for  industry,  economy,  honesty 
and  fidelity,  and  acquired  a  fortune  for  those 
days  ;  frequently  held  positions  of  trust  in  the 
town;  was  elected  State  Senator  in  1786,  and 
re-elected  fourteen  times;  was  president  of  that 


ALSTEAD. 


119 


body  from  1797  to  1804  ;  was  a  member  of  the 
Council  in  1785.     He  died  January  1,  1812. 
Petition  of  Nathaniel  Shepherd,  Deer-Eeeve. 

"  To  the  Honble  the  council  and  house  of  Represen- 
tatives for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire, 
"  The  Petition  of  Nath1  Shepherd  of  Alstead  in  the 

county  of  Cheshire  state  aforesaid. 
"  Humbly  Sheweth 

"  That  whereas  your  petitioner  was  chosen  by  the 
Town  of  Alstead  Deer  reife  for  the  year  of  our  Lord 
One  Thousand  Seven  hundred  &  Eighty  and  your 
Petitioner  in  Prosecuting  his  trust  in  that  office  under 
oath  complained  of  one  Elnathan  Jenning  as  a  person 
that  had  Broke  the  Law  of  the  State  in  that  case 
made  and  provided — Unto  Nath1  S.  Prentice  & 
Thomas  Sparhawk  Esqs  Two  of  the  Justices  of  sd 
county  as  Directed  in  said  act  and  your  petitioner  at 
a  Large  Expense  of  his  own  pursued  the  steps  of  the 
Law  and  made  it  appear  to  the  said  Justices  that  the 
said  Jennings  was  actually  guilty  of  killing  Deer 
contrary  to  Law ;  there  Judgment  accordingly  was 
that  he  should  pay  a  fine  as  the  Law  Directs  which 
the  one  half  thereof  was  promised  by  said  act  to  the 
Prosecutor  which  relying  on  the  faith  of  the  State  he 
Expected,  but  to  his  great  Surprise  one  of  the  said 
Justices  Received  a  Special  order  from  the  President 
of  sd  State  forbiding  him  in  any  way  or  manner  to 
Demand  the  Said  fine  of  the  said  Jennings  whereby 
he  was  and  hath  been  ever  since  kept  out  of  his  Right 
as  promised  in  sd  act  with  an  additional  cost  of  his 
own  Now  your  Petitioner  prays  that  the  aforesaid 
order  maybe  Revoked  or  that  your  Petitioner  maybe 
Releived  in  some  other  way  which  your  Honrs  in  your 
great  wisdom  shall  think  proper  which  your  Petiti. 
oner  Supposeth  he  hath  an  undoubted  Right  to  Ex- 
pect.    And  your  Petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound  will 

Ever  pray. 

"Nathaniel  Shepherd. 

"  Alstead  23d  Octr  1783." 

The  said  Jennings  proved  that  he  was  in  the 
Continental  army  three  and  one-half  years,  was 
driven  from  Long  Island  by  the  British  on 
account  of  his  loyalty,  came  to  this  State  in  July, 
1779,  did  not  know  anything  about  the  law, 
and  was  poor  and  needed  the  meat  for  the  sub- 
sistence of  his  family.  For  these  reasons  Presi- 
dent Weare  issued  a  special  order  to  stay  pro- 
ceedings. 

"  State  of  New  Hampshire  }  To  the  Honbl°  general 
Cheshire  ss.  i  Assembly. 

"  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Al- 


stead in  the  County  of  Cheshire  humbly  sheweth  that 
whereas  there  was  in  the  year  1780  a  Large  sum  of 
Continental  Money  Due  from  this  Town  to  the  state 
aforesaid — but  for  several  Reasons  (which  would  be 
irksome  to  us,  as  well  as  Disagreeable  to  your  Honors, 
to  mention  at  this  Time  we  pass  them)  the  aforesaid 
money  was  not  paid  into  the  Treasury  in  season  as  it 
ought  to  have  been — but  not  out  of  any  ill  intention 
in  us,  in  regard  to  the  money,  or  in  any  manner  to 
Defraud,  or  keep  Back,  what  was  really  due  from  us, 
to  the  said  state,  the  truth  of  which  will  appear,  by 
reciting  one  or  two  paragrafts  in  one  of  our  Town 
Meetings  about  that  time. 

"  the  1st  is  this — that  this  Town  will  make  a  settle- 
ment with  New  Hampshire  respecting  all  Debts  that 
we  have  been  with  them  in  contracting 

"  the  second — Voted  to  chuse  a  Committee  of  three 
men  to  receive  accounts  from  soldiers — (Viz)  those  that 
served  the  last  campaign  (meaning  under  the  Author- 
ity of  New  Hampshire)  as  three  months  men,  and  six 
months  men,  and  to  take  the  said  soldiers  Receipts 
for  the  same  money  so  paid,  this  last,  as  far  as  the 
money  amounted,  was  to  answer  the  first,  and  from 
which  we  humbly  conceive,  your  honors  will  be  Led 
to  see,  that  the  people  in  this  Town  have  not  been  so 
opposed  to  the  Laws  and  orders  of  the  general  As- 
sembly, as  has  been  represented,  and  that  the  people 
have  been,  was  then,  and  Now  are,  willing  to  pay 
there  full  Quotas  of  money  to  Defray  the  public 
charge — for  in  that  great  hurry,  and  heat  of  the  people 
those  two  votes  before  Recited  ware  obtained— Your 
Honours  are  as  sensable  of  the  Extreem  scarcity  of 
money  thro  the  state  as  we  can  be,  and  if  the  Treas- 
urer should  be  directed  to  call  upon  those  two  men 
in  whose  hands  the  aforesaid  money  now  remains  for 
so  large  a  sum  of  hard  money — your  honours  may 
Easily  judge  the  fatal  consequences  it  would  prove  to 
them  and  there  fameleys. 

"  We  your  petitioners  therefore  in  the  most  humble 
manner  prostrate  our  selves  at  the  feet  of  the  general 
Assembly  humbly  praying  that  your  Honours  would 
not  in  your  wisdome  and  goodness  by  misrepresenta- 
tion impute  too  much  iniquity  to  the  good  people  in 
this  Town — but  make  some  proper  allowancies  for 
human  frailty  by  extending  compassion  to  those  two 
men,  and  receive  the  money  they  had  collected  before 
the  time  Expired  for  receiving  Continental  money  as 
has  been  done  for  other  Towns  in  this  county  those 
two  men  aforesaid  (viz)  Nathan  Fay,  and  Zebulon 
Crane  are  men  of  veracity  who  are  at  this  time  be- 
trusted  with  public  honours  from  New  Hampshire — 
and  whose  affidavits  in  all  matters  may  be  relied  on — 
this  petition  is  not  the  prayer  [of]  one  individual,  but 
the  voice  of  the  people  at  Large  in  this  Town — who 


120 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


with  Confidence  in  your  Clemency,  and  Contrishon  in 
our  selves  present  this  petition  to  your  wise  Consider- 
ation as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"  Signed  by  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Town  of  Alstead. 

Alstead  September  2!>'"  1783. 

Amos  Shepherd") 

John  wood  I  Selectmen 

Tim0  Fletcher    J 

"  AccpM  &  voted  that  the  Select  men  Sign  the  Same 
in  behalf  of  ye  Town 

"  Attest  Nath1  S.  Prentice  Town  Clerk" 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December 
26,  1783,  it  was  "  Voted,  That  the  prayer  of 
said  petition  be  so  far  granted  as  to  receive  the 
money  which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Nathan 
Fay,  one  of  the  constables,  amounting  to 
£1530..  18s..  0.  Continental  Currency  &  that 
the  treasurer  discount  the  same  out  of  the  taxes 
called  for  from  the  Town  of  Alstead  in  the  year 
1780." 

The  Council  concurred  the  same  day. 

Certificate  of  Selectmen  about  Taxes. 
"These  may  Certify  that  it  appears  by  Samuel 
Kidders  Tux  bill  for  1783— that  Lot  N°  5  in  the  Eighth 
Range  was  Taxed  in  the  war  Tax  two  shillings  and 
tenpence  and  N°  4  in  the  Tenth  Range  three  shillings 
and  nine  pence  to  the  same  tax — and  to  the  state  tax 
N°  5  in  ye  Eighth  Range  3/10— and  N°  4  in  ye  10th 
Range  5/ 2— and  in  ye  County  Tax  N°  5  in  ye  8th 

Range  1/ all  in  the  said  Kidders  Tax  bills  who 

was  constable  for  1783  which  said  Lots  belong  to  the 
Confiscated  Estate  of  Simon  Baxter  an  Absentee 
"  £0  . .  16  . .  7. 
"  Alstead  January  215t  1786. 

"  Isaac  Temple 

"  BEx.ia  Wood 

"  Reuben  Hatch 

"Joel  Chandler 

"  Portsm0  Feby  14,  1786. 

"Received  an  order  for  sixteen  shillings  and  seven 

pence. 

"  Amos  Shephekd." 

In  1789,  Gideon  Delano  and  Eli  Snow  killed 
a  wolf  each  in  Alstead,  for  which  they  received 
a  State  bounty. 

Petition  for  Authority  to  Tax  Non-Resident 

Lands. 

"To  tin-  Hon1,1'  Senate  and  house  of  Representatives 
of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in  general  Court 


Selectmen 

of 
Alstead 


Convened  at  Portsmouth  on  the  8th  day  of  January 

A.  D.  1790. 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Selectmen  of  Alstead  humbly 
sheweth  that  said  Town  hes  a  Large  Shair  of  roads 
and  Bridges  to  Support  it  being  a  Veri  mountainous 
town  and  to  ad  to  these  burdon  the  County  have 
lately  laid  out  a  Road  through  the  Southeasterly  part 
of  said  Town  through  the  non-residents  Land  about 
tbree  milds  which  is  no  advantage  to  said  inhabitants 
therefore  your  petitioners  pray  that  the  Selectmen 
of  said  town  lay  a  Tax  of  two  pence  per  acor  on  all 
the  nonresidence  Land  in  Said  town  to  be  Laid  out 
on  the  roads  through  there  own  Lands,  or  other  ways 
as  you  in  your  great  wisdom  Shall  see  meet. 

"  and  we  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

!in  behalf  of 
the  Selectmen 
of  Alstead." 

January  11,  1790,  the  matter  was  before  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  a  hearing  ordered 
for  the  next  session. 

January  21,  1791,  a  bill  granting  the  author- 
ity asked  for  was  passed  and  concurred  in  by 
the  Senate. 

Remonstrance  against  Setting  Off  a  Parish. 

"  To  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and  Honblc  General 

Court  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  We  the  subscribers  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 
Alstead,  being  this  day  informed  that  a  petition  is 
circulating  in  the  east  part  of  this  Town  to  the  gene- 
ral Court  praying  to  be  set  off  as  a  Distinct  parish  ; 
Now  we  would  inform  the  Honble  General  Court,  that 
the  situation  of  this  Town  is  such  that  a  Division 
would  be  hurtful  to  the  whole  on  many  reasons  that 
might  be  given  as  the  matter  is  suden  and  unex- 
pected to  us  till  this  date,  and  the  Notice  we  had 
accidental  and  the  voices  of  the  inhabitants  have  not 
been  asked,  and  a  day  of  hearing  on  the  said  petition 
might  be  a  Large  bill  of  Cost  to  this  Town — we  pray 
therefore  that  the  petition  aforesaid  might  not  have  a 
hearing  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"  Alstead  may  31th  1793." 

"  Reuben  Hatch.  Nath"  Man. 

Job  Thompson,  Jr.  John  Worst  er. 

Joel  Chandler.  Ebenezer  Palmer. 

Asa  Hatch.  Paul  Robins. 

Absalom  Kingsbery.  Josiah  Crosby. 

Edward  Waldo.  Ephraim  Kingsbeiy. 

Isaac  Brown.  Noah  Vilas. 

John  Robbins.  Moses  Farnsworth. 

Joshua  Wood.  Lemuel  Barker. 


ALSTEAD. 


121 


Josiah  Robens. 
William  thompson. 
John  Burroughs. 
Benja  Baxter. 
William  Slade. 
Elisha  Kingsbery. 
Richard  Emerson. 
Daniel  Perin. 
John  Slade,  Jr. 
Daniel  Waldo. 
Elkanah  Stephens. 
Nath1  Rust. 
David  Hale. 
Frederick  wardner. 
Isaac  Cady. 
Judah  Hatch. 
Phinehas  Hatch. 
Joshua  Crane. 
Asa  Grant. 
Chrs  Williams. 
Jonas  Parke. 
Mason  Hatch. 
John  Fletcher. 
Jonathan  King. 


Nath1  Clark. 
Thos  Far ns worth. 
Nath1  Cooper. 
Amos  Shepard. 
William  Simons. 
Abel  Hebbard. 
Jacob  Cheever. 
Sam1  Slade. 
James  Brown. 
Nathaniel  Right,  Junr. 
Azel  Hatch. 
Jacob  Wardner. 
Thomas  Root. 
Josiah  Cook. 
Dan1  Williams. 
Joseph  Cady. 
Josiah  Cook,  Jr. 
Joseph  Peck. 
John  Ladd. 
Rich1  Beckwith. 
Luke  Harris. 
Benja  Cutter. 
Jesse  Watts. 
David  Hodgman . 


Michel  Grant.  Josiah  Brooks. 

James  Kingsbery.  Roswell  Waldo. 

Elias  Brown.  Gideon  Delano." 

Remonstrance  of  Selectmen. 
"  To  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  Honble  senate 
and  house  of  representatives,  in  General  Court 
Assembled,  may  it  please  your  honors. 
"  We,  the  Subscribers,  Selectmen  of  the  Town  of 
Alstead,  beg  Leave  to  inform  your  Honors  that  this 
day  we  ware  inform4  that  a  Petition  is  now  Circulat- 
ing in  the  East  part  of  this  Town  praying  to  be  set 
off  as  a  distinct  Parish,  or  otherwise,  as  the  General 
Court  may  think  proper.  This  matter  has  twice  been 
before  the  inhabitants  of  this  Town  and  twice  Reject- 
ed by  a  Large  majority,  as  a  division  of  this  Town  at 
present  would  be  very  injurious  to  this  Town  in 
General,  and  they  have  not  brought  there  petition 
before  the  inhabitents  to  know  their  minds  on  the 
matter.  As  selectmen  and  Guardians  of  the  public 
affairs,  we  pray  the  petition  aforesaid  might  not  have  a 
hearing. 

"Alstead,  may  31th,  1793. 

"  Isaac  Temple,       j    Selectmen 
"  Oliver  Shepard,  )  of  Alstead." 

Petition  for  the  Incorporation  of  a  Re- 
ligious Society. 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in 
General  Court  Assembled. 


"  The  Petition  of  a  number  of  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Alstead,  in  said  State 

"  Humbly  Sheweth, — That  whereas  your  Petition- 
ers, being  a  compact  Society  in  one  part  of  the  Town, 
and  some  years  past  built  them  a  meeting-house  and 
settled  them  a  Minister,  when  there  was  no  other  set- 
tled minister  in  the  Town,  and  have  ever  since  paid  a 
tax  towards  the  support  of  their  Society  by  them- 
selves, without  being  called  upon  to  support  the 
ministry  any  other  way;  but  still  we  find  ourselves 
under  some  embarrassments,  not  having  legal  author- 
ity to  call  on  one  another  for  the  taxes  so  made,  and 
having  got  the  approbation  of  the  Town  by  their  Vote 
in  Town-meeting — legally  appointed  therefor — There- 
fore your  Petitioners  humbly  pray  that  all  those  now 
paying  taxes,  or  that  may  hereafter  choose  to  pay 
taxes  towards  the  support  of  the  ministry  &  meeting- 
house, with  us  may  be  incorporated  into  a  Society 
solely  for  that  purpose.  And  your  Petitioners,  as  in 
duty  bound,  will  pray. 

"  Alstead,  26th  Novr.,  1793. 
"Nath1  S.  Prentice.  Larnard  Mann. 

Isaac  Kent.  John  Wait. 

Abel  Phelps.  Stephen  Bridgham. 

Oliver  Brown.  Moses  Blanchard. 

William  Wood.  Paul  Gale. 

Laban  Johnson.  Sardis  Miller. 

Spencer  Brown.  Thomas  Wood. 

Solomon  Prentice,  Jr.  Elijah  Holbrook. 

Eli  Harrington.  Jona  Newton. 

Samuel  Smith.  Benja  Wood. 

Amaziah  Wheelock.  Asa  Whitcomb. 

Elisha  Gale.  Abram  Brown. 

Sylvester  Partridge.  John  Brooks. 

John  Bryant.  John  Kent. 

Jonathan  Atherton.  Jesse  Fay. 

John  Wood.  John  Brimmer. 

John  Bridgham.  Ephm  Barnard. 

Daniel  Newell.  Sartell  Prentice. 

Nathan  Fay.  Phineas  Olds. 

Thomas  Taylor.  Samuel  Ball. 

Jedidiah  Johnson.  Abel  Childs. 

Thomas  Wait.  Jonas  Newton." 

James  Arch. 

The  original  was  signed  also  by  Abel  Dut- 
ton,  "William  Richardson,  Aristides  Hucstis, 
Timothy  Child,  Eleazer  Miller. 

In  House  of  Representatives,  December  31, 
1793,  a  hearing  was  ordered  for  the  second 
Wednesday  of  the  next  session  ;  meanwhile  the 
petitioners  were  to  post  a  copy  of  the  petition 
in  some  public  place  in  the  town  and  deliver  a 


122 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


copy  to  the  town  clerk,  which  the   following 
certificates  show  was  complied  with  : 

"Cheshire,  ss. March  11th,  1794.  This  petition  and 
order  of  Court  thereon,  was  delivered  to  me  this  day, 
and  this  day  I  read  it  in  open  Town-meeting,  in  the 
Town  of  Alstead.    "  Isaac  Temple,  T:  Clerk. 

"  Agreeable  to  the  order,  herein  contained,  this  Pe- 
tition and  order  of  Court  has  ben  Posted  up  in  the 
Town  of  Alstead. 

"  Thos  Taylor, 

"  Simon  Brooks,  Jr., 

"  Job  Thompson,  Jr., 

"  James  Kingsbury, 


Selectmen." 


Vote  of  Town  in  Favor  of  the  Incorporation 
of  a  Religious  Society. 
"  In  a  warrant,  Legally  executed,  for  calling  a 
Town-Meeting  in  the  Town  of  Alstead,  on  the  nine- 
teeth  day  of  Novbr,  Last  past,  was  the  following  arti- 
cle (viz.)  article  3d: 

"  To  see  if  the  Town  will  approve  of  the  persons 
paying  Taxes  to  the  Revd  Levi  Lankton,  to  be  incor- 
porated into  a  society  by  themselves,  for  the  purpose 
of  Maintaining  their  minister  and  Meeting-house. 

"  In  Town-Meeting,  Novbr  19th,  1793,  article  3d,  the 
Question  being  put  wheather  the  inhabitants  of  this 
Town  will  approve  of  the  persons  paying  Taxes  to  the 
Revd  Levi  Lankton,  to  be  incorporated  into  a  society 
by  themselves,  for  the  purpose  of  Maintaining  their 
minister  and  Meeting-house,  passed  in  the  affirma- 
tive.    "  A  true  copy  of  Record 

"Attest — Isaac  Temple,  T:  Clerk. 
"  Alstead,  Decbr  20th,  1793." 

"  At  the  annual  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Alstead,  holden  March  10th,  1795. 

"  Article  16th, — To  see  if  the  inhabitants  aforesaid 
will  vote  that  the  persons  that  now  do  or   may  here- 
after pay  Taxes  to  the  Revd  Levi  Lankton  may  be  In- 
corporated into  a  Society  for  the  purpose  of  Soporting 
their  Minister  and  Meeting-House. 
"  Passed  in  the  affirmative. 
"  Alstead,  May  13th,  1795. 
"  Moses  Hale, 
"Daniel  Pekin, 
"  Abel  Phelps, 
"  Jn°  Brigham, 
"EPHPwVIM  Kingsbery, 
"  The  above  is  a  true  copy  of  record. 

"  Attest,  Daniel  Perin,  Town  Clerk." 


Selectmen  of 
Alstead. 


The  foregoing  petitions,  etc.,  resulted  in  the 
incorporation  of  a  society  by  the  name  of 
the  Second  Parish  in  Alstead,  the  act  passing 
the  House  June  15,  1795,  the  Senate  the  next 
day,  and  receiving  the  approval  of  Governor 
Oilman,  June  18,  1795. 

Petition  of  Elisha  Kingsbery  for  Loan. 
"To  the  Honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  to  be 
Convened  at  Amherst  in  said  State  on  Wednesday, 
the  fourth  day  of  June,  1794. 

"  Humbly  Sheweth  your  Petitioner. 

"  That  your  Petitioner  did,  in  the  year  1792,  at 
great  Expence,  build  a  Linceed  Oil  Mill,  and  in  the 
year  1793,  on  his  own  Expence,  &  on  the  same  Dam 
build  a  Paper  Mill,  both  which  mills  are  nearly 
finished  and  do  good  business  to  the  great  advantage 
and  benefit  of  the  Public  in  this  part  of  the  State. 
That  your  Petitioner  finds  a  great  demand  for  his 
Paper,  not  only  in  this,  but  in  the  Neighbouring 
State  of  Vermont,  so  that  not  only  the  saving  of  the 
importation  of  that  valuable  article  in  this  part  of  the 
State  is  made,  but  is  also  likely  to  bring  a  considera- 
ble Quantity  of  money  into  this  part  of  the  State. — 
That  the  demand  for  paper  has  increased  so  much  that 
he  finds  himself  unable  to  procure  Stock  sufficient  to 
supply  all  his  customers  by  reason  of  this  great  ex- 
pence  in  Constructing  his  works. 

"  Therefore  prays  that  your  Honors  would  grant 
him  the  Loan  of  two  hundred  pounds  for  one  or  two 
years,  upon  security  of  the  Mortgage  of  the  Mill,  to 
the  state  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  carry  on  his 
works  to  the  better  advantage  of  the  publick  and  save 
the  importation  of  those  articles  into  this  part  of  t  In- 
state. And  your  Petitioner,  as  in  Duty  bound  will 
ever  pray. 

"  Alstead,  May  31st,  1794. 

"  Elisha  Kingsbery." 

The  foregoing  was  before  the  Legislature 
June  9,  1794,  and  a  committee  appointed  to 
consider  the  matter  ;  but  I  am  unable  to  find  any 
record  of  their  report. — (Hammond.) 


HISTORY  OF  CHESTERFIELD. 


BY   ORAN   E.    RANDALL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Geography  and  Geology. — Chesterfield 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Westmoreland  and 
Keene,  on  the  east  by  Keene  and  Swanzey,  on 
the  south  by  Winchester  and  Hinsdale,  on  the 
west  by  the  Connecticut  River,  or,  more  strictly 
speaking,  by  Brattleborough  and  Dummerston, 
in  Vermont.  The  area  of  the  town,  exclusive 
of  the  Connecticut,  which  flows  along  its 
western  border  for  a  distance  of  about  six 
miles,  is  probably  between  forty-two  and  forty- 
four  square  miles.  The  first  recorded  per- 
ambulation of  the  town  lines  took  place  in 
1793,  at  which  time  the  line  between  Chester- 
field and  Westmoreland  was  measured  by 
Jonas  Robbins,  of  the  latter  town,  and  found 
to  have  a  length  of  "  seven  miles  and  three- 
fourths  and  forty-four  rods,"  its  direction  being 
"  east,  10°  13f  south." 

The  line  running  from  the  northeast  corner 
of  Chesterfield  to  the  southwest  corner  of 
Keene  was  described  as  having:  a  length  of 
one  mile  and  sixteen  rods,  and  a  direction  of 
"south,  8°  30'  east;"  and  the  line  running 
from  the  southwest  corner  of  Keene  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  Swanzey  as  having  a 
length  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  rods, 
and  a  direction  of  "  east,  8°  30'  south."  The 
line  between  Chesterfield  and  Swanzey  was 
surveyed  the  same  year  by  John  Braley,  and 
was  described  as  having  a  direction  (starting 
from  the  northwest  corner  of  Swanzey)  of 
"  south,  33|°  west ; "  but  its  length  was  not 


stated.  According  to  measurements  made  at 
a  later  date,  this  line  has  a  length  of  nearly 
four  and  one-half  miles. 

The  same  surveyor  also  surveyed,  in  1793, 
the  line  that  separates  Chesterfield  from  Win- 
chester and  Hinsdale,  and  found  it  to  have  a 
direction  of  "  west,  10|°  north,"  starting  from 
the  southeast  corner  of  Chesterfield.  The 
length  of  this  line  was  also  not  stated,  but  it 
is  about  seven  and  seven-eighths  miles. 

The  surface  of  the  town  is,  for  the  most  part, 
hilly,  the  meadows  and  plains  being  compara- 
tively limited.  At  a  few  points  on  the  Con- 
necticut there  are  small  meadows  and  plains, 
some  of  the  latter  having  an  elevation  of  two 
hundred  feet,  or  more,  above  the  river.  There 
are  also  small  meadows  in  other  parts  of  the 
town,  through  which  flow  some  of  the  larger 
brooks. 

Wantastiquet,  or  West  River  Mountain,  lies 
in  the  extreme  southwest  corner  of  Chesterfield 
and  northwest  corner  of  Hinsdale.  This 
mountain  rises  abruptly  from  the  Connecticut, 
and  has  an  altitude  of  about  twelve  hundred 
feet  above  sea-level.  From  its  summit,  in  the 
days  of  the  early  settlements,  the  Indians  are 
said  to  have  watched  the  operations  of  the 
settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Dummer. 
Hence,  the  name  of  Indians'  Great  Chair  has 
been  applied  to  a  particular  portion  of  the 
summit  of  this  mountain.  The  longer  axis  of 
Wantastiquet  is  nearly  parallel  to  the  river, 
and  has  a  length  of  from  three  to  four  miles. 

There  are  several  hills  in  the  town  worthy  of 

123 


124 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mention.  Mount  Pistareen,  near  Chesterfield 
Factory,  has  an  altitude;,  probably,  of  about 
one  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Streeter  Hill,  in  the  northwestern  quarter  of 
the  town,  is  so  called  because  it  was  at  one 
time  inhabited  by  several  families  of  the  name 
of  Streeter.  Its  altitude  is  somewhat  greater 
than  that  of  Pistareen.  Atherton  Hill,  in  the 
cistern  part  of  Chesterfield,  received  its  name 
from  the  eircn instance  that  Joseph  Atherton 
settled  on  it  in  1795.  There  are  several  other 
hills  in  the  town  that  are  higher  than  Streeter 
Hill. 

There  are  no  large  streams  of  water  flowing 
through  Chesterfield,  but  the  Connecticut  flows 
along  its  western  border.  Its  height  above 
sea-level,  at  a  point  opposite  Brattleborough,  is 
two  hundred  and  fourteen  feet. 

The  largest  brook,  flowing  wholly  within 
the  limits  of  the  town,  is  Catsbane  Brook. 
This  stream  rises  in  the  low  lands  south  of  the 
( ientre  village,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Barrett 
Hill,  and  flows  in  a  northwesterly  direction  for 
the  distance  of  about  five  miles,  emptying  into 
the  Connecticut  near  the  West  village.  The 
name  of  this  brook  can  only  be  accounted  for 
by  the  following  tradition,  which  has  been 
handed  down  from  the  first  settlers  :  At  a  very 
early  period  in  the  town's  history  two  men, 
who  were  traveling  through  the  forest,  stopped 
on  the  banks  of  the  brook  to  eat  their  lunch. 
Having  finished  their  meal,  one  of  the  men 
said  he  wished  to  set  out  again  on  the  journey. 
The  other  replied  that  he  wished  to  take 
another  draught  of  the  water  of  the  brook 
before  leaving.  "  For  your  sake,"  said  his 
companion  (using  at  the  same  time  certain 
emphatic  words),  "I  wish  this  water  had 
catsbane  in  it!"  He  probably  meant  rats- 
bane. In  all  probability,  this  singular  name 
was  applied  to  the  brook  a  number  of  years 
before  the  settlement  of  the  town. 

Partridge  Brook,  in  some  respects  the  most 
important  stream  that  has  its  origin  in  the 
town,  is  the  outlet  of  Spaflbrd's  Lake.  It 
takes  the  water  of  the  lake  from  the  "channel" 


near  Factory  village,  flows  a  short  distance  in 
a  southeasterly  direction,  then,  turning  sharply 
to  the  northward,  plunges  down  through  a 
deep  gorge,  and  flows  on,  for  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles,  to  the  Westmoreland  line. 
From  the  line  it  continues  its  course  in  a 
northwesterly  direction  through  Westmoreland, 
for  a  distance  of  four  miles,  or  more,  and 
empties  into  the  Connecticut  near  the  county 
farm.  It  is  certain  that  this  brook  was  known 
by  its  present  name  before  Chesterfield  was 
settled,  inasmuch  as  it  was  called  Partridge 
Brook,  in  the  proprietary  records  of  West- 
moreland, as  early  as  1752.  There  are  also 
several  other  brooks  in  Chesterfield  of  lesser 
importance. 

Spafford's  Lake  lies  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  northern  half  of  the  town.  According  to 
au  estimate  based  on  the  proprietors'  chart,  or 
plan,  this  beautiful  sheet  of  water  has  an  area 
of  about  seven  hundred  square  acres.  This 
estimate  may  be  somewhat  too  small ;  but,  from 
all  the  information  the  writer  can  obtain 
relating  to  this  subject,  it  appears  to  him  that 
the  area  of  this  lake  cannot  exceed  one  thou- 
sand acres.  The  shore  of  the  lake  is,  for  the 
most  part,  either  sandy  or  rocky  ;  and  its  water 
is  remarkably  pure,  being  supplied,  in  great 
part,  by  springs  beneath  its  surface. 

Pierce's  Island,  in  the  southwestern  part  of 
the  lake,  contains  from  four  to  six  acres. 
Indian  relics — principally  stone  pestles  and 
arrow-heads — have  been  found  on  it. 

It  is  not  known  with  certainty  how  the  lake 
came  by  its  name  of  Spatford's  Lake,  but  the 
tradition  has  always  been  that  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Spafford  once  lived  near  its  shore  ; 
hence  its  name. 

There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
lake  received  its  name  before  the  town  was 
actually  settled,  and  that  the  Spafford  who  is 
said  to  have  lived  near  its  shore  was  a  hunter, 
whose  residence  was  only  temporary. 

Catsbane  Island,  which  lies  about  half  a  mile 
below  the  mouth  of  Catsbane  Brook,  in  the 
<  oimecticut,  is  worthy  of  mention.    This  island 


CHESTERFIELD. 


125 


— which  is  in  view  from  the  lower  ferry — con- 
tains but  a  few  acres,  and  is  principally  noted 
as  being,  in  all  probability,  near  the  place 
where  the  Indians  crossed  the  river  on  their 
way  to  Canada,  after  having  defeated  Sergeant 
Taylor's  party  in  July,  1748.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  place  called  "  Cattsbane,"  in 
Sergeant  Taylor's  diary,  was  the  mouth  of 
Catsbane  Brook. 

The  rocks  of  Chesterfield  belong  principally  to 
that  group  of  rocks  denominated  by  Professor  C. 
H.  Hitchcock  the  Coos  Group,  and  consist  of 
quartzite,  gneiss,  mica  slate,  mica  schist,  horn- 
blende rock  and  conglomerate.  In  the  south- 
eastern  quarter  of  the  town  there  is  found,  in 
great  abundance,  a  rock  called  porphyritic 
gneiss.  This  rock  is  not  found  in  the  western 
part  of  the  town.  No  valuable  minerals  have 
been  found  in  any  considerable  quantities;  yet, 
iron  ore  was  discovered  many  years  ago  on 
Wantastiquet,  and  graphite,  or  plumbago,  may 
exist  in  some  localities.  The  so-called  mine 
on  Wantastiquet  is  in  Hinsdale.  Quartz  is 
found  in  considerable  qualities  ;  in  one  or  two 
localities,  in  a  pulverulent  condition.  Inferior 
specimens  of  tourmaline  have  also  been  found. 

Numerous  evidences  of  the  action  of  mov- 
ing ice  in  the  Glacial  Period  exist  in  the  town. 
In  some  locations  the  ledges  are  grooved  and 
striated  in  a  way  peculiar  to  those  regions  that 
have  been  subjected  to  glacial  action.  Enor- 
mous boulders,  evidently  brought  from  a  great 
distance,  in  some  instances  have  been  deposited 
upon  the  highest  hills. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  Catsbane  Brook  are 
examples  of  river  terraces.  The  height  of  the 
terraces  in  Chesterfield  and  Westmoreland  va- 
ries from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea.  No  fossils  are  known 
to  have  been  discovered  in  Chesterfield,  the 
rocks,  for  the  most  part,  not  being  of  a  kind 
known  as  "  fossiliferous." 

Incorporation  and  Settlement. — Pend- 
ing the  King's  decision  respecting  the  dividing 
line  between  Massachusetts   and   New  Hamp- 


shire, the  General  Court  of  the  former  province 
granted  upwards  of  thirty  townships  between 
the  Merrimack  and  Connecticut  Rivers.  The 
township  that  lay  just  north  of  Arlington 
(which  embraced  a  portion  of  the  territory  now 
belonging  to  Hinsdale  and  Winchester)  and 
east  of  the  Connecticut  was  called  Township 
No.  1,  and  was  nearly  identical  with  the  pres- 
ent township  of  Chesterfield.  Townships  Nos. 
1,  2,  3  and  4  were  accepted  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  November  30,  1736. 
Samuel  Chamberlain,  of  Westford,  Mass.,  was 
empowered,  December  13,  1737,  to  call  the  first 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  No.  1  for  organi- 
zation. It  is  not  known,  however,  that  any 
settlement  was  attempted  in  this  township 
under  the  Massachusetts  charter.  In  fact,  the 
incursions  of  the  French  and  Indians  into  this 
part  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  rendered  any 
attempt  to  settle  the  new  township  extremely 
hazardous  for  some  years  subsequent  to  1737. 

A  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land was  signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  7, 
1748  ;  but,  in  this  country,  hostilities  did  not 
wholly  cease  for  some  time  ;  for,  June  20, 1749, 
the  Indians  assaulted  No.  4,  and  carried  off 
Enos  Stevens,  son  of  Captain  Stevens.  In 
1750,  '51  and  '52  there  was  peace  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley.  Movements  were  now  made 
to  get  the  townships  that  had  been  chartered  by 
Massachusetts,  but  which  had  been  severed  from 
that  province  by  the  final  determination  of  the 
southern  boundary  of  New  Hampshire,  rechar- 
tered  by  the  government  of  the  latter  province. 

Some  time  in  the  year  1751,  Josiah  Willard, 
John  Arms  and  fifty-six  others  petitioned  Gov- 
ernor Benning  Wentworth  to  recharter  Town- 
ship No.  1.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
petition  : 
"Province  of)      To  His  Excellency  Benning  Went- 


:fl 


New  Hampr.  J  worth,  Esq.,  Govr  in  and  over  His 
Maj,ys  Province  of  New  Hainpr,  &c,  the  Hon1  His 
Maj'ya  Council. 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Subscribers  Humbly  Shews 
that  Sundry  of  your  Petitioners  some  years  before  the 
last   Indian   War   had   entered   on   a  tract  of  Land 


126 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Called  N°.  One,  on  the  Easterly  Side  Connecticut 
River,  and  adjoining  to  the  same  next  above  Win- 
chester, under  the  Grant  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
but  since  the  Dividing  line  Between  the  sd  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  Province  of  New  Harnp1"  has  been 
ascertained  by  his  Majesty,  Wee  find  that  the  same 
falls  within  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire,  and  are 
Desirous  to  pursue  our  former  Intention  of  making 
a  Settlement  there  if  we  may  be  favored  with  a  grant 
from  his  Majesty  of  that  township,  under  Such  Re- 
strictions as  other  Towns  Holding  under  his  Maj- 
esty in  this  Province. 

•'  Wherefore  your  Petitioners  pray  that  a  Grant 
may  be  made  them  of  the  said  Township  N°.  one,  in 
Such  a  way  and  manner  as  yr  Excellency  &  Honrs 
See  meet,  &  yr  Petirs  as  in  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever 
pray — ." 

In  accordance  with  this  petition,  Governor 
Wentworth,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Council,  granted  a  charter,  February  11,  1752, 
to  Josiah  Willard  and  others,  incorporating 
Township  No.  1  under  the  name  of  Chester- 
field. Why  this  name  was  bestowed  upon  No. 
1,  when  it  was  rechartered,  is  not  known  with 
certainty. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  name  was 
given  to  the  town  by  Governor  Wentworth 
and  his  Council,  either  in  honor  of  the  Earl  of 
Chesterfield  or  the  town  of  the  same  name  in 
England.  Certain  circumstances  lead  to  the 
belief  that  the  name  was  bestowed  in  honor  of 
the  former.  In  the  first  place,  the  Earl  of 
Chesterfield  was  a  man  of  much  note  at  the  time 
the  town  was  rechartered,  having  not  only 
held  important  government  offices,  but  having 
just  brought  about  an  important  reform  of  the 
calendar,  that  took  effect  the  same  year  (1752). 
He  was  also  distinguished  as  an  orator  and 
writer.  In  the  second  place,  it  is  well  known 
that  Governor  Benning  Wentworth  was  fond 
of  naming  towns  in  New  Hampshire  in  honor 
of  distinguished  men  and  places  in  England. 

The  names  of  the  grantees  of  Chesterfield, 
as  appended  to  the  charter,  were  as  follows: 

"Josiah  Willard,  Nathan  Willard,  Valentine  But- 
ler, John  Arms,  John  Arms,  Jun'r,  Oliver  Butler, 
Oliver  Willard,  Oliver  Willard,  Jun'r,  Josiah  Wil- 
lard, Jun'r,  Nathan  Willard,  Jun'r,  Wilder  Willard, 


John  Moore,  William  Willard,  Caleb  Trobridge, 
William  Lawrence,  John  Hunt,  Simon  Hunt,  Jona- 
than Hubbard,  Samuel  Kennada,  Solomon  Willard, 
Billy  Willard,  Simon  Cooley,  Joseph  Willard,  Wil- 
liam Deen,  Simon  Stone,  Peter  Oliver,  David  Hub- 
bard, Thomas  Pain,  John  Wheelwright,  Nathaniel 
Wheelwright,  Joseph  Wheelwright,  Jeremiah  Wheel- 
wright, Simon  Willard,  Benj'a  Lynd,  John  Spafford, 
Silas  Spafford,  Sam'l  Davis,  Phineas  Wait,  Joanna 
Wetherby,  Elias  Alexander,  John  Brooks,  James 
Whitney,  Abraham  Kendel,  Benj'a  French,  Josiah 
Brown,  Ebenez'r  Day,  John  French,  Jun'r,  Sam'l 
Greeley,  Will'm  Spalding,  Moses  Gould,  Will'm 
Down,  Kobert  Fletcher,  David  Field,  Sam'l  Field, 
David  Sterns,  John  Kendel,  Daniel  Kendell,  James 
Stootley,  His  Excellency,  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq., 
one  tract  of  land  to  contain  five  hundred  acres,  one 
whole  share  for  the  Incorporated  Society  for  the  prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts,  one  whole 
share  for  the  first  settled  minister  of  the  Gospel  in 
said  Town,  one  whole  share  for  a  Glebe  for  the  min- 
istry of  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law  estab- 
lished. Samuel  Wentworth,  of  Boston,  Theodore 
Atkinson,  Richard  Wibird,  Samuel  Smith,  John 
Downing,  Sampson  Sheaffe,  Jno.  Wentworth." 

Theodore  Atkinson  was  secretary  of  the 
province.  Richard  Wibird,  Samuel  Smith, 
Sampson  Sheaffe  and  John  Downing  were 
members  of  the  Council  at  the  time  the  town- 
ship was  regranted. 

Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  the  leading  grantee, 
was,  for  many  years,  a  resident  of  Winchester. 

The  charter  of  Chesterfield  is  similar  to  those 
of  other  towns  granted  by  Governor  Went- 
worth. The  township  is  described  therein  as 
follows : 

"All  that  tract  or  parcel  of  land  situate,  lying  and 
being  within  our  said  Province  of  New  Hampshire, 
containing  by  admeasurement  twenty-three  thousand  and 
forty  acres,  which  tract  is  to  contain  six  miles  square, 
and  no  more  ;  out  of  which  an  allowance  is  to  be 
made  for  highways  and  unimprovable  lands  by  rucks, 
ponds,  mountains  and  rivers,  one  thousand  and  forty 
acres  free,  according  to  a  plan  and  survey  thereof, 
made  by  our  Governour's  order,  and  hereunto  an- 
nexed, butted  and  bounded  as  follows, — viz.:  begin- 
ning and  adjoining  to  a  stake  and  stones  near  the 
bank  of  Connecticut  river,  which  is  the  northwest- 
erly corner  bound  of  a  place  called  Winchester, 
thence  running  south  seventy-eight  degrees  east  upon 
Winchester    line    aforesaid,   till   it  meets  with    the 


CHESTERFIELD. 


127 


western  line  of  the  lower  Ashuelots,  so  called,  then 
carrying  all  the  breadth  of  land  between  the  river 
of  Connecticut  aforesaid  and  the  said  Ashuelots,  so 
far  up  northerly  as  will  make  the  contents  of  six  miles 
square,  bounding  on  this  extent  by  a  stake  and  stones 
near  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  thence  running  south, 
seventy-eight  degrees  east,  till  it  meets  with  the  Ash- 
uelots aforesaid." 

The  charter  provided  that  the  township 
should  be  divided  into  seventy  equal  shares, 
and  that  a  tract  of  land  near  the  centre  of  the 
same  should  be  "  reserved  and  marked  out  for 
town  lots,"  containing  one  acre  each.  Every 
grantee  was  entitled  to  one  of  these  lots.  In 
accordance  with  a  provision  of  the  charter,  the 
town  was  surveyed  (as  were  also  Westmoreland 
and  Walpole  at  the  same  time)  and  a  plan  of 
it  drawn  by  Josiah  Willard  and  Benjamin 
Bellows. 

This  plan  was  finished  March  18,  1752,  and 
is  now  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
at  Concord.  It  shows  that  the  general  out- 
lines of  Chesterfield  were  about  the  same  when 
the  first  survey  under  the  new  charter  was 
made  as  they  are  now.  The  line  between 
Keene  and  Chesterfield,  running  from  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  latter  town  to  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  former,  was  stated  to  be  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  rods  in  length. 
The  same  line,  as  measured  by  Jonas  Robbins, 
in  1793,  was  found  to  be  "one  mile  and  six- 
teen rods"  long,  or  one  hundred  and  eleven 
rods  longer  than  in  1752.  From  this  circum- 
stance it  might  be  inferred  that  this  line  had 
been  lengthened  before  1793,  and  that  the  line 
between  Swanzey  and  Chesterfield,  which  was 
described  in  the  original  plan  as  being  five 
miles  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  rods  long, 
correspondingly  shortened.  No  record  of  any 
such  alterations  in  these  lines  has,  however, 
been  found. 

Owing  to  the  loss  of  the  proprietary  records, 
nothing  is  known  concerning  the  meetings  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  town,  or  the  business 
transacted  at  such  meetings,  save  what  is  to  be 
inferred  from  the  proprietors'  "  chart,"  or  plan 


of  the  town,  which,  fortunately,  has  been  pre- 
served, and  is  in  tolerably  good  condition.  It 
is  not  known  when  or  by  whom  this  plan  was 
made  ;  but  it  is  evident  that  it  was  made  as 
early  as  1760  or  1761,  inasmuch  as  the  earliest 
deeds  sometimes  refer  to  it. 

Governor  Wentworth's  share  (five  hundred 
acres)  lay  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town, 
and  is  known  at  the  present  day  as  the  Gover- 
nor's Farm.  According  to  the  plan,  John 
Went  worth  also  had  a  share  of  three  hundred 
acres.  These  two  shares  are  indicated  on  the 
plan  as  "  B.  and  J.  Wentworth's  shares,"  and 
formed  a  tract  bounded  on  the  north  by  West- 
moreland line  and  on  the  west  by  Connecticut 
River.  It  had  an  average  length  of  about  six 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  rods  and  a  width  of 
two  hundred  rods.  Aaron  Smith,  son  of  Moses 
Smith,  the  first  settler,  settled  on  Governor  B. 
Wentworth's  share  about  1767,  as  did  after- 
wards his  brother,  Benjamin  Smith.  John 
Wentworth's  share  was  located  just  east  of  the 
Governor's  Farm,  and  was  purchased  by  Wil- 
liam Randall  in  1780. 

The  glebe  is  not  marked  on  the  plan,  but 
lay  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  town.  The 
minister's  share  consisted  of  lots  No.  5  in  the 
first,  fifth  and  eighth  ranges  of  lots,  and  the 
tenth  house-lot  in  the  ninth  range.  Concerning 
the  location  of  the  share  reserved  for  the  "  In- 
corporated Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  nothing  is  known. 

Nor  is  it  now  known  whether  the  "  town- 
lots,"  mentioned  in  the  charter,  were  ever  laid 
out  or  not ;  but  it  is  certain  that  some  of  the 
hundred-acre  lots,  near  the  central  part  of  the 
town,  were  divided  into  "  half-lots,"  or  "  fifty- 
acre  lots,"  which  are  sometimes  designated  in 
old  deeds  as  "  house-lots." 

A  whole  share  consisted,  nominally,  of  three 
lots,  of  one  hundred  acres  each;  but  is  appears 
that  most  of  the  proprietors  also  owned  one 
"  house-lot "  each. 

Although  circumstances  were  apparently  fa- 
vorable for  immediately  settling  the  new  town- 


128 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ship  at  the  time  the  new  charter  was  granted, 
no  settlement  was  effected  till  nine  years  after- 
wards. The  last  French  and  Indian  War, 
which  soon  broke  out,  rendered  the  establish- 
ment of  new  settlements  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  north  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  ex- 
tremely difficult  and  hazardous. 

But  the  complete  conquest  of  Canada  by  the 
English,  in  1760,  put  an  end  to  the  incursions 
of  the  French  and  Indians,  and  peace  once 
more  reigned  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut. 

The  grantees  of  Chesterfield,  having  been  un- 
able to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  charter 
within  the  specified  time  (five  years),  petitioned 
the  Governor  and  Council  for  an  extension  of 
time,  in  order  that  their  grants  might  not  be 
forfeited.  In  accordance  with  this  petition,  the 
charter  was  "lengthened  out,"  June  11,  1760. 
The  term  of  one  year  was  granted  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  conditions  imposed  upon  the 
grantees,  which  term  was  to  be  renewed  annu- 
ally "  till  His  Majesty's  plenary  instructions 
could  be  received." 

On  the  20th  day  of  February,  1761,  Moses 
Smith,  who  at  that  time  was  said  to  be  "  of 
Hinsdale,"  purchased  of  Oliver  Willard,  of 
Brattleborough,  one  whole  right,  or  share,  in  the 
township  of  Chesterfield,  which  right,  or  share, 
belonged  to  the  said  Willard  by  virtue  of  his  being 
one  of  the  grantees.  The  numbers  of  the  lots  were 
not  given  in  the  deed,  but  it  is  known  that  two 
of  them  were  the  lots  numbered  14  and  15,  in 
the  sixteenth  range ;  the  other  was  probably 
lot  No.  11,  in  the  second  range.  Oliver  Willard 
also  owned  house-lot  No.  10,  in  the  twelfth  range. 
Having  secured  some  of  the  best  land  in  the 
new  township,  Moses  Smith  made  preparations 
for  establishing  a  home  upon  the  same  for  him- 
self and  family.  Accordingly,  in  the  month  of 
November,  1761,  as  the  tradition  has  always 
been,  he  and  his  son-in-law,  William  Thomas, 
came  up  the  Connecticut  in  canoes  or  boats,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  the  first  settlement  in 
the  town  <>{'  ( Ihesterfield. 


The  exact  date  of  this  event  is  uncertain,  as 
it  has  been  stated  to  be  both  the  loth  and  the 
25th  of  November.  Larkin  G.  Mead,  Esq., 
who  wrote  a  brief  sketch  of  Chesterfield  for  the 
"  Historical  Collections,"  in  1822,  adopted  the 
latter  date.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
that  it  was  in  the  month  of  November,  1761, 
that  the  first  settlement  was  effected  by  Smith 
and  Thomas. 

Both  men  brought  their  families  with  them  ; 
Smith's  consisting,  so  far  as  known,  of  his  wife 
Elizabeth,  and  his  sons,  Aaron,  Moses,  Amos, 
Joseph,  Benjamin  and  Reuben.  Of  these  sons, 
Aaron,  the  oldest,  was  about  twenty-one  years 
old  ;  Reuben,  the  youngest,  was  about  three 
years  old.  Thomas'  family  consisted,  prob- 
ably, only  of  himself  and  wife,  Mary,  Smith's 
daughter. 

Smith  built  a  log  cabin  on  lot  No.  14,  in 
the  sixteenth  range.  The  place  where  this 
stood  is  a  short  distance  north  of  the  present 
residence  of  his  great-grandson,  George  Smith, 
and  a  few  rods  east  of  the  highway,  which,  at 
this  point,  runs  near  the  bank  of  the  river. 

The  site  of  the  cabin  is  still  indicated  by  a 
depression  in  the  plain. 

Thomas  erected  his  cabin  near  the  river's 
bank,  at  a  point  about  one  mile  and  a  half  be- 
low Smith's  "  pitch."  It  stood  a  few  rods  east 
of  the  lower  ferry,  and  a  few  feet  north  of  the 
present  highway  leading  easterly  from  the 
same.  Its  site  is  still  marked  by  a  depression 
in  the  earth,  and  a  mound  adjoining  the  depres- 
sion on  its  eastern  side.  This  mound  consists, 
in  great  part,  of  ashes  and  charcoal. 

When  spring  came,  the  work  of  clearing  a 
patch  for  cultivation  was  probably  begun,  al- 
though the  work  of  felling  trees  may  have 
been  prosecuted  throughout  the  winter,  when 
the  weather  permitted. 

On  the  25th  day  of  April,  1762,  Thomas' 
wife  gave  birth  to  the  first  white  child  born  in 
the  town.  This  child  was  called  Mary.  She 
married  Lemuel  Stoddard. 

There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the  first 


CHESTERFIELD. 


129 


male  child  born  of  white  parents  in  Chester- 
field was  Lotan  Hildreth,  son  of  Jonathan 
Hildreth,  born  March  29,  1763. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  history 
of  the  town  from  the  date  of  settlement  to  the 
year  1767  is  almost  a  complete  blank.  The 
town  records  begin  with  the  latter  date ;  so 
that,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  the  proprietary 
records,  as  already  stated,  we  have  but  little  to 
guide  us  in  our  study  of  this  period,  save  a  few 
traditions  and  what  can  be  gleaned  from  a  few 
old  deeds.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  a  large 
number  of  families  had  become  established  in 
the  town  before  1767.  In  the  spring  of  1762, 
Captain  Simon  Davis,  of  Greenwich,  Mass., 
and  Abel  Emmons  settled  in  the  western  part 
of  the  town ;  and  some  time  the  same  year 
Peter  Wheeler  also  came  to  settle.  A  .saw-mill 
is  also  said  to  have  been  constructed  this  year 
by  John  Snow  and  Moses  Smith.  The  pro- 
prietors granted  two  pieces  of  land  to  them,  on 
condition  that  they  should  erect  a  mill,  keep  it 
in  good  repair  for  the  following  five  years,  and 
saw  boards  at  as  reasonable  a  rate  as  was  done 
in  other  places.  There  is  a  tradition  that,  after 
the  first  boards  were  sawed,  they  were  laid  down 
so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  rude  floor,  upon  which 
the  settlers  danced,  to  celebrate  the  event. 

This  mill  was  built  on  Catsbane  Brook,  in 
the  western  part  of  the  "town,  and  stood  near 
the  place  where  Warren  W.  Farr's  house  now 
stands.  A  grist-mill  was  also  erected,  at  an 
early  period,  near  this  saw-mill.  Both  mills 
were  carried  away  by  a  freshet  in  the  summer 
of  1826. 

The  following  persons  are  known  to  have 
settled  in  Chesterfield  before  1767  : 

Ephraim  Baldwin  and  Jonathan  Cobleigh, 
as  early  as  1763  ;  Daniel  Farr,  Samuel  Farr, 
and  Nathan  Thomas,  as  early  as  1764;  Jonathan 
Farr,  Jr.,  and  Timothy  Ladd,  in  1765;  Eleazer 
Cobleigh  and  Silas  Thompson,  in  1766. 

Of  course,    the    above-named    settlers,   with 

their  families,  constituted  but  a  small  part  of 

the  whole  number  that  were  in  the  town  in  the 
9 


year  1767,  which  year  Chesterfield  had  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  inhabitants.  Among 
those  who  had  become  residents  before  the 
last-mentioned  date  were  Jonas  Davis,  Ebenezer 
Davison,  Thomas  Emmons,  Jonathan  and 
Samuel  Hildreth,  James  Robertson,  James 
Wheeler  and  Nathaniel  Bingham. 

As  already  stated,  the  town  records  begin 
with  the  year  1767;  but  there  are  reasons  for 
believing  that  town-meetings  had  been  held  an- 
terior to  that  date,  the  records  of  which  have 
been  lost. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  warrant  for  a 
town-meeting  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  in 
June,  1767  : 

"Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

To  Samuel  Hildreth,  constable  in  and  for  the  town 
of  Chesterfield  :  you  are,  in  his  majeste's  name,  here- 
by commanded  to  warn  all  the  Inhabitans  of  Sd 
town  to  meet  att  the  house  of  Jonas  Daviss  In  Sd 
town,  on  the  Second  tuesday  of  June  Next,  att  one 
o'Clock  in  the  afternoon,  then  and  there  to  act  on  the 
following  articels : 

"  1.  To  Chuse  a  moderator  to  govarn  Sd  meeting. 
"  2.  To  Se  whether  the  Town  will  Raise  money  to 
Defray  town  Charges  and  hire  Schooling. 

"  3.  To  See  whether  the  town  will  hire  preaching. 
"4.  to  See  whether  the  town  will  Except  of  the 
Roads  as  they  are  now  Laid  out. 

"  make  Due  Return  of  this  warrant  att  or  before 
Sd  Day  apinted  for  Sd  meeting. 

"  Dated  Chesterfield  may  ye  14,  A.  D.  17G7. 
"  Simon  Davis, 

"  John  Snow,  Selectmen 

"  Jonathan  Hildreth,  }  of 

"  Eleazer  Cobleigh,      I  Chesterfield." 
"  Ebenezer  Davison,    J 

At  the  meeting  called  by  the  above  warrant 
Captain  Simon  Davis  was  chosen  moderator. 
The  sum  of  five  pounds,  lawful  money,  was 
voted  to  defray  town  charges,  and  the  River 
road,  running  from  Westmoreland  line  to  Hins- 
dale line,  was  accepted. 

Several  other  new  roads  were  also  accepted 
at  the  same  meeting. 

It  appears  from  a  brief  record  of  a  meeting 
held  July  5,  1768,  that  the  town  voted  to  build 
a   road    "  from   the   road   that  goes  to  Keene, 


130 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


along  by  the  potash  [potashery],  to  the  road 
that  goes  to  Winchester." 

The  record  for  1769  is  a  complete  blank.  In 
1770  the  record  begins  anew,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  is  unbroken.  On  the  16th 
day  of  January,  1770,  Josiah  Willard,  the 
leading  grantee,  was  petitioned  by  thirteen  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Chesterfield  to  issue  a  war- 
rant for  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  the  following 
March.  The  petitioners  stated  that  they  had 
lost  their  "  charter  privileges  "  of  holding  town- 
meetings.  At  the  meeting  called  in  accordance 
with  this  petition  Mr.  Willard  was  present, 
and  administered  the  oath  of  office  to  the  offi- 
cers who  were  chosen. 

In  1773  the  population  of  the  town  num- 
bered seven  hundred  and  forty-seven  persons, 

viz., — 

Unmarried  men,  sixteen  to  sixty 55 

Married  men,  sixteen  to  sixty 109 

Males  under  sixteen 224 

Males  sixty  and  upwards 12 

Unmarried  females 220 

Married  females 120 

Widows 7 

Slaves 0 

Total 747 

In  1775  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  eight 

hundred  and  seventy-four,  viz., — 

Males  under  sixteen 241 

Males  sixteen  to  fifty,  not  in  the  army...  155 

Males  above   fifty 30 

Persons  gone  in  the  army 36 

Females 412 

Slaves 0 

Total 874 

The  settlers  who  came  in  during  the  first  two 
or  three  years  after  1761  appear  to  have  lo- 
cated, for  the  most  part,  in  the  western  and 
central  portions  of  the  town  ;  but  by  the  year 
1770  they  seem  to  have  been  pretty  evenly 
distributed  over  its  territory,  except  in  the 
easternmost  parts  of  the  same.  As  nearly  as 
can  1>«'  ascertained,  there  were  very  few  settlers 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  town  previous 
to  1780,  especially  in  that   part  of  it  known  as 


"Hardscrabble."  From  about  1780  to  1805, 
however,  numerous  settlers  came  into  that  quar- 
ter, which,  in  spite  of  its  ruggedness  and  rocki- 
ness,  has  produced  some  of  the  best  citizens  of 
the  town. 

The  "  New  Boston  "  District,  which  may  be 
roughly  defined  as  comprising  the  upper  half 
of  the  valley  of  Leavitt's  Brook,  was  partially 
settled  before  1770.  It  appears  to  have  pos- 
sessed its  maximum  number  of  inhabitants  be- 
tween 1790  and  1800. 

A  settlement  was  established  at  an  early 
period  on  Streeter  Hill,  which  had  for  many 
years  a  pretty  numerous  population.  Even  the 
"  Dish  Land,"  which  lies  to  the  northward  of 
Streeter  Hill,  was  once  partially  occupied  by 
settlers. 

The  earliest  settlers  built,  of  course,  log 
houses  ;  but,  John  Snow's  saw-mill  having  been 
erected  in  1762,  some  of  those  who  came  after- 
wards built  very  small  frame  houses.  As  the 
families  became  larger,  or  as  the  owners  became 
more  prosperous,  many  of  the  log  houses  were 
replaced  with  better  ones,  or  the  small  frame 
houses  were  enlarged. 

There  is  a  tradition  that,  one  or  more  winters 
in  the  early  history  of  the  town,  some  of  the 
settlers  in  the  western  part  of  it  were  obliged 
to  go  almost  to  the  extreme  eastern  part  to  get 
hay  for  their  horses  and  cattle,  drawing  it  home 
on  hand-sleds.  The  hay  thus  obtained  had 
been  cut  in  certain  swales,  and  consisted  of  wild 
grass. 

Wolves  and  bears  were  more  or  less  trouble- 
some to  the  early  settlers,  sometimes  killing 
their  sheep,  pigs  and  calves.  Wolves  appear 
to  have  been  numerous  at  one  time,  and  even 
since  the  year  1800  have  been  occasionally 
killed  in  the  town,  as  have  also  bears.  It,  is 
said  that  John  Darling,  Sr.,  who  first  settled  on 
Barrett  Hill,  used  to  hunt  these  animals  for  the 
bounty  that  was  paid  for  their  destruction,  and 
obtained  considerable  money  in  this  way. 

On  one  occasion  a  party  of  men  from  five 
towns    assembled    at    the    house    of    Abraham 


CHESTERFIELD. 


131 


Stearns,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  for  a 
grand  bear-hunt.  They  succeeded  in  killing 
one  bear,  for  which  Mr.  Stearns  (probably  in 
his  capacity  of  selectman)  gave  them,  as  boun- 
ty, a  barrel  of  rum  valued  at  twenty  dollars ; 
and  they  remained  at  his  house  till  they  had 
drunk  it  all ! 

Though  the  early  settlers  were,  in  general, 
hardy  and  robust,  they  appear  to  have  been  as 
much  afflicted  by  contagious  and  epidemic  dis- 
eases as  the  latter  generations,  and  probably 
more  so.  .Especially  was  this  the  case  with  the 
children,  who  suffered  much  from  scarlet-fever 
and  what  was  then  called  "  throat-ail,"  a  dis- 
ease that  appears  to  have  been  very  similar  to, 
if  not  identical  with,  diphtheria.  Fevers  of 
various  kinds  sometimes  raged,  causing  many 
deaths  among  young  and  old.  The  crowding 
of  large  families  into  verv  small  houses,  and 
the  want  of  means  for  combating  disease, 
necessarily  caused  great  mortality  in  the  case  of 
epidemic  and  contagious  diseases. 

The  records  of  deaths  are  so  few  and  imper- 
fect that  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  how  many 
persons  died  in  the  town  in  any  year  when  the 
mortality  was  unusually  large  ;  but  the  little 
grave-stones  occasionally  found  standing  in  a 
row,  or  near  together,  in  the  old  cemeteries,  are 
sad  evidences  of  the  mortality  that  sometimes 
existed  among  the  children.  How  many  were 
buried  to  whose  memory  no  stones  wTere  ever 
erected  no  one  can  tell. 

Chesterfield  During  the  War  of  the 
Revolution. — At  a  town-meeting  held  in 
Chesterfield,  January  17,  1775,  it  was  voted  to 
accept  of  the  result  of  the  General  Congress 
held  at  Philadelphia  in  the  autumn  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  to  pay  this  town's  propor- 
tion of  the  expense  of  another  Congress  to  be 
held  in  the  same  city  the  following  May. 
Lieutenant  Brown,  Lieutenant  Hinds,  Nathan- 
iel Bingham,  Silas  Thompson  and  Ephraim 
Baldwin  were  chosen  a  committee  "  to  draw  up 
articles,"  and  make  return  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  meeting  to  the  Provincial    Committee. 


In  the  warrant  for  the  annual  town-meeting, 
held  on  the  1st  day  of  March,  the  same  year, 
was  the  following  article  :  "  To  see  if  the  town 
will  choose  a  committee,  agreeable  to  the  advice 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  whose  business  it 
shall  be  attentively  to  observe  the  conduct  of 
all  persons  touching  said  Congress."  Ensign 
Moses  Smith,  Deacon  Silas  Thompson  and 
Lieutenant  Jacob  Hinds  were  chosen  a  com- 
mittee for  the  purpose  stated  in  the  warrant. 

On  the  14th  day  of  the  next  December 
a  town-meeting  was  held,  at  which  Archibald 
Robertson  was  chosen  to  represent  Chesterfield 
and  Hinsdale  in  the  Provincial  Congress, 
to  be  held  at  Exeter  on  the  21st  day  of  the 
same  month.  Captain  Shattuck,  Aaron  Cooper, 
Captain  Hildreth,  Ensign  Smith  and  Lieuten- 
ant Fletcher  were  constituted  a  committee  to  give 
Mr.  Robertson  his  instructions. 

Previous  to  September  of  this  year  (1775) 
thirty-six  Chesterfield  men  went  into  the  army, 
the  most  of  them  enlisting  in  Colonel  James 
Reed's  regiment.  The  "  Army  Rolls  "  in  the 
office  of  the  adjutant-general  of  the  State  show 
that  this  town  paid  bounties  to  the  amount  of 
£40  6s.  Sd.  to  men  who  enlisted  on  account  of 
the  Lexington  alarm. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1776,  the  General 
Congress  passed  the  following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several 
Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils,  or  Commit- 
tees of  Safety  of  the  United  Colonies,  immediately  to 
cause  all  persons  to  be  disarmed,  within  their  respec- 
tive Colonies,  who  are  notoriously  disaffected  to  the 
cause  of  America,  or  who  have  not  associated,  and 
refuse  to  associate,  to  defend  by  Arms  the  United 
Colonies  against  the  hostile  attempts  of  the  British 
fleets  and  armies." 

This  resolution  having  been  received  by  the 

Committee   of  Safety   for  the   colony,  it   was 

transmitted    to    the    selectmen    of    the   towns 

throughout  the  whole  colony,  together  with  the 

following  request : 

"Colony  or  New  Hampshire. 
"  In  Committee  of  Safety,  April  12th,  1776. 
"  In  order  to  carry  the   underwritten   Resolve   of 


132 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Honorable  Continental  Congress  into  execution, 
you  are  requested  to  desire  all  males  above  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  (lunatics,  idiots  and  negroes  excep- 
ted) to  sign  to  the  Declaration  on  this  paper ;  and 
when  so  done  to  make  return  thereof,  together  with 
the  name  or  names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the 
same,  to  the  General  Assembly  or  Committee  of  Safety 

of  this  Colony. 

"  M.  Weare,  Chairman." 

THE   DECLARATION. 

"  We,  the  Subscribers,  do  hereby  Solemnly  engage 
and  promise  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  Power, 
at  the  Risque  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes,  with  Arms, 
oppose  the  Hostile  proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets 
and   Armies  against  the  United  American  Colonies." 

The  selectmen  of  Chesterfield,  having  re- 
ceived the  "Declaration,"  sent  the  following 
reply  to  the  Committee  of  Safety.  The  date  of 
their  letter  is  not  given,  but  it  must  have  been 
written  before  the  12th  of  June  : 

"  To  the  Honorable  Committee  of  Safety  or  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Colony  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  As  soon  as  ever  we  received  your  Directions  request- 
ing us  to  desire  all  the  Males  in  this  Town  to  sign  to  a 
Declaration  (Lunaticks,  &c,  excepted)  in  obedience 
thereto  we  Immediately  proceded  to  give  publick  No- 
tice of  your  Intentions  and  otherwise  as  we  Thought 
would  have  the  most  effectual  Tendency  to  have  put 
into  execution,  in  order  that  we  might  make  a  Return 
by  our  Representative,  but  having  so  short  a  Time  for 
to  accomplish  the  Matter  in  so  great  a  Town,  and  be- 
ing unwilling  to  omit  anything  relating  to  our  Duty 
and  which  might  be  for  the  Benefit  of  the  Whole,  we 
calmly  deliberated  on  the  matter,  asked  ye  advice  of 
our  Representative  and  others  of  Sense  and  Steadi- 
ness, and  as  we  were  not  limited  to  a  certain  Time  to 
make  a  Return,  we  propose  to  make  one  as  soon  as  it 
may  be  done  with  conveniency. 
"  So  rest  your  Humble  Servts., 

"  Erini.  Baldwin*.  \     Selectmen 

"  Michael  Cresey,  t  of 

"  Sam'l  Hildreth,  )  Chesterfield." 

June  12,  1776,  the  selectmen  made  the 
following  return  : 

"  In  obedience  to  the  within  Declaration  that  we 
Rec'd  from  your  Honors,  we  proceeded  According  to 
your  Directions  and  the  persons  Names  underwriten 
are  those  that  Refuse  to  sign  to  the  Declaration  on 
your  paper : 


"  Capt.  Jona.  Hildreth.        Eseek  Earl. 
Lieut.  Ephraim  Whitney.  Ebenezer  Harvey. 


Ephraim  Whitney. 
Elisha  Walton. 
Eleazer  Pomeroy. 
Ebenezer  Cooper. 
Ebenezer  Fletcher,  Jr. 

"  Eph.  Baldwin, 


Joseph  Prentice. 
Sam'l  Davis  Converse. 
Silas  Bennett. 
Sal.  Keing  [Sam'l  King]. 


"  Moses  Smith,  Jr., 

Selectmen 

"  Michael  Cresey, 

of 

"  Ephr'm  Hubbard, 

Chesterfield." 

"  Sam'l 

Hildreth, 

7      J 

NAMES   OF   THOSE   WHO 

SIGNED   THE   DECLARATION. 

Abraham  Wood. 

John  Pratt. 

Simon  Davis. 

Nathaniel  Bingham. 

Isaac  Davis. 

Abel  Ray. 

John  Snow. 

Samuel  Farr. 

Oliver  Cobleigh. 

Nehemiah  Merrill. 

Jonathan  Farwell. 

Samuel  Farr,  Jr. 

Oliver  Farwell. 

John  Haskell. 

Silas  Thompson. 

Ezekiel  Powers. 

William  Farwell. 

Silas  Wood. 

Jonathan  Davis. 

Obadiah  Merrill. 

Warren  Snow. 

William  Henry. 

Ebenezer  Streeter. 

Daniel  Farr. 

William  Thomas. 

Amasa  Colburn. 

Daniel  Baldwin. 

Thomas  Harris. 

William  Simonds. 

Douglas  Robbins. 

Amos  Smith. 

Ullainell  Merrill. 

Josh  Smith. 

Sherebiah  Fay. 

[prob.  Jos.  Smith.] 

Zur  Evans. 

Jonathan  Farr,  (4th). 

William  Farr,  Jr. 

Jonathan  Farr,  (3d). 

Ithamar  Chamberlain. 

Thomas  Farr. 

Caleb  Johnson. 

Benjamin  Hudson. 

Amos  Streeter. 

Moses  Smith. 

Abner  Johnson. 

Josiah  Streeter. 

Kimball  Carlton. 

Michael  Woodcock. 

Theodore  Bingham. 

Jonathan  Cobleigh. 

John  Pierce. 

Jonas  Stearns. 

Benjamin  Colburn. 

Samuel  Fairbanks. 

Ephraim  Farr. 

Jonathan  Farr,  (2d). 

Isaac  Farr. 

Josiah  Lamb. 

Thomas  Darby. 

Samuel  Walker. 

Joseph  Metcalf. 

Archibald  Robertson. 

Martin  Warner. 

Andrew  Colburn. 

David  Stooder,  Jr. 

Lawrence  Walton. 

[David  Stoddard,  Jr.] 

Phineas  Brown. 

Samuel  Peacock. 

John  Sanderson. 

John  Peacock. 

William  Fisher. 

Ephraim  Baldwin. 

Jonathan  Hildreth,  J 

r.       Michael  Cressey. 

James  Wheeler,  Jr. 

Samuel  Hildreth. 

Josiah  Hastings. 

Moses  Smith,  Jr. 

CHESTERFIELD. 


133 


Andrew  Hastings. 
Noah  Emmons. 
Jonathan  Cressey. 
Ephraim  AVheeler. 
John  Cobleigh. 
Joseph  Higgins. 
James  McElroy. 
Joseph  Wheeler. 
James  Wheeler. 
Zenas  Fairbanks. 
Nathan  Bishop. 
Isaac  Hildreth. 
Israel  Johnson. 
James  Eobertson. 
Elisha  Rockwood. 
Dan  Cobleigh. 
Aaron  Farr. 
Peter  Wheeler. 
Moses  Ellis. 
Ephraim  Hubbard. 
Amos  Davis. 
John  White. 
Nathan  Metcalf. 
John  Bishop. 
Jonathan  Cobleigh. 
Nathan  Thomas. 
Abel  Emmons. 
William  Robertson. 
Edward  Hildreth. 
James  Davis. 


William  Aires. 
David  Stone. 
John  Grandy. 
John  Grandy,  Jr. 
Increase  Lamb. 
Abner  Albee. 
Ebenezer  Taft. 
John  Richardson. 
Daniel  Kinnison. 
Joel  Whitney. 
David  Farr. 
James  Mansfield. 
Amos  Hubbard. 
Jonathan  Farr  (1st.) 
Patrick  McMichael. 
Abijah  Kingsbury. 
Ebenezer  Gail. 
Sylvanus  Battey. 
Ebenezer  Faver. 
Abijah  Stearns. 
Matthew  Gray. 
William  Hildreth. 
James  Reed. 
John  Ellis. 
Oliver  Hubbard. 
Michael  Metcalf. 
Charles  Johnson. 
Benjamin  Smith. 
Samuel  Fletcher. 
Abraham  Farr. 


Enoch  Streeter. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  persons  signed 
the  declaration,  and  thirteen  refused  to  sign. 
The  declaration  was  known  as  the  "  Association 
Test,"  and,  according  to  the  returns  that  were 
made,  was  signed  by  eight  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine  persons  in  the  colony  of 
New  Hampshire,  while  only  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-three  persons  refused  to  sign. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  December  2,  1776, 
Michael  Cressey  was  elected  to  represent  the 
town  in  the  Assembly  that  was  to  meet  at 
Exeter  the  third  Wednesday  of  the  same 
month.  Rev.  Mr.  Wood,  Deacon  Thompson, 
Lieutenant  Fairbanks,  Dr.  Harvey  and  Lieu- 
tenant Rockwood  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
give  Mr.  Cressey  his  instructions.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  vote  passed  on  the  2d  day  of 
December,  the  committee  chosen  for  that  pur- 
pose gave  Mr.  Cressey  these  instructions  : 


"  To  Mr.  Michael  Creasy,  Representative  for  the   Town 
of  Chesterfield  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  Sir  : — Whereas  it  having  pleased  Almighty  God 
to  humble  the  people  of  this  land,  by  permitting  the 
tyrant  of  Great  Britain  and  his  minions,  in  the  ful- 
ness of  their  rage,  to  prevail  against  them,  by  sub- 
verting the  Civil  Constitution  of  every  Province  in 
his  late  American  dominions,  affecting  thereby  the 
activity  of  Law  and  Justice  and  [promoting]  the  in- 
troduction of  vice  and  profaneness,  attended  with 
domestick  confusion  and  all  the  calamities  attendant 
on  the  dissolution  of  the  power  of  Civil  Government 
which  in  this  alarming  progress  have  made  it  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  each  state  to  separate  itself  from 
that  land  from  whence  their  forefathers  were  exiled 
by  the  cruel  hand  of  tyranny,  and  to  form  for  itself, 
under  the  ruler  of  all  the  earth,  such  plans  of  Civil 
Government  as  the  people  thereof  should  think  most 
conducive  to  their  own  safety  and  advantage ;  not- 
withstanding the  importance  of  an  equitable  system 
of  Government,  as  it  affects  ourselves  and  our  poster- 
ity, we  are  brought  to  the  disagreeable  necessity  of 
declaring  that  it  is  our  candid  opinion  that  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire,  instead  of  forming  an  equitable 
plan  of  Government,  conducing  to  the  peace  and 
safety  of  the  State,  have  been  influenced  by  the  in- 
iquitous intrigues  and  secret  designations  of  persons 
unfriendly,  to  settle  down  upon  the  dregs  of  Monarch  - 
ial  and  Aristocratical  Tyranny,  in  imitation  of  their 
late  British  oppressor.  We  can  by  no  means  imagine 
ourselves  so  far  lost  to  a  sense  of  the  natural  rights 
and  immunities  of  ourselves  and  our  fellow  men,  as 
to  imagine  that  the  State  can  be  either  safe  or  happy 
under  a  constitution  formed  without  the  knowledge 
or  particular  authority  of  a  great  part  of  its  inhabi- 
tants; a  constitution  which  no  man  knows  the  con- 
tents of  except  that  the  whole  Legislative  power  of 
the  State  is  to  be  entirely  vested  in  the  will  and 
pleasure  of  a  House  of  Representatives,  and  that 
chosen  according  to  the  Sovereign  determination  of 
their  own  will,  by  allowing  to  some  towns  sundry 
voices  in  the  said  House,  others  but  one,  and  others 
none  ;  and  in  a  Council  of  twelve  men,  five  of  which 
are  always  to  be  residents  of  Rockingham  County, 
who  by  the  assistance  of  two  others  of  said  Council, 
have  the  power  of  a  casting  voice  in  all  State  affairs. 
Thus  we  see  the  important  affairs  of  the  State  liable 
to  be  converted  to  the  advantage  of  a  small  part  of 
the  State,  and  the  emolument  of  its  officers,  by  reason 
of  the  other  part  of  the  State  not  having  an  equal  or 
equitable  share  in  the  Government  to  counterbalance 
the  designs  of  the  other.  You  are  therefore  author- 
ized and  instructed  to  exert  yourself  to  the  utmost  to 


134 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


procure  a  redress  of  the  aforementioned  grievances 
and  in  case  they  will  not  comply,  to  return  home  for 
further  instructions. 

"Solomon  Harvey,  per  order  Com. 
"  Chesterfield,  December  ye  12th,  1776." 

The  inhabitants  of  Chesterfield  were  not 
alone  in  complaining  of  the  injustice,  as  they 
regarded  it,  of  the  principle  of  representation 
that  had  been  adopted.  A  number  of  towns  in 
the  western  part  of  the  State  remonstrated 
against  the  form  of  government  that  had  been 
assumed,  and  some  of  them  refused  to  send 
representatives  to  the  Assembly.  It  was 
asserted  that  every  incorporated  town,  whether 
large  or  small,  should  be  entitled  to  at  least 
one  representative ;  and  some  towns  maintained 
that  there  ought  to  be  no  Council  to  negative 
the  proceedings  of  the  House. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  for  1777,  held  on 
the  5th  day  of  March,  Lieutenant  Fairbanks, 
Jonathan  Farr  (2d),  Lieutenant  Robertson,  War- 
ren Snow  and  Lieutenant  Rockwood  were  chos- 
en a  "committee  of  inspection  and  correspond- 
ence."    In  the  warrant  for  this  meeting  was  the 
following  article  :  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  write 
anything   to   ease  any  reflections  cast  on   the 
Hon'ble  Committee  from   the   General  Court, 
by  a  letter  sent  to  said  committee  from  this 
town."     The  vote  on  this  article  was  in    the 
ncuative.     The  "  Hon'ble  Committee  from  the 
General  Court,"  mentioned  in  the  warrant,  was 
appointed  December  30,  1770,  "to  take  under 
consideration  the  difficulties  and  Grievances  Sub- 
sisting and  Complain'd  of  by  Sundry  Towns  & 
People  in  the  County  of  Grafton,  &  any  other 
Towns,  respecting  the  present  Form  of  Govern- 
ment &c."     The  letter  referred   to  was  sent  to 
this  committee  by  the  town   committee.     The 
following  extract  from  this  letter  is   apparently 
the  portion  that  was  regarded   as   "casting  re- 
flections "     on     the      General     Court's     com- 
mittee :  "  We  beg  therefore  to  be  excused  from 
holding  any  personal  conference  with   you  on 
the  subject,   as  we  deem  it   highly  inconsistent 
writh  the  Nature  of  adjusting  grievances  of  any 


kind  to  oblige  the  aggrieved  individuals  to  make 
separate  and  unconnected  appearances  to  confer 
and  make  answers  to  matters  respecting  the 
whole  :  unless  the  assembly  consider  us  as  a 
number  of  captious  individuals  without  con- 
nection or  cause  of  complaint." 

Another  town-meeting  was  called  for  June 
12th.  The  warrant  was  preceded  by  an  "  intro- 
ductory address  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
by  Samuel  Fairbanks  and  Elisha  Rockwood. 
This  address  was  as  follows  : 
"  To  the  Inhabitants  of  Chesterfield  : 

"  Gentlemen  :  You  are  not  ignorant  of  the 
calamities  of  this  present  day.  Enemies  without  the 
state,  and  within  ;  and  being  of  late  often  alarmed 
by  hearing  of  many  conspiracies  of  such  persons  as 
were  generally  esteemed  friendly  to  the  American 
Cause  and  Freedom  ;  and  also  of  the  great  oppression 
of  some  and  rejoicings  of  others  at  the  fall  and  under 
Vallument  of  the  paper  currency,  and  some  rejecting 
the  Regulating  Acts ;  all  the  above  said  circumstances 
considered,  with  many  others  that  might  be  offered, 
it  appears  necessary  that  every  town  should  be 
furnished  with  full  sets  of  officers,  both  selectmen 
and  committees  of  correspondence;  and,  as  one  con- 
stable is  gone,  or  going,  out  of  town,  there  will  be 
need  of  one  in  his  room  and  stead, — we  have  thought 
fit  by  the  advice  of  some  and  desire  of  others,  to  call 
the  town  together  for  the  purposes  hereafter  men- 
tioned." 

The  fourth  article  of  the  warrant  that  fol- 
lowed this  address  was,  "To  see  if  the  town 
inhabitants  will  choose  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence to  unite  with  other  towns  in  this  day 
of  distress,  and  use  means  to  defend  all  our 
lawful  rights."  The  constable  referred  to  in  the 
address  was  John  Pierce. 

In  June  of  this  year  (1777)  Ebenezer  Har- 
vey, Eleazer  Pomeroy  and  Samuel  King,  all  of 
Chesterfield,  were  brought  before  the  "  Court 
of  Inquiry,"  at  Keene,  charged  with  being  hos- 
tile to  the  United  States.  They  were  put  by 
the  Court  under  bonds  in  five  hundred  pounds 
each  to  remain  within  the  limits  of  their  respec- 
tive farms.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  an 
address  sent  by  the  Chesterfield  Committee  of 
Safety  to  the  General  Court,  relating  to  the  per- 
sons in  question  : 


CHESTERFIELD. 


135 


"  To  the  Honorable  Court  of  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
sh  ire : 
"  The  Committee  of  Safety  of  Chesterfield 
humbly  sheweth  this  Hon1,le  House,  that  whereas 
sundry  Persons,  viz:  Ebenezer  Harvey,  Elezor  Pom- 
roy  and  Sam'l  King,  all  of  Chesterfield  abovsd, 
were  some  time  in  June  last,  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  Court  of  Enquiry,  at  Keen,  as  being  Enem- 
ical  to  the  United  States  of  America,  and  upon 
tryall  were,  found  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  against 
the  State : — on  which  account  they  were  fined  and 
confined  to  their  farms  by  Bond  till  that  or  some 
other  Court  or  authority  should  set  them  at  Liberty  : — 
upon  which  they,  or  some  of  them,  Beg'd  the  Favour 
of  sd  Court,  that  they  might  have  ye  Liberty  of  tak- 
ing the  Oath  of  Fidelity  to  the  States ;  on  which 
accompt  Esqr  Giles  went  Immediately  to  Exeter,  as 
we  have  beeu  informed,  and  procured  said  oath  or 
form  of  it,  and  sent  to  us  by  Sheriff  Cook, 
of  Keen,  and  our  Direction  was  to  take  a  justice  of 
the  Peace  and  tender  sd  oath  to  those  confined  per- 
sons, to  ye  end  they  might  take  it  and  perform e  ac- 
cordingly and  be  at  Liberty ;  and  we  followed  the 
Directions  of  Esqr  Prentice  and  Esqr  Wyman.  The 
aforementioned  confined  persons  said  they  were  will- 
ing to  take  ye  said  oath,  if  it  came  from  lawful  au- 
thority ;  but  they  Disputed  ye  authority  and  paid  no 
regard  to  Esqr  Prentice  Letter,  which  was  to  take  the 
Oath  of  fidelity  and  be  set  at  Liberty ;  and  as  they 
were  fully  fixed  in  principal  or  will,  they  apply'd  to 
Justice  Baldwin  and  he  liberated  them.  Again  they 
apply'd  to  Esqr  Wyman  and  notwithstanding  they 
neglected  to  take  the  oath,  he,  said  Justice,  enlarged 
their  bonds  just  so  far  as  to  serve  their  own  turns ; — 
all  which  was  contrary  to  y8  advice  of  the  Committee, 
except  they  would  take  ye  oath  of  Fidelity  to  the 
States,  and  their  bonds  are  just  so  far  enlarged  as  to 
serve  their  own  turns ;  and  when  called  upon  to  do 
any  publick  service,  they  say  that  they  are  confined, 
and  so  are  excused  :  all  which  gives  great  uneasiness 
to  many  steady  friends  to  America.  .  .  .  We 
do  therefore  pray  your  Honours  to  take  these  things 
into  your  wise  consideration,  and  Dismiss  or  Confine 
the  abovementioned  persons,  and  that  they  be  sub- 
jects of  their  duty  and  service  in  ye  defense  of  our 
much  oppress'd  land. 

"  Samuel  Fairbank,     ]       Committee 
"  Elisha  Rock  wood,      \  of 

"  James  Robertson,  Safety. 

"  Chesterfield,  December  y8   13th,  1777. 
"  To  the  Honble  Court  or  Committee  of  Safety  of  this 
New  Hampshire  State,     (a  Copy  near  similar  to 
the  former  petition.) 
Test."  "  Sam1  Fairbank,  Chairman, 


Esquire  Giles  and  Esquire  Prentice,  referred 
to  in  this  petition,  were  probably  Benjamin 
Giles,  of  Newport,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  Nathaniel  Sartel 
Prentice,  of  Alstead.  Esquire  Wyman  was 
undoubtedly  Colonel  Isaac  Wyman,  of  Keene. 

April  6,  1778,  the  selectmen  of  Chester- 
field and  the  town  Committee  of  Safety  joined 
in  recommending  the  discharge  of  Harvey, 
Pomeroy  and  King,  without  their  taking  the 
"  oath  of  fidelity."  Accordingly,  they  were 
discharged  the  next  day  by  Justices  Prentice 
and  Wyman. 

Justice  Baldwin,  mentioned  in  the  above 
address,  was  Ephraim  Baldwin,  of  Chester- 
field. In  a  letter  written  by  the  Chesterfield 
committee  to  President  Weare,  dated  November 
3,  1777,  Baldwin  was  accused  of  having  pro- 
cured one  of  Burgoyne's  proclamations,  and  of 
"  defending  the  part  that  the  enemies  of  this 
land  take."  The  committee  added :  "  Great 
care  and  Pains  was  Improved  with  sd  Justice 
to  Convince  him,  and  after  Certain  days  the  sa 
Justice  signed  a  Piece  acknowledging  to  the 
Com'  and  all  good  People  that  he,  sd  Justice,  had 
given  the  greatest  Reason  Imaginable  to  his 
friends  and  Neighbors  to  view  him  as  unfriend- 
ly to  his  Country  :  and  signing  said  Piece  and 
Delivering  it  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee, 
ye  said  Piece  being  on  the  Table  before  them,  sd 
Justice  takes  the  Piece  without  so  much  as  ask- 
ing the  Coram1  or  either  of  Them,  and  Betakes 
hiinselfto  another  room  and  erases  out  some 
words,  and  was  Putting  in  others,  and  being  en- 
quired of  why  he  did  thus  and  so,  he,  said  Justice, 
after  some  words,  moved  that  all  the  matters 
of  Dispute  then  depending  between  himself  and 
Committee  might  be  Transmitted  to  the  General 
Court,  &c."  Esquire  Baldwin  was  also  accused 
of  setting  at  liberty  persons  confined  by  the 
Court  of  Inquiry,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber. 

In  the  preceding  September  depositions 
were  made  by  Anne  Snow,  Abial  Johnson,  John 
Sargent  and  Fear  Sargent,  his  wife,  relative  to 


136 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Tory  sentiments  expressed  by  Baldwin. 
Under  date  of  the  5th  day  of  the  same  month, 
Esquire  Prentice,  of  Alstead,  wrote  a  letter  to 
him,  remonstrating  with  him  for  the  course  he 
had  taken  and  advising  him  to  make  a  "  public 
and  free  recantation"  of  his  opinions,  etc. 
This  letter  was  formally  approved,  also,  by 
Benjamin  Bellows.  September  25th,  Esquire 
Baldwin  made  public  acknowledgment  of  the 
truth  of  the  charges  brought  against  him, 
confessed  sorrow  for  his  conduct  and  promised 
to  "improve  the  utmost  of  his  power  and  skill 
in  ye  Defense  of  America."  He  furthermore 
stated  that  all  that  had  been  done  by  him  that 
seemed  to  be  hostile  to  the  American  cause  had 
been  done  "  entirely  through  Inadvertancy  and 
Not  from  any  good  will  to  georg,  the  Brittish 
King." 

Notwithstanding  this  confession  (which,  as 
appears  from  the  town  committee's  letter  to 
President  Weare,  dated  November  3,  1777,  he 
was  accused  of  trying  to  alter  after  he  had 
signed  it)  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Chester- 
field petitioned  the  Legislature,  February  6, 
1778,  to  take  some  action  with  regard  to  Es- 
quire Baldwin's  conduct.  The  2d  day  of 
the  following  March  the  House  voted  "  that 
Ephraim  Baldwin,  Esq.,  of  Chesterfield,  be 
cited  to  appear  before  the  General  Assembly, 
on  the  second  Friday  of  their  next  session,  to 
answer  to  a  complaint  exhibited  to  this  Court 
against  him  by  the  Committee  of  Chesterfield, 
as  speaking  or  acting  in  some  measure  Enemi- 
cal  to  the  Liberties  of  the  American  States." 

If  any  action  was  taken  by  the  Assembly 
respecting  Baldwin's  case,  it  was  not  recorded, 
for  the  journal  of  the  House  contains  no 
further  reference  to  the  matter. 

August  16, 1779,  the  town  voted  not  to  accept 
the  plan  of  government  for  the  State  that  had 
been  drawn  up  by  a  convention  assembled  at 
Concord  for  that  purpose.  The  record  states 
that  it  was  "rejected  by  the  number  of  fifty-two 
which  were  all  [that  were]  then  present." 

At  a  town-meeting  held  the  1st  day  of  May, 


1 780,  it  was  voted  to  raise  eight  thousand  pounds 
to  be  expended  on  the  highways.  Each  man 
was  to  be  allowed  twelve  pounds  per  day  for 
his  own  labor,  and  £7  4s.  for  the  use  of  a  yoke  of 
oxen.  This  nominally  enormous  sum  was  doubt- 
less raised  to  make  allowance  for  the  great  de- 
preciation of  the  currency. 

During  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  the  War 
of  the  Revolution  Chesterfield  seems  to  have  fur- 
nished but  a  very  few  men  for  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States,  and  several  times  refused 
to  bear  its  proportion  of  the  burdens  of  the  war. 
For  this  reason  fines  were  afterwards  imposed 
upon  the  town.  In  a  petition  to  the  General 
Court,  drawn  up  by  the  selectmen  of  Chesterfield, 
June  1,  1786,  they  used  the  following  language 
in  speaking  of  the  fine  that  been  imposed  for 
deficiencies  in  the  last  quota  of  men :  "  As  to 
that  Point,  we  are  conscious  to  ourselves,  if  the 
honorable  House  had  been  Rightly  Informed  of 
what  we  as  a  Town  have  done  and  performed 
in  the  war,  our  Fines  might  have  been  much 
abated ;  But  not  casting  ye  blame  on  ye  Honor- 
able Court,  Ave  blame  ourselves  for  defects  in  ye 
Returns  made  by  ye  officers  then  improved." 

It  is  evident  that  Chesterfield's  lukewarmness 
in  the  American  cause  during;  the  last  two  or 
three  years  of  the  war  did  not  arise  from  the 
prevalence  of  Toryism  in  the  town,  but  rather 
from  the  disturbed  state  of  aifairs  within  its 
borders,  caused  by  the  memorable  controversy 
about  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants." 

As  already  stated,  Chesterfield  paid  bounties 
to  the  amount  of  £40  6s.  8c?.  to  men  who  en- 
listed on  account  of  the  "Lexington  alarm;" 
but  the  names  of  the  men  who  received  the 
bounties  have  not  as  far  as  known  been  fully 
ascertained. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington  three  regi- 
ments were  organized  in  New  Hampshire,  the 
Third  being  commanded  by  Colonel  James  Reed, 
of  Fitzwilliam.  One  company  in  this  regiment 
was  commanded  by  Captain  Jonathan  Whitcomb. 
In  this  company  were  the  following  Chesterfield 
men  : 


CHESTERFIELD. 


137 


Joseph  Smith,  fifer. 
Eleazer  Jordan. 
Jonathan  Farr. 
Joshua  Farr. 
Eleazer  Stoddard. 
Joseph  Metcalf. 
Charles  Johnson. 
Elijah  Walton. 


Josiah  Hastings. 

Elisha  Walton. 

Eleazer  Cobleigh,  drumm'r. 

Ephrairn  Farr. 

Asa  Gale. 

John  Merrill. 

Benjamin  Wheeler. 


Captain  Whiteomb's  company  appears  to  have 
been  at  Medford,  Mass.,  October  13,  1775,  as  at 
that  date  the  men  signed  a  receipt  for  money 
received  "in  lieu  of  coats  promised  by  the 
Colony  of  New  Hampshire." 

Another  company  in  Colonel  Reed's  regiment 
was  under  the  command  of  Captain  Jacob 
Hinds,  of  Chesterfield.  The  following  men, 
besides  Captain  Hinds,  belonged  to  this  town: 

Ezekiel  Davis,  sergeant.        Jacob  Davis. 
David  Stoddard,  sergeant.      Jacob  Hinds,  Jr. 
William  Farwell,  sergeant.      Richard  Coughlan. 

[On  one  roll  the  last-named  is  put  down  as 
sergeant-major.]  This  company  also  appears 
to  have  been  at  Medford  in  October. 

The  men  in  these  two  companies  received 
wages  ranging  from  six  pounds  to  £8  lis.  5d. 
for  terms  of  service  varying  from  three  months 
to  three  months,  sixteen  days.  Captain  Hinds 
received  £19  4s.  3d.  for  three  months  and  eight 
days'  service.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  both 
companies  served  longer  than  the  maximum 
time  given  in  the  pay-roll. 

Colonel  Reed's  regiment  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  as  it  is  commonly 
called. 

According  to  the  "Army  Rolls,"  a  man 
named  John  Davis  (or  John  Dawes,  as  given  on 
one  roll),  of  Chesterfield,  a  member  of  Reed's 
regiment,  was  killed  in  this  battle,  and  Josiah 
Walton,  also  of  Chesterfield,  wounded.  With 
regard  to  the  first-named,  the  writer  has  not 
been  able  to  determine  whether  he  really 
belonged  to  this  town  or  not;  the  last-named 
may  have  been  intended  for  Elijah  Walton  or 
Elisha  Walton. 

It  is  not  known  how  long  the  Chesterfield 
men  in  Reed's  regiment  remained  in  the  service 


after  October,  1 775 ;  but  it  is  evident  that  some 
of  them  had  returned  home  before  June  12, 
1776. 

Early  in  1776  a  regiment  of  New  Hampshire 
men  was  raised  for  the  defense  of  the  western 
frontier  of  the  State,  and  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Timothy  Bedel.  This  regi- 
ment was  at  the  "  Cedars,"  in  Lower  Canada,  in 
May  of  that  year,  where  it  was  soon  afterwards 
surrendered  to  the  enemy  by  Major  Butterfield, 
who  had  command  at  that  time.  One  company 
of  this  regiment  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Daniel  Carlisle,  of  Westmoreland,  and  contained 
at  least  four  Chesterfield  men,  viz., — 

Aaron  Smith,  ensign.  Thomas  Gibbs,  sergeant. 

Nathaniel  Bacon,  fifer.        Eleazer  Jordan,  corporal. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  there  were  several 
more  men  from  Chesterfield  in  the  same  com- 
pany, but  they  cannot  be  identified  with  cer- 
tainty. 

The  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates 
received  each,  when  mustered,  one  month's 
wages,  a  bounty  of  forty  shillings,  fifteen  shil- 
lings for  "  blanket-money,"  and  one  penny  per 
mile  for  "  billeting."  Their  term  of  service 
probably  did  not  exceed  a  year.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  a  sworn  statement  made  by  Thomas 
Gibbs  respecting  his  losses  at  the   "  Cedars"  : 

"  I,  the  Subscriber,  whose  name  is  hereunder  writ- 
ten, was  in  Coll0  Timothy  Beddell  Regiment,  But 
more  espeshaly  under  the  Command  of  major  But- 
terfield, Commander  at  the  Seaders,  and  was  Capti- 
vated and  Stripped  by  the  Savage  of  the   following 

Articles  in  ye  year  1776. 

"  Thomas  Gibbs. 

£     s.  d. 

"Thomas  Gibbs  lost  one  gun 21     0  0 

INewBever  Hatt 12  12  0 

1  Brace  Ink  Stand 0  14  0 

1  Powder  home 110 

1  Comb 0     3  6 

1  Coat 16  16  0 

1  pr  Shoes 2     2  0 

1  Snap  Sack,  1  Bag 1  18  0 

1  Canteen... 0    7  0 

£56  13     6" 

It  appears  from  the  record  that  Gibbs  was 
not  indemnified  for  his  losses. 


138 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEAV  HAMPSHIRE. 


Gustavus  Bingham. 
Amasa  Colburn. 
John  Peacock. 
Amos  Pattridge. 
Nathaniel  Sanger. 
William  Day. 


In  July  and  August  of  the  same  year,  a  reg- 
iment of  New  Hampshire  men  was  raised,  of 
which  Joshua  Wingate  was  colonel.  One  com- 
pany in  this  regiment  was  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain William  Humphrey.  This  company  con- 
tained the  following  Chesterfield  men  : 

Joseph  Metcalf,  corporal. 
John  Pratt. 
James  Wheeler. 
Joseph  Metcalf,  Jr. 
Thomas  Metcalf. 
Elijah  Watson  [Walton]. 

Perhaps  the  name  of  Ebenezer  Porter  should 
be  added. 

This  regiment  was  sent  to  reinforce  the 
northern  army  in  New  York  State.  Most  of 
the  privates  in  Captain  Humphrey's  company 
received,  each,  advanced  wages  and  bounties 
amounting  to  £9  18s.  The  time  of  service  has 
not  been  determined,  but  it  is  certain  that  some 
of  the  Chesterfield  men  had  returned  home 
before  May  and  June  of  the  following  year. 

One  of  the  companies  of  Colonel  Nahum 
Baldwin's  regiment  (raised  in  September  the 
same  year,  and  sent  to  reinforce  the  Continen- 
tal army  in  the  State  of  New  York)  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  John  Houghton.  It  con- 
tained the  following  Chesterfield  men  : 

John  Bishop.  Jonathan   Cressey. 

James  Robertson.  Jonathan    Farwell. 

Josiah  Hastings.  Isaac  Farr. 

Jonathan  Farr.  Nathan  Thomas. 

Ezekiel  Powers.  Jonathan    Farr  (3d). 

Each  man  was  paid  six  pounds  in  advance 
and  allowed  £1  13s.  4d.  for  two  hundred  miles 
of  travel.  The  date  of  their  discharge  has  not 
been  ascertained,  but  most  of  the  men  from 
Chesterfield  were  at  home  early  in  the  summer 
of  the  next  year. 

Another  regiment  was  raised  in  New  Hamp- 
shire in  December,  1776,  for  the  same  purpose 
as  the  two  last  mentioned.  It  was  commanded 
by  Colonel  David  Gilman.  In  Captain  Fran- 
cis Towne's  company,  in  this  regiment,  were  at 
least  two  men  from  Chesterfield,  viz.  :  Zenas 
Fairbanks  (Jonas  Fairbanks  on  one  roll)  and 
Aaron  Farr. 


They  each  received  wages  from  December  5, 
1776,  to  March  12,  1777,  amounting  to  £6 
10s.  Sd.,  and  were  allowed  two  pounds  for  four 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  of  travel,  at  one  pen- 
ny per  mile. 

Amos  Colburn,  of  Chesterfield,  was  commis- 
sioned second  lieutenant  in  Colonel  Alexander 
Scammel's  regiment,  November  7,  1776,  and 
appears  to  have  remained  in  the  service  till  1779, 
if  not  longer. 

Ebenezer  Fletcher,  of  this  town,  was  also 
first  lieutenant  in  the  same  regiment,  having 
been  appointed  January  15,  1777. 

November  11,  1776,  William  Lee,  of  Ches- 
terfield, was  appointed  lieutenant  in  Colonel 
Cilley's  regiment  and  served  till  January  8, 
1778. 

It  appears  from  the  following  extracts  from 
the  journal  of  the  House  that,  some  time  in 
June,  1776,  the  selectmen,  or  town  Committee 
of  Safety,  made  a  requisition  on  the  colonial 
authorities  at  Exeter  for  gunpowder  for  the  use 
of  the  town  : 

"Monday,  June  17,  1776. —  Voted  to  choose  a  com- 
mittee of  this  House  to  confer  with  a  committee  of 
the  Honorable  Board  on  the  expediency  of  furnishing 
the  town  of  Chesterfield  with  powder  to  defend  them- 
selves against  the  attempts  and  assaults  of  all  persons 
who  appear  by  their  conduct  inimical  to  this  Country, 
and  to  make  report  to  this  House  as  soon  as  may  be, 
and  that  Captain  Prentice,  Major  Bellows  and  Dr. 
Dearborn  be  the  committee  of  this  House  for  that 
purpose." 

"  Tuesday,  June  18,  1776. —  Voted  that  half  a  barrel 
of  gunpowder  be  delivered  out  of  the  powder-house 
in  Exeter,  to  the  selectmen  of  Chesterfield,  on  their 
order,  for  the  use  of  said  town  of  Chesterfield, 
and  that  the  said  selectmen  of  Chesterfield,  or  some 
person  in  their  stead,  give  a  receipt  therefor,  and 
promise  to  account  with  the  treasurer  of  this 
Colony  for  the  same." 

The  honorable  board  concurred  with  the 
House  in  both  votes. 

In  the  company  commanded  by  Captain 
Waitstill  Scott,  of  Westmoreland,  (in  Colonel 
Ashley's  regiment),  and  which  marched  to 
Ticonderoga  in  May,  1777,  were  the  following 
men  who  belonged  to  Chesterfield  : 


CHESTERFIELD. 


139 


James  Robertson,  first  lieu- 
tenant. 

Samuel  Davis,  ensign. 

William  Hildreth,  ser- 
geant. 

Daniel  Colburn,  corporal. 

Daniel  Farr,  corporal. 

Eleazer  Jordan. 

Joseph  Metcalf. 

Amos  Partridge  (or  Pat- 
tridge). 


Eli   Partridge    (or  Pat- 

tridge). 
Samuel  Stearns. 
Ephraim  Farr. 
Thomas  Farr. 
Jacob  Farr. 
Charles  Farr. 
John  Sanderson. 
AVilliam  Thomas. 
Nathaniel  Walton. 


The  most  of  Captain  Scott's  men  served 
about  forty  clays,  and  were  discharged  June  21st. 
They  received  pay  at  the  rate  of  £4  10s.  per 
month,  and  were  allowed  three  pence  per  mile 
for  marching  to  Ticonderoga,  and  two  pence  per 
mile  for  the  return  march.  The  distance,  each 
wav,  was  called  one  hundred  and  ten  miles. 

The  troops  that  went  to  Ticonderoga  in 
May  had  scarcely  arrived  home  when  tidiugs 
were  brought  of  the  actual  approach  of  Bur- 
goyne's  army  toward  that  important  post. 
Again  the  New  Hampshire  militia  was  called 
upon  to  march  to  the  rescue.  One  of  the  com- 
panies in  Colonel  Ashley's  regiment  was  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Oliver  Cobleigh,  of  this 
town,  and  nearly,  or  quite,  all  the  men  belonged 
also  to  Chesterfield.  The  roll  of  Lieutenant 
Cobleigh's  company  was  as  follows  : 

Josiah  Hastings,  ensign.     Jonas  Davis,  sergeant. 
Samuel  Davis,  sergeant.      James  Wheeler,  sergeant. 
Ezekiel  Powers,  sergeant.  Dan  Cobleigh,  corporal. 


Amos  Davis. 
Jonathan  Farr,  Jr. 
Daniel  Baldwin. 
Thomas  Whitcomb. 
Isaac  Hildreth. 
Benjamin  Smith. 
Ebenezer  Farr. 
Eleazer  Stoddard. 
Jonathan  Cressy,  Jr. 
Joel  Whitney. 
William  Crafford. 
Amos  Streeter. 
John  Peacock. 


Privates, 

Ebenezer  Fletcher. 
Joseph  Higgins. 
Elisha  Walton. 
Henry  Cressey. 
Joseph  Higgins,  Jr. 
Ephraim  Amidon. 
Amos  Smith. 
Aaron  Smith. 
Martin  Warner. 
Jonathan  Starr  (?)   (prob- 
ably Farr). 
Jonathan  Davis. 


The  fortress  at  Ticonderoga  was  evacuated  by 
the  Americans  on  the  6th  of  July,  so  that  the 


troops  that  started  to  its  assistance  were  not  in 
season  to  be  of  much  use.  Some  of  them 
learned  of  the  evacuation  before  they  had  pro- 
ceeded a  great  way,  and  returned  home.  None 
of  Lieutenant  Cobleigh's  men  seem  to  have 
been  absent  more  than  thirteen  days,  and  some 
not  more  than  seven,  four  or  three  days. 

They  all  belonged  to  Chesterfield,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  Thomas  Whitcomb,  Wil- 
liam Crafford  (or  Crawford)  and  Ephraim 
Amidon.  The  last-named  was  either  of  West- 
moreland or  this  town. 

Another  company  in  Colonel  Ashley's  regi- 
ment was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  James 
Robertson,  of  Chesterfield.  The  following  Ches- 
terfield men,  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
Robertson,  set  out  for  Ticonderoga,  June  29, 
1777: 


Moses  Smith  (who  also 
ranked  as  lieutenant). 

Daniel  Kennison,  ensign. 

John  Ellis,  sergeant. 

Silas  Richardson,  sergeant. 

John  Pratt,  sergeant. 

Jonathan  Farwell. 

John  Davison. 

William  Henry. 

Nathan  Metcalf. 

Thomas  Daby. 

Joseph  Metcalf. 

Ebenezer  Streeter. 

Asa  Gale. 

Amos  Partridge  (or  Pat- 
tridge). 

Samuel  Walker. 


Daniel  Colburn. 
Samuel  Davis  Converse. 
Oliver  Hobart  (probably 

Hubbard). 
Zenas  Fairbanks. 
Thomas  Metcalf. 
Reuben  Hildreth. 
Jesse  Hildreth. 
Joseph  Smith. 
Silas  Thompson. 
Nathaniel  Bingham. 
Andrew  Hastings. 
Elisha  Rockwood. 
Joseph  Metcalf,  Jr. 
Reuben  Graves. 
Asa  Metcalf. 


It  is  possible  that  a  few  more  of  the  men 
who  marched  with  Lieutenant  Robertson  also 
belonged  to  Chesterfield  ;  but  the  above-named 
are  all  that  can  be  identified  with  certainty.  The 
men  of  this  company  were  absent,  at  the  long- 
est, only  thirteen  days ;  some  of  them  not  more 
than  two  or  three  days. 

One  of  the  regiments  in  General  Stark's 
brigade  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Moses 
Nichols.  The  Eighth  Company  of  this  regiment 
was  under  command  of  Captain  Kimball  Carl- 
ton, of  Chesterfield.     The  record  says  that  tin's 


140 


HISTOKY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


company  "  marched  from  Chesterfield  and 
towns  adjacent,  July  22,  1777."  It  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  on  the  16th  day  of 
August  following.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  men  in  this  company  who  have  been 
identified  with  certainty  as  belonging  to  this 
town  : 

Josiah  Hastings,  ensign.  Amos  Partridge  (or  Pat- 
Daniel  Farr,  sergeant.  tridge). 

Noah  Emmons,  corporal.  Benjamin  Streeter. 

Thomas  Metcalf.  Daniel  Baldwin. 

Joseph  Metcalf.  Jacob  Farr,  Jr. 

Charles  Farr.  Jonathan  Cobleigh. 

William  Farr.  Samuel  Peacock. 

Lemuel  Stoddard.  Amos  Hobart  (probably 
Jonathan  Farr.  Hubbard). 

Jonathan  Hildreth,  Jr.  Aaron  Fisk. 

Theodoras  Bingham.  Samuel  D.  Converse. 

According  to  tradition,  John  Pierce  and 
others  of  Chesterfield  (whose  names  are  not  now 
known),  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bennington 
as  independent  volunteers.  Oliver  Brown  and 
Thomas  Farr  are  said  to  have  driven  cattle  for 
the  use  of  the  American  army.  The  British 
captured  the  cattle,  whereupon  the  two  young 
men  went  into  the  ranks  and  served  as  soldiers. 
It  has  always  been  claimed  that  the  roar  of  the 
cannon  on  that  eventful  day,  was  heard  by 
several  different  persons  in  this  town.  It  was 
heard,  it  is  said,  by  the  wife  of  Aaron  Fisk, 
who  lived  on  the  hill  west  of  Spafford's  Lake. 
Greatly  agitated  thereby,  she  walked  about  the 
house  as  long  as  it  continued. 

The  most  of  Captain  Carlton's  men  served 
two  mouths  and  two  days,  and  received  pay  at 
the  rate  of  £4  10s.  per  month,  each. 

Xo  Chesterfield  men  are  known  to  have  been 
killed  at  this  battle,  and  the  names  of  those 
who  were  wounded,  if  any,  have  not  been  as- 
certained. 

In  June,  1777,  Gustavus  Bingham  and  John 
Grandy,  both  of  Chesterfield,  enlisted  ;  but  in 
what  regiment  has  not  been  determined  with 
certainty.  Both  were  discharged  January  10, 
1778.  The  town  paid  bounties  this  year  (1777) 
to  the  amount  of  £100  8s. 


In  1778  Chesterfield  paid  bounties  to  the 
amount  of  £Q6  13s.  9d.  The  name  of  only 
one  of  the  men  who  enlisted  this  year  has  been 
ascertained,  viz.,  John  Hill,  aged  twenty -three 
years.  He  enlisted  in  Captain  Wait's  com- 
pany, Stark's  regiment,  and  received,  in  May, 
a  bounty  of  twenty  pounds. 

In  1779  the  bounties  and  mileages  paid  by 
the  town  to  soldiers  amounted  to  upwards  of 
four  hundred  pounds.  In  the  spring  of  this 
year  the  following  Chesterfield  men  enlisted  in 
Captain  Ephraim  Stone's  company,  Colonel 
Mooney's  regiment : 

Jonathan  Cressey.  John  Putnam. 

Martin  Hildreth. 

Each  received  a  bounty  of  thirty  pounds, 
and  eleven  pounds  for  one  hundred  and  ten  miles 
of  travel  (to  Providence).  Colonel  Mooney's 
regiment  was  raised  for  the  defense  of  Rhode 
Island. 

In  July,  the  same  year,  the  following  men 
enlisted  for  the  town  of  Chesterfield  : 


William  Nichols. 
Phineas  Hemenway. 
Thomas  Woolev. 


David  Pierce. 
Simon  Pierce. 


They  enlisted  in  the  "  Continental  service  " 
for  the  term  of  one  year,  and  received  a  bounty 
of  sixty  pounds  each. 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  Francis  Crane, 
William  Lee,  Reuben  Still,  David  Still,  Nathan 
Dodge,  all  enlisted  for  the  town  of  Chesterfield, 
and  served  a  few  months,  at  the  least.  Crane, 
in  a  petition  dated  April  7,  1783,  stated  that, 
"  being  at  Glasgo,  in  the  Bay  State,  on  or  about 
the  Twentieth  of  sd  July  [i.e.,  July,  1780],  he, 
the  Deponent  Did  by  misfortune  and  axcident 
( "lit  off  two  of  his  Fingers  and  was  thereby  Dis- 
abled to  go  forward  to  the  army,  and  was  under 
the  care  of  Doc :  Primous,  a  noted  and  ap- 
proved Doctor  &  Surgeon,  near  four  months, 
&c." 

The  following  is  the  doctor's  certificate  : 

"East  Windsor,  June  the  27,  1782. 
"  ivhereas,  I  was  imployed  to  Doctr  frauds  Crain,  of 
said  East  Windsor,  for  the  Los  of  too  fingers  and  a 


CHESTERFIELD. 


141 


weakness  in  his  Breast  which  said  Crain  was  unfit  for 

Soldier's  Duty  from  July,  1780,  till  January ;  given 

under  my  hand. 

"  Primods  Manamit,  Doctor." 

The  following;  Chesterfield  men  also  enlisted 
this  year  (1780)  in  Colonel  Moses  Nichols' 
regiment,  raised  for  the  defense  of  West  Point : 

John  Pratt  (who  appears  Daniel  Baldwin. 

to  have  been  appoint-  Noah  Emmons. 

ed  a  lieutenant).  Aaron  Cressey. 
Ebenezer  Safford. 

In  October  the  same  year,  the  British  and 
Indians  burned  Royalton,  Vt.,  and  committed 
other  depredations  in  the  vicinity  of  that  town. 
It  seems  that  Captain  Josiah  Hartwell,  perhaps 
of  Chesterfield,  with  a  few  men  from  his  town 
(whose  names  have  not  been  ascertained),  was 
among  those  who  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
Captain  Hartwell's  pay-roll,  "  allowed  by  the 
General  Court's  special  Committee  in  the  lump," 
amounted  to  =£37  14s.  4d. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  petition 

sent   to   the   Legislature   by  the  selectmen   of 

Chesterfield,  dated  June  1,  1786  : 

"...  We  would  humbly  inform  this  House, 
that  we  hired  one  Merifield  Vicary,  who  served  in 
Coll :  Hazell's  Regt,  and  we  have  obtained  his  Dis- 
charge ;  we  also  hir'd  one  Nath1  Merrild  [Merrill]  for 
three  years  and  also  one  Silas  Pay,  who  served  dur- 
ing ye  war, — and  your  humble  Petitioners  beg  we 
might  have  credit  for  what  service  we  have  done  in 
ye  war,  &c." 

The  Legislature  allowed  seventy-two  pounds 
for  Silas  Ray. 

Merrill  and  Ray  were  members  of  Captain 
John  Grigg's  company,  Colonel  Scammel's 
regiment :  as  were  also  Levi  Far  well  and  John 
Daniels,  both  of  Chesterfield. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  January  11,  1781,  a 
settlement  was  made  with  Nathan  Thomas  and 
others  for  lead  furnished  for  the  use  of  the 
town  on  the  occasion  of  a  certain  "  alarm,"  in 
October,  1776.  The  cause  of  the  "alarm  "  has 
not  been  ascertained.  The  following  is  a  state- 
ment of  the  amount  of  lead  furnished,  together 
with  the  names  of  those  who  furnished  it : 
Nathan    Thomas,  6    pounds,   6  ounces ;  Noah 


Emmons,  1  pound,  12  ounces ;  Abel  Emmons, 
3  pounds ;  Jonathan  Farr  (2d),  9  pounds,  8 
ounces ;  Captain  Simon  Davis,  9  pounds. 

It  was  voted  to  allow  six  Continental  dollars 
per  pound  for  the  lead  ! 

In  August,  1794,  Chesterfield  "Voted  to 
make  up  the  soldiers'  wages  equal  to  forty  shil- 
lings per  month,  including  the  pay  which  Con- 
gress has  given  them,  exclusive  of  the  cloth- 
ing." 

The  names  of  but  few  Chesterfield  men  who 
were  wounded  or  killed,  or  who  lost  their  lives 
from  any  cause  while  serving  their  country  in 
the  struggle  for  independence,  have  been  ob- 
tained by  the  writer. 

According  to  the  town  records,  Nathan 
Bishop  died  in  the  army  in  1777  ;  David  Stod- 
dard, Sr.,  went  into  the  army,  it  is  said,  and 
never  returned  ;  Elisha  Bingham  was  discharged 
from  the  service  and  died  while  on  his  way 
home;  Gustavus  Bingham  was  also  wounded 
in  the  head  some  time  during  the  war,  but  re- 
covered. As  already  stated,  John  Davis  (or 
Dawes)  was  officially  reported  as  killed,  and  Jo- 
siah Walton  as  wounded,  at  Bunker's  Hill ;  but 
these  two  cases  are  somewhat  in  doubt. 

Chesterfield's  Part  in  the  Contro- 
versy ABOUT  THE  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  GRANTS. 

— The  year  1781  will  ever  be  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  Chesterfield  on  account  of  the  ex- 
citement and  strife  that  existed  within  its  bor- 
ders, arising  from  what  is  known  in  the  history 
of  the  States  that  took  part  therein  as  the 
"  Controversy  about  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants."  The  government  of  New  York 
claimed  j  urisdiction  as  far  eastward  as  the  Con- 
necticut, by  virtue  of  a  grant  from  Charles  the 
Second  to  the  Duke  of  York,  in  1674.  In 
spite  of  this  claim,  Governor  Benning  AYent- 
worth,  of  New  Hampshire,  continued  to  grant 
townships  west  of  the  Connecticut,  having 
made,  up  to  1764,  inclusive,  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  grants,  including  Brattlebor- 
ough,  Bennington  and  many  other  now  import- 
ant towns  of  Vermont. 


142 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


After  the  establishment  of  the  independence 
of  Vermont,  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  in  a 
number  of  towns  in  the  western  part  of  New 
Hampshire  were  desirous  of  forming  a  union 
with  the  former  State.  Among  the  towns  in 
favor  of  this  project  was  Chesterfield,  in  which 
a  bitter  partisan  spirit  seems  to  have  been  en- 
gendered, that  came  near  culminating  in  blood- 
shed. 

Two,  at  least,  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  for 
the  year  1 781  belonged  to  what  may  be  called 
the  Vermont  party.  These  were  Samuel  King, 
Jr.,  and  Moses  Smith,  Jr.  By  them  a  town- 
meeting  was  called,  in  the  name  of  the  "  Gov- 
ernment and  Good  People  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,"  to  be  held  on  Thursday,  March 
29th.  The  second  article  in  the  warrant  for 
this  meeting  was,  "  To  see  if  the  town  will 
agree  to  establish  or  accept  of  the  union  agreed 
upon  between  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Vermont  and  the  Committee  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  held  at  Windsor  in  February, 
1781."  The  third  article  was,  "To  choose  one 
or  more  members  to  sit  in  the  Assembly  of 
Vermont  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  April 
next,  in  case  the  union  takes  place,  or  in  the 
Convention  at  Cornish  on  the  aforesaid  day, 
as  the  circumstances  may  require." 

At  this  meeting  it  was  voted  to  accept  the 
terms  of  union  mentioned  in  the  warrant,  and 
Deacon  Silas  Thompson  and  Samuel  King,  Jr., 
were  chosen  to  represent  the  town  in  the  As- 
sembly of  Vermont.  The  number  of  votes  in 
favor  of  union  with  that  State  was  ninety  ; 
against,  thirty-two. 

On  the  2d  day  of  May  following  another 
town-meeting  was  held,  called,  as  the  record 
states,  "  agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  State  of 
Vermont."  At  this  meeting  Ephraim  Baldwin 
was  chosen  town  clerk.  Sixty-nine  men  then 
took  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  law  of  Ver- 
mont, and  proceeded  to  vote  for  chief  judge,  as- 
sistant judges,  high  sheriff,  judge  of  Probate  and 
justices  of  the  peace,  all  for  the  "  County  of 
Washington,   in   the  State  of  Vermont."     At 


another  meeting,  held  the  14th  day  of  the  same 
month,  several  more  "  freemen  "  were  sworn  in. 

The  town  was  now  completely  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  "  Vermont  party,"  and  remained  so 
during  the  rest  of  the  year  ;  but  the  adherents 
of  New  Hampshire  were  by  no  means  inactive, 
and  stoutly  opposed  the  proceedings  of  the  ma- 
jority. 

On  the  25th  day  of  August,  the  same  year, 
Nathaniel  Bingham,  Michael  Cressey,  William 
Lee  and  James  Robertson  drew  up  a  memorial 
to  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  New  Hampshire,  in  which  they  deplored 
the  action  of  the  partisans  of  Vermont,  and 
gave  the  names  of  eighty  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Chesterfield  who  declared  that  tliey  still  re- 
garded themselves  as  subjects  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  memorialists  concluded  by  begging 
for  advice  and  protection,  and  subscribing  them- 
selves as  "  loyal  and  affectionate  subjects." 

On  the  5th  day  of  November  following;,  in 
the  evening,  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ches- 
terfield met  at  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Bingham, 
a  short  distance  north  of  the  Centre  village,  on 
what  is  now  sometimes  called  Wetherbee  Hill, 
for  the  purpose  of  nominating  one  or  two  per- 
sons to  be  commissioned  as  justices  of  the  peace 
by  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature.  While 
they  were  assembled  for  this  purpose,  Samuel 
Davis,  of  Chesterfield,  acting  as  constable 
under  the  authority  of  Vermont,  entered  Mr. 
Bingham's  house,  with  several  others,  and 
attempted  to  serve  a  "  precept  "  on  James  Rob- 
ertson. Dr.  Belknap  says  that  the  precept,  or 
writ,  was  in  an  action  of  debt.  Davis,  how- 
ever, was  not  able  to  accomplish  the  object  of 
his  visit,  on  account  of  the  opposition,  as  he  al- 
leged, of  Mr.  Bingham  and  John  Grandy,  Jr.  On 
the  12th  of  the  same  month  warrants  were  issued 
for  the  arrest  of  Bingham  and  Grandy,  "in  the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  freemen  of  the 
State  of  Vermont,"  and  they  were  soon  after- 
wards committed  to  the  jail  in  Charlestown, 
from  which  they  sent  a  petition  to  the  General 
Assembly    of    New    Hampshire,    praying    for 


CHESTERFIELD. 


143 


relief.  Bingham  also  sent  a  letter  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  New  Hampshire  House  of 
Representatives,  containing  a  statement  of 
the  facts  relating  to  his  and  Grandy's  arrest 
and  imprisonment.  Colonel  Enoch  Hale, 
of  Rindge,  sheriff  of  Cheshire  County,  hav- 
ing been  authorized  by  the  Assembly  to  re- 
lease all  the  prisoners  in  the  Charlestown  jail 
confined  by  the  Vermont  authorities,  endeavored 
to  execute  his  commission  without  delay,  but  was 
himself  arrested  and  committed  to  the  same  jail 
by  a  deputy-sheriff  acting  under  authority  of 
Vermont.  The  Vermont  authorities,  fearing  that 
the  New  Hampshire  government  would  attempt 
to  accomplish  with  the  aid  of  military  force 
what  the  Cheshire  sheriff  had  failed  to  do,  sent 
a  request  to  Samuel  King,  Jr.,  of  this  town, 
who  was  then  serving  Vermont  as  colonel  of 
a  regiment  of  militia,  to  hold  his  men  in  readi- 
ness to  march  "  on  the  shortest  notice."  It  ap- 
pears that  King  immediately  took  measures  to 
get  his  men  in  readiness,  for  he  was  particularly 
zealous  in  his  support  of  the  cause  of  the 
"grants,"  and  seems  to  have  been  ready  to 
fight,  if  necessary.  The  following  letter  from 
Michael  Cressey,  of  Chesterfield,  to  General 
Bellows,  of  Walpole,  gives  some  insight  into  the 
state  of  affairs  in  this  town  at  that  time  : 

"  Sir, — I  Beg  the  Leave  to  inform  your  Hon'r  that 
the  Pertened  Coll.  King  has  sent  out,  By  order,  as  I 
am  informed  from  Doc.  Page  [sheriff  of  the  so-called 
county  of  Washington],  to  Raise  his  Rige'mt  to  op- 
pose New  Hampshire,  and  that  he  Called  the  militia 
of  this  Town  together  yesterday  to  see  who  would 
tight  against  New  Hampshire ;  and  that,  as  I  am 
Credably  informed,  there  was  about  sixty  turned  out 
as  Vollenters  for  that  Purpose,  and  the  sed  King 
Urged  them  in  the  strongest  terms  to  Stand  By  one 
another,  and  by  thire  officers,  for  thire  Rights  against 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  assuring  them  if  they 
stood  firm  New  Hampshire  would  not  fight.  It  is 
also  reported  that  he  sent  over  to  Captain  Sarjants, 
at  Brattilbrough,  to  assist,  but  what  return  unknown. 
Sir,  I  thought  Proper  to  inform  you  of  these  move- 
ments, and  I  Pray  Heaven  to  give  both  you  and  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  wisdom  to  conduct  matters 
wisely  at  such  a  Critical  day  as  this.  From  your 
most  obedient  and  Humble  Sarv't., 

"  Michael  Cressey. 

"Chesterfield,  Dec'ber  ye  5th,  1781. 
"  To  Gen'al  Bellows." 


Near  the  end  of  the  month  in  which  this  let- 
ter was  written,  Colonel  Samuel  King  was  ar- 
rested by  a  New  Hampshire  special  sheriff 
(Robert  Smith),  who  started  with  him  for 
Exeter ;  but  he  had  got  no  farther  than  Keene 
with  his  prisoner  when  he  was  set  upon  by  a 
party  of  anti-New  Hampshire  men  (the  most  of 
whom  appear  to  have  been  from  Chesterfield 
and  Westmoreland),  who  rescued  King  (Jan- 
uary 1,  1782).  King  was  soon  afterwards  re- 
arrested, but  does  not  appear  to  have  been  kept 
long  in  confinement,  as  he  was  soon  afterwards 
taking  part  again  in  town  affairs. 

On  the  1st  day  of  January  (at  midnight), 
1782,  Captain  Joseph  Burt,  of  AYestmoreland, 
wrote  a  letter  to  President  Weare,  of  the 
Council,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  party  who 
had  rescued  King,  in  the  morning  of  the  same 
day,  returned  to  Chesterfield  and  arrested  Lieu- 
tenant (James)  Robertson,  whom  they  were  dis- 
posed "  to  treat  according  to  the  custom  of  Ver- 
mont,— that  is,  by  whipping  him."  Captain 
Burt's  informant  was  Mr.  Bingham's  son,  who 
said  that  a  number  of  persons  had  been  driven 
from  their  homes  that  night  by  the  riotous 
Vermont  men.  The  captain  also  added  :  "  The 
triumphs  of  the  Vermonts  are  great,  and  [they] 
say  that  New  Hampshire  dare  not  come  like 
men,  in  the  day-time,  but  like  a  thief,  and  steal 
a  man  or  two  away." 

The  next  day  (January  2d)  General  Bellows 
also  sent  a  letter  to  President  Weare,  depicting 
in  very  vigorous  language  the  unhappy  condi- 
tion of  affairs  in  Chesterfield.  After  corrob- 
orating, in  the  main,  the  statements  in  Cap- 
tain Burt's  letter,  the  general  added  :  "  I  am 
credibly  informed  that  there  is  in  said  Chester- 
field about  an  Hundred  Persons  who  support 
said  King,  who  Damn  New  Hampshire  and 
all  their  authority  to  Hell,  and  say  they  (New 
Hampshire)  can  do  nothing  only  in  a  mean,  un- 
derhanded way.  In  short,  they  Defy  all  the 
authority  and  force  of  the  State,  and  are  deter- 
mined to  support  and  maintain  their  usurped 
authority,  maugre  all  attempts  that  have  [been] 


U4 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


or  shall  be  made   to  curb    and   restrain   their 
usurpations.  .  .  ." 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  this  part  of 
the  State,  especially  in  Chesterfield,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1781-82.  Happily,  however,  through 
the  intervention  of  Congress,  this  memorable 
controversy  was  brought  to  a  close,  and,  on  the 
23d  of  February,  1782,  the  Vermont  Assembly 
passed  a  resolution  relinquishing  all  claims  to 
territory  lying  within  the  prescribed  boundaries 
of  that  State.  Yet  peace  and  harmony  were  by 
no  means  wholly  re-established  in  the  disaf- 
fected towns.  Says  Belknap  :  "  Though  cut  off 
from  their  connection  with  Vermont,  the  re- 
volted towns  did  not  at  once  return  to  a  state  of 
peace  ;  but  the  divisions  and  animosities  which 
had  so  long  subsisted  continued  to  produce  dis- 
agreeable effects." 

It  having  been  definitely  settled  that  Ches- 
terfield belonged  to  New  Hampshire,  upwards 
of  thirty  of  the  inhabitants  and  freeholders  of 
the  town  made  application  to  General  Bellows, 
of  Walpole,  and  William  Lee,  of  Chesterfield, 
justices  of  the  peace,  to  issue  a  warrant  for  the 
annual  town-meeting  for  the  year  1782.  At 
this  meeting,  held  the  6th  day  of  March,  the 
Vermont  party  still  asserted  its  power,  by  elect- 
ing at  least  a  majority  of  the  principal  town- 
officers  ;  whereupon  the  minority  submitted  a 
vigorous  protest. 

An  event  that  occurred  in  September  of  the 
same  year  shows  how  bitter  the  opposition  still 
was  to  the  New  Hampshire  government  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chesterfield. 
When  the  Inferior  Court  met  at  Keene,  that 
month,  a  party  of  anti-New  Hampshire  men, 
led  by  Samuel  Davis,  of  Chesterfield,  attempted 
to  break  it  up.  It  appears,  however,  that 
Davis  and  his  men  soon  found  themselves  out- 
numbered, and  desisted  from  their  undertaking. 
He,  together  with  others,  was  arrested  and  put 
under  bonds  to  appear  at  the  next  term  of  the 
Superior  Court ;  but  they  were  afterwards  dis- 
charged without  punishment.  The  fact  that  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  send  a  military  force 


into  Chesterfield  at  one  time,  to  aid  in  the 
collection  of  taxes,  is  further  evidence  of  the 
hostility  that  was  still  manifested  toward  New 
Hampshire.  It  appears  that  Colonel  Reuben 
Alexander,  of  Winchester,  received  orders  "to 
raise  the  body  of  his  regiment,"  or  as  many  of 
his  men  as  might  be  sufficient,  and  march  them 
into  Chesterfield  on  Tuesday,  the  21st  day  of 
January,  1783,  to  assist  in  collecting  taxes; 
but  on  account  of  the  "  clamor  of  the  people," 
he  feared  to  comply  with  the  order,  stating,  as  a 
further  reason,  that  "  the  greater  part  that 
could  be  raised  would  turn  out  with  intent  to 
mutinize  and  confound  our  proceedings."  Op- 
position to  New  Hampshire  gradually  died  out, 
however,  and  for  a  whole  century  Chesterfield 
"  has  creditably  performed  her  part  in  war  and 
in  peace." 

Soldiers  Furnished  by  Chesterfield  in 
the  Second  War  with  Great  Britain. — 
If  any  men  enlisted  from  Chesterfield  in  the 
military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States 
in  the  years  1812  and  1813,  their  names  are  not 
known  to  the  writer. 

September  9,  1814,  Governor  Gilman  issued 
an  order  for  the  whole  of  the  militia  "  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's 
warning,  completely  armed  and  equipped  ac- 
cording to  law,  and  as  well  provided  as  possible 
with  blankets  and  ammunition."  An  order  had 
already  been  issued,  two  days  before,  for  de- 
tachments from  twenty-three  regiments  of  the 
militia.  These  orders  were  received  by  the  mi- 
litia with  great  enthusiasm,  and  were  promptly 
obeyed.  The  men  detached  in  accordance  with 
the  order  of  September  7th  were  duly  organized 
into  several  regiments  and  battalions,  which 
formed  one  brigade  under  the  command  of 
General  John  Montgomery.  The  first  draft 
was  made  in  Chesterfield  September  13th.  The 
names  of  the  men  thus  obtained  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Amos  Stone,  sergeant.  Eli  Darling,  corporal. 

Privates. 
Joshua  Wiggins.  Isaac  Wetherby. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


145 


Francis  Winch.  Ezra  Putney. 

Stephen  Streeter,  Jr.  Roswell  Metcalf. 

Montgomery  Darling. 

These  men  were  to  serve  three  months,  unless 
sooner  discharged.  They  formed  part  of  Cap- 
tain Nathan  Glidden's  company,  in  the  First 
Regiment  of  detached  militia,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Nat.  Fisk,  of  Westmoreland.  Cap- 
tain Glidden  was  of  Unity.  Eli  Darling  was 
discharged  Xovember  3d ;  Joshua  Wiggins 
and  Isaac  Wetherby,  November  10th.  Mont- 
gomery Darling  was  accidentally  hit  by  a 
bayonet  on  the  gnn  of  a  fellow-soldier,  and  lost 
the  sight  of  one  eve  from  the  effects  of  the 
wound.     He  was  discharged  Xovember  6th. 

The  next  draft  was  made  September  20th,  and 
the  following  men  were  obtained  : 


Samuel  L.  Draper. 
Daniel  Stearns. 
Elijah  Lyons. 


John  Bass. 
Philip  Bacon. 
Lyman  Toms  [Tomhs]. 


The  men  obtained  by  this  draft  formed  a 
part  of  the  company  commanded  by  Captain 
Reuben  Marsh,  of  this  town,  in  the  Second  Regi- 
ment of  detached  militia.  Ara  Hamilton  and 
Bradley  Mead,  also  both  of  Chesterfield,  were 
lieutenants  in  the  same  company.  Captain 
Marsh  and  Lieutenants  Hamilton  and  Mead  went 
to  Portsmouth  with  the  detachment,  which  was 
five  days  in  marching  to  that  place.  Samuel 
L.  Draper  went  as  a  substitute  ;  but,  on  his  ar- 
rival at  Portsmouth,  Captain  Marsh  procured 
for  him  the  position  of  fifer  for  the  company. 
John  H.  Fuller,  then  of  Chesterfield,  afterwards 
of  Keene,  was  adjutant  of  the  regiment  to  which 
Captain  Marsh's  company  belonged.  The  men 
were  to  serve  sixty  days,  but  they  were  dis- 
charged a  few  days  before  the  expiration  of  their 
term  of  service.  Elijah  Lyons  was  discharged 
November  3d.  The  British  did  not  attack 
Portsmouth,  as  was  anticipated,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  troops  that  had  assembled  there  were 
discharged  before  their  term  of  service  expired. 

Record  of  the  Citizens  of  Chesterfield 
who  Enlisted  in  the  Military  Service 
of  the  United  States  during  the  War  of 


the  Rebellion  (1861-65). — On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  War  of  the  Great  Rebellion  the  mili- 
tary spirit  that  had  so  long  lain  dormant  was 
again  aroused,  and  men  of  all  political  beliefs 
laid  aside  their  differences  for  a  while,  and  joined 
with  one  another  in  their  efforts  to  sustain  the 
general  government  in  the  attempt  to  put  down 
the  most  formidable  rebellion  recorded  in  the 
annals  of  the  world.  Chesterfield  furnished 
during  the  war  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
men  for  the  Union  army,  of  whom  seventy-four 
were  residents  of  the  town  ;  the  rest  were  not 
citizens  of  Chesterfield,  but  were  hired  by  the 
town  to  fill  its  quota,  or  by  individuals  as  sub- 
stitutes. 

Only  one  of  the  substitutes  was  a  resident  of 
Chesterfield;  the  rest  were  mainly  "brokers' 
men,"  and  belonged,  in  great  part,  to  the  class 
of  men  so  well  known  during  the  war  as  "  bounty- 
jumpers." 

With  very  few  exceptions,  those  persons  who 
were  citizens  of  the  town  at  the  time  of  their  en- 
listment served  till  they  were  honorably  dis- 
charged. 

The  following  record  of  the  soldiers  furnished 
by  Chesterfield  during  the  Civil  War  contains 
only  the  names  of  those  who  were  actually  resi- 
dents of  the  town  at  the  time  of  their  enlistment. 
It  has  been  carefully  compiled  from  the  records 
of  the  town,  from  the  reports  of  the  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  State,  and  from  information  de- 
rived from  private  sources. 

("Note. — When  the  cause  of  a  soldier's  discharge  is  not 
stated,  it  is  to  he  understood  that  he  was  discharged  hy 
reason  of  expiration  of  term  of  service  or  termination  of 
the  war]. 

Norris  E.  Bancroft,  private,  Company  F,  Eighth 
Maine  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mustered  in  Au- 
gust 14,  1861  ;  discharged  January  18,  1866 ; 
served  two  years  and  twenty  days  as  a  re-enlisted 
veteran. 

Clinton  A.  Bancroft,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Bradford  Britton,  musician,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry ;    three  years ;  mustered  in 


146 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,    NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


November  28,  1861  ;  discharged  June  16,  1862 ; 
discharged  for  disability. 

George  B.  Britton,  private,  Company  E,  Twentieth 
Massachusetts  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered 
in  August  8,  1861 ;  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle 
of  Ball's  Blufl;  Va.,  October  21,  1861,  and  con- 
fined at  Mayo's  tobacco-factory,  Richmond,  about 
three  weeks,  at  Belle  Island  about  six  weeks,  at 
Salisbury,  N.  C,  about  five  months;  transferred 
to  Second  United  States  Cavalry  December  27, 
1862 ;  captured  again  near  Winchester,  Va.,  Au- 
gust 16,  1864,  and  confined,  most  of  the  time,  at 
Salisbury,  N.  C,  till  February  22, 1865. 

Roswell  Butler,  private,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
November  28,  1861;  discharged  June  16,  1862; 
discharged  for  disability. 

John  PI.  Butler,  private,  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  September  22,  1862  ;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Richard  T.  Cobb,  private,  Company  B,  Twelfth  Mass- 
achusetts Infantry;  three  years;  enlisted  April 
23,  1861 ;  discharged  July  8,  1864 ;  wounded  in 
the  chin :  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg July  1,  1863,  and  confined  at  Belle  Island, 
near  Richmond,  Va.,  till  March  8,  1864. 

Warren  Colburn,  private,  Eleventh  Vermont  In- 
fantry;  three  years;  enlisted  October,  1863; 
taken  prisoner  and  died  in  the  Rebel  prison  at 
Andersonville,  Ga.,  October  4,  1864. 

Julius  C.  Converse,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  December  29.  1863 ;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Nelson  S.  Crouch,  private,  Company  F,  First  New 
Hampshire  Cavalry ;  one  year ;  mustered  in 
February  28,  1865 ;  discharged  July  15,  1865. 

Calvin  G.  Darling,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  Sept.  23,  1862;  discharged  July  8, 1865. 

Murray  Davis,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
December  29,  1863;  discharged  July  18,  1865; 
wounded  in  the  left  leg  at  the  battle  of  Win- 
chester (or  02>equan  Creek),  Va.,  September  19, 
1864;  leg  amputated. 

Noyes  J.  Davis,  private,  Company  H,  Second  Regi- 
ment Berdan's  Sharpshooters;  three  years;  en- 
listed December  28,  1861;  served  three  years, 
transferred  to  Invalid  Corps  September  30,  1863  ; 
wounded  in  the  right  wrist  at  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  Va. 


George  P.  Eddy,  private,  Company  A,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
May  31,1861;  discharged  November  9,  1862; 
discharged  from  Second  New  Hampshire  Infantry 
for  disability;  re-enlisted  in  Second  Massachu- 
setts Artillery  August  7,  1863  ;  discharged  Au- 
gust 9,  1865. 

John  M.  Farnum,  private,  Company  F,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mustered  in 
December  29,  1863;  discharged  January  25, 1865; 
discharged  for  disability. 

Charles  M.  Farr,  private,  Company  A,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
May  31,  1861;  discharged  October  23,  1862; 
first  discharge  for  disability  ;  re-enlisted  for  the 
town  of  Newport,  and  was  mustered  in  Company 
C,  First  New  Hampshire  Cavalry,  April  11, 
1864  ;  mustered  out  as  first  sergeant  July  15, 
1865. 

Charles  R.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  ;  three  years;  mustered  in  November  19, 
1861 ;  discharged  November  18,  1864 ;  promoted 
to  commissary  sergeant  October  29,  1862. 

Ransom  C.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  ;  three  years  ;  mustered  in  November  19, 
1861;  discharged  December  19,  1862;  first  dis- 
charge for  disability ;  drafted  and  mustered  in 
Company  G,  First  New  Hampshire  Cavalry, 
July  21,  1864;  promoted  to  sergeant;  discharged 
July  15,  1865. 

Bradford  C.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862 ;  discharged  Febru- 
ary 4,  1863;  discharged  for  disability. 

Wesley  0.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862  ;  discharged  Janu- 
ary 20,  1865  ;  discharged  for  disability  ;  promoted 
to  corporal  February  1,  1864. 

Larkin  D.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  Dec.  29,  1863  ;  discharged  July  8, 1865. 

Chancey  S.  Farr,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  December  29,  1863  ;  discharged  July  26, 
1865;  captured  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek, 
Va., October  19,  1864, and  confined  in  the  "prison 
pen"  at  Salisbury,  N.  C,  from  November  4th 
following  till  February  20,  1865. 

Stephen  P.  Faulkner,  private,  Company  C,  Eight- 
eenth New  Hampshire  Infantry;  one  year; 
mustered  in  August  31,  1864;  discharged  June, 
1865. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


147 


James  C.  Field,  private,  Company  C,  Seventeenth 
United  States  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  enlisted 
September  16,  1861 ;  discharged  January  20, 
1863 ;  discharged  for  disability. 

Francis  A.  Field,  private,  Seventeenth  United  States 
Infantry ;  three  years  ;  enlisted  September  16, 
1861. 

Harrison  F.  Fisk,  private,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
November  28,  1861 ;  discharged  August  25, 1862; 
discharged  for  disability. 

Oscar  T.  Frink,  private,  Company  E,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mustered  in 
September  17,  1861. 

Calvin  P.  Gilson,  musician,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862  ;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Walter  W.  Glazier,  private,  Company  C,  Eighteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  one  year ;  mustered 
in  August  31,  1864  ;  discharged  May  30,  1865. 

James  H.  Goodrich  (2d),  private,  Company  F,  First 
New  Hampshire  Cavalry;  one  year;  mustered 
in  March  8, 1865;  discharged  July  15,  1865. 

John  F.  Goodrich,  private,  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
United  States  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mustered 
in  September,  1864;  served  three  years. 

John  H.  Goodwin,  first  sergeant,  Company  F,  Four- 
teenth New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years; 
mustered  in  September  23,  1862;  discharged 
July  8,  1865;  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
February  17,  1865. 

Charles  L.  Harvey,  private,  Company  F,  Second 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  September  2,  1861 ;  discharged  Novem- 
ber 29,  1862  ;  discharged  for  disability. 

Foster  W.  Hastings,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862  ;  discharged  July  8, 
1865;  promoted  to  corporal  November  1,  1864. 

Herbert  R.  Hastings,  private,  Company  F,  Four- 
teenth New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years; 
mustered  in  September  23,  1862 ;  discharged 
August  13,  1863;  discharged  for  disability. 

Eugene  F.  Hastings,  corporal,  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ; 
mustered  in  September  22, 1862;  discharged  July 
8,  1865. 

Hubbard    W.    Henry,   private,   Company    F,    Four- 
teenth New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three   years; 
mustered  in  September  23,  1862  ;  died  of  disease 
at  Alexandria,  Va.,  February  7,  1864. 
Dwight  L.  Herrick,  private,  Company  C,  Eighteenth 


New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  one  year ;  mustered 
in  August  31,  1864 ;  discharged  June  10,  1865 ; 
promoted  to  corporal. 

Sidney  B.  Higgins,  private,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
November  or  December,  1861 ;  first  discharge  for 
disability ;  re-enlisted,  and  was  mustered  as  ser- 
geant in  the  same  company  and  regiment  De- 
cember 24,  1863 ;  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
March  6,  1865 ;  discharged  July  17,  1865 ; 
wounded  October  1,  1864. 

John  W.  Hildreth,  private,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mustered  in 
November   28,   1861 ;    discharged  September  29, 

1862  ;  discharged  for  disability. 

George  L.  Hildreth,  private,  Company  E,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mustered  in 
December  7,  1861 ;  discharged  July,  1862 ;  dis- 
charged for  disability. 

Taylor  E.  Hill,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years ;  mus- 
tered in  September  23,  1862  ;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Frank  J.  Holt,  private,  Company  A,  Eighteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  one  year ;  mustered 
in  September  13,  1864;  discharged  June  10, 
1865. 

Joseph  Holt,  private,  Company  F,  Eighteenth  New 
Hamjjshire  Infantry  ;  one  year ;  mustered  in 
October  28,  1864;  discharged  May  18,  1865. 

George  Hopkins,  enlisted  in  various  organizations. 

Wayland  N.  Hosley,  private,  Company  F,  Fourth 
Vermont  Infantry;  three  years;  enlisted  Sep- 
tember 2,  1861 ;  discharged  September  21,  1864 ; 
transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  November 
15,  1863. 

Henry  H.  Howe,  sergeant,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mustered 
in  September  23,  1862;  discharged  July  8,  1865. 

Barton  Howe,  Jr.,  private,  Company  C,  Eighteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  one  year  ;  mustered 
in  August  31,  1864 ;  discharged  June  10,  1865. 

Robert  Jackson,  private,  Seventh  Connecticut  Infan- 
try ;  mustered  in  September,  1864 ;  wounded  in 
the  mouth. 

Charles  B.  Lewis,  private,  Company  C,  Seventeenth 
United  States  Infantry ;  three  years ;  enlisted 
September   17,   1861;     discharged   January   21, 

1863  ;  first  discharge  for  disability;  re-enlisted, 
and  was  mustered,  for  one  year,  as  corporal  in 
Company  E,  Eighteenth  New  Hampshire  Infan- 
try, September  26,  1864;  promoted  to  sergeant 
June  1,  1865;  discharged  June  10,  1865. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Reuben  A.  Lewis,  private,  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;    one  year;    mustered 
in  September  20,  18(54;  discharged  July  8, 1865. 
Lucian  O.  Lincoln,  corporal,  Company  F,  Fifth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;     three  years;    mustered  in 
October  23,  1861 ;  discharged  July  7,  1862  ;  first 
discharge  for  disability ;      re-enlisted,  and  was 
mustered,  for  three  years,  in  Company  F,  Four- 
teenth New    Hampshire    Infantry,    October    2, 
1862  ;  discharged  July  8,  1865. 
Horace  S.  Lincoln,  private,  Company  F,    Eleventh 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  muster- 
ed in  July  28,  1864;    discharged  July  17,   1865; 
transferred  to  Company  F,  Sixth  New  Hamp- 
shire Infantry,  June  1,  1865. 
James  M.  Martin,  private,  Company  D,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry  ;    three  years;    mustered  in 
September  17,  1861 ;  died  of  disease  at  Harrison's 
Landing,  Va.,  August  11,  1862. 
Henry  J.  McClenning,  private.Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;    muster- 
ed in  September  23,  1862;    died  of  disease   at 
Washington,  D.  C,  August  7,  1863. 
J.    Milo   Richardson,    Fourteenth   New    Hampshire 
Infantry  ;  did  not  leave  the  State  ;  soon  discharged 
for  disability. 
Daniel  E.  Robbins,  private,  Company  F,  Sixth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;    three  years;  mustered  in 
Novemher  28,  1861;   served  three  years;  re-en- 
listed as  a  veteran,  and  was  mustered  in  the  same 
company  and  regiment,  January  4,  1864 ;    dis- 
charged July  17,  1865;  severely  wounded  in  the 
head  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  3, 
1864. 
Otis    Safford,   private,    Company    K,    Second    New 
Hampshire  Infantry ;    three  years ;  mustered  in 
September  2,  1861  ;    discharged  July,  1864 ;  re- 
enlisted  and  was  mustered  for  one  year  in  Com- 
pany F,  First  New  Hampshire  Cavalry,  February 
28,  1865 ;  discharged  July  15,  1865 ;  wounded  in 
the  right  leg  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
Va. 
Norman   D.  Safford,  private,  Company  E,  Fifth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;    three  years;  mustered  in 
November  28,  1861 ;  discharged  October  6,  1862; 
first  discharge  for  disability;  re-enlisted  and  was 
mustered  for  one  year  as  sergeant  in  Company 
E,  Eighteenth   New  Hampshire  Infantry,  Sep- 
tember  24,    1864 ;     promoted    to    first   sergeant 
April,  1865;  discharged  June  10,  1865. 
Leavitt  W.  Safford,  private,  Company  F,  First  New 
Hampshire   Cavalry;    one    year;     mustered    in 
March  16,  L865 ;  discharged  July  15,  1865. 


Otis  H.  Scott,  private,  Company  F,  Fifth  New  Hamp- 
shire Infantry  ;  three  years  ;  mustered  in  October 
23,  1861;  discharged  December  22,  1862;  dis- 
charged for  disability. 

George  D.  Scott,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years  ;  mustered 
in  September  23,  1862;  discharged  July  8,  1865. 

Henry  Herbert  Snow,  private,  Company  F,  Four- 
teenth New  Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years; 
mustered  in  September  23, 1862;  discharged  May 
25,  1863 ;  discharged  for  disability. 

James  S.  Stoddard,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry ;  three  years;  mustered 
in  September  23,  1862;  discharged  July  8,  1865; 
promoted  to  corporal  September  26,  1863;  to 
sergeant,  February  12,  1864;  at  the  battle  <>t 
Winchester,  Va.,  he  was  hit  five  or  six  times  in 
different  parts  of  his  person  and  clothing,  one 
bullet  entering  his  mouth  and  knocking  out 
several  teeth. 

Edwin  H.  Streeter,  private,  Company  I,  Ninth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
August  15,  1862  ;  discharged  June  10,  1865  ;  pro- 
moted to  corporal  March  1,  1865. 

Albert  W.  Streeter,  private,  Company  I,  Ninth  New 
Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years ;  mustered  in 
August  15,  1862;  died  of  disease  at  Falmouth, 
Va.,  February  6,  1863. 

Herbert  N.  Streeter  (brother  of  Albert  W.),  private, 
Company  I,  Ninth  New  Hampshire  Infantry; 
three  years  ;  mustered  in  August  22,  1862  ;  died 
of  disease  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  February  7,  1863  ; 
wounded  in  the  hand  at  the  battle  of  South 
Mountain,  Md. 

Marshall  S.  Streeter,  private,  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  ;  three  years;  mustered 
in  September  23, 1862 ;  wounded  in  the  left  leg 
at  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Va.,  September  19, 
1864,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  the  wound  at 
Baltimore  Hospital,  October  9th,  the  same  year. 

Herbert  B.  Titus,  Company  A,  Second  New  Hamp- 
shire Infantry;  three  years;  discharged  June  10, 
1865;  commissioned  second  lieutenant  June  4, 
1861 ;  first  lieutenant,  August,  1861,  and  assigned 
to  Company  F;  promoted  to  major  of  the  Ninth 
New  Hampshire  Infantry  June  14,1862;  com- 
missioned colonel  of  the  same  regiment  Novem- 
ber 22,  1862;  discharged  September  27,  1864,  but 
reinstated  by  Special  Orders  No.  377,  par.  18,  War 
Department,  November  1,  1864;  at  the  battle  Of 
Antietam,  Md.,  September  17,  1862,  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  right  shoulder ;  March 
15,1865,  he    was  appointed  brigadier-general  by 


CHESTERFIELD. 


149 


brevet,  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
during  the  war.'' 

David  B.  Tyrrel,  private,  Company  A,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
August  24,  1861 ;  discharged  August  24,  1864. 

Everett  C.  Tyrrel,  private,  Company  D,  Second  New 
Hampshire  Infantry;  three  years;  mustered  in 
September,  1861;  discharged  May,  1863;  dis- 
charged for  disability. 

David  S.  Walton,  Jr.,  private,  Company  I,  First  Ber- 
dan's  United  States  Sharpshooters ;  three  years ; 
enlisted  September  11,  1861 ;  discharged  Decem- 
ber 10,  1862  ;  discharged  for  disability. 

Lyman  H.  Warren,  private,  Seventeenth  United  States 
Infantry;  three  years;  enlisted  September  16, 
1861;  appointed  second  lieutenant  October  13, 
1862  ;  brevetted  captain  July  2,  1863;  appointed 
captain  October  25,  1865 ;  slightly  wounded  in 
one  of  his  feet  at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville, 
Va.  ;  died  at  Houston,  Tex.,  September  18,  1867. 

Alonzo  W.  Wheeler,  private,  Company  F,  First  New 
Hampshire  Cavalry ;  one  year ;  mustered  in 
March  8,  1865  ;  discharged  July  15,  1865. 

Of  the  seventy-four  men  whose  names  have 
been  given  above,  none  were  killed  in  battle  ; 
one  died  from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received 
in  battle ;  eleven  were  wounded  and  survived  ; 
six  died  of  disease. 

The  amount  of  the  bounties  paid  by  the  town 
during  the  war  was  twenty-four  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars. 

Twelve  persons  were  drafted  and  paid  a  com- 
mutation of  three  hundred  dollars  each,  and 
twenty-seven  furnished  substitutes  at  an  expense 
of  from  one  hundred  to  four  hundred  dollars 
each. 

Increase  and  Decrease  of  Popula- 
tion.— A  census  taken  by  order  of  the  provin- 
cial government  in  the  year  1767  shows  that 
Chesterfield  then  had  365  inhabitants.  In  1773 
the  number  of  inhabitants  was  747,  of  whom 
400  were  males.  In  September,  1775,  the 
selectmen  made  an  enumeration  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town  and  found  the  number  to  be, 
including  36  men  absent  in  the  army,  874. 
Of  this  number,  462  were  males.  No  slaves 
were  returned  in  these  early  censuses. 

During   the  War   of  the    Revolution    many 


families  came  into  the  town  from  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  By  the  year 
1786  the  number  of  inhabitants  had  reached 
1535,  notwithstanding  the  unsettled  state  of 
affairs  that  existed  in  the  town  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary period. 

The  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  town  in 
every  tenth  year  since  1790  (inclusive)  has  been 
as  follows : 

1790,  1905;  1800,  2161  ;  1810,  1839;  1820, 
2110;  1830,2046;  1840,  1765;  1850,1680; 
1860,  1434;  1870,  1289  ;  1880,  1173. 

The  District  Schools. — The  schools  are 
mentioned  for  the  first  time,  in  the  records  of 
the  town,  in  the  warrant  for  a  town-meeting 
held  the  second  Tuesday  in  June,  1767.  At 
that  time  the  town  had  not  been  divided  into 
school-wards,  or  districts,  and  what  few  schools 
there  were,  were  taught  in  private  houses.  The 
sum  of  money  raised  for  school  purposes  in 
1767  (if  any)  was  not  recorded;  but  at  the 
annual  town- meeting  in  1771  it  was  voted  to 
raise  fifteen  pounds  for  the  support  of  schools. 
From  1771  to  1779  the  amount  raised  annually 
seems  at  no  time  to  have  exceeded  fifty  pounds. 
During  the  next  five  years  the  town  was  in  a 
more  or  less  disturbed  condition,  and  little  or 
no  money  appears  to  have  been  raised  for  the 
support  of  schools.  In  1776  the  town  was 
divided  into  several  school-wards,  and  each 
ward  allowed  to  employ  an  instructor ;  but  it 
was  not  till  1787  that  the  town  was  divided 
into  any  considerable  number  of  wards,  nine- 
teen of  them  having  been  established  that  year. 
Frequent  changes  were  made  in  the  lines  of 
these  wards  previous  to  1815,  about  which  time 
the  term  "  district "  was  adopted  in  the  place  of 
"  ward." 

When  or  where  the  first  school-house  was 
built  in  Chesterfield  has  not  been  ascertained. 
It  is  doubtful  if  one  was  built  before  1785. 
The  oldest  school-houses  now  standing  appear 
to  have  been  erected  between  1800  and  1812. 
The  one  in  District  No.  7  is  known  to  have 
been  built  about  1810.     Before  the  building  of 


150 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


school-houses  the  schools  were  taught,  as  already 
stated,  iu  private  houses.  At  one  time,  near 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  school 
in  District  No.  7  (the  Hardscrabble  District) 
was  kept  in  Gibson  Willard's  barn.  Many  of 
the  schools  were  much  larger  in  the  first  quarter 
of  this  century  than  at  present ;  some  of  them, 
it  is  said,  had  nearly  one  hundred  scholars  each. 
Id  the  winter  of  1810-17  the  little  school-house 
in  the  district  last  mentioned  is  said,  on  good 
authority,  to  have  been  occupied  by  at  least 
eightv  pupils.  The  number  of  scholars  in  the 
district  is  now  about  fifteen.  The  largest  dis- 
trict in  the  town,  No.  13  (which  includes  Ches- 
terfield Factory),  has  at  present  about  sixty 
scholars  ;  the  next  largest,  No.  1  (which  in- 
cludes West  Chesterfield),  has  about  thirty-five. 
'Hie  average  number  of  scholars  attending 
school  each  year  previous  to  1847  has  not  been 
ascertained.  Since  that  date  the  number  for 
each  fifth  year  has  been  as  follows: 

1847,  438  ;  1852,  342  (?) ;  1857,  430  ;  1862, 
355;  1867,  300;  1872,  265;  1877,  225.  The 
number  of  scholars  enrolled  in  1883  was  218. 
The  amount  of  money  raised  yearly  by  tax- 
ation for  the  support  of  schools  was,  from  1785 
to  1798,  usually  one  hundred  pounds;  from 
the  latter  date  to  1805,  four  hundred  dollars. 
From  1805  to  1847  the  amount  raised  annually 
appears  to  have  varied  from  four  hundred  and 
forty  dollars  to  eight  hundred  dollars;  from 
1847  to  the  present  time  it  has  been  from  eight 
hundred  dollars  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
Since  1829  each  district  has  received  annually 
a  portion  of  the  "literary  fund,"  this  town's 
share  of  which,  for  a  number  of  years,  has  aver- 
aged not  far  from  one  hundred  dollars.  The 
greatest  number  of  districts  in  which  schools 
have  been  maintained  since  1817  has  been, 
apparently,  sixteen  ;  at  present  the  number  is 
thirteen  or  fourteen. 

Chesterfield  Academy. — On  the  12th 
day  of  January,  1790,  the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature  passed  an  act  entitled  "  An  Act  to 
incorporate  an   Academy  in  the  Town  of  Ches- 


terfield, by  the  name  of  the  Chesterfield  Acade- 
my." In  the  preamble  of  this  act  it  is  stated  that 
"  the  education  of  youth  has  ever  been  con- 
sidered by  the  wise  and  good  as  an  object  of 
the  highest  consequence  to  the  safety  and  happi- 
ness of  a  People  ; "  also,  that  "  Peter  Stone,  of 
Chesterfield,  gentleman,  and  sundry  other  per- 
sons, have  voluntarily  contributed  certain  sums 
of  money  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and 
supporting  a  public  school,  or  academy,  in  said 
Chesterfield." 

The  first  section  of  the  act  sets  forth  the 
object  of  the  academy,  namely,  "the  promoting 
piety  and  virtue,  and  the  instruction  of  youth 
in  such  branches  of  useful  Literature  as  the 
trustees  hereby  appointed  shall  think  proper  to 
direct."  The  same  section  also  empowered 
Rev.  Abraham  Wood,  Solomon  Harvey,  phy- 
sician, Moses  Smith,  Esq.,  Silas  Richardson, 
Zur  Evans,  Simon  Willard  and  Abner  John- 
son, gentlemen,  all  of  Chesterfield,  to  act  as 
trustees.  The  third  section  provided  that 
"  Abraham  Wood  and  other  trustees,  as  afore- 
said, and  the  longest  livers  and  survivors  of 
them,  and  their  successors,  be  the  true  and  sole 
visitors,  trustees  and  governors  of  the  said 
Academy,  in  perpetual  succession  forever." 
The  fourth  section  fixed  the  number  of  trustees 
at  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  eleven, 
and  provided  that  the  major  part  of  them  should 
be  "laymen  and  respectable  freeholders."  In 
the  sixth  section  provisions  were  made  for 
the  holding,  by  the  trustees,  of  real  and  personal 
estate,  provided  the  annual  income  from  the  real 
estate  should  not  exceed  five  hundred  pounds, 
and  that  from  the  personal  estate  should  not 
exceed  two  thousand  pounds,  "  both  sums  to 
be  valued  in  silver,  at  the  rate  of  sis  shillings 
and  eight-pence  by  the  ounce." 

It  was  enacted  by  the  eighth,  and  last,  section 
that  all  estate,  both  personal  and  real,  held  within 
this  State  for  the  use  of  the  academy,  should  be 
exempt  from  taxation;  and  that  students  of  the 
academy  should  also  be  exempt  from  paying 
poll-tax. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


151 


It  has  usually  been  stated  that  the  academy 
was  not  opened  till  August  14,  1794,  but  the 
records  of  the  institution  show  that  this  state- 
ment is,  in  all  probability,  incorrect.  August 
31, 1791,  the  trustees  voted  to  hire  Sheldon  Lo- 
gan "  to  instruct  in  the  academy  for  the  term  of 
one  year,"  and  to  give  him  eighty  pounds  for 
his  services.  July  4,  1792,  they  voted  that  the 
afternoon  of  every  Wednesday,  for  the  rest  of 
the  year,  should  be  "a  vacation."  There  could 
be  no  reason  for  passing  the  latter  vote  if  the 
school  was  not  already  in  operation. 

The  date  of  the  erection  of  the  academy 
building  cannot  be  ascertained,  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  petitioners  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
academy,  in  their  petition  to  the  Legislature, 
stated  that  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  had  al- 
ready  been  raised  "  to  erect  a  house  of  suffi- 
cient bigness  in  the  town  of  Chesterfield,  in 
which  a  Seminary  may  be  kept,  etc."  The 
town  also  voted,  May  6,  1790,  to  allow  the 
trustees  of  the  academy  to  put  a  building  on 
the  common  for  the  use  of  the  school.  Whether 
the  academy  building  was  completed  before 
August,  1794  (the  school,  in  the  mean  time, 
being  kept  in  some  other  house),  cannot  now 
be  determined  with  certainty. 

For  many  years  after  its  incorporation 
the  academy  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  best  schools  in  the  State,  ranking  second,  it 
is  said,  to  Phillips  Academy,  at  Exeter.  It 
was  attended  by  students  from  all  the  neigh- 
boring towns,  and  some  came  from  remoter 
places,  even  from  the  Southern  States.  Many 
of  those  who  sought  instruction  at  this  insti- 
tution became,  later  in  life,  eminent  in  the  var- 
ious trades  and  professions. 

It  was  a  common  practice,  in  the  earlier 
years  of  the  academy,  for  the  trustees  to  grant 
the  use  of  the  academy  building,  and  sometimes 
other  property,  to  certain  persons  styled  "adven- 
turers," on  condition  that  they  should  employ 
an  instructor  and  keep  the  school  in  operation. 
It  seems  that  the  property  held  by  the  trustees 
for  the  benefit  of  the  academy  never  produced 


an  income  sufficient  for  its  support ;  and  some- 
times this  income  and  the  tuition  fees  together 
amounted  to  less  than  the  expenses.  The  prop- 
erty held  by  the  trustees  seems  to  have  consisted 
almost  wholly  of  real  estate.  This  included, 
about  the  year  1800,  a  part,  if  not  all,  of  the 
glebe-land,  in  the  southeastern  quarter  of  the 
town. 

In  1808  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  grant- 
ing to  the  trustees  the  privilege  of  raising 
money  by  lottery  for  the  benefit  of  the  school. 
Elijah  Dunbar,  Benjamin  Cook,  John  Putnam 
and  Phineas  Handerson  were  chosen  managers 
of  this  lottery  ;  but  the  records  of  the  academy 
do  not  show  how  much  money  was  obtained  in 
this  way.  The  sum  allowed  by  the  act  of  the 
Legislature  to  be  raised  was  five  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  but  probably  only  a  small  part  of  this 
sum  was  ever  actually  obtained.  The  act  was 
extended,  however,  by  the  Legislature  in  1814. 

The  number  of  "adventurers1'  for  the  year 
last  mentioned  was  one  hundred,  and  the  defi- 
ciency to  be  made  up  by  them  amounted  to 
eighty-eight  dollars- and  sixty-seven  cents. 

September  11,  1818,  the  trustees  voted  "that 
Captain  Benjamin  Cook  sell  to  the  highest  bid- 
der the  privilege  of  selling  liquor  on  the  com- 
mon on  exhibition  day,  and  that  the  money  so 
raised  be  applied  to  building  the  stage  and 
paying  Mr.  Hardy  a  balance  of  about  nine  dol- 
lars due  him  for  arrearages  of  board  for  the 
last  year." 

The  exhibitions  that  were  given  by  the  stu- 
dents of  the  academy  during  the  period  of  its 
greatest  prosperity  were  notable  incidents  in 
the  history  of  the  school,  and  even  of  the  town. 
It  was  a  part  of  the  by-laws  of  the  institution 
that  no  student  should  take  part  in  these  exhi- 
bitions until  he  had  been  a  member  of  the 
school  at  least  twelve  weeks,  unless  he  had  had 
previous  instruction  in  the  art  of  declaiming 
under  a  competent  teacher  ;  and  all  students  to 
whom  parts  were  assigned,  in  any  public  exhi- 
bition, were  obliged  to  make  careful  preparation 

in  order  to  perform  their  parts  accurately  and 


.. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 


preserve  the  reputation  of  the  Academy." 
The  names  of  all  the  preceptors  of  the  acad- 
emy from  its  incorporation  till  1847  have  not 
been  obtained  ;  but  some  of  them  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Sheldon  Logan  was,  perhaps,  preceptor  1791 
-94.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  engaged  by 
the  trustees  lor  one  year,  beginning  August  14, 
1794,  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  pounds. 

John  Noyes  was  preceptor  two  years,  com- 
mencing his  duties  September  1, 1795.  He  was 
a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College  and  at  one 
time  represented  the  Southern  District  of  Ver- 
mont in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Broughton  Wright  (?)  was  preceptor  one  year 
from  August  or  September,  1797. 

Levi  Jackson,  of  Chesterfield,  was  preceptor 
1799-1805.     (See  Biographical  Notices.) 

Daniel  Hardy  taught  at  least  one  year,  begin- 
ning in  the  autumn  of  1805. 

Isaac  Fletcher,  a  student  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, was  preceptor  in  1808.  He  married,  in 
181:2,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Peter  Stone,  Sr.,  of 
this  town,  and  afterwards  practiced  law  at  Lyn- 
don, Vt. 

Jonathan  llartwell  was  preceptor  in  1809. 

Asa  Keyes  was  preceptor  two  years  from 
April  16,  1810.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College  and  became  a  distinguished  law- 
yer. He  died  in  Brattleborough,  Vt.,  June  4, 
1880,  at  the  great  age  of  ninety-three  years.  His 
wife  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Asa  Britton,  Esq., 
of  Chesterfield. 

McConihe  appears  to  have  taught  six 

months  in  1812. 

Otis  Ilutchins,  of  Westmoreland,  was  pre- 
ceptor two  years  at  least,  commencing  in  the 
autumn  of  L812.  He  was  again  engaged  in 
the  spring  of  1820  for  the  term  of  three  years. 
His  salary  was  to  be  raised  in  part  by  subscrip- 
tions, which  could  be  paid  in  cloth,  provisions, 
wood,  etc.  He  died  in  Westmoreland  October 
(5,  1866. 

Elisha  S.  Plumb  was  preceptor  1815-16. 

Thomas  Hardy  was  preceptor  1817-19.     He 


was  again  engaged  to  teach  in  1834  for  the 
term  of  ten  years,  and  was  to  receive  as  salary 
all  the  tuition  fees.  He  was  also  to  have  the 
privilege  of  selling  books  and  stationery  to  the 
students.  The  trustees  also  agreed  to  provide 
twenty-five  days'  work  each  year  for  Mr.  Har- 
dy's form.  He  was  released  from  his  engage- 
ment, at  his  own  request,  February  6,  1838. 

Mr.  Hardy  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  and 
respected  teachers  ever  connected  with  the  acad- 
emy. He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege and  spent  many  years  in  teaching.  The 
entire  number  of  persons  under  his  instruction 
during  his  career  as  a  teacher  was  six  thousand 
seven  hundred.     He  died  March  3,  1864. 

George  Freeman  was  preceptor  three  months 
in  1822;  Rev.  John  Walker,  six  months  or 
more  in  1823  ;  John  Chamberlain  in  182  I. 

Josiah  "W.  Fairfield  was  preceptor  1824-26. 
He  was  a  native  of  New  Boston,  this  State,  and 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1827.  He 
married  Laura,  daughter  of  Asa  Britton,  Esq., 
of  this  town,  in  1829,  and  settled  in  Hudson, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  died,  December  3,  1878. 

Edward  P.  Harris  was  preceptor  1827-28; 
Oliver  M.  Smith,  1830 ;  James  W.  Emery, 
1831. 

Charles  L.  Strong  was  preceptor  1832-33, 
and  again  in  1841-44.  Mr.  Strong  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Amherst  College  and  was  a  teacher  by 
profession.  He  married,  in  1843,  Prusha, 
daughter  of  Ashbel  Wheeler,  Sr.,  of  Chester- 
field, and  died  in  this  town  August  2,  1S47. 

John  E.  Butler,  of  Jamaica,  Vt.,  was  an  as- 
sistant teacher  in  1833.  He  afterwards  became 
a  distinguished  lawyer  in  the  State  of  Vermont. 

Samuel  H.  Price  was  preceptor  1838-39  ; 
Nathan  Kendall,  1845-47. 

Since  1850  the  academy  has  not  been  in  a 
flourishing  condition  and  for  several  years  has 
been  closed. 

The  original  academy  building  stood  on  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  common,  at  the  Centre 
village,  a  few  rods  from  the  old  meeting-house. 

It  was  a   two-story  structure  surmounted  by 


CHESTERFIELD. 


153 


a  belfry,  in  which,  however,  there  was  no  bell. 
April  9,  1859,  it  was  burned  to  the  ground.  A 
new  building  was  erected  the  same  year,  having 
nearly  the  same  location,  by  School  District  No. 
5  and  the  trustees  of  the  academy,  conjointly, 
on  condition  that  the  same  should  be  used  both 
for  the  district  school  and  a  High  School  or 
academy. 

The  Churches. — The  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Chesterfield  was  probably  orgauized 
in  1771,  but  it  is  evident  that  a  site  had  been 
selected  for  a  meeting-house,  on  the  common, 
as  early  as  1767  ;  for,  in  the  record  of  the  ac- 
ceptance of  a  new  road  by  the  town  that  year, 
mention  is  made  of  the  "  meeting-house  place." 
April  24,  1770,  the  town  voted  to  raise  one 
hundred  pounds,  to  cover  the  meeting-house 
frame,  that  had  already  been  erected.  June  8, 
1772,  it  was  voted  by  the  town  to  take  seventy- 
live  pounds  of  the  money  appropriated  for  the 
highways  and  use  it  in  finishing  the  outside  of 
the  meeting-house.  This  building  stood  on  the 
common,  at  the  Centre  village,  about  thirty-five 
feet  south  of  the  site  of  the  present  town-house, 
and  was  about  sixty  feet  long  and  forty-five 
feet  wide.  It  was  two  stories  high,  with  two 
rows  of  windows,  and  originally  had  a  porch 
on  each  end. 

The  west  porch,  however,  was  removed  in 
accordance  with  a  vote  passed  by  the  town  in 
1815,  and  a  projecting  bell-tower  built  in 
place  of  it.  The  bell  in  this  tower  was  rung 
on  week-days  at  noon  and  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  All  the  town-meetings  were 
held  in  this  house  from  September,  1771,  till  it 
was  burned  down  by  an  incendiary  fire,  March 
1,  1851.  It  was  also  used  by  the  students  of 
Chesterfield  Academy  for  their  public  exhibi- 
tions. The  present  Congregational  meeting- 
house was  occupied,  for  the  first  time,  in  No- 
vember, 1834. 

The  first  settled  minister  in  Chesterfield  was 
Abraham  Wood  (see  Biographical  Notices),  who 
came  from  Sudbury,  Mass.,  at  the  age  of  about 
twenty-four  years,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of 


the  First  Congregational  Church  December  31, 
1772.  For  half  a  century  Mr.  Wood  was  the 
sole  pastor  of  this  church.  Before  Mr.  Wood 
came  to  Chesterfield,  John  Eliot  preached  for 
a  while  "  on  probation  ;  "  but,  for  reasons  which 
he  did  not  see  fit  to  make  public,  he  declined  an 
invitation  to  become  the  settled  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  this  town.  After 
Mr.  Eliot's  declination  the  town  voted  (Octo- 
ber 12,  1772)  to  invite  Mr.  Wood  to  be  their 
pastor,  which  invitation  was  accepted  by  him 
in  a  letter  dated  November  17,  1772. 

At  a  special  town-meeting  held  the  7th  day 
of  the  following  December,  preparations  were 
made  for  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Wood.  It  was 
voted, — 

"1.  That  Thursday,  the  31st  day  of  the  same 
month,  should  be  the  day  on  which  the  ordination 
was  to  take  place. 

"  2.  That  Elisha  Rockwood  should  have  £8  for  pro- 
viding and  entertaining  with  victuals,  drink,  lodgings 
and  horse-keeping  the  whole  of  the  council  of  minis- 
ters, delegates  and  other  gentlemen  of  distinction. 

"  3.  That  the  sum  of  £9  should  be  raised  to  defray 
any  expenses  arising  from  the  ordination. 

"  4.  That  the  town  concur  with  the  vote  of  the 
church,  to  send  invitations  to  other  churches  to  assist 
in  the  ordination. 

"  5.  That  the  window-caps  of  the  meeting-house 
should  be  of  straight,  solid  wood,  with  cornice  on  the 
front. 

"  6.  That  two  or  three  Sabbaths  a  year  should  be 
granted  to  Mr.  Wood,  to  enable  him  to  visit  his 
friends,  so  long  as  he  should  be  the  pastor  of  the 
church." 

For  the  first  nineteen  years  of  his  ministry  Mr. 
Wood  received  an  annual  salary  of  sixty-five 
pounds,  which  sum  was  raised  to  eighty  pounds 
in  1792.  From  1800  to  1822  the  average  sum 
raised  yearly  by  taxation,  for  the  support  of 
preaching,  was  about  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  dollars.  After  the  latter  date  no  taxes  were 
assessed  for  the  support  of  religious  instruction. 
In  the  year  1800  the  names  of  forty-seven  tax- 
payers were  recorded  in  the  town  records  as  being 
persons  who  Avere  members  of  the  "Universal 
Restoration     Society,"    and     consequently    ex- 


154 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


empted  (by  the  Bill  of  Rights)  from  paying  min- 
ister rates.  In  1802  the  names  of  thirty-one 
tax-] layers  were  recorded  as  being  members  of 
the  "  Republican  Society,"  and,  therefore,  "  not 
holden  by  law  to  pay  taxes  for  the  support  of 
Congregational  ministers." 

Mr.  Wood  having  become,  a  few  months  be- 
fore his  death,  unable  to  attend  to  his  pastoral 
duties,  Rev.  John  Walker  was  installed  as  col- 
league pastor  April  30,  1823.  Mr.  Wood  re- 
tained his  ministry,  however,  till  he  died,  Octo- 
ber 18,  1823.  During  his  pastorate  three 
hundred  and  twenty-four  persons  united  with 
the  church,  either  by  profession  or  by  letter, 
including;  those  who  were  members  when  he 
was  ordained.  The  number  of  persons  bap- 
tized was  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five.  At 
the  date  of  Mr.  Walker's  installation  as  col- 
league pastor  the  church  had  one  hundred  and 
thirteen  members,  and  eight  more  were  admitted 
during  the  year. 

Besides  Rev.  Abraham  Wood,  this  church 
has  had  the  following  pastors :  Rev.  John 
Walker,  from  April  30,  1823,  to  April  22, 
1829  ;  Rev.  Elihu  Smith,  May  23,  1832,  to 
December  2,  1834;  Rev.  Josiah  Ballard,  Au- 
gust 5,  1835,  till  the  following  spring  ;  Rev. 
Hosea  Becklev,  1836-42;  Rev.  Benjamin  E. 
Hale,  August  31, 1842,  to  November  11,  1847  5 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Newhall,  July  23, 1852,  to  July 
2,  1854;  Rev.  Jeffries  Hall,  April,  1858,  to 
April,  I860;  Rev.  Albert  E.  Hall,  November, 
1SS2,  to  the  present  time. 

The  <l  I  'nil-,, sal  Restoration  Society  "  was  or- 
ganized as  early  as  1798,  and  perhaps  earlier. 
The  annual  meetings  for  the  election  of  officers 
were  regularly  held  for  many  years  before  the 
society  was  incorporated  ;  but  services  seem  to 
have  been  held  only  occasionally.  In  June, 
1818,  fifty-five  members  of  the  society  peti- 
tioned the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion. The  petition  was  granted,  and  an  act 
passed  incorporating  Oliver  Baker,  Stephen 
Streeter  and  Jonathan  Cochran,  with  their  as- 
sociates   and    successors,    into    a    society   to  be 


known  as  the  "  Universal  Restoration  Society." 
Previous  to  1830  the  Universalists  held  their 
meetings  for  worship,  for  the  most  part,  in 
school-houses  and  private  dwellings  ;  for  the 
town  would  not  vote  to  allow  them  the  use  of 
the  meeting-house  at  the  Centre  village,  for  any 
purpose  whatever,  till  1816,  when  they  were 
permitted  to  hold  a  convention  in  it.  January 
2,  1830,  it  was  voted  by  the  town  to  grant  the 
use  of  the  meeting-house  to  the  Universalists, 
every  alternate  Sunday,  for  one  year.  The 
same  year,  however,  the  house  now  occupied  by 
them,  at  the  West  village,  was  built. 

The  names  of  very  few  of  the  Universal  ist 
preachers  who  preached  in  Chesterfield  before 
1830  are  now  known.  January  2,  1822,  it 
was  voted  by  the  society  to  hire  Robert  Bart- 
lett,  of  Langdon,  to  preach  on  five  Sundays 
during  the  year,  provided  he  could  be  engaged 
for  five  dollars  per  Sunday. 

In  1823-26  the  society  appears  to  have  had 
preaching  only  four  Sabbaths  each  year. 

In  April,  1828,  arrangements  were  made  to 
engage  Rev.  William  S.  Balch  to  preach  every 
fourth  Sunday  during  the  year  ensuing,  if  he 
could  be  engaged  for  eighty  dollars.  Since 
1830  the  Universalists  of  Chesterfield  have 
usually  held  services  in  the  meeting-house  at 
the  West  village  every  alternate  Sabbath,  em- 
ploying a  pastor  in  connection  with  societies  in 
Winchester,  Westmoreland,  and  Putney,  Yt. 
The  pastors  of  the  Universalist  Society  have 
been,  since  1830,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained, 
as  follows  : 

Rev.  Philemon  R.  Russell,  about  two  years, 
between  1830  and  1835;  Rev.  Stephen  A. 
Barnard  (Unitarian),  1835-37  ;  Rev.  Charles 
Woodhouse,  1838-41  and  again  in  1843;  Rev. 
William  N.  Barber,  for  a  while  between  1841 
and  1843  ;  Rev.  Josiah  Marvin,  1844-45  ;  Rev. 
Edwin  H.  Lake,  from  about  1851-54  ;  Rev. 
Hymen  B.  Butler,  1854-56  ;  Rev.  Sullivan  II. 
M'Collester,  1857-62  ;  Rev.  ( Miver  G.  Wood- 
bury, 1 8(52-70  ;  Rev.  Joseph  Barber,  1871-77  ; 
Rev.    Hiram    B.   Morgan,  1878-81  ;  Rev.  Ed- 


CHESTERFIELD. 


155 


ward  Smiley,  1882-84;  Rev.  Winfield  S.  Wil- 
liams, 1884-5. 

Baptist  Church. — No  records  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Chesterfield  have  been  found,  but 
it  is  known  that  Nathan  Worden,  a  preacher  of 
this  denomination,  settled  in  the  town  as  early 
as  1787,  and  in  1819  a  society  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  "  First  Baptist  Church." 
Several  persons  of  the  Baptist  persuasion  had 
an  interest  in  the  church  built  by  the  Univer- 
salists  in  1830,  and  for  a  few  years  held  ser- 
vices in  it.  This  society  has  been  extinct  for 
many  years. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  organiza- 
tion of  the  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Society 
of  Chesterfield  dates  from  June  18,  1842. 

It  is  said  that  Jesse  Lee  visited  the  town  as 
early  as  1793,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present 
it  has  been  a  "  preaching-place."  In  1796  the 
first  circuit  in  New  Hampshire  was  formed, 
called  the  "  Chesterfield  Circuit,"  and  which 
had  only  sixty-eight  members. 

The  names  of  but  few  of  the  early  Methodist 
preachers  in  this  town  are  now  known. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Nichols,  of  Thompson,  Conn., 
preached  here  at  an  early  period,  and  Rev. 
Martin  Rutter  is  said  to  have  preached  his  first 
sermon  in  James  Robertson's  house  (now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Timothy  N. 
Robertson).  One  of  the  earliest  Methodist 
preachers  at  Factory  village  is  said  to  have 
been  a  Rev.  Mr.  House. 

In  1844  the  Methodists  built  a  meeting- 
house at  the  Centre  village.  Before  that  time 
they  worshiped  in  private  houses,  school- 
houses  and  sometimes  in  the  old  Congregational 
meeting-house.  Since  1839  the  pastors  of  this 
society,  as  far  as  ascertained,  have  been  as  fol- 
lows :  Rev.  C.  L.  McCurdy,  1839-40  ;  Rev. 
Alonzo  Webster,  1842-43 ;  Rev.  C.  Holman, 
1848;  Rev.  D.  P.  Leavitt,  1852;  Rev.  E. 
Adams,  1853;  Rev.  J.  Hayes,  1854-55;  Rev. 
A.  K.  Howard,  1856-57  ;  Rev.  J.  P.  Stinch- 
field,  1858-59;  Rev.  N.  Green,  1860;  Rev. 
Thomas  L.    Fowler,    1861-67;    Rev.  W.  H. 


Cummings,  1869  ;  Rev.  James  H.  Copp,  1870 ; 
Rev.  N.  Fisk,  1871 ;  Rev.  Andrew  L.  Ken- 
dall, 1872-75;  Rev.  Edward  P.  F.  Dearborn, 
1875-77;  Rev.  John  A.  Parker,  1877;  Rev. 
William  W.  Le  Seur,  1878-81  ;  Rev.  Julius 
M.  Buffum,  1881-82;  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Fow- 
ler, at  the  present  time. 

A  Unitarian  Church  was  organized  in  Ches- 
terfield about  1834,  and  existed  a  few  years.  It 
was  composed,  in  part,  of  persons  who  had 
withdrawn  from  the  Congregational  Society. 
Rev.  Stephen  A.  Barnard  was  pastor  of  this 
church  in  1835,  '36  and  '37,  preaching  every 
alternate  Sunday  in  the  old  meeting-house  at 
the  Centre  village.  As  already  stated,  he  also 
preached  for  the  Uuiversalists  at  the  West  vil- 
lage during  the  same  years. 

The  meeting-house  at  Factory  village  was 
erected  in  1853.  It  is  a  "  union  "  house  (so- 
called),  the  expense  of  building  which  was  de- 
frayed by  the  sale  of  pews,  which  were  pur- 
chased by  Congregationalists,  Methodists  and 
Universalists,  on  condition  that  each  denomina- 
tion represented  should  have  the  privilege  of 
using  the  house  to  a  certain  extent.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  Methodists  have  alter- 
nately held  their  services  in  this  house  and  in 
their  church  at  the  Centre  village. 

Manufactures. — The  manufacture  of  any 
kind  of  goods  or  wares  has  never  been  carried 
on  very  extensively  in  Chesterfield  ;  yet  consi- 
derable manufacturing  has  been  done  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town,  and  a  less  amount  in 
the  western.  In  December,  1805,  Ebenezer 
Stearns,  Moses  Smith,  Ebenezer  Cheney  and 
seventeen  others  were  incorporated  into  a  com- 
pany called  the  Chesterfield  Manufactory,  for 
the  purpose  of  manufacturing  "cotton  yarn, 
cloth  and  woolens." 

At  the  June  session  of  the  Legislature  in 
1809  an  additional  act  was  passed  empowering 
the  corporation  to  raise  the  sum  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  to  be  employed  as  should  be 
thought  proper.  It  appears  that  the  shares 
were  fixed  at  one  hundred  dollars  each,  and  that 


156 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Ebenezer  Stearns  held,  in  1809,  ten  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  the  stock  ;  the  rest  of  the 
shareholders,  of  whom  there  were  about  twenty, 
held  from  five  to  fifty  shares  each. 

In  1810  the  company  erected  a  factory  at 
the  village,  which  has  ever  since  been  called 
"  Factory  Village,"  or  "Chesterfield  Factory," 
the  latter  being  the  correct  post-office  name. 
This  building,  which  is  one  hundred  feet  long 
by  thirty  feet  wide,  and  two  stories  high  (ex- 
clusive of  the  basement),  was  built  by  Presson 
Farwell  for  seven  hundred  dollars. 

For  a  few  years  after  the  factory  was  built 
cotton  yarn  is  said  to  have  been  made  in  it ; 
then  it  was  closed  for  a  while.  In  1821,  Cap- 
tain William  S.  Brooks,  who  settled  in  Ches- 
terfield that  year,  was  chosen  agent  of  the  cor- 
poration, and  began  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
shirting.  Captain  Brooks  continued  to  manage 
the  affairs  ofthe  corporation,  as  agent,  till  1839, 
when  he  removed  to  Brattlcborough  ;  but  he  re- 
tained his  connection  with  the  factory  till 
1850. 

The  manufacture  of  shirting  was  afterwards 
continued  in  this  factory  for  some  time  by 
Olney  Gofi'and  by  Barton  Skinner. 

The  building  was  next  converted  into  a 
manufactory  of  doors, window-sashes  and  blinds 
by  R.  Henry  Hopkins  and  Horace  Howe.  It 
is  used  for  this  purpose  at  present  by  George 
L.  Hamilton,  who  employs  ten  men. 

About  1820  the  manufacture  of  "patent 
accelerating  spinning-wheel  heads"  was  begun 
;it  Factory  village  by  Ezekiel  P.  Pierce,  with 
whom  were  associated  Asahel  Porter  and 
(ienrge  Metcalf.  The  manufacture  of  these 
articles  has  since  been  conducted  at  that  village 
by  Jonathan  S.  Hopkins,  Elliot  P.  and  Samuel 
F.  Hopkins,  Ezekiel  P.  Pierce,  Jr.,  Richard 
Hopkins,  Jr.,  Sidney  S.  Campbell,  Benjamin 
Pierce  and  Frederick  B.  Pierce.  At  one  time 
duringthei  'ivil  War  Benjamin  Pierce  employed 
aboul  seventy-five  hands  in  this  business.  Spin- 
ning-wheel heads  were  also  made  at  the  West 
village  for  a    while,  many  years  ago,  by   John 


Pierce  and  his  sou  Alfred,  and  by  Alanson  and 
Alfred  Chamberlain. 

In  1834  or  1835  the  manufacture  of  augers, 
bits  and  gimlets  was  commenced,  near  the  West 
village,  by  Joshua  Richardson  and  Oliver  B. 
Huggins,  with  whom  appears  to  have  been  as- 
sociated E.  P.  Pierce,  Sr.  After  a  year  or 
two  they  were  succeeded  by  E.  P.  Pierce,  Jr., 
and  Charles  Cross.  Subsequently  the  business 
was  carried  on  for  a  while,  at  the  same  place, 
by  Pierce,  Cross  and  Alonzo  Farr. 

In  1836  or  1837  the  making  of  bits,  augers, 
etc.,  was  begun  at  Factory  village  by  Richard- 
son A:  Huggins.  Afterwards  the  same  business 
was  carried  on  by  George  Goodrich  alone, 
and  by  him  and  George  Atherton  for  a  few- 
years. 

About  1853,  Benjamin  Pierce,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  employed  by  Richardson  &  Hug- 
gins, commenced  the  maun  fact  i  ire  of  bits,  etc, 
in  the  same  shop,  having  purchased  it  of  Barton 
Skinner.  For  many  years  Mr.  Pierce  con- 
ducted the  business  alone,  employing  a  consid- 
erable number  of  hands,  and  producing  yearly 
a  large  number  of  bits,  angers  and  other  wood- 
boring  tools.  In  1870  his  son,  Frederick  B. 
Pierce,  began  to  manufacture  the  same  kind  of 
goods  for  his  father  (who  conducted  the  sales 
of  the  same),  having  previously  been  in  com- 
pany with  R.  Henry  Hopkins  for  about  two  years. 

In  July,  1882,  F.  B.  Pierce  was  succeeded 
in  this  business  by  the  Currier  Brothers  (Albert 
E.  and  F.  Eugene),  who  give  employment  at 
present  to  twenty-three  men.  Their  total  pro- 
duction amounts  to  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  pieces  per  annum. 

F.  B.  Pierce  is  pretty  extensively  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  brush-handles  at  factory 
village,  employing  at  present  about  thirty 
hands.  At  the  West  village  Olin  R.  Farr 
makes  tables,  and  prepares  stuff  for  boxes, 
brush-handles,  etc.  Other  articles  that  have 
been  made  in  Chesterfield,  many  years  ago, 
but  not  to  any  great  extent,  are  gunpowder, 
scythes,  hoes,  pegs,  etc. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


157 


Charles  S.  Kendall  made  pegs  a  few  years  in 
the  building  in  which  E.  P.  Pierce,  Jr.,  for- 
merly manufactured  spinning-wheel  heads,  and 
which  has  been  used  since  1866  by  Ira  P.  Bux- 
ton for  the  manufacture  of  pail-staves,  shin- 
gles, etc. 

In  1863,  Rev.  T.  L.  Fowler  purchased  the 
building  at  Factory  village  which  had  for- 
merly been  used  many  years  by  Joshua  Graves 
for  a  blacksmith's  shop,  and  fitted  it  up  for  the 
manufacture  of  clothes-pins,  and  used  it  for  this 
purpose  until  November,  1868,  when  he  con- 
verted it  into  a  saw-mill. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Fowler  sold  the  mill  to  his  son, 
Herschel  J.  Fowler,  who  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  pail-staves.  The  latter  afterwards 
erected  a  two-story  building  close  to  the  old 
one,  in  which  he  manufactured  packing-boxes. 
This  building  is  now  used  by  B.  F.  Pierce  in 
the  manufacture  of  paint  and  varnish  brush 
handles. 

About  1815  (probably),  David  and  William 
Arnold  engaged  in  tanning  hides  at  the  Centre 
village. 

About  1817  their  tannery  was  bought  by 
Moses  Dudley,  who  continued  the  business  till 
about  1851. 

About  1832  Lloyd  Stearns  and  David 
Arnold  began  the  same  business  in  the  present 
tannery  building  at  Factory  village.  Stearns 
removed  to  Illinois  about  1835,  when  the  busi- 
ness was  continued  by  Arnold,  at  first  associated 
with  Nathaniel  Walton  for  a  few  years,  and 
then  alone.  From  1844  to  1865  this  tannery 
was  owned  by  Sumner  Warren,  now  of  Keene, 
who  carried  on  a  pretty  extensive  business. 

The  business  was  afterwards  continued  for  a 
while  by  Earl  Warren,  of  Westmoreland. 

At  present  there  is  no  tannery  in  operation  in 
Chesterfield. 

There  are  now  only  three  grist-mills  in  the 
town, — Bradford  C.  Farr's,  at  Factory  village, 
Prusha  W.  Strong's  and  Warren  W.  Farr's,  at 
the  West  village. 

The  largest  saw-mill  in  Chesterfield  was  built 


by  the  Steam  Mill  Company,  at  the  former  vil- 
lage, in  1872.  In  1878  this  mill  was  burned, 
but  was  rebuilt  the  same  year  by  James  H.  & 
George  Goodrich.  It  has  an  engine  of  forty- 
five  horse-power,  and  is  now  owned  and  run  by 
James  H.  Goodrich.  The  Butlers'  steam  saw- 
mill is  located  on  the  upper  part  of  Catsbane 
Brook ;  O.  R.  Farr's  and  W.  W.  Farr's  saw- 
mills are  at  the  West  village. 

Taverns  and  Hotels. — The  earliest  tav- 
erns were  merely  private  houses  situated  near 
the  principal  highways,  and  whose  owners 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  add  to 
the  income  derived  from  their  farms  by  provid- 
ing food  and  lodging  for  hungry  and  weary 
travelers,  and  an  abundance  of  spirituous  and 
fermented  drinks  for  the  thirsty. 

After  a  while  a  law  was  passed  compelling 
tavern-keepers  and  retailers  of  spirituous  liquors 
to  obtain  a  license  from  the  selectmen.  The 
first  recorded  licenses  for  this  purpose  were 
granted  in  1792,  in  which  year  four  persons  were 
licensed  as  taverners  and  one  to  sell  spirituous 
liquors.  It  is  not  at  all  probable,  however,  that 
one  person  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  in 
strong  drink  that  year. 

In  1793  there  were  only  two  licensed  tavern- 
ers, while  five  persons  were  licensed  to  retail 
spirits;  and  in  1794  the  number  of  tavern-keep- 
ers was  three,  the  number  of  retailers  of  spirits 
remaining  the  same.  In  1800  there  were  seven 
licensed  tavern-keepers  and  only  two  licensed 
retailers  of  liquors. 

Among  the  earliest  tavern-keepers  were  Oli- 
ver Cobleigh,  Nathaniel  Stone,  Andrew  Hast- 
ings, Abraham  Stearns,  Nathaniel  Bingham  and 
Ebenezer  Harvey,  Sr. 

Ebenezer  Harvey's  tavern  stood  on  the  site 
of  the  late  Parker  D.  Cressey's  residence  at  the 
Centre  village,  and  was  probably  one  of  the  old- 
est taverns  in  the  town. 

In  1801,  Levi  Mead  came  to  Chesterfield, 
from  Lexington,  Mass.,  and  lived  in  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Roswell  Butler,  at  the  Centre 
village,  which  he  kept  as  a  tavern.     In   1816 


158 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


he  built  at  the  same  village  what  was  known 
for  many  years  as  the  Mead  tavern,  and  which 
is  now  called  the  Chesterfield  Hotel.  Since  his 
death,  in  1828,  this  tavern  has  had  several  dif- 
ferent owners,  among  them  his  sons,  Bradley 
and  Elias.  From  I860  to  1868  it  was  owned 
and  kept  by  Parker  D.  Cressey,  and  since  18 76 
it  has  been  owned  by  Lucius  Thatcher. 

The  present  hotel  at  Factory  village,  known 
as  the  Spafford  House,  was  built  in  1807  by 
Elnathan  Gorham  for  a  dwelling-house.  It 
was  first  used  as  a  tavern  by  Presson  Farwell. 
Afterwards  it  was  owned  and  kept  many  years 
by  Samuel  Burt,  who,  in  1867,  sold  it  to  San- 
ford  Guernsey.  In  1880,  it  was  purchased  of 
Mr.  Guernsey  by  Walter  J.  Wheeler.  Its 
present  proprietor  is  Alfred  L.  Proctor. 

In  1831,  Ezekiel  P.  Pierce,  Sr.,  built  a  large 
-tone  house  on  the  old  Pierce  homestead,  near 
the  lake,  which  he  kept  as  a  tavern  several  years. 

The  tavern  which  Amos  Smith  kept  near  the 
river,  in  the  northwestern  quarter  of  the  town, 
and  which  was  afterwards  kept  by  his  son, 
George  Smith,  was  frequented  by  boatmen  and 
raftsmen  in  the  days  when  merchandise  was 
transported  up  and  down  the  river  by  means  of 
boats,  and  logs  were  conducted  down  in  rafts. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  old  Snow  tavern,  after- 
wards the  town  poor-house. 

The  Prospect  House,  situated  on  an  eminence 
near  the  southern  shore  of  Spafford's  Lake,  of 
which  it  commands  a  fine  view,  was  built  in 
1  >7.">  by  the  late  John  W.  Herrick,  of  Keene. 
Since  its  erection  it  has  been  enlarged  and  other- 
wise improved.  This  hotel  is  kept  open  only 
during  the  summer,  and  is  now  owned  by  Hon. 
Charles  A.  Rapallo,  of  .New  York  City,  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  the  State 
of  New  York.  It  has  been  managed,  since 
1879,  by  A.  11.  Mason,  of  Keene. 

Post-Offices. — The  post-office  at  the  Centre 
village  (Chesterfield)  was  established  August  12, 
1802. 

The  following  persons  have  been  postmasters 

at  this  village  : 

< 


Ebenezer  Harvey,  commissioned  August  12,  1802. 

Asa  Britton,  commissioned  November  16,  1810. 

Daniel  Waldo,  commissioned  December  30,  1830. 

Warham  R.  Platts,  commissioned  October  4,  1833. 

Nelson  W.  Herrick,  commissioned  August  6,  1841. 

Warham  R.  Platts,  commissioned  September  11, 
1843. 

Charles  J.  Amidon,  commissioned  May  29,  1849. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  commissioned  April  2,  1851. 

Warham  R.  Platts,  commissioned  May  20,  1853. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  commissioned  August  10,  1861. 

James  M.  Herrick,  commissioned  February  27, 
1867. 

Romanzo  C.  Cressey,  commissioned  April   9,  1868. 

Murray  Davis,  commissioned  October  24,  1873. 

James  H.  Goodrich  (2d),  commissioned  October  6, 
1875. 

Sewall  F.  Rugg,  commissioned  August  5,  1881. 

The  post-office  at  Factory  village  (Chester- 
field Factory)  was  established  January  12,  1828. 

The  postmasters  at  this  village  have  been  as 
follows  : 

George  S.  Root,  commissioned  January  12,  1828. 

Horatio  N.  Chandler,  commissioned  December  14, 
1835. 

Samuel  Burt,  Jr.,  commissioned  July  28,  1838. 

Bela  Chase,  commissioned  August  6,  1841. 

Samuel  Burt,  commissioned  December  30,  1844. 

David  W.  Beckley,  commissioned  April  26,  1850. 

Samuel  Burt,  commissioned  September  11,  1854. 

David  W.  Beckley,  commissioned  July  20,  1861. 

James  C.  Farwell,  commissioned  January  15,  1866. 

The  post-office  at  the  West  village  (West 
Chesterfield)  was  established  April  17,  18(56,  at 
which  time  James  H.  Ford  was  commissioned 
postmaster.  He  held  the  office  till  November, 
1870.  Since  December  19,  1870,  Emory  II. 
Colburn  has  been  postmaster  at  this  village. 

Physicians. — The  following  are  the  names 
of  some  of  the  physicians  who  have  practiced 
their  profession  in  Chesterfield  lor  longer  or 
shorter  periods:  Dr.  Elkanah  Day,   1767  (or 

earlier)  till ;  Dr.  Moses  Ellis,  before  17^7  ; 

Dr.  Samuel   King,   1785  (or  earlier)  till  ; 

Dr.    Solomon   Harvey,   about    1770-1821   (or 

later);    Dr.  Barnard,    about    1771);    Dr. 

Joshua  Tyler,  from  between  1776  and  1781 
till  1807;  Dr.  Oliver  Atherton,  from  about  1787 
till  LSI  -1;  Dr.  Prescott  Hall,  about  1806;  Dr. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


159 


James  R.  Grow,  about  1812  ;  Dr.  Oliver  Baker, 
1809-40;   Dr.  George  Farrington,   1814-16; 

Dr.  Joshua  Converse, to  1833  ;  Dr.  Jason 

Farr,  several  years  previous  to  1825 ;  Dr.  Jerry 
Lyons,  1814-25;  Dr.  Philip  Hall,  a  number 
of  years  previous  to  1828  ;  Dr.  Harvey  Car- 
penter, 1827  or  1828  till  1852;  Dr.  John  P. 
Warren,  1842-44;  Dr.  Algernon  Sidney  Car- 
penter, 1841  ;  Dr.  John  O.  French,  about  ten 
years,  from  1844  or  1845  ;  Dr.  John  F.  But- 
ler, 1854  to  the  present  time;  Dr.  Daniel  F. 
Randall,  1855  to  the  present  time ;  Dr.  Willie 
G.  Cain,  August,  1884,  to  the  present  time. 

Dr.  George  Farrington  died  in  Chesterfield 
July  29, 1816,  aged  forty-seven  years.  The  fol- 
lowing epitaph  is  inscribed  on  his  gravestone 
in  the  old  town  burying-ground  at  the  Centre 

village : 

"  Here  lies  beneath  this  monument 
The  dear  remains  of  one  who  spent 

His  days  and  years  in  doing  good ; 
Gave  ease  to  those  oppress'd  with  pain  ; 
Restor'd  the  sick  to  Health  again, 

And  purifi'd  their  wasting  blood. 
He  was  respected  wbile  on  Eartb 
By  all  who  knew  his  real  worth 
In  practice  and  superior  skill. 
The  means  he  us'd  were  truly  blest — 
His  wondrous  cures  do  well  attest. 

Who  can  his  vacant  mansion  fill  ? 
Borne  on  some  shining  cherub's  wing 
To  his  grand  master,  God  and  King, 

To  the  grand  lodge  in  Heaven  above, 
Where  angels  smile  to  see  him  join 
His  brethren  in  that  lodge  Divine,  "* 
Where  all  is  harmony  and  love." 
Dr.  John  F.  Butler  is  the  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Martha  (Russell)  Butler,  of  Marlow,  and  was  born 
June  14,  1831  ;  graduated  at  the  Harvard  Med- 
ical School  March,  1854,  and  came  to  Chester- 
field the  next  April.    In  the  spring  of  1864  he 
joined  the  Thirty-ninth  Regiment  Massachusetts 
Volunteers  as  assistant  surgeon,  and  served  till 
the  war  closed,  when  he  returned  to  Chesterfield. 
He  married,  in  1857,  Julia,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Silas  Quimby,  of  Lebanon,  and  who  died  August 
19,  1861.    In  1863  he  married  Celia  A.,  daugh- 
*\ter  of  John  L.  Brewster,  of  Lowell,  Mass. 


Dr.  Daniel  F.  Randall  has  resided  in  Ches- 
terfield since  1855,  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  was  born  May  24,  1829, 
and  is  the  son  of  Menzias  R.  Randall,  M.D.,  a 
veteran  physician  of  Rehoboth,  Mass.  He 
graduated  at  the  medical  school  in  Woodstock, 
Vt.j  in  1852,  and  settled  in  this  town  in  1855, 
where  he  has  ever  since  resided.  He  married 
Miss  Amelia  C.  French,  of  Berkley,  Mass. 

Lawyers. — Hon.  Phineas  Handerson  was 
probably  the  first  lawyer  who  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  Chesterfield.  His  office  was  at  the 
Centre  village,  where  he  resided  from  1805  or 
1806  till  1833,  when  he  removed  to  Keene.  (See 
Biographical  Notices.) 

Hon.  Larkin  G.  Mead,  who  read  law  with 
Mr.  Handerson,  also  practiced  in  this  town  till 
1839,  when  he  removed  to  Brattleborough,  Vt. 
(See  Biographical  Notices.) 

Charles  C.  Webster,  Esq.,  late  of  Keene, 
practiced  law  in  Chesterfield  from  July,  1839, 
to  January,  1846. 

Hon.  Harvey  Carlton,  now  of  Winchester, 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  this  town 
from  1841  to  1854. 

Allen  P.  Dudley,  Esq.,  now  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.,  practiced  law  in  Chesterfield  a  while 
previous  to  1855,  about  which  time  he  removed 
to  California. 

William  L.  Dudley,  Esq.,  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  in  this  town  in  1846,  but  re- 
moved to  California  in  1849,  and  resides  at 
present  in  Stockton,  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession. 

Spafford's  Lake  as  a  Summer  Resort. — 
A  brief  description  of  Spafford's  Lake  has  been 
given  in  another  place.  Though  it  had  been 
for  many  years  a  favorite  resort  for  local  fisher- 
men and  the  students  of  the  academy,  and  had 
occasionally  been  visited  by  pleasure-seekers 
from  abroad,  it  was  not  till  within  the  past 
twelve  years  that  any  measures  were  taken  to 
establish  a  hotel,  boat-house,  cottages,  etc.,  for 
the  accommodation  of  persons  who  desire  to  with- 
draw from  the  noise  and  tumult  of  the  "  mad- 


160 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ding   crowd,"  and    spend  a  few  weeks  in  the 
quietness  of  the  country. 
It  is  true  that 

"  Old  Captain  Bulky,  'a  sailor  by  trade, 
Who  round  the  world  many  voyages  had  made," 

had  a  sail-boat  on  this  lake  many  years  ago  ;  as 
did  afterwards  Ezekiel  P.  Pierce,  Si\,  whose 
boat,  sometimes  manned  by  an  experienced  sea- 
man, was  used  more  or  less  by  sailing-parties 
for  several  years.  Pierce's  Island,  too,  has  been 
for  a  long  time  a  resort  for  students  and  others 
who  desire  to  enjoy  camp-life  for  a  few  days  at 
a  time.  Nevertheless,  as  stated  above,  it  was 
not  till  within  the  past  twelve  years  that  people 
have  resorted  to  the  lake  in  large  numbers 
(excepting,  perhaps,  a  few  instances)  for  recrea- 
tion and  diversion,  and  for  the  holding  of 
religious,  and  even  political  meetings. 

In  1873  the  Prospect  House,  as  mentioned 
in  another  place,  was  built  by  John  W.  Herrick, 
of  Keeue,  and  was  designed  for  the  accommoda- 
tion  of  persons  who  might  come  to  the  lake 
seeking  health  or  pleasure. 

The  boat-house,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the 
lake,  was  finished  in  1875.  Near  it  are  a  skat- 
ing-rink, dining-hall,  lodging-house,  etc.,  now 
managed  by  Frank  H.  Farr,  as  is  also  the  boat- 
house. 

On  the  southern  and  western  shores  are  pretty 
extensive  picnic-grounds.  On  the  one  west  of 
the  lake  Lucius  Thatcher  has  a  large  stable  for 
horses,  a  lodging-house,  restaurant  and  skating- 
rink. 

A  number  of  individuals  have  also  erected 
private  cottages  near  the  lake,  which  are  occu- 
pied most  of  the  time  during  the  hot  season. 

The  little  steamer  "  Enterprise,"  the  con- 
struction of  which  was  mainly  due  to  the  efforts 
of  John  W.  AYhite,  was  finished  in  1876. 
•■  Eer  model  was  drafted  by  I).  J.  Lawlor,  of 
East  Boston,  Mass.  Her  length  is  In  feet, 
breadth  of  beam  15  feet,  depth  id'  hold  4  feet, 

1  "Captain  Bulky"  was  the  sobriquet   of  Captain . 

who  is  said  to  have  put  the  first  Bail-boat  on  the  lake. 


draft  28  inches,  diameter  of  propeller- wheel  32 
inches.  Her  engine  is  of  8  horse-power,  boiler 
of  12  horse-power.  Her  carrying  capacity  is 
about  125  persons,  though  upon  occasion  as 
many  as  150  have  been  on  board  at  a  single 
trip." 

Xo  serious  accident  has  occurred  on  or  about 
the  lake  since  it  has  become  popular  as  a  resort, 
except  the  drowning  of  the  musicians  Conly 
and  Reitzel. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  the  26th  day  of 
May,  1882,  George  A.  Conly,  basso,  and  Her- 
man Reitzel,  pianist,  of  Clara  Louise  Kell6gg's 
concert  company,  were  drowned  in  the  lake 
while  rowing  for  pleasure.  These  gentlemen, 
with  others,  came  over  from  Brattleborough, 
where  the  company  had  an  engagement  to  give  a 
concert  in  the  evening  of  the  next  day.  Having 
procured  a  boat  at  F.  H.  Farr's  boat-house, 
Conly  and  Reitzel  started  out,  leaving  tin1  rest 
of  the  party  on  land,  and  were  last  seen  by  the 
latter  off' the  northern  point  of  the  island.  Xot 
having  returned  at  the  proper  time,  fears  were 
entertained  for  their  safety,  as  a  strong  southerly 
wind  was  blowing,  and  the  waves  were  running 
pretty  high.  Search  was  consequently  made 
for  them,  and  their  boat  found  bottom  upwards  ; 
but  not  till  the  next  day  was  unmistakable  evi- 
dence obtained  that  they  had  been  drowned. 
Vigorous  efforts  were  then  made  to  recover  the 
bodies  of  the  unfortunate  men,  by  dredging,  by 
firing  a  cannon,  by  exploding  dynamite  car- 
tridges in  the  lake  and  by  the  employment  of 
various  other  devices. 

The  bodies  were  not  found,  however,  till  they 
rose,  Reitzel's  being  discovered  floating  Wed- 
nesday forenoon,  the  7th  day  of  the  follow- 
ing June,  and  Conly's  Wednesday  morning,  the 
14th  day  of  the  same  month.  The  latter  was 
without  coat  or  shoes,  and  had  evidently  made 
a  desperate  effort  to  save  his  own  and,  perhaps, 
his  companion's  life.  The  place  of  the  disaster 
seems  to  have  been  about  sixty  rods  northeast 
of  the  northern  point  of  the  island. 

Mr.  Conly  was  a  native  of  Southwark,  now 


CHESTERFIELD. 


161 


part  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  thirty- seven 
years  old  ;  Mr.  Reitzel  was  a  native  of  New 
York,  and  was  only  nineteen  years  old. 

Aged  Persons. — The  following  is  proba- 
bly an  incomplete  list  of  the  persons  who  have 
died  in  Chesterfield  at  an  age  of  ninety  years  or 

more : 

Mrs.  Mary    Hamilton,   December   16,    1842,   aged 
ninety. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Cheney,  April  4,  1859,  aged  ninety. 

Mrs.  Orpha  Presho,  April  17,  1856,  aged  ninety. 

Thomas  Dunham,  March  20,  1870,  aged  ninety. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Johnson,  December  31,  1837,  aged 
ninety. 

Mrs.  Sally  Hinds,  August  24,  1864,  aged  ninety. 

Asa  Fullam,  December  14,  1870,  aged  ninety. 

Mrs.  Persis  Dudley,  January  13,  1885,  aged  ninety. 

Mrs.  Judith  Tyler,  August  11,  1854,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Elisha  Rockwood,  February  13,  1832,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Mrs.  Betsey  Smith,  January  26,  1863,  aged  ninety - 
one. 

Mrs.  Sophia  Day,  November  11,  1883,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Mrs.  Grata  Thomas,  August  5,  1884,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Samuel  Hamilton,  October  19,  1878,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Jonathan  Cressy,  April  26,  1824,  aged  ninety- 
one. 

Mrs.  Polly  Spaulding,  February  22,  1885,  aged 
ninety-one  (very  nearly). 

Mrs.  Mary  Putnam,  January  30,  1830,  aged  ninety- 
two. 

Stephen  Streeter,  Sr.,  March  11,  1845,  aged  ninety- 
two. 

William  Clark,  Sr.,  February  19,  1849,  aged  ninety- 
two. 

Amos  Crouch,  August  18,  1861,  aged  ninety-two. 

Mrs.  Submit  Sanderson,  June  27,  1822,  aged  ninety- 
three. 

Ebenezer  Robertson,  April  22,  1882,  aged  ninety- 
four. 

Nathaniel  Bacon,  September  10, 1823,  aged  ninety- 
five. 

Mrs.  Mary  Titus,  May  7,  1845,  aged  ninety-five. 

Mrs.  Clarissa  Norcross,  May  30,  1877,  aged  ninety- 
five. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Jackson,  March  12, 1836,  aged  ninety- 
six. 

Timothy  Ladd,  August  30,  1834,  aged  ninety-six. 
11 


John  Butler,  September  10,  1883,  aged  ninety- 
seven. 

Mrs.  Esther  Faulkner,  ^November  29,  1876,  aged 
one  hundred  and  one  years,  one  month,  seven  days. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Draper,  December  19,  1863,  aged  one 
hundred  and  one  years,  five  months,  sixteen  days. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Bailey,  November,  1822,  aged  one  hun- 
dred and  four  years,  three  months. 

The  oldest  person  now  living  in  the  town  is 
Mrs.  Sophronia  (Mann)  Pierce,  born  in  Smith- 
field,  R.  I.,  June  14,  1785. 

Civil  List. — 

TOWN   CLERKS   <>K   CHESTERFIELD   (1770-1885). 

Ephraim  Baldwin,  1770  to  1784. 

Jacob  Amidon,  1785  to  1799. 

Solomon  Harvey.  1800  to  1817. 

Abraham  Wood,  Jr.,  1818  to  1833. 

George  H.  Fitch,  1834  to  1835. 

Oscar  Coolidge,  1836  to  1838. 

Nelson  W.  Herrick,  1839  to  1842. 

Warham  R.  Platte,  1843  to  1844. 

Sumner  Warren,  1845. 

Harvey  Carpenter,  Ls46  to  1848. 

John  O.  French,  1849  to  1852. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  1853. 

Arza  K.  Clark,  1854. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  1855  to  1867. 

Hermon  C.  Harvey,  1868. 

Henry  O.  Coolidge,  1869. 

Hermon  C.  Harvey,  1870  to  1873. 

Murray  Davis,  1874  to  1875. 

Edward  P.  F.  Dearborn,  1876. 

Hermon  C.  Harvey,  1877  to  1882. 

James  H.  Goodrich  (2d),  1883  to  the  present  time. 

SELECTMEN   OF    CHESTERFIELD   (1767-1885). 

1767. — Simon  Davis,  John  Snow,  Jonathan  Hil- 
dreth,  Eleazer  Cobleigh,  Ebenezer  Davison. 

1768-69.— No  record. 

1770. — Jonathan  Hildreth,  Silas  Thompson,  Elka- 
nah  Day,  Thomas  Emmons,  Nathaniel  Bingham. 

1771. — Moses  Smith,  David  Stoddard,  Timothy 
Ladd. 

1772.— Same  as  in  1771. 

1773.— Zerubbabel  Snow,  Ephraim  Baldwin,  Mar- 
tin Warner. 

1774. — Same  as  in  1773. 

1775. — Nathaniel  Bingham,  Ephraim  Hubbard, 
Stephen   Carter,   Moses  Smith,  Jr.,  John  Davison. 

1776. — Ephraim  Baldwin,  Michael  Cressey,  Sam- 
uel Hildreth,  Moses  Smith,  Jr.,  Ephraim  Hubbard. 


162 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1777. — Samuel  Fairbanks,  Elisha  Rockwood,  James 
Robertson,  Nathaniel  Bingham,  Jonathan  Farr  (2d). 

1778. — Samuel     Hildreth,    Moses     Smith,    Abner 
Johnson,  Kimball  Carlton,  Jacob  Hinds. 

1779. — Jonathan   Hildreth,  Oliver  Cobleigh,  War- 
ren Snow. 

1780. — Michael  Cressey,  Elisha  Rockwood,  Andrew 
Hastings. 

1781. — Moses  Smith,  Jr.,  Abner  Johnson,  Samuel 
King  [Jr.]. 

1782. — Samuel    King  [Jr.],  Jonas  Fairbanks,  Ab- 
ner Johnson,  Moses  Smith,  Eleazer  Jackson. 

1783. — Ebenezer  Harvey,  Eleazer  Pomeroy,  Elea- 
zer   Jackson,    Captain Davis,    Lieutenant  

Fletcher. 

1784. — Benjamin  Haskell,  Peter  Stone,  Amos  Hub- 
bard. 

1785. — Paul  Eager,  Jacob  Amidon,  Reuben  Graves. 

1786.— Martin    Warner,   William   Hildreth,   Ezra 
Day. 

1787. — Eleazer   Jackson,  Michael   Cressey,  Benja- 
min Haskell. 

1788. — Eleazer   Jackson,  Benjamin  Haskell,  Silas 
Richardson. 

1789. — Moses    Smith,    Abner    Johnson,    Solomon 
Harvey. 

1790.— Same  as  in  1789. 

1791.— Same  as  in  1789. 

1792. — Solomon     Harvey,     John     Braley,    James 
Wheeler. 

1793. — Eleazer  Jackson,  Peter  Stone,   Silas  Rich- 
ardson. 

1794.— Same  aa  in  1793. 

1795. — Eleazer  Jackson,  Silas  Richardson,  Asahel 
Shurtleff. 

1796. — Eleazer  Jackson,  Silas   Richardson,  David 
Stoddard. 

1797. — Michael  Cressey,  Jacob  Amidon,  Abraham 
Stearns. 

1798. — Joseph  Atherton,  Benjamin  Haskell,  Oliver 
Brown. 

1799.— Same  as  in  1798. 

1800. — Eleazer    Jackson,  James  Wheeler,  Asahel 
Shurtleff. 

1801. — James    Wheeler,   Asahel  Shurtleff,    Joseph 
Pattridge. 

1802. — Martin    Pomeroy,   Joseph   Pattridge,  John 
Day. 

1803. — Joseph  Pattridge,  John  Day,  Ebenezer  Har- 
vey. 

1804. — John  Day,    Ebenezer  Harvey,   Jr.,  Wilkes 
Richardson. 

1805.— Same  as  in  1804. 


1806. — John    Kneeland,   Abraham   Stearns,  Josiah 
Hastings,  Jr. 

1807.— Same  as  in  1806. 

1808. — John     Kneeland,    John    Putnam,    Amasa 
Makepeace. 

1809. — John   Putnam,  Joseph  Atherton,  Benjamin 
Cook. 

1810. — John  Kneeland,  Amasa  Makepeace,  Josiah 
Hastings. 

1811. — Joseph   Atherton,   Oliver   Brown,   Phineas 
Handerson. 

1812. — John   Kneeland,  Oliver  Brown,  Levi  Jack- 
son. 

1813.— Same  as  in  1812. 

1814.— Same  as  in  1812. 

1815. — John  Kneeland,  Elijah  Scott,  Asa  Fullani. 

1816. — John    Kneeland,    Joseph  Pattridge,  Elijah 
Scott. 

1817. — Joseph    Pattridge,    Benjamin    Cook,    John 
Day. 

1818. — Benjamin  Cook,  John  Day,  Robert  L.  Hurd. 

1819.— Same  as  in  1818. 

1820. — John   Kneeland,    John  Putnam,    Robert  L. 
Hurd. 

1821. — John     Kneeland,    .John    Putnam,    Nathan 
Wild. 

1822.— John  Kneeland,    Nathan    Wild,  Nathaniel 
Walton. 

1823.— Same  as  in  1822. 

1824.— Same  as  in  1822. 

1825.— Same  as  in  1822. 

1826. — John  Kneeland,  John  Putnam,  Orlo  Rich- 
ardson. 

1827. — Orlo   Richardson,   Ezekiel   P.   Pierce,   Na- 
thaniel Walton. 

1828. — Orlo   Richardson,  Otis   Amidon,  Nathaniel 
Walton. 

1829. — Nathaniel   Walton,  Otis  Amidon,    Abishai 
Wetherbee. 

1830. — Otis   Amidon,    Abishai    Wetherbee,   John 
Harris. 

1831. — John  Harris,  Otis  Amidon,  Joseph  Holden. 

1832. — Joseph   Holden,  Moses  Dudley,  John  Har- 
ris. 

1833. — Moses  Dudley,  Joseph  Holden,  Charles  Con- 
verse. 

1834. — Nathaniel   Walton,  Charles  Converse,  Orlo 
Richardson. 

1835.— Orlo   Richardson,  Charles   Converse,  Moses 
Dudley. 

1836. — Ezra  Titus,  Asa  Marsh,  Samuel  Goodrich. 

1837. — Samuel  Goodrich,  Chandler  A.  Cressey,  Al- 
pheus  Snow. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


163 


1838. — Ara  Hamilton,  Chandler  A.  Cressey,  Al- 
pheus  Snow. 

1839. — Alpheus  Snow,  Reuben  Marsh,  Ara  Hamil- 
ton. 

1840. — Ara  Hamilton,  Oscar  Coolidge,  Mark  Cook. 

1841.— Same  as  in  1840. 

1842.— Sam'l  Goodrich,  Reuben  Marsh,  N.  Walton. 

1843. — Ara  Hamilton,  Reuben  Marsh,  Nathaniel 
Walton. 

1844. — Nathaniel  Walton,  Reuben  Marsh,  Samuel 
Burt,  Jr. 

1845. — Ara  Hamilton,  Alpheus  Snow,  Parker  D. 
Cressey. 

1846. — Nathaniel  Walton,  Parker  D.  Cressey,  Jo- 
seph C.  Goodrich. 

1847. — Ezra  Titus,  Parker  D.  Cressey,  Richard 
Hopkins,  Jr. 

1848.— Samuel  Burt,  Jr.,  Warham  R.  Platts,  Otis 
Wheeler. 

1849. — Alpheus  Snow,  Moses  Dudley,  Arad  Fletcher. 

1850. — Chandler  A.  Cressey,  Oscar  Coolidge,  Ben- 
jamin Pierce. 

1851. — Warham  R.  Platts,  John  M.  Richardson, 
Sumner  Albee. 

1852. — Joseph  C.  Goodrich,  Arza  K.  Clark,  George 
Chamberlain. 

1853. — Arza  K.  Clark,  Alpheus  Snow,  Joseph  C. 
Goodrich. 

1854. — James  H.  Goodrich,  Reuben  Porter,  Asa 
Smith. 

1855. — Ebenezer  P.  Wetherell,  Olney  Goff,  Ransom 
Farr. 

1856. — Arad  Fletcher,  John  Heywood,  John  M. 
Richardson. 

1857.— Same  as  in  1856. 

1858.— Arad  Fletcher,  Richard  H.  Hopkins,  Wil- 
liam Clark. 

1859.— Same  as  in  1858. 

I860.— Rodney  Fletcher,  Henry  O.  Coolidge,  Tru- 
man A.  Stoddard. 

1861.— Same  as  in  1860. 

1862.— Rodney  Fletcher,  Charles  C.  P.  Goodrich, 
George  Goodrich. 

1863.— David  W.  Beckley,  Arza  K.  Clark,  Charles 
C.  P.  Goodrich. 

1864.— Same  as  in  1863. 

1865.— David  W.  Beckley,  Henry  O.  Coolidge,  Levi 
L.  Colburn. 

1866. — Same  as  in  1865. 

1867.— Henry  O.  Coolidge,  Eli  R.  Wellington, 
Frederick  L.  Stone. 

1868. — Samuel  J.  Pattridge,  George  Goodrich,  John 
W.  Davis. 


1869. — George  Goodrich,  John  W.  Davis,  James 
H.  Goodrich. 

1870. — James  H.  Goodrich,  John  B.  Fisk,  Murray 
Davis. 

1871. — George  Goodrich,  James  H.  Goodrich,  Mur- 
ray Davis. 

1872. — Murray  Davis,  James  H.  Goodrich,  Amos 
R,  Hubbard. 

1873. — Murray  Davis,  Amos  R.  Hubbard,  George 
S.  Fletcher. 

1874. — James  H.  Goodrich  (2d),  George  S.  Fletcher, 
John  W.  Davis. 

1875. — James  H.  Goodrich  (2d),  John  L.  Streeter, 
George  S.  Fletcher. 

1876.— John  L.  Streeter,  Amos  R.  Hubbard,  Wil- 
liam Atherton. 

1877. — William  Atherton,  John  L.  Streeter,  George 
Goodrich. 

1878. — William  Atherton,  Murray  Davis,  George 
Goodrich. 

1879. — Murray  Davis,  George  Goodrich,  David 
Holman. 

1880.— Same  as  in  1879. 

1881. — Murray  Davis,  Larkin  D.  Farr,  David  Hol- 
man. 

1882.— Same  as  in  1881. 

1883.— Same  as  in  1881. 

1884. — Larkin  D.  Farr,  Hazelton  Rice,  David  Hol- 
man. 

1885.— Larkin  D.  Farr,  Warren  H.  Butler,  William 
Atherton. 

REPRESENTATIVES  OF  CHESTERFIELD  IN  THE 
GENERAL  COURT  (1775-1885). 


1775.  Archb.  Robertson. 

1776.  Michael  Cressey. 

1777.  Michael  Cressey. 

1778.  Michael  Cressey. 

1779.  Nath.  Bingham. 

1780.  None  chosen. 

1781.  No  representative 
in  the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature,  but  Saml. 
King,  Jr.,  and  Silas 
Thompson  represented 
the  town  in  the  Ver- 
mont Assembly. 

1782.  Samuel  King  [Jr.]. 

1783.  Samuel  King  [Jr.]. 

1784.  Samuel  King  [Jr.]. 

1785.  Ebenezer  Harvey. 

1786.  Moses  Smith. 

1787.  Moses  Smith. 

1788.  Moses  Smith. 

1789.  Benjamin  Haskell. 


1790.  Moses  Smith. 

1791.  Moses  Smith. 

1792.  Eleazer  Jackson. 

1793.  Eleazer  Jackson. 

1794.  Simon  Willard. 

1795.  Simon  Willard. 

1796.  Simon  Willard. 

1797.  Eleazer  Jackson. 

1798.  Simon  Willard. 

1799.  Benjamin  Haskell. 

1800.  Benjamin  Haskell. 

1801.  Simon  Willard. 

1802.  Simon  Willard. 

1803.  Simon  Willard. 

1804.  Simon  Willard. 

1805.  Simon  Willard. 

1806.  Simon  Willard. 

1807.  Simon  Willard. 

1808.  Levi  Jackson. 

1809.  Levi  Jackson. 

1810.  Levi  Jackson. 


n;t 


BISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1811. 

Levi  Jackson. 

1845. 

L812. 

l'h in.  Handerson. 

1813. 

Tliin.  Handerson. 

L846. 

L81  I. 

Benjamin  ( look. 

L815. 

1  ten  jam  in  Cook. 

1S47. 

Phin.  Handerson. 

1848. 

1816. 

Benjamin  i  look. 
John  Putnam. 

1840. 

L817. 

John  Putnam. 
Joseph  Atherton. 

L850. 

L818. 

John  Putnam. 

1  85 1 . 

John  Kneeland. 

1852. 

L819. 

John  Kneeland, 

Benjamin  Cook. 

1853. 

L820. 

John  Kneeland. 

L854. 

L821. 

Levi  Jackson. 

1855. 

L822. 

John  Kneeland. 

1856. 

1823. 

Ehenezer  Stearns. 

is:, ;. 

1824. 

Ehenezer  Stearns. 

1858. 

L825. 

John  Kneeland. 

L859. 

[826. 

John  Putnam. 

1860. 

L827. 

Ezekiel  P.  Pierce. 

1861. 

1828. 

( )rlo  RichardsOn. 

L862. 

L829. 

Orlo  Richardson. 

1863. 

L830. 

None  chosen. 

1864. 

L831. 

Nathan  Wild. 

1865. 

1832. 

Nathan  Wild. 

1866. 

1833. 

Otis  Amnion. 

L867. 

1834. 

Otis  Amnion. 

1868. 

1835. 

Otis  Amidon. 

1869. 

L836. 

Charles  Converse. 

L870. 

is:;:. 

Charles  Converse. 

L871. 

is:;s. 

Otis  Amidon. 

1872. 

1s;;m. 

Thomas  Hardy. 

1873. 

L840. 

( (scar  Coolidge. 

1874. 

Ara  Hamilton. 

1875. 

1841. 

Oscar  Coolidge. 

1876. 

Ara  Hamilton. 

1877. 

L842. 

Jay  Jackson. 

1878. 

Edwin  Sargent. 

L879. 

1843. 

Ara  Hamilton. 

1881. 

1844. 

Jay  Jackson. 

L883. 

Nathaniel  Walton. 

1885. 

Ara  Hamilton. 
John  Pierce. 
Nathaniel  Walton. 
Saml.  J.  Pattridge. 
None  chosen. 
Harvey  Carpenter. 
AJpheus  Snow. 
John  Harris. 
John  Harris. 
I  >a\  id  Hay. 
David  Hay. 
1  larvey  ( 'arlton. 
Saml.  J.  Pattridge. 
Jos.  ('.  ( roodrich. 
Jos.  C.  ( roodrich. 
Ara  Hamilton. 
( his  Amidon. 
Barton  Skinner. 
Barton  Skinner. 
A  rad  Fletcher. 
Arad  Fletcher. 
J.  M.  Richardson. 
J.  M.  Richardson. 
C.  C.  P.  Goodrich. 
C.  C.  P.  Goodrich. 
Rich.   II.  Hopkins. 
Rich.  H.  Hopkins. 
Henry  <  >.  t loolidge. 
.las.  11.  <  roodrich. 
.las.  1 1.  ( toodrich. 
Warren  Bingham. 
( reorge  Goodrich. 
C.  C.  P.  Goodrich. 
•  rordis  D.  Harris. 
John  F.  Butler. 
John  F.  Butler. 
John  Harris. 
John  Harris. 

<  >ran  E.  Randall. 

<  )ran  E.  Randall. 
Murray  Ha  vis. 
John  L.  Streeter. 
W.  A.  Pattridge. 


DELEGATES  FROM  CHESTERFIELD  TO  THE  CONVEN- 
TIONS FOR  REVISING  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 
STATE. 

[n  1791,  Eleazer  Jackson ;  in  L850,  Ara  Hamilton 
and  Moses  Dudley  ;  in  L876,  Jay  Jackson. 

Dr.  Solomon  Harvey  was  the  delegate  from  Ches- 
terfield to  the  convention  that  adopted   the   Federal 

Constitution  in  1788. 

SUPERVISORS    OF    I  B  E   CH  E(  K-LIST. 

Eleazer  Randall,  James  11.  Goodrich,  Russell  H. 
Davis,  chosen  November,  1878. 

John  L.  Streeter,  Richard  A.  Webher,  William 
Atherton,  chosen  November,  1880. 


Rodney  Fletcher,  John  L.  Streeter,  Richard  A. 
Webber,  chosen  November,  1882. 

Charles  C.  P.  Goodrich,  Amos  R.  Hubbard,  Her- 
schel  J.  Fowler,  chosen  November,  1884. 

MEMBERS   OF   THE    NEW    HAMPSHIRE    SENATE    FROM 
CHESTERFIELD. 

Levi  Jackson,  1812,  '13,  '14,  '15. 
Phineas  Handerson,  1816,  '17,  '25,  '31,  '32. 
Nathan  Wild,  1833,  '34. 
Murray  Davis,  1885. 

Levi  Jackson  was  also  a  member  of  the  Council  in 
1816,  '17. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 

Jacob  Amidon,  Lorn  in  Mendon,  Mass.,  in 
17").')  or  1754,  was  in  college  at  the  time  of  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution,  but  soon  en- 
listed in  the  patriot  army,  and  served  during  the 

most  of  the  war,  with  the  exception  of  twenty- 
eight  months,  during  which  time  he  was  detained 
a  prisoner  on  a  British  prison-ship. 

December  23, 1782,  he  purchased  in  Chester- 
field a  portion  of  lot  No.  5,  in  the  eighth  ranee, 
and  probably  settled  in  the  town  soon  after- 
wards. He  resided  near  the  ( 'entre  village,  on 
the  farm  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  many 
years  by  his  son  Otis,  and  bnilt  the  house  now 
owned  by  the  Methodist  Society  of  Chesterfield, 
and  used  as  a  parsonage.  He  probably  engaged 
in  trade  for  a  while  after  coming  to  ( Ihesterfield, 
as  lie  was  styled,  in  the  deed  of  the  land  he  had 
purchased  in  this  town,  a  "trader."  In  L785 
he  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  town,  and  held  the 
office,  by  successive  elections,  till  L800.  He 
was  also  selectman  in  1785  and  17!»7. 

His  wife  was  Esther,  daughter  of  Timothy 
Ladd.  She  died  March  26,  1852,  in  her 
ninetieth  year.  He  died  February  11,  1839, 
aged  eighty-five  years. 

Otis  Amidon,  son  of  Jacob  Amidon,  bom 
April  26,  1794,  settled  in  Chesterfield,  after  his 
marriage,  on  the  old  homestead,  and  continued 
to  reside  here  as  long  as  he  lived,  engaging  to 
some  extent  in  agriculture,  and,  for  a  while,  in 
trade  at  the  Centre  village.  For  many  years 
he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 


CHESTERFIELD. 


165 


town  and  church,  serving  the  former  in  the 
capacity  of  selectman  in  1828,  '29,  '30  and  '31, 
and  representing  it  in  the  General  Court  in 
1833,  '34,  '35,  '38  and  '56.  For  a  long  time, 
also,  he  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
the  duties  of  which  he  was  well  qualified  to 
perform,  and  was  one  of  the  veteran  "  'Squires  " 
of  the  town. 

He  married,  in  1825,  -Nancy,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Cook,  and  had  only  one  son  that 
lived  to  adult  age — Hon.  Charles  J.  Amidon, 
now  of  Hinsdale.     He  died  July  22,  1866. 

Joseph  Atherton,  son  of  Oliver  Atherton,  of 
Harvard,  Mass.,  and  a  descendant  of  James 
Atherton,  of  Milton,  Mass.,  was  born  August 
15,  1750.  He  married,  in  1771,  Hannah 
Farnsworth,  of  Groton,  Mass.  June  28,  1794, 
he  purchased,  in  Chesterfield,  lots  Nos.  11  and 
12,  in  the  fourth  range,  and  soon  after  settled 
on  one  of  them.  The  hill  on  which  he  lived, 
and  on  which  he  built  a  large  dwelling,  is  now 
called  "  Atherton  Hill."  He  was  selectman  in 
1798,  V9,  1809,  '11,  and  representative  in  1817. 
He  died  April  4, 1839,  "honored  and  respected 
by  his  neighbors  and  townsmen." 

Dr.  Oliver  Baker,  son  of  Dr.  Oliver  Baker, 
born  in  Plainfield  August  16,  1788,  studied 
medicine  in  the  Medical  Department  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  under  Dr.  Nathan  Smith.  In 
1809  he  settled  in  Chesterfield,  Avhere  he  prac- 
tised his  profession  till  1840.  He  then  removed 
to  West  Hartford,  Vt.,  where  he  remained  about 
two  years.  He  afterwards  practiced  in  Plain- 
field,  and  in  Windsor,  Vt.  He  died  at  his 
daughter's  home,  in  Plainfield,  July  4,  1865. 

Ephraim  Baldwin  was  in  Chesterfield  in 
1763,  in  which  year  he  bought  land  in  this  town. 
He  was  town  clerk  from  1770  to  1785,  and 
selectman  in  1773,  '74, '76.  He  was  also,  for 
some  time,  justice  of  the  peace.  His  name  ap- 
pears for  the  last  time  on  the  tax-lists  for  1790. 
(For  an  account  of  his  citation  before  the  New 
Hampshire  Assembly,  for  alleged  Toryism,  see 
under  "War  of  the  Revolution). 

Nathaniel  Bingham  appears  to  have  settled 


in  Chesterfield  as  early  as  1767.  In  the  deed 
of  the  land  purchased  by  him  in  this  town  he 
was  styled  a  "cooper."  He  lived  on  Wetherbee 
Hill,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Centre 
village.  He  was  selectman  in  1770,  '75  and 
'77  ;  representative  in  1779.  (For  an  account 
of  his  arrest  and  imprisonment  by  A'ermont 
officers,  etc.,  see  under  "Controversy  about  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants  ").  He  died  April  26, 
1802,  in  his  seventy  seventh  year. 

Asa  BRiTToN,born  in  Raynham,  Mass.,  April 
30,  1763,  settled  in  Chesterfield  in  1790  or  1 791, 
near  Spafford's  Lake.  From  this  farm  Mr. 
Britton  removed  to  Chesterfield  village  about 
the  year  1.S05,  where  for  many  years  he  was  an 
active,  energetic  business  man,  merchant,  sheriff, 
farmer,  postmaster  and  justice  of  the  peace. 
His  business  career  was  a  successful  one,  and 
he  acquired  what  in  the  country,  in  those  early 
days,  was  considered  a  large  property,  which  he 
enjoyed,  and  bestowed  freely  upon  others,  until 
past  middle  age.  Soon  after  the  year  1815  he 
met  with  business  reverses,  caused  by  the  ab- 
sconding of  two  successive  partners.  Old  Mrs. 
Britton,  in  after-days,  used  to  tell  with  much 
gusto  a  story  connected  with  this  fact.  Mr. 
Britton,  or  "  Esquire  Britton,"  as  he  was  called, 
was  a  tall,  large  man,  weighing,  perhaps,  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  his  success,  of  course, 
made  him  enemies  as  well  as  friends.  On  the 
occasion  of  the  decamping  of  the  second  of  his 
partners,  while  the  village  was  ringing  with  the 
news  of  the  gutted  store  and  money-box,  a 
party  of  gamins,  instigated  by  the  enemy,  set 
the  church-bell  also  ringing,  and  above  the  noise 
and  confusion  of  the  crowd,  which  the  sound  of 
the  bell  at  that  unusual  hour  had  collected,  was 
heard  the  cry,  ever  louder  and  louder,  "  Great 
Britton  has  fallen  !  Great  Britton  has  fallen  !  " 
Mr.  Britton  died  in  Chesterfield,  June  30,  1*49. 

Capt.  William  S.  Brooks,  born  in  Med- 
ford,  Mass.,  March  5,  1781,  Avcnt  on  a  voyage 
at  sea  with  his  uncle  at  the  age  of  nine  years. 
He  was  in  France  during  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, and  also  at  the  time  Napoleon  the  First 


166 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


was  at  the  height  of  his  power.  Once,  when 
in  the  Cove  of  Cork,  he  was  pressed  into 
the  English  navy,  and  served  six  months  in  the 
royal  frig-ate  "  Diamond."  At  another  time,  . 
while  cruising  in  the  English  Channel,  he  was 
captured  twice  in  one  day — first  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  then  by  the  French.  By  the  latter  lie 
was  retained  in  prison  six  months,  a  part  of 
which  time  was  occupied  in  making  sails  for 
French  ships.  On  his  return  from  France, 
President  John  Adams  appointed  him  a  lieuten- 
ant in  the  navy,  which  office  he  declined.  He 
was  engaged  for  some  time  in  commerce,  as  com- 
mander of  a  merchant-vessel^  at  a  period  when 
the  American  Hag  did  not  always  command  of 
foreign  nations  the  respect  that  it  now  docs,  and 
many  were  the  adventures  and  " hair-breadth 
'scapes"  that  he  used  to  relate  in  the  later 
years  of  his  life. 

On  retiring  from  the  sea,  he  settled  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  where  lie  was  postmaster  four 
years.  In  August,  1821,  he  came  to  Chester- 
field, and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
goods  at  Factory  village,  in  which  business  he 
continued  till  1850.  In  1839,  however,  he 
removed  to  Brattleborough,  but  still  retained  his 
connection  with  the  factory.  He  married,  in 
1807,  Eleanor  Forman,  of  Middletown,  N.  J. 
He  died  in  Brattleborough,  Vt.,  April,  18()o. 

CHARLES  ( JoNVERSE,  son  of  Joseph  Converse, 
and  a  descendant  of  Deacon  Edward  ('(in- 
verse, of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  was  born  Decem- 
ber  30,  1  788.  He  spent  the  most  of  his  life  in 
<  Ihesterfield,  engaged  in  farming.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  held 
the  office  of  select  man  in  1833-35.  He  was 
also  representative  in  the  General  Court  in 
1836-37.     He  died  September  18,  1858. 

()scai;  Com. 1 1 H.i-;,  son  of  Abraham  Coolidge, 
of  Marlborough,  horn  July  L>:2,  17i>8,  settled 
in  Chesterfield  about  1824.  He  married,  in 
1824,  Lovina  Rockwood,  of  Fitzwilliam.  F\>r 
a  period  of  about  eleven  years  (till  1835)  he 
was  engaged  in  trade  at  the  West  village. 
He  then  removed  to  the  Centre  village,  where 


he  continued  in  the  same  business  till  his  death, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year,  when  he  was  in 
trade  at  Factory  village.  He  also  took  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  and  was 
selectman  in  1810,  1841  and  1850;  town  clerk, 
1836-38 ;  representative,  1840  and  1841.  He 
died  March  4,  1862,  having  survived  his  wife 
but  a  few  hours. 

His  son,  Henry  O.  Coolidge,  resided  many 
years  in  Chesterfield,  but  removed  to  Keene  in 
1869.  He  is  cashier  of  the  Ashuelot  National 
Bank,  of  that  city,  and  register  of  Probate  for 
Cheshire  County. 

Amos  Crouch,  born  in  1769,  son  of  John 
Crouch,  of  Boxborough,  Mass.,  afterwards  of 
Chesterfield,  settled  in  this  town  in  1802  or 
1803.  In  his  youth  lie  had  no  opportunity  to 
attend  school ;  nevertheless,  he  learned  to  read 
and  to  write  his  name.  In  his  early  manhood 
he  had  to  contend  with  poverty  and  adversity, 
but  by  hard  labor  and  exteme  prudence  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  some  property.  lie  was 
noted  for  his  promptness  in  paying  his  debts,  and 
with  him  "  the  '  first '  of  the  month  was  always 
the  first  day."  A  strict  observer  of  the  Sab- 
bath himself,  he  brought  up  his  children  to 
attend  church,  and  would  not  allow  them  to 
play  or  visit  on  that  day.  He  was  married 
three  times.     He  died  August  18,  18(11. 

John  Darling,  from  Winchendon,  Mass., 
appears  to  have  settled  in  Chesterfield  in  1778, 
in  which  year  he  bought  land  here. 

Fie  was  one  of  the  party  that  made  the 
famous  march  to  Quebec  in  177o,  under  com- 
mand of  Benedict  Arnold,  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  Maine.  On  this  march  the  men  suffered 
extremely  from  cold  and  hunger.  -John  used  to 
relate  that,  having  one  day  found  the  leg  of  a 
dog  that  had  been  killed  for  food,  he  scorched 
off  the  hair  and  ate  evevy  morsel  of  flesh  and 
skin  that  he  could  gel  from  it.  He  declared 
thai  be  never  ate  anything  in  his  life  that  tasted 
better!  At  one  time,  while  in  the  army,  he 
came  near  dying  of  small-pox.  He  probably 
settled  in  Chesterfield  soon  afcer  buying  his  land 


CHESTERFIELD. 


167 


he  and  his  wife  (according  to  a  tradition  in  the 
family)  coming  from  Winchendon  on  foot.  His 
first  wife  (Sarah  Blood,  of  Groton,  Mass.)  died 
in  1804.  He  afterwards  married  twice.  He 
was  an  active,  enterprising  man,  and  at  one  time 
owned  an  extensive  tract  of  timber-land  in  the 
"  Winchester  woods,"  from  which  he  cut  large 
quantities  of  lumber,  sawing  it  in  a  mill  erected 
for  that  purpose,  then  drawing  it  to  the  Con- 
necticut and  rafting  it  down  to  Hartford.  He 
died  March  28,  1824,  in  his  seventy-third  year. 

Samuel  Davis  settled  in  Chesterfield  as 
early  as  1766.  There  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  he  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Davis,  of  Lunen- 
burgh,  Mass.,  who  was  probably  one  of  the 
grantees  of  Chesterfield.  He  owned  much  land 
in  Chesterfield  at  different  times,  having  pos- 
session, at  one  time,  of  a  part  of  the  "  Governor's 
farm."  (For  the  part  that  he  took  in  the  con- 
troversy about  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants," 
and  for  an  account  of  his  attempt  to  break  up 
the  Inferior  Court  at  Keene,  see  under  "  Con- 
troversy about  the  New  Hampshire  Grants"). 

He  appears  to  have  removed  from  this  town 
about  1790. 

Samuel  Fairbanks  was  in  Chesterfield  in 

1776,  which  year  he  signed  the  "Association 
Test." 

He  was  one  of  the  town  Committee  of  Safety, 
and  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  zealous 
patriots  in  the  town.     He  was  also  selectman  in 

1777.  In  his  will,  made  August  9,  1787,  and 
proved  June  16,  1790,  he  bequeathed  all  his 
property  to  his  wife,  for  the  support  of  his 
children,  and  named  his  son  Zenas  sole  executor. 
He  died  April  14,  1790,  in  his  seventy-first 
year. 

Marsh  all  H.  Fare,  son  of  Ora  Farr,  born 
in  Chesterfield  January  16,  1817,  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  and  resided  in  Chesterfield  till 
1854,  when  he  removed  to  Canada  West 
(Ontario),  where  he  engaged  extensively  in  the 
construction  of  railway  and  other  buildings. 
March  12,  1857,  the  train  on  which  he  was 
riding   was  precipitated   into   the   Des  Jardins 


bridge,    near 


Canal    by    the    breaking    of    a 

Hamilton,  P.   0.,  and  he  received  injuries  that 

caused  his  death  in  a  few  hours. 

Dennie  W.  Farr,  son  of  Worcester  and 
Abial  (Kueelaud)  Farr,  born  in  Chesterfield 
January  7,  1840,  was  serving  as  a  clerk  in  a 
store  in  Brattleborough,  Vt.,  when  the  Civil  War 
broke  out.  He  soon  enlisted  in  the  Fourth 
Eegiment  of  Vermont  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
was  commissioned  second  lieutenant.  August 
13,  1862,  he  was  commissioned  captain  of 
Company  C,  in  the  same  regiment,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  with  honor.  At  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5,  1864,  he  was 
killed  by  a  shot  that  struck  him  in  the  head. 

Thomas  Fisk,  born  1774,  son  of  John  Fisk, 
of  Framingham,  Mass.,  and  a  descendant  of 
Nathaniel  Fisk,  who  came  from  England,  came 
to  Chesterfield  in  1807,  and  settled  on  the  farm 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son,  John  B. 
Fisk,  Esq.,  building  the  large  house  in  which 
the  latter  now  lives.  When  about  two  years 
old  he  had  an  attack  of  scarlet  fever,  which 
caused  him  to  be  deaf  and,  consequently,  dumb. 
He  learned,  nevertheless,  to  read,  and  to  cipher 
in  the  four  fundamental  rules  of  arithmetic.  At 
the  age  of  fifty  years  he  was  admitted  to  the 
school  for  deaf-mutes,  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  for 
the  term  of  one  year.  He  made  rapid  progress, 
and  acquired  knowledge  that  was  of  great  use 
to  him  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  life. 
His  wife  was  Lucinda  Trowbridge,  of  Pom  fret, 
Conn.     He  died  July  25,  1861. 

Samuel  Goodrich,  born  in  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
September  6,  1788,  settled  in  Chesterfield 
in  1813,  on  the  farm  now  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  Willard  Henry,  and  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  till  his  death.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  industry  and  perseverance,  and  his  life 
was  one  of  ceaseless  activity.  Though  not  an 
extensive  farmer,  in  comparison  with  some,  he 
was  nevertheless  a  successful  one ;  and  his  suc- 
cess in  this  respect  is  a  fine  illustration  (if  what 
intelligent  and  well-directed  effort  can  accom- 
plish  in  overcoming  natural  obstacles. 


168 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


His  wife  was  Hannah  Cain,  of  Weymouth, 
Mass.  In  1836,  '37  and  '-12  he  held  the  office 
of  selectman.     He  died  January  1,  1877. 

Da  vin  W.Goodrich,  from  Gill,  Mass.,  settled 
in  Chesterfield  about  1810.  He  was  a  cloth- 
dresser  by  trade,  and  had  a  mill  on  Catsbane 
Brook,  at  the  West  village.  After  following 
his  trade  for  sonic  years,  he  engaged  in  fanning. 
His  wife  was  Salome,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Wheeler.  He  died  at  the  "Kneeland  place" 
(now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son,  Charles 
C.  P.  Goodrich,  Esq.),  March  22,  1857. 

William  Haile,  son  of  John  and  Eunice 
(Henry)  Haile,  was  born  in  Putney,  Vt.,  May, 
1807.  At  the  age  of  about  fourteen  years  he 
came  to  this  town  with  his  parents,  but  was 
soon  afterwards  taken  into  the  family  of  Ezekiel 
P.  Pierce,  St.,  with  whom  he  lived  till  he  was 
about  twenty-one  years  old.  Having  attended 
school  about  two  years,  he  entered,  in  1823,  Mr. 
Pierce's  store  as  a  clerk,  in  1827  or  1828  he 
borrowed  a  small  sum  of  money  and  opened  a 
store  on  his  own  account  at  the  Centre  village. 
With  characteristic  sagacity,  he  soon  foresaw, 
however,  that  Hinsdale  was  destined  to  become 
a  busy  and  thriving  town  on  account  of  the 
abundance  of  power  furnished  by  the  Ashuelot 
River.  He  therefore,  in  1834  or  1835,  re- 
moved to  that  town ,  where  he  continued  to  en- 
gage in  mercantile  pursuits  until  1846,  when  he 
became  interested  in  the  lumber  business.  In 
is  19  he  began,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Haile  &  Todd,  the  manufacture  of  cashmerettes. 
Afterwards  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to 
that  of  Haile,  Frost  &  Co.,  by  which  name 
it  is  known  at  present. 

Though  extensively  engaged  in  business,  Mr. 
Haile  took  a  prominent  part  in  political  affairs. 
With  the  exception  of  two  years,  he  represented 
Hinsdale  in  the  General  Court  from  1846  to 
1854;  was  elected  to  the  New  Hampshire  Sen- 
ate in  1854  and  1x55,  of  which  body  he  was 
also  president  the  latter  year,  and  was  again 
elected  representative  in  1856.  The  next  year 
he  was  elected  Governor,  to  which  office  he  was 


re-elected  in  1858.  In  1873  he  removed  from 
Hinsdale  to  Keene,  where  he  had  built  a  fine 
residence.  He  did  not  cease,  however,  to  take 
an  active  part  in  business  till  his  death,  which 
occurred  July  22,  1876.  Mr.  Haile  married,  in 
1828,  Sabrana  S.,  daughter  of  Arza  Walker,  of 
Chesterfield. 

Phineas  H  Anderson,  son  of  Gideon  and  Abi- 
gail (Church)  Handerson,  was  born  in  Amherst, 
Mass.,  December  13,  1778.  He  was  born  in 
his  grandfather's  house,  which  was  torn  down, 
when  it  was  more  than  a  hundred  years  old,  to 
make  room  for  the  Agricultural  College.  While 
he  was  yet  an  infant  his  parents  removed  to 
Claremont,  this  State,  his  mother  making  the 
journey  on  horseback  and  carrying  him  in  her 
arms.  Having  obtained  what  education  the 
common  schools  of  that  town  afforded,  he  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  George  B. 
Upham.  In  1805  or  1X06  he  settled  in  this 
town,  in  which  he  practiced  his  profession  till 
1833.  While  a  resident  of  Chesterfield  he  fre- 
quently held  town  and  State  offices.  In  1811 
he  was  selectman  ;  in  1812,  1813  and  1815  he 
represented  the  town  in  the  General  Court ;  in 
1816  he  was  elected  State  Senator,  an  office  to 
which  he  was  re-elected  in  1817,  1825,  1831 
and  1832.  He  married,  1818,  Hannah  W., 
daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Mead,  of  Walpole. 
She  died  December  30,  1863.  In  1833  he  re- 
moved to  Keene,  where  he  continued  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  March, 
1854,  he  was  president  of  the  Cheshire  bar. 

The  Hakims  Family. — The  founder  of  the 
Harris  family  in  Chesterfield  wasAbner  Harris, 
a  probable  descendant  of  Arthur  Harris,  who 
emigrated  from  England  to  America  at  an  early 
period,  and  was  living  in  Duxbury,  Mass.,  in 
1640.  Abner  Harris  came  from  Woodstock, 
Conn.,  and  appears  to  have  settled  in  Chester- 
field in  1777.  His  will  was  proved  August  23, 
1798. 

One  of  his  sons  was  John  Harris,  who  lived 
and  died  in  Chesterfield.  John  married,  in 
1783,  Hannah  Colburn,  of  this  town,  and  had  a 


CHESTERFIELD. 


169 


family  of  eleven  children,  three  of  whom  are 
now  living,  the  youngest  being  more  than  eighty 
years  old.  The  eldest  of  the  three,  AVilder  Har- 
ris, born  May  11,  1797,  now  resides  in  Brattle- 
borouerh,  Vt.,  but  was  a  resident  of  this  town 
till  I860. 

Another  son  of  John  Harris  and  brother  of 
Wilder  Harris  was  John  Harris,  Jr.  He  was  a 
farmer  in  Chesterfield,  and  married,  in  1808, 
Luna,  daughter  of  Abel  Fletcher,  of  this  town. 
He  was  selectman  in  1830-32,  and  represented 
the  town  in  the  Legislature  in  1849-50.  He 
died  February  27,  1856,  aged  seventy-one 
years. 

A  third  son  of  John  Harris,  Sr.,  was  Norman 
Harris.  He  was  engaged  a  number  of  years  in 
mercantile  business  and  in  "  packing  "  in  Cali- 
fornia. He  died  at  Bellows  Falls,  Vt.,  July  22, 
1875,  aged  seventy-one  years. 

Two  other  sons  of  John  Harris,  Sr.,  Ezekiel 
and  Erastus,  were  farmers  in  Chesterfield  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  their  lives.  Both  died 
in  Brattleborough  in  1859. 

(  'apt.  Ebexezer  Harvey  was  of  Northfield, 
Mass.,  in  1758,  having  come  to  that  town  from 
Sunderland.  He  appears  to  have  removed  from 
Northfield  to  Winchester,  and  from  that  town 
to  Chesterfield.  September  17,  1772,  he  pur- 
chased of  Elkanah  Day,  of  this  town,  a  part  of 
house-lots  Nos.  5  and  5,  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  ranges.  This  land  was  near  the  com- 
mon at  the  Centre  village,  which  was  mentioned 
in  the  deed  as  having  been  conveyed  to  the 
town.  In  June,  1777,  he  was  sentenced  by  the 
"court  of  inquiry  "  at  Keene  to  be  confined  to 
the  limits  of  his  farm  and  to  pay  a  fine  for  al- 
leged hostility  to  the  American  cause.  He 
appears  also  to  have  been  a  zealous  partisan  of 
Vermont  in  the  controversy  about  the  "New 
Hampshire  Grants."  He  was  selectman  in 
1783  and  1803  ;  representative  in  1785.  He 
was  the  first  postmaster  in  Chesterfield  com- 
missioned by  the  United  States,  holding  the 
office  from   1802  to  1810.     He  died  in   1810. 

One  of  his  sons,  Rufus  Harvey,  Sr.,  lived  and 


died  in  Chesterfield.  For  many  years  he  (Rufus) 
was  a  deputy  sheriff  for  the  county  of  Cheshire. 

Dr.  Solomon  Harvey  was  in  Dummerston, 
Vt.,  in  1773,  of  which  town  he  was  clerk  sev- 
eral years.  He  appears  to  have  settled  in  Ches- 
terfield in  1775  or  1776,  and  to  have  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town  during  the 
War  of  the  Revolution.  In  1788  he  repre- 
sented Chesterfield  in  the  convention  that 
adopted  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  was  se- 
lectman in  1789-92;  town  clerk,  1800-17. 
He  probably  died  in  Chesterfield  after  1820. 

Benj.  Haskell  was  in  Chesterfield  in  17  84. 
He  appears  to  have  settled  on  lot  No.  12  or  13, 
in  the  thirteenth  range.  Justice  of  the  peace; 
selectman,  1784,  1787,  1788,  1798,  1799;  rep- 
resentative, 1789,  1799,  1800.  Some  of  his  de- 
scendants now  live  at  Ascott,  Lower  Canada  ; 
but  whether  he  himself  removed  to  that  town 
has  not  been  ascertained.  He  removed  from 
Chesterfield,  however,  between   1815  and  1819. 

Eleazkr  Jackson,  supposed  to  have  been 
a  descendant  of  Edward  Jackson,  who  came 
from  London,  England,  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Newton,  Mass,  as  early  as  1643,  was  born 
May  12,  1736  In  1767  he  was  in  Walpole, 
Mass.,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Wrentham, 
and  thence,  in  1771,  to  Dudley.  He  was 
originally  a  clothier  by  trade.  October  6, 
1778,  he  took  a  deed  of  eighty-two  acres  of 
land  in  Chesterfield,  upon  which  he  settled. 
This  land  is  a  part  of  the  farm  on  which  his 
grandson,  Jay  Jackson,  now  resides,  and  has 
always  been,  since  177-S,  owned  by  members  of 
the  Jackson  family.  He  was  selectman  in 
1782,  '83,  '87,  '88, '93-'96  and  1800;  repre- 
sentative in  '92,  '93,  '97.  In  1791  he  was  the 
delegate  from  Chesterfield  to  the  convention  for 
revising  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  He  died 
November  11,  1814.  His  wife  was  Rachel 
Pond,  who  died  March  12,  1836,  at  the  great 
age  of  ninety-six  years. 

One  of  his  sons,  Enoch  Jackson,  married 
Martha,  daughter  of  Andrew  Phillips,  and 
lived  on  the  paternal  farm  till  1837,  when  he 


170 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


removed  to  Wmhall,  Vt.,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  nearly  eighty-four  years.  He  was  a 
noted  pedestrian  and  seldom  made  use  of  a 
horse  in  performing  long  journeys.  His  son, 
.lay  Jackson,  still  resides  on  the  ancestral  farm, 
as  mentioned  above,  and  is  a  well-known  farmer. 
Lev]  Jackson,  son  of  Eleazer  Jackson,  was 
one  of  the  most  intellectual  men  that  Chester- 
Held  has  ever  produced.  Of  him  his  nephew, 
day  Jackson,  writes  as  follows: 

'•  In  a  history  of  the  town  of  Chesterfield,  justice  to 
the  memory  of  Hon.  Levi  Jackson  seems  to  require 
something  more  than  the  bare  mention  of  his  name  ; 
for  probably  no  one  has  done  more  for  the  honor  of 
the  town,  or  to  elevate  the  moral  and  intellectual 
standard  of  the  community  in   which  he  moved. 

"  The  youthful  years  of  Levi  were  principally  spent 
in  company  with  his  father  and  brothers  in  clearing 
up  and  cultivating  their  new  farm  ;  hut  he  manifested 
a  desire  to  obtain  a  better  education  than  the  common 
schools  of  that  day  were  calculated  to  impart,  and  told 
his  father  that  he  thought  he  might  afford  to  send  one 
of  his  numerous  family  of  boys  to  college.     Improving 
his  meagre    common-school  privileges,  and  dividing 
the  remainder  of  his  time  between  his  labors  upon  the 
farm  and  his  fireside  studies,  with  the  benefit  of  a  few 
months  at  the  then  infant  institution   of  Chesterfield 
Academy,  he  qualified  himself  for  college,  and  entered 
Dartmouth  in  1797,  two  years  in  advance.     Graduat- 
ing in  17'.''.",  his  services  were  immediately  secured  by 
the  trustees  of  Chesterfield  Academy  as  preceptor  of 
that  institution,  which  position   he  held    for  six  con- 
secutive  years.     During  this    time   the    academy  ac- 
quired an  enviable  reputation  asa  literary  institution. 
Possessing  a  fine  personal  appearance,  an  unassumed 
dignity  and    firmness,  yet   easy    and    pleasant    in    his 
manners  ami  conversation,  it  was  said  of  him  that  he 
commanded  both   the  love  and  the  fear  of  his  pupils 

and  the  respect  of  all. 

"( )n  retiring  from  the  precept orship  of  the  acad- 
emy, he  engaged  in  trade  at  Chesterfield  ('cut re,  and 
continued  iii  that  business  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  N..  H.  House  of 
Representatives  in  1808,  '09,  '10  and  '11.  and  again  in 

'21  ;  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  L812,  '13,  '14, and 

15,  and  of  the  Council  in  1816  and  '17.  Modest  and 
unaspiring  in  his  deportment  (unlike  many  of  our 
modern  politicians),  the  offices  of  honor  and  trust  that 
he  lield  were  unbought  and  unsought  by  him,  but  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  an  appreciative  constituency  in 
consideration  of  his  eminent  qualifications  for  the  same. 


"  A  man  of  temperate  habits  and  strong  constitu- 
tion, in  the  full  strength  and  vigor  of  life  and  useful- 
ness, and  with  a  prospect  before  him  amounting  to 
nearly  a  certainty  that,  if  his  life  was  spared,  he 
would  soon  be  called  to  fill  the  highest  office  in  the 
gilt  of  the  State,  his  unexpected  death,  which  occurred 
August  30,  1821,  at  the  age  of  49,  was  a.  severe  loss  to 
the  town,  the  State  and  the  community,  and  brought 
deep  mourning  upon  his  family  and  friends  ;  but  his 
memory  will  be  cherished  while  virtue,  honesty  and 
intelligence  are  justly  appreciated." 

SAMUEL  King,  son  of  Dr.  Samuel  King-,  ap- 
pears to  have  settled  in  Chesterfield  about  L773. 
lie  probably  came  from  Petersham,  Mass.     He 
was  «>ne  of  the  most  conspicuous  characters  in 
the   history  of  the  town.      In  1770    he  refused 
to  sign    the  "Association   Test/'  and  in   dune, 
1777,  he  was   summoned   before  the  "court   of 
inquiry,"  at  Keene,  "  as   being  inimical    to  the 
United    States    of   America;"    was    tried    and 
sentenced   to  pay    a    tine   and    to    he    confined 
to  the  limits  of   his  farm.     When  the  contro- 
versy   about     the   "Grants"   was  at    its  height, 
he   espoused    the  cause    of  Vermont,    ami    la- 
bored strenuously   to    effect    the    union    id'  the 
disaffected   towns   with    that  State,  and    at   one 
time    held    a    commission     as    colonel    in    the 
Vermont     militia.       According     to     the     rec- 
ords of  the  Superior  Court  of  Cheshire  County, 
he  was  indicted  at  the  same  time  with  Samuel 
Davis,  for  attempting   to   break  up  the  Inferior 
Court  in  September,  1  7S2  ;  hut  this  indictment 
was   quashed.        In    1781    he    was    chosen,    to- 
gether with  Deacon   Silas  Thompson,  to   repre- 
sent Chesterfield   in  the  General  Assembly  of 
Vermont,  and  was  selectman   the  same  and  the 
following  year.     In  1782, '83  and '84  he  repre- 
sented  the  town   in    the  General  Court  of  New- 
Hampshire,       lie    died  September    13,    1785,  in 
his   thirtv-fourth   year,  and  was   buried    in   the 
old   town  grave-yard  at  the  Centre  village.      In 
his  will,  which    was    made    twelve   days    before 
his  death,  he  devised  the  use  of  his  farm  to  his 
father  and  mother,  and  made  certain  provisions 
respecting  his  sisters  and   children.     The  ap- 
praised value  of  his  estate  was  t'2497  9a.  b/. 


CHESTERFIELD. 


171 


John  Kneeland,  son  of  Timothy  Kneeland, 
and  brother  of  the  celebrated  Abner  Knee- 
land,  was  born  in  Gardner,  Mass.,  in  17(36 
or  '67.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and 
helped  build,  in  1790,  the  large  square  house, 
near  the  West  village,  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Ira  D.  Farr.  He  lived  a  few  years  after  his 
marriage  in  Dammerston,  Yt.,  but  returned 
to  Chesterfield  about  1797.  He  resided  many 
years  on  the  farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Charles  C.  P.  Goodrich,  Esq.,  and  which  has 
long  been  known  as  the  "  'Squire  Kneeland 
farm."  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many 
years,  and  held  the  office  of  selectman  longer 
than  it  has  ever  been  held  by  any  other  person 
since  the  town  was  incorporated,  viz.:  1806, 
'08,  '10,  '12-16,  '20-26,  or  sixteen  years  in 
all.  He  was  also  representative  1818-20,  '22 
and  '25.     He  died  February  9,  1850. 

Benjamin  Lloyd  Marsh,  son  of  Captain 
Reuben  and  Mary  ( Wetherbee)  Marsh,  was  born 
in  Chesterfield  November  8,  1823.  While  a 
young  man  he  went  to  Boston,  and  became,  in 
1851,  a  member  of  the  great  dry-goods  firm  of 
Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.,  the  senior  partner  of 
which  is  Eben  D.  Jordan.  Mr.  Marsh  re- 
tained his  connection  with  this  firm  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  June  13,  1865,  "having 
shared  in  all  the  struggles,  vicissitudes  and 
triumphs  of  the  house."  His  brother,  Charles 
Marsh,  is  still  a  member  of  the  same  firm. 

Levi  Mead,  son  of  Matthew  Mead,  was 
born  in  Lexington,  Mass.,  October  14,  1759. 
Soon  after  the  War  of  the  Revolution  began  he 
enlisted  in  the  American  army,  and  served  dur- 
ing the  whole  war.  In  1782  he  married  Betsey, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Converse,  who  settled  in 
Chesterfield  about  1794. 

In  October,  1800,  he  purchased  of  Asa  Brit- 
ton,  of  this  town,  what  is  known  as  the  "  Mead 
farm,"  having  a  frontage  on  the  main  street,  at 
the  Centre  village,  extending  from  the  old 
"  back  road  "  (leading  westward,  and  now  dis- 
used) to  the  "Dr.  Tyler  place."  In  the  spring 
of  1 S01    he  came  to  Chesterfield  with   his  fam- 


ily, and  occupied  the  next  house  south  of  the 
Tyler  place,  which  he  kept  as  a  tavern.  In 
1816  he  built  the  present  hotel  at  the  Centre 
village,  long  known  as  the  "  Mead  tavern." 
In  1802  he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  for 
Cheshire  County,  and  held  this  office  many 
years.     He  died  April  29,  1828. 

Larkin  G.  Mead,  born  in  Lexington,  Mass., 
October  2,   1795,  was  the  son  of  Levi  Mead. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Chesterfield  Academy 
and  at  Dartmouth  College,  and  then  read  law 
with    Hon.    Phineas   Handerson.       For    many 
years  he  was  a  prominent  member  of  theCheshire 
bar.      He  was  a  man  of  culture,  and  possessed 
rare  business  qualities.    He  was  ever  foremost  in 
promoting    the    cause    of  education,    and    took 
great  interest  in  the  public  schools.     In   1839 
he  removed  to  Brattleborough,  where  he  resided 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  where    he  con- 
tinued to  practice  his  profession.     He  procured 
the    charter  for  the  first   savings-bank    in  Ver- 
mont, now   called   the  Vermont   Savings-Bank 
of  Brattleborough,  and    was   treasurer    of   the 
institution    about  twenty-five   years.     In   1846 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Vermont  Senate.      He 
died  July  6,  1 869. 

His  wife  was  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Hon. 
John  Xoyes,  of  Putney,  Vt.  One  of  his  sons 
is  the  well-known  sculptor,  Larkin  G.  Mead, 
Jr.,  who  was  born  in  Chesterfield  January  3, 
1835,  but  removed  to  Brattleborough  with  his 
parents  in  1839.  In  1862  he  went  to  Florence, 
Italy,  where  lie  has  since  resided  the  greater 
part  of  the  time.  Among  the  most  important 
of  his  works  are  the  "Recording  Angel,"  the 
colossal  statue  "Vermont,"  "Ethan  Allen," 
"The  Returned  Soldier,"  "Columbus'  Last 
Appeal  to  Isabella,"  "  America,"  the  bronze 
statue  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  "Venice,  the  Bride 
of  the  Sea,"  etc. 

John  PlERCE,  came  to  Chesterfield  from 
Groton,  Mass.,  between  1770  and  1776. 

According  to  tradition,  he  served  in  the  last 
French  and  Indian  War.  On  coming  to  Ches- 
terfield, lie  appears  to  have  located  at  what   is 


172 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 


now  the  Centre  village,  where  he  may  have  kept 
a  small  store.  At  the  same  time  he  owned  a 
large  quantity  of  land  in  the  town,  much  of 
which  he  is  said  to  have  sacrificed  to  the  cause 
of  liberty  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
Together  with  others  of  this  town,  he  also  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  probably  as 
an  independent  volunteer.  April  19,  17S2,  he 
purchased  of  Samuel  Davis  Converse  the 
western  half  (the  other  half  lying  in  Spafford's 
Lake)  of  lot  No.  12,  in  the  tenth  range,  on 
which  he  built  a  house.  Here  he  passed  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life,  erecting,  after  a 
while,  a  larger  and  more  commodious  house 
near  the  highway  that  formerly  led  from  the 
(  entre  village  to  Westmoreland.  He  died  July 
7,  181 2,  aged  sixty-nine  years. 

Ezekiel  P.  Pierce,  son  of  John  and  Tabi- 
tha  (Porter)  Pierce,  was  born  April  20,1785, 
and  spent  the  most  of  his  life  in  Ches- 
terfield. About  1821  he  opened  a  store  at 
the  Centre  village,  where  he  also  kept  a  tavern 
for  some  time.  He  afterwards  engaged  in  trade 
for  a  while  at  Factory  village,  and  in  London- 
derry, Vt.  The  first  "patent  accelerating 
wheel-heads,"  for  spinning  wool,  that  were 
made  in  ( 'hesterfield,  were  manufactured  by 
him  at  Factory  village,  probably  about  1820. 
He  also  engaged  to  some  extent  in  the  manu- 
facture of  bits  and  augers.  In  1827  he  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  General  Court.  lie  died 
May  2:],  1865. 

Waimiam  R.  Platts,  son  of  Captain  Joseph 
I'latts,  of  Rindge,  born  .Inly  18,  1  71)2,  married 
Sarah  Harvey  in  1821,  and  settled  in  Chester- 
field. For  about  twenty-one  years  he  was  post- 
master at  the  Centre  village.  He  was  also,  for 
many  years,  a  deputy  sheriff  for  Cheshire 
County,  and  for  a  while  sheriff  of  the  comity. 
He  was  always  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the 
town  and  in  national  politics.  In  lNj.S  and 
1851  he  held  the  other  of  selectman,  and 
was  town  clerk  in  L843— 44.  He  died  February 
21,  1872. 

Johs  Putnam,  born  in  Winchester  May  10, 


1761,  came  to  Chesterfield  in  his  boyhood,  and 
lived  in  the  family  of  Ebenezer  Harvey,  Sr.  In 
1  779  he  enlisted  in  Colonel  Hercules  Mooney's 
regiment, and  served  for  a  while.  This  regiment 
was  ordered  to  march  to  Rhode  Island.  In  1801 
he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  Con- 
verse, and  lived  many  years  at  the  Centre  vil- 
lage, in  the  large  house  that  once  stood  near  the 
south  side  of  the  common,  and  which  was 
burned  about  1845.  Though  he  commenced  lite 
in  very  humble  circumstances,  he  succeeded, 
by  his  sagacity  and  perseverance,  in  acquir- 
ing a  considerable  fortune,  owning  much  tim- 
ber-land in  the  Winchester  woods.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  academy,  and  served  the  town  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  selectman  in  the  years  L 808, '09/20, 
'21,  '20.  He  also  represented  the  town  in  the 
Legislature  in  1816,  '17,  '18  and  '26.  lb' died 
November  17,  1849,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
years. 

Eleazeb  Randall,  son  of  Eleazer  and 
Clarissa  (Wheeler)  Randall,  was  born  in  Ches- 
terfield February  27,  1S20.  Having  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade  when  a  young  man,  he  en- 
gaged pretty  extensively,  from  about  1850  till 
1860,  in  the  construction  of  railway  and  other 
buildings  in  Vermont,  Western  Canada  and 
Michigan,  being  associated,  most  of  the  time, 
with  Marshall  II.  Farr  and  his  own  brothers, — 
Shubel  II.  and  George  Randall.  He  married, 
in  1846,  Elvira  Rumrill,  of  Hillsborough 
Bridge.  From  18(50  till  the  time  of  his  death 
he  engaged  in  farming,  in  ( 'hesterfield,  on  the 
farm  that  he  had  owned  and  managed  since  1850, 
and  which  is  now  owned  by  his  sons,  Oran  E. 
and  Frederick  b\  Randall.  He  died  July  30, 
L882. 

Silas  Richardson,  a  descendant  of  John 
Richardson,  who  came  to  this  country  from 
England,  appears  to  have  settled  in  this  town 
about  1776,  having  come  from  Mendon,  Mass. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Ches- 
terfield Academy,  and  was  selectman  in  L788, 
1793-96.     He   died   in    1803.     His  wife  was 


CHESTERFIELD. 


173 


Silence  Daniels,  of  Medway,  Mass.,  and  one  of 
his  sons,  Orlo  Richardson,  married  Nancy  Wild, 
of  this  town,  and  settled  here.  In  1826-28,  '34, 
'35,  he  (Orlo)  also  held  the  office  of  selectman, 
and  represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature  in 
1828-29.  He  died  May  27,  1852.  His  son, 
John  Milton  Richardson,  born  November  25, 
1807,  is  a  farmer  and  justice  of  the  peace  in 
Chesterfield. 

Archibald  Robertson,  born  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  in  1708,  emigrated  to  America  in 
1754,  with  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Watson),  and 
children,  James,  William,  John  (?)  and  Anna  (?). 
Archibald  and  his  wife  were  dissenters  from  the 
old-established  Church  of  Scotland,  and  joined 
with  the  "  New  Disciples."  Their  names  ap- 
pear among  those  of  the  subscribers  for  the 
new  book  of  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  a  copy  of 
which  is  now  in  possession  of  their  great-grand- 
son, Timothy  N.  Robertson.  They  came  to 
Chesterfield  (having  lived  a  few  years  near 
Boston),  after  their  son  James  had  settled  here, 
but  just  how  long  after  has  not  been  ascertained. 
December  14,  1775,  Archibald  was  chosen  to 
represent  Chesterfield  and  Hinsdale  in  the 
"  Provincial  Congress  "  that  was  to  assemble  at 
Exeter  the  21st  day  of  the  same  month,  being 
the  first  person  ever  chosen  by  the  town  for 
such  purpose.  After  living  here  a  number  of 
years  he  removed  to  Brattleborough,  or  Ver- 
non, Vt.      He  died  in  Brattleborough  in  1803. 

James  R<  >berts<  >x,  son  of  Archibald  Robert- 
son, born  in  Scotland  March  8,  1741,  came  to 
this  country  with  his  father  in  1754.  For  a 
few  years  after  coming  to  this  country  he 
worked  in  old  Dunstable  and  vicinity,  and, 
probably,  also  took  part  in  the  last  French  and 
Indian  War.  In  the  summer  of  1762  he  came 
to  Chesterfield,  and  began  to  prepare  a  home 
for  himself  and  future  wife.  The  place  where 
he  built  his  cabin  is  about  thirty  rods  west  of 
the  present  residence  of  his  grandson,  T.  X. 
Robertson.  When  the  war  broke  out  between 
the  mother-country  and  the  American  colonies 
he  ardently   espoused    the   cause  of  the   latter, 


though  a  Briton  by  birth.  In  September,  1776, 
he  enlisted  in  Captain  Houghton's  company  of 
Colonel  Nahum  Baldwin's  regiment.  In  1777 
he  was  a  lieutenant  in  Colonel  Ashley's  regi- 
ment, but  the  date  of  his  commission  has  not 
been  ascertained.  He  Was,  also,  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  town  "Committee  of  Safety." 
During  the  controversy  about  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants  he  was  firm  in  his  opposition  to 
the  Vermont  party,  by  some  of  whom  he  ap- 
pears to  have  been  rather  roughly  treated. 
He  died  March  19,  1830.  His  first  wife  was 
Sarah  Bancroft,  of  Dunstable  (now  Tyngsbor- 
ough),  Mass.  She  died  June  28,  1798,  in  her 
fifty -fifth  year. 

Elisha  Rock  wood,  born  in  Groton,  Mass., 
November  20,  1740,  purchased  in  Chesterfield, 
in  1769,  the  larger  part  of  house-lots  Nos.  7 
and  8,  in  the  tenth  range.  In  his  deed  he  was 
styled  "a  clothier."  He  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  affairs  of  the  town  during  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  being  one  of  the  town  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  in  1777.  He  also  was  select- 
man the  same  year  and  in  1780.  He  died  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1832. 

The  Sargent  Family. — The  founder  of  the 
Sargent  family  in  Chesterfield  was  Erastus  Sar- 
gent, a  great-grandson  of  Digory  Sargent,  of 
Massachusetts,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians 
about  1704,  and  whose  wife  and  children  were 
captured  and  taken  to  Canada.  Erastus  mar- 
ried Annas,  daughter  of  Warren  Snow,  of 
Chesterfield,  and  lived  many  years  here,  fin- 
ally removing  to  Stukely,  P.  Q,.,  where  he 
died  August  24,  1847,  aged  seventy-five  years. 
One  of  his  sons,  Edwin  Sargent,  married  Sally, 
daughter  of  David  Stoddard,  of  this  town,  and 
lived  here  the  most  of  his  life.  He  represented 
the  town  in  the  General  Court  in  1842.  One 
of  his  sons,  Charles  R.  Sargent,  engaged  to  a 
considerable  extent,  in  his  earlier  years,  in 
school-teaching  ;  but  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Hinsdale  April  2,  1880,  he 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  Cheshire 
(  ountv,  to  which  office  he  had  been  twice  elected. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Wm.  Shurtleff  came  to  Chesterfield  from 
Ellington,  Conn.,  in  1787,  and  died  here  in 
1801.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Cady,  and  one 
of  his  nine  children  was  Roswell  Shurtleff, 
bora  August  29,  177.*).  At  the  age  of  about 
nineteen  years  Roswell  entered  Chesterfield 
Academy,  where  he  studied  Latin,  going 
through  Ross's  Grammar  in  just  two  weeks. 
One  of  his  mates  at  the  academy  was  Levi 
Jackson,  who  was  afterwards  his  classmate  and 
room-mate  at  Dartmouth  College.  After  a 
while  he  took  up  the  study  of  Greek,  and  went 
through  the  "Westminster  Creek  Grammar" 
in  one  week.  In  17i>7  he  and  Jackson 
entered  Dartmouth  two  years  in  advance,  and 
graduated  in  1799.  From  1800  to  1804  he 
was  tutor  in  that  college;  from  1804  to  1S27, 
professor  of  divinity;  from  18*27  to  1838, 
professor  of  moral  philosophy  and  political 
economy.  For  nearly  twenty  years  he  was 
also  college  preacher,  and  pastor  of  the  church 
on  Hanover  Plain.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
intellectual  force,  an  excellent  teacher  and  a 
devoted  friend  to  all  young  men  who  were 
striving  to  obtain  an  education.  He  died  at 
Hanover  February  4,  1861,  in  his  eighty- 
eighth  year. 

MOSES  Smith,  the  first  settler  of  Chesterfield, 
was  of  Leicester,  Mass..  in  17o<S,  where  he 
owned  land  purchased  of  John  Nobles,  of 
Norwich,  Conn.  In  17(il  he  was  of  Hins- 
dale, as  was  stated  in  the  deed  of  the  land 
which   he  purchased  in  Chesterfield  that  year. 

His  wife  was  Elizabeth ,  who  died  duly  20, 

in  her  sixty-first  year.  He  was  selectman  in  1777, 
1771-72.  The  inscription  on  his  gravestone  is 
as  follow.-:  "  In  memory  of  Ensign  Moses 
Smith,  the  first  settler  in  Chesterfield,  who  de 
parted  this  life  Dec  ye  30th,  1785,  in  y"  75th 
year  of  Ids  age."  He  was  buried  in  the  town 
graveyard,  situated  near  the  "  river  road"  and 
a  short  distance  south  of  the  residence  of 
( lharles  ( !.  P.  <  roodrich,  Esq. 

Moses  Smith,  Jr.,  son  of  Moses  Smith,  the 
first  settler,  married,  in    17n\s,  Phebe,  daughter 


of  John  Snow,  of  Chesterfield.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town, 
having  purchased,  December  25,  1  764,  lot  No. 
12,  in  the  sixth  range.  He  was  lieutenant  in 
1777,  and  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  the 
academy.  During  the  controversy  about  the 
''New  Hampshire  Grants"  he  espoused  the 
cause  of  Vermont,  and  at  one  time  the  New 
Hampshire  government  gave  orders  for  his 
arrest.  He  held  the  office  of  selectman  in 
1775,  '76,  78,  '81,  '89-91,  and  was  repre- 
sentative in  1786-88,  '!)(),  '91.  About  1824 
he  removed,  with  his  son  Moses,  dr.,  to  Pike, 
Allegany  County,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  about 
1830,  aged  eighty-seven  years. 

John  Snow  appears  to  have  settled  in  Ches- 
terfield in  17t52,  which  year  he  and  Moses 
Smith  built  the  first  saw-mill  erected  in  the 
town.  He  probably  lived  on  or  near  what 
was  afterwards  the  town  poor-farm.  He  un- 
doubtedly came  from  some  town  in  Massa- 
chusetts. He  was  selectman  in  17<i7,  and  died 
May  12,  1777,  in  his  seventy-second  year. 
One  of  his  sons,  Zerubbabel  Snow,  married 
Mary  Trowbridge,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  and 
settled  in  Chesterfield  before  1770.  He  was 
one  of  the  selectmen  in  1773-74,  and  died 
April  12,  1795,  in  his  fifty-fourth  year. 
Another  son  of  John  Snow,  Warren  Snow, 
married  Amy  Harvey,  and  settled  in  this  town 
in  1769  or  1770,  having  come  from  Princeton, 
Mass.  In  1777  lie  was  a  member  of  the  " Com- 
mittee of  Inspection  and  Correspondence"  of 
Chesterfield,  and  selectman  in  1779.  lb'  died 
in  1S24. 

Alpheus  Snow,  a  grandson  of  Zerubbabel 
Snow,  was  born  in  Chesterfield  May  10,  17!H. 
He  married,  in  1815,  Salome,  daughter  of 
Perley  Harris,  of  this  town.  In  his  youth  he 
attended  school  only  a  few  weeks;  nevertheless, 
by  private  study,  he  afterwards  succeeded  in 
acquiring  an  ordinary  education.  He  had  a 
special  aptitude  for  arithmetic,  and  it  is  said 
that    even    persons  who  ought  to   have  been   his 


CHESTERFIELD. 


175 


superiors  in  this  branch  of  mathematics  some- 
times sought  his  aid  in  the  solution  of  difficult 
problems.  When  a  young  man  he  learned  the 
blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed  for  many 
years  at  the  West  village.  He  also  engaged  in 
farming,  living  a  long  time  on  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Horace  D.  Smith.  He 
was  selectman  in  18:37-39,  '45,  '49,  '58,  and 
represented  the  town  in  the  General  Court  in 
1849.     He  died  May  28,  1869. 

Ebenezer  Stearns,  born  in  1776,  son  of 
Ebenezer  Stearns,  of  Milford,  Mass.,  appears  to 
have  come  to  Chesterfield  about  1797.  About 
1800  he  opened  the  first  store  at  Factory 
village.  In  1805  the  Chesterfield  Maim- 
factoring  Company  was  incorporated,  of 
which  he  was  agent  and  treasurer  most  of  the 
time  from  1809  to  1821.  He  was  an  active, 
enterprising  man,  and  did  much  to  promote  the 
welfare  and  interests  of  the  village  in  which  he 
lived.  In  1823-24  he  represented  the  town  in 
the  Legislature.     He  died  October  11,  1825. 

David  Stoddard  may  have  come  from  Rut- 
land, Mass.  He  appears  to  have  settled  in 
Chesterfield  about  1767,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Truman  A.  Stoddard. 
Whether  he  was  married  more  than  once  is  not 
known  ;  but  the  name  of  the  wife  who  came 

to    Chesterfield    with    him   was   Joanna  . 

He  was  selectman  in  1771  and  1772,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1775  he  enlisted  in  Captain 
Hind's  company  of  the  Third  New  Hampshire 
Regiment.  According  to  tradition,  he  died 
while  in  the  army. 

One  of  his  sons,  David  Stoddard,  Jr.,  mar- 
ried Sarah  French,  and  lived  on  the  paternal 
farm  in  this  town. 

Peter  Stone,  a  descendant  of  Simon  Stone, 
who  came  to  this  country  from  England  in 
1635,  was  born  in  Groton,  Mass.,  August  25, 
1741.  In  1773  he  married  Abigail  Fassett,  of 
Westford,  Mass.  March  27,  1777,  he  pur- 
chased, in  Chesterfield,  of  Silas  Thompson,  the 
farm  on  which  the  latter  settled  (consisting  in 
part,  at   least,  of  lot  No   12,  in  the  thirteenth 


range).  He  appears  to  have  come  to  this  town 
with  his  family  in  1778  or  1779.  He  built,  at 
an  early  period,  the  house  owned  and  occupied 
by  the  late  Charles  N.  Clark.  In  1790  he 
helped  establish  the  academy.  In  his  efforts 
to  aid  others  he  became  involved  in  debt,  and 
was  obliged  to  mortgage  his  farm,  which  he 
eventually  lost.  Though  permitted  to  remain 
in  the  house  which  he  formerly  owned  (being 
old  and  infirm),  he  chose  not  to  do  so,  and 
passed  his  last  days  in  the  school-house  that 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  one  in  School- 
District  No.  10.  He  died  about  1820  (as 
nearly  as  can  be  ascertained),  having  survived 
his  wife  a  number  of  years. 

Warren  Stone,  a  grandson  of  Peter  Stone, 
was  born  at  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  in  1808,  but  came, 
at  an  early  age,  to  Chesterfield,  whence 
his  father  and  mother  had  removed  but 
a  few  years  before.  His  early  years  were 
spent  in  manual  labor,  and  in  obtaining  such 
education  as  the  schools  of  the  town  afforded. 
As  he  approached  manhood,  however,  the 
desire  to  pursue  the  study  of  medicine  became 
so  strong  that  he  resolved  to  quit  the  rural 
scenes  of  his  youth  and  devote  his  life  to  that 
calling  for  which  he  had  an  especial  fitness. 
Accordingly,  he  went  to  Keene  and  studied  a 
while  with  the  distinguished  Dr.  Twitchell, 
afterwards  attending  the  medical  school  in 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  M.D.  in  1831.  The  next 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  find  a  suitable  location 
for  practicing  his  profession.  Endowed  by 
nature  with  a  bold  and  enterprising  spirit,  he 
at  last  decided  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  far- 
distant  regions  of  the  South.  He  accordingly 
went  to  Boston,  where,  October  10,  1832,  he 
took  passage  for  New  Orleans  in  the  brig 
"Amelia."  The  brig  was  wrecked  on  Folly 
Island,  near  Charleston,  S.  C.,  but  the 
passengers  were  rescued,  Dr.  Stone  especially 
displaying  on  this  occasion  the  firmness  and 
presence  of  mind  for  which  he  was  noted. 
( Jholera  also  broke   out  among  the  passengers 


176 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  crow,  from  which  ho,  too,  suffered  with 
the  rest.  Ho  finally  arrived,  however,  in  New 
Orleans,  late  in  November  or  early  in  Decem- 
ber, in  poor  health  and  with  insufficient 
clothing.  After  a  while  he  succeeded  in 
getting  employment,  in  a  subordinate  capacity, 
in  Charity  Hospital,  of  which  he  afterwards 
became  assistant  surgeon.  In  January,  1 S : i 7 , 
he  was  appointed  professor  of  anatomy  in  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
Louisiana,  and  soon  afterwards  professor  of 
surgery— a  position  that  he  held  till  he 
resigned  it.  in  the  spring  of  1872.  In  1839  ho 
established,  in  connection  with  Dv.  William  E. 
Kennedy,  a  private  hospital.  In  1S41  he  was 
unfortunate  enough  to  lose  one  of  his  eyes  from 
"a  specific  inflammation  contracted  from  a 
child."  When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861, 
Dr.  Stone  was  appointed,  by  the  Confederate 
authorities,  surgeon-general  of  Louisiana,  in 
which  capacity  he  rendered  very  efficient 
service.  After  the  occupation  of  New  Orleans 
by  the  Federal  forces  he  was  imprisoned  for  a 
while  by  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler. 

As  a  surgeon,  Dr.  Stone  possessed  remarkable 
skill,  and  successfully  performed  the  most  diffi- 
cult operations,  lie  was,  in  fact,  " the  admit- 
ted head  of  the  profession  in  the  Southwest." 
He  died  in  New  Orleans  December  (5,  1872. 

Stephen  Streeter,  Jr.,  son  of  Stephen 
and  Sarah  (Chamberlain)  Streeter,  was  horn 
December  7.  17*2,  about  which  time  his  father 
and  mother 'came  from  Oxford,  Mass.,  to  ( 'hes- 
terfield.  He  was  locally  celebrated  as  a  poet, 
being  noted  also  for  his  retentive  memory. 
Some  of  his  songs,  epigrams  and  longer  poems 
were  very  popular  with  his  contemporaries, and 
he  well  merited  the  appellation  of  the  "  Bard 
of  Streeter  Hill."  He  died  May  22,  1864, 
having  never  married. 

Si i. .\s  Thompson,  of  Dunstable,  Mass.,  pur- 
chased in  Chesterfield,  March  12,  I7t!i»,  lot 
No.  12,  in  the  thirteenth  range,  and  probably 
settled  on  the  same  soon  after.  Thisloi  formed 
part,  at    least,   of  the    farm    which    he    sold  in 


1777  to  Peter  Stone,  Sr.  After  selling  this 
farm  he  lived  on  the  one  now  owned  by  Henry 
J.  Dunham.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town  and  the  church,  being  one 
of  the  deacons  of  the  latter.  Together  with 
Colonel  Samuel  King,  he  represented  the  town, 
after  its  union  with  Vermont,  in  the  Assembly 
of  that  State.  In  1770  he  was  selectman,  and 
in  1776  coroner  for  Cheshire  County.  His  wife 
was  Abigail  Bancroft.  He  died  April  25, 1; six;, 
in  his  seventy-second  year. 

Ezra  Titus,  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Bige- 
low)  Titus,  was  born  in  Chesterfield  January 
1 5,  1 789. 

Being  of  a  studious  turn  of  mind  and  fond 
of  mathematical  studies,  he  is  said  to  have  ap- 
plied himself  so  assiduously  to  these  in  his 
early  years  as  to  have  seriously  overtasked  his 
brain — a  circumstance  which  caused  him  to 
change  his  course  of  life.  He,  nevertheless,  fol- 
lowed school-teaching  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
best  teachers  of  his  time.  After  his  marriage 
he  also  engaged  in  fanning  in  this  town,  and 
for  a  while  held  a  colonel's  commission  in  the 
New  Hampshire  militia.  He  also  hold  the 
office  of  selectman  in  1836  and  '17.  His  wife 
was  Electa,  daughter  of  John  Knoeland,  Esq. 
He  died  March  25,  1869.  One  of  his  sons, 
Herbert  B.Titus,  was  an  officer  in  the  Federal 
army  during  the  Civil  War. 

Dr.  JOSHUA  Tyleb  came  from  Brook-field, 
Mass.,  and  settled  in  Chesterfield,  probably  be- 
tween 177H  and  '81.  He  located  at  the  Centre 
village,  where  he  built  the  large  house  in  which 
his  son,  Rolston  G.  Tyler,  lived  many  years, 
and  which  is  now  occupied  by  Sowall  F.  Rugg. 
He  practiced  his  profession  in  this  town  many 
years,  and  died  June  1  1,  1807,  aged  forty-nine 
years.  His  wife,  Judith  Ayres,  died  August 
1 1,  1854,  aged  ninety-one  years. 

Nathaniel  Walton,  a  son  of  Lawrence 
Walton,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Chester- 
field, married  Mary,  daughter  of  Eli  Pattridge, 
of  this  town,  and  settled  here.     He  was  a  black- 


CHESTERFIELD. 


177 


smith  by  trade  and  noted  for  his  extraordinary 
physical  strength.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he 
could  pick  up  his  anvil  by  the  horn  and  carry  it 
some  distance.  He  was  also  a  celebrated  wrest- 
ler, and  is  said  to  have  rarely  found  his  match. 
He  died  April  25,  1817,  in  his  sixty-first  year. 
One  of  his  sons,  Nathaniel  Walton,  Jr.,  was  a 
farmer  in  Chesterfield,  and  served  the  town  as 
a  selectman  twelve  years,  viz.:  1822-25,  1827- 
29,  1834,  1842-44,  1846.  He  was  also  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  General  Court  in  1844  and 
'46.  He  died  April  12,  1872.  One  of  the 
sons  of  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  Milo  Walton,  became  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Amity,  Me.,  where  he  en- 
gaged extensively  in  fruit-culture. 

Peter  Wheeler,  born  probably  about  1733, 
served  seven  years  with  Captain  Patch,  of  Lit- 
tleton, Mass.,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of 
carpenter  and  joiner.  He  married  Olive  Davis, 
and  lived  a  while  in  Littleton.  July  23,  1762, 
he  purchased  in  Chesterfield  lot  No.  9,  in  the 
fifteenth  range  ;  and  January  22,  1766,  house- 
lots  Nos.  1  and  2,  in  the  twelfth  range.  He 
settled  where  Russell  H.  Davis  now  lives,  not 
far  from  the  brook  that  bears  his  name.  It  is 
said  that  he  helped  build  the  "  old  meeting- 
house," and  that  he  took  an  active  part  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  the  new  town.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  died  about  1814. 

His  great-grandson,  Hon.  Hoyt  H.  Wheeler, 
is  judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for 
the  district  of  Vermont.    • 

ASHBEL  Wheeler,  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Sarah  (Harris)  Wheeler,  born  in  this  town 
November  26,  1785,  married  Diana,  daughter 
of  Eleazer  Randall  (1st),  and  settled  here. 

For  many  years  he  was  a  well-known  mer- 
chant and  distiller  at  the  West  village,  being 
also  engaged,  a  part  of  the  time,  in  farming. 
Commencing  business  with  little  or  no  capital, 
save  his  own  native  tact  and  shrewdness,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  acquiring  a  considerable  fortune.  He 
was  also  a  violin-player,  and  in  his  early  and 
middle  manhood  was  extensively  employed  to 
play  at  balls  and  "  kitchen-dances."  The  store 
12 


which  he  established  at  the  West  village  was 
extensively  patronized,  and  was  long  one  of 
the  principal  stores  in  the  town.  He  died  June 
20,  1866. 

Nathan  Wild,  son  of  Benjamin  Wild,  born 
in  Norton,  Mass.,  June  14,  1787,  came  to  Ches- 
terfield with  his  father  in  1801. 

In  his  youth  he  had  a  fondness  for  mathe- 
matical studies,  which  he  pursued  at  home,  with 
the  assistance  of  his  brother  David.  Nathan 
applied  himself  assiduously  to  the  study  of  sur- 
veying and  astronomy,  and  soon  became  one  of  the 
most  skillful  surveyors  in  the  State,  and  an 
astronomer  of  considerable  proficiency.  After  his 
marriage  he  settled  on  a  farm  situated  near  the 
present  stage-road  leading  from  Factory  vil- 
lage to  Keene,  about  one  mile  from  the  former 
place. 

This  farm  is  at  present  owned  by  Rev. 
T.  I/.  Fowler.  He  now  engaged  not  only  in 
practical  farming  and  surveying,  but  in  the 
publication  of  an  almanac,  known  for  a  while 
as  "  The  Improved  New  England  Almanack 
and  Ephemeris,"  and  afterwards  as  "  The  Far- 
mer's, Mechanic's  and  Gentleman's  Almanack." 
He  appears  to  have  begun  the  publication  of 
his  almanacs  about  1819,  and  they  were  gener- 
ally, though  not  always,  printed  by  John 
Prentiss,  at  Keeue. 

Not  only  was  Mr.  Wild  a  practical  farmer, 
surveyor,  astronomer  and  almanac-maker,  but 
he  also  held  several  important  civil  offices.  He 
was  selectman  from  1820  to  1825,  and  repre- 
sentative in  the  General  Court  in  1831  and 
1832.  In  1833  and  1834  he  was  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Senate. 

His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1814,  was 
Rachel  Newcombe.  She  died  in  Greene  County, 
Ind.,  in  1840.  He  died  in  Chesterfield  March 
5,  1838,  and  his  body  was  interred  in  the  vil- 
lage cemetery  at  Factory  village.  His  son, 
Nathan  R.  Wild,  was  also  a  surveyor  and  civil 
engineer.  He  married,  in  1838,  Maria  E. 
Wood,  a  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Abraham 
Wood,  and  removed  to  Greene  County,  Ind., 


178 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


in  1840,  whore  he  died  April  7,  1851,  in  his 
thirty-sixth  year. 

Captain  Simon  Wtllard,  probably  from 
Winchester,  appears  to  have  settled  in  Chester- 
field about  1788.  He  married,  about  the  same 
time,  Mollv  King,  the  widow  of  Colonel  Samuel 
Kino-.  He  lived  in  this  town  till  about  1813, 
when  he  removed  to  Winchester,  where  he  died 
at  a  great  age.  He  represented  Chesterfield  in 
the  General  Court  in  1794-96,  1801-7,  or 
ten  years  in  all. 

Rev.  Ami: a  ham  \V<  m  >d,  a  descendant  of  \Yil- 
liam  Woofl,  who  came  to  this  country  from 
England  in  1638  was  the  first  settled  minister 
of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Chesterfield. 
IIi<  ancestor,  William  Wood,  was  the  author  of 
a  book  entitled  "  New  England's  Prospects." 
The  following  extracts  are  from  a  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Rev.  Abraham  Wood,  written  by  his 
grandson,  Professor  Alphonso  Wood,  the  bot- 
anist. 

"  Rev.  Abraham  Wood  was  born  in  Sudbury,  Mass., 
a.d.  1748  (Sept.  26);  was  educated  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1767.  June 
4,  1771,  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Loring,  of  Hingham, 
Mass.,  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Israel  Loring,  and 
both  were  soon  on  their  way,  by  a  perilous  journey, 
into  the  then  all-pervading  wilderness  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Here,  in  the  township  of  Chesterfield,  A.i>. 
1772,  he  began  a  ministry  which  was  to  continue 
without  interruption  unto  the  end  of  his  days.  His 
annual  salary  was  fixed  at  £80/  and  assumed  as  a 
town  charge,  and  paid,  like  other  municipal  expenses, 
from  the  public  treasury.  His  parish  was  co-exten- 
sive  with  the  township,  and  throughout  he  was  rev- 
ereuced  and  beloved  almost  without  exception.  His 
advice  or  approbation  was  sought  in  all  public  affairs, 
alike  in  civil,  military,  educational  and  religious.  He 
not  only  ministered  in  the  church,  but  solemnized 
their  marriages,  baptized  their  children,  buried  their 
dead,  inspected  their  schools,  addressed  their  martial 
parades,  and  in  their  family  gatherings  was  a  welcome, 
nay,  an  indispensable  guest. 

"  His  sermons  were  generally  written  out,  and  ever 
true  to  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  not- 
withstanding the  tide  of  Arianism  which  began  to 


1  His  salary    was  first  fixed  at    £65,  but   was   raised  in 
1792  to  E80 


sweep  the  churches  of  New  England  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  ministry. 

"In  speech  he  was  animated  and  inspiring,  with  a 
clear  and  ringing  voice,  and  a  style  that  appealed  to 
the  reason  and  conscience,  rather  than  to  the  imagi- 
nation of  his  hearers. 

"  The  last  five  years  of  his  life  were  subject  to  much 
infirmity,  so  that,  at  his  own  request,  the  Rev.  John 
Walker  was  called  and  installed  by  the  church  as 
colleague  pastor.  To  facilitate  this  measure,  he  gen- 
erously declined  his  salary  in  favor  of  his  colleague, 
accepting  for  himself  thereafter  only  the  voluntary 
offerings  of  bis  people. 

"  During  this  period  he  continued  to  preach  only 
occasionally.  On  the  great  occasion  of  the  fifty-first 
anniversary  of  his  ministry  in  Chesterfield  he  was 
once  more  in  his  pulpit,  and  preached  to  a  crowded 
assembly,  reviewing  the  events  of  his  long  and  happy 
connection  with  that  people  as  their  spiritual  guide. 
This  was  his  last  public  effort. 

"In  person  Mr.  Wood  was  of  medium  height,  with 
a  full  habit,  smooth  face,  florid  complexion  and  an 
attractive  face,  as  shown  in  a  life-size  portrait  painted 
by  Belknap." 

He  died  October  18,  1823.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him  twenty  years,  and  died  in  Indiana  at 
the  age  of  ninety-three  years. 

One  of  his  sons,  Abraham  Wood,  Jr.,  lived 
many  years  in  Chesterfield,  on  the  paternal 
farm,  and  was  town  clerk  from  1818  to  1833. 
In  1839  he  removed  to  Greene  County,  Ind., 
where  he  died  September  24,  1846.  His  wife 
was  Patty,  daughter  of  Asa  Dutton,  of  Dunl- 
in erston,  Vt. 

Professoe  Alphonso  Wood,  son  of  Abra- 
ham Wood,  Jr.,  was  born  September  17,  1810. 
His  first  fifteen  years  were  spent  at  home  in 
the  old  manse,  dividing  his  time  between  rural 
occupations  and  study  in  the  village  school  and 
the  academy.  After  this  his  winters  were 
employed  in  teaching  village  schools  in  other 
towns, — notably  in  Keene,  Walpole,  Clare- 
mont,  Fitzwilliam,  Vernon,  Newburyport, — 
until  the  date  of  his  graduation  at  Dartmouth 
College,  a.d.  1831.  Immediately  after  this 
event  he  was  called  to  Kimball  Union  Acad- 
emy, at  Meriden,  as  teacher  of  natural  science 
and  Latin,  where,  with  an   interruption  of  one 


CHESTERFIELD. 


179 


year  only,  he  remained  during  the  next  fifteen 
years.  This  one  year  he  spent  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  in  the  study  of  theology,  endeavoring 
to  fulfill  the  long-cherished  purpose  of  his 
parents.  But  his  theological  training  was  cut 
short  by  a  peremptory  summons  to  return  to 
Meriden.  Soon  after  this,  Mr.  Wood  was 
licensed,  after  examination,  by  the  Sullivan 
County  Association  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
but  his  ministry  was  confined  to  the  army  of 
students  that  filled  the  academy  (from  two  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred)  and  occasional  services 
in  the  neighboring  churches. 

It  was  during  his  residence  in  Meriden  that 
he  first  conceived  the  purpose  of  preparing  a 
class-book  of  botany.  The  purpose  arose  very 
naturally, — first,  from  his  excessive  fondness 
for  the  science,  and  secondly,  from  his  felt 
necessities  as  a  teacher  of  natural  history. 

Devoting  his  leisure  hours  and  vacations 
largely  to  botanical  excursions  and  studies, 
seven  years  passed,  till  1845,  when  the  "Class- 
Book  "  was  first  issued.  The  work  was  not 
stereotyped,  being  with  the  publishers  a  mere 
experiment,  and  only  fifteen  hundred  copies 
were  printed. 

A  demand  unexpectedly  great  soon  ex- 
hausted this  edition. 

In  preparing  for  a  new  issue,  Mr.  Wood 
passed  the  spring  and  summer  of  1846  in  the 
Western  States,  whither  his  parents  had  then 
removed,  botanizing  in  the  prairies  and  barrens, 
in  order  to  extend  the  limits  of  his  flora  as  far 
west  as  the  Mississippi  River.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  his  wife,  Lucy,  and  son,  Frank 
Alphonso,  then  two  years  old. 

In  the  spring  of  1849,  on  account  of  im- 
paired health,  he  resigned  his  connection  with 
the  Kimball  Union  Academy,  and  entered  the 
more  active  service  of  civil  engineer  in  the 
construction  of  a  railway  from  Rutland,  Vt., 
to  Albany,  N.  Y. 

From  1852  to  1858  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching  in    Cleveland,   Ohio,  and   at  College 


Hill,  near  Cincinnati.  In  1858  he  established, 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Covert,  the  Terre 
Haute  (Ind.)  Female  College;  but  in  1860 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  "  Class 
Book"  was  now  an  important  interest.  To 
extend  the  area  of  its  flora,  Professor  Wood 
had  made  an  exploration  of  the  Southern 
States,  lasting  six  months  of  the  year  1857. 
In  1861  he  opened  the  Brooklyn  Female 
Academy,  but  was  again  induced  by  love  of  his 
favorite  science  to  resume  his  investigations. 
Accordingly,  he  embarked  for  California  in 
October,  1865. 

In  the  Pacific  States  he  sojourned  one  year 
in  constant  travel,  surveying  the  mountains, 
the  mines,  the  rocks,  the  peoples,  and  especially 
the  j)lants  of  that  glorious  land,  from  San 
Diego  to  Puget's  Sound,  and  returning,  by  the 
way  of  the  Isthmus,  in  November,  1866. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  having  transferred 
his  interests  in  Brooklyn,  he  once  more  col- 
lected his  family  into  a  new  home  in  the 
village  of  West  Farms,  a  suburb  of  the  city 
of  New  York  (and  now  annexed  to  it),  on  the 
north.  Here  he  suffered  affliction  in  the  death 
of  his  wife,  Lucy. 

While  he  resided  at  West  Farms,  Professor 
Wood  was  employed  in  revising  and  republish- 
ing his  botanical  works,  and  in  performing  the 
duties  connected  with  the  chair  of  botany  in 
the  New  York  College  of  Pharmacy.  He 
sometimes  also  preached,  as  openings  in  the 
churches  occurred. 

He  was  the  author  of  the  following  works, 
which  are  all  published  at  present  by  A.  S. 
Barnes  &  Co.: 

The  "Class-Book  of  Botany,"  "Object- 
Lessons  in  Botany,"  "  The  Botanist  and  Flor- 
ist," "Monograph  of  the  Liliacese  of  the 
United  States,"  "The  Plant  Record,"  "Flora 
Atlantica,"  "  How  to  Study  Plants  "  (written 
conjointly  with  Professor  Steele). 

Professor  Wood  died  at  his  home  at  West 
Farms,  after  a  short  illness,  January  4,  1881. 


HISTORY   OF  DUBLIN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Geographical — Original  Grant — Names  of  Grantees — Divi- 
sion of  Grant — Provisions  of  Grant — The  First  Settlements 
— Names  of  Pioneers — Incorporation  of  Town — First 
Town-Meeting— Second  Town-Meeting — Voters  in  1770 
— Tax-List  of  1771 — Prices  of  Commodities  in  1777. 

The  town  of  Dublin  lies  in  the  Eastern  part 
of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows: 

North,  by  Harrisville;  East,  by  Hillsbor- 
ough County ;  South,  by  Jaflrey ;  Vfvst,  by 
Marlborough. 

This  town,  originally  known  as  Monadnock, 
No.  3,  was  granted  November  3,  1749,  by  the 
Masonian  proprietors,  to  "Matthew  Thornton, 
Sampson  Stoddard,  William  Spaulding,  Joseph 
French,  Zachariah  Stearnes,  Peter  Powers,  Rob- 
ert Fletcher,  Junier,  Eleazr  Blanchard,  Foster 
Wentworth,  Josiah  Swan,  Isaac  Rindge,  John 
Rindge,  Ezekiel  Carpenter,  Benjamn  Bellows, 
John  Combs,  Stephen  Powers,  Henry  AVallis, 
Samuel  Kenny,  EbenezerGillson,  Jeremiah  Nor- 
cross,  Isaiah  Lewis,  Ezra  Carpenter,  Enos  Law- 
rence, William  ( 'ummings,  Mark  Hunkin,  Joseph 
Jackson,  Thomas  Wibird,  Jeremiah  Lawrence, 
John  Usher,  Nathan1  Page  David  Page,  Samuel 
Farley,  Daniel  Emerson,  Joseph  Blanchard 
Junr,  Thomas  Parker  Junr,  Anthony  Wibird, 
Francis  Wbrster,  Jonathan  Cummings,  David 
Wilson  and  Clement  March  Esqr." 

The  deed  of  grant  (says  Mr.  ( 'harles  Mason, 
in  his  address)  was  given  by  Colonel  Joseph 
Blanchard,  of  Dunstable,  pursuant,  as  the  reci- 
tal states,  to  the  power  vested  in  him  by  the 
proprietors,  by  a  vote  passed  at  a  meeting  held 
180 


at  Portsmouth,  in  June  preceding.  This  grant, 
embracing  a  territory  of  thirty-five  square  miles, 
— being  seven  miles  in  length  and  five  in  breadth, 
— was  made  upon  certain  conditions,  of  which 
the  most  important  were  that — 

The  whole  tract  of  land  was  to  be  divided 
into  seventy-one  equal  shares,  each  share  to  con- 
tain three  lots,  equitably  coupled  together,  and 
to  be  drawn  for,  at  Dunstable,  on  or  before  the 
1st  day  of  July,  1750. 

Three  shares  were  to  be  appropriated,  free  of 
all  charge,  "one  for  the  first  settled  minister  in 
the  town,  one  for  the  support  of  the  ministry, 
and  one  for  the  school  there;  forever;"  and 
one  lot  of  each  of  these  three  shares  was  to  be 
first  laid  out  near  the  middle  of  the  town,  in  the 
most  convenient  place,  and  lots  coupled  to  them, 
so  as  not  to  be  drawn  for. 

The  lots  were  to  be  laid  out  at  the  expense  of 
the  grantees,  and  within  four  years  from  the 
date  of  the  grant  forty  of  the  shares,  or  rights, 
as  they  were  called,  were  to  be  entered  upon, 
and  three  acres  of  land,  at  the  least,  cleared,  in- 
closed and  fitted  up  for  mowing  or  tillage ;  and, 
within  six  months  then  next,  there  was  to  be, 
on  each  of  these  forty  settling  shares,  a  house 
built,  the  room  sixteen  feet  square,  at  the  least, 
fitted  and  furnished  for  comfortable  dwelling, 
and  some  person  resident  in  it,  and  to  continue 
inhabitancy  there  for  three  years,  with  the  ad- 
ditional improvement  of  two  acres  a  year  for 
each  settler. 

A  good,  convenient  meeting-house  was  to  be 
built,  as  near  the  centre  of  the  town  as  might  be 


DUBLIN. 


181 


with  convenience,  within  six  years  from  the  date 
of  the  grant,  and  ten  acres  reserved  there  for 
public  use. 

All  white-pine  trees,  fit  for  masting  His  Maj- 
esty's Royal  navy,  were  granted  to  him  and  his 
heirs  and  successors  forever. 

There  was  a  proviso  that,  in  case  of  any  In- 
dian war  happening  within  auy  of  the  terms 
and  limitations  for  doing  the  duty  conditioned 
in  the  grant,  the  same  time  should  be  allowed 
for  the  respective  matters  after  such  impedi- 
ment should  be  removed. 

The  township  was  accordingly  divided  into 
lots,  making  ten  ranges  running  through  it  from 
east  to  west,  with  twenty-two  lots  in  each  range, 
or  two  hundred  and  twenty  lots  in  all.  The 
lots  varied  considerably,  especially  in  length. 
They  were  drawn  for  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
June,  1750.  The  seventy-one  shares,  of  three 
lots  each,  would,  of  course,  leave  seven  lots  un- 
drawn. Some  of  these,  though  not  all,  were 
upon  the  Monadnock. 

The  terms  of  settlement  and  the  like,  imposed 
by  the  grant,  cannot  have  been  complied  with, 
to  the  extent  specified,  till  certainly  more  than 
ten  years  later  than  the  times  prescribed. 
Whether  the  grantors  dispensed  with  the  condi- 
tions as  to  time,  on  the  score  of  Indian  wars  ap- 
prehended, or  for  any  other  cause  tacitly  waived 
those  conditions,  or  whether  they  granted  an  ex- 
tension of  the  times,  does  not  appear. 

Of  the  first  settlement  of  the  town -but  little 
is  known  with  accuracy  or  certainty.  The  first 
settler  was  William  Thornton,  probably  in  the 
year  1852.  His  daughter,  Molly  Thornton,  it 
is  said,  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  township. 
He  remained  but  a  few  years, — it  is  not  known 
how  long, — when  he  abandoned  his  settlement, 
it  is  supposed  through  fear  of  the  Indians,  and 
never  returned.  He  was  a  brother  of  Matthew 
Thornton,  who  was  the  first  named,  as  he  was 
by  far  the  most  distinguished,  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  township,  and  was  much  the  largest  land- 
owner in  it,  having,  at  one  time,  it  would  ap- 
pear, twenty-eight  "shares,  or  eighty-four  lots. 


The  settlers  who  next  came  into  the  township 
were  Scotch-Irish,  as  they  were  called,  being 
the  descendants  of  Scotch  people  who  had  settled 
in  the  north  of  Ireland,  whence  they  came 
to  this  country,  and  established  themselves  at 
Londonderry  and  elsewhere,  and,  at  a  later 
date,  settled  in  Peterborough  and  numerous 
other  towns.  As  early  as  1760,  or  thereabouts, 
there  were  in  the  town,  of  this  description  of 
persons,  John  Alexander,  William  McNee, 
Alexander  Scott,  and  William  Scott,  his  son; 
James  Taggart,  and  his  son,  William  Taggart ; 
and  perhaps  others.  They  came  mostly  from 
Peterborough.  Henry  Strongman  came  at  a 
later  day.  With  the  exception  of  him,  none  of 
this  class  of  settlers  became  permanent  inhabit- 
ants of  the  township.  They  left  probably  at 
different  times,  but  all  prior  to  the  year  1771, 
as  none  of  them  are  found  upon  the  tax -list  of 
that  year.  Most  or  all  of  them  returned  to 
Peterborough.  This  William  Scott  is  the  same 
Captain  William  Scott,  of  Peterborough,  who,  in 
his  youth,  served  in  the  French  War,  and  who 
signalized  himself  by  gallant  achievements  dur- 
ing the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  by  no  less 
heroic  deeds  in   scenes  of   danger  afterwards. 

As  early  as  1762  several  of  the  settlers  from 
Sherborn,  Mass.,  were  in  the  township,  and 
worked  upon  the  roads.  Probably  none  of 
them  established  themselves  here  that  year. 
During  the  next  two  years  several  became  per- 
manent inhabitants.  Among  the  earliest  settlers 
were  Thomas  Morse,  Levi  Partridge,  William 
Greenwood,  Samuel  Twitchell,  Joseph  Twit- 
chell,  Jr.,  Ivory  Perry,  Benjamin  Mason,  Moses 
Adams,  Silas  Stone  and  Eli  Morse. 

Of  the  first  settlers,  Captain  Thomas  Morse 
appears  to  have  been  the  leading  man.  He  was 
doubtless  the  oldest  person  in  the  settlement, 
being  sixty-three  or  sixty-four  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  reside  here.  He  was  a  man  of 
stability  and  force  of  character,  and,  it  is  said, 
of  remarkable  shrewdness.  Withal,  he  was 
ardently  attached  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  He 
was  the  first   captain    of  the  earliest   military 


182 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


company  in   the    town.     His  commission  bore 
date  June  2,  1774. 

From  1763  the  population  of  the  township 
increased  with  considerable  rapidity.  New 
settlers  came  in  from  various  places, — Sherborm 
Natick,  Medfield,  Holliston,  Framing-ham, 
Temple,  Amherst  and  elsewhere.  Of  the  ear- 
lier settlers,  by  far  the  greater  number  came 
from  Sherborn.  There  is  no  means  of  ascer- 
taining what  was  the  population  of  the  town  at 
any  date  prior  to  1 775,  when  it  was  three  hun- 
dred and  five.  A  census  of  New  Hamp- 
shire was  taken  in  1767  by  the  selectmen  of 
each  town  and  place;  but  there  is  no  return 
from  this  township.  There  was  probably  no 
formal  organization  existing  at  that  time,  and 
consequently  no  officers  to  take  the  census. 

A  political  organization  of  the  inhabitants 
was  effected  in  1768,  as  appears  by  a  record 
among  the  old  papers  of  the  town,  which 
recites  that,  "at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Monadnock,  Xo.  3,  by  order  of  the  General 
Court,"  held  November  16,  1768,  John  Goffe, 
Esq.,  moderator,  the  following  officers  were 
chosen  :  Moses  Adams,  Eli  Morse,  John  Muz- 
zey,  assessors  ;  Joseph  ( Jreenwood,  clerk  ;  Henry 
Strongman,  collector;  Moses  Adams,  commis- 
sioner of  assessment.  Appended,  of  the  same 
date,  is  a  certificate  of  the  justice  that  the  above 
officers  were  legally  chosen,  according  to  an  act 
of  the  General  Court,  and  were  sworn  to  the 
faithful  discharge  of  their  respective  offices. 
This  John  Goffe  is  presumed  to  have  been 
Colonel  John  Goffe,  of  Bedford.  The  organi- 
zation thus  established  was  preserved,  and  like 
officers  were  chosen  annually,  in  March,  till  the 
town  was  incorporated. 

The  incorporation  of  the  town  took  place  in 
March,  1771.  The  petition  for  the  purpose,  to 
the  Governor  of  the  province,  appears  to  have 
been  signed  by  Josiah  Willard,  Jr.,  as  "the 
agent  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  and 
settlers."  It  sets  forth,  as  the  main  ground  of 
the  application,  that  Dublin  is  rated  among  the 
towns    and    parishes    in   the   province    for    the 


province  tax,  and  that  the  place  "  is  not  legally 
qualified  to  raise  and  collect  said  taxes,  whereby 
they  may  be  construed  delinquents  if  the  same 
should  be  omitted."  The  petitioner  also  begs 
leave  to  suggest  to  Plis  Excellency  "that  the 
said  Dublin  is  presumed  to  be  sufficiently  in- 
habited and  convenient  for  incorporation/' 
The  petition  was  dated  March  25th,  and  a  char- 
ter was  forthwith  granted,  bearing  date  the  29th 
of  the  same  month. 

For  his  services  in  this  behalf  Mr.  Willard 
received  from  the  town  thirty -two  dollars,  as 
appears  by  his  receipt,  dated  Keene,  October 
10,  1771.  To  meet  this  expenditure,  the  town, 
at  the  second  town-meeting,  held  May  29, 
1771,  made  a  specific  appropriation,  though  it 
seems  they  had  not  got  their  ideas  up  fully  to 
the  exigency  of  the  case,  as  the  sum  they  appro- 
priated was  less  by  two  dollars  and  a  half  than 
the  amount  of  the  bill.  Besides  the  money 
paid  him  by  the  town,  he  received,  as  is  shown 
by  his  receipt,  seven  shillings  and  six-pence, 
"  in  full  satisfaction  for  services  done  the  pro- 
prietors of  Dublin  in  obtaining  a  charter." 

The  charter  thus  granted  was,  doubtless,  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  was  usually  granted  to 
towns  in  those  times.  It  issues  in  the  name  of 
"  George  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,  and  so  forth."-  It  contains 
a  reservation  of  all  white-pine  trees  upon  the 
land  "fit  for  the  use  of  our  Royal  Navy." 
This  reservation  of  pine  ship-timber  was  in 
pursuance  of  acts  of  Parliament  relating  to  the 
preservation  of  His  Majesty's  woods  in  America. 
We  do  not,  however,  learn  that  any  requisition 
for  the  article  was  ever  made  upon  the  town- 
ship, either  prior  or  subsequent  to  the  act  of 
incorporation. 

The  town  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of 
Dublin.  In  the  petition  for  incorporation  it  is 
described  as  a  tract  of  land  "commonly  called 
and  known  by  the  name  of  Dublin  (or  .Monad- 
nock, Xo.  3)."  When  or  how  long  it  had  been 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Dublin   does 


DUBLIN. 


183 


uot  appear.  Up  to  that  time  the  name  does 
not  occur,  so  far  as  I  have  seen,  in  any  of  the 
papers  of  the  proprietors  or  of  the  township. 
It  is  commonly  understood  that  the  town  was 
named  from  Dublin,  Ireland.  Why  it  should 
have  been  is  not  obvious,  as  it  is  pretty  mani- 
fest that,  before  the  incorporation  of  the  town, 
all  the  Scotch-Irish  who  had  ever  been  resident 
in  it  had  removed,  with  the  exception  of  one, — 
Henry  Strongman.  But  he,  it  is  said,  was  born 
in  Dublin,  and  that  circumstance  may  have  set- 
tled the  point.  At  all  events,  it  is  just  as  hard 
to  tell  why  it  should  not  have  been  so  named, 
since  it  must  necessarily  have  some  name,  and 
it  might  as  well  be  called  Dublin  as  anything 
else. 

In  the  deed  of  grant  from  the  proprietors 
the  township  was  described  as  "North  Monad- 
nock,  or  Number  Three,"  the  names  being  in 
the  alternative.  In  the  papers  of  the  original 
proprietor's  clerk,  Joseph  Blanchard,  Jr.,  and 
others  emanating  from  non-residents,  it  is  styled, 
pretty  uniformly,  "  The  North  Monadnock 
Township."  By  the  residents  it  appears  to 
have  been  called,  commonly,  "  Monadnock,  No. 
3."  Sometimes  the  two  designations  were  run 
together,  making  it  "  North  Monadnock,  No.  3." 

To  understand  why  either  the  "  North  "  or 
the  "  Number  "  should  have  been  applied,  it  is 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  "  Monadnock  "  was  a 
name  of  pretty  extensive  use  in  these  regions. 
Thus,  Rindge,  otherwise  called  Rowley  Canada, 
was  Monadnock,  No.  1 ;  Jaffrcy,  called  Middle 
Monadnock,  or  sometimes  Middletown,  was 
Monadnock,  No.  2  ;  Dublin,  or  North  Monad- 
nock, was  Monadnock,  No.  3  ;  Fitzwilliam, 
Monadnock,  No.  4 ;  Marlborough,  called  orig- 
inally New  Marlborough,  was  Monadnock,  No. 
5  ;  Nelson,  formerly  Packersfield,  was  Monad- 
nock, No.  6  ;  Stoddard,  which  was  Limerick, 
was,  it  is  presumed,  Monadnock,  No.  7  ;  and 
Washington,  formerly  Camden,  was  Monad- 
nock, No.  8. 

The  meeting  for  the  organization  of  the 
town,  under  the  charter,  was  called,  as  provided 


in  the  instrument,  by  Thomas  Morse,  and  was 
held  May  6,  1771.  Mr.  Morse  was  moderator. 
The  first  Board  of  Selectmen,  then  chosen,  were 
Thomas  Morse,  Henry  Strongman  and  Benja- 
min Mason.  Joseph  Greenwood  was  chosen 
town  clerk. 

Mr.  Greenwood,  for  twenty  years  or  more 
next  after  this  time,  was  by  far  the  most  prom- 
inent business  man  in  the  town.  He  was  town 
clerk  in  1771,  and  from  177G  for  seventeen 
years  successively,  during  which  time  he  was 
also  selectman  ten  years  and  town  treasurer  some 
part  of  the  time.  He  represented  Dublin  in 
the  convention  of  delegates  which  met  at  Ex- 
eter, May  17,  1775.  He  was  likewise  a  noted 
schoolmaster.  Furthermore,  he  was  the  first 
justice  of  the  peace  in  the  town.  For  some 
years  they  had  been  obliged  to  send  for  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  from  a  distance  when  one  was 
required.  In  the  treasurer's  account,  settled  in 
1776,  is  found  an  item  :  "  Paid  Esq.  Hale,  for 
swearing  town  officers,  two  years,  twelve  shil- 
lings." Precisely  when  Mr.  Greenwood  was 
appointed  does  not  appear  ;  but  it  was  before 
May,  1777. 

At  the  second  town-meeting,  held  May  29, 
1771,  the  town  granted  fifteen  pounds  for 
preaching.  The  money  appears  to  have  been  ex- 
pended in  the  course  of  the  summer,  as,  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year,  they  voted  to  have  a 
month's  preaching  that  fall  and  granted  nine 
pounds  for  the  purpose. 

The  whole  number  of  voters  in  Dublin  in 
1770  was  only  twenty-three.  A  list  of  these 
voters,  certified  by  Joseph  Twitchell  and  John 
Muzzey,  two  of  the  assessors  of  that  year,  con- 
tains the  following  names  :  Levi  Partridge, 
Thomas  Morse,  Eli  Morse,  William  Green- 
wood, Joseph  Greenwood,  Joseph  Adams,  Asa 
Norcross,  Henry  Strongman,  Silas  Stone,  Ivory 
Perry,  Samuel  Twitchell,  Moses  Mason,  Joel 
Wight,  Joseph  Twitchell,  Ebenezer  Twitchell, 
Reuben  Morse,  Daniel  Morse,  Benjamin  Mason, 
Moses  Adams,  John  Muzzey,  Eleazer  Twitch- 
ell, Joshua  Lealand,  Edward  West  Perry. 


184 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  qualification  for  a  voter  at  that  period 

was  "  twenty  pounds  estate  to  one  single  rate, 

beside  the  poll."     Following  is  tax-list  for  1771  : 

£       s.  d. 

"Levi  Partridge 2       0  6 

Thomas  Morse 3    10  6 

Eli  Morse 3       1  6 

Joshua  Lealand 12  6 

William  Greenwood 3      7  0 

Joseph  Adams 2       6  6 

Asa  Norcross 1     15  0 

Joseph  Greenwood 2       2  0 

Josiah  Greenwood 14  6 

Caleb  Hill. 0     11  6 

Henry  Strongman 2       6  0 

Silas  Stone.... 1     14  0 

Ivory  Perry L     18  0 

Isaac  Bond 0      3  0 

Samuel  Twitchell 2      0  6 

Moses  Mason 19  0 

Simeon  Bui  lard 15  0 

Joseph  Twitchell 1     12  6 

Benjamin  Learned 110 

Simeon  Johnson 16  0 

Moses  Johnson 13  6 

Ebenezer  Twitchell 1     15  0 

Joseph  Morse 0     14  0 

Eleazer  Twitchell 0     13  0 

Reuben  Morse 1     18  6 

Thaddeus  Mason 1     14  0 

John  Ranstead 0     18  0 

Daniel  Morse 1     16  0 

Benjamin  Mason 2     11  6 

Daniel  Morse 1     10  6 

Moses  Adams 4      8  0 

William  Beal 110 

John  Wight 19  6 

John  Muzzey 1     17  0 

Elias  Knowlton 1       0  6 

John  Knowlton 12  6 

Robert  Muzzey 18  0 

Ezra  Twitchell 1     15  6 

Joseph  Mason 10  0 

David  Johnson 0     18  0 

Daniel  Greenwood 0     18  0 

Jonathan  Knowlton 0     18  0 

Samuel  Ames,  jun 0       4  0 

Daniel  Wood 0     18  3 

Rufus  Huntley 0     18  0 

Nathaniel  Bates 0     18  0 

Gershom  Twitchell 0     18  0 

Joseph  Turner , 0       3  0 

Joseph  Drury 0      4  0 

Benoni  Death 0      16 

John  Swan 0      4  0 

Caleb  Greenwood 0       2  0 

Thomas  Muzzey 0     18  0 

John  Morrison 0       16 

"Sum  total £72  18  6 

"  Or     8246.42." 


The  following  is  a  list  of  prices  in  1771  : 

"  Dublin,  July  10, 1777.— We,  the  subscribers,  being 
appointed  by  the  town  of  Dublin  to  state  the  prices 
of  sundry  commodities,  transferrable  from  one  person 

to  another,  having  met  and  considered  the  matter, 
have  resolved  that  the  prices  hereafter  annexed  shall 
be  the  prices  for  all  such  articles  within  our  town, 
viz  : — 

£  s.     d. 

"  Wheat,  per  bushel 0  6      0 

Rye  and  malt,  per  bushel 0  4      0 

Indian  corn,  per  bushel 0  3       0 

Oats,  per  bushel 0  1       8 

Peas,  per  bushel 0  6      0 

Beans,  per  bushel 0  6       0 

Cheese,  per  pound 0  0      6 

Butter,  per  pound 0  0       9 

Carriage  of  salt,  for  every  ten  miles  land 

carriage,  per  bushel 0  10 

Flax,  per  pound 0  0     10 

Sheep's  wool,  per  pound 0  2       2 

Yarn  stockings,  per  pair 0  6       0 

Men's   all-wool   cloth,     well-dressed,    per 

yard 0  8      0 

Men's  farming  labor,  July  and  August,  per 

month 3  0       0 

And  by  the  day 0  3      0 

May,  June  and  September,  per  month...   2  10       0 

And  by  the  day 0  2       6 

April  and  October,  per  month 1  15       0 

And  by  the  day 0  2       3 

February,   March   and  November,   per 

month 14       0 

And  by  the  day 0  2       0 

December  and  January,  per  month 0  18       0 

Carpenters  and  house-joiners,  per  day 0  4       0 

Mill-wright  and  mason,  per  day 0  4       6 

Hay  in  the  field,  per  ton 1  10       0 

Hay  after  secured,  per  ton 2  0       0 

Making  men's  shoes,  per  pair 0  3       0 

And  others  in  proportion. 

Pasturing  a  horse,  per  week 0  2       0 

Pasturing  oxen,  per  week 0  2      6 

Pasturing  a  cow,  per  week 0  10 

A  yoke  of  oxen,  per  day's  work 0  1       6 

Pasturing  a  horse,  per  night 0  0       8 

Keeping  a  horse  by  hay,  per  night 0  10 

Oxen  a  night  by  grass 0  1       0 

Oxen  a  night  by  hay 0  1       6 

Two  quarts  of  oats 0  0       3 

A  meal  of  victuals 0  0     10 

Lodging,  per  night 0  0      3 

Boarding  a  man,  per  week 0  6       0 

(rood  flax-seed,  per  bushel 0  6       0 


"  Henry  Strongman, 
"William  Greenwood 


,} 


Cunniiittee." 


Reuben  Morse  and  Moses  Adams,  members 
of  the  above  committee,  did  not  sign  the  report. 


DUBLIN. 


185 


CHAPTER  II 


DUBLIN— (Continued). 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


War  of  the  Revolution — Resolutions  of  the  Town — The  Asso- 
ciation Test — Names  of  Signers— List  of  Soldiers— War 
of  the  Rebellion — Names  of  Soldiers. 

War  of  the  Revolution. — The  first  refer- 
ence in  the  old  town  records  to  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  is  under  date  of  November  28, 
1774,  when  twelve  pounds  was  voted  for  town 
stock  of  ammunition. 

In  March,  1775,  the  town  chose  a  Committee 
of  Inspection,  who  were  to  see  that  the  resolves 
of  the  Continental  Congress  were  enforced. 

"  Dublin,  July  25,  1775. —  Whereas  the  Committee 
of  Inspection  in  this  town  have  this  day  met  to  con- 
sider of  the  complaint  made  by  Ebenezer  Hill  against 
Willard  Hunt,  wherein  said  Hill  complains  that  said 
Hunt  hath  in  an  unjust  manner  seized  his  property 
in  taking  possession  of  some  hay  which  he  had  on  a 
meadow  belonging  to  Samuel  Ames,  Jr.;  and  it  ap- 
pears to  us  by  evidence  that  the  hay  is  Hill's  property, 
and  that  Hunt  hath  seized  on  it  in  an  unjust  and  vio- 
lent manner : 

"  Therefore,  Voted  that  said  Hunt  immediately  de- 
sist and  let  said  Hill  enjoy  his  property,  or  he  shall 
be  treated  as  a  disorderly  person  and  an  enemy  to  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  society. 

"  Voted  that  the  above  pass  as  a  resolve  of  this  com- 
mittee. 

"  Benja  Mason,  Chairman." 

In  March,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress 
passed  a  resolve  recommending  to  the  several 
assemblies,  conventions  and  councils,  or  Com- 
mittees of  Safety,  of  the  United  Colonies, 
immediately  to  cause  all  persons  to  be  dis- 
armed, within  their  respective  colonies,  who 
were  notoriously  disaffected  to  the  cause  of 
America,  or  who  refused  to  associate  to  defend, 
by  arms,  the  colonies  against  the  hostile  at- 
tempts of  Great  Britain.  A  copy  of  this  reso- 
lution was  transmitted  to  the  selectmen  of  the 
several  towns  by  the  Committee  of  Safety  for 
the  colony  of  New  Hampshire,  with  a  circular 
from  them  bearing  date  April  12,  1776,  of  the 
following  tenor  : 


"  In  order  to  carry  the  unwritten  Resolve  of  the 

honorable  Continental  Congress  into  execution,  you 

are  requested  to  desire  all  males  above  twenty-one 

years  of  age  (lunatics,  idiots  and  Negroes  excepted), 

to  sign  the  Declaration  on  this  paper ;  and,  when  so 

done,  to  make  return  thereof,  together  with  the  name 

or  names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the  same,  to 

the  General  Assembly,  or  Committee  of  Safety  of  this 

Colony. 

"M.  Weake,  Chairman" 

The  declaration  referred  to  was  as  follows : 

"  In  consequence  of  the  above  Resolution  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  to  show  our  determination 
in  joining  our  American  brethren  in  defending  the 
lives,  liberties  and  properties  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  Colonies: 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  do  hereby  solemnly  engage 
and  promise,  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power, 
at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  with  arms,  oppose 
the  hostile  proceedings  of  the  British  fleets  and  armies 
against  the  united  American  Colonies. 

"  John  Swan.  Silas  Stone,  jun. 

Richard  Gilchrest.  Ezra  Morse. 

Thomas  Morse.  Isaac  Morse. 

Eli  Morse.  Isaac  Bond. 

Joseph  Greenwood.  Silas  Stone. 

Moses  Adams.  Thomas  Alden. 

Daniel  Morse.  Josiah  Greenwood. 

Joseph  Twitchel.  Moses  Greenwood. 

Ebenezer  Twitchel.  James  Rollins. 

Samuel  Twitchel.  James  Chamberlain. 

Stephen  Twitchel.  Thomas  Lewis. 

Simeon  Johnson.  Samuel  Williams. 

Ivory  Perry.  Ebenezer  Hill. 

Benjamin  Learned.  Abijah  Twitchel. 

John  Morse.  Nathaniel  Bate. 

Henry  Strongman.  William  Strongman. 

Joseph  Adams.  William  Yardley. 

Benjamin  Mason.  John  Wight. 

William  Greenwood.  Thomas  Muzzey. 

Levi  Partridge.  Moses  Pratt. 

Timothy  Adams.  Gershom  Twitchel. 

Eli  Greenwood.  Caleb  Stanford. 

John  Knowlton.  Jabez  Puffer. 

Simeon  Bullard.  Phinehas  Stanford. 

John  Muzzey.  Nathan  Burnap. 

Moses  Johnson.  Gershom  Twitchel,  jun. 

Reuben  Morse.  Gardner  Town. 

Richard  Strongman.  Oliver  Wright." 

Ithamer  Johnson. 

Dublin  had   four   men,  at  least,   at  Bunker 
Hill,   namely  :   Jonathan  Morse,  Richard  Gil- 


186 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


christ,  Thomas  Green  and  John  Swan.  The 
last-named  of  these,  it  is  said  by  Mr.  Dim- 
bar,  in  his  "  History  of  Peterborough,"  was  on 
duty  but  not  in  the  battle.  Mr.  Gilchrist  prob- 
ably saved  the  life  of  his  friend  Green,  who  was 
severely  wounded,  tearing  him  off  upon  his 
back,  in  a  fainting  and  almost  expiring  state, 
from  the  field  of  battle  to  Medford.  Mr.  Dun- 
bar puts  down  Gilchrist,  Green  and  Swan  as 
belonging  to  Peterborough.  But  they  were  all 
three  taxed  for  a  poll-tax  in  Dublin  in  1775, 
and  must,  therefore,  have  resided  here  on  the 
1st  of  April  of  that  year.  Mr.  Gilchrist,  it 
is  presumed,  never  lived  in  Peterborough. 

John  Swan  was  one  of  the  most  patriotic  citi- 
zens of  the  town. 

Jonathan  Morse  must  have  been  out  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  war.  The  author  of  the 
"  Memorial  of  the  Morses "  represents  him  to 
have  been  in  the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill,  Ben- 
nington, Tieonderoga  and  Monmouth,  and  to 
have  signalized  himself  by  deeds  of  daring  and 
acts  of  magnanimity,  some  of  which  he  re- 
counts, and  concludes  with  saying,  "  In  short, 
Jonathan  was  so  humane  and  honest,  so  rough 
and  ready,  that,  had  he  lived  to  this  time,  he 
might  have  been  President  of  the  United 
States." 

Thomas  Hardy  was  in  the  service  for  some 
time.  There  is  a  note  given  to  him  by  the  se- 
lectmen, on  behalf  of  the  town,  dated  April  17, 
1778,  for  sixty  pounds,  payable  within  ten 
months ;  and  one  of  like  amount,  date  and  tenor, 
to  Jonathan  Morse. 

In  April,  1777,  the  town  voted  "to  give  one 
hundred  dollars  to  each  man  sent  for  to  this 
town  to  join  the  three  battalions  now  raising  in 
this  State." 

In  August  of  the  same  year  they  made  a  con- 
tribution of  "  material  aid  "  to  the  cause,  which, 
though  not  of  great  magnitude,  was  of  a  kind 
to  make  some  noise  in  the  camp.  The  receipt 
shows  what  it  was  : 


"  Dublin,  August  3,  1777.     Received  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  this  town,  two  tin  kittles,   for  the  yuse  of 


Genral  Starks  Briggade,  Prised   14  shillings.      Re- 
ceived by  me, 

"Samson  Powers." 

At  the  March  meeting,  in  1779,  a  committee 
was  chosen  to  hire  three  soldiers  for  the  Con- 
tinental battalions  during  the  war.  The  sol- 
diers were  not  forthcoming,  it  would  seem.  Iu 
February,  1781,  a  committee  was  chosen  to  hire 
the  town's  quota  of  men,  to  serve  in  the  Con- 
tinental army  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
war,  and  empowered  to  engage,  on  behalf  of  the 
town,  for  payment  of  their  hire. 

The  three  soldiers  appear  to  have  been  found, 
eventually.      One  was  Jonathan   Morse ;   one 
was  John  Stone.     The  terms  on  which  the  lat- 
ter was  hired  appear,  in    part,  from  a  receipt 
given  by  him  to   the  committee.     It  is  dated 
March  19,  1781,  and  sets  forth  that  whereas  he 
had  received  from  the  committee  three  notes  (the 
amount  of  them  is  not  stated),  for  which  he  was 
to  serve  three  years  in  the  Continental  army, 
unless  sooner  discharged,  he  promises  that,  if  he 
does  not  serve  above  six   months,  he  will  have 
the  contents  of  but  one  note  ;  if  not  above  eigh- 
teen months,  the  contents  of  but  two  notes ;  and 
if  he  is  gone  two  years,  he  will  have  but  two 
notes.     Mr.  Stone  probably  died  in  the  war  or 
soon   after  its    close,    as    in    December,  1788, 
the  town  passed  a  vote,  "  that  the  selectmen 
make  such  consideration  to  the  widow  Stone  as 
they   may  think   reasonable,  on  account  of  the 
advantage  the  town  had  of  the  depreciation  ot 
her  late  husband's  wages," — a  very  proper  and 
honorable  vote,  certainly. 

The  other  soldier  was  probably  Hart  Balch, 
as  we  find  that  in  November,  1787,  the  town 
voted  him  five  dollars  for  the  damage  he  had 
sustained  by  not  having  the  land  cleared  ac- 
cording to  bargain,  which  the  town  was  to  clear 
for  him  for  his  service  done  in  the  army.  There 
is  also  a  receipt  of  his,  dated  April  26,  1784, 
acknowledging  the  receipt  from  the  town  of 
keeping  for  a  cow,  fire-wood  and  house-room 
for  one  year. 

It  was  a  part   of  the  arrangement,  that  the 
soldiers'  work   upon  their  land,  and  the   like, 


DUBLIN. 


187 


"  beef-tax ; " 
was    passed 


should  be  carried  on  iu  their  absence  by  the 
town.  In  April,  1781,  a  committee  was  chosen 
to  appraise  the  labor  to  be  done  for  the  soldiers 
for  the  year,  and  to  divide  the  town  into  classes, 
"  so  that  each  man  may  know  what  he  is  to  do 
and  where  to  do  it," — a  very  practical,  common- 
sense  reason.  The  same  course  was  pursued  in 
subsequent  years.  In  1783  the  town  voted  to 
receive  rye,  at  five  shillings  a  bushel,  for  pay- 
ing the  soldiers'  hire.  Rye,  by  the  way,  was 
common  currency  in  those  days.  Not  only  did 
private  individuals  make  their  contracts  payable 
in  that  article,  but  the  town  treasurer  frequently 
gave  and  received,  on  behalf  of  the  town,  notes 
and  obligations  payable  in  the  same  way. 

To  provide  the  means  of  supporting  its  sol- 
diers in  the  army,  it  became  necessary  for  the 
State  to  levy  taxes  upon  the  towns.  Some- 
times the  taxation  was  in  the  nature  of  raising 
a  stated  amount  of  specific  articles,  instead 
of  money.  Thus,  they  had  a 
and  in  August,  1781,  an  act 
for  supplying  the  Continental  army  with  ten 
thousand  gallons  of  West  India  rum, — of  which 
the  share  assessed  upon  Dublin  was  forty-six 
and  a  half  gallons.  Any  town  neglecting  sea- 
sonably to  furnish  its  proportion  was  to  for- 
feit "  one  Spanish  milled  dollar  or  other  silver 
or  gold  equivalent,  for  each  gallon  in  arrears." 
Instead  of  the  West  India,  "  good  New  Eng- 
land rum,  in  the  proportion  of  six  quarts  of 
the  latter  to  one  gallon  of  the  former,"  might 
be  furnished  as  a  substitute.  It  appears  that 
Dublin,  for  some  cause,  failed  to  furnish  its 
proportion  of  the  article, — as  the  receipt  of  a 
deputy  sheriif  shows  the  payment,  at  a  subse- 
quent time,  by  one  of  the  selectmen,  of  the 
amount  of  the  town's  "  rum-tax  and  cost," 
upon  an  extent,  or  execution.  We  can  hardly, 
in  view  of  the  prevailing  sentiments  and 
customs  of  the  times,  pay  our  ancestors  the 
compliment  of  supposing  that  their  omission 
to  provide  the  article,  in  specie,  arose  from  any 
conscientious  scruples  on  their  part,  as  to  the 
propriety  of  the  use  of  it. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  Revolutionary  sol- 
diers from  this  town : 


John  Swan. 
Richard  Gilchrest. 
Thomas  Greem 
Thomas  Morse. 
John  Morse. 
Henry  Strongman. 
AVilliam  Greenwood. 
Eli  Greenwood. 
Reuben  Morse; 
Richard  Strongman. 
Ithamer  Johnson. 
Ezra  Morse. 
James  Chamberlain. 


Nathaniel  Bates. 
Samuel  Twitchell. 
Lieut.  Robert  Muzzey. 
Hart  Balch. 
James  Mills. 
Joshua  Greenwood  (1). 
Jonathan  Morse. 
Micah  Morse. 
Micah  Morse  (1) 
Jabez  Puffer. 
Thomas  Hardy. 
John  Stone. 
Benjamin  Mason. 


CHAPTER    III; 

DUBLIN— {Continued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

Unitarian  Church — Congregational  Church — Physicians- 
Masonic — Post-Office — Social  Library — Civil  History- 
Town  Clerks  from  1771  to  1886 — Representatives  from 
1790  to  1886. 

The  First  Congregational  Society 
(Unitarian). — The  first  meeting-house  was 
built  by  the  proprietors  by  taxes  Assessed  upon 
their  shares;  At  their  first  meeeting  held  in 
the  township,  in  September,  1764,  they  fixed 
the  place  where  the  meeting-house  should  stand 
"  by  marking  a  tree  and  cutting  down  several 
small  trees,  near  the  east  line  of  the  eleventh 
lot  in  the  sixth  range,  where  the  land  is  to  be 
set  off  for  the  purpose,  as  also  for  a  burying- 
place  and  training-field."  The  spot  thus  selected, 
and  on  which  the  meeting-house  was  eventually 
built,  is  upon  the  high  ground,  across  the  old 
road,  northerly  from  the  burying-groundi 
Nothing  appears  to  have  been  done  about  the 
matter  the  next  year,  and  nothing  the  year  suc- 
ceeding, beyond  choosing  a  committee  to  measure 
off  the  ten  acres  and  put  up  bounds. 

A  meeting  of  the  proprietors  in  May,  1767, 
is  stated  to  have  been  "  warned  by  Reuben 
Kidder,  Esq.,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  according 


188 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


to  law."  He  lived  in  New  Ipswich,  and  at- 
tended and  presided  at  the  meeting,  at  an  ex- 
pense to  the  proprietors  of  eight  shillings,  as 
appears  by  his  receipt.  Probably  the  import- 
ance of  the  business  to  be  transacted  induced 
them  to  take  this  precaution  in  order  to  pre- 
vent all  chance  for  calling  in  question  the 
validity  of  their  doings.  At  this  meeting  they 
voted  to  build  a  meetiug-house  "fifty  feet  long, 
thirty-eight  feet  wide,  and  proportionable  as  to 
the  height, "  and  chose  Moses  Adams,  Henry 
Strongman  and  William  Greenwood  a  com- 
mittee "  to  take  care  to  effect  the  work." 
They  also  voted  to  raise  four  dollars  by  tax 
on  each  right,  to  build  the  meeting-house. 

They  were  not  precipitate  in  entering  upon 
the  work,  however,  it  would  seem  ;  siuce,  at 
their  next  meeting,  which  was  in  December, 
1768,  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  afterwards, 
they  tried  a  vote  to  see  if  the  proprietors  would 
reconsider  their  former  vote  relating  to  the 
dimensions  of  the  meeting-house.  But  they  re- 
fused to  reconsider,  and  voted  to  build  the 
house  of  the  former  dimensions,  and  also  raised 
three  dollars  more  on  each  share  towards  build- 
ing it. 

In  February,  1771,  they  granted  five  dollars 
on  each  right  to  carry  on  the  building  of 
the  meeting-house.  These  three  assessments, 
amounting  to  twelve  dollars  on  a  share,  or  six 
hundred  dollars  in  the  whole,  are  all  the  money 
ever  raised  by  the  proprietors  for  the  purpose. 

The  proprietors  of  the  township  had  expended 
about  six  hundred  dollars  upon  the  meeting- 
house by  the  year  1773.  In  April  of  that  year 
they  voted  not  to  raise  any  more  money  at  pres- 
ent for  that  purpose.  This  was  the  last  meeting 
held  by  the  proprietors,  until,  ten  years  later, 
September  11,  1783,  a  meeting  was  called  "  to 
see  if  the  proprietors  would  finish  building  the 
meeting-house,  or  give  it  to  the  town  ;  "  and  it 
was  voted  to  give  it  to  the  town  as  their  prop- 
erty. 

At  a  town-meeting,  held  October  13th  of  the 
same  year,  it  was  voted  to  accept   of  the  meet- 


ing-house as  a  donation  from  the  proprietors. 
At  the  same  time  they  voted  to  finish  the  house 
and  sell  the  pew-ground  in  it,  except  one  pew  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  pulpit.  Precisely  how 
much  had  been  done  to  the  meeting-house  up  to 
that  time  is  not  known.  Doubtless  it  was  only 
rough -boarded  upon  the  outside.  The  pew- 
ground  was  planned  out  in  1773  ;  but  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  no  pews  were  built,  and  probably 
no  pulpit  till  after  the  house  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  town.  It  had  then  been  used 
for  a  meeting-house  some  twelve  years,  and  Mr. 
Sprague  had  been  settled  six  years. 

The  pew-ground,  as  it  was  termed,  which  was 
the  space  upon  the  floor  on  which  the  pews  were 
to  be  built,  was  sold,  in  separate  lots,  to  the 
highest  bidder,  with  the  restrictions  that  no 
man  be  allowed  to  purchase  a  pew-lot  but  an 
inhabitant  of  the  town ;  that  the  purchasers 
build  the  pews  uniform,  with  handsome  panel- 
work  and  a  handsome  banister  on  the  top  ;  that 
pews  on  the  walls  of  the  house  the  owners 
should  ceil  up  as  high  as  the  bottom  of  the 
windows;  and  that  the  floor  of  the  pews  should 
not  be  raised  above  eight  inches  from  the  floor 
of  the  house.  The  purehaser  was  required  to 
build  his  pew  when  called  on  by  the  committee 
appointed  to  finish  the  meeting-house,  or  he 
forfeited  his  lot.  There  was  a  further  provision 
in  these  words  :  "  Every  person  that  owns  a 
pew  shall  occupy  no  other  seat  in  the  meeting- 
house until  his  pew  be  as  full  seated  as  is  com- 
fortable for  those  that  seat  it ;  and,  if  any  per- 
son owns  more  than  one  pew,  he  shall  not  shut 
it  up  and  keep  people  from  sitting  in  it. 

The  amount  expended  at  this  time  appears, 
from  a  paper  entitled  "The  Account  of  what 
the  Committee  have  laid  out  toward  finishing 
the  Meeting-House,"  to  have  been  about  six 
hundred  dollars, — about  the  same  sum  that  was 
originally  laid  out  upon  it.  But  this  seems  no 
to  have  fully  satisfied  everybody,  since,  in 
1788,  we  find,  in  the  town-meeting  warrant,  an 
article,  "to  see  what  method  the  town  will 
take  to  finish  the  meeting-house."     The  article 


DUBLIN. 


189 


was,  however,  passed  over  "to  some  future 
meeting,"  and  it  is  a  grave  question, — if,  indeed, 
there  be  any  question  about  it, — whether,  in  fact, 
the  meeting-house  was  ever  finished  at  all. 

The  meeting-house  was  occupied  in  the  win- 
ter of  1771. 

In  1808  it  was  voted  "  to  build  a  new  meet- 
ing-house," and  a  committee  of  nine  were  cho- 
sen "  to  pitch  upon  a  place  to  set  the  meeting- 
house." This  committee  consisted  of  Samuel 
Twitch  ell,  Esq.,  Asa  Fisk,  Jr.,  Eli  Greenwood, 
Phinehas  Gleason,  David  Townsend,  Isaac  Ap- 
pleton,  Thaddeus  Morse,  Esq.,  John  Morse  and 
Aaron  Appleton.  They  were  required  to  make 
their  report  in  August.  No  report  was  made 
in  August,  but  in  March,  1809,  an  article  was 
inserted  in  the  warrant  "  to  see  what  method 
the  town  will  take  to  agree  where  the  new 
meeting-house  shall  be  built,  or  act  anything 
relating  thereto."  The  article  was  dismissed. 
In  March,  1810,  the  article  was  "  to  see  if  the 
town  will  build  a  new  meeting-house,  or  repair 
the  old  one."  This  article  met  the  same  fate  as 
that  of  1809  ;  but  in  August,  1810,  the  town 
chose  "  Esq.  Griffin,  of  Packersfield ;  Esq. 
Farrar,  of  Marlborough;  Esq.  Gates,  of  Han- 
cock ;  Lieut.  Buss,  of  Jaifrey  ;  and  Mr.  Oliver 
Carter,  of  Peterborough,  to  pitch  upon  a  spot 
for  the  meeting-house  to  stand  upon  in  this 
town."  This  committee  reported  November 
26th,  same  year,  and  their  report  was  accepted  ; 
but  the  record  does  not  say  what  spot  they 
pitched  upon  for  said  meeting-house  ;  but  it  is 
supposed  to  have  been  north  of  Joseph  Apple- 
ton's  blacksmith-shop.  At  an  adjourned  meet- 
ing, November  28th,  the  town  voted  "  to  do 
something  relative  to  building  a  new  meeting- 
house." What  wras  meant  by  "  something"  in 
the  foregoing  vote  is  manifest  from  the  succeed- 
ing votes:  "  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  let 
out  the  putting-up  of  a  frame  for  a  meeting- 
house. Richard  Gilchrest,  Thaddeus  Morse 
and  Aaron  Appleton  were  chosen  for  said  com- 
mittee Voted  that  the  frame  should  be  raised 
one  year  from  next  June.      Voted  that  the  said 


committee  provide  suitable  underpinning  stones 
and  door-steps ;  likewise  materials  suitable  to 
cover  the  outside  of  the  frame,  and  to  have  it 
done  the  same  season  that  the  frame  is  put  up. 

Voted  that  the  committee  have  liberty  to  get 
timber  on  the  town's  lands.  Voted  that  the 
selectmen  procure  a  deed  of  the  meeting-house 
spot." 

From  this  time  until  1817  the  town  was  in 
a  constant  turmoil  in  relation  to  the  site  for  the 
new  meeting-house.  It  was  finally  located  on 
School-House  Hill,  and  was  completed  in  1818. 
This  was  used  until  1852,  when  the  present 
church  was  erected. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  church  was  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Farrar,  who  was  ordained  June  10,  1772, 
and  remained  until  June  7,  1776.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Edward  Sprague,  November 
12, 1777,  who  remained  until  his  death,  in  1817. 
Rev.  Levi  Leonard  was  ordained  September  6, 
1820.  (He  was  author  of  the  "History  of 
Dublin,"  an  excellent  work  of  over  four  hun- 
dred pages,  published  in  1855.)  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1855,  by  Rev.  William  F.  Bridge, 
who  remained  until  1865.  Rev.  George  M. 
Rice  was  pastor  from  1866  to  1881.  Rev. 
H.  D.  Catlin  was  settled  in  1881  and  is  the 
present  pastor. 

Congregational  Church.  —  In  conse- 
quence of  a  disagreement  of  a  number  of  the 
members  of  the  First  Church  with  the  doctrines 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  they  requested,  in  1827, 
letters  of  dismission,  which  were  granted,  and 
November  21,  1827,  the  present  Congregational 
Church  was  organized  with  the  following  mem- 
bers :  Stephen  J.  Woods,  Abijah  Richardson, 
Thomas  Hay,  Luke  Richardson,  Martha 
Woods,  Lucy  Hardy,  Rebekah  Hay  and 
Elizabeth   Richardson. 

While  the  Second  Congregational  Society  oc- 
cupied the  meeting-house  their  proportion  of  the 
year,  the  town  refused  to  grant  them  the  use  of 
the  town  hall ;  but,  in  1829,  the  town  "  Voted  that 
the  Second  Congregational  Society  have  leave 
to  occupy  the  Town  Hall  twelve  Sabbaths,  and 


190 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


that  the  First  Congregational  Society  have  the 
same  privilege." 

In  March,  1830,  the  vote  of  the  town  was, 
"  that  the  Trinitarian  Congregational  Society  in 
Dublin  have  leave  to  occupy  the  Town  Hall 
for  purposes  of  religious  worship  the  ensuing 
year,  on  condition  that  they  relinquish  their 
privilege  of  occupying  the  new  meeting-house 
on  Sabbath-days,  and  insure  the  Town-House 
from  injury  by  reason  of  their  occupying  the 
same."  The  society  took  the  hall  with  the 
above  condition,  and  occupied  it  till  their  brick 
church  was  completed,  in  1836.  In  the  mean 
time  different  preachers  were  employed.  The 
Rev.  Samuel  Harris  remained  as  the  hired  pas- 
tor two  years.  The  church  was  dedicated  in 
1836,  and  the  sermon  on  the  occasion  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bouton,  of  Concord, 
N.  H.  Rev.  James  Tisdale,  who  graduated  at 
Brown  University,  Rhode  Island,  was  engaged 
in  the  summer  of  1836,  and  remained  three  years. 
The  pastors  since  that  time  have  been  as  fol- 
lows; Henry  A.  Kimball,  1840-50;  Alonzo 
Hayes,  1851-53;  E.  F.  Abbott,  1855-61; 
Nathan  Sheldon,  1861  ;  Oscar  Bissell,  1862- 
63  ;  Andrew  J.  Fosdick,  1867-69  ;  Amos  Hol- 
brook,  1872-73;  John  Bassett,  1875;  Richard 
M.  Burr,  1877-78;  George  B.  Cutler,  June  1, 
1884, — present  incumbent. 

Physicians. — The  first  physician  in  Dublin 
was  Nathan  Burnap,  in  1776.  Others  have 
been, — "Ward  Eddy,  A.  Maynard,  Benjamin 
Hills,  Samuel  Hamilton,  Moses  Kidder,  S.  H. 
Spalding,  Asa  Heald,  Daniel  Carter,  J.  H. 
Foster,  S.  S.  Stickney,  Dr.  Eaton,  R.  N.  Porter, 
J.  G.  Parker. 

Masonic. — Altemont  Lodge  No.  26  was  char- 
tered June  14,  1815,  with  the  following  mem- 
bers :  Amos  Heald,  Stephen  Harrington,  Rich- 
ard Strong,  Adam  Johnson,  Levi  Fisk,  Joseph 
Havward,  Jr.,  Asa  Fisk,  Benjamin  Hills  and 
Alexander  Millikin.  A  dispensation  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire  "empowered 
the  said  Amos  Heald  and  others  to  assemble  at 
Dublin  as  a  Lodge  of  Masons,  to  perfect  them- 


selves in  the  several  duties  of  Masonry,  to  make 
choice  of  officers,  to  make  regulations  and  by- 
laws, and  to  admit  candidates  in  the  first  degree 
of  Masonry,  all  according  to  ancient  customs  of 
Masonry,  and  to  be  called  Altemont  Lodge." 
This  warrant  of  dispensation  was  to  continue  in 
full  force  and  authority  till  the  second  Wednes- 
day of  June,  Anno  Lucis  5816,  unless  the  lodge 
was  sooner  installed.  The  first  meeting,  by 
virtue  of  this  dispensation,  was  held  at  Free- 
masons' Hall  in  Dublin,  July  3,  a.l.  5815. 

The  first  officers  were  Amos  Heald,  Mas- 
ter; Stephen  Harrington,  Senior  Warden; 
Richard  Strong,  Junior  Warden ;  Asa  Fisk, 
Treasurer ;  Peter  Tuttle,  Secretary  ;  Levi  Fisk, 
Senior  Deacon ;  William  Warren,  Junior  Dea- 
con ;  Aaron  Lawrence,  Joseph  Gowing,  Stew- 
ards ;  David  Ames,  Jr.,  Tiler. 

May  7,  a.l.  5816,  it  was  "  Voted  to  exclude 
the  use  of  ardent  spirit  in  this  lodge,  and  substi- 
tute therefor  crackers,  cheese  and  cider." 

The  lodge  was  subsequently  removed  to  Peter- 
borough. The  post-office  in  Dublin  was  estab- 
lished 1810  or  1814,  with  Cyrus  Chamberlain, 
postmaster. 

The  Dublin  Social  Library  was  established 
in  1793. 

Schools  were  held  in  the  town  at  an  early 
day,  but  the  first  school-houses  were  not  erected 
until  1778,  when  it  was  voted  to  build  two. 

Civil  History. — The  following  is  a  list  of 
town  clerks  from  1771  to  1886  : 

Joseph  Greenwood,  1771,  '72,  '76,  '77,  78,  '79,  '80, 
'81,  '82,  '83,  '84,  '85,  '86,  '87,  '88,  '89,  '90,  '91,  '92. 

Eli  Morse,  1773,  '74,  '75. 

James  Ernes,  1793. 

Andrew  Allison,  1794,  '95,  '96,  '97. 

Cyrus  Chamberlain,  1798  to  1826  and  1834. 

Joseph  Appleton,  1826,  '27,  '28,  '29,  '30,  '31. 

Thomas  Fiske,  1832,  '33. 

Dexter  Mason,  1835,  '36,  '37,  '38,  '39,  '40,  '41,  '42. 

Asa  Heald,  1843,  '44,  '45. 

Ebenezer  Greenwood,  1846  to  1859. 

James  A.  Mason,  1859. 

Warren  L.  Fiske,  1860,  '61,  '62,  '63,  '(54,  '65,  '66, 
'67,  '69,  73,  74,  75,  76,  77,  78,  79,  '80,  '81,  '82, 
'83,  '84,  '85. 


\ 


~B*g*'byA 


£&Ud4L     &   c&il/tl^ 


DUBLIN. 


191 


Thomas  Fisk,  1868,  71,  '72. 
Walter  Harris,  1870. 

The  following    is  a   list   of   representatives 
from  1790  to  1886: 


charming  view  of  the  Lyndeborough  Moun- 
tains and  the  intervening  distance.  The  at- 
tractions are  appreciated  by  numerous  visitants, 
whose  numbers  are  increasing  annually. 


Reuben  Morse,  1790. 

Samuel  Twitchell,  1792,  '93,  '94,  '95,  '96,  '97. 
Thaddeus  Mason,  1795,  '96,  '97,  1800. 
John  Morse,  1798,  '99,  1809. 

Isaac   Appleton,   1801,    '02,  '03,  '04,  '05,  '06,   '07, 
'12, '16, '17. 
Andrew  Allison,  1808,  '18. 
Samuel  Hamilton,  1810,  '11,  '13,  '14,  '15. 
Moses  Marshall,  1819. 
John  Taggart,  1820. 

Joseph  Appleton,  1822,  '23;  '24,  '25,  '26. 
Samuel  Adams,  1827,  '28. 
Rufus  Piper,  1829,  '30,  '31,  '38,  '40. 
John  K.  Smith,  1832,  '33,  '34,  '39. 
Richard  Strong,  1835,  '36,  '37. 
Calvin  Mason,  1841,  '42. 
Moses  Marshall,  1843,  '44,  '45,  '46. 
Thomas  Fisk,  1847,  '57,  '58. 
Cyrus  Frost,  1848,  '49. 
Jacob  Gleason,  1850,  '51. 
Lovell  Harris,  1852. 
Thaddeus  Morse,  1853,  '54. 
Dexter  Mason,  1855,  '56. 
Aaron  Smith,  1859,  '60,  '64,  '65,  '66,  '69,  '70. 
Calvin  Mason,  1861. 
Milan  W.  Harris,  1862,  '63. 
Henry  C.  Piper,  1867,  '68. 
Jesse  R.  Appleton,  1871,  '72. 
James  Allison,  1873,  '74. 
Walter  J.  Greenwood,  1875,  '76. 
Henry  D.  Learned,  1877,  78,  '83,  '84. 
Charles  W.  Cowing,  1879,  '80. 
Warren  L.  Fiske,  1881,  '82. 

1885,  not  entitled  to  send  a  representative, — prorata 
town. 

Dublin  as  a  Summer  Resort. — The  high 
altitude,  the  invigorating  atmosphere  and  the 
delightful  scenery  have  caused  Dublin  to  be- 
come quite  noted  as  a  summer  resort.  Many 
literary  people  find  it  a  healthful  place  in  which 
to  rest,  and  several  residents  of  New  York 
City  and  Boston  have  erected  elegant  summer 
residences  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Monad- 
nock,  upon  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  pond 
and  in  the   village,   from  which  is  presented  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


JESSE   R.  APPLETON. 

The  Appleton  family  is  well  known  in  New 
England  and  elsewhere,  and  many  of  its  mem- 
bers are  successful  men  in  law,  letters  and  lu- 
cre. Their  names  stand  side  by  side  with  those 
of  Lawrence,  Adams  and  others  prominent  in 
Massachusetts. 

Jesse  Ripley  Appleton  is  a  descendant  in  the 
seventh  generation  from  Samuel  Appleton,  who 
came  from  England  in   1636.     Samuel  (2),  his 
son,  was  eleven  years  old  at  the  time.     Isaac 
(3),  fifth  child  of  Samuel  (2),  was  born  in  1664, 
at  Ipswich,  Mass.      Isaac   (4),   his  third  child, 
was  born  in  1704,  at  Ipswich  ;  he  married  Eliz- 
abeth Sawyer.     His  son,  Francis  (5),  married, 
had   children,   among  them  Francis,  born  May 
28,  1759,  at  Ipswich,  and  Jesse,  who  became 
president    of  Bowdoin   College.      Francis  (6), 
when  about  twelve  years  of  age,  removed  to 
New  Ipswich  with  his  parents,  but,  in  1786,  he 
settled  in  Dublin,  N.  H.,  and  after  three  years 
he  married,  June   2,   1789,  Mary  Ripley,  a  de- 
scendant of  William  Ripley,  the  English  emi- 
grant, who   came  to   America    and    settled   in 
Hingham,   Mass.,   in   1635,   and  died  in  1656. 
He   had  children, — John  and  Abraham.     The 
line  to  Mrs.  Appleton  is  William  (1),  John  (2), 
Peter  (3),  Peter  (4),  Noah   (5),  who  married 
Lydia  Kent,     (She    had    nineteen  children,    of 
whom  seventeen  lived   to    maturity.     Mrs.  Ly- 
dia   Ripley    died    in    1816,    aged    ninety-one, 
leaving  thirteen  children,  one  hundred  and  five 
grandchildren  and  ninety-six    great-grandchil- 
dren). Mary  was  the  fifteenth  child ;  she  was  born 
!  September  3,  1766,  and  died  August  2,  1840. 


192 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Francis  Apple-ton  made  a  home  for  himself 
and  his  wife  on  a  lot  of  land  worth  about  sev- 
enty dollars,  given  him  by  his  father.  He 
felled  the  trees  and  cleared  the  land  by  persist- 
ent and  laborious  exertions,  and  brought  good, 
cultivated  fields  out  of  the  tangled  wilderness, 
and  became  a  farmer,  as  agriculture  was  the 
principal  occupation  of  the  people  of  the  last 
century, — steady,  industrious,  solid  citizens.  Mr. 
Appleton and  his  \vife,soon  after  their  marriage, 
became  members  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  and,  in  1795,  Mr.  Appleton  was  chosen 
deacon,  which  office  he  held  thirty-six  years 
consecutively.  The  following  from  the  church 
records  is  worthy  of  place  :  "  November  6, 
1831.  At  a  meeting  of  the  church,  after  divine 
service,  Deacon  Francis  Appleton  tendered  his 
resignation,  upon  which  the  following  resolu- 
tion, offered  by  J.  K.  Smith,  was  passed  unani- 
mously :  Resolved,  That  in  consideration  of  the 
long  and  faithful  services  rendered  this  church 
by  Francis  xVppleton,  in  the  office  of  deacon, 
his  request  to  tender  his  resignation  be  accepted, 
and  that,  while  we  express  to  him  our  regret  for 
his  determination,  we  also  express  our  gratitude 
and  thankfulness  for  the  fidelity  with  which  he 
lias  discharged  the  duties  pertaining  to  his  office." 
Deacon  Appleton  was  a  quiet,  unostentatious 
man,  temperate,  possessed  of  good  common 
sense  and  eminent  for  his  piety.  His  death 
occurred  July  16, 1849.  The  children  of  Fran- 
cis and  Mary  (Ripley)  Appleton  were  Mary, 
born  September  22, 1792,  married,  February  16, 
1813,  Jonathan  Warren  ;  Betsey,  born  Febru- 
ary 12,  1795,  died  September  11,  1798;  Ash- 
ley, born  December  23,  1796,  married,  January 
27,  1X2::,  Nancy,  daughter  of  Captain  Thad- 
deus  Metcalf,  of  Keene  ;  Francis  Gilman,  born 
February  24,  1799,  married,  September  29, 
1825,  Mary  Hay  ward  ;  Eliza,  born  May  28, 
1801,  married  John  Gould,  of  New  Ipswich 
(they  both  died  in  1840)  ;  Serena,  born  June  1, 
1804,  married,  June  2s,  L 823, Thaddeus Morse, 
Jr.;  Sophia,  born  November  15,  L  806,  mar- 
ried, April  13,  1841,  Thomas  Fisk  ;  Jesse  Rip- 


ley Appleton,  youngest  child,  was  born  April 
25,  1809,  in  Dublin,  and  married,  April  13, 
1841,  Louisa,  daughter  of  Thaddeus  and  Ly- 
dia  (Perry)  Mason.  She  died  November  3, 
1844.  He  married,  second,  March  11,  1852, 
Abbie  Sophia,  daughter  of  Calvin  and  Rebecca 
(Kendall)  Mason.  (The  Mason  family  is  an 
old  and  highly  respected  one  in  New  England.) 
Their  children  were  Ellen  R.,  born  November 
30,  1853,  died  September  14,  1859,  and  Charles 
F.,  born  April  6,  1856,  married  Lillian  G., 
daughter  of  Corydon  and  Abbie  G.  (Piper) 
Jones.  They  have  two  surviving  children, — 
Ellen  E.  and  Arthur  T. 

Jesse  Appleton  was  an  apt  and  diligent  schol- 
ar, and  was  making  good  progress  in  his  studies 
when  they  were  interrupted  by  a  temporary 
loss  of  his  voice,  and  out-of-door  work  seemed 
the  best  remedy.  He  left  school,  became  a 
farmer,  and  succeeded  to  his  father's  estate  in 
1834,  and  has  occupied  the  old  homestead  since, 
making  many  changes  and  improvements.  Mr. 
Appleton  became  a  member  of  the  church  be- 
fore he  was  twenty-five  years  old,  and  has  been 
closelv  identified  with  it  for  many  vears  and  is 
known  as  an  earnest  and  efficient  Sunday-school 
worker.  He  was  chosen  deacon  in  1852,  which 
office  he  still  holds.  He  contributes  liberally  to 
religious  and  benevolent  objects.  He  has  been 
a  life  member  of  the  Unitarian  Association,  of  Bos- 
ton, for  many  years,  and  is  one  of  its  generous 
contributors.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Associa- 
tion at  New  York,  where  was  organized  the 
National  Unitarian  Conference  ;  his  colleagues 
were  Rev.  Mr.  Bridge  and  Colonel  Jonathan 
K.Smith.  From  the  inception  of  the  Abolition 
movement  Mr.  Appleton  was  in  close  accord 
with  it,  as  he  believed  the  holding  of  human 
beings  in  bondage  a  grievous  national  sin,  and 
consequently  he  has  been  a  devoted  Republican 
from  the  advent  of  that  party  into  power,  and 
as  such  was  representative  for  the  town  of 
Dublin  in  the  State  Legislature  for  the  term  of 
1871-72. 

Mr.  Appleton  is  a  quiet,  retiring  man,  of  un- 


'     ^   ^  '      <    '    r         /f.      r>J  C  /-A<.« 


DUBLIN. 


193 


assuming  manners,  in  accord  with  the  better 
class  of  the  community  in  all  matters  tending 
to  advance  or  improve  the  interests  of  his 
native  town.  Intelligent,  thoughtful,  fond  of 
investigation,  he  keeps  himself  informed  on  all 
matters  of  public  moment,  and  ever  gives  his 
support  and  assistance  to  those  movements  his 
careful  proving  shows  to  be  for  the  public  weal. 
It  is  from  such  and  through  such  men  that  the 
perpetuity  of  republican  institutions  is  assured 
in  this  country.  No  idea  of  personal  advance- 
ment or  striving  for  notoriety  swerves  them 
from  following  the  right,  and  it  is  a  satisfaction 
to  record  that  the  class  of  which  he  is  a  good 
type  is  not  a  small  one,  but  embraces  the  truly 
patriotic  and  thinking  men  all  over  our  land. 
Mr.  Appleton  is  especially  happy  in  his  domes- 
tic relations,  with  an  amiable  and  Christian 
wife  as  his  co-worker  and  assistant  in  all  good 
works. 


LEVI   W.    LEONARD,    D.D.1 

Of  all  those  born  in  Dublin,  the  man  of  the 
most  original  and  largely  endowed  mind  was 
Amos  Twitchell.  His  native  faculties,  his  deep 
intuitions,  his  keen  and  quick  perceptions  and 
his  wonderful  fertility  of  resources  would  have 
given  him  anywhere  in  the  world  a  foremost 
place  among  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his 
profession.  But  down  to  the  present  period,  the 
most  valuable  citizen  of  Dublin,  the  man  of  the 
most  varied  and  important  practical  attainments, 
the  man  of  the  widest  and  truest  culture,  the  man 
who  has  done  more  than  any  other  for  the  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  religious  advancement  and 
elevation  of  the  people,  was  Levi  W.  Leonard. 
He  was  born  in  Bridgewater  (South  Parish), 
Mass.,  June  1,  1790,  and  died  in  Exeter,  N.  H., 
the  12th  day  of  December,  1864.  His  early 
years  were  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  but  an 
accident  unfitting  him  for  the  severe  labors  of 
the  farm,  he  engaged  in  the,  to  him,  more  con- 


LWith  an  introduction  by  Rev.  John  H.  Morison,  D.D. 
13 


genial  pursuits  of  a  student.  He  was  graduated 
at  Harvard  University  in  1815,  having  held  a 
high  position  in  a  class  greatly  distinguished 
for  intellectual  ability  and  scholarship.  He  was 
graduated  at  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School  in 
1818,  and  was  two  years  the  preceptor  of  Bridge- 
water  Academy.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1820 
he  was  asked  to  supply  the  pulpit  in  Dublin  a 
few  weeks.  Considering  the  position  he  already 
held  as  a  young  man  of  uncommon  ability  and 
promise,  it  was  said  to  him,  "  You  will  not  wish 
to  stay  long,  much  less  to  settle."  His  reply  indi- 
cated the  deeper  and  more  sterling  qualities  of 
his  nature,  in  the  leading  idea  of  service,  by 
which  his  life  was  governed. 

"  I  will  go,"  he  said.  "  Moreover,  if  I  can 
serve  them,  if  I  can  do  good,  should  they  give 
me  a  call,  I  will  settle."  The  call  was  given, 
and  on  the  6th  day  of  September,  1820,  he  be- 
came the  minister  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  and  Society  in  Dublin,  and  continued 
in  the  office  more  than  a  third  of  a  century. 

In  the  pulpit,  in  the  homes  of  his  people,  in 
the  fields  and  by  the  waysides,  as  well  as  in  his 
home,  he  pursued  his  manifold  studies,  and  dis- 
pensed his  rich  and  varied  instructions.  He 
wrote  in  a  clear,  compact  style,  using  no  super- 
fluous words,  and  never  wearying  his  people  by 
the  undue  length  of  his  services.  His  appear- 
ance in  the  pulpit  was  that  of  one  too  deeply 
impressed  by  the  responsibility  of  his  position, 
and  too  much  absorbed  in  his  subject,  to  care  or 
think  about  anything  else.  There  was  evidently 
no  thought  of  himself, — the  sweet  token  of  hu- 
mility,— or  if  any  such  thought  did  occur,  his 
manner  would  indicate  an  almost  painful  sense 
of  his  own  inefficiency.  Yet  there  was  evidence 
of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject,  and  a 
decided  conviction  of  the  truth  and  importance 
of  what  he  was  saying.  His  intellectual  and 
moral  faculties  and  attainments  were  of  them- 
selves such  that  he  could  not  speak  otherwise 
than  with  authority,  though  without  the  least 
tincture  of  dogmatism. 

His  devotion  to  his  people,  his  all-absorbing 


194 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


interest  in  them  and  whatever  related  to  their 
well-being:,  and  his  eonstant  efforts  to  do  them 
good  in  every  walk  of  life,  especially  his  intelli- 
gent and  loving  intercourse  with  the  young,  and 
his  labors  for  them   and    with  them,  gave  him 
an  influence  and  made  him  "a  power   working 
for  righteousness,"  such  as  it  is  the  privilege  of 
very  few  men  to  attain  to.     The  only  instance 
corresponding  to  this  of  Dr.   Leonard,  that  I 
have  ever  known,  is  that  of  Dr.  Joseph  Allen, 
of  Xorthborough,  Mass.   From  1822  to  1853 — 
thirty-one  years — Dr.  Leonard's  name  appears 
in   the  town   records    at  the  head  of  the  school 
committee.     And  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
(hiring  the  whole  period   he  was  the  guiding 
mind  and  ruling  spirit  in  whatever  was  done  to 
produce  the   extraordinary  advancement    then 
made  by  the  common  schools  of  Dublin.  In  the 
report  of  1850-51  he  says,  "  The  reading  of  this 
report  closes    the  thirtieth  year    in  which    the 
chairman  of  your  committee  has  been  engaged 
in  superintending  the  schools  in  this  town.     He 
has  made  to  them  more  than  a  thousand  visits. 
It  has  been  a  labor  which  he  loved,  and  it  will 
ever  remain  a  source  of  gratifying  recollection. 
He  has  not  labored  alone  and  unaided.     .     .     . 
Let  the  same  harmonious  action  and  the  same 
spirit  of  improvement  continue  for  another  thirty 
years,  and  your  schools  will  be  so  perfected  that 
the  period  just  closed  will  seem  like  a  day  of 
small  things." 

Plow  he  labored  among  his  people,  doing  for 
them  the  work  which  he  loved  to  do,  endearing 
himself  to  them,  and  inducing  them  to  join  him 
in  his  work  of  moral  and  intellectual  improve- 
ment, till  it  had  become  to  them  also  a  labor  of 
love,  we  may   best  learn    from   one    who  was 
born  under  his  ministry,  and  who  preached  his 
funeral  sermon.     That  sermon,  by  the  Rev.  J. 
C.  Learned,  then  of  Exeter,  now  of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  lets  one  into  the  secret  of  his  influence, 
showing  us  the  man  and  his  work.     Indeed,  the 
man  and  his  work  were  one.     What  he  taught, 
that   he  did  and  that  he  was.     "  I  prefer  to 
speak  of  the  man,  less  as  the  preacher  of  sermons, 


or  as  the  author  of  educational  works,  or  of 
contributions  to  natural  science,  or  as  the  mover 
of  benevolent  associations,  more  as  he  appeared 
in  his  daily  life. 

"  The  good  man — as  he  lived  and  still  lives  in 
the  hearts  of  his  people  ;  the  Christian  man — 
whose  graces  made  him  honored  by  all  who 
knew  him,  whose  very  presence  seemed  a  regen- 
erating atmosphere,  whose  example  was  so  spot- 
less that  he  seemed  conformed  to  the  image  of 
the  Master. 

"In  this  town  Dr.  Leonard  has  been  pre-emi- 
nently one  of  the  people.     He  was  interested  in 
their  pursuits.     Not  neglecting  his  own  profes- 
sion, he  knew   something  of  all    others.     The 
lawyer  thought  he  must  have  studied  jurispru- 
dence.    He   knew  more  of  teaching  than   the 
teachers.  He  knew  more  of  mechanism  than  the 
mechanics.  And  it  was  not  long  before  the  farm- 
ers found  out  that  he  knew  more  of  agriculture 
and  horticulture  than  they.     So  they  were  glad 
to  seek   his  counsel.     And  no  one  came  away 
without  valuable  suggestions;  for,  aside   from 
his  own  accurate  observations,  the  best  periodi- 
cals and  the  latest  books  on  science  found  their 
way  into  his  library.     There  was  no  austerity  in 
his  manner  to  repel  the  humblest  from  approach- 
ing him  ;  there  was  no  obtrusiveness  to  make 
anyone  feel  that  his  advice  must  be  acted  upon, 
however  freely  given.     Men   were  not  slow  to 
learn  the  value  of  his  caution  and  sagacity. 

"Measures  concerning  the  public  interests  of 
the  town,  if  he  did  not  originate  them,  were 
brought  to  him  for  his  indorsement.  Before 
they  were  set  on  foot  they  were  talked  over  and 
modified  in  his  study.  And  when  there  arose 
causes  of  dispute  between  neighbors,  or  of 
alienation  in  families,  to  whom  could  they  more 
confidentially  appeal  than  to  him?  Each  felt  him 
so  much  a  personal  friend  that  there  was  no  fear 
of  favoritism.  All  believed  in  his  kindness  and 
uprightness  and  impartiality.  He  seemed  a 
physician  for  their  private  griefs,  and  many 
times,  more  times  than  any  of  us  can  ever  know, 
did  this  faith  make  them  whole. 


DUBLIN. 


195 


"He  was  a  most  ardent  and  true  lover  of  chil- 
dren. You  may  infer  from  this  what  power  he 
would  obtain  over  the  young  in  so  long  a  minis- 
try. It  was  a  natural  instinct  with  him.  His 
heart  could  not  help  reaching  out  after  the  little 
ones ;  and  wrhen  once  he  had  known  them  he 
never  forgot  them.  Last  summer  he  told  me — 
and  no  one  who  knew  him  here,  where  he  labor- 
ed so  long,  will  doubt  me — that  when  he  went 
away  from  you  there  was  no  child  of  four  years 
old  in  all  the  town  whom  he  could  not  have 
called  by  name.  And  well  do  you  know  how 
greatly  he  won  both  their  love  and  their  respect. 
Never  have  I  heard  a  young  person  who  was 
a  native  of  this  town  speak  of  him  but  with 
reverence.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  where  his 
name  had  been  a  household  word  for  more  than 
a  generation  ?  For  more  than  thirty  years,  alike 
in  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold,  he  saw  these 
children  in  their  several  schools.  He  knew 
what  they  studied  ;  he  watched  their  progress  ; 
he  cared  for  them  with  a  parental  solicitude,  as 
though  in  some  sense  they  were  a  household  en- 
trusted  to  his  influence.  Every  child  knew  him 
and  was  glad  to  see  him,  for  he  never  went  away 
without  leaving  some  word  of  encouragement. 

"Latterly,  as  I  have  seen  him  often  and  talked 
with  him,  I  have  thought  there  were  no  children 
to  him  like  Dublin  children.  Enfeebled  in  body 
as  he  had  been  for  some  time,  his  mind  corre- 
spondingly lessened  in  its  activity,  he  seemed  to 
dwell  much  with  the  past.  And  the  young  men 
and  the  young  women  of  this  town — where  they 
were  and  what  they  were  doing — furnished  a 
theme  which  never  failed  to  arouse  his  interest 
and  call  forth  his  emotion.  As  I  said  before, 
he  never  forgot  them.  Often  and  often,  have  I 
been  surprised  to  find  how  far  out  into  the  world 
he  had  traced  them.  Not  unfrequently  has  he 
been  able  to  tell  me  the  fortunes  or  the  fate  of  my 
own  school-mates  whom  I  had  almost  forgotten. 
And  when  a  boy  or  a  girl  had  done  well,  or 
their  characters  blossomed  out  with  promise,  it 
made  the  eye  of  the  feeble  old  man  grow  bright, 
there  came  an  honest  pride  to  his  heart — it  was 


as  though  he  shared  the  honor.  And,  my 
friends,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  too  much  to  say, 
that  if  any  youth  who  has  gone  out  from  this 
community  has  won  for  himself  a  noble  name 
or  a  lofty  character,  he  is  a  debtor  in  no  mean 
degree  to  the  influence  of  that  spirit  which  has 
so  recently  freed  itself  from  the  bondage  of  this 
mortal  clay. 

"About  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  after  an  absence 
of  considerable  time  from  these  scenes  of  his  life- 
work,  he  revisited  them,  you  remember,  for  the 
last  time.  Almost  worn  out  with  exhaustion 
from  the  long  stage-ride  over  the  hills,  unable 
to  descend  the  coach-steps  without  help,  he  spied  a 
little  boy  standing  upon  the  threshold  of  the  house 
near  by  where  we  stopped,  when,  forgetful  of 
his  weakness,  away  he  tottered,  his  face  all  ra- 
diant with  his  accustomed  smile,  to  take  him  by 
the  hand  and  ask  him  who  he  was,  for  the  mo- 
ment less  mindful  of  older  persons  standing  by. 
And  in  the  room  where  he  lived  for  several 
months,  and  wThere  he  died,  I  have  seen,  for 
weeks  and  weeks  together,  an  open  miniature 
lying  upon  his  table  •  and  many  times  I  have 
found  him  bending  over  it.  It  was  the  minia- 
ture  of  a  little  girl,  now  a  woman  grown.  And 
when  I  have  spoken  to  him  of  her  :  '  It  looks 
as  she  did  once/  he  said.  '  We  thought  it  a 
good  picture,'  and  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks — 
and  they  were  tears  of  warmest  affection. 

"Again,  as  showing  the  aesthetic  side  of  his 
nature,  he  had  more  than  an  ordinary  love  for 
and  appreciation  of  the  beautiful.  Fond  as  he 
was  of  the  exact  sciences,  and  little  imagination 
as  his  sermons  ever  exhibited,  he  had  an  exqui- 
site taste  for  poetry.  Let  any  one  look  over 
the  files  of  the  Exeter  News-Letter,  for  the  eight 
years  he  was  editor,  and  the  selections  will  be 
ample  proof  of  that.  Then  the  collection  of 
'  Christian  Hymns,'  which  not  long  ago  was 
used  in  more  churches  of  our  denomination  than 
any  other,  of  whose  committee  of  compilation  he 
was  chairman,  Mas  in  no  small  measure  a  testi- 
mony to  the  excellence  of  his  taste  in  lyric  verse. 
Moreover,  I  have  been  told  that  several  hymns 


196 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


in  the  collection  are  from  his  own  pen,  but  char- 
acteristic of  his  modesty,  his  name  never  appears 
with  them;  they  are  only  'Anonymous.'1 

"  He  was  a  great  lover  of  flowers,  and  culti- 
vated them  with  rare  success.  His  garden  was 
tastefully  laid  out  and  kept,  and  contained  the 
most  cherished  varieties.  Hon.  John  Prentiss, 
of  Keene,  writes  me  that  he  well  remembers 
Dr.  Leonard's  'display  of  dahlias  when  first 
introduced  in  the  town  hall  at  our  county  agri- 
cultural fair,'  and  adds,  '  he  doubtless  obtained 
a  premium.'  Well  do  I  remember  what  a 
marvel  of  beauty  we  school  children  thought 
that  flower  garden  was,  and  lingered  by  the 
white  railings  that  inclosed  it  with  no  indefinite 
longings.  Our  eyes  had  seen  nothing  like  the 
minister's  garden  in  splendor,  and  we  thought 
its  supplies  must  be  inexhaustible.  True,  there 
were  hundreds  of  flowers  for  which  we  knew 
no  name,  but  the  most  unskilled  of  all  could  ask 
for  and  knew  the  value  of  roses  and  poppies 
and  pinks  and  lark-spurs;  and  no  one  who 
asked  was  turned  away  empty-handed.  But 
there  was  another  means  of  obtaining  a  nose- 
gay more  delicate  than  asking  outright. 

"'  There  is  a  country  town,'  says  the  author 
of  '  The  District  School  as  it  Was,5  in  a  late 
work, '  one  of  the  roughest  in  New  England, 
which  was  favored  with  a  clergyman  who  well 
understood    the    true    methods    of    education. 


1  For  convenience  a  list  of  Dr.  Leonard's  published  works 
is  subjoined, — 

1826,  "Literary  and  Scientific  Class-  Book ; "  1829, 
"Sequel  to  Easy  Lessons;''  1835,  "North  American 
Spelling-Book  ;  "  1844,  "  Remarks  on  Modes  of  Instruc- 
tion;" 1844-53,  "  Reports  of  Schoob  in  Dublin;"  1st"., 
one  of  the  compilers  of  the  Hymn-Book  entitled  "Christian 
Hymns;"  1845,  "Sermon  on  the  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary 
of  his  Ordination  ;"  1848,  "The  Natural  and  the  Spiritual 
Man"  (being  No.  247  of  the  Unitarian  Association  Tracts); 
1848,  "Analysis  of  the  Elementary  Sounds  of  the  English 
Language,  with  a  Chan,  Etc.;"  1851,  "A  LecLure  delivered 
before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  at  Keene,  N. 
II.  in  a  volume  with  other  lectures  delivered  on  the  same 
occasion);"  1853,  "  Sermon  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New 
Meeting-House  in  Dublin  ; ''  1855,  Editor  of  the  "History 
of  Dublin." 


Among  other  investigations,  he  devoted  some  of 
his  leisure  to  entomology.  Somehow,  he  in- 
spired the  people  of  the  whole  town,  more  or 
less,  with  his  spirit,  and  especially  the  young. 
All  eyes  were  opened  and  sharpened  to  discover 
some  new  bug,  or  worm,  or  butterfly  ;  and  hap- 
py was  the  boy  or  girl  that  could  run  with  some 
prize  of  the  kind  to  the  minister,  receive  his 
thanks  and  get  a  peep  through  the  microscope 
at  the  wonders.' 2  Besides  the  rewards  named 
by  this  writer,  he  who  brought  a  perfect 
beetle  or  butterfly  received  also  a  bouquet  of 
flowers,  and  we  always  thought  the  flowers 
that  came  from  that  garden  a  badge  of  honor. 
With  them  came  a  kind  word  and  a  benignant 
smile,  that  lived  many  days  in  the  child's 
heart. 

"Dr.  Leonard  was  a  thorough  proficient  in  the 
natural  history  of  insects.  Most  of  you  remem- 
ber tiers  of  glass  cases  or  cabinets,  disposed 
about  his  study,  filled  with  flies,  queer  and  com- 
mon, with  bright  beetles  and  enormous  butter- 
flies. The  late  Chancellor  Hoyt,  of  Washing- 
ton University,  St.  Louis,  speaks  of  him  as 
having;  '  contributed  to  the  late  Dr.  Harris,  his 
class-mate,  not  a  few  of  the  most  important  facts 
in  his  published  works,  and  as  being  undoubt- 
edly at  this  time  (1859)  the  best  entomologist 
in  the  State.'1  So,  in  like  manner,  mineral, 
bird  and  star,  as  well  as  insect  and  blossom, 
taught  him  Divine  lessons,  and  served  his  pur- 
pose of  doing  good. 

"  Last  summer  I  called  upon  him  one  morn- 
ing, and  he  showed  me  a  beautiful  pond  lily, 
one  of  the  first  of  the  season,  which  some  one, 
thoughtful  of  his  love  of  flowers,  had  given  him. 
Nothing  could  have  pleased  him  more,  and  as 
he  spoke  of  it  and  perceived  its  perfume,  he 
contemplated  it  with  all  the  delighted  interest  of 
a  child.  He  was  not  well  that  day,  and  I  called 
ao-ain  toward  evening.  He  had  lain  down  for 
the  night,  but  he  still  held  that  same  white  lily 


a  "  Helps  to  Education,"  by  Warren  Burton,  p.  1 
3  "  Addresses,  Lectures  and  Reviews,"  p.  140. 


DUBLIN. 


197 


in  his  hand,  wilted,  indeed,  but  its  fragrance 
was  not  yet  spent.  To  me,  my  friends,  that 
flower  seemed  no  unfit  emblem  of  his  life. 

"  Dr.  Leonard  was  a  lover  of  goodness,  and, 
therefore,  a  Christian.  He  gave  himself  to 
Christian  work.  And,  if  reports  be  true,  few 
towns  stood  more  in  need  of  moral  regeneration 
than  Dublin  at  the  commencement  of  his  min- 
istry. It  has  grown  into  a  proverb  that  minis- 
ters have  little  or  no  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  Those  who  knew  Dr.  Leonard  will 
need  no  further  proof  that  the  rule  has  had  its 
exception.  In  that  matter  few  had  clearer 
vision  than  he.  His  acute  observation  was  not 
limited  to  inanimate  nature.  He  knew  his  man, 
and,  therefore,  when  a  work  that  required  co- 
operation was  to  be  accomplished,  his  confidence 
was  not  misplaced.  When  he  came  here,  in- 
temperance, with  its  kindred  evils,  alarmingly 
prevailed.  But  gradually  there  came  a  change. 
A  new  power  was  felt  among  the  people.  It  was 
an  influence  very  quiet,  but  very  persistent. 
Soon  it  became  known  that  the  study  of  the 
pastor  was  the  centre  from  which  it  radiated. 
Afterwards  he  lectured  upon  temperance  in  all 
the  school  districts.  Some  men,  in  consequence, 
withdrew  from  the  society.  For  about  ten  years 
he  reduced  his  salary  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
these  paid  him,  that  others  might  not  be  embar- 
rassed by  a  heavier  assessment,  and  urged  the 
cause  more  industriously  than  ever.  In  these 
latter  days,  my  friends,  you  have  a  just  pride 
in  the  result.  I  am  not  old,  yet  I  have  seen 
something  of  many  towns,  both  small  and  great, 
and,  comparing  any  that  I  have  known  or  heard 
of  with  this,  I  have  never  had  occasion  to  be 
ashamed  of  the  moral  character  of  the  town  in 
which  I  was  born. 

"  In  the  published  correspondence  of  Theodore 
Parker  occur  these  words  of  tribute,  in  a  letter 
to  Dr.  Francis,  in  1855:  'Here  I  am,'  says 
Mr.  Parker,  l  rusticating  in  one  of  the  nicest  lit- 
tle towns  in  New  Hampshire  or  New  England. 
Good  Dr.  Leonard  has  written  his  natural  piety 
all  over  the  town  and  in  all  the  people.      How 


much  a  noble  minister  may  do  for  mankind  in 
such  a  town  as  this  !  There  are  twenty-three 
copies  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  and  nearly  as 
many  of  the  National  Era,  taken  here.  No  rum 
in  town,  excellent  schools,  not  eleven  hundred 
inhabitants  and  twelve  hundred  dollars  devoted 
every  year  to  schools.  I  often  mention  Lincoln, 
Dr.  Stearns'  old  parish  for  so  many  years,  to 
show  what  a  minister  may  do.  Concord  is  also 
a  good  example;  but  Dublin,  I  think,  will  bear 
the  palm  from  all  the  rest.  But  why  is  it  that 
such  cases  are  so  rare  ?  There  is  not  a  town  in 
New  England  but  would  rejoice  to  have  such  a 
minister  as  Dr.  L.  Why  is  it  that  we  don't 
raise  that  sort  of  minister?' l 

"  It  matters  little,  perhaps,  what  the  the- 
ology of  such  a  man  may  be ;  for  his  life  passes 
all  theologies.  No  denomination  can  monopo- 
lize its  benefits ;  so  we  may  be  sure  he  was  no 
sectarian  or  dogmatist.  Yet  his  theological 
views  were  well-defined.  He  was  educated  in 
and  belonged  to  the  older  school  of  Unitarians. 
But  he  '  believed  with  Robinson,  the  teacher  of 
the  pilgrims,  that  God  had  more  truth  to  break 
forth  from  His  holy  word.'  He  was  the  friend 
of  a  liberal  and  progressive  faith,  for  he  was  the 
friend  of  independent  thought.  His  words  ded- 
icated this  edifice  in  which  we  are  assembled  to 
religious  uses.  Many  of  you  will  remember 
when  he  said  :  '  Preaching,  in  order  to  be  effec- 
tive or  profitable,  must  be  free.  That  which 
gives  it  life  and  energy,  and  without  which  it  is 
but  a  vain  parade,  is  this:  that  preachers  be  al- 
lowed to  form  principles  of  their  own,  and  that 
what  they  say  be  the  fruit  of  their  own  thought. 
Command  a  man  to  utter  the  thoughts  and 
views  of  others,  as  they  have  been  contained  in 
confessions  of  faith,  and  threaten  him  at  the 
same  time  with  some  temporal  deprivation  or 
spiritual  denunciation  if  he  ventures  to  follow 
his  own  conclusions  and  to  proclaim  his  senti- 
ments, and  you  pass  upon  all  he  says  a  sentence 


1  Weiss'  "  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Theodore  Parker," 
vol.  i.,  p.  362. 


198 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  death.  You  come  to  the  sanctuary  for  in- 
struction, not  merely  to  hear  your  own  opinions 
declared  and  confirmed.' 1 

"  His  theology  excluded  no  sincere  and  de- 
vout and  striving  soul  from  Christian  fellow 
ship.  Ah,  my  friends,  his  faith  was  a  good  one 
to  live  by,  if  it  produce  so  beautiful  a  life ;  sure- 
ly a  good  one  to  die  by,  if  a  well-spent  life  can 
make  death  pleasant.  Whatever  value  he 
placed  upon  any  articles  of  belief,  he  did  not 
forget  to  dedicate  this  house  of  God,  with 
special  words,  to  the  love  of  charity,  to  the 
spirit  of  progress  and  liberty.  He  said,  'All 
mankind  are  brethren.  When  one  is  oppressed, 
all  are  implicated  in  danger.  If  one  human 
being  may  suffer  wrong  with  impunity  to  the 
wrong-doer,  then  all  are  exposed  to  the  like 
fate.  .  .  .  Every  church,  therefore,  every  house 
consecrated  to  God  and  to  Christ,  should  be 
open  to  the  defense  of  human  freedom  and 
human  rights.'  What  another  has  written  of 
him  is  indeed  eminently  true:  'He  was  the 
friend  of  his  race — yea,  the  friend  of  every 
race  made  in  the  image  of  God.' 

"  Dr.  Leonard  was  a  benevolent  man.  You 
would  know  that  from  his  very  face.  Without 
wealth,  with  only  a  competency,  no  one  in  need, 
no  needy  enterprise,  made  calls  upon  him  in 
vain. 

When  first  he  came  here  there  were  few 
juvenile  books  published.  But  he  saw  what  a 
power  for  good  they  might  be  made  to  be.  He 
obtained  what  he  could  from  time  to  time,  and 
when  lie  made  pastoral  visits  was  seldom  with- 
out some  in  his  pockets  for  the  children.  There 
grew  such  an  interest  in  the  minister's  collec- 
tion, and  constantly,  that  a  regular  system  of 
borrowing  and  lending  was  adopted,  so  that  ail 
might  share  alike.  In  three  or  four  years  there 
were  as  many  as  a  hundred  volumes  in  the  min- 
ister's collection,  and  constantly  visited  by  the 
children  at  the  minister's  house.  Thus  was 
formed  what   is  supposed  to  have  been  ihc  first 

1  Discourse:  Delivered  March  2,  1853,  p.  7. 


Sunday-school  library  in  New  England.2  It  is 
true,  however,  that  any  children  in  the  town 
who  wished  to  enjoy  its  privileges  were  free  to 
do  so.  There  was  no  spirit  of  exclusiveness  in 
the  pastor's  heart ;  every  child  was  alike  wel- 
come. 

"  '  He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way.' 

"For  many  years  he  furnished  all  the  text- 
books for  the  Sunday-school  and  gave  each 
child  a  story-book  when  it  closed  for  the  winter. 
He  gave  hymn-books  for  the  choir ;  and  in  the 
common  schools,  for  the  sake  of  securing  uni- 
formity of  text-books,  if  any  poor  family  was 
to  suffer  by  the  change,  the  required  school- 
books  were  often  supplied  by  him.  Since  he 
left  Dublin,  instance  after  instance  of  his  private 
charities  have  come  to  light,  unknown  before. 
Said  a  family,  which  had  suffered  great  adver- 
sity, not  of  his  own  parish,  '  There  has  been 
no  such  friend  to  us  ;  we  do  not  see  what  we 
shall  do  when  he  goes  from  us.' 

"Seldom  wasa  man  more  richly  endowed  with 

2  In  a  private  letter  to  the  son  of  Dr.  Leonard,  the  Hon.  Tims. 
Fisk,  of  Dublin,  who  was  a  co-laborer  with  the  latter  in  the 
cause  of  education  and  other  good  works  in  that  town,  ami 
although  in  his  eighty-third  year,  still  retains  his  mental 
vigor  in  a  remarkable  degree,  after  stating  in  substance 
that  he  thinks  Rev.  Mr.  Learned  has  fallen  into  an  error  in 
calling  this  library  the  first  Sunday-school  library  in  New 
England,  says  "that  the  historian  of  l'eterboro'  is  mis- 
taken when  he  states  in  his  work  that,  '  giving  all  due 
credit  for  previous  attempts  to  establish  free  public  libraries, 
we  think  the  claim  of  Peterboro'  to  be  the  first  to  have  suc- 
ceeded in  it  is  indisputable.'  "  Mr.  Fisk 'goes  on  to  say 
"that  the  first  meeting  held  in  Peterboro',  in  relation  to  it, 
was  April  9,  1833.  Your  father  (Dr.  Leonard)  instituted 
in  Dublin  the  Juvenile  Library,  in  1822,  eleven  years  before 
the  Peterboro'  library  was  organized,  and  it  was,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  a  free  public  library  throughout  the 
town,  and  has  been  in  successful  operation  ever  since.  To 
your  father  is  due  the  honor  of  instituting  the  first  free, 
public  circulating  library  within  my  knowledge,  and  he  ex- 
pended some  three  hundred  dollars  of  his  private  means 
for  books  before  others  contributed  to  the  expense.  The 
Dublin  Juvenile  Library  was  founded  in  1825,  and  since 
that  time  has  been  replenished  annually  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  its  members." 


DUBLIN. 


199 


patience  and  Christian  resignation.  With  health 
neve?' firm,  seldom  would  those  about  him  have 
discovered  it  from  any  word  of  his.  Latterly,  the 
premature  infirmities  of  age  bowed  and  par- 
alyzed him.  In  general,  I  do  not  think  there 
was  that  acuteness  of  suffering  which  is  often 
witnessed.  But  there  was  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree of  consciousness  to  the  very  last.  For 
many  months,  from  slight  paralysis,  it  had  been 
difficult  for  him  to  converse.  He  could  not 
longer  mingle  in  company,  as  he  was  wont,  and 
it  had  inclined  him  to  sit  much  by  himself  in 
his  chamber.  Yet  no  murmur  was  ever  known 
to  escape  his  lips.  Yea,  even  when,  towards 
the  last,  soreness  and  racking  pains  came  upon 
him,  those  who  stood  by  were  astonished  at  his 
fortitude.  There  was  not  even  a  complaining 
look ;  while,  for  the  slightest  efforts  for  his  re- 
lief, his  face  lighted  up  with  gratitude  and  af- 
fection. 

"There  is  a  heroism  that  unflinchingly  fronts 
the  cannon's  mouth  and  the  deadly  charge  of 
battle.  But  to  me  that  is  a  grander  heroism 
that,  with  a  sweet  religious  faith,  utters  no  mur- 
mur in  the  face  of  lingering  death." 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  con- 
ferred  upon  Dr.  Leonard  by  the  corporation  of 
Harvard  University  in  1849,  and  President 
Jared  Sparks,  in  his  letter  announcing  the 
honor,  says :  "  I  am  happy  to  be  the  medium  of 
communicating  this  testimony  of  the  high  esteem 
in  which  we  hold  your  distinguished  services  in 
the  cause  of  religion  and  education." 

It  remains  only  to  add  that  Dr.  Leonard  was 
twice  married.     His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth 


Morison  Smith,  daughter  of  Hon.  Samuel 
Smith,  the  founder  of  Peterborough  village. 
She  died  September  13,  1848.  Two  children 
were  the  fruit  of  this  marriage, — William  Smith, 
born  October  13,  1832,  a  graduate  at  Dart- 
mouth College  in  the  class  of  1856,  and  for  the 
last  twenty-five  years  a  practicing  physician  in 
Hinsdale,  N.  H.;  also  Ellen  Elizabeth,  born 
June  25,  1846,  who  married  Joseph  H.  Hough- 
ton, and  has  resided  for  many  years  in  New 
Tacoma,  Washington  Territory. 

He  married  for  his  second  wife  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Dow  Smith,  of  Exeter,  N.  H.,  widow  of 
Samuel  G.  Smith,  and  soon  after  removed  to 
Exeter,  where  he  passed  the  declining  years  of 
his  life,  assuming,  for  a  time,  the  editorship  of 
the  Exeter  News-Letter,  and  interesting  himself 
in  the  schools  and  all  other  things  pertaining  to 
the  public  welfare.  Yet  Exeter  was  never  a 
congenial  abiding-place  to  him ;  like  a  tree 
transplanted  after  it  had  reached  maturity,  he 
could  not  take  root  and  thrive  in  a  new  soil, 
and  as  the  evening  shadows  gathered  around 
him,  he  yearned  more  and  more  for  his  old 
home,  and  so  at  last  he  was  laid  at  rest  in  the 
ancient  graveyard  at  Dublin,  by  the  side  of  the 
wife  of  his  best  years  and  the  mother  of  his 
children ;  all  around  him  the  graves  of  his 
parishioners,  for  whom  he  had  so  many  years 
broken  the  bread  of  life.  In  the  shadow  of  the 
grand  Monadnock,  by  the  shore  of  the  crystal 
lake  he  loved  so  well,  a  plain  granite  monument 
emblematical  of  his  character,  marks  the  last 
resting-place  of  this  pure,  noble  and  devoted 
minister  of  God. 


HISTORY   OF  FITZWILLIAM 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  township  was  granted  by  the  Masonian 
proprietors,  January  15,  1752,  to  Roland  Cot- 
ton and  forty-one  others,  and  was  known  by  the 
name  of  Monadnock,  No.  4.  The  conditions  of 
the  grant  not  being  complied  with,  a  re-grant 
was  made  to  Colonel  Sampson  Stoddard  and 
twenty-two  associates,  and  it  was  sometimes 
called  Stoddard's  town  until  May  19,  1773, 
when  it  was  incorporated  by  the  Governor  and 
Council  by  the  name  of  Fitz  William,  in  honor 
of  an  English  earl.  In  1760  settlements  were 
commenced  by  James  Reed  (who  afterwards 
commanded  one  of  the  New  Hampshire  regi- 
ments in  Bunker  Hill),  John  Fassett  and  Ben- 
jamin Bigelow. 

When  the  town  of  Troy  was  formed,  June  23, 
1815,  about  four  thousand  acres  of  Fit/.william 
territory  was  taken  from  the  north  part  of  the 
town  and  now  constitutes  a  part  of  Troy.  The 
line  between  this  town  and  Rindge  was  estab- 
lished by  an  act  approved  June,  17,  1847. 

Petition  of  Colonel  Stoddard  Relative 
to  Incorporation. 

"To  His  Excellency  John  Wentworth  Esq« 
Captain  General  Governor  &  Commander  in 
Chief  in  &  Over  his  Majestys  Province  of 
New  I  lamp0,  the  Honebo  his  Majestys  Council 
for  Said  Province — 
"  The   Memorial    of  Sampson    Stoddard  of 

Chelmsford  in  the  County  of  Middlesex  &  in 
200 


the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Shews — ■ 
"  That  there  is  a  Tract  of  Land  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampe  of  the  Contents  of  about  six 
Miles  Square  Granted  by  the  Purchasors  of  the 
Right  of  John  Tufton  Mason  Esq8  to  your 
Memorialists  &  Others  Called  the  Township  of 
Monadnock  N°  4— That  the  Greater  part  there- 
of is  finally  Vested  in  him,  that  he  has  at  a 
Great  Expence  Settled  a  Very  Considerable 
Number  of  Inhabitants  thereon 

"  Wherefore  your  Memorialist  humbly  prays 
that  the  Lands  aforesd  may  not  be  Incorporated 
into  a  Town  &  the  Inhabitants  there  Infran- 
chised  with  all  Town  priviledges  without  their 
first  Giving  Notice  to  him  of  their  Design  of 
applying  to  yr  Excell-  &  honors  and  your 
Memorialist    Shall    (as  in   duty   bound)    Ever 

pray— 

"  Sampson  Stoddard 

"  Portsm11  July  11,  1768—" 
Incorporation  of  Town. — The  following 
is  a  copy  of  the  petition  for  incorporation  : 

"  To  His  Excellency  John  Wentworth  Esquire 
Captain  General,  Governor  and  Commander 
in  Chief  in  and  over  his  Majestys  Province  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Vice  Admiral  of  the 
Same  in  Council. 

"  The  Petition  of  James  Reed  of  Monadnock 
N°  4  in  the  County  of  Cheshire  in  the  Province 
aforesaid  Esq6  and  Clerk  of  the  Proprietry  of 
said  Monadnock  N°  4  unto  your  Excellency  & 
Honors  humbly  Shews 


FITZWILLIAM. 


201 


"  That  your  Petitioner  together  with  Joseph 
Hemmenway  and  John  Millins  at  a  legal  Meet- 
ing of  sd  Proprietors  held  in  sd  Monadnock  N° 
4  on  the  31st  of  March  last  were  chosen  a  Com- 
mittee to  petition  this  Honorable  Court  to  in- 
corporate the  said  Monadnock  N°  4  into  a  Town- 
ship with  the  usual  Priviledges  and  Franchises 
of  other  corporate  Towns  in  the  said  Province 
for  the  following  Reasons  Viz* 

"  That  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Monadnock 
have  settled  a  Minister  &  built  a  Meeting  House 
and  have  a  large  Number  residing  there,  besides 
others  daily  coming  to  settle  there  That  they 
humbly  conceive  their  Number  intitles  them  to 
the  Indulgence  of  this  HonWe  Court  as  in  the 
present  Mode  of  Provincial  Taxation,  they  are 
subject  to  the  controul  of  the  Selectmen  of 
Neighbouring  Towns,  and  they  would  humbly 
wish  to  have  the  Privilege  of  chusing  Selectmen 
and  other  Town  Officers  of  their  own  which 
would  quiet  the  Minds  of  the  Inhabitants  and 
promote  the  Interests  &  good  Government  of  sd 
Monadnock  N°  4 — That  being  destitute  of  Town 
Privileges  the  Petitioners  cannot  legally  warn 
out  any  vagrants  that  may  come  there,  and 
many  other  Inconveniences  Wherefore  Your 
Petitioner  in  behalf  of  sd  Proprietors  humbly 
pray  that  this  Honble  Court  would  grant  their 
Petition  &  as  in  Duty  bound  he  &  they  shall 
ever  pray — 

"James  Reed 
"  Committee  man  and  Proprietors  Clark  " 
The  town  was  incorporated  May  19,  1773. 
Documentary  History. — The  following-  is 
a  copy  of  the  petition  of  Mrs.  Clayes  : 
"  The  Hon6  Counsel  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives  of  the  State  of   New   Hampshire   in 
General  Court  assembled — 
"  The  Humble    petition  of  Abigail   Clayes 
widow  to  the  late  Captain  Elijah  Clayes  deceased 
of  the  2d  regiment  of  the  New  Hampshire  Line 
— Urged  by  her  distressed  situation;  begs  your 
attention  ;    as  she  is  left  with  a  famley  of  small 
Children  without  any  other  means  of  subsistance 
but  her  own  Industry  for  there  support.     Im- 


pelled by  these  Circumstances  and  the  Horrid 
Idea  of  want,  being  fully  impressed  that  the 
Honorable  Body  before  this  her  petition  will  be 
laid,  supported  by  there  natural  feelings  as  well 
as  Justice  and  Humanity  towards  those  in  dis- 
tress; will  exert  every  nerve  for  so  desirable  an 
end  ;  as  to  soften  as  far  as  in  their  power  the 
distress  incident  to  the  widows  and  Fatherless  ; 
and  Consequently  extend  their  generosity  to- 
wards her  by  a  grant  of  half  pay  agreeable  to 
an  act  of  Congress  of  the  15th  of  May  1778  in 
such  Cases  made  and  provided  and  renewed  and 
extended  the  24  August  1780  which  will  enable 
her  to  bring  up  her  Children  in  some  degree  of 
decency  and  live  above  contempt,  resting  assured 
of  your  strict  attention  to  this  her  Petition — 
Your  Petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  shall  forever 

pray 

"  Abigal  Clayes" 

Elijah  Clayes  was  captain  of  the  Seventh 
Company  of  the  Second  Regiment  in  1777  ; 
Joseph  Potter,  of  Fitzwilliam,  was  second  lieu- 
tenant of  the  same  company. 

GENERAL  JAMES  REED'S  PETITION. 

"Keene  Decembr  18th  1780 
"  To  The  Honble  Council  &  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives Convened  att  Exeter  this  twentieth 
Day  of  Decembr  for  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire— 

"  The  Petition  of  James  Reed  of  Keene  in 
the  County  of  Cheshire  Esq3  Humbly  Sheweth 
vour  Petitioner  ingaged  in  the  Sarvis  of  the 
united  states  in  the  year  1775 — Tho  Exposed 
to  many  Dangers  &  hardships  did  continue  in 
an  intiar  state  of  helth  till  after  the  Retreat 
from  Canady — at  the  head  of  Lake  George 
was  voielently  seazed  with  the  Narves  feavor 
that  intiarly  Deprived  him  of  his  Eye  sight  & 
allmost  of  his  hearing  &  exceeding  weeke — 
which  continued  for  a  Number  of  munths  altho 
no  Pains  nor  cost  was  spaired  for  Recovery  of 
sight  or  helth  tho  to  no  avail  as  to  the  sight — 
tho  vour  Petitioner  was  Hond  with  a  Commi- 
tion    of  Rank    under  Sarting    Limetations  of 


202 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Established  Pay  finding  the  Depreciation  of 
the  Currency  so  greate  &  his  Expences  so  high 
that  he  very  erly  in  the  year  1778  Laid  his 
case  before  the  Honbe  Continentall  Congress  & 
having  no  Returne  depreciation  of  the  currency 
still  increasing  his  helples  Surcunistances  by 
Reson  of  total  blindness, — tho  in  sum  meashure 
Recovered,  as  to  helth  and  hearing — his  Ex- 
pencive  Surcunistances  obliged  him  to  Parte 
with  a  considerable  Parte  of  his  Real  Estate 
(Viz)  Half  of  the  township  of  Errol  in  this 
State  &  six  wrights  in  the  township  of  Cam- 
bridge Purchased  of  Mr  Nath1  Rogers  which 
money  was  laid  in  his  chest  which  by  an  act  of 
this  state  he  was  obliged  to  give  in  to  the 
assers  to  be  Rated  sd  Rats  Riming  so  high  & 
the  Depreciation  so  grate  almost  consumed  the 
whole  sum — whereupon  your  Humble  Peti- 
tioner Petitioned  this  HonWe  Corte  for  sum 
Relief  by  way  of  the  avacuated  Farms  for 
which  he  had  hazarded  His  Life  &  for  the 
convenens  of  Exercise  and  sum  oather  Reasons 
mentioned  to  this  HonWe  Corte  Doctr  Josiah 
Pomroyes  of  Keene  as  he  was  an  absentee  the 
Honble  Corte  was  gratiously  Pleased  to  make 
him  a  grante  of  a  Parte  of  sd  Farme  in  No- 
vember (1779)  under  sarting  Limetations  but 
as  your  Petitioner  could  nut  enter  by  vartue  of 
sd  grante  he  was  obliged  to  pay  350  £  L  :  M  : 
[lawful  money]  for  the  use  of  sd  Farme  untill 
the  first  Day  of  may  (1781)  sd  Farme  being 
now  the  Property  of  this  State  is  to  be  inven- 
toreyed  &  sold  att  vandue — your  Petitioner 
hath  made  inquiarey  &  finds  that  the  sd  Docf 
Pomroyes  Purches  was  sum  moar  than  Seven 
hundred  Pounds  &  that  the  sd  Estate  owes 
Sum  moar  than  Five  hundred  Pounds — the 
Proseser  of  one  not  of  moar  than  Four  hun- 
dred Pounds  against  sd  Estate  will  not  give  up 
the  obligation  shorte  of  the  value  in  Silver 
money  or  att  the  common  Exchange  altho 
your  Petitioner  has  never  Recd  any  alowence 
from  the  Continent  for  the  Depreciation  in  his 
established  Pay  altho  he  was  obliged  to  pay  the 
above  350  £  for  the  use  of  sd  Farme  one  year 


out  of  the  nomenal  sum  of  Established  Wages 

your  Humble  Pcttitioner  Prays  this  honWe  Corte 

to  take  all  the  above  surcunistances  under  your 

wise    consideration   &  grante  your   Petitioner 

the  Priviledge  of  Purchasing  the  whole  of  sd 

Farme  without   its   being   Exposed    to  Public 

vandue — or   oatherwayes    Relive   as   in    Dute 

bound  Shall  Ever  Pray. 

"  James  Reed  B.  G. 

"  Attest     Hinds  Reed  " 

General  James  Read  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Fitzwilliam,  and  proprietors'  clerk 
for  some  years.  When  news  reached  him  of 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  he  raised  a  company 
of  volunteers  and  marched  them  to  Medford  ; 
was  commissioned  as  colonel  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  and  raised  four  com- 
panies of  troops  ;  but,  failing  to  obtain  enough 
for  a  regiment,  he  went  to  Exeter,  was  com- 
missioned by  the  government  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, had  two  companies  of  Stark's  men 
turned  over  to  him,  and  bravely  commanded 
his  regiment  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  He 
became  totally  blind,  resulting  from  a  fever 
contracted  in  the  campaign  of  the  following 
year  in  Canada,  and  thus  the  American  cause 
lost  the  services  of  an  ardent  patriot,  and  a 
brave  and  determined  officer.  It  will  be 
understood  that  the  foregoing  petition  is  not 
his  production,  as  he  was  blind  at  the  time  ; 
documents  in  his  handwriting  of  an  earlier 
date  show  that  he  was  a  man  of  good  education 
for  his  time.  After  becoming  blind,  he  occu- 
pied for  a  while  the  confiscated  estate  of  Dr. 
Pomeroy  of  Keene,  which  was  leased  to  him 
by  the  State.  In  March,  1782,  Daniel  Kings- 
bury and  Thomas  Baker  were  appointed  to 
appraise  the  rental,  and  the  following  is  their 
report  (Hammond)  : 

"Keene  April  18th  1782. 
"We  the  subscribers  being  under  oath  to 
appraise  the  value  of  the  Rent  of  the  within 
mentioned  Premises  for  the  Term  of  one  year 
have  appraised  the  same  at  the  sum  of  fourteen 
pounds,  and    it    is    our  opinion    that   General 


FITZWILLIAM. 


203 


Read  had  expended  the  sum  of  six  pounds  in 
repairing  the  said  Premises  since  he  hath  had 
the  use  &  Improvement  thereof — which  sum  of 
six  pounds  ought  to  be  deducted  out  of  the 
above  mentioned  fourteen  pounds. 

"  Thos  Baker 

"  Dan1  Kingsbury 

"  Sworn  to  before  Calvin  Frink  [of 
Swanzey]." 

Soldiers'  Orders. 

"  To  the  Honourable  John  Taylor  Gilman  Esq6 

Treasurer  &  Receiver  General  of  the  State  of 

New  Hampshire — 

"Sir  Please  to  pay  to  the  Bearer  what 
money  is  due  to  me  as  Wages  &  Clothing  for 
twelve  months  service  Done  in  the  Continental 
army  beginning  June  A.  D.  1779  Col1  George 
Reids  Regiment  Capt  Rowels  Company  &  this 
Shall  be  your  Discharge  for  the  same 

"  Joseph  Muzzey. 

"  Test  "Anna  Wilder 

"Abel  Wilder" 

[Acknowledged  before  Abel  Wilder. — Ed.] 

Stephen  Richardson  was  in  First  Regiment 
from  February  23,  1781,  to  September  1,  1781, 
and  in  1782  as  corporal.  Stephen  White  was 
in  the  same  from  February,  1781,  to  December, 
1781,  and  again  in  1782. 

Relative  to  General  Read. 

"  This  may  certify  all  whome  it  may  con- 
searn  that  I  was  called  to  visit  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral  Reed  of  Fitzwilliam  in  February  A.  D. 
1777  and  found  him  Intirely  Blind  and 
Labouring  under  many  other  Bodyly  Infirm- 
aries at  the  same  time  wich  Rendered  him 
Incapable  of  taking  care  of  himeselfe  and  he 
remaines  Blind  and  in  my  opinion  ever  will. 

"  Royalston  January  19th  1786. 

" Stephen  Batcheller,  Physition" 

Sylvanus  Read's  Petition. 
"  To   the   General    Assembly  of  the   State  of 
New     Hampshire     now     sitting   at    Ports- 
mouth— 
"  Humbly   Shews — Sylvanus  Read  of  Fitz- 


william iu  the  sd  State — That  he  served  as 
adjutant  of  a  Battallion  of  Troops  raised  in 
this  state  for  the  defense  of  the  New  England 
states  &c  and  Commanded  by  Lieut  Col° 
Stephen  Peabody  Esq.  as  appears  by  the 
Commission  herewith  presented — That  your 
Petitioner  is  iuformed  some  allowance  had 
been  mad  those  officers  on  acc't  of  the  De- 
preciating of  the  money  they  were  paid  in 
— Your  Petitioner  therefore  humbly  prays 
that  your  Honors  will  order  such  Depreciation 
to  be  paid  to  your  Petitioner  as  is  Customary 
in  Such  Cases — and  as  in  duty  Bound  shall 
ever  pray  &c 

"  Dated  Feb/  y9  2d  1786 

"  Sam1  Kendall 
in  behalf  of  the  Petitioner  " 

The  foregoing  petition  was  granted  Feb.  21$ 
1786. 

Instructions  to  their  Representative 
1783. 

"  At  a  Legal  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Fitz  William,  held  upon  adjourn- 
ment august  14th  1783  ;  Voted,  To  give  their 
Representative  for  the  ensuing  Year,  the  fol- 
lowing Instructions — 

"  To  Major  Elisha  Whitcomb — 

"  Sr  You  being  Chosen  to  Represent  the 
Towns  of  Swansey  and  Fitz  William  for  the 
present  Year,  in  the  general  assembly  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  ;  The  Town  of  Fitz 
William,  a  part  of  your  Constituents,  in  Coni- 
plyance  with  the  request  of  said  assembly,  and 
from  a  Sense  of  Duty  at  this  Critictal  period)  do 
now  openly,  candidly  &  Sincerely  Speak,  <fe 
instruct  you,  not  only  with  respect  to  the 
article  Recomended,  but  other  things  we  con" 
ceive  necessary  to  the  well  being  of  the  Com- 
munity— 

"  We  shall  begin  with  the  Recommendation 
of  the  Honorable  Congress,  relative  to  an 
alteration  proposed  in  the  Eighth  Article  of 
the  Confederation  &  perpetual  union  between 
the  thirteen  united  States  of  America — 


204 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Congress,  we  find,  View  it  Expedient,  & 
even  Necessary  that  such  an  alteration,  as  they 
have  Recommended,  be  made ;  and  the  general 
assembly  of  this  state  appear  to  be  of  the  same 
mind  ;  for  they  say,  '  they  are  fully  convinced 
of  the  Expediency  &  utility  of  the  Measure  ' 
— with  all  Due  Defference  to  the  collected 
Wisdom  of  the  Continent,  &  of  this  State;  as 
we  are  called  upon  to  shew  our  minds,  we 
would  say,  that  we  have  taken  this  matter  into 
deliberate  &  mature  consideration  ;  and  are  of 
opinion  that  the  proposed  alteration  is  neither 
Expedient  or  necessary — 

"  We  conceive  that  it  cannot  be  so  just  & 
equitable  a  mode  of  Proportioning  Taxes,  by 
the  Number  of  Inhabitants  of  every  age,  Sex 
&  condition,  as  by  the  Value  of  Land  &c, 
which  each  State  is  possessed  of,  &  which 
enables  each  State  to  pay  the  proportion — we 
apprehend,  that,  according  to  the  present  pro- 
posed method  of  Proportioning  Taxes,  there  is 
a  Door  opened  for  some  States  to  be  eased  & 
others  burdened — but  Reason  Justice  and 
Revelation  Demand  an  Equality,  that  each  State 
pay  in  proportion  to  what  it  is  worth,  and  no 
more — 

"  And  as  the  Number  of  inhabitants  accord- 
ing to  the  proposed  alteration,  is  to  be  taken 
triennially — and  as  it  is  found  necessy  for  pro- 
portioning taxes  within  each  State  to  take  the 
Valuation  of  all  Lands  &c,  we  conceive  that 
by  the  proposed  alteration  much  needless  Cost 
must  arise  to  the  good  people  of  these  States, 
already  Loaded  with  Taxes;  and  know  not 
which  way  to  discharge  them — nor  can  we 
think  that  the  Numbering  of  Souls  is  a  Justi- 
fiable method  ;  witness  the  conduct  of  David, 
&  dismal  consequences  thereof  ;  left  no  doubt 
upon  Sacred  Record  for  national  admonition — 

"  We  think  it  advisable,  that  one  mode  of 
Valuation,  both  as  to  poles  &  possession, 
should  be  adopted  throughout  the  united 
States ;  as  this  appears  to  us  the  most  Rational 
&  equitable  plan  that  can  be  devised  ;  altho  we 
are  Sensible  there  can  be  no  mode  fixed   upon, 


but  that  Some  objections  may  be  raised  against 
it— 

"  We  do  therefore  recommend  it  to  you,  Sir 
to  use  your  influence  to  prevent  any  alteration 
being  made  in  the  above  mentioned  Eighth 
article  of  the  Confederation — 

"  We  Shall  now  take  the  Liberty  to  address 
you  upon  some  other  subjects,  which  we  con- 
ceive important  &  necessary  ;  in  our  present 
Situation  of  affairs — 

"  By  a  Resolution  of  Congress  of  the  21  of 
October  1780,  we  find  they  have  promised  the 
officers  of  the  american  army,  half  pay  during 
life — &  by  a  Resolve  of  said  congress,  bearing 
date  March  the  22  1783,  they  have  engaged 
them  five  years  full  pay  instead  of  the  half  pay 
promised  before — upon  which  we  would  ob- 
serve, that  we  have  ever  been,  and  still  are 
ready  to  Exert  ourselves  in  Supporting  our 
army;  and  to  Reward  those  who  have  jeoparded 
their  lives  for  us  in  the  high  Places  of  the  field, 
fought  our  Battles,  Bled  in  our  Cause,  and 
under  God  have  been  our  defence — we  are  will- 
ing, we  say,  amply  to  reward  them — '  none  de- 
serve more  highly  than  our  Brave  army;  none 
shall  have  our  Money  more  freely,  So  far  as  is 
Justly  Due ;  and  if  there  has  been  any  failure 
on  the  part  of  government  in  fulfilling  their 
contracts,  let  the  injury  and  all  their  Just  De- 
mands be  made  up  to  them  as  soon  as  may  be ' 
— yea  So  cheerful  &  ready  are  we,  to  have  them 
fully  compensated  for  their  services,  y*  we  are 
willing  if  it  cannot  be  otherwise  effected,  To 
allow  Both  officers  &  Soldiers,  over  and  above 
their  Stipulated  wages,  one  years  full  pay — far 
be  it  from  us  to  wrong  our  soldiers; — we  are 
desirous  to  settle  honorably  with  them;  &  sea- 
sonably &  fully  to  discharge  all  our  public  & 
foreign  Debts — 

"But  we  cannot  see  the  reasonableness  &  Jus- 
tice of  giving  the  officers  of  our  army  half  pay 
during  life,  or  full  pay  for  the  term  of  five 
years,  after  they  are  Discharged  from  the  ser- 
vice— we  think  the  soldiers  who  have  born  the 
Burden  and  heat  of  the  day  as  well  as  the  offi- 


FITZWILLIAM. 


205 


cers,  have  an  equal  Right  to  claim  a  share,  in 
proportion  to  their  pay — 

"  We  doubt  not,  but  that  Both  officers  and  sol- 
diers have  suffered  much  in  their  Countries  Cause 
— and  the  temporal  Interests  of  many  have  herby 
been  diminished ;  an  has  not  this  been  the 
case  with  thousands  that  have  generally 
been  at  Home  ? — they  have  many  a  time 
been  called  off  from  their  employments, 
been  obliged  to  gird  on  the  harness  &  take 
the  field,  for  a  time,  in  the  common  defence ; 
&  why  ought  they  not  to  be  rewarded  over 
<fe  above  their  Stipulated  pay,  in  jjroportion 
to  the  time  they  were  gone  &  Services  which 
they  Performed  ? — it  appears  to  be  as  reasonable 
as  that  the  officers  of  our  army  should  thus  be 
rewarded — 

u  Besides  do  not  the  officers  of  our  army  hope 
&  expect,  to  share  in  the  Blessings  of  Peace  & 
independence  ?  we  are  willing  they  should ;  why 
then  are  they  not  to  Suffer  with  us,  &  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  support  us  under  our  Burdens? 
— we  think  they  ought  to  be — &  not  make  gov- 
ernment, instead  of  Being  a  Blessing,  an  un- 
supportable  Burden  to  the  people  — 

"  We  cannot  see,  if  they  have  a  reasonable 
recompence  for  their  services,  why  they  do  not 
stand  upon  an  equal  footing  with  their  Brethren 
— we  therefore  request  you,  Sir,  to  use  your  in- 
fluence to  prevent  this  pay  being  given  to  the 
officers  of  our  army,  as  we  cannot  consent  to  it, 
or  any  thing  that  is  so  subversive  of  .the  Prin- 
ciples of  american  Revolution — 

"  Further,  we  must  Depend  upon  your  Ex- 
ertions, and  if  need  be  that  you  Strain  every 
nerve,  to  prevent  the  return  of  those  persons 
called  Tories,  or  absentees,  who  have  withdrawn 
themselves  from  us,  gone  over  to  the  Enemy  & 
either  virtually  or  actually  taken  up  arms 
against  us — &  many  of  them  shed  the  Blood  of 
their  Brethren — in  the  judgment  of  charity  we 
can't  but  View  them  in  an  odious  light — they 
deserve  censure — yea  many  of  them  have  long 
since,  forfeited  their  heads  as  well  as  their  es- 
tates to  their  countries  Justice — we  doubt  not 


but  their  situation  is  disagreeable,  &  that  things 
have  turned  out  quite  con  trary  to  their  wish 
&  Expectation  ;  but  are  we  to  Blame  for  that? 
— had  they  chose  it,  they  might  have  continued 
twith  us,  &  enjoyed  their  estates,  which  we  view 
hey  have  now  forfeited,  &  all  the  priveledges 
&  immunities  of  free  citizens;  &  Shared  in  the 
Blessings  of  independence — but  they  have  chosen 
their  side,  &  we  desire  that  they  would  abide 
their  choice,  &  not  Presume  to  trouble  us  any 
more — Friendship  to  them,  &  Safety  to  our- 
selves &  dear  Country,  forbid  them  to  be  any 
more  incorporated  with  us — we  have  sufficiently 
Proved  them,  &  understand  their  temper  &  dis- 
position, by  their  inhuman  &  savage  conduct 
towards  us — we  are  convinced  that  we  cannot 
put  any  confidence  in  them ;  they  have  proved 
themselves  traitors  to  their  country ;  can  we 
then  receive  you  into  our  Bosoms  again  ?  by  no 
means — let  them  therefore  Depart,  &  repair  to 
the  frozen  Regions  of  acadia,  the  Place  Destined 
for  them  by  their  Royal  Master,  and  Spend  the 
rest  of  their  days  in  deep  Repentance  for  their 
Past  follies — 

"And  as  Religion  is  much  Decayed  in  our 
Land,  the  Lords  Day  shamefully  profaned,  the 
holy  name  of  God  abused,  and  all  manner  of 
Vice  prevalent  &  Barefaced,  we  Expect  that 
you  will  use  your  Best  endeavors,  to  have  such 
Laws  enacted  &  put  in  Execution,  as  shall  tend 
to  suppress  Vice,  secure  the  honor  of  Gods  holy 
name,  &  the  Sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
to  Promote  Religion  &  useful  Literature  among 
us — 

"and  that  you  give  your  constant  &  season- 
able attendance  at  Court,  in  the  time  of  its  Ses- 
sions, that  neither  your  Constituents,  nor  the 
Public  may  be  come  Sufferers  by  your  neglect — 
but  a  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient — 

"At  a  Legal  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Fitzwilliam  on  the  14  Day  of  this 
Instant,  August — Voted  that  These  Instructions' 
Should  be  Deliver  to  you  Sir  by  the  Hand  of 
Ens11  Samuel  Kendall  at  your  hous  in  Swansey 

"  Fitzwilliam  August  16th  1783 

"Atest  Samuel  Patrick  Town  Clerk" 


206 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Petition  of  General  James  Read. 

"  To  the  Honble  the  Senate  and  house  of  Rep- 
resentatives convened  at  Concord — 

"The  petitition  of  James  Read  most  humbly 
sheweth — 

"  That  your  petitioner,  during  the  late  pros- 
perous and  glorious  contest  for  liberty,  in  which 
he  was  conscientiously  engaged,  was  unfortu- 
nately and  totally  deprived  of  the  use  of  his 
eyes,  a  greater  loss  than  which  no  mortal  can 
sustain :  That  by  painful  circumstance  he  is  al- 
together deprived  of  his  usefulness  to  his  Coun- 
try, and  of  every  opportunity  of  procuring  sus- 
tenance for  himself  and  family,  and  the  only 
consolation  he  receives,  is,  that  America  is  be- 
come free,  in  part,  through  his  struggles :  That 
in  this  most  deplorable  situation  of  himself  and 
family,  your  petitioner  has  heretofore  frequently 
applied  to  the  General  Court,  whom  he  con- 
ceives to  be  the  guardians,  the  fathers  of 
the  people  for  assistance;  but  has  hitherto 
most  unfortunately  failed  in  his  just  applica- 
tions :  That  he  has  in  this  unutterable  distress, 
and  frightful  indigence,  been  constrained  to  put 
his  dependence  on  the  Constables  for  several 
years  past,  for  succour  and  support,  both  for 
himself  and  family;  still  looking  forward  with 
full  hope  and  expectations  that  you,  who  are 
rightly  stilcd  the  redressers  of  grievances,  would 
have  concerted  some  eifectual  means  for  his 
livelihood,  agreeable  to  resolves  of  Congress  for 
that  benevolent  purpose — Wherefore  your  sup- 
pliant petitioner  most  humbly  prays,  that  this 
Hon'0  Court  wou'd  give  him  orders  on  said 
Constables  which  may  fully  answer  for  the  Con- 
tinental tax  due  from  said  Constables  and  that 
the  same  be  charged  to  the  Continent  agreeable 
to  said  Resolves — or  otherwise  relieve  your  pe- 
titioner's pitiful  situation,  as  in  your  great  wis- 
dom you  may  think  best — 


"And  your  petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  will 

ever  pray — 

"  James  Read  " 

Petition  for  Incorporation  of  Library. 

"  To  the  General  Court  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  now  Conven'd  at  Portsmouth  hum- 
bly Sheweth  Nairn  m  Parker  that  he  with  a 
number  of  others  Inhabitants  of  Fitzwilliam 
purchased  a  Collection  of  Books  for  a  Social 
Library  but  find  it  necessary  to  be  incorporated 
in  order  to  realize  the  advantages  Contemplated 
Therefore  pray  that  they  may  be  incorporated 
with  such  privileges  as  are  usually  Granted  in 
such  Cases,  and  as  in  duty  bound  will  pray 

"Novr27th  1797 

"Naiium  Parker,  for  the  purchasers" 

The  petition  was  granted  November  29, 
1797. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  this 
town  was  organized  March  27,  1771,  with  the 
following  members :  Benjamin  Brigham,  Ben- 
jamin Bigelow,  John  Fassitt,  Nathaniel  Wilder, 
Caleb  Minch  and  James  Reed. 

The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Benjamin  Brigham. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  John  Colby. 

The  Unitarians  have  a  society  in  the  vil- 
lage, but  no  house  of  worship  nor  regular  pas- 
tor. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  1815.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Arnot 
Allen.  Rev.  Andrew  Dunn  is  the  present  pas- 
tor. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized  in  1H67  by  Rev.  W.  Morrill,  the 
present  pastor.  There  are  two  churches  on  this 
charge — one  located  at  Howeville  and  the  other 
at  the  Depot. 


HISTORY   OF   GILSUM. 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  town  of  Gilsum  lies  north  of  the  cen- 
tre of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows : 
north  by  Mario w  and  Alstead,  east  by  Stod- 
dard and  Sullivan,  south  by  Keene,  and  west 
by  Surry. 

This  town  was  originally  granted  to  Joseph 
Osgood  and  seventy-one  others,  under  the  name 
of  Boyle.  None  of  these  grantees,  however, 
settled  in  the  town  and  the  grant  was  forfeited. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  petition  for  in- 
corporation : 

"To    His    Excellency     Benning   Wentworth,   Esq., 
Govr  of  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire  &c. 
"  Humbly  Shews — 

"  The  Petition  of  William  Lawrence  of  Groton  & 
Thomas  Read  of  Westford  in  the  Province  of  the 
Massa"9  That  they  together  With  fifty  Six  more  of 
their  Neighbours  Are  desireous  of  Setling  a  township 
in  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire  many  of  them 
not  Having  a  Sufficiency  of  Lands  in  the  Massachu- 
setts to  Employ  them  Selves  in  Husbandry  And  have- 
ing  Account  of  a  tract  of  Land  Yet  ungranted  by 
Your  Excellency,  that  we  Apprehend  is  Capable  of 
Setlement  (which  Lyes  Northerly  of  the  Upper  Ash- 
uelot  and  Westmoreland  and  Easterly  from  Walepool 
Adjoyning  to  those  towns,  and  Extends  Eastward  to 
make  the  Contents  of  Six  miles  Square)  and  in  case 
we  may  Obtain  the  favour  of  your  Excellency  in 
making  us  a  grant  on  ye  Conditions,  Other  of  his 
Majesty s  Lands  there  are  Granted,  Shall  make  a  Spedy 
&  Effectuall  Setlement  there. 

"  Wherefore  we  pray  that  yr  Excellency  would  See 

meet  to  favour  us  with  Liberty  to  Survey  the  Same 

Under  your  directions,  And  that  we  may  Obtain  a 

Grant  Accordingly  And  as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  pray 

&c. 

"  William  Lawrence. 

"Thomas  Read. 

"  Groton  March  16  :  1752." 


Recharter  of  the  Town. — The  town  was 
rechartered  July  13,  1763,  under  the  name  of 
Gilsum.1     The  petition  was  as  follows  : 

"To    His     Excellency     Benning  Wentworth     Esqe 

Govr  &  Commander  in   Chief  in   and   Over  his 

Majesty's  Province  of  New   Hampe  and  to  the 

honble  his  Majesty's  Council  for  Said  Province. 

"  The  memorial  of  Thomas   Sumner   in    Behalf  of 

himself  &  Others  Prop"  in  the  Town  of  Boyle  in  Said 

Province,  Shews. 

"  That  in  the  Year  1752  Your  Excels  &  Honors 
Granted  the  Township  of  Boyle  upon  the  Conditions 
&  under  the  restrictions  as  Per  Charter  Declar'd — 

"  That  by  the  Intervention  of  the  Late  War  your 
Memorialist'8  Constituents  have  been  (till  Very  Lately ) 
Prevented  from  Doing  the  Duty,  but  Notwithstanding 
they  have  Sever'd  &  Drawn  by  Lotts  the  Said  Tract 
of  Land  to  &  among  all  the  Prop"  that  Many  of 
Your  Memorialists  Constituents  are  now  Actually 
Living  with  their  familys  on  Sd  Tract  of  Land  & 
Many  More  Going  Early  in  the  Spring  &  there  are 
Now  Many  Acres  of  Wheat  Sowd  there  &  In  all 
Probability  the  Township  Will  be  Intirely  Settled 
According  to  the  True  &  Intent  &  Meaning  of  the 
Grant  by  Next  Summer  But  as  the  Time  Prefix'd  in 
the  Grant  Was  Elaps'd  &  that  Before  it  Was  Possible 
(for  the  reason  aforesd)  for  'em  To  Enter  &  Improve, 
they  Conceive  it  Absolutely  Necessary  that  Your  Ex- 
cel^ &  Honors  (if  you  think  fit)  ShodGranta  suspen- 
sion of  the  forfeiture  &  further  indulge 'em  with  Such 
a  Term  of  time  as  they  may  be  Enabled  to  fulfill  the 
Duty  aforesaid  &  are  Encouraged  to  Ask  the  favr  Be- 
cause your  Excy  &  honors  are  Wonted  To  Endulge 
Prop"  in  the  Like  Circumstances  &  Your  Memorial- 
ist Shall  Ever  pray — 


"  Jan^  24  1763." 


"  Thos  Sumxer. 


1  The  name  originated  as  follows:  Samuel  Gilbert  and 
Thomas  Sumner  were  prominent  in  procuring  the  grant. 
Their  families  were  connected  by  marriage,  and  the  town 
was  named  by  taking  the  first  syllable  of  each  name  and 
coining  the  word  Gilsum  (/,  W.  Hammond). 

207 


208 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


This  grant  was  made  to  Samuel  Gilbert, 
Thomas  Sumner  and  others. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors 
Thomas  Pitken,  Jr.,  was  chosen  moderator; 
Clement  Sumner,  proprietors'  clerk ;  and  Sam- 
uel Gilbert,  treasurer. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  Jonathan 
Bliss  and  Josiah  Kilburn,  in  1762. 

March  9,  1769,  the  west  part  of  the  town 
was  set  off,  and,  with  a  portion  of  Westmore- 
land, incorporated  into  the  town  of  Surry. 

September  27,  1787,  the  southeast  part  of 
the  town  was  set  off,  joined  with  portions  of 
Keene,  Stoddard  and  Packersfield  (Nelson),  and 
incorporated  into  the  town  of  Sullivan. 

A  dispute  relative  to  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween this  town  and  Stoddard  was  settled  by 
an  act  passed  June  27,  1797,  by  which  the 
"  curve  line  of  Mason's  Patent  "  was  made  the 
dividing  line  of  the  two  towns,  and  Gilsum  lost 
another  tract  of  land. 

In  1873  a  few  acres  of  land  was  taken  from 
Sullivan  and  annexed  to  this  town. 

War  of  the  Revolution. — Gilsum  did 
its  full  share  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

In  1775  the  town  had  a  population  of  forty- 
nine  males  above  sixteen  years  of  age,  and 
during  the  war  furnished  twenty  men,  as  fol- 
lows : 


David  Abraham. 
David  Adams. 
Peter  Beebe. 
David  Bill. 
Stephen  Bond. 
Iddo  Church. 
Thomas  Church. 
Josiah  Comstock. 
Samuel  Crame. 


Isaac  Griswold. 
Brooks  Hudson. 
Zadoc  Hurd. 
Ebenezer  Kilburn. 
Captain  Elisha  Mack. 
Thomas  Morse. 
Jesse  Smith. 
Ananias  Tubbs. 
Frederick  Tubbs. 
Samuel  White. 


Joseph  French. 

Wak  of  1812.— In  the  War  of  1812  seven 
men  from  Gilsum  were  in  the  service  : — 


Roswell  Borden. 
Iddo  Kilburn. 
John  Raymond. 
David  Bill. 


Jonas  Brown. 
David  Dort. 
Ira  Ellis. 


Civil  History. — The  first  town-meeting  of 
which   we   have  any  account  was   held  August 


26,  1776,  with  Joseph  Spencer,  moderator,  and 
Obadiah  Willcox,  clerk.  Prior  to  1789  the 
records  of  the  town  are  missing.  Timothy  De- 
wey was  clerk  in  1787. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  clerks  from  1789 
to  1885: 

Zadok  Hurd,  1789. 

Robert  Lane  Hurd,  1790,  '91,  1801,  '02,  '03,  '04,  '05, 
'11,  '12. 

David  Blish,  1792,  '93,  '94,  '95,  '96,  '97,  '98,  '99, 
1800. 

Josiah  Hammond,  1806,  '07,  '08,  '09,  '10,  '15,  '16,  '24, 
'25,  '26,  '27,  '28,  '29,  '30,  '31. 

Elisha  Fisk,  1813. 

Obadiah  Pease,  1814,  '15,  '16,  '17,  '18,  '19,  '20,  '21, 
'22,  '23. 

Luther  Abbott,  1832,  '33. 

David  Brigham,  1834,  '35. 

Israel  B.  Loveland,  1836,  '37,  '38, '39,  '40,  '41,  '42, 
'43,  '44,  '46,  '47,  '48,  '49,  '50,  '51,  '52,  '53,  '54,  '55,  '56, 
'57,  '58. 

Allen  Buster,  1845. 

M.  L.  Goddard,  elected  in  1856,  but  removed. 

Henry  E.  Rawson,  1859,  '65,  '66. 

Ezra  Webster,  1860,  '61,  '62,  '63,  '64;  died  in 
office. 

Calvin  Chandler,  1864. 

George  Henry  McCoy,  1867,  '68,  '69,  '70,  '72,  '73, 
'74,  '75,  '76,  '77. 

John  Gould,  1871. 

John  A.  Smith,  1878. 

Benjamin  H.  Horton,  1879. 

L.  W.  F.  Mark,  1880,  '81,  '82,  '83,  '84,  '85. 

Representees. — From  1789  to  1793  Gilsum 
Surry  and  Sullivan  formed  a  representative  dis- 
trict. Previous  to  this  Gilsum  had  been  classed 
with  various  towns.  From  1795  to  1827  it  was 
classed  with  Surry.  Since  1825  the  town  has 
been  entitled  to  one  representative  ;  the  list  is  as 
follows : 


Luther  Whitney,  1827. 
Aaron  Day,  1828, '29, '31. 
Josiah  Hammond,  1830. 
Jehiel  Day,  1832,  '34. 
Allen  Butler,  1833,  '35. 
John  Horton,  1836,  '37. 
David  Bell,  1838,  '39, '41. 
David  M.  Smith,  1840. 
William  Kingsbury,  1842. 

E.  K.  Webster,  1843,  '44. 

F.  W.  Day,  1845,  '46. 
John    Hammond,    1847, 

'48. 


Samuel  Isham,  Jr.,  1849, 

'50,  '56,  '57. 
Amasa  May,  1851,  '52. 
David  Ware,  1853. 
John  Livermore,  1854. 
Ebenezer  Jones,  1855. 
F.  A.  Howard,  1858. 
Ezra  Webster,  1859,  '60. 
D.  W.  Bill,  1861,  '62,  '74, 

'76. 
J.  M.  Chapin,  1863,  '64, 

'67. 
H.  E.  Rawson,  1865,  '66. 


GILSUM. 


209 


A.  D.   Hammond,   1868, 

'69. 
Allen  Hayward,  1870, '71. 
J.  S.  Collins,  1872,  '73. 


William  L.  Isham,  1875, 

'77. 
J.  J.  Isham,  1878. 


In  November,  1878,  Gilsum  was  classed  with 
Sullivan,  and  Francis  C.  Minor  was  representa- 
tive. In  1880  Gilsum  was  classed  with  Sul- 
livan, and  the  representative  was  from  the 
latter  town.  L.  E.  Guillow,  1882-83  ;  George 
B.  Kawson,  1884-85. 

Ecclesiastical.- The  Congregational  Church 
was  organized  October  27,  1772;  the  first 
church  building  was  erected  and  dedicated  in 
1794,  and  the  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Elisha 
Fisk,  installed  May  29,  1794.  Other  pastors 
have  been  Revs.  E.  Chase,  S.  S.  Arnold,  Wil- 
liam Hutchinson,  Henry  White,  George  Lang- 
don,  J.  Tisdale,  Ezra  Adams,  E.  E.  Bassett, 
Horace  Wood,  Silvauus  Hayward  and  George 
W.  Rogers,  present  pastor. 

The  Methodist  Church. — A  Methodist  Church 
was  organized  here,  in  1843,  by  Rev.  Samuel 
S.  Dudley,  and  in  1848  a  house  of  worship 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  fourteen  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  The  church  was  disbanded 
in  about  1874,  and  the  house  sold  to  the  town. 
Rev.  John  Gove  was  probably  the  first  preacher 
of  this  faith  here  in  1801.  The  late  Bishop 
Elijah  Hedding  preached  here  in  about  1806. 

The  Baptists  also  held  services  here  for  some 
time,  but  the  church  is  now  extinct.  A  Chris- 
tian Church  also  once  existed  in  Gilsum,  and 
also  a  branch  of  the  Mormon  Church,  or  "  Lat- 
ter-Day Saints,"  both  extinct. 

Physicians. — The  first  physician  in  Gilsum 
was    Abner   Bliss.      Among   other   physicians 
were     Benjamin    Hosmer,    Henry    Kendrick, 
14 


Obadiah  Wilcox,  J.  E.  Davis,  B.  Palmer,  Isaac 
Hatch,  Dudley  Smith,  T.  S.  Lane,  G.  W. 
Hammond  (he  was  one  of  the  prominent  men 
of  the  town  and  an  eminent  physician ;  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1850,  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1855-56, 
and  died  January  30,  1872,  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years),  K.  D.  Webster,  C.  C.  Bingham, 
C.  F.  Kingsbury,  A.  H.  Livermore,  M.  E. 
Loveland,  A.  R.  Gleason  and  I.  A.  Loveland. 

Military  Record,  1861-65. — The  follow- 
ing were  in  the  service  from  this  town  : 


Thomas  W.  Bingall. 
Joseph  Collins. 
S.  H.  Howard. 
H.  H.  Nash. 
John  A.  Blake. 
S.  W.  Bridge. 
J.  L.  Davis. 
J.  W.  Everdon. 
A.  R.  Gleason. 
G.  J.  Guillow. 
Isaac  W.  Hammond. 
C.  H.  Harris. 
Franklin  Nash. 
S.  D.  Nash. 

Drafted. 
Temple  Baker. 
G.  W.  Bancroft. 
L.  White. 


C.  H.  Wilcox. 
G.  C.  H.  Deets. 
A.  E.  Howe. 
John  Howard. 
M.  J.  Howard. 
E.  G.  McCoy. 
A.  A.  Morse. 
H.  H.  Nash. 
O.  Nash. 

E.  E.  Roundy. 

F.  W.  Roundy. 
H.  E.  Wilcox. 
Lucius  Davis. 


Jotham  Bates. 
C.  W.  Spooner. 
A.  H.  Waldron. 


The  first  three  secured  substitutes  ;  the  fourth 
paid  commutation  of  three  hundred  dollars. 
The  following  were  also  drafted  : 


H.  L.  Bates. 
Joel  Cowee. 
J.  Guillow. 


G.  H.  McCoy. 
C.  E.  Crouch. 


All  but  the  last-named  secured  substitutes. 
There  were  also,  in  addition  to  the  above  twenty- 
one  substitutes  furnished. 


HISTORY  OF  HARRISVILLE. 


BY  S.  D.  BEMIS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  town  of  Harrisville  was  formerly  a  part 
of  the  towns  of  Dublin  and  Nelson,  and  incor- 
porated by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  in  the  year 
1870.  The  following  is  that  portion  of  the 
act  defining  its  territorial  limits  : 

"  An  act  to  constitute  the  town  of  Harrisville  from 
a  part  of  the  towns  of  Dublin  and  Nelson. 

"  Section  1.  That  all  that  part  of  Dublin  and  all  that 
part  of  Nelson  lying  within  the  following  lines  and 
boundaries  to  wit :  Beginning  at  a  stake  marked  '  D. 
M.,'  standing  in  the  line  of  Marlborough  and  Dub- 
lin at  the  southwest  corner  of  lot  No.  22,  in  the 
eighth  range  in  said  Dublin  ;  thence  north  the  length 
of  three  degrees  in  the  lines  of  Marlborough  and 
Roxbury,  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Dublin  at  a 
stake  marked  '  D.  R.;'  thence  south,  seventy-nine 
degrees  and  forty-five  minutes  east,  seven  rods  to  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  town  of  Nelson  at  a  stake 
marked  '  D.  N.,'  1864;  thence  north,  eleven  degrees 
east,  the  length  of  one  lot  to  a  stake  marked  '  N.  R., 
1864' ;  thence  south,  seventy-nine  degrees  and  forty- 
five  minutes  east,  to  a  stake  standing  on  the  east  shore 
of  Breed  Pond,  so  called ;  thence  northerly  on  the 
east  shore  of  said  pond  the  length  of  one  lot  to  a 
stake  and  stones;  thence  south,  seventy-nine  degrees 
and  forty-five  minutes  east,  on  the  northerly  line  of 
lots  in  the  third  range  in  said  town  of  Nelson  from 
the  north  line  of  Dublin  to  a  stake  and  stones  stand- 
ing in  the  westerly  line  of  the  town  of  Hancock  marked 
'N.  H. ;'  thence  south,  twelve  degrees  and  thirty 
minutes  west,  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Hancock 
and  the  southeast  corner  of  Nelson  to  a  stake  stand- 
ing in  the  wall ;  thence  south,  seventy-nine  degrees 
east  in  the  line  of  said  Hancock  and  Dublin  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  rods  to  a  stake  and  stones  ; 
thence  south  on  the  line  of  Hancock  and  Dublin  and 
Peterborough  and  Dublin  to  the  southeast  corner  of 
No.  1,  in  the  eighth  range  of  lots  in  said  Dublin,  at  a 
stake  and  stones;  thence  westerly  on  the  south  range- 
210 


line  of  range  eight  in  said  Dublin  to   the   place  of 
beginning :  be  and  the  same  is  hereby   severed  from 
the  towns  of  Dublin  and  Nelson  and  made  a  body 
politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  of  Harrisville." 

Section  7  of  said  act  authonized  Milan  Harris, 
Darius  Farwell,  Milan  W.  Harris,  or  any  two  of  them 
to  call  the  first  meeting  of  the  town.  Agreeably  to 
the  authority  here  given  them  they  proceeded  to 
call  the  first  meeting  of  the  town  by  posting  the  fol- 
lowing warrant : 

"  (L.  S.)  The  State  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Harrisville,  as  constituted 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  July  2,  1870, 
qualified  to  vote  in  town  affairs :  You  are  hereby 
notified  to  meet  at  Eagle  Hall,  in  said  town,  on  Satur- 
day, the  thirteenth  day  of  August  next,  at  one  of  the 
clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  act  upon  the  following  sub- 
jects : 

"  1.  To  choose  a  moderator  to  preside  in  said  meet- 
ing. 

"  2.  To  choose  all  necessary  officers  and  agents  for 
the  present  year. 

"  3.  To  see  if  the  town  will  authorize  the  selectmen 
to  borrow  such  sums  of  money  as  may  be  necessary 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  town. 

"  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  this  twenty-ninth 
day  of  July,  1870. 

"Milan   Harris,        )    Authorized 
"Darius  Farwell,    I       to  call 
"Milan  W.  Harris,   |  said  meeting." 

On  the  13th  day  of  August,  1870, 
agreeably  to  the  above  call,  was  holden  the  first 
town-meeting  ever  held  in  Harrisville.  It  was 
a  bright,  sunny  day  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
summer,  when  nearly  every  voter  in  this  new 
town  assembled  to  take  part  in  this,  their  first 
town-meeting.  Samuel  D.  Bemis  was  chosen 
moderator ;  Stephen  L.  Randall,  clerk ;  and  Dar- 
ius Farwell,  Samuel  D.  Bemis  and  George 
Wood   were  chosen  selectmen  ;  and  Hon.  Milan 


HARRISVILLE. 


211 


Harris  was  chosen  agent  of  the  town  to  act  with 
the  selectmen  in  the  settlement  of  affairs  with 
the  towns  of  Dublin  and  Nelson. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  1871  the 
following  were  the  town  officers  : 

Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  Stephen  L.  Randall, 
clerk ;  Darius  Farvvell,  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  selectmen  ; 
Hon.  Milan  Harris,  representative  to  Legislature. 

1872. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  Frank  P. 
Ward,  clerk ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  George  Wood, 
George  F.  Tufts,  selectmen;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  rep- 
resentative to  Legislature. 

1873. — Darius  Farwell,  moderator;  Stephen  L. 
Randall,  clerk ;  Darius  Farvvell,  Zophar  Willard, 
Luther  P.  Eaton,  selectmen ;  Hon.  Milan  Harris, 
representative  to  Legislature. 

1874. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator;  Stephen 
L.  Randall,  clerk  ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Zophar  Wil- 
lard, Luther  P.  Eaton,  selectmen  ;  Aber  S.  Hutch- 
inson, representative  to  Legislature. 

1875. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  Charles  C. 
P.  Harris,  clerk ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Orlando  Fogg, 
Joel  F.  Mason,  selectmen  ;  Abner  S.  Hutchinson, 
representative  to  Legislature. 

1876. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator;  Charles  C. 
P.  Harris,  clerk;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Francis  Strat- 
ton, Daniel  W.  Barker,  selectmen  ;  Luke  Tarbox, 
representative  to  Legislature. 

1877. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator;  Fred.  Colony, 
clerk ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  George  F.  Tufts,  Winslow 
Royee,  selectmen ;  Sylvester  T.  Symonds,  represen- 
tative to  Legislature. 

1878. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  Fred.  Colony, 
clerk  ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  George  F.  Tufts,  Winslow 
Royce,  selectmen  ;  Sylvester  T.  Symonds,  representa- 
tive to  Legislature. 

1879. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  Fred.  Col- 
ony, clerk ;  Darius  Farwell,  George  Davis,  George 
Wood,  selectmen. 

1880. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator ;  George  F. 
Tufts,  clerk ;  George  Davis,  Joel  F.  Mason,  Aaron 
Smith,  selectmen. 

1881. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator;  George 
Davis,  clerk  ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Charles  C.  Farwell, 
Everard  C.  Willard,  selectmen  ;  George  F.  Tufts, 
representative  to  Legislature. 

1882. — Francis  Stratton,  moderator  ;  George  Davis, 
clerk ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Charles  C.  Farwell,  Ever- 
ard C.  Willard,  selectmen. 

1883. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator  ;  George 
Davis,  clerk  ;  Samuel  D.  Bemis,  Charles   C.  Farwell, 


Everard  C.  Willard,  selectmen ;  George  F.  Tufts, 
representative  to  Legislature. 

1884. — Francis  Stratton,  moderator  ;  George  Davis, 
clerk ;  Charles  C.  Farwell,  Everard  C.  Willard,  se- 
lectmen. 

1885. — Samuel  D.  Bemis,  moderator  ;  George  Da- 
vis, clerk  ;  Aaron  Smith,  Francis  Stratton,  Jacob  G. 
Lakin,  selectmen. 

In  1876,  Samuel  D.  Bemis  was  chosen  dele- 
ffote  to  the  convention  to  revise  the  Constitution. 
The  number  of  votes  cast  for  President  have 
been  as  follows : 

1872.— Horace  Greeley,  66 ;  U.  S.  Grant,  95. 

1876.— Samuel  J.  Tilden,  101 ;  R.  B.  Hayes,  93. 

1880.— Winfield  S.  Hancock,  89 ;  James  A.  Gar- 
field, 82. 

1884. — Grover  Cleveland,  73 ;  James  G.  Blaine, 
68 ;  scattering,   4. 

Manufacturing  of  Wooden-ware  and 
Lumber.— The  manufacture  of  wooden-ware  was 
first  commenced  in  what  is  now  Harris ville  by 
George  Handy  and  Nathaniel  Greely,  in  1838. 
Mr.  Greely  soon  sold  out  to  Mr.  Handy,  who 
continued  the  business  many  years.  Handy  did 
a  business  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
About  1850  these  mills  were  sold  to  Asa  Fair- 
banks, who  run  them  five  years.  Samuel  W» 
Hale,  now  ex-Governor  Hale,  came  in  posses- 
sion of  them.  In  1860  he  sold  them  to  El- 
bridge  G.  Bemis,  by  whom  they  were  rebuilt  and 
much  enlarged  and  improved.  He  owned  them 
about  five  years.  They  are  now  owned  by 
Charles  C.  &  Henry  J.  Farwell,  by  whom 
they  have  been  further  improved  and  the  busi- 
ness greatly  enlarged.  Just  below  the  factories, 
and  near  the  Centre  village,  A.  E.  &  M.  K. 
Perry,  in  1845,  built  a  saw-mill  and  box-shop, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  did  an  extensive  bus- 
iness in  the  manufacture  of  shoe-boxes.  In  1855 
this  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  rebuilt. 
It  is  now  owned  by  Zophar  Willard,  who  does 
a  large  business  in  the  manufacture  of  clothes- 
pins, cloth-cases  and  dimension  lumber.  At 
this  mill,  when  owned  by  the  Messrs.  Perry,  a 
terrible  accident  occurred.  Charles  K.  Mason, 
Esq.,  now  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Marl- 
borough, while  attempting  to  adjust  a  belt  upon 


212 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  grindstone,  had  his  left  arm  torn  from  his 
shoulder.  In  1849,  ElbridgeG.  Bemis,  George 
W.  Bemis  and  Sylvester  T.  Symonds  erected  a 
large  wooden-ware  shop  just  below  the  "Great 
Meadows,"  on  the  stream  that  takes  its  rise 
in  Breed  Pond,  now  called  Silver  Lake.  The 
year  following  they  built  a  saw-mill  upon  the 
opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Quite  an  exten- 
sive business  was  carried  on  here  in  the  manu- 
facture of  wooden- ware  and  lumber  for  a  good 
many  years,  but  the  business  is  now  so  depressed 
that  but  little  is  done.  These  mills  are  now 
owned  by  S.  T.  Symonds,  one  of  the  original 
owners,  and  his  son,  Dana  T.  Symonds.  In 
1869  a  new  dam  was  built  just  above  these  mills, 
by  the  Breed  Pond  Company,  which  converts 
the  "  Great  Meadows "  into  a  reservoir.  The 
first  saw-mill  in  the  west  part  of  the  town 
was  built  by  Moses  Adams,  on  lot  eighteen, 
range  ten.  The  second  was  erected  by  Eli  Green- 
wood, and  stood  where  the  grist  and  saw-mill 
built  by  Lambert  L.  Howe,  now  stands.  This 
mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1878.  It  has 
been  rebuilt  several  times.  In  August,  1826, 
it  was  carried  off  by  a  cloud  burst  upon  Monad- 
nock  Mountain.  This  was  the  same  night  as 
the  slide  upon  the  White  Mountains,  which 
caused  the  destruction  of  the  Willey  family ; 
the  mill  was  carried  to  the  meadows  belowT, 
almost  intact,  and  from  there  up  the  stream 
from  Breed  Pond,  which  here  intersects  with  it, 
opposite  where  the  railroad  depot  now  stands. 
There  was  no  perceptible  rise  of  water  in  the  lat- 
ter stream  except  from  the  water  which  ran 
up  from  the  overflow  of  the  stream  below.  In 
1834  a  saw-mill  was  built  by  Robert  Worsly 
and  Lyman  Russell,  on  land  of  Worsly,  about 
one- fourth  of  a  mile  above  the  mill  just  de- 
scribed. It  afterwards  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Nathan  &  Heath,  who  added  a  clothes-pin  shop. 
This  mill  has  been  demolished  a  number  of 
years. 

Railroad. — For  a  great  many  years  the 
project  of  a  railroad  from  some  point  on  the 
line  of  railroad  running  through  the  eastern  and 


central  part  of  the  State,  through  this  town  to 
Keene,  thereby  connecting  the  eastern  and 
western  parts  by  rail,  was  from  time  to  time 
considerably  agitated.  Several  surveys  previous 
to  the  year  1870  had  been  made,  and  the  pro- 
ject was  found  to  be  entirely  feasible.  A  com- 
pany was  soon  'formed  which  offered  to  build 
the  road,  provided  a  gratuity  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  could  be  raised  to  assist  them 
in  its  construction.  With  the  exception  of  the 
town  of  Dublin,  all  the  towns  and  the  city  of 
Keene  upon  the  line  of  the  road  voted  gratui- 
ties varying  from  two  and  one-half  to  five  per 
cent,  on  their  valuations.  In  Dublin  several 
town-meetings  were  held,  and  while  a  majority 
of  the  voters  voted  for  the  gratuity,  the  requi- 
site two-thirds  required  by  law  could  not  be  ob- 
tained. The  people  of  the  manufacturing  por- 
tion of  the  town,  which  is  now  Harrisville, 
were  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  proposed 
gratuity,  while  those  in  the  exclusively  farming 
portion  of  Dublin,  thinking  that  they  might 
not  receive  quite  as  much  benefit  from  a  rail- 
road as  their  neighbors  in  the  manufacturing 
part  of  the  town, — a  rather  narrow  view  to  take 
as  a  general  rule — steadfastly  refused  to  vote  the 
gratuity.  In  consequence  of  this  refusal,  a  peti- 
tion was  presented  to  the  Legislature  of  1870 
to  sever  that  part  of  Dublin  and  Nelson  de- 
scribed in  this  chapter,  and  have  the  same  con- 
stitute a  new  town,  to  be  called  Harrisville,  in 
compliment  to  the  Messrs.  Harris,  who  had 
been  so  largely  instrumental  in  building  up  the 
manufacturing  at  the  village  ;  this  petition  was 
favorably  considered  and  a  charter  granted  in 
accordance,  which  was  received  by  great  demon- 
strations of  joy  by  almost  every  person  within 
the  limits  of  the  new  town  On  the  10th  day 
of  August,  1872,  a  town-meeting  was  held  and 
a  gratuity  of  five  per  cent,  was  voted  almost 
unanimously.  Owing  to  the  great  business  de- 
pression which  followed  soon  after,  the  matter 
was  allowed  to  rest  until  1876,  when  a  perma- 
nent survey  was  completed  and  the  work  of 
grading   commenced    in    August   of  the   same 


HARRISVILLE. 


213 


year  ;  before  its  completion,  however,  the  funds 
of  the  company  became  exhausted,  and  the  en- 
terprise remained  at  a  standstill  until  1878, 
when  the  road  was  completed,  and  trains  com- 
menced to  run.  There  are  now  four  passenger- 
trains  daily  over  the  road,  and  a  heavy  business 
is  done  in  the  carrying  of  freight,  with  the  bus- 
iness constantly  increasing.  There  are  three 
depots  in  town, — one  at  the  east  part,  one  at  the 
Centre  village  and  one  at  West  Harrisville. 
The  old  towns  run  mail  stages  to  Harrisville, 
and  the  benefit  to  this  and  the  adjoining  towns 
can  best  be  estimated  after  we  consider  that  we 
were  formerly  twelve  miles  from  any  railroad 
facilities.  Harrisville  would  not  part  with  her 
railroad  for  ten  times  five  per  cent. 

Business  Statistics.1 — Bethuel  Harris,  son 
of  Erastus  Harris,  of  Med  way,  Mass.,  came  to 
this  place  a.d.  1786,  destitute  of  pecuniary 
ability.  He  having  bought  his  time  of  his 
father  when  eighteen  years  old,  having  learned 
(he  carpenter's  trade,  worked  at  that  business 
about  five  years,  when  he  purchased  two  hundred 
and  eighty  acres  of  land  lying  partly  in  the 
town  of  Nelson  and  partly  in  Dublin,  mostly 
woodland,  which,  in  addition  to  his  trade,  he 
improved  for  five  years.  His  wTife  was  daugh- 
ter of  Abel  Twitchell,  of  Dublin,  who  was  the 
first  inhabitant  of  this  place.  Bethuel  Harris 
had  ten  children, — six  sons  and  four  daughters. 
He  continued  his  carpentering  and  agricultural 
business  until  1813,  wrhen  his  health  failed, 
being;  much  troubled   with  sciatica.       At    this 

© 

time  he  purchased  water-power  and  a  small 
building,  and  commenced,  in  a  very  limited  de- 
gree, the  business  of  manufacturing  woolen 
goods,  which,  to  a  considerable  extent,  was  done 
by  hand,  as  power-looms  and  spinning  were  not 
known  at  that  time  ;  but,  in  1817,  he  increased 
the  building  and  added  machinery,  putting  his 
sons,  as  fast  as  old  enough,  at  work  in  that  busi- 
ness. In  1821  he  built  a  large,  three-story 
brick  house,  and  moved  from  his  farm  down 
near  his  mill.      This   was  the  second   dwelling 

xBy  Charles  C.  P.  Harris,  Esq. 


built  near  this  water-power.  In  1825,  Bethuel, 
in  company  with  his  oldest  son,  Cyrus,  built  a 
commodious  brick  mill  and  filled  it  with  im- 
proved machinery,  increasing  the  business  of 
manufacturing  four-fold.  They  continued  the 
business  for  six  years,  when  his  son  Cyrus 
retired  from  the  company ;  Bethuel  contin- 
ued alone  for  two  years ;  when  his  son 
Cyrus  returned  and  purchased  a  half-interest 
and  continued  the  business  for  five  years; 
Cyrus  then  retired  and  built  a  large  brick 
store  building,  also  a  large  stone  mill  on 
the  water-power  next  below  that  of  Bethuel 
Harris',  in  1846—47,  when,  on  the  completion 
of  the  building,  his  health  failed.  Accordingly, 
he  did  not  fill  the  building  with  machinery. 
On  the  14th  of  April,  1848,  said  Cyrus  Harris 
deceased.  The  mill  which  he  built  went  into 
the  possession  of  Colony  &  Sons.  It  has  been 
successfully  operated  by  them  until  the  present 
time,  they  having  improved  and  greatly  in- 
creased the  property.  The  present  corporate 
name  of  the  company  is  Cheshire  Mills  Com- 
pany. 

Bethuel  Harris  was  born  at  Medway,  Mass., 
August  14,  1769;  he  came  to  this  place  when 
but  seventeen  years  old.  After  working  with 
his  father  for  some  years,  he  commenced  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account  at  his  trade.  He  was 
a  man  of  much  energy  and  decision  of  charac- 
ter, a  just  man  and  much  respected  among  all 
his  acquaintance.  He  persevered  in  whatever 
he  engaged  in,  and,  for  the  most  part,  was 
moderately  successful.  Although  striving  under 
many  discouragements,  yet  he  overcame  many 
obstacles.  He  not  only  succeeded  in  carpen- 
tering and  agricultural  business,  but  he  was  the 
chief  instrument  in  establishing  the  manufac- 
turing business,  which  has  proved  to  be  the 
business  of  the  place,  and  has  been  continued 
by  him,  his  sons  and  the  Messrs.  Colony  up  to 
the  present  time,  in  a  great  degree  very  success- 
fully. Bethuel  Harris  was  not  only  a  just,  up- 
right and  straightforward  man,  but,  for  a  man 
of  his  pecuniary  ability,  which  was  very  limited 


214 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


at  the  first,  he  was  very  charitable  and  liberal, 
always  showing  his  Christian  faith  by  his 
works  of  generosity  and  liberality  in  every  good 
cause,  having  in  view  the  good  of  his  fellow- 
beings  both  in  this  present  and  the  future 
world,  believing  that  faith  without  works  is 
dead,  being  alone.  He  not  only  con- 
tributed about  three  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  church  buildings,  but  five  years  be- 
fore his  decease  gave  the  church,  for  a  perma- 
nent fund,  twelve  hundred  dollars;  he  also  pre- 
sented each  of  his  children  (ten  in  number)  with 
a  valuable  slip,  or  pew,  in  the  church ;  also,  he 
provided  a  family  cemetery  on  what  is  called 
the  Harrisville  Island,  presenting  each  of  his 
children  a  nice  and  beautiful  lot  for  their  use 
and  for  their  families',  amounting,  for  slips  and 
cemetery  grounds,  to  nearly  twelve  hundred 
dollars.  Therefore,  we  have  a  living  evidence 
of  the  fruits  of  a  devoted  and  just  life  of  a  hum- 
ble man.  Very  much  more  could  be  said  of 
his  private  character  and  life,  both  public  and 
private,  but  the  writer,  being  a  direct  descendant 
from  the  said  Bethuel  Harris,  refrains  from 
saying  anything  further,  hoping  and  trusting 
that  his  memory  may  long  be  revered  by  gen- 
erations yet  to  come  in  his  lineage  and  descent. 
Milan  Harris,  second  son  of  Bethuel  Harris, 
at  the  age  of  thirty  years,  in  the  year  1829,  pur- 
chased the  old  Twitchell  water-power,  at  the 
Twitchell  Pond  (so  called),  on  which  was  a 
saw  and  grist-mill,  which  he  ran  for  one  year. 
when  he,  in  connection  with  Henry  Melville, 
of  Nelson,  built  a  commodious  brick  mill,  three 
stories  high,  in  1833;  but,  before  the  building 
was  filled  with  machinery,  his  partner,  Henry 
Melville,  deceased.  Said  Harris  continued  in 
the  completion  of  the  mill,  and  put  in  one  set  of 
machinery  fjr  manufacturing  woolen  goods,  and 
commenced  manufacturing,  and  carried  on  the 
business  for  some  three  or  four  years,  after 
which  Almon  Harris,  the  third  son  of  Bethuel 
Harris,  connected  himself  with  Milan  Harris  in 
said  business,  when  the  company  was  known 
by  the  name  of  M.  &  A.   Harris,  who  contin- 


ued the  business  successfully  until  184G,  when 
Almon  Harris  retired  from  the  company  and 
went  to  Fishersville,  N.  H.,  and  built  a  large 
mill  at  that  place  and  carried  on  the  manufac- 
turing business  very  successfully  during  his 
life,  some  thirty  years.  After  Almon  Harris 
retired  from  the  company  of  M.  &  A.  Harris, 
Milan  Harris  continued  the  manufacturing 
business  until  1858,  when  his  oldest  son, 
Milan  W.  Harris,  became  associated  with  him. 
The  company  was  then  known  by  name  of  M. 
Harris  &  Co.  until  about  1872,  when  it  was 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  M.  Harris' 
Woolen  Manufacturing  Company,  and  contin- 
ued until  the  corporation  was  dissolved,  about 
1882. 

Baptist  Church.1 — So  far  as  it  can  be  as- 
certained, several  families  of  the  Baptist  faith 
and  order  lived  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
town,  and  in  neighboring  towns,  at  an  early 
period.  The  first  mention  of  the  Baptist  Society 
in  the  town  records  is  found  in  the  following 
article  for  a  town-meeting,  to  be  held  April  2!), 
1784:  "To  hear  the  plea  of  those  who  call 
themselves  the  Baptist  Society,  for  being  ex- 
cused from  paying  Mr.  Sprague's  salary,  and 
to  act  anything  relating  thereto,  as  the  town 
may  see  proper."  Rev.  Edward  Sprague 
was  the  Congregational  minister  in  the  town  at 
that  time.  In  the  petition  presented  to  the 
town  it  was  stated  that  the  selectmen  had  rated 
them  to  Mr.  Sprague  for  the  year  1784,  and 
they  beg  leave  to  tell  them  that  they  look  upon 
it  as  an  unjust  and  real  grievance.  At  the 
town-meeting  it  was  voted  to  excuse  all  those 
from  paying  Mr.  Sprague's  salary  for  the  last 
year  who  had  made  a  profession  of  the  Baptist 
persuasion  in  this  town,  provided  they  bring  a 
certificate  from  the  clerk  of  their  society  that 
they  were  in  communion  with  them  before  Mr. 
Sprague's  salary  was  assessed,  and  they  were 
excused  for  the  present  year.  The  Baptists  in 
town  at  this   time  were  a  branch  of  the  Baptist 

1  Prepared   by  Rev.  J.  P.  Chapin,  of  Pottersville,  N.  H. 


HARMSVILLE. 


215 


Church  in  Richmond,  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Elder  Maturin  Ballou  (the  grandfather  of  the 
late  President  J.  A.  Garfield),  the  first  Baptist 
minister  who  preached  in  town.  He  preached 
his  first  sermon  in  the  house  of  John  Muzzy. 
He  preached  in  town  occasionally  till  the  close 
of  the  year  1785. 

December  7,  1785,  the  Baptists  in  this  town 
were  set  off  from  the  church  in  Richmond,  and 
formed  into  an  independent  church,  composed 
of  thirty  members.  The  church,  previous  to 
1797,  held  their  meetings  during  summer  in  a 
barn  ;  in  the  winter  around  in  private  houses. 
After  the  formation  of  the  church  Rev.  Isaiah 
Stone  was  employed  as  a  minister  for  a  season. 
Rev.  Moses  Kinney  came  next,  August  23, 
1787,  and  remained  till  1794.  He  was  highly 
esteemed  by  the  people,  and  ten  were  added  to 
the  church.  The  next  minister  was  Rev.  Elijah 
Willard,  who  came  into  this  region  from  Fitch- 
burg,  Mass.,  to  keep  school,  and  also  preached 
for  the  Baptists.  They  invited  him  to  become 
their  pastor,  and  he  was  ordained  May  11,  1794, 
being  forty-three  years  of  age,  and  he  re- 
mained their  pastor  till  1829,  thirty-five  years. 
His  was  the  longest  and  most  successful  pas- 
torate the  church  ever  enjoyed.  He  was  highly 
esteemed  and  dearly  beloved  by  the  church  and 
by  the  people  generally  till  the  day  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  August  19,  1839,  in  the 
eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  During  his  pas- 
torate ninety -eight  were  added  to  the  -  church. 
In  the  third  year  of  his  pastorate  the  church 
built  their  first  house  of  worship  after  the  usual 
style  of  those  days, — 1797. 

After  the  close  of  Elder  Willard's  pastorate 
Rev.  Elias  McGregory  was  sent  to  labor  with 
the  church  by  the  State  Convention,  the  church 
being  in  a  very  low  state.  Beiug  well  fitted 
for  the  work  by  his  faithful  and  well-directed 
efforts,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  the  church 
was  revived.  A  Sabbath- school  was  started  for 
the  first  time  in  the  place,  and  has  continued 
to  the  present  time,  and  eighteen  were  added  to 
the  church. 


Rev.  Mr.  McGregory  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Clark  Sibley,  who  was  ordained  June  2,  1831, 
and  he  remained  about  two  years,  adding 
fifteen  to  the  church.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Harrison  W.  Strong,  of  whom  there  is  no 
record. 

In  1837  fifteen  members  were  dismissed  to 
form  a  Baptist  Church  in  Marlborough,  which 
has  since  become  extinct.  During  the  period 
extending  from  1833  to  1839  forty  joined  the 
church.  February  23,  1839,  James  P.  Apple- 
ton  was  ordained  pastor,  and  he  took  nine  into 
the  church,  and  left  May  1,  1840.  D.  P. 
French  then  supplied  the  church  for  a  short 
time.  On  February  27,  1842,  Rev.  Henry 
Tonkin  became  the  pastor  of  the  church,  and 
resigned  March  29,  1843,  twenty-six  uniting 
with  the  church  while  he  was  pastor.  In  1844 
the  old  house  of  worship  was  taken  down  and 
erected  on  the  corner  opposite  District  No.  2 
school-house.  Rev.  E.  D.  Fan*  and  Milton  W. 
Ball  supplied  the  church  during  this  year  and 
the  following  year,  seven  uniting  with  the 
church.  Rev.  Warren  Cooper  settled  as  pastor 
in  August,  1845,  and  resigned  in  1848,  receiv- 
ing sixteen  into  the  church.  He  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Charles  Cummings,  who  labored  with 
much  efficiency  to  build  up  the  church.  The 
church  voted,  December  1-5,1849,  to  reorganize 
for  the  sake  of  a  closer  walk  with  each  other 
and  with  their  Lord,  but  the  initiatory  steps  for 
this  measure  were  scarcely  taken  before  their 
beloved  pastor  wTas  suddenly  taken  from  them 
by  death.  This  sudden  bereavement  seemed  to 
the  smitten  flock  like  a  personal  affliction,  and 
probably  quickened  their  movements  in  reor- 
ganizing the  church  on  a  plan  he  suggested  as 
more  efficient  in  promoting  their  spiritual  en- 
joyment and  growth  in  grace.  Sixty  members 
renewed  their  covenant  obligations  at  this  time, 
February  2,  1850. 

Henry  Archibald  commenced  his  labors  with 
the  church  August  4,  1850,  and  remained 
about  two  years,  taking  two  into  the  church. 
Then  Lyman    Culver   was   settled   as    pastor, 


216 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


July,  1852,  and  continued  with  them  until  the 
spring  of  1856,  receiving  ten  into  the  church. 

In  the  fall  of  1855,  Brother  T.  P.  Briggs, 
a  licentiate  from  the  Baptist  Church  in  Hins- 
dale, supplied  the  church  for  about  six  months. 
Although  but  twenty  years  of  age,  yet  he  was 
an  earnest  and  faithful  servant  of  Christ,  and 
ten  were  added  to  the  church. 

In  May,  1856,  Rev.  W.  W.  Lovejoy  began 
to  supply  the  church  one-half  of  the  time  for 
that  year  as  pastor,  and  the  next  year  he 
preached  for  them  all  the  time,  and  remained 
with  them  till  he  died,  in  March,  1862.  During 
his  pastorate  a  parsonage  was  built  (in  1857) 
and  eighteen  joined  the  church. 

In  September,  1862,  Rev.  John  Hunt  became 
pastor  of  the  church.  In  May,  1866,  the 
church  held  a  protracted  meeting,  and  the  pas- 
tor was  assisted  by  Rev.  W.  \V.  Clark,  of 
Keene.  Nine  united  with  the  church  while 
Brother  Hunt  was  pastor. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  society  in 
March,  1867,  they  voted  to  remove  their  house 
of  worship  to  its  present  locality  and  remodel 
it,  and  also  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  the 
pastor  while  repairing  the  house  ;  therefore 
Rev.  J.  Hunt  left,  having  been  with  them  four 
years  and  a  half.  The  house  was  removed  and 
the  alterations  completed  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1868,  at  the  cost  of  nearly  three  thousand 
dollars. 

In  March,  1869,  Rev.  G.  S.  Smith  settled  as 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  remained  until  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1873,  and  nine  were  added  to  the 
church. 

In  May,  1873,  Rev.  Charles  Newhall  became 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  resigned  in  Septem- 
ber, 1877,  but,  by  the  request  of  the  church,  he 
continued  to  supply  them  till  the  close  of  the 
year.  During  the  winter  of  1874  the  church 
enjoyed  a  gracious  revival  of  religion,  in  which 
the  pastor  was  assisted  by  Rev.  E.  A.  Whittier, 
an  evangelist  from  Lawrence,  Mass.  Thirty 
were  added  to  the  church  while  Brother  New- 
hall  was  with  them.     From  August  1,  1878,  to 


February  15,  1880,  J.  W.  Merrill  supplied  the 
pulpit. 

In  December,  1880,  the  church  invited  Rev. 
J.  T.  Chapin,  of  Sutton,  Mass.,  to  become  their 
pastor.  He  was  in  poor  health  during  his 
term  of  service,  and  in  May,  1884,  he  was 
obliged  to  resign,  having  received  six  into  the 
church.  September  7,  1884,  Rev.  J.  R.  Has- 
kins,  the  Baptist  State  Missionary,  supplied 
the  church  for  several  Sabbaths,  baptizing  two. 

On  December  7,  1885,  this  church  was  one 
hundred  years  old.  During  that  time  it  has 
been  served  by  twenty-three  ministers, — fifteen 
pastors  and  eight  stated  supplies. 

The  names  of  the  deacons  are  John  Knowl- 
ton,  Elias  Hemmenway,  Charles  Cummings, 
John  Sprague,  Joel  Hart,  Amos  Sargeant  and 
Micah  Howe.  Since  the  death  of  the  two  last, 
which  occurred  in  1871  and  1883,  the  church 
has  not  chosen  any  regular  deacons. 

The  whole  number  who  have  united  with  the 
church  (including  the  thirty  who  formed  the 
church)  from  December  7,  1785,  to  March  1, 
1885,  is  four  hundred  and  ninety-four ;  present 
number,  seventy. 

Library. — By  a  vote  of  the  town  at  its  an- 
nual meeting,  in  March,  1877,  a  public  library 
was  established  and  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  was  appropriated  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books ;  this,  with  two  hundred  dollars 
donated  by  individuals,  was  taken  by  the  com- 
mittee chosen  by  the  town,  consisting  of  Aaron 
Smith,  Cyrus  H.  Hayward  and  Edwin  P.  Hunt, 
and  four  hundred  and  forty-five  volumes  were 
purchased  ;  since  this  about  one  hundred  dol- 
lars annually  has  been  voted  by  the  town,  which, 
with  the  sums  given  by  individuals,  has  enabled 
the  committee  to  purchase  new  books  until  the 
whole  number  of  volumes  in  library  now  num- 
bers ten  hundred  and  fifty-six.  For  the  first 
three  years  a  room  in  the  house  of  John  T. 
Farwell  was  occupied  for  a  library,  and  Mrs. 
M.  J.  Farwell  appointed  librarian.  In  1880, 
Henry  Colony,  Esq.,  of  Keene,  a  former  resi- 
dent of  the  town,  gave  a  piece  of  land  in  the 


HARRISVILLE. 


217 


most  central  part  of  the  village  for  a  site  upon 
which  to  erect  a  building ;  soon  after  a  building 
owned  by  the  town  in  a  remote  part  of  the  vil- 
lage was  moved  to  this  spot  and  fitted  up.  The 
present  librarian  is  Miss  Bell  Hutchinson.  The 
library  is  open  to  all  citizens  of  the  town  on 
every  Saturday  afternoon  and  evening,  and  is 
patronized  by  nearly  every  individual  in  it,  es- 
pecially by  the  young,  to  whom  it  is  of  inesti- 
mable benefit. 

POTTEESVILLE,    OR   WEST    HAERISVILLE. 

This  village  is  situated  in  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  the  town  of  Harrisville,  and  takes  its 
name  from  the  manufactory  of  brown  earthen- 
ware, of  which  a  large  business  was  formerly 
done.  Some  five  or  six  shops,  employing  a 
large  number  of  hands,  were  at  one  time  en- 
gaged in  this  industry.  No  business  of  this 
kind  now  exists.  The  cheapness  of  English  white- 
ware  and  the  low  price  of  tin-ware  has  driven 
it  almost  entirely  from  the  market.  Sixty  years 
ago  brown  earthen- ware  was  a  kind  of  currency. 
Farmers  in  the  vicinity  of  the  potteries  were 
glad  to  exchange  their  surplus  products  for 
it.  They  carried  the  ware  to  various  parts 
of  this  and  adjoining  States  and  exchanged  it 
for  cash  or  such  articles  as  were  needed  in  their 
families.  The  first  person  to  engage  in  the 
business  was  one  by  the  name  of  Felton,  from 
Danvers,  Mass.,  and  the  last  was  John  Clark, 
of  East  Cambridge,  Mass.  This  village  is  now 
better  known  as  West  Harrisville,  since  the 
building  of  the  Manchester  and  Keene  Rail- 
road through  the  town,  in  1878,  and  the  naming 
of  the  station  by  the  latter  name. 

There  are  two  saw-mills  at  this  village  and 
also  two  shops  where  wooden-ware  has  been 
manufactured  to  a  considerable  extent. 

Haeeisville  Coxgeegatioxal  Chuech.1 
— In  1838  the  population  became  more  numer- 
ous, and  Beth uel  Harris  proposed  to  his  children 
that,  as  he  was  the  first  and  most  prominent 
cause  of  increase  of  citizenship,  he  did  not  feel  it 

A , 

1  By  Charles  C.  P.  Harris,  Esq. 


to  be  right  for  us  to  bring  so  many  young  peo- 
ple together  without  making  an  effort  to  give 
them  some  moral  advantages  and  privileges, 
there  beino;  no  church  services  within  four 
miles ;  therefore,  the  subject  of  furnishing  a 
suitable  place  to  accommodate  occasional  reli- 
gious services  was  proposed,  and  arrangements 
were  made  for  building  a  house  to  accommo- 
date private  schools  and  religious  meetings. 
The  building  was  completed  in  1840,  said 
Bethuel  Harris  contributing  over  two-thirds  of 
the  total  expense,  which  was  about  one  thousand 
dollars.  At  the  time  this  vestry  was  built  no 
one  had  supposed  that  a  church  would  be  organ- 
ized in  this  place  for  years.  Bethuel  Harris 
and  his  family  belonged  to  the  church  at  Nel- 
son. August  28,  1840,  on  account  of  existing 
circumstances,  it  was  thought  expedient  and 
necessary  by  this  community  that,  for  the  good 
and  advancement  of  the  cause  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  a  new  church  should  be 
organized.  Therefore,  Bethuel  Harris  and  cer- 
tain individuals,  members  of  the  church  at 
Nelson,  nineteen  males  and  twelve  females,  pe- 
titioned said  church  for  a  dismission  for  the  ob- 
ject of  being  organized  into  a  new  church  at 
this  place;  also  for  the  church  at  Nelson  to 
unite  with  them  in  calling  an  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cil for  the  purpose  of  organizing  them  into  a 
Second  Orthodox  Congregational  Church  ;  said 
church  voted  to  grant  said  petitioners'  request 
September  1,  1840,  and  chose  a  committee  to 
unite  with  them  (said  petitioners)  in  calling  said 
council.  Said  committees  voted  to  invite  the 
following  churches  to  act  by  their  pastors  and 
delegates  on  said  council,  viz. :  Church  at  Swan- 
zey,  N.  H. ;  church  at  Troy,  N.  H. ;  church  at 
Antrim,  N.  H.  ;  church  at  Warwick,  Mass. ; 
and  church  at  New  Ipswich,  N.  H. 

Said  council  convened  at  Harrisville  (so- 
called)  September  22,  1840.  Organized  by 
chosino-  Rev.  Elisha  Rockwood  moderator  and 
Rev.  Samuel  Lee  scribe.  After  hearing  re- 
marks and  statements  from  all  interested,  the 
council  voted  to  hold  a  private  session.      In 


218 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


private  session  the  said  council  voted  unani- 
mously that  it  is  expedient  to  organize  said  pe- 
titioners as  a  distinct  church,  and  that  the  coun- 
cil is  now  ready  to  proceed  to  the  public  services 
of  organization,  which  services  were  held  at 
this  date,  September  22,  1840.  The  church 
chose  Cyrus  Harris  moderator.  September  27, 
1840,  Rev.  R.  C.  Hatch,  of  Norwich,  Mass., 
acted  as  pastor,  when  thirteen  were  added, — four 
males  and  nine  females, — making  in  all  forty- 
four  members.  The  desk  was  supplied  by  dif- 
ferent neighboring  pastors  from  September  27th 
until  December  11,  1840,  when  the  Rev.  Jo- 
siah  Ballard  was  employed  as  pastor  for  an  in- 
definite time  ;  he  continued  his  pastoral  services 
until  February  4,  1841,  when  he  resigned. 
Rev.  Mr.  Tisdale  supplied  until  April  15, 1841. 
April  18,  1841,  Rev.  O.  C.  Whiton  commenced 
his  labors  as  pastor  for  ah  indefinite  time.  At 
this  time  the  subject  of  building  a  church  edi- 
fice was  proposed  to  the  church  by  Bethuel 
Harris,  with  certain  propositions,  viz. :  The 
church  was  to  raise  what  they  could  to  defray 
the  expenses,  and  he,  said  Bethuel,  would  sup- 
ply what  might  be  lacking.  The  church  edifice 
was  erected,  a  brick  structure  of  good  size,  and 
finished  by  August  11,  1842,  and  it  was  dedi- 
cated at  that  date.  The  expense  of  said  house 
was  about  thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  Bethuel 
Harris  paying  about  three-fifths  of  it.  At  the 
dedication  of  the  church  edifice  the  Rev.  O.  C. 
Whiton  was  installed  over  the  church,  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  all  interested,  both  church 
and  people. 

When  the  church  gave  him  a  call  to  settle  with 
this  church  and  people  as  pastor,  his  definite  an- 
swer  was,  after  much  consideration  and  prayer  for 
divine  direction  :  "  I  have  decided  to  live  and 
labor  with  you,  die  with  you  and  lay  my  bones 
with  yours."  October  17,  1845,  Rev.  O.  C. 
Whiton  died,  greatly  beloved  by  all  who  knew 
him  ;  his  remains  lay  buried  in  the  Island 
Cemetery,  at  Harrisville.  His  pastorate  was 
about  four  and  a  half  years;  thirty-one  new 
members  were  added  to  the  church  u  nder  his 


pastorate.  November  1,  1845,  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Pomeroy  commenced  his  labors  as  acting  pastor 
for  an  indefinite  time;  continued  as  such,  giving 
good  satisfaction  to  church  and  people  for  about 
three  years  and  nine  months,  when  he  resigned. 
Twenty-three  new  members  were  added  to  the 
church  under  his  ministration. 

Rev.  Daniel  Babcock  commenced  his  pastor- 
ate January  6,  1850,  under  contract  for  one 
year;  he  closed  his  pastoral  labors  January  5, 
1851  ;  one  new  member  was  added  during  his 
pastorate.  Rev.  William  G.  Tuttle  commenced 
preaching  under  license  February  20,  1851  ; 
was  ordained  as  pastor  over  church  and  society 
April  1G,  1851,  which  position  he  filled  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  all  classes  until  Auirusf 
22,  1860,  about  nine  years,  when,  on  account  of 
failing  health,  he  resigned  his  pastorate,  and 
was,  by  council,  dismissed,  August  22,  1860. 
There  were  twenty-five  new  members  added  to 
the  church  under  Mr.  Tuttle's  pastoral  labors. 
Rev.  A.  Rawson,  of  Thompson,  Conn.,  supplied 
the  desk  mostly  to  May  1,  1861. 

Rev.  J.  K.  Bragg  commenced  as  acting  pas- 
tor for  one  year  from  June  1st,  and  closed  his 
labors  June  1,  1862.  One  was  admitted  under 
his  pastorate.  Rev.  Mr.  Marshall  supplied  the 
desk  as  acting  pastor  from  August,  1862,  to 
August,  1863,  according  to  contract.  Rev.  Mr. 
Cochrane  supplied  the  desk  from  September, 
1863,  to  September,  1864.  Rev.  Mr.  Dexter 
(Methodist  clergyman),  of  Marlborough,  N.  H., 
supplied  the  desk  from  September,  1864,  to  Jan- 
uary, 1865,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  interested. 

Rev.  Charles  M.  Palmer  commenced  preach- 
ing January  1,  1865,  and  continued  preaching 
under  license  from  Andover  Seminary  until 
December  8,  1868,  when  he  was  ordained  pas- 
tor over  the  church  and  society;  he  continued 
his  pastorate  until  May  7,  1871,  when,  by  his 
request,  he  was  dismissed  by  council.  There 
were  twenty-three  new  members  added  to  the 
church  under  his  pastorate.  Rev.  Mr.  Palmer 
was  much  beloved  by  the  church  and  people  of 
his  charge. 


HARRISVILLE. 


219 


Rev.  Amos  Holbrook  commenced  as  perma- 
nent pastor  November  19,  1871  ;  he  was  elected 
moderator  January  1,  1872. 

Rev.  Mr.  Holbrook's  pastorate  was  very  ac- 
ceptable to  church  and  society ;  he  continued 
his  labors  as  pastor  in  a  most  faithful  manner 
until  July  2,  1876,  four  years  and  ten  months, 
when,  on  account  of  the  circumstances  of  his 
family,  he  resigned  July  26,  1876.  There  were 
added  to  the  church  under  his  pastorate  fifty- 
eight  new  members.  The  desk  was  supplied 
from  July  7,  1876,  mostly,  to  March  20th  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Coolidge,  of  Hancock,  N.  H.,  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  church  and  people. 
Rev.  William  Thurston  commenced  his  services 
as  acting  pastor  April  1,  1877,  and  con- 
tinued until  June  29,  1879,  at  which  date 
he  resigned  his  pastorate.  There  were  six  new 
members  added  to  the  church  during  his  pastor- 
ate. Rev.  George  Beckwith  commenced  his 
services  as  acting  pastor  October  31,  1879,  and 
continued  his  services  until  April  1, 1881,  when 
he  resigned.  There  were  five  new  members 
added  to  the  church  under  Mr.  Beckwith's  pas- 


torate. Rev.  George  H.  Dunlap,  formerly  of 
Charlestown,  N.  H.,  commenced  his  pastoral 
labors  with  this  church  May  1, 1881.  There  be- 
ing a  union  formed  between  this  church  and  the 
Congregational  Church  at  Nelson,  Mr.  Dunlap 
became  acting  pastor  over  the  church  at  Nelson, 
the  same  as  this  church,  performing  all  the  pas- 
toral duties  in  both  churches  to  the  full  satis- 
faction of  both  churches  and  peoples.  Two  new 
members  have  been  added  to  the  church  at 
Harrisville  since  Mr.  Dunlap  became  pastor. 
Total  membership  since  organization  is  220,  of 
whom  103  have  been  dismissed  by  letter  to 
other  churches,  55  have  died,  and  1 1  have  been 
excommunicated,  leaving,  at  this  date,  (April  1, 
1885)  61  members  in  regular  standing,  of  which 
20  are  non-resident  members,  leaving  41  resi- 
dent members.  Virtually,  this  church  has  been 
a  missionary  church,  many  having  come  here 
to  labor  in  the  mills,  and,  after  being  here  for  a 
time,  united  with  the  church  ;  afterwards,  mak- 
ing their  residences  at  other  places,  they  asked 

i 

and  received  letters  of  dismission  and  recom- 
mendation to  other  sister-churches. 


HISTORY    OF  JAFFREY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Geographical- Original  Grant— Early  Settlements-Names 
of  Pioneers— Incorporation  of  Town— First  Town-Meet- 
ing—Officers Elected— Town  Clerks— Representatives 
—Ecclesiastical  History—  Congregational  Church— Con- 
gregational Church,  East  Jaffrey-Baptist  Church-Uni" 
versalist  Church-Schools— Lawyers— Physicians-War 
of  the  Revolution— War  of  1812-War  of  the  Rebellion 
— Post  Offices— Banks— Population— Railroads. 

The  town  of  Jaffrey  lies  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 
North,  by  Marlborough  and  Dublin  ;  east,  by 
Peterborough  and  Sharon;  south,  by  Rindge 
and  Fitzwilliam  ;  west,  by  Fitzwilliam,  Troy 
and  Marlborough.  It  is  fifteen  miles  from 
Keene,  the  shire-town  of  the  county  ;  forty-five 
from  Concord,  the  capital  of  the  State ;  and 
sixty-two  from  Boston,— seventy-eight  by  rail- 
road. 

The  area  is  about  twenty-two  thousand  acres  ; 
about  one  thousand  is  covered  with  water,  and 
the  uninhabitable  area  of  the  mountain  in  Jaf- 
frey is  about  three  thousand  two  hundred  acres. 
The  surface  of  the  town  is  hilly  and  moun- 
tainous. 

The  Grand  Monadnock  is  situated  in  the 
northwest  part  of  the  town  and  south  part  of 
Dublin.  Its  highest  peak  is  a  little  south  of 
the  line  of  Dublin,  and  has  an  altitude  of  3186 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  and  2029  feet 
above  the  centre  of  the  town.  The  mountain  is 
celebrated  as  a  summer  resort. 


i  Condensed  mainly  from    "  History  of  Jaffrey/'  a  work 
of  six  hundred  and  fifty  pages,  hy  Daniel  B.  Cutter,  pub- 
lished in  1880. 
220 


The  town  was  granted  by  the  Masonian  pro- 
prietors, under   the  name  of  Middle   Monad- 
nock, No.   2,    November  30,   1749,  to   Jona- 
than   Hubbard   and    thirty- nine   others,     resi- 
dents   of  Hollis,    Lunenburg   and    Dunstable. 
The   Masonian  proprietors    were   residents   of 
Portsmouth  and  vicinity,  twelve    in    number, 
who  purchased  of  John  Tufton  Mason,  great- 
grandson  of  Captain  John  Mason,  for  fifteen 
hundred  pounds,  his  right  and  title  to  a  tract  of 
land  lying  in  New  Hampshire,  granted  to  said 
Captain  John  Mason  by  the  Council  of  Plym- 
outh in  1629.     The  purchase  was  divided  into 
fifteen  shares,  of  which  Theodore  Atkinson  had 
three  shares,  Mark  H.  Wentworth  two  shares, 
and  Richard  Wibbard,  John  Wentworth,  John 
Moffat,  Samuel  Moore,  Jotham  Odiorne,  George 
Jaffrey,   Joshua    Pierce,    Nathaniel    Meserve, 
Thomas  Wallingford  and  Thomas  Packer,  one 
share  each.     Nine  additional  members  were  af- 
terwards  admitted,   and  the   shares    increased 
to   eighteen.      The  new    members   were  John 
Rindge,  Joseph  Blanchard,  Daniel  Pierce,  John 
Tufton  Mason,  John  Thomlinson,  MathewLiv- 
ermore,    William    Parker,    Samuel    Solly   and 
Clement  March.     The  territory  is  described  as 
"  extending  from  the  middle  of  the  Piscataqua 
river,  up  the  same  to  the  fartherest  head  thereof, 
and   from   thence    northwestward    until    sixty 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  were  fin- 
ished ;  also,  through  Merrimack  river   to  the 
fartherest  head  thereof,  and  so  forward  up  into 
the  land    westward    until   sixty    miles  were  fin- 
ished, and   from  thence  overland  to  the  end  of 


JAFFREY. 


221 


sixty  miles  accounted  from  the  Piscataqua  river, 
together  with  all  lauds  within  five  leagues  of 
the  coast." 

Immediately  after  the  purchase  the  above- 
described  tract  of  laud  was  divided  by  the  pro- 
prietors iuto  townships.  Those  around  the 
Monadnock  Hills,  as  the  mountain  was  then 
called,  were  named  Monadnocks,  designated 
by  numbers. 

After  the  survey  of  the  township  and  the 
division   of   it    among  the  proprietors,    to   en- 
courage  settlement  a  bounty    of  one  hundred 
and    forty-two     pounds    was    offered    to    the 
first  five  men  who,  with  their  families,  should 
settle  within  one    year  from  this    date    (June, 
1750)  and  remain  one  year,   and  in  the  same 
proportion   to  one  or  more  families  complying 
with    the     above     condition.       Whether    any 
settlement   was  made    does    not   appear    from 
any     known     record.      A    traditionary    report 
makes     it     appear    that    a    family     by     the 
name  of  Russell  (Joel  Russell)  did  attempt  a 
settlement    in    the    south    part    of    the    town, 
and  while  there  had  a  son  born,  who  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  the  township.     Whe- 
ther he  settled  soon  enough   and  remained  long 
enough  to  receive  the  bounty  does  not  appear. 
In  1752  we  have  a  reliable  account  of  a  settle- 
ment by  Moses  Stickney,  Richard  Peabody  and 
seven  others,  and  that  while  there  Simon  Stick- 
ney, son  of  Moses,  was  born  December  9,  1753, 
making    him    the    first    white    child  -born    in 
Jaffrey,  aside  from  the  Russell  tradition.     This 
settlement  of  Stickney  and  others  proved  a  fail- 
ure, through   fear  of  Indians,  and  they  all  left 
except  a  man  known  as  Captain  Platts,  probably 
the  pioneer  of  Rindge. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  was  made 
about  1758  by  John  Grout  and  John  Davidson. 
Grout  settled  on  lot  20,  range  10,  and  David- 
son on  lot  21,  range  3.  Grout  was  a  prominent 
man.  He  made,  with  Gilmore,  an  early  report 
of  the  settlement  of  the  town  to  the  proprietors. 
He  died  in  1771.  There  is  a  tradition  that  he 
was  buried  where  the  meeting-house  was  after- 


wards built.  John  Davidson  remained  a  per- 
manent settler,  and  died  in  1811.  It  is  also  re- 
ported as  true  that  his  eldest  daughter,  Betsey, 
was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Jaffrey. 

List  of  the  pioneers  of  Jaffrey,  per  report  of 
Gilmore,  Grout  and  Hale  : 


John  Borland. 

David  Hunter. 

Joseph  Caldwell. 

Ephraim  Hunt. 

James  Caldwell. 

John  Little. 

James  Caldwell,  Jr. 

Andrew  McAlister 

Thomas  Caldwell. 

Alex.  McNeil. 

Chrysty. 

William  Mitchel. 

Daniel  Davis. 

Munroe. 

Joseph  Dnnlap.1 

James  Nichols. 

John  Davidson.1 

Organ. 

Thomas  Davidson. 

Jona.  Parker. 

Thomas  Emery. 

Russel. 

Fitch. 

John  Swan. 

Roger  Gilmore.1 

William  Smiley.1 

John  Gilmore.1 

Joseph  Turner.1 

John  Grout.1 

William  Turner.1 

Glover. 

Thomas  Turner. 

Enoch  Hale. 

Solomon  Turner. 

Hale. 

Taggot. 

John  Harper.1 

George  Wallace. 

Wid.  Henderson. 

Thomas  Walker. 

Joseph  Hogg.1 

Robert  Weir. 

William  Hogg.1 

Mathew  Wright.1 

Robert  Holmes. 

Leranus  Wright. 

Jona.  Hopkinson. 

The  settlement  of  many  of  the  first  inhabitants 
was  of  short  duration.  They  seemed  to  be  a 
log  cabin  population,  fond  of  living  in  a  forest. 
Most  of  them  were  Scotch-Irish  from  London- 
derry. Of  those  who  became  permanent  set- 
tlers of  that  race,  were  John  and  Roger  Gil- 
more, William  Smiley,  Joseph  Turner,  Joseph 
Hodge,  William  Turner  and  William  Hodge. 
After  the  incorporation  of  the  town  a  large  emi- 
gration from  Massachusetts  purchased  their 
lands,  with  all  of  the  improvements,  and  became 
the  permanent  settlers  of  the  town. 

Of  the  history  of  the  settlers  reported  by 
Grout,  Gilmore  and  Hale,  but  little  is  known. 
Alphabetically  arranged,  we  find  the  first  on  the 
list  to  be  John  Borland.     He  was  the  first  set- 

1  Permanent  settlers. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tier  in  what  is  now  East  Jaffrey,  and  built  the 
first  mills  in  that  place.  In  1778  he  sold  his 
place  to  Deacon  Eleazer  Spofford,  of  Dan  vers, 
and  left  town. 

Four  families  by  the  name  of  Caldwell — 
James,  James,  Jr.,  Joseph  and  Thomas — were 
among  the  first  settlers.  When  the  town  was 
incorporated,  the  name  of  James  Caldwell  ap- 
pears on  a  committee  chosen  to  procure  preach- 
ing, and  Thomas  Caldwell  is  represented  in 
Hale's  report  as  the  owner  of  a  saw-mill  on  lot 
No.  22,  range  5.  Nothing  more  is  known 
of  the  family  of  Caldwell. 

The  name  of  Thomas  Emery  is  found  in 
Hale's  report  as  the  owner  of  the  right  of 
Nathaniel  Pierce,  which  included  the  lot  on 
which  was  built  the  Milliken  tavern,  afterwards 
the  farm  of  John  Felt,  and  now  (1873)  of 
Levi  Brigham,  and  also  the  farm  of  Clarence 
S.  Bailey. 

Solomon  Grout  settled  on  lot  13,  range  9, — 
the  Isaac  Bailey  farm, — and  was  road  surveyor 
in  1774  and  selectman  in  1776. 

A  Widow  Henderson,  by  Grout  and  Gil- 
more's  report,  settled  on  lot  17,  range  3,  now 
the  farm  of  S.  ( Jarfield. 

Jonathan  Hopkinson's  place  of  settlement  is 
unknown. 

Robert  Holmes  was  from  Londonderry ;  his 
brother  Abram  settled  in  Peterborough.  He 
settled  on  lot  12,  range  3,  afterwards  the  farm 
of  Joseph  Thorndike,  John  Conant  and  Frank 
EL  Cutter.  The  first  frame  house  in  Jaffrey  is 
reported  to  have  been  built  on  that  farm,  per 
report  of  Grout  and  Gilmore. 

David  Hunter  settled  on  lot  5,  range  6,  after- 
wards the  farm  of  David  Gilmore,  Esq.,  now 
(187(5)  the  farm  of  Marshal  C.  Adams.  When 
the  first  military  company  was  organized  he  was 
chosen  ensign. 

John  Little  settled  on  lot  15,  range  4,  now 
the  farm  of  John  Quin.  He  was  highway 
surveyor  in  1774.  His  successor  appears  to 
have  been  Simpson  Stuart. 

Alexander  McNeil  settled  on  lot  12,  range  5, 


and  was,  by  tradition,  the  first  inn-keeper  in 
Jaffrey.  From  the  town  records,  he  appears  to 
have  been  quite  a  prominent  man.  In  1774  he 
was  chosen  one  of  a  committee  to  procure  preach - 
iug,  one  of  a  committee  to  examine  the  accounts 
of  the  selectman  and  constable,  and  one  of  the 
committee  to  build  the  meeting-house.  In  1775 
he  was  one  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  and 
moderator  of  the  annual  town-meeting  in  1776. 
In  1779,  at  the  annual  town-meeting,  the  town 
voted  that  Alexander  McNeil  should  not  keep 
tavern.     He  probably  left  town  soon  after. 

William  Mitchel  settled  on  lot  12,  range  4, 
afterwards  the  farm  of  James  Gage  and  his  son, 
Jonathan  Gage.  Present  owner,  Michael  D. 
Fitzgerald.  In  1774  he  was  chosen  auditor  of 
accounts  and  deer-reeve;  in  1775,  surveyor  of 
roads  and  sealer  of  leather;  1776,  surveyor  of 
roads.    He  probably  left  town  in  1777  or  1778. 

Andrew  Me  A  lister  settled  on  lot  14,  range  4, 
afterwards  the  farm  of  John  Briant,  now  owned 
by  Samuel  D.  Jewell. 

James  Nichols  settled  on  lot  17,  range  1, 
afterwards  owned  by  Benjamin  Cutter,  Benjamin 
Frost,  John  Frost  and  John  Frost,  Jr. ;  now 
uninhabited. 

John  Swan  was  owner  of  lot  6,  range  4  ;  lot 
5,  range  5;  and  lot  21,  range  6.  On  which  lots 
he  settled  is  not  known. 

Thomas  Walker  was  owner  of  lot  16,  range  2 ; 
lot  7,  range  6  ;  lot  11,  range  1.  On  which  he 
settled  is  not  known. 

George  Wallace,  settlement  unknown. 

Robert  Weir  settled  on  lot  6,  range  5.  In 
1773,  when  the  town  was  incorporated,  he  was 
chosen  one  of  the  auditors  of  accounts  and  high- 
way surveyor;  in  1776  he  was  chosen  town 
clerk  and  first  selectman. 

Leranus  Wright  settled  on  lot  14,  range  8. 
His  successor  was  Francis  Wright,  inn-keeper. 
When  the  town  was  incorporated,  in  1773,  the 
town-meeting  was  held  at  his  place.  The  farm 
is  now  owned  by  Dana  S.  Jaquith. 

Most  of  the  early  settlers  were  born  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  some  in  Londonderry, 


JAFFREY. 


223 


N.  H.,  some  in  England  and  some  in  Ireland. 
David  Bailey  was  born  in  England  ;  John 
Davidson  and  William  Smiley  in  Ireland. 
They  were  a  race  of  hardy  adventurers,  inured 
to  toil  and  hardship,  fit  inhabitants  for  a  new 
township.  They  were  mostly  young  men,  un- 
married, in  search  of  a  future  home.  They  made 
a  purchase  of  land,  cleared  a  few  acres,  built 
thereon  a  cabin  or  log  house,  returned  to  their 
original  home,  and  there  married  and  took  with 
them  their  wives,  with  their  household  furniture, 
to  the  home  in  the  forest, — a  bridal  tour  full  of 
hope  and  expectation  of  a  rich  future  reward ; 
not  only  a  reward  of  gold  and  silver,  but  one  of 
a  large  progeny.  In  that  they  were  not  often 
disappointed,  as  the  emigration  from  Jaifrey,  in 
after -years,  to  the  States  of  Vermont,  New  York, 
Ohio  and  most  of  the  Western  States,  will 
abundantly  verify.  The  sons  and  daughters  of 
Jaifrey  and  their  descendants  may  be  found  not 
only  in  town,  but  in  most  of  the  cities  East  and 
West,  holding  positions  of  wealth,  honor  and 
trust. 

Incoeporation  of  Town. — The  town  was 
known  by  the  names  of  Monadnock,  No.  2, 
Middle  Monadnock  and  Middletown,  until  it 
was  incorporated  by  the  Governor  and  Council, 
August  17,  1773,  and  named  in  honor  of  Hon. 
George  Jaffrev,  a  member  of  the  Council.  The 
first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  in  the 
house  of  Joseph  French,  of  Dunstable,  January 
16,  1750. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  September 
14,  1773,  as  follows: 

"  Jaffrey  Sept.  14, 1773. 

"  Then  the  Freeholders  and  Inhabitance  of  sd  town 
being  meet  agreeable  to  the  foregoing  Warrant, 

"  lstly  Choose  Capt.  Jonathan  Stanley  moderator  to 
Govern  sd  meeting. 

"  2ly  Choose  mr  Wm  Smiley  Town  Clerk. 

"Choose  Capt.  Jonathan  Stanley,  Fust  Selectman. 

"  mr.  Wm  Smiley  Seed  Selectman. 

"  mr.  Phineas  Spaulding  third  Selectman. 

"  Choose  Mr.  Roger  Gilmore,  Tythingman. 

"  Choose  Hugh  Dunlap  and  John  Harper,  Field- 
Drivers. 

"  Choose  John  Davidson,  Constable. 


"  Choose  Roger  Gilmore,  Robert  Wire  and  Samuel 
Sherwin  a  Committee  to  Count  with  the  Selectmen 
and  Constable. 

"  Choose  David  Allen,  Wm  McAlister, Robert  Wire, 
Ephraim  Hunt,  Wm  Turner  and  John  Gilmore,  Soy- 
vors. 

"  Choose  Mr.  Wm  Hogg  and  Mr  Joseph  Wright 
Fence  Vewers." 

"Jaffrey  Sep* 28.  Then  the  Freeholders  and  In- 
habitance of  sd  town  being  mett  agreeable  to  the  Fore- 
going Warrant, 

"  lly  Choose  Capt.  Jonathan  Stanley  moderator  to 
govern  sd  meeting. 

"  2ly  Voted  Eighty  Pounds  L  :  M  :  to  be  worked  out 
on  the  Rods. 

"  3ly  Voted  that  Capt.  Jona.  Stanley,  Alexander 
Mc-Neiil  and  Jeames  Caldwell  be  a  Committee  to 
Provide  supplies  of  Preaching  for  sd  town. 

"4!y  Voted  six  Pounds  Lawful  Money  to  support 
the  Gospel  in  said  town. 

"  The  second  Town  Meeting  held  in  s'1  Town  Sept. 
28,  1773." 

The  following  persons  appear  to  have  been 
voters  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the 
town  : 


"  David  Allen. 
John  T.  Anderson. 
Stephen  Adams. 
Thomas  Adams. 
Jethro  Bailey. 
Isaac  Baldwin. 
John  Borland. 
John  Briant. 
Kendall  Briant. 
Alpheas  Brigham. 
Jona.  Blodgett. 
George  Clark. 
Jeames  Caldwell. 
Henry  Coffren. 
Joseph  Cutter. 
Daniel  Davis. 
John  Davidson. 
Robert  Dunlap. 
Hugh  Dunlap. 
Thomas  Emory. 
Wm.  Fisher. 
John  Gilmore. 
Roger  Gilmore. 
Robert  Gilmore. 
Hiram  Greene. 
Oliver  Hale. 
John  Harper. 


Ebnr  Ingals. 
Jona.  Jewett. 
John  Little. 
Alexr  Mc-Neal. 
Wm  Mc-Alister. 
Peter  Mc-Alister. 
Wm  Mitchell. 
Samuel  Milliken. 
Wm  Miliken. 
Dennis  Orgon. 
Samuel  Pierce. 
Jacob  Pierce. 
Oliver  Proctor. 
Jona.  Priest. 
Daniel  Priest. 
Daniel  Priest  (2d). 
Wm  Smiley. 
Jona.  Stanley. 
David  Stanley. 
Phineas  Spaulding. 
Sam1  Sherwin. 
Joseph  Thorndike. 
Joshua  Thorndike. 
Wm  Turner. 
Joseph  Turner. 
Nathaniel  Turner. 
Simon  Warren. 


224 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Johu  Hanley. 
Elias  Hathorn. 
Ebenr  Hathorn. 
Elred  Hetrech. 
Jason  Hemingway. 
Wffl  Hogg. 
Joseph  Hogg. 
David  Hunter. 
Ephraim  Hunt. 


Peter  Warren. 
Isaac  Wesson. 
Eph'"  Whitcomb. 
Robert  Wier. 
Matthew  Wallace. 
Sam'  Woodbury. 
Mathew  Wright. 
Francis  Wright. 
Joseph  Wright." 


TOWN    CLERKS. 

Wm.  Smiley,  1773,  '74,  '75,  '77,  '83. 

Robert  Weir,  1776. 

Roger  Gilmore,  1778,  '79,  '95,  '9G,  "97,  '98,  '99, 1800, 
'01. 

Adonijah  Howe,  1780,  '81,  '82,  '91,  '92,  '93,  '94, 
1802,  '04,  '06,  '07,  '08. 

Jedediah  Sanger,  1785. 

Abel  Parker,  1789. 

Alex.  Milliken,  1790. 

David  Smiley,  1803,  '04. 

David  Page,  1805. 

Samuel  Dakin,  1806,  '07,  '08,  '0!),  '10,  '11,  '12,  '13, 
'14,  '15. 

Oliver  Prescott,  1816. 

Wm.  Ainsworth,  1817,  '18,  '19,  '20,  '21. 

Henry  Payson,  1822,  '23,  '24. 

Thomas  Adams,  1825,  '26,  '27,  '28,  '29,  '30,  '31,  '32. 

Benj.  Cutter,  1823,  '24,  '25,  '26,  '27,  '28,  '29,  '42,  '43, 
'44,  '45,  '46,  '47. 

Jonas  M.  Mellville,  1840,  '41. 

John  Fox,  1848,  '49,  '50,  '51,  '52,  '53,  '54,  '55,  '56, 
57,   '58,  '59,  '60,  '61,  '62,  '63. 

Joseph  P.  Frost,  1864,  '65,  '66,  '67,  '68,  '69,  '70,  '71, 
'72,  '73,  '74,  '75,  '76,  '77,  '78,  '79,  '80,  '81,  '82,  '83,  '84, 
'85. 

REPRESENT  ATI  VKS. 
Those  marked  (*)  were  born  in  Jaffrey. 

Henry  Cofl'een,  May  11,  1775,  to  third  Provincial 
Congress  at  Exeter. 

William  Smiley,  1784. 

John  Gilmore,  1785,  '86. 

Abel  Parker,  1787,  '91,  '92,  '93,  '97,  '99. 

Benjamin  Prescott,  1790,  '96,  1809,  '10,  '11, '12,  '13, 
'14,  '15,  '16,  '17. 

Joseph  Thorndike,  1794,  '95,  '98,  1800,  '01,  '02,  '03. 

Adonijah  Howe,  1804,  '05,  '18,  '19,  '20,  '21. 

David  Page,  1806,  '07. 

Laban  Ainsworth,  1808. 

Oliver  Prescott  *  1822,  '23,  '24,  '25,  '26. 

William  Ainsworth  *  1828,  '29,   30. 

Levi  Fisk,  1831,*  '32,  '33. 

John  Conant,  1834,  '35,  '36. 


Edward  Spaulding*  1837,  38,  '39. 

Samuel  Patrick,*  1840. 

John  Felt,  1841,  '42,  '43,  '44,  '45,  '47. 

Laban  Rice,  1846. 

Peter  Upton,  1848,  '49,  '50. 

John  Fox,*  1851,  '52,  '53,  '54. 

David  C.  Chamberlin  *  1856,  '57. 

John  A.  Prescott,*  1858,  '59. 

Charles  H.  Powers,  1860,  '61,  '78. 

Samuel  Ryan,  1862,  '63. 

Frederick  W.  Bailey,*  1864,  '65,  '68,  '69. 

Addison  Prescott*  1866,  '67. 

Benjamin  Pierce,*  1870,  '71. 

Frank  H.  Cutter,*  1872,  '73. 

Alfred  Sawyer,*  1874,  '75. 

Joseph  W.  Fassett,  1876,  '77. 

Thomas  Annett,  1879,  '80. 

John  H.  Fox,  present  representative. 

STATE  SENATORS,  NATIVES  OF  JAFFREY. 

Asa  Parker,  1826,  '27.        Levi  Fisk,  1835,  '36. 

E< 'clesi astk'AL — Congregational  ( 'h urch. — 
The  provisions  of  the  Masonian  grant  required 
that  a  good,  convenient  meeting-house  be  built 
within  six  years  from  the  date  of  the  charter, 
and  made  provision  for  that  purpose  by  a  gift 
of  three  hundred  acres  of  land.  No  meeting- 
house appears  to  have  been  built  when  the  town 
was  organized.  The  next  year  after,  on  the 
26th  day  of  April,  the  matter  of  building  a 
meeting-house  was  brought  before  the  town. 
The  town  voted  "  to  build  one  on  the  common, 
near  the  senter  this  and  the  ensuing  year." 

"  Voted,  sd  house  is  to  be  forty  feet  wide,  Fifty-five 
in  Lenth.  Posts  twenty  seven  feet  in  Lenth.  Roger 
Gilmore,  William  Turner  Alexr  Mc-Neill  a  Commit- 
tee to  see  the  same  affected,  the  above  Committee  to 
Vendue  s'1  house  to  the  last  bider." 

At  a  meeting  in  July  following,  the  town 

"  Voted,  to  Reconsider  their  vote  in  Building  a 
meeting-house  also  their  vote  in  Chose  of  Committee, 
then  Voted  sd  meeting-house  Sixty  feet  in  Lenth, 
Forty  five  wide,  the  Posts  twenty  seven  feet  in  Lenth 
also  Voted  to  have  a  Porch  at  each  end  of  sd  lions. 

"  VotedMr.  Roger  Gilmore, Mr.  Will"'  Turner,  Mr. 
Mathew  Wallace  be  a  Committee  to  see  the  work  af- 
fected in  Building  sd  house. 

"  Voted  that  the  Com"'  shall  Expose  sd  house  to  sail 
at  Public  Vendue  by  the  first  Wednesday  of  Sept  next, 
also  Voted  that  the  Great  timber  of  sd  house  be  hewed 
by  the  first  day  of  Deccmr  next,  also   Voted  Fifteen 


JAFFREY. 


225 


Pounds  L.  M.  towards  building  sd  house,  to  be  Paid 
by  the  first  day  of  December  Next,  also  Voted  that  sd 
house  shall  be  Raised  by  the  Middle  of  June  Next  at 
the  towns  Cost.  Voted  sixty  Pounds  to  be  Paid  by 
the  middle  of  June  next  towards  building  sd  house. 
Also  Voted  that  the  whole  cost  shall  be  Paid  by  the 
first  of  June  in  the  year  1776  as  the  afors'd  house  shall 
be  Finished.  That  the  Fraim  be  well  under  Pined 
with  good  stone  and  lime,  and  the  outside  all  well 
Compleated,  and  Collored  like  Rindge  meting-house, 
and  lower  floor  lead  Duble,  and  Pulpit  like  that  in 
Rindge  meting-house  all  the  above  work  compleated 
by  the  middle  of  June  1776." 

The  house  was  completed  in  1799,  and  in  the 
following  year  the  warrant  for  town-meeting  had 
following  article : 

"  To  see  if  the  town  will  make  any  allowance  to 
Capt.  Henry  Coffeen  for  the  Barrel  of  Rum  that  he 
paid  for,  which  was  expended  at  the  Raising  of  the 
meeting-house. 

"  Voted  that  the  Selectmen  settle  with  Capt.  Cof- 
feen in  behalf  of  the  town." 

The  church  was  organized  May  18,  1780, 
with  the  following  members  : 

Kendal  Briant  and  wife  Mary,  (Martin). 

John  Briant. 

Daniel  Emery  and  wife,  Jane. 

Eleazer  Spofford  and  wife,  Mary  (Flint). 

John  Combs  and  wife,  Bathsheba. 

James  Gage  and  wife,  Sarah  (Lamson). 

Oliver  Proctor  and  wife,  Elizabeth. 

Isaac  Bailey  and  wife,  Susanna. 

Isaac  Baldwin  and  wife. 

John  Wood  and  wife. 

Nehemiah  Greene  and  wife. 

James  Haywood  and  wife,  Keziah  Haywood. 

Jonathan  Priest  and  wife. 

Ephraim  Whitcomb  and  wife,  Elizabeth. 

Jerome  Underwood  and  wife,  Lucy  (Wheat). 

John  Eaton. 

William  Slack. 

The  first  regular  pastor  of  the  church  was 
Rev.  Laban  Ainsworth,  who  continued  in  service 
nearly  fifty  years. 

In  1831,  Rev.  Giles  Lyman  was  ordained  as 
a  colleague,  and  preached  in  town  till  1837, 
when,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  received  his 
dismission.  He  married,  December  14,  1835, 
Louisa  Whitney,  of  Winchendon. 
15 


Josiah  D.  Crosby  was  settled  in  1838,  and 
dismissed  in  1850. 

Leonard  Tenney,  settled  1845 ;  dismissed 
1857. 

John  S.  Batchelder,  settled  1858;  dismissed 
1865. 

Rufus  Case,  settled  1868  ;  removed  1875. 

The  church  has  had  no  settled  pastor  since 
Mr.  Case.  The  desk  is  at  present  supplied  by 
Rev.  W.  W.  Livingstone. 

The  Congregational  Church  at  East  Jaffrey 
was  organized  in  1850  with  twenty-three 
members.  The  pastors  have  been  as  follows  : 
Rev.  J.  E.  B.  Jewett,  George  A.  Adams,  F.  D. 
Austin,  Silas  W.  Allen,  D.  N.  Goodrich,  Wil- 
liam H.  Dowden,  J.  C.  Staples  and  E.  J.  Riggs. 

Baptist  Church. — The  Baptist  Society  in 
Jaffrey  was  formed  in  April,  1820,  and  on 
April  6,  1829,  the  following  notice  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Keene  Sentinel,  viz. : 

"  We,  Benjamin  Prescott,  Alpheas  Crosby,  Paul 
Hunt  and  others,  have  formed  ourselves  into  a  Reli- 
gious Society,  by  the  name  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  and  Society  in  Jaffrey,  and  are  hereby  known 
by  that  name. 

"  Joseph  Joslin,  Clerk." 

The  church  was  formed  May  28,  1814. 

PASTORS. 

John  Parkhurst,  1818. 
Elder  Cummings,  1825. 
Calvin  Greenleaf,  1831-35. 
Appleton  Belknap,  1835-46. 
E.  H.  Bailey,  1846-61 ;  died  January  4,  1868. 
Franklin  Merriam,  1862-65. 
A.  E.  Reynolds,  1866-69. 
E.  J.  Emery,  1869-71 ;  settled  in  Swanzey. 
J.  S.  Haradon,  1873  ;  died  August  4,  1875. 
Leonard  J.   Dean,  1875 ;    a  graduate  of  Newton 
Theological  Seminary. 
T.  C.  Gleason,  present  pastor. 

The  meetings  of  the  Baptist  Church  and 
Society  were  held,  as  voted,  in  the  school-house 
in  District  No.  1  till  1822.  In  1819  the  Bap- 
tists were  no  longer  taxed  for  the  support  of 
the  minister  settled  by  the  town,  but  had  the 
privilege  of  using  the  same  for  the  support  of 
the  one  of  their  choice.     The  use  of  the  meet- 


226 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ing-house  for  public  preaching  was,  in  1822, 
also  divided  by  the  town  among  the  different 
denominations  of  Christians  according  to  the 
valuation  of  their  property.  From  this  time 
the  Baptists  occupied  the  house  their  propor- 
tion as  assigned  till  1839. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1829,  the  church 
voted  to  build  a  meeting-house  near  the  house 
of  Mr.  Mellville,  and  chose  Benjamin  Prescott, 
Joseph  Joslin  and  David  Chadwick  a  commit- 
tee for  that  purpose.  The  house  was  completed 
and  ready  for  use  June  12,  1830,  and  dedicated 
June  30th. 

In  1873  the  house  was  repaired,  with  the 
addition  of  a  vestry,  and  such  other  improve- 
ments as  were  deemed  necessary. 

Universalis  Church. — The  First  Universal  ist 
Society,  Jaffrey,  N.  H.,  was  organized  Novem- 
ber 16,  1822.  Captain  John  Stone  was  chosen 
moderator ;  Caleb  Searle,  clerk ;  John  Cutter, 
treasurer  ;  Mr.  John  Cutter  and  Colonel  Oliver 
Prescott,  committee. 


Delphus  Skinner. 
Warren  Skinner. 
J.  D.  Williamson 
Robert  Bartlet. 
J.  V.  Wilson. 
Stillman  Clark. 
S.  W.  Squires. 
C.  C.  Clark. 


PASTORS. 

N.  R.  Wright  and  Andrew 
O.  Warren. 

E.  W.  Coffin. 
J.  P.  McCleur. 
W.  J.  Crosby. 
James  H.  Little. 

F.  W.  Bailey,  present  pas- 
tor. 

A  church  was  formed  in  1858. 

The  present  meeting-house  was  built  in  1844. 

Schools. — In  1775,  two  years  after  the  in- 
corporation of  the  town,  eight  pounds  -were 
raised  for  a  school,  to  be  divided  into  five  parts. 
In  December  of  that  year  the  town  voted  to 
sell  one  of  the  school  lots  and  to  use  the  inter- 
est on  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  for  the  support 
of  a  school.  In  1777  the  town  voted  to  pay 
the  interest  of  £100  for  two  years  for  the  use  of 
a  school ;  in  1778,  £12  ;  in  1779,  £200  (depre- 
ciated currency);  in  1781,  £1000;  in  1783, 
£50;  in  1785,  £50;  in  1786,  £30;  in  1787, 
£40;  in  1788,  £40;  in  1789,  £50;  in  1790, 
£40;  in  1791,   £60;  in   1792,  £65;  in   1793, 


£80;  in  1794,  £80;  in  1795,  $200  Federal 
money ;  afterwards  the  town  raised  what  the 
law  required. 

A  school  was  taught  here  by  Josiah  Forsaith 
from  1807  to  1809,  inclusive. 

In  1832  Mellville  Academy  was  incorpora- 
ted. The  grantees  were  Asa  Parker,  Luke 
Howe  and  John  Fox.  It  was  named  in  honor  of 
Jonas  M.  Mellville,  who  made  a  very  liberal  do- 
nation in  aid  of  the  enterprise.  In  1833  a  suit- 
able building  was  erected,  which  is  now  used  for 
a  school-house. 

The  school  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1833 
under  the  instruction  of  Horace  Herrick,  prin- 
cipal, and  Miss  Aurelia  Townsend,  assistant. 
He  remained  till  1836. 

The  following  individuals  were  afterwards 
employed  as  teachers  :  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock, 
William  Eaton,  Harry  Brickett,  Charles  Cut- 
ter, David  C.  Chamberlain,  Sarah  French. 
The  academy  continued  in  operation  till  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Conant  High  School. 

In  1868,  John  Conant,  Esq.,  of  Jaffrey,  gave 
the  town  the  sum  of  seven  thousand  dollars, 
the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  used  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  High  School  in  said  town.  The  town- 
house  in  the  centre  of  the  town  was  altered  and 
repaired  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  town.  The 
lower  story  is  used  for  the  school  and  the  upper 
one  for  a  town  hall.  In  1872  the  school  was 
opened  for  instruction.  The  present  principal 
is  A.  S.  Annis. 

Lawyers. — David  Smiley,  Samuel  Dakin, 
William  Ainsworth,  Albert  S.  Scott,  Clarence 
A.  Parks  and  J.  B.  Twiss. 

Physicians. — Adonijah  Howe,  Willis  John- 
son, Abner  Howe,  M.D.,  Adonijah  Howe,  Jr., 
Luke  Howe,  D.  C.  Perry,  Amasa  Kennie, 
S.  L.  Richardson,  R.  R.  Perkins,  A.  J.  Gibson, 
G.  A.  Phelps  and  O.  H.  Bradley. 

War  of  the  Revolution. — The  follow- 
ing is  a  list  of  soldiers  from  Jaffrey  in  the 
Revolution  : 


Ephraim  Adams. 
Samuel  Adams. 


Samuel  Ober. 
William  Osgood. 


JAFFHEY. 


227 


Thomas  Adams. 
George  Atridge. 
Daniel  Avery. 
Joseph  Bates. 
Jonathan  Blodgett. 
John  Brian t. 
Alpheas  Brigham. 
Asaph  Brigham. 
Joseph  Brooks. 
Simeon  Burt. 
Joseph  Cutter. 
Moses  Cutter. 
Nathan  Cutter. 
James  Cutter. 
John  Davidson. 
Mathew  Davis. 
Jonathan  Dean. 
Benjamin  Dole. 
John  Dole. 
Hugh  Dunlap. 
Daniel  Emery. 
Daniel  Emery,  Jr. 
James  French,  Jr. 
Robert  Gilmore. 
John  Gilmore. 
Dudley  Griffin. 
Jacob  Gould,  Jr. 
John  Hale. 

Lieutenant  John  Harper, 
Daniel  Harper. 
Ebenezer  Hathorn. 
James  Haywood. 
Ebenezer  Ingals. 
Benjamin  Jacquith. 
John  Mathews. 
William  McAlister. 


Benjamin  Prescott. 

Moses  Peabody. 

Joseph  Perkins. 

Jacob  Pierce. 

Kendall  Pierson. 

William  Pope. 

Jonathan  Priest. 

Asa  Priest. 

Oliver  Proctor. 

James  Reed. 

Abraham  Ross. 

Bezaleel  Sawyer. 

Jesse  Snow. 

Michael  Silk. 

William  Smiley,  Jr.,  died 
in  service,  at  Ticondero- 
ga,  1776. 

Phiueas  Spaulding. 

Benjamin  Spaulding. 

Jonathan  Stanley. 

Samuel  Stanley. 

James  Stevens. 

John  Stone. 

Benjamin  Stone. 

John  Taggart. 

Jonathan  Taylor. 

Peter  Tower. 

Lieutenant  William  Tur- 
ner. 

Samuel  Wier. 

Joseph  Wilder. 

Ezra  Wilder. 

Ephraim  Whitcomb. 

Elias  Whitney. 

Cotton  Whiton. 

Francis  Wright. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  soldiers,  of  the 
Revolution,  not  included  in  the  above  list,  who 
settled  in  town  during  or  after  the  war  : 

Stephen  Adams.  Francis  Mason. 
Lieutenant  Oliver  Bacon.  Lieutenant  Abel  Parker. 

Isaac  Bailey.  AVhitcomb  Powers. 

Isaac  Bailey,  Jr.  William  Redfield. 

Hart  Balch.  Joseph  Bobbins. 

Jacob  Baldwin.  Moses  Stickney. 
Lieutenant  Samuel  Buss.    Moses  Stickney  (2d). 

John  Cox.  David  Stratton. 

Thomas  Dutton.  James  Turner. 

William  Emery.  Henry  Thompson. 

Samuel  Emery.  Lieutenant  Jerome  Under- 
Nathan  Fish.  wood. 

Jonas  Gerry.  Isaac  Wesson. 


Thomas  Goff.  Silas  Wilder. 

Nathan  Hunt.  Abel  Winship. 

John  Lake.  Ithamer  Wheelock. 

Lieutenant  Benj.  Law-  Thomas  Wheelock. 

rence.  Joseph  Wright. 

War  of  1812. — The  following  soldiers  from 
the  town  served  in  the  War  of  1812  : 

Oliver  Warren,  captain 

Daniel  Adams,  received $11.20 

Thomas  Chadwick,  received 10.69 

David  Chaplin,  received 11.20 

Ethan  Cutter,  received 4.50 

Isaac  Cutter,  received 20.78 

Samuel  Dutton,  received 11.00 

James  Eaton,  received 11.20 

Walter  Eaton,  received 11.20 

Austin  George,  received 10.44 

Robert  Goff,  received 9.33 

Henry  Hapgood,  received 16.12 

Stacy  Hodskins,  received 16.12 

Moses  Hunt,  received 16.12 

Abel  Nutting,  received 16.12 

Philip  Peak,  received 11.29 

Moses  Pierce,  received 11.20 

David  Sawtell,  received 11.20 

Samuel  Stratton,  received 13.43 

War  with  Mexico,  1846. — David  Cutter 
and  George  F.  Cutter  from  this  town  served  in 
the  Mexican  War. 

War  of  the  Rebellion. — Number  of  men 
who  enlisted  and  were  in  service  was  151 ; 
number  killed  in  battle,  5  ;  number  who  died 
in  the  service,  23. 

Charles  W.  Webster,  quartermaster,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment. 

C.  Frederick  Webster,  first  lieutenant,  Fourteenth 
Regiment ;  promoted  to  quartermaster. 

Charles  W.  Adams,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A. 

Lysander  A.  Adams,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

John  Q.  Adams,  a  marine  ;  died  at  Portsmouth. 

Benj.  Abanton,  Ninth  Regiment,  Company  I. 

Warren  F.  Allen,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Henry  A.  Atherton,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Calvin  Bailey,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Spencer  L.  Bailey,  second  lieutenant,  Fourteenth 
Regiment. 

Almon  W.  Bailey,  Sixteenth  Regiment;  died. 

Harvey  N.  Bailey,  Troop  D. 

Charles  Baker. 

John  F.  Berry. 


228 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Christopher  Bartenbach,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 

Hiram  Bennet,  Troop  B. 

John  F.  Briant,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A. 

Edmund  Brady,  Ninth  Regiment,  Company  B. 

James  T.  Brown,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Samuel  L.  Bolles,  Troop  C. 

Alonzo  Butterfield. 

Henry  Buckwould,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Jacob  Buckwould,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Charles  A.  Carter,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Oscar  Eugene  Carter,  died. 

John  Caldwell,  Eighth  Regiment;  died. 

Daniel  M.  Colburn,  Ninth  Regiment,  Company  I. 

Lysander  J.  Coudray,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company 
F. 

Edwin  R.  Cutter,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Edward  E.  Cutter,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Gustavus  A.  Cutter,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

John  C.  Cummings,  Sixteenth  Regiment;  died. 

John  W.  Darling,  died. 

Frank  DeWier. 

Frederick  Donaldson,  Troop  C. 

Charles  W.  Diamond,  Second  Regiment,  Company  C. 

James  Dadwell,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Morty  Downs,  Tenth  Regiment,  Company  K. 

James  R.  Douglass,  Troop  D. 

Charles  D.  Emery,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Charles  Farouch,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  C. 

Luther  W.  Fassett,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Danvers  C.  Fassett,  Heavy  Artillery. 

Joel  E.  Fassett,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

John  Flynn,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  C. 

John  Frost,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

George  Gilmore,  Ninth  Regiment. 

William  T.  Cleason,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  I. 

William  H.  Goodrich,  Fifth  Regiment,  Company  H. 

Theodore  Hanscomb,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  H ; 
promoted  to  captain. 

John  S.  Hartwell,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

John  H.  Hartwell,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A. 

John  Hecker. 

Horace  J.  Hill,  Third  Regiment,  Company  I. 

Peter  Hogan. 

William  Hoyt,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  I. 

Andrew  Johnson,  Ninth  Regiment,  Company  K. 

Robert  Jones,  Troop. 

.!<>shua  R.  Joslin,  Second  Regiment,  Company  H. 

Henry  H.  Joslin,  Second  Regiment,  Company  II. 

Joseph  H.  Joslin,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A. 

Albert  N.  Joslin,  Fifth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

John  F.  Kidder,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Charles  D.  Kimball,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 


Elisha  A.  Kingsbury,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Dexter  B.  Knowlton,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 

Joseph  S.  Lucy,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F  ;  died. 

David  W.  Lacy,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  I. 

Charles  D.  Law,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

John  Leathers,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

George  L.  Lowe,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Andrew  Lindsay,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

George  H.  Long,  Troop  D. 

Jerome  W.  Leighton,  Fifth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Alvin  H.  Martin,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Chas.  B.  Merrifield,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  CompanyG. 

John  McCunn,  Troop  B. 

Lawrence  Montgomery,  Troop  H. 

Henry  F.  Morse,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Nahum  W.  Mower,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Thomas  S.  Mower,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Barnard  Mulligan,  Troop  A. 

Charles  H.  Nutting,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

Edward  N.  Nutting,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Jacob  Newell,  Jr.,  Sixteenth  Regiment  Company  F. 

Henry  C.  Osburn,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  CompanyG. 

James  E.  Petts,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Samuel  Paine,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  C. 

Albert  S.  Pierce,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

Henry  Pierce. 

Gurley  A.  Phelps,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

Joel  H.  Poole,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

John  W.  Poole,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

Ivers  E.  Pollard,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Levi  Pollard,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A. 

Oren  D.  Prescott,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

George  P.  Preston,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  K. 

Leonard  Rand,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  C. 

Jonas  C.  Rice,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Herbert  C.  Richardson,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 

George  W.  Richardson,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 

Darius  P.  Richardson,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 

Edmund  F.  Ritchie,  Second  Regiment,  Company  A  ; 
died. 

Henry   Ritchie,  Sixth   Regiment,  Company  E;  died. 

Darius  Ritchie,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  I. 

George  C.  Ritchie,  Sixteenth   Regiment,  Company  I. 

Abram  Robins. 

William  B.  Robbins,  Ninth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Alfred  Robbins,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

William  H.  Wolf,  Fourteenth  Regiment, Company  G. 

Benjamin  Sanford,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  D. 

Charles  A.  Sargent,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  C. 

Grenville  Shedd,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 


JAFFREY. 


229 


Leonard   E.  Spaulding,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 
Austin   A.   Spaulding,  .Fourteenth  Regiment,  Com- 
pany G. 
Leander  Spaulding. 
Alfred  Spaulding. 

Daniel  W.  Stevens,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 
Henry  A.  Smith,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G ; 

died. 
Charles  M.  Smith,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 
Samuel  A.  Stratton,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 
Ira  Smith,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  I. 
Aaron  Smith,  Eighth  Regiment. 
Henry  Stevens,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  C. 
Josiah  Stebbins,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 
George  Steele,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 
Philip  Stedman,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  D. 
Levi  E.  Stedman,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  D. 
Elbridge  G.  Tarbox,  Fourth  Regiment,  Company  I. 
Jackson  Taggart,  died  in  prison. 
Martin  Tehu,  Troop  C. 

Henry  A.  Thompson,  wounded. 

Joseph  S.  Thompson,  Fifth  Regiment,  Company  K. 

Francis  Thompson,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

Henry  A.  Turner,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Company  G. 

Albert  S.  Verder,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  E. 

Charles  W.  Verder,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

Sylvanus  W.  Waters,  Sixth  Regiment,  Company  K. 

Charles  "Wilson,  Seventh  Regiment,  Company  D. 

John  Wilson,  Eleventh  Regiment,  Company  C. 

Frank  Wetherbee,  sharpshooters. 

George  F.  Wilbur,  Troop  B. 

Edwin  F.  Wheeler,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

John  F.  Wheeler,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Company  F. 

SOLDIERS  IN  SERVICE  FOR  OTHER  STATES. 

Clarence  S.  Bailey,  captain  Massachusetts  Cavalry. 

Henry  H.  Cragin,  Ohio  Volunteers. 

William  L.  Cutter,  Iowa  Cavalry. 

Benjamin  F.  Lawrence,  Massachusetts  Battery. 

Lucius  Upton,  Massachusetts  Battery ;  died. 

John  R.  Verder,  Connecticut  Volunteers'. 

Whole  number    of  soldiers  in   service,  one 
hundred  and  fifty-one. 

SOLDIERS  KILLED  IN   BATTLE. 

Luther  W.  Fassett,  Second  Regiment,  at  Evansport, 
Va.,  April  2,  1862. 

Sylvanus  C.  Waters,  Sixth  Regiment,  at  Antietam, 
September  17,  1864. 

Frank  Weatherbee,  sharpshooters,  at  Antietam,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1864. 

Henry  Ritchie,  Second  Regiment,  at  Pegram  House, 
Va.,  September  30,  1864. 


Charles  Carter,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  at  Cedar  Creek, 
October  19,  1864. 

Whole  number  killed  in  battle,  five. 

SOLDIERS  WHO  DIED    IN  THE    SERVICE. 

Joseph  Caldwell,  Eighth  Regiment,  at  Thibodeaux, 

La.,  1862. 
Joel  E.  Fassett,  Second  Regiment,  at  Jaffrey. 
Edmund  Ritchie,  Second  Regiment,  at  Philadelphia, 

October  2,  1862. 
Charles  D.  Emery,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  at  Wash- 
ington, November  14,  1863. 
Henry  A.  Smith,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  at  Poolsville, 

Md.,  January  7,  1863. 
Charles  M.   Smith,  Fourteenth   Regiment,  at  Pools- 
ville, Md.,  January  12,  1863. 
Almond  W.  Bailey,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  at  New  Or- 
leans, June  7,  1863. 
John  C.  Cummings,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  at  Mound 

City,  October  23,  1863. 
John   W.  Darling,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  at  Butte  la 

Rose,  La.,  May  17,  1863. 
Jacob   Newell,   Jr..   Sixteenth   Regiment,   at  Baton 

Rouge,  La.,  April  15.  1863. 
Hiram  Bennet,  cavalry,  at  Point  Lookout,  Md.,  Sep- 
tember 11,  1864. 
Daniel  M.  Colburn,  Ninth  Regiment,  Virginia,  No- 
vember 29,  1864. 
Charles   A.   Sargent,  Ninth  Regiment,  at  Salisbury, 

N.  C,  October  23,  1864. 
Leonard  Rand,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  at  Camp  Para- 
pet, May  28,  1864. 
Henry  H.  Cragin,  1864 ;  an  Ohio  volunteer. 
Jackson  Taggart,  cavalry,  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Sep- 
tember 21,  1864 ;  grave  No.  9460. 
John  Q.  Adams,  at  the  Marine  Hospital,  186-. 
Lucius  Upton,  August  7,  1864  ;    Massachusetts  Bat- 
tery. 
Albert  N.  Joslin,  Fifth  Regiment. 
John  F.  Kidder,  Sixth  Regiment,  at  Alexandria,  Va., 

November  11,  1862 ;   grave  No.  425. 
Harvey  N.  Bailey,  cavalry,  at  Westford,  Mass.,  March 

8,  1865. 
Joseph   S.  Lacy,  Fifth   Regiment,  at  Yorktown,  Va., 

May  11,  1862. 
Oscar  Eugene  Carter,  died. 

Whole  number  died  of  disease,  twenty-three. 

Post-Office. — Peter  Lawrence  was  the  first 
postmaster.  The  office  was  probably  established 
during  the  winter  of  1801. 

April    1,  1846,  the  name   of  the    office    was 


230 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


changed  to  Factory  village,  and  located  in  that 
place. 

On  the  8th  of  December,  Factory  village  was 
changed  to  East  Jaffrey. 

The  office  at  Jaffrey  was  re-established  No- 
vember 6,  1846. 

Banks. — The Monadnock  State  Bank  was  in- 
corporated in  1850;  capital,  $50,000.  John 
Conant  was  chosen  president  and  Peter  Upton 
cashier.  Directors,  John  Conant,  Benjamin 
Cutter,  Jonas  M.  Mellville,  James  Scott,  Rufus 
Haywood,  Samuel  Ryan,  Jr.,  Solomon  Allen. 
In  1855,  John  Fox  was  chesen  president,  and  in 
1857,  James  SGott,  of  Peterborough.  In  1865 
the  Monadnock  National  Bank  was  incorpo- 
rated ;  capital,  $100,000.  James  Scott  was 
chosen  president ;  Peter  Upton,  cashier.  Ben- 
jamin Cutter  was  chosen  president  in  1870; 
cashier,  Peter  Upton.  Peter  Upton  is  the 
present  president,  and  H.  D.  Upton,  cashier. 

The    present    directors     are    Peter    Upton, 


A.  S.  Coffin,  B.  D.  Whitney,  O.  H.  Bradley, 
Benjamin  Pierce,  Julius  Cutter  aud  John  II. 
Cutter. 

Monadnock  Savings-Bank  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1869.  President,  Oscar  H.  Bradley  ; 
treasurer,  Peter  Upton  ;  the  present  trustees  are 
O.  H.  Bradley  (president),  Benjamin  Pierce, 
James  S.  Long,  George  A.  Underwood,  J.  B. 
Stedd,  J.  T.  Bigelow,  Dexter  Derby,  C.  B. 
Perry,  John  H.  Fox,  A.  Sawyer,  D.  P.  Emory, 
Julius  Cutter  and  R.  H.  Kitrcdge. 

Population. — In  1775,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  351. 
In  1783,  1033;  in  1790,  1235;  1800,  1341; 
1810,  1336;  1820,1339;  1830,  1354;  1840, 
1411;  1850,  1497;  18G0,  1452;  1870,  1256; 
1873,  1288  ;  1880,  1267. 

The  Monadnock  Railroad  was  completed 
and  opened  in  June,  1871.  The  first  trip,  from 
Winchendon  to  Jaffrey,  was  made  November 
22,  1870. 


HISTORY  OF  MARLBOROUGH. 


BY   REV.   S.   H.   MCCOLLESTER. 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  early  history  of  Marlborough,  like  that 
of  the  surrounding  towns,  is  somewhat  obscure 
and  traditional.     However,  it  is  known  that  in 
the  reign  of  King  James  I.  Europeans  came 
to  this  country  and  explored  along  the  Merri- 
mack River,  and  that,  as  early  as  1623,  a  settle- 
ment   was    made   at   Strawberry    Bank    (now 
Portsmouth).    The  settlers  were  few  and  mostly 
fishermen.     Though  the  waters   and   lands  in 
this  region  were  inviting,  immigration  was  slow 
because  of  the  wildness  of  the  country  and  the 
opposition  of  the  Indians.     Iu  1635  the  Plym- 
outh Company,  in  order  to  promote  settlements, 
divided  up  their  property   in    New   England 
among  themselves  before  they  surrendered  their 
charter  to  the  King,  and  the    whole  of  wThat 
now  constitutes  New  Hampshire  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Captain  John  Mason,  who  was  one  of  their 
number.     He  at  once   took    steps   to    forward 
settlements  and   opened  the  way  for  them  into 
different  parts  of  the  State.     At  his  death,  No- 
vember 16,  1635,  his  grandson,  Robert  Tufton, 
assuming  the  name  Mason,  carried  on  the  work 
and  was  permitted  to  witness  many  new  settle- 
ments along  the  streams  and  on  the  hills.     At 
his  departure  he  left  his  estate  to  his  two  sons, 
John  and  Thomas,  who  became  of  age  about 
1738.    The  entire  State  had  now  been  surveyed 
and  divided  into  townships.   They  at  length  ef- 
fected a  sale  of  the  unsettled  parts  to  a  company 
in  the  eastern   division  of  the  State,  who  be- 
came known  as  the    "  Masonian    Proprietors." 
They  soon  directed  their  attention  to  lands  about 
the    Monadnock    Mountain.       No  doubt,    the 


ease  with  which  these  could  be  cleared,  on  ac- 
count of  their  elevation  and  the  richness  of  the 
soil,  attracted  their  attention,  and  so  the  way  wras 
opened  for  the  settlement  of  eight  townships 
around  this  grand  old  mountain.  They  were 
known  as  Monadnock  No.  1,  No.  2,  etc.  Marl- 
borough was  Monadnock  No.  5,  and  afterwards 
its  name  was  changed  to  Marlborough  by  set- 
tlers who  came  from  Marlborough,  Mass. 

This  brings  us  to  the  first  settlement  in 
town,  which  was  by  William  Barker,  a  native 
of  Westborough,  Mass.  He  was  one  of  the 
"  original  proprietors,"  and  had  drawn  several 
lots  in  this  division.  Perhaps  because  of  his 
financial  interest,  he  was  first  led  to  explore  the 
region  in  1761,  and  select  a  lot  on  West  Hill, 
on  what  is  now  a  part  of  Troy.  The  next  year 
he  returned  to  the  same  place,  with  tools  and 
provisions,  to  make  a  clearing  for  a  future  home. 
It  is  supposed  he  felled  the  first  trees  and  con- 
structed the  first  camp  in  this  then  wild  land. 
This  must  have  been  a  lonely  experience,  by 
day  and  night.  Still,  he  was  ready  to  endure 
and  persevere  because  of  hope  and  promise.  As 
his  supply  of  provision  was  consumed,  he 
turned  his  steps  homeward,  having  made  the 
beginning  of  a  permanent  settlement.  In  the 
spring  of  1764  he  returned  and  resumed  his 
work  of  clearing,  and  built  a  log  house,  and  so 
prepared  the  way  for  the  removal  of  his  family. 
Early  in  the  ensuing  fall,  with  his  wife  and 
three  small  children,  they  bid  adieu  to  many 
kind  friends  and  neighbors,  and  started  on  the 
long  and  trying  journey  to  their  new  home. 
Their  means   of  conveyance  was  an    ox-team. 

This  was  a  first-class  mode  of  traveling  at  that 

231 


232 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


time.  They  found  a  passable  road  from  West- 
borough  to  Winchendon,  Mass.,  but  from  the 
latter  place  they  were  obliged  to  select  their 
own  way  and  get  on  as  best  they  could  through 
the  extended  forests.  Just  how  long  it  took 
them  to  make  this  distance  of  less  than  twenty 
miles,  without  any  beaten  track,  no  record 
shows.  We  can  but  surmise  they  must  have 
been  thankful  when  their  destiny  was  reached, 
1 7th  of  September,  with  no  disposition  to  re- 
trace their  steps  for  the  present.  Now,  see 
them  in  their  rude  home,  really  the  first  home 
in  Marlborough.  Their  neighbors  now  are  the 
bear  and  the  bison,  the  wolf  and  the  panther, 
the  hawk  and  the  partridge.  Still  it  was  home. 
Fancy  could  have  but  pictured  to  them  better 
days  and  fairer  scenes.  They  could  have  but 
felt  they  were  sowing  for  others  to  reap.  Noble 
adventurers  they  were,  building  better  than 
they  knew  ! 

Isaac  McAllister,  not  long  after  this  first  set- 
tlement, came  hither  to  seek  a  spot  for  another 
home.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Barker, 
and  so  there  were  kindred  attractions  to  draw 
these  families  near  together.  Mr.  McAllister 
chose  the  lot  which  is  known  as  the  Deacon 
Farrar  place.  Here  he  made  a  log  house,  and 
before  the  winter  set  in  it  was  occupied  by  his 
family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  four  children. 
This  was  the  first  settlement  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  town,  and  some  four  miles  distant 
from  Mr.  Barker's.  So,  no  doubt,  during  the 
winter  of  176-4-65  these  two  families  comprised 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Monadnock  No.  5.  How 
little  we  can  know  of  the  hardships  and  strange 
experiences  of  these  early  pioneers!  There 
must  have  been  some  other  motives  than  those 
of  the  mere  adventurer  prompting  them  in  their 
risks  and  severe  undertakings.  It  would  seem 
they  desired  to  do  so  that  others  might  enter 
into  their  labors  and  become  greatly  blest.  It 
was  even  thus.  From  that  feeble  beginning 
what  an  outcome  !  Generations  have  come  and 
gone,  but  that  simple,  sweet  home-life  in  the 
wild  forest   has  been  preserved  and  multiplied. 


The  two  homes  have  been  supplanted  by  the 
many.  Thus  it  is, — the  log  hut  first,  the 
cottage  afterwards ;  the  rude  first,  the  cultured 
last. 

The  first-born  in  town  was  Dolly,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Hannah  (Goddard)  McAllister, 
during  the  first  winter  they  passed  in  Marlbor- 
ough. Their  family  continued  to  increase  till 
it  numbered  five  girls  and  six  boys.  We  can 
little  guess  how  and  where  these  children 
played,  when  and  how  much  they  went  to 
school,  or  how  they  spent  their  Sundays.  But 
this  we  know  :  that,  in  spite  of  wilderness  and 
unfavoring  fortune,  they  blossomed  out  into 
noble  manhood  and  womanhood.  How  true  it 
is,  that  "  necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention  " 
and  character  as  well ! 

1765. — If  no  Horace  Greeley,  as  yet,  had 
said,  "  Young  man,  go  West,"  still  it  was 
"westward,  ho!"  with  the  young  men  even  at 
this  early  date  of  our  country's  history.  So 
one  Silas  Fife,  a  young  man,  in  this  year  hav- 
ing heard  of  Monadnock  No.  5,  with  gun  in 
hand  and  a  well-filled  knapsack  on  his  back, 
bade  adieu  to  his  old  home  in  Bolton,  Mass., 
and  alone  set  out  for  what  seemed  an  Eldorado 
to  him.  No  doubt,  he  had  experienced  fairest 
visions  in  sleep  and  wakefulness  of  an  enchanted 
land,  whither  his  adventurous  spirit  was  bound 
to  lead  him.  At  length  he  pitched  his  camp  at 
the  foot  of  the  Monadnock  Mountain,  on  what 
was  afterwards  known  as  the  Deacon  Baker 
place.  Here  he  began  at  once  to  make  for  him- 
self a  future  home,  having  obtained  a  title  of 
this  section  of  land.  The  fish  of  the  brooks 
and  the  game  of  the  woods  furnished  him 
mostly  with  food.  In  the  course  of  a  few  sum- 
mers he  had  converted  a  portion  of  the  wilder- 
ness into  a  farm,  where  he  was  raising  corn  and 
potatoes;  and,  more  than  this,  he  had  built  a 
good  log  house,  which  was  too  large  for  himself 
to  occupy  alone.  The  cage  and  the  food  were 
ready  for  some  fairy  bird.  Accordingly,  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  town, — probably  to  his  first 
love,  whose  wooing  had  captured  his  heart  long 


MARLBOROUGH. 


233 


ago, — and  took  for  his  bride  Abigail  Houghton. 
They  were  married  in  Boston,  and  then  made 
their  wedding  tour  to  their  new  home  under  the 
shadows  of  the  Old  Monadnock.  Just  how 
they  traveled  and  how  long  it  took  them  to 
reach  their  destination  no  record  states.  It  is 
certain  they  were  not  drawn  by  any  iron  steed 
with  lungs  of  fire  and  breath  of  steam,  nor 
whirled  over  a  macadamized  road  in  a  coach- 
and-four  at  the  rate  of  two-forty.  But  "  where 
there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way,"  and  so  in  due 
time  they  found  themselves  settlers  in  the  new 
town,  united  in  hand  and  heart,  to  serve  the 
race  and  forward  civilization. 

In  1765,  Benjamin  Tucker  and  wife,  with 
five  sons  and  two  daughters,  came  from  Leices- 
ter, Mass.,  and  settled  not  far  south  of  the  spot 
where  the  old  meeting-house  stood.  They  were 
well  suited  to  pioneering  service.  They  seemed 
to  be  abundantly  supplied  with  good  common 
sense.  Though  deprived  of  school  advantages, 
they  made  the  most  possible  out  of  present  op- 
portunities. It  is  impossible  to  decide  whether 
fate  or  fortune  led  Mr.  Tucker  to  select  the  spot 
for  his  home ;  however,  it  turned  out  to  be  very 
fortuitous,  for  the  great  highway  from  Boston 
to  Keene  passed  directly  by  it ;  so  the  log  house 
of  small  quarters  was  supplanted  at  length  by  a 
more  imposing  structure,  which  was  used  as  a 
tavern.  lis  proprietor,  by  tact,  integrity  and 
congeniality,  became  popular  as  a  public  enter- 
tainer. This  house  was  the  "place  where  the 
"  Proprietors  "  delighted  to  meet  for  the  trans- 
action of  their  business.  No  doubt,  they  were 
wont  to  have  jolly  experiences  in  their  gather- 
ings, as  well  as  discouraging  adventures  and 
almost  insurmountable  obstacles.  It  is  fortunate 
they  could  laugh  and  weep,  hope  and  fear,  trust- 
ing all  the  while  in  an  overruling  Providence 
and  willing  for  the  right.  Mr.  Tucker  acted 
an  important  part  in  the  early  public  meetings, 
being  often  chosen  as  clerk,  assessor  or  treasurer. 

This  same  year  Daniel  Goodnow,  of  noble 
stock,  came  from  Marlborough,  Mass.,  and  took 
up  his  abode  here.     Just  where  he  first   resided 


is  not  known,  but  probably  in  that  part  of  the 
town  which  was  afterwards  set  off  to  Troy. 
He  brought  with  him  a  wife  and  several  chil- 
dren. If  their  history  is  somewhat  deficient, 
we  know  they  bequeathed  good  blood  to  after 
generations. 

During  this  year  Abel  Woodward  and  his 
family  settled  in  town  on  what  has  been  known 
as  the  Joslin  place  in  later  times.  For  some 
reason  he  thus  early  sought  the  valley  for  his 
home,  while  other  settlers  had  pitched  their 
camps  or  built  their  log  huts  on  high  grounds. 
It  is  difficult  for  us  to  guess  the  motives  that 
prompted  these  early  adventurers.  Great  dis- 
parity of  tastes  and  desires  have  always  existed 
among  men.  Our  forefathers  could  have  been 
no  exception  to  this  law ;  accordingly,  they 
sought  the  hill  and  the  vale;  they  loved  the 
mountain  and  the  valley;  they  delighted  in 
having  homes  on  highland  and  lowland ;  they 
were  fond  of  the  novel,  the  picturesque  and  the 
sublime ;  so  they  were  ready  to  dare  and  do  for 
rising  generations.  We  now  can  dimly  sur- 
mise the  trials  they  experienced  and  the  hard- 
ships they  endured  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
should  come  after  them.  But  they  nobly 
wrought,  and  their  names  should  be  forever 
blessed. 

In  1766  the  first  town-meeting  was  held  by 
the  proprietors  now  settled  in  Monadnock  No. 
5.  It  convened  at  the  house  of  Isaac  McAllis- 
ter. The  object  was  to  take  steps  towards  lay- 
ing out  roads  through  the  township  from  Keene 
to  Dublin,  from  Keene  to  Rindge  and  from 
Swanzey  to  Fitzwilliam.  They  evidently  were 
conscious  of  the  fact  that  public  roads  are  a 
necessity  for  civilization  and  progress.  Indian 
trails  and  spotted  trees  may  answer  the  turn  of 
wild  men,  but  they  can  never  satisfy  the  wants 
of  advanced  humanity.  Roads  must  be  built 
before  the  school- house  or  the  church  can  exist. 
As  soon  as  highways  were  made  to  the  feudal 
castles,  or  to  pass  near  them,  they  gave  place  to 
Gothic  cathedrals.  The  Orients  built  pyramids 
for  the  dead  ;  the  Occidents  built  roads  for  the 


234 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


living.  As  our  forefathers  opened  up  the  first 
highways  the  straggling  wigwams  disappeared, 
and  smiling  cottages  soon  fringed  the  roads, 
thereby  giving  free  course  to  commerce  and  the 
trains  of  wisdom  and  spiritual  activity.  How 
cheering  it  is  that  God  works  with  men  and 
crowds  into  their  hearts  vaster  purposes  and 
broader  truths  than,  in  their  childish  thoughts, 
they  are  wont  to  understand  or  appreciate ! 

In  1767  the  first  saw-mill  was  erected.  We 
can  hardly  tell  by  whom  or  just  when,  but  tra- 
dition says  it  was  built  at  the  confluence  of  the 
brooks  near  the  school-house  in  District  No.  4, 
and  that  Daniel  Harrington  controlled  it.  Dur- 
ing this  year,  it  is  said,  Jedediah  Maynard  put 
up  a  frame  house  on  what  is  known  as  the 
Artis  Collins  place,  and  which,  in  fact,  con- 
stitutes a  part  of  the  house  owned  by  his  de- 
scendants at  the  present  time.  Another  was 
built  on  the  site  of  the  Congregational  Church 
by  Abijah  Tucker.  These  houses  must  have 
been  quite  a  wonder  in  those  days  of  log  cabins, 
with  their  rude  chimneys,  thatched  roofs  and 
glassless  windows.  During  this  year  the  immi- 
grations to  this  town  were  much  larger  than  they 
had  been  heretofore  in  the  same  period.  Near 
the  close  of  this  year  the  Provincial  Legislature 
required  a  census  to  be  taken  of  the  town,  and 
the  returns  show  that  the  population  consisted  of 

Unmarried  men  from  16  to  60  years  of  age  9 
Married  men  from  16  to  60  years  of  age.  ...16 

Boys  of  16  years  and  under 25 

Men  60  years  and  above 1 

Females  unmarried 26 

Females  married 16 

Total 93 

This,  we  see,  is  quite  a  settlement  to  have 
been  made  in  some  three  years  in  the  wilds  and 
w<  »ods  of  New  England.  During  this  or  the 
following  year  a  grist-mill  and  another  saw-mill 
were  built  in  the  north  part  of  the  township,  on 
what  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Richardson 
Brook.  This  was  the  first  grain-mill  in  this 
region.  Previously,  the  settlers  had  been 
obliged  to  go  six  and  more  miles  to  get  their 


grain  ground,  following  trails  and  roughest 
tracks.  They  must  have  learned  what  it  was 
to  earn  their  bread  by  the  swreat  of  the  brow. 
Stone  relics  of  this  old  mill  are  to  be  seen  at  the 
present  day.  Its  rudeness  would  bear  a  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  little  machine  which  thumps 
away  day  and  night  in  pumping  and  throwing 
water  from  the  brook  near  where  the  old  mill 
must  have  stood  to  buildings  high  on  the  hill. 
The  last  is  better  than  the  first ;  the  new  than 
the  old  ;  the  cultivated  garden  than  the  wild 
morass. 

In  1769  the  proprietors  felt  the  time  had 
come  to  direct  their  hands  and  hearts  towards 
building  a  meeting-house.  They  made  it  bind- 
ing on  every  owner  of  land  to  bear  his  share  of 
the  expense  in  accomplishing  this  noble  work. 
It  appears  that  there  was  general  interest  felt  in 
this  enterprise.  Their  experience  and  self-sac- 
rifices tended  to  excite  their  religious  natures, 
and  make  them  feel  dependent  on  God  and  de- 
sirous to  obey  his  commandments.  We  imag- 
ine when  they  came  together  for  worship,  it  was 
in  sincerity  and  truth.  So  their  united  hearts 
must  have  stimulated  each  individual  soul  in 
those  trying  times,  causing  them  to  feel  "  how 
good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dwell  together  in  unity." 

The  Incorporation  of  the  Town. — 
From  1770  to  1774  there  was  a  large  in- 
crease to  the  population  ;  so  much  so,  that  it  was 
felt  an  application  should  be  made  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  for  the  right  of  incorporating 
the  township  into  a  town.  A  committee 
accordingly  was  chosen  to  this  end,  and  in  1  7 To 
a  charter,  or  grant,  wras  obtained.  Henceforth 
they  chose  town  offices  and  raised  means  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  the  State  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  town.  Now  they  were  soon  en- 
abled to  complete  their  meeting-house,  provide 
for  preaching  and  support  one  or  more  schools. 
In  naming  the  town,  some  desired  it  to  be 
called  Oxford,  others  Salisbury,  others  Worces- 
ter and  still  others  Marlborough.  But,  no 
doubt,  the  last  name  was  decided  upon  because 


MARLBOROUGH. 


235 


so  many  had  emigrated  to  it  from  Marlborough, 
Mass ,  and  that  old  town  was  dear  to  their 
hearts,  and  for  this  reason  they  delighted  to 
honor  and  commemorate  it. 

The  records  show  the  new  town  was  presided 
over  from  its  inception  with  a  good  show 
of  dignity  and  honesty.  The  majority  seemed 
bound  to  have  things  about  right.  They  were 
forced  to  have  some  officers  for  their  protection 
which  have  become  obsolete,  and  we  nowadays 
cannot  see  why  there  was  ever  a  demand  for 
them,  such  as  tithingmen,  deer-reeves  and  hog- 
reeves.  The  office  of  tithingmen  was  brought 
from  England  here.  Even  in  parts  of  Great 
Britain  the  office  is  still  kept  up.  Its  design 
is  to  preserve  the  Lord's  day  holy.  So  the  duty 
of  the  tithingmen  was  to  keep  order  in  the 
house  of  worship,  to  prevent  all  unnecessary 
labor  and  travel  on  Sunday.  They  were 
honored  with  a  badge  of  the  office,  and  occupied 
a  conspicuous  place  in  the  church,  that  they 
might  discover  any  improprieties  during  the 
service.  It  was  their  privilege  to  speak  out  in 
meeting  if  they  saw  any  laughing,  swearing  or 
roguery.  They  frequently  thought  they  had 
sufficient  cause  to  exercise  their  authority,  or, 
at  least,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  them  to 
rebuke  and  chastise  right  in  sermon-time.  Only 
think  of  men,  women  and  children  sitting  on 
hard  boards  for  two  or  three  hours  during  the 
forenoon  service,  and  as  -long  in  the  afternoon, 
listening  oftentimes  to  prosy  preaching  and 
harsh  singing !  Who  could  blame  the  old  folks 
for  nodding  and  the  children  for  playing?  If 
such  were  the  order  of  Sunday  service  at  the 
present  day,  we  judge  tithingmen  would  still  be 
a  necessity.  Possibly,  we  are  going  to  the 
other  extreme,  often  preferring  fifteen-minute 
essavs  for  sermons  which  hit  nowhere,  and 
operatic  music  which  pleases  the  head,  but 
touches  not  the  heart.  Perhaps,  in  our  haste, 
we  give  the  French,  even,  a  chance  to  say  of  us, 
"  How  the  Americans  rush  out  of  their  churches 
and  their  cars  !  " 

The  duty  of  the  deer-reeves   was  to  protect 


the  deer  so  that  they  should  not  be  destroyed  at 
unseasonable  periods,  or  be  cruelly  treated  at 
any  time.  Would  it  not  be  well  if  we  could 
have  officers  appointed  in  this  age  to  protect  the 
harmless  birds  and  quadrupeds  ?  Certainly, 
there  is  a  demand  for  leagues  to  be  formed  to 
guard  land  and  water,  preventing  cruelty  to 
animals. 

The  hog-reeves  were  of  special  importance 
when  our  town  was  new,  for  the  swine  were 
allowed  to  run  at  large,  and  were  as  much  given 
to  rooting  then  as  now.  However,  the  law 
was  that  they  should  be  yoked  and  their  noses 
wrung.  This  was  frequently  neglected  ;  so  much 
damage  would  be  done  by  their  roving  and  root- 
ing. The  duty  of  the  hog-reeve  was  to  see  that 
these  creatures  were  properly  equipped  for  their 
liberty.  For  some  reason  it  became  the  custom 
to  elect  the  recently  married  to  this  office.  If 
it  were  not  esteemed  very  honorable,  at  times 
it  was  verv  onerous.  This  office  was  regarded 
as  most  essential  for  many  years,  and  still  stands 
on  our  statute  books.  But  public  opinion,  if  it 
does  not  always  create  the  lawrs,  does  execute 
them,  if  they  are  executed  at  all.  For  this  rea- 
son we  want  public  sentiment  right,  and  then 
we  will  have  good  laws  that  can  be  put  in  force. 

The  more  we  study  and  learn  the  facts  of  the 
first  inhabitants  of  our  town,  the  more  we  must 
be  convinced  that  they  were  men  of  heroism 
and  moral  strength.  They  laid  a  good  founda- 
tion ;  they  wrought  grandly ;  their  example  is 
worthy  of  imitation.  As  they  felled  the  forest 
and  dug  up  the  soil,  they  sowed  good  seed, 
which  is  still  yielding  manifold.  Their  lives, 
as  from  some  pure  spring  bursting  from  Mo- 
nadnock's  lofty  brow,  have  floated  down  to  us 
on  the  currents  of  time,  like  the  little  boats, 
adorned  with  flowers  and  lighted  with  starry 
flames,  which  the  South  Sea  Islanders  set  afloat 
on  the  seas  to  be  borne  to  their  descendants 
dwelling  in  fairer  realms.  So  the  flowers  and 
lights  of  our  ancestral  past  have  filled  our  gar- 
dens with  countless  charms,  and  gilded  our 
ways  with  brightest  hopes. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER   II. 

MARLBOROUGH— {Continued). 
THE   REVOLUTIONARY   PERIOD. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
War    Marlborough    was    but   sparsely  settled. 
The  census  that  was  taken  in  1775  gave  three 
hundred   and  twenty-four  inhabitants  ;  of  this 
number,  one  hundred   and   forty-eight  were  fe- 
males and  one  hundred   and    four  were  boys 
under  sixteen  years  of  age  ;  so  there  could  not 
have  been  more  than  sixty  men  qualified  for 
military  service.    As  British  invasion  was  made 
on   the    19th    of  April,    1775,  the    red-coats 
marched  upon  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  con- 
sternation and  terrible  anxiety  spread  through 
the  whole  land.     Then  we  had  no  independent 
government ;  at  best,  were  only  under  colonial 
instructions.     The  total  population  of  the  coun- 
try then  did  not  exceed  three  millions.    But  the 
first    crack    of    British    muskets   and    roar    of 
British  cannon,  within  our  borders,  startled  our 
brave  yeomanry  throughout    the    land.     Axes 
were  dropped  in  the  forests,  plows  were  left  in 
the  fields,  drums  were  beaten,  bells  were  rung, 
muskets  were  snatched  from  over  mantel-pieces, 
powder-horns  and  ball-pouches  were  slung  over 
the  shoulders,  blankets  were  tied  to  the  backs, 
men  with  determined  minds  and  patriotic  hearts 
were  rushing  to  the  fields  of  strife.     Devoted 
wives  and  tender  mothers  could  but  weep  bit- 
terest tears;  still,  they  bid  their  noble  husbands 
and   brave  sons   go  forth  doing  valiantly  for 
God  and  country.     Yes,  a  Stark  quickly  fled 
from    his    saw-mill    at    Londonderry,   Putnam 
quit  his  farm  at  Pom  fret  without   stopping  to 
change  his  dress.     All  were  bound  to  drive  the 
enemy  from  our  soil ;   they  were  ready  to  tear 
down   King  George's  statue  and   melt   it   into 
bullets    to    shoot    clown    British    invaders.     If 
from  earliest  time  there  had   been  a  tendency  to 
reverence   the  King,  and   trace  one's  pedigree 
to  a  kingly  source  ;  if  the  heroes  of  Homer  de- 
lighted to  call  Olympus   father  ;  if  the  historic 
families  of  Sparta  and    Macedon  clung  to  the 


all-seeing  Zeus  as  their  progenitor ;  if  the  great 
Julius  Csesar  fancied  that  he  was  the  son  of  the 
beautiful  Aphrodite ;  if  the  old  Teutonic  tribes 
believed  that  there  was  a  sacredness  in  being;  the 
subjects  of  kingly  rule, — Americans  were  not  to 
submit  to  any  such  delusion.  They  had  suffered 
wrongs  under  the  King  as  long  as  they  could. 
Somehow  they  felt  they  must  and  would  be  free. 

At  this  sudden  burst  of  martial  flames  the 
thirteen  colonies  were  remarkably  free  from 
Toryism.  The  Pilgrims  and  the  Virginian 
adventurers  had  been  here  long  enough  to  real- 
ize that  America  was  bound  to  have  a  govern- 
ment of  her  own.  Her  lands,  her  waters,  her 
climates  and  her  skies  were  trulv  American,  and 
why  should  not  this  be  true  of  her  political 
administration  ?  It  was  soon  made  evident,  as 
her  brave  men  sprung  to  arms  and  marched 
with  quick  step  to  fields  of  carnage  and  death, 
that  it  was  to  be  a  reality. 

Marlborough,  with  other  towns  of  the  Granite 
State,  was  not  slack  in  assuming  its  share  of  hard- 
ships in  the  pending  Revolution.  If  our  town 
did  not  have  any  soldiers  in  the  battles  of  Lex- 
ington and  Concord,  on  account  of  being  so  re- 
mote from  the  seat  of  war,  it  did  send  forth  Moses 
Tucker,  Timothy  Rodgers,  Robert  Worseley, 
Daniel  Collins,  Lieutenant  James  Brown  and 
Pearson  Newell,  who  were  in  the  memorable 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  17th  of  June,  1775. 

At  the  close  of  this  year,  it  is  said,  there  were 
in  the  army  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  from  our 
town,  sixteen  men. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  Brit- 
ish a  thousand  soldiers  left  this  post,  under  the 
leadership  of  Benedict  Arnold,  pressing  their 
way  towards  Quebec  through  the  dense  woods 
of  Maine.  They  advanced  to  the  Kennebec 
River  and  then  embarked  in  boats,  forcing  their 
way  with  the  greatest  difficulty  up  the  current  to 
its  head-waters ;  thence  they  bore  their  boats, 
heavily  burdened,  across  to  the  river  Chaudiere 
and  passed  down  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  six  miles 
above  Quebec.  In  this  perilous  experience 
the  sufferings  must  have  been   beyond  descrip- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


237 


tion.  Several  of  our  soldiers  were  among  the 
number.  Robert  Worseley  was  one  of  them, 
who  says  they  were  terribly  harassed  by  the 
Indians,  and  became  so  reduced  in  rations  that 
they  were  forced  to  eat  the  leather  of  their 
shoes  and  cartridge-boxes.  At  one  time,  as  they 
emerged  from  the  woods  a  dog  saluted  them 
and  they  shot  it.  Mr.  Worseley  relates  that  "  it 
fell  to  his  lot  to  dress  it,  and  as  he  was  taking 
out  the  entrails,  the  famishing  men  snatched 
away  the  flesh,  having  for  himself  only  what 
he  could  clutch  in  his  hands."  Although  they 
ate  the  flesh  raw,  Mr.  Worseley  asserts  that  "  it 
was  the  sweetest  meat  he  ever  tasted."  In 
another  company  of  this  expedition,  Mr. 
Worseley  says,  "  some  of  the  men  came  across 
the  carcass  of  a  hog,  which  was  eaten  quicker 
than  he  could  tell  a  lie."  Truly,  those  were 
times  that  tried  men's  bodies  as  well  as  souls. 

In  July,  1776,  a  regiment  of  New  Hamp- 
shire militia  was  raised  to  increase  our  army  in 
Canada  ;  but  a  change  was  made,  so  that  it  was 
sent  to  Ticonderoga  to  aid  in  defending  that 
part  of  our  country.  On  the  roll  of  this  regi- 
ment we  find  the  names  of  Benjamin  Goodenow, 
Abel  Woodward  and  Peter  Tozer,  who  enlisted 
from  Marlborough.  In  September  of  the  same 
year  another  force  was  called  for  from  New 
Hampshire  to  reinforce  the  army  in  New  York, 
and  in  the  following  December  it  came  under 
the  immediate  command  of  General  Washing- 
ton. Among  the  names  from  our  State  we  find 
those  of  Daniel  Goodnow  and  Jonah  Har- 
rington. 

In  the  spring  of  1777  England  decided  to  in- 
vade the  States  from  the  north  with  seven 
thousand  troops  besides  a  large  artillery  train 
and  several  tribes  of  Indians,  all  under  the 
command  of  General  Burgoyne.  Accordingly, 
steps  were  at  once  taken  by  the  colonists  to  en- 
list men  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war. 
Our  State  was  called  upon  to  furnish  one  hundred 
and  nineteen  men  ;  the  quota  for  Marlborough 
was  six.  Colvin  Goodenow,  Frederick  Free- 
man and  Reuben  McAlister  enlisted  immediately 


and  the  town  offered  a  county  which  soon  in- 
duced Adino  Goodenow,  Timothy  Rogers  and 
Jabez  McBride  to  give  in  their  names,  thus 
meeting  the  demand  made  upon  our  town  at 
this  call.  Peter  Tozer  joined  the  army  not  long 
after.  These  men  were  mustered  into  service 
and  put  into  Colonel  Scammel's  regiment,  in 
which  Andrew  Colburn,  of  this  town,  was  lieu- 
tenant-colonel. This  force  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Stillwater  and  the  men  proved  them- 
selves daring  and  loyal.  Though  they  were  in 
the  thickest  of  the  battle,  they  faltered  not,  but 
seemed  bound  to  live  or  die  for  their  country. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Colburn  and  Frederick 
Freeman  were  killed  in  this  battle. 

All  this  while  the  British  had  been  making 
ready  to  invade  our  land  from  the  north  ;  and 
in  the  spring  of  this  year,  unexpectedly,  they 
advanced  towards  Lake  Champlain.  As  this 
became  known  it  created  great  alarm  and  excite- 
ment ;  and  soon  from  all  quarters  of  our  land 
brave  men  were  marching  to  confront  and  over- 
power the  enemy.  Twenty-three  enlisted  from 
Marlborough.  As  our  forces  ad  vanced  the  enemy 
were  induced  to  withdraw  from  Fort  Ticon- 
deroga and  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain, 
and  so  our  soldiers  were  relieved  for  a  time. 
But  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  General  Bur- 
goyne had  changed  his  plans  somewhat  and  had 
resolved  to  march  into  Vermont,  and  on  into 
New  Hampshire,  subduing  New  England,  if 
possible.  This  startled  and  aroused  the  people 
again.  The  Legislature  of  our  State  was  at  once 
called  together,  and  divided  its  militia  into  bri- 
gades, to  be  under  the  command  of  General  John 
Stark  and  Colonel  William  Whipple  to  march 
forthwith  into  Vermont  to  co-operate  with  the 
forces  from  other  States  in  driving  the  enemy 
beyond  our  borders.  At  this  call  Marlborough 
sent  Isaac  McAlister  as  sergeant,  William  Ten- 
ney  as  corporal,  and  John  Tozer.  These  men 
participated  in  the  battle  at  Bennington  and  in 
the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

In  September  more  soldiers  were  called  for 
and  our  town  supplied  six  more,  who  joined  the 


238 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


army  at  Saratoga,  and  were  also  present  at  the 
capitulation  and  the  relinquishment  of  Bur- 
goyne's  army.  A  fter  this  the  base  of  action  was 
changed  on  the  part  of  our  troops  to  that  of 
Rhode  Island,  which  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
British.  Arrangements  had  been  made  for  a 
French  fleet  to  allure  and  attract  the  attention 
of  the  English  troops  there  towards  the  coast, 
while  at  the  same  time  General  Sullivan,  in  the 
summer  of  1778,  was  to  attack  them  on  the 
land  side.  New  Hampshire  supplied  a  brigade 
to  assist  in  this  undertaking  and  our  town  fur- 
nished eleven  of  that  number  of  soldiers.  The 
next  year  the  State  called  for  five  hundred  men 
to  fill  up  the  three  Continental  battalions  from 
the  State.  Captain  James  Lewis  and  Russell 
Oliver  are  the  only  names  mentioned  as  going 
from  Marlborough.  The  succeeding  year  no 
enlistments  were  called  for,  but  in  1781  special 
efforts  were  put  forth  by  the  town  to  fill  the  quota 
assigned  it.  After  overcoming  some  special 
difficulties,  arising  from  the  depreciation  of  the 
currency  and  the  scarcity  of  hard  money,  the 
town  was  successful  in  complying  with  the  State 
requirements,  furnishing  their  full  number 
of  soldiers  all  through  the  Revolution.  After 
the  close  of  the  war  there  were  thirty-nine  new 
settlers  to  the  town,  all  of  whom  had  served  their 
country  more  or  less,  at  different  points  and  in 
different  engagements,  during  the  struggle  with 
England.  So,  when  this  martial  strife  was 
over,  Marlborough  could  count  nearly  a  hundred 
names  of  brave  citizens  who  had  fought  and 
bled  for  the  freedom  of  our  land.  In  camp  and 
field,  for  the  most  part,  they  had  proved  them- 
selves patriotic  and  loyal  soldiers  All  the  way 
from  Lexington  and  Concord,  through  the  seven 
long,  bloody,  weary  years,  to  the  surrender  of 
Lord  Oornwallis,  at  Yorktown,  our  State  and 
town  did  their  full  share  to  hasten  peace  and  es- 
tablish one  form  of  government.  It  was  some- 
thing new  under  the  sun.  It  is  true  there  had 
been  republics  before.  Athens  was  so  re- 
garded when  Phidias  chiseled  and  Pericles 
declaimed,  but  she  was  really  sustained  by  slaves. 


Rome  was  once  proclaimed  a  republic,  but 
serfdom  reduced  it  to  an  empire.  Florence  and 
Genoa  were  pronounced  republics,  but  aristoc- 
racy made  them  tyrants  over  adjacent  cities 
and  at  length  wrought  their  downfall.  There 
were  republics  in  Holland,  whence  came  our 
free  schools,  but  they  crumbled  away  because 
founded  on  classes.  It  was  reserved  for  our 
fathers  to  establish  a  republic  on  the  basis  of  the 
equal  rights  of  all  men,  and  so  construct  a 
government  as  broad  as  humanity  itself.  This 
is  what  was  really  achieved  by  the  hardships 
and  triumphs  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  We 
gladly  acknowledge  our  Revolutionary  heroes 
had  inherited  good  blood  and  noble  principles. 
Before  Washington  and  Franklin  were  Moses, 
Socrates,  Tell,  Luther  and  Milton.  Before 
Boston  and  Philadelphia  were  Jerusalem,  Sparta, 
Venice,  Genoa  and  Leyden.  But  it  is  right 
we  should  recognize  the  fact  and  rejoice  that  our 
fathers  improved  upon  their  patrimony,  and  ex- 
pressed for  the  first  time  faith  in  the  right 
of  self-government,  in  the  government  of  the 
whole  people.  This  was  worth  fighting  for  and 
dying  for  !  Blessed  bestowments  have  we  re- 
ceived from  our  pristine  townsmen  !  All  honor 
to  the  Revolutionary  heroes  of  Marlborough  ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

MARLBOROUGH.— {Continued.) 

THE  STATE   ADOPTING   ITS   CONSTITUTION. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  colonies  the  fear  of 
the  Indians  and  the  trouble  with  Great  Britain 
often  called  the  people  together  in  convention. 
From  these  small  gatherings  at  length  arose  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  from  this  last  body 
sprung  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  out 
of  these  articles  came  our  present  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  So  this  is  an  instrument 
of  no  hasty  growth,  but  the  outcome  of  neces- 
sity and  trying  experience. 

The  Articles    of  Confederation   were 


MARLBOROUGH. 


239 


not  binding  till  they  were  approved  and  adopted 
by  each  of  the  States  separately.  This  work 
was  not  completed  and  the  new  government  put 
into  operation  till  the  23d  of  March,  1781. 

This  course  of  the  States,  together  with  many 
defeats,  led  England  to  become  weary  of  the 
war,  and,  accordingly,  Parliament  decided  upon 
closing  it,  and  commissioners  were  chosen  by 
both  governments  to  make  the  terms  of  peace. 
The  provisional  articles  were  signed  on  the  last 
day  of  November,  1782,  and  the  final  treaty 
was  signed  September  3,  1783.  The  last  of  the 
British  forces  were  withdrawn  from  our  borders 
on  the  25th  of  November,  1783  ;  and  on  the 
23d  of  December,  Washington  appeared  in  the 
Hall  of  Congress,  at  Annapolis,  and  resigned 
his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of  our 
army. 

As  apparent  peace  had  now  come  to  our  peo- 
ple, the  different  States  began  to  examine  with 
care  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  with  the 
view  of  forming;  State  Constitutions  that  would 
be  in  harmony  with  the  same  and  equal  to  the 
demands  of  the  different  States.  These  Consti- 
tutions were  to  be  brought  before  the  citizens 
in  the  various  towns  of  a  State  and  cautiously 
considered  before  their  adoption.  We  see  plain- 
ly the  intention  was  to  have  the  people  make 
the  laws  by  which  they  were  to  be  governed. 
The  few  were  not  to  rule  the  many  any  longer. 

New  Hampshire  took  necessary  steps  to  have 
these  Articles  of  Confederation  brought  before 
its  people  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  in  June, 
1784,  its  new  plan  of  government  wTas  accepted 
and  its  Constitution  publicly  declared.  So  our 
State  was  still  sovereign  as  to  all  its  local  in- 
terests. 

Although  greater  power  was  granted  to  the 
Confederation  by  the  co-operation  of  these 
State-movements,  still  its  power  was  too  lim- 
ited to  meet  all  the  demands  of  a  national  gov- 
ernment. Its  bonds  of  union  were  not  suffi- 
ciently strong  and  close.  For  this  reason  the 
States  found  it  essential  to  improve  upon  the 
Confederation  by  creating  and  adopting  a  Uni- 


ted States  Constitution.  This  was  not  com- 
pleted and  accepted  by  all  the  States 
till  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  on  which 
day  George  Washington  was  elected  the  first 
President. 

The  Constitution  is  truly  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  papers  ever  produced.  It  is  enough 
to  immortalize  the  names  of  Jefferson,  Frank- 
lin, Adams,  Washington  and  others  that  were 
chief  in  bringing  it  forth.  It  is  the  outcome 
of  the  profoundest  thought  and  the  devoutest 
endeavors. 

Though  it  was  felt  and  hoped  that  our  coun- 
try would  nowT  be  permitted  to  enjoy  peace  and 
prosperity,  still  our  people  soon  learned  to  the 
contrary  and  found  their  rights  wrere  being  tres- 
passed upon  by  foreign  nations.  They  were 
particularly  harassed  along  their  borders  and 
on  the  seas.  Then,  too,  internal  troubles 
sprang  up  because  of  differences  of  opinion 
in  reference  to  State  and  national  affairs.  They 
were  harassed  in  quarters  by  the  Indians.  But 
in  spite  of  trials  and  struggles,  the  States,  un- 
der the  administration  of  Washington,  exper- 
ienced striking  growth.  As  he  completed  his 
second  term  as  chief  ruler  the  masses  were  glad 
to  declare  him  "  first  in  war,  first  in  peace  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  During 
the  Presidency  of  Adams  and  Madison  internal 
and  external  storms  of  war  threatened  them, 
and  in  June,  1812,  our  country  declared  war  the 
second  time  against  Great  Britian.  Now  meas- 
ures were  at  once  taken  to  increase  the  army. 
Each  State  was  called  upon  to  furnish  a  certain 
number  of  men.  New  Hampshire's  quota  was 
three  thousand  five  hundred. 

The  forces  of  the  States  were  divided  into 
three  divisions  :  The  Army  of  the  West,  col- 
lected near  Lake  Erie  ;  the  Army  of  the  Cen- 
tre, brought  together  on  the  Niagara  frontier  ; 
and  the  Army  of  the  North,  centred  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Champlain. 

Marlborough  was  called  upon  to  furnish  eight 
soldiers.  These  at  once  enlisted  without  any  draft 
being  made,  but   they  were  so  fortunate  as  not 


240 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


to  be  called  into  the  field.  But  in  1814  our 
Governor  asked  for  troops  to  garrison  the  forts 
at  Portsmouth,  as  British  war-vessels  were 
threatening  our  coasts.  Accordingly,  a  draft 
was  made  and  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Etheel  Par- 
menter,  Benjamin  Fife,  Henry  H.  Cutler,  Na- 
than D.  Parker  and  Aimer  Fairbanks  to  ful- 
fill the  demand,  and  they  immediately  complied 
and  went  to  Portsmouth,  serving  three  months. 
Soon  after  this  another  call  was  made,  and  the 
town,  offering  a  bounty,  raised  the  following  as 
volunteers :  Moses  Perkins,  Stephen  White, 
Ezekiel  White,  Darius  Williams,  Aaron  Hodg- 
kins  and  Levi  Gates,  Jr.  These  men  served 
six  months  and  were  honorably  discharged. 
During  this  time  thickening  gloom  seemed  to 
be  settling  down  upon  our  land,  and  active  meas- 
ures were  taken  to  have  strong  forces  ready  for 
marching  orders  at  any  moment.  For  this  rea- 
son, all  through  the  States,  old  and  young,  who 
were  fitted  to  do  military  service,  were  being 
drilled  and  trained  for  the  army.  Marlborough 
was  not  behind  in  this  work.  Her  sons  were 
patriotic  and  daring.  They  laid  in  store  pow- 
der and  balls  in  large  quantities,  that  they  might 
be  prepared  for  an  emergency.  During  this 
year  the  battles  of  Chippewa,  Lundy's  Lane, 
Plattsburg,  Lake  Champlain,  Fort  McHenry 
and  New  Orleans  were  fought.  The  signal 
victory  gained  at  the  last  place  closed  the  sec- 
ond war  with  Great  Britain.  New  Hampshire 
had  performed  well  its  part,  and  Marlborough 
had  fulfilled  her  duty  in  defending  and  preser- 
ving our  republic.  The  spirit  of  liberty,  some- 
how, was  sure  to  blow  aside  the  weeds  of  dis- 
cord in  their  pathway,  and  thereby  open  up  to 
them  the  violets  of  peace.  It  was  as  water 
thrown  upon  Mosaic  pavements,  developing 
brilliant  colors,  gilding  their  track  with  the  ra- 
il iauce  of  heaven.  It  was  the  mystic  lyre  that 
played  sweetest  music  by  their  rustic  hearths  in 
spite  of  the  din  of  war  or  the  howl  of  wild 
beasts.  Their  course  was  difficulty,  struggle, 
progress. 

The  Rebellion. — Who  of  us  that  remember 


the  spring  of  1861  can  refrain  from  expressing 
heartfelt  gratitude  to  the  braves  dead  and  the 
braves  living?  As  the  echoes  of  Fort  Sumter 
reached  our  ears,  how  men  sprang  to  their  arms  ! 
Reared  in  peace,  we  coveted  peace.  But  our 
country  was  threatened,  our  flag  insulted  and 
our  Union  likely  to  become  dissevered.  It 
seemed  but  a  day  before  countless  flags  were 
floating  from  our  house-tops,  and  almost  every 
village  and  city  in  our  State  and  northern  land 
had  become  a  rendezvous  for  the  enlistment  of 
volunteers.  How  soon  camp-fires  were  seen 
blazing  upon  our  hillsides  and  our  fields  were 
spotted  with  army  tents  !  Men  went  forth  in 
earnest  to  drill  on  campus  and  make  ready  in 
haste  for  the  war.  Some  could  not  stop  to  prac- 
tice with  the  sword  and  gun,  but  rushed  to  the 
field  of  strife  with  rusty  bayonet  and  unbur 
nished  blade.  They  were  bound  to  stand  by 
the  old  flag  in  its  first  and  last  tribulation.  As 
soon  as  the  sense  of  duty  bid  the  braves  go 
forth  in  defense  of  our  country,  what  scenes 
followed  !  Do  we  not  witness  the  pallid  face  of 
the  weeping  wife?  Do  we  not  still  witness  the 
mother's  arms  about  the  neck  of  her  son  and 
the  shake  of  the  father's  hand,  as  they  bid  their 
beloved  "  away  to  your  country's  call  ?  "  No- 
ble men,  have  you  forgotten  the  wail  of  chil- 
dren as  you  kissed  them,  you  knew  not  but  for 
the  last  time,  and  hurried  off"  to  the  perils  of 
war  and  the  din  of  the  battle-field  ?  Young: 
men,  do  you  not  recall  the  plighted  vows  made, 
or  renewed,  to  some  fair  lover,  or  dear  friend 
whom  you  were  leaving,  perchance,  never  to 
meet  again  this  side  of  the  dark  river?  Quick- 
ly the  first  call  of  our  now  sainted  Lincoln  was 
filled.  With  no  small  degree  of  pride,  it  is  our 
privilege  to  record  the  fact  that  Marlborough  was 
the  first  town  of  Cheshire  County  to  respond  to 
this  call.  One  of  her  sons,  Thomas  L.  White, 
led  the  roll  of  enlistments  to  the  First  New 
Hampshire  Regiment  from  our  county.  Two 
others  soon  followed,  doing  likewise, — James 
and  John  Totten. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  a  company  was 


MARLBOROUGH. 


241 


raised  at  Keene  for  the  Second  New  Hamp- 
shire Regiment.  The  names  below  show  who 
were  in  this  regiment  from  our  town  a  part  or 
the  whole  of  the  time  during  the  war  : 


Levi  N.  Converse. 
Daniel  B.  Woodward. 
William  H.  Tenn y. 
James  Newell. 
Merrick  H.  Ross. 
Amaziah  Sawtelle. 
John  Totten. 
Asa  M.  White. 


Rhodolphus  I.  White. 
Lucius  F.  Hunt. 
Amos  L.  Corey. 
Mark  Tens  Greenwood. 
Cyrus  E.  Hardy. 
Augustus  C.  White. 
Milton  G.  Razey. 


This  regiment  was  engaged  in  more  than 
twenty  battles  and  lost  in  action  more  than  eight 
hundred  men.  Most  of  the  men  from  our 
town  proved  themselves  valiant  soldiers.  Among 
others  should  be  specially  mentioned  Levi  N. 
Converse.  He  enlisted  as  a  private,  but  was 
soon  promoted,  because  of  merit,  to  the  rank  of 
sergeant  and  then  to  that  of  lieutenant-colonel. 
In' the  ordeal  at  Gettysburg  he  lost  his  right 
arm,  and  at  the  battle  of  Chapin's  Farm  a 
minie-ball  went  through  the  roof  of  his  mouth, 
badly  disfiguring  his  face.  But  from  these 
wounds  he  remained  in  the  hospital  no  longer 
than  he  was  obliged  to,  before  he  was  in  the  active 
service  again,  and  continued  with  his  regiment 
until  it  was  mustered  out  of  service  in  Concord 
at  the  close  of  the  Avar. 

When  the  Sixth  Regiment  was  raised,  in  th  > 
autumn  of  1861,  eighteen  men  from  our  town 
joined  it,  consisting  of 
Nelson  Converse.  Oscar  W.  Farnum. 

Calvin  Stone.  Charles  A.  Field. 

F.  H.  Castone.  John  H.  Priest. 

Edward  F.  Adams.  Henry  H.  Atherton. 

William  A.  Russell.  George  H.  Smith. 

Thomas  L.  White.  Charles  W.  Pike. 

George  V.  R.  Farnum.         Francis  M.  Farrar. 
Arculus  Vicar.  Everett  F.  Gates. 

Charles  L.  Clarke.  George  Tilden. 

Nelson  Converse,  the  father  of  Levi  Con- 
verse, served  as  colonel  of  this  regiment  till  he 
was  forced  to  resign  from  ill  health.  Edward 
F.  Adams  was  promoted  from  the  ranks  to 
captain.       This    regiment    experienced    much 

hard    service   in    camp    and    on   field.     It  per- 
16 


formed  its  part  well  in  helping  crush  the  Rebel- 
lion. When  its  complete  history  shall  be  writ- 
ten out,  it  will  portray  not  a  few  heroic  charac- 
ters and  patriotic  deeds. 

In  1862,  at  the  raising  of  the  Fourteenth 
Regiment  of  three  years'  men,  the  citizens  of 
Marlborough  supplied  eighteen  more  soldiers, 
whose  names  are  as  follows  : 


James  Totten. 
Christopher  Totten. 
William  Collins. 
Enoch  Foster. 
George  H.  Stone. 
George  H.  Stockwell. 
Alphonso  A.  Adams. 
Perley  E.  Collins. 
Delevan  C.  Richardson. 


Nathaniel  P.  Rust. 
Theodore  Pope. 
Sumner  L.  McCollester. 
William  H.  Pierce. 
Luke  Knowlton,  Jr. 
Charles  A.  Mason. 
Edwin  B.  Matthews. 
Ebenezer  T.  Greenwood. 
Charles  Knowlton. 


This  was  a  marked  regimept  all  through  the 
war,  and  the  "boys"  in  it  from  Marlborough 
won  lasting  honors  by  their  heroism  and  faith- 
ful service.  Some  of  them  were  killed  on  the 
field  of  battle,  most  of  them  were  wounded, 
several  died  in  hospitals  and  others  were  mus- 
tered out  of  service  at  the  end  of  the  war  and 
are  still  living. 

Marlborough  supplied  in  all  for  the  war 
ninety-eight  men.  Of  course,  some  of  these 
were  substitutes.  But  she  was  loyal  to  the  calls 
made  upon  her  and  shed  freely  her  share  of 
blood  to  wipe  out  the  stains  of  slavery  from  our 
soil  and  give  fullest  freedom  to  all  dwelling 
within  our  borders.  Can  we  not  now  rejoice  in 
this  ?  Would  we  have  it  otherwise  ?  It  is  not 
a  small  thing  that  our  devoted  townsmen  helped 
settle  the  question — we  trust,  for  all  time — that 
a  republican  government  has  permanency.  Ah  ! 
did  our  brave  soldiers  know  for  whom  and  for 
what  they  were  making  their  great  sacrifices  as 
they  were  marching  upon  fields  of  carnage  ? 
Nay,  verily,  not  any  more  than  Moses  could 
have  calculated  the  outcome  of  his  leading  the 
Israelites  through  the  wilderness  for  so  many 
years ;  or  the  three  hundred  Spartans  could 
have  foreseen  for  what  they  climbed  in  the  pass 
of  Thermopylae  to  perish-  or  why  the  brave 
six  hundred  rushed  into  the  jaws  of  death  at 


242 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Balaklava.  Our  noble  heroes  did  infinitely 
more  and  better  in  living  and  dying  for  the  pre- 
servation of  our  republic  than  they  could  have 
anticipated.  Our  country  is  now  free  from 
human  slavery ;  and  what  is  this  fact  not 
worth?  It  is  worth  all  your  hard-fought  bat- 
tles, O  American  republic !  It  is  worth  all 
your  prayers  and  anxieties,  O  sainted  Lin- 
coln! It  is  worth  all  your  graves,  O  Gettys- 
burg !  O  Arlington  Heights  !  O  Chattanooga  ! 
O  Northern  cities  of  the  dead  !  for  it  enables 
every  citizen  of  our  Union  to  cast  his  own 
vote,  nurture  a  free  school  in  his  brain  and 
cherish  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in 
his  heart. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MARLB0R0UUH— {Continued). 
ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

No  one  can  question  but  that  physical  environ- 
ments have  much  to  do  in  the  formation  of 
character ;  but  still  more  have  mental  and  re- 
ligious forces.  Accordingly,  as  our  early  an- 
cestors came  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland 
and  the  cultivated  lands  of  England,  having 
been  long  trained  to  religious  thought  and  feel- 
ing, they  were  naturally  disposed  to  worship 
God.  As  plants  depend  on  light,  air,  heat, 
moisture  and  soil  for  growth,  so  they  seemed 
to  feel  these  were  essential  to  their  outward  de- 
velopment, but  the  consciousness  of  a  superin- 
tending Providence  was  still  more  demanded 
by  their  spiritual  natures.  This  explains  why, 
as  the  Pilgrims  stepped  upon  Plymouth  Rock, 
they  bowed  in  sinceresf  worship;  why,  as  our 
State  was  first  settled,  provisions  were  made  for 
the  worship  of  God  ;  why,  as  towns  were  char- 
tered, requirements  were  laid  upon  the  people 
to  build  churches  and  provide  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry. 

In  our  town  measures  were  taken  before  its 
incorporation  towards  building  a  meeting-house. 


The  people  felt  the  necessity  of  having  a  Sab- 
bath home  where  they  could  assemble  to  wor- 
ship God  unitedly.  Scattered  settlers  in  a 
wilderness,  as  well  as  voyagers  far  out  upon 
the  ocean,  can  but  feel  dependent  and  desirous 
of  expressing  their  religious  emotions  at  proper 
times  and  in  suitable  places  to  Him  who  holds 
them  in  His  loving  embrace.  So,  as  early  as 
1770,  a  spot  was  selected  as  near  the  centre  of 
the  town  as  possible,  and  the  first  church  edifice 
in  Marlborough  was  raised.  It  was  fifty  by 
forty  feet  on  the  ground,  and  high  posted.  At 
that  raising  there  must  have  been  a  jolly  time, 
for  more  than  a  barrel  of  the  over-joyful  was 
drunk.  Then  it  was  thought  men  could  not 
build  nor  preach  well  without  their  "toddy." 
About  this  period  a  grant  of  land  was  set  apart 
for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and  another 
grant  for  the  first  settled  minister;  but  these 
were  in  an  unimproved  state,  and  situated  near  the 
meeting-house.  This  house  was  simply  raised 
the  first  year,  and  roofed  the  next;  and  before 
anything  further  was  done  to  it,  a  religious  ser- 
vice was  held  in  it.  The  outside  was  not 
boarded  till  1774,  and  it  was  not  furnished  with 
glass  windows  and  hinged  doors  till  1790,  when 
it  was  regarded  complete,  though  at  this  time 
it  had  no  chimney  nor  steeple.  To  accomplish 
this  work  many  severe  struggles  and  much  self- 
sacrifice  had  been  required.  They  evidently, 
however,  felt  richly  compensated  as  they  assem- 
bled in  that  sacred  place,  offering  up  prayer  ami 
praise  to  God.  It  was  not  supplied  with  stoves 
till  1823.  Its  belfry  was  added  in  1834, 
and  the  first  bell  of  the  town  pealed  out  from 
its  lofty  tower  its  strong,  clear  tones,  for  many 
years  marking  the  hour  of  noon,  calling  the  people 
to  the  seasons  of  worship,  tolling  the  departure 
of  those  having  "crossed  the  river"  and  the 
march  to  the  tomb. 

The  old  meeting-house,  if  it  has  disappeared, 
still  lives  in  the  memories  of  many.  It  was 
truly  the  first  meeting-house  of  our  native  town. 
Do  you  not  see  it  in  imagination,  on  the  hill, 
with  its  broad,  open  common,   its   long  row  of 


MARLBOROUGH. 


243 


horse-sheds  and  its  thickly-crowded  city  of  the 
dead?  It  was  well  lighted  within.  How  the 
pulpit,  standing  on  the  north  side,  towered 
above  floor  and  even  gallery!  The  old  sound- 
ing-board hung'from  the  ceiling  above  it,  and 
close  underneath  was  the  deacon's  pew,  with  the 
communiontable.  Those  box-pews,  with  their 
movable  seats  and  high  partitions,  furnished 
with  open  work  at  the  top  toward  the  aisles, 
were  quaint  indeed,  and  would  be  curiosities 
to-day.  Then  those  long  front-gallery  seats  on 
three  sides,  backed  by  those  elevated  pews, 
would  look  strange  to  the  young  of  the  present 
age.  But  that  church  used  to  be  crowded  with 
worshippers.  The  staid  people  occupied  the 
seats  below,  the  large  choir  those  in  front  above ; 
the  single  men  those  on  the  west,  and  the  un- 
married women  on  the  east ;  and  the  boys  and 
girls  took  possession  of  the  highest  pews  when 
they  could,  for  in  those  they  were  mostly  out 
of  sight  of  minister  aud  all  the  worshippers 
below.  What  long  and  forcible  sermons  were 
wont  to  be  preached  from  the  pulpit !  and  what 
tremendous  singing  came  down  and  went  up 
from  that  gallery  !  How  the  young  folks  often 
sported  in  those  pews,  and  the  hard-working 
aud  aged  nodded  as  the  minister  preached  an 
hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half  long !  The  people 
demanded  these  protracted  services  morning 
and  afternoon  ;  and  for  years  they  endured 
them,  even  in  the  winter,  without  any  artificial 
heat  save  what  might  come  from  a  few  foot- 
stoves.  During  the  time  between  the  services 
the  men  would  converse  in  squads  by  the  horse- 
sheds,  and  the  women  would  assemble  in  parties 
among  the  pews,  and  then  politics,  religion  and 
business  matters  would  be  discussed !  But  the 
memories  of  that  old  church  are  sacred,  and 
should  always  remain  so.  No  doubt  the  pros- 
perity of  our  town  is  largely  indebted  to  the 
early  worship  in  that  sacred  place. 

However,  so  long  as  the  people  of  the  town 
were  taxed  for  the  support  of  preaching,  the 
religious  progress  was  disturbed  every  now  and 
then.     They  wanted  liberty    of  conscience    in 


spiritual  as  wrell  as  iu  civil  affairs.  They  nat- 
urally differed  as  to  doctrines.  Some  were 
Calvinists,  some  Arminians  and  others  Arians  ; 
and  the  ministers  strongly  felt,  at  times,  it 
would  be  no  more  than  right  that  their  views 
should  be  preached — occasionally,  at  least — in 
the  old  church. 

Now  in  1819  a  State  law  was  enacted  which 
met  the  demands,  giving  to  the  legal  voters  the 
privilege  to  decide  how  and  when  their  ministe- 
rial tax  should  be  paid.  This  encouraged  the 
different  sects  in  town  to  assert  their  rights,  and 
for  each  to  claim  the  old  meeting-house  a  por- 
tion of  the  Sabbaths  for  religious  worship. 
Accordingly,  a  division  was  made,  in  keeping 
with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and,  in  1835, 
the  proportion  stood  as  follows  for  the  year: 
Unitarians,  one  and  two-third  days ;  Baptists, 
six  and  two-third  days ;  Methodists,  ten  and 
one-third ;  Congregationalists,  thirteen ;  Uni- 
versalists,  twentv  and  one-half.  This  method 
did  not  work  well,  for  it  tended  to  defeat  the 
permanent  settlement  of  a  minister,  and  oc- 
casionally resulted  in  having  no  service  in  the 
church  on  Sunday. 

In  1778  the  first  minister,  Rev.  Joseph  Cum- 
mings,  of  Topsfield,  Mass.,  was  settled  in  town. 
He  was  a  graduate  from  Harvard  University, 
and  came  well  recommended.  Still,  at  his  in- 
stallment, some  of  the  brethren  chose  to  conse- 
crate him  to  the  Gospel  work  here,  hesitated 
aud  questioned  the  propriety  of  so  doing  from 
certain  discoveries  brought  out  during  his  ex- 
amination. Still,  he  was  settled  on  a  salary  of 
$133.33  annually.  But  before  the  end  of  the 
first  year  some  disturbances  arose ;  however,  a 
few  members  were  added  to  the  church,  and 
several  children  were  baptized.  But  people  and 
pastor  were  dissatisfied  with  each  other,  and 
December  1,  1780,  Mr.  Cummings  was  for- 
mally dismissed.  But  after  this  he  brought  an 
action  against  the  town  for  certain  damages, 
and  recovered  some  two  hundred  dollars.  This 
controversy  proved  a  great  injury  to  religious 
growth  in  town,  and  for  a  few  years  the  people 


241 


HISTORY  OF  (MIKSiriRK  COUNTY,  NKW   HAMPSHIRE. 


did  not  seem  disposed  to  settle  another  minister. 
However,  during  this  period,  supplies  were  fur- 
nished bv  Revs.  J.  Dammon,  John  Ramming- 
ton,  Elijah  Leonard,  Caleb  Blake,  Ebenezer 
Hill  and  Solomon  Adams.  Either  of  the  last 
two  the  town  and  church  would  have  been  glad 
to  settle. 

In  17K2  Rev.  Holloway  Fish,  of  Upton, 
Mass., preached  on  trial,  was  called,  and  settled 
the  same  year  as  a  Calvinist-Congregational 
minister.  Mr.  Fish  was  a  native  of  Upton,  a 
graduate  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1790.  He 
was  a  fair  scholar,  of  a  serious  turn  of  mind, 
and  exemplary  in  his  daily  walk.  He  was 
plain  and  positive  in  his  preaching.  He  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  his  people  generally.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate  of  some  thirty  years,  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  were  added  to  the 
church,  and  three  hundred  and  three  children 
were  baptized.  Mr.  Fish  died  in  town  Septem- 
ber 1,  1824,  aged  sixty-two  years,  and  was 
buried  in  the  cemetery  by  the  old  meeting- 
house. 

At  his  death  a  separation  took  plaee  between 
the  town  and  church,  and  a  new  organization 
was  made  and  denominated  "The  First  Evan- 
gelical Congregational  Society  of  Marlborough." 
At  its  inception  thirty-seven  men  affixed  their 
names  to  the  constitution. 

In  182-1  this  new  church  gave  a  call  to  Rev. 
Salmon  Bennett  to  settle  with  them,  which  was 
accepted  on  a  salary  of  three  hundred  dollars  a 
year.  He  was  soon  installed,  and  continued 
as  their  pastor  for  five  years,  and  increased  the 
church  by  twenty-live  new   members. 

After  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Bennett,  Rev. 
Erastus  Curtis  ministered  to  this  church  for 
one  year,  anil  it  was  without  any  pastor 
till  1835.  But  during  this  interim  theirorgani- 
zation  was  changed,  and,  dispensing  with  the 
previous  name,  they  assumed  that  of  the  Trini- 
tarian Congregational  Society  of  Marlborough. 

In  1833  this  organization  voted  to  build  a 
meeting-house  exclusively  for  their  own  use. 
The    money  was  raised  by  subscription.    It  was 


with  some  difficulty  that  a  site  for  the  building 
was  decided  upon;  but  the  one  was  selected 
where  it  now  stands,  and  the  new  church  edifice 
was  completed  and  dedicated  October  2!),  1834. 
At  this  time  there  were  but  few  houses  in  the 
village,  and  the  members  of  the  church  in  the 
smith  part  of  the  town  found  it  hard  to  become 
reconciled  to  its  present  location.  Nevertheless, 
this  prejudice  gradually  wore  away,  and  all  at 
length  were  led  to  led  it  was  pleasantly  and  for- 
tunately situated. 

In  is:',."),  Rev.  Moses  G.  Grovenor  was  set- 
tled over  this  church.  He  was  a  man  of  ability 
and  great  will-force.  He  was  a  graduate  from 
Dartmouth  College  and  Andover  Theological 
Seminary.  His  sermons  exhibited  study  and 
originality.  In  delivery  he  was  animated  and 
at  times  eloquent.  His  pastorate  lasted  five 
years;  during  this  time  thirty-two  members 
were  added  to  the  church.  He  was  a  good- 
looking  and  appearing  minister.  His  very 
presence  implied  that  he  was  master  of  the  sit- 
uation, whether  in  or  out  of  the  pulpit.  He 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  Miss  Hannah  D. 
Jones,  a  native  of  this  town,  and  a  graduate 
from  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary.  He  died  in 
Boston  in  1879. 

In  1840,  Rev.  Giles  Lyman  was  installed  as 
pastor  over  this  church.  He  was  graduated 
from  Amherst  College  in  1X27,  and  from  An- 
dover Theological  Seminary  in  18:51.  He 
ranked  high  in  his  academic  and  professional 
studies.  By  nature  he  was  reserved  and  diffi- 
dent; not  robust  physically,  but  regular  and 
abstemious  in  his  habits,  so  that  he  enjoyed 
such  a  degree  of  health  as  to  enable  him  to  ful- 
fill his  duties.  As  a  sermonizer,  he  was  system- 
atic and  careful  in  his  thoughts  and  expression. 
His  rhetoric  was  superior  to  his  oratory.  As  a 
pa-tor.  he  was  true  ami  faithful,  doing  all  in  his 
power  to  bless  his  people.  As  a  citizen,  he  was 
much  respected  and  deeply  interested  in  the 
schools  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  town.  For 
years  he  served  on  the  School  Board.  He  con- 
tinued his  ministry  here  for  twenty-eight  years, 


MARLBOROUGH. 


245 


and  during  this  time  his  church  Mushiest  with  an 
increase  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  mem- 
bers. Of  course,  many  in  his  church  and  in 
the  town  passed  away  during  his  long  pastorate. 
But  he  was  a  true  friend  to  the  sick  and  the 
afflicted.  He  was  loyal  to  his  church  and 
creed,  doing  his  best  to  render  the  world  wiser 
and  better.  His  chief  concern  was,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  to  save  souls.  He  was  remarkably 
favored  in  his  married  relations,  having  a  gifted 
and  devoted  helpmate  in  his  Christian  work. 
Mrs.  Lyman  was  really  a  brilliant  woman,  in- 
fusing good  cheer  into  the  hearts  of  all  with 
whom  she  wrought.  The  memory  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lyman  will  always  remain  sacred  in  the 
town  of  Marlborough.  He  departed  this  life  in 
1872. 

His  immediate  successor  here  was  Rev. 
Henry  H.  Underwood,  but  he  ministered  to 
this  people  only  some  seven  months. 

In  1869,  Rev.  Silas  P.  Cook  preached  on 
trial  for  a  short  period,  and  then  was  settled 
with  a  great  unanimity  of  feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  society,  but  at  his  own  request  he  was  dis- 
missed the  following  year.  He  was  regarded 
as  a  young  man  of  ability  and  promise. 

In  1870,  Rev.  John  L.  Merrill  was  called  to 
this  church  and  installed  as  its  pastor  the  fol- 
lowing year.  He  is  a  native  of  Haverhill,  this 
State.  He  was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  18oG,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  and 
afterwards  went  through  a  divinity  course  in 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  He  made  a 
good  record  in  both  of  these  institutions.  Soon 
after  leaving  the  seminary  he  was  settled  in 
Chanceford,  Pa.,  where  he  continued  his  labors 
successfully  for  five  years.  Then  for  a  year  he 
was  principal  of  the  combined  High  Schools  of 
Lancaster  City,  Pa.  In  I860  he  accepted  a  call 
to  settle  over  the  Congregational  Church  of  Ac- 
worth,  N.  H.,  where  he  labored  for  four  years  with 
great  success,  till  he  was  settled  in  Marlborough, 
where  he  is  still  endeavoring  to  do  faithful  ser- 
vice to  his  church.  He  believes  in  progress; 
however,  he  would  not  be  classed  with  the  new 


school  of  theology.  He  is  strictly  evangelical 
and  thoroughly  Presbyterian  in  his  views.  He 
so  writes,  preaches  and  lives  as  to  be  highly  re- 
spected by  his  followers. 

Mr.  Merrill  has  shown  himself  a  real  friend  to 
the  cause  of  education,  having  given  consider- 
able time  to  the  schools  in  town,  and  been  a 
prominent  factor  in  making  improvements  in 
methods  and  management. 

He  has  been  an  earnest  advocate  of  temper- 
ance and  other  reforms.  He  has  largely  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  interests  of  the  town  for 
the  past  fifteen  years.  During  his  ministry 
here  extensive  improvements  have  been  made  in 
his  own  church  edifice,  and  a  chapel  vestry  has 
been  secured.  His  church  has  seemed  to  pros- 
per under  his  leadership. 

The  Congregational  is  the  strongest  church 
in  town,  representing  the  largest  membership 
and  the  most  wealth.  They  have  a  good  brick 
church  edifice,  and  a  convenient  and  pleasant 
parsonage. 

The  Methodist  Church.  —  The  first 
Methodist  preaching  in  town  was  at  the  house 
of  Daniel  Emerson,  in  1793,  by  the  Rev.  John 
Hill.  Mr.  Emerson  was  a  Methodist  by  nature, 
and  could  not  be  satisfied  with  any  other  doc- 
trine  or  mode  of  worship.  So  he  was  ready  to 
make  self-sacrifices  and  do  all  in  his  power  to 
introduce  what  to  him  seemed  the  best  expres- 
sion of  Christianity.  History  implies  that  the 
first  Methodist  preaching  in  the  State  was  in 
this  town.  It  is  said  that  after  that  first  meet- 
ing it  was  not  long  before  there  were  several  of 
the  most  respectable  familes  in  Marlborough  and 
adjoining  towns  formed  themselves  into  a  class 
and  quite  a  number  soon  became  members  of 
this  church,  constituting  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  Marlborough.  At  this 
time  the  Emersons,  the  Herricks,  the  Russells, 
the  Richardsons,  the  Wakefields,  Metcalfs  and 
Whites  were  among  the  most  active  workers. 
The  meetings  were  held  in  private  houses  for 
some  time.  They  had  frequent  revivals,  and 
their  numbers  were  greatly  increased.     As  they 


24G 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


had  not  a  minister  settled  among  them,  they 
appointed  one  of  their  own  members  for  a  given 
time  to  lead  them.  Alfred  Metcalf,  Ebenezer 
Herrick,  Ebenezer  Wallingford,  Abner  Russell 
and  others  served  in  this  capacity. 

In  1842  a  meeting-house  was  built  at  Pot- 
tersville  (now  Wes<  ffarrisville),  being  consid- 
ered the  mosl  centra]  place,  as  the  Methodists 
then  were  situated.  This  was  a  decided 
achievement,  for  hitherto  they  had  been  obliged 
to  hold  their  Quarterly  Meetings  in  barns  and 
groves.  Regular  Sunday  services  were  now 
held  in  this  church,  and  the  Methodist  cause 
advanced  rapidly.  Meetings  continued  to 
beheld  here  till  1859,  when  Rev.  Thomas  L. 
bowler  was  supplying  this  people  with  preach- 
ing; it  was  decided  to  hold  the  meetings  on  the 
Sabbath  half  of  the  time  in  the  Baptist 
Church  at  the  village,  which  was  then  unoccu- 
pied. This  proved  to  be  a  fortunate  movement, 
for  the  population  had  concentrated  largely  into 
the  village,  diminishing  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants in  the  vicinity  of  Pottersville,  and  creating 
a  demand  for  Methodist  meetings  where  most  of 
the  people  resided.  Accordingly,  steps  were 
-..mi  taken  to  purchase  the  Raptist  Church,  and 
with  success;  so  that  the  meetings  wen'  held 
all  the  time  in  the  village.  The  meeting  house 
at  Pottersville  was  sold  and  a  parsonage  was  built 
in  the  village,  giving  this  church  superior  ad  van- 
tagesto  what  it  had  heretofore  enjoyed.  Thence- 
forth it  experienced  a  gradual  growth.  It 
ha-  sustained  regular  services  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  become  a  power  among  the  other  churches 
tor  good.  It-  preachers,  for  the  most  part,  have 
been  efficient  minister-,  doing  excellent  work 
for  the  church  and  the  people  generally. 
Among  some  of  its  earlier  itinerant  preachers 
were  the  famous  Lorenzo  Dow,  Bishop  Hed- 
ding  and  Martin  Renter,  who  became  a  college 
president  ;  and  among  those  assigned  to  this 
charge,  laboring  for  a  year  or  more,  whose 
name-are  especially  cherished,are  Revs.  Samuel 

s.  Dudley,  Ira  •  larter, Thomas  L.  Fowler, 

<  ole  and Dockerell.   With  scarcely  an  ex- 


ception, the  many  pa-tors  over  this  church  have 
been  loyal  to  the  temperance  cause,  and  truly 
interested  in  the  public  schools  and  the  common 
interests  of  the  town. 

Every  Christian  Church  seems  to  have  a  di- 
vine appointment  and  a  special  mission  to  ful- 
fill. Thus  it  is  with  the  Methodists.  By  its 
zeal,  devotion  and  perseverance,  it  lias  taken 
marvelous  strides,  and  accomplished  in  a  given 
time  what  no  other  church  has  ever  achieved. 
In  little  more  than  a  century  it  has  come  to  sur- 
pass any  other  Protestant  sect  in  its  number  of 
communicants  and  Sunday-school  scholars.  It 
consecrates  some  two  new  church  edifices  every 
dav  in  the  year.  While  all  Christians  cannot 
be  Methodists,  any  more  than  all  the  stars 
can  become  planets,  or  all  the  flowers  dahlias, 
still  all  must  rejoice  at  the  grand  Christian 
work  they  are  achieving  and  wish  them  a  hearty 
"Godspeed!" 

The  Baptist  Church. — Among  the  earliest 

settlers  of  the  town  there  were  those  who  were 
of  the  Baptist  persuasion,  and  previous  to  its 
incorporation  Baptist  meetings  were  occasionally 
held  at  private  houses.  It  was  not  popular 
then  to  be  a  Baptist,  and  only  those  who  were 
strong  in  the  faith  could  endure  the  contumely 
that  was  often  heaped  upon  them.  But  the 
sincere  and  thoughtful  in  heart  and  mind  are 
(piite  certain  to  succeed  in  the  end.  Thus  it 
was  with  these  Christians.  Their  early  leader 
was  Khler  Joseph  Cummings,  who  was  a  man 
of  moral  fortitude  and  mental  strength.  Like 
Moses  leading  the  children  of  Israel,  he  bid 
his  followers  "go  forward,"  and  they  were 
obedient  to  the  command.  They  were  zealous 
in  trying  to  have  the  town  release  them  from 
helping  support  that  form  of  worship  which 
was  nnt  most  congenial  to  their  hearts.  They 
persisted  in  this,  with  others,  till  they  gained 
their  object.  After  the  meeting-house  was 
built  then  they  felt  it  would  be  no  more  than 
right  that  they  should  have  the  privilege  of 
occupying  it  a  portion  of  the  time.  They  were 
among   the  first    to   move  in  this  direction,  aud 


MARLBOROUGH. 


247 


did  not  desist  from  their  purpose  until  success 
crowned  their  efforts.  But  after  this,  perhaps 
on  account  of  location,  several  of  the  leading 
famlies  went  to  Pottersville  to  worship,  because 
a  strong  Baptist  society — for  tiiose  times — had 
been  established  there.  For  years  Elder  Charles 
Cummings  and  the  venerated  Elder  Willard 
proclaimed  the  Gospel  to  the  hosts  that  used  to 
assemble  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  in  the  old 
yellow  meeting-house,  which  stood  on  the  hill 
in  Pottersville.  These  ministers  preached  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Spirit.  Certainly  it 
was  with  power  and  demonstration.  They 
seldom  failed  to  pound  their  Bibles  sufficiently 
to  keep  their  hearers  wide-awake.  In  this  old 
church  was  started  one  of  the  first  Sunday- 
schools  in  Xew  Hampshire.  The  text-book 
used  in  all  the  classes  was  the  Bible.  Then 
what  an  occasion  it  was  to  go  forth  to  the  river, 
not  far  off,  to  witness  and  experience  a  bap- 
tismal scene !  It  was  usually  made  solemn  and 
expressive  of  joy.  They  thoroughly  believed 
that  in  thus  doing  they  were  being  baptized  as 
was  their  Lord  and  Master. 

But  after  the  Old  Harbor  had  become  quite 
a  village,  and  the  number  of  this  faith  had 
largely  increased  in  town,  in  1843,  a  Baptist 
edifice  was  built  in  the  village.  At  this  period 
and  afterwards  this  church  was  very  prosperous. 
Though  its  members  did  not  represent  great 
wealth,  still  they  were  earnest  in  their  religious 
work.  They  preached  and  they  sang  with  the 
Spirit.  Among  their  ministers  we  forget  not 
the  Elder  Charles  Cummings,  who  was  ad- 
vanced in  years  at  that  time.  How  venerable 
he  looked  as  he  stood  in  the  pulpit !  His  voice 
was  expressive  of  a  good  heart,  and  his  thoughts 
of  a  strong  mind.  He  preached  because  he  had 
something  to  say.  The  old  and  young  loved 
Elder  Cummings  because  he  loved  them.  He 
went  home  rich  to  heaven,  having  laid  up  great 
treasures  while  on  the  earth.  Another  gifted 
preacher  was  Rev.  A.  L.  Danforth.  He  was 
settled  in  the  town  some  four  years.  As  a 
writer,  he  was  free  and  easy,  strong  and  original 


in  thought,  forcible  and  pleasing  in  delivery. 
He  was  graduated  from  Middleburg  College 
and  Newton  Theological  Seminary.  He  de- 
parted this  life  a  few  years  after  leaving  Marl- 
borough. Still  another  minister  who  won  the 
hearts  of  his  people  was  Rev.  Charles  Clarke. 
He  was  a  close  student  and  more  than  an 
average  preacher.  He  was  thoroughly  inter- 
ested in  every  good  cause  and  lent  his  influence 
for  the  right,  fearless  of  consequences.  His 
example  is  worthy  to  be  followed  and  his 
name  to  be  always  cherished.  Other  able  and 
efficient  ministers  served  this  people.  At 
length  reverses  came  to  them  through  deaths  and 
removals,  so  that  they  were  unable  to  support 
stated  preaching  and  finally  were  reduced  to 
such  a  degree  that  their  church-doors  were  per- 
manently closed.  Possibly  this  church  had 
fulfilled  its  mission.  At  least,  it  had  accom- 
plished a  good  work.  Many  of  its  worshippers 
had  been  among  the  best  people.  If  some  of 
the  earliest  Separatists,  or  Baptists,  in  town, 
were  opposed  and  persecuted,  the  latest  have 
been  respected  and  honored. 

The  Uni  vers  a  list  Church. — Among  the 
early  settlers  of  Marlborough  there  were  a  few 
who  believed  in  the  final  restitution  of  all  souls  ; 
and  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
there  was  occasional  preaching  of  this  faith,  but 
a  record  of  the  society  reaches  no  farther  back 
than  1805,  at  which  time  a  constitution  was 
framed.  Previous  to  this  period  the  laws  of 
the  State  had  not  recognized  Universal ists  as 
Christians,  or  allowed  them  the  privileges  of 
other  religious  bodies.  To  be  a  Universalist 
in  those  days  required  not  a  little  moral  forti- 
tude. But  those  true  to  conviction  never  go 
back  on  themselves.  They  feel  to  be  on  the 
Lord's  side  and  are  steadfast, — if  men  do  cen- 
sure and  ridicule, — following  the  call  bidding 
them  "come  up  higher."  Of  course  there  were 
and  are  some  in  this  communion,  as  well  as  in 
all  others,  who  profess  to  believe  the  faith,  but 
fail  to  live  it,  thereby  proving  that  they  are  not 
its  disciples   ami  should   never  be  regarded  as 


248 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


its  representatives.  There  is  no  other  ( Chris- 
tian test  than  the  one  that  the  Master  gave, 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them;1 

In  1816  the  first  constitution  was  revised. 
The  meetings  previous  to  this  had  been  held  in 
private  buildings,  and  mostly  in  the  house  of 
Lieutenant  Oliver  Wright,  near  the  old  meet- 
ing-house. Among  the  earliest  preachers  of 
this  faith  in  town  were  Revs.  E.  Paine,  Elhanan 
Winchester,  Zebulon  and  Adam  Streeter.  When 
this  society  came  to  share  with  others  in  oc- 
cupying the  meeting-house,  it  had  more 
frequent  and  stated  services.  Among  the 
noted  men  who  preached  here  about  this  time 
were  Hosea  Ballou,  Sr.,  Thomas  Whittemore, 
D.D.,  I  D.  Williamson,  D.D.,  Revs.  Sebastian 
and  Russell  Streeter. 

In  1835,  Rev.  J.  V.  Wilson  reorganized  the 
society,  and  it  numbered  forty  members,  and 
this  was  but  a  small  proportion  of  those  who 
were  wont  to  worship  with  thi>  people.  Their 
first  Sunday-school  was  started  at  this  time, 
and  they  also  secured  a  library  of  some  seventy 
volumes,  treating  of  moral,  historical  and  re- 
ligious themes. 

The  tendency  of  the  town  now  was  towards 
the  village.  This  was  true  of  religious  a-  well 
as  secular  affairs.  Accordingly,  this  society 
began  to  hold  mee'tings  in  the  school-house  in 
the  village.  This  continued  for  some  years, 
but  the  members  so  increased  that  more  room  was 
demanded,  and  in  1851  a  wooden  church  was 
built  by  Asa  Greenwood  and  other-..  Mr. 
Greenwood  was  a  leading  factor  in  this  enter- 
prise. The  Mouse  was  dedicated  the  succeeding 
year,  Rev.  Lemuel  Willis  preaching  the  sermon 
of  consecration.  Most  of  the  pews  were  at  one,' 
-old  to  individuals,  and  the  rest  were  given  at 
length  to  the  Ladies'  Society,  connected  with 
the  church.  Thus  the  Qniversalists  possessed  a 
convenient  and  pleasant  Sunday  home,  most 
favorably  situated.  From  this  time  on  they 
grew  as  never  before.  They  were  now  able  to 
Imld  services  every  Sabbath.  Their  Sunday- 
school  was  revived.      When  there  should  chance 


to  be  a  minister  wanting,  a   lay-service  would 
be  held  on  the  Sabbath. 

Rev.  Edwin  Davis,  a  native  of  Marlborough, 
was  the  first  settled  minister  in  the  new  church. 
He  so  worked  that  it  could  never  be  said  of 
him,  "A  man  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his 
own  country."  Alter  him  came  Rev.  Warren 
A.  Bassett,  a  young  man  of  sterling  qualities  as 
to  head  and  heart.  He  was  suffered  to  minis- 
ter to  this  people  only  about  a  year  before  a 
fatal  disease  caused  his  departure  to  the  higher 
life,  leaving  the  sweetest  memories  to  all  who 
had  known  him.  Rev.  Judson  Fisher  was  his 
successor,  who  proved  himself  an  able  and 
worthy  Christian  teacher.  After  him,  Rev. 
Truman  A.  Jackson  supplied  the  pulpit  for 
one  year,  who  afterwards  gave  his  life  in  behalf 
of  his  country.  Then  Rev.  H.  P.  Osgood 
served  this  church  as  their  leader  for  six  years. 
He  trave  them  good  sermons  and  identified 
himself  with  the  general  interests  of  the  town. 

After  he  left  for  another  field  of  labor  his 
place  was  tilled  by  Rev.  L.  L.  Ricord,  A.M., 
a,  devout  Christian  man  and  scholar;  but  he 
was  not  physically  strong,  and  before  two  year- 
had  passed  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  fav- 
orite calling  and  submit  to  the  fatal  disease  that 
had  been  preying  upon  his  system  for  years. 
In  the  midst  of  a  sympathizing  people  the  good 
man  was  translated,  bequeathing  to  his  family 
and  the  church  a  true  Christian  character  and 

life. 

After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Ricord,  Rev. 
E.  1.  Swift  ministered  to  this  people  for  one 
year;  and  after  this  Rev.  R.  T.  Sawyer,  B.D., 
served  them  for  another  twelve  months.  His 
successor  was  Rev.  II.  W.  I  land,  B.D.,  remain- 
ing with  them  for  three  years.  Under  his 
ministry  the  seeds  planted  by  other-,  and 
especially  by  Mr.  Ricord,  were  so  ripened 
that  a  church  was  formed,  consisting  of  twenty- 
nine  members.  Mr.  Hand  continued  in  this 
charge  for  three  years,  and  on  hisleaving,  Rev. 
E.  R.  Burgess  took  his  place  and  ministered 
faithfully  to  the   welfare  of  the  church   till  he 


MARLBOROUGH. 


249 


felt  it  his  duty  to  resign,  and  he  was  followed 
by  Rev.  R.  T.  Polk,  who  continued  in  charge  of 
this  church  for  nearly  five  years.  He  gave  his 
people  excellent  sermons  and  was  a  zealous 
worker  in  behalf  of  temperance  and  education. 
At  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Polk,  in  the  autumn  of 
1864,  this  church  numbered  some  sixty  members. 
In  1878,  by  subscriptions,  a  parsonage  was  built 
near  the  church  edifice.  In  1883,  Rev.  Edwin 
Davis,  in  honor  of  his  father  and  mother,  who 
were  very  strong  Universalists  and  who,  so  long 
as  they  lived,  did  all  they  could  in  word  or  deed 
for  their  faith,  presented  this  church  with  a  fine- 
toned  bell, — a  most  generous  and  appropriate 
gift.  Again  the  society  raised  quite  a  sum  of 
money  and  put  a  new  and  comely  tower  and 
steeple  upon  the  church,  suitable  for  the  new 
bell.  A  town-clock  is  now  attached  to  the  bell. 
All  enjoy  the  sweet  tones  as  they  peal  out  the 
hours  of  the  day  and  the  night  and  the  calls 
for  worship. 

Thus  this  society,  from   a  small  beginning 
and   in   spite   of  difficulties,  has  attained  to  an 
honorable  position  in  town,  and   is  represented 
by  a  respectable  number  of  good  Christian  men 
and  women. 

The  Catholics. — At  the  present  time  there 
are  some  twenty  Catholic  families  in  town,  and 
the  initiatory  steps  have  been  taken  towards 
building  a  church  edifice  for  them.  At  least,  a 
site  has  been  secured  for  such  a  purpose.  It 
can  but  be  hoped  that  this  may  be  consummated 
soon,  if  the  Catholics  are  to  remain  in  town ; 
for  it  would  be  much  better  for  them  to  have  a 
place  where  they  could  worship  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  so  be  more  under  the  influence  of  the 
priest  than  they  now  are.  This  would  make  it 
better  for  the  people  generally,  relieving  them 
oftentimes  of  much  anxiety.  It  is  unfortunate 
for  any  not  to  have  a  place  of  worship,  because 
such  are  likely  to  become  lawless  and  immoral ; 
especially  is  this  true  of  the  Catholics,  since 
they  are  so  dependent  on  their  religious  leaders 
for  direction  and  instruction. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MARLBOROUGH— {Continued). 

EDUCATIONAL     INTERESTS. 

The  early  settlers  of  New  England  felt  a 
deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  education.     Their 
religion  taught  them  that  it  is  a  duty  to  culti- 
vate mind  and  heart.     They  had  realized  the 
effects  of  ignorance  and  slavery  of  conscience 
in  the  mother-country.      It  would   seem   that 
they  aimed  to  take  advantage  of  the  successes 
and  failures  of  the  past.    Certainly,  they  would 
shun  all  obstacles  possible.     They  did  not  be- 
lieve in  aristocracy,  but  commonalty  ;   therefore 
they  were  not  in  favor  of  educating  the  few  to 
the  neglect  of   the  many.     They   soon    found 
there  was  something   here   in  the  new  land,  in 
the  very  air,  light,  soil  and  climate,  congenial 
to  their  purpose.     So  they  early  built,  not  only 
the  church,  but  the  school-house ;  they  not  only 
secured  the  minister,  but  the   teacher.     Here 
they  opened  the  first  public  school  of  the  world. 
It  is  true,  classic  Greece  had  produced  eminent 
poets  and  philosophers  ;  sunny  Italy  had  boasted 
of  her  arts  and  culture ;    Spain  had  been  noted 
for  her  institutions  and   libraries  ;  France  had 
gloried  in  her  arms  and  military  exploits ;  Eng- 
land had  established  her  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Universities ;    but   it  had  been  left  for  America 
to  surpass  them  all  in   founding  the  common 
school.     This  means,  educate  the  whole  people. 
Accordingly,  laws  were  made  in  the  first  legis- 
latures of  our  land  that  every  well  child,  after 
such  an  age,  must  be   in  school   for  so  many 
months   of  each  year,  until  he  should  become 
sixteen  or  eighteen  years  old.    As  our  State  was 
incorporated,  this  was  one  of  its  leading  regu- 
lations, being  extended  to  each  town  and  re- 
quiring the  same,  as  it  should  become  settled, 
to   allot  a  portion   of  land  to  school  purposes. 
This  was  true  of  Marlborough.     However,  it  is 
not  supposed  there  was  any  public  school  in  town 
for  the  first  few  years  of  its  settlement.     The 
inhabitants  were  then  too  scattered  for  the  chil- 
dren to  assemble   in  one  place  for  instruction ; 


250 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


but  tradition  assures  us  that  they  were  taught 
privately  in  their  homes. 

In  1770  the  record  shows  that  William 
Barker,  Isaac  McAllister  and  Richard  Rob- 
berts  were  chosen  a  committee  to  expend  the 
money  accruing  from  the  school  land ;  and 
it  would  seem  several  schools  were  in  operation 
the  following  winter  in  different  parts  of  the 
town.  These  must  have  been  kept  in  private 
houses,  as  no  school-houses  had  then  been  built. 

In  1777  the  town  was  divided  into  four  dis- 
tricts, and  the  succeeding  year  it  raised  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  support  of  schools ; 
and  the  same  year,  because  of  the  increase  of 
population,  another  division  was  made  as  to 
districts,  and  measures  were  taken  for  building 
a  school-house  in  each  squadron,  as  it  was 
called.  Provision  was  made  in  case  that  any 
district  should  neglect  its  duty  in  this  regard, 
the  selectmen  were  to  see  that  the  work  was 
done. 

In   1794  the  conditions  of  the  town  had  so 
changed  that  it  was  found   necessary  to   redis- 
trict    the   town    again,    making    eight    in    all. 
Three  of  these  afterwards  were  set  off  to  Troy 
when     it    was    incorporated.       Some    of    these 
schools  were  now  large.     The  northeast  district 
numbered    sixty    and     more    scholars,    whose 
brick  school-house  stood  close  by   the  Cofran 
place.     It   would   be  a  curiosity   now  to    look 
upon  school-houses  like  those  first  ones  in  town. 
As  our  fathers  described  them,  with  the  great, 
big  fire-places,  the  long,  flat  benches,  the  awk- 
ward desks,  when  they  had  any,  were  they  not 
quaint,   indeed?      Their   only    ornamentations 
were   those   gashes   and   grotesque  figures,  the 
carvings  of  the  boys,  made  when  the  master's 
back  was  towards  them.     What  a  striking  con- 
trast these  would   make  placed  beside  some  of 
the  elegant  school  buildings  of  the  present  day! 
Then,  those  teachers,  too, — men  for  the   most 
part;     and    they    were    men     in    avoirdupois 
surely, — with    their   ponderous  rulers,  moving 
about  the    school-rooms    or    going    round    the 
districts  to  board.     There  were  as  many  classes 


as  there  were  different  students.  How  the 
boys  would  rush  out  of  doors  at  recess  and 
loiter  back  as  the  call  was  given  by  thumping 
on  the  window  !  But  we  may  criticise  those 
schools  as  much  as  we  please;  still,  the  scholars, 
for  the  most  part,  did  learn  to  think,  and  did 
become  noble  men  and  women. 

From  time  to  time  the  districts  have  been 
changed  from  necessity.  After  a  portion  of 
the  town  was  set  off  to  Troy  and  Roxbury 
there  was  a  demand  for  eight  districts,  and  for 
many  years  they  were  well  supplied  with  chil- 
dren, and  some  of  the  rooms  would  be  crowded 
in  the  winter.  But  several  of  them  now  are 
left  almost  destitute  of  scholars.  It  would 
seem  the  district  system  has  had  its  day,  and 
that  some  new  method  is  demanded  to  meet 
the  wants  of  our  people.  As  the  money  raised 
for  the  support  of  the  schools  is  being  expended, 
it  is  not  accomplishing  the  good  it  should. 
The  districts  must  be  abandoned  and  the 
schools  supported  in  the  centres  where  the 
scholars  are ;  and  those  living  at  a  distance 
must  be  provided  with  means  by  the  town,  so 
that  such  scholars  can  enjoy  the  same  educa- 
tional advantages  that  others  do.  It  is  not  so 
now.  In  the  small  districts,  where  there  are 
only  from  four  to  ten  children,  they  cannot 
have  good  schools.  In  such  there  cannot  be 
life  enough  to  stimulate  teacher  and  scholars. 

In  the  village  the  schools  have  been  full, 
and  often  crowded,  so  that  the  seating  capacity 
has  frequently  been  increased.  The  old  red 
school-house  that  stood  near  the  Abner  Boydeu 
store  used  to  be  filled  to  overflowing  some 
terms ;  and  when  it  was  left  for  the  new  house, 
with  its  two  rooms,  which  has  been  converted 
into  the  Congregational  chapel,  many  felt  that 
it  was  larger  than  what  was  demanded.  But, 
at  length,  its  rooms  were  crowded,  and  in  1874 
this  house  was  left  for  a  new  and  commodious 
oue,  which  was  built  the  same  year  costing,  with 
the  modern  improvements,  some  eight  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  school  has  aimed  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  times.     Its  present  conveniences 


MARLBOROUGH. 


251 


afford  the  means  for  classifying  and  grading 
from  the  primary  to  the  high  grammar  school. 
As  the  district  system  shall  be  given  up  in  town, 
the  demand  for  a  High  School,  which  is  some- 
what pressing  now,  will  be  increased,  and  will 
be  established,  it  is  hoped,  and  right  speedily, 
too. 

The  town  has  received  three  legacies  for  the 
support  of  the  schools, — one  in  1828  from 
Abijah  Tucker,  of  eighty  dollars;  another  from 
Lydia  W.  Wyman,  in  1863,  of  five  hundred 
dollars ;  and  another  from  Asahel  Collins,  in 
1883,  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Select  schools  have  been  taught  in  the  village 
in  the  fall,  until  recently,  for  many  years. 
These  have  been  of  a  high  order  for  the  most 
part.  They  have  been  under  the  direction  of  ex- 
perienced teachers.  Who  of  his  old  scholars  does 
not  recall  with  pleasure  the  name  of  Luther 
Norris,  who  was  so  tall  and  so  scholarly,  and 
who  departed  this  life  so  unexpectedly?  Who 
that  was  so  fortunate  as  to  be  under  the  tuition 
of  Samuel  Blanchard,  A.B.,  does  not  think  of 
him  with  grateful  feelings?  Then  there  were 
James  B.  Lane,  A.B.,  Ransom  N.  Porter,  M.D., 
S.  H.  McCollester,  A.M.,  Charles  F.  Kings- 
bury, A.M.,  Rev.  C.  E.  Houghton,  B.D.,  and 
others,  who  excelled  as  teachers.  These  schools 
were  well  attended.  They  numbered  all  the 
way  from  forty  to  a  hundred  scholars,  many  of 
whom  have  since  become  eminent  in  profes- 
sional life.  Perhaps  the  most  noted  is  Professor 
A.  E.  Dolbeare,  of  Tufts  College,  who  ranks 
anions;  the  first  scientists  of  America.  Then 
there  are  Andrew  C.  Stone,  B.L.,  a  successful 
lawyer ;  Joseph  C.  Shattuck,  a  superintendent 
of  schools  in  Colorado ;  Daniel  Woodward, 
M.D.,  and  J.  Q.  A.  McCollester,  A.M.,  M.D., 
prosperous  physicians.  Ellen  and  Eliza  Stone, 
Maria  and  Julia  N.  Wakefield,  Harriet  Hol- 
man  and  others,  became  famous  teachers. 

The  teachers  who  were  natives  of  Marl- 
borough are  many.  Could  they  all  be  mar- 
shaled together,  they  would  form  quite  an 
army — not  to  move  onward  with  the  pride  and 


pomp  of  war,  banners  flying,  martial  strains 
resounding,  guns  cracking,  cannon  roaring,  the 
victors  shouting  aloud  and  the  conquered  cry- 
ing for  mercy.  Not  thus  with  this  force.  Their 
progress  could  not  be  compared  to  the  march 
of  warriors,  but  to  an  advance  far  more  bril- 
liant in  its  triumphs,  and  to  laurels  more  im- 
perishable. They  would  struggle  mostly  to 
develop  thought,  inspire  joy  and  grow  love  for 
order  and  improvement.  The  ancient  Persians, 
in  educating  the  young,  aimed  at  a  fondness  for 
valor ;  the  Athenians,  at  a  love  for  the  fine 
arts ;  the  Spartans,  at  physical  endurance ;  but 
these  would  aim  at  an  education  vastly  more 
comprehensive — the  development  of  the  whole 
being.  Their  calling  would  be  one  of  con- 
tinuous sacrifice.  They  would  not  be  moved 
by  a  love  of  ease,  nor  of  wealth,  for  their 
chosen  calling  proffers  no  such  rewards.  The 
best  teachers  have  never  been  remunerated  as 
are  the  cashiers  in  our  banks,  or  the  leading 
clerks  in  our  mercantile  establishments.  Now, 
none  can  feel  for  a  moment  that  a  higher  ordei* 
of  talent  and  culture  is  required  to  manage 
trade  and  stocks  than  is  demanded  to  educate 
the  young.  The  true  teacher's  vocation  is  high 
and  holy.  His  fame  is  worthy  to  go  down 
through  the  ages.  His  work  will  be  beautiful 
when  the  statues  of  Phidias  and  the  pictures  of 
Raphael  shall  have  passed  into  dust. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  hold  up  to  vieW 
each  one  of  all  this  host,  were  it  possible.  But 
for  want  of  space  and  time  we  can  at  most 
scan  but  a  few.  One  of  the  veterans  is  Colonel 
Cyrus  Frost,  who  is  still  living,  but  has  passed 
somewhat  beyond  four-score  years.  In  his 
day  he  was  classed  among  the  best  teachers. 
He  taught  a  portion  of  the  time  for  twenty 
years.  Though  he  lived  in  the  age  of  the 
birch  and  the  ferule,  still  he  was  not  wont  to 
use  them ;  yet,  he  was  successful  in  teaching 
the  most  difficult  schools.  The  secret  is,  he 
was  master  of  himself  and  loved  teaching,  and 
the  unruly  boys  soon  discovered  this,  and  there- 
fore feared  to  "  cut  up,"  but  became  inspired 


252 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


with  his  spirit.     Such  a  teacher  works  for  im- 
mortality. 

Jairus  Collins,  Esq.,  ranked  among  the  best. 
He  began  to  teach  in  1835,  and  taught  nearly 
fifty  terms.  He  was  a  stirring  teacher,  that 
found  no  time  to  sit  in  the  school-room.  He 
was  apt  to  teach  and  to  govern.  He  kept  his 
schools  too  busy  in  study  and  thinking  to  have 
much  time  for  play.  It  is  a  question  if  his 
scholars  ever  doubted  for  a  moment,  while  un- 
der his  charge  that  he  was  master,  or  even 
dreamed  of  carrying  him  out  of  doors,  as  was 
frequently  the  custom  to  do  with  some  teachers. 
He  was  verily  the  master  of  the  situation  when 
in  the  school,  and  bound  to  fulfill  his  duty. 

Henry  Clay  Tenney,  Esq.,  made  himself 
prominent  as  a  teacher.  He  was  winning  in 
his  manners  and  gifted  in  imparting  his  thought, 
and  natural  to  control.  He  was  no  repeater  or 
machine  in  the  school-room,  but  was  truly  a 
conveyer  of  knowledge.  He  taught,  not  only 
in  our  common  but  higher  schools,  with  great 
success. 

John  Q.  A.  McCollester,  M.D.,  taught  school 
for  several  years  in  public  schools  and  in 
academies,  proving  that  he  was  a  teacher  of 
"  the  manor  born."  His  schools,  like  freighted 
ears,  run  still.  He  did  not  practice  rushing  the 
precocious  and  neglecting  the  dull  scholars. 
He  seemed  to  be  aware  that  Bristol  dia- 
monds are  bright  and  pointed  by  nature,  and 
yet  are  liable  to  be  soft  and  worthless ;  while 
those  of  India  are  naturally  rough  and  hard, 
but  become  brilliants  by  abrading  and  polish- 
ing. Somewhat  so  he  appeared  to  look  upon 
his  scholars,  and  treated  them  impartially. 

Joseph  C.  Mason,  Esq.,  has  devoted  himself 
mostly  to  the  work  of  education.  The  West 
has  been  his  field  of  labor,  where  he  has  won 
brirrht  laurels  as  a  teacher.  He  has  served  as 
superintendent  of  public  schools  in  Missouri 
for  several  terms. 

Professor  Joseph  C.  Shattuck  has  won  his 
way  to  eminence  as  a  pedagogue  in  Colorado. 
From   the  school-room   he  has  advanced  to  a 


popular  and  efficient  superintendent  of  public 
schools  in  his  adopted  State.  He  evidently 
has  come  to  understand  teaching  and  teachers, 
judging  from  his  addresses  before  institutes 
and  from   his  annual  reports. 

Hannah  Jones,  a  graduate  from  Mount  Hol- 
yoke  Seminary,  followed  teaching  in  this  town 
and  afterwards  in  Ohio  for  years.  She  strove 
to  fit  herself  thoroughly  for  her  work,  and  so 
long  as  she  taught,  it  is  said,  she  did  not  allow 
herself  to  go  before  her  classes  without  special 
preparation.  She  reminds  us  of  the  gifted 
Arnold,  who  was  asked  why  he  always  looked 
over  those  branches  that  he  had  taught  for 
years  before  going  into  recitation.  He  replied 
that  "  he  wanted  his  pupils  to  draw  from  a 
running  stream  and  not  from  a  stagnant  pool." 

Miss  Ellen  Herrick  taught  for  years  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  West,  developing  tact  and 
fitness  for  instructing  the  young.  She  was 
quiet  in  her  work,  but  her  teaching  told.  It 
cannot  be  explained  just  how  the  sunlight 
colors  the  rose  and  paints  the  star,  but  it  is 
done,  and  quietly  too;  thus  it  is  with  some 
teachers:  they  are  still  in  their  operations,  but 
they  accomplish  great  results.  Miss  Herrick 
comes  under  this  class. 

Miss  Maria  Wrakefield  has  honored  the 
teacher's  profession  with  years  of  faithful  ser- 
vice in  the  school-room.  She  believed  in  ren- 
dering her  school  sunny  and  pleasant ;  so 
she,  like  Speusippus  of  old,  adorned  it  with 
the  pictures  of  joy  and  hope,  making  it  attrac- 
tive and  beautiful.  To  her,  education  embraced 
a  great  deal  ;  so  she  wanted  to  do  all  she  could 
to  allure  the  young  onward  and  upward  in  the 
paths  of  knowledge  She  would  have  the 
school-room,  if  she  could  have  her  way,  the 
pleasantest  place  possible. 

.Miss  Harriet  C.  Holman  was  truly  successful 
as  a  teacher  of  primary  scholars.  Somehow 
she  was  drawn  to  children  and  they  to  her.  It 
was  interesting  to  witness  her  in  the  midst  of 
fifty  or  sixty  bright-eyed  boys  and  girls.  If  in 
school-hours,  they  would  be  busy  on  their  seats 


MARLBOROUGH. 


253 


or  active  on  the  floor ;  or  if  at  recess,  or  when 
the  school  was  not  keeping,  they  were  sure  to 
be  about  her,  having  a  happy  time.  The  chil- 
dren were  certain  to  love  their  school  and  make 
good  progress  in  their  studies. 

Miss  Ellen  R.  Stone  has  been  devoting  her 
whole  time  to  teaching  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury in  different  parts  of  New  England.  She 
has  taught  fourteen  years  in  one  school  in 
Boston,  where  she  is  now  teaching  She  is  a 
born  teacher.  As  the  sculptor  can  see  his  beau- 
ideal  in  the  rough  block  of  marble,  so  she  be- 
holds in  every  child  an  immortal  mind  to  be 
developed,  and  is  skilled  in  bringing  it  out 
on  the  part  of  all  who  come  under  her 
charge.  She  is  acquainted  with  the  elementary 
and  higher  branches  of  learning  ;  so  she  has 
resources  for  illustrating  and  making  plain 
her  instruction.  She  has  not  sought  schools, 
but  they  have  sought  her.  She  does  not 
become  rusty  because  she  studies  to  keep  up 
with  the  times ;  yea,  ahead  of  them.  Such 
teachers  do  not  grow  old,  at  least  in  feel- 
ing. She  never  uses  the  scholars'  minds  as 
mere  mills  in  which  to  grind  out  so  many  books 
each  term,  but  is  sure  to  teach  her  pupils  to 
think.  She  can  never  be  accused  of  sticking  to 
the  text-book  in  recitation,  or  of  asking  leading- 
questions.  She  may  be  now  classed  as  a  model 
teacher. 

Miss  Eliza  A.  Stone  wrought  in  the  teacher's 
vocation  for  several  years  with  striking  success. 
She  became  an  adept  in  the  school-room.  She 
strove  to  follow  nature,  realizing  that  while  she 
has  supplied  the  world  with  but  a  bushel  of 
diamonds,  she  has  furnished  whole  mountains 
of  iron  ;  so  she  would  give  most  abundantly  of 
those  things  which  the  young  need  and  can  use. 

Really,  there  is  no  higher  calling  than  that  of 
the  teacher.  All  honor  to  all  who  have  served 
our  town  in  this  capacity  !  May  their  names  be 
so  enshrined  in  hearts  as  to  live  when  the 
granite  of  our  hills  shall  have  passed  away  ! 

Now,  if  we  would  have  our  town  prosper,  we 
must  cherish   our  schools.     If  we  would  show 


ourselves  Christians  and  patriots,  we  must  sus- 
tain and  bless  them.  If  they  are  not  what  we 
would  have  them,  we  must  not  find  fault  with 
them  and  then  remain  inactive,  but  we  should 
set  ourselves  to  work  to  remove  the  evils.  The 
prosperity  of  our  schools  depends  upon  indi- 
vidual and  united  efforts.  If  we  would  sup- 
plant the  failures  with  successes ;  if  we  would 
have  moral,  mental  and  physical  culture  char- 
acteristic of  every  school-room,  and  the  dis- 
tinguishing features  of  every  scholar  in  our 
schools,  we  must  foster  and  improve  them. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

MARLBOROUGH—  {Continued. 


PHYSICIANS. 


The  first  physician  to  settle  within  the  limits 
of  Marlborough  was  Dr.  Justus  Perry.  Of 
the  early  life  of  Dr.  Perry  but  little  is 
known  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was  a  native  of 
Barre,  Mass.,  and  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
Stephen  Batchelleiy  Sr.,  of  Royalston.  He 
settled  in  Marlborough  in  1786  ;  and,  possess- 
ing rare  natural  and  acquired  ability,  he  soon 
gained  the  reputation  of  a  skillful  physician, 
and  for  a  few  years  did  an  extensive  business. 
Unfortunately,  however,  he  acquired  the  habit 
of  using  ardent  spirits,  which  so  increased  as  to 
disqualify  him  for  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. In  1796  he  removed  to  the  south  part  of 
the  town  and  located  in  what  is  now  the  village 
of  Troy.  That  his  usefulness  might  not  be 
lost  to  his  fellow-men,  an  effort  was  made  to  re- 
claim him.  He  was  induced  to  sign  a  temper- 
ance pledge  and  obligated  himself  to  abstain 
from  the  use  of  all  intoxicating  drinks  for  one 
year.  This  pledge  he  faithfully  kept ;  but,  at 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  relapsed  into  his 
former  dissipated  habits,  and,  losing  his  prac- 
tice, returned  the  following  year  to  the  centre  of 
the  town,  where  he  died   in  1800. 

Dr.  Kendall  Bruce  was  a  native  of 
Marlborough,  Mass.     He   was  in  this  town  as 


254 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  practicing  physician  as  early  as  1793.  He 
remained  here  but  a  few  years,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Washington,  this  State,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  profession  for  several  years;  then  went 
to  Peterborough,  and  from  thence  to  Calais,  Vt., 
where  he  died  January  12,  1832. 

Dr.  David  Carter  was  the  next  physician. 
He  was  a  pupil  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Carter,  of 
Lancaster,  and  came  to  Marlborough  soon  after 
the  completion  of  his  studies,  in  179").  He  was 
contemporary  with  the  late  Dr.  Amos  Twitchell, 
of  Keene,  and  always  remained  on  intimate 
terms  with  him.  It  was  in  this  town,  and  in 
company  with  Dr.  Carter,  that  Dr.  Twitchell 
first  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine.  In 
his  profession  Dr.  Carter  reached  no  inconsid- 
erable eminence ;  his  practice  extended  much 
into  adjacent  towns  and  somewhat  into  places 
more  remote.  He  removed  to  Peterborough  in 
1812,  and  from  there  to  Dublin  in  1820,  where 
he  died  January  9,  1828. 

Dr.  Carter  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Ephraim 
K.  Frost,  who  commenced  practice  here  soon 
after  the  removal  of  Carter  from  the  town,  in 
1812.  Dr.  Frost  was  a  native  of  Jaffrey.  His 
early  education  was  obtained  in  a  school  of 
three  months  each  year  ;  later,  from  a  course  in 
Dartmouth  College.  He  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  Carter,  paying  his  way  by  teaching  school. 
He  remained  in  practice  here  some  six  years  and 
then  removed  to  Swanzev.  He  afterwards  em- 
igrated to  Lincoln,  Neb.,  where  he  died  in 
1871. 

Dr.  James  Batcheller  was  born  in  Roy- 
alston,  Mass.,  June  5,  1791.  He  was  the  son 
of  Dr.  Stephen  Batcheller,  the  first  physician  of 
that  town,  who  established  himself  there  in 
1768,  and  continued  in  practice  until  his  death, 
in  1829,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  Dr.  James 
Batcheller  spent  his  youthful  days  in  his  native 
town;  attended  schools  and  academies;  then 
taught  school  two  years  in  Pennsylvania.  On 
his  return  he  studied  his  profession  with  an  elder 
brother,  Dr.  Stephen  Batcheller,  Jr.,  and  after- 
ward attended  medical  lectures  at  Dartmouth,  and 


took  his  degree  of  M.D.  In  May,  1818,  he 
came  to  Marlborough  by  invitation  from  Rev. 
Halloway  Fish,  and  established  himself  as  a 
practicing  physician.  Pie  was  very  social  and 
was  generally  liked  by  the  people  as  a  man  and 
physician  ;  was  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability  and  was  frequently  called  out  of  town 
for  consultation.  So  extensive  was  his  prac- 
tice that  it  required  the  services  of  three  horses 
to  enable  him  to  visit  his  numerous  patients. 
As  a  physician  he  ranked  high,  as  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  honored  for  some 
time  with  the  presidency  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Medical  Society. 

Dr.  Batcheller  was  widely  known  as  a  poli- 
tician. He  was  chosen  Representative  and 
Senator  to  the  General  Court  of  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  was  also  elected  counselor,  and  performed 
the  duties  of  each  with  honor  to  himself  and 
benefit  to  his  constituents.  He  was  also  a  dele- 
gate to  the  convention  to  revise  the  Constitution 
of  New  Hampshire  in  1850-51.  He  was  no 
timid  advocate  of  the  cause  of  emancipation  of 
the  slave,  and  this,  too,  when  it  required  strong 
nerves  to  stem  the  large  majorities  against  him. 

At  a  meeting  in  Concord,  for  the  purpose  of 
discussing  the  anti-slavery  question,  Dr.  Batch- 
eller and  General  Franklin  Pierce  (afterwards 
President  of  the  United  States)  were  pitted 
against  each  other.  So  well  did  the  doctor  ar- 
gue his  side  of  the  question,  that  he  convinced 
his  opponent,  and,  as  they  came  out  of  the 
meeting,  Pierce  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder 
and  said,  "Doctor,  you  are  right;  but  the  time 
has  not  come  yet." 

He  was  also  a  zealous  advocate  of  the  cause 
of  temperance,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  pro- 
claim the  doctrine  of  total  abstinence. 

After  a  residence  of  some  thirty-seven  years 
in  Marlborough  he  removed  to  Fitzwilliam,  to 
be  near  his  sons,  who  had  previously  established 
themselves  in  business  there.  He  obeyed  some 
calls  for  about  a  year,  when,  his  health  suddenly 
failing,  he  gave  uj>  practice  altogether.  From 
that  time   he  continued   to  become    more   and 


MARLBOROUGH. 


255 


more  feeble  in  body  and  mind,  and  at  length, 
helpless  as  an  infant,  gave  up  life  without  a 
struggle.  Although  he  was  not  a  college  gradu- 
ate, he  was  well  educated.  He  was  quick  in 
motion,  rapid  in  speech  and  of  untiring  energy. 
He  read  much,  thought  much  and  continued 
to  gain  as  well  as  impart  knowledge.  He 
was  a  man  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  term,  a 
pleasant  companion,  true  friend,  good  neigh- 
bor ;  and  it  may  be  truly  said  of  him  that  the 
world  was  better  for  his  having  lived  in  it. 

Samuel  A.  Richardson  was  born  in  Dub- 
lin December  23,  1830.  He  was  the  youngest 
of  four  children,  and  the  only  son  of  Abijah 
and  Mary  (Hay)  Richardson.  His  parents 
were  of  the  old  Dublin  stock, — a  little  austere 
in  manner,  perhaps,  as  was  the  fashion  of  the 
time,  but  good  types  of  those  sturdy  virtues, 
such  as  honesty,  piety,  industry  and  thrift, 
which  characterized  a  former  generation  in  that 
mountain-town.  His  early  life  was  spent  on 
his  father's  farm,  assisting  in  its  duties  and  la- 
bor, as  was  usual  with  farmers'  boys  of  the 
period.  The  common  schools  of  Dublin  at  that 
time  were  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  in 
Cheshire  County,  and  the  early  education  and 
training  of  the  son  were  mostly  gained  in  the 
somewhat  famous  School  District  No.  2,  which 
has  produced  many  young  men  who  have  made 
their  mark  in  the  various  walks  of  life.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Leonard,  who  was  singularly  uner- 
ring in  his  estimates  of  young  men,  early 
marked  him  as  a  boy  of  promise,  and  one  who 
would  some  day  be  heard  from  in  the  battle  of 
life.  The  good  doctor  was  wont,  in  his  old 
age,  to  enumerate  the  scores  of  Dublin  young 
men  who  had  fulfilled  the  promise  of  their 
youth  and  his  own  prophecy  of  success,  and 
"  Dr.  Sam"  was  always  mentioned  among  the 
number. 

As  young  Richardson  approached  manhood 
he  supplemented  his  common-school  education 
with  such  higher  advantages  as  could  be  ob- 
tained at  the  Hancock  Literary  and  Scientific 
Institute,   an    institution    quite    flourishing    in 


those  days,  and  the  Normal  Institute,  at 
Reed's  Ferry.  Beyond  this,  we  are  not  aware 
that  he  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  any  special  school 
training  before  commencing  the  study  of  that 
profession  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  life.  He 
early  conceived  the  idea  of  a  medical  education, 
and  in  the  intervals  of  farm-work  bent  his  mind 
and  studies  in  this  direction.  He  was  obliged 
to  rely  almost  entirely  upon  his  own  resources 
and  earnings  ;  and  we  find  him  making  the  first 
decided  move  in  this  direction  by  attending  a 
course  of  medical  lectures  at  Philadelphia,  in 
]852.  The  following  spring  (1853)  he  entered 
his  name  as  a  student  in  the  office  of  Albert 
Smith,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Peterborough,  at  that 
time  among  the  most  eminent  professors  and 
medical  teachers  in  the  State.  He  attended  a 
course  of  medical  lectures  at  the  Woodstock 
(Vt)  Medical  College  in  1855.  In  July,  1855, 
he  located  as  a  physician  in  Marlborough, 
taking  the  place  of  Dr.  James  Batcheller.  He 
quickly  gained  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the 
people  and  a  fair  share  of  the  business.  Not 
content,  however,  with  his  medical  acquire- 
ments, in  the  spring  of  1856,  Dr.  Richardson 
secured  another  physician  to  fill  his  place  tem- 
porarily, and  attended  still  another  course  of 
lectures  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  receiving  from  that 
college  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He 
also  spent  some  time  as  resident  physician  at  the 
Albany  County  Almshouse  Hospital.  The  six 
following  years  were  busy  ones  to  him.  Having 
returned  to  Marlborough,  he  entered  upon  the 
full  tide  of  a  very  extensive  and  successful  prac- 
tice. His  skill  and  good  judgment  were  early 
recognized,  and  he  was  soon  called  to  practice 
more  or  less  in  all  the  adjoining  towns.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  arduous  duties  of  his  profession, 
he  identified  himself  to  a  considerable  extent 
with  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  town. 

In  1862,  when  the  cloud  of  civil  war  dark- 
ened our  horizon,  Dr.  Richardson  offered  his 
services  to  his  country,  and,  in  September  of 
that  year,  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the 
Thirteenth  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volun- 


256 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


teers,  of  which  Aaron  F.  Stevens  (afterwards 
general)  was  colonel,  and  George  B.  Twitchell, 
M.D.,  of  Keene,  was  surgeon.  Under  date  of 
September  9,  1878,  General  Stevens  says:  "  I 
desire  to  reaffirm  now  whatever  you  may  find 
in  my  army  reports  favorable  to  Dr.  Richard- 
son, or  in  appreciation  of  his  talents,  industry 
and  professional  accomplishments,  his  kindness 
of  heart,  and  ever  prompt  discharge  of  his  du- 
ties in  camp,  field  or  hospital.  He  was  a  man 
of  superior  talent  and  extraordinary  resources, 
admirably  adapted  to  public  professional  ser- 
vice, as  well  by  his  force  of  character  and 
power  of  organization  as  from  his  professional 
knowledge  and  accomplishments." 

Samuel  J.  Martin,  son  of  Jefferson  and 
Rhoda  (Davis)  Martin,  was  born  in  Weston, 
Windham  County,  Vt.,  September  9,  1830. 
When  three  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to 
Mount  Holly,  Rutland  County,  Vt.,  where  he 
received  his  early  education,  dividing  his  time 
between  his  studies  and  farm-work.  Previous 
to  his  seventeenth  year  his  help  was  much  need- 
ed at  home,  and  he  consequently  had  limited  ad- 
vantages for  study.  At  this  time,  however,  he 
entered  Black  River  Academy,  at  Ludlow,  Vt., 
and  spent  two  terms  each  year  during  two  years, 
and  for  the  next  four  years  studied  at  the  same 
place  during  one  term  of  each.  His  studies 
during  this  time  were  confined  to  the  English 
branches  ;  but  he  afterwards  spent  two  terms 
at  Chester  Academy,  and  there  pursued  the 
study  of  Latin  with  other  higher  branches, 
earning  money  to  defray  his  expenses  by  teach- 
ing penmanship' and  day-school.  After  leaving 
school  he  engaged  in  teaching,  and  continued  it 
with  the  exception  of  one  year — when  he  Mas 
in  poor  health — until  his  twenty-eighth  year. 

He  early  developed  a  taste  for  the  medical 
profession,  but  in  his  desire  to  enter  it  was  op- 
posed by  his  father,  who  preferred  that  he 
should  become  a  farmer.  Accordingly,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-eight,  he  yielded  to  his  father's 
wishes  and  purchased  a  farm  with  money  a  part 
of  which   he   had  earned  by  teaching.     At  the 


end  of  one  year,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  farm- 
ing, he  began  the  study  of  medicine  at  home 
under  the  direction  of  A.  E.  Horton,  M.D.,  of 
Mount  Holly.  One  year  later  he  sold  his  farm 
and  gave  his  entire  attention  to  his  studies,  and, 
after  three  years'  study  and  taking  two  full 
courses  of  lectures,  graduated  from  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia.  He  began 
his  practice  in  February,  1863,  at  Marlborough, 
and  remained  there  until  April,  1866,  doing  a 
successful  practice,  and  at  that  time  removed  to 
Walpole,  N.  H.,  and  there,  in  addition  to  his 
practice,  opened  a  drug-store  with  another  gen- 
tleman, who  managed  the  latter  business,  while 
he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  his  profession. 
At  the  end  of  eighteen  months,  having  lost 
everything,  he  closed  out  his  iuterest  in  the 
drug-store  and  gave  himself  unremittingly  to 
his  studies  and  practice. 

The  force  of  circumstances  induced  him  to 
investigate  the  subject  of  homoeopathy,  and,  at 
the  end  of  one  year's  observation  and  careful 
thought,  he  embraced  the  principles  of  that 
school.  Not  having  recovered  from  his  failure 
in  the  drug  business,  and  desiring  a  larger  field 
of  action,  he  removed  to  the  West  in  1869. 
After  spending  four  months  looking  for  a  place 
to  settle,  he  established  himself  at  Racine.  Wis., 
where  he  has  since  resided,  building  up  an  ex- 
tensive practice  and  making  for  himself  a  most 
worthy  reputation  as  a  skillful  practitioner. 

During  his  residence  in  Marlborough  he  was 
elected  superintendent  of  public  schools.  He 
has  filled  the  office  two  terms  as  vice-president 
and  one  term  as  president  of  the  Homoeopathic 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Homoeopathy  and  the  Illinois  Homoeopathic 
Medical  Association. 

Dr.  Martin  has  given  much  attention  to  self- 
culture  and  by  extensive  reading  and  observa- 
tion has  acquired  that  knowledge  of  men  and 
things  which,  with  his  excellent  conversational 
powers,  renders  him  a  most  agreeable  and  so- 
cial companion.     This  is  but  a  brief  outline  of 


MARLBOROUGH. 


257 


the  life  and  history  of  one  who,  though  having 
many  experiences  in  common  with  others,  has 
yet  given  an  example  of  continued  effort  and 
will-power  that  entitles  him  to  an  honorable 
mention  in  these  pages. 

Dr.  George  L.  Harrington,  son  of  Leon- 
ard B.  and  Eunice  G.  Harrington,  was  born  in 
"VVinchendon,  Mass.,  November  11,  1844.  In 
his  childhood  and  youth  he  was  quiet  and  un- 
assuming, yet  always  thoughtful,  fond  of  his 
books  and  anxious  to  gain  knowledge.  Hav- 
ing made  the  most  possible  out  of  his  public- 
school  and  academic  privileges,  he  became  a 
medical  student  in  the  office  of  Professor  Wal- 
ter Carpenter,  of  Burlington,  Vt.  Here  he 
enjoyed  peculiar  advantages  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  wise  and  experienced  teacher.  In  due 
time  he  entered  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
Vermont  University  and  graduated  in  course 
M.D. 

In  the  winter  of  1872  he  settled  in  Marl- 
borough as  a  physician.  Naturally  enough,  for 
the  first  two  years  he  did  not  have  a  great  run 
of  practice.  However,  it  became  evident  to 
those  who  early  employed  him  that  he  was  no 
quack,  but  one  determined  to  establish  himself 
in  the  confidence  of  the  people  by  his  works ; 
and  so  gradually  he  grew  into  public  favor,  all 
the  while  extending  his  professional  work. 
Long  since  it  became  extensively  known  that, 
if  he  is  not  a  man  of  many  words,  he  is  a  man 
of  second  thought,  keen  discernment  and  sound 
judgment.  He  never  has  been  known  to  praise 
himself  or  tell  of  wonderful  cures  and  almost 
miraculous  deeds  wrought  by  his  skill.  Per- 
haps he  has  been  too  reserved  and  reticent  at 
times  for  his  own  good  and  highest  success. 
In  the  long  run,  no  doubt,  he  will  lose  nothing 
from  such  a  constitutional  habit.  The  wise  Soc- 
rates said  he  never  had  regretted  keeping  si- 
lence, but  had  often  sorrowed  for  much  speak- 
ing. From  the  fact  he  is  an  M.D.,  it  is  plain 
he  does  not  think  he  knows  it  all,  for  he  spends 
much  time  among  his  books  and  finds  it  a  neces- 
sity to  acquaint  himself  with  the  latest  journals 

17 


and  modern  works  of  his  profession.  In  the 
sick-room  he  is  affable  and  naturally  adapts 
himself  at  once  to  the  situation  of  things.  He 
seems  to  possess  a  ready  faculty  of  reading  dis- 
ease, and  a  willingness,  in  case  he  fails  of  its 
diagnosis  in  any  particular  instance,  to  acknowl- 
edge his  lack  of  comprehending  it.  Such  frank- 
ness is  a  virtue,  and  most  commendable,  espe- 
cially in  a  physician.  So  the  sick  under  his 
charge  can  scarcely  fail  of  trusting  and  confid- 
ing in  him  as  a  medical  adviser.  In  not  a  few 
cases  he  has  proved  himself  a  skillful  and  cul- 
tured physician.  Already  he  has  won  a  good 
field  of  practice,  and  certainly  his  future  is 
more  promising  than  the  present  or  the  past. 
He  has  proved  himself  a  useful  citizen  and  a 
Christian  gentleman.  With  truth  it  may  be 
said  of  him  that  he  is  a  true  friend  to  the  sick 
and  a  well-wisher  to  all  in  health. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  H.  Merriam  was  born  in 
Chelsea,  Mass.,  October  24,  1854,  but  his 
father's  family  soon  removed  to  Lexington, 
Mass.,  where  they  now  reside.  He  graduated 
at  Philips  Academy,  Andover,  in  1874,  and 
entered  Amherst  College  in  the  class  of  1878. 
His  college  course  was  interrupted  by  sickness, 
which  became  so  persistent  that  he  was  obliged 
to  abandon  his  graduation  and  remain  at  home 
for  a  considerable  period.  At  the  famous  cele- 
bration of  the  centennial  of  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington, in  1875,  he  was  on  the  staff  of  Colonel 
W.  A.  Tower,  chief  marshal  of  escort  for  Pres- 
ident U.  S.  Grant.  At  an  early  age  he  chose 
the  profession  of  his  late  uncle,  Dr.  Nathaniel 
W.  Merriam,  of  Maryland,  and  began  his  studies 
with  the  late  Dr.  Currier,  a  physician  of  note 
in  Lexington.  In  1876  he  traveled  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  Continent,  returning  with  im- 
proved health ;  attended  lectures  at  Massachu- 
setts General  Hospital,  Harvard  University. 
In  1878  he  entered  Dartmouth  Medical  Col- 
lege, where  his  abilities  attracted  attention,  and 
he  was  appointed  assistant  to  the  chair  of  sur- 
gery, then  occupied  by  Professor  P.  S.  Conner, 
of  Cincinnati,  graduating  in  1880.     He  married 


258 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Miss  E.  L.  Cottrell,  daughter  of  Asa  Cottrell, 
Esq.,  of  Lexington,  and  entered  into  active 
practice  in  Marlborough,  N.  H.,  in  1880.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  State  Medi- 
cal Association,  and  served  as  delegate  from 
that  society  to  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, at  Washington,  in  1884,  and  is  a  member 
of  that  body.  He  enjoys  a  large  and  successful 
practice  in  Marlborough,  especially  in  surgery, 
to  which  he  is  enthusiastically  devoted. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MARLJ50R0UGU— (Continued). 
INDUSTRIES  OF  THE  TOWN. 

For  many  years  after  the  settlement  of  the 

township    the    excellent    water-power  afforded 

bv  the  numerous  streams  running  through  the 

town    was    considered  of   little    value,    beyond 

what  was  used  for  the  sawing  of  lumber  and 

the  grinding  of  grain.    In  Chapter  II.  allusion 

was  made  to  the  first  saw-mill,  built  by  Daniel 

Harrington,  and  the  first  two  grist-mills,  built 

by  Joseph  Collins  and  Abijah  Tucker.     Both 

of  these  had  a  saw-mill  connected  with  them, 

thus  rendering  it   comparatively   easy   for   the 

settlers  to  obtain  lumber  for  building  purposes. 

The  one  built  by  Joseph  Collins  was  sold  by 

him,    in    1771,    to    his    brother-in-law,   James 

Lewis,    after   which    we  hear  no    more  of  this 

mill,  and  it    probably    remained    in    existence 

only  a  few    years.     Mr.    Tucker   continued    to 

carry  on   his  mill   until  the   infirmities  of  age 

compelled  him  to  give  up   labor,    after  which 

he  let  the   mill   for  several    years  to    differeut 

parties.     His  mill-dam  was  the  first  obstruction 

plaeed  across  the  river;  and  at  that  time  it  was 

no  unusual  sight,  in   the  spring  of  the  year,  to 

see  shad   below  the  dam,  which    had    run    up 

from  the  Connecticut  River. 

About  1826  this  mill  came  into  the  posses- 
sion (if  Charles  Holman,  who  for  many  years 
carried  on  an   extensive  lumber    business.     In 


1837,  Mr.  Holman  erected  the  stone  mill, 
which  he  continued  to  occupy  until  old  age 
rendered  him  unfit  for  labor,  and  the  mill  then 
came  into  the  possession  of  his  sons-in-law, 
Messrs.  Thurston  &  Wilkinson.  In  18 —  they 
built  an  addition  to  the  mill,  and  put  in  ma- 
chinery for  the  manufacture  of  nailed  and  dove- 
tailed boxes  and  trunk-cleats. 

There  was  also  a  saw-mill  built  at  an  early 
date  by  Benjamin  Tucker  and  his  sons,  a  little 
below  the  outlet  of  Meeting-House  Pond,  on 
the  site  of  the  Whitney  &  Tarbell  Mill,  so 
called.  A  native  poet  of  that  day,  whose  rhym- 
ing gives  evidence  of  considerable  inventive 
genius,  notices  this  mill  in  the  following  verse  : 

"Tucker's  boys  built  a  mill, 

Half  tbe  time  it  did  stand  still  ; 
When  it  went  it  made  a  noise  ; 
Because  it  was  built  by  Tucker's  boys." 

The  present  mill  was  erected  by  William  C. 
Mason  and  Nathaniel  Tottenham  in  1840,  who 
intended  to  saw  out  chair-stock;  but,  failing  in 
their  design,  the  mill  was  left  in  an  unfinished 
state  till  1845,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Amos 
A.  Mason  and  Charles  Pv.  Bemis,  who  finished 
the  mill  and.  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
cane-seat  chair-frames.  In  1846,  Mr.  Bemis 
sold  his  interest  in  the  business  to  Mr.  Mason, 
who  carried  it  on  for  several  years.  He  was 
succeeded  by  different  parties,  each  of  whom 
remained  but  a  short  time,  and  about  the  year 
1856  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Charles  D. 
Tarbell  and  Jared  I.  Whitney,  who  for  several 
years  carried  on  an  extensive  lumber  business 
in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  chair-seat 
frames.  In  1866,  Mr.  Tarbell  sold  his  interest 
in  the  mill  to  Mr.  Whitney,  who  continued  the 
business  some  two  or  three  years,  and  then  sold 
to  Mortimer  M.  Stowe.  The  mill  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  Amos  A.  Mason,  and  occupied 
by  Miles  Cudworth  as  a  stave-mill. 

William  Tenney,  Sr.,  built  a  saw-mill,  prob- 
ably about  1780,  on  the  Baker  Brook,  about 
half-way  between  the  bridge  and  the  saw-mill 
since  owned   by  Miles  Cudworth.     The  latter 


MARLBOROUGH. 


259 


mill  was  built  by  Rufus  Brooks  some  twenty 
years  since.  In  1867  he  sold  to  Francis  L. 
Mason,  who  used  it  as  a  saw-mill  and  also  for 
the  manufacture  of  clothes-pins.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Mason,  Miles  Cud  worth  purchased 
the  mill,  and  used  it  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
out  pail-staves  until  it  was  burned,  December 
3,  1877. 

There  was  a  saw-mill  on  the  Roaring  Brook, 
in  Roxbury,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
built  by  Bart  Grimes.  We  have  no  account  of 
the  building  of  this  mill ;  but  it  must  have  been 
previous  to  1800.  This  was  afterwards  owned 
by  Esq.  Holman. 

A  saw-mill  was  erected  by  Jesse  Hunting  at 
the  outlet  of  Cummings'  Pond  about  1800.  It 
is  said,  when  Mr.  Hunting  was  building  this 
mill,  that  old  Mr.  Tayntor  (father  of  Jedediah), 
passing  near  the  spot  on  his  way  through  the 
woods,  remarked  to  Mr.  Hunting,  "  This  is  an 
excellent  plaje  to  build  a  mill,  but  where  is 
your  water?"  This  meaning  will  be  readily 
understood  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
surroundings. 

About  1805,  John  Wiswall,  Sr.,  built  a  saw- 
mill on  the  river,  near  what  is  now  called  the 
"  Day  Bridge."  This,  however,  was  washed 
away  in  a  few  years,  and  never  rebuilt. 

About  this  time  a  mill  was  erected  on  the 
Marlborough  Brook,  upon  the  site  of  the  old 
Harrington  mill.  This  was  owned  by  Jonathan 
Whipple,  who  probably  sold  it  to  Joseph  Wel- 
lington. When  the  latter  left  town  it  came  into 
the  possession  of  Captain  John  Lane,  who  con- 
tinued to  own  and  occupy  it  until  the  great 
freshet  of  1826,  when  it  was  carried  away. 

Samuel  Collins  built  a  mill  (probably  a  saw 
and  grist-mill)  at  an  early  date  on  the  site  of 
the  lower  mill  of  the  Marlborough  Manufactur- 
ing Company.  In  1803  this  was  owned  by 
Daniel  Fisk,  who  converted  a  part  of  it  into  a 
fulling-mill.  In  1807  it  was  purchased  by 
Ebenezer  Hill,  who  did  considerable  business 
at  dressing  cloth.  He  remained  here  eight 
years,  and  then  sold  to  John  B.  Farrar,  who 


continued  the  business  for  several  years,  and 
then  sold  to  Gilman  &  Nelson  Converse,  who 
used  it  as  a  lumber-mill.  They  also  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  powder-kegs.  In  1834 
the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  some 
time  after  the  privilege  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Asa  Greenwood,  who  erected  the  main  building, 
now  standing,  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness. 

Of  the  mills  erected  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town,  now  within  the  limits  of  Troy,  we  can  say 
but  little  beyond  the  fact  that  there  was  a  grist- 
mill built  by  Phinehas  Farrar,  in  1784,  a  few 
rods  above  the  Forestall  mill.  This  was  after- 
wards owned  by  Daniel  Gould.  Alexander 
Parkman  also  built  a  fulling-mill  in  that  part 
of  the  town  about  1778. 

Jacob  Osborne  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  to  erect  a  saw-mill  on  the  privilege  now  oc- 
cupied by  Levi  A.  Fuller.  As  this  was  a  part 
of  the  tavern  property,  it  was  bought  and  sold 
in  rapid  succession  for  many  years.  Mr.  Fuller, 
the  present  owner,  purchased  it  of  his  father  in 
November,  1863.  In  the  spring  of  1872  thi6 
mill  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Fuller  imme 
diately  erected  a  neat  and  substantial  building, 
and  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
bail-boxes,  pail-staves  and  coarse  lumber. 

Some  years  since  a  mill  was  erected  on  the 
stream,  a  few  rods  below  the  above-mentioned 
Fuller  mill,  by  Isaac  Fuller,  and  was  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  various  kinds  of  wooden- 
ware.  Osgood  J.  Bemis  succeeded  Mr.  Fuller, 
and  for  several  years  manufactured  pail-handles 
to  some  extent.  In  the  fall  of  1871  he  lost  the 
mill  by  fire,  and  built  the  present  structure, 
which  is  now  occupied  by  Levi  A.  Fuller,  in 
connection  with  his  other  mill. 

In  1837,  James  Hobart  built  a  saw  and  stave- 
mill  on  the  Baker  Brook,  which  was  the  one 
since  owned  by  Aaron  Mason.  Hobart  car- 
ried on  the  business  for  a  short  time ;  but,  not 
making  it  profitable,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Mason,  who  retained  possession  of  it  until 
the  destruction    of  the   dam    by    the  freshet  of 


260 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


18G9.  The  dam  was  never  rebuilt,  and  the 
property  soon  passed  into  other  hands.  A  part 
of  the  mill  was  taken  down  and  the  remainder 
converted  into  a  barn. 

Some  time  previous  to  1800,  Samuel  Collins 
built  a  grist-mill  at  what  is  now  called  "Marl- 
borough Glen."  This  was  in  use  by  Mr.  Col- 
lins and  his  sons  until  1830,  at  which  time, 
being  somewhat  out  of  repair,  it  was  deserted, 
and  the  same  year  Joseph  Collins  built  the  mill 
now  owned  by  Osgood  11.  "Wiswall,  which  he 
used  as  a  grist-mill  for  a  few  years,  and  then, 
selling  to  George  Harvey,  removed  farther 
down  the  river,  and  about  the  year  1840  com- 
menced to  erect  the  one  now  owned  by  the  late 
Barton  Blodgett.  Before  it  was  completed  Mr. 
Collins  died,  and  the  mill  soon  after  came  into 
the  possession  of  Stillman  Buss,  under  whose 
skillful  management  it  soon  won  the  name  of 
being;  the  best  flourinsr-mill  in  Cheshire  County, 
and  was  extensively  patronized,  not  only  by  the 
people  of  the  adjoining  towns,  but  by  those 
from  a  distance  of  more  than  twenty  miles 
around,  and  so  famous  did  this  mill  become 
that  Mr.  Buss  was  obliged,  during  a  part  of  the 
time,  to  run  it  night  and  day.  In  1861,  Jcde- 
diah  T.  Collins  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
mill,  which  was  carried  on  under  the  firm-name 
of  Buss  &  Collins.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Buss,  Barton  Blodgett  bought  one-half  of  the 
mill,  and  continual  in  company  with  Mr.  Col- 
lins for  several  years,  when  he  purchased  of 
Mr.  Collins  his  share,  and  continued  to  run  it 
until  his  death.  It  is  now  owned  by  D.  R.  & 
F.  A.  Cole. 

Eliphalet  Stone  erected  a  fulling-mill  at  the 
outlet  of  Stone  Pond,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
saw-mill,  at  an  early  date.  This  was  probably 
the  first  mill  for  dressing  cloth  within  the  limits 
of  this  town.  Mr.  Stone  divided  his  time  be- 
tween the  farm  and  mill  for  many  years, 
until,  meeting  with  some  reverses,  he  divided 
his  property  between  his  sons,  Calvin 
and  Shubael  ;  and  Calvin,  taking  the  mill, 
resumed  the  business  of  dressing:  cloth.      He 


removed  the  old  fulling-mill  to  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  road  and  converted  it  into  a 
dwelling-house  for  his  father  ;  built  a  saw-mill 
in  place  of  it,  and  also  a  new  fulling-mill  a  few 
rods  below.  Calvin  Stone,  Jr.,  with  his  brother 
Solon,  succeeded  their  father  in  the  business, 
and  during  their  occupancy  the  fulling-mill  was 
burned,  and  the  present  building  erected.  Sev- 
eral different  kinds  of  wooden-ware  have  been 
manufactured  here  by  different  parties,  such  as 
clothes-pins,  pail-handles,  staves,  etc.,  but  at 
present  little  business  is  done. 

Josiah  Fish  built  the  mill  now  owned  by 
James  Townsend  in  1813.  This  was  used  by 
him  for  a  fulling-mill.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Calvin  Page,  who  carried  on  the  business  suc- 
cessfully for  several  years.  He  also  had  a  ma- 
chine for  carding  wool  into  rolls  for  the  accom- 
modation of  those  who  could  spin.  In  1837, 
James  Townsend  purchased  the  mill  and  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  woolen  yarn,  which 
business  he  has  prosecuted  with  success  to  the 
present  time.  He  also  makes  hose,  knit-jackets, 
sheep's-gray  cloth,  etc.,  and  his  goods  are  some 
of  the  best  found  in  market. 

Pails. — Pails  were  first  made  in  this  town 
by  Robert  Carpenter,  who  commenced  the  busi- 
ness in  the  mill  now  owned  by  Osgood  R.  Wis- 
wall. The  pail-lathe  used  by  Mr.  Carpenter 
was  but  a  rude  affair,  compared  with  those  in 
use  at  present.  It  would  now  be  considered  a 
slow  and  tedious  job  to  match  the  staves  by 
hand  and  drive  the  hoops  with  a  hand-driver  ; 
but,  thanks  to  the  inventive  genius  of  the 
Yankee,  these  obstacles  have  been  overcome 
and  the  facilities  for  manufacturing  pails  greatly 
increased.  Mr.  Carpenter  remained  here  but  a 
short  time,  and  then,  in  company  with  Charles 
Cooledge,  commenced  pail-making  where  N. 
Winche's  pail-shop  now  stands  a  building  hav- 
ing been  erected  for  that  purpose  by  Calvin 
Page,  who  then  owned  the  privilege.  Jedediah 
T.  Collins  and  others  continued  the  pail  busi- 
ness at  the  Collins  mill  till  1836,  when  it  came 
into  the  possession  of  George  Harvey,  who  car- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


261 


ried  on  the  business  for  seven   years.      During 
this  time  he  built  the  house  now  owned  by  the 
heirs  of  Luther  Smith.     In  1843  he  traded  the 
house  and  mill  to  his  brother  James,  taking  in 
exchange  the   farm  on  which  he  now  resides. 
The  business  was  continued  by  James  Harvey 
some  two  years  ;  but  not  being  successful,  and 
becoming  somewhat  involved  in  debt,  the  prop- 
erty  passed   into    other   hands.      Carpenter   & 
Cooledge  carried  on  the  business  at  the   Page 
mill  until  1832,  when  the  firm  was  dissolved, 
Mr.  Carpenter  going  to  Orange,  Mass.,  where 
he  again   entered    into  the  pail  business   on  a 
more  extensive  scale.      Mr.  Cooledge  returned 
to  Troy  and  set  up  the  same  business,  which  he 
carried  on  for   several   years.      Joseph    Cum- 
mings  now   hired  the  Page  mill  and  manufac- 
tured  pails    until    April,    1834,    when    it   was 
burned.  The  shop  now  owned  by  Nathan  Winch 
was    erected   by    Charles    Gilbert    and    Cyrus 
Frost,  who   manufactured  chairs  there  for  sev- 
eral years.     In    1837,  Frost  sold  his  share  of 
the  mill  to  George  Holman.     About  this  time 
they    commenced    the    manufacture    of    pails. 
Silas    Collester    and    Simeon    Whitcomb  soon 
after  purchased  an  interest  in  the  business,  and 
Mr.  Gilbert  retired.      Mr.  Holman  soon  sold  to 
his  partners,  who  continued  the  business  until 
1852,  when  they  sold  to  Nathan  Winch,  who 
is  still  the  proprietor.      In  1837,  Asa   Bemis 
built  a  saw-mill  on  the  South  Branch,  in  con- 
nection with  which  the  following  year  he  com- 
menced to  make  pails.  He  continued  in  this  busi- 
ness until  the   infirmities  of  age  rendered  him 
unfit  for  labor,  when  he   sold    his  business  to 
Amasa  Fuller,  Jr.,  who  is  the  present  owner. 
Pails   were  quite  extensively  manufactured  at 
the  brick  mill  now  owned  by  the  Marlborough 
Manufacturing  Company.      This  was  built  in 
1835,  by  G.  &  N.  Converse,  for  a  pail-factory. 
It  soon  passed  into  the  hands  of  Asa  Green- 
wood.    He,    in  a  short  time,  sold    to    Robert 
Carpenter,  who,  in  a  few  years,   was  succeeded 
by  Nelson  Howe  ;  aud  the  business  was  success- 
fully conducted  by  him  until  1859,  when  it  was 


purchased  by  George  Thacher,  who  continued  the 
manufacture  of  pails  till  18(36,  when  he  sold  to 
Goodhue  Tenney  and  Charles  O.  Whitney,  who, 
in  a  short  time,  in  connection  with  others,  organ- 
ized as  the  Marlborough  Manufacturing  Com- 
es o 

pany.  William  Tenney  commenced  the  pail  and 
tub  business  in  this  town  in  1 853,  at  the  lower  mill 
of  the  Marlborough  Manufacturing  Company. 
He  had  previously  had  considerable  experience 
in  this  branch  of  business,  having  prosecuted 
it  with  success  in  Swanzey,  also  in  Winchen- 
don,  Westminster  and  Ashburnham,  Mass.  In 
1864,  having  acquired  a  competency,  he  retired 
from  the  business,  and  was  succeeded  by  D.  W. 
&  W.  M.  Tenney,  who  enlarged  the  factory, 
and  by  putting  in  more  machinery  increased 
their  facilities  for  manufacturing  both  tubs  and 
pails.  They  also  did  considerable  at  the  lum- 
ber business.  At  the  time  of  the  decline  in 
wooden-ware,  in  1870,  the  Messrs.  Tenney  sold 
the  mill  to  the  Manufacturing  Company,  who 
converted  it  into  a  woolen-mill.  In  1868,  J.  & 
L.  Knowlton  commenced  pail-making  in  con- 
nection with  their  clothes-pin  business,  at  first 
putting  in  only  one  lathe.  Afterwards,  giving 
up  the  manufacture  of  pins,  they  from  time  to 
time  added  more  pail  machinery,  until  they 
now  have  facilities  for  making  from  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pails 
annually.  In  1870  they  erected  a  saw-mill  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  which  is  used 
mainly  for  getting  out  their  stock. 

Blanket-Mills. —  The  most  important 
branch  of  industry,  and  that  which  has  added 
most  to  the  prosperity  and  growth  of  the  town, 
is  the  manufacture  of  horse-blankets. 

The  Monadnock  Blanket  Company  was  in- 
corporated in  1868,  at  which  time  they 
purchased  the  Holman  Mill,  and  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  horse-blankets.  They  have 
a  capital  stock  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  em- 
ploy forty  or  fifty  hands  and  produce  from 
seventy-five  to  eighty  thousand  blankets  yearly. 
The  amount  of  their  pay-roll  is  from  thirteen 
to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  month. 


262 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Charles  O.  Whitney  and  Warren  H.  Clark 
commenced  business  in  1873,  and  formed  what 
is  now  known  as  the  Cheshire  Blanket  Com- 
pany. Their  place  of  business  is  the  mill  which 
was  erected  by  Mr.  Whitney  in  1869,  and  used 
by  him  as  a  chair-shop  until,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Clark,  it  was  fitted  up  for  the  manufacture 
of  blankets.  These  enterprising  men  have 
added  to  their  business  from  time  to  time,  until 
they  now  have  an  investment  of  not  less  than 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  facilities  for  pro- 
ducing fifty  thousand  blankets  annually.  They 
have  fifty  employes,  and  their  pay-roll  amounts 
to  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  month. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  little  village 
there  are  annually  manufactured  no  less  than 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  horse- 
blankets,  giving  employment  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  hands. 

Breed  Pond  Company. — The  facilities  for 
manufacturing  in  the  village  have  been  greatly 
increased  by  the  Breed  Pond  Company,  which 
was  incorporated  in  1851.  The  object  was  to  flow 
the  Breed  Pond,  so  called,  in  Nelson,  in  order 
to  form  a  reservoir.  This  company  consisted  of 
Charles  Holman,  Stillman  Buss,  Nelson  Howe, 
Whiteomb  &  Collester,  James  Townsend,  F.  R. 
Thurston,  George  Handy  and  Fay  &  Joslin. 
These  enterprising  gentlemen  immediately  went 
forward  and  constructed  a  dam  at  an  expense  of 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  making  a 
pond  which  covers  about  six  hundred  acres. 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  Stillman  Buss  and  Jede- 
diah  T.Collins  constructed,  at  their  own  expense, 
what  is  now  called  the  "  Little  Reservoir," 
near  the  Marlborough  and  Harrisville  line. 
This  was  intended  to  save  what  water  would 
otherwise  be  wasted  at  night.  This  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  Breed  Pond  Company  in  186  \. 
As  manufacturing  increased,  it  was  found  that 
these  two  ponds  were  not  sufficient  to  supply 
the  demand  for  water,  and  another  reservoir  was 
builtatBemisville,in  the  autumn  of  1868,  which 
flows  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  The 
construction  of  these  ponds  improved  to  a  great 


degree  the  water  power,  and  was  the  prime 
cause  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  village  for  the 
last  ten  years. 

In  the  autumn  of  1877  the  water-power  was 
still  further  improved  by  building  the  reservoir 
at  Marlborough  Glen.  James  Knowlton  super- 
intended the  building  of  the  dam,  which  is  one 
of  the  largest  and  best  constructed  in  this 
section.  The  whole  length  of  this  dam  is  two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  feet ;  length  of  roll-way, 
ninety-four  feet ;  extreme  height,  thirty-five 
feet;  height  of  roll-way,  thirty-two  feet.  The 
material  used  in  building  was  some  thirty- 
five  hundred  tons  of  granite  and  other  stone, 
and  fifty-seven  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  with 
three  thousand  pounds  of  iron  ;  the  whole 
costing:  about  three  thousand  dollars.  The 
gate  being  closed  at  night,  this  reservoir 
receives  all  the  water  which  would  otherwise 
run  to  waste,  and,  being  opened  in  the  morning, 
enables  the  water  to  reach  the  mills  at  an  earlier 
hour  than  formerly. 

The  rapid  descent  of  the  stream  at  this  point 
renders  it  one  of  the  best  water  privileges  in 
Cheshire  County,  and  it  is  a  surprise  to  many 
that  this  has  remained  so  long  unimproved ; 
but  it  is  fondly  hoped  that  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  some  one  will  be  enterprising 
enough  to  make  the  necessary  improvements. 

Machinists. — Charles  Buss  commenced  the 
machinist  business  in  this  town  in  1847.  The 
building  he  at  first  erected  was  but  a  small 
affair,  and  poorly  adapted  to  the  purpose.  In 
the  spring  of  1852  his  business  had  so  in- 
creased that  he  was  compelled  to  enlarge  his 
shop;  but,  before  this  was  completed,  it  sud- 
denly took  fire,  and  was  entirely  destroyed. 
Not  disheartened,  he  immediately  rebuilt,  and 
enlarged  his  business,  subsequently  adding  a 
foundry,  thus  enabling  him  to  make  his  own 
castings,  and  turn  off  more  work,  and  to  better 
advantage  than  previously.  But  soon  shop  and 
foundry  became  too  small  for  his  rapidly-in- 
creasing business.  A  new  foundry  was  set  up  ; 
and    later    he   erected    a    neat   and  substantial 


MARLBOROUGH. 


263 


brick  building  in  front  of  the  old  shop,  which 
he  filled  with  machinery,  and  commenced  doing 
business  on  a  larger  scale.  Here  he  manufac- 
tured nearly  all  kinds  of  wood-working  ma- 
chinery, which  merited  the  highest  commenda- 
tion, and  more  than  once  won  for  the  proprietor 
the  proudest  distinctions  from  various  exhi- 
bitions. His  rotary- bed  planer,  and  Daniel's 
planiug-machines,  clothes-pin,  tub  and  pail 
machinery,  gauge  and  stretcher  lathes,  were  all 
marvels  of  perfection,  and  always  combined  the 
latest  improvements.  These  machines  were 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  several  countries  of  the  Old  World.  Not- 
withstanding his  hard  work  and  extensive 
trade,  he  was  not  altogether  successful  in  busi- 
ness, and,  when  the  "  hard  times  "  came  on,  he 
was  unable  to  stem  the  current  that  set  in 
against  him,  and,  leaving  his  property  in  the 
hands  of  his  creditors,  he  removed  his  machin- 
ery and  tools  to  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  where  he 
is  now  doing  an  extensive  business. 

Christopher  Hodgkins  commenced  the  ma- 
chinist business  in  this  town  in  1854,  in 
the  second  story  of  Franklin  R.  Thurston's 
blacksmith-shop.  A  fter  continuing  here  a  short 
time  he  removed  to  Keene,  where,  in  company 
with  John  Knowlton,  he  manufactured  the 
circular  vent  water-wheel,  which  was  one  of 
his  own  inventions.  In  1857  he  returned  to 
Marlborough,  and  soon  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  sewing-machines.  Mr.  Hodgkins  is  a 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  mechanical  ingenuity, 
and  was  soon  able  to  make  many  improvements 
in  sewing-machines,  taking  out  no  less  than  five 
different  patents.  After  a  few  years  he  gave 
up  that  business,  and  turned  his  attention  to 
manufacturing  various  kinds  of  wood-working 
machinery,  some  of  which  he  has  greatly  im- 
proved. Several  years  since,  he  obtained  a 
patent  on  improvements  on  water-rams ;  a  large 
number  of  these  he  has  built,  and  has  them  in  suc- 
cessful operation.  In  the  fall  of  1878  he  pur- 
chased the  shops  formerly  owned  by  Charles 
Buss,   where  he  is   now  doing  a  good  business. 


His   last   invention   is  that  of  a  mowing-ma- 
chine. 

Knob  Screws. — The  patent  knob  screw  is 
the  invention  of  Mr.  Charles  H.  Thurston,  who 
is  a  natural  mechanic.  His  tastes  from  a  child 
have  always  run  in  this  direction ;  he  could 
never  see  anything  new  in  the  mechanical  line 
without  trying  to  imitate  it ;  and  his  grand- 
father, Charles  Holman,  and  his  father,  did 
everything  in  their  power  to  encourage  him,  the 
former  by  furnishing  him  with  lumber  and  the 
latter  providing  him  with  tools.  The  water- 
wheels  and  saw-mills  which  he  and  his  constant 
companion,  Asa  C.  Dort,  constructed  were  not 
a  few,  as  many  can  testify  who  knew  them. 
When  twelve  years  old,  his  father  purchased 
for  him  a  nice  turning-lathe,  allowing  him  to 
run  it  as  he  pleased,  and  on  this  he  used  to  earn 
his  own  spending-money.  He  afterward  learned 
the  blacksmith's  trade  of  his  father  in  the  "  Old 
Stone  Shop."  For  some  time  during  the  war 
he  worked  at  the  United  States  Armory  at 
Springfield,  Mass.  From  that  place  he  re- 
turned to  Marlborough,  and,  in  company  with 
Solon  S.  Wilkinson,  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  boxes,  trunk-cleats,  etc.,  at  the  old 
Holman  mill.  It  was  while  engaged  in  this 
business  that  he,  in  1868,  took  out  his  first 
patent  for  a  double  gimlet  pointed  screw, 
with  a  slot  in  one  end  for  a  key,  by  which  the 
slotted  end  could  be  firmly  keyed  in  whatever 
article  it  was  placed. 

The  business  of  Messrs.  Thurston  &  Wil- 
kinson not  proving  what  they  desired,  the  mill 
was  sold  by  them  to  the  Monad  nock  Blanket 
Company,  in  1868.  Mr.  Thurston  remained 
with  the  Blanket  Company  for  some  time  ;'  but 
not  liking  the  business,  nor  the  confinement,  he 
left,  with  the  intention  of  developing  the  screw 
business.  But  about  this  time  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  James  H.  Fowler,  then  the  suc- 
cessful manager  of  the  Weed  Sewing-Machine 
Company's  business  in  Boston,  who  hired  him 
for  three  and  one-half  years  as  a  traveling 
salesman.     He  therefore  had  no  opportunity  to 


264 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


do  anything  personally,  more  than  to  furnish 
plans  for  others  with  which  to  build  a  machine 
for  making  his  patent  screws  ;  but  all  attempts 
at  constructing  such  a  machine  proved  a  failure, 
and  every  one  who  tried  it  said  the  screws 
could  not  be  made  that  way.  Mr.  Thurston, 
feeling  certain  they  could,  obtained  leave  of 
absence  for  two  weeks,  and,  with  but  one  man 
to  help  him  (Mr.  C.  W.  Hcaly),  soon  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  his  machine  turn  out 
perfect  screws,  and  in  a  way  he  had  been  re- 
peatedly told  it  could  not  be  done.  The  ma- 
chine is  self-acting,  and  only  requires  to  have 
the  cutters  kept  in  order,  and  a  forty-foot  piece 
of  wire  placed  in  it  from  time  to  time,  which  it 
rapidly  converts  into  perfect  screws. 

Mr.  Fowler  and  Mr.  Thurston  became  much 
attached  to  each  other,  and  the  former,  seeing 
the  screws,  machines  and  other  inventions 
growing  out  of  the  original  patent,  desired  to 
take  an  interest  in  them,  to  which  Mr.  Thurs- 
ton finally  consented.  In  the  fall  of  1873 
they  bought  the  building  now  occupied  by  Mr. 
Thurston,  and  commenced  to  manufacture  the 
screws  and  also  various  articles  in  which  they 
are  inserted,  such  as  hat  and  closet-pins,  drawer 
and  picture-knobs,  door-stops,  etc.  They  carried 
on  the  business  until  October  12,  1877,  when 
Mr.  Fowler  suddenly  died.  Since  that  time, 
Mr.  Thurston  has  continued  it  alone. 

He  is  now  engaged  also  in  manufacturing  the 
Companion  Sewing-Machine,  which  is  one  of 
his  own  invention,  and  is  not  only  one  of  the 
best,  but  is  the  simplest  in  the  market. 

Saddlk  and  Harness-Makers. — David 
Wilkinson,  Sr.,  was  the  earliest  workman  at  this 
trade  in  town.  He  was  a  success  at  the  bus- 
iness. At  Length  his  son,  David,  being  brought 
up  to  it,  took  his  father's  place,  and  carried  it 
on.  He  removed  the  shop  from  the  north  part 
of  the  town  to  the  village,  where  he  worked  for 
many  years,  educating  his  three  son-  to  the  bus- 
iness. They  all  excelled  in  workmanship. 
Their  harness  and  saddles  became  known  far 
and    near.     The  two  sons  now  living  are  still 


interested  in  the  business,  and  deserve  to  be 
classed  among  the  foremost.  Walter  H.  Bruce 
is  the  harness-maker  now,  working  in  the  Odd- 
Fellows'  Block. 

Carpenters  and  Builders. — Marlborough 
has  always  had  its  share  of  hewers  of  timber, 
framers  and  finishers  of  buildings.  Perhaps 
Chas.  Gilbert  stood  in  the  front  rank  in  former 
days.  At  least  he  was  an  expert  with  the  saw 
and  plane.  John  Buss  bore  the  name  of  a  fin- 
ished carpenter ;  Ziba  Nason  could  turn  out  a 
large  amount  of  work  in  a  day,  and  it  was  not 
slighted.  Silas  Collin  could  construct  most 
anything  he  was  asked  to  make.  George  Hol- 
man  was  skilled  in  remodeling,  moving  build- 
ings or  completing  them.  Among  the  active 
carpenters  of  to-day  is  Alphonso  A.  Adams.  For 
years  he  has  led  the  van  as  a  contractor.  He 
sustains  a  high  reputation  of  turning  off  work 
rapidly  and  in  good  style.  Albert  D.  Sawyer 
has  tact  and  quickness  in  his  work.  Andrew 
J.  Emerson  is  excellent  in  using  the  smoothing 
plane  and  putting  on  the  finishing  touches. 
Mowry  A.  Thompson  is  true  to  his  word  in  all 
he  promises,  and  intends  to  give  as  much  as  he 
receives.  Curtis  W.  Capron  does  good  work. 
Alvin  K.  Martin  is  bound  to  understand  all 
about  the  work  he  is  to  do.  There  are  others 
who  are  skilled  as  builders  in  wood.  Because 
of  such  carpenters,  we  can  account  for  the  many 
good,  substantial  and  inviting  buildings  in 
Marlborough. 

Blacksmiths. — The  first  blacksmith  in  town 
was  probably  Jonathan  Capron.  His  sons, 
Jonathan  and  Walter,  learned  the  trade  of  their 
father,  and  followed  it.  Others  who  followed 
it  were  Levi  Whitcomb,  Captain  Luther  He- 
nienway,  Ezekiel  Cud  worth,  George  Stanley, 
Aaron  Lembard,  Ebenezer  B.  Wallingford,  Jo- 
seph Cummings,  Elijah  Fitch,  Williard  Con- 
verse, Ambrose  White.  But  the  one  who  did 
the  most  business  was  Franklin  R.  Thurston. 
He  built  the  stone  shop  now  occupied  by  the 
Monadnock  Blanket  Company,  which  was  well 
furnished  for  doing  all  kinds  of  blacksmithing. 


MARLBOKOUGH. 


265 


Mr.  Thurston  made  his  business  pay,  and  be- 
came well  off  in  the  course  of  some  twenty  years. 
He  was  a  good  smith  and  is  a  reliable  man.  A 
few  years  since  J.  Clemens  came  to  the  village, 
and  opened  a  shop,  where  he  is  doing  successful 
business.  McRoy  &  Jones  have  another  shop 
in  active  operation. 

Shoemakers. — Jonah  Davis,  among  the 
early  shoemakers,  deserves  to  be  classed  among 
the  best.  He  owued  and  worked  in  what 
has  long  been  known  as  the  Little  Red  Shop, 
close  by  the  Abner  Boyden  store.  Early  and 
late  he  used  to  drive  the  pegs  and  draw  the  wax- 
ends.  He  was  one  that  used  to  attend  strictly  to 
his  own  business.  He  was  well-informed  and 
social ;  still,  no  loiterer  was  allowed  to  hang 
about  his  shop.  The  young  that  came  in  were 
wont  to  receive  the  best  of  advice  and  encouraged 
to   be  faithful   in  school  and  dutiful  at  home. 

Christopher  Tilden,  Charles  McCollester, 
Gilbert  Russell,  Asahel  Collins  were  devoted  to 
this  business  for  years.  Charles  Stay  is  the 
leading  shoemaker  now.  In  connection  with 
his  shop  he  has  a  store,  in  which  he  keeps  a 
good  assortment  of  various  kinds  of  leather  goods'. 

The  Granite  Quarry. — A  little  west  of 
the  centre  of  the  town  is  a  ledge  of  fine  and 
beautifnl  granite,  which,  for  building  purposes, 
is  unequaled  by  any  in  the  State.  This  was 
worked  quite  extensively  for  several  years  by 
Asa  Greenwood,  who  erected  all  the  granite 
buildings  in  the  village,  except  the  library, 
which  was  built  of  granite  by  Jonathan  Jones, 
taken  from  the  same  place.  Mr.  Jones  purchased 
the  quarry  in  1850,  and,  in  company  with  J.  T. 
Collins,  worked  it  more  or  less  for  eighteen 
years.  Mr.  A.  G.  Mann,  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
the  present  owner,  purchased  it  in  May,  1868, 
and  that  year  shipped  to  Worcester  from  three 
to  four  thousand  tons,  besides  what  was  sent  to 
other  places.  In  1873  he  shipped  to  Worces- 
ter six  thousand  and  five  tons  ;  to  Lowell,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  tons ;  to  Boston,  three 
hundred  and  sixty  tons,  besides  small  lots  to 
other  places.      Add  to  the  above  figures  the 


amount  of  wall-stone  from  the  quarry,  and  it 
would  amount  to  nearly  ten  thousand  tons  dur- 
ing that  year. 

The  most  prominent  buildings  constructed  of 
this  granite  are  the  Union  Passenger  Depot  of 
Worcester,  and  the  Plymouth  Congregational 
Cnurch  of  Worcester,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
substantial  buildings  in  the  city.  The  beauty  of 
this  granite  is  that  it  retains  its  color  the  best  of 
any  light-colored  granite  known,  and  is  well 
adapted  for  either  fine  or  rough  work,  and  also 
peculiarly  so  for  block  paving  and  wide  flagging 
or  flat  stones. 

Mr.  Mann  has  recently  sold  his  quarry  to 
Webb  &  Bacheller,  who  are  doing  more  upon  it 
than  has  been  done  before. 

Another  quarry  has  been  opened  within  the 
last  year,  not  far  from  the  high  railroad  bridge, 
where  paving-stones  are  being  got  out  in  large 
quautities. 

Stores. — Marlborough  has  had  its  share  of 
stores  and  trade.  The  supply  has  been  equal  to 
the  demand.  Formerly,  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town  James  Nason  had  a  store  ;  within  a 
mile  of  the  old  meeting-house,  at  different  times, 
there  were  several.  In  one  of  these  Joseph 
Sweetser  commenced  to  trade  as  early  as  1792. 
In  the  southern  part  of  the  town  Samuel  and 
Silas  Fife  carried  on  mercantile  business  for  a 
time.  But  of  all  the  early  traders,  Abner 
Boyden  takes  the  lead.  He  was  a  superior  man, 
to  begin  with,  and  went  into  business  with  the 
view  of  getting  an  honest  living.  He  would 
deal  as  justly  with  children  as  with  adults.  By 
his  life  he  made  himself  known  as  a  reliable 
and  useful  man.  He  was  regarded  as  one  ac- 
curate in  thought  and  sound  in  judgment. 
From  a  small  beginning  he  advanced  gradually 
to  an  extensive  trade  in  dry-goods  and  groceries, 
and  became  a  wealthy  man  for  his  time.  At  his 
death,  in  1837,  William  and  Elijah  Boyden, 
his  brothers,  succeeded  him  in  the  then  famous 
Boyden  store.  They  did  honor  to  their  pro- 
fession, and  were  very  popular  as  merchants. 
They  were  both  called  to  accept  various  offices  in 


266 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  town,  because  of  their  capability,  aud  of  the 
faith  tiie  people  had  in  them.  In  1840  they 
built  the  stone  store,  where  they  continued  in 
trade  till  1852,  when  they  sold  out  to  G.  D. 
Richardson,  having  been  truly  successful  finan- 
cially, and  especially  in  being  universally  re- 
spected as  strictly  honest  and  efficient  business 
men. 

At  present  D.  O.  Woodward  and  W.  M. 
Nason  are  carrying  on  the  trade  in  the  same 
store.  They  have  done,  and  are  doing,  a  good 
business  in  the  way  of  dry-goods. 

George  G.  Davis  has  a  well-filled  grocery- 
store  in  the  Town  Hall  building.  Fred.  Adams 
has  recently  opened  another  grocery-store  where 
Clinton  Collins  formerly  did  a  large  business  in 
the  same  line.  B.  F.  Merriam  is  a  dealer  in 
stoves,  tinware,  furnaces,  etc.,  manufactur- 
ing many  of  his  goods  and  doing  plumbing- 
work.  Charles  Stay  has  a  shoe-store.  Miss 
Ellen  A.  Knowlton  deals  in  millinery  and 
fancy  goods.  T.  H.  Mahon  keeps  a  variety- 
store  in  the  Odd- Fellows'  Block. 

Farms  and  Farmers. — Agriculture  in  this 
town  ranks,  on  an  average,  with  that  about  the 
old  Monadnock.  Perhaps  a  third  of  the  peo- 
ple are  devoted  to  cultivating  the  soil.  Many 
of  these  are  good  livers  and  some  of  them  have 
become  forehanded.  It  is  true,  the  land  is  not 
wanting  of  stones,  nor  of  a  great  diversity  of 
surface;  nevertheless,  it  can  mostly  be  appro- 
priated to  cultivation  and  pasturage.  It  is  sad 
that  some  farms  which  were  among  the  best, 
should  have  become  neglected,  buildings  rotted 
down  or  removed,  and  the  fields  allowed  to 
grow  up  to  brush  and  woods.  As  an  excuse 
for  this,  it  has  been  said  the  land  is  worn  out, 
but  science  and  modern  developments  are 
clearly  showing  this  to  be  a  mistake;.  Really, 
the  resources  of  our  land  have  scarcely  begun 
to  be  developed  to  their  fullest  extent.  The 
plea  that  our  climate  and  soil  cannot  be  used  so 
as  to  make  it  pay  is  false.  It  is  wrong  to  talk 
thus,  especially  to  our  young  men,  saying  "  You 
must  go  West,  if  you  are   to  get  a  good    living 


by  tilling  the  land."  Now,  there  is  something 
about  our  light,  air,  water  and  soil  favorable  to 
producing  the  best  men  and  women.  Just  com- 
pare those  who  remain  here  and  are  industrious 
and  faithful  with  those  who  emigrate  to  the 
West,  and  we  are  confident  that  in  the  end  the 
former  will  be  better  off  than  the  latter.  This 
is  the  rule ;  of  course  there  are  exceptions. 
We  ought  to  realize  that  there  are  physical 
blessings  among  these  hills  and  valleys  which 
arc  not  to  be  found  in  Ohio,  Illinois  or  Califor- 
nia. Then,  when  we  add  to  these  the  mental  and 
moral  advantages,  we  should  cling  to  our  native 
State  and  town,  resolved  that  we  will  make  the 
most  possible  out  of  these  natural  bestowments. 
In  this  way  our  lands  would  be  utilized  to  a 
greater  extent  than  they  are,  and  made  to  pro- 
duce two  blades  where  but  one  grows  now. 
The  wasted  fields  would  be  redeemed,  the  hills 
and  back  farms  would  no  longer  be  deserted, 
men  would  not  be  standing  idle  at  the  corners 
of  the  streets  in  our  villages  and  cities  because 
spindles  and  looms  had  been  stopped  from  over- 
production. Let  our  lands  be  improved  as 
they  should  be,  and  this  would  do  much  to  ward 
off  hard  times  and  level  up  society,  so  that  capi- 
tal and  labor  would  be  more  evenly  balanced. 
No  other  investments  in  this  world  are  so  sure 
as  those  made  in  improved  lauds,  and  the  more 
owners  of  the  soil,  the  better  for  the  country. 
So,  really,  the  highest  hope  for  the  prosperity  of 
our  town,  as  well  as  others,  is  based  in  no  small 
degree  upon  the  improvement  of  our  farms. 
Therefore,  let  the  stones  be  cleared  from  our 
mowings  and  built  into  walls,  for  they  make 
enduring  fences;  let  the  muck  be  taken  from 
our  swamps  and  scattered  upon  our  fields;  let 
some  of  our  sand-hills  be  spread  over  the  low- 
lands ;  let  the  fertilizers  be  freely  used  with 
other  manures  and  enrichments,  and  what  pro- 
gress would  be  made  in  farming,  and  what 
harvests  would  be  gleaned  from  our  fields ! 

Foremost  among  our  farms  is  that  of  George 
Thatcher.  The  mowings,  pastures  aud  wood- 
land are  well  proportioned.     The  soil  is  natur- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


267 


ally  rich  and  is  under  a  good  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. In  favorable  seasons  he  has  taken  there 
crops  of  grass  from  the  same  land.  All  the 
grains,  roots  and  fruit  common  to  this  climate 
flourish  on  this  soil. 

Mr.  Thatcher  is  a  born  farmer,  though  he 
has  been  successfully  engaged  in  various  kinds 
of  business  at  different  times.  He  is  a  native 
of  Keene,  born  in  1815,  but  has  long  been  an 
inhabitant  of  Marlborough  and  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  its  old  settlers.  He  is  a  man 
of  good  judgment  and  keen  perception.  Let 
him  examine  a  farm,  a  wood-lot,  a  horse  or  an 
ox,  and  he  can  tell  you  all  about  it.  It  is  safe 
for  him  to  deal  in  lands  or  stock.  No  doubt 
at  times  he  often  wonders  why  others  do  not 
see  as  he  sees;  but  he  sees  because  he  cannot 
help  it.  By  industry  and  economy  he  has  be- 
come one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  town.  He  has 
done  much  towards  its  improvements,  and  par- 
ticularly its  highways.  In  fact,  he  is  the  in- 
ventor of  one  of  the  best  road-scrapers  now  in 
use.  He  is  a  man  that  tends  to  his  own  busi- 
ness, and  so  plans  that  his  work  is  all  the  while 
advancing.  Besides  his  pet  farm,  he  is  the 
owner  of  much  real  estate.  He  is  the  land- 
king  in  Marlborough,  and  a  good  one.  Under 
his  ruling  the  town  will  be  greatly  benefited 
and  advanced. 

The  Richardson  farm  is  known  as  one  of  the 
best.  Its  acres  are  many  and  favorably  situated. 
The  cultivated  portion  occupies  a^  handsome 
ridge  sloping  to  the  south.  This  is  just  suited 
to  growing  corn,  grass  and  fruit.  Then 
there  is  a  fine  intervale,  or  meadow,  with  good 
pasturage.  Besides  these,  it  has  a  large  apple 
orchard  in  an  excellent  state,  and  an  extensive 
sugar-lot. 

This  farm  is  now  owned  by  Stilman  Rich- 
ardson, who  was  born  on  it  December  25,  1820. 
However,  he  left  it  after  he  became  of  age,  and 
for  a  long  while  resided  in  Maine,  but  some 
years  since  he  returned  to  the  place  of  his  birth, 
purchasing  the  old  home,  that  he  might  im- 
prove it  and  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  upon  it. 


And  what  a  change  he  has  produced  !  The  old 
buildings  of  his  father  have  been  supplied  with 
new  ones  throughout.  The  wasted  fields  have 
been  vastly  more  than  redeemed.  While  Mr. 
Thatcher's  is  situated  in  the  extreme  southern, 
Mr.  Richardson's  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
town.  The  latter  has  illustrated  that  our  soil 
may  be  made  to  produce  thirty  and  sixty-fold. 
The  intervale  on  the  Connecticut  River  and  the 
prairies  of  the  West  do  not  do  any  better  than 
this,  on  an  average.  Mr.  Richardson  is  a  lover 
of  good  stock,  and  has  his  farm  well  supplied 
with  it.     He  makes  farming  pay. 

Another  attractive  farm  is  that  of  Almon  C. 
Mason.  Though  considerably  elevated,  still, 
it  inclines  for  the  most  part  to  the  south,  and  is 
warm  land.  It  is  a  farm  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  well  wooded,  and  the 
cultivated  portions  are  free  from  stone,  and 
smooth,  so  that  the  mower  will  run  over  the 
whole  of  it.  Mr.  Mason  has  been  on  it  but  a 
few  years,  and,  though  he  came  out  of  the  store 
upon  it,  still,  he  is  showing  that  it  is  natural 
for  him  to  cultivate  the  soil,  and  that  the  true 
farmer  can  be  as  much  of  a  man  as  the  mer- 
chant. In  short,  who  is  so  independent  as  the 
well-to-do  farmer?  Mr.  Mason  is  a  young  man, 
born  in  Sullivan,  N.  H.,  February  27,  1849. 
He  appears,  really,  to  enjoy  his  calling.  Why 
should  he  not  ?  It  is  one  of  the  noblest  among 
men. 

J.  Kilburn  Southwick  also  has  a  good  farm, 
one  of  the  warmest  in  town,  and  has  long  been 
noted  for  its  fruits.  Who  has  not  heard  of  the 
pears,  raw-ripes  and  grapes  of  Uncle  Enoch 
White,  who  long  lived  on  this  place?  Mr. 
Southwick  and  his  father  have  made  great 
changes  for  the  better  since  it  came  into  their 
possession,  and  are  still  improving  it.  It  is 
now  stocked  with  milch  cows,  which  furnish  a 
large  portion  of  the  village  with  milk. 

Mr.  Southwick  is  interested  in  farming  more 
from  the  fact,  than  any  other,  that  he  discovers 
so  much  in  his  work  to  illustrate  geology,  chem- 
istry, zoology,  etc.     Were  it  not  that  he  could 


268 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


find,  while  farming,  some  time  for  reading  and 
study,  he  would  not  be  likely  to  continue  it 
very  long  ;  but  he  so  manages  as  to  keep  him- 
self posted  in  the  affairs  of  the  day,  and  to  have 
the  opportunity  of  pursuing,  more  or  less,  some 
course  of  history  or  branch  of  science.  Thus, 
while  the  hands  are  at  work,  the  mind  has  some- 
thing to  do.  This  renders  the  employment 
pleasant,  for  there  is  consciousness  of  mental 
growth.  By  saving  the  odd  moments,  Mr. 
Southwick  has  become  one  of  the  best-informed 
men.  He  has  had  considerable  to  do  in  town 
matters.  He  is  showing  how  the  farmer  can 
become  a  scholar  while  tilling  the  soil.  He 
was  born  November  8,  1847  ;  so  he  is  in  the 
prime  of  life, — religious,  intelligent,  honest,  do- 
ing honor  to  his  vocation. 

Among  the  many  other  good  farms  which 
deserve  special  mention,  and  would  receive  it  if 
space  would  permit,  are  those  of  Charles  Ryan, 
Wilbur  F.  Wallace,  Cyrus  F.  Greeley,  Daniel 
Town,  Rufus  S.  Frost,  George  A.  Robinson 
and  George  L.  Fairbanks. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MARLBOROUGH— {Continued). 

SHORT  BIOGRAPHIES. 

Rev.   Ciiaui.es   Cummings,   son    of   Rev. 

Joseph  and  Anna  Cummings,  was  born  in  Sea- 
brook,  N.  H.,  September  23,  1777.  At  the  age 
of  two  years  his  parents  removed  to  Marlbor- 
ough, where  he  passed  his  childhood.  He  was 
married  in  1798,  and  settled  in  Sullivan,  and 
became  the  father  of  several  children,  who  were 
an  honor  to  their  parents, — among  whom  is 
Mrs.  Elijah  Boyden,  one  of  the  most  amiable, 
talented  and  highly-esteemed  women  in  Marl- 
borough. 

It  was  about  this  time,  or  a  little  later,  that 
he  felt  impressed  that  it  was  his  duty  to  preach 
the  gospel,  as  he  understood  it.  He  struggled 
with    his  convictions  for  several   years,  feeling 


deeply  his  incompetency  for  the  work,  having 
but  a  limited  education,  such  as  was  furnished 
by  the  common  schools  of  those  early  days  ;  but 
finding  no  rest  for  the  body  or  peace  for  the 
mind,  his  strong  convictions  of  duty  prevailed. 
In  1805  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Bap- 
tist board  of  ministers,  and  received  ordination 
in  1810,  in  Sullivan,  where  he  formed  a  church 
and  labored  for  many  years,  all  or  a  part  of  the 
time.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  organizing 
churches  in  Keene,  Swanzey,  Marlborough, 
Peterborough,  Hillsborough,  Lyndeborough  and 
Antrim,  and  preached  more  or  less  in  other 
towns  in  Sullivan,  Hillsborough  and  Merrimack 
Counties. 

In  1820  he  was  called  to  the  domestic  mis- 
sionary work.  He  was  truly  one  of  the  pio- 
neers in  the  ministry.  A  man  of  great  energy 
and  earnestness,  not  shrinking  from  any  per- 
sonal sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  cause  he 
loved  so  well  and  labored  so  faithfully  to  sus- 
tain, nothing  but  utter  inability  could  deter 
him  from  meeting  his  appointments,  many 
times  traveling  until  late  in  the  night,  and 
through  the  scorching  heats  and  drenching 
rains  of  summer.  He  had  a  strong  physical 
constitution,  which  enabled  him  to  endure  the 
arduous  labors  through  which  he  passed. 

The  following  was  copied  from  the  Christina 
Watchman  and  Reflector  some  time  after  his 
decease.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  G.  Rob- 
bins,  who  officiated  at  his  funeral,  being  at  that 
time  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Keene. 
Speaking  of  his  succesful  labors  in  the  ministry, 
he  says  :  "  He  was  a  man  of  a  kind,  concilia- 
tory spirit,  humble,  prayerful  and  zealous  in 
every  good  work,  and  he  belonged  to  a  class  of 
men  that  ought  never  to  be  forgotten, — that 
class  which  performed  the  labors  and  endured 
the  privations  of  the  pioneers  of  our  cause  in 
this  State  "  After  his  decease,  which  occurred 
iu  1849,  the  Dublin  Association,  as  an  expres- 
sion of  regard  to  his  memory,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Resolved,  That  his  faithful  and  arduous  labors  in 


MARLBOROUGH. 


269 


planting  new  churches  in  fields  before  unoccupied, 
and  breasting  the  force  of  opposition  commonly  inci- 
dent to  such  a  work,  claims  from  us  not  only  a 
tribute  of  high  respect,  but  of  affectionate  and  Chris- 
tian remembrance ;  and,  as  life  is  still  spared  to  us, 
may  a  sense  of  our  increased  obligations  stimulate 
us  to  renewed  devotion  in  the  service  of  our  di- 
vine Master." 

He  never  wrote  his  sermons ;  but,  in  the 
early  years  of  his  ministry,  he  would  select  a 
text  of  Scripture  before  going  to  the  field  (for  at 
that  time  he  tilled  the  soil),  and  while  laboring 
with  his  hands  he  mentally  studied  and  wrought 
out  his  sermons.  He  had  a  strong,  sympathetic 
nature,  and  possessed  the  power  to  move  and 
sway  his  audience  to  a  remarkable  degree.  It 
was  no  unusual  thing  to  see  the  congregation 
bathed  in  tears.  The  last  few  years  of  his  life 
he  labored  in  Pottersville,  and  preached  up  to 
the  last  Sabbath  but  one  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Roxbury,  N.  H.,  December 
27,  1 849,  aged  seventy-two  years. 

Rev.  Osgood  Herrick,  son  of  Ebenezer 
and  Lydia  (Eaton)  Herrick,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, November  19, 1799.  He  worked  upon 
his  father's  farm  until  the  age  offifteen,  when 
he  was  placed  in  a  store  in  Keene,  where  he 
remained  until  he  was  twenty-one,  giving  entire 
satisfaction  to  his  employers. 

In  the  year  1818,  at  a  time  of  great  religious 
declension,  Mr.  Herrick  and  two  others  became 
subjects  of  the  renewing  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  in  the  month  of  July  of  the  same 
year  united  with  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Keene,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  L. 
S.  Bastow.  ' 

Soon  after,  he  felt  an  ardent  desire  to  become 
more  extensively  useful  than  he  could  in  the 
business  in  which  he  was  engaged.  Accordingly, 
he  resolved,  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  al- 
low, to  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry.  In 
the  spring  of  1821  he  commenced  the  study  of 
Latin,  and  in  the  fall  of  1822  was  admitted 
a  member  of  Dartmouth  College.  As  he  al- 
lowed himself  but  little  time  for  preparation,  he 
entered  college  under  many  disadvantages,  and 


conseqently  severe  study  became  necessary  during 
his  first  collegiate  year.  It  was  during  this 
year  that  his  constitution  was  impaired  and  the 
foundation  of  that  disease  laid  which  resulted  in 
his  death. 

In  the  autumn  of  1826  he  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  being  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  of  his  class.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
State  of  Virginia.  In  1827  he  became  a  mem- 
ber 'of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  where  he 
remained  the  usual  term  of  three  years. 

On  leaving  the  seminary  he  received  a  unan- 
imous call  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  in  Milbury,  and  on  the  9th  of 
December,  1830,  was  ordained  and  installed 
over  that  church  and  society. 

Ten  days  subsequent  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Emily  Wilder,  of  Keene. 

Mr.  Herrick  was  a  self-made  man.  By 
his  own  perseverance  he  overcame  difficulties 
from  which  most  young  men  would  have 
shrunk.  By  his  industry  aud  economy,  he  de- 
frayed nearly  the  whole  expense  of  his  educa- 
tion. Diligence  and  perseverance  were  among 
the  most  distinguishing  traits  in  his  character. 
He  was  never  idle.  He  felt  the  work  of  the 
ministry  was  too  great  and  too  important  to 
admit  indolence,  and  he  felt  too  great  an  inter- 
est in  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  honor  of  his 
Divine  Master  to  be  discouraged  by  any  diffi- 
culties that  were  surmountable. 

Mr.  Herrick's  talents  were  more  useful  than 
splendid.  He  excelled  rather  in  a  clearness  of 
mind  than  brilliancy  of  imagination.  His 
views  were  seldom  confused  or  his  conceptions 
feeble  on  any  subject  to  which  he  directed  his 
attention.  He  was  a  man  of  sound,  practicable 
wisdom.  He  formed  his  opinions  on  subjects 
after  taking  a  comprehensive  view  of  their  va- 
rious bearings,  and  generally  with  such  preci- 
sion as  not  to  have  occasion  to  change.  He  was 
also  a  man  of  firmness  of  purpose, — did  not 
form  any  plan  of  action  without  careful  exami- 
nation and  a  conviction  of  duty  ;  but,  when  his 


270 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


conclusions  were  formed,  he  was  not  waver- 
ing, and  only  on  the  presentation  of  weighty 
reasons  did  he  desire  to  change.  Cautious  to 
resolve,  convinced  he  was  right,  he  firmly,  and 
with  all  the  energies  of  his  soul,  executed  his  res- 
olutions. 

His  mind  was  well  balanced  j  and  his  facul- 
ties were  not  only  well  proportioned,  but  culti- 
vated in  due  symmetry.  As  a  preacher  of 
Divine  truth,  Mr.  Merrick  was  clear,  instruc- 
tive, energetic  and  expressive.  He  never  aimed, 
in  the  solemn  work  of  preaching  the  gospel, 
merely  to  amuse  the  fancy  or  gratify  a  fastidi- 
ous taste,  but  to  enlighten  the  mind,  arouse  the 
conscience,  aifect  the  heart  and  save  the  soul. 
His  manner  of  delivery  was  earnest  and  impres- 
sive ;  his  eloquence,  that  of  clear  thought,  sound 
argument  and  ardent  feeling.  As  a  pastor,  he 
was  devoted  and  laborious,  ever  ready  to  coun- 
sel the  afflicted,  to  instruct  the  inquirer,  to  en- 
courage and  edify  the  saints;  as  a  friend,  frank, 
affectionate  and  obliging. 

He  died  at  Milbury,  Mass.,  March  1(5,  1837. 

Asa  Greenwood. — Should  it  be  asked  to 
whom  is  Marlborough  most  indebted  for  its 
important  internal  improvements,  without  hesi- 
tatancy  the  reply  must  be,  Asa  Greenwood. 
Though  not  a  native  of  the  town,  still,  as  soon 
as  he  took  up  his  abode  here,  which  was  in 
1836,  he  began  to  put  up  stone  structures. 
Nearly  all  the  granite  buildings  and  bridges  in 
this  vicinity  were  erected  by  him.  He  was  a 
genius,  and  greatly  given  to  mechanical  inven- 
tion. He  was  remarkable  for  planning,  and 
executing  as  well.  He  became  skilled  in  work- 
ing on  wood  and  stone.  He  aimed  at  thor- 
oughness ;  no  work  of  his  was  slighted. 
Really,  he  builded  for  the  ages.  For  centuries 
the  generations  to  come  will  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  looking  upon  what  he  conceived  and 
what  he  builded.  In  1853  he  removed  to  Illi- 
nois, where  he  resided  till  1877,  when  he  came 
to  Dummerston,  Vt.,  to  visit  his  son,  Colonel 
W.  II.  Greenwood,  and  so,  with  him,  he  was 
permitted  to  visit  Marlborough  once  more  and 


Dublin,  his  native  town;  and,  on  his  return  to 
his  son's,  he  sickened  and  passed  away  at  the 
ripe  age  of  four-score  years.  His  remains  were 
brought  to  Marlborough,  and  his  funeral  service 
was  held  in  the  church  he  built,  and  he  was  in- 
terred in  the  cemetery  which  originated  with 
him.  So  his  ashes  rest  as  he  longed  to  have 
them, — in  Graniteville  Cemetery,  in  the  lot  he 
selected  and  marked  with  a  granite  monument, 
bearing  the  name  Greenwood  ;  but  his  epitaph 
is  written  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him 
in  lasting  characters,  telling  of  a  generous  and 
honest  man,  who  thought  for  himself  and  lived 
for  others,  building  better  than  he  knew,  by 
loving  God  and  man. 

Cyrus  Wakefield,  son  of  James  and 
Hannah  (Hemenway)  Wakefield,  was  born  in 
Marlborough  February  14,  1811.  His  father's 
farm  was  included  in  that  territory  which,  the 
following  year,  was  set  off  to  make  the  town  of 
Roxbury ;  hence  the  report  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Roxbury.  The  following  condensed 
sketch  of  his  life  and  character  is  taken  from 
Eaton's  "  History  of  Wakefield  and  Reading," 
Mass.  : 

"  His  father's  occupation  was  that  of  a 
farmer,  and  thus  his  early  associations  were 
connected  with  the  rugged  discipline  of  a  New 
England  farm. 

"  The  executive  and  administrative  qualities 
of  his  mind  began  to  develop  very  early  in 
life.  There  w7ere  numberless  projects  in  his 
busy  child-brain,  to  the  accomplishment  of 
which  he  bent,  not  only  his  own,  but  also  the 
abilities  of  his  brothers. 

"At  an  early  age  he  grew  restive.  Some  of 
his  relatives  had  gone  to  other  States,  and,  at 
times,  would  return  to  tell  what  they  had  seeu 
and  done  in  the  great  cities.  His  father's  farm 
would  seem  now  too  small  for  his  growing 
ambition.  The  successes  of  his  friends  kindled 
in  his  own  bosom  a  generous  emulation.  He, 
too,  would  try  his  fortune  in  the  great  world 
outside.  He  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  Mr. 
Appleton,  of  Dublin,  who  had  emerged  from 


MARLBOROUGH. 


271 


obscurity  like  his  own,  but  who  was  then 
widely  kuowu  as  a  successful  and  an  honorable 
merchant.  What  others  had  done  he  could  do ; 
and  he  incessantly  urged  his  views  upon  his 
father,  who  as  constantly  presented  the  other 
and  darker  side,  showing  how  many  who  went 
to  the  city  lost  health,  time  and  even  character 
in  their  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  were  ultimately 
obliged  to  return  in  disgrace  to  their  native 
towns.  But  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  with 
his  parents'  consent,  he  went  to  Boston,  declar- 
ing that  he  would  achieve  success  and  make  a 
name  of  which  his  friends  would  be  proud. 

"Arriving  in  Boston,  he  at  first  entered  a 
small  retail  grocery-store  of  Messrs.  Wheeler 
&  Bassett,  on  Washington  Street,  but  soon  after 
secured  a  clerkship  with  Messrs.  Stearns,  Cobb 
&  Winslow,  on  India  Street.  While  in  their 
employ  he  conceived  the  plan  of  doing  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account,  since  he  had  some 
time  at  his  command  not  required  by  his  em- 
ployers. His  employers  gave  him  the  liberty 
to  buy  and  sell  empty  barrels  and  casks.  He 
attended  evening  schools,  both  of  an  academic 
and  mercantile  nature ;  visited  the  various  de- 
bating societies  and  churches;  observed  care- 
fully the  habits  of  the  people  ;  listened,  so  far 
as  his  time  would  allow,  to  the  various  courses 
of  scientific  lectures,  for  which  his  mind  had  a 
keen  relish,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of 
what  general  knowledge  he  possessed. 

"In  1838  he  formed  a  copartnership  with 
his  younger  brother,  Enoch  H.  Wakefield, 
which  lasted  until  1844.  In  the  latter  part  of 
this  partnership  the  fortunate  sale  of  some  rat- 
tan, thrown  out  as  refuse  from  a  ship,  led  to 
the  foundation  of  the  business  which  has  since 
made  his  name  famous  all  over  the  world. 

"In  the  year  185(5,  Mr.  Wakefield  resolved 
to  begin  the  manufacture  of  cane  in  this  coun- 
try, and  to  utilize,  so  far  as  possible,  the  whole 
of  the  material. 

"  Commencing  with  a  few  machines,  the  in- 
crease of  business  soon  compelled  his  removal 
to    Wakefield,    where    his    manufactories    and 


store-houses  now  contain  flooring  of  fifteen 
acres. 

"Among  the  many  gifts  to  the  town  bearing 
his  name,  the  Memorial  Hall,  costing  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  stands  pre-eminent. 

"Mr.  Wakefield  was  a  man  of  iron  will  and 
resolute  purpose,  combined  with  great  physical 
endurance.  Energy,  perseverance  and  an  in- 
domitable courage  in  the  face  of  almost  in- 
superable  obstacles  were  his  prominent  charac- 
teristics. He  had  a  keen  perception,  and  re- 
sults that  other  men  reached  by  hard  thought 
seemed  to  intuitively  come  to  him.  He  knew 
human  nature  thoroughly,  and  could  read  a 
man  at  a  glance.  To  those  who  knew  him 
best  he  revealed  at  times  a  warm,  genial  and 
tender  nature,  though  to  a  stranger  he  might 
seem  distant.  He  was  charitable,  giving  not 
only  in  large  sums  to  public  enterprises,  but 
cheering  the  hearts  of  the  poor  with  his  gener- 
ous gifts.  Many  students  struggling  for  an 
education  remember  with  gratitude  his  timely 
aid.  As  a  merchant,  he  was  shrewd,  industri- 
ous, persistent  and  careful  in  the  details  of  his 
business.  His  character  and  deeds  are  thus 
epitomized  in  the  resolutions  adopted  by  his 
fellow-citizens  on  the  evening  after  his  death : 

"  '  The  valuable  citizen,  the  prosperous  merchant, 
the  progressive  leader  in  ornamental  and  architectural 
improvements,  the  friend  and  helper  of  education, 
the  chief  promoter  of  our  local  industrial  pursuits, 
our  munificent  namesake,  whose  numerous  and  gen- 
erous benefactions  will  remain  his  enduring  mem- 
orials.' 

"  Mr.  Wakefield  died  very  suddenly  on  Sab- 
bath morning,  October  26,  1873,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two  years  and  eight  months." 

Rev.  Cyrus  Stone,  son  of  Shubael  and 
Polly  (Rogers)  Stone,  was  born  in  Marlborough 
June  9,  1793.  Became  a  professing  Christian 
at  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  remained  a  far- 
mer up  to  the  age  of  twenty  four  years.  His 
attention  being  then  turned  to  the  condition  of 
the  pagan  world,  he  determined,  after  mature 
deliberation,  to  devote  himself  to  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen. 


272 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


He  spent  a  year  and  a  half  at  the  Kimball 
Union  Academy,  Meriden,  after  which  he  en- 
tered Dartmouth  in  1818,  graduating  in  the 
class  of  1822. 

Possessed  of  little  means  and  receiving  but 
slight  help  from  others,  he  mainly  supported 
himself,  both  in  his  preparatory  and  through 
his  collegiate  course,  by  his  own  exertions, 
laboring  on  the  farm  in  summer,  and  in  winter 
teaching  in  Fitzwilliam,  Westminster,  Vt., 
and  other  places. 

His  influence  in  college  and  in  all  these  places 
of  temporary  labor  was  decidedly  felt  as  a 
Christian  worker.  After  graduating  at  Dart- 
mouth he  at  once  entered  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  graduating  thence  in  the  class  of  1825. 

It  being  deemed  by  the  American  Board 
desirable  that  their  male  missionaries  to  India 
at  that  time  should  be  possessed  of  some  med- 
ical knowledge,  he  spent  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year  at  Hanover,  N.  H.,  in  attendance  on 
medical  lectures.  Early  in  1826  he  continued  his 
medical  studies  at  the  Harvard  Medical  School, 
spending  the  year  in  their  prosecution  as  well 
as  in  the  performance  of  a  large  amount  of  re- 
ligious work  in  Boston  and  vicinity.  During 
this  year  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Atossa  Frost,  daughter  of  Col.  Joseph  and 
Zilpha  (Roberts)  Frost,  of  his  native  town,  and 
with  her  sailed  from  Boston  for  Bombay  in  the 
ship  "Emerald" — Captain  Heard — on  the  7th 
of  May,  1827,  arriving  safely  in  India  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year.  In  1841,  after  four- 
teen years'  service,  he  was  compelled,  by  the 
state  of  his  own  as  well  as  his  wife's  health,  to 
return  to  America.  He  preached  at  various 
times  in  Bingham,  Me.,  Harwich,  Saugus,  and 
East  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  and  then  located 
for  several  years  in  Melrose,  Mass.,  seven  miles 
from  Boston,  and  engaged  in  the  publication  of 
the  Mother's  Assistant  and  Happy  Home, 
monthly  magazines  of  a  religious  character, 
and  of  books  of  a  similar  kind  for  families. 

His  final  work,  however,  was  in  the  ministry. 
He  was  instrumental  in  founding  and  provid- 


ing with  a  permanent  house  a  church  in 
Beech  wood,  a  portion  of  Cohasset,  Mass.;  and 
he  was  called  to  be  the  pastor  of  the  flock  he  had 
gathered. 

Here  he  died  on  the  19th  of  July,  1867. 

Jairus  B.  Coleins,  M.D.,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Lydia  (Mathews)  Collins,  was  born  in 
Marlborough  April  21,  1794.  He  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Ephraim  K.  Frost,  of  this 
town,  and  at  the  completion  of  his  studies,  in 
1822,  he  removed  to  Londonderry,  Vt.,  where 
he  was  a  successful  physician  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  February  3,  1851. 

Jeremiah  Stone,  M.D.,  son  of  Shubel  and 
Polly  (Rogers)  Stone,  was  born  in  Marlborough 
November  2,  1798.  He  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth Medical  College  December,  1825.  He 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Tops- 
field,  Mass.,  January  6,  1826,  and  remained 
there  eleven  years.  Finding  a  country  prac- 
tice, with  its  long  and  tiresome  rides,  was  im- 
pairing his  health,  he  removed  to  New  Bedford, 
and  thence  to  Provincetown,  Mass.,  in  1864, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  years  spent  in  Chatham. 

In  town  affairs  he  ever  took  an  active  inter- 
est, endeavoring  to  build  up  the  place  and  ren- 
der it  truly  prosperous.  Foremost  in  all  good 
movements,  he  cordially  espoused  the  cause  of 
anti-slavery  in  its  earliest  days,  when  it  was 
unpopular  to  be  an  Abolitionist.  He  was  an  ar- 
dent supporter  of  temperance,  and  an  earnest 
worker  in  the  Congregational  Church,  of  which 
he  had  been  a  member  since  1814.  He  was  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medi- 
cal Society.  He  was  intolerant  of  quackery  in 
every  form  and  strict  in  his  views  of  profes- 
sional etiquette.  Prompt  in  decision,  self-reli- 
ant in  the  emergencies  of  his  profession,  he  in- 
spired and  retained  confidence  in  his  skill. 

Though  often  abrupt  in  his  manners,  yet  be- 
neath was  a  warm  heart  that  beat  in  sympathy 
with  the  needy  and  oppressed.  Earnest  in  his 
convictions,  decided  in  his  opinions  and  cheer- 
ful in  his  disposition,  he  carried  the  elasticity  of 


MARLBOROUGH. 


273 


youth  into  the  last  years  of  his  advanced  life. 
Tall  and  erect,  of  powerful  presence,  he  in- 
spired with  hope  the  sick  who  sought  his  aid. 

To  a  naturally  buoyant  spirit  was  added  the 
sustaining  power  of  a  strong  and  earnest  religious 
faith,  that  made  belief  to  him  a  bright  and  clear 
reality.     He  died  April  23,  1875. 

Timothy  L.  Lane,  M.D.,  son  of  John  and 
Mary  (Liviugstone)  Lane,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough September  1,  1800.  He  studied  med- 
icine with  Dr.  Batcheller.  Attended  school 
first  at  Groton,  Mass.,  afterwards  at  Hanover, 
N.  H.,  where  he  graduated  in  medicine  in  1824. 
He  located  first  at  Sullivan,  in  1825;  removed 
to  Lunenberg,  Vt.,  in  1832  ;  remained  there 
until  1834,  when  he  went  to  Gilsum,  N.  H., 
where  he  lived  until  1838  ;  from  thence  to 
Daysville,  111.  ;  practiced  medicine  there  till 
1841,  and  then  removed  to  Fillmore,  111.,  and 
continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  until 
his  death,  September  4,  1849. 

Rev.  William  C.  Whitcomb,  son  of  Dea- 
con Simeon  and  Sally  (Lincoln)  Whitcomb,  was 
born  in  Marlborough  February  9,  1820.  He 
was  in  his  childhood  singularly  dutiful  to  his 
parents,  never  requiring  discipline  to  enforce 
their  commands ;  and  in  mature  years  was 
ever  anxious,  according  to  his  means,  to  pro- 
mote their  welfare.  He  received  from  them  a 
religious  training,  and  in  1837  united  with  the 
Congregational  Church  in  this  town. 

He  pursued  his  literary  and  classical  course , 
at  the  academies  in  Jaffrey,  Troy  and  Ashby. 
He  earned  his  money  to  attend  them  by  teach- 
ing,   always    living    in    the    most    economical 
way. 

He  studied  theology  at  Gilmanton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  completing  his  course  in 
1847,  at  which  time  he  was  licensed  to  preach. 
He  received  several  calls  to  settle  in  New 
Hampshire,  but  declined,  as  he  wished  to  ob- 
tain further  help  for  his  work  by  attending  the 
lectures  of  Professor  Park,  in  Andover  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  He  remained  at  Andover 
two  years  as  a  licentiate  student. 
18 


May  1,  1851,  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Stoneham,  Mass.  May  1,  1852,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  L.  Wheeler,  of 
Concord,  Mass.  In  August,  1855,  he  was  dis- 
missed from  the  church  in  Stoneham,  after 
which  he  labored  with  the  churches  in  Globe 
village  (South bridge),  in  North  Carver  and  in 
Lynnfield  Centre,  all  in  Massachusetts. 

He  received  a  commission  as  chaplain  of  the 
United  States  Hospital  at  Newbern,  N.  C, 
which  bears  the  signature  of  Abraham  Liucoln 
and  Edward  M.  Stanton,  dated  July  5,  1862, 
which  he  held  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
labors  in  Newbern,  Portsmouth  and  Morehead 
City,  N.  C,  were  very  abundant  and  interest- 
ing, and  continued  two  and  one-fourth  years. 

In  the  summer  of  1864  he  came  home  on  a 
furlough  of  some  length.  In  September  he 
returned  to  meet  the  sad  effects  of  the  yellow 
fever,  brought  treacherously  by  the  enemy  to 
our  soldiers.  Soon  after  his  return  he  was 
attacked  with  malarial  fever,  and,  before  he 
had  fully  recovered,  was  taken  with  acute 
bronchitis,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  at 
the  hospital  in  Morehead  City,  October  29, 
1864. 

Mr.  Whitcomb's  character  was  strongly 
marked,  and  he  possessed  many  excellencies. 
He  had  an  untiring  activity,  always  doing  witli 
his  miffht  what  his  hands  found  to  do.  He 
was  in  a  remarkable  degree  frank  and  out- 
spoken, being  incapable  of  disguise  and  know- 
ing little  of  concealment.  But  for  nothing  was 
he  more  distinguished  than  for  a  warm,  loving 
heart.  He  set  a  value  on  friends,  and  was  true 
in  his  friendships.  That  he  had  a  devoted 
attachment  to  his  family  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that,  when  absent  on  his  chaplaincy,  his  general 
practice  was  to  write  to  them  daily.  He  was  a 
decided  Congregationalist,  but  loved  all  Christ's 
disciples  of  every  name — union  among  Chris- 
tians being  a  favorite  theme.  He  cherished  an 
affectionate  remembrance  of  his  native  town,  in 
evidence  of  which  may  be  mentioned  the  gift 
of  a  bell  for  the  school-house  in  the  village  a 


274 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


short  time  before  his  death.  He  loved  the 
slave  and  the  colored  race,  and  from  an  early 
age  was  ever  ready,  according  to  his  ability,  to 
aid  the  cause  of  emancipation. 

From  the  outbreak  of  the  slaveholders'  re- 
bellion he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  struggle  ; 
and  that  he  was  able  with  so  much  cheerfulness 
to  separate  himself  from  a  family  he  loved  so 
well  may  be  taken  as  evidence  of  true  patri- 
otism. 

Mr.  Whitoomb  had  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart  which  could  not  fail  to  render  him  popu- 
lar and  useful  as  a  pastor.  Much  good,  we  are 
assured,  was  accomplished  by  his  labors  in 
connection  with  the  churches  to  which  he  min- 
istered. But  his  active  temperament  and 
habits,  his  self-forgetfulness  in  his  zeal  to  do 
good,  his  sympathy  with  the  suffering,  his 
cheerfulness,  and  readiness  with  thoughts  and 
words  for  every  occasion,  seemed  to  fit  him 
especially  for  the  labors  to  which  he  was  devoted, 
as  hospital  chaplain;  and  much  was  he  loved 
by  those  who  were  the  objects  of  his  beneficent 
labors. 

Mr.  Whitcomb  was  a  pleasant  newspaper 
correspondent.  As  an  author,  he  published  two 
volumes  of  original  and  selected  matter  in  prose 
and  poetry  to  comfort  the  bereaved.  Although 
he  fell  in  his  prime,  still  he  has  left  a  full  and 
useful  life. 

Duncan  Abel  Baker  was  born  April  8, 
1797.  Like  most  lads  in  this  town  at  that 
early  day,  he  was  brought  up  on  a  farm.  He 
possessed  a  good  constitution,  was  athletic  and 
energetic  and  seldom  failed  to  accomplish  the 
object  of  his  desire.  His  educational  advan- 
tages were  mainly  limited  to  the  district  school, 
which  at  that  period  was  much  less  efficient 
than  now.  These  advantages,  however,  were 
well  improved,  and  he  became  one  of  the  best 
and  most  advanced  scholars  in  his  district. 
Having  mastered  the  branches  taught  in  the 
district  school,  he  was  sent  to  an  academy  in 
New  Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  studied  one  term 
and   then   commenced   teaching.     For   several 


years  he  taught  school  in  the  winter,  and  as- 
sisted his  father  on  the  farm  in  the  summer. 
As  a  teacher,  he  was  very  successful,  and  his 
services  were  sought  by  the  best  and  most  de- 
sirable school  districts. 

He  married  April  18,  1821,  and  located  upon 
a  farm  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Troy,  and  de- 
voted his  attention  to  agriculture.  His  admir- 
able qualities  of  head  and  heart  were  soon  recog- 
nized by  his  fellow-citizens,  and  he  became  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  town.  His  sound 
judgment,  practical  wisdom  and  general  intelli- 
gence fitted  him  for  any  position  in  the  com- 
munity, and  he  was  consequently  elected  at  dif- 
ferent times  to  almost  all  the  civil  offices  in  the 
town.  He  served  the  town  some  fifteen  years 
as  selectman, — the  most  of  the  time  as  chairman 
of  the  board, — and  represented  it  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  in  the  years  1840-42. 

In  all  the  public  positions  he  was  called  to 
fill  he  was  faithful  and  honest,  and  none  of  his 
constituents  ever  had  reason  to  feel  that  they 
had  misplaced  their  confidence. 

He  did  a  large  amount  of  business  in  the  set- 
tlement of  estates.  His  ability  and  familiarity 
with  the  law  fitted  him  for  civil  practice.  After 
a  long  and  useful  life  he  died,  September  26, 
1878,  calmly,  and  in  the  full  assurance  of  a 
glorious  immortality. 

Osgood  Collester  opened  his  eyes  upon 
life  in  this  town  Februarv  12,  1815.  He  was 
born  a  singer  and  musician.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  twelve  children  of  Samuel  and  Si- 
lence Collester.  He  spent  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm  and  his  youth  in  his  brother 
Charles'  shoe-shop.  Becoming  of  age,  he  still 
worked  at  the  shoe-bench,  having  become  a 
skilled  craftsman.  It  should  be  stated  that  he 
enjoyed  fair  advantages  at  the  common  schools, 
but,  from  his  childhood,  he  exhibited  remark- 
able musical  talent.  It  was  as  natural  for  him 
to  sing  as  for  the  lark.  His  voice  was  as  melo- 
dious as  the  nightingale's  ;  his  ear  was  correct 
as  to  time,  pitch  and  harmony.  He  began 
early  to  play  the  violin.     At  about  the  age  of 


MARLBOROUGH. 


275 


twenty-five  he  commenced  to  give  instruction 
in  vocal  music  in  his  native  town,  and  to  lead 
the  choir  in  the  old  church  on  the  hill.  Step 
by  step  he  continued  to  advance,  till  demands 
were  made  upon  him  to  teach  singing-schools 
in  and  out  of  town.  He  was  gifted  with  re- 
markable aptness  and  ability  to  instruct.  As 
soon  as  he  was  financially  able,  he  put  himself 
under  the  tuition  of  Lowell  Mason  and  other 
distinguished  teachers  and  composers  of  music. 
After  this  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  teach- 
ing and  the  study  of  music.  He  became  an 
efficient  pianist  as  well  as  violinist.  He  sung 
for  a  series  of  years,  on  the  Sabbath,  in  churches 
at  Winchendon,  Worcester  and  Fitchburg, 
Mass.  He  composed  many  popular  pieces  of 
music  and  compiled  several  singing-books.  He, 
by  his  own  efforts,  deservedly  won  the  title 
Professor  of  Music.  He  was  truly  popular 
as  an  instructor  in  Teachers'  Institutes  in 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.  He  died 
in  1873,  with  the  high  reputation  of  being 
Marlborough's  foremost  son  in  the  divine  art  of 
music. 

Rev.  Luther  Wiswall  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, January  9, 1801.  He  early  developed 
a  thirst  for  knowledge,  but  had  only  limited 
educational  privileges,  having  simply  the  ad- 
vantages of  common  schools  till  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  after  which  time  he  attended 
two  terms  at  an  academy,  and  pursued  his 
studies  at  home  as  he  had  opportunity. 

In  1822,  Mr.  Wiswall  united  with  the 
Congregational  Church.  His  activity  in  the 
church  led  to  his  election  as  deacon,  and  he 
also  superintended  the  Sabbath-school  for 
several  years.  In  studying  the  Scriptures,  to 
qualify  himself  for  the  duties  of  his  office, 
he  became  interested  in  study  for  its  own  sake, 
and  the  thought  often  arose  that  he  would  like 
to  preach  the  gospel. 

In  1829  he  purchased  a  small  farm,  and  the 
following  year  married  and  settled  down  in  life 
as  a  farmer.  But  his  mind  was  not  at  ease, 
and    four   years    later   he   sold    his    farm    and 


stock,  removed  to  Maine  and  entered  the  semi- 
nary at  Bangor,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1836. 

The  following  year  he  was  settled  as  pastor 
of  the  churches  in  Brooks  and  Jackson,  Me. 
Here  he  labored  very  acceptably  for  four  years, 
when  he  removed  to  Windham,  in  the  same 
State,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

Mr.  Wiswall's  intellectual  structure  was  of  a 
marked  character.  He  had  great  mental 
acuteness,  was  profoundly  logical  and  of 
sound  judgment.  He  was  also  a  sound  theolo- 
gian, and  an  able  defender  of  the  "  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints.  "  Nor  did  he  belong  to 
that  class  of  preachers  who  think  it  unprofit- 
able to  preach  the  doctrines,  the  great  vital 
truths  of  the  gospel.  He  regarded  them  as 
the  teachings  of  Infinite  wisdom,  fitted  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  men  of  all  ages,  countries 
and  climes,  and  as  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  all  who  cordially  receive  them. 
Socially,  Mr.  Wiswall  was  one  of  the  most 
genial  and  companionable  of  men.  A  quiet 
wit,  guided  by  strong  common  sense,  added 
much  to  the  pleasure  of  social  intercourse  with 
him. 

On  the  first  Sabbath  in  March,  1885,  he 
preached  his  last  sermon  and  administered  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  during 
that  service  informed  the  people  that  he  felt 
that  it  was  the  last  time  he  should  ever  be  with 
them  on  such  an  occasion,  as  he  was  growing 
more  weak  and  feeble  every  day.  And  in  this 
he  was  not  mistaken,  for  only  two  weeks  from 
that  day  he  entered  into  that  rest  which  re- 
mains for  the  people  of  God.  Though  late  in 
entering  the  ministry,  he  lived  to  preach  the 
gospel  forty-seven  years. 

Jairus  Collins. — New  Hampshire  would 
not  be  the  Switzerland  of  America  were  it  not 
for  her  granite  hills,  lofty  heights,  deep  dells 
and  hard  soil.  If  she  has  not  been  remarkable 
for  growing  corn,  she  has  been  for  producing 
men.  There  is  something  favorable  in  her 
climate  and  atmosphere  to  yielding  full  harvests 


276 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  rugged  human  characters.  If  they  are 
likely  to  be  somewhat  hard  and  rough,  it  is  in 
a  good  sense,  showing  power  of  endurance  and 
of  overcoming  the  greatest  difficulties.  The 
subject  before  us  is  a  good  illustration  of  the 
granite  stock.  He  was  of  hardy  origin  and 
good  blood.  He  was  brought  up  to  push  for 
himself;  and  he  did  push,  whether  sawing 
wood,  or  laying  stone  wall,  or  studying 
Colburn's  arithmetic,  or  mastering  Murray's 
grammar.  He  had  a  mind  of  his  own  and  was 
bound  to  use  it.  He  made  the  most  he  could 
out  of  his  early  school  advantages,  which  wTere 
derived  from  the  district  school  and  from  a 
short  time  in  the  academy.  He  seemed  resolved 
upon  becoming  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  ; 
and  before  he  was  of  age  he  made  his  first  trial, 
and  with  success,  which  was  the  begin ning  of  a 
long  series  of  terms  in  town  and  out  of  town. 
He  soon  earned  the  reputation  of  being  a 
"  thorough  teacher."  It  appears  as  though 
more  than  half  of  the  active  men  and  women 
in  town  now  were  once  his  scholars. 

He  has  been  and  is'  still  a  thorough  Marl- 
borough ite.  He  has  been  connected,  more  or  less, 
with  public  affairs  for  the  last  forty  years;  per- 
haps, no  other  man  more  so.  He  is  now  sixty- 
eight  years  of  age,  his  birth  having  occurred 
April  13,  1816.  He  has  been  called  to  fill  all 
the  leading  officers  in  town  from  that  of  mod- 
erator to  that  of  legislator.  For  many  years  he 
has  served  on  the  School  Board.  He  has  held 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  since  1852.  He, 
no  doubt,  has  written  more  wills,  settled  more 
estates  and  done  more  probate  business  than  any 
other  one  in  town. 

He  has  been  a  workman  at  almost  any  craft ; 
so  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  useful  men  in 
tin-  village  and  town  to  do  little  and  great  jobs 
when  peculiar  tact  and  skill  were  required.  He 
is  noted  for  being  accommodating.  He  has 
served  as  sexton  for  many  years. 

lb'  has  strong  religious  convictions  and  has 
been  ready  to  make  sacrifices  in  their  behalf. 
He  was  the  prime  mover  and  donor  in  building 


the  parsonage  and  improving  the  church  edifice 
of  the  Universalist  Society.  He  long  acted  as 
Sunday-school  superintendent  and  is  still  most 
loyal  to  his  church.  He  is  a  stanch  temper- 
ance worker  and  tobacco  hater.  He  is  a  man 
that  wants  his  way,  because  he  feels  it  is  right ; 
still,  he  is  kind,  obliging  and  evidently  desirous 
to  help  all.  It  can  be  said  of  nim,  he  is  a  use- 
ful man. 

Nelson  Converse,  born  October  10,  1810, 
married  Sally  M.  Jones,  September  10,  1829. 
His  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  four  years 
of  age,  he  was  placed  in  the  family  of  a  sister, 
where  he  remained  until  grown  to  manhood. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  he  removed  to  Newport, 
Vt.,  and  located  on  a  farm.  Two  years  later 
he  returned  to  Marlborough  and  engaged  in  the 
mill  business  in  company  with  his  brother  Gil- 
man.  Losing  their  mill  by  fire  soon  after 
commencing  business,  he  then  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  book-making  for  a  short  time;  but,  find- 
ing the  business  not  sufficiently  remunerative, 
he  gave  it  up,  and  became  interested  iu  the  man- 
ufacture and  sale  of  trusses  and  supporters, 
which  business  he  continued  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Cheshire  Railroad,  when  he  Mas  ap- 
pointed station-agent  at  the  Marlborough  station. 
Subsequently  he  was  transferred  to  the  station 
at  Bellows  Falls ;  but,  finding  the  position  an 
undesirable  one  to  occupy,  he  gave  it  up  and 
returned  to  Marlborough,  and  purchased  the 
residence  in  the  village  which  he  still  occupies. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  stone- quarrying  busi- 
ness, which  he  continued  on  his  own  account, 
and  as  agent  for  others,  for  many  years,  in  the 
mean  time  purchasing  and  improving  consid- 
erable real  estate. 

His  first  wife  dying  in  1872,  in  1873  he 
married,  for  his  second,  Mrs.  Fannie  M.  Ever- 
ett, of  Fitzwilliam  ;  for  the  last  ten  years  he 
has  kept  a  public-house  for  the  accommodation 
of  travelers,  but  has  sold  no  intoxicating  liq- 
uors. 

Being  a  person  of  an  active  and  sanguine 
temperament  in  early  life,  he  naturally  took  the 


MARLBOROUGH. 


277 


lead  in  all  enterprises  of  a  public  character. 
His  military  career  commenced  at  the  age  of 
sixteen.  In  1838,  through  his  instrumentality 
probably  more  than  that  of  any  other  individ- 
ual, the  Marlborough  Cadet  Company  was  or- 
ganized, uniformed  and  'equipped.  He  soon 
became  its  commander,  aud  from  thence  rose  to 
the  command  of  the  Twelfth  Regiment  of  the 
New  Hampshire  militia  Re-entering  the  ranks 
again,  he  attained  the  position  of  major-general 
of  the  Third  Division  of  the  New  Hampshire 
State  Militia.  Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Rebellion,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  he  com- 
menced a  weekly  drill  of  all  citizens  of  the 
town  who  chose  to  assemble  for  that  purpose, 
thus  preparing  them  for  the  duties  of  actual 
service,  in  case  they  were  called  for.  In  the 
autumn  of  that  year  he  was  appointed  colonel 
of  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers.  The  regiment  was  organized  at 
Keene,  and  left  there  in  December  for  Wash- 
ington, and  from  there  was  sent  to  Cape  Hat- 
teras.  In  consequence  of  severe  and  chronic 
indisposition,  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  the 
active  duties  of  the  field,  and,  instead  of  asking 
for  a  furlough  and  continuing  under  pay  from 
the  government,  he  adopted  the  less  selfish 
course,  aud  resigned  his  commission  at  once. 

He  has  officiated  as  moderator  in  town-meet- 
ings for  many  years  ;  has  held  the  office  of  se- 
lectman for  three  years,  declining  to  serve  again 
when  elected ;  he  represented  the  town  two 
years  in  the  Legislature,  was  county  commis- 
sioner for  three  years,  and  one  of  the  building 
committee  for  erecting  the  present  court-house 
at  Keene.  He  has  also  held  the  office  of  deputy- 
sheriff  for  six  years,  and  was  twice  unanimously 
nominated  by  the  county  delegation  for  the 
office  of  sheriff  of  the  county,  but  declined  ac- 
cepting it,  and  has  held  the  commission  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  thirty  years.  In  all  these 
positions  his  record  has  been  an  honorable  one 
to  himself  and  creditable  to  the  town. 

As  a  citizen  and  neighbor,  his  sympathies  are 
always  with    those     in     trouble,    and,    conse- 


quently, his  counsel  and  advice  are  oftener  so- 
licited, perhaps,  than  those  of  any  other  indi- 
vidual in  town. 

Edwin  Davis,  son  of  Jonah  and  Sarah 
(Wilkinson)  Davis,  Mas  born  May  8,  1821, 
under  favorable  circumstances.  His  ancestry 
reaches  back  to  the  first  settlers  of  New  Eng- 
land. His  father  was  a  man  of  mental 
strength,  good  judgment,  and  emulous  to  do 
good  as  he  had  opportunity.  His  mother  was 
a  woman  of  remarkably '  good  common  sense 
and  generous  feeling.  They  were  both  desir- 
ous to  make  the  most  possible  of  their  only 
child.  So  Edwin  was  fortunately  cared  for  in 
his  early  childhood,  and  at  a  suitable  age  was 
sent  to  the  district  school.  Being  of  a  genial 
disposition  and  full  of  fun,  he  was  very  much 
of  a  favorite  among  his  school-mates.  He 
always  stood  well  in  his  classes.  Having  mas- 
tered to  some  extent  the  common  branches,  he 
left  home  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  to  attend  Mel- 
ville Academy,  in  Jaffrey.  Now,  for  several 
years,  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  academies, 
pursuing  the  sciences)  mathematics,  English  and 
classical  literature.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  taught  his  first  school,  in  Swanzey,  N.  H. 
Though  a  mere  boy,  he  proved  himself  able  to 
instruct  and  govern  young  men  and  women  who 
were  his  seniors.  For  a  number  of  successive 
winters  he  taught  with  commendable  success. 
After  this  he  decided  to  study  for  the  ministry, 
and  entered  upon  his  theological  course  under  the 
direction  of  Rev.  William  N.  Barber,  and  after- 
wards continued  it  under  the  tuition  of  Rev. 
C.  Woodhouse.  He  was  ordained  to  the  work 
of  the  gospel  ministry  at  the  annual  session  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Convention  of  Universal- 
ists  at  Winchester,  June  19,  1845.  His  first 
stated  engagement  to  preach  was  in  his  native 
town,  where  his  labors  were  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. In  1845  he  removed  to  Richmond,  N.  H., 
where  he  remained  some  five  years,  living  in 
sight  of  the  birth-place  of  Hosea  Ballou,  and 
preaching  in  the  meeting-house  in  which  that 
gifted  one  had  proclaimed  the   gospel    of  glad 


278 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tidings.  In  1850  he  changed  his  location  to 
Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  taking  charge  of  the  Universal- 
ist  society  there,  and  preaching  some  part  of  the 
time  in  West  Brattleborough  and  Vernon,  Vt, 
in  Northfield,  Mass.,  and  West  Swanzey,  N.  H. 
During  his  settlement  here  he  taught  several 
select  schools  and  devoted  considerable  time  to 
overseeing  the  public  schools.  On  account  of 
the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  on  the 
24th  of  March,  1856,  he  went  to  Marlborough 
that  same  year  to  reside,  for  the  purpose  of  aid- 
ing his  bereaved  mother  and  settling  his  father's 
estate.  Being  earnestly  solicited,  he  made  an  en- 
gagement with  the  society  there  for  the  second 
time  to  supply  them  with  preaching  for  the  year. 

In  the  spring  of  1857  he  settled  in  Paper- 
Mill  village,  Alstcad,  N.  H.,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years,  having  a  very  successful 
ministry,  still  proving  himself  a  most  devoted 
friend  to  the  cause  of  education. 

In  1861  he  had  a  call  to  settle  in  Methuen, 
Mass.,  which  he  accepted.  He  had  already 
spent  some  twenty  years  in  the  ministry,  living 
all  the  while  in  his  native  county.  In  this  new 
field  of  labor  he  made  many  warm  friends,  and 
served  well  the  society  as  a  faithful,  religious 
teacher.  After  laboring  three  years  in  Methuen, 
he  located  in  West  Acton,  Mass.,  where  he  or- 
ganized two  societies,  one  in  West  and  the  other 
in  South  Acton.  He  faithfully  ministered  to 
these  societies  for  seven  years,  being  instrumen- 
tal in  having  a  good  church  edifice  built  in  the 
West  village,  and  preparing  the  way  for  an- 
other to  be  built  in  the  South  village. 

During  the  centenary  year  of  Universal  ism 
in  America  he  was  employed  by  the  New 
Hampshire  State  Convention  to  take  the  lead 
in  raising  her  quota  of  money  for  the  Murray 
fund.  In  this  enterprise  he  accomplished  all 
that  could  rightfully  be  expected.  In  Decem- 
ber of  1870  he  accepted  a  call,  and  settled  in 
Canton,  Mass.,  where  he  has  continued  for 
nearly  nine  years.  During  this  charge,  he  has 
been  employed  a  portion  of  two  years  by  the 
Massachusetts  Universalist  Convention  as  finan- 


cial agent  of  that  body  to  raise  money,  and  has 
been  successful  in  securing  more  than  ten 
thousand  dollars.  Few  men  are  better  adapted 
to  solicit  money  for  a  good  cause  than  Mr. 
Davis.  The  people  feel  at  once,  as  he  makes 
an  appeal,  that  he  is  strictly  honest  and  believes 
heartily  in  his  cause. 

As  a  writer,  Mr.  Davis'  style  is  direct, 
smooth,  and  somewhat  florid.  His  sermons  are 
quite  methodical,  and  so  illustrated  as  to  render 
them  plain  and  interesting.  His  published 
articles  have  been  full  of  good  thought,  clearly 
and  tastefully  expressed. 

He  seldom  speaks  publicly  without  special 
p reparation,  and  so  he  speaks  because  he  has 
something  to  say.  In  manner,  he  is  affable, 
without  the  least  ostentation  or  affectation.  His 
voice  is  expressive  of  a  good  head  and  heart. 
As  a  reformer,  his  trumpet  has  given  no  un- 
certain sound.  He  has  always  been  a  bold  ad- 
vocate of  freedom  and  temperance. 

Mr.  Davis  is  very  much  devoted  to  his  fam- 
ily, consisting  of  a  wife,  a  daughter  and  two 
sons,  one  of  whom  graduated  in  1878  from  the 
Medical  School  of  Boston  University,  is  now  a 
practicing  physician  in  Quincy,  Mass.,  and  the 
other  is  a  graduate  from  Tufts  College  and 
Boston  Dental  College,  and  is  now  a  successful 
dentist  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Davis  never  repels,  but  draws  others  to- 
ward him  ;  so  he  is  a  welcome  servant  of  the 
Lord  at  the  bridal  altar,  in  the  sick-room  or  in 
the  place  of  deepest  sorrow.  Marlborough  is 
the  better  for  his  being  one  of  her  native  sons, 
and  the  world  is  better  because  he  is  living  in  it. 

Henry  P.  Tenney  was  born  in  this  town 
December  26,  1830.  He  was  next  to  the  young- 
est of  five  children — one  daughter  and  four 
sons — of  Calvin  and  Tabitha  Baker  Tenney. 
His  father  was  a  man  of  ability,  and  his  mother 
a  woman  of  sterling  character.  So,  with  good 
blood  coursing  his  veins,  and  with  an  almost 
perfect  physique,  he  started  out  on  life's  pil- 
grimage under  favorable  auspices.  His  early 
home  was  close  by  the  foot  of  the  old  Monadnock. 


MARLBOROUGH. 


279 


So,  beauty,  picturesqueness  and  sublimity  en- 
compassed him.  Gifted  with  a  sunny  tempera- 
ment and  a  fondness  for  the  beautiful,  he  revel- 
ed in  his  boyhood  with  delight  in  the  varied 
scenery  about  him.  The  hills  and  vales  and 
streams  and  lakes  enchanted  him.  He  had  not 
lived  long  before  he  knew  what  hard  work 
meant,  for  his  father  was  a  farmer  and  tavern- 
keeper,  and  was  not  troubled  to  find  enough  for 
the  boys  to  do.  However,  he  wanted  to  have 
them  in  school  when  it  kept,  and  was  willing 
they  should  have  seasons  of  recreation.  Now, 
with  Henry,  when  it  was  work,  it  was  work, 
and  when  it  was  play,  it  was  play  ;  he  was  not 
wont  to  do  things  by  halves.  When  the  stint 
was  done  or  the  time  for  recreation  was  at  hand, 
how  he  would  hie  away  to  the  brooks,  the  ponds 
or  mountains,  bound  to  have  a  good  time  and 
sure  to  do  his  part  in  bringing  it  about!  His 
dark  eyes  would  seem  to  scan  everything,  and 
his  eager  mind  would  take  it  all  in.  Ah  !  how 
he  enjoyed  fun  !  How  he  would  joke  and  laugh, 
and  yet  was  tender  of  the  feelings  of  others ! 
He  developed  into  a  noble-looking  youth,  with 
a  prominent  forehead,  a  large,  dark  eye,  and 
rosy  cheeks.  He  was  full  of  vigor  and  good 
cheer.  Whether  acting  the  soldier,  hoeing  corn, 
fishing  for  pickerel  or  spelling  in  school,  he  was 
ambitious  to  excel.  He  early  exhibited  a  fond- 
ness for  learning,  making  the  most  of  his  oppor- 
tunities. As  Henry  advanced  into  his  teens  his 
parents  plainly  saw  that  he  was  not  to  be  kept 
on  the  farm  for  a  life  employment.  By  the 
time  he  had  seen  a  decade  and  a  half  of  years  he 
had  exhausted  the  means  of  gaining  instruction 
in  his  own  district  school.  Soon  after  this  he 
went  from  home  to  attend  academies,  where  he 
became  thoroughly  fitted  for  college ;  but  now 
his  eye-sight  failed,  and  he  was  forced,  much  to 
his  regret,  to  give  up  his  college  course.  He 
then  devoted  himself  for  some  years  to  teaching 
in  Mettowee  Academy,  Pawlet,  Vt.,  then  in 
Peterborough  Academy,  N.  H.,  and  afterwards 
taught  the  select  school  in  Marlborough.  In 
all  these  schools  he  was  eminently  successful. 


Withdrawing  from   teaching,  he   visited   the 
far  West,  and  on  his  return  he  remained  in  town 
for  awhile,  filling  various  offices  of  trust.     In 
1862    he  settled   in  East    Jaffrey,    N.   H.,  as 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  cotton  manufactorv  of  A. 
Bascom  &  Co.,  where  he  continued  for  six  years, 
managing  the  business  for  the  most  part.  In  1868 
he  went  to  Orange,  where  he  entered  into  mer- 
cantile trade,  and  continued  up  to  the  time   of 
his  death.  However,  he  did  not  confine  himself 
altogether  to  his  store  ;  for  he  still  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  served  as 
a  most  valuable  member  on  the  School  Board 
for  some  ten  years.     Besides  this,  he  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  Orange  National  Bank   and  of 
the  Savings  Bank,  and  has  been  a  trustee  of  the 
former  from  its  inception,  and  president  of  the 
latter  for  some  years.      In  all  these  offices  he 
proved  himself  a  careful,  discerning,  trusty  and 
strictly  reliable  man.     He  was  a  Mason  of  high 
degree,   having   passed   through    the    different 
chairs  up  to  the  highest,  with  honor  to  himself 
and  credit  to  the  order.     It  can  be  said  of  him 
that  he  loved  the  craft  and  lived  its  virtues. 

As  a  citizen,  he  ranked  among  the  foremost, 
being  always  desirous  to  improve  and  advance 
the  highest  interests  of  his  adopted  town.  He 
so  wrought  in  its  behalf  as  to  leave  enduring 
testimonials  behind  him. 

In  1858  he  was  married  to  Julia  Caroline 
Stibbins,  of  Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  a  worthy  and  tal- 
ented woman.  Their  home  has  been  an  ideal 
one,  blessing  and  being  blessed.  They  have 
reared  two  sons, — one  a  graduate  from  Brown 
University,  and  the  other  a  clerk  in  his  father's 
store. 

Mr.  Tenney,  by  pneumonia,  departed  this  life 
April  24,  1885,  fifty-four  years  old,  lamented 
by  all  who  knew  him.  Townsmen,  school  chil- 
dren, Masonic  brethren  in  throngs  all  united  in 
his  funeral  obsequies,  to  bury  respectfully  the 
manly  form  of  the  noble  one  whose  life  proved 
that  he  loved  God,  home  and  humanity.  It  must 
be  comforting  to  kin  and  friends,  standing  so 
close  to  his  transformation,  to  look  back  upon 


280 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  way  that  has  been  made  so  bright  by  him 

who  now  reflects  only  the  light  of  immortality. 

John  Quincy  Adams  McOoUiESTER,  M.D., 

is  the  son  of  Silas  and  Achsah  (Holman) 
McCollester.  He  first  saw  light  in  the  easterly 
part  of  Marlborough,  near  the  Roxbury  line, 
May  3,  1831.  In  March,  1830,  the  family  re- 
moved to  the  village.  From  the  age  of  four 
years  to  that  of  ten  he  attended  the  district 
school,  which  was  usually  kept  two  terms  a 
year,  of  eleven  weeks  each.  Intelligent  and  ac- 
tive in  mind  and  body,  at  the  age  of  ten  years 
lie  commenced  to  work  in  his  father's  pail 
manufactory,  and  soon  exhibited  his  capability 
by  performing  the  usual  labor  of  a  skilled  ar- 
tisan.  His  schooling  was  now  limited  to  the 
winter  term. 

In  the  autumn  of  1846  he  attended  a  select 
school  in  his  own  village,  taught  by  two  broth- 
ers, Ransom  N.  and  Royal  H.  Porter,  and  sub- 
sequently received  further  instruction  in  the 
schools  and  academies  in  Fitzwilliam,  Walpole, 
S.ixton's  River  and  South  Woodstock.  He 
was  often  associated  with  his  brother,  Rev.  Sul- 
livan II.  McCollester,  as  an  assistant  teacher, 
and  it  was  under  his  supervision,  mainly,  that 
he  effected  his  preparation  for  college.  In  the 
Minter  of  1848-49,  he  taught  school  in  the 
"Fay  Hill"  District,  in  Walpole,  and  enjoyed 
the  New  England  experience  of  "  boarding 
round."  The  doctor  frequently  alludes  to  this 
portion  of  his  life  with  pleasure.  The  intelli- 
gence, application  and  interest  of  the  scholars  in 
their  school-work,  he  represents  as  unequaled 
in  any  school  with  which  he  has  been  acquaint- 
ed. During  the  two  subsequent  winters  he 
taught  school  in  the  same  district.  In  1851,  he 
passed  an  examination  and  was  admitted  to  the 
class  that  graduated  in  1853  from  the  Norwich 
University,  at  Norwich,  Vt.  In  1856  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.M.  from  this  institution. 

After  completing  his  academical  course  he 
entered  the  office  of  Dr.  James  Batcheller,  of 
his  Dative  town,  as  ;i  student  of  medicine.  He 
attended  one  course  of  medical   lectures  at  the 


Dartmouth  Medical  School,  and  for  five  months 
in  1855  he  was  employed  as  an  assistant  in  the 
hospital  at  Deer  Island,  Boston  Harbor.  He 
went  to  Philadelphia  in  October,  1855,  attended 
the  course  of  lectures  delivered  at  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College  during  the  winter  of  1855-56 
and  received  the  degree  of  M.D.  from  this  in- 
stitution in  March;  1856. 

Industrious  and  apt  as  a  student,  he  received 
high  markings  in  all  his  studies,  but  preferred 
mathematics  and  the  exact  sciences  to  literary 
and  classical  branches.  He  has  often  remarked 
that  the  great  latitude,  uncertainty  and  want 
of  precision  in  the  meaning  and  use  of  words 
in  literature  and  the  classics  have  rendered  them 
less  congenial  to  his  taste  than  the  study  of  the 
sciences. 

In  May,  1856,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  E. 
Hazen,  of  Shirley,  Mass.,  and  during  the  same 
month  settled  in  South  Deerfield.  During  his 
short  stay  in  this  place  he  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  people  ;  but,  concluding  that  the  field  was 
too  contracted,  in  November  of  the  same  year 
he  moved  to  the  village  of  Groton  Junction, 
now  known  as  Ayer.  On  the  28th  of  August, 
1857,  his  daughter  Anna  was  born,  and  on  the 
5th  of  May,  1858,  his  happy  home  was  made 
desolate  by  the  death  of  his  wife.  August  !>, 
1859,  occurred  his  marriage  to  Georgianna  L. 
Hunt,  who  has  borne  him  six  children,  three  of 
whom  now  survive. 

In  May,  1862,  he  volunteered  his  services  as 
a  medical  officer,  and  was  employed  as  a  surgeon 
in  the  field  and  in  the  hospital  during  and  sub- 
sequent to  the  disastrous  campaign  of  McClel- 
Jan  on  the  Peninsula.  In  November,  1862,  he 
was  commissioned  surgeon  of  the  Fifty-third 
Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  was 
on  duty  with  the  regiment  during  its  active 
service  in  Louisiana. 

He  was  mustered  out  at  the  expiration  of  the 
term  of  service  of  the  regiment,  September  2, 
1863.  As  a  medical  officer  he  gained  the  con- 
fidence of  his  superiors  in  rank  and  was  re- 
garded as  able  and  efficient. 


MARLBOROUGH. 


281 


At  the  conclusion  of  his  military  service  he 
resumed  his  practice  at  Groton  Junction.  He 
was  appointed  examining  surgeon  for  United 
States  invalid  pensioners  in  1864,  which  office 
he  held  till  1876,  when  pressure  of  professional 
duties  obliged  him  to  retire  from  his  posi- 
tion. 

Dr.  McCollester  has  never  been  a  political 
aspirant ;  nevertheless,  he  has  always  been  alive 
to  all  matters  of  social  interest.  He  served 
seven  years  on  the  board  of  school  committee 
of  Groton,  and  two  years  in  the  same  capacity 
in  Harvard,  in  which  town  he  has  resided 
since  April,  1869.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Caleb  Butler  Lodge  of  A.  F.  and  A.  Masons, 
aud  is  one  of  its  Past  Masters. 

As  a  physician,  giftsd  with  senses  remarka- 
bly acute,  delicate  of  touch,  quick  and  keen  in 
observation,  taking  in  the  physiognomy  of  dis- 
ease, reading  understandingly  books,  men  and 
things,  his  judgment,  correct  and  rapid,  appears 
as  if  produced  by  intuition. 

Probably  the  most  reliable  guage  of  a  phy- 
sician's ability  is  his  reputation  with  his  profes- 
sional brethren.  Many  who  stand  high  in  pub- 
lic esteem  as  medical  men  speak  very  highly  of 
Dr.  McCollester's  professional  abilities ;  and 
were  it  not  for  his  attachment  to  his  friends, 
which  has  confined  him  to  a  laborious  but  not 
very  remunerative  practice,  he  might  easily 
have  found  a  larger  field  for  his  talents,  better 
compensation,  less  physical  and  mental  wear, 
and  time  for  scientific  study. 

As  a  man,  his  social  nature  is  largely  de- 
veloped ;  and  the  repeated  afflictions  he  has  sus- 
tained in  the  death  of  his  children  have  been 
very  heavy  blows  to  him.  He  is  affable  and  cour- 
teous to  all,  and  treats  the  indigent  sufferer  with 
the  same  kind  consideration  which  he  extends 
to  the  affluent.  He  is  not  wanting  in  ambition, 
and  desires  and  appreciates  the  good-will  and 
approbation  of  the  public.  Love  of  money 
forms  no  part  of  his  composition,  and,  were  it 
not  for  the  large  extent  of  his  practice,  he 
would  be  constantly  impecunious. 


"  I  cannot  explain  anything  about  it,"  said 
a  sick  old  lady  whom  he  attended.  "  I  cer- 
tainly thought  I  should  die ;  but  when  he  came 
into  the  room,  it  was  like  a  flood  of  sunlight. 
I  could  not  feel  discouraged  if  I  wanted  to  be." 
To  this  power  of  awakening  hope  and  inspiring 
courage  in  the  sick  and  suffering,  Dr.  McCol- 
lester owes  no  small  part  of  his  success. 

Luther  Farrar,  son  of  Phinehas  and 
Lovina  (Warren)  Farrar,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, January  11,  1778.  Of  his  early  life, 
or  where  he  obtained  his  education,  we  have 
not  been  informed ;  but,  having  completed  his 
education,  he  chose  the  law  as  his  profession, 
and  settled  in  Maine. 

He  was  eminently  possessed  of  all  those 
amiable  and  useful  endowments  which  render 
man  an  ornament  and  a  blessing  to  society.  In 
the  discharge  of  all  the  relative  duties  of  life, 
he  was  governed  by  a  fixed  determination  to  do 
what  his  conscience  should  dictate  to  be  right. 
In  his  family,  mildness,  discretion  and  pru- 
dence marked  his  deportment.  As  a  neighbor, 
he  was  urbane  and  benevolent. 

The  predominant  traits  of  his  professional 
character  were  honesty  and  capability.  The 
effects  of  religious  principle  and  a  correct  life 
were  exemplified  by  a  remarkable  composure 
and  patience  during  a  tedious  and  distressing 
sickness,  and  a  perfect  resignation  in  death. 

Early  called  off  from  active  professional 
duties  to  pine  on  a  bed  of  sickness  and  pain,  he 
found  support  for  several  years  in  the  kind  at- 
tentions of  his  numerous  friends  and  in  the  con- 
solations of  religion,  until  he  cheerfully  re- 
signed his  spirit  to  God,  in  humble  hope  of  a 
blessed  immortality.  He  died  at  Norway,  Me., 
April  28,  1812. 

Joseph  C.  Mason,  son  of  Clark  and  Almi- 
ra  (Towns)  Mason,  was  born  at  the  old  home- 
stead March  13,  1837.  He  received  a  common- 
school  and  academic  education,  and  began  his 
career  as  an  educator  at  quite  an  early  age. 
Later  in  life  he  devoted  considerable  time  to 
the  study  of  languages,  sciences  aud  advanced 


2s2 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mathematics.  He  received  a  legal  education 
at  the  Law  College  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  in 
the  office  of  Dearborn  &  Scott,  distinguished 
attorneys  of  Peterborough,  N.  H.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  September,  1864,  at 
Nashua,  N.  H.,  at  a  session  of  the  Supreme  Ju- 
dicial Court.  He  practiced  his  profession  at 
Mason  village  (now  Greenville),  N.  H.,  nearly 
three  years,  and  then  removed  to  Missouri, 
where  he  has  for  the  most  part  since  resided, 
and  devoted  his  time  mainly  to  educational 
work,  though  still  maintaining  his  connection 
with  the  bar. 

He  held  the  office  of  superintending  school 
committee  at  Mason  village,  and  in  1866  was 
appointed  by  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire 
to  the  office  of  common  school  commissioner 
of  Hillsborough  County,  and  was  ex  officio 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  Education. 

During  the  war  he  was  an  earnest  advocate 
of  the  Union  cause,  and  contributed  to  swell  the 
Union  army  by  delivering  patriotic  speeches  in 
various  parts  of  New  England. 

After  his  removal  to  Missouri,  he  held  the 
office  of  principal  of  the  Washington  Public 
School,  St.  Louis;  superintendent  of  public 
schools  at  Boonville,  Carthage  and  Joplin, 
which  last-named  position  he  still  holds.  He 
has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  educatioual 
and  other  journals,  and  has  published  several 
quite  extended  reports  growing  out  of  his  offi- 
cial relations. 

His  work  as  an  educator  for  several  years 
past  has  been  largely  that  of  an  organizer.  It 
may  be  added  that  a  large  number  of  teachers 
have  been  specially  prepared  for  this  work 
under  his  supervision  in  the  normal  depart, 
ment  of  the  schools  above  mentioned. 

Si'MM.u  A.  Mason,  M.D.,  fifth  son  of  Clark 
and  Almira  (Towns)  Mason,  was  born  at  the 
old  homestead  May  23, 1838,  where  he  continued 
to  reside  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  receiving 
the  limited  common-school  education  granted 
to  the  residents  of  the  farming  districts  of  Marl- 
borough.    He  subsequently  became  a  student  of 


Sullivan  H.  McCollester,  in  Westmoreland 
Valley  Seminary,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion. 

He  says :  "  Here  allow  me  to  pay  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  my  quondam  friend  and  preceptor  ; 
for  whatever  I  may  owe  to  other  instructors  for 
their  efforts,  or  to  parents  for  their  moral  and 
religious  training,  who,  without  doubt,  laid  the 
foundation  of  character,  it  was  he  who  first  in- 
spired me  with  the  hope  of  a  professional 
future, — that  something  more  than  the  busy 
humdrum  of  life  might  be  evolved  from  it.  And 
whatever  success  I  may  gain  in  my  profession, 
whatever  fresh  laurels  I  may  win  from  new  ef- 
forts, I  shall  look  back  upon  his  counsel  and  his 
teachings  as  upon  '  apples  of  gold  in  pictures 
of  silver.'" 

He  enlisted  with  the  first  three  months' 
troops  sent  from  New  Hampshire,  as  a  private 
in  Company  A,  Cheshire  Light  Guards,  as 
named  by  Captain  Barker,  which  afterward  be- 
came a  part  of  the  "  Fighting  Second."  He  went 
from  Keene  to  Portsmouth,  where  the  regiment 
rendezvoused  for  some  weeks,  and  encamped 
upon  the  ground.  The  exposure,  together  with 
a  severe  attack  of  confluent  measles,  broke  up 
his  health  for  a  long  time,  and  confined  him  to 
the  hospital.  While  there,  suffering  from  the 
second  stage  of  this  disease,  the  only  thing 
he  can  recollect  is  that  he  was  aroused  by  an 
unusual  commotion,  the  sounding  of  bugles  and 
the  rolling  of  drums;  and  when  he  asked, 
"What  is  that?"  Colonel  H.  B.  Titus,  who  had 
called  to  bid  him  adieu,  replied,  "That  is  your 
regiment  going  to  Washington.  Good-bye,  old 
boy."  After  a  partial  convalescence,  he  re- 
turned home;  and  his  brother  Charles  took  his 
place,  he  assuming  his. 

It  was  after  this  that  he  commenced  his  pro- 
fessional studies  in  his  native  town,  and  pur- 
sued them  under  difficulties  for  upwards  of  one 
year,  having  charge  at  that  time  of  the  home- 
stead and  his  widowed  mother.  The  most  of 
his  time  during  the  day  was  devoted  to  them, 
and  his  nights  to  study.     He  then  imagined  he 


MARLBOROUGH. 


283 


could  rob  nature  with  impunity,  and  never 
heeded  the  old  clock  as  it  rang  out  "  forever 
more"  its  midnight  peal  upon  the  silent  air. 
The  winter  of  1864-65  he  spent  in  Philadel- 
phia, for  the  purpose  of  attending  medical  lec- 
tures. During  the  two  years  and  upwards  he 
spent  in  that  city  he  studied  medicine  in  the 
office  of  Henry  T.  Child,  M.D.,  634  Race 
Street,  a  Quaker  gentleman  of  great  worth  and 
intelligence,  whose  large  library  was  gratuitously 
open  to  him  at  all  times,  and  whose  uniform 
kindness  he  will  never  forget. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  he  found  himself  in 
need  of  rest,  and  resolved  to  seek  recreation  in 
the  camp  of  our  soldiers,  where  at  least  he  could 
have  a  little  relaxation  from  mental  toil,  and  at 
the  same  render  efficient  service  to  the  unfor- 
nate  wounded.  For  that  purpose  he  visited 
Washington  and  Alexandria  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Christian  Commission,  where  he  was  de- 
tailed to  visit  the  various  camps  and  hospitals 
iu  and  about  those  cities.  He  remained  here 
until  the  3d  of  July,  when  he  was  ordered  to 
City  Point,  Va.  Here  again  he  visited  the 
large  government  hospitals  ;  and  while  engaged 
distributing  stores,  tracts,  religious  literature, 
etc.,  he  had  a  rare  opportunity  of  observing  the 
different  phases  of  disease,  as  manifested  in  a 
large  number  of  patients. 

City  Point  was  one  of  the  places  designated 
by  the  government  for  the  discharge  of  our  sol- 
diers,  hence  was  one  of  the  last  abandoned  by 
the  Christian  Commission.  As  long  as  there 
was  a  sufferer,  its  beneficient  hand  was  stretched 
forth  to  alleviate. 

"  Let  me  not,"  he  says,  "attempt  to  describe 
to  you  my  feelings  when  the  last  footfall  of  the 
brave  defenders  of  our  Union  ceased  to  re-echo 
upon  my  ears;  when  I  watched  the  last  steamer, 
until  its  form  grew  spectral,  gently  gliding 
from  those  historic  shores,  bearing  upon  its 
bosom  the  household  joys  of  far-off  homes,  leav- 
ing thousands  to  slumber  where  erst  they  walked 
in  all  the  pride  of  manhood's  bearing."  Soon 
after  the   departure    of  the   soldiers  from   the 


Point  the  Commission  was  closed  up,  and  its 
effects  turned  over  to  the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 

After  this  relapse  from  constant  toil,  he  spent 
some  time  in  visiting  the  battle-field  of  Peters- 
burg, and  the  line  of  breastworks  between  it 
and  City  Point.  It  was  while  residing  here 
that  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  his  wife,  who 
had  been  a  nurse  in  the  hospitals,  and  who,  in 
turn,  nursed  him.  She  was  the  only  child  of 
Lurad  C.  Heath,  a  lineal  descendant  of  General 
Heath,  of  New  Hampshire  ;  and  as  they  jour- 
neyed together  on  horseback,  the  only  means  of 
locomotion  over  those  bloody  fields,  they  con- 
cluded that  the  journey  of  life  would  be  incom- 
plete unless  they  traveled  together.  Miss 
Heath  was  seven  years  his  junior,  and  a  gradu- 
ate of  Rockland  Female  Institute.  This  was  a 
romantic  meeting  of  a  descendant  of  his  native 
State  in  old  Virginia.  After  a  few  months' 
residence  on  the  beautiful  banks  of  the  James 
River,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where, 
under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Child,  he  graduated  in 
1868,  an  allopathic  physician. 

He  practiced  only  a  few  months  in  Philadel- 
phia, when  he  removed  to  New  York  City, 
where  he  achieved  considerable  success  during 
the  ensuing  years,  and  where  he  still  resides. 

Hon.  Andrew  C.  Stone  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough May  16,  1839.  He  is  a  son  of  the 
late  Aaron  Stone.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Marlborough  and  at  Appleton 
Academy,  at  New  Ipswich,  and  Phillips  Acad- 
emy, at  Exeter.  When  a  young  man  he  taught 
school  in  Walpole,  Keene,  New  Ipswich  and 
Peterborough.  In  1860  he  commenced  reading 
law  at  Lawrence,  Mass.,  and  continued  his  studies 
until  August,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
Thirty-third  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and 
served  three  years  in  the  army. 

In  1865  he  went  to  Ashtabula,  O.,  and  com- 
pleted his  law  studies  with  Judge  Sherman, 
being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1867. 
He  at  once  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
Lawrence,  Mass.,  where  he  has  continued  to 
reside   and    practice   his    profession    until    the 


284 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


present  time.  In  1869  be  married  Mary  F* 
Hulbert,  daughter  of  Joseph  D.  Hulbert,  Esq., 

«>t*  Ashtabula,  O.  He  has  taken  great  interest 
in  the  Grand  Annv  of  the  Republic,  having 
attended  as  a  delegate  the  National  Encamp* 
ments  at  Indianapolis,  Baltimore  and  Denver. 
He  is  Fast  Commander  of  Post  39,  Department 
of  Massachusetts.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar 
and  Scottish  Kite  Mason,  and  Past  Master  of 
Phoenician  Lodge,  in  Lawrence.  He  has  been 
twice  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of 
Law  rente,  and  was  one  year  president  of  that 
bodv.  Pie  lias  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Republican  State  Central  Com- 
mittee. For  the  years  1880  and  1882  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  serving 
upon  the  committees  on  the  judiciary  and  rail- 
roads. He  was  a  delegate  from  his  district  to 
the  Republican  National  Convention  in  Chicago 
in  188  t.  and  favored  the  renomination  of  Presi- 
dent Arthur  at  that  time.  He  has  been  an 
extensive  traveler,  having  been  largely  through 
the  United  States  and  twice  to  Europe.  He  is 
at  present  city  solicitor  of  Lawrence,  Mass. 

Daniel  B.  Woodward,  M.D  .  eldest  son  of 
Stilman  and  Eunice  (Buttrick)  Woodward,  was 
born  in  Marlborough,  X.  H.,  October  1,  1835. 
He  was  the  eldest  of  six  children, —  four  sons 
and  two  daughters, — all  of  whom  but  one,  the 
youngest  son,  are  married  and  still  living. 

Mr.  Woodward  was  early  instructed  to  care 
for  and  cultivate  his  lather's  farm,  and  thereby 
at  an  early  age  was  inured  to  solid  physical 
labor.  He  was  emphatically  a  worker  in  his 
boyhood.  His  early  education  was  limited  to 
the  brief  terms  of  the  district  and  select  schools 
of  his  native  town.  He  early  imbibed  an  ener- 
getic inclination  to  think  and  study  for  himself, 
being  encouraged  by  his  judicious  and  strong- 
minded  mother,  who  had  had  experience  in 
beaching  in  the  district  schools  of  her  native 
town  ami  vicinity.  His  youthful  mind  waxed 
stronger  and  stronger,  while  laboring  on  his 
father's  farm  and  in  the  wooden-ware  shops 
near  his   home,  till   he  arrived  at  his  majority. 


when  he  spent  two  brief  terms  at  Westminster 
Seminary,  Vermont.  He  was  unpretending, 
studious  and  methodical  in  his  attainments, — 
progressive,  persevering,  hopeful  and  bound  to 
succeed. 

He  commenced  his  professional  studies  under 
the  efficient  instructions  of  Dr.  Samuel  A. 
Richardson,  of  Marlborough.  While  pursuing 
his  studies,  not  being  unmindful  of  his  duty 
when  his  country  called,  he  enlisted  in  her 
service,  and  spent  three  successive  years  in  a 
cause  that  lay  near  to  his  heart, — his  country's 
freedom. 

During  this  time  he  suffered  the  hardships 
and  privations  incident  to  the  field,  the  camp 
and  the  hospital  ;  ever  efficient,  faithful  and 
true  on  the  field  of  battle,  as  elsewhere.  He 
continued  his  professional  studies  in  the  hos- 
pitals of  the  United  States  army,  and  subse- 
quently entered  Harvard  Medical  College,  of 
Boston,  Mass.,  where  he  graduated  March  8, 
1865,  and  received  the  degree  of  M.D.,  and 
immediately  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  Troy,  N.  H.,  in  plain  view  of  his  old 
homestead,  where  he  remained  actively  and 
efficiently  pursuing  the  profession  of  his  choice. 

The  17th  of  May,  1865,  found  the  doctor 
uniting  his  interests  with  the  lady  of  his  choice, 
Miss  Ellen  A.  Burt,  of  Plymouth,  Vt. 

In  1868,  Dr.  Woodward  decided  to  leave 
the  early  field  of  his  profession,  and  removal 
to  Ellenburg,  Clinton  County,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
continues  to  practice  his  profession. 

The  doctor's  early  temperate  habits,  invig- 
orating out-door  exercises  and  methodical  studi- 
ousness,  have  developed  a  sound  mind  in  a 
strong  body,  enabling  him  to  perform  the  suc- 
cessive duties  of  each  returning  day  almost 
unmolested  by  sickness  or  pain.  In  Dr.  Wood- 
ward we  see  that  the  child  and  youth  was 
father  of  the  man. 

John  Wilue  Converse,  son  of  Nelson  and 
Sallie  M.  (Joins)  Converse,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, duly  3,  1848.  Though  a  farmer's 
boy,  and  always  obliged  to  labor  at  the  farm- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


285 


work,  he  was  regarded  as  being  of  a  thoughtful 
and  studious  turn  of  mind,  and  was  encouraged 
in  this  by  his  parents,  they  allowing  him  the 
'full  benefit  of  such  school  advantages  as  the 
town  then  afforded,  and  afterwards  sending  him 
to  various  seminaries  in  Vermont,  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire. 

When  about  twenty  years  of  age  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  at  home,  under  the 
direction  of  the  late  law-firm  of  Wheeler  & 
Faulkner,  of  Keene,  N.  H. ;  and,  when  he 
became  of  age,  removed  to  Springfield,  Mass., 
where  he  continued  his  studies  for  two  years  in 
the  office  of  Augustus  L.  Soule, — now  judge  of 
Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts, — and  in  1872 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  that  State. 

The  following  year  he  became  engaged  to 
and  married  Miss  Clara  A.  Wheeler,  a  woman 
of  uncommon  merit  and  ability  ;  but  she  died 
in  May,  1875. 

Feeling  that   he  wanted   a  larger    field   of 
action,   in  1876  he  traveled  through  the  West, 
and  visited   the  principal  cities  there  for  this 
reason,  but  finally  settled  in  Boston,  where  he 
is    now    practicing    his    profession.     When    in 
Springfield    he    became    interested  in    politics, 
taking  an  active  part  in  campaign  work,  and 
earned  quite  a  reputation  as  a  political  speaker. 
He  has  always  been  a  Republican.     Like  all 
others  in  his  profession,  he  has  been  obliged  to 
work    hard  and  earnestly   for  the  position   he 
holds,  but  is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  moder- 
ate practice  and  the  full  confidence  of  the  bar. 
A   clear  thinker  and  close  reasoner,  his  judg- 
ment  is   always   to  be  relied  on,  as  he  never 
gives  an  opinion  hastily.     He  is  fast  growing 
into  prominence,  and  his  success  seems  assured. 
EiiiSHA  O.  Woodward. — He  entered  upon 
this    life    August    15,    1828;    so,    he   has  just 
passed    over   the    summit    towards    the   sunset 
of  his  human  existence.      Still,  his  sky,   bur- 
nished with  gold,  opal  and  vermilion,  seems  to  be 
far  to  the  westward  yet.  Nature  has  been,  indeed, 
propitious  to  him,  giving  but  slightest  hints   of 
approaching  age.      It    is   true,    his    locks   are 


frosted ;  but  his  step  is  quick  and  firm,  and  his 
general  appearance  implies  that  he  is  right  in 
the  vigor  of  life.  Mentally,  he  is  stronger  than 
ever.  It  could  not  well  be  otherwise,  for  he 
has  thought  and  felt  and  been  truly  interested 
in  the  works  of  God  and  man.  His  mind  has 
ruled  the  body,  making  it  submissive  to  prin- 
ciple. He  has  been  no  radical,  rushing  to  the 
north  or  south  in  pursuit  of  the  enchanted  cave 
of  the  magnet ;  nor  a  conservative,  with  knees 
smiting  together  like  Belshazzar's,  declaring 
there  is  nothing  good  but  in  the  past.  He  has 
been  fortunate  in  making  a  safe  voyage,  thus 
far,  between  Scylla  and  Chary bdis. 

He  is  a  native  of  Swanzey,  N.  H.,  and  came 
to  Marlborough  in  1851,  as  a  clerk  in  the  Pro- 
tective Store ;  but  at  length  he  bought  out  the 
stockholders  and  continued  in  trade  for  him- 
self, at  Lowellville,  for  some  three  years,  when  he 
purchased  and  removed  into  the  store  now 
owned  by  him  and  Mr.  William  Nason.  Be- 
coming somewhat  worn  and  weary  of  store  con- 
finement, in  1874  he  sold  out  and  removed  to 
Grafton,  Mass.,  having  purchased  a  good  farm 
there.  But  his  hands  had  been  too  long  skilled 
in  handling  the  yard-stick  and  the  tape-meas- 
sure  to  yield  readily  to  holding  the  plow  and 
swinging  the  scythe.  Accordingly,  two  years' 
experience  was  sufficient  to  induce  him  to  re- 
turn to  Marlborough,  making  it  his  permanent 
home  and  entering  into  trade  again,  for  this  had 
become  second  nature  to  him,  if  it  were  not  his 
first. 

He  is  a  man  of  good  talent  and  culture. 
Had  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law  or 
theology  he  would  have  been  sure  of  success ; 
but,  as  it  is,  he  has  made  much  out  of  this  life,  in 
the  way  of  helping  others  and  improving  him- 
self. He  is  looked  upon  as  a  reliable  and  very 
efficient  business  man  ;  he  is  well  versed  in 
town  matters,  having  held  the  office  of  clerk  for 
seventeen  years,  and  that  of  treasurer  sixteen  ; 
he  has  been  sent  to  the  Legislature  two  years, 
been  postmaster  fifteen  years,  and  served  on 
the  School  Board  for  several  terms. 


286 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


He  has  made  his  home  attractive,  been  gen- 
erous in  the  support  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  has  so  identified  himself  with  all  good  en- 
terprises as  to  be  held  in  highest  esteem. 

Hon.  George  G.  Davis. — When  the  .tocsin 
sounded  the  alarm  of  the  Rebelliou,  a  youth  that 
had  been  reared  among  the  rocks  and  hills  of 
Roxbury,  N.  H.,  heard  the  call  and  felt  he 
must  obey ;  and  he  soon  hastened  to  the  field  of 
strife,  ready  to  dare  and  do  his  best  to  save  the 
Union,  and  still  keep  the  old  flag  waving,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Great 
Lakes  to  the  heaving  Gul£  In  the  battle  of 
Williamsburg  he  was  severely  wounded,  and, 
because  of  this,  he  was  obliged  to  be  discharged 
from  the  army.  After  recovering  somewhat 
from  his  physical  injury  he  came  to  Marlbor- 
ough and  married  Miss  Maria  L.  Collins,  and 
settled  here.  Because  of  his  reliability  and  fit- 
ness he  was  called  to  serve  the  town  in  various 
offices  of  trust,  such  as  town  clerk,  treasurer, 
etc.  As  an  opportunity  presented  itself,  he 
went  into  trade.  It  was  soon  made  evident 
that  nature  fashioned  him  for  the  business.  He 
seemed  to  have  foresight  in  buying  and  selling. 
He  has  been  popular  with  his  patrons  and 
made  his  mercantile  experience  a  decided  suc- 
cess. Though  an  adopted  son  of  Marlborough, 
he  has  been  faithful  to  her  highest  behests. 

Mr.  Davis  was  born  August  28,  1842,  and 
so  now  is  in  the  prime  of  life  and  active  in 
business.  He  is  one  of  the  foremost  men  in 
town  in  speaking  and  working  for  its  interests. 
He  believes  in  improvements  and  progress,  and 
so  fails  not  to  encourage  all  enterprises  at  home 
and  abroad  which  tend  to  ennoble.  In  the 
finish  of  his  own  home  he  shows  that  he  not 
onlv  has  a  love  for  comfort,  but  for  the  beautiful. 

He  has  represented  the  town  in  the  Legis- 
lature, been  a  State  Senator  from  his  district 
and  at  the  present  time  is  an  officer  on  the 
Governor's  staff.  He  has  filled  all  the  offices 
that  he  has  held  with  credit  to  himself  and 
his  constituency. 

Mr.   Davis  is   no  flashing  meteor  nor  fixed 


star,  but  a  moving  body  that  gives  forth  light 
and  warmth  throughout  his  circuit.  In  religion 
he  is  a  Congregational ist,  in  politics  a  Republi- 
can, in  society  a  genial  and  social  man. 

Willi  am  M.  Nason. — Entering  a  woods, 
what  a  diversity  of  trees  we  discover,  all  spring- 
ing from  the  same  soil  and  growing  as  far  into  the 
light  as  possible!  This,  we  say,  is  natural.  Is 
it  any  more  so  than  that  there  should  be  a  great 
variety  of  human  life  in  a  town  or  state?  Mo- 
notony is  not  the  order  of  creation.  Perfect 
similarity  is  nowhere  to  be  met  with  in  nature, 
and  certainly  not  among  men  ;  so,  as  examina- 
tion takes  place,  something  peculiar  and  original 
is  to  be  found  in  every  human  character.  Thus 
with  the  subject  under  consideration.  William 
M.  Nason  was  born  August  7,  1832,  the  only 
son  among  four  children  of  Ziba  and  Eunice  Buss 
Nason.  He  was  blest  with  excellent  parentage. 
His  early  home  was  pleasant  and  beautifully 
situated.  It  is  fortunate  to  be  bred  where  the 
air  is  bracing,  the  light  is  clear,  the  birds  sing, 
the  trees  thrive,  the  hills  are  high  and  the  valleys 
deep.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  where  he 
had  stones  to  pick  as  well  as  potatoes  to  plant; 
where  the  summers  were  warm  and  the  winters 
seldom  wanting  of  snow. 

He  enjoyed  the  usual  privileges  of  the  district 
school.  He  was  regarded  by  his  mates  rather 
as  a  sober  boy,  especially  in  the  school-room  ;  but 
out  of  doors  at  times  he  was  sure  to  make  a 
deal  of  fun.  He  always  ranked  well  in  his 
studies.  In  his  later  youth  he  attended,  for 
several  terms,  the  select  schools  in  our  village, 
so  that  at  his  majority  he  had  a  good  business 
education.  As  he  started  for  himself  in  life  he 
did  not  feel,  as  many  do,  that  it  is  necessary  for 
a  young  man  to  go  West  to  meet  with  success. 
Accordingly  he  went  into  business  for  himself  at 
Swanzey  Factory,  manufacturing  pails.  But  he 
was  not  pleased  with  the  place,  and,  after  a 
year's  experience  there,  he  sold  out  and  returned 
to  Marlborough,  entering  a  store  as  a  clerk. 
Here  he  soon  proved  himself  well  adapted  to 
the  mercantile  calling,  showing  that  he  is  faith- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


287 


ful  and  one  to  be  trusted.  At  length  he  went 
into  partnership,  and  has  continued  in  mercan- 
tile business  up  to  the  present  time,  being  es 
teemed  as  reliable  and  a  man  of  good  judgment. 
For  twelve  years  and  more  he  has  been  the 
postmaster  of  the  town.  He  has  represented 
Marlborough  in  the  Legislature  for  two  terms. 

He  was  chosen  a  deacon  of  the  Congregation- 
al Church  in  1870,  which  office  he  still  holds. 
He  was  married  in  1855  to  Caroline  E.  Knowl- 
ton  with  whom  he  happily  lived  till  she  died, 
in  1862,  leaving  a  daughter,  that  survived  her 
but  a  few  months  ;  and  afterwards  he  married 
Sarah  A.  Knowlton,  sister  of  his  first  wife,  with 
whom  he  is  now  living,  having  a  pleasant  home 
within  and  without.  Thus,  in  the  prime  of 
life,  Mr.  Nason  stands  as  a  successful  and 
worthy  Christian  man.  He  seems  bound,  in 
his  quiet,  persistent  and  unostentatious  way,  to 
do  what  he  can  for  his  native  town  and  the 
world. 

Levi  A.  Fuller  is  a  descendant  from  good 
ancestry.  It  is  natural  for  him  to  think  and 
act.  From  boyhood  he  has  been  all  astir. 
His  aspirations  and  endeavors  have  pointed  up- 
ward. His  ambition  in  no  small  degree  has 
seemed  to  be  to  help  others.  In  thus  doing 
he  has  come  to  be  popular  and  influential.  As 
a  business  man  he  is  regarded  shrewd  and  just; 
as  a  citizen,  well-informed  and  loyal,  and  as  a 
Christian,  devoted  and  faithful  to  his  convic- 
tions. 

He  was  born  May  4,  1836,  and  is  in  the  full 
strength  of  life.  He  is  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing wooden-ware  and  dealing  in  lumber.  He 
has  served  the  town  as  selectman,  Representa- 
tive to  the  Legislature  and  been  a  county  com- 
missioner, and  is  still  a  growing  man.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  Church,  in 
which  he  has  held  the  office  of  deacon  since 
1874. 

James  Knowlton  is  one  of  Marlborough's 
most  busy  men.  He  was  born  in  Dublin  De- 
cember 28,  1885.  For  years  in  the  winter  he 
taught   in  our  public   schools ;    was  liked    by 


his  scholars  and  respected  by  their  parents.  For 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  has  done 
business  in  town,  though  his  dwelling  is  on  the 
boundary  between  Marlborough  and  Keene,  so 
that  he  sleeps  in  the  latter  place  and  votes  there, 
but  lives  in  the  former.  He  is  a  thorough  me- 
chanic,  able  to  turn  his  hand  to  most  any  busi- 
ness, doing  it  in  the  best  manner.  He  has  by 
his  deeds  identified  himself  with  many  import- 
ant works  in  town.  He  is  now  engaged  in  get- 
ting out  lumber  and  manufacturing  pails,  giving 
employment  to  quite  a  number  of  workmen.  It 
is  said  he  always  deals  with  his  help  fairly  and 
kindly. 

Lee  Sullivan  McCollester — He  is  the 
son  of  Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.  and  Sophia  F.  McCollester 
and  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H.  June 
5,  1859.  Before  he  was  three  years  old  his 
parents  removed  to  Westbrook,  Me.,  where 
they  resided  till  he  was  ten  years  old  ;  then  he 
lived  in  Nashua,  N.  H.,  more  than  three  years, 
where  he  attended  his  first  school,  and  became 
fitted  for  the  High-School.  As  his  father  was 
called  to  the  presidency  of  Buchtel  College, 
and  his  family  removed  to  Akron,  Ohio,  Lee 
entered  the  preparatory  department  of  the 
college  in  1873  and  became  fitted  for  college 
and  was  matriculated  into  the  freshman  class 
in  1876,  where  he  remained  till  he  had  com- 
pleted the  sophomore  year,  when,  accompanying 
his  parents,  he  visited  Europe,  where  he  pass- 
ed a  year  in  London  University  and  in  travel. 
On  his  return  home  he  entered  Tufts  College, 
as  a  junior,  1879,  and  was  graduated  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1881  having  taken  two  prizes  in 
his  course.  In  the  fall  of  1881  he  began  his 
theological  studies  at  Tufts  Divinity  School, 
and  was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Divinity,  hav- 
ing won  two  prizes  in  this  course.  Immedi- 
ately on  leaving  college,  in  1884,  he  was  settled 
as  pastor  over  the  Universalist  Church  of 
Claremont,  N.  H.  In  August  of  the  same  year 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Lillian  Adelle,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Samuel  G.  and  Louisa  B.  Wright,  a 
young  woman   of   rare  qualities  of  mind  and 


288 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


heart.  For  a  year  they  have  been  settled, 
greatly  loved  and  respected  by  their  people  and 
by  all  knowing  them.  August  2(3,  1885,  he 
became  sorely  afflicted  through  the  death  of  his 
devoted  and  accomplished  wife.  All  hearts 
having  known  them  felt  severely  this  great 
sorrow,  tendering  their  fullest  condolence  to  the 
young  minister  of  ability  and  promise. 

Charles  R.  Mason. — When  a  young  man 
Mr.  Mason  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  an  arm, 
but  it  would  seem  this  had  been  made  up  to 
him,  from  the  fact  that  he  has  done  so  far  as 
much  as  ordinarily  falls  to  the  lot  of  one  man 
to  do.  He- is  a  native  of  Dublin  and  was  educa- 
ted in  her  schools.  He  taught  with  success  for 
several  terms.  Naturally  gifted  as  to  art,  after 
his  loss  he  devoted  special  attention  to  penman- 
ship and  drawing,  so  that  he  excelled  in  both 
and  has  taught  writing  for  years.  He  is  a  fine 
accountant  and  book-keeper.  He  has  filled 
many  important  offices  in  town,  with  credit  to 
all.  He  is  now  justice  of  peace,  and  was 
United  States  assistant  assessor  for  six  years. 
He  was  born  July  27,  1830.  He  is  one  that 
thinks  more  than  he  says,  and  does  as  he  agrees. 
By  his  life  he  is  writing  out  a  record  that  will 
be  always  pleasing  for  kindred  and  friends  to 
read. 

Cyrus  Sidney  Moors. — He  was  born  July 
5,  1832,  in  Jaffrey,  N.  H.  He  was  a  reliable 
and  industrious  boy,  making  the  most  he  could 
out  of  his  meagre  school  advantages.  While 
a  mere  youth  his  father  was  accidentally  killed 
and  so  left  the  care  and  responsibility  of  a  farm 
upon  him  and  his  brother,  Loren  L.  He  was 
faithful  to  this  charge  and  true  to  his  noble 
mother.  They  so  managed  that  Sidney  was 
enabled  to  attend  several  select  schools  in  the 
village ;  and  so,  as  he  became  of  age,  he  had  a 
fair  education,  and  entered  upon  his  life-work 
with  good  aims.  He  followed  the  carpenter 
business  for  a  while ;  then  went  into  trade  for  a 
time ;  and  at  length  became  station-agent  at 
the  Marlborough  Depot,  on  the  Cheshire 
K.  R.     Here  he  has  done  faithful  service  to 


the  road  and  the  patrons  for  many  years.  He 
has  so  wrought,  that  he  has  the  fullest  confi- 
dence of.  his  employers  and  the  people  at  large, 
and  no  doubt  will  be  retained  in  his  present  po- 
sition so  long  as  he  shall  be  able  to  fill  it. 
He  was  postmaster  for  the  south  part  of  the 
town,  is  an  express  agent,  and  is  mail  and 
passage  carrier  from  the  Marlborough  Cheshire 
Depot  to  the  village.  Verily,  he  is  one  of  the 
useful  and  substantial  men  in  town,  a  preserver 
of  good  order,  interested  in  the  Christian 
Church,  a  temperance  reformer  and  a  peace-lov- 
ing citizen. 

Leonard  Ellsworth  Tilden,  only  son  of 
George  and  Betsey  L.  Tilden,  was  born  at 
Marlborough,  N.  H.,  March  28,  1801,  one  of 
the  most  eventful  years  in  the  nation's  history, 
when  a  great  political  crisis  terminated  in  civil 
war,  when  the  telegraph  wires  trembled 
throughout  the  land  witli  the  messages  of  re- 
bellion, and  men  sought  the  daily  news  more 
eagerly  than  they  sought  their  daily  food. 

The  father,  a  stanch  Republican,  was  one  of 
the  first  to  enroll  his  name  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
Union  army.  Born  into  such  circumstances, 
how  naturally  the  mind  of  the  young  son  was 
stimulated  to  political  thought  and  action  !  He 
very  early  evinced  a  strong  literary  taste  and 
marked  ability  in  writing  and  arranging  articles 
for  the  press,  many  of  which  were  published  by 
the  amateur  press  while  he  was  a  mere  child. 
Pennies  which  the  ordinary  boy  spent  for  toys 
and  confectionery  wrere  treasured  up  by  young 
Tilden,  and  invested  in  books  and  writing- 
material. 

He  attended  the  village  school,  making  fair 
use  of  his  time  ;  his  quick,  comprehensive  mind 
interpreting  the  lesson  with  little  study ;  thus  he 
was  generally  well  up  with  his  class.  Jumping 
at  conclusions,  as  he  often  did,  he  made  many 
mistakes,  which  won  for  him  the  laugh  and 
ridicule  of  his  companions ;  but  his  proud,  sen- 
sitive nature  was  well  balanced  with  courage 
and  perseverance,  which  moved  him  steadily 
forward,  making  stepping-stones  of  his  errors 


MARLBOROUGH. 


289 


upon  which  to  climb,  thus  living  out  the  senti- 
ment of  J.  G.  Holland  :  "  We  build  the  ladder 
bv  which  we  rise." 

In  1875  he  became  identified  with  amateur 
journalism  (thought  by  ex-Speaker  Randall  to 
be  the  noblest  work  ever  engaged  in  by  the 
American  youth),  and  commenced  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Cheshire  Star,  which  he  enlarged  to 
twice  its  former  size  in  1878,  and  changed  the 
name  to  the  Granite  State  Courier.  He  was 
honored  by  the  members  of  the  New  England 
fraternity  by  being  elected  official  editor  of  their 
organ,  the  New  England  Amateur,  in  1879  ;  at 
this  time  he  was  American  editor  of  the  Season, 
an  amateur  magazine,  published  at  Bradford, 
England. 

He  has  written  several  plays,  which  have 
been  published,  showing  a  good  degree  of  dra- 
matic talent.  In  1875,  when  fourteen  years 
of  age,  he  was  engaged  as  reporter  for  the 
Cheshire  Republican,  of  Keene,  which  place  he 
filled  very  acceptably  until  the  fall  of  1882, 
when  he  went  to  Boston  to  attend  French's 
Business  College.  While  there  he  became  a 
member  of  the  reportorial  staff  of  the  Boston 
Daily  Globe,  and  is  at  the  present  time  under 
engagement  to  work  for  the  paper  whenever 
possible. 

He  has  been  twice  elected  sergeant-at-arms 
in  the  New  Hampshire  Senate,  first  in  1883, 
for  a  term  of  two  years,  and  re-elected  in  1885, 
being  the  youngest  man  ever  elected  to  that 
office,  and  the  only  one  ever  re-elected.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  Republican  Senatorial 
Convention  for  Cheshire  District  in  1884,  and 
during  the  campaign  of  that  year  served  accept- 
ably as  clerk  and  stenographer  of  the  Republi- 
can State  Committee.  He  was  appointed  a 
delegate  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  General  Grant,  at  New 
York,  August,  1885. 

Though  young  in  years,  he  has  acceptably 

filled  many  places  of  trust  and   responsibility. 

In  his  home  relations  he  has  always  been  loyal ; 

dutiful   as  a  sou,  working  with   his   father  as 

19 


stable-keeper,  though  often  chafing  under  the 
employment,  which  was  always  distasteful  to 
him  ;  confiding  in  the  mother,  who  always  en- 
couraged his  literary  work,  making  many  wil- 
ling sacrifices,  that  he  might  have  advantages  ; 
an  affectionate  brother,  a  kind  and  generous- 
hearted  friend.  In  religious  thought  he  is 
Christian  and  liberal,  seeking  to  bring  the 
golden  rule  into  practical  life,  thus  calling 
around  him  many  pleasant  acquaintances,  yet 
ever  turning  to  home  and  home  friends  with 
the  same  fresh,  boyish  spirit  that  has  character- 
ized his  whole  life. 

Congressman  Gallinger,  speaking  of  Mr. 
Tilden,  says :  "  Those  who  know  him  best, 
prophesy  that  he  is  destined  to  secure  a  leading 
place  among  the  prominent  and  influential  men 
of  the  State." 

Charles  A.  Bemis. — Life  is  full  of  sur- 
prises. We  read  an  author  and  we  imagine 
him  of  such  dimensions  and  appearance ;  but 
when  we  chance  to  meet  him,  how  unlike  the 
man  we  supposed  in  size,  mien  and  tempera- 
ment! Thus  it  is  in  our  experience.  The 
great  man  does  not  enter  the  gate  at  which  we 
are  watching;.  The  common  man  makes  him- 
self  unexpectedly  equal  to  some  great  emer- 
gency, and  we  wonder  how  it  was  possible. 
Thus  it  is  ;  we  know  not  what  the  day  or  hour 
will  bring  forth  ;  we  must  wait  and  be  sur- 
prised. 

Iu  one  of  our  humble  homes,  January  29, 
1848,  a  child  made  its  appearance  that  was 
very  welcome,  for  he  was  the  second  born  and 
first  son.  His  early  opportunities  were  not 
flattering ;  his  school  advantages  were  slight ; 
for  after  he  was  fourteen  he  went  to  only  four 
short  terms  of  school.  He  learned  to  read, 
write  and  spell  tolerably  well,  but  he  was  a 
stranger  to  grammar,  as  his  schooling  was 
finished.  But  he  early  become  fascinated  with 
biography  and  history  ;  and  it  is  said  that  when 
he  was  but  ten  years  old  he  read  the  history  of 
the  town  of  Dublin,  and  from  that  time  he  felt 
he  would  write  the  history  of  his  native  town. 


290 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Henceforth  he  was  gathering  up  facts  and  inci- 
dents for  years  unknown  to  others  until 
about  the  time  the  town  of  Marlborough  cele- 
brated the  hundredth  anniversary  of  its  incor- 
poration, in  1876.  Then  the  question  was  asked, 
Who  shall  write  the  history  of  our  town  ?  And 
those  who  had  been  apprised  of  what  young 
Bemis  had  already  achieved  in  collecting  statis- 
tics and  dates  answered,  Charles  A.  Bemis; 
and  so  he  was  encouraged  to  go  on  in  his 
arduous  undertaking  until,  by  some  assistance, 
he  brought  out  one  of  the  best  town  histories. 
We  are  greatly  indebted  to  it  for  many  of  the 
facts  and  not  a  few  of  the  pages  in  this  volume 
devoted  to  Marlborough.  As  his  volume  came 
i nit,  the  people  were,  for  the  most  part,  happily 
surprised  at  the  important  work  compiled  by 
the  young  man,  who  had  been  forced  to  day- 
labor  for  support  all  the  while  he  was  collect- 
ing material  for  his  history.  The  world  was 
surprised  when  Napoleon  scaled  the  Alps,  when 
Dr.  Kane  explored  the  Arctic  Seas  and  brought 
back  so  much  coveted  knowledge,  and  when 
Grant  captured  Vicksburg  and  put  down  the 
Rebellion;  so  our  people  were  surprised  as 
they  read  the  history  of  our  town  by  the 
wooden-ware  worker  and  box-maker.  Thev 
received  more  than  thev  had  bargained  for. 
This  shows  what  may  be  accomplished  by  sav- 
ing the  spare  moments.  Mr.  Bemis  is  a  young 
man  now,  industrious,  interested  in  religious, 
social  and  civil  affairs.  He  loves  his  home; 
he  loves  to  read  ;  he  loves  to  talk ;  he  loves  to 
have  his  own  way  if  he  feels  it  is  right. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

MARLBOROUGH— {Continued). 
MISCELLANEOUS. 

Odd-Fellow  ship. —  In  the  year  1868,  Pa- 
qnaig  Lodge,  No.  oO,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  estab- 
lished in  Marlborough.  It  started  with  twelve 
charter  members,  and  has  continued  to  increase 


till  it  now  numbers  some  seventy  members.  It 
has  accumulated  quite  a  property  and  built  a 
fine  block,  renting  a  portion  for  stores.  It 
has  been  instrumental  in  doing  much  good  in 
behalf  of  the  sick  and  aiding  the  bereaved. 

Paupers. — This  town  has  been  very  fortu- 
nate in  having  but  few  poor  people  to  be  sup- 
ported. It  has  always,  however,  provided  with 
care  for  its  indigent.  At  the  present  time  the 
number  is  small  that  receive  any  pecuniary 
assistance  whatever. 

Cemeteries. — The  people  of  Marlborough 
have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  dead.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  town  they  have  been  ready 
to  make  ample  provision  for  suitable  resting- 
places  of  the  departed.  The  yard  by  the  old 
meeting-house  is  the  oldest  one  in  town.  This 
contains  the  ashes  of  the  first  minister  that 
died  in  town  and  the  first  physician.  Its  acre 
is  thickly  sown  with  the  dead.  Two  other  ceme- 
teries were  early  set  apart — one  in  the  north 
portion  of  the  town  and  the  other  on  the  hill- 
side, south  of  the  village — as  sacred  places.  In 
1852,  Asa  Greenwood  anticipated  the  need  of  a 
new  cemetery,  and  so  took  a  section  of  his  own 
land  and  fenced  it  off  with  taste  and  caused  it 
to  be  solemnly  dedicated  ;  and  it  is  now  known 
as  Graniteville  Cemetery.  It  is  beautifully 
situated  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  village,  and 
is  becoming  so  thickly  sown  with  graves  that  a 
new  one  in  close  proximity  has  been  secured, 
fenced  and  divided  into  lots.  As  we  walk 
these  sacred  places  and  scan  the  graves,  we  can 
but  feel  "  how  quick  man  runs  his  mortal  race." 
It  is  well  that  these  spots  should  be  made  in- 
viting and  expressive  of  beauty  and  trust  in 
God.  Cemeteries  are  quite  reliable  indices  of 
the  condition  of  a  people.  So,  it'  they  are  truly 
Christian,  they  will  secure  pleasant  grounds  for 
receiving  the  ashes  of  their  beloved,  and  will 
render  them  attractive  with  stone,  flower,  shrub 
and  tree.  "Beautiful"  will  be  written  over 
their  gateway  and  epitaphs  will  point  to  heaven. 

TEMPERANCE. — As  a  town  Marlborough  has 
always  stood  firm  on  the  side  of  temperance. 


MARLBOROUGH. 


291 


Acting  upon  the  principle  that  it  is  better  to 
turn  moral  streams  at  their  sources  than  to  at- 
tempt to  change  the  currents  that  have  taken 
on  a  river's  resistless  force,  thus  Marlborough 
has  always  had  its  temperance  workers,  and  its 
temperance  organizations  as  an  educating  in- 
fluence in  the  community. 

Far  back  in  the  past  was  that  great  move- 
ment of  moral  and  religious  forces  known 
as  Washingtonianism;  it  did  a  grand  and  noble 
work  in  its  time,  but,  like  all  reform  move- 
ments, it  had  its  rise  and  its  decline  ;  but  not 
until  its  purpose  was  accomplished,  a  strong 
public  sentiment  was  created,  and  lines  of  tem- 
perance work  were  traced  which  other  organi- 
zations took  up  and  carried  forward.  There 
were  the  License  Party,  the  Prohibitory  Party, 
the  Sons  of  Temperance,  the  Good  Templars 
and  the  Reform  Club,  each  and  all  doing 
good  and  effectual  work  in  its  proper  time,  and 
in  its  own  peculiar  way.  Beside  all  this,  there 
was  individual  work  done ;  men  of  sterling  prin- 
ciple sacrificed  time  and  money,  let  their  pro- 
perty depreciate  on  their  hands,  closing  the  only 
hotel  in  the  town,  and  converting  it  into  stores 
and  tenements  rather  than  have  intoxicating 
drinks  sold  in  their  midst.  Thus,  brave,  patient 
hearts  labored  on  through  the  years,  and  by 
constant  vigilance,  kept  the  foe  from  their  own 
doors.  Yet  all  the  while  this  giant  evil  was 
growing  in  the  world,  and  the  call  came  for 
stronger  effort,  for  more  united  work.  Then 
it  was  that  woman's  heart  was  stirred,  and  one 
cold  December  morning  in  1873,  a  band  of 
women  went  forth  from  a  little  church  in 
Southern  Ohio  with  the  call  to  their  Christian 
sisters  throughout  the  land  to  take  up  this 
temperance  work,  in  the  name  of  "God  and 
home  and  native  land."  The  cry  ran  along 
the  electric  wires  that  connect  human  hearts, 
until  many  a  town  and  village  in  the  State  was 
engaged  in  the  work;  nor  did  it  stop  here;  its 
vibrations  were  felt  in  every  State  in  the  Union  ; 
nor  have  they  ceased,  and  to-day  the  hearts  of 
all  Christian  women  in  this  land,  and  over  the 


sea,  beat  as  one  in  this  great  endeavor  to  crush 
out  the  evil  of  intemperance. 

Out  of  this  movement  grew  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union.  When  the  call 
came  to  Marlborough,  in  July,  1882,  a  few 
conscientious  women  were  ready  to  meet  it,  and 
say  "  God  has  placed  this  responsibility  upon  us, 
and  we  have  no  right  to  cast  it  aside,  we  will 
take  up  the  work  and  do  all  and  the  best  we 
can."  And  thus  for  three  years  they  have 
labored,  having  at  all  times  the  sympathy  and 
support  of  the  people.  Much  has  been 
done,  and  much  remains  to  be  done,  but  the 
word  of  God  abideth  forever,  and  the  declara- 
tion is,  "  The  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea." 

The  officers  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  at  the  present  time  are  as  fol- 
lows:  Mrs.  L.  E.  Blodgett,  president;  Mrs. 
Edna  Richardson,  vice-president ;  Mrs.  Charles 
Mason,  secretary;  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Hemenway, 
treasurer ;  Mrs.  J.  L.  Merrell,  Mrs.  Whitney 
Lawrence,  Mrs.  Charles  Mason,  executive  com- 
mittee. 

Miss  Effie  Chase,  their  first  secretary,  who 
served  faithfully  until  declining  health  forbade 
her  doing  more,  a  young  lady  of  great  moral 
worth  and  lovely  Christian  character,  has  passed 
"over  the  river,"  but  her  memory,  like  the 
fragrance  of  some  sweet  flower,  still  lingers 
with  them.  Another  estimable  worker  has 
been  Mrs.  Julia  Polk,  wife  of  Rev.  R.  T.  Polk, 
who  has  now  gone  to  reside  in  another  State. 
Her  active,  earnest  spirit  and  her  willing  hands 
have  been  greatly  missed  in  the  organization. 

All  feel,  who  have  knowledge  of  the  Wom- 
an's Christian  Temperance  Union,  that  it  has 
achieved  in  this  town  grand  results.  Indeed, 
it  is  a  beneficent,  moral  force  that  is  sure  to 
bless.  The  president,  Mrs.  L.  E.  Blodgett,  has 
proved  herself  in  many  ways  a  woman  of  high 
order  of  talent ;  but  especially  in  this  work,  she 
has  been  efficient  and  philanthropic,  proving 
hereself  a  reformer,  an  excellent  presiding  of- 


292 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ficer,  and   one  desirous  of   making  the   world 
wiser  and  better. 

The  Frost  Free  Lirrary. — When  Tam- 
erlane had  finished  building  his  pyramid  out  of 
seventy3  thousand  skulls  of  victims  that  he  had 
destroyed,  and  he  stood  glittering  in  burnished 
steel  at  the  gate  of  Damascus,  and  the  sun  of 
the  race  seemed  to  be  setting  in  gore,  then  might 
have  been  seen  a  youth  in  the  streets,  or  in  an 
obscure  room,  of  Mentz,  making  experiments 
and  being  resolved  upon  giving  to  the  world 
movable  types,  that  books  might  be  greatly 
multiplied.  The  bloody  foot-prints  of  Tamer- 
lane have  vanished,  but  those  of  John  Faust 
remain  as  in  solid  rock,  and  the  loftiest  pyramid 
which  has  been  piled  up  out  of  printed  books, 
is  to  stand,  immortalizing  his  name. 

When  caliph  Omar  was  causing  the  Alexan- 
drian Library  to  be  burned,  Alfred,  of  Eng- 
land, was  opening  a  highway  for  the  general 
distribution  of  literature ;  so  the  one  was  cov- 
eting ignorance  and  the  other  wisdom.  The 
former  lias  become  lost  to  the  world  ;  the  latter 
is  living  in  the  hearts  of  humanity. 

When  Dr.  Franklin  moved,  in  1731,  in  the 
establishment  of  that  first  public  library  of  our 
country,  located  at  Philadelphia,  started  and 
supported  by  private  subscriptions,  he  was  do- 
ing a  grand  work  for  our  nation, — one  that  was 
to  improve  the  thought,  the  conversation  and 
the  character  of  our  people.  Out  of  that  small 
beginning  have  issued  the  Boston  Athenaeum, 
the  Society  Library  of  New  York,  and  many 
others  of  a  private  nature. 

But  that  was  another  step  in  advance;  when 
Dr.  Francis  Wayland,  in  1847,  founded  in  the 
town  bearing  his  own  name  the  first  free  public 
library.  This  was  heeding  the  demands  of  the 
poor  as  well  as  of  the  rich.  From  this  slight  root 
has  sprung  the  Astor  of  New  York,  the  Logan 
of  Philadelphia,  the  Public  Library  of  Boston, 
and  hosts  of  minor  ones  throughout  our  land. 
And  among  the  many,  with  no  little  pride  do  we 
now  make  mention  of  the  Frost  Free  Library 
of  our  town.     Through  the  blessed   memories 


and  the  great  generosity  of  Hon.  Rufus  Frost, 
it  was  a  gift  to  Marlborough.  He  desired  to 
do  lasting  service  to  the  town  of  his  birth.  How 
could  he  in  any  other  way  have  done  so  much  for 
the  past,  the  present  and  future  welfare  of  our 
people,  as  by  placing  in  our  thriving  village 
such  a  valuable  library,  free  to  all  our  citizens? 
It  is  more  than  the  most  splendid  mausoleum, 
for  it  is  the  treasury  of  the  best  words  and 
thoughts.  Books  are  the  urns  of  treasured  life. 
Temples  waste  away  ;  pictures  and  statues  fade 
and  crumble ;  but  good  books  survive.  The 
only  effect  time  has  upon  them  is  to  sift  the 
wheat  from  the  chaff,  that  the  former  may  yield 
abundantly  and  the  latter  die.  Books  introduce 
us  to  the  best  society,  making  us  well  acquainted 
with  the  long-since  departed.  They  cause  the 
inspired  intellects  and  loving  hearts  of  the  past 
to  become  our  teachers  and  associates.  They 
bring  to  our  side  Moses,  Homer,  Plato,  Paul, 
Shakespeare  and  Longfellow,  that  they  may 
abide  with  us  forever.  What  a  blessing  came 
to  our  town,  then,  through  the  Frost  Free 
Library ! 

Its  building  is  a  fire-proof,  handsome  granite 
structure,  pleasantly  situated.  It  was  completed 
and  dedicated  in  1867,  and  supplied  with  two 
thousand  volumes  of  good  books,  which  went 
into  circulation  at  once.  Since  that  time  some 
two  thousand  volumes  more  have  been  added, 
together  with  many  botanical  and  geological 
specimens  from  Marlborough  and  immediate 
vicinity ;  all  of  which,  with  a  fund  of  five 
thousand  dollars,  have  been  presented  to  the 
town  by  Mr.  Frost.  The  library  is  so  deeded 
that  it  must  always  remain  free  to  the  people, 
and  in  no  case  increase  of  necessity  the  taxation 
of  a  single  individual.  Its  board  of  trustees 
is  composed  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  the 
settled  clergymen  and  three  others  chosen  with- 
out regard  to  residence.  This  board  controls 
the  library,  electing  its  secretary  and  librarian, 
and  decides  as  to  the  books  which  shall  be  put 
into  it.  During  its  years  of  existence  its  books 
have  been  in  active  circulation.     It  has  accom- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


293 


plished  and  is  producing  an  indescribable 
amount  of  good.  It  is  as  a  beacon  set  on  a 
hill  to  shed  glory  all  around.  It  is  as  a  halo 
from  heaven  to  make  radiant  the  morning  path- 
way of  the  young,  to  gild  the  noonday  track  of 
the  mature,  and  render  the  evening  circuit  of 
the  aged  peaceful. 

He  who  causes  a  free  library  to  be  established 
in  the  midst  of  a  people  builds  a  monument  to 
his  memory  that  will  be  beautiful  and  enduring 
in  the  eternal  light. 

Situation  and  Boundary. — The  town  of 
Marlborough,  in  Cheshire  County,  N.  H.,  is 
situated  in  latitude  42°  54',  and  longitude  4° 
49'.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Roxbury, 
east  by  Harrisville,  Dublin  and  Jaflrey,  south 
by  Troy,  and  west  by  Troy,  Swanzey  and 
Keene.  Its  distance  from  Keene  is  five  miles, 
from  Concord  fifty  miles,  and  from  Boston 
ninety-three  miles.  Its  population  is  one  thous- 
and four  hundred. 

Surface  and  Geology. — The  surface  of 
Marlborough  is  greatly  diversified  with  hills  and 
valleys.  Some  portions  of  it  are  truly  romantic 
and  picturesque.  It  is  almost  surprising  that 
within  an  area  of  thirteen  thousand  square  acres 
there  should  be  such  a  diversity  of  highland 
and  lowland,  woods  and  clearings.  With  truth 
we  can  say  that  Nature  has  smiled  propitiously 
upon  this  town,  filling  it  with  her  choicest 
charms  and  attractions,  beauties  and  sublimities. 

Its  geological  formation  is  made  up  mostly 
of  the  primitive  rock.  The  outcropping  ledges, 
being  numerous,  are  composed  of  granite.  Ge- 
ology would  call  ours  the  "everlasting  hills," 
having  existed  from  the  very  beginning  of  the 
world's  history.  The  drift,  or  loose  formation, 
is  composed  largely  of  silicates.  The  deposits 
give  evidence  of  glacial,  aqueous  and  iceberg 
action.  The  grooves  cut  into  the  highest  ledges, 
and  holes  worn  into  the  granite,  show  the  re- 
sults of  long-continued  water-action.  The 
minerals  consist  mainly  of  granite,  gneiss, 
granular  and  rose  quartz,  feldspar,  mica,  beryl, 
garnets  and  plumbago.     The  gneiss  has  been 


quarried  extensively  for  building  purposes. 
The  granite  ledges  upon  the  Stone  Hill  are  of 
great  value. 

The  sedimentary  rocks  are  made  up  of  sand, 
clay  and  peat.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to 
grazing.  The  farms,  under  good  cultivation, 
yield  fair  crops  of  Indian  corn,  oats,  potatoes, 
rye  and  barley.  Those  who  are  tilling  their 
farms  after  modern  methods,  guided  by  the 
science  of  agriculture,  are  proving  that  system- 
atic farming  is  no  humbug,  but  is  certain  to  re- 
sult in  good  buildings,  rich  fields,  fine  stock 
and  independence  of  living. 

Climate. — The  air  of  this  town  is  usually 
pure,  and  possessed  of  tonic  properties.  The 
elevation  is  such  that  even  in  the  hottest  days 
in  July  and  August  it  is  seldom  sultry.  Of 
course  the  winters  are  long,  and  the  snows  are 
frequently  deep  and  drifted.  The  extensive 
growth  of  forests,  no  doubt,  has  much  to  do  in 
moderating  the  air  during  summer  and  winter. 

Trees  and  Fruits. — Some  of  the  principal 
forest  trees  are  the  oak,  beech,  birch,  sugar- 
maple,  elm,  cherry,  hemlock,  pine,  larch  and 
spruce. 

Orchards  are  quite  abundant  in  Marlborough. 
The  apple  and  pear-trees  are  sure  to  yield  here, 
if  they  do  anywhere  in  this  vicinity.  The 
orchardists  count  largely  on  the  income  from 
their  fruit-trees. 

The  peach,  cherry  and  grape  do  well  here  in 
certain  localities.  This  town  is  highly  favored 
with  wild  fruits.  The  blueberry,  huckleberry, 
blackberry,  raspberry  and  strawberry  are 
usually  plenty  in  their  season.  Some  years 
large  quantities  are  shipped  to  distant  markets. 
It  is  seldom  a  season  passes  without  a  supply 
of  wild  fruit  sufficient  to  meet  all  home 
demands. 

The  flora  here  is  very  full.  The  botanist 
finds  a  great  variety  of  plants,  all  the  way 
from  the  delicate  mosses  and  ferns  in  the  deep 
dells  to  the  Alpine  flowers  upon  the  highest 
elevations. 

Ponds. — The  Stone   Pond,  situated   in  the 


294 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


east  part  of  Marlborough,  is.  its  largest  body  of 
water ;  it  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  iu 
length  and  one-third  of  a  mile  in  width  ;  its 
elevation  is  some  two  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  Its  water  is  clear  and  sparkling. 
Its  native  fish  were  trout ;  seventy-five  years 
ago  large  quantities  of  them  were  caught  from 
it  weighing  from  three  to  four  pounds  each.  At 
length  the  pond  was  stocked  with  pickerel,  and 
the  trout  since  that  have  nearly  disappeared. 
The  pickerel  grow  to  a  large  size.  The  yellow 
perch  are  now  its  most  abundant  fish. 

The  scenery  just  around  this  pond  and  in  the 
distance  can  scarcely  be  surpassed.  Were  it 
situated  in  Italy  or  Switzerland,  it  surely 
would  have  been  famous  in  song  and  story ;  it 
would  have  been  possessed  of  as  many  charms 
and  beauties  as  Luzerne  or  Como. 

The  Cummings  Pond,  iu  the  north  part  of 
the  town,  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  long 
and  one-fourth  wide.  No  doubt  it  was  former- 
ly much  larger  than  at  the  present.  Trout 
were  once  common  in  this  pond,  but  now  pick- 
erel, pouts  and  shiners  monopolize  its  waters. 
Through  the  ice  hundreds  of  pickerel  have 
been  caught  from  it  in  a  single  day. 

The  Clapp  Pond  is  iu  the  northeast  part  of 
the  town.  It  is  not  as  large  as  the  Cummings 
Pond,  but  more  depressed.  Its  waters  are  not 
so  clear  as  those  of  the  Stone  Pond.  Its  fish 
consist  mainly  of  pickerel  and   pouts. 

The  Meeting-House  Pond,  near  where  the  old 
meeting-house  stood,  occupies  an  area  of  one  hun- 
dred square  acres,  including  the  open  water  and 
what  is  grown  over  with  bog.  This  pond  has 
long  been  a  favorite  resort  for  fishing.  Its 
witters  have  been  prolific  of  pickerel  and  cat- 
tish. 

Streams  and  Brooks. — The  largest  stream 
is  the  Minni-wawa.  Its  head-waters  are  in 
Nelson  and  Dublin.  Flowing  through  a  very 
broken  country,  it  is  subject  to  sudden 
rise  and  fall  of  water;  still,  by  the  means  of 
reservoirs  and  ponds,  it  is  supplied  with  power 
sufficient  for  extensive   manufactories  of  woolen 


goods,  wooden-wares  and  for  grinding  grain. 
With  propriety  it  may  be  called  the  mother  of 
our  present  thriving  village.  It  has  been  faith- 
ful in  driving  saws,  spindles  and  millstones,  so 
as  to  supply  work  for  many  active  minds  and 
busy  hands. 

Its  falls  and  basin,  a  short  distance  above  the 
village,  are  natural  curiosities,  of  special  inter- 
est to  lovers  of  the  grand  and  beautiful. 

Another  stream  is  known  as  the  South 
Branch,  which  is  about  the  size  of  the  Minni- 
wawa.  Its  current  is  rapid  and  its  bed  very 
stony.  Its  waters  have  been  utilized  to  some 
extent  in  propelling  lathes  and  saws. 

There  are  several  brooks  in  town  which  are 
supplied  with  pure,  cold  water,  furnishing  count- 
less haunts  for  finny  tribes. 

Zoological  History. —  Though  in  ^the 
early  history  of  this  town,  bears,  Avolves,  pan- 
thers and  deer  were  numerous,  still  these  all  dis- 
appeared long  ago,  leaving  only  traditions  of 
their  feats  and  cruelty.  Within  the  remem- 
brance of  some  who  are  living,  beavers  and 
minks  were  common,  but  now  it  is  seldom  one 
is  seen  or  caught.  Foxes  are  numerous  ;  they 
seem  strongly  attached  to  our  hills  and  dales. 
They  appear  to  lose  none  of  their  sagacity  or 
cunning  as  civilization  presses  upon  them. 
They  evidently  enjoy  turkeys  and  chickens 
with  as  good  relish  as  they  did  pheasants  and 
conies.  The  woodchucks  hold  in  their  posses- 
sion at  present  as  much  real  estate  as  they  did 
fifty  or  a  hundred  years  since.  In  spite  of 
guns,  dogs  and  traps,  they  have  kept  their  stock 
unimpaired  and  undiminished.  Rabbits  fre- 
quent our  glades  and  thickets.  Red,  gray  and 
chippering  squirrels  inhabit  our  woods  and 
forests.  We  are  all  apprized  now  and  then 
that  skunks  are  around,  and  are  free  to  lend 
their,  influence  to  friend  or  foe.  Rats  and  mice 
cling  to  our  houses  with  fondest  attachment, 
assuring  us  that  their  race  is  not  yet  run. 

Hawks  whistle  and  crows  caw  as  they  did 
when  the  whoop  of  the  Indian  and  the  bark 
of  the  wolf  echoed  among    the  hills   and  val- 


Q^^^y^^^^^^^^ 


MARLBOROUGH. 


295 


leys.  During  some  seasons,  wild  pigeons  flock 
to  our  fields  and  woods  in  large  numbers. 
Ducks  swim  our  ponds,  partridges  beat  our  logs 
and  whir  through  the  leafy  boughs,  and  the 
owls  hoot  as  they  did  when  the  axe  of  the  early 
settlers  first  rang  from  our  highlands  and  our 
streams.  The  robin,  the  oriole,  the  bluebird, 
the  phebe,  the  wren,  the  lark,  the  bobolink,  the 
nightingale,  the  thrush,  the  ground-bird,  the 
hair-bird,  the  king-bird  and  the  humming-bird 
are  with  us  every  year  to  supply  change  and 
enchantment. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


REV.    S.    H.    MCCOLLESTER,    D.D. 

The  history  of  the  town  of  Marlborough 
would  not  be  complete  without  a  sketch 
and  representation  of  one  of  her  sons,  who 
has  honored  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and 
among  those  who  have  had  charge  of  re- 
ligious and  educational  interests  in  this 
and  in  other  States  of  the  Union,  there 
has  been  none  worthier  than  the  Rev.  S. 
H.  McColl ester,  who  is  a  descendant  of  a 
good  old  Scotch  family.  His  ancestors  were 
among  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Isaac  (1),  the  first  of  the  family  in  Marl- 
borough, was  born  in  1736.  He  was  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  Monad  nock,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town, 
and  was  paid  in  land  for  his  services  in 
the  survey  of  the  township.  He  was  the 
second  settler  in  Marlborough,  removing  here 
in  the  winter  of  1764-65,  and  was  a  resi- 
dent until  his  death,  June  8,  1809.  Sam- 
uel (2)  his  son,  married  Silence  Belknap,  and 
settled  ou  the  homestead.  Silas  (3)  married, 
Achsah  Holman,  and  resided  for  many  years 
on  the  farm  (now  owned  by  Dr.  McCollester) 
where   he   died,    December   26,  1873. 

Rev.  Sullivan  Holman  McCollester,  D.D., 
son   of  Silas  and  Achsah  (Holman)  McColles- 


ter, was  born  in  Marlborough,  N.  H.,  De- 
cember 18,  1826.  His  youth  was  passed,  like 
that  of  many  New  England  boys,  working 
on  a  farm  or  at  some  mechanical  employ- 
ment. During  the  winter  he  availed  him- 
self of  the  good  school  privileges  of  his  na- 
tive town.  His  tastes,  early  in  life,  were  for 
study  and  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  and  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  attended  a  select  school, 
and  afterwards  received  a  thorough  academi- 
cal education  in  the  seminaries  and  acade- 
mies at  Swanzey,  Dublin,  Jaffrey,  Winchen- 
don,  Mass.,  and  Brattleborough,  Vt.,  and  was 
well  fitted  for  college.  He  was  a  pleasant, 
genial  and  social  companion,  a  scholar  eager 
to  learn  and  concerned  in  all  that  pertained  to 
the  interests  of  the  schools.  He  was  a  general 
favorite,  exerted  a  good  influence  upon  the 
students,  and  by  his  kindness  and  sympathy 
aided  the  teachers  in  their  arduous  labors.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  commenced  teaching 
at  Richmond,  where  he  received  nine  dollars 
per  month  ;  afterwards  he  taught  four  success- 
ive winters  in  Walpole.  In  the  winter  of  1 847 
he  entered  Norwich,  (Vt.)  University,  and  grad- 
uated in  the  summer  of  1851,  having  completed 
the  classical  course.  He  was  a  fine  scholar, 
quick,  retentive,  and  with  a  determination  to 
thoroughly  master  all  tasks  set  before  him. 
He  then  became  a  student  at  Cambridge 
Divinity  School,  with  the  intention  of  enter- 
ing the  Christian  ministry.  At  the  expiration 
of  two  years,  he  left  Cambridge,  and  took 
charge  of  the  Walpole,  (N.  H.)  Academy.  Prior 
to  this,  he  had  married,  November  23,  1852, 
Sophia  F.  Knight,  daughter  of  Joel  Knight, 
of  Dummerston,  Vt.,  of  an  early  and  notable 
family.  Mrs.  McCollester  was  a  good  scholar, 
and  sucessful  teacher  at  Melrose  Academy,  Vt., 
and  was  of  great  assistance  to  her  husband  in 
his  school-work. 

In  1853,  Dr.  McCollester  began  his  long 
career  as  a  preacher  of  love  to  God  and  men  in 
Swanzey,  N.  H.,  taking  charge  of  the  Mount 
Caesar    Seminary  there,  and     labored   for    five 


296 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


years,  almost  incessantly  doing  double  duty, 
teaching  and  preaching.  He  started  a  new 
society  and  church  in  the  middle  of  the  town, 
and  another  in  the  west  part,  where  a  church 
edifice  was  built.  These  societies  prospered 
under  his  care,  and  he  left  them  in  a  hopeful 
state.  He  is  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
there  for  his  successful  efforts  in  behalf  of  ed- 
ucation, morality  and  religion.  From  Swanzey 
he  removed  to  Westmoreland,  and  was  pastor 
of  the  Uuiversalist  Society,  and  of  the  one  in 
West  Chesterfield,  preaching  part  of  the  time 
in  each  town,  and  taught  a  select  school  a  por- 
tion of  the  time.  His  meetings  were  largely 
attended,  especially  by  the  young,  who  were 
influenced  to  activity  in  the  Sunday-school. 
He  continued  his  work  with  these  societies 
for  four  years,  and  during  his  pastorate  the 
number  of  Sabbath  worshippers  had  more  than 
doubled ;  real  religious  life  was  expressed 
among  the  people  ;  their  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  the  church  was  awakened,  and  they  renova- 
ted and  greatly  improved  both  of  their  church 
edifices.  While  here  he  was  elected  to  the 
responsible  office  of  school  commissioner  for 
Cheshire  County,  which  he  held  until  1859. 
He  was  also  appointed  president  of  the  State 
Board  of  Commissioners,  and  in  the  winter 
visited  schools  and  lectured  on  education, 
and  in  the  spring  held  Teachers'  Institutes, 
and  thus  made  his  influence  felt  exten- 
sively among  the  teachers  and  the  people. 
His  reputation  soon  reached  beyond  his  own 
State.  He  was  called  to  the  seminary  at  West- 
brook,  now  Deering,  Me.,  (a  suburb  of  Port- 
land), and  commenced  his  work  April,  1861. 
Here  Dr.  McCollester,  a  faithful  worker  as 
ever  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  held  a  relig- 
ious service  Sundays  in  the  seminary  chapel, 
where  the  students  and  families  in  the 
vicinity  could  worship.  A  society  was  soon 
organized,  and,  in  the  course  of  four  years,  it 
had  assumed  such  proportions,  outside  of  the 
school,  that  the  chapel  (with  a  seating  capacity 
of  over  three  hundred)  could  not  accommodate 


all  desiring  to  worship  there.  Measures  were 
soon  taken  towards  the  erection  of  a  church 
building  on  the  grounds,  and  in  the  course  of 
two  years  a  beautiful  and  commodious  house  of 
worship  supplanted  the  chapel.  On  its  comple- 
tion Dr.  McCollester  was  obliged  from  fail- 
ing health,  caused  by  overwork,  to  leave  his 
cares  for  a  time. 

In  the  summer  of  1866,  in  company  with 
his  wife,  he  visited  Europe,  and  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1867.  In  their  travels  +hey 
visited  Ireland,  Scotland,  England,  Belgium, 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Italy.  The 
varied  and  sublime  scenery  of  the  Alps,  the 
pure  air  of  the  mountains  in  the  summer,  the 
mild  climate  on  the  shores  of  the  Swiss  and 
Italian  lakes  in  the  winter,  were  delightful, 
invigorating  and  recreating.  Remaining  in 
London,  Paris  and  Rome  for  some  time,  he 
studied  their  history,  antiquities,  social  insti- 
tutions and  the  topography  of  the  surrounding 
country.  He  wrote  frequent  and  instructive 
letters  to  the  Portland  Transcript,  New  Eng- 
land Journal  of  Education,  Boston  Transcript, 
Gospel  Banner  and  other  papers,  which  were 
read  with  eagerness  by  many.  He  returned  to 
his  school  with  his  mind  refreshed  and  enlarged 
by  his  studies  and  travels,  but  did  not  feel 
able  to  preside  over  the  seminary  and  also  per- 
form ministerial  labor  on  Sunday.  He  con- 
tinued for  a  year  and  a  half  longer  in  charge 
of  the  school,  when  he  found  that  the  severity 
of  the  climate  would  not  permit  him  to  remain 
on  the  coast  without  endangering  his  health, 
and  he  resigned. 

Dr.  McCollester  was  at  the  head  of  this  insti- 
tution nearly  eight  years,  and  raised  it  into  a 
flourishing  condition.  His  first  term,  with 
thirty  scholars,  was  the  hardest  he  ever  taught. 
He  sought  to  put  the  school  upon  a  firm  basis 
of  discipline  and  systematic  study,  and  finally 
succeeded  in  infusing  a  healthful,  moral  and 
intellectual  tone  among  the  students,  and  awak- 
ening a  noble  ambition  in  their  hearts.  The 
school  became  very   popular,   numbering  from 


MARLBOROUGH. 


297 


175  to  240  members.  In  18G4  he  obtained 
from  the  State  Legislature  a  charter  for  a  "  Fe- 
male College,"  the  first  one  of  the  Universalist 
denomination  in  New  England.  From  this 
college  he  graduated  annually  a  class  of  young 
women,  who,  by  their  scholarship  and  moral 
influence,  gave  tone  and  vigor  to  the  society  in 
which  they  moved,  and  reflected  honor  and 
credit  upon  their  principal. 

When  he  left  Westbrook  the  school  was  the 
largest  it  has  ever  been,  and  also  in  the  best 
financial  condition,  and  the  church  had  grown 
to  a  large  and  respectable  religious  body.  Dur- 
ing these  years  Dr.  McCollester  had  wrought 
with  fidelity,  perseverance  and  faithfulness  in 
this  field,  and  it  was  with  the  profoundest  re- 
grets of  the  trustees  and  friends  of  the  semi- 
nary  that  his  resignation  was  accepted. 

In  the  summer  of  1868  he  made  a  second 
tour  of  Europe,  with  his  friend,  Rev.  John  S. 
Lee,  D.D.,  of  St.  Lawrence  University,  Can- 
ton, N.  Y.  who  thus  writes  of  it:  "We  em- 
barked on  board  one  of  the  Montreal  and 
Quebec  steamers  at  Quebec,  and  passed  around 
the  north  of  Ireland.  Dr.  McCollester  revis- 
ited the  scenes  of  his  former  tour,  and  extended 
his  travels  to  Egypt,  Palestine,  Turkey  and 
Greece.  It  was  a  memorable  journey.  We 
passed  a  month  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  it  left 
a  vivid  and  lasting  impression.  We  went  up 
the  Nile,  ascended  the  pyramids,  landed  at 
Jaffa,  passed  nearly  two  weeks  in  and  around 
Jerusalem,  stood  before  the  tombs  of  the  pa- 
triarchs, bathed  in  the  Jordan,  walked  along 
the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  supped  and 
slept  in  the  birth-place  of  Jesus,  rode  along  the 
sandy  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  stopping 
over-night  in  the  old  dilapidated  cities  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  also  riding  over  the  Lebanon 
Mountains,  visiting  Baalbec  and  the  Cedars  of 
Lebanon.  Then,  taking  a  steamer  at  Beyrout, 
we  passed  among  the  Greek  and  Turkish  Isles 
of  the  Archipelago,  spent  a  Sunday  at  Smyrna, 
and  thence  alongside  the  plain  of  Old  Troy, 
through    the    Dardanelles     to    Constantinople, 


thence  to  Athens,  whence  we  made  excursions 
to  Pentelicus  and  other  parts  of  Greece,  to 
Corinth,  Corfu  and  Brindisi,  in  Italy.  We 
visited  the  '  Lands  of  the  Bible.' "  Dr.  McCol- 
lester returned  from  this  voyage  in  February, 
1869,  his  social  and  professional  life  greatly 
enriched  by  the  offerings  he  gathered.  He 
lectured  extensively,  and  wrote  much  describ- 
ing the   countries  he  had    visited. 

On  the  day  that  he  resigned  his  principalship 
of  Westbrook  Seminary,  he  received  a  call  to 
the  Universalist  Church  in  Nashua,  N.  H., 
which  he  accepted,  and  commenced  his  pastorate 
there  in  the  fall  of  1869,  and  devoted  himself  en- 
tirely to  the  ministry.  He  brought  new  vigor  to 
this  church .  The  Sunday-school  soon  more  than 
doubled.  He  had  a  Bible-class  of  some  forty 
members.  His  church  raised  $800  towards  the 
Centenary  Fund  in  1870.  A"Ballou  Associa- 
tion "  was  started  under  his  administration, 
consisting  of  young  people  in  the  parish,  which 
has  since  been  a  strong  working  force  in  be- 
half of  the  church.  The  parish  also  purchased 
a  fine  parsonage,  paying  more  than  $4000  to- 
wards it,  while  he  was  with  them.  He  started 
conference  meetings,  which  were  largely  attended. 
Under  his  charge  the  society  in  all  its  depart- 
ments of  work  was  most  active.  He  was  re- 
spected in  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it.  He  so 
preached  in  word  and  deed  that  he  was  beloved 
and  esteemed  by  all  in  the  city.  He  so  identi- 
fied himself  with  the  cause  of  education,  the 
temperance  work,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Natural  History  Society  and  other  city  enter- 
prises, that  all  felt  to  accord  to  him  the  highest 
meed  of  honor  for  Christian  energy,  ability  and 
moral  worth.  After  an  exceedingly  happy  and 
prosperous  settlement  of  three  years  in  Nashua,  he 
was  induced,  by  the  urgency  of  friends  of  his  de- 
nominational schools,  to  resign  his  charge,  against 
the  wishes  of  the  whole  church,  to  assume  the 
presidency  of  Buchtel  College,  Akron,  Ohio. 
He  was  so  regarded  by  his  own  church  and 
others,  that  at  an  historical  celebration  in 
Nashua,  in  speaking  of  the  clergy,  it  was  said  : 


298 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  The  Universalis!  Church  and  the  community 
lost  a  most  excellent  man,  and  Ruchtcl  College 
gained  an  efficient  president,  when  Rev.  Mr. 
McCollester  left  this  church." 

He  entered  on  his  new  duties  in  the  autumn 
of  1872.  His  scholarship,  peculiar  gifts  for 
organizing,  ability  to  teach  and  govern,  and 
power  to  incite  the  young  with  truest  aims, 
fitted  him  in  a  high  degree  to  open  and  carry  on 
this  most  important  undertaking  with  eminent 
success.  As  the  college  went  into  operation  it 
seemed  advisable  and  necessary  that  there 
should  be  a  Universalist  Church  established  in 
the  thriving  city  of  Akron,  where  the  students 
and  others  could  attend.  Accordingly,  this  duty 
fell  upon  the  president,  who  at  once  began  to 
hold  religious  services  in  the  capacious  chapel 
of  the  college.  The  meetings  were  well  at- 
tended in  the  inception.  Then  he  organized  a 
church,  Sunday-school  and  weekly  conference 
meetings,  which  prospered  beyond  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  most  sanguine.  His  pulpit  efforts 
were  thoroughly  Christian,  persuasive  and  elo- 
quent, and  he  soon  became  known  as  a  more 
than  ordinary  preacher.  His  naturally  strong 
descriptive  powers,  vivid  imagination  and  clear 
statements  made  him  popular  as  a  public 
speaker,  and  he  was  called  upon  ofteu  to  plead 
in  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  held  a  con- 
spicuous place  as  a  powerful  advocate.  After 
having  built  up  a  firm  society  in  connection  with 
the  college,  he  realized  that  his  duties  were  too 
onerous,  and  he  was  instrumental  in  having  a 
pastor-  settled  over  the  society,  thus  relieving 
him  of  his  double  charge.  Having  served  as 
president  of  the  college  for  six  years,  he  re- 
signed  his  office  on  account  of  failing  health, 
and  went  abroad  with  his  family  for  a  year.  At 
the  close  of  his  labors  in  this  connection,  Judge 
Tibbets,  in  behalf  of  the  trustees  and  college, 
said  on  commencement  day  :  "  Six  years  ago, 
when  we  had  completed  this  structure,  grand  in 
its  proportions,  strong  in  its  foundations,  and 
beautiful  in  its  appearance  as  it  was,  we  well 
knew  that  we  had  only  begun  the  work  of  es- 


tablishing a  college.  It  needed  to  be  presided 
over  by  a  man  of  learning,  of  experience,  of 
character,  and  of  devotion  to  the  great  cause  of 
education  ;  not  one  to  take  charge  of  an  old-es- 
tablished institution,  whose  character  and  repu- 
tation were  already  made  and  known,  but  to 
create  and  make  a  new  name  and  character 
among  the  colleges  of  the  land. 

"  We  sought  you,  and,  after  the  most  earnest 
entreaties,  you  accepted  the  position  and  you 
have  not  been  found  wanting.  But,  successful 
as  have  been  your  labors  in  the  college,  and  as 
enduring  as  will  be  their  results,  I  would 
speak  of  other  fields  where  you  are  known,  and 
where  in  your  absence  you  will  be  missed.  I 
see  here  to-day,  and  have  seen  elsewhere,  the 
fruits  of  your  labors  for  the  downfallen  and  the 
poor.  With  others,  you  have  sought  to  save 
the  victims  of  the  wine-cup  from  ruin,  and  the 
poor  from  suffering.  You  have  extended  to 
them  the  hand  of  fellowship.  You  'have  left 
the  quiet  of  your  home  on  week-days  and  on 
the  Sabbath  to  bless  them.  These  have  found 
a  friend  in  you,  whose  heart  was  warm,  and 
whose  purse  was  open  to  relieve  their  necessities. 
In  all  these  characteristics  and  works  vou  have 
shown  yourself  an  accomplished  educator,  a  high- 
minded,  faithful  man,  a  genuine  Christian." 
In  June,  1874,  St.  Lawrence  University  gave 
him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

On  Dr.  McCollester's  return  to  America,  he 
was  not  much  improved  in  health,  and  thought 
he  would  settle  on  his  farm  in  his  native  town, 
where  his  honored  parents  had  lived  and  died. 
But  he  was  not  allowed  to  continue  there  Ions:, 
lie  was  made  to  feel  it  was  his  duty  to  take 
hold  of  a  new  movement  to  establish  aUniver- 
salist  Church  in  the  wide-awake  vilWe  of  Bel- 
lows  Falls. 

He  commenced  laboring  there  in  November, 
1879,  holding  religious  services  on  Sunday  in 
a  hall.  After  working  with  this  people  for  six 
months,  he  started  a  subscription  to  raise  money 
for  a  church  edifice,  and,  although  a  few  months 
previously,  it  was   not    known   that  there  were 


MARLBOROUGH. 


299 


a  dozen  families  in  the  place  that  sympathized 
with  Universalism,  yet  in  the  course  of  a 
year  there  was  quite  a  strong  society,  which  rep- 
resented much  financial  ability,  and  money  was 
readily  raised  to  build  a  house  of  worship,  and 
in  less  than  two  years  from  the  time  Dr.  Me- 
Collester  engaged  in  this  work,  a  strong  and 
united  parish  was  worshipping  in  a  new,  com- 
modious and  fine  edifice,  free  from  debt.  He 
continued  his  work  for  three  years  with  a 
most  successful  pastorate,  and  served  the 
town  of  Rockingham  as  superintendent  of 
schools  for  two  years  with  great  acceptance.  At 
the  close  of  his  third  year,  having  accomplished 
the  special  work  which  called  him  there,  he  re- 
signed his  charge  against  the  wishes  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  returned  to  Marlborough.  But  he  did 
not  remain  there  long,  as  there  was  work  for 
him  in  another  field,  Dover,  N.  H.,  to  revive 
Universalism.  A  new  church  edifice  was  just 
being  completed,  having  been  built  by  the  late 
Hon.  T.  "W.  Pierce  in  memory  of  his  revered 
and  sainted  parents.  It  is  a  unique  religious 
edifice  and  bears  the  name  of  "  Pierce  Memo- 
rial Church."  The  doctor  began  his  labors 
here  January  11,  1883,  when  the  church  was 
dedicated.  The  spiritual  building  now  com- 
menced. Only  a  few  in  Dover  were  known  as 
Universalists,  but  as  the  meetings  were  opened 
large  numbers  were  in  attendance,  and  in  a 
short  time  eighty  families  were  identified  with 
the  society  as  pew-holders.  New  organizations 
were  made  in  all  the  different  branches  of  church- 
work,  and  in  a  few  months  the  "  Pierce  Memo- 
rial Church  "  was  felt  to  be  a  working  force  in 
the  city. 

As  a  man  and  a  preacher,  Dr.  McCollester 
was  popular  and  highly  esteemed.  He  took 
hold  of  this  enterprise  with  the  view  of  start- 
ing a  strong  society,  so  as  to  call  another  pastor 
into  a  promising  field,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
second  year  he  desired  to  give  up  his  charge, 
but  the  parish  urged  him  to  continue  another 
year.  More  than  a  hundred  families  are  now 
represented  in  his  society.     Since  he  began  this 


work  a  parish,  church,  Sunday-school,  "  Ladies' 
Dorcas  Society,"  "  Young  Folks'  Brooks  Asso- 
ciation "  have  been  organized  and  systematized, 
so  that  they  are  now  doing  excellent  religious 
labors.  He  tendered  his  resignation  of  this 
pastorate  October,  1885,  feeling  that  he  had  by 
his  efforts  placed  the  church  on  a  strong  footing, 
and  that  it  would  go  on  and  prosper. 

Dr.  McCollester  in  his  ministerial  service 
has  enjoyed  a  marked  degree  of  success. 
Wherever  he  has  wrought  in  this  direction  he 
has  left  rich  fruits  of  consecrated  efforts.  It  has 
seemed  to  be  his  lot  to  start  new  religious  enter- 
prises, to  organize  new  elements  and  stimulate 
them  with  love  to  God  and  man.  As  a 
preacher  he  is  earnest,  clear  and  persuasive. 
His  hearers  feel  his  honesty  and  sincerity.  He 
leaves  no  uncertainty  as  to  his  convictions  and 
belief,  which  is  in  the  widest  Christian  liberty. 
He  is  ready  to  give  the  "  God-speed  ''  to  every 
follower  of  the  Divine  Master.  His  style  of 
rhetoric  is  rhythmical,  fervid  and  illustrative. 
His  manner  of  delivery  is  sure  to  quicken  the 
thought  and  captivate  the  feelings.  He  pos^ 
sesses  a  remarkable  power  of  making  others  see 
what  he  sees,  and  feel  what  he  feels,  and  es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  his  descriptions  of  places, 
men  and  things.  Of  late  years  he  has  laid 
aside  his  notes  or  manuscript  in  the  pulpit,  but 
never  goes  upon  the  platform  without  special 
preparation,  so  that  he  displays  discipline  of 
mind,  power  of  language  and  oratorial  ability. 
He  is  a  student  of  nature,  and  exceedingly  fond 
of  the  natural  sciences  as  well  as  of  the  classics, 
and  his  discourses  abound  in  illustrations  from 
these  sources,  as  also  from  history  and  his 
travels  and  experience  in  different  countries. 
His  temperament  is  poetical,  his  memory  good, 
his  intellect  active,  and  his  religious  element 
highly  developed.  His  qualities  of  voice  are 
such  as  to  please  and  move  the  heart  and  head. 
It  is  baritone  in  ordinary  discourse,  running  into 
orotund  in  prayer.  As  he  appears  in  the  pul- 
pit he  is  free  from  caut,  and  evidently  con- 
secrated to  the  work  before  him.     In  his  prayer 


300 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


there  is  adoration,  fear,  trust,  petition,  confession 

and  those  marks  of  earnest  devotion  which  are 
the  elements  of  true  Christianity.  In  person, 
Dr.  MeCollester  is  of  medium  height,  full- 
chested,  with  a  well-proportioned  body.  His 
head  is  large  and  forehead  prominent.  His 
eomplexion  is  light,  eyes  blue,  and  hair 
brown.  His  face  expresses  honesty  and  firm- 
ness for  the  right.  He  is  young  mentally,  as 
well  as  physically,  and  one  would  not  think 
him  to  be  over  fifty.  We  can  hardly  under- 
stand how  he  could  have  worked  and  accom- 
plished so  much,  and  yet  be  so  well  preserved, 
but  it  is  the  result  of  a  pure  heart,  pure  morals 
and  a  pure  life.  AVith  all  his  other  work,  he  is 
a  writer  of  note,  a  frequent  contributor  to  re- 
ligious and  educational  journals,  and  his  vol- 
ume entitled  "  After-Thoughts  of  Foreign 
Travels"  has  passed  through  several  editions, 
and  received  the  highest  encomiums  from  the 
press  and  such  prominent  men  as  Hiram  Orcutt, 
LL.D.,  T.  W.  Bicknell,  LL.D.,  Eev.  J.  G. 
Adams, D.D., and  others.  Heisa  graphic, enter- 
taining, suggestive  and  instructive  writer. 

Dr.  MeCollester  is  an  able  man,  strong  in 
mind,  strong  in  self  control,  strong  in  will, 
and  strong  in  sympathy,  true  to  all,  without  de- 
ceit or  hypocrisy,  and  is  loved  most  by  those 
who  know  him  best.  In  college  and  church 
he  has  proved  himself  a  successful  organizer 
and  builder  in  mental  and  spiritual  things. 
He  has  been,  and  is  now,  a  power  in  the  Uni- 
versalist  denomination.  "  Men  may  come  and 
men  may  go,"  but  the  work  they  do  lives  after 
them,  and  the  institutions  they  plant,  or  aid  in 
advancing,  go  on  after  they  are  gathered  to  their 
fathers,  and  generation  after  generation  will 
have  just  reason  to  bless  him  as  their  bene- 
factor. 

Mrs.  MeCollester,  a  woman  adorned  with 
genial  social  qualities,  quick  sympathies,  and 
all  the  graces  of  the  true  woman,  has  been  a 
companion,  helper,  and  comforter  to  her  hus- 
band through  all  the  labors  and  trials  of  their 
life.     Of  their  five  children,  only  one  survive.-, 


Eev.  S.  Lee  MeCollester,  who  is  also  a  Univer- 
salist  clergyman,  now  settled  over  the  church 
of  that  denomination  in  Claremont.  He  is 
much  esteemed  and  beloved  by  his  people, 
who  find  in  him  an  earnest,  faithful  worker  in 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  He  has  inherited 
qualities  from  his  parents  which  promise  for 
him  success  in  his  chosen  field  of  labor. 


HON.    RUFTJS   s.    PBOST. 

Hon.  Rufus  S.  Frost,  son  of  Joseph  and 
Lucy  (Wheeler)  Frost,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough July  18,  1826.  His  father  passed 
away  when  he  was  but  four  years  of  age,  and, 
in  1833,  his  mother,  with  her  family,  moved 
to  Boston,  where  he  was  placed  in  school, 
making  rapid  progress  in  the  different  branches 
pursued.  At  length,  that  he  might  have  better 
advantages,  he  entered  the  Newton  Academy, 
where  he  ranked  high  in  scholarship  for  one  of 
his  years.  His  perception  was  keen,  his  reflec- 
tion active,  his  temperament  hopeful  and  poet- 
ical. As  a  boy,  he  was  ambitious  to  do  for 
himself,  and,  when  but  twelve  years  old,  he 
went,  as  clerk,  into  the  dry -goods  store  of 
Messrs.  J.  H.  &  J.  Osgood,  remaining  with 
them  until  he  was  twenty-one,  when  he  became 
a  partner  of  J.  H.  Osgood,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued in  the  most  pleasant  relations  for  five 
years.  Subsequently  he  enjoyed  partnership 
with  other  firms,  but,  in  1866,  he  became  the 
head  of  his  own  business-house,  taking  younger 
associates  into  his  firm,  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  demanded,  and  thus  has  continued  to 
do  to  the  present  time,  gradually  increasing  his 
business  in  manufacturing  and  selling  woolen 

goods. 

Mr.  Frost  has  depth  and  breadth  of  char- 
acter sufficient  to  do  business  on  an  extensive 
scale.  His  mind  and  heart  are  too  large  to  do 
things  by  the  halves.  His  conceptions  and  in- 
tuitions are  clear  and  strong,  enabling  him  to 
deal  with  men  fairly  and  acceptably.  It  has 
always  been  his  good  fortune  to  be  associated  in 


MARLBOROUGH. 


301 


business  with  noble  men ;  and  during  nearly 
forty  years  that  he  has  been  in  trade  for  him- 
self, though  there  have  been  striking  ebbs  and 
floods  in  the  world  of  traffic,  still  he  has  moved 
on  successfully,  without  failure  or  compromise, 
sustaining  a  high  reputation  for  strict  honesty 
and  reliability. 

Mr.  Frost  now  resides  in  Chelsea,  Mass., 
where  he  has  lived  since  he  was  fourteen  years 
old,  seeing  a  small  village  develop  into  a 
large  city.  He  has  always  been  active  in  its 
welfare,  and  was  twice  elected,  with  great  unan- 
imity, as  mayor,  in  1867  and  1868,  and  was 
strenuously  urged  to  hold  the  office  longer.  In 
1871  and  1872  he  served  as  State  Senator.  In 
1873  and  1874  he  was  a  member  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Council.  In  the  fall  of  1874  he  was 
nominated  and  elected  by  the  Republican  party 
in  the  Fourth  Congressional  District  to  the 
Forty-fourth  Congress.  While  in  Congress  he 
served  in  committee  on  railroads  and  likewise 
on  freedmen's  affairs.  In  all  these  civic  rela- 
tions he  did  great  honor  to  himself  and  his  con- 
stituency. (For  twenty-two  years  he  has  been 
director  in  one  of  the  largest  banks  in  Boston.) 
In  1877  Mr.  Frost  was  unaimously  elected  as 
president  of  the  National  Association  of  Wool 
Manufacturers,  and  was  thus  chosen  for  seven 
successive  years. 

"Successful  manufacturers  are  public  benefac- 
tors, and  merit  the  gratitude  and  praise  of  their 
countrymen.  The  nation  that  produces  the 
most  in  proportion  to  its  numbers  will  be  the 
most  prosperous  and  powerful.  Protectionists 
seek  to  impress  this  truth  upon  the  popular 
mind,  to  secure  its  adoption,  as  an  axiom,  by 
our  national  government.  The  United  States 
possess  all  the  natural  advantages  needed  for 
the  attainment  of  a  result  so  desirable.  It  is 
the  part  of  patriotism  to  turn  these  advantages 
to  the  best  account,  to  differentiate  the  indus- 
tries of  the  people  and  to  give  employment  to 
all  classes  of  mind  and  capacity.  Unfavorable 
disparities  must  be  relieved  by  corrective  cus- 
tom duties.     Such  views  as  these  have  actuated 


Mr.  Frost  and  his  honorable  associates  in  their 
praiseworthy  efforts  to  place  our  country  in  a 
position  among  the  nations  in  which  it  will  be 
second  to  none  either  in  manufactures,  arts  or 


arms 


» 


Mr.  Frost  was  nurtured  in  a  Christian  home, 
and  in  early  life  became  a  member  of  the  Salem 
Church,  Boston.  When  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Chelsea  was  organized  he  was 
one  of  the  original  members.  He  at  once 
identified  himself  with  all  the  various  activities 
of  this  society ;  for  years  he  led  its  choir  and 
played  the  organ.  He  is  an  active  worker  in 
its  Sunday-school,  and  was  its  superintendent 
so  long  as  his  health  would  permit  of  his  serv- 
ing: iu  that  office.  Though  consecrated  to  his 
church,  yet  he  is  not  bigoted.  He  is  always 
clothed  with  a  broad  mantle  of  charity.  He 
claims  the  privilege  of  thinking  for  himself, 
and  is  ready  to  grant  this  right  to  others.  He 
is  so  constituted  that  the  spiritual  and  material 
in  his  nature  are  nicely  balanced,  blending  the 
ideal  and  practical  in  his  life-work. 

Mr.  Frost  may  be  justly  classed  as  a  Christian 
reformer,  ever  ready  to  lift  up  the  down-trodden 
and  preach  deliverance  to  the  enslaved.  His 
voice  has  been  wont  to  be  heard  on  public 
occasions  in  behalf  of  temperance,  universal 
education,  republican  institutions  and  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth.  He  is  a  pleasing  speaker,  being 
favored  with  a  good  voice  and  graceful  mien, 
never  being  so  material  as  to  be  cloddish,  nor 
so  aerial  as  to  be  vapory,  but  speaking  out 
words  and  thoughts  that  are  solid,  nutritious 
and  encouraging. 

Mr.  Frost  loves  his  native  town  and  the 
home  of  his  birth,  delighting  to  cherish  the 
spots  made  sacred  by  ancestral  footsteps.  Con- 
sequently, as  soon  as  he  could,  he  secured  the 
old  family  homestead  for  a  summer  residence. 
It  is  beautifully  situated,  commanding  an  ex- 
tensive outlook  in  all  directions.  The  old 
Monadnock,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Green 
Mountains,   on   the    other,   stand    out    in    bold 


302 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


relief,  while  from  its  verandah  is  to  be  enjoyed 
the  loveliest  of  rural  landscapes.  Below,  and 
in  the  centre  of  all,  is  the  neat,  white  vil- 
lage of  Marlborough,  with  the  Minniwawa 
winding  through  it,  reminding  one  of  the  fair- 
est corals  in  richest  emerald  settings.  Surely 
nature  has  been  propitious  to  the  Frost  home ; 
and  the  deeds  of  true  men  and  women  have 
made  it  forever  memorable. 

While  Mr.  Frost  has  a  pleasant  and  inviting 
home  at  Chelsea,  still  it  is  apparent  that  he  ex- 
periences the  greatest  delight  whenever  he  visits 
the  old  family  home,  surrounded  with  its  broad 
acres  and  its  beautiful  scenery.  Certainly  he  is 
gladly  welcomed  by  the  citizens  of  Marlbor- 
ough whenever  he  goes  there,  for  they  realize 
that  he  loves  and  reveres  the  place  of  his 
nativity.  This  he  has  proved  in  various  ways 
by  worthy  and  generous  deeds.  He  has  kindly 
remembered  its  Congregational  Church  by  fur- 
nishing it  with  a  fine  organ,  and  in  liberally 
assisting  its  society  and  other  religious  bodies 
of  the  town.  But  his  crowning  work  in  behalf 
of  Marlborough  has  been  in  presenting  it  with  a 
most  valuable  library,  including  a  fire-proof 
granite  building,  several  thousand  volumes  of 
good  books  and  a  generous  fund  with  which  to 
replenish  it  annually.  What  a  munificent  gift! 
What  an  educational  power  !  It  is  the  highest 
charity,  for  it  serves  to  quicken  minds  and 
strengthen  hearts  to  help  themselves. 

He  who  provides  a  town  with  a  good  library 
is  doing  a  more  lasting  and  grander  work  than 
those  who  builded  the  pyramids  of  the  Nile  or 
the  Parthenon  of  Athens  or  the  monument  of 
Washington,  at  our  nation's  capitol.  Such  an 
one  is  building  for  the  a<res.  1 1  is  name  will 
live  and  be  cherished  when  stone  and  brass 
shall  have  wasted  into  dust,  for  it  is  being  in- 
scribed on  the  Cternal  walls, — 
''  Be  lives  in  deeds,  nut  years;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial." 


ELIJAH      BOYDEN. 
Among  the  families  which  have  been  identified 


with  the  town  of  Marlborough  for  many  years 
that  of  Boyden  is  especially  worthy  of  record. 
The  Boydens  are  of  English  origin,  and 
Thomas,  of  Ipswich,  England,  came  to  America 
in  the  "Francis,"  in  1634,  and  settled  in  Water- 
town,  Mass.  He  had  just  attained  his  majority 
and  was  admitted  as  freeman,  at  Ipswich,  in 
1647,  and  later  removed  to  Med  field,  where  he 
died.  Of  his  descendants,  Elijah,  of  Walpole, 
Mass.,  came  to  Marlborough,  N.  H.,  in  the 
spring  of  1806,  purchased  the  place  known  as 
the  Aaron  Stone  farm.  Tradition  says  he 
brought  with  him  thirty-seven  hundred  dollars 
in  silver,  which  he  paid  for  the  place.  He  was 
an  inn-keeper  and,  in  1812,  owned  the  first 
one-horse  wagon  seen  in  the  town.  He  was  a 
genial  man,  a  good  citizen  and  interested  in 
whatever  pertained  to  the  welfare  of  the  town 
and  village.  His  wife  was  Amity  Fisher,  also 
of  Walpole,  Mass.  Their  children  were  Abncr, 
George,  Hannah,  Oliver,  Addison,  William  and 
Elijah.  Mr.  Boyden  died  July  22,  1814,  aged 
fifty-two  years.  His  wife  survived  him,  dying- 
October  2!),  1841,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 

Elijah  Boyden,  youngest  child  of  Elijah  and 
Amity  (Fisher)  Boyden,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, N.  H.,  August  15,  1814,  a  few  weeks 
after  his  father's  death.  Although  never  hav- 
ing the  guiding  care  of  a  father,  he  had  what 
is  almost  indispensable  to  the  making  of  a  good 
man — a  good  mother;  and  Elijah's  early  child- 
hood was  passed  in  the  environment  of  her 
sweet  and  pure  influence. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  the  store 
of  his  brother  Abner,  and  remained  there  as 
clerk  for  about  six  years.  During  this  time  he 
formed  correct  business  habits,  and  the  ex- 
perience and  training  which  he  then  received 
were  of  great  practical  use  to  him  in  after-life. 
His  diligence  and  industry,  combined  with 
pleasant  social  manners,  gained  the  confidence 
and  good-will  of  the  citizens  of  the  town,  and 
he  was  recommended  for  postmaster,  to  which 
office  he  was  appointed  when  he  was  about 
eighteen,     'fhe  duties  of  this  position   he  dis- 


■chie 


! 


MARLBOROUGH. 


303 


charged  satisfactorily  for  nearly  three  years, 
when  he  resigned,  being  desirous  of  extending 
his  business  interests,  and  went  to  Boston,  and, 
in  company  with  Josiah  L.  Crosby,  engaged  in 
merchandising  on  Court  Street.  This  firm  car- 
ried on  business  successfully  for  two  years  and 
a  half,  when  Mr.  Boyden,  on  account  of  the 
death  of  his  brother  Abner,  sold  out  his  inter- 
est in  Boston  and  returned  10  Marlborough. 
After  settling  his  brother's  estate  Elijah,  in 
company  with  his  brother  William,  took  the 
stock  of  goods  and  store  of  his  deceased  brother 
and  commenced  trade  under  firm-name  of  W. 
&  E.  Boyden.  In  1840  they  erected  and  occu- 
pied their  new  store.  In  1845,  Mr.  Boyden 
was  again  appointed  postmaster,  and  held  the 
office  until  1852,  when  he  resigned,  and  about 
the  same  time  G.  D.  Richardson  &  Co.  pur- 
chased the  stock  in  trade  of  the  Boyden 
brothers.  In  1854,  Mr.  Boyden  was  appointed 
route  mail-agent  between  Boston  and  Burling- 
ton, which  office  he  continued  to  hold  until 
1860,  when  he  resigned,  and  has  since  not  been 
in  active  business  life. 

Mr.  Boyden  married,  April  5,  1838,  Anna 
G.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Charles  and  Mary  (Hem- 
enway)  Cummings.  "Rev.  Charles  Cummings 
was  born  in  Seabrook  in  1777  and  passed  his 
childhood  in  Marlborough ;  was  married  in 
1798  and  settled  in  Sullivan.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach,  in  1805,  by  the  Baptist  Board  of 
Ministers,  and  ordained,  in  1810,  in  Sullivan. 
He  was  instrumental  in  organizing  churches  in 
Keene,  Swanzey,  Marlborough,  Hillsborough, 
Lyndeborough  and  Antrim.  In  1820  he  was 
called  to  the  domestic  missionary  work.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  earnestness,  not 
shrinking  from  any  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the 
cause  he  loved  so  well  and  labored  so  faithfully 
to  sustain.  He  was  a  man  of  a  kind,  concilia- 
tory spirit ;  humble,  prayerful  and  zealous  in 
every  good  work,  and  he  belonged  to  a  class 
that  ought  never  to  be  forgotten — that  class 
which  performed  the  labors  and  endured  the 
privations  of  the  pioneers  of  the  cause  of  re- 


ligion. He  never  wrote  his  sermons ;  but,  in 
the  early  work  of  his  ministry,  he  would  select 
a  text  of  Scripture  before  going  to  the  field 
(for  at  that  time  he  tilled  the  soil),  and  while 
laboring  with  his  hands  he  mentally  studied 
and  wrought  out  his  sermons.  The  last  few 
years  of  his  life  he  labored  in  Pottersville,  and 
preached  up  to  the  last  Sabbath  but  one  before 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  Roxbury,  N.  H., 
December  27,  1849."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boyden 
have  an  adopted  daughter,  Emelia,  born  No- 
vember 6,  1849,  who  married,  September  27, 
1872,  Clark  N.  Chandler,  of  Keene,  of  the 
firm  of  Dort  &  Chandler,  druggists.  They 
have  one  child,  Carl  Boyden,  born  November 
10,  1877. 

Mr.  Boyden  is  a  Democrat  politically,  and  as 
such,  in  1865  and  1866,  he  received  the  highest 
vote  of  his  party  for  State  Senator.  He  has 
always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  political  mat- 
ters, and  by  extensive  reading  has  kept  himself 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  politics  of  the 
country,  though  in  no  sense  has  he  been  an 
office-seeker ;  and  no  political  or  other  influence 
can  move  him  which  does  not  first  convince  his 
sense  of  right.  Careful  and  conservative,  his 
keen  foresight  and  deliberate  judgment  make 
his  advice  and  counsel  of  peculiar  value.  He 
is  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  Five-Cents 
Savings-Bank  of  Keene,  and  a  director  of  the 
Citizens'  National  Bank  of  the  same  city. 

In  town  affairs  he  has  taken  an  active  part, 
and  held  many  responsible  offices  of  trust.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for 
nearly  thirty  years. 

Universalist  in  his  religious  belief,  he  has 
contributed  liberally  of  his  time  and  means 
toward  the  establishment  of  the  church  of  his 
choseu  faith,  and  his  wife,  a  lady  of  marked 
superiority,  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the 
Sabbath -school. 

A  ready  and  fluent  speaker,  Mr.  Boyden  is 
often  called  upon  on  public  occasions,  and  offici- 
ated as  president  of  the  day  at  Marlborough's 
Centennial  celebration. 


304 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boyden  have  had  the  advan- 
tages of  intercourse  with  other  countries.  In 
August,  1878,  they  started  on  a  voyage  to 
Europe,  and,  after  sojourning  for  a  time  in 
England  and  France,  they  wintered  under 
[talia's  sunny  skies  and  completed  their  home- 
ward voyage  in  the  May  following.  Soon  after 
their  return  to  Marlborough  Mr.  Boyden,  at 
the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  many  friends  and 
townsmen,  gave  an  interesting  account  of  their 
travels,  in  his  social,  pleasing  and  attractive 
style,  and  subsequently  repeated  the  account  in 
a  large  number  of  the  towns  in  the  county. 

Possessing*  an  ability  for  the  discharge  of 
public  duties,  a  well-balanced  judgment,  almost 
uniformly  correct  in  its  results,  and  an  integrity 
of  character  that  was  never  touched  by  whisper 
or  reflect  ion,  Mr.  Boyden  Mas  fitted  to  assume 
and  administer  all  the  duties  to  which  he  has 
been  called.  He  is  a  good  neighbor,  a  warm 
and  welcome  friend,  a  genial  companion,  a  wise 
counselor  and  a  worthy  citizen. 


COLONEL    WILLIAM    HENRY    GREENWOOD. 

William  Henry  Greenwood,  the  youngest  son 
of  Asa  and  Lucy  Greenwood,  was  born  in 
Dublin,  N.  H.,  March  27,  1832,  but  his  parents 
removing  to  Marlborough  when  he  was  but  a 
few  years  old,  his  childhood  was  passed  there. 
He  was  more  than  an  ordinary  boy,  quiet  in  his 
manners,  kind  in  disposition,  persevering  in 
effort  and  possessed  of  a  strong  will.  He  early 
showed  a  fondness  for  machinery  and  a  skill 
with  tools,  and  constructed  many  pieces  of 
curious  handicraft  in  his  boyhood.  He  inherited 
his  mechanical  tastes  from  his  father,  who  was 
remarkable  for  his  inventive  faculties,  and  did 
much  to  promote  the  improvement  of  Marl- 
borough during  his  residence  there,  and  was  a 
strong  man,  mentally  and  morally — all  of  which 
characteristics  his  children  largely  inherited. 
William  H.  remained  at  Marlborough  until  he 
was  eighteen  years  old,  attending  the  public 
schools  and  assisting  his  lather  in  the   various 


public  works  upon  which  the  latter  was  en- 
gaged, when  he  entered  the  Norwich  Univer- 
sity, Vermont,  graduating  in  1852.  While  at 
the  university  he  easily  mastered  the  highei 
mathematics,  and  the  professor  in  that  depart- 
ment, a  gifted  mathematician,  was  surprised  ai 
the  original  solutions  and  developments  which 
Mr.  Greenwood  would  bring  before  the  classes. 
In  1852  he  went  to  Illinois,  and  was  employed 
in  the  construction  of  the  Central  Military 
Tract  Railroad,  now  the  Burlington  and  Quincy. 
Upon  the  completion  of  that  road  he  engaged 
upon  what  was  then  known  at  the  American 
Central  Railroad,  and  was  with  that  interest 
when  the  great  Civil  War  broke  out.  He  en- 
listed in  the  fifty-first  regiment  Illinois  Vol- 
unteers January  17, 1862,  aud  was  commissioned 
first  lieutenant  of  company  H  from  enlistment, 
and  captain  of  the  same  company  and  regiment 
from  May  9,  1863. 

But  it  was  not  as  a  line  officer  that  Col.  Green- 
wood made  his  mark.  Soon  after  the  battle  of 
Stone  River,  General  Rosecrans  made  inquiry  for 
competent  engineer  officers  to  organize  a  topo- 
graphical service,  and  he  was  selected  for  this 
duty,  and,  for  better  facilities  for  seeing  the  coun- 
try, he  was  ordered  to  report  to  General  Stanley, 
at  that  time  chief  of  cavalry  for  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland.  The  relation  then  established 
continued  to  the  end  of  the  war,  Colonel  Green- 
wood remaining  a  part  of  this  commander's 
military  family  until  the  fall  of  1865.  No  of- 
ficer served  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
who  was  present  at  and  participated  in  more 
battles,  actions,  affairs,  skirmishes  than  Colonel 
Greenwood.  The  great  battles  in  which  he 
was  an  active  participant  embrace  such  names 
as  Perry ville,  Stone  River,  Hoover's  Gap, 
Chickamauga,  Missionary  Ridge,  three  months 
of  Atlanta  campaign  (an  almost  continoue 
fight,  including  Peach-Tree  Creek,  the  assault 
on  Kenesaw);  finally,  in  the  last  great  service  of 
the  Fourth  Corps,  the  action  at  Spring  Hill,  the 
next  day  the  battle  of  Franklin,  and  very  soon 
the  battle  of  Nashville,  which  ended  the  mission 


Zt/-t/-ty^ 


MARLBOROUGH. 


305 


of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  in  the  destruc 
tion  of  Hood's  array. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  value  of 
such  services  as  those  rendered  by  Colonel  Green- 
wood. The  importance  of  having  a  staff  officer 
who  can  not  only  carry  out  the  orders  of  his 
commander,  but,  in  a  case  of  emergency,  orig- 
inate and  execute  plans,  can  be  best  appreciated 
l)v  those  having  such  an  officer  as  Colonel  Green- 
wood.  His  education  and  experience  made  him 
a  master  of  topography.  His  coolness  and  dar- 
ing fitted  him  to  carry  out  orders  in  the  face  of 
danger.  He  thoroughly  understood  field  forti- 
fications and  many  times  his  commander  retired 
safely  to  rest  because  he  knew  Colonel  Greenwood 
had  charge  of  the  work.  In"  July,  1864,  when 
General  Stanley  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  Fourth  Corps,  Colonel  Greenwood  was  com- 
missioned by  the  President  lieutenant-colonel 
and  inspector,  to  date  from  July,  1864.  In  this 
position  he  rendered  important  service  in  find- 
ing out  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  the  dis- 
positions of  his  lines,  the  positions  of  his  bat- 
teries. These  were  his  constant  employments, 
and  his  active,  enterprising  nature  thrived  in 
hard  work,  and  detested  ease  and  idleness.  His 
faults,  happily,  were  few,  and  were  those  of  a 
man  fearless  and  careless  of  danger.  Many  a 
rime  he  rode  miles  through  woods  and  thickets 
to  communicate  between  detached  portions  of  the 
troops,  sometimes  alone,  or  only  with  an  orderly. 
(  are  for  himself  was  the  last  thing  to  which  to 
give  thought.  In  July,  1865,  the  Fourth  Corps 
landed  in  Texas,  taking  post  at  Victoria, 
Lavaeca  and  San  Antonio.  Colonel  Greenwood 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  Gulf  and  San  Antonio 
Railroad,  which  had  been  destroyed  by  the  rebel 
ereneral  John  Magruder.  With  the  burned 
and  bended  railroad  iron,  and  such  timber  as 
could  be  gathered  out  of  the  Guadaloupe  bot- 
toms, he  soon  had  the  cars  running  to  Victoria, 
saving  immense  expense  and  labor.  After  com- 
pleting his  work  in  Texas  he  was  employed 
upon  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad.  He  was 
appointed  chief  engineer  of  this  road,  and  while 
20 


holding  this  position  he  made  surveys  on  the 
thirty-second  and  thirty-fifth  parallels  through 
to  San  Francisco.  During  his  service  for  the 
company,  he  constructed  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  of  railroad  in  one  hundred  working  days, 
and  the  last  day  laid  ten  and  a  quarter  miles  of 
track  in  10  hours, — a  feat,  perhaps,  never 
equaled  in  railroad  construction.  In  1870  he 
made  the  first  general  report  in  favor  of  nar- 
row gauge — three  feet,  i.  e., — railroads,  and  was 
appointed  general  manager  of  construction  of 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railroad.  Upon 
completion  of  the  first  division  of  this  railroad 
he  was  appointed  general  superintendent,  and 
remained  until  the  road  was  finished  to  Canon 
City.  He  next  went  to  Mexico,  in  company 
with  General  W.  S.  Rosecrans  and  General  W.  J. 
Palmer,  with  a  view  of  constructing  a  national 
railroad  in  that  country.  While  engaged  in 
this  service  he  visited  England  and  the  Con- 
tinent in  the  interest  of  this  road,  but  failing  to 
get  the  concessions  asked  for  from  the  Mexican 

© 

government,  he  returned  to  New  York,  and 
established  himself  as  a  civil  engineer.  In 
May,  1878,  he  took  charge  of  the  construction 
of  the  Pueblo  and  Arkansas  Vallev  Railroad, 
for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Com- 
pany, and  in  March,  1879,  took  charge  of  the 
Marion  and  McPherson  Railroad. 

During  his  numerous  surveys  he  had  several 
encounters  with  the  Indians,  in  which  his  war 
experience  came  well  to  hand.  The  hardships 
from  cold,  from  hunger  and  exposure  during 
this  pioneer  service  in  the  railways  of  the  great 
plains,  were  such  as  few  men  have  experienced. 
As  an  engineer/Colonel  Greenwood  had  few  peei-s 
in  his  profession.  No  obstacle  that  nature  had 
interposed,  as  it  were,  in  frolicsome  mood,  in  the 
canons  and  mountains  of  the  West,  deterred  this 
engineer  of  science,  of  skill  and  daring,  and 
railroad  trains  now  run  securely  where  before 
the  wild  mountain  sheep  feared  to  climb.  The 
skillful  capitalists  who  built  these  wonderful 
railroads  of  Colorado  well  appreciated  his 
worth,    and    when    the   Sullivan    and    Palmer 


306 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NE^V  HAMPSHIRE. 


Companies  undertook  the  International  and 
[nteroceanic  Railroads  from  the  City  of  Mexico 
to  the  Paeific  coast,  Colonel  Greenwood  was 
called  as  the  most  reliable  man  to  locate  the  great 
work.  It  was  while  engaged  in  his  work  in 
Mexico  that  he  was  murdered  near  the  public 
highway,  at  Rio  Hondo,  Mexico,  on  Sunday, 
August  29,  1880. 

The  following-  letter  received  by  General 
Stanley  gives  the  details  :  "Colonel  Greenwood 
was  on  his  way  to  the  eapitol  from  his  camp  near 
Tolnca,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Miller,  engineer, 
and  a  servant,  to  pass  the  Sabbath  with  his 
family.  About  nine  miles  from  Mexico,  near 
Rio  Hondo,  he  stopped  at  an  inn.  Here  there 
were  a  number  of  men,  who,  seeing  his  horse, 
laid  a  plot  to  obtain  possession  of  it.  They  rode 
ahead  some  distance,  where  they  remained  am- 
bushed; and  when  Col.  Greenwood  approached 
alone,  having  ridden  on  ahead  of  his  compan- 
ion and  servant,  they  rushed  out  upon  him, 
hoping  that  the  frightened  horse  would  throw 
his  rider,  and,  in  that  way,  they  might  obtain 
possession  of  the  animal.  This  plot  failed,  and 
their  only  way  to  obtain  the  horse  was  to 
murder  its  master.  His  body  was  found  on 
the  roadside  by  Mr.  Miller,  a  ball  having 
pierced  the  right  hand  and  body,  leaving  the 
impression  that  he  had  been  shot  while  in  the 
act  of  drawing  his  revolver.  His  horse,  carbine 
and  revolver  were  taken,  but  his  watch  and 
money  were  found  upon  his  person.  The  assas- 
sins were  probably  disturbed  in  their  act  of 
plunder.  His  body  was  brought  to  the  eapitol 
and  placed  in  the  American  Cemetery.  The 
sad  event  was  deeply  deplored  'by  every  one 
here,  where,  by  his  many  virtues,  he  had  gained 
many  warm  friends. 

"P.  N.  Morgan,  U.  S.  Legation. 

"  Mexico,  November  2.°,,  1880." 

Thus  perished  all  that  was  mortal  of  this 
earnest,  good  and  brave  man,  who  had  seemed 
to  have  a  charmed  life,  escaping  the  bullets  of 
his  enemies  in  war,  passing  unharmed  through 


from  cold  and  hunger  from  which  few  could 
have  survived.  In  the  spring  of  1<SS2  his 
remains  were  broughl  from  Mexico,  and  placed 
in  the  cemetery  at  Dummerston,  Vermont. 

Colonel  Greenwood  was  a  member  of  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  and  had 
surveyed  and  superintended  the  construction  of 
over  3000  miles  of  railroad.  This  was  a  greal 
work  for  one  man  to  do,  old)'  forty-eight  years 
and  a  few  months  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
This  quiet  man,  almost  bashful  in  his  modesty, 
had  realized  the  object  of  his  youthful  ambition, 
and  made  himself  a  great  engineer.  His  works 
are  a  monument  to  his  greal  worth  as  a  soldier, 
and  as  a  man  of  practical  science  he  was  among 
the  first. 

But  there  must  be  something  said  concerning 
Colonel  Greenwood's  domestic  life,  which  was 
especially  felicitous.  May  19th,  1857,  he 
married  Evaline,  daughter  of  Joel  Knight,  Jr., 
and  Fanny  Duncan  (daughter  of  Dr.  Abel 
Duncan,  of  Dummerston,  Vermont),  the  fam- 
ilies of  Knight  and  Duncan  being  among  the 
most  prominent  and  respected  families  in  the 
town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenwood  had  no  chil- 
dren, but  adopted  a  beautiful  little  girl,  who 
died  some  years  ago.  Her  death  was  a  great 
grief  to  them.  In  1873  he  purchased  the  farm 
which  had  been  the  property  of  the  Knight 
family  for  several  generations,  and  it  is  now  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Greenwood. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  ( i reel i wood  found  in  each  other 
congeniality,  sympathy  and  help.  In  war  and 
in  peace,  wherever  it  was  possible  for  her  to 
reach  him,  by  sea  or  by  land,  she  was  always 
neai-  to  cheer  and  encourage  him  with  the  love 
and  devotion  of  the  true  wife. 


LUTHEE    IIKMI'.XW  A  V. 

The  records  of  the  lives  of  many  of  our  New 
England  men  may  seem  humble  and  unpretend- 
ing when  compared  with  those  more  brilliant 
and     world-renowned,      but     they    are    such 


numerous  attacks  of  Indians,  enduring  hardships    only     relatively.        The    farmer,    the    maim- 


/#■ ?-7  z^^t /PZ^&t'tj'- 


MARLBOROUGH. 


307 


facturer  and  the  mechanic  each  has  his  place 
in  the  structure  of  society,  and  it  requires  the 
different  individualities  to  give  beauty  and  finish 
to  the  whole.  For  more  than  a  century  the 
name  of  Plemenway  has  been  a  familiar  and 
respected  one  in  the  town  of  Marlborough,  and 
among  the  old  and  leading  manufacturers,  who 
deserve  especial  mention,  is  Luther  Hemenway. 
The  name  is  variously  spelled  on  old  records,  as 
Hemingway,  Hemmenway,  Heuinway,  etc.  The 
family  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  and  was  also  of  those  who  served 
their  adopted  country  in  her  long  aud  success- 
ful Revolutionary  struggle  with  England. 
Ebenezer  Hemenway,  of  Framingham,  married 
Hannah  Winch,  May  17,  1711.  Samuel,  born  in 
Framingham,  August  3,  1724,  married  Hannah 
Rice.  Their  son,  Ebenezer,  born  in  Framing- 
ham, May  26,  1760,  married,  in  1786,  Ruth, 
daughter  of  Amos  and  Mary  (Trowbridge) 
Gates.  She  was  born  February  12,  1768.  In 
1787,  Ebenezer  Hemenway  removed  with  his 
young  wife  to  commence  a  life  of  activity  and 
establish  a  home  in  Marlborough,  N.  H.,  and 
settled  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Franklin 
Smith  place.  He  took  an  intelligent  interest  in 
all  the  public  movements  of  the  town,  giving  of 
his  time  and  means  to  forward  the  prosperity 
and  welfare  of  its  citizens.  Congregationalist  in 
his  religious  belief,  he  was  a  member  of  that 
church  for  more  than  forty  years.  He  was  a 
man  of  sound  judgment,  Christian  integrity, 
and  was  universally  respected.  He  died  Octo- 
ber 27,  1839.  His  widow  died  October  18, 
1854.  Luther,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Ruth 
(Gates)  Hemenway,  was  born  in  Framingham 
January  2,  1787,  and  came  to  Marlborough 
with  his  parents  when  but  six  months  old.  He 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  October  26,  1813, 
Eliza  Cummings,  of  a  family  well-known  and 
honored  in  New  Hampshire.  He  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  had  a  shop  in  Marlborough, 
and  was  familiarly  known  as  Captain  Hemen- 
way. He  was  a  stanch  man,  an  old-time  Whig, 
interested  in  educational  affairs,  and  was  one  of 


the  number  who  formed  the  Social  Library 
Association.  He  removed  to  Jaffrey,  where  he 
died  February  13,  1872. 

Luther  Hemenway,  youngest  son  of  Luther 
and  Eliza  (Cummings)  Hemenway,  was  born 
in  Marlborough  January  15,  1827.  He  mar- 
ried, December  7,  1853,  Mary  C,  daughter  of 
Joshua  and  Eliza  (Rice)  Davis,  of  Roxbury. 
Their  children  were  Mary  Lizzie,  born  August 
6,  1859,  died  September  26,  1860;  George  A., 
born  October  28,  1861,  was  drowned  August 
21,  1864  ;  Fred.  D.,  born  April  30,  1860  (he 
received  the  educational  advantages  of  Cushing 
Academy,  Ashburnham,  and  Commercial  Col- 
lege, Boston);  and  Katie  M.,  born  September 
27,  1871,  died  November  5,  1872. 

Luther  Hemenway's  education  was  acquired 
at  the  district  schools,  supplemented  by  two 
terms  at  Melville  Academy,  Jaffrey,  to  which 
place  his  father  had  removed.  He  improved 
his  time  and  opportunities  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  and  remained  with  his  parents  until  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old,  when  he  left  home 
to  engage  in  business  pursuits,  and  came  to 
Marlborough  March  1,  1848,  where  he  estab- 
lished himself  with  his  brother  Charles,  and 
commenced  making  clothes-pins,  having  pre- 
viously invented  a  machine  by  which  the  man- 
ufacture wTas  facilitated  and  cheapened.  He 
remained  with  his  brother  two  years  and  was 
then  employed  by  Mr.  Snow  in  the  manufacture 
of  boxes  and  toys.  After  continuing  with  him 
for  about  two  years  Mr.  Snow  failed,  and  Mr. 
Hemenway,  by  his  prudence,  economy  and  fore- 
thought, having  laid  up  some  money,  he  pur- 
chased the  stock,  and  with  a  partner,  E.  M. 
Eveleth,  under  the  firm-name  of  Eveleth  & 
Hemenway,  continued  the  business  until  1861, 
some  nine  years,  when  Mr.  Eveleth  sold  his 
interest  to  Mr.  Hemenway,  and  he  carried  on 
the  manufacture  alone  for  four  vears.  Geo  G. 
Davis  was  associated  with  him  for  a  time,  the 
firm-title  being  L.  Hemenway  &  Co.  Mr. 
Hemenway  has  also  been  engaged  in  other 
branches  of  manufacturing  and  is  still  doing 


*~* 


308 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


something  in  the  Hue.  He  started  life  with  a 
determination  to  accomplish  something  and  to 
do  honest  work,  and  now  he  can  feel  that  he 
has  earned  the  right  to  rest,  or  at  least  to  enjoy 
the  success  of  his  hard,  unwearied  labors  of  many 
years. 

Mr.  Hemenway  is  a  member  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd-Fellows,  and  has  been  an 
active  worker  and  officer  of  the  order,  his  mem- 
bership dating  back  over  thirty  years.  As  to 
his  politics,  prior  to  our  Civil  War  he  was  a 
Democrat,  but  voted  for  James  A.  Garfield,  and 
may  now  be  considered  an  Independent  Repub- 
lican voter.  He  is  versed  in  the  business  affairs 
of  the  town,  having  served  its  interests  as  select- 
man for  several  years,  and  held  other  minor 
offices.  His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Uni- 
versalists. 

Mr.  Hemenway  is  characterized  by  modest 
and  unassuming  manners,  strong  attachments, 
great  love  for  his  friends,  and  is  a  good  neighbor, 
loyal  citizen  and  a  worthy  example  of  what 
perseverance,  diligence  and  fidelity  can  accom- 
plish. He  belongs  to  that  class  of  New  Eng- 
enders who,  while  unostentatious  and  unpretend- 
ing, are  yet  the  true  benefactors  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  they  live,  in  that  they  add  to  the 
material  prosperity  of  their  respective  localities, 
and  leave  behind  them  taugible  results  of  their 
life's  work. 


CHARLES  o.  WHITNEY. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1(534,  John  Whit- 
ney embarked  in  the  "Elizabeth  and  Ann" 
from  England  for  the  shores  of  New  England. 
He  settled  in  Watertown,  Mass.,  and  his  sons 
were  John,  Richard,  Nathaniel,  Thomas  and 
Jonathan.  Many  of  their  descendants  settled 
in  Framingham,  Mass.,  and,  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  several  families  mi- 
grated from  Framingham,  Mass.,  to  New  Hamp- 


shire 


In     1771,    John    and     Jonathan     Whitney 
(brothers),   of  Framingham    stock,   came  from 


Dunstable  and  located  in  that  part  of  Fitzwil- 
liam  now  Troy.  They  lived  for  nine  years  in 
a  log  house,  purchased  land  and  afterwards 
built  a  house  which  was  constructed  for  a  tav- 
ern and  kept  by  them  for  eight  years,  during 
which  time  they  did  a  good  business  and  ac- 
cumulated considerable  property.  They  closed 
their  house  to  the  public  in  1788  and  turned 
their  attention  to  farming,  and  continued  to- 
gether for  a  few  years,  then  divided  their  farm 
and  other  business  interests.  Jonathan  moved 
to  Hartland,  Vt.,  in  1810.  John  resided  on 
the  farm  until  his  death,  in  1820.  He  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  in  the  famous 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  His  wife  was  Mary 
Jones,  of  Framingham. 

The  children  of  John  and  Mary  (Jones) 
Whitney  were  Nathan,  born  in  1781,  died  in 
1811  ;  Polly,  born  1783,  married  Luke  Harris, 
died  1813;  Sophia,  born  1795,  married  Eseck 
Dexter,  settled  in  the  West ;  Lucy,  born 
1785,  died  1794;  Sally,  born  1787,  married 
George  Farrar ;  John,  born  1789,  married 
Augusta  Fish,  went  West;  Betsey,  born  1792, 
married  Luke  Harris,  died  in  1858;  Luke, 
born  1798,  married  Lovina  White,  settled  on 
the  Woodward  farm,  where  he  died  in  1841, 
leaving  three  children, — Ann  E.,  who  married, 
November  27,  1862,  Goodhue  Tenney,  of  Marl- 
borough ;  Charles  O. ;  and  Francis  L.,  a  soldier 
in  the  great  Civil  War,  who  died  in  Washing- 
ington,  D.  C,  from  effect  of  wounds  received 
at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864. 

Charles  O.  Whitney  was  born  May  4,  1838, 
in  Troy,  X.  II.  His  father  dying  when  he  was 
but  three  years  old,  and  the  family  being  in 
humble  circumstances,  he  went  to  live  with  his 
uncle,  I  r;i  Godding,  of  Troy,  N.  II.,  where  he 
remained  until  he  was  about  twelve  years  old. 
when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Godding  died  and  the  young 
lad  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  Now 
commenced  his  hard  struggle  with  the  world 
for  a  living,  and  for  the  next  four  or  live 
years  Charles  made  his  home  in  any  family 
where  his  labor  would  suffice  for  his  board  and 


MARLBOROUGH. 


309 


clothing.  Of  course,  with  all  these  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, he  had  but  little  time  or  opportun- 
ity for  education,  but  contrived  to  get  a  few- 
weeks  in  the  winter  at  the  district  school  when 
there  was  not  much  out-door  labor.  Many  a 
boy,  situated  in  like  manner,  would  have  been 
disheartened  and  taken  to  evil  ways,  but  he 
plodded  on  with  quiet,  patient  industry,  and 
when  seventeen  years  of  age  he  went  to  work 
for  Charles  Carpenter,  of  Troy,  who  manufac 
tured  rakes  and  also  carried  on  a  saw  and 
grist-mill.  He  remained  with  him  about  two 
years,  and  afterward  went  to  Gardner,  Mass., 
and  worked  two  years  for  Hayw*ood  Brothers 
in  their  chair  manufactory.  All  this  time  Mr. 
Whitney  was  working  diligently  and  assiduously, 
endeavoring  to  improve  his  mechanical  skill.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  when  the  demand 
for  fire-arms  was  largely  increased,  he  went  to 
Springfield,  Mass.,  and  worked  for  the  United 
States  government  making  muskets,  continu- 
ing in  this  employment  nearly  two  years. 
While  in  Springfield,  November  27,  1862,  he 
married  Frances  F.,  daughter  of  Hyman 
Bent,  of  Fitzwilliam,  N.  H.  She  was  born 
October  27,  1838.  In  1863  he  returned  to 
South  Gardner,  Mass.,  and  was  for  a  short  time 
in  the  employ  of  M.  Wright  &  Co.,  manufac- 
turer.-. 

But  Mr.  Whitney  had  conceived  the  plan  of 
furthering  his  business  interests,  and  his  early 
life  of  labor  had  taught  him  prudence  and 
economv,  and  he  now  determined   to  start  in 

J  7 

business  on  his  own  account,  and,  taking  Rod- 
eric  L.  Bent,  his  brother-in-law,  into  partner- 
ship, under  the  firm-title  of  Whitney  &  Bent, 
he  began  chair  manufacturing  and  carried  this 
on  for  more  than  three  years,  with  a  fair  per- 
centage of  profit  on  the  capital  invested.  In 
1866,  Mr.  Whitney  disposed  of  his  interest  in 
the  business  and  moved  to  Marlborough,  N.  H., 
of  which  place  he  has  since  been  a  resident. 

In  company  with  Mr.  Goodhue  Tenney,  he 
bought  the  brick  mill  belonging  to  George 
Thatcher,     and    they      began     manufacturing 


wooden  pails,  but,  after  three  months' time,  dis- 
posed of  their  stock  and  machinery,  and,  in  con- 
nection with  Dr.  S.  A.  Richardson,  D.  W. 
Tenney  and  Charles  K.  Mason,  they  formed  a 
copartnership  under  name  of  Marlborough 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1867  they  made  the  first  horse-blankets  manu- 
factured in  Marlborough.  This  manufacture 
proved  a  most  important  branch  of  industry 
and  added  much  to  the  prosperity  and  growth 
of  the  town.  After  three  years  Mr.  Whitney 
withdrew*  from  the  company,  purchased  land, 
erected  a  building,  and,  creating  a  new  water- 
power,  resumed  chair  manufacturing,  which  he 
carried  on  for  a  fewr  years. 

In  1873,  Mr.  Whitney,  with  Warren  H. 
Clark,  formed  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Cheshire  Blanket  Company,  and  fitted  up  the 
mill,  in  which  Mr.  Whitney  formerly  made 
chairs,  for  the  manufacture  of  blankets,  and 
conducted  this  industry.  These  enterprising 
men  have  added  to  their  business  from  time  to 
time,  and  in  the  spring  of  1880  they  greatly 
enlarged  their  manufacturing  facilities  by  the 
erection  of  a  new  mill,  forty  by  forty-five  feet, 
two  stories  high,  now*  making  seven  sets  of 
machinery.  They  have  a  capital  stock  of  $40,000 
and  can  produce  five  hundred  blankets  a  day. 

This  firm  is  also  largely  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  satinets,  produces  as  many  as  twenty- 
five  thousand  yards  per  month,  and  the  annual 
production,  when  running  on  full  time,  is  three 
thousand  bales. 

The  children  of  Charles  O.  and  Frances 
(Bent)  Whitney  are  Frank  R,  born  in  Gard- 
ner, Mass.,  August  29,  1866,  died  August  25, 
1885  ;  Charles  W.,  born  August  4,  1877;  and 
Robert  L.,  born  September  10,  1880,  in  Marl- 
borough. 

Politically,  Mr.  Whitney  has  always  been  a 
Republican  ;  has  served  as  selectman  and  in 
various  other  offices.  He  is  an  attendant  of  the 
Universalist  Church,  and  his  son  Frank  had, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  been  assistant  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school  for  two  years. 


310 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Mr.  Whitnev  has  been  and  is  a  man  of  great 
industry,  perseverance  and  pluck,  and  to  him 
is  due,  in  a  large  measure,  the  improvement  of 
the  water-power  in  Marlborough. 

He  was  one  of  twelve  Odd-Fellows,  mem- 
bers <>f  Boaver  Brook  Lodge,  of  Keene,  to  form 
the  Paquoig  Lodge,  which  was  instituted  Janu- 
ary 13,  1869.  lie  was  also  one  of  a  committee 
of  five  to  build  the  present  Odd-Fellows'  build- 
ing, which  was  occupied  April  1,  1875,  and 
dedicated  the  June  following. 

Mr.  Whitney's  early  manhood  was  one  of 
hard  toil,  but,  by  persevering  efforts^,  from  hum- 
ble beginnings,  unaided,  he  has  acquired  a  com- 
petency and  stands  well  in  the  esteem  of  his 
fellow-townsmen,  and  is  a  good  type  of  the  self- 
made  men  of  the  Granite  State. 


NATHAN    WINCH. 

The  Winch  family  was  an  old  and  much- 
respected  one  in  the  early  days  of  the  town  of 
Framingham,  Mass.,  and  emigrants  from  Suffolk 
Co.,  England,  bearing  that  name  appear  on  old 
records  as  early  as  1643.  In  167.%  February  11, 
Samuel  (1  i  Winch,  of  Framingham,  the  progen- 
itor of  the  branch  now  residing  in  Marlborough, 
N.  H.,  married  Hannah  Gibbs.  Samuel  Winch 
was  a  useful  and  valued  citizen.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  member-  of  the  church  in 
Framingham,  which  was  formed  in  1701;  he 
served  as  selectman  in  1709,  tithingman  in 
1718,  and  died  August  3,  1718,  leaving  a  good 
name.  His  son  Thomas  (2),  born  in  ]  U!i  1,  mar- 
ried Deborah  Gleason,  October  23,  1718,  settled 
in  Framingham,  where  he  died  September  "22, 
1761.  Thomas  3),  Jr.,  second  son  of  Thomas  and 
Deborah  (Gleason)  Winch,  was  born  June  -!•">, 
1723;  married,  December  20,1743,  Elizabeth 
Drury.  Caleb  (4),  son  of  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  Framingham,  September  26,  1744,  married 
Mehitable  Maynard,  and  in  17<i8  settled  in 
that  part  of  Fitzwilliam  now  Troy,  N.  II.  He 
purchased  land,  on  which  he  was  obliged  to  fell 


the  trees  and  otherwise  clear  the  place  in  order 
to  bring  it  into  a  state  of  cultivation,  built  a 
log  house,  and  became  a  good  farmer.  He 
owned  about  two  hundred  acres  at  one  time. 
The  children  of  Caleb  and  Mehitable  (Maynard) 
Winch  were  Joseph,  Nabby,  Betsey,  Thomas, 
John,  Hetty,  Nathan,  Caleb,  Ebenezer  and 
William.  Caleb  Winch  was  a  man  of  untiring 
energy  and  possessed  great  strength  of  character. 
lie  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  his  coun- 
try's call,  and  was  a  brave  and  patriotic  soldier 
of  the  Revolution.  lie  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Lexington,  and  was  one  of  the  attendants  of 
the  British  in  their  inglorious  retreat  to  Boston, 
and  served  his  day  and  generation  well.  But 
unfortunately  the  memory  of  most  of  his  ser- 
vices in  defense  of  American  liberty  has  per- 
ished with  the  generation  of  which  he  was  an 
important  factor.  The  historian  of  his  adopted 
town  thus  writes  of  him:  "He  was  an  intel- 
ligent and  useful  citizen,  and  took  a  deep  in- 
terest in  all  those  enterprises  which  had  for 
their  object  the  improvement  of  his  fellow-men. 
In  nearly  all  of  the  public  business  of  the  town 
he  acted  a  prominent  part,  thus  showing  the 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  those  who 
had  the  best  means  of  knowing  his  real  merits. 
Although  not  blessed  with  a  liberal  education, 
he  possessed  talents  of  a  high  order,  and  he  has 
certainly  left  conspicuous  'footprints  upon  the 
sands  of  time.' '  He  died  January  12,  1826. 
Nathan  (5),  born  March  1,  1781,  passed  his  early 
days  with  his  parents  on  the  farm,  became  a 
farmer  and  succeeded  to  the  homestead.  He 
married,  first,  Polly  Davidson;  she  died  in  1834, 
and  he  married  Asenath,  her  sister.  Sometime 
alter  the  death  of  his  father  he  sold  his  farm 
and  purchased  the  situation  long  known  in 
Troy  as  the  "  Winch  Place."  lie  resided  there 
until  his  death  in  1851,  aged  70  years.  He 
was  a  Congregationalist  in  religious  belief,  and 
an  active,  worthy  citizen.  His  children  were 
Nathan,  Mary  (Mrs.  Joseph  Putney),  Calvin, 
and  Ajrethusa  (Mrs.  Geo.  Bucklin). 

Nathan    Winch,   son    of   Nathan   and    Polly 


1 


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f> 


G^^-r^e^ 


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MARLBOKOUdll. 


311 


(Davidson)  Winch,  was  born  in  Fitzwilliam, 
April  2,  1807.  He  improved  Ins  limited  educa- 
tional advantages  to  the  utmost,  taught  school 
four  winters,  and  worked  on  the  farm  summers. 
He  remained  on  the  old  homestead  with  his 
parents,  assisting  in  the  farm  labors,  until  he 
reached  his  majority ;  then  he  engaged  in  work  in 
a  factory  for  making  pails,  in  Troy.  Then,  hav- 
ing the  ambition  that  is  characteristic  of  our 
New  England  boys  to  improve  his  circum- 
stances, he  bought  a  water  privilege  in  Swanzey, 
fitted  up  a  building,  and  carried  on  pail  manu- 
facturing for  six  years  and  then  sold  out  his 
business.  At  this  time,  by  his  hard  labor,  unre- 
mitting industry,  and  by  rigid  economy,  he  had 
accumulated  some  money,  and  with  the  little  he 
received  from  his  share  of  the  old  homestead  he 
was  able  to  purchase  a  farm,  which  he  did  in 
Troy,  and  for  seven  years  was  occupied  in 
farming.  He  then  resumed  manufacturing,  and 
came  to  Marlborough  in  1852,  purchased  a 
factory  and  continued  until  18(38,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Swanzey  and  was  in  the  same  busi- 
ness there,  when  his  building  was  burned,  and 
he  removed  to  Marlborough  and  purchased  an 
interest  in  his  former  business  there,  and  after- 
wards became  sole  proprietor,  continuing  till 
May,  1881,  when  his  son,  George  F.,  who  is 
now  in  business,  succeeded  him. 

During  his  residence  in  Swanzey,  Mr.  Winch 
married,  October  20,  1833,  Abigail  Bucklin,  of 
Wallingford,  Vt.  Their  children  were  Franklin 
B.,  died  aged  15  years;  Adelia,  died  aged  7 
years;  Dorothea,  died  July  31,  1872;  George 
B.,  died  aged  7  years;  and  George  F.,  born  in 
1850,  married,  November  6,  1873,  Laura  L, 
daughter  of  Gilman  and  Harriet  (Atwood) 
Griffin.  (They  have  one  child,  Abbie  Amelia, 
born  June  12,  1877.)  Mr.  Winch's  first  wife 
died  April  23,  1867,  and  he  married,  second, 
Nancy  Winzell,  of  Ashland,  Mass. ;  she  died 
January  28,  1872.  His  third  wife  was  Mrs. 
Lucinda  Scoville,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Lucy 
(Emery)  Stone.  They  were  married  August  6, 
1872. 


Mr.  Winch  lias  been  a  man  of  persevering 
energy.  Starting  from  an  humble  beginning,  he 
entered  upon  manufacturing,  and  through  it, 
with  the  labor  of  his  hands,  he  has  acquired  a 
competency.  Republican  in  politics,  he  has 
never  been  a  political  aspirant,  but  has  been  alive 
to  matters  of  public  interest.  He  served  as 
selectman  in  1847,  in  Troy.  His  religious 
belief  is  that  of  the  Orthodox  Conpreo-ationalists, 
and  both  his  wife  and  himself  are  members  of 
the  church.  He  is  of  social  disposition,  a  good 
neighbor,  liberal  and  public-spirited  and  a  use- 
ful citizen,  and,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  his 
intellect  is  clear,  his  perception  keen  as  that  of 
many  much  younger  men.  In  his  life  Mr. 
Winch  illustrates  what  may  be  accomplished  by 
energy,  patience,  perseverance  and  industry. 


JAMES    KXOWLTOX. 

The  Knowlton  family  belongs  to  the  early 
history  of  New  England  ;  for  not  more  than 
two  decades  subsequent  to  the  landing  of  the 
"  Mayflower"  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  the 
settlement  of  that  town  by  the  Puritans,  we 
find,  on  old  records  of  Essex  County,  Mass., 
that  John  Knowlton,  the  progenitor  of  the 
family  bearing  the  name,  was  a  freeman  of 
Ipswich,  in  1641.  He  died  in  1654,  leaving 
children  bearing  the  names  of  John,  Abraham 
and  Elizabeth.  His  brother  Thomas  was  also 
an  inhabitant  of  Ipswich  in  1648,  and  married, 
November  24,  1668,  Hannah  Grew.  He  was 
a  man  well  known  and  respected  in  the  com- 
munity, a  deacon  of  the  church  and  a  prison- 
keeper.  He  died  April  3, 1692.  John  (2),  son 
of  John  (1),  was  a  resident  of  Wenham  in 
1680.  Among  their  descendants  have  been 
many  prominent  men  in  the  law,  ministry  and 
other  professions.  Deacon  John  Knowlton, 
probably  a  lineal  descendant  of  him  whose 
name  he  bore,  was  born  in  Holliston,  Mass., 
January  24,  1745.  He  married  Martha  Jen- 
nings, April  20,  1769,  and  migrated  to  that 
part  of  Dublin,  N.   H.,  now  known  as  West 


312 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Harrisville,  and  became  a  farmer,  as  was  the 
custom  of  most  of  the  pioneers  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  His  wife  died  August  7,  1797, 
and  he  married,  February  19,  1798,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  Wight.  Their  son,  Luke, 
who  was  born  August  1,  1801,  married  Mercy 
Bemis,  December  28,  1826.  He  succeeded  to 
part  of  the  old  homestead,  and  remained  in 
Dublin  until  1849,  when  lie  came  to  Marl- 
borough. Pie  was  a  stone-mason  by  trade,  and 
for  many  years  worked  with  Asa  Greenwood. 
He  was  a  £ood  and  worth  v  citizen,  and  a 
member  of  the  Universalist  Church.  He  died 
December  6,  1882,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of 
his  aire.  He  had  sons,  James  and  Luke. 
Luke  enlisted,  in  1862,  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teeuth  Regiment,  Xew  Hampshire  Volunteers, 
and  served  through  the  war,  doing  his  duty 
like  a  brave  and  patriotic  citizen. 

James  Knowlton,  oldest  child  of  Luke 
and  Mercy  (Bemis)  Knowlton,  was  born  in 
Dublin,  X.  H.,  December  20,  1828.  He  mar- 
ried, May  23,  1854,  Emily,  daughter  of  Dexter 
and  Abigail  (Adams)  Mason,  of  Dublin.  She 
is  a  descendant  of  honorable  New  England 
families,  is  a  lady  of  education  and  has  been 
a  successful  school-teacher.  Their  daughter, 
Lilla  M.,  was  born  April  16,  1857. 

James  Knowlton  had  no  other  opportunities 
for  obtaining  an  education  than  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town,  but  such  time  as 
could  be  given  to  that  purpose  was  faithfully 
improved.  He  followed  the  trade  of  his  lather, 
that  of  stone-masonry,  working  for  him  until 
he  had  attained  his  majority,  when  he  com- 
menced business  life  for  himself.  He  was  em- 
ployed on  the  work  of  the  Burlington  and  Rut- 
land Railroad,  and  for  three  years  superin- 
tended different  gangs  of  workmen.  He  had  a 
natural  taste  for  mechanics,  an  ambition  to  im- 
prove his  prospects  and  also  add  to  his  "stock 
in  trade"  of  acquirements.  He  became  a  ma- 
chinist, and  was  engaged  by  J.  A.  Fay  &  Co. 
in  setting  up  machinery,  etc.,  remaining  in  their 
employ  seven  years. 


In  1862,  Mr.  Knowlton  purchased  of  (J.  11. 
&  S.  W.  Stone  their  manufactory  of  clothes- 
pins in  Marlborough,  and  carried  on  this  manu- 
facturing for  six  years.  In  1868  he  com- 
menced making  wooden  pails,  which  he  has 
continued  until  the  present  time,  taking  his 
brother  Luke  into  partnership  in  1865,  under 
the  firm-name  of  J.  &  L.  Knowlton.  The  busi- 
ness has  largely  increased,  the  number  of  pails 
manufactured  in  1884  being  one  hundred  and 
ninety-four  thousand. 

Mr.  Knowlton  is  also  a  contractor  and 
builder,  and  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the 
erection  of  many  of  the  houses  in  Marlborough 
of  the  present  time.  He  superintended  the 
building  of  the  dam  at  the  reservoir  at  Marl- 
borough  Glen,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  constructed  in  this  section  and  is  one  of  the 
best  water  privileges  in  Cheshire  County.  The 
whole  length  of  the  dam  is  255  feet;  length  of 
roll-way,  94  feet;  extreme  height,  35_feet ;  height 
of  roll-way,  32  feet.  Material  used,  3500  tons 
of  granite  and  other  stone,  57,000  feet  of  lumber, 
with  3000  pounds  of  iron;  costing  about  §3000. 

He  superintended  the  building  of  the  reser- 
voir dam  at  Bemisville  in  1868,  and  in  1881 
he  built  the  dam  for  the  so-called  Dublin 
reservoir,  on  the  Mount  Monadnock  Brook. 
This  was  the  last  reservoir  constructed  by  the 
Breed  Pond  Company.  It  was  built  on  a  solid 
ledge,  wholly  of  stone,  is  one-half  mile  at  its 
widest  point  and  flows  back  a  mile  and  a  half. 
The  length  of  the  dam  is  125  feet,  height,  23 
feet,  and  width  on  the  bottom,  40  feet. 

Mr.  Knowlton  was  a  charter  member  of  the 
Odd-Fellows'  lodge  in  Marlborough,  and  has 
held  the  office  of  Noble  Grand.  Politically,  his 
affiliations  are  with  the  Republican  party,  but 
he  has  never  sought  or  filled  any  office  in  its 
gift,  being  entirely  devoted  to  his  business.  In 
his  religious  preferences  he  is  a  Universalist, 
and  was  among  the  principal  movers  and  pro- 
moters of  the  church  of  "  faith  and  love  "  in 
Marlborough,  and  is  ;i  liberal  contributor  to  its 
support.     From  childhood   he  has  been  strictly 


MARLBOROUGH. 


313 


temperate,  and  has  never  bought  a  glass  of  liquor. 
He  is  a  strong,  enterprising,  progressive  man, 
such  an  one  as  is  needed  in  every  community, 
and  whose  energy  and  influence  are  potent  for 
action  and  advance.  As  a  manufacturer  and 
business  man,  he  is  a  persistent,  industrious, 
practical  worker,  careful  in  the  details  of  his 
business,  and  his  efforts  have  been  rewarded 
with  financial  success.  As  a  friend  and  neigh- 
bor, he  is  kind-hearted  and  social ;  as  an  employ- 
er, considerate  of  the  interests  of  his  workmen  ; 
as  a  citizen,  he  enjoys  universal  confidence  and 
esteem,  and  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of 
Marlborough. 


SOLON  STONE  WILKINSON. 

Solon  Stone  Wilkinson,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough, March  22,  1828.  It  was  his  good 
fortune  to  come  into  this  world  in  a  very  pleas- 
ant home.  His  father  was  kind  and  judicious ; 
his  mother  was  affectionate  and  decidedly  gifted 
in  heart  and  mind.  His  childhood  was  passed 
on  a  farm,  where  the  air  was  invigorating  and 
the  scenery  strikingly  beautiful.  In  the  dis- 
trict school  he  was  quite  a  favorite  among  his 
mates,  being  large-hearted  and  full  of  good 
nature.  The  boys  used  to  enjoy  hearing  Solon 
lausrh.  In  his  studies  he  aimed  to  be  faithful 
and  did  rank  well  as  a  scholar,  excelling  in 
declamation.  He  early  learned  the  harness 
and  saddler's  trade  of  his  father,  who  was  emi- 
nently successful  in  this  business  for  more  than 
three-score  years.  Reaching  his  majority,  he 
still    continued    working    for    his   father,    and 


going  in  company  with  him  for  several  years, 
being  highly  esteemed  as  a  citizen  and  a  Chris- 
tain.  At  length  he  left  Marlborough  and 
settled  in  Keene,  that  he  might  have  a  larger 
field  in  which  to  work  and  trade.  Here,  for 
twenty  years  and  more,  he  was  at  the  head  of 
an  extensive  business  in  manufacturing  and 
selling  harnesses,  saddles,  trunks,  etc.  Though 
closely  confined  to  his  calling,  still  he  has  found 
time  to  work  in  church,  Sunday-school,  the 
temperance  cause  and  social  ways,  so  as  to 
make  his  influence  felt  for  good,  proving  that 
he  is  living  to  render  the  world  wiser  and 
better.  He  was  a  popular  adjutant-general  on 
ex-Governor  Hale's  staff.  He  is  naturally  very 
social  and  genial ;  accordingly,  he  makes  hosts 
of  friends. 

Not  long  ago  he  found  it  necessary  to  leave 
his  store  and  trade,  that  he  might  not  be  so 
closely  confined  in-doors,  and  since  the  change 
he  has  been  engaged  with  his  brother,  Warren 
S.  Wilkinson,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  who  has 
become  a  successful  and  wealthy  gentleman,  in 
manufacturing  woolen  goods  in  Marlborough. 
So  he  has  come  back  to  his  native  place  to  do 
business,  but  still  resides  in  Keene,  where  he 
has  a  pleasant  home  within  and  without.  His 
wrife  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  and  Polly 
Holman,  wdio  delights  in '  making  her  home 
most  inviting.  They  have  one,  son  who  has 
advanced  into  manhood  and  is  proving  himself 
a  blessing  to  his  parents  and  the  world.  Mr. 
Wilkinson  is  large  and  well-proportioned  in 
body,  mind  and  heart.  He  is  a  worthy  son  of 
his  native  town. 


HISTORY    OF  MARLOW. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  town  of  Marlow  lies  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 
On  the  north,  by  Sullivan  County;  on  the  east, 
by  Sullivan  County  and  the  town  of  Stoddard ; 
on  the  south,  by  Gilsum,  and  on  the  west,  by 
Alstead. 

The  township  was  granted  October  7,  1701, 
to  William  Noyes  and  sixty-three  others, 
at  which  time  it  received  its  present  name. 
The  reservation  of  five  hundred  acres  for 
Governor  Wentworth  was  located  in  the  south- 
west corner.  The  conditions  of  this  grant 
were  not  wholly  complied  with,  and  the  in- 
habitants, on  the  30th  of  December,  1771, 
petitioned  for  an  extension  of  the  charter,  which 
was  granted  January  24,  1772,  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  In  the  petition  they  stated  that 
twenty-eight  families  were  resident  in  town, 
and  that  five  more  were  to  settle  the  following 
spring. 

The  grantees  were  residents  of  Connecticut, 
principally  in  the  vicinity  of  the  towns  of 
Lyme  and  Colchester.  Among  the  first  settlers 
were  Thomas  and  Samuel  Gustin,  Elisha  and 
Solomon  Mack,  Jasper  and  Nathan  Huntley 
and  Joseph  Tubbs. 

By  an  act  passed  June  21,  1797,  all  that 
portion  of  the  town,  as  originally  granted, 
lying  east  of  the  curve-line  of  Mason's  patent, 
containing  some  four  thousand  acres,  was  de- 
clared to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  and  a  part 
of  the  town  of  Stoddard. 

An  academy  flourished  here  for  some  years, 
which    was    largely  patronized   by  the   inhab- 
314 


itants  of  the  county  and  did  a  good  work   in 
the  cause  of  education. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  March  2, 
1766,  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Gustin.  Joseph 
Tnbbs  was  chosen  moderator  and  Samuel  Gus- 
tin, clerk. 

The  first  selectmen  were  chosen  March  16, 
1766,  viz.  :  Joseph  Tnbbs,  Samuel  Gustin  and 
Martin  Lord. 

The  earliest  buildings  were  erected  near 
Baker's  Corners,  by  John  Gustin.  Nathan 
Huntley  settled  near  Marlow  Hill  and  Joseph 
Tubbs  in  the  south  part  of  the  town. 

The  first  meeting-house  was  erected  in  1798, 
on  Marlow  Hill.  It  was  taken  down  in  1845 
and  removed  to  the  village  and  used  as  a  Union 
Church.  The  Methodist  Church  also  originally 
stood  on  Marlow  Hill,  and  Rev.  Peter  Jacobs 
was  the  first  minister. 

The  Universalist  Church  here  was  organized 
in  1847,  and  the  first  pastor  was  Rev.  N.  R. 
Wright.  There  are  now  three  churches  in 
town, — Christian,  Methodist  and  Universalist. 

In  the  early  days  the  people  of  the  town 
were  generally  Baptist,  A  Congregational 
Church,  with  nine  members,  was  formed  here 
in  1823,  but  was  long  since  discontinued. 

.The  first  physician  in  the  town  was,  proba- 
blv,  Dr.  Isaac  Baker.  Others  have  been 
Thomas  J.  Stevens,  Lyman  Brooks,  Reuben 
Hatch,  Dr.  Richardson,  R.  G.  Mather  and 
Marshall  Perkins. 

In  olden  times,  Baker's  Corners  was  the  cen- 
tre of  business  in  the  town,  containing  a  store, 
potash  manufactory  and  hotel.  The  first  store 
was  opened  by  a  Mr.  Lamphere  on  the  "  Hill," 


MARLOW. 


315 


and  the  hotel  of  most  note  was  kept  by  Almon 
Smith,  familarly  known  as  "  Peg  Smith."  The 
first  hotel  in  the  town  was  located  at  Baker's 
Corners,  and  Samuel  Richardson  was  pro- 
prietor. 

The  first  store  in  South  Marlow  was  opened 
by  Joel  Tenney.  The  first  tannery  in  the  town 
was  built  by  Ward  Ware.  The  first  tannery  at 
Marlow  village  was  built  by  L.  Huntly  in 
1835.  This  has  been  succeeded  by  the  present 
large  tanning  establishment  of  Hon.  James 
Burnap. 

DOCUMENTARY    HISTORY. 
Inventory  of  1773. 
"  A  True  Inventory  of  all  the  Poles  and  Ratable 
Estate  in  the  Township  of  Marlow  Taken  this  twenty 
Sixth  day  of  April  1773  by  us  the  Subscribers  Select- 
men of  Said  Marlow 

"  Thirty  four  poles — twenty  Eight  oxen — forty 
two  Cows — fifteen  three  years  old — Eight  two  year 
old — thirteen  year  old — two  Horses— one  hundred  and 
forty  four  acers  of  Mowing  Land — Seventy  Nine 
acers  of  arable  Land — Sixty  four  acers  of  paster 
Land — 
"  A  True  List  attest 

"  Nicodemes  Miller  )    Selectmen  of 
"  Sam11  CANFIELD  i         Marloio 

"  province  of  New  hampshire  April  ye  26th  1773 
"  County  of  Cheshire  ss  parsonally  appeared  Nico- 
dems  Miller  and  Samuell  Canfield  Selectmen  of  Mar- 
low and  made  Soloom  oath  to  the  above  Inventory 
by  them  Taken  &  Signed  by  them  as  above  Is  Just 
and  True  as  there  set  down  taken  • 
"  Before  me 

"  B  Bellows  Justice  Peace  " 

Relative  to  the  Election  of  Representative,  1776. 

"To  the  Honerabel  Counsel  &  assembeley  of  the 
Colony  of  New  hampshire  to  be  Conveaned  &  as- 
sembled at  Exeter  on  the  third  wensday  of  De- 
cember Instant. 

u  The  Petiteion  of  the  Inhabetitants  of  the  Towns 
of  marlow  Alsted  and  Surrey  Humbeley  Sheweth  that 
where  as  it  is  the  advice  &  Deriction  of  the  Conte- 
nantel  Congrace  Reletve  to  the  asumeing  Civel  Gov- 
erment  in  this  Coloney  have  advised  and  Dericted 
the  Provenshal  Congras  of  this  Colony  Preveus  to 
their  asuiming  a  forme  of  Ceviel  Government  that 
they  at  their  Convenshon  Do  Grant  worants  for  a  full 
and  free  Election  of  Representetves  in  this  Coloney 
&  where  as  veeres  Cuppleingof  veraes  Towns  toGether 


in  the  wesetern  Parts  of  Coloney  and  allowing  but 
one  Representetve  to  a  Cuppling  and  we  being  Defer- 
antly  Treted  from  the  Mager  Parts  of  this  Coloney 
who  are  allowed  a  Representetive  to  Each  Town  and 
where  as  the  Towns  of  marlow  Alsted  &  Surrey  are 
Towns  InCorprated  with  all  the  Inverabel  Privelig- 
eses  &  Emunities  that  any  other  Town  or  Towns  Do 
or  may  In  Joy  In  this  Coloney  &  being  thus  Cuppled 
together  as  aforeSaid  are  abriged  or  Curtailed  of  the 
Privelig  of  Each  EndeviDial  Town  Eleccting  a  Rep- 
resentetive which  we  Humbely  Conceve  Can  not  be 
Constred  to  be  a  full  &  free  Election  or  Representa- 
tion of  the  Said  Coloney  agreabel  to  the  advice  of  the 
Contenantal  Congress  above  Resited  we  there  fore 
your  Humbel  Petiteshers  would  be  such  the  Honera- 
bel Counsel  &  House  of  Representetives  that  Preves 
to  the  further  Preserving  the  Plan  of  Civel  Govern- 
ment that  there  may  worants  be  Granted  for  a  full 
and  free  Election  or  Representation  of  Each  of  the 
Endvedial  Towns  above  menchened  Presewent  to  the 
advice  of  the  Contenantal  Congrace  aforesaid  thus 
Shall  your  Humbel  Petisonors  as  In  Deuty  Bound 
Ever  Pray. 

"  Dated  Coloney  of  Newhamsher  Marlow  Decem- 
ber 11th  A  :  D  1776 

"  Samu  Gustin 

"  Absalom  Kingsbery 

"Woolston  Brockway 

"  Jonathan  Smith 


Come"  for 
marlow 
'  Alsted  & 
Surrey  " 


Relative  to  the  East  Line  of  the  Town,  1777. 

"  Marlow  Feb?  ye  20th  1777— 

"  As  there  is  a  Report  prevails  in  the  Town  of  Mar- 
low that  one  Oliver  Parker  a  Reputed  mover  of  sedi- 
tion in  the  Town  of  Stoddard  hath  got  a  petition 
Signd  by  a  party  to  have  some  part  of  the  East  side 
of  the  Town  of  marlow  (by  the  general  Cort)  set  to 
Stoddard. 

"  We  the  Select  men  of  marlow  in  the  State  of 
Newhampshire.  Beg  Leve  to  Say  Some  thing  in  the 
Ears  of  the  General  Cort  on  this  matter  if  v*  above 
Said  petition  is  prefared — viz — that  the  incorporation 
of  ye  Town  of  marlow  is  older  than  ye  incorporation 
of  any  Town  adjoining  to  the  said  marlow — and  we 
in  ye  Name  of  ye  inhabitants  of  ye  Town  of  marlow 
humbly  Pray  that  the  General  Cort  would  not  by  any 
incorporation  infringe  on  the  Town  of  marlow  without 
Giving  Notice  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  marlow 
some  time  before  hand — 

"  If  the  above  sd  petition  be  for  paying  Taxes  only 
— the  General  assembly  did  on  the  12th  Day  of  June 
1776  pass  a  resolve  that  all  those  Rateable  persons 
who  live  within  the  original  east  Line  of  marlow  and 
their  Estates   thir.    pay  there  Taxes   to  marlow  untill 


316 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Title  of  the  Lands  Disputable  between  the  said 
Towns  of  marlow  and  Stoddard  be  Decided  by  Law  or 
or  by  agreement  between  the  said  two  Towns. 

"  The  Cause  being  So  plain  we  shall  not  Trouble 
the  Cort  any  Longer — Resting  assured  they  will  not 
act  Contrary  to  this  petition  without  first  Notifying 
the  Town  of  marlow  and  giving  us  a  Day  to  Defend 
our  Selves 

"  Dated  at  marlow  this  4th  of  march  AD  1777— 

"Nicodemtts  Miller  1  Selectmen 
"Abisha  Tubs  )  of  marlow" 


pr  us 


Relative  to  the  Settlement  of  the  East.  Line  of  the 
Town,  1778. 

"  State  of  Ncwhamshere   Chesher   County   Marlow 
Feberay  3rd  1778 

"as  there  is  Still  Remaining  a  Deficalty  about  the 
Colecting  of  Taxes  in  our  town  on  aCount  of  the 
Chimes  of  woshenton  and  Stoder  by  their  Corpora- 
tions—  Laping  on  our  Town  and  the  Charter  and 
Corperation  there  of  and  as  the  Easter  most  Line 
of  Said  marlow  is  Desputed  by  Said  Washenton  & 
Stodderd  and  that  it  may  be  Setteled  with  out  Defi- 
calty in  a  Legal  Methard 

"  we  the  Subscribers  Select  men  of  Said  Marlow 

Do  Bring  our  Requst  and  Potition  to  the  Honorabel 

Counsel  and  assembely  of  this  State  that  they  would 

Derict  to  Sum  method  whereby  those  unhapey  Defi- 

caltys  may  be  Removed  and  if  your  Honours  Should 

Think  it  Proper :  we  Should  be  Glad  that  Sum  So- 

veyor   &   Chainmen  that   are  Dis  Entrested  and  In- 

habtents   of  this   County   be   apointed  to   Run   the 

Loyns  of  Said  marlow  aCording  to  the  Charter  of 

Said  Town  and  Esabilish  the  Lines  and  Bounds  of 

Said  Town  that  Such  Desputes  may  be  Removed  for 

which  we  your  Potishenors  as  In  Deuty  Bound  would 

H umbel v  Pray 

"  Eber  Lewis      )  Selectmen 

"William  NVi>  >  of  marlow 

"  X  :  B  as  marlow  is  the  oldest  Charter  of  any 
Town  that  Joins  on  it  we  think  it  very  improper  that 
other  Towns  Should  InCroach  on  our  Rights  &  Priv- 
eliges  &C 

"the  within  riten  petetion  is  Excepted  and  by  the 

town  Voted  to  be  Sent  to  the  Honourable  Counsil  and 

A-cmliy 

"Joxath   ROYCE  town  Clar/c" 

Relative  to   Taxes,  1784. 

"State  of  Newhampshire 

"The  Petition  of  the  Town  of  Marlow  humbly 
Sheweth  That  in  the  Proportiou  taken  in  1777  the 
Town  of  Marlow  Sent   in  their  Inventory  according 


to  the  best  of  their  Knowledge  Includeing  all  within 
the  Original  Limitts  of  Said  Town — after  which  the 
General  Court  by  their  Special  order  Resolvd  that  a 
certain  part  of  the  Land  aforesaid  with  the  Inhabit- 
ants thereon  so  far  as  the  Masonian  grant  Extended 
Should  pay  their  proportion  another  way  whereby 
your  Petitioners  where  Deprived  of  a  Considerable 
part  of  their  Strength  which  they  Expected  in  pay- 
ing the  Quotas  of  Taxes  Laid  on  them  in  conse- 
quence of  their  Proportion  and  also  was  Doom'1 
their  Suposed  proportion  in  1780  Including  the  Land 
aforesaid  Therefore  your  Petitioner  humbly  Pray8 
that  So  much  of  their  Taxes  As  hath  been  So  Laid 
on  them  may  be  abated  that  they  may  only  pay  their 
Just  proportion  of  Taxes  in  Said  State  which  they 
Ever  Desire  to  do  and  no  more  and  your  Petitioners 
as  in  Duty  bound  will  Ever  pray 

Natii11  S  Prentice  in  behalf  of  Said  Town" 

Relative  to  East  Line  of  the  Toicn,  1798. 

"  To  the  honarble  Senate  and  hous  of  Representatives 
in  Jeneral  cort  Convened  at  Concord  on  the  thurd 
Wedingsday  of  this  Instant  November 

"  your  pertisherners  humbley  Shweth  that  whereas 
an  act  has  Ben  past  Giving  Juresdiction  of  a  part  of 
marlow  to  Stodderd  to  the  grate  deterament  of  said 
marlow  and  must  unavoidable  Ruen  said  town  if 
Said  act  is  not  Reconsedered  tharefore  your  portish- 
erners  humbley  prayeth  that  your  honers  will  make 
thare  Case  your  Case  and  then  Consider  wheather  you 
would  Be  willing  to  have  your  towns  Cut  to  peaces 
without  the  Concent  of  the  inhabetents  then  your 
portisheners  thinks  they  Shall  be  Abel  By  thare 
agent  to  Shew  the  unreasonable  ness  of  that  act 
which  your  pottishoners  thinks  neaver  would  Ben 
past  if  the  honerable  Cort  at  that  Time  had  farly  un- 
derstod  the  situation  of  Both  towns  that  Stoddard  is 
Biger  without  that  Strip  than  marlow  is  with  it  by 
Reason  of  Washington  Exersising  Juresdiction  over  a 
Considerable  part  of  said  marlow  and  your  portish- 
eners humbley  prayeth  that  they  may  not  Be  tore  to 
peases  to  Set  up  thare  nabering  towns  thow  they  are 
willing  to  suffer  with  other  Towns  But  not  to  be  tore 
to  peaces  to  set  them  up  tharefore  your  portisheners 
humbley  Requestes  that  act  may  Be  Reconsidered 
and  your  portisheners  as  in  duty  Bound  Shall  Ever 
Pray 

"  Marlow  November  16th  1798 

"  Elisha  Huntley  "|  Select 
"  Abijah  Mace        }  Men  of 
"  Wells  Way  J  marlow" 


MARLOW. 


317 


Remonstrance  to  the   Establishment  of  the   East   Line 
as  by  the  Act  of  1797. 

"To  the  Honourable  senate  &  house  of  Representa- 
tives to  be  convened  at  Concord  on  the  third  Wed- 
nesday of  November — ■ 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  town  of 
Marlow  huinbley  shews  that  the  General  court  at  their 
sessions  in  June  1797  sett  off  the  southeast  part  of 
Marlow  containing  About  four  thousand  acres  of  sa 
Marlow  under  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  town  of  Stod- 
dard haveing  About  twenty  famylies  on  the  same 
which  we  concieve  was  obtained  by  A  Very  wrong 
Representation  of  the  Matters  of  fact  And  we  your 
Petioner  not  thinking  it  necessary  at  that  time  to  send 
in  A  written  remonstrance  against  the  town  of  Stod- 
dard petition  fully  believing  that  the  honourable 
court  would  never  take  off  from  the  lesser  towns  and  to 
put  to  the  Greater  where  the  town  taken  off  from  the 
Inhabitants  to  be  taken  off  had  not  Requested  it  but 
to  their  great  Disappointment  it  was  done,  and  we 
your  Petioners  being  fully  sensible  that  sd  Act  being 
carried  into  effect  according  to  the  liberty  the  town  of 
Stoddard  have  taken  and  mean  to  take  by  taxing  our 


Lands  under  the  Lay  out  of  the  Proprietors  of  sd 
Stoddard  which  your  Honours  will  be  sensible  lays 
a  foundation  for  A  continered  multicipticity  of  Law- 
suits to  the  Great  damage  of  the  publick  and  to 
the  total  Destruction  of  Many  of  Your  Petitioners 
Interest  on  both  sides  and  whereas  the  Proprietors  of 
sd  stoddard  as  well  as  the  town  have  taken  the 
most  unwearied  paines  to  Defraud  us  and  Arrest 
our  Lands  from  us  by  every  strategem  that  Depraved 
human  nature  could  Invent  and  we  are  fully  persuaded 
your  honours  when  fully  possest  of  the  facts  will  not 
uphold  them  nor  strengthen  them  in  their  inthusiasm 
but  will  Repeal  sd  Act  and  let  us  peaceably  enjoy  our 
Land  as  other  Citizens  do  which  is  the  humble 
prayer  of  your  petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall 
pray 

"Marlow  June  4th  1798 

"Elijah  Frink  In  Behalf  of  the  Petitioners  " 

All  that  portion  of  Marlow  lying  east  of  the 
curve-line  of  Mason's  patent  was  decreed  to 
belong  to  Stoddard  by  an  act  passed  June  21, 
1797. 


HISTORY   OF  NELSON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  town  of  Nelson  is  located  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows: 
On  the  north  by  Stoddard  ;  east  by  Hillsborough 
County;  south  by  Harrisville,  and  west  by 
Sullivan  and  Roxbury. 

The  township  was  granted  by  the  Masonian 
proprietors,  and  went  by  the  name  of  Monad- 
nock  No.  6  until  February  22,  1774,  when  it 
was  incorporated  and  named  Packersfield,  in 
honor  of  Thomas  Packer,  of  Portsmouth,  one 
of  the  largest  proprietors. 

In  1777  an  attempt  was  made  to  have  the 
name  changed  to  Sullivan,  which  was  unsuc- 
cessful. 

By  an  act  passed  September  27,  1787,  a  por- 
tion of  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  about 
two  miles  square,  was  combined  with  portions 
of  Keene,  Gilsum  and  Stoddard,  and  incorpor- 
ated into  the  town  of  Sullivan. 

The  formation  of  the  town  of  Roxbury,  De- 
cember 1),  1812,  took  off  the  south  west  corner  of 
this  town,  and  a  portion  of  Keene  and  Marl- 
borough. 

The  name  of  the  town  was  changed  to  Nel- 
son, October  1,  1814,  in  accordance  with  a  vote 
of  the  Legislature  in  June  previous. 

The  boundary  line  between  this  town  and 
Roxbury  was  changed  June  15,  1820,  a  small 
tract  of  land  being  severed  from  the  former  and 
annexed  to  the  latter  town. 

June  25,  1835,  the  farm  of  Ebenezer  Tarbox 
was  severed   from   Stoddard,   and    annexed    to 
Nelson. 
318 


Breed  Batchelder,  a  Tory  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  Dr.  Nathaniel  Breed,  com- 
menced settling  the  town  in  1767-68. 

PETITION    FOR   AN     INCORPORATION    OF   THE   TOWN, 

1773. 

"  Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

"To  his  Excellency  John  wentworth  Esq1"  Captain 
General-Govoner  and  Commander  in  Chief  in  and 
over  Said  Province  and  the  Honourable  his  majes- 
tys  Council  for  Said  Province. 

"  Humbly  Shewes  Breed  Batcheller  of  monadnock, 
Number  Six  in  the  County  of  Cheshire  and  Province 
afore  Said  Gentleman,  as  agent  for  the  Proprietors  of 
Said  monadnock,  that  the  Said  Proprietors  &  the 
Public  Labour  under  many  Disadvantages  for  want 
of  the  Said  Proprietors  being  Incorperated  into  a 
Town,  &  Invested  with  Town  Priviledges  The  Pro- 
prietors of  Said  monadnock  this  year  are  ordered  to 
pay  a  Certain  Sum,  towards  the  Province  Tax,  which 
Cannot  be  assessed  upon  the  Inhabitants  of  Said 
monadnock  for  want  of  Town  officers  to  assess  the 
Same 

"your  Petitioner  Conceives  that  an  Incorporation 
of  Said  manadnock,  would  Greatly  Encourage  and 
faceletate  the  Settlement,  &  tend  to  the  Good  order 
thereof. — 

"Whereof  he  in  there  behalf,  prays  your  Excellency 
&  Honours,  would  incorporate  Said  Proprietors  into 
a  Town  by  the  name  of  Packersfield  and  invest  them 
with  Town  Privilidges,  and  your  Petitioner  as  in 
Duty  Bound  will  Ever  pray 

"  November  1th  1773— 

"  Breed  Batcheller  agent" 

The  town  was  incorporated  by  the  Governor 
and  Council/and  named  Packersfield,  February 
1-1,  1774. 


NELSON. 


319 


petition   for   change  of    the   name  of  the 
town,  1777. 

"  State  of  New-Hampshire. 
"  To  the  Honourable  Council  &  House  of  Represen- 
titives  in  General  Court  assembled. 
"  The  Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Packersfield 
Humbly  Sheweth  Whereas  your  Petitioners  are  by 
Charter  obliged  to  hold  their  annual  meeting  in 
august  which  is  a  busy  time  of  the  year  we  desire 
your  honours  would  order  our  annual  meeting  for  the 
future  to  be  in  March,  also  that  the  name  of  our 
town  may  be  altered  to  the  name  of  Sulivan — 
Likewise  as  our  town  is  Liable  to  be  Divided  at  the 
Governours  pleasure  we  pray  that  we  may  not  be 
Divided  without  the  Consent  of  the  Major  part  of  the 
town. 

"and   your  Petitioners  as    in  Duty  bound   Shall 
Ever  Pray 

"  Packerfield  December  22nd  1777 

"  Nathu  Breed  in  the  Name  and  behalf 
of  the  Town  " 

The  House  of  Representatives  granted  leave 
to  "  bring  in  a  bill,"  but  it  was  finally  ordered 
"  to  lay  for  consideration." 

GEORGE  BRINTNALL'S   ORDER   TO   MARCH,  1778. 

"  mr  george  Brintnall  Sir 
"  you  are  hereby  ordered  to  march  immedately  to 
the  Hon1  Committee  of  Safty  or  muster  master  genral 
at  Exeter  there  to  Receive  your  Billitenand  Expence 
money  as  one  Engage11  in  the  Continental  Servise  for 
nine  months  according  to  the  orders  I  Recievd  from 
Co1  Enoch  Hale 

"  Packerfield  may  ye  5th  1778. 

"James  Bancroft,  Capt 

RELATIVE    TO    TAXES,   TOWN     RECORDS,    ETC.,    1778- 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Counsil  and  assembly  of  the 

Estate  of  Newhamshire — 

"  We  the  Subscribers  Select  Men  of  the  Town  of 
Packerfield  in  the  Countie  of  Cheshire  Humbly  Re- 
quest Your  Honours  that  You  Would  be  Pleased  to 
Grant  them  Some  farther  Time  for  Paying  in  the 
State  tax  for  the  Reasons  following  Viz — 

"first  because  We  Receivd  the  act  for  Making  the 
tax  but  about  a  Week  Past  &  the  time  is  too  Short  to 
Sell  the  Lands  Seacondly  because  Majr  Breed  Batchel- 
lor  who  is  Proprietors  Clerk  has  absconded  and 
Joyned  the  Enemy  (tho  we  have  searched)  we  can- 
not find  the  Plan  or  Records  of  the  Proprietors 
Rights  or  the  Publick  Lotts  therefore  as  the  Greater 
Part  of  the  Township  is  Owned  by   Persons  Living 


Out  of  Town  and  Unknown  to  us  We  Cannot  Make 
the  Rates  according  to  Law  Without  a  Plan  of  the 
Town  We  Shall  Endeavour  to  Git  One  from  the 
Lord  Proprietors  Records — 

"  Likewise  We  Would  Request  Your  Honours  to 
aquaint  Us  Whether  the  Late  adition  to  an  Act  En- 
titled an  act  to  assess  Real  and  Personal  Estates  Viz 
all  Other  Real  Estate  Either  Lands  or  Buildings  Not 
Included  in  the  first  act  is  Likewise  to  be  Rated  in  all 
Other  Town  and  Parish  Rates  as  Apprehend  Was 
the  Intent  of  the  act  but  by  a  Clause  in  the  act  Seems 
Doubtful  to  Some  what  was  Intended  and  Your  Pe- 
titioners as  in  Duty  Bound  Shall  Ever  Pray 

"  Packerfield  Feby  9th  1778. 

"  John  Brown     |  Select  Men  of 
"  Amos  Skinner  j    Packerfield  " 

RELATIVE     TO     ESTATE     OF     THOMAS     PACKER,   ETC., 

1780. 

"  To  The  Honourable  Council  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  In  gen- 
eral Court  assembled.  May  it  please  your 
Honors. 

"The  Petition  of  the  Select  Men  of  the  Town  of 
Packerfield  humbly  Sheweth. — Whereas  the  last 
general  Assembly  of  this  State  was  pleased  to  pass  an 
Act,  to  Suspend  the  payment  of  the  Taxes  of  the 
Lands  of  mr  Thomas  Packer,  until  the  Dispute  with 
respect  to  the  last  Will  and  Testament  of  his  late 
Father,  Thomas  Packer  Esqr,  is  determined  Which 
Act  or  Order  of  the  said  general  Assembly  involves 
the  Town  in  much  Difficulty,  as  by  this  Means  We 
are  prevented  Settling  with  the  Treasurer  of  this 
State,  And  receiving  the  Money  ordered  by  Law  to  be 
paid  by  Sd  Treasurer  for  the  Beef  which  this  Town 
has  provided  And  sent  to  the  Army.  Therefore  Your 
Petitioners  humbly  pray  That  your  Honours  would 
be  pleased,  to  pass  an  Act  or  Order,  That  the  Sd 
Suspended  Tax,  Should  Answer  So  much  with  the  Sd 
Treasurer,  that  the  Town  may  draw  their  Proportion 
of  money  for  the  Beef  which  the  Town  has  provided. 
And  your  Petitioners  as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  ever 
pray 

"  Packerfield  Decemr  30th  1780. 

"William  Barker)       Select  Men  of  the 
"John  Brown  i   town  of  Packerfield  " 

RETURN  OF  RATABLE  POLLS,  1783. 

"  Pursuant  to  A  Vote  of  the  General  assembly  of 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire  Directed  to  us  we  Re- 
turn Ninety  Male  poles  paying  a  pole  tax  for  them 
Selves  within  the  Town  of  Packerfield 

"Packerfield  November  10th  1783 


320 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  To  the  General   assembly  for  the  State  of  New  : 
Hampshire — 

"  Samel  Griffin,     )  Select- 
"  Consider  Osgood,  |     men." 

RELATIVE   TO   A   DIVISION  OF    THE    TOWN    FOR    THE 
FORMATION  OF  SULLIVAN,  1780. 

■  To  the  Honourable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in 
General  Court  Conveana  At  Portsmouth  December 
A.  D.  1786. 

••  The  petition  in  behalf  of  the  Town  of  Packersfeild 
Humbly  Sheweth  that  your  petitioners  have  ben 
Serv'1  With  a  Copy  of  a  petition  and  order  of  Court 
thereon  signed  by  a  number  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Towns  of  Gilsom  Stoddard  &  keen  Seting  forth  in  Sd 
petition  that  the  Situation  of  a  number  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  Towns  aforesaid  Togather  with  Part  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Packerfeild  is  such 
that  they  Cannot  be  accomedated  with  Privileges 
Equal  to  the  other  Inhabitants  of  their  respective 
Towns,  one  Part  of  which  Ascertion  your  Petitioners 
absolutely  Deny  Because  there  is  not  one  Inhabitant 
on  the  Land  in  packersfeild  Praid  for  in  Said  Peti- 
tion— 

"  Althoug  at  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Packerfield  in  the  month  of  March  A.  D. 
1784  There  was  a  Petition  Sigh1  by  a  Number  of  the 
Inhabitants   of  the  Towns  of  Gilsom  Stoddard  and 
Keen  Preferd  in  Said  meeting  praying  that  the  Town 
of  Packerfeild   would  Vote   off  a   Certain    part    of 
Packerfeild  to  be  Erected  into  a  Town  Sd  part  to 
Contain  Two  Miles  East  and  west  and  Two  miles  and 
a  half  North  and  South  which  would  Contain  one 
Eighth  Part  of  Said  Packerfeild  and  from  the  reasons 
offered  at  that  Time  and  through  the  inadvertency  of 
the  People  the  prayer  of  Said  Petition  was  granted 
upon  Conditions  that  all  the  respective.  Towns  Con- 
cern'1 ware  mutually  agreed  thereto   (Sence  Which 
Period)  not  supposing  that  the  petitioners  referd  to 
would  obtain  their  request  before  the  general  Assem- 
bly)  have  proceeded  to   agree  upon  a    Center    for 
Erecting  a  meeting  House  and  have  made  provision 
for  the  Same  therefore  if  the  Prayer  to  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  of  Gilsom  and  others  Preferd  to  the 
( ieiieial  Court  Should  be  Granted  it  will  be  a  means 
of  removing  the   Present  Center   and    frustrate  our 
Design  in  Building  a  House  for  Public  Worship  and 
thro  the  Town  into  the  uttermost  Confusion  imagin- 
able and  as  we  look  upon  your  Honours  as  Guardians 
of  the  State  your  Petitioners  Hatter  themselves  that 
your  honours  in  your  known  Wisdom   Will  not  Erect 
a  New  Town  on  the  ruins  of  older  ones:  therefore 


your  Petitioners  pray  that  the  prayer  of  the  petition 
referd  to  may  not  be  granted 

"  As  in  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever  pray 

"  Solomon  Wardwell  "}    Select  men  of 
"  Solomon  Ingalls        V    the  town  of 
"  Pelatiah  Day  J     Packerfeild 

"Packersfeild  Decemr  1st  1786" 


The  northwest  part  of  the  town  was  severed, 
and,  with  portions  of  Gilsuni  and  lveene,  incor- 
porated into  the  town  of  Sullivan. 

petition  of  ruth  batcheller,  concern in<;  u ek 
husband's  confiscated  estate,  1789. 

"  State  of  New-Hampshire  — 
"  To  the  Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives In  general  Court  assembled. — 
"  May   it  please    your   Honors.     The   Petition   of 
Ruth   Bachellor   of  Packersfield,   humbly   sheweth. 
That  your'  Petitioner  is  the  Widow   relict  of  Breed 
Batchellor  Esqr  late  of   Sd  Packersfield— Deceased. 
Who  in  the  Time  of  the  Controversy  with  Britain, 
was  dissatisfied  with  the  Measures  the  States  Adopted, 
in    order  to  obtain   their   Liberties,  and   delivering 
themselves  from  the  hands  of  the  Britons,  And  there- 
fore Left  his  Wife,  Children  &  Estate,  and  went  to 
the   British   Army.     Upon    which  the  whole   of  his 
Estate,    real    &    personal    was     Confiscated.      And 
your  Petitioner  with  her  Children,   was  left  in  dis- 
tressing   Circumstances,    her   Children    being    then 
Small,  And   unable  to    earn  their  Living,  tho  your 
Petitioner,  by  the  Indulgence  of  the  honorable  Judge 
of  Probates,  has  been  for  some  Years  past,  indulged 
with  the  Improvements  of  the  Home  Farm,  which 
when  mr.  Batchellor  left  it  was  new  And  ruff,  the 
Fences   made   Chiefly    of  Timber,   which'    now   are 
mostly  rotten  And  Decayed.     And  the  Buildings  are 
greatly  decayed  &  impaired.     By  which  our  Habita- 
tions are  rendered  uncomfortable,  And  the  profits  of 
the  Farm  are  greatly  lessened  and  rendered  insuffi- 
cient to  afford  the  Family,  with  all  their  Labour  & 
Industry   a   Comfortable  Support.      Therefore  your 
Petitioner   humbly  Prays   that    your  Honors  would 
take  into   your  serious  Consideration  the  Case  of  a 
poor  widow  And  a  Number  of  Fatherless  Children, 
and   grant  the  said  Home  Farm  to  your  Petitioner 
&  her  Children   And  to  their  Heirs  forever.     That 
they  may  be  encouraged  to  repair  the  Buildings  & 
Fences,  by  which  the  Farm  may  be  rendered  Capable 
of  affording  the  Family  a  Support,  And  Your  Peti- 
tioner as  in  Duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray.— 
"  Packersfield  June  2d,  1789. 

"  Ruth  Batcheller  " 


NELSON. 


321 


In  House  of  Representatives,  June  12,  1789, 
it  was  voted  that  Mrs.  Batcheller  have  the  use 
of  the  estate  free  of  rent  until  the  matter  was 
finally  settled. 

CERTIFICATE   OF   NUMBER  OF   RATABLE  POLLS,  1794. 

"This  Certifies  that  their  is  in  the  Town  of  Pack- 
ersfield  one  Hundred  and  forty  two  Male  Poles  of 
twenty  one  Years  of  age  and  upwards  paying  a  pole 
tax  for  them-Selves — 

"  Sam1  Griffin  "l  Select  Men 
"Amos  Child    J  of  Packersfield 
"  Packersfield  June  ye  2d  1794 

"  This  Certifies  that  a  legal  Town  Meeting  held  in 

the  Town  of  Packersfield  on  the  twenty  eighth  Day 

of  April  Last  the  Inhabitants  Voted  unanimously  that 

the  Selectmen  of  Said  Town  Petition  the  General 

Court  at  their  next  Session  for  leave  to  send  a  Repre- 

sentative 

"Sam1  Griffin  T.  Clerk 

"  Packersfield  June  ye  2d  1794—" 

RELATIVE  TO  REPRESENTATIVE,  1794. 

"To  His  Excellency  the  Governer  the  Honorable 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State 
of  New-Hampshire  to  be  Convened  at  Amherst  on 
the  first  Wednesday  of  June  next — 
21 


"Humbly  Sheweth  your  Petitinors  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Packersfield  have  for  Some  Years  past 
been  Classed  with  the  Town  of  Dublin  for  Represen- 
tation that  Said  Dublin  have  now  Come  of  age  and 
Send  a  Representative  for  them  Selves  by  which 
means  your  Petitinors  not  having  a  Sufficient  Number 
paying  a  pole  Tax  for  them  Selves  are  left  Unrepre- 
sented—Therefore Pray  your  Honors  to  take  our 
Case  into  your  wise  Consideration  and  grant  us  re- 
leafe  in  the  Premises  Either  by  Classing  or  Granting 
us  leave  to  Send  a  Representative  by  our  Selves  and 
your  Petitinors  as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  ever  pray 
&c — 

"  Sam1  Griffin  "1  Select  Men 

"  Amos  Child    J   of  Packersfield 
"  Packersfield  June  ye  2d  1794—" 

The  Congregational  Church  was  organ- 
ized January  31,  1781,  with  Jacob  Foster  as 
pastor,  who  remained  until  November  23,  1791. 
His  successors  were  Revs.  Gad  Newell,  Josiah 
Ballard,  Daniel  French,  W.  P.  Gale,  A.  H. 
Cutter,  J.  Ordway,  E.  Dow,  J.  Marsh,  C. 
Willy,  Mark  Gould,  T.  W.  Darling  and  G.  H. 
Dunlap,  our  present  minister.  The  present 
church  clerk  is  V.  C.  Atwood. 


HISTORY   OF  RICHMOND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Geographical— Original  Grant— First  Settlements— Names 
of  Pioneers— The  First  Town-Meeting— Officers  Elected 
— List  of  Voters  at  First  Town-Meeting— War  of  the 
Revolution— List  of  Soldiers — Votes  of  the  Town— War 
of  1812— List  of  Soldiers— War  of  the  Rebellion- 
Names  of  Soldiers — Ecclesiastical  History— Post-Offices 
—Physicians— Civil  History — Representatives — Town 
Clerks. 

The  town  of  Richmond  lies  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 
North  by  Swanzey;  east  by   Troy  and   Fitz- 
william;  south  by  Massachusetts  and  west  by 
Winchester. 

The  township  was  granted  February  28, 
1752,  to  Joseph  Blanchard  and  others,  in  sev- 
enty-one shares. 

In  1760,  the  grantees  having  represented 
that -in  consequence  of  trouble  with  the  Indians 
they  had  been  unable  to  comply  with  the  con- 
ditions of  the  grant,  an  extension  was  granted 
"  until  His  Majesty's  Plenary  Instructions  shall 
be  received."  This  extension  was  granted  by 
the  Governor  and  Council  June  11,  1760. 

By  the  grant  above  mentioned,  Richmond 
territory  extended  as  far  north  as  the  northeast 
corner  of  Swanzey,  there  running  to  a  peak. 
This  triangular  tract,  with  a  base  on  Swanzey 
south  line  of  three  and  one-half  miles  and  forty 
rods,  was  severed  from  Richmond  and  annexed 
to  Swanzey  December  11,  1762. 

Another  portion  of  the  town   was  taken    off 
June    23,    1815,    combined    with    portions    of 
Marlborough,    Fitzwilliam    and  Swanzey,  and 
incorporated  into  the  town  of  Troy. 
322 


By  an  act  approved  July  2,  1850,  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  town  was  annexed  to  Win- 
chester. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  of  this  town 
was  probably  made  in  1671  or  1672.  Mr.  Bas- 
set in  his  recently-published  "  History  of  Rich- 
mond," says  : 

There  is  a  tradition  that  one  Sylvester  Rog- 
ers or  Rocherson,  from  Rhode  Island,  in  1750, 
made  a  clearing  of  about  an  acre,  on  which  he 
erected  a  strongly-built  log-house,  for  the  dou- 
ble purpose  of  a  shelter  and  a  defense  against 
the  Indians  ;  that  he  abandoned  the  premises 
after  a  few  months  and  returned  to   Rhode   Is- 
land,  in   consequence    of  information  received 
from  a  friendly  Indian  of  an  intended  visit  of 
hostile  savages  lurking  somewhere,  it  may  be 
supposed,  in  the    vicinity,  and    that    the    place 
where  his  clearing  was  made  was   on  the  farm 
afterwards   settled   by    Jonathan    Gaskill    and 
now  owned  by  Jesse  Bolles.     This  story    may 
be  substantially  true,  with  the  exception  of  the 
date  of  the  occurrence,  which  we  are  inclined  to 
believe  should  be  some  years  later — say    1754 
or  1755 — when    hostilities    were    resumed    be- 
tween the    French    and    English    colonies,  and 
this  from  the  fact  that  there   was   no  grant  or 
survey   of  the  township   made   prior  to   1752, 
and  that  no  rights  of  pre-emption  were  secured 
to  squatters  at  that  time.     However  this  may 
have  been,   it   matters   little,  as  no  permanent 
settlement  was  made  ;  the  real  question  at  issue 
being,  When,  where,  and     by  whom   was  the 
first  permanent  settlement  made  ?    Most  of  the 


RICHMOND. 


323 


evidence  at  hand  bearing  on  the  matter  of  time 
of  the  first  comers  indicate  quite  strongly  that 
17(32  was  the  year  when  the  tide  of  emigration 
commenced  in  force.  Now  Lemuel  Scott,  if  we 
may  credit  the  inscription  on  his  grave-stone,  was 
born  1763,  and  Philadelphia  Kempton,  daugh- 
ter of  Stephen  Kempton,  was  born  in  1763,  and 
these  are  reputed  to  be  the  first  male  and  female 
children,  of  white  parents,  born  in  the  town ; 
hence  it  is  presumable  that  not  many  families, 
prior  to  this  date,  could  have  been  here  for  any 
great  length  of  time.  Again,  when  Jacob 
Bump  came  to  town  there  were  but  five  fam- 
ilies in  town,  and  he  came  after  the  birth  of  his 
eldest  son,  Stephen,  who  was  born  January  30, 
1761.  This  is  the  statement  of  Mr.  Nathan 
Bo  wen,  a  grandson  of  Mr.  Bump,  and  is  prob- 
ably the  most  reliable  testimony  to  be  had  from 
any  person  now  living  touching  the  question  of 
time.  This  would  seem  to  fix  the  time  of  Mr. 
Bump's  advent  in  1761  or  1762,  as  his  second 
son,  Asa,  was  born  in  Richmond,  January  29, 
1763. 

Some  deeds  of  the  first  settlers  were  record- 
ed in  the  Cheshire  records,  and  among  these  the 
deed  of  Col.  Josiah  Willard  to  Thomas  Wooley, 
who  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  very  first  in 
town,  bears  date  of  1763,  and  the  conveyance 
included  the  land  on  which  he  built  his 
house  ;  but  oral  tradition  says  he  was  living  on 
his  place  in  1758.  He  may  have  been  the  first 
permanent  settler.  Henry  Ingalls  bought  in 
1763;  in  fact,  no  deed  has  been  found  back  of 
that  date,  but  from  this  it  may  not  be  inferred 
that  no  one  was  here  before  that  time. 

Probably  but  very  few  families  made  their 
advent  here  before  1762  ;  and  that  the  south- 
ern and  western  portions  of  the  town  were  first 
occupied  appears  quite  probable,  as  the  towns 
adjoining  on  these  sides  had  been  to  some  extent 
settled,  while  on  the  eastern  border  what  was 
called  Monad  nock,  No.  4  and  No.  5,  remained 
an  unbroken  wilderness.  Paths  leading  to 
Royalston,  Warwick  and  Winchester  were  first 
made,  by  which  the  first  immigrants  came  into 


town,  and  these  were  afterwards  laid  out  and 
made  into  public  roads,  and  portions  of  the 
same  have  so  remained  to  the  present  time.  We 
may  safely  assume  that  those  who  located  on 
the  old  road  leading  from  Winchester  to  Royal- 
ston were  among  the  first  that  came,  viz.:  the 
two  Casses,  (John  and  Daniel),  Azariah  Cum- 
stock,  John  Dandley,  Francis  Norwood,  Jacob 
Bump,  Silas  Gaskill,  and  Thomas  Josslin,  to-- 
gether  with  some  others  that  located  away  from 
this  line,  as  John  Martin,  John  Scott,  Con- 
stant and  David  Barney,  Thomas  Wooley, 
Reuben  Parker,  Oliver  Capron,  Edward 
Ainsworth,  Jonathan  Gaskill,  Jonathan  Sweet, 
Jonathan  Thurber,  Ephraim  Hix,  Henry  In- 
galls, Stephen  Kempton,  Jedediah  and  Jona- 
than Buffum,  and  many  others  who  were  here 
before  1765.  These  came  mostly  from  Smith- 
field  and  Cumberland,  R.  I.,  and  from  Reho- 
both  and  Attleborough,  Mass.,  as  did  the  others 
that  followed. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  March  27, 
1765,  as  follows : 

"At  a  Legal  meeting  of  ye  free  Holders  and  other 
Inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Richmond  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampshire  Being  Held  at  the  house  of 
John  Cass  Innholder  in  ye  Town  on  ye  27th  day  of 
March  A.  D.  1765  Agreeable  to  the  Charter  of  ye 
town  Appointing  the  Last  Wednesday  of  March  to 
be  the  day  for  choosing  town  officers  for  the  annual 
meeting. 

"  Then  voted  and  chose  John  Cass  Moderator  for 
this  meeting. 

"Then  voted  that  all  free  holders  in  ye  town  should 
have  Liberty  to  vote  in  the  choice  of  town  officers. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  Daniel  Cass  town  Clerk. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  John  Cass,  Daniel  Cass, 
John  Martin,  Selectmen  and  assessors  for  this  present 
year. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  Timothy  Thompson,  Con- 
stable. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  John  Cass,  Town  Treasurer. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  John  Dandley,  Tithingman. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  Jonathan  Gaskill,  Survey- 
or of  highways. 

"Then  voted  and  chose  Joseph  Cass  Surveyor  of 
highways. 

"  Then  voted  to  dismiss  this  meeting. 

"  John  Cass,  Moderator. 


324 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"Province  of  New  Hampshire  March  ye  27th, 
A.  D.  1765  the  Persons  Before  named  was  sworn  to 
the  faithful  discharge  of  their  several  offices  Accord- 
ing to  Custom. 

"  Josiah  Willard,  Jus.  Peace." 

LIST  OF   VOTERS  AT    THE  FIRST  TOWN-MEETING. 


Jonathan  Atherton. 
Solomon  Atherton. 
Moses  Allen. 
Ezra  Allen. 
Edward  Ainsworth. 
Abraham  Barrus. 
Jacob  Bump. 
Constant  Barney. 
David  Barney. 
Joseph  Barney. 
Jedediah  Buffum. 
Jonathan  Buffum. 
Daniel  Cass. 
Deacon  John  Cass. 
Joseph  Cass. 
Thomas  Crane. 
Azariah  Cumstock. 
Azariah  Cumstock,  Jr. 
Moses  Cumstock. 
Aaron  Cumstock. 
Abner  Cumstock. 
John  Dandley. 
Jonathan  Gaskill. 
Silas  Gaskill. 
Sylvanus  Harris. 
Uriah  Harris. 
Anthony  Harris. 
Ephraim  Hix. 
Peter  Holbrook. 
Henry  Ingalls. 


Edmund  Ingalls. 
William  Josslyn. 
Thomas  Josslyn. 
James  Kingsley. 
Stephen  Kempton. 
John  Martin. 
Gideon  Man. 
Oliver  Mason. 
Elijah  Meader. 
Reuben  Parker. 
Israel  Phillips. 
David  Russell. 
Abraham  Randall. 
Joseph  Razee. 
John  Robinson. 
Timothy  Robinson. 
Daniel  Read. 
David  Read. 
John  Scott. 
Jonathan  Sweet. 
John  Sprague. 
Timothy  Thompson. 
Jeremiah  Thayer. 
Alles  Thayer. 
Nehemiah  Thayer. 
Nathaniel  Taft. 
Silas  Taft. 
Jonathan  Thurbur. 
Thomas  Wooley. 
John  Wooley. 


Wab  op  the  Revolution. — The  first  ref- 
erence on  the  old  town  records  in  relation  to  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  was  under  date  of 
April  (J,  1775, — "  Voted,  To  raise  three  pounds, 
eight  shillings,  which  the  Congress  has  sent  for 
to  this  town." 

The  first  company  from  this  town  was  under 
command  of  Capt.   Oliver    Capron,  June  12, 


Privates. 


177o,  as  follows 


Capt.  Oliver  Capron. 
Lieut.  David  Barney. 
Sergt.  Henry  Ingalls. 
Sergt.  Rufus  Whipple. 


Sergt.  David  Russell. 
Corp.   H.    Thurber. 
Corp.   Jas.  Westcoat. 


Solomon  Aldrich. 
William  Aldrich. 
Nathan  Barrus. 
Jeremiah  Barrus. 
William  Barney. 
Samuel  Carpenter. 
Azariah  Cumstock. 
John  Ellis. 
John  Garnsey. 

The  following  were 
pany  in  1776  : 

I.  Whipple,   2d  Lieut. 
Daniel  Whipple,  Corp. 


Abiel  Knap. 
Eleazer  Martin. 
Eli  Page. 
Daniel  Peters. 
Israel  Peters. 
Timothy  Robinson. 
David  Shearman. 
Jeremiah  Thayer. 
John  Wooley. 

in  a  Winchester  com- 

B.   Ellis,  Sergt. 

J.  Wcoley,  Drummer. 


Zebulon  Streeter. 
Henry  Ellis. 
Amos  Hicks. 
Asa  Hicks. 

Azariah  Cumstock,  Jr 
Oliver  Garnsey. 
Amos  Garnsey. 


Privates. 

Simpson  Hammond. 
Ebenezer  Peters. 
James  Tilson. 
John  Garnsey,  Jr. 
Moses  Cumstock. 
Daniel  Freeman. 


The    following    were   in    a   Swanzey   com- 
pany, viz. : 

Abiel  Knap. 


Daniel  Shearman. 
Allis  Thayer. 
James  Cook. 
David  Barney. 
Jonathan  Kingsley. 


Barnard  Hicks. 
James  Westcoat. 
Caleb  Ellis. 


Timothy  Martin,  Jesse  Martin,  Joseph  Al- 
len and  Benj.  Starkey  were  in  the  service. 

At  the  town-meeting  held  on  May  16,  1777, 
it  was 

"  Voted,  That  eight  months  constitute  a  turn  in  the 
service,  and  that  a  bounty  of  twelve  pounds  be  given 
for  said  service. 

"Voted,  Also,  that  all  who  have  done  Turns  or  parts 
of  Turns  in  the  war  to  have  credit  in  the  rates. 

"  Voted,  To  allow  the  men  their  expenses,  and  pay 
for  their  time,  that  went  to  Cambridge  on  the  alarm 
at  time  of  the  Concord  fight  in  the  year  1775. 

"Voted,  To  raise  money  to  hire  men  to  go  into 
the  service  for  eight  months,  or  a  longer  time.  Chose 
Isaac  Benson,  Capt.  Capron  and  Constant  Barney  a 
committee  to  hire  the  men. 

"  Dec.  3.  Voted,  to  increase  the  bounty  to  soldiers 
to  twenty-four  pounds  instead  of  twelve,  for  a  Turn, 
or  eight  months,  to  be  allowed  in  the  rates." 

In    Captain    Davis   Howlett's   company,   of 


RICHMOND. 


325 


Colonel  Ashley's  regiment,  which  marched  from 
Keeue  May  4,  1777,  to  reinforce  the  Continen- 
tal army  at  Fort  Ticonderoga,  were  Lieutenant 
Edmund  Ingalls,  Timothy  Robinson,  Ebenezer 
Barrus,  Sylvanus  Cook,  John  Ellis,  Jonathan 
Kingsley,  Israel  Peters,  Peletiah  Razey,  John 
Wooley,  Jonathan  Westcoat.  These  were  prob- 
ably all  from  Richmond. 

The  following  company  was  enlisted  in  June, 
1777,  for  the  northern  frontier  : 

A  Muster  Roll  of  Capt.  Oliver  Capron's  company,  in  Col. 
Samuel  Ashley's  regiment  of  militia,  which  marched  to 
the  relief  of  Ticonderoga,  1777. 

Capt.  Oliver  Capron.  Sergt.  Michael  Barrus. 

Lieut.  Henry  Ingalls.  Corporal  John  Ellis. 

Ens.  Eufus  Whipple.  Drummer  J.  Woolley. 
Sergt.  Sol.  Atherton. 

Privates. 

David  Barney.  Asel  Harris. 

David  Hix.  Abner  Aldrich. 

Samuel  Hix.  Samuel  Carpenter. 

Simeon  Hix.  James  Coojc. 

Seth  Ballou.  Constant  Barney. 

Reuben  Parker.  Oliver  Barrus. 

Eliphalet  Hix.  Eli  Page. 

Jeremiah  Bullock.  Daniel  Thurber. 

Stephen  Kempton.  John  Barrus. 

Benjamin  Ingalls.  Othniel  Day. 

Jeffrey  A.  Barney.  William  Goddard. 

David  Russell.  James  Shafter. 

Benjamin  Thrasher.  Hezekiah  Thurber. 

Jonathan  Bosworth.  Samuel  Hunting. 

Philip  Aldrich.  Israel  Whipple. 
Peter  Holbrook. 

The   following   were   in   a  company  in  the 
battles  of  Bennington  and  Stillwater : 

Lieut.  Henry  Ingalls.  Corp.  Samuel  Hicks. 

Sergeant  John  Ellis. 

Privates. 

Benjamin  Ingalls.  Joseph  Ingalls. 

Eli  Page.  James  Westcoat. 

Eliphalet  Hicks.  John  Wooley. 

James  Shafter.  Nathan  Bullock. 

Jeremiah  Bosworth.  Peletiah  Razey. 

James  Cook.  Peter  Starkey. 

Jonathan  Kingsley.  Simeon  Hicks. 

Jeffrey  Barney.  Reuben  Parker. 
Jeremiah  Barrus. 

January  14,  1778,  it  was  "  Votedto  raise  men 


for  the  Continental  Service  for  the  duration  of 
this  present  war  with  Great  Britain,  or  three 
years."  "  Chose  Rufus  Whipple,  Edmond  In- 
galls and  Mr.  Nicholas  Cook  a  committee  to 
hire  said  men." 

At  the  annual  meeting  it  was  "  Voted  That 
the  Committee  of  Safety  stand  another  year,  or 
until  another  is  chosen." 

June  15th  it  was  "Voted  Not  to  increase  the 
bounty  put  on  by  the  State."  "  Voted  To  raise 
three  men  to  serve  until  the  first  of  January 
next,  unless  soon  discharged.  Chose  John  Bar- 
rus, Daniel  Read  and  James  Westcoat  a  com- 
mittee to  hire  the  men,  and  to  pay  the  sum  or 
sums  the  committee  shall  give  for  said  men." 

"  Walpole,  February  13th,  1778. 

"  This  is  to  Sartifie  the  town  of  Richmond  that 
Rufus  Whipple  hath  got  mustered  Thirteen  men  for 
the  town  of  Richmond  to  Sarve  two  years  in  the  Co- 
nental  Sarvis. 

"Peleg  Williams,  Lieut.  Noah  Porter. 

Jona.  Willard,  Esq.  John  Withy. 

Samuel  Royes.  Lewis  Clisco. 

Asa  Crasson.  John  Smith. 

Henry  Carter.  Jeams  Wier. 

Joseph  Powers.  Thomas  Hunt. 

Nathaniel  Powers.  Jeams  Marrel. 

Abner  Powers.  William  Taggart.  " 
John  Symonds. 

September  6th  it  was  "  Voted  Not  to  allow 
the  men  credit  that  have  done  more  than  their 
proportion  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain." 

October  21st  it  was  "  Voted  For  the  General 
Court  to  hire  one  man  for  said  Richmond  that 
is  wanting  for  the  Continental  army  for  one 
year. 

June  4,  1781,  it  was  "  Voted  To  raise  fourteen 
men  under  the  State  of  Vermont.  Chose  Ed- 
mond Ingalls,  Rufus  Whipple  and  Noah  Curtis 
a  committee  to  hire  said  men,  and  to  proceed  in 
that  method  they  shall  think  most  to  the  advan- 
tage of  said  town." 

May  6,1782,  it  was  "Voted  to  proceed  to 
raise  twelve  Continental  men." 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  service 
Richmond  performed  in  men  and  money : 


326 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


£  s. 

"In  1777 — Continental  men,  15,  paid. ...465  0 

"  1778             "              "      13,     "    ...555  12 

"  1779             "              ;<        5,     "    ...180  0 

"  1781— Frontiersmen         15,     "    ...162  10 

Wab  ok  1812. — The  town  was  represented 
in  the  War  of  1812  by  the  following : 


Dan.  C.  Bryant,  Lieut. 
Carlton  Bryant. 
Chauncey  Bryant. 
Samuel  Bryant. 
William  Buffum. 
Stephen  Buffum. 
Jedediah  Buffum  (3d). 
Jared  Ballou. 
Richard  Boorn. 


John  Cass,  Jr. 
Moses  Garnsey. 
Amos  Howe. 
Cromwell  Kelton. 
Townsend  Parker. 
Daniel  Thornton. 
Lewis  Whipple.1 
Henry  Whipple. 
James  Whipple. 


Thomas  Bryant. 

In  other  companies  were  : 

Noah  Bisbee,  Jr.,  Esq.1  Nathan  Cass. 

Seth  Bisbee.1  Aaron  Martin. 

Daniel  Man.  Daniel  Buffum. 

Stephen  Man.  Olney  Ballou. 

Chandler  Man.  Benoni  Ballou. 

Arnold  Man.  Samuel  Barrus. 

Mordica  Cass.  Moses  Tyler. 

Laban  Cass.  Joseph  Jessop. 

Jesse  Bishop.  Nathan  Perry  (died). 
Townsend  Parker. 


The  following  were  drafted 


Jacob  Whitcomb. 
('handler  Man. 
Thomas  Goddard. 
Salmon  Martin. 
Samuel  Barrus. 
Martin  Cass. 
Nahum  Perry. 
Lewis  Aldrich. 


William  Barrus. 
Ellis  Thayer. 
Ellis  Thayer  (2d). 
Eli  Page  (2d) 
Jeremiah  Bolles. 
Milieus  Barrus. 
Paul  Jilson,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Newell. 


Wab  of  the   Rebellion. — The  town  re- 
sponded nobly  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 
The    following   is  a   list   of  the  soldiers  from 
the  town : 
Arlon  S.  Atherton,  second    lieutenant  Company   I, 

Third  Regiment. 
Andrew  S.  Arnold,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Moses    Allen,    Company    F,    Fourteenth  Regiment; 

killed  September  19,  1864. 

i  Noah  Bisbee,  Jr.,  and  Lewis  Whipple  were  killed,  and 
Seth  Bisbee  was  wounded,  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane, 
July  24,  1814. 


Frederick    R.  Bowen,    Company  A,  Second    Regi- 
ment. 
Edwin  N.  Bowen,  first  lieutenant  Company  I,  Third 

Regiment. 
Henry  R.  Bowen,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Alfred  R.  Bowen,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 
William  Brown. 

Charles  Ball,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
Abner  S.  Barden,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
Otis  A.  Barrus,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment ; 

killed  at  Winchester,  Va.,  September  16,  1864. 
Alden  F.  Ballou,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment ; 

died  September  2,  1863. 
E.  Napoleon   Buffum,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment; 

died  of  disease  in  Maryland,  October  8,  1862. 
James  H.  Buffum,  Company  H,  First  Regiment. 
Albert  Bolles,  Second  New  Hampshire  Cavalry. 
George   A.    Barrus,  Company   B,  Eighteenth   Regi- 
ment; died  June  16,  1863. 
Henry  E.  Ballou,  Company  B,  Twenty-seventh  Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts. 
Benjamin  F.  Barrus,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment ; 

died  of  wounds  July  15,  1862. 
Henry  R.  Bolles,  Company  I.  Third  Regiment ;  acci- 
dentally shot  April  23,  1862. 
Albert   E.  Barrus,   Company    G,   Eighteenth    Regi- 
ment. 
Ira  Marshall  Barrus,  Company  I,  Second  Regiment, 

Massachusetts. 
John  W.  Barrus,  Company  I,  Second  Regiment ;  Mas- 
sachusetts. 
John  Bolles,  Massachusetts  Regiment ;  died  in  Libby 

Prison. 
Artemas  B.  Colburn,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  died  September  19,  1864. 
Roland   M.  Combs,  Company   C,  Fourteenth   Regi- 
ment. 
Reuben   H.  Combs,  Company   C,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment. 
Jarvis  Cass,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment ;  died 

at  New  Orleans  June  20,  1863. 
Anson  L.  Cass,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Henry   O.    Curtis,  Company     H,    First   Regiment  ; 

Heavy  Artillery. 
Harvey  G.  Cheney,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment, 

Massachusetts. 
John  Dingman,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Rufus  Freeman,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
John   H.  Hitchcock,  second  lieutenant  Company  I, 

Third  Regiment. 
Lorenzo  Harris,  Jr.,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment. 
Caleb  Harris,  Company  H,  Thirty-sixth  Regiment, 
Massachusetts;  died  October,  1864. 


RICHMOND. 


327 


Almon    L.   Jillson,   Company  G,  Fourteenth   Regi- 
ment; died  at  battle  of  Laurel  Hill,  Va. 
Anson    R.   Jillson,   Company  A,  Second   Regiment, 

Massachusetts ;  died  at  battle  of  Laurel  Hill,  Va. 
Silas  F.  Jillson,  Company  A,  Twenty-fifth  Regiment, 

Massachusetts ;  died. 
Nathan    M.    Jillson,    Company  B,   Twenty-seventh 

Regiment,  Massachusetts. 
Herman  L.  Lincoln,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Stephen  W.  Martin,  Company  I,  Twenty-fifth  Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts;  died. 
George  Martin,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
John  A.  Morse,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Ansel  Macomber,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
John  E.  Norwood,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
Benjamin  Newell,  Jr.,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  died  October  14,  1864. 
Daniel  H.  Pel  key,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Dexter   Palmer,  Company   I,  Sixteenth   Regiment ; 

died  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  August,  1863. 
Nahum   Putney,  Company   I,  Sixteenth   Regiment ; 

died  at  Algiers,  La.,  June  12,  1863. 
John    A.  Paine,  Company   I,   Sixteenth   Regiment ; 
mustered  October  23,  1862 ;  mustered  out,  Au- 
gust 20,  1863. 
Warren  S.  Pickering,  Company  A,  Eighteenth  Regi- 
ment. 
Volney  Piper,  sergeant-major  Company  E,  Fourth 

Regiment. 
Denzil  Rice,  sergeant,  Company  E,  Third  Regiment.. 
Amasa  W.  Perry,  Eleventh  United  States  Infantry. 
John  Starkey,  Jr.,  first  sergeant,  Company  F,  Sixth 

Regiment ;  died  August  29,  1862. 
Walter  A.  Scott,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 

killed  at  Winchester,  Va.,  September  29,  1864. 
Henry  E.  Tolman,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Jonas   I.  Thompson,  corporal    Company   C,  Fourth 

Regiment. 
Samuel  Thompson,  second  lieutenant,  Company  F, 

Sixth  Regiment. 
L.  Warren  Wright,  adjutant  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
Stephen  W.  Williams,  Company   I,  Sixteenth  Regi- 
ment. 
William  Whipple,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 
Vibbert  Whipple,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 
Alfred  P.  Whipple,  Company  F,  Second  Regiment, 

Massachusetts. 
Julius  M.  Whipple,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 
S.  Wright  Wood,  Company  E,  Sixth  Regiment. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  was  organized 
in  1768.  The  present  Baptist  Church  was  or- 
ganized March  24,  1835,  and  the  society  No- 
vember 25,  1836. 


The  Unitarian  Church  was  organized  in 
1837. 

The  Universalist  Church  was  formed  in 
April,  1837,  and  at  dedication  of  their  first  house 
of  worship,  November  22,  1837,  the  sermon 
was  preached  by  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou. 

Methodist  Church. — The  first  Methodist 
Church  in  this  town  was  organized  in  1840  and 
dissolved  in  1870.  A  second  organization  was 
effected  in  June,  1871. 

The  Society  of  Friends  also  held  meet- 
ings in  this  town. 

The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Aaron  Aldrich. 
Dr.  Ebenezer  Swan  was  here  in  1776 ;  died 
1820.  He  was  followed  by  B.  Harkness,  Amos 
Howe,  Martin  Brittan,  John  Parkhurst,  George 
W.  Hammond,  Franklin  Wallace,  Lewis 
Ware,  J.  P.  Willis,  C.  C.  Wheaton,  Alvin 
Ballou,  L.  Smith,  S.  P.  French,  C.  J.  Town, 
E.  J.  Dunnell,  John  Heard,  J.  R.  Hardy, 
Geo.  F.  Shore. 

The  celebrated  Hosea  Ballou  was  born  in 
this  town  April  30,  1771,  and  here  was  born 
also  Elizabeth  Ballou,  mother  of  the  lamented 
President  Garfield.  "  The  site  of  the  birth- 
place of  Hosea  Ballou  is  now  a  most  attractive 
place  in  a  valley  scooped  out  from  the  rough 
hills  and  mountains  of  the  Granite  State,  and 
known  as  Ballou's  Dale,  surrounded  by  the 
most  romantic  scenery,  the  beauties  of  which 
he  used  to  dwell  upon  in  after-years,  and  to 
sing  their  praise  in  verse.  The  neighboring 
country  is  of  a  bold  and  rugged  character,  and 
is  to  this  day  but  thinly  settled." 

Post-Office. — The  first  post-office  was  es- 
tablished July  4,  1812,  with  Job  Bisbee  post- 
master. The  following  is  the  list  from  that 
time  to  the  present : 

Job  Bisbee July     4,  1812 

Ono.  T.  Cass July   24,  1829 

Stephen  Wheeler Aprl.  24,  1832 

John  Parkhurst Sept.    6,1837 

Danford  Tyler Nov.  10,  1840 

Jarvis  Weeks July     8,  1845 

Amos  G.  Bennett May     6,  1858 

Daniel  R.  Spaulding July    16,  1861 


328 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


L.  W.  Wright Dec.   19,1870 

Charles  H.  Lyon May    10,  1871 

Amos  Martin Mar.    7,  1873 

Andrew  Dodge July    12,  1875 

Warren  Ken  op Aprl.    6,  1877 

John  E.  Norwood Dee.   18,  1877 

Charles  Norwood May     7,1883 

.  The  North  Richmond  office  was  established 
September  15,  1853.  The  postmasters  have 
been, — 

Harvey  Martin Sept.  15,  1853 

Edson  Starkey June  16,  1856 

Harvey  Martin Oct.  30,  1856 

Discontinued June  17,  1879 

Re-estahlished July     3,  1879 

Orlow  E.  Parsons July    3,  1879 

Orlan  H.  Martin Aprl.  13,  1880 

Civil  History. — The  following  is  a  list  of 
representatives  from  1776  to  1885: 
Oliver  Capron,  1776  and  1783. 
Daniel  Read,  1777. 
David  Barney,  1778. 
Noah  Curtis,  1779  and  1782. 
Jonathan  Gaskill,  1787,  1789  and  1790. 
Nathaniel  Aldrich,  1810. 
Jonathan  Atherton,  1814  to  1817  and  1819. 
Benjamin  Newell,  1817,  1818  and  1820. 
Joseph  Newell,  1824  and  1825. 
Jonathan  Rawson,  1827  to  1830. 
Russell  Whipple,  1831. 
Nahum  Aldrich,  1837  to  1840. 
Jarvis  Weeks,  1840  and  1841. 
Nicholas  Cook,  1842, 1845  and  1846. 
Kendall  Fisher,  1843  and  1844. 
Stephen  Randall,  1847  and  1848. 
William  Wright,  1849  and  1850. 
Willard  Randall,  1851  and  1852. 
D.  B.  Aldrich,  1853  and  1854. 
Moses  Tyler,  1793,  1796  to  1802. 
Rums  Whipple,  1794  and  1795. 
James  Cook,  1802  to  1807. 


Joseph  Weeks,  1807  to  1810,  1811  to  1814,  1821  to 
1824,  1826,  1830,  1832  to  1835. 

Samuel  P.  French,  1855. 

John  Starkey,  1856  and  1857. 

Aimer  Twitchell,  1858  and  1860. 

Asahel  Kelton,  1859. 

Hosea  B.  Aldrich,  1861  and  1863. 

Asa  H.  Bullock,  1864. 

N.  G.  Woodbury,  1865  and  1866. 

Edson  Starkey,  1867  and  1868. 

Asa  H.  Bullock,  1869  and  1870. 

Elbridge  G.  Bemis,  1871  and  1872. 

Andrew  G.  Willoby,  1873. 

Almon  Twitchell,  1874. 

Edwin  N.  Bowen,  1875  and  1876. 

Joseph  B.  Abbott,  1877. 

Hiram  P.  Sprague,  1878. 

John  E.  Norwood,  1883  and  1884. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  town  clerks  from 
1765  to  1885: 

Daniel  Cass,  1765. 

Henry  Ingalls,  1766  to  1792. 

Samuel  Gaskill,  1792  to  1798,  1799  to  1802. 

David  Ballou,  1798. 

Joseph  Weeks,  1802  to  1822,  1823  and  1827. 

Jonathan  Rawson,  1824  to  1827  and  1831. 

Benjamin  Newell,  1828  and  1829. 

Ono.  T.  Cass,  1830. 

Jarvis  Weeks,  1832  to  1836,  1837  to  1844,  1845, 
1853, 1854,  1856  and  1857. 

Stephen  Wheeler,  Jr.,  1836. 

Amos  W.  Newell,  1844,  1846,  1847  and  1855. 

Henry  B.  Swan,  1848  and  1849. 

William  Bassett,  1850  to  1853. 

N.  G.  Woodbury,  1858,  1860  to  1865. 

D.  R.  Spaulding,  1859. 

Jarvis  Ingalls,  1865  to  1871,  1880  to  1884. 

Amos  G.  Bennett,  1871  to  1875. 

Edward  F.  P.  Dearborn,  1875  (one  month). 

George  W.  Newell,  1876  to  1880. 

Almon  Twitchell,  1884  and  1885. 


HISTORY   OF  ROXBURY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

This  town  lies  near  the  centre  of  the  county 
and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 

North  by  Sullivan  ;  east  by  Nelson  and  Har- 
risville ;  south  by  Marlborough  and  west  by 
Keene. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  form  this  town  in 
179(1  from  portions  of  Packersfield  (Nelson), 
Dublin  and  Marlborough.  A  committee  ap- 
pointed to  examine  the  premises  reported  favor- 
ably, but  it  met  with  opposition  from  the  towns 
it  was  to  be  taken  from,  and  the  scheme  was 
defeated. 

A  petition  from  the  inhabitants  "  of  the 
southwest  part  of  Packersfield,  north  part  of 
Marlborough,  and  east  part  of  Keene,"  present- 
ed to  the  Legislature  in  1812,  asking  to  be 
incorporated  into  a  town,  was  successful,  the 
territory  asked  for  being  incorporated-December 
9th,  of  that  year,  as  a  town  by  the  name  of 
Roxbury. 

June  15,  1820,  Samuel  Griffin  and  his  estate 
were  severed  from  Nelson,  and  annexed  to  this 
town. 

By  an  act  passed  July  1,  1868,  the  entire 
town  of  Roxbury  was  annexed  to  Keene : 
Providing,  said  act  should  be  adopted  by  a 
majority  vote  in  each  town.  The  act,  how- 
ever, was  not  adopted,  and  Roxbury  remains  as 
it  was. 

PETITION    FOR   AX    I  N<  ORPORATION,  1706. 

"  Your  Petitioners  inhabiting  the  south  west  part 


of  Packersfield,  the   North  part  of  Marlboro' — and 

North-west  part  of  Dublin — 

"  Humbly  Shew 

"  That  they  live  very  remote  from  the  Center,  but 
more  so  from  the  Meeting-Houses  of  their  respective 
towns — 

"  That  the  situation  is  such  by  reason  of  distance  & 
bad  Roads,  that  they  cannot  attend  Public  Worship 
&c.  with  any  convenience — 

"  That  they  are  destitute  of  many  Town  preveliges. 
That  some  of  their  duties,  as  members  of  the  several 
Towns  are  very  burdensom — 

"  That  the  town  of  Packersfield,  has  voted  off  a 
Tract  of  Land  at  the  south  west  corner  thereof  and 
Marlboro' — has  voted  off  a  Tract  at  the  North  End 
therof  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  Township — 

"  That  what  has  been  voted  off  (in  their  opinion)  is 
inadequate  to  make  aTownship — 

"  That  your  Petitioners  have  Petitioned  the  several 
Towns  for  a  small  addition  to  said  grants,  but  without 
success — 

"That  if  the  Tract  of  Land  already  voted  off,  with 
the  addition  of  asmall  piece  of  Packersfield,  Marlboro, 
and  Dublin,  might  be  Incorporated  a  distinct  Town- 
ship it  would  be  highly  advantageous  to  your  Petition- 
ers and  the  Public  Interest. — 

"  The  prayer  of  this  their  humble  Petition,  therefore 
is,  that  your  Honors  would  appoint  a  Committee  to 
Examine  the  said  Premises  at  the  cost  of  your  Peti- 
tioners— 

"And  your  Petitioners  further  pray,  that  the  Com- 
mittee so  appointed  might  be  directed'  (if  after  due 
examination  they  Should  think  it  reasonable  to  make 
a  Township  as  afore  said)  to  fix  the  Bounderies  and 
make  their  report  to  the  Honorable  General  Court,  to 
be  holden  in  June  next — 

"And  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray — 

"  Lott  Cooke,  in  behalf  of  the  Petitioners. — 


"9th  Dec,  1796—  " 


329 


330 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


This  petitition  was  referred  to  a  committee, 
who  reported  as  follows  : 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE. 

"your  Committee  appointed  in  December  the  8, 
L796  to  take  into  Consideration  &  vew  the  Situation 
of  the  Southwest  part  of  Peckersfield  and  the  North 
part  of  Marlborough  &the  Norwest  part  of  Dublin  as 
Set  forth  in  the  Petition  of  Lott  Cooke  and  others. 

"  Report  as  followeth, 

"  Having  Explored  the  above  mentioned  towns  &  the 
Situation  of  the  premises  prayd  for  in  the  aforeSd  Pe- 
tition are  of  the  opinion,  that  the  prayer  thereof  be 
granted  So  far  as  that  thay  be  incorperated  as  a  town 
according  to  the  Descriptions  following 

"  Begining  at  the  Southesterly  Corner  of  Sullivan 
then  running  Easterly  till  it  Strikes  the  East  line  of 
Lot  number  Six  in  the  fifth  Range  of  Lots  in  the  town 
of  Peckersfild  then  running  Southerly  on  Sd  line  till  it 
Strikes  the  Norwest  corner  of  Lot  N°  7  in  the  2d 
Range  of  Lotts  in  Peckersfield,  then  running  Easterd- 
ly  on  the  North  Line  of  the  2'1  Range  till  it  Strikes 
Breeds  pond  so  called  then  Southerly  till  it  Strikes 
Dublin  line,  then  on  the  north  line  of  Dublin  East- 
erdly  till  it  comes  to  the  northeastly  corner  of  Lot  N° 
19  in  the  10  Rang,  thence  Southerly  on  Sd  line  till  it 
Strikes  the  Southesterly  corner  of  Lot  N°  19  in  the  7 


Rang  in  Sd  Dublin  then  Running  Westerly  on  Sd  line 
till  it  Strikes  Marlborough  East  line,  then  taking  thre 
ranges  of  Lotts  of  the  north  End  of  Marlborough  in- 
cluding two  gores  of  Land  one  on  the  north  line  and 
the  other  on  the  west  line  of  Sd  Marlborough  against 
Sd  Ranges,  and  from  the  norwest  corner  of  Marlbor- 
ough on  the  west  line  of  Peckersfield  to  Sullivan 
South  Line  then  Easterly  on  Sullivan  South  Line  to 
the  first  menctioned  bounds. 
"  Dublin  Apreel  12,  1797. 
"  all  which  is  Submitted  by  your  Committee — 

"  Nath1  Emerson 
"BEN.Ia  Prescott." 

The  plan  met  with  opposition,  and  was  de- 
feated in  June  following. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  this 
town  was  organized  August  15, 181G,  with  Rev. 
C.  Page  pastor.  He  was  dismissed  on  March 
2,  1819,  and  from  that  time  until  1887  the 
church  was  without  a  pastor. 

Rev.  Alanson  Rawson  became  pastor  in  May, 
1837,  and  dismissed  May  3,  1842.  January  1, 
1843,  Rev.  Ezra  Adams  assumed  the  pastorate 
and  continued  about  six  years.  Other  ministers 
have  been  Revs.  B.  Smith  and  S.  H.  Tolman. 


HISTORY  OF  STODDARD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

This  town  lies  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  :  On  the 
north  by  Sullivan  County,  on  the  east  by  Hills- 
borough County,  on  the  south  by  Nelson  and 
Sullivan,  and  on  the  west  by  Sullivan,  Gilsuni 
and  Marlow. 

The  township  was  granted  by  the  Masonian 
proprietors  to  Colonel  Sampson  Stoddard,  of 
Chelmsford,  Mass.,  and  others,  and  went  by 
the  names  of  Monadnock  No.  7  and  Limerick, 
until  it  was  incorporated,  November  4,  1774, 
and  named  in  honor  of  Colonel  Stoddard.  Set- 
tlements were  made  in  1769  by  John  Taggart 
and  others,  who,  for  a  time,  obtained  bread- 
meal  in  Peterborough  and  carried  it  to  their 
homes  on  their  backs.  By  an  act  passed  Sep- 
tember 27,  1787,  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
town  was  combined  with  portions  of  Gilsum, 
Keene  and  Nelson,  and  incorporated  into  the 
town  of  Sullivan. 

The  lines  of  Gilsum  and  Marlow,  as  char- 
tered, extending  some  distance  east  of  the  curve- 
line  of  Mason's  patent,  as  surveyed  by  Joseph 
Blanchard,  and  the  west  side  of  Stoddard,  being 
said  curve-line,  caused  a  serious  dispute  as  to 
which  should  have  jurisdiction  over  the  terri- 
tory in  question.  This  was  settled  in  favor  of 
Stoddard  June  16,  1797. 

June  25,  1835,  the  farm  of  Ebenezer  Tar- 
box  was  severed  from  Stoddard  and  annexed  to 
Nelson. 

The  following  Stoddard   men  were  in  First 

New  Hampshire  Regiment: 

Samuel   Morrison,    enlisted    January    1 ,    1 777 ;   dis- 
charged December,  1781. 


Richard   Richardson,     enlisted  April   3,    1777 ;    dis- 
charged April  5,  1780. 
Nathaniel  Richardson,  enlisted  April  3,  1777  ;  died 
June  24,  1777. 

The  manufacture  of  g-lass-ware  was  carried 
on  to  same  extent  at  South  Stoddard  for  many 
years. 

WARRANT   FOR   TOWN-MEETING,    1776. 

"  By  Virtue  of  an  order  from  the  Select  men  of 
Stoddard  to  me  I  Warn  all  the  Freeholders  and 
oather  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Stoddard  To  meet 
att  the  Dwelling  house  of  Ensn  John  Tenneys  in 
Stoddard  on  Wednesday  the  twentieth  Day  of  June 
next  at  Eleven  oClock  forenoon  then  and  there  to  act 
on  the  following  articles  if  they  see  fit 
"  1th  To  Chuse  a  moderator  to  govern  Said  meeting — 

"  2ly  To  See  if  the  Town  will  Chuse  a  Select  man  in 
the  room  of  Isaac  Kenney  who  was  Chose  that  of- 
fice and  refuses  to  Sarve  the  Town — 

"  3ly  To  See  if  the  Town  will  Chuse  two  Constables 
in  the  room  of  Ephraim  Adams  and  Benoni  Boyn- 
ton,  who  was  Chose  and  refuse  to  Sarve  ye  Town 

"  4ly  To  See  if  the  Town  will  a  gree  to  hire  any 
preaching  this  present  Summer — and  Chuse  a  Com- 
mittee for  the  Same — 

"  5ly  To  raise  Such  Sum  or  Sums  of  money  as  Shall 
be  thot  proper — 

"  6ly  To  See  if  the  Town  will  Chuse  a  Commitee  to 
open  Such  of  the.  propriators  roads  that  was  Laid 
out  in  this  town  before  it  was  incorporated  as  shall 
be  thot  necessary 

"  7ly  To  See  What  the  Town  will  Do  in  respect  to 
Isaac  Kenneys  Taken  as  alls  oath 

"  8ly  To  have  the  Town  agree  where  the  preaching- 
Shall  be  if  they  hire  any 

"9ly  To  see  if  the  Town  will  Chuse  a  Commi'tee 
to  reckon  with  Oliver  Parker  and  to  receive  his  ac- 
compts  and  give  him  recipts — and  to  Demand  of 
him   the  Said  parker  the  Town  Book  of  records 

331 


332 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


With  the  incorporation   and  all  the  records  that 

are  past 

"Stoddard  may  ye  22d  1776 

.  "Isaac  Temple  Town  Clr" 

remonstrance  against  the  election  of  joseph 
rotjnseval. 

"Colony  of  Nkwhamp1" 
"totheHonbl°  Counciele  and  house  of  Representa- 
tives for  sd  Colony — 

"  the  Petition  and  prayer  of  the  subscribers  Inhabit- 
ants of  Stoddard  in  Sa  Colony  humbly  Sheweth  that 
mr  Joseph  Rounsivile  may  not  have  a  Seat  in 
Court  for  Reasons  here  mentioned  firstly  because  he 
is  not  worth  the  money  Seccondly  because  he  is  not 
leagly  Chousen  the  Town  not  being  warned  to  Chuse 
a  Representitive  But  to  Chuse  a  Comtce  to  Chuse  one 
and  accordingly  he  was  Chosen  by  Comt0'" 
"Stoddard  August  2'1  1776 

"  Jonathan  Bennett         joel    Gilson 
Oliver  Parker  "William  Dutton 

John  Dutton  Isaac  Kenney 

Ash  Adams  Moses  Kenny  " 

Thomas  Adams 

DISORDER  AT  A  TOWN-MEETING,    1776. 

"The  Petition   of  a  Number  of  the  Inhabitants,  of 
Stoddard  in  the  Colony  aforesd  humbly  Sheweth  That 
on  the  Last  Thursday  of  the  month  of  inarch  Last 
past  at  Stoddard  aforesd  was  held  ye  annual  meeting, 
so  called,  for  the  Town  aforesd  when  after  Chusing  by 
hand  Vote  The  Town  officers  for  the  Ensuing  Year 
(among  which  Officers  were  Two  Constables  Chosen) 
The  Town  Clerk  and  Selectmen  then  chosen  utterly 
refused  to  permit  the  sfl  Constables  to  take  the  Oath 
of  office,  declaring  that   yc  former  Selectmen  should 
make  ye  asscsnient,    and  the  former  Constables  col- 
lect the  same,  for  the  Ensuing  year,  after  the  Trans- 
acting of  which  it  was  requested  of  the  moderator  to 
Adjourn  y'  sc|  meeting,  upon  which  he  called  a  Vote 
to  see  if  it  was  the  mind  of  ye  Inhabitants  so  to  do 
who  almost  unanimously  voted  that  s'1  meeting  be  not 
adjourned,  but  the   moderator   notwithstanding   did 
declare  the  same  adjourned  untill  ye  Second  day  of 
may  then  next,  at  which  Time   a  Number   of   your 
petitioners    protested   against   y'    proceedings   of   sd 
meeting  for  the  Reasons  afores'1  your  Petitioners  fur- 
ther shew  that  on  the  Twelfth  day  of  June  Instant  a 
small  Number  of  the  Inhabitants  of  ye  sa  Town  did 
meet  Together  at  a  place  never  before  that    Time 
used  for  that  purpose  in  a  Tumultuous  manner  to  the 
Number  of  about  Eight  persons  to  vote  upon  Sundry 
Articles  and  things  in  the  notification  herewith  Ex- 
hidited,  mentioned,  by  means  of  all  which  proceed- 


ings the  utmost  disorder  and  Confussion  is  introduced 
into  ye  sd  Town,  and  the  most  unhappy  Consequences 
are  reasonably  Expected  to  take  place,  wherefore 
your  Petitioners  (being  a  major  Part  of  the  Inhab- 
itants freeholders  and  others  Legally  Qualified  to 
Vote  in  Town  meetings)  humbly  pray  your  Honors 
to  take  this  our  Petition  into  your  wise  Consideration 
and  to  a  point  some  Legal  method  for  calling  a  meet- 
ing of  ye  Inhabitants  of  sd  Town  as  soon  as  may  be 
in  order  to  transact  ye  necessary  business  of  ye  Town 
and  restore  peace  and  Harmony  amongst  the  Inhab- 
itants or  other  ways  to  Grant  us  releif  as  to  your  Hon- 
ors shall  seem  fit,  and  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty 
bound  shall  Ever  pray 
"Stoddard  June  18,  1776. 

"John   Dutton  Daniel  Kenny 

Jonathan  Bennett  Moses  Kenny 

Oliver  Parker  Samuel  Parks 

Reuben  Walton  Ebenezer  Wright 

Asa  Adams  Ephraim  Adams 

John  Joyner  John  N  mther 

Joel  Gilson  Timothy  Mather 

Moses  Bennett  Richard  Emerson 

William  Dutton  Zachr  Adams 

Joseph  Dodge  Thomas  Adams 

Benoni  Boynton  Isaac  Kenney  " 

In  House  of  Representatives,  September  19, 
a  hearing  was  ordered  for  the  next  session. 

SUMMONS    TO  OLIVER    PARKER,    1776. 

"Stoddard  may  ye  22d  1776. 

"  To  Oliver  Parker — you  are  hereby  required  to  ap- 
pear att  the  Dwelling  house  of  mr  John  Tennys  in 
Stoddrad  afore  Sd  on  Wednesday  the  fifth  Day  of  June 
next  at  Ten  oClock  fore  noon  then  and  there  to  make 
answer  to  a  Complant  Brought  to  us  against  you 
wherein  you  appear  inimical  to  america  in  a  Dumber 
of  alegations  fail  not  of  apperence  at  your  peril — as 
your  neglect  will  be  faithfully  reported  to  the  Com- 
mitee  of  Safty  for  the  Colony  of  New  Hampshire 
given  under  our  hands  at  Stoddrd  afore  Said — 

"  Alexander  Scott       ^      Commitee 
"Nathaniel  Emerson  >     of  softy 
"Amos  Butterpield     )  for  Stoddard" 

PROCEEDINGS      OF     THE      TOWN     COMMITTEE      OF 
SAFETY,  1776. 

"  Att  a  meeting  of  the  Commitees  of  Safty  for  the 
Towns  of  Stoddard  Camden  and  marlow  met  at  the 
house  of  mr  John  Tenneys  on  the  fifth  Day  of  June 
1776  to  hear  and  Examine  into  a  Complaint  Brought 
to  us  against  one  Oliver  Parker  of    Stoddard — setting 


STODDARD. 


333 


forth  the  Sd  parker  to  he  inimical  to  america  and  its 
Liherties  Proceed  and  Chose  mr  Sam11  Gustin  Chair- 
man— 

"  The  inclosed  Complaint  is  the  same  that  was 
Brought  to  us,  and  has  hen  fully  suported  and  provd — 

"  upon  which  we  Came  to  the  following  resolution 
viz — 

"1st  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Committees  that  ye  sd 
parker  is  notoriously  Disaffected  to  the  american 
Cause — 

"  2ly  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Commitees  that  the  Sd 
parker  is  so  notoriously  Disaffect'1  that  he  the  Sd 
parker  be  Emedeately  Disarmed  from  all  instruments 
of  war — 

"  3'-v  that  the  Sd  parker  be  Confin"  to  the  Lot  of 
Land  his  house  stands  on  on  the  penalty  of  being 
Sent  to  the  Common  goal  of  the  County  of  Cheshire 
— or  find  good  Bonds  to  the  Satisfaction  of  the  Com- 
mitee  of  Safty  in  the  Town  of  Stoddard 

"  4ly  all  persons  are  forbid  to  have  any  Deleaings 
with  ye  Sd  parker  on  ye  penalty  of  being  Consider'1 
enimies  to  america — 

"  And  furthermore  while  we  ware  setting  a  Com- 
plaint was  brought  to  us  by  mr  Nathaniel  Emerson  of 
Stoddard  against  the  sd  Parker  setting  forth  that  the 
sd  Parker  filloniously  brock  down  his  ye  sd  Emersons 
fence  and  has  continud  to  do  it  for  some  days  and 
turns  his  Cattle  into  his  improvements — and  a  Cita- 
tion was  sent  to  the  sd  Parker  to  appear  and  defend  ye 
same,  but  he  payd  no  regard  at  all  to  the  Summons 
but  difies  all  authority  to  bring  him  to  Justice  (mean- 
ing ye  Committee  of  Safety) — John  Nois  mather — 
Joel  Gilson — Zachr  adams — Eli  adams — and  william 
Dutton  all  of  Stoddard  was  Summon1  to  appear  as 
Evidences  in  the  above  Cause  but  refused  to  appear- 
and seamd  to  appear  as  abetters  of  the  sd  Parker  by 
their  deniing  the  authority  of  the  Committee — Treat- 
ing ye  Committee  with  scurulous  Language 

"By  Order  "of  the  Several  Committees 

"  Attest  "  Sam11  Gustin  Chairman 

"  Stoddard  June  ye  5,h  1776  " 

"  Stoddard  June  ye  5th  1776 
"  Att  a  meeting  of  the  Committees  of  Safety  of 
Stoddard  and  marlow  and  Camden,  met  to  try  a  cause 
depend8  between  oliver  Parker  a  reputed  Tore,  and 
the  Liberty  of  America — ye  said  Parker  being  sited 
to  appear  on  this  Day,  but  defyes  ye  authority  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety — and  dos  not  appear — " 

A  part  of  the  evidence  brought  against  said 
Parker  was  the  following,  which  he  acknowl- 
edged to  have  written  to  Mr.  Boynton  : 

"  A  Receipt  to  make  a  Whig — Take  of  conspiracy 


and  the  root  of  pride  three  handfnlls  two  of  ambition 
and  vain  glory,  pound  them  in  the  mortar  of  faction 
and  discord,  boil  it  in  2  quarts  of  dissembling  tears 
and  a  little  New  England  Rum  over  the  fire  of  Sedi- 
tion till  you  find  the  scum  of  folly  wood  to  rise  on  the 
top,  then  strain  it  through  the  cloths  of  Rebillion, 
put  it  into  the  bottle  of  envy,  stop  it  with  the  cork  of 
malice,  then  make  it  into  pills  called  Conspiracy  of 
which  take  nine  when  going  to  bed  say  over  your 
hypocritical  prayer,  and  curse  your  honest  neighbor 
in  your  bed  chamber  and  then  go  to  sleep  if  you  can, 
it  will  have  so  good  an  effect  that  all  the  next  clay 
you  will  be  thinking  how  to  cozzen  cheat  lie  and  get 
drunk  abuse  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  cut  the 
throats  of  all  honest  men  and  plunder  the  Nation." 

Parker  was  committed  to  jail  in  Exeter,  Nov. 
2,  1778,  and  was  under  bonds  not  to  go  out  of 
Cheshire  County  in  1782. 

PETITION   OF   OLIVER   PARKER  \    ADDRESSED   TO 
THE   COMMITTEE   OF  SAFETY,   1776. 

"  Humbly  sheweth  Oliver  Parker  of  Stoddard  in 
the  County  of  Cheshire  in  sd  Colony  that  he  was 
upon  y°  5th  day  of  June  Current  by  Order  of  Certain 
Committees  directed  to  be  disarmed,  and  not  to  go 
from  his  Lot  of  Land  on  which  he  Lives,  upon  ye 
penalty  of  being  Committed  to  ye  County  Goal,  and 
by  sd  Committees  deemed  an  Enemy  to  his  Country, 
your  petitoner  avers  and  declares  that  sd  Committees 
had  not  ye  least  proof  of  his  being  inimical  to  his 
Country,  but  that  they  proceeded  to  act  as  they  did 
with  regard  to  him  merely  upon  malice,  and  that  he 
openly  Challenges  any  person  or  persons  whomsoever 
to  prove  the  least  thing  against  him  with  respect  to 
his  being  in  any  way  or  manner  disaffected  to  the 
Cause  of  Liberty,  wherefore  he  prays  your  Honers  to 
point  out  some  reasonable  and  just  method  for  him  to 
make  his  Innocence  in  ye  premises  manefest,  and  to 
be  Liberated  from  yc  unjust  decree  of  sd  Committees — 

"  June  18  1776  "  Oliver  Parker." 

SUNDRY  INHABITANTS  RELATIVE  TO  FOREGOING :  AD- 
DRESSED to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  1776. 

"  The  Petition  and  Remonstrance  of  the  Subscribers 
Inhabitants  of  Stoddard  in  sd  Colony  sheweth,  that 
We  have  for  a  Number  of  years  been  acquainted  with 
Capt  Oliver  Parker  of  Stoddard  afores11  and  have  Es- 
pecially since  ye  Unhappy  War  commenced  betwixt 
Great  Britain  and  the  Colonys  been  personally 
Knowing  to  his  Good  disposition  In  the  Cause  of 
Liberty  and  that  he  has  done  his  part  as  an  Individual 
towards  y'  support  of  y'  War  and  on  Every  Occasion 
as  a  military  officer  obeyed  orders  and  done  what  was 
required   of    him,    notwithstanding   which    he    was 


334 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Lately  summoned  to  appear  before  Certain  Commit- 
tees to  answer  a  Complaint  again  him  as  an  Enemy 
to  America,  and  without  letting  him  Know  what  ye 
Complaint  was  or  to  what  he  was  to  answer  to  they 
proceeded  to  confine  him  to  that  Lot  of  Land  his 
house  stands  upon,  and  to  order  that  no  persons  deal 
with  him  on  pain  of  being  deemed  Enemies  to  their 
Country,  now  as  your  petitioners  are  certain  that 
there  was  no  grounds  to  found  this  resolution  upon, 
but  that  mere  malice  and  falshood  directed  y*  whole 
proceedings,  they  pray  that  your  Honors  would  re- 
verse y  a  fores'1  unjust  degree  or  by  some  means  let  y' 
matter  be  fairly  and  impartially  determined. 
"Stoddard  June  18  L776 

"John  Putt  on  Joseph  Dodge 

Jonathan  Bennett  Isaac  Kenney 

Reuben  Walton  Daniel  Kenney 

Moses  Kenney  Samuel  Parks 

Benoni  Boynton  Ebenezer  Wright 

Thomas  Adams  John  N  Mather 

Joel  Gilson  Timothy  mather 

William  Dutton  Richard  Emerson 

John  Joyner  Zachariah  Adams 

Asa  Adams  Isaac  Barit." 
Moses  Bennett 

The  following-,  relative  to  a  disputed    line, 
was  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly,  177(i : 

"  The  Humble  prayer  and  petition  of  the  Select 
men  of  Marlow  and  Stoddard,  met  to  agree  on  some 
method  to  proceed  in  relating  to  a  Contested  Strip  of 
Land  claimed  by  both  Towns — Came  to  the  following 
agreement;  viz:  We  humbly  pray  the  General  As- 
sembly would  give  us  their  advice  in  this  Difficult 
matter  and  during  the  Dispute  between  Britain  and 
the  Colonies  that  is  Wheather  Stoddard  shall  Tax  to 
their  Western  Bound  called  the  patent  or  Curve  Line 
— or  Wheather  marlow  shall  Tax  to  their  Eastern 
Bound — or  so  far  East  as  to  in  Clude  all  that  first 
settled  under  their  Charter  for  as  we  Expect  to  pay 
Taxes  with  the  rest  of  our  Breathern  so  Each  Town 
claiming  a  right  to  Tax  a  few  familcys  will  soon 
create  Confiltions  and  1  tuitions  which  we  would  by 
all  means  indevour  to  avoide,  praying  att  the  Bame 
time  that  the  words  (every  person)  might  be  Left  out 
in  their  answer  if  they  are  pleased  to  give  one — as 
was  incerted  in  their  former  answer  for  as  We  appre- 
hend will  give  no  Satisfaction — for  this  reason — one 
man  will  say  he  is  under  Stoddard  when  he  is  under 
marlow — and  another  will  say  he  is  under  marlow 
when  he  is  under  Stoddard — so  we  pray  that  the  ad- 
vice may  Set  some  Bound  for  to  gide  us  in  this  matter 
— that  thereby  we  may  Shun  the  Difficulty  that  has 


subsisted  between  the  said  Towns  for  some  years  past 
— and  as  is  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever  pray — 
"Dated  att  Stoddard  may  ye  24th  1776— 

"Stephen  Gee  ^     Selectmen 


J 


of 
marlow 


"  Nicodemus  Miller 
"  Abisha  Tubs 

"Alexander  Scott       i     Selectmen 
"Nathaniel  Emerson  \  of  Stoddard." 


The  following  is  a  petition  of  inhabitants 
living-  on  the  disputed  land  in  1776  : 

"  To  the  Honourable  Counsel  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentees for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire — 

"  We  your  Humble  purticioners  Beg  Leave  to  In- 
form your  Honours  that  we  are  in  Great  Dificulty  by 
Reason  of  being  taxed  to  two  Towns  Viz  Stoddard 
and  Marlow  Altho  we  be  Long  to  Stoddard  and  Live 
East  of  the  Patten  Line  yet  the  Town  of  Marlow  has 
taxed  us  a  Considerable  Number  of  years  we  Humbly 
beg  your  Honours  to  take  the  matter  into  Considera- 
tion and  order  where  we  shall  pay  our  taxes  for  we 
are  not  able  to  pay  to  two  Towns  as  we  your  Humble 
Purtitioners  In  Duty  Bound  Shall  Ever  Pray — 

"  John  N  mather  Dan  Brockway 

Ebenezer  Farley  Timothy  Mather 

Stephen  Twitchel  Isaac  Barritt" 
Ephraim  Brockway 

The  following,  relative  to  the  disputed  line, 
was  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly  in 
March,  1777  : 

"  Humbly  Shew — 

"The  Subscribers  Freeholders  &  Inhabitants  ot 
Stoddard  in  the  County  of  Cheshire  in  said  State — 

"That  your  petitioners  with  Others  entered  into  & 
upon  a  Certain  Tract  or  parcel  of  land  bounded 
Westerly  on  the  Patent  Line,  so  calle,d,  Easterly  on 
the  Society  land,  so  called,  and  northerly  on  Monad- 
nock  Number  Eight  and  southerly  on  Monadnock 
Number  Six  of  the  Contents  of  about  Six  Miles 
Square  called  Monadnock  Number  Seven — 

"That  in  November  1774,  the  said  Inhabitants 
pret'er'd  a  petition  to  the  then  Governor  and  Council 
of  said  province,  setting  forth  among  other  things, 
their  Situation,  and  praying  that  the  said  lands  might 
be  Erected  into  a  Township,  and  the  Inhabitants 
thereof  Incorporated  into  a  Body  Politick,  to  have 
Continuance  and  succession  forever — which  petition 
was  Granted,  and  Letters  Patent  in  due  form  ac- 
cordingly passed — 

"That  in  the  Year  last  passed  the  Selectmen 
of  the  Towns   of  Marlow  and  Stoddard    Unknown  to 


STODDAEI). 


335 


your  Petitioners  Applied  to  the  General  Assembly  for 
Advice  and  Directions  Touching  the  Taxation  of  a 
Number  of  your  petitioners  who  they  said  were 
settled  under  the  Late  Kings  Grant  of  Marlow — That 
the  order  made  in  Consequence  thereof  Very  Sensibly 
Affects  them  and  is  likely  to  create  Great  uneasiness 
which  is  the  Bane  of  New  Settlements — 

"  That  as  your  petitioners  are  settled  within  the 
undoubted  Limits  of  Stoddard  aforesaid  they  are 
unwilling  to  be  taxed  Else  where  and  the  Application 
aforesaid  to  the  Late  General  Assembly  was  prema- 
ture ; — That  the  Right  to  the  Soil  your  petitioners 
are  Willing  to  Contest  with  any  person  at  Common 
Law — 

"  Wherefore  your  petitioners  humbly  pray  that 
Your  Honours  would  not  hold  them  to  pay  taxes  to 
the  Town  of  Marlow  where  they  do  not  belong — 
(and  as  they  are  within  a  Town  Corporate  are  under 
the  Regulations  of  Law).  That  your  Honours  would 
not  Interfere  in  their  Title  nor  do  anything  that  may 
seem  to  Affect  the  same;  your  petitioners  pray — 


"  Oliver  Parker 
John  Dutton 
Jonathan  Bennett 
Joel  Gilson 
Daniel  Kenney 
Moses  Bennett 
Zachriah  Adams 
Thos  Adams 
Reuben  walton 
Moses  Kenney 
John  Joyner 
Samuel  Parks 
William  Dutton 
Isaac  Kenney 


Richard  Emerson 
Asa  Adams 
Benoni  Boynton 
Amos  Taylor 
John  N  mather 
Timothy  mather 
Salvenus  Beckwith 

Benjamin 

Joseph  Dodge  Jr 
Joseph  Dodge 
Elijah  Morse 
Joseph  O  Taylor 
Isaac  Barit 
Ephm  Adams" 


ACTION   OF   THE   LEGISLATURE. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives  March  21st 
1777— 

"The  Committee  of  both  Houses  on  the  petitions  of 
Marlow  and  Stoddard  made  report  that  it  is  their 
( )pinion  that  the  Inhabitants  living  on  the  Lands  in 
dispute  between  the  Towns  of  Marlow  and  Stoddard 
do  abide  by  the  Resolve  made  by  the  General  Court 
of  this  State  on  the  12  Day  of  June  1776,  respecting 
Taxation  until  the  matter  in  dispute  be  settled  by 
Law  or  Agreement  as  therein  mentioned — but  that 
the  said  Inhabitants  do  Military  duty  in  the  Town  of 
Stoddard  as  has  been  usual,  signed  Nich0  Gilman 
Chairman  which  Report  being  read  and  Considered, 
Voted  that  the  same  be  received  and  accepted  and 
that  the  said  inhabitants  govern  themselves  accord- 


"  Sent  up  for  concurrence 

"  John  Dudley  Speakr  p  tempr 
"  In  Council  the  Same  Day  read  and  concurred 
"  E  Thompson  Secy  " 

The  result  was  in  favor  of  Stoddard,  their 
claim  to  all  territory  as  far  west  as  the  curve- 
line  of  Mason's  patent  being  allowed,  thus  tak- 
ing portions  of  the  towns  of  Marlow  and  Gil- 
sura. 

RELATIVE   TO    AN   ALLEGED    ILLEGAL   TOWN- 
MEETING. 

"  We  the  Subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 
Stoddard  Being  Desirous  of  peace  and  unity — att  all 
Times.  But  more  Especially  in  these  Days  of  Trou- 
ble and  rebuke — When  not  only  those  who  formerly 
Stiled  them  Selves  our  Parents.  But  our  own  Domes- 
tics are  Levying  war  against  us — and  using  all  means 
to  Bring  us  into  and  keep  us  in  Divitions — which  we 
would  use  all  Lawfull  means  to  put  a  Stop  to,  and  to 
Cultivate  good  order  and  harmony  among  us  and  as 
authority  is  allways  the  only  means  whereby  any  part 
of  the  Community,  when  Greavd  Can  Lawfully  have 
Redress — 

"  We  therefore  Humbly  pray  the  Honble  General 
assembley  for  the  Colony  of  New  Hampshire,  Would 
be  Graciously  pleased  to  Condecend  to  give  us  ye 
inhabitants  of  poor  pensive  Stoddard  their  advice — 
in  Regard  to  our  annual  march  meeting — held  in  this 
Town  the  28th  Day  of  march  Last  past — the  people 
being  Legally  Warned  and  met — the  Votes  Ware 
Called  for — for  a  moderator — a  motion  Was  made — 
Wheather  it  would  not  be  Best  and  Quicker  to  Chuse 
him  by  nominating  and  Lifting  up  ye  hand — the 
Question  was  accordingly  put  by  one  of  the  former 
Select  men — past  in  the  affermitive — and  no  objection 
made — after  y°  moderator  was  Chose — a  nother  motion 
was  made  to  have  all  ye  oather  Town  officers  Chose 
by  nominating  and  Lifting  up  the  hand — ye  modera- 
tor accordingly  put  ye  Question  and  it  passed  in  the 
affermitive — and  no  objection  made  in  ye  Least — and 
if  there  is  any  Law  how  to  Chuse  Town  officers  We 
Look  upon  this  way  to  be  ye  Law — and  if  there  is  no 
Law  we  think  the  Town  has  a  right  (and  it  is  neces- 
sary) to  Say  how  they  will  proceed  for  that  year  or 
for  that  meeting — but  we  went  on  and  Chose  all  our 
Town  officers  in  peace  Without  any  objection  and 
after  ye  Choice  of  all  ye  officers  was  made — there 
Came  on  a  Despute  about  a  publick  meeting  house 
Spot — now  there  has  been  a  Divition  about  ye  meet- 
ing house  ever  Senee  y°  Town  was  Settled  and  when 
ever  there  was  any  thing  to  be  acted  upon  Concert  - 


336 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ing  a  meeting  house — a  Quaril  insued — and  So  it 
was  now.  nothing  Done  but  Disputing  and  hard 
Words — a  motion  was  made  to  have  that  article  Dis- 
mised  or  yc  meeting  adjorned — but  Coukl  not  be  ob- 
tained— ye  moderator  Calling  on  them  to  proceed  and 
Do  business  or  lie  would  adjorn  yc  meeting — Which 
alter  a  While  more  Spent  in  Talk  and  Nothing  Done. 
y1'  moderator  Declaird  ye  meeting  Stand  adjorn11  to  the 
Second  Day  of  may  next — and  no  Sort  of  objection 
made  all  rested  in  peace  till  Sd  2d  Day  of  may — ye 
Select  men  being  Sworn — and  had  Taken  ye  List  or 
Valuation  of  the  Town  and  now  there  is  a  party  risen 
up  against  the  meeting  Saing  it  is  in  vailed  and  on 
this  reason  that  ye  officers  ware  voted  in  by  nomina- 
ting and  Denies,  all  ye  authority  of  Town  officers 
Oliver  parker  a  Common  Tore  being  ye  ring  Leeder— 
and  We  Supose  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  have  Sent  to 
ye  General  Cort  to  have  ye  Said  meeting  Disanul'1 
and  Void— But  we  pray  ye  Sd  meeting  may  Stand 
good  for  many  reasons — as  ye  Town  has  proceed  in 
their  public  Business  in  many  instances — and  it 
Would  put  ye  Town  into  ye  utmost  Confution  to  have 
ye  meeting  put  by  and  as  in  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever 
pray  for  your  advice  we  are  your  Humble  Consti- 
tuants — 

"  Alexander  Scott  Robart  Prockter 

Silas  Wright  Thorns  Adams 

John  Robbe  Abel  adams 

Caleb  Wright  James  Willson 

David  Robbe  John  Farley 

John  McDonald  Amos  Taylor 

Isaac  Temple  David  Willson 

John  Jackson  Allan  Speir 

Amos  Butterfild  John  Taggard 

Abram  morrison  Ephraim  Brockway 

David  Scott  Robert  Blood 

Nathaniel  Emerson  Silvanus  Bikwitli 

James  Scott  John  Tenny  " 

Richard  Richardson 

JOHN    ROBBE,    WOUNDED   SOLDIER,    1778. 

"  Peterborough  Janv  1,  1778. 
"  May  it  please  your  Honors 

"  Permit  me  address  you  in  behalf  of  Sarg*  John 
Robbe  of  Stoddard,  in  the  County  of  Cheshire,  and 
State  Aforesaid,  the  said  Robbe  being  in  the  Engage- 
ment at  Benningtown,  under  my  Command,  was  there 
much  Wounded  &  Disabled  from  Getting  his  Future 
Support  beg  Leave  to  Recommend  the  said  Robbe  to 
the  Favour  of  the  said  state  as  your  Honors  in  your 
Wisdom  shall  think  fitt — am  with  due  Bespect 
"  your  Honors  most  Hum1  Ser' 

"  John  Stark,  B  1)  O 
"  To  the  Hon'ble  Council  &  Assembly  for  the  Sta* 
of  New  Hampshire — " 


John  Robbe  appealed  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Stoddard  January  28,  1778,  to  ask  the  Legisla- 
tors for  assistance,  which  they  voted  to  do  at  a 
meeting  February  2,  1778.  They  also  by  vote 
recommended  Mr.  Robbe  very  highly.  In 
House  of  Representatives,  May  23,  1778,  voted 
that  said  Robbe  was  entitled  to  half  pay  and 
thirty  pounds  for  extra  expenses. 

"State  of  New  Hampshire  May  23d  1778 

"  To  Gilman  Esqr  R.  G.     Pursuant  to  a  Vote 

of  Council  &  Assembly  pay  Jothn  Blanchard  for  John 
Robb  Six  pounds  towards  sd  Robbs  Expences  in  be- 
ing cured  of  a  wound  rd  at  Bennington — 

"  M.  Weare  Prest  " 

Richatcd  Richardson,  Soldier,  1782. — Tn 
a  petition  dated  Stoddard,  November  5,  1782, 
Richard  Richardson  stated  that  he  "  was  out  in 
the  service  of  his  country  in  the  first  three 
years'  service  in  the  present  war."  He  further 
stated  that  he  was  paid  in  State  notes,  and  held 
one  for  £43  18s.,  and  one  for  seventy-three 
dollars,  which  he  wanted  paid. 

soldier's  order,  1784. 

"Stoddard  May  25th  ye  1784 
"To  the  State  Treasury  of  New  Hampshire  pleas 
to  Pay  Mr.  Jacob  Copling  theballance  Due  to  me  for 
the  year  1781  and  his  Receipt  on  the  back  of  this  or- 
der Shall  be  your  discharge  from  me  you  will  find  my 
name  in  Capt  Caleb  Robinsons  muster  roles 

"  Josiah  Hardy  " 
return  of  ratable  polls,  1783. 
"  Stoddard  December  yc  3d  1783  then  apeerd  Isreal 
towns  Ephraim  Adams  and  James  Scott  Selectman  of 
Sd  Stoddard  and  made  Solem  oath  that  att  present 
there  is  in  ye  town  of  Sd  Stoddard  one  hundred  and 
four  Rattebel 

"  Before  me  "  J  Rounsevel  Just  pece." 

RELATIVE   TO   THE   FORMATION   OF   SULLIVAN,  1786. 

"Stoddard  Decr  4"'  1786 
"at  a  legal  meeting  this  day 

"  Voted  not  to  oppose  the  southwest  corner  of  tins 
Town  being  set  off  Keen,  Packertield,  Gillsom  &c 
"  Attest :  "  ELEAzr  Blake  T :  Clerk—" 

"  Stoddard  Novm*  10th  1786 
"This  may  ceertify,  to  whom  it  may  concern— thai 
we  the  Subscribers— have  receiv'd  of  Mr  Ezra  Osgood 
a  Petition  Sent  to  the  General  Court  by  a  number  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Souwest  Part  of  Stoddard 
'•  Ward  Eddy       }    Select  men 
"  Peter  Wright  )  of  Stoddard" 


STODDARD. 


337 


The  southwest  part  of  the  town  was  set  off 
September  27,  1787,  combined  with  portions  of 
Keene,  Gilsam  and  Nelson,  and  incorporated 
into  the  town  of  Sullivan. 

PETITION  FOR  AUTHORITY  TO   LEVY  A  SPECIAL  TAX 
TO    BUILD   A  MEETING-HOUSE  AND  REPAIR  ROADS, 

1787. 

"The  Memorial  of  your  Petitioners  Humbly  Shew- 
eth  that :  being  Chosen  a  Committee  by  The  Town 
of  Stoddard,  to  Petition  the  General  Court  that  a  Tax 
of  one  penny  pr  Acre  Annually  to  be  laid  on  all  the 
Lands  in  said  Stoddard  for  three  Years :  to  be  Appro- 
priated Towards  Building  a  Meeting  House  and  re- 
pairing the  Publick  Roads  Leading  from  Hancock 
to  Marlow  :  likewise  from  John  Taggards  to  Washing- 
ton line:  Also  from  Israel  Townses  Esqr.  to  Packer- 
field  line,  the  leading  Road  to  Keen — The  first  third 
part  of  Said  tax  to  be  Asses'd  in  the  Year  1788 — 

"  Your  Humble  Petitioners  as  in  Duty  Bound  shall 
ever  Pray — 

"  May  21th  Anno  Domini :  1787 

"  Israel  Towne     \ 

"  Ephriam  Adams  t  Committee  " 

"  Jacob  Copland   J 

This   petition   was   granted    September    27, 

178  7. 

COMMITTEE  TO  LOCATE  A  MEETING-HOUSE,  1787. 

"  Your  humble  pertisioners  Beg  leave  to  inform 
Your  honours  that  the  Town  has  Laboured  under 
Dificalty  for  a  Number  of  preceeding  Years  In  re- 
guard  to  agreeing  upon  a  Meeting  house  Spot,  at  a 
Leagal  Meeting  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabi- 
tents  of  the  Town  of  Stoddard  Quallified  to  Vote  in 
Town  meeting  Leagal ly  warned  and  met  for  the  fol- 
lowing purpose  (Viz) 

"  Voted  to  Chose  a  Committee  finally  to  Determine 
where  the  Meeting  house  Shall  be  arected  in  this 
Town  and  for  the  same  purpose  Nominated  Esqr 
Penniman  of  Washington  and  Sam1  Griffen  Esqr  of 
Packerfied.  Likewise  mr  John  Muzzey  of  Dublin  we 
Your  humble  pertisioners  pray  That  the  above  said 
Committee  may  be  appointed  &  Impowered  accord- 
ing To  the  afour  Said  Vote  and  we  Your  humble 
pertisioners  as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  Every  pray 
"  Peter  Wright  }  Selectmen  in 
"  Israel  Towne  J  behalf  of  the  Town 

"Stoddard,  September  8th,  1787." 

THEIR   REPORT. 

"  We   Your    Committee   Within   Named   haveing 
Repaired  to  the  Town  of  Stoddard,  and  Viewed  the 
22 


Situation  of  said  Town,  &  the  Inhabitants  thereof  beg 
leave  to  report  that  it  is  our  opinion  that  the  Meeting- 
house thereto  be  erected,  be  placed  on  the  fifteenth 
Lot  in  the  Ninth  Range  upon  a  Tract  of  land  Given 
toy6  Town  of  Stodard  by  John  Tenney  for  a  Meeting- 
house Spot  burying  Yard  &c  and  We  have  Erected  a 
Stake  and  Stones  upon  sd  Common  for  ye  Bounds  of 
Said  Meetinghouse 

"  pr  Thos  Penniman,  for  ye  Committe 
"octorye31d  1787" 

petition    for   authority   to    levy  a  TAX   ON 

NON-RESIDENT    LANDS,   TO   BUILD   A   ROAD,    1794. 

"  A  Petition  in  behalf  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Stodard  in  said  State  Humbly  Sheweth 

"  That  your  Petitioners  are  Situate  on  the  Hight  of 
land  Betwixt  the  great  Rivers  Connecticut  and  Mire- 
mac  where  the  land  is  very  Mountanious  and  Rocky: 
which  Causes  our  Roads  to  be  Extremely  Deficualt  to 
make  &  Repair  the  Same:  And  whereas  the  Commit- 
tee appointed  to  lay  a  Road  from  Hales  Bridge  in 
Walpole  to  Macgregores  Bridge  in  Gofestown :  Hath 
laid  out  anew  Road  through  the  Said  Town  of  Stod- 
ard which  will  be  of  Great  Utility  to  the  Public  if 
opned  and  made  Passable :  But  will  lay  an  unsup- 
ortable  Burthen  on  the  Inhabitants  in  Said  Town  :  as 
it  passes  through  a  large  tract  of  unimproved  land 
owned  by  Nonresidents  and  Remmote  from  the  Set- 
tlement :  which  will  Raise  the  Value  of  the  land 
through  which  it  Passes  :  and  it  appearing  Reasona- 
ble that  the  owners  of  Said  land  Should  assist  in 
Oppening  and  Making  passable  the  Same :  and  the 
like  privildges  Being  granted  to  other  Towns  in  Sem- 
meril  Situation  :  We  your  Petitioners  Humbly  pray 
your  Honnours  to  take  our  Case  under  your  wise 
Consideration  and  grant  that  an  Act  may  pass  im- 
powering  the  Said  Town  of  Stodard  to  lay  a  tax  of 
two  pence  pf  acre  on  all  the  land  in  Said  town  for  the 
Sole  Purpose  of  Making  Passable  the  Roads  and 
Bridges  in  said  Stoddard :  And  your  petitioner  as  in 
Duty  Bound  will  Pray 

"Natha11  Emerson 
"January  1  1794" 

Granted  June  11,  1794. 

relative  to  the  disputed   line  between  this 
town  and  marlow,  1798. 

"  The  Petition  of  us  the  subscribers  Humbly  shews 
that  the  General  Court  at  their  session  in  June  A  D 
1797  set  off  the  south  East  Part  of  Marlow  under  the 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Town  of  Stoddard,  And  we  Your 
Petitioners  living  on  sd  Land  being  fully  pursuaded 
that  thair  Honours  would  not  have  subjected  us  to  so 
unreasonable  a  burthen  had  thay  known  our  situa- 


338 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tion  &  the  true  circumstances  we  are  under  the  one 
part  setling  under  Marlow  have  been  at  Great  Ex- 
pence  to  defend  our  persons  &  Properties  from  the 
unjust  demands  made  &  Extorted  from  us  by  the 
Town  of  Stoddard  and  the  other  part  being  made  to 
believe  by  the  Unrighteous  persuasions  of  Stoddard 
Proprietors  that  the  Lands  were  theirs  and  thereupon 
we  purchased  of  them  at  A  Very  dear  rate,  which 
took  at  that  time  of  many  of  us  all  our  properties 
And  after  living  many  Years  in  this  Rough  wilder- 
ness have  been  at  the  expence  of  every  thing  but  life, 
And  now  we  find  that  marlow  holds  their  right  of 
soil  it  being  decided  by  Law  And  those  of  us  that 
Purchased  of  Stoddard  have  to  Purchase  our  Lands 
over  again  at  A  great  price  &  have  been  subjected  to 
A  Large  bill  of  cost  in  Disputing  the  title  &  the  Town 
of  stoddard  Refusing  to  pay  any  Part  of  sd  expence 
and  we  being  fully  sensible  that  stoddard  cannot  have 
any  Accurate  survey  or  knowledge  of  those  Lands 
Layed  out  under  Marlow  And  that  Stoddard  and 
Marlow  both  Claim  the  Jurisdiction  to  part  of  sd 
Land  on  Account  of  their  being  two  Curve  Lines 
which  will  keep  the  Inhabitants  in  Vexetion  &  con- 
fusion. And  being  fully  sensible  that  it  will  be  for 
the  Good  &  peace  of  us  the  Inhabitants  to  continue 
as  we  Really  were  within  the  Jurisdiction  of  Marlow 
And  being  fully  sencibje  that  stoddard  left  off"  two 
Ranges  of  their  lots  on  their  East  line  to  Extend  to 
the  west  on  Marlow  as  the  Proprietors  of  stoddard  by 
that  Conduct  thought  to  git  about  nine  or  ten  of  Mar- 
low setlers  to  count  for  Stoddard  in  order  to  fulfil 
their  Charter  which  we  flatter  ourselves  will  not  be 
Justified.  And  Stoddard  will  be  a  much  larger  Town 
without  any  part  of  Marlow  than  Marlow  will  be  they 
holding  the  whole  within  their  Charter,  And  there- 
fore on  every  principal  of  right,  And  for  ourselves 
And  offspring  to  injoy  any  degree  of  comfort  we  think 
it  our  duty  to  humbly  pray  your  Honours  to  Repeal 
the  foregoing  Act  And  let  us  remain  in  and  under 
the  Jurisdiction  of  Marlow  As  your  Petitioners  in 
duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 
•'  November  7th  1798 
"  Aaron  Matson  Bani  Henry 

Ebenezer  Blake  Nat  ben 

Sam1  Messingcr  Ephraim  Brockway 

John  llenery  Jr  Ephraim  Brockway  Jur 

Nathaniel  Gilson  Joseph  Brockway 

Timothy  Bailey  Isaac  Barritt 

Ziba  Henry  Jesse  Farley  " 

ANOTHER  DOCUMENT  RELATIVE  TO  THE  DISPUTED 
LINE,  1796. 

"The    Petition    of  the   inhabitants  of    the  Town 
of    Stoddard     states     that    in     the    year     of    our 


Lord  seventeen   hundred   and  fifty-Three  the  Town 
of  Stoddard    was    Granted    to    Sampson    Stoddard 
and   others   by   the   Masonian    Proprietors   and  was 
bounded   westward   upon    the    head   line  of  Maso- 
nian   patent ;     that    in    the     year     Anno     Domini 
1773   they  received   their  Charter  of  incorporation 
from  his  excellency  Benning  Wentworth  Esqr  which 
gave  the  Town  of  Stoddard  jurisdiction  over  a  cer- 
tain tract  of  land  seven  miles  square  lying  east  of  said 
Patent  or  head  line — that  in  the  year  Anno  Domini 
1762  the  Town  of  Mario  was  granted  and  incorpora- 
ted which  Grant  intersected  the  Town  of  Stoddards 
Grant   nearly  Two   miles  whereby  each   Town   had 
concurrent  jurisdiction  over  the  same  territory — and 
thereupon  application  was  made   to  the   provincial 
assembly  of  New  Hampshire  to  settle  the  Jurisdic- 
tional line  between  said  Towns — And  said  assembly 
in  the  year  A  D  1776  resolved  that  said  inhabitants 
should   pay  their  taxes   to  the  Town  of  Mario  but 
should  do  military  duty  in  the  Town  of  Stoddard — 
That  in  the  year  A  D  1777  application  being  made  to 
the   General   assembly  a  second   time   to   settle  the 
aforesaid  dispute  they  recommended  by  a  special  re- 
solve mentioning  the  Town  of  Washington  and  all 
other  Towns    in   similar    circumstances   (of   which 
Stoddard  was  one)  that  the   inhabitants  living   on 
said  strip  or  disputed  Grant  should  pay  their  taxes 
to  the  Towns  lying  east  of  the  head  line  of  Masons 
patent  untill  the  same  should  be  further  settled  and 
established  by  law— That  in  the  year  A  D  1784  The 
Town  of  Mario  petitioned  the  General  assembly  for 
an  abatement  of  their  taxes  in  consequence  of  the  re- 
solve of  the  General  assembly  which  passed  in  the 
year  1777— upon  which  petition  the  General  assembly 
then  resolved  that  the  Town  of  Mario  be  abated  one 
fourth  part  of  all  their  taxes  from  the  year  A  D  1777 
to  the  year  1784 — and  the  Town  of  Mario  have  ever 
since  that  period  relinquished  all  jurisdiction  to  the 
same,  laud  and  have  ever  since  omitted  and  refused 
to  make  return  of  the  same  in  their  valuation — That 
the  same  has  been  uniformly  since  the  year  A  D  1777 
returned  by  the  Town  of  Stoddard  and  set  to  their 
valuation — That  large  sums  of  money  have  been  as- 
sessed since  that  period  upon  the  inhabitants  living 
thereon,  and  many  lots  of  land  there  lying  have  been 
sold  by  the  Collectors  of  Stoddard  at  publick  vendue 
for  the  non-payment  of  taxes  assessed  thereon — In 
the  year  A  D  1792  the  Original  Proprietors  of  Mario 
finding  that  the  Masonian  Proprietors  had  extended 
their  bounds  upwards  of  twenty  miles  farther  west- 
ward than  their  original  grant  warranted— and  in- 
tending to  avail  themselves  if  possible  of  the  invalid- 
ity of  the  act  which  passed  the  General  assembly  in 
the    year    1777— giving   jurisdiction    to    Stoddard— 


STODDARD 


339 


Commenced  Two  actions  of  ejectment  to  recover  pos- 
session of  those  lands  which  were  sold  at  vendue  by 
the  collectors  of  Stoddard — and  upon  which  lands  the 
Proprietors  of  Mario  had  paid  no  taxes  for  upwards 
of  twenty-five  years — In  which  actions  the  Original 
Proprietors  of  Mario  recovered  possession  against  the 
vendue  purchasers  under  Stoddard  in  consequence  of 
a  defect  in  the  act  which  passed  in  the  year  1777  giv- 
ing jurisdiction  to  the  Town  of  Stoddard — We  there- 
fore pray  this  Honorable  Court  to  take  into  their  wise 
consideration  the  circumstances  and  situation  of  the 
Town  of  Stoddard  and  if  legal  and  constitutional  to 
establish  and  confirm  the  doings  of  the  Selectmen  of 
Stoddard  and  ratify  the  assessments  which  have 
hitherto  been  made — And  also  to  settle  the  Jurisdic- 
tional line  between  said  Two  Towns  and  give  the  Ju- 
risdiction of  the  strip  so-called  to  the  Town  of  Stod- 
dard if  consistent  with  the  Interest  and  happiness  of 
both  Towns — And  also  to  settle  the  Jurisdictional 
line  between  Gilsom  and  Stoddard^ 


"  And  your  petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray— 

"  Stoddard  Dec  6th  A  D  1796 

"  Jacob  Copeland  Agent  for  Stoddard  " 

The  line  was  established  in  favor  of  Stod- 
dard June  16,  1797. 

Congregational,  Church. — This  church 
was  organized  September  4,  1787,  with  seven 
members.  The  first  settled  pastor  was  Rev. 
A.  Colton,  October  15th,  1793,  and  re- 
mained until  October  1, 1795.  He  was  succeed- 
ed by  Rev.  Isaac  Robinson,  D.D.,  January  5, 
1803.  He  died  in  1854  and  was  succeeded  by 
Revs.  Josiah  S.  Gay.  S.  L.  Gerould,  Savage, 
Ricket,  Colburn,  South  worth,  and  the  present 
acting  pastor,  J.  H.  Thyng. 


HISTORY   OF   SULLIVAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

This  town  lies  north  of  the  central  part  of 
the  county  and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 

North  by  Gilsum  and  Stoddard ;  east  by 
Stoddard  and  Nelson ;  south  by  Roxbury  and 
Keene,  and  west  by  Gilsum  and  Keene. 

The  town  was  incorporated  September  27, 
1787,  and  comprised  territory  severed  from 
Stoddart,  Gilsum,  Keene  and  Packersfield  (now 
Nelson).  It  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen.  John 
Sullivan,  who  was  at  that  time  President  of  the 
State. 

By  an  act  approved  January  10,  1794,  the 
west  line  of  the  town  was  "  lengthened  out  and 
continued  south  into  the  town  of  Keene  157 
rods  further  than  by  the  act  of  incorporation." 

July  7,  1874,  a  few  acres  of  laud  were  sev- 
ered from  this  town  and  annexed  to  Gilsum. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  petition  for 
incorporation,  addressed  to  the  General  Court 
in  1786: 

"Humbly  shew  your  Petitioners,  The  Subscribers, 
Inhabitants  of  the  Towns  of  Keene,  Packersfield,  Gil- 
som,  and  Stoddard.  That  they  live  remote  from  the 
centre  of  their  respective  Towns  and  by  reason  of  dis- 
tance and  bad  roads  are  deprived  of  their  town  privi- 
leges— That  they  cannot  enjoy  these  conveniences  of 
public  worship — That  some  of  their  duties  as  mem- 
bers of  their  several  towns  are  by  their  situation  very 
burdensom. — That  if  they  might  be  incorporated  into 
a  seperate  and  distinct  township  it  would  be  highly 
advantageous  to  them,  and  no  detriment  to  the  towns 
to  which  they  now  belong — That  they  are  encouraged 
to  hope  that  no  objections  will  be  made  to  their  being 
thus  incorporated  unless  by  the  town  of  Gilsom,  and 
that  those  objections  may  be  easily  obviated. 

"  The  prayer  of  this  their  humble  Petition  therefore 
is — That  the  tract  of  land  marked  out  upon  the  plan 
340 


herewith  exhibited  may  be  set  off  from  the  several 
Towns  aforesaid  into  a  distinct  Township  by  the  name 
of  orringe  and  the  Inhabitants  of  it  incorporated  as 
aforesaid — and  Your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  Bound 
shall  ever  pray. 
"  August  22d  1786. 

"  Inhabitants  of  Keene 
"  Roswell  Hubbard  Zadock  Nims 

Joshua  Osgood  Erastus  Hubbard 

"  Inhabitants  of  Packerfield 
"  Grindal  Keith  Oliver  Carter 

"  Inhabitants  of  Stoddard 

" Burnam  William  Burnam 

Nathan  Bolster  Samuel  Wyman 

Sand  Seward  Ezra  Osgood 

Josiah  Seward  Elijah  Carter 

"  Inhabitants  of  Gilsom 

James  Row  Timothy  Dewey 

Timothy  Dimmock  Thos  Morse 

James  Pratt  Jesse  Wheeler 

Joseph  Ellis  Lockhart  Willard 

William  Cory  Jonathan  Baker 

Samuel  Cory  John  Dimick 

John  Chapman  Joshua  Cory 

Benjaman  Chapman  Jonathan  Heaton 

Benja  Ellis  James  Locke  Junr 

Simeon  Ellis  James  Locke 

Nathan  Ellis  Ebenezer  Birdit 

John  Chapman  Junr  John  Row" 

The  following  is  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  foregoing  petition,  1787  : 

"  We  the  Subscribers  being  a  Committee  Appointed 
by  the  General  Court  of  this  State  to  View  the  Cor- 
ners of  Keene  Packerfield  Gilsom  and  Stoddard  have- 
ing  Viewed  the  primeces  Beg  Leave  to  Report,  as 
their  Opinion  that  the  parts  of  Towns  Petitioned  for 
to  be  made  into  a  Town  lies  Very  Convenient  for 
that  purpose  by  Reason  of  being  incompassed  all 
Round  with  Mountains  and  Broken  Land  that  is  al- 
most impassable  Besides  their   Lying  Very  Remote 


SULLIVAN. 


341 


from  the  Towns  to  which  they  Now  Belong  to — but 
it  must  Consequently,  if  incorporated  into  a  New 
Town  Leaves  Some  of  the  Towns  from  which  those 
parts  of  Towns  were  Taken  Especially  Gilsome  in  a 
Broken  and  inconvenant  Shape  as  may  be  made  to 
appear  by  the  Plan  of  sd  Town  if  Sd  Gilsome  Could  be 
acomedated  by  Being  anexed  to  any  other  parts  of 
Towns  which  Lies  Joyning  it  is  our  opinion  that  it 
might  be  a  Publick  advantage  and  much  for  the  ac- 
comedation  and  Benifit  of  the  Petitioners 
"  Alstead  September  ye  24,  1787 

"  Lem11  Holmes 
"Absalom  Kingsbery" 

"  The  Petition  of  the  select  Men  of  the  towns  of 
Keene  and  Sullivan  in  said  State  Humbly  Sheweth — 

"  That  whereas  in  the  year  1789 — an  Act  passed  the 
General  Court  to  Incorporate  a  town  by  the  Name  of 
Sullivan  and  in  and  by  said  Act  the  Bounds  of  Said 
town  are  Affixed  and  Determined — But  as  they  will 
not  Close  agreeable  to  said  Act — We  your  Humble 
Petitioners  pray  an  Amendment  may  be  made  to  Said 
Act,  in  the  following  manner  (Viz)  the  West  line  of 
Said  town  to  be  lengthened  South  into  Keene  one 
Hundred  fifty  seaven  Rods  thence  East  twenty  Eigth 
Degrees  &  30  minutes  South,  to  the  East  line  of  said 
Keene,  thence  North  on  said  line  to  the  Bounds  from 
Which  they  set  out  from  in  said  Act 

"and  whereas  by  said  Amendment  the  Lines  will 
run  as  they  ever  were  Expected  to  run  by  the  town 
of  Keene  and  likewise  by  said  Petitioners  for  Sulli- 
van— It  is  the  Humble  Request  of  Said  towns  that 
said  Amendment  take  Place — And  your  Petitioners  as 
in  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever  Pray 

"Keene  Decemr  20th  1793 

"  Lock'  Willard  )   Select  Men 
"  David  Willsok  j   of  Keene  " 

"Erasttjs  Hubbard  !   Select  Men 
"  Eliakim  Nims  J  of  Sullivan  " 

This  petition  was  granted  January  10, 
1794. 

PETITION    FOR    THE    GRANT    OF    A    TOWNSHIP:    AD- 
DRESSED TO   THE  GENERAL  COURT,  1798. 

"  The  Petition  of  the  subscribers,  Inhabitents  of 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  Humbly  Sheweth — 

"that  your  Petitioners  being  inform11  that  there  is 
within  the  limits  of  this  State  lands  as  yet  unlocated; 
and  your  Petitioners   being  desirous  to  lay  a  founda- 


tion for  the  settlement  of  our  Children  within  the 
bounds  of  there  Native  State. 

"  We  therefore  pray  that  a  township  may  be 
granted  to  your  Petitioners,  for  actual  Settlement  un- 
der such  restrictions  and  limits  as  your  Hon1  body 
may  think  propper,  that  we  may  not  have  the  dis- 
agreeable Sight  of  Seeing  our  Sons  Emigrating  to 
other  States  and  prehaps,  Kingdoms — 

"  And  as  in  Duty  bound  will  ever  pray. 

"  Sullivan,  Novr.  10th,  1798. 

"Roswell  Hubbard.  Thomas  Powell,  Jun. 

Elijah  Carter.  David  Powell. 

Wm  Muzzy.  Joseph  Powell. 

Elijah  Osgood.  Jonathan  Powell. 

Dan1  Wilson,  Junr.  Samuel  Seward,  Junr. 

Josiah  Seward,  Junr.  Paul  Farnsworth. 

Wm.  Munroe.  Theophilus  Row. 

Oliver  Carter.  Joseph  Seward. 

Erastus  Hubbard.  James  Row. 

Joseph  Ellis,  Junr.  Daniel  Farnsworth. 
Roswell  Hubbard,  Junr.        Thomas  Seward. 

Wi11  Bridge.  Ichobad  Keith. 

Daniel  Willson.  Elijah  Rugg. 

John  Willson.  Josiah  Seward, 

gorge  Nims.  James  Comstick. 

James  W.  Osgood.  Peter  Barker. 

Charles  Carter.  Abijah  Seward. 

James  Willson.  Nathan  Bolster. 

Calvin  Nims.  Isiah  Willson. 

Olover  Brown.  Sam1  Willson. 

Phelander  Nims.  Frederick  Nims. 

Ezra  Osgood.  Samuel  Seward. 

Elsworth  Hubbard.  Abel  Carter. 

George  Hubbard.  Samuel  Clarke. 

Thoms  Morse.  Henry  Carter." 

In  1790  the  town  voted  £5  for  preaching. 
The  services  were  held  in  a  barn  until  1791, 
when  a  small  house  was  erected,  and  in  the 
same  year  £6  was  raised  for  church  purposes 
and  in  the  following  year  £15.  The  church 
was  organized  October  17th,  and  consisted  of 
twenty-two  members.  Among  the  first  preach- 
ers were  Lawrence,  Brown,  Woolly,  Cotton, 
Randall,  Kendall,  Stone,  Clapp,  Eaton,  Wm. 
Muzzy,  Josiah  Peabody,  Josiah  Wright,  Al- 
anson  Alvord,  Thos.  S.  Norton. 

There  are  now  three  churches  in  this  town, 
two  Congregational  and  a  Union  Church. 


HISTORY  OF  SURRY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

This  town  -was  incorporated  March  9,  17(39, 
and  comprised  territory  severed  from  the  towns 
of  Westmoreland  and  Gilsnm,  largely  from  the 
latter.  That  portion  taken  from  the  former 
had  been  known  as  Westmoreland  Lc^. 

By  the  act  of  incorporation  the  first  meeting 
was  to  be  called  by  Peter  Hay  ward,  the  first 
settler  in  town,  and  Ebenezer  Kilburn  had 
liberty  to  "  poll  off"  with  his  estate  to  Gilsum. 

Surry  was  one  of  the  towns  that  voted  to 
unite  with  Vermont,  and,  in  1781,  the  majority 
of  the  selectmen  refused  to  call  a  meeting  for 
the  election  of  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  in 
obedience  to  a  precept  from  this  State,  "  being 
under  oath  to  the  State  of  Vermont." 

Lead  and  silver  were  discovered  on  Surry 
Mountain  many  years  ago,  and  attempts  have 
been  made  from  time  to  time  to  mine  the  ore. 
A  mine  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain,  which 
is  being  worked  at  the  present  time  by  the 
Granite  State  Mining  Company,  produces  gold, 
silver,  copper  and  lead  in  considerable  quan- 
tities. 

The  town  derived  its  name  from  Surry,  in 
England.  The  following  Surry  men  were  in  the 
First  New  Hampshire  Regiment  in  the  war  of 
the  revolution : 

Joshua  Church,  enlisted  March  18,  1777 ;  discharged 
April  30,  1780. 

Anthony  Gilman,  enlisted  July  1,  1777;  taken  pris- 
oner. 

Samuel  Liscomb,  enlisted  May  8,  1777 ;  discharged 
December,  1779. 

Jacob  Bonney,    enlisted    May  20,   1777  ;  died  July, 
1778. 
342 


PETITION  OF  LEMUEL    HOLMES  :   ADDRESSED  TO    THE 
GENERAL  COURT,  FEBRUARY  10,  1780. 

"  The  Memorial  of  Lemuel  Holmes,  Captain  of  the 

Corps  of  Rangers — Humbly 

Sheweth, 

"That  your  Memorialist  was  captivated  by  the 
British  Army  on  the  lGth  Day  of  November,  A.D. 
1776,  at  Fort  Washington  (so  called)  and  carried  into 
New-York,  where  he  was  detained  a  Prisoner  untill 
the  20th  Day  of  September,  A.D.  1778;— That  during 
this  Period  your  Memorialist  had  scarce  any  Allow- 
ances from  the  Continent  &  none  from  this  State,  & 
your  Memorialist  is  led  to  suppose  that  the  Reason 
of  his  being  neglected  by  said  State  was,  that  thro' 
Mistake  he  was  never  returned  as  belonging  to  the 
said  State; — That  your  Memorialist  was  detained  in 
New- York  five  Weeks  after  he  was  exchanged,  for 
Want  of  Money  to  discharge  his  Billet,  having  had 
no  Remittances  for  that  Purpose  ; — That  after  your 
Memorialist  was  permitted  to  leave  New-York,  (hav- 
ing previously  been  obliged  to  hire  the  Money  to  dis- 
charge his  Billet)  he  was  under  a  Necessity  of  taking 
a  Journey  to  Philadelphia  to  procure  said  Money  to 
be  granted  &  remitted  by  the  Honorable  Continental 
Congress,  which  Journey  cost  him  much  time  & 
nearly  all  the  Money  he  had  before  received,  which 
was  seven  hundred  Dollars  on  Accompt. — And  your 
Memorialist  would  also  humbly  represent  in  Behalf 
of  himself  &  Samuel  Silsby,  Daniel  Griswold  &  Wil- 
liam Haywood,  Soldiers  from  said  State  in  the  Corps 
commanded  by  your  Memorialist,  that  your  Mem- 
orialist &  the  aforesaid  Soldiers  were  considerable 
Sufferers  by  loosing  several  things  at  the  time  of  their 
Captivity  &  by  Expences  afterwards  arising  from 
Sickness,  the  necessary  Charges  of  getting  Home  & 
loss  of  time  afterwards,  as  will  more  fully  appear 
from  the  Accompt  herewith  transmitted. — Wherefore, 
your  Memorialist,  in  Behalf  of  himself  &  the  afore- 
said Samuel  Silsby,  Daniel  Griswold  and  William 
Haywood,  humbly  prays  this  honorable  Court  to  take 


SURRY. 


343 


the  foregoing  Memorial  &  Representation,  together 
with  the  Accompt  herewith  transmitted,  into  their 
wise  Consideration  and  act  thereon  as  they  in  their 
Wisdom  shall  see  just  &  proper  ; — and  your  Memor- 
ialist as  in  Duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray,  &c. — 

"  Lemuel  Holmes,    Captain." 

"  PETITION   OF  THOMAS   DODGE,  SOLDIER,  1783." 

"  Humbly  Shews, 

"  Thomas  Dodge,  in  the  year  1777,  he  inlisted  into 
the  continental  service  for  three  years,  for  the  town 
of  Surry,  in  the  county  of  Cheshire,  and  received 
from  Said  Town  a  Bounty  of  one  hundred  Dollars  ; 
that  he  served  during  the  whole  term  ;  and  when  he 
applied  to  the  treasury  of  this  State  for  his  Wages, 
the  receipt  he  had  given  the  Town  of  Surry  for  said 
Bounty  was  lodged  against  him  and  reducted  out  of 
his  Wages — Your  Petitioner  therefore  prays,  that  this 
Assembly  will  take  his  case  into  consideration  and 
make  an  order  to  The  Town  of  Surry  to  refund  said 
hundred  Dollars,  or  grant  such  other  relief  in  the 
premises  as  to  this  honble  Court  shall  seem  expedient 
and  proper — and  your  Petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound 
shall  ever  pray. 

"  Charlestown  N°.  4,  Octr.  24th,  1783— 

"  Thomas  Dodge." 

petition  of  lemuel  holmes,  soldier  :  addressed 
to  the  general  assembly,  1782. 

"Humbly  Sheweth, 

"  The  petition  and  memorial  of  Lemuel  Holmes — 
of  Surry  in  said  State — that  on  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, seventeen  hundred  seventy-six— your  petitioner 
engaged  as  Lieutenant  for  the  term  of  one  year  in 
the  service  of  this  and  the  United  States — and  on  the 
sixteenth  day  of  November  following,  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Fort  Washington — That  previous  to  the 
captivity  of  your  petitioner  (viz)  on  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember the  same  Year — I  had  an  appointment  by  his 
Excellency  Gen1  Washinton  to  the  office  of  Captain 
— That  by  being  made  prisoner,  your  petitioner  was 
prevented  receiving  a  commission  agreable  to  such 
appointment — but  was,  however,  returned  and  ex- 
changed as  such — after  having  continued  prisoner  in 
New  York  almost  two  years — That  when  released, 
your  petitioner  immediately  applied  to  the  Congress 
for  direction  and  settlement  of  my  accounts — and  there 
received  a  small  sum  in  Continental  money  on  account — 
and  was  directed  by  Congress  to  apply  to  the  state  to 
which  I  belonged  for  a  settlement  of  the  whole — 
That  your  petitioner,  in  consequence,  applied  to  the 
hon.  Assembly  of  this  State  about  two  years  since — 
but  by  a  multiplicity  of  business  or  some  other  cause 
to  me  unknown — my  said   application  was  and  has 


been  since  neglected — whereby  asetlementof  my  ac- 
counts has  never  yet  been  effected,  nor  any  sufficient 
payment  or  compensation  rendered  for  the  services 
and  sufferings  of  your  petitioner — That  more  over, 
your  petitioner  hath  been  informed  that  Congress 
ordered  some  allowance  to  be  made  to  those  super- 
numerary Officers  who  returned  home — 

"  Your  petitioner  therefore  humbly  prays  that  your 
honors  will  take  the  several  matters  herein  before 
suggested,  into  serious  consideration — and  point  out 
some  eligible  method  for  a  speedy  settlement  of  my 
accounts — and  whereby  I  may  obtain  the  balance  in 
my  favor  without  greater  cost  and  trouble — And  that 
in  the  mean  time  your  honors  would  direct  and  order 
a  reasonable  sum  for  my  present  relief  and  support 
— Or,  other  wise  grant  such  relief  and  direction  in 
the  premises — as  to  your  honors  in  wisdom  may 
seem  best. — 

"And  your  Petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever 
pray 

"  Lem"  Holmes 

"  Dated  at  Concord  this  13th  June  1782—" 

In  House  of  Representatives,  June  14, 1782, 
he  was  granted  an  allowance  of  thirty  pounds, 
"  hard  money." 

The    following    is    a    petition   of    Lemuel 
Holmes,  1794: 

"To  the  Honourable  General  Court  of  the  State  of 

New  Hampshire  convened  at  Amherst  on  the  first 

Wednesday  of  June  1794 

"  The  petition  of  Lemuel  Holmes  for  himself  and 
Samuel  Silsby  Niles  Beckwith,  William  Hayward  & 
Daniel  Griswold  all  of  the  State  afforesaid  and  County 
of  Cheshire  who  are  yet  Living  who  were  taken 
prisoners  at  fort  Washington  in  the  Year  1776  with 
your  petitioners  that  Belonged  to  the  State  of  New- 
hampshire  and  who  have  Never  had  any  Compensa- 
tion for  the  time  they  were  prisoners  nor  the  Loss  of 
their  Baggage  and  arms  and  what  is  infinitely  wors 
the  Loss  of  their  health  and  Constitutions :  altho 
their  accompts  with  mine  were  Considered  by  our 
Committee  and  Sent  forward  to  Congress  but  were 
with  many  other  State  accompts  not  Considered  So 
that  we  your  petitioners  are  without  any  Redress  un- 
less your  Honours  will  pleas  to  interpose  in  our  Be- 
half and  make  a  Grant  of  So  much  of  the  unlocated 
Lands  in  Said  State  as  your  Honours  in  Your  Wis- 
dom may  think  Reasonable  under  Such  Restrictions 
as  to  Setling  as  may  Seem  best  for  the  State 

"  and  I  Your  humble  petitioner  will  be  under 
Such  obligations  to  Survey  and  Settle  Said  Lands  in 
Behalf  of  them  as  Shall  be  Reasonable  as  Your  pe- 


344 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


titioner  has  a  Number  of  Sons  who  would  Settle  Said 
Lands  which  might  be  of  Some  Servis  to  the  State 
but  would  Satisfy  your  petitioner  that  the  State  for 
which  he  has  undergon  too  many  hardships  to  men- 
tion think  that  his  friends  feel  for  his  Misfortunes  and 
will  Compensate  for  his  Losses 

"  and  your  petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound  will  pray 

"  Surry  June  ye  2d  1794. 

"  Lemuel  Holmes." 

Hon.  Lemuel  Holmes  was  lieutenant  in  a 
company  of  rangers  from  January  1,  1776,  un- 
til the  1st  of  September  following,  when  he 
was  appointed  captain  by  General  Washington. 
On  the  16th  of  November  next  following  he 
was  taken  prisoner  at  Fort  Washington  and 
carried  to  New  York,  where  he  remained  in 
captivity  until  September  20,  1778.  He  was 
town  clerk  of  Surry  for  some  years,  and  repre- 
sented Gilsum  and  Surry  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1784-86,  1789-92.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Coun- 
cil in  1790  and  held  the  office  four  years;  was 
a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the 
county  of  Cheshire  until  1808,  at  which  time 
he  was  debarred  from  holding  the  office  any 
longer  by  reason  of  having  arrived  at  the  age 
of  seventy  years.  He  lived  for  some  years  at 
the  foot  of  Bald  Hill,  in  Surry,  and  is  described 
as  being  an  agreeable  and  courteous  gentleman, 
of  strict  integrity  and  a  prominent  man  in  his 
day.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Vermont, 
and  there  died. 

The  following  is  relative  to  the  collection  of 
beef  for  the  army,  1786  : 

"  Mr  Speeker  Sir  Whereas  Co1  Gideon  of  Exeter 
Was  appointed  a  Collector  of  Beef  for  the  year  1780 
and  under  him  John  Mellen  Esqr  Collector  for  the 
County  of  Cheshire  Sd  Mellen  did  in  the  year  1780 
Collect  739  lb  of  Beef  more  than  he  Recepted  for  to 
Co1  Gideons  and  Because  Sd  Returns  do  not  agree 
with  the  Return  on  the  Book  the  Treasurer  Cant 
Credet  the  Town  of  Surry  for  any  Part  of  the  Beef 
which  was  Delivered  to  Sd  Mellen  therefore  it  is 
Motioned  that  the  House  Give  orders  that  the 
Treasurer  Receive  Said  Recepts  and  Credet  the  Town 
of  Surry  for  the  Same  which  the  Treasurer  is  Ready 
to  do  upon  Receiving  the  order 

"Lemuel  Holmes 

"  Portsmouth  Feb  ye  22  1786 

"Surry,  Cap'  Giddings  returned  2600lb  Beef" 


RETURN   OF   RATABLE   POLLS,  1783. 

"A  return  of  the  Male  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 
Surry  of  Twenty  one  years  of  age  and  upwards  pay 
each  one  for  himself  a  Poll-Tax 
"  Eighty  two 
"  By  order  of  the  Select  men 

"Lemu11  Holmes  Town  Clerk" 

The  following,  relative  to  date  of  annual 
meeting,  was  addressed  to  the  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  1784  : 

"Humbly  sheweth  your  Petitioners  Thomas  Har- 
vey Joshua  Fuller  and  William  Barran  Selectmen 
for  the  Town  of  Surry  for  the  year  1783  That  whereas 
the  Holding  of  Annuel  Meetings  on  the  Last  Tues- 
days of  March  is  attended  by  many  inconveniencies, 
in  consequence  of  the  new  Constitution  taking  place 
and  the  inconveniency  of  Holding  it  by  adjournment 
by  reason  of  its  being  so  late  in  the  Month 

"  Therefore,  We  your  Petitioners  pray  that  if  your 
Honours  see  fit  would  appoint  the  Annual  Meeting 
to  be  held  earlier  in  the  Month  of  March  for  the 
Future 

"  As  in  Duty  Bound  will  ever  pray 

"  Lem"  Holmes  Town  Clerk 

"  by  order  of  the  Selectmen 

"  Surry  March  24th  1784  " 

By  an  act  passed  April  13,  1784,  the  time 
for  holding  the  annual  meeting  was  changed 
from  the  last  Tuesday  of  March  to  the  first 
Monday  in  the  same  month. 

DATE  OF  ANNUAL  MEETING  CHANGED,  1785. 

"State  of  New  Hamp' 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives  Feb"  23d  1785 

"  Whereas  in  and  by  an  Act  passed  the  13th  of  April 
A.  D.  1784  it  is  Enacted  that  the  Annual  Meeting  in 
the  Town  of  Surry  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  March  annually,  but  as  the  Inhabitants  have  not 
had  Notice  thereof,  and  the  said  first  Monday  so  nigh 
that  Legal  notice  connot  be  given  of  the  business 
necessary  to  be  transacted  at  said  Meeting — There- 
fore— 

"  Resolved  that  the  Meeting  for  the  Present  year  be 
held  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  March  next  and  that 
the  present  Select  men  give  notice  in  the  usual  man- 
ner of  the  time  place  &  Design  of  Said  Meeting  and 
the  Officers  chosen  at  said  Meeting  are  to  give  notice 
that  the  annual  meeting  of  said  Town  is  to  be  held  on 
the  first  monday  in  March  annually  in  future — 

"  Sent  up  for  Concurrence 

"Geo:  Atkinson,  Speaker 

"  In  Senate  the  same  day  read  &  Concurred 

"E  Thompson  Sec" 


SURRY. 


345 


The  following  is  a  petition  for  authority  to 
raise  money  by  lottery  to  work  a  silver  mine, 
178(3 : 

"The  Petition  of  the  Subscribers  Humbly  sheweth 
that  they  have   Discovered   a  place  in  Surry  in  the 
county  of  Cheshire,  where  they  Are  persuaded  there 
is  a  Valuable  Silver  Mine,  that  they  Wish  to  make 
an  Experiment  of  the  worth  and  Quantity  of  said 
Mine,  that  by  the  best  computation  they  can  make,  it 
will  cost  three  or  four  thousand  Dollars,  before  they 
can  reap  any  considerable  advantage  therefrom,  that 
they  conceive  it  would  a  very  considerable  advantage 
to  the  Publick,  should  they  succede  to  their  Reason- 
able expectation,  in  opening  said  Mine,  that  it  will 
be  extremely  Difficult,  if  not  impossible  for  them,  to 
advance  the  necessary  Expences  for  effecting  the  Same 
Experiment,  that  Encouraged  by  your  Honours  known 
Wisdom  and  Public  Spirit ;   the  Prayer  of  your  Pe- 
titioners is  that  they  or  others  as  your  Honors  shall 
see  fit  may  be  Authorised  by  the  help  of  a  Publick 
Lottery  for  that  purpose,  to  raise  the  sum  of  two 
thousand    Dollars,   or    any    other    Sum    that    your 
Honours  shall  see  fit,  to  assist  them  in  opening  the 
same,  and  they  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 
"  Feb*  1st  1786 

"Jed"  Sanger      ~\  Committee  in 

"  Joseph  Blake  y  behalf  of  the  Owners 
"  Wm  Russell      j  of  said  Mine." 

REMONSTRANCE   against   the  incorporation   of 
A  baptist  society,  1800. 

"We  a  Committee  being  appointed  by  the  Inhabit- 
ants of  the  town  of  Surry  at  a  legal  Meeting  October 
11,  1800,  to  remonstrate  against  the  prayer  of  the 
Petition  of  a  Number  of  the  Inhabitants  living  in  the 
southwest  part  of  said  Surry  that  they  with  others 
may  be  incorporated  into  a  Religious  Society  to  be 
called  and  known  by  the  Name  of  the  Urst  Baptist 
Society  in  Westmoreland,  beg  leave  to  state 

"  First,  That  the  Town  of  Surry  is  but  a  very  small 
Incorporation  and  have  not  one  Inhabitant  to  spare 
without  injuring  said  Town,  there  being  not  more 
than  80  Freeholders  therein 

"  Secondly,  Those  petitioning  Inhabitants  are  not 
more  than  three  and  a  half  and  some  not  more  than 
two  Miles  from  the  Meetinghouse  in  said  Surry 

"Thirdly,  In  their  petition  they  have  stil'd  them- 
selves professors  of  Religion  by  the  Denomination  of 
Baptists,  and  to  say  the  Truth,  we  are  obliged  to  say, 
that  not  one  of  those  petitioners  belonging  to  Surry 
ever  made  any  Profession  of  Religion  of  any  Denom- 
ination that  we  know  of,  especially,  Baptist — and  we 


declare  that  whenever  any  or  all  of  them  shall  have 
made  a  Publick  Profession  of  Religion  of  any  Denom- 
ination whatever  contrary  to  our  Denomination  we 
will  agreeably  to  the  Constitution  freely  relinquish 
all  Right  of  Taxing  such  Professors  to  the  Support  of 
our  Minister 

•'  Fourthly,  We  doubt  in  our  minds  whether  the 
Motive  of  their  thus  petitioning  is  not  more  to  an- 
swer sinister  Views,  such  as  forming  a  Center  to  ad- 
vance private  property  and  continue  small  Disputes 
than  to  promote  Harmony  and  good  Order 

"  Lemuel  Holmes 

"  John  Stiles 

"  Jona'  Eobinson 

"  Nathan  Howard 


Committee" 


consent  of  sundry  persons  to  foregoing. 
"  We  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  Inhab- 
itants of  the  Town  of  Surry  hereby  give  our  Consent 
to  the  Kemonstrance  of  a  Committee  appointed  by 
said  Town  against  the  Petition  of  a  Number  of  the 
Inhabitants  thereof,  with  others  praying  to  be  incor- 
porated into  a  Baptist  Society  as  in  our  minds  we 
doubt  the  Sincerity  of  some  of  those  Petitioners  be- 
longing to  said  Surry  and  that  they  do  not  duly  con- 
sider the  Consequence  of  an  Incorporation 


"  Lemuel  Holmes 
Nathan  Howard 
Abia  Crane 
Philip  Monro 
Jonathan  Smith 
Ichabod  Smith 
Sylvester  Skinner 
Abner  Skinner 
Eldad  Skinner 
Jonathan  Skinner 
Obadiah  Wilcox 
Moses  Field 
Asa  Wilcox 


Daniel  Smith 
Asa  Holmes 
Calvin  Hayward 
Jn°  McCurdy 
Levi  Fuller 
Cushman  Smith 
Asahel  Harvey 
John  Stiles 
thos  Harvey 
Cyrus  Harvey 
Eli  Dort 
Jona'  Robinson." 


The  society  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  was 
incorporated  December  10,  1800,  and  com- 
prised persons  from  the  towns  of  Surry,  Wal- 
pole,  Westmoreland  and  Keene. 

There  was  originally  a  Congregational 
Church  in  this  town,  formed  January  12, 
1769,  with  Rev.  Daniel  Darling  as  pastor. 
Other  pastors  have  been  Rev.  Perley  Howe, 
Rev.  G.  S.  Brown,  Rev.  Ezra  Adams  and  vari- 
ous others. 

The  Methodists  now  have  a  church  in  this 
town. 


HISTORY   OF  TROY. 


BY   M.   T.   STONE,   M.I). 


CHAPTER  I. 

Troy  comprises  an  area  of  twelve  square 
miles,  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  and 
thirty-five  rods,  and  had  a  population  in  1880 
of  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five. 

The  total  valuation,  April  1,  1885,  was 
$376,892;  number  of  polls,  203;  horses,  117; 
value,  $7(339  ;  oxen,  52  ;  value,  $3207  ;  cows, 
201 ;  value,  $6208  ;  other  neat  stock,  72;  value, 
$]  226  ;  sheep,  34;  value,  $136  ;  hogs,  5 ;  value, 
$71 ;  stock  in  trade,  $28,540 ;  bank  stock, 
$1700;  out  of  State,  $700;  interest  money, 
SS722;  mills  and  machinery,  $15,000;  real 
estate,  $283,443. 

Our  business  is  represented  by  one  blanket- 
mill,  one  box-shop,  oue  tannery,  one  chair-stock 
factory,  two  tub,  pail  and  bucket  manufactories, 
one  wheelwright-shop  and  grist-mill,  one  livery- 
stable,  one  barber-shop,  one  shop  for  turning 
pail-handles,  two  general  stores,  one  dealer  in 
Yankee  notions,  two  hotels,  two  churches  and 
one  semi-monthly  newspaper. 

At  what  time  the  first  settlement  was  made 
in  this  territory  we  have  no  authentic  history. 

Dr.  Caverly,  in  his  history,  published  thirty 
years  ago,  says  it  was  beyond  the  recollection  of 
men  then  living. 

About  1746,  or  a  little  later,  the  territory  in 
the  vicinity  of  Monadnock  Mountain  was  pur- 
chased from  the  proprietors  of  Mason's  grant, 
and  were  divided  into  townships,  which  were 
given  the  common   name  of  Monadnock,   but 

distinguished  by  different  number-. 
346 


Monadnock  No.  4  was  called  Marlborough, 
and  No.  5  Fitzwilliam,  and  from  these  towns 
the  larger  part  of  the  territory  of  Troy  was 
taken. 

The  first  individual  known  to  have  settled 
within  this  territory  was  William  Barker,  a 
native  of  AVestborough,  Mass.,  who  came  here 
in  the  year  1761,  and  selected  the  location  for 
his  future  home,  supposed  to  be  the  spot 
now  known  as  the  Joel  Holt  place,  on  West 
Hill. 

He  did  not  move  his  family  until  nearly 
three  years  later,  they  arriving  at  their  new 
home  in  September,  1764. 

In  1770,  a  road  having  been  built  by  his 
residence,  he  opened  a  public-house,  the  first  in 
town,  and  which  he  kept  for  many  years. 
Here,  on  April  2,  1776,  a  daughter  was  born, 
— the  first  child  born  in  the  town. 

During  the  next  fifty  years  the  population 
increased  more  or  less  rapidly,  until  the  town 
contained  quite  a  village,  which  commanded 
the  trade  for  quite  a  distance  around. 

The  surface  being  hilly  and  uneven,  it  was 
inconvenient  for  the  inhabitants  to  reach  the 
centres  of  their  respective  towns,  and  having 
become  accustomed  to  do  much  of  their  private 
business  here,  thought  it  would  be  for  their  con- 
venience to  transact  their  public  business  here 
also,  and  the  village,  having  been  built  up  on 
the  borders  of  two  towns,  was  under  a  divided 
jurisdiction,  which  was  not  conducive  to  its 
prosperity,  and  these  were  the  reasons  urged  for 


TROY. 


347 


an  act  of  incorporation,  which  was  granted  by 
the  Legislature  in  June,  1815,  the  town  being 
formed  from  the  southerly  part  of  Marlbor- 
ough, the  northerly  part  of  Fitzwilliani  and 
easterly  parts  of  Richmond  and  Swanzey. 

The  subject  was  first  agitated  in  1794,  and 
for  many  years  was  opposed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  different  towns,  the  contest  at  times 
being  exciting  and  interesting. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  on  the 
20th  of  the  July  following  when  officers 
were  chosen  to  hold  office  until  the  annual 
meeting  in  March. 

Church  History. — The  first  efforts  of  our 
early  settlers,  after  getting  settled  in  their  new 
homes,  were  directed  to  establishing  and  main- 
taining a  Christian  ministry. 

Most  of  them  had  been  religiously  educated, 
and  placed  a  high  estimate  upon  religious 
institutions,  and  even  those  who  made  no  pre- 
tension to  piety  never  thought  of  living  with- 
out some  one  to  officiate  for  them  in  the  sacred 
office. 

Their  first  places  of  worship  were  rude,  but 
their  hearts  were  in  their  work,  and  their  zeal, 
energy  and  personal  sacrifices  might  be  profita- 
bly studied  by  their  descendants.  The  first 
meeting-house  was  built  about  1815,  and  stood 
on  what  is  now  the  North  Park.  The  next  year 
the  proprietors,  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
twenty  dollars,  relinquished  to  the  town  all 
their  interest  in  the  same,  excepting  the  pews 
which  had  been  sold  to  individuals.  Some 
years  later  this  building  was  moved  to  its 
present  situation,  and  fitted  up  for  a  town  hall. 

September  15,  1815,  the  Congregational 
Church  was  organized,  ten  men  and  their  wives 
subscribing  to  articles  of  faith  and  covenant. 

The  organizing  council  consisted  of  Rev.  H. 
Fisk,  of  Marlborough  ;  Rev.  John  Sabin,  of 
Fitzwilliani  ;  and. Rev.  Ezekiel  Rich,  an  evan- 
gelist, who  became  the  first  pastor.  He  gradu- 
ated at  Brown  University,  1808,  and  Andover 
Theological  Seminary ;  was  installed  Decem- 
ber 20,  1815,  and  remained  pastor  until  July 


18,  1818.  He  continued  to  reside  in  Troy 
until  1845.  He  died  some  years  after  at  Daep 
River,  Conn. 

November,  1819,  a  new  religious  society  was 
formed  by  the  name  of  the  First  Congregational 
Society  of  Troy,  and  was  a  party  with  the 
church  in  supplying  the  pulpit  until  1824, 
when  a  new  constitution  was  adopted,  the 
society  taking  the  name  of  the  Congregational 
Society  of  Troy. 

Rev.  Seth  E.  Winslow  was  employed  as  a 
stated  supply  three  years,  from  1820.  After 
him  Rev.  Messrs.  Peabodv,  Pitman  and  Erwin 
were  employed  for  short  periods. 

Rev.  Stephen  Morse,  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  1821,  was  installed  second  pas- 
tor, August  26,  1829,  and  was  pastor  until 
January  31,  1833. 

During  this  year  preaching  was  maintained 
by  supplies. 

On  December  16th  a  new  society  was  formed, 
called  the  Trinitarian  Congregational  Society  of 
Troy. 

During  the  years  1834  and  1835  the  present 
church  was  built. 

Previous  to  this  time  the  church  worshipped 
in  the  town  hall  with  the  Baptist  society ;  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Pomeroy  was  installed  third  pastor 
and  first  of  the  new  society,  January  16, 
1836,  and  was  dismissed  February  27,  1844. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Amherst  College  and 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary. 

Rev.  Luther  Townsend  wras  ordained  and 
installed  March  5,  1845,  and  dismissed  May 
22,  1860.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, 1839,  and  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
1842. 

From  this  time  until  September,  1865,  preach- 
ing was  maintained  by  supplies,  who  were  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Easenon,  Perry,  Whitoomb,  Jen- 
kins, Alexander,  Miller,  Brown,  Spaulding, 
Roberts  and  Beckwith. 

Rev.  Daniel  Goodhue  came  iu  the  fall  of 
1865,  and  remained  until  about  April  1,  1868, 
Rev.  Levi  Brigham   taking  his  place.     He  was 


348 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


born  in  Marlborough,  Mass.,  October  14, 
1806;  graduated  at  Williams  College,  1833, 
aud  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  1836; 
commenced  preaching  in  Dunstable,  Mass., 
September,  1836;  left  Dunstable  and  com- 
menced preaching  in  Saugus,  May,  1850  :  left 
Saugus  and  commenced  preaching  here,  1868, 
and  remained  pastor  uutil  September  12,  1876, 
when  he  moved  to  Marlborough,  Mass.,  where 
he  now  resides.  The  services  of  Rev.  James 
Marshall  were  secured  in  February,  1877  ;  he 
was  pastor  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
April,  1878.  Rev.  David  W.  Goodale  became 
pastor  September,  1878.  He  was  born  in  Doug- 
lass, Mass.,  December  28,  1847  ;  graduated 
from  Monson  Academy,  1871  ;  Amherst  College, 
1875 ;  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  1878. 
Was  ordained  and  installed  October  1,  1878. 
He  resigned  in  September,  1883,  and  moved  to 
South  Sudbury,  Mass.,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Josiah  Merrill,  the 
present  pastor. 

The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  Novem- 
ber, 1789,  with  a  membership  of  twenty-five, 
and  was  called  the  Fitzwilliam  Baptist  Church. 
From  this  time  until  1791  they  were  without 
regular  preaching,  being  supplied  by  preachers 
of  the  neighboring  towns.  In  1791  Mr.  Rufus 
Freeman  was  licensed  to  preach  and  did  so  for 
an  indefinite  time.  Until  1836  they  held  their 
meetings  in  schools  and  dwelling-houses.  This 
\(;tr  they  united  with  the  First  Congregational 
Society  in  meeting  at  the  town-house  under  the 
labors  of  Rev.  Obed  Sperry,  and  continued  to 
do  so  until  1848,  when  their  present  house  of 
worship  was  erected,  and  dedicated  January  17, 
1849.  The  following-named  ministers  have 
served  as  pastors  for  terms  varying  from  one  to 
fourteen  years:  Revs.  Rufus  Freeman,  Ar una 
Allen,  Darius  Fisher,  D.  S.  Jackson,  Obed 
Sperry,  John  Woodbury,  P.  P.  Sanderson, 
Phineas  Howe,  A.  M.  Piper,  A.  B.  Egleston, 
April,  1854,  to  April,  1855  ;  Joseph  B.  Mitchell, 
April,  1855, to  April,  1856;  Thos.  Briggs,  May, 
1856,  to  June,  1857  ;  John  Fairman,  July,  1857, 


to  February,  1859;  C.  D.  Fuller,  February, 

1859, to  March,  1860; Bi lie,  March,  1860, 

to  July,  1861  ;  W.  H.  Chamberlain,  August, 
1861,  to  September,  1862. 

From  this  time  until  1865  preaching  was 
maintained  by  supplies,  or  by  the  individual 
members  reading  sermons.  Rev.  J.  S.  Herrick 
became  pastor  in  1865,  and  acted  as  such  until 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1879,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
D.  F.  R.  Herrick,  who  was  ordained  March  18, 
1879.  Failing  health  soon  compelled  him  to 
resign,  and  preaching  was  again  maintained  by 
supplies ;  Rev.  Mr.  Shaw  supplying  from 
August,  1880,  until  February,  1881  ;  Rev.  O.  E. 
Brown  was  pastor  from  September,  1881,  until 
November,  1884,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
W.  F.  Grant,  the  present  pastor. 

Educational  History. — In  the  grant 
given  these  townships,  one  lot  of  one  hundred 
acres  was  reserved  in  each  for  the  benefit  of  the 
schools.  These  lots  were  disposed  of  at  an 
early  period,  and  the  interest  expended  for 
schools.  In  1778  the  interest  of  the  Fitzwil- 
liam lot  was  five  pounds,  two  shillings. 

There  is  no  record  showing  that  any  money 
in  addition  to  the  above  had  been  expended 
previous  to  this  time,  when  one  hundred  pounds 
was  voted  to  be  raised  by  tax,  and  it  was  dealt 
out  very  sparingly,  for  two  years  after  only 
twenty-five  pounds  had  been  expended. 

The  building  of  a  meeting-house,  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry  and  the  war,  so  occupied 
the  public  mind  that  but  little  attention  was 
paid  to  the  support  of  schools.  Twelve  pounds 
were  raised  in  1782,  twenty  pounds  in  1785 
and  fifteen  pounds  in  1787,  and  probably  ex- 
pended under  the  direction  of  the  selectmen. 

In  1789  thirty  pounds  were  raised.  This 
year  an  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  grammar- 
school,  but  the  article  was  "  passed  over "  in 
town-meeting. 

In  1777  the  town  (Fitzwilliam)  was  divided 
into  four  equal  squadrons  for  schooling  ;  re- 
districted   in    1788,  and,   having  become  more 


TROY. 


349 


thickly  settled,  again  re-districted  in  1794.  Up 
to  this  time  there  had  been  no  school-houses, 
the  schools  having  been  kept  in   private  rooms. 

The  first  school-house  on  land  now  in  Troy 
was  built  by  Fitzwilliam  in  1790,  and  stood  on 
the  east  side  of  the  road  near  the  present  resi- 
dence of  Willard  White. 

At  the  first  meeting  after  the  incorporation  of 
the  town  a  committee  was  chosen  to  regulate 
the  school-districts,  and  they  reported  six. 

District  No.  6  was  so  small  that  a  school 
could  be  maintained  but  a  few  weeks  in  each 
year,  and  consequently  little  benefit  was  derived 
therefrom.  It  was  united  with  No.  3  in 
1831.  In  1838  the  town  was  again  re- 
districted.  District  No.  1,  or  the  Village  Dis- 
trict, was  divided,  the  northern  half  being 
called  No.  1,  and  the  southern  half  No.  2. 
No  2  was  changed  to  No.  3  ;  No.  3  to  No.  4 ; 
No.  4  to  No.  5,  and  No.  5  to  No.  6. 

In  1878  the  selectmen  and  superintending 
school  committee  were  instructed  by  the  town 
to  again  reorganize  the  districts,  which  they 
did  by  making  four  districts  of  the  six,  consti- 
tuting a  Village  District  and  three  out-districts  ; 
the  Village  District  to  consist  of  Nos.  1  and  2, 
together  with  a  larger  part  of  Nos.  5  and  6, 
adding  a  part  of  No.  5  to  No.  4,  and  part  of 
No.  6  to  No.  3,  thus  making  four  districts,  as 
they  are  at  present ;  No.  1  to  contain  three 
schools — one  grammar  and  two  primary — the 
school-house  in  No.  1  to  be  used  for  the  north 
primary,  that  in  No.  2  for  the  south  primary, 
the  grammar  school  to  be  in  the  room  under 
the  town  hall. 

The  citizens  have  at  all  times  used  their  best 
efforts  to  promote  the  cause  of  popular  educa- 
tion. For  several  years  after  the  incorporation 
of  the  town  the  amount  annually  raised  for  the 
support  of  schools  was  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  in  addition  to  the  interest  of  the  literary 
fund.  This  amount  has  been  gradually  raised 
until  the  present  time,  when  the  whole  amount 
of  school  money  is  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

The  whole  number  of  different  scholars  at- 


tending school  the  past  year  was  one  hundred 
and  sixty-two, — sixty-four  boys,  and  ninety- 
eight  girls, — with  an  average  length  of  all 
schools  for  the  year  of  twenty-one  and  nine- 
tenths  weeks. 

Military  History. — In  everything  calling 
for  an  exhibition  of  pure  patriotism,  disinter- 
ested benevolence,  or  the  characteristics  of  good 
citizens,  the  names  of  the  first  settlers  stand 
conspicuous.  The  following  are  the  names  of 
those  from  this  town  known  to  have  enlisted  in 
the  American  army  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  : 


Benjamin  Tolman. 
Jacob  Newell,  Jr. 
Ezekiel  Mixer. 
Pearson  Newell. 


James  Brewer. 
Caleb  Winch. 
John  Farrar,  Jr. 
Peter  Starkey. 

At  the  time  when  the  bugle  sound  was  first 
heard  upon  the  battle-field  of  Lexington  there 
were  not  more  than  twenty-five  male  inhabit- 
ants over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  within  the 
limits  of  what  is  now  Troy,  capable  of  bearing 
arms.  Most  of  them  were  heads  of  families, 
who  had  just  settled  upon  this  wild  land,  and, 
however  much  inclined,  they  could  not  have 
left  their  fields  for  the  camp,  only  at  the  expense 
of  bringing  upon  their  families  a  great  amount 
of  suffering. 

No  men  were  more  ardently  attached  to 
liberty,  or  to  the  leading  measures  of  those 
days,  than  the  early  settlers  of  this  town.  The 
small  number  of  enlistments  should  not  be  at- 
tributed to  any  want  of  patriotism,  or  indiffer- 
ence, for  there  can  be  no  stronger  claims  upon 
man's  services  than  those  of  his  family,  and 
next  to  this  is  his  country,  and  justice  and 
humanity  forbid  that  the  former  should  be 
sacrificed  to  the  latter. 

In  every  instance  where  arrangements  could 
be  made  to  protect  the  families  from  extreme 
suffering,  the  opportunity  was  gladly  accepted, 
and  laying  aside  the  implements  of  husbandry, 
the  father  hurried  to  the  assistance  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

Some  of  them  arrived  at  Lexington  just  in 


350 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


time  to  dispute  the  progress  of  the  British 
forces.  They  were  at  Banker  Hill  and  Ben- 
nington, at  Stillwater  and  Ticonderoga. 

They  all  served  honorably  through  the  war, 
and  fought  nobly  for  the  cause  so  dear  to  every 
heart. 

Benjamin  Tolman,  Ezekiel  Mixer,  Pearson 
Newell  and  John  Farrar,  Jr.,  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

In  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  Tolman  was  in 
the  thickest  of  the  fight  where,  in  a  hand-to- 
hand  conflict  with  a  British  soldier,  his  gun  was 
wrenched  from  him ;  but  he  stood  his  ground, 
defending  himself  as  best  he  could  with  the 
weapons  nature  furnished  him,  until  his  com- 
mander, seeing  his  condition,  brought  him  an- 
other musket,  with  which  he  continued  to  fight 
until  ordered  to  retreat.  Mixer  served  in  the 
same  company  with  Tolman,  and  by  his  side 
for  over  two  years,  both  sharing  alike  the  same 
pleasure  and  suffering.  At  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington, August  16,  1777,  when  the  troops 
under  General  Stark  made  that  ever  memor- 
able charge  which  crowned  the  American  army 
with  victory,  Mixer  was  shot  in  the  body  and 
carried  from  the  field  to  a  rude  shelter,  linger- 
ing in  great  agony  until  morning,  when  he 
expired. 

Pearson  Newell  sustained  the  loss  of  his  gun, 
powder-horn  and  cartridge-box,  for  which  he 
was  afterwards  allowed  by  the  State  two  pounds, 
fourteen  shillings. 

Toryism  became  so  rife  in  the  colonies  that 
Congress,  in  March,  1776,  took  measures  to  dis- 
arm all  persons  disaffected  to  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
cao  liberty,  and  passed  a  resolution  upon  the 
stiKject  and  sent  it  to  all  the  colonies. 

In  this  State  the  Committee  of  Safety  had  the 
resolutions  printed  in  circular  form,  and  sent  to 
every  town  in  the  State;  it  read  as  follows: 

"Colony  of  New  Hampshire,  &c. 

"Committee  of  Safety,  April  12,  1776. 

"To  the  selectmen  of  Monadnock,  No.jioe: 

"  In  order  to  carry  the  underwritten  Resolve  of 
the  Honorable  Continental  Congress  into  execution, 


you  are  requested  to  desire  all  Males  above  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  (lunatics,  idiots,  and  negroes  ex- 
cepted), to  sign  the  Declaration  on  this  paper,  and 
when  so  done  to  make  return  thereof  together  with 
the  name  or  names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the 
same,  to  the  General  Assembly,  or  Committee  of 

Safety  of  this  Colony. 

"  M.  Weare,  Chairman.'" 

"In  Congress,  March  14th,  1776. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several 
Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils  or  Committees 
of  Safety  of  the  United  States  immediately  to  cause 
all  persons  to  be  disarmed  within  their  respective 
Colonies,  who  are  notoriously  disaffected  to  the  cause 
of  America  or  who  have  not  associated  and  refuse  to 
associate  to  defend  by  Arms  the  United  Colonies 
against  the  hostile  attempts  of  the  British  Fleet  and 
Armies. 

"  Extract  from  the  minutes. 

"Charles  Thompson,  Secretary." 

"In  consequence  of  the  above  Resolution  of  the 
Continental  Congress  and  to  show  our  determination 
in  joining  our  American  brethren  in  defending  the 
lives,  liberties,  and  properties  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  United  Colonies  : 

"  We  the  subscribers  do  hereby  solemnly  engage  and 
promise,  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  at 
the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  with  Arms,  oppose 
the  hostile  proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets  and 
Armies,  against  the  United  American  Colonies." 

This  was  signed  by  all  the  inhabitants  in 
Troy  except  the  following,  and  duly  returned 
by  the  selectmen  :  William  Barker,  Jonathan 
Shaw,  Icabard  Shaw,  Daniel  Lawrence. 

The  citizens  of  Troy  were  not  behind  their 
fellow-citizens  in  manifesting  their  patriotism 
when  the  hostile  cannon  boomed  upon  Fort 
Sumter,  but,  in  common  with  the  great  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  North,  gave  their  support 
to  the  government. 

The  following  extracts  taken  from  the  records 
will  show  the  action  taken  by  the  town  : 

"May  8,  1861.—  Voted,  That  the  town  guarantee  to 
those  that  have  or  may  enlist  from  this  town,  that 
their  wages  shall  be  made  up  to  them  so  that  the 
amount  will  equal  twenty  dollars  per  month,  and  that 
we  will  pay  them  ten  dollars  in  advance  at  time  of 
enlisting,  said  sum  of  ten  dollars  to  be  taken  from 
their  wages." 

"October  21,  1861.—  Voted,  To  instruct  the  select- 


TROY. 


351 


men  to  use  any  money,  not  otherwise  appropriated, 
that  may  be  in  the  treasury,  or  to  borrow  monies  if 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  in 
chapter  2480,  Pamphlet  Laws,  1861,  authorizing 
cities  and  towns  to  aid  the  families  of  volunteers  and 
for  other  purposes." 

"July  20,  1862. — Number  of  citizens  liable  to  mili- 
tary duty,  as  enrolled  by  the  selectmen,  eighty-two. 
Number  Avho  were  or  had  been  in  the  U.  S.  service, 
twenty-eight." 

"August  27,  1862. —  Vofed,  That  we  pay  each  re- 
cruit or  volunteer  who  is  accepted  and  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  U.  S.  for  the  war,  unless  sooner 
discharged,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars. 

"  Voted,  That  we  pay  fifty  dollars  in  addition  to  the 
one  hundred  dollars,  providing  the  town  is  called  upon 
to  furnish  men  to  fill  up  the  old  regiments. 

"  Voted,  To  limit  the  bounty  to  the  number  required 
to  fill  our  quota  and  not  to  be  paid  until  the  men  are 
mustered  into  the  U.  S.  service. 

"  Voted,  That  no  bounty  be  paid  to  any  man  who 
receives  a  commission  before  leaving  the  state." 

The  selectmen  were  authorized  to  borrow  a 
sum  of  money  sufficient  to  meet  these  calls,  not 
to  exceed  three  thousand  dollars. 

"September  21,  1863.—  Voted,  That  the  town  pay 
the  drafted  men,  who  are,  or  may  hereafter  be  drafted, 
for  three  years,  or  their  substitutes,  on  or  after  being 
mustered  into  the  U.  S.  service  ten  days,  three  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  the  selectmen  were  instructed  to 
borrow  a  sum  not  to  exceed  four  thousand  dollars  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  the  foregoing  vote  into  ef- 
fect. 

"  Voted,  That  the  selectman  raised,  if  necessary,  an 
additional  sum  not  to  exceed  five  thousand  dollars 
for  the  same  purpose." 

"  December  5,  1863. —  Voted,  That  the  selectmen 
pay  the  citizens  of  the  town  who  shall  enlfst  for  three 
years  (until  the  quota  is  filled),  the  sum  of  three  hun- 
dred dollars,  on  being  accepted  and  mustered  into 
service. 

"  Voted,  That  the  town  assume  the  responsibility 
of  paying  the  United  States  and  State  bounties  to  citi- 
zens of  the  town  who  shall  enlist,  on  being  mustered 
into  service,  and  the  selectmen  were  instructed  to 
borrow  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose. 

"  Voted,  That  the  selectman  hire  recruits  out  of 
town,  if  it  can  be  done  satisfactorily,  to  help  make 
up  the  quota  of  the  town." 

"May  7,  1864.—  Voted,  To  pay  the  men  that  have 
already  enlisted  into  the  U.  S.  service  under  the 
present  call  for  two  hundred  thousand  men,  three 
hundred  dollars." 


"  July  30,  1864.—  Voted,  That  we  pay  volunteers, 
or  enrolled  men,  or  their  substitutes,  one  hundred 
dollars  for  one  year,  and  a  corresponding  sum  for  the 
number  of  years  they  may  enlist,  not  exceeding 
three,  if  they  are  accepted  and  mustered  into  service, 
to  fill  up  the  quota  of  the  town  under  the  present  call 
for  five  hundred  thousand  men,  to  be  paid  when 
mustered  into  service. 

"  Voted,  That  we  pay  the  drafted  men  or  their 
substitutes,  two  hundred  dollars,  to  be  paid  as  soon 
as  mustered  into  service. 

"  Voted,  That  the  selectmen  borrow  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding six  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  the 
purpose. 

"  Voted,  To  choose  an  agent  to  procu  re  substitutes. 

"Choie  Edmund  Bemis  as  said  agent." 

"September  5,  1864. —  Voted,  To  pay  any  that  may 
volunteer  from  this  town,  to  fill  the  quota  under  the 
late  call  for  five  hundred  thousand  men,  the  sum  of 
three  hundred  dollars  in  currency  for  one  year." 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  little  difficulty  to  obtain 
an  accurate  and  authentic  list  of  those  who  were 
citizens  of  the  town  who  served  during-  the  four 
years'  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

The  following  record  gives  the  names  and 
history  so  far  as  can  be  obtained  : 

John  Amadon,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
enrolled  at  Keene,  N.  H.,  October  5,  1861 ;  died 
at  Hatteras  Inlet  January  15,  1862. 

Henry  J.  Amadon,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  enrolled  October  7,  1861 ;  served  three 
years  and  was  in  twenty-three  battles ;  discharged 
at  Pegram  House,  Va.,  November  27,  1864 ;  died 
at  Troy  July  27,  1867. 

James  O.  Amadon,  enlisted  in  Second  Regiment,  but 
was  not  accepted  on  reaching  Portsmouth  ;  served 
all  through  the  war  in  a  private  capacity. 

Frank  Amadon,  Company  I,  Eighteenth  Regiment. 

Oren  S.  Adams,  Second  Regiment. 

Chas.  H.  Barrett,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
enlisted  August  30,  1862;  mustered  out  July  8, 
1865  ;  killed  at  Stoddard. 

Lemuel  W.  Brown,  Company  F,  Second  United 
States  Sharpshooters  ;  was  transferred  to  Second 
Battalion,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  July  1,  1863  ; 
discharged  at  Washington,  D.  C,  November  26, 
1864. 

William  O.  Barns,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment ; 
enlisted  September  1,  1862  ;  mustered  out  August 
18,  1865. 

Frank  Barnes,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment ; 
enlisted  August  25,  1862. 


352 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


George  I.  Capron.  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  September  22,  1862 ;  discharged  at 
Savannah,  Ga.,  July  8,  1865;  died  at  Troy. 

Joseph  F.  Capron,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment; 
mustered  in  April  14,  1861  ;  discharged  October 
22,  1861;  re-enlisted  in  December,  1863,  into 
First  Regiment  Connecticut  Cavalry. 

Frederick  P.  Cutler,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment ; 
recruit;  discharged  March  22,  1863. 

Albert  Cobb,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artillery  :  mus- 
tered in  September  5,  1864.  This  company  was 
mustered  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  by  Captain  W.  H. 
Graham,  U.  S.  A.,  for  one  year. 

Nathan  C.  Carter,  Company  F,  First  New  Hamp- 
shire Cavalry  ;  died  at  Troy,  N.  H.,  April  5, 
1876. 

Robert  Cosgrove,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 

George  W.  Clark,  recruit,  Second  Regiment ;  dis- 
charged September  22,  1863 ;  died  at  Troy  Jan- 
uary 1,  1864. 

Lewis  Clement. 

George  W.  Derby,  sergeant,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regi- 
ment ;  mustered  in  November  28,  1861  ;  drowned 
at  Aquia  Creek. 

Lorenzo  Dexter,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 

Luther  W.  Fassett,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment ; 
recruit;  killed  by  a  rebel  guerrilla  at  Evansport, 
Va.,  April  2,  1862.  Fassett,  with  others,  had 
been  engaged  in  digging  for  a  gun  that  had  been 
abandoned  and  buried  by  the  rebels.  He,  witli  a 
companion,  started  back  from  where  the  men 
were  engaged  in  digging  to  procure  some  shovels 
which  were  stored  in  a  building  about  a  mile 
away.  They  were  met  by  three  rebels  in  citizens' 
clothes,  who  had  been  skulking  in  the  bushes, 
and  who  confronted  them  with  loaded  carbines. 
Fassett  immediately  surrendered,  but,  notwith- 
standing this,  they  sent  a  bullet  through  his 
body,  while  his  comrade  made  good  his  escape, 
and  the  guerrillas  eluded  all  efforts  to  capture 
them. 

Danvers  C.  Fassett,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artillery. 

Daniel  M.  Fisk,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 

Asa  B.  Fisk,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 

Jonas  R.  Foster,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artillery. 

Ezekiel  Haskell,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  November  28,  1861 ;  was  transferred  to 
Company  G,  Seventh  Regiment  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps ;  discharged  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1864;  re-enlisted  into  Company  I,  Third 
Regiment ;  discharged  at  Goldsboro',  N.  ( .'.,  July 
20,  1865;  died  at  Troy,  September  23,  1884. 

Nelson  Haskell,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment ;   en- 


rolled September  19,  1861 ;    discharged  at  Conva- 
lescent Camp,  Va.,  December  20, 1862. 

Edward  Harvey,  Second  Regiment. 

Jesse  Hiscock,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 

George  H.  Kinsman,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artil- 
lery. 

James  Kaven,  Company  D,  Third  Regiment. 

Houghton  Lawrence,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment; 
enrolled  September  6,  1861  ;  discharged  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  July  15,  1862;  died  at  Troy  April 
10,  1884. 

Center  H.  Lawrence,  sergeant  Company  A,  Second 
Regiment;  promoted  to  assistant  adjutant-gene- 
ral. 

Alfred  Lawrence,  Company  C,  First  New  Hampshire 
Cavalry;  died  at  Anderson ville,  Ga.,  August  19, 
1864. 

Frederick  Lang,  Twentieth  Indiana. 

John  Lang,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 

Frank  Laraby,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
enlisted  August  25, 1862. 

Patrick  McCaffrey,  Company  F,  Second  Regiment ; 
died  July  8,  1862." 

Simeon  Merrifield,  Company  A,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
enlisted  August  14,  1862 ;  discharged  May  17, 
1865. 

Charles  W.  Philbrook,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Reg- 
ment;  enlisted  August  11,  1862;  discharged  July 
8,  1865. 

William  L.  Price,  First  Regiment. 

Albert  Roby,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artillery. 

Silas  S.  Stickney,  recruit,  Second  Regiment ;  died  of 
wounds  received  July  2,  1863. 

Charles  H.  Struter,  recruit,  Second  Regiment;  pro- 
moted to  corporal ;  re-enlisted. 

Charles  Lyman  Spooner,  Company  C.  Fourteenth 
Regiment;  enlisted  December  29,1863;  died  at 
Savannah,  Ga.,  July  7,  1865. 

Robert  M.  Silsby,  Fifth  Company,  Heavy  Artillery. 

Henry  T.  Smith,  Fifth  Regiment. 

Patrick  Shehan,  Company  I,  Sixteenth  Regiment. 

George  H.  Stockwell,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  died  at  Troy  July  20,  1863. 

Lorenzo  B.  Tolman,  corporal  Company  F,  Sixth 
Regiment. 

Samuel  M.  Thompson,  first  sergeant  Company  F, 
Sixth  Regiment;  died  at  Troy. 

George  W.  Tupper,  Fifth  Company  Heavy  Artil- 
lery. 

Sidney  E.  Tolman,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  enlisted  August  15,  1862 ;  discharged  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  July  20,  1863. 

Alonzo  W.  Tupper,  Company  A,  Fourteenth  Regi- 


TROY. 


353 


ment;   enlisted   August    14,   1SG2 ;    wounded   at 
Cedar  Creek  October  19,  1864 ;  discharged  July 
8,   1865  ;  died  at  Miller's  Fallls,  Mass.,  June  2, 
1874. 
William   H.   Tenney,   Company    K,    Second    Regi- 
ment ;  discharged  October  8,  1862. 
Robert  A.  Wheeler,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Curtis  A.  Whittemore,  Company  A,  Fourteenth  Reg- 
iment;   enlisted   August    15,  1862;    discharged 
July  8,  1865  ;  died  at  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  Septem- 
ber 11,  1867. 
Frank  Shattuck,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment; 
enlisted   August   28,   1862 ;     discharged   July  8, 
1865. 
Physicians. — The  first  physician   to  settle 
here  was  Dr.  Justice  Perry,  who  came  in  1796 
and  practiced  one  year.     He  was  a  man  of  in- 
temperate habits,  and  after  he  decided  to  locate 
here  he  was    persuaded   to   sign  a    temperance 
pledge,  probably  the  first  ever  signed  in  town. 
By  this  he  obligated  himself  to  abstain  from  the 
use  of  all  intoxicating  drinks  for  one  year,  in  con- 
sideration of  which  the  citizens  bound  themselves 
to  furnish  him  with  a  horse  and  all  his  medicines 
free  of  charge  during  the  year.     These  condi- 
tions  were  faithfully  fulfilled  by  both   parties, 
but  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  doctor  relapsed 
into  his  former  habits,   losing  the    confidence 
of  the   people,  and  in    the    following   year   he 
moved  to  Marl  borough,  where  he  died  in  1799. 
He  was   succeeded   by  Dr.  Ebenezer   Wright, 
who  came  from   Fitzwilliam   in   1811,   at  the 
request   of   a    few    individuals    of  the    village. 
He  was  here  during  the  excitement  attending 
the  efforts    to    obtain    the  charter  of  Troy,  and 
took  an    active    part    in   those   measures  which 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  new  town. 

He    resided   here  until   1814,  when  he  went 
back  to  Fitzwilliam,  where  he  died  in  1829. 

Dr.  Charles  W.  Whitney,  the  third  physi- 
cian, was  born  in  Rindge,  November  15,  1791, 
the  son  of  Dr.  Isaiah  Whitney.  In  1811  he 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  under  the 
tutelage  of  his  father.  In  1813  spent  six 
months  in  study  and  practice  at  Boston,  and 
in  December  of  same  year  commenced  practice 
in  Marlborough,  Mass.  Left  Marlborough  in 
23 


the  spring  of  1815,  and,  in  October,  started  for 
Vermont  to  look  up  a  place  among  the  Green 
Mountains ;  but  not  liking  the  appearance  of  the 
land  or  the  people,  he  retraced  his  steps  home- 
ward ;  on  arriving  at  the  hotel  here,  he  was 
invited  by  the  proprietor  to  locate,  which  he 
decided  to  do  after  a  few  days'  consideration 
He  boarded  three  years  at  Colonel  D.  W.  Far- 
rar's;  built  his  house  in  1818;  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Griffin,  of  Fitzwilliam, 
and  continued  in  active  practice  until  feeble 
health  and  advanced  years  compelled  him  to 
relinquish  it. 

Dr.  Luke  Miller  succeeded  Dr.  Whitney, 
locating  here  in  1847,  and  practiced  about  six 
years.  After  leaving  Troy  lie  practiced  in 
Winchendon  and  Fitzwilliam,  and  afterwards 
moved  West,  where  he  died  some  few  years 
since. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Caverly  was  the  fifth  physician. 
Born  in  London,  November  28,  1817  ;  grad- 
uated at  Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine, 
1845.  Located  here  in  1853  and  practiced 
until  1863,  when  he  moved  to  Pittsford,  Vt., 
where  he  died  a  few  years  ago.  While  here  he 
compiled  and  published  a  history  of  Troy,  up 
to  1855. 

Dr.  Daniel  Farrar,  the  sixth  physician,  was 
born  in  Troy,  May  29,  1836.  He  commenced 
practice  in  his  native  town  some  time  in  1863. 
Not  being  physically  strong,  he  could  not  endure 
the  rides  over  this  hilly  country  and  gave  up 
the  practice  some  time  in  1865.  He  after- 
wards practiced  in  Leominster,  Mass.,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Daniel  B.  Wood- 
ward, who  practiced  until  about  1868,  when  he 
removed  to  Ellenburgh,  N.  Y.,  where  he  now 
resides. 

The  eighth  physician  was  Dr.  Benjamin  II. 
Hartwell.  Born  in  Acton,  Mass.,  February 
27,  1845  ;  graduated  at  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  Philadelphia,  March,  1868.  Com- 
menced practice  in  Troy  the  May  following 
and  remained  until  March,  1869.    He  removed 


354 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


to  Aver,  Mass.,  where  lie  has  since  resided,  a 
highly-respected  and  successful  physician. 

Dr.  John  Dodge  came  next  from  Springfield, 
Vt.,  but  remained  only  a  few  months. 

Dr.  Carl  G.  Metcalf  was  the  tenth  physician. 
Born  in  East  Unity,  N.  H.,  April  21,  1846; 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Butler,  of  Lemp- 
ster,  and  Swett,  of  Newport,  graduating  at 
Albany  Medical  College  in  December,  1869. 
Commenced  practiced  in  Troy  in  February, 
1870,  remaining  until  April,  1872,  when 
he  removed  to  Middleton,  Mass.,  where  he 
was  located  three  years.  Failing  health  re- 
quired a  year's  rest,  and  in  1876  he  located  in 
Marlborough,  Mass.,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death,  November  1,  18S4.  He  married,  in 
August,  1872,  Abbie  A.,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Levi  Brigham. 

The  next  physician  to  settle  here  was  Dr.  M. 
S.  Ferguson,  but  he  remained  but  a  short  time. 

The  twelfth  physician  was  Dr.  Benjamin  E. 
Harriman,  son  of  ex-Governor  Walter  Harri- 
man.  Born  in  Concord,  October  20,  1854. 
He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  A.  H.  Crosby,  of 
(  uncord  ;  attended  lectures  at  the  University  of 
Vermont  and  Bellevue  Hospital  College,  New 
York,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Medical 
College  in  November,  1877.  He  opened  an 
office  in  Manchester,  in  the  December  following. 
Broke  down  in  health  in  June,  1878,  and  passed 
the  winter  in  Florida.  He  located  in  Troy  in 
October,  1879,  and  once  more  attempted  to  prac- 
tice, but  the  labors  of  a  country  practice  so 
wore  upon  him  that  he  again  succumbed 
and    returned    home  the   last    of  the    following 

• 

February,  and  passed  peacefully  away  May  23, 
1880.  Iu  April,  187SI,  he  married  Jessie  B., 
daughter  of  Isaac  W.  Farmer,  of  Manchester. 

Dr.  M.  T.  Stone  was  born  in  West  Bosca- 
wen,  X.  II.,  July  28,  1854;  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  F.  A.  Stillings,  of  Concord,  and 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  No- 
vember 1879.  Located  in  Troy  in  February, 
1880;  married,  January  26,  1882,  Cora  M., 
daughter  of  Charles  W.  Whitney. 


Manufactures. — The  principal  manufac- 
turing industry  is  the  Troy  Blanket-Mills. 

In  1836  Luke  Harris  built  a  factory  for  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  cloth  on  the  site  of  the 
present  box-factory,  and  which  he  ran  until 
1841. 

In  1851  Thomas  Goodall,  a  native  of  York- 
shire, England,  came  to  Troy  and  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloth  in  the  same 
mill,  and  afterwards  of  horse-blankets. 

The  present  company  of  Troy  Blanket-Mills 
was  formed  in  November,  1805,  by  J.  H. 
Elliot,  R.  H.  Porter  and  B.  Ripley,  of  Keene, 
who  bought  of  Goodall  the  old  mill,  now  used 
as  a  box-shop,  and  all  the  other  real  estate  and 
privileges  owned  by  him. 

The  mill  at  that  time  contained  two  sets  of 
cards,  two  hand-jacks,  nine  looms  and  but  one  or 
two  sewing-machines,  the  blankets  being  carried 
to  the  houses  about  town  and  made  up 
there. 

The  present  brick  mill  was  erected  in  1869, 
and  contained  three  sets  of  cards,  jacks  and 
looms.  It  was  enlarged  in  1877,  and  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  old  mill  moved  to  it  and  the  old 
mill  abandoned.  The  mill  was  further  enlarged 
in  1880,  and  now  contains  ten  sets  of  cards, 
seven  self- operating  jacks,  with  fourteen  hundred 
spindles  and  sixty  looms,  besides  printing 
machinery  and  sewing-machines. 

About  one  hundred  and  ten  hands  are  regu- 
larly employed,  with  a  fortnightly  pay-roll  of 
about  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

The  present  average  production  is  ten  bales, 
or  five  hundred  blankets  daily. 

The  manufacture  of  wooden-ware  has  been  an 
important  industry  for  more  than  one  hundred 
years,  as  one  Thomas  Clark  commenced  the 
manufacture  of  mortars,  spools,  plates,  bowls 
and  trays  in  177!». 

The  business  is  carried  on  at  the  present  time 
by  E.  Buttrick  &  Co.  and  C.  D.  Farrar. 

In  1845  Edwin  Buttrick  became  a  partner 
with  S.  Goddard,  and  built  their  present  shop. 
They  were   iu   company  until   the  death  of  the 


TROY. 


355 


latter,  after  which  Mr.  Buttrick  conducted  the 
business  alone  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  present  firm  consists  of  E.  Buttrick  and 
A.  C.  Dort,  the  latter  becoming  a  partner  in 
1866. 

They  give  employment  to  twenty  hands,  and 
manufacture  about  twelve  hundred  cords  of 
piue  yearly  into  tubs  and  pails.  Charles  D. 
Farrar  gives  employment  to  eighteen  men,  and 
manufactures  about  one  thousand  cords  of  pine 
yearly,  making  all  kinds  of  pails  and  buckets, 
holding  from  five  to  seventy  pounds. 

In  1801  Aldrich  &  Barnard  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  scythes  at  the  North  End. 
In  1816  they  were  succeeded  by  Amos  Sibley. 
In  1826  he  built  a  new  shop,  the  one  now 
owned  by  Farrar.  This  shop  was  used  as  a 
peg-mill,  and  afterwards  converted  into  a  pail- 
shop. 

Mr.  Sibley  continued  in  business  until  1844. 
In  1856  he  sold  his  scythe-factory  to  Whit- 
comb  &  Forristall,  who  made  it  into  a  pail- 
shop.  This  building  was  afterwards  used  as  a 
pottery,  and  is  now  a  store-house  for  the  blanket- 
mills.  The  peg-mill  became  the  property  of 
D.  W.  Farrar,  and  for  a  number  of  years  re- 
mained vacant.  Mr.  C.  D.  Farrar  commenced 
manufacturing  here  in  1873. 

The  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  locked  cor- 
ner packing-boxes  is  carried  on  by  O.  C.  Whit- 
comb  in  the  old  building  formerly  occupied  by 
Troy  Blanket-Mills ;  he  has  done  business  here 
since  1883,  giving  employment  to  about  twenty 
hands,  the  value  of  the  yearly  production  being 
about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  tannery 
is  owned  and  run  by  R.  M.  Silsby. 

In  1782  or  1783,  Jason  Winch  came  here  from 
Framingham  and  built  a  tannery  on  the  site 
now  occupied,  and  carried  on  the  business  for  a 
few  years,  but,  being  unfortunate  in  it,  he  closed 
up  the  business  and  left  town. 

In  1815  Lyman  Wright  purchased  the  tan- 
nery. He  soon  built  a  new  one,  which  stood 
nearly  over  the  stream,  and  a  little  lower  down 
than    the  present  one.     Some    years    after   he 


moved  it  farther  up-stream  and  toward  the 
north,  putting  an  addition  on  the  east  end, 
which  is  the  principal  part  of  the  tannery  of 
the  present  day. 

The  business  was  afterwards  carried  on  by 
Wright  &  Foster  and  Francis  Foster. 

In  1869  the  tannery  passed  into  the  hands 
of  W.  G.  &  R.  M.  Silsby.  The  former  re- 
tired from  the  firm  about  two  vears  ago. 

The  capacity  of  the  tannery  is  about  fifteen 
hands,  but  at  present  only  seven  are  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  wax  upper  leather. 
George  S.  Colburn,  of  West  Gardner,  Mass., 
manufactures  chair-stock,  hubs,  etc.,  on  East 
Hill,  employing  from  three  to  six  hands. 

Webster  Corey  turns  pail-handles  at  his  shop 
on  West  Hill. 

The  wheelwright  business  is  conducted  by 
Winthrop  Knights  at  the  North  End. 

At  different  times,  various  enterprises  have 
been  carried  on,  with  varying  degrees  of  success, 
for  longer  or  shorter  periods. 

In  1812  Constant  Weaver  built  a  pottery, 
the  first  in  town,  and  for  many  years  this  was 
an  important  industry,  and  earthen-ware  of 
different  kinds  has  been  made  here  until  about 
three  years  ago,  when,  owing  to  the  competition 
of  large  establishments,  the  business  was  aban- 
doned. 

In  1831  B.  F.  Grosvenor  commenced  making 
fur  hats  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  J.  S. 
Bliss. 

The  business  was  afterwards  carried  on  by 
E.  P.  Kimball,  who  served  an  apprenticeship 
under  Grosvenor.  Mr.  Kimball  carried  on  the 
business  of  tinsmith  in  the  same  house  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  at  one  time  had  ten  ped- 
lars on  the  road. 

Miscellaneous. — Trov  is  situated  ten  miles 
southeast  of  Keene,  on  the  Cheshire  Railroad. 

The  surface  is  very  hilly  and  uneven  ;  the 
highest  point  is  Gap  Mountain,  situated  in  the 
easterly  part,  and  separated  from  Monadnock 
by  quite  a  deep  ravine. 

The  broken  surface  affords  almost  every  va- 


356 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


riety  of  soil,  and  there  are  some  well-cultivated 
and  productive  farms. 

There  are  some  quite  extensive  meadows  in 
the  eastern,  and  also  in  the  western,  part. 

The  South  Branch  of  the  Ashuelot  passes 
through  the  centre  of  the  town.  This  rises 
from  Rockwood  Pond,  in  Fitzwilliam,  flowing 
north,  and  receives  many  tributaries.  The 
principal  is  the  Ward  Brook,  which  drains  the 
westerly  slopes  of  Monadnock  and  Gap  Moun- 
tains. The  greatest  natural  curiosity  is,  prob- 
ably, the  falls  in  this  brook.  Within  about 
one-half  mile  from  the  village  the  waters  of 
this  stream  descend,  within  a  few  rods,  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet,  so 
that  in  high  water  this  cataract  presents  quite 
a  sublime  spectacle. 

The  air  is  dry  and  pure,  and  the  scenery  is 
magnificent,  and  is  the  nearest  point  to  the  grand 
old  Monadnock   Mountain. 

We  have  two  hotels, — the  Monad  nock,  C.  W. 
Abbott,  proprietor,  and  the  Kimball  House, 
Charles  Haskell,  proprietor. 

The  two  stores  are  kept  by  E.  P.  Kimball  & 
Son,  and  C.  W.  Whitney,  and  II.  C.  Newton 
deals  in  Yankee  notions. 

In  1872  Mr.  Newton  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Home  Companion,  which  was 
i->ued  quarterly  until  1876,  monthly  until 
July,  1885,  and  since,  semi-monthly. 

Representatives. — The  following  gentle- 
men have  served  as  Representatives  for  the 
years  named : 


1816-17.  Daniel  W:  Farrar. 

1818.  Sylvester  P.  Flint. 

1819.  Daniel  W.  Farrar. 
1820-22.  Daniel  Cutting. 
1823.  Daniel  W.  Farrar. 
1821.  Daniel  Cutting. 

1825.  Daniel  W.  Farrar. 

1826.  Rev.  Ezekiel  Rich. 
1827-28.  Daniel  Cutting. 
1829-31.  Daniel  W.  Farrar. 
1832-33.  Lyman  Wright. 
1834-35.  Chester  Lyman. 
1836-37.  Daniel  Cutting. 
1838-39.  Jonathan  Clark. 
1840-12.  Abel  Baker. 
1843-44.  John  W.  Bellows. 
1845.  Jeremiah  Pomeroy. 
1846-47.  Thomas  Wright. 
1848-49.  John  W.  Bellows. 
1850-51.  Brown  Nurse. 
1852-53.  Jotham  H.  Holt. 
1854.  Aldin  Egleston. 
1855-56.  Lyman  Wright. 
1857-58.  Joseph  M.  Forristall. 
1859-60.  Edwin  Buttrick. 
1861-62.  A.  M.  Caverly. 
1863-64.  David  W.  Farrar. 
1865-66.  Edmund  Bemis. 
1867-68.  Elisha  H.  Tolman. 
1869-70.  Augustus  Hodgkins. 
1870-71.  Charles  W.  Whitney. 
1873-74.  George  W.  Brown. 
1875-76.  William  N.  Watson. 
1877-78.  William  G.  Silsby. 
1879-81.  Asa  C.  Dort. 

1883.  Charles  W.  Brown. 
1885.  Edwin  Buttrick. 


HISTORY  OF  HINSDALE. 


BY   HON.    J.    M.   STEBBINS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Geographical — -The  Squakheags — Initial  Events — First  Set- 
tlements— Charter  of  the  Town — First  Town-Meeting — 
Officers  Elected  —  Indian  Troubles  —  Captain  Ebenezer 
Hinsdale — Early  Ecclesiastical  History — Congregational 
Church — Universalist  Church — Methodist  Church — Bap- 
tist Church — St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

The  town  of  Hinsdale  lies  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  Cheshire  County,  and  is  bounded  as 
follows  :  On  the  north  by  Chesterfield,  on  the 
east  by  Winchester,  on  the  south  by  Massachu- 
setts, and  on  the  west  by  the  Connecticut'River, 
which  separates  it  from  Vermont. 

The  Connecticut  River,  about  midway 
between  the  north  and  south  lines  of  Hinsdale, 
abruptly  changes  its  southerly  course  and  for  a 
mile  or  more  runs  to  the  northeast,  passing 
around  Cooper's  Point  and  Clary's  Island, 
when  it  again  changes  its  course  to  the  southeast, 
and  runs  a  half  a  mile  in  that  direction  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Ashuelot,  and  at  Pomeroy's  Island 
resumes  its  southerly  course.  The  waters  in 
this  great  bend  of  the  Connecticut  and  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ashuelot  were  known  to  the 
Indians  as  Squakheag — the  spearing-place,  or  a 
place  for  spearing  salmon.  The  name  was  also 
applied  to  the  territory  in  the  towns  of  Hinsdale 
and  Vernon,  Vt.  The  Squakheags  were  a 
numerous  and  powerful  tribe,  whose  principal 
villages  were  on  the  plains  and  bluffs  near  the 
great  bend  in  the  river.  They  fortified  Cooper's 
Point,  the  bluff  sometimes  called  Fort  Hill,  to 
which  place  they  resorted  when  pressed  or 
threatened  by  enemies,  and  from  this  hill  could 
be  seen  the  meadows  and  streams  for  a  long- 
distance  above    and  below,   from    which    they 


gathered  their  supplies  of  corn  and  salmon. 
The  remains  of  the  fort,  and  of  their  villages  and 
granaries  still  exist,  and  the  relics  of  the  tribe, 
with  their  tools  and  weapons,  are  often  found. 

Nawellet,  a  chief  of  the  tribe,  in  1687,  granted 
to  the  proprietors  of  the  town  of  Northfield, 
Mass.,  a  tract  of  land  which  includes  the 
territorv  within  the  limits  of  Hinsdale.  The 
title  to  all  land  in  Hinsdale  is  derived  from 
grants  from  Nawellet  and  the  town  or  pro- 
prietors of  Northfield. 

As  early  as  1723  a  highway  two  rods  wide 
had  been  laid  from  Northfield  to  the  Ashuelot, 
and  this  had  been  extended  before  1740  to 
Merry's  Meadow.  The  travel  and  transportation 
between  Northfield  and  Fort  Dummer,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Connecticut,  crossing  the  river 
above  the  mouth  of  Broad  Brook,  had  made  a 
passable  roadway  which  led  to  settlements 
earlier  on  the  east  than  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river. 

Merry's  Meadow,  at  the  north  of  Fort  Hill, 
took  its  name  from  Cornelius  Merry,  to  whom 
the  town  of  Northfield  granted  eleven  acres  of 
land  .at  the  south  end  of  the  meadow.  The 
remainder  of  these  meadow-lands  was  after- 
wards granted  to  eleven  persons.  Among 
these  wTere  Daniel  Shattuck,  Peter  Evans  and 
Robert  Cooper,  who  afterwards  built  houses  on 
their  lands.  The  other  grantees  of  these 
meadow-lands  may  have  improved  their  lots, 
but  are  not  known  to  have  settled  in  the  town. 
The  first  organization  in  the  town  was  that  of 
these  proprietors,  in  1736. 

Daniel  Shattuck  is  supposed  to  have  built,  in 
1737,  the  first  house  in  the  town.     This  was  a 

357 


358 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


large  log  house,  heavily  timbered,  and  stood  by 
a  brook  in  Merry's  Meadow,  on  the  farm  lately 
of  John  Stearns.  Another  log  house  was  soon 
built  on  the  other  side  of  the  brook  and  the  two 
buildings  were  connected  by  a  plank  palisade 
and  surrounded  by  pickets.  The  place  was 
long  known  as  Fort  Shattuck.  The  same  year 
Robert  Cooper  built  a  log  house  just  south  of 
Merry's  Meadow.  In  1741,  John  Evans,  of 
Northfield,  built  a  house  a  mile  south  of  the 
Ashuelot,  near  the  burial-ground  on  the  E. 
Stebbins  firm.  Evans'  house  was  fortified  and 
served  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  few  settlers 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  in  1742, 
Colonel  Ebenezer  Hinsdale  built  a  fort  and 
grist-mill  on  Ash  Swamp  Brook,  north  of 
Merry's  Meadow.  At  this  time  Josiah  Sartwell 
and  ( h'lando  Bridgman  were  living  in  houses 
built  by  them  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
above  Hinsdale  Fort;  and  Joseph  Stebbins  and 
Benoni  Wright,  south  of  the  great  bend.  In 
1745  all  these  settlers,  except  Colonel  Hinsdale, 
had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  Indians; 
but  in  1750  they  had  all  returned  to  their  farms 
and  others  came  with  them.  Thomas  Taylor 
had  built  a  house  a  half  a  mile  south  of  the 
Ashuelot,  and  Deacon  Peter  Evans,  Jr.,  just 
below  Merry's  Meadow. 

Until  1740  Northfield  claimed  all  the  terri- 
tory of  Hinsdale  and  Vernon  as  far  north  as 
Fort  Hinsdale ;  but  a  line  between  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire  was  run  in  1741,  by 
which  a  tract  of  land  four  miles  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ninty-seven  rods  in  width  was  cut  oflf 
from  Northfield.  But  this  did  not  invalidate 
the  title  of  the  settlers  or  proprietors  of  the 
lands.  Grants  afterwards  made  by  Northfield 
of  lands  lying  north  of  the  Ashuelot,  "above 
the  line  of  the  Massachusetts  government,"  were 
held  to  be  good. 

The  charter  of  Hinsdale,  including  land  on 
both  sides  of  the  Connecticut,  was  granted 
September  3,  1753. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  September  25th. 
Orlando  Bridgman  was  appointed  chairman  by 


the  charter ;  Daniel  Shattuck,  John  Evans  and 
Benoni  Wright  were  chosen  selectmen  ;  Colonel 
Ebenezer  Hinsdale,  clerk  ;  John  Evans,  treas- 
urer; Caleb  Howe,  constable  ;  Joseph  Stebbins, 
Jr.,  Thomas  Taylor,  surveyors ;  Peter  Evans, 
tythingman  ;  Josiah  Willard,  Hinsdale,  Bridg- 
man, Howe  and  Stebbins  committee  to  lot  out 
land ;  Aaron  Cooper,  field-driver.  Of  these, 
Bridgman,  Howe,  Stebbins,  Wright  and  Wil- 
lard lived  in  Vernon,  then  a  part  of  Hinsdale, 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Hampshire. 
The  names  above  given  were  the  founders  of 
the  town.  Most,  if  not  all,  were  early  settlers 
of  Northfield,  whose  ancestors  had  settled  in 
Southern  Massachusetts  or  in  Connecticut  a 
hundred  years  before. 

Most  prominent  of  all  the  founders  of  the 
church  and  town  was  Colonel  Ebenezer  Hins- 
dale, from  whom  the  town  takes  it  name.  In 
February,  1704,  a  band  of  Indians  and  French- 
men fell  upon  the  settlement  at  Deerfield,  and 
after  putting  to  death  nearly  fifty  of  the  settlers, 
the  remaining  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  hur- 
ried off  on  a  long  march  to  Canada.  Among 
the  captives  were  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  the 
redeemed  captive,  and  Mary  Hinsdale,  the 
mother  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Hinsdale,  who  was 
born  in  1706,  on  her  return  from  captivity. 
He  was  educated  at  Harvard  College,  ordained 
in  Boston,  but  never  settled  in  the  ministry. 
At  an  early  age  he  was  appointed  chaplain  at 
Fort  Dummer,  and  in  1742  he  built  the  fort 
which  bore  his  name,  and  a  grist-mill  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  where  he  lived  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  He  was  the  owner  of  large 
estates  both  in  Hinsdale  and  Deerfield.  It  was 
to  him  the  first  settlers  first  applied  for  aid  in 
the  times  of  peril.  It  was  through  him  they 
appealed  to  the  authorities  and  to  distant  settle- 
ments for  assistance.  In  1775  he  applied  to 
Governor  Wentworth  for  aid,  hostile  attacks  by 
Indians  having  been  frequent  on  his  fort  and 
upon  the  settlers  around  him,  stating  "  that  they 
were  loath  to  tarry  here  merely  to  be  killed," 
and  the  year  following   he  called   on  the  Gov- 


HINSDALE. 


359 


ernor  of  Massachusetts  for  help,  as  the  New- 
Hampshire  force  had  been  withdrawn,  and 
eighteen  of  the  small  number  of  settlers  had 
that  season  been  killed — yet  he  remained  at  his 
post. 

He  was  a  brave  and  kind-hearted  officer,  and 
active  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  and  town. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Wil- 
liams, of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  aud  they  were  both 
members  of  the  church  iu  that  town.  He  con- 
fessed to  that  church  in  1750,  "  to  the  sin  of 
intemperate  drinking,"  and  the  confession  "  was 
received  without  objection."  He  died  soon 
after  the  settlement  of  the  first  minister  in 
Hinsdale,  and  was  buried  at  the  old  burial- 
ground  above  Fort  Hill.  The  inscription  on 
the  tablet  upon  his  grave  is  as  follows  : 

"  Underneath  Deposited  is  the  body  of  Col.  Eben- 
ezer  Hinsdale,  who,  for  his  supernatural  endowments, 
extensive  learning  and  usefulness,  not  only  in  private 
life,  but  in  various  important  public  offices,  he  sus- 
tained, was  far  known  and  admired.  After  a  long  ill- 
ness he  died  Jan.  6,  1763,  in  the  57th  year  of  his  age. 
Here  also  lies  buried  the  body  of  Mrs.  Mary  Beals, 
the  mother  to  Col.  Ebenezer  Hinsdale,  who  was  born 
on  her  Return  from  captivity  in  Canada,  with  whom 
she  lived  a  widow  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  is 
thought  to  have  brought  on  hers,  ye  morning  after, 
when  she  died,  Anno  JEtatis,  '83;  her  husbands  were 
Lieut.  Mahuman  Hinsdale  and  Mr.  George  Beals. 
By  the  first  she  had  two  sons,  Samuel  and  John. 
After  this  [whose]  only  child,  Mrs.  Abigail  Hinsdale, 
died  at  Hinsdale,  Aug.  10,  1739,  Anno  iEtatis  [4], 
was  interred  at  Deerfield.  Her  still  surviving  partner, 
Mrs.  Abigail  Hinsdale,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Wil- 
liams, of  Deerfield,  and  worthy  relict  of  Col.  Ebenezer 
Hinsdale,  now  mourning  the  absence  of  these  dear 
deceased  relatives,  has  caused  their  names  and  des- 
tinies to  be  recorded  together  on  this  stone  June  2, 
1764." 

His  widow  married  Colonel  Benjamin  Hall, 
and  Colonel  Benjamin  Silliman,  of  Fairfield, 
Coun.,  was  her  third  husband.  She  survived 
them  all,  and  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  first 
husband  in  1787. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  March  12,  1754,  it 
was  voted  that  Daniel  Shattuck's  house  be  the 
place  of  meeting   on  the  Lord's  day.     The  set- 


tlers, or  most  of  them,  maintained  their  rela- 
tions to  the  church  of  Mr.  Hubbard,  in  North- 
field,  but  held  religious  meetings  at  Hinsdale  at 
the  place  above  named,  and  aftenvards  at  or 
near  the  homestead  of  the  late  Mr.  Ide,  south 
of  Merry's  Meadow,  that  location  being  conve- 
nient for  the  settlers  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Connecticut  River. 

In  1754  the  town  voted  to  raise  £46  4s.  Qd. 
to  defray  the  charges  for  preaching  and  other 
town  expenses,  and  to  tax  lands  to  provide  for 
the  building  of  a  meeting-house  and  the  settle- 
ment of  a  minister;  and  a  committee,  of  which 
Colonel  Hinsdale  was  a  member,  was  appointed 
to  select  a  site  for  a  meeting-house.  But  it  was 
years  before  a  minister  wras  settled.  Four  years 
later  the  town  voted  "  to  complete  the  outside 
of  a  meeting-house  and  lay  the  under  floor  and 
hire  preaching." 

In  1763,  Orlando  Bridgman,  Peter  Evans  and 
Thomas  Taylor  were  dismissed  from  the  church 
in  Northfield  "  to  lie  in  the  foundations  of  the 
church  in  Hinsdale."  These  men  were  fight- 
ing Christians  ;  each  of  them  had  more  than 
once  engaged  in  deadly  conflicts  with  the  In- 
dians. Captain  Bridgman  was  a  private  in  his 
youth  in  a  company  sent  out  from  Northampton. 
He  was  afterwards  a  settler  and  soldier  at  North- 
field  ;  then  third  officer  at  Fort  Dummer,  and 
subsequently  built  the  fort  which  bore  his  name 
in  the  north  part  of  Vernon. 

Taylor  was  a  shoemaker  and  a  captain.  In 
1748,  in  passing  from  Northfield  to  Fort  Dum- 
mer, when  near  Fort  Hinsdale,  he  was  sur- 
prised by  a  large  band  of  French  and  Indians. 
After  a  desperate  conflict  he  was  captured  and 
taken  to  Canada.  On  his  release  and  return 
the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  awarded 
him  fifty  pounds  for  his  bravery  in  that  action. 
There  are  many  legends  of  his  daring  adven- 
tures. 

Peter  Evans  was  also  a  soldier.  When  a 
mere  boy  we  find  he  joined  a  scouting-party  that 
went  from  Northfield  in  pursuit  of  Indians. 
He  was  chosen  a  tythingman  at  the  first  town- 


360 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


meeting  and  was  the  first  deacon  of  the  church. 
It  was  probably  at  his  log  house  that  the  first 
church  was  organized.  At  his  fireside  it  was 
decided  to  call  Rev.  Bunker  Gay  to  be  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church  ;  and  it  was  at  or  near  his 
house,  which  stood  under  the  bluff  on  which  that 
pastor  lived  for  more  than  fifty  years  afterward, 
where  the  congregations  used  to  meet  for  wor- 
ship before  and  for  years  after  the  church  was 
organized.  It  was  upon  this  Peter  that  the 
little  church  at  first  mainly  depended.  These  four 
foundation-stones,  of  which  this  Peter  was  by 
no  means  the  least,  are  now  represented  by  four 
church  organizations  and  edifices  in  the  town. 

In  1763,  Mr.  Gay,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  iu 
1700,  became  pastor  of  the  church,  at  a  salary 
of  forty-five  pounds  a  year  and  a  yearly  increase 
of  one  pound  a  year  till  it  amounted  to  fifty 
pounds  a  year,  and  one  hundred  pounds  as  a 
settlement  and  thirty  cords  of  wood  yearly. 

They  settled  a  minister,  but  the  building  of  a 
house  of  worship  made  little  progress,  partly 
because  the  people  were  poor  and  partly  because 
the  settlers  on  both  sides  of  the  river  were  liv- 
ing in  the  fear  of  again  being  driven  away  from 
their  farms  by  the  Indians  as  they  had  been  be- 
fore. 

A  young  pastor  of  a  congregation  of  frontier 
settlers  threatened  by  savages,  and  struggling  in 
peril  and  poverty  for  homes  and  subsistence  in 
the  wilderness,  is  not  likely  to  succeed  if  he  is 
merely  a  fine  preacher  or  profound  scholar.  In 
that  position  something  besides  preaching  is  nec- 
essary for  success.  Even  Jonathan  Edwards 
failed  in  his  ministry  over  a  more  promising 
congregation.  The  preaching  of  Mr.  (Jay  is  said 
to  have  been  acceptable  to  his  people.  Some  of 
his  sermons  were  published,  but  he  was  more 
celebrated  for  the  many  quaint  epitaphs  attrib- 
uted to  him  than  for  his  sermons.  He  was  no- 
tably social  and  hospitable  and  a  welcome  and 
frequent  visitor  among  his  people,  who  were 
widely  scattered.  He  is  described  as  a  thrifty 
parson,  "  passing  rich  on  fifty  pounds  a  year  ;" 
but  he  could   not  have  done    so  on  his  salary. 


Like  his  parishioners,  he  had  his  house  to  build, 
and  that  he  might  support  himself  and  family 
and  keep  open  house  for  his  people  and  friends, 
he  was  compelled  to  spend  much  time  in  tilling 
his  farm  and  garden.  After  a  few  years  his 
parishioners,  some  of  whom  were  sharp  men, 
found  it  not  easy  to  pay  the  parish  dues.  A 
meeting-house  had  been  raised,  but  the  windows 
were  not  put  in  nor  the  pews  sold,  when,  in  1770, 
the  town  raised  a  committee  to  confer  with  Mr. 
Gay  "and  advise  him  to  attend  public  worship 
more  seasonably,  and  not  employ  so  much  of  his 
time  in  secular  employments,  so  as  to  hinder  his 
studies  and  render  him  unfit  and  unable  to  per- 
form the  ministerial  function."  It  appears  that  the 
congregation  or  town  was  dilatory  as  well  as  the 
minister,  as  it  was  not  until  the  November 
following  that  the  town  voted  "  to  build  pews 
in  the  meeting-house,  glaze  the  house  and  sell 
the  pews  to  the  highest  bidder."  This  was 
done.  Among  others  were  the  following  bids  : 
Deacon  Evans  bid  £2  6s. ;  Mr.  Gay,  £4  12s.  ; 
Mr.  Jones,  £7  10s.;  Jonathan  Plunt,  £0  18s.  ; 
A.  Hunt,  £3  10s. ;  O.  Butler,  £3  10s. ;  Thomas 
Taylor,  £4  10s. 

There  was  at  times  some  dissatisfaction  with 
the  pastor,  as  was  shown  at  a  meeting  when 
eighteen  out  of  twenty-nine  voted  that  he  be 
continued  in  the  ministry.  In  1779  the  salary 
voted  was  one  thousand  pounds  in  the  depreci- 
ated currency  of  the  time.  Mr.  Gay's  connec- 
tion with  the  parish  was  dissolved  in  1801,  but 
his  ministry  continued  until  about  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1 815,  under  some  arrangement  with 
rhe  members  of  the  church  and  congregation  by 
which  he  was  "to  take  what  thev  might  choose 
to  give  him." 

The  old  meeting-house  erected  on  the  sum- 
mit of  what  was  known  as  Meeting-House  Hill, 
on  the  road  leading  from  Hinsdale  village  to 
Merry's  Meadow,  was  given  to  Daniel  II.  Rip- 
ley to  be  used  in  rebuilding  his  factory  in  the 
village,  which  burned  down  in  1840.  The  fac- 
tory was  again  destroyed  by  fire  and  was  re- 
placed by  the  mills  now  owned  by  Haile,  Frost 


HINSDALE. 


361 


&  Co.  Sometime  before  1840  the  Congrega- 
tionalism occupied  their  church  now  standing 
in  the  village. 

Governor  Hunt  and  Dr.  Cyrus  Washburn, 
living  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  on  the 
east,  Dauiel  Jones,  Seth  Hooker  and  Uriel 
Evans,  were  members  of  the  parish  at  or  be- 
fore the  year  1800,  giving  character  and  promi- 
nence to  the  town  and  society. 

In  1801,  Rev.  Mr.  Gay,  for  the  sake  of  peace 
and  in  consideration   of  the  agreement   of  the 
town  to  pay  him  five  hundred  dollars,  absolved 
the  town   from   its  covenant  with   him  as  the 
pastor,  but  continued  to  supply  in  Hinsdale  and 
Vernon,  on  alternate  Sundays,   for  six   years  ; 
and  later  in  Hinsdale,  as  before  stated,  preach- 
ing until  1808  in  the  house   first  erected   near 
the  bank  of  the   Connecticut   River.      Vernon, 
where  the  majority  of  the  parishioners  resided, 
having  become  a  separate  town,  a  second  church 
edifice  was  erected  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  on 
the  road    now  known  as  Brattleborough  Street. 
Perched  on  this  hill,  the  steeple  could    be  seen 
for  miles  beyond  the   State  line   in   Xorthfield, 
and  the  bell,  donated  by  Mrs.  Marsh,   daughter 
of  Governor  Hunt,  could  be   heard   on  all  the 
farms  in  southern  Hinsdale  and  Vernon.     The 
farmers,  at  first,  were  proud  of  their  church  as 
a  landmark  visible  from  afar  ;  but,  having  felt 
the  burden  of  paying  for  it,  were  not  disposed 
to  burden  themselves  further  with   the  expense 
necessary  for  the  support  of  a  regular  preacher. 
It  was,  in  fact,  twenty-five  years  after  the  build- 
ing was  completed  before  a  pastor  was  settled. 
This  period  has  been  described  as  the  dark  ages 
of  the  church  in   Hinsdale.     The  early   fathers 
had  been  set  off  to  another  parish,  or  had  dis- 
appeared.    The  town  had  ceased  to  be  a  little 
community  of  farmers,  and  became  a  field  for 
the  missionary. 

After  the  construction  of  a  road  up  the 
Asluielot  Valley  from  the  old  ferry  below 
Cooper's  Point,  great  quantities  of  lumber  were 
hauled  to  the  landing  to  be  rafted,  giving 
employment    to   a    number    of    raftsmen    and 


lumbermen,  who  took  up  their  abode 
in  the  town,  and  many  boatmen  were  called  here 
to  aid  in  taking  large  boats  up  the  rapids  in  the 
Connecticut,  between  the  Ashuelot  and  West 
Rivers.  In  the  first  half  of  this  century  nearly 
all  heavy  merchandise  was  carried  on  these  boats 
to  the  towns  on  or  near  the  river-banks  for 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  above  the  State  line. 
In  seven  miles  above  the  landing  in  Hinsdale 
the  river  falls  thirteen  feet.  From  five  to  ten 
extra  men  were  required  to  be  taken  on  at  Hins- 
dale to  push  one  of  these  boats  up  the  rapids ; 
and,  at  certain  seasons,  a  number  of  up  ward- 
bound  boats  arrived  at  the  landing  daily  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  swift-water  men,  as  they 
were  called.  These  easy-going,  hardy  boatmen, 
and  many  of  the  lumbermen,  were  given  to 
merry-making,  drinking  and  fighting.  Their 
influence  was  opposed  to  the  church  and  religion, 
and  they  never  appeared  to  feel  the  need  of 
either ;  and  the  few  inhabitants  who  saw  the 
need  of  both  were  not  able  to  support  a  regular 
pastor. 

After  Mr.  Gay,  the  pulpit  was  unsupplied  for 
some  years,  except  by  some  neighboring  min- 
ister occasionally,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Low  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Lawson  supplied  for  a  time,  followed  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Andrews,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  for 
the  five  years  ending  in  1821.  In  the  mean 
time  a  Sunday  school  was  organized,  which 
numbered  eighty  members. 

The  early  church  records  having  been  de- 
stroyed, and  the  church  supplied  by  ministers 
of  different  denominations,  a  council  was  held 
October  8,  1821,  "to  take  into  consideration  the 
concerns  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Hins- 
dale." The  council  found  only  four  male  and 
five  female  members  of  the  original  church,  and 
these  were  reorganized  under  a  confession  of 
faith  and  covenant.  From  1825  to  1832  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  sent  to  the  church  as 
supplies  Rev.  Mr.  Griswold,  Rev.  Air.  Smith 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Longley.  Rev.  Eliphalet  Strong, 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1824,  was  ordained 
May  17,  1832,  over  a  church  of  fifteen  mem- 


362 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


bers,  which  increased  to  fifty  the  next  year. 
He  was  dismissed  in  1835,  and  for  a  time  was 
confined  in  an  insane  asylum,  but  recovered,  and 
removed  to  Illinois.  Rev.  Joseph  Marsh,  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth  in  1824,  was  installed 
Mav  23,  1835.  During  his  ministry  the  church 
occupied  its  new  edifice,  erected  in  the  village  in 
1835,  and  forty-one  were  added  to  the  church. 
He  was  dismissed  the  day  his  successor,  the  Rev. 
Gardner  S.  Brown,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth, 
was  ordained. 

Mr.   Brown  entered   on  his     ministry    with 
much  enthusiasm.     A  young  man,  with  a  good 
voice,  and  other  attractive  personal  qualities,  he 
would  have  made  an  impression   in   any    place. 
He  seemed  to  feel  sincerely  what  he  often   said 
in  his  pulpit  with  characteristic  force,  "  Woe  be 
unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel  \"     At  the 
outset  he  filled  the  pews  with  listeners,  who  were 
moved  and  impressed  with   his  teachings,  and 
many  came  to  the  fold,   while  the  influence   of 
the  church  for  the  first  time  in  many  years  be- 
came the  leading  influence   of  the  town.     But 
the  change  was  not  all   due    to    the    preacher. 
The  water-powers  in   the   Ashuelot  had  called 
here  a  number  of  new  men  and  families,  which 
wrought  a  great  change  in  the  character  of  the 
place.      Among   these   were   Caleb  Todd,   who 
first   began  in   this  town  the  manufacture    of 
woolen  fabrics,  and  Pardon  H.  and  Pliny  Mer- 
rill, who  constructed  the  canal  and    improved 
the  upper  falls,    Colonel  Levi  Green,  Jonathan 
Brown,  William  Haile,  Dr.  F.  Boyden, Deacon 
Windsor  Bowker  and  others,  all  of  whom  were 
business    men    of  intelligence    and     character, 
young,  or  in  the  prime  of  life,  desirous  of  bring- 
ing their  homes  under  the  influence  that  good 
schools  and  the  church  only  can   give.     Besides 
these,    Deacon    A.    Shattuck,    Henry    Hooker, 
William  and  Lewis  Taylor  and   others,    natives 
of  the  town,  weir  active  members  of  this  church. 
All  those  who  are  named  above,  whether  natives 
or  not,  took   active  parts    in   the   affairs   of  the 
society  and  town,  speaking  in  the  evening  meet- 
ings, in  which  the  pastor  encouraged  them,  until 


they  acquired  the  art  of  speaking  well,  and 
there  came  to  be  less  of  exhortation  than  debate 
or  discussion,  more  spirited  than  is  usual  on  such 
occasions.  The  pastor  was  in  the  habit  of  pre- 
siding, never  hesitating  to  criticise  a  speaker,  or 
to  stop  him  if  he  talked  too  long.  At  one  of 
these  meetings  the  Universalist  minister  at- 
tempted to  speak,  saying,  "In  the  peace  of  God 

there  is  liberty "  "No  liberty  for  you,  sir, 

here,"  roared  Pastor  Brown,  before  another  word 
could  be  uttered. 

The  interest  in  religion  could  not,  under  the 
circumstances,  long  be  confined  to  one  society. 
Good  men  protested  against  what  they  called 
the  insolence  of  the  young  pastor  and  the  doc- 
trine of  eternal  punishment,  which,  they  said, 
he  made  the  principal  part  of  his  sermons  and 
creed.  Talk  upon  religious  subjects  prevailed 
in  stores,  shops  and  wherever  men  were  in  the 
habit  of  meeting,  as  well  as  in  vestry  meetings. 
The  result  was  that  the  Universalist  Church, 
organized  a  few  years  before,  and  until  then 
languishing,  had  just  lived,  all  at  once  revived. 
It  began  its  new  life  by  expelling  an  original 
member  who  was  alleged  to  have  used  profane 
and  abusive  language,  and  averred  that  "he 
joined  the  society  to  bother  a  brother  member," 
and,  gathering  in  many  converts,  it  completed, 
in  1840,  the  edifice  the  church  now  occupies. 

At  this  time  there  was  a  class  of  men — vil- 
lagers and  farmers  of  much  influence  in  the 
town — who  were  in  the  habit  of  spending  their 
evenings  in  the  post-office  and  stores.  Some  of 
these  men  were  quite  intelligent  and  sensible, 
and,  withal,  very  good  talkers.  They  discussed, 
in  little  groups,  politics,  religion  and  local  topics 
with  much  pleasantry,  and  often  with  a  good 
deal  of  spirit.  Among  these,  the  man  listened 
to  with  the  most  amusement  was  John  Stearns, 
a  tall,  swarthy  young  farmer,  who  lived  on  his 
farm  two  miles  out  of  the  village,  where  the 
original  Shattuck  built  his  fort.  There  was  no 
end  to  his  sallies  and  stories,  and  he  could  make 
sport  of  a  loco-foco  or  a  backslider  without  of- 
fending his   victims.     There    were    others    like 


HINSDALE. 


363 


hini  who  were  never  found  inside  of  a  church, 
yet  were  not  scoffers,  but  sought  to  make  the 
most  of  life  with  little  thought  of  the  hereafter. 
When  a  church-member  faltered,  or  did  aught 
amiss,  they  discovered  and  published  it.  This 
probably  led  the  churches  to  undue  vigilance. 
At  all  events,  cases  of  discipline  were  very  com- 
mon, and  for  causes  which  would  now  not  be 
deemed  to  warrant  it. 

In  the  hard-cider  Presidential  campaign  in 
1840  the  vestry-meetings  were  nearly  deserted 
for  the  gatherings  in  the  stores  and  other  public 
places,  where  Mr.  Stearns  talked  to  little  groups 
which  gathered  about  him,  laughing  at  his 
political  jokes  and  comments  on  current  events, 
which  were,  perhaps,  as  good  as  the  best  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  present  time. 

During  this  campaign  a  controversy  arose  be- 
tween Caleb  Todd  and  the  church,  which  ended, 
if  it  has  yet  ended,  only  upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Todd  more  than  thirty  years  afterward.  The 
church  record  shows  that  Brother  Todd  made 
charges  against  Deacon  Windsor  Bowker.  At 
a  hearing  before  the  church  Deacon  Bowker 
made  no  defense,  and  the  church  having  decided 
against  Brother  Todd,  and  the  latter  having  re- 
fused to  abide  by  the  decision,  a  council  of  pas- 
tors and  delegates  was  called  to  consider  the 
grievances  between  him  and  the  church,  and  be- 
tween him  and  Deacon  Bowker.  Before  the 
council  assembled  Deacon  Bowker  brought 
charges  against  Brother  Todd,  declaring  "he 
had  taken  the  gospel  steps  with  him  and  had 
received  no  satisfaction."  This  matter  was  also 
referred  to  the  council.  The  record  shows  that  an 
ecclesiastical  council  assembled  November  3, 
1840,  but  what  action  was  taken  in  relation  to 
any  of  the  charges  does  not  appear.  But  it  does 
appear  from  the  record  that  at  a  church-meeting, 
held  February  3,  1841,  charges  were  presented 
against  Caleb  Todd,  on  which  he  was  excom- 
municated. What  the  charges  were  does  not 
appear  from  the  record,  which  only  shows  that 
charges  and  grievances  were  made  or  existed. 

If  the  charges  were    preserved   or  extended 


on  the  record,  the  real  mutinv  which  led  to  the 
excommunication  would  not  probably  be 
disclosed.  It  has  never  been  believed  or  sug- 
gested that  the  charges  were  for  disgraceful 
conduct,  or  for  any  cause  which  might  not  be 
the  result  of  some  misunderstanding.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  the  excommunication  did  not  affect 
his  standing  as  an  upright  citizen  whose  char- 
acter and  integrity  were  such  that  he  would 
readily  have  been  admitted  into  any  church  of 
the  same  faith,  except  that  by  which  he  was 
expelled.  It  may  be  that  he  could  not  yield 
to  the  pastor,  whom  he  had  antagonized,  and  the 
brethren  who  expelled  him  sincerely  believed 
that  there  could  be  no  harmony  in  the  society 
while  he  remained.  He  bitterly  complained  of 
his  excommunication  as  a  personal  disgrace, 
and  obtained  much  sympathy  in  and  out  of  the 
society.  To  the  end  of  his  life  he  begged  to  be 
taken  back,  but  could  never  be  brought  to 
acknowledge  that  he  had  done  wrong,  nor 
could  the  brethren  who  expelled  him;  and 
both  remained  steadfast  in  the  belief  that  they 
were  right,  until  he  died,  in  1871,  outside  the 
pale  of  the  church. 

The  controversy  after  the  excommunication 
continued,  and  it  was  aggravated  with  other 
causes  of  dissension.  The  will  of  James  IT. 
Davenport,  a  deceased  brother,  Mas  contested 
by  his  heirs,  and  the  case  instead  of  being  left 
to  the  decision  of  the  courts,  became  a  subject 
of  contention  in  the  church,  in  which  the  pastor 
became  involved.  The  latter  is  reported  to  have 
said  in  his  pulpit  that  "  even  the  Almighty 
could  not  make  two  four,  or  break  the  will  of 
man."  No  allusion  was  probably  intended  to 
any  particular  man  or  case,  but  some  persons 
insinuated  that  the  will  referred  to  was  the 
stubborn  will  of  Caleb  Todd,  and  others  that 
it  was  the  last  will  and  testament  of  the  de- 
ceased brother,  that  could  not  be  broken. 
Whatever  was  intended,  the  effect  under  the 
circumstances,  with  other  things,  was  to  alienate 
both  the  friends  of  Mr.  Todd  and  the  heirs 
from  the  pastor  and  those  sustaining  him.     The 


364 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


will-case,  after  one  or  more  trials  in  court,  was 
compromised,  and  the  will  was  not  broken  nor 
the  dissensions  staved. 

In  1848  about  a  score  of  members  (but  only 
a  part  of  the  disaffected)  asked  to  be  dismissed 
from  the  church.  A  committee  appointed  to 
visit  and  labor  with  them  performed  their 
duty  apparently  without  success.  Their  re- 
quest not  being  granted,  Dr.  Frederick  Boy- 
den  and  others  sent  to  the  church  a  communica- 
tion declaring  themselves  "  free  and  independ- 
ent of  the  church,"  and  a  dozen  or  more 
members  were  thereupon  suspended  or  expelled 
and  others  soon  after  "  cut  off."  A  class  of 
Methodists  was  then  formed,  in  which  a  num- 
ber of  those  "  cut  off"  found  fellowship. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  church,  action 
was  taken  for  the  dismission  of  the  pastor.  A 
council  assembled  April,  16  1844,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  record,  it  was  happy  "  to  find  that 
the  church  and  pastor,  Rev.  G.  S.  Brown, 
have  from  the  beginning  been  united  in  affec- 
tion and  remained  steadfast  in  maintaining, 
against  a  heavy  pressure  of  hostile  influences, 
the  order  and  faith  of  the  gospel ;"  but  it 
adjudged  that  the  relation  between  the  pastor 
and  his  people  should  be  dissolved. 

During  the   ministry   of   Mr.  Brown   much 
good   work   was  done  by  the  minister  and  con- 
gregation.    Although    they    were    upon    some 
things  divided,   the  people  generally   did   not 
suffer    their     differences    to    impair    the     good 
feeling  which  prevailed  among  them  or  prevent 
them  from    co-operating   heartily   in  whatever 
they   thought    might    improve   their    social  or 
religious  condition.     The  children  were  greatly 
interested  in  the  Sunday-school,  which  was  well 
attended,  and  three  times  on  Sundays  the  pastor 
preached,  and  preached  well,  to  full   pews.      In 
his  view,   it  was  not  the  duty  of  a  good  shep- 
herd with  soft  words  to  lull  his  flock  into  dull 
contentment  with    their    present    condition    so 
long  as  he  could  see  higher  and  better   pastures 
to  which  they  might  be  led,   but  to  lead   them 
gently  and  kindly,  if  he  could,  and  rouse  and 


drive  them,  if  need  be,  fighting  for  them  or 
against  them,  if  he  must ;  despite  his  faults 
and  misfortunes,  his  influence,  upon  the  whole, 
was  good.  He  had  many  devoted  friends  in 
the  congregation,  among  whom  there  was,  under 
him,  genuine  harmony  and  good  fellowship. 

Upon  his  dismission  he  retired  forever  from 
the  ministry.  After  teaching  for  a  time  in 
New  York  he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life 
to  the  practice  of  medicine  with  success,  and 
was  buried  in  Alstead,  his  native  town. 

Rev.  Moses  Gerould  was  installed  October 
30,  1844.  His  patient  and  faithful  work  in 
trying  to  heal  the  dissensions  in  the  church 
was  not  wholly  unsuccessful.  Some  of  the 
suspended  members,  at  their  request,  were 
restored  ;  others,  having  united  with  other 
churches,  were  quietly  dropped.  The  bitter- 
ness which  had  existed  between  a  few  members 
of  the  church  subsided,  and  the  strife  at  least 
diminished.  The  Universalist,  Baptist  and 
Methodist  Churches  were  organized  before  or 
during  his  ministry,  and  by  reason  of  the 
differences,  each  had  received  some  recruits 
from  the  original  society.  The  religious  inter- 
est greatly  increased  under  Mr.  Gerould's 
ministry.  There  was  improvement  in  the  at- 
tendance upon  all  the  church  services,  and  in 
the  numbers  uniting  with  the  several  churches. 
With  the  building  of  a  railroad,  in  1851, 
another  element,  the  Catholics,  came  to  stay. 
Their  church  is  now,  and  is  likely  to  be,  one  of 
the  principal  churches  in  the  town.  To  the 
end  of  his  ministry  Mr.  Gerould  had  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  all  parties  in  every  church, 
and,  for  his  work  as  a  pastor,  a  citizen  and 
friend  of  education,  he  deserved  the  gratitude  of 
the  people  of  the  town.  He  was  dismissed  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1853,  and  moved  to  Canaan,  N.  H. 

For  two  years  following  there  was  no 
settled  pastor,  Rev.  William  A.  Patten  sup- 
plying for  a  part  of  the  time. 

Rev.  Moses  H.  Wells  was  installed  May  1, 
1856.  He  is  described  as  a  most  excellent 
man    and    faithful  preacher.     Ninety -one  were 


HINSDALE. 


365 


added  to  the  church  during  his  ministry.  At 
his  own  request,  on  account  of  failing  health, 
his  people,  with  much  reluctance,  were  com- 
pelled to  yield  to  his  dismission  August  31, 1865. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Batchelder  was  installed  March 
6,  1866,  and  continued  a  ministry  which  was 
acceptable  to  his  people  for  more  than  five 
years,  until,  at  his  request,  he  was  dismissed, 
December  5,  1871. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Watson  was  settled  December  13, 
1871,  and,  at  his  request,  was  dismissed 
October  30,  1877.  Under  him  the  interests  of 
the  church  and  society  were  carefully  guarded, 
and  the  influence  he  exerted  over  his  people 
was  salutary  and  elevating.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  present  incumbent,  Rev.  Henry 
H.  Hamilton,  a  graduate  of  Amherst  and 
Andover,  who  was  installed  March,  1878. 
The  society  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  church  numbers  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three;  the  Sunday-school,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five  ;  the  usual  congregation,  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred.  The 
church  edifice  has  recently  been  repaired  and 
enlarged.  The  principal  audience-room  con- 
tains a  large  organ  and  sittings  for  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty ;  the  vestry,  a  small  organ  and 
seats  for  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

The  First  Universalis^  Church  of 
Hinsdale  was  organized  by  Ivory  Soule  and 
others.  At  the  first  meeting,  held  October  4 
1833,  Otis  Doolittle  was  chosen  moderator' 
Pliny  Smith,  treasurer ;  Joab  Davis,  clerk  '. 
Henry  Ide,  T.  J.  Pierce  and  Arad  Cooper, 
trustees.  They  built  their  meeting-house,  as 
above  stated,  in  1840.  The  church  numbers 
about  fifty,  the  congregation  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  It  has  had  many  preachers,  but 
none  for  a  long  term.  The  present  incumbent 
is  Rev.  E.  A.  Reed. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — A 
class  of  eight  members  was  organized  in  1842, 
and  in  the  first  year  was  largely  increased. 
The  church  now  numbers  seventy  members ; 
the  Sunday-school,   eighty-five ;  the    congrega- 


tion, one  to  two  hundred.  The  church,  built 
iu  1875,  has  sittings  for  three  hundred.  The 
first  minister,  appointed  in  1843,  was  Franklin 
Thurber.  He  was  followed  by  Jared  Perkins, 
Samuel  McKean,  Charles  Chase,  H.  M.  Matter- 
son,  W.  H.  Jones,  John  Hillman,  A.  C.  Har- 
dy, Henry  Dorr,  Edward  Bradford,  A.  C.  Colt, 
F.  J.  Folsom  and  F.  J.  Felt, 

Baptist  Church  op  Hinsdale. — A  small 
Baptist  society  had  long  existed  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town.  The  Baptist  Church  of 
Hinsdale  was  organized,  or  reorganized,  May 
3,  1873,  by  Lemuel  Liscomb,  W.  A.  Horton, 
Ira  Barrett,  Thomas  F.  Dix,  Zenophen  Streeter, 
J.  E.  Randall,  H.  B.  Streeter  and  others,  and, 
with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Esty,  of  Brattle- 
borough,  soon  after  built  the  small  brick  church 
in  the  village. 

St.  Joseph's  Parish  (Catholic),  Rev. 
J.  J.  Holahan,  pastor,  was  established  in  1884. 
In  this  parish  there  are  about  ninety  families. 
The  Sunday-school  numbers  sixty  ;  the  usual 
congregation,  about  three  hundred.  The  new 
church,  when  finished,  will  accommodate  four 
hundred. 


CHAPTER   II. 

HINSDALE— ( Continued). 
Manufacturing  Interests — Military — Schools — Newspapers. 

Manufactures. — In  the  meadows  and  up- 
lands in  Hinsdale  for  nearly  six  miles,  near  and 
along  Connecticut  River,  there  are  some  lands 
of  the  best  quality,  which  were  occupied  and 
improved  by  the  early  settlers.  The  town  is 
one  of  the  smallest  in,  extent  in  the  State, 
including  less  than  ten  thousand  acres.  It 
extends  south  of  the  Ashuelot  River  about 
three  miles.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Ashuelot  it 
is  less  than  a  mile  wide,  and  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  on  the  Massachusetts  State  line.  A 
mountain  range  rises  along  the  eastern  border, 
extending  into  Winchester.  The  views  from 
the  roads  on  this  range,  with  the  Green  Moun- 


3G6 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tains  in  the  distance  and  the  long  river  winding 
through  many  miles  of  the  nearer  meadows,  arc 
as  beautifnland  picturesque  as  any  in  the  valley. 
Above  the  great  bend  in  the  Connecticut,  and 
north  of  the  Ashuelot,  the  town  is  from  three  to 
four  miles  in  width,  but  a  sandy  plain  inter- 
venes between  Merry's  Meadow  and  the  moun- 
tains on  the  east.  There  are  few  very  good  farms 
in  the  town,  and  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
whole  territory  ean  be  called  good  farming  land. 
( )n  the  hills  and  plains  some  farms  have  been 
deserted  and  are  used  only  for  pastures  or  are 
left  to  grow  up  to  wood.  There  probably 
never  were  more  than  fifty  families  atone  time 
deriving  their  support  from  agriculture. 

By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  population  are 
maintained  by  the  avails  of  their  labor  in  the 
mills  and  shops  of  the  village.  More  than 
sixty  years  ago  Caleb  Todd  began  the  manufac- 
ture of  woolen  goods.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Dan.  II.  Ripley,  John  Todd,  Governor  William 
Haile  and  Rufus  S.  Frost.  The  business  is 
now  continued  by  Rufus  S.  Frost  and  William 
H.  Haile,  under  the  name  of  the  Haile  &  Frost 
Company,  manufacturers  of  cashmerettes  and 
flannels,  employing  from  two  hundred  and  fifty 
to  three  hundred  persons.  C.  J.  Amidon  & 
Son,  successors  of  Bishop  &  Boyden,  make  the 
same  kind  of  goods,  and  employ  from  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  Brightwood  Mills,  owned  by  George  C 
Fish,  and  the  firm  known  as  G.  &  G.  A. 
Robertson,  are  each  extensive  manufacturers  of 
maiiilla  paper.  The  other  principal  manufac- 
turers are  Newhall  &  Stebbins,  makers  of 
mowing-machines  and  lawn-mowers ;  the  Jen- 
nings &  Griffin  Manufacturing  Company,  chisels, 
knives  and  cutlery  ;  llolman  &  Merriman,  ma- 
chinists ;  C.  D.  Merriman,  iron  foundry  ;  Hins- 
dale Machine  and  Tool  Company,  vises  ;  M.  S. 
Leach  and  John  W. Battles, carriages ;  and  .John 
<i.  Snow  and  Luke  Parks,  boxes  and  wooden- 
ware. 

Si  i  k  )<  >ls.] — The  schools  of  this  town  followed 


'By  C.   T  Hall. 


the  old  district  system,  and  each  was  conducted 
without  reference  to  any  other,  with  about  the 
efficacy  and  support  found  in  other  towns,  till 
1S77,  when  two  of  the  three  districts  cornering 
in  the  village  united  and  built  a  good  house. 

In  1878  a  town  High  School  was  organized, 
which  proved  a  successful  and  important  ele- 
ment in  the  school  system.  Its  establishment 
made  a  more  thorough  organization  in  the  lower 
schools  a  necessity,  that  pupils  might  be  better 
fitted  when  they  came  to  the  High  School,  and 
dining  the  next  two  years  the  Third  District  in 
the  village  was  united  with  the  other  two,  and 
the  schools  were  thoroughly  graded  into  two 
primary,  two  secondary  and  one  grammar. 

In  1884  the  districts  were  abolished  and  the 
town  system  adopted  in  their  place,  so  that  now 
the  outer  schools  are  put  on  a  par  with  those  in 
the  village,  and  hence  the  system  is  made  more 
efficient  than  it  could  be  under  the  old  arrange- 
ment. This  town  was  the  first  in  this  county 
to  adopt  this  system,  which  the  last  Legislature 
has  made  universal  throughout  the  State. 

Military.2 — The  military  spirit  of  tin's 
town  responded  promptly  to  the  attack  upon 
the  government  in  1861,  and  on  the  11th  of 
May  the  people  voted  to  raise  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  to  fit  out  volunteers  and  care  for  their 
families.  Already  her  sons  were  aroused,  and 
some  of  them  enlisted  in  the  Second  Xew 
Hampshire  and  other  regiments.  Other  meet- 
ings followed,  at  which  the  people  showed  their 
interest  in  having  the  Rebellion  put  down  by 
their  readiness  to  care  for  and  aid  those  who 
were  willing  to  risk  their  lives  in  doing  it. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1862,  immediately 
following  the  call  for  three  hundred  thousand 
men,  the  town  voted  to  pay  a  bounty  of  two 
hundred  dollars  to  all  who  would  enlist  under 
that  call,  and  to  raise  eight  thousand  dollars  to 
meet  the  expense,  thinking  that  the  quota  of  the 
town  was  about  forty.  It  was  soon  learned 
that  the  quota  was  only  twenty.  In  the  mean 
time    the     forty  had    enlisted,    thirty-seven    of 

2  By  C.  P.  Hall. 


. 


<Q^L<^ 


HINSDALE. 


367 


them  in  one  day.  Then  came  the  questions, 
"Who  shall  go?"  "Shall  the  whole  bounty 
be  paid  ?  " 

Many  of  the  soldier  boys  had  enlisted  to  go 
together,  and  said  so  in  words  not  to  be  misun- 
derstood. After  a  somewhat  heated  discussion 
of  the  questions  at  issue  for  a  few  days,  wiser 
counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was  voted  to  pay  the 
bounty  to  all  who  had  enlisted.  This  satisfied 
the  boys  and  proved  the  best  course  for  the 
town  in  every  way,  for  the  extra  men  were  set 
down  to  the  credit  of  the  town  when  it  was  not 
so  easy  to  get  men.  Here,  as  throughout  the 
North,  the  pulse  of  patriotism  beat  with  a  flush 
of  fever  during  these  days  of  a  nation's  peril. 

In  October  seven  thousand  three  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  was  raised  to  aid  the  families 
of  soldiers,  and  in  the  March  following  two 
thousand  dollars  ;  and  this  aid  continued  to  the 
close  of  the  war.  In  the  fall  of  1863  the  town 
voted  a  bounty  of  three  hundred  dollars  to  any 
who  were  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  na- 
tion. 

The  whole  number  of  men  enlisted  from 
this  town  is  eighty-nine,  who  served  in  the 
following  regiments :  Fourteenth  New  Hamp- 
shire, 42;  Eighteenth  New  Hampshire,  9; 
First  United  States  Sharpshooters,  6  ;  Fifth 
New  Hampshire,  5;  Second  New  Hampshire, 
3  ;  Sixth  New  Hampshire,  First  New  Hamp- 
shire Cavalry  and  Eighth  Vermont,  each  2; 
Third  New  Hampshire,  Second  Vermont, 
Fourth  Vermont,  Ninth  Vermont,  Tenth  Mas- 
sachusetts, Twenty-seventh  Massachusetts,  Sev- 
enty-ninth New  York,  Eighth  Louisiana,  Sev- 
enteenth United  States  Infantry  and  the  Navy, 
1  each  ;  and  in  unknown  regiments,  8. 

Newspapers.— The  Star-Spangled  Banner 
was  established  here  by  Hunter  &  Co.  in  1863, 
and  was  published  until  April,  1883. 

The  Progress  was  started  in  1884,  and  dis- 
continued in  1885. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM    HALLE. 

William  Haile,  son  of  John  and  Eunice 
(Henry)  Haile,  was  born  in  Putney,  Vt.,  in 
May,  1807. 

In  1821  the  family  moved  to  Chesterfield, 
N.  H.,  where  the  son  attended  school  till  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  the 
store  of  Ezekiel  Pierce  as  a  clerk.  At  the  aire 
of  twenty-one,  having  borrowed  a  small  sum  of 
money,  he  opened  on  his  own  account  a  store  in 
the  Centre  village  of  Chesterfield.  Here  he 
carried  on  business  for  the  next  seven  years 
with  success. 

While  the  population  and  trade  of  the  town 
were    continually   diminishing,   his  own    trade 
constantly  increased.     In   1 834,  with   the  little 
capital  he  had  accumulated  and  a  credit  which 
greatly  exceeded  his  capital  in  money,  he  opened 
a  general  country  store  in   Hinsdale,  in  which 
he   remained  for  the  next  fifteen  years.     His 
mercantile  business  in  such  a  small  village  and 
trade  centre  was  necessarily  limited,  but  it   is 
safe  to  say  that  few  men  in  the  same  circum- 
stances and  conditions  could  have  accomplished 
more.     He  possessed  qualities  which  in  a  mer- 
chant almost  insure  success  and  gave  him  credit 
which  was   not   dependent   on    his    possessions. 
With  his  strong  personal   attractions,  his  train- 
ing and  natural   aptitude  for  trade,  his  honesty 
and    untiring   devotion    to    business,   it   is    not 
strange  that  he  succeeded  and   prospered  finan- 
cially in  all  his  undertakings.     From  1847   till 
his  death  he  Avas  actively  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cashmerettes,  repellents,  flannels  and 
other  goods   in   Hinsdale,  having  for  his   part- 
ners at  different  times  Caleb  Todd,  Daniel   H. 
Ripley,  John  D.   Todd  and   Kufus  S.    Frost. 
He  was  also  interested  in  other  enterprises  and 
was  an  efficient  officer  in  various  local  institu- 
tions.    He  took  an  active  and   prominent  part 
in  church  affairs  and  was  a  member  of  a  number 
of'the  principal  benevolent  societies.  Though  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  business,  he  took  a  promi- 


3G8 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


nent  part  in  political  affairs.  With  the  exception 
of  two  years,  he  represented  Hinsdale  in  the  State 
Legislature  from  1846  to  1854  ;  was  elected  to 
the  New  Hampshire  Senate  in  1854-55,  of 
which  body  he  was  also  president  the  latter 
year,  and  was  again  elected  Representative  in 
1856.  The  next  year  he  was  elected  Governor, 
to  which  office  he  was  re-elected  in  1858.  He 
was  the  first  Governor  of  the  State  elected  by 
the  Republican  party. 

In  lS7-'5  he  removed  from  Hinsdale  to 
Keene,  where  he  had  built  a  fine  residence.  He 
did  not  cease,  however,  to  take  an  active  part  in 
business  till  his  death,  which  occurred  July  22, 
1876. 


FEEDEEIC  KOYDEN,  M.I).1 
The  life-record  of  a  physician,  however  dis- 
tinguished, is  at  best  imperfect  and  fragmentary. 
The  best  years  of  manhood  are  spent  in  the 
practice  of  a  laborious  profession,  among  a 
Mmited  circle  of  friends  and  patrons,  and  his 
lame  and  memory  are  often  embodied  in  the 
simple  but  impressive  words,  "  the  beloved 
physician."  It  is  only  now  and  then  that  a 
physician  like  him  whose  virtues  we  commemb 
rate,  by  his  long  residence,  by  Ins  talents  and 
integrity,  by  his  individuality  and  strong  points 
of  character,  comes  to  be  regarded  as  a  promi- 
nent man  in  the  community,  not  only  within 
but  outside  of  his  profession,  and  his  loss  to 
lie  widely  and  deeply  felt. 

Frederic  Boyden  was  born  at  Deerfield, 
Mass.,  in  the  year  1810,  and  was  therefore 
sixty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  November  11,  1871.  An 
accident  in  early  life  prevented  him  from  en- 
ffaeine  in  agriculture  or  mechanic  arts  and 
caused  him  to  turn  to  the  more  thoughtful  pur- 
suits of  the  student  and  scholar. 

I  laving  selected  the  profession  of  medicine, 
he  studied  the  prescribed  time,  and  took  his 
diploma   at   the    Medical    School  of    Harvard 

1  By  W.  S.  Leonard,   M.I). 


University,  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  first  and 
best  New  England  medical  colleges.  He 
located  in  Hinsdale,  and  commenced  practice 
about  fifty  years  ago.  For  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury he  was  the  only  physician  permanently 
located  in  town;  other  doctors  came  and  went 
away,  some  of  them  remaining  for  a  year  or 
two,  but  he  had  no  competitor  for  any  length 
of  time.  The  requirements  and  the  standard  of 
medical  education  have  changed  much  in  the 
last  third  of  a  century,  yet  there  can  be  no 
question  but  Dr.  Boyden  stood  in  the  front 
rank  among  physicians  of  the  time  as  a  sound, 
well-read,  self-reliant  and  skillful  practitioner. 
In  the  best  and  busiest  years  of  his  practice  he 
was  associated  more  or  less  intimately  with  such 
men  as  the  elder  Dr.  Twitchell,  at  that  day  one 
of  the  first  physicians  and  surgeons  in  New 
England,  also  with  Dr.  Adams,  of  Keene,  a 
physician  of  much  eminence  and  skill.  The  co- 
temporary  of  such  physicians,  Dr.  Boyden,  in 
addition  to  his  extensive  knowledge,  doubtless 
gained  something  from  the  great  stores  of  ex- 
perience garnered  up  by  these  eminent  men. 

Dr.  Boyden  was  considered  to  have  special 
skill  in  what  is  technically  called  diagnosis,  or 
"  the  art  of  distinguishing  one  disease  from  an- 
other," and  in  prognosis,  the  judging  of  the 
progress  and  termination  of  disease  by  symp- 
toms. In  these  departments  his  judgment  was 
particularly  good.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that 
it  was  very  rare  for  a  patient  to  recover  when 
the  doctor  had  pronounced  the  ease  hopeless, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  a  favorable  opinion  from 
him,  as  to  the  chances  of  recovery  in  a  seem- 
ingly desperate  case,  gave  encouragement  and 
hope  alike  to  patient  and  friends. 

It  was  thought  the  doctor  had  unusual  suc- 
cess in  the  treatment  of  acute  inflammatory 
diseases,  in  typhoid  fever,  as  it  prevails  in  the 
Connecticut  and  Ashuelot  Valleys  in  autumn, 
in  pneumonia  and  lung  affections  generally 
The  type  and  character  of  the  same  disease 
varies  much  in  different  sections  of  the  country, 
and  even  in  different  localities  in  the  same  State, 


'*$■■*. 


0~ 


HINSDALE. 


369 


but  Dr.  Boyden,  by  his  long  experience  and 
observation,  understood  perfectly  every  phase 
of  the  acute  diseases  which  visit  the  Ashuelot 
Valley,  and  knew  how  to  combat  them.  So  far 
as  the  minor  "  ills  which  flesh  is  heir  to  "  were 
concerned,  the  aches  and  pains  which  are  un- 
comfortable but  not  dangerous,  the  doctor 
(especially  in  the  later  years  of  his  practice) 
rather  avoided  the  treatment  of  these.  He  did 
not  want  anything  to  do  with  them,  but  left 
them  to  be  treated  by  younger  and  more  en- 
thusiastic practitioners,  who  needed  the  ex- 
perience more  than  he ;  but  in  severe  cases, 
where  life  and  death  were  balanced  almost 
equally  in  the  scale,  here  he  was  at  home.  He 
put  his  whole  mind  and  energy  upon  the  case, 
he  selected  his  remedies  with  care,  he  gave  his 
directions  with  precision,  and  he  expected  these 
to  be  followed  out  to  the  letter.  It  was  in  such 
emergencies  that  his  skill  and  judgment  were 
most  clearly  seen. 

Of  all  quacks,  delusions  and  shams,  of  fancy 
practitioners  who  put  ou  the  livery  of  the 
regular  physician  to  serve  the  purposes  of  em- 
piricism, Dr.  Boyden  had  a  wholesome  ab- 
horrence. He  would  not  fellowship  with  them, 
and  by  his  practice  and  his  influence  he  did  all 
in  his  power  to  put  down  ignorant  pretenders, 
yet  no  man  was  ever  more  free  from  a  desire  to 
have  the  reputation  of  making  great  cures  than 
he.  Like  Dr.  Biglow,  he  recognized  the 
wonderful  recuperative  power  of  "  nature  in 
disease."  He  was  never  a  great  medicine-giver, 
but  aimed  in  his  treatment  to  assist  nature 
rather  than  to  drown  out  the  ailment  by  heroic 
doses  of  drugs. 

Had  the  doctor  given  his  whole  attention  to 
the  profession  of  medicine  he  would  undoubt- 
edly have  ranked  among  the  first  physicians  of 
the  State,  and  as  it  Avas,  though  gradually  be- 
coming more  and  more  absorbed  in  other  pur- 
suits, as  the  years  went  by,  and  reading  com- 
paratively little  of  modern  medical  literature 
it  was  surprising  to  see  how  fresh  he  was  upon 

all  points,  and  how  he  frequently  wrought  out 
24 


in  his  own  mind  new  methods  and  plans  of 
treatment,  which  he  could  by  no  possibility  have 
read  in  the  books,  and  still  were  almost  identi- 
cal with  the  latest  and  best  modern  authorities. 
Within  three  or  four  years  of  his  death  the 
doctor  withdrew  from  the  active  duties  of  the 
profession,  retaining  only  his  consultation 
practice,  and  devoted  himself  more  exclusively 
to  his  business  as  a  manufacturer;  yet  he  re- 
tained to  the  last  his  interest  in  medicine  as  a 
science,  and  in  the  rational  treatment  of  disease. 

It  must  be  not  very  far  from  forty  years 
since  Dr.  Boyden  made  his  first  venture  in 
business,  outside  of  his  profession  as  a  physician. 
We  learn  that  he  was  associated  for  short 
periods  with  several  individuals,  but  his  career 
as  a  manufacturer  will  perhaps  date  from  the 
time  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the 
late  Sylvester  Bishop,  and  carried  on  the  manu- 
facture of  cashmerett  goods  in  a  limited  way,  in 
a  small  building  near  the  site  of  Amidon's 
factory. 

Mr.  Bishop  was  a  man  of  untiring  industry 
and  perseverance,  conjoined  to  a  remarkable  up- 
rightness and  probity  of  character.  With- 
out doubt,  there  were  seasons  of  discouragement 
to  this  firm,  and  the  "  hard  times "  pressed 
heavily  upon  them  occasionally,  as  it  does  upon 
larger  corporations  ;  yet  this  partnership  con- 
tinued without  interruption  up  to  the  date  of 
Mr.  Bishop's  death,  in  1864, — C.  J.  Aniidon 
having  previously  been  admitted  as  a  partner 
in  the  firm,  so  that  the  business  continued  under 
the  name  of  Boyden  &  Aniidon.  As  a  busi- 
ness man  the  doctor  was  prompt  and  energetic, 
bringing  to  bear  upon  the  minutiae  of  business 
transactions  the  same  nervous  energy  which 
characterized  his  actions  in  everything  else. 
He  was  a  rigid  economist,  looking  carefully 
after  the  details  of  his  business  personally 
rather  than  trusting  this  to  others.  It  is  a 
gratifying  fact  that  he  was  successful  pecuniarily, 
amassing  a  handsome  fortune,  and  that  he  came 
to  be  regarded  as  a  good  manufacturer  as  well 
as  a  successful  physician. 


370 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Dr.  Boyden  ever  took  a  great  interest  in 
politics.  He  was  first,  last  and  always  a  Demo- 
crat. At  a  time  when  men  were  changing  their 
political  views  for  the  sake  of  office  or  emolu- 
ment, the  doctor  stood  firm  as  a  rock  by  his 
original  creed.  He  was  not  illiberal  nor  an 
extremist,  unless  Ave  count  it  illiberal  and  ex- 
treme for  a  man  to  stand  up  boldly  and  fear- 
lessly for  what  he  deemed  the  right,  whether  in 
religion  or  politics.  He  was  one  of  the  ac- 
knowledged leaders  of  his  party,  not  only  in  his 
own  town,  but  in  this  part  of  Cheshire  County; 
he  served  as  postmaster  under  two  or  three 
Democratic  administrations,  the  last  time  for 
four  years  under  James  Buchanan.  He  also 
represented  the  district  in  the  Senate  of  New 
Hampshire  a  number  of  years  ago.  Irrespec- 
tive of  party,  he  at  one  time  or  another  filled 
almost  all  the  offices  within  the  gift  of  the  town, 
and  was  ever  considered  a  most  able  and  effi- 
cient town  officer,  and  those  who  differed  most 
from  him  politically  could  but  admire  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  convictions  and  the  steadfastness 
of  his  faith  in  his  own  party. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity about  twenty-eight  years  ago,  joining  the 
Philesian  Lodge,  at  Winchester,  in  company 
with  several  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Golden  Rule  Lodge, 
in  Hinsdale,  and  signed  the  petitions  for  a 
charter.  He  ever  took  a  deep  interest  in 
Masonry,  and  especially  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  lodge  which  he  had  helped  to  establish,  and 
though  declining  all  offices  of  honor  and  trust, 
yd  there  was  no  post  within  the  gift  of  his 
brethren  which  he  might  not  have  received  if 
he  would  have  consented  to  accept  promotion. 

Dr.  Boyd  en  was  thrice  married.  His  firsf 
wife  was  ( lharlotte  Stearns,  daughter  of  Walter 
Stearns.  She  died  September  5,  1848,  aged 
twenty-nine  years.  His  second  wife  was  Julia 
K.  Merrill,  daughter  of  Pardon  Merrill,  an  old 
resident  and  much  esteemed  citizen.  The  fruit 
of  thi>  union  was  one  -mi,  Freddy,  who  died  in 
infancy.     Julia  died  April  1, 1854,  aged  twenty- 


six  years.  His  third  wife  was  Delia  H.  Tavlor, 
daughter  of  William  Taylor,  Esq.,  whom  he 
married  May  1,  1856.  They  had  three  chil- 
dren,— Ida  Louise,  James  Everett  and  Alice. 
The  two  last-named  died  in  infancy.  Ida  mar- 
ried, September  11,  1877,  Robert  W.  Day,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  a 
member  of  the  widely-known  firm  of  The 
Morgan  Envelope  Company.  They  have  two 
living  children, — Pauline  Boyden  and  Robert 
Frederic;  another  daughter,  Alice  Louise,  died 
in  infancy.  After  the  death  of  her  husband, 
Mrs.  Boyden  removed  to  Springfield,  Mass., 
where  she  now  resides. 

In  social  life  Dr.  Boyden  was  remarkably 
genial  and  fond  of  mirth.  He  enjoyed  a  joke 
and  a  good  story,  and  knew  how  to  tell  one 
effectively.  There  were  those  Avho  thought  him 
reserved  and  austere  in  manner,  a  few  people 
who  feared  him,  but  it  was  because  they  did 
not  know  him  well,  for  underneath  a  manner  a 
little  abrupt,  the  result  of  a  peculiar  nervous 
temperament,  he  possessed  a  genial  disposition 
and  a  kindly  heart : 

"For  the  lives  that  look  so  cold, 
If  their  stories  could  he  told, 
Would  seem  cast  in  gentler  mold, 
Would  seem  full  of  love  and  spring." 

The  doctor  never  seemed  to  grow  old.  He 
was  alike  the  companion  of  old  and  young  men, 
adapting  himself  with  equal  facility  to  either, 
but  remaining  young  and  fresh  in  all  his  feel- 
ings and  sympathies  to  the  last.  It  is  needless 
to  speak  of  his  integrity  of  character,  of  his  un- 
swerving honesty,  of  his  honorable  and  upright 
dealing  with  his  fellow-men,  of  his  great  per- 
sonal  influence  for  good  in  the  community,  ever 
increasing  ;(s  the  years  rolled  by.  In  the  good 
life  which  he  lived  was  embodied  his  religion, — 
a  religion  eminently  vital  and  practical,  a  re- 
ligion above  all  creeds  and  dogmas: 

"  For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight, 
His  can't  be  wrong  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 

In  the  summing  up  of  a  character  so  rounded 


«^  *£ 


E»f*l>yAJI.Bixchie- 


/^rjif^  ^l^y^j^ 


HINSDALE. 


371 


and   perfected  by  the  virtues   of  an  honorable 
and  useful  life,  we  can  exclaim  with  truth  that 

"  The  elements 
So  mixed  in  him  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  was  a  man." 


GEORGE    ROBERTSON.1 

The  Robertson  family  is  of  Scotch  descent* 
The   father,  William    Robertson,  was  born   in 
Lasswade,  Scotland,  July  21,  1793.      Little  or 
nothing  of  his  early  life  is  known  except  that 
he  served  as  an  apprentice  at  the  trade  of  a 
paper-maker  for  seven  years,  according  to  the 
old  custom.      He  married  Christenna  Ross,  of 
Edinburgh,  February  14,  1817,  and  in  1818  or 
1819  emigrated  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  where  he 
resided  about  two  years,  working  at  his  trade 
very   likely,  and  then    removed  to    Hartford, 
Conn.,   living  there  till  the  autumn  of  1823, 
when  he  removed  to  Putney,  Vt.,  engaging  in 
the  manufacture  of  paper  in  that  little  Vermont 
town,  and  this  was  his   home  for  most  of  the 
years  following  until,  in  his  old  age,  he  moved  to 
Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  with  his  good  wife,  where  they 
passed  their  declining  years  near  the   home  of 
one  of  their  sons.    They  are  remembered  by  the 
present  generation  as  most  charming  old  people, 
whom  age  failed  to  reuder  morose  or  querulous, 
enjoying  the  society  of  the  young, — retaining 
always  the  Scotch  dialect  and  the  sturdy  virtues 
of  their  Scotch  lineage.      Mrs.  Robertson  par- 
ticularly was  one  of  the   most   delightful   old 
ladies  we  ever  recollect  to  have  seen, — so  brisk,  so 
cheery  and  sympathetic,  so  fresh  and  young  was 
she  in  all  her  feelings  and  impulses  to  the  last. 
Seven  children  were  the  fruit  of  this  union,  viz.: 
Ann,  Marion  E.,  George,  John,  Jean  N.,  Edwin 
R.  and  Christenna  C.     It  is  not  our  purpose  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  each  of  these  descendants 
more  than  to  say  that  they  have  all  filled  bravely 
and  well  their  positions  of  duty  in   the   world 
and  preserved  the  honored  name  of  Robertson 

JBy    W.  S.  Leonard,  M.  D. 


intact  from  dishonor, — worthy  descendants  of 
an  honored  father  and  mother ;  but  we  desire  to 
put  on  record  a  brief  sketch  of  one  of  the  sons, 
George  Robertson,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this 
history  and  who  passed  many  years  of  a  success- 
ful and  honorable  business  life  in  Hinsdale. 

George  Robertson  was  born  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  April  19,  1822.  The  family  moved  to 
Putney,  Vt.,  when  he  was  less  than  two  years 
of  age.  His  boyhood  and  early  life  were  un- 
marked by  any  unusual  events.  The  common 
schools  of  the  period  were  brief  and  the  oppor- 
tunities of  acquiring  an  education  were  very 
limited,  and  Mr.  Robertson  was  wont  to  regret 
that  better  opportunities  were  not  afforded  him 
for  acquiring  an  education ;  as  a  young  man,  he 
was  full  of  life  and  energy,  fond  of  athletic 
sports,  mirthful  and  endowed  with  a  fair  share 
of  true  Scotch  grit  and  pluck.  At  an  early  age 
he  began  to  work  in  his  father's  paper-mill  with 
his  brothers,  so  that  he  may  almost  be  said  to 
have  been  a  paper-maker  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave. 

Before  the  older  boys,  George  and  John,  were 
of  age  the  father  removed  temporarily  to  Co- 
hoes,  N.  Y.,and  leased  a  paper-mill  there;  after 
a  short  time,  not  satisfied  with  the  outlook,  he 
proposed  to  the  sons  that  they  should  return  to 
Putney,  that  he  would  re-buy  the  paper-mill 
there,  give  the  young  men  their  time, as  was  the 
fashion  in  those  days,  and  transfer  to  them  the 
whole  charge  of  the  mill,  under  the  firm-name 
of  George  &  John  Robertson.      This  was  ac- 
cordingly done,  and  the  young  men,  not  yet  hav- 
ing attained  their  majority,  went  into  business 
for  themselves,  and  it  is  proof  of  the  foresight 
and  sagacitv  of  their  father  that  this  firm  con- 
tinued  undisturbed  for  many  years,  and  to-day 
John  Robertson,  the  younger  of  the  two  sons, 
owns  the  same  paper-mill.     George  Robertson 
moved  to  Hinsdale  in  1849,  but  continued  to  be 
in  partnership  with  his  brother  John  at  Putney 
until  1856,  and  his  brother  was  in  like  manner 
a  partner  with  him  in  the  paper  industry  which 
George  built  up  at  Hinsdale. 


372 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


On  locating  in  Hinsdale,  Mr.  Robertson 
bought,  in  company  with  others,  a  paper-mill 
which  had  been  built  by  Thomas  &  Cutting  in 
1845,  and  at  once  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
paper.  This  was  destroyed  by  lire  in  1851. 
He  immediately  rebuilt  and  resumed  business ; 
again,  in  18(58,  a  destructive  fire  consumed  the 
mill  and  machinery.  After  an  interval  he  put 
up  another  mill  and  had  it  in  working  order  in 
1865,  but  in  1881  an  accident  almost  as  serious 
as  a  conflagration  overtook  the  firm ;  by  the 
bursting  of  what  is  called  a  rotarv  bleach  the 
mill  and  a  large  portion  of  the  machinery  were 
laid  in  ruins.  Such  a  series  of  misfortunes, 
which  would  have  driven  to  despair  many  a 
brave  man,  had  no  effect  to  dishearten  Mr.  Rob- 
ertson. He  knew  no  such  word  as  fail.  He 
commenced  to  rebuild  at  once,  although  it  was 
late  in  the  autumn,  and  the  next  spring  found 
him  ready  for  business  again  with  a  better  mill 
and  more  extensive  machinery  than  ever  before ; 
so  that,  whereas  in  the  early  years  of  his  business 
he  could  manufacture  only  about  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  paper  a  day,  he  could  now, 
in  1882,  turn  out  from  four  to  five  thous- 
and pounds  in  the  same  length  of  time. 
But  this  stout-hearted  man  of  such  indomita- 
ble energy  and  perseverance,  who  had  the 
iron  will  and  steadfastness  of  purpose  to  build 
up  time  and  again  a  new  business  out  of  the 
ruins  of  the  old,  was  overtaken  at  last  by  a 
most  grave  and  lamentable  accident, which  ended 
his  life  in  the  midst  of  its  best  and  busiest 
years.  Two  of  his  sons  were  building  a  new 
paper-mill  on  the  Ashuelot  River,in  the  town  of 
Winchester  three  miles  above.  On  the  after- 
noon of  the  24th  of  May,  1882,  he  rode  up  to 
the  site  of  the  new  works  in  process  of  erection, 
and  while  talking  with  his  son,  by  some  strange 
mishap,  a  huge  derrick  fell,  and  in  its  down- 
ward course  struck  him  upon  the  head,  fractur- 
ing the  skull  and  causing  injuries  from  which 
death  ensued  in  a  short  time. 

So  passed  away,  in  the  full  maturity  of  his 
life,  with  strength  unabated  and  the  prospect  of 


many  years  of  usefulness  in  store  for  him,  a  man 
who  for  thirty-one  years  had  pursued  an  honorable 
and  upright  business  career  in  Hinsdale  and 
won  for  himself  a  high  position  in  all  the  re- 
lations of  life.  In  glancing  at  his  life  record 
and  the  various  accidents  and  casualties  therein 
recorded,  one  might  naturally  get  a  wrong  im- 
pression of  the  evcry-day  life  of  this  good  man 
and  prominent  citizen.  The  misfortunes  which 
occasionally  overtook  him  were,  after  all,  mere 
specks  in  the  pathway  of  a  successful  career,  so 
speedily  did  he  rise  above  them,  and  there  came 
to  him  in  the  intervals  many  years  of  uninter- 
rupted business  prosperity  and  happiness.  He 
was  exceedingly  happy  in  his  family  relations. 
He  married,  May  13,  1844,  Abigail  Wyman, 
of  Jamaica,  Vt.,  and  the  union  was  blest  with 
six  children  ;  two  sons  died  in  early  childhood, 
and  four  are  living,  viz.:  Frank  W.,  George 
A.,  Edwin  C.  and  Orren  C,  all  of  whom  are 
married  and  follow  the  profession  of  their 
father. 

In  reviewing  the  salient  points  in  Mr.  Rob- 
ertson's character  we  are  impressed,  first  of  all, 
with  his  intense  energy,  his  grit,  pluck  and  per- 
severance under  difficulties.  His  life  in  this  re- 
spect conveys  an  important  lesson  to  all  those 
who  are  disposed  to  give  up  and  fold  their 
hands  because  fortune  seems  against  them.  Ob- 
stacles and  hindrances  only  made  him  put  forth 
the  more  determined  efforts  to  overcome  them, 
and  his  success  should  be  a  means  of  inspiration 
to  all  young  men  who  are  compelled  to  be  the 
architects  of  their  own  fortunes.  Mr.  Robert- 
son was  ever  a  public-spirited  man  ;  anything 
that  was  for  the  public  good  always  received 
his  cordial  approval  and  aid  ;  without  seeking 
office,  he  at  one  time  or  another  filled  many  im- 
portant posts  within  the  gift  of  the  town.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
prominent  in  the  councils  of  Golden  Rule 
Lodge.  In  politics  he  was  originally  a  Whig; 
but  when  the  wave  of  Know-Xothingism  swepf 
over  New  England,  the  sturdy  Scotch  instincts 
which  he  inherited  from   his  ancestors  could  ill 


HINSDALE. 


373 


brook  the  dogma  that  a  man  must  be  born  in 
any  particular  country  in  order  to  be  of  good 
standing  in  a  party,  and  he  sundered  the  old  ties 
and  united  with  the  Democratic  party,  to  which 
he  adhered  as  long  as  he  lived. 

He  was  a  generous  man,  kind  to  the  poor  and 
ever  ready  to  give  to  any  benevolent  object;  his 
sympathies  were  easily  enlisted  and  he  never 
stopped  to  measure  the  length  of  his  purse  when 
any  worthy  enterprise  called  for  aid.  Said  he  to 
a  gentleman  who  solicited  a  subscription  for 
some  meritorious  project,  "  Put  me  down  for 
such  a  sum  as  you  think  I  ought  to  pay." 

Two  or  three  instances  have  come  to  light 
when  Mr.  Robertson  assisted  worthy  young 
men  who  were  struggling  to  get  a  start  in  life, 
simply  because  he  saw  that  they  were  worthy 
and  needed  aid,  and  in  every  case  this  assistance 
on  his  part  was  the  means  of  insuring  success 
in  after-life  to  these  young  men,  who  remembered 
his  timely  generosity  with  gratitude. 

We  have  alluded  elsewhere  to  the  happy 
family  relations  of  Mr.  Robertson ;  he  was  a 
devoted  husband  and  a  loving  father. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  community  of  interests 
one  toward  another,  and  a  great  unanimity  in  all 
that  pertained  to  home  happiness  and  domestic 
comfort.  To  his  sons  he  was  at  once  father, 
counselor,  companion  and  friend, — entering  into 
all  their  projects  with  the  enthusiasm  and  interest 
of  an  elder  brother,  tempering  the  impulsive- 
ness of  youth  with  his  mature  judgment  and 
discretion. 

He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Conoresa- 
tional  Church  and  Society  for  several  years  be- 
fore his  death,  and  his  piety  was  of  that  practical 
kind  which  found  its  best  expression  in  works. 
His  pastor,  Rev.  H.  H.  Hamilton,  says  of  him : 
"  He  was  for  five  years  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school,  and  under  his  administration  it 
was  very  successful.  He  was  greatly  interested 
in  the  children  and  had  a  way  of  gaining  their 
affections.  To  his  pastor  he  was  loyal  and  a 
kind  personal  friend.  As  a  Christian,  he  was 
positive  in  his  convictions  and  an  earnest  seeker 


after  truth.  Religious  experience  to  him  was  a 
reality ;  his  faith  was  strong  and  he  was  never 
troubled  with  doubts.  He  was  converted  late 
in  life ;  but  the  change  was  real,  the  work  thor- 
ough; no  one  justly  doubted  the  reality  of  the 
change  or  questioned  his  sincerity.  We  all 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  large-hearted  Christian  man." 

And  yet  another  personal  friend  puts  on  record 
these  words :  "  With  him  honor  and  probity 
were  garments  for  every -day  wear ;  his  religious 
convictions,  never  unduly  obtrusive,  were  not 
for  Sunday  ministration  alone,  but  were  his 
companions  in  the  routine  work  and  details  of  a 
busy  life.  His  broad  charity  of  thought  was 
proverbial.  He  was  ever  ready  to  cast  its  mantle 
over  the  shortcomings  of  others.  In  practical 
every-day  life  he  thus  illustrated  his  entire  sin- 
cerity and  belief  in  the  religion  he  professed." 

It  is  an  incident  often  mentioned  in  these 
later  years  that  the  beautiful  poem  entitled 
"Over  the  River,"  by  Nancy  A.  W.  Priest, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Wakefield,  was  written  by  her 
in  the  summer  of  1857,  while  an  employe  in 
the  mill  of  George  Robertson.  This  exquisite 
gem  of  poesy  has  found  its  way  into  many  hearts 
all  over  the  world,  and  given  the  writer,  whose 
early  death  we  have  never  ceased  to  deplore,  an 
enduring  fame  in  the  annals  of  American  litera- 
ture. 

We  know  not  how  we  can  more  appropriately 
close  this  life-sketch  than  by  quoting  the  con- 
cluding lines  of  another  lyric  by  the  same 
author,  less  famous,  it  is  true,  and  not  even  found 
in  the  published  volume  of  her  poerns,  but 
nevertheless  bearing  the  impress  of  a  genuine 
poet.  These  seem  pertinent  to  the  close  of  the 
good  life  we  have  attempted  to  portray,  and  are, 
at  once,  a  solace  and  a  benediction, — 

"And  I  thought  it  were  pleasant  and  sweet  to  die, 

To  pass  from  this  world  of  care  and  strife, 
To  close  on  its  sorrows  my  glazing  eyes, 

To  open  again  on  a  better  life. 
And  when  we  shall  bow  to  the  common  fate, 

May  we  find  that  the  life-paths  our  feet  have  trod, 
Lead  up  to  the  shining,  pearly  gates 

Of  the  city  whose  builder  and  head  is  God." 


374 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


.TOHX  STEARNS 


1 


In  preparing  a  brief  biographical  notice  of  one 
of  Hinsdale's  oldest  and  most  widely  known 
citizens,  whose  portrait  accompanies  this  sketch, 
it  is  proper  to  refer  briefly  to  the  genealogy  of 
the  Stearns  family.  It  appears  that  Nathaniel 
Stearns,  the  grandfather,  came  from  Hebron, 
Conn.,  and  is  supposed  to  have  settled  for  a 
time  in  Northfield,  Mass.,  and  then  removed  to 
what  is  now  Hinsdale.  The  first  notice  of  him 
in  the  old  town  records  is  in  1774,  where  he  is 
termed  Lieutenant  Stearns,  and  there  is  a  record 
of  his  marriage  to  Dorcas  Sanger,  January  4th 
of  that  year.  Walter,  his  eldest  son,  was  born 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  being  the 
oldest  often  children. 

He  married  Thena  Shattuck  in  August,  1797. 
And  just  here  it  is  pertinent  to  trace  out  the  re- 
mote ancestry  of  the  Shattuck  family,  in  order 
to  show  that  the  farm  owned  and  occupied  for 
so  many  years  by  John  Stearns  came,  down  in  a 
direct  line  of  descent  by  way  of  the  Shattuck 
race. 

Daniel  Shattuck  located  in  Merry's  Meadow 
in  1736.  He  built  a  fort  on  both  sides  of  the 
little  brook  where  now  stands  the  large  barn 
built  by  John  Stearns.  This  fort  was  assaulted 
and  partly  burned  by  the  Indians  in  1746. 
Daniel  Shattuck  had  a  son  Daniel  born  in  1727. 
He  was  a  soldier  at  Fort  Dummer  in  1756  and 
afterwards  captain  of  a  company  at  the  battle  of 
Stillwater  in  1777.  He  died  in  1809.  This 
Daniel  Shattuck  had  two  wives, — Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Stephen  Smith,  of  Sunderland,  Mass., 
and  for  his  second  wife,  Lucy,  widow  of  Martin 
Smith,  of  Amherst,  Mass.  He  had  seven  chil- 
dren, among  them  a  son  named  Makepeace,  who 
married  Lydia  Grandv,  and  the  last-named 
were  the  parent-  ofThena  Shattuck,  the  wife  of 
Walter  Stearns. 

Walter  Stearns  was  a  resident  of  Hinsdale  all 
his  life,  with  the  exception  of  seven  years,  from 
1X01  to  1808,  when    he  resided    in   Dover,  Vt. 


1  By   W.   S.  Leonard. 


He  reared  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  namely : 
Fanny,  Eoxie,  John,  Emily,  Rhoda,  Elliot, 
Maria,  Gracia,  Nathaniel,  Horace,  Walter, 
Mary  and  Charlotte. 

Of  this  great  family  there  remains  now  only 
Maria,  formerly  wife  of  the  late  David  Blanch- 
ard  and  later  wife  of  the  late  Kimball  C.  Wor- 
den.     She  at  present  resides  on  Canal  Street. 

Only  two  of  the  sons  settled  in  town,  Elliot, 
a  farmer  and  for  many  years  a  prominent  and 
highly-esteemed  citizen,  and  John,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  John  Stearns  was  born  in  Hins- 
dale, August  10,  1801.  Of  his  early  life  we 
can  record  little  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was 
reared  a  farmer,  with  the  limited  educational 
advantages  which  were  the  lot  of  farmer  boys 
of  that  period;  but  what  he  lacked  in  book 
knowledge  he  made  up  in  tact,  keen  observa- 
tion and  good  judgment. 

On  February  25,  1825,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Esther  Webster,  of  Northfield,  Mass., 
a  most  estimable  woman  and  a  connection  of  Noah 
Webster,  of  dictionary  fame.     It  is  most  fitting 
that  we  trace  his  career  from  the  time  that  he 
assumed  the  management  and  ownership  of  the 
large  and  productive  farm  which,  until  his  time, 
had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Shattuck  family, 
and  which  he  bought  and  where  he  resided  for 
more  than   half  a  centurv.      Besides    beine  a 
good  farmer,  he  early  turned  his  attention  spe- 
cially to  dealing  in  horses  and  cattle,  and  became 
widely  known  all  through  Northern  New  Eng- 
land as  a  shrewd  and  successful  buver  and  trader 
He  also  dealt  more  or  less  in  real  estate,  being 
one  of  the  owners,  with  John  Ray,  of  the  old 
American    House,    at   Brattleboroiie.li,    and    the 
Ashuelot  House,  at  Hinsdale,  was  more   than 
once  his  property.      He  may  be  said  literally  to 
have  carved  out   his  own   fortune,  and  ere  he 
had  reached  middle  life  he  had  amassed  a  hand- 
some property  and    was  accounted  one  of  the 
solid  men  of  the  town.      In  his  day  he  wielded 
great  influence  in  town  affairs,  and  though  never 
accepting  any  public  office,  yet   he  exercised  a 
controlling  power  overall  important  measures. 


Xng?}yA 


o 


v    I  L      ; 


?l^-$ 


HINSDALE. 


374  a 


It  was  a  source  of  gratification  to  him  in  his  old 
age  to  compare  the  Hinsdale  of  fifty  years  ago, 
then  a  small  hamlet  with  a  few  scattered  houses, 
with  the  Hinsdale  of  to-day,  an  enterprising, 
thriving  village,  with  its  tasteful  residences, 
prosperous  manufactories  and  material  wealth 
and  prosperity,  and  to  feel  that  he  had  contrib- 
uted not  a  little  toward  making  the  town  what 
it  is  by  his  good  judgment  and  far-sighted  pru- 
dence and  sagacity.  In  private  life  Mr.  Stearns 
wTas  a  most  genial  companion,  hearty,  mirthful 
and  given  to  hospitality.  There  is  some  subtle 
influence  which  imbues  those  men  who  possess 
broad  acres,  large  barns  and  luxuriant  meadow 
lands,  who  deal  much  and  largely  in  horses  and 
fat  cattle,  which  tends  to  make  them  genial  and 
overflowing  with  hospitality.  For  many  years 
"  Uncle  John  "  and  his  good  wife  dispensed  a 
golden  hospitality  at  the  old  Stearns  homestead, 
making  their  home  a  true  New  England  home 
in  the  most  ample  sense,  and  it  is  sad  to  think 
how  fast  these  sunny  homes  are  disappearing 
from  our  country  hill-sides  and  valleys,  and 
that  the  sturdy  virtues  and  generous,  hospitable 
manners,  of  which  these  good  people  were  the 
types,  are  gradually  fading  out  of  our  Ameri- 
can life. 

Mr.  Stearns  had  a  keen  perception  of  wit  and 
humor,  enjoyed  a  good  joke  or  a  laughable 
story  and  could  himself  tell  one  on  occasion. 
Of  this  faculty  the  infirmities  of  age  never  bereft 
him,  and  many  of  his  witty  sayings  and  bits  of 
quiet  satire  and  humor  will  long  be  remember- 
ed among  the  local  traditions  of  the  town. 

Uncle  John  was  not  unmindful  of  the  Scrip- 
tural injunction  to  increase  and  multiply  and  re- 
plenish the  earth.  A  family  of  eight  children 
was  born  to  him,  viz. :  Jane  R.,  Elvira,  D wight 
W.,  Janette,  Franklin,  Newton,  Charles  and 
Ellen.  All  of  them  are  living  ;  all  have  fami- 
lies of  their  own  and  occupy  honorable  and  use- 
ful positions  in  life.  In  the  summer  of  1878 
the  family  circle  was  broken  by  the  death  of 
the  mother,  Mrs.  Stearns,  who  passed  away, 
after  a  lingering  illness,  at  the  ripe  age  of  sev- 


enty-nine years, — a  noble  woman,  who  embodied 
in  herself  the  household  virtues  of  patience  and 
unvarying  kindness,  and  who  was  universally 
respected  and  beloved  by  all   who  knew  her. 

The  death  of  this  faithful  and  devoted  help- 
mate had  a  profound  effect  upon  Mr.  Stearns. 
It  was  a  rending  asunder  the  ties  which  bound 
him  to  this  world.  Already  an  old  man,  he 
gradually  withdrew  more  and  more  from  the 
world  without,  and  for  the  last  year  or  two  of 
his  life  rarely  left  the  old  homestead.  His  final 
sickness  lasted  only  a  few  hours.  He  died 
on  December  2,  1884,  quietly  and  peacefully, 
under  the  roof  that  had  sheltered  him  so  many 
years,  surrounded  by  his  children  and  friends. 

This  sketch  would  be  incomplete  if  we  should 
neglect  to  mention  some  of  the  cotemporaries  of 
John  Stearns, — men  who  were  more  or  less  as- 
sociated with  him  in  town  affairs  and  whose  loss 
Hinsdale  has  been  called  to  mourn  within  the 
last  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

First  of  all,  there  was  William  Haile,  a  na- 
tive of  Chesterfield,  coming  here  a  young  man, 
first  a  merchant  and  later  in  life  a  successful 
manufacturer.  The  town  honored  him,  and 
honored  itself  the  more,  by  sending  him  many 
times  as  its  representative  to  the  General  Court. 
The  Senatorial  District  pressed  upon  him  the 
office  of  State  Senator,  and  the  State  twice  be- 
stowed upon  him  the  highest  honor  within  its 
gift,  in  electing  him  its  Governor.  One  of  the 
most  polished  and  dignified  presiding  officers  in 
the  State,  and  as  a  citizen  identified  with  all  the 
interests  of  the  town  for  many  years,  Hinsdale 
proudly  claims  him  as  her  own,  though  the  last 
years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  a  neighboring 
city. 

"  And  to  add  greater  honors  to  his  age 
Than  man  could  give  him, 
He  died,  fearing  God." 

Next  we  may  mention  Dr.  Frederic  Boyden, 
the  doctor  par  excellence  for  about  a  third  of  a 
century,  later  in  life  a  successful  mill-owner  and 
manufacturer,  but  retaining  his  love  for  his 
chosen  profession  all  his  life  long, — a  man  great- 


374  b 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ly  honored  and  beloved,  and  whose  death,  in  the 
full  maturity  of  his  mental  vigor  and  in  the 
midst  of  his  usefulness,  we  have  never  ceased 
to  deplore. 

Caleb  Todd,  prominently  connected  with 
town  affairs  for  manv  years,  a  man  of  unusual 
personal  presence,  honest  and  firm  in  his  opin- 
ions and  beliefs,  even  though  they  leaned  toward 
the  unpopular  side  ;  who  believed  that  minori- 
ties were  always  in  the  right  and  majorities  al- 
ways in  the  wrong, — a  stately  old  gentleman, 
as  we  remember  him,  who,  by  common  consent, 
was  called  by  the  old-time  title  of  "  the  'Squire." 

Jonathan  Browne,  whom  the  young  men  of 
this  generation  recollect  as  a  man  of  quiet  man- 
ner, moderate  in  speech  and  dignified  in  move- 
ment, who  in  his  time  had  much  to  do  in  shap- 
ing the  affairs  and  guarding  the  interests  of  the 
town. 

Sylvester  Bishop,  the  manufacturer,  a  man 
of  incorruptible  integrity  and  honesty. 

Elihu  Stebbins,  the  courteous  gentleman,  who 
was  also  a  power  in  town  matters  in  his  day 
and  held  many  positions  of  trust,  which  he  fill- 
ed with  fidelity  and  acceptance. 

Oliver  Adams,  who  beneath  a  rough  exterior 
eoncealed  a  heart  as  soft  as  a  woman's,  and  pos- 
sessed a  fund  of  good,  sound  common  sense  and 
integrity,  which  the  young  men  of  to-day  would 
do  well  to  seek  after.  A  farmer,  and  a  good 
former,  before  the  days  of  agricultural  colleges, 
inowing-machines  or  fancy  fertilizers;  he  knew 
how  to  make  farming  pay,  and  he  did  it  by 
steady,  persistent  industry. 

John  Stearns  outlived  all  these  prominent 
men  whom  we  have  briefly  mentioned.  It  was 
pleasant  to  hear  him  in  his  old  age  speak  of 
those  his  associates,  and,  with  a  touch  of  his  old 
humor,  recount  anecdotes  of  their  peculiarities 
as  well  as  their  excellent  traits.  But  there  were 
two  whose  span  of  life  was  lengthened  out  even 
beyond  Mr.  Stearns,  and  whose  deaths  occurred 
within  the  limits  of  1885,  the  year  just  closed, 
who  are  worthy  of  mention  in  the  catalogue  of 
Hinsdale's  influential  men  of  a  past  generation; 
we  refer,  of  course,  to  Henry  Hooker  and  Lewis 
Taylor. 

Henry  Hooker  was  Hinsdale's  oldest  citizen, 
being  ninety-three  years  and  eight    months  old 


at  the  time  of  his  death,  a  descendant  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Hooker,  the  first  pastor  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  and  a  grandson  of  Rev.  John  Hooker, 
of  Northampton.  On  his  mother's  side  a  grand- 
son of  Rev.  Bunker  Gay,  the  first  minister  of 
Hinsdale.  At  ninety,  erect  and  vigorous,  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  punctilious  in  dress 
and  manner,  and  walking  with  an  elastic  step 
that  younger  men  might  well  envy, — a  man  who 
could  look  back  far  enough  through  the  vista  of 
the  past  to  remember  when  Mrs.  Howe  (after- 
wards Mrs.  Toots)  came  in  her  old  age  to  the 
house  of  his  grandfather,  Rev.  Bunker  Gay,  to 
beg  him  to  write  out  the  narrative  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  her  husband  by  the  Indians,  and  the 
details  of  her  captivity  in  Canada;  and  this  story, 
written  in  the  most  terse  and  vigorous  English, 
can  be  found  to-day  in  the  old  "  American  Pre- 
ceptor," a  school-book  which  was  in  use  in  our 
common  schools  early  in  the  present  century. 

Lewis  Taylor,  who  died  later  in  the  year,  de- 
served to  be  classed,  as  he  was,  among  the  best  of 
a  type  of  honest,  God-fearing  men,  such  as  illus- 
trate and  adorn  the  virtues  they  profess.  He 
was  for  more  than  half  a  century  a  power  in 
church  and  town  affairs,  and  his  voice  and  his 
influence  were  always  on  the  side  of  truth  and 
right.  Mr.  Taylor  ever  took  a  great  interest  in 
the  early  history  of  the  Connecticut  and  Ash- 
uelot  Valleys,  especially  the  Indian  traditions, 
and  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that,  before  the 
infirmities  of  age  prevented,  he  did  not  put  on 
record,  in  a  permanent  form,  the  interesting 
facts  and  data  stored  up  in  his  memory. 
As  it  was,  he  contributed  not  a  little  toward 
the  history  of  Northfield,  Mass.,  and,  better  still, 
at  his  own  expense,  he  caused  to  be  erected  the 
marble  monument  which  marks  the  spot  of  the 
encounter  of  his  ancestor,  Sergeant  Taylor,  with 
the  Indians.  By  so  doing  he  has  at  the  same 
time  left  a  monument  for  himself,  which  will 
last  through  the  ages. 

And  so,  with  this  brief  mention  of  the  co- 
temporaries  of  John  Stearns,  we  close  this  imper- 
ii it  sketch.  Will  the  next  generation  emulate 
the  industry,  the  thrift,  the  energy  and  enter- 
prise of  these  men,  who  leave  behind  them  a  re- 
cord of  the  good  old-fashioned  New  England  vir- 
tues which  we  may  well  aspire  to  follow? 


HISTORY   OF    SWANZET. 


BY  COL.  BEXJAMIN   READ. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Swanzey  was  first  settled  under  the  author- 
ity of  Massachusetts.  When  the  first  settlement 
of  the  town  was  made  the  line  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire  had  not  been  es- 
tablished, but  it  was  assumed  by  Massachusetts 
that  the  territory  was  within  its  jurisdiction. 
The  first  authoritative  movement  made,  which 
resulted  in  a  settlement,  was  in  1732.  In 
June  of  this  year  Governor  Belcher,  in  his 
sketch  to  the  Great  and  General  Court  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, recommended  that  care  be  taken  to 
settle  the  ungranted  land.  In  the  House  of 
Representatives  it  was  thereupon  voted  that 
there  be  seven  towns  opened,  of  the  contents  of 
six  miles  square,  and  the  report  located  two  of 
these  seven  towns  on  Ashuelot  River,  above 
Northfield.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1733,  this 
vote  was  concurred  in  by  the  Council  and  con- 
sented to  by  the  Governor. 

October  19,  1733,  Joseph  Kellogg,  Timothy 
Dwight  and  William  Chandler  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  lay  out  forthwith  the  townships 
on  Ashuelot  River  "  unless  they  find  that  by  rea- 
son of  laying  out  the  township  granted  to 
Colonel  Willard  and  others  (Winchester),  the 
land  remaining  at  Ashuelot  River  will  not  well 
serve  for  two  townships,  in  which  case  they  are 
directed  to  lay  out  only  one  on  that  river."  In 
February,  1737,  the  committee  made  a  return 
to  the  General   Court  of  a  "  plot  of  two  town- 


ships, each  of  the  contents  of  six  miles  square, 
situated  on  each  side  of  Ashuelot  River,  above 
the  tract  of  land  lately  granted  to  Colonel  Jo- 
siah  Willard  and  others,  beginning  at  a  spruce 
or  white  pine  tree  standing  about  midway  be- 
tween the  south  and  east  branches  of  said  river, 
about  five  pearch  east  of  the  bank  of  the  main 
river,  and  thence  running  each  way  as  described 
on  the  plot."  The  report  was  accepted  and  the 
lands  contained  in  said  townships  were  declared 
to  lie  in  and  constitute  a  part  of  the  county  of 
Hampshire.  The  line  thus  established  was 
the  dividing  line  between  Upper  Ashuelot  and 
Lower  Ashuelot,  and  since  Upper  Ashuelot 
took  the  name  of  Keene,  and  Lower  Ashuelot 
the  name  of  Swanzey,  this  line  has  continued  to 
be  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  towns. 

To  prepare  the  township  for  settlement,  a 
committee  was  sent  by  Massachusetts  in  May, 
1734,  to  lay  out  sixty-three  house -lots.  The 
first  step  taken  by  the  committee  must  have 
been  to  lay  out  a  street  or  highway.  They 
commenced  on  the  south  side  of  the  South 
Branch,  about  thirty  rods  from  where  it  meets 
the  Ashuelot  River,  and  then  ran  southerly  up 
over  Meeting-House  Hill,  and  then  down  to 
the  west  side  of  the  moat.  The  length  of  this 
highway  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  The 
house-lots  that  were  laid  out  upon  this  road 
were  about  sixteen  rods  in  width,  and  some 
forty  rods  in  length.  Thirty-two  lots  were 
laid  out  upon  the  west  side,  and  thirty- one  upon 

375 


376 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  east  side.  A  few  years  after  the  lots  were 
laid  out  the  south  lots  on  the  east  side  were 
thrown  up  and  two  lots  laid  out  on  the  west 
side  at  the  south  end,  and  several  of  the  centre 
lots  on  the  east  side  were  altered  by  moving 
them  back  a  number  of  rods  in  order  to  lay  out 
on  Meeting-House  Hill  a  piece  of  land-common. 
The  object  of  laying  this  land-common  was  to 
have  a  place  to  set  a  meeting-house,  to  have  a 
burying-ground  and  a  public  common. 

The  design  of  having  sixty-three  house-lots 
was  to  have  sixty  for  actual  settlers,  and  to 
have  one  lot  for  the  first  minister,  one  for  the 
ministry  and  one  for  schools.  After  the  house- 
lots  had  been  laid  out  the  township  was  ready 
for  settlement,  when  sixty  persons  should  pur- 
chase rights  in  the  township,  upon  which  to  set- 
tle themselves  or  to  settle  one  of  their  children. 
A  share  was  one  house-lot  and  one  of  the  sixty- 
three  lots  of  each  division  into  which  all  of  the 
land  in  the  township  was  subsequently  divided. 

The  terms  of  admission  were,  that  each  set- 
tler should  pay  five  pounds  for  a  right ;  that  he 
should  actually  live  on  his  land  within  three 
years  after  his  admission,  and  continue  there  for 
the  space  of  two  years  after  in  person,  and  with 
his  family,  if  such  he  had ;  that  he  should,  with- 
in five  vears  from  his  admission,  build  a  house 
on  his  land  of  eighteen  feet  square  and  seven 
feet  stud  at  the  least,  and  within  the  same  time 
sufficiently  fence  and  till  or  fit  for  mowing  eight 
acres  of  land  ;  and  in  case  any  settler  fail  of 
performance,  his  right  to  be  forfeited,  and  the 
committee  for  admitting  settlers  were  required 
to  take  of  each  at  the  time  of  admission  a  bond 
for  twenty  pounds  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
settlers  in  case  he  should  fail  to  perform  the 
conditions   mentioned. 

The  first  meeting  held  by  those  who  became 
proprietors  of  the  township  was  at  Concord, 
Mass.,  June  27,  1734.  At  this  meeting  Nathan- 
iel Hammond,  of  Littletown,  was  chosen  mod- 
erator ;  Ephraim  Jones,  of  Concord,  clerk  ; 
John  Flint,  of  Concord,  Joseph  Hill,  of  Biller- 
ica,  Thomas  Cutler,  of  Lexington,  Eleazer  Rob- 


bins,  of  Harvard,  and  Nathaniel  Hammond,  of 
Littletown,  were  chosen  to  manage  the  pruden- 
tial affairs  of  the  township. 

The  five  pounds  required  of  each  proprietor 
for  admission  was  to  reimburse  the  province 
the  money  advanced  to  pay  committees  and  the 
expense  of  the  survey  of  the  township  and  the 
house-lots  and  for  building  a  house  of  public 
worship,  or  to  be  used  as  the  General  Court 
should  order. 

The  meeting  of  the  proprietors  that  was  held 
June  27th  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  township  of 
Lower  Ashuelot  September  18th,  at  ten  o'clock, 
forenoon.  This  meeting  was  adjourned  to  eight 
o'clock  the  next  morniug,  to  meet  on  house- 
lot  No.  1. 

The  division  of  the  house-lots  was  made  by 
drawing  lots  for  them.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  the  sixty  proprietors,  and  the  number 
of  the  house-lot  which  each  drew  : 

Josiah  Dival,  1  ;  Thomas  Hapgood,  2 ;  Thomas 
Kendal,  3;  Samuel  Bacon,  4;  James  Heaton,  5;  John 
Haldin,  6;  William  Rogers,  7;  John  Mead,  8;  Jo- 
seph Lee,  9;  Daniel  Brown,  10;  Joseph  Hill,  11; 
James  Wallis,  12;  John  Flint,  for  his  son,  Ephraim 
Flint,  13;  Elnathan  Jones,  14;  Benjamin  Reed,  15; 
Benjamin  Whitney,  17;  Nathaniel  Hammond,  for  his 
son-in-law,  Chamberlain,  18;  James  Houghton,  Jr., 
19;  John  White,  20;  John  Muzzey,  21;  Jonathan 
Prescott,  22;  David  Cutler,  23 ;  John  King,  24;  Jo- 
seph Hill,  Jr.,  25;  Robert  Cumming,  26;  Nathaniel 
Hammond,  27  ;  James  Henry,  28  ;  Thomas  Cutler,  29; 
Hezekiah  Sprague,  30;  Benjamin  Hey  wood,  31  ;  Jon- 
athan Hammond,  by  his  father,  32 ;  Joseph  Haskel, 
33;  Eleazer  Robbens,  34;  William  Whitaker,  35; 
Samuel  Douglass,  36;  Aaron  Lyon,  37;  Benjamin 
Thompson,  38;  Nathaniel  Whitemore,  39;  Thomas 
Kendal,  40;  Timothy  Stearns,  41;  John  King,  42; 
John  Lampson,  43 ;  John  Slorr,  44 ;  John  King,  for 
his  son,  45;  John  Mewharter,  46  ;  Nathaniel  Mattoon, 
49;  Ephraim  Jones,  50;  William  Lyon,  51;  Benja- 
min Farnsworth,  52 ;  Oliver  Wallis,  53 ;  William 
Arms,  54;  Charles  Prescott,  55;  Enos  Goodale,  56; 
John  Taylor,  57  ;  Ebenezer  Conant,  58  ;  William  Carr, 
59;  Thomas  Heaton,  60;  Thomas  Kendal,  61  ;  Sam- 
uel Doolittle,  62;  Gardner  Wilder,  63.  School  lot  was 
16,  ministry  lot,  47;  minister's  lot,  48. 

Some  alterations  were  made  in  the  house-lots 
by  a  committee  chosen  for  that  purpose  in  1739. 


SWANZEY. 


377 


The  following  is  the  report  of  the  committee, 
and  the  plan  of  the  house-lots  after  the  altera- 
tions had  been  made  : 

"  This  Plan  Describeth  the  House  Lotts  in  ye  Lower 
Ashuelot  township  so  called  laid  out  in  part  By  Mr 
Nathaniel  Dwight  in  May  1734  and  since  then  agre- 
able  to  a  vote  of  ye  proprietors  theares  Been  Con- 
siderable alteration  made  in  them  from  ye  Waiey 
they  Were  first  proposed  to  be  Laid  out  by  a  Commit- 
tee chosen  for  that  End  (as  appears  by  this  plan)  by 
Laying  a  peace  of  Land  common  for  seting  up  an 
house  for  publick  worship  &c.  and  bounding  the 
Eastwardly  End  of  ye  Lotts  on  ye  Eastwardly  side  of 
ye  Road  on  ye  second  and  third  Division  Lotts  and 
on  ye  Westerly  side  of  ye  Boad  thears  sum  variation 
made  in  ye  roads  betwen  ye  Lotts  viz  The  Boad  of 
four  Bods  wide  on  ye  south  side  of  ye  Lott  is  added  to 
sd  Lott  in  full  satisfaction  for  ye  Boad  of  four  Bods 
Wide  taken  out  of  ye  north  side  of  ye  Lott  No  25 
which  was  don  by  agreament  of  ye  committee  and 
ye  person  who  is  ye  present  proprietor  (or  owner) 
of  sd  No  31  &  25  and  Likewise  by  a  free  consent  of 
ye  present  owner  of  ye  Lott  No  31  ye  Boad  is  turned 
in  at  ye  North-Eastwardly  Corner  of  it  and  Buns 
somthing  angling  Cross  sd  Lott  Leaving  part  of  it 
on  ye  south  and  south  Eastwardly  side  of  ye  Boad  as 
appears  by  this  plan  Laid  out  in  December,  1733,  by 
Benja  Brown,  surveyor. 

"  Thomas  Cresson,  1 

"  Samuel  Gunn,       J-  Committee." 

"  Benj1  Brown, 

Three  general  divisions  characterize  the  sur- 
face of  Swanzey.  The  largest  division  is  com- 
posed of  that  part  which  is  elevated  above  the 
plains  and  meadows.  It  is  of  granite  forma- 
tion, and  much  of  it  is  quite  uneven,  although 
not  so  much  so  as  to  unfit  a  large  proportion  of 
it  for  farming  purposes.  There  are  many  hills  ; 
some  of  them  are  quite  rugged  and  have  an 
elevation  of  several  hundred  feet  above  the 
adjacent  plains  and  meadows.  Five  of  the 
most  prominent  of  these  elevations  have  been 
designated  mountains.  These  are  Mount  Hug- 
gins,  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town  ;  Mount 
Chaisson,  on  the  west  side  of  Ashuelot  River, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  centre  of  the 
town  ;  Mount  Csesar,  near  the  centre  of  the 
town;  Picket  Mountain,  in  the  southwest  corner 
of  the    town ;   and    Franklin  Mountain,  lying 


south  of  the  Ashuelot  River  and  being  partly 
in  Winchester. 

There  are  many  hundred  acres  of  plain  land. 
The  soil  of  these  plains  is  generally  rather  light 
and  dry,  and  is  not  well  adapted  to  high  culti- 
vation, but  profitable  crops  of  corn,  rye,  oats 
and  buckwheat  have  been  raised  upon  them, 
and  to  some  extent  they  have  been  cultivated 
for  the  hay  crop.  It  is  supposed,  by  many, 
that  the  surface  of  the  plains  was  formed  when 
Ashuelot  Valley  was  a  lake,  and  that  it  was  by 
the  action  of  the  water  of  the  lake  that  the 
material  which  composes  the  surface  of  the 
plains  was  so  finely  distributed  as  is  seen  upon 
our  level  plains. 

The  proportion  of  intervale  and  meadow-land 
to  the  upland  in  Swanzey  is  quite  large,  and 
the  quality  of  the  soil  is  in  marked  contrast. 
At  some  period  large  quantities  of  earth,  com- 
posed largely  of  clay,  were  distributed  over  the 
valley,  which  was  subsequently  covered  by  the 
sand  of  the  plains.  The  sand  formation  that 
covers  the  clay  formation  varies  from  a  few 
inches  to  forty  or  fifty  feet.  In  some  places  the 
clays  come  to  the  surface  upon  the  upland. 
Where  it  does,  the  soil  is  of  excellent  quality. 

Since  the  Ashuelot  Valley  ceased  to  be  a  lake 
the  rivers  have  been  doing  their  work  to  mould 
the  surface  into  its  present  formation.  From 
hundreds  of  acres  the  sand  has  been  removed, 
and  in  many  places  several  feet  of  the  clay 
earths.  The  result  of  these  operations  has 
given  to  the  low  lands  of  the  town,  in  most 
cases,  an  excellent  soil. 

The  effect  of  the  drift  period  is  seen  in  many 
places.  It  is  the  most  noticeable  of  any  place 
in  the  town  at  East  Swanzev. 

The  distribution  of  boulders  from  our  own 
hills  and  mountains,  from  those  in  adjacent 
towns  at  the  north,  and  from  some  mountains  far 
away  have  been  very  profuse.  In  many  places 
they  are  very  thick,  and  many  of  them  quite 
large.  Upon  our  plains  and  meadows  they  are 
not  to  be  seen.  The  great  amount  of  material  dis- 
tributed through  the  valley  since  their  distribu- 


378 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tion  has  buried  them  in  these  places  generally 
entirely  out  of  sight. 

Of  the  forests  of  Swanzev,  at  the  time  the 
township  was  granted,  the  most  extensive  was 
white  pine.  Upon  the  plains  it  was  the  prin- 
cipal timber,  and  it  constituted  a  large  amount 
of  the  timber  upon  the  intervales  and  hill 
lands  and  it  was  generally  of  excellent  quality. 
Hemlock,  next  (o  pine,  was  the  most  abundant. 
Large  numbers  of  these  trees  grew  upon  the 
intervales,  and  many  of  them  were  of  large 
size,  and  upon  the  hill  land  they  constituted  a 
large  part  of  the  timber,  particularly  in  the 
valleys.  Red  oak  was  mingled  amongst  other 
forest-trees  in  most  places.  There  was  much 
good  white-oak  timber  in  the  southwest  part  of 
the  town,  and  in  the  southwest  corner  there 
was  some  chestnut.  The  soil  of  the  intervales 
and  meadow  land  was  congenial  for  the  growth 
of  the  elm.  Many  of  these  trees  upon  these 
lands  were  of  majestic  proportions.  Black- 
birch,  yellow-birch  and  white-birch  were  found 
in  many  places.  The  poplar  was  not  an  un- 
common tree.  Rock-maple  could  not  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  principal  forest-trees,  but 
upon  some  of  the  intervales  and  hills  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  them  were  found  of  good 
size,  and  so  conveniently  together  as  to  make 
good  sugar-orchards.  White-maple  was  more 
widely  diffused  than  the  rock-maple,  but  less 
majestic.  The  shagbark  walnut  grew  in  many 
parts  of  the  town,  particularly  about  the  centre 
and  in  the  westerly  part.  Some  of  the  hills 
were  largely  covered  with  beech.  Hard-pine 
grew  upon  some  of  the  plains,  black-ash  in  the 
swamps,  white-ash  in  some  of  the  valleys 
amongst  the  hills,  where  the  soil  was  rich. 

Of  the  wild  animals,  the  early  settlers  of  the 
town  were  familiar  with  the  bear  and  wolf. 
They  knew  that  occasionally  a  deer,  a  cata- 
mount, a  lynx  was  seen.  Of  the  denizens  of 
tin'  larger  rivers,  they  knew  something  of  the 
habits  of  the  salmon,  the  shad  and  the  lam- 
prey eel. 

The  great  trouble  of  the  early  settlers   were 


the  Indians.  It  was  some  twenty  years  from 
the  time  that  the  first  settlements  were  made 
before  they  could  feel  themselves  not  in  danger 
from  them.  It  is  probable  at  first  they  were 
not  much  apprehensive  of  danger,  but  this  feel- 
ing of  security  could  not  have  been  of  long  du- 
ration. As  early  as  1 738  a  fort  had  been  par- 
tially built  around  Capt  Nathaniel  Hammond's 
house.  November  Gth,  of  this  year,  the  pro- 
prietors voted  that  eighteen  pounds  of  powder 
and  thirty-six  pounds  of  lead  be  purchased  for 
a  reserve  stock.  Subsequently,  the  proprietors 
voted  to  finish  the  fort  around  Captain  Ham- 
mond's house,  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to 
see  to  the  building  of  two  more.  The  com- 
mittee were  directed  to  build  oue  of  the  two 
upon  Meetiug-House  Hill,  and  the  other  around 
John  Evans'  house.  Apprehensions  of  danger 
from  the  Indians  continued  to  increase,  and  by  the 
spring  of  1797  they  had  become  so  grave  that 
it  was  deemed  necessary,  for  the  safety  of  the  in- 
habitants, to  abandon  the  settlement.  Such 
articles  as  could  not  be  taken  away  were  buried 
in  the  ground  or  concealed  that  they  might  es- 
cape destruction  or  being  captured  by  the  Indians. 

To  have  left  the  settlement  under  such  circum- 
stances must  have  been  very  sad.  It  was 
full  ten  years  from  the  time  the  settlement 
was  commenced.  During  this  time  much  hard 
work  had  been  done,  much  land  had  been 
cleared  of  the  heavy  timber  that  was  found 
upon  it,  houses  had  been  built,  roads  had  been 
laid  out  in  different  directions,  and  work  enough 
done  upon  them  to  make  them  useful  in  pass- 
ing to  and  from  the  neighboring  towns  ;  mills 
had  been  built  and  the  building  of  a  school- 
house  had  not  been  neglected.  It  is  traditional 
history  that  only  one  building  escaped  destruc- 
tion by  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 

The  following  list  gives,  as  far  as  has  been 
ascertained,  the  names  of  the  inhabitants  pre- 
vious to  the  abandonment  of  the  township,  with 
the  year  in  which  their  names  first  appeared 
upou  the  records,  and,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  the 
place  from  which  each  came  : 


SWANZEY. 


379 


Nathaniel  Hammond,  Littleton,  Mass.,  1737 ;  Charles 
Lumniis,  Bolton,  Mass.,  1737 ;  John  Evans,  Bolton, 
Mass.,  1737 ;  Samuel  Farnsworth,  1737  ;  Thomas  Cres- 
sou,  Sunderland,  Mass.,  1737 ;  William  Carr,  Deer- 
field,  Mass.,  1737  ;  Samuel  Hills,  Sunderland,  Mass., 
1737 ;  Benjamin  Jethro  Earns,  1737  ;  Benjamin 
Brown,  Concord,  Mass.,  1738 ;  Abraham  Graves,  Hat- 
field, Mass.,  1738 ;  Samuel  Mitehel,  1738 ;  David  Beld- 
ing,  1738;  William  Grimes,  Lancaster,  Mass.,  1738; 
Samuel  Gunn,  Sunderland,  Mass.,  1738;  Nathaniel 
Gunn,  Sunderland,  Mass.,  1738 ;  Ephraim  Jones, 
Concord,  Mass.,  1739 ;  William  Scott,  1739;  Andrew 
Gardner,  1739;  Charles  Armes,  1740 ;  Timothy  Brown, 
Brookfield,  Mass.,  1740;  Thomas  Hammond,  Little- 
ton, Mass.,  1740  ;  Rev.  Timothy  Harrington,  1741 ; 
Jonathan  Hammond,  Littleton,  Mass.,  1741 ;  Nathaniel 
Hammond,  Jr.,  Littleton,  Mass.,  1741 ;  Eliakim  King, 
1743  ;  James  Heaton,  1743  ;  Seth  Heaton,  Wrentham, 
Mass.,  1744;  Joseph  Hammond,  Littleton,  Mass.,  1744  ; 
Samuel  Belding,  1745 ;  Charles  Earns,  1746  ;  Samuel 
Chamberlain,  1746 ;  Samuel  Hills,  Jr.,  Sunderland, 
Mass.,  1746 ;  Timothy  Hammond,  Littleton,  Mass., 
1746. 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  list  of  persons 
who  settled  in  the  township,  that  most  of  those 
who  wera  grantees  did  not  intend  to  settle  in  it. 
They  might  have  become  grantees  to  forward 
the  settlement  of  new  towns,  or  their  motives 
might  have  been  speculative.  The  above  list 
includes  onlv  Nathaniel  Hammond,  Jonathan 
Hammond,  James  Heaton,  Ephraim  Jones  and 
William  Carr,  who  were  original  grantees. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  much 
embarrassed  by  the  result  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  boundary  line  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire.  When  they 
came  here  they  had  no  doubt  but  the  territory 
belonged  to  Massachusetts.  On  the  3d  of 
October,  1740,  they  held  a  meeting  to  consider 
what  should  be  done  to  relieve  them  from  their 
embarrassed  condition.  The  following  extract, 
from  the  records  of  this  meeting,  discloses  the 
general  feeling  of  disappointment : 

"  The  proprietors  being  informed  that  by  ye  Deter- 
mination of  his  majesty  in  Council  Respecting  ye 
Controverted  bounds  between  ye  province  of  ye  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  and  New  Hampshire  they  are  Excluded 
from  this  province  of  ye  Massachusetts  Bay  to  ye  which 
they  always  supposed  themselves  to  belong  therefore 


they  unanimously  voted  that  a  petition  be  presented 
to  ye  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty  setting  fourth  our 
Distressed  Estate  and  praying  we  may  be  annexed  to 
Ye  said  Massachusetts  province  also  unanimously 
voted  that  Thomas  Hutchinson  Esq,  be  impowered  to 
present  ye  said  petition  to  his  Majesty  and  to  appear 
and  fully  to  act  for  and  in  ye  behalf  of  this  town  re- 
specting the  subject  matter  of  said  petition  according 
to  his  best  discretion." 

By  this  establishment  of  the  boundary  line 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  not  only  lost  the 
protection  they  had  a  right  to  claim  from 
Massachusetts,  but  they  also  lost  all  legal  claim 
to  their  lands  vested  in  any  act  of  that  prov- 
ince. In  the  face  of  these  discouragements,  it 
is  little  wonder  that  they  eventually  left  their 
possessions  and  fled  to  their  former  homes  in 
Massachusetts. 

The  exact  time  that  the  settlers  commenced 
to  return  to  the  township  is  not  known.  It  is 
probable  that  it  was  at  the  same  time  that  the 
settlers  commenced  to  return  to  Keene.  The 
proprietors  of  the  two  townships  up  to  this 
time  seem  to  have  moved  simultaneously  in  all 
transactions  connected  with  the  settlement  of 
the  two  townships. 

The  proprietors  of  Upper  Ashuelot  held  their 
first  meeting  at  Concord,  Mass.,  June  26,  1734. 
Those  of  Lower  Ashuelot  held  their  first  meet- 
ing at  the  same  place,  June  27,  1734.  Both  of 
these  proprietors'  meetings  were  adjourned  to 
meet  in  the  respective  townships  the  18th  of  the 
following  September.  The  two  townships  ap- 
pear to  have  been  abandoned  at  the  same  time. 

The  "  Annals  of  Keene  "  contain  the  follow- 
ing: in  relation  to  the  resettlement  of  that  town  : 

"  In  October,  1748,  peace  was  declared  between 
England  and  France.  The  Indians,  however,  con- 
tinued their  depredations  until  June,  1749,  and  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  not  made  with  them  until  Sep- 
tember of  that  year. 

"On  the  restoration  of  peace  the  settlers,  who  had 
been  driven  from  their  lands  by  the  war,  made  prep- 
arations to  return.  The  exact  time  when  Upper 
Ashuelot  was  again  occupied  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. It  was  probably  some  time  in  1750, — cer- 
tainly as  early  as  1751,  as  it  is  within  the  recollec- 
tion of  Thomas  Wells,  now  living,  who  came  to  reside 


380 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


here  in  1752,  that  eight  or  ten  dwelling-houses  had 
been  erected." 

The  settlers  did  not  find,  after  their  return, 
that  they  were  relieved  from  apprehension  of 
dancer  from  the  Indians.  In  1754  the  Indians 
were  engaged  in  capturing  individuals,  destroy- 
ing property  and  causing  a  general  alarm  in  the 
frontier  settlements  in  the  province  of  New 
Hampshire. 

In  1755  armed  laborers  with  a  guard  of 
four  soldiers  went  to  work  in  the  Great  Mead- 
ows. The  soldiers  were  in  advance.  They 
heard  a  rustling  in  the  bushes  and  supposed 
that  it  was  caused  by  a  deer,  and  one  of  the 
soldiers  fired  at  the  spot.  The  noise  proved  to 
have  been  made  by  Indians.  When  the  gun 
was  fired  the  Indians  supposed  they  were  dis- 
covered and  they  fired  at  the  soldiers.  The 
laborers  coming  up,  saw  the  Indians  and  attacked 
them  and  drove  them  to  the  plain  at  the  north. 
An  express  was  instantly  sent  to  Keene  and  a 
party  of  fifteen  men,  under  Captain  Metcalf, 
went  out  to  meet  them.  The  Indians  made 
their  escape.  This  may  have  been  the  last  time 
hostile  Indians  were  seen  in  Swanzey.  The 
place  where  these  Indians  were  discovered  in 
the  meadow  has  been  known  from  that  time  to 
the  present  as  the  Indian  Meadow. 

The  statement  has  been  made  in  some  pub- 
lished works  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Swanzey  lost  their  lives  at  the  hands  of  the  In- 
dians. We  do  not  think  these  statements  are 
well  authenticated.  If  any  one  was  ever  killed 
in  the  town,  or  if  any  inhabitant  of  the  town 
was  killed  when  away  from  the  town,  the  fact 
does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  town  records,  nor 
i-  there  any  traditional  evidence  who  they  were 
or  where  they  were  at  the  time. 

The  only  person  who  is  known  to  Swanzey 
people  to  have  suffered  personal  harm  by  the 
hands  of  the  Indians  was  Thomas  Cresson.  He 
was  born  in  1722,  and  died  in  Swanzey  in  1821, 
lacking  but  a  little  more  than  one  year  of  being 
one  hundred  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
His  father,  Thomas  Cresson,  came  to  Lower 


Ashuelot,  when  his  son  was  a  lad,  from  Sunder- 
land, Mass.  Thomas  Cresson,  Jr.,  went  with 
a  party  from  about  here  for  the  protection  of 
Fort  Dummer,  and  was  captured  near  that  fort 
and  carried  to  Canada.  It  was  some  three  years 
after  his  capture  that  he  was  permitted  to  return. 
A  number  of  persons  are  now  living  who  re- 
member having  seen  Thomas  Cresson  in  his 
old  age. 

It  is  stated  in  Belknap's  "  History  of  New 
Hampshire  "  that  Deacon  Timothy  Brown  and 
one  other  gentleman  was  captured  by  the  In- 
dians, and  it  is  also  stated  in  the  same  work 
that  some  women  and  children  were  captured  in 
Lower  Ashuelot ;  names  not  given.  Belknap's 
history  is  good  authority. 

Lower  Ashuelot  was  granted  by  New  Hamp- 
shire as  Swranzey,  July  2,  175.'},  to  the  fol- 
lowing persons  : 


Nathaniel  Hammond. 
Abraham  Graves. 
William  Grimes. 
Benjamin  Grout. 
Thomas  Cresson. 
Thomas  Cresson,  Jr. 
William  Hill. 
William  Cresson. 
William  Carr. 
Elijah  Graves. 
Samuel  Beldiug. 
Eliakim  King. 
Jonathan  Woodcock. 
Joshua  Graves. 
Abner  Graves. 
David  Belding. 
Timothy  Brown. 
James  Heaton. 
James  Heaton,  Jr. 
William  Heaton. 
Samuel  Hills. 
Nathaniel  Hills. 
J.  Woodcock,  Jr. 
Jonathan  Hammond. 
Thomas  Nutter. 
Ebenezer  Hills. 
John  Prat. 
Timothy  Prat. 
Samuel  Prat. 
Joseph  Hammond. 
Thomas  Hammond. 
Seth  Gay. 


Asa  Grout. 
Daniel  Arms. 
Ebenezer  Arms. 
Nathaniel  Gunn. 
Wyat  Gunn. 
Daniel  Gunn. 
Ebenezer  Sprague,  Jr. 
Ebenezer  Sprague. 
Joseph  Merchants. 
Noah  Bodman. 
Benjamin  Shelding. 
Mark  Ferry. 
Jonathan  Tracey. 
John  Tracey. 
Phinehas  Tracey. 
Jonathan  Arms. 
Jonathan  Bardwell. 
Oliver  Wit. 
Oliver  Hammond. 
Joshua  Prime. 
Joseph  Write. 
Benjamin  Brown. 
Simon  Davis. 
Samuel  McClenon. 
Zebulon  Balord. 
Stephen  Nutter. 
Caesar  Freemau. 
Samuel  Gaylon. 
James  Blood,  Jr. 
Christopher  Grout. 
His    Excellency    B. 
Wentworth,  Esq. 


SWANZEY. 


381 


All  rights  that  were  supposed  to  have  been 
acquired  by  the  proprietors  from  Massachusetts 
were  confirmed  to  them  by  New  Hampshire. 

Previous  to  the  abandonment  of  the  town 
more  than  half  of  the  land  had  been  divided 
among  the  proprietors.  At  a  meeting  held  at 
Concord,  Mass.,  October  9, 1734,  the  proprietors 
voted  to  divide  the  intervale  land  called  the 
Great  meadow,  and  so  much  of  the  intervale, 
on  the  South  Branch,  as  lies  below  Town- 
House  Bridge,  into  sixty-three  lots,  as  equal 
as  practicable  in  area  and  quality,  and  appointed 
Eleazer  Robbins,  Nathaniel  Hammond,  Eph- 
raim  Jones,  Benjamin  Read  and  Nathaniel  Mat- 
toon  as  a  committee  to  make  such  division. 

These  lots  averaged  about  eight  acres  each. 
At  a  meeting  held  at  Concord,  June  11,  1735, 
the  committee  appointed  to  make  this  second 
division  made  their  report  which  was  accepted, 
and  the  proprietors  drew  for  their  shares. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  township  September 
8,  1736,  it  was  voted  to  make  a  division  of 
twenty  acres  of  the  undivided  lauds  to  each 
owner  of  a  house-lot,  and  appointed  Nathaniel 
Hammond,  Nathaniel  Mattoon,  James  Heaton, 
Benjamin  Haywood  and  Peter  Evans  a  com- 
mittee to  make  said  division.  This  called  the 
third  division  of  the  intervale  land,  included 
most  of  the  remaining  intervale  and  meadow 
land  in  the  township.  The  lots  laid  on  the 
South  Branch,  above  where  the  Town -House 
Bridge  now  stands,  were  called  the  South 
Branch  meadows,  those  on  the  Pond  Brook 
the  Poud  Brook  meadows,  those  on  the  Ashue- 
lot  River,  above  West  Swanzey,  the  Mill  mea- 
dows and  those  between  West  Swanzey  and 
Westport  were  called  the  Hyponeco  meadows. 
The  lots  of  the  third  division  were  drawn 
October  27,  1736. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Concord,  March  16, 
1737,  it  was  voted  to  make  a  fourth  division  of 
the  undivided  lands.  These  lots  were  laid  out 
on  the  upland,  about  two-thirds  of  them  being 
between  the  road  which  runs  through  the  centre 
of  the  town    and    the    road    which    runs    from 


West  Swanzey  to  Westport,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river.  The  remaining  third  was  laid  where 
the  road  now  runs  from  Town -House  Bridge  to 
Keene,  and  upon  the  hill  east  of  this  range  of 
lots.  Nathaniel  Hammond,  Benjamin  Read, 
Samuel  Chamberlain,  Ephraiin  Jones  and 
Nathaniel  Mattoon  constituted  the  committee 
for  making  this  division. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  township,  at  the 
house  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Hammond,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1737,  it  was  voted  to  draw  lots  for 
the  fourth  division  shares,  and  that  he  who 
should  draw  No.  1  should  make  his  pitch  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th.  He  who  should 
draw  No.  2  should  make  his  pitch  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  same  day  and  that  this  should  be 
continued,  making  two  pitches  per  day,  until 
the  division  should  be  completed.  In  this  divi- 
sion the  lots  each  contained  about  sixty-five 
acres. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  same  place^  October 
26,  1737,  it  was  voted  to  make  a  fifth  division, 
each  lot  to  contain  one  hundred  acres.  This 
pitch  was  made  in  the  following  manner  :  The 
proprietor  who  drew  the  right  to  make  the  first 
pitch  made  his  selection  in  any  part  of  the  un- 
divided land  he  chose,  and  had  his  land  laid 
out  in  form  to  please  himself  Number  two 
had  the  same  privilege,  and  so  on  in  numerical 
order.  This  resulted  in  farms  being  surveyed 
into  all  conceivable  shapes. 

The  marsh-meadow  lots  must  have  constituted 
the  sixth  division*  These  lots  were  laid  out  in 
good  form.  A  seventh  division,  each  share  to 
contain  fifty  acres,  was  made  February  6,  1760. 
These  shares  were  pitched  in  any  place  and 
in  any  shape  that  the  proprietor  might  choose. 
A  division  of  fifty  acres  was  made  April  18, 
1774.  The  lots  were  pitched  the  same  as  the 
fifth  and  seventh  were.  A  division  of  ten  acres 
was  made  November  11,  1803  ;  a  division  of 
nine  acres  was  made  June  7,  1809,  and  a  divi- 
sion, being  the  last  one,  was  made  May  7, 1 833, 
containing  three  acres.  The  time  that  the  last 
division  was  made  lacked   but  a   little   over  a 


382 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


year  of  one  hundred  years  from  the  time  that 
the  first  proprietors  of  the  township  drew  lots 
for  their  house-lots. 

As  Richmond  was  granted  February  28, 
1752,  it  contained  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  the 
east  of  Swanzey,  that  extended  to  Keene  line, 
that  was  afterwards  known  as  Richmond  Gore. 
December  11,  1762,  this  gore  was  disannexed 
from  Richmond,  and  annexed  to  Swanzey.  The 
length  of  the  west  line  of  this  gore  was  seven 
miles.  The  north  line  ran  on  Keene  thirty 
rods ;  the  east  line  ran  on  Marlborough  and 
Fitzwilliam  six  miles  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  rods  ;  the  south  line,  which  severed  it 
from  Richmond,  was  about  three  miles  and  a 
half  in  length. 

The  original  grant  of  the  township  of  Lower 
Ashuelot,  six  miles  square,  and  the  annexation 
of  Richmond  Gore,  gave  to  Swanzey  all  of  the 
territory  that  the  town  ever  contained.  The 
present  shape  of  the  town  is  owing  to  having 
had  land  included  within  its  bounds  that  had 
been  granted  for  another  township  previous  to 
being  included  within  the  bounds  of  Lower 
Ashuelot,  and  by  having  some  of  its  territory 
taken  to  form  the  town  of  Troy,  by  having 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  annexed  to 
Marlborough,  and  a  small  piece  annexed  to 
Keene. 

Those  who  first  surveyed  Lower  Ashuelot 
could  not  have  been  aware  that  they  in- 
cluded within  its  bounds  a  large  tract  of  land 
that  belonged  to  Winchester.  Winchester's 
claim  was  good,  as  their  grant  was  made  pre- 
vious to  the  grant  of  Lower  Ashuelot.  The 
line,  as  first  run,  extended  six  miles  from  the 
southwest  corner  of  Keene,  south  thirty-nine 
degrees,  west  to  a  corner,  and  thence  east  six 
miles.  One  can  see  by  looking  at  the  map  of 
Swanzey  that  this  survey  carried  the  southwest 
corner  of  Lower  Ashuelot  far  into  Winchester. 
When  Troy  was  incorporated,  in  1815,  a  num- 
ber of  hundred  acres  of  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  Richmond  Gore  was  taken  from  Swanzey 
to  form  that  town.     The  north  end  of  the  gore 


had  previously  been  taken   from    Swanzey  and 
annexed  to  Marlborough. 

The  Richmond  Gore  had  been,  previous  to 
being  annexed  to  Swanzey,  surveyed  into  ranges 
and  lots.  The  lots  contained  about  one  hun- 
dred acres  each.  At  the  time  this  gore  was  an- 
nexed to  Swanzey  but  few,  if  any,  settlements 
had  been  made  upon  it;  but  the  lots  were  taken 
up  and  settlement  made  quite  fast  afterwards. 
Nearly  all  of  the  territory  that  comprises  No. 
9  School  District,  the  East  Swanzey  School 
District  and  the  district  in  the  hollow  was  in 
the  Richmond  Gore. 

The  methods  of  managing  the  municipal 
affairs  of  Lower  Ashuelot  were  very  different 
from  the  present  methods  of  managing  town 
affairs.  Money  was  raised  by  the  proprietors 
to  pay  for  preaching,  for  the  support  of  schools, 
to  build  and  repair  roads  and  bridges,  and  for 
all  municipal  expenses  by  making  an  assess- 
ment equally  upon  the  proprietors'  shares.  It 
made  no  difference  whether  the  proprietor  lived 
in  the  township  or  not,  or  whether  any  part  of 
his  land  had  been  brought  under  cultivation 
and  buildings  erected  upon  it  or  not,  he  had  to 
pay  one-sixtieth  part  of  the  expenses  of  the 
township.  Instead  of  town  officers,  committees 
were  chosen  by  the  proprietors  for  special  pur- 
poses. 

After  the  township  had  been  re-granted  by 
New  Hampshire,  there  was  a  change  of  meth- 
ods. Town-meetings  were  held  and  town  offi- 
cers elected.  From  1753  to  1885  there  has 
been  considerable  change  in  the  expenses  of 
towns,  in  town  officers  and  in  the  duties  of  towus. 
These  changes  may  be  shown  by  copies  of  town 
records. 

The  New  Hampshire  charter  made  the  fol- 
lowing reservations : 

"For  His  Excellency,  Benning  Went  worth,  Esq., 
one  tract  of  land,  to  contain  five  hundred  acres,  one 
whole  share  for  the  Incorporated  Society  for  the  Prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts;  one  whole 
share  lor  the  first  settled  minister  of  the  Gospel  in 
said  Town  ;  one  whole  share  for  a  Glebe  for  the  min- 
istry of  the  Church  of  England  ashy  law  established. 


SWANZEY. 


383 


"  Voted  March  4,  1766,  to  build  a  good  and  suffi- 
cient pound,  thirty-five  foot  square,  in  the  highway 
at  the  end  of  John  Frary's  house. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Swanzey,  legally  met  at  the  meeting-house  in  said 
Swanzey,  on  Tuesday,  the  fifth  day  of  March,  1771, 
the  meeting  being  opened,  Capt.  Joseph  Hammond 
was  chosen  Moderator ;  then  the  meeting  was  ad- 
journed for  the  space  of  half  an  hour  to  meet  at  the 
house  of  Lieut.  Johnathan  Whitcomb.  Re-assembled 
at  the  time  and  place  appointed.  Thomas  Applin 
was  chosen  Town  Clerk  ;  Thomas  Applin,  Samuel 
Hills,  Benjamin  Brown,  David  Elijah  Groves,  chosen 
Selectmen.  Voted,  that  the  Selectmen  be  assessors. 
Caleb  Sawyer  was  chosen  constable  ;  Capt.  Joseph 
Hammond,  chosen  town  treasurer ;  Thomas  Ham- 
mond and  Amasa  Parker,  chosen  tythingmen  ;  Lieut. 
Joseph  Whitcomb,  Joseph  Cummings,  Henry  Morse, 
David  Belding,  Roger  Thompson  and  Benjamin 
Brown,  chosen  surveyors  of  highways ;  Elisha  Scott 
and  Elijah  Belding,  chosen  fence  viewers ;  John 
Starkey,  sen.,  deer-reef;  Wyat  Gunn,  Ebenezer  Hills 
and  Jonathan  Woodcock,  Jr.,  chosen  hogreaves ;  Na- 
than Scott  and  Gardner  Duston,  chosen  field  Drivers; 
Samuel  Belding,  chosen  sealer  of  leather.  Vottd,  to 
accept  of  the  settlement  of  accounts  with  Capt.  Jon- 
athan Hammond  as  treasurer  for  the  years  1768  and 
1769,  as  presented  to  the  town  by  the  selectmen. 

"  Voted,  to  raise  forty  pounds  lawful  money  to 
make  and  repair  road. 

"  Voted,  that  labor  at  the  roads  be  set  at  two  .shil- 
lings and  eight  pence  per  day,  from  the  first  day  of 
Apr.  to  the  first  day  of  Oct,  and  the  rest  of  the  year 
at  two  shillings  per  day. 

"  Voted,  that  swine  may  go  at  large  on  the  common, 
yoked  and  ringed  according  to  law,  from  the  first  of 
Apr.  to  the  last  of  October. 

"  Voted,  to  allow  Mr.  Elijah  Graves  fifteen  shillings 
lawful  money  for  his  services  as  selectman. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Swanzey  in 
the  Providence  of  New  Hampshire,  held  at  the 
meeting-house  in  said  Swanzey,  on  Monday,  the  8th 
day  of  May,  1775. 

"  Voted,  that  Mr.  Samuel  Hills  be  appointed  a  Dep- 
uty to  represent  this  town  at  the  Convention  of  Dep- 
uties proposed  to  be  held  at  Exeter,  on  the  17th  day 
of  this  instant  ;  and  that  he  be  fully  empowered  and 
authorised  in  behalf  of  this  town,  to  join  with  the 
Deputies  of  other  towns  in  addopting  and  pursuing 
such  measures  as  may  be  judged  most  expedient  to 
pursue  to  restore  the  right  of  this  and  the  other  col- 
onies; and  that  he  be  empowered  as  aforesaid,  to  act 
for  the  space  of  six  months  if  the  said  Convention  of 
Deputies  shall  judge  it  to  be  necessary. 


"  Voted,  December  18, 1775,  That  it  is  the  opinion 
of  the  town  that  Colo.  Joseph  Hammond,  Maj. 
Elisha  Whitcomb,  Capt.  Joseph  Whitcomb,  Jr., 
Capt.  Jonathan  Whitcomb,  Mr.  Thomas  Ham- 
mond, Mr.  Benjamin  Brown  and  Lieut.  Daniel 
Warner  be  chosen  a  Committee  of  Safety  agreeable 
to  the  advice  of  the  Continental  Congress',  and  we  ac- 
knowledge them  a  Committee  of  Safety  for  this  town, 
and  we  approve  of  what  they  have  acted  in  that  ca- 
pacity. 

"  Voted,  March  4,  1777,  to  allow  to  Mr.  David 
Belding  twenty  shillings  for  his  time,  trouble  and  ex- 
penses as  a  selectman  last  year,  and  to  Colo.  Ham- 
mond, Thomas  Hammond  and  Elijah  Groves  nine 
shillings  each  for  their  services  as  selectmen  last 
year;  to  allow  Thomas  Applin  twelve  shillings  for  his 
service  as  selectman  last  year. 

"  Voted  at  a  special  town-meeting,  January  22, 1778, 
That  this  town  approves  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion and  perpetual  union  between  the  United  States 
of  America,  as  proposed  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  desire  that  the  same  may  be  ratified  and  con- 
firmed. 

"  Voted,  That  our  Representative  at  the  General 
Court  be  instructed  to  concur  with  the  Representa- 
tives of  the  other  towns  in  this  State  in  appointing 
and  calling  a  full  and  free  representation  of  all  the 
Deputies  in  this  State  for  the  sole  purpose  of  framing 
and  laying  a  permanent  plan  or  system  for  the  future 
government  of  this  State  agreeable  to  a  vote  of  the 
General  Court. 

"  Voted,  May  12,  1778,  To  send  one  man  to  meet 
with  the  Convention  at  Concord,  the  tenth  day  of 
June  next,  and  Calvin  Frink,  Esq.,  was  chosen. 

"  Voted,  March  2,  1779,  To  allow  Calvin  Frink 
twenty-five  pounds  as  a  reward  for  his  services  as 
Delegate  for  the  town  in  the  Convention,  held  at 
Concord,  June  10,  1778." 

A  town-meeting  was  held  May  2,  1781,  "to 
choose  one  or  more  persons,  if  the  town  shall 
think  propper  to  convene  at  Concord  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  June  next  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  forming  and  laying  a  permanent  plan 
or  system  of  government  for  this  State." 

At  this  meeting  Rev.  Edward  Stoddard  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  represent  the  town  in  the 
convention. 

A  town-meeting  was  held  December  31, 1781, 
"  to  see  if  the  town  would  accept  of  the  Con- 
stitution or  form  of  Government  agreed  upon 
by  the  Delegates  of  the  people  of  this  State  in 


384 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Convention,  begun  and  held  at  Concord  on  the 
second  Tuesday  of  June  last." 

The  question  was  put,  "  whether  the  voters 
present  do  accept  of  the  Constitution  or  plan  of 
Government  as  it  has  now  been  read?" 

Thirty-one  voted  to  accept  it;  five  declined 
voting  either  way,  three  of  whom  declared 
they  had  not  perused  it  sufficiently  ;  two  said 
they  did  not  know  whether  they  belonged  to 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire  or  Vermont,  and 
one  objected  against  one  article,  viz.,  respecting 
the  governor,  that  no  man  shall  be  eligible  as 
governor  more  than  three  years  in  any  seven. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  May  28,  1783, 
seventy-three  voters  were  present,  and  voted  on 
reconsidering  the  Constitution  or  plan  of  gov- 
ernment. Fifty-eight  voted  to  accept  the  Con- 
stitution as  it  stood  ;  fifteen  voted  not  to  accept 
it  without  alteration. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  October  6,  1783,  it 
was  "voted,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  town 
that,  with  respect  to  the  proposed  alteration  of 
the  eighth  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  that  each  State  ought  to  be  taxed 
according  to  the  wealth  of  each  State ;  but 
whether  numbering  the  persons  or  taking  the 
value  of  the  land  according  to  any  mode  of 
valuation  that  is  practicable  be  the  best  way  to 
ascertain  the  wealth  of  each  State  we  are  by  no 
means  able  to  determine,  and  do  therefore  con- 
fide in  the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State,  to  act  as  they  shall  think 
most  just  and  equitable." 

Thomas  Applin,  Calvin  Frink  and  Aaron 
Parsons  were  chosen  a  committee  to  draft  in- 
structions to  the  delegate  in  the  General  Court. 

The  first  town-meeting  held  in  Swanzey  un- 
der the  Constitution,  which  had  been  adopted, 
was  held  March  2  1 7.S4.  The  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  State  under  this  Constitution  was 
stvled  a  President.  The  town  officers  elected  at 
this  meeting  were:  Moderator,  Samuel  Hills ; 
town  clerk,  Calvin  Frink ;  selectmen,  Isaac 
Hammond,  David  Belding,  Jr.,  and  Benjamin 
Hammond. 


Of  the  votes  given  for  a  president  of  the 
State,  Meshech  Weare  had  10 ;  George  Atkin- 
son, 21  ;  John  Sullivan,  2.  Of  the  votes  given 
for  two  senators  for  Cheshire  County,  Thomas 
Applin  had  14;  Daniel  Newcombe,  2;  Calvin 
Frink,  27  ;  John  Bellows,  5 ;  Simeon  Olcot,  5 ; 
Benjamin  Bellows,  1. 

"  Voted  at  this  meeting  to  grant  forty-eight  shillings 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Goddard  as  a  reward  for  his  services  as  a 
member  of  the  late  Convention  for  forming  a  Consti- 
tution for  this  State. 

"  Voted,  to  grant  Capt.  Samuel  Hills  fifteen  shillings 
as  a  reward  for  his  services  as  a  member  of  the  afore- 
said Convention. 

"Voted,  March  1,  1775,  to  raise  twelve  pounds  for 
the  purpose  of  trimming  the  burying  ground. 

"  Voted,  March  7,  1786,  to  raise  £4  13s.  lp.  to  com- 
plete the  fencing  of  the  burying  ground." 

At  a  legal  meeting  held  October  30,  1786,  a 
plan  for  emitting  paper  money  by  the  General 
Court  was  read.  The  vote  was  unanimous 
against  approving  the  measure. 

A  committee  was  chosen  for  suggesting  al- 
terations in  the  plan,  consisting  of  Roger 
Thompson,  William  Grimes,  Wyman  Richard- 
son, Abraham  Randall,  Elisha  Whitcomb, 
David  Belding,  Jr.,  and  Ebenezer  Hills.  No- 
vember 13,  1786,  the  committee  made  the  fol- 
lowing report : 

"  That  twenty  thousand  dollars  be  emitted  on  the 
same  plan  that  the  General  Court  proposed  to  emit 
the  ten  thousand  pounds,  with  the  addition  to  have  it 
a  tender  for  all  debts  due  in  this  State  and  in  lieu  of 
the  forty  thousand  pounds  that  the  General  Court 
proposed  to  emit  on  land  security  that  the  State  notes, 
be  called  in,  and  the  holder  in  lieu  of  said  notes  to 
receive  certificates  of  the  same  sum,  in  lieu  of  the 
same  so  that  the  interest  of  said  notes  may  cease,  and 
the  certificates  to  be  received  in  all  out  standingtaxes, 
seventeen  voted  in  favor  of  the  report,  and  two 
against  it." 

A  town- meeting  was  called  December  4, 
1780: 

"  To  see  if  the  town  would  agree  with  some  person 
to  pay  the  last  State  tax  required  to  be  paid  in  facili- 
ties by  the  first  of  January  next,  and  repay  such  per- 
son or  persons  in  cattle  or  any  other  way  they  shall 
agree. 


SWANZEY. 


385 


"  Voted,  That  the  selectmen  be  impowered  to  agree 
with  Mr.  Nathan  Capron  who  has  undertaken  to  pay 
said  tax  for  the  town 

"  Voted,  That  the  selectmen,  together  with  Maj. 
Elisha  Whitcomb,  Maj.  Jonathan  Whitcomb,  Lut. 
Samuel  Wright  and  Mr.  David  Belding,  Jr.,  be  a 
committee  to  examine  into  the  requests  of  several 
constables  representing  such  assesments  in  their 
hands  against  such  persons,  as  they  have  not  had  op- 
portunity to  collect  and  make  such  an  adjustment 
and  abatement  to  such  constables  as  they  shall  judge 
equetable." 

The  foregoing;  votes  show  the  financial  con- 
dition  of  the  town  at  that  period.  The  war 
for  Independance  had  been  successfully  prose- 
cuted and  Independence  achieved,  but  there  had 
been  no  well-matured  plans  adapted  for  a 
State  or  for  a  General  Government.  The  fi- 
nances of  the  country  were  in  a  deplorable 
condition,  taxes  were  heavy  in  consequence  of 
the  war,  the  people  were  without  money,  and  to 
pay  their  taxes  was  almost  an  impossibility. 

"  Voted  March  5,  1793,  That  each  man  be  allowed 
four  pence  per  hour  for  each  hours  actual  labor  at 
the  highways,  and  two  pence  per  hour  for  a  plough, 
two  pence  per  hour  for  each  yoke  of  oxen,  and  one 
pence  per  hour  for  every  cart  used  at  said  highway. 

"  Voted,  To  allow  Mr.  Moses  B.  Williams  six  shil- 
lings for  warning  sundrey  persons  out  of  town." 

It  appears  to  have  been  lawful  at  this  time 
for  towns  to  refuse  a  settlement  to  such  persons 
as  they  thought  might  be  likely  to  become  a 
public  charge. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  March  5,  1793, 
the  following  subject  was  taken  into  considera- 
tion : 

"  Whereas,  Mr.  John  Harvey  and  others,  inhabi- 
tants of  Swanzey,  have  requested  said  town  that  they 
would  vote  that  they  and  their  land  may  be  annexed 
to  the  town  of  Marlborough,  representing  they  live 
much  more  convenient  to  Marlborough  Meeting- 
House  than  Swanzey,  &c. 

"The  town  having  considered  of  the  said  request, 
think  the  same  to  be  reasonable  therefore. 

"  Voted,  That  Messrs.  John  Harvey,  Kember  Har- 
vey and  Samuel  Stearns,  and  the  land  whereon  they 
dwell,  and  the  land  belonging  to  Mr.  Timothy  Har- 
vey be  set  off  from  the  town  of  Swanzey  and  annexed 


to  the  town  of  Marlborough,  said  tract  of  land  lies  in 
the  northeastwardly  part  of  said  Swanzey  and  is  the 
most  northwestwardly  part  of  that  gore  of  land  which 
was  set  off  from  Richmond  to  Swanzey,  and  is  as 
follows,  viz:  Beginning  at  a  heap  of  stones,  being  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  town  of  Keene,  then  runs  on 
said  Keene  west  8  degrees  north,  32  rods  to  the  old 
corner  of  Swanzey,  then  runs  south,  34  degrees  west 
on  Swanzey  old  line  418  rods  to  a  white  pine  tree, 
then  runs  east  20  degrees,  30  minutes;  south  on  com- 
mon land  212  rods  to  a  stake  and  stone  in  the  patent 
line,  then  runs  on  the  patent  line  north  9  degrees,  30 
minutes  east,  418  rods  to  the  first  mentioned  corner 
containing  three  hundred  and  five  acres." 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  March  13, 1832, 
the  followiug  was  part  of  the  business  trans- 
acted. 

"  Voted,  To  provide  each  soldier  with  ]  pound 
powder  on  muster  day. 

"  Voted  to  hold  the  next  annual  meeting  at  the 
Baptist  meeting-house." 

The  collecting  of  all  the  taxes  to  be  assessed  in 
the  town  of  Swanzey  the  ensuing  year  was  then 
set  up  at  public  auction  to  be  struck  off  to  the 
lowest  bidder  be  to  produce  bonds  to  the  accept- 
ance of  the  selectmen  for  the  payment  of  the 
same  into  the  state,  county  and  town  treasuries 
as  directed  by  the  Statesmen,  and  also  to  make 
a  full  statement  with  the  town  treasurer  ten 
days  before  the  annual  town  meeting  in  March, 
1833,  or  to  receive  nothing  for  his  services  as 
collector  for  said  year,  and  they  were  struck  off 
to  Jonathan  Whitcomb,  he  being  the  lowest 
bidder,  for  the  sum  of  $28.00,  after  which  the 
said  Whitcomb  withdrew  his  bid  when  they 
were  again  set  up  on  the  same  conditions  as  at 
first  and  struck  off  to  Israel  Brown,  he  being 
the  lowest  bidder,  for  the  sum  of  $18.15. 

The  following  report  shows  the  expenses  of 
the  town  for  the  year  prior  to  March  13, 1832  : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  have  carefully  re-examined 
the  books,  receipts  and  orders  of  the  past  year  and 
find  the  receipts  into  the  treasury  exactly  as  reported 
at  the  annual  meeting,  on  the  13th  instant,  and  we 
also  present  a  more  definite  report  of  the  disburse- 
ments from  the  treasury  than  was  made  at  said  meet- 
ing,— 


386 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Paid  for  support  of  poor $244  62 

for  schooling 673  61 

repair  of  Slate  Bridge 81  87 

Plank  for  other  Bridges 39  24 

on  account  of  Small  Pox 22  75 

Non-Resident  Highway 00  00 

Taxes  worked  out 17  57 

Eunice  Graves 15  26 

a  Note  for  Blodget  Place 38  50 

muster  expenses  &  Powder 51  79 

Selectmen 54  91 

Sup.  School  Committee 15  26 

outstanding  school  Order 40  38 

other  outstanding  Orders 62  71 

Incidental  Charges 61  76 

Cash  in  Treasury 133  77 


Total $1,553  98 

"Out  standing  orders  at  the  time  of  settlement, 
$20.51,  which,  deducted  from  the  money  on  hand  in 
the  treasury,  will  leave  a  balance  of  $113.26. 

"  Elijah  Sawyer,  1    Selectmen 

"  Joseph  Woodward,     -        of 
"  Bexjamix  Hamblet,  J     Swanzey. 

"  We,  the  undersigned  committee,  appointed  at  the 
last  annual  meeting  to  examine  the  selectmen's  ac- 
count of  money  expended  the  last  year,  have  attended 
to  the  business  assigned  us  and  report  that  the  above 
statement  of  the  selectmen  we  find  to  be  correct,  and 
not  varying  materially  in  the  sum  total  from  their 
first  report.  Their  disbursements  are  in  the  present 
report  more  regularly  classed,  and  we  cheerfully  give 
our  sanction  to  the  same,  all  which  is  submitted  by 

"  James  Henry. 

"  Amos  Bailey. 

"  Ephraim  K.  Frost." 

At  a  town  meeting  held  November  5,  1832, 
to  vote  for  electors  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  Jackson  elec- 
tors had  197  ;  opposition,  116. 

Vote  for  electors,  November  7,  1836 : 
A"an  Buren  electors  had  139  ;  opposition,  45. 

At  this  meeting,  November  7th,  the  sense  of 
the  voters  was  taken  upon  the  State  making  an 
appropriation  for  an  insane  hospital ;  twenty-five 
voted  in  favour  of  the  measure  and  seventy-six 
against  it. 

The  following  action  was  taken  by  the  town 
upon  the  division  by  the  State  of  the  surplus 


revenue  divided  by  the  United  States  between 
the  States. 

"  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  Cheshire,  Ss. 

"To  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Swanzey,  in  the 

county  of  Cheshire,  in  said  State,  qualified  to  vote  in 

town  affairs 

"  Greeting 

"  You  are  hereby  notified  and  warned  to  meet  at 
the  old  meeting-house  in  said  Swanzey  on  Saturday, 
the  twenty-fifth  day  of  February,  1837,  at  one  o'clock 
P.M.,  to  act  upon  the  following  subject : 

"To  see  if  the  town  will  vote  to  receive  their  share 
of  the  surplus  money. 

"  To  see  if  the  town  will  choose  an  agent  to  take 
the  charge  of  said  money. 

"To  see  what  disposition  shall  be  made  of  the 
money." 

At  the  meeting  held  in  pursuance  of  the  fore- 
going warrant  the  town — 

"  Voted,  To  receive  said  surplus  money,  112  voting 
in  favour  and  86  against. 

"  Voted,  To  choose  an  agent  to  obtain  and  loan  said 
money. 

"  Voted,  That  Elijah  Carpenter  be  our  agent  for  the 
above  purpose,  and  that  he  loan  said  money  in  sums 
not  exceeding  $300.00,  nor  less  than  $50.00  giving  the 
town  of  Swanzey  the  preference  and  report  his  doings 
annually  at  the  March  meetings  and  voted  said  Car- 
penter be  our  agent  during  the  pleasure  of  the  town. 

"  Voted,  at  the  annual  meeting  for  1838  that  Elijah 
Carpenter  agent  for  said  town  to  loan  money  of  the 
surplus  revenue  pay  the  interest  arising  thereon  into 
the  town  treasury,  taking  said  treasurer's  recept 
therefor." 

At  the  Presidential  election  in  1840  the  Van 
Buren  electors  received  244  votes ;  the  Harrison 
electors,  143 ;  the  Birney  or  Abolition  electors, 
1 .  The  one  vote  was  the  first  vote  ever  cast  at 
a  Presidential  election  against  slavery  in  the 
town.  It  was  cast  by  John  Withington,  an  old, 
stanch  Democrat.  Mr.  Withington  bad  be- 
come convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  vote 
against  slavery,  and  what  he  conceived  to  be  his 
duty  to  do  he  would  do  it.  The  feeling  against 
political  action  at  that  time  was  very  strong,  by 
both  Whigs  and  Democrats.  The  Presidential 
election  that  year  in  Swanzey   was  probably  the 


SWANZEY. 


387 


most  exciting  one  ever  held  in  the  town.  Nearly 
every  voter  in  town  voted. 

At  the  Presidential  election  in  1844,  James 
K.  Polk  electors  had  211  votes;  Henry  Clay 
electors,  81  ;  James  S.  Birney  electors,  33.  At 
this  election  the  town  voted  upon  the  question 
of  abolishing  capital  punishment, — 111  voted  in 
favor,  184  against. 

"Voted,  March  12,  1850,  to  repair  the  old  meeting- 
house for  a  town -house.  Chose  Amos  Bailey,  David 
and  Lyman  Parker  a  committee  to  make  the  repairs. 

"  Voted,  That  the  committee  expend  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

The  repairs  made  consisted  in  taking  off  the 
belfry  on  the  west  end,  the  porch  on  the 
east  end,  taking  out  the  galleries,  taking  out  the 
pews  and  the  windows,  cutting  down  the  house 
several  feet,  putting  in  a  new  set  of  windows, 
finishing  the  inside  and  painting  the  outside. 

The  votes  cast  for  Presidential  electors,  No- 
vember 2,  1852,  were  as  follows :  Franklin 
Pierce  electors,  232;  Winfield  Scott  electors, 
57  ;  Free-Soil  electors,  62. 

The  twelfth  article  in  the  warrant  for  the  an- 
nual town-meeting,  1854,  was 

"  To  see  what  measures  the  town  will  take  to  pre- 
vent the  setting  off  a  part  of  Swanzey  to  Keene.  Upon 
this  article  the  town 

"  Voted,  That  our  Representatives  be  and  are  hereby 
empowered  and  authorized  to  employ,  if  they  think 
it  to  be  necessary,  and  engage  council  to  defeat  the 
petitioners  in  their  attempt  to  be  severed  from  Swan- 
zey and  annexed  to  Keene." 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  1855,  the  town 

"  Voted,  That  the  Representatives  be  instructed  to 
use  all  means  in  their  power  to  prevent  Swanzey  Fac- 
tory Village  from  being  set  off  to  Keene  and  employ 
council  if  necessary." 

The  vote  for  Presidential  electors  the  first 
Monday  in  November,  1856,  was  as  follows: 
Buchanan  electors,  229;  Republican  electors,  — ; 
Whig  electors,  2. 

The  votes  for  Presidential  electors,  Novem- 
ber 6,  1860,  were  as  follows :  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin  electors,  214 ;  Douglass  and  Johnson 


electors,  195  ;  Breckenridge  and  Lane  electors, 
18  ;  Bell  and  Everett  electors,  1. 

The  votes  for  Presidential  electors,  November 
8,  1864,  were  as  follows  :  McClellan  and  Pend- 
leton, 260  ;  Lincoln  and  Johnson,  154. 

Daring  the  Rebellion  the  town  contracted  a 
large  debt  to  meet  the  requirement  of  the  war. 
The  money  was  principally  used  to  pay  bounties. 
At  the  commencement  soldiers  were  obtained  for 
small  bounties,  but  as  the  war  continued  it  be- 
came more  difficult  to  obtain  them,  and  large 
bounties  were  paid  by  the  town.  In  1864  as 
high  as  one  thousand  dollars  was  paid  for  three 
years'  men,  and  five  hundred  dollars  for  one 
year. 

The    financial    condition   of  the    town,  Feb- 
ruary   17,  1866,  is   shown   by   the   report   of 
the  selectmen  as  made    out  at   that  time,  and  it 
also  shows  the   sources  from  which   the   loans 
were  obtained, — 

Note  at  savings-bank,  Keene $1,000.00 

Note  at  savings-bank,  Keene 6,000.00 

Note  at  savings-bank,  Keene 2,000.00 

John  W.  Starkey's  note 500.00 

John  W.  Starkey's  note 300.00 

Nathan  Winch's  note 1,562.00 

Enoch  Howes'  note 1,400.00 

A.  &  J.  Holbrook's  note 750.00 

Lewis  Carpenter's  note 500.00 

A.  Kingsbury's  note  500.00 

Mrs.  Almira  Hewes'  note 50.00 

F.  C.  Whitcomb's  note 175.50 

J.  D.  Ware's  note 350.00 

C.  Dodger's  note 300.00 

Alvin  Starkey's  note 4,200.00 

Emma  Cass'  note 300.00 

William  H.  Knight's  note 200.00 

John  Withington's  note 130.00 

Luke  Ellors'  note 107.00 

John  Starkey's  note 300.00 

Almira  Sawyer's  note 75.00 

Note  at  savings-bank,  Keene 2,000.00 

Benjamin  Pierce's  note 7,000.00 

John  Starkey's  note 500.00 

Miss  R.  Williams'  note 50.00 

Congregational  Society's  note 120.00 

A.  Kingsbury's  note 1,500.00 

D.  R.  Marshal's  note 300.00 

Note,  Calvin  Bryant's  estate 1,000.00 


3S8 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Note,  Calvin  Bryant's  estate 100.00 

Charles  Howard's  note 600.00 

Mrs.  Hannah  J.  Clark's  note 300.00 

C.  Whitcomb  &  Co.'s  note 10,000.00 

Baley  Corlis'  note 250.00 

J.  N.  Forrestall's  note 350.00 

Note  to  Aaron  Dickinson's  estate...  380.00 

Francis  Cook's  note 1,000.00 

Mrs.  C.  R.  Harris'  note 1,000.00 

Eenry  S.  Applin's  note 300.00 

Marshall  Rixford's  note 3,000.00 

Zadock  L.  Taft's  note 500.00 

Asahel  W.  Dunton's  note 500.00 

Francis  Hill's  note 198.35 

G.  G.  Willis'  note 1,000.00 

Martha  L.  Graves' note 250.00 

F.  C.  Whitcomb's  note 75.00 

Noah  Youngman's  note 500.00 

Ahas  Cass'  note 100.00 

Zadock  L.  Taft's  note 300.00 

Lyman  Holbrook's  note 125.00 

Mrs.  Lucy  A.  Taft's  note 326.00 

Mrs.  Maranda  J.  Holbrook's  note...  75.00 

Ahas  Cass'  note 200.00 

Charles  Marsh's  note 100.00 

Lewis  Carpenter's  note 600.00 

Lemuel  O.  Hunt's  note 400.00 

Edward  Dickinson's  note 450.00 

Clark  H.  Houghton's  note 500.00 

Roswell  Whitcomb's  note 290.41 

Wheeler  &  Falkner's  note 179.97 

O.  E.  Parson's  note 300.00 

Josiah  Parson's  note 300.00 

Mrs.  Susannah  Bryant's  note 100.00 

David  Pelkey'snote 300.00 

Mrs.  ArvillaS.  Wilber's  note 70.00 

Mrs.  Arvilla  S.  Wilber"s  note 350.00 

Lewis  H.  Hunt's  note 500.00 

Zadock  L.  Taft's  note 150.00 

Note,  Calvin  Bryant's  estate 160.00 

George  W.  Eastman's  note 300.00 

Willard  Adams' note 400.00 

Orrin  F.  Oakman's  note 100.00 

Mrs.  H.  Wetherill's  note 100.00 

Mrs.  Silence  Starkey's  note 150.00 

Arza  Higgins'  note 150.00 

E.  O.  AVhitcomb's  note 200.00 

J.  C.  Webber's  note 60.00 

S.  W.  Falkner's  note 100.00 

J.  C.  Webber's  note 102.00 

L.  R.  Starkey's  note 300.00 

D.  M.  Harris'  note 50.00 

Henry  Abbott's  note 300.00 


Alvin  Starkey's  note 2,000.00 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  Partridge's  note 250.00 

Mrs.  Christian  Marble's  note 250.00 

Mrs.  Sarah  Willis'  note 295.00 

Estimated  due  town-officers  for  1865      800.00 
Estimated  interest  due  on  notes 850.00 

Amount #04,494.56 

Minus  indorsements 572.70 

$63,921.86 

Assets. 

Cash  in  the  treasury $3,386.53 

In  the  collector's  hands 1,716.83 

Due  from  State,  soldiers'  aid 925.77 

Due  from  the  county  for  the  suit- 
port  of  N.  J.  Underwood 214.60 

Due  from  general  government  boun- 
ties for  nine  men 2,160.00 

$8,403.73 

Total  amount  of  liabilities $63,921.86 

Total  amount  of  assets $8,403.73 

Indebtedness  of  the  town,  Febru- 
ary 17,  1866 $55,518.13 

February  16,  1867 55,011.28 

February  17,  1868 55,112.16 

February  17,  1869 55,092.50 

March  1,  1870 54,137.45 

March  1,  1871 49,443.14 

March  1,  1872 47,356.12 

March  1,  1873 33,429.37 

The  town  had  received,  previous  to  the 
time  the  foregoing  report  was  made,  twelve 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dol- 
lars from  the  State,  being  the  town's  proportion 
of  the  amount  assumed  of  the  town's  debts. 

Indebtedness  of  the  town,  March 

1,  1874 $28,812.88 

March  1,  1875 25,349.85 

March  1,  1876 22,806.89 

March  1,  1877 20,382.31 

March  1,  1878 17,369.99 

March  1,  1879 14,594.05 

March  1,  1880 11,318.74 

March  1,  1881 9,370.73 

March  1,  1882 6,431. 64 

March  1,  1883 3,208.40 

March  1,  1884 1,774.17 

Probably  there  was  about  as  mauy  farmers 
in  Swanzey  in  1800,  as  there  has  been  at 
any    one    time    in    its     history.     In    a    large 


SWANZEY. 


389 


number  of  places  where  there  is  an  old  cellar- 
hole,  there  was  at  that  time  a  small  house  owned 
by  an  industrious  farmer,  who  by  hard  work 
was  clearing  up  his  land  and  was  supporting  a 
large  family.  There  was  at  this  time  a  consider- 
able amount  of  travel  through  the  centre  of  the 
town.  Much  of  the  travel  from  Cheshire 
County  and  V.ermorit  going  to  Boston  took  this 
route.  This  travel  consisted  largely  of  farmers 
going  to  Boston  to  dispose  of  some  of  the  sur- 
plus products  of  their  farms.  This  travel  was 
sufficiently  large  as  to  make  it  an  object  for 
some  of  the  farmers  to  keep  public-houses.  One 
of  these,  which  was  quite  a  noted  one,  was  on 
the  hill  in  that  part  of  Swanzey  which  was 
taken  in  1815  to  form  the  town  of  Troy. 
Other  public-houses  were  kept  at  the  Centre. 

It  was  the  custom  of  large  numbers  of  the 
farmers,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  or  in  the  early 
winter,  to  make  up  a  load  from  the  products  of 
the  farm,  together  with  some  articles  that  had 
been  made  by  the  wife  or  daughters,  and  go 
himself  to  Boston  and  market  them,  and  make 
purchases  of  some  of  the  principal  articles  that 
would  be  needed  the  coming  year.  Large  num- 
bers of  these  loads  were  drawn  by  a  single 
horse,  some  would  make  up  a  load  for  two 
horses,  and  in  some  cases  oxen  were  brought 
into  requisition.  These  loads  were  largely  made 
up  of  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  pork,  a  few 
tubs  of  butter,  a  number  of  cheeses,  a  box  or 
two  of  poultry,  a  web  of  frocking  and  a  piece 
of  flannel.  The  return  load  would  consist  of 
a  few  bushels  of  salt,  a  few  gallons  of  rum,  a 
few7  gallons  of  molasses,  a  few  pounds  of  tea,  a 
jack-knife  for  each  of  the  boys,  and  a  piece  of 
goods  to  make  the  wife  a  dress  and  some 
trinkets  for  the  girls. 

This  method  of  the  farmers  was  not  very  ad- 
vantageous to  the  country  trader,  but  still  it  left 
some  business  for  him,  and  this  business  con- 
sisted almost  entirely  of  taking  in  farm  pro- 
ducts in  exchange  for  goods,  and  sending  these 
goods  to  a  distant  market  to  exchange  for  new 
stock  of  goods. 


Mills,  both  saw-mills  and  grist-mills,  were 
regarded  as  a  prime  necessity  at  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  settlement  of  the  town. 

The  following  extract  from  a  proprietors' 
meeting  of  March  16,  1737,  testifies  that  the 
subject  of  building  necessary  mills  was  early 
entertained  : 

"  Voted  That  two  hundred  acres  of  land  adjoining 
the  Upper  Great  Falls  in  the  Great  River,  to  lay  as 
conveniently  as  may  be  to  said  falls  be  laid  out  to 
Ephraiin  Jones  his  heirs  and  assigns  at  his  or  their 
cost  upon  condition  that  he  the  said  Jones  his  heirs 
and  assigns  at  his  or  their  cost  upon  condition  that 
he  the  said  Ephraim  Jones  his  heirs  and  assigns  shall 
build  a  good  saw-mill  at  said  falls  on  or  before  the 
15th  day  of  August  next  and  maintain  it  ten  years 
at  least  and  to  saw  for  and  sell  boards  to  the  proprie- 
tors, at  the  same  price  they  generally  do  at  other 
places  said  land  to  be  laid  out  by  the  committee  and 
surveyor  which  shall  be  chosen  to  lay  out  the  next 
division  of  land  to  include  said  fall  reserving  free 
liberty  for  the  setting  up  of  a  grist-mill  at  said  place 
when  the  proprietors  shall  think  it  necessary.  H  the 
said  Ephraim  Jones,  his  heirs  or  assigns  (who  are  to 
have  the  liberty  before  any  other)  shall  decline  it, 
and  if  at  the  end  of  said  ten  years,  or  any  time  for- 
ward the  said  Jones,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  shall  neglect 
or  refuse  to  keep  up  and  maintain  a  saw-mill  at  said 
place  then  the  privilege  and  conveniency  for  a  saw- 
mill at  said  place  to  revert  to  the  proprietors." 

The  saw-mill  was  built  by  Jones,  and  there 
can  be  little  doubt  but  that  he  subsequently 
built  a  grist-mill  at  the  same  place.  These 
mills  stood  a  few  rods  below  the  site  of  the 
present  mills  at  West  Swanzey.  They  shared 
the  fate  of  the  other  buildings  of  the  township 
at  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  Before  the 
township  was  resettled  after  its  abandonment, 
and  there  was  propriety  in  rebuilding  mills  at 
this  site,  Mr.  Jones  had  died,  and  mills  have 
never  been  built  at  that  site. 

Previous  to  1760,  Captain  Joseph  Whiteonib 
had  taken  up  his  residence  at  West  Swanzey. 
He  had  five  sons.  Some  of  these,  if  not  all, 
came  with  their  father.  They  all  became  in- 
habitants of  the  town.  Captain  Whitcomb 
and  sons  obtained  four  acres  of  the  two  hundred 
acres  on  the  west  side  of  the  falls,  and  erected 


390 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  saw  and  grist-mill,  where  the  woolen-mill 
now  stands.  In  1800  these  mills  had  been 
supplying  the  farmers  with  manufactured 
lumber,  and  grinding  their  grain  for  forty 
years. 

On  June  1,  1759,  David  Belding,  Elisha 
Scott,  Joshua  Graves  and  Abner  Graves  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  fifty  acres  of  land  at  Factory 
village,  in  consideration  that  they  build  at  that 
place  a  saw  and  grist-mill  within  two  years, 
and  keep  the  mills  in  good  repair  for  ten  years 
and  do  work  for  customary  prices.  They  ob- 
tained from  the  proprietors  of  Keene  the  right 
to  take  the  water  from  the  East  Branch,  through 
a  canal,  to  furnish  the  water-power  for  their 
mills. 

John  Whitconib  and  sons  built  the  first  saw 
and  grist-mill  at  East  Swanzey,  in  about  1780. 

Captain  Samuel  Brown  and  Moses  Board- 
man  Williams  had  a  fifty-acre  lot  pitched  and 
surveyed  at  Westport,  June  2,  1774,  which 
included  the  falls ;  mills  were  erected  there  at 
an  early  date. 

Richard  Stratton  commenced  the  business  of 
cloth-dressing  previous  to  1 800  at  West  Swan- 
zey, and  Colonel  Elisha  Whitcomb  built  a  card- 
ing machine  at  East  Swanzey  at  an  early  date. 

A  tannery  had  been  built  and  was  in  success 
ful  operation  at  what  was  long  known  as  the 
Blake  tannery.  Captain  Timothy  Bishop  had 
at  one  time  a  small  foundry  on  a  brook  up 
amongst  the  hills  in  the  east  part  of  the 
town. 

Carpenters,  shoemakers  and  blacksmiths  were 
scattered  through  the  town.  But  it  was  to  the 
farmers  in  the  town  up  to  1800  that  the  mill- 
owners  and  the  mechanics  looked  for  employ- 
ment. The  fact  was  that  nearly  every  man  in 
town  was  engaged  in  farming.  The  tavern- 
keeper,  the  trader,  the  mill-owner,  the  clothier, 
the  carder,  the  carpenter,  the  shoemaker,  the 
tanner,  the  blacksmiths,  the  nail-maker,  the 
brick-makers  had  their  farms.  They  carried 
on  their  farms  to  a  great  extent  by  exchanging 
their  goods  and  their  labor  for    labor  to  culti- 


vate lands  already  cleared  and  for  clearing  up 
more  land. 

In  1800  there  were  many  large  and  substan- 
tial houses  in  the  town,  many  of  more  moderate 
proportions  and  not  a  large  number  of  small 
framed  houses  and  but  a  small  number  of  log 
ones.  Probably  there  never  was  much  necessity 
for  using  the  log  house  for  any  great  length  of 
time.  Timber  was  abundant  and  of  little  value 
and  plenty  of  mills  to  manufacture  it. 

The  oldest  type  of  the  best  houses  that  had 
been  built  previous  to  1800  was  a  two-story 
house  in  front  and  one-story  at  the  back  part. 
The  plan  was  to  have  two  good-sized  front 
rooms  on  the  lower  floor  and  to  have  two  good- 
sized  chambers  on  the  second  floor.  The  centre 
of  the  rear  part  contained  a  large  kitchen,  and 
at  the  ends  of  it  bed-room,  pantry,  cupboards, 
entries,  etc.  To  accommodate  the  three  large 
rooms  on  the  lower  floor  and  the  two  front 
chambers,  a  very  large  chimney  was  built  in  the 
centre  of  the  house.  Another  type,  and  one 
from  which  a  larger  number  was  built  than 
from  the  first,  was  to  have  the  same  construc- 
tion upon  the  lower  floor,  but  without  the 
second  story  in  front.  A  fashionable  type  for 
the  best  houses  at  a  later  date  was  to  build 
with  two  stories  and  with  a  four-cornered  flat 
roof.  If  it  was  built  with  two  rooms  upon 
each  floor,  it  had  usually  a  chimney  at  each  end 
of  the  house.  If  it  contained  four  rooms  upon 
each  floor,  the  chimneys  were  built  between  the 
front  and  rear  rooms. 

From  the  standpoint  of  1830  a  considerable 
amount  of  business  had  been  engaged  in  in  the 
previous  thirty  years  of  a  different  character 
from  that  pursued  previous  to  18<><». 

Perhaps  the  first  business  taken  hold  of  was 
the  weaving  of  cotton  cloth  by  the  women.  1 1 
was  a  number  of  years  after  machinery  had 
been  put  in  operation  in  this  country  for  spill- 
ing cotton  yarn  before  the  weaving  of  cot- 
ton cloth  by  the  power-loom  was  successfully 
accomplished.  During  this  time  cotton  yarn 
was  made  in  the  mills  and   distributed   through 


SWANZEY. 


391 


the  country  to  be  woven  by  women.  Large 
amounts  of  this  work  were  clone  in  Swanzey  ; 
men  went  with  teams  to  Rhode  Island  and 
obtained  the  yarn  and  put  it  out  to  be  woven. 
There  was  in  almost  every  house  one  or  more 
looms  and  some  of  the  family  busy  at  work 
weaving. 

About  1810  a  mill  was  built  at  the  Factory 
village  for  making  cotton  yarn.  Subsequently 
looms  were  put  into  the  mill. 

In  1830  the  mill  was  in  active  operation 
making  cotton  cloth.  About  1820  a  small 
amount  of  machinery  was  running  at  East 
Swanzey,  by  William  Ryder,  Phineas  Stone  and 
Henry  Cooper,  making  cotton  yarn. 

Between  1800  and  1830  an  important  busi- 
ness was  commenced  by  the  owners  of  saw- 
mills in  manufacturing  lumber  for  the  princi- 
pal towns  low  down  upon  the  Connecticut 
River.  There  was  at  this  time  a  large  amount 
of  superior  pine  timber  in  the  town.  In  the 
winter  a  number  of  mills  were  heavily  stocked 
with  this  timber.  The  mills  at  this  time  were 
all  sash-mills,  and,  compared  with  the  present 
circular-mills,  lumber  was  sawn  very  slowly  by 
them.  To  make  up  for  this,  they  were  kept 
running  during  the  months  of  March,  April, 
May  and  June,  night  and  day.  As  soon  as  the 
lumber  was  sufficiently  seasoned,  teams  were  em- 
ployed to  cart  it  to  the  bank  of  the  Connecticut 
River,  at  Northfield,  Mass.,  or  Hinsdale.  At 
these  places  it  was  packed  into  large  rafts  and 
floated  down  the  river  to  such  places  as  Spring- 
field, Hartford  and  New  Haven,  and  there  sold. 
The  principal  men  engaged  in  this  business 
were  John  Stratton,  Major  Benjamin  Whit- 
comb,  Moses  Howard,  Alvin  Holman,  John 
Chamberlain,  Daniel  H.  Holbrook,  Lyman 
Parker  and  Roswell  Parker. 

This  business  was  of  great  advantage  to  the 
farmers.  Many  of  them  owned  considerable 
quantities  of  timber,  which  they  could  dispose 
of  to  the  manufacturers  for  cash.  Most  of  the 
farmers  at  this  time  had  one  or  more  pairs  of 
oxen.     These  were  usually   kept  busy  in    the 


winter,  logging.  Those  who  had  timber  of 
their  own  could  cut  and  draw  it  themselves ; 
those  who  had  not  timber  of  their  own  could 
usually  find  employment  for  themselves  and 
teams  by  working  for  the  mill-owners,  who 
generally  bought  lots  of  standing  timber  and 
hired  it  cut  and  drawn. 

The  lumber  that  was  carted  to  Northfield,  as 
most  of  it  was,  had  to  be  drawn  over  North- 
field  Hill.  The  road  was  rather  steep  upon 
both  sides.  That  which  was  carted  from  East 
Swanzey  had  to  be  drawn  over  the  Potter  Hill 
and  over  the  Fish  Hill.  Both  of  these  hills 
were  steep  upon  both  sides. 

Most  of  the  teams  for  carting  had  two  yoke 
of  oxen  ;  some  would  have  an  extra  horse  and 
some  would  be  one  pair  of  oxen  and  a  horse. 
The  loading  of  the  wagons  was  most  frequently 
done  one  day,  that  the  team  could  start  as  quick 
as  daylight  the  next  morning.  They  would  reach 
the  river  and  unload  before  dark,  and  return 
home  during  the  night. 

The  prices  paid  for  work,  and  the  wagons  and 
sleds  used  those  times,  were  very  different  from 
the  price  paid  for  work  at  the  present  time  and 
the  wagons  and  sleds  used.  Four  dollars  for 
carting  a  load  of  lumber  with  two  yoke  of  oxen, 
to  Northfield,  was  about  a  fair  price ;  and  in 
the  winter,  when  a  man  got  for  himself  and  a 
pair  of  oxen  for  a  day's  work  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents,  he  thought  that  he  was  fairly 
paid.  The  wagons  used,  most  of  them,  were 
made  with  a  wooden  axle-tree  skeined.  Brakes 
for  wagons  were  unknown  in  those  days.  As 
some  of  the  hills  were  so  steep  on  the  road  over 
which  the  lumber  had  to  be  carted  that  went  to 
the  river,  one  pair  of  oxen  could  not  manage  a 
load  drawn  by  two  yoke,  and  so  a  false  pole  was 
used,  that  both  pair  could  hold  back  in  going 
down  the  steep  hills.  The  sleds  had  long  run- 
ners, shod  with  wood. 

Another  business  introduced  into  the  town 
was  the  working  up  the  red  oak  timber  into 
shooks.  The  business  consisted  in  going  into 
the  woods,  cutting  down  the  best  red  oak  trees, 


392 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


sawing  them  up  into  blocks  of  the  length  of  a 
stave  for  a  molasses  hogshead  ;  then  in  splitting 
these  blocks  up  into  staves ;  then  in  shaving 
and  jointing  the  staves ;  then  in  binding  them 
to  make  the  bulge  of  the  hogshead  ;  then  in 
packing  enough  in  a  bunch  to  make  a  hogs- 
head, and  bending  them  firmly  together. 

They  were  then  carted  to  Connecticut  River 
and  transported  down  the  river  loaded  on  the 
top  of  a  raft  of  boards  or  carried  in  a  large 
boat  made  for  transporting  freight  up  and 
down  the  river.  The  shook  market  was  at 
New  Haven,  Conn.  There  were  men  at  that 
place  who  bought  them  and  shipped  them  to 
the  West  Indies. 

The  making  of  palm-leaf  hats  was  intro- 
duced into  the  town  previous  to  1830,  and  at 
that  time  manv  of  the  women  were  busy  mak- 


ing hats. 


Soon  after  1800,  if  not  before,  the  travel 
from  Keene  for  Boston  was  diverted  from  the 
road  that  passed  through  Swanzey  Centre.  At 
first  it  went  through  Marlborough  and  Jaffrev  ; 
but  soon  the  turnpike  was  built  through  the 
cast  part  of  Swanzey,  which  soon  became  a 
great  thoroughfare  for  freighting,  for  private 
traveling  aud  staging.  After  the  travel  had 
left  Swanzey  Centre  there  was  but  little  busi- 
ness for  public-houses  to  do,  that  were  on  the 
road  that  passed  through  there;  but  soon  the 
Underwood  tavern  was  built  at  the  Factory 
village,  which  for  a  long  time  was  popular  and 
well  patronized. 

Benjamin  Page  was  born  in  1792,  and  died 
when  about  sixty-six  years  old.  During  the  time 
after  he  was  twenty-one  years  old  to  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  one  of  the  marked  men  of  the 
town.  He  was  intensely  in  earnest  to  become 
rich,  and  was  extremely  visionary.  These  traits 
in  his  character  led  him  to  engage  in  many 
different  branches  of  business.  He  at  first  en- 
gaged in  trade  at  Swanzey  Centre ;  next  he 
commenced  to  make  woolen  flannels  at  the  place 
of  his  birth,  the  old  Ephraim  Page  homestead. 
The  spinning  of  the  yarn  for  these  flannels  and 


the  weaving  was  done  at  first  by  hand.  A  shop 
was  built  in  which  to  do  the  work,  and  women 
were  employed.  His  next  move  for  making 
these  goods  was  to  purchase,  at  East  Swanzey, 
the  cloth-dressing  business,  and  change  the  ma- 
chinery for  making  flannels.  About  1830  the 
business  of  making  flannels  was  given  up,  and 
machinery  for  making  pails  was  put  into  the 
mill. 

This  was  the  first  of  the  pail-making  business 
in  Swanzey  by  machinery,  and  was  nearly  the 
first  that  was  done  anywhere.  A  very  little 
had  been  done  in  Troy  and  Marlborough. 

We  will  now  take;  a  look  at  Swanzey  as  it 
was  in  1830,  and  notice  some  things  that 
dated  a  few  years  from  1830. 

The  old  growth  piue  timber  was  quite  abund- 
ant. Large  tracts  could  be  seen  of  these  stately 
forest-trees  upon  the  plains  and  upon  the  hills. 
Many  of  these  trees  appeared  in  another  form, 
which  gave  to  the  town  a  disagreeable  aspect. 
At  a  time  when  pine  timber  was  not  considered 
of  any  value  it  was  cut  and  burned  up  on  the 
land.  In  cutting  the  timber  upon  land  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  it  under  cultivation,  many 
large  pine-trees  would  be  found  that  it  would 
be  a  great  task  to  cut  and  burn  up.  The  result 
was  that  many  of  these  trees  were  left  standing 
when  the  land  was  chopped,  and  were  killed  by 
the  fire  when  the  land  was  burned.  And  it 
was  very  frequent  to  find  at  this  date,  when  cut- 
ting off  a  timber-lot,  old,  defective  trees  that 
were  not  worth  cutting  and  would  be  left,  and 
then  fire  would  run  through  the  lot  and  they 
would  be  killed.  Such  trees  could  be  seen  in 
all  directions,  some  with  bark  on,  some  with  it 
partly  off  and  some  with  it  all  off;  some  of  the 
trees  would  have  limbs  on;  some  would  have 
nearly  all  their  limbs  gone;  some  were  black, 
having  been  burned  after  they  had  become 
partially  dried. 

Nowhere  in  Cheshire  County  was  to  be  found, 
in  1830,  a  road  over  which  there  was  more 
staging,  more  teaming  and  more  general  travel- 
ing than  the  turnpike  in  the  east  part  of  Swan- 


SWANZEY. 


393 


zey.  The  travel  by  stage  between  Keene  and 
Boston  nearly  all  went  over  this  road.  In  sum- 
mer soon  after  daylight,  and  in  winter  before 
daylight,  four-horse  stage-coaches  would  start 
and  pass  down  over  this  road.  In  summer  the 
stages  from  Boston  would  pass  before  dark,  in 
winter  it  would  be  after  dark.  The  passengers 
aboard  the  coaches  would  be  made  up  usually  of 
some  from  Keene,  some  from  other  towns  in 
Cheshire  County,  many  from  Vermont,  a  few 
from  the  northeast  of  New  York  and  frequently 
some  from  Canada. 

The  teams  that  one  would  see  on  the  road 
going  south  would  be  one  of  six  horses,  with  a 
great  load  of  bags  of  Vermont  wool;  then 
would  be  seen  more  frequently  two-horse  teams 
going  the  same  way,  some  with  loads  of  grain 
from  the  Connecticut  River  towns,  loads  of 
butter  and  loads  of  cheese  from  Vermont.  When 
these  teams  came  back,  if  they  went  through  to 
Boston,  they  would  be  loaded  with  all  kinds  of 
merchandise  for  the  traders,  or  such  stocks  as  the 
manufacturers  had  to  purchase  for  their  special 
business.  In  those  times  people  who  went  to 
visit  friends  went  very  generally  with  their  own 
teams  ;  some  Mould  have  a  nice  pair  of  horses 
and  a  nice  carriage,  some  with  a  nice  pair  of 
horses  and  a  farm-wagon,  some  with  a  nice 
horse  and  chaise,  some  with  an  ordinary  horse 
and  a  common  wagon.  The  old  Underwood 
tavern  at  the  Factory  village,  was  a  place  where 
large  numbers  of  teamsters  and  travelers  were 
entertained. 

A  number  of  Swanzey  men  at  this  time 
owned  a  nice  chaise,  about  the  only  nice  car- 
riages that  were  used.  Of  those  who  owned 
such  a  carriage  was  Rev.  Ebenezer  Col  man,  Hon. 
Elijah  Belding,  Hon.  Elijah  Carpenter,  Major 
Ezekiel  Page,  Captain  Levi  Blake,  Amos  Bailey 
Esq.,  Captain  Benjamin  Brown,  Captain  David 
Holbrook,  Israel  Stanley,  Alexander  Perry  and 
Alvah  Thompson. 

The  majority  of  the  people  rode  in  a  com- 
mon wagon.  These  were  made  with  a  wooden 
axle-tree ;  the  body  of  the  wagon  was  set  square 


down  upon  the  axle-tree,  and  the  seats  were  set 
upon  wooden  springs. 

Rev.  Ebenezer  Colman  was  the  minister  of 
the  Congregational  Church  and  Society  in  1830, 
who  worshiped  at  what  is  the  town-house,  un- 
less the  Universalists  wanted  it.  This  denomina- 
tion claimed  the  right,  to  use  the  house  a  portion 
of  the  time,  and  when  they  did  the  Congregation- 
alists  worshiped  at  a  hall,  or  a  school-house. 
The  Universalists  had  no  regular  minister,  and 
used  the  house  only  occasionally  as  they  em- 
ployed a  minister  for  a  few  Sabbaths  or  as  a 
minister  of  that  denomination  happened  to  be 
in  town. 

At  this  time  not  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
people  attended  meeting  on  Sunday  as  they 
did  fifty  years  previously,  but  going  to  church 
was  more  general  than  it  is  at  present.  Of 
those  that  did  go,  in  the  east  part  of  Swanzey, 
most  of  them  went  to  the  Congregational  meet- 
ings and  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  they 
went  to  the  Baptist    meetings. 

A  large  majority  of  the  men  that  went  to 
church  were  farmers.  Raising  of  colts  was  an 
important  part  of  the  business  of  the  farmers. 
The  mare  that  raised  his  colts  was  used  to  carry 
the  family  to  church.  On  Sunday  one  would 
see  a  large  number  of  mares,  with  colts  by 
their  sides,  hitched  under  the  horse-sheds,  or 
under  a  shade  tree,  or  to  a  fence.  A  less  number 
of  the  boys  attended  Sunday-school,  than  at  the 
present  time.  Much  of  the  intermission  be- 
tween the  morning  and  afternoon  services  would 
be  spent  by  the  boys  in  looking  at  the  colts 
and  ascertaining  who  had  got  the  best  ones. 
But  the  fun  with  the  colts  came  after  the  meet- 
ing was  out.  They  would  be  full  of  frolic, 
and  get  mixed  up,  to  the  annoyance  of  the  men, 
and  that  would  make  fun  for  the  boys.  Priest 
Colman  kept  a  mare  from  which  he  raised 
colts,  and  he  could  be  seen  week-days  riding 
about  town  making  calls  with  his  mare 
hitched  to  his  chaise,  and  her  colt  running  by 
her  side. 

Wages  were  low  compared  with  the  present 


394 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


price  paid  for  labor.  Priest  Colman's  salary? 
we  think,  was  three  hundred  dollars  in  money 
ami  his  fire-wood  a  year,  and  he  had  a  strong- 
body,  a  vigorous  mind,  and  was  a  good 
minister.  Men  would  work  on  a  farm  in  the 
snnmier,  and  keep  school  in  the  winter,  for 
fifteen  dollars  a  month.  Women  would  work 
for  two  dollars  a  week  at  teaching  school  or 
at  house-work. 

The  water-power  in  Swanzey  consists  of  a  fall 
of  water  at  Westport  of  about  ten  feet  of  the  Ash- 
nelot  River.  The  fall  of  the  same  river  at  West 
Swanzey  is  twelve  feet.  This  is  all  the  power 
that  can  be  obtained  from  that  river  in  the 
town.  The  water-power  at  the  Factory  vil- 
lage is  obtained  by  bringing  the  water  through 
a  canal  from  the  East  Branch  in  Keene.  After 
the  water  leaves  the  Factory  village  it  has 
to  flow  about  a  mile  before  it  enters  the  Ash- 
uelot  River.  It  furnishes  in  its  course  an  ex- 
cellent water  privelege  at  Spragucville. 

The  South  Branch  has  no  fall  that  furnishes 
power  for  some  four  miles  from  its  mouth. 
Above  this,  to  where  it  enters  the  town,  there  is 
considerable  fall  of  water,  and  seven  very  good 
water  privileges  have  been  brought  into  use. 
The  Swanzey  Pond  is  the  only  natural  pond  in 
the  town.  It  covers  about  one  hundred  acres. 
At  the  outlet  of  this  pond  there  is  one  very 
good  privilege.  There  have  been  two  saw-mills 
on  a  brook  that  runs  from  Richmond  north  to 
Pond  Brook  and  enters  the  South  Branch. 
There  have  been  two  saw-mills  on  Hiponeco 
Brook,  which  is  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
town.  There  is  a  mill  on  Bridge  Brook,  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  town,  for  manufacturing 
pail  stock,  and  there  was  a  mill  at  one  time  for 
making  toy  pails.  Varey  Brook  is  in  the  ex- 
treme west  part  of  the  town,  and  there  was  a 
saw-mill  upon  this  brook  for  many  years.  A 
small  brook  runs  by  the  house  of  <  'aptain  Ed- 
mond  StorrSj  upon  which  he  has  mills. 

We  will  give  the  names  of  the  principal  busi- 
ness men  in  the  town,  excepting  the  farmers, 
and  the  nature  of  their   business  and  the  places 


where  they  were  located  in  1830,  or  very  near 
that  time. 

The  mills  at  Westport  were  operated  by  John 
and  Wetherbee  Chamberlain.  Benjamin  H.  Carl- 
ton was  a  clothier  at  the  same  place.  B.  C. 
Peters  carried  on  the  tailoring  business.  Major 
Benjamin  Whitcomb  owned  the  mills  at  West 
Swanzey,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river;  John 
Stratton  on  the  east  side.  Isaac  Stratton  was  a 
clothier.  Samuel  Stearns,  Luke  &  David  Ben- 
nett, Porter  Hills  were  in  trade  either  at  West 
Swanzey  or  Westport.  Archer  Campbell  was 
operating  the  cotton-factory  at  the  Factory 
village,  and  the  other  mills  at  that  place.  Dr. 
E.  H.  Frost  owned  the  mills  at  Wilson  Pond. 
Ezekiel  Graves  had  a  saw-mill  at  the  Hollow, 
and  Ira  Taft  a  shingle-machine.  Lyman  cV: 
Roswell  Parker  had  a  saw  and  grist-mill  at  East 
Swanzey.  Joseph  Whitcomb  had  at  the  same 
place  a  shingle-mill  and  a  carding-machine. 
Henry  Cooper  and  Israel  Applin  had  a  saw- 
mill. The  cloth-dressing  mill  had  at  this  time,  or 
did  soon  after,  pass  into  the  hands  of  Benjamin 
Page,  and  was  changed  into  a  manufactory  of 
pails.  Who  operated  the  saw-mill  at  Swanzey 
Pond  we  have  not  ascertained.  John  Perry  and 
John  Hills  had  saw-mills  on  the  Sant  Brook, 
Nathaniel  Thompson,  on  Hiponeco  Brook,  and 
Daniel  Varey  on  Varey  Brook.  Captain  Levi 
Blake  carried  on  the  tanning  business  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  south  of  the  middle  of  the  town, 
and  employed  four  or  live  men  at  the  business. 
Amos  Bailey,  at  the  Centre,  employed  three  or 
four  men  making  boots  and  shoes.  Caleb 
Sawyer  was  the  trader  at  the  Centre.  Two  of 
the  best-known-carpenters  and  builders  in  this 
vicinity  at  this  time  were  Zadock  L.  Taft  and 
his  brother,  James  S.  Taft. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  men  and  their 
business,  which  has  intervened  between  L830 
and  the  present  time  : 

Alvin  Hobnaii  was  associated  with  John  Cham- 
berlain at  Westport  in  the  lumbering  business  a 
number  of  years.  He  may  have  been  there  as 
early  as  is  |o.     Franklin  Holman,  a  brother  of 


SWANZEY. 


395 


Alvin,  commenced  the  manufacturing  of  nest 
buckets  at  the  same  place  about  the  same  time, 
and  continued  the  business  for  a  number  of 
years.  After  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  the  Holmans 
had  discontinued  business,  the  principal  manu- 
facturing of  the  place  was  done  by  a  company 
of  which  Stephen  Falkner,  Henry  Holbrook 
and  several  others  constituted  the  firm. 

About  twenty  years  ago  James  Marsh  and 
E.  F.  Read  bought  the  mills  and  water-power, 
made  some  extensive  repairs  and  commenced 
the  manufacturing  of  pails.  Mr.  Marsh  ul- 
timately bought  out  Mr.  Read  and  has  continued 
the  business. 

It  is  many  years,  perhaps  twenty-five,  since  the 
making;  of  small  boxes  for  the  New  York  mar- 
ket  was  begun  in  the  village.  One  of  the  first 
in  the  business  was  a  Mr.  Coborn.  After  him 
Mr.  Henry  Holbrook  was  in  the  business.  Mr. 
J.  Mason  Read  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Hol- 
brook, having  purchased  the  machinery  soon 
after  Messrs.  Marsh  and  Read  bought  the  mills. 
Some  two  years  since  Mr.  Read  moved  his 
machinery  to  Keene. 

Mr.  Sylvanus  Bartlett  moved  from  Westport 
to  Keene  some  three  years  ago.  We  think  that 
he  had  been  most  of  the  time  a  resident  of  the 
village  more  than  forty  years  previous.  He 
opened  a  few  years  at  the  West ;  during  his 
residence  there  he  was  much  of  the  time  in 
trade,  and  some  of  the  time  a  manufacturer  of 
wooden-ware. 

Jotham  Frink,  Stephen  Falkner  and  Henry 
Abbott  have  been  in  trade  here.  E.  F.  Read 
was  for  some  time  associated  with  Mr.  Marsh 
in  trade.  Until  quite  recently  Mr.  George 
Brooks  had  been  with  Mr.  Marsh. 

We  presume  that  it  is  fifty  years  since  Ever- 
son  Cook  commenced  trading  at  West  Swanzey, 
and  he  may  have  continued  in  the  business 
there  twenty-five  years.  Much  of  this  time  he 
connected  the  tailoring  business  with    his  store. 

Of  other  men  that  have  traded  at  this  place 
are  Jonathan  and  Hiram  Whitcomb,  Jotham 
Frink,  Rev.    Mr.  Mason,  Joseph    Hammond, 


Joseph    Ware,  Paul  F.   Aldrich,  Frank  Snow, 
Russel  &  Whitcomb,  and  J.  L.  Parker. 

The  tanning  business  at  this  place  was  begun 
by  Isaac  Stratton.  It  may  have  been  thirty- 
five  years  ago.  The  business  was  continued 
many  years  by  Mr.  Stratton.  Several  years 
ago  Asa  Kendall  purchased  the  establishment 
and  did  a  large  business  at  tanning  until  within 
two  or  three  years  ago. 

John  Stratton,  Jr.,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Jotham  W.  Frink,  bought  the  Whitcomb  mill, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  not  far  from 
thirty  years  ago ;  they  subsequently  built  what 
is  now  a  part  of  the  woolen-mill.  The  mill 
was  run  by  these  men  a  number  of  years.  E. 
F.  Read  and  J.  L.  Parker  have  each  been  en- 
gaged a  number  of  years  in  manufacturing 
wooden-ware  here.  Some  of  the  time  they 
were  in  company. 

Virgil  Woodcock  was  born  July  1G,  1806. 
He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  of  his  father, 
Levi  Woodcock.  Soon  after  he  reached  his 
majority  it  was  apparent  that  he  was  a  good 
workman,  was  very  industrious  and  was  des- 
tined to  be  a  man  of  business.  He  very  soon 
had  a  number  of  men  in  his  employ,  and  was 
taking  contracts  to  build  large  buildings,  such 
as  meeting-houses,  hotels,  etc.  His  residence 
was  at  Swanzey  Centre ;  he  there  built  a  shop 
for  his  business  and  put  in  a  steam-engine.  It 
subsequently  appeared  that  he  took  some  of  his 
contracts  too  low,  Avhich  resulted  in  his  becom- 
ing involved.  Soon  after  gold  was  discovered 
in  California  he  took  an  overland  route  to  that 
place.  He  returned,  after  staying  there  a  few 
years,  having  accumulated  something  of  a  prop- 
erty. The  shop  that  he  first  built  had  been 
disposed  of,  and  made  into  two  dwelling-houses. 
Soon  after  his  return  from  California  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  Phinehas  Stone,  and  they 
erected  at  Swanzey  Centre  a  large  mill,  and  put 
in  steam-power  sufficient  to  operate  a  saw-mill, 
a  grist-mill,  pail-works  and  machinery  for 
manufacturing  chair  stock.  The  enterprise  did 
not  prove  profitable,  and  the  business  was  con- 


396 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tinued  only  a  few  years.  Mr.  Woodcock  died 
July  18,  1875.  A  few  years  before  his  death  he 
was  Interested  in  gold-mining  at  Plymouth,  Vt. 

Wre  have  already  mentioned  that  Benjamin 
Page  commenced  the  manufacturing  of  pails 
by  machinery  at  East  Swanzey  about  1830. 
Very  soon  after  Mr.  Page  had  got  his  first 
mill  into  successful  operation  he  built  a  new 
mill  on  another  privilege.  This  was  where 
Wilder  P.  Clark's  pail-shop  now  stands.  Na- 
than Winch  and  Joseph  Putney  bought  the  old 
Whitcomb  carding-mill  a  few  years  after  Mr. 
Page  commenced  making  pails  and  put  in  ma- 
chinery for  making  pails.  They  continued  the 
business  a  short  time  and  then  sold  out  to  Mr. 
Page.  A  few  years  later  Mr.  Page  bought  the 
Parker  grist  and  saw-mills.  He  took  out  the 
grist-mill  and  put  in  pail  machinery.  This 
gave  him  the  ownership  of  all  the  mills  in  the 
place,  which  he  continued  to  hold  until  his 
death.  He  was  connected  with  the  pail  busi- 
ness some  twenty-seven  years.  Some  of  this 
time  he  was  in  trade  at  this  place,  and  some  of 
the  time  at  the  Centre.  At  one  time  he  en- 
gaged in  making  friction  matches  ;  at  another 
time  he  went  into  the  poultry  business.  His 
estate  was  settled  and  the  mills  sold  in  1859. 

Since  the  sale  of  Mr.  Page's  property,  and 
the  time  when  the  present  proprietors  came 
into  possession  of  their  respective  mills,  the 
following  persons  have  been  interested  in  opera- 
ting some  one  of  the  mills  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time  making  pails  :  Benjamin  Read, 
Asa  Clark,  J.  W.  Murphy,  Silas  B.  Patridgc, 
John  S.  Sargent,  Edward  Woodward,  Calvin 
Alexander  and  H.  W.  Mason.  A.  W.  Banks 
and  J.  Mason  Read  owned  one  of  the  mills  a 
number  of  years,  and  during  this  time  they 
manufactured  chair  stock  and  pail-handles. 

The  lower  mill  privilege  at  Kast  Swanzey 
was  brought  into  use  by  G.  G.  Willis  and  Nelson 
Howe  about  1852  for  manufacturing  wooden- 
ware.  They  built  a  substantial  darn,  erected 
good  buildings  and  equipped  the  mills  with  the 
best  of  machinery.     Mr.  Howe  continued  with 


Mr.  Willis  a  few  years  as  a  partner,  when  he 
disposed  of  his  interest  to  Mr.  Willis.  Mr. 
Willis  left  the  premises  after  having  been  in 
possession  some  fifteen  years.  Nathan  Winch 
and  George  F.  Bucklin  were  the  successors  of 
Mr.  Willis,  but  they  continued  in  business  but 
a  short  time,  when  they  disposed  of  the  estab- 
lishment to  George  F.  Lane. 

Not  far  from  1858,  Elkanah  and  Frederick 
Augustus  Lane,  two  brothers,  commenced  work 
for  a  new  manufacturing  establishment  about  a 
half-mile  above  East  Swanzey  village.  They 
subsequently  manufactured  chair-stock,  pails 
and  horse-blankets.  It  is  now  some  years  since 
anything  has  been  done  at  this  place.  It  is 
owned  by  E.  F.  Lane,  of  Keene.  Not  far  from 
the  time  that  the  Lanes  built  this  mill  Batehellor 
&  Bigelow  built  the  mill  at  present  owned  by 
Edward  Wilcox.  Messrs.  Batehellor  &  Big- 
elow did  business  at  the  mill  but  a  few  years. 

We  presume  that  it  is  about  thirty  years  since 
Ephraim  Murdock,  Jr.,  purchased  the  mill-site 
at  the  Factory  village,  where  the  old  cotton- 
factory  stood,  and  begun  the  making  of  pails, 
and  continued  the  business  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  may  have  been  five  years  ago. 
Mr.  Murdock  had  for  a  time  associated  with 
Mr.  William  Nason,  and  he  may  have  had 
others  in  company  with  him. 

Between  the  time  that  Archer  Campbell  op- 
erated the  cotton-factory  and  the  time  that  it 
was  burned,  it  was  run  a  short  time  by  George 
Olliver.  In  1840  it  was  being  run  by  Jarvis 
Bates  &  Bros. ;  later  it  was  run  by  Barns  Bros. 
In  1840,  Daniel  Kimball  was  the  owner  of  the 
Underwood  tavern  and  its  manager.  Later, 
Franklin  Goodnow  was  in  possession  of  the 
premises. 

For  many  years  Daniel  H.  Ho] brook  was 
the  owner  of  the  saw-mill  at  the  outlet  of 
Swanzey  Pond.  He  manufactured  principally 
old-growth  pine  lumber  and  he  shipped  it 
largely  to  the  markets  low  down  on  the  Con- 
oecticut  river. 

Roswell  Whitcomb  built  a   mill  upon  Hypo- 


SWANZEY. 


397 


neco  Brook  to  manufacture  wooden-ware  stock 
some  years  previous  to  1860.  He  operated  the 
mill  a    number  of  years  with  financial  success. 

Moses  Howard  was  born  not  far  from  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century.  He 
died  a  number  of  years  ago.  During  his  life, 
after  he  reached  his  majority,  he  was  engaged 
in  various  kinds  of  business :  was  a  large  far- 
mer ;  dealt  extensively  in  lumber,  although  not 
a  mill-owner ;  made  shook  and  built  bridges 
and  roads. 

Colonel  Henry  Starkey  and  his  son  John 
were  engaged  many  years  in  making  shook. 

We  will  now  give  the  present  business  situa- 
tion of  the  town. 

At  Westport,  James  Marsh  owns  all  of  the 
water-power  and  the  mills  connected  with  the 
water-power,  and  uses  the  mills  for  making 
pails.  He  owns  a  store  building  for  the  sale  of 
goods  and  the  stock  of  goods.  He  owns  a 
large  number  of  dwelling-houses  in  the  village. 

Jerome  Field  manufactures  wooden-ware  and 
uses  steam-power. 

A  considerable  amount  of  granite  is  quarried 
on  the  side  of  Franklin  Mountain,  not  far  from 
the  village. 

The  business  at  West  Swanzey  consists  of 
the  woolen-mill,  managed  by  Obadiah  Sprague  ; 
the  wooden-ware  business  of  Charles  Russel  and 
George  E.  Whitcomb  ;  the  wooden-ware  busi- 
ness of  Frank  Snow  ;  the  box  business  of  Solon 
Snow  &  Son ;  the  box  business  of  Obadiah 
Sprague  and  Orlow  Parsons. 

Towns  &  Earaes  have  a  grist-mill.  Solomon 
Fox  has  two  stores,  at  which  are  kept  a  general 
assortment  of  goods.  George  Brooks  deals  in 
flour,  grain  and  groceries.  H.  B.  Evans  keeps 
a  livery  stable.  Frank  Snow  uses  steam-power 
for  his  manufacturing,  and  furnishes  power  for 
Solon  Snow  &  Son's  box  business  and  for  the 
grist-mill.  All  the  rest  of  the  manufacturing 
in  the  village  is  done  by  water-power.  A  few 
years  since  Obadiah  Sprague  built  at  the  place 
now  called  Spragueville  two  large,  substantial 
mills.    One  was  designed  for  a  woolen-mill,  the 


other  for  a  saw-mill  and  for  manufacturing 
lumber  into  merchandise.  The  mills  were  in 
operation  but  a  short  time  before  they  were 
burned. .  The  woolen-mill  has  not  been  rebuilt. 
The  other  has  been,  and  a  company  consisting  of 
Obediah  Sprague,  Charles  Hawes  and  James 
L.  Wright  are  manufacturing  in  it  boxes  and 
extension-tables. 

George  Garfield  bought  the  Murdock  establish- 
ment at  the  Factory  village  after  Mr.  Mur- 
dock's  decease  and  is  doing  an  amount  of  busi- 
ness equal  to  that  done  by  Mr.  Murdock ;  we 
presume,  Mr.  Orren  Dickinson  has  been  in  busi- 
ness at  this  village  a  long  time.  Most  of  this 
time  he  has  had  a  grist-mill  and  much  qf  the 
time  he  has  manufactured  sash,  doors  and 
blinds.  At  present  some  of  his  sons  are  with 
him  in  the  manufacturing  business.  A  Mr. 
Howe  owns  the  old  Underwood  tavern  and  keeps 
a  public-house. 

The  upper  mill  privilege  on  the  South 
Branch  is  owned  by  E.  F.  Lane  &  Son  and 
they  manufacture  flour-buckets.  The  next  be- 
low is  owned  by  Edward  Wilcox  and  he  makes 
boxes.  The  next  privilege  down  the  stream  is 
owned  by  E.  F.  Lane. 

Of  the  four  mill  privileges  at  East  Swanzey, 
there  is  at  present  mills  upon  three  of  them. 
The  mill  upon  the  other  was  burned  two  years 
since  and  has  not  been  rebuilt.  The  upper  one 
of  those  that  are  in  use  is  operated  by  James 
M.  Ramsdell  for  making  different  kinds  of 
wooden-ware.  The  next  one  is  owned  by  Wil- 
der P.  Clark,  of  Winchendon,  and  he  makes 
pails  exclusively.  The  lower  one  is  in  posses- 
sion of  George  F.  Lane  &  Sons ;  they  make 
buckets  and  pails.  Mr.  Lane  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  this  firm,  has  been  longer  in  the  business 
of  manufacturing  wooden-ware  than  any  other 
person  now  in  the  business  in  Swanzey.  The 
mill  that  E.  F.  Lane  now  owns  was  formerly 
owned  by  him. 

The  mill  at  the  outlet  of  Swanzey  Pond  has 
been  owned  a  number  of  years  by  the  Lom- 
bards.      They    manufacture    pail-stock,    box- 


398 


HISTOKY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


stock  and  lumber  generally.  Walter  Perry  has 
a  mill  on  a  brook  in  the  south  part  of  the  town. 
He  uses  both  water  and  steam  and  makes  pail 
and  tub-stock  and  pail-handles. 

There  is  machinery  in  Swanzey  for  making 
wooden-ware  and  boxes  sufficient  to  work  eight 
thousand  cords  of  timber,  mostly  pine,  in  a 
year.  Most  of  this  timber  is  obtained  in  the 
town.  The  large  amouut  that  is  yearly  cut 
does  not  appear  to  reduce  the  quantity.  The 
timber  used  is  almost  exclusively  second-growth 
pine. 

Since  the  commencement  of  using  this  kind 
of  timber  for  making  wooden-ware,  large  tracts 
of  land  have  been  left  to  grow  up.  It  grows 
very  fast,  and,  thus  far,  the  supply  has  been 
equal  to  the  demand.  Probably  there  has  been 
no  time  for  the  last  fifty  years  when  more  acres 
of  land  in  Swanzey  were  covered  with  growing 
timber  than  there  is  to-day. 

The  owners  of  mills  in  Swanzey  have  suf- 
fered severely  by  fire.  The  cotton-factory  at 
Factorv  village  was  burned.  When  George  F. 
Lane  owned  the  mills  where  E.  F.  Lane  now 
<  »wns  lie  w  as  twice  burned  out.  The  mill  that  was 
built  by  Elkanah  and  Frederick  A.  Lane,  and 
which  was  used  at  last  for  making  horse-blank- 
ets,  was  burned  a  number  of  years  ago.  Of 
the  four  mill-sites  at  Easi  Swanzey,  the  upper 
one  has  been  burnt  off  three  times ;  the  next 
one  below,  twice  ;  the  other  two,  once  each.  As 
we  have  before  stated,  Obadiah  Sprague  had 
two  large  and  substantial  new  mills  burned  at 
Spragneville.  Mr.  Walter  Perry  has  been  once 
burnt  out.  Frank  Snow,  at  West  Swanzey,  had 
a  large  mill,  nearly  new,  burned.  And  we 
think  that  mills  have  been  twice  burned  on  the 
site  now  owned  by  James  Marsh,  at  Westport. 

The  aggregate  loss  from  the  burning  of  dry- 
houses  at  the  wooden- ware  establishments  has 
been  very  great.  The  loss  of  a  few  hundred 
dollars  by  the  burning  of  a  dry-house  has  been 
a  common  occurrence  since  the  wooden-ware 
business  was  commenced  in  the  town. 

Swanzey  has    a    military    record    which   is 


highly  creditable.  The  history  of  the  town 
during  the  Revolution  shows  that  the  public 
sentiment  of  the  town  was  decidedly  in  favor 
of  the  Revolutionary  cause.  The  following 
record  shows  the  promptness  with  which  the 
musket  was  shouldered  on  learning  of  the  bat- 
tle at  Lexington  and  Concord : 

A  company  consisting  of  one  lieutenant,  one 
ensign,  four  sergeants,  four  corporals  and  fifty- 
two  privates,  marched  from  Swanzey  at  day- 
light on  the  morning  of  April  21st,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joseph  Ham- 
mond. (Vol.  xiii.  p.526.)  Twenty-two  of  them 
enlisted  at  Cambridge  for  eight  months,  and  the 
remainder  returned  after  an  absence  of  fifteen 
days. 

We  do  not  claim  that  all  of  this  company 
was  composed  of  Swanzey  men,  but  that  they 
composed  a  large  part  of  it  there  can  be  no 
doubt. 

One  of  those  from  Swanzey,  who  enlisted  for 
eight  months,  was  Captain  Jonathan  Whitcomb. 
He  was  made  a  captain,  and  his  company  was 
attached  to  Colonel  Reed's  regiment. 

The  following  gives  the  return  of  Captain 
Whitcomb's  company  June  14, 1775 :  onecaptain, 
one  lieutenant,  one  ensign,  four  sergeants,  one 
fifer,  fifty-one  privates.  A  return  of  the  com- 
pany June  21,  1775,  showed  that  two  of  the 
number  had  been  wounded. 

In  1777  the  town  of  Swanzey  "  Voted  that 
each  man  that  shall,  pursuant  to  orders  from 
Colonel  Ashley  to  Captain  Whitcomb,  en- 
list into  the  Continental  army  for  three  years, 
or  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  shall  be 
allowed  and  paid  by  the  town  £26,  and  also, 
that  each  man  in  this  town  that  has  already  done 
service  in  the  present  war  shall  be  allowed  for 
the  same  in  such  proportion  as  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  a  committee  to  be  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  allowing  a  year's  service  at  £13  6s.  8d." 

The  committee  for  this  purpose  consisted  of 
Thomas  Applin,  Calvin  Frink,  Samuel  Hills, 
Daniel  Warner,  Henry  Morse  and  Joseph 
Whitcomb,  Jr.,  who  reported  as  follows: 


SWANZEY. 


399 


"  Swanzey,  Feb.  23,  1778. 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  being  a  committee  appointed 
by  the  town  to  receive  the  accounts  of  such  persons  as 
have  done  or  procured  any  service  to  be  done  in 
the  present  war,  and  to  consider  the  same  and  make 
them  such  allowance  therefore  as  we  should  think 
reasonable  and  just,  and  having  attended  the  busi- 
ness whereto  we  were  appointed,  do  find  and  report  to 
the  town  as  follows,  viz:  That  we  think  it  just  and 
reasonable  that  there  be  allowed  and  paid  as  the  town 
shall  agree. 

"  To  John  Aplin,  for  3  days  in  the  militia  and  2 
months  to  Bennington,  £4  lis.  Id. 

"  David  Belding,  Jr.,  for  a  term  in  the  militia  to 
Otter  Creek,  £17  6s. 

"  Samuel  Belding,  Jr.,  for  service  in  the  expedition 
to  Canada,  done  by  Annanius  Tubs,  £15. 

"  Lieut.  Moses  Belding,  for  13  months'  service  in 
the  army,  £28  3s.  4rf. 

"  Ensign  Timothy  Bishop,  for  12  days  in  the  militia 
to  Cambridge,  2i  months'  service  at  Ticonderoga  by 
hire,  1  month  in  the  militia  to  Ticonderoga,  and  12 
days  to  Otter  Creek,  £10  4s.  2d. 

"  Daniel  Bishop,  for  12  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge, 1  month  to  Ticonderoga,  12  days  to  Otter 
Creek  and  two  months'  service  to  Bennington, 
£9  2s.  6c?. 

"Elijah  Belding,  for  12  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge and  for  2\  months  by  his  brothers,  £6  13s.  4d. 

"  Eleazer  Brown,  for  1  months'  service  in  the  militia 
to  Ticonderoga,  done  by  Levi  Durant,  and  12  days 
service  in  the  militia  to  Cambridge  and  12  to  Otter 
Creek,  £4  15s.  4c?. 

"Wright  Brown,  2.}  months'  service  at  York, 
£5  8s.  4c?. 

"Thomas  Cresson,  Jr.,  for  a  term  in  the  militia  to 
Cambridge,  a  month's  service  in  militia  to  Ticonde- 
roga and  12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  and  for  service  done 
by  his  son,  £15  12s.  6c?. 

"  Nathan  Cresson,  for  1  month's  service  to  Ticon- 
deroga and  4  months  in  the  Continental  service, 
£10  16s.  8d. 

"  Joseph  Cummings,  for  9  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge, 2$  months  done  by  Enoch  Cummings,  and  a 
term  in  militia  to  Otter  Creek,  and  2  months  done  by 
Simeon  Taylor,  £11  8s.  9c?. 

"Thadeus  Cummings,  for  2\  months  by  Enoch 
Cummings,  £5  8s.  4c?. 

"  Ephraim  Cummings,  for  service  in  militia  5  days, 
and  for  1  month  and  6  days'  service  in  the  army, 
1777,  £2  19s.  6c?. 

"  Caleb  Cook,  for  4  months'  service  done  by  Ben- 
jamin Parker,  £8  13s.  4c?. 


"  Greenwood  Carpenter,  for  2h  months'  service 
done  by  his  son,  £5  8s.  4o?. 

"  William  Carpenter,  for  2h  months'  service  to  Ti- 
conderoga and  1  month  at  Cambridge,  £7  lis.  8c?. 

"Enoch  Cummings,  for8j>  months'  service  at  Cam- 
bridge 1775,  also  12  days  in  militia  to  Otter  Creek, 
1777,  £19  5s.  10c/. 

"Nehemiah  Cummings,  same  as  above,  £19  5s.  10c?. 

"  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  for  1  month  at  Ticonderoga 
and  4  months  in  the  army,  done  by  Henry  Stevens, 
1777,  £10  16s.  8c?. 

"Joseph  Dickinson,  for  12  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge, 4  months  in  army  by  Henry  Stevens,  and  for 
12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  £11  5s.  lOd. 

"  Benjamin  Day,  25  days  in  militia  at  Stillwater  in 
1777,  and  4  months'  service  before  he  came  to  Swan- 
zey, £16  19s.  10c/. 

"Joseph  Day,  5  months  at  Ticonderoga  and  12 
days  in  militia  to  Otter  Creek,  £11  14s.  2d. 

"  Amos  Day,  10  months  at  Cambridge,  £21  13s.  4c?. 

"  Joseph  Durrant,  12  months  in  army,  £26. 

"  Levi  Durant,  8  months  at  Cambridge,  1775,  and 
12  days  in  militia  at  Otter  Creek,  £18  4s.  2o?. 

"John  Follett,  Jr.,  12  days  at  Cambridge  and  1 
month  at  Ticonderoga,  £3  18s.  4c?. 

"  Calvin  Frink,  4  months  at  Cambridge,  1775,  and 
1  month  at  Ticonderoga,  1776,  £10  16s.  8d. 

"  Joshua  Graves,  5  months  at  Ticonderoga  by  hire, 
1  month  in  militia  at  Ticonderoga  and  5  days  in 
militia,  1777,  £13  7s.  4c?. 

"  Elijah  Graves,  Jr.,  for  3  days  in  militia,   1775,  10 
months  at  Canada  by  Isaac  Billings,  1  month  at  Ti- 
conderoga and  25  days  at  Stillwater,  1777,  £26  Os.  lid. 

"  Daniel  Gunn,  12  months  in  army,  £26. 

"  Wyat  Gunn,  12  days  to  Cambridge,  21  months  at 
Ticonderoga,  £7  3s.  4c?. 

"  Thomas  Greene,  1  year  and  8  months'  in  army, 
£43  6s.  8c?. 

"  Joseph  Greene,  1  year  and  8  months  in  army, 
£43  6s.  8c?. 

Abraham  Griffith,  8  months  in  army  at  Cambridge, 
£7  6s.  8d. 

"  Abner  Graves,  1  month  at  Ticonderoga,  £2  3s.  4c?. 

"  Charles  Grimes,  12  days  at  Cambridge  and  9 
months  in  Continental  Army  by  hire,  and  12  days 
at  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £22  3s.  lc?. 

"  Colo.  Joseph  Hammond,  9  days  at  Cambridge,  5 
months  in  army  by  hire,  and  12  days  at  Otter  Creek, 
1777,  £13  0s.  5c?. 

"  Thomas  Hammond,  2h  months  by  Joseph   Ham- 
mond, Jr.,  and  2  months  by  Daniel  Day,  £9  15s.  Od. 
"  Isaac  Hammond,  in  militia  to  Cambridge,  and  2 


400 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


months  in  army  by  Daniel  Day,  and  going  to  Otter 
Creek,  £6  19s.  2d. 

"  Edward  Hazen,  12  days  to  Cambridge,  and  12 
days  to  Otter  Creek,  and  for  2  months  by  his  son,  £6 
19s.  2d. 

"  Samuel  Hills,  12  days  to  Cambridge,  12  days  to 
Otter  Creek  by  hire,  50  days  in  militia  to  Westward, 
1777,  and  for  money  paid  for  town  to  hire  men  for 
Continental  army,  £12  lis.  2d. 

"  Ebenezer  Hills,  10  months  to  Canada,  £21  13s.  Ad. 

"  Nathaniel  Hills,  Sr.,  8?  months  in  army  at  Cam- 
bridge, £18  10s.  Ad. 

"  Nathaniel  Hills,  Jr.,  10  months  in  army  at  Can- 
ada, £21  13s.  Ad. 

"  Joseph  Holmes,  2  months  in  army  at  Bennington, 
£4  6s.  8d. 

"  Dennis  Hafferon,  10  months  in  army  at  Canada, 
1776,  £21  13s.  U. 

"  Michael  Hafferon,  10  months  in  army  at  Canada, 
1776,  £21  13s.  Ad. 

"  Benjamin  Hews,  6  months  in  army  at  Cambridge) 
1775,  £13. 

"  Benjamin  Hews,  Jr.,  6  months  in  army,  1776,  £13. 

"  Benjamin  Hammond,  2i  months  at  York,  1776,  £5 
8s.  Ad. 

"Joseph  Hammond,  Jr.,  8£  months  at  Cambridge, 
1775,  and  for  1  month  more  at  Cambridge,  £21  Is.  8d. 

"  Charles  How,  4  months  at  Cambridge,  1776,  by 
hire,  £8  13s.  Ad. 

"Theodore  How,  6  weeks  at  Winter's  Hill,  1776, 
and  -4  months  at  Cambridge,  1776,  by  hire,  £11  18s. 
4d. 

"Uriah  How,  15  days  in  militia  to  Cambridge,  1775, 
6  weeks  at  Winter's  Hill,  1776,  5  days  in  1777,  and  2 
months  in  army  to  Bennington,  1777,  £10  2s.  Ad. 

"  Jethro  Kimball,  12  days  in  militia  at  Cambridge, 
1775,  and  5  months  in  army  at  Ticonderoga,  1776,  by 
hire,  £12  lis.  8d. 

"  Eli  Kimball,  to  Cambridge  in  militia,  and  1  year 
in  Continental  army,  1776,  £27  18s. 

"  Elkanah  Lane,  Jr.,  4  months  in  army  by  his 
brother,  and  in  militia  to  Ticonderoga,  1776,  £10  16s. 
8d. 

"Justus  Lawrence,  2i?  months  in  army,  1777,  £5  18s. 
"Lieut.  Henry  Morse,  2}  months  in  army  at  Ticon- 
deroga, 1776,  and  for  money  paid  town  to  hire  men 
for  army,  £12  5s.  Id. 

"  Jonathan  Nichols,  Jr.,  1  month  at  Cambridge, 
1785,  and  2  months  at  Bennington,  1777,  £6  10s. 

"  Elijah  Osgood,  in  militia  to  Otter  Creek,  and  hir- 
ing Jonathan  Woodcock  6  months  for  Continental 
army,  £15  17s.  6d. 

"Benjamin  Olcott,  5  days  in  militia,  1777,  and  2 
months  at  Bennington,  £4  14s. 


"  Benjamin  Hazen,  2h  months  at  York  and  12  days 
to  Otter  Creek,  £6  5s.  lOrf. 

"Aaron  Parsons,  6  days  in  militia,  1775,  2h  months 
in  army  at  Ticonderoga,  1776,  and  12  days  at  Otter 
Creek,  1777,  by  hire,  £7  3s.  Ad. 

"  Samuel  Page,  9  days  in  militia   at  Cambridge, 

1775,  £1  6s.  3d. 

"  Josiah  Prime,  6  months  at  Roxbury,  1775,  £13. 

"Amasa  Parker,  12  months  in  army  that  went  to 
Canada  with  General  Arnold,  £26. 

"Simeon  Puffer,  12  days  at  Cambridge,  1775,  and  5 
months  in  army  that  went  to  Canada,  1776,  £12  lis. 
8d. 

"Amos  Puffer,  10  months  in  army  to  Canada,  1776, 
and  12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £22  10s.  lOd. 

"Josiah  Read,  2  months  at  Bennington,  1776,  £4 
6s.  8d. 

"Levi  Rugg,  12  days  to  Cambridge,  1775,  and  5 
months  at  Ticonderaga,  1776,  £12  lis.  8d. 

"John  Rugg's  heirs,  10  months  in  army  to  Canada, 

1776,  by  said  Rugg  and  12  days  to  Cambridge,  £23 
8s.  Id. 

"Pentecost  Stanley,  12  days  at  Cambridge,  1775, 
and  2\  months  in  army  at  York,  1776,  £7  3s.  Ad. 

"  Elisha  Scott,  4  months  by  Nathan  Cresson,  1777, 
£8  13s.  Ad. 

"  Nathan  Scott,  5  days,  in  1777,  and  25  days  at 
Westward,  1777,  £2  3s.  lOd. 

"  Benjamin  Starkey,  1  year  by  himself  and  others, 
£26. 

"John  Starkey,  2\  months  at  York  by  Benedict 
Webber,  1776,  £5  8s.  Ad. 

"  Enoch  Starkey,  for  money  paid  to  hire  men  for 
Continental  army,  £7  10s. 

"Joseph  Starkey,  8\  months  at  Cambridge,  1775,  and 
1  month  at  Ticonderoga,  1776,  £20  5s.  8d. 

"John  Thompson,  2  months  at  Bennington  by  hire, 
£4  6s.  8d. 

"  Roger   Thompson,    2\   months    at    Ticonderoga, 

1775,  by  Josiah   Prime,  and  1  month  at  Ticonderoga, 

1776,  £7  lis.  8d. 

"Samuel  Thompson,  12  days  at  Otter  Creek  by 
hire  and  25   days   in    militia   at  Westward   by  hire, 

1777,  £2  13s.  6c/. 

"  Ebenezer  Thompson,  12  days  at  Otter  Creek,  1777, 
and  hiring  Jonathan  Woodcock  six  months  for  Con- 
tinental army,  £15  17s.  6d. 

"Annanius  Tubs,  army  at  Canada,  1776,  12  days  at 
Otter  Creek,  1777,  and  2  months  at  Bennington,  1777, 
£11  7s.  2d. 

"Philemon  Whitcomb,  4  months,  in  1777,  by  Ben- 
jamin Parker,  £8  13s.  Ad. 

"  Lieut.  Daniel  Warner,  10  days  in  militia  in  Cam- 


SWANZEY. 


401 


bridge,  1775,  12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  1777,  and  9 
months  in  Continental  army  by  hire,  £22  2s.  9(/. 

"Capt.  Joseph  Whitcomb,  1  month  toTiconderoga, 
1776,  and  1  month  in  army  at  Westward,  1777,  £4 
6s.  8d. 

"  Captain  Jonathan  Whitcomb,  8h  months  in  Con- 
tinental army  at  Cambridge,  1775,  £18  8s.  4ci. 

"Maj.  Elisha  Whitcomb,  11  months  and  8  days  in 
army  at   Canada,  1776,  and  12  days  at  Cambridge, 

1775,  and  12  days  at  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £26  9s.  2d. 
"Abijah  Whitcomb,  8J  months   in   army  at  Cam- 
bridge, 1775,  £18  8s.  4d. 

"  William  Wright,  2\  months  in  army,  1776,  by 
Wyat  Gunn,  and  15  days  in  militia,  1777,  £5  18s.  8d. 

"  Lieut.  Samuel  Wright,  12  days  in  militia  at  Cam- 
bridge, 1775,  2i  months  at  York,  and  2\  months  at 
Peeskill,  1776,  £12  lis.  8d. 

"  Cornelius  Roberts,  1  year  in  Continental  army, 

1776,  and  12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £26  17s.  6d. 
"Jonathan  Woodcock,  Jr.,  1  month  in  militia  to 

Ticonderoga,  1776,  £2  3s.  4d. 

"  Nathan  Woodcock,  2  months,  in  1777,  by  Daniel 
Day,  £4  6s.  8d. 

"John  Whitcomb,  12  days  to  Cambridge,  1775,  5 
months  at  Ticonderoga,  1776,  by  hire,  1  month  at 
Ticonderoga  by  himself,  12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  1777, 
and  2  months  in  army  at  the  Westward,  1777,  £19 
19s.  2d. 

"James  Wheelock,  10  months  to  Canada,  1776,  £21 
13s.  4c/. 

"Moses  Boardman  Williams,  12  days  at  Otter 
Creek,  1777,  and  2  months  in  army  at  the  Westward, 

1777,  £5  4s.  2d. 

"  Ensign  James  Heaton,  10  months  in  army  before 
he  came  to  Swanzey  and  12  days  militia  to  Otter 
Creek,  1777,  £22  10s.  lOd. 

"  Benjamin  Follett,  1  month  in  army  at  Cambridge, 

1775,  and  2  months  in  army  at  the  Westward,  1777, 
£6  10s. 

"John  Plene,  1  month  at  York,  1776,  by  hire,  and 
6  weeks  at  York  by  hire,  £5  4s. 

"  Samuel  Heaton,  2h  months  at  Peekshill,  1776,  £5 
8s.  id. 

"  Samuel  Hills,  Jr.,  10  months  in  army  to  Canada, 

1776,  £21  13s.  4d. 

"  Elkenah  Lane,  Sr.,  15  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge, 1775,  and  5  days  in  militia  at  another  time, 
£1  %d. 

"Samuel  Lane,  1  month  in  militia  at  Ticonderoga, 
and  4  months  in  Continental  army,  1777,  £10  16s.  8d. 

"  Jonathan  Day,  2J  months  in  army,  1777,  by  hire, 
£5  8s.  4c/. 

"  Daniel  Day,  12  days  in  militia  to  Cambridge, 
1775,  £1  15s. 


"Nathaniel  Potter,  12  days  in  militia  to  Cam- 
bridge, 1775,  2\  months  in  army,  1777,  by  hire,  and 
12  days  in  militia  to  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £8  10s. 

"Stoddard  Frazy,  2  months  in  army  by  hire,  1777, 
£4  6s.  8d. 

"Moses  Griffith,  5  months  in  army  at  Ticonderoga, 
1776,  £10  16s.  8d. 

"  William  Grimes,  5  months  in  army  at  Ticonderoga, 

1776,  by  hire,  and  9  months  in  Continental  army  by 
hire,  £30  6s.  8d. 

"  William  Grimes,  Jr.,  12  days  at  Cambridge,  1775, 
1  month  to  Ticonderoga,  1776,  12  days  to  Otter  Creek, 

1777,  and  9  months  in  army  by  hire,  £24  5s.  lOd. 
"James   Grimes,  12   days  to  Cambridge,  1775,  and 

12  days  to  Otter  Creek,  1777,  £2  12s.  6d. 

"Andrew  Nichols,  10  months  in  army  to  Canada, 
1776,  £21  13s.  Ad. 

"Jonathan  Hammond,  3  years  in  Continental  army 
by  hire,  £78. 

"  Timothy  Brown  Applin,  2  months  in  Continental 
army  by  hire,  £4  6s.  8c?. 

"  Nathaniel  Heaton,  for  service  by  Daniel  Gunn, 
£10  10s.  lid. 

"  Ezekiel  White,  4  months  in  army  by  hire,  £8  13s. 
4d. 

"David  White,  2J  months  in  army  by  hire,  £5 
8s.  4d. 

"  Kimber  Harvey,  service  in  army,  1777,  £3  14s. 
2d. 

"  Willard  Hunt,  8  months  in  army,  £17  6s.  8d. 

"  Pelitia  Hazey,  6  weeks'  service,  £2  18s.  £2d. 

"  Thomas  Applin,  for  money  paid  for  town  to  pro- 
cure men  for  Continental  army,  £6  15s.  9d. 

"  Benjamin  Freeman,  4  months'  service  by  his  son, 
£8  13s.  4ci. 

"John  Frazy,  5  months  and  12  days  by  his  son  Job, 
£11  14s.  2d. 

"  Ephraim  Harvey,  for  service  by  James  Green, 
£4  6s.  8d. 

"  Timothy  Harvey,  10  months  in  army  to  Canada, 
1776,  £21  13s.  4c/. 

The  foregoing  list  contains  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  names.  The  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  town  which  made  out  the  report 
of  the  services  which  each  of  them  had  done 
consisted  of  Thomas  Applin,  Calvin  Frink, 
Samuel  Hills,  Daniel  Warner,  Henry  Morse 
and  Joseph  Whitcomb,  Jr.,  and  was  made 
February  23,  1778. 

The  town  voted,  January  2,  1778,  to  choose  a 
committee  to  use  their  utmost  endeavor  to  pro- 


402 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


cure  the  men  wanted  to  make  up  our  quota  of 
men  for  the  Continental  army.  The  committee 
chosen  consisted  of  Elisha  Whitcomb,  Joseph 
Hammond  and  Samuel  Hills. 

The  following  extracts  show  that  Swanzey 
had  soldiers  iu  the  army  later  than  1777  : 

"  This  may  Certify  that  Noah  Parkis  hath  Due  on 
my  Role  tor  his  Service  at  the  North — and  last  year, 
seven  Hundred  and  six  pounds,  ten  Shillings,  Conti- 
nental money  which  was  made  up  only  at  Sixty-Seven 
for  one  of  Two  pounds  per  month  for  a  private. 

"Ephraim  Stone. 
"  Keene,  August  10th,  1781. 

"  To  the  Town  of  Swanzey  or  whome  it  may  Con- 

searn." 

The  following  petition  of  Swanzey  soldiers 
was  addressed  to  the  General  Court  : 

"  That  your  petitioners  did  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1779,  Inlist  as  private  soldiers  in  the  Continental  Ser- 
vice for  one  Year  then  next  ensuing  and  did  actually 
and  faithfully  perform  one  Year's  Service  in  the 
present  War  and  were  Discharged  from  said  Service 
in  June,  1780,  for  which  said  Service  your  Petitioners 
have  never  yet  Received  any  wages  either  from  the 
Continent  or  this  state  and  we  Humbly  apprehend 
that  we  are  Justly  entitled  to  a  Reward  for  our  Ser- 
vices equal  to  others  in  the  same  predicament. 

"  Your  Petitioners,  therefore,  Humbly  pray,  that 
this  Honorable  Court  would  take  the  Premises  into 
their  Consideration  and  grant  us,  your  Petitioners, 
such  a  Competent  Reward  for  our  said  services  as  in 
your  Wisdom  you  shall  think  proper. 

"  And  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"  Antipas  How. 
"Andrew  Nichols. 
"  Joshua  Jewett  Prime." 

"  Swaxzey,  October  15th,  1784. 

"  To  the  paymaster  of  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire: 

"Sir:  Pleas  to  pay  to  Mjr.   Elisha  Whitcomb,  all 

the  Wages  and  Depreciation  that  is  due  to  me  for  My 

Servise  in  the  Continental  Army,  in  the  Years  1777 

and  1778  and  his  Receipt  Shall  be  a  Discharge  from 

me  in  full. 

"  Moses  Belling." 

He  was  a  lieutenant  in  Captain  William 
Ellis'  company,  Scammell's  regiment,  and  was 
discharged  September  1,  1778. 

"  I  reced  of  Jonathan  Whitcomb,  thre  pound 
Lawful  Money  as   a   hire,  for   Inlesting   During   the 


wor  In  the  first  New   Hampshire    Regt.,   and   Do 

promis   to  Sarve  for   the   Town   of  Swanzey  During 

Said  Term. 

"  Amasa  Parker,  Sargt. 
"Jany  15th,  1780." 

"  These  may  Certify  whome  it  may  concern,  that 
we  the  Subscribers  being  a  Committee  appointed  by 
the  Town  of  Swanzey  to  procure  Soldiers  for  the 
Continental  Army  in  the  Year  1778,  did  agree  with 
Mr.  Jonathan  Woodcock,  to  Inlist  into  said  Army  for 
the  Term  of  two  Years,  from  Some  time  in  February, 
1778,  and  we  never  agreed  with  or  Engaged  him  for 
any  longer  Time. 

"Samuel  Hills,         | 
,.  T  XT  >  Committee." 

Joseph  Hammond,  1 

"It  appears   by  the   Books,  that   John    Nicholson 

and  John  Bemis  were   allowed  by  the  Committee   of 

Safety,  as  Soldiers  for  the  Town  of  Swanzey,  in  the 

Year   1782.     It   does  not  appear  by   any  Books   or 

returns  when  they  were  mustered. 

"J.  Gilmax." 

The  following  Swanzey  men  were  in  the 
First  New  Hampshire  Regiment  : 

Joel  Andrews,  enlisted  May  12,  1778;  discharged 
December  31,  1780. 

Corporal  John  Cross,  enlisted  January  1,  1778;  dis- 
charged December  31,  1781. 

William  Frankfort,  enlisted  January  9,  1778  ;  died 
April  17,  1779. 

Levi  Simmons,  enlisted  February  13,  1778;  dis- 
charged December  17,  1780. 

Joseph  Tucker,  enlisted  February  3,  1778 ;  dis- 
charged December,  1780. 

Sergeant  Amasa  Parker  and  Solomon  Hazel- 
tine  were  in  Captain  Benjamin  Ellis'  company 
in  1781  and  in  the  First  New  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment in  1782. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  bill  for  pastur- 
ing government  cattle  : 

"Swanzey,  Dec.  20th,  1789. 

"  Capt.  John  Jennison,  Collector  of  Beef,  Dr.,  to 
the  Selectmen  of  Swanzey  for  Pasturing  Beef  Cattle 
as  followeth  (viz.) 

"For  pasturing  thirty-one  Head  of 
Beef  cattle  from  the  16*  Day  of  July  till 
the  7"'  of  September,  being  Seven  Weeks 
and  four  Days,  at  nine  pence  per  Head 
per  week £8  16s.  4d. 

''  For  pasturing  Nine  head  2  weeks  and 
four  Days  (viz.),  from  the  Seventh  of 
Sept.    till    the  2-Vh 16s.  6tf. 


SWANZEY. 


403 


"  For  Pasturing  thirty-two  Head  from 
the  25  of  Sept.  till  the  11th  of  Oct.,  be- 
ing two  weeks   and  two  Days 

"  For  Pasturing  Twenty-two  Head  of 
Beef  Cattle  from  the  11th  of  Oct.  till 
the  first  day  of  Novemr,  being  three 
weeks 

"  For  keeping  one  Beef  Creture  from 
the  first  Day  of  Nov.  till  the  16th  of  De- 
cember, being  Six  weeks,  at  9d  per  week.. 


14s.  9d. 


4s.  6d. 


£13  Is.  Id. 


"Joseph  Dickinson         "|  Selectmen 
"  David  Belding,  Junr.  V        of 

)  Swanzey.'" 


"  Calvin  Frink 


A  most  exciting  state  of  affairs  existed  in  the 
westerly  part  of  New  Hampshire  during  some 
of  the  last  years  of  the  Revolution,  and  some 
of  the  following  years,  which  was  caused  by  a 
portion  of  the  people  becoming  disaffected  to- 
wards New  Hampshire  and  wishing  to  unite 
with  Vermont.  The  following  statements, 
made  by  the  selectmen  of  Swanzey  to  the 
General  Court,  show  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
town  : 

"The  Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Swanzey  in  behalf 
of  themselves  and  the  Town  Humbly  Shew 

"That  under  the  Present  unhappy  Situation  of  our 
affairs  in  this  part  of  the  State,  when  most  in  many 
and  many  in  all  the  Towns  have  revolted  from  under 
the  Government  and  Jurisdiction  of  the  State,  bid- 
ding defiance  to  the  Authority  and  Laws  of  the  same, 
Absolutely  Kefusing  to  pay  Taxes  or  to  contribute 
any  thing  in  any  way  or  manner  towards  Raising  men 
for  the  Continental  Army,  or  Providing  Supplies  for 
the  same,  We  find  it  extreemly  Difficult  for  us  to 
Comply  with  the  Requisitions  of  the  State,  for,  altho' 
the  greatest  part  of  the  People  in  this  Town  Remain 
firm  in  their  Allegiance  to  the  state,  Utterly  averce 
to  the  late  and  present  factious  and  Seditious  conduct 
of  a  great  (if  not  the  greatest)  part  of  the  people  in 
this  Western  part  of  the  State.  Yet  our  affairs  are 
extreemly  Embarrassed,  for,  if  Taxes  are  Assessed, 
they  cannot  be  Collected,  as  some  will  Refuse  to  pay, 
and  if  Constables  or  Collectors  should  Distrain  Such 
Delinquents  for  their  Rates  mobs  would  Arise,  and 
perhaps  the  power  of  the  State  of  Vermont  would  be 
employed  for  their  protection. 

"We have  exerted  ourselves  as  much  as  we  could 
in  order  to  Raise  our  Quota  of  Men  for  the  Continen- 
tal Army,  and  Also  for  Six  Months,  but  have  not 


\ 


Selectmen 

of 
Swanzey. 


J 


been  able  to  compleat  the  former,  nor  to  Raise  any 
part  of  the  latter,  which  Inability  is  owing  princi- 
pally, if  not  Solely,  to  the  confused  Situation  of  this 
part  of  the  State,  And  unless  Something  can  be  done 
for  our  Assistance  it  will  be  Absolutely  Impossible 
for  us  to  Raise  men  or  money  for  the  Service  of  the 
State. 

"We  consider  ourselves  as  Subjects  of  the  state  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  are  firmly  Resolved  to  persist  in 
our  Allegiance  and  expect  the  protection  of  the  State, 
without  which  we  shall  not  be  able  to  stand  against 
the  opposition  that  will  be  made. 

"  We  Humbly  pray  that  your  Honors  would  take 
the  matter  into  your  Wise  consideration  and  make 
Such  provision  for  our  protection  and  Safety  as  that 
we  may  not  be  Obliged  to  Yield  to  unreasonable  men 
and  Measures. 

"Thos  Applin 

"  Calvin  Frink 

"  Elijah  Belding 

"  Isaac  Hammond 

"  Elisha  Whitcomb 
"Swanzey,  June  9,  1781." 

The  following  petition,  relative  to  beef  tax 
of  1784,  was  addressed  to  the  General  Court 
February,  1785  : 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Selectmen  and  Assessors  of 
the  Town  of  Swanzey,  in  said  State,  for  the  year  1784, 

"  Humbly  sheweth, — 

"  That  whereas  in  the  year  1781  the  General  Court 
of  this  State  Ordered  and  directed  the  Selectmen  of 
said  Swanzey  to  Assess  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Town 
their  Quota  of  Beef  for  the  Continental  Army,  which 
was  accordingly  done,   and  the  greatest  part  of  said 
Beef  was  paid  by  said  Inhabitants,  yet  some  were  de- 
linquent, Refusing  to  pay  their  State  Tax,  Occasioned 
Principally   by  the  Union  of  the  Grants  (so-called) 
with  Vermont,  by  reason  of  which  agreably  to  an  Act 
of  the  General  Court,  said  Swanzey  was   Ordered  to 
pay  a  deficiency  of  said  Tax  and  a  fine  for  their  De- 
linquency, both  of  which  amounting  to  £137,  which 
the  Treasurer  of  this  State,  by  his  Warrant  directed 
to  the  Selectmen  of  said  Town,  has  ordered  to  be 
Assessed,  which  has  not  yet  been  complied  with,  Be- 
cause your  petitioners  think  it  very  unjust  to  Assess, 
Levy  and  Collect  the  aforesaid  Sum  of  those  Persons 
who  paid  their  Tax  in  due  time,  and  your  Petitioners 
have  no  Warrant  to  Assess  said  Sum  on  those  that 
were  Delinquent,  and  dare  not  venture  to  Assess  said 
Sum,  either  on  the  whole  or  part  of  the  Inhabitants, 
lest  it  should  make  great  confusion,  murmuring  and 
Complaining  among  the  People  of  Said  Town.     Your 


404 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Petitioners,  therefore,  most  Humbly  and  earnestly 
pray  that  this  Honorable  Body  would  take  the  above 
Stated  Case  into  their  Serious  consideration,  and 
make  such  Order  thereon  as  in  their  Wisdom  they 
shall  think  most  just  and  Equitable. 

"  And  as  in  Duty  Bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"David  Belding,     (  Selectmen  &  Asses- 
"  Isaac  Hammond,  \  sors  of  Swanzey." 

The  following,  relative  to  the  beef  tax,  was 
addressed  to  the  General  Court  December  13, 
1786: 

"The  Selectmen  of  Swanzey,  in  the  County  of 
Cheshire,  humbly  beg  leave  to  lay  before  this  Honor- 
able Body  their  Embarrassments  as  to  Assessing  the 
Doomage  for  this  Town's  Deficiency  of  Beef  in  the 
year  1781.  Your  Petitioners  immediately  on  Receiv- 
ing Orders  for  collecting  Said  Beef,  Assessed  the 
Inhabitants  of  Swanzey,  Seting  the  Beef  at  twenty- 
Seven  Shillings  per  Hundred  weight,  and  as  your 
Petitioners  were  Sensible  of  the  Importance  of  the 
Order  of  Court  being  complied  with,  they  exerted 
themselves  and  Collected  a  considerable  part  of  the 
Beef  by  the  Set  time,  and  would  undoubtedly  Col- 
lected the  whole  had  it  not  been  for  a  number  of  Politi- 
cal Heri ticks  in  this  and  Adjacent  Towns,  who,  by 
their  Instigations  and  artful  insinuations,  Shook  the 
Allegiancy  (of  the  ignorant  andunprincipaled  part  of 
the  community)  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  Attached  them  to  the  usurped  State  of  Vermont, 
and  the  Imbecillity  of  Government  was  so  great  at 
that  Day  that  your  Petitioners  thought  it  not  wise  to 
compel  or  use  Coersive  measures  with  those  who 
would  not  freely  pay  their  proportion  of  Said  tax,  and 
since  the  Energy  of  Government  has  increased  and 
this  Town  has  been  caled  upon  to  pay  Said  Tax,  with 
a  Doomage,  the  Selectmen  have  taken  up  the  matter 
and  find  it  Difficult,  if  not  Impossable,  to  make  an 
Assessment  for  said  Doomage  in  any  way  which  will 
not  blow  up  an  unquenchable  fire  in  this  Town,  for  if 
we  should  Assess  it  on  the  Delinquents  only,  who  in 
justice  Ought  to  pay  the  Same,  we  Should  in  so 
doing  do  injustice,  for  a  Number  of  said  Delinquents 
are  Removed  out  of  this  Town,  and,  consequently,  out 
of  the  reach  of  an  Assesment,  and  should  an  Asses- 
ment  be  made  on  the  whole  Town,  it  would  be  to 
make  the  Righteous  be  as  the  Wicked,  which  the 
Patriarch  of  the  Hebrews  Saith,  is  far  from  the  Al- 
mighty. Your  Petitioners,  therefore,  most  Humbly 
pray  this  Honorable  Body  to  take  the  matter  into 
their  wise  Consideration,  and  either  except  of  the 
twenty-Seven  Shillings  on  the  Hundred  weight,  which 
is   already   Assessed,   and   which  may  be  Collected 


without  Dificulty  or  Direct  Your  Petitioners  in  what 
manner  to  proceed,  that  they  may  escape  the  Publick 
Odium. 

"  Isaac  Hammond,  [  Selectmen  of 
"  Calvin  Frink,     \  Swanzey. 

"  In  House  of  Rep.  January  16,  1787,  Voted  that  as 
there  is  great  difficulty  respecting  the  assessment  for 
the  deficiency  of  Beef  in  the  Town  of  Swanzey,  the 
Treasurer  be  directed,  so  far  as  respects  said  Beef 
Tax,  to  stay  the  Extent  against  said  Town  until!  the 
first  Wednesday  of  June  next." 

Of  the  Swanzey  men  who  rendered  important 
services  during  the  Revolution,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Joseph  Hammond  may  be  considered 
the  most  conspicuous.  He  inarched  immediately 
at  the  head  of  a  company  for  the  field  of  con- 
flict when  he  heard  of  the  battle  at  Lexing- 
ton. He  went  with  his  regiment  to  Ticonderoga, 
being  lieutentant-colonel  under  Colonel  Ashley. 
He  resigned  his  commission  June  14,  17 Tit. 
He  was,  however,  employed  in  various  ways 
during  the  war,  acting  as  mustering  officer,  and 
at  times  in  charge  of  the  transportation  of  sup- 
plies to  the  army  at  Ticonderoga,  etc.  He  was 
at  home  when  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was 
fought.  He  knew  that  many  of  the  Swanzey 
soldiers  were  with  the  army  in  that  vicinity, 
and  among  them  his  son  Joseph.  When  he 
heard  of  the  battle  he  prepared  to  start  im- 
mediately, that  he  might  know  the  results  of 
the  battle.  He  started  in  the  morning  and 
rode  through  in  a  day,  a  distance  of  about  ninety 
miles,  and  returned  the  following  day.  The 
following  poem  describes  this  famous  ride  : 

"  Says  old  Colo.  Hammond,  '  I'd  like  to  know 

The  fate  on  the  morrow  of  my  son  Joe  ; 

I   learn   by   the   herald   that   rode   by   to-night, 

The  unwelcome  news  of  the  Bunker-Hill  fight; 

Nor  doubt  I  a  moment  my  son  Joe  was  there, 

In  fighting  our   foemen,    to   fight   his    full   share ; 

And  I  have  resolved  and  approved  of  the  plan 

To  off  on  the  morrow  and  learn  what  I  can. 

So,  wife,  in  the  morning  the  breakfast  prepare, 

While  I  catch  and  curry  the  old  red  mare  ; 

Till  then  let  us  sleep — 'tis  needful  we  rest — 

And  dream  what  we  may,  we  will  hope   for  the  best, 

The  Colo,  rose  early  and  early  prepared 

To  start  on  his  journey  as  he  had  declared, 


SWANZEY. 


405 


And  soon  in  the  door-yard  the  old  mare  was  tied, 

'  All  saddled,  all  bridled,'  all  fit  for  a  ride. 

The  Colonel's  cocked-hat  now  he  put  on  his  head, 

His  spurs  on  the  heels  of  his  boots,  as  he  said  : 

'  Wife,  now  my  blue-coat  and  my  doublet  of  buff, 

And  I  shall  be  rigged  for  the  ride  well  enough.' 

The  sun  got  up  some  minutes  before 

The  Colonel  was  ready  to  step  from  the  door, 

And  say  to  his  lady  '  good  morn,'  or  '  good  bye, 

Then  thinking  of  Joseph,  a  tear  in  her  eye. 

He  reached  for  the  bridle  when  started  the  mare 

And  snorted,  the  Colonel  looked  so  militaire  ! 

He  patted  her  neck  as  he  stood  by  her  side, 

To  calm  her  a  wee  ere  he  got  up  to  ride, 

Then  sprang  to  the  saddle,  'thout  further  delay, 

And  like  a  knight  errant  he  galloped  away. 

From  Swanzey,  New   Hampshire,  thro'    Fitzwilliam 

sped, 
Swift  skim'd  the  red  mare,  and  strong  was  her  tread  ; 
And  onward,  and  onward,  and  onward  she  prest, 
No  sign  that  she  was  weary — that  she  required  rest ; 
Tho'  sweating  the  heat,  and  oppressive  the  dust, 
She  turned  not ;  she  stopped  not  to  half  quench   her 

thirst, 
And  ere  Sol  his  car  to  the  Zenith  had  run, 
The  Colonel's  long  journey  was  more  than  half  done. 
When  looking  ahead,  lo !  the  Colonel  espied 
An  inn-stand,  inviting,  close  by  the  roadside ; 
To  this  he  reined  up  for  a  little  respite, 
And  called  for  refreshments  as  would  a  bold  knight ; 
'  Some   oats  for  my  mare  and  a  drink   at  the  spring, 
And  as  for  myself,  I'll  a  bumper  of  sling ! ' 
(For  all  liquored  up  in  those  days,  you  will  find, 
To  strengthen  their  courage  and  cheer  up  the  mind). 
But  short  was  his  tarry,  and,  proud  of  her  load, 
The  old  mare  was  prancing  along  the  high-road  ; 
On  !  on  through  old  Concord  she  gallantly  sped, 
And  onward  she  galloped  through  Lexington's  town, 
A  place  on  the  road  of  fame  and  renown, 
And  drew  up  at  Charlestown,  at  Bunker  Hill's  side 
Before  it  was  sunset,  where  ended  his  ride. 
And  glad  was  the  Colonel  when  Joseph  he  found, 
His  limbs  and  his  wind  and  his  body  all  sound. 
And  early  next  morning  the  red  mare  was  seen, 
Her  head  up,  her  tail  up,  just  leaving  the  green  ; 
Her  strength  like  an  engine  with  fleetness  combined, 
(The  Colonel  on  forward  and  Joe  on  behind). 
So  lightly  she  cantered  and  turned  up  the   road, 
Not  caring  a  '  fip  '  for  the  weight  of  the  load, 
She  started  for  home  with  the  Colonel   and  son, 
And  ere  it  was  sundown  her  day's-work  was  done. 
And  how  felt  the  mother  when  meeting  with  Joe, 
There's  none  but  a  mother  can  feel  or  can  know  ; 


And  what  think  ye,  reader,  hadn't  we  here 
As  goodly  a  rider  as  '  Paul  Eevere  ? '  " 

Swanzey  furnished  its  full  complement  of 
soldiers  for  the  War  of  1812.  Of  those  that 
went  into  the  service,  William  C.  Belding  was 
killed  at  Chippewa  Plains,  July  5, 1814  ;  Rufus 
Graves  was  killed  at  Bridgewater,  Canada,  July 
25,  1814 ;  a  son  of  John  Guild  was  killed  in 
Upper  Canada ;  Joshua  Prime,  a  lieutenant  of 
marines,  died  at  Sackett's  Harbor  March  1, 
1813  ;  Gains  Cresson  died  a  Burlington,  Vt. ; 
and  Benedict  Arnold  died  at  Portsmouth. 

The  town's  record  in  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion is  as  follows : 

"  Voted  September  21,  1861,  that  the  selectmen  be 
instructed  to  borrow  from  time  to  time  such  sums  of 
money  as  may  be  wanted  to  pay  the  families  or 
parents  of  soldiers,  who  have  enlisted,  or  may  here- 
after enlist  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  the 
sum  of  one  dollar  per  week  for  the  wife,  and  one 
dollar  per  week  for  each  child. 

"  Voted  March  11,  1862,  to  indemnify  the  select- 
men from  all  liability  which  they  may  have  incurred 
or  hereafter  incur  by  paying  money  to  the  families 
of  soldiers  and  instruct  them  to  continue  to  pay  to 
them  in  accordance  with  the  State  law,  according  to 
their  best  judgment. 

"Resolved,  August  11,  1862,  That  the  town  will  pay 
two  hundred  dollars  to  each  person  who  will  enlist 
from  the  town  to  fill  up  her  required  quota  (of  a  draft 
ordered  by  the  President,  August  4,  1862,  of  three 
hundred  thousand  troops  for  nine  months),  imme- 
diately on  the  mustering  into  service  of  such  volun- 
teers, provided  they  received  no  bounty  from  gov- 
ernment, otherwise  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars. 

"  Voted  September  10,  1863,  To  raise  three  hundred 
dollars  to  pay  to  each  of  the  soldiers,  or  their  substi- 
tutes, ten  days  after  they  are  mustered  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States. 

"  Voted  May  30,  1864,  To  pay  the  drafted  men,  or 
their  substitutes,  three  hundred  dollars  each  to  fill 
all  back  quotas  of  said  town  under  the  last  calls  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

"  Voted  June  16,  1864,  That  the  selectmen  shall  pay 
three  hundred  dollars  to  each  of  such  persons  as  may 
enlist,  or  their  substitutes,  and  be  accredited  to  the 
town  of  Swanzey  on  any  future  calls  for  three-years' 
men. 

"  Voted  August  13,  1864,  To  pay  volunteers  for  one 
year,  one  hundred  dollars ;  for  two  years,  two  hun- 


406 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


dred  dollars  ;  for  three  years  three  hundred  dollars ; 
and  that  the  selectmen  be,  and  are  hereby  authorized 
to  borrow  a  sufficient  amount  of  money  to  carry  the 
above  vote  into  effect. 

"  Voted  August  29, 1864,  That  the  selectmen  be,  and 
are  hereby  authorized  to  pay  bounties  to  citizen 
volunteers  who  have  resided  in  the  town  three  months 
as  follows:  five  hundred  dollars  for  one  year,  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  two  years  and  nine 
hundred  dollars  for  three  years,  immediately  on  being 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

"  Voted  That  the  selectmen  be,  and  are  hereby 
authorized  to  pay  bounties  to  drafted  men  or  their 
substitutes  to  the  full  extent  of  the  law  as  provided 
or  that  purpose. 

"Voted  That  the  selectmen  be,  and  are  hereby 
authorized  to  procure  an  amount  of  money  sufficient 
to  carry  out  the  object  expressed  in  the  above  votes 
and  at  the  best  rates  possible. 

"  Voted  That  the  selectmen  be  requested  to  interest 
themselves  as  much  as  possible  in  the  matter  of 
raising  volunteers  to  fill  the  quota  of  this  town. 

"  Voted  September  1, 1864,  To  indemnify  the  select- 
men against  any  liability  which  may  arise  by  reason 
of  said  selectmen  paying  bounties  of  three  hundred 
dollars  to  individuals  who  have  furnished  an  accepta- 
ble substitute  to  count  on  the  quota  of  the  town  since 
July  16,  1864. 

"  Voted  December  22,  1864,  To  pay  to  those  persons 
who  have  or  may  furnish  an  acceptable  substitute  to 
fill  the  quota  of  the  town  on  any  future  call  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  dollars  for  one  year,  two  hundred 
dollars  for  two  years  and  three  hundred  dollars  for 
three  years. 

"  Voted  To  pay  bounties  to  citizens  volunteers  who 
have  resided  in  the  town  three  months  or  more,  as 
follows :  five  hundred  dollars  for  one  year,  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  two  years  and  nine 
hundred  dollars  for  three  years  on  being  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  persons  contributed  to  fill  the 
quotas  oi'  Swanzey  by  enlisting,  or  by  furnish- 
ing substitutes,  <>r  by  paying  commutation  when 
drafted: 


Charles  R.  Applin. 
Albert  G.  Read. 
Jonathan  M.  Holden. 

Allen  P>.    Haywood. 
Anson  Gilson. 
Samuel  Hunl. 
1  Iriirv  S.  Applin. 
Philo  Applin. 
26 


David  W.  Hill. 
Sylvander  1  [ovey. 
I  demerit  W.  Stone. 
Harvey  Sargent. 
Thos.  N.  Woodward. 
Daniel  E.  Woodward. 

Sail  ford  Holies. 
Leonard  Lyman. 


William  B.  Marble. 
Daniel  H.  Holbrook. 
Albert  Ballou. 
Charles  Wheeler. 
Henry  P.  Read. 
Samuel  Rock  wood. 
Charles  H.  Sebastian. 
Edward  P.  Sebastian. 
Sidney  Stone. 
Lowell  W.  Darling. 
Amasa  Bourne. 
John  Stone. 
Willard  Bragg. 
George  F.  Trobridge 
Amos  E.  Cuinmings. 
Elliot  Wright. 
Gardner  Wheeler. 
Carlos  Quinn. 
Samuel  Quinn. 
Charles  Quinn. 
Elbridge  G.  Prentice. 
Joseph  Cross. 
George  B.  Richardson. 
Jeremiah  Plummer. 
Cyrus  F.  Holbrook. 
Oliver  L.  Nash. 
Prescot  D.  Coburn. 
Stilman  D.  Nash. 
Warren  F.  Allen. 
Horace  Barney. 
George  O.  Knapp. 
John  A.  Bread. 
George  W.  Robinson. 
Thomas  Burns. 

Aaron  Dickinson. 

Cyrus  W.  Stanley. 

Benjamin  Pomeroy. 

George  Wilson. 

Bradley  Hill. 

Amos  D.  Combs. 

George  W.  Johnson. 

Oratus  Very. 

George  Mattoon. 

Isaac  Starkey. 

Charles  H.  Mcintosh. 

Henry  Coburn. 

N.  R.  Smith. 

A  iron  Sumner. 

Obed  Holton. 

Thomas  Christie. 

James  L.  Davis. 

Leonard  S.  Holden. 

Charles  Barber. 


Sanford  S.  Wilber. 
Richard  R.  Ramsdell. 
Theodore  Hovey. 
Oratus  J.  Very. 
Noyce  G.  Wheeler. 
Roswell  O.  Aldrich. 
Samuel  Stephenson. 
Lyman  C.  Deeth. 
Aaron  Lebourveau. 
George  Jackson. 
Henry  Hill. 
Asa  C.  Hemmenway. 
Obed  Holton. 
Menzies  E.  Stratton. 
Benjamin  F.  Mead. 
William  W.  Starkey. 
Samuel  Rockwood. 
Charles  R.  Applin. 
John  L.  Meserve. 
Alonzo  D.  Sumner. 
John  A.  Colby. 
William  Read. 
William  Eastman. 
Michael  Farrel. 
Harvey  Thompson. 
John  Barker. 
Thomas  Smith. 
Frank  Canovan. 
John  Stewart. 
George  Perkins 
George  Davis. 
Thomas  Karney. 
Sexton  W.  Williams. 
William  <  )akman. 
Silas  W.  Ballou. 
Albert  R.  Ballou. 
George  A.  Haywood. 
Charles  Temple. 
Asahel  W.  Duntou. 
Moses  D.  Ballou. 
George  II.  More. 
Ansell  B.  Dickinson. 
John  W.  Taggard, 
Timothy  Sherman. 
Henry  S.  Applin. 

Amos  E.  Cummings. 
Joseph  Cross. 
Elbridge  Prentice. 
John  A.  Bread. 

Aaron  I  >irkinson. 
.John  F.  Hunt. 
Orick  L.  Haskell. 

Warren  A.  Pickering. 


SWANZEY. 


407 


Charles  H.  Barber,  Jr. 
John  Barber. 
John  S.  Thayer. 
D.  Brainerd  Healey. 
George  W.  B.  Caffre. 

A.  W.  Tupper. 
Amos  Davis. 
Seamon  A.  Stone. 
Edward  Doolittle. 
George  P.  Ward. 
Eli  W.  Eaynolds. 
George  I.  Capron. 
Horace  B.  Starkey. 
William  Sebastian,  Jr. 

B.  P.  Lamson. 
Charles  G.  Gilmore. 
Samuel  Mattoon. 
Charles  W.  Philbrook. 
William  E.  Thatcher. 
Charles  W.  Mattoon. 
William  Stone. 
Chas.  E.  Stephenson. 
Charles  H.  Holbrook. 
Franklin  Burbank. 
Dexter  H.  Thomas. 
Harrison  R.  Ward. 
D.  L.  M.  Comings. 
Calvin  Greenleaf. 
Luther  Smith. 
Luther  Beal. 

Willis  Reason. 
Cyrus  F.  Holbrook. 
Lincoln  Wheelock. 
Henry  D.  Holbrook. 
Charles  H.  Gove. 
George  B.  Holbrook. 
A.  D.  Combs. 
Carrol  D.  Wright. 
Franklin  C.  Whitcomb. 
Daniel  F.  Healey. 
David  Buffom  (2d). 
Charles  W.  Scott. 


William  N.  Ripley. 
Ira  A.  Hooper. 
George  W.  Sweetzer. 
John  P.  Hill. 
Charles  Marsh. 
Jotham  M.  Ballou. 
Martin  Jewell. 
Lewis  Carpenter. 
Nathaniel  Bourn,  Jr. 
J.  Q.  A.  Wilson. 
Sylvander  L.  Hovey. 
Lemuel  O.  Hunt. 
Charles  B.  Blodgett. 
Benjamin  F.  Clark. 
Edward  Dickinson. 
Jonas  C.  Waters. 
Clark  H.  Houghton. 
Fred.  E.  Sebastian. 
Oratus  J.  Very. 
George  Burns. 
Daniel  W.  Clark. 
Charles  H.  Howard. 
George  E.  Whitcomb. 
J.  N.  Forrestall. 
George  Willis. 
Lyman  C.  Willis. 
Charles  Bowles. 
Josiah  Parsons. 
Benj.  H.  Richardson. 
James  C.  Eames. 
Orloe  E.  Parsons. 
Thayer  Thomson. 
George  W.  Eastman. 
James  H.  Alcott. 
Henry  C.  Clark. 
David  Pelkey. 
Alvin  W.  Houghton. 
Edward  P.  Sebastian. 
George  W.  "Ellis. 
Henry  B.  Davis. 
Charles  S.  Parks. 
Lewis  Hunt. 


In  the  foregoing  list  several  names  appear 
twice,  occasioned  by  the  person  re-enlisting. 
In  some  cases,  where  men  furnished  substitutes, 
his  name  appears  and  also  the  name  of  the 
substitute. 

We  cannot  give  a  correct  list  of  those  who 
were  killed  or  wounded  and  of  those  who  died 
while  in  the  service  or  of  those  who  never  re- 
turned. 

Anson  Gilson,  George  F.  Trobridge,  John 
Stone,  Thomas  Burns,  Aaron  Dickinson  were 
killed  ;  Lowell  W.  Darling  died  from  the  ef- 
fect of  a  wound  ;  Allen  B.  Haywood  lost  his 
right  arm  ;  Daniel  K.  Healey  was  permanently 
disabled  ;  Albert  Ballou  and  Francis  C.  Whit- 
comb were  badly  wounded.  It  is  not  known 
what  became  of  Charles  Wheeler  and  Joseph 
Cross.  Eliot  Wright,  D.  Brainard  Healey,  B. 
P.  Lamson,  David  Buffum  (2d),  Demerit  W. 
Stone,  Sanford  Bolles,  Sanford  S.  Wilber  and 
Henry  S.  Applin  died. 

Amos  D.  Combs  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Sixth  Regiment  and  a  captain  in  the  Four- 
teenth Regiment ;  David  Buffum  (2d)  was  a  cap- 
tain in  the  Sixteenth  Regiment. 

Carrol  D.  Wright  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Fourteenth  Regiment  when  it  was  organized 
and  was  promoted  to  colonel  before  he  left  the 
regiment. 

Many  natives  of  Swanzey  went  into  the  army 
from  other,  places,  and  of  these  it  is  known  that 
Lyman  Whitcomb,  Lucius  Whitcomb  and  Na- 
thaniel F.  Lane  Mere  killed,  and  that  Wallace 
G.  Dickinson  and  Elmer  F.  Dickinson  died 
while  in  the  service. 


HISTORY   OF  WALPOLE 


BY   GEORGE   ALDRICH. 


CHAPTER  I. 


from  1749  to  1760. 


The  early  history  of  any  one  town  on  Con- 
necticut River  only  is  repeated  in  the  early  set- 
tlements of  others  located  in  the  same  vicinity, 
in  the  manner  in  which  families  lived,  and 
also  in  the  dangers  by  which  they  were  beset  by 
hostile  Indians.  Town  lines  were  no  barriers 
to  the  friendship  that  one  settlement  had  for 
another.  There  were  prominent  motives  which 
the  early  settlers  had  for  a  pioneer  life.  One 
was  to  better  their  condition  and  make  a  name 
for  themselves ;  and  the  other  was  to  get  away 
from  the  conventionalities  of  populous  towns 
into  an  atmosphere  of  freedom, — they  could  not 
brook  restraint.  Many  of  the  early  settlers  of 
this  town  were  from  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
who  brought  with  them  the  frugal,  industrious 
habits  of  the  people  of  that  State,  and  also  the 
religious  sentiments  of  the  Puritans.  Another 
class  of  settlers  came  from  Londonderry,  this 
state,  who  were  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians. 
They  also  were  frugal,  industrious  people,  and 
made  the  old  rocky  hills  yield  an  abundance  for 
man  and  beast. 

After  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  century  and  a 
quarter,  it  is  impossible  for  the  historian  to  tell 
what  character  all  the  early  settlers  of  this  town 
bore,  only  from  tradition.  However,  it  is  in- 
ferred from  their  acts  found  recorded  in  the 
records  of  the  town,  and  such  stray  informa- 
tion as  has  been  gathered  from  other  sources, 
that  most  of  the  first  settlers  were  men  of  great 
force  of  character,  patriotic  in  their  political 
408 


sentiments,  strict  in  their  religious  observances, 
frugal  and  industrious.  The  intellectual  attain- 
ments of  the  first  settlers  were  not  of  a  high 
order;  but  in  time  men  of  culture  took  up  an 
abode  here.  It  may  be  that  some  of  the  first 
settlers  left  their  country  for  their  country's 
good  and  made  a  new  home  for  themselves  and 
families ;  but  this  is  not  probable,  for  only  one 
instance  is  known  of  a  sheriff  dogging  the 
heels  of  a  runaway,  and  that  was  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin Bellows,  who  afterwards  was  the  most 
prominent  settler  that  ever  settled  in  town. 
His  great  crime  was  this,  he  had  not  ready 
money  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  his  creditors  be- 
fore he  left  Massachusetts. 

It  is  not  positively  known  whether  the 
Aborigines  everoccupied  permanently  the  terri- 
tory now  embraced  by  the  lines  forming  the 
town  of  Walpole  or  not ;  but  one  thing  is  cer- 
tain, that  annually,  in  the  months  of  May  and 
June,  very  large  numbers  collected  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  Great  Falls  (now  Bellows  Falls), 
for  the  purpose  of  catching  shad  and  salmon, 
it  being  the  best  fishing-ground  to  be  found  in 
all  New  England.  The  blossoming  of  the 
shad-tree  (Amelanchier  Canadensis)  was  the 
signal  for  all  the  Indians  for  many  miles  around, 
and  even  from  Canada,  to  gather  about  the  falls 
for  the  purpose  of  catching  shad  and  salmon. 
Multitudes  of  these  fish  would  ascend  the  Con- 
necticut every  spring,  to  deposit  their  spawn  at 
its  head  and  at  the  source  of  its  tributaries. 
After  a  long-weary  journey  from  the  ocean  the 
shad  were  barred  further  progress  by  the  rapid 
flow  of  the  water.  In  the  basin  below  the 
rapids   the  shad   would   gather  in  myriad  nmn- 


WALPOLE. 


409 


bers,  and  make  futile   attempts  to  ascend,  but 
made  a  failure  every  time. 

The  Indians,  perched  on  the  rocks  below, 
with  their  scoop-nets,  found  no  difficulty  in  ap- 
peasing their  hunger  during  the  shad  season. 
In  time  the  shad  became  discouraged  in  their 
attempts  to  ascend  the  main  stream,  when  they 
would  descend  the  river  till  a  suitable  tributary 
was  found,  which  they  would  ascend  and  ful- 
fill nature's  laws,  and  return  to  the  salt  water  in 
August — shad  poor.  The  salmon,  more  agile 
than  the  shad,  bound  on  the  same  mission, 
would  ascend  the  most  rapid  portion  of  the 
falls  with  apparent  ease  ;  so  rapid  is  the  stream 
that  an  iron  bar  suspended  over  the  current  will 
not  sink,  but  float  on  the  water.  It  is  said  that 
salmon  have  been  seen  darting  up  this  cascade 
with  the  speed  of  a  locomotive,  with  two  or 
three  lamprey  eels  in  tow,  that  had  fastened 
themselves  upon  the  sides  of  the  salmon  at  the 
dawn  of  day  by  suction. 

There  is  sufficient  evidence  to  warrant  the 
conclusion  that  there  were  large  numbers  of 
Indians  who  lived  a  part,  if  not  all  the  year, 
near  the  railroad  station  at  Cold  River.  In 
the  immediate  vicinity  and  also  a  half-mile  be- 
low, the  plough-share  of  civilization  has  un- 
earthed Indian  skeletons,  spear-heads,  arrow- 
heads, heaps  of  clam-shells  and  numerous  other 
Indian  relics,  which,  together  with  the  rude 
carvings  on  the  rocks  below  the  Falls,  are  in- 
dubitable evidences  of  there  having  been  a 
famous  lodgment  for  Indians  about  this  vicinity 
long  before  the  pale-faces'  eyes  rested  on  this  nat- 
ural landscape  of  beauty.  One-half  mile  south 
of  Cold  River  is  a  spring  of  chalybeate  waters, 
thought  by  the  Indians  to  possess  remarkable 
medicinal  qualities.  There  was  a  tribe  of  In- 
dians who  frequented  this  spring,  called  the 
Abanakees  or  Abanarquis  (meaning  the  pines), 
from  whom  the  spring  derives  its  name.  The 
Indians  drank  freely  of  the  water  and  washed 
themselves  all  over  with  it,  claiming  it  would 
cure  cutaneous  diseases.  It  might  have  been 
potent  in  its  effects   on  the  red-skins;    but   no 


one  ever  knew  of  any  sanitary  effects  it  had  on 
white  people.  It  is  very  offensive  to  most  peo- 
ple, both  in  taste  and  smell  ;  one  glass  of  it  be- 
ing sufficient  for  a  life-time  with  ordinary  peo- 
ple, unless  driven  to  the  very  verge  of  death 
from  thirst. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-six  years  ago,  (in 
May  or  June),  if  a  person  with  a  good  field- 
glass  had  been  perched  on  the  highest  point  of 
Fall  Mountain  (now  called  Kilburn  Mountain), 
a  bird's-eye  view  would  have  revealed  to  him, 
near  where  Cold  River  station  now  is,  several 
scores  of  wigwams  ;  their  dusky  owners  cross- 
ing and  re-crossing  the  basin  below  the  falls  in 
their  bark  canoes  ;  while  their  squaws  were  on 
shore  doing  their  drudgery  ;  their  papooses  wal- 
lowing in  the  filth  around  the  wigwams,  and 
the  Indian  maiden  loitering  about  in  the  shade 
of  the  stately  elms,  stringing  her  ornaments 
and  wampum.  A  few  rods  south  from  the  In- 
dian camping-ground  were  the  now  fertile 
plains,  then  studded  with  dwarf  pitch-pines 
and  an  uneven  growth  of  white  birch.  In 
turning  to  the  east,  a  gloomy  forest  of  hemlock, 
which  was  the  home  of  the  gaunt,  ravenous 
gray  wolf,  that  made  the  night  hideous  with  his 
howl,  preseuted  itself  to  view.  In  the  far  dis- 
tance down  the  river,  a  shadowy  view  of  the 
towering  pines  on  Boggy  Meadow  was  seen. 
This  is  the  most  arable,  productive  section  of 
the  town  ;  but  it  was  not  cleared  for  more  than 
eighty  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the 
town.  The  reasons  were  :  first,  the  great 
amount  of  labor  necessary  to  remove  the  heavy 
timber  growing  there  and,  secondly,  the  un- 
healthiness  of  the  atmosphere  which  arose  from 
decaying  vegetable  matter,  producing  malaria. 

The  glass,  when  pointed  to  the  southeast, 
would  bring  to  view  the  highest  elevation  of 
land  in  town — Deny  Hill — the  altitude  of 
which  is  more  than  thirteen  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  This  tract  of  land  was 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  beech,  birch 
and  sugar-maple  timber,  which  has  been  mostly 
cut  off,  and  now   a   second  growth    is   almost 


410 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ready  for  the  axe.  On  looking  to  the  west, 
almost  under  one's  feet  is  the  narrow  defile 
between  Fall  Mountain  and  Connecticut  River, 
where  the  St.  Francis  Indians,  from  Canada, 
used  to  travel,  before  Walpole  was  settled,  on 
their  marauding  expeditions  to  the  border 
settlements  iu  Massachusetts.  Many  were  the 
captive  whites  who  plodded  along  this  narrow 
defile  on  their  way  to  Canada,  to  be  sold  to  the 
French,  downcast,  weary,  footsore  and  hungry. 
The  territory  north  of  Walpole  to  Canada  line 
was  one  unbroken,  gloomy  forest,  excepting  No* 
4  (now  Charlestown).  Game  was  plenty.  There 
were  the  stately  moose  and  his  third  cousin,  the 
sprightly,  graceful  red  deer,  that  lived  on  the 
scanty,  uncut  herbage  of  the  openings  in  sum- 
mer and  browsed  on  the  twigs  of  deciduous  trees 
in  winter.  The  flesh  afforded  appetizing  viands 
for  the  hungry  pioneer.  The  huge,  ungainly 
black  bear  was  frequently  met,  seen  moving 
about  with  his  shuffling,  plantigrade  gait,  hunt- 
ing for  some  fresh  esculent  or  newly-fallen 
nuts  from  the  beech-tree  or  acorns  from  the 
oak. 

Hear  steak  then,  as  now,  was  considered  a 
delicacy.  The  smaller  game  embraced  the 
raccoon,  the  gray  and  black  squirrel,  the  quail 
and  partridge — all  of  which  the  ready  fowling- 
piece  would  bring  to  the  sportsman's  feet.  The 
smaller  streams  were  crowded  with  spotted  trout, 
which  had  never  been  lured  by  the  seducing  fly 
of  Isaac  Walton.  Among  the  carnivorous 
animals  were  the  lynx,  the  wild-cat  and  cata- 
mount ;  the  latter  had  his  lair  on  Fall  Moun- 
tain. The  woodlands  wore  a  weird  appearance 
— old  decaying  trees,  which  had  fallen  in  every 
conceivable  direction,  fantastic  forms  of  with- 
ered limbs  and  old  standing  trees,  denuded  of 
their  bark,  contrasted  strangely  with  the  fresh- 
ness of  later  youth.  Reptiles  sported  in  the 
slimy  pools  of  the  lowlands  or  crawled  un- 
harmed over  piles  of  decaying  timber.  The 
rattlesnake  lay  coiled  asleep  in  some  sunny 
nook,  or  was  noiselessly  drawing  his  hideous 
form  over  mouldering   vegetation,  in   quest  of 


some  luckless  frog.  His  general  habitat,  in 
summer,  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Cold  River,  but 
in  winter  he  sought  repose  in  the  clefts  of  rocks 
on  Fall  Mountain.  Nights  were  made  hideous 
by  the  dismal  moan  of  the  catamount  or  the 
howl  of  the  gray  wolf,  when  hunger  forced 
them  in  squads  or  packs  to  seek  something  to 
sustain  life.  Silence  reigned  by  day,  save  oc- 
casionally the  roar  of  the  "  Great  Falls,"  or 
broken,  perhaps,  by  the  often -repeated  tattoo  of 
the  male  partridge,  morning  and  evening  cheer- 
ing his  mate. 

The  red  man  was  the  sole  occupant  of  the 
soil,  and  was  as  wild  as  the  savage  beasts  around 
him — a  predatory  vagabond,  in  constant  war- 
fare with  his  own  race  ;  seeking  the  destruction 
of  the  early  settlers,  or  leading  them  into  a 
captivity  worse  than  death  ;  the  bark  of  the 
white-birch  his  canoe ;  strings  of  shells  his 
ornaments,  his  calendar  and  his  coin ;  huts 
made  of  bended  saplings  and  evergreen  boughs, 
roofed  with  the  skins  of  animals  and  the  rind 
of  trees,  his  habitation  ;  leaves  of  the  forest  his 
bed;  his  religion,  if  any,  the  adoration  of  na- 
ture ;  his  morals  not  much  above  the  instinct  of 
intelligent  animals ;  disputing  with  them  the 
occupancy  of  the  forests,  and  dividing  with  the 
squirrel  and  bear  the  fruits  of  the  hills — lazy, 
improvident,  wicked. 

The  Indian,  naturally  sullen,  morose  and 
mercenary  in  his  disposition,  and  having  been 
driven  from  time  to  time  from  the  graves  of 
his  fathers,  and  his  fishing  and  hunting-grounds 
by  the  encroachments  of  the  whites,  needed  but 
little  to  incite  him  to  plunder  and  the  most 
cruel  barbarity ;  consequently  he  was  found 
continually  harassing  the  frontier  settlements, 
in  small  predatory  bands,  burning  the  habi- 
tations of  the  early  settlers,  destroying  their 
cattle,  killing  men,  women  and  children  or 
forcing  them  into  captivity,  where  they  woidd 
be  held  for  many  years  away  from  their  chil- 
dren and  friends. 

It  seems  truly  wonderful,  to  many  persons 
in  these  "  piping  times  of  peace,"  that  any  one 


WALPOLE. 


411 


could  be  found  who  had  the  courage,  hardihood 
or  eveu  temerity  to  plant  himself  in  a  howling 
wilderness,  far  removed  from  any  friendly  neigh- 
bor and  almost  under  the  tomahawk  of  merciless 
Indians,  the  white  man's  deadly  foe.  But 
when  it  is  considered  that  many  pioneers  in  a 
new  country,  like  ours,  had  everything  to  gain 
and  nothing  to  lose  but  their  scalps  ;  that  famili- 
arity with  danger,  as  with  everything  else, 
breeds  contempt ;  that  the  early  lessons  of 
children  in  bygone  days  were  the  stories  of 
murder,  treachery,  pillage  and  rapine  perpe- 
trated by  Indians  ;  that  such  stories  were  re- 
counted the  hundredth  time  by  the  gray-haired 
grandsire  to  his  grandson  on  his  knee,  so  that 
at  an  early  age  the  child  became  thoroughly 
schooled  in  the  habits,  artifices  and  wiles  of  the 
red  man,  and  at  manhood,  being  thus  taught, 
he  held  the  Indian  in  contempt,  and  believed  he 
could  check-mate  his  foe  on  his  own  ground  ; 
wonder  ceases  that  pioneers  could  be  found,  who 
were  ready  to  brave  the  dangers  of  a  pioneer's 
life.  At  any  rate  such  persons  were  found,  and 
among  them  was — 

John  Kilbuen,  who  was  born  in  Glaston- 
bury, Conn.,  1704  ;  consequently  he  was  forty- 
five  years  old  when  he  came  to  Walpole,  in 
1749.  He  had  built  himself  a  log;  cabin  on 
the  fertile  intervale,  about  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  south  of  Cold  River,  and  about  the  same 
distance  from  the  place  where  the  Indians,  in 
large  numbers,  sojourned  in  the  summer  through 
the  fishing  season.  His  family  consisted  of 
himself,  his  wife,  his  daughter  Mehitable  (Het- 
ty) and  his  son  John. 

Thomas  Kilburn  was  the  first  settler  of  the 
name  in  this  country,  who  came  to  America 
from  England  in  1635,  bringing  with  him  his 
wife  and  five  children.  John  Kilburn,  Sr. 
was  the  fourth  remove  from  Thomas.  The 
name  of  Kilburn  can  be  found  among:  the  Eng- 
lish  nobility  to  the  time  of  Chaucer,  and  the 
line  of  descent  can  be  directly  traced  from  that 
time  to  the  present.  The  name  is  spelled  in 
different  ways  by  the  old  English  families,  as 


well  as  in  this  country  ;  but  the  sound  is  the 
same.  Kilburn,  Kilborn,  Kylbourne,  Kil- 
borne  are  some  of  the  various  ways  the  name 
is  found  spelled.  The  origin  of  the  name 
is  the  same.  The  name  is  made  up  from  two 
words,  Kule  and  Bourn,  which  signify,  the  for- 
mer cold  and  the  latter  water, — cold  water.  The 
coincidence  of  the  names  of  the  first  two  set- 
tlers of  this  town,  meaning  about  the  same  thing, 
is  quite  singular  ;  Belle  Eau,  pluralized,  mean- 
ing beautiful  waters,  and  Kule  Bourn,  meaning 
cold  water  or  cold  stream.    What  is  in  a  name  ? 

Kilburn  had  lived  in  town  some  three  or 
four  years  before  Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows 
settled  in  town,  without  communication  with 
friend  or  foe ;  although  he  had  often  sought 
intercourse  with  the  Indians,  they  had  studiously 
avoided  him.  During  this  period  he  had  no 
rest  day  nor  night.  He  was  not  only  exposed 
to  the  inclemency  of  severe  storms  in  his  rude 
hut,  and  all  the  hardships  and  privations  inci- 
dent to  frontier  life,  but  was  living  day 
and  night  in  constant  fear  of  the  tomahawk  or 
the  scalping-knife.  During  the  day  he  did  not 
dare  to  go  a  few  rods  from  his  cabin  without 
his  gun,  and  at  night  his  bed  was  the  cold 
ground,  a  bear  skin  for  his  covering,  and  a 
cartridge  box  for  his  pillow  ;  nor  did  he  dare 
camp  two  nights  in  the  same  place,  while  the 
Indians  were  lurking  in  ambush,  ready  to 
strike  the  deadly  blow  at  the  first  opportunity. 
Many  times  during  his  absence  they  visited  his 
cabin  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  stole  everything 
they  could  find  and  carry  away. 

Some  time  in  1754,  a  company  of  Indians 
came  down  the  river,  landed  above  the  falls  and 
invited  Kilburn  to  trade  with  them.  He  visi- 
ted their  boats,  bought  some  skins,  and  made 
some  presents  of  flints,  flour  and  fish-hooks. 
For  a  while  the  Indians  continued  to  hunt  and 
encamp  about  the  neighborhood,  and,  as  no 
mischief  was  done,  he  felt  more  secure  as  time 
passed  on,  the  sight  of  wigwams  becoming 
familiar  to  his  eyes  and  the  sound  of  guns  an 
every-day  occurrence  to  his  ears. 


412 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


In  1752,  Colonel  Bellows  had  become  a 
settler  in  town  and  some  others  soon  after, 
of  whom  more  further  on. 

In  1754,  in  the  spring,  a  large  Indian,  by 
the  name  of  Philip,  who  could  speak  a  little 
broken  English,  visited  Kilburn's  cabin,  in  a 
friendly  way,  pretending  to  be  on  a  hunting 
excursion,  and  in  want  of  provisions.  He  was 
generously  supplied  with  flints,  flour  and  other 
articles  and  dismissed.  Soon  after  it  was  ascer- 
tained, however,  that  this  same  wily  scoundrel 
had  visited  all  the  frontier  settlements  with  the 
same  plausible  story,  and  was  suspected  by  all 
as  a  wolf  in  disguise.  Governor  Shirley,  of 
Albany,  sent  word  by  a  friendly  Indian  that 
five  hundred  Indians  were  collecting  in  Canada, 
whose  purpose  it  was  to  butcher  and  wipe  out 
the  entire  population  of  the  advanced  settle- 
ments on  Connecticut  River.  This  news  greatly 
disturbed  Kilburn,  but  he  did  not  leave  his 
home  nor  lie  down.  He  immediately  went  to 
work  and  built  a  palisade  around  his  cabin 
with  heavy  timbers,  firmly  set  upright  in  the 
ground,  placed  so  near  together  that  nothing 
larger  than  a  cat  could  pass  between  the  tim- 
bers. He  purchased  everything  necessary  for 
a  prolonged  siege,  and  then  with  stoical  indiff- 
erence waited  coming  events,  which  had  already 
cast  their  shadows  before  in  the  murders  and 
depredations  that  had  been  committed  by  the 
savages  in  the  neighboring  settlements.  Colo- 
nel Bellows  had  already  become  a  settler  and 
employed  a  large  number  of  men  to  work  for 
him,  clearing  the  lands  and  in  making  other 
improvements;  among  them  was  the  building 
of  a  mill  to  grind  corn  and  other  grains.  This 
mill  was  situated  at  a  place  now  known  as 
P>lanchard's  Falls,  about  a  mile  northeast  from 
(  donel  Bellows'  residence.  On  returning  from 
the  mill  to  Bellows'  Fort,  as  his  residence  was 
now  called,  the  stream  on  which  the  mill  stood 
had  to  be  crossed,  which  was  about  thirty  feet 
lower  than  the  plain  above,  then  covered  with 
stunted  pines,  underbrush  and  ferns. 

A   sketch  of   Walpole   without  the  story  of 


The  Kilburn  Fight  would  be  like  play- 
ing Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left  out.  The  Indians 
had  learned  that  Colonel  Bellows  and  his  men 
were  at  work  at  his  mill,  and  would  return 
home  some  time  during  th  t  day,  and  would  be 
likely  to  follow  the  footpath  across  the  plain, 
which  was  in  front  of  what  is  now  the  residence 
of  Willard  T.  Blanchard.  The  Indians  had 
stationed  themselves  across  this  path  in  a  semi- 
circle. About  noon  on  the  17th  of  August, 
1755,  as  Colonel  Bellows  was  returning  with 
his  men,  about  thirty  in  number,  each  with  a 
bag  of  meal  on  his  shoulder  and  a  carefully 
loaded  fire-arm  in  his  hand,  on  approaching  the 
plain,  their  dogs  ran  up  the  bank  and  halted 
and  began  to  growl  and  show  other  unmistak- 
able signs  that  something  did  not  suit  them. 
When  fairly  on  the  plain,  Colonel  Bellows' 
sagacity  told  him  that  redskins  were  close  at 
hand.  Colonel  Bellows  then  coolly  told  his  men 
to  drop  their  sacks  of  meal,  examine  their  flints, 
and  at  a  signal  from  him  give  a  whoop  and 
drop  down  into  the  ferns.  This  manoeuvre 
brought  every  Indian  to  his  feet,  which  gave 
Bellows'  men  an  excellent  opportunity  to  pick 
off  his  man.  How  many  savages  bit  the  dust 
at  this  time  was  not  ascertained,  for  it  is  well 
known  that  an  Indian  will  fight  longer  for  a 
dead  comrade  than  for  a  living  one.  If  any  were 
killed  at  this  time,  they  were  dragged  away. 
The  Indians  were  completely  panic-stricken 
and  they  rushed  down  the  steep  bank  to  the  west 
pell-mell,  on  to  the  meadow  on  which  Kilburn's 
hut  stood  and  hid  themselves  in  the  alders  grow- 
ing there.  Colonel  Bellows  and  his  men  moved 
away  from  the  scene  in  the  direction  of  the  fort, 
with  much  greater  celerity  than  was  their  daily 
custom.  Kilburn  and  his  hired  men,  returning 
from  their  work  to  dinner,  discovered  the  red 
legs  of  the  savages  in  the  alders,  whereupon  he 
quickened  his  steps  to  his  hut  to  put  things  in 
order  for  a  warm  reception.  The  inmates  of 
his  cabin  were  himself  and  wife,  a  hired  man 
by  the  name  of  Peak,  his  son  John,  then  eigh- 
teen   years    old)   and    his  daughter    Mehitable 


WALPOLE. 


413 


(Hetty).  After  barricading  his  doors  and  win- 
dows and  taking  other  necessary  precautions, 
quiet  reigned  for  a  few  minutes.  During  this 
quiet  interval  Kilburn's  eyes  were  directed  to 
the  bank  east  of  his  cabin,  where  a  foot-path 
ran  down  the  hill  to  the  intervale  below.  One 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  Indians  crossed  this 
path  in  a  very  short  time  and  stationed  them- 
selves on  the  side-hill  east  of  his  cabin.  Sub- 
sequently it  was  ascertained  that  as  many  more 
were  lying  in  ambush  at  the  mouth  of  Cold 
River. 

Silence  was  broken  soon  after  by  that  "  old 
wily,  treacherous  devil"  Philip,  who  had  visited 
Kilburn's  cabin  the  summer  before  and  had 
received  presents  from  his  hands,  by  his  appear- 
ing, partly  hidden  behind  a  tree,  and  calling 
upon  those  in  the  house  to  surrender.  Said  he, 
"  Old  John,  young  John,  come  out  here,  I  know 
you — we  give  you  good  quarter  !"  "  Quarter  !" 
vociferated  old  Kilburn,  with  a  voice  like 
thunder,  that  rang  through  every  Indian's  brain, 
and  every  valley  around.  "  You  black  rascals, 
begone  or  we'll  quarter  you  !"  Who  would  have 
anticipated  this  more  than  Spartan  reply,  without 
tremor  from  a  camp  of  four  men  hedged  around 
by  four  hundred  merciless  savages  with  appe- 
tites sharply  whetted  for  the  blood  of  white 
men? 

Meanwhile,  those  ambushed  at  the  mouth 
of  Cold  River  had  joined  their  comrades 
gathered  near  Kilburn's  home. 

After  Philip  had  made  his  generous  offer  of 
surrender  to  Kilburn,  he  returned  to  his  tribe, 
and  after  a  few  minutes'  consultation  with  them 
the  terrifying  war  whoop  was  sounded  convey- 
ing to  the  uninitiated  the  impression  that  all 
the  imps  of  pandemonium  had  broken  loose. 
Immediately  a  shower  of  leaden  hail,  from  at 
least  four  hundred  guns  of  the  enemy,  pene- 
trated and  splintered  the  roof  of  our  hero's 
cabin.  Before  the  smoke  had  settled  down 
from  the  enemy's  guns,  so  as  to  obscure  the 
surroundings,  Kilburn  espied  an  Indian  of 
more    than    ordinary    size  leaning  against    the 


fence,  partly  hidden  from  view.  Kilburn 
seized  upon  this  opportunity  of  getting  the 
first  return  fire.  He  leveled  his  musket,  pulled 
the  trigger,  and  his  human  target  dropped 
dead  on  the  spot.  Kilburn  always  maintained 
that  this  Indian  was  no  other  than  that  old 
scoundrel  Philip.  Our  hero's  enemies  were  on 
all  sides  of  him,  and  while  some  of  them  kept 
up  a  continuous  fire  against  the  hut,  without 
doing  any  harm,  others  were  engaged  in 
destroying  his  hay,  grain  and  pigs,  and  making 
a  general  slaughter  of  his  cattle,  Kilburn  and 
his  men  did  not  waste  their  ammunition,  but 
resolved,  that  at  every  discharge  of  their  mus- 
kets, every  deadly  missile  should  take  effect. 
The  defenders  had  several  muskets  in  the  cabin, 
which  were  kept  hot  by  incessant  firing. 
They  had  poured  their  powder  into  hats  that  it 
might  be  more  convenient  for  loading  their 
arms.  Their  bullets  began  to  run  low,  when 
a  happy  thought  struck  them,  which  was  to  sus- 
pend blankets  under  the  roof  and  catch  the 
enemy's  bullets,  wThich  the  women  recast  and 
made  them  do  double  service,  being  immedi- 
ately sent  back  as  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
receipt.  It  was  evident  that  Kilburn's  bullets 
had  a  telling  effect  on  his  enemies,  for  they 
were  not  so  bold  as  they  were  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  siege,  when  they  made  the 
rash  attempt  to  burst  in  the  door ;  they  were 
only  seen  now,  stealthily  crawling  from  tree  to 
tree  and  stump  to  stump,  avoiding  exposure  as 
much  as  possible.  From  noon,  on  that  memor- 
able day,  the  incessant  firing  and  fiendish 
war-whoop  dinned  on  the  ears  of  all  within 
hearing  distance.  At  length  the  savages  began 
to  disappear  one  by  one,  and  when  the  sun  had 
shed  its  last  lingering  beams  and  the  mantle 
of  darkness  hung  over  the  scene,  the  Indians 
were  gone.  In  a  very  short  time  the  turmoil 
of  the  day  was  followed  by  almost  deadly 
silence.  No  sounds  were  heard  but  the  Au- 
gust cricket  chirping  his  evening  song  and  the 
melodious  lullaby  of  the  distant  falls. 

Colonel  Bellows  and  his  men  had  heard  the 


414 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


firing  all  the  afternoon,  but  none  of  them  had 
the  foolhardiness  to  go  to  the  relief  of  Kilburn 
and  his  family.  They  would  rather  brave  the 
taunts  of  cowardice  than  run  the  risk  of  losing 
their  scalps, — it  needed  something  more  than  the 
love  of  glory  to  stimulate  a  handful  of  men  to 
meet  four  hundred  savages  on  an  open  plain. 

Late  in  the  evening,  when  all  was  still,  Peter 
Bellows,  the  intrepid  oldest  son  of  the  colonel, 
sallied  forth  to  learn  the  fate  of  the  Kilburns. 
Stealing  along  cautiously,  figuratively  with  his 
heart  in  his  mouth,  he  at  length  arrived  at  the 
door  of  his  neighbor,  made  himself  known  and 
was  at  once  admitted.  He  was  the  first  to  con- 
gratulate Kilburn  on  his  wonderful  escape  and 
honor  him  for  his  bravery.  He  found  that  no 
one  of  the  household  had  been  injured  but  one, 
and  that  was  Kilburn's  hired  man,  Peak.  He, 
by  exposing  himself  needlessly  in  the  early  part 
of  the  engagement,  received  a  wound  in  the  hip, 
aud  as  there  was  no  surgical  aid  nearer  than 
Northfield,  Mass.,  forty  miles  distant,  to  care 
for  him,  he  died  the  fifth  day  afterwards.  Ever 
a  iter  this  memorable  fight,  though  the  In- 
dians continued  to  harass  the  neighboring 
towns  and  settlements,  they  never  again  visited 
Walpole  to  molest  the  settlers.  It  has  been  said 
by  some,  and  the  belief  has  been  fully  shared  by 
others,  that  the  heroic  defense  made  by  Kilburn 
to  save  his  family,  as  it  dampened  the  courage 
of  the  savages,  was  the  means  of  saving  many 
valuable  lives. 

Many  years  after  the  Kilburn  fight,  a  story 
was  told,  which  has  a  degree  of  plausibility  on 
its  face,  at  least,  and  runs  thus :  A  relative  of 
our  townsmen  (the  Blanchards)  became  ac- 
quainted with  an  old  Indian  chief,  then  living 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  whose  name  was 
Joshark  Noshark,  who  formerly  belonged  to  the 
St.  Francis  tribe  of  Indians.  He  told  the 
Blanchards'  relative  that  he  was  in  the  Kilburn 
fight,  being  a  young  man  then  nineteen  years  of 
age.  His  memory  was  unimpaired,  and  he  gave 
a  full  and  minute  history  of  that  eventful  day. 
He  described  minutely  the  surrounding  scenery, 


the  falls,  the  mineral  spring,  the  mountain  and 
the  red  and  yellow  paints  his  tribe  was  in  the 
habit  of  procuring  to  decorate  their  bodies.  He 
said  that  Philip  was  killed  in  the  early  part  of 
the  fight,  and,  with  many  others  killed,  was 
buried  south  of  the  falls, — that  Philip  was 
buried  in  a  spot  removed  from  the  rest  of  the 
tribe  which  were  killed.  After  Philip's  friends 
had  dug  a  grave  by  using  their  hands  and  scaly 
stones,  sufficiently  deep  for  their  purpose,  they 
laid  his  remains  in,  aud  first  covered  the  body 
with  dirt,  then  a  large  flat  stone  was  placed  on 
him,  then  more  dirt  and  finally  with  a  covering 
of  leaves,  carefully  spread  over  the  whole,  so 
that  the  whites  might  not  discover  his  burial- 
place.  He  gave  as  a  reason  why  Walpole  was 
never  after  molested,  that  his  tribe  believed 
that  the  "  Great  Spirit "  frowned  on  their  con- 
duct after  having  been  so  well  treated  by  Kil- 
burn. 

During  the  construction  of  the  Cheshire  Rail- 
road several  human  skeletons  were  exhumed, 
supposed  to  be  Indians,  and  among  them  was 
one,  buried  under  a  flat  stone,  answering,  by  its 
huge  proportions,  the  description  formerly  given 
of  Philip.  These  bones  were  procured  and 
wired  together  by  one  Dr.  Robbins,  of  Bellows 
Falls,  and  are  now  in  the  possession  of  his 
family. 

It  appears,  from  all  the  information  in  pos- 
session of  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  that  John 
Kilburn  had  a  grant  of  the  township  of  Wal- 
pole, procured  from  the  government  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  The  authorities  then  of  that 
State  had  about  as  much  knowledge  of  the 
geography  of  this  region  as  an  average  school- 
boy has  of  localities  in  Australia.  The  State 
of  New  York  never  held  any  jurisdiction  on 
the  east  side  of  Connecticut  River.  The  claim 
of  New  York  to  the  soil  of  New  Hampshire 
was  a  shallow  pretense,  based  on  the  ignorance 
of  those  in  authority  at  the  capital  of  New 
York. 

Many  people,  sometimes,  lose  more  from  ig- 
norance than  it  would   cost  them   to  gain  infor- 


WALPOLE. 


415 


mation.  This  was  the  case  with  John  Kilburn, 
for  Benning  Wentworth  was,  at  the  time  of 
Kilburn's  advent  in  town,  the  Governor  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  and  had  been  for 
eight  years  granting  to  parties  all  about  in  this 
vicinity,  and  as  far  west  as  Bennington,  Vt. 
(from  whose  name  Bennington  is  derived). 
Colonel  Bellows  knew  to  what  government  to 
apply  for  a  charter,  which  he  obtained  in  1752, 
three  years  after  Kilburn  settled,  who  expected 
to  be  protected  in  his  fancied  rights  by  holding 
a  valueless  roll  of  parchment.  Then  came  the 
"tug  of  war."  Bellows  was  imperious  and 
domineering,  and  Kilburn  was  sullen  and  un- 
yielding; the  one  had  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire to  back  him,  the  other  nothing  but  his 
strong-  arm  and  indomitable  will.  A  letter  in 
the  possession  of  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  writ- 
ten by  George  Kilburn,  the  great-grandson  of 
old  John,  states  that  after  the  quarrel  had  lasted 
for  some  years  between  the  families,  Bellows  so 
far  yielded  as  to  make  an  offer  to  divide  the  town- 
ship with  his  great-grandfather;  but  his  reply 
was,  "No!  I  bought  the  land  and  paid  my 
money  for  it ;  I  '11  have  all  or  I  '11  have  none  !  " 
After  a  while  Kilburn  became  discouraged  in 
trying  to  maintain  a  contest  so  unequal,  when 
he  left  town  and  settled  in  Springfield,  Vt. ; 
Colonel  Bellows  then  offered  him  fifty  acres  in 
one  body,  of  any  land  in  town ;  Kilburn  ac- 
cepted this  offer,  and  located  his  future  home 
where  Oliver  J.  Hubbard  now  resides.  He  soon 
returned  from  Springfield,  built  himself  a  house 
and  settled  once  more. 

The  curious  would  be  glad  to  know  why  he 
settled  there.  If  he  had  an  eye  for  the  beauti- 
ful, the  question  is  answered,  for  from  an  eleva- 
tion east  of  the  house  the  most  beautiful 
semicircular  view  is  had  that  can  be  found  in 
the  surrounding  country.  When  he  moved  into 
his  new  house  he  exclaimed,  "  Here  I  will  live 
till  I  die,  and  no  foe  of  any  kind  shall  ever 
drive  me  away  so  long  as  I  can  hold  a  gun  !  " 

The  Kilburn  and  Bellows  families  lived 
neighbors    in    town    nearly  one    hundred    and 


twenty  years,  and  never  intermarried.  At 
length  one  of  the  Bellows  descendants,  of  the 
fourth  generation,  and  one  of  the  Kilburns,  of 
the  sixth  generation,  married  ;  and  the  mingled 
blood  of  the  first  two  settlers  courses  the  veins 
of  their  two    children — a    son    and    daughter. 

The  Kilburns  did  not  rise  much  above  the 
surface  till  the  fourth  generation,  through 
Elijah,  old  Kilburn's  grandson.  He  had  a 
large  family — nine  children,  six  of  whom  were 
boys,  who  were  all  respectable,  thriving  people, 
some  of  whom  secured  a  large  competency  as 
mill-owners  and  superintendents.  All  have 
been  leading  men  in  communities  where  they 
have  lived. 

There  is  no  one  by  the  name  of  Kilburn  liv- 
ing in  the  town  to-day,  and  but  few  descendants. 

Mr.  Kilburn  was  a  man  of  but  limited  edu- 
cation ;  therefore  he  was  not  the  peer  of  others 
more  fortunate,  who  figured  as  town  officers ;  he 
only  held  some  few  minor  positions  in  town. 
He  was  industrious,  honest  and  brave,  and  he 
lived  long  enough  to  see  his  great-grandchildren 
on  the  stage,  when,. at  a  ripe  old  age,  he  died, 
and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  north  of  the 
village,  where  a  plain,  substantial  slab  of  granite 
marks  the  spot,  with  the  following  inscription  : 

"  In  memory  of 

John  Kilburn,  who  departed 

this  life  for  a  better,  April  8th,  1789, 

in  the  85th  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  the  first  settler  of  this  town 

in  1749." 

1752. — A  star  actor  will  now  be  introduced 
to  the  reader,  who,  with  his  descendants,  did 
more  to  settle  the  town,  build  her  church  edi- 
fices, foster  education  and  the  building  of  high- 
ways in  the  first  twenty  years  after  his  advent, 
than  all  others  put  together.  In  fact,  the  influ- 
ence of  this  man  and  his  family  was  felt  in 
every  movement  made  in  town,  even  down  as 
late  as  1830.  When  one  voter  met  another  town- 
meeting  day  morning,  he  asked  of  the  other, 
"  Well,  how  are  you  going  to  vote  to-day  ?"  His 


416 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


reply  was,  "  I  don't  know ;  I  haven't  asked  the 
'Squire  yet,"  meaning  a  son  of 

Col.  Benjamin  Bellows,  who  was  the 
founder  of  the  town.  Benning  Wentworth, 
desirous  of  forming  settlements  on  Connecticut 
River,  offered  as  an  inducement  to  Colonel  Bel- 
lows any  of  the  unappropriated  lands  found  in 
this  region.  After  looking  about  for  some  time, 
the  colonel,  for  reasons  known  only  to  himself, 
selected  No.  3  in  the  chain  of  forts  (now  Wal- 
pole.)  In  1752,  Colonel  Bellows,  Theodore  At- 
kinson, Colonel  Josiah  Blanchard  and  sixty- 
seven  others,  grantees,  purchased  the  township 
above-named,  and  obtained  a  charter,  which 
reads  thus : 

"George  II.,  by  advice  of  Benning  Wentworth, 
Governor,  granted  unto  his  loving  subjects,  inhabitants 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  his  majesty's  other  govern- 
ments, in  equal  shares,  whose  names  are  entered  on 
this  grant,  to  be  divided  among  them  in  sixty-seven 
different  shares,  all  that  tract  of  laud  in  said  province 
of  New  Hampshire,  described,  &c,  &c.  And  the 
same  is  incorporated  as  Walpole,  and  the  inhabitants 
thereof  are  enfranchised  and  declared  entitled  to  the 
privileges  of  other  towns  in  said  province,  and 
as  soon  as  there  shall  be  fifty  families  resident  there, 
shall  have  the  liberty  of  holding  two  fairs  annually, 
and  shall  also  have  a  market  opened  and  kept  one  or 
more  days  in  a  week,  as  may  be  thought  advanta- 
geous. 

"  The  first  meeting  of  said  town  shall  be  held  the 
third  Wednesday  of  March  next  (1752),  and  Benjamin 
Bellows  is  appointed  moderator  of  such  meeting  and 
to  call  the  same.  To  hold  said  land  on  these  condi- 
tions, namely,  every  grantee  shall,  within  five  years, 
cultivate  five  acres  of  land  for  every  fifty  acres  of  his 
share,  and  shall  continue  to  improve  and  settle  the 
same  by  additional  cultivation,  on  penalty  of  forfeit- 
ure of  his  share. 

"That  all  white  and  other  pine-trees  fit  for  our 
royal  navy,  be  preserved  for  use,  and  none  be  cut  or 
felled  without  his  majesty's  special  license,  upon  same 
forfeiture  and  punishment  of  any  acts  of  parliament 
now  or  hereafter  enacted. 

"  That  before  division  of  land,  a  tract  or  center  of 
township  shall  be  marked  in  town  lots,  one  of  which 
shall  be  allotted  to  each  grantee  of  the  contents  of 
one  acre,  yielding  and  paying  therefor  to  us,  &c,  for 
ten  years,  one  ear  of  Indian  corn  annually  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  if  lawfully  demanded. 


"Every   proprietor,    settler    or    inhabitants,  shall 

yield  and  pay  to  us,  &c,  yearly,  after  the  expiration 

of  ten  years,  one  shilling  proclamation   money,  for 

every  hundred  acres  he  so  owns,  settles  or  possesses, 

and  so  in  proportion  for  greater  or  less  tracts,  which 

said  money  shall  be  paid  to  our  council-chamber,  or 

to  officers  appointed  to  receive  it. 

(Signed) 

"  Benning  Wentworth. 

"  In  testimony  &c,  Feb.  13,  1752,  and  25th  year  of 
George's  reign. 

"  Recorded  by  Theodore  Atkinson,  Sec." 

Nine  years  after  the  date  of  the  charter  the 
grantees  represent  that,  by  reason  of  the  Indian 
wars  and  other  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  it  is 
not  practicable  for  them  to  comply  with  its 
conditions ;  therefore  the  time  is  lengthened 
from  year  to  year  until  the  conditions  of  the 
charter  are  fulfilled.  This  document  is  dated 
March  12,  1761,  being  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  George  III. 

Colonel  Bellows  had  built  for  himself  and 
familv  a  habitation  which  was  afterwards  called 
a  fort,  of  which  more  further  on. 

On  opening  the  town  records  is  found,  in 
compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  charter, 
the  doings  of  the  first  town-meeting,  which  was 
held  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  March,  1752. 
According  to  the  provisions  of  the  charter,  Col- 
onel Bellows  was  the  first  moderator.  The 
meeting  was  without  warrant,  and  no  record  is 
found  where  the  meeting  was  held.  The  record 
was  as  follows  : 

"  At  a  meeting  held  at  Walpole  In  the  Province  of 
New  Hampshire,  agreeable  to  Charter  on  the  third 
Wednesday  of  March  a.d.  1752,  Benjamin  Bellows 
being  appointed  Moderator, — first  voted  and  Chose 
theodore  Atkinson  Esq,  and  Benjamin  Bellows  Select- 
men for  sd  year  Insuing.  Secondly,  Chose  Benjamin 
Bellows  Town  Clark,  then  desmissed  the  meeting. 
Attest  Benjamin  Bellows  Town  Clark." 

The  record  of  the  town-meeting  of  1753  is 
precisely  like  the  foregoing.  In  1754  the  first 
part  of  the  record  is  the  same  as  the  preceding 
one,  except  that  Sam.  Johnson  is  chosen  moder- 
ator,— 

"Secondly  chose  Benjamin  Bellows,  Sam.  Johnson 


WALPOLE. 


417 


and  Robert  Powker  Selectmen.  3d  Chose  Col.  Wil- 
lard  Town  Clark.  [The  name  of  Col.  Bellows  seemed 
to  have  been  scratched  out  and  Col.  Willard's  name 
substituted.]  Fourthly,  chose  Enoch  Cook  Constable. 
Fifthly  chose  Enoch  Cook  Servayer  of  hie  Ways." 

The  first  three  records  appear  to  have  been 
made  at  one  sitting,  by  the  color  of  the  ink  and 
other  evidences,  and  probably  were,  from  the 
fact  that  seven  years  later  each  settler  was  as- 
sessed one  shilling  to  procure  "a  town-book  to 
be  kept  for  the  use  of  the  town."  When  ob- 
tained, most  likely,  the  above  records  were 
transcribed  into  the  new  book  from  some  loose 
memoranda. 

The  records  of  the  town  for  the  first  three 
years  were  undoubtedly  in  the  handwriting 
of  Colonel  Bellows,  but  after  that  time  were 
in  the  handwriting  of  his  son,  Benjamin  Bel- 
lows, Jr.,  although  signed  and  attested  by  his 
father  till  Benjamin,  Jr.,  was  chosen  town 
clerk  in  1759,  when  he  was  only  nineteen  years 
of  age.  He  held  the  office  of  town  clerk  from 
the  above  date  till  1795,  except  two  years,  1778 
and  1782,  when  Amos  Babcock  and  N.  Goddard 
supplanted  him, — a  period  of  thirty-four  years. 

Theodore  Atkinson  and  Joseph  Blanchard, 
who  appear  on  the  records  the  first  two  years 
as  selectmen,  the  former  living  in  Londonderry, 
and  then  secretary  of  the  province,  and  the  lat- 
ter (a  brother-in-law  of  the  colonel)  living  in 
Dunstable,  attending  to  his  multifarious  busi- 
ness transactions  there,  probably,  were  not  am- 
bitious enough  to  find  their  way  through  the 
slush,  snow  and  blizzards  of  March  without 
roads,  and  guided  only  by  blazed  trees,  to  at- 
tend a  town-meeting  in  the  then  infant  town  of 
Walpole.  Sam.  Johnson  and  Robert  Powker, 
whose  names  figure  as  selectmen  the  next  year, 
died  yearlings,  for  they  do  not  appear  on  the 
town  records  again.  The  same  year  Colonel 
Willard's  name  is  recorded  as  town  clerk, — a 
man  who  had  the  infant  town  of  Winchester  on 
his  hands,  and,  consequently,  had  no  right  to 
meddle  with  town  affairs  in  Walpole.  Enoch 
Cook,  who  was  chosen  constable  and  surveyor 
of  "hie  ways"   the  same  year,    together   with 


Johnson  and  Powker  as  selectmen, — it  is  more 
than  suspected,  as  there  were  but  four  families 
in  town  four  years  later, — were  mere  men  of 
straw. 

Where  was  poor  Kilburn  these  long  years, 
when  there  was  such  a  paucity  of  men  ?  Prob- 
ably he  did  not  have  then,  if  he  ever  did,  an 
embracing  friendship  for  Colonel  Bellows— he, 
most  likely,  was  at  home  town-meeting  days 
nursing  his  wrath  to  keep  it  warm,  while,  it  may 
be,  Colonel  Bellows  was  cosily  seated  before 
a  warm  fire  toasting  his  shins  and  smoking  a 
corn-cob  pipe. 

In  March,  1755,  Benjamin  Bellows  was 
chosen  moderator,  town  clerk,  selectman  and 
treasurer,  and  John  Kilburn  and  Daniel  Twit- 
chel  appear  as  associates  of  Colonel  Bellows  as 
selectmen  ;  but  before  the  month  of  March 
closed  that  year,  Mr.  Twitchel  and  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Flynt  went  back,  east  from  Con- 
necticut River,  on  to  the  hills,  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  some  black-ash  timber  for  boat 
oars,  where  they  were  both  found,  shot  by  the 
Indians — dead !  They  were  found  lying  on 
their  backs.  One  was  scalped,  the  other  was 
cut  open  and  his  heart  taken  out,  cut  in  pieces 
and  laid  on  his  breast.  Flynt  was  buried  on 
the  spot ;  Twitchel,  having  friends,  was  carried 
away  and  buried  elsewhere. 

The  exact  spot  where  Flynt  was  buried  is 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  northeast  from  Wal- 
pole Village,  near  the  Drewsville  road,  a  few 
rods  west.  A  small  pile  of  stones,  carelessly 
thrown  together,  marks  the  spot.  It  is  said 
that  one  John  Flynt  had  a  Bay  State  charter 
of  this  town  about  1742.  Who  knows  but  the 
above-named  Flynt  was  the  man  ? 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  had  already 
been  thrown  into  great  excitement  and  fear  on 
learning  that  the  savages  had  visited  Charles- 
town  in  June,  1754,  at  an  early  hour  in  the 
morning,  before  the  families  had  arisen,  and 
capturing  and  carrying  into  captivity  James 
Johnson,  his  wife  and  three  children,  together 
with  his  wife's  sister  (Miriam  Willard),   Eben- 


418 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ezer  Farnsworth  and  Peter  Labaree.  One 
Aaron  Hosmer  eluded  a  horrible  fate  by  secret- 
ing himself  under  a  bed. 

That  event,  with  all  the  sufferings  and  hor- 
rors attending  it,  followed  soon  after  by  the 
killing  of  Twitehel  and  Flynt,  and  a  few  mouths 
later  by  the  Kilburn  fight,  spread  a  mantle  of 
gloom  and  awful  suspense  over  the  few  settlers 
that  had  gathered  in  town  ;  but  the  murders  of 
Twitehel  and  Flynt  seemed  to  make  a  deeper 
and  more  solemn  impression  on  the  minds  of 
the  inhabitants,  because  the  taking  off  of  two 
of  their  neighbors  in  such  a  barbarous  way  was 
the  first  white  blood  known  to  have  been  shed 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  after  the  first  settle- 
ment in  town.  The  people  at  that  time  were 
very  superstitious,  and  they  believed  the  guar- 
dian angel  of  Twitehel  was  continually  hover- 
ing over  them,  and  warning  them  of  the  wiles 
of  the  savages,  and  calling  upon  them  to 
avenge  his  murder. 

A  rock  in  Connecticut  River,  a  little  south  of 
the  Cold  River  railroad  station,  may  be  seen  at 
low  water,  where  Twitehel  used  to  fish  with 
never-failing  success.  This  rock,  for  many 
years,  was  held  in  religious  veneration  by  the 
early  settlers.  There,  even  now,  a  good  angler, 
with  a  few  worms  and  a  good  deal  of  patience, 
may  catch  a  generous  fry. 

In  1745  a  body  of  French  and  Indians,  the 
latter  twelve  in  number,  attacked  the  garrison 
at  the  Great  Mearlows  (now  in  Putney,  Vt.),  on 
the  12th  of  October,  at  noon.  A  brisk  fight 
was  carried  on  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  one 
Indian  was  killed.  The  fort  was  defended  with 
so  much  courage  the  enemy  withdrew.  In  lieu 
of  victory,  they  killed  and  drove  off  the  cattle. 
Nehemiah  How,  who  was  cutting  wood  about 
eighty  rods  from  the  fort,  was  taken  by  the  In- 
dians and  no  attempt  was  made  to  rescue  him. 
As  they  were  leading  him  away  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  opposite  Boggy  Meadow, 
they  espied  two  men  crossing  the  river  in  a  ca- 
noe, when  they  fired  and  killed  one  of  them, 
David   Rugg,   and  the   other,    Robert    Baker, 


made  for  the  east  shore  and  escaped.  The  Indians 
scalped  Rugg  and  mounted  the  scalp  on  a  long 
pole  and  carried  it  through  Charlestown,  in 
triumph,  to  Crown  Point.  This  David  Rugg 
was,  without  a  shadow  of  doubt,  the  identical 
man  who  was  buried  on  Boggy  Meadow  and 
the  place  is  known  to  this  day  as  "  Rugg's 
Meadow." 

David  Rustst,  David  Twitehel, Flynt 


*e>&> 


and  Pike  (who  lost  his  life  at  the  Kilburn  fight) 
are  the  only  four  persons  who  ever  lost  their 
lives   in  town   by  the  bullets   of  the  merciless 


savages. 


Colonel  Bellows  was  induced  to  come  to  Wal- 
pole  to  settle  by  the  persuasions  of  Benning 
Wcntworth  (who  was  then  Governor  of  the 
province),  with  whom  Bellows  was  well  ac- 
quainted, and  who  offered  him  (Bellows)  extra 
inducements,  for  several  reasons,  viz.  :  One 
was  the  settlement  of  towns  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  not  only  in  Cheshire  County,  but 
in  all  the  region  roundabout,  where  he  granted 
charters  as  plenty  as  blackberries  in  August. 
Another  reason  was,  he  found  in  Colonel  Bel- 
lows just  the  man  to  push  a  new  settlement 
on  the  frontier — a  man  of  considerable  culture 
and  of  great  force  of  character ;  and,  lastly,  he 
wanted  to  secure  as  large  a  missionary  fund  as 
possible  by  reserving  five  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  each  grant,  the  income  of  which  was  to  go 
the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  was  an  ar- 
dent devotee. 

Wentworth,  not  having  a  very  definite  idea  of 
the  surroundings  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Great 
Falls,  and  supposing  the  land  lying  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  falls  to  be  the  most  val- 
uable for  his  purpose,  on  account  of  the  shad 
and  salmon  fisheries,  and  to  make  the  matter 
doubly  sure,  he  consulted  Colonel  Bellows  on 
the  propriety  of  locating  his  missionary  lot  east 
of  the  falls.  The  colonel  very  honestly  told 
him  "  that  a  plot  located  there  would  be  of  lit- 
tle use  to  him  ;  that  it  might  make  a  good  sheep 
pasture,  but  nothing  better."  It  is  presumed 
that  the  Governor  suspected  the  colonel  of  a  lit- 


WALPOLE. 


419 


tie  sharp  practice  by  undervaluing  this  plot; 
therefore,  Wentworth  pitched  his  missionary  lot 
on  the  top  and  east  side  of  Fall  Mountain, 
which  is  now  a  part  of  Langdon,  but  is  to  this 
day  called  "  the  Governor's  sheep  pasture." 

When  Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows  came  to  this 
town  to  settle,  he  brought  with  him  his  wTife 
(whose  maiden-name  was  Abigail  Stearns)  and 
five  children.  Their  names  were  Abigail,  wTho 
died  in  Northampton,  Mass.,  when  young ; 
Peter,  Benjamin,  John  and  Joseph,  all  born  be- 
tween 1736  and  1744.  The  colonel  buried  his 
first  wife  November,  1757.  She  was  the  first 
tenant  of  the  old  burying-ground.  The  next 
year,  in  April,  he  married  the  Widow  Mary 
Jennison,  former  wife  of  Jonathan  Jennison,  of 
Lunenburg,  Mass.  She  bore  him  five  children, 
viz.  :  Abigail,  Theodore,  Mary,  Thomas  and 
Josiah,  born  between  1759  and  1767. 

The  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  a  great-grand- 
son of  the  colonel,  says,  in  his  "  Memorial  Mon- 
ograph," that,  "The  immediate  cause  of  my 
great-grandfather's  leaving  Lunenburg  was 
that  he  had  become  embarrassed  in  pecuniary 
matters,  by  being  bound  for  others,  and,  in  the 
great  scarcity  of  money,  was  unable  to  meet  the 
demands  of  his  creditors.  That  he  was  pur- 
sued by  the  sheriif  to  the  State  line,  and,  once 
fairly  over  it,  stopped  and  held  a  parley  with 
the  sheriff,  stating  that  he  had  no  disposition  to 
avoid  his  obligations,  but  that  a  jail  was  a  poor 
place  in  which  to  find  means  to  pay  debts;  that 
he  would  soon  return  and  liquidate  all  his  ob- 
ligations." It  is  most  certain  that  he  lived  up 
to  his  word,  for  he  soon  returned  to  Lunenburg 
to  look  after  his  interests  there.  When  the 
colonel  married  the  Widow  Jennison,  she  had 
six  children,  all  of  whom  came  to  Walpole 
with  their  mother  and  became  the  foster  chil- 
dren of  the  colonel.  The  third  and  fifth  of  this 
family  were  boys,  whose  names  were  John  and 
Jonathan,  respectively.  These  boys  both  set- 
tled in  town  as  farmers,  and  from  them  has 
sprung  all  the  persons  by  the  name  of  Jennison 
who  ever  lived  in  Walpole.  There  are  none  of 
27 


the  descendants  of  John  living  in  town  to-day, 
although  at  one  time  there  was  quite  a  number. 
The  descendants  of  Jonathan  still  remain  in 
town. 

The  habitation  of  Colonel  Bellows  was  lo- 
cated on  a  slight  elevation  of  land,  where  the 
dwelling  and  horse-barn  of  Thomas  Bellows 
now  stand.  It  was  in  the  form  of  the  letter  L, 
each  wing  being  one  hundred  feet  in  length  and 
twenty  feet  in  breadth,  giving  four  thousand 
feet  of  floor-room.  It  was  strongly  built,  of 
logs  and  earth,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  pali- 
sade. A  lookout  was  constructed  on  the  west 
end,  commanding  a  limited  view  in  each  direc- 
tion. Here  Colonel  Billows  lived  for  ten  or 
more  years  with  his  numerous  family,  consist- 
ing of  himself,  wife  and  eleven  children,  which 
was  afterwards  increased  by  five  more.  His  own 
large  family  and  the  numerous  hired  help  he 
had  about  him  required  much  forethought  in 
order  that  the  pot  might  be  kept  boiling. 

This  habitation  or  fort  was  Colonel  Bellows' 
private  property,  though  a  few  State  militia,  it 
is  said,  were  stationed  there  at  one  time,  and 
Bellows  was  also  presented  with  a  huge  iron 
cannon  by  the  public  authorities ;  but  there  is 
no  further  evidence  of  its  being  a  fort. 

For  some  time  after  Colonel  Bellows  settled 
in  town  he  had  to  go  to  Northampton,  Mass., 
to  mill,  going  down  with  his  corn  in  boats  in  the 
spring,  and  returning  with  his  meal  and  other 
stores  necessary,  not  only  to  feed  his  own  fam- 
ily and  hired  help,  but  many  families  that  re- 
sorted to  his  fort  for  protection,  and  all  other 
comers  and  goers  who  wanted  to  appease  their 
hunger  or  stay  over-night.  As  soon  as  he  could 
procure  proper  help  and  material,  he  built  himsel  f 
a  mill  on  Blanchard's  Brook,  before  mentioned. 
From  this  mill,  it  is  said,  he  supplied  the  early 
settlers  of  Langdon,  Alstead  and  Lempster 
with  meal  for  several  years.  They  came  and 
went  on  foot,  and  transported  their  meal  on 
their  backs  sometimes  ten  or  twelve  miles, 
when  a  bushel  of  meal  at  the  end  of  their 
journey  would  seem  as  heavy  as  four. 


420 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


There  were  no  stun-  kepi  in  town  at  that 
early  period,  and  the  settlers  had  to  go  to 
Northfield,  Ma—.,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  to 
do  their  trading.  They  purchased  their  goods 
of  one  Aaron  Burt,  who  was  a  wholesale  and 
retail  dealer.  This  Burt  was  the  great-grand- 
father of  Henry  and    Levi    Burt,  of  this  town. 

\  set  of  Aaron  Burt's  account-1 ks,  ledger  and 

journal,  are  iii  the  possessi f  Henry  Burt,  oi 

this  town,  at  this  time  more  than  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years  old.  They  arc  in  a  beautiful, 
round  handwriting,  and  well  preserved.  In 
them  are  Sound  charges  made  against  no  less 
than  sixteen  persons  known  to  have  been  resi- 
dents of  this  town.     It   is  curious  to  note,  after 

the    lapse  of  80    many    year-,    that  those    old  ac- 

count-books  should  be  brought  forward  to  give 
the  data  by  which  one  can  gather  who  lived 
here  and  what,  in  a  measure,  was  the  genera] 
condition  of  the  purchaser,  financially  and 
otherwise.  If  the  goods  bought  were  for 
household  consumption,  and  were  large  and  fre- 
quent, it  showed  that  the  purchaser  had  a  large 
family  and  his  credit  was  good;  it' many  dry- 
goods  -welled  the  bill,  the  inference  is  that  the 
family  was  composed  largely  of  females.  An 
inference  could  be  drawn  of  the  condition  of 
every  family.  Colonel  Bellows  had  frequenl 
and  large  bills  there.  (  me  was  for  a  large  l>i!l 
of  nails  of  all  sizes.  The  account  is  dated  the 
Bame  year  he  built  his  new  house,  which,  no 
donl>t,  were  bought  for  that  purpose.  The  la>t 
items  charged  on  the  colonel's  bills  were  two 
casks  of  brandy  and  three  barrels  of  rum.  The 
purchase  of  these  last  items  is  strong  evidence 
thai  the  colonel  was  not  a  teetotaler. 

Jonathan  Leavttt. — In  those  early  days 
the  settlement  of  a  minister  was  the  paramount 
subject  of  the  settlers.  They  could  no  more 
do  without  their  minister  then  their  accustomed 
meals.  lie  furnished  their  religious  views, 
their  brains  ami  their   morals. 

lie  was  looked  upon,  by  high  and  low,  as 
superior  to  nil  other-  around  him  ;  ami  due 
deference  was  paid    him.     lie  was  settled  for 


life,  and  a  "  minister's  lot"  was  assigned  to 
him  as  his  own  property  in  fee.  Where  this 
lot  was  first  located  is  not  positively  known; 
hut  somewhere  within  the  compass  of  YValpole 
village.  But  what  a  change  one  hundred  years 
has  wrought  !  Now,  if  a  minister  preaches  Ms 
honest  sentiments,  and  they  do  not  suit  the 
conventional  ideas  of  his  society,  he  is  called  to 
a  severe  account  for  it;  if  he  preaches  even 
what  he  is  hired  to  preach,  the  people  find 
limit  with  him.  Now,  if  he  does  well,  he  is 
esteemed,  by  most  people,  as  being  on  a  level 
with  others  who  do  as  well.  The  fact  is  he 
preaches  what  the  people  like  rather  than  what 
he  would  untrammeled  preach,  for  lie  knows 
thai  lie  is  settled  on  horse-back  and  the  horse 
is  liable  to  be  led  to  his  door  at  any  moment 
with  the  request  to  mount  and  leave.  It  is 
related  that  a  noted  divine,  who  had  held  an 
unusually  long  pastorate,  was  asked  one  day, 
what  was  the  secret  of  such  success.  He 
facetiously  replied,  "Well,  I  preach  neither 
politics,  temperance  nor  religion  !  " 

PEOM   17f)0  TO  1770. 

The  first  business  of  a  public  nature  done  in 
Walpole,  other  than  choosing  town  officers, 
was  t<>  assess  each  settler  twelve  shillings,  lawful 
money,  to  be  worked  out  on  the  highway,  at 
three  shillings  per  day,  if  worked  out  before  the 
1st  of  September ;  if  not,  two  shillings  per  day 
thereafter.  This  was  in  1761.  At  the  time 
they  assessed  each  settler  seven  shillings  to  pay 
for  preaching,  and  "Voted  that  Benjamin  Bel- 
low-, Esq.,  provide  seats  and  other  conveniences 
for  the  purpose." 

Previous  to  the  above,  in  1760,  "At  a  legal 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  held  at  the  fort  in 
Walpole  December  22d,"  the  town  voted  to 
give  .Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt  a  call  to  become 
their  minister,  and  at  the  same  meeting  they 
also  voted  to  give  him  the  following  encourage- 
ment and  salary.  The  stipulations,  as  recorded, 
read    thus  : — 

"  Voted  to  give  Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt  Seventy  five 


WALPOLE. 


421 


pounds,  Sterling  money  of  Great  Britton,  as  an  encour- 
agement to  settle  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  said 
Town,  the  one  half,  that  is  thirty  seven  pound  ten 
Shillings  Sterling  in  three  months  after  his  Ordina- 
tion and  the  other  half  in  nine  months  after  his  Or- 
dination, as  also  the  Right  in  the  Town  that  is  Re- 
served for  the  first  settled  minister  in  said  place  to  be 
his,  provided  he  accepts  and  settles  in  Said  place." 

They  also  voted  to  give  him — 

"  For  a  Salory  provided  he  settles  in  the  work  of 
the  ministry  in  this  Town  of  Walpole,  namely  to 
begin  as  thus  for  his  first  Year  Thirty  Seven  pounds 
ten  Shillings  Sterling  money  of  Great  Britton  and  to 
rise  three  pound  fifteen  Shillings  Sterling  money  each 
year  annually  to  be  added  to  said  Salory  till  it  amount 
to  the  sum  of  Sixty  pound  Like  money  there  to  stay 
at  sixty  pounds  Sterling  till  there  be  Eighty  Rateable 
poles  in  said  Town  Inhabitants  belonging  to  said 
Town,  then  rise  fifteen  Shillings  on  Each  pole  that 
shall  be  added  to  said  town  till  it  makes  the  sum  of 
seventy  five  pound  Like  money  for  Each  year  and 
then  to  stope  and  be  the  yearly  Salory  so  Long  as  he 
the  said  Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt  shall  continue  to  be 
the  minister  in  said  Town. 

"  5ly.  Agreed  and  Voted  that  Each  settler  in  and 
belonging  to  said  town  that  is  an  Inhabitant  and 
belonging  to  said  Town  pay  the  sum  of  two  pound 
five  Shillings  Sterling  money  of  Great  Brittain  for  the 
Use  of  said  settlement  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt  and 
his  first  Year's  Salory  that  is  one  pound  ten  Shillings 
toward  his  settlement  and  fifteen  Shillings  Toward 
his  first  Year's  Salory  and  it  is  agreed  and  voted  that 
May's  Benjamin  Bellows  make  up  the  rest  of  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  and  Twelve  pound  ten  Shillings 
Sterling  being  the  money  Voted  for  the  settlement 
of  Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt  and  his  first  Years  Salory 
if  he  accepts  and  settles  in  said  Town." 

On  the  following  February  Mr.  Leavitt 
replied  to  the  above  scholarly  document, — 

"  Walpole,  February  20,  1761. 
"  Being  called  upon  by  you  the  Inhabitants  of  this 
Place  to  settle  among  you  in  the  work  of  the  Gosple 
ministry  and  viewing  it  as  my  Duty,  Do  now  in  the 
Fear  of  God  Depending  on  him  by  his  Grace  and 
spirit  to  assist  me  in  the  Faithful  Discharge  of  this 
so  Great  a  Truth  comply  with  your  call.  Relying 
upon  it  that  you  will  Do  all  on  your  part  and  in  your 
Power  to  assist,  Strengthen  and  encourage  me  so  long 
as  God  shall  continue  me  with  you.  I  say  relying 
on  this  I  do  engage  to  settle  among  you,  provided, 
that  there  shall  nothing  appear  between  this  and  the 


time  of  Ordination  to  forbid  it,  in  which  time  I  ex- 
pect that  you  will  Lay  out  the  right  of  Land  through 
this  town  of  Walpole  which  by  Charter  is  given 
to  the  first  settled  minister  in  the  Place.  And  in 
Testimony  of  this  solemn  engagement  I  here  unto  set 
my  hand." 

"  Jonathan  Leavitt." 

The  terms  of  Mr.  Leavitt's  settlement  and 
salary  were  very  liberal  for  those  days,  when 
there  were  so  few  to  pay,  there  being  but 
twelve  or  fifteen  families  in  town  at  that  time 
all  told,  and  the  purchasing  power  of  money 
being  three-fold  of  what  it  now  is. 

Mr.  Leavitt  was  ordained  on  the  10th  day  of 
the  following  June,  and  Sergeant  Israel  Cal- 
kins was  paid  two  dollars  for  his  services  in 
procuring  a  minister  to  ordain  Mr.  Leavitt. 
Nothing  more  is  heard  of  the  parson  till  April, 
1704,  when  the  settlers  called  a  town-meeting 
for  the  pnrpose  of  hearing  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants  on  some  difficulties  that  had  arisen 
between  the  parson  and  his  parishioners. 

The  parishioners  soon  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  services  of  their  settled  minister  were 
no  longer  agreeable  to  their  standard  of  moral- 
ity ;  but  how  to  get  rid  of  him  was  an  enigma, 
for  ministers  were  then  settled  by  written  con- 
tract, which  was  binding,  certainly,  on  the  part 
of  the  town.  The  ministers  generally  held 
the  towns  responsible  to  the  contract.  The 
town  chose  a  committee  to  wait  on  Mr. 
Leavitt  and  confer  with  him.  In  the  mean 
time  it  was  proposed  to  have  a  council ;  but 
before  the  time  the  council  was  to  meet,  which 
was  on  the  20th  day  of  May  following,  the 
above-named  committee  and  the  parson  had 
arranged  matters  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
parties.  Mr.  Leavitt  released  the  town  from 
all  obligations  to  him  in  any  way  on  the  27th 
day  of  May,  1764.  The  parson  seems  to  have 
been  in  bad  odor  with  his  people,  which  caused 
the  inhabitants  to  act  very  unanimously  and 
with  promptness,  and  Mr.  Leavitt  to  submit 
to  their  decision  with  as  quiet  grace  as  possible. 

The  full  charges  brought  against  Mr.  Leavitt 
for  his  summary  dismissal   do   not  appear ;  but 


422 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


one  was,  the  parson  was  caught  one  day  in  lead- 
ing home  a  runaway  slave  of  his,  a  woman,  by 
a  rope  around  her   neck,  which  was  attached  to 

the    J unci    of  his    -addle.     Colonel  Bellow-, 

hearing  of  the  outrage,  declared,  "That  such 
cruelty  should  not  be  tolerated;"  that  he  "  set- 
tied  Par-on  Leavitf  and  would  unsettle  him." 
What    became  of   the   parson    is   not    known. 

The    town,  after    Leavitt'-  dismissal,  hired    one 

Jonathan   Moore,  who  preached  for  the  people 

some  lime. 

It  i-  Been,  from  the  above,  that  the  long- 
smothered  "Anti-Slavery"  sentiment  of  the 
North  thus  early  cropped  out.  The  minister's 
slave  and  two  others  owned  by  a  pious  family 
were  the  only  ones  known  to  have  been  held  in 
bondage  in  town. 

The  paramount  interest  of  the  settlers  was 
centred  on  building  and  furnishing  meeting- 
houses, for  more  than  a  generation, as  the  town 
records  abundantly  show.  Scarcely  six  months 
passed  in  thi-  long  time  without  town-meetings 
being  called  "to  see  what  the  town  would  do" 
in  relation  to  meeting-houses.  However,  at 
length  .1  vote  was  carried  to  build  a  meeting- 
house, which  was  located  on  land  now  occupied 
I iv  John  W.  Hayward — just  in  front  of  his 
wood-shed. 

This  house  was,  in  size,  fifty-six  feet  in 
length  by  forty-two  in  breadth,  and  each  set- 
tler, rich  in-  poor,  was  assessed  twelve  -hilling-, 
up  t<>  work  four  days  in  putting  up  the  frame. 
It  i-  seen  by  thi-  that  the  poor  man"-  spiritual 

d-  were  a-  great  a-  those  of  the  rich  then. 

It  wa-  provided  that,  if  the  mean-  lor  raising 
the  frame  wen-  inadequate,  " Colonel  Bellows 
was  to  make  up  the  rest."  Thi-  house  was 
never  completed,  though  meetings  were  held 
there  tor  a  long  time,  till  the  population  of  the 
town  outgrew  it-  size,  when  the  people  were 
again  agitated  aboul  building  mid  locating  a 
new  house. 

Th<-  people  of  the  town  were  now  restive 
without  a  -'tiled  minister  anion-  them,  when 
one  day  a   man   twenty-eighl  years  old,  from 


Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard, 
whose  name  was  Thomas  #  Fessenden,  presented 
himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  vacancy.  His 
preaching  suited  the  people  and  they  forthwith 
gave  him  a  call. 

The    following    is    a    copy    of    the    call    to 
Thomas  Fessenden  : 

" Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

"Walpole,  Sep.  26,  176G. 

"At  a  Legal  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  said 
Walpole,  held  at  the  Meeting  house  in  said  Town, 
Firstly  Chose  Benjamin  Bellows,  Esq.,  .Moderator. 
Secondly,  Voted  to  give  Mr.  Thomas  Fessenden  a 
call  to  settle  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  said 
Walpole.  Thirdly,  Voted  to  give  as  an  Pmcourage- 
menl  to  the  said  Mr.  Thomas  Fessenden  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  Lawful  money  Dollars,  at  Six  Shil- 
lings Bach,  as  a  settlement,  and  said  Bellows  is  to 
pay  one-third  of  said  settlement,  and  it  is  Purposed 
that  the  settlement  he  in  two  payments,  half  said  sum 
in  six  months  from  his  Ordination  and  the  other  half 
one  year  from  his  Ordination.  Fourthly,  Noted  to 
give  Mr.  Fessenden,  as  a  yearly  Salary,  for  the  first 
year  fifty  pounds  like  money,  and  for  the  second 
year  fifty-three  pounds,  and  so  rise  three  pounds  a 
year  for  five  years,  then  stand  at  Sixty  Five  pounds  a 
year  till  there  be  one  hundred  settlers  in  said  Wal- 
pole, or  familys,  to  make  up  the  hundred  Inhabitants 
Properly  called  familys,  then  to  rise  to  Eighty  pounds 
hike  money  as  above  paid,  and  thereto  Continue  at 
that  sum  yearly  so  long  as  the  said  Thomas  Fessenden 
shall  be  our  minister,  and  the  People  have  Liberty  to 
pay  said  Salary,  if  they  see  Cause,  in  good  winter 
wheat  that  is  Marchantable  at  four  Shillings  Per 
Bushel,  Good  Rye  at  three  Shillings  per  Bushel  and 
Good  Indian  com  at  two  Shillings  p'r  Bushel;  Good 
Beef  at  two  p'r  pence  pound,  or  Good  Pork  at  three 
pence  p'r  pound,  the  Pork  being  hoggs  that  weigh 
Bight  schore  and  upwards,  all  which  is  to  be  De- 
livered at  the  house  of  Mr.  Fessenden  at  the  above 
prices." 

November  1,  1766,  Mr.  Fessenden  presented 
to  the  town  his  letter  of  acceptance.  It  is 
quite  lengthy,  and  would  not  be  of  much  in- 
terest to  the  general  reader,  only  in  the  indis- 
criminate and  profuse  use  of  capitals.  It  is 
more  scholarly  in  its  grammatical  construction 
than  Mr.  Leavitt's.  He  calls  the  offer  "  Gen- 
erous," ami  clearly  sees  the  hand  of  Providence 


WALPOLE. 


423 


in  the  unanimity  of  the  people ;  but  he  seri- 
ously objects  to  the  manner  of  payment  of  his 
salary  ;  he  wants  one-half  of  it  paid  in  money. 
He  says  "  that  more  meat  and  grain  than  is 
needful  for  me  to  spend  will,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide for  my  household,  Oblige  me  to  turn 
Marchant,  so  Divert  me  from  my  Studies  and 
Proper  Calliug,  and  in  the  same  Proportion 
Deprive  you  of  my  labor."  He  further  states, 
in  substance,  that  if  his  salary  be  paid  one-half 
in  money  he  will  accept  the  call.  Mr.  Fessen- 
den  was  not  unreasonable  to  require  one-half 
in  money,  and  the  inhabitants  saw  the  point 
was  well  made,  and  had  the  good  sense  to  ar- 
range matters  more  satisfactorily  to  Mr.  Fes- 
senden.  He  was  ordained  minister  of  the  town 
January  7,  1767;  but  the  records  are  silent  in 
relation  to  the  proceedings  on  that  occasion. 

An  account  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people  during  Mr.  Leavitt's  pastorate  was 
given  by  a  Mrs.  Watson,  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  one  John  Fanning,  who 
settled  in  Walpole  at  that  time,  on  the  place 
now  owned  by  S.  Johnson  Tiffany.  Mrs.  Wat- 
son,  when  her  father  came  here,  was  eight  or 
ten  years  old;  but  when  she  returned,  after 
many  years  of  absence,  to  visit  her  early  home, 
she  was  an  old  woman,  but  retained  her  facul- 
ties in  a  remarkable  degree.     The  story  runs 

thus : 

"We  started  from  Stonington,  Conn.,  to  go  to  Otter 
Creek,  Vt.,  in  a  sloop  of  our  own  and  came  as  far  as 
Hartford,  where  we  purchased  a  pair  of  horses  aud 
wagon  to  convey  us  up  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
The  country  as  far  as  Chicopee  was  very  fine.  Hat- 
field was  then  but  a  small  town,  but  the  fields  of 
grain  were  immense,  without  fences.  At  Sunderland 
the  road  was  mountainous,  and  we  had  to  purchase 
oxen  to  haul  our  goods.  We  then  passed  through  a 
little  village  called  Keene,  and  owing  to  the  difficul- 
ties of  traveling  we  stopped  at  Xo.  3,  WalpoLe.  My 
father  built  us  a  house  of  square  timber  and  covered 
the  roof  with  bark ;  but  the  gable  ends  were  left  open 
for  a  time,  so  we  could  plainly  hear,  when  sitting 
around  our  fire-side  in  the  evening,  the  barking  of 
foxes,  the  howling  of  wolves  and  the  cries  of  the 
panther,  which  resembled  a  woman's  in  distress  and 
(seemed)  intended  to  decoy  people  into  the  woods, 


where   those  animals  proved  troublesome  when  not 
prevented  by  fire-arms. 

"  The  flesh  of  the  deer  and  bear  afforded  the 
settlers  a  delicious  repast.  The  approach  of  the  lat- 
ter was  very  unceremonious  and  sometimes  rude  to 
strangers.  Wild  turkeys  were  trapped  and  shot,  and 
cpiails  and  pigeons  caught  in  nets  in  great  numbers. 
The  brooks  were  filled  with  trout  and  the  river 
abounded  in  salmon  and  shad  ;  one  of  the  latter  was 
taken  near  the  Falls  with  a  rattlesnake's  head  in  its 
mouth.  An  intercourse  with  wild  animals  was  car- 
ried to  an  unusual  extent  in  the  numbers  tamed.  A 
brood  of  young  raccoons  were  taught  to  suck  a  cat 
and  play  about  the  house  like  kittens,  only  more 
mischievous. 

The  inhabitants  then  lived  in  the  wilderness, 
as  shown  by  her  story  of  Mrs.  Prichard, 
"  who,"  she  said,  "  was  lost  in  the  woods  and 
subsisted,  like  wild  beasts,  on  berries  and  the 
bark  of  trees  twenty -one  days."  She  started 
during  a  thunder-storm  from  a  place  called 
Jennison  Hill,  with  a  child  two  years  old,  to 
visit  a  neighbor's  house.  Leaving  the  path  to 
avoid  a  large  snake,  she  lost  her  way  and  was 
not  seen  again  for  just  three  weeks,  when  some 
men  discovered  her  at  the  mouth  of  Cold 
River. 

"She  fled  at  the  sight  of  men,  like  a  deer,  but  was 
overtaken  aud  brought  back  to  a  house.  Her  clothes 
were  completely  torn  off.  After  recovering  her  senses 
in  a  degree,  she  stated  that  her  child  died  the  third  day, 
and  she  buried  it  under  a  log.  She  said  she  heard 
the  Indians'  guns,  and  saw  them  several  times  in  pur- 
suit of  her  (probably  her  friends,  who  spent  several 
days  looking  for  her),  but  she  secreted  herself  so  as  to 
keep  out  of  their  way.  That  woman  was  living  not  a 
great  many  years  since,  in  Westminster,  Vt.,  in  a 
state  of  mental  aberration.  In  tearing  down  the 
chimney  where  she  lived,  her  coveted  old  pipe  was 
found  in  a  sly  nook. 

"  At  this  time  there  were  about  twelve  or  fifteen  log 
houses  in  town.  The  meeting-house  was  unfinished  ; 
there  was  not  a  carriage  in  town,  the  traveling  being 
performed  on  foot  or  horseback;  sometimes  three  or 
four  children  were  carried  in  this  way  at  a  time,  be- 
side a  wife,  on  a  pillion,  and  the  upsetting  of  such  a 
load  was  of  frequent  occurrence.  Colonel  Bellows 
was  the  most  considerable  man  in  town  ;  Peter,  the 
colonel's  oldest  son,  was  then  settled  in  Charlestown, 
where  the  people  used  often  go  to  attend  meeting. 


424 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"Mr.  Leavittj  the  minister  in  town,  wore  a  large 
wig,  full  powdered,  and  when  lie  entered  the  meeting- 
house the  whole  congregation  rose  to  do  obeisance  to 

the  man  in  black,  who,  in  his  turn,  always  responded 
with  a  formal  how.  Powder  was  not  worn  on  the 
hair  by  those  who  were  COntl  nted  with  the  use  of  the 
eelskin,  which  was  con-id.  red  as  adding  dignity  to 
the  wearer,  in  proportion  to  the  size  and  length  of 
the  queue. 

"Officers  of  the  militia  wore  cocked  hats.  Of  the 
ladies,  Mrs.  Leavitt  lock  the  lead  in  dress;  at  church 
she  wore  a  full  suit  of  lutestring,  without  any  bonnet, 
holding  a  fan  to  shade  the  sun  from  her  face,  as  was 
the  fashion  '  down  country.' 

\.-.\t  to  her  were  the  daughters  of  Colonel  Bel- 
lows, and  their  two  half-sisters,  Jennisons.  They 
wore  plain  Quaker  bonnets  of  black  silk;  white  or 
colored  ones  were  not  seen.  To  improve  their  figures, 
the  ladies  quilted  their  petticoats  with  wool,  to  make 
their  hips  show  oil'  to  advantage,  which  contrasted 
wit  h  the  smallness  of  their  waists,  painfully  compressed 
with  long  stays.  Home-made  durants,  camblets  and 
serges,  full  of  gay  (lowers  of  artificial  needlework 
were  fashionable  articles.  Stockings,  of  their  own 
knitting,  and  high-heeled  shoes,  with  huckles,  were 
indispensable. 

'•  It  was  thought  an  improvement  to  beauty  and 
..nice  to  expose  the  petticoat  before  throug  a  screen 
of  lawn  apron,  the  gown  being  left  to  swing  open. 
The  hair  was  all  combed  hack,  leaving  no  curls  nor 
ringlet-  about  the  face.  Instead  of  following  the 
modern  fashion  of  con  ering  the  back  part  of  the  head, 
their  bonnets  wire  so  much  pitched  forward  that  the 
cap  and  back  part  of  the  head  were  exposed. 

'•  \  large  portion  of  pin-money  was  derived  from 
the  sale  of  -olden-thread,  ginseng  and  snake-root, 
which  was  procured  by  their  own  hands.  Dr.  Chase 
was  the  only  physician."  ' 

S  ii  after  the  town  ha<l  settled  Parson 
Fessenden  in  the  ministry  and  on  the  (arm  (now 
'•ailed  the  Fan*  place),  and  also  bad  built  them- 
selves a  house  of  worship  (only  in  name),  the 
settlers  turned  their  attention  toward-  the  edu- 
cation of  their  children,  something  they  so  much 
Deeded  themselves,  for  it  is  doubtful  whether 
one  in  five  of  the  population  could  read  and 
write.     Ac "dingly,  in    L 768,  the  town   voted 

1  The  above  narrative,  in  substance,  was  given  by  Mi  - 
Watson   to  Dr.   Ebenezez    Morse,   of  this  town,  about  the 
a  1826. 


to  have  three  schools,  and  for  their  support  they 
voted  fifteen  pounds  for  winter  schools,  and  the 
next  year  voted  "  to  raise  twenty-four  pounds 
for  schooling,  and  to  form  three  districts."  It 
appears  that  the  population  was  now  increasing, 
for  the  selectmen  took  a  census  of  the  town  and 
found  in  17G7,  .'508  inhabitants,  divided  thus, — 
2  I  married  men,  from  sixteen  to  sixty;  52  un- 
married men,  from  sixteen  to  sixty  ;  104  boys, 
tinder  sixteen  ;  1  man  over  sixty  ;  72  unmarried 
females ;  52  married  females  and  3  widows. 
It  is  seen,  if  the  number  of  girls  was  equal  to 
the  number  of  boys,  it  was  high  time  to  make 
provision  for  schooling. 

Colonel  Bellows  intended  to  have  the  village 
in  Walpole,  near  the  fort ;  but  for  sonic  unac- 
countable reason  the  population  "drifted" 
down  the  river,  where  the  present  village  now 
is, — perhaps  the  reason  was  to  be  nearer  the  meet- 
ing-house, which  then  stood  on  "Uncle  Si's" 
Hill.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  first  school-house 
built  was  located  where  Josiah  (J.  Bellows' 
house  now  stands,  and  is  now  the  residence  of 
Moses  Q.  ~vYatkins,on  Washington  Square.  This 
was  No.  1.  It  is  very  easy  to  account  for  District 
No.  2  being  located  near  the  month  of  Cold 
River;  it  was  the  fertile  intervale  in  that  vicinity 
that  made  that  region  populous ;  but  why  a 
population,  so  early,  should  have  settled  in  the 
"Valley,"  sufficiently  large  as  to  require  a 
school-honse  there,  is  not  so  plain  ;  unless  the 
nearness  of  the  locality  to  Colonel  Bellows'  mill 
was  an  inducement;  for  in  early  days  the  land 
was  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  hemlock 
timber ;  the  soil  was  wet,  sterile  and  covered  with 
angular  boulders ;  and,  moreover,  the  "  Valley  " 
was  the  special  home  of  the  gray  wolf,  whose 
howls  at  night  were  the  terror  of  mankind  and 
domestic  animals.  The  organization  of  school 
districts  in  town  sufficiently  indicates  where  the 
population  was  most  dense,  in  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  town,  except  District  No.  14,  which 
was  taken  from  Nos.  1  and  2. 

The  town   has  always  exercised  a  watchful 
care  over  the  educational    interest  of  the  rising 


WALPOLE. 


425 


generation  within  its  borders.  It  began  by 
raising  fifteen  pounds  for  schooling  purposes, 
and  has  added  to  that  sum  from  time  to  time 
till  now  (1885),  when  our  school  expenditure 
reaches  more  than  five  thousand  dollars. 

The  town  about  1770  was  comparatively 
quiet ;  the  Indians  were  no  longer  troublesome, 
the  minister  was  preaching  peace,  the  schools 
were  well  agoing,  and  no  town-meetings  were 
called  but  the  annual  one,  where  not  much  was 
done  but  the  choosing  of  town  officers.  At  those 
meetings  were  chosen  two  kinds  of  officers  who 
do  not  appear  on  the  town  records  now, — one 
was  the  tithingman,  the  other  the  deer  reeve, 
of  whom  several  were  chosen  of  each  kind. 

The  tithingman  was  a  kind  of  Sunday 
police.  His  duties  were  to  see  that  order  was 
maintained  around  the  church  on  the  Lord's 
day,  and  to  prevent  unnecessary  traveling  on 
Sunday.  People  were  not  allowed  to  labor  in 
their  fields  on  that  day  ;  if  they  did,  they  were 
subjected  to  a  large  fine. 

The  flesh  of  the  deer  was  not  only  considered 
a  delicacy,  but  was  indispensable  to  the  poor,  as 
it  afforded  them  a  large  share  of  their  meat  diet; 
hence  officers  were  chosen,  called  "deer  reeves," 
to  protect  the  does  and  fawns  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year  from  wanton,  indiscriminate 
slaughter. 

from  1770  to  1780. 

This  decade  was  marked  by  much  feverish 
anxiety,  deprivation  and  human  suffering;  the 
settlers  had  to  live  as  they  could.  The  ominous 
events  which  terminated  in  the  Revolutionary 
War  began  to  cast  their  dark  shadows  before; 
but  when  the  news  came  to  Walpole  of  the 
battle  at  Lexington  the  quiet  of  the  town  was 
struck  to  its  very  foundation. 

Benjamin  Bellows,  Jr.,  better  known  as  gen- 
eral, was  then  thirty-five  years  old,  and  was 
then,  and  during  his  whole  life,  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  in  town,  both  from  natural  and 
acquired  abilities. 

The  next  morning  after  hearing  the  news 
from  Lexington,  General  Bellows,  his  brother 


John  and  Thomas  Sparhawk  mounted  their 
horses,  and  started  for  the  scene  of  blood.  On 
arriving  at  Keene  they  inquired  for  one  Cap- 
tain AVyman,  and  were  told  that  he  had  started 
for  Concord  that  morning  at  sunrise,  with  about 
thirty  men.  On  hearing  this  answer  they  ex- 
claimed, "Keene  has  shown  a  noble  spirit!" 
and  hastened  onwards,  soon  followed  by  thirty- 
five  men  from  Walpole.  Those  men  were  out 
about  eleven  days  on  that  expedition. 

Walpole  was  not  behind  other  towns  in  the 
State  in  furnishing  men  and  means  for  the  ser- 
vice and  use  of  the  Continental  army  ;  nor 
were  the  families  of  soldiers  neglected  at  home ; 
for  the  town  records  bear  evidence  that  money 
was  raised  from  time  to  time  for  the  benefit  of 
such  families,  and  committees  were  appointed 
to  see  that  they  were  made  comfortable. 

The  pay  of  the  soldier  was  ten  pounds  for 
one  year's  service,  or  wheat  at  five  shillings  per 
bushel.  In  1779  the  town  raised  one  thousand 
pounds  to  procure  five  soldiers  for  the  army, 
but  at  this  time  it  took  twenty-four  pounds  of 
currency  to  purchase  one  in  gold,  and  two  years 
later  it  took  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  the  same 
currency  to  equal  one  in  gold  or  silver. 

The  exact  number  of  men  that  went  into  the 
Continental  service  in  this  town  cannot  be  as- 
certained from  any  available  source ;  but  it  is 
said  that  most  of  the  able-bodied  men  served  a 
longer  or  shorter  period. 

General  Benjamin  Bellows,  though  he  rose 
from  the  lowest  office  in  the  militia  of  the  State 
to  be  a  brigadier-general,  was  not  long  in  the 
field.  He  was  mostly  engaged  in  raising  troops 
for  the  United  States  service,  and  was  one  of 
the  principal  men  in  the  State  sought  for  when 
any  aid  to  the  national  government  was  wanting. 
Twice  he  marched  his  own  regiment  to  Ticon- 
deroga, — first  in  1776,  for  a  service  of  twenty- 
five  days,  and  again,  June  28, 1777,  to  reinforce 
the  garrison  there  besieged  by  the  enemy,  when, 
according  to  the  pay-roll,  the  time  of  service 
was  only  twelve  days.  Finally,  he  carried  his 
regiment,  September  21,  1777,  to  reinforce  the 


426 


HISToKY  OF  CHESHIRE  (XM'NTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Northern  Continental  army  ;it  Saratoga,  un- 
der  the  command  of  General  Grates,  at  the 
time  when  General  Burgoyne  surrendered.  In 
the  general's  account  with  the  government  is 
found  a  charge  for  a  horse  killed  in  the  service, 
I >ut  it  does  ii"!  state  whether  killed  u/nder  him 
or  not. 

It  is  said  that  "most  of  the  men  in  town 
went  to  Saratoga,"  and  very  likely  they  went  with 
the  general.  Tradition  says  that  quitea  number 
of  men  who  went  with  General  Bellows  to  Sara- 

],  went  as  -rout-,  and  among  them  were  two 
men  whose  names  were  Crane  and  Hall,  the 
latter  was  nicknamed  "Munn,"  but  his  proper 
name  was  Jonathan.  They  had  on  their  way 
there  a  severe  fight  with  a  hand  of  Indians. 
Crane  had  a  hard  tussle  with  an  Indian  single- 
handed,  who  was  armed  with  a  cutlass,  and  got 
bis  hand  so  severely  cut  that  he  was  unable  to 
use  it  ever  afterwards.  The  victory  was  com- 
plete, for  the  scouts  captured  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  enemy.  Old  Munn  was  present 
when  Burgoyne  delivered  up  his  sword,  and 
exclaimed,  "  We've  got  you  for  breakfast,  and 
we'll  have  <  lornwallis  for  dinner ! " 

II as  Bellows  (the  'Squire),  in  speaking  of 

the  men  who  went  to  Saratoga  from  Walpole, 
and  whose  memory  was  remarkable,  used  to 
say  that  he  could  rememberthe  names  of  twelve, 
when  he  would  commence  and  name  them  till 
he  reaeled  the  last  one,  when  he  would  hesi- 
tate and,  becoming  impatient,  would  ejaculate, 
■•  No  matter,  he  was  a  black  man,  any  way  !" 

\  squad  of  the  Walpole  soldiers  captured  a 
boat  belonging  to  the  enemy,  that  contained 
barrels,  which  they  supposed  were  filled  with 
rum,  but  what  was  their  chagrin  when,  boring 
into  them  with  their  bayonets,  they  were  found 
to  contain  only  pork. 

August  16,  1777.  was  fought  the  battle  of 
Bennington,  and  during  the  day  the  booming 
of  the  cannon  was  distinctly  heard  on  the  Wal- 
pole hills  and  also  On  the  lowlands.  The 
people  were  busily  engaged  in  their  harvest,  but 
they  dropped  the  sickle  and  scythe  and  left  the 


wheat  in  the  ground  and  the  grass  in  the  swath, 
put  up  a  scanty  supply  of  viands  in  their  knap- 
sacks, took  their  guns  and  ammunition  and 
started  on  foot  for  Bennington,  where  they 
found  Molly  Stark  not  a  widow. 

Many  trophies  were  brought  home  by  the 
soldiers,  which  are  sacredly  kept  as  heirlooms 
by  their  descendants.  The  military  suit  of 
General  Bellows  is  extant  and  intact.  The 
writer  of  this  sketch  wore  it  several  years  ago 
on  a  certain  festive  occasion,  and  it  fitted  like  a 
glove. 

Not  many  soldiers  rose  to  distinction  from 
Walpole,  nor  is  it  known  that  many  were 
killed  or  wounded,  but  a  descendant  of  John 
Merriam  informed  the  writer  that  John  Merriam, 
Jr.,  received  seven  bullets  in  the  back  part  of 
his  nether  garments  without  a  scratch;  but  what 
is  more  wonderful,  he  survived  !  The  same  in- 
formant also  stated  that  a  tradition  held  iu  his 
family  was,  "at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington three  thousand  troops  from  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State  passed  his  great-grandfather's 
house  on  their  way  thither  and  drank  at  his  well 
and  filled  their  canteens  with  water,  and  then 
passed  on  to  the  top  of  the  hill  west,  where  one 
Josiah  Goldsmith  dined  a  portion  of  them  on  a 
very  large  fat  ox." 

At  a  town-meeting,  held  December  9,  177(i, 
Colonel  Christopher  Webber  was  chosen  to  rep- 
resent the  town  at  Exeter,  this  State,  and  at  the 
same  meeting  a  committee  was  chosen  to  draft 
instructions  for  him,  which  he  did  not  need. 

These  instructions  were  submitted  to  the 
voters  in  town  in  due  time  for  approval,  and 
adopted,  with  the  proviso  that  they  should  be 
submitted  to  a  sub-committee,  "that  they  be 
made  grammar."  Whether  the  copy  found  in 
the  town  records  is  in  the  amended  form  or  not, 
it  is  a  literary  curiosity,  as  it  not  only  shows 
the  educational  status  of  the  men  of  those  davs, 
but  also  their  religious  faith.  In  those  instruc- 
tions Mr.  Webber  was  particularly  enjoined* to 
use  his  influence  with  the  Governor  to  have  him 
appoint   a    "fast-day."     Perhaps  Colonel  Web- 


WALPOLE. 


427 


ber  did  not  fully  understand  the  bearing  of 
those  "  spirited  instructions,"  as  a  certain  writer 
called  them ;  but  whether  so  or  not,  Mr.  Web- 
ber paid  no  attention  to  them.  He  believed 
more  in  the  efficacy  of  "  canister  and  grape," 
than  he  did  in  prayer,  in  staying  the  progress 
of  the  enemy.  When  the  colonel  returned 
home  he  was  confronted  with  threats  of  being 
brought  to  the  bar  of  the  town  for  his  delin- 
([iiency;  but  his  popularity  did  not  wane,  for  the 
next  spring  he  was  triumphantly  returned. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows  died  July  10, 
1777,  and  his  civic  mantle  fell  on  his  son  Ben- 
jamin, by  whom  it  was  never  tarnished.  The 
general  was  then  the  acknowledged  leader  in 
town,  and  he  retained  his  hold  on  the  people  as 
long  as  he  lived. 

The  colonel  left  to  his  nine  children,  by  his 
will,  a  very  large  landed  estate  in  Walpole  and 
other  towns  in  the  vicinity.  It  appears  by  his 
will  that  he  had  given  to  his  children  a  princely 
estate  before  he  made  it,  the  number  of  acres  of 
land  it  is  impossible  to  state,  but  by  his  will  be 
bequeathed  to  each  of  his  children  the  number 
of  acres  which  follows,  viz. :  To  Peter  he  gave 
seven  hundred  acres  in  Rockingham  and  six 
hundred  acres  in  Walpole,  in  the  north  part  ; 
to  Benjamin,  four  hundred  acres  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town  ;  to  John,  eight  hundred  acres 
in  two  lots ;  to  Joseph,  seven  hundred  in  Rindge, 
Mason  and  Fitzwilliam,  besides  unenumerated 
lands  in  Lunenburg,  Mass. ;  to  Abigail,  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  with  buildings  ;  to 
Molly,  five  hundred  acres  in  Westminster,  Vt ; 
to  Josiah,  five  hundred  acres  in  Walpole  and 
thirty -three  in  Westminster,  Vt.  It  is  sup- 
posed he  made  suitable  provisions  for  Thomas 
and  Theodore  before  he  died,  for  their  names 
do  not  appear  in  his  will.  He  also  gave  seventy 
acres,  in  Keene,  to  Mary  Willard ;  fifty  acres 
in  town  to  John  Jennison  and  one  hundred 
acres  for  a  grammar  school,  but  no  one  knows 
where  it  was  located.  The  will  was  published 
in  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  prob- 
ably its   conditions  were  such  as  could  not  be 


complied  with  at  that  time,  and  the  land    re- 
verted. 

He  also  gave  one-ninth  part  of  his  remaining 
lands  in  Rockingham  to  each  of  his  nine  chil- 
dren ;  the  number  of  acres  is  not  known. 
Thus  it  is  seen,  when  Colonel  Bellows  died,  he 
was  in  possession  of  from  six  to  eight  thousand 
acres  of  land,  enumerated  and  unenumerated. 
He  also  gave  his  children  one  thousand  and 
fifty  pounds  in  money  together  with  numerous 
cows,  oxen,  horses,  and  also  household  furni- 
ture, taken  together,  amounting  to  a  large 
sum. 

In  person  Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows  was  tall 
and  stout,  weighing,  a  short  time  before  his 
death,  three  hundred  and  thirty  pounds ;  but 
still  he  continued  to  ride  about  his  farm  on  a 
strong  sorrel  horse,  looking  after  his  interests. 
He  lived  in  a  style  that  necessitated  much 
activity  and  forethought  to  satisfy  the  daily 
demands  of  his  own  household,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  numerous  comers  and  goers.  All  were 
hospitably  treated,  both  rich  and  poor,  for  he 
kept  an  open  house,  in  one  sense. 

A  large  oaken  table  in  the  kitchen  under 
the  house  was  always  spread  for  his  workmen  ; 
but  he  maintained  a  separate  table  for  his  own 
family.  He  made  four  hundred  barrels  of 
cider  annually  and  put  down  twelve  barrels  of 
pork  every  winter.  Eggs  were  brought  in  by 
the  half-bushel  and  salmon  was  so  plenty  that 
his  hired  men  stipulated  that  they  should  not 
have  it  oftener  than  three  times  a  week.  In 
1775,  General  Bellows  was  the  captain  of  a 
military  company  in  this  town. 

It  appears  that  Beuning  Wentworth  had 
given  charters  to  a  large  number  of  towns  on 
both  sides  of  Connecticut  River  indiscrimi- 
nately, and  the  grantees  on  the  west  side  were  at 
loggerheads  with  the  authorities  of  New  York, 
and  a  nest  of  towns  settled  in  Marlborough, 
Vt.,  because  the  New  Hampshire  grantees  could 
get  no  justice  done  them  in  the  "  York  "  courts. 
As  time  went  on  the  evils  grew  no  less,  till,  at 
length,  the  "Yorkists"  undertook  to   hold   a 


428 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


court  at  Westminster,  Vt. ;  but  the  grantees  were 
determined  they  should  not,  and,  accordingly, 
assembled  in  the  court-house  (unarmed)  be- 
fore the  time  arrived  for  the  opening  of  the 

court.  This  was  in  March,  1775.  Soon  the 
court  arrived  with  the  sheriff  and  his  posse,  and 
barely  wedged  themselves  in.  The  court  clearly 
foresaw  that   no  business  could    be   done,  and 

adjoin- 1  :   luit    still   the  sheriff  remained   till 

about  eleven  o'clock  at  night  on  March  13th, 
when  something  precipitated  the  firing  of  the 
court  party  on  the  (liven  Mountain  boys,  which 
resulted  in  the  killing  of  one  William  French 
and  mortally  wounding  another  person.  The 
news  of  this  killing  spread  like  wild-fire  over 
hill  and  through  dale,  and,  before  daylight  the 
next  morning,  men  from  all  quarters  were  seen 
going  to  Westminster,  when,  by  noon,  the  vil- 
lage was  filled  with  five  hundred  exasper- 
ated men,  swearing  vengeance  on  the  perpetra- 
tors. 

PROM    17S0   To    1790. 

General  Bellows  (then  captain)  was  imme- 
diately sent  for  to  repair  to  Westminster  as 
soon  as  possible  with  his  company,  to  prevent 
more  bloodshed.  When  there,  he  stationed  his 
men  out  of  sight  of  the  crowd,  but  freely  min- 
gled with  it  himself,  counseling  peace,  law  and 
order.  Thus  oil  was  spread  on  the  troubled 
waters  till  the  culprits  could  be  hastened  offto 
Northampton  jail,  the  nearest  one  that  would 
keep  them.  When  the  last  beam  of  the  setting 
-mi  touched  tin'  little  village  of  Westminster 
that  day  it  was  as  quiet  as  a  Sabbath  morning. 
Probably  General  Bellows  served  his  country 
better  on  this  occasion  than  on  all  his  military 
campaigning  put  together. 

V.  rmont,  now,  had  got  rid  of  the  pretended 
jurisdiction  of  New  York  over  the  territory  east 
of  the  ( rreen  Mountains,  and  the  Tories,  whohad 

been  long  sowing  to  the  wind,  were  now  reap- 
in.;  the  whirlwind  of  retaliation  from  the  New 
Hampshire  grantees,  who  had  long  been  tantal- 
ized and  oppressed  by  them  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  "  Yorkists."     It  would  seem  that 


sunshine  was  now  smiling  on  the  grantees;  but 
it  was  otherwise,  for  trouble  had  already  com- 
menced between  New  Hampshire  province  and 
the  province  of  Vermont. 

It  appears  that  the  settlers  on  the  New  Hamp- 
shire grants  for  fifty  miles  on  the  Connecticut 
River,  were  mostly  from  the  same  section  of 
New  England,  namely,  Connecticut  j  and  as 
there  were  no  settlements  then  of  importance 
east  of  the  grants  in  New  Hampshire  for  many 
miles,  it  was  natural  that  the  settlers  on  the 
grants  should  affiliate  ;  hence  the  strange  pro- 
ceedings. 

Sixteen  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Cornish, 
N.  H.,  joined  the  Vermont  settlers  through  a 
lvention  held  there,  but  owing  to  some  mis- 
understanding they  did  not  remain  long.  Yet, 
as  the  Vermont  adherents  numbered  about  one- 
half  the  population  on  the  cast  side  of  the 
river  and,  the  excitement  continued,  till  at 
length  a  convention  was  called  to  meet  at 
Charlestown,  N.  II.,  January  1G,  1781,  where 
all  the  New  Hampshire  grants  were    invited. 

The  call  was  in  printed  circulars,  setting 
forth  that,  if  a  certain  named  majority  of  the 
towns  were  in  favor  of  forming  a  "  union  "  with 
Vermont,  the  Vermont  Assembly  would  ratify 
the  proceedings.  Each  party  was  now  on  the 
alert,  running  up  and  down  highways  and  by- 
ways, drumming  recruits  till  the  day  of  meet- 
ing. The  convention  was  large  and  fully  rep- 
resented, and  the  question  set  forth  in  the  call 
was  ably  discussed  pro  et  con  for  some  time. 
At  length  a  resolution  was  presented,  which,  if 
carried,  would  take  from  Vermont  all  the  New 
Hampshire  grants  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
— virtually  annihilating  the  State  of  Vermont — 
which  was  carried  by  a  large  majority  and  gave 
the  New  Hampshire  people  much  joy  and 
hilarity.  Ira  Allen,  of  Vermont  (brother  of 
Ethan),  was  present  on  this  occasion  and  was 
busy  through  the  following  night  with  his 
henchmen,  conferring  with  his  friends. 

W  hen  the  convention  assembled  the  next 
morning  a  motion    was  carried  to   recommit  the 


WALPOLE. 


429 


report  to  a  committee  for  emendation,  that  it 
might  be  in  a  suitable  form  for  publication. 
When  the  committee  submitted  the  amended 
form  of  the  report  for  adoption,  it  was  found 
that  a  clause  had  been  inserted  recommending 
the  grants  on  the  east  side  of  Connecticut  River 
to  consolidate  with  Vermont,  which  surprised 
none  but  those  not  in  the  secret.  The  question 
on  its  adoption  was  put  and  carried  by  an  over- 
whelming majority. 

General  Bellows  and  twelve  others,  a  part  of 
whom  belonged  to  the  Council  and  the  others 
the  Assembly  of  New  Hampshire,  left  the  con- 
vention in  disgust,  not  without  leaving  a  vigor- 
ous protest,  however,  against  such  base  trickery. 
General  Bellows  was  certainly  outflanked  this 
time  ;  but  he  knew  where  to  strike  his  enemy 
where  it  was  vulnerable,  as  Vermont  had  been 
for  some  time  a  petitioner  to  Congress  for  ad- 
mission as  a  sister  State  of  the  Union,  but  had 
not  been  admitted  for  the  reason  of  the  troubles 
on  Connecticut  River,  of  which  Congress  had 
been  seasonably  advised  ;  but  now,  after  the 
foregoing  outrage,  General  Bellows,  with  his 
influential  friends  at  Exeter,  represented  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  a  vigorous  protest  to 
Congress  against  Vermont's  admission.  In  the 
mean  time  General  Washington  wrote  a  confi- 
dential, unofficial  letter  to  Governor  Chittenden, 
of  Vermont,  frankly  stating  that  Vermont 
would  not  be  admitted  to  embrace  any  territory 
east  of  Connecticut  River. 

Now  commenced,  and  was  continued  for  a 
long  period,  a  state  of  anarchy  and  confusion 
which  beggars  description.  Lieutenant  John 
Graves  represented  the  town  in  the  Vermont 
Assembly,  at  Windsor;  General  Bellows  was 
confronted  at  home  by  large  influential  families, 
such  as  the  Halls,  the  Hoopers,  the  Hutchins, 
Graves  and  many  others ;  sheriffs  were  im- 
prisoned when  doing  their  duty  ;  the  judgment 
of  courts  were  set  aside  and  attempts  made  to 
break  them  up ;  majorities  in  towns  of  one 
party  bulldozed  the  minorities,  and  no  person 
knew  whether  he  lived  under  the  "  bench  "  seal 


or  that  .of  the  "  rising  sun."  The  people  on  the 
grants  were  carrying  their  revengeful  feelings 
to  such  an  alarming  extent  that  the  militia 
was  called  out  in  both  States  and  held,  for  a 
while,  ready  for  action. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  sentiments  of 
Washington's  letter  reached  the  Vermonters, 
which  was  a  wet  blanket  to  them.  Then,  when 
they  became  as  anxious  to  rid  themselves  of 
their  New  Hampshire  family  as  they  were  to 
get  them,  they  did  not  "  love  Caesar  less,  but 
they  loved  Rome  more," — i.e.,  to  get  into  the 
Union.  All  parties  had  become  weary  of  this 
unprofitable  strife,  from  whence  no  good  had 
come,  but  much  that  was  disastrous. 

On  the  11th  of  February,  1782,  the  Vermont 
Assembly  was  in  session,  and  a  resolution  was 
introduced,  in  accordance  with  the  expression  of 
the  Assembly  previously  made,  and  was  pre- 
sented, voted  on  and  carried,  which  was  an  af- 
firmative vote  for  the  dissolution  of  the 
"  union  "  of  the  grants.1 

Now  peace  once  more  reigned,  and,  after 
a  while,  the  people  enjoyed  life  under  their  own 
vine  and  fig-tree,  and  resumed  their  accustomed 
vocations. 

The  town  at  this  time  (1784)  contained  about 
twelve  hundred  inhabitants  and  had  outgrown 
their  meeting-house.  For  two  years  frequent 
ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to  get  a  vote  of 
the  town  to  build  a  new  one.  Finally,  in  1786, 
a  vote  was  secured  to  build  one,  when  a  dis- 
agreement arose  about  its  location.  At  length 
the  town  decided  to  build  on  land  near  where 
B.  E.  Webster  now  lives.  The  people  had  no 
settled  plan  of  construction,  but  went  on,  from 
step  to  step,  as  the  vote  of  the  town  dictated. 
When  the  wood-work  was  completed,  they  were 
some  time  in  agreeing  what  color  it  should  be 
painted.  Finally,  straw  color  was  adopted. 
To  raise  money  to  pay  for  its  construction  and 
finish,  it  was  agreed  to  sell  pews  by  "  public 
vendue,"    and    whoever   would  bid  off  a  pew 

1Fora  more  elaborate  statement,  see  "  History  of  Wal- 
pole." 


430 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


should  give  a  bond  for  security  of  payment. 
Connected  with  the  building  was  a  high  tower, 
in  which  the  bell  was  hung  that  (1885) 
greets  our  ears  with  its  mellow  tones  now 
on  the  town-house.  Apollos  Gilmore  rung  this 
bell  for  many  years,  morning,  noon  and  night, 
and  he  was  bo  punctual  at  his  post  that  the  say- 
ing was  "  he  regulated  the  sun."  The  capacious 
lower  floor  was  divided  into  little  seven  by  four 
feet  compartments,  called  pews,  resembling  a 
Bheep-fold  in  the  spring.  Over,  the  pulpit  was 
suspended  an  oval,  dome-like  structure,  sur- 
mounted with  an  emblematical  device  called  a 
sounding-board,  and  on  three  sides  ran  a  deep 
gallery  which  was  not  only  a  loft  for  the  organ, 
but  was  divided  into  pews.  The  deacons' seat- 
were  built  on  the  right  and  left-hand  sides  of 
the  pulpit.  Thus  equipped,  the  people  of  the 
town  all  worshipped  at  one  place,  with  no  mod- 
em isms  to  disturb  them.  The  house  was  com- 
pleted in  ITS! i. 

Til!  1785  there  was  no  way  of  crossing  Con- 
necticut River  only  by  ferry-boats,  of  which 
then'  weic  many.  But  one  Enoch  Hale,  a  citi- 
zen  of  Rindge,  X.  H.,  moved  to  town  in  1784, 
obtained  a  charter  of  the  Legislature  and  built 
a  bridge  in  1785,  which  connected  Walpole  with 
Rockingham  at  Bellows  Falls.  This  was  the 
first  bridge  that  ever  spanned  the  Connecticut 
River,  and  no  other  was  built  on  the  river  till 
L796.  It  was  considered  a  great  undertaking 
and  made  Mr.  Hale  famous.  This  bridge 
passed  into  the  possession  of  one  Frederick 
William  Geyer,  and  was  a  source  of  consider- 
able income. 

Geyer  had  a  family,  and  a  daughter  of  his 
was  married  to  Richard  D.  Tucker.  Tucker's 
wife  at  ber  father's  death  received  this  bridge 
a-  a  portion  of  ber  legacy.  Ever  since  that 
time  it  ha-  been  known  as  "Tucker's  Bridge." 

In  1786  Walpole  was  dismembered  of  all 
the  territory  lying  north  of  Theodore  Atkin- 
son's linetoCharlestown,  measuring  one  mile  and 
two  hundred  rods  on  its  southern  boundary. 
This  territory  included    the  "  Governor's   sheep 


pasture,"  which  was  set  off  to  form  the  town  of 

Langdon.     This  arrangement  discommoded  the 

settlers   on  the   river,  and  the  next  year  that 

portion  now  running  north  from  Cold  River,  by 

legislative    authority,     was    reannexed    to    the 

town.  , 

from  1790  to  1800. 

The  succeeding  ten  years  were  those  of 
plenty,  happiness,  hilarity  and  contentment; 
the  virgin  soil,  with  proper  industry,  produced 
an  abundance  for  man  and  beast;  the  apple 
orchards,  which  had  been  planted  twenty  years 
before,  had  just  come  into  a  bearing  condition 
of  native  fruit,  and  yielded  abundantly  every 
year.  Colonel  John  Bellows  had  an  orchard  of 
thirty  acres  in  extent.  Every  farmer  had  his 
apple  orchard,  and  at  every  tenth  farm  was  an 
old-fashioned  cider-mill. 

Forty-eight  hundred  barrels  of  cider  were 
made  in  1795,  which  gave  to  each  man,  woman 
and  child  nearly  four  barrels  each.  A  portion 
of  this  cider  was  distilled  into  cider-brandy  at 
a  distillery  that  stood  where  the  High  School 
building  now  stands,  and  owned  by  Colonel 
Caleb  Bellows,  the  general's  son.  In  one  shape 
or  another,  this  large  quantity  of  cider  found  its 
way  into  the  stomachs  of  the  townsmen  yearly, 
and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  century  after- 
wards this  brandy  and  cider-drinking  was  kept 
up,  which  formed  the  era  of  red  eyes  and  blue 
noses.  Families,  when  out  of  cider,  considered 
t  hem-lives  out  of  everything,  and  the  man  who 
could  iK  >t  put  into  his  cellar  twenty  barrelsofci*  ler 
yearly  was  considered  poor,  and  the  man  who 
could  not  keep  a  sideboard  filled  with  liquors 
was  of  no  account. 

The  meeting-house  being  completed,  and  large 
enough  to  accommodate  all  the  people  who  went 
to  church,  assembled  there  week  after  week  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century  to  listen  to  Thomas  Fes- 
senden  and  Pliny  Dickinson,  and  hear  them 
preach  their  long-winded  sermons,  which 
often  ran  up  to  the  tenthlies. 

The  townsmen  were  taxed  prorata  for  the  sup- 
port of  preaching  whether  they  believed  in  the 


WALPOLE. 


431 


"  standing  order  "  of  creeds  and  beliefs  or  not. 
There  were  agnostics  in  those  days,  as  well  as 
now,  and  what  could  induce  all  the  people  in 
cold  weather,  some  of  whom  had  to  travel  four 
or  five  miles  on  foot  or  horseback  and  sit 
through  two  long  services  in  that  unwarmed 
church,  is  more  than  can  be  guessed  at,  unless, 
to  get  their  money's  worth,  for  in  many  cases 
reluctant  payment  of  taxes  was  creeping  in. 
During  thirty-five  years  that  old  church  never 
was  warmed,  and  by  some  church  members  it 
was  considered  sacrilege  to  warm  a  church. 
After  the  benediction,  at  noon,  many  of  the  par- 
ishioners repaired  to  the  public-house  of  Alexan- 
der Watkins,  which  is  still  standing  and  owned 
by  B.  E.Webster,  and  seated  themselves  in  semi- 
circle around  a  blazing  fire  in  his  capacious  re- 
ceiving-room. Parson  Fessenden  sometimes 
preached  a  cold  sermon,  and  on  those  occasions 
he  drifted  with  his  parishioners  to  Uncle  Alex's, 
as  he  was  called,  and  then  and  there  quaffed  a 
generous  quantity  of  flip  with  them.  Then  it 
was  not  considered  derogatory  for  the  cloth  to 
take  a  little,  just  a  little,  for  the  "stomach's 
sake."  Here  the  head  of  each  family  purchased 
a  mug  of  flip,  from  which  each  member  partook 
from  the  same  mug,  and  for  every  mug  sold 
Uncle  Alex  would  add  another  stick  of  wood  to 
the  already  hot  fire  ;  so  by  the  time  for  after- 
noon service  the  parishioners  and  parson  were 
well  warmed  inside  and  outside  to  meet  the  chill 
of  the  afternoon. 

Parson  Dickinson,  who  after  this  period  be- 
came the  town  minister,  was  cast  in  a  different 
mould  from  Parson  Fessenden ;  he  considered 
the  guzzling  of  cider,  cider-brandy  and  the 
looking  upon  "  wine  when  it  was  red"  as  dan- 
gerous to  the  morals  and  the  well-being  of  his 
charge,  and  used  his  influence  to  discourage 
their  use  as  a  common  beverage.  He  was  not 
a  free  liver  himself,  and  it  is  presumed  never 
touched  even  wine  without  being  urged  by  his 
parishioners. 

The  lines  of  demarkation  in  society  were 
clearly    defined    in    those    days.       There   were 


some  families  who  had  gained  wealth  by  their 
shrewdness  or  otherwise,  and  who  looked  upon 
themselves  as  the  salt  of  the  town,  but  by  the 
yeomanry  as  salt  without  its  savor.  These  two 
classes  had  no  affiliations  in  common.  Then 
there  was  a  literary  coterie  that  affected  wit, 
poetry  and  literature.  This  coterie  was  com- 
posed of  such  men  as  Royal  Tyler,  of  Brattle- 
borough,  Vt.,  who  was  afterwards  chief  jus- 
tice of  that  State  ;  Samuel  Hunt,  afterwards 
member  of  Congress  ;  Samuel  West,  of  Keene, 
a  brilliant  advocate,  together  with  Joe  Dennie, 
of  this  town,  editor  of  the  Farmers'  Museum, 
and  Roger  Vose,  who  also  was  afterwards  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  and  others  in  town.  The 
foregoing  persons  belonged  to  the  club  proper, 
while  there  were  others  who  joined  them  in 
their  symposiums  occasionally,  which  were  held 
at  Major  Bullard's,  who  kept  a  public-house 
here. 

This  house  was  known  far  and  wide  as  the 
Craft  tavern.1  The  persons  who  joined  this 
self-styled  literary  club  occasionally  were  Dr. 
Heilliman,  who  came  to  this  country  with  the 
Hessian  soldiers  in  Revolutionary  days,  Al- 
pheus  Moore,  Dr.  Spaulding  and  Jeremiah 
Mason,  -who  was  a  young  lawyer  here  then, 
but  who  afterwards  became  distinguished  in  his 
profession  and  well  known  throughout  New 
England. 

One  anecdote  is  related  of  him,  when  in  prac- 
tice here,  which  is  worth  repeating.  Mason 
was  a  malformed  man,  inasmuch  as  this  :  he 
was  six  feet,  six  inches  in  stature,  with  pedal 
extremities  very  long  in  proportion  to  his  body, 
and  when  seated  in  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
high-backed  sleighs,  with  his  youthful  features, 
he  very  much  resembled  a  boy.  One  day  in  mid- 
winter, when  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground, 
he  started  for  Keene,  over  the  hills  in  a  hiirh- 
backed  sleigh,  with  robes  well  tucked  around 
him.  On  the  high  land  he  met  a  burly,  cross- 
grained  teamster,  who,  by  threats  and  billings- 


1  Burnt  down  October  31,  1880. 


432 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


-ate  was  bent  on  depriving  Mason  of  his  legal 
right  to  half  of  the  road.  He  soon  found  that 
threats  availed  nothingjso,  with  upraised  whip, 
he  approached  this  seeming  boy  to  see  what  virtue 

there  was  in  castration.  Mason  now  thought  it 
time  to  put  in  a  defense,  and  accordingly  seized 
his  whip  witli  butt  end  forward,  and  began  to 
rise  up,  with  robes  tumbling  off,  till  up,  up,  he 
stood  at  full  height  before  the  appalled  teamster, 
when  he  ejaculated,  "  You  need 'nt  get  up  any 
more  Oil  ver  ;  there's  enough  ueow  ;  I'll  turn 
rout!'  He  did  SO,  Mason  maintaining  silence 
all  the  while.  There  is  no  other  ease  to  be 
found  where  the  stature  of  a  man  sustained  the 
statute  of  the  State. 

The  meetings  of  this  club  were  held  quite 
often,  and  when  its  members  were  assembled 
the  old  house  was  turned  into  a  literary  pande- 
monium ;  boisterous  hilarity  prevailed;  all 
kind-  «>f  liquors  were  drunk  to  excess  ;  card- 
playing  and  kindred  amusements  obtained; 
breaking  of  crockery  and  furniture  were  com- 
mon, and  late  or  early  suppers  were  indulged 
in.  a-  the  case  might  be.  Parson  Fessenden 
seemed  to  be  a  subject  for  ridicule  by  the  wags 
— perhaps  he  had  crossed  their  path  from  the 
pulpit.  He  was  diminutive  in  size,  and  when 
dressed  in  the  Continental  garb  of  those  days 
tin-  wags  fancied  that  he  resembled  the  -lack  of 
Clubs,  an  important  card  in  their  favorite  game 
"Palm  Loo,"  hence  they  dubbed  him  "Old 
Palm."  At  one  time,  when  Joe  Dennie 
was  editor  of  the  Museum  (Walpole  paper), 
which  was  printed  in  the  building  now  occupied 
by  Chapin  &  Burt,  butchers,  he  was  sought  for 
at  the  tavern  no  less  than  twelve  times  for 
"copy"  to  finish  an  essay  he  was  writing  for 
the  paper. 

The  Last  time  when  "copy  "  was  wanting  he 
was  engaged  in  a  rubber  of  whist,  when  he 
-aid  to  his  friend  Tyler,  "  I  lere,  Tyler,  play  my 
hand,  while  I  give  the  devil  his  due!"  In  a 
few  minutes  the  essay  was  completed,  although 
he  was  surrounded  with  confusion. 

Then  there  were  the  tradesmen  and  mechan- 


ics, who,  though  respectable  as  a  class,  were  a 
kind    of  connecting    link    between    aristocracy 
and    the    yeomanry.       The     yeomanry,    which 
composed  most  of  the  population,  was  content 
in  honest  labor  and  industry.     As  citizens,  they 
cared   for   nothing    but    material   gain  and  the 
comfort    of  their   households  ;  they  neither   af- 
fected pride  nor    put    on    airs.     The    good    old 
housewife  and  her  daughters,  with  "  rosy  cheeks 
and  bonny  brows,"  spun  the  wool  and  flax,  the 
former   colored  and  woven    into    cloth  for  the 
eutire   outward  garments  of  both  sexes   in  the 
families,  and  the  latter  into  bed-linen  and  under- 
garments.    The  hides  of  their  slaughtered  ani- 
mals    were    converted    into    various    kinds    of 
leather    for    home    wear,  by    local    tanners,   of 
whom    Daniel   Bisco   Avas   one,   whose   tannery 
was  located  near  where  Henry  J.  Watkins  now 
resides.     This  leather  was  made  into  shoes  and 
boots   in   the   kitchens  of  the  farmers,  by  per- 
sons who  went  from  house  to  house,  with  bench 
and  kit,  and  made  up  a  year's  stock  of  foot-gear 
for  a   family  at  one   time,  and  many  a  sixteen- 
years-old    damsel's  eyes  glistened  at  a   pair  of 
cowhide  shoes  for   the  winter  after  going  bare- 
foot  through    the    summer.       Shoes    were    all 
sewed   then — pegged   shoes   were   not   seen   till 
twenty    years   afterwards.     This    procedure    of 
shoemakers  (then    called    cordwainers),   and  a 
similar  one   pursued   by  females  in  cutting  and 
making  the  clothing  of  men  and  boys  in  their 
midst,  was  called  "  whipping  the  cat." 

Colonel  John  Bellows  furnished  employment 
for  a  large  number  of  females,  by  furnishing 
them  with  wool  to  spin  into  yarn.  Their  visits 
on  horseback  to  return  yarn  and  procure  more 
wool  were  fretjuent  and  constant,  and,  with  their 
horses  tied  around  his  house,  made  it  resemble 
a  public  inn  on  some  festive  occasion.  The 
colonel  had  multifarious  dealings  with  the  farm- 
ers, and  it  was  said  that  his  balance-sheet  at 
the  end  of  the  year  made  always  a  favorable 
showing  for  himself. 

The  common  people  then  were  bigoted, 
superstition^    and    ignorant  ;  they    believed    in 


WALPOLE. 


433 


lucky  and  unlucky  days,  and  were  rigidly 
guided  by  the  phase  of  the  moon  in  the  planting 
of  their  seeds,  the  killing  of  pork  and  the  wean- 
ing; of  calves  and  babies.  One  of  those  old 
wiseacres  saw  Judge  Spar  hawk,  an  enlightened 
townsman,  sowing  wheat  one  day,  when  he  ac- 
costed him  thus:  "Judge,  you  won't  raise  any 
wheat  :  it's  the  wrong;  time  in  the  moon ! "  The 
Judge  replied,  "  I'm  not  sowing  my  wheat  in  j 
the  moon,  s-i-r!" 

Such  is  the  force  of  education,  that  many  oi 
our  townspeople  believe  in  those  whims  and 
notions  to-day.  Ignorant !  Why  not  igno- 
rant? The  common  people  had  no  means  of 
acquiring  knowledge  ;  although  the  town 
appropriated  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  yearly, 
still,  there  were  no  schools,  only  in  name.  The 
teachers  for  winter  schools  were  hired  for  their 
physical  strength,  rather  than  mental  qualifica- 
tions ;  cultivated  young  men  did  not  bite  sharp 
at  eight  dollars  per  month  and  board  round,  to 
teach  school  in  rural  districts.  Then  there 
were  no  school-books  worth}-  of  the  name. 
They  had  the  "New  England  Primer,"  the 
Bible,  the  "  Psalter  "  and  "  Dodworth's  Spell- 
ing-Book  ; "  there  was  no  text-book  on  arith- 
metic, but,  to  supply  the  place,  the  teachers 
used  to  give  their  pupils  practical  "  sums,"  and 
explain  the  why  and  the  wherefore  as  best  they 
could.  Birch-bark  was  in  common  use  to 
figure  on,  and  also  to  write  copies  on.  In  this 
way  some  mastered  the  rudiments  of  arithmetic, 
while  others  advanced  in  reading,  "writing  and 
spelling.  English  grammar  was  taught  some, 
and  in  1800  Morse's  Geography  was  introduced 
as  a  studv,  but  the  work  now  would  have  no 
merits,  only  as  a  curiosity. 

The  roads  were  only  bridle-paths,  most  of 
them,  although  laid  out ;  the  people  had  no  use 
for  carriage  roads,  for  there  were  no  carriages. 
Four-wheeled  pleasure-wagons  were  not  seen  in 
town  till  twenty-five  years  later.  There  was 
no  post-office  in  town  till  April  1,  1795,  and 
Samuel  Grant  was  appointed  postmaster.  Be- 
forethis  time  letters  were  taken  from  some  central 


point  and  carried  by  a  man  called  a  "  post-rider  " 
to  the  persons  directed  on  the  letter.  News- 
papers had  no  circulation,  there  was  no  free 
library,  and  very  few  books  found  in  farmers' 
houses.  The  almanac  was  in  every  house,  and 
relied  upon  implicitly  as  a  weather  prognos- 
ticator.  Under  the  circumstances,  how  could 
people  be  anything  but  ignorant?  Still,  those 
people  were  happy.  They  had  seasons  of  en- 
joyment— their  election  and  thanksgiving  days, 
their  apple  bees  and  kitchen  junkets,  their  husk- 
ing bees  and  quilting  frolics,  and,  more  than 
all,  their  burst  of  patriotism  on  the  glorious 
Fourth.  Well,  if  ignorance  is  bliss,  it  is  folly 
to  be  wise! 

On  the  11th  of  April  a  new  era  of  progress 
dawned  on  Walpole ;  it  was  the  publication  of 
a  live  newspaper,  and  was  issued  from  the  press 
of  Thomas  &  Carlisle,  which  was  in  the  old 
building  now  standing  at  the  corner  of  High 
and  Main  Streets,  and  occupied  as  a  meat- 
market  and  tenement-house.  At  first  it  was 
called  The  New  Hampshire  Journal  and  Farm- 
ers' Museum.  The  size  of  the  sheet  was 
eighteen  by  eleven  inches,  the  paper  was  course 
and  dingy,  and  the  type  inferior  and  old-fash- 
ioned. Like  other  newspapers  of  the  day,  at 
its  commencement  there  were  no  elaborate  origi- 
nal articles  in  it.  Snatches  of  news,  a  few 
deaths  and  marriages,  some  foreign  intelligence 
four  months  old,  a  fewr  lottery  and  other  adver- 
tisements, some  political  effusions,  an  essay  or 
so,  "Spectator"  fashion,  and  some  racy  anecdotes 
made  up,  figuratively,  the  olla  poclrida.  A  few- 
years  later,  however,  the  last  page  was  sur- 
mounted with  an  engraving  of  a  huge  flower- 
pot, and  underneath  wras  printed  in  large  cap- 
itals "The  Dessert,"  In  1796,  Joseph  Dennie 
became  his  conductor,  and  he  gathered  around 
him  a  corps  of  brilliant  wrriters,  such  as  Royal 
Tyler,  David  Everett,  Thomas  Green  Fessen- 
den,  Isaac  Story  and  others,  whose  abilities  may 
be  traced  in  its  well-arranged  folio  pages.  The 
above-named  persons  wrrote  for  this  paper  just 
for  the  "  fun  of  it,"  each  striving  to  do  his  best 


434 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


in  order  to  gain  notoriety  or  secure  fame. 
Dennie  confined  his  contributions,  principally, 
to  articles  called  the  "  Lay  Preacher."  They 
were  essays  on  morality  ;  and  such  was  the  fame 
he  acquired  with  his  cotemporaries,  that  he  was 
styled  the  "Addisoo  of  America."  In  the 
height  of  this  paper's  prosperity  Dennie  boasts 
of  its  being  read  by  "more  than  two  thousand 
persons  !  "  If  poor  Dennie  could  wake  from 
his  slumbers,  what  would  he  say  of  American 
journalism  to-day?  The  publishers  failed, 
Dennie  left  town,  and  the  paper  went  into  a  de- 
cline. Various  fortunes  attended  it  till  1827, 
when  Nahum  Stone,  a  shoemaker,  revived  it, 
and  continued  it  in  Walpole  till  November  14, 
L828,  when  it  was  removed  to  Keene,  and  now 
is  published  under  the  title  of  The  Cheshire 
Republiccm. 

John  Prentiss,  who  was  then  editor  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Sentinel,  on  learning  that  Stone 
was  about  removing  to  Keene,  and  knowing 
1 1 i in  to  be  a  shoemaker,  facetiously  remarked, 
"  Well,  I  hope  he  wont  lose  his  awl  (all). 

That  old  printing  establishment  did  a  large 
business  for  those  days  in  the  way  of  printing 
books,  if  one  can  judge  by  the  catalogues  pub- 
lished in  the  Museum,  The  first  American  novel 
ever  noticed  by  the  English  press  was  printed 
in  this  town.  The  printing  establishment  here 
gave  employment  to  a  large  number  of  typos, 
who  were,  according  to  accounts,  a  set  of  bois- 
terous, drinking  vagabonds.  Joseph  T.  Buck- 
ingham worked  in  this  office  at  one  time  six 
months,  and  he  says  in  his  autobiography,  "they 
were  the  most  miserable  months  of  my  life." 
This  drinking,  roistering  life  was  not  confined 
to  the  classes  above  noticed,  but  obtained  with 
the  rural  population,  who  were  wont  to  assem- 
ble Saturdays  and  on  festive  days  at  Major 
Bullard's,  and  mil  ten-pins,  wrestle  and  get 
drunk  or  into  a  lighting  condition.  If  neighbors 
had  any  old  -cores  to  settle,  they  took  such  days 
to  settle  them  with  fisticuffs  in  Bullard's  bar- 
room. There  was  one  Abraham  Hall  then  liv- 
ing in  town,  who,  it  is  said,  possessed  herculean 


strength.  He  was  generally  present  at  those 
broils,  brought  thither  in  an  ox-cart,  as  there 
was  no  other  conveyance  for  him  by  reason  of 
his  weight,  whose  avoirdupois  was  four  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds  at  the  age  of  sixty.  He 
officiated  as  a  physical  umpire  in  the  broils  of 
his  neighbors,  when  they  got  in  close  quarters, 
by  seizing  the  belligerents  by  the  napes  of  their 
necks  and  holding  them  asunder  till  their  ire 
cooled  off,  or,  if  they  proved  restive  under  such 
restraint,  he  would  butt  their  heads  together 
until  they  cried  enough. 

The  eighteenth  century  closed  with  a  very 
cold  winter,  and  to-day  (1885)  there  is  but 
one  person  living  in  town  who  was  born  here  in 
the  last  century.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  eighty- 
five  years  make  nearly  a  clean  sweep  of  all  born 
before  1800. 

from  1800  to  1810. 

About  the  year  1800  William  Jarvis,  of  Ver- 
mont, was  consul  in  Spain  from  the  United 
States.  He  imported  some  merino  bucks  from 
that  place,  of  which  Joseph  Bellows,  a  grandson 
of  Colonel  B.  Bellows,  purchased  one  and  paid 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  him.  Through  this 
buck  the  farmers  in  town  began  immediately  to 
improve  the  quality  of  their  wool,  by  infusing 
the  "blood  of  this  buck  with  their  Irish  flocks, 
till  about  1825,  when  two  brothers  named 
Searles  imported  a  flock  of  Saxony  sheep  into 
Boston,  a  few  of  which  found  their  way  into 
this  town.  In  1827  the  same  parties  imported 
another  lot  into  New  England  in  the  care  of 
one  Kreutchman,  a  German,  one  hundred  of 
which  were  leased  to  Major  Samuel  Grant  and 
Major  William  Jennison,  who  had  formed  a 
copartnership  in  sheep  husbandry.  By  the 
term-  of  the  lease  the  company  was  to  have  one- 
half  the  increase.  Major  Grant  then  owned  the 
farm  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town  known 
as  the  "  Seven  Barns/'  and  Major  Jennison 
owned  the  farm  where  William  T.  Ramsay  now 
lives,  both  of  which  were  admirably  adapted  to 
sheep    husbandry.      To    improve    their    stock 


WALPOLE. 


435 


Grant  &  Jennisou  purchased  a  buck  of  the 
Searles  and  paid  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars  for 
him:  He  was  known  to  the  farmers  by  the 
euphonic  name  of  "  Old  Haunch."  A  disease 
among  the  sheep,  known  as  the  foot  rot,  was 
brought  with  those  Saxony  sheep.  The  most 
assiduous  care  was  necessary  to  protect  those 
sheep  from  the  cold  of  winter  and  the  cold 
storms  of  spring  and  summer ;  especially  was 
this  the  case  in  yeaning-tinie,  when  the  lambs 
had  to  be  kept  before  a  fire  in  the  house.  Wal- 
pole  was  in  a  perfect  sheep  craze,  when  her 
pastures  were  dotted  with  16,000  sheep.  Al- 
though the  farmers  got  one  dollar  per  pound 
for  cleanly-washed  wool,  they  soon  found  that 
the  average  fleece  was  not  more  than  two  and  a 
half  pounds,  and,  moreover,  the  carcass  being 
small,  it  was  worth  but  little  for  mutton. 
The  farmers  soon  learned  that  they,  under  such 
conditions,  were  losing  money,  and  there  was  as 
much  of  a  craze  to  free  themselves  from  the 
dilemma  as  there  was  to  get  into  it,  and  meas- 
ures were  immediately  taken  which  restored 
their  old  breed. 

In  1802  or  1803  when  New  England  was 
visited  with  that  destroying  scourge,  the  small- 
pox, Walpole  was  not  exempt  from  it,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  dying  daily.  Several 
town-meetings  were  called  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  the  sense  of  the  town  on  providing  a 
pest-house,  and  giving  license  for  vaccination  ; 
but  ignorant  conservatism  went  strongly  against 
both  propositions,  till  at  length  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son and  a  few  leading  men  at  Washington,  who 
had  tried  vaccination  in  their  own  families, 
issued  a  circular  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  setting  forth  its  harmless  effect  on  the 
patient  and  its  potent  effect  in  preventing  the 
spread  of  the  dread  disease.  The  physicians 
and  some  of  the  leading  men  of  Keene  issued  a 
similar  circular  to  neighboring  towns.  Wal- 
pole then  at  once  dropped  its  ignorant  conserva- 
tism and  permitted  sanitary  measures  to  be 
adopted,  when  soon  the  dreadful  scourge  had 
nothing  to  feed  upon. 
28 


At  this  time,  1803,  a  new  newspaper  was 
started,  advocating  the  measures  of  Thomas 
Jefferson's  administration.  It  was  called  the 
Political  Observatory,  and  printed  by  David 
Newhall,  with  Stanley  Griswold  for  editor. 
The  proprietors  were  Thomas  C.  Drew,  Elijah 
Burroughs,  Amasa  Allen,  Alexander  Watkins 
and  Jonathan  Royce,  who  were  the  first  persons 
in  town  to  cast  a  Democratic  vote. 

In  1805  Parson  Fessenden,  who  had  been 
the  town's  minister  thirty-eight  years,  and 
whose  age  was  now  sixty-six,  had  become 
physically  and  mentally  worn  out,  and  the  town 
was  anxiously  looking  about  for  some  one  to 
supply  his  place. 

Pliny  Dickinson  had  occupied  Mr.  Fessenden's 
desk  several  Sundays  and  preached  very  ac- 
ceptably to  the  congregation,  and  the  society 
looked  forward  to  the  immediate  time  when  he 
would  become  the  town's  minister.  Mr.  Dick- 
inson had  full  knowledge  of  the  sentiment  of  the 
parish,  and  he  used  it  to  further  his  ends,  but 
did  not  succeed.  The  town  called  a  meeting 
and  voted  to  give  Mr.  Dickinson  a  call,  and  a 
salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum  and 
some  other  things.  The  call  was  duly  pre- 
sented to  him  with  a  request  to  return  an 
answer  at  an  adjourned  meeting.  The  call  wras 
not  loud  enough  ;  he  wanted  six  hundred  dol- 
lars. He  continued  to  postpone  his  answer  at 
two  meetings,  in  the  mean  time  hoping  to  get 
the  extra  hundred. 

Mr.  Dickinson's  vacillating  course  was  not 
well  relished  by  the  parish,  and  when  he  under- 
took further  postponement  at  the  third  meeting, 
the  parish  peremptorily  demanded  an  answer 
then  and  there.  Mr.  Dickinson  clearly  saw  his 
little  game  wras  lost,  wThen  he  immediately 
returned  an  answer  accepting  the  proposal  by 
the  parish.  At  first  he  was  settled  as  colleague  of 
Mr.  Fessenden  ;  but  after  Mr.  Fessenden's  death 
he  became  sole  pastor.  He  continued  to  preach 
as  the  town  minister  until  the  disruption  of  the 
old  church,  in  1826.  He  preached  for  five 
hundred  dollars  a  year    during   his   pastorate, 


436 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


brought  up  a    large   family   of  children,   and 

when  he  died,  in  18.°>4,  he  left  his  family  sixteen 
thousand  dollars.  lie  was  a  favorite  with  the 
&ite,  but  with  the  yeomanry  it  was  otherwise, 
as  proved  by  tradition  and  a  singular  document, 
published  in  1826  and  signed  by  sixty-six 
men,  stating  that  they  did  not  believe  in  the 
religious  views  held  by  Mr.  Dickinson.  He 
was  very  rigid  in  his  church  discipline,  allow- 
in"-  no  one  to  come  to  the  communion-table  but 
those  of  his  faith.  On  one  of  those  occasions 
two  Amazonian  Welsh  girls,  the  daughters  of 
Thomas  Darby,  a  weaver  by  trade,  who  lived 
in  the  woods,  just  in  the  edge  of  Westmore- 
land, came  to  his  church,  and  when  the  commu- 
nion service  was  served,  they  partook  with  the 
communicants.  The  parson,  on  learning  before 
he  left  the  church,  who  those  strange  personages 
were,  and  their  place  of  domicile,  declared  he 
"  would  not  have  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord  so 
defiled,"  and  before  he  had  hardly  swallowed 
his  breakfasl  the  next  morning  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  was  on  his  way  to  their  home. 
On  arriving  at  the  old  log  hut,  he  found  old 
Tom  busy  with  his  shuttle,  but  the  girls  were 
gone.  After  stating  his  grievance,  to  the  old 
man,  to  which  he  attentively  listened,  he 
replied  :  "  Wed,  weel,  I'm  soory,  burned 
Boory,  for  I've  alius  told  my  gals  to  keep  oot 
of  bad  company  ! ,:  It  is  not  stated  how  sud- 
denly the  parson    left. 

In  1806  West  Street  was  built  and  the  old 
brick  store,  which  was  burned  in  September 
is  m.  The  following  year  (1807)  the  village 
bridge  was  built  across  the  Connecticut,  the 
third  on  the  river.  It  was  built  by  a  corpora- 
tion, and  the  superstructure  was  on  wooden 
piers.  The  same  year  a  mail-coach  passed 
through  Walpole  to  Hanover,  N.  II.,  three  times 
a  week,  thus  receiving  mail  from  Boston  every 
other  day. 

pbom    lx  10  To  lxi'o. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  decade  the  Xew 
England  State-  had  witnessed  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  a  singular  disease  known  as  the  spotted 


fever ;  but  it  was  not  considered  contagious. 
This  town  was  not  exempt  from  its  ravages,  and 
many  homes  were  made  desolate.  The  first  in- 
dication of  an  attack  was,  not  infrequently,  a 
sudden  pain  in  the  extremities,  quickly  spread- 
ing over  the  whole  system,  and  fatally  termi- 
nating within  twenty-four  hours.  In  the 
spring  of  1812  several  children  died  of  it. 
The  following  March  seven  adults  died  of  it 
in  as  many  days.  The  whole  number  of  deaths 
in  town  from  this  disease  is  not  known,  but 
many.  This  disease,  then  known  as  spotted 
fever,  is  now  considered  the  same  as  cerebro- 
spinal meningitis. 

In  the  engagements  of  the  War  of  1812  none 
of  the  Walpole  men  participated  ;  but  a  com- 
pany under  the  command  of  Josiah  Bellows 
(3d),  twenty -eight  in  number,  went  to  the  de- 
fense of  Portsmouth,  in  the  fall  of  1814. 
Eleven  men  also  went  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Warner.  These  companies  were  in 
service  but  a  short  time,  and  the  trophies 
brought  home  and  the  laurels  won  were  very  few. 

Thomas  Collins  Drew,  an  unlettered,  penni- 
less lad,  born  in  Chester,  this  State,  in  17<>2, 
came  to  this  town  with  the  Deny  Hill  settlers, 
and  made  Walpole  his  life  home.  By  dint  of 
perseverance,  at  the  age  of  fifty  he  had  accumu- 
lated some  property,  and  was  about  building  a 
substantial  brick  dwelling  in  the  village — the 
brick  being  already  on  the  grounds — but  owing 
to  a  rupture  with  those  to  the  "  manor  born," 
he  changed  his  mind  and  purchased  a  mile 
square  of  land  in  the  northeast  part  of  the 
town,  now  known  as  Drewsville,  in  1810.  He 
moved  his  brick  thither  and  erected  the  hotel 
now  owned  by  Thomas  Taunt.  The  volume  of 
water  then  in  Cold  River  was  three  times  what 
it  now  is,  and  was  soon  utilized  in  driving  ma- 
chinery in  cotton  and  woolen-factories,  and  also 
for  many  other  needful  purposes.  Artisans 
flocked  into  the  place,  and  stores  sprang  into 
I  icing,  which  altogether,  till  1835;  made  Drews- 
ville1 a  lively  place.  This  was  thehey-day  period 

'  Named  for  J.  C.  Drew. 


WALPOLE. 


437 


of  Drewsville,  and  it  is  said  the  place  did  more 
business  at  that  time  than  was  done  in  Walpole 
village.  Evidence  of  the  thrift  of  the  place 
once  are  seen  in  the  large  size  of  some  of  the 
old  buildings ;  but,  like  everything  else,  the 
place  had  its  days  of  prosperity  and  those  of 
decline. 

from  1820  to  1830. 

As  early  as  1815  Jonathan  H.  Chase  com- 
menced a  new  industry  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town,  in  the  manufacture  of  sewed  sole  shoes  in 
a  small  way,  but  in  1820  pegged  work  had  ob- 
tained, and  the  shoe  business  began  to  increase, 
when  Mr.  Chase  formed  a  copartnership  with 
his  brother-in-law,  J.  B.  Kimball,  of  Boston, 
who  furnished  the  leather  and  sold  the  shoes, 
while  Chase  manufactured  them.  In  the  course 
of  twenty  years  several  other  firms  engaged  in 
the  business,  with  varied  success,  till  about  1835, 
when  the  business  reached  its  maximum.  Hun- 
dreds of  men  and  women  in  town  and  adjoining 
towns  found  employment  in  the  manufacture  of 
brogaus  for  the  Southern  market,  while  at  the 
same  time  Jared  Miller  was  manufacturing: 
boots  for  the  Western  market.  The  sound  of  the 
shoe-hammer  was  heard,  not  only  in  the  regular 
shops,  but  in  very  many  of  the  rural  homes, 
which  gave  one  the  impression  of  a  miniature 
Lynn.  Many  of  the  workmen  were  young  men, 
and  a  more  roystering  set  of  fellows  could 
hardly  be  found.  They  dressed  in  the  finest 
Saxony  cloth,  with  other  extravagant  dressings 
to  match,  and  being  clannish  in  their- affiliations, 
they  controlled  the  measures  of  the  town.  The 
town  can  now  boast  of  but  one  solitary  cobbler, 
occasionally  making  a  pair  of  shoes. 

Meeting-house  questions  belonging  to  the 
town  had  slumbered  now  (1826)  twenty-five 
years,  but  the  subject  was  revived  in  1825,  and 
three  meetings  were  called  to  see  if  the  town 
would  move  the  meeting-house  into  the  village, 
which  proposition  was  invariably  voted  down. 
The  ostensible  plea  set  forth  was,  by  moving, 
the  people  would  be  better  accommodated  ;  but 
the  real  purpose  was  to  secure  a  place  for  Uni- 


tarian worship,  the  sentiments  of  which  had  ob- 
tained a  strong  foothold  in  the  village.  At  a 
town-meeting  held  October  6,  1826,  those  in 
favor  of  removal  had  secured  the  shoemakers 
and  riff-raff  of  the  village  to  vote  with  them  by 
some  sub  rosa  means,  and  a  vote  was  declared 
in  favor  of  removal,  to  the  site  where  it  now 
stands.  It  served  the  Unitarians  about  fourteen 
years,  when  it  was  converted  into  a  town  hall, 
and  now,  after  forty  years  of  service,  the  old  ex- 
citement about  town-houses  is  repeating  itself. 
The  removal  was  attended  with  much  ill  feeling;, 
and  it  is  said  one  man  was  crazed  by  the  act.  The 
defeated  party,  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  in 
number,  signed  a  protest  against  its  removal ; 
but  it  was  noticed  only  as  a  brutum  fulmen. 

The  opposition  party,  composed  of  the  old 
faith,  Uuiversalists  aud  agnostics,  immediately 
formed  themselves  into  a  new  society  called 
"The  Independent  Congregational  Society," and 
forthwith  took  measures  to  build  a  new  house 
on  the  old  site,  which  was  completed  within  a 
year.  For  a  few  years  the  worshippers  of  the 
old  faith  struggled  on ;  but  in  1836  the  "  union" 
was  dissolved  and  the  Universalists  had  full 
control.  At  once  the  preaching  of  universal 
salvation  was  commenced  and  continued  at 
intervals  for  some  eight  years,  when  it  died  out 
altogether.  The  Universalists  then  made  over 
their  policies  to  bats  and  owls,  which  held  pos- 
session till  1869,  when  the  original  proprietors 
rased  the  house  and  sold  the  remnants  at  a  loss 
of  ninety-six  per  cent.,  besides  the  interest  on 
the  investment.  In  1826  another  newspaper 
was  started,  called  the  Cheshire  Gazette,  edited 
and  managed  by  one  Francis  Parton,  which  in 
size  and  general  appearance  would  compare 
favorably  with  similar  papers  of  to-day.  It 
lived  but  one  year. 

from  1830  to  1840. 

Those  good  people  in  town  who  lament  over 
the  degenerate  times  of  to-day,  on  the  liquor 
traffic  and  intemperance,  have  only  to  go  back 
forty  or  fifty  years  and   feel   rejoiced   that  the 


438 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


cause  of  temperance  has  made  so  much  headway. 
Then  there  were  six  stores  in  town,  a  majority 
of  which  sold  liquor.  At  one  store  fifty  hogs- 
heads were  sold  annually,  and  if  the  other 
stores  all  put  together  sold  as  much  more,  an 
immense  sale  must  have  been  made ;  but  the 
story  is  not  yet  told  ;  there  were  seven  taverns  in 
town,  all  in  full  blast,  the  tavern-keepers  mak- 
ing it  a  point  to  sell  as  much  liquor  as  possible. 
At  the  lowest  estimate  of  the  liquor  sold  in 
town,  it  must  have  been  a  barrel  to  each  voter. 

Rum  was  everywhere, — in  the  hay-field  and 
in  the  simps;  at  marriages  and  at  funerals ; 
drunk  by  the  high  and  the  low,  males  and  fe- 
male-, boys  and  sometimes  girls.  Fortunate 
for  New  England,  the  Washingtonian  move- 
inent  had  just  taken  root,  and  the  women  put 
forth  their  potent  influence  to  stay  the  progress 
of  destruction.  The  damsels  "boycotted"  the 
young  men  by  not  allowing  tipplers  in  their 
society,  which  effectually  cured  them.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  not  one-fifth  as  much  liquor  is  sold 
in  town  to-day  a<  was  sold  fifty  years  ago. 

The  census  of  1830  gave  Walpole  two  thou- 
sand and  thirty-four  inhabitants, — the  largest 
number  as  yet  counted.  The  stir  and  bustle  in- 
cident to  the  business  of  those  years  made  the 
village  a  lively  place.  Teams  were  doing  the 
work  of  railways  now.  Heavily-laden  wagons 
were  passing  through,  drawn  by  six  and  eight 
Imrses.  One  of  eight  horses  went  from  here 
to  Boston  once  a  week  to  supply  the  traders 
with  goods  ;  stage-coaches  from  all  points  were 
constantly  arriving  and  departing,  bringing  and 
carrying  away  the  mail,  which  was  distributed 
at  the  post-office  here.  The  crack  of  the  jehu's 
whip  could  be  heard  at  most  any  hour  of  the 
day;  coach  passengers,  generally,  either  break- 
fasted, dined  or  supped  here;  pleasure-seeking 
travelers,  with  their  teams,  made  a  choice  of 
this  place  to  rest  at  night  in  summer;  in  winter 
the  old  tavern  was  filled  nights  with  teamsters 
uoing  to  and  returning  from  Boston.  Such 
was  Walpole  in  this  decade. 


from  1840  to  1850. 

This  decade  is  void  of  any  particular  inci- 
dents that  affected  the  people  throughout  the 
town. 

In  the  fall  of  1843,  at  the  time  of  the  annual 
regimental  muster,  a  company  of  soldiers  called 
the  "saucy  six  "  was  stationed  on  the  Common, 
which  had  been  planted  with  shade-trees  but  a 
short  time  before  with  much  care.  Certain  per- 
sons living  out  of  the  village  ever  appeared  to  feel 
jealous  of  the  village  people  or  any  improvements 
they  might  make  within  its  limits.  Accord- 
ingly, those  miscreants  took  this  occasion,  headed 
by  their  captain,  to  uproot  and  destroy  every 
tree  growing  there.  It  was  found  that  no  legal 
measures  could  reach  these  vandals,  and  the  vil- 
lagers showed  their  indignation  by  hanging  the 
captain  in  effigy.  At  the  next  session  of  the 
State's  Legislature,  through  the  effort  of  Fred- 
erick Vose,  a  stringent  law  was  passed,  protect- 
ing shade-trees  on  public  grounds.  Never  be- 
fore were  the  citizens  of  the  village  -more 
shocked  than  at  this  unprovoked  vandalism. 
Subsequently,  in  1855-56,  Benjamin  B.  Grant 
and  Thomas  G.  Wells  replanted  the  Common 
and  also  planted  the  principal  streets  with  about 
nine  hundred  elms  and  maples,  which  have  not 
been  molested  and  are  vigorously  growing, 
serving  not  only  to  beautify  the  village,  but  af- 
fording a  grateful  retreat  from  the  midsummer's 
sun. 

In  September,  1847,  there  was  standing  a 
large  wooden  building  on  Main  Street,  just 
north  of  Mad  Brook,  which  extended  east  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet,  with  an  L.  The 
lower  part  was  occupied  by  a  tannery,  founded 
in  the  eighteenth  century  by  Daniel  Bisco, 
but  now  owned  and  occupied  by  one  Harvey 
Reed.  The  second  story  was  occupied  by  the 
French  Brothers,  who  afterward  moved  to 
Keene,  as  a  carriage  manufactory,  and  filled 
with  all  kindsof  combustibles  belonging  to  that 
business.  In  September  of  that  year  this 
building  was  totally  consumed  by  fire.  The 
owner  sustained  a  heavy  loss,  without  insurance, 


WALPOLE. 


439 


as  the  policy  had  just  expired.  Efforts  were 
made  to  rebuild  by  subscription,  but  all  proved 
futile. 

In  September,  1849,  another  conflagration 
took  place,  which  destroyed  the  old  brick  store 
in  the  village,  which  was  built  in  1806.  This 
building  was  three  stories  high  and  sufficiently 
long  for  three  capacious  store-rooms,  fronting 
east.  It  was  occupied  at  the  time  by  Tudor  & 
Rockwood,  Philip  Peck  and  William  G.  Wy- 
man,  merchants,  a  library,  and  by  Frederick 
Vose,  lawver.  The  fire  also  reached  three 
other  buildings,  which  were  consumed.  As 
soon  as  possible  new  buildings  were  put  up  on 
the  burnt  district,  to  replace  those  destroyed.  In 
1855  this  same  site  was  burnt  over,  this  time 
destroying  two  stores,  a  grocery  and  dwelling  ; 
the  last  building  was  where  the  flames  com- 
menced, through  an  illy-adjusted  stove-pipe. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  buildings 
now  standing  on  the  site  were  built. 

In  July,  1849,  a  charter  was  obtained  for  a 
savings-bank,  which  went  into  operation  in 
1850,  and  continued  so  until  November,  1864, 
when  it  was  robbed  of  $52,000  cash,  and  a 
large  amount  of  securities  of  various  kinds,  by 
one  Mark  Shinborn,  a  Jew,  and  a  Westmore- 
land boy  named  George  M.  White.  At  the 
time  of  the  robbery  the  deposits  amounted  to 
$108,045.58,  besides  a  surplus  of  $3841.58, 
although  it  had  met  with  some  losses  by  poor 
investments.  The  robbery  caused  its  winding 
up ;  but  in  October,  1875,  a  new  bank  went 
into  operation,  which  is  in  existence  now  (1885). 

from  1850  to  1885. 

Walpole,  like  other  old,  sleepy  towns,  did 
not  furnish  much  material  for  the  historian  by 
decades;  therefore  the  following  thirty-five 
years  will  be  embraced  under  the  above  head. 

One  year  after  another  passed,  and  the  one 
was  a  counterpart  of  the  other.  Each  was  en- 
livened by  the  annual  town-meetings,  when  the 
two  nearly  evenly-balanced  political  parties  did 
not  meet  on  common  ground.     On  those  occa- 


sions large  sums  of  money  were  expended  bv 
the  rival  parties,  and  much  bad  blood  was 
stirred  up,  severing  neighborly  amenities.  This 
was  the  state  of  feeling  when,  on  the  12th  of 
April,  1861,  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  by  the 
direction  of  Jefferson  Davis,  the  leader  of  the 
Southern  people  in  the  great  Rebellion  in  the 
United  States.  On  the  14th  instant  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  called  for  seventy-five 
thousand  men  to  put  down  the  Rebellion.  Many 
young  men  had  been  told  that  the  Southern 
people  were  a  set  of  cowards,  and  that  one 
Yankee  was  a  match  for  four  "  secesh,"  which 
was  believed  by  those  who  volunteered  on  the 
first  call  ;  nor  were  they  disabused  of  this 
belief  till  they  had  had  a  taste  of  Bull  Run, 
where 

"  They  went  to  fight,  but  ran  away 
To  live  to  fight  another  day." 

On  the  first  call  for  volunteers  five  re- 
sponded ;  on  the  second  call  in  May  following 
for  eighty-two  thousand  fourteen  enlisted.1  In 
September,  1862,  thirty-one  more  enlisted, 
receiving  one  hundred  dollars  bounty  from  the 
town.  The  bounty  for  volunteers  during  the 
month  of  September  was  increased  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  In  the  spring  of  1863 
volunteering  had  nearly  ceased,  but  the  enemy 
was  pressing  hard,  and  more  men  must  be  had. 
A  draft  appeared  now  the  only  alternative,  and 
consequently  the  President  of  the  United  States 
issued  a  proclamation  for  a  conscription  of 
three  hundred  thousand  men  on  the  8th  of  May, 
1863.  Fifty-two  men  was  the  quota  of  this 
town,  and  volunteers  could  not  be  procured. 
An  enrollment  of  all  the  men  in  town  between 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  was  made, 
and,  probably,  at  no  time  in  the  town's  history 
could  there  have  been  so  many  men  found  who 
heaped  anathemas  on  their  natal  day.  If  they 
could  have  been  born  a  little  earlier,  or  a  little 
later,    all  would  have  been  well.      When   the 


xThe  names  of  soldiers  and  other  details  cannot  be  given 
for  want  of  space.     See  history  of  town. 


440 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


draft  was  completed  it  was  found  that  many 
of  the  uncoveted  prizes  had  fallen  to  those  who 
were  not  in  a  condition  to  comply  with  the  de- 
mand. The  drafted  men  had  a  choice  of  three 
ways  to  pursue, — one  was  to  go,  the  second  was 
to  pay  a  commutation  of  three  hundred  dollars 
to  the  United  States  government,  which  would 
only  clear  them  from  the  pending  draft,  and  the 
third  was  to  furnish  a  substitute,  which  was  the 
one  adopt td,  it  is  thought  altogether.  In  this 
way,  while  the  war  part  of  the  drafted  man's 
bones  might  lie  bleaching  under  a  Southern  sun, 
the  real  man  was  at  home  selling  cotton  cloth 
at  seventy  cents  per  yard. 

Those  who  were  liable  to  be  drafted  breathed 
freer,  but  they  soon  found  that,  although  they 
had  got  their  feet  out  of  the  mud,  they  im- 
mediately found  them  deeper  in  the  mire,  for 
on  the  18th  of  July  following  three  hundred 
thousand  more  men  were  called  for. 

This  was  a  thunderbolt,  because  there  was  a 
Less  Dumber  to  draw  from.  Town-meetings  up 
to  this  time  had  been  frequent,  and  many  to 
raise  money  to  pay  bounties  and  provide  for 
soldiers'  families  had  been  called,  which  were 
generally  well  attended  by  men  of  both  politi- 
cal parties;  but  now  and  until  the  close  of  the 
war  there  was  but  one  party  that  attended  the 
meetings,  which  was  styled  the  "War  Party." 
It  was  composed  of  parents  who  had  sons 
liable  to  be  drafted,  and  single  men  whose  age 
did  not  exempt  them  from  conscription.  In 
order  to  fill  quotas  now,  the  town  resorted  to  a 
new  plan,  which  was  to  hire  men  outright  for 
the  service  at  the  lowest  price  at  the  town's  ex- 
pense. Meetings  were  frequent  for  this  pur- 
pose. At  one  meeting  a  vote  was  passed  au- 
thorizing the  selectmen  to  procure  men  at  any 
price j  but  was  subsequently  limited  to  one 
thousand  dollars.  The  prices  paid  were  regu- 
lated by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  for 
sub-tit ute-,  ranging  from  four  hundred  dollars 
to  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Those 
men  were. a  curse  to  the  service  rather  than  a 
benefit  ;    for  it  took  one  good  soldier  to  keep 


two  of  the  substitutes  from  running  away,  and 

he  did  not  succeed  in  that.     These  men  were  of 

all  nationalities,  without  patriotism,  honesty  or 

morality. 

''  They  went  to  war,  and  jumped  away 
To  'list  again  where  best  'twould  pay." 

Some  of  those  fellows  were  so  adroit  after 
getting  their  money  that  they  never  saw  the 
army. 

The  soldier's  life,  abstractly  considered,  is  not 
a  coveted  one,  and  it  is  curious  to  note  at  this 
late  day  some  of  the  apparent  reasons  that  in- 
duced the  men  in  town  to  enlist  as  volunteers. 
It  is  not  claimed  that  any  of  our  men  were 
destitute  of  patriotism,  but  many  had  no  relish 
for  the  turmoils  incident  to  a  soldier's  life;  on 
the  other  hand,  there  were  those  whose  whole 
being  was  wrapped  in  excitement  and  danger ; 
those,  generally,  were  the  first  to  volunteer. 
Another  and  larger  class  of  men  felt  it  to 
be  their  duty  to  enlist,  but  were  reluctant  to 
leave  their  cheerful  homes  ;  but  the  impending 
drafts  hung  over  them  like  a  pall.  There  were 
but  two  ways  for  them  to  do — one  was  to  take 
their  chances  in  a  draft,  or  enlist  as  volunteers 
with  a  reasonable  town  bounty,  which  last  was 
chosen,  and  at  this  time  a  large  number  en- 
rolled themselves  in  the  New  Hampshire  Four- 
teenth Regiment,  September  22,  1862.  How- 
ever paradoxical  it  may  seem,  there  was  another 
class,  small  in  number,  of  staid,  sober,  quiet 
young  men,  who  hardly  had  ever  heard  the  roar 
of  the  cannon,  and  who  had  never  been  a  score 
of  miles  from  home;  they  were  among  the  first 
to  volunteer.  This  class  must  have  been  im- 
bued with  true  patriotism  or  a  strong  religious 
sense  of  duty,  or  it  may  be  both,  that  induced 
young  men  to  leave  all  that  was  cheerful  and 
home-like  to  battle  with  the  rough  and  danger- 
ous scenes  of  a  soldier's  life. 

Of  the  personal  reminiscences  of  the  men 
who  participated  in  the  Rebellion  from  this 
town  there  are  but  few,  and  those  are  too 
lengthy  for  insertion  here.  Most  of  those  who 
returned  did  so  with  a  clean  soldier's  record. 


WALPOLE. 


441 


No  one  achieved  distinction,  and  but  one  was 
promoted  from  the  ranks  to  corporal. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  per- 
sons credited  to  this  town  in  all,  volunteers  and 
substitutes,  as  going  into  the  service,  of  whom 
seventy-five  were  actual  residents.  Eight  of 
the  three  months'  men  re-enlisted,  nine  died  of 
disease,  four  were  killed  outright,  eight 
wounded  and  six  missing,  while  fifty-three  of 
the  substitutes  are  known  to  have  deserted,  and 
one  volunteer  from  town — not  a  native — and 
eight  were  discharged  on  account  of  disability. 
There  was  but  one  volunteer  from  this  town 
who  gave  his  superiors  any  trouble,  and  he  was 
from  "  auld  Ireland."  He  entertained  the  vague 
fancy  that  a  "  free  country "  meant  free  rum, 
and  when  he  got  a  sufficient  supply  to  make 
him  spiritually-minded  he  fancied  himself  a 
second  Samson,  and  his  soldier  comrades  had 
to  take  care  of  their  heads  and  ribs.  He  was 
locked  up  a  great  portion  of  his  time,  where  he 
had  leisure  to  cogitate  on  the  incongruities  of 
American  freedom. 

The  indebtedness  of  the  town  in  1862  was 
five  thousand  three  hundred  dollars,  and  in 
1866  it  was  forty-six  thousand  dollars;  and  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  forty  thousand  dollars  of  this 
sum  was  incurred  in  consequence  of  the  war. 
In  1869  the  town  debt,  to  the  amount  of  thirty- 
six  thousand  dollars,  was  funded,  and  is  now 
(1885)  all  paid. 

In  connection  with  the  Rebellion  was  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  which  took  .six  more  of 
our  men,  who  discharged  the  duties  assigned  to 
them  faithfully,  from  a  physician  to  a  teamster. 
When  the  Commission  was  fully  organized,  under 
the  presidency  of  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  the 
women  (good  souls !)  emulated  their  great -grand- 
mothers in  ministering  to  the  needs  and  com- 
forts of  the  soldiers  in  field  and  hospital,  by 
sending  them  tid-bits  for  their  appetites,  and 
warm  clothing  to  prevent  colds  and  sickness. 

THE    CHURCH. 

It  appears  by  the   old  church  records  that 


a  church  was  formed  as  early  as  1757,  but  it 
does  not  appear  who  the  members  were  till 
after  the  ordination  of  Thomas  Fessenden. 
Jonathan  Leavitt  was  ordained  pastor  June  10, 
1761,  and  dismissed  June  19,  1764.  January 
8,  1767,  Thomas  Fessenden  was  ordained,  and 
a  church  was  formed  the  same  day,  consisting 
of  the  following  members,  viz. :  Thomas  Fes- 
senden, Benjamin  Bellows,  John  Graves,  John 
Parmenter,  William  Smead,  Jonathan  Hall, 
James  Bundy,  Joseph  Barrett,  David  Dennison, 
John  Marcy,  Samuel  Holmes,  Samuel  Trott, 
John  Kilburn,  Jr.,  Timothy  Delano  and  Na- 
thaniel Hovey,  and  the  wives  of  ten  of  the 
above-named,  making  the  number  twenty-five. 
Eight  years  later  the  church  numbered  one 
hundred.  During  the  active  pastorate  of  Mr. 
Fessenden,  of  thirty-eight  years,  the  number 
admitted  to  the  church,  by  letter  and  pro- 
fession, was  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and 
in  that  time  he  solemnized  two  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  marriages.  The  church  was  called 
"  The  First  Congregational  Church  of  Wal- 
pole,"  and  the  religious  tenets  of  its  members 
were  like  those  of  the  Puritans.  This  Church 
in  olden  times  was  denominated  "  The  Standing 
Order."  The  members  were  very  strict  in 
their  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  in  looking  after  each  other  with  as- 
siduous care  and  concern,  as  will  appear  by  the 
following  transactions  of  the  church.  One 
Isaac  Johnson  was  in  the  habit  of  taking:  a 
little  too  much  "  for  the  stomach's  sake,"  and 
James  Bundy  felt  disturbed.  The  transaction 
reads  thus:  "November  18,  1769. — James 
Bundy  complained  of  Isaac  Johnson  for  intem- 
perate drinking — supported.  Voted,  that  he 
be  suspended  from  spiritual  privileges  until 
he  make  satisfaction."  He  appeared,  made 
confession  and  was  restored  to  fellowship.  On 
another  occasion,  October  11,  1770,  "Nathan 
Bundy  complained  of  Isaac  Stowell  as  guilty 
of  falsehood  and  theft,  wherein  he  also  him- 
self was  an  accomplice.  Voted,  to  suspend 
both  till  it  appears  which  is  criminal."     "They 


442 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


afterwards  make  satisfaction  and  are  restored." 
The  above  are  but  simply  specimens  of  a 
large  number  of  similar  ones. 

In  1772  they  "  Voted,  one  shilling  per  pole 
to  provide  for  the  Lord's  table,  and  those  who 
refuse  to  pay  the  church  tax  be  suspended." 

Every  member  of  the  church  who  committed 
any  irregularities  inconsistent  with  its  discipline, 
whatever  its  nature,  or  whether  male  or  female, 
was  required  to  make  open  confession  in  the 
broad  aisle  at  the  preparatory  lecture  before 
communion. 

Mr.  Fessenden  was  born  in  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  in  1739,  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1758, 
settled  as  minister  of  the  town  in  1767,  and 
died  May  !>,  1813.  His  entire  pastorate  was 
forty-six  years,  eight  of  which  he  had  a  col- 
league. During  this  long  period  his  labors 
were  generally  satisfactory  to  the  town,  but  on 
one  occasion,  however,  he  preached  a  sermon 
(about  the  year  1800)  which  was  of  a  political 
kind,  that  disturbed  a  portion  of  his  hearers,  and 
by  them  he  was  requested  to  make  an  apology 
the  next  Sabbath,  which  he  promised  to  do. 
Accordingly,  after  his  last  sermon  on  the  next 
Sabbath,  he  remarked,  "I  have  been  requested 
to  apologize  for  some  remarks  I  made  in  my 
last  Sabbath's  discourse,  which  I  will  willingly 
do  :  if  I  said  anything  in  that  discourse  that 
1  did  not  mean  to  say,  I  am  very  sorry  for  it, 
and  I  hope  this  will  be  a  sufficient  apology." 

He  had  lived  long  enough  in  town  to  see  two 
generations  come  upon  the  stage,  when  those  of 
his  age  extended  to  him  the  brotherly  hand,  the 
youth  reverenced  him,  the  ungodly  respected 
him  and  the  children  loved  him.  He  lived  at 
a  period  when  pamphlet  disquisitions  were  rife 
on  the  subjects  of  election,  predestination  and 
free  agency,  in  which  he  found  delight  in  dab- 
bling. In  1804  he  wrote  a  book  entitled,  "  The 
Science  of  Sanctity,"  which  is  said  by  theolo- 
gians to  be  the  most  erudite  work  on  that  sub- 
ject extant. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  a  man  of  good  nature 
and  acquired   abilities,  full  of  life  and   anima- 


tion, jovial  with  the  townspeople,  good  at 
repartee,  and  fond  of  social  gatherings  and 
their  concomitants, — a  good  dinner  and  a  mug  of 
flip. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Fessenden,  Mr.  Dick- 
inson was  sole  pastor  till  the  disruption  of  the 
church,  in  1820,  before  noticed,  after  which 
time  he  preached  a  few  times  in  the  old  church 
in  the  village,  then  a  few  years  in  the  new 
house  on  the  hill,  but  never  again  had  a  settle- 
ment. He  died  August  27,  1834,  of  apoplexy, 
at  the  commencement  dinner-table,  in  Amherst, 
Mass. 

Mr.  Dickinson's  life  in  Walpole  was  not 
altogether  a  pleasant  one  ;  his  austerity  of  man- 
ner made  him  many  enemies;  but  theunkindest 
cut  of  all  was  in  his  matrimonial  alliance. 

He  was  born  in  Granby,  Mass.,  in  1777  and 
consequently  was  twenty-eight  years  old  when 
he  was  settled  in  town.  He  went  to  board 
with  Colonel  Caleb  Bellows,  a  grandson  of  the 
founder  of  the  town.  The  colonel  then  had  a 
daughter,  Mary  Brown,  who  was  five  years  old, 
born  in  1800.  Mr.  Bellows  did  not  like  Mr. 
Dickinson,  but  tolerated  him  in  his  family. 
When  Mary  arrived  at  the  age  of  womanhood 
the  colonel  discovered  a  closer  intimacy  between 
his  daughter  and  the  parson  than  mere  friend- 
ship, and  he  was  wroth ;  but  when,  soon  after 
the  discovery  he  had  made,  he  learned  that 
their  bans  were  to  be  cried  the  following  Sun- 
day, he  was  mad.  His  objections  were  :  first, 
her  youth  ;  second,  the  disparity  of  age  ;  and 
the  third  was  that  he  did  not  like  the  man  who 
\v:is  to  be  his  son-in-law.  When  the  next  Sun- 
day arrived,  Mr.  Bellows  was  at  church  in 
season,  and,  when  the  congregation  was  all 
seated  and  the  parson  in  his  pulpit,  N. 
Townsly,  town  clerk,  cried  the  bans  of  Pliny 
Dickinson  and  Mary  Brown  Bellows.  As  soon 
as  the  last  word  had  dropped  from  the  lips  of 
the  crier,  Mr.  Bellows  rose  from  his  seat,  as 
pale  as  a  sheet,  and,  in  an  excited  manner,  cried 
out,  "  I  forbid  the  bans  !  I  forbid  the  bans !" 
If   a  thuuderbolt   had    struck    the    church,    no 


WALPOLE. 


443 


greater  shock  would  have  been  given  to  the 
congregation.  Mr.  Dickinson  very  calmly 
went  through  his  day's  service,  and  the  next 
Sunday  preached  from  the  text :  "  I  am  a  man 
of  sorrows  and  not  unacquainted  with  grief." 

The  parties  were  bound  for  the  state  of  mat- 
rimony, and  a  father's  injunction  and  blasts  of 
heated  breath  did  not  avail  anything,  and,  con- 
sequently, the  next  nine  days'  thrill  was  the  an- 
nouncement of  their  nuptials.  When,  where 
and  by  whom  they  were  married  no  one  living 
in  town  seems  to  know.  She  lived  to  be  mar- 
ried to  three  husbands  and  had  children  by  two. 
She  outlived  her  husbands,  and,  in  1884  or 
1885,  died  in  Minnesota. 

The  United  Religious  Christian  So- 
ciety.— In  the  year  1800  one  Abner  Jones,  of 
Vermont,  seceded  from  the  Free-Will  Baptists 
and  began  preaching  through  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire  a  doctrine  of  his  own,  and 
gathered  together  many  believers  in  the  new 
doctrine.  They  denominated  themselves  Chris- 
tians. Edward  B.  Rollins,  a  convert  of  Jones', 
came  to  Walpole  in  October,  1817,  and  began 
holding  meetings  in  private  houses,  barns  and 
cider-mills.  He  was  a  powerful,  persuasive 
preacher,  and  soon  gathered  a  church  in  the 
"  Hollow,"  which  was  formed  in  the  December 
following.  Jacob  B.  Burnham  was  a  convert 
of  Rollins,  who  supplanted  him  (Rollins)  in 
1823,  through  some  disagreement.  The  church 
was  sundered,  one  portion  adhering  to  Rollins, 
the  other  to  Burnham.  The  Rollins  party 
built  a  church  at  the  foot  of  March  Hill,  which 
wras  ephemeral,  and  the  Burnham  party,  in  1826, 
built  the  church  now  standing  in  the  "  Hol- 
low." Burnham  continued  to  preach  and  bap- 
tize till  1845  or  1850. 

During  Mr.  Burnham's  pastorate  he  gathered 
around  him  as  large  a  number  of  communi- 
cants as  any  society  in  town  had,  and  the  church 
was  filled  every  Sunday  for  a  number  of  years. 
One  word  from  Parson  Dickinson's  mouth  did 
more  to  the  building  up  of  this  society  than  all 
the  influence  of  preaching,  and  that  word  was 


"defiled."  Mr.  Levi  Allen,  an  admirer  of 
Mr.  Rollins,  one  day  asked  permission  of  Mr. 
Dickinson  for  Mr.  Rollins  to  occupy  his  desk 
some  day,  that  Mr.  Dickinson's  hearers  might 
hear  him  preach.  His  reply  wras,  "  I  should 
be  very  happy  to  please  you,  Mr.  Allen  ;  but  I 
cannot  have  my  sanctuary  defiled  by  such  a 
man  as  Mr.  Rollins." 

The  men  that  followed  Mr.  Burnham,  as 
preachers  there,  were  Abiah  Kidder,  Jona- 
than Farnam,  C.  W.  Martin,  W.  H.  Ire- 
land, Jared  L.  Green,  Seth  Hinkley,  David  B. 
Murray,  N.  S.  Chadwick,  J.  W.  Woodward 
and  Clark  W.  Simonds. 

The  present  pastor,  H.  M.  Eaton,  has  done 
more  missionary  work  in  that  vicinity  than  all 
others  put  together,  although  an  old  man. 

Walpole  Town  Congregational  So- 
ciety.1— After  the  disruption  of  the  old  town 
church,  in  1826,  and  when  the  religious  caldron 
was  boiling  and  seething  hot,  the  Unitarians, 
under  the  guise  of  the  old  society's  name,  hired 
one  Thayer,  a  kind  of  hybrid  preacher,  but 
those  of  the  sterner  faith  kept  aloof. 

This  state  of  things  continued  till  February 
3,  1830,  when  a  full-fledged  Unitarian  was  or- 
dained. His  stay  was  short,  for  it  is  found 
that,  on  May  23,  1833,  Orestes  A.  Bronson 
was  installed,  who  resigned  in  March,  1834. 

Horatio  Wood  was  installed  September  24, 
1834,  and  resigned  June  22,  1838.  This  was  a 
period  of  prosperity  for  the  Unitarians.  The 
elite  of  the  town  all  attended  church,  if  for 
nothing  more,  to  hear  the  good  music,  which 
was  better  then  than  it  has  been  since  that  time. 

William  Silsbee  was  ordained  July  1,  1840, 
and  resigned  September  3,  1842.  This  year 
the  present  Unitarian  Church  was  built,  and 
Mr.  Abiel  Chandler  presented  the  tablets. 

Martin  W.  Willis  was  ordained  December  6, 
1843,  and  resigned  May  1,  1848.  He  was  the 
first  settled  minister  after  the  completion  of  the 
new  house. 

1  This  is  a  misnomer.     It  should  be  "  Unitarian." 


44-t 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


William  P.  Tilden  was  installed  September 
27,  1848,  and  resigned  January  1,  1855.  Mr. 
Tilden  was  esteemed  not  only  by  his  society, 
but  by  all  the  citizens  in  town,  as  the  dissem- 
inator of  good  morals  and  the  promoter  of  the 
best  interests  of  the  town. 

Mr.  Lathrop  was  installed  November  6, 
1856,  and  preached  one  year,  when  a  Mr.  Ran- 
nev  supplied  the  year  following.  Charles  Hit- 
ter, an  eccentric  man,  was  installed  November 
3,  L 858,  and  left  after  preaching  a  little  more 
than  .me  year,  when  Mr.  C.  T.  Canfield  sup- 
plied the  desk,  from  January,  1800,  to  the  fol- 
lowing June,  after  which  Thomas  Daws  was 
installed,  December  15,  1861,  and  resigned 
January  1,  1 865. 

The  same  year  Nathaniel  Seaver,  Jr.,  was 
ordained,  November  23d,  and  resigned  May  23, 
lsii8.  Russell  N.  Bellows  supplied  from 
October  18th,  the  same  year,  till  October  1, 
1869  ]  and  on  the  10th  of  June  following 
(nurge  Dexter  was  settled,  who  continued  till 
May  3.  1873.  The  next  minister  was  William 
Brown,  who  was  installed  in  August,  1873,  and 
resigned  in  August,  1883.  The  present  incum- 
bent is  Rev.  John  Williams,  who  was  settled 
April  1,  1884. 

The  First  Congregational  Chur<  b 
am>  Society  in  Walpole  (Orthodox). — 
There  were  a  number  of  persons  in  town  who 
could  not  see  their  way  with  clearness  through 
Unitarian  spectacles,  and  they  resolved  to  have 
a  place  of  their  own  wherein  to  worship.  Ac- 
cordingly, six  of  those  peopl* — all  but  one  as 
poor  as  church  mice — formed  themselves  into  a 
church  and  society,  and  immediately,  through 
their  own  feeble  efforts  and  those  of  the  Rev. 
Z.  S.  Barstow,  of  Keene,  with  the  sister 
churches,  procured  funds  sufficient  to  build  the 
present  church  edifice,  which  w:is  completed  in 
1833.  It  has  since  been  raised  one  story  and 
remodeled.  Edwin  Jennison,  a  grandson  of 
Captain  John,  one  of  the  first  settlers,  was  the 
first  to  occupy  its  pulpit.  lie  preached  there 
till   March,  1835,  when,  by  reason  of  impaired 


health,  he  relinquished  his  charge  to  one  B.  B. 
Beck  with,  who  preached  to  the  society  less  than 
ten  months. 

For  what  reason  he  left  his  charge  so  soon  is 
not  known  to  the  writer  ;  but  the  story  current 
at   the   time    was     that   the     charges    brought 

©  © 

against  him  by  the  church  were  that  "  he  wore 
a  fashionable   beaver,  a  frock  coat  and    rode  a 


horse    through     the    streets    on     a    gall 
gait  " 


oping 


v 


Abraham  Jackson,  who  resembled  the  like- 
nesses of  Old  Hickory,  was  settled  January  10, 
1837,  and  dismissed  June  5,  1845.  August 
6th,  same  year,  Ezekiel  H.  Barstow  was  or- 
dained, and  continued  to  be  the  pastor  till  De- 
cember 30,  1851,  and  Alfred  Goldsmith  was 
installed  the  same  day,  who  continued  with  the 
society  till  March  7,  185'),  when  he  was  dis- 
missed and  the  society  was  without  a  settled 
minister  till  January  31,  1855.  At  the  last- 
mentioned  date  John  M.  Stowe,  of  Hub- 
bardston,  Mass.,  was  settled  and  remained 
with  his  people  till  February  4,  1862,  when  he 
returned  to  his  native  home,  soon  to  die  from 
injuries  received  by  a  load  of  wood  on  a  sled 
passing  over  him.  Mr.  Stowe  was  a  man  that 
had  few  enemies,  and,  like  Mr.  Tilden,  of  the 
Unitarian  Church,  was  ever  ready  to  lend  his 
influence  for  the  promotion  of  good  in  society. 
The  society  was  without  a  settled  minister  till 
August  31,  18(35,  when  Rev.  Gabriel  II.  De 
Bevvice  was  settled,  who  remained  till  August 
6,  1868.  June  2,  1870,  Rev.  William  E. 
Dickinson- was  settled,  and  dismissed  March  31, 
1875.  Thomas  S.  Robie  occupied  the  desk  one 
year,  from  September,  1875.  September  '20, 
1877,  Frederick  Lyman  Allen  was  ordained 
and  remained  with  the  society  till  June,  1884. 
From  September,  the  same  year,  till  now  ( 1  HS~>) 
W.  11.  Tee!  has  supplied  the  desk. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — In  the 
summer  of  18  12,  Increase  S.  Guild  secured  the 
appointment  of  John  1'.  Prouty  for  Walpole 
station.  During  the  next  few  years  several 
preachers    came    and    went,   till   1845,  when  a 


WALPOLE. 


445 


chapel  was  built,  now  standing  on  Washington 
Square.  Services  were  held  there  until  I860. 
During  this  period  the  ministers  that  officiated, 
twelve  in  number,  lived  on  starvation  diet,  for 
the  society  was  very  poor,  and  depended  largely 
on  outside  benevolence.  The  society  fell  to 
pieces  in  1860,  and  the  worshippers  divided; 
one  part  joined  the  Orthodox  and  the  others 
trusted  themselves  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
Unitarians. 

Episcopal  Society. — This  society  at  Drews- 
ville  was  incorporated  in  1816,  under  the  name 
of  the  First  Protestant  Episcopal  Society  of 
Walpole.  The  first  rector's  name  was  Luman 
Foote.  In  1836  the  present  stone  chapel  was 
built,  and  at  the  time  of  its  consecration  the 
original  name  was  changed  to  St.  Peter's  Church. 
The  Rev.  E.  A.  Renouf  is  now  its  rector. 

Baptists. — In  1837  Samuel  Nichols,  a  mer- 
chant of  Drewsville,  built  a  small  chapel  at  that 
place  for  the  use  of  a  Baptist  society  formed 
there,  but  the  society  was  short-lived,  and  now 
there  are  no  Baptists  in  town. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  a  church  at  North 
Walpole,  but  it  is  not  old  enough  to  have  a  his- 
tory. 

MEN    OF    NOTE. 

Following  are  a  few  brief  notices  of  men 
who  have,  by  accident  or  otherwise,  risen  from 
the  general  level  of  their  townsmen,  and  made 
themselves  conspicuous  members  of  society,  and 
also  of  their  descendants,  whose  influence  has 
been  felt  in  other  places.  For  convenience, 
their  names  are  arranged  alphabetically. 

Amasa  Allen  came  to  this  town  in  1776 
from  Pomfret,  Conn.,  a  poor  young  man  twenty- 
six  years  old,  and  commenced  business  as  a 
merchant.  He  continued  in  the  business  some 
thirty  years,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  leav- 
ing $75,000.  He  was  very  popular  with  the 
townspeople,  and  they  elected  him  to  represent 
them  in  the  Provincial  Legislature,  at  Exeter, 
seven  times,  and  was  State  Senator  in  1802-3. 
He  was  general  of  the  State  militia,  and  held 
numerous  minor  town  offices.     He  gave  the  old 


church  the  organ,  afterwards  used  by  the  Uni- 
tarian Society,  and  was  present  at  the  casting  of 
our  old  town-bell  (now  intact)  and  dropped  in 
the  silver  composing  a  portion  of  its  metal. 
When  he  died  his  funeral  was  largely  attended. 
Although  married  twice,  he  left  no  children. 
He  lived  in  the  house  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Philip 
Peck,  which  he  built. 

Aaron  Allen  was  from  Mansfield,  Conn., 
and  was  an  early  settler.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
owned  a  very  large  area  of  land  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town.  He  represented  the  town  at 
Exeter  in  1788-89.  He  held  numerous  town 
offices,  his  name  occurring  most  frequently  in 
the  town  records.  His  oldest  son,  Levi,  was 
also  popular  with  the  people,  and  was  so  much 
engaged  with  town  business,  settling  estates,  etc., 
that  he  neglected  his  more  paying  business  and 
became  poor,  when  his  pride  forced  him  to  move 
from  town. 

Otis  Bardwell  was  born  in  Deerfield,  Mass., 
October  17,  1792,  and  died  March  27,  1871. 
He  began  life  as  a  stage-driver ;  but  being  a  man 
that  took  good  care  of  his  earnings,  he  soon  ac- 
cumulated money  to  own  a  team,  when  he 
formed  a  copartnership  with  George  Hunt- 
ington. The  firm  soon  owned  all  the  mail- lines 
in  the  vicinity,  at  a  time  when  their  bids  wTere 
the  only  ones  for  carrying  the  mails.  The  firm 
soon  became  well  off.  In  1849,  when  the  Chesh- 
ire Railroad  was  completed,  staging  came  to  a 
stand-still.  He  then  purchased  a  plot  of  land 
in  Rutland,  Vt.,  and  built  the  well-known 
"  Bardwell  House."  During  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  owing  to  his  financial  standing  in  town, 
he  was  honored  with  financial  trusts.  When  a 
stage-driver,  in  the  month  of  January,  1819,  in 
coming  over  Carpenter's  Hill,  he  plucked  blos- 
soms from  an  apple-tree  and  gave  them  to  the 
lady  passengers. 

Benjamin  Bellows  was  born  May  26, 
1712,  and  died  July  10,  1777.  He  came  to 
Walpole  from  Lunenburg,  Mass.,  when  he 
was  forty  years  old  and  founded  the  town  (1752), 
and  for  twenty-five  years  thereafter  he  was  the 


446 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


common  centre,  around  which  all  the  satellites 
moved.  During  these  years  he  held  two  or 
three  town  offices  each  year. 

A  general  notice  of  his  life  in  town  may  be 
found  in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  sketch. 

Benjamin  Bellows,  Jr.,  was  the  second  son 
of  the  founder.  lie  seems  to  have  had  a  greater 
controlling-  influence  over  the  townspeople  than 
any  man  who  ever  lived  in  town  ;  he  was  the 
Bellows  among  the  Bellows'.  His  judgment 
was  g 1  and  his  word  law  among  the  towns- 
people. At  his  hare-headed  nod  the  rough  boys 
took  their  seat-  in  the  old  church,  and  catch- 
penny showmen  he  drove  from  town  on  his  own 
responsibility.  He  was  town  clerk  thirty-two 
years,  and  held  various  other  town  offices.  He 
was  State  Senator  from  his  district,  and  also 
( !ouncillor  ;  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Con- 
stitutional  (  ongress  in  1781,  but  declined  serv- 
ing. He  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  that 
ratified  the  Federal  Constitution  of  February, 
178S.  lie  was  president  of  the  Electoral  College 
in  this  Stat"  in  1  789,  and  again  elected  in  1797. 
In    the   State   militia  he    rose  from   corporal  to 

tin mmand   of  a  brigade,  and  was   colonel  of 

a  regiment  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
I  [e  i~  described  as  being  six  feet  in  stature  and 
of  dark  complexion,  courteous  in  manners,  but 
firm  in  purpose,  persuasive  in  language  and 
ever  kind  to  his  neighbors.  His  education  was 
mostly  gained  by  observation,  as  the  Bellows 
family  were  never  considered  book-wonns.  The 
saying  formerly  current  was  that,  "  If  you  shut 
up  a  Bellows  in  a  room  with  books,  if  there  is 
no  other  way  of  escape,  they  will  go  through 
the  window."  Seated  in  an  easy  chair  in  the 
chimney-corner  of  his  own  house,1  neatly 
dressed  in  Continental  garb,  he  rounded  his  pe- 
riod with  his  brother  John,  in  discussing  the 
gossipof  the  day  overaclay  pipe.  He  died  June 
4,  1802,  aged  sixty-two.  Some  mention  has  been 
made  of  his  brother  John  and  his  son  Caleb 
in    the    foregoing    pages,   both    of  whom    were 

1  Now  owneil  by  Mrs.  I'venti--  Foster, 


active,  influential  men.  John  Bellows  had  one 
son,  Josiah  (2d),  who  had  some  influence  in 
town  in  his  way.  He  is  remembered  by  the 
old  citizens  as  being  a  smooth,  fluent  talker, 
and  story-teller.  On  this  account  he  obtained 
the  sobriquet  of  "  Slick  Si."  If  anything 
was  wanting  in  his  stories,  his  conscience  never 
troubled  him  in  supplying  the  deficiency. 

Thomas  Bellows,  familiarly  known  as  the 
"  'Squire,"  to  whom  the  old  colonel  bequeathed 
his  homestead,  was  an  entirely  different  man  in 
character  from  either  of  his  half-brothers,  Ben- 
jamin or  John,  in  that  he  had  little  or  no  am- 
bition, only  to  be  considered  an  honest  man, 
which  feeling  in  some  instances  he  carried  so 
far  as  to  do  injustice  to  himself.  He  was  born 
1762,  the  same  year  his  father  built  his  new 
house,  now  standing  and  occupied  by  his  son 
Thomas.  His  name  appears  frequently  in  the 
town  records  as  a  town  officer,  and  he  was  the 
first  man  to  represent  the  town  in  the  General 
Court  after  the  adoption  of  the  State  Constitu- 
tion, in  1792. 

Early  in  1794  he  was  appointed  councillor 
for  five  years,  and  in  1799  sheriff  for  the 
county  of  Cheshire,  an  office  which  he  held 
more  than  thirty  years,  and  during  this  period 
he  was  haunted  with  the  morbid  idea  that  he 
might  be  called  upon  to  hang  somebody.  He 
had  an  ample  fortune  left  him,  which  he  kept 
intact,  but  did  not  add  much  to  it  during  life. 
If  manifested  much  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
his  neighbors  and  townsmen,  and  had  a  strong 
penchant  for  not  only  knowing  their  business, 
but  the  business  of  all  others.  At  times  this 
matter  was  carried  so  far  as  to  call  forth  ungen- 
erous rebuffs,  which  sorely  grieved  him.  He 
was  fond  Of  conversation,  but  had  an  impedi- 
ment in  his  speech,  which  made  it  appear  quaint 
and  laughable  to  strangers.  He  was  tall  and 
-aunt,  with  a  heavy  face,  and  wore  modest  cloth- 
ing, which  never  could  be  made  to  fit.  His 
memory  was  remarkable;  he  could  remember 
everything  he  ever  saw,  even  to  the  first  rat. 
In  religion,  he   was  a  Unitarian.      He  lived  a 


WALPOLE. 


447 


long  life  of  purity,  benevolence  and  charity,  and 
was  called  to  his  fathers  April  18,  1848. 

Josiah  Bellows,  the  tenth  and  youngest  of 
the  old  family,  and  a  stanch  old  Roman,  was 
born  in  1767,  and  died  in  1846.  In  his  youth- 
ful days,  it  is  said,  he  scattered  some  wild  oats, 
but  after  he  married  he  toned  down  into  an 
influential,  reliable,  good  citizen.  His  vocation 
was  a  farmer.  He  represented  the  town  in  the 
State  Legislature  in  1809-10  and  in  1819,  and 
held  many  town  offices.  In  his  intercourse 
with  the  world  he  was  taciturn,  and  in  conver- 
sation monosyllabic  almost  to  abruptness,  which 
gave  strangers  a  wrong  impression  of  the  real 
man,  for  he  was  a  kind  neighbor  and  public- 
spirited  citizen.     His  older  son,  known  as 

Josiah  Bellows  (3d),  was  cast  in  a  differ- 
ent mould  from  his  father,  and  of  more  pliable 
metal.  He  was  loquacious,  urbane  and  yield- 
ing; he  never  meddled  with  the  business  of 
other  people,  yet  no  man  has  lived  in  town  in 
later  years  that  had  a  greater  silent  influence. 
He  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  more 
than  thirty  years:  was  chosen  Representative 
in  1823,  '24,  '25  ;  captain  of  militia  in  1814; 
postmaster  from  1826  till  1840,  when  all  the 
mail  matter  lodged  in  the  town  was  contained 
in  a  box  three  by  two  feet,  and  when  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  was  larger  than  at  the  present 
time.  He  also  held  many  offices  of  honor  and 
trust,  both  in  town  and  county.  He  died 
January  13,  1842.  Only  one  son  is  now  left 
to  represent  him,  Josiah  G.,  who  is  now  a  prac- 
ticing lawyer  in  town  and  esteemed  citizen. 

Henry  Whitney  Bellows,  a  great-grand- 
son of  the  founder,  through  Joseph  and  John, 
was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  June  14,  1814.  He 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1832  and  com- 
pleted his  divinity  studies  in  1837.  On  Janu- 
ary 2,  1838,  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  "  All 
Saints'  Church,"  in  New  York  City,  and  held 
the  place  till  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Jan- 
uary, 1882.  He  was  the  only  Bellows  who 
ever  gained  a  national  reputation,  and  this  was 
accomplished  through  the  United  States  Sani- 


tary Commission  as  president  during  the  Rebel- 
lion. He  was  widely  known  as  a  preacher,  lec- 
turer and  writer  in  his  own  denomination  (Uni- 
tarian) and  by  others.  In  1868-69  he  wrote 
and  published  two  octavo  volumes  of  European 
travels,  entitled  "  The  Old  World  in  its  New 
Face,"  which  will  compare  most  favorably  with 
any  work  of  the  kind  extant.  He  contributed 
largely  to  the  higher  publications  of  the  day 
and  was  known  as  a  brilliant  pulpit  orator. 

Henry  Adams  Bellows  was  born  Octo- 
ber 25,  1803,  and  was  the  great-grandson  also 
of  Colonel  Benjamin — through  two  Josephs.  He 
commenced  life  poor.  He,  while  a  lad,  attended 
an  academy  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  which  in  those 
days  afforded  no  better  educational  advantages 
than  those  now  had  at  our  common  schools. 
After  remaining  there  a  few  months  he  entered 
the  law-office  of  Wrilliam  C.  Bradley,  in  West- 
minster, Vt.,  and  on  completing  his  law  studies 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Newfane,  Vt.,  in  1826. 
The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Xew  Hampshire  and  commenced  practice  in 
Walpole.  In  1828  he  removed  to  Littleton, 
X.  H.,  where  he  practiced  his  profession  twenty- 
two  years,  when  he  removed  to  Concord,  this 
State.  He  had  now  gained  a  high  reputation 
as  a  lawyer  throughout  the  State,  and  on  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Pcrley,  September  23, 
1859,  he  was  appointed  Associate  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  and  held  the  position 
till  October  1,  1869,  at  which  time  he  received 
the  appointment  of  chief  justice.  His  de- 
cisions and  rulings  in  court  were  always  sound, 
clear  and  logical.  He  was  no  politician,  but 
was  elected  representative  to  the  General  Court 
three  times — once  from  Littleton,  in  1839,  and 
twice  from  Concord,  in  1856-57.  He  died 
very  suddenly  at  his  home  in  Concord,  with  but 
little  premonition,  March  11,  1873,  of  disease 
of  the  heart,  just  before  his  term  of  office 
would  have  expired  by  limitation.  Without 
superior  educational  advantages,  he  rose  to  a 
high  point  of  honor  and  trust.  For  his  hon- 
esty of  purpose  he    was    esteemed  ;  for   being 


44S 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


just  he  was  honored  ;  and   for  his   urbanity  he 
was  beloved. 

David  Bufpum  was  the  seventh  son  of 
Joseph  Buffum,  of  Walpole,  and  was  born 
April  15,  1803.  He  came  to  Walpole  in  1820 
and  was  a  clerk  three  years  for  his  brother  Wil- 
liam, who  was  a  merchant  here,  and  then  formed 
a  partnership  with  him  in  trade. 

From  that  time  for  about  fifty  years  he  was 
in  business,  sometimes  with  partners  and  at 
other  times  alone.  In  his  position  during  this 
long  period  he  became  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  all  the  townspeople,  and,  in  a  measure,  ex- 
ercised  over  them  a  controlling  influence.  His 
multifarious  business  relations  admirably  fitted 
him  to  form  good  judgments  and  give  good  ad- 
vice, which   was   largely  sought  for   by  many. 

He  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in 
I  8  19  and  1S-30,  and,  also,  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  called  to  revise  the  State  Constitu- 
tion, in  L876.  He  is  now  an  octogenarian,  with 
few  business  cares,  enjoying  his  otium  cum  dig- 
it t'l 'ate. 

Gbobge  Carlisle  was  the  son  of  John 
Carlisle,  a  shoemaker,  and  a  great-grandson  of 
David  Carlisle,  one  of  the  early  settlers. 
George  began  life  a  poor  boy,  but  by  his  hon- 
esty and  industry  he  won  the  esteem  of  Stone 
&  Bellows,  merchants  here,  who  entrusted  him 
with  a  large  invoice  of  goods  of,  in,  then,  the  Far 
West,  Cincinnati,  where  he  established  himself 
in  due  course  of  time  as  a  merchant.  Exercis- 
ing good  judgment  he  purchased  land  from  time  to 
time  with  surplus  money  in  the  environs  of  the 
Queen  City,  which  soon  rose  in  value  mani- 
fold, and  made  him  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1863,  a  very  rich  man.  He 
is  represented  to  have  been  a  highly  honorable 
business  man,  public-spirited  and  generous  to 
his  Walpole  kindred. 

Thomas  Collins  Drew,  in  some  respects 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  who  ever 
lived  in  town.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Chester,  this  State,  in  1762.  In  boyhood  an 
inmate  of  the  almshouse  in  Portsmouth,  adopted 


by  one  McNeal,  of  Londonderry,  he  ran  away 
and  joined  the  Continental  forces,  and  after  the 
war  closed  returned  to  McNeal.  Mr.  McNeal 
had  no  use  for  him,  and  sold  his  indenture  to 
William  T.  Ramsey,  a  settler  of  this  town,  for 
a  pair  of  old  stags.  He  came  home  with  Ram- 
sey, and  at  his  majority  or  soon  after  married, 
when  his  wife  taught  him  to  read  and  write. 
He  now  put  on  the  harness  and  made  a  bold 
push  for  a  livelihood,  either  by  hook  or  by  crook, 
and  as  years  rolled  on  he  grew  in  popularity 
with  his  townsmen,  and  was  promoted  colonel 
of  the  Twentieth  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire 
militia,  and  soon  was  elected,  over  those  to  "  the 
manor  born,"  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1 802, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1804,  '05,  '07,  '08  and 
'09.  He  was  then  elected  State  Councillor  two 
years.  He  had  a  great  influence  in  town-meet- 
ings, being  a  fluent  speaker.  During  those 
years  he  kept  a  public-house  at  the  place  which 
perpetuates  his  name, — Drewsville.  In  his  old 
age  he  undertook  to  tend  his  bar  on  both  sides 
at  a  time,  which  greatly  bewildered  him  at  times. 
None  of  his  posterity  are  now  living. 

Thomas  Green  Fessenden,  the  oldest  of 
the  old  parson's  family,  was  born  April  12, 
1771,  graduated  in  Dartmouth  in  1796, 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Stephen  R.  Brail  lev, 
in  Westminster,  Vt.,  and  died  in  Boston,  No- 
vember 11,  1837.  He  earlv  commenced  a  lit- 
erary  career,  which  he  pursued  through  life, 
writing  books  and  numerous  pamphlets.  He 
wrote  and  published  a  book  in  England  satiriz- 
ing the  medical  faculty  there.  It  had  an  im- 
mense sale  in  London,  and  was  subsequently 
published  in  this  country  in  three  editions.  It 
was  entitled  "  Dr.  Caustic."  The  work  is  a 
strange  compound  of  erudition,  doggerel  verse 
and  nonsense.  In  1822  he  commenced  the 
publication  of  the  New  England  Farmer,  when 
he  did  not  know  enough  about  farming  to  lute 
a  hill  of  potatoes,  and  continued  it  fifteen  years. 
For  versatility  of  genius,  ready  wit,  biting  sar- 
casm and  as  a  popular  journalist,  no  native 
townsman  has- been  his  equal. 


WALPOLE. 


449 


John  Graves,  Jil,  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  of  some  local  influence  during  the  "  border 
troubles  "  in  the  last  century,  as  he  was  elected 
to  represent  the  town  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  at  that 
period.  Josiah  G.,  his  grandson,  through  Ster- 
ling, his  father,  studied  medicine  and  removed 
to  Nashua,  this  State,  more  than  forty  years 
since,  and  there  became  widely  known  as  a  skill- 
ful physician,  and  accumulated  a  handsome  for- 
tune. He  was  born  July  13,  1811,  and  is  still 
living. 

Samuel  Grant,  familiarly  known  as  Major, 
was  born  at  Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1770,  and 
came  to  this  town  soon  after  his  majority,  by 
trade  a  saddle-maker.  He  married  the  daughter 
of  General  Bellows,  and  at  Bellows'  death,  in 
1802,  came  in  possession  of  a  large  farm  in  the 
southeast  part  of  the  town — her  patrimony.  This 
place  was  known  as  the  "  Seven  Barns."  Here, 
for  many  years,  he  extensively  carried  on  sheep 
husbandry,  owning  at  times  a  thousand  sheep. 
By  his  strong  will  and  conventional  position  in 
town,  he  secured  a  strong  hold  on  his  townsmen, 
and  was  elected  to  the  General  Court  four  times, 
viz.  :  in  1797,  1799,  1817  and  1838,  besides 
holding  many  offices  of  trust.  He  is  repre- 
sented to  have  been  punctilious,  exacting  and 
unvielding  in  his  intercourse  with  his  neighbors. 
He  died  April  12,  1844. 

Aaron  Hodskins,  Jr.,  was  born  in  town 
August  17,  1769.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation, but  intellectually  a  strong  man.  He 
was  generally  known  as  "  'Squire,"  and  for 
many  years,  when  in  active  life,  was  a  potent 
factor  in  the  ciyic  affairs  of  the  town.  He  was 
religiously  a  Universalist,  and  was  the  head  and 
front  of  that  society  in  town.  His  son,  Asahel 
B.,  also  belonged  to  the  same  denomination,  was 
active  in  the  cause,  and  also  had  some  influence 
in  local  politics. 

Abraham  Holland,  who  was  the  third  phy- 
sician that  settled  in  town,  was  born  in  Barre, 
Mass.,  in  1751,  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
and  studied  medicine,  and  on  completing  his 
studies  came  to  this  town  and  commenced  prac- 


tice about  1780.  Three  of  his  granddaughters, 
through  his  son  Nathaniel,  were  married  to 
Harrison  P.  and  Hudson  E.  Bridge,  who  were 
Walpole  boys,  and  who  as  men  were  citizens  of 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  they  accumulated  very 
large  fortunes. 

Foster  Hooper,  an  orphan  at  an  early  age, 
was  the  son  of  Salmon  Hooper,  and  the  grand- 
son of  Levi,  one  of  the  early  settlers,  was  born 
April  2,  1805.  He  studied  medicine,  and  in 
1826  went  to  Fall  River,  Mass.,  where  for 
more  than  a  generation  he  enjoyed  an  extensive 
practice  and  was  held  in  high  estimation  by  all 
the  medical  fraternity.  There  were  no  public 
enterprises  on  foot  in  that  city  for  more  than 
forty  years  but  Dr.  Hooper  had  a  controlling 
voice  in  them.  He  was  chosen  often  to  fill  the 
civic  offices  of  the  place.  His  career,  at  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1870  from  disease  of 
the  heart,  left  a  more  favorable  lasting  impres- 
sion than  if  he  had  been  a  member  of  Congress, 
which  position  was  almost  wTith in  his  grasp  at 
one  time. 

Jonas  Hosmer  was  a  staid  old  church  dea- 
con and  farmer.  He  came  to  town  from  Acton, 
Mass.,  in  1 783,and  remained  here  during  life.  He 
had  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  lived  to  ma- 
turity and  all  were  highly  respectable  people. 
Five  of  the  number  were  boys,  and  never  were 
there  five  boys  born  in  town  in  one  family  who 
could  boast  of  a  cleaner  record  from  vice  than 
those  of  Jonas  Hosmer.  Two  of  them,  Eli  and 
Elbridge,  were  widely  known  and  esteemed 
school  teachers ;  Edwin  followed  farming,  and 
Alfred  and  Hiram  became  practicing  physicians. 
The  latter  became  eminent  in  his  profession  in 
Watertown,  Mass.,  and  in  other  walks  of  life 
was  a  prominent  citizen.  He  was  the  father  of 
Harriet  Grant  Hosmer,  the  world-renowned 
sculptress,  who  was  born  in  1830.  On  her 
mother's  side  she  is  the  great-granddaughter  of 
General  Benjamin  Bellows. 

Aaron  Prentiss  Howland  was  the  son  of 
Charles  Howland,  a  mechanic  who  lived  in  the 
"  Valley,"  this  town.     He  (Aaron)  was  born  in 


450 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


1801,  and  died  July  9,  1867.  He  learned*the 
trade  <>f  a  carpenter,  and  soon  after  his  majority 
became  a  master-builder,  which  business  he  fol- 
lowed for  many  years  with  varied  success.  In 
1853-54  he  represented  the  town  in  the  Legis- 
lature, and  aftewards  became  interested  in  poli- 
ties, and  as  a  local  wire-puller  he  never  had  an 
equal  in  town.  He  was  first  a  Whig,  then  a 
Republican  in  sentiment,  and,  lastly,  an  un- 
flinching partisan.  His  word  was  law  to  his 
henchmen,  and  for  years  he  figured  as  the  cham- 
pion of  opposition  to  the  Democracy  over  the 
check-lisl  at  March  meeting  times,  when  there 
was  always  a  "tempest  in  a  tea-pot,"  and  where 
he  found  that  there  were  diamonds  that  cut  dia- 
monds. He  was  United  States  district  assistant 
assessor  during  and  after  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 
During  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  exercised  a 
potent  influence  in  town  and  church  affairs. 
Who  living  in  town  thirty  years  ago  did  not 
know  the  stirring,  ubiquitous,  money-making 
Aaron  Prentiss  Rowland  ? 

George  Huntington,  of  whom  mention 
has  been  made  in  connection  with  Otis  Bard- 
well,  was  born  in  1801,  and  died  1876.  Early 
in  life  he  kept  the  tavern  in  the  village,  and  by 
his  urbanity  and  enterprising  qualities  he  won 
the  esteem  of  his  townsmen,  who  honored  him 
with  a  scat  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1835/36, 
'37,  and  soon  alter  was  appointed  sheriff  of  the 
county.  He  held  several  town  offices,  was  a 
railroad  and  bank  director  for  several  years.  In 
middle  life  he  was  one  of  the  most  comely,  well- 
dressed  and  popular  men  in  town,  and  was  re- 
ported rich,  as  he  paid  the  highest  individual 
tax  in  town.  In  his  business  transactions,  first 
impressions  always  served  him  ;  he  never  used 
figures  much  ;  but  later  in  life  impressions  did 
Dot  serve  him,  and  his  business  went  wrong, 
till  at  length  a  collapse  came  and  he  died  com- 
paratively poor. 

Dr.  Francis  Kjttredge  came  to  this  town 
more  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  to  set  a 
broken  bone  of  one  of  the  Bellows  family,  from 
Tewksbnry    Mass.,  there  being  no   competent 


surgeon  to  be  found  nearer.  He  remained  till 
the  fracture  was  healed,  and  during  the  time 
was  induced  by  (  Lionel  Bellows  to  remove  here. 
He  was  termed  a  natural  bone-setter.  He  had 
sixteen  children,  and  ten  of  his  descendants  be- 
came doctors.  Jesseniah,  one  of  his  sons,  became 
famous  by  compounding  an  unguent  for  old  sores. 
It  required  but  little  study  in  those  old  days 
to  become  an  M.D.  There  were  many  that 
knew  little  or  nothing  of  surgery  and  all  that 
was  deemed  necessary  for  common  practice 
was  to  know  how  much  blood  to  take  from  a 
patient  in  a  fever,  how  much  jalap  to  deal  out 
for  sick  headache,  and  how  much  picra  to 
give  in  mulligrub.  There  was  but  one  of  the 
ten  above  noticed  who  received  a  classical  edu- 
cation, and  none  of  them  rose  to  be  eminent 
in  their  profession,  but  through  their  combined 
social  standing  they  had  some  influence.  Jes- 
seniah (2d)  was  well  versed  in  Free-Masonry, 
and  had  a  commanding  influence  with  the  craft, 
it  is  said. 

.Jacob  Newman  Knapp,  who  died  in  this 
town  July  27,  1868,  in  his  ninety-fifth  year, 
exercised  a  silent  influence  in  town  for  more 
than  fifty  years,  and  more  especially  in  the 
Unitarian  Church. 

His  son,  Frederick  Newman,  rendered  effi- 
cient service  in  the  Sanitary  Commission  during 
the  Rebellion. 

Hope  Lathoep,  was  born  in  Tolland,  Conn, 
about  17!)S,  and  learned  the  trade  of  planter. 
He  came  to  Drewsville  in  1819,  where  he 
followed  that  business  a  few  years.  He  was 
appointed  deputy  sheriff  soon  after  he  came 
to  Drewsville,  and  at  the  same  time  kept  a 
public-house  there.  He  was  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Connecticut  River  Rank,  at  Charles- 
town,  N.  II.  and  was  its  president  when  he  died 
in  is?*.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  post- 
master at  Drewsville  and  merchant  at  the  same 
period.  I  le  was  not  a  progressive  man,  his  par- 
amount thoughts  and  energies  being  centred  on 
the  accumulation  of  money.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  his  accumulations  were  large  for  the 


WALPOLE. 


451 


country,  which  were  left  to  his  two  daughters. 
His  wealth  and  shrewdness  gave  hira  some  local 
influence,  but  beyond  his  own  town  he  was  but 
little  known. 

Bolivar  Lovell  is  the  son  of  Aldis 
Lovell,  who  was  a  lawyer  of  some  local  repute 
in  town  at  one  time.  Bolivar  was  born  at 
Drews ville,  August  30,  1826,  and  obtained  only 
a  common-school  education  at  that  place.  At 
his  majority  he  went  forth  into  the  world  and 
found  employment  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  as  a 
clerk  there  for  three  years,  when  he  returned 
to  his  native  home  and  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  his  father's  office  then  at  Alstead,  about 
1845.  In  1847  he  was  appointed  deputy  sher- 
iff and  while  acting  in  that  capacity  he  was 
still  pursuing  his  law  studies  in  the  office  of 
Lovell  Wait,  of  Alstead.  In  1855  he  was 
appointed  Sheriff  for  Cheshire  County,  which 
office  he  held  for  ten  years.  In  1862  he  was 
appointed  United  States  assessor  of  internal 
revenue  for  the  Third  New  Hampshire  District 
and  held  the  office  eight  years.  In  1869  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  since  prac- 
ticed his  profession,  first  in  Alstead  and  now 
in  this  town.  In  1873-74  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Governor's  Council .  He  is 
considered  a  safe  reliable  business  man,  and  an 
honest  lawyer.  He  is  now  (1885)  still  prac- 
ticing his  profession  at  Drewsville,  financially 
enjoying  life's  blessings. 

Dr.  Ebenezer  Morse  was  born  in  Dublin, 
this  State,  in  1785,  graduated  at  Dartmouth  in 
1810,  studied  medicine  and  came  to  this  town 
in  1813,  a  fully-fledged  physician,  when  he  put 
out  his  shingle  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Frederick  A.  Wier.  At 
the  beginning  of  his  practice  he  had  Drs.  John- 
son, Holland,  Sparhawk  and  the  Kittredges 
to  contend  with.  Slowly  he  worked  his  way 
along,  till,  in  the  course  of  forty  years,  he  had 
crossed  the  thresholds  of  three-fourths  of  the 
habitations  of  the  people  in  town  professionally 
and  formed  their  favorable  acquaintance,  which 
gave  his  voice  a   listening  ear  in  town  affairs. 

29 


He  was  too  conservative  to  be  a  leader  and  too 
proud  to  follow.  He  hated  innovation,  and  the 
frivolities  of  fashion  he  despised.  He  clung  to 
the  past, — the  old  school-books  and  the  old 
way  of  cooking  were  the  best.  He  was  a  fine 
prose- writer,  and  the  town  is  indebted  to  his  pen 
for  much  of  its  early  history.  He  courted  the 
muses  sometimes,  but  they  did  not  return  his 
advances  with  grace,  he  having  no  scruples 
about  feet  or  length  of  line.  He  was  once 
elected  to  the  General  Court  and  three  times 
selectman,  besides  holding  some  other  minor 
offices.  An  entire  change  came  over  him  in  the 
last  years  of  his  professional  practice,  which  was 
this, — instead  of  dosing  with  blue  pills,  jalap 
and  using  the  lancet,  he  thought  bread  pills, 
pure  air,  clean  sheets  and  a  good  nurse  were 
more  efficacious  in  restoring  health  than  any 
other  means.     He  died  December  30,  1863. 

Thomas  and  Isaac  Redington  were  re- 
spected and  influential  merchant-citizens  in  town 
in  the  earlier  part  of  this  century.  They  were 
in  trade  some  twenty-five  years.  Isaac  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  State  Legislature  in 
1813-14  and  1816.  They  both  had  families,  but 
none  of  the  blood  remains  in  town  to-day. 

Jonathan  Royce  first  came  to  Marlow,  but 
soon  removed  to  Walpole,  from  Connecticut,  at 
the  time  of  the  exodus  from  that  State  into  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  between  1775  and 
1780,  bringing  his  entire  worldly  effects  on  a 
hand-sled  in  the  winter.  He  settled  in  the 
"  Valley."  The  town  records,  for  many  years, 
disclose  the  fact,  by  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
his  name  therein,  that  he  was  a  man  of  good 
ability  and  that  his  services  were  much  in  de- 
mand. For  many  years  he  was  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  at  one  time,  it  was  said,  owned 
more  poor  land  than  any  other  man  in  town. 

Thomas  Sparhawk. — In  the  year  1769  a 
man  came  to  this  town,  thirty-two  years  old, 
from  Cambridge,  Mass.,  who  was  a  graduate  of 
Harvard,  with  the  class  of  1755,  where  he  pur- 
chased himself  a  homestead,  and  remained 
through  life  as   a    very  popular,  high-minded, 


452 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


well-educated,  church-going  citizen  of  the  town, 
— that  man  was  Thomas  Sparhawk.  He  had 
not  been  long  in  town  l>efore  his  abilities  were 
recognized  and  his  influence  felt.     He  was  the 

© 

first  merchant  in  town,  the  settlers  before  that 
period' having  to  go  to  Northfield,  Mass.,  and 
make  necessary  purchases  of  one  Aaron  Burt, 
a  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  there,  of  whom 
mention  has  been  made.  Mr.  Sparhawk  was 
the  first  man  to  represent  the  town  at  Exeter, 
in  177"),  and  was  for  many  years  judge  of  Pro- 
bate for  the  county  of  Cheshire,  and  also  clerk 
of  the  court.  lie  yearly  held  important  offices 
in  town,  till  the  infirmities  of  age  impaired  his 
usefulness.  He  died  October  31,  ISO.'],  and 
left  his  son  Thomas  to  walk  in  his  illustrious 
footsteps.  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  born  17(>1  and 
died  1 S  IS.  He  was  an  active,  influential  towns- 
man, almost  yearly  holding  some  important 
otliee  during  his  active  life,  and  was  honored  by 
a  scat  in  the  State  Legislature  in  the  years  1795, 
179G,  1798,  1801  and  1803,  and  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1783.  It  is  said  that  the  conduct  exhibited  by 
his  church  brethren  at  the  time  the  old  building 

© 

was  removed  so  grieved  him  that  he  became 
alienated  from  church-going  thereafter.  He 
lived  and  died  a  man  of  strict  piety  and  good 
w<  »rks. 

Dr.  George  Sparhawk,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard,  in  the  class  of  1777,  came  to  this  town 
between  1  7*0  and  1790,  and  commenced  prac- 
tice a-  a  physician,  but  not  being  successful, 
and  having  some  means,  lie  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  where  George  H.  Williams  non- 
lives,  and  gave  his  attention  to  farming.  From 
year  to  year  he  made  additions  to  his  landed 
estate,  till  he  was  the  largest  land-owner  in 
town.  Through  his  education  and  wealth  com- 
bined, he  had  some  influence;  otherwise  not,  for 
he  had  ever  an  itching  palm  for  all  the  land 
adjoining  his.  He  died  in  1847,  aged  ninety 
years. 

ROGER  VbSE  was  born  in  Milton,  Mass.,  in 
1763,    graduated    with    the   class    of  1790,  and 


came  to  this  town  a  lawyer  in  1793,  where  he 
remained  in  practice  during  his  active  life.  He 
held  many  important  offices  in  town  for  many 
years.  He  had  no  qualities  that  distinguished 
him  at  the  bar  from  other  lawyers,  but  is  chiefly 
remembered  as  being  the  only  member  of  Con- 
gress that  Walpole  ever  had,  and  for  being  one 
of  the  coterie  of  wits  heretofore  mentioned.  He 
was  at  one  time  an  associate  judge  of  the  courts 
in  this  State,  and  also  judge  of  Probate  for  the 
county  of  Cheshire. 

His  son,  Frederick,  was  born  in  town  Novem- 
ber 2,  1801,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1822.  After  studying  the  profession  of  law 
he  commenced  its  practice  in  this  town,  and 
continued  it  through  life.  In  1847-4S  he  was 
a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1833  was 
a  member  of  the  House.  He  also  held  many 
important  offices  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  town, 
county  and  State,  being  for  many  years  judge  of 
Probate,  bank  commissioner,  etc.  As  a  lawyer 
he  had  a  general  reputation,  being  considered 
one  of  the  soundest  and  best-read  lawyers  in  the 
State.  He  was  not  a  brilliant  man,  and  he  never 
attempted  to  argue  a  case  of  importance  before 
a  jury  on  account  of  having  a  constitutional 
timidity,  which  he  never  could  overcome.  In 
his  habits  he  was  peculiar,  seldom  appearing  at 
social  gatherings,  and  when  in  mixed  company 
was  always  taciturn,  but  with  a  friend  alone 
he  was  one  of  the  most  genial  companions.  In 
his  intercourse  with  people  he  was  considerate, 
always  avoiding  offense,  which  marked  him  as  a 
true  gentleman  ;  was  public-spirited  and  be- 
nevolent, never  letting  his  left  hand  know  what 
his  right  hand  was  doing.  Many  funny  sayings 
might  be  told  of  his,  bearing  the  stamp  of  sly  wit, 
which  he  inherited  from  his  father.  He  died 
in  New  York  in  November,  1871,  aged  seventy 
years.  His  death  was  greatly  lamented  by  his 
townsmen  and  all  others  who  personally  knew 
him. 

Co  LONEL  Chr]  st<  >  i  •  1 1 1 •:  i :  \V  i :  i :  1 1 E 1 1  was  one  of 
the   earliest   settlers    in   town,  and  during   the 

/  © 

Revolutionary   struggle   was  one  of  its  active, 


WALPOLE. 


453 


leading  men.  lie  represented  the  town  at 
Exeter  in  1776  and  1777,  and  for  more  than 
twenty  years  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  towns- 
men. He  was  captain  of  a  company  that  went 
to  Saratoga,  under  General  Bellows.  His  de- 
scendants  living  in  town,  being  of  the  fifth 
generation,  knew  but  very  little  of  him. 

Alexander  Watkins  was  from  Pomfret, 
Conn.,  and  came  to  town  about  1777  and  set- 
tled as  a  tavern-keeper  on  the  place  now  owned 
by  Benjamin  E.  Webster. 

By  his  constant  intercourse  with  the  town's 
people,  he  acquired  some  influence.  He  had  a 
family  of  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  were 
boys.  Two  of  the  boys,  Alfred  and  Hiram, 
studied  medicine  and  located  in  Troy,  N.  Y., 
where  they  enjoyed  an  extensive  practice.  Al- 
fred was  at  one  time  mayor  of  the  city.  Hiram, 
the  only  one  of  the  old  family,  is  now  living  in 
town,  a  hale  old  octogenarian,  having  been 
born  in  1801.  The  other  five  boys  settled  in 
town,  and  Alexander's  descendants  are  now,  and 
have  been  for  years,  the  most  numerous  of  any 
people  in  town.  Most  of  this  family  have  been 
industrious,  good  citizens,  and  have  been  local- 
ly influential. 

Other  persons  have  lived  in  town,  who  per- 
haps are  just  as  deserving  as  the  foregoing  ;  but 
want  of  space  forbids  an  account  of  them. 
Among  them  are  the  Biscos,  Bonds,  Barnetts, 
Bradleys,  Stephen  Rowe  (who  lived  in  towm 
from  1818  to  1830),  Burts,  Campbells,  Carpen- 
ters, Crehores,  Dunshees,  Eatons,  Evanses,  Fos- 
ters, Fishers,  Fays,  Fields,  Griswolds,  Gold- 
smith (Josiah),  Jennisons,  Johnson  (Dr.),  Kid- 
ders,  Lymans,  Lanes,  Martins,  Maynards,  Mel- 
ishes,  Putnams,  Russells,  Seavers,  Steamses, 
Starkweathers,  Townsleys,  Tudor  (Henry  S.), 
Wightmans,  Weirs,  etc. 

Walpole  to-day  (1885). — The  town  of 
Walpole  is  situated  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
Cheshire  County,  N.  H.,  and  is  about  nine 
miles  long  and  four  broad,  with  an  area  of  24,- 
331  square  acres  of  land,  about  eighty  per  cent, 
of  which  is  under  improvements,  and  more  than 


one-half  of  the  improved  land  is  arableand  of  the 
best  quality.  Its  population  in  1880  was  2018 
inhabitants,  and  would  have  been  many  less  in 
number  had  it  not  been  for  the  rapid  influx  of 
people  of  Irish  descent,  within  a  few  years,  in- 
to North  Walpole,  where  now  is  a  hamlet  of 
more  than  five  hundred  people.  The  pursuits 
of  the  people  are  principally  agricultural,  there 
being  but  little  water  power  in  town.  The  in- 
voice of  the  town,  taken  April  1,  1884,  for  the 
purpose  of  taxation,  was  $1,431,244,  including 
598  polls,  which  is  about  the  number  of  legal 
voters.  The  town  has  fourteen  school  dis- 
tricts, fifteen  school-houses  and  eighteen  schools, 
one  of  which  is  a  High  School,  and  the  expendi- 
ture for  school  purposes,  yearly,  is  about  forty- 
five  hundred  dollars.  The  number  of  scholars 
is  four  hundred  and  sixty-one,  and  the  average 
length  of  schools  is  twenty-nine  weeks.  There 
are  five  churches,  to  wit :  Orthodox,  Unitarian, 
Episcopal,  Christian  and  Roman  Catholic,  all 
of  which  have  men  of  ability  for  pastors. 

The  traveling  public  can  find  lodging  at 
four  public-houses,  buy  goods  at  five  stores  and 
get  their  mail  at  two  post-offices.  There  are 
two  lawyers,  five  doctors,  one  brewery,  doing  a 
large  business,  and  two  summer  boarding-houses, 
which  are  well  filled  during  the  hot  season. 
There  are  several  shops  of  minor  importance 
that  are  very  convenient  for  the  people, 
which  are  found  in  every  country  town.  Two 
livery-stables  furnish  fine  teams  for  the  fine 
drives  about  town,  and  for  other  purposes,  at 
reasonable  rates. 

The  soils  of  the  town  on  the  river  and  table- 
lands east  are  fluviatile,  while  back  on  the  hills 
they  are  more  tenacious,  being  a  heavy  loam, 
with  sometimes  an  admixture  of  clay  ;  most  of 
the  soils  are  arable  and  well  suited  to  all  kinds 
of  farm  crops  in  this  region.  Fruit-trees  of  all 
kinds  produce  well  but  the  peach,  which  does 
not  do  well  here  now,  but  apple  and  pear-trees 
yield  an  abundant  harvest. 

Much  of  the  town  is  superimposed  upon 
micaceous  and  argillaceous  slate.      The  rocks 


454 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


composing;  Fall  Mountain  are  gneiss,  sienite  and 
mica  slate,  merging,  in  some  places,  into  tibrolite, 
a  very  hard  formation,  which  is  almost  inde- 
structible. A  vein  of  serpentine  has  been  found 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town  and  a  bed  of 
graphite  also,  but  the  per  cent,  of  iron  is  so 
great  in  it  that  it  is  unfit  for  commercial  pur- 
puses.  Peroxide  of  iron  i-  found  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town  in  considerable  quantities.  At- 
tempts were  made  at  one  time  to  utilize  it,  but 
proved  futile.  There  is  a  fountain  of  chalyb- 
eate water.-  about  two  and  one-half  miles  north 
of  the  village,  called  "Abarakee  Springs,"  the 
name  being  derived  from  an  Indian  tribe  that 
once,  in  bygone  days,  used  to  bathe  in  its 
water-  for  cutaneous  diseases.  There  arc  a  few 
angular  and  water-worn  boulders  scattered 
about  towu  but,  only  one  of  magnitude.  The 
town  can  boast  of  a  free  library  of  well-selected 
books,  numbering  three  thousand  volumes, 
which  annually  receives  additions  and  is  well 
patronized.  It  also  has  a  savings  bank,  a  tem- 
perance lodge,  which  is  doing  much  good,  and 
a  lodge  of  Free-Masons,  which  was  established 
June  13,  l*-7,  called  "  Columbian  Lodge,  No. 
53."  The  charter  members  were  Christopher 
Lincoln,  Wm.G.Field  andJesseniah  Kittredge. 
The  charter  was  surrendered  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  during  the  Morgan  troubles  and  held  by 
it  till  1861,  when  it  was  applied  for  and  ob- 
tained by  Dr.  Jesseniah  Kittredge,  \Ym.  Mitch- 
ell. Jacob  B.  Burnham,  Dr.  Hiram  Wotkyns 
and  sixteen  others.  Dr.  Kittredge  was  elected 
Master  of  the  new  lodge  and  was  re-elected 
several  times.  The  second  Master  was  George 
Rust ;  third,  Joshua  B.  <  'lark  ;  fourth, Samuel  W. 
Bradford  ;  fifth,  Abel  I'.  Richardson  ;  sixth,  ( reo. 
G.  Harnett  ;  seventh,  ( 'nrtis  R.  Crowd  ;  eighth, 
Geo.  G.  Harnett  ;  ninth,  Abel  I*.  Richardson  ; 
tenth,  Geo.  B.  Holland;  eleventh,  Andrew  A. 
Graves;  twelfth,  Rosalvo  A.  Howard. 

A  Thief-Detecting  Society  was  established 
here  in  1816,  and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition 
now.  The  village  has  an  efficient  FireDepart- 
ment,  and  the  young   men  of  the  town   have 


formed  a  brass  band.  Geo.  B.  Williams  has  a 
fine  stock  farm,  with  a  large  herd  of  Jersey  cat- 
tle, which  it  will  richly  pay  the  curious  to  visit. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


JOSIAH   G.   GRAVES,  M.D. 

Among  the  most  honored  names  of  medical 
men  in  New  Hampshire  during  the  last  half- 
century  is  that  ofJosiah  G.Graves.  No  his- 
tory of  the  State  would  be  complete  that  did 
not  give  a  sketch  of  one  for  so  long  a  period 
identified  as  one  of  its  representative  physicians, 
and  who,  to-day,  retired  from  practice,  retains 
the  vigor  of  middle  life,  the  power  of  accurate 
thought  and  just  and  quick  conclusion,  the 
firmness  of  an  honest  and  truthful  nature  and 
the  suavity  and  courtesy  of  the  gentleman  of 
the  "old  school." 

Josiah  Griswold  Graves,  M.D.,  was  born 
July  13,  1811,  in  Walpole,  N.  H.,  one  of  the 
loveliest  villages  of  the  beautiful  Connecticut 
Valley.  His  father  was  a  well-to-do  farmer, 
and  his  mother  a  woman  of  superior  mind  and 
excellent  judgment,  who  looked  well  to  the 
ways  of  her  household,  as  did  the  notable 
women  of  that  period.  Ralph  "Waldo  Emer- 
son affirmed  that  man  is  what  the  mother  makes 
him.  Much  of  truth  as  there  undoubtedly  is  in 
that  assertion,  it  does  not  tell  the  whole  truth. 
Bast  generations,  as  well  as  the  beloved  mother, 
have  contributed  to  the  building  of  the  man. 
Physical  peculiarities,  physical  aptitudes  and 
mental  tendencies  have  been  transmitted  by  the 
ancestors,  and  in  the  case  of  this  mother  and 
son,  who  shall  say  that  the  mother's  nature, 
intensified  by  the  inheritance  of  powers  from 
progenitors  strong  physically  and  mentally,  did 
not  so  influence  the  son  as  to  make  his  successful 
career  certain  from  the  start,  forcing  him  from 
the  uncongenial  vocation  of  a  tiller  of  the  soil 


""-,. 


<7.  /yzrate 


WALPOLE. 


455 


into  a  mission  of  healing  during  a  long  range 
of  years. 

From  an  able  article  in  "  Successful  New 
Hampshire  Men  "  we  extract  as  follows  :  "Not 
having  a  fancy  for  farming,  and  thus  acting 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  father,  he  left 
home  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  with  his  mother's 
blessing  and  one  dollar  in  money,  determined 
upon  securing  an  education  and  fitting  himself 
for  the  medical  profession.  He  defrayed  the 
expenses  of  his  education  by  his  own  individual 
efforts  and  native  will  and  industry,  by  teaching 
both  day  and  evening,  and  was  remarkably  suc- 
cessful in  his  labors.  Being  a  natural  penman, 
he  also  gave  instruction  in  the  art  of  penman- 
ship." 

He  commenced  the  study  of  his  profession 
in  1829.  He  was  a  student  in  medicine  in  the 
office  of  Drs.  Adams  and  Twitchell,  of  Keene, 
and  subsequently  attended  medical  lectures  at 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  graduated  at  the  Medical 
Department  of  Williams  College  in  1834.  Af- 
terwards he  spent  six  months  in  the  office  of 
Drs.  Huntington  and  Graves  in  Lowell. 

Dr.  Graves  commenced  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  Nashua,  N.  H.,  September  15,  1834. 
At  this  time  Nashua  was  a  comparatively  young 
town.  It  was  but  a  brief  period,  however,  be- 
fore the  energy,  determination  and  superior 
medical  and  surgical  skill  of  the  young  physi- 
cian carved  out  for  him  an  extensive  practice. 
For  forty  years  he  followed  his  profession  in 
Nashua  and  the  adjoining  region  with  untiring 
assiduity  and  with  a  success  that  has  but  few 
parallels.  He  loved  his  profession  and  gave  to 
it  his  best  powers.  He  was  gifted  in  a  remark- 
able degree  with  a  keen  insight  into  the  nature 
of  disease,  and,  of  course,  his  success  was  in 
proportion  to  his  fitness  for  his  calling.  He  did 
not  need  to  be  told  symptoms ;  he  knew  by  in- 
tuition where  the  break  in  the  constitution  was 
and  how  to  rebuild  and  give  new  life.  He  was 
made  for  his  profession,  and  not  his  profession 
for  him,  which  is  too  often  the  case.  After 
several  years'  practice,  desirous  of  further  im- 


provement, he  took  a  degree  at  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia.  At  the  time  of  the  Rebellion 
the  Governor  and  Council  of  New  Hampshire 
appointed  him  a  member  of  the  Medical  Board 
of  Examiners. 

Dr.  Graves  retired  from  active  practice  in 
18-71.  He  has  been  for  many  years  a  valued 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  State  Medical 
Association.  In  1852  he  delivered  an  address 
before  that  body  on  a  subject  which  was  of  the 
greatest  moment,  and  at  that  time  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  leading  members  of  the  medical 
profession  in  all  manufacturing  centres.  This 
address  was  on  "The  Factory  System  and  its 
Influence  on  the  Health  of  the  Operatives."  It 
was  bold,  incisive  and  fearless,  and  won  high 
praise  for  the  careful  investigation  which  it 
showed,  its  exhaustive  treatment  and  its  con- 
vincing logic.  He  took  the  ground  (in  opposi- 
tion to  Dr.  Bartlett,  who  stated  that  the  death- 
rate  of  Lowell  was  less  than  the  surrounding 
towns),  that  the  young  people  went  to  the  mills, 
and  the  old  people  stayed  on  the  farms,  and  after 
a  few  years,  when  mill-life  had  broken  their 
constitutions,  the  operatives  returned  to  their 
birth-places  and  did  not  die  in  Lowell.  Much 
care  was  taken  in  the  preparation  of  the  ad- 
dress. Factory  after  factory  was  visited,  and 
hundreds  of  operatives  consulted.  The  conclu- 
sions reached  by  Dr.  Graves  were  accepted  as 
correct. 

He  has  had  a  most  remarkable  practice  in 
obstetrics,  and  has  a  complete  record  of  five 
thousand  cases.  We  give  as  an  illustration  of 
Dr.  Graves'  wonderful  accuracy  and  system  one 
fact  well  worthy  the  attention  of  all  physicians. 
From  his  first  day's  practice  he,  every  night, 
posted  his  books  for  that  day's  business  and 
now  has  the  entire  set  bound  in  fine  morocco, 
with  all  entries  in  his  own  clear  writing  and 
without  a  blot  to  mar  the  symmetry  of  the 
page.  Every  business  transaction  has  been  in- 
serted in  his  "diary,"  which  is  equal  in  accuracy 
to  that  famous  one  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and 
many  an  old  soldier  has  had  occasion  to  thank 


456 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Dr.  Graves  for  the  facts  derived  from  these 
books,  by  which  lie  has  secured  his  bounty, 
bach  pay  or  pension. 

Dr.  Graves  has  been  much  interested  in  rail- 
roads, east  and  west ;  has  been  a  director  in  the 
Nashua  and  Lowell  Railroad  and  other  roads 
He  is  a  director  in  the  Faneuil  Hall  Insurance 
Company  and  in  the  Metropolitan  Steamship 
Line,  and  is  also  connected  with  many  other 
financial  interests  of  a  comprehensive  character. 
He  has  a  business  office  in  Boston,  and  manages 
Ins  large  estate  with  as  much  foresight  and 
sagacity  as  many  younger  men.  He  has  always 
manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  application  of 
science  to  business  purposes,  believed  firmly  in 
the  financial  success  of  the  electric  light  where 
many  shrewd  men  considered  it  an  impractica- 
ble scheme,  and  was  one  of  the  earlier  investors 
in  its  stock.  His  faith  has  been  munificently 
repaid,  and  he  is  now  a  large  holder  of  the 
most  valuable  stock  in  this  field. 

From  the  first,  Dr.  Graves  has  been  in  warm 
sympathy  with  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party  as  enunciated  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  An- 
drew Jackson  and  other  leaders,  and  has  fear- 
lessly, at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances, 
champiqned  what  he  believed  to  be  for  the 
"greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,"  con- 
ceding with  a  broad  liberality  the  same  rights 
to  every  other  citizen  which  he  exercises  him- 
self. He  has  received  the  thirty-second  degree 
of  Masonry,  and  is  a  Unitarian  in  religion.  He 
believes  "  in  a  Christian  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath ;  that  Sabbath-schools  should  be  supported, 


for  on  them  rests  the  moral  safety  of  the  coun- 
try ;  that  the  '  Golden  Rule'  should  be  the 
guide  for  all  our  actions.'  " 

The  family  relations  of  Dr.  Graves  have  been 
most  felicitous.  He  married  Mary  Webster, 
daughter  of  Colonel  William  Boardman,  of 
Nashua,  in  1846.  She  was  descended  from  two 
of  the  ablest  Xew  England  families, — Webster 
and  Boardman, — and  was  a  most  estimable  and 
Christian  lady.  For  many  years  she  was  a  de- 
voted member  of  the  Unitarian  Church  and  an 
earnest  worker  in  all  good  causes.  Kind  and 
sympathetic,  courteous  to  all,  with  a  quiet  dig- 
nity and  purity  of  demeanor,  she  was  a  cher- 
ished member  of  society  and  an  exemplar  of  the 
highest  type  of  Christian  womanhood.  She 
did  December  26, 1883. 

"As  a  man,  Dr.  Graves  is  distinguished  for 
his  firmness.  His  opinions  he  maintains  with 
resoluteness  until  good  reasons  induce  him  to 
change  them.  He  means  yes  when  he  says  'yes,' 
and  no  when  he  says  'no.'  He  is  a  man  of  pos- 
itive character.  It  is  needless  to  say  that,  while 
such  a  man  always  has  enemies  (as  what  man  of 
ability  and  energetic  character  has  not?),  he  has 
firm  and  lasting  friends, — friends  from  the  fact 
that  they  always  know  where  to  find  him. 
Among  the  many  sell-made  men  whom  New 
Hampshire  has  produced,  he  takes  rank  among 
the  first,  and  by  his  indomitable  energy,  indus- 
try and  enterprise  has  not  only  made  his  mark 
in  the  world,  but  has  achieved  a  reputation  in 
his  profession  and  business  on  which  himself 
and  friends  may  reflect  with  just  pride." 


HISTORY  OF  WESTMORELAND. 


BY   WILLARD   BILL,   JR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BOUNDARIES,  GEOLOGY,  FLORA,  ETC. 

The  township  of  Westmoreland  constitutes 
one  of  the  four  towns  that  border  upon  the 
Connecticut  River  within  Cheshire  County.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  for  1460  rods  by  Wal- 
pole;  on  the  east  for  800  rods  on  Surry  and  960 
rods  on  Keene  ;  on  the  south  for  390  rods  on 
Keene  and  2524  rods  on  Chesterfield,  and  upon 
the  western  low-water  mark  of  the  Connecticut 
River  on  the  west.  Its  longitude  is  72°  27' 
west  from  Greenwich  and  latitude  42°  48' 
north.  It  is  of  irregular  outline,  owing  in 
part  to  the  serpentine  course  of  its  river  bound- 
ary. By  the  terms  of  the  Wentworth  grant, 
the  township  was  to  contain  23,040  acres  or 
equivalent  to  six  miles  square;  1040  acres  extra 
was  allowed  for  highways  and  unimprovable 
lands.  In  1769  a  portion  of  this  area — 1654 
acres,  known  as  the  "  Westmoreland  Leg,"  ex- 
tending to  the  Ashuelot  River — was  taken  by 
legislative  enactment,  with  a  portion  of  Gilsum, 
and  constituted  into  the  township  of  Surry.  Its 
surface  is  hilly,  but  it  has  a  considerable  amount 
of  intervale  laud.  For  the  most  part,  the  soil  is 
productive  and  the  town  deservedly  ranks  high 
for  agricultural  purposes.  It  has  no  elevation 
of  land  particularly  prominent  above  the  others, 
and  all  bear  a  similitude  of  general  outline. 

Geology. — Westmoreland  presents  to  the 
geological  student  a  field  of  much  interest. 
Traces  of  a  glacier  are  seen  upon  the  striated 
rocks   in    different  sections    of  the    town,  as  it 


flowed,  a  mighty  river  of  ice  at  least  one  thou- 
sand feet  in  depth  from  the  icy  throes  of  the 
north  toward  Long  Island  Sound,  moving  with 
the  velocity  of  no  more  than  twenty-five  feot 
yearly,  leaving  in  its  wake  vast  deposits  ot 
earth,  or  "  till,"  in  the  form  of  smooth,  sym- 
metrical, rounded  hills.  Round  Hill,  near 
the  house  of  Mrs.  G.  W.  Daggett,  the  Paine 
Pasture  Hill,  the  hill  north  of  the  East 
Depot,  are  good  illustrations.  These  are  called 
lenticular  hills.  Southeast  of  the  North  Depot 
is  an  eruptive  granitic  hill. 

The  valley  of  the  Connecticut  is  of  modi- 
fied drift  formation,  terraced  by  the  action  of 
the  river.  The  higher  terraces,  like  the  site  of 
F.  G.  Parker's  house,  are  some  four  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  while  the  lower 
terraces,  like  the  county  farm,  are  some  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet. 

Transported  boulders  are  occasionally  found. 
Some  of  these  are  visitors  from  Ascutney's 
stony  bosom. 

Dunes  formed  of  Champlain  sands  are  found  in 
four  different  localities.  The  most  promi- 
nent of  these  is  located  nearly  opposite  the 
dwelling-house  of  Mrs.  C.  F.  Brooks.  In  the 
southwest  part  of  the  town,  on  land  of  the  J. 
L.  Veasy  estate,  are  to  be  seen  a  series  of  in- 
verted conical  depressions  that  are  suggestive  of 
vent-holes  to  the  earth's  interior  gases  at  an 
early  age.  At  some  former  period  the  valley  of 
the  Connecticut  must  have  been  covered  with  a 
large  body  of  water  extending  from  the  Wan- 
tastiquet  barrier  upon  the  south  to  Mount  Kil- 

4f>7 


458 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


burn  upon  the  north.  Then  Partridge  Brook 
discharged  its  waters  into  the  lake  before  reach- 
ing  the  county  farm  meadow,  and  Mowed  over  a 
rocky  bed  now  plainly  to  be  seen  on  the  north 
side  of  highway,  just  west  of  the  intersection  of 
mads  near  the  C.  Q.  A.  Britton  bridge.  Near 
the  house  of  G.  J.  Bennett  is  to  be  seen  the 
suggestive  journey  of  a  huge  boulder  as  it 
traveled  unresistingly  down  the  steep  hill-side. 
The  Harvey  Pond  is  the  only  sheet  of  water  in 
the  town  that  can  be  called  a  natural  pond,  and 
this  is  of  inferior  extent.  Of  the  many  brooks 
flowing  through  the  town,  the  Partridge  Brook 
is  by  far  the  most  important,  being  the  outlet  of 
Spofford  Lake  ;  it  enjoys  the  benefit  of  a  large 
reservoir  for  its  source,  and  having  a  descent  of 
five  hundred  feet  ere  it  reaches  the  Connecticut 
River,  distant  about  six  miles,  it  furnishes 
numerous  water-powers.  It  is  not  known  how 
it  derived  its  name — a  name  given  it  previous 
to  1752. 

The  Mill  Brook  rises  in  Walpole,  flows 
through  the  East  Parish  and  empties  into  the 
Connecticut  River.  It  is  a  wild  stream,  but 
furnishes  water-power  to  a  limited  extent,  and 
was  the  first  to  be  harnessed  to  the  uses  of  man. 
Other  streams  of  lesser  size  abound  in  different 
sections  of  the  town. 

The  rocks  of  Westmoreland  belong  princi- 
pally to  the  Coos  Group,  and  consist  of  quart- 
zite,  gneiss,  mica  slate,  mica  schist,  hornblende 
rock  and  conglomerate.  Granite  is  found  in 
the  east  part,  while  quartz  is  often  seen.  In 
the  southwest  part  is  a  vein  of  molybdena. 
There,  in  IN.'}!),  Samuel  Lincoln  expended  con- 
siderable money  in  driving  a  horizontal  shaft 
into  the  ridge  of  rock,  with  the  view  of  strik- 
ing a  richer  vein  than  the  outcrop;  his  labor 
proved  to  be  unremunerative,  but  lor  years  it  has 
been  a  favorite  resort  for  specimen-seekers.  At 
the  Curtis  mine,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town, 
have  been  found  beautiful  specimens  of  fluor- 
spar. 

Flora. — The  flora  of  Westmoreland  does 
not  differ  essentially  from  that  of  neighboring 


towns.  It  was  formerly  covered  by  heavy 
forests  of  pine,  hemlock  and  the  hard  woods. 
The  pine  growing  in  the  valley  was  in  especial 
favor  with  His  Majesty,  and  reserved  by  him 
in  his  grants.  Nor  does  the  fauna  differ.  In 
early  times  wolves  were  common,  and  some- 
times troublesome,  while  bears,  panthers,  lynxes 
and  deer  were  by  no  means  rare ;  but  these  are 
now  of  the  "things  past."  Until  within  recent 
years  some  of  our  brooks  bore  evidence  of  the 
curious  handiwork  of  the  beaver,  whose  dams 
survive  their  architects  many  years.  No  veno- 
mous reptiles  have  been  known.  In  early  years 
the  shad  and  salmon  abounded  in  the  river  and 
furnished  an  abundance  of  excellent  food.  But 
that  was  long  ago.  To-day  the  smiling  face  of 
a  successful  fisherman  is,  like  angel  visits,  few 
and  far  between. 


CHAPTER    II. 

WESTMORELAND— (Continued). 

EARLY  HISTORY. 

To  the  enterprise  and  energy  of  Massachu- 
setts do  we  owe  alike  the  first  settlement  and 
the  first  incorporation  of  Westmoreland  under 
the  name  of  No.  2.  The  settlement  of  New 
England,  commencing  with  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims  in  1620  upon  Plymouth's  icy  shore, 
at  first  concentrated  around  Massachusetts  Bay, 
from  whence  it  wended  its  way  backward  and 
upward  along  the  arterial  rivers,  which  fur- 
nished the  readiest  communication  with  the 
older  towns,  and  far  the  safest.  But  in  those 
days  settlement  proceeded  painfully  slow,  and 
utterly  unlike  the  experiences  of  to-day  in  our 
Western  States.  Sixteen  years  after  the  coming 
of  the  Pilgrims,  Springfield,  Mass.,  was  settled, 
in  1  (!-">().  In  1654  it  reached  Northampton, 
and  in  1(170  Deerfield.  Three  years  more  and 
it  had  reached  Xorthfield.  Here  it  halted  in 
its  progress  up  the  river  for  fifty-one  years,  until 
1724,  when  Fort  Dummer  was  built,  a  short 
distance  north  of  the  line  that  separates  Vernon 


WESTMORELAND. 


459 


from  Brattleborough.  About  seventeen  years 
more  pass  away,  and  a  settlement  was  com- 
menced, in  1741,  in  the  present  township  of 
Westmoreland.  Thus  we  see  that  more  than  a 
century  elapsed  before  a  settlement  reached  West- 
moreland from  Spring-field,  Mass.  Let  us  sur- 
vey briefly  the  circumstances  and  enumerate 
some  of  the  impediments  in  the  way  of  more 
rapid  strides  of  civilization  upward  along  the 
most  important  water  artery  of  New  England, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut. 

The  colonies  at  this  period  were  weak  in  re- 
sources and  could  not  furnish  an  adequate  base 
of  supplies  to  meet  the  natural  necessities  of  its 
distant  frontier,  —  a  frontier  constantly  ex- 
panding, and  particularly  exposed  to  the  merci- 
less hostility  of  the  Indians,  whose  thirst  for 
blood  was  kept  constantly  inflamed  by  the  in- 
trigues of  the  French,  who  had  pushed  their 
settlements  along  the  St.  Lawrence.  During 
these  times  France  and  England  were  frequently 
enffiitred  in  warfare.  There  existed  between 
them  a  deep-rooted  national  hatred.  This  feelj- 
ing  was  brought  to  America  by  the  emigrants 
from  each  country.  Both  nations  pushed  their 
settlements  in  America  to  their  utmost  capacity. 
They  found  the  country  inhabited  by  the  red 
men.  To  them  the  French  exercised  a  wise  spirit 
of  conciliation,  and  easily  moulded  them  into 
serviceable  allies.  The  English,  unfortunately, 
pursued  a  contrary  course,  and  made  of  them 
implacable  foes.  The  English  sought  to  push 
their  settlements  from  the  south  up -the  valley; 
the  French  from  the  north,  with  their  Indian 
allies,  sought  to  heat  them  back,  and  thus  the 
valley  became  a  scene  of  imminent  danger, 
both  of  life  and  property.  Thus  was  settlement 
retarded  ;  at  times  driven  back,  now  pushed 
forward,  and,  like  a  nicely-balanced  beam,  os- 
cillated to  and  fro,  but  slowly,  yet  surely,  mov- 
ing up  the  valley. 

To  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  came  the 
problem  of  how  best  to  protect  their  frontier 
from  these  depredations.  It  was  a  problem  of 
difficult  solution.     It  was  successfully  accom- 


plished, and  in  a  way  that  furnished  the  best 
possible  protection  to  an  exposed,  well-nigh  de- 
fenseless frontier,  and  at  the  same  time  led  the 
way  to  extending  settlement  farther  back. 

At  this  time  the  settlements  along  the  valley 
of  the  Connecticut  constituted  the  extreme 
frontier.  Westward  to  the  Hudson  no  settle- 
ment broke  the  wilderness  of  unbroken  forest. 
It  was  a  long  distance  to  the  eastward  through 
the  primeval  forests  to  the  older  towns  upon 
and  near  to  the  Bay.  Trails,  marked  by  blazed 
trees,  furnished  the  only  communication  thereto. 
Nor  can  we  conceive  of  a  greater  contrast  than 
the  circumstances  of  living  then  and  at  the  pre- 
sent day.  Then  the  settler  must  keep  constant 
watch  both  by  day  and  by  n  ight.  He  1  i ved,  moved 
and  labored  under  a  cloud  of  constant  peril.  He 
needs  must  keep  his  fire-arms  within  easy  reach 
of  his  daily  toil.  Even  there,  with  the  fullest 
precaution,  he  fell  the  prey  to  some  Indian  am- 
bush, his  family  massacred  or,  worse,  led  into 
captivity  and  his  home  destroyed.  Along  the 
frontier  it  was  an  absolute  necessity  to  construct 
and  maintain  garrisons,  or  forts,  and  support  a 
body  of  soldiers,  whose  duty  was  to  scour  the 
woods  in  quest  of  lurking  savages,  and  to  repel 
attack.  This  necessity  led  to  the  first  incorpo- 
ration of  the  town,  and,  in  after-years,  settle- 
ments followed.  As  early  as  December  12, 
1727,  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  considered 
the  project  of  establishing  a  tier  of  townships 
to  the  north,  as  outposts  against  the  raids  of  the 
Indians.  No  action,  however,  was  taken,  until 
June  following,  when  it  was  voted  to  lay  out 
these  townships,  to  build  a  series  of  forts  and  to 
provide  for  each  a  small  garrison  of  troops  and 
a  cannon.  A  committee  was  chosen  to  make 
the  necessary  survey.  They  were  directed  to 
lay  out  these  towns  eight  miles  north  and  five 
miles  south  of  a  straight  Hue  running  from  the 
northeast  corner  of  Northfield  to  Dunstable 
(now  known  as  Nashua),  and  thence  up  the  Mer- 
rimack River  to  Rum  ford  (now  Concord).  This 
committee  was  directed  to  act  within  reasonable 
time.     Owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  difficulty  of  the 


460 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


work,  they  were  unable  to  report  until  January 
15,  1736.  With  their  report  they  presented  a 
recommendation  "that,  for  further  defense  and 
protection,  a  Line  of  towns  be  laid  out  from 
Rumford  to  Great  Falls  (now  known  as  Bel- 
low's Falls),  and  from  thence  on  the  cast  side  of 
the  river  to  Arlington  (now  Winchester)."  This 
recommendation  was  accepted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture. A  committee  was  chosen  to  make  the 
necessary  survey,  who  reported  November  -*')(), 
1  7.">r>.  This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  town- 
ship of  No.  2  was  thereupon  chartered. 

Nathaniel  Harris,  of  Watertown,  Mass.,  was 
appointed  to  call  the  first  meeting  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  Xo  2.  Afterwards  it  was  called 
Great  Meadow,  which  name  it  retained  until  it 
was  chartered  by  the  New  Hampshire  Legisla- 
ture, when  it  took  the  name  it  now  hears — 
Westmoreland.  The  grantees  under  the  Massa- 
elui-rtt-  charter  were  "Daniel  How.  Jethro 
Wheeler,  Thomas  ( Iiamberlain,  Moses  Wheeler) 
Harriden  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Jethro  Wheeler,  Ahner 
How,  Josiah  Foster,  Joshua  How,  Meshach 
Taylor,  Benjamin  Alldridge,  Jonathan  llil- 
drith,  Joseph  How,  Daniel  How,  Junr.,  Nathan- 
iel Wooster,  Jeremiah  Hall  "  and  possibly 
others.  I  know  of  no  record  whatever  of  any 
action  taken  by  the  grantees  of  No.  2.  The 
presumption  is  that  they  did  act,  and  that  the 
records  of  their  doings  have  been  lost.  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1737,  No  2,  with  other  townships 
adjoining,  were  placed  in  Hampshire  County, 
"  in  order  to  have  their  title  recorded,  the  King's 
peace  preserved  and  common  justice  done." 

So  far,  the  only  inhabitants  of  "No.  2  "  con- 
sisted  of  a  lew  families  of  Abenaquis,  or  Abena- 
kees  Indians,  a  small  suh-hranch  of  the  Five 
Nations.  It  is  said  the  meaning  of  this  name 
is  the  Pines.  Theirwigwams  were  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town,  on  land  now  owned  l>y  Robert 
E.  Green,  beside  a  small  brook  afterward  known 
a-  the  Wigwam  Brook.  They  remained  for  a 
brief  time  only,  and  on  terms  of  amity  with  the 
pioneer  white  settlers. 

Four  years  pass  away;  the   long  winter   is 


broken  ;  beneath  the  genial  rays  of  a  spring- 
time sun  the  ice  and  snow  had  disappeared  ; 
I md  and  leaf  gave  coloring  to  awakening 
nature,  and  the  forest  was  teeming  with  the 
songs  of  the  early  spring  birds.  It  is  the  spring 
of  17  11.  Embarked  in  four  large  bark  canoes, 
came  slow  ly  up  the  river  from  Northfield  the 
first  settlers  of  No.  2.  They  land  near  the 
month  of  a  stream  afterward  known  as  Mill 
Brook.  The  leader  of  the  four  families,  Dan- 
iel How,  selects  the  site  of  his  future  home, 
where  now  lives  Fred  G.  Parker.  Jethro 
Wheeler,  another  pioneer,  selects  the  site  for  his 
dwelling  just  north  of  the  railroad  bridge,  east 
of  the  house  of  John  (  !.  Farnhain.  The  other 
two  settlers,  Philip  Alexander  and  Thomas 
Crissen,  locate  between  these  two.  It  is  certain 
that  settlements  were  made  at  two  other  places 
in  the  township  soon  afterwards.  Peter  Hay- 
ward  settled  near  the  Ashuelot  River  in  1764. 
Upon  "Canoe  Place,"  since  known  as  Canoe 
Meadow,  father  and  son,  both  hearing  the  name 
of  Jonathan  ( !ole,  and  others,  settled  soon  after 
the  coming  of  How  and  others.  The  site  of 
Cole's  house  was  a  few  rods  south  of  the  house  of 
Abel  B.  Cole,  and  it  is  worthy  of  mention  that 
this  pitch  of  Cole  has  always  remained  in  pos- 
session of  his  descendants.  The  Cole  family 
has  been  a  prominent  one  in  the  town  af- 
fairs in  every  generation.  A  few  rods  north, 
upon  land  of  George  R.  Perry,  was  built  a 
block-house,  to  which  the  settlers  upon  this 
meadow  and  vicinity  could  flee  for  refuge  in 
times  of  danger.  The  first  mention  we  find  of 
"  (  anoc  Place"  is  in  a  diary  of  Captain  Kel- 
loffff,  who  was  commanding  at  Northfield  No- 
vember  •'!«>,  1724. 

Tradition  attributes  the  origin  of  the  name 
from  the  custom  of  the  Indians  to  secrete  their 
canoes  in  the  ravine  near  its  southerly  extrem- 
ity. This  meadow  was  a  famous  spot  for  the 
Indians,  and  was  one  of  their  camping-grounds 
on  their  journeys  up  and  down  the  river.  Here 
game  of  all  kinds  abounded  ;  here  food  was 
easy  to  obtain  and  of  good  variety;  and  this 


WESTMORELAND. 


461 


spot  naturally  became  a  favorite  resting-place 
for  the  red  man.  Upon  the  west  the  river 
abounded,  in  those  early  days,  with  shad  and 
salmon  ;  on  the  south  the  mountain  resounded 
with  the  peculiar  notes  of  the  wild  turkey. 
Hence  the  origin  of  its  name.  The  brooks  were 
teeming  with  innumerable  trout  leaping  in  the 
summer  sun,  and  the  curious  beaver  busily  plied 
his  unique  workmanship,  while  through  the 
forest  gamboled  the  active  deer. 

The  block-house,  as  constructed  in  those 
early  times,  was  more  suggestive  of  strength 
than  of  architectural  beauty.  They  were  built 
of  logs,  or,  rather,  squared  timbers,  laid  hori- 
zontally one  above  the  other  in  the  shape  of  an 
oblong  or  square,  and  locked  together  at  the 
angles  in  a  manner  of  a  log  cabin.  This  struc- 
ture was  rooted  and  furnished  with  loop-holes 
on  every  side,  through  which  to  observe  and  at- 
tack  the  enemy.  The  upper  story  usually  pro- 
jected over  the  lower,  and  underneath  this  pro- 
jection other  loop-holes  were  cut  to  enable  those 
within  to  fire  down  on  the  assailants  in  case  ojf 
a  close  approach. 

Of  a  similar  construction  were  the  houses  of 
Daniel  How  and  Jonathan  Cole,  and  their  re- 
spective associates.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
portions  of  Howe's  block-house  are  now  in 
existence,  preserved  intact  from  the  mutations 
of  time.  Howe's  house  was  stockaded  by  hav- 
ing a  circle  of  logs  around  it,  set  upright  in  the 
ground,  for  the  purposes  of  defense. 

In  1744  war  broke  out  between- France  and 
England.  War  between  these  nations  was  al- 
ways attended  by  a  renewal  of  Indian  hostilities. 
The  valley  of  the  Connecticut  River  became  the 
scene  of  pillage  and  of  murder.  It  was  at  once 
utterly  unsafe  for  the  scattered  settlers  of  No.  2 
to  reside  in  their  respective  homes.  Accord- 
ingly, the  settlers  of  No.  2,  Putnev  and  West- 
minster  united  to  build  a  stockaded  fort  upon 
the  Great  Meadow,  in  Putney,  upon  the  site 
of  the  house  formerly  owned  by  Colonel 
Thomas  White,  near  the  landing  of  the  ferry. 
Leading  to  this  ferry  (the  first  one  in  town)  was 


a  road  to  the  Howe  settlement.  This  fort  was 
named  Fort  Hill.  It  was  of  oblong  form, 
eighty  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  built  of 
yellow  pine  timber  hewed  six  inches  thick  and 
laid  up  about  ten  feet  high.  Fifteen  dwellings 
were  erected  within  it,  the  wall  of  the  fort  form- 
ing; the  back  wall  of  the  houses.  These  were 
covered  with  a  single  roof,  which  slanted  up- 
ward to  the  top  of  the  wall  of  the  fort.  In  the 
centre  of  the  inclosure  was  a  hollow  square,  on 
which  all  the  houses  fronted.  On  the  north- 
east and  southwest  cornel's  of  the  fort  watch- 
towers  were  placed.  A  great  gate  opened  on 
the  south,  toward  the  river,  and  a  smaller  one 
toward  the  west.  The  fort  was  generally  gar- 
risoned by  ten  or  twelve  men.  A  cannon  was 
furnished  by  the  Massachusetts  government 
that  survived  the  fort  many  years.  On  a  cer- 
tain Fourth  of  July  occasion,  within  the 
memory  of  many  of  our  older  citizens,  this  old 
cannon  was  "  brought  out "  at  the  South  village 
by  the  boys,  to  utter  its  voice  in  celebrating  the 
trlories  of  the  day.  It  was  loaded  excessively 
and  wadded  with  grass,  sand  and  various  other 
materials  suggested  to  the  fertile  imagination  of 
boyhood.  Upon  being  fired  it  exploded,  and  a 
fragment  of  the  cannon  was  embedded  in  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Burcham.  Upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  fort  several  of  the  inhabitants  of 
No.  2  joined  the  garrison.  These  were  David 
How,  Thomas  Chamberlain,  Isaac  Chamber- 
lain, Joshua  Warner  and  son,  Daniel  Warner, 
wife  and  son,  Harrison  Wheeler,  Samuel 
Minot,  Benjamin  Aldridge  and  his  son  George, 
who  afterward  became  a  general.  Colonel  Jo- 
siah  Willard,  who  owned  the  meadow,  gave  the 
use  of  the  land  as  a  consideration  for  building 
the  fort  and  defending  it  during  the  war.  The 
land  was  portioned  out  to  each  family,  and  the 
families  were  accustomed  to  work  on  their  farms 
in  company,  that  they  might  be  better  prepared 
to  assist  one  another  in  the  event  of  a  surprise 
by  the  enemy,  it  was  no  rare  event  to  hear 
the  shouts  of  the  Indians  in  its  vicinity  during 
the  night.     At  one  time  they  laid  an  ambush  at 


462 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  north  end  of  the  meadow;  but  the  settlers, 
who  were  at  work  on  an  adjacent  island,  were 
fortunate  in  being-  warned  by  a  dog  of  their 
presence,  and  escaped  in  a  direction  contrary  to 
that  by  which  they  had  come. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  1  7-b">,  a  party  of  Ooron- 
dax  Indians,  from  Canada,  appeared  upon  the 
meadow.  William  Phips,  an  inhabitant  of 
Great  Meadow,  as  he  was  hoeing  corn 
near  the  southwest  comer,  was  surprised  and 
captured  by  two'of  these  Indians  and  carried 
into  the  woods  to  the  west.  While  ascending: 
the  steep  hill-side,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
tori,  one  of  his  captors  returned  for  something 
left,  leaving  the  prisoner  in  charge  of  his  com- 
rade. Watching  his  opportunity,  Phips  struck 
down  his  captor  with  his  hoe,  which  he  had  re- 
tained, and,  seizing  the  gun  of  the  prostrate 
savage,  shot  the  other  as  he  was  ascending  the 
hill.  Phips  thereupon  stalled  for  the  fort,  but 
before  reaching  it  was  seized  by  three  others  of 
the  same  party,  killed  and  scalped. 

Phips, but  a  short  time  previous, had  married 
Jemima  Sartwell,  daughter  of  the  owner  of 
SartwelFs  Fort,  a  lady  whose  beauty,  goodness 
and  sufferings  afterwards  come  down  to  us, 
through  the  mists  of  many  years,  as  "  The  Fair 
Captive." 

On  the  12th  of  October  following  a  body  of 
French  and  Indians  attacked  the  fori  at  mid- 
day. A  brisk  light  was  carried  on  for  an  hour 
and  a  half.  One  Indian  was  known  to  have 
been  killed,  and,  doubtless,  others,  as  it  was 
the  custom  of  the  Indians  to  conceal  their  dead. 
The  fort  was  defended  with  so  much  spirit  that 
the  enemy  were  not  able  to  take  it  or  materially 
to  injure  it. 

They  killed  however  or  drove  away  nearly 
all  the  cattle  in  the  vicinity.  Nehemiah  I  low, 
who  was  chopping  wood  about  eighty  rods  from 
the  fort,  was  taken  by  the  Indians  as  they  came. 
His  capture  was  effected  in  full  sightof  the  fort, 
but  it  would  have  endangered  the  lives  of  all  in 
the  garrison  to  attempt  a  rescue.  A.S  they  were 
leading  him  away  by  the  sideof  the  river  they  per- 


ceived a  canoe  approaching  containing  two  men. 
Firing,  they  killed  one  of  them,  David  Rugg, 
but  tin1  other,  Robert  Baker,  made  for  the  oppo- 
site shore  and  escaped.  All  three  of  these 
men  belonged  to  the  garrison.  Proceeding  far- 
ther, they  passed  three  other  men,  who,  by 
skulking  under  the  bank,  reached  the  fort  in 
safety.  One  of  them  was  Caleb  How,  the 
prisoner's  son.  Arriving  opposite  to  Number 
Four  they  compelled  their  captive  to  write  his 
name  on  a  piece  of  bark  and  there  left  it.  After 
traveling  seven  days  to  the  westward  they  came 
to  a  lake,  where  they  found  five  canoes  laden 
with  corn,  pork  and  tobacco.  Suspending  the 
scalp  of  David  Pugg  upon  a  pole,  they  em- 
barked in  the  canoes  and  proceeded  to  Crown 
Point,  from  whence  How  was  taken  to  Quebec, 
where  he  died.  Belknap,  in  his  History  of 
New  Hampshire,  speaks  of  him  "as  an  useful 
man,  greatly  lamented  by  his  friends  and  fellow- 
captives/'  Soon  after  these  occurrences  the  fort 
was  evacuated  and  went  to  decay.  While  a 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  hostile  powers  was 
signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  7,  174S,  the 
natural  ferocity  of  the  Indians  had  become  so  in- 
flamed that  they  kept  up  their  forages  into  the  next 
season.  Meantime  the  long  contention  between 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  respecting 
their  boundary  line,  having  been  decided  by 
the  King,  and  thereby  a  large  slicesevered  from 
the  former  and  given  to  the  latter  province,  in- 
cluding the  township  of  Number  Two,  created 
the  necessity  of  a  new  charter  from  the  New 
Hampshire  government.  Upon  the  close  of 
war  settlement  was  rapid.  At  Portsmouth,  in 
the  Council  chamber,  on  February  10,1752, 
were  assembled  the  Governor  and  his  Council. 
The  business  that  called  them  together  was  the 
consideration  of  sundry  petitions  from  various 
towns  lately  severed  from  the  Old  Pay  State, 
praying  for  incorporation  under  the  New 
Hampshire  government.  Amongthem  was  one 
signed  by  Daniel  How  and  Thomas  Chamber- 
lainand  others  from  Number  Two. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  their  petition  : 


WESTMORELAND. 


463 


"  The  Petition  of  the  Subscribers  hereunto  most 
humbly  Shews — That  sundry  of  your  Petitioners, 
Sometime  viz,  about  Seven  years  before  the  last  Indian 
War,  Settled  under  the  massachusets  at  a  place  call'd 
Number  Two  laying  on  the  East  side  of  Connecticut 
River  about  fourteen  miles  above  Port  Dummer 
(which  by  the  late  Running  of  the  Boundary  line  be- 
tween New  Hampshire  and  the  Province  of  massa- 
chusets Bay  falls  within  the  Province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire) where  they  layd  out  their  substance  and  that 
at  their  own  cost  and  Charge  for  their  Defence  against 
the  French  and  Indian  Enemy  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  River  they  built  a  Fort — that  after  the  Indian 
War  broke  out  they  were  obliged  to  leave  their  Hab- 
itations and  lost  Considerable  of  their  Substance — 
that  since  the  late  Peace  with  the  Indians  they  have 
returned  to  the  sd  Place  That  Sundry  of  your  Peti- 
tioners are  Children  of  Such  as  Set  down  at  said 
place  at  first  and  expended  their  money  in  making 
the  first  settlement  there — That  your  Petitioners  have 
been  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  Pounds  old  Tenr 
Charge  the  last  fall  in  making  and  Clearing  Roads — 
That  as  they  have  No  Incorporation — They  labour 
under  Insuperable  Difficulty  not  being  in  a  Capacity 
to  raise  any  Moneys  for  any  public  use  or  service — 
And  That  unless  they  are  enabled  so  to  do,  they 
shall  be  under  an  unavoidable  necessity  of  leaving 
the  said  place  and  thereby  loosing  all  they  have  been 
out  there — 

"  Wherefore  your  Petitioners  most  humbly  pray 
your  Excellency  and  Honours  to  make  a  Grant  of  the 
sd  Tract  of  land  called  Number  two  to  your  Petitioners 
And  such  others  as  your  Excellency  and  Honours 
shall  think  proper  so  as  to  make  up  the  number 
sixty  four  in  all — and  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty 
bound  shall  pray  &c 

"Jan^  30:,h  1 750 

"  Dan  i  el  Ho  w  William  Mo<  >r 

Jethro  Wheeler  Joshua  HoW 

Thos  Chamberlain  Beniamin  Knights 

Amos  Davies  Silas  Brown 

Amos  Davis  juif  meshach  Taylor 

Jonas  Davis  John  Alexander 

Samuel  Davis  Daniel  Shattuck  Sener 

Ebenezer  Davis  Enoch  Hall 

moses  Wheeler  Simon  Hall 

isaac  chamberlain  Thomas  Chamberlain 

Josiah  Chamberlen  Joshua  Chambrlain 
Hariden  Wheeler  Junr      jedidiah  Chamberlain 

Jethro  Wheeler  Job  Chamberlain 

Simeon  Knight  Aaron  Davis 

martin  Severance  beniaman  alldridge 

John  Brown  Jonathan  hildrith 


Abner  How 
Josiah  Foster 
Samuel  Foster 
michal  gibson 
John  Sheilds 
Danil  Sheilds 


Joseph  How 
Daniel  How  Junr 
Nathaniel  Woods 
Jeremiah  Hall 
Isaac  Stone 


"  Severall  of  them  have  2  &  3  rights  apeice  there- 
fore they  have  Entred  Some  of  their  Children  as 
Chandler  How  Wheeler  &ca 

"Mem0 

"  Maj  Willard 

"  Coll  Willard  5  Rights 

"Maj1  ffowle-3  rights 

"Philip  alexander  an  original  Grantee  &  Settler 

"  rieha  Ward  an  old  Grantee  to  be  Entred 

This  petition  was  forwarded  to  the  Governor 
and  his  Council  in  1750. 

The  charter  was  granted  February  12,  1752. 

The  prayer  of  this  petition  alike  with  the 
others  was  granted,  and  Number  Two  received 
a  new  incorporation  under  the  name  of  West- 
moreland, in  honor  of  Lord  Westmoreland,  an 
intimate  friend  of  Governor  Wentworth. 

THE   CHARTER. 

"Province  of  New  Hampshire,  George  the  second. 
(Seal).  By  the  Grace  of  God,  Great  Brittain,  France 
and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  ye  faith,  &c.  To  all 
Persons  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come. 

Greeting:  Know  ye.  That  we  of  our  special  grace, 
certain  knowlidge  and  mere  motion,  For  ye  due  En- 
couragement of  settling  a  New  plantation  within  our 
said  Province  By  and  with  ye  advice  of  our  trusty  and 
well  beloved  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq.  our  Govenor 
and  Commander-in-Chief  of  our  said  Province  of  New 
Hampshire  in  America  and  of  our  Council  of  ye  said 
Province  have  upon  the  conditions  and  Reservations 
hereinafter  made  given  and  granted  and  by  these 
Presents  for  us  our  Heirs  and  successors  Do  give  and 
grant  in  equal  shares  unto  our  loving  subjects  Inhabit- 
ants of  our  said  Province  of  New  Hampshire  and  his 
Majesty's  other  governments  and  to  their  Heirs  and 
assigns  forever  whose  Names  are  Entered  on  this 
grant  to  be  divided  to  and  amongst  them  into  seventy- 
two  equal  shares.  All  that  Tract  or  Parcel  of  land 
situate  lying  and  being  within  our  Province  of  New 
Hampshire  containing  by  admeasurement  Twenty- 
three  tltom-and  ami  forty  acres  which  Tract  is  to  con- 
tain six  miles  square  and  no  more,  out  of  which  an 
allowance  is  to  be  made  for  Highways  and  unini- 
proveable  Lands,  Rocks,  Mountains,  Ponds  and  Rivers 


464 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


one  Thousand  and  Forty  acres  free,  according  to  a 
plan  thereof  made  and  presented  hy  our  said  Gover- 
nor's orders  and  hereunto  annexed.  Butted  and 
Bounded  as  follows,  viz. :  Beginning  at  a  stake  and 
stones  at  the  Northerly  corner  of  Chesterfield  and 
running  from  thence  South  seventy-fight  degrees 
East  hy  Chesterfield  to  a  stake  and  stones  in  Ashuelot 
Line;  from  thence  Northerly  hy  Ashuelot  Line  to  ye 
Northwest  corner  of  ye  upper  Ashuelot  (so  called) ; 
thence  North  eighty-five  degrees  East  Four  miles  to 
a  stake  and  stones ;  from  thence  North  hy  ye  Needle 
so  far  as  that  line  runs  parellel  with  ye  first  men- 
tioned Line,  will  include  between  Connecticut  River 
and  ye  Easterly  Line  aforesaid,  the  Contents  of  six 
miles  square  and  if  ye  same  he  and  is  incorporated 
into  a  township  hy  the  name  of  Westmoreland  and 
that  the  Inhabitants  ye  do  or  shall  hereafter  inhabit 
said  township— are  hereby  declared  to  be  Enfran- 
chised with  and  intitled  to  all  and  every  the  Privi- 
leges and  Immunities  ye  other  Towns  within  our  said 
Province  by  Law  exercise  and  enjoy,  and  further 
that  the  said  Town  as  soon  as  there  shall  he  Fifty 
Families  Resident  and  settled  thereon  shall,  have  ye 
Liberty  of  holding  Two  Pairs  one  of  which  shall  he 

held  on  ye and  ye  other  on  ye annually 

which  Fairs  are  not  to  continue  and  he  held  longer 
than  ye  respective  days  following  the  said  respective 
Days  and  as  soon  as  ye  said  Town  shall  consist  of 
Fifty  Families  a  Market  shall  he  opened  and  kept  one 
or  more  days  in  each  week  as  may  he  thot  most  advan- 
tageous to  the  Inhabitants,  also  that  ye  first  Meeting 
for  ye  Choice  of  Town  officers  agreeable  to  ye  Laws  of 
our  said  Province  shall  he  held  on  ye  second  Wednes- 
day in  March  next,  which  meeting  shall  he  notified 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Chamberlain  who  is  hereby  also  ap- 
pointed ye  moderator  of  ye  said  first  meeting  which 
he  is  to  notify  and  govern  agreeable  to  the  haws  and 
customs  of  <>ur  said  Province  and  ye  annual  Meeting 
forever  hereafter  for  ye  choice  of  Such  officers  of  said 
town  shall  be  OH  the  second  Wednesday  in  March 
annually.  To  have  ami  to  hold  the  said  Tract  of  Land 
as  above  expressed  together  with  all  the  Priviledges 
and  appurtenances  to  them  ami  their  respective  Heirs 
and  assigns  forever  upon  the  following  conditions, 
viz.:  That  every  Grantee  bi8  Heirs  or  assigns  shall 
plant  or  cultivate  five  acres  of  Land  within  ye  Term 
of  five  years  for  every  Fifty  acres  contained  in  his  or 
their  share  or  Proportion  of  Land  in  said  Township 
and  continue  to  improve  and  settle  ye  same  by  addi- 
tional cultivations  on  Penalty  of  ye  Forfeiture  of  his 
grant  or  share  in  ye  said  Township  and  its  reverting 
to  hi-  Majesty  his  Heirs  and  successors  to  be  by  him 
or  them  regranted  to  such  of  his  subjects  as  shall 


effectually  settle  and  cultivate  ye  same.  That  all 
white  and  other  Pine  Trees  within  ye  said  Township 
tit  for  Masting  our  Royal  Navy  he  carefully  preserved 
for  that  use  and  none  to  he  cut  or  felled  without  his 
Majesty's  special  License  for  so  doing  first  had  and 
obtained  upon  ye  Penalty  of  the  Forfeiture  of  ye 
Right  of  such  grantee  his  heirs  or  assigns  to  us  our 
Heirs  and  Successors  as  well  as  being  subject  to  the 
penalty  of  any  act  or  acts  of  Parliament  yt  now  are  or 
hereafter  shall  he  enacted.  That  before  any  Division 
of  ye  said  Lands  be  made  to  and  amongst  ye  grantees, 
a  tract  of  Land  as  near  ye  centre  of  ye  Township  as 
ye  Land  will  admit  of,  shall  be  reserved  and  marked 
out  for  Town  Lotts  one  of  which  shall  he  allotted  to 
each  grantee  of  ye  contents  of  one  acre,  yielding  and 
paving  therefor  to  us  our  Heirs  and  successors  for  ye 
space  of  Ten  years  to  be  computed  from  ye  date  here- 
of, the  Rent  of  one  ear  of  Indian  corn  only,  on  the 
first  day  of  January  annually  if  lawfully  Demanded, 
The  first  Payment  to  he  made  on  ye  first  Day  of 
January  next  following  ye  Date  hereof.  Every  Pro- 
prietor, Settler  or  Inhabitant  shall  yield  and  pay  unto 
us  our  Heirs  and  successors  yearly,  and  every  year 
forever  from  and  after  ye  expiration  of  ye  ten  years 
from  ye  Date  hereof  namely,  on  ye  First  Day  of 
January  which  will  he  on  ye  year  of  our  Lord  Christ 
One  thousand  seven  Hundred  and  sixty-two,  One 
shilling  Proclamation  money  for  every  Hundred  aires 
he  owns,  settles  or  Possesses  and  so  in  Proportion  for 
a  greater  or  Lessor  Tract  of  ye  said  land  which  money 
shall  be  paid  by  ye  Respective  Persons  abovesaid 
their  Heirs  or  assigns  in  our  Council  Chamber  in 
Portsmouth  or  to  such  officer  or  officers  as  shall  be 
appointed  to  receive  the  same  and  this  to  be  in  Lieu 
of  all  other  Rents  and  services  whatsoever.  In  Testi- 
mony hereof  we  have  caused  ye  seal  of  our  said  Prov- 
ince to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Witness,  Penning  Went- 
worth,  Esq.,  our -Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief 
of  our  said  Province  the  Twelfth  day  of  Feb17  in  ye 
year  of  our  Lord  Christ  1752  and   in  ye  25th  year  of 


our  Reign. 


B.    Wl'.NTWoRTH. 


"By   his    Excellency's   Command    with  advice   of 
Council. 

"Theodore  Atkinson,  sWi/." 

The  Dailies  of  the  grantees  of  Westmoreland 

are  as  follows  : 

'Thomas  Chamberlain,  Benja.  Aldridge,  Daniel 
How,  Jethro  Wheeler,  Daniel  How,  Jun'r,  Caleb 
How,  Abner  How,  Josiah  Willard,  Oliver  Willard, 
Samuel  How,  John  Arms,  Valentine  Butler,  Samson 
Willard,  John   Fowl,  .lames  Fowl,  Nathaniel  Woods, 


WESTMORELAND. 


465 


Jeremiah  Hall,  Timothy  Harrington,  Josiah  Foster, 
Edward  How,  Samuel  Minot,  John  Fowl,  Jur.,  Philip 
Alexander,  Richard  Ward,  Nathaniel  Harris,  Corne- 
lius White,  Ebenezer  Turner,  Samuel  Livermore, 
Samuel  Williams,  Moses  Hastens,  John  Chandler, 
Simeon  Alexander,  Ebenezer  Hubbard,  Joseph  Har- 
ington,  John  Rugg,  Thomas  marshal,  Ebenezer  Hins- 
dale, Samuel  Hunt,  John  Alexander,  Enoch  Hall, 
William  Moor,  Jethro  Wheeler,  Ju'r.,  Fairbanks 
Moor,  Ju'r.,  Joseph  Bellows,  Herridon  Wheeler,  Isaac 
Chamberlain,  Josiah  Chamberlain,  Joshua  Chamber- 
lain, Amos  Davis,  Jedediah  Chamberlen,  Jonathan 
Cole,  Mical  Gilson,  Simeon  Knights,  John  Brown, 
William  How,  Jonathan  Cummings,  Ju'r.,  John 
Chamberlain,  John  Taylor,  Daniel  Pearce,  His  Ex- 
cellency Benning  Wentworth,  Esq.,  one  tract  of  land 
to  contain  Five  Hundred  acres  which  is  to  be  ac- 
counted two  of  ye  said  shares,  one  whole  share  for  in- 
corporated Society  for  ye  Propagation  of  ye  Gospel  in 
foreign  parts,  One  whole  share  for  the  first  settled 
minister  of  ye  gospel  in  said  Town,  One  whole  share 
for  a  Glebe  for  the  ministry  of  ye  Church  of  England 
as  by  law  established.  Samuel  Wentworth,  of  Boston  ; 
Theodore  Atkinson,  Richard  Samuel  Smith,  John 
Downing,  Samson  Sheaffe,  John  Wentworth,  Ju'r., 
Esq.,  Stephen  Chace,  of  New  Castle." 

Of  these  grantees  we  have  very  limited  knowl- 
edge. It  is  certain,  howe'ver,  that  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  them  were  ever  actual  settlers.  A  num- 
ber of  names  were  placed  in  the  list  of  grantees 
in  reward  for  public  and  military  services. 
Others  were  included  through  favoritism,  and 
other  reasons,  no  doubt.  The  grant  was  not 
satisfactory  to  the  petitioners,  inasmuch  as  it  did 
not  include  as  much  territory  as  the  old  grant 
of  No.  2  by  some  eight  square  miles.  A  strip 
two  miles  wide  and  four  long  was"  severed  from 
its  northern  boundary  and  included  in  the  grant 
to  the  Walpole  petitioners.  April  29,  1752, 
the  following  petition  was  forwarded  to  the 
Governor,  but  without  avail : 

"May  it  please  your  Excellency  with  the  Honour- 
able Counsil  to  Condesend  to  hear  the  humble  Pete- 
tion  of  the  Propriators  and  Inhabitants,  of  the  Town 
of  Westmorland. 

"  The  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Enjoying  the 
land  on  this  part  of  this  River  which  they  then 
Claim'd  as  their  property,  consonant  with  which  sup- 
posed Title  wee  petetioned  for  this  Township,  and  be- 
ing granted,  wee  immediatly  proceeded  to  a  Settlement 


about  Fourteen  years  since,  when  by  the  Running  the 
Line  of  the  Provinces  wee  fell  within  the  Limmittsof 
your  Excellences  Government,  and  by  Renewed  Pe- 
tition made  to  Your  Excellency  for  a  Renewed  grant 
of  the  Land,  wee  have  been  favour'd  with  the  same, 
but  as  wee  Suspect  not  according  to  the  Intention  of 
Your  Excellency  and  Honourable  Counsil,  for  Major 
Willard  and  Mr  Bellows  hath  not  Conform'd  to  our 
Original  Grant  from  the  Massachusetts  nor  according 
to  our  Intention,  which  was  to  abide  by  our  Original 
Lines,  which  are  at  present  destroy'd,  for  the  upper 
line  is  removed  near  Two  milles  lower  down  the  River 
from  whence  our  grant  first  took  place,  in  which  lay 
our  Meadows  or  entervails,  with  our  second  divisions 
and  all  our  Improvements  on  them  whith  the  best 
part  of  our  land  and  extending  our  line  two  milles 
lower  down  Includeing  barren  and  Rockey  Hills,  no 
ways  commoding  the  town,  and  then  stretching  the 
Line  upon  the  north  side  of  the  Upper  ashawhelock, 
which  Jeaves  us  the  barren  land  and  mountains  be- 
twixt us,  which  Lyeth  so  far  distant  from  the  Body  of 
the  Town,  that  will  never  Commode  the  same,  and 
these  our  Grievances  wee  fear  will  disable  this  town, 
either  for  the  maintaining  the  Gospel,  or  sufficient 
Inhabitants  to  withstand  the  Indians,  now  wee  pray- 
eth  for  the  Restoration  and  Confirmation  of  our  Orig- 
inal Lines. 

"  Wee  would  advertise  your  Excellency  and  the 
Honble  Counsil  that,  when  Mr  Bellows  went  with  a  Pe- 
tetion  for  Nobr  3  Called  walpole,  he  enter'd  a  number 
of  names  leaving  out  the  names  of  the  Old  propriaty 
of  that  Town,  and  particularly  them  that  had  Cleard 
part  of  their  land,  and  built  also,  Offering  them  but 
Eaqual  Encouragement  with  others  never  labouring 
there,  and  depriving  them  of  their  labour  without  sat- 
isfaction for  the  Same,  and  he  went  in  with  his  Peti- 
tion which  being  granted  him,  he  is  suppos'd  to  have 
purchas'd  of  them  whose  names  were  inserted  for  a 
Small  Consideration,  and  now  will  give  but  the  small 
Encouragement  of  fifty  Acres  of  Upland  to  each  Set- 
tler, without  any  Entervail,  and  this  Prejudices  people 
against  settleng  there,  having  before  interrupted  the 
former  propriarty  in  their  Settleing  and  now  discour- 
aging them  after  great  expence,  which  wee  fear  will 
be  Very  detrimental  to  the  Settleing  of  his  and  our 
Town— 

"  Neither  petetion  we  for  the  additional  grant  of  any 
other  land  particularly  the  farm  formerly  granted  to 
Lieutenant  Govr  Taylor  but  only  for  the  bair  Lines 
which  wee  Enjoyd  until  the  late  Lines  were  Ran  by 
the  fore  mentioned  Gentlemen — 

"  We  would  further  Certifie  Your  Excelency  and 
the  Honble  Counsil  that  we  ware  the  first  petetioners 


466 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


for  land  on  this  River,  and  have  suffer'd  the  greatest 
Losses  from  the  enemy  by  fire  and  Sword,  and  have 
hitherto  stood  the  Heat  and  burthen  of  the  day,  and 
at  last  to  be  undone  without  the  knowledge  of  Your 
Excellency  together  with  the  honble  Counsil,  who  if 
truly  knowing  and  fully  understanding  I  he  same,  wee 
hope  from  your  now  Goodness  and  Clemency  will  re- 
dress these  our  present  difficulties  which  wee  groan 
under  and  which  is  submitted  By  Your  Excellem-vs 
humble  Petitioners,  who  as  in  duty  hound  will  ever 
( lontinue  to  pray  for  you. — 
"  In  the  name  and  by  the 


( !onsenl  of  the  Inhabitants 


:   D  \mi;i,   How 

!  Jethro  Wheeleb 


oc  propriators  on  the  Spot, 

"Benjamin  Aldridge  Joshua  Chamberlin 

Amos  Davis  Jehediah  Chamberlin 

Thomas  Chamberlin  Caleb  How 

Daniel  How  Juur  Samuel  How 

John  Warner  Edward  How 

Jethro  Wheeler  Ju'  Aimer  How 

Berrodiam- Wheeler  Simeon  Alexander 

Isaac  Chamberlin  Phillip  Alexander 

"P,  S,  Mr  Bellows  hath   Layd  out  his  Town  about 

Nine  Milles  long  on  the  River  but  four  milles  wide  at 
the  Lower  end,  and  but  three  milles  wide  at  the  upper 
end — 

"And  the  four  milles  wide,  A:  Two  .Milles  in  length 
is  rundown  in  to  our  town  that  is  the  Occasion  of  our 
Grief— 

"Westmoreland  April  the  29th  17o2." 

However  favorable  the  conditions  of  the 
grunt  may  have  been,  still,  owing  to  the  un- 
settled condition  of  the  times,  the  depredations 
of  the  Indians,  and  other  causes,  the  grantees 
were  unable  to  fulfill  the  conditions  of  the 
charter,  and,  upon  petition,  the  grant  was  ex- 
tended dune   11,1  7b<>. 

'flie  survey  of  tin'  town  was  made  by  Caleb 
Willard  under  the  supervision  of  Joseph  Bel- 
lows, of  Walpole,  and  Josiah  Willard,  of  Win- 
chester, ami  a  plan  of  the  same  drawn  and  com- 
pleted March  is,  1752.  By  referring  to  the 
plan,  the  reader  will  observe  that  the  out- 
line of  the  town  is  about  the  same  to-day 
as  when  lir-t  surveyed.  The  town,  as  first  sur- 
vived, extended  from  the  Connecticut  to,  and 
even  across,  the  Ashuelot  River. 

In  compliance  with  the  conditions  of  the 
charter,  the  proprietors  of  the  town  laid  out  the 


"  town   lots  "  cast  of  the  house  where    formerly 
( laptain  Prentiss   Daggett  lived,  now  owned  by 


Divididing  tine  Between 
I^VestmoretandS  Wdlpute 
J±hJesJU0jhda 


JJivididing  Lina  Between  ^c. 


•sterfield^ 

•  nB  Betw 
Chesterfield!.  Westmoreland 


%*  211 'Rods. 


ft- 


Albert Chickering.      It  is  now  a  pasture  and  is 

known  as  the  seventy-acre  lot.  Tradition 
speaks  of  only  one  bouse  having  been  built  up- 
on it.  This  lay-out,  however,  was  simply  to 
make  their  title  good  by  fulfilling  the  condi- 
tions  of  the  charter.  The  proprietors  of  the 
town  bad  their  own  views  as  to  the  proper  lo- 
cation of  the  town  lots,  and  proceeded  to  carry 
them  out  by  laying  out  an  eight-rod  road  or 
street,  extending  from  Partridge  Brook  to  Wal- 
pole town  line.  This  street  was  narrowed  to 
four  rods  in  1786.  Its  general  course  was 
nearly  on  the  line  of  the  present  highway  run- 
ning over  Park  Hill  ;  thence  north  of  the  house 
of  Clarissa  Chickering,  east  of  the  present  high- 
way, by  the  bouse  formerly  occupied  by  D. 
Livingstone  and  by  the  house  of  1\.  T.  Aldrich. 
As  first  laid  out,  the  lots  contained  ten  acres 
each;  but  this  did  not  take  all  the  land  fronting 
upon  the  street,  so,  at  a  proprietors'  meeting, 
March  31,  1752,  it  was  voted  to  double  these  lots, 
making  twenty  acres  in  each.  A  few  house  lots 
were;  laid  out  in  other  portions  of  the  town. 
The  tier  of  north  lots  extended  to  the  meadow 
hit-.  In  the  subdivision  of  the  town  each  pro- 
prietor, there  being  seventy-two,  had  a  pitch  lot 


WESTMORELAND. 


467 


of  one  hundred  acres,  a  meadow  lot  and  a  house 
lot,  both  of  twenty  acres  each,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  common  land.  After  making 
the  seventy-two  divisions,  even  with  the  gener- 
ous extras  for  roads  and  waste  lands,  it  was 
found  that  there  were  some  surplus  lands  left; 
these  were  sold  at  "  vendue."  As  settlement 
preceded  the  survey,  the  town  was  very  irregu- 
larly subdivided.  It  was  not  deemed  best  to 
interfere  with  pitches  already  made.1  The 
proprietors  chose  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Daniel  How,  Jethro  Wheeler,  Thomas  Cham- 
berlain, Benjamin  Aldrich,  Richard  Ward,  Ca- 
leb How  and  Joseph  Hutch  ins,  to  lay  out  the 
house  lots,  the  meadow  lots  and  suitable  roads. 
They  were  instructed,  March  31,  1752,  to  meas- 
ure all  the  meadow  land  in  the  town  and  to 
compute  one  acre  on  the  "  Grate  river "  to  be 
equal  to  two  on  the  Ashuelot  River.  While  we 
have  no  plan  of  their  work,  yet,  from  references 
found  occasionallv  in  old  deeds,  we  conclude 
that  they  first  surveyed  a  base  line  perpendicu- 
lar to  the  Chesterfield  town  line  and  extended 
it  to  the  Walpole  town  line.  This  line,  begin- 
ning- at  a  stone  monument  in  the  Chesterfield 
line,  passed  near  the  intersection  of  roads  west 
of  the  house  of  L.  G.  Wheeler ;  thence  east  of 
Ebenezer  Leach's  house,  east  of  Henry  Rodgers' 
house,  and  so  on  to  Walpole  line.  From  the 
base  line  to  the  eastward  to  Keene  town  line  was 
the  first  division  of  lots  ranged  toward  the  east 
and  lotted  to  the  south.  These  lots  were  one 
hundred  and  sixty  rods  east  to  west  and  one 
hundred  rods  north  to  south.  The  second  divi- 
sion of  lots  was  incorporated  into  the  town  of 
Surry.  From  the  base  line  to  the  meadow  lots 
was  the  third  division,  which  was   lotted  from 

1An  amusing  anecdote  is  related  of  the  origin  of  the  se- 
lection of  Benjamin  Aldrich's  pitch.  As  he  was  "  viewing 
the  landscape  o'er"  to  make  his  selection,  he  paused  upon 
a  steep  hill-side,  leaning  against  an  upturned  tree.  While 
in  this  position,  for  some  cause,  the  tree  suddenly  flew 
back,  hurling  Aldrich  down  the  declivity,  heels  over  head. 
In  this  manner  he  made  his  pitch,  which  has  remained  in 
the  ownership  of  his  descendants  to  the  present  day. 
The  present  owner  is  Arvin  Aldrich. 
30 


the  base  line  to  the  west  and  ranged  from  the 
Chesterfield  line  to  the  north.  These  lots  were 
one  hundred  rods  east  to  west  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty  rods  north  to  south.  Governor  Went- 
worth  and  his  son's  lot,  comprising  in  all  six 
hundred  acres,  was  laid  out  in  one  body  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  town.  It  was  one  mile 
in  length  nerth  to  south  and  seventy-eight  chains 
east  to  west.  Adjoining  upon  the  north  came 
the  school  lot,  and  then  the  glebe.  The  minis- 
ter's lot  tradition  reports  as  near  the  house  of  F. 
M.  Proctor. 

Governor  Benning-  Wentworth  had  amassed 
a  large  fortune,  a  portion  of  it  by  questionable 
means.  He  virtually  sold  grants  of  townships 
to  scheming  proprietors,  and  reserved  in  each 
five  hundred  acres  to  himself.  After  his  death, 
in  1770,  the  title  to  these  lands  began  to  be  dis- 
puted. The  Governor  proposed  in  Council  the 
question  "  Whether  the  reservation  of  five  hun- 
dred acres  in  several  townships  by  the  late  Gov- 
ernor Benning  Wentworth  in  the  charter  grants 
conveyed  the  title  to  him?"  Seven  of  the  eight 
Councilors  answered  the  question  in  the  nega- 
tive, and  the  reserved  lands  were  offered  to  pri- 
vate settlers.  The  glebe  land  the  proprietors 
of  the  town  divided  among  its  thirteen  soldiers 
that  had  served  through  the  Revolutionary 
War,  whereupon  the  church  brought  suit  into 
court  to  maintain  its  proprietorship,  and  after  a 
long  and  costly  litigation  secured  the  verdict  in 
its  favor.  This  suit  cost  the  town  about  one 
thousand  dollars.  I  am  unable  to  ascertain 
the  final  disposition  of  the  lot  for  the  "  Incor- 
porated Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Ye  Gos- 
pel in  Foreign  Parts."  Probably  a  home  de- 
mand absorbed  it.  The  first  meeting  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  township  of  Westmoreland 
was  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Chamberlain, 
March  31,  1752.  Samuel  Hunt  was  chosen 
moderator,  Caleb  How  proprietors'  clerk,  and 
Joshua  Warnen  treasurer.  These  meetings  were 
held  by  notifications  posted  in  said  town,  in 
Northfield  and  in  Winchester. 


468 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER    III. 

WESTMORELAND— {Continu  d). 
THE  VERMONT  CONTROVERSY. 

The  territory  now  comprising  the  present 
State  of  Vermont  was  for  a  number  of  years 
claimed  by  New  York,  by  virtue  of  a  "  Letter 
Patent,"  from  King  Charles  II.,  in  1674,  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  wherein  was  expressly 
granted  all  the  lands  from  the  Connecticut 
River  to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  Bay.  The 
provinces  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp- 
shire were  in  one,  with  one  provincial  govern- 
ment ;  but  September  18, 1679,  the  King  decreed 
that  they  should  be  separated,  but  left  the  bound- 
ary line  between  the  two  in  uncertainty,  which 
occasioned  a  heated  controversy,  and  another 
royal  decree,  "that  the  northern  boundary  of 
Massachusetts  be  a  similar  curve  line,  pursuing 
the  course  of  the  Merrimack  River  at  three  miles 
distance,  on  the  north  side  thereof,  beginning  at 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  ending  at  a  point  due 
north  of  Pawtucket  Falls ;  and  a  straight  line 
drawn  from  thence  due  west  till  it  meets  his 
Majesty's  other  governments."  From  this  last 
clause  New  Hampshire  inferred  and  claimed 
that  her  territory  extended  as  far  westward  as 
Massachusetts.  This  claim  would  embrace 
nearly  all  of  the  present  State  of  Vermont. 
To  further  add  to  the  complications  of  the 
controversy,  Massachusetts  claimed  a  portion  of 
the  disputed  territory,  basing  her  claim  upon 
the  point  that  the  royal  decree  could  only  af- 
fect particular  grants  of  the  Crown,  and  that 
New  Hampshire  embraced  only  the  original 
grant  tp  Mason,  in  1620,  which  was  bounded 
on  the  west  by  an  uncertain  located  "curve 
line,"  which  was  not  defined  until  it  was  sur- 
veyed, in  17*7.  The  line,  as  surveyed,  ex- 
tended from  lot  No.  18,  in  the  town  of  Rindge, 
in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  the  town  of  Os- 
sipee.  Between  this  line  and  the  Connecticut 
River,  and  on  both  sides  thereof,  the  territory 
was  known  as  the  New  Hampshire  Grants. 
Thus,  three  States  at  the  same  time  were  claim- 


ing the  same  territory.  The  Governor  of  New 
Hampshire  at  this  time  was  Benning  Went- 
worth  ;  he  was  a  man  full  of  ambition  and 
decisive  energy  ;  he  heeded  not  the  contending; 
claims  of  Massachusetts  and  of  New  York,  but 
proceeded  to  grant  townships  of  land  with  a 
rapidity  that  numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  townships  prior  to  the  year  1764,  all 
west  of  the  Connecticut  River.  The  first  town- 
ship granted  he  named  after  his  own  name — 
Bennington.  These  towns  were  also  known  as 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  The  activity  of 
Governor  Went  worth  naturally  hastened  the 
controversy  to  a  conclusion  sooner  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  been.  All  the  claimants 
naturally  appealed  to  the  King  to  have  their 
respective  claims  verified  by  royal  edict.  In 
1764  the  King  responded  in  favor  of  New 
York. 

Thereupon  for  a  time  the  government  of  New 
Hampshire  ceased  in  Vermont.  New  York 
regarding  all  grants  made  by  Governor  Wcnt- 
worth  as  null  and  void,  refused  to  compromise, 
and  enacted  laws  hostile  to  the  claims  of  the 
settlers,  thus  succeeded  in  arousing  their  bitter 
opposition,  which  culminated,  in  1777,  in  a 
declaration  "  That  they  would  at  all  times  con- 
sider themselves  as  a  free  and  independent 
State,"  at  the  same  time  petitioning  Congress 
to  receive  them  into  the  Union  as  such.  Hav- 
ing adopted  a  constitution,  representatives  as- 
sembled at  Windsor  for  the  first  time  in  1778. 
Representatives  from  sixteen  towns  located 
upon  the  east  side  of  the  river  made  applica- 
tion to  be  admitted  into  the  new  State,  claim- 
ing that  the  original  grant  to  John  Mason  did 
not  include  their  territory;  and  inasmuch  as 
their  existence  depended  on  a  royal  commission, 
which  was  now  annulled  by  the  Revolution, 
they  were  free  to  choose  their  own  rulers. 
These  petitions  met  with  favor  from  a  conven- 
tion of  the  freemen  of  Vermont,  assembled  at 
Bennington  June  11,  1778,  and  an  invitation 
was  extended  "  to  any  others  that  might  choose 
to  unite  with  them,  should  have  leave  to  do  so." 


WESTMORELAND. 


469 


Meschech  Ware  was  now  President  of  the 
province  of  New  Hampshire.  He  remonstrated 
with  the  officers  of  the  State  of  Vermont 
against  this  dismemberment  of  his  province.  In 
consequence,  only  ten  towns  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river  sent  representatives  to  the  next  session 
of  the  Vermont  Legislature.  But  the  terms 
of  union  imposed  by  the  Vermont  Legisla- 
ture upon  these  New  Hampshire  towns  were 
peculiar,  inasmuch  as  it  refused  to  receive  them 
upon  equal  terms  with  the  Vermont  towns,  by 
refusing  to  allow  them  to  unite  with  Vermont 
counties  already  established,  or  to  constitute 
anew.  This  action  led  to  opposition,  to  dissent, 
to  withdrawal  from  the  Assembly,  and  to  the 
calling  of  a  convention  of  all  the  towns  upon 
both  sides  of  the  river  who  favored  the  union, 
to  meet  at  Cornish,  N.  H.,  December  9,  1778. 
In  this  movement  Westmoreland  participated, 
but  not  with  unanimity.  A  respectable  minority, 
under  the  leadership  of  Colonel  Joseph  Burt, 
was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  New  Hampshire 
government.  The  following  memorial,  ad- 
dressed to  the  General  Court  in  1781,  illus- 
trates fully  the  views  of  the  minority  party  : 

This  convention  resolved  to  unite  "to  pursue 
such  legal  and  regular  measures  as  would  secure 
to  the  Grants  a  satisfactory  form  of  government 
without  regard  to  any  former  limits."  The  pro- 
ject of  forming  a  new  State  met  with  opposition 
on  every  side. 

The  party  in  opposition  in  Westmoreland,  it 
appears,  were  not  so  much  opposed  to  the  idea 
of  the  proposed  new  State  as  to  the  manner  of 
formation.  On  the  8th  day  of  June,  1780, 
they  sent  a  memorial  to  the  General  Court  of 
New  Hampshire,  signed  by  thirty-nine  of  its 
leading  citizens,  with  Joseph  Wilbore  at  its 
head,  expressing  dissent  to  the  idea  of  secession, 
"  but  if  the  Confederated  States  Shall  consent 
to  erecting  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  into  a  new  State,  upon  a  just 
and  equal  footing,  then  we  shall  have  no  ob- 
jections." 

The  Legislature   of   Vermont    took    active 


measures  to  dissolve  it.  The  New  Hamp- 
shire Legislature  did  not  incline  to  relinquish 
one  iota  of  its  jurisdiction  upon  the  west  side 
of  the  river,  and  to  make  affairs  all  the 
more  complicated,  Massachusetts  claimed  a  por- 
tion of  the  disputed  territory.  The  matter 
was  submitted  to  Congress,  but  without  result. 
Under  these  ill-omened  auspices  the  several 
towns  upon  both  sides  of  the  river  persevered 
in  forming  the  new  State.  A  convention  of 
delegates  met  at  Walpole,  November  15,  1780, 
"to  compare  opinions."  Jonathan  Cole  and 
Joseph  Wilbore  were  the  delegates  from  this 
town.  The  result  of  this  conference  was  "  that 
the  union  of  all  the  towns  granted  by  New 
Hampshire  was  desirable  and  necessary/'  and 
recommended  a  convention  be  held  at  Charles- 
town,  N.  H.,  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  January, 
1781.  It  was  a  time  of  great  excitement. 
Three  parties  were  in  the  field  of  action.  Each 
were  eager  for  victory. 

The  following  statement,  concerning  matters 
in  town  at  this  time,  is  of  interest : 

"  Westmorland  13  Feb^  1781— 
"  Sir— 

"  Before  this  reaches  you,  you  will  undoubtedly 
hear  of  the  disorder  in  this  part  of  the  State, — I  find 
that  people  pretend  to  be  actuated  by  several  mo- 
tives,— some  say  that  the  Court  of  New  Hampshire 
are  so  Arbetary  that  they  ought  to  brake  from  them, 
some  say  that  New  Hampshire  had  rather  confine  the 
State  to  the  Mason  Line,  then  have  any  of  the  Grants 
west  of  the  River;  but  some  more  bold  Enemies  to 
the  State  and  States,  such  as  Capt  Daniel  Carlile  of 
Westmorland  who  on  the  seventh  of  this  Instant  be- 
fore several  witnesses, — Did  declare,  that  for  his  part, 
he  was  for  the  Convention,  not  because  he  saw  what 
they  was  after,  but  the  more  disorder  the  better  in 
order  to  bring  about  a  Revolution :  for  says  he  We 
must  either  be  subject  of  France  or  Britton  and  for 
his  part  he  chose  Great  Britton,  and  if  the  people 
would  rise  and  drive  the  French  from  the  Continent, , 
he  would  go  in  parson,  or  contribute  one  hundred  hard 
Dollars  towards  the  same ;  for  says  he,  the  people  must 
throw  of  the  authority,  and  then  they  could  make  a 
peace,  for  a  peace  with  Great  Britton  was  what  he 
wanted  and  said,  I  am  not,  afraid  to  declare  my  sen- 
timents before  your  best  Authority,  for  said  he  your 
Authority  is  weak  and  if  three  towns  will  Combine 


470 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


together,  the  Authority  dare  not  medle  with  them, 
nor  send  for  any  Tax  and  as  for  myself  says  he  I  will 
pay  no  more  Taxes  to  New  Hampshire,  for  a  Revolt, 
from  Authority  is  what  I  want,  and  such  like  conver- 
sation, this  Cap'  Carlile  and  some  other  disaffected 
persons  have  been  very  active  by  one  means  or  other 
to  lead  the  people  to  Act  as  inconsistant  with  and  1 
think  as  much  against  their  interest  and  the  common 
good,  as  they  could  have  acted  ;  this  is  not  the  only 
Town  for  I  am  well  informed  that  the  disaffected  per- 
sons are  all  engaged  in  this  new  Plan,  for  seperating 
from  New  Hampshire,  as  they  please  to  term  it;  but 
I  believe  it  is  more  as  Cap*  Carlile  desires  it  to  be,  to 
bring  on  ail  the  disorder  possible.  He  and  some 
others  are  grone  to  very  bold  and  I  wish  for  heavens 
sake  that  Authority  might  take  place  and  all  our 
domestick  Enemies  might  either  be  subjected  to  Au- 
thority or  driven  from  us  for  they  are  the  Pest  of  So- 
ciety, and  I  think  they  are  on  the  gaining  hand  in 
this  part  of  the  State — Sir  I  thought  it  my  Duty,  to 
inform  your  honor  of  this  that  you  might  be  ac- 
quainted of  what  persons  we  have  amongst  us — 
"  I  am  Sir 

"  Your  Honors  most 

"  Obed4  and  Hble  Serv1 

"Joseph  Burt 
"  The  Ho:Nblc  Mesheck  Weare  " 

The  following  is  a  petition  of  sundry  citizens 
Against  a  union  with  Vermont,  etc.}  addressed 
to  the  General  Court,  1781  : 

"The  memorial  of  a  number  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Westmoreland  in  the  County  of  Cheshire 
&  State  of  New  Hampshire: — Humbly  sheweth — 
That  your  memorialist,  ever  Anxious  to  promote  the 
grand  cause  of  the  United  States  of  America,  &  par- 
ticularly the  State  of  New  Hampshire ;  and  at  all 
times  have  endevored  to  defend  the  same,  and  never 
sought  by  any  means  whatever,  to  leave  the  Govern- 
ment of  New  Hampshire  by  attempting  to  Joine  with 
any  other  State,  or  Body  of  People;  yet  conterary  to 
our  will,  there  has  been  Votes  obtained  in  many 
Towns  in  this  Part  of  the  State,  to  Joine  Vermont  so 
Called  :  the  Town  of  Westmoreland  (at  least  a  major- 
ity of  it)  has  Voted  to  Joine  with  them.  Your  me- 
morialist conceive  that  such  Votes  are  unconstutinal, 
therefore  cannot  he  binding  upon  us: — We  your  me- 
morialist viewing  ourselves  as  part  of  the  thirteen 
confederated  States,  have  a  right  to  protection  there- 
from, and  particularly  from  the  State  of  New  Ilamp 
shire,  considering  ourselves  as  part  thereof;  and  y<ur 
memorialists  humbly  pray,  that  we  may  be  protected 
from  the  usurped  Authority  of  Vermont  or  any  un- 


constitutional Authority  whatever,  Hoping  your  Hon- 
ors will  take  our  unhappy  Situation,  under  your  wise 
consideration  and  grant  us  such  relief,  as  shall  be 
most  for  ours  and  the  States  public  good; — we  beg 
leave  to  say  that  we  are  much  exposed  to  the  inroads 
of  the  Enemy — &  in  a  defenceless  State,  through  de- 
ficiency of  Arms  &  irregularity  of  the  Militia,  accru'd 
by  the  unhappy  Dispute, — Officers  Ellected  under 
the  Authority  of  Vermont;  some  of  which  have  been, 
in  years  past  considered  as  inamical  to  the  Liberties 
of  America  ;  altho  they  are  very  zealous  for  the  inde- 
pendence of  Vermont — we  do  not  pretend  to  say  that 
they  are  not  good  men  now ;  yet  we  are  not  without 
fears,  that  their  designs  are  not,  altogether  so  friendly 
to  the  common  Cause,  Others  who  were  under  the 
Oath  of  Fidelity  to  the  thirteen  States,  have  dis- 
penced  with  their  Oaths,  &  have  sworn  to  support  & 
maintain  the  Independence  of  another  State;  which 
conduct  creates  much  confusion  in  this  part  of  the 
State. — We  have  entered  our  protest  against  their 
proceedings,  and  do  appeal  to  the  confederated  States 
for  protection  ;  wishing  that  our  unhappy  situation 
may  be  laid  before  Congress: — Altho  those  gentle- 
men that  are  for  the  New  State,  say  that  Congress, 
will  not  take  up  to  determine  any  thing  upon  the 
matter,  Nay  some  say,  that  Congress  have  no  business 
to  Do  any  thing  more  then  to  receive  Vermont  into 
confederation,  they  direct  us  to  look  upon  the  Other 
Side  of  the  River,  where  the  New  York  party  have 
been  waiting  some  years  for  protection  from  New 
York,  and  Congress,  and  cannot  obtain  it,  they  also 
add  that  we  had  better  unite  with  them,  &  then  Con- 
gress will  establish  the  State;  but  we  had  rather  have 
the  consent  of  the  confederated  States  first,  which  if 
they  shall  determine  that  we  leave  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  &  be  erected  into  the  State  together  with 
the  grants,  west  of  the  river  (which  if  done  we  trust 
will  be  upon  a  Just  and  equal  footing)  we  shall  have 
no  Objections,  in  whose  wisdom  and  prudence  we 
confide,  &  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray — 

"  Westmorland  June  8th  1781 
"Joseph  Wilbur  george  Clark 

Elijah  Temple  David  Witherell 

Joseph  Burt  Ebenezer  gilbart 

Natli1  Wilbore  Levi  goodanow 

Daniel  Stone  Simeon  Proutey 

Job  Wilbore  Elias  Chamberlain 

John  Pierce  William  Brittin 

Jonas  Butterfield  Isaac  Butterfield 

george  Aldrich  Francis  Putnam 

Ephraim  Lenord  Philap  Wilbore 

Elisha  Wilbore  Philip  Wilbore  Jur 

Joseph  White  Joseph  Tompson 


WESTMORELAND. 


471 


David  Brittin 
Jeams  Brittin 
Ebnzr  Brittin  Ju 
Ezekal  mixer 
Philap  Brittin 
John  Adams 
David  Wilbore 
Nehemiah  Browne 


Ebenezer  Brettun 
Caleb  A  Id  rich 
Nath1  Tinney 
Ephraim  Wood 
John  Snow 
Pendleton  Brettun 
William  Adams  " 


But  the  controlling  majority  were  in  favor  of 
forming  a  new  State,  however,  to  be  called  New 
Connecticut,  to  extend  from  the  "  curve  line  " 
to  the  Green  Mountain  range.  With  this  pur- 
pose in  view,  Westmoreland  sent  to  this  conven- 
tion her  representative,  Joseph  Wilbore. 

Forty-three  towns  were  represented  from  the 
two  States.  December  5th,  Westmoreland 
chose  Jonathan  Cole  for  its  delegate,  with  in- 
structions that  in  case  the  convention  allowed 
any  member  a  seat  in  the  same  without  first 
taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  United  States 
to  withdraw ;  also  that  the  grants  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river  make  a  full  and  free  represen- 
tation at  the  Court  of  New  Hampshire.  This 
convention  appointed  a  committee  to  confer 
with  the  Vermont  Assembly  in  reference  to 
terms  of  union  and  adjourned  to  meet  at  Cor- 
nish in  February,  when  the  Assembly  would 
be  in  session  at  Windsor,  a  few  miles  distant. 

The  result  of  this  convention  was  favorable 
to  Vermont.  On  the  5th  of  February  a  town- 
meeting  was  called,  which  "  Voted  to  accept  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention  held  at  Charles- 
town,  Jan.  16,  1781."  The  convention  lay 
the  matter  before  the  Assembly  in  the  form  of  a 
petition  ;  it  received  a  favorable  response,  with 
a  condition  attached  that  two-thirds  of  the 
towns  interested  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  to  a 
distance  of  twenty  miles,  should  approve  of  the 
union,  and  adjourned  to  April.  On  assembling 
they  found  that  the  necessary  number  of  towns 
had  given  a  favorable  vote,  and  the  union  was 
therefore  consummated.  Representatives  from 
thirty-five  towns  on  the  east  side  of  the  river 
took  their  seats  as  members.  The  towns  south 
of  the  north  line  of  Claremont  and  east  of  the 
river  were  organized  into  Washington  County. 


After  meeting  at  Bennington  the  following 
June,  the  Vermont  Legislature  assembled  Oc- 
tober 11,  1781,  at  Charlestown.  Captain  Eph- 
raim Stone  represented  Westmoreland.  The 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  one  of  the  Councillors 
were  chosen  from  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
This  Legislature  was  a  body  of  men  of  more 
than  average  intelligence.  Its  members  were 
chosen  for  distinguished  ability  and  prominence. 
Questions  of  momentous  importance  were  be- 
fore it  for  action.  A  regiment  of  New  Hamp- 
shire troops  appeared  under  Colonel  Reynolds  ; 
he  was  promptly  advised  that  his  force  was  too 
small  for  conquest,  too  large  for  intimidation. 
He  made  no  attempt  to  disturb  the  session. 
Meantime,  Vermont  had  applied  for  admission 
to  the  Union.  Congress  voted  to  admit  her  upon 
the  condition  that  she  relinquish  the  towns 
upon  the  east  side  of  the  river.  This  she  re- 
fused to  do.  She  had  possession  of  nearly  a 
third  part  of  New  Hampshire.  This  condition 
of  things  could  not  long  continue.  Nearly  every 
town  had  its  court  and  judicial  officers 
duplicated,  each  acting  under  their  respective 
State  governments.  In  Chesterfield  it  ter- 
minated in  a  conflict  of  physical  prowess. 
The  New  Hampshire  government,  now 
actively  aroused,  was  making  preparations  to 
send  troops  into  the  revolted  towns  to  put  down 
the  secession  party.  Upon  the  other  hand,  Ver- 
mont was  equally  vigilant.  Dr.  William  Page, 
of  Charlestown,  was  now  sheriff  of  Washington 
County.  He  issued  orders,  December  1, 1781,  to 
Colonel  Chamberlain,  Captain  S.  Nathan  Frank- 
lin, John  Cole  and  Jonas  Butterfield,  all  of 
Westmoreland,  to  be  in  readiness,  with  their  com- 
mand to  march  at  short  notice.  Two  Chesterfield 
men  having  been  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  Char- 
lestownjailbya  Vermont  sheriff,  the  New  Hamp- 
shire assembly  authorized  Colonel  Hale,  the 
sheriff  of  Cheshire  County  to  release  them.  In 
the  attempt  he  was  himself  arrested  by  the  Ver- 
mont sheriff  and  committed  to  the  same  jail.  In 
retaliation,  Sheriff  Page  was  arrested  and  lodged 
in  the  Exeter  jail.      Civil  war  was  now  immi- 


472 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


nent.  In  January,  1782,  New  Hampshire 
ordered  a  thousand  men  into  Cheshire  County 
to  support  its  civil  officers;  her  Governor  issued 
a  proclamation  ordering  the  people  in  the  re- 
volting towns  within  forty  days  to  go  before 
some  New  Hampshire  magistrate  and  sign  an 
acknowledgment  that  the  jurisdiction  of  New 
Hampshire  extended  to  the  Connecticut  River. 
The  Vermont  government  was  equally  active 
in  maintaining  her  claims.  The  New  Hampshire 
General  Assembly  had  passed,  August,  1781,  an 
act  obliging  each  town  to  provide  monthly  in- 
stallments of  beef  and  rum  for  the  use  of  the 
Continental  army. 

Westmoreland,  in  common  with  the  other  re- 
volting towns,  refused  to  pay  the  tax,  upon  the 
ground  of  non-recognition  of  New  Hampshire 
authority.  In  consequence,  a  warrant  was  is- 
sued and  served  upon  the  town  for  the  tax;  the 
town  voted  not  to  pay  it,  and  thereupon  was 
fined,  but  so  great  was  the  feeling  against  the 
State  that  Colonel  Reuben  Alexander,  who  was 
ordered  to  raise  the  body  of  his  regiment  and 
march  them  to  the  execution  of  the  act,  was  ap- 
palled by  the  clamor  of  the  people  to  an  extent 
that  he  feared  to  comply  with  his  orders,  and  so 
reported.  One  Samuel  King,  a  prominent 
Chesterfield  revolter,  having  been  arrested  was 
followed  to  Keene  by  numerous  parties,  includ- 
ing a  party  from  Westmoreland  under  Captain 
Carlisle,  who  succeeded  January  1,  1782,  in 
rescuing  the  prisoner  from  the  New  Hampshire 
sheriff. 

On  the  same  day  General  Washington  wrote 
a  letter  to  Governor  Chittendon,  informing  him 
that  it  would  be  an  indispensable  preliminary 
of  the  admission  of  Vermont  into  the  Union  to 
relinquish  its  extension  of  territory,  intimating 
that  a  refusal  to  accede  to  this  request  would  be 
considered  an  act  of  enmity  to  the  United 
States  government,  requiring  the  coercion  by 
military  power.  On  the  23d  of  February  fol- 
lowing, the  Assembly  of  Vermont,  in  session  at 
Bennington,  voted  to  accept  the  boundary  as 
prescribed  by  Congress,  on  the  line  of  the  west- 


ern bank  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  to  re- 
linquish all  claims  to  any  territory  east  of  said 
river.  This  ended  the  conflict.  The  disaffected 
towns  quietly  returned  to  their  former  State 
allegiance.  For  this  concession  Vermont  ex- 
pected to  be  speedily  admitted  to  the  Union, 
but  its  hopes  were  deferred  for  nine  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  humorists  named  her  the 
"  Future  State."  Thus  the  secession  movement 
of  the  New  Hampshire  towns  ended.  And  now 
as  we  look  back  over  the  long  vista  of  the  years 
and  view  the  circumstances  attending  those  stir- 
ring times,  and  as  we  weigh  the  character 
of  the  men  therein  engaged,  as  we  consider  that 
Westmoreland  in  common  with  her  sister  towns 
was  of  Massachusetts  birth,  whose  infancy  re- 
ceived her  fostering  protection  ;  and  when  we 
view  upon  the  other  hand  the  cold  negligence  of 
New  Hampshire,  to  care  for  children  confided 
to  her  guardianship,  by  royal  decree,  upon  her 
demand;  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  feeling  that 
there  was  shown  to  exist,  an  honest  belief,  that 
they  were  free  to  elect  another  government,  that 
New  Hampshire  had  no  claim  to  their  alle- 
giance, and  they  so  acted  in  the  direction  of  es- 
tablishing a  firm  and  stable  government  for  the 
people  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

WESTMORELAND— (Continued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL. 

THE  CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH,  KNOWN  IN  LATER  TIMES 
AS  THE   UNITED    CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH. 

As  has  been  stated  in  another  chapter  the  citi- 
zens of  Westmoreland,  Putney  and  Westminster 
united  in  building  a  fort  upon  the  ( Jreat  Meadow 
in  Putney.  Here  in  times  of  peril  the  scattered 
settlers  of  these  towns  resorted  for  safety  from 
Indian  forages.  Here  they  held  their  first 
religious  services  under  the  ministration  of  Rev. 
Andrew  Gardner,  who  preached  there  for  nearly 
three  years.     He  had  previously  occupied  the 


WESTMORELAND. 


473 


position  of  chaplain  and  chirurgeon  at  Fort. 
Dummer.  He  was  noted  for  his  quaintness  and 
eccentricity.  It  is  related  that  upon  a  certain 
special  occasion,  at  Fort  Dummer,  in  view  of 
disastrous  events  following  Indian  forages  that 
were  preceded  invariably  with  surprise,  he 
preached  from  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  iii.  3  : 
"  If,  therefore,  thou  shalt  not  watch  I  will  come 
on  thee  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know 
what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee."  May  4, 
17G2,  the  proprietors  of  the  town  having  met  at 
the  house  of  Thomas  Chamberlain,  voted  "  to 
build  a  meeting-house  and  to  Set  it  on  ye  hill  by 
Daniel  Hows  [Northeast  corner  of  the  Cole 
Cemetery — Ed.]  to  build  it  fifty  feet  long,  forty 
feet  wide  and  twenty  feet  post."  A  committee  of 
five  (5),  with  Josiah  Willard  as  chairman,  were 
chosen  to  superintend  its  erection.      August  26, 

1763,  the  town  voted  "to  raise  the  sum  of  one 
pound,  sterling  money,  on  each  original  right 
in  said  town,  to  be  laid  out  toward  finishing 
the  meeting-house,  to  be  assessed  in  ve  following 
manner, — five  shillings  on  each  house  lot,  mea- 
dow lot,  Pitch  and  after  rights."    September  26, 

1764,  nine  members  from  other  churches  sign  3d 
the  first  church  covenant.  This  was  on  the 
fast  previous  to  the  ordination  of  Rev.  William 
Goddard,  which  was  held  on  the  7th  day  of 
November  following.  These  members  were 
Wrilliam  Goddard,  pastor-elect,  member  of  ye 
first  church  at  Newtown  ;  Thomas  Chamberlain, 
church  at  Newtown ;  Joshua  Warner,  church 
at  Harvard;  Amos  Davis,  church  at  Peters- 
ham ;  Samuel  Minot,  church  at  Chelmsford ; 
Robert  Thompson,  church  at  Reading;  Benja- 
min  Pierce,  church  at  Attleborough ;  Abner 
How,  church  at  Amherst;  Joseph  Pierce, 
church  at  Wilmington."  The  council  which 
ordained  Rev.  Mr.  Goddard  as  the  first  settled 
minister  in  Westmoreland,  consisted  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Buckminster,  Rutland,  Mass. ;  Rev. 
Bulkley  Piatt,  Charlestown ;  Rev.  Clement 
Sumner,  Keene ;  Rev.  Samuel  Hedge,  Warwick ; 
Rev.  Joseph  Sumner,  Shrewsbury.  At  this 
council  six  members  presented  their  letters,  two 


desired  to  be  admitted,  thus  constituting;  eight 
members  beside  their  pastor.  During  the  three 
years  following  twenty  were  admitted  by  letter 
and  fifteen  by  profession,  two  were  dismissed 
to  the  church  at  Westminster,  and  perhaps  one 
or  two  had  died,  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1767  there  Avere  forty  members. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1775,  another  council 
was  convened,  consisting  of  the  pastors  and 
delegates  of  the  churches  of  Cornish,  Walpole, 
Charlestown  and  Claremont  agreeably  to  letters 
missive  from  the  church  and  people  joined  by  the 
pastors  "  to  consider  and  give  advice  upon  some 
matters  of  grievance  subsisting  between  said 
pastor  and  people."  The  result  wras  to  dismiss 
Mr.  Goddard.  The  town  by  vote  concurring. 
It  seems  as  though  Mr.  Goddard  had  served 
the  church  faithfully  and  wisely  for  eleven 
years.  The  grievance  consisted  of  his  "  un- 
soundness "  on  account  of  adopting  "  the  half- 
way covenant,"  an  ism  originating  in  North- 
ampton, Mass.,  early  in  this  century.  This 
doctrine  was  simply  that  "  all  persons  of  correct 
sentiments  and  sober  life  might  profess  religion 
and  have  their  children  baptized,  though  they 
did  not  come  to  the  Lord's  table.  Possibly 
other  differences  arose.  It  was  a  time  when 
political  feeling  ran  high.  The  lines  were 
closely  drawn,  and  Mr.  Goddard  did  not  fully 
agree  with  the  patriot  party,  in  refusing  to  sign 
the  "  Test  Oath."  During  the  year  1776  the 
contest  arose  respecting  a  new  location  for  the 
church.  This  society,  the  only  one  in  town  at 
the  time,  was  composed  mostly  of  Baptists  and 
Orthodox  ;  the  former  were  located  in  the 
northerly  and  easterly  portions  of  the  town, 
the  Orthodox  in  the  southerly  and  westerly  por- 
tions :  naturally  the  Baptists  were  in  favor  of 
retaining  the  old  location. 

Those  living  in  the  east  parish  had,  a  short 
time  previous,  organized  and  held  meetings,  as 
will  be  seen  elsewhere. 

The  Orthodox  were  determined  for  a  more 
southerly  location.  They  composed  the  stronger 
party,  but  their  pathway  to  success  was  far  from 


474 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


being  strewn  with  "  flowery  ease."  March  13, 
1776,  the  town  chose  a  committee  consisting  of 
Deacon  Jonathan  Cole,  Captain  Joseph  Burt, 
Amos  Pierce,  Ebeuezer  Brittin  and  Captain 
Daniel  Pierce,  to  make  a  new  location.  This 
was  reported  "  to  be  on  the  top  of  the  hill  south 
of  Mr.  Job  Chamberlain's  at  the  corner  where 
the  road  turns  easterly  that  leads  to  Lieutenant 
Stone's,"  and  the  present  location  of  the  Park 
Hill  Church  Following  Mr.  Goddard  came 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Barnard,  who  preached  on  pro- 
bation for  about  one  year.  April  14,  1777, 
the  town  voted  "  to  give  Mr.  Barnard  a  call  to 
settle  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  this  town," 
and  chose  a  committee,  of  which  Jonathan  Cole 
was  chairman,  to  draft  proposals.  These  were 
presented  to  the  town  at  a  meeting  held  May 
13,  1777,  and  accepted.  There  was  a  settle- 
ment of  £150,  a  salary  of  £66  13s.  4c/.,  to  be  in- 
creased £5  yearly  until  it  reached  £80;  if  the 
families  that  paid  rates  should  increase  to  one 
hundred,  then  he  was  to  receive  £10  more 
or  £90,  which  sum  was  to  remain  his 
salary,  in  current  money  of  the  State.  Farm- 
produce  at  this  time  was  the  standard  of 
value,  and  this  salary  was  computed  on  the 
basis  of  the  following  prices,  viz.  :  Wool, 
2s.  2d.  (a)  ft). ;  wheat,  Gs. ;  rye,  4s. ;  corn,  3s. ; 
flax,  Is. ;  pork  that  weighs  ten  score  and  up- 
ward, 4ld.  The  year  1777  wTas  one  of  constant 
alarms  from  the  threatened  invasion  of  Bur- 
goyne  and  his  army.  Repeated  calls  came  from 
the  Vermont  Committee  of  Safety  for  militia 
to  repel  the  enemy.  It  was  responded  to  with 
alacrity  and  so  all  was  commotion.  For  a 
time,  church  affairs  retired  into  the  background 
and  especially  so  the  matter  of  the  removal 
of  the  church  building.  The  year  1778  wit- 
nessed the  commencement  of  a  struggle  origi- 
nating from  the  unfortunate  geography  of  the 
town  in  not  having  any  one  point  adapted  for 
a  centre  that  was  acceptable  to  the  whole  town. 
So  the  years  bear  witness  of  the  lamentable  fact 
of  an  indication  to  [mil  doumf  rather  than  to 
build  up.     To    a    large    degree    the  church  has 


been  made  to  carry  the  load  of  sectional  jeal- 
ousy. November  10,  1778,  the  town  voted  "to 
move  the  church  to  the  place  prefixed  for  it." 
This  vote  was  reconsidered  on  December  5th 
following.  Then  came  a  warm  discussion  rela- 
tive to  the  amount  of  respective  ownership  of 
the  now  separate  societies  of  the  Baptists  and 
Orthodox,  resulting  in  a  public  sale  of  the 
church  on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  1779. 
The  Baptists  bid  it  off  for  seventy  pounds. 
But  this  sale  proved  without  avail,  as  the  town 
voted,  February  14th,  "to  reconsider  all  that  had 
been  done  relative  to  the  sale  of  the  meetintr- 
house."  It  also  voted  "  to  submit  the  whole 
matter  to  a  disinterested  committee  to  be  se- 
lected by  both  societies,  to  be  paid  by  the  town, 
to  consist  of  five  persons,  whose  award  should 
be  binding  upon  all."  Benjamin  Bellows,  Amos 
Babcock,  Abraham  Smith,  Lemuel  Holmes  and 
Jesse  Clark  were  selected  for  a  committee,  with 
Colonel  Bellows  for  its  chairman.  This  com- 
mittee was  directed  to  meet  March  3,  1779. 
Isaac  Butterfield  provided  for  them  at  an  ex- 
pense of  £7  16s.,  he  being  an  inn-keeper  at  the 
time.  A  committee  of  six,  consisting;  of 
Archelaus  Temple,  George  Aldrich,  Benjamin 
Pierce,  Ephraim  Stone,  Joseph  Wilbore  and 
Daniel  How,  were  to  present  the  case  before 
the  committee  of  arbitration.  Their  award  in 
brief  was,  "  to  appraise  the  house  at  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  pounds,  that  the  Orthodox  So- 
ciety should  have  it,  and  that  the  Baptists 
should  be  paid  their  proportion  of  this  sum,  ac- 
cording to  their  valuation  in  said  town  for  tax- 
ation, to  be  paid  as  soon  as  the  next  crop  of 
grain  becomes  marchantable."  Once  more  the 
town  voted,  August  12,  1779,  to  move  the 
meeting-house,  raising  one  thousand  pounds  to 
defray  the  expense  thereof.  Isaac  Chamber- 
lain, Nathan  Franklin,  Waitstill  Scott,  John 
Cole  and  Reuben  Kendall  were  chosen  a  com- 
mitee,  to  superintend  its  removal.  This  com- 
mittee acted  promptly,  and  aided  by  "  be  33, " 
made  popular  by  a  gift  of  a  barrel  of  rum 
from  Major  Keep,  an  interested  man  for  its  re- 


WESTMORELAND. 


475 


moval  they  were  numerously  attended  and  the 
work  of  removal  was  quickly  consummated. 

On  the  16th  day  of  September,  1779,  the 
first  meeting  was  held  therein.  Upon  this  site 
the  building  stands  to-day ;  it  has  withstood 
the  buffetings  of  many  angry  storms  both  from 
within  and  without,  but  still  stands  a  faithful 
sentinel  overlooking  a  large  extent  of  country. 
It  cost  to  move  and  fit  up  the  building  the  sum 
of  £2388  lis.  6e7.,  of  which  the  sum  of  £514 
18s.  6d.  accrued  from  sale  of  "  pew  ground." 

In  addition  thereto,  there  was  considerable 
contributed  by  way  of  donation.  This  sum 
seems  large,  but  we  are  to  bear  in  mind  that 
the  currency  at  this  time,  known  as  Continental 
money,  was  depreciated  in  value  ;  it  afterwards 
became  worthless. 

As  originally  constructed,  it  was  simply  a 
plain  building,  without  steeple  or  porch.  Upon 
the  new  site,«it  took  to  itself,  porches  upon  the 
east  and  west  sides,  with  entrance  upon  the 
south  side.  Broad  aisles  and  high-suspended 
galleries  extended  around  the  three  sides  of  it. 
The  pulpit  was  elevated  and  reached  by  winding 
stairs,  over  which  was  suspended  a  sounding- 
board,  surmounted  by  a  dove,  cleverly  carved 
from  wood.  In  front  and  beneath  the  pulpit 
were  the  deacon's  benches.  The  wall-pews 
were  elevated  above  the  body,  and  all  had  high 
backs,  with  spindle  tops  and  railing  on  top. 
The  seats  were  hung  upon  hinges ;  these  were 
raised  in  time  of  prayer,  during  which  all  must 
stand,  and  the  clatter  of  falling  ^eats  at  its 
close  made  no  slight  noise.  This  house  was 
thoroughly  well  finished,  bearing  witness  to  the 
skillful  handiwork  of  Steward  Estv.  This 
house  remained  in  this  form  until  1827,  when 
an  addition'  of  twenty  feet  was  put  on  in  front, 
the  porches  removed  and  a  steeple  erected. 
These  porches  were  made  into  dwelling-houses. 
In  1853  it  was  worked  over  into  its  present 
form.  About  1779  Rev.  Mr.  Barnard  termi- 
nated his  pastorate.  Early  in  this  year  Rev. 
John  Millens  preached  upon  probation  accept- 
ably, it  would  appear,  as  the  town  voted  to  give 


him  an  invitation  to  settle,  but  he  declined  to 
accept.  During  the  latter  portion  of  this  year  • 
Rev.  Daniel  Farrington  preached.  For  a  few 
years  there  was  no  regular  pastor  ;  sundry  itin- 
erant preachers  supplied  the  pulpit ;  among 
them  was  Rev.  Beniah  Hudson.  November 
8,  1784,  an  invitation  was  extended  to  Rev. 
Joseph  Davis.  He  did  not  see  fit  to  settle,  but 
supplied  the  pulpit  for  nearly  two  years.  Mr. 
Davis  was  an  ordained  minister,  considerably 
advanced  in  years,  and  lived  in  Holden,  Mass. 
He  was  noted  for  being  an  expert  penman,  and 
the  records  kept  by  him  are  in  beautiful  handwrit- 
ing. The  year  1785  witnessed  the  beginning 
of  a  long  and  acrimonious  struggle  over  the 
ministerial  tax.  So  far  it  had  been  raised  by 
the  town,  and  went  to  the  support  of  Orthodox 
preaching  entirely  ;  persons  of  other  persuasions, 
notably  the  Baptists,  complained  loudly  of  its  in- 
justice, as  well  as  illegality.  After  being  submit- 
ted to  divers  committees  of  arbitration  without 
success  it  was  finally  adjusted  by  raising  the  tax 
independent  of  the  town.  Following  Mr.  Davis 
came  Rev.  Mr.  Lawrence,  who  preached  a  short 
time  on  probation.  During  the  two  years  be- 
ginning in  1788,  Rev.  Mr.  Mills  preached  a 
part  of  the  time.  He  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Allen  Pratt,  who  was  ordained  October  6, 1790. 
Mr.  Pratt  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College, 
of  the  class  of  1785.  His  salary  was  to  be 
one  hundred  pounds  yearly,  "  to  be  paid  J  in 
cash  and  f  in  grass-fed  beef  at  16s.  Sd.  per  cwt., 
or  in  grain ;  wheat  4s.  Sd.,  rye  3s.  4d.,  corn  2s. 
Sd.  per  bushel." 

For  nearly  thirty-eight  years  Mr.  Pratt  offi- 
ciated as  pastor  of  this  church.  Under  his  minis- 
try 273  joined  the  church.  He  baptized  289 
persons,  married  419  couples,  and  during  his 
ministry  1043  died.  In  the  winter  of  1821-22 
the  church  experienced  the  greatest  revival  within 
its  history,  the  fruits  of  which  was  an  increase 
of  80  to  its  membership,  and  94#were  baptized. 
January  1,  1828,  Mr.  Pratt  having  asked  for  a 
dismissal,  a  council  was  convened  at  his  house, 
which    granted    his    request.     The  same  day  a 


476 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


new  house  having  been  erected  at  the  South 
village  was  dedicated  ;  a  new  society  of  eleven 
members  was  formed,  a  call  was  given  Mr. 
Pratt  to  become  its  pastor,  it  was  accepted  and 
all  confirmed  in  one  evening  by  the  same 
council.  Pie  remained  with  the  new  society 
until  1837;  after  this  he  only  occasionally 
officiated  in  the  pulpit.  It  will  be  seen  that 
his  pastorate  in  this  town  extended  over  the 
long  period  of  forty-seven  years.  Nor  should 
we  wish  for  further  evidence  to  convince  us 
that  "Priest  Pratt"  was  truly  a  remarkable 
man.  In  the  early  summer-time,  from  his 
cherished  home,  as  the  morning  dews  were 
kissing  the  bright  green  grass  and  the  happy 
birds  were  warbling  their  songs  of  praise, 
as  the  morning  sun  was  gilding  the  eastern  hill- 
tops with  golden  light,  his  spirit  took  its  up- 
ward (light.  His  work  on  earth  was  finished, 
lb  was  buried  in  his  chosen  spot,  which  he  had 
selected,  inclosed  and  donated  to  the  town  for 
a  cemetery,  overlooking  much  of  the  field  of  his 
life's  work.  His  tombstone  records  the  date 
June  5,  1848.  "  He  lived  respected  and  died 
lamented." 

Rev.  Otis  C  Whiton,  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth in  1815,  followed  Mr.  Pratt  as  pastor  of 
the  First  Church,  commencing  the  Sabbath  fol- 
lowing Mr.  Pratt's  dismissal.  He  was  installed 
May  21, 1828,  and  was  dismissed  at  his  own  re- 
quest January  1,  1833.  He  died  at  Harrisville 
October  17,  1845.  From  1833  Rev.  Ebenezer 
( lhase  preached  two  years.  Under  his  ministry 
the  church  membership  was  largely  increased. 
The  two  churches  united  in  supporting  the  same 
minister,  holding  services  in  each  house  alter- 
nately until  the  house  at  the  South  village  was 
destroyed  by  lire.  In  1835  Rev.  Clark  Perrv 
is  found  laboring  here.  Then  came  Rev. 
Thomas  E&iggs.  Be  was  installed  December  30, 
1835,  and  dismissed  June  17, 1839.  During  the 
year  1840  Rev.  AJanson  Alvord  supplied  the 
pulpit  June  16,1841,  Rev.  Robt.W.  Fuller  was 
ordained  and  was  dismissed  January  11,  1843, 
nearly  fifty  members  were  added  to  the  church 


under  his  ministration.  Rev.  George  W.  Ash 
was  ordained  October  25,  1843,  and  dismissed 
March  11,  1846.  Rev.  Stephen  Rodgers  com- 
menced preaching  August  6,  1846.  For  a  time 
the  society  flourished,  a  parsonage  was  purchased, 
the  church  building  was  remodeled,  but  a  day  of 
trial  was  near;  a  portion  of  its  members,  mostly 
living  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  withdrew 
and  formed  a  new  society  at  the  South  village. 
For  a  time  it  was  war,  bitter  and  unrelenting. 
Its  effects  were  lasting  and  withering.  We 
hasten,  for  we  are  on  dangerous  ground.  Mr. 
Rodgers  was  dismissed  in  1857.  Following  Mr. 
Rodgers  came  Rev.(  lharles  Greenwood,  who  was 
ordained  pastor  November  5,  1857  ;  dismissed 
January  27,  1859.  Rev.  Kiah  B.  Glidden 
commenced  preaching  January  20,  1860,  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  June  19,  I860, and  re- 
mained till  January  29,  1863.  Rev.  Solomon 
Bixby  was  acting  pastor  from  February,  1863, 
to  February,  1868.  For  the  year  ensuing  Rev. 
Edward  F.  Abbott  supplied  the  pulpit — 
1868-69.  For  some  years  thereafter  there  was 
no  regular  preaching.  In  September,  1873, 
both  churches  united  in  employing  as  acting 
pastor  Rev.  C.  K.  Hoyt,  then  a  recent  graduate 
of  the  Auburn  Theological  School;  he  remained 
until  May,  10,  1874.  November  19,  1874,  both 
churches  formally  consolidated  in  a  single  organ- 
ization. Rev.  Charles  N.  Flanders,  an  An- 
dover  graduate,  was  ordained  as  pastor  Decem- 
ber 29,  1874,  and  was  dismissed  November  4, 
1878.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Grimes 
in  1879,  who  was  the  acting  pastor  for  nearly 
three  years.  Rev.  Roswell  Foster  supplied  the 
pulpit  in  L884-85. 

The  First  Congregational  Church. — A 
society  was  organized  under  the  above  name 
May,  1  852.  The  same  year  it  built  a  house  for 
public  worship  at  the  South  village.  This 
house  was  dedicated  December  22,  LS52.  On 
the  following  Sabbath  Rev.  Robert  W.  Fuller 
commenced  preaching  in  the  new  house.  A 
church  organization  was  instituted  at  an  eccle- 
siastical council  held  December  26,1852.     This 


WESTMORELAND. 


477 


church  was  formed  from  sixteen  members  who 
had  withdrawn  from  the  old  church  and  two 
others.  The  first  meeting  of  this  church  was 
held  February  9,  1853.  Ou  the  15th  of  the 
same  month  Abraham  How  and  Gil  man  White 
were  elected  deacons;  they  had  held  previously 
the  same  position  in  the  old  church.  This 
church  was  admitted  into  the  Cheshire  Confer- 
ence of  Churches  June  14,  1854.  January  7, 
1856,  Mr.  Fuller  resigned  his  pastorship.  Rev. 
Oscar  Bissell  followed  him,  his  ordination  oc- 
curring May  14,  1856;  lie  was  dismissed  April 
28,  1861.  For  two  years  thereafter  Rev.  E.  B. 
Bassett  was  the  acting  pastor,  commencing 
April  14,  1862.  From  May,  1864,  to  May, 
1869,  Rev.  William  Claggett  was  acting  pastor. 
From  the  autumn  of  1869  to  September,  1873, 
Rev.  Thomas  L.  Fowler  supplied  the  pulpit. 
In  1873  this  society  joined  the  old  society  in 
holding  services  in  their  respective  houses  alter- 
nately, employing  the  same  pastor,  and  have 
continued  this  relation  to  the  present  time. 

The  Baptist  Church. — A  Baptist  society 
was  formed  in  East  Westmoreland  as  early  as 
1771.  Rev.  Ebenezer  Baily  was  ordained  its 
first  pastor,  November  30,  1773.  The  members 
of  this  society  mainly  came  from  Middleborough, 
Mass.,  and  were  members  of  its  first  church.  The 
first  church  building  erected  by  this  society  was 
doubtless  an  unpretentious  affair,  and  stood  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  common  from  school- 
house  No.  2.  January  3,  1789,  this  society 
voted  to  build  a  new  house  and  to  locate  it 
west  of  the  old  house,  and  adjacent  to  the  old 
site.  This  house  was  thoroughly  built,  and  was 
completed  October,  1790.  Elder  Baily 's  pas- 
torate was  eminently  a  successful  one.  It  ex- 
tended over  thirty  years.  During  his  ministry 
this  society  was  strong  and  influential. 

The  following  is  the  petition  for  the  incorpo- 
ration of  a  Baptist  society,  addressed  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  June  4,  1800  : 

"  Humbly  Shew  Your  Petitioners,  Inhabitants  of 
the  Towns  of  Westmoreland,  Walpole,  Surry  and 
Keene,  Professors  of  Religion  by  the  Denomination 
of  Baptists — That  for  many  years  last  past  they  have 


assembled  together  for  public  Worship  as  a  Baptist 
Society :  and,  for  the  more  orderly  and  regular  man- 
agement of  the  same — pray  that  they,  with  such 
others  as  may  hereafter  be  admitted  as  members,  may 
be  incorporated  into  a  religious  Society  to  be  called 
and  known  by  the  name  of  the  First  Baptist  So- 
ciety in  Westmoreland  with  sufficient  power  and 
authority  to  support  and  Settle  a  minister— to  build 
and  repair  meeting  Houses  and  to  raise  and  Collect 
taxes  for  those  purposes — To  warn  and  hold 
meetings  and  to  choose  all  proper  officers  for  transact- 
ing and  managing  the  Concerns  of  said  Society  and  to 
make  by  Laws  for  regulating  the  same,  provided  the 
same  are  not  contrary  to  the  Constitution  and  Laws 
of  the  State — and  for  Liberty  to  bring  in  a  Bill  accord- 
ingly— Or,  that  the  Honourable  Court  would  make 
such  Order  on  the  premises  as  to  them  shall  seem 
meet — and  as  in  duty  bound  pray 

"  Caleb  Aldrich  Jr  Dudley  Thomas 

Wm  Brettun  Daniel  Wilber 

Sammuel  Robbins  Paul  Clark 

John  Brown  Ephraim  Brown 

Asa  Hancock  Joseph  Whitney 

Noah  Fuller  Jf  Stephen  Bowker 

Ebenr  Wright  John  White 

Chever  Fowler  Levi  Hancock 

John  Chamberlain  Benj"  Leonard 

John  Chamberlain  Jr  Jonathan  Wilber 

Levi  Ware  Oliver  Wright 

Oliver  Smith  Jabez  Straton 

Nehemiah  Brown  Philip  Britton 

Cyrus  Staples  Benjamin  Merryfield 

Joshua  Fuller  Benjamin  Carpenter 

John  Snow  Elijah  A.  Hall 

Amos  Brown  Zephaniah  Leach  Jr 

Samuel  Woodward  William  Aldrich 

Jona  Winchester  Rufus  Smith 

Seth  Bretun  Joshua  Hall " 
John  Paul 

Nine  of  these  petitioners  were  inhabitants  of 
Surry. 

December  10,  1800,  this  society  was  incorpo- 
rated by  legislative  enactment,  by  the  name  of 
the  First  Baptist  Society  in  Westmoreland.  In 
1810  Elder  Nathan  Leonard  came  from  Sutton, 
Mass.,  and  preached  nearly  four  years.  He  is 
represented  to  have  been  an  able  pulpit  orator 
and  a  smart  business  man.  In  June,  1818, 
Elder  Simeon  Chamberlain  was  ordained,  but 
completed  his  pastorate  before  the  close  of  the 
year.  January,  1821,  found  Elder  Hosea  Trum- 


478 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


bull  first  preaching  to  this  society,  over  which 
he  was  ordained  May  20,  1822.  February  26, 
1826,  Benjamin  Dean,  Jr.,  was  ordained  at 
Swanzey  as  an  evangelist,  and  accepted  a  call  to 
labor  with  this  society.  For  many  years  there 
was  no  preaching,  except  by  itinerants.  An 
act  having  passed  the  Legislature  in  1848  relat- 
ing to  the  sale  of  meeting-houses  in  cases  where 
they  had  not  been  occupied  for  the  space  of  two 
years,  led  the  way  to  a  vote  of  the  proprietors 
to  sell  this  house  about  1852.  It  was  purchased 
by  a  union  association,  and  removed  and  rebuilt 
into  the  present  house  at  East  Westmoreland. 
John  B.  Osborn  was  the  contractor ;  the  con- 
tract-price was  $1000,  with  the  old  house 
and  some  contributions  of  labor.  This  house 
was  built,  and  is  now  owned  as  a  union  house. 
Each  denomination  is  entitled  to  the  occupancy 
of  the  house  in  proportion  to  their  respective 
ownership.  Here,  for  many  years,  Rev.  Jehiel 
Claflin  has  labored  faithfully,  and  with  deserv- 
ing credit.  At  the  present  time  Rev.  N.  D. 
Parsons  conducts  oue  service  weekly  under  Bap- 
tist auspices.  In  this  house  Rev.  Mr.  Bruce 
conducts  one  service  weekly  at  the  present  time 
under  the  Christian  creed  auspices. 

In  17!>7  a  church  building  was  erected  in  the 
Glebe  Parish;  its  site  was  on  the  rise  of  ground 
upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  highway  from 
the  No.  4  school-house.  This  building  was 
never  completely  finished  and  was  removed  to 
the  Chesterfield  Factory  village  in  1828  or  1829 
and  made  over  into  the  present  bit-shop.  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Wilbur  was  the  only  regular  preacher 
in  this  house,  preaching  about  twenty  years.  I 
do  not  learn  that  any  church  organization  was 
ever  formed  to  worship  in  this  house,  or  that 
Mr.  Wilbur  was  ever  ordained.  This  house 
was  built  and  preaching  maintained  therein 
mainly  by  those  of  the  Baptist  persuasion. 

The  Christian  Church  and  Society  in 
Westmoreland  originated  about  the  year  1818, 
mainly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Elder 
Edward  B.  Rollins.  This  sect  is  an  offshoot  of 
the  Free- Will  Baptists,  originating   about   the 


year  1800,  from  the  preaching  of  one  Abner 
Jones,  of  Vermont.  Elder  Rollins  was  one  of 
the  first  to  espouse  this  creed,  and  commenced 
his  labors  in  this  vicinity  by  founding  a  society 
in  Walpole  in  1817.  He  was  at  that  time  a 
young  man  of  fine  presence,  an  able  and  elo- 
quent speaker,  gifted  with  a  rich,  musical  voice, 
and  especially  effective  in  addressing  his  appeals 
clothed  in  Scriptural  language.  He  possessed 
to  a  large  degree  those  magnetic  qualities  that 
draw  an  ardent  following.  In  1825  an  unpre- 
tentious one-story  building  was  erected  in  the 
East  Parish  for  the  use  of  this  society.  In 
this  house  Elder  Moses  Winchester,  a  convert 
to  the  preaching  of  Elder  Rollins,  preached  for 
nearly  thirty  years. 

Elder  Winchester  possessed  a  natural  gift  for 
public  speaking,  and  if  he  had  been  blessed 
with  a  liberal  education  would  have  ranked 
high  among  the  pulpit  orators  of  the  land.  He 
often  lamented  his  lack  of  a  thorough  educa- 
tion.  His  life  was  truly  an  exemplary  one  in 
all  the  Christian  graces. 

At  the  present  time  Rev.  Mr.  Bruce  is  offici- 
ating as  elder  of  this  society.  For  many  years 
Deacon  Gains  Hall  was  its  wise  counselor  and 
liberal  supporter.  It  was  largely  through  his 
liberality  and  influence  that  its  meetings  were 
maintained  and  its  society  kept  alive. 

The  Unix  kksalist  Church. — For  some 
years  prior  to  1827  there  existed  a  feeling  and 
a  desire  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  people  liv- 
ing in  the  south  part  of  the  town  to  hold  relig- 
ious services  at  the  then  newly-planted  South 
village.  Naturally  this  feeling  led  to  the  con- 
templation of  erecting  a  new  church  edifice. 
The  south  part  of  the  town  contained  many 
influential  men  of  means  and  ability  who  in- 
dorsed Universal  ism.  So  far  they  had  met  the 
Orthodox  people  as  brethren,  paying  their  pro- 
portion of  ministerial  taxes.  The  proposed 
new  location  received  their  approval  and  en- 
couragement. The  people  in  the  north  part 
of  the  town  and  Hill  village  naturally  opposed 
the  removal.    They  looked  upon  its  accomplish- 


WESTMORELAND. 


479 


ment  as  presaging  a  division  of  the  church  ; 
and  upon  the  proposed  new  location  with  uncon- 
cealed hostility.  It  was  clearly  apparent  that 
certain  elements  were  working  in  the  direction 
of  making  the  South  village  the  centre  of  the 
town  for  all  gatherings. 

Sectional  feeling-  ran  high.  Ambition  en- 
kindled  into  a  blaze,  and  the  red-hot  coals  of 
agitation  were  kept  fanned  to  their  iutensest  heat. 
About  this  time  Josiah  Knight,  who  lived 
where  Mrs.  S.  A.  Barker  now  lives,  offered  to 
give  an  acre  of  land  for  a  site  for  a  church 
building  and  for  a  common  around  it,  upon  the 
condition  "  that  it  should  be  devoted  to  this 
purpose  and  to  no  other,  and  so  to  remain 
forever."  Afterwards  he  gave  a  strip  of  land 
for  the  horse-sheds.  This  offer  naturally 
brought  the  agitation  to  a  focus.  Immediately 
subscription-papers  in  the  hands  of  enthusiastic 
influential  men  soon  secured  sufficient  means  to 
erect  a  large  and  well-built  edifice.  It  was 
built  of  brick,  with  galleries  around  three  sides 
of  it,  and  was  completed  in  1827,  at  a  cost  of 
$5343,  about  one-half  of  which  was  paid  by 
the  Universalists.  It  was  built  bv  Sherebiah 
Cowdery.  It  was  dedicated  January  1,  1828. 
Rev.  Solomon  Robinson,  of  Stoddard  preached 
the  dedication  sermon.  So  a  new  church 
organization  was  formed  and  christened  as  the 
First  Congregational  Church. 

At  the  same  time  Rev.  Allen  Pratt  left  the  pul- 
pit at  the  Hill  village,  where  he  had  labored 
many  years,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the 
new  church.  With  him  came  his  two  deacons, 
Josiah  Noyes  and  Abraham  Howe.  For  a  time 
the  new  society  flourished,  but  it  soon  became  ap- 
parent that  it  was  composed  of  incongruous  ele- 
ments. The  Universalists  soon  demanded  the 
use  of  the  house  a  portion  of  the  time  for  preach- 
ing of  their  faith.  This  demand  was  stoutly 
resisted  by  the  Orthodox  people.  Thereupon  a 
new  contention  arose.  The  contest  waxed 
fierce,  but  it  soon  ended.  On  Sunday  evening, 
March  1,  1838,  an  alarm  of  fire  rang  through 
the  still  night  air.     A  sheet  of  fire  was  seen  to 


burst  out  of  the  belfry  of  the  church,  and  in  a 
short  time  it  lay  a  mass  of  blackened,  smoulder- 
ing ruins.  Suspicion  declared  the  origin  of  the 
fire  to  have  been  incendiary,  but '  it  was  never 
proved.  Soon  after  the  burning  of  this  church 
the  Orthodox  people  returned  to  the  old  church. 
The  remains  of  the  building,  together  with  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  pertaining  to  the  prop- 
erty, was  sold  at  auction  and  purchased  by 
Captain  Wilson  Gleason,  in  behalf  of  the 
Universalists,  for  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
dollars.  They  immediately  commenced  to 
erect  a  new  edifice,  nearly  upon  the  old  site, 
but  of  much  smaller  dimensions. 

The  length  of  the  new  house  is  one  foot  less 
than  the  width  of  the  old  one.  The  same 
brick,  foundation-stone  and  frontal  steps  were 
used.  It  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  the 
the  month  of  September,  1838.  Rev.  Charles 
Woodhouse,  who  had  preached  occasionally 
prior  to  this  very  acceptably  to  the  Universal- 
ists of  this  town,  preached  the  dedication  ser- 
mon from  the  apt  text,  "  The  glory  of  this 
latter  house  shall  be  greater  than  the  former 
saith  the  Lord."  So  far  the  Universalists  had 
no  regular  organization,  but  on  the  10th  day  of 
December,  1838,  a  meeting  was  held  for  this 
purpose,  which  adjourned  to  January  7,  1839. 
Meantime,  a  notice,  as  required  by  law,  was 
published  in  the  Farmer  and  Museum,  a  news- 
paper then  published  in  Keene,  as  follows  : 

"  Notice  is  hereby  given  that  Wilson  Gleason,  Has- 
kell Buffum,  Barton  Simmons,  Stephen  Barker,  John 
Pierce  and  their  associates  have  formed  themselves 
into  a  religious  society,  to  be  known  and  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  Universalist  Society  in  Westmore- 
land, agreeably  to  the  Statute  in  such  case  made  and 
provided.     Westmoreland,  Dec.  11,  1838." 

At  the  adjourned  meeting  the  organization 
was  perfected  by  adopting  a  code  of  by-laws  and 
choosing  necessary  officers.  The  list  of  mem- 
bers numbered  thirty,  and  were  as  follows : 

Prescott  B.  Albee,  Stephen  Barker,  Arba 
Barker,  Tileston  A.  Barker,  William  Bennett, 
Snell  Buffum,  Erasmus  Buffum,  Haskell  Buf- 


480 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


fum,  Calvin  Q.  A.  Britton,  Silas  Brown,  Na- 
than G.  Babbittt,  Elias  Chamberlain,  Amasa 
Chaffee,  Caleb  C.  Daggett,  Wilson  Gleason, 
Clinton  Gleason,  Gilbert  T.  Heustis,  Samuel 
How,  Samuel  How  (2d)  Reuben  Kendall,  Jotham 
Lord,  John  Pierce,  Jotham  L.  Paine,  Barton 
Simmons,  Harlon  H.  Simmons,  Barton  Skin- 
ner, Timothy  Skinner,  Carlton  Thayer,  Samuel 
Torrey,  Erastus  Ware.  The  support  of  preach- 
ing was  to  be  defrayed  partly  by  subscription 
and  the  balance  by  taxation  of  the  members, 
upon  the  basis  of  valuation  of  each  as  made  by 
the  selectman  for  general  town  purposes.  But 
this  plan  of  taxation  soon  proved  unsatisfactory 
and  in  consequence  some  requested  to  have  their 
names  cancelled  from  membership.  In  1845 
the  society  voted  to  raise  the  necessary  money 
entirely  by  voluntary  subscription,  and  have 
pursued  this  plan  until  the  present  time.  Rev. 
Charles  Woodhouse  was  the  first  settled  minis- 
ter over  this  society,  preaching  every  Sabbath 
until  1841,  two-thirds  of  the  time  until  Jan- 
nary,  1843,  and  one-half  of  the  time  during  the 
remainder  of  his  ministry,  which  ended  Jan- 
uary, 1S44.  Mr.  Woodhouse  possessed  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  and  Mas  especially  noted 
for  his  aptness  to  fit  himself  for  any  occasion 
with  credit  to  himself  and  general  satisfaction 
t<>  his  hearers.  His  Christmas  discourse  of 
1 8  13  is  still  remembered  as  one  of  unusual  abil- 
ity, and  his  memory  is  cherished  by  our  older 
men,  who  remember  him  well  with  great  re- 
spect. He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Josiah  Mar- 
vin, then  a  young  man  and  a  pupil  of  Mr. 
Woodhouse.  He  commenced  his  labors  Janu- 
ary 1,  1841,  preaching  one-half  of  the  time  un- 
til 1848.  For  the  ensuing  year  there  was  no 
regular  preaching.  Early  in  the  year  184!)  Rev. 
A.  Scott  became  the  pastor  and  remained  one 
year.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Phineas  I  Ter- 
se v,  who  preached  one  year  from  May  15,  1850, 
one-half  of  the  time.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  E.  H.  Lake,  who  preached  one-half  of  the 
time  to  January,  1855.  Mr.  Lake  was  quite 
popular   as  a  pulpit   orator   and   succeeded  in 


drawing  good  audiences.  He  was  followed  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Sias,  who  remained  one  year.  From 
this  time  to  Jauuary,  1857,  R3V.  Solomon  Laws 
preached  occasionally.  Rev.  S.  H.  McColles- 
ter  was  pastor  from  1857  to  1862.  The  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  McCollester  extended  beyond  the 
bounds  of  his  own  society  and  town  even.  He 
was  active  in  the  cause  of  education  and  excelled 
as  a  teacher.  As  a  superintendent  of  schools 
none  surpassed  him  and  few,  indeed,  could  equal 
him.  His  influence  for  improvement  of  com- 
mon schools  wras  felt  wherever  he  went.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  here  he  was  preceptor  of  the 
Valley  Academy  and  was  very  successful.  His 
services  at  funerals  were  very  satisfactory  and 
of  wTide-spread  demand.  His  removal  from 
town  was  felt  to  be  a  public  loss. 

In  1860  the  society  bought  a  piece  of  land  of 
Col.  T.  A.  Barker,  and  erected  a  parsonage 
thereon  at  an  expense  of  $937.15.  This  was 
sold  to  W.  R.  Dunham,  M.D.,  April  1,  1869, 
for  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  the  place  of 
Mary  Paine  pnrchased  for  a  like  purpose  for 
six  hundred  dollars.  From  1862  to  1869  Rev. 
O.  G.  Woodbury  was  pastor,  preaching  one-half 
of  the  time.  During  the  years  1869-70  Rev. 
Solomon  Laws  preached  a  portion  of  the  time* 
In  1871  Rev.  Joseph  Barber  commenced  preach- 
ing one-half  of  the  time  and  remained  until 
1877.  Since  then  the  pulpit  has  been  supplied 
by  Rev.  Hiram  B.  Morgan,  of  Chesterfield, 
Rev.  Edward  Smiley  and  Rev.  W.S.  Williams, 
of  Putney,  Vt.,  in  order  named. 


CHAPTER    V. 

WESTMORELAND— (Continued). 

MANUFACTURING,    SCHOOLS    AND    POLITICS. 

WESTMORELAND  from  its  earliest  settlement 
has  been  emphatically  a  farming  town, 
although  it  possesses  a  considerable  amount  of 
water  power,  principally  furnished  by  the  Part- 
ridge  Brook,  and  to  a   limited   extent  by  Mill 


WESTMORELAND. 


481 


Brook  and  other  lesser  streams.  As  early  as 
March  30,  1752,  the  proprietors  of  the  town 
voted  to  give  any  person  that  would  build  a 
grist-mill  in  said  town  the  sum  of  £150  and 
fiftv  acres  of  land  on  the  Mill  Brook,  with  the 
condition  that  the  mill  should  be  put  into  opera- 
tion by  August  1st  ensuing,  and  to  be  kept  in 
good  repair  for  ten  years  thereafter.  A  tax  was 
imposed  of  six  pounds,  old  tenor,  upon  each  pro- 
prietor to  defray  the  expense  of  building  a  mill, 
and  for  the  building  and  repairs  of  the  high- 
ways. Thomas  Chamberlain  and  Samuel  Minot, 
accepted  the  offer  and  built  the  first  mill  in 
town.  Afterwards,  for  many  years,  it  was 
known  as  the  Granger  mill.  About  the  year 
1800  it  was  rebuilt  by  its  owner,  Eldad  Granger. 
For  many  years  it  was  actively  employed  until 
it  was  suffered  to  go  to  decay.  Previous  to  its 
construction  the  citizens  of  this  town  had  to  go 
to  Hinsdale  and  to  Xorth  Charlestown  to  do  their 
milling.  Mr.  Sanford  Granger  informs  me  that 
he  was  told,  when  a  boy,  that  the  people  had  to 
go  a  long  way  "  roundabout  "  to  either  mill  in 
order  to  avoid  the  Indians,  who  were  lurking 
in  the  valley.  This  was  long  before  the  advent 
of  wheel  vehicles,  and  the  only  means  of  con- 
veyance was  on  horseback,  and  at  first  the  only 
roads  were  paths  through  the  woods  indicated 
by  blazed  trees. 

The  first  saw  and  grist-mill  built  upon  the 
Partridge  Brook  was  located  above  the  bridge 
leading  to  the  C.  Q.  A.  Britton  place.  They 
w^ere  built  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War;  by 
whom,  I  am  unable  to  state.  About  1800, 
Aristides  Heustis  purchased  them  and  sold 
them  to  Captain  Simeon  Cobb,  and  from  him 
they  passed  to  his  son,  General  Simeon  Cobb. 
These  mills  were  located  upon  opposite  sides  of 
the  stream.  The  saw-mill  was  on  the  south 
side  and  facing  the  south.  In  the  grist-mill 
was  a  carding-machine,  which  had  a  large  pat- 
ronage for  many  years.  In  1808  a  freshet  car- 
ried awav  the  dam  and  saw-mill,  and  the  grist- 
mill  went  to  decay.  At  the  time  the  freshet 
struck  the  mill  the  saw    was  in    operation    and 


nearly  through  the  log.  Cobb  remarked  that  he 
thought  it  would  get  through  before  it  reached 
Hartford.  Upon  rebuilding,  General  Cobb  lo- 
cated them  below  the  bridge ;  his  son  Albert 
superintended  their  erection,  and  his  son-in-law, 
Aaron  B.  Woollev  tended  them  many  years. 
Farther  up  this  stream,  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  Leonard  Keep  built  a  saw 
and  grist-mill.  For  many  years  they  were  operated 
by  Thomas  McNeal.  A  short  distance  below 
on  the  stream  McXeal  had  a  linseed  oil  mill. 
This  mill  building,  many  years  since,  was  re- 
moved and  constructed  into  a  dwelling-house, 
now  occupied  by  J.  P.  Bennett.  After  passing 
through  the  hands  of  many  proprietors,  the 
saw  and  grist-mill,  with  adjacent  land,  were 
purchased  by  Leonard  W'ilcox,  in  1875,  under 
whose  energetic  administration  they  have  been 
improved,  and  are  doing  a  thriving  business. 

Ebenezer  Pierce  rebuilt  a  grist-mill  about 
the  year  1842,  and  put  therein  a  carding-ma- 
chine ;  it  has  now  gone  into  decay.  A  short 
distance  above,  David  Johnson  built  a  saw- 
mill in  1776.  This  mill  afterwards  was  owned 
many  years  by  Abiather  Shaw,  and  has 
been  actively  employed  to  the  present  time. 
Still  farther  up  the  stream  David  French  built 
a  saw-mill,  which  has  cut  out  a  large  amount 
of  lumber  and  proved  for  many  years  a  lucra- 
tive investment.  This  mill  was  built  during  or 
soon  after  the  Revolutionarv  War.  A  grist- 
mill  was  erected  by  Xathan  Franklin  upon  the 
Ox  Brook  previous  to  1800,  and  was  located  at 
Mine  Falls.  Afterwards  a  company  built  a 
saw-mill  on  the  site  where  the  bridge  now 
stands ;  both  were  swept  away  by  a  severe  freshet. 
South  of  the  house  of  Charles  H.  Leach  form- 
erly stood  a  fulling-mill,  built  by  one  McMurphy 
about  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
where,  under  the  charge  of  Nat.  Fisk  and  Jimna 
Walker,  each  twenty  years,  and  afterwards 
Henry  Leach,  considerable  business  was  done 
at  fulling  cloth. 

About,  if  not,  the  first  cut  nails  manufactured 
in  this  country  were  made  in  this  shop. 


482 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


In  the  year  1856  both  dam  and  mill  were 
swept  away  by  a  freshet,  together  with  quite 
an  amount  of  machinery.  In  1859  Colonel 
D.  AY.  Patten  moved  the  Dean  shop  from 
Park  Hill,  and  worked  it  over  into  a  mill 
that  was  used  for  various  purposes — at  first 
for  dressing  lumber,  then  as  a  pail  manufac- 
tory. In  187.'),  while  repairing  the  building,  it 
fell  to  the  ground  a  mass  of  ruins.  The  same 
year,  upon  the  same  site,  he  erected  the  present 
building  and  built  a  stone  cement  dam.  In 
18(32  Edwin  J.Goodnow  moved  the  Beebe  house 
from  the  East  Parish  and  fitted  it  into  a  mill  for 
the  manufacturing  and  dressing  of  lumber; 
afterward  he  put  the  old  No.  4  brick  school- 
house  into  his  chimney  and  attached  steam 
power.  This  mill  is  now  doing  a  good  busi- 
ness. 

At  an  earlier  date  Levi  Chapin  erected  a  saw- 
mill near  and  south  of  the  house  of  S.  H.  Burt, 
but  it  has  long  since  passed  away.  Below  the 
lower  bridge  on  Mill  Brook,  Ephraim  Brown 
at  an  early  date  built  a  saw-mill.  This  mill 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Major  Butterfield,  and 
soon  after  was  burnt.  Procuring  lumber,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  frame  another  building,  but  the  tim- 
ber was  burnt  ere  he  could  raise  it.  Both  fires 
were  the  work  of  an  incendiary.  Above  this 
site,  and  nearly  opposite  the  house  of  J.  W. 
Keith,  was  another  saw-mill,  but  by  whom  and 
when  it  was  erected  is  to  me  unknown. 

The  first  mill  on  the  site  of  the  present 
mills  of  E.  W.  Bosworth  was  built  about  the 
year  1777,  by  Major  Britton.  At  the  time  of 
its  erection  noble  pine-trees  stood  so  near  and 
thick  to  the  mill  that  logs  enough  for  many 
thousand  feet  of  lumber  were  rolled  directly 
from  the  stump  into  the  mill.  Soon  after  the 
erection  of  this  mill  an  ineffectual  attempt  was 
made  to  turn  the  pond  of  water  that  formerly 
stood  upon  Surry  Summit  (since  drained  by  the 
building  of  the  Cheshire  Railroad)  into  the 
Mill  Brook.  This  mill  was  rebuilt  in  1812  by 
Stephen  and  Robert  Britton,  Gaius  and  Joshua 
Hall.      Henry    Hall    built    the    first   grist-mill 


here,  having  previously  run  a  small  fulling- 
mill  in  the  same  building. 

Above,  on  land  now  owned  by  J.  B.  Hall, 
( )harles  C.  Comstock  built  a  saw-mill  about  1845. 
Afterwards  Mr.  Comstock  removed  to  Michigan, 
and  in  1884  was  elected  a  Representative  in  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives.  Other 
mills  undoubtedly  have  been  built  that  have 
not  come  to  the  notice  of  the  writer.  The 
list  of  different  brick-yards  and  wheelwright- 
shops,  like  the  ending  of  an  auction  bill,  are 
"  too  numerous  to  mention."  At  one  time  Na- 
thaniel Wilber  had  a  powder-mill  south  of  the 
present  East  Parish  Church.  It  is  related  that 
one  evening,  while  Wilber  was  at  work  in  his 
mill,  for  want  of  a  candle-stick,  he  stuck  his  tal- 
low dip  into  an  open  barrel  of  powder;  being 
busily  engaged,  ere  he  was  aware  his  "dip" 
had  burnt  down  to  the  improvised  "  stick."  The 
next  day  he  was  lamenting  the  loss  of  nearly 
half  of  the  barrel  of  powder,  before  he  suc- 
ceeded in  putting  out  the  fire  therein. 

At  one  time  nail-making  was  quite  an  in- 
dustry, the  State  paying  a  bounty  on  hand-made 
nails.  In  order  to  illustrate  the  progress  of 
the  times,  I  insert  the  following  certificate  for 
illustration  from  many: 

"State  of  New  Hampshire. 
"  Cheshire  Ss,  Westmoreland,  May  yec  30th,  1791. 
"  We,  the  Subscribers,  selectmen  of  sd  Westmore- 
land, hereby  certify  that  Abiather  Shaw  of  said  West- 
moreland has  since  May  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-nine,  made  and  caused  to  be  made  in  his 
workshop  one  hundred  and  Ninety  Eight  thousand  of 
to  Penny  nales  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  thou- 
sand of  four  Penny  nales  and  fourteen  thousand  of 
Twenty  Penny  nales  and  thirty  five  thousand  of  six 
penny  nales,  the  whole  of  the  above  Nales  were  bona- 
fidely  wrought  and  made  in  the  shop  of  the  aforesaid 
abathierby  himself  and  hands  in  his  Imploy. 

"CALEB  ALDRICH,      )     Selectmen  of 
"David  Hutchins.    J   WestmoreUnd. 

"Counter  Signed  by  me  Amos  Babcock  the 
Nighest  Justis  of  the  Peace  to  S'1  abiathers  Work 
Shop." 

The  bounty  on  same  was  eight  pounds. 

Nor  an'   we  to  forget   another  industry,  cm- 


WESTMORELAND. 


483 


ploying  more  hands  than  all  the  other  manufac- 
turing industries  of  the  town  combined.  The 
nimble  hands  of  the  women  have  contributed  to 
keep  together  many  a  household  with  the  ill- 
paid  fruit  of  their  patient  toil  in  the  braiding 
of  palm-leaf  hats. 

COMMON   SCHOOLS. 
"  Lift  we  the  twilight  curtains  of  the  Past, 
And  turning  from  familiar  sight  and  sound ; 
Sadly  and  full  of  reverence  let  us  cast 
A  glance  upon  Tradition's  shadowy  ground ; 
Sadly  the  few  pale  lights  which  glimmering  round 
That  dim  strange  land  of  Eld  seem  dying  fast." 

Our  earliest  town  records  bear  the  date  of 
1775.  For  twenty  three  years  from  the  incor- 
poration of  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  scattered  papers  and  brief 
proprietors'  records,  we  have  no  "  written 
story  "  to  compile  from.  Here  and  there  we 
get  a  little  tradition  clouded  with  much  un- 
certainty. As  the  forefathers  of  the  town  lived 
and  moved  amid  scenes  of  constant  peril,  of 
privation  and  hardship,  it  is  not  to  be  presumed 
that  any  great  attention  was  given  to  common 
schools  previous  to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Previous  to  1784  the  selectmen  of  West- 
moreland had  made  some  provision  for  public 
instruction  by  employing  sundry  itinerant  in- 
structors to  teach  the  children  of  the  town  who 
are  capable  of  learning  to  read,  write,  and  cast 
accounts,  also  to  instruct  them  once  a  week  in 
some  orthodox  catechism.  One  pedagogue,  by 
the  name  of  Pettibone,  occasionally  came  from 
Massachusetts  on  horseback  and  kept  a  private 
school  in  a  dwelling-house  that  formerly  stood 
near  the  present  residence  of  Frederic  Dean, 
was  probably  the  first  "to  wield  the  birch"  in 
Westmoreland.  Probably  the  first  school- 
house  ever  erected  in  town  was  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  old  cemetery,  near  the 
residence  of  Fred  G.  Parker.  In  early  times 
the  eaves  of  the  church  sheltered  with  fostering 
care  the  school-house.  The  earliest  record  we 
have  been  able  to  find  of  any  action  of  the  town 
relating  to  schools  was  a  vote  passed  March  20, 
1748,  to  divide  the  town  into  four  districts,  to 
31 


be  called  squadrons.  Through  individual  enter- 
prise and  public-spirit,  six  school-houses  had 
previously  been  constructed  in  different  portions 
of  the  town,  and  were  located  as  follows :  One 
nearly  opposite  the  present  No.  4  house ;  one 
on  the  road  leading  from  F.  M.  Procter's  house 
to  Chesterfield,  near  the  south  line ;  one  near 
the  house  of  Adin  T.  Reed;  one  at  the  Hill 
village ;  one  on  the  north  side  of  old  highway, 
in  the  valley  east  of  the  present  No.  9  house, 
and  one  probably  near  the  present  No.  11  house. 
These  houses  did  not  compare  favorably  with 
the  comfortable  provisions  of  the  modern  school- 
house.  They  were  roughly  boarded,  low  posted 
with  "  long  benches  that  extended  around  the 
three  sides  of  the  room,  with  the  exception  of 
the  door-way.  The  fourth  side  was  occupied 
by  a  high  open  fire-place,  and  clumsy  chimney 
sometimes  laid  up  with  brick,  but  quite  as  often 
with  stone,  furnishing  the  most  ample  ventila- 
tion. Each  row  of  benches  to  the  rear  was 
elevated  upon  a  floor  a  step  higher  so  that  the 
back  seats  were  virtually  posts  of  observation. 
The  smaller  scholars  were  seated  in  front,  and 
came  more  directly  under  the  eye  of  the  school- 
master than  those  seated  in  the  rear,  and  doubt- 
less were  made  to  feel  the  fall  of  the  ponderous 
birchen  ferule  as  a  punishment  for  misdeeds  in- 
stigated from  the  more  secure  back  seats,  furnish- 
ing an  incentive  to  rise  more  potent  than  the 
desire  to  emerge  from  ignorance.  Here  were 
taught  in  primitive  style, — reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic,  and  sometimes  geography  and 
grammar.  But  pedagogues  capable  of  teaching 
the  latter  branches  were  rare.  A  necessary  re- 
quirement of  the  teacher  was  the  ability  to 
manufacture  a  good  pen  from  quills  brought 
for  that  purpose  by  the  scholars.  This  faculty 
must  now  be  included  among  the  lost  arts.  Nor 
were  text-books  in  those  times  very  common. 
A  spelling-book,  bound  in  boards,  was  con- 
sidered an  acquisition,  and  the  owner  was  rated 
rich  among  his  fellows.  For  many  years  Web- 
sters'  spelling-book  was  universally  used  both 
as  a  spelling  and  reader. 


484 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Its  interesting;  stories  are  still  related  with 
kindling  eye  and  animated  voice  by  many  of 
our  older  citizens.  In  1790  Webster's  old 
"Third  Part"  was  published,  then  came  the 
"  American  Preceptor,"  the  Columbian  Orator," 
the  "English  Header,"  the  "American  First 
Class  Book,"  "National  Reader,"  "Easy  Les- 
sons "  and  "  Sequal  to  Easy  Lessons,"  Pike's, 
"Adams,"  and  Colburn's  "Arithmetics,"  Morse's 
"  Geography  "  and  Murray's  "  Grammar  "  were 
also  taught  generally  in  later  years.  During 
tin  year  1789,  an  attempt  was  made  to  divide 
the  town  into  twelve  squadrons,  and  a  commit- 
tee was  chosen  to  make  the  divisions  and  to 
locate  the  school-houses.  It  appears  that  the 
committee  performed  their  duty,  for  the  town 
gave  due  credit  by  passing  a  vote  to  that  effect, 
still  from  some  cause  did  not  adopt  their  report. 
The  town  was  now  gaining  in  population  at 
the  rate  of  nearly  one  hundred  yearly.  It  had 
nearly  double  the  population  of  .to-day.  Many 
sections  of  the  towns  were  discommoded  by  dis- 
tance to  school-houses.  They  clamored  for 
greater  facilities,  and  labored  diligently  to  have 
tluii-  wants  supplied.  In  1792  the  town  voted 
to  create  a  new  school  squadron,  defining  its 
boundaries,  which  were  nearly  the  present 
bounds  of  Xo.  10. 

In  1794  the  town  choose  Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr., 
William  Hutchins  and  Nathan  Babbitt  a  com- 
mittee "  to  make  a  new  division  of  the  town 
into  schoolricks."  They  reported  in  favor  of 
eight  divisions,  to  be  called  school  wards.  They 
located  the  houses  substantially  as  follows  : 

First,  at  intersection  of  roads  west  of  O.  J.  Ware's 
house. 

Second,  near  the  house  of  F.  G.  Parker,  in  south- 
west corner   of  cemetery. 

Third,  on  the  site  of  the  present  No.  10  house. 

Fourth,  north  and  near  A.  Briggs'  house,  on  east 
side  of  road. 

Fifth,  at  intersection  of  roads  south  of  Frank  Al- 
drich's  house. 

Sixth,  near  Captain  Theodore  Coles'  house. 

Seventh,  near  S.  H.  Burts'  residence. 

Eighth,  near  Almon  Craig's  house. 


By  this  division  a  few  families  at  the  south- 
west and  east  parts  of  the  town  were  not  con- 
veniently accessible  to  a  school-house,  and  to 
these  few  families  the  town  gave  their  school 
money  tax  to  be  schooled  out  under  the  in- 
spection of  the  selectmen.  Those  in  the  extreme 
east  part  were  far  better  accommodated  by  send- 
ing to  the  adjoining  Surry  school-ward.  The 
following  year,  1796,  the  town  voted  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  pounds  for  the  building  and 
furnishing  of  school-houses,  "  to  be  divided 
according  to  what  they  pay,"  and  to  be  effected 
by  a  committee  chosen  for  that  purpose.  In 
1798  the  town  voted  to  make  a  new  division, 
and  chose  a  committee  for  that  purpose.  They 
made  eleven  divisions.  Beside  creating  three 
new  wards  they  made  considerable  alterations 
in  the  bounds  of  the  old  wards,  and  numbered 
them  differently. 

The  new  Ward  4  is  nearly  identical  with  the 
old  Ward  7,  and  its  house  is  on  the  same  site. 

The  new  Ward  5  is  nearly  identical  witli  the 
old  Ward  6,  with  the  same  site  for  its  school- 
house. 

The  Sixth  Ward  school-house  was  located 
south  of  the  house  of  Frank  T.  Aldrich  This 
ward  is  nearly  the  old  Ward  5. 

The  Seventh  Ward  house  remains  upon  old 
site. 

The  Eighth  Ward  house  was  now  built  on 
its  present  site. 

The  Ninth  Ward  house  location  was  left  dis- 
cretionary with  the  district  who  removed  it  to 
the  east  side  of  the  road  near  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  home-pasture  of  the  J.  N.  Bart- 
lett  estate.  In  1840  it  was  removed  to  its 
present  site. 

The  new  Ward  1  was  formed  from  the  di- 
vision of  the  old  Ward  8  into  the  new  Wards 
1  and  2.  Ward  8  house  became  Ward  2  house 
now  and  the  Ward  1  house  was  built  upon  the 
site  of  the  old  Christian  meetiug-house.  Af- 
terward it  was  removed  to  near  the  gateway 
leading  to  the  house  of  Albert  Chickering  and 
was  burnt. 


WESTMORELAND. 


485 


The  Third  Ward  house  was  built  at  the  in- 
tersection of  roads  near  the  site  of  the  Alvin 
Chickering  buildings.  In  1815  this  house  was 
removed  to  the  north  side  of  the  brook  on  east 
side  of  the  road,  near  the  house  of  Elmer  T. 
Nims.  In  1830,  the  present  house  was  built 
on  its  present  site.  The  new  Ward  10,  formerly 
a  portion  of  Ward  2  aud  3,  retained  the  site 
and  house  of  the  old  Ward  3.  Ward  1 1  house 
was  built  on  its  present  site. 

These  wards  remain  essentially  unchanged 
to-day.  The  committee  making  this  division 
consisted  of  Seth  Britton,  Joseph  Buifum,  Na- 
thaniel Blanchard,  Elias  Gates,  George  Cobb, 
James  Robbins,  Charles  Church,  Solomon 
Wheeler  and  Stephen  Bowker.  Their  report 
was  accepted  and  adopted  by  the  town,  and  five 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  were  raised  to  build 
and  repair  school-houses.  "  Each  ward  was  to 
have  what  they  paid."  March  19,  1798,  the 
town  chose  a  collector  and  a  building-committee 
of  three  from  each  ward.  Steward  Esty,  John 
Brown  and  Joseph  Hunt  were  chosen  to  ap- 
praise the  school-li3Uses  already  built  or  partly 
so.  Their  report  indicates  but  four  houses  ap- 
praised, namely  :  No.  10  house,  $153.33  ;  No. 
9  house,  $197.15  ;  No.  2  house,  $76.12  and  No. 
6  house,  $58.83.  In  1804  .the  town  raised 
seven  hundred  dollars  for  schooling  and  an- 
nexed Steward  Esty  and  Joseph  Wilber  to  the 
Second  Ward.  Thus  for  twenty -one  years  the 
town  has  been  variously  divided  into  squadrons, 
ricks  and  wards.  Previously  to  the  year  1805, 
the  care  of  the  schools  at  first  devolved  upon 
the  selectmen,  afterwards  upon  the  creation  of 
wards,  it  was  shifted  to  the  responsibility  of 
ward  committees. 

In  1 805  the  Legislature  established  by  statute 
the  district  system,  which  for  many  years  worked 
favorably,  but  as  our  population  lessens  it  fails 
to  be  as  satisfactory.  In  1807  Leonard  Wilcox's 
real  estate  (then  Thomas  McNeal's)  was  taken 
from  Ward  7  and  annexed  to  Ward  10.  In 
1808  the  Legislature  provided  for  superintend- 
ing School  committees,  whose  prescribed  duties 


were  to  visit  and  inspect  schools  at  such  times 
as  should  be  most  expedient  and  in  manner 
conducive  to  the  progress  of  literature,  morality 
and  religion. 

March  15,  1816,  Jothani  Lord,  one  of  the 
prominent  men  in  the  town,  donated  to  the 
town  the  sum  often  dollars,  upon  the  following 
conditions,  which  were  accepted  by  vote  of  the 
town,  May  17,  1817 

"That  the  money  was  to  be  cared  for  by  the  Se- 
lectmen, by  them  to  be  let  out,  not  exacting  from  any 
person  in  town  more  than  5  per  cent,  interest,  which 
must  be  paid  every  three  months.  The  town  to  have 
a  prior  right  to  the  loan  of  the  same,  to  be  loaned 
upon  good  security,  and  kept  until  its  annual  gains  and 
additions  shall  increase  the  sum  to  $2000,  after  which 
the  town  may  appropriate  the  interest  thereof  to 
such  purposes  as  they  may  think  most  useful  to  the 
town." 

For  many  years  it  has  been  deposited  in  the 
Cheshire  Provident  Institution,  and  now  amounts 
(1884)  to  $757.  25.  The  general  understanding 
is  that  it  shall  be  devoted  to  the  schools.  At 
this  same  meeting  the  town  voted  to  accept  the 
donation  of  one  thousand  dollars  from  the  will 
of  Eliphalet  Fox,  upon  the  conditions  that  the 
interest  be  devoted  toward  the  support  of  our 
schools.  For  many  years  this  has  been  a  peren- 
nial source  of  substantial  aid  to  the  cause  of 
education,  and,  while  the  mists  of  years  have 
obscured  the  history  of  Fox,  still  the  town  has 
occasion  to  revere  his  name  as  a  noble,  public 
benefactor.  In  1829  the  town  received  from  the 
State  $1772.67.  This  is  known  as  the  Literary 
Fund.  It  came  from  a  tax  imposed  by  the 
State  in  1821  of  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  on  the 
capital  stock  of  the  banks.  The  interest  there- 
on is  by  law  devoted  toward  the  support  of  the 
schools.  In  1829  the  Union  District  was 
formed  (No.  12),  from  Districts  No.  2  and  11, 
and  the  farms  formerly  owned  by  Isaac  Iv. 
White  and  Gardner  Knight  were  taken  from 
No.  3  and  annexed  to  No.  2.  In  1830  the 
school-house  in  No.  3  was  built  on  its  present 
site.  At  the  same  time  the  farm  of  F.  M. 
Procter  was  taken  from  No.  4  and  annexed  to 


436 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


No.  3,  also  the  place  of  William  Brown  from 
No.  5,  and  also  the  present  South  village  from 
No.  10.  From  No.  3  the  same  year  the  Butter- 
field  pasture  was  taken  and  annexed  to  No.  12; 
also  the  farm  of  Henry  C.  Cobleigh,  from  No. 
9  to  No.  8.  In  1835  a  committee  was  chosen 
to  define  the  boundaries  of  the  several  school 
districts.  It  consisted  of  one  member  from  each 
school  district,  namely,  Larkin  Baker,  Henry 
Esty,  Luna  Foster,  Increase  Warren,  Haskell 
Buffum,  Barton  Skinner,  Calvin  Q,.  A.  Britton, 
Timothy  Hoskins,  Jr.,  Aaron  Works,  Otis 
Hutehins,  David  Livingston  and  Zenas  Britton. 
Their  work  was  accepted,  and  remains  to-day 
the  only  written  record  of  boundaries  of  school 
districts  of  legal  force,  excepting  special  changes 
since  made  bv  vote  of  the  town  and  otherwise. 
In  LS3-")  the  No.  1  District  was  severed  into 
two,  and  therefrom  No.  13  formed. 

The  matter  of  location  of  school  houses  in 
town,  and  especially  in  the  East  Parish,  has 
been  the  fruitful  subject  for  much  contention  for 
many  years.  In  1845  several  lots  of  several 
owners  and  part  of  the  present  John  B.  Hall 
farm,  were  taken  from  No.  2  and  annexed  to  No. 
12.  About  1870  school-house  No.  1  was  burn- 
ed. A  difference  of  opinion  arose  respecting 
the  proper  site  for  a  new  house.  The  one  chosen 
did  not  meet  the  desire  of  all,  and  the  matter 
was  settled  by  resorting  to  the  county  commis- 
sioners, who  located  the  house  in  1873  upon  the 
present  site.  The  following  year  the  home- 
farm  of  J.  E.  Fuller  was  taken,  bv  act  of  the 
Legislature,  from  No.  2  and  annexed  to  No.  1. 
In  1884  the  farm  of  Dclana  Norris  was 
taken  from  No.  2  and  annexed  to  No.  1. 
In  1879  Districts  No.  1  and  13  were  united. 
Numerous  other  changes  have  been  made  on  the 
several  school  districts,  but  time  and  space  will 
not  admit  of  their  enumeration. 

The  Legislature  of  1884  repealed  this  system, 
and  the  town  became  one  district. 

In  comparison  with  former  years  our  schools 
have  very  largely  decreased  in  numbers  ;  to- 
day we  have  no  schools  with  eighty  to  one  hun- 


dred  and  upwards  of  scholars  as  was  formerly 
witnessed. 

Teachers  would  be  rare  indeed  to-day  who 
could  be  induced  to  take  one  of  those  old  time 
schools  to  manage.  It  required  more  than 
common  ability  to  manage  them  successfully 
then.  Among  the  successful  pedagogues  of 
those  earlier  years  were  Barton  Skinner,  Otis 
Hutehins,  Arvin  Aldrich,  Zenas  Britton, 
Charles  Butterfield,  Larkin  Baker  and  many 
others.  Among  them  was  one  Nathaniel  Wil- 
bore,  commonly  known  as  Priest  Wilbur.  It 
is  related  of  him  that  upon  a  certain  occasion 
while  teaching  the  school  in  the  present 
No.  2  district  one  of  his  scholars,  John  Bowker 
by  name,  having  committed  some  misdemeanor, 
was  sent  out  doors  by  Wilbur  "  to  prepare  for 
a  flogging.''  Bowker  proceeded  to  encase  his 
body  and  limbs  with  birch  bark  over,  which  he 
drew  his  clothes  and  presented  himself  for  cas- 
tigation.  Taking  his  switch  in  hand,  Wilbur 
struck  a  blow  around  the  culprit's  legs.  He  was 
surprised  to  hear  the  rattling  of  the  bark  and  to 
witness  the  illy-suppressed  merriment  of  his 
victim.  "What  does  this  mean  ?"  asked  Wilbur. 
"  It  means,"  replied  Bowker, "  that  I  have  obeyed 
your  orders  to  prepare  for  a  Hogging,  and  I  have 
to  the  best  of  my  ability."  It  is  said  that 
Bowker  escaped  punishment  that  time. 

POLITICAL. 

In  colonial  times  the  only  parties  (other  than 
local  or  personal)  were  the  supporters  and 
opposers  of  the  royal  prerogative.  These  were 
known  as  Whigs  and  Tories.  In  the  war  for 
independence  the  latter  party  became  extinct 
as  a  party.  Its  most  bigoted  members  fled 
from  the  country;  others,  by  concessions  to  the 
Whigs,  remained  surrounded,  however,  in  an 
atmosphere  of  deep-seated  hatred,  oftentimes  of 
persecution.  In  the  convention  that  framed 
the  Constitution  first  appeared  the  parties 
known  as  Federalists  and  Anti-Federalists. 
The  former,  under  the  leadership  of  Washing 
ton  and  the  elder  Adams,  wished  to  strengthen 


WESTMORELAND. 


487 


the  general  government  at  the  expense  of  the 
individual  States  that  entered  into  the  Confed- 
eration. The  latter  party,  under  the  lead  of 
Jefferson  and  Madison,  took  the  opposite  view, 
and  wished  to  maintain  the  independence  of 
the  individual  States  at  all  hazards.  The  re- 
sult was  a  compromise  Constitution.  Political 
history  is  the  record  of  compromise.  The  per- 
petuity of  any  republican  form  of  government 
is  dependent  upon  the  free  exercise  of  the  right 
of  suffrage,  under  proper  restrictions,  of  its 
nicely-balanced  power,  wielded  by  the  advocates 
or  the  opponents  of  measures  of  public  expedi- 
ency. After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
in  1789,  there  was  very  little  political  excite- 
ment. Westmoreland  was  practically  a  politi- 
cal Federal  unit  for  fifteen  vears.  Parties  had 
now  assumed  the  names  of  Federalists  and 
Republicans. 

In  1805  the  Republicans  carried  the  State; 
and  the  following  year  Westmoreland  for  the  first 
time.  The  votestood  :  For  John  Langdon,  146  ; 
Timothy  Farrar,  62;  John  J.  Gilman,  11. 
For  the  three  years  ensuing  Governor  Lang- 
don received  a  handsome  majority.  The  result 
was  reversed  in  1809  and  1810,  when  Jeremiah 
Smith,  the  Federal  nominee,  carried  the  town. 

For  some  years  a  heavy  vote  was  cast  and 
evidently  party  feeling  was  active.  This  be- 
gan to  subside  in  1818.  From  1810  to  1819 
first  one  party  was  in  the  ascendancy,  then  the 
other,  but  always  upon  a  light  vote.  In  1817 
James  Monroe  became  President,  and  the  Fed- 
eral name  disappeared  from  the  political  hori- 
zon. During  his  administration  arose  "the  ir- 
repressible conflict  "  between  liberty  and  slavery. 
This  was  a  topic  that  forced  itself  for  debate 
in  every  public  place,  at  every  private  hearth, — 
a  debate  that  waged  stronger  and  stronger  in 
the  course  of  years  and  finally  culminated  in 
the  firing  upon  Sumter  and  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.  Following  the  disappearance  of 
the  Federal  name  came  the  Radicals  and  the 
Conservatives,  but  all  were  merged  in  the  com- 
mon   name  of  Republicans.     When    measures 


became  obscure,  candidates  became  conspicuous 
and  served  to  excite  contention.  At  this  time 
David  L.  Morril  was  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  from  New  Hampshire.  Elo- 
quent and  incisive  of  speech,  he  fearlessly  stood 
up  in  the  Senate  Chamber  and  hurled  his  de- 
nunciations against  the  further  extension  of 
slavery.  In  1825  Westmoreland  complimented 
him  with  two  hundred  votes  for  Governor  and 
none  in  opposition.  In  the  warm  controversy 
that  ensued  towards  the  close  of  Monroe's  ad- 
ministration, respecting  who  of  the  five  candi- 
dates in  the  field  should  be  his  successor,  West- 
moreland voted  unanimously  for  the  Adams 
electors.  In  March,  1825,  New  England's  fav- 
orite son  was  inaugurated  the  sixth  President 
of  the  United  States.  Soon,  party  feeling  be- 
came stronger  and  more  acrimonious.  Under 
the  leadership  of  Adams  and  Clay,  a  new  party- 
name  appears,  called  the  National  Republican. 
In  later  years  it  took  the  name  of  Whigs,  and 
still  later,  in  1856,  it  united'  with  the  anti- 
slavery  party  and  took  the  old  name  of  Repub- 
licans. Westmoreland,  from  the  advent  of  the 
Whig  party  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion, 
strongly  leaned  toward  Democracy  ;  from  that 
time  it  has  generally  been  Republican,  although 
generally  very  evenly  divided. 

In  a  hasty  review,  let  us  now  consider  the 
part  that  Westmoreland  bore  in  the  several 
early  Constitutional  Conventions  and  the  events 
connected  therewith,  preliminary  to  the  final 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1789. 

On  May  9,  1775,  Joseph  Wilber  was  chosen 
a  delegate  to  a  convention  which  assembled  at 
Exeter  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month.  One 
hundred  and  two  towns  were  represented  by 
one  hundred  and  thirty-three  members.  Post- 
offices  were  established,  a  committee  of  supplies 
for  the  army  and  a  Committee  of  Safety  were 
formed,  and  the  provincial  records  secured, 
whereupon  this  convention  adjourned  Novem- 
ber 16th.  On  December  12,  1775,  Heber  Mil- 
ler was  chosen  representative  to  the  Provincial 
Congress,  to  be  held  at  Exeter  on  the  21st  day 


488 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  the  same  month,  and  Jonathan  Cole,  Benja- 
min Peirce,  Archelaus  Temple,  Joseph  Wilber, 
Waitstill  Scott,  John  Cole  and  Amos  Peirce 
were  chosen  a  committee  to  give  instructions  to 
the  representative.  Ebenczer  Britton  was  chosen 
a  Committee  of  Safety.    This  Congress,  without 
delay,  drew  up  a  new  form  of  government,  as- 
suming, on  the  5th  day  of  January,  177(i,  the 
name  and  authority  of  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives,   and    chose    twelve    persons    to    form    a 
separate  branch  of  the  Legislature,  to  be  called 
the  Council.    All  acts,  to  become  valid,  were  to 
be  approved  by  both   branches.     Each   branch 
was    to  chose   its  own    presiding    officers,  and 
both   branches  while  in  session   performed  ex- 
ecutive duties.     During  a  recess  of  the  Legis- 
lature a  Committee  of  Safety  was  provided  and 
chosen  to  perform  executive  duties.     Meshech 
Weare  was  chosen  president  of  this  Council,  and 
was  ex-officio  president  of  this  Committee  of 
Safety.  For  the  first  time  this  Congress  adopted 
the  name  of  Colony  of  New  Hampshire.    Soon 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  name 
Colony  was  dropped   and  the   name  State  sub- 
stituted. 

The  warrant  for  a  meeting  to  be  held  De- 
cember 13,  1776,  was  the  first  one  to  bear  the 
heading  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  On 
January  31,  1777,  the  town  voted  "dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  present  plan  of  government." 
While  the  particular  grievance  is  not  stated  in 
any  record,  still  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  town 
participated  in  the  very  general  feeling  exist- 
ing throughout  the  State  that  the  legislative 
branches  had  assumed  monarchical  powers. 

On  April  6,  1778,  Archelaus  Temple  was 
chosen  to  attend  the  convention  to  be  held  at 
Concord,  June  10th,  to  agree  upon  some  system 
or  form  of  government  for  the  State.  The 
plan  that  they  proposed  did  not  receive  the  ap- 
proval of  the  people. 

January    23,  1788,  Archelaus    Temple    was 
'  chosen  a  delegate  to  a  convention  to  be  held  at 


Exeter  the  ensuing;  month  to  consider  the  Fed- 
eral  Constitution,  and  in  behalf  of  the  State  to 
accept  or  reject  it.     June  21st  it  was  adopted. 
On  the  15th  of  December,  1788,  was  held  the 
first  town-meeting  for  the  purpose  of  voting  for 
representatives  in   the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  and  for  electors  of  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent.     Three   representatives  and  five  electors 
were  voted  for.     The  following  is  the  record  : 
Samuel     Livermore,     Benjamin     West,    Abial 
Foster  each  had  the  entire  number  of  votes— name- 
ly, thirty- two — for  representatives.    For  electors 
each  of  the  following  men   received   the  entire 
vote  cast, — twenty-seven  :     Joshua  Wentworth, 
Benjamin   Bellows,  Timothy  Farrar,  Ebenezer 
Smith,  Barzaliel  Woodward.      The  lightness  of 
the  vote  is  truly   surprising,  when  we  consider 
that    during    the   eleven   years    that    followed 
the    year   1775    the  population  of  Westmore- 
land  increased   rapidly.      From    758  in  1775 
it   reached  1620    in    1786.        The   town    was 
now    booming    with    prosperity.       This    con- 
tinued until  1820,  when,  from  various  causes,  the 
population  began  to  decrease.   The  first  election 
ever  held  for  State  and  county  officers  was  held 
under  the    new  Constitution,   March    3,   1784. 
The  entire  number  of  votes  cast  for  President  of 
the  State  were  given  to   John   Langdon,  being 

26.  There  were  no  votes  cast  for  Senators. 
The  Senatorial  districts  coincided  with  the  coun- 
ties, and  to  Cheshire  County  was  assigned  two 
to  elect. 

Archelaus  Temple  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  a 
convention  to  be  held  at  Concord,  September  7, 
1791.  This  convention  proposed  to  the  people 
for  their  ratification  seventy-two  amendments. 

Their  purport  does  not  now  appear.  August 

27,  1792,  the  town  "  Voted  to  accept  the  amend- 
ments under  the  head  of  Senate,  Governor  and 
Council."  This  Constitution,  with  the  several 
amendments  adopted  this  year,  remains  substan- 
tially to  the  present  time. 


WESTMORELAND. 


489 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WESTMORELAND— (Continued). 
MILITARY   HISTORY. 

I  would  that  I  could  write  of  the  military 
history  of  Westmoreland  with  an  approach  to- 
ward completeness.  The  records  of  the  town 
are  missing  from  its  incorporation  to  the  year 
1775.  Of  its  eventful  history  during  these 
twenty-three  years  we  have  only  the  most  meagre 
and  fragmentary  evidence.  Truly,  we  have  oc- 
casion to  mourn  their  loss.  It  is  certain  that 
Westmoreland  was  represented  in  the  last  French 
and  Indian  War,  but  how  numerouslv  we  know 
not.  Its  citizens  were  frequently  called  upon 
to  repel  Indian  forays,  of  which  mention  is  made 
in  another  chapter.  Joel  Priest  was  a  private 
in  Rodgers'  Rangers  in  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  and  was  present  at  the  sacking  of  the  St. 
Francis  village  in  1759  ;  he  was  also  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  serving  in  Capt.  Hawkins'  com- 
pany in  Colonel  Bedel's  regiment,  also  in  Capt. 
Carlisle's  company.  In  accordance  with  an  act 
of  the  Provincial  Congress,  passed  August  25, 
1775,  the  selectmen  proceeded  to  take  a  census 
of  the  town,  the  first  after  the  State  ceased  to 
be  a  province,  and  the  first  made  with  any 
claim  to  accuracy.  The  result  was  a  popula- 
tion of  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  including 
thirty-eight  persons  gone  into  the  army.  The 
selectmen  also  report  sixy-three  fire-arms  fit  for 
use,  and  sixty-seven  wanting  to  supply  the 
town.  This  report,  signed  by  Heber  Miller, 
Archelaus  Temple,  Waitstill  Scott,  selectmen, 
bears  date  of  October  26,  1775.  Who  were 
these  thirty-eight  men  I  can  only  write  in  part. 

The  want  of  fire-arms,  it  seems,  was  not 
readily  supplied,  for  we  find  recorded  a  petition 
bearing  date  of  June  3, 1776  signed  by  the  town 
Committee  of  Safety, — Joseph  Burt,  Ebenezer 
Britton,  Jr.,  John  Chamberlain, — addressed  to 
the  Legislature  or  Colonial  Committee  of  Safety 
as  follows : 

"Gentlemen,  we  have  Jest  heard  of  the  Retreet  of 
our  Nothard  army  Which  Puts  us  in  feere  that  the 


Savages  Will  Be  Down  upon  our  frontiers  and  we  in 
this  Towne  Being  very  Short  for  ammunition  as  well 
as  Sum  armes  Wanting:  Have  with  our  Naboring 
Towns  agreed  to  Send  mr  Amos  Babcock  after  armes 
and  ammunition ;  and  we  hope  that  we  may  Bee 
Saplied  With  those  articals  Without  Which  we  Can- 
not Defend  ourSelves  Nor  oure  Country  in  order  that 
each  man  have  one  Pound  of  Powder  we  Want  in 
this  Towne  sixty  wait  and  we  Want  fore  hundred 
flints  one  hundred  w*  of  Lead  and  Twenty  guns 
Which  Will  Well  aquip  us  for  wor  if  mr  Babcock  Can 
Be  Saplied  With  the  above  articals  we  the  Subscribers 
Being  the  Committee  of  Safety  for  the  Towne  of  West- 
moreland Will  in  Behalf  of  the  Towne  ingage  the 
Pay." 

On  the  14th  day  of  March,  1776,  General 
Congress  passed  a  resolution  which  came  to  the 
selectmen  in  a  form  of  a  request  from  the  Com- 
mitte  of  Safety  of  New  Hampshire,  "to  require 
of  all  males  above  twenty-one  years  of  age 
(lunatics,  idiots  and  negroes  excepted)  to  sign  to 
the  declaration  on  this  paper ;  and  when  so  done 
to  make  return  thereof  together  with  the  name 
or  names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the 
same  to  the  General  Assembly  or  Committee  of 
Safety  of  this  Colony."  The  declaration  or 
pledge  was  as  follows  : 

"  We  the  Subscribers  do  hereby  solemnly  Engage  and 
promise  that  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  Power  at 
the  Risque  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes  with  Arms  op- 
pose the  Hostile  Proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets 
and  Armies  Against  the  United  American  Colonies." 

One  hundred  and  thirty  signed  the  declara- 
tion, as  follows  : 

Israel  Amsby.  Abiel  Eddy. 

Benjamin  Aldrich.  Jonah  Edson. 

Caleb  Aldrich.  Nathan  Franklin. 

James  Butterfield.  Seth  Gilbert. 

Ebenezer  Britton.  Gideon  Gilbert. 

Ebenezer  Bailey.  Jonathan  Goodnow. 

Joseph  Burt.  Edmund  Goodnow. 
Ebenezer  Britton  (2d).        Nahum  Goodnow. 

William  Brockway.  Israel  Goodnow. 

David  Britton.  Asa  Goodnow. 

William  Britton.  Fortunatus  Gleason. 

Luther  Baily.  James  Gleason. 

Seth  Britton.  Benjamin  Gleason. 

Jonas  Butterfield.  David  Glasier. 

Enos  Burt.  Elias  Gates. 

Caleb  Briggs.  Jonathan  Holton. 


490 


•HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Gideon  Burnham. 
Moses  Bennett. 
Ephraim  Brown. 
Joseph  Boy  n  ton. 
Daniel  Blanchard. 
Closes  Brown. 
Isaac  Cobb. 
Daniel  Cobb. 
Henry  Chamberlain. 
John  Chamberlain. 
Roger  Conant. 
Thomas  Chamberlain. 
Jedediah  Chamberlain. 
Jonathan  Cole,  Jr. 
Aaron  Chandler. 
John  Cole. 
Jonathan  Cole  (3d). 
Increase  Chamberlain. 
John  Cooper. 
Isaac  Chamberlain. 
Stephen  Dutton. 
David  Darby. 
Nathaniel  Daggett. 
Josiah  Dodge. 
William  Day. 
John  Doyle. 
Jeptha  Dow. 
Eleazer  Bobbins. 
Robert  Robbins. 
Ephraim  Robbins. 
John  Robbing. 
Jonas  Robbins. 
Eleazer  Robbins,  Jr. 
David  Robbins. 
David  Robinson. 
Benjamin  Rodgers. 
Micah  Read. 
John  Snow. 
Jonathan  Sawyer. 
David  Stacy. 
Waitstill  Scott. 
John  Scott. 
Jeremiah  Tinkham. 
Alexander  Trotter. 
Reuben  Tarbell. 
Elijah  Tern ] ilc 
Archelaus  Temple. 
John  Veazy. 
Daniel  Whitman. 

And  six  refused  to 

Rev.  William  Goddard. 
Leonard  Keep. 
Job  Chamberlain. 


William  Hutchins. 
Abner  How. 
Daniel  How. 
Josiah  Hacket. 
Samuel  How. 
David  Johnson. 
Daniel  Johnson. 
Willis  Johnson. 
Reuben  Kendall. 
Daniel  Keys. 
Ephraim  Leonard. 
Jacob  Leach. 
Sherebiah  Leach. 
Zepheniah  Leach. 
Josiah  Leach,  Jr. 
Aruniah  Leach. 
Isaac  Leach. 
Josiah  Leach. 
Seth  Leach. 
Nehemiah  Man. 
David  Nathernell. 
Benjamin  Pierce. 
Ebenezer  Pierce. 
Daniel  Pierce. 
Amos  Pierce. 
Joseph  Packard. 
John  Ranstead. 
Noah  Whitman. 
Joseph  Wilbore. 
Philip  Wilbore. 
Nathaniel  Wilbore. 
David  Wilbore. 
Philip  Wilbore  (2d). 
Joseph  White. 
Moses  White. 
Esekiel  Woodward. 
Jonathan  Willis. 
Artemas  Wille. 
Ephraim  Wetherly. 
William  Warner. 
Joshua  Warner. 
Joshua  Warner,  Jr. 
Job  Warner. 
John  Warner. 
Henry  Walton. 
Samuel  Works. 
Harridon  Wheeler. 
David  Winchester. 
Jonathan  Winchester. 

sign,  namely, — 

Aaron  Brown. 
Daniel  Gates. 
John  Butterfield. 


Why  these  six  men  refused  to  sign  the  Test 
Oath  is  not  apparent.  Three  of  them,  at  least, 
were  true  patriots,  and  performed  good  service 
in  the  American  cause,  namely, — Keep,  Brown 
and  Gates,  and  there  is  no  evidence  whatever 
that  the  other  three  men  were  Tories. 

In  1767,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  the  militia 
in  this  part  of  the  State  from  Massachusetts  line, 
as  far  north  as  Claremont  and  including  New- 
port, were  in  one  regiment,  commanded  by  Colo- 
nel Josiah  Willard,  of  Winchester.  When  the 
war  came  on  Colonel  Willard  sided  with  the 
Tory  party  and  his  regiment  was  divided 
into  two  in  August,  1775.  To  the  First  Regi- 
ment Westmoreland  was  assigned.  The  com- 
mand of  this  regiment  was  given  to  Samuel 
Ashley,  Esq.,  of  Winchester.  Isaac  Butterfield, 
of  this  town,  was  its  major.  This  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  Sixth  New  Hampshire  Regiment. 
The  battle  of  Lexington,  on  April  19,  1775, 
aroused  the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  danger. 
At  a  convention  held  at  Exeter,  May,  20,  1775, 
it  was  voted  to  raise  two  thousand  men  in  ad- 
dition to  those  already  in  the  field,  which  would 
constitute  a  brigade  of  three  regiments, 
under  the  respective  commands  of  the  fol- 
lowing colonels :  Stark,  Poor  and  Reed.  The 
Eighth  Company  of  Colonel  Reed's  regiment 
contained  the  following  Westmoreland  men,  and 
was  under  command  of  Captain  Jacob  Hinds  : 

Isaac  Stone,  lieutenant.  Samuel  White,  corporal. 
George  Aldrich,  2d  do  Nahum  Goodenow,  drum- 
John  Cole,  sergeant.  mer. 
Caleb  Aldrich,  corporal. 

Privates. 


Ebenezer  Aldrich. 
Thomas  Anisden. 
Job  Brittain. 
Ebenezer  Chamberlain. 
Henry  Chamberlain. 
Daniel  Carlisle. 
I  >avid  Darby. 
Silas  Far ns worth. 
Samuel  How. 
William  Hutchins. 
Jude  Hall. 
Ephraim  Leonard. 
David  Robbins. 


Eleazer  Robbins. 

Samuel  Robbins. 

.lames  Simonds. 

David  Wetherell. 

David  Warner. 

Nathan  Wilbore. 

John  White. 

Job  Warner. 

David  ( Hazier. 

Aaron   Whiting. 

John  Ranstead. 

Caleb  Balch. 

Ephraim  Stone,  Q.  M.  Sgt. 


WESTMORELAND. 


491 


This  company  consisted  of  sixty-five  men,  in- 
cluding its  officers.  These  men  were  in  the 
service  for  different  periods,  but  none  for  a 
greater  length  of  time  under  this  company  or- 
ganization than  three  months  and  eight  days. 
The  privates  received  pay  at  the  rate  of  forty 
shillings  per  month  and  were  allowed  for  one 
hundred  and  ten  miles  travel  at  the  rate  of  one 
penny  a  mile  ;  also,  one  pound  and  sixteen  shil- 
lings for  coat  and  blanket. 

This  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  memora- 
ble struggle  at  Bunker  Hill,  June  17,  1775,  and 
together  with  another  New  Hampshire  regi- 
ment, under  Colonel  Stark,  repulsed  two  des- 
perate attacks  made  by  the  flower  of  the  Brit- 
ish army,  led  by  General  Howe  in  person,  and 
held  their  advanced  position  until  their  ammuni- 
tion was  exhausted,  and,  having  but  a  few  bay- 
onets, they  retreated  in  good  order,  but  uncon- 
quered.  On  the  21st  of  June,  1775,  four  days 
after  the  battle,  Colonel  B,eed,  at  Winter  Hill, 
made  his  regimental  return,  in  which  we  find 
that  Captain  Hinds'  company  is  credited  with 
thirty-nine  men  fit  for  duty,  two  wounded, 
two  sick,  fourteen  uninjured,  one  missing, 
five  absent. 

These  regiments  were  soon  afterwards  reor- 
ganized as  "  Continental  troops,"  or  regulars, 
and  did  excellent  service  at  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton. 

The  following  are  interesting  relating  to 
Captain  Hinds'  company: 

"  We  the  subscribers  do  Solemnly  and  Severally 
inlist  ourselves  as  Soldiers  in  the  New  Hampshire 
Service  for  the  preservation  of  the  Liberties  of  Amer- 
ica from  the  day  of  our  Inlistment  to  the  last  day  of 
December  Next,  unless  the  Servis  should  admit  of  a 
Discharge  of  a  part  or  the  whole  sooner,  which  shall 
be  at  the  Discretion  of  the  Committy  of  Safety  and 
we  Hereby  promise  to  submit  ourselves  to  all  the  or- 
ders and  Regulations  of  the  army  and  faithfully  to 
observe  all  such  orders  as  we  shall  receive  from  time 
to  time  from  our  Superior  officers. 

"  John  Ranstead  Samuel  How 

Caleb  Balch  David  Glazure 

Job  Warner  Edward  West,  deserted 

Nathan  Wilbur  Aaron  Whiton 


Ebenezer  Aldrich 
David  Wetherell 
Ephraim  Leonard 
Benjamin  Minot 
Daniel  Warner 


Nathaniel  Whitcomb 
David  Thompson 
Jonathan  Thompson 
Ephraim  Stone" 


"Sept.  l!»th,  1775.— We  the  Subscribers  do  hereby 
acknowledge  that  we  have  received  of  Ichabod  Rolins, 
Esq.,  Twelve  Shillings,  £.  m'y  each  for  a  Blanket  and 
Forty  Shillings  £  my  each  for  one  month's  pay  being 
inlisted  in  Captain  Hinds'  Company  in  Colonel  Reed's 
Regiment. 


Nathaniel  Whitcomb 

his 
David  X  Thompson 

mark 

his 

Jonathan  X  Thompson" 
mark 


"John  Ranstead 
Job  Warner 
Ebenezer  Aldrich 
Benjamin  Minott 
Daniel  Warner 
David  Glazier 

his 
Aaron  X  Wheaton 
mark 


"  We  the  Subscribers  belonging  to  Captain  Hinds' 
Company  in  Col.  Reed's  Regiment  do  hereby  ac- 
knowledge that  we  have  received  of  Timo.  Walker,  Jr., 
Four  Dollars  each  man  in  full  for  the  regimental 
Coats  which  was  promised  us  by  the  Colony  of  New 
Hampshire. 


"  Medford,  Octr.  4,  1775. 

"John  Cole 
William  Farwell 
Richard  Coughlan 
William  Hutchins 
Nahum  Goodenow 
Samuel  Robbins 
Reuben  Tarbell 
Luther  Winslow 
Daniel  Warner 

his 

Ira  X  Evans 

mark 

Elijah  Elmer 
David  Glazier 
Nathaniel  Whitcomb 
Elijah  Taylor 

his 

Israel  X  Thomas 

mark 

Daniel  Carlile 
Moses  Belding 
•Tosiah  Powers 
Jonathan  Barrit 
John  W.  Mitchel 
Henry  Chamberlin 
Job  Warner 


Ebenezer  Aldrich 


his 

Eleazer  X  Robbins 

mark 

Jude  Hall 
Ephraim  Stone 
Elijah  Cooper 
Ebenezer  Chamberlain 

his 

Nathaniel  X  Pettingil 

mark 
his 

James  X  Simmonds 

mark 

his 

John  X  Meginnis 

mark 

David  Stoddard 
David  Robbins 

his 

Jonathan  X  Thompson 

mark 
his 

Lemuel  X  Wentworth 

mark 
his 

David  X  Thompson 

mark 

Caleb  Aldrich 
Jonathan  Wright 
Elisha  Belding" 


492 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Ezekiel  Davis  had  a  coat  found  by  the 
colony. 

In  the  Ninth  Company  of  same  regiment  was 
Nehemiafa  Brown.  He  returned  in  the  fall  of 
the  year  sick  with  a  complication  of  diseases,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  put  upon  the  half- 
pay  list.  I  lis  regiment  participated  in  the  hat- 
tie  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  records  show  that 
Aldrich,  White,  Cole,  Darby,  How,  Carlisle 
and  others  each  lost  a  portion  of  their  wardrobe 
;it  the  battle  of  June  1  7,  177o. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  of  the  last 
day  of  the  year  ITTo,  a  small  force  of  Amer- 
can  troops,  under  Arnold  and  Montgomery,  af- 
ter a  march  of  incredible  hardship,  weakened 
by  hunger,  exposed  to  all  the  severities  of  a 
Canadian  winter,  appeared  like  spectres  before 
the  strongest  fortified  city  in  America.  In  a 
driving  storm  of  hail  and  snow  they  made  the  des- 
perate attempt  to  take  ( Quebec  by  assault.  It  was 
fated  with  defeat.  It  proved  worse  than  that. 
The  American  forces  were  obliged  to  retreat,  a 
scattering  remnant. 

The  news  of  its  defeat,  with  all  its  detail  of 
horrors,  thrilled  the  American  cause.  January 
20,  177<i,  the  New  Hampshire  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives voted  to  raise  one  regiment  of  soldiers 
forthwith.  This  regiment  consisted  of  eight 
companies  and  was  placed  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Timothy  Bedell  to  reinforce  the 
Northern  Continental  army.  Isaac  Butter- 
field, of  Westmoreland,  was  major.  The  Sec- 
ond Company  of  this  regiment  was  commanded 
by  Captain  Daniel  Carlisle,  of  Westmoreland 
and  contained  the  following  Westmoreland 
men  : 
Ephraim  Stone,  second  Henry  <  'hamberlain. 

lieutenant.  Joshua  fierce. 

Timothy  Butterfield,  sergeant.    .Joel  Priest. 
( laleb  Thayer.  Bezaleel  Grandy. 

William  Temple.  Daniel  Gates. 

Isaac  I  ribbs.  Philip  Alexander. 

Luke  Aldrich.  Thomas  Amsden. 

Joel  Aldrich.  Jacob  Staples. 

Isaac  Stone.  Ebenezer Chamberlain 

Ebenezer  Aldrich.  Enos  Hurt. 

John  Rugg.  .Moses  Brown. 


They  arrived  at  a  fort  called  The  Cedars, 
distant  about  forty-five  miles  to  the  southwest 
from  Montreal.  Colonel  Bedell  expecting  an 
immediate  attack,  knowing  that  he  was  ill-pre- 
pared to  resist  successfully,  left  a  part  of  his 
regiment,  numbering  four  hundred  men,  under 
the  command  id'  Major  Butterfield,  and  pro- 
ceeded himself  to  Montreal  for  reinforcements. 
Soon  after,  Captain  George  Forster,  with  five 
hundred  British  troops,  appeared  before  the 
fort  and  demanded  its  surrender.  Major  But- 
terfield, upon  consultation  with  his  officers,  de- 
cided that  it  would  be  without  avail  to  with- 
stand the  demand,  having  but  a  scant  supply 
of  ammunition,  in  a  damaged  condition,  with  a 
large  number  upon  the  sick-list,  and  all  weak- 
ened from  wintry  exposure.  He  considered  it 
best  to  capitulate,  agreeably  to  the  rules  of 
war.  This  he  did  on  the  19th  day  of  May, 
177<i.  Contrary  to  the  terms  id'  the  surrender, 
his  men  were  afterward  treated  in  an  inhuman 
manner,  stripped  of  their  clothing  and  some 
were  murdered.  Major  Butterfield  has  been 
severely  criticised,  even  by  some  of  the  men 
under  his  command,  for  capitulating  without  a 
tight;  but  it  seems  safe,  at  least,  to  presume 
that  he  endeavored  to  act  wisely  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  following  petition  is  of  interest  in  con- 
nection with  this  brief  sketch.  It  appears  that 
but  a  few  men  signed  this  petition,  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  the  feeling  therein 
expressed,  was  generally  entertained  by  all  the 
men  under  command  of  Major  Butterfield,  that 
other  and  more  numerously  signed  petitions 
would  have  been  presented, — 

"To  the  Honourable  the  Council  and  house  of 
Representatives  to  be  conven'd  at  Kxcter,  in  New 
Eampshire  on  the  the  10"'  day  of  March  177!». 

"The  Humble  Petition  and  Remonstrance  of  the 
Company  Commanded  by  Cap(  Daniel  Wilkins  in  Col" 
Beedels  Reg'  in  Canada  humbly  sheweth  that  on  yc 
l!i"'  of  May  177ti  we  unhappily  fell  into  the  hands  of 
our  unnatural  and  savage  Knemy  at  the  Cedars  in 
Canada  when  .Major  Butterfield  our  commanding 
officer  Capitulated  with  Cap'  Foster  of  the  British 
army  to  the  great  grief  ami  surprise  of  said  Company, 


WESTMORELAND 


493 


on  the  following  terms  (viz)  that  we  surrendered  our- 
selves as  prisoners  of  war  and  was  to  deliver  up  our 
arms  which  accordingly  we  did  and  we  was  to  have 
our  packs  and  Baggage -and  Cap1  Foster  Engaged 
not  to  sutler  the  savages  to  plunder  or  abuse  us,  nor 
suffer  the  British  troops  so  to  do.  But  contrary  to  the 
Rules  of  War,  they  inhumanly  without  regard  to  their 
promise,  suffered  the  savages  to  rob  and  plunder  us  of 
our  packs  and  baggage,  and  strip  us  of  our  clothes  off 
our  backs  and  left  us  entirely  naked,  in  this  deplora- 
ble situation  we  were  left  in  an  enemies  Country  with- 
out money,  clothing  or  friends  that  could  contribute 
to  our  relief — Therefore  your  humble  petitioners 
humbly  pray  that  your  honors  would  take  the  matter 
under  your  serious  consideration  and  grant  to  each  per- 
son a  sum  something  adequate  to  the  loss  he  sustained 
and  your  Petitioners  will  gratefully  acknowledge  the 
favor,  and  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"Signed  by  Robert  Campbell  and  twenty-two 
others." 

I  have  seen  no  record  of  any  action  having 
been  taken  upon  this  petition. 

Relating  to  Captain  Carlisle's  company,  we 
find  the  following  receipts  of  interest: 

"  Charlestown  Feb.  24"'  1776— Received  of  Jn°  Bel- 
lows Esq1"  twenty-one  Guns  with  Bayonets  also  twenty- 
one  belts  the  Guns  @  45s.  and  the  belts  @  5s.  each 
If  not  returned  to  be  accounted  for  according  to  the 
Custom  of  the  Army, — 
"  Dan1  Carlisle,  Captain  of  Col0  Bedels  regiment." 

"  Charlestown  February  24th  1776— Recrt  of  John 
Bellows  Esquire  Five  pounds  five  shillings  &  Seven 
pence  for  the  travel  of  forty-five  Men  of  my  company 
to  the  place  of  mustering. 

ii  pr  Me 

Dan1  Carlisle  " 

Captain  Daniel  Carlisle  remained  with  the 
northern  army  until  after  General  Sullivan 
had  assumed  its  command.  Upon  a  march  to 
the  southward,  Captain  Carlisle  was  detailed  to 
look  up  some  boats  to  transport  the  troops 
across  Lake  Champlain.  As  the  enemy  had 
destroyed  them  all,  Carlisle's  search  was  conse- 
quently in  vain,  and  he  so  reported  to  General 
Sullivan.  He  was  ordered  to  make  another 
search,  and  necessarily  with  the  same  result 
and  report.  Sullivan  thereupon  flew  into  a 
passion,  drew  his  sword  and  made  a  movement 
as  if  to  strike  Carlisle  down.     Carlisle  instantly 


seized  a  gun  from  the  hands  of  a  soldier  standing 
by  his  side,  instantly  leveled  it  at  Sullivan's 
head,  and,  with  a  firm  voice,  informed  Sullivan 
to  lower  his  sword  or  die.  Sullivan  lowered 
his  sword,  but  Carlisle  was  cashiered  and  sent 
home  in  disgrace.  Nevertheless,  Carlisle  was  a 
good  soldier  and  a  true  patriot. 

The  Third  Company  of  this  regiment  was 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Jason  Wait, 
and  included  the  following  men  from  West- 
moreland . 

Nehemiah  Gould,  enlisted  April  29,  1777; 
discharged  August  10,  1778. 

David  Johnson,  enlisted  April  16,  1777  ; 
discharged ,  Decern ber,  1 7  <S  1 . 

Captain  Jason  Wait  came  to  this  town  during 
the  Revolutionary  War  from  Alstead.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  physical  strength  and  endurance. 
He  rose  from  a  private  to  a  major,  in  times  when 
promotion  was  only  secured  by  merit.  Captain 
Wait,  together  with  his  regiment,  were  held 
prisoners  for  a  time.  Upon  the  reorganizing 
of  Colonel  Stark's  old  regiment,  April  7,  1777, 
Wait  was  made  captain  of  Company  2,  under 
Colonel  Joseph  Cilley,  and  served  in  this 
capacity  during  the  years  1777,  '78,  '79.  In 
1780  he  was  promoted  to  major  of  his  old 
battle-scarred  regiment,  and  remained  with  it  to 
the  close  of  the  war.  It  is  related  that  at  the 
battle  of  Bennington  he  captured,  alone,  six- 
Hessian  prisoners.  He  was  a  noted  fighter. 
He  died  in  1806,  and  was  buried  with  the 
honors  of  Masonry  in  the  Cole  cemetery. 

In  the  autumn  of  1770  a  regiment  was 
raised  for  Canada  under  Colonel  Joshua  Win- 
gate.  As  ensign  of  Company  6  we  find  Wil- 
liam Bennett.  Later,  another  regiment  was 
raised  for  the  same  destination  under  Colonel 
Nairn m  Baldwin.  The  Sixth  Company  was 
under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Houghton, 
and  included  the  following  men  from  West- 
moreland : 


Waitstill  Scott,  ensign. 
Edmund  Gooduow. 
Samuel  Cobb. 


Caleb  Aldrich. 
Ephraim  Leonard. 
William  Britain. 


494 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Nathan  Franklin 
Jonathan  Houtton.1 


John  Chamberlin. 
David  French. 


In  the  regiment  raised  to  reinforce  the 
northern  army,  under  Colonel  Isaac  Wyman, 
of  Keene,  in  August,  1776,  I  find  its  record  to 
contain  the  following  men  credited  to  West- 
moreland :  Benjamin  Young  Smith,  Asahel 
Johnson,  Jesse  Xott  and  John  Avril. 

New  Hampshire  raised  a  regiment  of  men 
in  December,  1 7 76,  to  reinforce  the  Continental 
army  in  the  State  of  New  York,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  David  Oilman.  These 
men  received  one  month's  advance  wages,  "  a 
bounty  of  20  shillings  per  month  over  the 
Stated  wages — also  two  pence  a  mile  for  Travel 
&  in  lieu  of  baggage  Waggons."  The  First 
Company  was  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Francis  Towne,  and  included  the  following  men 
from  Westmoreland:  Mioah  Reed,  sergeant; 
Jonathan  Avery,  Nathaniel  Thomas,  Philip 
Alexander,  David  Winchester,  Jonathan  Win- 
ch ester. 

Following  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  New  Hampshire  Assembly  and  Council 
proceeded,  in  September,  by  legislative  act,  to 
organize  all  male  persons,  with  certain  excep- 
tions, into  a  training-band  and  into  an  alarm- 
list  ;  the  former  comprising  all  able-bodied  male 
persons  in  the  State  from  sixteen  years  old 
to  fifty,  and  the  latter  all  male  persons  from 
sixteen  to  sixty-five  years  old.  Negroes,  mu- 
lattoes  and  Indians,  together  with  certain  per- 
sons occupying  official  positions  and  in  certain 
employments,  wereexempted  from  military  ser- 
vice. Both  classes  were  organized  into  com- 
panies and  regiments,  and  all  were  liable  to  do 
duty  in  case  of  an  emergency.  Every  person, 
if  able,  was  required  to  furnish  at  his  own  ex- 
pense his  arms  and  accoutrements;  otherwise  the 
town  in  which  he  resided  did  so. 

The  alarm-list  included  all  persons  between 
the  said  specified  ages  not  included  in  the  train- 
ing-band.    The  alarm    was   to  be  the  firing  of 

1  Probably  Hoi  ton. 


three  guns  one  after  the  other,  by  firing  the 
beacon,  or  the  drums  beating  the  alarm.  Early 
in  May,  1777,  express-riders  came  into  New 
Hampshire  bearing  the  news  of  the  approach  of 
the  British  army  upon  Ticondcroga.  Major- 
General  Folsom,  in  command  of  the  New 
Hampshire  militia,  called  out  portions  of  the  reg- 
iments in  the  western  part  of  the  State  to  march 
immediately  to  the  aid  of  the  American  army 
at  that  place.  Accordingly,  Colonels  Bellows, 
Ashley  and  Chase  marched  their  regiments  to 
Ticondcroga.  The  alarm  proving  to  be  false, 
these  regiments  returned  in  about  three  weeks. 
Of  this  regiment,  Westmoreland  furnished  its 
adjutant,  Ephraim  Stone,  and  its  quartermas- 
ter, Leonard  Keep.  Captain  Waitstill  Scott, 
of  this  town,  commanded  the  First  Company 
of  Colonel  Ashley's  regiment.  Its  roll  contained 
the  following  Westmoreland  men  : 

Ephraim  Sawyer,  fourth 


sergeant. 


Waitstill  Scott,  captain. 

Nathan    Franklin,    ser- 
geant. John  Veazy,  fourth  corp. 

John  Chamberlain,  ace-        Nahum  Goodnow,  drum- 
ond  lieutenant.  mer. 

Privates. 


Israel  Amshury. 
Caleb  Aldrich. 
William  Akers. 
Joseph  Boynton. 
Nchemiah  Brown. 
Job  Britton. 
Samuel  Cobb. 
Increase  Chamberlain. 
Calvin  Chamberlain. 
Reuben  Kendall. 
William  Read. 
John  Read. 
Solomon  Robbins. 


Nathaniel  Daggett. 
Shadrach  Dodge. 
Timothy  Goodnow. 
Abraham  Gibbs. 
Oliver  ( Jerry. 
Daniel  Whitman. 
Benjamin   Walker. 
John  Warner. 
Ephraim  Wetherell. 
Ezekiel   Woodward. 
David  Winchester. 
Thomas  Hazleton. 


Chesterfield  and  Hinsdale  were  repre- 
sented iu  this  company.  This  company  was 
discharged  June  21st,  having  served  forty  days, 
and  received  pay  :it  the  rate  of  £A  10.*.  per 
month,  with  travel  fees  at  three  pence  per  mile 
out  and  two  pence  on  return,  computing  the 
distance  at  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  Gen- 
eral Gates,  in  command  at  Ticondcroga,  No- 
vember !»,    1777,   wrote  a    letter  to  the  officers 


WESTMORELAND. 


495 


and  men  of  Colonels  Bellows'  and  Ashley's  reg- 
iments, returning  thanks  for  the  spirit  and  ex- 
pedition shown  in  marching  upon  the  first 
alarm  of  threatened  invasion.  These  men  had 
barely  got  home  when  other  expresses  arrived 
with  tidings  that  Burgoyne  and  his  army  had 
actually  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  Ticon- 
deroea  and  was  about  to  invest  the  fated  fort- 
ress.  Immediately  the  militia  was  called  to  the 
rescue.  From  Westmoreland  and  vicinity  a 
company  of  sixty-three  men  marched,  of  whom 
the  following  were  citizens  of  Westmoreland  : 

John  Cole,  captain.  Jonathan  Sawyer,  ser- 
Jonathan    Holton,  first  geant. 

lieutenant.  Ephraim     Sawyer,    aer- 
Abial  Eddy,  second  lieu-  geant. 

tenant.  Job  Warren,  corporal. 

James    Butterfield,    en-  Moses  Briggs,  corporal. 

sign.  David    Wetherell,  corp. 

William  Hutchins,  ser-  Nahum  Goodnow,  drum- 

geant.  mer. 

Joseph  White,  sergeant.  David  Foster,  fifer. 

Privates. 

Caleb  How.  Elisha  Wilber. 

David  Robbins.  Ephraim  Witherell. 

Eleazer  Robbins.  Joseph  Burt. 

Simeon  Cobb.  Daniel  Pierce. 

Simeon  Duggett.  Leonard  Keep. 

Nehemiah  How.  Luther  Baily. 

Jonas  Robbins.  John  Robbins. 

James  Gleason.  John  Veazey. 

John  Doyle.  Amos  Pierce. 

Ebenezer  Pierce.  David  Britton. 

Benjamin  Pierce.  Job  Britton. 

David  Pierce.  John  Ranstead. 

Samuel  Works.  Reuben  Tarbell. 

Benjamin  Extell.  Josiah  Warren. 

John  Warner.  Jonathan  Cole. 

Jonas  Edson.  Caleb  Aldrich. 

Daniel  How.  Ephraim  Leonard. 

John  Snow.  William  Britton. 

Nathaniel  Wilber  Henry  Chamberlain. 
Timothy  Butterfield. 

This  company  left  town  June  28th,  and 
marched  to  within  five  miles  of  Otter  Creek, 
where  an  express  informed  them  that  the  enemy 
had  retired.  They  returned  to  No.  4,  when 
they  were  overtaken  by  orders  to  march  to  Ti- 
conderonda  ;  they  responded  to  the  call  and  got 


within  three  miles  of  Otter  Creek,  where  they 
met  the  army  on  their  retreat. 

These  constant  alarms  and  repeated  marches 
served  to  work  up  military  spirit  and  to  ripen 
it  for  action.  Nor  did  they  have  long  to  wait ; 
for  Burgoyne,  flushed  with  success,  was  prepar- 
ing to  swoop,  like  a  vulture,  upon  the  New 
Hampshire  grants.  So  far,  before  his  triumph- 
ant marches  the  Continental  troops  vanished 
like  autumn  leaves  before  the  gale.  The  Eng- 
lish ministry  considered  that  New  England  was 
the  heart  of  the  rebellion  ;  her  object  was  to 
sever  it  from  the  other  colonies  ;  then  to  sub- 
jugate it.  With  this  object  in  view,  General 
Burgoyne  detached  Colonel  Baum  with  fifteen 
hundred  Hessians  and  Tories,  with  a  large  body 
of  Indians,  with  orders  to  scour  the  country 
from  Otter  Creek  to  Rockingham  ;  thence  down 
the  river  to  Brattleborough,  and  then  to  return 
to  Albany.  Colonel  Baum  was  directed  to  tax 
the  towns  along  the  line  of  his  march  with 
such  articles  as  he  wanted,  and  to  take  hos- 
tages for  the  performance  of  the  demand;  to  seize 
horses,  saddles  and  bridles,  to  the  number  at 
least  of  thirteen  hundred  ;  the  more  the  bit- 
ter. But  the  prospect  of  Indian  depredations 
created  the  greatest  commotion.  The  Vermont 
Committee  of  Safety  again  sounded  the  alarm. 
Express-riders  were  seut  in  all  directions  bear- 
ing a  written  missive  of  a  few  words,  which, 
like  the  burnt  and  bloody  cross  of  the  Scotch 
Highlanders,  called  the  clans  ready  for  action. 

During  the  French  and  Indian,  as  well  as  the 
Revolutionary  War,  an  effective  arm  of  the 
military  service  was  known  as  the  Partisan 
Corps  or  the  Rangers. 

Of  the  former  of  the  two  prominent  partisan 
officers  from  Westmoreland,  Major  Benjamin 
Whitcomb,  we  know  very  little;  of  the  other, 
Captain  George  Aldrich,  fortunately,  more.  Of 
him  a  short  sketch,  we  trust,  will  not  be  amiss. 

His  father  was  Benjamin  Aldrich  (formerly 
spelled  Alldridge),  one  of  the  original  grantees 
of  the  town.  George  was  born  in  Walpole, 
Mass.,  March  13,  1738,  and  came  to  Westmore- 


496 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


land  with  his  father's  family  in  1743,  living 
here  most  of  the  time  until  his  decease,  July  17, 
1815.  The  year  following  their  coming  to  this 
town,  1714,  the  French  and  Indian  War  broke 
out  and  it  became  hazardous  to  reside  here. 
The  Aldrich  family  then  removed  toNorthfield, 
Mass.,  and  remained  until  17o2.  In  17");")  the 
"  Old  French  War,"  so  called,  broke  out.  The 
Great  Meadow  fort  was  garrisoned.  For  five 
years  George  Aldrich  did  duty  as  a  soldier 
therein.  In  1758  he  enlisted  under  Captain 
Barnard,  of  Deerfield,  in  Colonel  Williams' 
regiment,  under  General  Abercrombie,  and  was 
present  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Ticonderoga. 
At  the  close  of  this  campaign  Aldrich  returned 
and  performed  guard-duty  for  some  time.  At 
this  time  all  Vermont  was  a  wilderness;  no 
settler's  house  broke  the  wilderness'  sameness. 

No  settlement  had  been  made  in  Walpole  or 
Chesterfield.  Of  his  services  in  the  army  fur- 
ther reference  is  given  elsewhere.  After  the 
organization  of  the  militia,  after  peace  was  con- 
cluded, he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Twentieth  Regiment  and  afterwards  of  the 
brigade.  He  was  not  excelled  as  an  officer. 
In  1805  he  was  a  Presidential  elector.  In  1807, 
'OS,  'Oil,  '10  he  was  a  Senator  from  the  Tenth 
District.  He  was  repeatedly  called  to  positions 
of  public  trust  within  the  gift  of  the  town  and 
was  ever  a  prominent  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, and  was  one  of  the  original  members  of 
the  lodge  of  Free-Masons  in  this  town,  known 
as  the  New  Jerusalem  Lodge,  No.  .">.  He 
married  A/ubah  I  low,  September  30,  17(12,  and 
reared  a  family  of  seven  children. 

Each  company  consisted  of  not  less  than 
thirty  men,  and  of  none  but  such  as  were  able- 
bodied  and  capable  of  the  greatest  endurance. 
Veterans  in  Indian  warfare,  habituated  to  dar- 
ing deeds  and  wasting  fatigue  alone,  were  ad- 
mitted into  this  service.  The  duties  of  the 
Rangers  were  thus  specified:  "To  scour  the 
woods  and  ascertain  the  force  and  position  of 
the  enemy  ;  to  discover  and  prevent  the  effect 
of  his  ambuscades  and  to  ambush  him  in  turn  ; 


to  acquire  information  of  his  movements  by 
making  prisoners  of  his  sentinels  ;  and  to  clear 
the  way  for  the  advance  of  the  regular  troops." 
In  this  service  Westmoreland  took  a  promi- 
nent part.  In  a  battalion  of  Rangers  renowned 
for  its  effectiveness,  under  the  command  of  Ma- 
jor Benjamin  Whitcomb,  of  this  town,  she  was 
represented  certainly  by  twenty  men,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  by  more,  whose  names  are  not  at 
hand.     Its  First  Company  consisted  of: 

Capt.  George  Aldrich.  Sergt.  Manassah  Sawyer. 

Lieut.  Jonas  Butterfield.      Corp.  Elijah  Temple. 
Lieut.  David  Goodenough.    Drummer,  Joseph  How. 

Privates. 

Uriah  Temple.  Noah  Levans. 

Samuel  Britton.  Perley  Rogers. 

Nathaniel  Whitcomb.  James    Eddy. 

William  Martin.  Abel  Pierce. 

Selah  How.  Jeduthan  Roberts. 

Asa  Pratt.  Francis  A.  Kerly. 
James  Winton. 

During  a  portion  of  the  time  this  battalion 
was  in  the  service,  Ephraim  Stone  was  captain 
of  the  Second  Company.  All  of  these  men 
were  from  Westmoreland.  It  consisted  of  three 
companies,  and  with  few  changes  was  thus  or- 
ganized throughout  the  Revolutionary  War  and 
was  dismissed  in  1781.  Thefield  of  operations 
of  this  battalion  was  extended;  from  the  Upper 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  it  circled  through 
Canada  to  Lake  Champlain  and  southward  to 
the  vicinity  of  Bennington. 

The  nature  of  the  service  required  of  the 
Rangers  necessarily  made  it  impossible  to  trans- 
port cam])  equipage,  and  in  consequence  they 
experienced  much  suffering,  and  especially  from 
the  rigors  of  Canadian  winters.  Their  march 
oftentimes  was  through  or  over  snow  four  or 
five  feet  deep.  At  night  their  encampment 
often  consisted  of  an  excavation  in  the  snow, 
into  which  were  thrown  boughs  for  their  couch : 
upon  these  they  would  throw  themselves, 
wrapped  in  their  blankets,  heads  and  points  to 
economize  space,  with  the  stars  above  them  for 
accompanying  sentinels.  It  was  a  time  of  great 
despondency.     The   State  was  drained  of  both 


WESTMORELAND. 


497 


men  and  money.  It  was  the  darkest  hour  of 
the  Revolution.  Tories  were  numerous  and 
aggressive.  It  required  the  utmost  vigilance  of 
the  Rangers  to  intimidate  them  and  to  prevent 
them  from  open  acts  of  hostility. 

The  New  Hampshire  Legislature  was  con- 
vened to  meet  this  emergency.  It  could  raise 
men,  but  before  them  stared  an  empty  treasury, 
but — 

"  As  news  of  the  Army's  need  was  read, 

Then  in  the  hush  John  Langdon  said, 

Three  thousand  dollars  have  I  in  gold, 

For  as  much  I  will  pledge  the  plate  I  hold. 

"  Eighty  casks  of  Tobago  rum  ; 

All  is  the  Country's;  the  time  will  come, 

If  we  conquer,  when  amply  the  debt  she'll  pay  ; 

If  we  fail  our  property's  worthless.     A  ray 

"Of  hope  cheered  the  gloom  while  the  Governorsaid, 

For  a  regiment  now  with  Stark  at  its  head  ; 

And  the  boon  we  gained  through  the  noble  lender 

Was  Bennington  Day  and  Burgoyne's  Surrender." 

The  Legislature  immediately  proceeded  to 
divide  the  State  into  two  brigades,  one  of  which 
was  given  to  the  command  of  John  Stark. 
This  brigade  was  composed  of  three  regiments, 
one  of  which  was  under  Colonel  Nichols;  it  was 
composed  often  companies,  the  Eighth  of  which 
went  from  Westmoreland.  This  company  quickly 
responded  to  the  call  and  assembled  at  Keep's 
hotel,  on  Park  Hill,  July  22,  1777.  It  is  related 
that  one  Robbins,  a  man  of  ardent  temperament, 
was  so  enthused  for  the  fray  that  he  reached  the 
point  of  assembling  forgetful  of  his  hat.  The 
line  of  march  was  by  the  way  of  Charlestown. 
The  roll  of  this  company  consisted  of  sixty-one 
men,  some  of  whom  were  from  "  Chesterfield. 
It  was  the  third  company  to  report  to  General 
Stark,  at  Charlestown,  and  was  complimented  by 
him  for  their  promptness  and  good  appearance. 
Provisions  being  scarce  at  this  place,  Aaron 
Wheeler  and  Job  F.  Brooks,  two  of  our  thrifty 
farmers,  each  carried  up  to  Charlestown  a  two- 
horse  load  of  supplies.  This  company  con- 
tained the  following  Westmoreland  men  : 

Amos  Peirce,  lieut.  Jonathan  Cole,  corporal. 

Jonathan  Holton,  lieut.  Sam'l  Robbins,  corporal. 

Jonathan  Sawyer,  Sergt.  Benoni  Tisdale,  fifer. 
Ephraim  Sawyer,  Sergt. 


Privates. 


Ephraim  Amidon. 
Elisha  Belding. 
Nehemiah  Brown. 
Simeon  Cobb. 
Simeon  Daggett. 
Daniel  Glazier. 
Richard  Haselton. 
William  Haselton. 


Josiah  Leach,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Pierce. 
Jonathan  Robbins. 
Solomon  Robbins. 
Eleazer  Robbins. 
John  Robbins. 
John  Ranstead. 
John  Warner. 


As  soon  as  a  few  hundred  men  had  gathered 
at  Charlestown  Stark  pushed  on  to  Manchester, 
Vt.,  leaving  orders  to  have  the  troops  follow 
him  as  last  as  they  arrived.  Here  he  was 
joined  by  Colonel  Warner,  with  his  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  and  with  his  united  forces 
pushed  on,  August  <Sth,  for  Bennington,  where 
he  arrived  the  next  day. 

At  this  time  Major  Benjamin  Whitcomb, 
with  his  battalion  of  Rangers,  was  stationed  in 
Canada.  His  first  captain,  George  Aldrich, 
was  on  his  way  to  his  battalion  with  recruits 
that  he  had  enlisted  in  Westmoreland  and 
vicinity.  His  route  led  him  through  Stark's 
vicinity.  It  so  happened  that  they  met  the 
day  before  the  battle  of  Bennington.  Stark, 
believing  that  the  morrow  would  witness  a 
battle,  easily  prevailed  upon  Aldrich  to  remain 
over  the  ensuing  day  and  to  participate  in  its 
events.  To  Aldrich  was  given  a  major's  com- 
mand, with  instructions  to  drive  back  a  body 
of  Indians  who  were  advancing  upon  one  of 
Stark's  flanks;  succeeding  in  this,  he  received 
orders  to  attack  the  north  breast-work  of  the 
enemy.  Aldrich,  although  a  stranger  to  his 
command,  was  particularly  an  efficient  officer, 
and  one  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  confidence 
of  his  men.  Arriving  within  seven  rods  of 
the  breast-works,  Major  Aldrich  ordered  his 
men  to  fire,  and  then,  with  an  Indian  yell, 
rushed  up  to  and  over  them,  and  victory  was 
won.  It  is  said  that  Aldrich  alone  captured 
three  Hessian  prisoners,  which  he  brought  into 
Stark's  headquarters  fully  equipped.  On  the 
13th  Stark  learned  of  the  arrival  of  a  de- 
tachment of  Burgoyne's  army  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Baum  at  Cambridge ;  he  im- 


498 


HTSTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mediately  sent  out  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gregg,  of 
Colonel  Nichols'  regiment  with  :i  detachment  of 
men,  including  a  portion  of  Captain  Carleton's 
company  in  advance,  and  followed  the  next  day 
with  his  entire  forces. 

He  soon  met  Gregg  retreating  I >efore  an  over- 
whelming force  of  Hessians,  Tories  and  Indians 
in  hot  pursuit.  Stark  despatched  the  other  por- 
tion ot*  (  'aptain  ( 'arleton's  company,  with  others, 
to  seize  a  lot  of  cattle  in  possession  of  the 
enemy,  at  ( ireenbush,  some  twenty-live  miles 
southwest.  Meeting  with  success,  they  had  nearly 
reached  the  outposts  of  Stark's  array,  when,  from 
a  cottage  beside  the  highway,  a  grief-stricken 
woman  stepped  out,  and  informed  them  that 
there  was  a  hand  of  two  hundred  Tories  a 
short  distance  forward.  Accordingly,  they  pro- 
ceeded cautiously  until,  reaching  a  brook,  they 
halted  to  allow  the;  cattle  to  slake  their  thirst, 
and  .John  Ranstead,  Benbni  Tisdale,  Nehemiah 
Brown  and  Solomon  Bobbins  proceeded  in  ad- 
vance as  scouts  to  feel  the  way.  Thev  pro- 
ceeded  but  a  short  distance,  when  they  were 
tired  upon  by  the  Tories,  who  were  concealed  in 
the  hushes  upon  a  rise  of  ground  beside  the 
highway.  Ranstead  fell  pierced  with  sixteen 
bullets  and  Tisdale  was  shot  through  the  lungs. 
No  other  "Westmoreland  man  was  killed  ;  hut 
others  were  wounded,  among  whom  was  Lieu- 
tenant Jonathan  Holton,  a  hall  nearly  tearing  off 
his  upper  lip  and  passing  out  of  his  right  cheek  ; 
at  the  same  time  a  buck-shot  entered  his  left 
cheek  and  lodged  near  his  right  eye.  The  New 
Hampshire  Assembly  granted  Holton,  August 
■_'<•,  177s,  the  sum  of  I'll  Cul.  and  half-pay. 
Want  of  space  forbids  a  more  detailed  account 
of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  which  occurred 
August  16,  1777.  The  roar  of  the  cannon  was 
distinctly  heard  in  our  town.  Its  results  gave 
new  hope  to  our  despairing  armies.  ( )n  the  18th 
of  September  following,  Captain  Carleton's 
company  returned  to  their  homes,  having  served 
in  the  field  some  two  months.  A  number  of 
men  went  from  this  town  with  this  company, 
whose    names   were   not  on  the   company's   roll, 


and  whose  number  and  names  are  not  clearly 
known  to  the  writer.  Two  Hessian  prisoners 
taken  at  this  battle,  Aimer  Darby  and  Daniel 
Frazier,  afterwards  settled  in  this  town.  During 
the  year  1777  the  duty  devolved  upon  New 
Hampshire  to  furnish  many  troops ;  she  con- 
tinued to  keep  her  three  regiments  in  the  field, 
aside  from  those  called  out  for  special  services 
and  otherwise. 

In  the  rolls  of  the  officers  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment, under  Colonel  ( -illey,  we  find  the  following 
men  from  Westmoreland  :  Jason  Wait,  captain 
Company  2;  William  Hutchins,  lieutenant. 
William  Hutchins  was  horn  in  Attleboroiigh, 
Mass.,  December  IS,  L 749,  and  came  to  this 
town  in  1  772,  settling  upon  the  farm  now  owned 
\ty  W'illard  II. ( iline;he  remained  upon  this  place 
one  year,  when  he  purchased  and  moved  to  the 
farm  now  owned  by  his  grandson,  Otis  Hutchins, 
where  he  died  in  1838.  He  was  an  ardent 
patriot,  and  thereby  became  a  mark  of  royal 
enmity.  In  I77;i  a  detachment  of  the  King's 
troops  from  Westminster  attempted  to  arrest  a 
man  for  some  offense  not  now  known,  who  was 
living  upon  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Lorenzo 
Joslin,  in  Putney.  The  neighbors,  including 
Mr.  Hutchins,  rallied  in  his  behalf  and  suc- 
ceeded in  defeating  the  intended  arrest.  In  re- 
taliation, the  troops  seized  the  only  cow  of  Mr. 
Hutchins  and  drove  it  away  with  them.  He 
was  among  the  first  to  enlist  in  the  patriot 
cause.  In  Captain  llutehin's  company  we  find 
Stephen  Lord,  aged  forty,  enlisted  April  !!•, 
1777;  also,  David  Johnson,  Jr.,  aged  twenty- 
one,  enlisted  June  6th. 

In  Scammell's  regiment,  in  Captain  John 
Grigg's  company,  we  find  Josiah  Powers,  aged 
thirty-three,  mustered  May,  1777,  for  three 
years  ;  also,  (  alvin  ( 'hamberlain,  mustered  Feb- 
ruary 4,  177S.  In  February,  1781,  we  find 
Caleb  Aldrich,  sergeant  in  Captain  Benjamin 
Ellis'  company. 

In  the  Second  Regiment,  under  Colonel  Rice, 
we  find  lienj.  Whitcomb,  major;  Ceo.  Aldrich, 
•  aptain;  and  Jonas  Butterfield,  lieutenant. 


WESTMORELAND. 


499 


The  First  New  Hampshire  Continental  Reg- 
iment was  recruited  and  organized  in  April, 
1777.  Col.  John  Stark  having  resigned,  Col. 
Joseph  Cilley  was  appointed  to  its  command. 
This  regiment,  with  the  Second  and  Third  New 
Hampshire,  was  assigned  to  a  brigade  command- 
ed by  General  Sullivan,  whose  headquarters  at 
this  time  were  at  Ticonderoga.  The  First  Com- 
pany of  the  First  Regiment  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Isaac  Farwell,  and  contained 
many  Cheshire  County  men,  and  James  Simons1 
from  Westmoreland.  The  record  speaks  of  him 
as  being  twenty-six  years  of  age;  is  credited 
Avith  eighteen  miles  mileage  (from  Westmore- 
land to  Charlestown);  he  received  twenty  pounds 
bounty.     Relating  to  him  we  find  the  following 

certificate : 

"  Derrifield  20  March  1781 
"  This  may  certify  that  James  Simons  has  served  in 
the  Continental  Army  ever  since  the  commencement 
of  the  War  and  by  Reason  of  his  Infirmity  of  Body  he 
Rendered  unfit  for  any  further  services  and  is  there- 
fore discharged.     Given  under  my  Hand 

(Signed)  John  Stark,  B  Gener1" 

In  October,  1780,  the  British  and  Indians 
burned  Royal  ton,  Vt.,  and  committed  other 
depredations  in  the  vicinity.  The  alarm  having 
reached  this  town,  a  company  of  militia  im- 
mediately proceeded  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
The  following  petition  explains  itself.  I  can  find 
no  names  of  the  soldiers  who  marched  from  this 
town  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Britton. 

"  To  the  General  Court: 

"  I  Ebenezer  Britton  Jur  of  Westmoreland  in  Said 
state,  do  pray,  and  Humbly  shew  that  I  being  a  Lieut- 
enant in  the  melitia  of  this  state  in  the  year  AD  1780 
in  October — at  which  time  there  was  a  Call  for  the 
melitia  to  go  forward  and  Repel  tbe  force  of  the 
Enemy  who  at  that  time  burnt  the  town  of  Roylton — 
the  Command  of  the  Company  whereof  I  was  Lieu' 
devolving  upon  me  I  accordingly  Endavoured  to  for- 
ward on  the  Company  under  my  Command  as  quick 
as  possable  and  for  the  purpose  of  Conveying  the 
baggage  did  impress  Several  horses  one  of  which  Was 
the  property  of  Mr  Elisha  Wilbore  of  Westmoreland 
and  of  the  value  of  ten  pounds  Silver  money,  which 

1  Sometimes  written  Simonds. 


Sum  I  have  paid  to  the  said  Elisha  wilbore — as  an 
Equivelent  for  the  said  horse  as  the  said  horse  while 
in  Said  Service  Loaded  and  traveling  fell  and  broke 
his  Sholder  and  was  thereby  lost  in  the  publick  ser- 
vice— Your  petitioner  humbly  prayeth  that  the  Said 
sum  of  ten  pounds— with  the  Interest  thereon  may  be 
Allowed  to  him  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  this 

State. 

"  Ebenezer  Britton 

"  Lieut. 

"  Sworn  to  before  John  Doolittle 

"Oct  18  1785" 

The  records  of  the  town  are  strangely  deficient 
of  any  record  of  bounties  paid  to  soldiers.  From 
Hammonds'  "  Town  Papers"  we  cull  the  follow- 
ing evidence  that  they  were  paid  : 

"  In  Committee  on  Claims  Mar.  15.  1783 — 
"  The  Bounty  advanced  by  Westmoreland  to  Wm 
Martin  is  Nine  pounds  which  sum  has  been  deducted 
from  his  depreciation 

"  Exd  Per  Josiah  Gilman  Jun*  " 

"  Concord  June  22,  1786 
"  The  Bounty  advanc'd  by  the  Town  of  Westmore- 
land to  Solomon  Robins  a  Soldier  for  one  year,  is 
Twenty  two  Pounds,  which  has  been  deducted  from 
his  depreciation 

"  Exd  Per  Josiah  Gilman,  JuRr " 

December  10,  1.779,  the  General  Court  voted 
to  direct  the  treasurer  to  discount  to  Westmore- 
land five  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds  for 
bounties  advanced  to  its  soldiers. 

In  1794,  eleven  years  after  the  close  of  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  on  account  of  serious 
trouble  with  the  Western  Indians  and  the 
"  Whiskey  Rebellion  "  in  the  valley  of  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  caused  by  a  law  passed  by  Congress 
levying  duty  upon  domestic  distilled  spirits, 
the  President  was  compelled  to  call  out  the  mil- 
itia, "  fifteen  thousand  strong,"  with  which  to 
speedily  quell  the  rebellion.  New  Hampshire 
voted  four  regiments  of  minute-men  to  be  held  in 
readiness  to  march  at  any  time,  and  the  several 
towns  were  called  on  to  furnish  their  proportion. 
December  8th,  Westmoreland  "  Voted  to  raise  the 
private  soldiers'  wages  to  forty  shillings  per 
month,  including  what  Congress  have  voted  to 
give,  exclusive  of  clothing  and  rations,  and  non- 
commissioned officers  in  proportion,  and  to  ad- 


500 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


vance  to  each  man  now  to  be  drafted  one-half 
month  advance  pay  in  case  they  should  be  call- 
ed to  march."  The  wages  given  by  Congress 
was  four  dollars  a  month.  The  names  of  these 
men  are  not  known.  They  were  not  called  in- 
to action. 

WAR  of  1812-15. 

Relating:  to  this  war  the  records  of  West- 
moreland  are  singularly  deficient.  From  frag- 
mentary evidence  we  have  found,  however,  abun- 
dant proof  that  the  town  was  not  reluctant  to 
respond  to  every  call  for  men  in  defense  of 
country  and  liberty.  This  war  with  Great 
Britain  was  declared  June  19,  1812.  Sep- 
tember 9th  following,  Governor  Gilman  ordered 
"  the  whole  of  the  militia  to  be  in  readiness  to 
march  at  a  moment's  warning."  A  detach- 
ment from  twenty-three  regiments  was  ordered 
to  march  to  Portsmouth  immediately.  These 
men  were  organized  upon  arrival  into  a  brigade, 
the  First  Regiment  of  which  was  under  the  com- 
mand  of  Nat  Fisk,  of  Westmoreland,  as  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  commandant.  This  regiment  was 
ordered  out  September  10, 1814,  for  three  months. 
Colonel  Fisk  was  born  in  Framingham,  Mass., 
in  1787,  and  came  to  Westmoreland  in  earlv 
life  and  established  himself  in  business  as  a 
clothier  in  the  shop  that  formerly  stood  south  of 
the  house  of  Chas.  H.  Leach.  Here  he  was 
successful.  After  a  few  years  he  opened  a  store 
in  the  village  now  known  as  Park  Hill,  where 
he  became  a  successful  merchant.  He  was  ma- 
jor of  the  First  Battalion  of  the  Twentieth 
Regiment  New  Hampshire  Militia.  In  1814 
he  was  appointed  Lieutenant  Colonel  in  the  same 
regiment.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  First  Regiment 
of  detached  soldiers  for  the  defense  of  the  sea- 
board, and  was  stationed  as  above.  In  1830  he 
removed  to  his  paternal  homestead,  in  Framing- 
ham.  About  1856,  while  on  a  visit  to  his 
daughter  in  this  town,  Mrs.  Geo.  F.  Dunbar,  he 
died  suddenly  of  heart-disease,  aged  sixty-nine 
years.  Under  his  command,  in  Capt.  Marsh's 
company,  we  find  Abial  Bridges  and  Otis  Briggs 


transferred  from  Capt.  Warner's  company  to 
Jonathan  Robbins'.  In  the  same  regiment  we 
find  in  Capt.  Oliver  Warner's  company,  the  names 
of  Henry  Mason,  ensign ;  Benjamin  Brown,  ser- 
geant; privates  Jonathan  Robbins  and  Otis 
Briggs  ;  all  enlisted  for  three  months  from  Sep- 
tember. In  the  Second  Regiment,  under  Col. 
Steel,  in  Capt.  James  M.  Warner's  company,  we 
find  Lewis  Reed,  corporal ;  Elijah  Barrows, 
drummer,  and  Privates  Henry  Bemis,  Cephas 
Clark,  Zera  Hutchins,  Jonathan  Hall,  Jr.,  Ed- 
mund Simmons,  Aaron  Wheeler,  Carley 
Wheeler,  Joseph  Wclborn.  These  men  all 
enlisted  for  sixty  days  and  were  mustered 
September  25,  1814.  In  the  Eleventh 
Regiment  of  United  States  Infantry,  under 
Lieut.-Col.  Bedel,  recruited  at  Concord  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1813,  we  find  the  names  of 
Timothy  Aldrich,  ensign,  Caleb  Briggs,  Eph- 
raim  Leonard,  Benjamin  How  ;  the  latter  was 
wounded  in  the  leg  in  the  battle  of  Chippewa. 
Doubtless  others  were  enlisted  whose  names  are 
not  known  or  recognized  by  the  compiler  in  the 
long  army-rolls. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1792,  the  new 
Constitution  was  adopted.  It  contained  im- 
portant provisions  relating  to  the  militia.  In 
December  following,  an  act  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  arranging  the  militia  into  regi- 
ments, brigades  and  divisions,  describing  their 
limits  and  number,  etc.  By  this  act  the  com- 
panies in  Walpole  and  Westmoreland  consti- 
tuted the  First  Battalion  of  the  Twentieth  Reg- 
iment. This  regiment  was  placed  in  the  Fifth 
Brigade  of  the  Third  Divison.  This  act  was 
constantly  undergoing  revisions,  and,  in  1808, 
it  was  considerably  simplified.  The  act  passed 
this  year  provided  that  all  free,  able4x>died 
white  male  citizens  of  the  State,  from  sixteen 
years  to  forty,  should  be  enrolled,  with  certain 
exceptions.  Nearly  forty  years  passed,  follow- 
ing this  act,  without  radical  changes  in  the 
militia  laws.  For  many  years  Westmoreland 
possessed  two  companies  of  militia.  The  Light 
Infantry   was   popularly    known   as    "  the  Old 


WESTMORELAND. 


501 


West  Light."  It  was  a  company  of  men  that, 
in  all  martial  respects,  ranked  very  high.  For 
years  it  sharply  competed  with  the  "Keeue 
Light"  for  the  palm  of  superiority.  For  some 
years  it  was  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Tileston  A.  Barker,  who  was  very  efficient  in 
this  work.  This  company  furnished  its  own 
uniforms,  but  were  provided  with  arms  by  the 
State.  The  remainder  of  the  enrolled  men  com- 
posed the  "  Floodwood  "  company.  They  had  no 
uniforms,  and  were  obliged  to  furnish  their  own 
arms.  Sometimes  their  movements  bordered 
upon  the  grotesque.  These  companies  were 
obliged  to  turn  out  at  least  twice  each  year  for 
inspection  of  arms  and  for  drill. 

"Training-days"  were  memorable  days  for 
all,  both  old  and  young.  The  splendid  uniforms 
of  the  Light  Infantry,  the  precision  of  all  their 
movements,  the  pompous  commands  of  the  offi- 
cers, the  shrill  notes  of  the  fife  and  the  roll  of 
the  drum  served  to  arouse  all  with  enthusiasm. 
Regimental  musters  were  held  yearly,  in  the 
months  of  August  and  September,  sometimes 
in  this  town;  but  these  days,  with  their  associa- 
tions, have  long  since  passed  away.  But  many 
of  our  older  citizens  still  relate,  with  kindling 
eye  and  animated  speech,  the  lively  incidents 
of  those  days. 

WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 

For  many  years  prior  to  the  breaking  out  of 
the  War  of  the  Great  Rebellion,  the  military 
spirit  of  Westmoreland  had  lain  dormant. 
The  news  of  the  firing  upon  Sumter  thrilled 
the  heart  of  the  North  with  martial  fire  anew. 
Then  the  men  of  the  North,  irrespective  of 
party,  hastened  to  defend  the  nation's  honor  ; 
to  fight  for  home  and  kindred.  The  following 
is  the  record  of  the  citizens  of  Westmoreland 
who  enlisted  in  the  military  service  of  the 
United  States  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
1861-65  : 

Lewis  W.  Aldrich,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth 
Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
August  15,  1862 ;  promoted  to  corporal  January 
1,  1865;  mustered  out  June  10,  1865. 


Lewis  W.  Aldrich,  (2d),  mustered  in  Company  I, 
Ninth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, August  15,  1862 ;  mustered  out  June  10, 
1865. 

William  Aiken,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Twelfth 
Regiment,  Vermont  Volunteer  Infantry,  October 
4,  1862;  mustered  out  July  14,  1863. 

William  C.  Aiken,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
August  18,  1862 ;  wounded  September  17,  1862 ; 
discharged  for  disability  March  17,  1863. 

Charles  L.  Aiken,  mustered  in  U.  S.  Navy. 

Amasa  O.  Amidon,  mustered  in  Company  E,  Fifteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
November  5, 1862,  for  nine  months ;  mustered  out 
August  13,  1863. 

Tileston  A.  Barker,  mustered  as  captain  Company  A, 
Second  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  June,  1861 ;  appointed  lieutenant-colo- 
nel Fourteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  September  19,  1862 ;  on  general 
court-martial  Washington,  D.C.,  February  25, 
1864,  to  February  5,  1865;  honorably  discharged 
February  5,  1865 ;  breveted  colonel  September 
13,  1866. 

Frank  T.  Barker,  mustered  as  captain  Company  A, 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  August  31,  1862;  discharged  April 
21,  1864. 

Joseph  Burcham,  mustered  in  Company  H,  Second 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
September  17,  1861 ;  discharged  for  disability 
September  20,  1862;  re- enlisted  in  Company  C, 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  September  22,  1862 ;  transferred  to 
Company  A,  April  2,  1863  ;  discharged  January 
1,  1865. 

William  J.  Burcham,  mustered  in  Company  E,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
November  28, 1861 ;  died  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  N.  C, 
January  28,  1862. 

George  H.  Britton,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, August  8,  1862;  mustered  out  July  8, 
1865. 

Charles  H.  Burgess,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four  - 
teenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862;  discharged  for  disa- 
bility at  Concord,  N.  H.,  December  11,  1862. 

David  Curtin,  mustered  in  Company  G,  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
September  23,  1862;  discharged  for  disability 
December  31,  1864. 


502 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


John  Curtin,  mustered  in  first  lieutenant  Company  E, 
Sixth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, April  20,  1864;  wounded  June  3,  18G4; 
discharged  on  account  of  wounds  August  10, 
1864. 

Patrick  H.  Curtin,  mustered  in  Company  E,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  Hanpshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
November  28,  1861;  wounded  August  29,  1862; 
transferred  to  United  States  Volunteer  Reserve 
Corp,  May  2,  1863. 

Charles  Campbell,  mustered  in  Company  F,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry; 
November  28,1861  ;  discharged  February  2, 1863. 

Norton  E.  Chamberlain,  mustered  in  Company  D, 
Fifty-third  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Volunteer 
Infantry  ;  died  at  New  Orleans  May  16,  1863. 

William  E.  Clark,  United  States  Navy. 

John  Conner,  United  States  Navy. 

Isaac  W.  Derby,  mustered  corporal  in  Company  A> 
Second  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, May  31,  1861;  wounded  July  21,  1861; 
discharged  for  disability  August  25,  1861 ;  mus- 
tered as  lieutenant  in  United  States  Cavalry  in 
1863. 

Elisha  Douglass,  mustered  in  Company  K,  Ninth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
December,  1863;  wounded  May  12,  1864;  died 
from  wounds  May  17,  1864. 

Samuel  E.  Douglass,  mustered  in  Company  F,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
November  28,  1861 ;  wounded  August  29,  1862 ; 
died  of  wounds  at  Georgetown  (D.  C.)  Hospital 
September  19,  1862. 

Charles  L.  Derby,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth  Eegiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862;  mustered  out  July 
8,  1865. 

John  C.  Farnham,  mustered  in  Company  E,  Fifteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry  ; 
discharged  August  13, 1863. 

Edwin  J.  Goodnow,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862  ;  wounded  September 
19,  1864  ;  discharged  on  account  of  wounds  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1865. 

Timothy  M.  Gary,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862 ;  mustered  out  July 
8,  1865. 

James  K.  Greeley,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Eegiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862;  wounded  September 
19,  1864;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865, 


Charles  P.  Hall,  mustered  first   lieutenant  Company 
A,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  August  9,  1862;  in  charge  of  in- 
valid detachment  under  provost  marshal  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  June  to  November,  1863  ;  promoted 
to  captain  Company  C,  February  20,  1864;    in 
command  Fort  Pulaski,  Ga.,  March  5  to  June  5, 
1865;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 
Franklin  J.  Hall,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
September  22,  1862;  promoted  to  corporal  April 
1,  1865;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 
George  Hall,  mustered  in   Company  I,  Ninth  Regi- 
ment, New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  De- 
cember 16,  1863;  wounded  June  1,  1864;  trans- 
ferred to  Sixth  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, Junel,  1865;  mustered  out  July  17,  1865. 
Aristides  Heustis,  mustered  in   Company  A,  Second 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
May  31,  1861  ;  died  at  Summit  House  Hospital, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  December  23,  1862. 
Fay   Keith,   mustered   in   Company   A,   Fourteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
August  13,  1S62  ;  died  in  service. 
Samuel  I.  Leach,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
September  22,  1862;  clerk  for  brigadier-quarter- 
master October,  1862  to  April,  1863;  promoted 
to  corporal ;  clerk  in  Campbell  General  Hospital 
April,   1863   to  July   21,   1865;    transferred    to 
United  States  Volunteer  Reserve  Corp,  Decem- 
ber 5,  1863 ;  mustered  out  July  21,  1865. 
Albert  G.  Leach,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
September  22,  1862;  died  of  disease  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  May  31,  1863. 
Charles   H.  Leach,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, August  14,  1862  ;  died  at  Poolsville,  Md., 
January  23,  1863. 
Leonard  Lowe,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth  Regi- 
ment, New  Hampshire  ATolunteer  Infantry  ;  killed 
at  Petersburg  Mine  July  30,  1864. 
James   B.  Mason,  mustered  in   Company   A,   Four- 
teenth Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, August   14,    1862;    transferred  and  pro- 
moted to  first  lieutenant  in  Thirty-first  Regiment 
United  States  Cavalry  Troop,  February  14, 1864; 
wounded  at  Petersburg  Mine  July  30,  1864  ;  dis- 
charged December  12,  1864. 
Amos  S.  Metcalf,  mustered   in   Troop  A,  First  Regi- 
ment, New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Cavalry,  Man  li 
25,1864:  captured  June  13,1864. 


WESTMORELAND. 


503 


Leslie  K.  Osborne,  mustered  in  Company  E,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
November  28,  1861 ;  mustered  out  November  27, 
1864. 

William  L.  Pratt,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862 ;  mustered  out  July  8, 
1865. 

Isaac  W.  Rawson,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22,  1862 ;  mustered  out  July  8, 
1865. 

William  S.  Starkey,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  August  27,  1862;  died  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  May  13,  1863. 

Henry  M.  Staples,  mustered  musician  Company  A. 
Fourteenth  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  August  14,  1862;  promoted  to  principal 
musician  November  1,  1864;  discharged  July  8, 
1865. 

Warren  Streeter,  mustered  in  Company  F,  Fourth 
Regiment  Vermont  Volunteer  Infantry,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1864;  discharged  June  6,  1865. 

Albert  W.  Streeter,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth 
Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
August  15,  1862;  died  of  disease  at  Falmouth, 
Va.,  February  6,  1863. 

Herbert  N.  Streeter,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth 
Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry, 
August  22,  1862  ;  died  of  disease  at  Aquia  Creek, 
Va.,  February  7,  1863. 

Ezra  F.  Streeter,  mustered  in  Company  F,  Fifth  Reg- 
iment New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  Oc- 
tober 23,1861;  discharged  for  disability,  April 
30,  1862. 

Frederick  A.  Timothy,  mustered  in  Company  A, 
Fourteenth  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  September  22,  1862;  mustered  out 
July  8,  1865. 

Holland  Wheeler,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  September  22,  1862  ;  promoted  to  ser- 
geant January  27,  1864 ;  wounded  September  19, 
1864 ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Sidney  P.  Winchester,  mustered  in  Company  A, 
Fourteenth  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  September  22,  1862;  discharged  for 
disability,  March  27, 1863. 

Hiram  Woodward,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, September  22, 1862 ;  mustered  out  May  19, 
1865. 


Edgar  F.  Wiley,  mustered  in  Company  I,  Ninth  Regi- 
ment New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  Aug- 
ust 15,  1862;  wounded  May  12,  1864;  transferred 
to  United  States  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  January 
9,  1865. 

Sidney  H.  Young,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Four- 
teenth Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, August  14, 1862 ;  killed  in  battle  Opequan 
September  19,  1864. 

Edwin  Young,  mustered  in  Company  A,  Second  Reg- 
iment New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  May 
31,  1861;  promoted  to  sargeant  May  1,  1863; 
mustered  out  June  21,  1864. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  non-resident  sol- 
diers credited  to  Westmoreland  : 


William  Miller. 
Charles  Nelson. 
William  Smith. 
William  Thompson. 
George  Wilson. 
Luther  Jossely. 
Franklin  Vose. 
James  Bennett. 
Joseph  Coyne. 
James  Malone. 
John  Brown. 
George  Clark 
John  Clark. 
John  Coleman. 


Anton  Crick. 
John  Ervin. 
Henry  Jacobs. 
Charles  Johnson. 
James  Smith. 
Joseph  Williams. 
John  Anderson. 
Walter  Comstock. 
Jeremiah  Carroll. 
James  M.  Janess. 
Ransom  D.  Pettingill. 
Mitchell  Brennan. 
Simon  Dyer. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WESTMORELAND— (Continued). 
CIVIL  HISTORY  AND   CENSUS. 

The   following  is  the    list   of  town   officers 
from  1775,  prior  records  are  missing  : 

MODERATORS   OF   ANNUAL   MEETINGS. 

Joseph  Burt,  1775,  '77,  '78,  '79,  1781,  '88,  '89,  1791, 
'92,  '93,  '95,  '96,  '98,  '99,  1802,  '3,  '4,  '5,  '6,  '8,  '9,  '10, 
'11,  '12,  '13,  and  '14,-26  years. 

Ebenezer  Britton,  1776. 

Benjamin  Pierce,  1780  to  1782. 

Isaac  Chamberlain,  1783. 

George  Aldrich,  1784. 

Nathan  Franklin,  1785,  '86,  '97. 

Amos  Babcock,  1787,  '90,  '94. 

Nathan  Estab rooks,  1800. 

Joseph  Buffum,  1801,  '07. 

David  Dwight,  1815,  '16,  '17. 


504 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Jotham  Lord,  1818,  '19,  '20,  '21,  '23,  '24,  '26,  '27, 
'30,  '31,  '32,  '33,  '34,  '35, '36,  '37,  '38, '39,  '40,  '41,  '42, 
— 21  years. 

Simeon  Cobb  (2d),  1822. 

Nathan  Babbitt,  1825. 

Samuel  Winchester,  1828  to  1829. 

Larkin  Baker,  1843,  '44,  '46,  '47. 

Charles  F.  Brooks,  1845. 

Tileston  A.  Barker,  1848,  49,  '50,  '51,  '52,  '53,  '54, 
'55,  '56,  '57,  '58,  '64,  '67,  '70—14  years. 

George  W.  Nims,  1859,  '60. 

Ebenezer  Britton  (2d),  1861,  '65,  '66,  '68,  '69,  '71. 

Dexter  Warren,  1862,  '63,  '74. 

Stephen  B.  Gary,  1872  to  73. 

WillardBill,  Jr.,  1875,  '78, '79,  '80,  '81,  '82,  '83,  '84, 
— eight  years. 

George  W.  Daggett,  1876. 

Arad  Fletcher,  1877. 

TOWN   CLERKS, 

Heber  Miller,  1775,  '76,  '77,  '78,  '79,  '80,  81,  '82,  '83. 

John  Doolittle,  1784,  '85,  '86,  '87,  '88. 

Caleb  Aldrieh,  Jr.,  1789,  '90,  '91, '92,  '93, '94, '95, 
'96,  '97,  '98,  '99,  1800,  '1,  '2,  '3,  '4,  '5,  '6,  7,  '8,  '9,  '11. 

Daniel  Brooks,  1810. 

Benjamin  Snow,  1812,  '13,  '14. 

Joshua  Britton,  1815  to  1816. 

Theophalas  Hoit,  1817. 

Allen  Pratt,  1818,  '19,  '20,  '21,  '22,  *23,  '24,  '25,  '26, 
'27. 

Larkin  Baker,  1828,  '29,  '30,  '31,  '32,  '33,  '34,  '35, 
'36,  '37,  '38,  '39,  '40. 

Charles  F.  Brooks,  1841,  '42. 

Nathan  G.  Babbit,  1843,  '44,  '45. 

Anson  Cole,  1846,  '47,  '48,  '49,  '51,  '52,  '64. 

Timothy  Hoskins,  1850, 

Alexander  H.  Wheeler,  1853. 

Dexter  Warren,  1854,  '55,  '56,  '57,  '58,  '59. 

Joseph  Leonard,  1860,  '61,  '62. 

Henry  F.  Cowdery,  1863. 

Edwin  J.  Goodnow,  1864  to  1885. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Joseph  Wilber,  1775  and  1784. 
Heber  Miller,  1776. 
Ebenzer  Britton,  1777  and  1778. 
Joseph  Burt,  1779,  '80,  '93,  '94,  '95,  '96 ;  1781  voted 
not  to  send. 

Isaac  Chamberlain,  1782,  '83. 

Samuel  Works,  1765,  '86. 

Amos  Babcock,  1787. 

Archilaus  Temple,  1788,  '89,  '90,  '91,  '92  and  7. 

Alpheus  Moore,  1798. 

Ezra  Peirce,  1799,  1800,  '01,  '02. 


William  Britton,  1803,  '13,  '14,  '15. 

Joseph  Buflum,  1804,  '05,  '06,  '07. 

Job  F.  Brooks,  1808,  '09. 

Broughton  White,  1810. 

Ephraim  Brown,  Jr.,  1811  and  1812. 

Daniel  Dwight,  1816  and  1817. 

Simeon  Cobb,  2d,  1818,  '19,  '21,  '22,  '23. 

Jotham  Lord,  Jr.,  1820,  '24,  '35,  '36. 

Larkin  Baker,  1825  and  1826. 

Samuel  Winchester,  1827  and  1828. 

Gaius  Hall,  1829,  '38. 

Barton  Skinner,  1830,  '31,  '32. 

Timothy  Hoskins,  1833,  '34,  '40. 

Charles  F.  Brooks,  1837  to  1839. 

Tileston  A.  Barker,  1842,  '43,  '52. 

John  Albee,  1844  and  1845. 

Solomon  Wilson,  1846,  '47. 

John  Pierce,  1847,  '48. 

David  Livingston,  1848  and  1849. 

Abijah  French,  1850  and  1851. 

George  W.  Wheeler,  1853. 

Haskell  Buflum,  1854  and  1855. 

Willard  W.  Pierce,  1856  and  1857. 

Isaac  K.  White,  1858  and  1859. 

Anson  Cole,  1860  and  1861. 

Jedediah  Sabin,  1862,  '65. 

Daniel  W.  Patten,  1863  and  1864. 

Ebenezer  Britton,  1866,  '67,  '68. 

Charles  Knight,  1869  and  1870. 

Otis  Hutchins,  1871. 

Robert  L.  Aldrieh,  1872  and  1873. 

Nelson  Wilbur,  1874. 

Charles  N.  Quimby,  1875. 

John  Mason,  1876. 

John  A.  Chamberlain,  1877. 

William  J.  Reed,  1878. 

Oliver  J.  Butterfield,  1879. 

Theodore  Cole,  1881  and  1882 ;  Biennial  Sessions. 

Eli  R.  Wellington,  1883  and  1884. 

Stephen  H.  Burt,  1885. 

SELECTMEN. 

1775. — Heber  Miller,  Archelaus  Temple,  Waitstill 
Scott. 

1776. — Heber  Miller,  Benjamin  Pierce,  Ebeneser 
Britton. 

1777. — Joseph  Burt,  Amos  Pierce,  Ephraim  Stone. 

1778. — Joseph  Burt,  Ephraim  Stone,  Daniel 
Pierce. 

1779. — Joseph  Welbore,  Nathan  Franklin,  William 
Hutchins. 

1780. — Ebenezer  Britton,  Isaac  Butterfield,  Micah 
Read. 


WESTMORELAND. 


505 


1781. — Jonas  Butterfield,  Abner  Darbey,  Israel 
Amsbury. 

1782.  Abiel  Eddy,  Benjamin  Pierce,  Joseph  Burt, 
John  Doolittle  and  Joshua  Pierce. 

1783. — Isaac  Chamberlain,  Ebenezer  Britton, 
Samuel  Works  and  Isaac  Butterfield. 

1784. — John  Doolittle,  Azariah  Leach,  William 
Hutchins. 

1785. — George  Aldrich,  William  Hutchins  Azariah 
Leach. 

1786. — George  Aldrich,  Nathan  Franklin,  Nathan- 
iel Wilbore. 

1787. — Ezra  Pierce,  Samuel  Cobb,  Caleb  Aldrich. 

1788. — Ezra  Pierce,  Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Jonas  Bob- 
bins. 

1789. — Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Jonas  Bobbins,  George 
Cobb. 

1790. — Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  George  Cobb,  David 
Hutchins. 

1791. — Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  David  Hutchins,  Ezra 
Peirce. 

1792. — Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr..  Ezra  Pierce,  Nathan 
Babbitt. 

1793.— Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Nathan  Babbitt,  William 
Hutchins. 

1794.— Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Ezra  Pierce,  Nathan 
Babbitt. 

1795.— Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Nathan  Babbitt,  Abner 
Darby. 

1796. — Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Joseph  Buffurn,  Nathan 
Franklin. 

1797. — Joseph  Buffum,  William  Britton,  Ezra 
Pierce,  Joseph  Burt,  Daniel  Cobb. 

1798.— Caleb  Aldrich,  Jr.,  Nathan  Babbitt,  Ezra 
Pierce. 

1799. — Joseph  Buffum,  William  Hutchins,  William 
Britton. 

1800. — Joseph  Buffum,  William  Hutchins,  William 
Britton. 

1801.— William  Britton,  Nat.  Fisk,  George  Cobb. 

1802.— William  Britton,  George  Cobb,  Nat.  Fisk. 

1803.— Nat.  Fisk,  Broughton  White,  Job  F.  Brooks. 

1804.— Nathan  Babbitt,  John  Wheeler,  Jr„  Caleb 
Aldrich. 

1805.— Job  F.  Brooks,  Nat.  Fisk,  Eobert  Britton. 

1806.— Job  F.  Brooks,  Nat.  Fisk,  Eobert  Britton. 

1807. — Job  F.  Brooks,  Ephraim  Brown,  Jr.,  Robert 
Britton. 

1808. — Ephraim  Brown,  Jr.,  William  Britton,  Levi 
Green. 

1809. — William  Britton,  Levi  Green,  Moses  Dudley. 

1810. — William  Britton,  Levi  Green,  Moses  Dudley. 

1811. — Joseph  Buffum,  Timothy  Skinner,  William 
Britton. 


1812. — William  Britton,  Job.  F.  Brooks,  Aaron 
Works. 

1813. — Job  F.  Brooks,  Aaron  Works,  Ebenezer 
Bailey,  Jr. 

1814. — Job  F.  Brooks,  Aaron  Works,  Ebenezer 
Bailey,  Jr. 

1815. — Job  F.  Brooks,  Ebenezer  Bailey,  William 
Arnold. 

1816.— Job  F.  Works,  Ebenezer  Bailey,  William 
Arnold. 

1817.— Job  F.  Brooks,  Simeon  Cobb,  Theophalus 
Hoit. 

1818. — Job  F.  Brooks,  Theophalus  Hoit,  Jotham 
Lord,  Jr. 

1819. — Theophalus  Hoit,  Jotham  Lord,  Jr.,  Gaius 
Hall. 

1820. — Theophalus  Hoit,  Gaius  Hall,  Abraham 
Howe. 

1821. — Theophalus  Hoit,  Gaius  Hall,  Abraham 
Howe. 

1822.— Job  F.  Brooks,  Seth  Hall,  Jr.,  Aaron  F. 
Daniels. 

1823. — Aaron  F.  Daniels,  Jimna  Walker,  Ebenezer 
Bailey. 

1824. — Aaron  F.  Daniels,  Jimna  Walker,  Ebenezer 
Bailey. 

1825. — Jotham  Lord,  Jr.,  Jimna  Walker,  William 
Britton. 

1826 — Jotham  Lord,  Jr.,  Jimna  Walker,  William 
Britton. 

1827. — Jotham  Lord,  Jr.,  Jimna  Walker,  William 
Britton. 

1828.— Nathan  G.  Babbitt,  William  Britton,  Abel 
Gleason. 

1829.— William  Britton,  Abel  Gleason,  Samuel 
Winchester. 

1830 — Abijah  French,  Luna  Foster,  Aaron  Works. 

1831. — Abijah  French,  Luna  Foster,  Aaron  Works. 

1832. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 

1833. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 

1834. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 

1835. — Sampson  How,  Austin  Parker,  Linus  Aid- 
rich. 

1836. — Sampson  How,  Austin  Parker,  Linus  Aid- 
rich. 

1837. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 

1838. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 

1839. — Abijah  French,  Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Ba- 
ker. 


506 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1840. — Aaron  Works,  Larkin  Baker,  Gauis  Hall. 

1841. — Larkin   Baker,  Aaron  Works,  Haskell   Buf- 
fum. 

1842. — Haskell   Buffum,   James   R.   Ware,   David 
Livingston. 

1843. — Haskell   Buffum,   James    R.   Ware,    David 
Livingston. 

1844. — James   R.   Ware,   Arby   Barker,   Augustus 
Noyes. 

1845. — Arby   Barker,   Augustus   Noyes,  James   P. 
Ware. 

1846. — Charles  F.  Brooks,  Arby  Barker,  Alexander 
H.  Wheeler. 

1847. — Charles   F.  Brooks,  Alexander  H.  Wheeler, 
John  Allbee. 

1848.— Charles  F.  Brooks,  Alexander  H.  Wheeler, 
John  Allbee. 

1849. — Timothy  Hoskins,  Jonas  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Nel- 
son Wilber. 

1850. — Timothy  Hoskins,  Jonas  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Nel- 
son Wilber. 

1851. — Timothy    Hoskins,    Zenas  Britton,    Arvin 
Aldrich. 

1852. — Timothy   Hoskins,    Arvin   Aldrieh,    Zenas 
Britton. 

1853. — Arvin  Aldrich,  Addison  Ware,  Prentiss  Dag- 
gett. 

1854. — Addison   Ware,   Prentiss   Daggett,  Ezekiel 
Woodward. 

1855. — Addison   Ware,   Zenas   Britton,  Robert  T. 
Aldrieh. 

1856. — James  R.  Ware,  Farly  Norris,  Caleb  C.  Dag- 
gett. 

1857. — David  Livingston,  Farly   Norris,  Caleb  C. 
Daggett. 

1858. — David  Livingston,  Alfred   Aldrich,  George 
R.  Perry. 

1859. — Alfred  Aldrich,  George  R.  Perry,  Ebenezer 
Britton. 

1860. — Ebenezer  Britton,  2d,  Jedediah  Sabin,  John 
A.  Chamberlain. 

1861.  Jedediah  Sabin,  John  A.  Chamberlain,  Gaius 
K.  Hall. 

1862.— John    A.    Chamberlain    Gaius    K.     Hall, 
George  W.  Nims. 

1863. — John  A.   Chamberlain,  Jewett  E.  Buffum, 
Artemas  Knight. 

1864. — Jewett  E.  Buffum,  Artemas  Knight,  Samuel 
D.  Clark. 

1865.— Ebenezer  Britton,  2d,  Joseph  Shelley,  George 
R.  Perry. 

1866.— Joseph  Shelley,  George  R.  Perry,  Barton  C. 
Aldrich. 


1867. — Joseph  Shelley,  George  R.  Perry,  Barton  C. 
Aldrich. 

1868.— Barton  C.  Aldrich,  Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  Francis 
Snow. 

1869.— Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  Francis  Snow,  Prentiss 
Daggett. 

1870.— Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  William  N.  Patten,  Jewett 
E.  Buffum. 

1871.— Willard  Bill,  Jr..  William  N.  Patten,  Heber 

B.  Cole. 

1872. — Dexter  Warren,  Jasper  Hall,  Jewett  E. 
Buffum. 

1873. — Dexter  Warren,  Jasper  Hall,  Jewett  E. 
Buffum. 

1874. — Dexter  Warren,  Jasper  Hall,  Jewett  E. 
Buffum. 

1875.— Abel  E.  Johnson,  William  N.  Patten,  Solon 
Chickering. 

1876.— Charles  Knight,  Albert  Thompson,  George 
J.  Bennett. 

1877. — Charles  Knight,  Albert  Thompson,  George 
J.  Bennett. 

1878.— Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  Albert  Thompson,  Barton 

C.  Aldrich. 

1879.— Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  Barton  C.  Aldrich,  Jewett 
E.  Buffum. 

1880.— Willard  Bill,  Jr.,  Barton  C.  Aldrich,  Jewett 
E.  Buffum. 

1881.— William  E.  Cullen,  John  Works,  Albert 
Thompson. 

1882. — John  Works,  Jasper  Hall,  Oscar  J.  Ware. 

1883.— John  Works,  Oscar  J.  Ware,  Charles  M. 
Scovell. 

1884.— Oscar  J.  Ware,  Charles  M.  Scovell,  Oilman 
A.  Converse. 

Census. — The  following  is  the  census  statis- 
tics of  Westmoreland  from  1767  to  1800. 

17(37, 391  ;  1778,  MH  ;  1775,  758  ;  1783,  —  ; 
1786,1621;  17<)0,  2018;  1800,  2066;  1810, 
1937;  1820,2029;  1830,  1647;  1840,1546; 
1850,  1678;  1860,  1285;  1870,1256;  1880, 
1103. 

Governor  vote. — The  following  shows  the 
number  of  votes  cast  for  Governor  in  the  most 
sharply  contested  elections  to  show  the  number 
of  voters  as  compared  with   its  population  : 

1838,  338;  1848,  313;  1860,  168;  1868, 
307;   1876,  298. 

In  early  times  and  up  to  the  year  1791,  when 
an  act    was   passed    relieving    them    from   that 


WESTMORELAND. 


507 


duty,  the  constables  were  by  virtue  of  their 
office  collectors  of  taxes.  Every  man  in  town 
was  obliged,  with  certain  exceptions,  to  serve  as 
constable  when  chosen  under  the  penalty  of 
three  pounds.  The  collection  of  taxes  was,  of 
course,  to  many  an  unpleasant  service, 
and  after  the  population  became  considerable  it 
was  very  difficult  to  get  constables  who  would 
willingly  perform  the  duty.  A  small  sum  was 
allowed  for  the  service. 

The  town,  March  13,  1782,  voted  to  prose- 
cute Leonard  Keep  and  Samuel  How  for  not 
serving  as  constables.  This  course  of  discipline, 
however,  did  not  work  out  the  desired  result, 
and  a  few  years  after  we  find  the  town  committing 
generally  the  collection  of  taxes  to  the  lowest 
bidder. 

In  early  times  we  find  the  town  annually 
electing  a  board  of  "  Tithing-Men,"  but  this 
office  has  long  since  become  obsolete.  It  was 
once  considered  an  honorable  and  important 
position.  Its  duties  consisted  in  enforcing  the 
laws  relating  to  the  proper  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  day,  by  arresting  travelers  and  by  keep- 
ing rude  boys  quiet  in  meeting. 

Another  town-officer  was  the  deer-reeve  whose 
duties  consisted  in  the  protection,  at  certaiu  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  of  the  deer  that  roamed  in  the 
forest.  We  find  no  mention  of  this  town-officer 
after  1781. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WESTMORELAND  -(Continued). 
MISCELLANEOUS. 

Currency. — January  1,  1  795,  an  act  took 
effect,  having  passed  in  Congress  February  20, 
1794,  abolishing  the  currency  of  pounds,  shil- 
lings and  pence,  and  from  this  date  accounts 
were  kept  in  dollars,  dimes  and  cents  ;  after- 
wards in  dollars  and  cents.  The  first  settlers 
used  very  little  money  as  a  medium  of  exchange. 
Prices  were  based  upon  stipulated  values  of 
farm  produce.     Foreign  gold  and  silver  coins 


constituted  the  only  lawful  money.  The  great 
expense  of  the  French  and  Indian  Wars  ex- 
hausted the  treasury  of  the  State  and  incurred 
a  heavy  debt  upon  the  province.  Necessity 
compelled  the  issue  of  paper  money,  but  this 
through  depreciation  of  value  furnished  only 
temporary  relief.  This  depreciation  was  has- 
tened by  the  province  joining  the  Revolution- 
ary party.  Silver  rapidly  increased  in  value. 
In  1720  an  ounce  was  worth  seven  shillings  and 
sixpence,  in  1760  it  was  worth  one  hundred 
and  twenty  shillings.  On  the  10th  day  of 
May,  1775,  Congress  voted  to  issue  paper  cur- 
rency; this  took  the  name  of  "Continental 
money."  From  the  first  it  was  a  currency 
that  did  not  inspire  the  fullest  confidence. 
It  was  influential  in  depreciating  the  issues  of 
the  State  and  became  itself  worthless  in  a  few 
years.  It  brought  financial  ruin  to  many,  its 
baneful  effects  were  felt  by  all.  In  this  town 
into  many  houses  it  brought  poverty  in  place  of 
competency. 

In  the  year  1780,  the  condition  of  the  Conti- 
nental Currency  became  truly  deplorable  ;  we 
find  that  the  town  voted,  March  8,  to  raise 
£4800  for  highways,  to  be  worked  out  at  15s.  an 
hour.  It  was  voted  to  pay  Benjamin  Aldrich 
£120  for  eight  weeks'  board  of  a  pauper  child. 

Financial. — In  1786„the  Legislature  hav- 
ing voted  to  submit  certain  propositions  relative 
to  the  issuing  of  paper  money  for  an  expression 
of  approval  or  of  rejection  by  the  people  of  the 
State,  this  town  on  the  15th  of  November, 
gave  an  expression  of  their  views,  as  expressed 
in  the  following  record  : 

"  The  State  of  New  Hampshire, 

"  Westmoreland,  November  the  15th  day  in  the  year 

of  our  Lord  1786 

"  agreeable  to  a  request  from  the  Legislative  au- 
thority of  this  state  the  Inhabitants  of  sd  Westmore- 
land on  the  aforesd  day  of  Nov  being  legally  assembled 
in  town  meeting  for  the  purpose  Collecting  their 
opinions  relative  to  the  proposed  plan  sent  out  by  the 
Hon1  Court  for  making  paper  money — 

"  lstl-v  the  Question's  being  put  by  divideing  the 
house  to  know  the  number  for  having  paper  money, 


508 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  the  number  against  it,  there  appeared  to  be  forty 
for  having  paper  money  made,  and  twenty  against  it. 

"  2ndlv  there  appeared  on  aneother  Division  thereof 
to  be  thirty  one  against  haveing  paper  money  on  the 
present  proposd  plan :  and  twentyone  for  haveing  it 
agreeable  to  sd  plan. — 

"3rdlv  Nineteen  of  those  that  ware  against  money's 
being  Emitted  agreeable  to  ye  proposd  plan  which  is 
went  out — Voted  "that  tbey  would  have  a  bank  of 
money  made  of  paper  Equal  to  the  sum  of  this  states 
debt,  on  the  following  plan  Viz  to  have  it  made  a 
tender  in  all  Cases  or  payments  and  to  have  it  not  on 
Interest,  and  to  have  it  given  out  for  to  run  twenty 
Years,  and  to  have  it  sink  one  twentyeth  yearly  until 
it  should  be  Dead 

"the  above  is  a  true  Journal  of  the  meeting  afore- 
said 

"Attest  John   Doolittle  Town   Clerk  of  sd 

Westmoreland  " 

Lawyebs. — Westmoreland  has  never  pre- 
sented  a  rich  field  for  the  legal  fraternity.  The 
number  of  resident  practitioners  of  the  law  have 
been  few.  The  name  of  Elijah  Wollage  is  the 
first  to  appear  upon  our  records.  Furthermore 
than  evidence  that  he  was  an  influential  man 
in  our  town  affairs  we  are  ignorant.  Following 
him  came,  in  1791,  Jeremiah  Mason.  He  was 
born  in  1768  in  Connecticut,  graduated  at 
Vale  in  1788,  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Westmoreland,  where  he  remained  three  years 
and  then  removed  to  Portsmouth.  He  soon  was 
recognized  as  the  head  of  his  profession  in  this 
State,  whose  bar,  at  that  time,  was  then,  and, 
perhaps,  since,  unequaled  in  this  country.  In 
the  State  Legislature  and  the  United  States 
Senate  alike  he  was  easily  "the  first  and  fore- 
most." Daniel  Dwight  followed  him  and  prac- 
ticed  many  years.  In  1816  and  1817  he 
represented  the  town  and  held,  at  different 
times,  positions  of  public  trust  and  confidence. 

Nathan  Godfrey  Babbitt  also  practiced  law- 
many  years.  He  was  born  in  Norton,  Mass., 
February  12,  1787;  came  to  this  town  about 
1790. 

Joseph  Buffum  was  born  in  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
September  23,  1784,  graduated  at   Dartmouth 


College,  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Cheshire  bar.  For  some  years  he  practiced  in 
Keene  and  was  elected  a  Representative  in  the 
XVIth  United  States  Congress,  where  he 
served  one  term.  Declining  a  re-election,  he 
removed  to  his  paternal  homestead  in  this  town, 
where  he  lived  many  years,  and  died  February 
23,  1874,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-nine 
years.  While  adopting  for  many  years  of  his 
life  recluse  habits,  still  he  was  known  and 
respected  by  his  townsmen  generally  as  a  man 
of  sound  judgment  and  of  incorruptible  hon- 
esty. 

Larkin  Baker  was  born  in  this  town  Septem- 
ber 17,  1795,  and  remained  until  his  decease, 
February  3,  1872.  For  many  years  his  counsel 
was  sought  from  far  and  near  upon  all  legal 
matters.  Possessed  of  a  tenacious  memory,  an 
aptness  for  scholarship,  he  soon  took  a  promi- 
nent place  in  both  town  and  county.  He  held 
the  commission  of  justice  of  the  peace  during 
nearly  the  whole  of  his  business  career,  and 
transacted  nearly  all  the  business  of  the  town 
in  this  line.  He  was  assistant  judge  of  the, 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  seven  years,  judge  of 
Probate  for  Cheshire  County  twenty-two  years, 
resigning  in  1864  by  reason  of  poor  health,  and 
held,  at  different  times,  all  the  offices  within 
the  gift  of  his  native  town. 

PAUPERS. — "  The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you."  The  first  record  that  relates  to  the  poor 
is  July  7,  1783, — "  Votnl  that  a  woman,  who 
resides  at  the  house  of  Joshua  Pierce,  who  is 
warned  out  of  town,  be  carried  out  of  town 
according  to  the  directions  of  the  law."  At  this 
time  it  was  the  common  practice  of  the  towns 
generally  to  warn  out  new-comers  with  the 
view  to  prevent  their  acquiring  a  legal  settle- 
ment. This  had  to  be  done  within  a  year  after 
the  person  came  into  the  town.  It  does  not 
appear  that  Westmoreland  practiced  the  pro- 
tection given  by  the  law,  as  we  find  only  one 
necessary  record,  "  where  it  speaks  of  having 
warned  out  all  indiscriminately,  without  regard 
to  their  condition    or  ability   to  support  them- 


WESTMORELAND. 


509 


selves."  For  many  years  the  paupers  were  let 
out  to  the  lowest  bidder,  subject  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  overseers. 

In  September  2,  1791,  we  find  the  following 
unique  record  :  "  Voted  that  Josiah  Powers  and 
widow  Miller  be  vendued  by  the  Selectmen  to 
the  lowest  bidder  at  this  meeting.  Widow 
Miller  struck  off  to  Mr.  Joseph  Buffum  for 
two  shillings  and  nine  pence  per  week,  until 
March  meeting  next.  Josiah  Powers  struck 
off  to  Mr.  Elias  Gates  for  one  shilling  and 
seven  pence  per  week."  In  1832  the  town 
purchased  of  Nat  Daggett  his  farm  for  a  poor- 
farm,  having  raised  $2000  for  this  purpose, 
and  there  supported  its  paupers  until  its  sale,  in 
1874.  The  repeated  changes  in  the  law  have 
been  in  the  direction  of  throwing;  more  and 
more  the  burthen  of  the  support  of  the  poor 
upon  the  county ;  this  rendered  town  poor-farms 
an  useless  expense.  In  1868  a  county  alms- 
house was  located  and  built  in  this  town. 

We  can  no  more  fittingly  illustrate  the  quo- 
tation heading  this  brief  article  than  by  refer- 
ring to  one  of  the  town  paupers  by  the  name  of 
Grace  Goodnow,  who  died  at  the  extreme  old 
age  of  over  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  and 
was  undoubtedly  the  oldest  person  within  our 
town  records. 

Cemeteries. — Without  doubt  the  first  cem- 
etery dedicated  in  Westmoreland  for  burial 
purposes  was  the  one  near  the  residence  of 
F.  G.  Parker.  Here,  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  yard, 

"  Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid, 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 

Whether  this  yard  was  founded  by  private 
enterprise  or  at  public  expense,  we  know  not ; 
but  be  that  as  it  may,  the  good  sense  and  taste 
exercised  in  selecting  this  beautiful  site  as  the 
"city  for  the  dead"  must  be' unquestioned. 

The  cemetery  upon  Canoe  Meadow  also 
bears  an  early  date.  About  1805  Nathaniel 
Daggett  deeded  the  land  to  Nathan  Franklin 
and  others  upon  the  condition  that  it  be  kept 


inclosed  forever  for  the  purposes  of  a  cemetery. 
The  lot  had  been  used  many  years  prior  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  oldest  inscription  in  this 
yard  is  that  of  Mrs.  Amos  Davis,  bearing  date 
of  September  6,  1764. 

For  years  prior  to  1832  two  contiguous  lots, 
divided  by  a  stone  wall,  runuing  north  and 
south,  near  the  residence  of  Willard  R.  Gline, 
were  used  for  cemeterial  purposes.  Nathan 
Franklin  owned  the  lot  upon  the  east  side  ot 
the  wall,  Phinehas  Gline  the  one  upon  the 
west  side.  This  year  both  gave  their  respective 
lots  to  the  town  in  trust  for  the  uses  of  a 
cemetery  forever.  The  dividing  wall  was  re- 
moved and  the  two  lots  inclosed  in  one.  Soon 
after  Edward  Simmons  built  a  private  family- 
tomb  therein. 

The  oldest  cemetery  in  the  East  Parish  was 
situate  east  of  the  dwelling  of  F.  W.  and  F.  P. 
Hall,  on  the  north  side  of  the  highway.  For 
many  years  it  has  been  uucared  for,  and  in  con- 
sequence has  assumed  the  look  of  dilapidation. 
Though  silent,  still  it  speaketh  in  unmistakable 
language,  forget  fulness. 

The  cemetery  now  used  in  this  parish  origi- 
nated in  a  gift  of  a  lot  of  land  from  Alfred  Al- 
drich  to  certain  individuals,  upon  the  considera- 
tion that  an  inclosing  wall  should  be  built  and 
maintained,  and  the  lot  to  be  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  cemetery.  The  inclosing  wall  was 
built  in  1847.  The  sextons  of  this  yard  have 
been  Alfred  Aldrich,  Liberty  Page  and  Joshua 
Hall.  Lemuel  Wight  was  the  first  one  buried 
therein.  Aaron  Gary,  who  built  the  inclosing 
wall,  was  the  first  one  buried  therein  after  its 
completion. 

The  South  Village  Cemetery  originated  in 
1851  from  a  gift  of  land  for  this  purpose  from 
John  D.  Brown.  Already,  though  the  years  are 
brief  since  its  inclosure,  still  how  numerous  its 
spires  of  marble  to-day! 

The  Pratt  Cemetery  was  inclosed  by  Rev. 
Allen  Pratt  and  deeded  by  him  to  the  town  in 
trust  for  this  purpose. 

Bric-a-Brac. — From  Sanborn's  "  History  of 


510 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


New  Hampshire"  we  cull  the  following  items 
of  interest,  relating  to  the  years  1770,  '71  : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1770  the  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut from  Northfild,  Mass.,  to  Lancaster,  N.  H.,  was 
overrun  by  an  army  of  greedy,  loathsome,  devastating 
worms.  They  were  at  maturity  of  the  size  and  length 
of  a  man's  finger.  They  moved  from  the  northwest 
toward  the  southeast,  completely  covering  the  ground 
and  devoured  every  green  thing  along  the  line  of  their 
march,  except  potatoes  and  pumpkins.  Their  march 
lasted  about  a  month,  when  they  suddenly  disappeared, 
•  and  no  one  knew  when  or  how.  Following  them 
came  vast  clouds  of  pigeons.  The  air  was  literally 
filled  with  their  immense  numbers.  They  were 
caught  by  the  wholesale,  and  were  it  not  for  the  food 
they  furnished,  with  potatoes  and  pumpkins  raised 
and  saved,  the  people  must  have  perished  from  star- 
vation. 

"  The  following  year  (1771)  was  noted  for  the  great- 
est freshet  ever  known  on  the  Connecticut  River.  The 
water  rose  to  an  unprecedented  height,  sweeping 
down  the  valley  with  resistless  fury,  and  leaving  its 
marks  that  years  have  not  effaced.  So  suddenly  came 
the  flood  that  all  kinds  of  stock  were  caught  and 
swept  away  in  the  raging  torrent.  Houses  and  families 
were  swept  away  in  many  cases.  Crops  were  destroyed, 
and  again  the  valley-dwellers  were  doomed  to  much 
suffering.  The  experience  of  these  two  years  naturally 
drove  settlement  to  the  hills  for  some  years  thereafter." 

The  winter  of  1798-99  was  memorable  for  its 
severity.  Snow  came  about  the  middle  of  No- 
vember and  lasted  late  into  the  spring.  The 
Sentinel  speaks  of  snow  being  three  feet  in  depth 
in  the  forest  on  the  date  of  May  11th.  The 
winter  of  1810  was  one  of  great  contrast,  there 
being  no  sledding  until  February  20th. 

The  year  1804  was  noted  for  its  "great 
eclipse"  of  the  sun.  Commencing  at  12  M.,  it 
lasted  until  three  o'clock  p.m.  It  occurred  in 
June.  It  was  so  dark  that  fowls  went  to  roost, 
thinking  it  to  be  nightfall,  and  many  people 
were  greatlv  alarmed. 

A  local  hurricane  of  great  severity  occurred 
in  1815.  It  seemed  to  commeuce  near  Hell 
Gate,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  and 
traveled  in  nearly  an  easterly  direction.  Along 
its  way  the  forest>  were  swept  down  like  grass 
before  the  scythe.  Passing  over  the  buildings 
of  Simeon   Cobb,   now  occupied   by  George   F. 


Hubbard,  it  struck  the  house,  twisted  it  partly 
around,  blew  down  the  chimneys  and  materially 
injured  it.  The  barns  and  out-buildings  were 
laid  lowr.  At  the  time  Mr.  Otis  Briggs  was  in 
the  barn,  but  fortunately  escaped  by  falling  be- 
tween two  large  timbers  that  furnished  protec- 
tion from  the  mass  of  debris  above  him.  Mr. 
Lemuel  Willis,  then  a  young  man,  was  walking 
near  the  house  when  the  gale  caught  him  up  and 
bore  him  some  sixty  rods  to  the  ridge  of  land, 
where  it  deposited  him,  unharmed  from  his 
aerial  flight.  The  out-buildings  on  the  Darius 
Daggett  farm,  now  the  estate  of  Lurana  Wil- 
lard,  were  demolished.  The  dwelling-house  did 
not  escape  considerable  injury.  Some  barns  on 
the  farm  north  of  E.  Hunt's  were  laid  low. 
The  gale  passed  on  in  its  work  of  devastation 
until  it  reached  the  glebe  district,  where  it 
seemed  to  lose  its  fury. 

In  early  times,  and  until  the  advent  of  the 
present  century,  everybody  rode  horseback.  The 
women  had  their  side-saddles  to  ride  by  them- 
selves, or  oftentimes  the  pillion,  on  which  to  sit 
behind  the  saddle,  and  hold  on  with  arm  around 
their  escort.  Nearly  every  door-yard  had  its 
horse-block  from  which  more  easily  to  mount. 

One  Widow  Ware,  living  in  the  East  Parish, 
was  the  first  owner  of  a  carriage  in  town, 
somewhere  about  1800.  It  had  a  covered  body 
put  upon  a  wooden  axle,  with  a  spring  seat. 
About  1812  Ephraim  Brown  and  Steward  Esty 
purchased  the  first  buggies  brought  into  the  town  ; 
both  were  built  by  Wilder,  of  Keene.  About 
1832  leather  thoroughbraces  came  into  fashion, 
and  in  1847  steel  springs  were  introduced. 
October  4,  1810,  a  subscription  paper  was 
started  to  secure  the  sale  of  stock  in  the  pro- 
posed Westmoreland  Bridge,  to  be  built  at 
the  present  Britton's  Ferry,  then  owned  by 
Solomon  Bobbins.  The  stock  being  readily 
taken,  a  corporation  was  legally  formed  and 
the  contract  of  building  the  bridge,  piers  and 
all  complete  awarded  to  Peleg  Kingsley,  for 
six  thousand  dollars.  The  two  piers  were 
only  raised    to    about    low- water    mark,    upon 


WESTMORELAND. 


511 


which  rested  a  trestle  of  woodwork,  support- 
ing the  bridge.  It  was  completed  in  the  spring 
of  1812,  and  cost,  including  the  land  and 
franchise,  $7945.39.  In  the  spring  of  1813, 
by  reason  of  the  ice  freezing  to  the  trestles, 
a  rise  of  water  lifted  the  same,  which  did  not 
settle  aright,  and  the  structure  fell  a  mass  of 
ruins.  It  was  rebuilt  in  1814.  In  1820  an 
elephant  was  forced  by  piking  to  cross  the 
river  upon  this  bridge.  He  had  nearly  reached 
the  end  upon  the  east  side,  when  a  portion  of 
the  bridge,  being  somewhat  decayed,  gave  way, 
and  the  poor  beast  fell  with  a  despairing  wail, 
that  sounded  high  above  the  crash  of  timbers  ; 
but  he  caught  his  trunk  around  some  of  the 
under-braces,  which  were  fast,  and  there  in 
mid-air  he  held  on,  all  the  time  uttering  the 
most  piercing  shrieks  of  fright;  but  this  was 
of  short  duration  ;  his  strength  could  not  long 
support  his  pondrous  weight,  and  he  fell  to  the 
rocks  beneath  ;  his  back  was  broken,  but  life 
remained  for  a  few  days.  The  name  of  his 
driver  was  Roblin.  He  was  killed.  The  ele- 
phant's skin  was  stuffed,  and  belongs  to  the 
Boston  Museum.  The  bridge  was  repaired, 
but  was  soon  washed  away  by  a  February 
freshet.  It  has  never  been  rebuilt.  In  1830 
a  bridge  was  built  across  the  river  about  one 
mile  above  the  Ferry,  which  proved  to  be  a 
temporary  affair. 

The  year  1816  is  memorable  as  the  "cold 
year."  Attending  each  month,  excepting  Au- 
gust, was  a  hard  frost.  On  the  .,9th  of  June 
there  was  a  snow-storm  that  extended  to  the 
sea-coast  even.  Very  little  corn  was  raised,  and 
that  of  the  poorest  quality.  Pigeons  were  very 
plenty,  and  furnished  most  of  the  meat  for  the 
inhabitants,  who  were  in  straitened  circum- 
stances for  food.  Fodder  was  so  scarce  that 
cattle  were  by  some  turned  into  the  forest  and 
compelled  to  browse  for  their  living. 

From  the  older  citizens  we  learn  that  the  year 
1826  was  noted  as  the  "grasshopper  year." 
Early  in  summer  the  ground  was  covered,  the 
air    filled    with    this  loathsome    insect.     They 


ruined  the  hay  and  out-crops,  but,  the  autumn 
being  favorable,  a  good  crop  of  aftermath  was 
secured,  and  our  farmers  were  enabled  to  winter 
a  portion  of  their  stock.  The  other  portion 
was  sacrificed  through  necessity.  Cows  were 
sold  for  five  dollars  ;  others  were  so  reduced  in 
flesh  that  they  were  slaughtered  for  their  hides. 

In  1831  much  interest  was  awakened  all  along 
the  river  towns  in  the  experiment  of  steam- 
boating  upon  the  Upper  Connecticut.  At  this 
time  the  amount  of  boating  between  the  upper 
towns  and  Hartford  and  New  York  was  con- 
siderable. 

It  was  carried  on  by  flat-boats  fitted  with 
sails.  In  time  of  no  wind  long  ropes  or  "  tow- 
lines  "  were  thrown  to  men  upon  the  shore,  who 
"towed  "  the  boat  along  the  stream.  This  was 
a  laborious  work.  There  was  an  universal 
desire  for  something  better;  accordingly,  the 
"  John  Ledyard  "  was  fitted  up  at  Springfield, 
Mass.,  to  make  the  experiment  of  steam  navi- 
gation. As  this  steamer  proceeded  on  its  voyage 
up  the  river  its  sight  was  welcomed  with  hearty 
demonstrations  of  favor.  The  inhabitants 
gathered  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  to  view 
the  boat  with  hopeful  curiosity.  But  these 
hopes  were  destined  to  disappointment,  for  the 
experiences  of  one  season  in  backing  off  the 
numerous  sand-bars  were  sufficient  to  demon- 
strate that  steamboating  upon  the  Upper  Con- 
necticut was  impracticable. 

The  year  1833  is  spoken  of  on  account  of  its 
wonderful  display  of  celestial  fire-works.  On 
the  13th  of  November,  from  two  o'clock  until 
daylight,  for  three  hours,  the  heavens  were 
resplendent  with  myriad  shooting  stars,  all 
emanating  from  near  the  zenith  and  following 
the  arch  of  the  sky.  Some  are  represented  to 
be  as  large  as  the  moon,  others  but  faint  streaks 
of  light.  Its  effect  upon  the  people  was  curious; 
some  were  impressed  that  the  end  of  the  world 
had  come,  some  were  excited  to  excessive  relig- 
ious fervor,  some  were  trembling  with  terror  and 
others  yielded  to  worldly  abandonment.  This 
year  witnessed   the  culmination  of  a  long  con- 


512 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


teution  over  the  Mill  Brook  highway.  The 
selectmen  upon  petition  had  refused  to  lay  out 
this  road,  whereupon  its  friends  called  upon  the 
"  Courts  Committee,"  who  had  granted  it.  The 
town,  nevertheless,  at  a  meeting  had  by  vote 
refused  to  build  it,  and  by  this  action  succeeded 
in  being  fined  by  the  court.  Thus  being  driven 
to  the  wall,  the  town  chose  Abijah  French  and 
Aaron  Works  a  committee  to  let  out  the  build- 
ing of  the  road  and  also  to  superintend  its  con- 
struction; but  they  raised  no  money  for  this 
object.  But  the  road  was  soon  built  by  Simeon 
<  '<>l)b,  for  some  $1.50  per  rod. 

In  1834  the  town  voted  to  borrow  seven 
hundred  dollars  to  complete  the  road. 

In  1783  the  public  feeling  was  very  strongly 
opposed  to  Quakerism,  as  we  find,  September  4th, 
the  town  voting  "  that  no  Shaking  Quaker  be 
allowed  to  stay  in  this  town  one  night,  except  at 
a  public-house,  and  chose  a  committee  of  fifteen 
persons  to  see  that  the  vote  was  put  into  execu- 
tion." Exception  was  made  to  inhabitants  of 
the  town  who  might  entertain  this  faith  ;  their 
number  was  few,  however. 

Previous  to  1787  no  warrant  for  an  annual 
tnwn-meeting  was  considered  to  be  complete 
without  an  article  relating  to  swine.  Generally 
the  vote  was  to  allow  swine  to  run  at  large, 
provided  "  that  they  be  yoked  and  ringed  ac- 
cording to  law."  To  the  traveler  it  was  no 
uncommon  sight  to  see  his  swineship  upon  the 
highway  bearing  the  insignia  of  the  law,  his 
patent  of  nobility. 

In  1821  the  town  voted  "  that  no  swine  be 
permitted  to  run  at  large  in  town,  only  such  as 
the  Wisdom  of  the  Selectmen  may  permit." 

In  1822  the  town  forbid  by  vote  to  allow 
swine  to  run  at  large. 

January  23,  1782,  the  town  voted  "to  pay  a 
bounty  until  July  5th,  of  one  shilling  for  killing 
an  old  crow  and  six  pence  for  young  crow  that 
cannot  fly"  and  "four  pence  per  head  for 
grown  black-bird-." 

About  the  year  1781,  as  Joshua  Pierce  was 
walking    through   the  woods    near    the   Gline 


Cemetery,  in  the  shade  of  the  evening,  he  was 
suddenly  surprised  by  a  bear  close  by  his  side. 
As  Pierce  was  unarmed  and  Bruin  seemed  dis- 
posed to  cultivate  too  intimate  an  acquaintance 
by  walking  upright,  with  four  legs  extended, 
as  if  desirous  for  an  embrace  that  might  not 
partake  of  the  propriety  of  friendship,  Pierce 
swung  himself  by  means  of  the  overhanging 
limbs  into  a  tree-top  and  just  escaped  the  enraged 
beast.  He  was  forced  all  the  long  hours  of 
night,  however,  to  play  the  part  of  the 
prisoner  until  the  approach  of  daylight,  when 
Bruin,  tired  of  his  assumed  role  of  guard,  de- 
parted into  the  forest,  and  Pierce  returned  to 
his  alarmed  family.  In  after-years  Pierce  was 
wont  to  talk  of  this  night  as  the  longest  with- 
in his  experience.  From  the  Recorder,  a  news- 
paper printed  at  Keene,  bearing  date  of  De- 
cember 30,  1788,  we  cull  the  following  item  : 

"  We  hear  from  Westmoreland  that  as  a  person  was 
working  in  a  field  in  that  town  last  Friday,  that  he 
was  surrounded  by  seven  wolves,  but  receiving  im- 
mediate assistance,  he  escaped  their  devouring  jaws." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caleb  Aldrich  came  from 
Abington,  Mass.,  in  17(38  or  1770,  and  were 
among  the  first  settlers  in  the  East  Parish. 
Their  place  for  many  years  was  owned  and 
occupied  by  a  worthy  descendant,  Arvin  Aid- 
rich,  Esq.  Mrs.  Aldrich  brought  in  her  pocket 
some  pear-seeds,  which  she  planted,  and  thus 
raised  the  first  pear-trees  in  town.  It  is  related, 
that  one  day,  while  visiting  with  a  Mrs.  Wood- 
ward a  neighbor,  who  had  called  upon  her,  they 
were  startled  by  an  unusual  uproar  in  the  pig- 
sty. The  women  hastened  to  ascertain  the 
cause,  and  were  surprised  at  the  sight  of  a 
huge  bear  in  pursuit  of  porcine.  Upon  seeing 
the  women  Bruin  retreated  toward  the  hill  to 
the  eastward,  followed  by  the  intrepid  women, 
who  had  seized  the  musket  that  always  hung 
over  the  door  of  the  early  settler.  But  Bruin 
succeeded  in  eluding  his  pursuers,  who  were 
forced  to  return  unsuccessful.  Her  husband 
upon  his  return  informed  them  that  the  gun 
had  no  lock. 


WESTMORELAND. 


513 


From  the  Sentinel  of  July  22,  1815,  we  find 
the  following  relating  to  General  Aldrich  : 

"About  the  year  1760,  Gen.  George  Aldrich,  while 
hunting  deer  in  the  winter-time,  upon  snow-shoes, 
had  an  engagement  with  an  enraged  buck,  which  had 
furiously  attacked  him  after  he  had  thrown  his  hatchet 
and  missed  his  object.  Aldrich  had  no  other  weapon, 
upon  losing  his  hatchet,  than  his  stout  staff;  this  he 
used  so  effectively  that  he  succeeded  in  killing  his 
adversary  without  receiving  any  very  serious  injury  to 
his  own  person. 

"  Soon  after,  while  returning  home  from  hunting, 
he  lodged  the  contents  of  his  musket  in  the  body  of 
a  catamount,  which  turned  upon  him  full  of  fury;  but, 
fortunately  having  another  bullet  in  his  mouth,  he 
had  presence  of  mind  to  charge  from  his  powder- 
horn  and  drop  in  a  bullet,  with  one  stamp  of  the 
breech  carried  the  ball  home  and  at  the  same  time 
primed  the  piece.  The  ball  was  lodged  in  the  head 
of  the  animal  almost  at  the  instant  he  was  ready  to 
leap  upon  his  prey. 

"At  another  time  his  dog  attacked  a  large  moose. 
Knowing  by  the  dog's  barking  that  he  had  game  of 
some  kind,  he  proceeded,  with  his  axe  in  his  hand,  to 
ascertain  its  nature.  On  seeing  him  the  moose  left 
the  dog  and  made  directly  for  him.  His  only  resource 
was  to  ascend  a  tree  which  had  fallen  across  another 
and  which  was  near  at  hand.  When  the  moose  had 
got  within  two  rods  he  threw  his  axe  Indian  fashion, 
which,  turning  once,  lodged  in  the  neck  of  the  animal, 
which  instantly  fell  and  bled  to  death." 

Conclusion. — In  preparing  this  article  I 
have  been  actuated  by  the  desire  to  save  from 
oblivion  some  of  the  more  important  events  in 
the  history  of  my  native  town  of  Westmore- 
land. My  work  is  now  ended,  but  far  from 
finished.  The  many  duties  pertaining  to  an 
active  business  life  engross  my  time  and 
strength.  Yet  I  would  linger  a  moment  to  ex- 
press the  hope  that,  some  time  in  the  future,  some 
one  with  a  more  facile  pen  and  more  time  at  com- 
mand may  pursue  the  theme  of  our  local  his- 
tory with  profounder  study  and  with  deeper 
research,  stimulated,  encouraged  by  'public  spirit 
to  publish  its  fruitage  in  a  more  complete  form, 
and  here  I  would  express  my  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments to  all  who,  in  the  years  past,  have 
illumined  the  way  with  kindly  words  and 
assisting  hands,  and  especially  to  Colonel  D.  W. 


Patten  I  owe  my  grateful  acknowledgments 
for  his  helpful  kindness,  and  to  Hon.  I.  W. 
Hammond,  the  accomplished  State  historian, 
whose  services  have  been  to  me  invaluable. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


CHAMBERLAIN    FAMILY. 

The  Chamberlain  family  are  of  ancient  origin 
and  English  descent,  their  ancestors  bearing  a 
coat-of-arms.  Their  lineage  can  be  traced  as  far 
back  as  1620,  their  first  ancestor  having  come 
over  in  the  "  Mayflower,"  bearing  the  name  of 
John  Chamberlain.  September  26, 1764,  one  of 
his  descendants,  named  Thomas  Chamberlain, 
with  six  others,  names  unknown,  came  to  West- 
moreland, N.  H.,  and  united  in  signing  the 
Church  Covenant,  the  first  step  taken  toward 
forming  a  Congregational  Church  in  that  place, 
they  afterward  uniting  with  the  same.  John 
Chamberlain,  one  of  the  original  grantees  of 
that  town,  was  born  in  Newton,  Mass.;  married 
Eunice  Edson,  September  17,  1767.  His 
fourth  son,  John,  was  born  August  13, 
1773;  married  Lydia  Brown,  of  West- 
moreland, October  6,  1796.  She  had  a 
print  costing  a  dollar  a  yard  for  her  wed- 
ding-dress; afterward,  thinking  it  a  sign  that 
she  would  always  be  poor  to  be  married  in  so 
costly  a  dress,  she  chose  one  of  her  own  spinning 
and  weaving;  but  he  wore  a  suit  of  blue  broad- 
cloth, knee  pants  with  silver  buckles  and  long 
silk  stockings.  The  only  one  left  of  this  gen- 
eration is  their  youngest  daughter,  Mary  P. 
Chamberlain,  born  May  5,  1818,  who  married 
John  B.  Osborne,  of  Westmoreland,  and  is 
now  living  on  the  same  place  where  she 
was  born,  in  Westmoreland.  Their  oldest  son, 
John,  born  November  7,  1800;  married,  in 
1821,  Mary  Hall,  of  Westmoreland.  She  died 
February  16,  1826,  leaving  one  son,  John,  who 
died  about  the  age  of  two  years.     These  gener- 


514 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ations  were  all  agriculturists  and  lived  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Westmoreland,  on  the  ancestral 
acres.  He  married,  second,  December  1,  1826, 
Caroline  F.  Farrar,  born  in  Shirle)r,  Mass., 
May  14,  1803.  They  lived  in  Westmoreland 
until  1849,  when  they  moved  to  Keene,  N.  H. 
He  died  there  October  1  3,  1ST 5.  He  was  a  well- 
read  man,  deeply  interested  in  all  political  and 
public  questions.  She  died  at  Niagara  Falls 
April  13,  1876.  Their  descendants  are  as  fol- 
lows :  John  Adams  ( Jhamberlain,  born  Septem- 
ber 9, 1827,  was  the  sixth  in  a  direct  line  bearing 
the  name  of  John  Chamberlain.  He  always 
lived  in  Westmoreland,  held  many  important 
offices  of  honor  and  trust  in  town  and  State 
which  he  never  failed  to  fill  with  rare  fidelity 
and  was  always  prompt  and  punctual  to  the 
moment  in  all  his  engagements.  He  married 
January  1,  1852,  Almira  A.  French,  of  West- 
moreland.    He  died  April  29,  1880. 

Descendants, — Ella  Maria,  born  October  !), 
185.°> ;  married,  December  25,  1878,  Allen  A. 
Barker,  of  Westmoreland.  Descendant, — An- 
na Mabel,  born  July  3,  1885. 

Arthur  French,  born  August  15, 1857;  mar- 
ried, July  2,  1884,  Lessie  A.  McChesney,  of 
Detroit,  Mich. 

Anna  Cora,  born  January  25,  185!). 

Carrie  Belle,  born  March  12,  1861  ;  married, 
October  31,  1883,  John  G.  Stearns,  of  Keene. 
Descendant — Perry  Chamberlain  Stearns,  born 
March  12,  1885. 

Helen  Mar.  Chamberlain,  born  March  7, 
1821);  married,  October  10,  1850.  Albert 
Nash,  of  Keene  ;  reside  at  Niagara  Falls.  De- 
scendants,— Carrie  Helen,  born  January  28, 
1857;  married,  December  17,  1885,  James  M. 
Merritt  of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  Nina  Belle, 
born  June  28,   18(15. 

Catherine  F.  M.  Chamberlain,  born  February 
24,  1831  ;  married,  September  9,  1851,  Hiram 
M.  Howard,  of  Swanzey,  N.  H.  He  died  at 
his  home,  Niagara  Falls,  June  19,  1880.  De- 
scendants,— Louisa  Maria,  born  in  Keene,  July 
13,  1852  ;  died  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  Novem- 


ber 4,  1872;  Jennie  Frances,  born  in  Swanzey, 
February  24,  1856 ;  died  at  Niagara  Falls, 
February  7,  1880 ;  Helen  Williams,  born  at 
Niagara  Falls,  July  31,  1866. 

Adelaide  L.  Chamberlain,  born  February  10, 
1833  ;  married,  November  8,  1853,  David  B. 
Stearns,  of  Keene  ;  reside  in  Keene.  Descend- 
ants,— Helen  Semira,  born  September  5,  1855; 
married,  August  1,  1877,  Dallas  M.  Pollard,  of 
Chester,  Yt.  Descendants, — Margaret  Ade- 
laide Pollard,  born  November  23,  1878  ;  Ro- 
land Stearns  Pollard,  born  May  19,  1881. 

Ellis  R.  D.  Stearns,  born  August  27,   1857. 

Jotham  Fred.  Stearns,  born  August  17,  1864. 

Osburn  Edson  Chamberlain,  born  October 
30,  1834;  married,  April  18,  1861,  Lucie  Up- 
ton, of  Rochester,  N.  Y ;  reside  in  Rochester. 
Descendants, — Mary  Belle,  born  January  22, 
1862;  Carrie  Helen,  born  January  29,  1865, 
died  April  2,  1869;  Addie  Laura,  born  July 
14,  1867,  died  March  9,  1869;  Osburn  Edson, 
born  September  23,  1870  ;  Laura  May,  born 
November  28,  1873;  John  David,  born  May  4, 
1875;  Lillie  Minnie,  born  October  31,  1881; 
Frank  Shaw,  born  May  17,  1884. 

George  P.  F.  Chamberlain,  born  August  26, 
1836;  married,  October  12,1865,  Jennie  E. 
Hayden,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  He  died  at 
Niagara  Falls,  March  3,  1871.  She  died  at 
Rochester,  June  18,  1878,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren,— Helen  Josephine,  born  August  31, 
L867 ;  George  Hayden,  born  February  28, 
1869  ;  Noel  Byron,  born  December  28,  1870. 

Caroline  C.  Chamberlain,  born  March  18, 
1839;  married,  August  26,  1862,  Almon 
Bolster,  of  Jaffrey  ;  reside  in  Keene.  Descend- 
ants,—Lilian  Adelaide,  born  December  27, 
1866  ;  Mabel  Frances,  born  March  24,  1871. 

Isabel  J.  Chamberlain,  born  July  12,  1841  ; 
married,  January  2,  18(52,  Josiah  C.  Richardson, 
of  Keene;  reside  in  Jackson,  Mich.  Descend- 
ants, Leon  Josiah,  born  February  22,  1868  ; 
Isabel  Florence,  born  November  5,  1869,  died 
June  23,  1876;  Arthur  Howard,  born  January 
16,  1879. 


WESTMORELAND. 


515 


Noel  Byron  Chamberlain,  born  August  11, 
1843,  enlisted  in  the  Ninth  New  Hampshire  Reg- 
iment of  the  War  of  1861,  and  served  to  its  close ; 
married;  February  18,  1873,  Delia  Brigham 
Clarke,  of  Fredonia,  N.  Y.;  reside  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.  Descendants, — Eleanor  Risley,  born  May 
30,  1879,  died  July  14, 1881. 

Frederic  Delmer  Chamberlain,  born  June  16, 
1 845,  died  September  1,  1849. 

Marion  Lucia  Chamberlain,  born  December 
29,  1847,  died  September  9,  1849. 


GENEALOGY    OF    THE     FRENCH     FAMILY.1 

First  generation, — John   and   Grace  French. 

John,  born  1612;  admitted  as  a  freeman 
in    Dorchester,    Mass.,   1639. 

Second  generation, —  Thomas  and  Elizabeth. 

Thomas,  their  seventh  son,  born  in  Brain- 
tree,  Mass.,  January,  1657  ;  married  Elizabeth 
;  they  had  ten  children. 

Third  generation, — Abijah  French,  seventh 
child  of  Thomas  French,  born  May  25,  1709, 
married  Johanna  Holbrook  born  December 
21,  1712. 

Descendants :  Mary  French,  born  July  22, 
1736  ;  Jesse  French,  born  December  15,  1737; 
Josiah  French,  born  September  10,  1739 ; 
Abijah  French,  born  February  14,  1741  ; 
Sarah  French,  born  October  13,  1748;  Lois 
and  Eunice  French,  born  June  2,  1750;  Joanna 
French,  born  August  23,  1752. 

Fourth  generation, — David  French,  born 
December  7,  1755,  died  February  19,  1836. 

In  Milford  Mass.,  David  French,  son  of 
Abijah  French,  married,  in  1777,  Lydia  Twitch- 
ell,  born  in  Milford,  September  18,  1760  ; 
died  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  April  4, 1798. 

They  had  eight  children, — six  sons  and  two 
daughters, — 

Sally,  born  December  21,  1779,  married  Mr. 
Lincoln,  died  June  30,  1807  ;  Zeba,  born  June 
28,  1781,  married  Martha  Partridge,  died   Oc- 


1  Collected   and  arranged  from  authentic  family   records 
and  other  sources  by   J.  A.  French,  of  Keene,  N.  H. 
33 


tober  16,  1853,  Bethel,  Vt. ;  Asaph,  born  June 
25,  1784,  married  Pede  Partridge,  died  August 
19,  1860,  Royalton,  Vt. ;  Lotty,  born  August 
12,  1786,  married  Asa  Partridge,  died  July  5, 

1861,  Stockbridge,  Vt. 

Fifth  generation, — Abijah,  born  June  2, 
1789,  married  Azubah  Albee,   died  May    13, 

1862,  Westmoreland  N.  H.  ;  Maynard,  born 
October  29,  1791,  married  Clarissa  Pollard, 
died  May  7,  1874,  Barre,  Vt. ;  David,  born  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1794,  married  Delia  French,  died 
August  14,  1 864,  Barre,  Vt.  ;  Spencer,  born 
July  6,  1796,  married  Lorena  Chamberlain, 
died  July  29,  1875,  Gaysville,  Vt. 

David  French  married  for  his  second  wife 
Hannah  White,  of  Westmoreland,  born  October 
3,  1777,  married  September  10,  1799,  died 
January  27,   1857. 

They  had  eight  children, — seven  daughters 
and  one  son, — 

Lydia,  born  April  27,  1800,  married  Mr. 
Stephen  Rust,  died  January  28,  1824  ;  Lois, 
born  November  28,  1801,  married  Mr.  Augus- 
tus Carroll;  Ritte,  born  April  26,  1804,  mar- 
ried Thaddeus  Streeter,  died  December  4, 1863; 
Samuel,  born  July  13,  1806,  died  December  24, 
1824,  Westmoreland,  N.  H. ;  Sally,  born  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1809,  married  Daniel  Patten,  Keene, 
N.  H. ;  Dinah,  born  May  6, 1811,  married  Oren 
Woods,  died  December  21,  1850,  Keene,  N.  LL; 
Harriett,  born  September  7,  1814,  married 
Ronalds  Leonard,  Brattleborough,  Vt.  ;  Mar- 
tha, born  January  22,  1823,  married  Daniel 
Wheeler,  died  May  16, 1862,  Bernardston,  Mass. 

Abijah  French,  son  of  David  French,  in 
Westmoreland,  December  15,  1814,  by  Rev. 
Allen  Pratt,  married  Azubah,  daughter  of  Ich- 
abod  and  Lona  Albee. 

Thev  had  ten  children, — five  sons  and  five 
daughters, — 

Infant  daughter,  born  December  21,  1816, 
died  December  21,  1816 ;  infant  daughter, 
born  July  23,  1818,  died  July  23,  1818  ;  Lira 
Ann  French,  born  January  4,  1821,  died  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1821  ;  Jotham  Abijah,  born  July  22, 


516 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1822,  died  April  25,  1825;  Spencer  Lincoln, 
born  June  30,  1824,  died  October  1,  1827; 
infant  son,  born  September  16,  1826,  died  Sep- 
tember 16,  1826  ;  Almira  Azubah,  born  Octo- 
ber 14,  1828  ;  Madison,  born  December  19, 
1830,  died  February  13,  1831  ;  Eunice  Mariah, 
born  January  30,  1832,  died  November  21, 
1S48. 

Sixth  generation, — Jotham  Abijah,  born  April 
25,  1834. 

Married  in  Westmoreland,  January  1,  1852, 
at  nine  a.m.  by  Rev.  Stephen  Rogers,  John 
Adams  Chamberlain  and  Almira  A.  French. 

Seventh  generation,  —  Descendants  :  Ella 
Maria,  born  October  9,  1853,  married  Allen 
Barker,  of  Westmoreland,  December  24,  1879  ; 
Arthur  French,  born  August  15,  1857,  married 
Lessie  McChesney,  of  Detroit,  July  2,  1884; 
Anna  Cora,  born  January  25,  1859  ;  Carrie 
Belle,  born  March  12,  1861,  married  John  G. 
Stearns,  of  Keene,  October  31,  1883. 

Married  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  at  eight 
P.M.  October  31, 1883,  by  Rev.  T.  L.  Fowler, 
John  G.  Stearns,  of  Keene,  and  Carrie  B. 
Chamberlain,  of  Westmoreland. 

Eighth  generation,  —  Descendant  :  Perry 
Chamberlain,  born  March  12,  1885. 

Married  in  Milford,  Mass.,  September  20, 
1866,  Thursday,  at  two  p.m.  by  Rev.  James 
B.  Thornton,  Jotham  A.  French,  of  Keene, 
N.H.,  and  Mary  A.  Ellis,  daughter  of  Washing- 
ton and  Amanda  (Howard)  Ellis,  of  Milford. 

Seventh  generation,  —  Descendants:  Gertie 
Maria,  born  August  4,  1868,  died  December  22, 
1878 ;  Bessie  Mabel,  born  July  25,  1871  ; 
Mary  Bertha,  born  March  25,  1880. 

Married,  Allen  A.  Barker  and  Ella  Maria 
Chamberlain,  December  24,  1879. 

Descendant  :  Anna  Mabel,  born  July  3, 
1885. 

ABIJAH    FRENCH. 

History  is  the  resume  of  the  lives  and  events 
which  are  to-day  among  the  things  of  the  pres- 
ent, to-morrow  those  of  the  past,  and  in  his- 
tory mention  should    be   made  of  those   whose 


personal  qualities,  business  enterprise  and 
moral  worth  have  contributed  to  the  wealth, 
knowledge  and  welfare  of  the  community 
in  which  they  lived,  and  to  this  number  belongs 
Abijah  French,  of  Westmoreland. 

The  first  American  ancestors  of  this  family 
were  John  and  Grace  French, — John,  (1)  born 
1612.  He  emigrated  to  Dorchester,  Mass.,  from 
England,  prior  to  1639,  as  he  was  admitted  free- 
man that  year.  He  afterwards,  1648,  removed 
to  Braintree,  where  he  passed  his  life.  His 
seventh  child,  Thomas,  born  January  17,  1657, 

married   Elizabeth   ,    about   1695.     Their 

seventh  child,  Abijah,  married  Johanna  Hol- 
brook.  Of  their  nine  children,  David  was  the 
youngest.  He  married  Lydia  Twitchell,  of 
Milford,  Mass.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  fore- 
seeing future  success  and  a  better  field  for  his 
labor  in  developing  the  new  lands  in  the  upper 
Connecticut  Valley,  he  removed  to  Westmore- 
land, N.  H.,  in  1788,  purchased  lands  and  be- 
came an  agriculturist.  In  that  period  of  our 
country's  history  the  means  of  locomotion  were 
few  and  slow,  and  the  moving  was  done  with 
an  ox-team.  But  David  French  possessed  the 
true  spirit  of  the  typical  New  England  farmer 
and  pioneer,  and  although  the  country  where 
he  was  to  make  his  home  was  almost  a  prime- 
val wilderness,  his  pluck,  persistency  and  per- 
severance soon  accomplished  the  work  of  clear- 
ing a  piece  of  land,  erecting  a  dwelling-house 
and  bringing  his  farm  into  a  good  state  of  cul- 
tivation. It  is  now  occupied  by  his  descend- 
ants, and  is  situated  midway  between  West- 
moreland South  village  and  Chesterfield  Fac- 
tory village.  His  first  wife,  by  whom  he  had 
eight  children,  died  April  4,  1798,  and  he 
married,  second,  September  10,  1799,  Hannah 
White,  of  Westmoreland.  They  had  eight 
children.  David  French  was  a  vigorous,  stal- 
wart, positive  man,  and  with  his  industry  and 
other  good  qualities,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he 
acquired  success,  as  well  as  a  good  name. 

Abijah  French,  son  of  David  and  Lydia 
(Twitchell)  French,  was  born  on  the  homestead 


,jg    >^ 


—  Iff : 


*7t^/yt/i    c!m&^&£ 


WESTMORELAND. 


517 


in  Westmoreland  N.  H.,  when   everything  was 
in  a  primitive  state,  and  the  country  but  sparsely 
settled.    The  facilities  for  educational  advantages 
were  few  and  rare, — the  school-house  a  rough 
structure  with  slab  seats,  the  school  term  limit- 
ed to  a  few  months  in   the  winter,   when    the 
farmer  could  not  pursue  his  labor  in   the   field. 
He  was  trained  to  Avork  when  a  boy,  and  ac- 
quired those   habits  of  industry,  prudence  and 
economy  to  which  his  success  in  life  was  mainly 
due.     He  remained  with  his  parents  until   his 
majority  ;  then,  contemplating  marriage,  he  be- 
gan a  house  for  himself,  but,  war  being  declared 
with  Great  Britain  in     1812,  he   boarded   up 
the  windows  of  the  yet  unfinished  house,  and 
prepared  to  go  to  war.    He  did  not  go,  however, 
as  he  was  not  drafted,  so   he  finished  his  house 
and    married,    December     15,    1814,    Azubah, 
daughter    of    Ichabod    and    Lona    (Hayward) 
Albee.     Mr.  French  carried  on  farming,    car- 
ing for  his  father  and  mother  in  their  declining 
years,    and    succeeded    to    the  homestead.     He 
also  owned  a  saw-mill,   which  his  father  had 
erected    on    a     convenient    mill   privilege,  and 
which  for  those  days,  before  the  era  of  many 
improvements  and  convenient  machinery,  did 
a  wonderful  work.     The  mill  could   be  started 
on  a  log,    the  automatic  machinery  would   set 
itself,  and,  without  further  aid,   cut  the  whole 
log  into  lumber.     He  sawed  lumber,  drew  it  to 
the  Connecticut  River,  and  rafted  it  to  Hartford 
and  other  places.     This  he  continued  for  many 
vears.     In  winter  he  drove  his  team  to  Boston, 
carrying  his  own  produce  and  bringing  in  ex- 
change supplies   for   his    own    and    neighbors' 
use.     He  kept  things  moving  in  every  direc- 
tion that  his  ingenuity  could  devise,  eating  not 
the  food  of  idleness,   but  gaining  his  bread  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and  hence  it  was  sweet 
and    he  knew  how    to   estimate    it.     He    was 
always  a    successful    worker,   a   producer,  not 
a  mere  consumer,  and  the  example  of  such  a 
man  is  provocative  of  force,  industry  and  gen- 
eral prosperity  in  the  community  where  he  lives. 
In  all  matters  of  business  he  not  only  labored 


hard,  but  had  a  rare  judgment  and  in  a  high 
degree,  what  is  known  in  New  England  as  "  fac- 
ulty." He  was  captain  of  a  cavalry  troop  of 
militia,  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  Democratic 
in  politics,  he  represented  Westmoreland  in  the 
State  Legislature  in  1850  and  1851.  He  was 
intrusted  with  the  management  and  settlement 
of  many  estates,  and  was  often  selected  as 
guardian  to  orphan  children.  He  was  select- 
man for  the  years  1830  to  1839,  and  held  a 
commission  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  in  all  these 
various  positions  he  discharged  his  duties  faith- 
fully and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constit- 
uents. 

Mr.  French  was  very  systematic,  industrious) 
economical,  prudent  and  temperate,  and  so  hon- 
est that  everywhere  he  was  known  and  marked 
for  his  sterling  integrity.  A  strong  manj  of 
positive  nature,  he  enjoyed  to  a  high  degree 
the  confidence,  friendship  and  love  of  the  citi- 
zens of  his  native  town,  than  whom  none  were 
more  highly  reverenced.  He  was  an  attendant 
of  the  Congregationalist  Church,  of  which  his 
wife  was  a  valued  member,  and  contributed 
largely  to  the  support  of  the  gospel.  In  all 
affairs  of  public  interest  in  town  he  Was  an  ac- 
tive force,  and  worked  zealously  in  all  fields 
which  his  judgment  told  him  Were  of  usefulness. 
He  died  Mav  13,  1862.  His  wife  survived 
him  many  years,  shedding  the  light  of  a  Chris- 
tian example,  and  surrounded  by  the  care 
and  ministrations  of  kind  and  loving  children 
until,  in  the  fulness  of  time  she,  too,  was  gath- 
ered to  her  rest,  December  19,  1884. 


IN   MEMORIAM. 

AZUBAH   ALBEE   FRENCH, 

DAUGHTER   OF   ICHABOD   AND   LONA  ALBEE. 

WIFE   OF   ABIJAH   FRENCH. 

BORN   IN   WESTMORELAND,  N.  H., 

FEBRUARY   21,  1795. 

WENT   HOME   TO   HEAVEN 

DECEMBER   19,  1884. 

AGED   89  YEARS,    9   MONTHS,    28   DAYS. 

Mrs.  Azubah  French  died  at  her  home  in  West- 
moreland the  19th  of  December  at  6  o'clock  in  the 


518 


HISTOBY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


afternoon,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine  years 
and  ten  months.  By  the  death  of  this  estimable 
lady,  the  oldest  inhabitant  of  the  town  passed  away. 
But  few  remain  with  whom  she  was  associated  in  mid- 
dle life,  when  she  had  an  extensive  acquaintance  and 
was  much  respected  by  all.  She  possessed  many 
sterling  qualties— good  sense,  prudent  in  speech,  an 
obliging  neighbor.  She  was  kind  to  the  poor  and 
always  ready  to  visit  the  sick  and  administer  to  their 
wants.  Her  thoughtfulness  of  the  welfare  of  others, 
her  charities  and  kindliness  of  heart,  will  long  be  re- 
membered by  the  people  of  her  native  town.  Although 
feeble  tor  some  years,  her  last  illness  was  of  short  du- 
ration. She  had  ten  children,  five  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  two  in  their  childhood  years,  and  one  cut 
down  by  disease  in  the  midst  of  her  youthful  days. 
Only  two  survive  her — Mrs.  Almira  A.  Chamberlain, 
of  Westmoreland,  and  Jotham  A.  French,  of  Keene. 
Mrs.  French's  life  was  one  of  untiring  industry.  She 
never  ate  the  "bread  of  idleness""  She  looked  well 
to  the  ways  of  her  own  household,  trained  her  children 
in  the  paths  of  morality  and  religion,  and  they  in 
turn  have  been  dutiful  and  faithful  to  her,  sparing  no 
effort  to  make  her  declining  years  pleasant  and  happy. 
She  united  with  the  Congregational  Church  in  July, 
1831,  and  she  has  always  been  a  consistent  and  worthy 
member.  Only  one  survives  her  who  was  a  member 
of  the  church  at  the  time  she  united  with  it.  S. 

"blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  lord." 
The  last  link  (save  that  of  a  dear  sister)  that  binds 
toy  heart  to  the  maple-shaded  home  of  my  youth  is 
broken.  Our  mother  has  gone.  There  is  a  sadness 
in  the  thought  that  I  no  longer  have  a  mother  here 
on  earth.  But  I  cannot  murmur,  for  she  was  spared 
to  us  far  beyond  the  allotted  "three-score  years  and 
ten."  In  her  departure  one  more  of  the  life-long  resi- 
dents of  Westmoreland  has  passed  the  silent  river 
and  joined  the  happy  throng  of  saints  on  the  other 
side,  and  is  now  united  to  the  loved  ones  who  had 
gone  before.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  she  married, 
and  lived  with  her  husband  forty-seven  years,  when, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  he  passed  away.  They 
lived  a  happy  life,  though  clcuded  by  the  loss  of 
eight  children  during  those  many  years  of  conjugal 
affection.  For  the  last  twenty-two  years  our  mother 
has  lived  in  the  loneliness  of  widowhood,  though  sus- 
tained by  the  consolations  of  that  religion  which,  for 
fifty-three  years,  has  been  the  rule  of  her  life.  In  1873 
my  sister's  family  moved  into  the  old  home  to  care  for 
her  and  guide  her  footsteps  gently  down  the  decline 
of  life.  Never  did  she  fully  recover  from  the  loss  of 
her  son-in-law,  who  was  suddenly  stricken  down  four 
years  ago  in  the  prime  of  life.     His   kindness  and 


devotion  w'ere  cherished  to  the  very  last.  The  death 
of  her  granddaughter,  a  short  time  before,  also  made 
a  visible  impression  upon  her  gradually  failing 
strength,  and  wdien,  sixteen  months  before  her  death, 
in  consequence  of  a  fall,  she  could  only  get  about  her 
room  in  a  wheel-chair,  it  became  apparent  that  the 
sands  of  her  life  had  nearly  run  out.  On  the  seventy- 
fifth  anniversary  of  her  birth  many  of  the  relatives 
and  friends  gave  her  a  pleasant  surprise,  celebrating 
the  joyous  occasion  with  music,  supper,  reading  of  a 
poem,  etc.,  and  have  repeated  it  for  the  last  fourteen 
years,  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  when  sickness 
in  the  family  prevented.  Several  of  those  who  were 
present  at  these  annual  gatherings  havedropped  one  by 
one  from  the  circle,  but  she  was  spared  to  see  ninety 
years,  save  two  months.  In  the  hundreds  of  visits 
that  1  have  made  during  the  past  twenty-three  years, 
she  has  invariably  met  me  with  a  mother's  cordial 
greeting,  and,  on  leaving,  gave  me  a  parting  kiss,  say- 
ing, "Good-bye.  Come  and  see  me  again."  Those 
oft-repeated  words  were  the  last  that  fell  upon  my  ear 
from  her  lips.  While  I  have  been  truly  thankful 
that  a  kind  Providence  prolonged  her  life  to  a  ripe 
old  age,  she  has  been  only  "waiting  and  watch- 
ing" for  the  welcome  summons,  "Come  unto  me  and 
I  will  give  you  rest." 

"  The  journey  at  last  is  o'er, 

And  the  struggles  and  toils  are  past, 
And  the  holy  angels  who  led  her  on, 
Till  the  fight  was  fought 
And  the  victory  won, 
Have  carried  her  home  at  last." 

J.  A.  French. 


HASKELL    BTJFFUM. 

The  Buffum  family  has  in  many  generations 
of  the  past  been  mostly  agriculturists,  indus- 
trious, careful  individuals,  doing  their  duties 
well  in  the  sphere  of  life  to  which  they  were 
called.  Here  and  there  one  of  the  family  has 
drifted  into  other  fields,  professional,  commer- 
cial or  scholastic,  and  shown  capabilities  and 
powers  which  have  won  success,  but  the  greater 
number  have  been  "  tillers  of  the  soil."  They 
have  been  men  of  good  judgment,  active  tem- 
perament, broad  and  liberal  in  their  views,  and 
have  performed  their  share  of  the  public  mat- 
ters of  the  town.  This  family  is  of  English 
descent.     Robert  Buffum  emigrated  to  America 


■cM&- 


WESTMORELAND. 


519 


from  Yorkshire,  England,  and  settled  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  where  his  name  was  recorded  in  1638. 
He  died  in  1679.  His  wife,  Thomasine,  was 
born  in  1606,  died  in  1688.  They  had  seven 
children.  Their  son  Caleb,  born  in  Salem, 
1650,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Pope,  who  came  to  America  at  the  same  time 
with  Kobert.  Caleb  died  in  1731.  Benjamin, 
son  of  Caleb,  born  1686,  married  a  Buxton. 
Joseph,  his  son,  born  1717,  died  1796,  married 
Margaret  Osborne,  born  1719.  Their  son,  Jo- 
seph, born  in  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  1754,  emigrated 
to  Westmoreland  in  1784,  and  lived  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  and  was  a  farmer.  He 
married  Sally,  daughter  of  Elias  Haskell,  of 
Lancaster,  Mass.  They  had  seven  sons,  all  of 
whom  inherited  the  strong  mind,  persistent 
will  and  good  common  sense  for  which  the 
family  has  ever  been  remarkable.  Joseph 
Buffum  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  the  demand  was  to  live,  and 
the  question  "how?"  was  answered  by  being 
brave,  active  and  vigorous.  All  of  these  traits 
Mr.  Buffum  possessed,  and  with  a  wife  having 
the  same  spirit  as  a  helper,  the  children  of  this 
worthy  couple  were  strong  mentally  as  well  as 
physically.  Mr.  Buffum  died  in  Westmoreland 
in  1829;  his  wife  survived  him,  dying  Septem- 
ber, 1848. 

Joseph,  the  oldest  of  these  seven  child- 
ren, was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College, 
became  a  lawyer,  was  a  member  of  Congress  in 
1818,  and,  at  one  time,  postmaster  at  Keene, 
and  a  man  of  marked  ability,  dying  unmarried. 
Sewell  married  Fanny  Atherton,  of  Chesterfield ; 
they  had  two  children,  George  and  Frances 
A.  Erasmus  married  Hepsy  Thayer,  of 
Westmoreland  ;  their  children  were  Solon  (of 
Staten  Island),  Alba,  James,  Sally,  Mary  and 
Jewett  E.  William  married  Mary  Ann,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Gordon,  of  Sterling,  Conn ;  their 
children  were  William  G.,  Rufus  E.,  Joseph 
H.,  George  D.,  Edward  W.  and  Sarah  Ann. 
Haskell.  Solon,  who  died  young.  David,  who 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Hon.  Thomas  and 


Eleanor  (Foster)    Bellows;    their  children  are 
Thomas  B.  and  Ann  Reynolds. 

Haskell  Buffum,  the  fifth  son  of  Joseph  and 
Sally  (Haskell)  Buffum,  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land, September  29,  1795.  A  farmer's  son, 
and  one  of  a  large  family,  he  was  early  obliged 
to  labor,  and  his  opportunities  for  school  educa- 
tion were  limited  to  the  district  school,  sup- 
plemented by  one  term  at  Chesterfield  Academy. 
But  a  farmer's  life  does  not  necessarily  include 
a  life  which  excludes  time  for  thought  and 
reading;  on  the  contrary,  a  farmer  has  ample 
time  to  think  and  digest  what  he  has  read ;  for, 
as  an  old  writer  has  well  said,  "a  few  books 
well  studied  and  thoroughly  digested  nourish 
the  understanding  more  than  hundreds  but 
gargled  through  the  mouth,"  and,  through  life, 
Mr.  Buffum  carefully  improved  his  opportu- 
nities for  reading  and  observation.  He  worked 
on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  about  twenty- 
seven  years  old,  then  purchased  one  adjoining, 
and,  with  the  care  of  his  own  place,  superintend- 
ed his  father's  for  many  years,  and  was  a  dil- 
igent, persevering,  hard-working  and  successful 
farmer. 

In  April,  1820,  Mr.  Buffum  married  Seloma, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Wood.  Mrs.  Buffum  was 
a  woman  of  good  thought,  an  almost  unfailing 
memory,  bright  and  cheerful  in  her  manners 
and  disposition.  She  died  December,  1883,  aged 
eighty-four  years  and  three  months. 

Their  children  were  Haskell  W.,  now  at 
Walla  Walla,  Washington  Territory ;  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Burker,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.;  they 
have  five  children  now  living.  Julia  married 
Dr.  Charles  Lord,  of  Westmoreland,  and  settled 
in  Shakopee,  Minn.;  they  have  seven  children. 
Joseph  married  Maria  A.  Ramaley,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. ;  of  their  seven  children,  five  survive; 
the  oldest,  Dr.  J.  H.  Buffum,  is  an  oculist  and 
aurist  in  Chicago,  111.  Seloma  married  F.  W. 
Jenkins,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  ;  they  have  five 
children.  Mary  A.  married  Jason  D.  Wheeler, 
of  San  Francisco,  Cal. ;  Caroline  J.  married 
Stephen  H.  Burt,  of  Westmoreland ;  she  died 


520 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


April  17,  1881 ;  they  had  seven  children. 
Sarah  A.  married  John  D.  Ramaley,  now  living 
at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  has  two  children.  Susan  A., 
twin-sister  of  Sarah  A.,  died  aged  four  years. 
Coralinn  H.  married  John  Works  (son  of  Aaron 
Works,  of  Westmoreland,  a  life-long  resident  of 
the  town  and  a  prominent  man  in  business  and 
social  circles);  they  have  had  three  children, 
Mary  B.  (died  aged  nine  years),  Walter  L.  and 
Frederick  A.  It  was  with  this  daughter,  Mrs. 
Works,  that  Mr.  Buffum  passed  his  declining 
years. 

Mr.  Bnffnm  was  a  participant  in  the  civil 
business  of  his  native  town,  having  been  select- 
man and  representative  to  the  Legislature  two 
terms.  He  was  actively  interested  in  the  mili- 
tary organizations  of  the  State,  and  carefully 
preserved  his  commissions  of  ensign,  Fifth  Com- 
pany, Twentieth  Regiment  of  militia,  received 
from  Governor  Plumer,  June  30,  1819;  that  of 
lieutenant,  dated  March  24,  1821 ;  and  of  cap- 
tain, August  16,  1822,  signed  by  Governor 
Bell;  and  his  honorable  discharge.  Mr.  Buffum 
died  in  his  native  town,  March  11,  1885,  aged 
eighty-nine  years  and  five  months.  He  was  at 
the  time  of  his  death  the  oldest  citizen  in  town, 
and  it  is  worthy  of  especial  note  that,  notwith- 
standing his  advanced  age,  he  continued  in  full 
possession  of  his  clear  mentality  and  vigor  of 
intellect  up  to  the  last  hours  of  his  life. 

In  his  religious  belief,  Mr.  Buffum  was  a 
Universalist,  and  from  childhood  a  regular 
attendant  upon  church  services.  He  was  a  man 
of  courteous  manners,  of  cheerful  and  humorous 
disposition,  most  temperate  habits,  kind  and 
affectionate  in  his  family  relations,  and  at  the 
close  of  life's  long  day  he  could  look  back 
to  labors  well  performed  and  forward  to  a  well- 
earned  rest  from  toil. 

To  more  than  an  ordinary  degree  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Buffum  enjoyed  and  deserved  the  love, 
honor  and  reverence  of  the  community  to  whom 
for  so  many  years  their  lives  were  as  an  open 
book,  on  whose  pages  naught  was  written  but 
upright   motives,  charitable  deeds,  and  actions 


in  every  way  consonant  with  the  teachings  of 
the  Golden  Rule.  Of  the  best  type  of  the  ster- 
ling New  England  character  of  the  last  genera- 
tion, long  will  their  memory  be  cherished  with 
devotion  by  their  descendants,  and  the  remem- 
brance of  their  lives  rest  like  a  sweet  odor  and 
a  worthy  example  in  the  minds  of  the  dwellers 
in  Westmoreland. 


THEODORE  COLE. 

The  Cole  families  of  Westmoreland,  N.  H, 
are  descended  from  John  Cole,  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  who  came  from  England  in  1636,  was 
a  freeman  in  1647,  and  died  in  1685.  He  had 
three  sons, — John,  Samuel,  aud  Nathaniel.  Of 
Samuel's  children,  Jonathan,  born  1696,  was 
the  youngest,  and  settled  in  Harvard,  Mass. 
He  had  three  sons, — Jonathan,  born  1730,  who 
was  one  of  the  grantees  of  the  town  of  West- 
moreland;  John,  born  in  1741,  died  1786,  set- 
tled in  the  north  part  of  Westmoreland  ;  and 
Abijah,  born  1732,  married,  about  1757;  Sarah 
Kent,  of  Harvard,  Mass.,  and  died  in  Harvard, 
1 768,  aged  thirty-six  years.  Abijah  left  two  sons, 
Abijah  and  Asa.  Asa  was  born  in  1768,  the 
year  of  his  father's  death.  His  early  boyhood 
was  passed  with  an  aunt,  Mrs.  Chamberlain,  in 
Westmoreland.  After  his  thirteenth  year  he 
worked  with  his  step-father,  Samuel  Garfield, 
a  millwright,  at  that  trade,  building  and  repair- 
ing many  mills  in  numerous  places  in  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts  and  Maine.  In 
January,  1793,  he  married  Anna  Goldsmith  of 
Harvard,  Mass.,  and  resided  there  for  a  year 
or  more,  then  for  seven  years  he  made  his  home 
in  Rindgc,  N.  H.,  then  removed  to  Westmore- 
land, and  worked  at  his  trade.  He  built  the 
mills  afterwards  known  as  the  Pierce  Mills,  and 
was  manager  of  the  property  for  a  long  time. 
About  1815  he  proposed  joining  the  colony 
which  Ephraim  Brown  was  organizing  for  a 
settlement  in  Ohio,  but  a  severe  hemorrhage 
compelled  him  to  relinquish  the  plan.  He 
made  a  trip  to  the  coast  of  Maine,  but  without 


Bnad\ 


AH.RUchie- 


Jkjurvitn^fi  4ju>-i{ 


WESTMORELAND. 


521 


any  beneficial  results,  and  returned  to  West- 
moreland where  he  died  December  6,  1816, 
aged  forty-eight  years.  "  His  wife,  left  with  a 
large  family  of  young  children,  proved  herself  a 
woman  of  abundant  resource.  She  kept  her 
children  at  home  till  they  grew  to  be  of  ser- 
vice to  others,  when,  one  by  one,  they  went 
their  ways  in  life.  She  afterward  married 
Amory  Pollard,  of  Bolton,  Mass.,  whom  she 
survived.  She  died  in  Montpelier,  Vt.,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1852,  full  of  years,  loved  and  honor- 
ed by  her  children  and  friends."  Her  burial- 
place  is  at  Westmoreland. 

Asa  and  Anna  (Goldsmith)  Cole  had  eleven 
children, — Asa,  who  died  1872,  aged  seventy- 
nine;  Richard  G. — died  18(34,  aged  sixty-nine; 
Sarah  wife  of  Asa  Farnsworth,  died  1832,  aged 
35;  Benjamin  died  at  Chagres,  Panama,  1850, 
aged  51  ;  Anna  Goldsmith,  wife  of  Rev.  Isaac 
Esty  died  1872  aged  70 ;  Philena  died  1859,  aged 
55;  John,  (a  whaling  captain),  died  1875,  aged 
68 ;  Susan  (married,  first,  Elihu  Whitcomb, 
second,  Orin  Pitkin),  died  1883,  at  Montpelier, 
Vt.,  aged  74;  William,  died  1830,  aged  19; 
Theodore  and  Charles,  who  died  (from  injuries 
inflicted  by  a  whale,  while  in  command  of  a 
whale  ship)  1853,  aged  37. 

Theodore  Cole,  tenth  child  of  Asa  aud  Anna 
(Goldsmith)  Cole,  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land, N.  H.,  May  11,  1813.  At  the  age 
of  nine  years  he  went  to  live  in  the  family  of 
Abijah  French,  a  farmer  and  lumberman  of 
Westmoreland.  He  lived  with  Abijah  French 
until  the  summer  of  1834,  working  on  the 
farm  summers  and  attending  district  school  in 
the  winter.  In  the  spring  of  1835  he  left 
Westmoreland,  to  embark  on  the  sea  of  active 
life.  He  went  to  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  the 
place  then  so  celebrated  for  its  great  whaling 
interests  and  engaged  as  a  seaman  under  the 
well-known  master,  Captain  James  Maxfield. 
His  first  voyage  lasted  eighteen  months,  and 
among  the  various  points  of  interest  at  which 
they  stopped  were  the  Azores,  South  Africa, 
Madagascar,     Comoro    Islands    and    Isle    of 


France.  In  April,  1837,  he  sailed  under  Cap- 
tain Shubael  Hawes,  ship  "  Frances  Henrietta" 
(Charles  W.  Morgan,  agent),  and  made  a  two 
years'  voyage,  going  around  the  world,  and 
touching  at  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  Pernambuco,  etc.  In  the  fall  of  1839, 
he  set  sail  under  the  same  master  (Cap- 
tain Hawes),  in  the  ship  "  Julian,"  (agents 
Hathaway  &  Luce),  and  cruised  for  some  time 
on  the  Atlantic,  stopping  at  Cape  Town,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  They  then  extended  their 
voyage  to  the  northwest  coast  of  New  Holland, 
Australia.  At  this  point  he  left  the  "Julian," 
having  filled  the  ship,  and  went  on  board  the 
bark  "  Pacific  "  of  Fairhaven,  Captain  Webb. 
They  sailed  south  and  southeast  along  New 
Holland,  touching  at  Hobart  Town,  then  east 
by  New  Zealand,  then  around  Cape  Horn, 
touching  at  St.  Catherina,  Brazil,  arriving  home 
in  January,  1842. 

During  all  these  years  of  seafaring  life 
Mr.  Cole  had,  by  diligent  and  prompt  attention 
to  his  duties,  won  the  approval  of  his  employ- 
ers and  prepared  the  way  for  promotion,  and 
at  the  age  of  thirty  years  he  had  circumnavi- 
gated the  globe  twice,  and  in  May,  1843,  as 
master  of  ship  "Parachute,"  (Benjamin  B.  How- 
ard, agent),  he  began  his  third  voyage  around 
the  world,  stopping  at  the  Sandwich  Islands 
for  recruits,  thence  north  to  the  northwest 
coast,  returned  to  Sandwich  Islands  for  water, 
etc.,  thence  to  the  South  Pacific,  around  Cape 
Horn,  returning  to  New  Bedford  in  July, 
1845. 

Captain  Cole  was  married,  in  August,  1845, 
to  Livilla,  daughter  of  Captain  Wilson  Gleason, 
a  lifelong  resident  of  Westmoreland,  and  in 
October  of  the  same  year  he  sailed  in  ship 
"Marengo"  (agent,  Jonathan  Bourne), touching 
at  Cape  Veid,  passing  west  around  Cape  Horn 
and  on  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  from  there  to  the 
coast  of  Kamtchatka.  He  was  absent  two  years 
aud  eight  months.  In  November,  1848,  Cap- 
tain Cole  sailed  in  ship  "Cowper"  (agent,  B.  B. 
Howard)  on  a  long  voyage  for  whales  in  the 


522 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Arctic  Ocean.  Mrs.  Cole  accompanied  him. 
They  sailed  direct  for  Cape  Yerd,  down  the 
coast  of  South  America,  west  around  Cape 
Horn,  from  thence  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
then,  leaving  his  wife  to  await  his  return,  he 
steered  for  Bearing  Strait,  passing  in  June  the 
western  extremity  of  Oonalaska.  He  re- 
mained  one  season  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  discov- 
ering the  Plover  Islands,  July  15, 1845),  although 
he  never  claimed  the  title  or  credit  of  a  discov- 
erer. On  his  return  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
his  wife  rejoined  him.  They  then  sailed  for 
Hong  Kong,  China,  where  they  passed  a  month 
preparing  for  another  Arctic  voyage.  From 
there  they  sailed  through  the  Japan  Sea  and 
the  Matsumai  Strait,  north  along  the  coast  of 
Kamtchatka  stopping  at  Petropulaski,  then 
to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  where  Captain  Cole  com- 
pleted his  cargo  and  started  for  home.  The 
voyage  of  two  years  and  a  half,  although  full 
of  interest  and  with  opportunities  of  seeing 
many  distant  lands,  and  abounding  in  varied 
experience,  was  long  to  Mrs.  Cole,  and  she 
heartily  rejoiced  when  the  spires  and  hills  of 
New  Bedford  came  in  view,  March  22,  1851, 
and  she  could  once  more  stand  upon  land. 

Captain  Cole  had  now  for  nearly  sixteen 
years  followed  the  sea  continuously,  and  by 
his  practicality,  prudence  and  perseverance  had 
acquired  a  competency,  and  he  decided  to  give 
up  his  maritime  profession  and  enjoy  the  well- 
earned  fruits  of  his  labors  but  being  naturally 
an  energetic  man,  idleness  was  not  to  his  taste, 
and  he  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mer- 
chandising in  Brattleborough,  Yt,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1859,  then  removed  to  Westmin- 
ster, Vt,  and  purchased  a  farm  and  lived  there 
about  seven  years,  identifying  himself  with 
the  affairs  of  the  town,  which  he  represented 
in  the  Legislature  of  1862.  After  leaving  West- 
minster, he  resided  in  Keene  one  year,  and  then 
made  his  home  in  Waverly  village,  Belmont, 
Mass.,  for  nine  years,  in  order  to  give  his  chil- 
dren the  advantages  of  better  educational  fa- 
cilities.     In     1875    he    made   a    pleasure    trip 


(prospecting)  to  California,  Colorado  and  Wy- 
oming, then  returned  to  Westmoreland,  his  na- 
tive place,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  em- 
ploys his  leisure  in  farming.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  in  1881-82,  as  a 
representative  of  the  Republican  party,  to  which 
he  has  belonged  since  1856,  when  he  cast  his 
vote  for  Fremont. 

The  children  of  Theodore  and  Livilla  (Glea- 
son)  Cole  were  Frank  T.,  born  June  22,  1853 
(he  is  a  graduate  of  Williams  College,  Mass., 
and  of  Columbia  Law  School,  New  York,)  now 
a  practicing  lawyer  of  ability  in  Columbus,  Ohio; 
William  H.,  born  August  19,  1854,  is  a  wheat 
farmer  in  San  Joaquin  County,  Cal.,  mar- 
ried, June  3,  1883,  Addie  M.  Greene  (they 
have  one  daughter) ;  Lucy  Anna,  born  Febru- 
ary 29,  1856  (deceased);  Sarah  G.,  born  Febru- 
ary 15,  1857  (died  at  the  age  of  seventeen); 
and  Richard  G.  born  March  21,  1860  (died 
February  12,  1863). 

Captain  Cole  was  a  sea-captain  of  pronounced 
ability,  and  a  natural  leader  of  men,  and  as 
shipmaster,  merchant  and  farmer  impressed 
others  with  a  sense  of  his  fitness  to  lead  and 
direct,  and  was  an  important  factor  in  the 
community  where  he  resided.  He  improved 
the  opportunities  of  his  later  life  for  reading 
and  study,  so  that  men  of  a  more  liberal 
education  wondered  at  his  extensive  and  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  history  and  general  liter- 
ature, and  his  stories  of  the  past  showed  observa- 
tion and  were  full  of  life  and  humor.  He  was  an 
able  and  good  counselor  to  younger  men,  who 
often  resorted  to  him  for  advice.  Since  1876  he 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church  and  contributed  liberally  to  its  support. 

(  aptain  Cole  was  a  kind  husband  and  father, 
a  loyal  citizen  and  a  good  man.  He  died 
July  2,  1885. 


OLIVER   L.    BRIGGS. 

Of  the  successful   men    who    have  gone  out 
from  the  "  Old   Granite  State"   to  win   fortune 


■ 


a 


/ 


/ 


WP]STMORELAND. 


523 


in  the  broad  field  of  activity  is  Oliver  L. 
Briggs,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  a  native  of  the 
town  of  Westmoreland,  N.  H.  He  conies  of 
good  Puritan  stock,  and  in  his  business  career 
has  evinced  many  of  the  principles  of  the  fore- 
fathers of  our  American  republic. 

Caleb  Briggs,  his  great-grandfather,  was 
born  in  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  February  27,  1743, 
and  married,  for  his  first  wife,  Annie  Luther. 
They  had  five  children,  two  dying  in  infancy, 
and  the  three  arriving  to  maturity  were  Delia, 
Lemuel  and  Luther.  His  second  wife  was 
Chloe  French  ;  their  married  life  continued  for 
thirty-five  years.  He  married,  third,  Mrs. 
Mercy  Fan*.  Caleb  Briggs  came  to  West- 
moreland in  1770,  where  he  died,  in  182o, 
aged  eighty-two  years,  having  lived  a  long 
life  of  usefulness. 

Lemuel,  his  oldest  son,  was  born  in  Reho- 
both, Mass.,  in  1767,  and  when  three  years 
of  age  he  removed,  with  his  parents,  to  West- 
moreland, X.  H.,  when  the  now  well-cul- 
tivated farms  were  a  wilderness.  He  passed 
his  early  life  aiding  his  father  in  clearing 
the  land  and  tilling  the  soil  and  preparing 
a  place  to  live.  He  was  not  finely,  but 
strongly  educated,  receiving  an  education  which 
was  the  best  fitted  for  his  sphere  in  life,  and 
which,  while  it  developed  the  muscles,  also 
developed  the  mental  powers,  and  gave  to 
his  descendants,  a  goodly  inheritance  of  pluck, 
persistency  and  perseverance,  which  enabled 
them  to  accomplish  their  aim  in  life.  In 
1791  he  married  Polly  Stephens,  who  bore 
him  seven  children, — Polly,  Lemuel,  Elenor, 
Luther,  Amasa,  Philander  S.  and  Rhoda. 
Lemuel  Briggs  died  in  Westmoreland  in  1868, 
after  being  a  resident  there  for  nearly  ninety- 
eight  years,  aged  one  hundred  years,  nine 
months  and  nine  days,  having  served  his 
day  and  generation  long  and  well.  Amasa, 
the  fifth  child  of  Lemuel  and  Polly  (Steph- 
ens) Briggs,  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  and, 
following  the  occupation  of  his  father,  became 
an    agriculturist.     He    married  Sally  Leonard. 


She  was  a  descendant  of  the  Leonard  family, 
who  were  early  settlers  in  Plymouth  County, 
Mass.,  and  prominent  in  England  for  many 
generations,  coming  from 'Leonard,  Lord  Dacre 
of  England,  and  through  two  lines  from  Ed- 
Avard  III.,  viz.,  through  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke 
of  Lancaster,  and  Thomas  Plantagenet,  Duke 
of  Gloucester.  Their  children  were  Ano-eline 
(who  died  in  infancy),  Lucy  and  Oliver  L. 
(twins;  Lucy  died  at  the  age  of  twenty), 
Orteusia  (who  married  John  E.  Vazey,  and 
had  two  children,  Tensia  and  John  E.),  Alonzo 
(married  Lilian  Roberts  of  Boston)  and  Ly- 
man (married  Alice  Varney,  and  has  one  child, 
Margery). 

Oliver  Leonard  Briggs,  the  oldest  son  of 
Amasa  and  Sally  (Leonard)  Briggs,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  September  18,  1832. 
His  early  life,  until  he  was  eighteen,  was  passed 
at  home,  laboring  upon  the  farm,  and  enjoy- 
ing the  usual  privileges  of  country  common 
schools,  and  a  few  terms  at  High  School. 
He  was  not  strong  physically,  and  unsuited  to 
farm  labor,  aud  this  fact,  together  with  a  laud- 
able ambition  to  go  from  home  and  make  for 
himself  a  place  in  the  world  of  industry,  in- 
duced him  at  this  time,  (1850)  to  go  to  Bos- 
ton, and  he  commenced  his  successful  business 
life.  He,  at  first,  accepted  a  position  as  clerk 
for  his  uncle,  Philander  S.  Briggs,  a  West  In- 
dia goods  merchant ;  he  served  him  faithfully 
for  a  few  years  and  then  entered  the  store  of 
James  B.  Dorr,  on  Tremont  Street,  as  book- 
keeper, where  he  remained  for  some  time,  dili- 
gently attending  to  his  duties,  and  living  in  a 
quiet  manner,  in  order  to  accumulate  something 
from  his  salary  towards  a  capital  of  the  future, 
and  all  this  time  his  keen  and  inquiring  mind 
was  seeking  to  devise  some  way  to  enable  him 
to  enlarge  his  opportunities.  At  length  he  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  wholesale  aud  retail 
book  trade,  and  in  the  meantime,  believing  that 
"  Knowledge  is  wealth,"  or  one  of  the  ways  to  it, 
he  supplemented  his  education  by  studying 
French  and  book-keeping,  and   graduated  from 


524 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Comer's  Commercial  College  with  a  good  rec- 
ord. He  carried  on  this  business  successfully 
for  about  six  years,  when  he  moved  to  the  south 
part  of  the  city,  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  croquet  sets,  parlor  billiards,  and  simi- 
lar games  for  children,  for  several  years,  and 
was  financially  successful.  In  1870  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  going  to  Jacksonville, 
Fla.,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  fur- 
niture, but  illness  prevented  him  from  carry- 
ing his  plan  into  execution.  In  1871,  his 
health  being  re-established,  he  enlarged  his 
plant,  and  commenced  making  full-size  billiard 
tables.  Their  superiority  being  fully  estab- 
lished, he  has  prosperously  continued  his  en- 
terprise, and  his  tables  are  now  found  in  private 
residences  and  popular  resorts  throughout  the 
country,  and  Mr.  Briggs  has  devised  many  me- 
chanical contrivances  to  keep  pace  with  modern 
improvements,  among  others  the  attachment  of 
an  improved  cushion,  which  he  patented  in 
October,  1871. 

Mr.  Briggs  married  Mary  S.  Stone,  a  lady  of 
culture  and  refinement.  [She  is  the  daughter 
of  Rev.  Cyrus  and  Abigail  (Kimball)  Stone. 
Mr.  Stone  was  a  native  of  Marlborough,  N.  H., 
a  missionary  in  Bombay,  India,  and  a  writer  of 
note.  Mrs.  Stone  was  a  teacher  there  under 
the  auspices  of  the  American  Board,  and  their 
daughter  was  born  in  India.]  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Briggs  have  one  son,  Frederick  Huntington, 
aged  nineteen  years,  who  is  now  pursuing  a 
collegiate  course  at  Brown  University,  at  Provi- 
dence R.  I. 

Mr.  Briggs  is  now  in  the  full  vigor  of  his 
manhood,  enjoying  the  competency  which 
he  has  acquired  by  his  own  unaided  exertions, 
and  he  recalls  with  satisfaction  his  patient  in- 
dustry and  persevering  energy  in  starting  from 
an  humble  beginning  upon  a  special  line  of 
manufacturing,  through  which  he  has  gained 
so  large  a  success  as  a  business  man.  His  prac- 
tical intelligence  and  common  sense  have  been 
broadened  by  extensive  travel  in  both  continents, 
quickened    by  contact   with    men  and   rounded 


by  constant  use.  In  all  respects,  Mr.  Briggs 
is  a  type  of  the  bright,  active,  sagacious  and 
honorable  American,  and  his  prosperity  is  due 
to  his  long-continued  and  well-directed  applica- 
tion to  business,  and  determination  to  have  his 
products  the  best  of  their  kind. 


HENRY  ESTY. 

The  Esty  family  is  an  old  and  respected  one 
in  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  having  been  resi- 
dents there  for  over  a  century.  The  name  is 
variously  spelled  in  old  records,  such  as  Estey, 
Eastey,  Easty  and  Esty.  The  family  is  not  a 
numerous  one.  Jeffrey  Esty,  the  first  Ameri- 
can ancestor  of  those  bearing  that  name,  settled 
in  Salem,  Mass.,  prior  to  1<>.'>7,  and  Edward 
Eastey,  of  Sutton,  Mass.,  married  Mehitabel, 
daughter  of  Stephen  and  Nancy  (Dodge)  Marsh, 
sometime  after  1750.  Of  their  children,  Ed- 
ward and  Stewart  Esty  appear  as  the  only  ones 
mentioned  in  the  records.  We  cannot  fix  the 
identity  of  these,  by  any  documentary  evidence, 
as  connected  with  the  Westmoreland  Estys,  but 
the  latter  branch  originated  in  Sutton,  and  the 
similarity  of  the  names  would  apparently  be 
more  than  a  mere  coincidence.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  we  find  that  Steward  Esty  emigrated  from 
Sutton,  Mass.,  to  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  about 
a  hundred  years  ago.  Steward  Esty  passed  his 
early  life  in  Sutton,  and  when  a  lad,  while 
plowing,  he  heard  the  firing  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  He  worked  for  a  few  years  at 
his  trade  of  carpenter  in  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  and 
afterward  came  to  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  and 
made  a  home  for  himself  and  his  wife,  Mary 
(Brown)  Esty,  and  settled  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  David  Esty  farm.  He  combined  farm- 
ing with  his  carpentering,  and  Avas  a  successful 
and  prosperous  man.  His  brother  Edward 
went  to  Maine  and  settled  there.  William  made 
his  residence  in  Brownington,  Vt.  David  came 
to  Westmoreland,  was  a  farmer,  resided  in  the 
town,  and  there  died.  Steward  and  Mary 
(Brown)  Esty    had  five  children, — John  (who 


En**-. 


'*f%A.Hv, 


ju&>*t- 


^/<?~*>tS) 


WESTMORELAND. 


525 


was  drowned  when  about  fourteen  veal's  of  age) ; 
Mary  (married  Niles  Aldrich,  of  Westmore- 
land, and  had  four  children)  ;  Nathaniel 
(married  Lois  Woodward,  of  Westmoreland  ; 
they  had  three  children, — Betsy,  deceased,  Ed- 
ward and  Emily,  still  living  in  Westmoreland) ; 
Clarissa  (married  Willard  Bill,  of  Gilsum  ;  of 
their  two  children,  one  died  in  infancy,  the  other, 
Willard,  is  a  resident  of  Westmoreland) ;  Henry. 

Henry  Esty,  the  youngest  child  of  Steward 
and  Mary  (Brown)  Esty,  was  born  in  West- 
moreland June  18,  1806.  He  was  a  studious 
boy,  and  diligently  improved  the  meagre  oppor- 
tunities for  education  the  common  schools 
offered,  and  while  in  his  teens  he  taught  school, 
and  then  availed  himself  of  the  money  acquired 
for  more  extended  instruction,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty  he  took  charge  of  a  school  in  Surry, 
N.  H.  He  afterward  taught  in  Brattleborough, 
Vt.,  and  two  winters  in  the  north  part  of  West- 
moreland, and  was  a  teacher  in  Keene  when 
the  superintending  committee  was  Colonel  Wil- 
son, Aaron  Hall  and  the  well-known  and  be- 
loved minister,  Dr.  Barstow. 

At  the  time  of  Henry's  marriage  his  father 
made  a  division  of  his  real  estate  among  his  child- 
ren, and,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days  (for 
men  of  means  to  so  arrange  their  property  that 
some  especial  provision  should  be  made  for  their 
future)  he  gave  to  Henry  twenty-five  acres  ad- 
ditional, with  the  proviso  that  he  should  be  the 
child  of  his  old  age,  and  Henry  lived  with  his 
father  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  April,  1841. 

Mr.  Esty  married  in  1 835,  Mary  Ann  Chamber- 
lain, of  Pomfret,  Vt.  ;  they  had  no  children. 
She  died  in  Westmoreland  in  1852.  He  after- 
ward married  Mrs.  Julia  A.  Hubbard,  of  Wind- 
sor, Vt.,  who  had  two  children, — Julia,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  Charles,  now 
living  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.  Mrs.  Julia  A. 
Esty  died  several  years  since.  Mr.  Esty  has 
been  a  large  real  estate  owner  in  Westmoreland, 
and  once  owned  the  land  now  comprising  the 
village  of  East  Westmoreland,  and  all  the  houses 
have  been  built  within  his  recollection.     At  the 


time  of  the  building  of  the  Cheshire  Railroad 
Mr.  Estey  lived  on  the  line  of  the  road,  and  his 
house  was  rented  as  a  depot,  and  destroyed  by 
fire,  probably  occasioned  by  sparks  from  an  en- 
gine, and  it  was  only  after  three  years'  litigation 
that  he  obtained  damages.  He  then  purchased 
part  of  the  old  Wilbur  place,  remodeled  the 
house,  and  it  has  since  been  his  residence.  His 
history  of  the  building  of  the  bridge  across  the 
Connecticut  River,  and  of  the  Cheshire  road, 
also  the  difficulties  attending  the  establishment 
of  the  East  Westmoreland  post-office,  is  very 
interesting  and  worthy  of  record.  He  was 
bondsman  for  the  first  postmaster,  Mr.  Wight, 
and  appointed  to  the  same  office  after  Mr. 
Weight  retired,  although  he  did  not  attend  to 
its  duties  personally. 

Mr.  Esty  is  a  man  of  great  strength  of  charac- 
ter, keenness  of  understanding,  business  fore- 
sight, an  original  thinker,  a  fluent  conversation- 
alist, well  read  and  at  home  in  the  topics  of  the 
times.  He  has  acquainted  himself  with  the 
writings  of  Theodore  Parker  and  others  of  the 
same  thought.  Although  not  a  believer  in  any 
creed,  he  has  always  contributed  to  the  sup- 
port of  a  church.  His  faith  is  that  of  the  Spirit- 
ualists, believing  that  there  is  a  medium  of  com- 
munication existing,  however  imperfectly  de- 
veloped at  present,  between  the  spirits  of  those 
who  have  crossed  the  dark  river  and  those 
remaining  on  the  shores  of  time. 


ALBERT   THOMPSON. 

Of  the  numerous  emigrants  who  came  to 
Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  the  "  good  ship  Ann  "  was 
John  Thomson,  who  was  born  in  the  north  of 
Wales  in  the  year  1(516,  and  came  to  America  in 
the  third  embarkation  from  England,  and  ar- 
rived at  Plymouth  early  in  the  month  of  May, 
1622,  being  at  that  time  in  the  sixth  year  of  his 
age.  The  first  knowledge  we  have  of  the  name, 
with  any  certainty,  is  from  the  ancient  record 
of  heraldry.  Then  the  name  was  familiarly 
known  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and 


526 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


each  family  spelled  the  name  differently  and 
selected  a  different  badge  of  heraldry.  The 
celebrated  poet,  James  Thomson,  was  of  this 
family,  and  Charles  Thomson,  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Continental  Congress  in  Revolu- 
tionary times.  The  north  of  Wales  being 
contiguous  to  Scotland,  probably  John  Thomson 
was  a  descendant  of  the  Scottish  family.  The 
letter  p  was  not  introduced  into  the  name  by 
his  descendants  until  a  century  and  a  half  had 
rolled  away. 

John  Thomson  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter, 
and  tradition  savs  he  built  the  first  framed  meet- 
ing-house  in  Plymouth,  Mass.  lie  married  Mary 
( look,  the  daughter  of  Francis  Cook,  one  of  the 
first  emigrants,  in  1620.  He  afterwards  lived  in 
Sandwich  and  was  a  farmer,  then  moved  to  that 
part  of  Plymouth  now  Halifax  and  subsequently 
built  a  log  house  in  Middleborough,  where  he 
lived  until  his  house  was  burned  by  the  Indians. 
At  the  time  of  the  Indian  attacks  he  had  a  genera* 
commission  as  lieutenant-commandant,  not  only 
in  the  field,  but  of  garrison  and  all  posts  of 
danger.  In  the  year  1677  he  erected  a  frame 
house  near  where  the  former  house  was  de- 
stroyed, and  made  a  garrison  of  it,  This  house 
was  the  residence  of  the  fifth  generation.  It 
was  taken  down  in  1838,  having  been  occupied 
one  hundred  and  sixty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomson  were  zealous,  God-fearing  people  and 
were  regular  attendants  of  divine  service.  Their 
hour  of  rising,  especially  on  Sunday  morning, 
was  four  o'clock.  The  distance  to  church  was 
thirteen  miles,  and  it  is  recorded  that  his  wife, 
on  two  Sabbaths  in  June,  after  breakfast  took 
her  child  of  six  months  old  in  her  arms  and 
walked  to  Plymouth,  attended  service  and  re- 
turned home  the  same  day.  The  long,  useful 
and  industrious  life  of  the  Thomson  patriarch 
closed  June  16,  1696,  when  nearly  eighty  years 
old.  He  was  buried  in  the  first  burvine- 
ground  in  Middleborough.  Mary,  his  wife,  died 
March  21,  1714,  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of 
her  age.  They  had  twelve  children.  The  line 
of  descent    to   Albert   is,  John  (1),  Jacob 


Caleb  (3),  Caleb  (4;,  Caleb  (5),  Nathaniel  (6), 
A  Ibert  (7).  Caleb  (5)  was  a  great  ship-builder  and 
dealer  in  lumber  in  Plymouth,  Mass.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Perkins.  He  died  February  9,  1821. 
She  died  December  9,  181 G.  They  had  fifteen 
children, — Gaius,  Sylvia,  Jonah,  Ansel,  Na- 
than, Abigail,  Serena,  Alfred,  Mary,  Eliza, 
Caleb,  Nathaniel  (6),  Joanna,  Sabina  and  Fred- 
eric. Nathaniel  was  the  twelfth  child  of  Caleb 
and  Mary  (Perkins)  Thompson.  He  settled  in 
Swanzey,  N.  H.,  and  became  a  farmer,  lie 
also  carried  on  a  saw-mill  and  dealt  largely  in 
lumber.  He  married,  September  13,  1818, 
Annie  Field.  They  had  several  children, — 
Ambrose,  born  May  30,  1819,  and  died  July 
3,  1829  ;  Julia  Ann,  born  September  18,  1821, 
died  March  23,  1822;  Julia  Ann,  born  March 
10,  1823.,  died  May  21,  1849  ;  Frederick  M., 
born  May  19,  1826,  died  February  1,  1859; 
Eliza,  born  June  28,  1831,  died  December  25, 
1850;  Andrew  J.,  born  November  28,  1828, 
died  May  24,  1829;  Mary  E.,  born  April  20, 
1834  (now  Mrs.  Britton);  Albert  (6) ;  Lavina, 
born  March  31,  1839  (Mrs.  Charles  F.  Graves, 
resides  in  Fon  du  Lac,  Wis). 

Albert  Thompson,  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Annie  (Field)  Thompson,  was  born  in  Swanzey, 
N.  II.,  October  18,  1836.  His  early  years 
were  passed  at  home.  He  diligently  and  care- 
fully improved  the  educational  advantages  the 
schools  of  his  native  town  afforded.  His  turn  of 
mind  being  favorable  to  business  enterprise  and 
activity,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  left  Swanzey 
and  went  to  Keene,  where  he  remained  for 
about  eight  years,  a  portion  of  which  time  he 
was  engaged  in  the  business  of  furnishing  wood 
for  the  Cheshire  Railroad,  on  his  own  account, 
and  has  handled  a  large  amount  of  the  wood 
supplied  that  road  for  about  twenty-eight  years. 
In  1860  he  came  to  Westmoreland,  and  since 
that  time  has  been  closely  identified  with  that 
town.  In  April,  1859,  he  married  Carrie, 
daughter  of  Foster  Wight,  the  first  postmaster 
of  Easl  Westmoreland.  They  have  had  five 
children, — Abbie  M.,   born  September  1,  1*60, 


WESTMORELAND. 


527 


died  February  2,  1884;  Omer  G.  and  Olan  A. 
(twins),  born  November  1,  1864  (Olan  A.  died 
August  31,  1865) ;  Irving  W.,  born  August  9, 
1874;  and  Clifton  A.,  born  January  31,  1877. 

Mr.  Thompson  built  the  store  and  the  house 
where  he  now  resides  in  1867,  for  his  brother-in- 
law,  C.  M.  Wight,  who  carried  on  business  for 
about  two  years,  when  Mr.  Wight,  foreseeing  a 
more  successful  future  for  his  labors  in  the 
West,  went  to  Nori,  Mich.,  where  he  has 
been  very  prosperous,  and  Mr.  Thompson  de- 
voted his  attention  and  energy  to  the  trade  at 
home,  and  the  results  have  been  favorable. 
Other  enterprises  have  also  felt  the  impulse  of 
his  ability.  He  has  been  active  in  the  lumber- 
ing business,  alone  and  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Chandler  Britton,  for  several 
years.  It  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  that 
the  "  Centennial  Hall "  was  built  in  East  West- 
moreland, in  1876,  and  he  has  always  been 
ready  to  advance  any  movement  which  could 
promote  the  progress  and  further  the  interests 
of  his  adopted  town.  In  every  good  work  of 
public  enterprise  or  of  private  charity  he  has 
never  been  found  wanting  to  contribute  his  full 
share  and  more.  In  all  respects  he  is  a  type 
of  the  active,  sagacious  and  honorable  American 
business  man  and  possesses  in  a  large  degree  all 
those  qualities  that  constitute  a  most  worthy 
citizen.  Intelligent,  conscientious,  kind-hearted, 
obliging  and  industrious,  Mr.  Thompson  enjoys 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  community, 
and  is  one  of  Westmoreland's  representative 
men. 


SHUBAEL   WHITE. 

The  White  family  are  among  the  oldest  in 
New  England.  The  first  ancestor  was  William 
White,  who,  with  his  wife,  Susanna,  was  among 
that  band  of  strong-hearted,  valiant,  zealous 
Puritans,  united  by  a  common  bond  of  religious 
faith,  who  left  their  homes  in  England  to  brave 
the  hardships  and  trials  of  an  unknown  coun- 
try in  order  there  to  find  "  Freedom  to  worship 


God  !"  They  landed  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in 
the  winter  of  1620,  where  Peregrine,  the  son  of 
William  and  Susanna,  was  born,  on  board  the 
"  Mayflower,"  after  her  arrival.  His  name 
was  given  him  on  account  of  the  wanderings  of 
the  Pilgrims.  William  White  was  "  a  pious 
and  active  minister  in  Dorchester,  England," 
and  his  descendants  are  generally  known  as  in- 
fluential members  of  society,  law-abiding  citi- 
zens, prosperous,  esteemed  for  their  temperance, 
honesty  and  probity.  The  line  to  Shubael,  the 
representative  of  the  name  in  Westmoreland,  is 
William  (1),  Peregrine  (2),  Daniel  (3),  John  (4), 
Cornelius  (5),  Moses  (6),  Calvin  (7),  Shubael 
(8).  Peregrine  was  one  of  the  grantees  of  the 
town  of  Abington,  Mass.  The  family  are 
found  afterwards  in  South  Brookfield,  Mass.; 
and  John  (4)  was  killed  there  by  the  Indians  while 
making  hay  on  the  meadow  near  where  the 
burying-ground  is  now ;  Cornelius  (5)  was  one 
of  the  grantees  of  the  town  of  Westmoreland 
in  1752 ;  Moses  (6),  son  of  Cornelius,  came 
from  Brookfield,  Mass.,  to  Westmoreland,  N.  H., 
and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town. 
He  married,  December  25,  1766,  Dinah  Stone. 
They  had  eleven  children,  — Sarah,  born  Novem- 
ber 16,  1767;  Calvin,  born  July  29,  1774; 
Hannah,  born  October  3,  1777  ;  Dinah,  born 
November  14,  1779;  Samuel,  born  February 
28,  1782;  Cynthia,  born  June  1,  1786;  Orpha, 
born  June  30,  1789;  Eunice,  born  August  31, 
1791 ;  John,  born  June  12,  1796;  Bethuel;  Sol- 
omon. 

Moses  White  was  a  farmer  and  respected 
citizen,  a  deacon  of  the  church  and  performed 
his  duties  faithfully.  His  wife  died  October 
26,  1811,  aged  sixty-three  years,  and  he  mar- 
ried a  second  wife.  He  died  March  6,  1829, 
aged  eighty-six  years.  Calvin  (7),  son  of  Dea- 
con Moses  and  Dinah  (Stone)  White,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland,  July  29,  1774.  He  married 
Sarah  Richardson,  of  Chesterfield,  N.  H.  They 
had  eight  children, — Gilman,  born  January  19, 
1799,  married  Harriet  Butterfield  ;  Persis,  born 
November  15,  1801,  died  December  20,  1802; 


528 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Mary,  born  January  18,  1805,  married  Francis 
Russell ;  Silas,  born  November  20,  1806,  mar- 
ried Phoebe  Thayer;  Shubael;  Betsy,  born 
August  4,  1811,  unmarried,  died  aged  seventy- 
two  years;  Alfred,  born  October  17,  1813, 
married  Sarah  Litch  ;  Eunice,  born  November 
23,  1816,  married  Caleb  W.  Jaquith.  Calvin 
White  was  a  mechanic  and  made  the  old-fash- 
ioned mould-board  wooden  ploughs.  He  was 
an  intelligent  man,  and  held  several  minor 
town  offices.  He  died  April  11,  184.%  aged 
sixtv-nine ;  his  wife  survived  him  ten  years, 
dying  September  21,  1853,  aged  seventy-four. 

Shubael  (8),  son  of  Calvin  and  Sarah  (Rich- 
ardson) White,  was  born  in  Westmoreland, 
May  27,  1809.  During  his  early  years  he  had 
the  experience  that  the  children  of  a  family 
of  humble  circumstances  of  that  day  usually 
had— labor  on  the  farm  rand  limited  school  op- 
portunities. He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
and  remained  in  Westmoreland  until  he  was  of 
age.  He  passed  the  next  five  or  six  years  in 
various  places,  and  in  1836  he  went  to  Keeue. 
The  same  year  he  married,  in  Boston,  Betsey 
Heustis,  daughter  of  Simon  Heustis,  an  old 
resident  of  Westmoreland.  They  had  one 
child,  William  H.,  who  is  now  a  judge  of  Police 
(Ourt  at  Junction  City,  Kan. 

He  married,  for  second  wife,  Nancy  L.  Wilder, 
daughter  of  David  Wilder, a  native  of  Lancaster, 
Mass.  She  died  February  26,  1883.  They 
had  two  children, — Henry,  born  October  19, 
1840,  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  great 
Rebellion,  dying  in  service  December  19,  1861, 
aged  twenty-one  years,  and  Charles  M.,  born 
May  Hi,  IS 50. 

Mr.  White  is  a  man  of  quiet  and  unob- 
trusive manners,  kind,  cheerful  and  social 
in  his  disposition,  faithful  to  duty  and  to  the 
performance  of  trusts.  He  has  served  as  over- 
seer of  the  poor  for  over  eleven  years,  as  col- 
li.tor  of  taxes  for  four  years,  and  has  held 
several  minor  town  offices.  At  the  time  of  the 
Civil  War,  when  the  first  call  came  for  seventy- 
five  thousand   men,  Mr.  White,   although   past 


middle  age,  responded  promptly,  and  enlisted, 
as  drum-major,  in  the  Second  New  Hampshire 
Regiment,  and  also  served  in  the  same  capacity 
in  the  Sixth  and  Fourteenth  Regiments,  and 
received  his  honorable  discharge.  Politically, 
he  is  a  strong  Republican.  His  religious  belief 
is  that  of  the  Congregational  Church,  and  he 
has  been  a  consistent  member  of  that  body  for 
many  years,  and  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  his 
"  Mayflower  "  ancestor. 


DANIEL    W.    PATTEN. 

Genealogical  history  is  customary  in  Europe 
to  show  the  titles  to  honor  and  estate;  but  in 
this  country,  where  wealth  and  distinction  depend 
almost  exclusively  upon  one's  own  exertions 
and  merits,  it  is  a  subject  of  necessity,  mingled, 
however,  with  satisfaction,  when  we  can  trace 
our  ancestors  back  through  different  generations 
to  the  first  one  who  emigrated  to  America,  and 
know  that  they  were  good  and  honorable  men, 
whatever  their  station  in  life. 

John  Fatten  came  from  Ireland,  where  he 
was  born,  to  America  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  settled  in  Norton,  Mass., 
and  married  Abigail  Makepeace.  (The  house 
they  occupied  is  still  standing  in  Norton,  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation.)  He  possessed  the 
strong,  rugged  nature  of  his  nationality,  together 
with  patient  endurance,  and  when,  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War,  money  had  so  depre- 
ciated in  value  that  his  small  means  were  almost 
lost,  his  brave  heart  was  not  easily  discouraged, 
and,  with  diligence  and  perseverance,  he,  with 
his  four  sons,  worked  early  and  late  until  they 
had  paid  for  the  farm,  and  Mr.  Fatten  could 
start  square  with  the  world.  He  was  by  trade 
a  nail-maker.  His  life  in  America  was  passed 
in  Norton,  where  he  died.  His  children  were 
William,  Samuel,  Daniel,  John,  Abigail,  Sarah, 
Lucy  and  Susan,  who  married  a  Jenks,  and 
settled  in  Vermont.  William,  Abigail  and 
Sarah  never  married.  Lucy  married  Solomon 
Field.     Daniel    married;  had  three   daughters, 


-a~4^ 


^^vce 


WESTMORELAND. 


529 


Phoebe,  Abigail,  and  Harriet ;  Phoebe  married 
Sumner  Knappjthey  had  ten  children.  Abigail 
married  Mason  Stone,  and  had  tive  children. 
Harriet  married  Daniel  S.  Cobb;  had  three 
children.  Samuel  married,  family  unknown. 
John,  the  first  of  the  Patton  family  to  settle  in 
Westmoreland,  was  born  in  Norton,  Mass.,  in 
1755,  and  died  in  Westmoreland,  aged  sixty 
years.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  a 
hard-working  man.  He  married  Jerusha  Wood. 
Their  children  were  Abigail  (died  young),  Asa, 
Samson,  Daniel,  John,  William  and  Sarah 
(who  did  not  attain  maturity).  Asa  married 
Cyntha  Field  and  left  Westmoreland,  and  made 
his  home  in  Coventry,  Vt.,  where  he  died. 
Samson  moved  to  Maine,  married  and  left 
numerous  descendants.  John  married  Nancy 
M.  Smith,  always  resided  in  Norton,  and  died 
there.  William  married  Elfrida  Aldrich,  of 
Westmoreland,  and  passed  part  of  his  life  in 
Pomfret,  Vt.,  but  returned  to  Westmoreland, 
and  was  a  resident  there  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  Daniel,  son  of  John  and  Jerusha 
(Wood)  Patten,  was  born  in  Westmoreland, 
January  18,  1794.  His  early  life  and  educa- 
tion was  the  usual  one  of  the  sons  of  farmers 
and  mechanics.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter and  pursued  his  vocation  with  diligence, 
and  was  a  successful  business  man.  A  good 
citizen,  but  applied  himself  closely  to  his  own 
affairs,  and  never  sought  publicity  or  office.  He 
married,  in  1820,  Cyrena  Shelley,  daughter  of 
Barnabas  and  Lydia  (Cole)  Shelley,  of  West- 
moreland, born  February  24,  1797.  They  had 
two  children,  Daniel  W.  and  George  E.,  born 
March  21,  1828.  Mrs.  Patten  died  January 
12,  1835.  He  married,  second,  Myra  Hutch  in, 
born  May  13,  1803,  and  died  January  25, 1859, 
leaving  a  daughter,  Elmyra  C,  who  lived  to  be 
twenty-three  years  old.  For  his  third  wife, 
Mr.  Patten  married  Sally  French,  of  West- 
moreland; she  was  born  February  24, 1809,  and 
died  September  15,  1868. 

Daniel    Warren    Patten,    the    oldest    son    of 
Daniel  and   Cyrena  (Shelley)  Patten,  was  born 


in  Westmoreland,  February  24,  1822,  and  with 
the  exception  of  four  years'  residence  in  Hins- 
dale, has  always  lived  in  his  native  town.  Like 
multitudes  of  men,  he  passed  his  youth  and 
early  manhood  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm, 
besides  working  at  his  trade  of  carpentering. 
His  school  facilities  were  necessarily  limited, 
but  by  close  application  he  became  a  proficient 
scholar  especially  in  mathematics.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  the  men  who  have  achieved  distinction 
in  politics  or  in  the  various  lines  of  business 
activity  have  passed  their  early  days  in  the  shop 
or  on  a  farm. 

Mr.  Patten  married,  June  4,  1845,  Elizabeth 
Howe  Heustis,  born  February  1,  1822,  daugh- 
ter of  Gilbert  T.  and  Martha  (Hodges)  Heustis, 
of  Westmoreland ;  she  was  a  descendant,  on  her 
mother's  side,  of  Samuel  Howe,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  the  town,  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Aristides  and  Prudence  (Baxter)  Heustis,  of 
Surry,  N.  H.  They  have  two  children, — Ella 
E.  (who  married  Albourne  F.  Abbott,  of  West- 
moreland, now  living  in  Boston),  and  Martha 
C,  who  is  with  her  parents. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Patten,  desirous  of  advancing 
his  business  interests,  went  to  Hinsdale,  where 
he  carried  on  the  sash  and  blind  manufacturing 
for  four  years ;  he  then  returned  to  Westmore- 
land, and  continued  in  the  same  line  of  work 
until  1856,  when  the  flood  carried  away  his 
shop  containing  stock  and  machinery;  but,  with 
the  same  spirit  of  perseverance  which  char- 
acterized his  great-grandfather,  he  rebuilt  and 
engaged  in  the  business  of  planing  and  dressing 
lumber,  and  added  to  this  the  manufacture  of 
wooden  pails  for  some  four  or  five  years.  He  also 
engaged  in  civil  engineering,  and  for  twenty- 
five  years  has  been  employed  in  all  parts  of  the 
county,  and  especially  in  his  native  town,  where 
he  has  a  comfortable  home  and  a  farm  to  which 
he  gives  his  personal  attention. 

His  active  interest  and  participation  in  mili- 
tary organizations  is  shown  by  his  several  com- 
missions, which  were  given  as  follows:  Ensign 
in  the  Westmoreland  Light  Infantry  by  Gov- 


530 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ernor  Hubbard,  in  1843;  first  lieutenant  by 
Governor  Steel,  in  1844;  captain  of  the  First 
Company  Light  Infantry,  by  the  same  Governor, 
in  184o;  lieutenant-colonel  of  Twentieth  Reg- 
iment New  Hampshire  Militia,  by  Governor 
Colby,  in  1 840 ;  and  colonel  in  the  same  regiment, 
by  Governor  Williams,  in  1847;  and  received 
his  honorable  discharge  June  9,  1848. 

Mr.  Patten  has  thoroughly  believed  in  his 
native  town,  and  with  commendable  public 
spirit  has  endeavored  to  work  for  its  interests, 
and  has  been  connected  with  its  official  duties 
in  many  departments.  In  I860  he  was  assist- 
ant United  States  marshal,  and  took  the  census 
in  Westmoreland,  Chesterfield,  Hinsdale  and 
Swanzey,  and  has  held  several  minor  town  of- 
fices. Politically,  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  be- 
lieves in  the  principles  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson, 
and  was  twice  elected  to  the  State  Legislature 
on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  years  18(33 
and  1864.  He  has  been  several  times  nominated 
for  State  Senator,  and  for  various  county  offices, 
receiving  each  time  the  cordial  and  full  support 
of  his  party,  but  failing  of  election  by  the  great 
predominance  of  the  opposing  party  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  He  has  been  many  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace. 

Iu  his  religious  preferences  he  is  a  Univer- 
sal ist,  broad  and  catholic  in  his  views,  and  al- 
ways respecting  the  opinions  of  others.  He  is 
an  intelligent  and  thoughtful  man,  has  given 
great  attention  to  historical  research,  and  has 
rendered  much  valuable  assistance  to  Mr. 
Willard  Bill,  the  historian  of  Westmoreland. 


EGBERT    CHAMBERLAIN  AM)  EDGAR  KENDALL 

HORTON. 

In  that  year  made  memorable  by  the  battles 
of  Buena  Vista  and  Sacramento,  and  the  severe 
famine  in  Ireland,  which  called  from  the  United 
States  such  munificent  donations  of  corn  and 
potatoes  to  save  the  famishing,  there  was  born 
to  a  pleasant  home  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H., 
Egbert  Chamberlain  and  Edgar  Kendall  Horton, 


twin  sons  of  Dr.  P.  Manly  Horton  and  Mary  Ann 
Kendall — who  were  a  glad  surprise,  looking  so 
much  alike  that  it  was  difficult  to  tell  one  from 
the  other.  Bright  hopes  at  once  centred  in 
them,  for  they  were  of  noble  extraction.  Their 
mother  was  from  a  superior  family  of  English 
origin,  eminently  gifted  in  mind  and  heart.  She 
was  a  true  woman,  always  loyal  to  her  family 
and  well  fitted  to  nurture  and  train  her  children 
for  usefulness  and  success  in  the  world.  So 
long  as  she  lived  she  richly  blest  her  home. 
Their  father,  who  is  still  living  in  advanced 
years,  is  mentally  strong  and  of  great  physical 
endurance,  inventive  by  nature  and  exceedingly 
apt  in  mechanical  skill  and  works.  The  Horton 
pedigree  reaches  far  back  into  English  history, 
even  to  the  period  when  the  Romans. occupied 
Brittany.  The  name  itself  signifies  a  cultivator, 
or  adviser.  All  the  way  through  this  long  line 
the  families  bearing  this  cognomen  have  left 
traces  and  impressions  of  genuine  character  and 
progress.  The  first  of  this  name  came  to 
America  as  early  as  1633,  and  one  branch  set- 
tled on  Long  Island  and  others  in  Springfield, 
and  in  the  central  part  of  Massachusetts.  From 
the  last  have  sprung  the  family  under  considera- 
tion. The  Horton  genealogy  shows  that  they 
have  been  producers  in  cultivating  the  soil  and 
originators  in  handicrafts  and  in  scholarly 
attainments. 

Egbert  and  Edgar  were  fortunate  in  coming 
into  this  world  in  the  midst  of  charming  seen- 
cry.  If  New  Hampshire  is  the  Switzerland  of 
America,  Westmoreland  is  its  Col  de  Balm, 
abundantly  supplied  with  flowers  in  the  sum- 
mers and  snow  blossoms  in  the  winter.  Its  air 
is  invigorating;  its  light,  crystalline;  its  sur- 
face, rich  and  greatly  diversified  with  hills, 
vales,  woods,  brooks,  rivers,  meadows,  pastures 
and  rural  homo.  So  their  young  hearts  could 
but  drink  in  freely  inspiration  from  all  this 
wide-spread  beauty  and  picturesqueness.  They 
wric  cheerful  and  happy  in  their  early  years. 
A-  they  began  to  attend  school  they  at  once 
exhibited    traits    of  promise    and    scholarship. 


WESTMORELAND. 


531 


When  they  advanced  from  the  common  to  the 
High  School  they  expressed  quickness  of  dis- 
cernment and  readiness  of  comprehension,  mas- 
tering the  studies  that  they  pursued.  Reaching 
manhood,  they  were  of  medium  size,  mental 
temperament  and  ambitious  to  do  for  them- 
selves. On  leaving  home  they  engaged  as  clerks 
in  mercantile  business  at  Keene,  N.  H.  Edgar 
remained  there  for  five  years  and  then  went  to 
Providence,  R.  I.,  where  he  continued  in  the 
same  calling  for  ten  years.  Egbert  tarried  in 
Keene  but  a  short  time  before  he  left  for  Green- 
field, Mass.,  where  he  devoted  himself  to 
photography  till  1870,  when  he  went  to  Prov- 
idence to  follow  the  same  business.  In  1878  he 
opened  a  studio  for  himself,  and  two  years  later 
he  took  in  as  partner  his  brother  Edgar.  Now, 
with  their  age,  experience,  taste,  skill  and  love 
for  art-works,  they  were  prepared  to  excel  in 
photography,  Egbert  devoting  himself  to  the 
art  and  Edgar  to  the  business  part,  and  so  carry 
on  the  work  with  a  high  degree  of  success. 
Starting  now  on  a  basis  of  strict  attention  to 
artistic  effect  and  a  general  excellence  in  detail, 
they  have  acquired  the  enviable  position  of  lead- 
34 


ers  in  photographic  art  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
to-day  their  business  is  second  to  none  in  New 
England,  and  represents  to  a  large  degree  the 
wealthy  and  best  patronage  of  the  State.  With 
the  view  of  better  meeting  the  demands  of  an 
increasing  business,  they  have  recently  fitted  up 
two  entire  floors  of  the  large  block  at  87  West- 
minster Street  for  their  work.  These  are  not 
to  be  surpassed.  The  reception  room  is  in- 
viting and  elegantly  furnished.  Its  walls  are 
hung  with  specimen  works  in  oil  and  crayon. 
It  is  a  model  establishment  of  its  kind,  spacious, 
finely-lighted,  and  well  adjusted  in  all  its  ap- 
pliances. The  studio  of  the  Horton  Brothers 
is  generally  regarded  as  a  valuable  addition  to 
the  aesthetic  developments  of  Providence,  and 
their  business  has  come  to  be  counted  among  the 
enterprising  industries  of  the  city.  So,  through 
ability,  industry,  perseverance,  moral  fortitude 
and  culture,  these  young  men  have  already 
attained  to  a  high  degree  of  success,  giving 
assurance  that  they  will  still  bestow  by  their 
good  works  greater  honors  upon  their 
patronymic  name,  their  profession,  their  homes 
and  their  country. 


HISTORY   OF  RINDGE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Tins  township  was  granted  by  the  Governor 

of  Massachusetts  December  9,  1786,  O.  S. 
The  territory  was  surveyed  by  Nathan  Hey- 
wood  in  November,  1738,  and  the  grant  con- 
firmed  January  24,  1638,  O.  S.  (February  4, 
1739,  X.  S.)  The  grantees  were  soldiers  or 
lairs  of  soldiers  who  participated  in  the  expe- 
dition under  S3ir  William  Phipps  to  Canada  in 
L690,  and  were  residents  of  Rowley,  Mass.,  and 
vicinity  ;  hence  the  name  of  Rowley-Canada, 
by  which  the  place  was  known  until  it  was 
granted  by  the  Masonian  proprietors,  February 
14,  1749,  and  called  Monadnock,  No.  1.  The 
town  was  incorporated  Febrnary  11,  1768,  and 
received  its  present  name  in  honor  of  Daniel 
Rindge,  then  an  influential  member  of  the 
Council. 

Rindge  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Revo- 
lution, furnishing  two  regimental  commanders, 
viz.,  Colonel  Enoch  Hale,  born  in  Rowley,  No- 
vember 28,  1738,  a  veteran  of  the  French  War, 
who  was  in  public  positions  for  many  years, 
and  died  in  Grafton,  Vt.,  April  9,  1813;  and 
Colonel  Nathan  Sale,  born  September 23,  1748, 
who  was  in  the  service  from  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  until  he  died  a 
prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  at  Long 
[sland,  September  28,  1780.  He  was  promoted 
for  meritorious  services  to  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

The  first  settler  was  Abel  Platts  in  about  1712. 

Revolutionary    Wa  r. 
Pay-roll  of  the  men  that  went  to  Cambridge 
332 


in   Captain    Nathan    Hale's   company,  at   the 
time  of  the  Lexington  fight,  April  ye  1!»,  177o  : 

£.  s.  d. 

Nathan  Bale,  captain 0    6  (i 

Francis  Towne,  lieutenant 1  10  0 

Daniel  Rand,  ensign 1  10  0 

James  Crumbie,  clerk 1  10  0 

Page    Norcross,  sergeant 1  10  0 

Samuel  Stanley,  sergeant 1   10  0 

.lames  Streeter,  sergeant 1  10  0 

Abel  Stone,  corporal 1  10  0 

Benjamin  Davis,  corporal 0     6  6 

Samuel  Stone,  corporal 0     0  6 

Ezekiel  Rand,  drummer 0     6  6 

Daniel  Lake,  Jr.,  drummer 0     6  6 

Leme  Page,  filer 0     6  <> 

John  Hanalbrd 1   10  0 

Daniel  Russell 0     6  6 

Nathaniel  Ingalls 1  10  0 

Nehemiah  Towne 1   10  0 

Jonathan  Putnam 1  10  0 

Samuel  Russell 1  10  0 

Jeremiah  Norcross 1   10  0 

Joel  Russell 0     6  6 

John  Buswell 1  10  0 

Simeon  Ingalls 0     t;  6 

Samuel  Parker 0     6  6 

Joseph  Platts 1  10  0 

Asa  Brocklebank 1  10  0 

Samuel  Tarbell 0     66 

ReubenPage 0    6  6 

Abel  Platts,  Jr 1  10  0 

Samuel  Page 1   10  0 

John  Demary,  Jr 0     (i  6 

Joseph  Stanley 1   10  0 

Aaron  Easty 1   10  0 

William  Carlton !    LOO 

James  Cutter 1  10  0 

Simon  Davis 0     6  6 


RINDGE. 


533 


£  s.  d. 

John  Emory 1  10  0 

Enos  Lake 0  66 

Jeremiah  Russell 1  10  0 

David  Robbins 1  10  0 

Nathaniel  Thomas 1  10  0 

Oliver  Bacon 1  10  0 

Abraham  Wetherbee 1  10  0 

Benjamin  Carlton  1  10  0 

Nathaniel  Russell 1  10  0 

Jonathan  Lovejoy 0  6  6 

Joseph  Wilson 1  10  0 

Solomon  Rand 1  10  0 

Daniel  Lake 0  6  6 

Edward  Jewett 1  17  4 

Elisha  Perkins 1  10  0 

Ezekiel  Larned 1  10  0 

Isaac  Wood 1  10  0 

George  Carlton 1  10  0 

This  company  marched  to  Cambridge.  Sev- 
enteen returned  after  four  days'  service,  and 
thirty-seven  remained  seventeen  days;  and  it  is 
probable  that  several  of  the  latter  did  not  re- 
turn to  their  homes  before  joining  another  com- 
pany from  Rindge,  which  arrived  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston  about  that  time.  In  this  company 
of  fifty-four  men  were  twelve  who  afterwards 
held  commissions  in  the  regiments  raised  in 
this  State.  This  pay-roll  is  found  upon  the 
town  records,  and  the  payment  was  made  by 
the  town. 

Pay-roll  of  Captain  Philip  Thomas'  com- 
pany, in  Colonel  James  Read's  regiment,  to 
August  1,  1775.  Time  of  entry,  April  2o, 
( lb. 

(Paid  to  each  private  seven  pounds;  two  shill- 
ings, ten  pence.) 

Those  marked  thus  (*)  are  from  other  towns. 

Philip  Thomas,  Rindge,  captain. 

John  Harper,*  lieutenant. 

Ezekiel  Rand,  Rindge,  second  lieutenant. 
Benj.  Davis,  sergeant.  Godfrey  Richardson.* 

Ezekiel  Learned,  sergeant.     Jacob  Hobbs. 
Simon  Davis,  sergeant.  John  Thomson. 

Jacob  Peirce,*  sergeant.         Thomas  Hutchinson. 
John  Demary,  corporal.  Hezekiah  Wetherbee. 

Simeon  Ingalls,  corporal.        Caleb  Winn. 
Jeremiah  Russell, corporal.     James  Coffering.* 
Benjamin  Lovering,  Benjamin  Beals. 


Daniel  Lake,  drummer.  Peter  Webster. 

Leme  Page,  fifer.  Dudley  Griffin.* 

Thomas  Emory.  Benjamin  Dole.* 

Daniel  Russell.  Isaac  Leland. 

Obediah  Marsh.  Richard  Alexander.* 

Ezekiel  Demary.  Nehemiah  Porter. 

Enos  Lake.  Hugh  Gragg. 

Reuben  Page.  David  Hale. 

Samuel  Parker.  David  Davis. 

Timothy  Rogers.*  Henry  Davis.* 

Ebenezer  Ingalls.  Jonathan  Lovejoy. 

Joseph  Wright.*  George  Carlton. 

Stephen  Adams.*  Isaac  Adams. 

Joel  Russell.  Benjamin  Burley. 

Thomas  Henderson.  Simeon  Whitcomb. 

Benjamin  Parker.  Alexander  Douglass.* 
Johu  Dole.* 

The  following  are  the  articles  lost,  and  the 

amount  paid  to  the  several  men,  in  behalf  of 

the  colony,  by  Timothy  Walker,  Jr.,  the  same 

person  who  formerly  supplied  the  pulpit  in  this 

town  : 

£  s.  d. 

"  Lieut.  John  Harper 0  12  0 

Ens.  Ezekiel  Rand 3  16  4 

Benjamin  Davis 1  15  0 

Benja  Lovering 4     6  0 

Daniel  Lake 4     00 

Leme  Page 6     8  0 

Ezekiel  Larned 2  14  0 

Jacob  Pierce 1     3  4 

Simon  Davis 1     4  0 

John  Demerry 0     7  0 

Simeon  Ingolls 2  14  6 

Jeremiah  Russell 0     6  8 

ObadiahMarsh 0     6  0 

Benjil  Beals 0  12  0 

JoelRussell 5     4  0 

Dudley  Griffin 1     8  0 

Thomas  Emery 1     4  0 

Hugh  Gregg 0  17  0 

Ezekiel  Demerry 0     2  0 

Benja  Dole 0     6  0 

Reuben  Page 1      1   2 

Timothy  Rogers 0  15  0 

Richard  Alexander 3     8  0 

Caleb  Winn 3     3  8 

David  Davis 6  12  0 

Henry  Davis 0     4  0 

Nehemiah  Porter 0     6  0 


534 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


£  s.  d. 

Peter  Webster 1  12  8 

Benja  Parker 0     2  0 

Thomas  Henderson 2  1!'  0 

John  Thompson 2     00 

DavidHale 5     0  0 

Isaac  Adams 7     0  0 

George  Carlton 7     0  0 

Jonathan  Lovejoy 6    0  0 

James  Coffering 148 

£59  16  4" 

The  articles  lost,  for  which   the  above  sums 
were  allowed,  will  be  seen  in — 

"A  list  of  Losses  sustained  in  the  Batal  and  Retreat  on 
bunker  hill,  the  17th  day  of  June,  1775,  of  Cap- 
tain Thomas'  Company  in  the  New  Hampshire 
Reserves. 

Lieut.  [John  Harper]  one  hat. 

Ens'n  [Ezekiel  Rand]  coat,  two  shirts  one  gun,  iron 

strike  sword,  pr.  hose. 
Sarg't  Benjamin  Davis  a  blanket,  surtout  one  byanot. 
Sarg't  Kzekiel  Earned  one  gone  [gun]  one  byanot  & 

belt,  one  powder  horn. 
Sarg't  Simon  Davis  one  coat. 

Sarg't  Jacob  Pierce  a  coat,  a  shag  great  coat  Sc  pack. 
Corporal  John  Demary  one  blanket,  one  byanot,  one 

haversack. 
Corporal  Simeon  Inglas  one  Cartridge  Box,  one  gun 

and  &  byanot,  one  powder  horn,  one  blanket. 
Corporal    Benjamin   Lovering,    Cadous  Box  &  silke 

handkerchief. 
Drums  &  Filers — Daniel  Lake,  [Jr.]  one  pair  of  suse 

[shoes]  one  blanket. 
Leme  Page  one  shagge  greatcoat. 
Richard  Alexender  caduse  Box  and  a  coate 
Thomas  Hutchinson  a  pare  of  trowsors. 
David  Davis  a  fine  shirt,  &  a  pare  of  yarn  hose. 
Jonathan  Lovejoy  a  surtout,  four  shirts,  one  coat,  two 

waistcoats,    one    gun,    three   pare   of  hose,   one 

pouch,  neckcloth,  one  pr.  of  trousers,  one  cat.- 

Box,  byanot. 
Nehimiah  Porter  a  Byanot. 
Thomas  Henderson  2  shirts,  2  pr.  hose,  coat  &  wast- 

coat  &  a  pare  of  Lether  breeches. 
James    Cochran    [Coffering?]    blanket,  pr.  briches, 

pr.  of  hose  a  Rasor,  havsack. 
Dudley  Griifen  a  coat  &  shirt. 


Benjamin  Beales,  a  shirt,  two  pr.  of  hose. 

Ezekiel  Demary  one  pr.  of  hose. 

Reuben  Paige  a  great  cote  and  one  shirt,  1  pr.  of  hose, 

1  powder  horn,  one  cartridge  box,  one  wastcoat. 
Obadiah  Marsh  one  shirt,  one  pr.  of  hose,  one  Havi- 

sack. 
Joell  Russell  1  coat,  1  pr.  Leather-briches,  1  pr.  hose, 

two  shirts,  one  hat,  one  powder  horn,  havesack. 
Jacob  Hobbs  one  blanket. 
Timothy  Rogers  one  shirt. 
God  fray  Riehison  one  pare  of  suses. 
Henry  Davis  one  pare  of  trousers. 
Hugh  Gregg  one  shag  great  coat,  1   shirt,   1  powder 

horn,  Bulet  pouch. 
Benjamin  Dole  lost  Comp'ys  bread  (?). 
Peter  Webster   a  felt   hat  and  coat  and    1   pare  of 

Leather-briches,  one  shirt,  one  havsak   and  one 

Belet  pouch. 
John  Thompson  one  pair  suses,  one  wast-coat,  1  shirt, 

2  pr.  of  trousers,  one  neck-cloth,  one  Havesack,  1 
pr.  of  hose,  1  gone  &  powder  horn. 

( reorge  Carlton,  Isaac  Adams,  and  Jonathan  Lovejoy, 
we  the  apprisors  of  this  Company  comput  their 
loss  of  guns  and  other  artikals  to  amount  of  £18, 
besid  the  loss  of  their  lives  or  in  captivity. 

Philip  Thomas,  Captain." 

The  companies  of  the  training-band  and 
minute-men  organized  in  this  town  were  under 
the  command  of  efficient  officers.  Their  names 
and  the  date  of  their  commissions  appear  in 
the  following  list.  The  dates  are  the  earliest 
that  can  be  given  with  a  certainty  of  accuracy, 
yet  a  few  of  the  officers  may  have  been  com- 
missioned previous  to  the  date  given, — 

Solomon  Cutler,  lieutenant,  177")  ;  captain,  1777. 
James  Crumbie,  lieutenant,   1776. 
Daniel  Rand,  ensign,  177">;   lieutenant,  1776;  cap- 
tain, 1778. 

Francis  Towne,   lieutenant,   1776;  captain,  1770. 

Ebenezer  Chaplin,  ensign,  177ti. 

Abel  Stones,  ensign,  1777. 

Page  Norcross,  lieutenant,  1777. 

Salmon  Stone,  ensign,  1777;  captain,  1777. 

Ebenezer  Davis,  lieutenant,  177S. 

Benjamin  Davis,  ensign,  1778. 

Jacob  Gould,  lieutenant,  1778. 

Ezekiel  Rami,  ensign,  1878. 


RINDGE. 


535 


Asa  Shenvin,  captain,  1778. 

Othniel  Thomas,  lieutenant,  1777  ;  captain,    1782. 

Isaac  Wood,  ensign  1779. 

Daniel  Adams,  ensign,  1880. 

Ebenezer  Fitch,  lieutenant,  1880. 

Benjamin  Foster,  lieutenant,  177'.). 

Nathaniel  Thomas,  lieutenant,  1779. 

John  Stanley,  lieutenant,  1777. 

Samuel  Tarbell,  lieutenant,  1779. 

John  Fills,  ensign,  1782. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  the  21st  day 
of  March,  Jonathan  Sherwin,  Edward  Jew- 
ett, Abel  Stone,  Francis  Towne  and  Daniel 
Rand  were  chosen  "  a  committee  of  inspection 
and  correspondence."  The  three  first  were  al- 
so selectmen  for  the  year.  Two  of  this  com- 
mittee  having  proved  their  efficient  service  in 
raising  men  and  joining  the  forces  in  the  field, 
and  a  third  being  absent  a  portion  of  the  time 
in  another  line  of  duty,  "  a  new  committee  of 
inspection,  safety  and  correspondence"  was 
chosen  in  September,  consisting  of  Lieutenant 
Ebenezer  Chaplin,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Russell,  Air. 
Page  Norcross,  Lieutenant  James  Crumbie  and 
Mr.  Jonathan  Sawtell. 

Association  Tksi 
the  association  test : 


The    following  signed 


Abraham   Wetherbee. 
Jeremiah  Towne. 
William  Carlton. 
Nehemiah  Towne. 
Benjamin  Bancroft. 
Enoch  Hale. 
Seth  Dean. 
Edward  Jewett. 
Jonathan    Shenvin. 
Wm  Russell. 
Jacob  Hobbs. 
John  Dean. 
Salmon  Stone. 
John  Handsome. 
James  Crumbie. 
Samuel  Tarbell. 
Nathaniel  Page. 
Solomon  Cutler. 
John  Demary. 
John  Hannaford. 


James  Streeter. 
Samuel    Paige,  Jr. 
Jacob  Gould. 
Caleb  Huston. 
David  Robbins. 
John    Thomson. 
Eleazer   Coffeen. 
Benjamin    Newman. 
Nehemiah  Porter. 
Reuben  Page. 
John  Lovejoy. 
Solomon    Whitney. 
William  Robbins. 
Samuel  Page. 
John  Fills. 
Fliakim   Darling. 
Jehosaphat  Grout. 
Othniel  Thomas. 
Daniel  Lake. 
Jonathan   Towne,   Jr. 


John  Page. 
John  Townsend. 
Ebenezer  Locke. 
Jeremiah    Chapman. 
Nathaniel  Russell. 
John  Simonds. 
Amasa  Turner. 
Nathan  Hubbard. 
Abel  Stone. 
John  Whitaker. 
James  Wood. 
Ebenezer  Chaplin. 
James  Gutter. 
John  Emery. 
Solomon  Rand. 
Joseph  Stanley. 
Jonathan  Sawtell. 
John  Shenvin. 
Paul  Fitch. 
James  Philbrick. 
John  Wetherbee. 
Ebenezer  Davis. 
Daniel  Rand. 
Jeremiah  Russell. 
Joshua  Webster. 
Benjamin  Carlton. 
Samuel  Stanley. 
Henry  Godding. 
Joel    Russell,  junr. 
Daniel  Davis. 
Jonathan  Ingalls. 
Caleb  Winn. 
Samuel  Walker. 
Ezekiel  Learned. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Jeremiah  Norcross. 
David  Hale. 
Richard  Tompson. 
Amos  Davis. 
George  Lake. 
James  Carlton. 
Jeduthan  Stanley. 
Nathaniel  Ingalls. 
Samuel   Russell. 
William  Davis. 
John  Fitch. 
Randall  Davis. 
Joshua  Tyler. 
Benjamin  Moore. 


Samuel  Shenvin. 
Richard  Kimball. 
Benjamin  Peirce. 
Samuel  Whiting. 
Oliver  Stevens. 
Isaac  Wood. 
Joseph  Platts. 
Zebulon  Con  vers. 
Simon  Davis. 
Jonathan    Putnam. 
Benjamin  Lovering. 
Ebenezer  Shaw. 
Abel  Platts. 
Benjamin  Gould. 
Elisha  Perkins. 
Page  Norcross. 
Aaron  Esty. 
Richard  Kimball,  Jr. 
Stephen  Jewett. 
Israel  Adams,  Jr. 
Nathaniel  Thomas. 
Jonathan  Ball. 
Nehemiah  Bowers. 
Francis  Towne. 
Moses  Hale. 
Richard  Davis. 
Deliverance   Wilson. 
Elijah  Rice. 
John  Gray. 
Gliver  Gould. 
Ichabod  Thomson. 
Jepthah  Richardson. 
Barnabas  Cary. 
John  Lovejoy,  Jr. 
John  Buswell. 
Abel  Platts,  Jr. 
Timothy  Wood. 
Simon  Davis,  Jr. 
Abel  Perkins. 
Fzekiel  Rand. 
Jonathan  Towne. 
Israel  Adams. 
Jabez  Norcross. 
Joel  Russell. 
Jonathan   Parker,  Jr. 
Thomas   Hutchinson. 
Daniel  Grag. 
Samuel  Parker. 
Ezekiel  Jewett. 


536 


HIST011Y  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Daniel  Adams. 
David  Adams. 
Samuel  Adams. 
Jonathan  Parker. 
Simeon  Ingalls. 


Henry  Smith. 
Levi  Mansfield. 
Asa  Tyler. 

Samuel  Adams. 
Abijah  Haskell. 


This  paper  is  one  of  uncommon  interest. 
Besides  preserving  the  names  of  many  residents 
of  the  town,  it  makes  known  that  there  were  no 
disloyal  or  timid  men  who  failed  to  respond  to 
the  test  of  their  patriotism.  The  proud  fact  is 
here  recorded,  "  they  have  all  signed,"  and  no 
comment  can  render  more  intelligible  this  ex- 
pression  of  the  sentiment  of  the  town  on  the 
vital  issues  of  the  time.  In  addition  to  the 
names  enrolled  on  this  pledge,  there  were  forty- 
five  men  in  the  service  who  were  not  permitted 
to  join  their  townsmen  in  signing  the  test.  A 
few  of  this  number,  however,  were  less  than 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  would  not  have 
been  requested  to  sign  the  paper  if  they  had 
remained  at  home.  These  men  not  only  as- 
serted their  patriotism  with  their  signatures, 
but  with  equal  alacrity  they  proved  their  sin- 
cerity by  joining  the  army  whenever  there  was 
a  call  tor  soldiers  to  fill  the  ranks.  During  the 
year  there  were  ninetv-one  enlistments  bv  resi- 
dents  of  this  town.  Of  this  number,  forty-five 
enlisted  for  the  year  ;  but  the  company  rolls 
containing  their  names  have  not  been  discovered 
and  only  a  part  of  their  names  can  be  given. 

The  list  includes  :  Major  (and  later  in  the 
year  Lieutenant-Colonel)  Nathan  Hale,  Cap- 
tain Philip  Thomas,  Ezekiel  Demary,  Daniel 
Lake,  dr.,  Benjamin  Beals,  Isaac  Leland,  Ben- 
jamin Davis,  Joseph  Wilson,  Daniel  McCarr, 
Amos  Ingalls,  Asa  Brocklebank,  John  Demary, 
Jr.,  Josiah  Ingalls,  .]\\,  Ebenezer  Muzzeyj 
Thomas  Emery,  Obadiah  Marsh,  David  Davis, 
Benjamin  Barley,  Benjamin  Parker,  Asa  W'il- 
kins,  Ebenezer  Ingalls,  Jonathan  Sawtell,  Jr., 
Ebenezer  Newman,  William  Davis,  and  several 
others,  whose  names  have  not  been  ascertained 
with  sufficient  certainty  t<>  warrant  their  men- 
tion. Alter  remaining  several  months  with  the 
army  near  Lake  Champlain,  they  joined  the  army 


under  Washington  in  Pennsylvania.  A  vote 
of  the  town,  in  December,  to  excuse  from  a 
per  capita  tax  all  those  "who  enlisted  last 
winter  until  the  first  of  January  next,"  has 
reference  to  these  men. 

In  July  of  this  year,  Colonel  Isaac  Wyman's 
regiment  of  New  Hampshire  militia  was 
raised  to  reinforce  the  army  in  Canada,  but 
joined  the  Northern  army,  then  commanded  by 
General  Gates,  General  Sullivan  having  made 
his  successful  retreat  with  the  broken  army  of 
General  Montgomery  before  their  arrival. 
Phis  regiment  remained  in  the  vicinity  of 
Ticonderoga  about  five  months,  and  suffered 
much  from  sickness.  Captain  Joseph  Parker 
commanded  the  Eighth  Company  in  this  regi- 
ment, of  which  Daniel  Rand,  of  liindgc,  was 
first  lieutenant.  The  roll  contains  fifteen  men 
from  this  town,  including  one  officer, — 


Daniel  Rand,  captain. 

William  Russell. 
Samuel  Parker. 
Reuben  Page. 
David  Hale. 
John  Simonds. 
( reorge  Clark. 
John  Stanley. 


Abel  Jewett. 
John  Eandsome. 
Jeremiab  Russell. 
Peter  Thompson. 
Thomas  Emery. 
Peter  Webster. 
John  Townsend. 


In  September,  Colonel  Nahum  Baldwin's 
regiment  was  raised  to  reinforce  the  army  in 
New  York.  James  Crnmbie  was  lieutenant  in 
Third  ( lompany,  which  contained  fourteen  other 
men  from  this  town,  as   follows  : 


Benjamin  Carlton. 
Jonathan  [ngalls. 
<  laleb  Page. 
Francis  Towne. 
Solomon  Rand. 
John  Page. 
Caleb  Huston. 


Lemuel  Page. 
Jonathan  Ball. 
Nathaniel  Thomas. 
James  Wood. 
Nebemiali  Towne. 
Samuel  Chaplin. 
Richard  Thompson. 


This  regiment  remained  with  the  army,  under 
the  immediate  command  of  General  Washing- 
ton, on  Long  Island,  and  vicinity  of  New 
York,  until  late  in  the  autumn,  or  the  first  of 
December.  November  5,  177<>,  Caleb  Huston 
died  at  Quaker  Ridges',  in  the  State  of  New- 
York,    leaving  a    wife   and   six    children,    who 


RINDGE. 


537 


resided  in  this  town  many  years.  This  com- 
pany was  commanded  by  Captain  Abijali 
Smith,  a  resident  of  New  Ipswich.  He  was 
the  carpenter  employed  to  build  the  first  saw- 
mill in  this  town,  in  1760.  Early  in  December, 
still  another  regiment  of  New  Hampshire 
militia,  commanded  by  Colonel  David  Gilman, 
was  sent  to  reinforce  the  disheartened  army 
under  General  Washington.  Francis  Towne, 
of  Rindge,  was  captain  of  the  First  Company, 
and  Nathaniel  Thomas  is  the  only  familiar 
name  found  upon  the  roll.  They,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  forty-five  men  who  had  enlisted 
for  the  year,  did  good  service  for  their  country, 
participating  in  the  triumph  over  the  Hessians 
at  Trenton,  and  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
Princeton.  Although  poorly  clad  and  suffer- 
ing from  the  cold  of  winter,  they  remained 
with  the  army  several  weeks  after  their  term 
of  enlistment  had  expired. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  thirteen  men 
enlisted  in  response  to  a  sudden  call  for  assist- 
ance at  Ticonderoga,  and  were  absent  from 
three  to  six  weeks.  Their  names  have  not  been 
ascertained,  and  perhaps  the  company  to  which 
they  belonged  was  not  joined  to  any  regiment, 

November   8th,  John    Martin  enlisted   "  for 

during  the  war  "   in    a    company    of   rangers, 

commanded   by  Captain    Benjamin  Whitcomb, 

which  was  raised  for  the  defense  of  the  northern 

frontiers.     Martin  was  in  this  service  in  1781, 

and   probably  remained   until   the  close  of  the 

wa  r. 

"  Sir  "  Rindge,  Feb.  4,  1777. 

"  In  consequence  of  orders  Recd  for  raising  119  men 

to  serve  in  some  one  of  the  three  Continental  Batallions 

of  this  State  for  three  years  or  during  the  war,  they 

being  proportined  to  the  several  Towns  in  my  Reg', 

agreeable  to  some  former  return  which,  by  there  late 

returns,  appeared  to  be   Equal,    we    have   therefore 

Proportioned  them  in  the  following  maner. 

New  Ipswick  to  raise  22  Dublin  to  raise  8 

Rindge  "      "      17  Marlborough  "      "      6 

Jaflrey  "      "      14  Stoddard  "      "      6 

Peterborough"      "      14  Packersfield    "      "      5 

Temple  "      "      13  Washington     "      "     4 

Fitzwilliam     "      "        8  Sliptown  "      "      2 

119 


Abijah  Haskell. 
Samuel  Whiting. 
Thomas  Hutchinson. 
Daniel  McCarr. 


In  April,  1777,  Rindge  returned  sixteen 
men  in  Blodgett's  company,  Colonel  Hale's 
regiment.     Nine  of  them  were, — 

Isaac  Leland. 
John  Handsome. 
Oliver  Bacon. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Samuel  Godding. 

In  Cloye's  company,  Hale's  regiment  were, — 

William  Kendell.  Jonathan  Lake. 

David  Brooks.  Snow  Boyton. 

Enoch  Dockman,  in  Drew's  company. 
Ezekiel  Demary,  in  Carr's  company. 
Moses  Thomas,  in  the  Bay  State  service. 

A  company  of  fifty-one  men,  under  Captain 
Josiah  Brown,  of  New  Ipswich,  was  raised  in 
this  vicinity.  Lieutenant  Asa  Shcrwin,  of 
Rindge,  was  second  in  command.  The  company 
was  joined  to  Colonel  Samuel  Ashley's  regiment, 
and  May  6th  marched  for  Ticonderoga,  where 
they  remained  until  all  fears  of  an  immediate 
attack  were  quieted,  when  they  were  ordered 
home  and  discharged  June  21st,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  six  weeks.  The  men  from  Rindge  in 
this  service,  fourteen  in  number,  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Jonathan  Iugalls,  orderly  sergeant. 
Asa  Sherwin,  first  lieutenant. 

David  Adams.  Amos  Ingalls. 

Samuel  Adams.  Jonathan  Parker. 

Moses  Chaplin.  Abel  Platts. 

Samuel  Chaplin.  Joseph  Stanley. 

John  Emery.  William  Thompson. 

Moses  Hale.  Peter  Webster. 

Pay-roll  of  part  of  Colonel  Enoch  Hale's 
regiment,  which  marched  from  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire  June  29,  1777,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Heald,  to 
reinforce  the  garrison  at  Ticonderoga, — 

Salmon  Stone,  captain. 

Othniel  Thomas,  lieutenant. 

Samuel  Tarbell,  ensign. 

Thaddeus  Fitch,  quartermaster. 
Edward  Jewett,  sergeant.  Hezekiah  Hubbard. 
John  Demary,  sergeant.      Enos  Lake. 
Jonathan  Sawtell,  serg't.     Simon  Davis. 
Nathaniel  Ingalls,  serg't.     Daniel  Lake,  Esq. 
Samuel  Russell,  corporal.   Jacob  Gould,  lieutenant. 


538 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Ebenezer  Newman,  corp 
Lemuel  Page,  titer. 
Paul  Fitch. 
Henry  Lake. 
David  Bobbins. 
Samuel  Walker. 
Reuben  Russell. 
Joseph  l'latts,  Jr. 
Samuel  Sherwin. 
Caleb  Ingalls. 


Oliver  Gould. 
Samuel  Stanley. 
Solomon  Cutler,  captain. 
John  Demary,  Jr. 
Samuel  Chaplin. 
David  I  [ale. 
Silas  Page. 
Ezekiel  Learned. 
Caleb  Page. 
Abel  l'latts. 

"Kkene,  July  y"  3rd,  1777. 


S 


irs 


"There  is  an  express  come  to  town,  from  Ticonde- 
roga  this  morning,  thai  they  are  in  Distress  for  want 
of  men,  the  enemy  having  made  their  appearance 
there.  My  Company  being  dismissed  yesterday,  I 
have  not  more  than  about  Twenty  men,  if  yon  think 
Proper  to  send  more  men  from  Rindge,  I  should  be 
glad  if  you  would  send  them  on  as  fast  as  possible  and 
likewise  bring  Provision  with  them,  there  being  no 
Provision  to  be  had  at  Charlestown.  1  will  march 
with  what  men  1  have. 

"  I  remain  your  Humble  Serv', 

"Sal. \iu\  Stone,  Captain.'" 


The  men    that   are  going  to  march  from 


"N.B 
Rindge  are  the  following: 


"Salmon  Stone,  captain. 
Othniel  Thomas,  lieut. 
Ensign  Tarbell. 
Quartermaster  Fitch. 
Sergeant  Jewett. 
Lemuel  Page. 
Henry  Lake. 
Enos  Lake. 
Simon  Davis. 
Paul  Fitch. 
Samuel  Russell. 


Caleb  Ingalls. 
Jonathan  Ingalls. 
Jonathan  Sawtell. 
John  Demary,  Jr. 
Ebenezer  Newman. 
Samuel  Walker. 
Joseph  Platts,  Jr. 
Hezekiah  Hubbard. 
Reuben  Russell. 
Samuel  Sherwin. 
David  Robbins." 


Captain  Josiah  Brown,  of  New  Ipswich,  who 
commanded  the  company  that  responded  to  the 
alarm  in  May,  had  been  home  but  a  tew  days 
when  the  second  alarm  was  given,  lie  im- 
mediately raised  another  company,  and  by 
fonvd  inarches  reached  Charlestown  the  last  day 
of  June  or  the  1st  day  of  July,  where  lie  re- 
ceived orders  to  return.  While  passing- through 
Rindge,  the  3d  day  of  July,  the  date  of  Cap- 
tain Stone's  letter,  he  was  overtaken  by  an  ex- 
press bearing  intelligence  similar  to  thai  received 
by  the  other  returning  companies.     Within  ten 


miles  of  their  home,  this  officer  and  twenty-six 
of  his  men  instantly  turned  about,  and  with  the 
company  from  Rindge  soon  joined  the  retreating 
army  near  Rutland.  They  were  soon  discharged 
and  returned  after  an  absence  of  nearly  one 
month.  During  these  rapid  and  unexpected 
movements  in  the  field,  the  town  and  the  patriot 
cause  sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the  capture  of 
Colonel  Nathan  Hale. 

"Pay  Roll  of  Capt.  Salmon  Stone's  Company  in  Col. 
Nichols'  Regiment,  Gen'l  Stark's  Brigade  raised  out 
of  the  14  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire  Militia, 
Enoch  Hale,  Colonel,  which  company  marched 
from  Rindge  in  said  state  July  1777  ami  joined  the 
Northern  Continental  Army  at  Bennington  and  Still- 
water. 

"Thaddeus  Fitch,  quartermaster  of  the  regiment. 
Salmon  Stone,  Capt. 
John  Stanley,  second  Lieut. 
Abel  Stone,  sergeant  advanced  to  ensign. 


John  Dean. 
William  Davis. 
Eliakim  Darling. 
Moses  Hale,  Jr. 
Ebenezer  [ngalls. 
Elisba  Perkins. 
David  Robinson. 
Reuben  Russell. 
David  Sherwin. 
Henrv  Smith. 


Daniel  Adams. 
Benjamin  Beals. 

Amos  [ngalls. 
Henry  Lake. 
Joseph  l'latts. 
Reuben  Page. 
Jonathan  Sawtell,  Jr. 
Peter  Webster. 
Joseph  Wilson.'' 


"Pay  Loll  of  Captain  Daniel  Rand's  Company  in  Col" 
Daniel  Moore's  Regiment  of  Volunteers  in  the  state 
of  New  Hampshire,  joined  the  Northern  Continen- 
tal Army  under  General  Gates.  Discharged  at  Sar- 
atoga October  18  1777  and  allowed  eight  days  to 
travel  home,  the  distance  being  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles. 


1  >aniel  Land, 
Nathaniel  Thomas,serg'l 
John  Demary,  serg't 
Benjamin  Beals,  corp'l. 
Enos  Lake,  corp'l. 
Dan'l  Lake,  Jr., drummer 
Lemuel  Page,  filer. 

Jacob  (  rould. 

( laleb  Page. 

Jeremiah  Russell. 
Solomon  Rami. 
Caleb  Winn. 


Captain. 

,    Henry  Lake. 

Jonathan  Lake. 

Samuel  Chaplin. 

Reuben  Russell. 

Ebenezer  Shaw 

Joshua  Tyler. 

Amos  Towne. 

Asa  Wilkins. 

William    Robbins. 

I  Eezekiab  Wetherbee." 


RINDGE. 


539 


Joel  Russell  and  James  Philbrick  were  in 
another  company  in  the  same  regiment. 

On  the  3d  of  August  John  Handsome  was 
killed  at  the  outposts  of  the  army,  and  Isaac 
Leland  died  on  the  3d  of  the  following  month. 
The  former  was  thirty-four  and  the  latter  forty 
years  of  age.  Daniel  Russell,  another  Conti- 
nental soldier,  was  wounded  severely  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Stillwater,  from  which  he  did  not  recover 
sufficiently  to  be  able  to  return  to  his  company. 

James  Crumbie  was  appointed  lieutenant  and 
assigned  to  Captain  Blodgett's  company,  in  the 
Second  Continental  (or  Colonel  Nathan  Hale's) 
Regiment,  in  the  autumn  of  1776,  or  early  in  the 
following  year.  He  continued  with  his  regiment 
until  September  1st,  when  he  received  an  injury 
from  a  fall  from  his  horse. 

April  3,  1777,  the  town 

"Voted  to  Chose  Richard  Kimball  moderator  to 
govern  said  meeting. 

"  Voted,  to  Raise  the  men,  by  a  Rate,  also  to  make 
an  allowance  to  those  that  have  done  anything  in  the 
war  and  the  allowance  shall  be  as  follows  ;  viz : 

"  All  those  that  have  served  in  the  army  as  long  as 
may  be  thought  to  be  their  proportion  for  past  service 
and  for  the  present  draught  for  three  years,  in  the 
judgment  of  a  Committee  shall  be  excluded  out  of  the 
rate. 

"  Voted  for  the  present  draught  &  all  others  that 
have  done  any  part  of  a  Turn  shall  be  allowed  Credit 
as  much  to  each  months  service  as  it  shall  cost  per 
month  for  the  seventeen  men  now  to  be  raised  or  such 
of  them  as  we  shall  hire  for  thirty-six  months,  which 
shall  be  made  in  the  same  Rate  and  the.  Credit  de- 
ducted accordingly. 

"Also  Voted  to  choose  a  Committee  Of  seven  men  to 
manage  the  same. 

"  Chose  Capt  Solomon  Cutler,  Ens.  Salmon  Stone, 
Page  Norcross,  Enoch  Hale,  Esqr.,  Capt.  Francis 
Towne,  Lieut.  Daniel  Rand  &  Edward  Jewett,  Com- 
mittee as  aforesd." 

"Staff Roll  of  Col.  Enoch  Hale's  regiment  of  vol- 
unteers, which  regiment  marched  from  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  joined  the  Continental  Army 
in  Rhode  Island,  August  1778.  Two  days  are 
added  to  the  time  in  service  for  travel  home  after 
discharge  at  Rhode  Island. 


£   s.  d. 

Enoch  Hale,  Colonel 36    1  8 

Joseph  Parker,  Major 25    6  8 

Isaac  Howe,  Adjutant 20  14  8 

John  Mellen,  Quartermaster 15  15  4 

Jonas  Prescott,  Surgeon 28    0  8 

Simeon  Gould,  Sergeant  Major 10  15  8  " 

Dr.  Prescott  had  recently  settled  in  Rindge. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  Templeton,  Mass., 
where  he  died,   after  a  successful   practice   of 
many  years.    In  this  regiment  were  thirty-three 
men  from  Rindge,  including  officers. 
Lieut.  Samuel  Tarbell,  in  Capt.  Cunningham's  com- 
pany. 
Ensign  Ezekial  Rand,  in  Capt.  Cunningham's  com- 
pany. 
Ensign  John  Stanley,  in  Capt.  Twitchell's  company. 

Jonathan  Sawtell,  sergt.      Solomon  Rand. 
Nathaniel  Thomas,  corp.    William  Russell. 

Lemuel  Page,  fifer.  Hezekiah  Sawtell. 

John  Simonds.  John  Demary. 

John  Gray.  Joseph  Platts. 

Ezekial  Learned.  Samuel  Stanley. 

Samuel  Russell.  William  Carlton. 

Samuel  Page.  Ebenezer  Platts. 

David  Robbins.  Thaddeus  Fitch. 

Samuel  Walker.  Joseph  Stanley. 

Benjamin  Carlton.  Henry  Lake. 

Reuben  Page.  Amos  Towne. 

Timothy  Wood.  John  Emery. 

Jeremiah  Norcross.  Ephraim  Holden. 

The  private  received  £10  10s.,  at  the  rate  of 
£5  per  month. 

Another  regiment  in  this  expedition,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stephen  Pea- 
body,  which  remained  in  the  service  until  the 
following  December,  included  three  soldiers, 
Abel  Platts,  Jr.,  and  two  others  from  this  town. 

Other  soldiers  were, — 

Abel  Jewett.  Ensign  Daniel  Adams. 

Peter  Webster.  Barnabas  Carey. 

David  Robinson.  John  Buswell. 

J.  Sawtells,  Jr.  Jas.  Phillbrick. 

Abel  Kimball.  Amos  Ingalls. 

Simeon  Bruce.  Joshua  Hale. 

J.  Lake.  Samuel  Walker. 

B.  Dwinnel.  Benj.  Beals. 

Thos.  Demary.  Caleb  Page. 
Ebenezer  Platts. 


540 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY.  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


War  of  the  Rebellion. — The  town  of 
Rindge  responded  promptly  to  the  call  for  men 
during  this  struggle,  and  the  following  is  a  list 
of  those  who  were  in  the  service  : 


George  W.  Cragin. 
Henry  E.  Burritt. 
Henry  E.  Ballou. 
Oliver  S.  White. 
Albert  S.  Murphy. 
Hercules  W.  Raymond. 
Charles  Brown. 
Otave  Demone. 
Horace  C.  Bennett. 
Oscar  I.  Converse. 
George  W.  Cragin. 
Andrew  S.  Ballou. 
Ambrose  Butler. 
Henry  E.  Burritt. 
Morton  E.  Converse. 
Cyrus  J.  Clapp. 
George  M.  Cram. 
Augustus  A.  Chamber- 
lain. 
Henry  H.  Davis. 
John  A.  Durant. 
Christopher  C.  Demary. 
James  Fitz. 
Charles  F.  Gibson. 
Paul  Greenleaf. 
John  Hecker. 
Erastus  D.  Hall. 
John  W.  Hastings. 
Joshua  T.  Hunt. 
Jairus  W.  Hodge. 
George  S.  Kimball. 
Howard  Rand. 
William  H.  Rugg. 
E.  F.  Rice. 


John  I.  Reynolds. 
James  E.  Richardson. 
Justin  S.  Richardson. 
Henry  H.  Sherwin. 
Nathan  Smith. 
Walter  W.  Smith. 
Willard  Simonds. 
Edward  P.  Stratton. 
David  Stowe. 
J.  Shaffee. 
Thomas  R.  Todd. 
George  A.  Whitney. 
Thomas  S.  Whitney. 
William  L.  Whitney. 
Leonard  P.  Wellington. 
Almon  F.  Nutting. 
James  W.  Russell. 
George  Allen. 
Charles  B.  Brooks. 
Samuel  W.  Fletcher. 
William  A.  Kemp. 
George  F.  Gilmore. 
George  Stearns. 
Julius  Stratton. 
Charles  W.  Symonds. 
Marshall  P.  Wood. 
James  B.  Perry. 
Marion  W.  Converse. 
Darwin  A.  Smith. 
John  L.  Webster. 
Sargent  A.  Webster. 
George  W.  Lawrence. 
Wm.  H.  Parsons. 
Reuben  A.  Buzzell. 


The  following  furnished  substitutes 


Clovis  M.  Converse. 
Conrad  R.  Converse. 
Eben  B.  Cutter. 
Henry  S.  Drury. 
William  A.  Hale. 
Lyman  Hall. 
David  L.  Hubbard. 


Willard  G.  Jones. 
Prucius  W.  Manley. 
Augustus  F.  Symonds. 
Albert  H.  Thomas. 
J.  Warren  Wilder. 
John  A.  White. 
Henry  C.  Whitcomb. 

James  B.  Robbins  paid  commutation.  A 
few  months  later  Lyman  Hale  was  drafted  and 
furnished  a  substitute. 

Four  surgeons  from  this  town  were  in  the 
service, — Dr.  J.  Homer  Darling,  Dr.  George 
B.  Jewett,  Dr.  Josiah  Abbott  and  Dr.  George 
J.  Norcross. 

The  town  paid  over  thirty  thousand  dollars 
for  bounties,  besides  increased  incidental  ex- 
penses of  the  period,  and  upwards  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  disbursed  by  the  war  committee, 
which  was  not  assumed  bv  the  State.  The  se- 
lectmen  during  this  period  were  : 

Martin  L.  Goddard,  1861. 
Benjamin  Hale,  1861,  1862. 
Zachariah  F.  Whitney,  1861,  1862,  1863. 
Rodney  A.  Hubbard,  1862. 
Jason  B.  Perry,  1863,  1864,  1865. 
Joseph  S.  Wetherbee,  1863,  1864. 
Ezekiel  Cudworth,  1864,  1865. 
Josiah  Stratton,  1865. 

The  First  Congregational  Church  was 
organized  in  1765.  Rev.  Seth  Payson,  D.D., 
was  first  pastor.  The  pastors  from  that  time  to 
the  present  have  been  Revs.  Seth  Payson,  D.D., 
Amos  W.  Burnham,  D.D.,  F.  G.  Clark,  E.  J. 
Riggs  and  R.  T.  Wilton. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1764. 

The  Methodist  Church,  West  Rindge, 
was  organized  in  1827.  The  present  pastor  is 
Rev.  Arthur  W.  L.  Nelson. 


HISTORY  OF  WINCHESTER. 


BY   GEORGE   W.    PIERCE,  M.D. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

Winchester  is  situated  in  the  southwesterly 
part  of  Cheshire  County,  in  latitude  N.  42° 
45',  and  longitude  west  from  Greenwich  72° 
25',  and  is  bounded  :  Southwardly  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  line,  opposite  the  towns  of  War- 
wick and  Northfield ;  eastwardly  by  the  towns 
of  Richmond  and  Swanzey ;  northwardly  by 
the  towns  of  Swanzey  and  Chesterfield,  and 
westwardly  by  the  town  of  Hinsdale. 

It  lies  southwest  from  Keene  thirteen  miles, 
southwest  from  Concord,  N.  H.,  sixty-five  miles, 
west  from  Boston,  Mass.,  eighty  miles,  and  east 
from  Brattleborough,  Vt.,  twelve  miles.  Its 
population  in  1880  was  two  thousand  four 
hundred  and  forty-four. 

As  originally  granted  by  the  province  of 
Massachusetts,  June  21,  1733,  the  grant  was 
nearly  in  the  form  of  a  reversed  block  letter  L 
(rj),  and  lay  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of 
Northfield,  and  was  bounded  : 

"  Commencing  at  a  corner  on  the  Connecticut 
River,  where  the  little  brook,  the  first  south  of,  and 
very  near  the,  Liscomb  Brook,  so  called,  empties  into 
the  river.  (This  point  is  at  the  north  end  of  the  inter- 
vale now  belonging  to  the  farm  of  the  late  Obed 
Adams,  in  Hinsdale.  This  corner  was  also  the  south- 
westerly corner  of  a  farm  of  five  hundred  acres  in  ex- 
tent, owned  by  Governor  Jonathan  Belcher,  of  Massa- 
chusetis.)  Thence  running  up  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Connecticut  River,  4  miles  180  rods,  to  the  point  that 
is  the  present  northwest  corner  of  Hinsdale,  and  the 
southwest  corner  of  Chesterfield,  on  this  bank  of  the 
river,  and  is  just  opposite  the  north  end  of  the  island  at 


the  Brattleboro'  Toll-Bridge  (so  called),  and  includes 
the  same ;  thence  running  eastwardly  8  miles  180  rods  ; 
thence  southwardly  6  miles  132  rods;  thence  west- 
wardly 2  miles  160  rods ;  thence  northwardly  5 
miles  20  rods ;  thence  westwardly  3  miles  240  rods  to 
the  place  of  beginning." 

The  exact  description  is : 

"  Begin ing  at  ye  River,  at  a  maple-tree,  the  south- 
westerly corner  of  His  Excellency's,  Governour  Bel- 
cher's, Farm  (said  to  be  the  northern  bounds  of 
Northfield) ;  from  thence  running  up  ye  said  Connec- 
ticut River  Four  miles  and  one-half  and  twenty  rods, 
taking  in  two  small  Islands  at  the  upper  end  ;  from 
thence  east  twelve  degrees,  to  ye  south  eight  miles 
and  a  half  and  twenty  (rods)  perches,  to  an  heap  of 
stones  ;  then  south  six  miles  one-quarter  and  fifty-two 
rods,  to  an  heap  of  stones  ;  then  west  two  miles  and 
an  half,  to  a  white  pine-tree,  marked  ;  from  thence 
north  eighteen  and  an  half  degrees,  west  three  miles 
one-quarter  and  sixty  perches,  to  a  black-oak  tree, 
marked  ;  then  north  one  mile  and  an  half  and  forty 
perches,  to  a  heap  of  stones  ;  then  west  three  miles 
and  three-quarters,  to  the  maple-tree,  the  first  men- 
tioned bound.  There  is  allowed  about  one  rod  in  twenty 
for  uneven  land  and  swag  of  chain;  also,  there's  al- 
lowed 739  acres  for  farms  already  Layed  out,  with 
two  hundred  acres  allowance  for  ponds  and  rivers." 

This  survey  was  made  and  completed  by 
Joseph  Blanchard,  May  10,  1733,  and  was  con- 
firmed by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  June  21,  1733. 

This  township,  thus  granted,  was  first  called 
Earlington,  but  shortly  the  E  dropped,  and  it 
became  known  as  Arlington. 

This  grant  was  made  in  response  to  a  petition 

541 


542 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  and  sixty-three  others 
of  Lunenburg,  Mass.,  "  To  the  Great  and  Gen- 
eral Court  or  Assembly  for  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  held  at  Boston  April  4, 
1733."     The  petition  reads  : 

"  A  petition  of  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  and  sixty- 
three  others,  praying  for  a  Grant  of  a  Tract  of  Land 
six  mile  square,  Lying  on  the  east  side  of  Connecti- 
cut River  between  Northfield  and  the  Truck  House, 
to  be  by  them  settled  into  a  Township,  under  such 
regulations  and  upon  such  conditions  as  this  Court 
in  their  wisdom  shall  judge  most  fit." 

And  it  met  with  the  following  response: 

"  Ordered,  that  the  prayer  of  the  Petition  be  so  far 
Granted  as  that  ye  Petitioners  be  allowed  by  a  sur- 
veyor and  chain-men,  under  oath,  to  lay  out  a  tract 
of  Land  of  the  contents  of  six  miles  square,  on  the 
east  side  of  Connecticut  River,  on  the  Northern 
Bounds  of  Northfield,  under  the  limitations  follow- 
ing, viz. :  That  the  tract  be  Layed  out  and  a  plan 
thereof  Presented  to  this  Court  for  Confirmation 
within  Eighteen  months  Next  after  the  date  of  this 
Grant ;  and  that  within  six  months  next  after  the 
confirmation  of  the  Grant,  there  be  sixty-seven  home 
lots  to  draw  equal  future  divisions,  and  that  there  be 
within  two  years  from  the  confirmation  aforesaid, 
forty  Families,  settled  on  forty  of  the  aforesaid 
Lots,  each  family  having  an  house  of  eighteen  feet 
square  and  seven  feet  stud  at  ye  least,  and  four  acres 
of  Land  fitted  for  plowing  and  mowing  ;  and  that 
within  three  years  from  the  Confirmation  aforesaid, 
They  build  a  Convenient  House  for  the  Publick 
Worship  of  God  and  settle  a  learned  orthodox  min- 
ister ;  and  that  twenty-four  Lots  more  be  set- 
tled with  a  suitable  family  on  each  lot  within  Ten 
years  ;  and  within  two  years  from  the  Grant  the  Pe- 
titioners clear  and  make  a  convenient  Trai vailing 
Road  of  twelve  feet  wide,  from  Lunenburg  to  North- 
field,  and  build  an  House  forreceving  and  entertain- 
ing of  Travilers  on  the  said  road,  midway  between 
Northfield  and  Lunenburg  aforesaid;  and  for  encour- 
agement of  a  suitable  family  to  settle  in  said  Hou.se, 
it  is  resolved  there  be  granted  to  him  that  will 
dwell  in  said  House  for  the  space  of  seven  years  from 
said  Grant,  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  Land 
about  midway  on  the  road  aforesaid,  and  that  ye 
aforesaid   petitioners  be   allowed,  within  six  months 


from  ye  date  of  this  Grant,  by  a  surveyor  and  chain- 
men,  under  oath,  to  lay  out  the  aforesaid  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres,  a  plan  thereof  to  be  presented  to  this 
Court  for  confirmation  within  two  months  after  the 
survey.  And  it  is  further  ordered  that  three  of  the 
aforesaid  sixty-seven  Lots  be  for  Publick  use  with  all 
future  divisions  belonging  to  each  ;  one  Lot  for  ye 
first  settled  minister;  another  to  ye  ministry,  and  the 
other  to  the  use  of  schools,  or  therewith  to  ye  first 
three  settled  ministers  successively,  each  Lot  to  be 
disposed  of  either  the  one  way  or  the  other  as  ye  pro- 
prietors or  inhabitants  shall  think  most  for  the  pub- 
lick good  of  the  Town.  And  it  is  further  ordered 
that  the  petitioners  be  empowered  to  make  such'or- 
ders  and  rules  as  may  be  needful  and  conducive  to 
bring  forward  the  settlement  according  to  the  true 
interests  and  meaning  of  this  order.  And  it  is  fur- 
ther resolved,  that  in  case  the  petitioners  do  not  well 
and  truly  comply  with  the  terms  and  conditions 
aforementioned,  The  Lands  hereby  granted  shall  re- 
vert to  ye  Province  and  be  and  belong  to  it  as  if  this 
Grant  had  never  been. 

"  In  Council  Read  and  Concurred,  Consented  to 

"J.  Belcher." 

Northfield  immediately  claimed  that  there 
was  an  encroachment  upon  her  territory  to  the 
extent  of  three  thousand  acres.  On  the  same 
day  the  error  was  corrected,  viz.  June  21,  1783, 
and  an  act  passed  by  the  General  Court  of 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  confirming  and 
establishing  the  survey  of  Timothy  Dwight 
Esq.,  as  made  by  him  for  the  Northfield  grant 
in  1685.  This  encroachment  must  have  been 
upon  the  Northern  end  of  Northfield  and  have 
included  the  Governor  Belcher  grant,  as  before 
mentioned,  and  have  been  a  strip  of  the 
same  width  as  this  grant,  viz.,  three  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  perches  on  the  Connecticut 
River,  and  have  extended  three  and  three- 
fourths  miles  eastwardly,  which  was  just  the 
width  of  the  township  of  Northfield.  So  much 
of  the  original  grant  of  Earlington  having 
been  rendered  null  and  void,  and  the  equiva- 
lent of  land  thus  granted  through  error  was 
regranted  elsewhere  on  the  petition  of  the  Earl- 
ington  grantees         Thus  the  west  boundary  of 


WINCHESTER. 


543 


Earlington  grant,  upon  the  Connecticut  River, 
was  reduced  from  four  miles,  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty  rods  to  three  miles  and  twenty-three 
rods  ;  and  the  west  boundary,  as  it  was  bound- 
ed upon  Northfield,  was  lengthened  from  five 
miles  and  twenty  rods  to  six  miles  and  seventy- 
seven  rods.  This  change  in  the  boundary  of  the 
grant  continued  during  the  entire  period  of 
its  existence  as  a  plantation,  and  beyond,  viz., 
tillJuly2,  1753. 

The  grant  was  confirmed  under  date  of 
June  21,  1733,  as  follows  : 

"la  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  21st  1733. 
Read  and  accepted  and  voted  that  the  Lands  within 
deliniated  and  described,  be  and  hereby  are  con- 
firmed unto  ye  said  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  and  the 
other  Petitioners,  their  heirs  and  assigns  respectively 
forever,  Provided  it  exceeds  not  the  quantity  of  six 
miles  square  and  does  not  interfere  with  any  former 
Grant  and  that  ye  Petitioners  comply  with  ye  con- 
ditions of  ye  Grant.     Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

"  J.  Quincy,  Speaker. 

"  In  council  June  21st  1733.     Read  and  concurred 

and  consented  to 

"J.  Belcher." 

Having  thus  established  the  outlines  of  the 
plantation  or  township  of  Earlington  the  ac- 
tion of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  "  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  of  the  date 
of  April  25,  1733,  became  of  force,  it  hav- 
ing then  been 

"  Voted,  that  Col.  Josiah  Willard  be  and  hereby  is 
fully  authorized  and  impowered  to  assemble  and  con- 
vene the  Proprietors  or  Grantees  of  the  Plantation 
lately  made  by  this  Court,  of  a  tract  of  Land  on  the 
easterly  side  of  the  Connecticut  River  above  North- 
field,  at  such  time  and  place  as  he  shall  appoint,  to 
choose  a  Moderator  and  Clerk  and  to  make  such  orders 
and  rules  as  may  be  proper  and  needful  to  bring  for- 
ward the  settlement  of  the  plantation  according  to 
the  condition  of  ye  Grant. 

"  Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"  J.  Quincy,  Speaker. 

"In  Council  Apr.  25th  1733.  Read  and  Concurred 
and  consented  to 

"  J.  Belcher." 


Colonel  Willard,  who,  acting  under  the  au- 
thority conferred  upon  him  by  the  act  of  April 
25th,  issued  the  following  warrant : 

"Persuant  to  an  order  of  the  Great  and  General 
Court,  These  are  to  warn  and  give  notice  to  ye 
Grantees  or  projirietors  of  the  plantation  or  Township 
Lately  Granted  by  the  Said  Court  on  the  East  side  of 
Connecticut  River  above  Northfield,  etc.  That  they 
assemble  and  meet  at  the  House  of  Mr.  Isaac  Farns- 
worth,  in  Lunenburg  on  the  fourth  monday  of  may, 
Currant  at  one  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon.  To 
the  end  that  being  met  and  Duly  formed.  They  may 
then  and  there  chuse  a  Moderator  and  Clerk,  and 
make  such  orders  and  Rules  as  may  be  thought  need- 
ful, to  bring  forward  the  settlement  of  ye  plantation, 
according  to  ye  condition  of  ye  Grant.  Also  to  hear 
and  accept  the  report  of  those  persons  Employed  in 
Surveying  and  Laying  out  of  the  Township  and  Road, 
&c,  and  Impower  some  person  or  persons  to  present 
the  plan  thereof  to  ye  General  Court  for  Confirma- 
tion. Also  to  order  payment  of  all  the  Charges  that 
has  arisen,  in  getting  the  Grant,  Surveying  the  plan- 
tation, &c,  and  grant  and  Raise  money  for  that  pur- 
pose, or  make  such  Grants  of  Land  as  shall  be 
thought  proper  for  that  end,  to  any  persons  to  whom 
the  proprietors  are  Indebted.  Also  To  Give  such 
encouragement  to  any  person  or  persons  as  shall  be 
disposed  to  build  a  mill  or  mills  in  said  plantation  to 
accommodate  the  settlers,  in  money  or  Land  as  may 
be  thought  proper.  Also  to  agree  upon  some  way  and 
method  of  clearing  and  making  of  a  Traivailing  Road 
from  Northfield  to  Lunenburg,  and  raise  money  for 
that  purpose,  &c.  Also  to  shew  their  minds  con- 
cerning the  purchasing  the  Farms  lying  within  the 
Bounds  of  the  Plantation  and  if  they  see  cause  to 
Grant  money  for  that  end  and  chuse  and  Impower 
proper  persons  to  manage  and  transact  any  of  the 
affairs  aforesd  and  also  agree  upon  some  proper 
method  for  calling  of  proprietors'  meetings  for  ye 
future,  and  the  place  where  they  shall  be  held. 
"  Dated  May  9th  1833.    "  Josiah  Willard. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  ye  Proprietors  or  Grantees  of  the 
Plantation  or  Township.1  Lately  made  by  ye 
Great  and  General  Court  of  ye  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  of  a  Tract  of  Landon  ye  East- 
erly side  of  Connecticut    River,    above  Northfield, 

1  The  words"  or  Township"  are  crossed  out  in  the  original. 


544 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


held    at    Lunenburg    May   28,h    1733.      Voted    and 
chose    Colonel     Josiah    Willard,    Esq.,    Moderator, 
also  voted  and  chose  Benjamin  Prescott,  Esq.,   Pro- 
prietors Clerk.   Voted  and  chose  Col.  Josiah  Willard, 
Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander,  Capt.  Johnathan  Hub- 
bard, Joseph  Kellog,  Esq.,  and  Capt.  Edward  Hart- 
well,  be  a  committee,  Directed  and  fully  impowered 
to  lay  out  in  that  part  of  the  Township  near  the  place 
called   'The   Bow'    and  '  Mirey    Brook,'     At    least 
forty-two  House  Lots,  two  of  which  be  for  Publick 
use,  and  that  one  Publick  Lot  be  Layed  out  on  or 
near  the  Great  River,  and  Twenty  six  more  be  Layed 
out  near  the  one  place  or  the  other,  as  The  Commit- 
tee shall  judge  best  upon  further  viewing  of  the  Land. 
That  the  Lots  be  Layed  out  in  as  defensible  a  man- 
ner as  may  be,  and   the  least  Lot  to  contain  Thirty 
acres,  and  where  the  Land  shall  not  be  so  good  as  the 
best,  the  Committee  are  to  Lay  out  a  greater  quantity 
or   number  of  acres  so  that  all  the  lots  be  equal  in 
value  in  the  Judgment  of  ye  Comity,  A  due  regard 
being  had  to  their  situation  and  other  circumstances. 
That  the  Comitee  employ  in  said  service  an  able  sur- 
veyor and    take  a  plan  of  the  Lots  and    after  the 
work  is  accomplished  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  be 
called,  Lots  made  and  each   proprietor  Draw  his  al- 
lotment ;  and  that  the  charges  of  the  whole  be  paid 
upon  a  drawing  of  the  Lots.     Voted  that  this  meet- 
ing be  adjourned  to  Tomorrow  morning   at  seven  of 
the  oclock.     May  27th,   The  Proprietors  met  accord- 
ingly  and   passed   the  following  votes,  viz.:     Voted 
that  the  Committee  Chosen  for  Laying  out  the  Lots, 
&c,  be   fully   Impowered,  In  behalf  of  the  Proprie- 
tors, to  take  sufficient  Security  and  obligation  of  Mr. 
John  Goss  for  his  clearing  and  making  a  convenient 
Travailing  Road  of  Twelve  feet  wide  in  best  and  most 
direct  way  from  Northfield  to  Lunenburg  that  may 
be,  according  to  ye  order  of  Court  &c,  and  to  give 
the  said  Goss  sufficient  for  the  payment  to  him  of  a 
sum  not  exceeding  One  Hundred  Pounds  in  Bills  of 
credit,  upon  accomplishing  of  ye  same  as  aforesaid, 
or  upon  the  said  Goss  refusing  to  let  out  or  cause  the 
same  to   be  done  by  some  other  person  or  in  some 
other  way  at  the  charge  of  ye  proprietors,  and  that 
the  committee  be  Impowered  to  order  payment  of 
some  part  of  the  Cost,  and  charges  thereof  before  ye 
whole  work   be  finished.     A  Plan   of  the  Township 
taken   by    Mr.    Joseph    Blanchard,  Surveyor,    with 
chain  men  under  oath,  being  laid  before  the  Proprie- 
tors and  considered  by  them  was  accepted  and   voted 


that  Col.  Josiah  Willard    present    the  same    to  ye 
Great  and  Honorable  Court  in  behalf  of  the  proprie- 
tors for  Confirmation.     The  accompt  of  Sundrey  per- 
sons for  Surveying  and  Laying  out  of  the  Township 
&c,  was  presented  to  ye  Proprietors  for  allowance, 
which  was  Read  and  Voted  that  the  same  be  allowed 
and  the  sum  of  Thirty  one  Pounds,  Ten  Shillings  be 
paid  the  accomptants  in  full  discharge  thereof,  unan- 
imously voted  that  in  consideration  of  the  charge  & 
expense    Colonel    Josiah   Williard  has  been   at   in 
Procuring  the  Grant  of  the  Township,  viewing  the 
Land  &c,    There  be  and  hereby  is  Granted  to  the 
said  Josiah  Williard,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  a 
parcel  of  Intervale  Land  Lying  at  ye  upper  part  of 
ye  Township  above  ye  fort  on   the  Great   River,  To- 
gather  with  such  quantity  of  Land  adjoining  there- 
unto as  the  committee  that  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
Proprietors  to  Lay  out  the  same  shall  think  fit,  not 
incommoding   the  settlers  or  Grantees,  with  respect 
to  their  settlements  or  Land   for  their  conveniency, 
for  that  and  together  with  so  much  more  Land  as 
with  what  shall  be  Layed  out  upon  ye  River  as  afore- 
said shall  ammount  to   Three  Thousand  acres  in  the 
whole.     To  be  Layed  out  at  ye  discretion  of  the  Com- 
mittee that  shall  be  appointed  for  that  end  so  as  not 
to   incomode  the  first   Lotts   or  Land  that  shall  be 
thought   proper   for   that  purpose.     Also  voted  that 
Mr.    Ebenezer    Alexander    and    William   Syms,   of 
Northfield,  and  Capt.  Edward    Hartwell,  of  Lunen- 
burg, be  a  committee  to  Lay  out  and  measure  off  the 
Land  so  Granted  to  Col.  Willard  &c.     Voted  that  the 
committe  for  Laying  out  of  Lots  be  directed  to  Lay 
out  fifty  acres  of  Land  on  some  Stream  as  convenient 
to  the  place  called  the  Bow  as  may  be  most  suitable 
for  the  building   of  a  saw-mill  to   be  disposed  of  by 
ye  Com  aforesaid  to  any  person  that  shall  so  soon 
as  may  be  erect  a  saw-mill  or  nills  there  to  accom- 
modate the  settlers  on  condition  such  person  or  per- 
sons shall  keep  the  same  mill  or  mills  in  Good  repair 
for  the  space  of  about  Ten   years,  and  that  it  be  left 
to  the  Committee  to  Give  such  further  encouragement 
to  forward  the  same  as  they  may  judge  most  proper. 
The  Comtee  to  take  proper  earn  that  the  price  of 
Boards  at  such  mill  be  not  excessive,  &c.     Voted, 
That  Two  of  ye  Best  places  for  mills,  near  the  Great 
River,  be  resorveyed  and  not  Layed  out  into  Lots  till 
ye  further  order  of  the  proprietors.      Robert  Fysse, 
of  Groton,  came  into  the  meeting  and  offd  to  under- 
take ye  Buiding  of  a  convenient  Dwelling  House  for 


WINCHESTER. 


545 


the  entertainment  of  Travailours,  about  midway  from 
Lunenburg  to  Northfield,  and  inhabit  the  same  agree- 
able to  ye  order  of  Court  at  his  own  cost  and  charge  ; 
provided,  he  may  be  Intitled  to  ye  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  Land  Granted  by  the  General  Court 
To  such  person  as  should  so  do.  In  consideration 
whereof,  It  is  unanimously  voted  and  agreed,  That 
the  said  Fysse,  his  heirs  &  assigns,  have  &  be  Intitled 
to  said  Granted  Land  and  benefit  thereof,  so  far  as 
Lyes  with  the  proprietors ;  Provided,  he  be  at  the 
charge  of  Laying  out  the  same,  &c.  And  in  con- 
venient Time  Enter  Into  Sufficient  Bond,  to  Benja- 
min Prescott,  Esq.,  In  Trust  for,  and  in  behalf  of  ye 
Proprietors,  for  performance  of  what  he  has  proposed 
as  aforesaid,  viz.:  Build  a  Convenient  Dwelling 
House  for  ye  entertainment  of  Travelers,  on  the 
Road  that  shall  be  cleared  from  Lunenburg  to  North- 
field,  about  midway  on  the  same  within  Two  years, 
and  Inhabit  the  same  for  the  spaceof  seven  years, &c. 
as  expressed  in  the  Court's  order.  Also,  voted  and 
agreed,  that  when,  and  so  often,  as  a  meeting  of  ye 
proprietors  shall  be  thought  necessary,  the  Proprie- 
tors Clerk  at  ye  Disire  of  any  five  of  ye  Proprietors 
signified  in  writing  under  their  hands,  shall  &  hereby 
is  Impowered  to  post  up  notifycations  under  his  hand 
at  the  Towns  of  Northfield  and  Lunenburg,  for  the 
Proprietors  to  assemble  at  the  Town  of  Lunenburg, 
from  time  to  time  for  the  future.  Expressing  the 
business  and  occasion  of  such  meeting  fourteen  Days 
before  the  time  of  meeting.  And  that  the  same  shall 
be  accounted  sufficient  Warning  for  a  proprietors' 
meeting  from  time  to  time,  Till  the  proprietors  shall 
otherwise  order.  Voted,  that  there  be  assessed  upon 
the  Proprietors  &  paid  in  To  Cap'  Johnathan  Hub- 
bard, hereby  appointed  to  recieve  the  same,  the  sum 
of  Fifty  shillings  by  each  proprietor  of  one  full  share, 
and  in  proportion  by  him  that  holds  a  Greater  or 
Less  Interest  ammounting  to  the  sum  of  One  Hundred 
and  Sixty-five  Pounds  in  the  whole,  by  the  first  Day 
of  July  next,  for  defraying  the  Charges  arrison  and 
that  shall  arrise  in  Ye  Propriety.  To  be  paid  accord- 
ing to  ye  votes  of  the  Proprietors,  according  to  said 
order ;  and  that  William  Syms  and  Deacon  Ephraim 
Pearce  be  appointed  and  fully  Impowered  to  collect  and 
pay  in  the  same  accordingly.  That.  .  .  any  Three  of 
them  be  appointed  assessors  and  Directed  and  Im- 
powered to  make  and  furnish  the  proprietors  with 
Lists  of  the  assessments,  and  prepare  the  warrants  to 
collect  and  pay  in  the  same.     James  Porter  being  a 


petitioner  for  the  plantation,  but  his  name  being  left 
out  of  ye  Copy,  and  a  motion  being  made  &  the 
Question  whether  the  said  James  Porter  shall  be  ad- 
mitted proprietor,  It  was  voted  in  the  affirmative.  .  .  . 
"  Josiah  Willard,  Moderator. 
"  Entered  and  examined  by 

"  Ben ja  Prescott,  Proprietors'  Clerk." 

Having  thus  organized  and  formally  accepted 
the  grant,  we  find  the  proprietors  next,  through 
their  committee,  promptly  engaged  in  laying  out  the 
forty-two  house-lots  at  "  The  Bow  and  Mirey  Brook," 
and  the  twenty-seven  lots  at  the  "  Great  River."  This 
work  was  accomplished  during  the  summer  of  1733, 
as  on  the  23d  of  October  in  this  year,  the  Proprietors 
assembled  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Hartwell, 
in  Lunenburg,  and  after  having  chosen  Col.  Josiah 
Willard,  moderator, — 

"  Voted  to  pay  the  Committee,  Surveyor  &  Chain- 
man  for  ye  laying  out  of  yee  Lotts,  &c,  ammounting 
to  fifty-nine  pounds,  nine  shillings  in  full  for  their 
said  services. 

"  The  Committee  for  Laying  out  of  Lots  in  sd  Plan- 
tation Layed  before  the  Proprietors  Plans  of  ye  Lots 
Layed  out,  which  were  approved  and  accepted. 

"  A  Plan  of  Seven  Hundred  and  eighty-four  acres, 
including  Two  small  Islands  in  ye  River  Toyedout, 
as  a  part  of  the  Three  Thousand  acres  of  Land 
Granted  by  ye  Proprietors  to  Col.  Josiah  Willard, 
was  Layed  before  the  Proprietors." 

This  report  is  as  follows  : 

"  Oct.  ye  3d,  1733.— Then  Layed  out  by  the  Com** 
appointed  by  ye  Proprietors  for  that  purpose  784 
acres  of  Land,  being  part  of  the  Three  thousand 
acres  granted  by  said  Proprietors  To  Col.  Josiah 
Willard,  Situate  and  Lying  in  ye  N.  W.  Corner  of  the 
Township  Granted  to  the  said  Josiah  Willard,  Esqr, 
and  others,  the  said  Proprietors  begining  at  the 
Northwest  Corner  of  said  Township.  Containing  all 
the  Land  in  said  Grant  Lying  there  from  thence  To  a 
Red  Oak  Tree  on  ye  east  side  of  ye  River  against  fort 
Dummer;  Thence  running  east  12  dgr  South  160 
poles  To  a  little  Black  Oak  Tree  ;  from  Thence  run- 
ning north  one  degr  West  225  poles  To  a  heap  of 
stones;  Thence  running  east  11  degr  South  80  poles  ; 
Thence  running  North  12  degr  East  300  poles  to  ye 
north  Line  of  said  Township  ;  Thence  Running  West 


546 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


12  d  north  357  poles  to  where  it  began.     Two  Small 
Islands  in  the  River  being  Included  therein,  &c. 
"Nathan  Heywood,  Surveyor. 
"  Ebexezer  Alexander  " 
"William  Syms  -  Com^." 

"  Edward  Hartwell 

The  proprietors  also  voted, 

"  That  there  be  allowed  and  paid  To  Col.  Josiah 
Willard  the  sum  of  five  pounds  four  shillings,  and  by 
him  Repaid  to  ye  Committe  and  others  in  full  for 
their  service  in  Laying  out  this  part  of  the  Land 
Granted  him  at  ye  last  meeting,  and  that  the  remain- 
der of  the  Land  then  Granted  him  be  Layed  out  at 
his  own  cost  and  Charge  (he  having  consented  and 
agreed  thereto). 

"Then  the  Proprietors  present  proceded  to  draw 
their  Lotts,  which  came  out  and  were  assigned  them 
at  ye  Bow  and  the  Great  River,  Respectively,  as  en- 
tered in  the  several  Lists  now  Taken  thereof,  there  be- 
ing Twelve  Lots  not  yet  drawn  .  .  .  (though  these  were 
assigned,  as  the  following  list  shows).  Of  these  Lots 
at  the  Connecticut  River,  Col.  Josiah  Willard  drew 
No.  28,  Isaac  Farnsworth  No.  15,  Johnathan  Hubbard 
No.  10,  Charles  Wilder  No.  3,  John  Stevens  No.  2, 
Josiah  Willard,  Jr.,  No.  1,  Stephen  Farnsworth  No. 
11,  Edward  Hartwell  No.  4,  John  Johnson  No.  26, 
John  Waiting  No.  22,  Edward  Hartwell,  Jr.,  No.  14, 
Eleazer  Heywood  No.  27,  Elisha  Chapin  No.  12, 
Shem  Chapin  No.  25,  William  Willard  No.  21,  Wil- 
liam Lawrence  No.  5,  Timothy  Minot  No.  17,  John 
Keen  No.  13,  Nathan  Heywood  No.  8,  Joseph  Kellog, 
Esq1,  No.  19,  Zechariah  Field  No.  7,  John  Brown  No. 
6,  Daniel  Shattuck  No.  9,  Timothy  Dwight  No.  16, 
Nathaniel  Dwight  No.  23,  Joseph  Severance  No.  24, 
Rufus  Honghton  No.  18.  Lot  No.  20  being  reserved 
for  public  use.  At  the  Bow,  or  Ashuelot  River,  Noah 
Dodge  drew  Lot  No.  7,  Ephraim  Pearce  Lot  No.  18, 
James  Jewell  Lot  No.  27,  Moses  Willard  Lot  No.  3, 
James  Hosley  Lot  No.  17,  Ephraim  Wheeler  Lot  No. 
4,  William  Jones  Lot  No.  12,  Andrew  (Gardner  Lot 
No.  16,  Benjamin  Prescott,  Esq.,  Lot  No.  40,  Samuel 
Farnsworth  Lot  No.  21,  Asael  Hartwell  Lot  No.  2, 
Jonathan  Willard  Lot  No.  29,  Benjamin  Bellows,  Jr., 
Lot  No.  23,  Samuel  Chandler,  Jr.,  Lot  No.  34,  William 
Goss  Lot  No.  1,  Silas  Houghton  Lot  No.  33,  Daniel 
Wright  Lot  No.  15,  Benoni  'Wright  Lot  No.  9,  Joshua 
Wella  Lol  No.  39,  John  Heywood  Lot  No.  22,  Thomas 
Willard  Lot  No.  38,  Francis  Cogswell   Lot  No.  26, 


Jethro  Wheeler  Lot  No.  20,  Ephraim  Wetherby  Lot 
No.  30,  John  Prescott  Lot  No.  14,  Ebenezer  Alexan- 
der Lot  No.  31,  William  Syms  Lot  No.  13,  Nathaniel 
Chamberlin  Lot  No.  24,  Elias  Alexander  Lot  No. 
37,  Joseph  Alexander  Lot  No.  32,  Joseph  Alexander, 
Jr.,  Lot  No.  25,  John  Alexander  Lot  No.  41,  Eben- 
ezer Alexander,  Jr.,  Lot  No.  36,  John  Ellis  Lot  No. 
8,  Oliver  Doolittle  Lot  No.  28,  James  Porter  Lot  No. 
11,  John  Summers  Lot  No.  10,  Daniel  Brown  Lot  No. 
19,  Edmond  Grandy  Lot  No.  35,  Benoni  Moore  Lot 
No.  42,  and  Lots  No.  5  and  6  were  left  for  public 
use." 

No  further  general  action  seems  to  have  been 
taken  by  the  proprietors  during  the  late  fall  or 
winter  of  1733-34  towards  the  settlement  of 
their  grant,  yet  it  appears  that  individual  pro- 
prietors were  active  in  advancing  their  interests 
in  the  settlement,  foremost  of  whom  was  Cap- 
tain William  Syms,  who  had  erected  a  house 
on  his  lot — "  Lot  No.  13,  at  ye  Bow" — before 
the  30th  of  April,  1734.  This  lot  was  upon 
the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  now  known  as 
"  Meeting-House  Mountain,"  and  contained 
thirty-five  acres.  It  was  the  second  house-lot 
laid  out  on  "  Long  Hill,"  running  cast,  and  the 
first  house-lot  on  the  east  at  the  beginning  of 
"The  10  rod  road."  The  southern  line  of  the 
first  east  lot,  that  of  John  Prescott,  and  num- 
bered in  the  lay-out  as  "  Lot  No.  14,"  was,  and 
is,  the  same  line  as  now  divides  the  pasture 
lands  of  Henry  B.  Robbins  and  Willard  Jen- 
nings, the  southwest  corner  of  which  is  nearly 
opposite  the  premises  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Sewell  Tafts.  This  lot  contained  thirty- 
nine  acres  and  was  forty-four  perches  wide. 
Its  description  is  as  follows  : 

"  House  Lot  No.  14 :  at  ye  Bow  ye  most  southerly 
lot  in  ye  east  range  is  John  Prescott's,  the  contents  of 
which  is  39  acres:  beginning  at  a  certain  stake  set 
up  for  ye  southeast  corner  of  sd  lot,  and  runs  east  9 
degr  south  on  common  land  165  rods  to  a  stake  ;  then 
North  9  degr  east  on  common  land  44  poles ;  then 
west ,  9  degr  North  on  Lot  No.  13,  124  poles  to  a  white- 
oak  tree;  then  running  west  18  degr  south,  18  poles 
to  a  stake;  Then  running  south,  43  degrs  west,  chief- 
ly on  Lot  No.  4,  (That  of  Ephraim  Wheeler,  on  which 


WINCHESTER. 


547 


are  now  situated  the  mills  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ash- 
uelot  River  at  Winchester  Village),  44  poles  to  where 


it  began. 


"  Nathan  Haywood,  Surveyor." 

The  description  of  lot  No.  13,  on  which  Cap- 
tain Lyons  erected  this,  the  first  house  erected 
within  the  bounds  of  and  by  any  of  the  propri- 
etors of  the  Arlington  grant,  is  as  follows  : 

"  House  Lot  No.  13,  at  ye  Bow  on  ye  east  side  of 
ye  long  hill  belonging  to  William  Syms,  ye  Contents 
of  which  is  35  acres  :  beginning  at  a  certain  white- 
oak  tree  marked  for  ye  southwest  corner  of  ye  said 
Lot,  and  running  east  9  degr  south  on  Lot  No.  14, 
124  pole  to  a  stake ;  Then  running  north  9  degr  east 
on  common  land,  4G  pole  to  a  white-oak  tree ;  Then 
running  west  9  degr  north  on  Lot  No.  12,  124  pole  to 
a  Stake  ;  Then  running  south  7  degree  West  on  ye 
ten    rod  road,  46  pole  to  where  it  began. 

"  Nathan  Haywood,  Surveyor." 

This  house  was  probably  erected  just  a  little 
north  of  the  centre  of  the  lot  and  only  a  few 
rods  back  from  the  road.  The  remnants  of  an 
old  orchard  are  now  standing  very  near  where  the 
writer  remembers  an  old  cellar  to  have  existed 
when  he  "  drove  cows."  But  this  has  been 
within  a  few  years  obliterated,  and  what  was 
then  an  old  pasture  whose  surface  was  well 
covered  with  rocks  and  grew  so  much  winter- 
green  and  hardhack,  that  it  would  hardly  sup- 
port one  sheep  to  the  acre,  is  now  a  fine  mow- 
ing, and  the  opportunity  is  forever  lost  to  us 
to  point  out  to  our  children  the  exact  spot  where 
the  humble  dwelling  of  Captain  William  Syms, 
the  pioneer  settler  of  Winchester,  stood. 
But  we  know  very  near  where  it  stood, 
and  can  picture  to  them  the  humble  hut  of  un- 
hewn logs,  its  chimney  of  mud  and  stones,  to- 
gether with  its  forest  surroundings. 

Sometime  during  the  spring  of  1735  the 
proprietors  of  Arlington  set  out  on  their  migra- 
tion from  Lunenburg  to  enter  into  their  new 
possessions.  The  peculiar  features  of  their 
journey  have  been  quaintly  and  aptly  described 
in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  those  early  pio- 
neers of  civilization  to  a  friend   who  had   not 

joined  in  the  effort. 
35 


"  The  land  they  purchased  of  the  Indians,  and  with 
much  difficulties,  traveling  through  unknown  woods 
and  through  watery  scrampes  (swamps),  they  discover 
the  fitness  of  the  place;  sometimes  passing  through 
the  thickets,  where  their  hands  were  forced  to  make 
way  for  their  bodies'  passage,  and  their  feete  clamber- 
ing over  the  crossed  trees  which,  when  they  missed, 
they  sunk  into  an  uncertain  bottome  in  water  and 
wade  up  to  the  knees,  tumbling  sometimes  higher 
and  sometimes  lower. 

"  Wearied  withtoill,  they  at  end  of  this  meete  with 
a  scorching  plaine,  yet  not  so  plaine  but  that  the 
ragged  bushes  scratch  their  legs  fouly  even   to  wear- 
ing their  stockings  to  their  bare  skins  in  two  or  three 
hours ;  if  they  be  not  otherwise  well  defended  with 
bootes  or  buskins  their   flesh  will  be  torne.     That 
some  being  forced  to  pass  on  without  further  pro- 
vision, have  had  the  bloud  trickle  downe  at  every 
step,  and  in  the  time  of  summer  the  Sun  casts  such  a 
reflecting  heats  from  the  sweet-ferne,  whose  scent  is 
very  strong  so  that  some  herewith  have  been  very 
nere  fainting,  although  very  able  bodies  to  undergo 
much   travell,    and   this  is   not  to    be    indured     for 
one  day  but  many.     They  rest  them  on   the  rocks 
where  the  night  takes  them.     There  short  repast  is 
some  small  pittance  of  bread  if  it  hold  out;  but  as  for 
drink  they  have    plenty,   the   country    being    well 
watered  in  all  places  that  yet  are  found  out.     Their 
further  hardships  is  to  travel  sometimes  they  know 
not  whither,  bewildering  indeed  without  sight  of  sun 
their  compasse  miscarrying  in  crouding  through  the 
bushes.     They  sadly  search  up  and  down  for  a  known 
way,  the  Indian  paths  being  not  above  one  foot  broad 
so  that  a  man  may  travel  many  days  and  never  see 
one.     This   intricate   worke  no  whit  daunted  these 
resolved  servants  of  Christ  to  go  on  with  the  work  in 
hand ;  But  lying  in  the  open  aire  while  the  watery 
clouds  pour   down  all  the   night   season   and   some 
times  the  driving  snow  dissolving   on   their  backs, 
they  keep  their  wet  clothes  warme  with  a  continual 
fire  till  the  renewed  morning  gave  fresh  opportunity 
of  further  travell.     After  they  have  thus  found  out 
the  place  of  abode  they  burrow  themselves  in  the 
earth   for  their  first    shelter    under    some    hill-side 
casting  the  earth  aloft  upon  timbers.    They  make  a 
smoaky  fire  against  the  earth  at  the  highest  side  and 
thus  these  poore  servants  of  Christ  provide  shelter 
for  themselves,  their  wives  and  little  ones,  keeping 
off  the  short  showers  from  their    lodgings,  but  the 


548 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


long  rains  penetrate  through,  to  their  great  disturb- 
ance in  the  night  season.  Yet  in  these  poore  wig- 
wames  they  sing  psalms  and  pray  and  praise  their 
God,  till  they  eau  provide  theru  houses,  which  is  not 
wont  to  be  with  many  till  the  earth,  by  the  Lord's 
blessing,  brings  forth  bread  to  feed  them,  their  wives 
and  little  oues,  which  with  sore  labours  they  attaine, 
every  one  that  can  lift  a  howe  (hoe)  to  strike  it  into 
the  earth,  standing  stoutly  to  their  labours,  and  teare 
up  the  rootes  and  bushes,  which  the  first  yeare  beares 
them  a  very  thin  crop,  till  the  soued  (sod)  of  the 
earth  be  rotten,  and  therefore  they  are  forced  to  cut 
their  bread  very  thin  for  a  long  season.  But  the 
Lord  is  pleased  to  provide  a  great  store  of  fish  in  the 
springtime  and  especially  alewives  about  the  bigness 
of  herrings ;  many  thousands  of  these  are  used  to 
put  under  their  Indian  corne,  which  are  planted  in 
hills  five  foote  asunder  and  assuredly  when  the  Lorde- 
created  this  corne  he  had  a  special  eye  to  supply 
these  his  people's  wants  with  it;  for  ordinarily  five 
or  six  graines  doth  produce  six  hundred. 

"  As  for  flesh,  they  looked  not  for  any  in  those  times, 
unless  they  could  barter  with  the  Indians  for  venison 
or  rackoons,  whose  flesh  is  not  much  inferior  to  lambe. 
The  toill  of  a  new  plantation  being,  like  the  labors  of 
Hercules,  never  at  an  end.  Yet  are  none  so  barber- 
ously  bent  (under  the  Massachusetts  especially),  but 
with  a  new  plantation  they  ordinarily  gather  into 
church-fellowship,  so  that  pastors  and  people  suffer 
the  inconveniences  together,  which  is  a  great  means 
to  season  the  sore  labours  they  undergoe,  and  verily 
the  edge  of  their  appetite  is  greater  to  spiritual  duties 
at  their  first  communing  in  time  of  wants  than  after- 
wards. Many  in  new  plantations  arc  forced  to  go 
bare-foot  and  hare-leg,  till  later  days,  and  some  in 
frost  and  snow.  Yet  were  they  then  very  healthy  ; 
there  lonesome  conditions  was  very  grievious  to  some, 
which  was  much  aggravated  by  continual  feare  of  the 
Indians'  approach  whose  enmeties  were  much  spoken 
of.  Thus  the  poore  people  populate  this  howling  des- 
art  marching  manfully  on  (the  Lord  assisting)  through 
the  greatest  difficulties  ami  sorest  labours  that  ever 
any  with  such  weakness  have  done." 

"We  fix  upon  this  date  (the  spring  of  17.5")) 
of  actual  settlement,  because  a  regularly  culled 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Samuel  Hunt,  in  Northfield, 
on   March   25,  17.'5"j,  and  the  notifications  for 


said  meeting  were  regularly  posted  by  the  pro- 
prietors' clerk,  Benjamin  Doolittle,  under  date 
of  .March  3,  1735,  at  Lunenburg  and  Northfield, 
respectively;  whilst  on  July  21,  1735  the 
said  Benjamin  Doolittle,  as  proprietors'  clerk, 
posted  a  regular  notification  of  a  meet- 
ing of  the  proprietors  at  Arlington  and 
at  Arlington  only.  This  meeting  was  called  to 
be  and  was  held  at  the  house  of  William  Syms, 
on  the  last  Tuesday  (2(Jth  day)  of  August,  1735, 
and  Deacon  Ebene/er  Alexander  was  chosen 
moderator,  whilst  in  all  previous  meetings  of 
the  proprietors  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  had 
been  elected  to  that  office.  At  this  meeting  the 
proprietors 

"  Voted  to  raise  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds, 
ten  shillings  money  or  publick  bills  of  credit.  To 
be  Levied  on  ye  proprietors  of  ye  House  Lots  at  yc 
Bow  &  at  yc  Great  River  in  Equal  proportions  on 
each  lot:  for  encouragement  of  preaching  y'  Gospel 
in  y°  New-Township  at  y'  place  called  ye  Bow,  in  or- 
der to  prepare  a  suitable  &  well  qualified  person  to 
settle  among  them  agreeable  to  y"  Courts  order,  &  for 
encouragement  of  settling  ye  New-Township  accord- 
ing to  ye  Courts  order  &  ye  said  money  to  be  appro- 
priated only  &  for  ye  use  of  providing  such  a  meet 
person  to  preach  ye  Gospel  among  ye  inhabitants  of  ye 
New  Township  afors'1  &  defraying  yu  Charges  thereof 
&  Then  voted  and  chose  ye  Rev.  Mr.  Benjam  in  Doolit- 
tle, Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander  &  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Brooks  assessors  with  full  power  to  assess  y1'  s1  sum 
above  granted  upon  ya  proprietors  according  to  ye 
vote  aboves'1,  voted  also  &  Chose  Mr.  Jeremiah  Hall 
&  Mr.  James  Jewell  Collectors  for  y°  proprietors,  to 
gather  in  yl  sum  above  granted  &  pay  it  in  to  ye  pro- 
prietors Treasurer." 

"  Voted  that  Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander,  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Brooks  and  Mr.  Jeremiah  Hall  be  a  com- 
mittee to  order  y'  payment  of  y'  above  granted  hun- 
dred pounds,  ten  shillings  out  of  y°  Proprietors' 
Treasury  as  is  found  due.  Voted  and  chose  y°  Rev. 
Mr.  Andrew  Gardner,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Brooks  &  Joseph 
Alexander,  To  Take  y  care  of  providing  such  a  meet 
person  as  afore'1  to  supply  y"  pulpit  until  ye  srt  money 
be  disbursed.  Voted  to  make  window-frames  and 
casements,  yc  sash  fashion  for  ye  lower  tier  of  windows 
in   y'  .Meeting-House,  with  y'    common  sort  of  Dia- 


WINCHESTER. 


549 


mond  Glass  before  winter,  provided  timber  may  be 
had  suitable  for  s'1  work,  &  ye  Mr.  Nathaniel  Rock- 
wood  &  William  Syms  be  a  committee  to  see  y4  ye  sd 
work  effected  by  yu  Time  aforesd  &  ye  payment  be 
made  out  of  ye  proprietors'  Treasury,  out  of  yu  money 
formerly  granted,  ye  accompts  to  be  passed  &  payment 
ordered  by  ye  Committee  formerly  appointed  to  pass 
contingent  charges  &  Order  payment  of  ym.  (This 
committee  consisted  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander, 
William  Syms  and  Jeremiah  Hall.) 

"  Voted  that  ye  sixteen  pounds  agreed  to  be  paid  to 
Mr.  Billings  for  preaching  8  Sabbaths  be  allowed  & 
paid  out  of  ye  hundred  pounds  and  ten  shillings  above 
granted." 

The  meeting-house  had  been  erected  during 
the  late  spring  and  early  summer,  as  it  was 
provided  for  by  the  proprietors  at  their  meeting 
of  March  25,  1735,  when  they  voted,— 

'"'Also  yl  y°  place  appointed  and  returned  upon  ye 
plan  of  ye  House  Lot  at  ye  Bow  by  ye  Committe 
formerly  chosen  (this  Committe  consisted  of  Col. 
Josiah  Willard,  Capt.  Johnathan  Hubbard,  Joseph 
Kellog,  E-sq.,  and  Cipt.  Edward  Hartwell)  to  lay  out 
ye  House  Lot,  be  yc  place  appointed  &  fixed  upon  to 
set  ye  first  Meeting-house."  This  location  was  upon 
House  Lot,  No.  5,  and  the  exact  point  fixed  upon  was 
on  Meeting-House  Hill,  where  the  house  now  occupied 
by  Martin  M.  Baker  stands.  At  this  meeting  (March 
25th),  the  Proprietors  voted  "to  build  a  Decent  house 
for  publick  worship  at  ye  Bow  at  ye  place  already 
voted  to  set  it  on,  of  these  dimensions  following,  viz. : 
40  feet  in  Length,  &  32  feet  in  bredth  &  18  feet  be- 
tween joynts,  &  to  inclose  ye  out  side  &  finish  ye  roof 
of  sd  building  &  ye  Doors,  &  provide  boards  for  ye 
under  floor,  &  lay  ye  sleepers  &  lay  on  ye  boards  a 
seasoning,  &  underpin  ye  sd  building.  Voted  to  give 
Col.  Josiah  Willard  yc  sum  of  one  hundred  &  eighty 
pounds  money,  or  bills  of  credit,  to  enable  him  to 
build  ye  Meeting-House  at  ye  Bow,  so  far  as  has  been 
already  agreed  upon,  &  voted  by  ye  Proprietors,  by  ye 
Last  day  of  July  next  ensuing.  Provided  yl  he  give 
sufficient  bond  for  Security  to  some  person  in  trust, 
y*  he  will  perfect  ye  sd  work  to  sd  building,  as  already 
voted  by  the  Last  of  July  aforesd.  Voted  and  chose 
ye  Rev.  Mr.  Benjin  Doolittle  a  Trustee  to  &  for  ye  use 
of  ye  Proprietors  aforsd,  with  full  power  To  Take  ye 
bond  for  Security  of  Colonel  Willard,  to  oblige  him  to 
perfect  ye  work  towards  y°  building  s'1  Meeting-House 


as  before  voted,  &  to  Prosecute  sd  bond  in  case  of  fail- 
ure." At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  on  the  next 
Friday,  it  was  voted  "  that  ye  Rev.  Mr.  Andrew  Gardner 
&  Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander,  be  a  committee  with 
ye  Rev.  Mr.  Benjamin  Doolittle  to  see  &  Determine 
wheather  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  builds  ye  Meeting- 
House  agreeable  to  ye  vote  of  ye  proprietors  both  in 
time  and  manner,  and  upon  his  fulfullment  of  ye  sd 
vote  to  order  y*  delivery  ofsd  bond  &ye  payment  of  ye 
hundred  &  eighty  pounds  voted  to  him  for  sd  work." 

Precisely  how  many  and  who  of  the  grantees 
were  settled  within  the  township  at  this  date  we 
are  at  present  unable  to  say,  though  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  those  who  are 
mentioned  by  name  in  connection  with  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  township  had 
become  residents.  Of  these  were  Deacon  Eben- 
ezer Alexander,  who  drew  lot  No.  31,  which  is 
the  first  lot  to  the  south  and  east  of  the  old  Ore 
Mountain  road ;  James  Jewell,  who  drew  lot  No. 
27  on  Pine  Plain,  which  is  very  near  the  house- 
lot  of  Alvin  Kempton  ;  Rev.  Andrew  Gardner, 
who  drew  lot  No.  16  on. Long  Hill,  which  was 
on  the  east  side  of  the  ten-rod  road  and  com- 
prised a  part  of  the  pasture  of  William  R.  Bul- 
lock, to  the  north  of  the  present  residence  of 
Morrison  Forbush ;  Joseph  Alexander,  who  drew 
lot  No.  32,  which  is  now  occupied  in  part  at 
least  by  Deacon  Levi  Suben;  Captain  AVilliam 
Syms,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  the 
first  actual  resident  of  Arlington.  Of  others  men- 
tioned, Colonel  Joseph  Willard  never  became 
a  resident  of  the  plantation  which  he  had  made 
such  great  efforts  to  secure  and  establish.  He  was 
born  at  Lancaster,  Mass.,  in  1(393.  He  early 
became  a  resident  of  Lunenburg,  and  was  for 
many  years  commandant  at  Fort  Dummcr, 
(afterward  known  as  the  Truck-House)  and  he 
died  as  the  record  says,  "on  a  journey  from 
home,  December  8,  1750,  aged  58  years."  He 
was  described  in  a  public  journal  "as  a  gentle- 
man of  superior  natural  powers,  of  a  pleasant, 
happy  and  agreeable  temper  of  mind,  a  faithful 
friend,  one  that  paid  singular  regard  to  the 
ministers   of  the   gospel,  a   kind    husband   and 


550 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAxMPSHIRE. 


tender  parent.  .  .  .  His  death  is  a  great  loss 
tothepublick,  considering  his  usefulness  in  many 
respects,  particularly  on  the  western  frontiers, 
where  in  the  late  wars,  in  his  betrustments,  he 
has  shown  himself  faithful,  vigilant  and  careful. 
Of  late  years  he  has  had  the  command  at  Fort 
Dummer  and  always  used  his  best  endeavors  for 
the  protection  of  our  exposed  infant  towns,  and 
his  loss  will  be  greatly  regretted  by  them." 

Prior  to  this  time  such  buildings  as  had  been 
constructed  1  >y  the  settlers  had  been  of  logs  or 
rude  frames  covered  with  cleft  boards,  which 
were  split  from  oak  cuts  from  five  to  seven  feet 
long  and  were  from  eight  to  ten  inches  wide, 
and  about  one  and  a  half  inches  thick  on  the 
back.  They  were  laid  lapping  and  made  a 
durable  and  a  tolerably  tight  covering.  The 
roofs  were  thatched,  the  material  used  being  the 
tall  meadow  grass,  which  was  to  be  found  in  the 
low-lands  in  abundance.  One  end  of  the  hut 
was  principally  occupied  by  the  chimney,  a 
huge  mass  of  stones  piled  up  as  a  back  for  the 
fire-place,  whilst  a  hole  in  the  house-top  let  out 
the  smoke.  Eight  or  ten  feet  in  width  was  a 
fire-place  of  moderate  size.  But  now  Colonel 
Josiah  Willard  erected  a  saw-mill  on 
Roaring  Brook,  in  accordance  with  an  agree- 
ment entered  into  between  himself,  on  the  one 
part,  and  a  committee  of  the  proprietors,  con- 
sisting of  himself,  Captain  John  Hubbard,  Cap- 
tain Joseph  Kellog,  Captain  Edward  Hartwell 
and  Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander,  on  the  other 
part,  the  terms  of  the  agreement  being  as 
follows : 

"That  one  hundred  acres  of  Land  be  given  and 
granted  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  of  Lunenburg, 
one  half  to  be  laid  out  at  or  near  yc  Place  con- 
venient for  erecting  ye  sd  mill  or  mills  together  with 
ye  Grant  of  a  suitable  Stream  and  Pondage  for  sd 
mill  or  mills  and  ye  other  half  in  some  convenient 
Place  Provided  y  sd  Colonel  Willard  build  a  good 
Sufficient  Saw-mil]  at  or  near  yc  place  Called  ye  Bow 
and  keep  it  in  Repair  near  ye  space  of  ten  years  and 
saw  Boards  at  a  Reasonable  price :  ye  sd  mill  to  be 
finished  fit  for  service  within  y'  space  of  four  months 
from   yedate  of  this   vote   (April  30.    1734)   &   v   >> 


Colonel  Willard  to  be  excused  from  building  or  keep- 
ing ye  sd  mill  in  repair  in  Case  ye  settlers  Desert  ye 
Place  or  forbear  to  settle  there  in  case  of  war  &  to 
build  or  repair  ye  sd  mill  on  three  months  warning  at 
any  time  upon  ye  desire  of  yc  Proprietors  &  ye  keep  it 
in  repair  ye  term  aforesaid  &  y*  ye  Rev.  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Hinsdale  Deacon  Ebenezer  Alexander  &  William 
Syms  who  had  been  chosen  a  Committee  to  Layout 
ye  hundred  acres  above  mentioned  to  Colonel  Josiah 
Willard  no  part  of  sd  Grant  to  be  Laid  on  yc  North- 
erly &  westerly  side  of  Ashewelat  River  &  make 
Return  of  yr  doings  to  ye  Proprietors  Clerk  to  be 
entered  on  the  records."  The  return  of  the  lay-out 
by  the  Committee  is  "A  plan  of  sixty  acres  of  Land 
at  ye  Bow  in  ye  Township  above  Northfield  lately 
Granted  to  Col  Josiah  Willard  &  Others  Laid  out  to 
yc  sd  Josiah  Willard  &  Others  by  us  yc  subscribers  a 
committee  appointed  for  y*  end,  it  being  part  of  a 
grant  of  one  hundred  acres  of  Land  made  to  him  by 
ye  Proprietors  of  sd  Township  in  May  A.  Dom  1734 
for  Encouragement  to  build  a  saw  mill  in  sd  place. 
It  begins  at  a  marked  Hemlock  on  ye  North  Side  of 
ye  Brook  called  Roaring  Brook  about  ten  perches  from 
ye  sd  mill  &  Runs  No  43°  wst  21  Perches  to  an  heap  of 
stones;  from  thence  No  3°wst  21  Perches  to  a  marked 
Hemlock ;  from  sd  Hemlock  No  23°  30m  wst  40  Perches 
to  a  bunch  of  Maples;  from  sd  Maples  No  05°  00m 
east  one  hundred  &  fourty  Perches  to  a  marked  pitch 
pine ;  from  thence  East  05°  s  fifty  two  perches  &  a  half 
to  a  marked  tree;  from  sd  marked  tree  south  five  Deg 
wst  two  hundred  and  four  perches  to  another  marked 
tree  and  from  sd  tree  to  ye  place  where  it  began. 

"  Surveyed  by  ye  needle  of  yc  instrument  &  Platted  by 
a  scale  of  40  Perches  in  an  inch,  October  24  a.d., 
1734.  Ebenezer  Hinsdale  Ebenezer  Alexander,  Wil- 
liam Syms,  Surveyors'  Commtee."  That  this  was  the 
first  saw-mill  built  in  Arlington  is  hardly  a  matter  of 
doubt.  That  the  mill  had  been  built  before  the  lay- 
out or  the  fifty  acres  mentioned  above  is  evidenced  by 
the  description  of  the  same,  wherein  the  mill  itself  is 
particularly  mentioned,  and  further  evidenced  by  the 
vote  of  the  proprietors  under  date  of  April  30,  1734, 
when  they  "  voted  y'  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  Have 
Liberty  granted  him  to  build  an  House  near  yc  Saw- 
mill for  ye  defense  of  it  &  settle  a  family  in  it  to  an- 
swer his  obligation  for  one  of  those  Lots  he  is  obliged 
to  settle"1  at  ye  Bow  &  perform  ye  other  part  of  his 
obligation  upon  y°  Lot  or  on  ye  Land  near  his  house. 
Further  on,  this  same   30th  of  April  the   Proprietors 


WINCHESTER. 


551 


voted  that  Fifty  acres  of  Land  being  formerly  granted 
by  ye  Proprietors  for  Encouragement  for  ye  erecting  of 
a  mill  or  mills  near  ye  Great  River  and  ye  sd  fifty  acres 
being  now  Laid  out  in  two  parts  &  Plans  of  ye  Same 
now  Laid  before  us  &  accepted  &  now  ordered  to  be 
entred  on  ye  Proprietors'  Book.  Cap'  Joseph  Kel- 
log  appearing  to  undertake  ye  same  the  Proprietors 
yn  voted  y4  ye  fifty  acres  of  Land  already  Laid  out  at 
ye  Great  River  for  mill  Lots  together  with  ye  Stream 
included  in  one  part  of  sd  fifty  acres  be  Granted  to 
Cap'.  Joseph  Kellog  provided  y4  he  erect  a  good,  suffi- 
cient saw-mill,  fit  for  service  in  a  convenient  time  at 
a  year's  warning,  by  order  of  ye  Proprietors  and  Saw 
boards  at  a  reasonable  price." 

The  description  of  this  fifty  acres  of  land  is : 

"Plans  for  fifty  acres  of  Land  Surveyed  &  platted 
in  two  pieces  or  parts  for  a  mill  Lot  near  ye  Great 
River.  The  one  part  buttt-d  and  bounded  as  follows 
viz  :  Westerly  on  ye  22d  House  Lot  by  a  line  extend- 
ing 105  poles  N  20°  Deg.  E  from  a  marked  white-oak 
on  ye  southeast  corner  of  sd  Lot  to  a  marked  Tree. 
Northerly  on  proprietors'  land  or  common  land  by  a 
Line  extending  from  sd  marked  Tree  42  poles  E  20 
Deg  S  to  a  stake  in  ye  Boggy  meadow.  Easterly  by  a 
line  extending  from  Sd  stake  105  poles  S.  23  Deg 
west  to  ye  meeting  of  two  common  roads.  South- 
wardly on  a  highway  by  a  line  extending  from  Sd  Cor- 
ner 34  poles  west  20  deg  N.  to  ye  first  mentioned 
White  Oak. 

"  N.  B. — A  high-way  is  to  be  allowed  cross  ye  North 
East  corner  of  this  lot  about  five  rods  from  ye  corner 
as  delineated  in  ye  plan  subjoyned.  The  other  part 
Lying  on  a  Brook  called  ye  2d  Brook,  butted  and 
bounded  on  undivided  Land  as  follows  viz :  Easterly 
by  a  line  extending  East — 40°  N.  85i  poles  from  a 
marked  chestnut  tree  on  ye  North  end  of  an  Hill 
called  Chestnut  Hill,  to  an  Hemlock  marked  in  a 
swamp  standing  by  ye  2d  brook,  Northerly  by  a  Line 
extending  from  Sd  Hemlock  No.  40  West  50  poles 
to  a  marked  Hemlock  by  a  Small  Brook  Westwardly 
by  a  line  extending  from  ye  last  mentioned  Hemlock 
West  40°  South  85i  Poles  to  a  pitch  pine  tree  on  ye 
foot  of  an  hill  Southwardly  by  a  Line  extending 
from  Sd  pitch  pine  S.  40°  East,  50  poles  to  ye  Chest- 
nut Tree  first  mentioned  by  ye  Committes  orders 
Surveyed  and  Platted  Nov.  13th  1733,  by  me 

"  Ebenezer  Hixsdale." 


This  mill  must  have  been  on  Ash  Swamp 
Brook  (now  Liscornb's  Brook  in  Hinsdale),  very- 
Dear  the  Connecticut  River,  whilst  the  first 
mill  must  have  been  near  the  mouth  of  Roarinsr 
Brook,  probably  where  the  remains  of  an  old 
dam  may  even  now  be  discovered,  as  well  as  an 
old  cellar  near  by.  It  is  to  be  supposed  that 
the  first  settlers  of  Arlington  spoke  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  as  "  ye  Great  River,"  as  a  matter 
of  custom  that  had  extended  to  them  through 
those  settlers  who,  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  had  had  their  trading-posts  and  settle- 
ments upon  its  banks.  The  name  of  the  river 
Connecticut  is  of  Indian  origin,  and  is  derived 
from  the  words  yuinneh  tuk  ut,  the  first  meaning 
long,  the  second  and  last  meaning  river  with 
waves ;  and  the  Indians  who  lived  upon  its 
shores  called  all  the  land  lying  along  its  bor- 
ders Quinneh  tuk  ut.  The  river  is  two  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  feet  above  the  sea-level  where 
it  was  included  in  the  Arlington  grant. 

As  soon  as  the  settlers  could  gather  their 
first  crops  they  spread  a  not  uninviting  table. 
Their  breakfast  usually  consisted  of  bread  and 
milk,  varied  with  toasted  brown  bread  and 
roasted  apples,  hasty  pudding,  sometimes 
sweetened  cider  and  toasted  bread  and  cheese. 
For  dinner  meat,  turnips,  greens,  peas  and  beans 
in  their  seasons  ;  and  for  supper  bean  porridge, 
Indian  pudding,  boiled  pork  and  beef,  turnips 
and  potatoes  sometimes.  In  the  summer  their 
diet  list  was  increased  by  an  abundant  supply 
of  milk  ;  on  Sundays  they  had  but  two  meals, 
breakfast  and  supper.  These  were  both  more 
generous  than  were  their  week-day  meals.  For 
breakfast  they  had  chocolate,  coffee  or  Bohea 
tea  (the  first  two  sweetened  with  molasses,  the 
last  with  brown  sugar),  pan-cakes,  doughnuts 
brown  bread,  toast  and  some  sort  of  pie;  after 
the  afternoon  church  service,  their  supper  often 
consisted  of  roast  fowl,  goose  or  chicken,  baked 
spare-rib,  with  vegetables  and  pie.  The  only 
flour  they  had  was  such  as  they  sifted  from 
crushed  wheat.  In  addition,  they  had  a  fairly 
abundant    supply   of   venison  and    other    wild 


552 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


meats  from  the  forests,  also  wild  fowl,  consisting 
of  tnrkies,  partridges  and  ducks. 

The  streams  abounded  in  food  fish,— salmon, 
shad,  herring,  alewives,  trout  and  all  other  vari- 
etiesof  fish  now  common  to  New  England  streams 
and  ponds.  Their  stock  consisted  of  a  few  horses, 
neat  cattle,  swine  and  poultry,  and  their  prin- 
cipal crops  were  Indian  corn  and  hay.  Potatoes 
were  not  then  grown  as  a  general  crop,  and  only 
became  such  about  1775;  before  this  date  three 
bushels  was  thought  to  be  a  large  crop  for  a 
common  farmer.  The  time  of  the  men  was 
fully  occupied  from  the  date  of  the  completion 
of  their  rude  dwellings  in  clearing  fields  for 
planting,  in  caring  for  such  crops  as  they  had  been 
able  to  plant  and  in  protecting  their  stock  from 
wandering  away  into  the  wilderness  and  from 
the  attacks  of  wild  beasts.  Their  method  of 
clearing  the  land  was  to  cut  up  such  brush 
ami  undergrowth  of  bushes  as  there  might  be, 
and  to  girdle  the  large  trees.  This  they  did  by 
chopping  a  narrow  trench  around  the  body  of  the 
tree,  removing  the  bark  about  a  hand's  breadth 
in  width,  when,  soon  after,  the  tree  would  cast 
its  leaves  and  remain  after  as  a  dead  trunk,  to  de- 
cay in  time.  In  laterand  subsequent  "clearings  " 
they  felled  the  trees  and  left  them  to  lie  upon 
the  ground  till  fairly  seasoned,  and  then  burned 
them  as  they  lay,  afterwards  drawing  together 
the  remnants  of  un burned  logs  into  huge  heaps 
and  again  subjecting  them  to  fire  till  completely 
consumed.  The  good  housewife  found  her  time 
completely  consumed  in  the  various  duties  in- 
cident to  the  care  of  her  family,  besides  making 
butter  and  cheese,  which  were  articles  of  ex- 
change for  "store-goods"  with  the  nearest  local 
merchant.  In  addition,  she  carded  and  spun 
her  own  yarns,  from  flax  or  wool,  or  both.  She 
wove  her  own  linen  and  wool  cloth,  whilst  the 
garments  of  her  children,  her  husband  and  her- 
s; 'If  were  the  results  of  her  own  handiwork.  In 
the  fall  each  family  would  gather  enough  candle- 
wood  for  use  in  the  winter  evenings.  This  was 
hard  or  pitch-pine,  sometimes  stunted  or  dis- 
eased  trees,  or  old   knots   which    were  full    of 


pitch.  A  splinter  Would  give  a  tolerable  light — 
in  fact,  it  was  all  the  light,  except  the  blaze  from 
the  hearth,  which  most  of  the  families  had. 
Tallow-candles  were  used  to  some  extent,  but 
only  when  one  was  so  fortunate  as  to  kill  a  fat 
beef.     Oil  was  unknown. 

Their  clothing  was  all  of  home-spun  mate- 
rials, and  for  the  men  was  a  coat,  vest,  small- 
clothes and  a  fur  hat  or  cap.  Two  suits  were 
sufficient  for  a  life-time  (old  men  sometimes  had 
a  great-coat  and  a  pair  of  boots  in  addition). 
For  common  wear  they  had  a  long  jacket,  or 
fly-coat,  reaching  half-way  down  the  thigh, 
striped  jacket  worn  under  the.  small-clothes,  all 
made  of  flannel  cloth,  fulled,  but  not  sheared ; 
flannel  shirts  and  stockings,  and  leather  shoes  for 
winter.  In  summer  they  had  a  pair  of  wide 
trousers  reaching  half-way  to  the  knees.  Shoes 
and  stockings  were  not  worn  summers  by  farm- 
ers or  by  young  men.  Boys,  when  out  of  their 
"petticoats,"  were  put  into  small-clothes  sum- 
mer and  winter.  The  women  wore  flannel  gowns 
in  the  winter,  with  stockings  and  calf-skin  shoes. 
In  the  summer  they  wore  wrappers,  or  shepherd 
dresses,  with  stockings  and  shoes,  whilst  for 
their  best  suit  they  had  a  calico  or  camlet  gown, 
with  short  sleeves  aud  ruffles  for  each  arm, 
aprons  of  checked  linen,  white  cotton  or 
cambric  caps  with  small  ruffles.  Traveling  was 
all  done  on  foot  or  horse-back,  following  paths 
through  the  forests  designated  by  blazed  trees. 
The  settlers  of  Arlington  were  often  obliged  to 
take  a  sack  of  grain  upon  the  shoulder  and 
carry  the  same  in  this  manner  to  mill  at  North- 
field,  returning  with  "grist"  in  the  same  way. 

These  first  settlers  of  Arlington  diligently 
applied  themselves  to  the  clearing  and  subdu- 
ing the  rugged  soil  for  tillage,  the  improvement 
of  their  buildings,  increasing  their  farm  stock, 
the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges  during 
these  early  years,  without  interruption  from  the 
Indians  or  disturbance  from  the  State.  But, 
on  the  22d  of  June,  1739,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  province  of  Massachu- 
setts, it  was 


WINCHESTER. 


553 


"  Ordered,  That  Col.  Josiah  Willard,  one  of  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  the  new  Township  called 
"\yinchester  lying  in  the  County  of  Hampshire,  be 
and  hereby  is  allowed  and  impowered  to  notify  and 
warn  the  inhabitants  of  ye  S'1  Township  to  assemble 
and  convene  in  some  convenient  publick  place  in  said 
Town  to  make  choice  of  a  town  clerk  and  other  Town 
Officers  to  stand  until  the  anniversary  meeting  in 
March  next. 

"  Sent  up  for  concurrence, 

"  J.  Quixcy,  Speaker. 
"  In  Council  June  22'1  1739 
'•  Read  and  concurred, 

"  Simon  Frost,  Dep.  Secy. 


"  Copy  Examined. 


"  pr  Simon  Frost,  Dept.  Secy. 

"  Consented  to, 

"  J.  Belcher." 

Under  this  order  Colonel  Willard  called  a 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Winchester,  as 
follows  : 

"By  virtue  of  an  Order  of  the  General  Court  of 
the  Province  of  Massachusetts  &c  Dated  June  22d 
1739,  to  me  directed  for  calling  a  meeting  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  New  Town  called  Winchester,  to 
make  choice  of  a  Town  Clerk  and  other  Town 
Officers.  These  are  to  notifie  and  warn  the  In- 
habitants of  the  Said  Town  of  Winchester  that  they, 
assemble  and  meet  at  the  meeting  House  in  said 
Town  on  Monday  the  twentieth  day  of  August  cur- 
rant, at  eight  of  the  clock  in  the  morning  to  chuse  a 
Town  Clerk  and  other  Town  Officers  to  stand  until 
the  Anniversary  meeting  in  March  next. 

"  Notified  per  Order  of  Sd  Court  of  the  Massachu- 
setts. 

"  Josiah  Willard. 

"  Winchester  August  ye  14,h  a.d.  1739." 

At  this,  the  first  town-meeting  of  Winchester 
(all  prior  meetings  have  been  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  plantation  of  Arlington),  Colonel  Josiah 
Willard  was  chosen  moderator;  Josiah  Willard, 
Jr.,  town  clerk  ;  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  Mr. 
Andrew  Gardiner  and  Nathaniel  Rockwood 
selectmen  ;  Simon  Willard,  constable  ;  Nathan- 
iel Chamberlain,  tithingman  ;  Nathaniel  Rock- 
wood,  town  treasurer  ;  Simon  Willard,  Samuel 
Tavlor  and  Henry  Bond,  hog-reeves  ;  William 


Syrnes,  Joseph  Alexander  and  Nathan  Fair- 
banks, fence-viewers ;  Andrew  Gardner  and 
Josiah  Willard,  Jr.,  informers  of  all  breaches 
of  an  act  for  the  preservation  of  deer ;  and 
Gershom  Tuttle,  pound-keeper. 

"  The  Persons  above  Named  were  all  sworn  to  the 
faithful  discharge  of  the  Several  offices  whereto  they 
were  chosen. 

"  Attest    Josiah  Willard,  Jr., 

"  Town  Clerk r 

The  political  peace  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Winchester  was  rudely  disturbed  by  a  royal 
decree  dated  August  5,  1740,  definitely  defining 
the  boundary  line  between  the  provinces  of 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire. 

In  1652,  in  response  to  petitions  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Massachusetts,  surveyors  were 
employed,  who  traced  the  Merrimack  River  as 
far  north  as  the  parallel  of  43°  40'  12",  and 
they  reported  the  same  October  19,  1652. 
This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  relinquished  her  claims  to  prov- 
ince land  north  of  this  line  her  new  bounds 
on  the  Connecticut  River  being  near  the  present 
boundary  line  between  the  towns  of  Claremont 
and  Charlestown.  This  line  Massachusetts 
maintained  till  1740,  when,  after  a  long  and 
acrimonious  dispute  between  the  two  provinces, 
the  whole  question  was  referred  by  petition  of 
the  province  of  New  Hampshire  to  His  Ma- 
jesty, George  II.,  who  referred  the  same  to  the 
"Lords  of  Council  of  England/'  who  decided 
in  1739  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  two 
provinces  should  be  where  it  is  at  the  present 
time.  This  finding  was  established  by  His 
Majesty's  royal  decree,  bearing  date,  August  5, 
1740,  and  the  survey  of  the  line  was  made  by 
Richard  Hazen   in  March  and  April,  1741. 

This  decree  defined  the  line  as  "  beginning:  at 
the  distance  of  three  English  miles  north  from 
the  southerly  side  of  the  Black  Rocks,  at  low- 
water  mark  (near  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimack 
River),  and  thence  running  due  west  up  into  the 
mainland  towards  the  south  sea  until  it  meets  with 
his  majesties  other  governments."  This  survey, 


554 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


as  made  by  Hazen,  was  a  due  east  and  west  line 
with  an  allowance  often  degrees  for  the  wester- 
ly   variation    of  the    needle,  and   severed    the 
towns  of  Warwick  and  Northfield,  leaving  a 
portion  of  each   with    Winchester    within    the 
province  of  New    Hampshire.     Massachusetts 
did  not  quietly  submit  to  being  thus  dismem- 
bered, and  for  years  continued  an  agitation   of 
the  boundary  line  question,  and  the  sympathies 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Winchester  were  largely 
with  the  mother  province,  naturally  so,  as  they 
were  Massachusetts  born  and  bred,  and  all  their 
political  interests  were  best  served  by  their  re- 
maining citizens  of  that  province,  and  for  the 
further  reason  that  the  province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire did  not  want  them,  for  in  the  controversy 
between  the  two  provinces  respecting  the  bound- 
ary line  it  was  the  eastern  end  of  the  line,  and 
not  the  western  end,  that  was   in   dispute   and 
that  was  thought  to  be  of  any  value  in  the  con- 
test.    And   it  did  not  for  a  single  moment  oc- 
cur to  either  of  them  that  the  western  extremity 
of  the  boundary  would  fall  so  far  to  the  south- 
ward as  to  include  these  settlements ;  and  when 
Hazen  pushed  through  the   woods  to  the  west, 
following  his  instructions  of  a  due  east  and  west 
survey,  with  the  10°  allowance  for  the  varia- 
tion of  the  needle,  he  gave  a   surprise  to  both 
provinces,  and  one  that  was  not  agreeable  to 
either,  Massachusetts    being   rudely  awakened 
to  the  fact  that  she  had  lost  the  efforts  and  ex- 
pense of  years  in  extending  her  settlements  up 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and 
New  Hampshire  to  the  fact  that  she  had  citi- 
zens and  settlements  in  her  southwestern  border 
that  she  did  not  want,  but  over  which  she  must 
exercise  maternal  jurisdiction  and  have  a  foster- 
ing care,  a  people  to  whom  she  was  a  stranger, 
and  with  whom  she  had  no  means  of  communi- 
cation excepting  she  trespassed  on   the  territory 
<>f  her  not  very  good-natured  (at  the  time)  sister 
province.       She  saw   that  she    must  construct 
roads  through  the  wilderness  to  be  able  to  com- 
municate with  them  and  that  she  must  either  es- 
tablish forts  for  their  protection  and  supply  them, 


or  else  appropriate  those  already  erected  by 
Massachusetts,  all  of  which  meant  expense  and 
effort  to  her  when  she  felt  that  her  former 
burdens  were  about  all  she  could  bear.  The 
citizens  of  Winchester  felt  that  they  had  been 
severed  from  their  mother  province  by  an  arbi- 
trary and  unjust  decree  of  their  king  and  were  un- 
cared  for  and  unloved  by  their  foster-mother, 
to  whom  they  had  been  given.  They  were 
practically  left  to  work  out  their  own  destiny, 
and  to  secure  their  own  salvation  if  they  were 
able. 

The  peace  of  mind    of  these  early    settlers 
was  about  this  time  still   further  disturbed   by 
the  unfriendly  relations  rapidly  developing  be- 
tween   France     and    Great  Britan ;    for    they 
well    understood  that   the    French,    who    then 
held  and  occupied    Canada,   would    incite   the 
Indians  to  attack  the  frontier    settlements  of 
the  English  in   case  of  war    between  the  two 
countries,  which  would    bring  upon  their  de- 
fenseless heads  a  blow  they  were    illy  prepared 
to  resist.     In    1744  the  anticipated    condition 
of  war  between  the  two   countries  actually  oc- 
curred, and  the  realities  of  war  were  upon  them, 
— a  war  that  in  its  plans  and  scope  was  that  of 
the  civilized  white  man,  whilst  in  its  details  it 
was  a  war  filled  with  all  the  savage  brutalities 
of  the  uncivilized  red  man.  Unprotected  as  they 
were  by  New  Hampshire,  and  with  only  feeble 
and  reluctantly-granted  assistance   from  Massa- 
chusetts,   these     sturdy     settlers    resolved    to 
defend  themselves  as  best  they  could;  every  oc- 
cupied house  was  turned  into   a  garrison,  no 
man  walked  abroad    unarmed  and  it  soon   be- 
came even    unsafe  to  step  outside  a  stockade  to 
milk  a  cow   or  feed  an  animal.     Their  horses 
and  cattle  were  killed,  their  harvests  were  de- 
stroyed and  no  field  labor  could  be  performed. 
After  about  a  year  of   alternating  hopes  and 
fears,    hopes    that  New   Hampshire   might  af- 
ford them  some  protection  or  that  the  war  might 
cease,  fears  for  themselves  and  their  families, — 
they  abandoned  their  settlements,  and   we  can 
almost  picture  them  to  ourselves,  as,  in  the  an- 


WINCHESTER. 


555 


tumn  of  1745,  the  procession  of  disappointed 
and  almost  discouraged  settlers  started  out  upon 
their  journey  to  Lunenburg,  the  men  grim 
and  silent,  the  women  dejected,  the  children 
alternately  sober  and  joyous, — -sober  from 
sympathy  and  fatigue,  joyous  from  bright  an- 
ticipations of  happiness  in  visiting  the  former 
home  of  their  parents,  so  often  mentioned,  and 
the  ever-varying  scenes  about  them.  On  April 
16,  1 747,  a  party  of  Indians  under  the  command 
of  Monsieur  Debeline,  who  had  come  down  the 
Connecticut  River  from  Canada  to  attack  North- 
field,  burned  and  destroyed  all  the  buildings  and 
property  that  had  been  abandoned  by  the  set- 
tlers. 

During  the  period  from  the  fall  of  1745  to 
the  spring  of  1753,  when  the  grantees  of  Win- 
chester returned  to  rebuild  their  desolated  homes 
and  to  the  cultivation  of  their  wasted  fields, 
occasionally  a  proprietor  returned  to  maintain 
their  rights  to  the  soil  unimpaired,  and  men 
from  other  settlements  frequently  visited  the  lo- 
cality and  were  often  attacked  by  the  Indians. 
On  June  24,  1746,  twenty  Indians  came  to 
Bridgman's  Fort,  two  miles  below  Fort  Dum- 
mer  and  attacked  a  number  of  men  who  were  at 
work  in  a  meadow.  They  killed  William  Rob- 
bins  and  Jonas  Parker,  and  captured  Daniel 
Howe  and  John  Beemau.  William  Crison  and 
Patrick  Rugg  were  wounded,  but  both  recov- 
ered. Howe  killed  one  of  the  Indians  before 
he  was  taken. 

On  July  24,  1746,  Col.  Willard,  with  a  team 
and  a  guard  of  twenty  men  who  had  come  over 
from  Fort  Dummer  to  Hinsdale's  Mill,  were 
ambushed  near  the  mill,  but  were  able  to  re- 
pulse the  Indians  and  return  in  safety  to  the 
fort.  On  August  6,  1746,  thirty  Indians  came 
to  Winchester  and  waylaid  the  road  over  against 
Benjamin  Melvin's  house.  Several  men  had 
occasion  to  pass  by,  not  knowing  of  the  ambush, 
and  were  fired  upon,  and  Joseph  Rawson  was 
killed  and  Amasa  Wright  wounded.  On  Oc- 
tober 22,  1746,  the  Indians  captured  Jonathan 
Sartwell  near  Fort  Hinsdale.     Fort  Hinsdale 


stood  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Marsh  place 
in  Hinsdale.     Its  exact  locality  is  very  readily 
found,  just  a  few    rods    south  of  the  dwelling- 
house  now  standing  on  said  place.     On  October 
16,  1747,  Lieutenant  Perie  Rambout,  a  young 
Frenchman,  came  as  far  south  as  the  south  bank 
of  the  Ashuelot  River,  about  two  miles  below 
the  village,  where  he   and   his   Indians  halted. 
Rambout,  taking   his  gun,  passed  alone  over  a 
neighboring  hill  to  the  southward,  where  he  was 
discovered  by  Captain  Alexander,  of  Northfield, 
Major  Willard,  of  Winchester,  and  Dr.  Hall,  of 
Keene,  who  were  all  going  towards  Northfield. 
They  met  some  cattle  running  as  though  pur- 
sued.    Captain  Alexander,  being  foremost,  saw 
a  Frenchman  in  the  path  coming  towards  him. 
When  he  (Rambout)  saw  them,  he  jumped  out 
of  the  path,  behind  a  tree  and  asked  for  quarter, 
in  French ;  but  Captain  Alexander,  not  under- 
standing that  language,  fired,  shooting  him   in 
the  breast  and  he  fell.     He  recovered  himself 
and  came  up  to  Captain   Alexander,  whom   he 
saluted  handsomely,  but  he  soon  grew  faint  and 
they  thought  him  mortally  wounded,  if  not  dying. 
They  being  afraid   the   Indians    were  near, 
and  fearing   pursuit,   though  they  saw  no  one 
but  Rambout,  they  knew  he  was  not  alone,  and, 
taking  his  arms,  hastened  towards  North  field. 
The  Indians,  hearing  the  report  of  Alexander's 
gun,  started  directly  and  soon  found  Rambout 
alive  and   brought  him  to  the  river,  where  he 
had  previously  left  them.     Thinking  him  to  be 
mortally   wounded,   and  fearing  the  pursuit  of 
the  English,  they  left  him  here  and  returned  to 
Canada   and  reported    him    dead.       The    next 
morning   Rambout   revived  and   wandered  to- 
ward  Northfield.     The  first  person  he  met  was 
Captain    Alexander,   who    had  shot  him.     To 
him  he  surrendered.       Alexander  took   him  to 
Mr.  Doolittle,  in  Northfield,  who  was  a  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  as  well  as  a  clergyman,  who 
kept  him  till  he  recovered.     After  his  wound 
was  healed  he  was  carried  to  Boston,  where  he 
was  kindly  entertained  until  he  was  exchanged, 
in  February,  1748,  for  Samuel  Allen,  of  Deer- 


556 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


field,  who  was  captured  in  1746.  In  1747  the 
Indians  burned  Fort  Bridgman,  killed  several 
and  took  others  prisoners. 

On  June  10,  1748,  fourteen  men  were  way- 
laid  near  the  mouth  of  Broad  Brcok  in  going 
from  Colonel  Hinsdale's  to  Fort  Dummer,  and 
Joseph  Richardson,  William  Bickford,  Nathan 
French  and  John  Frost  were  killed.  William 
Bickford  was  only  wounded,  but  died  of  his 
wounds  later.  William  Blanchard,  Benjamin 
Osgood,  Mat  hew  Wyman,  Joel  Johnson,  Henry 
Stevens  and  Mark  Perkins  were  captured. 
Daniel  Farmer  and  three  others  escaped.  One 
of  the  prisoners  was  killed  by  the  Indians 
where  they  camped  for  the  night. 

Upon  one  side  of  the  monument  erected  in 
memory  of  Taylor  and  his  men  is  this  in- 
scription : 

"  In  memory  of  fourteen  men  who  were  waylaid  by 
the  Indians,  near  this  place,  June  16,  1748." 

July  3,  1748,  the  Indians  waylaid  the  mill 
near  Fort  Hinsdale,  where  Colonel  Willard, 
with  a  guard  of  twenty  men,  had  come  to  grind 
corn.  Colonel  Willard  having  placed  his 
guards,  they  were  soon  fired  upon.  The  colonel 
gave  such  loud  and  repeated  orders  to  attack 
the  enemy  that  they  fled,  leaving  their  packs 
and  provisions,  and  he  and  his  command  re- 
turned to  Fort  Dummer  in  safety. 

On  July  14,  1748,  Sergeant  Thomas  Tay- 
lor, with  a  party  of  sixteen  men,  whilst  on 
their  way  from  Northfield  to  Iveene,  through  the 
westerly  part  of  Winchester,  were  attacked  by 
about  a  hundred  French  and  Indians,  who,  af- 
ter a  sharp  fight,  killed  Joseph  Rose,  Asail 
Graves,  James  Billings  and  Henry  Chandler, 
and  captured  Sergeant  Thomas  Taylor,  Jona- 
than Lawrence,  Thomas  Orison, Reuben  Walk- 
er, John  Edgel,  David  How,  Ephraim  Pow- 
ers, John  Henry  and  Daniel  Farmer.  Robert 
Cooper  and  three  others  whose  names  are  un- 
known, escaped.  Two  of  the  prisoners  had 
been  wounded  in  the  fight  and  soon  after  their 
capture  were  killed  by  the  Indians  with  their 
clubs.     The  Indians  took  their  prisoners  up  the 


east  side  of  the  Connecticut  River  and  crossed 
to  the  west  side  about  three  miles  above  where 
West  River  empties  into  the  Connecticut,  and 
then  made  their  way  direct  to  Canada.  This 
fight  was  about  one  mile  below  Fort  Dummer, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut.  As  near 
as  may  be  to  the  exact  spot  of  the  attack  has 
been  erected  a  neat  monument  in  memory  of 
the  event,  which  bears  this  inscription  : 

"  In  memory  of  Sergeant  Thomas  Taylor,  who,  with 
a  party  of  sixteen  men,  was  here  overpowered  by  one 
hundred  French  and  Indians,  after  heroic  and  bloody 
resistance,  July  14,  A.D.  1748.  Four  of  their  number 
were  killed.  Sg'  Taylor,  with  eight  others,  several  of 
whom  were  wounded,  were  taken  prisoners,  and  four 
escaped." 

Though  peace  was  declared  between  France 
and  England  October  7,  1748,  quiet  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  settlements  did  not  ensue  till 
several  years  later,  for  on  July  22,  1755,  the 
Indians  attacked  a  party  of  men  near  Fort 
Hinsdale  and  killed  and  captured  several  of 
them. 

July  27,  1755,  as  Caleb  Howe,  Hilkiah  Grout 
and  Benjamin  Gaffield,  who  had  been  hoeing 
corn  in  the  meadow  west  of  the  river,  were 
returning  home  a  little  before  sunset  to  Bridg- 
man's  Fort,  they  were  fired  upon  by  twelve  In- 
dians who  had  ambushed  their  path.  Howe 
was  on  horseback  with  two  young  lads,  his 
children,  behind  him.  A  ball  broke  his  thigh 
and  brought  him  to  the  ground  ;  his  horse  ran 
a  few  rods  and  fell  likewise  and  both  lads  were 
captured.  The  Indians,  coming  up  to  Howe, 
pierced  his  body  with  a  spear,  tore  off  his  scalp, 
stuck  a  hatchet  in  his  head  and  left  him.  He 
was  found  alive  the  next  morning  by  a  party  of 
1 1 ioi i  from  Fort  Hinsdale  ;  and  being  asked  by 
one  of  the  party  whether  he  he  knew  him,  he 
answered :  "  Yes,  I  know7  you  all."  These 
were  his  last  words,  though  he  did  not  die  till 
after  his  friends  had  arrived  with  him  at  Fort 
Hinsdale.  Grout  was  so  fortunate  as  to  escape 
unhurt.  But  Gaffield,  in  attempting  to  wade 
through  the  river  at  a  ford,  was    unfortunately 


WINCHESTER. 


557 


drowned.  Flushed  with  success,  the  Indians 
went  directly  to  Bridgman's  Fort  and  found 
only  Mrs.  Jemima  Howe,  Mrs.  Submit  Grout, 
Mrs.  Eunice  Gaffield  and  some  children.  The 
women  had  heard  the  guns,  but  did  not  know 
what  had  happened  to  their  husbands.  Ex- 
tremely anxious  for  their  safety,  they  eagerly 
awaited  their  coming ;  at  length  concluding, 
from  the  noise  they  heard  without,  that  they 
had  come,  they  unbarred  the  gate  in  a  hurry  to 
let  them  in,  when  lo !  to  their  disappointment 
and  surprise,  instead  of  their  husbands,  in 
rushed  a  number  of  hideous  Indians,  to  whom 
they  and  their  children  became  an  easy  prey, 
and  from  whom  they  had  nothing  to  expect  but 
a  sorry  captivity  or  death.  Fourteen  persons 
were  made  captives. 

On  June  7,  1756,  the  Indians  captured  Jo- 
siah  Foster,  his  wife  and  two  children  about 
one  mile  south  of  the  present  village  of  Win- 
chester. Foster's  house  was  upon  the  norther- 
ly side  of  Ore  Mountain  and  in  plain  view  of 
the  village.  Foster  was  at  work  on  the  bridge 
near  the  mouth  of  Mirey  Brook  where  the 
present  bridge  now  stands,  when  the  Indians 
made  their  attack.  They  made  prisoners  of  his 
wife  and  two  children,  ransacked  his  house  and 
killed  his  pigs.  Whether  it  was  the  noise  made 
by  the  pigs  in  their  struggles  for  their  liberty, 
or  whether  it  was  the  feathers  from  the  feather- 
beds  that  the  Indians  ripped  open  and  scattered 
from  an  attic  window,  that  attracted  Foster's 
attention,  is  not  certainly  known,  but  he  in 
some  manner  became  aware  of  the  condition  of 
his  family,  and  hastening  home,  surrendered 
himself  as  a  prisoner  that  he  might  share  with 
his  wife  the  burdens  of  captivity. 

He  and  his  family  were  taken  to  Quebec,  in 
Canada,  where  they  were  met  by  Benjamin 
Twitchel,  who  was  captured  in  Keene  in  1755, 
and  after  months  of  privations  and  trials  were 
set  at  liberty  and  sent  to  Boston,  from  whence 
they  returned  to  their  home  in  Winchester, 
where  several  of  their  descendants  are  now  liv- 


ing. 


The  Indians  who  had  given  the  settlers  so 
much  trouble  and  had  caused  them  such  anxie- 
ties was  the  St.  Francis  tribe,  that  live  just  over 
the  Canadian  border,  near  the  head-waters  of 
the  Connecticut  River,  living  with  whom  was 
the  remnant  of  the  Squakheags,  the  tribe  that 
had  formerly  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Ashue- 
lot.  Their  territory  extended  to  the  south,  to 
the  head-waters  of  the  Miller's  River ;  eastward 
to  the  Monadnock  Mountain,  where  they  met 
the  Nashua  Indians >  northward  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Ashuelot,  and  westward  about 
nine  miles  west  of  the  Connecticut. 

This  tribe  had  sold  this,  their  inheritance, — 
a  tract  of  country  embracing  about  sixty-five 
thousand  acres, — -to  the  whites,  and  had  con- 
veyed the  same  by  a  deed  bearing  date  of 
August  13,  1687.  This  deed  was  executed  by 
Nawelet,  who  was  the  chief  at  that  time  of  the 
tribe.  The  price  paid  these  sons  of  the  wilder- 
ness for  their  home,  their  hunting  and  fishing- 
grounds,  wTas  the  munificent  sum  of  "  forty-five 
pounds  sterling  in  trades-goods,"— a  sum  equal 
to  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  dollars  and 
eighty  cents  in  our  money.  It  must  be  said,  in 
justice  to  this  tribe  of  Indians,  that  after  this 
sale  of  their  lands  to  the  whites,  that,  whilst 
they  did  not  fully  abandon  the  territory  till 
1720,  a  period  of  thirty-three  years,  they  lived 
in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  whites  to  whom 
they  had  sold,  and  that  it  was  only  during  a 
time  of  war  that  they  acted  as  guides  to  the 
French  and  Canadian  Indians  in  their  expedi- 
tions against  the  English.  Traditions  declare 
them  to  have  been  firm  in  their  friendships  to 
individual  settlers,  often  wrarning  them  in  ad- 
vance of  threatening  dangers. 

This  tribe  of  Indians  were  enterprising,  war- 
like and  skilled  in  all  the  devices  of  Indian 
strategy.  In  size  they  were  small  giants, 
skeletons  having  been  exhumed  more  than  six 
and  a  half  feet  tall.  They  lived  in  separate 
villages,  at  such  points  as  were  most  favorable 
for  obtaining  subsistence.  They  lived  princi- 
pally   upon     the    fruit   of    the    chestnut-tree, 


558 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ground-nuts,  corn,  pumpkins  which  were  cut  in 
strips  and  dried  in  the  sun,  and  the  flesh  of 
animals  taken  in  the  chase  or  by  trapping. 
They  cooked  their  fish  just  as  they  were  taken 
from  the  water,  and  small  animals  wen'  roasted 
whole,  the  entrails  being  considered  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  the  roast.  They  understood 
the  process  and  made  maple  sugar,  and  they 
also  raised  and  used  tobacco  to  some  extent. 
They  set  frequent  fires  in  certain  portions  of 
their  domain  to  keep  down  the  underbrush  for 
cultivable  fields. 

These  were  generally  set  in  the  fall  after  the 
leaves  and  seeds  had  fallen,  and  in  this  way  not 
only  the  smaller  trees  were  destroyed,  but  the 
larger  ones  were  sooner  or  later  killed.  Thus 
they  kept  quite  large  areas  treeless  for  the  pur- 
poses of  cultivation.  It  would  seem,  from  the 
remains  of  their  villages  and  defensive  works," 
their  granaries  and  cultivated  fields,  together 
with  the  large  number  of  their  burying-places 
discovered,  that  they  must  have  been  a  prosper- 
ous and  numerous  people,  and  that  they  had 
occupied  the  country  for  many  generations. 
We  find  them  upon  the  war-path  as  early  as 
1675,  when  they  had  made  successful  attacks 
upon  Deerfield  and  Northfield,  following  which 
they  went  into  winter-quarters  at  a  place  called 
"Coasset/5  a  little  above  the  railroad  station  at 
South  Vernon,  Vt.  Their  successes  had  been 
so  great  that  they  deemed  themselves  secure  from 
attack, — so  secure  that  they  sent  a  large  party  to 
the  falls  (Turner's)  on  the  Connecticut  River, 
below  the  mouth  of  Miller's  River,  to  fish  for 
shad,  when,  on  the  morning  of  May  19,  1076, 
about  daybreak,  Captains  Turner  and  Holyoke, 
with  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  fell 
upon  their  camp  and  killed  a  great  number  of 
the  Indians.  But  just  as  the  soldiers  were  re- 
turning to  their  horses,  which  they  had  con- 
cealed "a  little  way  back,"  it  was  reported  that 
King  Philip,  with  a  large  force  of  Indians,  were 
coming  to  the  rescue.  This  rumor  greatly 
alarmed  the  whites  and  caused  them  to  fall  into 
disorder,  when  the  Indians  immediately  attacked 


them  and  killed  Captain  Turner  and  thirty- 
seven  of  his  men.  The  name  of  the  tribe, 
"  Squakheags,"  is  a  contraction  of  Namus- 
Squam-aug-khigc,  and  signifies  spearing-plaee 
for  salmon,  and,  from  the  peculiarities  of  their 
language  and  tribal  affinities,  they  would  seem 
to  have  been  very  closely  related  to  the  Nasha- 
ways,  whose  hunting-grounds  joined  theirs  at 
"the  Great  Monadnock." 

At  last  the  province  of  New  Hampshire  de- 
termined to  recede  from  the  unjust,  if  honor- 
able, position  it  had  taken,  when,  just  prior  to 
the  abandonment  of  the  settlement,  Colonel 
Willard  wrote  Governor  Running  Wentworth  : 

"Almost  every  man  is  upon  the  move  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  I  have  had  no  sleep  these  three 
nights,  and  have  now  nine  families  stope'1  at  my 
house.  We  have  persuaded  the  bigger  part  of  the 
people  to  tarry  a  little  longer." 

He  then  asked  that  the  settlements  might  re- 
ceive assurances  of  protection  ;  to  which  the 
province  of  New  Hampshire  replied,  under  date 
of  May  3,  1745,  through  her  General  Court: 

"Fort  Dummer  is  Fifty  miles  distant  from  any 
towns  which  have  been  settled  by  the  Government  of  or 
the  people  of  New-Hampshire.  That  the  people  had 
no  rights  to  the  lands  which,  by  the  dividing  line, 
had  fallen  within  New-Hampshire,  notwithstanding 
the  plausible  arguments  that  had  been  used  to  induce 
them  to  bear  the  expence  of  the  line,  namely,  that  I  In- 
land would  be  given  to  them  or  be  sold  to  pay  the  ex- 
pence.  That  the  charge  of  maintaining  that  Fort  at 
so  great  a  distance,  and  to  which  there  was  no  com- 
munication by  mads,  would  excede  what  had  heen  the 
whole  expence  of  the  Government  before  the  line 
was  established,  and,  finally,  that  there  was  no  dan- 
ger that  these  parts  would  want  support,  since  it  was 
the  interest  of  Massachusetts,  by  whom  they  wen- 
erected  (the  Forts),  to  maintain  them  as  a  cover  to 
their  frontiers." 

They  thus  refused  to  protect  their  own,  either 
from  mercenary  motives  or  a  want  of  humanity. 
or  dii  absolute  inability  f<>  <Io  what  was  required. 
Let  us  all  believe  it  was  the  latter  reason  ;  for, 
on  Monday,  July  2,  1753  : 


WINCHESTER. 


559 


"  At  a  Council  and  General  Assembly  holden  at 
Portsmouth.  Present — His  Excellency,  Benning 
Wentworth,  Esq.,  Governor,  Theodore  Atkinson,  Rich- 
ard Wibird,  John  Downing,  Samuel  Sulley,  Daniel 
Warner  and  Sampson  Sheaffe,  Esqrs.  His  Excellency 
laid  before  the  Board  the  petition  of  Josiah  Willard, 
Esq.,  for  himself  and  in  behalf  of  the  settlers  and 
claimers  of  a  tract  of  land  bounding  partly  on  the 
Province  line,  partly  on  Northfield  (so  called)  and 
partly  on  the  Connecticut  River,  called  by  the  name 
of  Winchester  as  the  same  was  granted  by  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Government.  Praying  for  a  grant  of  the 
said  tract  or  township  agreeable  to  their  former  sur- 
veys, divisions  and  partitions,  &c,  which  being  read 
at  the  Board  by  His  Excellency,  put  the  question  to 
the  Council  when  they  would  advise  him  to  make  a 
Charter  agreeable  to  the  petition.  To  which  the 
Council  did  consent  and  advise." 

Upon  which  His  Excellency  issued  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"  Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

"George  the  Second,  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the 
faith  &c. 

"  To  all  persons  to  whom  the  presents  shall 
come,  Greeting :  Whereas  sundry  of  our  loving 
subjects  before  the  settlement  of  the  dividing  line 
of  our  Province  of  New  Hampshire  aforesaid  and 
our  other  Governments  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  be- 
gan a  settlement  of  a  tract  of  land  lying  partly  on 
Connecticut  River  and  partly  on  our  said  dividing 
line,  end  made  sundry  divisions  of  and  improvements 
upon  the  said  tract  of  land  and  there  remained  until 
the  Indian  war  forced  them  off  and  our  said  subjects 
being  desirous  to  make  an  immediate  settlement  on 
the  premises  and  having  petitioned  our  Governor  and 
Council  for  His  Majesties  Grant  of  the  premises  to  be 
so  made  as  might  not  subvert  and  destroy  their 
former  surveys  and  laving  out  in  severalty  made 
thereon  as  aforesaid. 

"  Now  know  ye  that  we  of  our  especial  grace,  cer- 
tain knowledge,  and  mere  motion  for  answering  the 
end  above  said,  and  for  the  due  encouragement  of 
settling  the  said  Plantation  by  and  with  the  advice  of 
our  trusty  and  well  beloved  Benning  Wentworth, 
Esq'.,  our  Governor  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  our 
said  Province  of  New  Hampshire  in  America,  and  of 
our  Council  of  the   said  Province.     Have  upon  the 


conditions  and  reservations  hereafter  made,  given  and 
granted,  and  by  these  presents  for  us  our  Heirs  and 
successors,  do  give  and  grant  unto  our  loving  subjects, 
Inhabitants  of  our  said  Province  of  New  Hampshire 
and  His  Majesties  other  Governments  and  to  their  heirs 
and  assigns  forever  whose  names  are  entered  upon  this 
Grant,  to  be  divided  to  and  amongst  them  into  so 
many  and  such  shares  and  proportions  as  they  now 
hold  or  claim  the  same  by  purchase,  contract,  vote  or 
agreement,  made  amongst  themselves.  All  that  tract 
or  parcel  of  land  lying  and  being  within  our  said 
Province  of  New  Hampshire  containing  by  admeas- 
urement, twenty-three  thousand  and  forty  acres, 
which  tract  is  to  contain  six  miles  square  and  no 
more,  out  of  which  an  allowance  is  to  be  made  for 
highways  and  unimprovable  Lands,  by  rocks,  moun- 
tains, ponds  and  rivers,  one  thousand  forty  acres 
free,  according  to  a  plan  thereof  made  and  presented 
by  our  said  Governor's  order  and  hereunto  annexed, 
butted  and  bounded  as  follows,  viz. :  bigining  at  a 
beach  tree  marked  for  the  southwest  corner  of  Rich- 
mond; from  thence  running  west  10°  N.  on  the  Prov- 
ince Line  four  miles  to  the  easterly  line  of  North- 
field  (so  called);  thence  runs  Northerly  on  said  line 
to  the  northeast  corner  of  Northfield  aforesaid ; 
then  runs  west  on  the  aforesaid  line  of  Northfield 
to  Connecticut  River  ;  thence  running  up  said 
River  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Chesterfield ;  then 
runs  south  73°  East  until  that  point  intersects  a 
line  running  North  by  the  needle  from  the  first 
mentioned  found  tree,  and  the  same  be  and  hereby 
is  incorporated  in  Town  by  the  name  of  Winches- 
ter, and  the  inhabitants  that  do  or  shall  hereaf- 
ter inhabit  said  township  are  hereby  declared  to  be 
enfranchised  with  and  entitled  to  all  and  every 
the  privileges  and  immunities  that  other  towns 
within  our  said  Province  do  exercise  and  enjoy.  And 
furthermore,  that  the  said  town,  as  soon  as  there  shall 
be  fifty  families  residing  there,  shall  have  the  liberty 
to  open  and  keep  a  market  one  or  more  days  in  each 
week,  as  may  be  thought .  most  advantageous  to  the 
inhabitants.  Also,  that  the  first  meeting  for  the 
choice  of  town  officers  and  other  affairs,  agreeable  to 
the  laws  of  our  said  Province,  shall  be  held  on  the 
third  tuesday  in  August  next,  which  meeting  shall  be 
notified  by  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  who  is  hereby  ap- 
pointed the  moderator  of  the  said  meeting,  which  he 
is  to  notify  and  govern  agreeable  to  the  laws  and  cus- 
toms  of    our   said   Province,   and    that   the   annual 


560 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


meeting  forever  hereafter,  for  the  choice  of  such 
officers  for  the  said  Town,  shall  be  on  the  first  tues- 
day  of  March,  annually. 

"  To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  tract  of  land  as 
above  expressed,  together  with  all  the  priviledges  and 
appurtenances  to  them  and  their  respective  heirs  and 
assigns  forever,  upon  the  following  conditions,  viz.  : 
That  every  Grantee,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  shall  plant 
or  cultivate  five  acres  of  land  within  the  term  of 
five  years  for  every  fifty  acres  contained  in  his  or 
their  share  or  proportion  of  land  in  the  said  Town- 
ship, and  to  continue  to  improve  and  settle  the  same 
by  additional  cultivations,  on  penalty  of  the  forfeit- 
ure of  his  grant  or  share  in  said  Township,  and  its 
reverting  to  his  majesty,  his  heirs  and  Successors,  to 
be  by  him  or  them  regranted  to  such  of  his  subjects 
as  shall  effectually  settle  and  cultivate  the  same. 
That  all  white  and  other  pine-trees  within  the  said 
Township  fit  for  masting  our  royal  navy,  may  be 
carefully  preserved  for  that  use,  and  none  to  be  cut 
or  felled  without  his  majesties  especial  license  for  so 
doing  first  had  and  obtained,  upon  the  penalty  of  the 
forfeiture  of  the  right  of  such  Grantee,  his  heirs  or 
assigns  to  us,  our  heirs  aud  successors,  as  well  as  be- 
ing subject  to  the  penalty  of  any  Act  of  Parliament, 
that  are  or  shall  be  hereafter  enacted. 

"  Also,  reserving  the  power  of  adding  to  or  dividing 
the  said  Town,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  incorporations, 
only  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  when  it  shall  be 
necessary  or  convenient  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabit- 
ants thereof.  Also,  subjecting  the  unimprovable 
lands  within  this  Grant  to  an  annual  tax  of  one 
penny  to  an  acre,  for  two  years  from  the  date  here- 
of, for  the  building  a  meeting-house,  and  settling  a 
Gospel  minister  in  said  town.  That  before  any 
further  divisions  of  the  land  be  made  to  and  amongst 
the  Grantees,  a  tract  of  land  in  the  most  commodious 
place  the  land  will  admit  of  shall  be  reserved  and 
marked  out  for  town  lots,  one  of  which  shall  be 
allotted  to  each  Grantee  of  the  contents  of  one 
acre  yealding  and  paying  therefor  to  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors  for  the  space  of  ten  years, 
to  be  computed  from  the  date  hereof  the  an- 
nual rent  of  one  ear  of  Indian  corn  only  com- 
mencing on  the  first  day  of  January  next  ensuing  the 
date  hereof,  if  lawfully  demanded,  and  every  Proprie- 
tor settled  or  inhabitant  shall  yield  and  pay  unto  us 
our  heirs  and  successors  yearly  and  every  year  forever 
from  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years  from 


the  date  hereof  namely  on  the  first  day  of  January 
which  will  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  Christ,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four,  one  shilling 
Proclamation  money  for  every  hundred  acres  he  so 
owns  settles  or  possesses,  and  so  in  proportion  for  a 
greater  or  lesser  tract  of  the  said  land.  Which  money 
shall  be  paid  by  the  respective  persons  above  said, 
their  heirs  or  assigns  in  our  Council  Chamber  in 
Portsmouth,  or  to  such  Officer  or  officers  as  shall  be 
appointed  to  receive  the  same  and  this  to  be  in  lieu 
of  all  other  rents  and  services  whatsoever.  In  wit- 
ness whereof  we  have  caused  the  seal  of  said  Province 
to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

"  Witness  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq.  Our  Governor 
and  Commander  in  Chief  of  our  said  Province.  The 
second  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  Christ  1753 
and  in  the  27th  year  of  our  reign. 

"  B.  Wentworth. 

"  By  his  Excelencys  command  with  advice  of  Coun- 
cil. 

"Theodore  Atkinson,  Sect. 

"Province  of  New  Hampshire  July  2d  1753,  re- 
corded in  the  Book  of  Charters  169  page. 

"Theodore  Atkinson,  Secty." 

The  names  of  these  grantees  of  Winchester 
were  : 


"  Josiah  Willard 
Samuel  Ashley 
Joseph  Ashley 
Simon  Willard 
Nathaniel  Rockwood 
Ebenezer  Alexander 
Elias  Alexander 
William  Symus 
Benjamin  Melvin 
John  Ellis 
Jonathan  Morton 
William  Orvis 
John  Summers 
Henry  Bond 
William  Temple 
Jonathan  Parkest 
Samuel  Whitemore 
Samuel  Chickley  Jr 
Benjamin  Bird 
Francis  Coggwell 
Nathan  Willard 
Wilder  Willard 


Elisha  Root 
Jacob  Davis 
Samuel  Taylor 
Davis  Field 
James  Jewell 
John  Peirce 
Anthony  Peirce 
Simon  Peirce 
John  Saylerman 
Thadeus  Mason 
Nathaniel  Foster 
Josiah  Foster 
Thomas  Greemon 
The  Heirs  of  Joseph 
Lemous,  deceased. 
Sarah  Martin 
Joseph  Burchard 
Daniel  Lewis 
Benjamin  Lynds 
Oliver  Willard 
William  Willard 
Valentine  Butler 


WINCHESTER. 


561 


Jonathan  Edwards 
James  Rider 
Joseph  Marrifield 
Nathaniel  Hastings 
Jabez  Hills 
Moses  Chamberlain 
John  More 
Hezekiah  Wright 
Thomas  Swetman 
Samuel  Field 
Samuel  Hunt 


John  Brown 
Moses  Belding 
Joanna  Pierce 
Ebenezer  Hinsdale 
William  Hancock 
William  Neagos 
Ephraim  Tuttle 
Samuel  Stone 
Martin  Ashley 
Joseph  Blanchard 
Timothy  Minot 
Joshua  Lyman 

"His  Excelency  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq7,  a 
tract  of  Land  containing  five  Hundred  acres.  One- 
seventieth  part  of  sd  tract  of  Land  for  the  incorporated 
Society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign 
parts.  One-seventieth  part  of  the  sd  tract  for  the  rirst 
settled  minister  of  ye  Gospel  in  the  sd  Town.  One-seven- 
tieth part  of  sd  Granted  tract  for  a  Glebe  for  the 
Church  of  England  by  law  Established. 
"  Thomas  Hancock  Gaius  Field 

Palatia  Webster  John  Allen 

Thomas  Taylor 

"Province  of  New-Hampshire  July  2d  1753  entered 
&  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Charters  page  171  &  172. 

"  Per  "  TheC  Atkixson  Secry." 

Having  received  these  assurances  of  recogni- 
tion and  protection  from  the  provincial  govern- 
ment of  New  Hampshire,  the  grantees  and 
proprietors  of  Winchester,  under  date  of  August 
21,  1753,  proceeded  to  reorganize  their  town 
government,  whch  had  been  interrupted  for  a 
period  of  about  seven  years.  The  record  of 
the  meeting  is  as  follows  : 

"At  a  Legal  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  and 
Grantees  of  the  township  of  Winchester,  held  at  the 
house  of  Major  Josiah  Willard  Esq1  in  Winchester  on 
tuesday  the  twenty-first  day  of  August  agreeable  to 
the  Direction  of  the  Charter  of  Said  township  where- 
by sd  Josiah  Willard  Esq  is  appointed  moderator  of 
Said  meeting. 

"  Voted  and  Chose  Maj  Josiah  Willard  Esqr  Colon 
William  Symes  Mr  Samuel  Ashley  Selectmen  and  as- 
sessors for  the  remaining  part  of  this  year.  Voted 
and  chose  Nath'1  Rockwood,  Town  Clerk.      Voted  and 

1  Col.  Josiah  Willard  died  December  8,  1750. 


chose  Lieu'  Simon  Willard  Town  Treasurer.     Voted 
and  chose  Benjamin  Melvin  Constable. 

"  Voted,  and  chose  Ebnr  Alexander  &  Elias  Alex- 
ander, Surveyors  of  Highways.  Voted,  and  chose 
Josiah  Foster  and  William  Temple,  fence- viewers. 
Voted,  and  chose  John  Ellis,  hog-reeve.  Voted,  and 
chose  Nath1  Rockwood,  Sealer  of  Waights  and 
Measures.  Voted,  to  adjourn  this  meeting  for  the 
space  of  an  hour,  and  then  met  and  Voted,  raise  the 
Sum  of  Seventy-five  Pounds  for  Preeching  and  Mend- 
ing High-wayes  and  other  Necessary  Charges.  Voted, 
that  for  high  way  worke  four  shillings  and  six  pence 
to  a  man  pr  day,  and  two  shillings  for  a  Yoke  of  Oxen 
per  day.  Voted,  that  the  proprietary  affairs  of  this 
town  be  for  the  future  transacted  and  carried  on  Sep- 
erately  and  Distinct,  from  Town  affairs,  and  to  this 
End,  that  Proprietary  Meetings  be  Held  from  time  to 
time,  as  shall  be  necessary,  and  all  needful  Proprie- 
tary officers  be  chosen.  Voted,  and  cho.-e  Major  Josiah 
Willard,  Esqr,  Proprietors'  Clarke.  Voted,  and  chose 
Lieutenant  Simon  Willard,  Proprietors'  Treasurer. 
Voted,  and  chose  Major  Josiah  Willard,  Nath1  Rock- 
wood, Oliver  Willard,  assesors  to  assess  the  Penny 
Acre  tax,  Enjoyned  by  Charter  on  unimproved  Lands. 
Voted,  and  chose  William  Willard  Collector  of  Sd 
Tax.  Voted,  and  chose  Major  Josiah  Willard,  Col1 
William  Symes,  Lieu'  Simon  Willard,  Lieu'  Nathan 
Willard,  Lieu'  Elias  Alexander,  Samuel  Ashley,  Wil- 
liam Temple,  or  any  three  of  them,  to  examine  and 
Settle  Claimes  of  the  Grantees  mentioned  in  the 
Charter.  Voted,  and  chose  Major  Josiah  Willard, 
Co10  Symes,  Lieu'  Simon  Willard,  Nathan  Rock- 
wood, Samuel  Ashley,  Lieu'  Elias  Alexander  and 
William  Willard  or  any  three  of  them  a  committee  to 
Complete  the  Laying-out  the  divisions  formerly 
granted,  and  to  Lay  out  Suetable  ways  and  Roods. 
Voted,  that  no  plan  be  put  upon  Record  without  being 
signed  by  at  Leest  fouer  of  Said  Com,ee  Chosen,  Com- 
pleat  the  Laying-out  The  Said  divisions  formerly 
granted.  Voted,  that  Majr  Josiah  Willard  be  desired 
to  Convey  the  Charter  of  the  Township  of  Winches- 
ter Granted  us,  and  Request  that  Gaius  Field,  and 
all  others  who  can  make  out  a  fair  Claim  to  any  of 
the  Lands  Contained  in  Said  Charter  May  have  their 
names  Entered  Therein. 

Voted  that  all  former  acts  and  proceedings  of  the 
Proprietors,  or  those  esteemed  Proprietors,  Respect- 
ing the  Divisions  of  the  Lands  Contained  in  the 
township  of  Winchester  be  Ratified  and  Confirmed, 


562 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  be  esteemed  valid  as  tho'  Now  Transacted. 
Voted  that  House-Lot  No.  6  at  the  Bow,  being  a 
Publick,  be  for  the  first  Minister  that  shall  be  settled 
in  the  ministry  in  Winchester,  together  with  all  ye 
after  Divisions,  what  have  been  or  may  be  Granted 
to  sd  house  and  do  in  anywise  belong  to  Said  house- 
Lot.  Voted  that  House  Lott  No.  2  at  ye  Great  River, 
with  all  after  Rigts  and  divisions  to  the  same  apper- 
taining, be  for  a  Glebe  for  the  Church.  Voted  that 
House  Lott  No.  20  at  the  Great  River,  be  for  the 
Incorporated  Society  for  Propogating  the  Gospel  in 
foreign  parts.  Voted  to  Give  to  the  Honble  Theodore 
Atkinson,  Esqr,  three  hundred  acres  of  the  Lands 
Contained  in  ye  Charter  Granted  us  of  the 
Township  of  Winchester,  and  that  the  Comtee 
appointed  to  Complete  ye  Laying  out  ye  Divisions 
Granted  be  impowered  to  Lay  out  Said  three 
hundred  acres  and  return  a  plan  to  be  Recorded. 

"  Voted,  that  the  Comtee  appointed  to  settle  ye 
Claims  of  the  Grantees  be  desired  to  Examine  and 
find  out  what  ot  Rates  formerly  Granted  &  made  are 
yet  unpaid  and  not  allow  the  Claims  of  such  Parsons 
to  be  Recorded  as  are  found  to  have  been  deficient  in 
yc  Payment  of  said  Taxes  &  Rates,  as  one  ye  Claims 
of  Such  Lands  as  the  former  Claimes  and  owners 
thereof  are  found  to  have  been  deficient  untill  ye  Re- 
spective Rates  be  paid.  Voted  and  Chose  Major 
Josiah  Willard  &  Col10  Wm  Symes  a  Comtec  To  pro- 
vide a  Minister.  Voted  that  any  Seven  of  the  Pro- 
prietors of  Winchester  Requesting  the  Proprietors 
Clarke  to  Call  a  meeting,  The  sd  Clarke  Posting  up 
a  notifycation  in  Said  Winchester  for  a  Meeting  of 
Raid  Proprietors  at  Least  fourteen  Dayes  before 
y'  time  Specified  for  Said  Meeting  Shall  be  Legal 
Warning  and  any  Meeting  in  Consequence  of  such 
Warning  Shall  be  a  legal  Meeting." 

At  this  point  the  meeting  was  evidently  dis- 
solved, though  the  record  does  not  state  it. 

It  ought  not  to  be  supposed  that,  though  ab- 
sent from  the  settlement  during  the  seven  years 
last  preceding  the  above  recorded  town-meeting, 
the  proprietors  were  inactive  or  neglectful 
of  their  interests  in  the  grant.  Several  meetings 
were  held,  evidently  at  which  officers  and  com- 
mittees were  chosen  to  protect  their  interest,  as 
the  following  shows : 

"At  a  Meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  Tow^hip  of 


Winchester  in  yc  Province  of  New  Hampshire,  held 
at  ye  House  of  Moses  Marsh  inholder  in  Hadley  on 
Tuesday  the  Tenth  Day  of  April  1750  according  to 
Notifycation  published  in  one  of  yc  weekly  news  Pa- 
pers agreable  to  a  vote  of  Sd  Proprietors  at  their  last 
meeting.  Voted  and  Chose  Major  Josiah  Willard 
Moderator  for  Sd  Meeting.  Voted  that  Major  Josiah 
Willard  be  desired  to  take  ye  Proprietors  Book  of 
Records  into  his  care  and  keep  it  at  his  House  in  Win- 
chester till  yc  further  order  of  Sd  Proprietors.  Voted 
that  the  Consideration  of  ye  several  articles  contained 
in  Sd  Notifycation  be  refered  till  the  Time  to  which 
this  Meeting  Shall  be  adjourned.  Voted  that  this 
Meeting  be  adjourned  to  Tuesday  the  Eighth  day  of 
May  next  to  be  holdcn  at  the  House  of  Maj"r  Josiah 
Willard  in  Winchester  at  Ten  Oclock  fore  noon  then 
and  there  to  act  upon  the  above  mentioned  articles. 
"Attest  Josiah  Willard  Moderator. 

"And  then  met  again  upon  S'1  adjournment  May  8th 
1750  at  time  and  plase.  Voted  on  the  second  Article 
and  Chose  Josiah  Willard  jr  Proprietors  Clerk  Voted  on 
the  4  and  5  Articles  and  chose  Colonel  Josiah  Willard, 
Josiah  Willard  Junr  Capt  William  Syms,  Lel  Elias 
Alexander,  Sam1  Ashley  and  William  Willard  as  a  Com- 
mitte  to  complete  the  house  Lots  at  the  great  River, 
and  all  other  Divisions  that  are  to  lay  in  sd  Township 
and  to  lay  out  highways  and  to  make  such  alterations 
as  shall  be  thought  need  full  and  Return  Plans  of  the 
Same  and  no  Plan  to  put  on  Record  without  four  of 
the  Committe  Signing  sd  Plan.  Voted  on  yc  6th  Arti- 
cle, that  any  five  of  the  Proprietors  Requesting  a 
Meeting  of  the  Proprietors  in  writing  sitting  forth  the 
articles,  the  Clerk  be  Directed  to  set  up  a  Notifyca- 
tion in  sum  Publick  Place  in  Said  Township,  Fourteen 
Days  before  Said  meeting.     Then  Voted  to  Dismiss 

this  meeting. 

"  Josiah  Willard  ModeV 

"Hampshire,  S.  S.,  Janr>'  18th,  1751. 

"Then  Major  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  was  sworn  to 
the  faithful  Discharging  of  the  office  of  a  Proprietors' 
Clerk  of  Winchester,  to  which  office  he  was  Chosen 
by  the  sd  Proprietors  at  their  meeting  in  May  8th, 
1750. 

"  Before  me, 

"  Seth  Field,  Just.  Peace. 

"  Entered  and  Examined 

"  Pr  Josiah  Willard,  Pro"3  Clerk." 


WINCHESTER. 


563 


"On  the  2d  of  July,  1753,  a  petition  of  Ebenezer 
Hinsdale,  Esq.,  in  behalf  of  himself  &  Sundry  persons 
inhabiting  at  a  place  called  Northfield,  lying  on  the 
north  of  the  dividing  line  of  the  Province  of  New 
Hampr  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  praying  that  the 
Petitioners,  &c.,  may  be  incorporated  &  invested  with 
town  priviledges,  &c.,  &  in  case  such  a  charter  is  in- 
consistent with  his  MajUes  Instructions  that  then  the 
said  tract  with  an  adition  of  his  MajtJS  unappropri- 
ated lands  adjacent  thereto,  may  be  granted  to  the 
Petitioners,  &°.,  agreeable  to  his  Majties  s'1  Instructions, 
which  petition  was  read,  and  also  at  the  same  time  a 
letter  signed  by  the  Selectmen  of  that  part  of  North- 
Held  aforesaid,  that  lyes  in  the  Massachusetts  Govern- 
ment, on  the  South  side  of  the  said  dividing  line  sett- 
ing forth  that  they  were  informed  that  sundry  persons 
were  designing  to  petition  for  the  above  said  lands 
lying  on  the  north  of  the  stl  dividing  Line  in  which 
they  were  also  interested,  and  praying  they  may  be 
allowed  time  to  petition  for  the  said  lands,  &".,  which 
the  Council  took  under  consideration  &  passed  the 
following  resolve,  viz. :  that  his  Excellency  be  desired 
to  suspend  the  making  any  grant  of  the  premises  for 
two  months,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  Northfield 
that  live  on  the  south  side  of  the  dividing  Line,  &  in 
the  Massachusetts  Government  be  advised  of  this 
resolve  by  a  letter  from  the  Secry  that  they  may,  if 
they  see  cause,  petition  for  the  said  lands,  &  that  if 
they  do  not,  that  then  &  in  such  case  his  Excellency 
be  desired  to  make  out  charters  for  the  same,  agreeable 
to  the  above-mentioned  petition  of  the  inhabitants  on 
the  north  side  of  said  dividing  Line. 

"At  a  Council,    holden    at   Portsm0,  on   Saturday, 

September  1st,    1753.     Present, — His   Excellency  B. 

Wentworth,  Esq.,  Gov1',  Henry  Sherburne,  Esq.,  John 

Downing,  Esq.,  Theodore   Atkinson,  Esq.,  Sampson 

Sheaffe,  Esq.,  Rich'1  Wibird,  Esq.,  Daniel  Warner,  Esq. 

A  petition  of  the  settlers  and  claimers  of  land  in  the 

north  part  of  Northfield,  so-called,  who  live  on  the 

south  side  of  the  Province  Line,  and  also  the  petition 

of  Ebenez1"   Hinsdale  in  behalf  of  himself  &  others 

claimers  of  Land  in  said  Northfield,  who  live  on  the 

north   side  of  the  said  dividing  line  as  entred  the  2'1 

day  of  July  last,  praying  for  a  grant  of  the  said  tract 

of  land   lying  on  the  North   side  of  the  sd  dividing1 

Line,  agreeable  to  his  Majties  instructions,  &°.,  both  of 

which  was  read  at  the  Board,  as  was  also  the  king's 

attorney,  &  solicitors'  opinion  relating  to  these  sort  of 

grants,  &c.,  and  then  his  Excellency  asked  the  Coun- 
36 


cil  weither  they  would  advise  him  to  make  out 
charters  of  grant  for  the  same  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  present  settlers  &  claimers  may  be  invested  in 
their  rights,  as  they  imagined  they  held  the  same 
before  the  running  the  said  Province  Line,  to  which 
the  Council  did  advise  and  consent,  as  also  that  a 
strip  of  the  King's  Land  should  be  added  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Connecticut  River  so  as  to  include  the 
farms  of  Sargeant  and  South,  so-called.  At  a  Council 
holden  at  Portsm",  on  Wednesday,  September  5th, 
1753.  Present, — His  Excellency  Benning  Wentworth, 
Esq.,  Governor,  Henry  Sherburn,  Esq.,  Theodore 
Atkinson,  Esq.,  Rich'1  Wibird,  Esq.,  Sam1  Smith, 
Esq.,  Sampson  Sheaffe,  Esq.,  Daniel  Warner,  Esq. 
Upon  reading  the  petition  of  Ebenezr  Hinsdale, 
Esqr,  praying  to  have  an  alteration  made  in  the 
dividing  Line  between  the  towns  of  Winchester  & 
Hinsdale,  for  the  better  accommodating  the  inhabit- 
ants of  both  towns,  with  respect  to  the  incorporation 
only,  agreeable  to  the  charter  of  the  said  townes,  to 
which  the  Council  did  agree  &  consent,  and  advised 
his  Excellency  to  grant  a  charter  of  Incorporation 
accordingly,  agreeable  to  a  plan  exhibited,  to  begin 
eighty  rods  easterly  on  the  Province  Line  from  Con- 
necticut River,  &  there  to  run  north  by  the  Needle." 

This  new  grant  of  September  5,  1753,  cut 
off  from   the  town  of  Winchester  all   that  por- 
tion of  the  original  grant   of  April  4,  1733, 
lying  above  the  original  bounds  of  Northfield 
as  granted  by  the  province  of  Massachusetts, 
or  purchased   from  the  Indians    in  1672   (the 
lands   of  "  Messamet")    and    1687    (the    lands 
of    "  Nawlet ")    that    lay    between    the    point 
of  intersection  of  the  north  bound  of  Northfield 
with  this  new  line,  "  due  north   by  the  needle," 
commencing    at    a    point '  eighty    rods    on    the 
"  New  Province   Line "    from  the   Connecticut 
River,  and  said  river.     It  added  to  Winchester 
a  strip  of  territory  on    the  southwest  corner, 
from   the   territory  of  Northfield,  about  three 
and  a  half  miles  in  width  on  the  new  province 
line,  four    miles  and  one  hundred   and    ninety- 
seven  rods  in  length  north,  and  about  one  and 
one-half  miles  in  width  at  the  old    Northfield 
corner   on  the  northeast,  which  was  three  and 
three-fourths  miles  from  the  Connecticut  River, 
as  originally  established   by  the  General  Court 


564 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of*  Massachusetts,  June  21,  1733.  This  new- 
line  served  as  the  base  for  the  survey  of  the 
town  of  Winchester  in  1797.  This  survey  is 
recorded  as  follows : 

"N.  2°  W.,  Eight  and  one-half  miles  to  Chester- 
field corner;  thence  E.  8°  S.  on  Chesterfield  line,  five 
niiU's  and  ninety  rods  to  Swanzy.  On  Swanzy  and 
Richmond  line  Eight  and  one-fourth  miles,  South  on 
Warwick,  Mass.,  and  Northfield,  Mass.,  W.  10°  N. 
Six  and  one-fourth  miles  to  Hinsdale  corner  on  tin 
State  Line  between  New  Hampshire  and  Massa- 
chusetts." 

This  survey  includes  that  portion  of  Rox- 
bury,  or  Gardiner's  Canada  (now  Warwick, 
Mass.),  that  lay  above  the  new  province  line  in 
1753,  and  was,  by  the  express  terms  of  Win- 
chester's grant  of  that,  included  in  said  Win- 
chester's territory.  This  strip  was  two  and 
one-half  miles  in  length  on  the  province  line, 
and  two  miles  and  fifty-two  rods  on  the  Rich- 
mond line,  the  north  bound  being  parallel 
with  the  province  line. 

Hinsdale  was  thus  established  September  5, 
1753,  partly  from  the  old  Northfield  grant 
above  the  province  line,  and  only  in  small 
part,  whilst  much  the  larger  part  was  from  the 
territory  of  Winchester, — territory  that  had 
been  granted  to  her  in  1733  by  Massachusetts, 
and  again  in  1753  by  New  Hampshire.  No 
formal  action  seems  to  have  been  taken  by  the 
proprietors  or  freeholders  of  Winchester  in 
regard  to  this  loss  of  or  addition  to  her  terri- 
tory, all  the  records  of  her  town  or  pro- 
prietors' meetings  being  silent  upon  the  subject. 

Having  had  her  boundaries  adjusted  and 
her  vested  rights  recognized  by  New  Hamp- 
shire, her  citizens  immediately  applied  them- 
selves to  the  reconstruction  of  their  dwellings, 
dealing  new  fields  and  improving  the  means  of 
communication  with  each  other  and  with  the 
outside  settlements. 

At  their  annual  meeting  held  on  Tuesday,  the 
5th  day  of  March,  Anno  Domini,  1754,  they 
voted  "to  raise  the  sum  of  seventy-five  pounds, 
New  Tenor,  to  defray  ye  charge  of  ye  Ensuing 


year,  to  Pay  for  Preaching.  Voted,  that  yc 
Seventy-five  pounds,  New  Tenor,  Raised  at  our 
Meeting  Last  august,  be  Laid  out  in  Mending 
highways,  and  the  same  allowance  for  Men  and 
Teams  as  was  then  Voted  them  at  Sd  meeting, 
and  that  there  be  a  Rate  made  by  it  Self  for 
the  S'1  Sum."  The  sum  voted  to  be  paid  for  work 
on  the  highways,  August  21,  1753,  was  "Four 
shillings  and  sixpence  to  a  Man  pr  Day,  and 
two  Shillings  for  a  yoke  of  oxen  per  Day/' 
They  also  voted  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  house 
of  Major  Josiah  Willard,  on  April  22,  1754,  to 
"  Build  a  meeting-house,  forty-four  feet  long, 
thirty-four  feet  wide  and  twenty  feet  posts,  and 
to  set  the  Meeting-house  where  it  was  before, 
upon  the  same  hill ;  and  they  chose  Major  Jo- 
siah Willard,  Colonel  William  Syms;  Lieu* 
Simon  Willard,  Ebenezer  Alexander,  Sam1 
Ashley,  a  Comtee  to  build  the  Meeting-house." 
No  decisive  action  was  taken  under  this  vote, 
and  the  settlers  remained  without  a  meeting- 
house till  1760,  when,  at  their  annual  meeting, 
held  at  the  house  of  Col.  Josiah  Willard,  March 
4,  17<i<),  they  voted  again  "  to  Build  a  Meeting- 
house, forty -four  feet  in  length  and  Thirty-four 
feet  in  Bredth,  and  Twenty  feet  between 
joynts,"  "and  to  be  shingled  and  Inclosed  be- 
fore the  next  winter."  They  then  chose  Colonel 
Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  Colonel  William  Symes 
and  Lieutenant  Samuel  Ashley  a  committee  to 
do  the  same.  The  committee  evidently  im- 
mediately proceeded  to  carry  into  effect  the 
vote  of  the  town,  and  to  a  certain  extent  ac- 
complished their  purpose,  for  the  notification  of 
the  annual  meeting  of  March  3,  1761,  warns 
"all  the  freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Winchester, duely  qualified  to  vote 
in  Town  affairs,  to  Meet  at  the  Meeting-house 
in  Said  Winchester,"  etc.  This  building  was 
never  fully  completed,  and  was  abandoned  in 
1705  (br  the  building  which  now  stands  in  our 
public  square,  and  is  occupied  in  part  by  the 
town  as  a  town  hall,  and  in  part  for  religious 
purposes  by  the  CJniversalist  Church.  Till  17<il 
all   the  officers  chosen   by  the  proprietors,  and 


WINCHESTER. 


565 


at  the  different  town-meetings,  were,  and  were 
obliged  to  be,  members  of  the  Orthodox  Church, 
else  they  could  not  be  qualified  to  perform  their 
official  duties ;  but  at  a  town-meeting  held  on 
the  6th  of  March,  1764,  the  right  of  men  to 
hold  office  in  Winchester  regardless  of  creed 
was  recognized  ;  for  the  warrant  under  which 
this  meeting  was  held  reads  : 

"  Province  of  New  Hampshire! 

"To  Reuben  Alexander,  Constable  for  the  Town  of 
Winchester,  in  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire, 
Greeting : — In  His  Majesty's  Name  you  are  hereby 
required  forthwith  to  warne  all  the  freeholders  and 
other  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Winchester  to  meet 
at  the  Meeting-House  in  Sa  Town  of  Winchester  on 
Tuesday,  the  Sixth  day  of  March  next,  at  Ten  of  the 
Clock  in  the  forenoon,  to  Chose  Town  Officers  of  All 
Denominations,  to  serve  the  Town  this  present 
year.  .  . 

"JOSIAH   WlLLARD,       ] 

"Samuel  Ashley,       l&kctmen    of 
"  Nath'l  Rockwood,  J 


Winchester." 


At  this  meeting  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  Mas 
chosen  moderator  ;  Nathaniel  Rockwood,  town 
clerk ;  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  Lieuten- 
ant Samuel  Ashley  and  John  Gould,  selectmen 
and  assessors;  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  town 
treasurer;  Samson  Willard,  constable;  Joseph 
Dodge,  Samson  Willard  and  Hilkiah  Grout, 
surveyors  of  highways ;  Ensign  Ebenezer 
Alexander,  tithingman  ;  William  Temple,  John 
Peirce  and  Nathaniel  Brown  Dodge,  fence- view- 
ers ;  John  Gould,  deer-reeve ;  Reuben  Alexan- 
der and  Isaac  Temple,  hog-reeves ;  Ensign 
Ebenezer  Alexander  to  take  care  of  meeting- 
house ;  all  of  whom  were  on  the  same  day 
sworn  "to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  several 
offices.  Before  Josiah  Willard,  Justice  of 
Peace."  From  the  date  of  this  meeting  to  the 
present  time  a  man's  religious  belief  or  want 
of  belief  has  not  been  made  a  critical  test  as  to 
his  fitness  to  serve  the  town  of  Winchester  in 
an  official  capacity. 

Up  to  this  date,  from  November  12,  1736, 
when  the  Rev.  Joseph  Ashley  was  settled  as  a 


minister  of  the  gospel  by  vote  of  the  proprie- 
tors, and  for  many  succeeding  years,  the  minis- 
ter was  chosen  by  a  direct  vote  in  open  town- 
meetings,  and  their  compensation  provided  for 
by  general  taxatiou,  in  the  same  manner  as 
other  town  expenses.  In  fact,  the  "  minister  " 
was  one  of  the  town  officials. 

It  was  not  till  1770  that  the  town  found  it- 
self able  or  in  a  situation  to  require  a  division 
of  its  school  money,  or  the  establishment  of 
school  districts  in  different  sections  of  the  town  ; 
but  this  year  a  school  Mas  established  near  the 
meeting-house,  one  near  Echobod  Franklin's, 
and  the  other  near  where  Mi  rev  Brook  road 
comes  into  the  Country  road,  "  Each  District 
to  Draw  their  own  Proportion  of  money 
Granted  for  Schooling  if  laid  out  in  Schooling. 
The  Neighbourhood  of  Cap1  Samuel  Smith  was 
also  allowed  to  draw  their  proportion  of  money 
if  they  will  lay  it  out  in  schooling  ;  Granted  for 
schooling."  "  If  these  Parties  do  not  lay  out 
their  money  in  schooling,  they  shall  pay  it  to 
party  or  parties  that  do  keep,"  Mras  the  vote, 
and  "  Twenty  pounds,  Lawful  money,"  were 
appropriated  for  the  support  of  schools,  and 
John  Gould,  Ebenezer  Alexander  and  Captain 
Samuel  Smith  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
"  Transact  the  whole  Business  of  the  Schools." 
The  first  representative  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  New  Hampshire,  which  was  convened  at 
Portsmouth,  May  22,  1771,  M'as  chosen  in  the 
person  of  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  freeholders  held  on  May  20, 
1771.  Colonel  William  Ashley  was  the  next 
representative,  and  he  was  elected  in  1774.  In 
this  year  was  also  established  the  practice  of 
exempting  from  the  payment  of  poll-tax  per- 
sons of  seventy  years  of  age  and  upwards. 

Winchester  bore  zealously  and  generously  all 
the  burdens  that  fell  to  her  share  of  the  expen- 
ses of  the  Revolution  and  its  war.  She  com- 
menced her  active  support  of  the  Continental 
Congress  by  a  vote,  on  September  19,  1774, 
directing  that  "  Two  pounds  be  taken  out  of  the 
Treasury,"  and  to  be  used  "  for  the  support  of 


566 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Delegates  that  are  gone  to  Philadelphia." 
On  the  12th  of  May,  1775,  Captain  Samuel 
Smith,  Ensign  Reuben  Alexander,  Nehemiah 
Houghton,  Philip  Goss,  Jeremiah  Pratt  and 
John  Alexander  were  chosen  a  Committee  of 
Inspection.  This  committee  was  chosen  under 
an  article  in  the  warrant, — "To  see  if  the  town 
would  provide  a  convenient  stock  of  powder 
and  lead."  Article  2  in  the  warrant  for  a 
meeting  held  Monday,  June  1,  1775,  reads, — 
"  To  see  if  the  people  will  concur  with  what 
our  Provincial  Congress  has  done  in  bearing  our 
proportion  of  money  in  the  support  of  the 
war,"  and  the  vote  was  "  to  pay  the  two  thou- 
sand men  agreable  to  the  Congress,  and  to 
comply  with  what  they  have  done." 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1775,  the  se- 
lectmen, Reuben  Alexander,  Joseph  Stowel 
and  Nehemiah  Houghton,  issued  a  public  re- 
quest, directed  to  John  Stearns,  one  of  the 
constables,  in  the  following  language: 

"  Whereas,  as  the  Provincial  Congress  has  re- 
quired us  to  take  an  exact  account  of  the  fire-arms 
and  powder  that  belongs  to  the  town,  wee  therefore 
desire  that  each  man  would  return  the  same  to  us." 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  12th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1775,  "Col.  Samuel  Ashley  was  chosen 
to  represent  the  said  Town  of  Winchester  in 
general  Congress,  to  be  holden  at  Exeter  on  the 
21st  Day  of  December,  1775,  and  for  the  year 
insuing,"  and  voted  that  he  be  instructed  to  do 
what  is  set  forth  in  the  warrant,  viz.  :  Article 
2d,- 

"  To  Elect  one  person  having  a  Real  Estate  of  the 
Value  of  two  hundred  Pounds,  Lawful  money,  in 
this  Colony,  to  Represent  them  in  general  Congress, 
to  We  held  at  Exeter  on  the  Twenty-first  day  of  De- 
cembei  Next,  at  three  of  the  Clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  to  impower  such  Representative  for  the  Term  of 
one  year.  Their  first  meeting  to  Transact  Such  Busi- 
ness &  Pursue  Such  measures  as  they  may  Judge 
Necessary  for  the  publick  good,  and  in  Case  there 
Should  be  a  Recommendation  from  the  Continental 
Congress  that  this  Colony  assume  Government  in  any 
Perticular  Form  which  will  Require  a  house  of  Rep- 
resentatives, that  they  Resolve  themselves  into  such 


a  house  as  the  said  Continental  Congress  Shall  Rec- 
ommend, and  it  is  Resolved  that  no  person  be 
allowed  a  seat  in  congress  who  shall,  by  himself  or 
any  person  for  him,  Before  the  Said  Choice,  Treat 
with  Liquor  any  Electors  with  an  apparent  View  of 
gaining  their  votes  or  afterwards  on  that  account.'" 

This  resolution  incorporated  in  this  warrant 
by  the  selectmen  has  a  very  familiar  look; 
for  influencing  voters  by  offers  of  liquor, 
money  or  other  prized  or  valuable  considera- 
tions has  been  considered  one,  if  not  the 
greatest  bane  of  modern  politics.  But  we  can- 
not otherwise  than  believe  from  the  above- 
quoted  language  that  our  forefathers  were  given 
to  the  same  weaknesses  and  wickedness  as  our- 
selves in  this  respect,  for  had  not  the  evil  been 
observed,  and  its  pernicious  effects  noted, 
Reuben  Alexander,  Nehemiah  Houghton  and 
Joseph  Stowel,  as  selectmen  of  Winchester  in 
1775,  would  never  have  resolved  against  its 
practice. 

The  second  article  in  the  warrant  for  the 
meeting  of  January  20,  1  77s;  reads, — "  To  see 
what  method  the  Town  will  Come  into  Respect- 
ing Raising  men  to  fill  up  our  Cotto  in  the 
(  ontinental  army." 

The  third, — "To  sec  what  method  the  Town 
will  take  Respecting  the  Vote  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  Passed  Dec.  17,  1777,  of  call- 
ing a  free  Representation  of  all  the  People  of 
this  State  for  the  Sole  Purpose  of  Framing  and 
laying  a  Permanent  plan  or  System  for  the 
future  Government  of  This  State,"  and  they 
"  voted  that  the  Town  will  make  a  Rate  to  hire 
our  Quotto  of  men  in  the  Continental  Army, 
and  that  those  that  have  been  in  the  Service 
Shall  Be  alowed  out  of  Sd  Rate  as  much  Pr 
month  as  we  are  obliged  to  give  now  Pr  month, " 
and  then  "voted  to  Chuse  a  Commeetys  to 
transact  the  business  of  hiring  the  above  men 
and  to  make  this  Kate."  Then  "voted  that 
this  eommety  consist  of  Seven,  and  Lieut. 
Nehemiah  Houghton,  Joseph  Stowel.  Mr. 
Enoch  Stowel,  L*.  Benjamin  Willson,  Mr. 
Josiah  Stebbins,  Cap*.  Rheuben  Alexander  and 


WINCHESTER. 


567 


Mr.  Abraham  Scott  were  chosen."  They  also 
"  voted  to  instruct  our  Representative  to  call  a 
free  Representation  of  all  the  People  in  this 
State  to  Lay  a  Plan  of  Government  for  the 
future." 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1778,  they  chose 
Colonel  Samuel  Ashley  as  a  delegate  to  sit  in 
the  convention  at  Concord  to  form  a  plan  of 
government  for  the  State. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  10th  day  of  June, 
1778  (which  had  but  two  days'  notice),  they 
voted  "that  those  men  that  ingage  for  the  Ser- 
vise  agoing  to  Rhodisland  State  Shall  be  alowed 
as  much  per  month  as  the  Continental  Soldiers, 
and  to  be  alowed  in  the  Rates  in  Like  man- 
ner." 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1779,  the  town  "  voted  to 
raise  the  five  men  sent  for  from  our  Court  for 
the  Continental  Service,  and  two  for  to  go  to 
Rhodisland  State,"  and  "  to  Hire  these  or  the 
above  men  as  the  Continental  men  was  in  the 
year  1778,  and  the  hire  to  be  made  into  a  Rate 
as  was  done  then." 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1779,  the  town 
voted  on  the  question  of  "  Excepting  the  Plan 
of  Government  Sent  us  by  the  Convention  at 
Concord;  35  voted  in  the  affirmative  and  18 
in  the  negative," — showing  a  voting  population 
of  fifty-three,  which  was  probably  the  full  vote 
of  the  town,  as  a  question  of  such  magnitude 
as  the  formation  of  a  permanent  State  govern- 
ment, and  one  involving  such  questions  of  utmost 
moment  as  renouncing;  allegiance  to  one  ruler 
and  government,  through  rebellion,  and  accept- 
ing a  new  form  of  government  and  new  ruins, 
establishing  a  new  nation  amongst  the  family 
of  nations,  would  create  such  an  interest  as 
would  be  sufficient  to  cause  every  person  en- 
dowed with  the  right  of  suffrage  to  exercise 
that  right  if  it  were  possible  for  him  to  do  so. 

On  June  29,  1780,  the  town  "  voted  to  Hire 
the  Continental  men  (Now  sent  for)  In  the 
same  way  and  manor  as  formerly  they  was 
Hired,  viz.  :  by  a  Town  Tax,"  and  Mr.  Simon 
Willard,  Lieutenant  Abraham  Scott  and  Lieu- 


tenant John  Alexander  were  chosen  "  a  committe 
for  the  Purpose  of  Hireing  Said  Continental 
men."  On  the  5th  of  August  they  "  Voted  to  raise 
the  Beef  sent  for  as  our  Quoto  from  our  General 
Court."  Also,  "  that  the  Selectmen  should  class 
the  People  of  the  town  into  classes  in  order  for 
each  class  to  provide  their  Quoto  of  sd  Beef." 
Another  requisition  for  soldiers  having  been 
made  by  Congress,  it  was  "  Voted,  February 
5,  1781,  to  raise  the  Continental  men  sent  for 
by  our  Court,  and  to  raise  the  above  soldiers 
By  a  Rate  as  formerly,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Wright, 
Lt.  Enoch  Stowel,  Mr.  Daniel  Smith,  Lt. 
Abraham  Scott  and  Mr.  Nat"  Brown  Dodge 
were  chosen  a  committee  for  the  above  purpose." 
On  the  28th  day  of  March,  1781,  the  town 
"  voted  not  to  join  with  the  State  of  Vermont." 
This  vote  was  an  answer  to  a  request  that  had 
been  presented  to  the  voters  of  Winchester  to 
join  with  Cornish,  Lebanon,  Enfield,  Dresden, 
Canaan,  Cardigan,  Oxford,  Lyme,  Piermont, 
Haverhill,  Bath,  Lyman,  Gunthwait,  Apthorp, 
Landaff  and  Morristown,  and  form  a  union 
with  Vermont.  These  towns,  lying  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  had,  on  March 
11,  1778,  petitioned  the  new  State  of  Vermont 
to  be  united  with  that  State.  Evidently  this 
reply  was  not  satisfactory  to  Vermont,  for  it 
appears  by  the  fourth  article  of  the  warrant  for  a 
meeting  to  be  held  on  April  21, 1781,  that  Ver- 
mont sought  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  Win- 
chester notwithstanding  her  emphatic  refusal 
to  join  the  attempt  at  union.  The  article 
reads, — "  To  see  what  notice  the  town  will  take 
of  the  warrant  sent  to  our  Constable  from  the 
State  of  Vermont."  The  vote  was  expressed 
in  terse,  emphatic  language.  "  Voted  not  to 
join  the  union  with  Vermont."  The  towns 
that  did  vote  to  join  the  Vermont  union  were 
Hinsdale,  Charlestown,  Claremont,  Plainfield, 
Grafton,  Lyme,  Gunthwait,  Surry,  Ac  worth, 
Newport,  Grantham,  Dresden,  Dorchester,  Lan- 
caster, Gilsum,  Lempster,  Cornish,  Marlow, 
Hanover,  Haverhill,  Piermont,  Westmoreland, 
Saville,  Cardigan,  Lyman,   Morristown,  Bath, 


568 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Croydon,  Landaff,  Lincoln,  Richmond,  Leb- 
anon, Alstead,  Chesterfield, — thirty-four  in  all. 
On  the  28th  of  May,  1781,  the  town  "  voted  to 
Raise  six  men  Lately  sent  for  from  the  Court 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  to  pay  the  above  six 
soldiers  forty  shillings  a  month,  silver  money, 
or  other  money  equivalent,  upon  their  giving 
their  orders  upon  the  State  Treasurer  for  the 
same,  or  any  Part  thereof,  for  the  Town's  se- 
curity, and  that  they  would  pay  the  six  months 
&  three  months  (men)  with  the  money  that  is  in 
the  Constable's  hands  that  was  raised,  and  for 
which  the  Town  was  Taxed  as  Continental  & 
State  Tax,  for  the  year  1780,  and  they  are  to 
Secure  the  Town  as  aforesaid."  Evidently  the 
town  had  begun  to  feel  the  burden  of  the  war 
seriously,  and  to  find  it  difficult  to  secure  the 
men  needful  to  fill  her  quota ;  for  in  the  war- 
rant for  a  meeting  to  be  held  on  June  1.3, 1781, 
article  second  reads, — "To  see  what  measures 
the  town  will  come  into  to  get  our  Proportion 
of  Beef  for  the  use  of  the  Continental  Army." 
The  third, — "  To  see  if  the  Town  will  take  any 
further  measures  in  getting  our  (the)  Soldiers 
for  the  Continental  Service,  and  six  months' 
men  ;"  and  it  was  voted  "to  Raise  the  Con- 
tinental Beef  By  a  tax  on  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town."  A  committee  was  chosen  "  to  Look 
u  j>  Some  Beef  for  the  Present  Necessity  of  the 
Army."  Lieutenant  John  Alexander  and  Mr. 
Samuel  Wright  were  chosen.  Then  it  was 
voted  "  that  the  Committee  that  was  Chosen  in 
a  former  meeting  for  to  hire  the  Continental 
Soldiers  should  still  Remain  in  that  Station 
with  some  alteration,  viz.  :  Droping  Mr.  N. 
Brown  Dodge,  and  voting  and  chusing  Ensg" 
John  Curtis  in  his  Room."  This  action  did  not 
seem  to  secure  the  desired  result,  as  a  meeting 
called  for  July  11,  1781,  was  to  determine  if 
"the  Town  will  Hire  the  Continental  men  for 
six  months  if  they  cannot  be  got  for  a  longer 
time,"  and  "to  see  what  method  the  town  will 
take  to  supply  the  Town  Treasury,  seeing  our 
money  is  Dead."  At  this  meeting  it  was  voted 
to  "  Raise  the  men  sent   for  from  the  Court  of 


New  Hampshire  for  six  months  if  they  cannot 
Be  had  for  a  Longer  time,  and  Engn  John 
Curtis,  Mr.  N.  Brown  Dodge,  D\  Asahel 
Jewell,  Mr.  Sam1  Wright  and  Mr.  James 
Franklin  were  chosen  a  committe  to  hire 
said  men."  It  was  then  voted  to  hire  the 
above  men,  "money  at  the  Rate  of  Rye 
being  3s.  4(7.  pr  Bushel."  On  the  11th 
of  December,  1781,  the  town  voted  to  accept 
the  new  plan  of  government  sent  to  us  "  for 
Exceptance  or  Amendment."  At  a  meeting 
held  on  April  22,  1782,  it  was  voted  to  hire  a 
committee  for  the  purpose  of  hiring  the  town's 
quota  of  Continental  soldiers  for  three  years. 
This  committee  consisted  of  Lieutenant  Nath- 
aniel Oaks,  Mr.  Asa  Alexander,  Mr.  Francis 
Verry  and  Mr.  Moses  Chamberlain.  It  would 
seem  that  not  all  the  citizens  of  Winchester 
were  considered  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  cause 
of  the  new  government,  for  we  find  Reuben 
Alexander,  Samuel  Wright  and  Simon  Willard, 
selectmen,  issuing  their  precept  to  James  Frank- 
lin, constable,  as  follows: 

"  State  of  New  Hampshire,  1      To  James    Franklin, 
"  Cheshire,  S.  S.  j  one  of  the  Constables  of 

the  Town  of  Winchester,  greeting  :  In  the  Name  of 
this  State  you  are  hereby  Required  forthwith  to  warn 
out  Roger  Hill,  Jonathan  Hill,  Anthony  Combs, 
Lydia  Combs,  Daniel  Combs,  George  Hill,  Joseph 
Hill,  Barnabus  Hill,  Stephen  Combs,  Lydia  Hill, 
Rosilla  Hill,  Phebe  Combs,  Prudence  Combs,  Rosilla 
Edmonds  and  the  Widow,  Anna  Fassett,  to  Depart 
out  of  this  Town  within  fourteen  Days,  or  otherwise 
they  will  be  Dealt  with  as  the  Law  Directs  ;  and  see 
that  you  make  Return  of  this  Warrant  to  the  Clerk 
of  the  Court  of  the  Quarter  Sessions. 

"Given  under  our  hands  and  Seal  this  tenth  Day 
of  Feb.  A.  D.,  1783. 

"  Rheuben  Alexander,  ^ 
"  Samuel  Wright,  V  Selectmen. 

"  Simon  Willard,  J 

"Winchester  March  11,  1783.— This  may  certify 
that  1  have  warned  out  all  the  Persons  in  the  War- 
rant herewith  committed  to  me. 

"  James  Franklin. 
"  Constable. 
"  Attest,  Paul  Richardson,  Town  Clerk.'' 


WINCHESTER. 


509 


On  the  24th  of  March,  1783,  the  town  was 
called  upon  to  see  if  it  would  still  continue  the 
old  Constitution  till  the  10th  day  of  June,  1784, 
and  they  voted  to  continue  the  old  form  of  gov- 
ernment till  that  date,  or  until  a  more  perma- 
nent plan  should  take  place.  On  the  15th  of- 
September,  1783,  a  new  plan  of  government 
having  been  submitted,  it  was  voted  to  adopt 
the  same  by  a  vote  of  forty-two.  It  is  evident 
from  the  above  that  the  close  of  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  found  Winchester,  both  as  to  men 
and  money,  impoverished.  Their  quota  of  men 
for  the  Continental  army  had  not  been  com- 
pletely filled,  and  the  State  had  issued  an  "  ex- 
tent "  against  her  for  a  "  very  considerable  sum 
of  money,"  which  the  State  had  offered  to  com- 
promise and  accept  payment  of  in  beef  at  "  twen- 
ty-four shillings  L"1  (lawful  money)  per  hundred- 
weight," to  secure  her  just  dues,  besides  large 
amounts  of  admitted  and  contested  claims  in  the 
hands  of  private  individuals. 

The  subject  of  a  new  meeting-house  began  to 
be  agitated  very  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary War,  and  it  was  decided,  by  vote  of 
the  town  on  October  1,  1792,  "to  build  a  new 
Meeting-House,"  and  that  it  should  be  built  "  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Hill  where  the  New  School- 
House  now  standeth."  Colonel  Reuben  Alex- 
ander, Captain  Moses  Chamberlain,  Captain 
Daniel  Hawkins,  Captain  Noah  Pratt  and  Lieu- 
tenant John  Butler  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
inspect  the  building  of  said  meeting-house,  and 
they  were  instructed  "  to  have  it -.  completed 
within  three  years  from  this  Day."  So  much 
dissatisfaction  having  arisen  in  regard  to  the 
location  of  the  new  meeting-house,  the  question 
of  re-locating  was  brought  before  the  town  on 
the  2d  of  December,  1793,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined by  vote  "  to  Set  the  meeting-house  on 
the  Nearest  Spot  to  the  Center  that  is  Con- 
venient for  the  Inhabitants,"  and  a  committee 
consisting  of  Captain  Daniel  Hawkins,  Mr. 
Francis  Very  and  Captain  William  Humphrey 
were  chosen  "to  see  where  the  Center  of  the 
Town  is."     This  committee  reported   that  the 


centre  was  "a  Spot  Northerly  of  and  Near  Mr. 
Ezra  Conant's."  This  location  was  very  near 
the  location  of  anew  house  just  erected  by  Mr. 
James  E.  Coxeter,  at  the  junction  of  the  roads 
leading  from  Mr.  Asahel  Jewell's  and  the  one 
leading  from  Mr.  Charles  Jackson's  to  Win- 
chester. But  this  report  and  location  was  not 
accepted,  and  it  was  voted,  December  24,  1793, 
by  a  vote  of  sixty-seven  yeas  to  forty-six  nays, 
"to  locate  the  new  meeting-house  where  the  old 
meeting-house  now  stands."  This  last  location, 
though  the  vote  seems  very  decisive,  did  not 
give  satisfaction,  and  the  whole  subject  of  loca- 
tion again  came  before  the  town  on  their  meet- 
ing on  the  24th  of  March,  1794,  when  Sanford 
Kingsbury,  Esq.,  John  Hubbard,  Esq.,  and 
Colonel  Samuel  Hunt  were  chosen  a  committee 
"to  say  where  the  Meeting-House  should  stand," 
and  they  voted  to  raise  money  sufficient  to  build 
a  meeting-house.  This  committee  reported, 
April  14,  1794,  that  "the  new  Meeting-House 
Shall  stand  where  the  Red  School-House  now 
stands,"  and  it  was  voted  "  to  sell  the  Pews 
at  Publick  Vandue  to  the  highest  Bidder,  and 
that  if  the  Pews  Sell  for  any  more  than  to  build 
Said  Meeting-House  and  under-Pining  and 
Raising  and  Liveling  the  Ground  about  said 
Meeting-House,  Theu  the  Remainder  to  be  re- 
turned back  to  the  Pew-holders  in  Proportion 
to  what  Each  Pew  cost,"  and  Captain  Daniel 
Hawkins  was  chosen  "  Vandue-master." 

Colonel  Reuben  Alexander  bought  Pew  No. 
35,  at  £37  ;  Lieutenant  Abraham  Scott,  Xo.  44, 
at  £35 ;  Captain  John  Alexander,  No.  47,  at 
£27  10s.;  Elijah  Dodge,  No.  1,  at  £26;  Deacon 
Moses  Chamberlain,  No.  15,  at  £26  10s.;  Dea- 
con Joseph  Stowell,  No.  14,  at  £24;  Mr.  John 
Butler,  No.  16,  at  £26;  Major  Philip  (Joss,  Xo. 
17,  at  £24  10s.;  Caleb  Alexander,  Xo.  37,  at 
£25;  Mr.  Stephen  Hawkins,  Xo.  39,  at  £25; 
Asa  Alexander,  No.  34,  at  £24  10s.;  John 
Erskiu,  No.  45,  at  £23;  Jeremiah  Pratt,  No. 
46,  at  £23;  William  Humphey,  No.  11,  at 
£21  10s.;  John  Curtis,  No.  27,  at  £22;  Ezra 
Parker,  No.  38,  at  £23;  Daniel  Hawkins,  Xo. 


570 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


10,  at  £22;    Justus  Jewel,  No.   26,  at   £22; 
Samuel  Wood,  No.  33,  at  £22;  Waitstill  Field, 
No.   12,  at  £21 ;    Ebenezer  Scott,  No.  18,  at 
£20  10*.;  David  Hammond,  No.  13,  at  £20  10s.; 
Rev.  Ezra  Conant,  No.  22,  at  £20;  Noah  Pratt, 
No.  40,  at  £20;  Samuel  Warren,  No.  2,  at £18  ; 
John  Hutchins,  No.  31,  at £15;  Daniel  Hawk- 
ins, Jr.,  No.  43,   at  £17;  Benjamin    Kingman, 
No.  28,  at  £17 ;  Henry  Thayer,  No.  20,  at  £10 
10s.;  John   Follett,   No.  42,  at  £11}  10s.;  Na- 
thaniel  Lawrence,  Jr.,   No.  41,  at  £16;    Reu- 
ben Alexander,  Jr.,   No.  4,  at  £16  10s.;  Ziba 
Ware,  No.  9,  at  £1(5  10s.;  Theodotius  Moore, 
No.  32,  at  £16  10s.;    Benjamin  Doolittle,  No. 
24,  at  £16;    Francis  Very,   No.    10,   at  £16; 
Joshua  and    Phineas  Lyman,  Xo.  20,  at  £16  ; 
James  Scott,  No.  30,  at  £17;  Ebenezer  Dodge, 
No.    21,  at  £16  5s.;    Noah  Pratt,  No.  25,  at 
£16;  Benjamin  Melvin,  No.  8,  at  £16 ;  Caleb 
Alexander,  Xo.  6,  at  £16;    Miss   Abigil   Hos- 
kins,  Xo.  23,  at  £16  ;    Tertius  Lyman,   No.  3, 
at  £16  ;  Jeremiah  Pratt,  Xo.  5,  at  £16 ;  Eben- 
ezer Killani  and  Jonah  French,   No.  7,  at  £16. 
These  pews  were  all  in  the  body  of  the  house. 
The  pews  in  the  gallery  were  sold  to  Abraham 
Scott,  Xo.  11,  at  £17  10s.;  Noah  Pratt,  Xo.  16, 
at  £6  10s.;  John  Curtis,  Xo.  4,  at  £13;  John 
Erskin,  No.  2,  at  £6   12s.;   Justus  Jewel,  No. 
13,  at  £12  10s.;  John  Hatch,  No.  20,  at  £6  12s.; 
Daniel   Hawkins,  Xo.  0,  at  £11    10s.;  James 
Scott,  No.  7,  at  £11  ;    Noah   Pratt,  Xo.  6,  at 
Co  1  4.s. ;   Elijah  Butler,  No.  1  5,  at  £1]  ;  Theo- 
dotius  Moore,  No.   5,  at  £5  lis.;  Ziba  Ware, 
No.    11,  at  £10  10s.;    Noah    Pratt,    No.  1,  at 
£10  ;  Johen  Erskin,  Xo.  3,  at  £10;   Asa  Alex- 
ander,   No.   21,   at  £10;   Jonas  Hunt,  No.  17, 
at  £0  ;  Moses  Chamberlain,  Xo.  10,  ;it  !> ;  John 
Follett,  Xo.  18,  at  £8    10s.;    John   Hutchins, 
X<>.  10,  at  £8  10s.;    Daniel   Hawkins,   Xo.  12, 
at  £8;    William  Rixford,  Xo.   8,  at  £8;  the 
whole  aggregating,  £1130    4s,   or,   in  dollars, 
$5058.05.      On   the    12th    of  October,    1795, 
Captain  Samuel    Smith   made  a  donation  to  the 
town   of    a   bell  for    the    new    meeting-house 
which  weighed  837  pounds.     For  this  the  town 


publicly    and    unanimously    voted     him    their 
thanks.     At  this   meeting  the  town  voted    to 
purchase  a  clock  for  the  new  meeting-house,  and 
appropriated  the  money  "  that  the  old  meeting- 
house sold  for  to  pay  for  it,  with  what  may  be 
subscribed."      It  seems  that  no  great  success  at- 
tended the  efforts  of  those  interested  in  the  pur- 
chase of  a  town  clock  for  several  years,  for  at  a 
meeting  held   on   the  5th    of  March,  1  700,  the 
subject  was   again    before   the  town   for  action, 
and  it  was  voted  "that  the  money  that  the  old 
.meeting-house  sold  for  should  go  towards  pay- 
ing for  a  clock  for  the  newr   meeting-house  if 
made  within  one  year,"  and  as  no  further  action 
is  shown  to  have   been   had  on  the  subject,  it  is 
fair   to   presume  that  the  clock   was   marking 
time  for  the  good  people  of  Winchester  by  the 
morning  of  the  New   Year  of  1800,  as  the  old 
clock  is  well  remembered  by  the  writer,  as  well 
as  by  most  of  the  older  citizens  now  living.    At 
this  same  meeting,  in  1700,  Samuel  Smith,  Esq., 
who  had  previously  given  the  bell,  tendered  the 
town  an  organ,   and  it   was    "voted  to  accept 
the  same  and  to  provide  a  place  in  the  .Meeting- 
House  for  the  organ,  and  to  hire  an   organist." 
The  town   also  voted  Mr.  Smith   their  thanks 
for  the  gift.     This  organ   is   now  in   existence, 
stored  away  in  the  loft  connected  with  the  town 
hall.     It  furnished  music  for  Sabbath   services 
till  during  the   present   generation.     A    proper 
appreciation  of  the  gift;    the  historical   recol- 
lections  surrounding   it;    the  pride  in  the  fact 
that    it   is  one  of  the  very  firs!    church   organs, 
if  not  the  first  ever  constructed,  in  this  country  ; 
that  it  was  constructed   in  Winchester  and  by  a 
citizen  of  Winchester,  Henry  Pratt,  Esq., — all 
surest  its   immediate   removal    from    the  dust 
and  cobwebs  that   now  cover  and   surround    it, 
and  the  placing  it  in  some  secure  yet  accessible 
position,  where  it  may  be  preserved  for  the  edi- 
fication  and    veneration  of   succeeding  genera- 
tions.    It  will  be  observed  that  the  name  of  the 
second  Colonel  Josiah  Willard  has  disappeared 
from    amongst    the    names   of    those   who   were 
prominent    in    the    municipal    affairs   of   Win- 


WINCHESTER. 


571 


chester.  The  observing  who  frequent  Ever- 
green Cemetery  have  noticed,  standing  near  the 
centre  of  the  little  two-acre  burying-ground, 
set  apart  by  the  original  proprietors  as  the  final 
earthly  resting-place  for  their  departed  friends, 
a  monument  differing  in  all  respects  from  any 
erected  either  before  or  since, — a  slate  stone 
slab,  five  inches  in  thickness,  three  feet  ,in 
width  by  six  feet  in  length,  resting  upon 
granite  posts.  These  supports  were  originally 
of  brick,  but  were  replaced  with  stone  a  few 
years  ago  by  the  town,  as  the  brick  were  fast 
crumbling  in  pieces.  This  slab  bears  upon  its 
upper  face  the  following  inscription  : 

"Col.  Josiah  Willard,  who  died  April  ye  19th,  1786, 
in  the  72nd  year  of  his  age.  His  birth  and  education, 
which  were  honorable,  he  dishonored  not  in  his 
youth.  At  an  early  period  of  his  existence  he  be- 
gan to  figure  on  the  stage  of  life.  His  disposition 
and  manners  were  engaging.  His  connexions 
numerous  and  respectable.  His  vocations  various 
and  important.  His  usefulness  and  influence  equally 
extensive,  and  the  present  populous  and  flourishing 
state  of  the  Western  Terratories  may  be  attributed, 
in  a  great  measure  to  his  vigorous  and  laudable  exer- 
tions in  promoting  ye  settlement  &  cultivation  of  ye 
wilderness.  His  principals  &  morals  were  unim- 
peachable. His  Faith  and  practice  truly  Evangelical. 
Sensible,  social  &  beloved,  his  heart  and  doors  were 
always  open  to  his  friends  in  general,  and  to  ye 
learned,  regular  &  reputable  among  ye  clergy  in  par- 
ticular. He  lived  and  died  in  a  firm  belief  of  ye 
Gospel.  Supported  and  sustained  to  yc  End  of  his 
course  by  a  hope  and  prospect  of  an  immortal  Crown. 
His  family  and  friends,  in  his  death,  sustain  a  loss 
irreparable.  He  will  be  held  long  in  remembrance. 
The  wise  will  immitate  his  virtues  and  fools  lament 
they  did  not,  when  he  shall  rise  immortal." 

Thus  he  rests  in  the  beautiful  valley,  "  The 
Sheomet,"  that  he  had  given  almost  the 
whole  years  of  his  life,  and  all  the  energies  of 
his  being,  to  reclaim  from  the  wilderness.  All 
that  surround  this  treasure-house  of  greatness 
testify  in  honor  of  the  man,  of  his  character 
and  his  abilities.  It  was  to  him,  more  than  to 
his  father,  that  the  settlers  all  turned  in  their 


difficulties  for  advice,  and  to  him  in  their  dis- 
tress for  comfort.  He  was  the  friend  and 
counselor  in  all  private  matters,  who  was  the 
consulted  as  well  as  the  trusted  adviser  and 
manager  in  all  the  public  affairs  of  the  town- 
ship and  town. 

From  early  in  the  commencement  of  the 
settlement  till  the  year  1816  the  Orthodox  or 
Congregational  ists  were  the  established  church. 
Its  ministers  had  been  called  by  the  town  and 
dismissed  by  the  town  in  open  town-meeting, 
and  they  had  been  supported  by  the  town  and 
paid  their  salary  from  the  public  treasury,  as 
all  other  demands  against  the  town  were  paid. 
But  differences  of  opinions  upon  religious  sub- 
jects had  gradually  developed  in  the  minds  of 
the  people,  and  it  was  felt  by  many  a  grievous 
hardship  and  an  injustice  to  suffer  taxation  for 
the  support  of  and  the  teaching  of  religious 
opinions  that  were  repugnant  to  their  own,  and 
when,  in  1804,  it  was  desired  to  settle  the  Rev. 
Experience  Porter,  a  protest,  as  follows,  was 
spread  upon  the  records  of  the  town  : 

"We  the  Subscribers,  Tnhabents  of  the  town  of 
Winchester,  Respectfully  Shew  to  the  Selectmen  and 
other  Inhabents  of  Said  Winchester  that  in  matters  of 
Religion  we  are  and  have  been  for  Considerable  Time 
different  in  sentiment  from  those  who  are  now  about 
to  Setel  a  minister,  viz.,  Mr.  Porter,  for  their  Teacher 
in  Morality  &  Religion,  &  as  we  are  not  fully  in  Sen- 
timent with  said  Porter  &  those  of  his  Profession  we 
take  this  early  oportunity  in  this  Public  way  to  de- 
clare our  Decent  from  joining  or  in  any  way  agreeing 
to  the  Settlement  of  said  Porter  as  our  minister,  or  to 
be  any  way  compeled  to  contribute  towards  the  settle- 
ment or  maintenance  of  said  Porter,  and  whereas  we 
are  willing  our  Neighbors  should  injoy  all  their  Priv- 
eleg  with  ourselves  which  the  Constitution  of  this 
State  so  wisely  Provides  for  the  free  enjoyment  of 
all  its  citizens,  that  no  one  Sect  or  Denomination  of 
Religious  Sentiment  Should  be  in  any  Subordination 
to  another,  and  Claiming  that  Wright  to  ourselves,  we 
doe  Now  in  the  fulest  manner  Protest  against  being 
any  way  chargable  in  our  Persons  or  Estates  Towards 
Settling,  Supporting  or  Dismissing  Said  Porter,  wish- 
ing at  the  same  time  you  may  enjoy  all  that  Christian 
liberty  and  enjoyment  which  the  Gospel  of  our  blessed 


572 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


lord  Jesus  Christ  gives  to  its  true  Believers,  and  that 
we  may  all  be  so  happy  as  to  studdy  that  which  will 
make  for  peace  and  where  by  one  may  Edyfy  a 
Nother. 

"  We  still  hold  and  reserve  our  Prevelise  in   the 
meeting  house  with  the  rest  of  the  Town. 


"  Daniel  Hawkins. 
Jeremiah  Hatch. 
Daniel  Holman. 
Abiather  Dean. 
Benjamin  Linkfield. 
Elisha  Holman. 
Jon  a  French. 
Peter  Robinson. 
Brown  Taft. 
Francis  Verry. 
David  Verry. 
Daniel  Verry. 
Sam1  Hammond. 
Oliver  Marble. 
John  Willis. 
Asa  Willis. 
Timothy  Willis. 
Joshua  Willis. 
Oliver  Capron. 
Amos  Adams. 
Daniel  Adams. 


Johnathan  Howard,  Jr. 
Benj.  H.  Whipple. 
Caleb  Holbrook. 
Stephen  Randall. 
Elisha  Allen. 
Benj.  Follet. 
Eliab  Howard. 
John  Howard. 
Amos  Willard. 
Paul  Willard. 
Amos  Willard,  Jr. 
Peter  Willard. 
Joseph  Marble. 
Levi  Marble. 
John  Capron. 
Francis  Cooke. 
Stephen  Franklin. 
Isaac  King. 
Eldad  Wright. 
Azariah  Wright. 
Daniel  Wise. 


Johnathan  Howard,  Far-    John  Morse. 


mer. 
Johnathan  Howard,  Car- 
•    penter. 
William  Ripley. 
Levi  Ripley. 
Matthew  Bartlet. 
John  Evans. 
John  Curtis,  Jr. 
John  Erskin,  Jr. 
S  ilomon  Holton. 
Ebenezer  Franklin. 
Samuel  Goss 
Abraham  Foster. 
Joel  Miles. 
David  Kelly. 
Walter  Follet. 
John  Duncan. 
Thomas  Wheelock. 
Thomas  Wheelock,  Jr. 
Asa  Wheeler. 
Charles  Mansfield. 


William  Carlton. 
Rums  Burt. 
Bohen  Holton. 
Luther  Lawrence. 
Enoch  Davis. 
Elihu  Field. 
Leonard  Field. 
Zachariah  Field. 
Zachariah  Field,  Jr. 
Solomon  Field. 
Elias  Field. 
Nathan  Bent. 
Aseph  Hall. 
Ebenezer  Hutch  ins. 
Simeon  Wheelock. 
Seth  Willard. 
David  Tourtelot. 
Prentice  Field. 
Peletiah  Pomroy. 
Samuel  Warren. 
Samuel  Bond. 


Thomas  How. 
Sylvanus  Stowell. 
Jeremiah  Bullock. 
William  Young. 
William  Young,  Jr. 
Ephraim  Taft. 
Mieha  Bent. 
Elisha  Gunn. 
Caleb  Alexander. 
John  Taylor. 
Nathan  Fassett. 
Philip  Goss. 
Daniel  Tvvitchel. 
Daniel  Coon. 
Daniel  Hawkins,  Jr. 
Daniel  Ashley. 
Thompson  Thayer. 
George  Farrington. 
Ebenezer  Taylor. 
Moses  Alton. 
Benjamin  Flint. 
George  Farrington, 
Asahel  Jewel, 


Thomas  Curtis. 

Joshua  Cook. 

Reuben  Bartlet. 

Abel  Oldham. 

Jonathan  Hill. 

Ephraim  Hawkins. 

Noah  Cadwell. 

Stephan  Hawkins. 

Anthony  Combs. 

Joseph  Tuttle. 

John  Erskin. 

Joseph  Goodenough. 

Elisha  Knapp. 

Daniel  Severance. 

Jessa  Brown. 

Amasa  Wool  ley. 

Welcome  Bartlet. 

Ebenezer  Taylor,  Jr. 

Cyrus  Taylor. 

Ebenezer  French. 

Thomas  Gould. 
Guardians  for  John,  Juliet, 
Persis  andSusanah  Butler." 


The  town  having  conceded  that  it  was  un- 
just to  levy  a  tax  on  such  of  her  citizens  for  the 
maintenance  of  religious  observances  and  cere- 
monies as  were  objectionable  to  them  and 
that  protested  against  such  levy,  were  directly 
called  upon  to  equalize  the  privileges  of  the 
different  sects  or  denominations  in  the  use  of 
the  town's  meeting-house,  and  an  article  was  in- 
troduced into  the  warrant  for  the  meeting  of 
January  5,  1810,  as  follows : 

'  To  See  if  the  town  will  pass  a  vote  to  make  a  di- 
vision of  the  meeting-house  to  each  denomination  for 
their  occupation  according  to  the  proportion  of  Taxes 
which  they  pay  in  said  town,  or  act  thereon  as  the 
town  may  see  proper." 

Upon  which  article  the  town  "  Voted  to  di- 
vide the  meeting-house  according  to  their  taxes, 
and  to  chose  a  Committee  out  of  each  denomi- 
nation to  alot  to  each  Denomination  their  pro- 
portion of  the  meeting-house,"  and  they  then 
chose  Daniel  Hawkins,  Jr.,  Caleb  Alexander, 
Elijah  Stowel,  Samuel  Fassett  and  Enoch  Stow- 
ell their  committee  for  said  purpose.     This  ar- 


WINCHESTER. 


573 


rangement  continued  until  1815,  when  the  town 
refused  by  vote  to  settle  the  Rev.  Mr.  White, 
and  then  voted  that  the  town  consent  that  the 
Congregational  Society  of  Christians  in  this 
town  be  incorporated  as  a  Society.  This  act 
fully  divorced  the  town  from  church  affairs. 
Though  the  Universalists  have  continued  to 
occupy  some  portion  of  the  house,  with  slight 
interruptions,  to  the  present  time,  it  has  been 
thus  occupied  under  a  right  obtained  by  con- 
tract, for  which  they  pay  a  valuable  money 
consideration.  Thus  the  Universalists  saved 
the  body  (retaining  the  meeting-house),  whilst 
the  Congregationalists  took  charge  of  the  spirit 
(having  retained  the  church  organization  and 
records),  whilst  the  Methodists,  which  were  a 
growing  sect,  were  left  to  provide  both  the  body 
and  spirit  in  constructing  their  own  house  of 
worship  and  in  making  their  own  records.  The 
Congregational  Church  was  formed  November 
12,  1736,  with  a  membership  of  twelve,  and 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Ashley  was  ordained  as  pastor 
on  the  same  day.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College  of  the  class  of  1730. 

His  pastorate  continued  until  the  settlement 
was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  war  between 
France  and  England  in  1747,  a  period  of  eleven 
years.  During  this  pastorate  there  were  added 
to  the  church  membership  fifty- one,  making, 
with  the  original  twelve,  sixty-three  names  on 
the  church-rolls.  The  Rev.  Micha  Lawrence, 
the  second  pastor,  was  ordained  November  14, 
176*4,  and  was  dismissed  February  19,  1777. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lawrence  belonged  to  the  King's 
party  rather  than  to  Congress,  and  he  became 
known  as  a  Tory.  His  dismissal  was  mainly 
because  of  his  politics,  Winchester  being  thor- 
oughly loyal  to  Congress.  His  pastorate  con- 
tinued for  a  little  more  than  twelve  years.  At 
its  commencement  the  church  membership  had 
fallen  to  twenty-seven,  and  of  these  only  eight 
were  of  the  sixty-three  members  at  the  close  of 
Mr.  Ashley's  ministry.  The  third  pastor  was 
the  Rev.  Ezra  Conant,  who  was  ordained  Feb- 
ruary  19,  1788,  and  dismissed  November  11, 


1807.  His  pastorate  covered  a  period  of  a  little 
more  than  eighteen  years,  during  which  the 
names  of  forty-seven  members  were  added  to 
the  church  rolls.  Mr.  Conant  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1784.  Mr. 
Conant  took  the  pastorate  of  the  church  under 
very  trying  circumstances.  His  predecessor 
had  been  dismissed  almost  in  disgrace  for  po- 
litical reasons,  and  he  found  the  sentiments  of 
the  people  over  whom  he  was  called  to  preside 
still  divided,  and  the  great  questions  of  national 
and  State  government  undecided.  Mr.  Conant 
felt  the  gravity  of  the  situation  in  all  its  com- 
pleteness, and  that  his  position  in  accepting  the 
call  to  the  ministry  might  not  be  misunderstood, 
he  addressed  a  formal  letter  to  the  church  and 
people  of  Winchester,  in  language  as  follows  : 

"To  the  Church  and  People  of  Winchester. 

"  Brethren  and  Friends : 

"  As  I  have  Recd  an  Invitation  to  Settle  within  the 
work  of  the  Gospel  ministrey,  I  have  taken  it  in 
Serious  and  Deliberate  Consideration ;  have  Sought 
that  Wisdom  from  above  which  is  Profitable  to  Direct 
and  have  endevered  thoroughly  to  weigh  all  Circum- 
stances attending  it ;  have  also  Consulted  Judicious 
and  Disinterested  Persons  on  the  important  Occa- 
sion, and  finally  Considering  the  unanimity  of  the 
Church  and  People  in  giving  the  invitation  and  the 
encouragements  that  have  been  offered,  I  think  it  my 
Duty  to  accept  and  do  now  declare  my  acceptance  of 
your  invitation  and  shall  endeavour  faithfully  to  Dis- 
charge the  duty  of  my  office,  but  Sensible  of  my  weak- 
ness to  Discharge  so  arduous  a  task,  I  ask  your  Pray- 
ers for  me  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  Perform  Accept- 
ably and  that  by  our  mutualy  Persevering  in  Holey- 
ness  and  Righteousness  and  Cordially  adhearing  to 
the  Doctrines  of  Christ  we  may  Rejoice  together  in  the 
Good  Success  of  my  Endeavours  and  that  we  through 
the  whole  Course  of  our  lives  may  incessantly  Strive 
to  live  according  to  the  exact  Rules  of  Cbristianity 
in  endeavouring  to  advance  the  Redeemer's  King- 
dom and  in  Spreading  Peace  and  Tranquility 
around  us,  that  so  we  may  Finally  be  transmitted 
from  the  militant  to  the  Church  triumphant  with  a 
True  testimony  of  our  having  advanced  the  Gospel  of 
our  Great  Redeemer. 


574 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  I  am  Bretheren  and  Friends  your  humble  ser- 
vant 

"  Ezra  Conant,  JuNr. 

"  P.S. — My  Friends  living  at  a  distance  tis  necessary 

that  I  Reserve  (as  I  expect  to  be  indulged)  three  or 

four  Sabbaths  yearly  and  which  1  doubt  not  you  will 

Readily  Grant.     Yours  as  above. 

"E.  C,  JR." 

Notwithstanding  the  prayerful  efforts  of  Mr. 
Conant  throughout  his  whole  pastorate,  he  was 
dismissed  in  as  deep,  if  not  deeper,  disgrace 
than  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Lawrence,  for  Mr. 
Lawrence's  failure  was  purely  political,  whilst 
Mr.  Conant's  was  entirely  of  a  religious  nature. 
He  had  been  selected  as  a  large  and  liberal- 
minded  gentleman  of  learning,  wisdom  and 
piety,  as  a  pastor  to  preside  over  a  distracted 
congregation,  one  divided  in  politics  and  torn 
by  dissenting  beliefs.  He  had  outgrown,  as 
had  many  of  his  congregation,  the  bigotry  of 
the  past — a  past  that  had  placed  an  armed  officer 
(it'the  town  at  the  meeting-house  door,  win »se 
duty  it  was  to  arrest  every  person  passing  ex- 
cept upon  an  errand  of  extreme  mercy,  and 
compel  them  to  listen  to  the  prescribed  theology. 
Mr.  Conant  sought,  as  he  believed,  a  better  way 
to  reach  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  than  by  the 
exercise  of  arbitrary  authority,  though  it  had 
the  sanction  of  civil  law,  or  of  the  no  less  odious 
pressure  of  theological  authority.  For  this 
dereliction  of  duty  from  the  church  stand-point, 
Mr.  Conant  was  dismissed,  charged,  as  we  are 
informed  by  one  of  his  successors,  with  having 
pursued  such  a  course  "that  the  spirituality  of 
the  church  had  nearly  departed."  The  fourth 
settled  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Experience  Porter. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  of  the 
class  of  1803,  and  he  was  ordained  Novem- 
ber 12,  1807,  and  was  dismissed  February  20, 
1810.  During  his  pastorate  forty-four  names 
were  added  to  the  church-rolls.  He  represented 
the  theological  views  of  those  who  opposed 
those  held  by  Mr.  Conant,  and  he  failed  signally 
in  securing  the  approbation  of  the  best  religious 
intelligence  of  that  day.  The  additions  to  the 
Congregational  Church  during  his  ministrations 


were  the  result  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Conant  and  associates,  particularly  the 
Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  who  was  a  Methodist  prior  to 
the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Conant.  This  religious 
denomination,  when  placed  in  the  same  position 
as  the  Methodists  and  Universalists  regarding 
the  use  of  the  town  meeting-house,  vacated  the 
same  and  held  their  meetings  in  the  hall  of  the 
school-house,  which  stood  near  by.  The  society 
agitated  the  subject  of  a  meeting-house  exclu- 
sively their  own  for  several  years,  till  finally, 
in  1834,  they  had  one  completed,  and  it  was 
dedicated  November  25th,  in  that  year.  This 
building  is  now  standing,  and  is  occupied  for 
the  purposes  and  by  the  society  that  erected  it. 
This  society  has  the  names  of  167  members  on 
its  rolls.  The  Methodists  commenced  to  be  a 
power  in  religious  matters  in  Winchester  about 
1800.  The  first  settled  minister  of  that  denom- 
ination in  town  was  Rev.  Jesse  Lee.  In  1805 
they  commenced  to  build  a  house  for  them- 
selves, though  it  was  never  completed.  It  was 
never  seated,  and  had  no  conveniences  for  warm- 
ing, in  1X26  this  society  built  a  meeting- 
house, which  they  occupied  for  about  sixteen 
years,  when  they  constructed  the  present  church 
now  occupied  by  them.  The  building  erected 
in  1826  is  now  standing,  having  been  removed 
from  the  site  of  the  present  church  to  the  east, 
just  across  the  road.  It  is  now  occupied  in  part 
by  the  town  as  an  engine-house,  the  balance 
for  storage  purposes  by  private  individuals. 
This  society  has  the  names  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  members  now  on  its  rolls.  The 
Universalists  have  continued  to  worship  in  the 
town  meeting-house,  though  under  a  contract. 
About  1842  they  extensively  repaired  the  build- 
ing, filling  in  the  open  space  between  the  gal- 
leries, which  were  upon  the  east  and  west  em  Is 
of  the  house  and  upon  the  south  side,  in  a 
manner  to  divide  the  old  meeting-house  into  an 
upper  and  lower  room.  The  upper  room  thus 
secured  they  have  occupied  for  church  purposes 
since.  The  Universalist  denomination  had  its 
beginning    in    Winchester    with  the  beginning 


WINCHESTER. 


575 


of  the     present   century,    and    from    the   fact 
that  the  Universalists   of  New   England    held 
a   convention    here    in     1803,    at   which    they 
adopted    "  Articles    of   Faith,"  and  christened 
them  "  The  Winchester  Confession  of  Faith," 
this   society  and  Winchester    have  always  and 
are  at  the  present  of  historical   interest  to  this 
denomination.     This  society   has   the  names  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty  members  on  its  rolls. 
The  Catholics  have   a   church  edifice  at  Ashue- 
lot,  which  they  erected  in  1871,   and  have  con- 
tinued to  occupy  till  the  present.    This  denomi- 
nation numbers  two  hundred  and  fifty  upon  its 
rolls    of  church    membership.       In  1810    dis- 
cussions upon  the  aggressions  of  England,  par- 
ticularly upon  the  sea,  had  developed  a  feeling 
of  retaliation   throughout    the    whole    country, 
but    nowhere    so   strong  as    in    New  England, 
and    the    General    Court    of    New  Hampshire 
called    upon    the    towns    within   her  borders  to 
provide    themselves    with    military    stores  and 
ammunition.       In    response    to    this    demand, 
Winchester  voted,  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  13th 
day  of  June,  1810,  "  To  raise  one  hundred  and 
twenty    dollars    to    provide    ammunition    and 
camp-kettles  agreeable  to  an  act  of  Court,"  and 
then    voted    to    set  the    house  to  deposit  town 
stores  in  front  of  the  buryiug-ground.    But  no- 
where does  it  appear  that  she  was  called  upon 
further  than  to  provide  these   materials  against 
an  emergency.     No  matters  of  historical  interest 
transpired  in  Winchester   from   the  date  of  the 
church  controversy  and  its  settlement  till  July 
2,  1850,  though  the   town    had  made  constant 
progress    in    wealth,    population    and    business 
enterprises.  At  this  date  an  addition  was  made, 
largely  at  the  instance  of  Alvin   Scott,  whose 
interests  would    be    better    served    and    whose 
property  would  be   enhanced   in   value,  to  the 
territory    of    Winchester    from    the    northwest 
corner  of  Richmond.     The  act  of  annexation 
reads  as  follows : 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  General  Court  convened,  That  the  tract 
of  land  contained  within  the  following  boundaries,  to 


wit:  Beginning  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town 
of  Richmond  and  running  southerly  on  the  line  di- 
viding Richmond  from  Winchester,  three  hundred 
and  forty  rods  to  the  south  line  of  the  road  leading 
from  Hollis  Narromore's  house ;  thence  north  58° 
east  to  Swanzey  line,  south,  at  the  north  side  of  the 
new  road  leading  from  Swanzey  to  Winchester; 
Thence  on  Swanzey  south  line  three  hundred  and 
forty  rods  to  the  corner  between  Swanzey  and  Rich- 
mond, be  and  hereby  is  disannexed  and  separated 
from  the  town  of  Richmond  and  is  annexed  to  and 
made  a  part  of  said  town  of  Winchester  as  fully  and 
amply  to  all  intents  as  though  it  had  been  contained 
in  and  comprehended  by  the  original  grant,  charter 
or  incorporation  of  said  Winchester." 

From  this  date  the  boundaries  of  Winchester 
have  remained  unchanged.  Recapitulating,  we 
find  Winchester  as  it  now  is,  to  be  made  up  of 
a  portion  of  the  original  grant,  a  portion  of  what 
was  originally  Northfield,  a  smaller  portion 
of  what  was  originally  Warwick  (Roxbury  or 
Gardiner's  Canada)  and  a  still  smaller  portion 
annexed  from  Richmond. 

From  this  date  to  the  commencement  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  Winchester's  history  was 
uneventful.  But  when  it  became  manifest  that 
treason,  with  arms  in  its  hands,  threatened  the 
existence  of  the  general  government,  and  was 
determined  at  all  hazards  to  secure  a  dismem- 
berment of  the  republic,  Winchester,  true  to 
herself  and  in  keeping  with  her  traditions,  took 
an  advanced  position  amongst  her  sister  towns 
in  the  State,  to  sustain  and  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  general  government.  At  a  meeting  held 
on  May  11,  1861,  she  adopted  the  following 
resolutions,  which  were  presented  by  Marshal 
Kingman  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  present  crisis  of  our  country's 
history  calls  for  the  united  efforts  of  every  loyal  and 
patriotic  citizen  to  sustain  our  State  and  National 
governments  in  their  most  active  and  energetic  ef- 
forts to  suppress  treason,  now  existing  in  a  portion  of 
the  United  States. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  hail  with  joy  the  alacrity  with 
which  some  of  our  young  men  have  responded  to  the 
call  of  our  Governor,  for  the  enlistment  of  a  military 


576 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


force  to  assist   in  the  maintenance  of  our  National 
Government. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Selectmen  of  this  town  be  in- 
structed to  furnish  each  soldier  now  enlisted  or  that 
may  hereafter  enlist  in  the  military  service  of  the 
State,  who  are  citizens  of  this  town,  with  such  a  com- 
plete outfit  as  they  shall  deem  necessary,  and  furnish 
each  with  such  an  amount  of  ready  money  as  they 
may  deem  necessary,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars. 

"  Resolved,  That  all  soldiers  who  are  citizens  of 
this  town,  who  have  already  enlisted  or  may  here- 
after enlist  in  the  service  of  the  Government,  shall  be 
paid  eight  dollars  per  month  during  their  time  of 
service,  and  that  this  town  will  support  and  main- 
tain the  families  of  all  such  as  may  enlist  in  the 
Country's  military  service,  during  their  absence  on 
duty. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  selectmen  are  hereby  author- 
ized to  borrow,  for  the  use  of  the  town,  such  sum  or 
sums  of  money  as  shall  be  necessary  to  carry  out 
fully  the  above  resolutions." 

It  was  voted  unanimously  to  adopt  the  reso- 
lution, thus  pledging  the  town  to  an  active 
and  energetic  support  of  such  measures  as  the 
State  might  adopt  for  the  support  of  the  general 
government  in  this  issue.  On  the  9th  of  Au- 
gust, 1862,  the  town  adopted  the  following 
resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  town  of  Winchester  pay  to 
each  Volunteer  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  when 
mustered  into  service,  that  may  enlist  to  fill  up 
our  quota  for  the  first  call  for  300,000,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  dollars  when  mustered  into 
service  to  each  Volunteer  that  may  enlist  to  fill  up 
our  quota  for  the  second  call  for  Hoo.DOO  men  and 
provide  that  there  is  a  company  formed  for  one 
year  so  as  to  prevent  a  draft,  each  Volunteer  shall 
receive  two  hundred  dollars  when  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States." 

A  committee  of  five  was  chosen  to  solicit 
enlistments.  This  committee  consisted  of 
( leorge  \Y.  Pierce,  Ellery  Alhee,  Theodore 
Ripley,  II.  A.  Murdoch  and  Ira  W.  Russell. 
On  the  23d  of  August,  1*62,  the  town  voted  to 
increase  the  bounty  heretofore  voted  to  be  paid 
the  nine  months'  men  by  the  sum  of  seventy-five 
dollars,  thus   making  the  bounty  two  hundred 


dollars  to  each  volunteer  for  nine  months. 
September  19,  1863,  it  was  "Voted,  that  the 
town  pay  drafted  men  or  their  substitutes  three 
hundred  dollars  each  ten  days  after  they  are 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  or  fur- 
nish substitutes  who  are  accepted  and  sworn  in- 
to the  service,"  and  on  December  5,  1863,  it 
was  further  voted  to  "  pay  a  bounty  of  three 
hundred  dollars  to  Volunteers  to  fill  the  quota 
of  the  town."  On  the  2oth  of  the  same  month 
it  was  voted  "  to  advance  the  town,  State  and 
United  States  bounties  to  those  who  may  enlist 
to  make  up  our  quota  under  the  last  call,  and 
that  the  selectmen  be  instructed  to  borrow 
a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  carry  out  the 
above  vote,"  and  at  this  meeting  the  selectmen 
were  instructed  to  buy  or  hire  substitutes 
enough  to  fill  the  quota  of  said  town  under  the 
last  call  of  the  United  States  for  volunteers. 
On  February  27,  1864,  the  town  voted  to  pay 
the  re-enlisted  men  from  the  town  who  Mere 
accredited  to  our  quota  the  sum  of  three  hun- 
dred dollars.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1864,  the 
town  "  Voted  that  the  Selectmen  be  authorized 
to  procure  the  enlistment  of  as  many  volunteers 
as  they  may  think  necessary  to  apply  on  the 
anticipated  call  of  the  Government  for  more 
soldiers  from  this  town,  and  pay  such  bounties 
as  they  think  necessary,"  and  on  September  1, 
1864,  it  was  voted  that  the  town  pay  three  hun- 
dred dollars  for  one  year's  men,  six  hundred 
dollars  for  two  years'  men  and  nine  hundred 
dollars  for  three  years'  men  (citizens)  to  fill  the 
quota  of  the  town  on  the  last  call  of  the  Presi- 
dent. Under  the  several  calls  of  the  general 
government  for  soldiers,  the  following  enlisted 
to  fill  the  town's  quota  and  were  mustered  and 
assigned  to  regiments: 

Nathaniel  D.  Davis,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

George  G.  Davis,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

Jim.  \V.  1 1  am  mond,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

Elbridge  E.  Jewell,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

Geo.  L.  Pickett,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

Chas.  H.  Shrigley,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

W:n.  II.  Thorning,  Company  A,  Second  Regiment. 

Amasa  W.  Bowen,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 


WINCHESTER. 


577 


Myric  M.  Burpee,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 
Abel  W.  Colegan,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment. 
Win.  Calkins,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 
Lorenzo  Calkins,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 
F.  H.  Chamberlain,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment. 
Herbert  E.  Cook,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 
Asa  Deming,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment. 
Wm.  Downing,  Company  C,  Second  Regiment. 
Jas.  W.  Felt,  Company  B,  Second  Regiment. 
Luther  W.  Fassett,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment. 
Eli  Thayer,  Company  E,  Second  Regiment. 
Wm.  L.  Sprague,  Company  D,  Second  Regiment. 
Albert  E.  Sholes,  Company  I,  Second  Regiment. 
Chas.  P.  Hill,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
George  Bell,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Mitchell  Bridge,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Elijah  Hammond,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Arthur  Hammond,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
L.  D.  Hammond,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Freeman  A.  Lewis,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Wm.  L.  Weeks,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
James  Cooney,  Company  H,  Third  Regiment. 
Patrick  S.  Farren,  Company  C,  Third  Regiment. 
Geo.  W.  Newbold,  Company  I,  Third  Regiment. 
Edward  O'Han,  Company  D,  Third  Regiment. 
John  Hughes,  Company  C,  Fourth  Regiment. 
John  Nichols,  Company  A,  Fourth  Regiment. 
Emers  Gould,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Samuel  E.  Goss,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Frederick  Barrett,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Orrin  B.  Curtis,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
James  T.  Eaton,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Gregory  Henfin,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
George  Hubbard,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Chas.  B.  Lawrence,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Nelson  Wood,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Amasa  Amidon,  Company  H,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Adrian  Arew,  Company  G,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Joseph  Booth,  Company  B,  Fifth  Regiment. 
John  C.  Clifford,  Company  H,  Fifth  Regiment. 
James  Hagan,  Company  E,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Caswell  J.  Hall,  Company  I,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Charles  Myers,  Company  H,  Fifth  Regiment. 
John  Murphy,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Rienzi  0.  Rich,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Thomas  Riley,  Company  E,  Fifth  Regiment. 
James  Sullivan,  Company  F,  Fifth  Regiment. 
Joseph  Woodard,  Company  E,  Fifth  Regiment. 
John  L.  Winch,  Company  B,  Fifth  Regiment. 


E.  P.  Pierce,  assistant  surgeon,  Sixth  Regiment. 
John  Hays,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
James  Houligan,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
James  Mulligan,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Joseph  Worrell,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
J.  Whittemore,  Company  H,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Stephen  Franklin,  Company  K,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Henry  Blake,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
John  Burns,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment. 
James  O.  Donnell,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
William  Davis,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Louis  Eldred,  Company  C,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Henry  Geoffray,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
James  Haven,  Company  I,  Sixth  Regiment. 
William  Hill,  Company  I,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Edward  Howard,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Patrick  Lynch,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
John  Murphy,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment. 
William  Martin,  Company  I,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Peter  Olson,  Company  B,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Paul  Syne,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
William  Stevens,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
William  Smith,  Company  C,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Henry  Thompson,  Company  A,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Michael  Willey,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment. 
Mathaias  Evans,  Company  I,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Fred.  C.  Festland,  Company  I,  Seventh  Regiment. 
John  Bridges,  Company  C,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Edward  Crosby,  Company  E,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Richard  Daley,  Company  E,  Ninth  Regiment. 
John  B.  Duchand,  Company  C,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Francis  Granville,  Company  H,  Ninth  Regiment. 
John  Glancy,  Company  C,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Ruldof  Hintman,  Company  K,  Ninth  Regiment. 
George  H.  Marsh,  Company  G,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Lucan  Martenelle,  Company  K,  Ninth  Regiment. 
James  Roberts,  Company  F,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Michael  Sweney,  Company  A,  Ninth  Regiment. 
Henry  Underwood,  Company  B,  Ninth  Regiment. 
W.  A.  Fosgate,  Company  B,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
T.  A.  Ripley,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
C.  L.  Combs,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
Wm.  Combs,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
G.  G.  Marden,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
J.  F.  Hunt,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
G.  Norwood,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
C.  G.  Howard,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
N.  Graves,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
N.  B.  Fosgate,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 


578 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


F.  H.  Wood,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  E.  Baldwin,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

D.  T.  Swan,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

C.  O.  Colburn,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
J.  H.  Bolton,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
J.  Buffum,  Jr.,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

F.  H.  Buffum,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
C.  W.  W.  Ball,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
C.  A.  Ball,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

L.  E.  Bent,  Company  F,  Fourtoenth  Regiment. 
L.  Eaton,  Jr.,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
P.  Hays,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  E.  Hutchins,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
L.  E.  Howard,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
W.  A.  Morey,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
J.  H.  Moore,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
V.  Q.  1).  Murdock,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regt. 
R.  E.  Murdock,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

G.  H.  Nims,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
C.  Pratt,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

<!.  F.  Perry,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

C.  P.  Reede,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
F.  Roark,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

E.  O.  Smith,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

D.  H.  Thompson,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment 
H.  F.  Thayer,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  L.  Wilbur.  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  A.  Wood,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  F.  Pratt,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

J.  H.  Doolittle,  Company  G,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
H.  Colburn,  Company  F,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
W.  A.  Doolittle,  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 

F.  B.  Shepherd,  Company  G,  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
S.  P.  Fairbanks,  Company  A,  Eighteenth  Regiment. 
L.  S.  Pickell,  Company  D,  Eighteenth  Regiment. 
C.  W.  Verty,  Company  F,  Eighteenth  Regiment. 

G.  W.  Pierce,  surgeou,  First  Cavalry. 

L.  A.  Thayer,  Company  B,  First  Cavalry. 
A.  H.  Bolles,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
N.  A.  Bryant,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
James  H.  Eaton,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
George  H.  Munn,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
John  E.  Morse,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
Lucius  P.  Scott,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry. 
S.  E.  Hines,  Company  A,  First  Heavy  Artillery. 

This  list  does  not  include  all  who  enlisted 
from  "Winchester  during  the  war,  as  many  are 
known  to  have  enlisted  in  neighboring  States, 


and  others  were  nnassigned  to  regiments,  and 
for  the  present  their  official  records  cannot  be 
found. 

From  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion there  has  been  no  special  matter  of 
historical  importance  in  the  affairs  of  the 
town  of  Winchester.  She  has  paid  a  debt 
of  forty-two  thousand  dollars,  a  legacy  of 
the  war.  She  has  improved  her  highways, 
bridges  and  public  buildings.  Her  population 
has  increased,  whilst  her  citizens  have  ad- 
vanced in  wealth,  prosperity  and  intelligence. 
Her  population  in  17(57  was  428;  in  1773, 
646;  in  1780,  L103  j  in  171)0,  1209;  in  1800, 
1413;  in  1810,  1478  ;  in  1820,  1849;  in  1830, 
2052;  in  1840,  2065;  in  1850,3296;  in 
1860,  2225  ;  in  1870,  2097;  in  1880,  2444. 

The  first  post-office  was  established  in  town 
in  1811,  with  Henry  Pratt  as  postmaster. 
Jonas  Brnce  succeeded  him  April  16,  1813. 
Henry  Pratt  was  reappointed  December  1, 
1817.  Philip  Ripley  was  appointed  March  27, 
1X20.  Calvin  Burnap  was  appointed  Febru- 
ary 19,  1831  ;  Horace  Peirce,  July  10,  1841  ; 
Calvin  Burnap,  August  29,  1842 ;  Allen  Cross, 
April  9,  1849  ;  Abel  Hammond,  November  26, 
1852;  John  Severance,  April  2,  1853;  John 
A.  Powers,  December  22,1856;  William  H. 
Gurnsey,  June  28,  1861  ;  George  H.  Snow, 
September  8,  1885. 

A  post-office  was  established  at  West  Win- 
chester January  4,  1833,  with  Horace  Chapin 
as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  by  John  G. 
('apron,  September  1,1836.  Alvin  W.  Ball 
was  appointed  September  30,  1841  ;  Jotham 
W.  Finch,  May  4,  1847;  Samuel  P.  Fair- 
banks, January  19,  1849;  John  G.  Capron, 
June  4,  18-19  ;  De  Los  C.  Ball,  April  8,  1852. 
The  name  of  the  office  was  changed  to  "  Ashue- 
lot"  February  10,  1854,  at  which  date  De  Los 
C.  Ball  was  reappointed.  Edwin  L.  Putnam 
was  appointed  August  14,  1855;  Horace 
Chapin,  October  26,  1855;  Jason  C.  Plummer, 
August  19,  1857;  John  L.  Thayer,  November 
12,  1860;  John  L.  Nickerson,  May  5,   1862; 


WINCHESTER. 


579 


William  Dickenson,  November  7,  1864; 
Wright  Wood,  February  15,  1859;  and  Henry 
H.  Pratt,  April  20,  1882. 

The  town  supports  twenty  schools,  under  the 
town  system,  at  a  cost  of  six  thousand  dollars, 
including  the  expenses  of  the  High  School. 
This  last  is  conducted  under  the  provisions  of 
the  so-called  Claremont  Act.  Its  graduates  are 
qualified  to  enter  any  of  the  higher  institutions 
of  learning  in  the  country.  It  has  two  public 
libraries, — one  at  Winchester  village  proper,  with 
three  thousand  volumes,  that  are  being  increased 
each  year  by  town  appropriations  ;  the  other,  a 
free  library,  called  the  "  Dickenson  Free  Lib- 
rary," located  at  West  Winchester.  This  has 
over  five  hundred  volumes,  and  it  is  being 
increased  each  year  by  subscriptions  and  dona- 
tions. 

The  Masonic  fraternity  have  Philesian 
Lodge,  No.  40,  located  at  Winchester  village; 
also,  Prohibition  Division  S.  T.,  No.  1,  and  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  "  Edward  N. 
Taffl  Post,  No.  19."  The  Winchester  Na- 
tional Bank  is  located  at  this  village.  It  was 
first  chartered  as  a  State  bank,  under  the  title  of 
the  Winchester  Bank,  July  3,  1847.  It  was 
converted  to  a  national  bank,  under  the  title  of 
the  Winchester  National  Bank,  in  1865.  As  a 
State  institution,  its  capital  was  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  it  commenced  operations 
with  this  amount  as  its  capital  when  it 
became  a  national  bank.  In  1884  it  in- 
creased its  capital  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  was  rechartered  in  1885 
for  twenty  years.  The  Security  Savings-Bank 
is  also  located  in  this  village.  It  was  chartered 
by  the  State  August  3,  1881.  Its  deposits 
and  surplus  amount  to  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  Its  treasurer,  Miss  J.  Grace 
Alexander,  is  probably  the  first  lady  ever  en- 
trusted with  such  a  position.  The  Ashuelot 
Railroad,  which  was  in  process  of  construction 
in  1850,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  large  increase 
of  population,  as  shown  by  that  census,  passes 

through  the  town,  following  the  course  of  the 
37 


Ashuelot   River.       It  has  stations  at  Winches- 
ter, Ashuelot  and  Pisgah. 

It  runs  one  mixed  train  each  way  daily  from 
Keene  to  South  Vernon,  Vt.,  and  two  passen- 
ger trains.  The  road  is  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  Connecticut  Railroad  Company.  The 
American  Telegraph  Company  have  offices  both 
at  Winchester  and  Ashuelot,  as  also  has  the 
New  England  Telephone  Company.  Winches- 
ter village  has  twenty  stores,  eight  manufactories 
of  boxes,  pails  and  buckets,  three  blacksmith- 
shops,  two  livery  stables,  one  hotel,  two  lawyers, 
one  dentist  and  four  physicians.  The  factory 
of  Messrs.  Dickenson,  Seaver  &  Co.  is  located 
there ;  its  products  consist  of  pails  and  buckets. 
They  employ  thirty-five  hands  and  consume 
about  two  thousand  cords  of  second-growth 
pine  per  annum.  The  mills  of  Dickenson  & 
Baker  are  located  on  the  Ashuelot  River  at 
this  place.  Their  products  are  dimension  lum- 
ber of  pine,  oak,  hemlock  and  chestnut,  and 
amounts  to  about  six  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  feet  annually,  employing  twenty 
men.  A.  M.  Howard's  Box  Manufactory 
employs  thirty  hands,  with  an  annual  out- 
put of  four  hundred  thousand  boxes.  C.  M. 
Norwood  &  Company's  Box  Manufactory  also 
gives  employment  to  fifteen  hands,  producing 
three  hundred  thousand  boxes  annually.  The 
Winchester  Box  Manufactory  employs  twelve 
hands  and  produces  annually  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  boxes.  Dickenson  &  Munsel 
manufacture  boxes,  giving  employment  to  fifteen 
hands,  who  produce  three  hundred  thousand 
boxes  yearly.  Smith  &  Metcalf  give  employ- 
ment to  eight  men,  and  annually  produce  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  boxes.  Ashuelot, 
two  miles  west  of  Winchester  village,  has 
two  stores,  one  hotel,  a  steam  saw-mill, 
two  blacksmith-shops  and  two  livery  stables. 
The  Ashuelot  Manufacturing  Company  is 
located  here,  and  manufactures  Union  and 
Moscow  beavers.  The  mill  is  of  twelve  sets 
of  cards  and  gives  employment  to  two  hundred 
and   fifty   hands  ;  they    produce  four  hundred 


580 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


thousand  yards  of  cloth  each  year.  The 
Ashuelot  Union  Mills  arc  located  at  Lower 
Ashuelot.  They  run  four  sets  of  cards  and 
employ  seventy-five  hands;  producing  one 
hundred  thousand  yards  Union  beavers  annu- 
ally. The  Ashuelot  Warp  (  ompany  runs  three 
thousand  four  hundred  spindles,  producing 
cotton  thread,  used  as  the  war])  in  satinet  and 
shoddy  -nods.  They  give  employ nieilt  to  fifty 
hands.  Thesteam  saw-mill  of  Amos  P.  Tutl'ts, 
at  Ashuelot,  employs  twelve  men,  producing 
two  hundred  thousand  feet  of  pine,  hemlock 
and  chestnut  lumber  annually.  The  lumber 
mill  of  Ansel  Dickenson,  at  Pisgah  Station, 
gives  employment  to  twenty-five  hands,  pro- 
ducing one  million  feet  of  dimension  lumber 
annually.  A  box  manufactory  at  this  mill 
employs  fifteen  hands,  producing  three  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  boxes  annually.  It  is  under 
the  control  jf  Mr.  Dickenson.  Robertson 
Bros.'  paper-mills  are  located  at  Pisgah  Sta- 
tion. 

They  produce  annually  700,000  pounds  of  tis- 
sue, manilla  and  toilet  paper,  giving  employ- 
ment to  fourteen  hands.  The  Broad  Brook 
Steam  Lumber-Mills,  located  about  two  and 
one-half  miles  north  of  Pisgah  Station,  give 
employment  to  thirty-live  hands,  who  produce 
an  annual  output  of  lath,  shingles,  boards  and 
dimension  lumber  amounting  to  one  million 
feet.  At  various  other  localities  in  the  town, 
small  lumber-mills,  both  steam  and  water,  are 
in  constant  operation,  twenty  at  least  finding 
cither  a  market  or  an  outlet  for  their  products 
at  Winchester.  The  Ashuelot  River  enters  the 
town  near  its  northeast  corner,  and  runs  in  a 
general  southwesterly  direction  till  it  passes  the 
village  of  Winchester,  when  it  curves  "  The 
Bow"  somewhat  abruptly,  and  runs  to  the 
west  and  north,  passing  out  of  town  very  nearly 
in  the  middle  of  its  western  boundary.  This 
river  is  one  of  the  largesi  streams  that  flow  into 
the  Connecticut  ("ye  Great  River")  from  the 
New  Hampshire  side.  It  takes  its  rise  in 
Washington,  and  drains  that  town,  Stoddard,  a 


portion  of  Antrim,  Sullivan,  Nelson,  Surry, 
Keene,  Roxbury,  Harrisville,  Marlborough, 
Swanzey,  Troy,  Richmond,  a  portion  of  ( Jhester- 
field,  Winchester,  Hinsdale  and  a  large  portion 
of  Warwick,  Mass.  It  receives  during  its  course 
through  town  the  waters  of  Broad  Brook,  which 
rises  in  Chesterfield,  runs  through  the  west  part 
of  town  southwardly,  draining  the  eastern 
slope  of  Mount  Pisgah  ;  Mirey  Brook,  that 
rises  on  the  east  side  of  Mount  Grace,  in  War- 
wick, Mass.,  and  runs  northwardly,  receiving 
the  waters  of  Roaring  Brook  about  two  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  empties  into  the  Ashuelot 
about  one-half  a  mile  below  the  centre  of  Win- 
chester village,  and  the  waters  from  many  other 
smaller  streams.  There  are  four  lakes,  or  ponds, 
within  the  limits  of  the  town;  the  largest  is 
Round  Pond,  located  in  its  northwest  corner. 
This  body  of  water  is  of  irregular  form,  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  long  by  one  mile  in 
width.  Near  this  pond  is  the  Kilburn  Pond 
and  North  Round  Pond.  Forest  Lake,  or 
Humphrey's  Pond,  as  it  was  called  prior  to 
1883,  is  situated  about  two  miles  northward 
from  the  Centre  village.  This  body  of  water 
is  about  one  mile  in  length  by  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  in  width.  This  lake  has,  within  a  lew 
years,  become  a  favorite  resort  during  the  sum- 
mer season  for  many  of  our  citizens,  who  have 
erected  several  line  cottages  upon  its  western 
bank.  The  streams  and  ponds  of  Winchester 
are  well  stocked  with  trout  and  other  fish  com- 
mon to  New  England  waters,  whilst,  through  the 
efforts  of  some  of  our  citizens,  seconded  by  the 
State  Fish  Commissioners,  land-locked  salmon 
and  black-  bass  have  been  introduced.  The 
last  have  developed  wonderfully,  and  it  is  not 
uncommon  t<>  take  fish  of  this  variety  weighing 
from  two  to  three  pounds  each.  In  the  days 
of  the  early  settlers  the  true  salmon,  shad,  ale- 
wives  and  herring  were  abundant,  frequenting 
the  Ashuelot  and  its  tributaries  in  large  num- 
bers during  the  spawning  season,  returning  to 
the  sea  in  the  autumn,  onlv  to  return  again 
in  the  spring.     But  private  enterprise,  through 


WINCHESTER. 


581 


the  building  of  dams  upon  the  river  for 
manufacturing  purposes,  about  and  during  the 
time  of  the  Revolution,  prevented  the  return 
of  the  fish  to  their  accustomed  breeding-places, 
and  effectually  excluded  them  from  the  river. 
This  so  disturbed  the  settlers  who  were  not 
personally  interested  in  the  mills  that  they  ad- 
dressed a  petition  in  the  following  words  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  : 

"  To  the  Honbl,  the  General  Assembly  now  sitting  at 

Concord : 

"  The  petition  of  the  Selictmen  of  the  town  of 
Winchester,  homble  sheweth,  that  the  River  called 
Ashewilet  formerly  produced  a  large  number  of 
Salmon  and  shad,  witb  a  variety  of  hook  fish ;  but  of 
late,  the  corse  of  s'1  fish  is  intirely  stopd  by  Reson  of 
three  Dams  acrost  said  River,  viz, — one  in  Hinsdale, 
one  in  Winchester,  and  one  in  Swanzey,  which  is  a 
Greate  Damage  to  this  and  the  Neighbouring  towns, 
and  notwithstanding  the  Repeated  Requests  of  the 
people  in  this  Town  to  the  owners  of  Said  Dams  to 
open  a  Corse  for  Said  Fish,  they  still  Refuse  to  Do  it, 
which  very  much  Disspleases  the  people  in  general, 
and  if  there  is  nothing  dun  to  prevent  it,  there  is  a 
prospect  of  the  people  Rising  in  a  hostile  manner  and 
puling  Down  Said  Dams ;  to  prevent  which,  and  to 
establish  a  free  course  for  Said  Fish,  we  beg  your 
Honnours  to  take  this  matter  under  your  wise  con- 
sideration, and  pass  such  an  act  as  you  in  your 
wisdom  shall  think  proper,  and  we  in  Duty  Bound 
will  ever  pray. 

"  Winchester,  June  1st,  1784. 

'"  Simon  Willard,        ] 
"John  Alexander,     j 
"  Paul  Richardson, 
"  Prentice  Willard;  J 


f  Selectmen." 


Upon  which   petition  the  General  Assembly 
took  the  following  action  : 

"State  of  New  Hampshire, 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  11,  1785, 
Upon  Reading  &  Considering  the  foregoing  petition, 
Voted,  that  the  petitioners  be  heard  thereon  before 
the  Gen1  Court,  on  the  Second  Thursday  of  their  next 
Session,  &  that  in  the  Meantime  the  petitioners  serve 
the  Owners  of  the  several  Dams  on  Ashawillat  River, 
in  Winchester  and  Hinsdale,  with  a  copy  of  the  peti- 


tion &  order  of  Court  thereon,  that  they,  or  either  of 
them,  may  then  appear  and  shew  cause  (if  any  they 
have)  why  the  prayer  thereof  may  not  be  granted. 
"  Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"  Geo.  Atkinson,  Speaker. 
"  In  Senate  the  same  day  read  &  concurred. 

"  E.  Thompson,  Secy." 

This  movement  evidently  miscarried,  for  we 
find  a  petition  couched  in  almost  the  same 
identical  language  on  June  3,  1786.  This 
petition  was  signed  by  Daniel  Ashley,  Moses 
Chamberlain  and  Asa  Alexander,  as  selectmen 
of  Winchester ;  and  again  another  dated  May 
30,  1788,  signed  by  Ezra  Parker,  Daniel  Haw- 
kins and  Asahel  Jewell,  selectmen  of  Winches- 
ter. The  whole  matter  evidently  ended  in  the 
cool  courtesy  offered  by  the  Legislature,  when 
they, 

"  Upon  reading  and  considering  the  foregoing  peti- 
tion, Voted  that  the  prayer  thereof  be  Granted  and 
that  the  petitioners  have  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  Ac- 
cordingly. 

"Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"  John  Langdon,  Speaker. 
"In  Senate  June  14,  1786, read  and  Non-concurred. 

"  J.  Pearson,  Secy." 

The  dams  stood  and  the  fish  came  not  back 
from  the  sea. 

In  the  early  years  of  settlement  wild  animals 
were  abundant, — bears,  deer,  the  lynx,  wolves, 
wildcats,  foxes,  raccoons,  hedgehogs,  skunks, 
woodchucks,  weasels,  squirrels  (black,  red,  gray, 
striped  and  flying) — on  the  land,  whilst  the 
streams  were  frequented  by  the  beaver,  otter, 
mink  and  muskrat.  Of  these  animals,  only 
foxes,  raccoons,  hedgehogs,  skunks,  wood- 
chucks,  weasels,  and  the  gray,  red,  striped  and 
flying  squirrels  remain.  Occasionally  an  otter 
is  seen,  whilst  mink  and  muskrats  are  quite 
abundant.  The  last  bear  of  which  there  is 
record  was  killed  in  1853  near  Round  Pond. 
The  forests  afforded  and  now  afford  restiner- 
places  for  owls,  hawks,  crows,  pigeons,  par- 
tridges (the  ruffed  grouse),  and  all  the  song 
birds  of  New  England.     Wild  geese  and  ducks 


532 


HISTORY  OP  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


used  to  be  abundant,  but  at  the  present  only  a 
few  geese  are  seen,  and  thuse  only  that,  having 
become  weary  in  their  migratory  flight,  alight 
for  a  period  of  rest.  A  few  black  and  wood 
ducks  still  annually  rear  their  broods  of  young 
in  the  most  secluded  nooks  of  the  ponds  and 
streams. 

The  main  agricultural  productions  arc  hay, 
corn,  oats,  rye,  potatoes,  some  wheat,  barley  and 
buckwheat.  Tobacco  was  at  one  time  during 
the  war  a  profitable  crop,  but  ceased  "to  pay  " 
when  the  Southern  States  were  able  to  place 
their  crop  upon  the  market.  Garden  crops  of 
peas,  beans,  turnips,  carrots,  cabbage,  squash 
and  melons  are  abundantly  grown,  whilst  the 
orchards  produce  the  apple,  pear,  peach,  quince, 
red  cherries  and  other  small  fruits,  drapes, 
blackberries,  raspberries,  gooseberries,  blue- 
berries and  the  strawberries  grow,  both  native 
and  cultivated,  in  great  abundance.  The  forests 
are  almost  exclusively  of  second  growth,  and 
consisl  of  pine,  hemlock,  oak,  ash,  beech,  maple, 
birch,  elm  and  walnut,  whilst  all  the  forest 
growths  common  to  New  England  are  to  be 
found  here. 

Winchester  lies  in  what  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  bed  of  a  lake  that,  some  distant  day 
in  the  past,  included  a  large  portion  of  what  is 
now  Cheshire  County,  and  that  found  an  outlet 
to  the  south  in  Warwick,  Mass.  But  in  some 
convulsion  of  nature  the  mountain  chain  that 
bound  it  in  on  the  west  was  ruptured,  and  a 
new  outlet  was  formed,  draining  what  had  been 
before  a  submerged  territory,  leaving  only  the 
bed  and  course  of  the  Ashnelot  River  in  its 
stead.  The  town  is  hilly,  with  very  little  plain 
or  level  land,  such  as  there  is  being  found  near 
the  Centre  village  ("  Pine  Plain  "),  in  the  val- 
ley of  Mirey  Brook,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
and  in  the  southwesterly  part  of  the  town  near 
the  Connecticut  River.  The  ranges  of  hills  on 
the  west,  north  and  east  of  the  Ashuelol  extend 
in  a  northwardly  and  southwardly  direction, 
whilst  the  range  of  hills  upon  the  south  of  the 
river  extend  more  nearly  east  and  west.     The 


valley  of  the  Ashnelot  here  is  about  four  hun- 
dred feet  above  sea  level,  and  several  of  the 
mountain  peaks  in  Winchester  rise  to  an  alti- 
tude of  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet. 
The  soil  is  such  as  is  common  to  most  New 
England  hill  towns.  Upon  the  sides  of  the 
mountains  and  upon  her  cultivatable  hills  it  is 
generally  strong;  but  it  is  very  strong  and  re- 
tentive of  fertilizers,  and  when  brought  under 
cultivation  produces  large  crops  for  many  sue- 
cessive  years.  In  the  valleys  and  about  the 
Centre  village  the  soil  is  of  a  Lighter  character, 
and,  being  i'wc  from  stones,  is  much  easier  to 
cultivate,  producing  as  good  crops  as  the  hill 
lands,  though  it  requires  closer  attention  and 
more  frequent  cultivation.  The  bottom  lands 
on  the  Ashnelot  and  Connecticut  Rivers  are 
very  fertile  and  only  require  slight  attention  to 
secure  abundant  returns  year  after  year. 

Winchester,  in  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
years  of  her  existence,  has  developed  from  an 
unbroken  wilderness  into  a  thriving  and  pros- 
perous town.  She  has  always  been  loyal  to  her 
State  and  the  government  to  which  she  belonged. 
She  has  always  been  loyal  to  her  convictions  of 
right  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  education, 
polities,  religion  and  morals,  and  where  her 
heart  has  been,  there  her  purse  has  Ween  also. 
She  has  never  hesitated  to  stand  with  out- 
stretched hands,  palms  upwards,  bearing  in 
them  the  shining  coins  of  her  treasury,  that  she 
has  showered  in  abundance  on  every  cause 
where  her  sense  of  duty  or  patriotism  called. 
The  foundations  of  her  prosperity  are  struck  as 
deep  as  the  granite  that  underlies  her,  whilst 
the  structure  she  has  and  is  building  towers 
upward  and  upward,  keeping  pace  with  the 
hopes  and  the  aspirations  of  her  citizens. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


DAVID   BALL. 

Prominently   identified  with   the  active   busi- 
ness life  of  the  town  of  Winchester,  as  well  as 


[&/    /^^^i 


WINCHESTER. 


583 


every  enterprise  having  for  its  object  the  gen- 
eral good  of  the  community,  may  be  found  the 
name  of  Ball. 

In  1799  we  find  that  Stephen  Ball,  a  resident  of 
Warwick,  Mass.,  married  Betsey  Weld,  of  the 
same  place,  and  to  them  was  born  David  Ball,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  October  7,  1801,  and  was 
the  eldest  of  the  family.  His  boyhood,  like  most 
youths  of  those  days,  was  spent  mainly  at  the 
home  of  his  parents  until  about  1817  or  1818, 
when  he  came  to  Keene,  N.  H.,  and  engaged  as 
a  clerk  in  mercantile  business  with  Mr.  Whee- 
lock ;  from  there  he  removed  a  few  years  later 
to  the  village  of  West  Winchester,  continuing 
in  the  same  line  of  business  with  William 
F.  Pulsifer,  later  as  Pulsifer  &  Ball,  Ball  & 
Capron  and  D.  &  A.  W.  Ball.  He  married 
Fanny  P.  Capron,  December  29,  1825.  He 
was  also  identified  with  other  kinds  of  business, 
being  interested  in  purchasing  real  estate,  the 
lumber  business  and  later  in  manufacturing. 

Mr.  W.  F.  Pulsifer,  his  partner,  died  Febru- 
ary 22, 1837,  leaving  for  that  time  quite  a  large 
estate,  of  which  disposition  was  made  by  will  to 
his  heirs  in  Boston.  Mr.  Pulsifer  showed  his 
confidence  in  Mr.  Ball  by  making  him  executor 
of  his  will. 

About  the  year  1838  he,  with  his  brother,  John 
P.,  formed  a  co-partnership  and  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  linseed  oil,  locating  a  branch 
of  their  works  in  Pittstown,  N.  Y.  This  part- 
nership was  continued  actively  for  over  twenty 
years,  David  attending  the  mill  in  West  Win- 
chester, while  his  brother  John  gave  his  time 
and  attention  to  the  one  in  Pittstown.  In  1840 
David  Ball  purchased  the  woolen-mill  located 
at  what  has  since  been  known  as  Scotland,  and 
which  had  been  owned  by  Cyrus  Greenwood. 

He  continued  to  operate  this  until  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1847,  and  it  was  not  rebuilt  by 
him,  but  a  few  years  later  he  disposed  of  his 
interest  in  the  power  to  a  company  who  rebuilt 
the  woolen-mill. 

In  i860  he  again  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  wooleu  goods?    in    connection    with    another 


party,  having  put  the  necessary  machinery  into 
the  mill  formerly  used  by  D.  &  A.  W.  Ball  as  a 
pail-factory.  In  1802  he  purchased  the  interest 
of  the  other  partner  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
and  continued  the  business  under  the  firm-name 
of  D.  Ball  &  Son.  His  death  occurred  Aug.  4, 
1804.  His  children  were  D.  L.  C.  Ball,  Mrs.  W. 
E.  Thayer  and  Jennie  E.  Ball,  all  of  whom  sur- 
vived him.     His  wife  died    September  0,  1803. 

In  reviewing  the  outlines  of  an  active  life 
such  as  Mr.  Ball's  has  been,  we  cannot  but  ob- 
serve the  energy  and  perseverance  of  the  man 
iu  the  many  interests  with  which  he  was  contin- 
ually occupied.  At  one  time  iu  the  mercantile 
business  with  his  brother  under  the  firm-name  of 
D.  &  A.  W.  Ball,  the  manufacture  of  oil  at 
two  different  points,  an  iron  foundry,  a  coop- 
erage, a  pail-factory,  a  saw  and  stave-mill 
and  a  woolen-mill,  besides  being  actively  en- 
gaged in  all  that  pertained  to  the  general  bene- 
fit of  the  town  where  he  resided. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  instigators  of  the 
Ashuelot  Railroad  and  the  Winchester  Bank. 
The  name  of  the  village  was  changed  to  "  Ash- 
uelot "  through  the  efforts  of  his  son,  D.  L.  C. 
Ball,  postmaster,  in  1852,  and  has  since  been 
known  by  that  name. 

The  results  of  a  life  of  this  character  speak 
more  eloquently  of  its  real  worth  and  value  to 
a  community  than  any  words  of  commendation 
which  we  might  add,  and  the  example  of  his 
integrity  and  uprightness  will  be  long  remem- 
bered by  those  who  knew  him. 


THE   TURNER    FAMILY. 

The  first  ancestor  of  James  B.  Turner  to 
come  to  this  country  was  William  H.  (1),  who 
left  England,  with  his  widowed  mother,  when 
he  was  a  small  boy,  and  settled  in  Glastenbury. 
Conn.  He  married  Mercy,  oldest  daughter  of 
Reuben  Risley.  From  this  union  there  were 
two  girls,  who  died  single,  and  seven  boys, — 
William  H.,  (2)  Jr.,  James  B.  (2),  Chauncey 
Alanson  (2),  Robert  (2),  Sanford  (2)  and  George 


584 


HISTORY  OF  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


(2).     These   boys   all   married,  reared   families 
of  children  and  lived  each  to  advanced  age. 

James  B.  Turner  (2),  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  was  born  February  16,    17511,  passed  his 
childhood  in  Glastenbury,  Conn.,  and  attending 
the  district  school  of  that  place,  he  obtained  a 
fair  education.     Young  Turner  early  developed 
a  fondness  for  the  water,  and   his  first  business 
was  that  of  a  sailor  on   a  coasting  vessel  that 
plied  between  Hartford  and  New  York,  chiefly, 
though  he  occasionally  voyaged  as  far  south  as 
"the  Carolinas"  and  elsewhere,  as  the  neces- 
sities ol*  the  coasting  trade  demanded.     He  was 
a  young  man   of  good  habits,  and,  by  industry 
and  frugality,  he,   while  yet  quite  voting,  had 
saved  a  considerable  sum  of  money.   Alanson  (2), 
a  younger  brother  of  James  B.,  was  early  ap- 
prenticed to  learn   the  trade  ol'  a  clothier,  and, 
by   diligence  and  care,  mastered  all  the   details 
of   the  business,   as    carried  on    at    that    time. 
About   the  year  1817,  these   brothers,  the  one 
with  considerable   money  and    the  other  with   a 
practical   knowledge  of  the   business,  formed  a 
copartnership    for    the  manufacture  of   woolen 
cloth,  and,  coming  to  Ashuelot,  N.  H.,  bought 
:i  water  privilege,  on  the  Ashuelot  River,  and  a 
small    building,  in    which    the    cloth    business 
had   been   carried   on  in   a  small  way,  and,  en- 
larging the  buildings  to  meet  their  requirements, 
went    to   work.     They   soon  established   them- 
selves firmly  in  the  business,  and  carried  it  on 
successfully  for  nearly  forty  years,  adding  im- 
proved   machinery    and,    from    time    to    time, 
enlarging;   their   mill   as  the    necessities  of  an 
increasing  and  profitable  business  demanded. 

Mr.  Turner  was  prominent  in  the  civil  affairs 
of  the  town  and  filled  nearly  all  of  the  various 
town  offices  and  also  represented  the  town  in 
the  General  Court.  In  politics  Mr.  Turner  was 
a  Whig,  and  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of 
the  Republican  party  he  joined  it  and  acted 
with  it  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
and  was  liberal  in  the  support  of  public  wor- 
ship.   May  10, 181  5,  he  married  Milly,  daughter 


of  James  and  Jemima  Galpin,    and  she   bore 
him  eight  children, — 

Martha  J.  (3),  born  July  5,  1816;  William 
G.  (3),  born  June  4,  1818,  died  August,  1840  ; 
Chauncey  A.  (3),  born  June  13,  1820,  died 
August,  1821  ;  Eunice  H.  (3),  born  November 
30,  1822;  Theresa  A.  (3),  born  February  1, 
1826,  died  September,  1832;  Aurelius  B.,  (3), 
born  June  23,  1828;  James  E.  (3),  born  No- 
vember 1!),  1830,  died  August,  1833;  Arietta 
A.  (3,)  born  February  28,  1834,  died  Decem- 
ber, 1S47. 

Aurelius  B.  (3),  (who  furnished  the  engraving 
of  his  father  for  this  work)  learned  the  business 
of  cloth  manufacture  in  the  mills  of  his  father 
and  uncle  and  finally  succeeded  them  and  be- 
came the  proprietor  of  large  manufacturing  in- 
terests in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  mill.  His 
educational  advantages  were  such  as  were  at 
that  time  found  in  the  district  schools.  His 
first  business  was  that  of  a  manufacturer  of 
satinets,  in  1858,  under  the  firm  name  of  Turner 
ct  Raymond.  In  1802  Mr.  Raymond  died,  and 
the  reorganized  firm  was  Buell,  Pratt  &  Turner, 
and  they  made  union  beavers,  cotton- warp, 
wool  and  shoddy  filling.  The  enterprise  has 
been  carried  on  under  various  firm  changes  up 
to  the  present  time.  The  firm  is  now  Thayer  & 
Turner.  Messrs.  Thayer,  Pratt  and  Turner, 
Captain  Ansel  Dickinson  and  D.  L.  C.  Ball 
bought  the  property  of  the  Ashuelot  Company, 
and,  after  running  it  five  years,  formed  a  Stock 
Company  of  it  and  carry  it  on  as  such  at  the 
present  time. 

February  9,1864,  he  married  Matilda  M., 
daughter  of  Miles  and  Martha  I).  Mitchell,  and 
lives  in  a  beautiful  home  on  a  bluff  overlook  in  «r 
the  mills,  in  the  village  of  Ashuelot. 


A.NSEL     DICKINSON. 


Among  the  families  of  Xew  England  that 
have  shown  energy,  force  of  character  and  per- 
sistent industry,  and  by  the  force  of  indom- 
itable will  impressed  itself  on  the  present  era 


WINCHESTER. 


585 


by  the  perpetual  labors  of  several  generations, 
is  the  Dickinson  family,  of  whom,  in  the 
fourth  generation  from  Nathaniel  (1),  Nathan- 
iel (2),  William  (3),  is  Ansel  (4),  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  Nathaniel  (1)  came  from 
England  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
settled  in  Deerfield,  Mass.,  and  was  a  farmer. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Indian  War,  sta- 
tioned at  the  garrison  fort  at  Northfield, 
Mass.,  and  was  killed  by  the  Indians  April  15, 
1747.  His  son,  Nathaniel  (2),  with  his  brother 
Joseph,  left  the  home  farm  after  the  death  of 
their  father,  and  pushing  northward,  they  lo- 
cated in  the  wilderness,  on  a  tract  of  four  hun- 
dred acres,  in  what  is  now  the  northern  part  of 
the  town  of  Swanzey.  Later  they  divided 
their  tract  of  land,  and  each  built  residences 
thereon,  in  which  they  lived  during  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives. 

Nathaniel  was  twice  married  and  was  the 
father  of  six  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  sons — 
William  (3),  Asa,  Abel,  Uriah,  Aaron  and  Na- 
thaniel— all  grew  to  manhood.  The  daughter 
died  in  infancy.  The  mother  of  these  children 
was  Caroline  Cummings,  of  Swanzey.  Wil- 
liam (3)  was  a  farmer,  and  married  Lucinda 
Gardner,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children,  four 
of  whom  died  young.  The  seven  who  lived 
to  grow  up  were  Erastus,  Caroline,  Nathaniel, 
Arvilla,  David  S.,  Ansel  (4)  and  Rollins.  Of 
this  family,  the  eldest,  Erastus,  demands  espe- 
cial mention.  He  was  born  December,  1800, 
and  attended  the  district  school.  He  married 
Esther,  daughter  of  Moses  Hills,  Esq.,  of 
Swanzey,  and  removed  to  AVinchester,  where  he 
engaged  extensively  in  the  business  of  lumber- 
ing, buying  large  tracts  of  timber-lauds.  He 
had  no  taste  for  politics,  but  represented  the 
town  of  Winchester  in  the  Legislature  in 
1852.  Early  in  life  he  showed  a  fondness  for 
military  affairs,   and    when  he   became  a  man 


joined  a  local  military  company  as  a  private. 
He  was  promoted  through  all  the  grades  of 
office  to  that  of  major  general  of  volunteers.  He 
died  July  22,  1865. 

Ansel  (4)  was  born  in  Swanzey  February  22, 
1822.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  the  farm, 
where  his  life  was  not  unlike  that  of  other  boys 
of  this  period  in  the  history  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. His  educational  advantages  were  such 
as  were  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  that 
time,  but  by  close  attention  to  his  studies  he 
made  progress  much  beyond  the  average. 
Showing  considerable  capacity  for  business  he 
came  to  Winchester  and  was  associated  with 
his  brother,  General  Erastus,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.  Ansel  (4)  was  twice  married — first,  in 
1852,  to  Jane  L.  Boleyn,  of  Hinsdale,  N.  H., 
who  died  shortly  after  marriage ;  second,  to 
Mary  Theresa  Felch,  from  which  latter  union 
there  have  been  born  La  Fell,  Milan  A.,  John 
H.  and  William  Eugene. 

Captain  Dickinson  has  acquired  large  busi- 
ness experience,  and  is  engaged  in  a  great  num- 
ber of  business  enterprises  in  his  town  and  vi- 
cinity, and  furnishes  employment  to  a  large 
number  of  workmen,  each  one  of  whom  has 
the  most  implicit  faith  in  his  word  and  entire 
confidence  in  his  business  judgment.  In 
politics  Captain  Dickinson  is  a  Democrat.  In 
religion  a  Methodist.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  a  director  in  the  Winchester  National 
Bank,  and  is  also  president  of  the  Security 
Savings-Bank,  of  Winchester.  He  has  repre- 
sented the  town  of  Winchester  (which  is  largely 
Republican)  four  terms  in  the  General  Court, 
has  been  a  member  of  the  School  Board,  and  is 
sure  to  be  found  as  an  active  participant  in 
labors  of  love  for  the  good  of  the  many.  Such 
a  life,  earnest,  vigorous,  true,  successful,  has  a 
value  not  to  beeasilv  measured,  but  sure  to  make 
the   world   better  and  faith  in  man  more  firm. 


HISTORY 


OF 


SULLIVAN  COUNTY, 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


HISTORT 


T 


OF 


SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER    I 


GENERAL  HISTORY. 


BY    JOSEPH    W.    PARMELEE. 


Previous  to  the  year  1771  there  were  no  county 
divisions  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  The 
courts  for  the  adjustment  of  all  legal  matters  were 
held  at  Portsmouth. 

In  1771  the  State  was  divided  into  five  counties. 
Of  these  was  the  county  of  Cheshire,  which  ex- 
tended north  from  the  State  line  of  Massachusetts 
some  sixty-five  miles,  and  east  from  the  Con- 
necticut River,  which  was  its  western  boundary, 
about  twenty  miles,  making  an  area  more  than 
three  times  as  long  as  it  was  broad. " 

It  consisted  of  thirty-eight  towns,  and  the  courts 
were  held  alternately  at  Keene  and  Charles- 
town.  Jails  were  erected  at  each  place,  and  that 
at  Charlestown  did  good  work  in  Revolutionary 
times  as  a  hostelry  for  the  "  offensive  partisans  " 
of  His  Majesty  George  III. 

The  increase  in  business  and  importance  of 
Keene,  which  was  central  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
county,  and  of  the  northern  towns,  of  which  New- 
port was  the  most  central,  and  the  fact  that  Charles- 
town   was    not    convenient  to   either   section,    in 


connection  with  changes  that  had  occurred  during 
the  fifty  years  since  the  couuty  was  organized,  in- 
dicated the  necessity  of  a  readjustment  of  county 
affairs,  and  on  December  8,  1824,  the  Legislature 
enacted  that  the  May  term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Judicature  should  be  removed  from  Charles- 
town  to  Newport. 

This  afforded  only  a  partial  relief  from  the  gene- 
ral inconvenience,  as  the  facilities  for  the  trans- 
action of  other  county  business  remained  the  same 
as  before.  It  was  apparent  that  the  only  remedy 
for  this  state  of  things  was  in  the  erection  of  a  new 
county.  The  matter  came  before  the  Legislature 
on  June  23,  1826,  and  by  an  appropriate  act  the 
question  of  division  was  submitted  to  the  several 
towns  in  Cheshire  County,  and  also  the  question 
whether  Newport  or  Claremont  should  become  the 
shire-town  of  the  new  county.  The  result  of 
the  election  was  a  vote  to  divide  the  county, 
and  Newport  was  adopted  as  the  shire-town  of  the 
new  county  by  a  majority  of  3728  votes  over 
Claremont. 

The  new  county  was  named  in  honor  of  one  of 
New  Hampshire's  most  distinguished  Revolutionary 
patriots  and  soMiers, — General  John  Sullivan, — 
and  comprised  the  towns  of  Acworth,  Charlestown, 
Claremont,  Cornish,  Croydon,  Grantham,  Goshen, 
Lempster,  Langdon,  Newport,  Plainfield,  Sunapee, 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Springfield,  Unity  and  Washington,— in  all  fifteen 
towns. 

The  county  of  Sullivan,  thus  organized,  has  an 
average  length  of  about  thirty  miles,  with  Grafton 
County  on  the  north,  and  a  breadth  of  some  twenty 
miles,  with    Merrimack  County  on  the  east.     Its 
somewhat  irregular  eastern  boundary  line  traverses 
the  great  ridge  between  the  Connecticut  and  Merri- 
mack   Valleys,  the  surface  of  a  part  of  Sunapee 
Lake,  and  the  crest  of  the  Sunapee  range  of  high- 
lands, southward  to  the  Cheshire  line.    Its  western 
borders  are  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River.     It    is  estimated  that  the  elevation  of 
Sunapee  Lake  is  820  feet  higher  than  the  waters 
of  the  Connecticut  at  the  mouth  of  Sugar  River, 
twenty    miles  distant.     The   altitude  of  Sunapee 
Mountain  is   2683   feet  above   mean  tide-water  at 
Boston.    With  these  statistics  in  view,   it   will  be 
easy  to  estimate  the  extent   to  which  the  entire 
area   of  Sullivan     County    becomes  a  water-shed 
to    the     Connecticut     River.       Central    to    this 
area  of    about   six    hundred    square   miles    flows 
the    Sugar    River,   the    main    outlet   of  Sunapee 
Lake,  to  its  confluence  with  the  Connecticut  River, 
in  Claremont,  receiving  in  its  course  the  waters  of 
its     northern    and    southern    branches,    from    the 
northern  and  southern  extremities  of  the  county, 
with  many  lesser  affluents. 

Flowing  from  this  water-shed  are  streams  in 
Plainfield  and  Cornish,  Little  Sugar  River,  in 
Unity  and  Charlestown,  and  Cold  Liver,  that  has 
its  source  in  the  ponds  of  Lempster  and  flows 
through  Acworth  and  Langdon. 

The  highest  point  of  land  in  Sullivan  is  Croydon 
Mount,  the  altitude  of  which  is  2789  feet  above 
sea-level.  From  its  summit  a  large  portion  of  the 
county  is  visible. 

The  scenery  of  Sullivan  <  'oiint  v,  while  not  as  im- 
posing as  that  of  the  more  northern  part  of  the 
State,  is  picturesque  and  delightful.  Its  climate, 
soil  and  productions  vary  with  the  distances  from 
the  Connecticut  Valley. 


CHAPTER    II. 

BENCH  AND  BAR. 

Hon.  Simeon  Olcott  was  the  first  member  of 
the   legal  profession  who  settled   in  Charlestown, 
and  the  first  who  opened  an  office  in  New  Hamp- 
shire west  of  the  Merrimack  River.     He  was   the 
son  of  Timothy  Olcott,  Jr.,  of  Bolton,  Conn.,  and 
Eunice  White,  of  Hatfield,  Mass.,  and    was   born 
October  1,  1735.   He  was  educated  at  Yale  College, 
at  which    institution  he  graduated  in  1761,  and,  as 
it  is  supposed,  commenced   immediately  the  study 
of  law.     The  exact  date  of  his  establishing  himself 
in  Charlestown  has    not  been  ascertained,  but  it 
could  not  have  been  later  than  17(54.    The  earliest 
date  at  which  his  name  appears  in  the  proprietors' 
records  is  December  9,  1768,  at  which  time  he  was 
chosen  chairman  of  a  committee,  with  John  Hast- 
ings, Jr.,  and  William  Heywood,  to  proportion  the 
amount  of  quit-rent  due  from  each  proprietor  to 
His    Majesty's    government,    agreeable    to    their 
charter;  and  also  to  receive  and  pay  the  same  to 
the  Receiver-General  at  Portsmouth. 

The  public  record  of  Mr.  Olcott  shows  that  after 
establishing   himself   in   Charlestown  he  grew  in 
favor  with  the  people  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was 
very  soon  elected    to  some  of  the    most    honorable 
offices  in  the  gift  of  the  town.     In  176!),  1770  and 
1771  he  was  one  of  the  selectmen.      In   the   latter 
year  he  was  also  elected  delegate  to  the  Assemblv 
at  Portsmouth,  which  office  he  held  for  three  years. 
In  1776  and  1772  he  was,  moreover,  unanimously 
chosen  to   direct  the   deliberations  of  the  town  as 
their  moderator.    In  177o  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  judge  of  Probate,  with  a  salary  of  twenty- 
four    pounds     sterling,    in    addition    to    which    his 
business  had  so  increased    that    he   deemed  it  suffi- 
cient to  allow  of  the  admission  of  a   partner;  and 
in  duly  of  that    year  Benjamin  West,  who  became 
subsequently  one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers 
in  New   Hampshire,  was  admitted    to  that  connec- 
tion. 

Mr.  Alcott  was  elected  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  on  October  26,  1781,  and  his  letter  of  resig- 
nation was  dated  January  28,  1782,  and  was   laid 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


by  Governor  Chittenden  before  the  General  As- 
sembly at  Bennington,  on  the  11th  of  February 
following,  with  numerous  other  papers  relating  to 
the  eastern  and  western  unions. 

December  25,  1784,  he  was  appointed  chief 
justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  In  this 
position  he  served  a  little  over  six  years,  when,  on 
the  25th  of  January,  1790,  he  was  elevated  to 
the  position  of  associate  justice  of  the  Superior 
Court.  This  office  he  continued  to  hold  till  the 
28th  of  March,  1795,  when  he  was  given  the  chief 
justiceship,  which  he  held  till  June,  1801,  when 
he  was  elected  to  represent  the  State  as  a  Senator 
in  Congress.  He  was  elected,  not  for  a  full  term, 
but  to  fill  a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation 
of  Hou.  Samuel  Livermore,  of  Holderness.  The 
time  for  which  he  was  elected  expired  in  March, 
1805.  After  this  he  retired  to  private  life,  in 
which  he  continued  till  the  22d  of  February,  1815, 
when  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years, 
greatly  lamented  by  the  public  at  large  and  a  very 
extensive  circle  of  personal  friends,  leaving  a  sha- 
dow on  the  home  whose  enjoyments  were  always 
greatly  heightened  by  his  presence. 

Hon.  Benjamin  West. — At  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  Cheshire  County,  in  1771,  it  con- 
tained two  lawyers,  both  subsequently  distinguished 
in  their  profession.  One  was  Simeon  Alcott,  of 
Charlestown,  the  other  Daniel  Jones,  of  Hinsdale. 
Mr.  Olcott  had  been  in  practice  some  five  or  six 
years,  and  Mr.  Jones  nearly  the  same  time.  They 
were  both  educated  men,  and  probably  about  the 
same  age,  as  Mr.  Jones  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1759,  and  Mr.  Olcott  at  Yale  College 
in  1761.  Mr.  Jones  was  the  first  chief  justice  of 
the  Common  Pleas  appointed  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county,  and  became  a  person  of  exten- 
sive influence.  Three  other  members  of  the 
profession  also  settled  very  soon  in  the  county, — 
John  Sprague  and  Elijah  Williams,  at  Keene, 
and  Benjamin  West,  at  Charlestown.  After  a 
brief  residence  at  Keene,  Mr.  Sprague  removed  to 
Lancaster,  in  Massachusetts,  where  he  became  an 
eminent  lawyer  and  civilian.      Mr.  Williams,  who 


settled  in  Keene  in  1771,  in  consequence  of  his 
taking  sides  with  England  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  was  also  soon  obliged  to  leave.  He  died  in 
Deerfield,  Mass.,  his  native  town,  in  1784,  and 
was  buried   by  the  side  of  his  ancestors. 

Benjamin  West  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Thomas 
West,  of  Rochester,  Mass.,  and  was  born  ou  the 
8th  of  April,  1746.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1768.  He  studied  law  in  the  office  of 
Abel  Willard,  at  Lancaster,  Mass.,  and  commenced 
practice  in  Charlestown,  N.  H.,  in  1773.  He  took 
high  rank  in  the  profession,  and  was  one  of  Charles- 
town's  most  esteemed  citizens.  He  was  member 
of  Congress,  and  held  other  official  positions.  He 
died  July  27,  1817. 

Frederick  Augustus  Sumner,  son  of  Benja- 
min and  Prudence  (Hubbard)  Sumner,  of  Clare- 
mont,  was  born  in  1770.  He  fitted  for  college 
and  entered  at  Dartmouth  in  1789,  but  after  re- 
maining at  that  institution  a  part  of  the  course, 
took  up  his  connection  with  it  and  entered  at 
Harvard  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1793. 
On  graduating,  he  decided  on  pursuing  the  legal 
profession,  and  immediately  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Hon  Benjamin  West,  of 
Charlestown,  and  was  a  fellow-student,  as  he  had 
been  in  his  collegiate  course,  with  Hon.  John  C. 
Chamberlain.  On  being  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  State,  in  1796,  he  opened  his  office 
in  Charlestown,  where  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  spent. 

He  held  various  town  offices  and  also  was  post- 
master at  Charlestown.    He  died  August  13, 1834. 

George  Olcott,  second  son  of  Hon.  Simeon 
and  Mrs.  Tryphena  (Terry)  Olcott,  was  born  No- 
vember 22,  1785.  His  early  education  was  care- 
fully conducted,  the  most  assiduous  attention 
having  been  paid,  on  the  part  of  his  parents,  not 
only  to  the  discipline  of  his  intellect,  but  to  the  for- 
mation and  cultivation  of  his  habits  and  manners. 
He  was  fitted  for  entering  Yale  College  a  little 
before  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  graduated 
at  that  institution  the  autumn  before  he  was 
twenty.     On   leaving  college  he  commenced   im- 


6 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mediately  the  study  of  the  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  practice  of  the  profession  in  the  usual 
time,  in  which  practice  he  successfully  continued 
till  1824,  when,  on  the  charter  of  the  Connecticut 
River  Bank,  he  was  elected  its  first  cashier,  which 
office  he  continued  to  hold  till  his  death,  February 
4,  1864. 

Mr.  Olcotthadno  ambition  for  public  office,  but 
always  preferred,  where  duty  would  allow,  to  remain 
in  a  private  station.  He  was  still  frequently  hon- 
ored by  his  fellow-citizens,  as  the  following  rec- 
ord of  the  offices  to  which  he  was  elected  will 
show :  He  was  chosen  moderator  in  the  years 
1842, '43,  '44;  town  clerk  in  1819,  '20,  '21, '22 
and  '24  ;  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1819,  '20,  '21 
and  '22,  and  town  treasurer  from  1837  till  the 
time  of  his  decease,  which  was,  in  all,  twenty-six 
years.  Though  frequently  urged,  he  would  never 
consent  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature, 
nor  for  any  office  that  would  take  him  away  for 
any  considerable  time  from  his  duties  in  connection 
with  the  bank. 

Hon.  Henry  Hubbard  was  born  May  3,  1784, 
and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1803. 
He  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Jeremiah 
Mason,  at  Portsmouth,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Charlestown.  From  the  time  of  liis 
establishing  himself  in  the  town  he  took  an  effi- 
cient part  in  all  its  affairs,  and  was  soon  honored 
by  his  townsmen  by  election  to  important  offices. 
In  1810  he  was  chosen  moderator,  which  office  he 
held,  in  all,  sixteen  times.  He  was  first  selectman 
in  the  years  1819-20  and  '28,  in  which  last  year 
he  was  also  moderator  and  town  clerk.  He  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  Legislature  in  1812,  '13, 
'14,  '15,  '19,  '20,  '23,  24,  '25,  '20  and  '27,— eleven 
times  in  all.  June  16,  1825,  he  was  chosen 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  place 
of  Hon.  Levi  Woodbury,  who  had  been  elected  to 
a  seat  in  the  UJnited  States  Senate.  He  was  also 
chosen  to  the  same  office  in  the  years  1826  and 
1827.  In  1823  he  was  appointed  solicitor  for 
Cheshire  County,  in  which  capacity,  exhibiting 
rare  qualities  as  an  advocate,  he  served  the  term 
of  five  years.      On  the  incorporation  of  Sullivan 


County  he  was  appointed  judge  of  Probate,  the 
duties  of  which  office  he  continued  to  discharge 
till  1829,  when  he  was  chosen  a  representative  to 
( 'ongress. 

In  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  where, 
for  the  period  of  six  years,  he  had  the  implicit 
confidence  of  the  administration  and  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  In  1842  and  1843  he  was  elected 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire.  With  this  office 
his  political  career  closed,  although,  at  every  suc- 
cessive election,  no  one  in  the  State  rendered  more 
efficient  service  to  the  Democratic  cause. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  gubernatorial  chair  he 
was  appointed  sub-treasurer  at  Boston,  to  which 
city  he  for  a  time  removed.  He  died  June  5, 
1857. 

Chief  Justice  John  James  Gilchrist  was 
born  in  Medford,  Mass.,  February  16,  1809. 
His  father,  James  Gilchrist,  was  a  master  of  a 
vessel,  and  is  yet  well  remembered  by  many  as  a 
man  of  powerful  frame,  vigorous  understanding 
and  great  energy  of  character.  He  early  acquired 
a  competence,  and  removed,  while  his  son  was  yet 
a  child  of  tender  years,  to  the  beautiful  village  of 
Charlestown,  in  New  Hampshire,  where  he  bought 
a  farm  and  occupied  himself  in  rural  pursuits  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  which  was  brought  to  a 
close  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood  from  the  effects 
of  an  accident.  Here  the  boyhood  of  Judge  Gil- 
christ was  mainly  passed,  and  here  he  pursued, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Crosby,  a  por- 
tion of  the  studies  preparatory  to  a  collegiate 
course.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1824. 

After  leaving  college  he  commenced  the  study 
of  law  at  Charlestown,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
late  William  Briggs,  an  eccentric  but  very  well- 
read  lawyer,  who  possessed  a  much  larger  and  bet- 
ter collection  of  law-books  than  country  practi- 
tioners usually  accumulate.  Of  these  books — in 
that  quiet  village,  in  which  there  was  so  little  to 
disturb  or  distract  the  mind  of  the  student — 
Judge  Gilchrist  made  most  excellent  use,  and,  by 
a  wide  range  of  elementary  reading,  laid  the  foun- 
dations  of  his   ample   stores   of    legal    learning. 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


From  the  office  of  Mr.  Briggs  he  went  to  the  Law 
School  in  Cambridge,  where  he  was  known  as  a 
most  diligent  student,  ranging  over  the  whole  do- 
main of  the  common  law,  and  letting  none  of  his 
opportunities  pass  by  unimproved.  Upon  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar,  he  formed  a  connection  in  business 
with  the  late  Governor  Hubbard,  whose  daughter 
he  afterwards    married,   thus  finding  himself  at 
once  in  good  employment  and  escaping  the  disci- 
pline of  that  dreary  period  between  the  expecting 
of  clients  and  the  coming  of  them.     The  next  few 
years  were  passed  in  the  diligent  and  successful 
practice  of  the  law.      He  took  some  part  in   the 
politics  of  his  State  and  was  for  more  than   one 
year  a  member  of  the  Legislature  (1836-37)  ;  but 
he  always  made  the  politician   subservient  to  the 
lawyer,  and  his  aspirations  were  professional  and  not 
political.     When,  therefore,  in  1840,  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-one,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  as- 
sociated justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
Hampshire,  it  was  with  the  general  and  hearty  ap- 
proval of  the  bar  and  the  public.     He  was  a  very 
young  man  for  such  a  post, — a  year  younger  than 
Judge  Story  was  when  he  was  made  a  judge,  and 
also  a  year  younger  than  Mr.  Justice  Buller  when 
he  was  elevated  to  the  King's  Bench,  at  an  age 
which    startled   all   the   venerable   proprieties  of 
Westminster  Hall. 

When,  in  1848,  the  place  of  chief  justice  was 
made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  Parker, 
Judge  Gilchrist  had  proved  himself  to  be  a  man 
of  such  high  judicial  excellence,  ,and  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  such  a  principle  of  intellectual  growth  and 
progress,  that  the  eyes  of  all  were  at  once  turned 
towards  him  as  to  one  in  natural  succession  to  the 
dignity ;  and  his  appointment  gave  general  satis- 
faction and  equal  assurance.  In  this  high  place 
he  remained  until  the  Court  of  Claims  was  created 
by  Congress,  when  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  tribunal  by  President  Pierce,  who  was  his 
warm  personal  friend,  who  had  often  appeared  be- 
fore him  at  the  bar,  and  thus  knew  at  first  hand, 
and  of  his  own  knowledge,  how  eminently  quali- 
fied he  was  for  the  responsible  and  laborious 
duties  which  were  to  be  devolved  upon  him. 


Thus,  of  the  twenty-seven  years  which  elapsed 
between  his  admission  to  the  bar  and  his  lamented 
death,  eighteen  were  passed  in  the  discharge  of 
judicial  duties. 

His  learning  was  ample,   various  and  service 
able.     In  depth  and  extent  of  legal  lore  many  of 
his  judicial     contemporaries    may  have   equaled 
him,  and  a  few  may  have  excelled  him.      He  had 
no  professional  pedantry,  no  vanity  of  legal  anti- 
quarianism,  no  taste  for  the  obsolete  curiosities  of 
black-letter  learning.     But    he   had   a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  history,  principles  and  spirit  of 
the  common  law  to  view  every  subject  that  arose 
from  a  proper   point  of  view   and  in  its  just  re- 
lations to  kindred    and  collateral  branches  ;  and 
his  patience  of  labor  enabled   him   to  investigate 
every  question  that  required  research,  thoroughly 
and  completely.     He  had  in  a  high  degree  that 
fine  legal  perception  which  distinguishes  the  living 
principle    from    the   accidental    and    temporary 
forms  through  which  it  has  been  manifested.  Hav- 
ing early  taken  a  wide  survey  of  the  whole  field 
of  legal  learning,  and  made  an  outline  map  of  the 
region,  it  was  a  matter  of  course  that  his  after-ac- 
quired knowledge  should  naturally  and  easily  have 
fallen    into   place,    been   duly  classified    and    ar- 
ranged, and  kept  within  easy  reach  and  ready  for 
use. 

He  was  a  man  of  warm  affections,  social  sym- 
pathies and  genial  tastes.  He  had  the  usual  com- 
pensation that  accompanies  a  life  of  hard  and  tran- 
quil work,  in  the  freshness  of  feeling  maintained 
by  him  to  the  last.  There  was  never  a  younger 
heart  buried  in  the  grave  of  a  man  of  forty-nine. 
The  natural  pleasures  which  spring  upon  the  lap 
of  the  common  earth  never  lost  their  relish  to  him. 
He  needed  not  the  sting  of  strong  excitements  to 
rouse  and  animate  him.  His  temperament  was 
quiet,  but  not  torpid  ;  his  mind  was  always  active 
and  his  sympathies  always  ready. 

Edmund  L.  Cushing  was  born  in  Lunenburg, 
Mass.,  in  1807.  He  entered  Harvard  University 
in  the  fall  of  1823,  at  which  institution  he  also  re- 
ceived his  degree  in  due  course  in  the  fall  of  1827. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1834,  and  in  the 


8 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


.spring  of  1840,  on  the  retirement  of  the  late  Chief 
Justice  Gilchrist  from  practice,  on  account  of  his 
appointment  as  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Superior 
Court,  he  established  himself  in  his  profession  at 
Charlestown. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  successful  in  practice  and 
gained  such  a  respectable  standing  at  the  bar  that, 
in  the  spring  of  1855,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
justices  of  the  Circuit  Court,  which  office  he  ac- 
cepted, but  had  held  it  only  about  four  months 
when  the  court  was  abolished.  Subsequently,  how- 
ever, he  was  tendered  an  appointment  in  the  new 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which,  from  considerations 
unnecessary  to  mention,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  de- 
cline. From  that  time  until  his  appointment  as 
chief  justice  he  continued  in  the  diligent  and  un- 
remitting practice  of  his  profession,  having  only 
taken  time  enough  from  it  to  hold  the  office  of 
representative  in    the  Legislature  for    the  years 

1850,  1852, 1  *;>:;. 

In  the  summer  of  1874,  when  the  courts  were 
remodeled,  he  received  the  appointment  to  the 
chief  justiceship  of  the  Superior  Court 

Hon.  Caleb  Ellis  was  horn  at  Walpole,  Mass., 
iu  lTtiT  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  17'.)".  ; 
read  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Joshua  Thomas,  of 
Plymouth,  Mass.  ;  settled  in  Claremont  about 
1800.  In  1804  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  New  Hampshire,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1800.  Iu  180!)  and  1810  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Council.  In  1811  he  was  elected 
State  Senator;  in  1812  he  was  electorof  President 
and  Vice-President,  and  in  1813  he  was  appointed 
oue  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of 
New  Hampshire,  which  office  he  held  until  his 
death,  .May  !»,  1816.  In  February,  l.Hlli,  he 
married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Hon.  Robert  Means, 
of  Amherst,  N.  H.  He  built  the  house  near  the 
southend  of  Broad  Street,  which  was  purchased 
by  Colonel  J.  S.  Walker  in  1800,  by  whom  it  was 
greatly  improved  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of 
the  times,  making  it  one  of  the  handsomest  resi- 
dences in  town. 

At  his  death  Judge  Ellis  left  a  will,  in  which  he 
bequeathed  "five  thousand  dollars  to  the  Congre- 


gational Society  of  Claremont,  for  constituting  a 
fund,  the  interest  of  which  shall  he  annually  ap- 
propriated to  the  support  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try." Rev.  Stephen  Farley,  minister  of  the  Con- 
gregational  Church,  delivered  a  sermon  on  the 
occasion  of  the  funeral  of  Judge  Ellis,  taking  for 
a  text  Proverbs  x.  7  :  "  The  memory  of  the  just  is 
blessed."  In  the  course  of  this  eloquent,  and  some- 
what remarkable  sermon,  the  preacher  said, — 

"  Although  lie  has  left  the  world,  his  memory  con- 
tinues in  it,  and  will  long  survive  his  decease.  His 
memory  is  blessed.  If  there  be  any  justice  in  the 
present  and  succeeding  generations,  the  name  of  the 
man  whose  remains  are  now  before  us  will  beheld  in 
most  cordial,  grateful  and  honorary  remembrance. 

"The  Hon.  Caleb  Ellis  was  a  man  distinguished 
for  native  vigor  and  capaciousness  of  mind.  The  God 
of  nature  formed  him  capable  of  high  mental  attain- 
ments and  great  intellectual  effort.  For  strength  of 
intellect,  accuracy  of  discrimination,  soundness  of 
judgment  and  propriety  of  taste  be  attained  an  ex- 
traordinary eminence.  His  native  superiority  of  mind 
was  improved  by  very  extensive  cultivation.  His 
learning  was  various,  profound  and  general.  .  .  . 

"  Concerning  his  professional  character,  I  shall  not 
attempt  a  particular  delineation.  It  is  sufficient  that 
I  say,  as  an  attorney,  as  a  legal  counselor,  as  an  advo- 
cate, as  a  statesman,  and  as  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court,  bis  worth  is  generally  known,  acknowl- 
edged and  admired. 

"  In  private  life  Mr.  Ellis  was  eminently  inoffen- 
sive, amiable  and  exemplary.  He  wronged  no  one; 
he  corrupted  no  one;  he  defrauded  no  one;  he 
slighted  no  one;  he  injured  none.  His  treatment 
and  attention  toward  persons  of  dill'ereiit  classes  were 
marked  with  the  strictest  propriety,  justice  and  liberal 
generosity.  He  gave  them  all  satisfaction  and  en- 
joyed their  cordial  esteem.  In  freedom,  not  only 
from  all  vice,  but  also  from  common  faults,  lie  attained 
an  eminent  distinction.  There  were  no  censurable 
excesses,  no  despicable  deficiencies,  no  unaniiable 
habits  about  him.  His  moral  integrity  was  like  tried 
gold.  Many  of  the  most  frequent  imperfections  of 
human  nature  were  but  faintly  discovered  in  his 
bear!  and  life." 

At  the  opening  of  the  trial  term  id' the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  for  Grafton  County,  at  Haverhill, 
in  May,  1816,  Chief  Justice  Jeremiah   Smith  read 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


a  sketch  of  the  character  of  Judge  Ellis,  in  which 
he  said, — 

"Since  the  commencement  of  the  present  circuit  it 
has  pleased  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  all  events  to 
remove  one  of  the  judges  of  this  court  by  death.  If 
living,  he  would  have  filled  the  place  I  now  occupy. 
It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  first  instance  of  the  death 
of  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  while  in  office, 
since  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution,  and, 
indeed,  since  the  Revolution.  Though  the  whole 
number  who  have  served,  during  this  period,  has 
been  nearly  thirty,  and  more  than  half  that  number 
have  paid  the  debt  of  nature,  yet  they  have  generally 
quitted  the  office  before  age  had  made  retirement 
from  the  active  scenes  of  life  necessary. 

"  Nature  endowed  Judge  Ellis  with  a  mind  at  once 
ingenious,  discriminating  and  strong.  Without  edu- 
cation he  would  doubtless  have  attracted  no  small 
share  of  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  those  within  the 
circle  of  his  acquaintance.  But  his  great  modesty 
would  probably  have  concealed  him  from  public 
notice.  Fortunately,  it  was  otherwise  ordained ;  and 
he  received  the  best  education  our  country  could 
give.  He  was  graduated  at  Cambridge  in  1793,  and 
left  that  distinguished  university  with  a  high  charac- 
ter for  learning,  morals  and  general  literature. 

"  Perhaps  no  student  ever  left  a  lawyer's  office  with 
a  larger  and  better  stock  of  law  knowledge.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  in  this  State.  Soon  after  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the  county 
of  Cheshire,  I  well  recollect  his  argument  in  a  case 
of  some  difficulty  and  importance,  and  the  remark  of 
a  gentleman,  then  at  the  head  of  the  bar,  and  who 
seldom  errs  in  his  judgment  of  men,  '  that  Mr.  Ellis 
would  soon  be  numbered  among  the  "most  valuable 
and  respectable  members  of  the  profession.' 

"When  the  new  judiciary  system  was  formed,  in 
1813,  the  best  informed  of  all  parties  named  Mr.  Ellis 
for  the  office  of  judge  of  this  court.  The  merit  of  the 
executive  of  that  day,  in  relation  to  this  appointment, 
was  in  concurring  with  that  nomination.  Mr.  Ellis 
was  an  independent  and  impartial  judge.  .  .  . 

"  His  mind  was  too  lofty  to  enter  into  any  calcula- 
tions foreign  to  the  merits  of  the  cause  in  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties  ;  neither  the  merits  nor  demerits 
of  the  parties  nor  their  connections,  however  numer- 
ous or  powerful,  could  have  any  influence  with  him. 
I  am  sensible  that  this  is  very  high  praise, — a  praise 
which  could  not,  in  truth,  be  bestowed  on  all  good 


men,  nor  even  on  all  good  judges.  But  it  is  praise 
which  Mr.  Ellis  richly  merited." 

Hon.  Samuel  Ashley  came  to  Claremont  in 
1782.  He  was  in  the  war  of  1745  and  1755.  He 
held  several  civil  offices,  and  was  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas.  He  died  in  February, 
1792. 

Hon.  George  B.  Upham,  son  of  Captain 
Phineas  Upham,  born  at  Brookfield,  Mass. ;  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  College  in  1789  ;  came  to  Clare- 
mont to  live  about  1799  ;  served  a  number  of  years 
in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  and  was 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1809, 
and  again  in  1815.  He  was  a  representative  in 
Congress  from  1801  to  1803.  He  was  considered 
one  of  the  best  lawyers  and  safest  counselors  in 
this  part  of  the  State  for  many  years.  He  was 
president  of  the  old  Claremont  Bank,  and  by  his 
practice  and  economy  accumulated  a  large  fortune 
for  his  time.  He  died  February  10,  1848,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-nine  years. 

Hon.  W.  H.  H.  Allen  was  born  in  Ver- 
mont, December  10,  1829  ;  removed  to  Surry, 
N.  H,  when  quite,  young,  and  lived  there  until 
1858,  when  he  removed  to  Newport  ;  thence  to 
Claremont  in  1868,  where  he  still  resides.  He 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1855  ;  read 
law  with  AVheeler  &  Faulkner  and  F.  F.  Lane, 
at  Keene,  and  Burke  &  Wait,  at  Newport ;  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Newport  in  1858  ;  clerk  of 
courts  for  Sullivan  County  from  1858  to  1863 ; 
paymaster  in  the  army  from  1863  to  1866  ;  judge 
of  Probate  for  Sullivan  County  from  1867  to  1874. 
He  was  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Newport  and 
Claremont  from  1866  to  August,  1876,  when  he 
was  appointed  associate  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Hampshire,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  (For  a  more  extended  notice  see  appendix.) 
Hon.  Hosea  W.  Parker.1 — The  town  of  Lemp- 
ster,  among  the  hills  of  "  Little  Sullivan,"  is  one 
of  the  most  unpretending  in  the  State.  Without 
railway  facilities,  and  destitute  of  water-power  to 
any  considerable  extent,  the  inhabitants  depend, 
in  the  main,  for  a  livelihood,  upon  the  products  of 

1  By  H.  H.  Metcalf.       Arranged  from  the  Granite  Monthly. 


10 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  rugged  soil,  of  less  than  average  fertility,  from 
which  they  gain  a  comfortable  subsistence  only  by 
constant  industry  and  the  practice  of  close  economy. 
No  man  ever  accumulated  more  than  a  moderate 
competency  in  Lempster,  and  few  have  suffered 
from  extreme  poverty  ;  while  crime  is  compara- 
tively unknown  within  the  limits  of  the  town.  A 
more  industrious,  law-abiding,  and,  withal,  a  more 
intelligent  commuuity  than  the  people  of  this 
town,  cannot  be  found  in  New  Hampshire.  Its 
schools  have  always  been  the  best  in  the  county, 
and  it  is  a  generally  conceded  fact  that  it  has 
reared  and  sent  out  more  teachers  and  preachers 
in  proportion  to  its  population  than  any  other 
town  in  the  State,  together  with  a  goodly  number 
of  lawyers,  physicians  and  journalists.  Rev. 
Alonzo  A.  Miner,  D.D.,  of  Boston,  is  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  numerous  clei'gymen  which 
Lempster  has  produced,  while  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  (a  kinsman  of  Dr.  Miner)  is  the  most  prom- 
inent of  her  sons  at  the  bar  and  in  public  life. 

Hosea  W.  Parker  was  born  in  Lempster  May 
30,  1833.  His  father,  Benjamin  Parker,  a  farmer 
in  moderate  circumstances,  and  one  of  the  numer- 
ous descendants  of  Captain  Joseph  Parker,  now 
scattered  over  New  England,  was  among  the  most 
esteemed  citizens  of  the  town,  holding  many  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  responsibility,  and  enjoying  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  his  townsmen  regardless 
of  sect  or  party.  He  died  in  1845,  at  the  age  of 
forty-seven  years,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  chil- 
dren,— two  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  widow,  a 
lady  of  rare  gifts  and  great  intelligence,  yet  sur- 
vives at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  The  eldest 
son,  Hiram  Parker,  is  a  successful  fanner  and 
leading  citizen,  residing  upon  the  old  homestead 
in  Lempster.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  character 
and  wide  influence,  has  represented  the  town  in 
the  Legislature,  and  held  various  other  responsible 
positions.  He  ranks  among  the  most  enterprising 
and  progressive  farmers  in  the  county,  and  has 
been  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Slate 
Board  of  Agriculture,  participating  actively  in  its 
work.  The  daughter,  Emily  L.,  who  also  resides 
in   Lempster,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Ransom 


Beckwith,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  town,  who 
died  some  years  since.  Hosea  W.,  the  youngest 
son,  was  twelve  years  of  age  when  his  father  died. 
With  his  brother  he  engaged  diligently  in  the 
work  upon  the  farm,  attending  the  district  school 
during  its  limited  terms,  with  an  occasional  term 
at  a  select  school,  until  about  eighteen  years  of 
age,  when  he  determined  to  enter  upon  a  course  of 
study  preparatory  to  a  professional  life.  After 
attending  Tubbs'  Union  Academy,  at  Washington, 
then  under  the  charge  of  that  famous  teacher,  Pro- 
fessor Dyer  H.  Sanborn,  for  a  few  terms,  he  entered 
the  Green  Mountain  Liberal  Institute,  at  South 
Woodstock,  Vt.,  where  he  completed  the  full  class- 
ical course.  He  entered  Tufts  College  in  1855, 
but  did  not  remain  to  complete  the  course  in  that 
institution,  leaving  during  the  second  year  to  com- 
mence the  study  of  law,  upon  which  he  entered  in 
the  office  of  Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  at  Newport, 
where  he  completed  his  legal  studies,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Sullivan  County  bar  in  1859,  engag- 
ing, meanwhile,  in  teaching  school  in  the  winter 
season,  as  he  had  also  done  while  gaining  his  pre- 
paratory education. 

He  commenced  practice  in  his  native  town,  but 
removed  to  Claremont  in  the  fall  of  1860,  where 
he  has  since  remained,  and  has  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing an  extensive  practice.  He  has  had  ex- 
cellent success  in  the  trial  of  causes,  and  as  a  jury 
lawyer  ranks  with  the  first  in  the  State,  excelling 
both  in  management  and  as  an  advocate.  He  has 
been  admitted  to  the  United  States  Circuit  and 
District  Courts  in  this  State,  and  in  1873  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
in  Washington. 

Mr.  Parker  has  been  a  Democrat  from  youth, 
and  has  ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  political 
affairs,  laboring  earnestly  for  the  success  of  the 
party  to  whose  principles  he  is  attached.  Few 
men  in  the  State  have  devoted  more  time  and 
effort  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Democratic 
cause,  and  none  have  gained  more  fully  the  con- 
In  Knee  and  respect  of  the  party.  He  has  served 
almost  constantly  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  as 
a  member  of  the   Democratic  State  Committee, 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


11 


and  in  nearly  every  campaign  during  that  time 
his  voice  has  been  heard  with  effect  upon  the 
stump  in  advocacy  of  the  principles  and  policy  of 
his  party.  His  first  political  speeches  were  made 
in  opposition  to  the  so-called  Know-Nothing  organ- 
ization, which  gained  ascendency  in  the  State  in 
1855.  He  has  long  been  prominent  in  the  State 
Conventions  of  his  party,  and  has  presided  at  the 
same  on  three  occasions.  He  was  a  delegate  from 
this  State  in  the  National  Democratic  Convention 
at  New  York,  in  1868,  in  which  he  voted  through- 
out for  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock  for  can- 
didate for  President,  and  was  again  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  delegation  in  the  Cincinnati 
Convention,  in  1880,  when  General  Hancock  was 
made  the  standard-bearer  of  the  party.  In  1884 
he  was  a  -member  of  the  delegation  at  Chicago, 
and  an  earnest  advocate  of  Governor  Cleveland's 
nomination. 

In  1859  he  was  chosen  to  represent  the  people 
of  his  native  town  in  the  State  Legislature,  and 
re-elected  the  following  year.  He  served  in  the 
House  as  a  member  of  the  committees  on  educat'on 
and  railroads,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  work 
of  legislation  in  all  its  stages,  both  in  the  committee- 
room  and  in  debate  upon  the  floor.  He  was  sub- 
sequently the  candidate  of  his  party  for  State 
Senator  in  the  old  Tenth  District,  but  failed  of 
election,  the  district  being  overwhelmingly  Re- 
publican. In  1869,  Mr.  Parker  was  nominated  for 
Congress,  but  was  defeated  by  Hon.  Jacob  Benton 
by  a  small  majority,  and  in  1871  was  again 
nominated  by  the  Democracy  of  the  Third  Con- 
gressional District  as  their  candidate  for  represen- 
tative in  Congress,  and,  in  an  active  and  exciting 
campaign,  defeated  his  Republican  competitor, 
Geueral  Simon  G.  Griffin,  of  Keene,  although  the 
district  was  unquestionably  Republican  at  the 
time.  His  personal  popularity  added  largely  to 
his  strength,  very  many  Republicans  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  district  giving  him  their  votes,  includ- 
ing about  one  hundred  in  his  own  town  of  Clare- 
mont.  He  served  in  the  Forty-second  Congress, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1873  to  the  succeeding 
Congress   by   an  increased  majority.     He  is  the 


only  Democrat  who  has  been  chosen  in  that  dis- 
trict since  the  last  election  of  Hon.  Harry  Hibbard, 
in  1853,  and  the  only  man  of  any  party  residing 
in  Sullivan  County  who  has  occupied  a  seat  in 
Congress  since  the  incumbency  of  his  legal  pre- 
ceptor, Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  of  Newport,  whose 
last  term  ended  in  March,  1845. 

During  the  period  of  his  Congressional  service 
he  was  promptly  and  continually  at  the  post  of 
duty,  and  was  assiduous  alike  in  his  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  the  people  at  large  and  in  respond- 
ing to  the  personal  solicitations  of  his  constituents 
for  aid  in  matters  connected  with  the  various  depart- 
ments. Corruption  was  rife  at  Washington  during 
the  time  of  his  service,  but  jobbery  and  extrava- 
gance in  every  form  found  iu  Mr.  Parker  a  persistent 
opponent.  The  Co ngressional  Record  will  show  his 
vote  recorded  against  every  job,  subsidy  and 
plunder  scheme  of  whatever  description  brought 
before  Congress  during  his  term  of  service,  and  in 
support  of  every  measure  calculated  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  direction  of  revenue  reform.  There 
and  everywhere  he  has  been  earnest  and  outspoken 
in  opposition  to  those  features  of  the  tariff  laws 
calculated  to  enrich  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the 
many.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
education  and  labor,  and  also  of  the  committee  on 
patents,  rendering  valuable  service  in  both  com- 
mittees. He  took  decided  ground  in  favor  of 
reimbursing  William  and  Mary  College,  Virginia, 
for  losses  sustained  in  the  destruction  of  property 
during  the  war,  and  made  a  strong  speech  in  the 
House  in  advocacy  of  the  bill  to  that  effect.  His 
speech  upon  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  from 
the  sales  of  public  lands  for  educational  purposes 
is  also  cited  in  evidence  of  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  popular  education,  and  his  desire  for  the  adop- 
tion of  a  liberal  policy  on  the  part  of  the  general 
government  in  that  direction. 

It  was  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  patents 
in  the  Forty-third  Congress,  however,  that  Mr. 
Parker  rendered  his  constituents  and  the  people  of 
the  entire  country  a  service  of  inestimable  value. 
It  was  at  this  time  that   the  patents  held  by  the 


12 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


great  sewing-machine  monopoly — a  combination 
of  the  leading  companies  entered  into  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  up  the  enormous  prices  of  the 
machines — were  about  exjnring,  and  a  determined 
effort  was  made  to  secure  an  extension.  A  power- 
ful lobby  was  employed  and  money  without  stint 
was  at  its  command.  Every  possible  argument 
and  appliance  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  com- 
mittee to  secure  a  report  in  favor  of  extension. 
Mr.  Parker,  with  his  unyielding  hostility  to  mo- 
nopoly and  special  privilege  in  every  form,  was  un- 
alterably opposed  to  such  action  from  the  start, 
and  it  was  largely  through  his  persistent  efforts 
that  the  committee  finally  reported  against  the 
extension  by  a  majority  of  one  vote,  and  the  com- 
mittee's report  was  sustained  by  the  House.  A 
reduction  of  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  in  the  price  of 
sewing-machines  soon  followed, — a  result  hailed 
with  joy  in  almost  every  family  in  the  land.  Had 
Mr.  Parker  yielded  to  the  pressure,  or  the  seductive 
influences  brought  to  bear  in  the  interests  of  this 
monopoly,  as  too  many  men  have  done  in  our 
American  Congress  under  similar  circumstances, 
he  might  have  retired  at  the  close  of  his  term  with 
an  independent  fortune,  but  without  the  self- 
respect  and  the  universal  public  esteem  which  he 
now  enjoys. 

Since  the  close  of  his  Congressional  service  Mr. 
Parker  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  large 
and  constantly-increasing  law  practice. 

As  a  citizen  he  is  eminently  public-spirited, 
heartily  supporting  all  schemes  of  local  improve- 
ment, and  all  public  enterprises  calculated  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  the  town  and  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  He  is  liberal  to  a  fault,  and 
never  hesitates  to  contribute  to  any  object  for 
which  his  aid  is  sought,  unless  convinced  that 
there  is  hypocrisy  and  sham,  or  some  sinister  pur- 
pose involved.  For  hypocrites  and  pretenders, 
whether  in  politics  or  religion,  in  jxiblic  or  in  private, 
in  business  or  in  social  life,  he  has  a  thorough  and 
ardent  contempt.  In  the  cause  of  education  he 
has  taken  a  strong  and  active  interest  from  youth. 
He  served  fur  two  years  as  superintending  school 
committee  in  his  native  town,  entering  enthusias- 


tically into  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  that 
capacity.  He  has  also  been  for  several  years  a 
member  of  the  Stevens  High  School  committee 
and  a  trustee  of  the  Fiske  Free  Library. 

In  religion,  Mr.  Parker  adheres  to  the  liberal 
faith,  being  a  constant  attendant  upon  the  services 
of  the  Universalist  Church  in  Claremont,  and 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  connected 
therewith,  which  position  he  has  hoi  den  continu- 
ously for  the  past  twenty-four  years.  He  is 
recognized  as  a  prominent  member  of  that  de- 
nomination in  New  England,  and  in  1872  and 
1873  was  president  of  the  New  Hampshire  State 
Convention,  and  is  at  the  present  time  president  of 
the  State  Sabbath-School  Convention  of  Univer- 
salists.  He  also  presided  at  the  New  England 
anniversary  festival  in  Boston  in  1873.  In  1883 
Tufts  College  conferred  the  honorary  degree  of 
A.M.  upon  him,  and  at  the  same  time  elected  him 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  college,  which  position  he 
now  holds. 

He  is  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  this  State, 
being  an  active  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  of 
the  various  local  organizations.  He  is  now,  and 
has  been  for  the  past  fourteen  years,  Eminent 
Commander  of  Sullivan  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar,  at  Claremont. 

In  1861,  Mr.  Parker  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Caroline  Lovisa  Southgate,  of  Bridge- 
water,  Vt.,  a  lady  of  culture  and  refinement,  en- 
dowed with  rare  social  graces  and  domestic  virtues. 
They  have  one  child,  a  daughter, — Lizzie  South- 
gate  Parker, — born  June  17,  1865.  Their  resi- 
dence on  Broad  Street  is  one  the  finest  in  the 
beautiful  village  of  Claremont,  and  is  in  the  fullest 
sense  the  abode  of  domestic  happiness  and  the  seat 
of  a  generous  hospitality. 

Few  men  in  the  State  of  Mr.  Parker's  age  have 
won  equal  success  in  professional  and  political  life  ; 
fewer  still  have  gained,  in  equal  degree,  the  per- 
sonal regard  and  friendship  of  their  fellow-men. 
This  success  has  resulted  in  no  small  degree  from 
the  predominance  of  the  democratic  element  in  his 
nature,   his   social    good-fellowship    and     perfect 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


13 


frankness  and  sincerity  in  all  things.  In  his  inter- 
course with  men  he  bestows  the  same  consideration 
upon  the  poorest  and  humblest  as  upon  the  rich 
and  exalted,  and  his  hatred  of  the  false  distinctions 
set  up  in  society  is  only  equaled  by  his  general 
contempt  for  all  classes  of  hypocrites,  bigots  and 
pretenders.  Yet  comparatively  a  young  man, 
having  scarcely  attained  the  meridian  of  his  phys- 
ical and  intellectual  powers,  he  may  look  forward 
to  a  long  career  of  usefulness  and  honor,  supple- 
mentary to  the  eminent  success  which  he  has 
already  achieved. 

Arthur  Chase  was  born  at  Bellows  Falls, 
Vt.,  October  21,  1835.  He  is  a  son  of  Bishop 
Carlton  Chase ;  graduated  at  Norwich  University 
in  1856 ;  read  law  with  George  Ticknor,  in 
Claremont ;  graduated  at  Cambridge  Law  School, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859.  He  has 
never  been  much  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. 

Herman  Holt  was  born  at  Woodstock,  Vt., 
September  7,  1845  ;  fitted  for  college  at  Kimball 
Union  Academy ;  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  1870  ;  read  law  with  Judge  B.  H.  Steele, 
of  Vermont ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1873, 
and  has  since  been  in  practice  in  Claremont. 

Hon.  Ralph  Metcalf  was  born  at  North 
Charlestown  November  21,  179(3,  and  was  the 
oldest  son  of  John  Metcalf,  a  thrifty  farmer.  He 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1823  ;  studied 
law  with  Henry  Hubbard,  of  Charlestown,  after- 
ward Governor  of  New  Hampshire,"Richard  Bart- 
lett,  of  Concord,  and  George  B.  Upham,  of  Clare- 
mont ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1826,  and 
opened  an  office  at  Newport.  In  1828  he  went  to 
Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  in  practice 
until  1830,  when  he  returned  to  Claremont.  In 
1831  he  was  elected  Secretary  of  State,  which  of- 
fice he  held  until  1838.  He  then  went  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  was  in  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, under  Levi  Woodbury,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  until  1840.  when  he  returned  to  New 
Hampshire,  and  went  into  practice  at  Plymouth, 
where  he  remained  a  few  months,  and  then  came 
to  Newport,  where  he  had  his  home  until  1855, 


when  he  came  to  Claremont,  built  a  fine  residence 
on  Broad  Street,  now  owned  by  William  Breek, 
and  spent  in  it  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
represented  Newport  in  the  New  Hampshire  Leg- 
islature in  1852  and  1853.  In  1845  he  was  ap- 
pointed register  of  Probate,  which  office  he  held 
until  1851.  In  1852  he  was  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee to  revise  the  laws  of  the  State.  He  was 
elected  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  in  1855  by 
the  people ;  was  a  candidate  for  the  same  office  in 
1856,  when  there  was  no  choice  by  the  people,  and 
he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature.  He  died  at 
Claremont  on  August  26,1858. 

Frank  H.  Brown  is  a  son  of  Oscar  J.  Brown  ; 
was  bnrn  in  Claremont  February  2,  1854  ;  was 
educated  at  Worcester  Military  Academy  aud 
Dartmouth  College  ;  studied  law  with  Judge  W. 
H.  H.  Allen  ;  graduated  at  the  Boston  University 
Law  School ;  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  County 
bar  ;  practiced  tw7o  years  at  Concord,  since  which 
he  has  had  an  office  at  Claremont 

Ira  Colby  was  born  at  Claremont,  N.  H.,  Jan- 
uary 11, 1831.  His  parents  came  from  Henniker, 
N.  H.,  and  settled  in  Claremont  immediately 
upon  their  marriage,  which  took  place  April  17, 
1827.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Henniker,  and 
his  mother  of  Essex,  Mass.,  from  wThich  place, 
when  she  was  eleven  years  of  age,  her  father  re- 
moved to  Henniker,  to  prevent  his  sons  from  be- 
coming sea-faring  men.  The  family  on  both  sides 
are  of  purely  English  descent,  and  numbers,  in 
its  various  branches,  many  persons  of  distinction. 
His  mother's  family-name  is  Foster.  They  are 
the  descendants  in  direct  line  from  Reginald  Fos- 
ter, who  came  from  Exeter,  Devonshire,  England, 
and  settled  in  Ipswich,  Essex  County,  Mass.,  in 
1638.  It  is  said,  in  the  Granite  Monthly,  July, 
1882,  in  an  account  of  the  descendants  of  Joseph 
Stickney,  paragraph  220,  that  the  family  of  this 
Reginald  is  honorably  mentioned  in  "  Lay  of  the 
Last  Minstrel"  and  "  Marmion."  His  father  was 
one  of  the  most  successful  and  enterprising  farm- 
ers of  his  town  ;  was  honored  by  his  town  as  one 
of  its  selectmen  and  representatives ;  was  a  most 
useful  citizen,  and  died   at  the   age   of  seventy 


14 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


years,  with  no  stain  upon  his  character  or  reputa- 
tion. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up  upon 
the  farm, — that  best  of  all  schools  in  which  to 
learn  industry,  frugality  and  self-reliance.  He 
early  developed  a  love  for  books,  but  had  no  ad- 
vantages beyond  the  old-fashioued  district  school 
until  seventeen  years  of  age.  When  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  while  attending  school  at  Mar- 
low  Academy,  he  began  to  turn  his  attention  to 
a  college  course  of  study.  He  completed  his 
academical  course  at  Thetford,  Vt.,  and  entered 
Dartmouth  College  in  1853,  graduating  in  the 
class  of  1857.  During  the  winters  from  the  time 
he  began  his  academical  course  to  his  graduation 
from  college  and  for  one  year  thereafter  he  was 
engaged  in  teaching,  first  in  his  own  State,  after- 
wards in  Massachusetts  and  in  Waukesha,  Wis. 
In  September,  1858,  he  was  duly  admitted,  as  a 
student,  into  the  office  of  Freeman  &  McClure,  at 
that  time  the  leading  lawyers  of  Claremont.  Af- 
ter two  years  of  study  he  was  admitted,  on  exami- 
nation, to  the  bar  of  Sullivan  County.  He  com- 
menced practice  in  the  office  where  he  had  studied, 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Hon.  M.  C.  Mc- 
Clure and  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Freeman  from 
business.  With  the  exception  of  a  partnership  of 
three  years  at  the  first,  with  Lyman  J.  Brooks, 
Esq.,  and  about  four  years  afterwards,  with  A.  T. 
Batchelder,  Esq.,  now  of  Keene,  he  has  been  alone 
in  business,  and  has  occupied  the  same  office  for 
twenty-seven  years.  He  has  numbered  among 
his  students  now  in  the  successful  practice  of  their 
profession,  Hermon  Holt,  now  of  Claremont,  A. 
T.  Batchelder,  of  Keene,  N.  H.,  F.  Perry,  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  and  G.  E  Perley,  of  Moorhead, 
Minn.  He  was  always  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and,  in  the  times  of  the  Rebellion,  was  an  active 
and  zealous  supporter  of  the  cause  of  the  Union. 
He  was  a  representative  in  the  Legi.-latures  of 
1864-65,  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1869-T<>, 
of  the  Republican  National  Convention  in  1876, 
and  again  a  representative  in  the  Legislature  of 
1881-83.  For  the  entire  time  since  1864,  by  ap- 
pointment and  election,  with  the  exception  of  two 


years,  he  has  held  the  office  of  solicitor  of  Sulli- 
van County.  He  has  for  many  years  been  one  of 
the  loaning  agents  of  the  Sullivan  Savings  Insti- 
tution, located  at  Claremont ;  has,  for  ten  years, 
been  one  of  the  committee  of  Stevens  High  School, 
and  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  Fiske  Free  Library. 

June  20, 1867,  he  married  a  most  excellent  lady, 
Miss  Louisa  M.  Way,  daughter  of  Gordon  Way, 
Esq.,  of  Claremont,  and  sister  of  Dr.  O.  B  Way, 
of  that  place.  They  have  one  child  living,  Ira 
Gordon  Colby,  now  thirteen  years  of  age.  In  re- 
ligion, Mr.  Colby  is  a  Methodist,  as  was  his  father. 
For  many  years  the  father  was  one  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  his  church,  and  the  son,  upon  his 
death,  succeeded  to,  and  still  holds,  the  same 
office. 

Mr.  Colby  stands  high  in  his  profession  through- 
out the  State.  As  a  lawyer  he  has  always  been  a 
hard  worker  and  a  close  student.  Being  an  easy 
and  natural  speaker,  he  addresses  the  court  and 
jury  with  great  ability  and  success.  His  practice 
has  been  extensive,  and  he  has  been  engaged  in 
most  of  the  important  trials  in  Sullivan  County 
for  many  years. 

He  is  now  actively  engaged  in  a  large  and  lu- 
crative practice.  It  is  not  alone  in  the  practice 
of  the  law  that  Mr.  Colby  excels,  but  as  a  popular 
speaker  he  has  few7  equals  in  the  State.  He  ex- 
hibited marked  ability  in  this  respect  in  the  Leg- 
islature of  New  Hampshire  during  the  several 
sessions  when  he  was  a  member.  As  a  Republican 
he  has  always  commanded  the  respect  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  his  party. 

As  a  citizen  Mr.  Colby  has  always  taken  a  lively 
interest  in  the  prosperity  of  his  town  and  State. 
He  is  public-spirited,  a  friend  of  all  educational 
movements  and  an  earnest  worker  in  behalf  of  all 
institutions  that  tend  to  advance  and  elevate  the 
people. 

Philander  Chase  Freeman  was  born  in 
Plainfield,  N.  H.,  August  27,  1807.  He  was  a 
son  of  Benjamin  Freeman,  born  in  Plainfield  in 
1782.  His  grandmother,  on  his  mother's  side, 
was  a  daughter  of  Dudley  Chase,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Cornish,  N.  H.     She  was  also  a  sister 


I 


'■rt&Yft^ 


W^^o^v^n&i^Q.^ru^ 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


15 


of  Bishop  Philander  Chase,  of  Illinois,  for  whom 
he  was  named.  He  fitted  for  college  at  Kimball 
Union  Academy,  Meriden,  N.  H.  ;  entered  Ken- 
yon  College,  at  Gambier,  Ohio,  in  1825,  and  gradu- 
ated in  1829.  He  studied  law  with  Judge  J.  H. 
Hubbard,  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  and  for  a  short  time 
was  associated  in  business  with  him.  He  removed 
to  Claremont  in  1835  and  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  that  place,  in  what  is  known 
as  the  Lower  village,  that  being  at  that  time  the 
business  centre  of  the  town.  He  very  soon  ac- 
quired an  extensive  and  lucrative  business,  and 
early  took  rank  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers 
in  that  part  of  the  State.  He  was  a  pains- 
taking, fair-minded  and  upright  man ;  a  man 
of  sound  judgment,  a  good  and  safe  counselor. 
He  possessed,  in  a  very  marked  degree,  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  the  community.  He 
was  quiet  and  unassuming  in  his  manners,  a 
thorough  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  and 
extremely  kind  and  generous  towards  the  junior 
members  of  his  profession.  He  was,  for  a 
short  time,  in  business  with  Hon  A.  B.  Wil- 
liamson, of  Claremont ;  also,  with  J.  H.  Fuller, 
Esq.,  who  afterwards  removed  to  Chicago  and  be- 
came one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  in  that 
part  of  the  country.  He  was  for  a  number  of 
years,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  professional  career, 
associated  in  business  with  Hon.  Milon  C.  Mc- 
Clure.  At  the  death  of  Mr.  McClure,  in  1860,  he 
retired  from  the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  responsibil- 
ity ;  he  was  honored  by  his  town  as  their  represen- 
tative in  the  State  Legislature,  and  was  police  jus- 
tice for  a  number  of  years, — from  the  formation  of 
that  court ;  he  was  also,  for  many  years,  clerk  of 
the  Sullivan  Railroad  corporation.  In  religiou, 
he  was  an  Episcopalian,  and  from  1849  to  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  New  Hampshire. 
He  was  also  the  agent  in  New  Hampshire  for  the 
trustees  of  donations  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  In  whatever  position  he  was  placed,  he 
conducted  himself  with  the  utmost  fidelity  and 
good  judgment.      He    was   twice  married, — first, 


April  30,  1838,  to  Sarah  Norton,  who  died  April 
25,  1 844 ;  and  second,  June  4,  1846,  to  Martha 
Smith  Norton,  who  still  survives  him.  He  had 
two  children  by  his  first  marriage  and  none  by  his 
second.  One  of  these  died  in  infancy,  and  the 
other,  Frederick  N.  Freeman,  at  twenty-eight 
years  of  age.  He  was  a  young  man  of  much 
promise,  a  graduate  of  Norwich  University  and 
had  studied  the  profession  of  law  with  his 
father.  The  loss  of  this  son  bore  heavily  upon 
him.  After  a  protracted  illness  he  died  April  20, 
1871. 

Edward  Dimick  Baker. — The  Baker  family 
is  an  old  one  in  England,  and  comes  from  the 
common  people  of  long  ago.  The  name  denotes 
the  business  followed  in  the  early  days  in  Eng- 
land. Many  of  the  name  won  honorably  the 
privilege  of  wearing  arms,  and  they  did  good  ser- 
vice in  fields  of  battle  and  in  peaceful  pursuits. 
They  were  noted  for  persistence  in  what  they  con- 
sidered right  and  duty,  and  did  not  change  from 
a  position  taken  or  an  opinion  formed  without 
pretty  good  reasons.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the 
Baker  family  possessed  considerable  property  in 
the  north  of  England,  and  were  known  as  an  in- 
dustrious and  thrifty  people.  In  1650,  at  Ayles- 
bury, County  of  Bucks,  there  were  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  name,  who  became  followers  of  George 
Fox,  the  Quaker,  and  with  him  suffered  impris- 
onment by  the  order  of  Cromwell. 

The  first  ancestor  of  Edward  Dimick  Baker,  of 
whom  there  is  any  known  record,  was  Jeffrey 
Baker,  of  England,  where  his  son  Joseph  was 
born,  June  18,  1655.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
the  persecution  of  the  Quakers,  above  alluded  to, 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  his  coming  to 
this  country,  where  he  became  an  early  resident  of 
the  New  Haven  colony.  His  son,  Joseph,  born 
April  13,  1678,  was  twice  married, — first,  to 
Hannah  Pomeroy,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons, 
Joseph  and  Samuel;  second,  to  Abigail  Bissell. 
By  this  marriage  he  had  nine  children, — John, 
Hannah,  Jacob,  Abigail,  Ebenezer,  Daniel,  He- 
man,  Titus  and  Abigail.  Joseph  (2d)  died  in 
1754,  and   his   wife,  Abigail,  in   1768.       Heman 


16 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


(third  generation),  born  April  27,  1719,  married 
Lois  Gilbert,  November  24,  1747.  They  had 
nine  children, — Heman,  Anna,  Deborah,  John, 
Oliver,  Abigail,  Lois,  Delight  and  Lydia. 

Heman  (4th)  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British 
at  New  York,  September  15,  1776,  with  one  Joel 
Smith,  and  after  three  months'  confinement  both 
died  of  small-pox.  Heman  died  January  21, 
1777,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years. 

Oliver  Baker  (4th)  was  born  at  Tolland,  Conn., 
October  5,  1755.  He  received  a  medical  educa- 
tion, purchased  a  farm  in  Plainfield,  N.  H.,  where 
he  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  and  practiced 
medicine  and  managed  his  farm  during  his  life. 
He  married  Dorcas  Dimick,  March  23,  1780,  and 
had  eleven  children, — Heman,  Diantha,  Zina  and 
Lina  (twins),  Oliver,  Semantha,  Dimick,  Dorcas, 
Lodema,  Elizabeth  and  Mary.  Dr.  Oliver 
Laker  died  October  3,  1811.  Dimick  Baker  was 
born  in  Plainfield,  N.  H.,  March  18,  1793.  While 
some  of  his  brothers  became  physicians,  he  became 
an  extensive  and  successful  farmer.  Married 
Hannah  Colby,  and  had  five  children,  of  whom 
Edward  D.  was  the  second. 

Edward  Dimick  Baker  was  born  at  Meriden 
village,  in  the  town  of  Plainfield,  N.  H.,  April  21, 
1827.  His  father's  farm  being  within  half  a  mile 
of  Kimball  Union  Academy,  Edward  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  five  years'  attendance  at  this  popular 
school,  of  which  he  made  good  use,  working  upon 
the  farm  during  vacations  and  teaching  winters. 
When  twenty-one  years  of  age  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  began  the  study  of  law  at  Enfield,  N.  H., 
with  Hon.  Nathaniel  W.  Wertgate,  now  of  Haver- 
hill, N.  H.  He  taught  district  schools  winters  and 
a  High  School  autumns,  and  attended  a  telegraph- 
office,  making  the  most  of  his  time.  He  com- 
I  ilcted  his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Henry 
A.  Bellows,  late  chief  justice  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Sullivan  County 
in  July,  1851  ;  very  soon  after  which  he  opened 
an  office  at  Cornish  Flat,  where  he  continued  in 
practice  until  October,  1855,  when  he  removed  to 
Claremont  and  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
Hon.  A.  F.  Snow,  which   continued   until  Septem- 


tember,  1857.     He  passed   the   summer  of  1857 
near  Tojieka,  Kan.,  then  returned  to  Claremont, 
where  he  has  since  been  in  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession.      He  married,  November  12,  1851, 
Elizabeth  Ticknor.     They  have  no  children. 

Mr.  Baker  is  a  well-read,  painstaking,  careful 
and  able  lawyer  He  is  earnest  and  industrious  in 
the  preparation  and  trial  of  causes  entrusted  to 
him.  He  prefers  to  keep  his  clients  out  of  law- 
suits rather  than  involve  them  in  protracted  liti- 
gation. He  always  advises  a  fair  and  honorable 
adjustment  of  differences  between  parties,  rather 
than  the  certain  expense  and  the  uncertain  results 
at  the  hands  of  courts  and  juries.  He  has  some  of 
the  Quaker  elements  of  thrift  and  adherence  to 
well-formed  opinions,  inherited  from  his  ancestors, 
in  his  composition.  Mr.  Baker  has  considerable 
taste  for  literary  pursuits,  has  read  extensively 
and  has  been  an  occasional  contributor  to  the  pub- 
lic prints. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Baker  was  always  a  Republican, 
though  he  was  a  delegate  from  New  Hampshire  to 
the  mass  convention,  in  1872,  which  nominated 
Horace  Greeley  for  President,  his  associate  dele- 
gates being  Colonel  Henry  0.  Kent,  of  Lancas- 
ter, and  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Gove,  of  Weare.  He  has 
three  times  been  chosen  one  of  the  representatives 
of  Claremont  in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature, 
and  is  one  of  the  present  members ;  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Stevens  High  School  committee 
and  held  some  other  minor  offices.  Mr.  Baker  is 
a  large  owner  of  real  estate  ;  has  been  a  successful 
financier  ;  has  been  always  ready  to  accommodate 
his  neighbors  in  want  of  pecuniary  or  other  aid, 
and  seems  to  take  pleasure  in  helping  those  in 
need  of  assistance. 

Albert  Scripture  Wait  was  born  at  Chester, 
Vt.,  April  14,  1821.  He  is  a  son  of  General 
Daniel  and  Cynthia  (Read)  AVait.  His  father 
was  an  ensign  in  the  War  of  1812,  a  major-gen- 
eral in  the  Vermont  militia,  and  before  the  Mor- 
gan excitement  a  prominent  Free-Mason.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  studied  law  with  the  late 
Hon.  Daniel  Kellogg,  at  Saxton's  River  village, 
Vt.;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Windham  County, 


vtUS: 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 


17 


Vt.,  in  April,  1846,  and  soon  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Alstead,  N.  H. ,  where  he 
continued  until  May,  1857,  when  he  removed  to 
Newport,  N.  H.,  and  was  the  law  partner  of  the 
late  Hon.  Edmund  Burke  until  1867,  when  the 
partnership  was  dissolved,  since  when  he  has  con- 
tinued the  practice  alone,  and  has  been  engaged  in 
the  trial  of  many  important  causes.  In  June, 
1865,  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 
at  Dartmouth  College.  As  a  studious,  pains- 
taking and  profound  lawyer  he  has  but  few  equals 
in  New  Hampshire.  During  the  ten  years  that  he 
was  a  partner  with  Mr.  Burke  he  argued  orally 
the  law  points  of  most  of  the  cases  in  which  the 
firm  was  employed  and  which  were  carried  before 
the  full  bench.  His  briefs  have  been  considered 
able  and  exhaustive.  A  chief  justice  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Supreme  Court  once  said  to  the  writer 
of  this  sketch,  that  his  court  was  very  careful 
when  Mr.  Wait  stated  a  legal  proposition  or  laid 
down  a  principle  of  law,  before  antagonizing  his 
positions.  Some  years  ago  the  British  govern- 
ment ordered  the  publication  of  a  new  edition  of 
the  work  of  Bracton  upon  the  laws  of  England. 
On  the  issue  of  the  first  volume,  Mr.  Wait  de- 
tected an  error  in  the  rendering  of  the  original 
Latin  into  English,  which  not  only  misrepresented 
the  author,  but  misstated  the  law.  He  addressed  a 
letter  to  Sir  Traverse  Twiss,  the  editor,  at  London, 
suggesting  the  error.  In  the  sixth  and  last  vol- 
ume of  the  work  there  appeared  in  the  Introduc- 
tion a  very  handsome  and  courteous  acknowledg- 
ment of  Mr.  Wait's  suggestion  and  also  of  the 
error  to  which  it  called  attention.  Bracton's 
work  was  written  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry 
III.,  and  is  the  earliest  general  treatise  upon  the 
English  law.  The  author  is  styled  "  The  Father 
of  the  English  Law." 

Mr.  Wait  has  a  decided  taste  for  literature  and 
science,  and  has  given  considerable  attention  to 
these  subjects  and  pursuits,  in  some  of  which  he  is 
an  enthusiast.  He  has  a  large  collection  of  rare 
and  valuable  books  devoted  to  these  matters. 
From  an  early  age  he  has  been  especially  interested 
2 


in  the  science  of  geology  and  has  an  extensive 
cabinet  of  choice  mineral  specimens,  the  collec- 
tions of  many  years,  illustrating  this  most  fasci- 
nating science.  He  has  written  a  great  number 
of  essays  and  delivered  lectures  upon  various  sub- 
jects. His  lectures  upon  "  American  Antiquities," 
"  Spectrum  Aualysis  "  and  "  Greek  Character  " 
have  been  highly  commended.  They  have  been 
delivered  in  Newport,  Claremont  and  some  other 
places,  and  that  on  "  Greek  Character  "  was  de- 
livered before  the  New  Hampshire  Antiquarian 
Society.  He  delivered  the  historical  address  at 
the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  at  Newport,  on  October  28,  1879,  which 
was  considered  a  very  able  performance,  showing 
much  patient  labor  and  research. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Wait  has  been  a  Free- 
Mason  and  has  a  great  love  for  the  principles  in- 
culcated by  the  order  and  an  admiration  for  the 
work  in  its  different  degrees.  He  has  been  one 
of  the  most  active  and  devoted  members,  and  is 
said  to  be  one  of  the  most  accomplished  ritualists 
in  the  State.  He  has  been  Grand  High  Priest  of 
the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and,  in  1878, 
was  Grand  Commander  of  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. For  several  years  he  has  been  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  foreign  correspondence 
of  the  Grand  Chapter  and  Grand  Lodge,  and 
has  written  the  reports  of  these  committees,  in 
which  was  discussed  at  considerable  length  the 
progress,  the  judicial  aspect  and  the  literature  and 
improvement  of  the  institution,  established  as  it  is 
in  almost  every  section  of  the  world,  and  as  an- 
cient almost  as  civilization  itself.  These  reports 
are  among  his  most  finished  productions  and  have 
attracted  much  attention.  He  is  regarded  as  au- 
thority in  Masonic  law  in  New  England,  if  not 
throughout  the  entire  country. 

In  religion,  Mr.  Wait  is  a  Congregationalist ;  in 
politics,  always  a  Democrat.     He  has  three  times 
been  a  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  rep 
resentative  for  Newport   in   the    Legislature,  and 
twice   for   State   Senator   for   his   district.     Each 


18 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


time  he  received  the  full  vote  of  his  party,  which, 
however,  was  not  sufficient  to  elect  him.  In  1864 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  at  Chicago. 

Mr.  Wait  is  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Historical  Society,  the  New  Hampshire  Antiqua- 
rian Society,  the  Webster  Historical  Society,  lo- 
cated in  Boston  ;  the  New  Hampshire  Club  and 
the  American  Bar  Association. 


Mr.  Wait  has  been  three  times  married, — Octo- 
ber, 1849,  to  Caroline,  daughter  of  Rev.  Seth  S. 
Arnold,  of  Acworth,  N.  H.  She  died  in  May, 
1851. 

June  23,  1854,  to  Harriet  E.  Kingsbury,  of 
Alstead,  New  Hampshire,  who  died  February  21, 
1873. 

December  22,  1880,  to  Ella  O.  Eno,  of  West- 
field,  Mass.,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter. 


HISTORY   OF  ACWORTH. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  town  of  Acworth  lies  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  :  North, 
by  Unity  ;  east,  by  Lempster  ;  south,  by  Cheshire 
County  ;  and  west,  by  Charlestown  and  Langdon. 

This  town  was  first  granted  by  Governor  Ben- 
ning  Wentworth,  December  28,  1752,  to  Colonel 
Sampson  Stoddard,  of  Chelmsford,  Mass.,  and 
sixty-nine  others,  by  the  name  of  Burnet,  prob- 
ably in  honor  of  Governor  William  Burnet.  At 
this  time  white  people  could  not  live  safely  in  this 
vicinity  at  any  great  distance  from  the  fort  at  No. 
4,  (now  Charlestown),  on  account  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  the  town,  with  others,  was  probably  granted  by 
Governor  Wentworth  with  a  view  of  asserting  New 
Hampshire's  claim  to  the  territory,  which  was 
also  claimed  by  Massachusetts,  and  at  that  time  in 
dispute.  No  attempt  was  made  to  settle  under 
this  grant,  and  it  was  regranted,  September  19, 
1766,  to  Colonel  Stoddard  and  sixty-four  others, 
by  the  name  of  Acworth,  probably  in  honor  of  the 
Governor's  friend,  Lord  Acworth,  of  England. 

In  1767  three  young  men  from  Connecticut — 
William  Keyes,  Joseph  Chatterton  and  Samuel 
Smith — located  here  and  commenced  clearing 
farms.  The  grant  of  1766,  being  forfeited  by  the 
non-fulfillment  of  some  of  its  provisions,  was  ex- 
tended by  Governor  John  Wentworth,  May  30, 
1772,  and  was  bounded  as  follows : 

"  Beginning  at  a  stake  and  stones  &  runs  North  two 
degree*  West  six  miles  and  an  half  to  a  stake  and 
stones,  the  South  West  corner  of  Unity,  from  thence 
running  East  by  the  needle  five  miles  &  three  quar- 
ters to  a  stake  and  stones,  from  thence  South  by  the 
needle  six  miles  &  an  half  to  a  stake  and  stones,  from 


thence  West  by  the   needle   five  miles   &  f  to   the 
bounds  first  mentioned." 

In  1772  the  town  contained  fourteen  houses. 

Reasons  for  not  wanting  to  be  Classed  for  Representa- 
tive, and  Vote  of  Town. 

"The  reasons  why  we  do  not  join  with  Towns  of 
Unity,  Acworth,  Lemster,  Saville,  Croydin  &  New- 
port as  we  did  the  last  year  in  chusing  a  Representa- 
tive is  this :  viz :  then  we  Supposed  they  was  to  act 
only  upon  the  present  Exigencies  of  the  Government, 
but  now  the  case  is  much  altered,  the  Honourable 
Contintal  Congress  has  declared  their  independence  of 
Great  Britain  therefore  we  think  that  the  present  as- 
sembly has  not  taken  right  methods  in  issuing  out 
their  precepts  for  the  choice  of  Representatives  and 
Counsellors  for  the  year  Ensuing,  for  in  the  first 
place  they  have  as  to  Representatives  in  Some  incor- 
porated Towns  allowed  two  or  three  representatives, 
to  others  they  have  joined  five  or  six  towns  togather, 
whereas  we  think  every  incorporated  town  ought  to 
be  represented  by  themselves.  Then  as  to  Counsel- 
lors in  one  Conty  they  have  ordered  five,  in  Some 
others  two,  and  in  one  County  but  one,  which  we 
Look  upon  not  according  to  liberty,  for  as  this  State 
is  but  one  body  we  think  they  ought  to  be  Chose  by 
the  people  at  large,  and  also  they  have  ordered  that 
neither  of  these  Shall  have  a  Seat  in  the  assembly 
without  they  have  Real  estate  to  the  value  of  two 
hundred  pound  Lawful  money,  whereas  we  think 
every  Lawfull  elector  is  a  Subject  to  be  elected. 

"  Voted  that  the  above  resons  be  Sent  to  the  Coun- 
sell  and  assembly  of  this  State  which  is  to  Convene 
togather  at  Exeter  the  third  Wednesday  of  this  instant 
and  that  the  town  Clerk  Shal  Sign  it  in  behalf  of  the 
town.     This  done  at  a  Legal  town  meeting. 

"  Acworth  December  9th  A  D  1776 

"  Thos  Putnam  Modr 

"  A  true  Coppy  attest  Sam"  Silsby  town  Clerk." 

10 


20 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Certificate  of  non-receipt  of  Precept  by  the  Selectmen. 
"  To  Whorne  it  may  Conciern. 

"  This  may  Sertify  that  there  wase  No  precept 
Come  to  us  or  to  this  town  So  fare  as  we  know  to  rais 
one  of  the  New  Emmision  taxes  for  the  year  1781 
also  one  of  the  specie  taxes  &  there  wase  no  act  come 
to  us  or  to  this  town  to  rais  aney  beef  in  the  year 
1781. 

"  attest  "  Daniel  Grout  |  Select- 

"  Isaac  Foster    i  men. 

"  acworth  febu^  ye  12th  1781. 

Petition  of  John  Duncan  in  behalf  of  the  Town. 
"  To  the  Honblc  the  Counsil  &  House  of  Representa- 
tives for  the  State  of  Newhampshire  Convened  at 
Exeter,  Febr?  26th  1783. 

"  The  petition  of  John  Duncan  of  Ackworth  in  said 
State  in  behalf  of  said  town  Humbly  Sheweth. 

"  That  Wheras  your  Petitioner  finds  That  there  is  an 
Extent  issued  against  Said  Town  for  nonpayment  of 
a  New  Emmision  Tax  for  the  year  1781  as  also  for  a 
specie  Tax  for  the  Same  year  Likewise  for  a  Beef 
Tax  for  that  year,  for  all  which  your  Petitioner  beg 
Leave  to  inform  the  Honble  Counsil  that  we  never 
Eeceived  any  Precept  for  assessing  any  of  said  Taxes  : 
as  will  more  fully  appear  by  a  Certificate  under  the 
Hands  of  the  Selectmen  of  Said  Town. 

'•  Wherefore  your  Petitioner  prays  That  new  pre- 
ceipts  may  Issue  to  the  Sellectmen  of  Said  Town  for 
the  assessment  of  the  above  said  Taxes  and  as  in 
Duty  Bound  Shall  pray. 

"  John  Duncan  . 

"State  of  i  In  the  house  of  Representatives  Feb- 
New  Hamp.    J      ruary  2Gth  1783. 

•'  Upon  Reading  &  considering  the  foregoing  Peti- 
tion Voted  that  the  prayer  thereof  be  granted. 

"  Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"  John  Dudley,  Speaker. 

"  In  Council  the  same  day  read  and  Concurred. 

"  E.  Thompson,  Secy." 

Memorial  of  John  Duncan  relative  to  Taxes  of  1781. 

"  To  the  HonWe  the  Council  &  House  of  Represen- 
tatives for  the  State  of  Newhampshire  Convened  at 
Concord  on  the  third  wensday  of  December  1783. 
The  memoriel  of  John  Duncan  in  behalf  of  The 
Town  of  Acworth  in  Said  State  humbly  Sueth  That 
your  raemorialest  on  Febry  ye  26th  1783  Did  Petition 
the  Honble  Court  Laying  before  them  the   Dificulties 


we  Labor  under  in  having  Extents  issued  against 
Said  Town  :  when  we  Never  had  aney  act  or  Precept 
to  inable  the  Selectmen  to  asses  the  Town  in  Said 
Tax. 

"  One  New  Emmision  for  the  year  1781  also  a  Spe- 
cie tax  for  the  Same  year  Likewise  for  a  Beef  tax  for 
the  Same  year,  all  that  your  memorialest  then  praid 
for  wase  to  heave  the  present  Selectmen  inabled  to 
asses  the  town  in  the  above  three  taxes  all  which 
wear  granted,  as  will  apair  Reference  being  had  as  to 
the  above  petition  which  is  Now  in  heand  &  we  pro- 
ceeded accordingly  &  ordered  the  Colector  to  pay 
unto  the  treasurar  of  Said  State  the  three  aforesaid 
taxes  but  altho  we  heave  Colected  State  Securities  to 
pay  Said  beef  tax  with  interest  according  to  Law  yet 
the  treshurar  says  he  is  Not  willing  to  discount  Said 
tax  untill  we  fetch  a  resolve  of  Cort  to  inable  him  to 
take  the  State  Securities  in  Lu  of  the  beef  &  if  this 
resolve  is  Not  granted  to  us  we  shal  be  obleged  to  take 
the  State  Securites  from  the  Colector  &  rais  another 
tax  in  Specie  to  pay  for  the  beef  tho  we  Never  had 
aney  pour  to  rais  it  which  we  are  in  Now  ways  able 
to  do  at  Present  altho  our  wills  weare  ever  so  good. 

"  Therefore  we  pray  your  Honors  to  take  our  Case 
into  your  wise  consideration  &  grant  us  Releef  and  as 
in  duty  bound  Shall  Ever  pray. 

"  Acworth  Decmr  ye  13th  1783. 

"  John  Duncan." 

Petition  for  the  Right  to  Tax  Non- Residents  for  Repair 

of  Highways,  etc. 
"State  of  New  Hamp*)  To   the   Hon.  the  Council   & 
Ches1,r  ss.  House  of  Representatives  in 

Genneral  Assembly  at  Con- 
cord Convened. 

'  The  petition  of  us  inhabitants  of  Lemster,  Unity 
and  Acworth  humbly  Shews  that  your  petitioners 
Living  in  a  hill  country  where  there  is  several  Large 
Streams  to  Bridge  and  Roads  to  be  made  and  main- 
tained at  a  Verry  Great  cost  and  charge,  several  of 
which  is  made  through  large  tracts  of  Unimproved 
lands  the  Owners  ofSd  lands  must  Reap  Great  advantage 
our  labor  in  advancing  their  interest  yet  they  are 
freed  by  law  from  aney  tax  to  highways  whil  your 
Petitioners  Unimproved  lands  is  Subjected  thereto 
which  is  Surely  unjust  and  oppressive. 

"  Wherefore  we  pray  your  Honnors  to  take  the 
matter  under  your  wise  consideration  and  Grant  us 
Relieffby  Passing  an  Act  that  Sd  Unimproved  lands 


ACWORTH. 


21 


pay  their  proportion  of  all  Highway  taxes,  otherwise 
that  Roads  and  Bridges  may  be  made  and  maintained 
through  Unimproved  Lands  at  the  Charge  of  the 
Owners  or  in  Such  other  way  as  to  your  hon3  may 

appear  just   &c and  your  Petitionars  as  in  Duty 

Bound  Shall  Ever  pray 

"  John  Duncan 
"  in  behalf  of  the  petitioners.'" 

Selectmen's  Petition  about  Beef,  1786. 

"Acworth  June  ye  1  1786 
"To  the  Houhl  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives Convened  at  Concord  The  first  Wednesday  in 
June  instant 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Selectmen  of  Acworth  in  be- 
half of  said  Town  Humbly  Sueth  that  in  obedience  to 
an  act  of  Law  Passed  in  this  State  the  27th  of  June 
1780  calling  on  the  Towns  to  furnish  the  States  Col- 
lector with  beef  for  the  use  of  the  army  And  on  de- 
livering Sd  beef  &  taking  the  Collectors  recpt  for  The 
same  (which  is  to  Sd  Acworth  3,415  pounds)  we  should 
be  Credeted  for  the  Same  in  the  Next  years  tax  of  New 
Emision  Accordingly  we  Delivered  3425  pounds  of 
beef  and  produced  Our  Recpts  to  the  Treasurar  But 
he  tels  us  that  the  Collector  Did  not  Return  aney  But 
1925  pounds  of  beef  and  he  will  not  Give  us  Credet 
without  an  order  from  this  Honbl  Cort  and  as  we  in 
obedience  to  your  Honrs  did  deliver  the  full  Sum  of 
3425  Pounds  of  Beef  as  doth  apear  by  Recpts  Now  in 
hand  and  Likewise  John  Hubbard  Esq"  Testemony 
Theirfore  We  pray  your  Honers  to  take  our  Case  into 
your  Serious  Consideration  and  as  we  are  not  to  be 
accontabl  for  the  Neglect  of  the  States  Collector  in 
not  Returning  all  the  Beef  he  Collected,  theirfore 
we  Trist  your  Honers  will  Direct  the  Treshurar  to 
Give  us  Credet  for  all  the  Beef  we  delivered  and  for 
the  Remendar  of  the  beef  more  than  setls  the  New- 
emision  tax  we  desier  To  have  it  Reducted  from  the 
Beef  we  ow  in  the  Next  year  which  is  the  year  1781  or 
aney  other  way  in  your  wisdoms  you  shall  think  pro- 
per and  we  as  in  duty  bound  Shall  Ever  pray. 

"  John  Duncan 
"  Daniel  Grout 
"Amos  Kiyes, 

The  allowance  was  granted. 
Petition  for  Authority  to  Tax  Non-resident  Lands. 
"  Acworth  September  18th  1787 
"  To  the  honorable  Senate  and  house  of  Represen- 
tatives now  sitting  at  Charlestown.     The  petition  of 


Select- 
men." 


James  Campbell  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Acworth  Humbly  Sheweth  That  your  Peti- 
tioner has  been  at  great  Expences  in  repairing  roads 
and  Building  a  Meeting  house  which  has  greatly  In- 
creased the  value  of  lands  belonging  to  Nonresidents, 
Granting  this  to  be  the  Case  your  honors  will  Con- 
clude they  Ought  to  contribute  a  small  moity  to  de- 
fray the  Charges  that  has  or  may  arise.  And  we  are 
further  incouraged  to  ask,  and  expect  your  honors 
hearing  and  Assistance,  as  we  had  one  bridge  over  Cold 
river  burnt  with  fire,  And  another  Carried  off  by  Water, 
the  buttmans  of  which  cost  us  Sixty  pounds,  as  we 
have  been  great  Sufferers,  therefore  we  pray  your 
honors  to  consider  our  case  and  Grant  that  we  may 
be  enabled  to  asses  and  Collect  Two  pence  on  the 
acre  of  all  lands  lying  in  said  Acworth  belonging  to 
Nonresident  Owners.  And  we  as  in  duty  bound  Shall 

ever  pray. 

"  James  Campbell  in  behalf  the 

inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Acworth." 

"  To  the   Honorable  General  Court  of  the  State  of 

New  Hampshire. 

"  The  Petition  of  Matthew  Wallace  of  Acworth 
humbly  Sheweth  that  he  was  comrnited  to  Goal  in 
Keene  the  tenth  day  of  June  last  and  not  being  able 
to  pay  the  contents  of  the  Execution — the  Honorable 
the  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court  in  October  last  ad- 
mited  him  to  the  Oath  prescribed  in  an  Act  entitled 
an  act  for  the  ease  and  relief  of  Prisoners  for  Debt 
and  ever  since  your  Petitioner  hath  been  and  is  now 
detained  in  the  Goal  in  Keene  aforesaid  by  his  Mer- 
celiss  creditor — and  that  your  Petitioner  hath  a  large 
family  of  small  children  who  are  in  a  suffering  con- 
dition even  for  the  Necessaries  of  life  and  your  Peti- 
tioner in  his  present  situation  can  afford  no  relief 
which  must  be  peculiarly  depressing  to  a  Husband 
and  a  father  and  more  easily  felt  than  described — and 
your  Petitioner  is  worth  nothing  and  never  like  to  be  in 
his  present  situation  and  without  a  friend  to  pay  the 
Debt  and  no  one  to  Shew  mercy  to  him  in  that  way — 
Wherefore  he  most  earnestly  prays  that  this  Honble 
court  would  pass  an  act  to  relieve  poor  prisoners  in 
this  Situation  after  they  have  paid  the  uttermost  far- 
thing that  creditors  may  not  be  suffered  to  triumph  in 
the  distress  of  an  honest  Debter  and  in  the  entire  de- 
struction and  Deaths  of  his  Wife  and  Children 

"  and  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray. 

"  Keene  prison  June  ye  1st  day  1792. 

"  Matthew7  Wallace." 


9,9 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  Congregational  Church  in  Acworth  was  or- 
ganized  March  12,  1773,  with  eight  members,  as 
follows :  Henry  Silsby,  Bethiah  Silsby,  Thomas 
Putnam,  Rachel  Putnam,  Samuel  Silsby,  Elizabeth 
Silsby,  Dean  Carlton,  Anna  Cross. 

During  the  first  fifteen  years  the  church  was 
supplied  by  George  Gilmore,  David  Goodale, 
Isaiah  Kilburn  and  others.  The  first  pastor  was 
settled  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  November,  1789. 
The  first  meeting-house,  erected  in  1784,  in  front 
of  the  present  house,  was  not  ready  for  use  till 
1789.  The  present  edifice  was  built  in  1821.  The 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Covenant  were  revised  by 
direction  of  the  church,  and  adopted  in  their  pre- 
sent form  by  vote  of  the  church,  on  the  13th  of 
April,  1884. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  pastors  and  min- 
isters : 

Rev.  Thomas  Archibald,  ordained  November 
1789,  dismissed  June  13,  1794;  Rev.  John  Kim- 
ball, ordained  June  14,  1797,  dismissed  May  4, 
1813;  Rev.   Phineas   Cooke,  ordained  September 


7,  1814,  dismissed  February  18,  1829,  died  April 
28,  1853,  buried  in  Acworth  ;  Rev.  Moses  Gros- 
venor,  installed  October  14,  1829,  dismissed  April 
25,1832;  Rev.  Joseph  Merrill,  installed  October 
16,  1833,  dismissed  July  11,  1838;  Rev.  Thomas 
Edwards,  installed  August  19,  1841,  dismissed 
February  16,  1843  ;  Rev.  R.  W.  Fuller,  acting 
pastor,  1843-1845  ;  Rev.  Edwin  S.  Wright,  or- 
dained January  7,  1846,  dismissed  March  10, 
1856 ;  Rev.  Amos  Foster,  installed  February  18, 
1857,  dismissed  June  13,  1866 ;  Rev.  J.  L.  Mer- 
rill, installed  June  13,  1866,  dismissed  March  1, 
1870  ;  Rev.  S.  V.  McDufFee,  acting  pastor,  June  7, 
1870-71  ;  Rev.  Nathan  R.  Nichols,  ordained 
February  1,  1872,  dismissed  September  30,  1873  ; 
Rev.  James  Marshall,  installed  June  9,  1874,  dis- 
missed April  25,  1877  ;  Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Laba- 
ree,  D.D.,  acting  pastor  April,  1877 — November, 
1878  ;  Rev.  Albion  H.  Johnson,  acting  pastor, 
November,  1878 — September,  1882 ;  Rev.  Edward 
G.  Stone,  acting  pastor,  November  26, 1882  to  pres- 
ent time. 


HISTORY  OF  CHARLESTOWN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Geographical — -Original  Grant — The  First  Settlements — 
Names  of  Pioneers —  The  French  and  Indian  War — Ex- 
posed Condition  of  the  Settlement — Fort  Erected — French 
and  Indian  Raid — The  Town  Attacked — Seth  Putnam 
Killed — Later  Troubles — Incorporation  of  Town — Named 
in  Honor  of  Commodore  Sir  Charles  Knowles — First-Town 
Meeting — Officers  Elected. 

The  town  of  Charlestown  lies  in  the  western 
part  of  the  county,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and 
is  bounded  as  follows  : 

On  the  North  by  Claremont;  East,  by  Unity 
and  Acworth  ;  South,  by  Langdon  ;  West,  by 
Connecticut  River,  which  separates  it  from  Ver- 
mont. 

The  first  grant  of  the  town  was  made  by  Massa- 
chusetts December  31,  1735.  The  first  settlement 
was  made  in  1740  by  David,  Samuel  and  Stephen 
Farns worth.  They  were,  however,  soon  after  fol- 
lowed by  Isaac  Parker  and  sons,  Obadiah  Sartwell, 
John  Hastings,  Moses  Willard  and  Phineas  Stev- 
ens, all  of  Massachusetts.  Only  three  of  the  orig- 
inal proprietors  became  settlers,  Captain  Phineas 
Stevens,  Lieutenant  Ephraim  Wetherbe  and  Ste- 
phen Farnsworth.  In  consequence  of  its  location 
on  the  frontier,  and  liable  to  Indian  incursions, 
the  settlement  of  the  town  was  very  slow.  In  1774 
there  were  not  more  than  ten  families. 

The  town  had  been  settled  only  about  three  years 
when  it  became  apparent  that  a  war  was  imminent, 
and  the  settlers  began  to  adopt  measures  for  their 
defense. 

A  meeting  was  therefore  notified  on  the  petition 
of  the  following  proprietors,  viz.:   David  Farns- 


worth, Moses  Willard,  Phineas  Stevens,  Isaac  Par- 
ker, Jr.,  Obadiah  Sartwell,  John  Avery  and 
Charles  Holden,  for  the  purpose  of  "  considering  the 
present  circumstances  of  affairs  and  the  danger  we 
are  in  of  being  assaulted  by  an  enemy,  in  case  a 
war  should  happen  between  the  kingdoms  of  Eng- 
land and  France ;  and  to  consider  and  transact 
what  is  proper  to  be  done  in  respect  of  building  and 
furnishing  a  fortification  or  fortifications  in  said 
township,  for  the  defense  and  better  security  there- 
of." This  meeting  was  notified  by  Dr.  John  Hast- 
ings, proprietors'  clerk,  and  was  held  at  the  house 
of  John  Spafford,  Jr.,  November  24,  1743. 

At  this  meeting,  the  erection  of  a  fort  having 
been  decided  upon,  the  following  votes  relating  to 
the  election  of  committees  and  other  matters  essen- 
tial to  the  carrying  out  of  their  design  were 
passed : 

"  1st.  Voted — That  John  Hastings,  Lieut.  John 
Spafford  and  John  Avery  be  a  Committee  to  take  ac- 
compts  of  men's  labor  at  the  Fort  and  to  see  the  Fort 
completed.  (To  this  Committee  John  Spafford,  Jr., 
and  Samuel  Farnsworth  were  subsequently  added.) 

"  2nd.  Voted — That  a  Carpenter  be  allowed  9s., 
Old  Tenor,  per  day  ;  each  labc  rer  Is.,  per  day,  and 
a  pair  of  oxen  3s.  6d.,  per  day,  Old  Tenor. 

"4th.  Voted — that  the  above  Committee  be  Im- 
powered  to  finish  or  complete  the  Fort  so  far  as  they 
shall  judge  necessary  and  convenient. 

"5th.  Voted — That  the  charge  of  building  the 
Fort  shall  be  assessed  upon  and  paid  by  the  proprie- 
tors. 

"  6th.  Voted — That  the  Committee  be  allowed  £5, 
10s.  0<£,  for  setting  up  the  house  at  the  North-West 
corner  of  the  Fort  and  Completing  the  same. 


24 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  7th.  Voted.— That  the  sum  of  £12  be  allowed  the 
Committee  to  be  laid  out  to  such  workmen  as  they 
shall  agree  with  to  fit  up  the  house  that  was  Lieut. 
Witherhy's,  so  that  it  may  be  suitable  to  meet  in,  in 
such  manner  as  the  Committee  shall  think  conve- 
nient. 

"  8th.  Voted— That  the  sum  of  £300,  Old  Tenor,  be 
assesssed  on  the  proprietors  of  the  Township,  for  the 
charge  that  has  arisen  in  building  a  Fort,  and  for 
paying  the  charge  that  shall  arise  in  completing  the 
Fort  so  far  that  it  may  be  convenient  and  defensible, 
and  if  all  the  £300  be  not  needful  to  be  expended  for 
finishing  the  Fort,  the  overplus  to  be  laid  out  for 
other  necessary  uses  for  the  good  of  the  proprietors. 

"9th.  Voted— That  Capt.  John  Spafford,  Lieut. 
Phineas  Stevens  and  John  Hastings  be  assessors  to 
proportion  the  aforesaid  sum  of  £300  on  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Township. 

"  10th.  Voted — That  Samuel  Farnsworth  be  a  Col- 
lector to  collect  the  aforesaid  sum  of  £300,  and  de- 
liver it  into  the  hands  of  the  proprietors'  treasurer. 

"  11th.  Voted — That  John  Hastings  be  allowed  12 
pounds  for  the  benefit  of  his  house,  and  the  damage 
of  his  land,  and  the  use  of  one  of  the  rooms  in  the 
house  now  building  on  the  east  of  the  Fort,  so  long  as 
it  holds  peace.  He  not  to  take  his  house  from  the 
Fort. 

"  12th.  Voted—  That  Capt.  John  Spafford,  Lieut. 
Stevens  and  John  Hastings  be  appointed  aCommitee 
to  keep  the  Fort  in  repair,  and  take  care  that  no  per- 
son come  to  dwell  in  any  of  the  houses  within  the 
Fort,  but  such  as  they,  the  said  Committee,  shall  ap- 
prove. 

"13th.  Voted— That  Ensign  Obediah  Sartwell, 
Moses  Willard  and  Lieut.  Stevens  be  a  Committee  to 
pass  accompts  and  order  money  out  of  the  treasury  to 
such  persons  to  whom  it  may  become  due." 

Immediately  subjoined  to  these  votes  there  is  found 
in  the  proprietors'  records  the  following,  but  at 
what  meeting  passed  is  not  apparent : 

"  An  acc't  of  what  is  allowed  for  houses  and  mate- 
rials for  the  Fort. 

"  Voted — Capt.  Spafford  for  his  house  and  timber, 
£23-0-0. 

"  Voted — To  Lieut.  Stevens  for  his  house,  £35-0-0. 

"  Voted — To  Isaac  Parker  for  stone,  46s.;  Mantle- 
trees,  6s.;  Clay,  8s  =£3-0-0. 

"  Voted— To  Moses  Willard  for  his  house,  £8-0-0; 
Stone,  £l-6-0=£9-6-0. 


"  Voted— To  Lieut.  Witherby  for  his  house,  £35-0 
-0." 

The  fort  is  said  to  have  been  built  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Colonel  John  Stoddard,  of  Northampton, 
Mass.,  who  was  for  many  years  the  principal  military 
engineer  on  the  Connecticut  River  frontier,  and 
had  twenty  years  before  superintended  the  build- 
ing of  the  block-house  at  Fort  Dummer.  That 
Colonel  Stoddard  was  consulted  and  his  counsel 
obtained  is  probable,  though  the  fact  does  not 
appear  in  the  proprietors'  records.  The  fort  was  con- 
structed in  the  manner  of  other  fortifications  of  the 
time,  which  were  only  intended  to  afford  a  defense 
against  musketry.  It  covered,  says  Rev  Dr. 
Crosby,  in  his  "Annals  of  Charlestown,"  about 
three-quarters  of  an  acre,  which  dimensions,  in 
the  absence  of  any  more  definite  measurement,  we 
are  under  the  necessity  of  receiving.  This  would 
make  it  about  the  size  of  Fort  Dummer,  which  was 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  on  a  side,  it  being 
built  in  the  form  of  a  square.  The  walls  were 
made  of  large  squared  timbers,  laid  horizontally, 
one  above  the  other,  and  locked  together  at  the 
angles  in  the  manner  of  a  log  cabin.  Within  the 
inclosure  were  buildings  called  province  houses. 
These,  before  being  inclosed  in  the  fort,  had  been 
the  houses  of  Captain  John  Spafford,  Captain 
Phineas  Stevens,  Lieutenant  Moses  Willard,  Lieu- 
tenant Ephraim  Wetherbe  and  John  Hastings.  In 
the  inclosure  was  also  a  house,  which  was  newly 
built,  and  which  was  situated  in  the  northwest 
corner. 

Such  was  the  preparation  for  their  defense  which 
the  inhabitants  of  No.  4  took  the  precaution  to 
have  in  readiness  against  the  time  of  war,  which 
they  correctly  anticipated  would  very  soon  come. 

The  town  remained  unmolested  until  April  19, 
174G,  when  it  was  visited  by  a  party  of  about  forty 
French  and  Indians,  under  the  command  of  En- 
sign De  Neverville,  who  took  Captain  John  Spaf- 
ford, Lieutenant  Isaac  Parker  and  Stephen  Farns- 
worth prisoners,  and  burnt  the  saw-mill  and  grist- 
mill which  the  proprietors  had  encouraged  Cap- 
tain Spafford  to  erect,  and  which  had  been  in  op- 
eration only  about  two  years.     The  following  ex- 


CHARLESTOWN. 


25 


tract  of  a  letter  from  Upper  Ashuelot  (now 
Keene),  dated  April  23, 1746,  relates  to  this  affair: 
"  We  hear  from  No.  4,  a  new  township  to  the 
westward,  that  three  men,  with  a  team  of  four  oxen, 
having  been  at  a  saw-mill  to  fetch  boards,  were 
surprised  by  a  party  of  Indians,  and  the  men 
being  missing  are  supposed  to  be  either  killed  or 
made  prisoners ;  the  oxen  being  found  dead  with 
their  tongues  cut  out."  They  had  been  to  the  mill 
and  were  returning  with  their  load,  when  an  am- 
buscade was  form  d  for  them,  into  which  they  fell 
and  were  taken  captive.  They  were  conducted  to 
Canada,  and,  after  a  considerable  time,  were  per- 
mitted to  return  to  Boston  under  a  flag  of  truce. 

The  savages  (says  Rev.  H.  H.  Sanderson,  in  his 
"  History  of  Charlestown  "),  having  thus  prosper- 
ously commenced  their  incursions,  continued,  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  spring  and  summer,  to 
make  frequent  inroads  upon  the  frontiers  ;  and 
calamities  followed  many  of  the  settlements  thick 
and  fast.  The  Indians  were  constantly  on  the 
alert  to  do  all  the  mischief  in  their  power,  and  no 
sooner  had  they  done  all  the  evil  they  could  in 
one  settlement,  than  they  were  off,  in  some  unex- 
pected direction,  to  fall  upon  another.  On  the  2d 
of  May,  in  less  than  two  weeks  from  the  time  of 
the  first  inroad  into  No.  4,  having  attacked,  in  the 
meanwhile,  the  fort  of  Upper  Ashuelot  and  vis- 
ited the  neighborhood  of  Northfield  and  prowled 
around  New  Hopkinton,  they  again  appeared  in 
the  place,  and  Seth  Putnam,  the  first  victim  of  In- 
dian vengeance,  was  killed. 

The  following  are  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  happened :  As  the  women,  towards 
evening,  were  going  out  to  do  their  accustomed 
milking,  they  were  attended  by  Major  Josiah  Wil- 
lard,  the  son  of  the  commander  of  Fort  Dummer, 
and  several  soldiers  as  a  guard.  On  approaching 
the  booth  or  barn,  where  the  cows  were  stalled, 
they  were  immediately  fired  upon  by  a  party  of 
eight  Indians,  who  were  lying  in  concealment  and 
awaiting  their  arrival.  One  shot  took  fatal  effect 
on  Mr.  Putnam,  but  none  of  the  others  were  in- 
jured. But  as  they  saw  Mr.  Putnam  fall,  and, 
according  to  their  custom,  sprang  forward  fir  the 


purpose  of  scalping  him,  the  major  and  his  men 
fired  upon  them  in  turn,  mortally  wounding  two 
of  their  number;  when,  dragging  their  dying 
companions  after  them,  they  made  a  precipitate 
retreat. 

This  event  overspread  the  settlement  with 
gloom,  and  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants, 
as  it  well  might  do,  the  most  anxious  forebodings 
in  relation  to  what  was  to  come,  and  led  them  to 
realize,  what  was  the  fact,  that  there  was  to  be, 
thenceforth,  no  safety,  not  even  in  the  presence  of 
an  armed  guard. 

For  three  weeks  from  this  event  the  utmost  ex- 
citement prevailed  ;  for,  as  the  garrison  was  small 
and  unequal  to  the  repelling  of  any  considerable 
force,  the  inhabitants  stood  waiting  in  constant  ex- 
pectation of  another  of  their  incursions.  But 
though  the  Indians  were  still  active,  and  made 
their  presence  felt,  during  this  time,  at  Contoocook, 
Lower  and  Upper  Ashuelot,  Bernardston,  Cole- 
raine  and  Fort  Massachusetts,  they  did  not  appear 
again  at  No.  4. 

For  a  long  series  of  years  this  settlement  was 
the  scene  of  Indian  and  French  depredations, 
which  greatly  retarded  the  settlement  of  the 
place. 

Incorporation  of  Town. — A  petition  for  the 
incorporation  of  the  town,  signed  by  Phineas 
Stevens,  was  presented  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, although  at  what  date  is  not  stated  in  the 
petition.  But  in  answer  to  this  petition  the  town 
was  chartered  by  the  government  of  New  Hamp- 
shire July  2,  1753. 

They  named  Charlestown  in  honor  of  Commo- 
dore Sir  Charles  Kuowles,  of  the  English  navy. 
The  name  was  probably  suggested  by  Captain 
Phineas  Stevens,  in  consequence  of  his  having 
been  presented  with  an  elegant  sword  by  the  Eng- 
lish officer,  as  a  tribute  to  his  bravery  in  defending 
the  fort  at  No.  4,  April  4,  1747. 

The  First  Town-Meeting  was  held  at  the 
"  fort,"  with  Captain  Phineas  Stevens  as  modera- 
tor, August  14,  1753,  when  the  following  officers 
were  elected  : 


26 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"Voted,  First:  that  John  Hastings  be  the  town 
clerk. 

"  2nd.  Voted,  that  there  be  three  selectmen  chosen 
for  the  present  year. 

"3d.  Voted,  that  Captain  Phineaa  Stevens,  .John 
Eastings  and  Captain  John  Spafiord  be  selectmen  for 
the  present  year. 

"4th.  Voted,  that  Captain  Phineaa  Stevens  be 
the  town  treasurer  for  the  present  year. 

"5th.  Voted,  that  Deacon  Thomas  Adams  be  con- 
stable for  the  present  year. 

"6th.  Voted,  that  Ebene/.er  Putnam  he  tithing 
man  for  the  present  year. 

"  7th.  Voted, thai  there  be  a  sufficient  pound  built 
and  set  up  in  this  town. 

"8th.  Voted,  that  John  Hastings,  jr.,  and  Moses 
Wheeler  be  surveyors  for  the  highways  for  the  pres- 
ent year. 

"  9th.  Voted,  that  Nathaniel  Parker  and  William 
Heywood  be  fence  viewers  tor  the  present  year. 

"  10th.  Voted,  that  James  Farnsworth  and  Ben- 
jamin Allen  be  the  field  drivers  for  the  present  year. 

"  11th.  Voted.  That  Lieutenant  Isaac  Parker  be 
the  pound  keeper. 

"12th.  Voted,  that  Nathaniel  Parker  and  Sylvanus 
Hastings  be  hog-reeves  for  the  present  year. 

"  l.'lth.  Voted,  that  the  hogs  in  town  shall  have 
liberty  to  run  on  the  common,  for  the  space  of  three 
weeks,  provided  that  they  be  yoked  and  ringed. 

"  14th.  Voted,  that  this  meeting  be  adjourned  to  2 
of  the  clock,  afternoon." 


CHAPTER   II. 

CHARLESTOWN— ( Continued). 

Ml  I  II  \KY    HISTORY. 

War  of  the  Revolution — Military  Itcielezvoiis  Tin-  Town 
a  Recruiting  Station — List  of  Revolutionary  Soldiers — 
War  of  1812— List  of  Soldiers— War  of  the  Rebellion- 
List  of  Soldiers. 

CHARLESTOWN  warmly  espoused  the  colonial 
cause,  and  responded  nobly  both  in  men  and 
money.  In  consequence  of  its  location  it  was 
made   a    depot    for   military  supplies,  and  was  the 


rendezvous  for  the  army  of  General  John  Stnrk. 

It  was   also,  early  in  the  war,  a  recruiting  station. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Revolutionary  soldiers: 

The  following  persons  held  offices: 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Sam-  Captain  Samuel  Wether- 

tiel  Hunt.  be. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Sam-  Captain  Abel  Walker. 

uel  Stevens.  Captain  William  Hold  en. 

Major  William  Heywood.  Lieutenant            Bradford 

Quartermaster    Jonathan  Spafford. 

Willard.  Lieutenant  Seth   Walker. 

Quartermaster       Jotham  Lieutenant     Peleg     Wil- 

White.  liams. 

Captain  Isaac  Farwell.  Elijah  Grout, commissary. 

Captain  Peter  Page.  Dr.    David    Taylor,   sur- 

Captain  Simon  Sartwell.  geon. 

Captain     James     Earns-  Dr.   William    Page,   sur- 

worth.  geon. 

Privates. 

Joseph  Farwell.  Joseph  Wood. 

William  Leighton.  Samuel  Atkins. 

Aimer  Powers.  William  Osgood. 

Simeon  Powers.  Comfort  Towner. 

Nathaniel  Powers.  Moses  Spa  fiord. 

Benjamin  Powers.  John  Hart. 

Whitcomb  Powers.  Asa  Walker. 

Lemuel  Royce.  Josiah  Reed. 

Matthew  Crier.  Joseph  Spencer. 

Joseph  Powers.  Oliver  Hastings. 

Seth  Putnam.  Samuel  Remington. 

Thomas  Putnam.  Oliver  Farnsworth. 

Timothy  Putnam.  Daniel  Elmore. 

Lewis  Putnam.  Thomas  Rose. 

Jedidiah  Rice.  Moses  Wheeler. 

John  Sartwell.  John  Hastings,  Jr. 

John  Beckwith.  Eleazer  Heywood. 

Oliver  Cook.  John  Simonds. 

Eliab  Gleason.  Robert  Hand. 

Levi  Simonds.  Thomas  Dutton. 

John  Cross.  Calvin  Judevine. 

Amasa  Grout.  Olivet   Farwell. 

Noah   Porter.  Prentice  Barrows. 

Phineas  l'a-v-  Samuel  ( Junnison. 

Nathaniel  Bolden.  Gilbert  Caswell. 

Ebenezer  Geer.  Silas  Porter. 

Silas  Si mis.  William  Willard. 

Nathan  Allen.  Sylvanus  Johnson. 

Lhenezer  Farnsworth.  Richard  Holden. 


CHARLESTOWN. 


27 


Moses  Willard. 
Aaron  Adams. 


Peter  Labaree,  Jr. 
Julius  Silsby. 


War  of  1812. — The  following  are  the  names 
of  soldiers  of  Captain  Nathan  Glidden's  company, 
belonging  to  Charlestown,  enlisted  September  13, 
1814,  for  three  months  : 

Nathan  (Hidden,  captain,     Moses  Judevine,  first  lieu- 
Unity,  tenant,  Charlestown. 

Privates. 

Guy  Adams,  Charlestown.  W.  Delano,  Charlestown. 

J.  F.  Allen,  Charlestown.  J.  Wheeler,  Charlestown. 

C.  Corbin,  Charlestown.  C.  Miller,  Charlestown. 

E.  Darling,  Charlestown.  H.  Bartlett,  Charlestown. 

Moses  Carpenter,  Charles-  Guy     Carlton,      Charles- 
town. town. 

In  Captain  James  M.  Warner's  company : 

Jas.  M.  Warner,  captain,  P.    Richardson,    Charles- 

Acworth.  town. 

L.  Boutell,  Charlestown.  S.     Steel,    Jr.,     Charles- 

G.  Hilton,  Charlestown.  town. 

S.  Hunt,  Charlestown.  H.    Spaulding,     Charles- 

E.  Henry,  Charlestown.  town. 

C.Perry,  Charlestown.  L.  Willard,  Charlestown. 

In  Captain  Josiah  Bellows'  company,  enlisted 
September  2G,  1814,  for  sixty  days: 

Lewis   Hunt,    lieutenant,  Levi     Abbott,     sergeant, 

Charlestown.  Charlestown. 

Royal  Bellows,  Q.  M.  Ser-  Nathan  Putnam,  corporal, 

geant,  Charlestown.  Charlestown. 

Privates. 

Seth  Hart,  Charlestown.  J.  Labaree,  Charlestown. 

S.    Y.    Carlisle,    Charles-  John  Dunsmoor,  Charles- 
town. town. 

A.  Watkins, Charlestown.  E.  Putnam,  Charlestown. 

J.  Adams,  Charlestown.  W.  Henry,  Charlestown. 

W.  Powers,  Charlestown.  L.  Osgood,  Charlestown. 

S.  Powers,  Charlestown.  L.  Huntoon,  Charlestown. 

J.  Sinionds,  Charlestown.  Wilber  Andrews,  Charles- 
H.  Baldwin,  Charlestown.         town. 

The  above  company  was  stationed  at  Ports- 
mouth. 

The  only  person  who  enlisted  in  the  Mexican 
War  was  John  J.  Moody,  who  was  in  the  Ninth 
United  States  Infantry. 


War  of  the  Rebellion. — The  following  is  a 
list  of  soldiers  from  this  town  during  the  late  Re- 
bellion : 

FIRST   REGIMENT   CAVALRY. 

David  W.  Parks,  mustered  in  Troop  A  March  29, 
1864. 

Edgar  S.  Wolf,  mustered  in  Troop  A  March  19, 1864  ; 
wounded  slightly  August  25,  1864. 

John  Williams,  mustered  in  Troop  A  February  5, 
1864  ;  mustered  out  July  15,  1865. 

Enos  P.  Trussell,  mustered  in  Troop  C  April  9,  1864 ; 
wounded  and  missing  at  Keameysville,  Va.,  Au- 
gust 25,  1864;  lives  in  Richmond,  Va. 

Royal  H.  Kendall,  mustered  in  Troop  C  March  31, 
1864;  wounded  severely  August  25,  1864;  mus- 
tered out  July  15,  1865. 

Martin  Maddigan,  mustered  in  Troop  H  August  19, 
1861 ;  mustered  out  August  14,  1865. 

William  H.  Keen,  mustered  in  Troop  L  February  13, 
1864. 

George  H.  Frost,  mustered  in  Troop  L  February  13, 
1864  ;  missing  at  Winchester,  Va.,  August  17, 
1864 ;  gained  from  missing ;  mustered  out  June 
5,  1865. 

Richard  R.  Robertson,  mustered  in  Troop  L  March 
19,  1864;  promoted  to  corporal  June  30,  1865; 
mustered  out  July  15,  1865. 

Sidney  Way,  mustered  in  Troop  L  August  29,  1862  ; 
promoted  to  corporal. 

THIRD   INFANTRY. 

George  W.  Constantine,  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
Third  New  Hampshire,  August  22,  1861  ;  re-en- 
listed February  22,  1864. 

Charles  H.  Derby,  enlisted  in  Company  A  August  23, 
1861  ;  promoted  to  corporal  ;  mustered  out  Octo- 
ber 26,  1864. 

Sylvester  Judd,  enlisted  October  8,  1863,  for  three 
years  ;  out  July  20,  1865. 

FIFTH    INFANTRY. 

("  No  regiment,"  says  the  adjutant-general,  "fought 
better,  and  few,  if  any,  fought  oftener.  Wherever 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  met  the  enemy  there  lie 
the  bones  of  men  of  the  Fifth  New  Hampshire.  No 
regiment  from  the  State  had  so  long  a  list  of  battles 
or  mourns  the  loss  of  so  many  men.  Its  story  is  sad, 
but  glorious !") 
John  0.  Simonds,   enlisted  Company   B,  Fifth  New 


28 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Hampshire,  October  2,    1863;  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant  October  28,  1864. 

Charles  Jenkins,  Company  B,  D  or  S,  for  three  years, 
October  2, 1863 ;  promoted  to  corporal ;  wounded 
June  3,  1864 ;  promoted  to  sergeant ;  promoted 
to  first  lieutenant  October  28,  1864. 

Winfield  Scott  Hassam,  Company  C,  D  or  S,  for  three 
years,  August  9,  1864;  mustered  out  June  28, 
1865. 

Edmund  B.  Chadborn,  enlisted  in  Company  G  Octo- 
ber 12,  1861,  died  at  Ship  Point,  Va.,  April  24, 
1862. 

George  W.  Brooks,  veteran,  re-enlisted  in  Company 
G  February  19,  1864;  promoted  to  corporal; 
captured  June  2,  1864  ;  mustered  out  June  17, 
1865. 

A.  C.  Bemis,  enlisted  October  12,  1861,  in  Company 
G;  volunteer;  wounded  slightly  June  23,  1864; 
discharged  for  disability,  no  date. 

Joseph  Brisland,  enlisted  December  10,  1863,  for 
three  years;  transferred  from  Company  G  to 
Ninth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers  June  1,  1865; 
promoted  to  corporal  July  1,  1865;  mustered  out 
July  17, 1865. 

James  Dolon,  Jr.,  enlisted  in  Company  G  October  12, 
1861 ;  discharged  for  disability  at  Concord,  N.  H., 
July  25,  1862. 

George  H.  Hackett,  eidisted  in  Company  G  October 
12,  1861;  enlisted  Fifth  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers; wounded  at  Gettysburg ;  died  of  wounds 
at  Fort  Schuyler,  N.  Y.,  November  12,  1863. 

Webster  Nash,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  October  12, 
1861 ;  instantly  killed  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June 
1,  1862. 

William  Blake  Robertson,  enlisted  in  Company  G, 
October  12,1861;  discharged  .March  25,1862; 
died  of  consumption  al  Charlestown,  N.  B.,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1871. 

(  nis  Thompson,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  under  ( !ap- 
tain  Long;  was  instantly  killed  at  Gettysburg, 
July  2,  1863. 
William  Woods,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  February 
19,  L864;  promoted  sergeant;  killed  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  June  17,  1864. 
Daniel  Pierce,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  October  L2, 
1861  ;    discharged  for  disability  January  8,  L863. 

(ieorue  A.  Wheeler,  enlisted  in  Company  <i,  October 
12,  1861;  wounded  December  13,  1862;  died  of 
wounds  December  16,  1862. 


Lewis  Holden,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  March,  1862, 
for  three  years;  discharged  soon  after  the  seven 
days'  retreat ;  he  then  enlisted  in  the  Eighth 
Connecticut  Volunteers  for  three  years  ;  served 
two;  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter  Richmond; 
after  being  discharged  he  enlisted  in  the  United 
States  infantry  ;  served  three  years  on  Texas 
Frontier;  he  was  promoted  to  sergeant  and  dis- 
charged as  such  at  Fort  Ringgold,  1868. 

James  C.  Parrish,  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Fifth 
Regiment,  October  19,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  January 
!,  L864. 

SIXTH     INFANTRY. 

William  Milliken,  enlisted  in  Company  F,  November 
28,  1861  ;  discharged  for  disability  November  3, 
1862. 

William  Burns,  enlisted  January  4, 1864,  in  Company 
H;  mustered  out  July  17,  1865. 

John  Conley,  enlisted  February  9,  1864;  transferred 
from  Company  F  to  Eleventh  New  Hampshire, 
June  1,  1865;  absent,  sick,  July  17,  1865. 

SEVENTH   INFANTRY. 

(The  Seventh    New  Hampshire  was  in  the  terrible 

charge  at  Fort  Wagner.) 

William  CofFrin,  veteran,  enlisted  in  Company  K, 
Seventh  New  Hampshire,  February  29,  1864; 
promoted  to  corporal  December  9,  186-1;  pro- 
moted to  sergeanl  May  3,1865:  mustered  out 
July  20,  1865. 

Henry  G.  Webber,  enlisted  August  26,  1862;  pro- 
moted to  adjutant;  died  at  Cincinnati,  O.,  April 

12,  1873. 

NINTH   INFANTRY. 

George  II.  Peasley,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  September 

18,  1802;  wounded  June  21,  1864. 
John  R. Peasley, enlisted  August  13,  1862;  transferred 

to  Veteran  Reserve  I  !orps  July  1, 1863. 
Charles  N.  Goodwin,  eidisted  in  Company  C,  August 

13,1862;     three    years'   volunteer;     promoted   to 

corporal;   wounded    June    25,  1864;  absent    and 

Bick  afterwards. 
Horace  C.  Kendall,  enlisted   in  Company  G,  August 

13,  L862;  three  years'  volunteer;  wounded  May 
12,  1S(J4;  died  of  wounds  at  Washington,  I).  C, 
June  5,  1864;  interred  in  National  Cemetery, 
A  rlington,  Va. 

Frederic  Royce,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  June  13, 
1862;  three  years'  volunteer;  mustered  out  June 
10,  1865. 


CHARLESTOWN. 


29 


William  H.  Royce,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  June  13, 
1862  ;  three  years'  volunteer  ;  promoted  to  cor- 
poral;  wounded  May  12,  1864;  also  wounded 
July  30,  1864;  died  of  wounds  at  Fort  Schuyler, 
N.  Y.,  August  17,  1864. 

Michael  Torpy,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  August  13, 
1863,  three  years ;  mustered  out  June  10,  1865. 

George  W.  Gibson,  recruit  and  volunteer,  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  December  10,  1863 ;  captured  at 
Poplar  Grove  Church,  Va.,  September  30,  1864; 
paroled  October  7,  1864 ;  mustered  out  May  22, 
1865. 

George  T.  Ward,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  August  14, 
1862. 

Napoleon  B.  Osgood,  enlisted  August  19,  1862,  for 
three  years;  mustered  out  June  6,  1865. 

FOURTEENTH  INFANTRY. 

John  Ashey,  enlisted  January  4,  1864,  in  Company  I, 
for  three  years  ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Lewis  Ashey,  enlisted   January  5,  1864,  in  Company 
G,  for  three  years  ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 
The  following  were  in  Company  B  : 

Emanuel  D.  J.  Bailey,  enlisted  May  12,  1864,  three 
years'  volunteer ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Henry  E.  Barrett,  enlisted  September  22,  1862 ;  pro- 
moted to  first  sergeant  September  24,  1862 ;  to 
second  lieutenant  April  4,  1863 ;  honorably  dis- 
charged March  22,  1864. 

Frederick  B.  Andrews,  enlisted  September  22,  1862; 
was  instantly  killed  in  battle  near  Winchester, 
Va.,  September  19,  1864  ;  he  fills  an  unknown 
grave. 

Warren  Abbott,  enlisted  September  22,  1862 ;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 

Norman  L.  Adams,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  pro- 
moted to  corporal  April  14,1864;  mustered  out 
July  8,  1865. 

John  Loren  Adams,  enlisted  December  22,  1863  ;  re- 
cruit, three  years'  volunteer ;  mustered  out  July 
8,  1865. 

James  Bowman,  enlisted  December  23,  1863  ;  wound- 
ed September  19,  1864;  died  of  wounds  at  Win- 
chester, Va.,  November  4,  1804. 

William  J.  Bosworth,  enlisted  September  22,1862; 
died  in  hospital  of  disease,  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
January  19,  1864. 

Patrick  O'Brien,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 


John  F.  Cooley,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 

John  Casey,  D.  or  S.,  December  22,  1863,  for  three 
years  ;  mustered  out  June  6,  1865. 

Charles  N.  Corbin,  December  22,  1863 ;  drafted  for 
three  years ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Oliver  Mitchell,  enlisted  December  29, 1863,  for  three 
years  ;  wounded  September  19,  1864  ;  discharged 
for  disability  at  Manchester,  N.  H.,  May  8,  1865. 

Richard  B.  Cornwell,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ; 
wounded  Sept.  19, 1864,  mustered  out  July  8, 1865. 

James  W.  Corbin,  enlisted  September  22, 1862 ;  trans- 
ferred to  Company  A,  November,  1862  ;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

Chauncy  L.  Corbin,  musician,  enlisted  September  22, 
1862;  honorably  discharged  at  Concord,  N.  H., 
January  19,  1864,  for  disability. 

Henry  Easter,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

Hiram  Green,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

John  Hassam,  enlisted  October  9,  1862 ;  died  of  dis- 
ease at  Washington,  D.  C,  July  31,  1863. 

Charles  E.  Holbrook,  enlisted  October  9,  1862 ;  second 
lieutenant,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant,  April  4, 
1863 ;  honorably  discharged  April  23,  1864. 

John  King,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mustered  out 
July  8,  1865. 

John  Kelly,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

Charles  H.  Knapp,  enlisted  January  4,  1861 ;  three 
years'  volunteer;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865.. 

George  R.  Knapp,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  pro- 
moted to  corporal,  February  1,1862;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

Patrick  McKean,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 

Willard  Lawrence,  enlisted  September  22,  1862 ; 
wounded  September  19,  1864;  died  of  wounds  at 
Winchester,  Va.,  September  26,  1864. 

Van  Buren  Leland,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  pro- 
moted to  corporal  December  9,  1864 ;  mustered 
out  July  8,  1865. 

George  H.  Lynds,  enlisted  January  12,  1864;  three 
years'  volunteer  ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Charles  H.  Melville,  enlisted  October  7,1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 

Michael  McMahon,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 


30 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


William  McMahon,  enlisted  October  2,  1862 ;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1805. 

Harlan  P.  Marshall,  enlisted  September  22,  1862; 
promoted  to  corporal  June  1,  1865;  mustered  out 
July  8,  1865. 

George  W.  Parks,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8, 1865. 

Fred.  S.  Parks,  enlisted  September  22,  1S62;  mustered 
out  July  8,  L865. 

Orson  D.  Putnam,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  died 
of  disease  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  July  22,  1864. 

Levi  G.  Richardson,  enlisted  September  22,  1862; 
died  of  disease  in  New  York  City  October  22, 
1864. 

Lucius  Rumrill,  enlisted  September  22,1862;  mus- 
tered out  JulyS,  1865. 

Stephen  A.  Spooner,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ; 
promoted  to  corporal  May  1,  1863  ;  honorably 
discharged  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  January  Id,  1865, 
for  disability. 

Thomas  O'Sullivan,  enlisted  September  22,  1862; 
honorably  discharged  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  July  7, 
1864,  for  disability. 

Erastus  Smith,  enlisted  September  22,  1862  ;  wounded 
slightly  September  19,  1864 ;  mustered   out  July 

8,  1865. 

George  A.  White,  enlisted  September  22,  1862;  mus- 
tered out  July  8,  1865. 

Albert  H.  Tyrell,  enlisted  September  22,1862;  pro- 
moted to  sergeant  May  1,1863;  wounded  Sep- 
tember 19,  1864;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

Charles  H.  Wright,  enlisted  September  22,  1862; 
wounded  September  19,  1864  ;  mustered  out  May 
24,  1865. 

Charles  Smith,  enlisted  December  22,1863;  three 
years'  volunteer  ;  mustered  out  July  8,  1865. 

FIRST    REGIMENT     VOL.UNTEEB     IIl'.AYY    A  1:11  l.LKi:  V  . 

SylvesterA.  Hamlin,  firs!  sergeant,  enlisted  Septem- 
ber 7,  ]X(54,  for  one  year;  wounded  at  FairOaks; 
mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 

William  S.Gibson  was  two  years  in  Massachusetts 
Second  Regiment  and  two  years  in  First  Con- 
necticut. 

Nelson  A.  Rich,  enlisted  July  10,  1861,  in  a  Vermont 
regiment;  discharged  September  16,  1864;  re- 
enlisted  February  7,  1865;  discharged  February 
6,  1866;  was  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 


CHAPTER    III. 


CHARLKSTOWN— (Continual). 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 

Unitarian      Church — Congregational      Church — Methodist 
Episcopal  Church — St.  Luke's  Church. 

Unitarian  Church. — The  first  church  in  this 
town  was  organized  December  4,  1754,  with  Rev. 
John  Dennis  as  pastor.  His  salary  was  fifty 
pounds  So  great  were  the  fears  of  the  people  of 
invasions  by  the  Indians  that  his  ordination  was 
at  Northfield,  Mass.  May  13,  1754,  the  town 
voted  as  follows : 

"  Voted — 1st,  that  they  will  apply  to  Air.  John 
Dennis  to  settle  in  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  in 
this  town  ;  and  for  the  encouragement  of  the  said 
Mr.  Dennis  to  settle  in  this  town,  in  the  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry,  as  aforesaid, 

"  Voted— That  the  town  will  build  for  the  said  Mr. 
Dennis,  a  log-house  of  hewn  timber,  of  the  following 
dimensions;  viz. — the  house  to  be  thirty-six  feet  in 
length,  and  nineteen  feet  in  width,  and  sixteen  feet 
stud;  and  to  be  jutted  at  the  chamber  in  the  common 
manner;  and  also  to  build,  and  setup  a  stack  of  brick 
chimneys,  and  a  good  convenient  cellar;  and  also  to 
lay  the  lower  floors,  and  find  boards  for  the  upper 
floors,  and  set  up  the  partitions  and  doors  to  the  lower 
rooms;  and  also  to  board  and  shingle  the  roof  of  said 
house. 

"  Voted — That  the  town  will  clear  up  a  three-acre 
lot,  No.  14,  in  the  great  meadow,  fit  for  mowing;  and 
that  they  will  plough,  tit  and  sow  with  wheat  four 
acres   of  a  five-acre  lot,  No.  oil,  lying  in  the  great 

meadow. 

"  Voted— That  the  town  will  pay  to  Mr.  Dennis  the 
sum  of  fifty  pounds,  annually,  lawful  money,  to  be 
paid  equal  to  silver  at  six  shillings  and  eight  pence 
per  ounce,  if  he  shall  see  cause  in  the  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry  in  the  town,  and  also  to  provide  his 
firewood,  broughl  to  bis  bouse  and  cut  cord-wood 
length. 

"  Voted — That  there  be  live  men  chosen  to  earn 
and  oiler  the  proposals  of  the  town  to  .Mr.  John  I  >en- 
nis,  and  to  receive  his  answer,  and  make  return  there- 
of to  this  meeting. 

"  Voted — That  John  Hastings,  Phineas  Stevens, 
Esq.,  .Mr.  Andrew  Gardner,  Lieutenant    Isaac  Parker 


CHARLESTOWN. 


31 


and  Ensign  David  Farnsworth  be  a  committee  to 
carry  the  proposals  of  the  town  to  Mr.  Dennis,  and 
receive  his  answer  as  aforesaid." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  May  22,  1754, 
the  following  was  added  : 

"  Voted — That  the  town  will  raise  the  sum  of  eight 
pounds,  lawful  money  of  the  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  to  defray  the  charge  of  transporting  Mr. 
Dennis'  family  to  this  town,  if  the  said  Dennis  shall 
accept  the  proposals  the  town  has  made;  and  shall 
see  cause  to  come  and  settle  in  the  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry  among  us." 

Mr.  Dennis  was  dismissed  March  31,  1756. 

The  second  minister  of  the  town  was  Rev.  Bulk 
ley  Olcott.     The  following   is  the  first  account  of 
him   in   connection  with  his  ministry  in  Charles- 
town  : 

"At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  town,  held  at  the  Old 
Fort,  on  the  11th  day  of  August,  1760,  it  was  voted, 
that  the  town  will  choose  a  Committee  to  go  and  dis- 
course with  Mr.  Olcott,  and  see  whether  he  will  be 
prevailed  upon  to  stay  and  preach  with  us  a  longer 
time  ;  and  that  Lieutenant  Isaac  Parker,  John  Hast- 
ings, Seth  Walker,  Lieutenant  John  Sawyer,  Mr. 
Seth  Putnam,  Captain  John  Spafford,  Peter  Labaree, 
(and)  William  Hey  wood,  be  a  committee  to  discourse 
with  Mr.  Olcott  on  the  premises." 

The  salary  offered  was  the  whole  of  the  right 
of  land  commonly  called  the  ministerial  right, 
which  Mr.  Dennis  had  relinquished,  and  one 
hundred  pounds,  lawful  money  of  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  But  this  salary  ^vas  not  satis- 
factory ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  ministerial  right, 
in  the  place  of  the  one  hundred  pounds,  the  fol- 
lowing; votes  were  substituted  : 

"  Voted,  that  the  town  give  Mr.  Olcott  the  sum  of 
forty-five  pounds  sterling,  or  silver  or  gold  equivalent 
thereto,  for  the  first  year  ;  after  the  first  year  the  town 
will  add  to  his  salary  the  sum  of  thirty  shillings  per 
annum,  until  his  salary  shall  amount  to  the  sum  of 
sixty  pounds  sterling,  or  silver  or  gold  equivalent: 
which  sum  to  be  his  stated  or  standing  salary  during 
the  time  he  shall  continue  to  be  our  minister ;  the 
one-half  of  the  above-mentioned  salary  to  be  paid  him 
at  the  end  of  half  a  year  after  he  shall  accept  of  our 


proposals ;  the  other  half  at  the   year's  end  and  so 
yearly,  the  time  he  shall  continue  our  minister." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  it  was  "  Voted,  that  the 
town  will  give  or  provide  Mr.  Olcott  thirty  cords 
of  wood,  annually  brought  to  his  door  during  the 
time  he  shall  continue  to  be  our  minister  :  to  begin 
to  provide  him  his  wood,  as  above  said,  at  the  time 
he  shall  keep  house  by  himself." 

His  ordination  took  place  on  the  28th  of  May, 
1761. 

Such  had  been  the  changes  in  Charlestown, 
owing  to  the  war  and  the  circumstances  of  the  dis- 
mission of  Mr.  Dennis,  that  it  was  deemed  best,  at 
the  ordination  and  installation  of  Mr.  Olcott,  that 
a  new  church  should  be  organized,  which  was 
accordingly  done.  This  consisted,  so  far  as  males 
were  concerned,  of  Mr.  Olcott  and  nine  others,  viz.  : 
Isaac  Parker,  Seth  Walker,  Seth  Putnam,  Stephen 
Farnsworth,  Ebenezer  Putnam,  Thomas  Putnam, 
Joel  Matthews,  William  Heywood  and  John 
Spafford.  Of  this  church  Ebenezer  Putnam  was 
installed  the  first  deacon.  The  female  members, 
owing  to  the  loss  of  the  church  records,  cannot  now 
be  ascertained. 

On  the  11th  of  August,  1760,  before  the  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Olcott,  the  town  voted  to  build  a  log 
house  for  public  worship,  of  the  following  dimen- 
sions, viz. :  thirty-four  feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide, 
and  eight  feet  between  joints ;  and  to  place  it  on 
Meeting-House  Hill.  They  voted  twenty  pounds, 
lawful  money,  to  be  levied  on  the  inhabitants  for 
building  the  house,  provided  so  much  should  be 
needed  A  committee  was  appointed  to  see  to  and 
forward  the  building,  with  directions  that  it  should 
be  completed  by  the  last  day  of  the  following  Sep- 
tember. On  the  17th  day  of  the  following  October 
the  town  voted  to  raise  the  further  sum  of  ten 
pounds,  lawful  money,  for  the  purpose  of  "  finishing 
the  house  so  far  as  to  build  seats,  glaze  the  house, 
finish  the  pulpit,  so  far  as  needful,  make  window- 
shutters  and  calk  the  said  house." 

The  house  was  completed  in  1768. 

Mr.  Olcott  became  an  efficient  agent  in  helping 
forward  the  prosperity  of  the  place.     Under  the 


32 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


influence  of  his  guiding  and  directing  mind  the 
church  prospered,  education  made  progress,  and 
society  became  both  more  cultivated  and  orderly  ; 
and  he  did  much  in  every  respect  by  his  instrumen- 
tality for  laving  that  foundation  of  prosperity  and 
respectability  which  the  town  for  a  long  series  of 
years  so  abundantly  enjoyed.  He  died  dune  26 
1793. 

During  a  period  of  seventeen  years  the  parish 
remained  destitute  of  stated  preaching.  During 
the  latter  portion  of  this  period,  however.  Rev. 
Daniel  Foster  supplied.     He  died  in  1809. 

His  successor  was  Rev.  Jaazaniah  Crosby,  D.D., 
who  was  installed  October  17,  1810.  He  became 
a  Unitarian,  and  in  1835  a  number  of  the  church 
members,  who  could  not  follow  his  teachings,  with- 
drew and  organized  what  is  now  the  Congregational 
Church.  Dr.  Crosby  officiated  until  1855,  when 
he  resigned  the  main  charge  of  the  parish,  and  had 
the  following  colleagues:  Revs.  Adam  Ayer 
Edward  Baker  and  L.  Stone.  He,  however,  as- 
sisted occasionally  until  1863  He  died  December 
30,  1864.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  -John  M. 
Merrick,  who  commenced  his  labors  April  1,  1879, 
and  continued  until  his  death,  March  1!>,  1870. 
Rev.  Eugene  De  Nbrmandie  became  pastor  July 
1,  1871,  and  remained  until  April  1,  1870.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  S.  Nickerson,  who  began 
bis  ministry  June  1,  1876,  closed  June  1,  1*78  ; 
Rev.  A.  K.  Mullett,  began  his  ministry  October  1, 
1*78,  closed  January  1, 1880  ;  Rev.  T.  D.  Howard, 
began  his  ministry  .March  1,  1880,  and  is  the 
present  pastor. 

Congregational  Church. — The  Congrega- 
tional Church  was  formed  August  1,1835,  with 
thirty-five  members  who  had  withdrawn  from  the 
old  church  in  consequence  of  the  Unitarian  views 
expressed  by  Dr.  Crosby.  The  first  pastor  was 
Rev.  Joseph  Curtis,  who  remained  about  one  year. 
Hi-  successors  were  Rev.  John  C.  Wilder,  J.  De 
Forest  Richards,  from  1*41  to  1851  ;  Worthington 
Wright,  from  1851  to  1855.  After  the  dismission 
of  Mr.  Wright  the  church  was  without  a  settled 
pastor  until  1874.  The  pulpit  was  supplied,  how- 
ever, during  this  time  by  stated  supplies,  among 


whom  were  Revs.  J.  (J.  Wilson,  Joseph  Garland, 
F.  Shattuck,  S.  G.  Tenney  and  Henry  H.  Saunder- 
son,  from  October  10,  1864,  to  October  10,  1873. 
Rev.  George  W.  Kinne  was  installed  April  29, 
1874,  and  remained  until  April,  1876  ;  Benjamin 
Labaree  and  Rev.  Ezra  Alden  were  temporary 
supplies  until  Rev.  George  H.  Dunlap,  from  August 
23,  1*77,  to  March,  1*81.  Rev.  George  H.  French 
has  been  the  minister  since  April,  1881. 

The  first  services  of  this  church  were  held  in  the 
old  court  house  until  the  erection  of  the  church 
edifice,  in  1839. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  first 
Methodist  Society  in  this  town  was  formed  in 
1801.  A  society  was  incorporated  July  3,  1827, 
with  the  following  members :  Jacob  Wright, 
Nathan  Howard,  John  Metcalf,  J.  B.  Hubbard 
and  Thomas  Whipple. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  pastors  of  the  church  : 

1836,  Rev.  Zeb.  Twitchel;  1837-38,  Rev.  Amos 
Kidder;  1839,  Rev.  Silas  Quimby  ;  1840-42,  Rev. 
Benjamin  C.  Eastman;  1843,  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Gush- 
ing; 1844,  Rev.  Amon  S.  Tenney ;  1845,  supplied  by 
Rev.  ( i.  W.  Y.  Rogers  ;  1840,  by  Rev. Thomas  H.  Rood; 
1847,  Stephen  Eastman  ministered;  1848,  Rev.  Jared 
Perkins;  L849,  Rev.  Richard  Newhall ;  1850-51,  Rev. 
Matthew  Newhall;  1852-53,  Rev.  Simeon  P.  Heath ; 
1854,  Rev.  Charles  H.  Chase  ;  1855-56,  Rev.  Nelson 
Martin;  1857,  Rev.  John  English;  1858-59,  Rev.  R. 
Edmund  Danforth ;  1860-61,  Rev.  Joseph  Faucet; 
1862,  supplied  by  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Dutton  ;  1863-65, 
Rev.  Silas  Quimby  ministered  to  them;  1866-67,  Rev. 
Lucien  W.  Prescot;  1868,  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Robinson  ; 
L869-71,  Rev.  .Joseph  II.  Hilman  ;  1872,  Rev.  Andrew 
L.  Kendall  ;  1873-74,  Rev.  Charles  E.  Rogers;  1875- 
77,  Rev.  George  F.  Wells;  1878-80,  Rev.  Joseph 
Hayes;  1NN1-83,  Rev.  George  N.  Bryant  ;  Rev.  A.  R. 
Runt,  from  April,  1884,  to  present  time. 

St.  Luke's;  Church. — The  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  town  was  organized  April  18,  1822,  the 
chief  movers  in  the  enterprise  being  Roys  Jones, 
Dr.  Putnam  Barron,  Shaler  Towner,  Thomas  and 
Daniel  Whipple,  James  Meacham,  David  Parker 
and  other-. 

In  1*29  the  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to 
St.  Luke's 


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CHARLESTOWN. 


33 


The  first  rector  was  Rev.  James  B.  Howe.  His 
successors  were  Revs.  George  Richardson,  Edward 
Ballard,  Darius  Barker,  Henry  S.  Smith  and 
Edward  Livermore. 

From  1841  to  1860  there  were  no  regular  services 
held  in  town.  In  that  year  services  were  com 
menced,  and  March  23, 1863,  a  parish  organization 
was  effected  with  the  following  officers:  Porter 
Spencer,  senior  warden ;  George  Olcott,  Jr. ,  and 
Richardson  Robertson,  vestrymen.  The  church 
edifice  was  erected  in  1863,  and  consecrated  De- 
cember 11th  of  that  year.  It  was  beautified  and 
enlarged  in  1869.  The  first  rector  of  the  church 
was  Rev.  Francis  Chase,  who  remained  until  May, 
1874  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R.  M.  Berkeley, 
who  officiated  until  May  30,  1882  ;  Rev.  Charles 
F.  Sweet  was  rector  from  October  1,  1882,  to  May 
1,  1883 ;  Rev.  Henry  L.  Phillips  was  in  charge 
from  July  1,  1883  to  September  9,  1884  ;  since 
which  time  the  parish  has  had  no  settled  rector. 

"  Woodside  " — Charlestown  is,  as  a  town,  not 
only  of  interest  on  account  of  the  reminiscences  of 
the  exploits  of  early  c'ays,  when  the  valor  of  its 
inhabitants  saved  it  from  extermination  by  the 
merciless  savages  ;  not  only  from  the  stern  integ- 
rity, the  industry,  the  perseverance  and  the  intel- 
ligence of  its  settlers,  the  wealth  of  its  productive 
farms,  the  charms  of  the  picturesque  mountain 
scenery  and  ever-changing  views  which  so  [divers- 
ify the  lovely  Connecticut  Valley  ;  not  only  from 
the  massive  intellects  which,  reared  under  the 
shadow  of  its  hills  and  on  the  borders  of  its  waters, 
have  attained  the  fullness  of  ripe  maturity  and 
gone  forth  to  occupy  prominent  positions  of  honor 
and  distinction  in  the  service  of  the  State,  and  in 
the  fields  of  law,  literature,  religion  and  science, 
among  whom  the  names  of  Gilchrist,  Cushing,  Ol- 
cott and  Hubbard  are  conspicuous,  but  on  account 
of  the  cultured  taste  that,  combined  with  the  kind 
profusion  of  nature,  have  made  it  a  summer  re- 
sort which  those  who  are  "  to  the  manor  born," 
and  the  stranger,  tarrying  for  a  brief  period  amid 
its  beauties,  alike  pronounce  one  of  the  most  en- 
joyable  and  attractive  to  be  found  in  many  a  mile 
of  distance,  and    to    combine  many  of  the    lovely 


features  found  by  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  fabled  "  Val- 
ley of  Rasselas."  The  magnificent  elms,  towering 
in  arching  columns  of  strength  and  beauty  over 
the  broad,  clean  streets,  the  quiet  calm  and  restful- 
ness  that  here  comes  to  soothe  the  tired  spirit,  the 
perfect  healthfulness  of  the  climate  and  the  taste- 
ful residences  and  their  artistic  surroundings,  all 
blend  in  painting  upon  the  canvas  of  the  mind  a 
picture  of  rural  joy  and  sylvan  happiness  which 
will  not  soon  be  obliterated. 

Among  the  loveliest  of  the  homes  so  pleasantly 
and  thickly  scattered  through  the  village  is 
"  Woodside,"  the  residence  of  Sherman  Paris,  a 
business  man  of  New  York  City,  who,  while 
traveling  in  1867,  passed  a  few  days  in  Charles- 
town,  became  acquained  with  its  beauties  and  pur- 
chased the  "  Old  Olcott  Place,"  with  the  view  of 
keeping  it  as  a  country-seat,  but,  perceiving  the 
rare  advantages  of  the  locality,  he  remodeled  and 
enlarged  the  house  for  a  permanent  residence,  laid 
out  the  grounds  according  to  the  most  approved 
methods  of  modern  landscape  gardening,  built  ex 
tensive  green-houses  and  graperies,  a  "pavilion," 
or  summer-house,  ■  which,  for  lightness,  neatness 
and  beauty  of  its  architecture,  is,  perhaps,  unsur- 
passed by  any  structure  of  its  kind  in  the  country  ; 
and,  with  his  artistic  tastes  and  the  means  to  grat- 
ify them,  he  has  made  "  Woodside  "  and  its  sur- 
roundings "  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  "  to  every 
passer-by. 

Floriculture  is  here  brought,  as  near  as  possible, 
to  perfection,  and  the  garden  is  not  surpassed  by 
any  in  New  Hampshire.  Imagine  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  the  finest  green-house  flowers  and 
plants,  with  their  varied  hues,  placed  into  the  open 
ground,  and  one  may  get  something  of  a  concep- 
tion of  the  sight  which  awaits  the  visitor.  The 
luxuriant  hedges  are  the  wonder  of  the  country — 
rivaling  those  of  England— and  are  an  object  of 
interest  to  many  English  tourists,  who  are  drawn 
to  Charlestown  especially  to  see  them.  But  the 
pen  of  the  writer  cannot,  in  any  adequate  manner, 
describe  the  beauties  and  perfections  of  "  Wood- 
side"  It  should  be  ><vn  and  enjoyed  by  even 
lover  of  the  picturesque. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARLESTOWN— (Continued). 

Educational — First  Schools— Early  Votes  of  the  Town — 
Private  Schools — Masonic  History — Faithful  Lodge,  No. 
12 — List  of  Physicians— Lawyers — Connecticut  River 
Bank — Connecticut  River  National  Bank  —  Robbery  of 
Bank— The  Town  Hall— Civil  History— Town  Clerks 
from  17  "'3-1885— Representatives  from  1768-1885. 

Educational. — The  first  reference  on  the  old 
town  records  to  the  suhject  of  schools  is  under  date 
of  August  12,  1763,  when  it  was 

"  Voted  1st,  on  the  4th  Article  that  the  town  will 
pay  for  schooling  past,  viz.  :  Doct.  Taylor  and  Samuel 
Stevens,  Esq.  Dissent  entered,  viz.  :  James  Porter, 
Seth  Walker,  Jr.,  Simon  Sartwell,  Jos.  Willard,  Lieut. 
John  Sawyer,  James  Nutting  Willard,  Moses  Willard 
and  James  Farnsworth,  all  appeared  and  objected 
against  the  foregoing  vote  and  paid  for  entering  the 
same. 

"  Voted  2d.  on  the  4th  Article  that  there  shall  he  a 
school  kept  in  the  town  for  the  future. 

"  Voted  3d,  on  2d  Article  that  the  school  shall  be 
kept  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  in  proportion  to 
what  each  part  shall  pay  towards  said  school. 

"  Voted  4th,  on  2d  Article,  that  Messrs.  Ebenezer 
Putnam,  Samuel  Stevens,  Esq.,  and  Simon  Sartwell 
he  a  committee  to  see  that  the  school  be  proportioned 
agreeable  to  the  foregoing  vote. 

"  Voted  5th,  on  the  4th  Article  that  the  aforesaid 
committee  be  empowered  to  provide  such  school  mas- 
ters or  mistresses  from  time  to  time  in  the  several 
parts  of  the  town  as  shall  be  needful  till  our  next  an- 
nual meeting." 

In  October,  1764, — 

"  Voted  that  the  school  shall  lie  kept  in  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  town,  in  proportion  to  what  each  part 
shall  pay  towards  said  school.  Vot> id,  that  John  Hast- 
ings, Jr.,  James  Porter  and  Thomas  Putnam  be  a 
committee  for  regulating  the  above  said  school." 

There  was  a  school  by  the  vote  id' the  town  also 
in  1765.  There  is  no  further  record  of  any  school 
till  17»»(.»,  when  the  following  votes  were  passed  at 
the  annual  town-meeting: 

"  Votedon  the  4th  Article,  that  there  shall  he  a  school 
kept  in  the  town. 


"  Voted  2d,  on  said  Article,  that  the  school  be  kept 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  town,  in  proportion  to 
what  each  part  shall  pay  towards  said  school. 

"  Voted  3d,  on  said  Article,  that  it  shall  be  left  with 
the  selectmen  to  proportion  the  school  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  town,  and  also  to  provide  a  school-mas- 
ter." 

In  March,  1770,  the  sixth  article  in  the  town 
warrant  was  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  provide  for 
a  school  the  whole  or  part  of  the  ensuing  year  and 
to  vote  on  any  other  matter  that  shall  be  thought 
or  found  necessary." 

On  this  it  was  voted  that  a  school  be  kept  and 
the  sum  of  twenty-seven  pounds  should  be  raised 
and  assessed  on  the  inhabitants  for  its  benefit ;  and 
that  the  town  should  be  divided  into  three  districts, 
each  of  which  should  draw  its  proportion  of  the 
money  raised  according  to  its  other  assessment, 
and,  provided  either  district  should  fail  to  appro- 
priate its  proportion  to  the  use  of  a  school,  such 
proportion  as  was  not  thus  appropriated  was  to  be 
forfeited  to  such  district  or  districts  as  should  ap- 
propriate it  to  that  object.  Simon  Sartwell,  Cap- 
tain John  Church  and  Elijah  Grout  were  the 
committee  to  divide  the  town  into  districts.  Messrs. 
Ebenezer  Putnam,  Elijah  Grout  and  Peter  Laba- 
ree  were  appointed  a  committee  to  provide  a  school 
for  the  north  district;  Messrs.  Simon  Sartwell, 
Seth  Walker  and  Joseph  Willard  for  the  south 
district,  and  Messrs.  John  Church,  Lemuel  Hast- 
ings  and  Abel  Walker  for  the  middle  of  the  town. 

In  the  November  following  these  votes  the  mid- 
dle district  took  measures  to  provide  themselves 
with  a  school-house.  The  following  is  a  list  of 
persons  employed  upon  the  house  from  November 
5  to  November  12,  1770,  and  also  an  account  of 
some  materials  furnished  by  individuals  for  the 
building : 

On  this  house  Abel  Walker  worked  eight  days  ; 
Joseph  King,  bricklayer,  six;  Lemuel  Hastings, 
four  and  a  fraction  ;  Sylvan  us  Hastings,  four  ;  John 
Simous  (Simonds),  Jonathan  Wetherbe and  Taylor 
Spencer,  three  each  ;  Peter  Page,  Elijah  Parker, 
Peleg  Williams,  Landon  Priest  and  Aaron  Wil- 
lard, two  each ;  Bradstreet  Spafford,  Barrat  (pro- 


CHARLESTON  N. 


35 


bably  John  Barrett)  and  Elisha  Farwell,  one 
each  ;  Stephen  Alvord,  three  hours  ;  Samuel  Hunt 
found  five  hundred  feet  of  boards. 

In  1772,  £50  were  voted  for  schools;  in    177", 
£40;  1774,  £40;  1775,  £45 ;   1777,   £45;   177S, 
£100;  1780,  £45;  1781,    £45;    and   1782,  £60 
The  schools   have  been    liberally  supported  from 
that  time  to  the  present. 

Among  the  private'  schools  which  have  existed 
in  the  town  were  those  of  Rev.  Samuel  Crosby, 
Rev.  Daniel  Foster,  Mrs.  Gilchrist  and  Miss  Pratt. 

MASONIC. 

The  first  Masonic  body  in  this  town  was  called 
Vermont  Lodge,  which  met  for  the  first  time  here 
November  26,  1781.  It  was  moved  to  Springfield, 
Vt.,  in  1788. 

Faithful  Lodge,  No.  12,  was  chartered  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  February  23, 1788. 
A  second  charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  Hampshire  April  30,  1800.  It  was  in- 
corporated June,  1821.  No  convocations  of  the 
lodge  were  held  from  1828  to  1862.  The  lodge 
was  revived  in  1862. 

List  of  Physicians. — John  Hastings  was  one  of 
the  early  inhabitants,  and  the  earliest  physician 
and  surgeon  of  the  township,  and  also  one  of  its 
most  distinguished  and  useful  citizens  Among 
others  were  David  Taylor,  William  Page.  Oliver 
Hastings,  Thomas  Bliss,  Joseph  Roby,  Edmund 
Pelouze,  Putnam  Barron,  Jacob  Adams,  John 
Duncan,  Dr.  Webber,  Horace  Saunders,  Pliny 
Safford,  Alexander  Campbell,  Hiram  Hoyt,  John 
W.  Furbur,  S.  E  Hale,  Otis  Russell  Freeman, 
David  H.  Marden,  Daniel  Pierce,  James  Monroe 
Whitaker,  David  Comstock  Moore,  N.  Grout 
Brooks,  Dr.  Frink,  Dr.  Leech,  Dr.  Pollard,  Dr. 
Hall  and  Dr.  Chandler. 

Lawyers. — Simeon  Olcott,  Benjamin  West,  Jo- 
seph Dennie,  (a  short  time),  Frederick  A.  Sumner, 
John  C.  Chamberlain,  Samuel  West  (a  short  time), 
Samuel  Hunt,  Jr.  (a  short  time),  William  Briggs, 
Henry  Hubbard,  George  Olcott,  John  James 
Gilchrist,  Edmund  L.  Cushing,  Henry  Hubbard, 
Jr.,  Alfred  T.  Batchelder  (firm  of  Colby  &  Bat- 
chelder,  since  May  1,  1874). 


Banks.1 — The  first  bank  in  Charlestown  was 
chartered  July  2,  1823,  to  continue  until  March 
1,  1844,  under  the  name  of  "The  President, 
Directors  and  Company  of  the  Connecticut  River 
Bank."  Capital,  $60,000,  in  one  thousand  shares  of 
$60  each.  The  first  meeting  of  the  corporators 
was  held  in  Hassam's  Hotel  July  10,  1824.  The 
bank  commenced  business  September  1,  1824. 
September  11, 1824,  William  Briggs  was  appointed 
a  committee  to  build  the  vault  and  stone-work, 
and  Horace  Hall,  Enos  Stevens  and  Vyrling 
Lovell  a  committee  to  build  the  building,  which 
was  completed  in  1825,  and  cost  in  all,  including 
the  vault,  about  $2400. 

George  Olcott  was  cashier  during  the  existence 
of  the  bank.     He  was  appointed  August  21,  1824. 

Presidents. 

Aaron  Dean,  from  July  24,  1824,  to  December  5, 
1824. 

Horace  Hall,  from  December  5,  1824,  to  March  16, 
L842. 

Enos  Stevens,  from  March  16,  1842,  to  March  16, 
1843. 

Samuel  Crosby,  from  March  16,  1843,  to  the  end. 

Directors. 

Aaron  Dean,  from  July  10,  1824,  till  1829. 

Horace  Hall,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  March  16, 
1842. 

Robert  Rand,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  the  end. 

William  Briggs,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  the  end. 

Henry  Hubbard,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  March  7, 
1842. 

Enos  Stevens,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  March  3, 
1845. 

Vyrling  Lovell,  from  July  10,  1824,  to  March  10, 
1843. 

Samuel  Crosby,  from  March  1,  1830,  to  the  end. 

Isaac  H.  Wetherbe.  from  March  7, 1842,  to  the  end. 

David  Holton,  from  March  6,  1843,  to  the  end. 

Samuel  Webber,  from  March  6,  1843,  to  the  end. 

Henry  Hubbard,  re-elected  March  3,  1845,  and 
served  to  the  end. 

Seven  directors  were  required  by  the  charter. 
The  average  dividends  of  this  bank  during  the 

1  By  George  Olcott,  Esq. 


36 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


time  it  was  in  operation  were  7.1  <>G  per  cent,  per 
annum.  On  final  settlement  it  returned  to  the 
stockholders  its  capital  and  twenty-four  and  seven- 
tenths  per  cent,  surplus  profits. 

At  the  time  of  the  general  suspension,  in  18o7. 
the  bank  determined  not  to  suspend,  and  redeemed 
all  its  notes  in  specie — reducing  their  circulation 
to  $3000,  re-issuing  their  bills  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember. 1838.  Bills  of  a  new  impression  were 
issued  in  the  latter  month. 

The  second  bank  in  Charlestown  was  chartered 
June  18,  1844,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Connecti- 
cut River  Bank,"  to  continue  until  January  1, 
1865.  In  approving  the  charter  Governor  John 
H.  Steele  says,  "  I  have  signed  the  charter  with 
reluctance — a  reluctance  arising  from  a  doubt  as 
to  the  constitutional  right  of  any  State  to  create  a 
banking  company.  See  Article  1,  Section  10,  of 
the  United  States  Constitution."  The  capital  stock 
was  originally  £60,000  in  one  hundred  shares  of 
$600  each,  which  was  increased  in  1848  to  $90,- 
000,  and  in  1855  to  $100,000.  The  bank  com- 
menced operations  January  1,  1845. 

George  Olcott,  Esq  ,  was  cashier  from  the  be- 
ginning until  his  death,  February  4,  1864.  His 
son,  George  Olcott,  Jr.,  entered  the  bank  as  clerk 
in  August,  1853,  was  elected  assistant  cashier  in 
1862,  and  at  the  death  of  his  father  was  appointed 
cashier  in  his  place,  which  office  he  held  to  the  end 
of  the  charter. 

Presidents. 

William  Briggs,  from  July  11,  1845,  to ,  1847. 

John  W.  Tappan,  from  March  1,  1847,  to  March, 
1848. 

Henry  Hubbard,  from  March  6,  1848,  to  March  5, 
1851. 

Samuel  Webber,  from  March  5,  1851,  to  March  5, 
185.".. 

Hope  Lathrop,  from  March  5,  1855,  to  the  end. 

]>i  rectors. 

William  Briggs,  February  11,  1S4~>. 

muel  Hubbard,  from  February  11, 1846,  to  March 
4, 1850. 
John  W.  Tappan,  from  February  11,1846,  to  March 

6,  1848. 


Roswell  Robertson,  from  February  11,  1846,  to 
.March  1,  1852. 

Samuel  Webber,  from  February  11,  1845,  to  March 

5,  1855. 

Henry   Hubbard,  Jr..  from  February  11,  1845,  to 
March  3,  1851. 
Samuel  Walker,  from  February  11,  1845,  to  March 

6,  1854. 

Samuel  St.  John,  Jr.,  from  March  1,  18  17,  to  March 

6,  1848. 

Hope  Lathrop,  from  March  6,  1848,  to  the  end. 

Henry  Hubbard,  from  March  6, 1848,  to  March  1, 
L851. 

Joseph  W.  Colburn,  from  March  4,  1850,  to  March 
1,  1852. 

Royal  Shumway,  from  March  ::,  1851,  to  March  1, 
1  852. 

Lanson  Robertson,  from  March  •'!.  L851,  to  March 
1,  1852. 

Ansel  Glover,  from  March  1,  1852,  to  the  end. 

Ashhel  Hamlin,  from  March  1,  1852,  to  the  end. 

Robert  Elwell,  from  March  1,  1852,  to  the  end. 

George  M.  Dickinson,  from  .March  1,  1852,  to 
March  6,  18o4. 

Roswell  Robertson,  from  March  G,  1854,  to  March 

1,  1858. 

Jonathan  Baker,  from  March  5,  1855,  to  the  end. 
John  W.  Tappan,   from   March   5,  1855,  to  March 

2,  1857. 

John  M.  Glidden,  from  March  2,  1857,  to  the  end. 
Samuel  Walker,  from   March  1,  1858,  to  April  21, 

Edmund  L.  Gushing,  from  April  21,  1858,  to  March 
G,  1864. 

Charles  Willard,  from  March  6,  1864,  to  the  end. 

The  number  of  directors  was  seven. 

November  1,  1845,  a  dividend  of  $10  a  share 
was    declared;   March   2,  1846,   $20;   September 

7,  1846,  $24;   March   1,  1847,  $27;   September 
6,  1847,  4}  per  cent.;  March  6,  1848,  4*  per  cent. 

From  this  time  to  March  3,  1851,  the  semi- 
annual dividends  were  four  per  cent.  From  Sep- 
tember 1,  1851,  to  the  "end,  in  September,  1864, 
they  were  three  per  cent.  The  bank,  on  final  settle- 
ment, returned  to  the  stockholders  the  lull  amount 
of  the  capital  stock. 

The  third  bank  in  Charlestown   was  organized 


CHARLESTOWN. 


37 


under  the  laws  of  the  United  State?  as  "  The  Con- 
necticut River  National  Bank,"  October  21,  1864. 
Capital,  §100,000.  President,  Hope  Lathrop  ; 
Cashier,  George  Olcott. 

Robert  Elwell  was  president  from  January. 
14,  1879,  to  January,  1884  ;  John  G.  Dinsmore 
president  since  January  23,  1884  ;  Richard  Rob- 
ertson, vice-president  since  January  23,  1884. 

Directors. 

Hope  Lathrop,  September  28,  1864;  died  December 
31,  1878. 

Ansel  Glover,  September  28,  1864;  died  March. 
1879. 

Ashbel  Hamlin,  from  September  28,  1864,  to  Jan- 
uary 13,  1873. 

Jonathan  Baker,  from  September  28,  1864,  to  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1867. 

John  M.  Glidden,  from  September  28,  1864,  to 
October,  1872. 

Joseph  G.  Briggs,  Jr.,  from  September  28, 1864,  to 
March  20, 1865  ;  re-elected  January  9,  1872  ;  resigned 
in  1877. 

Enoch  Hammond  West,  from  September  28,  1864, 
to  January  10,  1865. 

William  Dana,  from  January  10,  1865,  to  Novem- 
ber 18, 1870. 

Benjamin  Whipple,  January  9,  1866;  died  May 
1879. 

George  Olcott,  April  8,  1867. 

Charles  Willard,  January  9,  1877,  to  October  29, 
1883. 

John  G.  Dinsmore,  January  14,  1879. 

Robert  Elwell,  January  14,  1879;, died  January, 
1884. 

William  A.  Rand,  January  13,  1880. 

Richard  Robertson,  October  29,  1883. 

Roswell  Huntoon,  January  23,  1884. 

The  dividends  up  to  and  including  July,  1880, 
were  ten  per  cent,  per  annum.  Siuce  that  time 
they  have  been  eight  per  cent. 

The  charter  of  the  third  bank  expired  Septem- 
ber 15,  1884,  and  on  that  same  day  the  bank 
started  on  its  fourth  twenty  years'  charter  with  the 
same  officers,  viz. :  John  G.  Dinsinore,  president ; 
Richard  Robertson,  vice-president ;  George  Olcott, 
cashier ;  John  G.  Dinsmore,   Richard  Robertson, 


George    Olcott.    William    A.    Rand   and    Roswell 
Huntoon,  directors. 

This  bank  was  broken  into  on  the  night  of  the 
10th  of  June,  1850,  and  all  the  money  abstracted 
from  the  vault.  The  robbery  was  committed  by 
Abijah  Lamed  and  his  brother,  the  former  of 
whom  was  subsequently  arrested  by  Sheriff  Baker, 
of  Grafton,  and  Hon.  Henry  Hubbard,  who  was 
president  of  the  bank  that  had  been  robbed. 
Larned  was  brought  to  Charlestown,  where  he 
found  the  evidence  against  him  to  be  so  strong 
that  he  concluded  it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  make  confession  of  his  guilt  to  the  officers  and 
directors  of  the  bank,  which  he  did. 

The  burglars  arrived  at  Charlestown  about  nine 
o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  10th,  and  at  about 
midnight  their  work  was  done.  In  this  time  they 
had  picked  four  locks  and  secured  in  money  about 
twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  premises  were 
thoroughly  searched,  and  every  trunk  and  box  that 
had  been  deposited  in  the  bank  for  safe  keeping 
was  broken  open,  and  all  that  was  valuable  to  them 
in  its  contents  taken.  On  leaving,  both  the  doors 
of  the  vault  and  the  bank  were  re-locked,  and 
there  was  no  appearance,  on  entering  the  building, 
that  anything  had  been  disturbed,  and  it  was  only 
when  they  found  the  locks  so  out  of  order  that 
they  could  with  difficulty  be  opened  that  Mr. 
Olcott  suspected  the  evil  that  had  been  done. 

But  the  remarkable  part  of  the  matter  is  to 
come.  After  securing  their  booty,  aided  by  an 
exceedingly  fast  horse,  they  started  for  home  and 
intended  to  arrive  there  in  the  shortest  possible 
space  of  time,  so  that  no  suspicion  should  be  excited 
by  their  absence. 

When  reaching  the  base  of  a  hill  between  Drews- 
ville  and  Mario  w  they  both  alighted  to  walk  up 
the  lnll  and  so  ease  their  horse  ;  while  one  walked 
much  faster  than  the  horse,  the  other  fell  some 
distance  behind.  The  foremost  arrived  at  the  top 
of  the  hill,  and  after  waiting  some  minutes  the 
brother  emerged  in  sight  through  the  darkness, 
but  the  horse  was  not  there. 

They  retraced  their  steps,  but  horse,  buggy  and 
money  had  disappeared.      They  perceived  a  light 


38 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


from  a  neighboring  farm-house,  but  no  tracks 
could  be  discovered  whereby  they  could  trace  the 
truant  animal.  Daylight  coming  on,  they  were 
obliged  to  give  up  their  search  and  seek  their  own 
safety.  It  seems  thai  the  horse,  after  toiling  some 
time  in  ascending  the  hill,  discovered  a  narrow 
path  leading  from  the  main  road  at  right  angles, 
and,  having  no  one  to  guide  him,  followed  his  in- 
clination and  took  the  side  track  rather  than  pur- 
sue his  course  up  the  hill.  A  man  in  Marlou  who 
had  been  out  to  watch  with  a  sick  neighbor,  and 
was  riding  home  with  his  brother  at  about  four 
o'clock  in  themorning,  was  surprised  toseeahorse 
and  buggy  without  any  driver  coming  up  behind 

them.      lie  said  to  his  brother,  "  SottM e  has  lost 

his  horse  and  wagon  ;  let  us  hitch  them  in  sight,  as 
the  owner  will  be  along  soon."  But  as  they  led 
the  horse  along  they  saw  in  the  bottom  of  the 
wagon  some  loose  pieces  of  gold,  and  upon  ex- 
amination they  found  all  the  money  which  had 
been  taken  from  the  bank,  with  a  number  of  bags 
of  tools  and  false  keys,  which  immediately  led 
them  to  suspect  a  robbery.  The  alarm  wasgiveu, 
and  at  Paper-Mill  village  they  found  runners  who 
had  come  from  Charlestown,  to  whom  they  com- 
municated the  news  of  what  they  had  discovered, 
and,  moreover,  that  the  money  was  safe  at  the 
house  of  their  informant,  at  Marlow.  This  infor- 
mation was  soon  communicated  to  Mr.  Olcott  and 
<  rovernor  Hubbard,  who,  as  soon  as  possible,  took 
measures  to  identify  the  money  and  restore  it  once 
more  to  the  vault  of  the  bank. 

The  burglars  paid  all  the  expenses  of  the  bank 
and  were  put  under  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  bonds,  which  were  forfeited  Abijah 
Lamed  was  afterwards  arretted  and  tried  for  rob- 
bin--   tin     bank    at    Cooperstown,    X.  Y.,   and    was 

sent  to  State's  Prison,  where  he  died  before  the  ex- 
piration of  the  sentence. 
The  Town  Hall  was  erected  in   isT'J  at  an 

expense  of  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  It  is 
forty-two  feet  by  ninety,  two  stories  high,  and  is 
a  mat  and  commodious  structure. 

Town  Clebks  — The  following  is  a  list  of  town 
clerks  from  1  Too  to   1 885  : 


John  Hastings,  1753  to  1762. 

William  Haywood,  L762  to  ISO:1,,  except  1788. 

Elijah  Grout,  1788. 

F.  A.  Sumner,  1S03  to  ISlil,  and  1823. 

George  Olcott,  1819  to  1823  and  isi>4. 

Henry  II.  Sylvester.  L825. 

William  (  tordon,  L826,  '27,  '33,  '34,  '35,  '36,  -::7.  '38. 

Henry  Hubbard,  1828. 

Enoa  Stevens,  L829,  '.'in,  '31,  '32. 

Sin n   O    Cooley,   L839,   '40,  '42,  '43,  '44,  '45,  '46, 

'47,  '48. 

( l-eorge  Hubbard,  L841. 

S.  J,.  Fletcher,  L849. 

S.L.  Wilder,  Jr.,  L850,'51,  '52, '53,  '55, '56,  '57. 

( iharles  Messenger,  L85 1. 

Charles  C.  Kimball,  1858,  '59,  '67,  '68,  '69,  '70,  '71, 
'72,  '73,  71,  '75,  7.;,  77,  '78,  '79,  '80,  '81. 

F.  W.  I'm  nam,  1860,  '01,  '62,  '63, '64,  '65,  '66. 

Sumner  C.  Foster,  1882,  '83,  '84. 

Herbert  W.  bond,  1885. 

Representatives. — The  following  is  a  list  of 
representatives  from  17<>*  to  1885: 


L768. 

Simon  Stevens. 

1795. 

Elijah  Grout. 

L769. 

Simon  Stevens. 

1796. 

Samuel  Stevens. 

1770. 

Simon  Stevens. 

1797. 

Samuel  Stevens. 

1771. 

Simeon  <  )lcott. 

1798. 

Samuel  Stevens. 

1772. 

Simeon  (  Mcott. 

1799. 

Samuel  Stevens. 

177.".. 

Simeon  Olcotl . 

1800. 

Eph.  ( 'arpenter. 

1774. 

Samuel  Hunt. 

1801. 

Eph.  ( 'arpenter. 

1775. 

William  I  leyvvood. 

1802. 

Samuel  Hunt. 

1776. 

Elijah  (Jrout. 

1803. 

Oliver  Hastings. 

1777. 

Du\  id  Taylor. 

1804. 

Oliver  Hall. 

177N. 

Samuel  Hunt. 

1805. 

Oliver  Hall. 

L779. 

William  Haywood. 

1806. 

Oliver  Hastings. 

L780. 

Benjamin  West. 

1807. 

Benjamin  Labaree 

L781. 

Elijah  Grout. 

1809. 

Benjamin  Labarei 

1 782. 

.lolm  Hubbard. 

1810. 

Horace  I  [all. 

L784. 

ijah  ( Irout. 

1 811. 

Horace  1  [all. 

L785. 

Elijah  ( Jrout. 

1812. 

Henry  1  [ubbard. 

L786. 

John  1  [ubbard. 

L813. 

Henry  Hubbard. 

1787. 

John  Hubbard. 

1814. 

Henry  II  ill  ilia  rd. 

1788. 

William  J'age. 

1815. 

Henry  Hubbard. 

William  I 'age. 

1816. 

Enos  Stevens. 

17!>n. 

William  Page. 

1817. 

Enos  Stevens. 

L791. 

William  Page. 

1818. 

J.  C.  Chamberlain. 

L792. 

Benjamin  .Moore. 

1819. 

1  lenrv  Hubbard. 

L793. 

Samuel  Sto  v<  as. 

1820. 

1  lenrv  I [ubbard, 

L794. 

Samuel  Stevens. 

1821. 

Enoa  Stevens. 

CHARLESTOWN. 


39 


1822.  Enos  Stevens. 

1823.  Henry  Hubbard. 

1824.  Henry  Hubbard. 

1825.  Henry  Hubbard. 

1826.  Henry  Hubbard. 

1827.  Henry  Hubbard. 

1828.  Vryling  Lovell. 
182!).  Enos  Stevens. 

1830.  Enos  Stevens. 

1831.  Joseph  Heaton. 

1832.  Jonathan  L.  Mack. 

1833.  Jonathan  L.  Mack. 

1834.  William  Gordon. 

1835.  Isaac  Silsby. 

1836.  John  J.  Gilchrist. 

1837.  John  J.  Gilchrist. 

1838.  Putnam  Barron. 

1839.  Seth  Meacham. 

1840.  Seth  Meacham. 

1841.  Ashbel  Hamlin. 

1842.  Ashbel  Hamlin. 


1843.  Benjamin  Challis. 

1844.  Benjamin  Challis. 

1846.  William  McCrea. 

1847.  William  McCrea. 

1848.  William  A.  Rand. 

1849.  William  A.  Rand. 

1850.  Edm.  L.  Cushing. 
Richard  Holden. 

1851.  Richard  Holden. 
Brooks  Kimball. 

1852.  Edm.  L.  Cushing. 

1853.  Edm.  L.  Cushing. 

1854.  John  M.  Glidden. 
1855.John  M.  Glidden. 

S.  L.  Wilder,  Jr. 

1856.  S.  L.  Wilder,  Jr. 

1857.  S.  L.  Wilder,  Jr. 
Brooks  Kimball. 

1858.  Brooks  Kimball. 
Gyles  Merrill. 

1859.  William  McCrea. 


Samuel  Walker. 

1860.  John  J.  Hanson. 
Chas.  C.  Kimball. 

1861.  Harvey  Abbott. 
Chas.  C.  Kimball. 

1862.  Harvey  Abbott. 
Benj.  Whipple. 

1863.  Benj.  Whipple. 
John  M.  Glidden. 

1864.  John  M.  Glidden. 
Horace  Hubbard. 

1865.  Horace  Hubbard. 
Charles  H.  West. 

1866.  William  Dana. 
Charles  Gay. 

1867.  William  Dana. 
Charles  Gay. 

1868.  William  Dana. 
Nath.  W.  Howard. 

1869.  Nath.  W.  Howard. 
F.  W.  Putnam. 


1870.  George  Olcott. 
Abel  Hunt. 

1871.  George  W.  Hoyt. 
Herbert  B.  Viall. 

1873.  Ira  M.  Perry. 
Matt.  W.  Green. 

1874.  No  Rep.  elected. 

1875.  Chas.  C.  Kimball. 
Nath.  W.  Howard. 

1876.  Chas.  C.  Kimball. 
Nath.  W.  Howard. 

1877.  Lorin  H.  Royce. 
Brooks  Kimball. 

1878.  Lorin  H.  Royce. 
Brooks  Kimball. 

1879.  Samuel  Walker. 

1880.  Robert  R,  Allen. 

1881.  Robert  R.  Allen. 

1882.  George  H.  Messer. 

1883.  George  H.  Messer. 

1884.  R.  W.  Robinson. 

1885.  R.  W.  Robinson. 


HISTORY  OF  CLAREMONT. 


KV    01  [S    I '.    R.   WAITE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  town  of  Claremont  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Cornish,  east  by  Croydon  and  Newport,  south 
by  Unity  and  Charlestown  and  west  by  Weathers- 
field,  Vt.  The  principal  village  is  situated  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  due  east  from  Connecticut 
River,  occupies  a  Large  and  varied  area,  and  through 
it  runs  Sugar  River.  It  is  not  pretended  that  the 
following  is  a  complete  history  of  this  town.  The 
space  allowed  in  this  work,  though  liberal  in  com- 
parison with  that  given  to  some  other  towns,  does 
not  admit  of  a  full  history.  Many  topics  are  not 
touched  upon  at  all,  while  others  are  pretty  fully 
treated.  The  facts  have  been  gathered  from  rec- 
ords, public  documents,  traditions  and  every  avail- 
able reliable  source,  all  of  which  has  been  freely 
used — many  times  without  credit  being  given. 
With  old  records  incomplete  and  imperfect,  and 
many  traditions  lost  or  buried  with  the  remain-  oi 
the  earlier  inhabitants,  this  sketch  is  perhaps  as 
accurate  as  any  thai  could  be  made  at  this  time. 

The  territory  on  the  westerly  side  oi'  ( !onnecticu1 
River,  which  had  been  granted  by  Governor  Went- 
worth,  having  been  declared  to  be  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  province  of  New  Hampshire, 
the  government  of  New  York  resorted  to  many 
methods  to  dispossess  all  those  who  had  derived 
their  title.-  from  Governor  Wentworth.  Officers 
were  sent  among  them,  commanding  them  to  de- 
liver up  their  premises;  landlords  claimed  rent, 
and  attempted  to  collect  it  ;  actions  were  com- 
menced against  the  occupants,  w  bich,  being  brought 
10 


in  the  courts  of  New  York,  were  invariably  decided 
against  the  defendants.  Long  and  bitter  contro- 
versies arose,  and  the  sturdy  settlers,  determined 
not  to  yield,  resorted  to  arms  in  defense  of  their 
estates.  Acts  of  violence,  were  frequent,  and  the 
officers  of  New  York  often  found  the  physical 
power  was  on  the  side  of  the  settlers.  There  were 
among  the  inhabitants  many  daring,  intrepid  men, 
ready  to  encounter  danger,  if  necessary,  and  by  no 
means  scrupulous  of  the  observance  of  "  points  of 
law,"  as  Mttled  by  the  courts  of  New  York. 

The  early  settlers  of  New  Hampshire,  especially 
the  western  portion  of  the  province,  as  well  as 
those  of  Vermont,  were  not,  like  the  Plymouth 
colonists,  actuated  solely  in  their  enterprises  by 
religious  motives.  Their  association  consisted  pri- 
marily more  in  the  regulations  of  mercantile  com- 
panies than  in  civil  legislation;  though,  from  the 
necessity  of  the  case,  the  latter  became  their  con- 
dition in  the  process  of  time.  •  Speculation  and  the 
acquisition  oi' wealth  formed  the  bads  of  their  move- 
ments; ami  it  is  thought  that,  judged  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  of  sound  morality  and 
law,  their  acts  would  in  some  instances  have  been 
considered  oppressive  and  unjust.  The  institutions 
of  religion  were  not  disregarded.  In  many  cases, 
anion-'  the  first  of  their  Legislative  corporate  acts 
was  the  providing  for  a  minister  "to  come  and 
settle  among"  them.  Particularly  was  this  the 
case  with  the  firs!  settlers  of  Claremont. 

Boon  after  the  Declaration  of  American  [nde 
pendence  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  in  ques- 
tion   assembled    to    take    into    consideration    their 


CLAKEMONT. 


41 


peculiar  condition,  and  to  provide  means  of  safety. 
The  situation  of  the  country  created,  as  they  be- 
lieved, a  radical  change  in  their  political  connec- 
tions. By  the  dissolution  of  the  bonds  which  had 
subjected  America  to  the  rule  of  Great  Britain, 
they  imagined  that  all  acts  sanctioned  by  the 
authority  of  the  mother-country  were  abrogated, 
and  no  longer  binding ;  and  hence,  concerning 
themselves  free  from  the  government  of  New  York, 
to  which  they  had  never  willingly  submitted,  and 
being,  as  they  declared,  "  reduced  to  a  state  of  na- 
ture," they  insisted  that  they  had  a  right  to  form 
such  ass  ciation  as  was  agreeable  to  themselves. 
Accordingly,  they  made  the  declaration  that  "  they 
would  at  all  times  consider  themselves  as  a  free 
and  independent  State,  capable  of  regulating  their 
own  internal  police  ;  that  they  had  the  sole,  ex- 
clusive right  of  governing  themselves  in  such  man- 
ner as  they  should  choose,  not  repugnant  to  the 
resolves  of  Congress ;  and  that  they  were  ready  to 
contribute  their  proportion  to  the  common  de- 
fense." Guided  by  these  principles,  they  adopted 
a  plan  of  government,  established  a  code  of  laws 
and  petitioned  Congress  to  receive  them  into  the 
Union. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  eastern  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  River,  both  on  account  of  location 
and  sympathy,  were  strongly  inclined  to  unite 
with  those  on  the  western  side  in  the  formation  of 
a  new  State.  They  claimed  that  the  original 
grant  to  Captain  John  Mason  was  limited  by  the 
line  drawn  at  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  from  the 
sea  ;  that  all  the  lands  westward  of  that  line  were 
royal  grants,  which,  being  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  New  Hampshire  merely  by  the  force  of  the 
royal  commission,  Avere  vacated  by  the  assumed 
independence  of  the  American  colonies,  and 
therefore,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  territory 
had  "  reverted  to  a  state  of  nature."  By  this  it 
was  understood  that  each  town  retained  its 
corporate  unity,  but  w«s  wholly  disconnected 
from  any  superior  jurisdiction.  They  made  a  dis- 
tinction between  commissions  derived  from  the 
King,  revocable  at  his  pleasure,  and  incorpora- 
tions  granted   on  certain  conditions,  which  con- 


ditions having  been  performed,  the  powers  and 
privileges  incident  to  or  resulting  from  the 
corporate  bodies  were  perpetual. 

They  asserted  that  when  the  power  of  the  King 
had  been  rejected  and  no  longer  recognized,  the 
only  legal  authority  remaining  was  vested  in  their 
town  incorporations,  and  that  the  majority  of  each 
town  had  a  right  to  control  the  minority.  These 
views,  however,  did  not  meet  with  universal 
approval.  Sixteen  of  the  towns  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Connecticut  were  in  favor  of  the 
union  with  those  on  the  western,  and,  having 
presented  a  petition  to  the  new  State,  which  had 
assumed  the  name  of  Vermont  requested  that  they 
might  be  received  into  union  with  it,  and  alleged 
that  "  they  were  not  connected  with  any  State 
with  respect  to  their  internal  police."  After 
much  strife  these  sixteen  towns  were  received,  the 
Assembly  of  Vermont  having  passed  a  resolution 
that  other  towns  on  the  eastern  side  of  Connecti- 
cut River  might  be  admitted  on  procuring  a  vote 
of  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  as  in  the  election 
of  a  representative. 

In  1778  great  effort  was  made  to  secure  the 
favor  of  Claremont  and  other  towns  below  in 
behalf  of  this  movement,  but  without  success.  The 
towns  thus  admitted  gave  notice  to  the  govern- 
ment of  New  Hampshire,  and  expressed  their 
desire  for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  a  jurisdic- 
tional line  and  a  friendly  interchange.  Bitter 
animosities  and  confusion  were  the  offspring  of 
this  act.  The  President  of  New  Hampshire,  as 
the  Executive  was  then  styled,  resorted  to  per- 
suasion and  threats  in  order  to  reclaim  the 
seceders.  Vermont  was  slow  to  give  up  an 
acquisition  so  valuable,  and  at  last  both  parties 
appealed  to  Congress  for  aid.  After  long  delay, 
Congress  declared  it  an  "  indispensable  prelimi- 
nary "  to  the  admission  of  Vermont  as  a  member  of 
the  United  States,  that  she  should  "  explicitly 
relinquish  all  demands  of  lands  and  jurisdiction 
on  the  east  side  of  Connecticut  River  and  on  the 
west  side  of  a  line  drawn  twenty  miles  eastward  of 
Hudson's  River  to  Lake  Champlain." 

This  resolution  being  laid   before  the  Assembly 


42 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  Vermont,  in  session  at  Charlestown,  they  voted 
to  "  remain  firm  in  the  principles  on  which  they 
had  first  assumed  government,  and  to  hold  the 
articles  of  union  inviolate ;  that  they  would  not 
submit  the  question  of  their  independence  to  the 
arbitrament  of  any  power  whatever ;  but  they 
were  willing  at  present  to  refer  the  question  of 
their  jurisdictional  boundary  to  commissioners 
mutually  chosen;  and  when  they  should  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  American  Union,  they  would 
submit  any  such  disputes  to  Congress." 

This  state  of  things  produced,  as  it  naturally 
would,  deep  resentment  between  the  people  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  which,  on  slight 
occasion,  would  break  forth  in  acts  of  hostility. 
An  example  is  furnished  in  an  affray  which  had 
its  beginning  at  Chesterfield  in  1781.  A 
constable,  under  authority  of  Vermont,  had  a 
writ  against  a  man  favorable  to  the  interests  of 
Mew  Hampshire,  and  went  in  pursuit  of  him.  He 
found  him  in  a  dwelling-house,  surrounded  by  his 
friends,  and  attempted  to  arrest  him.  The  owner 
of  the  house  interfered  and  ordered  the  officer  to 
depart.  The  constable  produced  a  book,  which  he 
said  contained  the  laws  of  Vermont,  and  began  to 
read.  The  householder  commanded  him  to  desist. 
Threatening  words  followed,  and,  finally,  the 
officer  was  compelled  to  retire.  Under  a  writ 
i-Mied  by  a  Vermont  justice,  the  householder  and 
another  of  the  company  were  arrested  and  com- 
mitted to  prison  at  Charlestown.  The  prisoners 
sent  a  petition  to  the  Assembly  of  New  Hamp- 
shire for  relief.  The  Assembly  authorized  the 
Committee  of  Safety  to  direct  the  sheriff  of 
Cheshire  County  to  relieve  the  prisoners ;  and, 
further,  empowered  the  committee  to  cause  to  be 
committed  to  prison,  in  any  of  the  counties,  all 
persons  acting  under  the  pretended  authority  of 
the  State  of  Vermont,  to  be  tried  by  the  courts  of 
those  counties  where  they  might  be  confined  ;  and 
for  this  purpose  sheriffs  were  directed  to  raise  the 
posse  comitcttus. 

The  sheriff  of  Cheshire  County,  in  the  attempt 
to  release  the  two  prisoners,  was  himself  arrested 
and   imprisoned   by   the  Vermont   sheriff.       The 


impris  ned  sheriff  now  appealed  to  a  brigadier- 
general  of  New  Hampshire  to  raise  the  militia  for 
his  liberation.  The  Vermonters  were  aroused, 
and  the  Governor  immediately  issued  orders  to 
his  militia  to  repel  the  "invaders."  A  committee 
from  Vermont  was  sent  to  Exeter  "  to  agree  on 
measures  to  prevent  hostilities."  One  of  the  com- 
mittee was  the  Vermont  sheriff,  who  was  immedi- 
ately arrested,  thrown  into  prison  at  Exeter  and 
held  as  a  hostage  for  the  release  of  the  sheriff  of 
Cheshire. 

There  were  many  instances  of  collisions  and 
open  violence,  in  attempts  of  officers  from  each  of 
the  two  States  to  collect  the  taxes  and  enforce 
other  restrictions  upon  the  people.  Such  was  the 
menacing  aspect  of  affairs  at  this  juncture  that 
Congress,  from  motives  of  general  policy,  deter- 
mined to  settle  the  difficulties,  if  possible.  General 
Washington  wrote  the  Governor  of  Vermont,  ad- 
vising the  relinquishment  of  the  late  extension  of 
boundary,  as  an  indispensable  pre-requisite  to  the 
admission  of  Vermont  into  the  Union,  and  inti- 
mating that,  upon  non-compliance,  coercion  on  the 
part  of  Congress,  however  disagreeable,  would  be 
necessary.  The  effect  of  this  letter  was  salutary. 
The  Assembly  of  Vermont,  in  the  absence  of  the 
members  from  the  east  side  of  Connecticut  River, 
passed  a  vote  approving  the  "  preliminary,"  and 
resolved  that  "  the  western  bank  of  Connecticut 
River,  on  the  one  part,  and  a  line  drawn  from  the 
northwest  corner  of  Massachusetts  northward  to 
Lake  Champlain,  on  the  other  part,  be  the  eastern 
and  western  boundaries  of  the  State  of  Vermont ; 
and  that  they  relinquish  all  claim  of  jurisdiction 
without  these  limits." 

The  members  of  the  Assembly  from  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  finding  themselves  thus  virtually 
cut  off  from  the  legislative  body,  took  their  leave 
with  chagrin  and  feelings  of  resentment.  Though 
excluded  from  their  recent  connection,  the  excluded 
towns  did  not  at  once  peaceably  place  themselves 
under  their  former  jurisdiction,  but  for  some  time 
continued  to  keep  alive  the  difficulties  and  ani- 
mosities which  had  so  long  existed.  During  these 
strifes   the  courts  of  New  Hampshire   had    held 


CLAREMONT. 


43 


their  regular  sessions,  with  but  little  opposition, 
though  the  officers  of  Vermont  claimed  and  exe- 
cuted jurisdiction  in  the  same  territory ;  but  when 
the  latter  were  deprived  of  authority  by  the  act  of 
the  Assembly  of  Vermont,  a  spirit  of  resistance 
against  the  former  became  apparent. 

In  September,  1782,  during  the  sitting  of  the 
Inferior  Court  at  Keene,  several  persons  attempted 
to  stop  its  proceedings,  and  succeeded  in  effecting 
an  adjournment.  Three  of  the  leaders  were 
arrested  and  bound  over  to  the  Superior  Court. 
Meanwhile,  efforts  were  being  made  to  resist  and 
overpower  the  Superior  Court.  Reports  were 
circulated  that  two  hundred  men  had  combined 
and  armed  themselves  for  that  purpose.  On  the 
morning  of  the  opening  of  the  court  several  of  the 
leaders  went  to  the  chambers  of  the  court  and 
presented  a  petition,  praying  "  that  the  court 
might  be  adjourned,  and  that  no  judicial  proceed- 
ings might  be  had  while  the  troubles  in  which  the 
county  had  been  involved  still  subsisted."  They 
were  told  that  the  judges  could  come  to  no  de- 
cision upon  the  subject  but  in  open  court.  The 
court  was  opened  in  due  time,  the  petition  was 
publicly  read  and  its  consideration  postponed  to 
the  next  day.  The  court  then  proceeded  to  its 
business.  The  grand  jury  were  impaneled,  and, 
with  open  doors,  the  attorney-general  laid  before 
them  the  case  of  the  rioters  at  the  Inferior  Court. 
A  bill  was  found  against  them ;  they  were 
arraigned,  pleaded  guilty  and  threw  themselves 
upon  the  mercy  of  the  court.  The  court  remitted 
their  punishment  on  condition  of  future  peaceable 
behavior. 

This  method  of  firmness  and  lenity  at  once  dis- 
armed the  disturbers,  and  they  quietly  dispersed. 
From  this  time  the  spirit  of  insubordination 
gradually  died  away,  and  the  people  quietly 
returned  to  their  allegiance  to  New  Hampshire. 

New  Hampshire  was  first  settled  in  1628,  by 
Edwai-d  and  William  Hilton,  brothers,  from 
London,  and  David  Thompson,  from  Scotland. 
For  eighteen  years  after  the  first  settlement  the 
people  in  the  several  plantations  were  governed 
by  agents    appointed    by   the  proprietors,  or   by 


magistrates  chosen  by  themselves.  In  1641  they 
were  united  with  Massachusetts,  and  so  continued 
until  1680,  when  New  Hampshire  became  a  royal 
province,  and  continued  a  provincial  government 
until  the  Revolution,  with  the  exception  of  the 
interim  from  1688  to  1692,  when  the  people,  in 
consequence  of  the  disorders  and  confusion  which 
attended  the  short  but  oppressive  administration 
of  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  again  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  Massachusetts.  Massa- 
chusetts was  made  a  province  in  1692,  and  the 
same  person  was  Governor  of  both  provinces  from 
1699  to  1741,  when  a  separate  Governor  was  ap- 
pointed for  New  Hampshire ;  and  this  was  the 
beginning  of  Governor  Benning  Wentworth's 
administration  He  was  a  son  of  Lieutenant 
Governor  Wentworth,  "  was  a  merchant  of  good 
reputation  in  Portsmouth,  and  well  beloved  by  his 
people."  He  had  represented  his  town  in  the 
Assembly  several  years,  and  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Council. 

During  the  commotions  excited  by  the  Stamp 
Act  he  was  careful  not  to  make  himself  con^ 
spicuous  in  the  ranks  of  either  party.  At  that 
time  he  had  been  in  the  executive  chair  twenty^ 
five  years,  and  expected  that  his  successor  would 
soon  be  appointed.  The  long  term  of  his  adminis- 
tration gives  reason  to  believe  that  his  acts,  as  a 
whole,  were  not  oppressive  or  dissatisfactory  to  the 
people.  He  had  become  quite  wealthy,  though  it 
was  not  charged  that  he  filled  his  coffers  by 
extortions  from  the  people.  His  grants  of  land, 
profuse  and  unauthorized,  perhaps,  in  some 
instances,  proved  to  be  of  great  advantage  to  New 
Hampshire  in  filling  up  her  waste  places  with 
industrious  and  enterprising  men,  and  in  laying 
the  foundation  for  that  prosperity  which,  ever 
since  his  day,  has  marked  the  progress  of  the 
State.  Under  his  administration  the  town  of 
Claremont  was  incorporated. 

It  is  stated  in  the  New  Hampshire  Gazetteer, 
published  at  Concord,  by  Jacob  B.  Moore,  in 
1823,  that  Claremont  was  granted,  October  28, 
1764,  to  Josiah  Willard,  Samuel  Ashley  and 
sixty-eight  others,  and  received  its  name  from  the 


44 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


country-seat  of  Lord  Clive,  an  English  general. 
The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  charter 
from  the  proprietors'  book  of  records  : 

"Province  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  George  the  Third,  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  &c. 

"  To  all  persons  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come 
greeting,  know  ye  that  we  of  our  Especial  Grace 
certain  knowledge  and  mere  Motion  for  the  Due 
Encouragement  of  Settling  a  New  Plantation  within 
our  s'd  Province,  by  and  with  the  Advice  of  our 
Trusty  and  well  Beloved  Benning  Wentworth,  Esqr., 
our  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of  s'd  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampshire,  in  New  England,  and  of 
our  Council  of  the  s'd  Province,  have,  upon  the  Con- 
ditions and  Reservations  hereinafter  made,  given  and 
Granted,  and,  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and 
Successors,  Do  give  and  grant  in  Equal  Shares  unto 
our  loving  subjects,  Inhabitants  of  s'd  Province  of 
New  Hampshire  and  our  other  Government,  and  to 
their  lKirs  and  Assigees  forever  whose  names  are 
entered  in  this  Grant,  to  be  divided  to  and  amongst 
them  into  75  Equal  Shares,  all  the  Tract  or  Parcel  of 
Land  Situate,  Lying  and  Being  within  our  s'd  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampshire,  containing,  by  admeasure- 
ment, 24,000  acres,  which  Tract  is  to  Contain  about 
Six  Miles  square  and  no  More,  out  of  which  an 
allowance  is  to  Be  made  for  highways  and  unim- 
proved Lands,  by  Rocks,  Ponds,  Mountains  and 
Rivers,  1040  acres,  free,  according  to  a  Plan  and 
Survey  thereof  made  by  our  Said  Governor's  order 
and  returned  into  ye  Secretary's  office,  and  hereunto 
Annexed,  Butted  and  Bounded  as  Follows  (viz.) : 
Beginning  at  a  marked  Tree  Standing  on  the 
Easterly  Bank  of  Connecticut  River,  which  is  in  the 
Northwesterly  Corner  bounds  of  Charlestown ;  from 
thence  running  South  78°  Easterly  about  6  miles, 
and  one-half  mile  to  the  Southwesterly  angle  of  New- 
port; from  thence  Turning  off  and  running  North  8° 
Easterly  about  5  miles,  and  seven-eighths  of  a  mile 
by  Newport,  aforesaid,  to  the  Southwesterly  angle  of 
Cornish;  thence  turning  off  again  and  running  North 
77°  Westerly  about  0  miles,  by  Cornish,  aforesaid,  to 
Connecticut  River,  aforesaid ;  thence  Down  the  said 
River,  as  that  runs,  to  the  Bodnd  Begun  at,  together 
with  the  Islands  lyinj^  in  the  Said  River  opposite  to 
the  Premises,  and  that  the  same  be  and  hereby  is 
Incorporated   into    the    Township    by   ye    name    of 


Claremont,  and  the  Inhabitants  that  Do  or  shall 
henceforth  Inhabit  the  said  Township  are  hereby 
Declared  to  be  Enfranchised  with  and  Entitled  To, 
all  and  Every,  the  Privileges  and  Immunities  that 
other  Towns  within  our  Province  by  Law  Exercise 
anil  Enjoy,  and  Further,  that  the  s'd  Town,  as  soon 
as  there  shall  Be  fifty  Families  Resident  and  Settled 
thereon,  shall  have  the  Liberty  of  holding  two  Fairs, 

one  of  which  shall  be  on  the and  the  other 

in  the ,  annually,  which  Fairs  are  not  to  be 

continued  longer  than  the .     Following  the  said, 

and  that,  as  soon  as  the  said  Town  shall  consist  of 
Fifty  Families,  a  market  May  be  opened  and  kept 
one  or  more  Days  in  Each  Week,  as  may  be  thought 
most  advantageous  to  the  Inhabitants;  also,  that  the 
First  meeting  for  the  choice  of  Town  Officers,  agree- 
able to  the  Law  of  our  said  Province,  shall  be  held 
on  ye  Second  Tuesday  of  March  Next,  which  s'd 
Meeting  shall  be  Notified  by  Samuel  Ashley,  who  is 
hereby  appointed  the  Moderator  of  s'd  first  Meeting, 
which  he  is  to  Notify  and  Govern  agreeably  to  Law 
and  Customs  of  our  s'd  Province,  and  that  the  annual 
Meeting  forever  hereafter  for  the  Choice  of  such 
officers  for  the  said  Town  shall  be  on  the  Second 
Tuesday  of  March,  annually,  To  Have  and  To 
Hold  the  s'd  Tract  of  land  as  above  Expressed, 
together  with  all  the  Privileges  and  Appurtenances  to 
them,  and  their  Representative  Heirs  and  Assigees 
forever,  upon  the  following  conditions  (viz.): 

"  lstly.  That  every  grantee,  his  heirs  or  assigees, 
shall  plant  and  cultivate  Five  acres  of  Land  within 
the  Term  of  Five  years  for  every  fifty  acres  Con- 
tained in  his  or  their  share  or  proportion  of  Land  in 
said  Township,  and  Continue  to  Improve  and  Settle 
the  Same  By  additional  Cultivations,  Penalty  of  the 
Forfeiture  of  his  grant  or  Share  of  Land  in  said 
Township,  and  of  its  Reverting  to  us,  our  heirs  and 
Successors,  to  be  by  us  or  them  Regranted  to  such  of 
our  Subjects  as  shall  Effectually  Settle  and  Cultivate 
the  same. 

"  2dly.  That  all  white  and  other  pine  Trees  within 
ye  s'd  Township  fit  for  Masting  our  Royal  Navy  be 
<  larefully  Preserved  for  that  use,  and  none  to  be  Cut 
or  Felled  without  our  Special  License  for  so  doing 
first  had  and  obtained,  upon  the  Penalty  of  the 
Forfeiture  of  the  Rights  of  such  grantee,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  as  well 
as  being  subject  to  the  Penalty  of  any  act  or  acts  of 
Parliament  that  now  and  hereafter  shall  be  Enacted. 


CLAREMONT. 


45 


"3dly.  That  before  any  Division  of  s'd  Land  be 
made  to  and  among  the  Grantees,  a  Tract  of  Land,  as 
near  the  Centre  of  ye  s'd  Township  as  the  Land  will 
admit  of,  shall  be  Reserved  and  marked  out  for  Town 
Lots,  one  of  which  shall  (be)  allotted  to  each  Grantee 
of  the  Contents  of  one  acre. 

"  4thly.  Yielding  and  paying,  therefore,  to  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors  for  the  Space  of  Ten  Years,  to 
be  Computed  from  the  Date  hereof,  the  rent  of  one 
ear  of  Indian  Corn  only,  on  the  Twenty-fifth  day  of 
December,  annually,  if  Lawfully  Demanded,  the 
First  payment  to  be  made  on  ye  25th  Day  of  De- 
cember, 1764. 

"  5thly.  Every  Proprietor,  Settler  or  Inhabitant 
Shall  Yield  and  pay  unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
yearly  and  every  year  forever,  from  and  after  the 
expiration  of  Ten  Years  from  the  above  s'd  25th  Day 
of  December,  namely,  on  the  25th  Day  of  December, 
which  will  be  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1774,  one 
Shilling  Proclamation  Money  for  every  hundred 
acres  he  so  owns,  settles  or  Possesses,  and  so  in  pro- 
portion for  a  greater  or  lesser  Tract  of  ye  s'd  Land, 
which  money  shall  be  Paid  by  the  Representative 
Persons  above  s'd,  their  heirs  or  assigns,  in  our 
Council  Chamber  at  Portsmouth,  or  to  such  officer  or 
officers  as  shall  be  appointed  to  Receive  the  same, 
and  this  is  to  be  in  Lieu  of  all  other  rents  and 
services  whatsoever. 

"  In  Testimony  whereof,  wre  have  caused  the  Seal 
of  our  s'd  Province  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

"  Witness  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq.,  our  Governor 
and  Commander-in-Chief  of  our  said  Province,  the 
Twenty-sixth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  Christ  1764. 

"  (Signed),  B.  Wentworth. 

"By  his  Excellency's  command, 

"  With  advice  of  Council, 

"  T.  Atkinson,  Jun'r,  Sec'y." 

Names  of  the  Grantees  of  Claremont. 

Josiah  Willard,  Esq.,  Samuel  Ashley,  Jeremiah 
Hull,  Josiah  Willard,  Jr.,  Thomas  Frink,  Esq.,  John 
Ellis,  Samson  Willard,  Abraham  Scott,  Henry 
Foster,  Solomon  Willard,  Jonathan  Hammond, 
William  Heaton,  Prentice  Willard,  Samuel  Ashley, 
Jr.,  James  Scott,  Samuel  Scott,  Oliver  Ashley,  Abijah 
Willard,  Micah  Lawrence,  Abel  Lawrence,  Michael 
Metcalf,  Ephraim  Dorman,  James  Lord,  William 
Willard,  Jeremiah  Powers,  John  Arms,  David  Field, 


Jonathan  Hawks,  Samuel  Field,  Henry  Bond,  Simon 
Chamberlain,  Elijah  Alexander,  Ebenezer  Dodge, 
Jonathan  Cass,  Joshua  Hide,  Nathaniel  Heaton, 
Gideon  Ellis,  Jonathan  Grimes,  Joseph  Cass,  John 
Scott,  William  Richardson,  John  Pierce,  Thomas 
Lee,  Stephen  Putnam,  Timothy  Taylor,  Benjamin 
Freeman,  Oliver  Fairwell,  John  Searles,  Oliver  Fair- 
well,  Jr.,  Ephraim  Adams,  Phineas  Wait,  Samuel 
Wells,  John  Hunt,  William  Smead.  Colonel  John 
Goffe,  Esq.,  Daniel  Jones,  Esq.,  Hon.  John  Temple, 
Esq.,  Mark  H.  Wentworth,  Esq.,  Theodore  Atkin- 
son, Jr.,  Colonel  William  Symes  and  Solomon  Davis. 

The  Governor's  reservation,  which  he  invariably 
made  in  his  grants,  and  also  reservations  of  lands 
for  other  purposes,  as  appears  by  the  records,  were 
as  follows  : 

"His  Excellency,  Benning  Wentworth,  Esq.,  a 
Tract  of  Land  to  contain  500  Acres,  as  marked  B.  W. 
in  the  Plan,  and  also  a  small  Island  lying  in  the 
River,  opposite  s'd  500  acres,  which  are  to  be 
accounted  two  of  the  within  Shares ;  one  which 
shares  for  the  Incorporated  Society  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts ;  one  whose  share 
for  a  Glebe  for  ye  Church  of  England,  as  by  law 
established ;  one  whole  share  for  ye  first  settled 
(minister)  of  the  Gospel,  and  one  share  for  the  Benefit 
of  a  school  forever,  in  said  Town  forever." 

Governor  Wentworth's  share  was  located  in  the 
southwesterly  corner  of  the  town,  and  included 
what  has  long  been  known  as  the  Isaac  Hubbard 
farm,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Isaac  H.  Long, 
a  grandson  of  Isaac  Hubbard,  and  by  the  widow 
of  the  Rev.  Isaac  G.  Hubbard,  D.D.,  who  was  a 
son  of  Isaac  Hubbard,  Esq.  The  island  referred 
to  in  Connecticut  River  is  known  as  Hubbard's 
Island.  A  portion  of  the  school  lands  are  situated 
on  the  east  side  of  Broad  Street,  beginning  at 
Sugar  River,  and  extending  southerly  to  and 
including  the  present  residence  of  the  widow  of 
George  W.  Blodgett.  Of  the  land  reserved  for 
the  Society  "  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in 
foreign  parts,"  one  hundred  acres  lie  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town,  and  are  owned  by  Solon  C. 
Grannis,  Esq.,  and  others.  About  one  hundred- 
acres  of  the  glebe  land  are  located  on  the  northerly 
side  of  what  is  called   the  new  road   from  Clare- 


46 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mont  to  Newport,  about  three  miles  from  Clare- 
mont  village,  and  was  purchased  several  years  ago 
by  the  Monadnock  Mills  Corporation.  Another 
portion  of  the  glebe  lands  lies  near  Union 
Church,  "West  Claremont. 

As  appears  by  the  records,  the  first  meeting  of 
the  proprietors  of  Claremont  was  held  at  "  ye 
house  of  Lieutenant  Hilkiah  Grout,  inn-holder,  in 
Winchester,  on  Monday,  ye  second  day  of  Febru- 
ary, a.d.  1767."  An  organization  was  formed, 
as  provided  by  the  charter.  The  first  act  is 
recorded  as  follows :  "  Voted,  lstly,  and  choose 
Secretary  Samuel  Ashley  Moderator  for  this  meet- 
ing. 2d,  Voted  and  chose  Colonel  Josiah 
Willard  proprietors'  clerk."  They  then  laid  out 
the  Governor's  two  shares  : 

"Beginning  at  ye  southwest  corner  of  ye  Town,  on 
the  bank  of  ye  river,  running  East  12  deg.  south 
on  ye  line  between  Claremont  and  Charlestown,  360 
rods,  to  a  pillow  of  stones;  then  runs  West  12  de- 
grees North,  260  rods  to  ye  river,  and  then  runs 
down  ye  river  as  that  runs  to  where  it  begins,  includ- 
ing the  Island  in  said  river  opposite  ye  two  shares 
aforesaid." 

It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  tract 
thus  laid  out  did  not  contain  the  required 
quantity  of  five  hundred  acres,  and  an  addition 
was  accordingly  made  of  a  triangular  piece  of 
land  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  lot  first  set  off.  At 
this  meeting  shares  were  set  off  by  metes  and 
bounds  to  many  of  the  proprietors.  They  then 
appointed  William  Parker,  of  Portsmouth ; 
Samuel  Livermore,  of  Londonderry;  Josiah 
Willard,  of  Winchester  ; 

"all  of  ye  Province  of  New  Hampshire,  Esqs.  and 
Samuel  Ashley,  of  Winchester  in  s'd  Province,  agents 
and  attorneys  for  ye  Proprietors  in  all  suits  and 
Controversies  moved  or  to  be  moved  for  or  against 
s'd  Proprietors  and  in  their  behalf  to  appear,  plead 
and  pursue  to  find  judgment  and  Execution,  with 
full  power  of  Substitution  and  power  to  compound 
and  settle  such  actions  and  controversies  wherein  s'd 
Proprietors  are  or  may  be  concerned,  the  s'd  Pro- 
prietors hereby  ratifying,  confirming  and  holding 
valid  whatever  s'd  Agents  and  Attorneys,  or  any  two 


of  them,  shall  legally  do  or  cause  to  be  done  in  or 
about  the  Premises." 

This  precautionary  step  was,  doubtless,  taken  to 
meet  whatever  difficulties  might  arise  in  the 
progress  of  the  settlement  of  the  town.  So  far  as 
records  or  traditions  inform  us,  there  was  no  im- 
mediate prospect  that  the  proprietors  would  be 
molested  in  the  settlement  and  disposal  of  the 
township.  There  were  but  few  squatters,  and 
these  were  generally  content  to  receive,  as  full 
compensation  for  all  improvements  each  might 
have  made,  a  deed  of  sixty  acres  of  land  in  such 
locations  as  the  proprietors  might  select.  Among 
the  squatters  were  David  Lynde  and  Moses 
Spafford,  who  were  the  first  settlers  within  the 
limits  of  the  town  as  described  by  the  charter.  In 
1763,  Elijah,  son  of  Moses  Spafford,  was  born, 
being  the  first  native  English  child  born  in  town, 
according  to  the  New  Hampshire  Gazetteer.  Ac- 
cording to  the  same  authority,  Lynde  and 
Spafford  settled  in  Claremont  in  1762.  In  1763 
and  1766  several  other  inhabitants  arrived,  and  in 
1767  a  considerable  number  of  the  proprietors, 
and  others  from  the  towns  of  Farmington,  Hebron 
and  Colchester,  in  Connecticut,  made  settlements 
in  different  parts  of  the  town.  Lynde  and  Spafford 
built  a  rude  cabin  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  town, 
and  began  the  work  of  clearing  the  forest,  and 
continued  to  make  improvements  for  several 
years,  until  they  were  induced  to  accept  sixty 
acres  each  from  the  proprietors  for  their  improve- 
ments. Lynde's  tract  was  in  the  vicinity  of 
Green  Mountain,  so  called,  and  Spafford's  was  in 
the  west  part  of  the  town,  which  is  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Charles  Leland. 

Since  the  termination  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  in  1760,  the  Indians  had  not  troubled  the 
settlements  along  the  Connecticut  River.  Game 
and  fish  were  very  abundant,  and  occasionally  they 
resorted  in  small  numbers  to  their  old  hunting  and 
li-liing-grounds,  but  their  visitb  were  few  and  short. 
Probably  they  never  occupied  the  territory  in  this 
vicinity  as  a  permanent  or  habitual  abode,  as  no 
relics  of  the  race  have  ever  been  discovered  in  the 
neighborhood   which    would    indicate    it.     At  the 


CLAREMONT. 


47 


time  referred  to  a  single  Indian  still  lingered  in 
the  neighborhood.  Tradition  has  it  that  he  had 
been  chief  of  a  tribe,  who  were  once  lords  of  the 
soil,  but  now  were  either  exterminated  or  had  re- 
moved to  Canada.  But  he  seemed  determined  not 
to  relinquish  the  possessions  of  his  ancestors  to  the 
aggressive  pale- face.  Though  he  continued  to  re- 
main here  for  several  years  after  the  settlement  of 
the  town,  and  at  last  died  on  what  he  termed  his 
own  soil,  yet  he  sought  no  intercourse  or  friendship 
with  the  new  occupants,  but  followed  his  favorite 
pursuits — fishing  and  hunting.  It  was  known  that 
he  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  bloody  and 
devastating  expeditions  against  Charlestown,Keene 
and  other  English  colonies,  and  it  was  feared  that 
he  might  be  still  lurking  about,  watching  an  op- 
portunity to  enact  similar  scenes.  The  story  of 
his  tragical  end  was  furnished  by  Mr.  L.  A.  Grannis 
to  George  Ticknor,  Esq.,  who  prepared  with  great 
labor  and  pains  several  chapters  of  the  annals  of 
Claremont,  which  were  printed  in  the  National 
Eagle  in  1854,  then  being  published  by  the  author 
of  this  history,  who  has  drawn  largely  from  them, 
believing  them  to  be  as  reliable  as  anything  attain- 
able at  this  day. 

Though  a  solitary  Indian,  he  seemed  inflated 
with  that  jealousy  against  the  whites  so  peculiar  to 
his  race.  When  the  frame  of  Union  Church  was 
being  raised,  in  1773,  he  was  present,  and  expressed 
great  displeasure  at  the  presumption  of  the  new- 
comers in  thus  erecting  so  large  a  building,  and 
threatened  to  shoot  anv  white  hunter  who  should 
intrude  on  his  hunting-ground.  At  last  he  became 
so  furious,  maddened,  probably,  by  a  too  free  use  of 
"  strong  water,"  that  it  became  necessary  to  con 
fine  him.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  threat  proved  his 
destruction.  Among  the  strong  and  vigorous  men 
assembled  there  was  one  of  gigantic  size  and 
matchless  strength,  and,  more  than  all,  whose 
spirit  felt  no  fear.  His  quick  ear  caught  the 
threat  of  Tonsa,  and  he  at  once  resolved  to  hunt 
on  his  ground,  and  it  is  said  that  previous  to  this 
day  they  were  enemies.  Shortly  after  this  scene 
the  white  hunter,  with  loaded  gun  in  hand,  visited 
the  forbidden  ground  alone.     As  soon  as  he  had 


arrived  at  the  spot  he  gave  a  shrill  whistle,  which 
was  quickly  answered  by  a  w  histle  which,  from  its 
peculiar  sound,  he  knew  came  not  from  a  white 
man.  The  same  sound  was  repeated  and  an- 
swered. Rapidly  he  advanced  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  his  foe.  At 
the  same  time  he  was  seen  by  Tonsa.  And  now 
began  the  struggle  for  victory.  Each  summoned 
all  his  art  and  skill  to  secure  an  advantage  which 
would  betray  the  life  of  one  to  the  other.  Fiercely 
they  rushed  forward,  leaping  over  fallen  trees  and 
now  dodging  behind  standing  ones,  and  using  those 
stratagems  so  familiar  to  the  backwoodsman  and 
the  savage.  Now  they  had  come  within  shooting 
distance.  At  once  they  raised  their  guns  and 
simultaneously  fired.  The  shot  of  the  white  man 
took  effect,  and  Tonsa  fell.  Beneath  one  of  the 
tall  pine-trees  which  grew  luxuriously  on  his 
beautiful  hunting-ground  the  victor  buried  him, 
and  his  resting-place  no  man  knew  precisely  until 
May,  1854. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  that  month  Mr.  Josiah 
Hart,  while  digging  on  land  of  John  Tyler,  Esq., 
discovered  a  skeleton,  which,  from  its  immense 
size,  was  supposed  to  be  that  of  Tonsa.  It  is  hinted 
that  the  more  timid  hunters,  on  being  assured  by 
their  strong  brother  that  Tonsa  would  trouble  them 
no  more,  breathed  more  freely,  and  even  ventured 
to  go  to  his  favorite  haunt.  This  was  on  the  north 
side  of  Sugar  River,  where  the  farms  of  Messrs. 
John  Tyler,  Dr.  S.  G.  Jarvis  and  the  late  Dan- 
ford  Rice  are  situated.  The  strong  hunter,  to 
those  acquainted  with  the  men  of  those  times,  and 
who  have  heard  the  story,  will  be  remembered  as 
being  a  man  by  the  name  of  Tim  Atkins.  Thus 
fell  Tonsa,  the  last  Indian  of  Claremont,  a  noble 
specimen  of  his  race. 

In  1767  the  proprietors,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
began  to  take  active  steps  toward  the  settlement  of 
Claremont.  At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  at  the 
house  of  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  on  the  eighteenth 
day  of  March,  Captain  Enos  Atwater,  Captain 
Benjamin  Brooks,  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  Esq., 
Jotham  Hitchcock  and  Asa  Lent  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  "  lott  out  ye  remaining  part  of  said 


48 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Town  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  judge  proper, 
and  return  a  plan  thereof  to  the  proprietors."  It 
was  also  "Voted  and  agreed  that  Benjamin  Tyler 
have  two  acress  of  Land  for  a  Mill  Yard  and  Con- 
venience for  Building  Mills  in  the  most  conve- 
nient Place  on  Sugar  River  in  Claremont,  with 
ye  Privilidge  of  s'd  Stream,  on  Condition  the  said 
Tyler  doth  Build  a  Mill  or  Mills  and  Keep  the 
same  in  Repair  for  ye  space  of  Ten  Years."  In 
the  same  year  Mr.  Tyler  erected  a  saw-mill  and 
grist-mill  in  what  was  then  "  the  most  Convenient 
Place  on  Sugar  River  in  Claremont."  The  mills 
and  dam  were  built  on  the  same  spot  where  sim 
ilar  works  have  since  been  maintained  in  West 
Claremont.  This  enterprise  was  a  very  important 
one,  and  imparted  new  vigor  and  gave  a  decided 
impetus  to  the  progress  of  the  settlement.  A»  yet 
there  were  but  few  inhabitants,  and  these  lived  in 
rude  cabins  scattered  along  Sugar  River  and  about 
<:  Jarvis  Hill."  Both  houses  and  barns  were  built 
of  logs  roughly  hewn  and  hastily  put  together;  the 
floors  of  earth,  pounded  hard,  and  their  chimneys 
made  of  sticks  laid  in  clay.  These  habitations, 
however,  quickly  gave  place  to  more  convenient 
and  inviting  ones.  Excellent  timber  was  abundant, 
and  the  activity  of  Mr.  Tyler  was  soon  apparent  in 
the  erection  of  framed  houses.  The  proprietors 
had  not  generally  taken  up  their  residences  in 
town,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  the  principal 
one,  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  was  ever  a  resident 
here  for  any  considerable  length  of  time.  He  was 
a  large  landholder  in  Keene  and  Winchester, 
where  the  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Clare- 
mont was  held. 

The  Willard  and  Ashley  line,  beginning  on  the 
easterly  line  of  the  town,  at  a  distance  of  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  rods  from  its  southern  extremity, 
extended  westerly,  parallel  with  the  south  line  of 
the  town,  to  Connecticut  River.  Ashley's  tract 
was  limited  on  the  south  by  the  share  of  John 
Temple,  and  on  the  north  by  the  line  just  de- 
scribed. It  comprised  a  tract  varying  not  much 
from  four  hundred  rods  in  width  through  the  town 
from  east  to  west ;  Willard'e  claim  was  all  that 
part  of  the  town  north  of  the  "  Willard  and  Ash- 


ley line."  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  shares  of  the  Governor  and  Council, 
Willard  and  Ashley  were  the  actual  owners  of  the 
entire  township,  and  their  object  was  to  find  pur- 
chasers, which,  it  seems,  was  not  difficult,  as  settle- 
ments were  made  quite  rapidly  after  the  year  1767. 
But  as  late  as  1787,  Willard  was  the  owner  of 
fifteen  shares,  equal  to  four  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred acres.  This  is  on  the  supposition  that  the 
town  was  divided  into  seventy-five  equal  shares, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  charter.  Whether 
such  division  was  ever  actually  made  does  not  ap- 
perr  from  any  known  record,  though  the  shares 
set  off  to  the  Council  included  each  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres. 

The  method  first  adopted  by  the  proprietors  in 
laying  out  the  township  into  lots,  was  to  set  off 
fifty  acre  meadow-lots  for  tillage,  the  same  quan- 
tity of  upland  for  pasturage  and  three-acre  lots 
for  house  lots.  They  next  proceeded  to  draw  by 
lot,  taking  care  to  have  several  more  lots  of  each 
kind  than  there  were  persons  to  draw,  so  that  if 
any  were  dissatisfied  with  the  result,  they  might 
relinquish  those  assigned  by  the  drawing,  and  se- 
lect from  those  remaining.  The  first  meeting  for 
the  selection  of  lots  was  in  Winchester,  April  14, 
1707.  The  committee  appointed  at  the  former 
meeting,  having  performed  the  duty  imposed  upon 
them  acceptably,  were  "  desired  by  a  vote  to  lay 
out  ye  Glebe  for  ye  Church  of  England  and  ye 
School  in  some  Convenient  place,  ye  whole  Right 
together."  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  the 
whole  were  located  in  the  west  part  of  the  town. 
Exchanges  were  afterward  made,  so  that  we  now 
find  the  glebe  lands  and  school  lands  situated  in 
various  parts  of  the  town.  A  tract  was  also  set  off 
for  a  fair  and  market-ground.  This  included  the 
burying  ground  in  the  West  Parish,  and,  it  is  be- 
lieved, the  grounds  about  Union  Church. 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1768,  was  held  the  first 
town-meeting  in  Claremont,  not  exactly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  of  the  charter,  which  provided 
that  "the  first  meeting  for  the  choice  of  Town 
Officers  agreeably  to  the  Laws  of  our  said  Prov- 
ince shall  be  held  on  ye  Second  Tuesday  of  March 


CLAREMONT. 


49 


next  [1765],  which  s'd  meeting  shall  be  Notified  by 
Samuel  Ashley,  who  is  hereby  also  appointed  the 
M<  iderator  of  s'd  first  meeting."  But  in  view  of  the 
mutual  interest  of  the  Governor  and  Willard  and 
Ashley  in  the  town,  the  latter  two  gentlemen 
probably  felt  secure  in  acting  when  and  in  such 
manner  as  their  convenience  and  interest  might 
suffffest.  Thev  were  in  no  hurry  for  the  settle- 
ment  of  the  town,  as  they  looked  upon  it  as  a  val- 
uable acquisition,  both  for  the  purpose  of  agricul- 
ture and  manufacturing,  and  they  therefore  deter- 
mined to  be  governed  in  their  proceedings  by  the 
degree  of  earnestness  manifested  by  those  who 
sough;,  to  purchase.  Another  object  was  to  in- 
duce such  persons  to  settle  as  would  be  sure  to  be 
loyal  and  faithful  subjects  of  the  Crown. 

The  first  town-meeting,  above-named,  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Captain  Benjamin  Brooks,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Jarvis  Hill.  Ten  voters  were  present. 
There  were  twelve  families  in  town  ;  but,  as  their 
number  was  small,  their  needs  were  few,  and  by 
choosing  one  man  to  fill  several  offices  they  suc- 
ceeded in  forming  a  proper  town  organization. 
This  is  the  record  : 

"At  the  same  meeting,  Captain  Benjamin  Brooks 
was  chosen  Moderator.  At  the  same  meeting,  Joseph 
Ives  was  chosen  Town  Clerk.  At  the  same  meeting, 
Captain  Benjamin  Brooks,  Ebenezer  Skinner,  Ben- 
jamin Tyler,  Thomas  Jones  and  Amos  York  were 
chosen  Selectmen.  At  the  same  meeting,  Benjamin 
Brooks,  Jr.,  was  chosen  Constable." 

At  a  subsequent  adjourned  meeting,  "  Amos 
York  and  Benedick  Roys  were  chosen  tithing- 
men.  At  the  same  meeting,  Asa  Lent  and  Eben- 
ezer Skinner  was  chosen  Surveyor  of  Highways. 
At  the  same  meeting,  voted  to  raise  a  Rate  of  Ten 
Pounds,  Lawful  money  ($13.33),  to  defray  Town 
charges.  It  was  also  voted  to  take  off  two  acres 
of  land  from  North-west  corner  of  the  Fair  for  a 
Burying-Place." 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  a  public  nature  was  the 
laying  out  of  a  highway  to  Newport,  and  Captain 
Benjamin  Brooks  and  Benjamin  Sumner  were 
chosen  a  committee  for  that  purpose.  They  began 
about  half  a  mile  south  of  the  middle  point  of  the 


west  line  of  the  town,  and  proceeded  easterly  in  a 
straight  line  to  Sugar  River.  The  course  was  not 
varied  by  hills  or  valleys.  The  width  of  the 
highway  was  uniformly  ten  rods.  This  road 
passed  through  what  is  now  the  south  part  of  the 
village,  near  the  Stevens  High  School  building. 
It  was  the  custom  to  reserve  strips  of  land  ten 
rods  in  width  between  adjacent  tiers  or  divisions 
of  lots,  with  the  intention  that  whenever  lands 
might  be  taken  for  actual  highways,  the  owners  of 
lands  so  appropriated  could  be  compensated  from 
the  "reservations."  Hence  it  is  found  that  the 
one-hundred -acre  lots  generally  contain  one  hun- 
dred and  five  acres  each. 

In  1769  the  settlement  of  the  town  had  so  far 
progressed  that  husbands,  who  had  provided  com- 
fortable cabins,  sent  for  their  wives  and  children, 
and  single  men  began  to  consider  the  subject  of 
matrimony.  Mr.  Barnabas  Ellis  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Spencer  were  the  first  couple  married  in  the 
town  of  Claremont,  in  accordance  with  the  usages 
of  civilized  society.  There  being  no  magistrate  or 
minister  in  town,  the  Rev.  Bulkley  Olcott,  of 
Charlcstown,  was  sent  for  and  officiated  at  the 
nuptial  ceremonies.  As  there  were  no  roads 
through  the  wilderness,  the  messenger  who  was 
sent  for  Mr.  Olcott,  being  a  brother  of  the  bride, 
was  to  act  as  pioneer  for  the  clergyman,  and  to 
procure  a  quantity  of  new  rum  to  be  used  on  the 
occasion.  "  The  whole  town  were  invited  to  the 
wedding,  and  as  many  as  could  come  with  con- 
venience attended."  The  place  of  assembly  was  a 
log  cabin,  which,  though  rude,  seemed  to  claim 
some  degree  of  prominence  over  the  surrounding 
habitations,  from  the  fact  that  it  contained  three 
rooms,  besides  a  clean  spruce  ladder,  which  con- 
ducted to  a  chamber  above,  carpeted  with  brush 
poles.  The  loving  couple  were  seated  in  two 
plain  oak  chairs,  while  the  guests  occupied 
benches,  stools  and  blocks.  In  front  of  the 
happy  pair  was  a  chair  and  stand,  upon  which 
was  placed  a  Bible  and  hymn-book  and  a  full 
glass  of  the  sealing  beverage.  The  parties  being 
seated  in  order,  the  minister  approached  the  stand, 
and,  taking  up  the  glass  with  becoming  dignity, 


50 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


lessened  it  of  its  contents,  adding  graciously, — "  I 
wish  you  joy,  my  friends,  on  this  occasion."  A 
chapter  from  the  Bible  was  read,  alter  which  a 
hymn  was  sung,  the  minister  reading  a  line,  and 
those  present  singing  each  line  as  read.  The  mar- 
riage  knot  was  then  tied,  a  long  prayer  was  of- 
fered and  the  ceremonies  closed.  Toasts,  jokes 
and  merriment  followed,  inters])ersed  with  black- 
strap. Mr.  Ellis  was  one  of  the  first  inhabitants, 
having  settled  here  in  1767.  He  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  where 
he  lived  until  1837.  His  house  was  nearly  on  the 
same  spot  on  which  that  of  the  late  William  Ellis, 
his  youngest  son,  stands,  and  where  the  latter 
died,  on  September  2'.),  1880,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-three years.  Barnabas  Ellis  was  a  man  of 
some  prominence,  and  filled  several  offices  in  the 
town.  He  held  a  lieutenant's  commission  in  the 
Continental  army,  and  performed  service  in  the 
expeditions  against  Forts  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  beside  taking  the  lead  of  several  scouting- 
parties  in  search  of  Tories  and  Indians.  William 
Ellis  represented  Claremont  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Legislature  two  years,  and  held  several  town 
offices. 

In  August  of  that  year  (176!)),  at  a  meeting  of 
the  proprietors,  it  was, — 

"  J'r/Av/  tu  lay  nut  a  third  Division  of  upland,  con- 
taining one  hundred  acres  in  Each  Lot  in  the  best 
Lands  and  in  the  best  manner  they  can. 

"  Voted  and  chose  Misures  Jeremiah  Spencer,  Ben- 
jamin Sumner  and  Asa  Jones  a  committee  to  lay  out 
y  Lotte.  Voted,  that  the  afore  said  Committee  shall 
have  full  power  to  Rectifye  any  mistakes  in  the  for- 
mer Layings  out  Bouth  in  Lotts  and  in  Highway." 

In  October,  1770,  Governor  Benning  Went- 
worth  died,  leaving  no  children,  and  bequeathing 
to  a  young  wife,  whom  he  married  in  his  declining 
years,  nearly  all  of  his  estate,  instead  of  constitu- 
ting his  nephew,  John  Wentworth,  a  son  of  Mark 
Huuking  Wentworth,  his  principal  heir,  as  it  was 
generally  supposed  he  would  do.  John  Went- 
worth succeeded  his  uncle  in  the  office  of  Gover- 
nor. Being  thus  cut  off  from  his  uncle's  estate, 
he   determined,    if  possible,   to   oust   the   latter's 


widow  from  the  possession  of  property  and  rights 
bequeathed  to  her  by  the  will  of  her  husband. 
Long-forgotten  claims  against  the  late  Governor's 
estate  were  revived,  suits  at  law  were  commenced, 
and,  in  some  instances,  forcible  entries  were  made 
uiioii  the  lands  devised.  Soon  the  new  Governor 
began  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  reservations 
made  by  his  deceased  uncle  in  his  grants  of  town- 
ships. He  at  last  submitted  the  question  to  the 
Council,  "whether  the  reservations  of  five  hun- 
dred acres  in  several  townships,  made  to  the  late 
Governor  Benning  Wentworth,  in  the  charter 
grants,  conveyed  the  title  to  him."  The  Council 
determined  this  question  in  the  negative.  The 
Governor  then  asked  whether  they  would  advise 
him  to  grant  the  said  tracts  to  such  of  His  Majes- 
ty's subjects  as  should  settle  and  cultivate  the 
same?  To  this  they  gave  their  assent.  Seven  of 
the  councilors  on  this  occasion  were  relations  of 
the  Governor. 

The  next  step  was  to  dispossess  all  those  who 
had  derived  their  title  to  the  reserved  lots  through 
the  late  Governor.  The  occupants  of  the  disputed 
lands  at  once  determined  to  defend  their  estates  at 
whatever  cost.  The  officers  of  the  government 
who  were  employed  used  every  artifice  in  their 
power  to  accomplish  the  object  of  their  mission, 
but  the  settlers  remained  firm  and  uncompromis- 
ing. A  few,  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  a  lawsuit 
and  intimidated  by  the  measures  of  the  officers,  re- 
linquished their  titles,  and  at  no  slight  expense 
repurchased  their  possessions.  Complaints  at  last 
were  sent  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  in  England  and 
the  acts  and  conduct  of  the  Governor  were  in- 
quired into,  and  it  declared  before  the  King  in 
Council  that  the  lands  granted  to  the  Governor 
were  granted  in  the  name  of  the  King,  which  was 
sufficient  to  empower  him  to  convey  a  title,  and 
that  the  Council  was   mistaken  in  deciding  other- 


wise. 


In  accordance  with  this  decision,  the  Governor 
was  directed  not  to  disturb  the  title  or  interest  of 
those  who  had  purchased  their  lands  of  the  late 
Governor  and  had  complied  with  the  conditions  of 
the  charter  by  actually  occupying  and  improving 


CLAREMONT. 


51 


the  land.  Lieutenant  George  Hubbard,  father  of 
Isaac  Hubbard,  Esq.,  before  named,  was  the 
owner  of  the  Governor's  reservation  in  this  town. 
He  was  an  early  settler  and  had  made  considera- 
ble improvements  upon  his  lands.  The  possession 
of  these  was  considered  by  the  Governor  and  his 
emissaries  of  paramount  importance.  They  were 
favorably  lofated,  and  the  common  prediction  that 
Claremont  was  destined  to  be  a  wealthy  and  im 
portant  town  rendered  them  quite  desirable. 
Hence  great  efforts  were  made  to  oust  the  occu- 
pant of  this  particular  tract.  Mr.  Hubbard  was 
not  to  be  deluded,  driven  or  persuaded  to  an  ac 
ceptance  of  the  terms  or  inducements  held  out  to 
him  to  vacate  in  favor  of  the  Governor.  His  re- 
ply, when  approached  upon  the  subject,  almost 
invariably  was:  "The  law  sustains  me,  if  law  is 
common  sense,  and  neither  the  Governor  nor  His 
Majesty  King  George  shall  drive  me  from  the 
soil."  Mr.  Hubbard  had  early  been  informed  by 
Peter  Leivins,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Council,  that  prep- 
arations were  making  to  lay  this  matter,  with 
others,  before  the  Kings's  Council,  and  doubtless  felt 
quite  sure  that  the  acts  of  the  late  Governor,  un- 
less clearly  illegal,  would  not  be  discountenanced 
by  the  King.  The  title  of  the  late  Governor  to 
the  lands  in  question  being  confirmed  by  the  King 
in  Council,  the  owners  were  relieved  from  further 
anxiety. 

In  1771  the  entire  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  was  less  than  fifty,  and  of  these  only  a 
portion  remained  here  during  the  winter.  Up  to 
this  time  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  secure  the 
permanent  settlement  of  a  minister.  The  greater 
part  of  the  settlers  belonged  to  the  Congregational 
Church,  the  prevailing  theological  system  of  New 
England,  and  unless  a  person  was  connected  with 
some  ecclesiastical  body  of  a  different  denomina- 
tion, he  was  compelled  to  pay  taxes  for  the  sup- 
port of  this  society,  and  was  considered  as  under 
its  spiritual  guidance,  and  to  some  extent  subject 
to  its  jurisdiction,  and  the  authority  was  exercised 
to  enforce  the  collection  of  taxis  without  regard  to 
the  condition  of  membership. 

From  an  early  period  of  the  settlement  of  the 


town  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  had  formed 
themselves  into  an  ecclesiastical  body  and  observed 
religious  services  regularly  on  the  Sabbath. 
Samuel  Cole,  Esq.,  who  came  here  in  1767,  was 
appointed  their  reader,  and  to  some  degree  sup- 
plied the  lack  of  a  settled  minister.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College,  and  for  many  years  was 
very  useful  as  an  instructor  of  youth.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  a  few  of  the  inhabitants  interested  in  the 
Congregational  denomination  early  in  the  spring 
of  1771,  Thomas  Gustin  suggested  that  it  was  a 
duty  binding  upon  all  to  adopt  immediate  meas- 
ures for  the  settlement  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel ; 
that  the  settlement  was  sufficiently  large  and  able 
to  support  a  religious  teacher ;  and,  besides,  the 
share  of  land  reserved  by  the  charter  for  the  first 
settled  minister  would  enable  him  to  furuish  him- 
self with  a  portion  of  his  subsistence,  and  to  some 
extent  lighten  the  burden  of  the  community.  He 
urged  immediate  action,  lest  the  share  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  should  fall  to 
some  other  society  by  a  prior  compliance  on  its 
part  with  the  terms  of  the  charter. 

Accordingly,  at  a  town-meeting  held  May  !', 
1771,  it  was  voted  that  "  we  will  call  a  minister  to 
come  and  preach  the  gospel  among  us  on  probation, 
in  order  to  settle  in  the  gospel  ministry  among 
Nineteen  voted  in  favor  of  the  call  and 


us 


three  against  it.  Captain  Benjamin  Sumner, 
Thomas  Gustin  and  Samuel  Ashley,  Esq.,  were 
appointed  "  a  committee  to  invite  a  minister  to 
come  and  settle  among  them."  They  also  voted 
"  to  apply  to  Mr.  Elijah  Parsons  to  come  and 
preach  the  gospel  among  us,  on  probation.  But 
if  he  fails,  to  apply  to  Dr.  Whealock  for  advice 
who  to  apply  to  in  his  room." 

At  a  town-meeting  held  December  10th,  of  that 
year,  it  was  voted  "  to  give  Mr.  George  Wheaton  a 
call,  and  do  call  Mr.  Wheaton  to  settle  among  us 
in  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry,  agreeable  to 
the  Congregational  or  Cambridge  platform. "  "  For 
encouragement  for  Mr.  Wheaton  to  settle  with  us, 
we  do  agree  and  vote  to  give  Mr.  Wheaton  the 
ministerial  right  of  land,  given  to  the  town  by 
charter  for  the  first  settled  minister,  and  also  fifty 


52 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


pounds,  lawful  money — fifteen  to  be  paid  in  money 
and  the  rest  to  be  paid  in  spruce  for  building  at 
money  price."  It  was  also  voted  to  give  Mr. 
Wheaton  a  salary  of  fifty-five  pounds  per  annum, 
and  to  increase  the  sum  five  pounds  annually  until 
it  should  amount  to  eighty  pounds,  one-half  of 
which  must  be  paid  in  money,  the  remainder  in 
provisions  at  "money  price." 

Messrs.  Phineas  Fuller,  Captain  Benjamin  Sum- 
ner, Ebenezer  Skinner  and  Dr.  William  Sumner 
were  chosen  a  committee  to  lay  before  Mr.  Whea- 
ton the  doings  of  the  town,  to  make  suitable 
arrangements  for  his  immediate  settlement,  and  at 
a  future  day  to  make  a  report  of  their  proceedings 
to  the  town.  "  Then  voted  to  adjourn  this  meet- 
ing until  next  Tuesday,  Come  seven  night,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning."  At  the  time  of  adjourn- 
ment the  committee  were  ready  to  report,  and  laid 
before  the  meeting  Mr.  Wheaton's  acceptance  of 
the  call. 

Mr.  Wheaton  was  quite  a  young  man,  is  said  to 
have  been  pure  and  upright,  and  possessed  of  con- 
siderable talent.  He  was  ordained  February  19, 
1772,  and  died  June  24,  1773,  aged  twenty-two 
years. 

At  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Wheaton  the  sermon 
was  preached  by  Rev.  Abiel  Leonard,  of  Wood- 
stock, Conn.  The  exercises  were  performed  in  the 
"South  School-house,"  a  building  forty  feet  long 
by  thirty  wide,  on  land  now  owned  by  Col.  Russell 
Jarvis,  and  near  his  residence.  It  was  a  frame 
building  covered  with  rough  boards,  with  rude 
benches  for  seats  and  a  floor  of  earth.  It  was  used 
both  for  a  school  and  a  place  of  worship  by  the 
Congregational  Society  until  1770,  when  a  meeting- 
house was  erected  on  a  plot  of  ground  on  the  road 
from  Claremont  village  to  the  junction  of  the  Sul- 
livan and  Concord  and  Claremont  Railroads,  and 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  latter. 
Owing  to  local  divisions,  meetings  were  held  in 
various  parts  of  the  town  prior  to  the  erection  of 
this  meeting-hi" 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  of  1772  it  was 
voted  "to  raise  a  rate  of  £35,  lawful  money  ^116.- 
55),  towards  the  amendment  of  highways,  and  to 


allow  three  shillings" — equal  to  about  fifty  cents — 
"  per  diem  for  labor." 

By  a  law  then  in  force  it  was  imperative  upon 
the  selectmen  to  take  due  care  that  tithingmen 
be  annually  chosen  at  the  general  meeting  for 
tli<  choice  of  town  officers,  "  whereof  at  least  two 
shall  be  in  each  town,  and  not  above  ten  in  any," 
whose  duty  it  was  to  inspect  all  licensed  houses, 
and  to  inform  of  all  disorder  therein  committed; 
and  also  to  inform  of  all  idle  and  disorderly  per- 
sons, profane  swearers  and  Sabbath-breakers.  Each 
was  "to  carry  a  black  staff  two  foot  long,  tip'd  at 
one  end  with  brass  or  pewter  about  three  inches, 
as  a  badge  of  their  office,  the  same  to  be  provided 
by  the  selectmen  at  the  expense  of  the  town." 
Either  by  virtue  of  their  office  or  by  common  con- 
sent, they  seemed  to  have  been  invested  with 
power  to  inflict  punishment  at  once  upon  such  as 
they  might  find  engaged  in  any  misdemeanors  dur- 
ing public  worship,  or  between  the  morning  and 
afternoon  services  on  the  Sabbath.  They  were 
vigilant  and,  if  tradition  may  be  relied  upon,  rigid 
in  their  notions  of  order  and  sobriety,  especially  on 
Sundays.  On  one  occasion  when  meetings  were 
held  in  the  Smith  School-house,  John,  a  son  of  Mr. 
Thomas  (Justin,  was  obliged  "to  stand  strate  upon 
the  bench  during  the  singing  of  the  last  psalm,  and 
there  to  remain  until  the  meeting  is  dismissed  and 
the  people  have  left  the  house,  for  turning  round 
three  times,  and  for  not  paying  attention  to  Mr. 
Wheaton  while  he  is  preaching."  It  was  not  usual 
for  the  tithingman  to  call  out  the  offender,  pro- 
nounce sentence  upon  him  and  put  it  in  execution 
during  the  performance  of  the  various  exercise-  of 
public  worship,  but  it  seems  it  was  sometimes 
done. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  appropriation  was 
made  by  the  town  for  the  support  of  schools  until 
the  annual  town-meeting  of  1773.  It  was  then 
"  Voted  to  raise  a  rate  of  twenty  pounds,  lawful 
money,"  for  that  purpose,  which  would  be  about 
$66.66  in  our  currency.  At  this  time  there  were 
two  school-houses  in  town,  viz.:  the  Smith  School- 
house,  before  referred  to,  and  the  other  was  situa- 
ted near  Union  Church,  at  the  West  Parish.     At 


CLAREMONT. 


53 


this  meeting  it  was  voted  "  that  swine  may  go  at 
large  yockt  and  ringd  as  the  law  directs." 

As  before  stated,  Rev.  Mr.  Wheaton  died  on  the 
24th  of  June,  1773.  His  death  was  a  source  of 
deep  and  sincere  regret  to  his  people,  by  whom  he 
was  very  much  beloved,  and  he  enjoyed  the  respect 
of  the  entire  population.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Wheaton  raised  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not, 
as  the  first  settled  minister  in  town,  he  was  the  ab- 
solute owner  of  the  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  provided  for  in  the  charter.  On  this 
subject  there  was  much  discussion  and  various 
opinions,  which,  however,  it  did  not  become  neces- 
sary to  settle,  as  Mr.  Wheaton,  in  his  last  will  and 
testament,  gave  to  the  town  of  Claremont  "  all  his 
real  estate  in  the  town,  and  all  that  was  due  him 
from  particular  persons,  for  the  use  and  support  of 
the  Congregational  minister  in  the  town  forever."' 

Claremont  received  the  following,  and  made  the 
following  return  : 

"  Portsmouth,  October  15th,  1773. 
"  Sir,— 

"  I  am  to  request  an  exact  list  of  the  number  of  in- 
habitants in  the  town  of  Claremont,  distinguished  into 
different  Ranks  or  Classes,  according  to  the  schedule 
below,  which  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  returned  to  me, 
authenticated,  as  soon  as  possible. 

"John  Wentwoeth. 
"  Unmarried  men  1G    to  60  years  of  age  .      41 

Married  men  10  to  60  years  of  age 66 

Boys  16  years  and  under 121 

Men  60  years  and  upwards 2 

Females  unmarried , 125 

Females  married 66 

Widows 2 

Male  slaves 0 

Female  slaves 0 


Total 42:! 

•■  Asa  Job  es,  ) 


"Benjamin  Bbooks,    j-  Selectmen." 
"Joseph  Taylor, 

( )n  August  16,  177o,  Phineas  Fuller  "  was  chosen 
grand  juror  to  serve  in  His  Majesty's  Superior 
Court,  to  be  holden  at  Keen  on  the  3d  day  of  Sep- 
tember next." 


in  town-meeting  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  public 
expression  of  respect  for  the  late  Mr.  Wheaton. 
They  voted  "  to  send  a  letter  of  condolence  to  Dr. 
George  Wheaton,  of  Mansfield,  Mass.,  the  father 
of  the  Rev.  George  Wheaton,  deceased,"  and  to 
"  present  the  thanks  of  this  town  to  Dr.  AVheaton 
for  his  goodness  in  counseling  his  son  to  prose- 
cute his  good  intentions  respecting  us,"  and  also 
to  erect  "  a  respectful  monument  on  the  grave 
of  our  late  Rev.  Pastor  with  an  inscription 
thereon  expressing  his  worth,  character  and  our 
affection  for  him,  at  our  cost  and  expense."  In 
the  warrant  calling  that  meeting  an  article  was 
inserted,  "To  see  if  the  town  will  raise  money  for 
the  defraying  of  the  debts  of  the  late  Rev.  George 
Wheaton." 

Reports  had  been  circulated  that  the  estate  of 
Mr.  Wheaton  would  be  insufficient  for  the  payment 
of  his  debts,  but  it  was  deemed  imprudent  to  as- 
sume responsibilities  which  would  be  beneficial  to 
none  but  a  few  creditors,  the  greater  part  of  whom 
were  not  residents  of  the  town.  The  proposition 
was  therefore  rejected.  Facts  subsequently  brought 
to  light  proved  that  the  reports  of  his  indebted- 
ness were  not  true.  His  debts  were  but  trifling, 
compared  with  the  amount  of  property  devised  by 
him  to  the  town  for  the  benefit  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church.  Mr.  Wheaton  named  Mr.  Benj. 
Summer,  an  active  and  intelligent  business  man,  as 
his  executor.  To  meet  deceased's  small  liabilities 
and  expenses  of  settling  the  estate,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  sell  his  lands,  and  they  were  accord- 
ingly advertised  and  sold  at  auction.  Land  was 
very  cheap  at  that  time,  and  there  had  been  several 
adjournments  of  the  sale,  for  various  reasons 
that  the  people  had  lost  interest  in  it,  and  the 
estate  was  sold  for  barely  sufficient  to  cover  the 
expenses  of  administration  A  friend  of  Mr.  Sum- 
ner was  the  purchaser,  and  soon  after  the  settle- 
ment of  the  estate  the  land  fell  into  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Sumner,  and  the  town  did  not  derive  any 
benefit  from  the  generosity  of  the  testator.  The 
conduct  of  Mr.  Sumner  in  the  settlement  of  this 
estate  was  considerably  criticised,  but  no  irregulari- 


1  li  September  of  that  year  the  people  assembled  j  ties  were  discovered  in  his  proceedings ;  he  retained 


54 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


his  influence  in   the  community  and  was  subse- 
quently elected  to  offices  of  responsibility  in  town. 

Early  in  January.  1774,  measures  were  taken 
by  the  town  to  secure  the  services  of  Rev. 
Augustine  Hibbard.  It  was  voted  in  town- 
meeting  to  engage  him  to  preach  among  them 
six  Sabbaths,  on  trial.  The  perplexities  attending 
the  settlement  of  Mr.  Wheaton's  estate  were  the 
occasion  of  discord  and  divisions  among  his  flock 
and  it  was  found  difficult  to  collect  taxes  and  sub- 
scriptions, which  were  cheerfully  made  in  his 
behalf  before  his  death. 

By  the  records,  copied  verbatim,  it  appears  that 

"  Att  a  legal  Town  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Claremont,  holden  at  the  meeting  House 
[South  school  house]  in  said  Town  on  the  16th  day 
of  May,  1774,  Mathias  Stone  was  chosen  moderator. 
Voted  to  adjourn  this  meeting  for  the  space  of  half  an 
houre,  to  witt,  untill  ten  minits  after  foure  o'clock, 
then  to  meet  att  this  place  Voted  to  neglect  the 
second  article  in  the  Warning  att  the  same  meeting. 
Voted  to  give  Mr.  Augustine  Hibbard  A  regular  Call 
to  Settle  with  us  in  the  Work  of  the  Gospel  ministry. 
Att  the  same  meeting  Voted  to  appoint  a  Committee 
to  acquaint  Mr.  Augustine  Hibbard  of  the  Doings  of 
this  meeting  and  make  their  Returne  to  the  Town  as 
soon  as  may  bee.  Deak.  Mathias  Stone,  Deak.  Jacob 
Keycs  and  ('apt.  Benj.  Sunnier  waire  appointed  a 
( iommittee  for  the  purpose  aforesaid. 

"Test  Mathias  Stone,  Moderator." 

"Att  a  legal  Town  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Claremont,  holden  at  the  meting  house 
in  said  Town  on  June  the  7.  1774, — Deak.  Mathias 
Stone  was  chosen  Moderator.  Voted  to  give  Mr.  Au- 
gustine Hibbard,  for  bis  Incouredgement  to  settle 
with  us  in  the  Work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  one  Hun- 
dred Pound,  C.  ni'v  ;  to  be  paid  in  following  manner, 
viz.:  Fifty  Tounds,  £.  m'y,  to  be  paid  within 
months,  the  one-half  of  itt  in  Cash,  the  other  half  of 
itt  in  Graine  att  Cash  Trice,  and  the  other  fifty 
Pounds  to  lie  paid  within  Twelve  months,  one-half  nf 
it  in  ( 'ash,  the  other  half  of  itt  in  ( train  at  Cash  price. 
Thirdly,  Votedto  give  Said  Bibbard  for  a  further  In- 
couredgement  to  settle  with  us  in  the  work  of  the 
Gospel  ministry,  fifty  Pounds,  £.  m'y  ($133.20),  for 
the  first  year,  and  to  rise  five  Pounds,  £.  m'y,  Pr  year 
till  it  shall  amount  to  seventy-five  Pound,  6.  m'y,  and 


that  to  be  his  Stated  Salery  Per  annum  as  long  as  he 
continues  to  bee  our  minister;  the  aforesaid  Salery  to 
be  paid  in  the  following  manner:  namely,  the  one- 
half  of  itt  to  be  Paid  yearly  in  Cash;  the  other  half 
of  itt  in  Provisions  att  money  Price,  Said  Salery  to 
begin  from  the  Day  of  the  Date  of  this  meting. 
Fourthly,  Voted  that  ('apt.  Benj.  Sunnier,  Deak. 
Mathias  Stone,  and  Deak.  Jacob  Keyes,  be  appointed 
a  Committee  to  Waite  on  Mr.  Hibbard,  Present  the 
Doings  of  their  Town  to  him,  Receive  bis  answer  and 
make  returne  to  the  Town  aforesaid  as  soon  as  may 
be.  Fifthly,  Voted  to  reserve  to  ourselves  the  Bene- 
fits of  the  use  of  all  the  Lands  that  was  the  late  Pev. 
George  Wheaton,  for  the  Suport  of  a  Congregational 
Minister  in  this  Town,  and  apply  itt  yearly  for  the 
lessening  the  annual  Salery  in  favor  of  said  Town. 
Sixthly,  Voted  to  adjourn  this  meeting  to  hear  the  re- 
ports of  the  Committee  aforesaid  that  we  appointed 
to  Wait  on  the  aforesaid  Mr.  Hibbard,  till  the  first 
Tuesday  in  July  next,  att  three  o'clock  P.M.,  then  to 
meet  att  this  place. 

"Tuesday,  July  5th,  1774. — Mett  according  to  the 
above  adjournment.  The  meeting  was  opened  by  Ma- 
thias Stone,  moderator.  Voted  to  adjourn  this  meet- 
ing till  the  first  Tuesday  in  August  next,  at  3  o'clock 
P.M.,  then  to  meet  att  this  place.  Tuesday,  August 
3d,  1774. — The  above  meeting  was  opened  according 
to  adjournment,  by  Mathias  Stone,  Moderator,  then 
voted  Reconsider  the  time  for  the  beginning  of  the 
Salery  of  Mr.  Augustine  Hibbard  as  above  said;  itt 
being  fixed  to  begin  the  seventh  of  June  Last.  Itt  is 
now  voted  and  agreed  that  the  said  Sallery  shall  be- 
gin on  the  Day  of  said  Hibbard's  ordination,  which  is 
to  lie  on  Wednesday  the  18th  day  of  October  next. 
Att  the  same  meeting  voted  and  chose  <  'aptain  Benja- 
min Sumner,  Doet,  Thomas  Stiner  and  Asa  Jones  to 
be  a  Committee  to  provide  for  the  ordaining Counsell 
on  said  19th  of  October  next,  at  the  Town's  cost. 
Voted  to  dissolve  this  meeting  after  the  Answer  of 
Said  Hibbard  was  publicly  Red. 

"TesI  Mathias  Stone,  Moderator." 

The    following    is    Mr.    Augustine    Hibbard's 

answer  to  the  town  of  Claremont : 

"Gentlemen:  Whaire  as  you  have  seen  fitt  to  give 
me  a  call  to  settle  with  you  in  the  work  of  the  Gos- 
pel ministry,  I  do  hereby  accept  <>f  your  Generous 
call,  Relying  upon  Divine  Grace  for  assistance  in  so 

(  Irate  and  so  glorious  a  Work. 
"  August  .",1,  1771." 


CLAREMONT. 


55 


The  ordination  of  Mr.  Hibbard  took  place, 
agreeably  to  the  vote  of  the  town.  Although  the 
connection  thus  formed  continued  eleven  years,  it 
proved  of  no  very  great  benefit  to  the  flock.  In 
intellectual  strength  and  in  social  qualities  and 
influence  for  good  he  proved  inferior  to  his  prede- 
cessor. He  was  eccentric  in  his  character  and 
stern  and  morose  in  his  disposition  and  deport- 
ment. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War  he  was  very 
loud  in  his  professions  of  loyalty  and  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  liberty ;  yet,  soon  after  the  war  was 
closed,  he  removed  to  Canada,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death.  So  fearful  was  he  lest  in  some 
way  in  his  ministerial  acts  he  should  give  coun- 
tenance to  the  Tories,  that,  on  one  occasion,  when 
an  infant  was  brought  to  him  for  baptism,  he 
refused  to  administer  the  rite,  because  he  had 
susjncions  that  the  father — one  of  the  most 
respectable  citizens  of  the  town — was  a  Tory,  and 
yet  it  is  said  that  he  did  not  scruple  to  seize  the 
last  cow  of  a  poor  widow  as  payment  for  the  tithe 
secured  to  him  by  law,  although  the  cow  was  more 
than  double  the  widow's  tax.  He  could  refuse  to 
partake  of  a  blackberry  pudding  at  his  Sunday 
dinner,  because  the  fruit  of  which  it  was  made, 
growing  in  his  own  yard,  was  gathered  on  that 
day,  and  yet  he  did  not  hesitate  to  desert  his  wife 
and  children  and  elope  with  his  maid-servant  to  a 
neighboring  State,  where  he  resided  several  years 
in  degrading  and  criminal  relations.  This  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  their  minister-  was  a  deep 
mortification  to  the  members  of  his  church  and 
congregation,  from  the  demoralizing  effects  of 
which  it  took  a  long  time  to  recover. 

All  who  were  not  actual  members  of  some  other 
religious  denomination  were  obliged  by  law  to  pay 
taxes  for  the  support  of  the  Congregational  Society ; 
and  the  power  to  tax  gave  to  the  taxed  a  voice  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  body.  It  is  easy  to  see, 
that  in  a  society  made  up  in  part  of  those  who 
were  compelled,  against  their  will,  to  contribute  to 
its  maintenance,  many  things  would  be  done  ad- 
verse to  its  true  interests.  The  position  of  this 
church,  while  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Hibbard, 


could  not  be  otherwise  than  weak,  and  its  move- 
ments retrograde. 

In  the  fall  of  1773,  Rev  Ranna  Cossitt  com- 
menced his  labors  as  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  West  Parish.  During  the  year  previous 
he  took  a  voyage  to  England  and  was  ordained  by 
the  Bishop  of  London.  He  was  a  firm  Royalist, 
and  when  difficulties  arose  between  the  American 
colonies  and  the  mother-country,  he  at  once  took 
the  side  of  the  latter,  and  was  unwearied  in  his 
efforts  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  the  people  the 
doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  Kings,  and  his  ser- 
mons were  often  but  discourses  upon  the  duty  of 
obedience  to  the  Crown.  He  became  so  entangled 
in  the  meshes  of  political  controversy  as  in  a  great 
measure  to  impair  his  usefulness  and  to  render 
himself  odious,  even  to  those  who  believed  that 
opposition  to  the  soverign  power  was,  if  not  treason, 
at  least  dangerous.  The  church  prospered  but 
little  under  his  charge,  and  in  the  summer  of  1775, 
at  his  own  request,  he  was  recalled  by  the  Bishop 
of  London  and  sent  to  the  Isle  of  Cape  Breton. 

For  more  than  a  year  the  oppressive  acts  of  the 
British  Parliament,  which  led  to  the  Revolutionary 
War,  had  agitated  the  public  mind.  It  was  now 
the  general  belief  that  war  with  the  mother-country 
was  unavoidable,  and  to  this  sentiment  was  added 
a  firm  determination  to  resist  further  encroach- 
ments upon  the  sacred  rights  of  liberty,  and  also 
to  demand  and  regain  the  enjoyment  of  those 
privileges  which  had  been  taken  away.  Although 
the  greater  part  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of 
open  hostility  with  England,  yet  there  were  some 
who  not  only  regretted  the  existence  of  difficulty, 
but  also  regarded  violent  resistance  as  dangerous 
and  probably  unavailing.  A  small  portion  avowed 
themselves  Tories,  and  labored  to  furnish  aid  and 
Comfort  in  various  ways  to  the  King  and  his  army. 

In  Claremont  the  two  latter  classes  were  larger 
than  in  most  towns  in  New  Hampshire,  of  the  same, 
or  nearly  equal,  population.  The  town  was  com- 
paratively new,  and  many  of  the  settlers  were 
either  recently  from  England  or  the  sons  of  English- 
men, and  their  attachment  to  the  old  country  would 
naturally  be  stronger  than  that  of  those  who  could 


ft  t> 

Ob 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


then  behold  in  their  midst  the  graves  of  their  an- 
cestors covered  with  the  turf  of  a  century.  Still, 
the  spirit  of  resistance  againsl  the  tyranny  of  Eng- 
land was  popular,  and  the  neutrals  »nd  Tories  were 
greatly  in  the  minority.  About  tins  time  many 
families,  some  of  whose  descendants  are  now  in- 
habitants of  this  town,  disgusted  with  the  opposition 
of  tlif  Whigs,  removed  to  a  large  township  in 
Canada,  called  Shipton,  in  which  is  now  a  parish 
or  borough  bearing  the  name  of  Claremont. 
Thither  also  many  who  remained  here  during  the 
war  resorted  after  its  close.  Many  also  removed 
to  New  York  State,  keeping  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  the  British  until  the  war  was  ended, 
soon  alter  which  most  of  them  returned  to  Clare- 
mont. 

In  accordance  with  an  order  of  the  Provincial 
( Jongress,  the  census  of  New  Hampshire  was  taken 
in  1775.     The  following  is  the  verbatim  return  of 

"Claremont. 

"  Males  under  1G  years  of  age 148 

Males  from  16  to  50 — riot  in  the  army  ...  125 

All  males  above  50  years  of  age 18 

Personsgone  in   the  army 1 

All   females 231 

Negroes,  and  slaves  for  life 0 

Total 523 

"The  number  of  fire-arms  in  the  Town  of  Clare- 
moul  fit  for  actual  Bervice,  60  stand;  65  wanted. 

"  Colony  of  New  Eampshier,  ( ilaremont,  <  >ctrr  13th, 
177"). 

"A  true  Number.     Attest, 

•'  Matthias  Stone,  | 

"(.,., VKK    AHiLKY.^"7""'"-" 

The  order  tor  this  census  required  a  return  of 
"The  Number  of  Fire  Arm-  in  the  respective  Dis- 
tricts  lit  for  use,  and  the  Number  wanting  to  com- 
plete one  for  every  person  capable  of  using  them," 
and  it  was  •■further  strictly  enjoined  upon  all 
Selectmen  and  Committees  to  endeavor  to  prevent 
all  persons  from  burning  their  Powder  in  shooting 
at  Birds  and  other  Game." 

The  records  are  very  meagre  in  relation  to  the 
movements  which  now  agitated  the  country.     It 


appears  that  Oliver  Ashley,  of  Claremont, -was  a 
member  of  the  first  Provincial  Congress,  which 
assembled  at  Exeter,  May  17,1875.  He  was  an 
ardent  Whig,  and  during  the  sitting  of  that  body 
was  active  in  devising  measures  for  the  defense  of 
the  colony,  and  suggested  methods  for  raising  and 
equipping  men  for  military  service.  At  a  town- 
meeting,  holden  on  the  15th  of  June  following,  a 
vote  was  passed  "That  the  town  is  fully  satisfied 
with  the  doings  of  oure  member,  Mr.  Oliver  Ash- 
ley,  at  the  Provincial  Congress,  holden  at  Exeter, 
on  the  17th  of  May  last."  Captain  Joseph  Waite, 
Ensign  Oliver  Ashley,  Tliomas  Gustin,  Asa  Jones 
and  Jacob  Roys  were  appointed  a  Committee  of 
Safety.  This  committee  was  invested  with  almost 
absolute  power  in  certain  cases.  In  a  sudden 
emergency,  they  might  adopt  such  measures  as 
they  should  deem  conducive  to  public  safety,  take 
arms  and  ammunition,  wherever  found,  when 
needed  for  the  equipment  of  soldiers,  arrest  and 
imprison  all  Tories,  without  warrant,  and  communi- 
cate with  the  General  Committee  of  Safety  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare.  So  far 
as  Tories  were  concerned,  the  labors  of  this  com- 
mittee were  not  slight 

On  the  loth  of  December  following,  Captain 
Joseph  Waite  was  chosen  a  representative  to  the 
Provincial  Congress,  to  be  held  in  Exeter  in  a  few 
days.  It  was  voted  that  he  should  have  full  power, 
with  the  other  citizens  of  the  colony  who  might  be 
members  of  that  Assembly,  "to  resolve  themselves 
into  such  a  house  as  the  Continental  Congress  shall 
recommend,  for  the  taking  up  Government  lands 
in  this  Colony."  In  177i>.  Captain  Waite  was 
appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  regiment  raised 
for  the  purpose  of  invading  Canada.  The  com- 
mand of  the  regiment  devolved  upon  him,  the 
colonel  with  a  small  number  of  soldiers  being  de- 
tailed from  the  main  body,  and  sent  in  another 
direction.  Lieutenant  Joseph  Taylor,  afterward 
captain,  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  was  taken  prisoner,  in 
the  summer  of  177"),  by  the  Indians,  carried  to 
Montreal,  and  there  sold  to  the  French.  For  a 
long   time  he  was   closely  confined,  so   that    his 


CLAREMONT. 


57 


friends  could  learn  nothing  of  him.  After  many 
fruitless  attempts,  he  at  last  succeeded  in  effecting 
his  escape.  He  wandered  through  the  woods,  sub- 
sisting as  he  could,  and  after  an  absence  of  several 
months  reached  his  home  in  safety. 

In  this  year  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  Clare- 
mont  was  five  hundred  and  twenty-three.     In  the 
year  1776  the  number  of  new  settlers  fell  so  far 
short  of  the  number  of  removals  that  in  the  win- 
ter of  1777-78,  according  to  tradition,  there  were 
only  forty  families  in  town,  which,  being  estimated 
at   eight    persons   in   each   family, — considerably 
more  than  the  subsequent  and  present  average, — 
we  find  a  reduction  of  two  hundred  in  the  popu- 
lation in  the  short  space  of  two  years.     Among 
those  who  left  about  this  time  was  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin  Sumner,   who   took   up    his   residence    on 
Long   Island.      He   was    suspected   of  being   on 
friendly  terms  with  the  British.     He  occasionally 
made  short  visits  to  this  town,  when  on  his  jour- 
neys to  and  from  Canada,  carefully  avoiding  any 
contact  with  his  former  townsmen,  excepting  cer- 
tain known    and  well-tried   friends.     Several  at- 
tempts were  made  by  the  Committee  of  Safety 
and  other  ardent  Whigs  to  arrest  him  when  on 
his  flying  visits,  but  without  success.     One  Wil- 
liam McCoy,  a  noted  Tory,  was  his  confidential 
friend   and  adviser.     So  artful  and  shrewd  was 
this  McCoy  in  this  sort  of  shy  diplomacy,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  fasten  upon  him  any  act  of  a 
treasonable  nature,  although  the  effort  was  often 
made   to   do  so.     Among   others  who    left   town 
about  this  time  wrere  Captain   Benjamin  Brooks, 
one  Spencer,  several  by  the  names  of  Lent  and 
Nutting,  and  John  Brooks,  son  of  Captain  Benja- 
min   Brooks.     John    Brooks   actually  joined   the 
British  army,  and  served  during  the  war.     His 
farm  and  all  his  property  in  town  was  confiscated 
and  sold ;  but,  after  the  close  of  the  war  and  the 
treaty  with  Great   Britain,  his  property,  or  the 
value  of  it,  was  restored  to  him.     No  favor  was 
shown  to  the  Tories,  or  those  suspected  as  such, 
by  the  mass  of  the  people.     Public  indignation 
was  aroused  to  so  great  an  extent  that  Tories  and 
suspicious  persons  were   continually  in  imminent 


danger  of  the  loss  of  liberty,  and  even  life  itself, 
without  the  formality  of  legal  proceedings. 
There  was  in  existence  a  small  company  of  reso- 
lute men,  among  whom  were  Timothy  Atkins 
and  two  or  three  of  his  brothers, — all  men  of  un- 
usual size  and  remarkable  strength  and  activ- 
ity,— who  had  formed  a  determination  to  rid  the 
town  entirely  of  Tories. 

These  men  solemnly  promised  to  give  each 
other  immediate  information  if  a  Tory  was  dis- 
covered to  be  lurking  about,  and  to  pursue  him 
instantly ;  and  if  capture  was  impossible,  to  shoot 
him,  if  that  could  be  done.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  such  men  there  could  be  but  little  repose  or 
security  for  the  enemies  of  freedom.  Summer 
was  the  season  when  the  secret  agents  of  the 
British  were  scouring  the  remote  parts  of  the 
country,  picking  up,  here  and  there,  whatever  in- 
formation they  could  find  respecting  the  condition 
and  movements  of  the  people,  and  carefully 
noting  everything  which  they  judged  important 
to  the  interests  of  their  employers.  Scattered 
along  the  route,  from  New  York  to  Canada,  were 
certain  places  of .  rendezvous,  where  any  one  of 
them  on  his  mission  might  be  safely  concealed 
and  find  ready  means  of  communication  with  his 
confederates  in  his  neighborhood.  About  fifty 
rods  below  what  is  known  as  the  Rich  Place,  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  as  you  go  toward 
Red  Water  Brook,  is  a  place  famous  in  Revolu- 
tionary times  as  a  favorite  resort  fof  Tories,  and 
has  since  been  known  as  "  Tory  Hole."  So  per- 
fectly adapted  was  this  spot  to  the  purposes  and 
wants  of  its  occupants  that,  for  a  long  time,  they 
had  assembled  there  without  exciting  the  least 
suspicion  among  the  active  and  vigilant  Whigs. 

Inaccessible  on  three  sides  by  a  swamp  covered 
with  a  thick  growth  of  alders,  and  protected,  on 
its  fourth  side,  by  a  steep  bank  about  thirty  feet 
high,  it  was,  notwithstanding,  easily  approached 
by  those  who  were  familiar  with  the  ground. 
The  side  of  the  precipice  toward  the  retreat  was 
nearly  circular  in  form,  and  was  intersected  by  a 
deep  ravine,  which  afforded  means  of  access  from 
one  direction.     Another  way  began  a  little  below 


58 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Rich  Place,  and  wound  along  the  foot  of  the 
bank.  The  surface  of  the  ground,  including  the 
spot,  was  irregular  and  slightly  elevated.  A  few 
yards  distant  was  a  cool,  bubbling  spring  of  water. 
It  was  customary  for  the  Tories  in  the  neighbor- 
hood to  convey  thither  provisions  and  whatever 
else  might  be  needed  by  the  transient  visitors  to 
the  place.  The  performance  of  this  important 
duty  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  retreat.  One 
night,  in  the  autumn  of  1780,  a  man,  with  a  huge 
pack  on  his  shoulders,  was  seen  passing  along  the 
road  by  the  Rich  Tlace.  His  singular  movements 
attracted  attention,  and  he  was  closely  watched. 
Turning  into  the  woods  a  short  distance  from  the 
house  of  Mr.  Rich,  he  was  instantly  out  of  sight. 

Information  of  the  fact  was  quickly  communi- 
cated, and  soon  many  persons  were  collected  at 
the  spot.  The  grounds  were  carefully  reconnoi- 
tered,  and  the  secret  was  discovered.  As  the  night 
was  very  dark,  the  further  search  was  postponed 
until  the  next  morning.  A  watch  was  posted  by 
the  path,  with  instructions  to  seize  or  shoot  any 
one  who  should  attempt  to  pass.  Several  hours 
before  sunrise  a  party  had  assembled  and  renewed 
the  search.  As  they  approached  the  rendey.vous, 
t\v<>  men  suddenly  started  up,  and  ran  toward  the 
ravine;  and  now  the  race  began.  The  pursued 
had  several  rods  the  start  of  the  pursuers,  beside 
the  advantage  of  the  dense  forest  and  the  scanty 
light.  The  course  of  the  former  was  toward  Con- 
necticut River.  It  required  much  time  and  close 
attention  and  scrutiny  to  keep  on  their  track,  and 
the  Whig  party  were  often  on  the  point  of  giving 
up  the  search  as  fruitless.  Then  some  new  trace 
would  be  discovered,  and  they  would  go  forward 
with  renewed  vigor.  At  length  they  had  reached 
Connecticut  River,  where  they  found  that  the 
fugitives  had  swam  across.  Fastening  their  arms 
upon  their  backs,  they  plunged  into  the  stream, 
and  on  gaining  the  opposite  side,  they  found  the 
trucks  of  the  other  party.  At  night  they  en- 
camped in  the  woods  at  the  base  of  Ascutney 
Mountain,  and  in  the  morning  began  its  ascent 
from  different  points.  On  arriving  at  the  summit 
they  discovered  the  fugitives  asleep.     They  were 


easily  captured,  and  gave  their  names  as  Johns 
and  Buel.  Having  arms  with  them,  they  could 
not,  according  to  the  rules  of  war,  be  treated  as 
spies,  and  were  therefore  held  under  the  more 
honorable  distinction  of  prisoners  of  war.  They 
were  taken  to  Charlestown,  from  thence  to  Bos- 
ton, and  afterward  exchanged.  One  Kentfield 
was  also  pursued  from  the  "  Tory  Hole,"  and 
driven  across  Connecticut  River.  He  managed 
to  escape  from  his  pursuers  at  this  time ;  but  in  a 
few  days  after  was  discovered  by  Isaac  Hubbard, 
Esq.,  then  but  a  child,  while  re-crossing  the  river 
into  New  Hampshire.  He  was  again  pursued, 
captured  after  a  fierce  resistance,  and  taken  to 
Charlestown.  He  was  confined  for  some  time ; 
but  as  it  was  impossible  to  prove  him  a  spy,  he 
was  released.  Afterward  he  joined  the  Conti- 
nental army,  deserted  in  a  few  days,  was  captured 
and  hung. 

On  April  12,  1776,  the  Committee  of  Safety  for 
the  Colony  of  New  Hampshire  issued  the  follow- 
ing mandate,  as  appears  from  documents  arranged 
by  John  Farmer,  Esq.,  agreeably  to  an  order  of 
the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  in  1837.  We 
copy  verbatim  from  "State  Papers  of  New  Hamp- 
shire," vol.  viii. : 

"Colony  of  New  Hampshire. 
In  Committee  of  Safety,  April  12,  1776. 
"  In  order  to  carry  the  underwritten  Resolve  of  the 
Jlon'ble  Continental  Congress  into  Execution,  you 
are  required  to  desire  all  Males  above  Twenty-one 
years  of  age  (Lunaticks,  Idiots  and  Negroes  excepted), 
to  sign  the  Declaration  on  this  Paper ;  and  when  so 
done,  to  make  Return  thereof,  together  with  the 
Name  or  Names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the 
same,    to   the    General   Assembly   or   Committee   of 

Safety  of  this  Colony. 

"M.  WE  ARE,    Chairman. 

Ix  Congress,  March  14,  1770. 
"Resolced,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Several 
Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils,  or  Commit- 
tees of  Safety  of  the  United  Colonies,  immediately  to 
cause  all  Persons  to  be  disarmed,  within  their  respec- 
tive Colonies,  who  are  notoriously  disaffected  to  the 
cause  of  America,  or  who  have  not  associated  and  re- 
fuse  to    associate,  to   defend   by  Arms,  the  United 


CLAREMONT. 


59 


Colonies  against  the  Hostile  attempts  of  the  British 
Fleets  and  Armies. 

(Copy)         "  Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

"  Charles  Thompson,  Secretary. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  above  Resolution  of  the 
Hon.  Continental  Congress,  and  to  show  our  Deter- 
mination in  joining  our  American  Brethren  in  de- 
fending the  Lives,  Liberties  and  Properties  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  United  Colonies. 

"  We  the  Subscribers,  do  hereby  Solemnly  engage 
and  promise,  that  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  Power, 
at  the  Risque  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes,  with  Arms 
oppose  the  Hostile  Proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets 
and  Armies  against  the  United  American  Colonies." 

REMARKS  ON  THE  FOREGOING  BY  THE  LATE  JOHN 
FARMER,  ESQ. 

"The  preceding  text  was  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence by  the  People  of  New  Hampshire.  It  was 
a  Similar  act  to  that  of  the  Patriots  who  signed  the 
National  Declaration  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1776. 
It  preceded  that  event,  and  seems  to  have  been  a 
sanction  or  an  encouragement  to  those  who  contem- 
plated it.  It  was  a  bold  and  hazardous  step  in  sub- 
jects thus  to  resist  the  authority  of  one  of  the  most 
powerful  Sovereigns  in  the  world.  Had  the  cause  in 
which  these  men  pledged  their  Lives  and  Fortunes 
failed,  it  would  have  subjected  every  individual  who 
signed  it  to  the  pains  and  penalties  of  treason — to  a 
cruel  and  ignominious  death. 

"  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  all  who  declined 
signing  it  were  Tories  or  were  disaffected  to  the 
American  cause ;  Some  of  them  were  Friends,  whose 
principles  forbade  their  signing  a  pledge  to  oppose 
their  enemies  with  Arms ;  others  who  were  really 
friends  to  the  cause  of  opposition  to  the  British,  had 
conscientious  scruples,  and  others  doubtless  were  in- 
fluenced by  their  timidity.  Among  those  whose  con- 
scientious scruples  prevented  them  from  giving  such  a 
pledge,  was  Eleazer  Russell,  Esq.,  of  Portsmouth, 
(?)  who,  in  a  letter  to  President  Weare,  says,  '  It  was, 
and  is,  merely  to  secure  the  morality  of  my  mind  that 
I  was  reluctant  to  put  my  name  to  it.  Solemnly  to 
bind  myself  to  the  performance  of  what  nature  and 
necessity  rendered  impossible,  'I  started  at  the 
thought  of,  and  though  my  health  is  mended,  so 
wrecked  are  my  nerves,  that  I  could  not  do  one 
hour's  military  duty  to  save  my  life.     The  article  of 


shedding  blood,  in  me  is  not  a  humor,  but  a  princi- 
ple— not  an  evasion,  but  a  fact.  It  was  received  in 
early  life,  and  has  "grown  with  my  growth,  and 
strengthened  with  my  strength."  Not  a  partiality  for 
British  more  than  Savage  blood ;  for,  all  circumstan- 
ces considered,  I  think  the  latter  more  innocent  than 
the  former.' " 

SIGNERS  IN  CLAREMONT. 

"  Claremont,  May  30th,  1776. 
"  In  compliance  to  the  above  Declaration,  we  have 
Shone  the  Declaration  to  All  the  Inhabitants  of  this 
Town,  and  the  Associate  are  those  who  have  signed 
to  this  paper. 

"  Matthias  Stone, 

"  Asa  Jones, 


Selectmen. 


"  The  following  Names  of  those  who  are  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  upward : 


"Thomas  Goodwin, 
Joseph  York, 
Matthias  Stone, 
Jacob  Rice, 
William  Osgood, 
Asa  Jones, 
John  Spencer, 
Lemuel  Hubbard, 
Christopher  York, 
David  Bates, 
T.  Sterm, 
Barnabas  Ellis, 
Joel  Roys,  ? 
Samuel  Tuttle, 
Stephen  Hige,  ? 
Charles  Higbe, 
Edward  Goodwin, 
Ephraim  French, 
Joseph  Ives, 
Elihu  Stevens,  Junior, 
Ichabod  Hitchcock, 
Ebenezer  Dudley, 
Daniel  Curte,? 
Josiah  Rich, 
Oliver  Ellsworth, 
Jonathan  Parker, 
Edward  Ainsworth, 
Nathaniel  Goss, 
Joel  Matthews, 
Oliver  Tuttle, 
Amos  Conant, 
Samuel  Ashley, 
John  Sprague, 
Adam  Alden, 
James  Alden, 


David  Lynd, 
Oliver  Ashley, 
Eleazer  Clark, 
Eleazer  Clark,  Junior, 
Joseph  Hubbard, 
Amasa  Fuller, 
•Terime  Spencer, 
Patrick  Fields, 
Gideon  Lewis, 
Josiah  Stevens, 
Seth  Lewis, 
John  Kilborn, 
John  Peake, 
John  West, 
David  Rich, 
Ebenezer  Washburn, 
Bill  Barnes, 
John  Adkins, 
Amaziah  Knights, 
John  Goss, 
Ezra  Jones, 
William  Sims, 
David  Adkins, 
Timothy  Adkins, 
Moses  Spaford, 
Benjamin  Towner, 
Samuel  Lewis, 
Abner  Matthews, 
Elihu  Stephens, 
Jonas  Stuard, 
Beniah  Murry, 
Thomas  Duston, 
#   Timothy  Duston. 

Total,  84. 


"  N.  B. — These  are  the  Names  of  those  who  have 


60 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


actually  taken  up  arms  and  are  now  in  the  Continen- 
tal Army : 

"Lieut. Col. Joseph Waite,  Benjamin  Towner,  Jr., 

Lieut.  Joseph  Taylor,  David  Laynes,  Jr., 

Ens.  Thomas  Jones,  Charles  Laynes, 

S.  Abner  Matthews,  Jr.,  Henry  Stephens, 

James  Gooden,  Jonathan  York, 

Jonathan  Fuller,  Joseph  York,  Jr., 

Peter  Fuller,  The  Rev.  Augustin  Hib- 
Reuben  Spencer,  bard,  Chaplain,  &c. 

Gersham  York,  Total>  16 

Rev.  Mr.  Hibbard  was  appointed  chaplain  on 
Colonel  David  Hobart's  staff,  by  vote  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Legislature,  April  4,  1777,  and  subse- 
quently of  General  Stark's  brigade. 

"  The  Names  of  those  who  Refuse  to  sign  the  Decla- 
ration : 

"John  Thomas,  William  Coy. 
Capt.  Benjamin  Brooks,  Enoch  Judd, 

Barnabas  Brooks,  Ebenezer  Judd,  Jr., 
Capt.  Benjamin  Sumner,      Lieut.  Benjamin  Taylor, 

Rev.  Ranna  Cosset,  Timothy  Granis, 

Cornelius  Brook,  Hezekiah  Roys, 

Samuel  Cole,  Esq.,  Asa  Leat, 

Daniel  Warner,  Benjamin  Leat, 

Levi  Warner,  Ebenezer  Judd, 

James  Steal,  Benjamin  Peterson, 

Amos  Snow,  Benjamin  Brooks,  Jr., 

John  Hitchcock,  Doct.  William  Sumner, 

David  Dodge,  Ebenezer  Roys, 

Samuel  Thomas,  Joseph  Norton, 
Amos  Cole,  Total,  31. 

Ebenezer  Edson, 

"Claremont,  May  30th,  1776. 
"The  Declaration  having  ben  shone  to  the  within 
named  persons,  they  Refuse  to  Sign. 
"  Attest, 

"  Matthias  Stone,  ) 

..  .  >  Selectmen." 

'  Asa  Jones,  J 

When  the  returns  were  all  in,  it  was  found  that 
there  were  8999  names  upon  the  Declaration,  and 
the  names  of  773  persons  who  had  refused  to  sign 
it  were  mentioned. 

The  following  papers  are  copied  from  the 
original  minutes  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  are 
given  as  published  in  "  The  History  of  the  Eastern 
Diocese :  " 


"The  joint  Com'tee  of  Safety  from  the  Towns  of 
Hanover  and  Lebanon,  having  received  a  Letter  from 
the  Com'tee  of  Safety  for  Claremont,  requesting  the 
assistance  of  said  Com'tees  in  examining  sundry  Per- 
sons in  said  Claremont  who  were  suspected  of  being 
inimical  to  the  Liberties  of  America,  convened  with 
said  Com'tee  of  Claremont  and  the  Com'tee  of  Safety 
for  the  Town  of  Cornish,  at  the  House  of  Mr.  Joseph 
York,  in  said  Claremont,  on  Tuesday  the  5th  day  of 
December,  A.  D.  1775.  At  which  time  and  place 
were  present — 

"Captain  Oliver  Ashley,  Captain  Joseph  Waite, 
Lieutenant  Asa  Jones,  Lieutenant  Joseph  Taylor, 
Ensign  Ebenezer  Clark,  Deacon  Jacob  Royce,  Com'- 
tee of  Claremont : 

"  Samuel  Chase,  Esq.,  Colonel  Jonathan  Chase, 
Deacon  Hall,  Mr.  Commins,  Captain  Spalding, 
Com'tee  of  Cornish  : 

"  Deacon  Neheh  Estabrooks,  Major  John  Griswold, 
Mr.  Silas  Waterman,  Lieutenant  Jedah  Hibbard, 
Com'tee  of  Lebanon : 

"  Captain  Edmond  Freeman,  Lieutenant  David 
Woodward,  Lieutenant  John  Wright,  Com'tee  of 
Hanover. 

"  On  which  the  Com'tee  of  said  Claremont  re- 
quested that  all  these  Com'tees  might  (for  sundry 
reasons)  form  into  one  general  meeting  for  the  exam- 
ination of  sundry  Persons  whom  they  had  previously 
cited  to  appear  before  this  Board  for  that  Purpose, 
which  request  being  complied  with  : 

"  1st.  Chose  Deacon  Nehemiah  Estabrook,  Chair- 
man. 

"  2d.  Chose  Lieutenant  Jede'ah  Hibbard,  Clerk. 

"Sam'l  Cole,  Esq.,  Captain  Benjamin  Sumner,  Rev. 
Ranna  Cossit,  Captain  Benjamin  Brooks,  Lieutenant 
Benjamin  Tyler,  Asa  Leet,  Eben'r  Judd,  Eben'r  Judd, 
Ju'r,  Enoch  Judd,  Ebn'r  Royce,  Hez.  Royce,  John 
Thomas,  Sam'l  Thomas,  Benjamin  Brooks,  Jr.,  Barne 
Brooks,  Ebenezer  Edson,  Joseph  Naughton,  Daniel 
Warner,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Leet,  James  Steel,  Ephraim 
Peterson,  John  Brooks,  Azel  Brooks,  Levi  Warner, 
Zebal  Thomas,  all  of  said  Claremont.  After  which 
the  Persons  whose  names  are  annexed  appeared  be- 
fore said  Com'tee  in  consequence  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned Citation,  who  on  examination  testify  and 
declare,  as  follows  : 

"1.  The  Rev'd  Ranna  Cossit  on  examination  says, 
'  I  believe  the  American  Colonies  in  their  dispute 
with  Great  Britain,  which   has  now  come  to  blood, 


CLAREMONT. 


61 


are  unjust,  but  will  not  take  up  arms  either  against 
the  King  or  Country,  as  my  office  and  circumstances 
are  such  that  I  am  not  obliged  thereto  ; '  respecting 
whom  the  following  evidence  further  appears,  viz. : 
Dr.  Thomas  Sterns  testifies  and  says  that  the  Rev'd 
Mr.  Cossit  says:  'We  (meaning  the  Americans)  are 
in  a  state  of  Rebellion  and  are  altogether  in  the 
wrong,  and  that  if  we  should  give  up  our  Head  man 
to  justice,  we  should  do  well,  and  that  the  King  and 
Parliament  have  a  right  to  make  laws  and  lay  taxes 
as  they  please  on  America  both  internal  and  external.' 

"Captain  Oliver  Ashley  testifies  the  same,  and  adds 
that  such  like  language  is  frequent.  Mr.  Cossit  in 
presence  of  this  meeting  agrees  to  the  foregoing  depo- 
sition respecting  him,  and  adds :  '  I  mean  to  be  on  the 
side  of  the  administration  and  I  had  as  lives  any 
person  should  call  me  a  damned  Tory  or  not,  and 
take  it  as  an  affront  if  people  don't  call  me  a  Tory  ; 
for  I  verily  believe  the  British  troops  will  overcome 
by  the  greatness  of  their  power  and  justice  of  their 
cause.' 

"  2d.  Sam'l  Cole,  Esq.,  on  examination,  says:  '  It  is 
a  rebellion  to  take  up  arms  or  fight  against  the  King 
or  his  Troops  in  the  present  dispute;  yea,  'tis  more  ; 
it  is  Treason  to  fight  against  the  King,  in  addition  to 
which,  that  he  is  bound  by  his  oath  not  to  fight 
against  the  King.'  Sam'l  Chase,  Esq'r,  testifies  and 
says,  '  That  about  a  fortnight  ago,  Esq'r  Cole  was  at 
his  house  and  he  offered  said  Cole  a  bill  of  paper 
money  of  the  Congress  in  payment  of  a  debt ;  on 
which  said  Cole  says,  I  will  not  take  said  bill  for  it  is 
of  no  more  value  than  if  you  or  I  had  made  said  bill.' 
Esq'r  Cole  finally  consented  to  the  above,  and  adds,  '  I 
don't  value  the  Congress  money  more  than  the  sole  of 
an  old  shoe.'" 

"3d.  Captain  Benjamin  Sumuer,  on  examination, 
says,  '  As  to  the  proceeding  and  conduct  of  the 
American  Colonies  in  their  contest  with  Great 
Britain,  upon  the  whole  I  cannot  agree  with  them, 
but  I  will  not  take  up  arms  on  either  side,  and  if 
any  of  you  gentlemen  can  in  private  or  publick 
debate  convince  me  of  my  error  no  man  on  earth 
shall  be  more  ready  to  hear  than  myself.' 

"  4th.  Sam'l  Thomas,  James  Steel,  Daniel  Warner, 
Jr.,  Asa  Leet,  John  Thomas,  Benjamin  Leet,  Ebn'r 
Royce,  Levi  Warner,  Ebne'r  Edson,  Azel  Brooks  and 
Zebal  Thomas,  on  examination  declare  their  senti- 
ments the  same  as  those  exprest  by  Capt.  Benjamin 
Sumner. 


"  5th.  Hez  Royce,  on  examination,  shews  great 
contempt  in  equivocating  in  regard  to  questions 
asked  him  by  the  Com'tee,  but  in  reply  to  one  query 
says  he  likes  the  King's  Proclamation  last  issued. 

"  6th.  Captain  Benjamin  Brooks,  on  examination, 
says  '  I  am  not  settled  with  regard  to  the  dispute  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies.  But  accord- 
ing to  wdiat  I  understand  of  the  dispute,  I  rather 
think  the  Americans  are  in  the  wrong,  but  will  not 
take  up  arms  on  either  side.' 

"  7th.  Ephraim  Peterson,  Barne  Brooks  and  Joseph 
Naughton  on  examination  concur  with  Captain  Benj. 
Brooks. 

"  8th.  Leiut.  B.  Tyler  on  examination  says  'I  am  of 
the  prevailing  sentiment  that  the  American  Colonies 
in  their  contest  with  Great  Britain  are  not  just,  but 
will  not  take  up  arms  on  either  side.' 

"  9th.  Cornelius  Brooks  and  Ebenezer  Judd  on 
examination  say  that  they  will  not  take  up  arms  on 
either  side. 

"  10th.  Benjamin  Brooks,  Jr.,  Enoch  Judd  and 
Ebenezer,  Jr.,  on  examination  say  that  America  is 
unjust  in  her  contest  with  Great  Britain,  and  we  will 
not  take  up  arms  on  either  side. 

"11th.  John  Brooks,  when  asked  how  he  feels  when 
he  thinks  of  the  quarrel  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  Colonies  that  has  caused  the  blood  of  our  Amer- 
ican Brethren  to  be  shed  as  well  as  Briton's,  says  '  I 
feel  for  the  King's  troops  and  against  the  Colonies.' 

"  Adjourned  till  to-morrow  morning  nine  o'clock. 

"December  6th,  met  according  to  adjournment. 
Present  as  yesterday.  Voted  that  it  appears  to  us  on 
examination  that  Captain  Benjamin  Sumner,  Samuel 
Cole,  Esq.,  and  the  Reverend  Ranna  Cossit  have  been 
chief  advisors  and  dictators  to  those  other  persons 
who  have  been  under  examination,  and  it  is  our 
opinion  that  they  might  with  propriety  be  confined, 
as  having  endeavoured  to  stir  up  sedition  in  said 
Claremont,  and  also  were  against  the  united  Colonies  ; 
and  their  names  ought  to  be  returned  to  the  Honor- 
able Provincial  Congress  for  their  determination, 
which  the  Clerk  is  hereby  directed  to  do,  which  we 
believe  may  as  well  serve  the  general  cause  as  to 
confine  all  these  persons  examined  by  us.  Motioned 
to  those  persons  who  have  been  examined  that  they 
voluntarily  resign  their  fire-arms  and  ammunition 
into  the  hands  of  the  Com'tee  of  said  Claremont ; 
which  they  unanimously  agreed  to  comply  with,  and 
proposed  to  bring  them  in  to-morrow  morning. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"3dly,  at  the  request  of  the  Com'tee  of  Claremont, 
voted  that  the  above  mentioned  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Barne  Ellis,  of 
said  Claremont,  and  said  Ellis  is  not  to  let  any  person 
have  any  of  s'd  arms  without  order  from  the  Com'tee 
of  said  Claremont.  Voted  to  adjourn  till  to-morrow 
morning,  nine  o'clock.  Dec'r  7th,  met  according  to 
adjournment.     Present  as  yesterday. 

"1st.  Received  the  fire-arms  and  ammunition  of 
those  persons  who  have  been  examined,  and  delivered 
them  to  the  custody  of  Barne  Ellis  agreeable  to  the 
vote  passed  yesterday,  for  each  of  which  the  Com'tee 
of  said  Claremont  gave  their  receipt  to  the  owners. 

"  2dly.  Voted  That  this  meeting  be  dissolved  and  it 
was  dissolved  accordingly.  True  copy  from  the 
minutes. 

"Attest:  Nath'l  S.  Prentice." 

"  In  Congress  at  Exeter,  Jan'y  3d,  1776 :  Voted, 
That  Benjamin  Giles,  Esq'r,  Major  John  Bellows, 
Capt.  Nath'l  Sartel  Prentice,  Mr.  Thomas  Sparhawk 
and  Mr.  Elijah  Grout,  be  a  Committee  to  Examin 
and  Try  Capt.  Benjamin  Sumner,  Sara'l  Cole,  Esq'r, 
the  Rev'd  Raima  Cossit  and  Eleazer  Sanger — persons 
reputed  to  be  enemies  to  the  Liberties  of  this  Coun- 
trey,  and,  on  conviction  thereof,  to  inflict  such  Pen- 
alties or  Punishments  as  they  shall  see  fit — not  to 
exceed  Fine  or  Imprisonment,  saving  an  appeal  to 
this  House  or  General  Court." 

EXTRACT  FROM  THE  JOURNAL  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

"  Colony  of  New  Hampshire 
Chesire,  ss. 

"Pursuant  to  the  fourgoing  resolve,  I  do  hereby  give 
notice  to  the  above  mentioned  Benjamin  Sumner, 
Samuell  Cole  and  Ranna  Cossit  of  Claremont  in  said 
county  and  Eleazer  Sanger  of  Keeue  in  s'd  county  to 
appear  at  Charleston  at  the  House  of  Abel  Warner, 
innholder  in  said  Charleston  on  the  second  Wednes- 
day of  April  next  at  one  of  the  clock,  P.  M.,  to  an- 
swer the  allegations  brought  against  them  by  sundrie 
Evidences  before  the  Commities  of  Saf'tie  for  the 
Towns  of  Claremont,  Cornish,  Lebanon  and  Hanover, 
on  the  5th  day  of  Decem'r  last  as  appears  by  an  ex- 
hibition thereof,  to  the  late  Congress  at  Exeter. 

"Benj'n  Giles,  Presid't, 

"In  behalf  of  the  Committ, 


"  Charlestown,  April  10th,  1776. 


"  Colony 
New  Hampsh 


ire,  ss.  J 


"Charleston,  March  28,  1776." 


"  Aregreeable  to  a  resolve  of  the  Hon'ble  Congress 
appointing  Benj'a  Giles,  Esq'r,  Major  John  Bellows, 
Capt.  Nath'l  Sartell  Prentice,  Mr.  Thomas  Sparhawk 
and  Mr.  Elijah  Grout  a  Com'tee  to  examine  and  try 
Capt.  Benj'a  Sumner,  Sam'l  Cole,  Esq'r,  Rev'd  Ranna 
Cossett  and  Eleazer  Sanger,  persons  reputed  to  be 
Enemies  to  the  Liberties  of  this  Country,  etc. 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  having  notified  the  aforesaid 
Sumner,  Cole,  Cossett  and  Sanger  to  meet  at  time 
and  place  above  mentioned,  for  the  purpose  afores'd, 
and  Mr.  Ranna  Cossett,  Sam'l  Cole,  Esq'r,  and  Capt. 
Benja.  Sumner,  appearing  upon  examination,  by 
their'  own  Confession  and  Evidences  in  the  Case, 
having  maturely  considered  the  same,  Judge  that  the 
evidence  and  fact  exhibited  by  the  Joint  Com'tees  of 
Claremont,  Cornish,  Lebanon  and  Hanover  unto  the 
afores'd  Congress  against  the  afores'd  Cossett,  Cole 
and  Sumner  are  well  supported. 

"  We,  the  Subscribers,  are  of  Opinion  that  the  s'd 
Mr.  Ranna  Cossett  and  Sam'l  Cole,  Esq'r,  be,  from 
and  after  the  12th  day  of  this,  instant,  April,  con- 
fined within  the  Limits  of  the  Township  of  Clare- 
mont, in  s'd  Colony,  during  the  present  Contest 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies,  unless  they 
or  either  of  them  shall  be  released  by  certifying  their 
good  Behaviour  in  future  to  the  Com'ee  of  Clare- 
mont, or  the  Subscribers,  or  upon  Application,  if 
they  see  Cause,  to  the  Hon'ble  Council  and  Assembly 
of  this  Colony. 

"  Also,  that  Capt.  Benj'a.  Sumner  be  subjected  in 
the  same  manner  and  within  the  same  Limits  as 
Cossett  and  Cole  above  mentioned,  or  give  sufficient 
bonds,  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Com'tee  of  Clare- 
mont, for  the  time  being,  obligididing  and  binding 
him  to  his  good  behaviour,  and  that  neither  of  the 
above  named  persons  be  seen  conversent  together 
upon  any  occasion  whatever,  except  meeting  together 
at  Publick  Worship. 

"  Furthermore,  if  either  of  the  above  named  per- 
sons shall  not  strictly  and  uprightly  keep  the  above 
Determination,  and,  being  fairly  convicted  thereof 
before  the  Com'tee  of  Safety  of  Claremont,  that  they 
be  and  hereby  are  directed  to  committ  the  offender  to 
the  Common  Goal,  there  to  abide  untill  released  by 
Order  of  this  Com'ee  or  the  General  Assembly  of  this 


CLAREMONT. 


63 


Colony,  and  that  their  fire  arms  be  still  retained  in 
Custody  of  the  Corn'ee  of  Claremont,  afores'd ; 

"  Provided,  Nevertheless,  that  if  the  afores'd  Mr. 
Raima  Cossett  shall  be  call'd  by  any  of  the  people  of 
his  perswasion  specially  to  officiate  in  his  ministerial 
office  in  preaching,  baptizing  and  visiting  the  sick, 
this  order  is  not  intended  to  prohibit  him  therefrom. 

"A  Coppy  Exam'nd. 

"  Attest.        Nath'l  S.  Prentice,  Clerk." 

In  the  month  of  February,  1778,  Elihu  Stevens, 
Esq.,  was  chosen  Representative.  At  this  meet- 
ing Articles  of  Confederation,  "  appointed  by  the 
Honorable,  the  Continental  Congress,"  were 
adopted. 

It  was  also  voted  that  "  said  Stevens  proceed 
with  justice  to  use  his  influence  to  call  a  full 
and  free  representation  of  the  people  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  to  meet  in  convention, 
has  been  desired  by  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  said  State."  "  Voted  and  chose  Lieutenant 
Joseph  Ives  selectman  in  the  room  of  Captain 
Joseph  Taylor,  as  he  expects  soon  to  join  the 
American  army." 

Elihu  Stevens  came  to  Claremont  in  1775.  He 
was  an  active  and  ardent  Whig,  and  being  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  an  office  of  considerable  dig- 
nity in  those  days,  was  frequently  called  to  sit  at 
the  trial  of  persons  arrested  on  suspicion  of  being 
Tories.  So  bitter  were  his  feelings  toward  that 
class  of  persons,  that  according  to  his  judgment  it 
did  not  require  the  most  conclusive  proof  to 
convict  a  person  charged  with  being  a  traitor  to 
his  country.  It  often  happened,  therefore,  that  of 
the  many  trials  and  convictions  before  him,  nearly 
all  were  discharged  at  the  highest  courts. 

Complaints  were  often  made  against  the 
purest  patriots  in  town.  A  complaint  having 
been  once  entered,  it  was  thought  that  no  other 
course  could  be  taken  than  to  arraign  and  try  the 
party  accused.  Among  others  thus  complained 
against  was  Ichabod  Hitchcock,  an  early  settler  in 
town.  He  was  a  thorough  working  Whig,  and  al- 
though engaged  in  no  actual  service  himself,  yet  he 
had  on  certain  occasions  employed  and  paid  at  the 
same  time  no  less  than  three  persons  for  service  in 


the  Avar.  At  that  time  he  was  the  only  master-car- 
penter and  builder  in  town,  and  his  services  in 
this  line  being  very  much  in  demand,  he  chose  to 
send  others  in  his  stead.  Some  evil-minded  person 
circulated  the  report  that  Hitchcock  had  turned 
Tory.  The  report  having  reached  the  ears  of  Mr. 
Stevens,  he  immediately  determined  to  arrest  him. 
Accordingly,  he  started  out  very  early  one  morning 
in  company  with  his  son,  both  being  well  armed, 
in  pursuit  of  Hitchcock.  A  few  rods  beyond 
Hitchcock's  house  lived  a  man  who  was  also  sus- 
pected and  had  been  complained  against.  It  was 
the  intention  to  arrest  both  at  the  same  time  and 
march  them  to  the  village,  where  they  were  to  be 
tried.  On  arriving  at  the  house  of  Hitchcock  they 
found  him  at  breakfast,  and  arrested  him  in  the 
name  of  the  Continental  Congress.  The  son  was 
stationed  as  guard  before  the  only  outside  door, 
and  the  prisoner  was  safely  confined.  The  father 
went  to  secure  the  other  person.  Hitchcock,  having 
finished  his  breakfast,  asked  the  guard  if  he  had 
eaten  anything  that  morning,  who  answered  that 
he  had  not,  and  he  was  politely  invited  to  come  in 
and  partake  of  the  good  cheer  of  his  prisoner, 
which  invitation  he  readily  accepted,  laid  aside  his 
gun  and  sat  down  at  the  table  ;  whereupon  Hitch- 
cock seized  the  gun  and  coolly  observed  to  his 
astonished  guest  that  he  might  eat  all  he  wanted, 
for  nobody  should  molest  him,  as  he  had  been 
taken  prisoner  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
to  his  country  as  well  as  himself 

Soon  the  father  returned  with  the  other  person, 
and  seeing  Hitchcock  pacing  to  and  fro  before 
the  door  in  true  military  style,  immediately  ordered 
him  to  lay  down  his  arms.  Hitchcock  being  some- 
thing of  a  wag,  assumed  an  air  of  innocent  igno 
ranee,  suddenly  replied,  "  Oh,  yes,  I  made  him 
surrender  arms  some  time  ago,  and  I've  got  him 
safe.  I'm  satisfied  he  is  a  Tory  and  wish  that  he 
may  be  taken  from  my  house  as  soon  as  possible." 
It  required  considerable  explanation  before  he 
could  be  convinced  that  he  was  the  person  actually 
under  arrest ;  but  after  having  received  satisfactory 
evidence,  as  he  termed  it,  that  such  was  the  fact, 
he  at  once  yielded  and  accompanied  his  captors  to 


64 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  village.  The  ceremonies  of  a  trial  resulted  in 
the  discharge  of  the  prisoners,  who,  as  before, 
availed  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  aid  in 
the  struggles  for  the  country.  A  few  days  after 
this  trial  the  people  were  alarmed  by  loud  reports, 
in  rapid  succession,  apparently  of  fire-arms.  Mes- 
sengers were  at  once  dispatched  in  the  direction  of 
the  sounds,  with  orders  to  ascertain  the  cause  and 
return  as  quickly  as  possible.  Meeting  with  two 
or  three  of  their  townsmen,  the  messengers  in- 
quired of  them  if  they  had  heard  the  noise,  and  if 
they  knew  the  cause.  They  replied  that  they 
heard  it,  that  it  proceeded  from  British  scouts,  and 
that  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  were  encamped  at 
Cavendish,  Vt.,  and  before  noon  would  be  in  Clare- 
mont.  The  messengers  turned  their  horses  and 
hastened  back  with  the  news.  Among  some  of  the 
families  great  consternation  and  confusion  pre- 
vailed. Hastily  they  gathered  up  their  movables 
and  hurried  away  to  the  fort  at  Number  Four 
(now  Charlestown).  But  the  majority  of  the 
people  determined  to  await  the  result.  It  was 
subsequently  ascertained  that  the  noise  which  had 
occasioned  the  alarm  was  caused  by  some  one 
dashing  one  upright  board  against  another  lying 
flat  on  the  ground. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  March,  1778,  it 
was  voted  to  divide  the  town  into  school  districts, 
and  accordingly  a  division  was  made,  constituting 
seven  school  districts.  Hitherto,  as  we  have  seen, 
there  were  only  two  school-houses  in  town,  and  this 
state  of  things  existed  until  near  the  close  of  the 
war;  the  Whigs  patronizing  the  school  on  Jarvis 
Hill,  and  the  Tories  sending  their  children  to  the 
house  situated  near  Union  Church. 

In  1779  the  prosperity  and  growth  of  the  pop- 
ulation had  been  such  that  a  new  meeting-house 
for  the  Congregational  Church  was  required. 
Upon  this  point  there  seemed  to  be  no  difference 
of  opinion,  but  as  to  the  best  location  there  was 
much  diversity  of  sentiment,  and  was  the  occasion 
of  considerable  feeling  and  controversy.  The 
matter  was  agitated  in  several  town-meetings.  At 
one  it  would  be  voted  that  the  meeting-house  should 
be  located  in  a  particular  sp  >t,  and  at  the  next 


meeting  the  vote  would  be  reconsidered,  and  a 
committee  would  be  chosen  to  select  a  spot  and 
report  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  and,  when  the  time 
arrived,  the  people  would  refuse  to  accept  the  re- 
port. Then  it  was  agreed  to  refer  the  matter  to  a 
committee  comprised  of  men  from  neighboring 
towns.  This  committee  appeared  and  discharged 
their  duty,  and  made  a  report,  which  the  town 
voted  not  to  adopt.  The  main  cause  of  these  dif- 
ficulties was  that  among  the  church-members 
themselves  there  was  a  division  ;  and,  of  those 
compelled  by  law  to  pay  taxes  for  the  support  of 
the  "  standing  order,"  there  were  not  a  few  who 
had  at  heart  no  interest  of  the  welfare  of  the  Con- 
gregational Society,  and  were  ready  to  give  their 
influence  to  promote  confusion  and  increase  the 
already  existing  difficulties.  From  1779  to  1792 
a  large  portion  of  the  records  of  the  town  consists 
of  memoranda  of  the  votes  and  acts  of  the  town 
respecting  the  selection  of  a  spot  "  to  sett  the  new 
meeting-house  on."  In  1791,  Deacon  Matthias 
Stone,  at  his  own  expense,  erected  a  meeting-house 
on  a  spot  of  ground  near  what  was  known  as  the 
Harvey  Draper  house,  on  the  road  from  the  vil- 
lage to  the  Junction.  In  the  petition  for  a 
town-meeting,  called  at  Deacon  Stone's  request, 
was  the  article — "  To  see  if  the  town  will  accept 
of  the  new  meeting-house  as  a  present."  Although, 
from  anything  which  appeared  to  the  contrary, 
this  offer  was  made  with  motives  of  pure  benevo- 
lence, the  town  refused  to  accept  the  gift. 

In  the  records  of  a  town-meeting  held  August 
23,  1779,  is  the  following  : 

"  Then  red  the  Proclamation  of  the  Continental 
Congress;  att  the  same  meeting  red  the  Bill  of  rights 
and  Rejected  the  same  by  a  vote." 

In  town,  at  this  time,  was  one  William 
McCoy,  before  mentioned,  shrewd,  cunning 
and  active,  who  was  more  than  suspected 
of  rendering  service  to  the  spies  and  emis- 
saries of  the  British,  and  was  a  source  of  an- 
noyance and  vexation  to  every  good  Whig.  Many 
efforts  had  been  made  to  detect  him  in  the  com- 
mi>sion  of  some  treasonable  act,  but  he  succeeded 
in  keeping  beyond  the  reach  of  his  persecutors. 


CLAREMONT. 


65 


Finally,  one  evening,  he  was  discovered  going  in 
the  direction  of  "  Tory  Hole,"  in  company  with  a 
strange,  suspicious-looking  person.  This  was 
enough.  He  was  arrested  and  brought  before  Elihu 
Stevens,  Esq.,  for  trial.  Notwithstanding  that  he 
succeeded  in  making  the  principal  witness  against 
him  contradict  himself  in  several  important  par- 
ticulars, yet  he  was  found  guilty  of  treason  and 
ordered  to  be  imprisoned  to  await  trial  at  the  next 
term  of  the  Superior  Court.  When  the  sheriff 
Ichabod  Hitchcock,  who  had,  a  short  time  before, 
been  arrested  for  the  same  offence  and  discharged, 
was  about  to  start  off  with  the  prisoner  for  jail, 
he  asked  the  justice  if  he  had  prepared  the  mitti- 
mus. The  justice,  with  some  impatience,  replied, 
'"  Take  my  horse  and  carriage.  If  they  will  hold 
out  long  enough  to  get  him  to  jail,  it  will  be  all 
the  mittimus  he  deserves."  It  seems,  however,  that, 
in  addition  to  the  team,  the  court  furnished  the 
requisite  papers  of  committal,  as  will  appear  from 
the  following : 

"  To  Ichabod  Hitchcock  in  t  'iaremont : 

"Cheshire  ss.  Claremont,  August  16,  A.  d.  1779. 

"  att  a  Justice  Court  held  in  Claremont  Before  me 
one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  ye  County- of 
<  'heshire,  at  the  house  of  Edward  Goodwin  upon  a 
Complaint  made  to  me  by  Edward  Goodwin  of  s'd 
( 'Iaremont  against  one  Wm.  McCoye  of  s'd  Clare- 
mont of  Being  Guilty  of  treason  against  the  States  of 
America;  and  the  judgment  of  the  Courtis  that  ye 
said  Wm.  McCoye  be  committed  to  Goal  for  tryal  att 
Next  Superior  Court  to  be  held  in  s'd  County. 

"E.  S.,  J.  P. 

"  [LS]  Cheshire  SS.  to  the  Constable  of  Claremont 
in  the  County  of  Cheshire;  and  to  the  keeper  of  the 
Goal  att  Charlestown  in  s'd  County:  these  are  to 
Comand  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  and  people  of 
i he  State  of  New  Hampshire:  forthwith  to  convey 
and  deliver  into  the  custody  of  the  keeper  of  the  said 
(( roal)  tlic  Body  of  Wm.  McCoye;  charged  Before  me 
with  being  Guilty  of  Treason  against  the  States  of 
America;  the  sd  keepers  are  hereby  Required  to  Re- 
ceive the  sd  McCoye  into  your  custody  in  the  sd  Goal: 
and  him  the  sd  Wm.  McCoye  their  safely  to  keep 
until  the  Next  Superior  Court  to  be  held  at  keen. 
Unless  he  shall  before  that  time  be  thence  Delivered 


by  Due  Corse  of  Law :  hearof  fail  Not  as  you  will 
answer  for  your  Contempt  at  your  peril.  Given  under 
my  hand  and  Seal  att  Claremont  this  Sixteenth  Day 
of  august  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  seventy  nine. 

"E.  S.,  J.  P.forsd  County." 


"  Sir,- 


Walpole,  augst  ye  17, 1774. 


"M.  Howard  has  Wm.  McCoye:  Delivered  him  to 
Confine  in  ye  Goal  at  Charlstown,  the  Goal  professant 
to  hold  him :  I  have  advised  him  to  Convey  him  to 
you  to  be  Confined  in  the  Goal  at  Keen,  the  mittimas 
is  Not  very  well  drawn  :  but  if  you  will  take  him  into 
your  Custody  and  Indever  to  keep  him  Safe,  You 
shall  come  to  no  harm  I  your  Humble  Servant 


"  B.  B. 


"  to  Mr.  Silas  Cook  at  keen." 


In  the  month  of  May  of  1779  the  people  were 
alarmed  by  the  intelligence  of  a  messenger  from 
Vermont,  that  a  party  of  Indians,  Tories  and 
English  had  made  an  attack  upon  Royalston,  where 
they  had  destroyed  several  houses  and  taken  a 
number  of  prisoners;  that  their  course,  so  far  as 
could  be  ascertained,  was  toward  Connecticut  River. 
The  prospect  of  the  approach  of  a  large  body  of 
men  friendly  to  the  Tories,  who  infested  this  town 
in  considerable  numbers,  could  not  but  excite  un- 
pleasant feelings  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  would 
be  treated  as  rebels  by  the  advancing  army.  The 
Tories,  on  the  other  hand,  were  in  high  spirits. 
For  a  long  time  they  had  anxiously  looked  for  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  British,  and  now  they 
regarded  the  wished-for  event  as  near  at  hand. 
But  the  weak  and  defenseless  condition  of  the 
Whigs  by  no  means  diminished  their  courage. 
Immediately  a  party  of  men  was  selected  ami  sent 
off,  with  Lieutenant  Barnabas  Ellis  at  their  head, 
in  the  direction  of  the  rendezvous  of  the  enemy. 
They  had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  when  news 
came  that  the  foe  had  retreated  to  Canada.  Before 
the  company  started  on  the  expedition  it  was  very 
prudently  determined  to  examine  "Tory  Hole," 
where  a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions  were 
found  concealed.  These  discoveries  led  to  the  be- 
lief that   the   movements  at  this  spot   had  some 


66 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


connection  with  the  designs  of  the  party  which 
made  the  descent  upon  Royalston. 

It  appears,  by  a  vote  passed  in  town-meeting  in 
April,  1781,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Claremont,  for 
a  short  time,  at  least,  took  sides  with  those  towns 
which  had  seceded  from  New  Hampshire  and 
formed  a  union  with  Vermont.  The  apportion- 
ment of  the  State  tax  for  Claremont  had  been 
made  by  the  proper  authority  and  sent  to  the  se- 
lectmen of  the  town  for  collection.  The  selectmen 
neglected  to  comply  with  these  directions,  alleging 
that  they  owed  allegiance  to  another  State.  Still, 
they  did  not  feel  safe  in  assuming  such  a  position, 
and,  accordingly,  the  town  voted  that  "the  inhab- 
itants of  Claremont  will  indemnify  the  selectmen 
of  s'd  Town  from  cost  or  damages  arising  on  ac- 
count of  their  neglect  to  make  up  rates  for  the  tax - 
bills  now  on  hand,  or  that  shall  hereafter  come  to 
hand  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire." 

Claremont  was  not  one  of  the  sixteen  towns 
which  had  petitioned  for  admission  into  the  union 
with  Vermont,  and  had  been  received  as  early  as 
1778.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  original 
territory  of  New  Hampshire  consisted  of  various 
giants  to  John  Mason  from  the  Council  of  Now 
England,  a  body  made  up  of  several  of  the 
principal  nobility  of  Great  Britain,  to  whom, 
under  that  corporate  name,  "  all  the  land  in 
America,  lying  between  the  fortieth  and  forty- 
eighth  degree  of  north  latitude"  had  been 
granted.  These  grants  were  made  between  the 
years  1621  and  1635,  and  were  limited  on  the 
west  by  a  line  sixty  miles  from  the  sea.  This  line, 
being  straight,  would  pass  through  the  towns,  of 
Effingham,  Wolfborough,  Concord  and  Kindge. 
The  territory  between  this  line  and  Connecticut 
River  was  granted  subsequently  to  the  Governors 
of  New  Hampshire.  As  soon  as  Vermont  had  a 
government,  which  took  place  in  1777.  a  strong 
desire  was  manifested  on  the  pari  of  many  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territory  between  the  Mason 
line  and  Connecticut  River  to  unite  with  the 
people  of  this  new  State.  To  justify  a  separation, 
they  contended,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  all 
the   lands  west  of  the   Mason   line,  being   royal 


grants,  were  subject  to  the  government  of  New 
Hampshire  by  force  of  the  royal  commissions, 
which  were  rendered  null  by  the  assumed  inde- 
pendence of  the  American  colonies.  They,  there- 
fore, claimed  that  their  social  condition  was  but 
"a  state  of  nature,"  and  that  they  had  a  right  to 
form  a  separate  government,  or  connect  them- 
selves with  such  others  as  would  consent  to  a  union 
with  them. 

Accordingly,  sixteen  towns  on  the  east  side  of 
Connecticut  River,  on  the  12th  of  March,  1778, 
presented  a  petition  to  be  admitted  into  the  union. 
The  matter  having  been  submitted  to  the  people 
at  large,  a  majority  were  found  to  be  in  favor  of 
admitting  the  petitioners.  As  soon  as  this  question 
was  settled,  the  sixteen  towns  took  a  formal  leave 
of  New  Hampshire.  The  step,  however,  was  not 
without  its  troubles  and  embarrassments  to  the 
State  of  Vermont  as  well  as  to  these  sixteen  towns. 
An  address  of  Meshech  Wea re,  president  of  the 
Council  of  New  Hampshire,  to  Governor  Chitten- 
den, of  Vermont,  seemed  to  bring  the  Assembly  of 
the  latter  State  to  a  stand  in  the  union  measure. 
They  saw  at  once  that,  at  most,  it  was  a  hazardous 
experiment,  fraught  with  all  the  evils  and  in- 
justice exhibited  by  New  York  in  her  oppressive 
acts  toward  their  own  State,  when  struggling  for 
birth.  By  a  series  of  votes  they  declared  their  de- 
termination to  give  up  further  encouragement  to 
these  sixteen  seceding  towns.  Such  address  excited 
the  jealousy  of  the  members  from  these  towns,  who, 
seeing  that  they  were  in  danger  of  being  sent  back 
to  their  former  allegiance,  drew  up  the  following 
protest,  which  is  copied  from  the  "  Vermont  State 

Tapers:  " 

"  Windsor,  October  22d  a.d.  1778. 

"State  <>k  Vermont  ss. — We,  whose  names  are 

under  written,  numbers  of  the  Council  and  general 
assembly  of  said  State,  beg  leave  to  lay  before  the  as- 
sembly the  following  as  our  protest  and  declaration 
against  their  proceedings  on  Wednesday,  the  twenty- 
firsl  instant  in  passing  the  following  votes  or  resolu- 
tions :  '  First,  that  the  counties  in  this  State  shall  re- 
main as  they  were  established  by  the  assembly  of  this 
State  in  .March  last.' 

"Second,  'That   the   towns  on   the  east  side  of  the 


CLAREMONT. 


67 


river,  included  in  the  union  with  this  State,  shall  not 
he  included  in  the  county  of  Cumberland.' 

"Third,  'That  the  towns  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river  shall  not  be  erected  into  a  distinct  county  by 
themselves.'  As  by  said  votes,  on  the  journal  of  the 
house  may  appear,  which  votes  are  illegal,  and  in 
direct  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  and 
the  solemn  engagements  and  public  faith,  pledged  by 
the  resolutions  of  said  assembly :  as  by  the  following 
observations  will  plainly  appear,  viz. : 

"  1.  That  as  the  towns  on  the  east  side  of  the  river 
were  never  annexed  to  any  county  in  said  State,  they 
are  consequently,  by  said  votes,  entirely  excluded 
the  liberties,  privileges,  protection,  laws  and  jurisdic- 
tion of  said  State  ;  all  which  were  granted  them  by 
the  State,  by  an  act  or  resolve  of  assembly,  passed  at 
Bennington,  in  June  last,  containing  the  union  and 
confederation  of  the  State  and  said  towns  ;  by  which 
act  or  resolve  of  assembly,  every  town  included  in 
the  union  received  by  grant  from  the  then  State  of  Ver- 
mont, all  the  rights,  powers  and  privileges  of  any  other 
town  in  said  State;  which  they  cannot  be  deprived 
of  without  their  consent,  as  it  is  a  maxim  that  the 
grantor  or  grantors  cannot  reassume  their  grant  with- 
out the  surrendry  of  the  grantee  or  grantees. 

"  2.  That  said  votes  are  in  direct  opposition  to  a 
solemn  resolution  of  this  assembly,  passed  on  the  20th 
inst.,  establishing  the  report  of  the  committee  of  both 
houses,  in  which  report  the  assembly  have  solemnly 
covenanted  to  defend  the  whole  of  the  State,  entire, 
as  it  then  was,  including  said  towns. 

"  3.  That  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  especially 
the  sixth  article  in  the  bill  of  rights,  Government  is 
instituted  or  declared  to  be  a  right  of  every  part  of 
the  community,  and  not  a  part  only ;-  said  votes  are 
therefore  a  violation  of  the  Constitution. 

"  4.  That,  so  far  as  the  assembly  have  power,  they 
have,  by  said  votes,  totally  destroyed  the  confedera- 
tion of  the  State  by  depriving  those  towns  included 
in  the  union  of  the  exercise  of  any  jurisdiction,  power 
or  privilege  granted  them  in  the  confederation;  by 
which  the  towns  in  the  State  are  combined  and  held 
together  as  one  body.  And  as  ho  political  body  can 
exercise  a  partial  jurisdiction,  by  virtue  of  a  confed- 
eration, or  agreement  of  the  people  to  exercise  gov- 
ernment over  the  whole,  it  is  therefore  either  void  or 
destroys  both  the  confederation  and  the  Constitution. 
We  do,  therefore,  hereby  publicly  declare  and  make 
known  that  we  cannot,  consistent  with  our  oaths  and 


engagements  to  the  State,  so  long  as  said  votes  stand 
and  continue  in  force,  exercise  any  office  or  place — 
either  legislative,  executive  or  judicial — in  this  State; 
but  look  upon  ourselves  as  being,  thereby,  discharged 
from  any  and  every  former  confederation  and  associ- 
ation with  the  State." 

This  protest  was  signed  by  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Vermont  and  twenty-six  others,  most 
of  whom  were  residents  upon  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  The  protesting  members  immediately  with- 
drew, leaving  in  the  Assembly  hardly  enough  to 
form  a  quorum.  However  just  may  have  been 
their  grounds  for  this  bitter  complaint,  the  As- 
sembly of  Vermont,  now  fully  aware  of  the 
danger,  as  well  as  the  injustice  of  aiding  in  the 
dismemberment  of  New  Hampshire,  determined  to 
retrace  their  steps  and  rid  themselves  wholly  of 
the  connection.  Accordingly,  it  was  decided  in 
session,  February  12,  1779,  that  "the  said  union 
ought  to  be  considered  as  being  null  from  the  be- 
ginning." This  decisive  step  only  added  to  the 
excitement  and  chagrin  of  the  protesting  members, 
who  immediately  took  measures  for  calling  a  con- 
vention at  Cornish,  to  which  they  invited  all  the 
towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Connecticut  River  to  send 
delegates.  The  convention  met  as  suggested,  but 
nothing  important  was  done,  and  the  feeling  of 
resentment  soon  died  away. 

Doubtless,  this  would  have  been  the  end  of  the 
difficulty,  had  New  Hampshire,  after  having  re- 
claimed her  revolted  territory,  manifested  the 
same  regard  for  justice  toward  Vermont  which 
she  had  demanded  and  received  from  that  State. 

Although  the  former  union  had  been  recently 
dissolved  through  the  agency  of  Vermont  people, 
yet  many  towns  east  of  the  river  were  desirous  of 
forming  a  second  connection. 

"  At  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  several 
towns  in  the  county  of  Cheshire,  in  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  held  at  Walpole,  in  said  county,  on  the 
15th  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty, 

"  Voted,  That  Dr.  Page,  Colonel  Hunt,  Captain 
Holmes,  Daniel  Jones,  Esq.,  and  Colonel  Bellows  be 
a  committee  to  confer  with  gentlemen  from  any  parts 
of  the  territory  called  New  Hampshire  grants,  con- 


68 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NKW   HAMPSHIRE. 


cerning  the  jurisdiction  of  said  grants,  and  to  con- 
sider what  is  proper  to  be  done  by  the  inhabitants 
thereof  relative  to  their  jurisdiction,  that  the  same 
may  be  ascertained  aud  established." 

This  committee,  after  duo  consideration,  reported 
favoring  the  union  with  Vermont,  and  in  conclusion 
said  : 

•■  We,  therefore,  earnestly  recommend  as  the  only 
means  to  obtain  a  union,  preserve  peace,  harmony 
and  brotherly  love  and  the  interest  of  the  community 
in  neutral,  that  a  convention  be  called  from  every 
town  within  thesaid  grants,  to  be  held  at  Charlestown 
on  the  third  Tuesday  of  January  next,  at  one  al'  the 
clock  in  the  afternoon  :  ami  thai  one  or  more  mem- 
bers from  each  town  he  appointed  with  proper  in- 
structions to  unite  in  such  measures  a-  the  majority 
shall  judge  most  conducive  to  consolidate  a  union  of 
the  grants  and  effect  a  final  settlement  of  the  line  of 
jurisdiction." 

This  report  was  signed  by  B.  Bellows,  S.  Hunt, 
I>.  Jones,  L.  Holmes  and  \Y.  Page,  as  committee, 
and  was  accepted  by  the  convention. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  this 
report,  a  convention  was  held  at  Charlestown, 
January  111,  L781,  consisting  of  delegates  from 
forty  three  towns.  In  this  movement  Claremont 
played  a  part,  and  for  a  short  season  was  regarded 
as  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Vermont.  On  the 
10th  of  February  following,  the  convention  made 
application  to  the  Assembly  o{  Vermont  for  a 
union  of  the  grants  on  both  sides  of  Connecticut 
River,  Betting  forth  the  importance,  necessity  and 
justice  of  a  permanent  union  of  the  grants  on  botli 
sides  of  the  river.  They  had  good  reasons  for 
urging  such  measures.  And.  among  others,  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  only  those  towns  which 
had  been  granted  by  Governor  Benning  Went- 
worth  were  engaged  in  the  conflict  with  New 
York,  which,  ever  since  17»>4,  had  attempted,  not 
only  to  .-wallow  them  up  in  her  jurisdiction,  but 
also  to  compel  them  to  repurchase  their  own  tire- 
sides  and  acres,  for  the  purpose  atifying  the 
insatiate  avarice  of  the  greedy  minions  of  arbi- 
trary power,  at  which  time  these  towns  were 
cordially  received  by  the  State  of  Vermont,  whose 
policy  it   certainly  was   at  that   time  to   gain  such 


valuable    accessions,  in  order  to    prevent  the    tear 

ing  asunder  of  what  she  already  possessed. 
The    Assembly    of    Vermont    determined     to 

receive  the  forty-three  towns  into  her    jurisdiction, 
and  report  was  made  as  follows  : 

•'  That  this  assembly  is  willing  to  receive  the  in- 
habitants of  tin*  New  Hampshire  grants,  east  of  Con- 
necticut River  and  west  of  the  Mason  line,  into  union 
with  this  state,  if  we  can  agree  on  terms  that  shall  be 
safe  for  the  State  and  beneficial  to  the  whole." 

A  minority  o['  the  delegates  to  the  convention 
at  Charlestown.  among  whom  were  Oliver  Ashley 
ami  Matthias  Stone,  the  delegates  from  Claremont, 
protested  against  the  action  of  the  convention  as 
follows  : ' 

"  In  Convention  \i  Charlestown,  Jan.  18,1781. 
"  We,  the  subscribers,  delegates  from  the  several 
towns  to  which  our  names  are  affixed,  wishing  for 
and  endeavoring  to  form  a  union  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire grants  on  both  sides  of  Connecticut  River,  and 
contented  that  they  be  annexed  to  New  Hampshire 
or  be  a  separate  State,  as  Congress  may  judge  proper; 
but  thinking  ourselves  not  authorized  by  our  constit- 
uents to  unite  with  the  said  grants,  in  the  method  re- 
solved by  the  said  convention,  and  being  of  opinion 
that  their  proceedings  have  a  tendency  to  weaken  the 
reins  of  government — to  retard  the  exertions  of  those 
who  are  eniraired  to  oppose  the  public  enemy — to  in- 
troduce irregularity  and  disorder  in  the  county  of 
Cheshire,  and  not  conducive  to  the  end  proposed; 
think  it  our  duty  to  protest  against  the  proceedings  of 
said  convention." 

The  other  delegates,  besides  Messrs.  Ashley  and 
Stone,  of  Claremont,  who  signed  this  protest,  were 
those  from  Winchester,  Walpole,  Charlestown, 
Richmond,  Keene,  Al stead  and  Newport. 

About  this  time  a  petition  was  presented  to  the 
Vermont  Assembly,  by  inhabitants  living  to  the 
west  of  Vermont,  for  a  like  union  with  that  State 
id' the  territory  Lying  to  the  east  id' Hudson  River. 
In  this  the  petitioners  prayed  for  protection  against 
their  enemies  in  Canada.  It  was  the  evident  de- 
sign of  the  Assembly  of  Vermont  to  form  a  large 

ipied    from    ••  Provincial   and  Suae    Papers  of   New 
Hampshire,"  vol  x  .  p.  393. 


(  LAKKMONT. 


C9 


and  powerful  State  oul  of  their  own  territory,  all 
the  territory  situated  easl  of  Connecticut  River, 
north  of  Massachusetts  and  south  of  latitude  forty- 
five,  and  all  the  territory  north  of  the  lino  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  extending  to  Hudson  River- 
Vermont  having  asked  lor  admission  to  the 
Union,  Congress  did  not  look  favorably  upon  her 
request  while  her  controversies  with  New  Hamp- 
shire and  New  York  were  unsettled,  and.  accord- 
ingly, on  the  7th  of  August,  1781,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Revolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to 
confer  with  such  person  or  persons  as  may  be-  ap- 
pointed by  the  people  residing  on  the  New  Hampshire 
grants,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  or 
by  their  representative  body,  respecting  their  claim 
to  be  an  independent  .State;  and  on  what  terms  it 
may  be  proper  to  admit  them  into  the  Federal  Union 
of  these  States,  in  case  the  I  Inited  States,  in  Con;.' 

added,  shall   determine   to  recognize  their  inde- 
pendence, and  thereof  make  report. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  case  Congress  shall  recognize  tin? 
independence  of  the  said  people  of  Vermont,  they 
will  consider  all  the  lands  belonging  to  New  Hamp- 
shire and  New  York,  respectively,  without  the  limits 
of  Vermont,  aforesaid,  as  coming  within  the  mutual 
guarantee  of  territory  contained  in  the  articles  of 
confederation;  and  that  the  United  States  will,  ac- 
cordingly, guarantee  such  lands,  and  the  jurisdiction 
over  the  same,  against  any  claims  or  encroachments 
from  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont,  aforesaid." 

The  committee  chosen  under  the  foregoing  reso- 
lutions were  Mr.  Boudinot,  of  New  Jersey;  Mr. 
Vandyke,  of  Delaware  ;  Mr.  Carroll,  of  Maryland; 
Mr.  Montgomery,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, of  Virginia.  Mr.  Madison  was  on  the  com- 
mittee who  had  drafted  the  resolutions. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  Messrs.  Jonas  Fay 
and  Ira  Allen,  representing  Vermont  west  of  the 
Connecticut  River,  and  Bazaleel  Woodbury,  of 
Dresden  (Hanover),  representing  the  towns  of  the 
eastern  union,  who,  on  the  22d  of  June,  immedi- 
ately after  the  formation  of  the  western  union,  had 
been  appointed  agents  to  apply  to  Congress  for  the 
admission  of  Vermont  into  the  Federal  union,  ar- 
rived  in   Philadelphia   to   gain  their  first  knowl- 


edge there  of  what  had  been  going  on.  The  con- 
ference took  place  on  the  l^th  of  August,  and, 
after  a  hearing  upon  and  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  committee  recommended  to  the  adoption 
by  Congress  of  the  following: 

"  Resolved,  That  it  be  an  indispensable  preliminary 
to  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  people 
inhabiting  the  territory  called  Vermont,  and  their  ad- 
mission into  tin-  Federal  Union;  that  they  explicitly 
relinquish  all  demands  of  lands  or  jurisdiction  on  the 
east  side  of  t  In'  west  bank  of  Connecticut  River,  and 
on  the  west  side  of  a  line  beginning  at  northwesl  cor- 
ner of  the  State  of  Massachusetts;  thence  running 
twenty  mile-  east  of  Hudson  river,  so  far  as  the  river 
runs  northeasterly  in  its  general  course  ;  thence  by 
the  west  bounds  of  the  townships  granted  by  the  late 
I  rovernment  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  river  running 
from  South  Hay  to  Lake  <  hamplain  ;  thence  along 
the  said  river  to  Lake  ('hamplain;  thence  along  the 
waters  of  Lake  Champlain  to  latitude  45  degrees 
north,  excepting  a  neek  of  land  between  Massiskov 
bay  and  the  watere  of  Lake  Champlain." 

This  resolution  was  adopted  by  Congress,  twelve 
States,  being  all  except  New  York,  voted  for  the 
adoption  of  the  resolution. 

The  Legislature  assembled  at  Charlfstown  in 
October  and  in  committee  of  the  whole  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Congressional  resolutions,  the 
subject  was  discussed  for  three  days,  when  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  committee  recommend  to  the 
Legislature  of  this  State  to  remain  firm  in  the  princi- 
ples on  which  the  State  of  Vermont  first  assumed 
government;  and  to  hold  the  articles  of  union  which 
connect  each  part  of  the  State  with  the  other  invio- 
late." 

They  then  affirmed  for  the  information  of  Con- 

-  that  they  would  not  submit  the  question  of 
their  independent ■  to  the  arbitrament  of  any  power 
whatever;  but  that  they  were  willing,  at  present, 
to  refer  the  question  of  their  jurisdictional  bound- 
ary to  commissioners  mutually  chosen  ;  and  when 
the  State  should  be  admitted  into  the  American 
Union  they  would  submit  any  such  disputes  to 
Congress.      They  elected   nine   commissioners  on 


70 


I  [[STORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


their  part  to  meet  with  similar  commissioners  from 
New  Hampshire  and  New  York. 

A  long  and,  at  times,  bitter  controversy  i'<>l- 
lowed,  with  but  little  prospect  of  a  settlement  of 
tin-  difficulties.  Finally,  Governor  Chittenden 
wrote  a  long  and  confidential  letter,  dated  Decem- 
ber 14,  1781,  to  General  Washington, giving  a  full 
history  of  the  troubles  and  tin'  causes  of  them.  On 
January  1,  1782,  General  Washington  replied  at 
length,  which  had  the  effect  to  bring  about  a  full 
and  final  settlement,  and  the  admission  of  Ver- 
mont into  the  Federal  Union,  substantially  on  the 
basis  of  the  resolution  of  Congress  above  quoted. 

Tlie  following  is  copied  verbatim  from  :'  Provincial 
and  State  Papers  of  New  Hampshire,"  vol.  x.  page 
483. 

PETITION  OF  SUNDRV  [INHABITANTS  OF  CLARE- 
MONT,  PRAYING  FOR  SPEEDV  BELIEF  FROM  DIF- 
FICULTIES  OF    VERMONT    [NTERFERENCE. 

"  To  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  or  Committee  of 
Safety  for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  : 

"  We,  the  Inhabitants,  as  individuals,  of  the  Town 
of  <  'lareinont  Laboring  under  great  difficulties  on  ac- 
count of  the  pretended  claim  of  Vermont,  &  not 
being  able  to  Hold  Town  meetings  under  New  Hamp- 
shire, we  Humbly  Request  Directions  how  to  proceed, 
as  we  are  threatened  in  person  &  property,  by  their 
taxes  and  Laws,  which  we  utterly  refuse  to  submit 
too,  they  carry  80  high  a  hand  that  we  must  have 
speedy  relief  or  must  submit  to  their  jurisdiction 
which  will  be  very  grievous  to  your  petitioners  and 
therefore  we  Humbly  pray  for  a  Bpeedy  answer.  We 
arc  short  in  words  iV  particulars  as  being  sensible 
you  are  in  some  measure  knowing  to  our  circum- 
stances, &  we  your  petitioners  in  Duty  Bound  shall 
ever  pray. 

"  Claremont,  Jan'y  14.  1782. 

"  Elihu  Everts  Josiali  Stevens 

I  l'ii r \  Stevens  Elihu  Stevens 

Roswell  Stevens  T.  Sterne 

Reuben  Petty  Jesse  Matthews 

Josiah  Rich  Thomas  Jones 

John  Pecki  Joseph  [ves 

\V".  Strobridge  Bart  1  it t  Binds 

Gideon  Lewis  John  West." 
David  Rich 


The  Vermont  Legislature  met  at  Bennington, 
and  on  the  11th  of  February,  1 782,  the  business 
relating  to  the  east  and  west  union  was  brought,  up 
for  consideration,  and  Governor  Chittenden  laid 
before  the  House  the  letter  of  General  Washington 
and  other  papers  relating  to  the  subject.  On  the 
19th  the  Governor  and  Council  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives met  in  committee  of  the  whole  to  take 
into  consideration  the  resolution  of  Congress  of  the 
20th  of  August  and  other  matters  relating  to  the 
union  controversy. 

While  in  committee  of  the  whole  a  motion  was 
made — "  That  the  sense  of  the  committee  be  taken 
upon  the  following  question,  viz. :  Whether  Con- 
gress, in  their  resolutions  of  the  7th  and  21st  of 
August  last,  in  guaranteeing  to  the  respective 
States  of  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  all  ter- 
ritory without  certain  limits  therein  expressed,  has 
not  eventually  determined  the  boundaries  of  this 
State?" 

Which  question,  being  put,  was  carried  in  the 
affirmative.  The  committee  of  the  whole  reported 
its  doings  to  the  House,  which  report,  being  read, 
was  accepted  and  adopted,  when  on  motion  it  was 
then  resolved,  "  That  this  House  do  judge  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Union  completely  dissolved. 

"  And  thereupon  it  was  Resolved,  That  the  west 
hank  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  a  line  beginning 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Massachusetts  State 
from  thence  northward  twenty  miles  east  of  Hudson's 
River,  as  specified  in  the  Resolutions  of  August  last 
shall  be  considered  as  the  east  ami  west  boundaries  of 
this  State;  and  that  tins  Assembly  do  hereby  relin- 
quish all  claims  and  demand  to  and  right  of  jurisdic- 
tion in  and  over  any  and  every  district  of  territory 
without  said  boundary  lines;  and  that  authenticated 
copies  of  this  Resolution  be  forthwith  officially  trans- 
mitted to  Congress  and  the  States  of  New  Hampshire 
and  New  York  respectn ely." 

Thus  by  the  act  of  the  Vermont  Assembly  the 
unions  east  and  west  were  dissolved,  under  circum- 
stances and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  preclude  the 
prospect  of  their  being  again  renewed. 

There  were  some  in  ('lareinont  who  were 
chagrined  at  the  turn  matters  had  taken  in  Ver- 


CLAREMONT. 


71 


mont,  and  the  Tories  were  ever  ready  to  play  upon 
any  emergency  which  gave  the  least  indication  of 
discord  and  disunion  among  the  Whigs.  Four 
different  times  in  1782— the  first  March  12th,  and 
the  last  July  1st, —  did  the  people  meet  before  the 
business  usually  transacted  at  the  annual  meeting 
in  March  was  fully  accomplished.  The  last  meet- 
ing was  held  in  "  ye  barn  of  Msrs.  Thomas  and 
Timothy  Dustin  in  said  town  after  being  legally 
warned."  Elihu  Stevens,  Esq.,  was  chosen  mod- 
erator. Here  it  was  "  Voted  to  look  into  ye  state 
of  ye  treasury." 

In  1784,  by  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  the  Tories  were  allowed  the  privilege  of 
returning  to  this  country  to  collect  their  debts  and 
dispose  of  their  property.  This  was  a  favor  valua- 
ble to  many  in  Claremont,  who  had  left  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  and  had  kept  themselves  aloof 
or  out  of  public  view  during  its  continuance. 
John  Brooks,  before  spoken  of,  returned  early  this 
year,  for  the  purpose  above  named.  But  he  found 
no  friends  among  his  former  acquaintances.  In- 
sults and  ridicule  were  heaped  upon  him  whenever 
he  went  abroad.  Disappointed,  humbled  and,  it 
may  be,  vexed  at  this  reception,  he  disposed  of  his 
effects'  and  quickly  left  town. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  this  year  Captain 
Benjamin  Sumner  was  chosen  to  represent  the 
town  in  General  Assembly  to  be  held  at  Concord, 
on  the  first  Wednesday  in  June  following.  At  a 
town-meeting  held  August  9,  1784,  it  was  voted  to 
appoint  a  committee  "  to  treat  with  Captain  Oliver 
Ashley  to  know  of  him  whether  he  has  fulfilled 
the  demands  of  the  State  upon  him  for  soldiers, 
and  likewise  to  desire  him  to  make  out  the  pay- 
roll for  the  sudden  alarm  to  guard  the  Frontier  in 
the  late  war." 

At  a  town-meeting  held  in  December,  1785,  it 
was  voted  to  "  give  the  Rev.  Augustine  Hibbard  a 
dismission  from  his  church,  and  recommendation 
as  a  gospel  minister."  Also  that  "  all  his  estate, 
both  real  and  personal  that  he  now  possesses  be 
freed  from  all  taxes  during  his  residence  in  Clare- 
mont," 

The   Baptist  Society   was   first   formed   in   this 


town  during  this  year,  but  there  was  no  stated 
preaching  until  the  following  year,  when  Rev. 
John  Peckins  was  ordained.  The  formation  of 
this  new  religious  society  increased  the  bitterness 
of  feeling  against  the  ministerial  tax  system.  The 
members  of  the  new  society  firmly  but  calmly  re- 
fused to  conform  to  this  requirement  of  the  law, 
pleading  that  they  were  of  a  different  denomina- 
tion. It  was  therefore  deemed  advisable  to  strike 
them  from  the  grand  list,  and  a  vote  was  passed  at 
a  town-meeting  "  that  those  people  that  call  them- 
selves Baptists  pay  no  more  rates  to  the  Congrega- 
tional order  for  the  fewter." 

At  a  town-meeting  held  in  August,  17<S0,  it  was 
voted  that  "  we  lay  our  claims  for  our  private  ex- 
penditures in  the  late  war  on  special  claims  in- 
cluding our  Vermont  services."  The  town  also 
voted  that  the  "  State  make  a  bank  of  paper  cur- 
rency." A  committee  of  five  was  also  chosen  to 
give  instructions  to  Sanford  Kingsbury,  Esq.,  the 
Representative  to  the  General  Court,  "  how  and  in 
what  manner  s'd  money  shall  be  made  to  answ?er 
the  public  best  and  also  in  what  manner  s'd 
money  shall  be  drawn  out  of  the  treasury  to 
answer  the  most  valuable  purposes."  These  steps 
were  in  accordance  with  a  plan  proposed  by  the 
"General  Court  Committee  for  emitting  a  paper 
currency."  It  would  seem  that  there  was  not  per- 
fect unanimity  in  regard  to  this  plan,  for  on  the 
21st  day  of  November  a  town-meeting  was  held  in 
which  the  question  was  again  tried  and  settled  in 
favor  of  the  plan,  eighteen  voting  for  and  five 
against  it.  At  this  period  the  general  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  the  States,  was  deeply  involved  in 
debt.  "  Silver  and  gold,  which  had  been  exten- 
sively circulated  during  the  last  years  of  the  war, 
were  now  returning  by  the  usual  course  of  trade 
to  those  countries  whence  large  quantities  of  nec- 
essary and  unnecessary  commodities  had  been  im- 
ported." 

The  country  was  entirely  drained  of  specie,  and 
Congress  then  possessing  no  power  to  lay  imposts, 
there  was  no  check  to  this  universal  flow  from  the 
public  treasury.  To  remedy  existing  evils,  taxa- 
tions upon  polls  and  estates  were  resorted  to,  and 


72 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


thus  almost  insupportable   burdens  were  thrown 
upon  the  husbandman  and  the  laborer. 

Hence  arose  a  clamor  throughout  the  State  for 
the  establishment  of  a  paper  currency.  In  every 
town  was  a  party  in  favor  of  this  measure.  It 
was  insisted  that  through  this  method  life  would 
be  imparted  to  commerce  and  encouragement  to 
agriculture,  that  the  poor  would  thereby  be  pro- 
vided with  means  for  the  payment  of  their  debts 
and  taxes,  and  finally  that  it  would  work  as* an 
effectual  check  to  the  operations  of  speculators  and 
monopolists. 

In  conformity  with  a  resolution  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Legislature,  passed  March  3,  178(5, 
calling  upon  "the  selectmen  of  the  several  towns, 
districts  and  parishes  in  this  State"  "to  make  a 
return  of  all  the  inhabitants  within  this  State,  on 
or  before  the  second  Wednesday  of  June  next, 
viz.:  the  whole  number  of  white  and  other  free 
citizens;  inhabitants  of  every  age,  sex  and  condi- 
tion, including  those  bound  to  servitude  for  a  term 
of  years;  and  also  in  a  separate  column,  or  class 
all  other  persons  not  comprehended  in  the  foregoing 
description,  except  Indians  not  paying  taxes."  The 
following  was  the  return  from  Claremont : 

"Males  4S7 

Females 4^7 

Slaves ■  '< 

Nn!  inhabitants — transient   persons  now 
residing  in  said  town. 

Males  23 

Females 25 


Total 


965  "• 


To  -till  the  clamor  and  ascertain  the  real  sense 
of  the  people  upon  this  subject,  the  General  As 
sembly,  in  session  at  Exeter,  September  Id,  1 7 ^ < '> , 
formed  a  plan  for  the  emission  of  fifty  thousand 
pounds,  to  be  loaned  at  four  per  cent,  on  land  se- 
curities, and  this  to  be  a  tender  in  payment  of 
taxes,  ami  for  the  tW<  and  salaries  of  public  otii 
The  plan  was  sent  to  the  several  lowns,  and 
the  people  were  requested  to  give  their  opinions  in 
town-meeting  for  and  against  it.  and  to  make  re- 
turn of  the  votes  to  the  Assembly  at  it<  next   ses- 


sion. The  plan  did  not  meet  with  public  appro- 
bation, a  majority  of  the  people  having  voted  against 
it.  The  uneasiness  ^rew  to  disturbance  and  riot, 
oven  so  far  that  a  band  of  men,  armed  with  swords 
and  muskets,  attempted  to  intimidate1  the  Legisla- 
ture during  its  session  at  Exeter.  A  i'vw  of  the 
ringleaders  were  seized,  the  mob  dispersed,  and  the 
people  gradually  settled  down  with  the  conclusion 
that  industry  in  developing  the  resources  of  the 
country  would  soon  afford  adequate  relief  from 
present  cmbarra.-sments  and  insure  prosperity  and 
permanent  wealth. 

In  1787  the  difficulties  respecting  the  location 
of  the  Congregational  meeting  house  were  still 
unsettled.  The  town  voted  this  year  to  hold  public 
worship  in  the  school-house  that  stands  a  few  rods 
south  of  Atkins'  Bridge.  This  is  now.  and  for 
many  years  has  been,  known  as  the  Upper  Bridge. 

About  this  time  Josiah  Stevens,  father  of  Josiah, 
Alvah  and  Paran  Stevens,  commenced  trade  in  a 
little  shed  or  temporary  out-building,  near  where 
the  Keyes  house,  now  owned  by  Henry  C.  Noyes, 
stand.-.  Young  Stevens  came  to  town  with  his 
father,  Elihu  Stevens,  Esq.,  in  177-").  He  com- 
menced business  with  a  very  small  stock  of  such 
goods  as  he  thought  would  be  most  needed  by  the 
settlers,  and  increased  his  stock  from  time  to  time 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  his  customers.  The 
bringing  of  the  first  hogshead  of  molasses  and  chest 
of  tea  into  town  was  the  occasion  of  wonder  and 
■  xcitement  throughout  the  neighborhood,  and  some 
of  the  more  prudent  settlers,  as  tradition  has  it, 
declared  that  "  it  was  a  piece  of  foolish  extrava- 
gance that  would  certainly  come  to  no  good."  But 
the  new  merchant  still  kept  on  meeting  with  a 
moderate  degree  of  success.  In  a  few  years,  the 
tide  of  business  having  shifted,  Mr.  Stevens  movid 
his  small  store  building  across  Sugar  River  <>n  the 
ice,  and  located  it  near  the  Atkins  Bridge,  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  <  leorge  N.  Farwell's  large 
brick  block.  Mr.  Stevens  built  up  a  huge  busi- 
and  in  many  ways  contributed  to  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  town,  and  for  many  years 
was  the  leading  merchant  of  this  vicinity. 

This  year  the  town  voted  to  raise  "  80  pounds  for 


CLAREMONT. 


73 


the  repair  of  highways,  and  to  allow  3  shillings  per 
diem  to  able-bodied  meu,  18  pence  per  diem  for  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  8  pence  for  a  plow,  and  8  pence  for 
a  cart." 

Sanford  Kingsbury  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Claremont,  and  in  1789  was  a  member  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council,  of  the  State  Senate  in  1790  and 
1791,  and  of  the  convention  to  revise  the  Consti- 
tution in  1791  and  1792. 

From  the  "  Town  Papers  of  New  Hampshire  " 
we  copy  the  following  petition  for  the  incorporation 
of  the  Episcopal  Society,  verbatim  : 

"  To   the  honorable  the   Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  General  Court  convened  Humbly 
shew 
"  Benjamin   Sumner   &   Ebenezer  Rice — Members 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Claremont  in 
the  County  of  Cheshire  thai  said  Church  has  laboured 
under  many  and  great  inconveniences  for  want  of  an 
incorporation,  they  therefore  pray  your  honors  to  in- 
corporate said  society  by  law  and  make  them  a  body 
politic  capable  of  receiving  and  holding  property  both 
real  and  personal  and  to  have  &  enjoy  all   the  privi- 
leges and  immunities  belonging  to  a  corporate  body, 
and  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray 
"  Claremont  December  26th,  1793. 

"  Bexj.  Sumxer,      )  in  behalf  of 
"  Ebexezer  Rice,    j    the  Church." 

"  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives  Jany  21  1794. 

"  Upon  reading  and  considering  the  foregoing  peti- 
tion &  the  report  of  a  Committee  thereon,  Voted  that 
the  prayer  thereof  be  granted  and  that  the  Petitioners 
have  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  accordingly. 

"Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"  Nathl.  Peabody,  Speaker. 
"  In  Senate  the  same  Day  Read  and  Concurred. 
"  Nathl.  Parker,  Depy.  Secy." 

In  1790  a  complete  census  of  the  State  was  made 
by  towns,  and  the  following  is  the  return  from 
Claremont,  as  appears  by  the  "  Town  Papers  of 
New  Hampshire:" 

"  Males  above  16  years  of  age 348 

Males  under  16  years  of  age 391 

Females 692 

Other  free  persons 2 

Slaves 2 

Total 1435" 


In  1783  the  whole  number  of  ratable  polls  in 
Claremont  was  163.  In  1885  the  whole  number 
of  voters  on  the  check-list  in  town  was  1250. 

The  steady  but  gradual  growth  of  the  town  will 
be  seen  from  the  census  of  population  each  decade 
since  1775,  when  it  was  523.  In  1790,  it  was 
1435;  in  1800,1889;  in  1810,  2,094;  in  1820, 
2,290  ;  in  1830,  2,526  ;  in  1840,  3,217  ;  in  1850, 
3,606  ;  in  1860,  4,026  ;  in  1870,  4,053 ;  in  1880, 
4,704. 

WATER-POWER    AXD     MAXUFACTURES. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  and  sources  ol 
wealth  of  Claremont  is  its  superior  water-power, 
derived  mainly  from  Sugar  River.  This  river  is 
the  outlet  of  Sunapee  Lake,  which  is  nine  and  a 
half  miles  long  and  from  half  a  mile  to  two  and  a 
half  miles  wide,  and  is  eight  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  above  Connecticut  River,  into  which  it  empties 
in  the  town  of  Claremont.  Sugar  River  is  about 
eighteen  miles  long  from  its  source  to  its  mouth. 
It  passes  through  the  towns  of  Sunapee,  Newport 
and  Claremont.  It  is  fed  by  what  is  called  South 
Branch,  which  has  its  source  in  Lempster,  Unity 
and  Goshen ;  the  North  Branch,  coming  from 
Springfield,  Grantham  and  Croydon,  both  of  which 
it  receives  in  the  town  of  Newport  after  passing 
the  village  of  that  town  ;  and  other  smaller  streams 
along  its  course.  But  the  river  is  chiefly  supplied 
with  water  from  Sunapee  Lake,  especially  in  dry 
times.  The  Sunapee  Dam  Company  was  incorpor- 
ated by  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  Decem- 
ber 4,  1820.  This  company  is  composed  of  mill- 
owners  in  Claremont,  Newport  and  Sunapee,  who 
derive  their  motive-power  from  Sugar  River. 
Among  the  rights  granted  by  the  Legislature  was 
the  right  "  to  sink  the  outlet  of  Sunapee  Lake  at 
the  s  )urce  of  Sugar  River  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet 
below  the  low-water  mark  of  said  Lake,  and  to 
erect  and  maintain  a  dam  there,  with  suitable  gates 
and  flumes,  to  the  height  of  said  low-water  mark, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  mills  and  mill  privileges." 

For  many  years  Sugar  River  has  furnished  the 
power  for  a  very  large  number  of  mills,  represent- 
ing very  many  different  industries  in  the  towns 
through  which  it  runs,  and,  at  the  present  time,  is 


74 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  principal  source  of  their  wealth.     Upon  this 
water-power  they  depend  for  their  future  growth 
and  prosperity.     As  above  stated,  the  fall  of  this 
river  is  eight  hundred   and   twenty  feet.     In  the 
town  of  Claremont  it  falls  three  hundred  feet  or 
more,  and  there  are  thirteen  excellent  mill  privi- 
leges on  these  falls.    Upon  many  of  these  privileges 
are  mills  upon  both  sides  of  the  river,  thus  afford- 
ing opportunity  to  utilize  the  whole  power.     It  is 
estimated  that  each  foot  of  fall  is  capable  of  turn- 
ing one  thousand  spindles.     There  is  a  fall  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-three  feet  in  these  thirteen 
privileges.     The  Sunapee  Dam  Company  was  duly 
organized    immediately    after    the    charter    was 
granted,  and  suitable  dam  and  other  appliances 
were  erected  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  water 
of  Sunapee  Lake  in  reserve  for  use  at  times  of  low 
water  in  the  river,  by  mills  along  its  course.     This 
corporation  has  been  kept  up  and  the  dam  and 
other  appliances  erected  have  been  maintained  and 
improved  from  time  to  time.     Whenever  the  lands 
about  the  lake  have  been  flowed,  or  other  damage 
accrued  from  the  erection  of  this  dam,  those  in- 
jured have  been  compensated  by  the  company, 
and  in  not  a  few   instances  the  right  to  flow   has 
been  purchased.     Without  this  great  natural  res- 
ervoir and  the  right  to  use  it,  granted  by  the  Leg- 
islature,  neither  Claremont,  Newport  or  Sunapee 
could   have   reached    their   present   condition   of 
wealth  and  consequent  importance. 

Although  this  company  has  the  right  to  draw 
the  lake  down  ten  feet  below  low-water  mark,  it 
has  never  been  drawn  to  anything  like  that  extent. 
The  capital  stock  in  mill  property  in  Claremont  is 
$685,000.  The  annual  product  from  the  different 
mills  and  manufacturing  establishments  is  SI, 250,- 
000.  The  number  of  hands  employed — males, 
females  and  children — is  912,  and  the  annual  pay- 
rolls amount  to  $275,000.  Since  1820,  when  the 
Sunapee  Dam  Company  was  incorporated,  the 
manufacturing  business  of  Claremont,  dependent 
upon  water-power,  with  a  few  pauses  and  lapses, 
has  gradually,  but  steadily,  grown  to  its  present 
proportions.  The  first  real,  earnest  start  in  man 
ufacturing  business  did  not  occur  until  1832. 


In  1879  the  venerable  Simeon  Ide,  who  for  many 
years — from  1834 — was  prominently  identified  with 
the  manufacturing  interests  of  Claremont,  pre- 
pared and  published  a  little  book,  entitled,  "  The 
Industries  of  Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  Past 
and  Present,"  containing  many  valuable  statistics, 
and  but  for  him,  probably,  would  not  have  been 
preserved  for  the  benefit  of  present  and  future 
generations  of  such  as  are  interested  in  the  history 
of  the  growth  of  the  town.  From  this  publica- 
tion we  gather  many  facts,  it  being  the  most  relia- 
ble known  source  of  information  upon  the  subject 
embraced  in  it. 

Mr.  Ide  says,  speaking  of  the  water-power: 

"From  the  statistics  I  have  at  hand,  it  would  seem 
there  was  comparatively  but  very  little  use  made  of 
it  previous  to  the  year  1833-34.  There  was  then  at 
the  upper  fall,  No.  1,  a  grist-mill  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river ;  on  the  third  fall,  No.  3,  south  side,  a 
wool-carding  and  fulling-mill,  carried  on  by  Wood- 
man &  Elmer,  and  a  furnace  by  Roswell  Elmer ; 
and  on  the  north  side  a  small  hand-making  paper- 
mill,  having  two  120  lb.  pulp-engines,  and  other 
necessary  appliances  of  that  day,  in  proportion,  for 
making  paper,  owned  and  operated  by  Fiske  &  Blake, 
successors  of  the  first  paper-maker  in  Cheshire 
County,  Colonel  Josiah  Stevens.  On  Fall  No.  4  was 
a  seven-feet  clam,  and  till  the  1st  of  January,  1833, 
only  water  enough  was  drawn  from  it  to  move 
Timothy  Eastman's  bark-grinding  machine.  The 
Claremont  Manufacturing  Company's  stove-fac- 
tory, on  the  south  side,  had  recently  been  put  in 
order  to  receive  its  machinery.  On  the  fifth  fall,  east 
side  of  the  river,  was  the  Tyler  saw  and  grist-mill; 
on  the  west  side,  a  wool-carding,  spinning,  weaving  and 
cloth-dressing  factory.  On  the  sixth  fall,  west  side, 
Farwell's  cotton-factory,  with  Billings'  machine-shop 
in  the  basement  or  L,  first  put  in  operation  in 
1831;  and  on  the  west  side,  in  'the  gully,'  a  small 
slate-sawing  and  planing-mill,  operated  by  Curtis 
Stoddard.  On  Falls  Nos.  7,  8  and  9,  in  1832,  not  even 
a  dam  had  been  built,  so  far  as  I  can  learn. 

"  Following  the  above  order  in  a  more  minute 
historical  descriptive  view  of  the  several  present  and 
former  mill-sites  in  the  village  proper  of  Claremont 
the  earliest  date  at  which  I  find  there  had  been  any 
use  made  of  that  at  F;illNo.  1,  north  side  of  the  river, 
was  about  the  year  1800,  when  Stephen  Dexter  erected 


CLAREMONT. 


75 


a  small  building  there,  and  he  and  his  brother, 
Colonel  David  Dexter,  carried  on  in  it  a  scythe-making 
concern  till  about  1824.  They  also  owned  grist,  saw 
and  oil-mills,  located  on  and  near  where  the  Monad- 
nock  Mills  Company's  saw-mill  now  stands,  which  were 
run  by  water  drawn  from  a  low  dam  then  standing 
about  midway  between  Dams  Nos.  1  and  2.  On  the 
decease  of  Colonel  Dexter,  in  1830,  his  son-in-law, 
Moses  Wheeler,  in  1831,  succeeded  the  Messrs.  Dexter 
in  the  several  branches  of  business  above  stated,  ex- 
cept the  scythe-factory,  as  sole  proprietor,  and  carried 
them  on  for  several  years. 

"In  1837-38  a  two-story  brick  building  took  the 
site  of  the  old  Dexter  scythe-shop,  and  was  owned 
and  occupied  by  the  '  Claremont  Carriage  Company  ' 
two  or  three  years.  Hard  times  finally  put  a  stop  to 
this  company's  operations,  and  soon  afterwards  their 
buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire.  Paran  Stevens, 
Timothy  Eastman,  Moses  Wheeler,  A.  J.  Tenney, 
T.  J.  Harris  (agent),  were  of  the  company.  In  1843- 
44  the  present  three-story  brick  building  was  erected. 
It  stood  empty  a  few  years,  when  John  Fiske  put  into 
it  cotton  machinery  ;  run  it  two  or  three  years ;  then 
a  Mr.  Cozens  bought  the  property,  continued  business 
but  a  short  time,  when  the  Mouadnock  Mills  Company 
bought  and  continued  its  use  as  a  cotton-mill  until 
1863,  and  then  substituted  the  woolen  for  the  old 
cotton  machinery.  This  is  the  only  factory  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  operated  by  power  from  Fall 
No.  1. 

"On  the  south  side,  in  olden  time,  Colonel  Josiah 
Stevens,  it  is  said,  built  a  one-story  wooden  building  at 
the  south  end  of  the  upper  bridge,  and  put  it  into 
machinery  for  making  paper."  This  must  have  been, 
according  to  Mr.  Ide,  prior  to  1810.  The  building 
was  burned  about  1812,  and  the  present  two-story 
wood  structure  erected  there,  which,  in  1831,  was 
owned  and  occupied  by  David  W.  Dexter  as  a  grist- 
mill. It  was  afterward  used  for  various  purposes,  and 
is  now  the  repair-shop  of  the  Mouadnock  Mills  Com- 
pany. 

Monadnock  Mills  Company.— This  company 
was  organized  and  commenced  business  in  1844. 
According  to  Mr.  Ide,  in  1831,  Dr.  Leonard  Jar- 
vis  obtained  a  charter  from  the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature  for  a  manufacturing  company  in  Clare- 
mont, called  the  "  Upper  Falls  Company."  This 
company   expended  about    twenty-five    thousand 


dollars  in  the  purchase  of  land,  water-power,  the 
erection   of    a   large  four-story  factory  building, 
tenement-houses,  etc.     They  had  only  put  up  the 
walls,  put  on  the  roof  and  put  in  the  windows  and 
doors  of  the  factory  building,  when  their  capital 
was  exhausted.     Then  followed  several  years   of 
discouraging  times  for  all  kinds  of  business,  and 
these   expensive  buildings  were  unoccupied   and 
were,  of  course,  going  to  decay  until   1843,  when 
the  whole  property  was  sold  to  Messrs.   Parker, 
Wilder   &   Co.,   of    Boston,    who   organized   the 
Monadnock  Mills  Company,  put  cotton  irachinery 
into  the  mill  and  commenced  business  in  1844. 
Henry  Russell  was  agent  and  general  manager  for 
this  company  about  two  years  ;  he  was  succeeded 
by   Jonas  Livingston,  who    filled  the   place   for 
seventeen  years,  when  he  resigned,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Daniel  W.  Johnson,  the  present  agent. 
This  company  has  had  a  general  prosperity  from 
its  first  organization,  subject,  of  course,  to  fluctu- 
ations in  trade,  with  other  similar  establishments. 
Its  business  facilities  have  been  very  greatly  ex^ 
tended  by  the  purchase  of  water-power  and  land, 
the  erection  of  new  buildings  and  making  improve- 
ments from  year  to  year  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  times,  until  it  is  now  the  largest  manufac- 
turing establishment  in  this  part  of  the  State.     It 
manufactures  cotton-goods,  sheetings  from  a  yard 
to  three  yards  wide,  and  Marseilles   quilts.     An 
extensive  bleachery  was  added  to  the  establishment 
in  1875.     In  addition  to  their  own,  they  bleach 
large   quantities  of  goods   sent   here   from  other 
States.      This    mill  produces  annually  2,255,500 
yards  of  cotton  cloth,  from  one  to  three  yards  wide, 
ninety-four    thousand   Marseilles  quilts,   employs 
five  hundred  hands,  and  its  average  pay-roll  is  ten 
thousand  dollars  per  month. 

The  Sullivan  Machine  Company. — This 
company  occupies  the  water-power  from  Fall  No.  3, 
thirteen  feet,  which  was  formerly  owned  by  Ros- 
well  Elmer,  who  carried  on  a  small  iron-foundry, 
making  castings  for  plows,  stoves,  potash  kettles, 
etc.  Mr.  Elmer  was  succeeded  by  George  W. 
Emerson,  in  a  similar  kind  of  business  up  to  1850, 
when  he  built  a  machine  shop,  now  a  part  of  one 


76 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


of  the  buildings  occupied  by  the  present  company. 
In  1851,  D.  A.  Clay  &  Co.,  consisting  of  D.  A. 
Clay  and  James  P.  IJpham,  leased  the  machine- 
shop  and  started  a  general  machine  business.  Sub- 
sequently James  P.  Upham  purchased  the  water- 
power  and  real  estate,  including  the  foundry  of 
Mr.  Emerson,  made  extensive  additions  to  the 
buildings  and  facilities  for  doing  business,  which 
was  continued  for  a  few  years  by  D.  A.  Clay  & 
Co.  In  1868  the  Sullivan  Machine  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
was  organized,  and  purchased  this  property, — J.  P. 
Upham  (president),  R.  W.  Love  (treasurer),  and 
Albert  Ball  (superintendent).  These  gentlemen 
owned  most  of  the  stock  of  the  company.  Mr. 
Love  subsequently  sold  his  interest  to  Charles  E. 
Rice,  who  took  Mr.  Love's  place  as  treasurer,  and 
such  is  the  organization  at  the  present  time  (1885). 
This  is  an  extensive  and  important  establishment ; 
its  buildings  occupying  an  area  of  three  or  four 
acres.  They  manufacture  a  great  variety  of  ma- 
chinery and  machine  tools.  They  manufacture  the 
Diamond  drill,  extensively  used  for  quarrying 
marble  and  other  stone,  and  take  contracts  for 
quarrying.  They  also  manufacture  the  Tyler  and 
\V  it  more  turbine  water-wheels,  water-wheel  regu- 
lators, shafting,  gearing,  pulleys,  and  all  kinds  of 
mill  irons,  paper  roving-cans,  flexible  cop-tubes, 
and  do  mill  iron  repairing.  They  generally  give 
employment  to  about  seventy-five  men,  most  of 
them  first-class  skilled  workmen. 

The  Claremont  Manufacturing  Company. 
— This  company's  factory  building,  are  located  at 
Fall  No.  4,  twelve  feet.  Authorized  capital,  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  was  chartered  by  the 
New  Hampshire  Legislature  in  1832,  and  was 
the  first  company  for  manufacturing  purposes 
organized  by  citizens  of  Claremont,  and  has  been 
in  continuous  operation  since  its  organization. 
Its  factory  buildings  and  tenement-houses  were 
erected  in  1832  and  1833.  The  walls  of  the 
factory  buildings  and  a  large  two-story  tenement- 
house  are  of  stone,  quarried  within  a  few  rods  of 
their  location.  The  original  largest  stockholders 
and  most  active  managers  of  this  company  were 


Austin  Tyler,  Dr.  Timothy  Gleason,  William  Ros- 
siter  and  Timothy  Eastman.  They  purchased 
about  fifteen  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river.  The  business  originally  contemplated  by 
this  company  was  the  manufacture  of  cotton  and 
woolen  goods,  and  printing  and  writing-papers, 
and  about  the  1st  of  January,  1833,  they 
were  prepared,  with  the  requisite  machinery  and 
other  appliances,  to  commence  the  manufacture  of 
satinets  and  printing  and  writing-papers.  In  De- 
cember, 1834,  Simeon  Ide,  then  a  bookseller,  printer 
and  publisher  of  a  weekly  paper  at  Windsor,  Vt., 
sold  to  the  Claremont  Manufacturing  Company 
his  entire  stock  of  books  and  the  printing  establish- 
ment, taking  his  pay  in  the  stock  of  the  company 
and  came  to  Claremont  and  took  the  agency  and 
general  management  of  the  concern,  which  he 
continued  until  1858,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother-in-law,  Edward  L.  Goddard.  Mr.  Ide 
sold  his  stock  to  his  two  sons,  George  G.  and 
Lemuel  N.  Ide.  Mr.  Goddard  continued  as  agent 
until  1867,  when  George  G.  Ide  succeeded  to  the 
place,  and  continued  in  it  until  his  death,  in  1883, 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Lemuel  N. 
Ide,  who  has  since  occupied  the  position  of  agent 
and  manager.  To  make  room  for  presses  and 
other  printing  apparatus,  the  satinet  machinery 
was  sold  to  the  Sullivan  Manufacturing  Company, 
an  outgrowth  of  this  company,  then  just  started, 
at  the  lower  fall,  No.  8.  After  Mr.  Simeon  Ide  took 
the  management  of  the  Claremont  Manufacturing 
Company's  affairs,  its  business  was  the  manufacture 
of  books, — making  the  paper  and  doing  the  printing 
and  binding.  This  business  was  continued  until 
1880,  when  the  paper-mill  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  since  which  it  has  not  been  rebuilt,  but 
the  printing  and  book-binding  has  been  continued. 
For  many  years  from  fifty  to  eighty  hands  were 
employed  in  this  establishment,  but  of  late  years 
the  number  has  been  considerably  less. 

Sugar  River  Mills  Company.— The  mills  of 
this  company  are  at  Fall  No.  5,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river. 

From  the  Upper  Bridge,  or  from  Fall  No.  1, 
Sugar  River  runs  nearly  due  west,  but,  between 


CLAREMONT. 


77 


the   Claremont   Manufacturing  Company's  privi- 
lege and  the  next  one  below  it,  the  river  turns  and 
runs  nearly  due  south  ;  hence  the  reader  will  un- 
derstand why  a  part  of  the  privileges  named  are 
said  to  be  on  the  south  and  a  part  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  and  so  of  those  named  as  being 
on  its  north  and  west  side.     This  Fall  No.  5  has 
been   known   for   several  generations  as  the  old 
"  Tyler  Mills"  privilege.     Benjamin  Tyler,  before 
referred  to,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town, 
once  owned  all  the  water-power  from  Fall  No.  1  to 
No.  9,  both  inclusive.     He  erected  the  first  grist 
and  saw-mills  in  town,  at  the  west  part,  in  1766, 
and  the  old  "Tyler  Mills"  on  this  privilege  in 
1785.     He  gave  the  latter  to  his  son  Ephraim  on 
his  coming  of  age,  who  continued  to  own  them  un- 
til 1836,  when  a  company,  consisting  of  three  gen- 
tlemen of  Keene  and  three  of  Claremont,  bought 
the  mills  and  mill-yard  and  appurtenances  with 
the  intention   of  removing  the  buildings,  which 
were  very  old   and  dilapidated,  and   putting   in 
their  place  suitable  buildings  for  a  first-class  calico- 
printing  establishment.    In  the  spring  of  1837  they 
commenced  their   preparations   for  building,  but 
before  they  had  proceeded  far  the  financial  panic 
struck  the  country,  and  the  project  was  abandoned, 
never   to    be   resumed.     The  old  mills  remained 
standing,  and  were  rented  to  Mr.  Tyler,  their  for- 
mer owner,  and,  by  his  administrator,  to  Lewis  W. 
Randall  and  others  until  1854,  when  the  property 
was  purchased  by  E.  W.  Sanborn,  of  Boston,  and 
Abner  Stowell,  Aaron  Dutton,  Edward  Brown  and 
George  Hart,  of  this  town.     In  1855  they  erected 
the  large  three-story  brick  building  for   a  grist- 
mill, and  the  saw-mill  adjoining,  now  standing  and 
in  active  operation.     They  put  into  the  grist-mill 
eight  run  of  stone,  four  flouring-bolts,  and,  to  pro- 
pel them,  eleven  Tyler  turbine  water-wheels.     The 
work  was  done  under  the  superintendence  of  John 
Tyler,  then  of  West  Lebanon,  but  now  of  this 
town,  patentee  and  manufacturer  of  the  Tyler  tur- 
bine water-wheel.     This  mill  was  designed  for  cus 
torn  grinding  and  to  manufacture  flour  from  West- 
ern wheat,  and  it  was  said  to  be  capable  of  making 
ten  thousand  barrels  of  flour  per  annum.     These 


mills  have  been  leased  to  various  parties  since 
they  were  built.  The  saw-mill  is  now  leased  and 
run  by  Messrs.  Freeman,  0*Neil  &  Tilden,  and  the 
grist-mill  is  being  run  by  its  owners. 

The  Sugar  River  Paper-Mill  Company. — 
This  company  (capital  stock,  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars),  owned  mostly  by  citizens  of  Claremont, 
erected  mills  on  Fall  No.  6,  twenty- two  feet,  east  side 
of  Sugar  River,  for  the  manufacture  of  print-paper, 
and  commenced  business  in  1868.  Since  then  some 
of  the  surplus  earnings  of  the  company  have  been 
used  for  extending  their  works  and  adding  modern 
improvements.  It  is  now  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete establishments  of  its  kind  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  is  capable  of  producing  eight  tons  of 
excellent  print-paper  per  day.  This  mill  is  now 
(June,  1885),  filling  a  contract  for  four  of  five  hun- 
dred tons  of  paper  for  J.  C.  Ayer  &  Co.,  of  Lowell, 
Mass.  They  have  had  this  contract  for  several 
years.  The  paper  made  by  this  mill  is  of  such  ex- 
cellent quality  that  it  finds  a  ready  market.  John 
Tyler,  before  referred  to,  is  a  large  stockholder, 
superintended  the  erection  of  the  mill,  and  is  pres- 
ident of  the  company  ;  John  L.  Farwell,  treasurer ; 
John  T.  Emerson,  agent.  These  gentlemen  have 
occupied  their  positions  since  the  organization  of 
the  company.  This  company  has  recently  pur- 
chased of  Reuben  Shepardson  what  has  been 
known  as  the  Lafayette  privilege,  on  the  "  Gully  " 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  have  tunneled 
through  the  rock  of  the  island,  formed  by  the  main 
stream  and  this  "Gully,"  two  hundred  and  four 
feet,  the  tunnel  being  six  feet  square,  taking  the 
water  that  runs  in  the  gully  into  their  pond,  thus 
getting  the  use  of  all  the  water  that  runs  in  the 
river.  The  Lafayette  privilege  had  the  right  to 
take  from  the  river,  above  the  dam  on  privilege 
No.  6  and  down  this  gully,  one-half  the  water  of 
the  river,  and  return  it  to  the  main  stream  below 
the  paper-mill  dam.  By  this  arrangement  this 
company  obviate,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  use 
of  steam  to  supplement  their  water-power. 

The  Emerson-Heyward  Privilege. — On  Fall 
No.  7,  south  side — the  river  has  taken  another 
turn  and  runs  westerly — about  1842,  George  W. 


78 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Emerson  put  up  a  one-story  brick  building,  carried 
on  tbe  furnace  business  a  few  years,  when  it  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Simeon  Heyward,  who  did  some 
furnace  work,  made  horse  and  hand-rakes  and  va- 
rious other  farm  implements.  The  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1866,  and  the  dam  connected 
with  it  by  flood  soon  afterward,  since  which  no  use 
has  been  made  of  this  privilege. 

The  Sullivan  Manufacturing  Company. — 
This  company's  drills  are  located  on  Fall  No.  8, 
smith  side  of  the  river.  It  was  chartered  about 
1833  for  manufacturing  woolen  goods,  and  its 
buildings  erected  the  next  year.  The  machinery, 
as  before  stated,  was  taken  from  the  Claremont 
Manufacturing  Company's  mill,  and  they  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  satinets  In  1836  Or- 
mond  Dutton,  of  Keene,  was  appointed  agent  of 
the  company,  and  continued  as  such  about  three 
years.  During  the  hard  times,  from  1836  to  1810, 
goods  did  not  sell  readily ;  a  large  stock  was  accu- 
mulated, which  was  sold  for  less  than  it  cost  to 
produce  it,  and  the  mill  was  closed.  Its  capital, 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  was  exhausted,  and  the  com- 
pany settled  with  its  creditors  in  the  best  way 
it  could.  In  1844  Thomas  Sanford  and  William 
Rossiter  got  possession  of  the  real  estate  and  some 
of  the  machinery,  and  manufactured  satinets  and 
cassimeres  until  1857,  when  the  entire  property  was 
purchased  by  George  L.  Balcom,  who  has  manufac- 
tured woolen  goods  there  ever  since.  During  the 
late  war  Mr.  Balcom  was  very  successful,  and  one 
year,  under  the  United  States  internal  revenue 
law,  he  paid  the  largest  income  tax  of  any  man  in 
New  Hampshire. 

The  Old  Knife-Factory  Privilege. — This 
privilege  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  on  Fall 
No.  8.  The  large  three-story  wooden  building  on 
this  privilege  was  erected  in  1836-37,  by  Dr. 
John  S.  Spaulding,  but  for  what  purpose  it  was  to 
be  used  is  not  known.  It  stood  empty,  its  inside 
but  partially  finished,  until  1853,  when  Thomas 
Sanford,  William  Rossiter  and  some  other  gentle- 
men formed  a  company  and  manufactured  table 
cutlery  there  for  about  five  years,  without  pecuni- 
ary advantage  to  those  engaged  in  the  enterprise, 


and  the  business  was  abandoned  Next,  in  1866, 
the  "Claremont  Linen  Company"  put  in  ma- 
chinery for  making  linen  toweling  from  the  raw 
material,  by  a  new  process,  but  this  was  not  a 
success,  and,  after  two  or  three  years  of  experi- 
ment, this  business  was  closed  up,  and  the  mill 
was  unused  until  1877,  when  Herbert  Bailey,  of 
Enfield,  this  State,  bought  the  property  and  en- 
larged, repaired,  fitted  the  buildings  and  put  in 
machinery  for  manufacturing  knit-goods,  employ- 
ing about  forty  hands  and  turning  out  goods  to 
the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
annually.  Mr.  Bailey  has  made  this  property 
into  a  fine  establishment. 

The  Lower  Falls  Company. — In  1836  this 
company,  composed  of  gentlemen  from  out  of 
town,  bought  a  small  farm  of  Jonathan  Read, 
located  below  Fall  No.  8,  with  the  design  of  mak- 
ing a  ninth  fall  of  about  twelve  feet,  by  taking 
the  water  from  the  river  by  a  canal.  The  canal 
was  dug,  a  good  foundation  for  a  large  factory 
building  put  in  and  building  materials  got  upon 
the  ground,  when,  in  view  of  the  threatened  hard 
times  for  manufacturers,  the  enterprise  stopped, 
the  building  materials  were  disposed  of,  and  the 
ninth  privilege  has  never  been  utilized. 

The  Lafayette  Privilege. — Going  up  the  . 
river,  on  the  west  side,  the  next  privilege  is  at 
Fall  No.  7,  on  the  "  Gully."  In  1828  Arad 
Taylor  bought  this  privilege  of  Bill  Barnes.  In 
1836  the  property  was  put  on  the  market  in 
thirty-two  shares,  of  one  hundred  dollars  each, 
which  were  soon  taken,  but  it  was  not  improved 
until  1844,  when  Chester  Dunkley  bought  most  of 
the  shares  and  erected  upon  the  privilege  a  two- 
story  wood  building,  which  was  used  for  various 
purposes  until  1866,  when  Reuben  Shepardson 
bought  it,  made  extensive  improvements,  used  it 
for  various  manufacturing  purposes  until  the  fall 
of  1884,  when  lie  sold  it  to  the  Sugar  River  Paper- 
Mill  Company,  as  before  stated. 

The  Old  Meacham  Factory  was  on  Fall  No. 
5,  opposite  the  Tyler  Mills,  and  this  factory  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  one  built  in  Sullivan 
County  for  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods.     It 


CLAREMONT. 


79 


was  built  in  1813,  by  Asa  Meacham.  It  was  a 
two-story  wood  building,  and  was  occupied  suc- 
cessively by  Asa  Meacham,  Asa  Meacham,  Jr. 
Woodman  &  Rockwell,  Wilson  &  Earl,  and 
William  Earl,  all  of  whom  manufactured  woolen 
goods,  until  the  spring  of  1854,  when  the  main 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  following 
year  Simeon  Ide  bought  the  property  ;  a  dry-shop 
and  store-house  escaped  the  fire ;  the  first  he  fitted 
up  with  water-power  and  rented  it  for  various 
mechanical  purposes,  while  he  converted  the  other 
into  a  dwelling-house  to  rent.  In  1859  Mr.  Ide 
erected,  on  the  site  of  the  old  factory  building,  a 
round  brick  structure,  two  stories  high,  and  fitted 
it  up  with  machinery,  printing-presses,  etc.,  for  the 
making  of  books  on  contract  fur  city  publishers. 
The  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861,  and  other 
unforeseen  events,  operated  against  this  enterprise, 
and  the  building  was  rented  for  different  mechan- 
ical purposes.  It  was  purchased  by  Reuben 
Shepardson  in  1883.  What  was  the  dry-shop  was 
purchased  by  Ira  Proctor  and  occupied  by  him  as 
a  sash,  blind  and  door-shop  until  about  1873, 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Freeman  &  O'Neill  Manufactory. — In 
1874  Messrs.  Charles  N.  Freemen  and  David  W. 
O'Neill  purchased  the  site  of  the  Ira  Proctor 
shop  and  erected  upon  it  extensive  wooden  build- 
ings, and  fitted  them  up  with  the  most  approved 
machinery  and  other  appliances  at  an  expense  of 
about  ten  thousand  dollars,  for  the  manufacture  of 
stair-builders'  supplies,  of  black  walnut  and  other 
expensive  woods,  and  telegraph  pins  and  brackets 
of  oak.  They  did  a  large  and  prosperous  business, 
employing  about  forty  hands,  and  marketing  their 
products  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country,  until 
December  23,  1882,  when  their  main  building, 
valuable  machinery,  stock  of  foreign  and  domestic 
woods,  manufactured  goods,  etc.,  were  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  loss  was  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  ; 
insurance,  twelve  thousand  dollars.  They  im- 
mediately commenced  the  erection  of  new  build- 
ings, which  were  completed  and  ready  for  occu- 
pancy in  August,  1883.  Byron  T.  Tilden  was 
taken    into   the  firm    soon  after.       They  employ 


about  seventy  men,  and  do  a  business  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  per 
annum.  The  style  of  the  firm  is  Freeman,  O'Neill 
&  Tilden. 

The  Home  Mill. — The  three-story  brick 
building  now  standing  at  Fall  No.  4,  north  side  of 
the  river,  was  erected  by  the  Claremont  Manu- 
facturing Company  in  1836,  with  the  intention  of 
using  it  for  making  fine  writing-papers.  The 
times  did  not  favor  the  completion  of  the  project, 
and  the  building  was  only  so  far  finished  as  to 
protect  the  walls  with  roof  and  windows,  until 
1849,  when  a  few  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Clare- 
mont Manufacturing  Company  bought  it,  together 
with  one-half  of  the  water-power,  fitted  it  up  with 
machinery  for  manufacturing  cotton  cloth,  and 
sold  the  whole  to  George  D.  Dutton,  of  Boston. 
In  1852  Mr.  Dutton  sold  a  part  interest  to  Arnold 
Briggs,  a  practical  cotton  manufacturer,  of  Woon- 
socket,  R.  I.,  and  under  the  firm  style  of  Arnold 
Briggs  &  Co.  The  business  of  manufacturing 
cotton  goods  was  carried  on  until  1875,  when,  by 
reason  of  there  being  but  a  limited  demand  for  the 
goods  made  by  this  firm,  the  business  was  stopped. 
In  1876  Mr.  Briggs  died,  subsequent  to  which  the 
interest  of  Mr.  Briggs'  estate  in  the  mill  was  pur- 
chased by  Pierce,  Harding  &  Co  ,  of  Boston,  who 
ran  it  but  a  few  months.  In  1883,  Messrs.  May- 
nard  and  Washburn,  gentlemen  from  Massachu- 
setts, bought  the  property,  repaired  the  buildings, 
put  in  machinery  for  the  purpose  and  have  since 
been  manufacturing  shoes  there. 

The  Eastman  Tannery. — In  1811,  Timothy 
Eastman  established  a  tannery  on  Fall  No.  4,  north 
side  of  the  river,  continued  the  business  there  un- 
til his  death,  in  1859,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Charles  H.  Eastman.  In  1870  the  old  build- 
ings were  burned  and  new  and  larger  ones  were 
erected  on  the  site.  Charles  H.  Eastman  con- 
tinued the  business  until  his  death,  in  1879,  since 
which  the  property  has  been  unused.  The  real 
estate  is  now  owned  by  Lyman  Barnes. 

At  Fail  No.  1,  north  side  of  the  river  is  the  saw 
mill  of  the  Monadnock  Mills  Company,  and  what 


80 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


was  known  as  the  "  Sunapee  Mill,"  on  the  site  of 
the  Claremont  Carriage  Company's  works,  before 
referred  to,  which  is  now  owned  and  operated 
as  a  cotton-mill,  by  the  Monaduoek  Mills  Com- 
pany. 

Between  Fall  No.  9  and  the  confluence  of  Sugar 
River  with  the  Connecticut  it  is  claimed  that  the 
former  river  falls  about  one  hundred  'eet.  On  the 
north  side  of  Sugar  River,  a  mile  or  so  below  Fall 
No.  9,  in  1852,  Henry  Russell  and  Dr.  F.  T. 
Kidder  built  a  dam  twenty  feet  high,  erected  a 
large  one-story  brick  mill,  put  into  it  machinery 
for  the  purpose,  and  manufactured  carpets  there 
for  a  few  months,  when  the  business  ceased  and 
dam  and  buildings  have  disappeared. 

At  West  Claremont,  Sugar  River  furnishes  ex- 
cellent water-power.  The  fall  there  is  about  nine- 
teen feet.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  at  this 
fall,  about  1813,  Dr.  Leonard  Jarvis  erected  a  two- 
story  wood  building,  and  in  it  manufactured 
broadcloth  for  about  fifteen  years.  After  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1848,  this  property 
passed  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  Russell  Jarvis, 
who  is  its  present  owner.  The  broadcloth-factory 
was  converted  into  a  paper-mill  more  than  twenty- 
five  years  ago  ;  it  has  been  operated  by  the  Clare- 
mont Manufacturing  Company,  N.  Whitney,  J. 
Peirce  &  Co.,  and  is  now  run  by  its  owner,  making 
hanging  and  some  other  kinds  of  paper.  On  the 
same  side  of  the  river,  and  on  the  same  privilege, 
Russell  Jarvis  has  a  saw  mill  and  a  grist-mill,  now 
operated  by  H.  W.  Frost. 

The  Farrington  Paper-Mill. — On  the  same 
privilege,  and  drawing  water  from  the  same  pond, 
but  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  is  a  large,  well- 
appointed  paper-mill,  owned  and  operated  by  the 
S.  T.  Coy  Paper  Company.  This  mill  has  been 
built  within  the  last  two  years,  on  the  site  occupied 
fifty  years  ago,  more  or  less,  by  Leonard  and 
Hiram  Gilmore,  brothers,  for  a  blacksmith-forge 
and  trip-hammer  shop,  where  they  made  axes  and 
other  edge-tools,  carried  on  a  general  blacksmith- 
ing  business  and  made  heavy  mill-irons  for  many 
years.  Subsequently  on  this  same  spot  was  a 
paper-mill  where  straw  wrapping-paper  was  made, 


owned  and   operated   successively   by  Daniel   F. 
Maynard  and  John  S.  Farrington. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Tyler's  Smelting  and 
Iron- Working  Establishment. — Simeon  Ide  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  "  soon  after  build- 
ing his  grist  mill,  in  176(5,  as  before  noted,  Colonel 
Benjamin  Tyler  put  a  dam  across  the  river,  a  few 
rods  where  the  Sullivan  Railroad  Company's 
'High  Bridge'  now  stands,  and  built  a  small 
shop  in  which  he  had  a  forge,  a  trip-hammer  and 
other  tools  for  manufacturing  mill  irons  and  other 
heavy  articles,  from  iron  ore,  which  (I  am  told  by 
one  of  his  grandsons)  he  drew  from  a  lot  of 
ground  just  below  the  so-called  '  Dry  Saw-Mill,' 
two  or  three  miles  north  of  Charlestown  Street. 
Here  he  did  a  large  and  lucrative  business  for 
twenty  years  or  more,  employing  (my  said  in- 
formant says),  a  great  part  of  the  time,  some 
twenty  or  thirty  hands.  He  died  in  1814,  aged 
eighty-one. 

"  In  1800  Colonel  Tyler  put  in  operation,  at  or 
near    the   site   of    the    Jarvis   paper-mill,    what 
was  known     as   the    '  Flax-Mill'    in   those    days, 
the    use   of  which    was   to  prepare  flax   for  the 
old    hand  spinning-wheel." 

BANKS. 

The    Claremont    Bank,    capital,     $00,000, 
was   in   operation  as  early   as   1826.     The   date 
of  its  charter  is    not  known  to  the  writer.     Geo. 
B.   Upham  was  president ;  James    H.  Bingham, 
cashier ;  directors,  Goo.    B.    Upham,   John  Tap- 
pan,  Samuel  Fiske,  Leonard  Jarvis,  David  Dex- 
ter,    Phineas      Handerson,     Godfrey    Stephens. 
About    1842    Erastus  Glidden    became   cashier. 
His  business  was    wound    up   between    1844  and 
1846.     The  officers  at  that  time  were   George  B. 
Upham,    president ;    Erastus    Glidden,     cashier ; 
Directors,  George  B.   Upham,  George  N.  Farwell, 
Ambrose  Cossit,    William  H.  Farwell,   John  W. 
Tappan,    Nicholas   Farwell,   Samuel  Glidden. 

Claremont  Bank,  chartered  and  organized 
in  1848.  Ambrose  Cossit,  president  ;  Uriel 
Dean,  cashier  ;  Directors  Nicholas  Farwell,  Am- 
brose Cossit,  Issac    F.  Weshorbe,    William    Ros- 


CLAREMONT. 


81 


siter,  George  N.  Farwell,  Worchester  Jones, 
Thomas  Sanford.  In  April,  1851,  Mr.  Dean 
resigned  and  George  N.  Farwell  was  elected 
cashier  in  this  place,  and  in  March,  1853, 
his  son,  John  L.  Farwell,  was  elected  assistant 
cashier.  In  March,  1856,  Mr.  Farwell  resigned 
and   John   L    Farwell   was   elected    cashier. 

On  November  22,  1864,  the  organization  was 
changed  to  the  Claremont  National  Bank,  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States.  George  N.  Far- 
well,  president ;  John  L.  Farwell,  cashier  ;  Di- 
rectors, George  N.  Farwell,  Thomas  Sanford, 
Nathaniel  Tolles,  Aurelius  Dickinson,  Lewis  Perry, 
Jotham  G.  Allds,  Charles  H.  Eastman.  Present 
capital,  $150,000.  In  October,  1881,  provision 
was  made  for  a  vice-president,  and  John  L. 
Farwell  was  elected  to  that  position,  and  his 
son,  George  N.  Farwell  (2d),  was  elected  cash- 
ier. 

Nicholas  Farwell,  who  was  a  director  in 
the  old  bank,  was  the  father  of  George  N., 
grandfather  of  John  L.,  and  great-grandfather 
of  George  N.  Farwell  2d.  It  will  thus  be 
noticed  that  four  generations  of  the  Farwell 
family  have  been  successfully  and  prominently 
connected  with  the  financial  history  of  Clare- 
mont ;  and  that  at  the  present  time  the  un- 
usual record  is  made  of  three  generations  occupy- 
ing official  positions  in  the  Claremont  National 
Bank,  viz. :  George  N.  Farwell,  president ;  his 
son,  John  L.  Farwell,  vice-president,  and  his 
grandson,  George  N.  Farwell  (2d),  Cashier. 

Sullivan  Savings  Institution  was  chartered 
by  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature  in  1838; 
organized  in  1847,  and  commenced  business  in 
1848.  President,  Ambrose  Cossit;  Treasurer, 
George  N.  Farwell.  After  the  institution  was 
organized  and  well  started  in  business,  Mr.  Far- 
well  resigned  and  Samuel  C.  Bailey  was  elected 
treasurer  in  his  place.  January  7th,  1882,  Mr. 
Cossit  resigned  the  presidency,  and  Timothy  East- 
man was  elected  president,  and  George  N.  Far- 
well  was  again  chosen  treasurer.  On  January 
2d,  1856,  John  L.  Farwell  was  elected  treasurer. 
At  that  time  the  deposits  amounted  to  §134,265.24. 


January  5th,  1859,  Albro  Blodgett  was  elected 
president,  in  place  of  Timothy  Eastman,  deceased. 
January  2d,  1861,  Albro  Blodgett  resigned  and 
Jonas  Livingston  was  chosen  in  his  place.  Mr, 
Blodgett  was  re-elected  January  4th,  1865.  Dan- 
iel W.  Johnson  was  elected  president  January 
5th,  1870.  February  7th,  1874,  Mr.  Farwell 
resigned  the  treasurership,  and  Albert  Rossiter 
was  elected  in  his  place.  December  27th,  1882, 
Mr.  Rossiter  resigned,  and  John  L.  Farwell  was 
re-elected. 

At  the  last  annual  meeting,  January  7,  1885, 
the  report  of  the  treasurer  showed  DejDosits,  $1,- 
116,932.91  ;  surplus,  $16,065.64  ;  guaranty  fund, 
$60,000.  The  whole  number  of  depositors  was 
2852. 

These  banks  were  originally  located  on  Broad 
Street,  on  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of 
Geo.  L.  Balcom.  In  1853  they  were  removed  to 
the  north  end  of  Farwell's  Block,  Tremont  Square. 
In  1876  these  corporations  united  in  erecting  the 
building  now  occupied  by  them  at  a  cost  of  $28.- 
000.  This  was  constructed  with  especial  reference 
to  the  needs  of  the  banks,  and  they  took  posses- 
sion in  1877. 

ecclesiastical. 

Congregational  Church.— As  has  been  stated 
the  first  denomination  to  have  stated  preaching 
and  to  settle  a  minister  in  Claremont  was  the 
Congregational,  and  the  inhabitants  of  this  faith 
were  by  far  the  most  numerous  when  the  town  was 
first  settled.  Rev.  George  Wheaton  was  ordained 
and  settled  here  February  19,  1772;  died 
June  24,  1773.  Rev.  Augustine  Hibbard  was 
settled  October  19, 1774;  dismissed  December  28, 
1785. 

The  most  reliable  account  we  have  of  the  first 
meeting-house  is,  that  a  building  to  be  used  as  a 
Congregational  meeting-house  wras  erected  near 
what  is  known  as  the  Harvey  Draper  place,  on  the 
road  to  the  Junction,  in  1785  ;  that  in  1790  it  was 
taken  down  and  removed  in  pieces  to  the  location 
of  the  present  town-house,  and  there  put  together 
again,  and  the  next  year  was  finished  inside.  In 
1808  the  east  tower  and  the  front,  or  circular  por^ 


82 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


tion  were  added.  From  that  time  until  1835,  when 
the  new  Congregational  Church,  on  Pleasant  Street, 
was  erected,  this  building  was  used  both  as  a  church 
and  town-house.  After  that  date  its  use  for  a 
church  was  abandoned. 

There  was  no  settled  pastor  from  the  time  of  Mr. 
Hibbard's  dismission  until  March  9,  1796,  when 
John  Tappan  was  ordained.  He  was  dismissed  in 
1802.  He  was  excommunicated  from  the  church 
the  following  year,  entered  mercantile  life,  and 
remained  in  town  until  his  death.  For  about  two 
years,  from  August,  1803,  Rev.  Elijah  Brainerd 
was  acting  pastor.  Under  him  the  church  was  re- 
organized by  the  adoption  of  more  explicit  articles 
of  Faith  and  Covenant,  and  Rules  of  Discipline. 
The  members  of  the  church  were  enrolled  for  the 
first  time,  so  far  as  appears,  in  1 804.  The  names 
of  sixteen  male  members  and  of  twenty  female 
members  are  recorded  at  that  time. 

Rev.  Stephen  Farley  was  installed  December  24, 
1806.  His  pastorate  closed  April  4,  1819.  The 
"Church  Manual,"  published  in  1879,  says: 

"The  first  marked  revival  occurred  in  1816;  as  a 
result  fifty-lour  were  added  to  the  church  on  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  that  year.  This  work  of  grace, 
however,  brought  no  peace.  The  pastor's  attitude  in 
relation  to  it  was  not  satisfactory  to  those  most  active 
in  promoting  it,  and  he  seems  not  to  have  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  the  new  converts.  The  result  was 
divisions  in  the  church  and  a  painful  want  of  har- 
mony between  the  church  and  the  society,  the  latter 
sympathizing  strongly  with  the  pastor.  During  the 
years  1 819  and  1820  no  new  members  were  received. 
Not  long  after  his  dismission  Mr.  Farley  became 
openly  a  Unitarian." 

The  Claremont  Congregational  Society  was 
funned  February  20, 1806,  and  held  its  first  meet- 
ing June  9th  of  that  year.  Up  to  this  time  parish 
meetings  were  called  by  the  selectmen  of  the 
town,  and  the  records  kept  by  the  town  clerk. 
"  The  Congregational  Society  of  Claremont "  was 
incorporated  June  20,  1815. 

"The  society  took  the  had  in  calling  the  next 
pastor,  Rev.  Jonathan  Nye.  He  received  and  accepted 

the  society's  call  in  the  autumn  of  1820.  But  it  was 
not  until  the  May  following  that  the  church  was  pre- 


vailed upon  to  accept  him,  and  then  not  without 
many  misgivings.  He  was  installed  June  6,  1821, 
not,  however,  to  enjoy  a  quiet  ministry.  Those  were 
day  of  discipline  in  more  than  a  single  sense,  of  which 
the  aged  speak  with  sorrow.  The  misgivings  of  the 
church  proved  too  well  founded.  Mr.  Nye  was  dis- 
missed in  1828." 

Tradition  has  it  that  after  Mr.  Nye  was  dis- 
missed from  his  pastorate,  charges  were  preferred 
against  him  as  an  unworthy  member  of  the  church, 
and  he  submitted  to  a  trial  of  considerable  length. 
The  charges  seemed  to  have  been  substantiated  by 
proof,  and  Mr.  Nye  was  called  upon  for  any 
answer  which  he  might  have  to  make.  He  arose, 
and  in  a  very  cool  and  respectful  manner  said,  in 
substance,  that  he  had  listened  very  attentively 
to  the  proceedings,  and  while  doing  so  it  had  oc- 
curred to  him  that  if  he  was  to  be  turned  out  of 
the  church,  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  join 
first.  The  fact  was  that  he  had  never  been 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church. 

Difficulty  arose  again  in  the  choice  of  a  new 
minister.  In  a  meeting  of  the  society  forty-two 
votes  were  cast  in  favor  of  calling  Mr.  Moses 
Thomas,  a  Unitarian,  and  but  forty-four  against. 
Mr.  Elijah  Paine  was  finally  called  by  the  church 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  society,  and  ordained 
April  1st,  1829.  His  ministry  was  marked  by 
earnest,  evangelical  preaching,  and  eighty  were 
added  to  the  church  on  profession  of  faith  in 
1830  and  1831.  Strong  ground  was  taken  in  the 
cause  of  temperance.  It  was  voted  in  1833, 
"  That  this  Church  admit  no  more  members  to 
her  Communion  as  regular  members,  unless  they 
first  sign  a  pledge  to  abstain  from  all  use  of  ardent 
spirits  as  a  beverage."  Mr.  Paine  was  dismissed 
Nov.  14th,  1833. 

Rev.  Tertius  D.  Southworth  was  installed  June 
18th,  1834.  A  Mr.  Burchard  was  laboring  as 
a  revivalist  at  this  period  with  neighboring 
churches,  and  Mr.  Southworth  was  opposed  to 
his  methods,  and  was  thought  to  have  hastened 
the  termination  of  his  pastorate,  which  occurred 
July  31st,  1838. 


CLAKEMONT. 


83 


Rev.  Robert  F.  Lawrence  was  installed  January 
16th,  1839.  His  labors  seemed  to  be  crowned 
with  success,  and  more  than  forty  were  added  to 
the  church  in  that  year.  In  1842,  in  union 
meetings,  the  entire  town  was  moved,  and  forty- 
one  were  added  to  this  church.  Another  revival 
occurred  in  1853. 

In  1840  twenty-  eight  members  of  the  church, 
many  of  whom  were  thought  to  be  good  Christians, 
were  suspended  from  church  privileges,  on  ac- 
count of  their  having  subscribed  to  a  "  Covenant 
of  Christians,  who,  irrespective  of  religious  denomi- 
nations, decide  on  cultivating  unitedly  holiness  of 
heart  and  a  millenial  spirit."  Some  were  sub- 
sequently restored,  but  thirteen  were  finally  ex- 
communicated September  15th,  1841.  Mr.  Law- 
rence's ministry  continued  until  January  24th, 
1863,  twenty-four  years. 

Rev.  Edward  W.  Clark  was  installed  February 
25th,  1864,  and  on  account  of  failing  health  was 
dismissed  June  10th,  1870.  The  following  year 
the  meeting-house  was  remodeled  inside,  and 
newly  furnished.  Rev.  Levi  Rodgers  was  or- 
dained and  installed  pastor  October  19th,  1871. 
Mr.  Rodgers  resigned  April  10th,  and  was  dis- 
missed May  5th,  1880.  Rev.  A.  J.  McGown  was 
called  April  19th,  1881  ;  installed  pastor  Novem- 
ber 10th,  1881 ;  resigned  on  account  of  the  death 
of  his  wife,  September  24th,  1882  ;  dismissed 
October  24th,  1882. 

Rev.  Frank  P.  Tompkins  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  December  26th,  1881,  and  was  installed 
June  19th,  1883,  since  which  he  has  labored  with 
this  church. 

Episcopal  Church. — On  the  28th  of  April, 
1769,  a  memorial  of  the  inhabitants  of  Clare- 
mont,  addressed  to  the  "  Reverend  Clergy  of 
the  Church  of  England  and  Missionaries  of 
the  venerable  S.  P.  G.  F.  P.,  to  be  con- 
vened at  New  Milford,  in  the  Colony  of  Con- 
necticut in  Trinity  week,"  and  signed  by  Abel 
Bachelor,  Her.  Rice,  Micah  Potter,  Cornelius 
Brooks,  Benjamin  Tyler,  Ebenezer  Price,  Daniel 
Warner,    Levi    Warner,    Asa     Leet,    Benjamin 


Brooks,    Benjamin    Brooks,    Jr.,  and    Benjamin 
Rice,  it  was  represented  that 

"  The  land  here  is  exceedingly,  burdened  with  tim- 
ber, which  renders  the  cultivation  of  it  very  laborious. 
However,  the  little  we  have  brought  under  cultivation 
is  abundantly  fruitful,  so  that  (God  willing)  most  of 
the  necessaries  of  life  will  be  plentiful.     That  some 
of  us  have  numerous  families  of  small  children  fit 
for   schooling.     The   number  of    children   under  16 
years  of  age  is  35.     There  are  about  two  families  of 
dissenters  to   one   of   ours.     We  are  grieved  at  the 
thought  of  having   them   brought   up   in  ignorance, 
and  dread  their  becoming  a  prey  to  enthusiasts  and 
being  carried  away  by  every  wind  of  doctrine.     We 
believe  a  good  school  lays  the  foundation  for  a  sober, 
godly   and   righteous   life;    and  since  Samuel  Cole, 
Esq.,  has  been  much  employed  in  keeping  school  and 
is  an  inhabitant  and   proprietor   among   us    (whose 
character  and  qualifications  some  of  you  know  well), 
we  humbly  desire  you  would  be  pleased  to  represent 
our  state  to  the  venerable  Society,  and  endeavor  that 
he  may  be   appointed    Catechist   and  Schoolmaster 
among  us  a  few  years  till  we  have  got  over  the  first 
difficulties  and   hardships    of   a    wild,   uncultivated 
country." 

During  the  two  years  preceding  the  date  of  this 
memorial  the  population  had  largely  increased. 
The  accessions  were  mainly  Congregational ists, 
and  that  continued  to  be  the  rule  in  after-years. 
The  first  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who  is 
known  to  have  officiated  here,  was  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Peters,  of  Hebron,  Conn.  He  was  a  mission- 
ary of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and,  several  years  subsequently,  was  chosen 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Vermont,  though  never 
consecrated.  As  early  as  1768  he  made  an  exten- 
sive missionary  tour  through  Vermont,  and,  in  the 
fall  of  1770,  he  visited  the  towns  along  the  Con- 
necticut River,  both  in  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont. Of  the  latter  journey  he  gave  the  follow- 
ing account : 

"  Upon  the  10th  of  September  I  left  Hebron,  taking 
my  clerk  with  me.  We  arrived  among  the  poor  im- 
migrants upon  the  16th  of  said  month.  The  bank  of 
the  west  side  of  the  river  is  in  the  government  of 
New  York,  lately  taken  from  New  Hampshire  gov- 
ernment— a   territory    now    sufficient   for   two   large 


84 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


counties,  viz.:  Cumberland  and  Gloucester;  the  latter 
having  only  one  independent  teacher  (poor  enough), 
the  former  without  any  kind  of  a  teacher.  Yet  in  both 
counties  are  several  thousand  souls,  who  live  without 
the  means  of  grace,  destitute  of  knowledge,  laden 
down  with  ignorance  and  covered  with  poverty.  On 
the  east  side  of  the  river  are  many  settlements  begun 
whose  inhabitants  much  resemble  their  neighbors  in 
every  uncomfortable  property.  Among  these  people 
I  spent  four  weeks,  traveling  from  place  to  place, 
preaching  and  baptizing,  the  people  being  careful  to 
attend  divine  service,  many  waiting  for  a  clergyman 
to  reside  among  them,  viz.:  in  the  towns  of  Clare- 
mont,  Strafford,  Thetford,  Moretown,  Windsor,  Orford, 
Haverhill,  and  being  so  nigh  one  another  that  one 
clergyman  might  accommodate  the  whole." 

There  is  no  mention  in  this  narrative  of  his 
having  organized  the  church  in  Claremont  at  that 
time.  In  an  article  in  the  Churchman  s  Magazine, 
of  August,  1<S05,  it  is  stated  that  "  this  church 
was  organized  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  in  or 
about  the  year  1771,"  and  in  the  documentary 
history  of  the  church  in  Vermont,  it  is  positively 
asserted  that  in  "  1771  he  was  on  missionary  duty 
in  the  western  part  of  New  Hampshire  and  organ- 
ized the  church  in  Claremont." 

The  first  record  of  a  parish  or  vestry-meeting 
in  this  town  is  as  follows  : 

"  November,  1773.  Being  the  first  Vestry-meeting 
holden  after  the  Rev.  Ranna  Cossit  returned  from 
England  with  Holy  orders,  at  which  Samuel  Cole, 
Esq.,  was  appointed  clerk  ;  Captain  Benjamin  Brooks 
and  Lieutenant  Benjamin  Tyler  were  chosen  war- 
dens; Daniel  Warner,  Asa  Leet  and  Ebenezer  Rice 
were  chosen  vestrymen." 

The  late  Rev.  Lane  <  J.  Hubbard,  D.D.,  then 
rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Claremont,  in  an  histor- 
ical address,  delivered  at  Union  Church,  West 
Claremont,  on  the  occasion  of  the  centenary  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Claremont, 
September  27,  1*71,  and  from  which  address 
much  of  our  data  is  derived,  said  : 

"The  discouragements  and  privations  attending 
the  position  of  a  missionary  over  such  an  outpost  in 
the  wilderness  may  readily  be  conceived.  They 
must  have  been  great  enough  in  periods  of  ordinary 
quietness,  tor  his  people  were  struggling,  with  small 


resources,  under  the  necessity  of  lifting  off,  before 
they  could  mark  the  ground  from  which  to  derive 
their  support,  the  burden  of  a  dense  forest,  the  growth 
of  centuries.  They  had,  also,  first  to  pay  their  rate 
or  tax,  as  did  all  the  people  of  the  town,  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Congregational  order." 

Mr.  Cossit  said : 

"Dr.  Hubbard  was  surrounded  by  constantly  in- 
creasing numbers  who  were  hostile  to  their  faith  and 
worship,  which  he  was  commissioned  to  uphold  and 
defend.  And,  as  for  support  for  himself  and  family 
(to  say  nothing  of  the  luxuries  with  which  ministers, 
in  those  days,  were  in  no  danger  of  being  pampered), 
he  might  pray  for  his  daily  bread,  but,  so  far  as  human 
eye  could  sec  or  human  help  appeared,  the  prospect 
was  very  dismal.  We  find,  in  the  records,  no  men- 
tion, at  the  time  of  his  settlement,  of  any  salary  be- 
yond the  sum  of  thirty  pounds  sterling  allowed  him 
as  missionary  by  the  venerable  society.  But  in  1777, 
at  the  Easter  meeting,  it  '  was  agreed  by  the  Vestry  to 
give  the  Rev.  Ranna  Cossit  thirty  pounds  lawful 
money  for  preaching  the  last  year.'  This  proved  too 
heavy  a  burden,  and  in  1778  they  '  agreed  to  give  Mr. 
Cossit  fifteen  pounds  for  the  year  ensuing.'  " 

In  January,  1781,  they  "agreed  with  the  Rev. 
Ranna  Cossit  to  give  him  thirty  pounds  for  a  year 
ending  at  Christmas,  allowing  him  four  Sundays 
to  visit  vacant  churches.  And  the  Rev.  Ranna 
Cossit  agrees  to  throw  by  all  other  business  and 
apply  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry."  This 
probably  continued  to  be  his  salary  until  he  left. 

"  The  support,  however,  proved  inadequate,  with 
the  utmost  economy,  to  protect  him  from  the  galling 
bondage  of  debt.  An  anecdote  is  related  of  him, 
which  appears  authentic,  and  which  I  give  as  show- 
ing the  power  of  patient  endurance  to  develop  a 
noble  magnanimity.  He  had  given  his  note  to  a 
prominent  man  and  landholder  in  the  town,  to  an 
amount  about  equal  to  his  yearly  income.  He  had 
already  paid  sonic  small  instalments  upon  the  note, 
together  with  the  interest,  when,  one  day,  his 
creditor  called  upon  him  and  demanded  the  whole 
amount.  Mr.  Cossit  replied  that  it  was  out  of  his 
power  to  pay  any  portion  of  it  immediately,  but  that 
when  bis  salary  became  due  he  would  pay  a  definite 
sum,  which  he  named.  This  answer  was  not  satis- 
factory ;    the  whole  sum    must    be   paid  at    the  time 


CLAREMONT. 


85 


mentioned.  The  minister  replied  that  it  would  be 
impossible.  He  must  reserve  enough  to  buy  bread 
for  his  family.  'Unless  you  promise  to  pay  me  then,'1 
said  the  creditor,  '  I  shall  sue  you  at  once  and  take 
all  you  have.'  '  You  can  do  that/  he  answered.  '  You 
can  attach  my  furniture,  my  library  and  my  horse; 
you  can  confine  me  in  jail.  But  you  will  not  obtain 
nearly  enough  from  my  effects  to  satisfy  your  claims, 
and  you  will  put  it  out  of  my  power,  not  only  to  sup- 
port myself  and  those  dependent  upon  me,  but  to  re- 
deem my  pledge  to  you,  which,  God  being  my  helper, 
shall  certainly  be  fulfilled  in  a  reasonable  time.' 
But  the  creditor  clung  to  the  pound  of  flesh,  and,  as 
he  departed,  he  loudly  proclaimed  his  intention  to 
bring  an  execution  that  very  night.  Seeing  him 
inexorable  and  blank  ruin  staring  him  in  the  face, 
the  good  man  went  to  the  door  and  called  back  the 
hard  usurer,  and  said,  '  My  friend,  if  you  are  deter- 
mined to  carry  out  this  purpose  you  will  need  your 
note.  When  you  were  here  to  get  the  last  payment 
which  is  indorsed  on  it,  you  inadvertently  left  it  on 
my  table.  I  have  kept  it  safely.  Here  it  is,  sir.'  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  note  was  not  sued, 
and  that  the  minister  took  his  own  time  in  which  to 
pay  it.  But  greater  trials  than  these  awaited  both 
minister  and  people. 

"  We  can  hardly  estimate  aright  at  this  distant 
day,  and  in  the  midst  of  circumstances  so  greatly 
changed,  the  position  in  which  churchmen  found 
themselves  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  The  period  of  religious  toleration  had  not 
arrived,  and  the  spirit  of  ancient  contests,  which  had 
raged  for  centuries  iu  the  old  world  and  in  a  measure 
spent  their  force,  was  here  revived  in  all  its  intense 
bigotry  and  malignity.  It  was  not  any  fear  of  such 
men  as  Samuel  Cole  and  Ranna  Cossit,  in  a  civil 
point  of  view,  that  led  to  their  cruel  persecution  and 
abuse.  Doubtless,  they  were  loyal  to  the  government, 
and  most  warmly  attached  to  the  Church  of  England. 
But  they  were  peaceable,  law-abiding  men.  There 
was  no  treachery  or  sedition  in  them.  Their  own 
principles  taught  them  to  obey  the  powers  that  be. 
While  the  great  struggle  was  going  on  they  could  not 
be  hired  nor  driven  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
King,  neither  would  they  take  up  arms,  nor  plot  nor 
conspire  against  the  lives  and  happiness  of  their 
fellow-citizens.  They  desired  to  remain  quiet  and 
await  the  decision  of  Providence.  And  when  that 
decision  came,  if  it  were  adverse  to  their  hopes,  they 


would  be  as  faithful  and  obedient  to  the  new  govern- 
ment as  they  had  been  to  the  old. 

"The  speaker  is  not  attempting  to  defend  their 
political  position.  His  own  ancestors,  though  church- 
men, were  on  the  other  side.  The  blood  of  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  flows  in  his  veins,  and  he  has  been 
nurtured  from  infancy  on  the  bread  of  liberty.  It 
was  not  incompatible  with  church  principles  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Fepublic.  When  the  civil 
power  was  shaken,  under  which  they  had  reposed  in 
safety,  when  the  Provincial  Governor  had  fled  to  the 
northern  dominions  of  the  Crown,  then  the  storm 
burst  on  their  defenseless  heads.'  " 

Dr.  Hubbard  read  two  letters,  the  first  from 
Colonel  John  Peters  to  his  brother,  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Peters,  in  London,  and  the  other  from  the  Rev. 
Ranna  Cossit.  Colonel  Peters'  letter  was  dated 
Quebec,  July  20, 1778,  and  was  as  follows: 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Wbeelock,  President  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, in  New  Hampshire,  in  conjunction  with  Deacon 
Bayley,  Mr.  Morey  and  Mr.  Hurd,  all  justices  of  the 
peace,  put  an  end  to  the  Church  of  England  in  this 
State,  so  early  as  1775.  They  seized  me,  Capt.  Peters 
and  all  the  judges  of  Cumberland  and  Gloucester,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Cossit  and  Mr.  Cole,  and  all  the  Church 
people  for  200  miles  up  the  river  (Connecticut),  and 
confined  us  in  close  goals,  after  beating  and  drawing 
us  through  water  and  mud.  Here  we  lay  some  time 
and  were  to  continue  in  prison  until  we  abjured  the 
king  and  signed  the  league  and  covenant.  Many  died ; 
one  of  which  was  Capt.  Peters'  son.  We  were  re- 
moved from  the  goal  and  confined  in  private  houses 
at  our  own  expense.  Capt.  Peters  and  myself  were 
guarded  by  twelve  rebel  soldiers,  while  sick  in  bed, 
and  we  paid  dearly  for  this  honor ;  and  others  fared  in 
like  manner.  I  soon  recovered  from  my  indisposi- 
tion, and  took  the  first  opportunity  and  fled  to  Cana- 
da, leaving  Cossit,  Cole,  Peters, Willis,  Porter,  Sumner, 
Paptin,  etc.,  in  close  confinement,  where  they  had  mise- 
ry, insults  and  sickness  enough.  My  flight  was  in  1776, 
since  which  my  family  arrived  at  Montreal,  and  in- 
form me  that  many  prisoners  died;  that  Capt.  Peters 
had  been  tried  by  court-martial  and  ordered  to  be 
shot  for  refusing  to  lead  his  company  against  the 
King's  troops.  He  was  afterwards  reprieved,  but  still 
in  goal,  and  that  he  was  ruined  both  in  health  and 
property ;  that  Cossit  and  Cole  were  alive  when  they 
came  away,  but  were  under  confinement,    and  had 


86 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


more  insults  than  any  of  the  loyalists,  because  they 
had  been  servants  of  the  Society,  which,  under  pre- 
tense (as  the  rebels  say)  of  propagating  religion,  had 
propagated  loyalty,  in  opposition  to  the  liberties  of 
America." 

Mr.  Cossit's  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  was  as  follows: 

New  Yokk,  June  6,  1779. 
"  I  arrived  in  this  city  last  Sunday,  by  permission, 
with  a  flag,  and  am  to  return  in  a  few  days.  I  trust 
the  Society  cannot  be  unacquainted  with  the  perse- 
cutions the  loyalists  have  endured  in  New  England. 
I  have  been  by  the  committee  confined  as  prisoner, 
in  the  town  of  Clareinont,  ever  since  the  12th  of 
April,  1775;  yet  God  has  preserved  my  life  from  the 
] 'tuple.  I  have  constantly  kept  up  public  service, 
without  any  omissions,  for  the  King  and  royal  family, 
and  likewise  made  use  of  the  prayer  for  the  high 
court  of  parliament,  and  the  prayer  to  be  used  in 
time  of  war  and  tumults ;  have  administered  the 
Lord's  Supper  on  every  first  Sunday  in  the  month, 
except  two  Sundays  that  we  could  not  procure  any 
wine.  The  numbers  of  my  parishioners  and  commu- 
nicants in  Claremout  are  increased,  but  I  have  been 
cruelly  distressed  with  fines  for  refusing  entirely  to 
light  against  the  King.  In  sundry  places  where  I 
used  to  officiate,  the  church  people  are  all  dwindled 
away.  Some  have  fled  to  the  King's  army  for  protec- 
tion ;  s  una  were  banished  ;  and  many  died." 

Notwithstanding  these  persecutions,  many  of  the 

st  prominent  inhabitants  of  Clareinont  sought 

the  society  and  communion  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Amongst  these  were  Benjamin  Sumner, 
Daniel  Dodge,  John  Marsh,  John  Marsh,  Jr., 
John  and  Ichabod  Hitchcock,  James  Steel,  Bill 
Barnes,  Joseph  Norton,  Abner  Cole,  Asa  Jones, 
Timothy  Grannie,  William  McCoy,  Daniel  Curtis, 
Abner  Meiggs  and  Ambrose  Cossit — sixteen  fam- 
ilies. 

In  1785  the  Rev.  Raima  Cossit  left  this  church 
and  was  appointed  missionary  at  Sidney,  in  the 
Island  of  Cape  Breton,  where  he  remained  until 
hi-  death,  in  1815. 

Union  Church  was  erected  in  1773,  two  years 
before  the  war. 

"  It  was  built  according  to  a  plan  furnished  by 


Gov.  John  Wentworth.     The  Master  Carpenter  was 
Ichabod  Hitchcock.     The  Governor  promised  to  fur- 
nish the  glass  and  nails  when  the  work  had  reached 
a  certain  point.     He  also  pledged  them  a  good  bell 
and  organ.     But  the  state  of  the  country  compelled 
him  to  flee  before  his  promise  was  fulfilled.     It  also 
interrupted  the  work  of  building.     Only  the  frame 
was  erected  and  the  roof  and  outer  boarding  put  on, 
the  floor  laid  and  some  temporary  arrangements  made 
for  holding  service   in  it  in  summer.     And  so  it  re- 
mained until  August,  1789,  when,  according  to  a  pre- 
vious vote,  twenty-five  pews  were  sold,  in  order  to 
purchase  the  nails  and  glass  wherewith  to  finish  it. 
The  frame  of  the  church,  constructed  of  the  mighty 
forest  trees  then  abundant,  is  exceedingly  heavy  and 
powerful,  made  of  the  strongest  and  best  kinds  of 
timber.     It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  a  tornado  swept  over  the 
country  while  the  people  were  assembled  for  divine 
worship.     Among  them   was  a  Mr.  Dodge,  who  had 
been  employed  as  a  carpenter  when  the  frame  was 
raised.     He  was  a  very  large  and  strong  man  and  had 
a  seat  near  the  door.     When  the  trees  began  to  fall 
about  the  building,  many  were  greatly  alarmed,  and 
rushed  for  the  door,  where   they  found  Mr.  Dodge 
defending  the  passage,  denying  all  egress,   and  with 
his  brawny  arm  pushing  back  the   crowd,  saying  :   '  I 
know   this  frame.     No  wind  can  demolish  it.     Your 
only  safety  lies  in  keeping    beneath  its  shelter.'     I 
may  as  well  mention   here  that  the  tower  and  belfry 
were  added  in  the  year  1800,  and  the  whole  church 
was  re-covered,  except  the  north  side  and  part  of  the 
cast  end,  and  the  entire  exterior  was  painted.     A 
bell  weighing  six  hundred  and  eighty-two  pounds  was 
procured   and   hung   in    1806,  and    an  organ,   whose 
whistling  pipes  were  the  wonder  of  our  childhood, 
was  subsequently  placed  in  the  gallery.     In  1820  an 
addition  of  twenty  feet  was  made  at  the  east  end  of 
the  church,  to  accommodate  the  increased  congrega- 
tion.     The     original    size   of  the  church  was    fifty 
feet  in  length,  and  one  hundred  in    width,  with  posts 
twenty  feet  high. 

"After  the  departure  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cossit  the 
church  continued  vacant  several  years,  but  the  ser- 
vices were  kept  up  by  lay  reading.  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Rice  was  chosen  to  keejj  the  records,  and  also  to  read 
prayers  and  serin-ms,  with  liberty  to  call  in  what  as- 
sistance he  should  think  proper. 

"  In  1784  the  town  voted  to  lay  out  four  acres  for 


CLAREMONT. 


87 


the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  com- 
monly called  the  Church  of  England,  for  a  church- 
yard, including  the  ground  on  which  the  Church  now 
stands.  In  1785  a  service  for  the  Holy  Communion 
was  procured,  of  pewter,  which  continued  to  be  used 
until  another  of  more  valuable  material  was  pre- 
sented by  Hon.  S.  Kingsbury  and  Mr.  D.ustin  in  1822. 
In  1787  an  agreement  was  made  with  Mr.  Abraham 
Towmlinson,  a  clergyman  as  I  suppose,  to  read  prayers 
and  preach  for  a  term  of  seven  months,  from  the  8th 
of  September  to  the  next  Easter. 

"  July  14,  1785.  It  was  voted  to  send  letters  to  the 
clergy  of  Connecticut  for  better  satisfaction  about 
their  connection  with  Bishop  Seabury.  October, 
1785.  Voted,  to  choose  Mr.  Bill  Barnes  to  represent 
the  Church  of  Claremont  at  the  adjourned  Conven- 
tion to  be  holden  at  Boston  on  the  26th  of  October 
inst.  Voted  to  send  our  united  tbanks  to  the  Conven- 
tion for  taking  pains  to  send  us  their  doings.  Voted 
a  concurrence  with  their  progress.  April  28,  1791. 
Voted  not  to  accede  to  the  Constitution  formed  at 
Boston.  Voted  to  adopt  the  doings  or  alterations  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  as  proposed  at  Phila- 
delphia. In  1788  an  arrangement  was  made  with 
the  Rev.  Solomon  Blakeslee  to  officiate  as  minister  of 
the  Church,  on  a  salary  of  fifty-two  pounds,  with  the 
use  of  the  glebe,  together  with  the  rents  then  due 
thereon." 

Mr.  Blakeslee  is  represented  as  an  eloquent 
preacher,  of  easy  address  and  exemplary  conduct, 
possessing  an  unusual  faculty  for  attracting  people 
to  him  and  the  church.  Such  was  his  influence 
that  thirty  families  from  the  Congregational  So- 
ciety conformed  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  one 
day.  Mr.  Blakeslee,  at  his  own  request,  obtained 
a  dismission  in  1791,  and  removed  to  East  Had- 
dam,  Conn. 

In  the  town  records  of  1796  are  certificates  of 
the  following  gentlemen,  most  of  whom  professed 
to  have  united  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  protest- 
ing against  paying  any  more  taxes  for  the  support 
of  the  Rev.  John  Tappan,  then  minister  of  the 
Congregational  Society,  viz. : 

Elisha  Shelden,  Francis  Chase,  John  Cotton,  Peter 
Russell,  Benj.  Swett,  Walter  Ainsworth,  Matthias 
Stone,  Jonathan  Emerson,  John  Stone,  Asa  Duns- 
more,  Samuel  Atkins,  Joseph  Wilson,  Abel  Dustin, 


Jonathan  Shaw,  Jr.,  Nicholas  Carey,  Christopher 
York,  Josiah  Rich,  Stephen  Barber,  Roger  Philips 
and  Lemuel  Dean. 

In  the  year  1794  this  church  was  incorporated 
by  act  of  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  with 
the  name  of  Union  Church.  The  records  show 
that  a  parish  meeting  was  warned  for  May  13, 
1794,  "  to  take  into  consideration  a  proposition 
made  to  them  by  Congregational  people  to  join 
with  them  in  hiring  Mr.  Whiting  to  be  the  min- 
ister for  both  Congregationalists  and  Episcopa- 
lians." Mr.  Whiting  was  a  Congregational  min- 
ister. At  the  meeting  referred  to  it  was  voted 
that  they  "  would  join  with  the  Congregational 
people,  provided  they  could  agree  upon  the 
terms."  Then  it  was  voted  to  choose  seven  men 
as  a  committee  to  meet  the  other  committee. 
"  Chose  Messrs.  Bill  Barnes,  Ebenezer  Rice,  Am- 
brose Cossit,  David  Dodge,  Sanford  Kingsbury, 
John  W.  Russell  and  Captain  George  Hubbard. 
Voted,  to  authorize  them  to  hire  Mr.  Whiting  to 
officiate  for  such  term  as  they  should  agree  upon, 
as  a  candidate  for  settlement  over  the  whole  town, 
on  the  following  conditions,  viz. : '  1st,  That  he  re- 
ceive Episcopal  ordination '  (as  he  had  done  Con- 
gregational), and  '  2d,  That  he  officiate  alternately 
at  the  church  and  at  the  meeting-house.  That 
on  these  terms  this  society  will  agree  that  Mr. 
Whiting  be  settled  over  the  whole  town,  and  that 
the  town  reap  the  benefit  of  the  public  lands  be- 
longing to  the  church  so  long  as  he  continues  to  be 
our  minister."  The  meeting  was  adjourned  to  the 
20th  of  May.  It  then  met  and  heard  the  report 
of  the  committee,  which  was,  in  substance,  that  the 
Congregational  Society  would  not  comply  with  the 
terms. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  became  rector  of  this 
church  in  1795,  and  continued  here  as  such  until 
1818.  He  was  a  native  of  Symsbury,  Conn.,  the 
birth-place  of  Bishop  Oris  wold.  Mr.  Barber  was 
born  and  educated  a  Congregationalist.  He  was 
ordained  by  Bishop  Seabury  at  Middletown,  Conn., 
October  29,  1786.  He  is  reported  to  have  been  an 
eccentric  character,  doing  and  saying  many  queer 
things,  and  quite  wanting  in  dignity.     It  is  due  to 


88 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


him  to  say,  however,  that  he  kept  the  church  to- 
gether for  many  years,  and  that  it  increased  very 
considerably  under  his  ministry, 

The  rectorship  of  Mr.  Barber  ended  disastrously 
to  himself.  In  1817  his  son,  Virgil  Barber,  who 
had  been  already  ordained  both  deacon  and  priest, 
joined  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Soon  the 
father  began  to  use  what  influence  he  had  in  favor 
of  that  church,  and  to  try  to  unsettle  the  minds  of 
the  people.  While  Mr.  Barber  still  remained  rec- 
tor— but  rumors  having  arisen  respecting  his  de- 
fection, and  not  a  little  dissatisfaction  existing  in 
consequence — at  a  meeting  called  for  this  purpose 
expressly  (September  29,  1818),  it  was  "  Voted  that 
the  Rev.  James  B.  Howe  be  hired  to  preach 
among  us  for  such  time  as  he  will  agree  to,  not  ex- 
ceeding one  year."  November  12, 1818,  "  Voted  to 
dismiss  the  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  from  the  rectorship  " 
April  19,  1819,  called  the  Rev.  James  B.  Howe  to 
the  rectorship,  on  a  salary  of  seven  hundred  dollars. 

Mr.  Barber  remained  here  a  few  years  and  then 
went  to  Connecticut,  and,  finally,  to  Georgetown, 
L>.  C,  where  his  daughter-in-law  and  two  grand- 
daughters were  in  a  convent. 

"His  son,  Virgil,  came  here  as  a  Romish  priest, 
with  the  evident  design  to  proselyte  and  build  the 
chapel  opposite  this  church,  with  a  school-room 
above,  where  he  officiated  on  Sundays  and  taught  the 
sons  of  his  father's  former  parishioners  during  the 
week,  for  a  number  of  years,  without  fruits  so  far  as 
conversions  to  Romanism  were  concerned :  the  only 
family  from  this  Church,  I  believe,  that  followed  Mr. 
Barber  in  his  apostacy  was  that  of  Mr.  Noah  Tyler, 
whose  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mr.  Barber.  The  son  of 
Mr.  Tyler,  William,  became  a  Roman  Catholic  Bishop, 
and  the  daughter,  Rosetta,  the  Lady  Superior  of  a 
nunnery.  San  ford  Spaulding,  also,  who  had  married 
an  Irishwoman,  concluded  to  join  his  wife,  and  two 
ladies  by  the  name  of  Alden  went  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

"The  Rev.  James  B.  Howe,  who  succeeded  Mi- 
Barber,  was  born  in  Dorchester,  Mass.  He  had 
been  a  successful  classical  teacher  in  Boston  for  some 
years  previous  to  his  ordination,  which  took  place  not 
long  before  his  call  to  this  parish.  He  was  recom- 
mended   by    the  Rev.   Dr.   Eaton,  the   venerable   and 


excellent  Rector  of  Christ's  Church,  Boston.  About 
the  time  he  assumed  the  rectorship,  a  large,  round 
brick  building,  erected  by  a  sort  of  ecclesiastical  union, 
in  which  I  believe  Universalism  was  the  predominant 
element,  standing  on  the  present  site  of  Trinity 
Church,  Claremont  village,  was  purchased  as  a  chapel 
of  Union  Church,  and  therein,  during  the  greater  part 
of  Mr.  Howe's  ministry,  services  were  held  alter- 
nately, one  Sunday  in  this  church,  and  the  next  in 
Trinity  Chapel.  Mr.  Howe  was  a  man  of  very  differ- 
ent quality  from  his  predecessor.  He  was  truly  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school.  Like  Bishop  Griswold, 
he  continued  to  wear  as  long  as  he  lived  the  long, 
stockings  and  short  clothes  of  the  olden  time.  He 
was  open,  frank,  hearty,  courteous,  sincere,  true  to  his 
convictions  of  duty,  earnest  in  his  religious  feelings. 
In  short,  he  was  a  man  to  win  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  his  people.  Until  the  unfortunate  strife 
arose  as  to  the  rights  and  interests  between  the  two 
parts  of  the  parish,  in  which,  from  his  position  and 
residence,  he  was  necessarily  involved,  no  parish  was 
more  united  or  more  cordially  attached  to  their  Rec- 
tor. There  may  have  been  individual  exceptions, 
but  they  were  rare.  I  believe  that  those  who  in  the 
heat  of  controversy  were  bitterly  opposed  to  him,  will 
now,  when  these  feelings  have  subsided,  be  ready  to 
acknowledge  his  good  qualities,  his  high-minded  and 
noble  Christian  character.  Very  soon  after  he  com- 
menced his  ministry  a  large  number  of  persons, 
headed  by  Colonel  Josiah  Stevens,  a  deacon  in  the 
Congregational  Society,  joined  this  parish.  I  find  the 
names  of  over  forty  men,  mostly  heads  of  families,  re- 
siding in  or  near  Claremont  village,  enrolled  in  1819 
among  the  voters  in  the  parish  meeting.  The  first 
confirmation  during  the  rectorship,  September  15, 
1819,  numbered  forty -six.  In  1824  this  parish  came 
into  possession  of  a  fund  amounting  to  over  five  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  devised  by  will  of  Major 
Oliver  Ashley,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
town.  The  income  of  this  fund  was  given  for  the 
support  of  a  clergyman  of  this  church.  Thus  this 
church,  with  the  Ashley  fund  and  the  income  of 
church  lands,  was  provided  with  the  means  of  abun- 
dant self-support,  amounting  to  more  than  eight 
hundred    dollars.'' 

There  were  local  and  other  causes  which  finally 
resulted  in  a  division  of  the  parish.  Mr.  Howe's 
connection  with  the  controversy   which  preceded 


CLARE  MONT. 


89 


the  division  was  such  that  the  last  years  of  his  rec- 
torship was  made  very  unpleasant  for  him  and  un- 
profitable for  the  church.  He  was  dismissed 
peremptorily  by  the  majority,  who  sympathized 
with  the  western  portion  of  the  parish,  because  they 
supposed  him  to  sympathize  wholly  with  the  vil- 
lage portion,  and,  after  a  hearing  before  the  stand- 
ing committee  of  the  diocese,  he  was  advised,  on 
certain  conditions,  to  resign.  A  new  parish  was 
formed  in  the  village,  and  the  Rev.  H.  S.  Smith 
was  called  as  assistant  to  the  rector  of  Union 
Church  Parish,  and  began  his  services  there  after 
Easter  in  1838,  officiating  alternately  there  and  in 
Trinity  Church,  Cornish,  and  so  continued  four 
years.  After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Howe,  Mr. 
Smith  was  elected  rector  of  Union  Church,  which 
he  held  twenty-eight  years,  ending  in  1871.  He 
resigned  on  account  of  his  age. 

Trinity  Church. — The  subject  of  a  division  of 
Union  Parish,  and  establishment  of  a  church  at 
the  village  having  been  agitated  for  some  time, 
at  a  special  meeting  at  Union  Church,  August  26, 
1843,  it  was  "  Voted  that  the  Wardens  are  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  in  the  name  of  Union 
Church,  to  convey  by  assignment  of  lease  or  other- 
wise, all  the  right,  title  and  interest  of  Union 
Church,  and  all  privileges  and  appurtenances 
thereof,  to  Trinity  Church  in  Claremont,  in  pur- 
suance of  an  article  in  the  warrant." 

On  September  20,  1843,  the  parish  of  Trinity 
Church,  Claremont,  was  duly  organized.  Thirty- 
seven  gentlemen,  at  that  time,  signed  the  Articles 
of  Association  ;  others  signed  at  later  dates.  Sep- 
tember 30th,  of  the  same  year,  having  adopted  a 
code  of  by-laws,  the  parish  proceeded  to  elect  the 
following  officers  :  James  P.  Brewer  being  clerk ; 
Charles  M.  Bingham  and  Lewis  Perry,  wardens ; 
Philander  C.  Freeman,  James  M.  Gates,  Josiah 
Richards,  David  W.  Dexter  and  Charles  Mitchell, 
vestrymen  ;  John  W.  Tappan,  treasurer;  Thomas 
Leland,  delegate  to  the  Special  Convention  of  the 
Diocese,  at  Concord,  October  4,  1843.  It  was 
then  "  Voted,  That  the  Wardens  of  this  Church 
procure  if  they  think  practicable,  from  Union 
Church,  a  conveyance  of  Trinity  Chapel  and  the 


land  and  all  the  appurtenances  belonging  to  the 
same,  to  Trinity  Church."  April  8, 1844,  P.  C. 
Freeman  was  appointed  by  the  parish  meeting  "  an 
agent  to  attend  to  the  transfer  of  Trinity  Chapel, 
to  the  society  of  Trinity  Church,  from  the  mem- 
bers of  Union  Church,  Claremont,  N.  H."  The 
transfer  was  made  prior  to  June  26,  1844. 

According  to  the  "  History  of  the  Eastern  Dio- 
cese," Trinity  Church  was  received  into  union 
with  the  Diocese  of  New  Hampshire,  at  the  Spe- 
cial Convention  at  Concord,  October  4,  1843,  and 
its  delegate  took  part  in  the  election  of  the  Rev. 
Carlton  Chase,  D.D.,  Bishop. 

The  Rev.  Eleazer  A.  Greenleaf  officiated  at 
Trinity  Church  from  November,  1843,  to  Easter, 
1844.  On  December  30,  1843,  at  a  special 
meeting  of  the  parish  of  Trinity  Church,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  offered  by  Thomas  Leland, 
Esq  ,  and  was  unanimously  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  Society,  that  the 
Wardens  and  Vestry  of  this  parish  be  instructed  to 
invite  the  Rev.  Carlton  Chase,  D.D.,  to  become  Rec- 
tor of  said  parish,  and  to  make  such  contract  for  his 
salary  as  they  may  think  for  the  best  interest  of  the 
Society.  And,  in  case  he  accepts  of  such  a  call,  to 
make  all  other  arrangements  proper  for  raising  means 
for  his  salary,  and  for  his  institution  as  Rector." 

Dr.  Chase  accepted  the  rectorship  of  Trinity 
Church,  and  entered  on  its  duty  at  Easter,  1844, 
His  salary  from  the  parish  was  five  hundred  dollars, 
At  the  annnal  convention  in  June,  1844,  he  re? 
ported  sixty  families,  three  baptisms  and  eighty? 
four  communicants. 

The  old  Trinity  Chapel,  after  having  been  used 
for  the  church  service  thirty-four  years,  was  taken 
down  in  the  early  part  of  1852.  The  corner-stone 
of  the  present  edifice,  on  the  same  site,  was  laid  on 
June  16,  1852,  by  Bishop  Chase,  assisted  by  the 
Rev.  Henry  S.  Smith,  rector  of  Union  Church, 
Claremont,  and  the  Rev.  Marcellus  A.  Herrick, 
rector  of  St.  James'  Church,  Woodstock,  Vt, 
Under  the  corner-stone  the  following-named 
articles  were  deposited: 

1.  Printed  copies  of  the  journals  of  the  Diocese 
of  New  Hampshire  from  1843  to  1851,  inclusive. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


2.  A  list  of  the  communicants  of  Trinity  Church 
from  its  organization  in  September,  1843,  to  June, 
1852 — the  whole  number  being  one  hundred  and 
seventy  two. 

3.  One  number  each  of  three  religious  newspapers 
published  severally  on  or  near  the  12th  of  June,  1852, 
to  wit:  The  Churchman,  The  Christian  Witness  and 
Advocate  and  The  Calendar. 

4.  One  number  each  of  the  newspapers  published 
in  Claremont  village — the  National  Eagle  and  the 
Northern  Advocate. 

5.  A  declaration,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 
"I,  Carlton  Chase,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
New  Hampshire,  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  my  age, 
and  in  the  eighth  year  of  my  episcopate — Millard 
Fillmore  being  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
Noah  Martin  being  Governor  of  New  Hampshire — 
this  sixteenth  day  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-two, 

LAY   THIS   CORNER-STONE   OF 
TRINITY   CHURCH, 

and  with  my  own  hand  make  this  deposite." 

6.  A  schedule  of  donations  from  churches  and  in- 
dividuals abroad,  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  Trinity 
Church. 

7.  An  account  of  the  organization  of  the  parish, 
with  a  list  of  officers  for  the  year  1852.  Also,  the 
Dames  of  the  architects,  Messrs.  Wills  &  Dudley, 
of  the  city  of  New  York;  of  the  builders,  Messrs. 
Washburn  &  Nichols,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.;  of  the 
Building  Committee,  Messrs.  Charles  M.  Bingham, 
Lewis  Perry,  Charles  F.  Long  and  Alvah  Stevens. 

8.  A  paper  containing  the  names  of  subscribers 
and  donors  to  the  Building  Fund,  and  stating  gener- 
ally the  terms  of  the  contract  for  erection. 

The  chancel  window  was  the  gift  of  All  Saints' 
Church,  New  York.  The  cost  of  this  church  edi- 
fice was  about  seven  thousand  dollars.  Additions 
and  alterations  since  made  have  added  consider- 
ably to  that  sum.  It  was  duly  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Chase,  in  the  presence  of  the  Convention 
of  the  Diocese,  May  25,  1853. 

Bishop  Chase  resigned  the  rectorship  of  this 
church  June  1st,  1868,  as  follows: 

"Dioce.se  of  Nkvv  Hampshire. 
"To  the  Wardens  and    Vestry  of  Trinity   Church. 
"Dear  Brethren  : — Proceedings  in  the  late  Conven- 


tion, by  which  the  Diocese  assures  my  full  support, 
and  solicits  for  itself  my  undivided  cares  and  labors, 
make  it  my  duty  to  resign  the  Rectorship  of  your 
Church.  This  I  beg  leave  now  to  do.  And  in  doing 
it,  I  assure  you,  Brethren,  that  my  connection  of 
nineteen  years  with  Trinity  Church  has  afforded  me 
innumerable  occasions  of  happy  and  grateful  remem- 
brance. As  your  Bishop  I  shall  still  be  in  your 
service,  and  shall  be  most  happy  at  all  times  to  do 
what  I  can  for  Trinity  Church. 

"  With  much  affection  and  respect, 

"  Yours  in  most  holy  bonds, 

"  Carlton  Chase." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  members  of 
Trinity  Church  corporation,  June  22,  1803,  it  was 
"  Voted  that  the  Wardens  and  Vestry  be  author- 
ized to  tender  the  Rev.  John  M.  Peck,  of  Warren, 
R.  I.,  an  invitation  to  officiate  in  this  church  as 
Pastor  one  year  for  the  consideration  of  800  Dol- 
lars as  Salary."  Mr.  Peck  accepted  this  invitation, 
and  entered  on  his  duties  August  2,  1863.  Subse- 
quently his  salary  was  increased  to  one  thousand 
dollars  and  the  use  of  the  rectory.  He  resigned 
in  June,  1867.  Mr.  Peck  reported  to  the  con- 
vention in  June,  1867,  twelve  baptisms,  twenty 
confirmations  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  commu- 
nicants. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1867,  the  Rev.  I.  G. 
Hubbard,  D.D.,  took  charge  of  Trinity  Church. 
In  1871  the  parish  sold  its  rectory  for  three  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  purchased  the  Dr.  Robert  Glea- 
son  house  and  grounds  adjoining  the  church  lot 
for  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  In  1884 
the  old  buildings  on  this  lot  were  sold  for  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to  be  removed,  pre- 
paratory to  building  new.  To  the  Convention  of 
1868,  Dr.  Hubbard  reported  ten  baptisms,  eleven 
confirmations,  two  hundred  and  one  communi- 
cants and  one  hundred  Sunday-school  scholars. 

In  September,  1866,  George  G.  and  Lemuel  N. 
Ide  presented  to  Trinity  Church  a  bell  weighing 
one  thousand  and  fifty-seven  pounds,  and  costing, 
with  mountings,  etc.,  five  hundred  and  thirty-one 
dollars  and  sixty-two  cents,  "for  religious  and 
church  uses  only." 

The  following  explains  itself: 


CLAREMONT. 


91 


"  Claremont,  N.  H.,  Dec.  19,  1871. 

"  To  the  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — I  have  had  prepared  a  Memorial 
Tablet  in  memory  of  Rt.  Rev.  Carlton  Chase,, D.  D., 
our  late  worthy  Bishop  and  Rector,  which  I  herewith 
offer  for  your  acceptance,  to  be  placed  in  the  Chancel 
of  the  Church. 

"  Very  truly  your  associate  in  the  Vestry, 

'•'Geo.  L.  Balcom." 

Dr.  Hubbard,  on  account  of  ill  health,  was 
granted  a  vacation,  his  place  being  supplied  by 
the  society,  and  went  to  Europe,  his  expenses 
being  paid  by  contributions  of  members  of  his 
parish  and  others. 

By  reason  of  continued  ill  health,  Dr.  Hubbard 
resigned  his  rectorship  March  31,  1875,  to  take 
effect  the  1st  of  the  following  May.  The  Rev.  C. 
R.  Batchelder,  Rev.  Mr.  Pearson  and  others  sup- 
plied until  the  Rev.  Henry  Ferguson  was  called 
and  commenced  his  labors  as  rector  the  3rd  of 
March,  1878.  On  account  of  the  poor  health  of 
Mrs.  Ferguson,  Mr.  Ferguson  resigned  in  Decem- 
ber, 1880.  The  Rev.  Charles  S.  Hale  wis  called, 
and  commenced  his  rectorship  at  Easter,  1881. 
He  resigned  March  9,  1885,  his  resignation  to 
take  effect  after  Trinity  Sunday,  May  31,  1885. 

In  February,  1882,  a  new  organ  was  placed  in 
the  church,  at  an  expense  of  $3150.  In  1884  a 
choir-room  was  added  to  the  church,  which,  with 
furnishing,  cost  $1375.  A  chancel  choir  of  men 
and  boys  was  organized  in  February,  1882.  In 
August,  1884,  a  legacy  of  $8000  was  received 
from  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Carrie  Evans,  of  Boston, 
with  which  to  build  a  rectory  for  Trinity  Parish, 
and  it  will  be  erected,  at  no  very  distant  period, 
on  the  site  adjoining  the  church  lot. 

First  Baptist  Church. — In  1785  a  Baptist 
society  was  formed  in  Claremont.  There  was  no 
stated  preaching,  however,  until  the  following 
year,  when  Rev.  John  Pickens  was  ordained. 
The  formation  of  this  new  religious  societ}'  in- 
creased the  bitterness  of  feeling  against  the  minis- 
terial tax  system.  The  members  of  the  new 
society  refused  to  conform  to  the  requisitions  of 


the  law,  pleading   that  they  were  of  a  different 
denomination. 

The  town  records  show  that  on  September  6, 
1785,  "The  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Clare- 
mont assembled  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr. 
Ebenezer  Rice  in  s'd  Town,"  and  "  Voted  on  the 
fourth  article  in  the  warning  that  those  people 
that  call  themselves  Baptists  pay  no  more  rates  to 
the  Congregational  order  for  the  fewter." 

This  secured  from  taxation,  by  the  terms  of  the 
law,  such  persons  as  were  conscientiously  of  a  dif- 
ferent persuasion,  and  attended  constantly  public 
religious  worship  on  the  Lord's  day. 

In  July,  1776,  a  church  of  seventeen  members 
was  constituted  and  recognized.  Mr.  Pickens  re- 
mained but  a  few  months,  under  whose  ministry 
the  society  flourished  ;  but  after  his  removal,  and 
for  various  reasons,  it  became  extinct  in  a  few 
years.  In  the  fall  of  1820,  Rev.  John  Kimball 
labored  three  months  as  a  missionary  in  Clare- 
mont. In  January,  1821,  the  scattered  members 
were  brought  together,  and  a  church  with  seven- 
teen members  was  constituted.  The  names  of 
these  members  were  as  follows:  Joseph  Cum- 
mings,  Thomas  Warner,  Ezra  Smith,  Jesse  Bun- 
nel, Mehitabel  Dodge,  Milly  Bunnel,  Eunice 
Smith,  Prudence  Sweet,  Betsey  Bunnel,  Ruth 
Bond,  Prudence  Richards,  Hannah  Cummings, 
Betsey  Patrick,  Lydia  Wilkins,  Sally  Draper, 
Mehitabel  Bunnel,  Charlotte  Petty. 

Under  Mr.  Kimball's  labors  the  church  mem- 
bership increased  to  fifty-four.  The  six  following 
years  the  church  wTas  without  a  pastor  and  wor- 
shiped in  a  hall  connected  with  Clark's  tavern,  on 
the  north  side  of  Sugar  River.  Notwithstanding 
the  disadvantages  endured  in  this  time,  there  was 
an  accession  of  several  men  of  standing  and 
wrealth.  In  1827  the  First  Baptist  Society  was 
formed,  and  a  small  chapel  was  built  on  the  east 
side  of  High  Street,  which  was  occupied  six  years. 

In  January,  1829,  the  Rev.  Leonard  Tracy  was 
settled  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  and  his 
connection  with  it  continued  eight  years,  during 
which  the  "  Manual,"  published  in  1884,  from 
which   much   information   is   derived,   says  "  the 


92 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


foundation  of  much  of  its  future  prosperity  were 
laid."  In  1833-34,  encouraged  by  the  growth  of 
the  church  and  society,  a  lot  at  the  junction  of 
Main  and  Central  Streets,  where  their  handsome 
house  of  worship  now  stands,  was  purchased,  and 
the  erection  of  the  building  was  commenced, 
which  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  November, 
1834. 

The  Rev.  Darwin  H.  Ranney  succeeded  Mr. 
Tracy,  and  began  his  labors  in  March,  1838,  and 
continued  them  until  September,  1839,  after 
which  the  pastorate  was  vacant  until  September, 
1840,  when  Rev.  J.  M.  Graves  became  pastor. 
He  held  the  office  about  three  years,  during 
which  it  is  recorded  that  "  the  church  gained  in 
strength  and  efficiency,  although  it  did  not 
increase  in  members." 

The  Rev.  William  B.  Jacobs  succeeded  to  the 
pastorate  in  November,  1843,  and  "filled  the 
office  with  fidelity  for  about  three  years."  His 
successor  was  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Wright,  who 
began  his  labors  in  July,  1847.  "Though  the 
number  of  members  decreased  during  this  period, 
yet  the  character  of  the  church  was  greatly  im- 
proved, and  a  foundation  was  laid  for  future  suc- 
cess. Some  long-standing  difficulties  were  settled, 
disorderly  members  were  removed,  and  the  body 
became  more  homogeneous  and  harmonious."  He 
closed  his  labors  with  this  church  in  June,  1851. 

The  Rev.  Oliver  Ayer  was  settled  in  July,  1851. 
"  His  pastorate  was  the  longest  the  church  has  yet 
enjoyed, — thirteen  years, — and  was  blessed  with 
seasons  of  refreshing  from  on  high.  The  year 
1858  was  especially  memorable  in  the  number  of 
accessions  by  baptism."  Mr.  Ayer,  though  not  a 
noisy  or  very  attractive  preacher  to  the  generality 
i  >f  hearers,  was  a  man  of  culture  and  refinement; 
his  sermons  were  finished,  sound  and  logical, 
setting  forth  in  no  questionable  terms  his  belief  in 
the  doctrines  he  preached.  No  one  who  heard 
him  could  doubt  his  sincerity;  and  no  one  who 
knew  him,  whether  they  subscribed  to  his  peculiar 
doctrines  or  not,  could  fail  to  respect  him  as  a 
citizen  and  clergyman. 

In  October,  1864,  Francis  W.  Towle  was  called 


to  the  pastorate  of  this  church  and  ordained  the 
following  month.  "  During  his  pastorate  the 
church  enjoyed  steady  growth  in  numbers  and 
resources.  Early  in  1872  the  society  began  the 
work  of  enlarging  and  repairing  its  house  of 
worship.  A  new  vestibule,  tower  and  chapel  were 
built,  the  interior  of  the  main  house  remodeled, 
refurnished  and  frescoed.  The  whole  cost  of  the 
repaiifs  exceeded  nine  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  The  service  of  dedication  was  held 
January  2,  1873."  Mr.  Towle  resigned  in  July, 
1873. 

Charles  A.  Piddock  served  as  supply  from 
October,  1873,  became  pastor  in  March,  1874,  and 
was  ordained  the  same  month.  His  pastorate  ex- 
tended to  July,  1877.  and  "  was  characterized  by 
revival  spirit  and  work,  and  by  numerous  acces- 
sions to  the  church." 

Rev.  Joseph  S.  Swaim  was  called  to  the  pas- 
torate in  October,  1877,  and,  hp.ving  been  ordained 
in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  "  continued  his  labors  until 
February,  1883,  the  church  during  this  time  being 
united  and  prosperous  and  steadily  increasing  in 
numbers." 

Rev.  T.  G.  Cass  was  next  called,  and  began  his 
labors  as  pastor  in  April,  1883,  and  resigned,  and 
was  dismissed  March  27,  1885.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Robbin,  who  was  settled  June 
7,  1885. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  follow- 
ing facts  are  gathered  mainly  from  a  "  Historical 
Sketch  "  by  Rev.  M.  V.  B.  Knox,  published  in 
1882: 

On  the  strength  of  hearsay,  it  is  reported  that 
the  first  sermon  preached  in  Claremont  by  a 
Methodist  was  by  Rev.  Mr.  Daniels,  the  first 
Methodist  preacher  who  died  in  New  England. 
He  was  buried  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Unity. 
Others  say  that  the  eccentric  Lorenzo  Dow,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  years,  preached  the  first 
sermon  delivered  by  a  Methodist  in  this  town,  in 
the  neighborhood  known  as  Packershire.  It  is 
known  that  in  the  winter  of  1798  Lorenzo  Dow 
preached  once  in  four  weeks  in  what  is  called  the 
Green    Mountain    District,   and    that   his    labors 


CLAREMONT. 


93 


resulted  in  some  conversions  and  the  formation  of 
a  class  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Robertson,  who  some- 
times acted  as  leader.  Dow's  eccentricities  were 
finally  thought  unbearable,  and  "  he  was  advised 
to  leave  the  town,  which  he  did  in  quite  a  charac- 
teristic manner.  Riding  to  its  line,  with  thoughts 
and  maledictions,  the  results  of  which  it  may  be 
impossible  to  tell,  and  the  nature  of  which  the  last 
day  alone  may  reveal,  he  dismounted  and,  rapping 
his  shoes  together,  shook  the  dust  of  Claremont  off 
them,  solemnly  declaring  that  he  should  never 
enter  the  town  more  until  solicited  by  those  who 
were  anxious  for  his  labors  as  a  minister  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Never  being  invited,  he  never 
did  return,  and  his  testimony  thus  feelingly  given 
still  remains." 

The  first  organized  Methodism  in  Claremont 
was  a  class  formed  of  those  who  were  converted 
under  the  labors  of  Dow,  in  the  Green  Mountain 
District.  The  leader  was  Eliakim  Stevens.  In 
1801  Claremont  was  included  in  the  new  circuit 
of  Hanover.  A  Quarterly  Meeting  is  reported  in 
Claremont,  May  7,  180.1,  connected  with  which 
were  nine  baptisms.  In  1802  the  membership  in 
Claremont  consisted  of  Eliakim  Stevens,  Prudence 
Stevens,  Eliphalet  Robertson,  Mary  Robertson, 
Susanna  Stevens,  John  Amidon,  Dorcas  Tolman, 
Susanna  Stoddard,  Cynthia  Fiske,  Hezekiah  Mills, 
Phebe  Farrington,  Amos  Stoddard  and'  Betsey 
Howell. 

Under  Rev.  Elijah  Willard's  preaching  a  re- 
vival of  religion  occurred  at  Draper's  Corners, 
several  families  being  converted.  Mrs.  Mason,  an 
influential  lady,  encouraged  the  work  by  opening 
her  house  to  meetings.  She  became  a  Methodist, 
as  also  her  daughter  Ethana,  afterward  the  wife 
and  widow  of  Rev.  Caleb  Dustin.  A  class  was 
formed  under  the  leadership  of  Jacob  Smith,  of 
Unity,  a  local  preacher. 

In  1806  Rev.  Caleb  Dustin  labored  here  suc- 
cessfully. From  this  time  up  to  1815  the  Method- 
ists held  their  meetings  at  private  houses,  and 
wherever  else  they  could  find  accommodations. 
In  that  year  the  Methodists,  Universalists  and 
Baptists  united   and  erected  a  meeting-house  on 


the  spot  where  Trinity  Church  now  stands.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1821  the  Baptists  and  Universalists, 
who  had  owned  and  occupied  this  meeting-house 
jointly  with  the  Methodists,  sold  their  shares  to 
the  Episcopalians,  who  at  once  put  the  house 
under  alterations  and  repairs.  This  was  a  great 
disappointment  and  inconvenience  to  the  Method- 
ists, as  the  Episcopalians,  owning  two-thirds — a 
controlling  interest — refused  its  occupancy  to  the 
Methodists  for  their  fourth  Quarterly  Meeting, 
which  was  appointed  for  the  18th  of  August.  As 
the  day  approached,  Mr.  Chase,  of  the  Sullivan 
House,  tendered  the  use  of  a  large,  new  horse- 
barn,  which  he  had  just  finished,  for  the  meeting, 
and  his  dance-hall  for  the  love-feast,  and  they 
were  accepted. 

After  this  meetings  were  held  for  a  time  at 
Draper's  Corner ;  then  in  an  old,  red  cabinet-shop 
at  the  north  side  of  the  Upper  Bridge,  on  Wash- 
ington Street,  and  finally  in  the  hall  of  the  "  Old 
Clark  Tavern,"  on  North  Street,  which  was  occu- 
pied about  two  years.  "  In  this  hall  Wilbur  Fisk 
and  other  able,  godly  men  preached  the  word." 

In  1826  the  Methodists  of  Claremont  undertook 
to  build  for  themselves  a  meeting-house,  and  in 
Quarterly  Conference,  held  January  4th,  it  was 
"  voted  to  raise  a  committee  of  three  to  estimate 
the  sum  and  obtain  subscriptions  to  build  a  meet- 
ing-house in  Claremont."  Nathan  Howard, 
Thomas  Davis  and  Eli  Draper  were  appointed 
said  committee.  Eliakim  Stevens,  Nathan 
Howard,  Thomas  Davis,  Asa  Dinsmore  and  Eli 
Draper  were  constituted  trustees.  The  enterprise 
was  at  once  begun. 

A  subscription  paper,  dated  January  26,  1826, 
and  headed  as  follows,  was  circulated  : 

"  Whereas,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  that  have  means  and 
opportunities  to  promote  the  public  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God,  and,  whereas,  the  Society  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  labors 
under  many  inconveniences  and  embarrassments  for 
want  of  a  house  of  public  worship,  therefore  we,  the 
subscribers,  promise  to  pay  the  sum  set  against  each 
of  our  names,  respectively,  to  the  said  Methodist  So- 
ciety, or  a  committee  which  they  shall  appoint,  to  be 
by  them  appropriated  for  the  erecting  a  free  house  of 


94 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


public  worship  in  or  near  the  village,  in  said  Clare- 
mont,  of  such  dimensions  as  shall  by  them  be  judged 
suitable,  and  upon  such  principles  as  shall  accord 
with  the  discipline  and  usages  of  their  church." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  January  26, 
1826,  the  following  board  of  officers  was  chosen  : 
Eliakim  Stevens,  president  ;  Nathan  Howard, 
secretary ;  Thomas  Davis,  treasurer  and  agent ; 
Asa  Dinsmore,  Nathan  Howard,  Eliakim  Stevens, 
Thomas  Davis,  Harvey  McLaughlin,  trustees.  At 
this  meeting  the  society  "  voted  to  proceed  to 
build  a  chapel  for  public  worship,"  and  that 
"Thomas  Davis,  Eliakim  Stevens  and  Nathan 
Howard  be  a  committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
purchase  a  site  for  and  superintend  the  building 
of  said  chapel." 

Mr.  Austin  Tyler,  a  man  of  no  particular  de- 
nominational affinities,  magnanimously  offered 
them  a  very  eligible  site  on  Sullivan  Street,  as  a 
gift,  which  was  gratefully  accepted.  "  When  the 
timber  was  collected,  the  brethren,  desirous  of 
securing  the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  humble 
effort,  solicited  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nye, 
the  Congregational  preacher,  as  their  own  was  too 
remote  on  other  parts  of  the  circuit  to  be  con- 
veniently called.  Mr.  Nye  met  them  in  the  lot 
containing  the  scattered  materials  for  the  chapel, 
and  solemnly  invoked  the  divine  aid  on  the 
workers  and  work."  The  meeting-house  was 
raised,  partly  finished,  and  occupied  for  service 
through  the  summer  season  in  this  condition,  the 
congregation  sitting  on  rough  seats,  men  on  one 
side  of  the  house,  women  on  the  other,  while  the 
carpenter's  bench  made  the  minister's  pulpit.  The 
house  was  finally  completed  and  dedicated  in  De 
cember,  1829,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  Rev. 
B.  R.  Hoyt. 

The  official  members  of  Claremont  voted,  in 
1833,  a  request  to  be  separated  from  the  other 
places,  and  constituted  a  separate  appointment. 
At  a  Quarterly  Conference,  held  at  I  'nit y,  June  29, 
1833,  it  was  "voted  that  Charlestown  and  Clare- 
mont become  stations."  But  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference included  Unity,  Claremont  and  Charles- 
town  until  the  Conference  year  of  1835-36 


At  the  first  Quarterly  Conference  the  new  sta- 
tion had  formed  itself  into  a  missionary  society. 
The  first  stationed  preacher  was  C.  W.  Levings, 
but  matters  were  not  prosperous,  and,  at  the 
Quarterly  Conference  of  June  25,  1836,  his  dis- 
mission from  the  charge,  at  his  own  request,  was 
assented  to,  and  he  left. 

John  Jones,  who  followed  Mr.  Levings,  "  was 
successful  in  his  work,  but  was  greatly  impeded 
by  a  long  course  of  sickness.  The  people  helped 
him  in  a  characteristic  manner.  To  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  his  illness,  the  sum  of  seventy-three  dol- 
lars and  eighteen  cents  was  raised,  over  and  above 
his  regular  salary,  and  awarded  him  as  a  gift — 
this  being  the  whole  amount  of  expenses  incurred 
by  his  sickness.  He  reported  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  members." 

The  next  year  Moses  Chase  was  the  preacher, 
"  and  the  place  was  favored  with  a  revival  of  great 
power.  So  many  were  the  additions,  that  he  re- 
ported the  membership  at  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
one." 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  society,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1837,  "  Charles  H.  Mann,  Erastus  Clark 
and  Frederick  A.  Henry  were  made  a  committee 
to  see  how  a  house-lot  could  be  bought  and  a  par- 
sonage-house built."  An  adjourned  meeting,  held 
September  16th,  of  the  same  year, "  Voted  to  proceed 
in  the  building  of  a  house  as  soon  as  four  hundred 
dollars  should  be  raised."  This  sum  was  soon 
pledged,  and  Samuel  Tutherly,  William  Proctor 
and  Frederick  A.  Henry  were  appointed  a  build- 
ing committee.  It  was  found  necessary  to  enlarge 
the  meeting-house,  and  it  was  decided  to  abandon 
the  parsonage  project  for  that  time. 

The  Quarterly  Conference,  in  January,  1838, 
resolved  itself  into  a  domestic  missionary  society, 
auxiliary  to  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of 
New  Hampshire.  In  that  year  Rev.  William 
Hatch  succeeded  Mr.  Chase  in  the  pastorate.  The 
Quarterly  Conference,  in  May,  "Resolved,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  that  our  Dis- 
cipline prohibits  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors, 
except  as  a  medicine,  and  that  no  person  ought  to 
be  received  into  the  church  unless  he  will  live  up 


CLAREMONT. 


95 


to  this   rule."     The   same   Conference,  in  April, 
1839,  resolved, — 

"  1.  That  in  our  opinion  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks  as  a  beverage  is  sin. 

"  2.  That  if  any  member  of  our  church  in  this  place 
shall  be  guilty  of  so  doing,  such  member  or  members 
ought  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  rules  of  disci- 
pline, unless  speedy  reformation  renders  it  unneces- 
sary." 

Rev.  James  M.  Fuller,  in  1839,  succeeded  Mr. 
Hatch,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  first  year,  reported 
a  Sunday-school,  with  twenty  four  officers  and 
teachers,  one  hundred  and  eleven  scholars,  and 
three  hundred  volumes  in  the  library. 

Mr.  Fuller  stayed  two  years,  and  reported  the 
number  of  members  of  the  church  at  two  hundred 
and  one.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Eleazer 
Smith. 

About  this  time  the  Second  Advent  or  Miller  ex- 
citement, manifested  itself,  threatening  the  interests 
of  the  church.  In  a  Quarterly  Conference,  April 
15,  1843,  it  was  "  Voted  that  those  brethren  who 
sustain  meetings  abroad  are  requested  to  refrain ; 
if  not,  they  are  invited  respectfully  to  withdraw 
from  the  church,"  and  G.  W.  Wilson,  E.  Clark, 
A.  M.  Billings  and  others  immediately  withdrew. 
At  the  close  of  his  second  year  Mr.  Smith  reported 
two  hundred  and  ninety  members  of  the  church. 

The  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference — then 
including  Vermont  as  well  as  this  State — met  at 
Claremont,  for  the  first  time,  in  June,  1843.  The 
public  services  were  held  in  the  town  hall.  "  On 
the  Sabbath  an  immense  audience  assembled,  fill- 
ing not  only  the  town  hall,  but  the  grounds 
about  it.  The  venerable  Bishop  Waugh,  standing 
on  a  platform  erected  for  that  purpose  at  the  south 
door,  proclaimed  with  masterly  effect,  in  behalf  of 
the  ministry,  '  We  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord.'" 

Mr.  Smith  was  succeeded  in  1843  by  Rev.  Elihu 
Scott.  "  His  first  year's  pastorate  was  greatly  in- 
jured by  the  desolating  influence  of  Millerism, 
defections  in  the  membership  multiplying  so  that 
he  reported  but  one  hundred  and  eighty  members 
at  the  close  of  that  year."     At  the  end  of  his  sec- 


ond year,  Millerism  having  collapsed,  Mr.  Scott 
reported  two  hundred  members  of  the  church. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Scott's  term  the  Quarterly 
Conference,  having  tested  the  station  system, 
"  Voted  to  request  the  bishop  to  form  CI  remont 
Station  into  a  circuit,  by  adding  one  or  more  towns, 
and  to  send  two  or  more  preachers."  But  the  ex- 
perience of  a  year  or  two  under  this  plan  reversed 
the  request,  and  Claremont  has  since  remained  a 
station. 

In  1845  Rev.  Silas  Quimby  succeeded  Mr.  Scott, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  year  reported  the  member- 
ship at  two  hundred  and  thirty-three.  Rev.  Jus- 
tin Spaulding  succeeded  Mr.  Quimby,  remaining 
one  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Jacob 
Stevens,  in  1847,  remaining  on  the  charge  about 
three-quarters  of  the  year,  when  he  retired  on  ac- 
count of  poor  health,  and  the  year  was  filled 
out  by  Rev.  Matthew  Newhall,  a  supernumerary 
preacher.  This  year  the  Quarterly  Conference 
"  Voted  to  adopt  a  number  of  resolutions  against 
the  circus  soon  to  be  exhibited  in  this  place."  It 
also  voted  to  admit  "a  seraphim  in  the  gallery." 

Rev.  Joseph  C.  Cromack  was  the  next  preacher 
During  his  pastorate  the  church  bought  the  house 
on  Pleasant  Street,  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Dr.  F.  C.  Wilkinson,  for  a  parsonage.  In  1850 
Rev.  Lewis  Howard  succeeded  Mr.  Cromack,  and 
in  1851  the  Quarterly  Conference  ordered  twenty- 
five  dollars  to  be  "  paid  to  Jonathan  Miner  for 
leading  the  singing."  On  February  23,  1852,  the 
society  "  Voted  to  build  a  new  meeting-house,  and 
that  Samuel  Tutherly  be  a  committee  to  obtain 
subscriptions.  Plans  for  the  house  were  presented 
and  adopted,  and,  at  a  meeting  on  March  6th,  it 
was  "  Voted  that  the  rent  of  pews  go  toward  the 
preaching ; "  and,  at  another  meeting,  a  week  later, 
"  T.  Sanford,  S.  Tutherly  and  James  Sperry  were 
made  a  committee  to  dispose  of  the  old  meeting- 
house and  lot,  purchase  a  new  lot,  raise  subscrip- 
tions and  build  a  new  meeting-house."  This 
committee  was  also  authorized  to  sell  the  parsonage, 
and  the  trustees  were  directed  to  hold  the  funds 
arising  from  that  sale  until  they  could  build  or 
purchase  another,  which  was  to  be  done  within  six 


96 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


years.  "  The  trustees  were  also  authorized  to  use 
the  money  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  parsonage 
in  the  new  church,  with  the  interest  of  it  to  go  for 
house-rent  for  the  preacher."  F.  A.  Henry  and 
E.  E.  Bailey  were  added  to  the  building  committee ; 
subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $2,484.50  were 
soon  obtained ;  the  old  meetingdiouse  was  sold  for 
$650,  and  the  parsonage  for  $1,191 ;  a  new  church- 
lot  was  purchased  on  Central  Street ;  a  new  meet- 
ing-house was  erected,  which,  with  furnishings, 
cost  $5,601.76  The  new  "  church  was  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  Almighty  God,  January  25, 1853, 
by  Bishop  Ormon  C.  Baker."  During  the  building 
of  the  new  meetingdiouse,  and  up  to  1854,  Rev. 
John  McLaughlin  was  the  preacher.  The  mem- 
bership at  the  close  of  his  pastorate  numbered  two 
hundred  and  eighty  one. 

Mr.  McLaughlin  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Fred- 
erick A.  Hewes,  whose   pastorate,  for  two  years, 
was  quite  successful,  and  the  church  and  society 
were  strong  and  prosperous.     The  second  session 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  was  held  in 
Claremont,  in  May,  1856,  presided  over  by  Bishop 
E  S.  Janes.     The  Conference  sermon  was  deliv- 
ered by  Rev.  Elihu  Scott,  a  former  pastor.     Rev. 
W.  F.  Evans  succeeded  to  the  pastorate  in  1856. 
During  his  pastorate  the  debt  that  had  remained 
on  the  church  since  its  dedication  was  fully  paid. 
Mr.  Evans  was  succeeded,  in  1858,  by  Rev.  0. 
H.  Jasper,  D.D.,  a  popular  and  powerful  preacher, 
during  whose  pastorate  of  two  years  much  good 
was  accomplished.     In   1860,  Rev.  R.  S.  Stubbs 
took   the  place  of  Mr.   Jasper.     At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  society,  1860,  it  was  voted  that  the 
church  be  lighted  with  gas ;  and  "  Eli  Smith  was 
requested  to  furnish  and  take  charge  of  singing, 
at  his  discretion,  either  in  the  gallery  or  in  the 
congregation."     In    1862,   Mr.    Stubbs   was   suc- 
ceeded   by   Rev.   H.    H.   Hartwell.     During   his 
first  year  the  Sunday-school  increased  from  two 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  the 
Sunday-school  library  numbered  over  a  thousand 
volumes.     The    membership   at   the    close  of  his 
second  year,  was  reported  at  three  hundred  and 
twenty-four.     Rev.  S    G.  Kellogg   followed    Mr. 


Hartwell  in  1864.  He  preached  here  three  years, 
in  which  time  he  preached  three  hundred  and 
eighty  sermons,  attended  sixty-nine  funerals,  and 
baptized  eighty-one  persons. 

In  1867,  Mr.  Kellogg  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
D.  C.  Babcock.  After  a  few  months'  service,  he 
accepted  the  secretaryship  of  the  New  Hampshire 
State  Temperance  League,  and  Rev.  C.  W.  Mil- 
ler supplied  the  remainder  of  the  year.  In  1868 
Rev.  S.  P.  Heath  came  and  remained  here  two 
years,  which  "  were  crowned  with  substantial  suc- 
cess." Following  Mr.  Heath  came  Rev.  H.  L. 
Kelsey,  in  1870.  During  the  years  1870  and 
1871,  a  now,  handsome  two-story  parsonage  house 
was  built  on  a  lot  adjoining  the  meeting-house  lot, 
on  Central  Street,  under  the  direction  of  Hon.  C. 
H.  Eastman,  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees, 
assisted  by  Mr.  Kelsey.  The  job  was  contracted 
to  George  H.  Stevens  for  two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred dollars  for  house,  barn  and  well.  On  the 
completion  of  the  job,  Mr.  Stevens  was  paid  some- 
thing in  addition  for  extra  work.  The  ladies  of 
the  church  furnished  the  new  house  with  carpets, 
stoves,  tables,  etc. 

In  1873,  Rev.  N  M.  Bailey  succeeded  Mr. 
Kelsey,  and  continued  here  for  two  years,  with 
marked  success.  During  his  pastorate  "  it  ap- 
pears that  two  women  were  elected  on  the  board 
of  stewards, — Mrs.  Ann  Perkins  and  Mrs  Melissa 
Fitch.  They  served  five  years,  resigning  in  1879, 
in  spite  of  all  eff« >rts  to'  retain  them."  In  1875, 
Rev.  E.  R.  Wilkins  came  in  place  of  Mr.  Bailey. 
"  During  his  pastorate  of  three  years,  the  people 
were  pleased  with  him,  and  he  with  the  people. 
His  indefatigable  pastoral  labors  were  greatly 
appreciated."  In  1878,  Rev.  Daniel  Stevenson, 
D.D.,  succeeded  Mr.  Wilkius.  "His  sermons 
were  of  a  high  order."  In  the  summer  of  1879 
he  resigned  his  charge,  and  accepted  a  re-transfer 
to  the  Kentucky  Conference,  from  which  he  had 
come  to  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  four 
years  before.  He  entered  on  the  presidency  of 
the  Augusta  Seminary  and  Female  College.  Rev. 
M.  V.  B.  Knox,  of  the  South  Kansas  Conference, 
who  was  recuperating  in  Northern  Vermont,  was 


CLAREMONT. 


97 


secured  to  fill  out  the  remainder  of  the  year. 
During  the  year  1879,  Mrs.  Julia  A.  D.  East- 
man, widow  of  Hon.  C.  H.  Eastman,  to  carry  out 
an  expressed  wish  of  her  late  husband,  donated 
the  money  (one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars)  to 
erect  a  memorial  chapel,  sixty-one  by  thirty-nine 
feet,  and  paid  for  carpet  and  other  furnishings,  at 
a  cost  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
more.  It  joins  the  church  on  the  northeast  cor- 
ner, and  contains  a  vestry  capable  of  seating  two 
hundred  and  fifty  people,  large  parlor,  library 
and  vestibule.  It  was  dedicated  December  22, 
1880,  by  Presiding  Elder  George  J.  Judkins. 

In  1881  the  Annual  Conference  was  again  held 
in  Claremont,  meeting  April  20th.  "  Bishop 
Thomas  Bowman  presided  with  marked  ability 
and  success."  Mr.  Knox  continued  his  pastorate 
until  1882,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Henry 
Dorr.  During  his  first  year  here  Mr.  Dorr  met 
with  a  serious  accident.  He  was  thrown  from  his 
carriage,  injuring  his  foot  or  ankle  so  badly  as  to 
render  amputation  between  the  knee  and  foot 
necessary.  In  1885  Rev.  G.  M.  Curl  succeeded 
Mr.  Dorr. 

Junction  Camp-Meeting  Grounds. — In  1871 
the  subject  of  securing  permanent  camp-meeting 
grounds  for  the  Springfield,  Vt ,  and  Claremont, 
N.  H.,  Methodist  Conference  Districts,  began  to 
be  agitated.  A  preliminary  meeting  of  commit- 
tees of  those  districts  was  held  at  Dr.  O.  B.  Way's 
office  in  Claremont,  on  January  2,  1872.  Rev. 
James  Pike  was  chosen  chairman,  and  Dr.  Way, 
Secretary.  A  camp-meeting  convention,  consist- 
ing of  all  the  preachers  of  the  two  districts,  and 
one  layman,  from  each  charge,  was  held  at  Clare- 
mont Junction,  June  2,  1872.  Rev.  James  Pike 
was  chosen  chairman  ;  Rev.  P.  Wallingford,  sec- 
retary, and  Rev.  J.  H.  Hillman,  assistant  secre- 
tary. Grounds  of  William  Ellis,  William  Jones 
and  D.  Cauy,  near  the  junction,  were  examined 
and  purchases  ordered. 

The  first  permanent  officers  consisted  of  the 
following  gentlemen  :  President,  Rev.  James  Pike, 
D.  D.  ;  Vice-President,  Rev.  J.  W.  Guernsey ; 
Secretary,   Rev.    Philander  Wallingford ;    Treas- 


urer, Dr.  O.  B.  Way ;  Executive  Committee,  H. 
H.  Howe,  A.  L.  Jones,  A.  C.  Davenport,  Rev.  H. 
W.  Worthen,  Rev.  H.  L.  Kulsy.  The  first  camp- 
meeting  was  held  there  the  last  week  in  Septem- 
ber, 1873.  The  ground  had  been  cleared  of  trees 
and  other  obstructions,  seats  built,  a  preachers' 
stand  erected,  and  several  portly  cottages  were 
put  up  by  societies  and  individuals.  Good  water 
has  been  brought  to  the  grounds,  and  other  im- 
provements have  been  made  from  year  to  year,  so 
that  it  is  quite  an  attractive  place.  Camp-meetings 
have  been  held  there  each  year  since  1873. 

First  Universalist  Church. — From  a  manu- 
al, prepared  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Lee  S. 
M'Collester,  and  published  in  1853,  the  following 
facts  in  relation  to  this  church  are  gathered  : 

"  The  object  of  the  formation  of  this  church  is 
the  cultivation  of  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity  in  our 
own  hearts ;  the  diffusion  of  gospel  truth  and 
light  among  our  fellow-men ;  and  a  systematic 
application  of  Christianity  in  our  daily  life." 

There  was  occasional  Universalist  preaching  in 
Claremont  as  early  as  1824,  by  such  eminent 
clergymen  as  Revs.  Russell  Streeter,  Otis  Skinner, 
Samuel  Willis,  Samuel  C.  Loveland,  John  Moore 
and  others.  The  services  were  then  and  for 
several  succeeding  years  held  in  the  hall  of  the  Sul- 
livan House.  The  church  ever  since  occupied  by 
this  society  was  built  and  dedicated  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Wednesday,  October  24,  1832.  Rev.  W. 
S.  Balch  was  then  the  settled  pastor.  The 
services  were  conducted  by  the  pastor,  "  assisted 
by  Revs.  T.  F.  King,  J.  Gilman,  and  John  Moore, 
and  formed  the  opening  meeting  of  the  first  New 
Hampshire  State  Convention  of  Universalists 
ever  held.  This  convention  had  its  regular  or- 
ganizing session  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of 
the  dedication,  and  continued  through  Thurs- 
day." 

"  The  first  organization  of  the  church  occurred 
during  Mr.  Balch's  settlement,  probably  about 
1834.  In  March,  1836,  Mr.  Balch  resigned  and 
the  following  November  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
J.  G.  Adams,  who  continued  here  fifteen  months." 
Rev.    John   Nichols    immediately   followed    Mr. 


98 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Adams  and  remained  here  until  1843.  Rev.  R.  River  at  Ashley's  Ferry  with  the  sad  result  above 
S.  ^anborn  followed  Mr.  Adams,  and  was  imme-  stated.  No  one  saw  them  enter  the  river,  and  no 
diately  succeeded  in  July,  1*44.  by  Rev.  O.  H.  one  of  the  party  survived  to  tell  how  the  distress- 
Tillotson,  who  remained  one  year.  Rev.  Samuel  ing  calamity  happened.  It  was  only  left  for  con- 
Willis  was  settled  in  May,  1845,  and  remained  jecture.  The  .horse  was  also  drowned. 
about  five  years,  during  which  special  attention  The  following  November  Rev.  S.  P.  Smith  began 
was  triven  to  Sunday-school  work  and  to  the  per-  a  pastorate,  which  continued  until  September, 
fection  of  the  organization  of  the  church.  Ac-  1*73,  and  was  followed  in  June,  1*74,  by  Rev. 
cording  to  the  records,  "The  form  of  church  Edward  Smiley,  who  remained  until  March,  1881 . 
government  contained  in  the  Lniver.-ali.-ts'  Guide,  During  his  pastorate  special  and  effective  work 
was  adopted  December  7, 1845,  as  the  Constitution  was  done  in  the  Sunday-school.  Rev.  J.  M. 
of  the  Iniversalist  Church,  of  Claremont."  Mr.  Johns  was  pastor  from  August,  1881,  to  October, 
Willis  closed  his  pastorate  in  the  fall  of  18411.  1**3,  "and  was  instrumental  in  causing  the 
For  the  next  few  months  the  pulpit  was  supplied  church  to  be  remodeled  at  an  expense  of  over 
by  Revs.  A.  A.  Miner,  O.  H.  Tillotson,  "W.  S.  -even  thousand  dollars,  so  that  now  it  is  one  of  the 
Balch  and  Mr.  Clark.  Rev.  J.  D.  Pierce  was  most  complete  church  edifices  in  the  State."  The 
settled  in  February,  185U,  and  continued  until  dedicatory  services  took  place  August  1, 18*3,  and 
May.  1855,  and  for  about  a  year  and  a  half  the  were  participated    in  by  Drs    A.  A.  Miner  and 


church  was  without  a  regular  pastor,  the  pulpit 
being  supplied  by  Revs.  H.  A.  Philbrook,  S.  A. 
Spencer  and  some  others,  and  by  lay  reading. 

Rev.  Giles  Bailey  was  settled  in  1857  and 
continued  until  1860.  Rev.  Carlos  Marston  fol- 
lowed in  the  spring  of  1*61.  Rev.  E.  S.  Foster 
was  pastor  from  1*63  to  1865,  and  Rev.  Asher 
Moore  from  July,  1867  to  1*70.  For  a  while 
Rev.  T.  Barron  preached  here  and  at  North 
Charlestown,  half  the  time  at  each  place  ;  and 
in  the  early  part  of  1871  Rev.  Eli  Ballou  occu- 
pied the  pulpit. 


G.  L.  Demarest  and  Reverends  J.  M.  Johns,  E. 
Smiley,  J.  Eastwood  and  R.  T.  Polk. 

On  January  <i,  1*84,  Lee  S.  M'Collester 
preached  here  for  the  first  time,  and  soon  after 
received  and  accepted  a  call  to  settle  as  pastor. 
He  was  then  pursuing  his  theological  course,  which 
was  not  completed  until  the  following  June,  when 
he  came  here  and  settled  permanently.  The  New 
Hampshire  Universalist  Sunday  school  and  State 
Conventions  met  here  on  September  29th,  contin- 
ued in  session  until  October  2,  1*84,  and  con- 
cluded with   the  ordination  of  Mr.    MCollester, 


On  May  7,  1871,   Rev.   C.  E.   Sawyer,  having  who  has  since  continued  a  most  acceptable  pastor. 

accepted  a  call  to  settle,  preached  his  first  sermon  The  church  has  given  much  care  and  attention 

as  pastor,  and,  on  the  morning  of  June  28th  of  the  to  the  Sunday-school  connected  with   it.     It  was 

same  year,   he,   with  his  young  wife  and    wife's  first  inaugurated  in  1*32,  during  the  pastorate  of 

father,  Mr.  Sylvanufi  Gushing,  of  Abington,  Ma.-.-.,  Rev.  W.  S.  Balcb,  and  for  several  years  was  kept 

was  drowned   at   Ashley's  Ferry,   in  Connecticut  up  only   during  the    warm  seasons.     In   1861    it 

River.      Mr.    Cushing    came    here    to    visit   his  began  to  hold  its  sessions  through  the  whole  year, 

daughter,  who  had  been  but  a  few  weeks  married,  and  has  so  continued  without  intermission,  whether 

and  on  that  morning,   the  skies  being  bright  and  the  church   had  a   settled   pastor  or  preaching,  or 

the  air  balmy,  Mr.  Sawyer  took  a  two-seated,  cov-  not,  and  is  one  of  the   valued   institutions  of  the 

ered  carriage,  with  one  hor.-e  from  a  livery  stable,  town. 

and  set  out  with  his  wife  and  father-in-law  for  a  St.  M a ky's  Churcii,  (Catholic) — An  eligible 

drive.     They              ;  Claremont  Bridge  into  Ver-  hit  on   the  north  side  of  Centra]   >treet   was  pur- 

mont,  drove  down  the  river  to  WeathersfieldBoro",  chased  and  ground    was   broken  in   1870  for  the 

and,  it  is  supposed,  attempted  to  ford  Connecticut  Church  of  St.  Mary,  under  the   pastorate  of  Rev. 


CLAREMONT. 


99 


G.  Deronie.     In  1*71  Father   Deronie   was  suc- 
ceeded by  L.  L'Moer,  who  in   1872  was  replaced 


J.  Rice,  Treas.  ;  J.  Alden,  Sec. ;   Charles  Higbee, 
Jr.,   John   Hitchcock,  Jr.,  Stwds. ;   John   Tyler, 


by  Rev.  M.  Goodwin.     Father  Goodwin  remained    Tiler ;  B.  Tyler,  S.  Higbee,  J.  B.  Andrew*. 


in  Claremont  but  four  months.  Rev  M.  Laporte 
took  charge  of  the  parish  in  July,  1872,  and  re- 
mained as  pastor  until  November,  1873,  at  which 
time  Rev.  Cornelius  O'Sullivan  was  appointed 
pastor.  Rev.  P.  J.  Finnegan  has  been  in  charge 
of  the  parish  since  that  date.  The  church  is  not 
yet  completed.  It  has  already  cost  fully  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  It  is  of  brick.  The  style  of 
the  church  is  gothic,  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
feet  long  and  forty-five  feet  wide.  "Within  the 
last  few  years  it  has  been  thoroughlv  renovated; 
new  pews  have  replaced  the  old  ones ;  new  altars 
have  been  built  and  set  in  place  and  the  whole  in- 
terior painted  in  fresco ;  gas  fixtures  have  been 
put  in  and  the  whole  interior  woodwork  remodeled 
under  the  supervision  of  Architect  Hira  R.  Beck- 
with,  of  Claremont.  Under  the  pastorate  of 
Father  Finnegan  this  church  seems  to  be  very 
prosperous  and  useful. 

MASONIC  ORGANIZATIONS. 


Webb  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  instituted  July 
11,  1821,  by  Thomas  S.  Bowles,  G.  H.  P.  of 
G.  R.  A.  Chapter  of  New  Hampshire.  Jonathan 
Nye  appointed  High  Priest ;  Nathan  Bingham, 
King ;  Godfrey  Stevens,  Scribe.  The  officers  for 
1885  are  Francis  F.  Haskell,  H.  P. ;  Wyllys  A. 
Redfield,  E.  K. ;  Levi  Johnson,  E.  S. ;  Frederick 
Hanbrich,  Treas. :  John  "W.  Collins,  Sec. ;  Hollis 
A.  Jenne,  C.  H.  ;  Roswell  W.  Silsbee,  P.  S. ;  Her- 
bert E.  Fitch,  R.  A.  C  ;  Edward  F.  Houghton, 
Chap. ;  Austin  M.  Webster,  M.  3d  Y. ;  Byron  T. 
Tilden,  M.  2d  Y.  ;  Frederick  M.  Parrnelee,  M.  1st 
Y. ;  George  H.  Stowell,  S.  S. ;  John  Lynch,  J.  S.  ; 
George  O.  Woodcock,  Tiler.  Number  of  mem- 
bers, seventv-eight. 

Columbian  Council,  No.  2,  R.  and  S.  M.,  in- 
stituted April  15,  1822.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  the  record  of  the  organization  of  Columbian 
Council  at  Claremont,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1822, 
and  of  the  meeting  held  May  20,  1822 : 


Hiram  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  and  A.  M.,  instituted  "At  a  meeting  held  in  Masonic  Hall,  Claremont,  on 
June  25,1798.  The  first  officers  of  this  lodge  Monday,  15th  April,  A.  L.  5822,  for  the  purpose  of  es- 
were  Ithamer  Chase,  W.  M. :  Daniel  Barber, 
S.  W.  ;  Ebenezer  Rice,  J.  W.  ;  Stephen  Dexter. 
Treas.  ;  Ambrose  Cossitt,  Sec.  The  officers  for 
1885  are  Levi  Johnson,  W.  M. ;  Edward  F. 
Houghton,  S.  W. ;  W.  A.  Redfield,  J.  W.  ;  A.  W. 
Hawkes,  Treas. ;   John  W.  Collins,  Sec. ;  Dudley 


tablishing  a  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  the 
following  Select  Masters  being  present,  viz. :  James 
F.  Dana,  James  Poole,  Godfrey  Stevens,  Roswell 
Elmer,  Nathan  Bingham,  Jonathan  Nye,  Joseph  Al- 
den, Stephen  Rice  and  Charles  Higbe — James  F. 
Dana  presiding. 

"  Voted,  That  it  is  expedient  to  form  a  Council  of 


T.  Chase,  Rep.  to  Grand  Lodge ;  Herbert  E.  Royal  and  Select  Masters  at  this  place,  in  connexion 
Fitch,  S.  D. ;  James  Richardson,  J.  D. ;  Jacob 
Woodbury,  Chap.;  Charles  H.  Long,  Mar.;  Nor- 
man S.  Bryant,  S.  S.  ;  Frederick  M.  Parrnelee, 
J.  S.  ;  George  O.  W'oodcock,  Tiler.  Number  of 
members,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one. 

Union  Mark  Lodge,  No.  1,  held  by  dispensa- 
tion from  De  Witt  Clinton,  G.  G.  H.  P.  of  Gen. 
G.  R.  A.  Chapter  of  U.  S.  A.  First  meeting 
July  13,  1818,  at  Zenas  Hitchcock's  Hall. 
Present,  Stephen  Blanchard,  M.  ;  Stephen  Rice, 
S.  W. ;  Natnan  Bingham,  J.  W. ;  T.  T.  Saxton, 
M.  O.  ;  Zenas  Hitchcock,  S.  O. ;  R.  Elmer,  J.  O.  ; 


with   Webb   Chapter,  by  the  name   of   Columbian 
Council. 

"Opened  a  Council  of  Select  Masters  in  due  and 
ancient  form. 

"Conferred  the  Degree  of  Royal  Master  and  Select 
Master  on  Comp.  Stephen  Starbird  and  Daniel  Taylor 
in  due  form.  Received  $3  each  from  Comp.  Starbird 
and  Taylor. 

"Proceeded  to  choice  of  Officers — result  was  as  fol- 
lows, viz. :  Companion  Jonathan   Nye.   T.  I.  G.  M 
Nathan  Bingham.  D.  I.  Gt.  M. :  Godfrey  Stevens,  P.  C. 
Roswell  Elmer,  C.  of  G. ;  Stephen  Starbird,  G.  S. 
Stephen  Rice,  Recorder;  Daniel  Chase,  Treasurer. 


100 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Voted,  To  choose  a  Committee  of  Three  to  prepare 
a  Code  of  By-Laws. 

"Jonathan  Nye,  Nathan  Bingham  and  Godfrey 
Stevens  were  chosen. 

"Voted,  That  the  Fees  for  the  Degrees  conferred  by 
this  Council  be  Three  Dollars — One  Dollar  for  the 
Royal  Master's  and  Two  Dollars  for  the  Select  Mas- 
ter's Degree. 

"  Conferred  the  Degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Se- 
lect Master  on  Comps.  Daniel  Chase  and  Daniel  Bond, 
Jr.,  in  due  form. 

"Received  Three  Dollars  each  from  Chase  and 
Bond— §6.00. 

"  Comps.  Stevens,  Nye  and  Bingham  were  chosen  a 
committee  to  return  thanks  to  Companions  Dana  and 
Poole  for  their  assistance  in  establishing  this  Council; 
also,  to  make  them  such  compensation  as  shall  be 
deemed  proper. 

"  Closed  the  Council  in  due  form,  and  adjourned  to 
the  third  Monday  of  May  next. 

"Attest,  G.  Stevens. 

"  May  20, 1822. — Met  according  to  adjournment,  and 
opened  the  Council  in  due  form. 

"  Present— J.  Nye,  T.  I.  G.  M. ;  N.  Bingham,  D.  I. 
G.  M. ;  G.  Stevens,  P.  C. ;  R.  Elmer,  C.  of  G. ;  S. 
Starbird,  G.  S. ;  D.  Chase,  Treasurer;  S.  H.  Sabin, 
Recorder,  pro  tern.;  also,  Daniel  Bond,  Jr.,  and  Sam- 
uel S.  Mather. 

"  Conferred  the  Degree  of  Royal  and  Select  Master 
on  Peter  Niles,  David  Parker,  James  A.  Gregg,  Joel 
Goss  and  William  F.  Munger  in  due  form. 

"Conferred  the  Degree  of  Select  Master  on  David 
Hale  in  due  form. 

"  Voted,  to  accept  the  code  of  By-Laws  presented  by 
Comp.  J.  Nye. 

"Closed  the  Council  in  due  form. 

"Recorded  by  Godfrey  Stevens." 

The  officers  of  Columbian  Council  for  1885  arc- 
Edward  F.  Houghton,  T.  I.  M. ;  Leland  J. 
Graves,  D.  M. ;  Hollis  A.  Jenne,  P.  C.  W. ;  Fred- 
erick Hanbrich,  Treas. ;  John  W.  Collins,  Recor- 
der; Hiram  G.  Sherman,  C.  G. ;  Wyllys  A.  Red- 
field,  C.  C.  ;  James  Holt,  Chap.;  Hosea  W. 
Parker,  Mar.  ;  James  Young,  Stwd;  George  O. 
Woodcock,  Sent.  Number  of  members,  thirty- 
nine. 


Sullivan  Commandeky,  No.  6,  instituted 
January  23,  1866,  by  Charles  A.  Tufts,  G.  C.  of 
Grand  Commandery  of  New  Hampshire.  Leland 
J.  Graves,  appointed  E.  C. ;  Henry  A.  Redfield, 
Generalissimo ;  Rev.  A.  K.  Howard,  C  G.  The 
officers  for  1885  are  Hosea  W.  Parker,  E.  C. ; 
George  H.  Stowell,  G. ;  Fred  erick  Hanbrich, 
C.  G. ;  James  Holt,  Prel.  ;  Charles  H.  Long, 
S.  W. ;  Hollis  A.  Jenne,  J.  W. ;  John  T.  Emerson, 
Treas. ;  John  W.  Collins,  Recorder ;  Henry  Tubbs, 
Std.  Br. ;  Hiram  G.  Sherman,  Std.  Br. ;  George 

0.  Woodcock,  Warder ;  Edward  F.  Houghton, 
3d  G. ;  John  J.  Dudley,  2d  G. :  Hira  R.  Beck- 
with,  1st  G. ;  Edward  H.  Jaques,  A.  and  S. 
Number  of  members,  ninety-three. 

ODD-FELLOWS. 

Sullivan  Lodge,  No.  12,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  insti- 
tuted October  23,  1845;  resuscitated  March  21, 
1872.  On  the  13th  of  October,  1845,  C  Williams 
and  five  others,  members  of  White  Mountain 
Lodge,  No.  5,  of  Concord,  and  residents  of  Clare- 
mont,  petitioned  S.  H.  Parker,  M.  W.  G.  W., 
praying  for  a  dispensation  to  form  a  lodge  in 
Claremont,  and  on  the  23d  of  that  month  the 
Most  Worthy  Grand  Master  deputized  the  R.  W. 
Grand  Secretary,  G.  H.  H.  Silsby,  to  open  said 
lodge,  by  the  name  of  Sullivan  Lodge,  No.   12, 

1.  O.  O.  F.  Among  the  early  members  of  the 
order  in  town  were  W.  O.  C.  Woodbury,  Joseph 
Weber,  Stephen  Carleton,  John  Hendee,  F.  A. 
Henry,  William  Clark,  Daniel  J.  Livingston, 
Lewis  W.  Randall,  S.  F.  Redfield,  John  M. 
Gowdey,  Philemon  Tolles,  Milon  C.  McClure  and 
Nathaniel  Tolles.  The  lodge  continued  in  active 
and  prosperous  work  for  about  twelve  years,  when, 
for  various  causes,  the  organization  was  abandoned. 

On  March  21,  1872,  the  lodge  was  resuscitated 
by  Amos  Jones,  the  Most  Worthy  Grand  Master 
at  that  time,  and  a  new  charter  was  granted  to  AV. 
( ).  ('.Woodbury,  John  Hendee,  Joseph  Weber, 
Stephen  Carleton,  F.  A.  Henry,  William  Clark, 
D.  J.  Livingston  and  L.  W.  Randall;  and  the 
lodge  has  been  in  good  and  prosperous  condition 
since  then.  In  the  summer  of  1885  its  hall  was 
r< modeled  and  refurnished,  at  an  expense  of  about 


CLAREMONT. 


101 


twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  it  has  $2427.55  cash 
on  hand.  The  officers,  July,  1885,  were  H.  R 
Whipple,  N.  G. ;  W.  E.  Griffin,  V.  G.  ;  George 

D.  Wolcott,  Sec. ;  Frederick  Jewett,  Treas.  ;  C. 
M.  Leet,  Conductor  ;  E.  H.  Woodman,  Warden  ; 

E.  S.  Carleton,  I.  G. ;  M.  B.  Carpenter,  O.  G.  ; 
C.  E.  Peabody,  R.  S.  N.  G. ;  George  H.  Walling- 
ford,  L.  S.  N.  G. ;  T.  R.  McQuade,  R.  S.  V.  G. ; 
S.  I.  L.  Woodbury,  L  S.  V.  G. ;  G.  F.  Spaulding. 
R.  S.  S. ;  S.  G.  Straw,  L.  S.  S. ;  F.  M.  Par- 
melee,  Chap. 

GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
Jarvis  Post,  No.  12,  G.  A.  R.,  was  organized  in 
Claremont,  but  after  a  few  years  was  disbanded. 
It  was  reorganized  June  29,  1880,  by  W.  H.  D. 
Cochran  and  J.  C.  Linehan  and  comrades  from 
Post  No.  10,  of  Newport.  It  started  the  second 
time  with  twenty  charter  members.  It  had,  in  the 
summer  of  1885,  between  seventy  and  eighty 
members ;  owned  the  furniture  of  their  hall ; 
had  a  good  historical  library,  and  a  fund  of  about 
three  hundred  dollars. 

SCHOOLS. 

New  school  districts  have  been  formed  from  time 
to  time  in  town,  as  the  population  has  increased. 
There  are  now,  or  rather  were  before  the  union  of 
Nos.  1,  15  and  17,  in  the  village,  by  majority 
vote  of  each  district,  in  1884,  nineteen  districts, 
which  supported  twenty-five  schools ;  the  three 
districts  now  consolidated  had  graded  schools, 
viz.  :  a  primary,  intermediate  and  grammar 
school  each.  In  many  respects  the  educational 
advantages  of  the  town  of  Claremont  are  ex- 
cellent. 

Stevens  High  School. — In  the  summer  of 
1866,  Paran  Stevens,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  a 
son  of  Josiah  Stevens,  one  of  the  early  inhabitants 
of  Claremont,  whose  ancestors  and  relatives  spent 
their  lives  here,  and  whose  graves  are  in  our 
cemeteries,  proposed  to  donate  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  aid  in  founding  a  High 
School,  provided  that  the  town  would  appropriate 
a  like  sum  for  that  purpose.  In  the  autumn  of 
that  year  a  town-meeting  was  called  to   consider 


and  act  upon  the  subject,  and  the  citizens,  with 
great  unanimity,  voted  to  accept  the  donation 
offered  by  Mr.  Stevens,  with  the  conditions  named, 
and  voted  to  raise  and  appropriate  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  which,  with  the  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars from  him,  was  to  be  used  to  purchase 
a  lot  and  erect  a  school  building.  Samuel  P. 
Fiske,  George  N.  Farwell,  Nathaniel  Tolles,  Au- 
relius  Dickinson  and  Benjamin  P.  Gilman  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  carry  out  this  object.  The 
homestead  lot  of  the  late  Hon.  George  B.  Up- 
ham,  corner  of  Broad  and  Summer  Streets,  and 
running  back  to  Middle  Street,  containing  nearly 
two  acres,  on  which  was  then  no  building  except 
a  small  law-office,  which  had  been  for  many  years 
occupied  by  the  late  Mr.  Upham — one  of  the 
most  eligible  and  valuable  lots  in  town — was 
selected  for  the  school  building,  and  purchased  of 
Col.  John  S.  Walker,  a  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Upham, 
for  the  sum  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
Materials  were  bought  and  other  preparations 
made  for  the  speedy  erection  of  a  brick  High 
School  building,  forty-four  by  sixty-four  feet  on  the 
ground,  two  stories  high,  with  a  French  or  Man- 
sard roof,  which,  as  completed,  is  one  of  the  most 
elegant,  substantial  and  convenient  edifices  for  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  built  in  the  State.  In 
it  are  four  large  school-rooms,  large  vestibules, 
basement  for  furnaces,  fuel,  etc.,  and  an  elegant 
hall  in  the  upper  story,  the  size  of  the  whole 
building.  The  building  is  ample  for  the  accom- 
modation of  two  hundred  students.  When  com- 
pleted, the  cost  for  site,  grading,  building,  furni- 
ture and  iron  fence  was  $27,225.27.  It  was 
finished,  furnished,  and  ready  for  occupancy  the 
1st  of  September,  1868.  It  is  a  credit  as  well 
to  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  the  committee  as  to 
the  town  and  its  generous  patron. 

Mr.  Stevens,  not  to  be  outdone  by  the  town, 
paid  for  the  bricks  for  the  building,  for  a  portion 
of  the  iron  fence,  and  in  other  ways  contributed 
full  half  of  the  cost  of  the  High  School  building 
and  the  lot  on  which  it  stands.  Soon  after  the 
completion  of  the  building  he  gave  to  the  town 
ten   thousand  dollars  towards    a  permanent  fund 


102 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


for  the  support  of  the  school,  and  also  presented 
full  life-size  oil  portraits  of  George  Washington 
and  Daniel  Webster,  painted  by  the  best  artists 
in  this  country  and  considered  very  valuable, 
which  now  hang  in  the  hall  of  the  school  building, 
and  a  Chickering  full  concert  grand  piano.  At 
his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1872,  Mr.  Stevens  by  his  will  bequeathed  forty 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  within  two  years  of 
the  time  of  his  death,  to  be  added  to  the  ten 
thousand  dollars  before  given,  for  a  fund,  the 
interest  of  which  is  to  be  used  for  the  support  of 
the  school.  This  forty  thousand  dollars  has  not 
yet  been  paid  over  to  the  town  by  the  executors 
of  the  will,  but  it  is  said  that  it  will  be  at  no  very 
distant  day.  Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Stevens' 
donations  for  the  school  which  bears  his  name 
will  amount  to  $65,000,  $50,000  of  which  must 
forever  remain  as  a  fund  for  its  benefit. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  March,  1868, 
Edward  L.  Goddard,  John  S.  Walker,  Ira  Colby, 
Jr.,  H.  W.  Parker  and  Hiram  Webb — one 
from  each  religious  society  in  town — were  chosen 
the  High  School  committee  ;  and  it  was  voted 
to  give  to  this  new  institution  of  learning  the 
name  of  the  Stevens  High  School.  It  was  the  ex- 
pressed wish  of  Mr.  Stevens,  and  indeed  of  the 
people  of  the  town  generally  most  interested  in  its 
welfare  and  permanent  success,  that  the  school 
should  be  kept  entirely  free  from  anything  like 
sectarianism,  and  that  its  exercises,  instruction 
and  management  should  be  alike  acceptable  to  all 
religious  denominations.  The  committee  accord- 
ingly made  a  regulation  that  "  The  morning 
sessions  shall  begin  with  reading  the  Bible,  singing 
and  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  concert  by  the 
wrhole  school." 

The  first  term  of  the  Stevens  High  School  com- 
menced on  the  7th  of  September,  1868,  with  nine- 
ty-eight scholars  who  had  reached  the  age  of 
thirteen  years,  and  had  passed  the  requisite  exam- 
ination, all  but  sixteen  of  whom  belonged  in  town. 
There  is  a  regulation  that  scholars  from  other 
towns  may  be  admitted  to  this  school  by  paying  a 
moderate  term   fee.     The  teachers   were  Dr.    N. 


Barrows,  of  Berwick,  Me.,  principal,  assisted  by 
Miss  Mary  J.  Wightman,  of  Claremont,  and  Miss 
H  W.  Freeley,  of  Springfield,  Vt.,  and  Mr.  A. 
P.  Wyman,  as  teacher  of  vocal  music.  At  the 
close  of  the  first  term  Miss  Freeley  resigned,  and 
Miss  Ruth  P.  Perkins,  of  Pomfret,  Vt.,  filled  her 
place,  and  she  was  succeeded  in  the  third  term  by 
Miss  A.  H.  Carleton,  of  Haverhill,  N.  H.  At 
the  close  of  the  school  year,  in  June,  1869,  there 
was  an  examination  by  a  committee  consisting  of 
the  Rev.  I.  G.  Hubbard,  D.D.,  Hon.  W.  H.  H. 
Allen,  Rev.  Francis  W.  Towle,  Rev.  Francis  Chase 
and  James  P.  Upham,  Esq.,  which  was  creditable 
to  teachers  and  scholars. 

Dr.  N.  Barrows  continued  as  principal,  with 
several  different  assistants,  three  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Swain.  The  course 
prescribed  in  this  school  is  four  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  scholars  who  graduate  and  receive 
diplomas  are  fitted  to  enter  almost  any  college. 
At  the  close  of  the  fourth  school  year  the  examin- 
ing committee  reported  the  school  to  have  been 
eminently  successful.  The  faithfulness  of  the 
teachers  and  the  deportment  and  diligence  ot 
the  scholars  were  mentioned  in  highly  complimen- 
tary terms.  Seven  scholars — one  boy  and  six 
girls — had  not  been  absent  or  tardy  during  the 
year. 

A.  J.  Swain  resigned  October  4,  1880,  his  res- 
ignation to  take  effect  the  middle  of  the  fall 
term.  His  resignation  was  accepted,  and  R.  S. 
Bingham  was  elected  principal,  and  occupied  the 
position  to  the  end  of  that  school  year.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1881,  L.  S.  Hastings  took  charge  of  the 
school  as  principal  and  has  continued  in  that 
capacity  since.  The  whole  number  of  scholars 
who  have  graduated  and  been  awarded  diplomas, 
is  one  hundred  and  fifty-six,  viz  : 


YEAH. 

1871... 

1872... 
L873... 

1874.., 
1875... 


BOYS. 

.2  boys. 
.2  boys. 
.2  boys. 
.3  boys. 
.1  boy.. 


GIRLS.  TOTAL. 

..10  girls 12 

..  0  girls 2 

..  6  girls 8 

..  7  girls 10 

..  9  girls 10 


187C. 


.8  boys 8  girls. 


16 


CLAREMONT. 


103 


YEAR. 

1877... 
1878.., 
1879... 
1880... 
1881... 
1882... 
1883... 
1884... 
1885... 


BOYS. 

.5  boys. 
.5  boys. 
.2  boys. 
.5  boys. 
.4  boys. 
.4  boys. 
.1  boy.. 


GIRLS.  TOTAL. 

..  7  girls 12 

..  5  girls 10 

..  4  girls 6 

..  6  girls 11 

..  6  girls 10 

..  9  girls 13 

..  6  girls 7 


...5  boys 9  girls 14 

.10  boys 5  girls 15 


Mrs.  Mary  B.  Alden,  of  Claremont,  who  died 
on  the  11th  of  November,  1869,  by  her  will  be 
queathed  her  entire  estate,  amounting  to  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  which,  at  the  death  of  her 
husband,  which  occurred  in  1874,  was  to  make  a 
fund,  the  interest  of  which  is  paid  annually  in 
three  prizes  to  graduates  of  the  Stevens  High 
School.  In  1872,  Samuel  P.  Fiske,  Esq.,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Paran  Stevens,  donated  three  hundred 
dollars,  which,  together  with  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  appropriated  by  the  town,  was  expended 
for  the  purchase  of  needed  apparatus  and  books 
for  the  school.  Others  have  made  valuable  dona- 
tions to  the  library  and  cabinet  belonging  to  the 
school. 

Mrs.  Harriet  E.  Tappan,  of  Claremont,  who 
died  October  3,  1873,  left  a  will,  in  which  was 
this  clause : 

"  To  the  Town  of  Claremont,  in  said  County  of  Sul- 
livan, to  be  Kept  Safely  invested  by  said  town,  and 
the  income  thereof  paid  over  annually  to  the  Pruden- 
tial Committees  of  the  several  school  districts  in  said 
town  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  scholars,  to  be 
expended  by  said  Committees  in  their  discretion  for 
prizes  for  best  scholarship  and  to  enable  indigent 
scholars  to  attend  the  High  School  in  said  town." 

The  amount  thus  bequeathed  and  paid  over  to 
the  town  by  the  executor  of  Mrs.  Tappan's  estate 
was  thirty  thousand  dollars.  This  amount  has 
been  kept  at  interest,  and  the  income  expended 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  will.  Prudential 
committees  have  generally  given  prizes  in  money 
to  scholars  in  their  several  districts,  for  excellence 
of  scholarship,  deportment  and  constancy  and 
punctuality  of  attendance  upon   school,  so   that 


any  child,  however  backward  or  dull  as  a  scholar, 
may  get  a  share  of  this  prize  money. 

Union  School  District. — As  has  been  before 
stated,  the  three  districts  in  Claremont  village,  by 
their  own  act,  were  consolidated  and  made  one 
district  in  1884,  and  called  "Union  School  Dis- 
trict." It  is  under  the  management  of  a  Board  of 
Education,  composed  of  six  gentlemen,  chosen  by 
the  district.  In  1884,  O.  B.  Way,  L.  S.  Has- 
tings, H.  C.  Fay,  I.  D.  Hall,  E.  Vaughan  and 
C.  H.  Weed  were  elected.  The  scholars  are,  un- 
der the  present  arrangement,  which  may  be 
changed  any  time  by  the  Board  of  Education,  in 
five  primary,  three  intermediate  and  one  grammar 
school.  The  money  apportioned  to  these  three 
districts  in  1884  was  three  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy  dollars  and  eighty  cents,  and  of 
the  Tappan  fund  for  prizes  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  ninety-two  dollars  and  sixty-seven 
cents. 

Fiske  Free  Library. — In  1873,  Samuel  P. 
Fiske,  a  native  citizen  of  Claremont,  founded  a 
free  library  in  the  following  manner : 

"Deed  of  Samuel  P.  Fiske  to  the  Town  of 
Claremont. 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  That  I,  Samuel  P. 
Fiske,  of  Claremont  in  the  County  of  Sullivan  and 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  do  hereby  give,  grant  and 
convey  unto  the  town  of  Claremont,  in  said  county, 
in  trust  forever,  Two  Thousand  volumes  of  Books, 
named  and  described  in  a  Catalogue  or  Schedule, 
hereafter  to  be  made,  to  constitute,  with  such  other 
books  as  may  hereafter  be  added  by  the  donor,  a  lib- 
rary for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  said  town, 
and  the  members  of  Stevens  High  School  in  said 
Claremont,  and  to  be  known  as  Fiske  Free  Library. 

"  This  gift  is  made  on  condition  that  the  said  town  of 
Claremont  shall  accept  the  same ;  shall  furnish  a  suit- 
able building,  room  or  rooms  in  which  to  keep  the 
same,  and  the  same  shall  be  kept  in  the  upper  hall  or 
room  of  Stevens  High  School,  until  a  more  suitable 
place  shall  be  provided  therefor ;  shall  at  all  times 
keep  the  same  well  insured  against  loss  from  fire ; 
shall  keep  said  books  in  a  good  state  of  repair,  and 
shall  replace  with  books  of  equivalent  value  any  that 
may  be  worn  out,  lost  or  otherwise  destroyed.     And 


104 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Committee  of  Stevens  High  School  shall  have  the 
custody,  control  and  management  of  said  Library ; 
purchase,  arrange  and  catalogue  the  hooks,  appoint 
a  Librarian  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  management  of  said  Library  and  the  use 
of  the  books,  all  at  the  expense  of  the  Town  of  Clare- 
mont;  and  the  said  Town  shall  in  like  manner  keep 
and  care  for  and  replace  losses  in  all  additions  to  or  en- 
largements of  said  Library  by  said  donor. 

"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal  this  seventh  day  of  August  A. D.  1873. 

"  Samuel  P.  Fiske  [L.S.] 

(Witness)    "  Ira  Colby,  Jr. 

"  W.  H.  H.  Allen." 

The  above  deed  was  read  at  a  town-meeting, 
held  August  15,  1<H73,  when  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  passed  : 

"  Resolved  by  the  town  of  Claremont  that  we  cor- 
dially accept  the  munificent  gift  of  Two  Thousand  vol- 
umes of  valuable  books  from  Samuel  P.  Fiske,  Esq., 
upon  the  conditions  and  terms  of  his  deed  of  trust  to 
said  town  of  Claremont,  dated  August  7,  1873,  hereby 
pledging  to  the  donor  that  such  conditions  shall  be 
faithfully  complied  with,  on  the  part  of  the  town,  for 
the  use  and  perpetuation  of  the  Fiske  Free  Library." 

The  following  resolution  was  offered  by  Pren- 
tis  Dow,  and  passed : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Selectmen,  of  the  town  of 
Claremont  are  directed  to  pay  the  bills  of  Stevens 
High  School  committee  for  the  insurance  of  the  books 
donated  by  S.  P.  Fiske,  Esq.,  and  for  any  expense  in- 
curred in  providing  a  suitable  location  for  the  same, 
not  exceeding  in  all  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars 
per  annum." 

The  location  of  the  library  in  the  upper  story 
of  the  Stevens  High  School  building,  away  from 
the  centre  of  business,  was  found  to  be  inconvi- 
nient  for  readers,  and,  as  a  consequence,  was  un- 
satisfactory to  Mr.  Fiske.  Early  in  January, 
1*77,  Mr.  Fiske  invited  gentlemen  supposed  to  be 
must  interested  in  the  library  to  meet  him  for  con- 
sultation as  to  the  best  means  for  making  it  more 
accessible  to  readers,  and  accomplish  more  fully 
the  donor's  wishes. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  John  S.  Walker, 
Otis  F.  R.  Waite  and  Charles  A.  Piddock,  was 


appointed  to  recommend  a  plan  at  a  subsequent 
meeting,  who  made  a  report,  recommending  the  pur- 
i  liaseof  the  Bailey  building,  at  the  junction  of  Main 
and  Sullivan  Streets,for  four  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  and  that  the  second  story  be  fitted  up  for 
the  library  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  one  thou- 
sand dollars;  the  money  for  the  purpose  to  be 
borrowed  from  the  Tappan  School  fund  at  six  per- 
cent, interest.  The  committee  stated  that  the 
building  was  then  rented  for  four  hundred  and 
ninety  dollars ;  that,  after  taking  what  would  be 
required  for  the  library,  the  remaining  part  of  the 
building  would  rent  for  more  than  enough  to  pay 
the  interest  on  the  debt  incurred.  After  some  dis- 
cussion the  meeting  voted  to  recommend  to  the 
town,  at  its  next  annual  meeting,  to  purchase  the 
Bailey  building  for  four  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  and  fit  it  up  and  alter  and  repair  it  at  an 
expense  not  exceeding  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  in  March,  1877,  it 
was 

"  Voted,  that  a  board  of  five  Trustees  be  chosen  by 
the  Town,  and  be  authorized  to  purchase  in  behalf  of 
the  Town  the  Bailey  Building,  so  called ;  to  fit  up 
such  portion  of  the  second  story  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  Fiske  Free  Library. 
Such  purchase  not  to  exceed  Forty-five  Hundred 
Dollars,  and  such  alterations  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  Hundred  Dollars.  And  that  the  said 
Trustees  be  authorized  to  draw  from  the  Tappan 
Fund  for  the  requisite  sum  to  carry  out  this  order, 
and  pay  therefor  from  the  rents  of  said  building 
interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum.  And 
that  said  Board  of  Trustees,  and  their  successors 
hereafter,  have  the  custody  of  the  Fiske  Free  Library, 
instead  of  the  High  School  Committee.  Or  that  said 
Hoard  be  further  authorized,  if  in  their  judgment 
they  think  proper,  to  purchase  and  fit  up  some  other 
building,  not  to  exceed  the  sum  heretofore  named  for 
said  purpose." 

At  the  same  meeting  Daniel  W.  Johnson,  Otis 
I'.  R.  Waite,  Alfred  T.  Bachelder,  Ormon  B. 
Way  and  Algernon  Willis  were  elected  and 
qualified  as  trustees  of  the  Fiske  Free  Library. 

The  trustees   at  once  took  a  deed  in  the  name 


CLAREMONT. 


105 


of  the  town  of  the  Bailey  building,  paying  there- 
for four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Before 
anything  had  been  done  by  them  toward  altering 
and  fitting  up  the  building  for  the  Library,  a 
special  town-meeting  was  held  on  the  28  th  of 
April,  1877,  at  which  the  following  resolution  was 
passed  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Town  Treasurer  and  Select- 
men be  authorized  and  instructed  to  give  the  note  or 
notes  of  the  Town,  at  six  per  cent,  interest,  to  the 
Trustees  of  the  Tappan  Fund,  for  the  sum  appro- 
priated at  the  last  annual  Town-Meeting  for  the 
purposes  relating  to  the  Fiske  Free  Library,  not  ex- 
ceeding in  all  the  sum  of  Five  Thousand  Dollars." 

The  trustees  did  not  call  for  the  five  hundred 
dollars  authorized  to  be  expended  for  alterations, 
etc.,  and  made  no  essential  changes  in  the  build- 
ing, and  the  Library  remained  in  the  High  School 
building.  At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  March, 
1878,  the   trustees  reported  : 

Received  and  will  be  due  for  rents  of 

Library  building,  April  1st,  1878,  $420.00 

Interest  on  $4500,  one  year,        .       .    $270.00 
Paid  water  rent  and  repairs,       .       .         12.74    282.74 


Leaving  a  balance  over  interest,  water 
rent  and  repairs  of,    . 


$137.26 


At  this  meeting  the  town,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  trustees,  re-enacted  its  vote  of  1877, 
and  appropriated  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  to  alter  and  repair  the  Library  building. 
The  trustees  procured  plans  and  specifications, 
and  let  the  contract  to  do  the  work  to  Messrs. 
H.  R.  Beckwith  and  Levi  R.  Chase,  of  Clare- 
mont.  The  work  was  very  satisfactorily  done  by 
them  for  a  little  more  than  two  thousand  three 
hundred  dollars.  The  balance  of  the  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  was  expended  in  furnish- 
ing the  Library  rooms 

Early  in  September,  1878,  the  books  were 
moved  from  the  High  School  building  to  the  new 
rooms,  about  six  hundred  new  books  added,  re- 
arranged and  catalogued.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees  on  the  16th,  Miss  Abbie  Field  was  chosen 
librarian,     and   has    served    faithfully    in    that 


capacity  ever  since.  Messrs.  Batchelder  and 
Willis  removed  from  town,  and  their  places  were 
filled  by  Messrs  H.  W.  Parker  and  Ira  Corby. 

Mr.  Fiske  made  a  will,  giving  to  the  town  of 
Claremont  nine  thousand  dollars — five  thousand 
dollars  to  be  expended  in  books  as  they  should 
be  needed,  and  as  he  pleased,  should  he  live  to 
expend  that  sum  ;  the  balance,  if  any,  at  his 
death,  to  go  into  the  hands  of  the  trustees,  to  be 
expended  by  them  for  the  same  purpose,  and  the 
other  four  thousand  dollars  to  be  a  fund  to  be 
invested  by  the  trustees,  the  interest  of  which 
was  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  books.  His 
wife,  Miranda  S.  Fiske,  in  her  will  added  one 
thousand  dollars  to  this  fund,  making  it  five 
thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Fiske  died  February  8, 
1879,  and  Mrs.  Fiske  deceased  May  27,  1882. 
At  the  death  of  Mr.  Fiske  there  was  found  by 
a  detailed  account  left  by  him,  to  be  unexpended 
for    books  $1194.68. 

Books  have  been  added  to  the  Library  from 
time  to  time  by  Mr.  Fiske  and  by  the  trustees, 
so  that  the  whole  number  of  volumes  is  about 
four  thousand  volumes,  many  of  them  expensive 
books  for  reference.  The  advantages  of  such  an 
institution  as  this  can  be  realized  only  by  those 
fortunate  enough  to  enjoy  them. 

War  of  1812. — Soon  after  the  declaration  of 
war,  in  1812,  President  Madison  ordered  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  to  request  Governor  Plumer,  of 
New  Hampshire,  t>)  order  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  upon  requisition  of  General  Dear- 
born, such  part  of  the  quota  of  the  militia  of  this 
State  as  he  should  deem  necessary  for  the  defense 
of  the  sea-coast  of  New  Hampshire.  During 
this  war  many  Claremont  men  served  for  different 
periods,  most  of  them  in  defenses  of  Portsmouth, 
and  as  minute-men,  stationed  at  Concord  and 
other  places. 

The  rolls  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  during 
this  War  of  1812-15  are  very  imperfect  and  in 
such  a  confused  state  that  they  are  not  to  be 
relied  upon,  and  town  records  are  equally  un- 
reliable ;  therefore,  it  would  be  vain  for  any  one, 
however  diligent  in  research,  or  careful    in  giving 


106 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


results,  to  undertake  to  vouch  for  the  complete- 
ness or  accuracy  of  any  record  which  he  might 
make  of  any  town's  participation  in  the  scenes 
of  that  war. 

By  the  New  Hampshire  Adjutant-General's 
report,  it  therefore  appears  that  Captain  Joseph 
Kimball,  of  Plainfield,  commande  1  a  company,  in 
which  were  the  following-named  men  put  down 
as  of  Claremont.  They  were  all  volunteers,  and 
enlisted  on  the  12th  of  September,  1814,  for  three 
months : 

David  Dean,  ensign;  James  Osgood,  sergeant; 
Isaac  F.  Hunton,  Samuel  Stone,  John  MeDaniels, 
Charles  C.  Stewart,  Benedict  Taylor,  Shaler  Buel, 
Andrew  Bartlet,  Henry  G.  Lane,  Benj.  Perkins, 
privates;  Abijah  Dean,  waiter. 

Captain  Reuben  Marsh,  of  Chesterfield,  com- 
manded a  company,  in  which  were  the  following 
men  from  Claremont,  who  enlisted  September 
26,  1814,  for  sixty  days:  Charles  A.  Saxton, 
Asa  Baker,  James  McLaffin,  James  Fisher,  and 
Samuel  Petty. 

George  W.  Fargo,  of  Claremont,  enlisted  in 
Captain  Samuel  Aiken,  Jr.'s  company,  for  sixty 
days,  September  26,  1814,  and  was  a  waiter. 
Captain  Aiken  was  of  Chester.  Where  these 
companies  served  is  not  stated. 

WAR   OF    THE    REBELLION. 

The  War  of  the  Rebellion  in  the  United  States 
of  America  opened  with  an  assault  upon  Fort 
Sumter  on  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  and  closed 
with  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  then 
serving  his  second  term  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  14th  of  April,  1865.  It  is  not 
necessary  now  to  recount  the  causes,  running 
through  many  years,  which  led  to  the  insurrec- 
tion of  the  people  of  a  portion  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  against  the  general  government,  and  ar- 
rayed more  than  a  million  citizens  in  arms,  invol- 
ving the  expenditure  of  immense  treasure  and  the 
loss  of  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the 
country's  bravest  and  best  men  on  either  side,  car- 
rying sorrow  and  mourning  to  many  hearth-stones 
and  multitudes  of  loving  hearts.     The  causes  have 


passed  away ;  the  effects  remain  to  be  recorded  on 
the  page  of  history. 

While  all  these  momentous  events  were  trans- 
piring, the  people  of  Claremont  had  their  share  in 
them.  Their  coffers  were  opened ;  their  young 
men  were  sent  forth  with  a  blessing — some  of  them 
never  to  return,  others  to  come  home  maimed  or 
broken  in  health  for  life,  and  a  few  to  return  at 
the  end  of  the  great  struggle,  weary  and  worn, 
crowned  with  victorious  wreaths.  With  great 
unanimity  the  men  raised  their  voices  in  behalf  of 
the  cause  of  their  country,  and  the  women  gave  it 
their  unbidden  tears. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  South  Carolina, 
having  a  few  months  previously,  by  her  Legis- 
lature, passed  an  act  seceding  from  the  Union  of 
States,  commenced  open  hostilities  by  firing  from 
James'  Island  upon  Fort  Sumter,  garrisoned  by 
Major  Robert  Anderson  and  about  seventy  men 
under  his  command.  Fort  Sumter  was  besieged 
for  two  days,  her  sources  of  supply  cut  off, 
when,  on  the  14th  of  April  Major  Anderson  sur- 
rendered the  fort  to  the  rebels,  himself  and  his 
command  marching  out  and  embarking  on  board 
the  United  States  ship  "  Baltic  "  for  New  York. 

On  the  15th  of  April  President  Lincoln  issued  a 
proclamation,  stating  that  an  insurrection  against 
the  government  of  the  United  States  had  broken 
out  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Texas, 
and  declared  the  ports  of  those  States  in  a  state  of 
blockade.  On  the  same  day  the  President  issued 
a  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  three  months  vol- 
unteers, to  aid  in  suppressing  the  rebellion  against 
the  government,  and  called  upon  New  Hampshire 
for  a  regiment  of  militia. 

In  response  to  this  call  of  the  President,  on 
April  17th,  Ichabod  Goodwin,  then  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  issued  an  order  to  Joseph  C. 
Abbott,  adjutant-general,  to  make  proclamation, 
calling  for  volunteers  from  the  enrolled  militia  of 
the  State  for  one  regiment  of  ten  companies,  each 
company  to  consist  of  three  commissioned  officers, 
four  sergeants,  four  corporals  and  sixty-four  pri- 
vates, with  the  requisite  number  of  field  and  staff 


CLAREMONT. 


107 


officers,  to  be  uniformed,  armed  and  equipped  at 
the  expense  of  the  State,  and  to  be  held  in  readi- 
ness until  called  for  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. 

Claremont  was  all  on  fire  to  do  her  share  toward 
putting  down  the  Rebellion.  On  the  18th  of  April 
William  P.  Austin  enrolled  his  name  as  a  soldier, 
took  the  oaths  prescribed,  and  was  on  that  day  ap- 
pointed recruiting  officer  for  the  town  of  Clare- 
mont and  vicinity.  He  at  once  opened  an  office 
for  recruits,  and  entered  upon  his  duties.  Young 
men  flocked  in  faster  than  they  could  be  examined 
and  sworn. 

Notice  was  issued  for  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  the 
town  hall  on  Friday  evening,  the  19th.  At  the 
hour  appointed  the  building  was  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, ladies  occupying  the  galleries.  It  was  such  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Claremont,  without  dis- 
tinction of  party  or  sex,  as  had  seldom  been  held. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  venerable 
General  Erastus  Glidden,  and  Hon.  Jonas  Living- 
ston was  chosen  president ;  Ambrose  Cossit,  Eras- 
tus Glidden,  Walter  Tufts,  Thomas  J.  Harris,  A. 
F.  Snow,  Josiah  Richards  and  Albro  Blodgett, 
vice-presidents ;  Edward  L.  Goddard  and  John 
M.  Whipple,  secretaries.  On  taking  the  chair 
Mr.  Livingston  made  an  enthusiastic  and  patriotic 
speech.  Patriotic  speeches  were  also  made  by  H. 
W.  Parker,  Ira  Colby,  Jr.,  A.  F.  Snow,  Benjamin 
P.  Walker  and  Samuel  G.  Jarvis,  who  deposited 
one  hundred  dollars  as  the  nucleus  of  a  fund  for 
the  support  of  the  families  of  those  who  should  en- 
list. Rev.  Messrs.  R.  F.  Lawrence  and  R.  S. 
Stubbs,  William  P.  Austin  and  Henry  G.  Web- 
ber, of  Charlestown,  made  stirring  speeches.  A. 
F.  Snow,  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  John  S.  Walker, 
Joseph  Weber,  Simeon  Ide  and  George  W.  Blod- 
gett were  chosen  a  committee  to  prepare  and  re- 
port resolutions  expressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
town  in  regard  to  the  Rebellion.  The  meeting  was 
adjourned  to  the  next  evening. 

On  Saturday  evening  the  town  hall  was  again 
crowded,  and  the  excitement  was  on  the  increase. 
The  meeting  was  opened  Avith  prayer  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Carlton  Chase,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  New  Hamp- 


shire. The  young  men  just  enlisted  by  William 
P.  Austin  were  marched  into  the  hall,  where 
front  seats  had  been  reserved  for  them,  and  met 
with  an  enthusiastic  reception.  As  they  entered, 
the  audience  rose  to  their  feet  and  gave  three 
hearty  cheers.  The  president  Mr.  Livingston, 
led  the  speaking,  and  was  followed  by  Otis  F.  R. 
Waite,  from  the  committee  on  resolutions,  who 
reported  the  following,  wrhich  were  unanimously 
adopted : 

"  Resolved,  That  all  other  considerations  and  issues 
are  now  absorbed  in  the  one  vital  question,  '  Shall 
our  Government  be  sustained  ?' — a  question  of  national 
life  and  independence,  or  of  ignominious  submission 
to  the  reign  of  barbarism  and  anarchy,  or  of  unmiti- 
gated despotism. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  issues  forced  upon  us  by  the 
South,  and  the  only  one  presented,  is  the  existence  of 
any  Government, — and  more  directly  of  that  Govern- 
ment under  which  tbe  American  people  have  lived 
and  prospered  for  a  period  of  eighty  years. 

"Resolved,  That  for  the  maintenance  and  perpetuity 
of  the  priceless  boon  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
bequeathed  by  our  forefathers  in  the  Constitution  of 
this  Union  and  the  free  institutions  it  guarantees,  we 
would  imitate  their  example  in  unitedly  and  unre- 
servedly tendering  to  the  Government,  if  need  be,  'our 
lives,  our  fortunes  and  our  sacred  honors.' 

"  Resolved,  That  in  this  first  call  to  defend  the  Con- 
stitution and  tbe  laws  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  we 
view  with  patriotic  pride  the  ready  response  of  the 
noble  sons  of  New  Hampshire  and  of  New  England, 
and  the  Middle  and  Western  States. 

"  Resolved,  That  while  our  neighbors  are  called  to 
defend  our  flag  abroad,  we  will  fill  their  baskets 
and  their  stores,  and  protect  their  hearth-stones  at 
home." 

Spirited  and  patriotic  addresses  were  made  by 
Charles  H.  Eastman,  Thomas  J  Harris,  Arthur 
Chase,  Simeon  Ide,  Thomas  Kirk,  Otis  F.  R. 
Waite,  Rev.  Carlos  Marston,  Herman  H  Cum- 
mings,  Oscar  J.  Brown  and  Edward  D.  Baker, 
when,  after  three  rousing  cheers  for  the  "Stars 
and  Stripes,"  and  three  more  for  the  brave  young 
recruits  who  were  present,  on  motion  of  Ambrose 
Cossit,  a  committee,  consisting  of  Ambrose  Cossit, 


108 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Simeon  lde  and  Thomas  J.  Harris,  was  appointed 
to  petition  the  selectmen  to  call  a  town-meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  making  an  appropriation  of  two 
thousand  dollars,  or  more,  "  for  the  support  of  the 
families  of  those  of  our  fellow-citizens  who  have  or 
who  may  enlist  in  defense  of  the  country."  The 
meeting  then  adjourned  to  the  following  Tuesday 
evening. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  23d  of  April,  the 
people  again  assembled  at  the  town  hall,  which 
was  densely  crowded,  and  many  were  unable  to 
gain  admittance.  This  seemed  to  be  the  culmina- 
ting point  of  the  excitement.  General  Erastus 
Glidden,  in  the  absence  of  the  president,  occupied 
the  chair.  Patriotic  songs  were  sung  and  fervent 
speeches  made  by  John  S.  Walker,  Chase  Noyes, 
George  W.  Blodgett,  William  P.  Austin,  Henry 
Fitch  and  Rev.  R.  F.  Lawrence.  Frank  S. 
Fiske,  of  Keene,  special  aid  to  the  adjutant- 
general  in  the  recruiting  service,  was  present,  and, 
being  called  upon,  made  an  eloquent  and  stirring 
speech.  Mr.  Austin  was  present  with  fifty 
recruits. 

Immediately  after  the  call  of  the  President  for 
troops,  the  ladies  of  the  town  bought  large 
quantities  of  flannel  and  yarn,  and  went  to  work 
vigorously,  making  shirts  and  drawers  and  knit- 
ting socks  for  the  soldiers.  Forty  or  more  met 
daily  for  this  purpose  at  Fraternity  Hall. 

George  N.  Farwell  and  Edward  L.  Goddard 
authorized  William  Clark,  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen,  to  furnish  the  families  of  volunteers 
with  such  provisions  as  they  might  need,  in  his 
discretion,  and  they  would  hold  themselves  per- 
sonally responsible  for  the  same.  Under  these 
instructions  families  were  helped  to  the  amount  of 
9222.27,  which  was  afterward  assumed  by  the 
town. 

On  the  20th  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  of  Claremont, 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Goodwin  general  re- 
cruiting agent  for  the  western  part  of  the  State,  to 
act  under  orders  from  the  military  headquarters 
of  the  State.  On  the  29th  he  received  the  follow- 
ing telegram  from  the  adjutant-general :  "  Close 
up  the  stations  and  come  on  with  the  recruits  to- 


morrow, as  proposed.  Telegraph  me  that  you  will 
do  so.  Cars  will  be  for  you  at  Nashua."  The 
recruits  from  other  stations  having  been  sent  for- 
ward, Major  Waite  started  from  Claremont,  on 
the  morning  of  the  30th,  with  eighty-five  men 
enlisted  by  William  P.  Austin.  They  left  the 
village  at  six  o'clock,  and  marched  to  the  Sullivan 
Railroad  station,  followed  by  large  numbers  of 
relatives  and  friends  of  the  recruits  and  other 
citizens.  At  seven  o'clock,  after  a  most  touching 
leave-taking,  which  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  participated  in  or  witnessed  it.  the 
company  went  on  board  the  cars,  which  moved  off 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  three  or  four  hundred 
people  who  had  assembled  to  see  their  friends  and 
fellow-citizens  depart  for  the  war.  They  went  by 
way  of  Bellows  Falls,  Keene,  Fitchburg,  Groton 
[now  Ayer]  Junction,  Nashua  and  Manchester, 
arriving  at  Concord  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  At  every  considerable  railway  station 
multitudes  of  people  were  assembled,  who  gave  the 
men  their  blessing  and  cheered  them  on  their  way. 
Before  leaving  Claremont  our  citizens  had  pro- 
vided the  recruits  with  a  full  day's  rations  of  cold 
meats,  bread,  pickles,  etc. 

It  was  understood  that  the  men  enlisted  at 
Claremont  would  go  in  a  company  by  themselves, 
and  would  have  the  privilege  of  choosing  their 
own  officers  from  their  own  number.  Accordingly, 
when  the  company  was  full,  they  elected  William 
P.  Austin,  captain ;  John  W.  Lawrence,  first 
lieutenant ;  John  Dean,  second  lieutenant ;  Ziba 
L.  Davies,  third  lieutenant ;  Homer  M.  Crafts, 
Baron  S.  Noyes,  George  H.  Weber,  Selden  S. 
Chandler,  sergeants ;  Edward  E.  Story,  Charles 
H.  Parmalee,  Chester  F.  Tebbits  and  Joseph 
Richardson,  corporals.  The  privates  of  this  com; 
pany  from  Claremont  were 


Oscar  C.  Allen. 
Lyman  F.  Parrisli. 
Alfred  Talham. 
Everett  W.  Nelson. 
Edwin  M.  Gowdey. 
Ralph  X.  Brown. 
Joseph  Levoy. 


Charles  H.  Sprague. 
George  P.  Tenney. 
Henry  W.  Patrick. 
Joseph  Peno. 
William  H.  Nichols. 
Ebenezer  E.  Cummings. 
Andrew  J.  Straw- 


CLAREMONT. 


109 


Charles  W.  Wetherbee. 
John  W.  Davis. 
John  F.  Wheeler. 
John  Straw. 
Wyman  R.  Clement. 
George  W.  Straw. 
Alba  D.  Abbott. 
Charles  M.  Judd. 
Heman  Allen. 
Henry  S.  Morse. 
Albert  P.  Russell. 
Charles  E.  Putnam. 
Charles  F.  Colston. 
Edward  Hall. 
Jerome  B.  Douglass. 
James  Dumage. 


William  E.  Parrish. 
Henry  F.  Roys. 
William  H.  Pendleton. 
Julius  E.  Heywood. 
Alan  son  F.  Wolcott. 
William  H.  Blan chard. 
Anson  M.  Sperry. 
Warren  W.  Howard. 
Dennis  Taylor. 
Lewis  W.  Ladneer. 
Albert  E.  Parmalee. 
Matthew  T.  Towne. 
J.  Parker  Read. 
Napoleon  B.  Osgood. 
Sylvester  E.  H.  Wakefield. 


The  other  members  of  this  company  were  from 
Acworth,  Charlestown,  Cornish  and  Unity. 

A  finer  company  of  men  than  those  enlisted  by 
Captain  Austin  did  not  enter  the  army  as  volun- 
teers. They  enlisted  from  a  sense  of  duty,  the 
pay  of  privates  being  then  but  eleven  dollars  per 
month,  and  there  was  no  offer  of  bounty  from  the 
town,  State  or  United  States. 

Before  leaving  town,  citizens  presented  the  dif- 
ferent recruits  with  dirk  knives,  revolvers,  etc. 
At  a  large  meeting  at  the  town  hall,  on  the  eve- 
ning of  the  29th,  Lieutenant  John  W.  Lawrence 
was  presented  with  a  sword  by  Sherman  Living- 
ston. The  presentation  speech  was  made  by  H. 
W.  Parker,  and  responded  to  in  behalf  of  Lieu- 
tenant Lawrence  by  Ira  Colby,  Jr.  George  G. 
Ide,  in  behalf  of  the  Claremont  Manufacturing 
Company,  presented  each  member  of  the  company 
with  a  handsomely  bound  pocket  Testament. 
The  ladies  gave  to  each  two  pairs  of  flannel 
drawers,  two  flannel  shirts,  woolen  socks,  towels, 
pocket  handkerchiefs  and  needle-book  well  filled 
with  useful  articles. 

On  arrival  at  Concord  the  company  was  sent  to 
Camp  Union ;  but,  being  more  than  men  enough 
already  there  for  one  regiment,  they  were  sent  to 
Camp  Constitution,  Portsmouth,  where  the  Second 
Regiment  was  being  organized.  Under  the  call 
of  the  President  for  one  regiment  from  New 
Hampshire,  in   ten  days  men  enough   had  been 


enlisted  and  sent  to  rendezvous  at  Concord  and 
Portsmouth  for  more  than  two. 

On  the  3d  of  May  the  President  issued  a  call 
for  twenty  thousand  volunteers  for  three  years, 
and  New  Hampshire  was  immediately  ordered  to 
take  no  more  volunteers  for  three  months,  but  to 
enlist,  uniform,  arm  and  hold,  subject  to  orders 
from  the  War  Department,  a  regiment  of  three 
years'  men.  In  consequence  of  this  order  the 
alternative  was  presented  to  the  recruits  then  at 
Camp  Constitution  to  re-enlist  for  three  years,  or 
be  discharged.  Before  this  alternative  was  of- 
fered, however,  the  recruits  were  all  re-examined 
by  a  surgeon,  and  those  found  physically  disqual- 
ified for  service  were  discharged.  Among  these 
were  Edwin  M.  Gowdey,  Charles  F.  Colston  and 
Joseph  F.  Garfield,  from  Claremont. 

During  the  organization  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment a  misunderstanding  arose  between  Captain 
Austin  and  one  or  two  of  the  other  officers  and 
some  of  the  men,  and  the  company  was  broken  up. 
None  of  the  officers  chosen  before  the  company 
left  Claremont  were  commissioned.  Captain  Aus- 
tin and  Lieutenant  Lawrence  returned  home,  and 
Lieutenants  Dean  and  Davis  re-enlisted  for  three 
years  as  privates.  Forty- three  of  the  men  also 
re-enlisted  for  three  years,  and  were  put  into  dif- 
ferent companies,  while  the  remainder  were  either 
discharged  or  sent  to  Fort  Constitution,  Ports- 
mouth Harbor,  to  serve  out  the  term  of  their  en- 
listment. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  agreeably  to  warrant,  a 
town-meeting  was  held,  at  which  a  vote  was  unan- 
imously passed  to  appropriate  a  sum  not  to  exceed 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  to  be  paid  to  soldiers' 
families  wherever  and  whenever  it  may  be  needed, 
and  Albro  Blodgett  was  chosen,  with  discretion- 
ary power,  to  carry  out  the  vote.  Up  to  March, 
1862,  he  paid  out  for  this  purpose  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-seven  dollars  and  twen- 
ty three  cents. 

In  most  of  the  churches  in  town  sermons  were 
preached  against  the  Rebellion,  and  prayers  offered 
for  the  success  of  our  arms  in  putting  it  down. 
There  was   an   almost   unanimous   expression    of 


110 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


condemnation  of  the  South,  and  political  party 
lines  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  almost  obliterated. 
Every  man  of  influence  encouraged  enlistments, 
and  favored  all  reasonable  projects  for  rendering 
aid  to  the  families  of  such  as  had  gone  or  might 
go  to  the  war.  Among  the  most  zealous  in  the 
work  of  raising  recruits  and  aiding  families  were 
many  who,  as  Democrats,  opposed  the  election  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  for  President. 

The  ladies  kept  at  work  making  articles  needed 
by  soldiers  in  hospitals  and  in  the  field ;  frequent 
meetings  were  held  during  the  summer,  and  a 
most  patriotic  spirit  was  manifested  among  the 
people. 

In  July  a  company,  called  the  Home  Guard, 
was  organized,  consisting  of  over  a  hundred  men, 
many  of  them  past  middle  age,  and  among  the 
most  prominent  citizens  of  the  town,  all  desirous 
to  do  something  for  the  cause  of  the  country. 
The  company  chose  the  following  officers :  Arthur 
Chase,  captain  ;  Edwin  Vaughan,  first  lieutenant ; 
John  M.  Whipple,  second  lieutenant ;  Ira  Colby, 
Jr.,  Francis  F.  Haskell,  Henry  S.  Parmalee, 
William  D.  Rice,  sergeants;  Joseph  Weber,  John 
S.  M.  Ide,  D.  C.  Colby  and  John  Geer,  corporals. 
The  company  had  frequent  meetings  for  drill,  and 
made  quite  an  imposing  appearance. 

In  June,  1861,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act 
authorizing  towns  to  raise  money  by  vote  to  aid 
families  of  volunteers. 

About  the  20th  of  July  Governor  Berry  issued 
an  order  for  enlisting,  arming  and  equipping  the 
Third  Infantry  Regiment  for  three  years,  or 
during  the  war,  and  Dr.  E.  C.  Marsh  was  ap- 
pointed recruiting  officer  for  Claremont  and  vicin- 
ity. He  soon  enlisted  thirty-two  men,  twenty-two 
of  whom  belonged  in  Claremont.  These  men  left 
Claremont  for  the  rendezvous  at  Concord  on  the 
19th  of  August.  These  recruits  attended  the 
Methodist  Church  on  Sunday  afternoon,  the  18th, 
and  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Stubbs  preached  a  sermon 
from  the  text, — "  Stand  fast  in  the  faith;  quit  you 
like  men;  be  strong."  On  other  occasions  Mr. 
Stubbs  had,  through  his  sermons,  shown  forth  his 
unconditional  loyalty  and  his  entire  devotion  to 


the  country  ;  but,  on  this  occasion,  when  address- 
ing men  who  were  about  to  take  their  lives  in 
their  hands  and  go  forth  to  do  battle  for  the  coun- 
try, he  was  particularly  eloquent  and  impres- 
sive. 

On  the  20th  of  August  the  Governor  issued  an 
order  to  raise  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  Regiments. 
Dr.  E.  C.  Marsh  was  ordered  to  recruit  for  the 
Fourth,  and  Charles  H.  Long  was  authorized  to 
raise  a  company  for  the  Fifth  Regiment,  the  men, 
when  enlisted,  to  choose  their  own  company  offi- 
cers. All  the  men  accepted  and  mustered  into  the 
service  under  this  call  were  to  receive  from  the 
State  a  bounty  of  ten  dollars.  The  men  enlisted 
by  Mr.  Long,  making  nearly  a  full  company  before 
leaving  Claremont,  made  choice  of  the  following 
officers :  Charles  H.  Long,  captain ;  Jacob  W. 
Keller,  first  lieutenant ;  Charles  O.  Ballou,  second 
lieutenant,  who  were  subsequently  commissioned 
by  the  Governor. 

The  last  of  September  Edwin  Vaughan  was  ap- 
pointed recruiting  officer,  and  enlisted  several  men, 
who  were  put  into  different  regiments  then  being 
organized. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1862,  news  was  re- 
ceived by  telegraph  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Douel- 
son.  The  bells  of  the  village  were  rung  and  the 
joy  of  the  people  was  manifested  in  other  ways. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  March,  1862,  it 
was  voted  that  the  selectmen  be  authorized  to  bor- 
row a  sum  of  money  on  the  credit  of  the  town,  not 
to  exceed  five  thousand  dollars,  as  it  may  be 
needed,  to  aid  the  families  of  resident  volunteers. 

Edward  L.  Goddard,  Aurelius  Dickinson  and 
Alexander  Gardiner  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  designate  what  families  were  entitled  to  aid,  and 
Sumner  Putnam  was  chosen  agent  to  pay  out 
the  money  without  compensation. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  June  22,  1862,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  in  the  town  hall  as  a  demonstra- 
tion of  respect  for  the  brave  Claremont  men  who 
had  been  killed  at  Fair  Oaks  and  in  other  battles, 
or  died  in  hospitals,  and  of  condolence  with  their 
surviving  relatives  and  friends.  A  committee  of 
arrangements  had  been  chosen,  and  other  prepara- 


CLAREMONT. 


Ill 


tions  made,  at  a  previous  meeting  of  citizens  of 
the  town.  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  chairman  of  the 
committee,  called  the  meeting  to  order,  briefly 
stated  its  objects  and  presided  throughout.  Rt. 
Rev.  Carleton  Chase,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  New  Hampshire,  read  selections  from  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  Rev.  Carlos  Marston  made  the  opening 
prayer;  Rev.  H.H.  Hartwell  delivered  an  address 
which  had  been  carefully  prepared,  giving  some 
account  of  each  of  those  soldiers  who  had  been 
killed  in  battle  or  died  in  hospitals,  together  with 
circumstances  connected  with  the  death  of  each. 
Short  addresses  were  made  by  Rev.  Oliver  Ayer, 
Rev.  R.  F.  Lawrence  and  Rev.  Mr.  Marston,  of 
Claremont,  Rev.  Mr.  Piper,  of  Vermont,  Rev.  Mr. 
Greeley,  a  native  of  Claremont,  then  settled  at 
Methuen,  Mass.,  Rev.  Paul  S.  Adams,  of  Newport, 
and  others. 

On  motion  of  Bishop  Chase,  Otis  F.  R.  Waite  was 
chosen  historiographer  to  keep  a  record  of  events 
in  Claremont,  which  had  or  should  transpire  dur- 
ing the  war,  having  connection  with  it,  with  a 
view  to  its  being  published  in  book  form  after  the 
war  had  closed.  During  the  meeting  several  ap- 
propriate pieces  were  sung  by  members  of  the  dif- 
ferent church  choirs  in  town.  The  relatives  and 
friends  of  deceased  soldiers  were  assigned  front 
seats,  and  this  was  made  a  kind  of  funeral  occa- 
sion. The  town  hall  was  packed,  and,  being  on 
Sunday,  and  clergymen  of  the  several  churches 
taking  leading  parts,  made  this  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  impressive  meetings  held  in  town 'during 
the  war. 

Early  in  July  E.  W.  Woodell  was  appointed  a 
recruiting  officer  to  enlist  volunteers  for  regiments 
then  being  formed.  On  the  14th,  in  the  evening, 
a  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
enlistments.  Walter  Tufts  was  chosen  chairman 
and  Joseph  Weber  secretary.  Spirited  speeches 
were  made  by  D.  C.  Colby,  Rev.  Messrs.  Lawrence 
and  Marston,  E.  W.  Woodell,  George  R.  Lathe 
and  others. 

Pursuant  to  a  call  by  the  selectmen,  a 
meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of  the 
19th    of    July.      Jonas    Livingston    was    chosen 


chairman  and  C.  C.  Church  secretary.  E.  W. 
Woodell  offered  a  series  of  resolutions  reaffirm- 
ing confidence  in  the  people,  the  Executive 
of  the  nation  and  in  the  army,  and  calling  upon 
the  people  to  aid  in  all  practicable  ways  in  raising 
men  to  fill  the  regiments  in  the  field,  and  form 
new  ones  as  they  may  be  needed  to  meet  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  country.  Patriotic  speeches  were 
made  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Marston  and  Lawrence,  E. 
D.  Baker,  C.  C.  Church,  E.  W.  Woodell  and 
others. 

On  the  25th  of  the  same  month  another  meeting, 
with  the  same  object  in  view,  was  held.  C.  H. 
Eastman  presided.  It  was  voted  to  hold  a  general 
county  war  meeting  at  the  town  hall  in  Clare- 
mont, on  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  of  August 
following,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  make 
the  necessary  arrangements. 

On  the  2d  of  August  the  town  hall  was  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  the  village  was  full 
of  citizens  of  the  county.  Henry  Hubbard  of 
Charlestown,  son  of  the  late  Governor  Henry 
Hubbard,  presided,  who,  on  taking  the  chair,  made 
some  patriotic  and  well-timed  remarks  in  relation 
to  the  state  of  the  country  and  the  duty  of  loyal 
men.  Nathaniel  S.  Berry,  Governor  of  the  State, 
James  W.  Patterson,  member  of  Congress,  James 
W.  Nesmith,  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon, 
A.  H  Cragin,  United  States  Senator  for  New 
Hampshire,  Peter  Sanborn,  State  Treasurer,  Cap- 
tain T.  A.  Barker,  of  the  Second  New  Hampshire 
Regiment,  Major  H.  B.  Titus,  of  the  Ninth  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  and  other  distinguished 
gentlemen  from  abroad,  were  present  and  made 
speeches.  The  hall  was  handsomely  decorated 
with  flags  and  other  emblems  appropriate  for  the 
occasion.  This  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
enthusiastic  meetings  ever  held  in  town. 

At  a  legal  town-meeting  on  the  7th  of  August, 
the  following  votes  were  unanimously  passed  : 

"  Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  bor- 
row a  sum  of  money,  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  pay  a  bounty  to  citizen  volunteers — the  sum 
of  fifty  dollars  to  each — to  fill  the  quota  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand,  when  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service. 


112 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  borrow 
a  sum  of  money,  not  to  exceed  three  thousand  dollars, 
to  pay  a  bounty  of  fifty  dollars  to  each  citizen  volunteer 
who  has  or  may  enlist  and  be  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service,  to  fill  the  last  quota  of  three 
hundred  thousand." 

During  the  month  preceding  August  12, 
1862,  recruiting  had  been  opened  in  town  by 
Orville  Smith,  of  Lempster,  Sylvanus  Clogston,  of 
Washington,  and  E.  W.  Woodell,  of  Claremont. 
Up  to  that  date  they  had  enlisted — Mr.  Smith, 
thirty-five  men  ;  Mr.  Clogston,  twenty-six  men  ; 
and  Mr.  Woodell,  ten,  a  large  share  of  whom 
were  residents  of  the  town.  They  were  taken 
to  Concord  to  fill  old  and  help  to  form  new  regi- 
ments, as  the  men  themselves  might  respectively 
elect. 

About  the  middle  of  August  William  H. 
Chaffin  was  authorized  to  recruit  men  in  this  town 
for  regiments  then  being  raised  in  the  State,  and 
opened  an  office  that  purpose. 

At  a  town-meeting  on  the  17th  of  September, 
1862,  it  was  "  Voted  to  pay  all  resident  citizens 
who  have  enlisted  under  the  two  last  calls  of  the 
President,  and  previous  to  August  11,  1862, 
fifty  dollars  each  when  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service.  Also  all  those  who  have  enlisted 
since  August  11,  1862,  one  hundred  dollars  each, 
when  mustered  into  the  United  States  service," 
and  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  borrow  a 
sum  not  exceeding  eight  thousand  dollars  to  carry 
this  vote  into  effect. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  March,  1863, 
the  selectmen  were  authorized  by  vote  to  borrow 
not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  to  aid  families 
of  soldiers,  the  selectmen  to  designate  who  were 
entitled  to  aid,  and  Sumner  Putnam  was  chosen 
to  pay  out  the  money  without  remuneration. 

On  Sunday,  May  10th,  a  telegram  was  received 
in  town  announcing  the  capture  of  Richmond.  It 
was  read  in  the  churches,  bells  were  rung,  cannon 
fired  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy  made.  But 
it  turned  out  that  the  telegram  was  not  quite 
true. 

The  surrender  of  Vicksburg  was   celebrated  in 


Claremont,  July  7,  1863.  by  the  ringing  of  bells, 
firing  of  cannon,  etc  Edward  F.  Johnson,  a  son 
about  twenty  years  old  of  Edwin  Johnson,  while 
assisting  to  fire  the  cannon,  in  Dexter  Hill,  was 
very  severely  injured  by  the  premature  discharge 
of  the  gun,  losing  the  right  hand  and  having  the 
other  badly  mutilated,  beside  other  injuries.  Sub- 
sequently a  considerable  sum  of  money  wras  con- 
tributed by  citizens  of  the  town  for  his  benefit. 

On  the  5th  of  August  what  was  left  of  Company 
G,  Fifth  Regiment,  came  home  on  furlough.  Out 
of  eighty-one  men  who  left  town  under  Captain 
Long,  in  September,  1861,  less  than  two  years 
before,  only  twelve  came  home.  Twenty-four  had 
been  killed  in  battle  or  died  of  disease,  and  the 
balance  had  either  been  discharged  or  were  left 
behind  in  hospitals  An  ovation  was  given  these 
twelve  men  at  the  town  hall  ;  addresses  were 
made  by  several  gentlemen,  and  a  handsome 
supper  was  provided  at  the  Tremont  House,  to 
which  about  fifty  citizens  sat  down.  After  the 
eating  had  been  finished  spirited  speeches  were 
made,  sentiments  offered  and  the  whole  affair 
passed  off  very  pleasantly. 

On  Thursday,  the  6th  of  August,  the  President's 
thanksgiving  for  the  success  of  our  arms  was 
observed.  Business  was  generally  suspended. 
Religious  services  were  hold  at  the  Baptist  Church, 
the  Congregationalists  and  Methodists  uniting. 
All  three  of  the  clergymen  took  part  and  made 
addresses. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  1863,  the  first  draft  in 
this  Congressional  District  took  place  at  West 
Lebanon.  Ninety-seven  men  were  drafted  for 
Claremont,  only  four  of  whom,  are  —  William  S. 
Sturtevant,  Jotham  S.  Toothaker,  Charles  H. 
Parmalee,  and  his  brother,  Edward  A.  Parmalee — 
entered  the  army.  All  the  others  were  either 
rejected  by  the  examining  surgeon  as  unfit  for 
duty,  paid  commutation  or  furnished  substitutes. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  in  town-meeting,  it 
was  voted  to  pay  drafted  men,  or  their  substitutes, 
three  hundred  dollars  each,  and  the  selectmen 
were  instructed  to  borrow  the  money  therefor. 

On   the  7th  of  December  the  town  offered  a 


CLAREMONT. 


113 


bounty  to  her  citizens  who  should  enlist  of  three 
hundred  dollars  in  addition  to  other  bounties.  At 
a  previous  meeting  it  had  been  voted  to  pay  to  each 
volunteer  six  hundred  dollars,  the  town  taking  an 
assignment  of  the  State  and  government  bounties. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  in  March,  1864, 
the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  borrow  a  sum, 
not  exceeding  six  thousand  dollars,  to  aid  the  fam- 
ilies of  volunteers  and  drafted  men.  Sumner  Put- 
nam, as  agent,  had  paid  to  families  of  soldiers  the 
preceding  year  the  sum  of  $5,558.39. 

In  May,  1865,  there  was  another  draft  at  the 
provost-marshal's  office,  West  Lebanon,  to  make 
up  all  arrearages,  and  thirteen  men  were  drafted 
for  Claremont,  all  of  whom  were  exempted  by  the 
examining  surgeon  or  furnished  substitutes.  In 
June  eight  more  men  were  drafted  for  this  town, 
to  make  up  deficiencies  in  her  quota  under  all 
calls,  none  of  whom  entered  the  army. 

At  a  town-meeting,  on  the  23d  of  June,  it  was 
voted  to  instruct  the  selectmen  to  "  pay  a  sum  not 
exceeding  six  hundred  dollars  to  any  person  who 
has,  or  may  hereafter,  enlist  and  be  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  counted  on 
the  quota  of  this  town  for  the  present  or  any  future 
call."  The  selectmen  were  also  instructed  to  bor- 
row a  sum,  not  exceeding  six  thousand  dollars,  for 
this  purpose,  and  to  proceed  forthwith  to  enlist 
men,  as  opportunity  may  offer,  in  anticipation  of 
future  calls. 

In  August,  1864,  the  selectmen  offered,  for  men 
to  enlist  into  the  army,  bounties  as  fallows :  Two 
hundred  dollars  for  one,  and  three  hundred  dollars 
for  three  years,  besides  the  bounties  offered  by  the 
State  and  United  States,  amounting  in  all,  for 
three  years'  men,  to  eleven  hundred  dollars. 

At  the  annual  town-meeting,  in  March,  1865, 
by  vote,  the  town  treasurer  was  authorized  to  bor- 
row a  sum,  not  exceeding  seven  thousand  dollars, 
to  aid  the  families  of  volunteers  and  drafted  men. 

William  E.  Tutherly  was  appointed  military 
agent  to  provide  soldiers  to  fill  all  quotas  of  the 
town  the  ensuing  year. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  April,  1865, 
news  of  the   taking  of  Richmond  came  by  tele- 


graph, followed  on  Monday  morning,  the  19th.  by 
this  telegram: 

"  Official.  Lee  and  his  whole  army  surrendered  on 
Sunday  afternoon.     Gloria!" 

This  was  soon  followed  by  a  telegram  from  Gov- 
ernor Gilmore  to  the  selectmen,  ordering  them  to 
fire  one  hundred  guns,  at  the  expense  of  the  State, 
in  honor  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Rebellion.  Busi- 
ness was  immediately  suspended  ;  the  stores  closed ; 
men,  women  and  children  were  upon  the  streets ; 
all  the  church,  mill  and  school  bells  were  rung ; 
and  the  order  of  the  Governor  was  executed  em- 
phatically upon  the  common.  Everybody  rejoiced 
at  the  final  overthrow  of  the  greatest  rebellion  on 
record.  A  meeting  was  notified  to  be  held  at  the 
town  hall  in  the  evening. 

At  the  appointed  time  the  town  hall  was  filled 
as  it  had  seldom  been  filled  before.  The  multi- 
tude was  called  to  order  by  Charles  M.  Bingham, 
and  Moses  R.  Emerson  was  chosen  chairman,  who 
stated  the  objects  of  the  meeting  and  made  some 
pertinent  remarks.  Rev.  Edward  W.  Clark,  pas- 
tor of  the  Congregational  Church,  opened  the 
meeting  with  prayer.  The  congregation  then 
united  in  singing,  in  a  most  thrilling  manner, 
"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  to  the 
tune  of  "Old  Hundred."  The  glee  club,  under 
the  direction  of  Francis  F.  Haskell,  next  sang  a 
patriotic  piece.  Spirited  addresses  were  made  by 
Rev.  Messrs.  J.  M.  Peck,  Edward  W.  Clark  and 
E.  S.  Foster,  Hosea  W.  Parker,  Edward  D. 
Baker,  Ira  Colby,  Jr.,  and  others.  The  audience 
arose  and  joined  in  singing  "America,"  as  it  is 
sung  only  when  its  eloquence  and  beauty  are  fully 
felt  by  those  who  sing  it.  The  meeting  dissolved 
to  witness  a  display  of  fireworks  outside.  Many 
of  the  public  buildings  and  private  residences  were 
handsomely  illuminated,  and  Jefferson  Davis  and 
John  C.  Breckinridge  were  burned  in  effiegy  on 
the  common. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April  came  a 
telegram  announcing  the  assassination  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
night  before.  This  news  turned  the  rejoicing  of 
the  loyal  people  of  the  North  to  sincere  and  deep 


114 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


mourning.  On  Wednesday,  the  19th  of  April,  in 
accordance  with  recommendation  from  Washing- 
ton, and  special  proclamation  of  the  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the 
President  were  observed.  Business  of  every  kind 
was  entirely  suspended ;  at  twelve  o'clock  the 
church  bells  were  tolled;  minute-guns  were  fired, 
and  the  people  assembled  at  the  town  hall  to  pay 
their  respects  to  the  memory  and  worth  of  the 
murdered  President,  Abraham  Lincoln.  Never 
did  the  people  of  Claremont  more  sincerely  mourn 
than  on  this  occasion.  Rev.  Edward  W.  Clark 
read  the  Governor's  proclamation  and  made  the 
opening  prayer.  An  appropriate  piece  was  sung 
by  the  choir,  under  the  direction  of  Francis  F. 
Haskell.  Rev.  E.  S.  Foster  read  selections  from 
Scripture;  Rev.  F.  W.  Toole  offered  prayer;  ad- 
dresses were  made  by  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  G.  Kellogg, 
Moses  Kimball,  of  Ascutneyville,  Vt.,  Foster  and 
Towle,  of  Claremont,  Albert  Goss,  of  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  and  Clark,  of  Claremont.  The  choir  sang 
the  hymn  commencing  "  Why  do  we  mourn  de- 
parting friends?"  to  the  tune  of  "China,"  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Kimball  pronounced  the  benediction  in 
the  most  solemn  manner. 

SUMMARY. 

Whole  number  of  volunteers  from  Claremont 370 

Whole  number  of  drafted  men  who  entered  army..  5 
Whole  number  of  drafted  men  who  furnished  sub- 

stituies 74 

Whole  number  killed  in  battle 33 

Whole  number  who  died  of  wounds 14 

Whole  number  who  died  of  disease 20 

Whole  number  who  served  to  the  end  of  the  war...  85 
Number  of  families  who   received   aid  from  the 

town  and  State 173 

Amount  of  town  and  State  aid  furnished  to  fami- 
lies  $26,219.61" 

This  summary  includes  all  the  Claremont 
soldiers  who  were  connected  with  New  Hamp- 
shire and  other  regiments  wdiose  history  is  known. 
Many  re-enlisted,  while  others  served  in  more 
than  one  organization, — some  in  three  or  four, — 
which,  with  substitutes  furnished  and  commutation 
paid  by  men  who  were  drafted,  make  the  whole 


number  four  hundred  and  forty-nine,  of  soldiers 
put  down  to  the  town  during  the  war. 

Claremont's  Quota. — The  enrollment  in 
Claremont,  in  April,  1865,  embracing  all  male 
citizens  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  under 
the  age  of  forty-five  years,  liable  to  do  military 
duty,  was  four  hundred  and  thirteen.  The  whole 
number  who  entered  the  army  and  navy,  from 
April,  1861,  to  April,  1865,  was  four  hundred  and 
forty-nine.  This  includes  all  enlistments,  some  of 
the  men  having  enlisted  two  or  more  times,  the 
drafted  men  who  furnished  substitutes  and  those 
who  entered  the  army.  The  quota  required  to  be 
sent  from  each  town  in  the  State  under  all  calls 
for  troops,  from  July,  1863,  was  proportioned  to 
the  number  of  enrolled  militia,  as  above.  Clare- 
mont's (piota  was  set  at  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven,  and  she  furnished  two  hundred  and  six 
recruits,  being  an  excess  of  twenty-nine  over  what 
she  was  required  to  furnish. 

Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Societies. — Immedi- 
ately after  the  assault  upon  Fort  Sumter  and  the 
call  of  the  President  for  seventy-five  thousand 
volunteers,  the  ladies  of  Claremont  manifested 
their  zeal  in  the  cause  of  their  country  by  meeting 
at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Susan  J.  Adams,  to  prepare 
bandages  and  other  articles  needed  in  army 
hospitals. 

In  May,  1861,  an  urgent  call  came  to  the  ladies 
for  hospital  stores  and  garments  suitable  for  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers.  A  notice  was  published  in 
the  village  papers  inviting  the  ladies  to  meet  in 
Fraternity  Hall.  At  the  appointed  time  a  large 
number  assembled  The  meeting  was  called  to 
order  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Sprague.  Remarks  were 
made  urging  the  importance  of  organized  and 
earnest  effort  to  minister  to  the  comfort  of  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  and  to  give  to  our  men 
articles  of  clothing   not   furnished    them    by  the 


government. 


A  society  called  the  Ladies'  Union  Sewing 
Circle  was  organized  by  the  choice  of  the  follow- 
ing officers:  Mrs.  M.  A.  Metcalf,  ] (resident ;  Mrs. 
Edward  L.  Goddard,  vice-president ;  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Sprague,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Mrs.  Obed 


CLAREMONT. 


115 


D.  Barnes,  Mrs.  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  Mrs.  Lewis 
Perry,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Eastman,  Mrs.  Edward  L. 
Goddard  and  Mrs  Mary  Blanchard,  committee  to 
have  special  care  and  direction  of  the  work. 

This  society  met  at  Fraternity  Hall  daily.  The 
work  at  first  was  upon  flannel  garments  and  other 
articles  for  the  men  enlisted  by  Captain  William 
P.  Austin,  a  large  portion  of  whom  belonged  in 
Claremont.  Each  man  was  furnished  by  this 
society  with  a  pair  of  woolen  drawers,  undershirt, 
towels,  pocket-handkerchiefs,  woolen  socks,  pin- 
flat  and  needle-book,  Avell  filled  with  useful 
articles.  By  special  contribution  they  raised 
$75  for  rubber  blankets,  $8.38  for  havelocks,  and 
$13.29  for  extra  pairs  of  woolen  hose. 

The  ladies  kept  at  work  as  well  at  home  as  at 
their  stated  meetings,  throughout  the  summer,  for 
soldiers  and  hospitals.  In  September  Charles  H. 
Long  enlisted  a  company  of  one  hundred  men  for 
the  Fifth  Regiment,  all  belonging  in  Claremont 
and  vicinity,  and  each  was  furnished  with  bed- 
sack,  towels,  handkerchiefs  and  woolen  hose. 

Auxiliary  Sanitary  Commission. — Early  in 
October,  1861,  the  United  States  Sanitary  Com- 
mission sent  an  appeal  to  the  ladies  of  Claremont 
to  organize  an  Auxiliary  Sanitary  Commission,  in 
order  the  better  to  systematize  their  labors  and 
the  manner  of  sending  forward  and  appropriating 
to  their  proper  uses  the  fruits  of  their  liberality 
and  labor.  In  response  to  a  call,  the  citizens  met 
at  Fraternity  Hall  on  the  11th  of  October  for  this 
purpose.  Simeon  Ide,  Thomas  J.  Harris,  Joseph 
Weber,  Mrs.  Edward  L.  Goddard,  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Metcalf  and  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Eastman  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  canvass  the  town  and 
secure  the  co-operation  of  all  loyal  women  in  this 
movement. 

An  adjourned  meeting  was  held  on  the  16th  of 
October,  when  the  committee  submitted  a  plan  of 
organization,  making  every  lady  in  town,  who 
would  pay  into  the  treasury  one  dollar,  a  member, 
and  proposed  the  following  list  of  officers,  which 
plan  and  report  were  adopted :  Simon  Ide,  presi- 
dent ;  Mrs.  Samuel  P.  Fiske  and  Mrs.  Leonard  P. 
Fisher,  vice-presidents  ;  Thomas  J.  Harris,  treas- 


urer ;  Cyrenus  S.  Parkhurst,  secretary  ;  Edward 
L.  Goddard,  Frederick  T.  Kidder,  Arthur  Chase, 
Mrs  M.  A.  Metcalf,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Obed 
D.  Barnes,  Mrs.  Edward  L.  Goddard,  Mrs  Charles 
H.  Eastman  and  Mrs.  Jotham  G.  Allds,  directors. 

The  directors  appointed  Mrs.  Lewis  Perry,  Miss 
Marion  Richards,  Mrs.  Francis  Whitcomb,  Miss 
Diantha  Sargent,  Miss  Alice  Jones,  Mrs.  James 
Goodwin,  Mrs.  James  Brickett,  Mrs.  Otis  F.  R. 
Waite,  Mrs.  Stephen  F.  Rossiter,  Mrs  David  F. 
Tuterly,  Miss  Stella  Wallingford,  Miss  E.  M.  Bond, 
Mrs.  Albert  O.  Hammond,  Mrs.  Freeman  S.  Chel- 
lis,  Mrs.  Amos  D.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Robert  R.  Bun- 
nell, Mrs.  Anson  S.  Barstow,  Mrs.  George  W. 
Lewis  and  Miss  Isabella  D.  Rice  to  solicit  money, 
hospital  stores — such  as  preserves,  jellies,  pickles, 
etc.,  or  clothing — to  fill  a  box  which  the  society 
wished  to  send  forward. 

For  a  time  this  organization  received  the  active 
co-operation  of  the  gentlemen  holding  the  princi- 
pal offices,  after  which  they  seemed  occupied  with 
other  matters,  and  early  in  the  winter  of  1861  the 
ladies  took  the  management  and  funds  of  the  soci- 
ety, Mrs.  Samuel  P.  Fiske  acting  as  president  and 
Mrs.  Edward  L.  Goddard  as  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. 

The  Sewing  Circle  was  a  Union  Sewing  Circle 
in  the  fullest  acceptation  of  the  term.  Love  of 
country,  love  of  the  brave  and  noble  soldiers  who 
left  their  homes  to  fight  our  battles,  to  suffer  and 
die  in  prison  or  hospital,  helped  these  patriotic 
women  to  surmount  every  obstacle  and  forget  all 
opposition  and  discouragement. 

A  few  ladies  of  Unity  sent  valuable  contribu- 
tions, which  were  forwarded  in  the  first  boxes  sent 
to  Washington. 

The  meetings  were  frequent,  well  attended, 
seemed  to  be  pervaded  by  a  solemn  sense  of  the 
importance  of  the  utmost  diligence  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  work  in  hand,  and  pleasant  to  all  in- 
terested in  their  object.  Many  ladies,  whose 
names  do  not  appear  as  having  any  special  charge, 
were  among  the  most  active  and  efficient  workers. 

Among  the  gentlemen  in  town  most  active  and 
enthusiastic  in  aiding  the  ladies  in  their  work,  en- 


116 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


couraging  enlistments  and  helping  soldiers  and 
their  families,  was  Rt.  Rev.  Carlton  Chase,  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  Hampshire.  He  opened 
his  house  to  the  ladies,  attended  and  addressed 
public  meetings,  and  in  other  ways  showed  how 
much  he  had  the  cause  of  the  country  at  heart. 

The  ladies  engaged  in  this  society  enlisted  for 
the  war,  nor  did  they  cease  their  efforts  until 
Richmond  was  taken  and  the  rebel  armies  had 
surrendered.  During  the  existence  of  this  auxil- 
iary society  they  sent  thirty-three  large  boxes  to 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission  rooms  in 
Washington  and  Boston,  containing  the  following 
articles:  153  pairs  woolen  drawers,  195  woolen 
shirts,  373  cotton  shirts,  29  pairs  cotton  drawers, 
1029  towels,  901  handkerchiefs,  84  needle-books, 
f>24  pairs  of  woolen  hose,  221  woolen  blankets, 
333  quilts,  169  sheets,  244  pairs  mittens,  39  com 
fort  bags,  45  vests,  59  pillow-sacks,  139  bed-sacks, 
261  pillows,  241  pillow-cases,  198  pairs  slippers, 
189  dressing-gowns,  51  havelocks,  2  collars,  1  mil- 
itary overcoat,  1  military  dress  coat,  1  pair  mili- 
tary pants,  1  blouse,  1  linen  jacket,  together  with 
large  quantities  of  dried  and  canned  fruits,  pick- 
les, bandages,  lint,  linen  and  cotton  pieces,  75 
quarts  of  wines  and  50  pounds  of  corn-starch, 
books  and  other  reading  matter,  all  of  which  war- 
most  generously  given  by  the  friends  of  the  soldi ers 
in  every  part  of  the  town.  They  also  sent  to  the 
Boston  and  Baltimore  fairs,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
soldiers,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars' 
worth  of  fancy  articles,  all  of  which  were  contril>- 
uted  by  the  ladies  of  this  society. 

The  society  received  of  its  members  and  other 
individuals  about  twelve  hundred  dollars,  four 
hundred  dollars  of  which  was  realized  from  exhi- 
bitions, festivals  and  concerts.  When  they  closed 
their  labors,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  there  remained 
in  the  treasury  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars, 
which  was  placed  at  interest,  to  be  appropriated 
for  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  commemoration 
of  Claremont's  brave  soldiers,  who  gave  their  lives 
for  the  country  when  she  needed  such  sacrifice. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  the  ladies  of 
West  Claremont  formed  themselves  into  a  working 


band  for  the  soldiers,  and  met  together  occasionally 
for  work,  though  much  was  done  at  their  homes. 
Large  numbers  of  articles  were  sent  to  their  desti- 
tution during  the  first  few  months  through  the  so- 
ciety at  the  village,  after  which  they  sent  the 
articles  of  their  industry  and  benevolence  direct  to 
Washington.  As  no  officers  were  chosen,  no 
record  of  the  money  expended  was  kept  for  any 
length  of  time.  The  money  used  and  articles 
given  were  from  residents  at  Wrest  Claremont,  ex- 
cept fifty  dollars  from  the  Sanitary  Commission  in 
the  village  in  the  winter  of  1864-65,  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Wvllys  Redfield,  and  expended  for 
materials  which  were  made  up  by  the  ladies. 
During  the  war  not  less  than  eight  or  ten  barrels 
and  boxes,  filled  with  quilts,  shirts,  dressing-gowns, 
socks,  dried  fruit,  jellies,  wines  and  many  other 
articles,  were  sent  by  the  ladies  of  West  Clare- 
mont. 

Thanksgiving  to  Soldiers'  Families. — In 
November,  1864,  Charles  M.  Bingham,  Nathaniel 
Tolles,  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  Samuel  G.  Jarvis  and 
Walter  H.  Smith  were  chosen  a  committee  to  col- 
lect contributions,  and  distribute  to  families  of 
soldiers,  and  others  in  town  who  were  considered 
needy,  provisions  for  Thanksgiving.  Citizens 
cheerfully  contributed  from  their  stores  what  was 
valued  in  money  at  $30.31,  and,  in  money,  $120.45, 
making  a  total  of  $150.76.  The  money  received 
was  carefully  expended  for  provisions,  which  were 
distributed  to  one  hundred  and  three  families,  ac- 
cording as  the  committee  judged  of  their  several 
needs.  The  articles  carried  to  the  different  dwell- 
ings consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  chickens, 
seventy-five  roasts  of  beef,  weighing  from  seven 
to  fourteen  pounds  each,  several  pieces  of  fresh 
pork,  a  large  quantity  of  butter,  cheese,  vegetables, 
g  n  >ceries,  etc. 

Soldiers'  Monument. — At  the  annual  town- 
meeting,  in  March,  1867,  it  was  voted  to  appropri- 
ate one  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  monu- 
ment to  those  Claremont  men  who  had  been  killed 
in  battle  or  died  in  the  army  in  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion,  on  condition  that  five  hundred  dollars 
Bhould  lie  raised  by  subscription,  or  otherwise, for 


CLAREMONT. 


117 


the  same  purpose.  The  Ladies'  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion appropriated  the  funds — about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  dollars,  which  they  had  on  hand  at  the 
close  of  the  war — to  this  object ;  and  the  committee 
of  arrangements  for  the  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion in  1865  also  appropriated  about  fifty  dollars, 
which  they  had  after  paying  expenses.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  ladies  obtained  in  subscriptions 
not  exceeding  one  dollar  each — heads  of  families 
generally  paid  one  dollar,  and  children  of  all  ages 
twenty-five  cents  each — a  sufficient  amount  to  se- 
cure the  town  appropriation  ;  and  these  several 
sums,  except  the  thousand  dollars  appropriated  by 
the  town,  were  placed  at  interest.  At  the  annual 
town-meeting,  in  March,  1868,  the  further  sum  of 
two  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  this  object, 
provided  that  one  thousand  dollars  should  be 
raised  by  contribution  or  otherwise. 

At  the  same  meeting  Samuel  P.  Fiske,  Benja- 
men  P.  Gilman,  Edward  L.  Goddard,  Charles  H. 
Long  and  John  L.  Farwell  were  chosen  a  com- 
mittee to  have  the  whole  matter  of  the  monument 
in  charge.  Early  in  August,  1868,  Frederick  A. 
Briggs,  Oliver  A.  Bond,  Hosea  W.  Parker,  A. 
George  Boothe,  Win.  P.  Farwell,  James  A.  Cowles, 
Austin  C.  Chase  and  some  other  gentlemen, 
assisted  by  several  young  ladies,  gave  two  very 
creditable  dramatic  exhibitions  in  aid  of  the  Sol- 
diers' Monument  Fund.  A  string  band  extem- 
porized for  the  occasion,  and  under  the  joint 
leadership  of  Messrs.  George  W.  Wait,  of  this 
town,  and  Henry  A.  Christie,  of  .Christie  and 
Wedger's  Band,  Boston,  who  had  his  home  in 
Claremont,  furnished  some  excellent  music  and 
contributed  very  much  to  the  entertainment.  The 
receipts  from  this  source  were  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  Subscription-papers  were  cir- 
culated, without  limiting  the  amount  that  each 
might  pay,  and  other  means  used  to  obtain  a 
sufficient  sum  to  secure  the  last  two  thousand 
dollars  voted  by  the  town — making  up  the  whole 
sum  of  forty-five  hundred  dollars.  Many  gentle- 
men subscribed  very  liberally,  while  others  gave 
according  to  their  means,  and  the  required  amount 
was  secured. 


The  committee  decided  to  place  the  monument 
in  the  Park,  and  made  a  very  favorable  contract 
with  Martin  Milmore,  of  Boston,  for  a  bronze 
monumental  statue  of  an  infantry  soldier,  at  rest. 
When  the  monument  and  grounds  were  so  nearly 
completed  that  a  day  could  be  fixed  for  the  dedi- 
cation, the  committee  called  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  the  town,  at  the  town  hall,  on  the  even- 
ing of  July  17,  1869,  to  take  measures  for  the 
arranging  and  carrying  out  of  proper  exercises. 
At  this  meeting  Edward  L.  Goddard  was  chosen 
chairman,  and  Hosea  W.  Parker  secretary.  The 
following  gentlemen  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
have  the  whole  subject  of  dedicating  the  monu- 
ment in  charge :  Samuel  P.  Fiske,  Benjamin  P. 
Gilman,  Edward  L.  Goddard,  Charles  H.  Long, 
John  L.  Farwell,  Oscar  J.  Brown,  John  S.  Walk- 
er, John  F.  Cossitt,  Nathaniel  Tolles,  Hosea  W. 
Parker,  J.  W.  Pierce,  Sherman  Cooper,  Henry 
Patten,  Charles  H.  Eastman  and  William  H. 
Nichols. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, it  was  voted  to  dedicate  the  monument  on 
the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek, 
October  19,  1864,  when  General  Phil.  H.  Sher- 
idan, by  his  timely  arrival  on  the  field,  changed  a 
defeat  of  our  arms  into  a  glorious  victory,  taking 
fifty  guns  from  the  enemy.  It  was  also  voted  to 
invite  Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham,  of  Boston,  a  native 
of  the  town,  and  a  son  of  the  late  George  B.  Up- 
ham, to  pronounce  an  oration.  The  committee 
appointed  the  following  officers  for  the  day  of 
dedication:  President,  John  S.  Walker;  Vice- 
Presidents,  Edward  L.  Goddard,  George  N.  Far- 
well,  Samuel  G.  Jarvis,  Albro  Blodgett,  Daniel 
W.  Johnson,  James  P.  Upham,  Arnold  Briggs, 
Daniel  S.  Bowker,  Edward  Ainsworth,  Charles 
M.  Bingham,  William  E.  Tutherly,  Sylvanus  S. 
Redfield,  William  Ellis,  Fred  P.  Smith,  Hiram 
Webb  ;  Secretaries,  Joseph  Weber,  Arthur  Chase  ; 
Chaplain,  Edward  W.  Clark  ;  Marshal,  Nathaniel 
Tolles,  who  appointed  for  Assistants,  Edwin  W. 
Tolles,  Edward  J.  Tenney,  Sherman  Cooper  and 
George  H.  Stowell.  He  also  appointed  Otis  F.  R. 
Waite,  Hosea  W.  Parker,  William   H.  H.  Allen 


118 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  Francis  F.  Haskell  to  receive  and  attend  to 
the  comfort  of  the  invited  guests. 

Invitations  were  extended  by  circulars  to  many 
prominent  gentlemen,  and  by  posters  to  the  peo- 
ple generally,  to  be  present  and  join  in  the  cere- 
monies. The  day  was  ushered  in  by  a  salute  of 
thirty-seven  guns  and  the  ringing  of  bells  at  sun- 
rise. A  large  concourse  of  people,  variously 
estimated  at  from  five  to  ten  thousand — among 
them  many  distinguished  ladies  and  gentlemen 
from  the  eastern  and  middle  portions  of  the  State, 
assembled  to  do  honor  to  the  occasion. 

At  half-past  nine  o'clock  a.m.  the  invited 
guests  were  met  at  the  station  of  the  Sullivan 
Railroad  and  conveyed  in  carriages  to  the  village. 
At  ten  o'clock  a  procession,  consisting  of  invited 
guests  and  officers  of  the  day  in  carriages,  fire 
companies,  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public and  citizens,  was  formed  on  the  Common 
under  the  direction  of  'the  marshal,  and  escorted 
by  the  Stearn  Guards  of  Claremont,  headed  by  the 
Claremont  Cornet  Band,  marched  through  Broad, 
North,  Maple,  Elm,  Union,  Sullivan,  Pleasant, 
Summer  and  Broad  Streets,  to  the  speaker's 
stand,  at  the  east  side  of  the  Common,  and  facing 
the  monumental  statue  to  be  dedicated.  There  was 
also  a  stand  for  the  band  and  choir  erected  against 
the  south  Avail  of  the  Universalist  Church. 

Arrived  at  the  stand,  the  band  performed  a 
national  air.  The  marshal,  Nathaniel  Tolles, 
called  the  assembly  to  order,  and  introduced 
Samuel  P.  Fiske,  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
ariantrements  and  also  chairman  of  the  monument 
committee,  who  made  a  short  address,  giving  an 
account  of  the  inception  of  the  soldiers'  monument 
to  be  dedicated  and  the  work  upon  it  to  comple- 
tion, announced  the  officers  and  introduced  the 
president,  John  S.  "Walker.  The  president  called 
upon  the  chaplain,  Rev.  E.  W.  Clark,  who  in- 
voked the  Divine  blessing  in  fitting  and  eloquent 
terms. 

The  president  delivered  a  short  address,  wel- 
coming, in  well-chosen  words,  all  who  were 
present,  as  well  those  of  the  town  and  country 
as  from  more  distant  parts.    He  said  that  General 


Philip  H.  Sheridan  had  accepted  an  invitation  to 
be  present,  and  had  been  expected  until  that 
morning,  when  a  telegram  was  received  from  him, 
explaining  his  inability  to  be  with  us.  It  con- 
cluded : 

"  Please  say  to  my  old  comrades  and  the  good  peo- 
ple in  attendance  how  deeply  I  regret  not  being  pres- 
ent with  them  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  the 
gallant  men  from  New  Hampshire  who  fell  in 
defense  of  the  union  and  their  rights." 

At  the  close  of  the  president's  address,  the 
signal  being  given,  the  American  flag,  which  had 
enveloped  the  bronze  statue,  was  skillfully  lifted 
therefrom  by  Samuel  P.  Fiske,  chairman  of  the 
monument  committee,  assisted  by  Benjamin  P. 
Gilman,  raised  to  the  top  of  the  pole  to  which  it 
was  attached,  and  floated  in  the  breeze  over  the 
monument. 

The  orator,  Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham,  was  then 
introduced,  and  delivered  a  very  appropriate 
oration,  in  a  voice  that  could  be  heard  by  those  of 
the  vast  crowd  most  remote  from  the  speaker.  It 
was  a  most  touching  and  eloquent  tribute  to  the 
dead  heroes  commemorated  by  the  monument. 
The  speaker  said, — 

"On  the  marble  tablets  in  yonder  Town  Hall, 
which,  from  henceforth,  shall  be  a  memorial  hall  as 
well,  we  may  trace  the  names  of  seventy-three  young 
men  who  fought  in  these  armies  and  voluntarily  laid 
down  their  lives  upon  the  altar  of  their  country — 
more  than  a  seventh  part  of  the  four  hundred  and 
forty-nine,  who,  from  first  to  last,  enlisted  here — so 
many,  alas,  in  number,  that  there  is  not  room  for 
them  upon  the  entablature  of  this  or  any  common 
monument.  I  could  wish  it  were  possible  to  write 
them,  one  and  all,  in  letters  of  living  light,  on  the 
sides  of  those  everlasting  hills  that  they  might  be 
known  and  read  of  all  men." 

After  the  oration,  "  America"  was  sung  by  the 
choir,  under  the  leadership  of  Moses  R.  Emerson, 
The  president  then  introduced  Governor  Onslow 
Stearns,  who  made  a  short  address,  followed  with 
addresses  by  ex-Governors  Walter  Harriman, 
Frederick  Smyth,  United  States  Senator  James 
W.  Patterson,  Colonel  Mason  W.  Tappan  and 
Hon.  Jacob  H.  Ela.     The  exercises  closed  by  the 


CLAREMONT. 


119 


.singing,  by  the  choir  and  all  present,  of  that 
grand  old  ascription,  "  Be  thou,  O  God,  exalted 
high." 

The  procession  was  then  re-formed  and  marched 
to  the  Tremont  House,  where  the  invited  guests, 
the  committee  of  arrangements,  officers  of  the  day 
and  citizens,  in  all  about  eighty,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, at  four  o'clock  partook  of  a  sumptuous 
dinner.  Members  of  fire  companies  and  posts  of 
the  Grand  Army  were  liberally  provided  for  by 
contributions  of  citizens,  at  the  town  hall,  where 
tables  were  laid  for  about  five  hundred.  After 
these  had  eaten,  the  doors  were  thrown  open  to 
the  multitude,  and  not  less  than  one  thousand 
were  fed  in  this  way.  There  was  a  great  quantity 
of  food  left,  which  was  carefully  gathered  up  and 
distributed  to  such  as  needed  it. 

TJie  Monument. — The  monument  consists  of  a 
handsome  granite  pedestal,  seven  feet  high,  sur- 
mounted by  a  bronze  statute  of  an  infantry 
volunteer  soldier,  in  full  regulation  uniform,  lean- 
ing in  an  easy  and  graceful  way  upon  his  gun. 
Beneath  the  statue,  on  the  granite  die,  is  the 
following  inscription  : 

"  ERECTED 

IN  HONOR  OF  THE  SOLDIERS 

OP 

CLAREMONT, 

WHO  DIED 

IN  THE  REBELLION  OF  1861-65, 

BY  THEIR  GRATEFUL 

FELLOW-CITIZENS, 

1869." 

FINANCIAL     STATEMENT. 

Receipts. 
E.  L.  Goddard,  for  Fourth  of  July  committee 

of    1865 :    principal,     $47.00 ;     interest, 

$13.00 $60  00 

Mrs.    E.    L.    Goddard,  Treasurer   Auxiliary 

Sanitary  Commission :  principal,  $150.00; 

interest,  $41.25 191  25 

From    subscriptions     of     1867 :    principal, 

$642.72;  interest,  $95,37 738  09 

Dramatic  company 94  00 

Subscriptions,  1869 ! 970  63 

Town  appropriations  for  monument  and  park 

improvements,  as  per  vote  of  1867-68 3500  00 

Total $5553  97 


Disbursements. 

Martin  Milmore,  for  monument 4000  00 

E.  Batchelder,  for  granite  curbing....  250  00 

Concrete  walk  and  grading 807  23 

Fence,  $337.14;  labor,  $159.60 496  74 

Total $5553  97 

Memorial  Tablets. — The  large  number  of 
those  Claremont  men  who  were  killed  in  battle 
and  died  of  wounds  or  disease  while  in  the  service, 
rendered  the  inscription  of  their  names  upon  the 
monument  impracticable ;  therefore,  marble  tab- 
lets were  erected  in  the  town  hall — bearing  the 
following  Roll  of  Houor,  except  that  the  date 
and  manner  of  the  death  of  each  is  added  here, 
to  perpetuate  more  fully  their  record  : 

Citizen  Soldiers  of  Claremont  who  died  for  their  Country 
in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  1861-65. 

Colonel  Alexander  Gardiner. 
14th  Regt,  N  H.  Vols.      Mortally  wounded   at   the 
battle   of  Cedar   Creek,   near  Winchester,   Va., 
Sept.   19,1864.    Died  of  wounds  Oct.  8,  1864. 

Captain  William  Henry  Chaffin. 
Co.  I,  14th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Creek,  near  Winchester,   Va.,   Sept.    19, 
1864. 

Lieutenant  Ruel  G.  Austin. 
Co.  A,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,   Pa.,  July  6,  1863.     Died  of   his 
wounds  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  July  26,  1863. 

Lieutenant  Charles  O.  Ballou. 

Co.  G.,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.    Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 

Lieutenant  Robert  Henry  Chase. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Ream's  Station,  Va.,  August  25,  1864. 

Lieutenant  Samuel  Brown  Little. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13, 1862.    Died 
of  wounds  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  December  24, 1862. 

Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13, 1862.  Died 
of  wounds  December  23,  1862. 

Lieutenant  Henry  S.  Paull. 
Co.  I,  14th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.   Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Creek,  near  Winchester,  Va.,   Septemb  er 
19,  1864. 


120 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Lieutenant  Henry  D.  Rice. 

Co.  G,  9th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Supposed  killed  at  Poplar 
Grove  Church,  Va.,  September  30,  1864. 

Daniel  S.  Alexander. 
Co.  F,  3d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Drury's  Bluff,  Va.,  May  13,  1864. 

Oscar  C.  Allen. 
Co.  H,  2d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  disease  at  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  October  2,  1862. 

James  P.  Bascom. 
Co.  G,  9th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  disease  at  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  December  25,  1862. 

Samuel  O.  Ben  ion. 
Co.  E,  5th   Regt.    N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in   battle    at 
Ream's  Station,  Va.,  August  16,  1SG4. 

Horace  Bolio. 
Co.  F,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 

A  mos  F.  Bradford. 
Co.  G,  9th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  diphtheria  at 
Paris,  Ky.,  November  10,  1863. 

Josiah  S.  Brown. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  11.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862. 

James  Burns. 

Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

Charles  F.  Burrill. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 

Charles  E.  Ballou. 
Died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  of  disease,  February  18, 
1864. 

Samuel  S.  Carletox. 

Fourth  Battalion,  Mass.  Rifles.  Died  at  Claremont, 
N.  II.,  January  23,  1867,  of  wounds  received  in 
battle. 

Luther  A.  Chase. 

( !o.  G,  5th  Regt  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  1863. 

W"5  max  R.  Clement. 

Co.  H,  2d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols..  Died  of  disease  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  August  1,  1861. 

Joseph  Crak;. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 


Albert  G.  Dank. 
Co.  A,  3d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Died  while  prisoner  at 
Salisbury,  N.  C,  February  3,  1865. 

Zir.A  L.  Davis. 
Co.  H,  2d  Regt.  N.  11.  Vols.     Died  of  disease  at  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  January  12,  1863. 

James  Delmage. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June  1,  1863. 

Edward  E.  French. 
Co.  E,    Berdan's  Sharpshooters.     AVounded   at  the 
battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  19,  1864.     Died 
of  wounds  September  7,  1864. 

John  Gilbert. 
Co.  F.  3d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at'  the  battle  of 
Deep  Run,  Va,,  August  16,  1864. 

Frederick  W.  Goddard. 
Co.  H,  44th  Regt.  Mass.  Vols.      Died  of  disease  at 
Pemberton  Square  Hospital,  Boston,  July  3,  1863. 

Lieutenant  George  Nettleton. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.    Wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13, 1863.  Died 
of  wounds  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  December  24,  1862. 

Charles  B.  Grandy. 
Co.  A,  62d  Regt.  N.  Y.  Vols.     Died  of  disease    at 
Washington,  D.  C,  October  16,  1861. 

David  H.  Grannis. 
Co.  A,  3d  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Died  of   disease   at 
Hilton  Head,  N.  C,  March  4,  1863. 

Chester  F.  Grinnels. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862. 

Charles  A.  Hart. 

Co.  G,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  18(12. 
Elisha  M.  Hill. 

Co.  G,  ">t  h  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  wounds  received 
in  battle,  October  27,  1862. 

Damon  F.  Hunter. 
Co.  <  I,  5th  Regt.  N.  H.  Vols.    Mortally  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Fair  <  >aks,  Va.,  June  1,  1862.    Died 
June  22,  1862. 

William  L.  Hurd. 

Co.  F,  3d  Regt.  Vermont  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle 
of  Lee's  Mills,  Va.,  April  16,  1862. 


CLAREMONT. 


121 


John  8.  M.  Ide. 
Co.   E,  Berdan's  Sharpshooters.     Killed   in    an   en- 
gagement at  Yorktown,  Va.,  April  5,  1862. 

Joseph  W.  Kelly. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  disease  on  pas- 
sage from  Fortress  Monroe  to    Washington,   in 
May,  1862. 

Walter  B.  Kendall. 
Co.  F,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.  Killed  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  June  16,  1864. 

J.  Fisher  Lawrence. 
Co.  H,  7th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Died   of  disease  at 
Port  Royal,  S.  C,  August  8,  1862. 

Charles  B.  Marvin. 
Co.  G,  9th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  September,  17,  1862. 

Noah  D.  Merrill. 
Co.  D,  2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.  Died  of  wounds  received 
in  battle,  September  16,  1862. 

Edward  F.  Moore. 
Troop  L,  First  New  England  Cavalry.     Killed  in  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2, 1863. 

Horatio  C.  Moore. 
Co.  F,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.  Mortally  wounded  in  the 
battle  of  James  Island,  S.  C,  June  16, 1862.  Died 
June  19,  1862. 

Ransom  M.  Neal. 

Co.  A,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Died  of  disease  at  Hil- 
ton Head,  S.  C,  October  30,  1862. 

Everett  W.  Nelson. 
Co.  H,  7th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  at  Fort  Wagner,  July  18, 1863.     Died 
July  24,  1863. 

Charles  H.  Nevers. 

Co.  G,  5th   Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in   battle  at 

White  Oak  Swamp,  Va.,  June  30,  1862. 

Frederick  A.  Nichols. 

Co.  F,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Mortally  wounded  near 

Bermuda    Hundred,  June   16,  1864.     Died   next 

day. 

Lyman  F.  Parrish. 

Co.  H,  2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Died   of  disease   at 

Manchester,  N.  H.,  February  20,  1863. 

William  E.  Parrish. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  died  at  Andersonville. 


Joel  W.  Patrick. 

Co.   G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Died   of  disease  at 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  August  15, 1862. 

Joseph  Peno. 

Co.  C,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
James  Island,  June  16,  1862. 

Charles  E.  Putnam. 
Co.  H,  2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in  the  battle  of 
Williamsburg,  Va.,  May  5,  1862. 

George  H.  Putnam. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in  the  battle 
of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  3,  1864. 

George  Read. 

Co.  G.   5th   Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Died   of  disease   at 
Newark,  N.  J.,  September  9,  1862. 

Henry  W.  Patrick. 
Co.    H,   2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Died  of  disease   at 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  August  20, 1868. 

Edgar  T.  Reed. 

Co.  G,  6th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Shot  while  attempting 
to  arrest  a  deserter  in  the  autumn  of  1864. 

Willis  Redfield. 
15th  Regt.,  Connecticut  Vols.     Died  of  yellow  fever 
at  Newbern,  N.  C,  October  11,  1864. 

Charles  D.  Robinson. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  in  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862. 

George  E.  Rowell. 
Co.  H,  11th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.      Died  of  disease  at 
Baltimore,  Md.,  April  10,  1864. 

George  W.  Russell. 
Co.  G,  9th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Mortally  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Antietam,  Va.,  September  17,  1862, 
and  died  next  day. 

Ard  Scott. 
Co.    F,  3d  Regt.,  N.  H.   Vols.      Taken    prisoner  at 
Darbytown,  Va.,  October  1,  1864.     Died  of  star- 
vation and  exposure  at  Salisbury,  N.  C,  Novem- 
ber 20,  1864. 

Charles  N.  Scott. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June  1,  1862. 

Edward  E.  Story. 
Co.  G.  6th   Regt,,  N.  H.   Vols.      Died  of  disease  at 
Hatteras  Inlet,  March  4,  1862. 


122 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Andrew  J.  Straw. 
Co.  H,  2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  Va.,  July  21,  1861,  and  is  supposed 

to  have  died  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Roland  Taylor. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt,,  N.  H.  Vols.      Mortally  wounded  al 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  is6:i,  and 
died  a  few  days  afterward. 

Horace  A.  Tyrrell. 
2d  Regt.,  Mass.  Cavalry.     Died  of  disease  on  his  way 
home,  after  discharge,  December  30,  186-r>. 

IIarvky  M.  Wakefield. 
Co.  ( i,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Died  of  disease  in  hos- 
pital, July  5,  1862. 

George  0.  Webb. 
Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.   Vols.      Died   of  disease  at 
Camp  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June  15,  1862. 

Charles  W.  Wetherbee. 

Co.  G,  5th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Killed  at  the  battle  of 
Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June  1,  1862. 

John  F.  Wheeler. 
Co.  A,  2d  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.     Taken  prisoner  at  the 
battleof  Bull  Run,  Va.,  July  21, 1861.  Exchanged, 
and  died  on  shipboard,  between  Salisbury,  N.  O, 
and  New  York. 

Norman  F.  Whitmore. 
Co.  A,  3d  Regt,,  N.  H.  Vols.    Died  of  disease,  occa- 
sioned by  wounds,  at  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  June  9, 

1864. 

Augustus  E.  Woodbury. 

Co.  H,  7th  Regt.,  N.  H.  Vols.  Taken  prisoner  at 
Olustee,  Fla.,  February  10,  1864.  Died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Ga.,  June  23,  1864. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  National  Eagle. — This  paper  was  estab- 
lished in  October,  1834,  under  the  direction  of  a 
committee  appointed  at  a  Whig  Sullivan  County 
Convention,  the  year  before.  The  first  number 
was  issued  by  John  H.  Warland,  editor,  and 
Samuel  L.  Chase,  printer.  In  1836  tin-  establish- 
ment was  purchased  by  John  H.  Warland  ami 
Joseph  Weber.  In  1842  Mr.  Weber  bought  Mr. 
Warland's  interest,  and  became  sole  proprietor 
and  editor,  and  continued  the  publication  of  trie 


paper  until  October,  1840,  when  Charles  Young- 
ami  John  S.  Walker  bought  the  establishment, 
Mr.  Walker  taking  charge  of  the  editorial  depart- 
ment. In  1849  Mr.  Walker  sold  his  interest  to 
John  11.  Ib-ewster,  and  the  paper  was  published 
by  Young  &  Brewster  until  April,  1854,  when 
Otis  F.  R.  Waite  bought  the  establishment,  and 
continued  the  business  until  1860,  when  he  sold 
out  to  John  S.  Walker.  Mr.  Walker  sold  to 
Simon  Ide,  whose  successors  have  been  Arthur 
Chase,  Thomas  J.  Lasier,  Hiram  P.  Grandy  and 
H.  C.  Fay,  its  present  editor  and  owner. 

The  Northern  Advocate. — This  paper  was 
started  in  Claremont,  in  June,  1<S49,  by  Joseph 
Weber,  as  a  Free  Soil  paper,  who  continued  its 
publication  until  November,  1881,  when,  by  rea- 
son of  advancing  age,  he  sold  the  establishment  to 
the  present  editor  and  proprietor,  R.  E.  Mussey, 
who  changed  the  title  of  the  paper  and  called  it 
The  Claremont  Advocate. 

The  Compendium. — The  publication  of  a  liter- 
ary paper  with  this  title  was  commenced  in  May, 
1870,  by  S.  H.  Story,  and  printed  one  year  as  a 
weekly.  The  publication  was  then  discontinued 
until  January,  1872,  when  it  was  resumed  and 
published  fortnightly  until  January,  1875.  It 
was  then  changed  to  a  monthly  and  called  The 
Narrative,  under  which  arrangement  it  has  since 
been  continued  by  Mr.  Story. 

railroads. 

Sullivan  Railroad,  from  Bellows'  Falls, 
through  Charlestown  and  Claremont,  to  Wind- 
sor, Vt.  It  connects  at  Bellows'  Falls  with  the 
Cheshire  Railroad  for  Boston,  via  Keene  and 
Fitchburg;  the  Valley  Railroad  for  New  York, 
via  Springfield  and  Hartford;  the  Rutland  for 
Montreal  and  the  West;  at  Claremont  Junction 
with  the  Concord  and  Claremont  Railroad  for 
Concord  and  Boston,  and  at  Windsor  with  the 
Central  Vermont  Railroad  for  St.  Albans,  Mon- 
treal  and  the  West.  The  Sullivan  Railroad 
was  finished  and  opened  for  business  in  the  fall 
of  1849.  It  is  owned  and  operated  by  the  Con- 
necticut River  Railroad  Company,  as  U  also  the 


CLAREMONT. 


123 


Valley  Railroad.     It   has   a  double   track   from 
Bellows'  Falls  to  Charlestown. 

Concord  and  Claremont  Railroad,  from 
Claremont  Junction,  via  Newport  and  Bradford, 
to  Concord,  where  it  connects  with  the  Concord 
Railroad  for  Boston,  and  with  the  Northern  and 
Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroads.  At 
Contoocook  it  connects  with  the  Monadnock,  Pe- 
terborough and  Hillsborough  Railroad  for  Win- 
chendon,  Mass.,  via  Hillsborough  and  Peterbor- 
ough. The  Concord  and  Claremont  Railroad  was 
opened  to  Claremont  in  September,  1872. 

Windsor  and  Forest  Line  Railroad. — At 
the  session  of  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  in 
1870,  a  charter  was  granted  for  a  railroad  from 
Windsor,  Vt.,  to  Greenfield,  N.  H.,  there  to  con- 
nect with  the  Nashua  and  Wilton  Railroad.  Soon 
a  company  was  organized  by  the  grantees,  and  a 
route  has  been  surveyed  through  Cornish,  Clare- 
mont, Unity,  Acworth,  Lempster,  Washington, 
Marlow,  Stoddard  and  Hancock,  to  Greenfield, 
pronounced  feasible,  and  it  has  been  thought  that 
a  road  would  be  built  over  this  line  at  no  very 
distant  period. 

Claremont  and  White  River  Junction 
Railroad. — In  1872  the  New  Hampshire  Legis- 
lature granted  a  charter  for  a  railroad  from  Clare- 
mont  to  White  River  Junction ;  the  grantees 
organized  a  company,  and  a  route  was  surveyed 
from  Claremont  village  through  Cornish,  Plain- 
field  and  Lebanon  to  White  River  Junction,  Vt. 
It  was  found  that  a  road  could  be  built  over  the 
route  surveyed  at  very  moderate  cost,  and  it  has 
been  thought  that  the  many  advantages  to  be 
gained  by  this  road  would  ensure  its  construction. 

OBITUARY. 

Brief  notices  are  here  given  of  a  few  Claremont 
men  who  were  prominent  in  their  time.  Many 
others  might  be  given  of  those  equally  deserving 
of  them  but  for  lack  of  room.  Many  have  been 
spoken  of  in  other  connections  in  this  history. 

Samuel  Cole,  Esq.,  graduated  at  Yale  College 
in  1731,  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  town 
of  Claremont,  read  the  Episcopal  service  for 
several  years,  and  was  an  instructor  of  youth  for 


a  considerable  period.     He  died  at  an  advanced 
age. 

Dr.  William  Sumner  came  from  Hebron, 
Conn.,  to  Claremont  in  1768.  He  was  a  useful 
and  influential  citizen.     He  died  in  town  in  1778. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Sumner,  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  was  a  civil  magistrate  for  many  years  ; 
died  here  in  May,  1815. 

Colonel  Joseph  Waite  was  engaged  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  was  captain  of  one  of 
Rogers'  company  of  rangers,  and  commanded  a 
regiment  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  died  in 
October,  1776. 

Captain  Joseph  Taylor,  who  was  engaged  in 
the  Cape  Breton,  the  French  and  Indian  and 
Revolutionary  Wars,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians  in  the  summer  of  1755,  carried  to  Canada 
and  sold  to  the  French,  resided  in  Claremont  and 
died  here  in  March,  1813,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four  years. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  was  born  in  Sims- 
bury,  Conn.,  October  2,  1756.  He  was  ordained 
deacon  by  Bishop  Seabury  October  29,  1786.  He 
officiated  in  different  parishes  in  New  York  and 
Vermont  until  1795,  when  he  removed  to  Clare- 
mont and  became  the  rector  of  what  was  subse- 
quently called  Union  Church.  In  1801  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  Dart- 
mouth College.  He  continued  rector  of  this 
church  until  1818.  He  then  avowed  himself  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  conformed  to  that  church. 
He  remained  in  Claremont  a  few  years  and  then 
went  to  Connecticut,  and  from  there  to  George- 
town, D.  C,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days. 

The  Rev.  James  B.  Howe  was  born  in  Dor- 
chester, Mass.,  March  31,  1773.  He  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1794.  He  was  ordained 
deacon  November  25,  1817,  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Alexander  V.  Griswold,  and  priest  by  the  same 
May  14,  1819.  He  was  instituted  rector  of 
Union  Church,  Claremont,  September  15,  1819,  at 
a  salary  of  seven  hundred  dollars.  He  resigned 
his  parish  August  4,  1843.  He  then  resided  in 
Boston   about   a   year   with   his    children,    often 


124 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


officiating  in  Christ  Church  and  in  other  churches 
where  his  services  were  needed.  He  died  of 
apoplexy  in  a  railroad  car  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
September  17,  1844,  while  on  a  journey  to 
Indiana  to  visit  his  children. 

Colonel  David  Dextkr  was  born  in  Smith- 
field,  R.  L,  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Gregory 
Dexter  and  Rev.  Chas.  Brown  of  Providence  R. 
I.  He  was  a  Captain  in  1776  of  Colonel  Lip- 
pitt's  regiment.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
probably  between  1780  and  1790,  he  came  to 
Claremont,  married  and  had  several  children.  In 
1800  he  and  his  brother  Stephen  erected  a  dam 
across  Sugar  River,  at  the  upper  fall,  put  up 
suitable  buildings  for  grist,  saw  and  oil  mills  and 
a  scythe  shop,  all  of  which  were  run  by  water. 
This  scythe  shop  was  the  first  established  in  these 
parts,  and  was  a  great  wonder  in  those  days.  The 
scythe  business  was  continued  until  1824,  and  the 
other  branches  of  business  above  named  by  the 
brothers  until  the  death  of  David  in  1831,  when 
they  were  succeeded  by  the  late  Moses  Wheeler, 
a  son-in-law  of  David.  The  Dexters  subsequently 
became  interested  in  other  manufacturing  enter- 
prises in  Claremont.  Colonel  David  Dexter  was 
an  enterprising  and  influential  citizen  of  the  town 
for  about  fifty  years.  He  was  one  of  the  Select- 
men of  the  town  for  thirteen  years,  between  1800 
and  1818,  and  chairman  of  the  board  every  year 
from  1810  to  1818,  both  years  included;  repre- 
sentative in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  in 
1814,  and  each  succeeding  year  up  to  and  includ- 
ing 1820  ;  moderator  of  town-meeting  many 
times,  and  a  Director  in  the  Claremont  Bank 
several  years. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Tyler,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Claremont,  before  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  water  power,  etc.,  was  a  man  of 
great  prominence  in  various  ways,  was  the  in 
ventor  and  patentee  of  the  Tyler  Tub  Wheel, 
the  first  Tub  Wheel  ever  made,  it  was  the  only  one 
that  could  be  used  under  low  heads  of  water.  At 
one  time  he  owned  all  the  water  power  of  Sugar 
River  in  Claremont.  There  was  a  demand  for  grist- 
mill stones,  and  in  looking  about  for  rock  suitable 


for  making  them,  he  found  it  on  Ascutney  mountain, 
in  Vermont,  and  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  on 
the  south  side  of  that  mountain  where  was  an 
abundance  of  the  rock  required,  and  entered  into 
the  manufacture  of  mill-stones,  which  he  carried 
on  for  several  years.  He  also  manufactured 
scythes  most  extensively  for  those  days.  His 
works  were  on  the  south  side  of  Sugar  River,  at 
West  Claremont.  After  his  death  his  two  sons, 
Benjamin,  Jr.,  and  John  succeeded  to  the  business. 
They  invented  and  manufactured  a  machine  for 
thrashing  grain  and  rice,  and  went  south  with  it. 
This  was  the  first  threshing  machine  ever  made. 

Austin  Tyler,  son  of  Ephraim  Tyler,  Jr.,  and 
grandson  of  Colonel  Benjamim  Tyler  before  men- 
tioned in  this  history,  was  born  in  Claremont, 
January  6th,  1790.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
active,  enterprising  and  public  spirited  men  in 
town  in  his  time.  He  was  several  times  a  repre- 
sentative in  the  legislature,  chairman  of  the  board 
of  Selectmen,  and  held  other  important  town 
offices.     He  died   August  12th,  1844. 

Dr.  Leonard  Jarvis  was  born  in  Boston, 
June  22,  1 774 ;  graduated  at  the  Boston  Latin 
School  and  studied  medicine  with  his  uncle,  Dr. 
Charles  Jarvis,  of  Boston.  He  came  to  Clare- 
mont and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  the  fall  of  1795.  He  was  quite  famous  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon,  and,  for  about  twenty 
years,  had  a  large  practice  in  Claremont  and  sur- 
rounding towns.  After  that  he  engaged  exten- 
sively in  sheep  breeding,  wool  growing  and  manu- 
facturing, but  was  often  called  in  consultation  with 
other  physicians  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  died 
February  9,  1«48. 

Ambrose  Cossit,  was  born  in  Claremont  on 
August  28,  1785 ;  was  a  son  of  Ambrose  Cossit, 
and,  at  the  time  of  the  Centennial  celebration, 
July  4,  18(io,  the  subject  of  this  notice  was  the 
oldest  native  citizen  in  town.  He  was  president 
of  the  Claremont  Bank  from  its  organization,  in 
1848,  until  the  organization  was  changed  to  Clare- 
mont National  Bank,  in  1864.  He  was  appointed 
side  or  county  justice  of  the  courts  for  Sullivan 
county,  January  8,   1833,   and   held  that  position 


CLAREMONT. 


125 


until  the  office  was  abolished  by  the  remodeling  of 
the  courts  in  1855.     He  died  April  7,  1866. 

Isaac  Hubbard,  son  of  George  Hubbard,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  was  born  in  Tolland,  Conn., 
July  28,  1770.  In  1778  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  Claremont  and  settled  on  the  farm  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  town,  now  occupied  by  Isaac  H 
Long,  a  grandson  of  Isaac  Hubbard,  and  the 
widow  of  Dr.  I.  G.  Hubbard,  a  son  of  the  subject 
of  this  notice.  Isaac  Hubbard  spent  his  whole 
life,  after  eight  years  old,  on  that  farm.  He  was  an 
extensive  and  successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser. 
He  raised  a  celebrated  ox,  called  Olympus,  of  the 
Short  Horn  Durham  breed,  which,  when  six  years 
old,  January  4,  1838,  weighed  four  thousand 
pounds.  The  following  fall  this  ox  was  taken  to 
England  by  a  Mr.  Niles,  of  Boston,  his  name 
changed  to  "  Brother  Jonathan,"  and  put  on  exhi- 
bition. From  England  he  was  taken  to  France 
and  exhibited  there  for  a  time,  and  then  returned 
to  England,  where  he  was  slaughtered.  Mr.  Hub- 
bard was  several  times  elected  to  represent  his 
town  in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature ;  many 
years  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Claremont;  was 
prominent  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  solid  and  strong  men  of  the 
town.  He  was  a  brother  of  Judge  J.  H.  Hub- 
bard, of  Windsor,  Vt.  He  died  January  28, 
1861. 

Rt.  Rev.  Carlton  Chase,  D.  D.,  son  of 
Charles  Chase,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  was  born  at 
Hopkinton,  N.  H.,  February  20,  1794.  He  grad- 
uated at  Dartmouth  College,  second  in  his  class,  in 
1817.  During  the  last  year  of  his  college  course 
he  was  baptized  at  Hopkinton,  and  united  with  the 
Episcopal  Church.  He  read  theology  at  Bristol, 
R.  I.,  under  the  direction  of  Bishop  Griswold  ;  was 
made  a  deacon  in  December,  1818 ;  from  May  to 
July,  1819,  he  officiated  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  and 
in  September  of  the  same  year  commenced  his 
work  at  Bellows'  Falls,  Vt.,  officiating  one-third  of 
the  time  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Drewsville,  N.  H., 
for  a  year  or  more,  after  which  his  whole  time  was 
given  to  Immanuel  Church,  Bellows'  Falls.  He 
was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Griswold  in  Trinity 


Church,  Newport,  R.  I.,  on  September  27th,  1820. 
In  1839  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  the  University  of  Vermont.  He 
continued  rector  of  Immanuel  Church  until  April 
7,  1844.  On  October  4,  1843,  Dr.  Chase  was 
elected  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Hampshire. 
He  removed  to  Claremont  early  in  1844,  and  com- 
menced his  duties  as  rector  of  Trinity  Church  the 
first  Sunday  after  Easter  of  that  year.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  in  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Philander 
Chase,  D.  D.,  on  October  20,  1844.  By  reason  of 
advancing  age  and  the  requirements  of  the  dio- 
cese, he  resigned  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church, 
June  1,  1863.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  Clare- 
mont, on  January  18,  1870. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Sumner  Smith  was  born  in 
Nashua,  N.  H.,  March  15,  1801.  He  entered 
Kenyon  College,  at  Gambier,  O.,  but  on  account 
of  the  disorganized  state  of  that  institution,  he  did 
not  graduate.  He  studied  theology  at  Gambier  ; 
was  made  deacon  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine  at  Gam- 
bier, September  7th,  1833;  ordained  priest  at 
Cleveland,  O.,  September  11,  1836,  by  Bishop 
Mcllvaine.  Following  his  ordination,  Mr.  Smith 
officiated  in  several  small  j^arishes  in  the  diocese 
of  Ohio.  At  Easter,  1838,  he  became  the  assistant 
of  the  Rev.  James  B.  Howe  in  Union  Church, 
Claremont,  one-half  of  the  time ;  the  other  half  he 
officiated  in  Trinity  Church,  Cornish.  In  1842 
Mr.  Smith  officiated  in  Cornish  and  Plainfield. 
He  became  rector  of  Union  Church,  Trinity 
Church  having  been  organized  at  the  village,  in 
1843,  and  continued  in  this  office  until  his  death, 
February  16th,  1872 — twenty-nine  years. 

Dr.  Silas  H.  Sabin,  was  born  at  Pomfret, 
Conn.,  July  3d,  1777.  At  an  early  age  he  went 
with  his  parents  to  Windsor,  Vt.,  and  worked  on 
his  father's  farm  until  twenty  years  of  age,  after 
which  he  fitted  for  college,  at  Haverhill,  N.  H, 
and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1803. 
He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Trask,  at  Windsor. 
He  commenced  practice  at  Strafford,  Vt.,  in  1807, 
subsequently  at   Windsor,    until    1819,  when    he 


126 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


came  to  Claremont  and  continued  in  practice  until 
1834,  at  which  time  he  retired  from  active  prac- 
tice. When  in  Vermont  he  was  examining  sur- 
geon in  the  war  of  1812.  In  Claremont  he  was 
superintendent  of  schools  several  years.  He  was 
a  man  of  fine  literary  acquirements  and  wrote  and 
published  many  essays  on  various  medical  topics. 
He  died  in  Claremont  July  29,  1850. 

Hon.  Alonzo  B.  Williamson  was  born  at 
Woodstock,  Vt.,  December  20,  1815.  He  was 
educated  at  Woodstock,  Vt.,  academy;  studied 
law  in  Claremont  with  P.  C.  Freeman  ;  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1837;  practised  in  Claremont  from 
1842  to  1844;  then  in  Cornish,  N.  H.,  about  a 
year,  when  he  was  appointed  Postmaster  at  Clare- 
mont, which  office  he  held  four  years,  at  the  end 
of  this  time  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession and  continued  it  in  Claremont  until  his 
death.  In  1850  he  was  appointed  solicitor  for 
Sullivan  County,  which  he  held  five  years.  He 
was  elected  State  Senator  in  1852,  and  re-elected 
in  1853.     He  died  March  19,  1860. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  G.  Hubbard,  D.D.,  was 
born  in  Claremont,  April  13,  1818,  and  was  a 
son  of  Isaac  Hubbard,  Esq.  He  graduated  at 
Trinity  College  in  1839.  He  passed  from  college 
into  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  N<  u 
York,  where  he  spent  two  years,  and  finished  the 
prescribed  course  of  study  with  Bishop  Carlton 
Chase.  While  studying  with  Bishop  Chase  he 
officiated  as  lay  reader  at  Drewsville  and  Bellows' 
Falls,  Vt-  Hi'  was  ordained  deacon  in  Trinity 
Church,  Claremont,  June  25,  1845.  He  served 
his  deaconate  at  Vergennes,  Vt.,  and  received 
priest's  orders  from  Bishop  Chase  in  March  1847. 
The  first  four  years  of  his  priesthood  he  was  rector 
of  a  church  at  Potsdam,  N.  Y.  Then  for  several 
months  he  was  assistant  of  the  venerable  Dr. 
Muhlenburg,  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, New  York.  In  March  1852,  he  became 
rector  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Manchester,  N.  IT.. 
where  he  remained  until  February,  186<i.  The 
field  was  a  missionary  one,  demanding  great  self- 
denial,  patience,  energy  and  wisdom,  and  affording 
a    large    amount   of  work.     The    growth    of   the 


parish  was  real  and  lasting.  The  great  visible 
work  of  Dr.  Hubbard  was  the  erection  of  a  beau- 
tiful stone  church  and  a  comfortable  parsonage, 
to  accomplish  which  he  wrought  with  his  own 
hands  and  superintended  every  detail.  The  strain 
upon  him  was  very  great  and  produced  the  usual 
result,  and  in  the  spring  of  1866,  by  reason  of 
mental  and  bodily  exhaustion,  he  was  compelled 
to  resign  his  parish,  and  retired  to  his  portion  of 
his  late  father's  farm  in  Claremont  for  rest.  In 
August,  1867,  he  was  sufficiently  restored  to  ac- 
cept the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  Claremont, 
where  he  remained  until  Easter,  1875.  During 
this  period  he  was  forced,  by  a  recurrence  of  his 
former  trouble  to  take  a  rest  of  six  months,  and 
through  the  kind  instrumentality  of  a  few  friends 
he  visited  Europe.  Again  his  health  failed,  and 
when  he  resigned  and  returned  to  his  farm  he 
did  not  expect  to  resume  priestly  labors.  How- 
ever, in  October,  1876,  he  began  services  at  Union 
Church,  without  making  any  permanent  engage- 
ment. The  Easter  following  he  felt  able  to  accept 
the  post  of  minister  in  charge  for  a  year,  and  re- 
newed the  engagement  at  Easter,  1878.  On 
Passion  Sunday,  March  30,  1878,  he  drove  to 
church  with  his  family  as  usual,  but  on  his  arrival 
did  not  feel  able  to  perform  service,  and  started  to 
return  home  in  a  sleigh,  and  expired  very  sud- 
denly on  the  way.  Dr.  Hubbard  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  St.  Paul's  School,  Concord,  for  twenty 
years   immediately  preceding  his  death. 

Paran  Stevens,  a  son  of  Col.  Josiah  and  Ma- 
tilda Stevens,  was  born  in  Claremont,  September 
11th,  1802.  He  pursued  with  great  energy  and 
perseverance  whatever  business  enterprise  he  under- 
took. He  had  much  to  do  from  1835  to  1837,  in 
starting  the  improvement  of  the  fine  water-power 
afforded  by  Sugar  River.  One  of  the  first  of  his 
business  enterprsies  was  the  keeping  of  the  Tremont 
House  in  Claremont,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  the  loss  of  four  or  five  lives,  in  March,  187*. 
He  made  it  famous  lor  the  excellence  of  its  enter- 
tainment for  travelers.  In  1843,  when  thirty  years 
old,  Mr.  Stevens  leased  the  New  England  House. 
Boston,  and  kept  it  several  years.     Subsequently, 


CLAREMONT. 


127 


when  the  Revere  House  was  built  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Charitable  Association,  he  was  selected  to 
manage  it.  At  that  time  the  Revere  House  was  the 
most  magnificent  hotel  in  the  country,  and  Mr 
Stevens  made  it  a  success.  He  soon  became  inter- 
ested in  the  Tremont  House,  Boston,  Battle  House, 
Mobile,  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  New  York,  and  Con 
tinental,  Philadelphia,  all  coming  under  his  general 
management,  and  he  became  known  as  the  great 
hotel  man  of  America,  and  accumulated  a  large 
fortune  out  of  these  enterprises.  In  1855  and  1866 
he  traveled  extensively  in  Europe.  In  1867  he 
was  appointed  one  of  the  ten  Commissioners  to  rep- 
resent the  United  States  at  the  grand  Paris  Expo 
sition.  The  last  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  New 
York.  For  his  endowment  of  the  High  School,  see 
notice  of  that  institution. 

Carl  A.  Volk,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Hamburg, 
near  Frankfort,  Germany,  June  18,  1812.  He 
came  to  America  in  1834,  and  settled  in  Ohio.  He 
came  to  Claremont  in  1844,  and  had  a  large  prac- 
tice as  long  as  he  lived  Dr.  Volk  studied  in  Hei- 
delberg, and  took  the  degree  of  M.D.,  from  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1859.  He  died  in  Claremont 
March  3d,  1883. 

Colonel  Alexander  Gardiner  was  born  at 
Catskill,  N.  Y.,  July  27,  1833 ;  fitted  for  college 
at  Kimball  Union  Academy,  Meriden ;  studied 
law  with  Shea  &  Richardson,  New  York  City ; 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  that  city  in  1856  ;  was  in 
Kansas  about  two  years  during  the  political 
troubles  there;  came  to  Claremont -in  the  spring 
of  1859,  and  opened  a  law-office  with  Edwin 
Vaughan ;  continued  in  practice  until  September, 
1862,  when  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant  in  the 
Fourteenth  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers ;  promoted  to  major  September  12,  1863,  and 
to  colonel  of  that  regiment  September  12,  1864. 
In  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  near  Winchester, 
Va., .  September  19,  1864,  Colonel  Gardiner  was 
mortally  wounded  ;  he  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy  five  hours,  when  the  Union  troops  re- 
gained the  ground  and  recovered  the  dead  and 
wounded.  He  died  of  his  wounds  October  8, 
1864,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  Claremont. 


Thomas  Leland  was  born  at  Grafton,  Mass., 
August  5,  1784 ;  graduated  at  Middlebury,  Vt., 
College  in  1809  ;  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge 
J.  H.  Hubbard,  at  Windsor,  Vt. ;  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1812  ;  was  in  practice  at  Windsor  until 
1834,  when  he  came  to  Claremont  and  continued 
in  practice  until  his  death,  March  3,  1849.  He 
represented  Windsor  in  the  Vermont  Legislature 
one  or  more  terms. 

Charles  Leland  was  a  son  of  Thomas 
Leland;  born  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  July  28,  1817; 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  town ; 
studied  law  with  his  father ;  was  admitted  to  the 
New  Hampshire  bar,  and  was  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Claremont  a  few  years.  For  the 
twenty-two  last  years  of  his  life  he  was  salesman 
for  a  New  York  drug-house.  He  died  at  Clare- 
mont March  28,  1884. 

John  Kimball  was  born  at  Haverhill,  N.  H  , 
September  30,  1796.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College,  and  studied  law  at  Bath,  N.'  H  ,  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  Moses  Payson,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  at  Haverhill.  He  was  in  practice  at 
Claremont  from  1830  to  1839,  and  at  Putney,  Vt., 
from  1839  to  1870.  He  was  twice  elected  lo  the 
New  Hampshire  Senate  while  he  lived  in  Clare- 
mont. He  represented  Putney  in  the  Vermont 
Legislature  several  years  ;  was  twice  State  Senator 
for  his  district,  and  once  president  of  the  Senate. 
He  died  at  Putney  Februaiy  23,  1884. 

Hon.  Philander  C.  Freeman  was  born  at 
Plainfield,  N.  H,  August  27,  1807.  He  gradu- 
ated at  Kenyon  College,  Gambier,  Ohio  ;  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Judge  J.  H.  Hubbard,  at 
Windsor,  Vt.  He  came  to  Claremont  about 
1838,  opened  an  office  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  He  was  a  representative  in  the 
legislature  from  Claremont,  and  for  several  years 
was  justice  of  the  police  court.  He  died  April  20, 
1871. 

Hon.  Milon  C  McClure  was  born  in  As- 
worth  ;  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1846  ; 
taught  in  the  Claremont  Academy  two  years ;  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1849 ;  formed  a  law  partner- 
slap  with  P.  C.  Freeman  in  Claremont,  which  was 


128 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


continued  until  his  death  in  I860.  In  1855  and 
1856  he  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  council  ; 
in  1857  and  1858  he  was  a  representative  from 
Claremont  in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature. 

Dr.  William  M.  Ladd  was  born  in  Unity  in 
the  year  1813.  He  graduated  at  Kimball  Union 
Academy  studied  medicine  with  his  uncle,  Dr. 
Charles  Perry,  in  Rutland,  Vt.;  attended  lectures 
at  the  Vermont  School  of  Medicine,  where  he  took 
his  degree  of  M.D.  For  the  next  ten  years  he 
was  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Townshend,  Vt.  He  then  came  to  Claremont, 
continued  practice  for  a  time,  and  then  opened  a 
drug  store  and  continued  in  that  business  until  his 
death,  June  29,  1885.  He  was  postmaster  of 
Claremont  for  nine  years,  being  appointed  by  Pres- 
ident Pierce.  He  was  also  commissioner  of  schools 
for  Sullivan  county  for  several  years. 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Dr.  Alvah  R.  Cummings  was  born  in  Acworth, 
August  27, 1826.  He  fitted  for  College  at  Marlow 
and  Hancock  academies.  He  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  William  Grout  at  Camden,  Ohio,  and 
Dr.  J.  N.  Butler  at  Dempster.  He  attended  lec- 
tures and  took  the  degree  of  M.D.  at  Dartmouth 
College  in  1852.  He  practiced  at  Topsham,  Vt., 
and  Washington,  N.  H.,  three  years;  in  the  winter 
of  1855-56  he  attended  a  course  of  lectures  at  the 
New  York  Medical  College,  and  came  to  Clare- 
mont in  March,  1856,  and  has  been  in  practice 
here  since  that  time. 

Dr.  T.  Elwood  Parker  was  born  near  West 
Chester,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  December  16, 1854  : 
he  graduated  March  10,  1*80,  from  Hahnemann 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia.  He  practiced  at 
Parkerville,  Pa.,  nearly  four  years,  and  came  to 
Claremont  in  1**4.  He  formed  a  business  con 
aection  with  Dr.  F.  L.  Mcintosh. 

Dr.  Fred.  L.  McIntosii  Avas  born  at  New 
Marlboro',  Mass.,  November  17,  1858;  was  edu- 
cated in  Augusta,  Me.;  graduated  at  Hahnemann 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  in  1880.  Heprac 
ticed  two  years  before  he  received  his  degree,  came 
to  Claremont  in  October,  1881,  and  in  January, 
1884,  associated  with  him  Dr.  T.  Elwood  Parker. 


Dr.  James  P.  Holt  was  born  in  Claremont, 
June  19,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  James  Holt,  late 
sheriff  of  Sullivan  county.  He  graduated  at 
Stephens  High  School  in  June  1873.  He  entered 
the  drug  store  of  Dr.  W.  M.  Ladd  and  remained 
there  about  four  years,  the  last  two  years  of  which 
time  and  the  following  year  he  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  O.  B.  Way.  He  took  a  medical  course 
at  Dai't mouth  College  and  graduated  there  Octo- 
ber 30,  1877.  He  then  commenced  practice  in 
Claremont  and  continued  until  September,  1880, 
when  he  entered  the  Hartford  Hospital,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  was  there  one  year — six  months  as  as- 
sistant and  six  months  as  house-physician  and  sur- 
geon. At  the  end  of  this  time  he  returned  to 
Claremont  and  resumed  practice.  In  May,  1884, 
he  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  drug  store  of  Dr. 
W.  M.  Ladd.  Dr.  Ladd  having  died  he  became 
sole  proprietor  in  July,  1885,  and  continues  the 
practice  of  his  profession. 

John  Tyler  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Tyler,  Jr., 
and  a  grandson  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Tyler,  before 
alluded  to  in  different  connections  in  this  history. 
He  (John  Tyler)  was  born  in  Claremont,  April  8, 
1802,  and  is  in  his  eighty -fourth  year,  hale  and 
hearty,  with  memory  clear,  especially  of  events 
occurring  sixty  years  ago.  He  is  by  trade  a  mill- 
wright, though  he  has  not  worked  at  it  for  several 
years.  He  lives  upon  his  farm  at  West  Clare- 
mont, within  fifty  rods  of  the  spot  where  he  was 
born,  and  in  the  first  frame  house  ever  built  in 
Claremont. 

John  Tyler  (2d)  is  a  son  of  John  Tyler,  and 
grandson  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Tyler.  He  was 
born  in  Claremont  March  26,  1818.  He  learned 
the  trade  of  millwright,  serving  an  apprenticeship 
of  seven  years,  and  was  then  for  eight  years  fore- 
man of  the  sliop  where  he  learned  his  trade.  He 
then  came  to  West  Lebanon  in  1850,  for  several 
years  did  a  large  business  building  mills,  some- 
times employing  fifty  men.  He  returned  to 
Claremont,  where  he  has  since  resided,  in  1872. 
In  1856  he  invented  and  got  patented  the  Iron 
Tyler  Turbine  Water  Wheel,  the  first  iron  water 
wheel  ever  made,  since  which  he  has  been  granted 


CLAREMONT. 


129 


nine  patents  for  improvements  on  it.  These 
wheels  met  with  great  favor  from  mill  owners, 
and  soon  took  the  place  of  the  old  cumbrous  and 
expensive  wheels.  More  than  five  thousand  of 
these  wheels  have  been  sold,  and  they  are  now 
running  in  most  of  the  States  and  territories  in 
the  Union  and  in  the  Canadas.  He  is  also  the 
inventor  and  patentee  of  Tyler's  Copper  Cylinder 
Washer,  for  washing  paper  stock,  and  they  are 
going  into  pretty  general  use.  In  1872  Mr.  Tyler 
built  what  is  known  as  the  Bible  Hill  Aqueduct, 
to  supply  Claremont  village  with  pure  spring 
water.     It  runs  to  over  two  hundred  families. 

Dr.  Samuel  G.  Jarvis,  was  born  in  Claremont, 
September  30th,  1816,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Dr. 
Leonard  Jarvis.  He  studied  medicine  with  the 
late  Dr.  Thos.  B.  Kittridge,  then  in  practice  in 
Claremont,  and  graduated  at  Jelferson  Medical 
College,  Philadelphia,  in  1838.  Dr.  Jarvis  com- 
menced practice  in  Claremont  in  1840,  which  he 
has  since  continued. 

Dr.  Ormon  B.  Way,  son  of  Gordon  Way,  was 
born  in  Lempster,  N.  H.,  March  22d,  1840 ;  came 
to  Claremont  with  his  parents  when  four  years 
old,  and  has  since  been  a  resident  here,  except  two 
or  three  short  intervals.  He  wras  educated  at 
Kimball  Union  Academy,  Meriden,  N.  H. ;  stud- 
ied medicine  with  the  late  Prof.  A.  B.  Crosby, 
M.D.,  of  Hanover,  N.  H.,  and  the  late  Dr.  Nath. 
Tolles,  of  Claremont,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
Medical  College  in  1865,  receiving  the  first  prize 
for  scholarship.  He  was  in  practice  about  eighteen 
months  at  South  Ac  worth,  N.  H.,  and  returned  to 
Claremont  in  1867,  where  he  has  since  eontinued  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  December,  1 873, 
he  was  appointed  U.  S.  Examining  Pension  Sur- 
geon, and  resigned  in  May,  1882.  He  was  twice  a 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  and' 
has  served  more  than  twenty  years  as  Superinten- 
ding and  High  School  Committee 

Dr.  Clarence  W.  Tolles,  son  of  the  late  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Tolles,  was  born  in  Claremont,  April 
30th,  1845.     He  studied  medicine  with  his  father; 


graduated  at  Bellevue  Medical  College  in  1868 ; 
studied  one  year  at  University  Medical  College, 
London  ;  was  associated  with  his  father  in  prac- 
tice until  the  latter's  death,  in  June,  1879,  when  he 
succeeded  to  the  practice  of  the  firm. 

Edwtin  Vaughan  was  born  at  Chelsea,  Vt.,  Sep- 
tember 14th,  1832.  He  graduated  at  Kimball 
Union  Academy,  Meriden,  N.  H.,  in  1855;  com- 
menced study  of  law  in  1854 ;  entered  the  Law 
University  at  Albany,  N.  Y.',  in  1856,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  from  that  institution  in  1857,  and  to  the 
bar  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court  for  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1870.  He  commenced  practice  at  Clare- 
mont, in  company  with  the  late  Col.  Alexander  Gar- 
diner. Was  married  on  the  20th  of  June,  1860, 
to  Elizabeth  L.,  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  S.  G. 
Henry,  of  Springfield,  Vt.  Mr.'  Vaughan  enlisted 
in  the  New  Hampshire  Cavalry  in  December,  1861, 
passed  through  the  several  grades  and  was  com- 
missioned Captain  of  Co.  A.,  of  his  regiment,  in 
March,  1864.  He  was  Assistant  Provost  Marshal 
of  the  8th  Army  Corps  the  last  six  months  of 
his  service,  and  was  stationed  at  Baltimore.  He 
was  discharged  June  7th,  1865,  and  returned  to 
practice  in  Claremont.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Legislature  in  1866  and  1867  ; 
U.  S.  Revenue  Inspector  in  1867  and  1868  ;  mem- 
ber of  the  Chicago  Republican  Convention  which 
nominated  Gen.  Grant  for  President  in  1868  ;  was 
appointed  U.  S.  Consul  at  Contoocook,  Canada,  in 
April,  1869,  which  office  he  held  until  1881,  when 
he  returned  to  Claremont,  and  was  appointed  Judge 
of  Probate  for  Sullivan  County,  June  7th,  1883. 

Dr.  Leonard  Jarvis,  second  son  of  Dr.  Sam- 
uel G.,  and  grandson  of  the  late  Dr.  Leonard  Jar- 
vis, was  born  in  Claremont  on  July  29th,  1852. 
He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1873,  and 
at  Harvard  Medical  School  in  1882.  He  was 
House  Physician  at  the  Lying-in  Hospital,  Boston, 
four  months,  and  House  Surgeon  at  Rhode  Island 
Hospital,  Providence,  fifteen  months.  He  com- 
menced practice  in  Claremont  in  May,  1884.' 


130 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


GEORGE  N.  FARWELL. 

The  Farwells  of  America,  in  a  great  measure, 
descended  from  Henry  Farwell,  the  English  emi- 
grant, who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Concord, 
Mass.,  where  he  was  made  "  freeman "  May  22, 
1639.  About  1655  he  removed  to  Chelmsford, 
where  he  died  in  1670.  He  had  five  children, — 
John,  Joseph,  Mary,  Olive  and  Elizabeth. 

Nicholas  Farwell,  the  first  of  the  family  in 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  was  born  May  5,  1781, 
probably  in  Marblehead,  Mass.,  and  removed 
with  his  parents  while  very  young  to  Pickers- 
field  (now  Nelson,  N.  H.).  His  father  was  in 
greatly  straitened  circumstances,  and  the  large 
family  of  boys  were  scattered  in  places  that 
afforded  them  chances  for  labor.  Nicholas  was 
apprenticed  to  a  shoemaker,  and,  with  very  little 
opportunity  to  avail  himself  of  the  meagre  educa- 
tional advantages  afforded  in  that  day,  came  up  to 
manhood  with  a  strong  physique,  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  his  trade,  and  habits  of  industry,  stead- 
fastness and  frugality — a  worthy  inheritance  for 
his  descendants.  He  married,  April  20,  1803, 
Susan,  daughter  of  Oliver  Corey,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  in  the  west  part  of  Claremont,  but,  in  1813, 
he  moved  into  the  village  and  began  the  manu- 
facturing of  ladies'  shoes,  and,  by  perseverance, 
energy  and  close  application,  was  successful, 
building  up  an  industry  of  large  proportions  for 
that  time  and  adding  much  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  community. 

He  was  also  interested  in  merchandising  and 
the  manufacturing  of  cotton  cloth  at  the  Lower 
village. 

He  erected  a  residence  on  Broad  Street,  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Hermon  Holt,  Esq.,  who 
married  a  granddaughter,  and  lived  there  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  October  13,  1852,  from 
heart-disease.  His  widow  died  September  25, 
1860. 

George  N.  Farwell,  the  oldest  of  thirteen  chil- 


dren born  to  Nicholas  and  Susan  (Corey)  Farwell 
(only  three  of  whom  are  living),  was  born  in  West 
Claremont  February  18,  1804,  attended  the 
public  schools  until  he  was  fourteen,  then  com- 
menced learning  his  father's  trade  and  receiving 
the  benefits  of  the  public  schools  in  the  winter 
season.  At  his  majority  he  went  to  St.  Albans 
and  engaged  in  the  business  of  shoe  manufactur- 
ing, but,  after  fifteen  months,  was  induced  by  his 
father  to  return  and  enter  into  copartnership  with 
him,  after  which  he  acquired  the  whole  business, 
which  he  successfully  followed  for  over  thirty-five 
years,  steadily  increasing  his  j>roductions,  the 
standard  of  which  was  maintained  and  the  reputa- 
tion of  Farwell's  shoes  throughout  Vermont  and 
Northern  New  Hampshire,  where  his  products  were 
marketed  by  the  country  merchants,  was  well 
known.  He  gave  employment  to  about  one  hun- 
dred persons.  He  married  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of 
Louis  and  Rhoda  Rathbone  McDonald,  of  Mid- 
dlebury,  Vt.,  December  25,  1827,  at  Middlebury, 
the  late  Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin  Bosworth  Smith, 
Bishop  of  Kentucky,  officiating.  Their  children 
are  James  H.,  born  June  25,  1829;  John  L.,  born 
March  1, 1834;  and  Susan  L.,  bom  May  27,  1841. 
James  H.  is  single.  John  L.  married  Martha 
Cooper,  of  Newark,  Ohio,  March  3,  1857.  Their 
children  are  George  Nicholas  (2),  born  January  3, 
1858;  Belle,  born  May  28,  1860;  John  L.,  Jr., 
born  May  26,  1865;  Sarah  Caroline,  born  June 
11,  1868. 

George  Nicholas  (2)  was  married,  April  18, 
1880,  to  Anna  L.  Grosvenor,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa, 
to  whom  was  born  Susan  Breck,  February  5, 1885. 
Susan  L.,  youngest  child  of  George  N.,  married 
William  Breck,  October  7,  1868,  to  whom  was 
born  Sarah  McDonald,  born  January  14,  1873. 
It  will  be  noticed  that,  at  the  present  time,  four 
generations  are  living  and  all  residing  in  Clare- 
mont. 

Sarah  A.,  wife  of  George  N.,  died  February  1 1, 
1876.  She  was  a  woman  of  superior  strength  and 
beauty  of  character,  abounding  in  good  works, 
generous,  gentle  and  loving,  a  Christian  wife  and 
mother.     A  reverend  acquaintance  wrote  of  her, 


4 


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/  t  ?.  ^t^t. 


^us 


^■k 


c*-^L- 


CLAREMONT. 


131 


"A  lady  of  rare  excellence  and  loveliness  of 
character.  God  endowed  her  with  superior 
natural  powers.  She  possessed  quick  discernment, 
sound  judgment,  good  taste,  wise  discretion,  well 
educated,  refined,  intelligent,  amiable,  sympa- 
thetic, hospitable  and  a  true  Christian  woman, 
taking  large  Scriptural  views  of  Christ,  the  re- 
demption of  sinners  and  the  atonement." 

In  1849  the  Claremont  Bank  was  incorporated. 
Mr.  Farwell,  being  one  of  the  incorporators,  pro- 
cured the  stock  subscriptions  and  took  a  leading 
part  in  its  organization ;  afterwards  was  its  cashier, 
and  at  this  present  time  is  its  president,  his  son 
John  L.  being  the  vice-president  and  George  N. 
(2),  his  grandson,  its  cashier.  Mr.  Farwell  is  the 
oldest  director  living  of  the  original  board.  He 
was  active  and  prominent  in  the  organization  of 
the  Sullivan  Savings  Institution,  was  its  first 
treasurer,  and  has  been  an  active  director  since  its 
organization,  in  1848  (see  chapter  on  Banks). 
Mr.  Farwell  has  built  several  buildings  in  Clare- 
mont,— his  present  homestead  on  Broad  Street  in 
1851,  built  on  the  lot  his  family  only  have  occu- 
pied since  1828 ;  also  built  the  business  block 
which  bears  his  name  in  1852;  was  treasurer 
of  and  one  of  the  committee  to  erect  the  Stevens 
High  School  building.  He  has  been  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Congregational  Church 
for  over  half  a  century,  represented  the  town  in 
the  State  Legislature  in  1868-69,  acceptably  filled 
many  offices  of  trust,  and  occupies  an  exalted 
position  in  the  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends, 
who  honor  him  for  his  many  sterling  qualities. 
Mr.  Farwell  is  a  man  of  dignified  yet  pleasant 
appearance,  with  clear  intellect,  happy  tempera- 
ment, carries  his  more  than  four  score  years 
lightly,  and,  surrounded  by  his  children,  grand- 
children and  great-grandchildren,  who  delight  in 
doing  him  honor,  he  is  passing  the  evening  of  his 
life,  beloved  and  reverenced  by  the  whole  com- 
munity. 


GEORGE   LEWIS   BALCOM. 

In  the  words  of  an  old  philosopher, — "All  men, 
whatever  their  condition,  who  have  done  anything 


of  value,  ought  to  record  the  history  of  their 
lives,"  and  one  who,  entirely  by  his  own  efforts, 
has  attained  affluence  and  social  position,  and 
through  all  the  changing  events  of  a  long  business 
life  has  preserved  his  integrity  unimpaired,  well 
deserves  the  pen  of  the  historian. 

George    Lewis    Balcom,    son    of    Jonas    and 
Mary  (Richardson)   Balcom,  was   born   in   Sud- 
bury, Mass.,  October  19,  1819.     At  the  age  of 
four  years  he  removed,  with  his  parents,  to  Low- 
ell, and  received  instruction    in  the  private  and 
High  Schools  of  that  place,  and  subsequently  at- 
tended Westminster  Academy  (Mass.),  where  he 
acquired   an   education,   which   enabled    him    to 
enter   Harvard  University,  at   the  early  age  of 
fifteen,  in  the  class  of  1839.     At  this  time  he  had 
a  powerful  incentive  to  study,  as  his  desire  was  to 
fit  himself  for  professional  life,  and  with  his  love 
for  knowledge  and  natural  taste  for  literary  pur- 
suits, he  might  have  been  successful  as  a  lawyer 
or  theologian ;  but,  after  two  years  of  college  life, 
the   development   of  an   affection   of  the   throat 
obliged  him  to  relinquish  reluctantly  his  chosen 
life-work,  and  he  left  college  to  put  himself  in 
training  for  business.     He  must  have  possessed  a 
brave  heart,  in  the  midst  of  a  successful  collegiate 
course,  to  break  off  from  all  the  associations  and 
habits  peculiar  to  the  student  and  scholar,  and 
commence  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  of  business. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen,  in  1837,  he  went  to  Bos- 
ton and   entered  a  hardware- store,  and  was  the 
youngest  in  rank,  although  by  education   amply 
qualified  for  a  higher  position  ;  yet,  with  the  thor- 
oughness which  was  a  strong  characteristic  with 
him,  he  preferred  to  pass  through  all  the  grada- 
tions from  an  errand  boy  to  that  of  salesman,  and 
mastering  all  the  details  of  the  trade. 

Thus  prepared  to  enter  the  world  of  activity,  on 
attaining  his  majority,  Mr.  Balcom  left  Boston, 
and  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  found  em- 
ployment in  the  hardware  business,  and  remained 
until  1846,  when  he  returned  to  his  native  State. 
In  1847  he  went  to  Proctorsville,  Vt.,  and  engaged 
as  book-keej^er  in  the  woolen-mill  of  Gilson  Smith 
&  Co,  and  held  that  position  until  1848,  when, 


132 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


through 


assiduous  attention  to  his  duties  and  a 
marked  fidelity  to  the  advancement  of  the  inter- 
ests of  his  employers,  he  was  soon  promoted  to  the 
office  of  superintendent  of  the  mill,  and  two  years 
subsequently  (1850)  he  became  an  owner  and 
junior  partner  in  the  firm,  under  title  of  "Smith 
&  Balcom,"  and  continued  business  as  such  for 
seven  years. 

Mr.  Balcom  married,  October  20,  1845,  Anna, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Anna  West,  of  Philadel- 
phia. Their  children  were, — Samuel  West,  born 
in  Philadelphia,  June  26,  1849,  died  July  26, 
1849  ;  William  Smith,  born  in  Proctorsville,  Vt , 
August  3,  1850,  and  Mary  Anna,  born  April  28, 
1854,  died  October  21,  1854.  William  Smith 
Balcom  married,  first,  Mary  Ru fiber  Bellas,  Octo- 
ber 8,  1874;  she  died  July  21,  1879,  leaving  one 
child,  Bessie  Richardson,  born  August  31,  1876. 
He  married,  second,  Cecilia  Chollett  Sower,  Janu- 
ary 17,  1883.  They  have  had  one  child,  George 
Lewis  Balcom  (2d),  born  August  20,  1884,  died 
October  6,  1884. 

In  1857  Mr.  Balcom  purchased  the  woolen-mill 
of  Sanford  &  Rossiter  (see  chapter  on  Manufac- 
tures), and  became  a  resident  of  Claremont. 
Since  the  mill  passed  into  his  ownership  until  the 
present  time, — a  period  of  twenty-eight  years,—  it 
has  been  run  without  cessation, — a  notable  and 
praiseworthy  fact.  He  has,  from  time  to  time, 
entirely  replaced  the  old  with  new  and  improved 
machinery,  and  has  now  truly  a  model  mill.  For 
several  years  during  and  after  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  he  also  carried  on  his  former  manufac- 
tory in  Proctorsville,  Vt.,  and  for  a  year  or  two, 
under  the  United  States  internal  revenue  laws,  he 
paid  a  much  larger  income  tax  than  any  other 
individual  in  the  State,  though  doubtless  there 
was  more  than  one  person  whose  real  income  ex- 
ceeded his.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
successful  condition  of  this  manufactory,  which 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  given 
employment  to  a  large  number  of  workmen,  is 
due,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  financial  ability 
and  untiring  energy  of  Mr.  Balcom.  He  takes  a 
kindly  interest  in  his  employes,  as  they  can  attest, 


giving  them  friendly  counsel  and  advice,  and 
often  very  substantial  proofs  of  his  care.  He  is 
not  only  a  just,  but  thoughtful  employer. 

Politically,  Mr.  Balcom  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  represented  Cavendish  in  the 
Legislature  of  Vermont  in  1855  and  1856,  and  the 
extra  session  of  1857.  He  was  also  member  from 
Claremont  in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature  of 
1883.  In  1868  he  visited  Europe,  traveling 
through  France,  Italy,  Switzerland  and  Great 
Britain.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  is  a  generous  and  intelligent  supporter  of 
its  affairs,  and  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of 
Holderness  School  from  its  organization.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Episcopal  General  Convention  of 
1871,  and  an  alternate  or  member  of  all  held 
since  that  year.  His  early  predilections  and 
tastes  yet  remain  ;  he  is  a  student  and  a  discrim- 
inating reader ;  he  takes  a  great  interest  in  his- 
torical research,  is  a  member  of  New  Hampshire 
Historical  Society,  and  is  making  a  specialty  of 
works  on  American  history,  of  which  he  has  a 
large  number.  His  collection  of  New  Hampshire 
historical  works  is,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the 
largest  in  the  State,  and  he  has  one  of  the  most 
extensive  and  most  valuable  private  libraries  in 
Sullivan  County. 

Although  his  life  has  been  one  of  continuous 
business  activity,  Mr.  Balcom  has  not  remained  a 
silent  observer  of  events,  or  of  the  growth  or  pros- 
perity of  Claremont,  but  has  borne  his  part  in  all 
enterprises  tending  to  promote  the  causes  of  mo- 
rality, religion  and  education,  to  further  the  inter- 
ests of  society  and  to  advance  the  sway  of  law  and 
the  prevalence  of  order.  He  has  always  acted 
upon  the  principle  that  whatever  is  worth  doing 
at  all  should  be  done  thoroughly  and  well.  Un- 
ostentatious and  unassuming,  Mr.  Balcom  stands 
high  in  the  esteem  of  the  leading  men  in  the  com- 
munity and  State,  as  one  of  New  Hampshire's 
representative  manufacturers. 


JUDGE    WILLIAM    CLARK. 

Among  the  sons  of  Claremont,  for  many  years 
identified  with  her  mercantile,  political  and  social 


Sn&  OchU. 


CLAREMONT. 


133 


relations,  must  be  mentioned  Judge  Clark,  who 
died  in  the  town  of  his  nativity.  May  30,  1883. 

Judge  William  Clark  descended  from  two 
early  and  prominent  families  of  New  Hampshire, 
being  the  son  of  Moses  and  Fanny  (Patterson) 
Clark.  His  paternal  and  maternal  ancestors  were 
among  the  pioneers  of  Londonderry,  his  father 
removing  from  that  town  to  Claremont,  where 
William  was  born  March  6,  1819,  on  the  home- 
stead, situated  about  three  miles  from  the  village, 
on  the  old  Newport  road  His  father  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  William 
passed  his  time  until  he  became  of  age  working 
on  the  farm  and  acquiring  a  good  education 
from  the  district  schools  of  the  town.  The  in- 
struction he  received  was  not  seed  thrown  on 
stony  soil ;  his  mind  was  active,  inquiring, 
retentive  and  particularly  receptive,  and  his 
future  career  showed  that  his  advantages  were 
well  improved.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  pre- 
ferring mercantile  life  to  that  of  a  "  tiller  of  the 
soil,"  he  apprenticed  himself  to  Rufus  Carlton, 
in  the  meat  business,  and  continued  with  him 
one  year,  after  which  he  worked  for  Colonel  Phil- 
emon Tolles,  remaining  with  him  three  years, 
attending  to  his  duties  with  a  faithfulness  which 
always  characterized  him.  Having  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  the  business,  and  being  energetic  and 
self-reliant,  he  entered  trade  for  himself  and  con- 
tinued in  this  line  for  twelve  years.  His  enter- 
prise was  prospered,  and  he  built  up  the  largest 
business  of  the  kind  in  the  section ;  had  his 
meat-wagons  running  through  all  the  neighbor- 
ing towns  the  entire  year,  and  in  the  winter  he 
drove  from  Claremont  to  Concord  each  week 
with  supplies.  In  1857,  Mr.  Clark  disposed  of 
his  interest  to  Henry  C.  Cowles,  whom  he  had 
taken  as  a  partner  a  few  years  previously,  and 
soon  after  entered  into  partnership  with  Albert 
H.  Danforth,  a  wholesale  flour  and  grain  dealer, 
and  continuing  in  trade  until  1871,  when  he 
retired  from  a  mercantile  life  of  thirty  years. 

During  these  years,  however,  Mr.  Clark  had 
found  other  channels  for  his  active  nature.  He 
took  a  warm  interest  in  political  and  public  affairs, 


and  his  judgment,  discernment  and  business  abil- 
ity were  recognized  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  and 
he  was  called  upon  to  fill  various  offices  of  trust. 
In  1853  he  was  appointed  selectman,  and  held 
that  office  fifteen  years,  ten  of  which  he  was 
chairman.  In  1871,  1872  and  1873  he  was  town 
clerk,  and  the  neatness  and  correctness  of  the 
records  attest  his  care.  He  was  appointed  deputy 
assessor  of  internal  revenue  for  this  district  in 
1863,  which  position  he  held  nine  years.  From 
1851  he  was  largely  engaged  in  probate  business, 
and  was  entrusted  with  the  administration  of 
some  of  the  largest  and  most  important  estates  in 
Sullivan  County,  among  them  the  "Cheshire 
Bridge  Estate,"  the  estate  of  Hon.  John  M.  Glid- 
den  and  that  of  John  Tappan.  His  good  judg- 
ment, sagaciousness  and  keen  insight  of  the  char- 
acters of  men,  their  tastes,  sympathies,  tempera- 
ment and  prejudices,  were  of  great  advantage  to 
him,  and  his  administration  in  all  cases  was 
eminently  successful,  and  he  acquitted  himself 
with  credit,  and  to  the  approval  of  the  interested 
parties.  His  adjustment  of  the  Tappan  estate 
some  fourteen  years  since,  whereby  the  town  of 
Claremont  came  into  the  pos  ession  of  the  "Tap- 
pan  Fund,"  was  especially  reputable.  He  was 
appointed  judge  of  Probate  for  Sullivan  County 
in  1876,  and  held  the  office  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  His  twenty-five  years  of  experience  in 
similar  business  was  a  fine  preparation,  and  he  was 
an  able  officer  in  his  judicial  capacity,  and  in 
no  instance  did  the  Supreme  Court  overrule  his 
decision   when  appeal  was  taken. 

Judge  Clark  was  for  many  years  interested  in 
the  banking  institutions  of  Claremont,  was  a  large 
stockholder  in  them,  and  familiar  with  the  details 
of  their  business.  He  was  a  director  in  the  Clare- 
mont National  Bank  for  fourteen  years,  and  in 
the  Sullivan  Savings  Institution  for  twenty-nine 
years,  besides  being  for  many  years  one  of  the 
loaning  agents,  and  was  first  on  the  list  of  vice- 
presidents  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Judge  Clark  married,  January  15,  1855,  Esther 
A.  Bosworth,  an  estimable  lady,  who  survives  him. 
In  the   death  of  Judge  Clark,  Sullivan   County 


134 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


lost  one  of  her  best  men,  and  Claremont  a  man 
who  probably  was  more  conversant  with  the 
affairs  and  history  of  the  town  than  any  other  per- 
son. In  his  official  capacity  he  was  courteous, 
gentlemanly  and  dignified,  and  in  the  settling  of 
complicated  cases  gave  great  satisfaction.  In  pri- 
vate life  he  was  social  and  of  pleasing  manners. 
He  did  not  make  friends  hastily,  but  a  friendship 
once  formed  was  lasting.  He  was  kind  to  all,  and 
his  counsel  and  advice  were  sought  and  valued  by 
many.  For  his  prolonged  business  activities,  his 
faithfulness  to  large  responsibilities,  his  quick  re- 
ply to  the  demands  of  charity  or  public  weal,  his 
unostentatious  manner,  his  cordial  and  gentlemanly 
bearing,  Judge  Clark  will  be  long  held  in  kindly 
remembrance  by  the  commuuity  of  which  he  was 
so  useful  and  worthy  a  member,  and  may  his 
record  prove  a  wholesome  model  to  a  rising  gener- 
ation. 


HON.   CHARLES   H.    EASTMAN. 

Hon.  Charles  H.  Eastman,  only  child  of 
Timothy  and  Eunice  (Barnes)  Eastman,  was  born 
in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  June  20,  1819,  and  died  in 
that  town,  August  4,  1879.  Timothy  Eastman 
was  a  resident  of  Claremont  for  many  years,  com- 
ing to  the  town  in  1811.  He  was  actively  engaged 
in  tanning  and  other  important  industries  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  and,  by  the  energy  of  his 
character  and  devotion  to  business,  accumulated 
a  fortune,  and  acquired  the  esteem  and  friendship 
of  the  community.  During  his  latter  years  he 
was  president  of  the  Sullivan  Savings  Institution. 
He  died  in  1859,  aged  sixty-eight. 

Charles  received  the  educational  advantages  of 
the  schools  of  Claremont  and  vicinity,  and,  inher- 
iting the  business  characteristics  of  his  father, 
early  became  a  valuable  assistant  to  him.  From 
his  mother,  a  deeply  pious  and  devoted  Christian, 
the  young  lad  received  lessons  of  piety  which 
brought  early  and  abundant  fruit.  When  but 
twelve  years  old  he  united  with  the  Congregational 
Church,  and  ever  after  was  a  worker  in  the  King- 
dom of  the  Lord.  When  a  little  past  his  major- 
ity, Mr.  Eastman  became  impressed  with  the  con- 


viction that  it  was  his  duty  to  enter  the  ministry, 
and,  when  he  was  twenty-four,  he  had  qualified 
himself  for  that  labor,  was  ordained  and  became  a 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  For  over  five  years, 
in  Manchester  and  elsewhere,  until  an  affection  of 
the  throat  caused  his  withdrawal  from  continuous 
ministerial  labor,  Mr.  Eastman  did  earnest  and 
faithful  service  in  his  chosen  field.  At  his  father's 
urgent  request,  Mr.  Eastman  then  returned  to 
Claremont  and  became  a  partner  in  the  tanning 
business.  This  was  a  flourishing  industry,  employ- 
ing numerous  people,  and  added  greatly  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  town.  After  his  father's  death, 
Mr.  Eastman  inherited  the  property  and  became 
extensively  known  as  a  leather  manufacturer.  He 
was  prominent  among  the  business  men  of  this 
section  and  was  a  director  of  Sullivan  Savings 
Institution. 

Mr.  Eastman  was  early  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party  and  did  much  to  aid  in  the  dissem- 
ination of  the  principles  of  that  organization,  and 
was  pronounced  in  the  support  of  the  Union  in 
the  great  Civil  War.  The  duties  of  a  member 
of  the  State  Legislature  at  that  period  were  ardu- 
ous and  full  of  responsibility,  and  he  did  good  ser- 
vice for  his  town  as  representative  during  the  dark 
years  of  1861-62.  In  the  estimation  of  the  people 
he  was  qualified  for  a  higher  position  and  greater 
trus  s,  and,  in  1863-64,  he  was  a  valued  member  of 
the  Executive  Council  of  Governor  Gilmore. 

But  it  was  not  alone  as  a  man  of  business  and 
public  office  that  we  must  speak  of  Mr.  Eastman. 
His  activity  reached  into  other  channels  and  his 
benevolence  found  many  objects  for  his  ready  sym- 
pathy and  liberal  hand.  In  Methodist  circles  he 
was  recognized  as  one  of  its  strong  pillars  in  Sulli- 
van County.  As  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath- 
school  of  that  church  in  Claremont  for  many 
years,  he  impressed  himself  upon  the  rising  gener- 
ation in  such  a  manner  that  the  lessons  of  his  life 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  In  everything  looking 
toward  the  elevation  of  mankind  and  the  better- 
ing of  the  world  Mr.  Eastman  was  an  earnest 
participant.     In  temperance  circles  his  voice  and 


*n$*by 


&4&^0 


CLAREMONT. 


135 


his  means  were  equally  given  to  aid  the  good  work, 
and  his  eye  was  quick  to  mark  and  his  heart  ready 
to  relieve  suffering. 

He  was  three  times  married, — first,  to  Harriet 
King,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Charles  E.,  an 
estimable  young  man,  who  died  in  the  early  prime 
of  a  life  which  promised  a  career  of  more  than 
ordinary  usefulness.  A3  a  teller  of  the  Claremont 
National  Bank  for  six  years,  the  business  men  of 
the  place  had  ample  opportunity  to  know  his  value, 
and  he  was  universally  considered  a  thorough  gen- 
tleman, of  pleasant  companionship,  uprightness  of 
character  and  strict  integrity.  Mr.  Eastman's 
second  wife  was  Abby  King,  a  sister  of  his  first 
wife.  January  1,  1873,  he  married  his  third  wife, 
Julia  A.  Diggins,  of  Charlestown,  who  survives 
him. 

As  a  speaker  Mr.  Eastman  combined  a  fine' 
presence  and  an  easy  flow  of  language,  and  at 
times,  when  the  right  conditions  were  present,  was 
eloquent.  He  often  appeared  brusque  to  strangers, 
but  further  acquaintance  showed  that  he  had  a 
kind  and  sympathetic  heart,  which  won  strong 
friendship.  He  was  true  to  his  conception  of  duty, 
and  the  energy  and  good  judgment  shown  in  his 
business  operations  were  carried  with  success  into 
his  political,  neighborhood,  and  religious  relations. 
He  was  a  faithful  pastor,  a  faithful  friend,  a  faith- 
ful thinker  and  counselor,  and  an  exemplary  hus- 
band. 

The  Eastman  Memorial  Chapel,  presented  to  the 
Methodist  Church  by  Mrs.  Eastman,^  is  a  pleasing 
memorial  in  being  consecrated  to  good  works  and 
the  service  of  the  Lord.  He  labored  and  was  ap- 
preciated in  his  life,  and  may  the  recollection  of 
his  labors  stimulate  others  to  renewed  exertions, 
and  rest  like  a  holy  influence  upon  other  hearts 
and  other  minds.  "  Better  than  storied  urn  or 
animated  bust"   is  such   a  monument  of   tender 


memories. 


NATHANIEL    TOLLES,  M.  D. 

There  is  no  more  valuable  member  of  any  com- 
munity than  the  intelligent  and  devoted  physician. 


He  is  a  benefactor  of  his  race,  and,  when  death 
takes  from  our  midst  an  old,  tried  and  reliable 
medical  practitioner,  one  whom  we  have  learned 
to  look  upon  with  regard,  and  whose  professional 
skill  and  tender  care  of  his  suffering  patients  has 
won  the  esteem  and  love  of  all,  we  feel'  in  our 
hearts  and  utter  with  our  lips,  "  A  good  man  is 
gone."  Such  an  one  was  Nathaniel  To  lies,  M  D., 
the  fifth  and  youngest  son  of  John  Tolles.  He 
was  born  in  Weathersfield,  Vt.,  September  17, 
1805,  and  when  thirteen  years  of  age  he  came  to 
Claremont  with  his  parents,  where  his  father 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Nathaniel  soon 
became  a  pupil  in  the  Claremont  Catholic  Semi- 
nary, then  a  flourishing  institution,  located  at  the 
west  part  of  the  town,  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Barber.  He  was  fond  of  study 
from  early  life,  and  his  time  while  at  school  was 
improved  to  the  utmost.  He  was  noted  for  cor- 
rectness of  deportment,  strict  obedience  to  regula- 
tions, as  well  as  for  his  constant  attendance  in  his 
classes,  and  for  thoroughness  in  the  preparation  of 
his  recitations.  He  continued  his  studies  here 
until  he  was  fitted  for  college,  but,  naturally  of  a 
delicate  organization,  this  close  application  im- 
paired his  health,  and  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
his  plan  of  a  collegiate  course,  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  employment  better  adapted  to  him,  and  for 
several  years  was  occupied  in  various  ways — teach- 
ing in  the  winters,  and  in  the  summer  months 
assisting  his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  farm,  and 
also  recreating  by  travel,  but  always  holding 
steadfastly  to  his  prior  intentions  to  advance  in 
the  classics,  and  other  departments  of  useful 
knowledge. 

In  the  spring  of  1827,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
his  health  being  re-established,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
James  Hall,  of  Windsor,  Vt.,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued nearly  two  years,  and  then  was  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Charles  G.  Adams,  of  Keene.  He  attended 
medical  lectures  at  Bowdoin  College,  and  after- 
wards at  Dartmouth,  where  he  received  the  degree 
of  M.D.,  November,  1830.  He  then  obtained  the 
position  of  resident  physician  in  the  South  Boston 


136 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Almshouse,  where  he  remained  for  six  mouths, 
having  an  opportunity  to  familiarize  himself  with 
disease,  which  proved  of  great  practical  use  in 
after-life.  While  there  he  had  the  advantage  of 
the  superior  medical  instruction  of  the  distinguished 
Dr  Fisher. 

Thus  fitted,  Dr.  Tolles  commenced  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Reading,  Vt.,  September,  1831, 
and,  until  March,  1841,  was  in  continuous  medical 
work.     His  field  of  labor  was   too   far  removed 
from  any  physician  able  to  render  him  much  aid 
in  an  emergency,  or  with  whom  he  could  advise  ; 
consequently,  he  was  obliged  to  depend  upon  him- 
self, and   seek  counsel  of  the   learned    and    wise 
authors,  many  of  whose  publications  were  in  his 
library.     Thus  being  forced  to  self-reliance  at  this 
epoch  of  his  medical  career  was  the  best  school  for 
him,  as  it  developed  his  latent  powers  and  was  the 
key   to   his  success.      He   studied,   thought  and 
practiced   much   in  these  ten  years,  and  it  was  a 
valuable  experience,  and  aided  him  in  preparing 
for  the  wider  and  more  important  field  he    was 
destined  to  occupy  as  a  physician  and  surgeon.     In 
October,  1841,  after  six  months  of  rest  and  recrea- 
ation,  Dr.  Tolles  went  to  New  York  in  order   to 
prosecute   his   studies   in    the   public   institutions 
there.  He  witnessed  hospital  practice,  and  attended 
lectures  in   the  University  Medical  College.     In 
March,    1842,  he   located   in  Claremont,  and  was 
soon  in  possession  of  a  large  and  lucrative  practice, 
which   he   retained   for  nearly  forty  years.     His 
reputation  as  a  surgeon  was  quickly  established, 
and  he  performed  most  of  the  surgical  operations 
in  this  vicinity,  and  was  often  called  as  counselor 
with  his   brethren  in  the   more  important  cases, 
both  surgical  and   medical,  coming   under  their 
care.     A   large  number  of  young   men   pursued 
their  medical  studies  under  his  direction,  and  their 
success  reflected  credit  on  their  teacher. 

In  his  profession  Dr.  Tolles  possessed  all  the 
traits  and  qualifications  essential  to  its  successful 
pursuit.  Well  grounded  in  its  study,  and  keep- 
ing himself  informed  of  the  latest  methods  of 
diagnosis  and  treatment,  he  also  possessed  and 
retained    those    intuitive    perceptions    of  disease 


without  which,  however  well  read,  no  physician 
can  become  a  brilliant  practitioner,  and  which 
formulated  rules  and  the  fashionable  methods  of 
modern  professional  education  are  doing  so  much 
to  obliterate.  With  keen  powers  of  observation 
and  generalization,  as  the  pilot  foretells  the 
weather  from  signs  which  his  own  experience  has 
detected,  but  which  he  cannot  describe,  he  skillfully 
read  the  character  of  a  case  under  treatment,  and 
often  irrespective  of  the  laws,  Avhich  must  neces- 
sarily be  fallible  as  long  as  the  medico,  scientia 
remains  doubtful  and  imperfect.  As  it  had  been 
one  of  the  great  aims  of  his  life  to  conquer  disease, 
he  strove  to  be  definite  in  his  observations,  and 
diligent  in  the  use  of  his  leisure  moments,  and  as 
a  surgeon  as  well  as  physician  he  attained  recog- 
nized eminence.  Cool,  bold,  self-reliant,  and 
strong  in  nerve,  he  only  needed  a  wider  field  of 
action  to  win  the  highest  honors  in  this  department 
of  his  profession.  He  died  with  his  armor  on, 
only  ceasing  his  labors  a  short  time  before  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  the  24th  of  June  1879, 
in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  ago. 

The  high  regard  in  which  Dr.  Tolles  was  held 
by  his  medical  brethren  will  be  best  given  by  an 
extract  from  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  phy- 
sicians of  Claremont,  June  26,  1879  : 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  professional  life,  labors  and 
character  of  Dr.  Tolles,  which  extended  over  a  full 
half  a  century,  we  have  a  commendahle  example  of 
industry,  of  zeal,  of  usefulness  and  professional  honor 
not  often  combined  in  a  single  life." 

Dr.  Tolles  was  never  a  political  or  official  aspi- 
rant, and  yet  he  served  in  other  capacities  than 
professional,  as  his  marked  abilities  and  services 
were  demanded  by  his  fellow-citizens  in  represen- 
tative places  of  trust  #and  financial  responsibility, 
but  he  never  suffered  any  official  duties  to  inter- 
fere with  his  life-work.  He  was  chosen  Presiden- 
tial elector  at  the  first  nomination  of  President 
Lincoln  (1860),  and  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
vention in  1876  to  revise  the  Constitution  of  New 
Hamphire.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first 
Board  of  County  Commis-ioners  (1858),  and  served 
one  year  as  its  chairman.     He  was  one  of  the  pro- 


^L^£s^d  /  <tf?fhaxj^/ MCJl), 


CLAREMONT. 


137 


jectors  and  committee  of  the  Stevens  High  School 
building,  was  four  years  on  its  board  of  manage- 
ment, and  one  of  the  three  trustees  of  the  Stevens 
fund ;  he  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  old 
Claremont  Bank,  and  was  chosen  a  director  of  the 
National  Bank  in  1864,  and  re-elected  annually 
until  his  death  ;  he  also  held  an  official  position  in 
the  Sullivan  Savings-Bank  from  its  foundation. 
In  all  these  business  and  political  relations  he  bore 
a  character  of  fidelity  and  integrity,  and  ever 
retained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen.  When  a  young  man,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  ever  after 
evinced  the  strictest  fidelity  to  its  obligations,  and 
a  very  high  regard  for  the  order.  His  religious 
views  were  Scriptural,  and  though  not  associated 
with  any  body  of  Christian  believers,  he  was'  a 
worshipper  at  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
and  a  generous  supporter  of  the  institutions  of 
religion. 

Dr.  Tolles  married,  first,  Frances  J.  Upham,  of 
Weathersfield,  Vt ;  second,  Jane  Weston,  daughter 
of  Ezekiel  Weston,  Esq.,  of  Rockingham,  Vt, 
who  survives  him.  She  was  a  worthy  companion, 
friend,  counselor  and  assistant  to  her  husband,  and 
her  many  estimable  qualities  and  Christian  char- 
acter have  endeared  her  to  the  community.  Their 
two  surviving  children  are  Dr.  C.  W.  Tolles  (see 
notice  elsewhere)  and  Frances  J.  Tolles. 


LELAND    J.    GRAVES,   M.D. 

"  The  old  school  country  doctors  are  rapidly 
passing  away,  and  it  is  well  that  memories  of  their 
hardships,  their  toils  and  their  efforts  to  give  us  and 
ours  health,  should  cluster  about  them,  as  ivy 
gently  shields  the  venerable  abbeys  of  our  mother- 
country,  and  that  the  autumn  of  their  lives  should 
be  a  golden  Indian  summer,  and  that  a  niche 
should  be  kept  for  them  in  the  history  of  the 
county  and  State  where  their  laborious  lives  have 
been  passed." 

Leland  J.  Graves,  M.D.,  son  of  David  J.  and 
Mary  (Leland)  Graves,  was  born  in  Berkshire, 
Franklin    County,    Vt.,     May    24,    1812.       His 


father  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  settled 
in  Berkshire  as  a  farmer.  His  lot  iu  life  was  hum- 
ble, his  family  was  large,  consisting  of  nine  chil- 
dren, and  living  in  a  section  distant  from  business 
and  educational  centres.,  the  opportunities  for  the 
advancement  of  the  children  were  necessarily  lim- 
ited. They  were  all  obliged  to  labor,  and,  until 
he  was  nearly  seventeen  years  old,  Leland  partici- 
pated in  the  farm-work  with  no  school  privileges. 
This,  however,  instead  of  quenching  his  desire  for 
an  education,  only  made  him  long  all  the  more  ar- 
dently for  the  means  of  acquiring  such  knowledge 
as  would  lift  him  above  the  daily  struggle  for 
bread.  In  April,  1829,  he  let  himself  to  his  uncle, 
Cyrus  Boynton,  of  Weathersfield,  a  farmer,  with 
the  stipulation  that  he  should  have  three  months' 
schooling  per  year.  This  life  of  hard  labor,  accom- 
panied by  the  utmost  economy,  was  carried  on,  for 
four  years,  his  father  receiving  all  wages  beyond 
what  Leland  needed  for  clothes.  On  attaining  his 
majority,  his  first  thought  was  school,  and  having 
made  a  good  use  of  his  scanty  advantages,  he  was 
able  to  teach,  which  he  did  for  nine  successive 
winters,  working  at  farming  in  the  summer,  and 
during  the  intervals  attending  academies  at  Ches- 
ter, Cavendish  and  Ludlow,  and  was  fitted  for  col- 
lege at  Ludlow.  But  this  brave  youth  who  had  so 
manfully  fought  against  poverty  and  hindrances, 
and  was  now  just  at  the  time  when  his  hopes  seemed 
about  to  be  fulfilled,  was  doomed  to  a  more  bitter 
trial.  His  untiring  labor  and  unceasing  exertions, 
both  in  his  school  and  on  the  farm,  proved  too 
much  for  his  health,  and  a  long  disease  held  him 
prisoner  during  the  four  years  "  he  had  proposed  to 
pass  in  college."  On  his  recovery,  having  had  am- 
ple time  for  counsel  and  deliberation,  he  decided 
to  become  a  physician.  He  entered  the  office  of 
Dr.  Lowell,  remaining  with  him  for  a  year,  and  at- 
tending medical  lectures  at  Woodstock,  Vt.  He 
then,  in  order  for  the  more  speedy  advancement  of 
his  studies,  became  a  private  student  under  the 
charge  of  the  eminent  Drs.  Crosby,  Peaslee  and 
Hubbard,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  Dartmouth  College,  M?  y  10,  1842. 
Dr.  Graves,  at  once,  May  24,  1842,  located  for 


138 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Langdon,  N.  H., 
and  commenced  the  arduous  duties  of  a  physician. 
But  his  labors  were  not  confined  to  the  little  town 
of  Langdon ;  his  services  were  in  demand,  as  his  skill 
became  known,  through  a  large  extent  of  country, 
and  he  had  an  extensive  practice  in  Langdon  Al- 
stead,  Acworth,  Walpole,  Charlestown  and  else- 
where. His  life  was  oft-times  hard  and  dreary, 
toiling  through  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold, 
with  long,  cheerless  rides  upon  rough  roads,  over 
high  hills,  going  without  his  needed  rest  in  order 
to  relieve  the  sufferer.  The  life  of  the  true  physician 
must  necessarily  be  a  self-sacrificing  one,  and  he 
who  justly  claims  this  honored  name  must  be  en- 
titled to  the  esteem  and  appreciation  of  the  com- 
munity, and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
Dr.  Graves  spent  his  time  and  strength  in  minis- 
tering to  those  in  need  of  his  skillful  care  and  knowl- 
edge. He  began  life  at  the  right  end  of  the  ladder, 
and  had  a  good  deal  of  capital  in  the  shape  of 
courage,  faith  and  energy.  He  was  honest,  patient 
and  manly,  and  was  prospered,  and  also  won  the 
respect,  friendship  and  love  of  the  people  among 
whom  he  had  made  his  home,  and  after  over  a 
quarter  of  a  century  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community,  he  concluded  to  take  a  rest  from  such 
incessant  work,  and  in  1868  came  to  Claremont  and 
purchased  the  home  where  he  has  since  resided. 
It  was  his  intention  to  retire  from  general  practice, 
but  he  has  attended  the  calls  of  some  of  his  old 
families. 

Dr.  Graves  married,  May  24,  1843,  Caroline 
E.,  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Elizabeth  (McEwen) 
Strow.  Their  children  are  Mary  E.  (now  Princi- 
pal of  the  Acadia  Female  Seminary,  Wolf'ville, 
Nova  Scotia,  a  position  for  which  she  was  unusually 
well  qualified, and  which  she  has  held  for  six  years)  ; 
Hattie  M.  (Mrs.  James  M.  Coburn,  of  Kansas 
City,  Mo. ;  their  two  surviving  children  are  Mary 
A.  and  Grace  E.)  and  Agnes  J.  (who  married 
Pascal  P.  Coburn,  senior  partner  of  Coburn  & 
Dean,  merchants  of  Claremont ;  they  have  one 
child,  Elizabeth  A.) 

Mrs.  Graves  was  a  woman  of  superior  mental 
endowments,  and  previous  to  her  marriage  was  a 


successful  teacher  in  the  Unity  "  Scientific  and 
Military  School,"  where  she  gave  great  satisfaction. 
She  was  a  highly  conscientious  and  religious  work- 
er, and  had  many  of  the  Christian  virtues  which  so 
round  and  complete  character,  and  was  universally 
esteemed,  and  when  she  died  (August  29,  1885) 
a  large  circle  mourned  her  loss. 

Dr.  Graves  is  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  River 
Medical  Association  and  New  Hampshire  Medi- 
cal Association.  Whig  and  Republican  in  politics, 
he  represented  Langdon  in  1867  and  1S0-S  in  the 
State  Legislature.  He  was  not  only  a  physician' 
As  a  laborer  in  scientific  fields,  Dr.  Graves  is  known 
full  well.  He  has  pursued  the  study  of  geology  and 
of  botany  with  zeal.  His  botanical  researches  have 
been  conducted  from  the  forests  of  Maine  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  few  have  been  more  conver- 
sant with  the  practical  details  or  the  scientific 
analysis  of  plants.  He  has  made  a  large  geological 
collection,  which  has  taken  years  to  gather.  His 
eldest  daughter  inherits  this  taste,  and  has  a  col- 
lection of  rocks,  minerals,  etc.,  systematically  ar- 
ranged and  labeled,  which  has  been  valued  at  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars. 

Dr.  Graves  has  impressed  himself  in  numerous 
ways  upon  the  community.  He  was  a  leading 
man  in  Langdon  ;  always  took  a  prominent  part  in 
its  public  enterprises  ;  particularly  promoted  the 
cause  of  education,  and  was  superintendent  of 
schools  for  fourteen  years.  In  religious  belief  he 
is  a  Baptist,  and  a  valuable  and  consistent  member 
of  that  church,  in  Springfield,  for  fifty  years,  but  is 
now  connected  with  the  Claremont  Church. 

Dr.  Graves  stands  well  among  his  professional 
brethren,  has  honored  his  social  and  official  rela- 
tions, and  enjoys  the  esteem  of  his  many  friends 
and  acquaintances,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  three- 
score years  and  ten,  can  enjoy  the  competency  he 
has  acquired. 

JOSIAH  RICHARDS,  M.D. 

The  name  Richards  is  of  Welsh  nationality,  and 
in  Europe  it  has  long  been  illustrious,  and  the 
American  family  has  produced  many  who  have 
achieved     distinction.        Edward     (1)    was    the 


a 


v- 


^xv 


'cl£/  {/l^4<^°4 


J?f?~>-x  ex-*) 


<d  &  cT^^u^ 


j. 


CLAREMONT. 


139 


founder  of  the  branch  now  resident  in  Claremont. 
He  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Dedham,  Mass., 
in  1636-37,  a  man  of  importance  and  estate,  and 
"lived  a  blameless  life."  He  bequeathed  the 
greater  part  of  his  estates  to  his  second  son, 
Nathaniel  (2).  His  son  Edward  (3)  inherited  the 
homestead  in  Dedham,  bore  the  title  of  lieutenant, 
and  was  a  leading  member  of  the  church.  Josiah 
(4),  his  second  son,  born  in  1713,  married  Hannah 
Whiting.  They  had  fourteen  children, — eight 
sons  and  six  daughters ;  four  of  the  sons  were 
soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Josiah  (5) 
was  in  the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill  and  Monmouth, 
and  served  faithfully ;  was  promoted  and  received 
a  pension.  He  married,  1778,  Sarah  Shuttle- 
worth,  of  Dedham  ;  settled  in  Washington,  N.  H. ; 
afterwards  returned  to  Dedham,  where  he  died, 
aged  eighty- four  years. 

Josiah  Richards,  M.D.,  son  of  Josiah  and  Sarah 
(Shuttleworth)  Richards,  was  born  at  Washington, 
N.  H,  May  30,  1784;  married,  December  17, 
1816,  Emily  Haskell,  of  Weathersfield,  Vt,  and 
had  two  children, — Marion  and  Helen  (Mrs. 
Sullivan  W.  Healy).  Dr.  Richards  died  at 
Claremont  January  29, 1871,  in  his  eighty -seventh 
year.  Mrs.  Richards  died  November  17,  1882, 
aged  eighty-seven  years  and  three  months. 

Dr.  Richards  was  endowed  with  an  active  mind, 
of  much  more  than  ordinary  strength  and 
vigorous  bodily  powers,  and,  cognizant  that  his 
future  standing  in  the  busy  world  was  dependent 
upon  his  own  exertions,  at  the  age  of  ten  years  he 
left  New  Hampshire  for  Massachusetts,  where  he 
made  his  home  among  his  relatives,  and  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  acquire  an  educa- 
tion. During  his  residence  there  he  was  especially 
favored  with  the  acquaintance  of  a  physician  (Dr. 
Ames)  of  Dedham,  who  took  a  great  interest  in 
him,  encouraged  him  in  his  studies,  and  to  him  he 
was  probably  indebted  for  the  thought  of  making 
the  profession  of  medicine  his  life-work.  He  had 
a  natural  taste  for  music,  was  a  fine  singer,  and, 
by  his  aptness  in  teaching,  was  able  to  acquire  the 
means  for  the  thorough  academic  education  which 
he  received  at  Atkinson  Academy.  His  medical 
studies  were  conducted  under  the  charge  of  and 
with  Dr.  Cogswell,  of  Atkinson,  and  he  acquitted 
himself  with  honor  to  his  teacher  and  himself. 
Young,  ardent  and  fond  of  his  profession,  he 
became  known,  and  soon  obtained  a  situation 
under  the  United  States  government,  in  the  land 
and  naval  hospital  at  Portsmouth.  After  faithful 
labor   for   a   while,    he   was   appointed  assistant- 


surgeon  in  the  naval  service  at  Newburyport. 
This  was  during  the  War  of  1812.  The  monotony 
of  this  service  being  hardly  compatible  with  his 
active  temperament,  he  secured  a  discharge,  and 
entered  the  privateer  service,  where,  on  board  of 
a  daring  cruiser,  he  found  more  congenial  rela- 
tions. With  two  years  of  profitable  experience, 
he  returned  to  New  Hampshire  and  attended  the 
Medical  Department  at  Dartmouth  College,  in 
order  to  complete  his  professional  education,  and 
was  graduated  in  1815.  Jn  1816  he  came  to 
Claremont,  and  soon  was  in  possession  of  a  large 
and  successful  practice,  in  which  he  enjoyed  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  his  patients,  and,  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  was  engaged  in  arduous 
medical  labors,  going  in  and  out  among  the 
citizens  as  the  trusted  family  friend  and  skillful, 
energetic  and  successful  family  physician.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that,  in  a  large  obstetric  practice 
of  years'  duration,  he  never  lost  a  case.  In  1823 
he  built  the  house  which  he  occupied  until  his 
death,  and  where  his  daughters  now  reside. 

Dr.  Richards  was  a  strong  Federalist  and 
Whig  in  his  early  years,  and  as  strong  a  Re- 
publican during  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and 
represented  Claremont  three  terms  in  the  General 
Court.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  for  a  long  period,  and  a  sound  and  logical 
reasoner  as  t*o  his  faith.  When  a  young  man  he 
took  great  interest  in  Masonry,  and  gave  it  con  - 
siderable  attention.  He  possessed  great  mental 
powers,  his  range  of  reading  was  extensive,  and 
he  was  an  independent  thinker.  He  was  an 
active  advocate  of  the  cause  of  education,  constant 
in  attendance  upon  school  meetings,  and  served 
for  several  years  as  prudential  and  superintending 
committee.  In  all  the  social  relations  of  life,  and 
in  everything  pertaining  to  the  interests  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  local  prosperity  of  the  town,  he 
was  esteemed,  and  his  influence  was  of  value.  He 
was  a  reliable  citizen,  a  stanch  friend,  a  kind 
neighbor,  a  devoted  husband  and  father  and  a 
good  man. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  work  and  exper- 
ience of  one  whose  services  were  appreciated, 
whose  memory  is  revered  by  all  of  the  old  inhab- 
itants of  Claremont,  and  whose  life  marks  a 
prosperous  epoch  of  her  existence  as  a  town. 


LEONARD  P.   FISHER. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Fisher  family  have  for 
centuries,  in  England,  held  a  good  position  in  the 
great  middle-class  of  society.  Its  members  are 
entitled  to  bear  arms.  The  name  is  derived  from 
a  common  occupation,  and  found  in  several  Ian- 


140 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


guages,  may  have  been  a  family  name  in  England 
before  the  Norman  Conquest.  Anthony  Fisher, 
son  of  Anthony  Fisher,  of  Syleham,  Suffolk 
County,  near  the  borders  of  Norfolk,  England, 
settled  in  Dedham,  Mass.,  in  1637.  He  had  a 
wife  and  five  children.  It  is  said  of  one  Thomas 
Fisher,  who  died  in  1638,  "  that  he  contracted  to 
build  the  first  meeting-house  in  Dedham." 

Abram  Fisher,  a  descendant  of  Anthony,  of 
Dedham,  a  native  of  Natick,  Mass.,  was  born 
November,  1764,  and  emigrated  to  Claremont,  N. 
H.,  about  1785.  He  came  on  horseback,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  Lucy  Parkhurst,  having  lost 
nearly  all  of  his  property  by  the  burning  of  his 
house  in  Natick.  He  engaged  board  for  himself 
and  wife,  and  at  once  set  to  work  to  make  kitchen 
chairs.  The  money  obtained  from  the  sale  of 
these  was  his  capital  to  begin  life  here,  and  the 
sale  of  his  only  cow  to  pay  for  a  frame,  which. he 
completed  for  a  home,  gave  him  an  establishment 
in  the  town.  He  was  a  cabinet-maker  by  trade, 
and  pursued  that  avocation  for  years,  living  in  a 
plain,  unpretending  way,  and  brought  up  many 
apprentices.  He  had  a  small  farm  and  a  cider- 
mill,  which  ran  by  water-power,  and  at  his  death, 
February  3, 1851,  left  a  moderate  property  (about 
nine  thousand  dollars).  He  was  a  very  indus- 
trious and  ingenious  man,  could  "  turn  his  hand  " 
to  anything,  and  in  his  ways  was  quiet,  social  and 
cheerful,  with  a  happy,  quaint  philosophy.  In 
politics  a  Democrat,  he,  it  is  said,  cast  the  second 
Democratic  vote  in  the  town.  A  Universalist  in 
religion,  it  is  said  he  paid  one  sixth  of  the  cost  of 
erecting  the  first  Universalist  Church  in  Claremont. 

He  once  told  his  grandson,  Leonard,  "  When 
you  hire  a  boy  to  plow  out  corn  or  anything  else, 
always  pay  him  a  little  more  than  the  regular  price 
It  will  cost  but  a  few  cents,  and  he  will  respect  you, 
and  remember  it  when  he  grows  to  be  a  man." 

Mrs.  Fisher  died  in  1815.  They  had  one  son, 
Josiah,  born  in  1784.  Josiah  was  fond  of  me- 
chanics, and  became  a  carpenter.  He  married, 
about  1805,  Orena,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
Rachel  Goss.  They  had  ten  children,  of  whom 
seven  are  now  living.  By  becoming  responsible 
for  the  erection  of  a  church,  Josiah  found  his 
business  much  involved,  and  although  an  ener- 
getic man,  he  was  not  very  stable  in  his  plans;  so 
he  determined  to  improve  his  condition  in  the  far 
west  of  the  Genesee  Valley,  N.  Y.,  and  went  to 
Rochester,  where  he  was  offered  a  piece  of  land, 
now  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  for  five  hundred  dol- 


lars ;  but  he  did  not  remain  long  there  on  account 
of  the  prevailing  ague,  and  removed  to  York, 
Livingston  County,  which  was  ever  after  his  per- 
manent home,  and  where  he  died,  in  September, 
1854.     His  wife  survived  him  some  years. 

Leonard  P.  Fisher,  son  of  Josiah  and  Orena 
(Goss)  Fisher,  was  born  October  6,  1807,  in  the 
old-fashioned  house  in  Claremont,  N.  H ,  now  oc- 
cupied by  him.  Leonard  joined  his  father  in  the 
wilderness  of  Western  New  York  when  about  ten 
years  old,  and  was  brought  up  to  be  more  familiar 
with  work  and  tools  than  with  books,  and  to  know 
about  dealing  with  logs  and  lumber,  machinery 
and  hard  labor  than  with  the  learning  of  schools, 
of  which  he  had  but  a  limited  acquaintance.  When 
about  twenty -two  (June  2, 1829)  he  came  to  Clare- 
mont to  make  his  home  with  his  grandfather,  and 
for  over  half  a  century  has  been  a  resident  of  the 
town,  a  producer,  in  an  unpretentious  way,  and 
not  a  mere  consumer  of  the  results  of  the  labor  of 
others.  He  inherited  his  grandfather's  estate,  and 
has,  in  a  large  degree,  preserved  the  old-time 
quaintness  of  the  home-place.  The  old-fashioned 
clock,  the  large  open  fireplace,  and  many  other 
features  show  the  manner  of  life  of  those  of  other 
days.  He  has  kept  with  advancing  life  a  cheerful 
disposition  and  a  kindly  heart,  together  with  a  fund 
of  tradition  and  stories  of  the  early  days,  which 
he  delights  to  recount  to  appreciative  listeners. 

Mr.  Fisher  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Tisdale 
and  Elizabeth  (Fisher)  Lincoln,  who  was  born  in 
Pittsfield,  Vt,  May  17,  1815.  Their  six  children 
are  Nancy  J.,  married  Marvin  S.  Blood  (deceased), 
has  three  children  and  resides  in  Charlestown, 
Mass.  ;  Charles  A.,  resides  in  Claremont  and  has 
one  child ;  George  L.,  a  commission  merchant  in 
New  York  City  ;  Arba  C,  in  the  same  business  in 
Boston  ;  Albert  F.,  of  Worcester,  Mass. ;  and  Ed- 
win C,  a  photographer,  now  residing  in  Hinsdale, 
N.  H.,  has  three  children. 

Mr.  Fisher,  like  his  grandfather,  is  a  Democrat 
and  a  Universalist.  He  cast  his  first  Presidential 
vote  for  Andrew  Jackson.  He  has  been  greatly 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  Universalist  Church, 
and  has  contributed  liberally  to  its  support.  He 
is  very  ingenious,  can  do  a  little  of  many  kinds  of 
practical  business,  has  done  much  in  his  life  in 
lumbering,  has  built  several  houses  for  himself  and 
others,  and  always  has  been  a  busy,  active,  hard- 
working man,  who  will  long  be  cherished  by  his 
descendants,  and  is  a  good  type  of  the  keen 
yeomanry  of  New  England. 


HISTORY  OF  CORNISH. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Cornish  lies  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
county  and  is  bounded  as  follows :  North  by 
Plainfield,  east  by  Croydon,  south  by  Claremont, 
and  west  by  the  Connecticut  River,  which  sepa~ 
rates  it  from  Vermont.  The  township  was  granted 
June  21,  1763,  to  Rev.  Samuel  McClintock,  of 
Greenland,  and  sixty-nine  others.  A  proprietors' 
meeting  was  held  in  Greenland  in  August  follow- 
ing, and  the  first  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
held  in  the  town  March  10, 1767.  In  1765  several 
families,  who  came  from  Sutton,  Mass.,  settled  in 
the  town.  Captain  Daniel  Putnam  and  a  family 
by  the  name  of  Dyke  had  lived  there,  the  winter 
previous,  in  a  camp  built  for  the  use  of  men  who 
had  been  cutting  masts  for  the  royal  navy.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  held  June  2,  1778, 
they  voted  to  join  the  State  of  Vermont,  in  accord- 
ance with  a  vote  of  the  convention  held  at  Leb- 
anon, May  2,  1778.  The  first  meeting-house  was 
erected  by  the  town  in  1773,  and  occupied  by  the 
Congregational  and  Episcopal  societies.  By  an 
act  approved  December  3,  1808,  the  line  between 
this  town  and  Grantham  was  established  ;  and  by 
an  act  approved  June  24,  1809,  some  territory  was 
severed  from  Croydon  and  annexed  to  this  town  ; 
December  25,  1844,  the  town  was  enlarged  by  the 
annexation  of  a  portion  of  Grantham. 

General  Jonathan  Chase  was  for  many  years  a 
leading  citizen  of  this  town.  He  was  muster-mas- 
ter for  the  men  raised  from  his  regiment  for  the 
Continental  service,  and  held  many  important 
offices  in  the  town. 

Settlements  commenced  in  1765,  and  in  1767 
there  were  thirteen  families  in  the  town.     It  was 


named  from  Cornish,  England,  from  whence  the 
ancestors  of  some  of  the  proprietors  and  first  set- 
tlers came. 

DOCUMENTARY   HISTORY. 
Jame*   Vinton's  Enlistment. 

"  I  James  Vinton  due  Voluntairly  Ecknowlege  my 
Selef  to  have  Inlisted  as  a  Solgear  Sarve  in  the  State 
of  New  hampshear  under  the  Command  of  Cap' 
Sam1  Pain  for  the  tearm  of  Sex  munth  and  acknowleg 
my  selef  to  bee  under  the  Kules  and  Regelation  of 
the  mearlity  Laws  as  wetness  my  hand  this  28  day  of 
June  1780  "James  Vinton 

"  Sd  Vinton  is  seventeen  years  of  age  5  feet  5  inches 
high  Jugd  to  be  fit  for  the  sarvis  by  Jon'u  Chase  Col0 

Cornish  Men  at  Saratoga. 

"  A  Return  of  Officers  and  men  with  their  Names 
Inrold  Belonging  to  Col"  Jonth  Chases  Rig'  which 
marched  from  Cornish  Sept.  26th  1777 

"  Lieu'  Abel  Spalden  Cornish 

Seg'  Sam'  Chase  do 

Seg'  Joseph  Spalden  do 

Corp1  Steph  Childs  do 

Josh  Vinsin  do      Ret  Octr  7 

Jabez  Spiser  do 

Soln  Wellman  do 

Caleb  Plastridge  do 

James  Cate  do 

John  Chase  do 

Soln  Chase  do 

John  Morse  do 

Simn  Chase  do 

Capt  Dyar  Spalden  do 

Jonath  Higgins  do 

James  Wellman  do 

Eber  Brewer  do 

Daniel  Waldron  do 

Total  19  Abel  Spalden  Lieu'— 

141 


142 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Oct'  2Dd  1777— set  out  from  home 

Capt  Abel  Stephens  Jon"1  Craw 

Ebez'  Janney  Wm  Richardson 

Joined  ye  10th  Oct"  1777" 

General  Jona.  Chase,  concerning  Western  Frontier. 
"  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  To  the  honorable,  the  Council  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives now  convened  &  holden  at  Exeter  in  and 
for  said  State.  Humbly  Sheweth  your  Petitioner 
living  on  the  western  Frontiers  of  said  state,  that 
your  Petitioner  and  others  the  Inhabitants  on  said 
Frontiers,  have  had,  and  still  have,  the  greatest 
reason  to  fear  the  inroads  &  depredations  of  savage 
Enemy  upon  them, — that  they  have  the  fullest  reason 
to  believe  and  assert  that  the  Enemy  have  several 
times  prepared  &  even  attempted  the  same  that  in  the 
month  of  October  last  they  came  upon  and  almost 
totally  destroyed  the  Town  of  Royalton,  &  spread 
their  horrid  devastation  within  less  than  twelve  miles 
of  Connecticut  River.  That  unless  some  speedy  and 
effectual  measures  are  taken  to  prevent  it,  it  is  more 
than  probable  we  shall  be  distressed  with  another 
visit  from  them  the  present  winter. 

"  That  the  Frontier  is  near  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  in  an  entire  defenceless  situation. — And  that 
unless  some  speedy  relief  &  assistance  present,  we 
have  the  fullest  assurance  that  many  principal  Inhab- 
itance  will  remove  to  places  of  better  security;  as 
that  Frontier  is  now  the  only  object  remaining  within 
the  power  &  worthy  the  attention  of  the  northern 
Enemy. — In  this  unhappy  situation ;  defenceless  as 
we  are,  where  can  we  look  for  relief  &  assistance  but 
to  your  Honors?  a  body  possessed  with  every  feeling 
of  humanity,  and  sensible  that  in  defending 
that  western  frontier,  you  secure  the  state  at 
large  from  the  dangers  arising  from  that  quar- 
ter. Your  petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray  your 
honors  to  take  the  dangerous  situation  of  that  Terri- 
tory under  your  wise  &  serious  consideration  &  grant 
such  number  of  men  for  the  defence  of  that  Frontier, 
as  your  honors  may  judge  necessary,  or  grant  such 
other  orders  on  the  Premises  as  in  your  wisdom  may 
seem  best. 

"And  your  Petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever 
pray  &c. 

"Exeter  12th  Jany  1781. 

"Jox,h  Chase" 


Number  of  Polls,  1783. 
"  According  to  order  of  the  general  assembly  These 
may  certefy  that  the  Exact  number  of  the  male  poles 
in  this  town  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upwords 
paying  taxes  for  themselves  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty 

"  Cornish  Decern'  ye  13  1783 
"Attest 

"  WiLm  Ripley 
"Reuben  Jerald 
"  Daniel  Chase 
"Caleb  Chase 


Selectmen 
of  Cornish" 


Warrant  for  Town- Meeting. 

"These  are  to  Notify  and  warn  the  freeholders  and 
others  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Cornish  to  meet  at 
the  Meeting  House  in  sd  Cornish  on  tuesday  the 
twelfth  Day  of  March  next  at  ten  oclock  in  Morning 
to  act  on  the  following  articles  Viz — 

"  1st  to  Chuse  a  Moderator  to  govern  sd  meeting 

"  2'"*  to  Chuse  a  town  Clerk— 

"3Iy  to  Chuse  Selectmen  and  Constable  or  Con- 
stables and  other  town  officers  as  the  town  shall  think 
proper 

"  4ly  to  see  what  money  the  town  will  Raise  for  to 
be  Worked  out  at  the  Highways  this  present  year 


"  r»iy 


5ly  to  see  what  money  the  town  will  Raise  this 
present  year  for  Schooling 

"6ly  to  see  what  money  the  town  will  Raise  this 
present  year  for  to  Defray  other  town  Charges 

"  7ly  to  Chuse  a  Committee  for  the  Sole  purpose  of 
Settling  with  the  men  who  went  up  in  the  2  alarm 

"  8ly  to  see  if  the  town  will  allow  horses  to  Run  at 
large 

"  9!y  to  see  if  the  town  will  allow  swine  to  Run  at 
large 
"  Febry  26th  1782 

"Thomas  Hall 
"Sam"  Comings 
"  Elea'  Jackson 
"  Daniel  Chase      J 


Select  Men 


"  Pursuant  to  the  foregoing  warning  the  Town  met 
and  Chose  Moses  Chase  Esq'  Moderator  Voted  to 
adopt  the  following  Protest  against  the  proceedings 
of  a  minority  acting  under  a  warning  Signed  by  Sam" 
Chase  Esq' — 

'  Voted  to  adjourn  to  the  House  of  M'  Francis 
Batey  to  meet  immedeatly  met  according  to  adjourn- 
ment— then  Voted  to  adjourn  to  the  House  of  M' 


CORNISH. 


143 


Sam11  Comings  met  according  to  adjournment  and 
there  proceeded  to  Chuse  Town  officers  and  do  other 
acts-agreable  to  the  above  warning  and  the  Laws  of 
New  Hampshire  as  may  appear  upon  Record 

"  Attest  Thomas  Chase  T  Cleric 
"  Cornish  September  ye  12th  1782" 

Protest  against  the  Action  of  a  Town-Meeting. 

"  Voted  to  adopt  the  following  protest  against  a 
minority  acting  under  a  warning  Signed  by  Samuel 
Chase  Esqr — 

"  Whereas  an  annual  Town  Meeting  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Town  of  Cornish  was  legally  warned  by 
the  Selectmen  of  Said  Town  who  was  legally  elected 
to  that  office  in  order  to  choose  Town  officers  for  the 
insuiug  year — and  whereas  another  warning  for  a 
Town  Meeting  has  been  set  up  for  the  like  purpose 
Signed  by  Samuel  Chase  Esqr — and  a  Small  minorri- 
ter  of  the  Inhabitants  presume  to  act  thereon  which 
we  are  fully  assured  is  directly  Repugnant  to  the 
peace  of  the  Town  and  Contrary  to  Law — We  there- 
fore the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Town  of  Cornish 
think  fit  and  do  hereby  Solemnly  and  unanimously 
enter  our  protest  against  the  proceedings  of  Said 
meeting  as  wholly  illegal  and  destructive  of  the  peace 
and  tranquility  of  Said  Town — 

"  The  above  was  Voted  in  a  legal  Town  Meeting 
held  March  ye  12th 

"Test  Thomas  Chase — Town  Clerk 

"  Cornish  May  ye  28th  1782  " 

Relative  to  Union  with  Vermont. 
"The  Deposition  of  Matthias  Stone  of  Claremont 
of  lawful  age  on  oath  saith  that  about  three  or  four 
years  ago  Esq  Sam1  Chase  did  send  a  letter  to  the 
select  men  of  Claremont  myself  being  one  that  a 
meeting  of  the  Town  should  be  called  to  see  if  the 
Town  would  chuse  a  man  to  go  the  Convention  held 
at  the  House  Moses  Chase  Esq  to  come  into  measures 
to  unite  with  Vermont — but  as  I  did  not  see  the  letter 
till  it  was  to  late  to  warn  a  meeting  it  was  not  laid 
before  sd  Town  but  attended  myself  as  a  private 
person  at  Convention  of  which  Esq  Sam1  Chase  was 
moderator  at  which  time  in  Convention  with  the  sd 
Sam  Chase  he  manifested  a  great  desire  that  the 
grants  on  both  sides  of  the  River  should  be  united 
into  one  Government — after  the  adjournment  of  sd 
Convention  I  recd  another  Letter  of  like  import  de- 
siring that  the  Town  would  Choose  a  man  to  attend 
the  adjournment  but  recd  to  late — Further  about  one 


year  ago  last  Decern,  another  letter  was  sent  to  the 
selectmen  of  Claremont  signd  Sam1  ashley  and  Ben 
Bellows  to  see  if  the  Town  would  Choose  a  man  to 
attend  the  Convention  held  at  Walpole  for  the  pur- 
pose of  uniteing  the  grants  on  both  sides  of  the 
River — which  the  Town  complyd  with  &  sent  a  man 
that  Convention  being  adjourned  to  the  Jan  following, 
the  Town  was  calld  upon  to  send  Two  men  which  they 
did  at  which  Convention  the  said  Sam  Chase  was 
Choose  President  accepted  &  servd  &altho,  there  were 
Ten  that  protested  against  the  proceedings  at  that 
time  for  special  reasons.  Yet  the  sd  president  would 
not  sign  the  protest  at  which  tim  sd  Con  [ventiou] 
was  adjourned  to  Cornish  and  there  continud  for 
som  time  till  the  minds  of  the  Town  were  fully  known 
&  the  union  Compleated  the  sd  Sam  Chase  did  accom- 
pany the  Representative  from  East  sid  of  the  River 
to  Windsor  and  see  them  admitted  as  members  of  the 
Court  of  Vermont  and  approved  thereof  and  I  have 
offen  heard  the  sd  Sam  Chase  both  in  public  &  private 
conversation  say  in  transport  that  there  was  a  hand 
of  Providence  in  Disposing  the  people  to  unite 

"Matthias  Stone 
"  Cheshire  ss :  Septr  4th  A.  D.  1782  then  Matthias 
Stone  signer  of  the  above  Deposition  personally 
appeared  &  made  solemn  oath  that  the  same  was  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth, 
Sam1  Chase  &  Dudley  Chase  being  present 

"  before  Sam11  Hunt  Justice  Peace 
"  This  deposition  opened  by  me 

"M.  Weare" 

Selectmen's  Statement. 

"To  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire 

"  We  the  subscribers  Select  Men  of  the  Town  of 
Cornish  for  the  Current  Year,  in  reply  to  a  Memorial 
against  us  signed  by  Moses  Chase  Reuben  Jerald  & 
William  Ripley,  and  presented  to  this  house  at  their 
last  session,  beg  leave  to  suggest,  that  at  the  annual 
Meeting  in  the  Town  of  Cornish  held  in  March  Anno 
Domini  1781 — the  Town  Officers  were  chosen  in  com- 
mon form  that  in  April  following,  at  an  adjournment 
of  the  same  Meeting  the  Town  did  vote  that  all  Town 
Officers  then  in  Office  shou'd  act  under  and  Govern 
themselves  by  the  Laws  of  Vermont;  accordingly 
they  assessed  &  endeavor'd  to  Collect  the  Taxes  called 
for  by  Vermont,  and  took  and  imprisoned  some  who 
refused  to  pay  them,  by  which  vote  and  the  subse- 
quent Conduct  of  the  said  Officers  it  was  the  general 


144 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Opinion  that  they  ceased  to  he  Legal  Officers  under 
New  Hampshire,  in  consequence  of  this  Opinion  an 
application  was  made  by  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  said  Town  to  Samuel  Chase  Esqr  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  to  warn  a  Meeting  of  said  Inhab- 
itants in  March  last  for  Choosing  Town  Officers  for 
the  present  Year  according  to  the  Laws  of  New  Hamp- 
shire— which  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  Officers 
Chosen  :  without  regarding  a  Warrant  for  a  Meeting 
for  the  same  purpose:  signed  by  the  Select  Men 
chosen  A  Dom.  1781 — 

"We  wou'd  further  observe  that  as  the  principle 
complaint  in  sd  Memorial  is  against  the  Officers  last 
chosen :  for  what  they  have  done  in  the  execution  of 
their  several  Offices,  it  seems  unnecessary  to  answer 
furthur  untill  the  legality  of  their  appointment  shall 
be  ascertained — 

"  We  would  beg  leave  furthur  to  suggest  that  the 
situation  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Cornish 
is  unhappily  such  at  present,  owing  to  the  divisions 
and  animosities  which  subsist  amongst  them  that  a  de- 
termination of  the  Master  now  before  the  House  how- 
ever just  woud  be  but  a  partial  remedy,  &  wou'd  not 
put  the  Town  in  such  a  situation  as  would  be  most  for 
the  benefit  of  the  State,  or  for  the  peace,  interest  & 
happiness  of  the  said  Inhabitants — And  anxious  to 
restore  peace  &  good  order  in  the  Town,  We  wou'd 
on  the  behalf  of  those  who  are  in  the  Memorial  called 
the  Minority  propose  a  general  settlement  of  all  diffi- 
culties in  said  Town  that  respect  the  Town  in  general 
by  Arbitration  in  the  following  manner  (viz)  That 
this  House  appoint  a  proper  number  of  Persons  to  be 
nominated  by  the  Speaker,  to  hear  the  Parties  fully, 
&  report  to  this  or  some  future  General  Assembly  & 
that  some  of  the  principle  men  of  Each  party  enter 
into  Bonds  to  abide  and  perform  the  award  so  made, 
&  that  the  whole  expence  be  paid  by  that  party  that 
shall  be  found  most  faulty — 

"  We  do  not  mean  to  dictate  the  House  by  the 
above,  but  should  be  willing  to  comply  with  any 
direction   or  orders   which   the  House  shall    think 


proper  to  give 

"  Cornish  Septr  ye  6th  1782 


"Sam1  Chase 
"Jn°  Morse 
"Benj"  Ham, 
"  Dudley  Chase." 


The  exclusive  right  to  a  ferry  over  a  certain 
part  of  the  Connecticut  River  was  granted  to 
General  Chase  in  1784. 


William  Deming's  Recommendation. 

"To  His  Excellency  the  Presedent  and  Honerable 
Privy  Council  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  Whereas  there  is  but  one  Justes  of  the  Peace  in 
the  town  of  Cornish  and  very  Remote  from  the  Major 
part  of  the  Inhabetance  we  your  petitioners  Humbly 
Deseir  that  Mr  William  Deming  may  be  appointed 
into  that  office 

"  Cornish  Sepr  9—1786 

"  Nath'  Carpenter  Sam11  Wickwire 

David  Smith  Daniel  Putnam 

Elisha  Herrick  Luther  Hilliard 

Ebenezer  Rawson  Sam"  Hilliard 

Solomon  Chase  James  Fitch 

John  Pike  Junr  Hezekiah  Fitch 

Joshua  page  David  Higgins 

Elias  Cady  Lovel  Kimbal 

Benjamin  Jackson  Samuel  Pike 

Dier  spaulding  Moses  Chase 

Joseph  Bartlet  Sam1  Hildreth 

Jabes  shapley  Caleb  Chase 

John  Bartlet  John  pike 

Sam"  Fitch  Peter  Chase 

William  Pain  Robert  Willson 

Eleas.  Bingham  Sam11  Wickwire 

James  Freeman  David  Orvis 

Reuben  Jareld  Stephen  Chase 

Ebenr  Deming  Joseph  Edmons 

Seth  Deming  William  Choat 

Joseph  Chase  Zebediah  Fitch 

Nichols  Cady  Eleazer  Cate 

Ephriam  French  Jonathan  Higgins 

James  spaulding  James  Cate" 
Joseph  stark 

Relative  to  Vermont  Controversy. 

"  To  the  Honorable  Senate  and  the  Honorable  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  General  Court  of  New 
Hampshire  in  General  Assembly  Convened — 
"  Humbly  sheweth  the  Petition  of  the  Subscribers 
Subjects  of  sd  State.     That  the  Inhabitants  of  a  cer- 
tain territory  of  Land  West  of  Connecticut  River  on 
the  Western  Borders  of  this  State,  and  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  United  States,  have  associated  to- 
gether and  Assumed  Jurisdiction  by  the  name  of  the 
State  of  Vermont ;  Independent  of  any  One  of  the 
States  in  the  confederacy,  and  without  the  concent  of 
the  United  States  in  Congress  Assembled ;  do  Exer- 
cise many  and  various  Acts  of  Opression  Injustice  and 


CORNISH. 


145 


cruelty  towards  the  good  Subjects  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  by  seizing  and  embezzling  our  property 
which  lies  within  their  Limits,  and  under  pretence  of 
dues  to  them  Assesing  and  levying  contributions  on 
our  Lands  for  pretended  Services  whereby  we  derive 
no  benefit,  but  much  real,  and  Escential  injury,  and 
such  Acts  of  Extortion  and  Oppression  they  Sanctify 
by  Laws  of  their  own  formation,  in  Violation  of  the 
Laws  of  Nations  and  the  principles  of  the  confedera- 
tion of  the  United  States.  The  most  Oppressive  of 
which  are  the  Survey  Act  and  the  quieting  Act  so 
called ;  by  the  former  their  Surveyor-General  is  di- 
rected to  Survey  s'1  Teritory,  and  exhibit  his  Ac- 
compts  to  their  Council  of  his  demands  for  Surveying 
each  Town  to  be  by  them  Adjusted,  and  if  within 
thirty  days  after  sd  Adjustment  the  Sum  Allowed  is 
not  paid  in  hard  money  Extents  are  Issued,  and  Suffi- 
cient Land  sold  for  Paying  the  Same,  with  cost  of 
Levying  without  any  Equity  of  redemption.  And  the 
lines  of  sd  Towns  that  have  been  Settled  upwards  of 
Twenty  Years  so  Altered  and  Curtailed  by  the  Mere 
Opinion  of  sd  Surveyor  or  his  Deputy  without  the 
right  of  Trial  by  Jury,  that  a  new  Allotment  is  Neces- 
sary, and  by  the  latter  a  possession  of  Land  however 
wrongfully  Obtained  and  kept  eventually  Affects  the 
Tittle— 

"  Farther  the  Inhabitants  of  sd  Territory  do  in  a 
Lawless  and  Riotous  Manner  make  Inroads  on  the 
Frontiers  of  this  State,  and  take  from  hence  the 
peacable  Subjects  of  New  Hampshire  to  their  Prison, 
in  Open  Violation  &  contempt  of  the  Good  and 
wholsome  Laws  of  this  State  which  they  set  at  de  fi- 
ance, and  Screan  themselves  within  srt  Territory — 

"Your  Petitioners  therefore  Humbly  Pray  that  the 
Honourable  Legislature  of  this  State  will  be  pleased 
to  interpose  in  behalf  of  the  Persons  and  properties 
of  the  Good  Subjects  of  this  State,  and  defend  them 
from  the  Above  mentioned  and  other  injurious  meas- 
ures of  the  Inhabitants  of  sd  Territory  and  protect 
them  from  the  pernicious  Influence  of  their  iniqui- 
tous Acts  of  Legislation  in  such  way  and  Manner  as 
the  Wisdom  of  this  Honorable  Court  shall  direct  as 
the  most  proper  and  Effectual  to  Obtain  the  desired 
End.  And  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall 
ever  Pray — 

"  Cornish  May  1786 

"  Sam"  Chase  Joseph  Holland 

Robert  Willson  Ebenr  Demming 

John  Morse  Matthias  Stone 


Wm  Deming 
Solomon  Chase 
Joshua  Crosman 
David  Orvis 
Daniel  Putnam 
Sam"  Putnam 
Jeremiah  Morse 


Ithamar  Chase 
Seth  Demming 
Joseph  Taylor 
Sam"  Chase  Junr 
Abner  Rawson 
Jonathan  Chase 
John  Cook" 


Petition  for  a  Poll  Parish. 
"  To  the  Honble  General  Court  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  to  convene  at  Concord  on  the  third 
day  of  June  instant — 

"  The  petition  of  the  subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Cornish  and  Plainfield  in  the  County  of 
Cheshire  in  said  State,  Humbly  sheweth  That  the 
great  diversity  of  Sentiment,  in  matters  of  religion, 
and  the  jarring  Opinions  concerning  the  most  suitable 
place  for  buildings  for  religious  worship,  renders  it 
impossible  ever  to  effect  such  union  in  either  of  said 
Towns  as  to  enable  them  happily  to  settle  and  main- 
tain the  Gospel  Ministry  amongst  them  with  that  har- 
mony which  ought  ever  to  reign  in  religious  Societies, 
without  a  division  of  said  Town  into  Parishes. — And 
whereas  the  inhabitants  of  different  sentiments  are 
so  intermixed  in  their  Settlements  that  Parish  lines 
would  not  effect  the  desired  end — Your  petitioners 
therefore  pray  the  General  Court  to  grant  the  Sub- 
scribers with  such  others  as  may  hereafter  join  with 
them  such  privileges  and  immunities  of  a  Poll  parish 
as  may  enable  them  to  erect  and  maintain  in  proper 
repair  a  place  for  Public  Worship  and  to  raise  and 
apply  money  for  the  support  of  the  Ministry  among 
them  and  with  such  other  privileges  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  the  well  ordering  of  parish  affairs. — 

"  Cornish,  November  the  1st  A  D  1788 

"Elisha  Read  John  Cady 

James  Hunter  Chester  Chapman 

Walter  Foss  Nathan  Hains 

Thomas  Hall  Hezekiah  Fitch 

Nathaniel  Higgins  Nath"  Bartlet 

Thomas  Lewey  Samuel  Read 

Abel  Stone  Jur  Samuel  Bartlet 

Daniel  Freeman  Joel  Hildreth 

Jabez  Spicer  Samuel  Mackres 

John  Bartlett  Abel  Johnson 

Benjm  Read  James  Ripley 

John  Lucas  David  Read 

Jonathan  Read  Levi  Stone 

Joseph  Kinyon  Joseph  Smith 


146 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Simon  Blanchard 
Joshua  Woodward 
Abel  Stone 
Moody  Hall 
Willm  Ripley 
Jesse  Johnson 
Reuben  Jerald 
John  Whitten 


Daniel  Cole 
Nathan  Whiting 
James  Fitch 
Andrew  Tracy 
Elisha  Herrick 
John  Spaulding 
Moses  Barrows 
Moses  Barrows,  Junr 


Eliphalet  Kimball,  Junr    James  Ladieu 
Lovil  Kimball  Moses  Chase 

Josiah  Stone  Samuel  Fitch 

Will"'  Lewey  David  Smith 

"  This  Certifies  that  a  Copy  of  the  within  Petition 
and  order  of  the  Court  thereon  was  posted  up  in  a 
public  place  in  the  towns  of  Cornish  and  Plainfield 
and  also  a  Copy  of  the  same  delivered  to  the  Select- 
men of  each  Town  on  the  first  day  of  December  A  D 

1788  agreable  to  the  order  of  Court — 
"In  behalf  of  the  Petitioners 
"Cornish  December  20th  A  D  1788 

"Attest    Will™  Ripley 

"Reuben  Jerald." 

In  House  of  Representatives,  November  8, 
1788,  a  hearing  was  ordered  for  the  next  ses- 
sion. 

Relative  to  Paying  Ministerial  Rates. 

"Cornish  Decemr  19th  1788 
"At  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 

Cornish  held  the  25th  of  June  A  D  1783  the  following 

Vote  was  pasd — Viz — 

"That   from   and   after   the  2<.tlh   of  Sept   next  no 

person  Shall  be  held  or  bound  by  Civil  Contract,  to 

pay  any  taxes  for  the  Support  of  the  Gospel,  unless 

he  Shall  previously  Consent  thereto. 

"  a  true  Coppy  attest 

"Caleb  Chase,  Town  Clerk" 

"  We  the  subscribers  having  formerly  sigued  a  pe- 
tition to  the  General  Court  for  a  Poll  Parish  in  the 
Towns  of  Cornish  and  Plainfield  having  by  more 
mature  deliberation  considered  its  prenitious  affects 
and  finding  there  is  a  promising  prospect  of  this  Town 
generaly  uniting  in  one  Society  and  being  persuaded 
that  a  Pole  Parish  established  here  would  grately  im- 
pead  said  Union — do  hereby  resind  from  the  above 
mentioned  petition 


As  witness  our  Hands 
'Cornish  Decern:  21st  1788 


"  David  Smith 
"John  Lucas 
"Samuel  Mack  res 

"  Moses  BURROWS" 


Documents  relative  to  Nathaniel  Curtice,  Soldier. 

"  The  diposition  of  Moses  Chase,  Jur.  of  lawful 
age  testifys  and  says — that  I  was  in  the  Continental 
service  in  general  gates  Department  and  was  knowing 
to  Nathan1  Curtice's  being  a  soldier  there  in  Cap" 
Waits  Company  and  belonged  to  the  artillery. 

"  Moses  Chase  Jr 

"The  Diposition  of  Nathaniel  Bartlet  of  lawful 
age  testifyes  and  says — that  I  was  in  the  army  in 
general  gates  Department  and  in  the  year  1777  had 
knowledge  of  Nathaniel  Curtises  belonging  to  the 
army  and  Did  the  Duty  of  a  soldier  in  the  artillery 

"  Nathaniel  Bartlet  " 

Daniel  Chase  testifies  in  a  similar  manner. 
They  were  in  General  Stark's  command.  Curtice 
was  ruptured  in  the  scrotum,  so  say  "  David 
Hall  Sol0  Chase,  Physicians,"  of  Cornish. 

Memorial  of  Andrew  Wilkins,  Soldier. 

In  a  petition  dated  1794,  Andrew  Wilkins, 
of  Cornish,  says  that  he  was  a  soldier  in  Col- 
onel Bedel's  regiment  in  Canada  in  1776  ;  was 
taken  prisoner  at  the  Cedars  by  the  British 
and  Indians,  and  the  Indians  "  striped  him  ot 
all  his  clothes  except  one  shirt  and  one  pair  of 
Breeches,  also  a  very  valuable  gun,"  etc.,  all  of 
the  value  of  £10  10s.,  which  he  asks  the  State 
to  pay. 

ecclesiastical  history. 

Congregational  Church. — The  first  Con- 
gregational Church  in  this  town  was  organized 
September  29,  1768,  with  Rev.  James  Welhnau  as 
pastor,  who  remained  until  October,  1785,  when 
the  church  was  dissolved. 

In  November  of  the  same  year  a  Congregational 
Church  was  organized  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
town,  with  twenty-one  members.  Peace  prevailed 
in  this  society  until  the  subject  of  building  a 
meeting-house  came  up  for  consideration  in  1784. 
A  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  town  in  1787  (never  finished),  and 
another  in  the  centre  of  the  town  in  1788.  The 
two  churches  were  in  a  constant  state  of  trouble 
until  179-),  when  the  Rev.  Bey  Bell  was  installed 
pastor  over  both,  and,  in  1799,  the  church  was 
united  and  harmonious.     In  this  year  a  house  of 


CORNISH. 


147 


worship  was  built  on  the  hill  in  the  centre  of  the 
town. 

The  following  is  a  petition  for  incorporation  of 
a  Congregational  Society  : 

"  To  the  Honble  General  Court  of  the  State  of  New- 
hampshire. 
"The  petition  of  the  subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Cornish  in  the  County  of  Cheshire  in  sd  State 
Humbly  Sheweth — That  the  diversity  of  sentiments 
in  matters  of  religion  (there  being  an  Episcopal  and 
a  Baptist  Society  in  sd  Town)  renders  it  difficult  to 
build  a  Meeting  house  &  settle  and  maintain  the 
Gospel  Ministry  among  them  as  a  Town.  And 
whereas  the  People  of  different  Sentiments  are  so  in- 
termixed in  their  Settlements,  that  parish  lines  would 
not  effect  the  desired  purpose — your  petitioners  there- 
fore pray  the  General  Court,  to  incorporate  the  Sub- 
scribers with  such  others  as  shall  be  disposed  to  join 
with  them,  into  a  Society  by  name  of  the  Congregation- 
al Society  in  Cornish,  with  such  privileges  and  im- 
munities as  may  enable  them  to  erect  and  maintain  in 
proper  repair  a  House  for  public  worship,  and  to  raise 
and  apply  money  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  Minis- 
try amongst  us — and  with  such  other  privileges  as 
may  be  necessary  for  the  well  ordering  of  parish 
affairs, — 

"  And  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 
"  Cornish  November  the  21st  1798 

"Andrew  Tracy  Moody  Chase 

James  Gage  Reuben  Jerrold 

Moses  Harrington  James  Ripley 

Wm  Choate  Jr  Benj.  Corning 

Asa  Coburn  Jonathn  Bingham 

Lemuel  Tracy  Nath1  Huggins 

Philip  Taber  Ebenr  Martindale 

Ichabod  Smith  Jr  Jabez  Spicer 

Elias  Martindale  Samuel  Bartlet 

Joshua  Wyman  Wm  Bartlet 

Jacob  Whipple  Asa  Coburn  2nd 

James  Hunter  Nathaniel  Curtis 

Thomas  Williams  James  Harlow 

Dudley  Coburn  Frederick  Bingham 

Simeon  Butterfield  Samuel  Whitton 

Josiar  Stone  Edward  Kimball 

Daniel  Chase  Clement  Chase 

David  Davis  Wm  Ripley 

Moody  Hall  Ebenr  Cobb 

David  Smith  Eliphalet  Kimball,  Jr. 

Thomas  Hastings  Nathan  Rand 

Elisha  Herrick  Aaron  Harrington 

Samuel  Fitch  Lovell  Kimball 

Benjn  Smith  Hezekiah  Fitch 

Samuel  Paine  Samuel  Wickwire 
10 


Thomas  Hall 
Joseph  Tabor 
Isaac  Simons 
Abel  Fairbanks 
Wm  Lane 
Wm  Choate  " 


Benjn  Dorr 
Nathaniel  Pierce 
Samuel  Bartlet  2'"1 
Robert  Nevins 
Joseph  Smith 
Timothy  W.  Hall 
Thomas  Lucy 

It  was  incorporated  June  14,  1799. 

A  new  meeting-house  was  erected  in  1841.  The 
pastors,  since  Rev.  Mr.  Ball,  have  been  as  follows  ' 
Revs.  Siloam  Short  (supply),  Joseph  Rowell,  F* 
W.  Clary,  A.  Spaulding,  Philander  Bates,  C.  M* 
Palmer  and  J.  T.  Jackson;  also,  Rev.  P.  D. 
Deming,  a  resident  Baptist  clergyman,  preached 
for  this  people  nearly  two  years. 

Episcopal  Church. — An  Episcopal  Church 
was  formed  here  in  1795.  The  following  is  the 
petition  for  the  act : 

"  To  the  Honble  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  in  general  court  assembled.     The  peti- 
tion of  the  subscribers  members  of  the  Episcopal 
Society  in  Coruish,  in  said  State,  humbly  sheweth 
"  That  for  many  years,  we  who  once  composed  the 
original  society  in  said  Town,  have  been  subjected  to 
great   inconveniences,   for  want  of  public   religious 
worship  and  instruction,  by  the  desertion  of  a  large 
part   of  the   people   of  said   Cornish,   but   are  now 
unitedly    associated,   without    infringing    upon    the 
peace  or  prosperity  of  any  other  society,  and  hope  by 
the    divine  blessing,   to  become   a  regular  &  well 
ordered  congregation. 

"  Encouraged  by  the  Honble  Legislatures  indulging 
other  religious  societies,  with  acts  of  incorporation, 
we  hereby  request  that  we  may  also  be  incorporated, 
by  an  act  of  General  Court,  by  the  name  of  Christ's 
Church,  with  power  to  receive,  and  hold  property 
both  real  and  personal,  and  to  have  and  enjoy  all 
other  privileges  and  immunities  belonging  to  a  cor- 
porate body.     And  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound 

shall  ever  pray. — 

"  Cornish  May  20th 

"  1794. 

"Caleb  Chase        )    _     , 

>    \\ardem 
"  Nathaniel  Hall  J 

"  Dudley  Chase 

"Dier  Spaldin<; 

"  Jonathan  Chase    r  Vestrymen' 

"  Andrew  Wilkins 

"Solomon  Chase 


148 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


This  church  was  incorporated  December  24, 
1795,  by  the  name  of  Trinity  Church. 

Baptist  Church. — The  Baptist  Church  in 
Cornish  owes  its  origin,  under  God,  to  the  labors 
of  Revs.  Thomas  Baldwin,  afterwards  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  John  Peake,  of  Windsor,  Vt.,  and  John 
Drew,  of  Hartford,  Vt.  These  worthies  made  fre- 
quent visits  into  the  town,  preaching  under  the 
shade  of  some  favoring  tree,  or  in  some  barn,  or 
school  house,  or  private  dwelling,  as  occasion  offered, 
and,  as  a  result  of  their  efforts,  the  church  was 
formed  in  1789.  The  organization  was  effected  by 
the  Rev.  Jedediah  Hibbard,  of  Lebanon,  N.  H., 
July  1789,  in  a  barn  owned  by  Moses  Barrows, 
about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  southwest  of  the  summit 
of  Fernald  Hill,  and  about  five  rods  north  from 
the  road.  This  road,  though  now  little  used,  was 
then  the  great  thoroughfare  between  Windsor  and 
Boston.  There  were  but  nine  constituent  mem- 
bers, viz.:  Samuel  and  Rebecca  Meekers,  Jonas 
and  Zilpah  Richardson,  Moses  and  Elizabeth 
Barrows,  Nathaniel  Dustin,  Elizabeth  Thomson, 
and  Charity  Harlow.  The  last  named  survived 
all  the  rest,  and  died  in  1868,  in  the  one  hundredth 
year  of  her  age.  Her  memory  was  remarkably 
clear  and  strong,  and  many  facts  relating  to  the 
early  days  of  the  church  were  obtained  from  her. 

In  1790  six  others  joined  the  little  company. 
Their  meetings  were  held  at  private  residences  in 
different  parts  of  the  town.  The  oldest  church 
records,  now  known  to  exist,  bear  date  of  June 
24,  1791.  Rev.  Jedediah  Hibbard  was  pastor, 
Moses  Weld  clerk  and  Samuel  Hilliard  deacon. 
They  sustained  preaching  only  a  part  of  the  time 
and  were  thrown  wholly  upon  their  own  resources 
by  the  removal  of  their  pastor  to  St.  Armand, 
P.  Q.,  in  1795  Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  sus- 
taining preaching,  they  attempted,  at  one  time,  to 
unite  with  the  Plainfield,  now  the  Meriden,  Bap- 
tist Church  ;  at  another  time  with  the  Newport 
Baptist  Church ;  and  still  another  time  with  the 
Cornish  Congregational  Church,  in  the  support  of 
preaching.  But  failing  of  success  in  each  case, 
they  contented  themselves  with  the  services  ren- 
dered bv  some  of  their  own  number — Deacon  Sam- 


uel Hilliard  at  one  time  "  improving  his  gifts," 
and  Brother  Uriah  Smith  at  another.  This  con  • 
tinued  until  1603,  when  Rev.  Ariel  Kendrick  be- 
came their  pastor.  He  served  them  eighteen 
years,  during  which  time  they  enjoyed  three  sea- 
sons of  revival,  and  were  greatly  strengthened  and 
blessed.  1  give  the  names  of  succeeding  pastors, 
not  including  supplies,  in  their  order  :  Simeon  W. 
Beckwith,  Gibbon  Williams,  Oliver  Barron,  David 
Burroughs,  Nahum  P.  Foster,  Phineas  Bond, 
D.  P.  Deming,  H.  C  Leavitt,  G.  S.  Smith,  G.  A. 
Glines,  J.  K.  Chase,  D.  Donovan. 

The  church  edifice,  erected  on  a  hill  near  the 
centre  of  the  town,  was  dedicated  in  1805.  This 
house  was  taken  down  in  1818,  and  removed  to  its 
present  site  at  Cornish  Flat,  and  the  sermons  at 
both  its  dedication  and  rededication  were  preached 
by  Rev.  Aaron  Leland,  of  Chester.  Vt.  The 
house  was  remodeled  in  1846,  and  a  spire  was 
added  to  it  and  other  important  repairs  made  in 
1883. 

The  church  gave  letters  of  dismission  to  quite  a 
number  of  its  members  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing a  Baptist  Church  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  in 
the  year  1821,  and  sent  its  pastor,  Rev.  A.  Kend- 
rick, and  three  of  the  brethren,  to  aid  in  the  organ- 
ization. 

A  goodly  number  of  preachers  of  the  gospel 
have  also  at  various  times  gone  forth  from  this 
church.  Prominent  among  these  may  be  named 
Rev.  Geo  H.  Hough,  missionary  to  Burmah,  an 
associate  of  Judson  both  in  labors  and  in  a  part 
at  least  of  his  prison  sufferings.  There  were  also 
Daniel  F.  and  Horace  Richardson,  Calvin  Baker, 
Charles  H.  Green  and  D.  P.  Deming,  men  of  tried 
fidelity  and  devotion,  of  whom  the  last  named  has 
many  times  rendered  the  church  valuable  service 
and  is  still  active  in  his  sympathies  with  it. 

The  church  property  includes  a  convenient  and 
comfortable  parsonage,  with  a  good  garden-plot  of 
about  half  an  acre  of  land.  The  grounds  surround- 
ing the  church  are  ample  for  all  its  wants,  and  a 
neat  enclosure,  adorned  with  shade  trees,  fronts  it 
and  forms  the  entrance  to  it  from  the  centre  of  the 
village. 


CORNISH. 


149 


The  membership,  though  greatly  reduced  and 
depleted  by  frequent  removals  to  business  centres, 
is  now  about  one  hundred  strong.  Regular  ser- 
vices are  maintained,  the  Sunday-school  is  flourish- 
ing, and  the  outlook  hopeful. 

Good  libraries,  to  which  valuable  additions  are 
made  from  time  to  time,  are  connected  with  both 
church  and  Sunday-school.  Thus  an  effort  is 
made  to  foster  a  taste  for  good  reading.  May  the 
foundations  thus  laid  by  good  men  and  true  sus- 
tain a  superstructure  worthy  of  the  zeal  and  devo- 


tion of  its  founders,  and  continue  a  source  of  divine 
blessing  to  all  future  time. 

A  Baptist  Church  was  formed  here  in  1791. 
There  is  also  a  Methodist  Church  in  the  town  at 
the  Centre.  The  town  has  a  population  of  eleven 
hundred  and  fifty-seven. 

Postmaster,  Cornish,  W.  E.  Deming;  centre, 
G.  E.  Hilliard  ;  south,  G.  E.  Fairbanks ;  Cornish 
Flat,  J.  C.  Boynton;  physician,  G.  W.  Hunt. 
The  town  is  sixty  miles  northwest  from  Concord, 
and  its  railroad  station  is  Windsor,  Vt. 


HISTORY   OF   CROYDON. 


BY   EDMUND   WHEELER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Croydon,  in  Sullivan  County,  N.  H.,  is  situ- 
ated on  the  highland  between  the  Connecticut  and 
Merrimack  rivers,  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Grantham,  east  by  Springfield  and  Sunapee,  south 
by  Newport,  and  west  by  Cornish.  Area,  twenty- 
six  thousand  acres;  distance  from  Concord,  the 
capital  of  the  State,  forty-four  miles ;  from  Leb- 
anon, seventeen  miles,  and  from  Newport,  nearest 
railroad  station,  seven  miles.  Much  of  its  scenery 
is  wild  and  picturesque.  The  soil  is  diversified. 
That  bordering  on  Sugar  River  is  rich  and  pro- 
ductive ;  as  we  rise  gradually  back  upon  the  hills 
it  yields  excellent  grass,  wheat  and  potatoes,  while, 
as  we  ascend  still  higher  up  the  mountain  sides,  we 
find  only  pasturage  and  forests,  and  these  are  over- 
topped with  lofty  piles  of  granite. 

Mountains. —  Croydon  Mountain,  which  extends 
across  the  western  part  of  the  town,  is  the  highest 
elevation  in  the  county,  being  nearly  three  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  com- 
mands an  extensive  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
prospects  in  the  State,  and  its  charms  are  attested 
by  its  many  and  enthusiastic  visitors.  The  other 
elevations  are  the  Pinnacle  and  Sugar  Hill  in  the 
central,  Baptist  Hill  in  the  southern,  Pine  Hill  in 
the  northern,  and  Baltimore  and  Camel's  Hump 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  town.  On  the 
southern  slope  of  the  latter  is  a  magnificent  por- 
trait of  the  human  face,  known  as  "Aaron,"  sup- 
posed to  be  a  sentinel  placed  there  by  the  hand  of 
a  wise  Providence  to  guide  and  protect  a  chosen 
people,  the  best  view  of  which  is  obtained  from  the 
150 


old  Croydon  Turnpike,  above  the  church,  at  the 
Flat. 

Ponds. — Long,  Rocky  Bound,  and  Spectacle 
in  the  eastern,  and  Governor's  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  town,  are  the  principal  bodies  of  water, 
in  some  of  which  is  excellent  fishing. 

Rivers. — The  north  branch  of  Sugar  River 
flows  through  the  town  in  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion, and  affords  some  of  the  best  water-power  in 
the  vicinity,  although  but  little  utilized  at  the 
present  time.  The  other  principal  streams  are 
Beaver,  Ash  Swamp  and  Long  Pond  brooks. 

Villages. — Four  Corners,  being  near  the  centre 
of  the  town  and  on  the  Croydon  Turnpike,  thus 
the  great  thoroughfare,  and  having  a  church,  tav- 
ern, store,  offices  and  shops,  was  once  the  centre  of 
trade ;  but  railroads,  diverting  the  travel,  and  the 
want  of  water-power,  has  caused  its  decline. 

East  Village. — Situated  on  the  north  branch  of 
Sugar  River  at  the  head  of  Spectacle  Pond,  and 
on  the  main  road  from  Newport  to  Lebanon,  con- 
tains the  town  hall,  a  post-office,  store,  church, 
hotel,  saw  and  grist-mill,  carpenter  and  black- 
smith's shop.  Here,  also,  is  one  of  the  best  district 
schools  in  the  county.  Distant  from  railroad 
station,  at  Newport,  seven  miles,  on  the  Concord 
and  Claremont  railroad. 

Croydon  Flat  is  situated  on  the  north  branch  of 
Sugar  River  at  its  junction  with  Beaver  Brook,  and 
at  the  head  of  the  extended  meadows  below.  Here 
is  a  church,  store,  post-office  and  various  mills  and 
shops.  From  here  large  amounts  of  excelsior 
handles  and  lumber  are  shipped  annually.    Three 


CROYDON. 


151 


and   one-half  miles   from   railroad  station,  New- 
port. 

Charter. — The  charter  of  Croydon,  signed  by 

Benning  AVentworth,  and  countersigned  by  Theo- 
dore Atkinson,  is  dated  May  31,  1763. 

The  following  are  the   names  of  the   original 
proprietors  of  Croydon  : 

Samuel  Chase.  Moody  Chase.   . 

Ephraim  Sherman.  Daniel  Marsh. 

James  Wellmau.  Samuel  Ayers. 

Antipas  Hollan.  Joseph  Vinson. 

Enoch  Marble.  Timothy  Darling. 

Jonathan  Chase.  Jones  Brown. 

Thomas  Dana.  David  Sherman. 

John  Stow.  Ebenezer  Rawson. 

Moses  Chase.  Samuel  Sherman. 

Seth  Chase.  James  Richardson. 

Stephen  Hall.  Daniel  Putnam. 

Daniel  Chase.  Samuel  Dudley. 

Ephraim  Sherman,  Jr.        William  Dudley. 

John  Temple.  Abraham  Temple. 

Samuel  Chase,  Jr.  Benjamin  Morse. 

Ebenezer  Waters.  James  Whipple. 

Dudley  Chase.  Benjamin  Morse,  Jr. 

Gershom  Waite.  Joseph  Mirriam. 

March  Chase.  John  Whipple. 

Phineas  Leland.  Willis  Hall. 

Luke  Drury.  Benjamin  Wallis. 

Thomas  M.  Clening.  Silas  Hazeltine. 

Solomon  Aldridge.  Jonathan  Hall. 

Daniel  Chase,  Jr.  Richard  Wibird. 

Jonathan  Aldridge.  John  Downing. 

James  Taylor.  Daniel  Warner. 

Joseph  Whipple.  Stephen  Chase. 

Silas  Warring.  Parsons. 

Solomon  Chase.  David  Temple. 

Benjamin  Wood.  Solomon  Leland. 

Caleb  Chase.  John  Holland. 

Moses  Whipple.  William  Waite. 

Benjamin  Leland. 
They  held  their  first  meeting  at  Grafton,  Mass., 
June  17,  1763;  their  first  meeting  in  Croydon, 
January  17,  1798;  their  last,  January  17,  1810. 

Settlement. — In  the  spring  of  1766  Moses 
Whipple,  Seth  Chase,  David  Warren,  Ezekiel 
Powers  and  others  came  to  Croydon  from  Graf- 
ton, Mass.,  and  made  some  preliminary  prepara- 
tions for  a  settlement.     Soon  after  their  return, 


Seth  Chase,  with  his  wife  and  child,  started  for 
this  place.  This  was  the  first  family  established 
in  town.  They  arrived  June  1.0,  1766,  and  three 
days  after  (June  13)  commenced  the  erection  of 
their  log-cabin.  On  the  24th  of  the  same  month, 
Moses  Whipple  and  David  Warren  arrived  with 
their  families.  The  next  year  Moses  Leland  and 
Ezekiel  Powers  came  to  town.  In  the  autumn  of 
1768,  four  more  families  arrived,  and  in  1769  the 
tide  of  emigration,  setting  this  way,  soon  made 
them  respectable  in  numbers.  The  'first  town- 
meeting  was  held  March  8,  1768. 

Mr.  Chase  erected  his  cabin  about  one-half 
mile  southwest  from  Spectacle  Pond,  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Moses  Barton ;  Mr.  Whipple,  on 
the  swell  of  land  between  the  Four  Corners  and 
East  Village,  on  the  farm  of  Horace  S.  Fowler, 
long  known  as  the  "Edward  Hall  place;"  Mr. 
Warren,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Pinnacle,  near 
the  cemetery ;  Mr.  Powers,  on  the  Caleb  K.  Lov- 
erin  farm,  near  the  East  Village,  and  Mr.  Leland 
in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Charles  H.  Forehand.  The  Stowes  and 
Metcalfs  settled  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town, 
in  a  district  called  Brighton ;  the  Wheelers,  Ja- 
cobs, Townes  and  Hagars,  in  the  south  part,  on  an 
elevation  known  as  Baptist  Hill ;  the  Kemptons, 
at  the  Flat;  the  Kyders,  in  the  southeast  part, 
and  the  Goldthwaits  and  Benjamin  Barton,  in  the 
northwest  part  of  the  town.  The  Putnams  settled 
near  the  centre  of  the  town  south  of  the  Pinnacle; 
the  Halls,  on  the  place  where  Peter  Hurd  now 
resides,  on  the  west  side  of  Sugar  Hill ;  the  Coop- 
ers, on  the  northwest  slope  of  Baltimore  Hill. 

The  pioneers  were  intelligent,  honest,  indus- 
trious and  frugal,  and  were  distinguished  for 
more  than  an  ordinary  share  of  physical  and  men- 
tal endowments.  As  a  result,  it  would  be  ex- 
pected that  their  descendants  would  possess  more 
or  less  of  the  peculiarities  of  their  parents.  As  a 
result  of  this  inheritance,  wherever  you  find  them 
scattered  abroad  over  the  country,  in  whatever 
calling  or  profession,  they  usually  maintain  a  high 
standard  for  proficiency  and  integrity,  and  reflect 
honor  upon  their  native  town. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


MILITARY. 

The  Revolution. — The  sympathies  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Croydon  were  early  enlisted  in  the 
Revolutionary  struggle.  Soon  after  the  Battle  of 
Lexington,  they  sent  Eleazer  Leland  and  Abner 
Brigham  to  join  the  Provincial  army ;  enrolled  a 
company  of  twelve  minute-men ;  raised  eight 
pounds  to  purchase  a  town  supply  of  ammunition, 
and  chose  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Powers, 
Phineas  Sanger,  Abner  Brigham  and  Joseph  Hall 
a  "  committee  of  safety."  In  1777  nine  men  from 
Croydon  joined  a  company  of  militia,  commanded 
by  Captain  Solomon  Chase,  of  Cornish,  and 
marched  to  Ticonderoga.  Eight  men  joined  the 
company  of  Captain  Hardy,  of  Hanover,  and 
united  with  the  forces  of  General  Stark,  at 
Charlestown.  Captain  Moses  Whipple,  with  a 
company  composed  partly  of  men  from  Cornish, 
"  turned  out "  to  stop  the  progress  of  Burgoyne. 
Croydon  maintained  its  interest  and  contributed 
its  full  share  of  men  and  means  until  the  close  of 
the  war. 

The  following  is  an  imperfect  list  of  those 
citizens  of  Croydon  who  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War : 


Bazaleel  Barton. 
Benjamin  Barton. 
Abner  Brigham. 
Cornel  Chase. 
John  Cooper,  Jr. 
Joel  Cooper. 
Sherman  Cooper. 
Ezra  Cooper. 
Benjamin  Cutting. 
John  Druce. 
Amos  Dwinnell. 
Enoch  Emerson. 
Timothy  Fisher. 
Ezra  Hall. 
Daniel  Emerson. 
Edward  Hall,  Jr. 
Amos  Hagar. 
Bazaleel  Gleason. 
Jonas  Cutting. 
James  How. 
Abijah  Hall. 


Stephen  Powers. 
Urias  Powers. 
David  Powers. 
Samuel  Powers. 
David  Putman. 
Caleb  Putman. 
Jacob  Hall. 
Benjamin  Sherman. 
Ezekiel  Rooks. 
Daniel  Rooks. 
David  Stockwell. 
Phineas  Sanger. 
John  Sanger. 
Isaac  Sanger. 
Robert  Spencer. 
Benj.  Swinnerton. 
Benj.  Thompson. 
Greshorn  Ward. 
Aaron  Warren. 
Moses  Warren. 
Moses  Whipple. 


James  Hall. 
Joseph  Hall. 
Samuel  R.  Hall. 
Eleazer  Leland. 
Rufus  King. 
Rufus  Kempton. 
Phineas  Newton. 


Thomas  Whipple. 
Aaron  Whipple. 
Isaac  Woolson. 
Nathaniel  Wheeler. 
Samuel  Whipple. 
Seth  Wheeler. 


War  of  1812. — The  following  is  an  incomplete 
list  of  the  citizens  of  Croydon  who  served  in  the 
war  of  1812. 

Major,  Abijah  Powers.         Ensign,  Amasa  Hall. 

Privates. 


Samuel  Powers. 
Elijah  Darling. 
Sibley  Melendy. 
Abijah  Dunbar. 


Nathaniel  Wheeler. 
Charles  Cutting. 
Levi  Winter. 
Isaac  Cooper. 
Tyler  Walker. 

The  Rebellion. — The  following  is  an  imper- 
fect list  of  those  citizens  who  served  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  Rebellion : 

Chaplains  Robert  Stinson,    Anthony   C.  Hardy  ; 
Captains   John   W.   Putman,   E.  Darwin  Comings ; 
Lieutenants  Paine  Durkee,  Albert  Miner,  (wounded 
at  Fair  Oaks) ;   Sergeants  Oscar  D.  Allen,  (wounded 
at  Antietam,  killed  at   Gettysburg),  Lloyd  D.  Fore- 
hand,  (wounded  at   Fair    Oaks),    John   Blanchard, 
(wounded),  Hiram   K.  Darling,  William  D.  Angell, 
(died  in  the    service) ;    Corporals   George   E.   Frye, 
(killed  at  Chancellorsville),  Alvah  K.  Davis,  Henry 
H.  Haynes,  Irving  D.  Tobie,  Ephraim  Plympton  ; 
Privates,    Alonzo   Allen    (wounded    at    Fair   Oaks), 
Thomas  Ames,  (died  in  service),  George  Angell,  Jr., 
Sanford  T.  Barton,  (wounded  at   Fair  Oaks),  Henry 
Barton,  (killed  in  battle),  Frederick  J.  Burge,  William 
Bushy,  Charles  Baggatt,  Charles  L.  Bryant,  Rufus  W. 
Clark,  Alonzo  C.  Crooker,  John   Cabner,  James  P. 
Darling,  (wounded),  Warren  K.  Darling,  Walter  P. 
Darling,  George  S.  Davis,  (died),  Robert  Dinsmore, 
Leroy  Forehand,  Stephen  G.  Ford,  George  H.  Good- 
hue,    Jeremiah     Haynes,      Charles     C.      Howard, 
(wounded),  Franklin  J.  Hersey,  (killed  at  Fair  Oaks), 
Philip  Harding,  (killed  at  second  battle  of  Bull  Run), 
Edward  Hall,  Hiram  C.  Hall,  Charles  N.  Harridon, 
Herman  Jacobs,  Ambrose  Jerome,  Charles  K.  Jack- 
son, (died),  John  A.  Johnson,  W.  Wallace  Kidder, 
Thomas  Mack,  Abraham  Nutting,  Elias  F.  Powers, 
(died  at  Poolesville,  Md.,  February  17, 1863),  Charles 


CROYDON. 


153 


S.  Partridge,  Theodore  H.  Payne,  Nathan  Peyton, 
Isaac  P.  Rawson,  George  H.  Ross,  Albert  F.  Robbins, 
John  Riley,  Henry  H.  Stockwell,  (killed  at  Fair 
Oaks),  John  G.  Stockwell,  (died  at  Harper's  Ferry), 
Henry  H.  Squires,  Charles  L.  Stockwell,  (mortally 
wounded),  George  N.  Smith,  George  Tasker,  Austin 
L.  Whipple,  (died  in  service),  Eraile  Warren,  (died 
at  Anderson ville  Prison). 

A  few  of  the  above  were  substitutes,  and  not 
actual  citizens  of  the  town.  Twenty-five  of  them 
enlisted  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and  received 
but  ten  dollars  bounty.  They  were  all  volunteers. 
The  highest  bounty  paid  by  the  town  was  one 
hundred  dollars  per  year.  No  citizen  of  Croydon 
is  known  to  have  deserted  from  the  army  during 
the  war.  Many  of  them  re-enlisted  and  served 
until  the  close  of  hostilities. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  many  natives  of 
Croydon  who  enlisted  from  other  places  during 
the  war : 

Chaplain  Joseph  Sargent,  (died  in  the  service) ; 
Surgeons  Ira  W.  Bragg,  (naval  surgeon,  died  in  the 
service),  Sherman  Cooper,  David  C.  Powers,  Marshall 
Perkins,  Willard  0.  Hurd,  Willard  C.  Kempton  ; 
Captain  Walter  Forehand  ;  Lieutenant  Edward  Dow; 
Sharp-Shooter  Sergeant  Walter  P.  Blanchard ;  Priv- 
ates Leonard  Barton,  (mortally  wounded  in  battle), 
Peter  Barton,  Hiram  E.  W.  Barton,  Edward  W.  Col- 
lins, (wounded  at  first  Bull  Run  battle),  David  R. 
Eastman,  Marshall  P.  Hurd,  (killed  at  Antietam), 
Henry  Humphrey,  (died  in  the  service),  Orren 
Marsh,  Simeon  Partridge,  Dexter  Stewart,  Stephen 
M.  Thornton,  John  Thornton,  George  H.  Thornton, 
(died  in  the  service),  Horace  P.  Hall. 

Croydon   has  furnished   to   the   militia  of  the 
State  the  following  officers  : 
Maj.-Gen.  N.  Emery. 

Colonels. 
Jarvis  Adams.  Calvin  Kempton. 

Otis  Cooper.  Samuel  Powers. 

Freeman  Dunbar.  Nathan.  Wheeler,  Jr. 

Daniel  R.  Hall.  Moses  Whipple. 

Majors. 
Abijah  Powers.  Lemuel  P.  Cooper. 

Peter  Stow. 

The  Croydon  Light  Infantry,  and  subsequently 


the  Rifle  Company,  with  their  tasty  uniforms  and 
equipments  and  fine  drill,  were  for  many  years  a 
source  of  pride  to  the  town 

CHURCHES. 

Congregation alists. — The  first  church  was 
organized  September  9,  1778,  and  was  of  the  Pres- 
byterian order.  The  following  are  the  names  of 
its  members :  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Powers, 
Isaac  Sanger,  John  Cooper,  Joseph  Hall,  Jacob 
Leland,  John  Sanger,  Catherine  Whipple,  Rachel 
Powers,  Mary  Cooper,  Anna  Leland,  Lydia  Hall, 
Hannah  Giles  and  Lucy  Whipple.  The  first  meet- 
ing-house was  built  in  1794,  and  in  1828  it  was 
taken  down  and  converted  into  a  town  hall.  The 
first  minister,  Rev.  Jacob  Haven,  was  settled  June 
18,  1787,  and  he  continued  pastor  until  1834,  after 
which  he  remained  senior  pastor  until  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  March  17,  1845,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years.  A  new  and 
commodious  church  edifice  was  built  in  1826, 
which  was  regularly  occupied  by  the  society  until 
1874  when  it  was  closed.  Rev.  Eli  W.  Taylor,  a 
native  of  Hinesburg,  Vt.,  was  installed  pastor 
June  10,  1834  and  was  dismissed  December  27, 
1837.  Aurelius  S.  Swift,  of  Fairlee,  Vt.,  was  or- 
dained May  16,  1838,  and  dismissed  in  1841. 
After  his  removal  the  desk  was  supplied  by  Rev. 
Joel  Davis,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  for  several 
years,  after  which  it  was  supplied  by  various 
clergymen  until  1881.  At  the  latter  date  the 
Methodists  at  East  village  united  with  them  and 
settled  Rev.  D.  W.  Clark,  who  remained  until 
1883.     He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Goodhue. 

John  Cooper,  Esq.,  left  a  legacy  of  $350  to  this 
church  and  Mrs.  Rebecca  Kendall  one  of  $300. 

Free-Will  Baptist. — In  1810  some  thirty 
individuals  united  and  formed  a  Free-will  Baptist 
Church,  with  Elijah  Watson  as  elder ;  Eli  Davis 
and  David  Putnam  were  appointed  deacons.  It 
continued  to  flourish  for  some  time.  At  length  it 
was  given  up  and  a  larger  portion  of  its  members 
united  with  a  then  flourishing  church  at  North- 
ville,  in  Newport. 

Methodist. — Preachers  of  the  Methodist  order 


154 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


had  often  visited  the  town  and  organized  classes, 
but  it  was  not  until  1853  that  a  church  was  formed. 
At  that  time  a  society  comprising  some  thirty-six 
members,  was  organized.  In  1854  they  erected  a 
meeting-house  at  the  East  Village,  in  which  their 
services  have  since  been  held.  The  Rev.  C.  H. 
Lovejoy  was  their  first  pastor.  He  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Hays,  Russell,  Tilton, 
"Whidden,  Griffin,  Hardy,  Draper,  Rogers,  Quim- 
by,  Bradford,  Fiske,  Spaulding,  LeSeur,  Pickles 
and  Windsor.  In  1881  this  church  united  with 
the  Congregationalist  and  settled  the  Rev.  D.  AV. 
Clark  of  the  latter  denomination.  After  a  pastor- 
ate of  two  years  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  H. 
A.  Goodhue. 

Universalists. — From  its  earliest  settlement 
Croydon  contained  many  Universalists,  and  in 
1832  a  society  was  formed  embracing  some  fifty 
members,  who  held  their  meetings  in  the  town  hall 
until  1854,  when  Paul  Jacobs,  Esq.,  a  wealthy  and 
liberal  citizen  of  the  town,  built  a  house  of  worship 
at  the  Flat  and  gave  it  to  the  society.  Rev.  Rob- 
ert Stinson  was  the  only  settled  pastor,  but  the 
desk  has  been  supplied  by  able  ministers  of  the 
denomination. 

Calvinistic  Baptist. — Many  individuals  of 
this  town  have  connected  themselves  with  the 
Calvinistic  Baptist  society  at  Newport  Village. 

Civil  History. 
Town    Clerks. — The  following  is  the  list  of 
town   clerks  from  1768  to  1885  inclusive. 

Moses  Whipple,  from  1768  to  1772. 
John  Cooper,  from  1772  to  1775. 
Mo.se*  Whipple,  from  1775  to  1781. 
From  1781  to  1783,  no  records. 
Stephen  Powers,  from  1783  to  1789. 
Jesse  Green,  from  1789  to  1795. 
Jacob  Haven,  from  1795  to  1798. 
Reuben  Carroll,  from  1798  to  1805. 
Benjamin  Barton,  from  1805  to  1800. 
Reuben  Carroll,  from  1806  to  1807. 
Jacob  Haven,  from  1807  to  1815. 
Stephen  Eastman,  from  1815  to  1816. 
Jacob  Haven,  from  1816  to  1837. 
Benjamin  Skinner,  from  1837  to  1841. 
Daniel  R.  Hall,  from  1841  to  1850. 


Nathan  Hall,  from  1850  to  1861. 
Daniel  R.  Hall,  from  1861  to  1862. 
Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  from  1862  to  1864. 
Nathan  Hall,  from  1864  to  1865. 
Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  from  1865  to  1866. 
Alonzo  Allen,  from  1866  to  1883. 
Milon  C.  Cooper,  from  1883  to  1885. 

Representatives. — The  following  is  a  list  of 
;he   Representatives  of  Croydon,  from   1800    to 
885,  inclusive. 


800  Benjamin  Barton. 

801  Samuel  Powers. 

802  Samuel  Powers. 

803  Benjamin  Barton. 

804  Samuel  Powers. 

805  Samuel  Powers. 

806  Samuel  Powers. 

807  Samuel  Powers. 

808  Samuel  Powers. 

809  Peter  Stow. 

810  James  Breck. 

811  James  Breck. 

812  Samuel  Goldthwait. 

813  James  Breck. 

814  James  Breck. 

815  Obed  Metcalf. 

816  Nath.  Wheeler,  Jr. 

817  Stephen  Eastman. 

818  Stephen  Eastman. 

819  Stephen  Eastman. 

820  Abij ah  Powers. 

821  Abijah  Powers. 

822  Obed  Metcalf. 

823  Abijah  Powers. 

824  Amasa  Hall. 

825  Amasa  Hall. 

826  Carlton  Barton. 

827  Briant  Brown. 

828  Briant  Brown. 

829  Zina  Goldthwait. 

830  Carlton  Barton. 

831  Paul  Jacobs. 

832  Hiram  Smart. 

833  Zina  Goldthwait. 

834  Samuel  Morse. 

835  Paul  Jacobs. 

836  Alexander  Barton. 

837  Alexander  Barton. 


1838  Joseph  Eastman. 

1839  Joseph  Eastman. 

1840  John  Putnam. 

1841  Calvin  Hall. 

1842  (None.) 

1843  Alexander  Barton. 

1844  Lemuel  P.  Cooper. 

1845  Lemuel  P.  Cooper. 

1846  Ruel  Durkee. 

1847  Ruel  Durkee. 

1848  Lester  Blanchard. 

1849  Lester  Blanchard. 

1850  (None.) 

1851  Pliny  Hall. 

1852  Pliny  Hall. 

1853  Alfred  Ward. 

1854  Alfred  Ward. 

1855  Freeman  Crosby. 

1856  Wm.  M.  Whipple. 

1857  Martin  A.  Barton. 

1858  Freeman  Crosby. 

1859  No  choice. 

1860  No  choice. 

1861  Paine  Durkee. 

1862  Daniel  R.  Hall. 

1863  Daniel  R.  Hall. 

1864  Den.  Humphey. 

1865  Den.  Humphrey. 

1866  Worthen  Hall. 

1867  Worthen  Hall. 

1868  Albina  Hall. 

1869  Albina  Hall. 

1870  Eras.  D.  Comings. 

1871  Eras.  D.  Comings. 

1872  Otis  Cooper. 

1873  Otis  Cooper. 

1874  Nath.  P.  Stevens. 

1875  Nath.  P.  Stevens. 


I 


CROYDON. 


155 


1876  John  Blanehard. 

1877  John  Blanehard. 

1878  George  W.  Dunbar. 

1879  George  W.  Dunbar. 

1880  George  W.  Dunbar. 


1881  Hubbard  Cooper. 

1882  Hubbard  Cooper. 

1883  Daniel  Ide. 

1884  Daniel  Ide. 

1885  Sylv.  G.  Walker. 


The  following  is  an  imperfect  list  of  those  who 
have  been  called  to  represent  other  towns,  and  who 
received  their  political  training  in  Croydon  : 

Solomon  Clement,  Springfield,  N.  H. 

Orra  C.  Howard,  Springfield,  N.  H. 

Amos  Hall,  Grantham,  N.  H. 

Adolphus  Hall,  Grantham,  N.  H. 

William  Melendy,  Springfield,  N.  H. 

James  Breck,  Newport,  N.  H. 

John  B.  Stowell,  Newport,  N.  H. 

James  Hall,  Newport,  N.  H. 

Zina  Goldthwait,  Newport  N.  H. 

Edmund  Wheeler,  Newport,  N.  H. 

Levi  W.  Barton,  Newport,  N.  H. 

Paul  J.  Wheeler,  Newport,  N.  H. 

Henry  Breck,  Cornish,  N.  H. 

Orlando  Powers,  Cornish,  N.  H. 

Horace  Powers,  Morristown,  Vt. 

John  L.  Marsh,  Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Moses  Humphrey,  Concord,  N.  H. 

Aaron  Barton,  Piermont  N.  H. 

Hiram  Smart,  Jr.,  Plaistow,  N.  H. 

Orra  Crosby  Hardwick,  Vt. 

Luther  J.  Fletcher,  Lowell,  Mass. 

Joshua  B.  Merrill,  Barnstead,  N.  H. 

Sherburne  Merrill,  Colebrook,  N.  H. 

Alvin  Sargent,  Sanbornton,  N.  H. 

Charles  Powell,  Allentown,  N.  H. 

John  Ferrin,  Morristown,  Vt. 

Harrison  Ferrin,  Morristown,  Vt. 

Nathaniel  Cooper,  Leon,  N.  Y. 

Alexander  Barton,  Ludlow,  Vt. 

Jonas  C.  Kempton,  Nashua,  N.  H. 

James  W.  Putnam,  Danvers,  Mass. 

George  F.  Putnam,  Warren,  N.  H. 

William  Breck,  Claremont,  N.  H. 

Stillman  Humphrey,  Concord,  N.  H. 

Alvin  Sargent,  Holderness,  N.  H. 

Joseph  Sargent,  died  in  army. 

Daniel  Warren,  Waterbury,  Vt. 
Selectmen. — The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Se- 
lectmen of  Croydon,  from  1768  to  1885  inclusive : 
1768. — Moses  Leland,  Moses  Whipple,  David  Warren. 


1769. — Moses  Leland,  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 
1770. — Isaac  Sanger,  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 
1771. — Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Powers,  David  War- 
ren. 

1772. — John  Cooper,  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 

1773. — John  Cooper,  Moses  Whipple,  Benjamin  Swin- 
nerton. 

1774. — Moses  Whipple,  John  Cooper,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 

1775. — Moses    Whipple,    Stephen    Powers,   Phineas 
Sanger. 

1776. — John  Cooper,  Moses  Whipple,  Benjamin  Swin- 
nerton. 

1777. — Moses  Whipple,    Stephen    Powers,    Phineas 
Sanger. 

1778. — Stephen  Powers,  Benjamin  Swinnerton,  Joseph 
Hall. 

1779. — Moses  Whipple,  John  Cooper,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 

1780. — Moses  Whipple,  John  Powers,  Benjamin  Pow- 
ers. 

1781.— Stephen  Powers,  Phineas  Sanger,  David  Put- 
nam. 

1782. — John  Cooper,  Moses  Whipple,  Stephen  Pow- 
ers. 

1785. — Edward  Hall,  Stephen  Powers,  Phineas  San- 
ger. 

1786. — John  Cooper,  E*dward  Hall,  Moses  Whipple. 

1787. — Stephen   Powers,   Benjamin   Barton,  Simeon 
Partridge. 

1788. — Benjamin  Barton,  Jesse  Green,  David  Putnam. 

1789. — John  Cooper,  Benjamin  Powers,  Ezra  Cooper. 

1790. — Benjamin  Barton,  Abijah  Hall,  John  Cooper, 
Jr. 

1791. — Benjamin  Barton,  David  Putnam,  John  Cooper. 

1792. — Benjamin    Barton,    David    Putnam,   Samuel 
Powers. 

1793. — Benjamin    Barton,   David    Putnam,   Samuel 
Powers. 

1794. — Benjamin  Barton,  John  Cooper,  Jr.,  Nathaniel 
Wheeler. 

1795. — Benjamin   Barton,   John   Cooper,  Jr.,  David 
Putnam. 

1796. — Benjamin    Barton,  Thomas  Whipple,   David 
Putnam. 

1797. — Samuel  Powers,  Simeon  Partridge,  Peter  Stow. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1798. — Benjamin  Barton,  John  Cooper,  Jr.,  Thomas 
Whipple. 

1799.— Benjamin    Barton,    Samuel    Powers,   Simeon 

Partridge.  * 

1800. — Benjamin   Barton,  John  Cooper,  Jr.,  Samuel 
Powers. 

1801.— John  Cooper,  Jr.,  Peter  Barton,  John  Nelson. 

1802. — Benjamin  Barton,  Peter  Barton,  John  Nelson. 

1803. — Samuel  Powers,  Peter  Stow,  Peter  Barton. 

1804. — Peter  Stow,  Peter  Barton,  Barnabas  Cooper. 

1805. — Peter  Stow,  Samuel   Gohlthwaite,  Peter  Bar- 
ton. 

1806. — Benjamin  Barton,  John  Nelson,  Stephen  East- 
man. 

1807.— Peter  Stow,  Obed  Metcalf,  Stephen  Eastman. 

1808. — Peter  Stow,  John  Cooper,  Asaph  Stow. 

1809. — John  Cooper,  James  Breck,  Asaph  Stow. 

1810. — John  Cooper,  James  Breck,  Stephen  Eastman. 

1811. — James  Breck,  Stephen  Eastman,  John  Hum- 
phry. 

1812.— James  Breck,  Stephen  Eastman,  Abijah  Pow- 
ers. 

1813. — Benjamin  Barton,  Stephen   Eastman,  Abijah 
Powers. 

1814. — John  Humphry,  Obed  Metcalf,  Solomon  Clem- 
ent. 

1815. — James    Breck,    Benjamin   Barton,   Nathaniel 
Wheeler,  Jr. 

1816. — Benjamin  Barton,  Obed  Metcalf,  Stephen  East- 
man. 

1817. — Stephen  Eastman,  Abijah  Powers,  Ezra  Gus- 
tin. 

1818. — John     Humphry,    Nathaniel     Wheeler,    Jr., 
Elisba  Partridge. 

1819. — Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Edward  Putnam,  Zina 
Goldthwait. 

1820. — Stephen    Eastman,   Nathaniel   Wheeler,   Jr., 
Henry  Breck. 

1821. — Nathaniel   Wheeler,    John   Humphry,   Obed 
Metcalf. 

1822.— Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Jr.,  John  Humphry,  Obed 
Metcalf. 

1823. — Stephen    Eastman,    Samuel    Morse,   Edward 
Hall. 

1824. — Stephen    Eastman,    Abijah  Powers,    Edward 
Hall. 

1825. — Abijah    Powers,   Stephen    Eastman,   Carlton 
Barton. 


1826.— Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Zina  Goldthwait 
David  Whipple. 

1827. — Abijah  Powers,  Carlton  Barton,  Edward  Hall. 

1828. — Abijah  Powers,  Carlton  Barton,  Hiram  Smart. 

1829. — Carlton  Barton,  Benjamin  Barton,  John  Bar- 
ton. 

1830. — Hiram  Smart,  Briant  Brown,  John  Barton. 

1831. — Hiram  Smart,  Carlton  Barton,  Moses  East- 
man. 

1832. — Carlton  Barton,  Paul  Jacobs,  Zina  Goldthwait. 

1833. — Hiram  Smart,  James  Hall,  Jr.,  Lemuel  P. 
Cooper. 

1834. — Hiram  Smart,  Zina  Goldthwait,  Moses  East- 
man. 

1835. — Henry  Breck,  Zina  Goldthwait,  Moses  East- 
man. 

1836. — Carlton  Barton,  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  Calvin 
Hall. 

1837.— Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  Calvin  Hall,  John  Put- 
nam. 

1838. — Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Jr.,  John  Putnam,  Sher- 
burne B.  Rowell. 

1839.— Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  Calvin  Hall,  Peter  Barton. 

1840.— Calvin  Hall,  William  C.  Carroll,  Sherburne  B. 
Rowell. 

1841. — Hiram  Smart,  Ruel  Durkee,  Calvin  Kempton. 

1842.— William  C.  Carroll,  Ruel  Durkee,  Freeman 
Crosby. 

1843. — Hiram  Smart,  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  John  C. 
Loverin. 

1844.— Ruel  Durkee,  John  C.  Loverin,  Timothy  G. 
Powers. 

1845.— Ruel  Durkee,  Timothy  G.   Powers,  William 

Darling. 
1846. — John  Putnam,  Josiah  Ide,  Moses  Haven. 
1847.— Timothy  G.  Powers,  Moses  Haven,  Ariel  Hall. 
1848. — Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  John  Putnam,  Martin  A. 

Barton. 

1849.— Ruel  Durkee,  Paul  J.  Wheeler,  Edmund  Row- 
ell. 

1850. — Ruel  Durkee,  Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  Dennison 
Humphrey. 

1851. — Martin  A.  Barton,  Ruel  Durkee,  Paine  Dur- 
kee. 

1852.— Ruel  Durkee,  Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  Hiram  C. 
Brown. 

1853. — Ruel  Durkee,  Hiram  C.  Brown,  Lemuel  P. 
Cooper. 


CROYDON. 


157 


1854. — John  Putnam,  Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  Caleb  L. 

Barton. 
1855. — Daniel  E.  Hall,  Otis  Cooper,  Elias  Powers. 
1856. — Hiram  C.  Brown,  Erasmus  D.  Comings,   Mar- 
tin C.  Bartlett. 
1857.— Ruel  Durkee,  Martin  C.  Bartlett,  Welcome  P. 

Partridge. 
1858. — Erasmus   D.    Comings,    Dellavan   D.    Marsh, 

Albert  G.  Barton. 
1859. — Ruel  Durkee,  Nathaniel  P.  Stevens,  Hiram  P. 

Kempton. 
1860. — Ruel  Durkee,  Nathaniel  P.  Stevens,  Hiram  P. 

Kempton. 
1861. — Ruel   Durkee,  John  W.  Putnam,  Martin  C. 

Bartlett. 
1862.— Ruel  Durkee,  Nathan  Hall,  David  E.  Ryder. 
1863.— Ruel  Durkee,  Nathan  Hall,  William  W.  Hall. 
1864.— Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Hall,  Daniel  Ide. 
1865.— Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Hall,  Elias  Powers. 
1866. — Ruel  Durkee,  Elias  Powers,  Oliver  C  Fore- 
hand. 
1867. — Ruel  Durkee,  Caleb  K.  Loverin,  Joshua  A. 

Codman. 
1868.— Ruel    Durkee,   Oliver    C.     Forehand,    John 

Blanchard. 
1869. — Ruel    Durkee,    John    Blanchard,   James   W. 

Davis. 
1870. — Ruel   Durkee,   James  W.  Davis,  George   N. 

Smith. 
1871. — Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Ryder,  Andrew  J. 

Sawyer. 
1872. — Ruel  Durkee,  Dennison  Humphrey,  Francis 

Dodge. 
1873. — Ruel  Durkee,  Dennison  Humphrey,  Francis 

Dodge. 
1874. — Ruel   Durkee,   Francis   Dodge,   William   W. 

Ryder. 
1875.— Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Ryder,  Frederick 

Barton. 
1876.— Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Ryder,  Frederick 

Barton. 
1877.— Ruel  Durkee,  William  W.  Ryder,  Frederick 

Barton. 
1878.— Ruel  Durkee,  Frederick  Barton,  Sylvester  G. 

Walker. 
1879. — Ruel  Durkee,  Sylvester  G.  Walker,   Eugene 

A.  Rowell. 
1880. — Ruel   Durkee,   Sullivan   J.  Brown,    Harrison 

Stockwell. 


1881. — Ruel    Durkee,   Sullivan   J.  Brown,  Harrison 

Stockwell. 
1882. — Ruel  Durkee,  Harrison  Stockwell,  Dana  W. 

Barton. 
1883.— Hezekiah  E.  Hanson,  William  B.  Kibby,  Ruel 

D.  Loverin. 
1884.— Hezekiah   E.    Hanson,    William    B.    Kibby 

Prentis  S.  Blanchard. 
1885.— George  W.  Stockwell,  Charles  H.  Forehand, 

John  C.  Loverin. 

Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  justices  of  the 
peace : 

Alonzo  Allen.  Martin  A.  Barton. 

Benjamin  Barton,  Jr.  Leonard  P.  Cooper. 

John  Cooper.  James  C.  Grandy. 

Daniel  R.  Hall.  Worthen  Hall. 

Nathan  Hall.  Albina  Hall. 

Paul  Jacobs.  Samuel  Morse. 

Abijah  Powers.  Elias  Powers. 

Benjamin  Barton.  Henry  Hurd. 

John  Barton.  Dellavan  D.  Marsh. 

Solomon  Clement.  Stephen  Power. 

Isaac  Cooper.  John  W.  Putnam. 

Otis  Cooper.  Sherburne  B.  Rowell. 

William  Dodge.  Benjamin  Skinner. 

Ruel  Durkee.  Hiram  Smart. 

Paine  Durkee.  Allen  Town. 

Stephen  Eastman.  Moses  Whipple. 

Joseph  Eastman.  Nathan.  Wheeler,  Jr. 

Charles  H.  Forehand.  Paul  J.  Wheeler. 

Lyman  Hall.  William  M.  Whipple. 

industries. 

Hotels. — Benjamin  Barton  and  Reuben  Car- 
roll at  Four  Corners,  and  Nathan  Hall,  William 
Allen  and  David  A.  Sargent,  at  the  East  village, 
have  been  hotel-keepers. 

Stores. — The  following  are  among  those  who 
have  been  engaged  in  trade :  William  Cheney, 
Solomon  Clement,  Henry  Breck,  Peter  Barton, 
Hiram  Smart,  at  Four  Corners  ;  Putnam  &  Cooper, 
Edward  Hall,  Ruel  Durkee,  Joel  Ferry,  George 
Dunbar  and  Rufus  Hall,  at  East  village,  and 
James  Breck,  Simeon  Edson,  Stephen  Eastman, 
Henry  Hurd,  James  and  Lyman  Hall,  Paul  J. 
Wheeler,  M.  L.  Barton,  D.  N.  Adams,  Daniel  R. 
Hall,  and  Harriet  Pillsbury  at  the  Flat;  Edward 


158 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Hall,  on  the  hill  between  Four  Corners  and  East 
village.  A  store  vras  run  for  awhile  at  the  Flat 
by  an  association  of  individuals. 

Factories. —  Woolen — Nathan  Clark,  Jr.,  and 
Samuel  Morse  at  East  village.  Knife — Joel 
Ferry,  East  village.  Starch — Paul  Jacobs  at  the 
Flat.  Kit  Factori/ — Moses  Humphrey  at  Flat. 
Excelsior — Pillsbury  Brothers  at  the  Flat.  There 
was  a  distillery  at  the  Flat,  where  cider  brandy  in 
quantities  was  made  for  a  number  of  years  by 
James  Hall. 

Tanneries. — Rufus  and  Ruel  Durkee  at  East 
Village,  and  Silas  Kempton  at  Flat.  The  former 
was  continued  for  many  years. 

Blacksmiths  — Levi  Dodge,  Four  Corners;  Jas- 
per Back,  John  Spiller,  Harry  Leeds,  East  vil- 
lage ;  Jacob  Dwinnells,  Leavit  Humphrey,  Obid 
Kempton,  Gardner  Woodbury,  Dennison  Hum- 
phry at  the  Flat ;  David  Fletcher,  in  Brighton 
district,  William  G.  Huntley. 

Shoemakers. — Perley  Dodge  at  Four  Corners ; 
Charles  Day,  David  W.  Frye,  Mr.  Pickernale, 
East  Village;  Jeremiah  Kempton,  Chase  Noyes, 
Silas  Kempton  at  the  Flat. 

Coopers. — Folansbee  Carroll,  John  P.  Carroll 
at  Four  Corners. 

Clothiers. — Israel  Goodwin  and  Stephen  East- 
man had  an  establishment  at  the  Flat,  and  Nathan 
Clark  one  at  East  village. 

Cording. — James  Perkins  had  a  cording-mill 
at  the  Flat. 

Carpenters. — Joseph  Kempton,  Edward  Kemp- 
ton, Obediah  Dow,  Jarvis  Adams,  Clark  Stock- 
well,  Joseph  Eastman,  William  Darling,  Charles 
Partridge,  Hubbard  Cooper,  P.  G.  Minor,  S.  O. 
Powers,  H.  J.  Hurd. 

Mills. — The  first  mill  in  town  was  a  saw-mill 
at  East  village ;  soon  after  a  grist-mill  at  the 
same  place,  both  of  which  have  been  in  continuous 
operation  ever  since,  owned  by  William  Sherman, 
Colonel  Boyce,  Joel  Ferrey,  Dana  Boston  and 
others.  In  1815  James  Perkins  came  from  Leo- 
minster, Mass.,  and  built  a  saw-mill  and  grist-mill 
at  the  Flat    The  former,  now  owned  by  Humphrey 


&  Hanson,  turns  out  a  large  amount  of  lumber 
annually. 

Milliner. — Augusta  V.  Hall. 

Tailors. — Elizabeth  Sanger,  Susan  Humphrey, 
Hannah  Harding. 

Dr.  D.  D.  Marsh  had  a  laboratory  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  at  Four  Corners. 

Literature. — Among   those  who  have   made 
contributions  to  literature  are  Samuel  Read  Hall, 
who   wrote   a   History   of   Vermont   in    1827,   a 
History    of    the    United    States    in    1836,    and 
numerous    other    volumes    of    interest,    relating 
mainly  to  schools  and  educational  matters.    Baron 
Stow,  D.D.,  was  editor  of  the   Columbian  Star  at 
Washington,  D.C  ,  and  was  the  author  of  several 
books  and   pamphlets,  and  wrote  much    for  the 
public  press.     John  Cooper,  Esq.,  published  an 
"  Historical  and  Statistical  Sketch  of  Croydon  " 
in    1852.      Alanson   L.  Cooper,  whose   few  foot- 
prints left  indicate  that,  had  his  life  been  spared,  he 
would  have  been  a  favorite  with  the  muses.     Hon. 
Cyrus  Barton  edited,  with  much  ability,  the  New 
Hampshire  Spectator,  at  Newport,  N.  H.,  and  the 
New  Hampshire    Patriot,  State    Capital  Reporter 
and    Old    Guard,   at    Concord,   N.   H.       Vashti 
Towne,  a  sister  of  John,  was  a  vigorous  writer,  as 
her  contributions  to  the  press,  while  at  Washing- 
ton,   D.    C,    amply    testify.       Rev.    Luther    J. 
Fletcher  wrote  "  Gloria  Patria  "  and  several  text- 
books, and  contributed  much  to  the  journals  of  his 
denomination.     Augusta  Cooper  Bristol  indulges 
her  pen    freely,   both    in    prose   and    poetry.     A 
volume  of  the  latter,  embracing  her  choicest  gems, 
was    published    in    1868.      Alonzo   Allen   wrote 
"  Croydon's  Military  Record."     Edmund  Wheeler 
published  the  "Croydon  Centennial  "  in  1866,  and 
the  "History  of  Newport"  in  1879.     Solomon  M. 
Whipple,  M.D.,  was   a   member  of  the  editorial 
staff'  of  the   New  Hampshire   Put  riot  for  several 
years,  and  his  address,  while  president  of  the  New 
Hampshire   Medical   Society,    and   other  matters 
have  been  published.     Hubbard  A.  Barton  early 
indicated  a  taste  for  literature,  and,   besides  his 
many  offerings  to  the  press,  he  has  been,  and  now 
is  one  of  the  editors  and  proprietors  of  the  Argus 


CROYDON. 


159 


and  Spectator,  at  Newport,  N.  H.  Sullivan  Barton, 
a  brother,  has,  from  boyhood,  been  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  the  press.  Elizabeth  A.  Harding,  who 
wrote  the  "  Welcome  Ode"  at  the  "  Centennial," 
indulges  h^r  pen  in  prose  as  well  as  verse.  Mary 
Cooper  Gardiner's  "  European  Tour,"  1884-85, 
indicates  a  ready  pen  and  ripe  scholarship.  Josiah 
Ide  makes  frequent  contributions  to  the  weekly 
press  and  also  to  many  popular  magazines  of  the 
day.  James  C.  Grandy  is  a  ready  writer,  makes 
frequent  contributions  to  the  press,  and  is  entitled 
to  credit  for  valuable  assistance  rendered  in  pro- 
ducing this  historical  sketch. 

Library. — The  Croydon  Social  Library  was 
established  in  1806.  It  contained  many  standard 
works  of  great  merit,  and  exerted  a  decided 
influence  in  moulding  the  character  of  the  young 
men  of  the  town. 

Education. — Early,  the  wife  of  Moses  Whipple, 
an  intelligent  lady,  received  the  children  of  the 
first  sett'ers  at  her  house,  and  taught  them  free  of 
charge.  The  first  school-house,  a  small  structure 
twenty  feet  square,  was  built  in  1772,  and  eight 
pounds  was  raised  for  the  purpose  of  education. 
The  second  district  was  formed  in  1780,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  assessed  for  school  pur- 
poses. In  1834  the  town  was  divided  into  ten  dis 
tricts  for  school  purposes.  From  the  beginning 
Croydon  has  paid  due  attention  to  mental  culture ; 
has  taken  much  interest  in  the  schools,  and,  for 
the  m^st  part,  has  employed  only  the  most  compe- 
tent and  efficient  teachers  and  superintendents. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  many  noted 
teachers  the  town  has  furnished  : 


Samuel  Blanchard. 
Lemuel  P.  Cooper. 
Moses  Haven. 
Baron  Stow. 
Abijah  Powers. 
Calvin  Kempton. 
Moaes  Eastman. 
Samuel  Powers. 
Griswold  Ward. 

Mrs.  Moses  Whipple. 
Mrs.  General  Emory. 


John  Wheeler. 
Horace  Powers. 
John  Towne. 
Alexander  Metcalf. 
Levi  W.  Barton. 
James  Powers. 
Lyman  Hall. 
Alonzo  Allen. 

Mrs.  Anna  W.  Metcalf.J 
Mrs.  Augusta  C.  Bristol. 


Vashti  Towne.  Mrs.  Harriet  A.  Loverin. 

Mrs.  M  Cooper  Gardiner.  Mrs.  Nellie  L.  Barton. 
Mrs.  Ellen  C.  Danforth. 

The  following    have    been    superintendants    of 
schools : 


Jacob  Haven. 
Moses  Haven. 
Lemuel  C.  Cooper. 
John  Cooper. 
Dellavan  D.  Marsh. 


William  Barton. 
Hubbard  A.  Barton. 
Sullivan  Barton. 
Harriet  A.  Loverin. 
Harriet  Fowler. 


Physicians. — Reuben  Carroll,  Nathaniel  Leav- 
itt,  Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  Ezra  Gustin,  Williams 
Barton,  Sherman  Cooper,  Albina  Hall,  and  Drs. 
Alden  and  Cooper,  have  been  resident  practicing 
physicians.  F.  S.  Putnam,  son  of  Stillman /after 
graduation  at  the  dental  college,  opened  an  office 
in  town.     He  is  now  at  Newport,  N.  H. 

The  following  is  an  imperfect  list  of  native  and 
former  residents  who  have  turned  their  attention 
to  the  medical  profession  : 

William  Barton,  born  August  6th,  1820;  graduated 
at  Hanover,  in  1845  ;  located  at  Croydon,  N.  H. 

Ira  W.  Bragg,  born  July  28,  1833  ;  graduated  at 
Harvard  in  1859 ;  located  at  Chelsea,  Mass.,  died  Oc- 
tober 21,  1864. 

Alanson  L.  Cooper,  born  October  16,  1804;  gradu- 
ated at  Brunswick  1827;  located  at  Auburn,  N.  Y. ; 
died  in  1841. 

William  F.  Cooper,  born  September  20,  1801; 
graduated  at  Brunswick ;  located  at  Kelloggsville, 
N.  Y. ;  died  in  1847. 

Orville  M.  Cooper,  born  July  28,  1821 ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  in  1845 ;  located  at  Hollis,  N.  H. ;  died 
1845. 

Elijah  Cooper,  graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1845  ; 
located  at  Newark,  O.,  1854. 

Sherman  Cooper,  born  August  20,  1833 ;  graduated 
at  New  York  Medical  College  in  1856;  located  at 
Claremont,  N.  H. 

Herman  Cooper,  born  February  6, 1859  ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  ;   located  at  Meriden,  N.  H. 

Reuben  Carroll,  died  in  1840. 

Albert  Carroll,  located  at  Boston,  Mass. 

Adolphus  Cutting,  born  June  25,  1811 ;  graduated 
in  1833. 

John  L.  Cain,  born  September  26,  1857 ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  in  1833;  located  at  Grantham,  N.  H. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


William  B.  Cain,  born  September  26,  1859;  gradu- 
ted  at  Dartmouth  in  1883 ;  located  at  Chesterfield, 
N.  H. 

William  W.  Darling,  born  November  20,  1834 ;  grad- 
uated at  Dartmouth  in  1859;  located  at  Newport, 
N.  H. 

Ezra  Gustin,  born  1788;  located  at  Croydon,  X.  H.; 
died  October  29,  1818. 

Willard  P.  Gibson,  born  September  2,  1798;  gradu- 
ated at  Castleton  in  1822;  located  at  Newport,  N.  H. ; 
died  October  23,  1837. 

Otis  Gibson,  born  June  8,  1807;  graduated  at 
Woodstock  in  1830  ;  located  at  Wellsborc',  Pa. 

Bush  rod  R.  Gibson,  located  at  Pom  fret,  Vt. 

John  Hall,  born  October  3,  1814;  graduated  at 
Bowdoin  in  1842;  located  at  Newark,  O. ;  died  in 
1852. 

Silas  Hall,  born  December,  1792 ;  located  at  Mon- 
rovia, N.  Y. 

Albina  Hall,  born  October  16,  1800;  graduated  at 
Berkshire  in  1823 ;  located  at  Croydon,  N.  H. 

Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  born  May  8,  1808 ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  in  1834;  located  at  Croydon,  N.  H. ; 
died  1867. 

William  W.  Marsh,  born  July  29,  1850 ;  graduated 
at  Harvard. 

Frank  D.  Marsh,  born  October,  1852. 

Marshall  Perkins,  born  March  13,  1823 ;  graduated 
at  Harvard  in  1850;  located  at  Marlow,  N.  H. 

Horace  Powers,  born  October  28,  1807 ;  graduated 
at  Woodstock  in  1832;  located  at  Morristown,  Vt. ; 
died  1867. 

David  C.  Powers,  born  June  30, 1822;  graduated  at 
Amherst  in  1848;  located  at  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

Darwin  A.  Stewart,  born  April  5,  1842 ;  graduated 
at  New  York  Medical  College  in  1869 ;  located  at 
Winona,  Minn. 

Daniel  Ward,  born  June  6,  1810;  graduated  at 
Castleton  in  1834;  located  at  Mar.sailles,  111. 

Griswold  W.  Wheeler,  born  February  22,  1808 ; 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1836 ;  located  at  Perry  - 
ville,  Mo. ;  died  June  7,  1865. 

Solomon  M.  Whipple,  born  July  28,  1820  ;  gradu- 
ated at  Woodstock  in  1849  ;  located  at  New  London, 
N.  H. ;  died  1875. 

Henry  W.  Brown,  born  November  15, 1847  ;  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  in  1873  ;  located  at  Newport,  N.  H., 
died  1875. 

Carlos  J.  Adams,  born  September  17,  1837 ;  gradu- 
ated at  Ann  Arbor  in  1868 ;  located  at  Chicago,  111. 


William  H.  Hurd,  born  August  29, 1829 ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  in  1854;  located  at  Carlton  Place,  Ont. 

Willard  O.  Hurd,  born  December  7,  1838 ;  gradu- 
ated at  Albany  Medical  College  in  1860;  located  at 
Grantham,  X.  H. 

Willard  C.  Kempton,  born  October  13, 1840  ;  gradu- 
ated at  Dartmouth  ;  located  at  Grantham,  N.  H. 

Lyman  Hall,  born  in  1804;  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth in  1833 ;  located  at  Cornish,  N.  H. ;  died  in 
1862. 

Lawyers. — Samuel  Morse  was  the  only  prac- 
ticing lawyer  that  ever  located  in  town.  He  was 
a  native  of  Dublin,  N.  H. ;  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth in  1811;  came  to  Croydon  in  1815;  was 
elected  representative  in  1834,  and  delegate  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention  in  1850;  he  died  Jan- 
uary 1,  1865,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

The  following  is  an  imperfect  list  of  natives  and 
former  residents  who  have  turned  their  attention 
to  the  legal  profession  : 

Levi  W.  Barton,  born  March  1,1818;  graduated  at 
Dartmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  1848 ;  located  at 
Newport,  N.  H. 

Jonas  Cutting,  born  November  3,  1800  ;  graduated 
at  Dartmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  1823;  located  at 
Bangor,  Me. ;  died  August  26,  1876. 

Gershom  Powers,  born  June  11,  1789;  not  a  gradu- 
ate ;  located  at  Auburn,  N.  Y. ;  died  June  25,  1831. 

FrankJn  Putnam,  born  September  8,  1833;  gradu- 
ted  at  Bowdoin,  Maine,  1859 ;  located  at  Kansas  City, 
Mo. ;  died  November  3, 1865. 

George  F.  Putnam,  born  November  6, 1841 ;  gradu- 
ated at  Norwich,  Vt,  in  1866  ;  located  at  Kansas  City, 
Mo. 

Wilbur  H.  Powers,  born  January  22,  1849 ;  gradu- 
ated at  Dartmouth  in  1875;   located  at  Boston,  Mass. 

William  P.  Wheeler,  born  July  31, 1812 ;  graduated 
at  I  larvard,  Massachusetts,  in  1842  ;  located  at  Keene, 
\.  II.;  died  May  10,  1876. 

Clergymen. — The  following  are  among  those 
who  have  given  their  attention  to  theology : 

Jacob  W.  H.  Ames,  born  May  7,  1838;  graduated 
at  Wesleyan  in  1864;  located  at  Chelsea,  Mass.;  died 
June  12.  1866. 

Otis  Dunbar,  born  June  11,  1812;  graduated  at 
Dartmouth;    located  at  Holderness,  X.  H. 

Lester  H.  Elliot,  born  August  1,1835;  graduated 
at  Burlington  in  1861;  located  at  Winooski,  Vt. 


CROYDON. 


161 


Luther  J .  Fletcher,  born  November  25,  1818 ;  grad- 
uated at  Norwich  in  1841 ;  located  at  Bath,  Me. ;  died 
January  20,  1884. 

Samuel  R.  Hall,  born  October  27,  1795 ;  graduated 
at  Academy  Bridgeton,  Me. ;  located  at  Craftsbury, 
Vt. 

Josiah  W.  Powers,  born  June  19,  1799 ;  graduated 
at  Andover  in  1837  ;  located  at  Kennebunk,  Me. ;  died 
in  1839. 

Dennis  Powers,  born  May  24,  1808  ;  graduated  at 
Amherst  in  1835 ;  located  at  Abington,  Mass. 

Unas  Powers,  born  May  12,1791;  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  in  1818 ;  located  at  Big  Lick,  Va. ;  died 
in  1870. 

Austin  Putnam,  born  March  6,  1809;  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  in  1827  ;  located  at  Harnden,  Conn. 

James  W.  Putnam,  born  December  15,  1822;  grad- 
uated at  Norwich ;  Dan  vers,  Mass. ;  died  November 
3,  1864. 

Nathaniel  F.  Putnam,  born  February  2,  1839 ;  grad- 
uated at  Bowdoin  in  1803;  located  at  St.  Johnsbury, 
Vt. 

Baron  Stowe,  born  June  16,  1801 ;  graduated  at 
Columbian  in  1825;  located  at  Boston,  Mass. ;  died 
December  27, 1869. 

BIOGRAPHY. 

The  following  are  brief  sketches  of  a  few  of  the 
prominent  individuals  of  the  town.  We  should 
have  been  glad  to  have  given  a  much  more  ex- 
tended list  and  a  fuller  account  of  these.  Nearly 
every  one  of  the  old  families  have  sons  or  daugh- 
ters, to  whose  achievements  they  point  with  just 
pride. 

Hon.  Cyrus  Barton  was  born  December  25, 
1795.  He  was  able  and  popular  as  an  Editor  ; 
register  of  deeds  for  Sullivan  County  from  1827  to 
1829  ;  Presidential  elector  in  1832, 1836  and  1840  ; 
Senator  in  District  No.  4,  in  1833  and  1834  ;  Coun- 
cilor in  1843  ;  IT.  S.  marshal  in  1845  ;  a  member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and  president  of 
the  City  Council  of  Concord  in  1845.  He  died 
February  17,  1855,  at  Loudon,  N.  H.,  while 
making  a  political  speech,  falling  into  the  arms  of 
his  opponent. 

Hon.  Levi  W.  Barton,  born  March  1,  1818, 
a  lawyer,  graduated  at  Dartmouth.  He  was  three 
years  register  of  deeds,  two  years  county  solici- 


tor, five  years  a  Representative  and  two  years  in 
the  Senate ;  in  1866  on  committee  to  audit  war 
indebtedness  of  the  State,  one  of  the  committee  to 
codify  the  New  Hampshire  laws,  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  1876,  and  in  1876  one 
of  the  Presidential  electors. 

Williams  Barton,  M.D.  was  born  August  6, 
1820.  He  attended  Unity  and  Kimball  Union 
Academies,  studied  medicine  with  Drs.  Coburn, 
Hall  and  Nichols,  graduated  at  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  Dartmouth  College  in  May,  1845,  and 
soon  after  commenced  practice  at  Croydon,  where 
he  now  resides.  He  was  three  years  commissioner 
of  common  schools  for  Sullivan  County,  and  a 
teacher  of  elocution  at  the  Teachers'  Institute. 

Hon.  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  born  July  18,  1803, 
is  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  progressive 
farmers  in  town.  He  has  always  taken  a  deep  in- 
terest in  the  cause  of  religion  and  education,  as 
well  as  politics.  He  was  a  popular  teacher  and 
superintendent,  a  trustee  of  the  Industrial  School 
of  New  Hampshire,  twice  a  representative,  twice 
in  the  Senate,  and  was  at  one  time  a  candidate  for 
Governor  of  the  State. 

Hon.  Ora  Crosby,  son  of  Prince,  born  Novem- 
ber 14,  1793,  settled  at  Hardwick,  Vt.  He  was  a 
representative,  a  justice,  judge  of  the  County 
Court,  director  of  the  Danville  Bank  and  president 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Caledonia.  As  a  finan- 
cier, Judge  Crosby  had  but  few  equals. 

Jonas  Cutting,  LL.D.,  born  November  3, 
1800,  graduated  at  Dartmouth  and  located  at 
Bangor,  Me.  He  had  intellectual  faculties  of  a 
high  order ;  wras  conscientious,  adroit  and  learned ; 
was  popular  as  a  lawyer,  and  commanded  the 
highest  respect  as  a  judge,  ranking  with  the  fore- 
most among  the  members  of  the  bench. 

Hon.  Ruel  Durkee,  born  July  14,  1807,  a 
farmer,  was  much  in  office  at  home.  Shrewd,  self- 
poised,  with  an  instinctive  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  he  was  for  nearly  a  whole  generation  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  managers  in  the  Republi- 
can party  of  the  State.  His  presence  was  always 
required  during  the  sittings  of  the  Legislature  and 
at  all  conventions.    It  has  been  said  that  in  caucus 


162 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  lightning  usually  struck  the  aspirant  towards 
whom  his  magnetic  finger  pointed.  He  died  in 
July,  1885. 

Timothy  C.  Eastman,  Esq., born  May  30, 1821, 
was  first  a  farmer  at  Croydon,  then  a  milkman, 
with  a  hundred  cows,  at  Cleveland,  O.,  and  is  now 
the  cattle-king  of  New  York.  He  has  a  beautiful 
residence  on  Fifth  Avenue,  and,  as  a  financier,  he 
has  been  by  far  the  most  successful  son  of  the 
town.  He  originated  the  plan  of  transporting  beef 
to  Europe  in  refrigerators,  by  means  of  which  he 
presented  the  Queen  with  the  quarter  of  beef  as 
fresh  as  when  taken  from  the  slaughter-house  at 
New  York. 

Rev.  Luther  J.  Fletcher,  born  February  25, 
1818,  a  Universalist  clergyman,  has  been  located 
at  Buffalo,  Lowell  and  New  Y'ork ;  is  a  man  of 
rare  talent,  a  fine  writer  and  an  eloquent  talker ; 
was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature, 
and  once  a  judge. 

Israel  Goodwin  was  remarkable  for  his  intel- 
lectual and  social  qualities.  He  lived  at  the  Flat, 
and  was  a  cloth  dresser  by  trade.  In  1824  he  re- 
moved to  Plainfield,  Vt.,  where  he  represented 
that  town  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 
He  was  appointed  judge,  and  removed  to  Mont- 
pelier,  where  he  died. 

Nathan  Hall,  son  of  Edward  Hall,  Jr.,  re- 
sides at  the  Flat,  and  is  a  farmer  by  profession. 
He  was  moderator  several  years,  town  clerk  twelve 
years,  and  County  Commissioner  three  years. 

Captain  AVorthen  Hall  was  born  July  11, 
1802.  In  1827  he  went  to  sea,  and,  being  well 
adapted  to  the  business,  he  followed  that  vocation 
for  twenty -eight  years.  In  1855  he  retired  with  a 
fortune,  and  settled  at  the  Flat.  In  1866-67  he 
was  elected  representative,  which  position  he  filled 
with  credit  to  himself  and  honor  to  the  town. 

Pliny  Hall,  son  of  Martin,  born  September 
21, 1817,  was  a  farmer  until  he  was  twenty-one  ;  a 
clerk  in  the  store  twelve  years  ;  was  U.  S.  assistant 
census  marshal  in  1850,  1870  and  1880;  repre- 
sentative in  1851  and  1852,  and  county  treasurer 
in  1855  and  1856  ;  U.  S.  enrolling  officer  in  1864, 


and  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  in 
1876.     Died  January  15,  1881. 

Dellavan  D.  Marsh,  M.D.,  was  born  May  8, 
1818.  He  graduated  from  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  Dartmouth  College  in  1834.  He  was  in- 
terested in  agricultural  pursuits  ;  was  treasurer  of 
the  County  Agricultural  Society  in  1848 ;  was 
often  elected  to  town  offices,  and  in  1839-40  was 
treasurer  of  Sullivan  County.     He  died  in  1866. 

Dr.  Horace  Powers,  son  of  Urias  Powers, 
born  October  27,  1807  ;  graduated  at  the  Wood- 
stock Medical  College  in  1832  ;  settled  at  Morris- 
town,  Vt. ;  was  high  sheriff  of  Lamoille  County  in 
1844  and  1845  ;  represented  his  town  in  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  in  1850  ;  was  a  Senator  in 
1853  and  1854,  and  was  director  in  the  Lamoille 
County  Bank. 

Elias  Powers,  son  of  Major  Abijah  Powers,  is 
a  man  of  intelligence,  a  respected  farmer,  a  lover 
of  fun  and  story-telling,  an  adept  at  angling,  trap- 
ping and  hunting.  He  has  served  the  town  twice 
as  selectman  and  has  been  county  commissioner 
three  years. 

Orlando  Powters  was  born  May  5,  1810.  In 
1832  he  removed  to  Cornish  Flat,  where  he  now 
resides.  He  has  been  town  clerk  of  Cornish  seven 
years ;  was  representative  in  1844  and  county 
treasurer  in  1849-50.  He  has  also  been  postmas- 
ter at  Cornish  Flat. 

Hon.  Gershom  Powters,  son  of  John,  was  born 
June  11,  1779.  After  completing  his  studies  he 
opened  a  law-office  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
had  a  successful  practice.  He  was  assistant  jus- 
tice of  Cayuga  County  Court,  and  at  the  end  of 
three  years  he  was  elevated  to  the  position  of 
judge.  In  1829  he  was  chosen  Representative  to 
Congress.     He  died  January  25,  1831. 

Abigail  Powers,  daughter  of  Rev.  Lemuel 
Powers,  was  born  in  1798.  In  February,  1826, 
she  married  Millard  Fillmore,  late  President  of 
the  United  States.  She  was  a  lady  highly  re- 
spected for  her  intelligence,  dignity  and  many  vir- 
tues. 

Hon.  Charles  Rowell  was  born  in  1785.  He 
removed   to  Allenstown,   N.  H.,  and  served   as 


CROYDON. 


163 


selectman  of  his  adopted  town  twenty -four  years  ; 
representative  to  the  Legislature  four  years  ;  county 
treasurer  two  years  ;  State  Senator  two  years,  and 
a  justice  of  the  peace  from  early  manhood  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  January  11, 1867. 

Baron  Stow,  D.D.,  born  June  16, 1801,  grad- 
uated at  Dartmouth  and  was  settled  in  Boston." 
Having  a  pure  heart,  a  vigorous  intellect,  an  elo- 
quent tongue  and  attractive  manners,  he  was  the 
favorite  son  of  the  town,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
popular  clergymen  in  the  Baptist  denomination. 

John  Towne,  son  of  John  Towne,  was  born 
August  17, 1805.  In  June,  1840,  he  was  appointed 
Deputy  Secretary  of  State,  which  office  he  held 
four  years.  He  was  register  of  deeds  for  Sullivan 
County  from  1851  to  1854,  inclusive.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  successful  teacher  and  has  been  for 
a  long  time  a  prominent  and  respected  citizen  of 
Newport. 

Vashti  Towne,  a  sister  of  John,  born  May  8, 
1813,  was  educated  at  Kimball  Union  Academy  ; 
taught  school  in  her  native  town,  three  years  at 
Norwich  Institute,  nine  years  at  Portsmouth,  Va., 
and  fifteen  years  at  Washington,  D.  C.  While  at 
the  latter  place  she  had  under  her  instruction  the 
sons  of  President  Lincoln  and  also  those  of  Presi- 
dent Grant.  She  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Mrs. 
President  Fillmore,  who  was  a  relative.  She  died 
in  1869  at  Newport,  N.  H. 

Captain  Moses  Whipple,  son  of  Jacob,  born 
at  Grafton,  Mass.,  in  1733,  came  to  Croydon, 
1766.  His  was  one  of  the  first  three, families  that 
came  to  town.  Being  well  educated,  intelligent, 
distinguished  for  energy  and  decision  of  character, 
warm-hearted,  hospitable  and  generous  to  all,  he 
was  well  calculated  to  be  what  he  indeed  was, — a 
father  to  the  town.  No  one  in  town  was  ever 
more  trusted  or  respected.  He  filled  many  im- 
portant offices,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Safety  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 

William  P.  Wheeler,  A.M.,  born  July  31, 

1812;    graduated   at    Harvard;    was    for   many 

years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Cheshire  County 

bar ;    was   twice   appointed    to   a   seat   upon  the 

bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which  he  declined  ; 
11 


was  twice  a  candidate  for  Congress ;  was  president 
of  the  Keene  Savings-Bank,  and  was  a  trustee 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Industrial  School  and  of 
the  Agricultural  College;  died  May  10,  1876. 

Paul  J.  Wheeler,  son  of  Ceryl ;  born  Decem- 
ber 8,  1820 ;  a  merchant  of  Croydon ;  settled  in 
Newport ;  was  cashier  of  Sugar  River  Bank  ;  was 
moderator  five  years,  a  representative  four  years, 
a  candidate  for  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  1860 ;  in  1862  was  a  candidate  for 
Governor.     He  died  in  1862. 

miscellany. 

Casualties.  —  In  1770  Caleb,  son  of  Seth 
Chase,  the  first  settler  in  town,  wandered  into  the 
forest,  and  was  lost,  and  public  opinion  was  di- 
vided as  to  the  probable  fate  of  the  child ;  some 
believed  that  he  was  captured  and  carried  away 
by  some  straggling  band  of  Indians,  while  others 
thought  that  he  met  his  death  at  the  hands  of  a 
villainous  white  man. 

Isaac  Sanger,  another  early  settler,  perished  in 
attempting  to  cross  Croydon  Mountain. 

Alexander  Metcalf,  Jr.,  was  killed  by  the  fall- 
ing of  a  tree. 

Abijah  Hall  was  drowned  at  Glidden  Bridge  in 
1812. 

Two  boys,  sons  of  Thomas  Whipple  and  Giles 
Stockwell,  Sr.,  were  drowned  in  Spectace  Pond. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1828,  the  dwelling-house  of 
Mr.  Charles  Carroll  was  burned,  and  two  children 
perished  in  the  flames. 

Dr.  Reuben  Carroll  was  thrown  from  a  carriage 
in  1840,  while  going  down  the  hill  near  where 
Caleb  K.  Loverin  now  lives,  and  was  killed. 

A  son  of  Nathaniel  W.  Brown  was  killed  near 
the  bridge  at  the  East  village,  by  the  horse 
stumbling  and  falling  upon  him. 

In  1846  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  Paul  J.  Wheeler 
was  burned  to  death,  by  her  clothes  taking  fire 
while  warming  herself  by  the  stove. 

Mr.  Cummings,  an  old  gentleman,  was  found 
dead  between  the  Flat  and  Coit  Mountain. 

A  son  of  Simeon  Ames  fell  from  a  load  of  hay 
unto  the  handle  of  a  pitchfork,  which  caused  his 
death  in  a  short  time. 


164 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


A  son  of  Ira  Bragg  fell  from  a  cart-tongue 
while  riding,  the  wheel  passing  over  him,  killing 
him  instantly.  Another  son  was  supposed  to  have 
been  murdered  out  West. 

Ziba,  son  of  John  Cooper,  was  killed  by  a  kick 
from  a  horse. 

A  daughter  of  Carlton  F.  Hall  fell  into  the 
river  at  the  East  village,  and  was  drowned. 

A  child  of  Rev.  Jacob  Haven  was  scalded  to 
death  by  falling  backwards  into  a  pail  of  hot 
water. 

Asa  Kelsey  fell  from  a  building  and  was  killed. 

A  son  of  Leonard  N.  Kempton  fell  into  the 
mill-pond  at  the  Flat  and  was  drowned. 

A  son  of  John  Melendy  was  killed  by  the  fall- 
ing of  his  father's  chimney. 

A  daughter  of  Robert  Osburn  fell  into  a  brook, 
was  carried  under  the  causeway  and  drowned. 

A  son  of  James  Perkins  was  drowned  in  a 
brook  near  the  Flat. 

A  son  of  Ezekiel  Powers  was  caught  between 
two  logs  and  crushed  to  death. 

Willard,  son  of  Urias  Powers,  fell  from  the 
Glidden  Bridge,  while  on  his  way  from  school, 
and  was  drowned. 

A  son  of  Jotham  Ryder  was  killed  by  a  cart- 
body  falling  upon  him. 

The  wife  of  David  Rowell  was  killed  by  light- 
ning ;  her  infant  was  sleeping  on  her  arm  and 
escaped  unhurt. 

Joseph  Smart  went  out  to  catch  his  horse  one 
Sunday  morning,  and  soon  after  was  found  dead. 

Griswold,  son  of  Aaron  Whipple,  was  killed 
by  running  under  an  axe  that  was  thrown  from 
the  frame  of  a  building. 

In  1861  Edwin,  son  of  Moses  Whipple,  while 
returning  from  the  post-office  at  the  Flat,  one 
dark,  rainy  night,  walked  off  from  the  bridge  and 
met  a  horrible  death  amidst  the  rocks  and  angry 
waters  below. 

Epidemics. — The  "canker  rash  "  prevailed  to 
an  alarming  extent  amongst  the  children  in  1795. 
Of  twenty-four  deaths  that  year,  twenty  were 
under  fourteen  years  of  age.  In  1813  the 
■'spotted  fever"  made  its  appearance  in  a  most 


malignant  form,  defying  all  medical  skill,  and 
cutting  down  the  old  and  the  young,  the  weak 
and  the  strong  alike.  Of  thirty  deaths  in  town 
that  year,  eighteen  were  from  that  disease. 

Secession. — In  1778  several  towns  on  the 
east  side  of  Connecticut  River  (Croydon  included) 
renounced  their  allegiance  to  New  Hampshire,  and 
formed  a  connection  with  the  new  State  of  Ver- 
mont, which  continued  four  years.  Moses  Whip- 
ple, Esq.,  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  a  conven- 
tion held  at  Cornish,  and  also  chosen  to  represent 
the  town  in  the  Vermont  Legislature,  but  before 
his  arrival  at  the  seat  of  government  the  Vermont 
Assembly  had  resolved  that  the  western  bank 
of  the  Connecticut  River  should  be  the  dividing 
line  between  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and 
the  disaffected  towns  returned  to  their  allegiance 
and  domestic  quiet  prevailed. 

Population.— In  1775,  143;  1790,  537;  1800, 
984;  1810,  862;  1820,  1060;  1830,1057;  1840, 
956;  1850,861;  I860,  755;  1870,  652;  1880, 
608. 

Longevity. — An  incomplete  list  of  those  who 
have  attained   to   ninety   years  of  age   or  over 
Widow  Marsh,   90;  Mrs.   Benjamin  Cutting,  90 
WidowT   Clement,   93;   Mrs.  Jotham   Ryder,  94 
Samuel  Metcalf,  93 ;  Widow   Giles,  94 ;   Samuel 
Marsh,    94 ;    Widow    A.    Stockwell,   95 ;    Capt. 
Nathan    Clark,     90 ;    Thomas    Blanchard,     98 ; 
Widow   Rumble,   100 ;  Samuel    Goldthwait,   93 ; 
LydiaLeland  Powers,  92  ;  Mrs.  Timothy  Fletcher, 
95  ;  Mrs.  Luke  Paul,  92 ;  Achsah  Barton,  96. 

Dairies.— Croydon  is  an  agricultural  town  and 
furnishes  annually  its  proportionate  share  of  farm 
products.  It  is  distinguished  mainly  for  the 
amount  and  excellence  of  its  dairies.  Among  the 
earlier  inhabitants  most  extensively  engaged  in  the 
dairy  business  were  Capt.  Zina  Goldthwait  and 
John  Barton,  who  had  some  fifty  cows  each,  and 
Col.  Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Paul  Jacobs.  Esq.,  and 
Gen.  Nathan  Emery,  who  had  but  a  few  less.  In 
later  years,  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  Ruel  Durkee, 
Caleb  K.  and  Ruel  D.  Loverin,  Oliver  C.  and 
<  liarles  H.  Forehand,  Francis  Dodge,  Andrew  J. 
Sawyer,  William  W.  Ryder,  James  W.  Davis  and 


*^£^ 


CROYDON. 


165 


Frederick  Barton  were  among  the  prominent  dairy- 
men. 

In  1849  some  fifteen  men  from  this  town,  lured 
by  the  prospect  of  a  golden  harvest,  embarked  for 
California,  where  they  engaged  in  mining.  Their 
hopes  were  not  fully  realized. 

The  Croydon,  turnpike  was  chartered  June  25, 
1804,  and  built  in  1806.  It  extended  from  Leba- 
non to  Washington.  It  was  a  fine  road  and  a 
great  convenience  to  travel,  but  not  the  pecuniary 
success  anticipated. 

Music. — The  Croydon  Band,  led  by  Baldwin 
Humphrey,  composed  of  a  large  number  of  fine 
players,  ranked  among  the  first  in  the  old  Thirty- 
first  Regiment. 

Among  those  eminent  as  singers  are  Moses 
Haven,  H.  E.  W.  Barton,  E.  Darwin  Cummings, 
Charles  Partridge,  Mary  Powers  and  Carrie  N. 
Barton. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  are  unusually 
social,  hospitable,  neighborly  and  fond  of  entertain* 
ments,  and  hence  the  dances,  huskings,  apple-par- 
ings, quiltings  and  other  neighborhood  gatherings 
are  frequent,  fully  attended  and  enjoyed. 

Centennial.  —  The  Centennial  celebration 
which  occurred  June  13,  1866,  was  by  far  the 
largest  and  most  notable  gathering  ever  in  town. 
All  natives  and  former  residents  were  invited.  A 
salute  was  fired  at  dawn.  At  ten  o'clock  a  pro- 
cession was  formed,  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Nathan  Hall,  chief  marshal,  assisted  by  William 
W.  Ryder,  Martin  A.  Barton  and  Major  Dexter 
G.  Reed,  and  escorted  by  the  Croydon  Band,  led 
by  Baldwin  Humphrey,  marched  to  the  stand. 
Colonel  Otis  Cooper,  chairman  of  the  committee 
of  arrangements,  made  the  welcome  speech,  and 
introduced  William  P.  Wheeler,  of  Keene,  as 
president  of  the  day,  who,  after  an  appropriate 
address,  announced,  successively,  the  following 
programme  :  Prayer  by  the  Rev.  Luther  J. 
Fletcher;  "  Welcome  Ode,"  by  Lizzie  P.  Harding; 
a  poem,  by  Augusta  Cooper,  Bristol ;  oration,  by 
Baron  Stow,  D.D.,  of  Boston  ;  dinner,  a  sump- 
tuous repast.  After  which  other  addresses,  full 
of  reminiscences,  humor  and  eloquence,  were  made 


by  Hon.  Levi  W.  Barton,  of  Newport ;  William 
F.  Cooper,  of  Kellogsville,  N.  Y. ;  Thomas  Whip- 
ple, Esq.,  of  Charlestown  ;  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  of 
Croydon;  Moses  Humphrey,  of  Concord  ;  Luther 
J.  Fletcher,  of  Maine;  Alexander  Barton,  of 
Boston  ;  Moses  Haven,  of  Plainfield  ;  Solomon  M. 
Whipple,  of  New  London ;  and  Edmund  Wheeler,  of 
Newport.  The  following  were  the  vice-presidents : 
Moses  Humphry,  Alexander  Barton,  L.  W. 
Barton,  Adolphus  Hall,  Calvin  Hall,  Ariel  Hall, 
Ora  Crosby,  Freeman  Cutting,  Orlando  Powers, 
Elom  Marsh,  Ruel  Durkee,  Samuel  Blanchard, 
William  E.  Melendy,  Elijah  Ryder,  Moses  Haven, 
William  F.  Cooper,  Hiram  Smart,  Jonas  C. 
Kempton,  Warren  M.  Kempton.  Committee  of 
arrangements:  Otis  Cooper,  Reuben  Cooper, 
Daniel  R.  Hall,  Daniel  Ryder,  Worthen  Hall, 
Barnabas  G.  Whipple*  Cyrus  K.  Fletcher,  John 
Cooper,  Nathan  Hall. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


GEORGE    WILLIAM   DUNBAR* 

The  first  known  ancestor  of  the  Dunbar  family 
in  America  was  Robert  Dunbar,  a  Scotchman  who, 
circumstances  indicate,  was  one  of  the  Scotch  pris- 
oners sent  over  to  the  Massachusetts  Colony  in 
1652,  by  Cromwell  after  the  battles  of  Dunbar 
and  Worcester.  It  is  certain  that  this  Robert 
Dunbar  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Dunbars  of 
Abington  and  Bridgewater,  if  not  of  all  bearing 
that  name  in  New  England.  The  family  has 
always  shown  the  characteristics  which  have  so 
favorably  distinguished  the  Scotch  people.  They 
are  good,  law-abiding  citizens,  with  a  frugal  thrift 
and  industry,  a  careful  economy,  and  cautious  and 
discriminating    judgment   in    all     the   affairs   of 

life. 

Samuel  Dunbar  was  a  native  of  Bridgewater, 
Mass.,  a  farmer,  prosperous  and  respected,  and 
reared  a  family  there,  amoug  whom  was  Elijah 
Dunbar,    born    in   Bridgewater   April    23,    1759, 


166 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEAV  HAMPSHIRE. 


graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  studied  for  the 
profession  of  law,  and  began  practice  at  Keene, 
N.  H.,  1790.  He  was  at  Claremont  from  1797  to 
1804,  then  reopened  his  office  in  Keene,  was  a 
magistrate,  and  represented  Keene  in  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1806-08  and  '10.  He  was  an  officer  for 
many  years  of  the  old  Cheshire  Bank  at  Keene, 
and  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Keene  bar. 
He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Alexander  Ralston, 
of  Keene.  His  son,  George  Frederick  Dunbar, 
was  born  at  Claremont,  N.  H.,  September  9,  1793. 
He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Twitchell  (a  famous 
physician  of  Keene,  N.  H.)  and  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, started  practice  at  Stoddard,  but  after  a  short 
time  removed  to  Westmoreland,  where  for  fifty 
years  he  was  the  leading  physician  of  the  town. 
He  married,  1818,  Catherine,  daughter  of  Nat 
Fisk,  of  Westmoreland.  They  had  three  sons  and 
three  daughters, — 

Mary  Ann,  married  Horace  Starkey,  of  West- 
moreland, and  moved  to  Cherry  Valley,  111., 
where  she  died,  leaving  two  children, — Dr.  Horace 
M.  Starkey,  a  noted  physician  of  Chicago,  and 
Ella  M. 

Amos  T.,  married  Emily  Cook,  of  Boston,  had 
two  children  ;  both  died  young.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  merchant  in  Boston.  In  1849  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia, had  quite  an  adventurous  career  and  final- 
ly died  there. 

George  W.  (subject  of  sketch). 

Nat  F.,  married  Hattie  GregLr,  an  English  lady, 
lias  ime  child  living,  Frederick  ;  resides  at  the  old 
homestead  at  Westmoreland.  Most  of  his  life, 
however,  since  1852  has  been  spent  in  the  Califor- 
nia mining  regions. 

Martha  F.,  married  Capt,  Lewis  Webster,  of 
Westmoreland  ;  has  four  children, — Jennie  F., 
George  D.,  Florence  and  Kate;  all  are  married, 
and  all  reside  in  Dunlap,  Morris  County,  Kan., 
whither  Capt.  Webster  removed  and  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  large  sheep  ranch.  He  is  now 
deceased,  and  the  widow  resides  with  one  of  the 
children. 

Laura  E.,  the  youngest  of  the  six  children,  died 
young. 


George  William  Dunbar  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land, N.  H.,  February  15,  1822.  His  education 
was  obtained  at  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
town,  Keene,  and  the  Academy  at  Framingham. 
His  early  life  till  his  fourteenth  year  was  spent 
on  the  farm.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  Wil- 
liam Stowits,  of  Keene,  to  learn  harness-making, 
and  thus  his  time  was  employed  till  his  nineteenth 
year,  when  a  love  of  adventure  led  him  to  embark 
with  Capt  Joseph  Reynolds  on  a  four  years'  whal- 
ing voyage.  The  cruise  did  not  differ  materially 
from  the  average  whaling  voyage  in  those  times ; 
there  were  the  usual  hardships  to  be  endured,  the 
usual  hair-breadth  escapes ;  but  finally  Mr.  Dun- 
bar returned  safe  and  sound  to  his  native  land 
with  his  curiosity  thoroughly  satisfied  as  to  the 
"jolly  life  of  a  jack  tar." 

He  then  went  into  partnership  with  his  brother, 
A.  T.  Dunbar,  in  millinery  business  in  Boston. 
This  partnership  continued  about  two  years,  which 
brings  us  to  1849,  that  ever  memorable  period, 
when  the  prose  of  life  all  over  the  world  was 
eclipsed  and  for  a  time  rendered  irksome  by  the 
poetry  of  the  newly  discovered  gold-mines  of  Cali- 
fornia. Mr.  Dunbar,  like  thousands  of  others,  be- 
came infected  with  the  gold  fever,  and  disposing 
of  his  interest  in  the  millinery  business,  he  em- 
barked on  the  schooner  "  Eudora  "  from  Bangor, 
"around  the  Cape  to  California,"  where,  after  a 
tedious  voyage,  they  arrived  in  September,  1M49. 
He  at  once  sought  the  mines,  and  as  an  Argonaut 
met  with  fair  success.  After  nearly  two  years 
spent  in  mining,  the  longing  to  see  the  wife  he  had 
left  behind  overcame  the  attraction  of  the  shin- 
ing dust,  and  he  once  more  sought  the  granite  hills 
of  his  native  New  Hampshire.  After  a  perilous 
and  adventurous  trip  across  the  plague-infected 
Isthmus  he  reached  home,  and  for  a  time  was  en- 
gaged in  the  cutlery  manufacturing  business  in 
Croydon.  He  soon  exchanged  his  cutlery  business, 
however,  for  a  store,  and  became  a  village  merchant 
in  Croydon.  In  1856  he  again  sought  the  land  of 
gold,  this  time  remaining  three  years  and  a  half. 
Again  his  efforts  as  a  gold-seeker  were  fairly  suc- 
cessful, and  once  more  returning  to  New  Hamp 


CROYDON. 


167 


shire,  he  re-embarked  in  trade  in  Croydon,  where 
he  continued  till  1882,  when  he  retired  from  active 
business. 

Mr.  Dunbar  married,  June  21,  1848,  Sarah  D., 
daughter  of  Elbridge  and  Hannah  (Derby)  Dix, 
of  Hubbardston,  Mass.  They  had  four  child- 
ren,— 

George  W.,  resides  at  Andover ;  Mary  A.,  died 
when  nine  years  of  age;  Infant  (unnamed) 
dead ;  and  Charles  D.,  resides  at  Roxbury, 
N.  H.  Mrs.  Dunbar  died  March  31,  1873. 
Mr.  Dunbar  married,  as  his  second  wife, 
Marietta  J.,  daughter  of  Abram  S.  and  Lydia  H. 


(Lovering)  Philbrick,  of  Springfield,  N.  H.,  Octo- 
ber 8,  1874. 

Mr.  Dunbar  represented  his  town  in  the  Legis- 
lature in  the  years  1878,  '79,  '80.  He  is  now 
town  treasurer,  and  has  held  that  position  since 
1883.  He  is  deacon  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  and  has  been  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the 
same  since  the  reorganization  of  the  church  in 
Croydon.  He  has  been  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
a  member  of  Hiram  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  at  New- 
port, N.  H.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  chapter  at 
Claremont.  In  political  faith  he  has  always  been 
a  stanch  Republican. 


HISTORY  OF  GOSHEN. 


CHAPTER   I. 

This  town  was  formed  from  portions  of  Fishers- 
field  (Newbury),  Wendell  (Sunapee),  Newport, 
Unity  and  Lempster,  and  incorporated  December 
27,  1791. 

The  act  of  incorporation  provided  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  portion  taken  from  Lempster 
should  continue  to  pay  ministerial  taxes  to  the 
support  of  the  Rev.  Elias  Fisher,  and  did  so  until 
said  provision  was  repealed,  December  8,  1796. 

By  an  act  approved  June  22,  1797,  the  boun- 
dary lines  of  the  town  were  established,  and  the 
same  were  in  part  changed  June  17,  1806. 

A  tract  of  land  was  severed  from  Unity,  and 
annexed  to  Goshen,  July  6,  1837. 

The  portion  of  the  town  taken  from  Sunapee 
was  first  settled  in  1769,  by  Captain  Benjamin 
Rand,  William  Lang  and  Daniel  Grindle. 
Rev.  Elias  Fisher's  Certificate. 

"  Lempster  Sepr  14,  1796. 
"  this  may  certify  that  if  in  case  the  Town  of  Lemp- 
ster see  cause  to  give  their  consent  that  the  People  in 
that  part  of  Goshen  which  was  taken  from  Lempster 
should  not  be  holden  to  pay  any  part  of  my  Salary 
After  the  present  Year,  that  I  will  not  exact  of  Sd 
Town  any  Augmentation  of  my  Salary  on  Account  of 
the  increas  of  list  on  Sd  Inhabitants — 

"Elias  Fisher 

"  The  Above  is  a  true  copy  of  an  Original  certificate 
lodged  in  the  Town  clerks  Office  (Lempster) 

"Attest  James  Bingham  Town  Clerk" 

Petition  for  Relief  from  paying  Ministerial  Taxes  in 

Lempster. 

"  To  the  Honourable  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  be  Convened  at  Concord  in  the  state  of  New 
168 


Hampshire  on  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  Novr  In- 
stant— 

"  We  your  Petitioners  Humbly  Sheweth 
"  As  their  is  a  Clause  in  an  Act  Entitled  an  Act  to 
Incorporate  a  Town  by  the  Name  of  Goshen  Empow- 
ering the  Selectmen  of  Lempster  to  Assess  the  Inhab- 
itants of  that  part  of  Goshen  that  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Town  of  Lempster  towards  the  Support  of  the 
Reverend  Mr  Fisher  so  long  as  he  shall  remain  the 
Minister  of  said  Lempster  and  empowering  the  Col- 
lector of  said  Lempster  to  Collect  said  Taxes  as 
though  said  Act  of  Incorporation  had  not  been 
passed — 

"  We  your  Petitioners  Inhabitants  of  that  part  of 
Goshen  (formerly  Lempster)  being  Taxed  in  both 
Towns  towards  the  support  of  the  Ministry  makes  it 
very  Burdensom  and  having  obtained  the  Consent  of 
the  Town  of  Lemster  Humbly  Pray  that  the  Said 
Clause  in  Said  Act  may  be  Repealed  (and  your  peti- 
tioners have  all  the  priviledges  and  Immunities  that 
any  other  Towns  Do  Enjoy)  or  otherwise  as  your 
Honours  in  your  Wisdom  Seem  meet  And  your  peti- 
tioners as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  ever  pray 

"  Goshen  November  ye  16th  1796 
"  John  Tomson  Daniel  marston 

Micah  Morse  Silas  Smith 

Reuben  Willey  Allen  Willey 

James  Philbrook  Hezh  Emerson 

Calvin  Bingham  Nathan  Willey 

Wra  Story  Na*  Beckwith" 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  8, 
17i>7,  the  aforesaid  clause  in  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion was  repealed. 

Vote  of  Lempster  relative  to  Ministerial  Taxes  paid  by 

Goshen. 

"  Town  Clerks  Office  Lempster. 
"  At  a  legal  Town  meeting  held  in  Lempster  on  the 
first  monday  of  Nov'  AD  1796— 


GOSHEN. 


169 


"  On  reading  and  considering  a  Petition  from  the 
Inhabitants  of  Goshen — Voted  that  in  case  the  inhab- 
itants of  that  part  of  Goshen  which  was  taken  from 
Lempster  will  punctually  pay  up  all  the  taxes  now 
made  up  Against  them  for  the  payment  of  the  Revd 
Mr  Fishers  Salary,  the  Town  will  release  them  from 
paying  any  part  of  Sd  Salary  in  future 

"  The  above  is  a  true  copy  taken  from  the  Town 
Book  of  Record  of  Sd  Lempster.     Attest 

"James  Bingham  Town  Cierl — " 

The  first  settlements  were  made  here  in  about 
the  year  1769,  by  Captain  Benjamin  Rand,  Wil 
liam  Lang  and  Daniel  Griffin,  whose  sufferings 
were  very  severe.  The  crops  of  the  first  settlers 
were  oftentimes  entirely  destroyed  by  early  frosts, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  the  feeble  settlement  to 
procure   grain    from    Walpole   and  other  places. 


Many  accounts  are  related  concerning  the  suffer- 
ings of  Captain  Rand  and  family.  In  1813  the 
town  was  visited  with  spotted  fever,  which  carried 
off  many  of  the  inhabitants. 

Church  services  were  first  held  in  this  town  by 
Rev.  Josiah  Stevens,  of  the  Congregational  de- 
nomination, who  came  to  reside  in  Goshen  in 
'about  1798.  The  Congregational  Church  was 
organized  February  23,  1802,  by  Rev.  Elihu 
Thayer.  It  consisted  of  seven  members.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  H.  H.  Morse.  There  is 
also  a  Baptist  Church  in  the  town,  Rev.  D.  M. 
Cleveland,  pastor. 

Goshen  responded  promptly  to  the  call  for 
troops  during  the  late  Rebellion,  and  her  record 
during  that  struggle  is  one  in  which  her  citizens 
may  justly  feel  a  patriotic  pride. 


HISTORY  OF  GRANTHAM. 


BY    L.    D.    DUNBAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  first  charter  for  the  town  of  Grantham  was 
dated  July  11,  1761,  being  the  second  town  char- 
tered in  what  is  now  Sullivan  County,  Charles- 
town  being  the  first.  Owing  to  non-compliance 
with  the  terms  of  the  charter,  a  second  charter  was 
granted  in  1767.  Upon  petition  to  the  General 
Court  by  Samuel  Duncan,  the  name  of  the  town 
was  changed  to  New  Grantham  in  1788,  which 
name  it  retained  until  1818,  when  its  original 
name  was  restored.  The  town,  as  originally  laid 
out,  was  six  miles  square.  About  midway  through 
the  town,  running  northerly  and  southerly,  was 
Croydon  Mountain,  making  a  natural  division  of 
the  town  into  east  and  west  parts,  and  upon  the 
top  of  the  mountain  was  the  centre  of  the  town. 
The  boundaries  of  the  town  have  been  very  much 
changed  since  that  time,  and  the  Grantham  of 
to-day  is  very  different  geographically  from  the 
original  Grantham,  and  much  smaller  in  area,  as 
well  as  in  population. 

In  1836  a  portion  of  territory  lying  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  town  was  severed  and  joined  to 
Enfield.  In  1844  a  portion  lying  in  the  south- 
west corner  was  taken  off  and  annexed  to  Cornish, 
and  in  1858,  owing  to  the  inconvenience  of  doing 
town  business  by  reason  of  the  mountain  dividing 
the  town,  all  that  part  lying  west  of  the  top  of  the 
mountain  was  set  off  to  Plainfield.  The  following 
year  a  small  territory  lying  between  Grantham  and 
Springfield,  called  the  "  Gore,"  which  previously 
had  been  classed  with  Springfield  for  town  busi- 
ness, was  incorporated  into  Grantham,  which 
helped  in  part  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  territory 

we  had  sustained,  and  while  not  being  an  adequate 
170 


recompense  in  that  respect,  it  made  a  pretty  little 
town,  containing  an  area  less  than  two-thirds  the 
original  size  of  the  town. 

The  first  settlement  in  Grantham  was  upon  the 
west  side  of  the  mountain,  in  1767.  Among  the 
first  settlers  were  Ezra  Buswell,  Elijah  Gleason, 
Abel  Stevens,  Francis  Smith,  esq.,  Ithamer  Bart- 
lett,  Job,  Stephen  and  Caleb  Colton,  Jonathan 
Parkhurst,  Jabez  Bennett,  Isaac  Jenny,  Ebenezer 
Burr,  Rob't  and  Charles  Scott,  Samuel,  John  and 
Rob't  Duncan,  William  Moultou,  Ebenezer  Steb- 
bins,  Abner  Johnson,  Parker  Carr,  Joab  V.  Young, 
Willard  Marcy,  James  Smith  and  William  Hun- 
tington. These  were  all  prominent  and  active 
in  town  and  business  affairs  during  their  lifetime, 
and  their  descendants  have  been  prominent  and  in- 
fluential citizens  in  this  town  and  elsewhere,  many 
of  them  being  scattered  into  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Among  the  second  generation  from 
the  first  settlers  and  others  who  have  been 
conspicuous   among    the  inhabitants  on  the  west 

side  of  the  mountain,  I  will  name  Samuel  Bean 
Cyrus  Smith,  Elias  Smith,  William  C.  Smith, 
Converse  J.  Smith,  Joel  Spaulding,  Bryant  and 
Asa  Janney,  Daniel  G.  Stickney,  W.  L.  New- 
ton, John  P.  Chillis,  Hiram  L.  Sleeper,  Dan- 
iel L.  and  G.  W.  Smith,  Orin  T.  and  John 
Eaton,  W.  L.  Martin  and  Nathaniel  Wheeler 
William  Johnson,  Samuel  Davis,  Milton  Buswell 
and  Samuel  C.  Moulton.  Ezra  Buswell,  who  came 
to  town  in  1767,  was  town  clerk,  selectman  and 
representative  many  years ;  he  had  a  family  of 
nine  children,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
Hi*  sons  were  all  capable  business  men  and  filled 
places  of  public  trust  in  the  communities  in  which 
they  resided.    But  two  of  them  are  now  alive, — Oli- 


GRANTHAM. 


171 


ver  B.  and  Hiram,  the  latter  a  resident  of  Warner, 
N.  H.  Oliver  has  always  been  a  resident  of  Grant- 
ham, being  now  a  venerable  man  of  eighty-four 
years,  hale  and  active.  He  has  been  respected  and 
honored  by  his  townsmen  to  a  great  degree ;  has 
been  town  clerk  for  many  years,  selectman  for  four- 
teen years,  a  representative  three  years  and  Sena- 
tor two  years. 

The  settlement  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain 
was  not  made  until  a  few  years  later  than  that  on 
the  west  side. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  on  Dunbar  Hill, 
so-called  from  name  of  first  settler,  John  Dunbar, 
who  came  with  his  family  from  Bridge  water, 
Mass.,  and  at  about  the  same  .time  came  Henry 
Howard.  John  Dunbar  bought  six  hundred  acres 
of  land  on  this  hill.  In  1796  Ezekiel  and  Sylves- 
ter Duubar  and  Isaac  Newell  came ;  in  1797,  Rich- 
ard Dodge ;  in  1798,  Daniel  Stone ;  in  1800,  Abiel 
Howard,  Uzziel  Hay  ward,  Barzelin  Hay  ward  came, 
all  settling  on  or  near  Dunbar  Hill.  A  few  years 
later  came  Bradford  Dunbar,  Jonathan  Nichols, 
John  and  Jesse  Marsh  and  others.  In  1793 
Leavitt  Hill  was  settled  by  Nathaniel  Leavitt, 
who  came  from  Exeter,  N.  H.  He  had  eight  sons 
and  two  daughters;  all  settled  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. Soon  after  Mr.  Leavitt  came,  Samuel 
Alexander  settled  near  him.  Howe  Hill  was  settled 
in  1813  by  Ezekiel  Howe.  Among  the  early  settlers 
on  this  side  of  the  mountain  were  Francis  Williams, 
Benjamin  Clifford,  Stephen  Judkins,  Daniel  Britt, 
John  and  Joseph  Sargent,  Joseph  Bean,  David  and 
Jonas  Hastings,  John  Stocker,  Richard  Smith, 
Thomas  Whipple,  Deacon  Joseph  Goss.  John  Mel- 
lendy  and  Henry  Eastman.  Most  of  the  early 
settlers  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  as  have  their  chil- 
dren. I  will  mention  one  instance  of  longevity 
among  the  early  families.  Abiel  Howard  had 
seven  children,  viz.  :  Inanthe,  born  February 
25,  1799  ;  Lewis,  born  December  4,  1802;  Rachel, 
born  May  29, 1805  ;  Susan,  born  March  27,  1807  ; 
Abiel  Howard,  born  October  16,  1810;  Nathan 
Howard,  born  May  6,  1813  ;  and  Emma  Howard, 
born  April  8,  1815.  They  are  all  living  at  this 
date,  the  oldest  being  nearly  eighty-seven  and  the 


youngest  nearly  seventy-one  years,  Rev.  Lewis 
Howard,  one  of  the  number,  being  the  oldest 
preacher  in  the  New  Hampshire  Conference.  Na- 
than Howard  is  a  preacher  in  Iowa.  Three  of  the 
above  named  are  now  living  in  Grantham. 

The  Leavitt  families  were  very  large,  and  at  one 
time  there  were  nearly  fifty  of  them  who  attended 
one  school  on  Leavitt  Hill.  Seventeen  of  the  Leav- 
itts  were  school-teachers,  three  were  physicians,  and 
one,  William  B.,  a  professor  of  practical  astronomy. 
He  now  resides  in  Grantham,  and  since  the  death 
of  Dudley  Leavitt,  the  origiuator  of  the  "  Leavitt 
Almanac,"  in  1858,  he  has  made  the  calculations 
for  this  almanac,  and  has  the  copies  all  complete 
to  1897,  and  intends  soon  to  have  calculations 
completed  to  1900.  Nathaniel  Leavitt  died  at  the 
age  of  ninety  three  years.  Samuel  Alexander  had 
two  sons — Ezekiel  and  Henry.  Ezekiel  died  in 
1881,  aged  eighty-eight  years  ;  he  was  a  soldier  in 
the  War  of  1812.  Henry  Alexander  is  now  living 
in  town  at  the  age  of  eighty -six  years. 

Among  the  men  most  prominent  in  town  in 
business  affairs,  who  have  lived  in  Grantham  (and 
who  are  now  dead),  in  addition  to  those  above 
named,  were  Reuben  Winter,  Amasa  and  Adol- 
phus  Hall,  Deacon  Seth  Littlefield,  Arden  Hay- 
ward,  Captain  Nicholas  Shaw,  Colonel  Francis 
Howard,  Captain  John  Sargent,  John  N.  Brown, 
David  and  John  Frye,  Carlton  Barton,  William 
Strocker,  Captain  Jonathan  Brown,  Henry  How- 
ard and  Edwin  Sargent,  and  George  Fowler,  Eben 
Hayward,  Gilman  Colby,  John  Clark,  Nathaniel 
L.  Shedd,  John  Smith  and  George  W.  Bus- 
well.  The  first  settlers  of  Grantham  were  an  in- 
telligent, industrious  and  enterprising  class  of  peo- 
ple, and  they  left  many  worthy  descendants ;  and 
the  town  has  ever  been  noted  for  the  sobriety  and 
morality  of  its  people. 

The  first  town-meeting  ever  held  in  Grantham 
was  called  upon  the  petition  of  ten  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  was  held  for  the  election  of  town  officers, 
on  the  12th  day  of  March,  1776,  at  the  house  of 
Abel  Stevens. 

The  following  were  the  officers  elected  :  Abel 
Stevens,  moderator  ;  Elijah  Gleason,  town  clerk  ; 


172 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Abel  Stephens,  Ithamer  Bartlett  and  Elijah 
Gleason,  selectmen  ;  Job  Col  ton,  town  treasurer  ; 
Jonathan  Parkhurst,  constable  ;  Caleb  Colton, 
tithingman  ;  Stephen  Colton,  hog-reeve. 

It  appears  that  in  its  early  infancy  the  town 
was  culled  upon  to  furnish  men  for  the  Continental 
army,  and  a  Committee  of  Safety  was  elected  each 
year  during  the  war.  At  a  town-meeting  held 
on  the  7th  day  of  December,  1776,  the  town  voted 
a  tax  of  five  pounds  to  pay  for  military  stores. 

At  a  town-meeting  held  on  the  16th  day  of 
April,  1777,  a  call  for  men  having  been  made,  the 
town  "  Voted  to  give  a  bounty  of  fourteen  pounds 
to  each  man  the  town  had  to  furnish  for  three 
years,  or  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain." 
Subsequently,  on  the  7th  day  of  May,  1777,  the 
above  vote  was  "  repealed"  and  instead,  a  vote  was 
passed  "  to  give  every  man  yearly  eight  pounds  for 
the  two  first  years  of  service,  and  ten  pounds  two 
shillings  for  the  third  year."  It  appears  that 
there  was  another  call  for  men,  for  a  town-meeting 
was  called  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Abel 
Bpaulding,  "  early  candle-lighting  to-morrow 
evening,  July  23,  1779."  It  was  voted  "  to  give 
nix  pounds  to  any  man  who  will  go  into  the  service 
on  the  present  call/'  and  a  committee  was  chosen 
to  procure  a  man. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  town  money  was 
scarce,  and  in  1778  the  town  voted  to  pay  the 
selectmen  for  their  services  in  produce  ;  and  two 
or  three  years  later  it  was  voted  to  raise  fifty 
bushels  of  wheat  to  pay  town  expenses. 

In  1779,  at  a  meeting  held  for  the  purpose,  it 
was  voted  "  to  allow  the  west  part  of  the  town  to 
join  the  east  part  of  Plainfield  to  form  a  religious 
society,  and  that  the  highth  of  the  ridge  on  the 
mountain  in  this  town  be  the  easterly  line  of  said 
society. 

In  177!)  a  warrant  was  issued  for  the  inhabit- 
ants to  bring  in  their  votes  for  Peleg  Sprague  or 
Hon.  Woodbury  Langdon  for  member  of  Con- 
gress." There  could  not  have  been  any  third 
party  men   in    those    days. 

It  appears  that  as  early  as  1779  there  might 
have   been  "  tax-dodgers,"  judging   from    a  vote 


passed  that  year,  by  the  town,  "  to  put  every  man 
under  oath  when  he  brings  in  his  list." 

In  1781  it  was  voted  to  "  raise,  victual  and  pay 
one  man  for  one  month,  unless  sooner  discharged, 
for  scouting  on  the  frontier."  It  was  voted  to 
give  ten  silver  dollars  per  month,  or  ten  bushels  of 
wheat,  for  the  time  the  man  remains  in  the  service. 
In  those  days  men  got  three  shillings  a  day,  "  find 
themselves,"  and  oxen  one  and  sixpence,  for  work 
on  roads,  estimating  corn  at  three  shillings  per 
bushel.  The  tax  collector  got  four  dollars  a  year 
for  his  services. 

In  1782  the  town  was  divided,  by  vote  of  the 
town,  into  two  classes,  in  order  to  raise  the  men 
for  the  Continental  army,  and  a  committee  was 
chosen  for  the  purpose — Abel  Stevens,  Elijah 
Gleason  and  Robert  Scott. 

It  appears  that,  in  1793,  a  requisition  was  made 
by  the  State  upon  this  town  for  beef,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  procure  it, — Robert  Scott, 
Job  Colton  and  Nathan  Parkhurst. 

In  1793  the  town  was  first  divided  into  school 
districts,  and  twelve  pounds  was  voted  to  maintain 
schools  in  the  town. 

The  first  vote  cast  in  Grantham  for  President  of 
the  colony  of  New  Hampshire  and  for  Senators  was 
in  1784.  The  votes  for  President  were:  For 
Woodbury  Langdon,  twenty ;  for  George  Atkin- 
son, one.  In  1787  Samuel  Duncan  was  chosen  agent 
to  go  to  the  General  Court,  and  a  committee  of 
three  was  chosen  to  give  him  instructions. 

From  1790  to  1804  this  town  was  classed  with 
Protectworth  (afterward  called  Springfield)  for  the 
election  of  representative  to  the  General  Court, 
and  the  representative  was  taken,  on  alternate 
years,  from  each  town.  It  appears  that,  after- 
ward, Grantham  was  classed  with  Cornish  for  the 
same  purpose.  A  meeting  was  called  to  elect  a 
representative  for  the  two  towns,  and  it  was  voted 
not  to  elect ;  but,  immediately  thereafter,  Cornish 
called  a  meeting  and  elected  a  representative,  and 
afterward  asked  the  town  of  Grantham  for  a  share 
of  the  expense.  Grantham  refused  to  pay  and 
appealed  to  the  General  Court  for  relief,  and  it 
was  granted. 


GRANTHAM. 


173 


About  the  year  1800  a  dispute  arose  between 
this  town  and  the  town  of  Croydon  in  relation  to 
the  boundary  line  between  them,  both  towns 
claiming  certain  territory.  After  a  long  contro- 
versy, the  selectmen  of  Grantham  appealed  to  the 
General  Court  for  a  committee  to  establish  the 
line.  The  petition  was  granted,  but  the  committee 
failed  to  settle  the  dispute,  and  a  second  committee 
was  appointed  in  1807,  who  effected  a  settlement 
by  dividing  the  territory  in  dispute,  giving  each 
town  a  part  of  it. 

The  first  public-house  kept  in  town  was  on  top 
of  the  mountain  in  1802,  aod,  as  rum  was  an  in- 
dispensable article  in  a  hotel  in  those  days,  the 
selectmen  gave  the  proprietor,  John  Quimby,  a 
license  "  to  sell  spirituous  liquors  and  to  entertain 
travelers  in  a  public  manner,  as  the  law  directs." 

Soon  after  this  a  second  house  was  opened,  and, 
for  several  years,  there  were  two  public-houses  on 
the  mountain.  After  these  houses  were  closed 
no  hotel  was  kept  in  town  until  about  1860,  when 
one  was  opened  in  the  village,  which  was  kept 
open  until  1877,  when  it  was  burned  down  and 
has  never  been  rebuilt.  During  the  War  of  1812 
this  town  furnished  its  share  of  soldiers.  It  was 
voted  by  the  town  "  to  make  up,  to  the  detached 
militia,  ten  dollars  per  month,  including  what  they 
receive  from  the  government,  to  each  private, 
from  the  time  they  are  called  into  actual  service, 
and  the  non-commissioned  officers  are  to  receive 
as  much  from  the  town  as  the  privates." 

The  following-named  persons,  citizens  of  Grant- 
ham, served  in  the  army  during  the  War  of  1812  : 

Henry  Howard,  Jr.,  Josiah  Leavitt  (2d),  Ezekiel 
Alexander,  John  Gage,  Jason  Trumbull,  Thomas 
Smith.  Isaac  Drake  and  Allen  Kidder,  who  soon 
afterward  became  citizens  of  the  town,  served  at 
the  same  time.  These  are  all  dead.  The  widows 
of  Allen  Kidder  and  Ezekiel  Alexander  are  yet 
alive  and  are  residing  in  this  town,  each  more  than 
ninety  years  of  age.  At  the  time  the  old  State 
militia  of  New  Hampshire  was  in  its  glory,  the 
town  of  Grantham  took  quite  an  active  part  in 
military  affairs,  having  had  two  companies  of  fifty 
men  each — the   Rifle   Company  and  the  Light  In- 


fantry Compauy.  The  Rifle  Company  was  nicely 
uniformed  and  equipped ;  was  well  disciplined, 
and,  under  its  first  captain  and  organizer,  Captain 
Francis  Howard,  who  was  a  splendid  officer,  was 
considered  the  best  military  company  in  the  old 
Thirty-first  Regiment.  Through  the  influence  of 
Captain  (afterward  Colonel)  Howard,  the  regimen- 
tal muster  was  held  on  Dunbar  Hill  one  or  two 
years.  At  that  time — about  1828— and  for  many 
years  thereafter,  Dunbar  Hill  was  the  ccntre  of 
business  in  town,  there  being  a  store  and  black- 
smith-shop located  there.  Francis  Howard  was 
the  store-keeper  for  many  years.  In  those  days 
all  store  goods  were  brought  from  Boston  by  horse- 
teams.  Rum  was  sold  in  all  the  stores  at  that 
time  The  town  had  no  railroad,  but  gave  a  thou- 
sand dollars  to  help  build  the  Sugar  River  road, 
from  which  we  are  ten  miles  distant.  The  town 
of  Grantham,  during  the  late  war,  did  her  full 
share  toward  supporting  the  government,  for  she 
furnished  more  than  her  quota  of  men  for  the 
army.  She  furnished  sixty-four  men  ;  she  paid 
liberal  bounties,  and,  as  a  result,  the  town  came 
out  in  debt  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
which  has  been  gradually  reduced  until  it  is  now 
ten  thousand  dollars. 

Below  are  the  names  of   citizens  of  the  town 
who  enlisted  into  and  served  in  the  army  : ' 


Stephen  M.  Thornton. 
Jonathan  Merrill. 
Almon  G.  Lowell. 
Albert  Eastman. 
Beri  Tobine.2 
Benjamin  F.  Kiunerson. 
Samuel  Currier. 
Van  Buren  Woodbury .'- 
Francis  Howe.2 
Frederic  H.  Howe. 
Orlando  W.  Corliss. 
George  H.  Thornton.2 
John  G.  Shedd.2 
Rosvvell  B.  Walker. 


Newton  Clough. 
Daniel  Clough.2 
Daniel  C.  Currier. 
John  S.  Gault. 
Lyman  P.  Saunders. 
William  H.  H.  Cowles. 
Lt.  Lucius  A.  Buswell. 
Daniel  Kennedy. 
Simeon  R.  Smith. 
David  B  Frye. 
Albert  B.  Stocker. 
Orrin  A.  Stocker. 
Wasbington  L.  Howe. 
Nathan  J.  Hastings. 


i  Several    of  these  men    re-enlisted,    so   that   they  were 
counted  twice  in  making  our  number  sixty-four. 

2  Died  in  service. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Charles  H.  Leavitt.1  Leonard  F.  Shaw. 

Wareham  Miller.1  Hubert  Sleeper,  M.D. 

Lt.  Dudley  J.  Pillsbury.1  Thomas  B.  Alexander. 

Thomas  J.  Morrill.  Almon  O.  Leavitt,  M.D. 
Horace  Brown.1 

There  was  a  Methodist  Church  in  Grantham  as 
early  as  the  year  1800.  Isaac  Newell,  Ezra  Bus- 
well  and  Jacob  Perkins  were  its  stewards.  The 
meetings  were  held  in  private  houses  or  school- 
houses,  and  when  these  would  not  accommodate 
they  were  held  in  barns.  In  1826  a  meeting-house 
on  Dunbar  Hill,  also  one  on  the  mountain,  were 
completed  and  were  dedicated.  Rev.  Giles  Camp- 
bell preached  the  dedication  sermon  of  the  former, 
and  Rev.  J.  W.  Hardy  that  of  the  latter.  Reuben 
Winter  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  building  of 
the  house  on  Dunbar  Hill,  and  he  was  a  liberal 
contributor  to  the  support  of  preaching  in  the 
house  for  many  years.  The  house  upon  the  moun- 
tain was  built  near  where  the  road  to  Meriden 
crosses  the  turnpike.  Upon  this  turnpike  in  those 
days  there  was  much  travel, — six-horse  stage- 
coaches, heavy  teams,  etc., — this  being  the  main 
thoroughfare  through  town  and  on  the  direct  route 
to  Boston.  There  was  a  store  and  a  hotel  quite 
near,  and  a  considerable  population  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity.  The  house  upon  the  mountain  was 
occupied  about  twenty  years,  when  the  population 
had  so  changed  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  move 
the  church  to  North  Grantham,  which  was  done 
in  1855  and  a  neat  and  commodious  house  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  two  hundred 
dollars  The  house  on  Dunbar  Hill  was  occupied 
until  1860,  when  it  was  moved  to  the  village,  en- 
larged by  the  addition  of  a  story  underneath  for 
a  town  hall.  Previous  to  this  the  town  had  never 
had  a  town-house.  This  was  made  a  very  neat 
and  pleasant  church,  remaining,  as  at  the  begin- 
ning, a  union  house. 

Rev.  Paul  S.  Adams,  of  Newport,  preached  the 
dedication  sermon  and  supplied  the  pulpit  for  sev- 
eral months.  Elder  J.  W.  Osborne,  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  East  Grantham,  supplied  the  desk  for 

1  Died  in  service. 


sometime.  Since  1866  the  Methodist  Society  has 
occupied  the  house  most  of  the  time.  There  is  a 
church  edifice  at  East  Grantham,  built  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  Christian  Baptists.  This  house  was 
built  about  1840,  and  meetings  were  regularly  held 
in  it  many  years,  but  of  late  it  has  not  been  used, 
except  occasionally.  The  settled  pastors  over  this 
church,  were  Rev.  Mr.  Palmer,  Rev.  J.  W.  Os- 
borne and  Rev.  Clark  Symonds.  Rev.  John 
Young,  ofSunapee,  has  supplied  the  desk  for  quite 
a  share  of  the  time  when  no  minister  has  been  set- 
tled over  the  church.  I  append  herewith  the 
names  of  the  preachers  and  the  date  of  their  pastor- 
ate with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Gran- 
tham,— 


May, 

1801, 

May 

1802, 

May, 

1803, 

May 

1804, 

May, 

1805, 

May 

1806, 

May 

1807, 

May 

1808, 

May 

1809, 

May 

1810, 

May 

1811, 

May 

1812, 

May 

1813, 

May 

1814, 

May 

,1815, 

May 

1817, 

May 

1818, 

May 

1819, 

May 

1820, 

May 

1821, 

May 

1822, 

May 

,  1823, 

May 

,  1825, 

May 

,  1827, 

May 

,  1828. 

May 

,  1829, 

May 

,  1830, 

May 

,  1831, 

May 

,  1833, 

May 

,  1834, 

May 

,  1836, 

May 

,  1838, 

,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
i  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 
,  to  May, 


1802,  Rev. 

1803,  Rev. 

1804,  Rev. 

1805,  Rev. 

1806,  Rev. 

1807,  Rev. 

1808,  Rev. 

1809,  Rev. 

1810,  Rev. 

1811,  Rev. 

1812,  Rev. 

1813,  Rev. 

1814,  Rev. 

1815,  Rev. 

1817,  Rev. 

1818,  Rev. 

1819,  Rev. 

1820,  Rev. 

1821,  Rev. 

1822,  Rev. 

1823,  Rev. 
1825,  Rev. 

1827,  Rev. 

1828,  Rev. 

1829,  Rev. 

1830,  Rev. 

1831,  Rev. 

1833,  Rev. 

1834,  Rev. 
1836,  Rev. 
1838,  Rev. 
1841,  Rev. 


Martin  Rutter. 
Oliver  Beal. 
John  Broadhead. 
Elijah  Willard. 
Hezekiah  Field. 
Caleb  Dustin. 
Warner  Bannister. 
Caleb  Dustin. 
Thomas  Asbury. 
Philip  Ayer. 
Charles  Virgin. 
Harry  Mowrey. 
Benjamin  Shaw. 
Warren  Bannister. 
Caleb  Dustin. 
Erastus  Otis. 
Jon.  Paine. 
Orin  Roberts. 
Joseph  Kellum. 
Ezra  Kellog. 
Hershel  Foster. 
Joseph  Kellum. 
Caleb  Dustin. 
Benjamin  Paine. 
J.  Sylvester. 
G.  Putnam. 
.1.  I  lazeltine. 
N.  Ladd. 
Amos  Kidder. 
E.  A.  Rice. 
B.  C.  Eastman. 
William  J.  Kidder. 


GRANTHAM. 


175 


May,  1841,  to  May,  1842,  Rev.  Jessie  Boyden. 
May,  1842,  to  May,  1844,  Rev.  B.  C.  Eastman. 
May.  1844,  to  May,  1846,  Rev.  William  Moran. 
May,  1846,  to  May,  1848,  Rev.  Abel  Heath. 
May,  1848,  to  May,  1850,  Rev.  Daniel  Lee. 
May,  1850,  to  May,  1852,  Rev.  Josiah  Scarritt. 
June,  1852,  to  June,  1853,  Rev.  C.  H.  Lovejoy. 
June,  1853,  to  June,  1855,  Rev.  S.  S.  Dudley. 
June,  1855,  to  June,  1857,  Rev.  G.  P.  AVarner. 
June,  1857,  to  June,  1859,  Rev.  O.  W.  Watkins. 
June,  1859,  to  May,  1860,  Rev.  L.  H.  Gordon. 
May,  1860,  to  April,  1865,  Rev.  Richard  NewhalL 
May,  1865,  to  April,  1866,  Rev.  D.  W.  Barber. 
May,  1866,  to  April,  1868,  Rev.  Hugh  Montgomery. 
May,  1868,  to  April,  1869,  Rev.  Silas  Quimby. 
May,  1869,  to  April,  1872,  Rev.  B.  P.  Spaulding. 
May,  1872,  to  April,  1873,  Rev.  G.  A.  Tyrell. 
May,  1873,  to  April,  1875,  Rev.  Noble  Fisk. 
May,  1875,  to  April,  1877,  Rav.  B.  P.  Spaulding. 
May,  1877,  to  April,  1879,  Rev.  G.  S.  Wentworth. 
May,  1879,  to  April,  1881,  Rev.  Thomas  Winsor. 
May,  1881,  to  April,  1883,  Rev.  J.  Wesley  Bean. 
May,  1883,  to  April,  1885,  Rev.  G.  H.  Hardy. 

At  the  church  at  the  village, — 

1866  to  1868,  Rev.  Hugh  Montgomery. 
1868  to  1870,  Rev.  Silas  Quimby. 
1870  to  1872,  Rev.  W.  H.  Eastman. 

1872  to  1873,  Rev.  G.  A.  Tyrell. 

1873  to  1875,  Rev.  W.  H.  Eastman. 

1875  to  1876,  Rev.  Noble  Fisk. 

1876  to  1878,  Rev.  W.  W.  LeSeur. 
1878  to  1880,  Rev.  F.  M.  Pickles. 

1880  to  1881,  Rev.  Thomas  Winsor. 

1881  to  1883,  Rev.  J.  W.  Bean. 
1883  to  1885,  Rev.  G.  H.  Hardy. 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  all  the 
men  who  have  represented  the  town  in  the  General 
Court  of  New  Hampshire  : 


Samuel  Duncan,  1787. 
Nathan  Young,  1788. 
Samuel  Duncan,  1789-92. 
Joab  Young,  1794. 
R.  Duncan,  1796-1800. 
Isaac  Clement,  1804. 
EzraBuswell,  1805-6. 
James  Smith,  1807-13,  in- 
clusive. 
Ezra  Buswell,  1814-15. 


James  Smith,  1816. 
Ezra  Buswell,  1817. 
James  Smith,  1818. 
Uzziel  Haywood,  1819. 
James  Smith,  1820. 
Uzziel  Haywood,  1821. 
Charles  Gleason,  1822-23. 
Uzziel  Haywood,  1824. 
James  Smith,  1825. 
John  Gove,  1826-27. 


Abiel  Howard,  1828-29. 
Charles  Gleason,  1830. 
John  Gove,  1831. 
Amasa  Hall,  1832. 
John  Gove,  1833. 
Amasa  Hall,  1834,  '5,  '6. 
Oliver  B.  Buswell,  1837- 

38. 
Samuel  Bean,  1839-40. 
Samuel  C.  Moulton,  1841 

-42. 
William  C.  Smith,  1843- 

44. 
Jonathan   Brown,    1845- 

46. 
Nicholas  Shaw,  1847-48. 
Arden  Hay  ward,  1849-50. 
Cyrus  Smith,  1851-52. 
Reuben  Winter,  1853. 
Jonathan  Leavitt,  1854- 

55. 
George  W.  Smith,  1856. 


John  Frye,  1858. 

John  Leavitt,  1859. 

Adolphus  Hall,  1860-61. 

William  Stocker,  1862-63. 

Jos.  P.  Fowler,   1864-65. 

John  Clarke,  1866-67. 

Wm.H.Eastman,  1868-69. 

Benj.F.  Goss,  1870-71. 

Aaron  L.  Brown.  1872-73. 

Lorenzo  D.  Dunbar,  1874 
-75. 

Edwin  G.  Eastman,  1876. 

Thos.  B.  Alexander,  1877. 

Joshua  D.  Hemphill,  1878 
-79. 

Joseph  Hastings,  1880. 

Albina  H.  Powers  (bien- 
nial,) 1881-82. 

Rums  Hall,  (biennial) 
1883-84. 

William  H.  Miller,  (bien- 
nial), 1885. 


John  Leavitt,  1857. 

SENATORS. 

Samuel  C.  Moulton,  1845-46. 
Hon.  Oliver  B.  Buswell,  1854-55. 
Hon.   John    P.  Chellis,  1857-58. 

This  town  has  furnished  two  State  Senators,  viz., 
Hon.  Oliver  B.  Buswell  and  Hon.  John  P.  Chellis, 
both  now  living  ;  and  a  former  citizen  of  the  town 
was  at  one  time  in  the  Minnesota  Senate  ;  F.  J. 
Stevens,  now  of  South  Framingham,  Mass.,  is  the 
gentleman.  The  town  has  furnished  three  county 
treasurers;  viz.,  Samuel  C.  Moulton  Adolphus  Hall 
and  William  C.Stroker;  the  last-named,  however,  at 
the  time  of  his  election  was  living  in  Sunapee. 
It  has  furnishod  also  one  high  sheriff,  John 
P.  Chellis,  while  W.  H.  H.  Cowles,  who  was 
a  high  sheriff  of  the  county,  had  previously 
been  a  citizen  of  the  town ;  two  county  com- 
missioners, viz.,  Adolphus  Hall  and  Horace 
F.  Goss.  The  present  solicitor  of  Rockingham 
County,  Edwin  G.  Eastman,  is  a  native  of  the 
town.  The  present  register  of  deeds  of  Sullivan 
County  is  a  native  of  Grantham.  A.  H.  Powers, 
recently  of  the  Board  of  Fish  Commissioners  of  the 
State,  is  a  citizen  of  the  town.    Leander  F.  Dodge 


176 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


president  ofthe  Citizens' National  Bank,  of  Newport, 
N.  H.,  was  born  here  and  resided  here  until  1868. 
Almo  O.  Leavitt  was  a  surgeon  in  the  U.  S.  Navy 
during  last  war.  Hubert  Sleeper  was  a  surgeon  in 
the  Sixteenth  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  and  was 
taken  prisoner.  Only  three  ofthenatives  of  this  town 
have  adopted  the  law  as  a  profession,  viz.,  Hiram  L. 
Sleeper,  George  Davis,  and  Edwin G.  Eastman.  Ten 
have  chosen  the  medical  profession.  No  physician 
ever  settled  in  town  until  Dr.  Sleeper  came  here 
about  1860.  The  people  of  the  town  being  noted  for 
their  sobriety  and  law-abiding  character,  no  lawyer 
ever  deemed  it  wise  to  locate  in  the  town  until 
1882,  when  one  came  but  stayed  only  a  few  weeks, 
left,  and  has  not  been  heard  of  in  these  parts 
since. 

But  very  little  manufacturing  of  any  kind  has 
been  done  in  town,  for  the  reason  that  the  water- 
power  has  never  been  developed,  so  as  to  make  it 
accessible  and  permanent.  There  are  many  ponds 
in  town,  and  with  a  comparatively  small  outlay  of 
money,  could  be  made  a  permanent  water  supply, 
sufficient  for  much  business.  There  was  at  one 
time,  and  for  many  years,  a  tannery  on  the  road 
from  North  Grantham  to  the  mountain,  occupied 
by  the  Clements  and  their  successors.  Later, 
about  1860,  there  was  a  hame  manufactory  at  the 
village,  owned  by  L.  F.  Dodge  and  W.  H.  H. 
Cowles;  this  afterwards  went  to  Sunapee.  Saw- 
mills have  been  very  numerous,  and  immense 
quantities  of  lumber  have  been  cut  and  drawn 
from  town.  Much  of  the  soil  of  the  town  is  good, 
but  in  parts  rough  and  uneven.  There  is  a  very 
pretty  little  village,  containing  school-house,  grist 
and  saw-mill,  two  blacksmith-shops,  three  stores, 
beside  a  drug-store,  church  and  town-house. 

Population  of  the  town  at  different  periods  has 
been  as  follows  :  1775,  74  ;  1790,  333  ;  1800,  713; 
1810,864;  182D,  1032;  1830,  1079 ;  1840,  1036; 
1850,  784;  I860,  649  ;  1870,  608;  1880,  540. 

Sitcides  in  Town. — Joseph  Eastman,  drowned 
himself  in  Eastman'  Pond  in  1812. 

The  wife  of  Dvaid  Stockwell  committed  suicide, 
1817. 


March  13,  1865,  Nathaniel  Fisher  cut  his 
throat. 

Accidental  Deaths  in  Town. — About  the 
year  1791  two  men  by  the  name  of  Anderson 
were  drowned  in  Anderson  Pond,  —so  called  after 
this  occurrence. 

In  1809  a  Mr.  Miller  was  drowned  in  Miller 
Pond. 

In  1817  two  sons  (Bera  and  Jesse)  of  Jesse 
Marsh  were  drowned  in  the  village  mill-pond. 

In  1848  a  son  of  Hollis  Husey  was  drowned  in 
the  same  pond. 

About  the  year  1860  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Heath  was  killed  by  a  log  rolling  upon  him. 

In  April,  18(53,  Eugene  Brown,  a  son  of  Na- 
thaniel Brown,  was  killed  by  being  thrown  from 
a  horse. 

October  22,  1867,  Lieutenant  Lucius  A.  Bus- 
well  was  fatally  injured  in  a  saw-mill  in  the  town 
of  Sunapee. 

In  1863  a  son  of  Jonathan  B.  Hastings  was 
fatally  scalded. 

August  26,  1872,  Wilmer  Leavitt  was  drowned 
in  Stocker  Pond. 

January  19,  1874,  Edwin  Sargent,  first  select- 
man of  the  town  at  the  time,  was  killed  by  being 
run  over  by  a  sled. 

April  13,  1874,  James  W.  Nelson  was  found 
dead,  having  perished  from  cold  while  returning 
fom  the  village  the  night  before. 

October  15, 1874,  Mrs.  Lovina  West  was  fatally 
injured  by  being  thrown  from  a  carriage. 

April  9,  1880,  Lucy  Green  was  found  dead  in 
bed. 

September  9,  1880,  Sanborn  Brown  died  in 
consequence  of  being  thrown  from  a  carriage. 

February  2(i,  1881,  Joseph  C.  Burpee  fell  from 
a  loft  in  his  barn,  and  was  fatally  injured. 

April,  1882,  Charles  Wallace,  son  of  William 
Wallace,  was  fatally  scalded. 

October  15,  1884,  George,  son  of  George  E. 
Hatch,  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  cart  body 
upon  him. 


en 


-4r5€ 


GRANTHAM. 


177 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  G08S. 

Benjamin  F.  Goss  was  born  August  13,  1811, 
in  that  part  of  Springfield,  N.  H.,  now  Grantham. 
The  first  known  of  the  Goss  family  in  America 
is  that  they  were  among  the  early  settlers  in  the 
old  Rye  and  Greenland  colonies  (so  called).  From 
there,  as  the  tide  of  emigration  set  westward,  their 
descendants  emigrated  from  time  to  time  until 
now  the  name,  though  not  a  common  one,  is  found 
widely  scattered  throughout  the  States. 

Joseph  Goss,  the  grandfather  of  Benjamin  F., 
resided  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  last  century.  He  was  born  April  5,  1758, 
and  died  in  May,  1811.  He  twice  married, — first, 
to  Keziah  Meades  ;  their  children  were  William, 
Deborah,  Betsey,  Joseph,  Robert,  Molly,  Lydia 
and  Nathan.  His  second  wife  was  Molly  Towles ; 
their  children  were  Miriam,  Delia,  Huldah, 
Hannah,  Jonathan,  David  and  Daniel.  His 
will  bears  date  1809. 

Joseph  Goss,  Jr.,  the  father  of  Benjamin  F., 
was  born  in  Pittsfield  February  6,  1786.  When 
he  was  a  young  man  his  father  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  in  Springfield,  N.  H.,  then  comparatively 
a  wilderness,  and  gave  it  to  him.  The  deed  to  one 
hundred  acres  bears  date  1803,  and  is  from  John 
Wendall,  of  Portsmouth,  to  John  Goss,  of  Spring- 
field. He  came  from  Pittsfield  on  horseback,  with 
the  usual  equipment  of  a  frontiersman— trap,  gun, 
kettle,  etc. — strapped  on  behind  him.  He  was  then 
about  nineteen  years  of  age  ;  he  used  to  spend  the 
summer  months  in  Springfield  clearing  land  and 
preparing  a  home  for  himself,  and  in  winter  return 
to  his  father's  house,  in  Pittsfield. 

September  10,  1810,  he  married  Mary  Judkins, 
and  from  that  time  made  his  permanent  home  in 
Springfield.  He  was  a  fair  representative  of  the 
pioneer  yeomanry  of  the  land,  hardy,  energetic, 
courageous  and  hopeful,  and  was,  for  those  days,  a 
successful  man,  and  died  possessed  of  a  considera- 
ble property.  In  addition  to  his  farming,  he 
followed  coopering,  at  which  he  did  a  good  deal 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  life. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  until  the  organi- 


zation of  the  Republican  party,  when  he  became 
a  Republican  and  so  continued  till  his  death. 

Being  an  uneducated  man,  he  never  sought 
office,  although  he  was  at  one  time  selectman  of 
his  town,  and  held  at  other  times  various  minor 
offices.  He  was  for  more  than  thirty  years  deacon 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  was  a  man  much 
respected  in  the  town. 

His  children  were  Benjamin  F.  (subject  of  illus- 
tration) ;  Joseph  H.,  born  May  21, 1819  ;  Lewis  H., 
born  April  2,  1827.  Mrs.  Goss  died  January  11, 
1832  ;  he  died  November  21,  1866. 

Benjamin  F.  Goss  was  brought  up  on  the  farm 
and  also  worked  at  coopering  with  his  father.  He 
learned  carpentering  and  joining,  and  when  about 
twenty-four  years  old  spent  one  year  in  Charles- 
town,  Mass.,  working  at  brick-making.  This  occu- 
pation, however,  did  not  prove  congenial  to  his 
tastes,  and  he  returned  to  his  native  town,  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  adjoining  his  father's  farm, 
on  which  he  erected  a  saw-mill,  and  later  on  a 
residence.  This  was  in  1838.  In  L841  he  sold 
the  mill,  and  turned  his  attention  to  farming  in 
the  summer  and  coopering  in  the  winter  months, 
and  in  the  mean  time  did  something  at  lumbering. 
Mr.  Goss  has  done  more  or  less  at  coopering,  and 
quite  an  extensive  business  at  farming  to  the 
present  time.  About  April,  1849,  he  exchanged 
farms  with  his  father,  and  Benjamin  F.  built  a 
large  barn  at  the  old  homestead,  and  conducted 
the  farm  about  five  years,  when  the  old  gentleman 
sold  the  farm  to  his  son  Harrison,  and  Benjamin 
F.  returned  to  his  own  place,  his  father  removing 
to  an  adjoining  farm  which  he  had  previously  pur- 
chased. 

In  March,  1864,  Mr.  Goss  sold  his  home  place, 
and  moved  to  "Ryder's  Corner,"  Croydon,  where 
he  resided  two  years  ;  he  then  purchased  a  farm  in 
Grantham,  on  which  he  lived  till  his  father's  death, 
which  occurred  soon  after.  He  then  purchased 
the  interests  of  the  other  heirs  to  the  place  on  which 
his  father  died,  removed  there  and  has  since  made 
this  his  home. 

Mr.  Goss  was  selectman  of  the  town  three  years, 
and    collector  one   year,   when   the  territory  now 


178 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


comprising  Grantham  was  a  part  of  Springfield. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen  when 
the  new  town  of  Grantham  was  organized,  and  the 
following  year  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  board. 
He  then  moved  out  of  town.  Upon  his  return  to 
Grantham  he  was  made  selectman  in  1868,  1869, 
1870,  1871,  1872  and  1873,  and  was  also  town 
treasurer  all  these  years.  He  then  positively  re- 
fused a  re-election,  and  has  since  devoted  himself 
exclusively  to  his  private  business.  Prior  to  this, 
however,  he  twice  represented  the  town  in  the 
State  Legislature  (1870-71),  and  was  justice  of 
the  peace  four  years.  He  was  executor  of  the 
wills  of  both  his  father  and  mother. 

He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  an  attendant 
of  the  Christian  Church.  He  has  been  an  indus- 
trious and  enterprising,  and,  where  his  judgment 
approved,  a  liberal  man,  helping  forward  every- 
thing which  he  deemed  calculated  to  advance  the 
interests  or  elevate  the  morals  of  the  community. 

He  married,  March  4,  1831,  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Zaccheus  and  Judith  Pettengill,  of  Enfield.  Her 
father  died  when  she  was  but  four  years  old,  and 
Mrs.  Goss  spent  most  of  her  childhood  and  youth 
amongst  strangers.  When  Mr.  Pettengill  died, 
the  widow  was  left  with  six  children  to  care  for, 
the  eldest  a  girl  of  twelve  years,  the  youngest  an 
infant  of  six  months  ;  the  latter  she  kept  with  her, 
but  for  the  rest  she  was  compelled  to  find  homes 
among  strangers.  She  was  a  Sanborn  before 
marriage,  and  a  native  of  Deerfield,  N.  H. 

Mrs.  Goss  is  a  sprightly,  cheerful  and  intelligent 
lady,  and  remarkably  well  preserved  for  one  of 
her  age.     She  was  born  October  26,  1807. 

They  have  had  but  two  children — Horace  F., 
born  March  24, 1832,  and  Mary  J.,  born  October 
22,  1838.  She  married  David  E.  Ryder,  of 
Croydon ;  they  have  one  child,  a  daughter,  Meora 
E.,  born  July  15,  1865.  Horace  F.  married 
Almira  J.,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Fanny  East 
man,  of  Springfield,  May  15,  1858.  They  have 
three  children — Fannie  E.,  Mary  E.  and  Adelbert 
W. ;  the  latter  is  now  (1885)  in  a  store  in  Chicago. 
Fannie  E.,  the  oldest  daughter  married  Kirk  D. 
Smith,  of  Grantham. 


Horace  has  twice  represented  the  town  of 
Springfield  in  the  Legislature  ;  has  been  president 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  several  years,  and  county 
commissioner  ten  years.  He  was  educated  at 
Kimball  Union  Academy,  at  Meriden.  His 
sister  attended  Union  Academy,  at  Meriden, 
Proctor's  Academy,  at  Andover,  and  Colby 
Academy,  at  New  London.  Both  brother  and 
sister  have  taught  school  several  terms. 

Horace  F.  spent  several  years  of  his  life  in 
Springfield,  but  now  resides  in  the  village  of 
Grantham.  He  has  been  very  successful  in 
business,  and  is  an  influential,  useful  and  respected 
citizen. 


RUFUS  HALL. 

The  emigrant  ancestor  of  Rufus  Hall  was 
Edward  Hall  (1),  who  was  in  America  as  early  as 
1636,  at  Duxborough,  Mass.  After  residing  at 
several  places  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  he  finally 
settled  at  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  in  1655,  where  he  was 
number  forty-one  out  of  forty-nine  persons  who 
drew  lots  for  meadow  lands  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town.  His  wife  was  named  Esther  or  Hester. 
They  had  eight  children,  of  whom  Benjamin  (2) 
was  the  youngest.  He  was  born  in  Rehoboth 
August  7,  1668;  married  Sarah  Fisher,  of  Wrent- 
ham,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children.  He  died 
in  Wrentham  August  26,  1726.  His  third  child 
was  Edward  (3),  born  March  1698  ;  he  married, 
February  7,  1721,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Eleazer 
Fisher,  of  Wrentham.  He  was  a  sergeant,  ensign 
and  lieutenant,  commissioned  by  the  crown,  and 
was  in  the  colonial  service.  He  removed  to  Ux- 
bridge,  1740,  where  he  purchased  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  two  thousand  pounds.  He  died 
between  November,  1764  and  1765.  Of  his 
seven  children,  Edward  (4)  was  second,  born  July 
18,  1727,  in  Wrentham;  married,  1748,  Lydia, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Tall)  Brown.  They 
had  a  family  of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  were 
born  in  Uxbridge.  Four  of  his  sons  served  in  the 
Continental  army.  He,  himself,  was  a  Royalist 
from  principle,  was  commissioned  by  the  crown, 
and    was    a    lieutenant   in    the   colonial    service. 


GRANTHAM. 


179 


About,  or  shortly  prior  to  1774  he  removed  to 
Croydon,  N.  H.,  with  his  ten  children  and  a 
niece,  Elizabeth  Hall.  Here  he  was  frequently 
chosen  to  town  offices,  being  constable,  collector, 
moderator,  and,  in  1781,1785  and  1786,  selectman 
of  the  town.  He  died  in  Croydon  December  28, 
1807,  aged  nearly  eighty.  Abijah  (5)  was  the 
third  child  of  Edward  Hall,  and  was  born  June 
7,  1754,  and  met  death  by  drowning  August  19, 
1812.  He  married,  first,  about  1780,  Sarah  Read 
(or  Reed)  ;  she  died  1791.  He  married,  second, 
August  12,  1792,  Mary  Read,  of  Northbridge, 
who  survived  him.  He  had  the  numerous  family 
of  seventeen  children.  He  held  the  rank  of 
captain,  and  was  constable,  collector,  selectman, 
etc.,  of  his  town. 

Amasa  (6),  the  sixth  child,  was  born  February, 
1789;  married,  February  26,  1811,  Rebecca  L. 
Melendy.  They  had  but  three  children — Adolphus, 
Rufus  and  Sally  Read.  Captain  Amasa  Hall  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  his  town.  He 
served  in  the  War  of  1812-15 ;  represented  Croydon 
in  the  Legislature  in  1824  and  1825  ;  removed  to 
Grantham,  N.  H,  in  1829,  where  he  served  as  se- 
lectman eight  years  ;  represented  Grantham  in  the 
General  Court  in  1832,  '34,  '35,  '36,  and  was 
road  commissioner  for  Sullivan  County  in  1841, 
and  was  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Newport  from  its  organization  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  As  a  business  man  he  was  very 
pushing  and  energetic  and  was  more  than  ordi- 
narily successful  for  those  times.  He  farmed  quite 
extensively,  traded  in  cattle,  loaned  money,  and 
in  various  ways  added  to  his  possessions,  and  at 
his  death  left  a  large  property.  He  died  in  Grant 
ham  August  22,  1869. 

Adolphus  Hall  (7)  was  born  in  Croydon,  N.H., 
December  7,  1811.  He  removed  to  Grantham 
with  his  father  in  1829,  where  he  married,  June  1, 
1836,  Sally  Leavitt.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a 
successful  and  enterprising  business  man  and  a 
leader  in  all  the  public  affairs  of  the  town.  He 
was  selectman  of  Grantham  from  1859  to  1862, 
and  represented  the  town  in  the  critical  period  of 
1860   and    1861,    when    the   tocsin   of   war   had 


sounded  and  each  State  gathered  together  her 
wisest  men  for  council.  He  was  treasurer  of  Sul- 
livan County  in  1865  and  1866,  and  was  county 
commissioner  and  selectman  of  his  town  for  the 
three  years  preceding  his  death,  and  was  an  in- 
cumbent of  both  offices  at  the  time  of  his  decease, 
October  12,  1876.  He  was  a  farmer,  trader  and 
lumber-dealer,  and,  for  two  years  prior  to  his  death, 
owned,  in  partnership  with  his  son,  and  operated  a 
saw  and  grist-mill  in  the  village  of  Grantham. 
He  had  but  two  children, — Rufus  and  Elvira.  He 
was  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics,  and  an 
earnest,  aggressive,  active  man  in  whatever  he 
undertook. 

Rufus  Hall  (8)  was  born  in  Grantham,  N.  H., 
March  18,  1844.  His  boyhood  and  youth  were 
spent  in  the  employments  usual  to  the  sons  of  well- 
to-do  and  industrious  New  England  farmers,  and, 
as  his  father  was  also  a  merchant  in  a  country 
village,  remote  from  railroad  facilities,  considera- 
ble teaming  was  necessary  to  transport  the  goods 
to  the  store,  and  the  country  produce  that  was 
taken  in  exchange  had  to  be  conveyed  to  the  rail- 
road. Rufus  did  much  of  this  teaming,  and,  at 
intervals,  was  employed  behind  the  counter  in  his 
father's  store.  In  these  various  ways  his  time  was 
employed  until  his  majority,  when  he  purchased 
his  father's  interest  in  the  store,  and,  in  company 
with  Lorenzo  Dunbar,  who  had  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  the  other  partner, — Mr.  Dodge, — he  began 
merchandising.  This  partnership  continued  about 
six  years,  when  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  store  to 
Mr.  Dunbar,  and  for  the  four  succeeding  years  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  to  farming.  All  the 
time  he  had  been  conducting  the  store  he  had  also 
been  interested  in  the  farm. 

In  1874  he,  in  company  with  his  father,  came 
into  possession  of  a  saw  and  grist-mill  in  Grantham, 
and  they  together  operated  this  till  his  father's 
death,  two  years  later.  They  were  engaged  quite 
extensively  in  milling  and  lumbering.  Upon  his 
father's  decease  he  sold  the  mill  and  returned  to 
farming.  In  1882  he,  in  company  with  Chester 
Walker,  purchased  the  store  of  G.  W.  Dunbar  in 
Croydon,  and  very  soon  after  purchased  Walker's 


180 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


interest,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  has  con- 
ducted the  business  alone.  His  residence  is  still  in 
Grantham,  while  his  place  of  business  is  Croydon. 

Mr.  Hall  has  held  and  faithfully  discharged  the 
duties  of  many  positions  of  office  and  trust  in  his 
town.  He  was  elected  town  clerk  of  Grantham  in 
18G9,  and,  with  an  interim  of  two  or  three  years, 
has  held  the  position  continuously  since. 

In  1882  he  represented  Grantham  in  the  State 


Legislature.  He  holds  a  directorship  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Newport,  of  which  his  grand- 
father was  so  long  a  valued  officer.  In  politics  he 
has  not  deserted  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  but  is  an 
ardentRepublican.  He  married,  January  12, 1868, 
Francina  D.  Smith  of  Springfield.  They  have  four 
children, — Leon  A.,  born  June  4,  1869  ;  Villa  E., 
born  August  17,  1874  ;  Earl  R ,  born  May  10, 
1876;  and  Ralph  A.,  born  August  22, 1879. 


HISTORY   OF  LANGDON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  town  of  Langdon  lies  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  Sullivan  County,  and  is  bounded  as  follows : 
North,  by  Charlestown  ;  east,  by  Alstead  and  Ac- 
wTorth  ;  south,  by  Walpole  and  Alstead ;  west,  by 
Charlestown. 

The  town  was  formed  from  territory  taken  from 
the  towns  of  Charlestown  and  Walpole,  and  incor- 
porated January  11, 1787.  It  was  named  in  honor 
of  Hon.  John  Langdon,  at  that  time  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives. 

Settlements  were  made  on  territory  now  in  this 
town  by  Seth  Walker  in  1773,  and  by  Nathaniel 
Rice  and  Jonathan  Willard  the  year  following. 
Rev.  Abner  Kneeland,  who  was  ordained  over  a 
Universal ist  Church  here  in  1805,  was  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  that  denomination  in  New  Eng- 
land for  some  years,  and  published  a  periodical  de- 
voted to  his  peculiar  tenets,  called  the  Boston 
Investigator.  In  1795  the  town  might  have  been 
extended  to  Connecticut  River,  but  it  refused,  by 
vote,  to  accept  the  proffered  addition." 

The  following  is  a  petition  for  authority  to  tax 
non-residents,  1879 : 

"State  of  New  Hampshire  May  27th   1789— 

"To  the  Honble  Senate  and  house  of  Representatives 
Conveined   at  Concord    June   4th    1789 

"The  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 
Langdon  Humbly  Sheweth 

"That  your  petitioners  are  few  in  number  and 
inhabit  a  new  Town  or  District  of  land  a  con- 
siderable part  of  which  Is  owned  by  nonresident 
proprietors  and  that  they  are  not  able  to  make 
the  necessary  public  Roads  and  Bridges  and  in 
particularly   a   Bridge    over    Cold    River    so   called 


which  is  very  Rapid  and  in  the  Spring  and  Fall 
at  high  water  is  not  passable  and  the  Expence  of 
build  the  Bridge  and  making  said  roads  exceeds 
the  ability  of  your  petitioners  They  therefore 
most  Humbly  pray  your  Honors  to  Impower  them 
to  Leavy  a  Tax  of  one  penny  on  each  acre  of 
the  non  resident  proprietors  Land  in  said  town 
for  the  purposes  aforesaid  or  grant  your  petitioners 
such  other  Relief  as  you  in  your  Wisdom  shall 
think  Propper  and  your  Petitioners  as  in  Duty 
Bound  Shall   ever  pray — 

"  John  Prouty  ^j  Select  Men  for  and  in  be- 

"  EZRA   Read  V    half  of  the  Inhabitants 

"Jeremiah  Howard  J     of  the  Town  of  Langdon 

"Langdon   May  27th   1789 

"The  Committee  on  the  within  petition  Report  a 
Tax  of  one  penny  be  laid  on  each  Acre  of  Land 
in  said  Town  for  one  Year  &  they  have  leave 
to   bring   in    a  Bill   accordingly 

"  Nat  Rogers  for  the   Com  " 

In  House  of  Representatives,  June  11, 1789,  the 
report  was  adopted.     Senate  concurred. 

Petition  for  Special   Tax  to   build  a  Meeting- House, 

1793. 

"  To  the  Honourable   General   Court  of  the  State 

of   New    Hampshire    to    be    holden    at    Concord 

on   first  Wednesday  of  June  Next — 

"The    petition    of  the    Select  men    of   Langdon 

Humbly    Sheweth — that    whereas    the    Inhabitants 

of    said    town    are     aboute      to    Build   a    meeting 

House    for    the    better    Conveannance    of    meeting 

for    publick    worship    &c    as   soon    as    thay    think 

them   Selves   in  a  Sittuation   to   accomplish  it  and 

Considering  that  there  is  in  said  town  Considerable 

Land   of    Non-residents     which    by    building    said 

meeting  house   will   be   likely  to   be   more    Value- 

181 


182 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


able,  these  are  therefore  to  pray  your  Hounours 
to  Grant  Liberty  for  said  town  to  Tax  said  Lands 
two  pence  on  Each  acre  which  money  to  be  laid 
out  toward  said  building  whenever  said  town  shall 
see  fit  to  build  said  house  or  otherways  Do  as 
your  Honours  in  your  wisdom  think  best  and  your 
Petitioners   as    in    Duty    bound   will   Ever   Pray 

"James   Egerton"]  Select  men 
"Sam1  Prouty        >         of 
"John  Prentiss    J    Langdon 

"Langdon    May  27    1793" 

Vote  of  Town  relative    to   extending   its  North    Line, 

1795. 

"At  a  Legal  Town  meetin  in  Langdon  the 
third  Day  of  march  1795  the  following  Vote  was 
taken  for  extending  Langdon  North  Line  to  the 
River  Connecticut  thare  appeared  to  be  thirty 
three  Votes  for  extending  said  Line  to  said  River 
and  thirty  against  Extending  said  Line  to  said 
River  at  A  Legal  town  meeting  in  Langdon  May 
11th  1795,  Called  at  the  Requst  of  a  Number  of 
Free  Holders  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Town  if 
thay  Will  have  Langdon  North  Line  Extend  to 
the  River  Connecticut  acording  to  the  Vote  Re- 
corded at  our  Last  annual  meeting  or  Not — thare 
appeared  to  be  thirty  seven  Votes  Not  to  Extend- 
ing said  Line  to  sd  River  and  twenty  three  Votes 
for   extending  said  Line   to   said   River 

"A  Trew   Coppey  Record 

"attest — James  Egerton    Town  Clark 
"Langdon   May  13th   1795" 

The  town  of  Charlestown  had  given  its  consent 
to  the  annexation  of  that  portion  of  its  territory 
lying  between  Langdon  and  Connecticut  River  to 
the  latter  town,  and  the  inhabitants  residing  there- 
on petitioned  as  follows  to  be  thus  annexed.  Had 
this  project  succeeded,  both  towns  would  have  been 
more  symmetrical,  and  Langdon  would  have  had 
a  river  front  and  a  railroad  within  its  borders. 

Petition  in  favor   of  Annexing  Part  of  Charlestown 
to   Langdon. 

"To     the    Honorable    the     General    Court    of    the 
State    of   New   Hampshire  to  meet  at    Hanover 
the  first   Wednesday   of  June   next — 
"We  the  Inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the   Town 


of  Charlestown  which  lies  between  the  west  Line 
of  the  Town  of  Langdon  and  Connecticut  River, 
Humbly  Shew,  that  the  Town  of  Charlestown,  and 
the  Town  of  Langdon  having  voted  that  the  north 
Line  of  Langdon  be  extended  to  Connecticut 
River,  your  Petitioners  Therefore  Humbly  pray 
that  said  north  Line  of  Langdon  may  be  extended 
westwardly  to  said  river,  and  that  all  the  Lands 
and  Inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Charlestown 
which  lies  west  of  Langdon  west  Line  may  be 
annexed  to  the  Town  of  Langdon,  and  your  peti- 
tioners as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray 
"Charlestown  May  27th  1795. 
"Peter  Bellows   Jr—  Rufus  Guild 

Asahel   Hunt  Wm   Drown 

Asahel   C.   Porter  Samuel   Guild 

M.   W.   Hastings  Samuel  Bellows 

Elisha  Putnam 
Peter  Bellows 


John  Hodgkin" 


But  Langdon  subsequently  voted  against  the 
annexation,  and  the  project  failed. 

Congregational  Church. — This  church  was 
organized  in  1792  in  a  room  in  a  grist-mill  owned 
by  Obediah  Kingsbury,  a  short  distance  northward 
of  the  middle  of  the  town.  Among  the  early  min- 
isters were  Revs.  Lazel,  Hartwell,  Spaulding  and 
Taft. 

April  20,  1803,  the  town  voted  "to  raise  one 
hundred  dollars  for  preaching,  and  that  one-half 
be  laid  out  for  the  Congregational  order  and  the 
other  half  for  the  Universalist  order." 

October  30, 1805,  Rev.  Abner  Knceland  was  set- 
tled as  pastor,  and  remained  until  1811.  In  1810  he 
was  chosen  representative  to  the  General  Court. 
The  last  money  voted  by  the  town  for  preaching 
was  in  1819 — one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

In  1820  Rev.  Ezekiel  Rich  was  here  as  mission- 
ary, and  the  church  was  reorganized.  From  1820 
to  the  fall  of  1834  there  was  no  preaching.  In 
1834  Mr.  Nelson  Barbour,  a  student  at  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  preached  here;  in  1835, 
Rev.  S.  Rogers.  In  this  year  a  Union  Church 
was  formed  with  residents  of  Paper-Mill  village 
and  Drewsville,  called  the  Union  Congregational 
Church,  and  in  1838  services  were  held  alternately 
at  each  of  these  two  places.     In  1839  Rev.  John 


LANGDON 


183 


Wood  came  here  as  pastor.  A  writer  in  the  work 
entitled  "  New  Hampshire  Churches,"  published  in 
1856,  thus  refers  to  LaDgdon  in  1839, — 

"  The  Sabbath  was  desecrated  by  hunting,  fishing, 
and  riding  ;  rum  drinking  general ;  the  only  store- 
keeper in  the  town  stated  in  a  public  meeting  that 
for  twelve  years  he  had  sold  but  a  little  short  of 
one  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  ardent  spirits  each 
year,  and  though  some  that  he  sold  was  carried  out  of 
town,  yet  he  did  not  doubt  but  that  enough  had  been 
brought  into  the  town,  to  more  than  counterbalance 
what  had  been  carried  out,  and  this  in  a  town  of  less 
than  700  inhabitants.  The  store  was  open  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  minister,  as  he  stood  in  the  pulpit  in 
the  old  meeting-house,  could  see  carried  away  from 
there,  jugs,  scythes,  codfish  and  other  articles  of  mer- 
chandise. This  view,  together  with  the  shouting  of 
the  boys  and  young  men  as  they  entered  the  galleries 
of  the  old  church  and  seated  themselves  with  their 
hats  on,  with  Abner  Kneeland's  paper  as  an  instru- 
ment and  disturbance,  their  often  distorted  faces 
and  loud  whisperings  of  approbation  or  disapproba- 
tion of  the  truths  he  (Rev.  John  Wood)  uttered,  led 
him  to  feel  that  he  had  not  exactly  found  the  valley 
of  the  prophet  Ezekiel's  vision,  but  the  land  of  stern- 
est missionary  necessities.  A  neighboring  minister 
exchanged  with  him  one  Sabbath  and  was  greatly 
annoyed  by  the  improper  conduct  of  the  young  people, 
and  upon  meeting  Mr.  Wood  on  the  following  morn- 
ing said,  '  How  is  it  possible  that  you  stay  in  Lang- 
don  ?  I  would  not  stay  there  for  one  thousand  dollars 
a  year.'  This  same  writer  states  that  on  the  following 
Sabbath,  just  as  Mr.  Wood  was  speaking  his  text,  a 
young  man  came  and  rapped  very  hard  with  his  fist 
upon  the  front-door,  opened  it,  made  a  low  bow,  and 
sauntered  to  a  seat,  evidently  expecting  to  witness  a 
general  smile." 

In  1839  the  meetings  of  this  church  were  held 
in  Langdon,  and  February  11,  1840,  the  name 
was  changed  to  the  "  First  Evangelical  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Christ  in  Langdon." 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  dedicated  Octo- 
ber 29, 1842.  Rev.  Mr.  Wood  remained  until  Jan- 
uary, 1849.  Other  clergymen  have  been  Revs.  N. 
Barbour,  Edwin  Jennison,  S.  R.  Arms. 

Rev.  C.  Taylor  closed  his  labors  with  February, 
1856.      Rev.  E.   Jennison,  March    12,   1856,   to 


March  8, 1857.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
1857  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Rev.  S.  R.  Arms, 
of  Springfield,  Vt.  Rev.  J.  L.  Arms,  from  March 
11,  1858,  to  1st  of  November,  1859.  Andrew 
Jaquith  then  supplied  and  was  ordained  April 
25,  1860,  and  preached  here  until  August  27, 
1864,  when  death  removed  him.  Six  Sabbaths 
were  then  supplied  by  as  many  diffei-ent  ministers, 
when  Rev.  Mr.  Field  preached  three  months,  Rev. 
Job  Cushman  three  months,  Rev.  Mr.  Fisk,  of 
Fisherville,  N.  H.,  two  Sabbaths,  when  Rev. 
Moses  Gerould  became  pastor,  moving  here  No- 
vember 23,  1865,  and  preached  until  April  25, 
1869.  July,  August,  September  of  1869  a 
student  from  Andover  Seminary,  a  Mr.  Sprowls 
preached.  In  November,  1869  Clem  A.  Wilson, 
a  Baptist,  commenced  and  preached  sixteen 
Sundays.  William  H.  Cobb,  a  student  of 
Princeton,  (N.  J.)  Theological  Seminary,  held 
services  for  sixteen  weeks,  commencing  the  second 
Sabbath  in  May,  1870.  Seth  Hinkley,  of  the 
Christian  denomination,  then  followed  from  May, 
1871,  to  November,  1872.  Rev.  George  F. 
Chapin  commenced  April  1,  1873,  and  continued 
until  April  1, 1884.  In  the  summer  of  1884,  Prof. 
Solon  Albee  held  services  from  the  middle  of  May 
until  July,  when  J.  M.  Buffum  was  employed  and 
held  services  until  December.  No  services  were 
held  until  May,  1885,  when  Rev.  G.  H.  French 
commenced  his  labors  and  still  continues. 

Langdon  and  Alstead  Universalist  So- 
cieties.1— Perhaps  we  can  in  no  better  way  com- 
mence this  brief  article  than  by  quoting  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  an  early  history  on  Universalism. 

After  speaking  of  Thomas  Fessenden,  who  was 
pastor  at  Walpole  from  1767  to  1813,  as  being  a 
Universalist — though  over  the  orthodox  society — 
the  historian  says :  "Rev.  Jacob  Mann,  ordained 
and  settled  at  Alstead  in  1782,  was  dismissed 
May,  1789,  in  consequence  of  his  erroneous  and 
unsettled  sentiments,  he  having  embraced  Univer- 
salism." "His  successor,  Samuel  Mead,  ordained 
and  settled  in   1791,  was   dismissed,  in    1797,   on 

1  By  M.  Addie  Morse. 


184 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


account  of  his  unsettled  doctrinal  views,  he  having 
become  a  Universalis,  publishing  in  1796,  a  pam- 
phlet entitled,  '  A  faithful  hint  on  the  final  reduc- 
tion and  restoration  of  sinners.'  " 

We  find  this  reference  to  Langdon  :  "  Rev.  Mr. 
Taft  also  became  a  Universalist." 

These  items  indicate  the  beginnings  of  the  Uni- 
versalist sentiment  in  these  towns  which  ended  in 
the  organized  societies. 

By  consulting  the  only  record  that  we  have 
been  able  to  secure,  we  find  that  as  early  as  March 
14,  1791,  the  first  public  meeting  relative  to  a 
belief  in  Universalism  was  called  at  the  house  of 
Seth  Walker,  in  Langdon,  where  a  constitution 
was  framed  and  adopted  by  thirty-four  heads  of 
families.  Among  the  articles  recorded  at  this 
meeting  we  read:  "Agreed,  if  any  one  of  our 
society  should  be  oppressed  or  obliged  to  defend 
himself  by  law,  on  account  of  his  religious  senti- 
ments, that  we  will  each  one  of  us  bear  a  part 
according  to  his  ability."  From  this  time  forth 
meetings  were  held,  many  baptized,  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  observed.  Among  the  ministers 
that  from  time  to  time  labored  with  them  we  find 
Rev.  Thomas  Fessenden,  Revs.  Samuel  Mead  and 
Abner  Keeland.  The  latter  was  ordained  as  the 
first  pastor  of  the  Langdon  Church  and  society, 
December  10, 1805,  remaining  until  September  22, 
1810,  at  which  time  he  preached  his  farewell 
sermon.  Rev.  Robert  Bartlett  was  next  settled 
over  the  society,  remaining  many  years,  preaching 
also  one-third  of  the  time  at  Alstead. 

March  5,  1821  the  Langdon  society,  through  a 
committee,  agreed  to  receive  the  Alstead  society 
as  brethren  in  the  faith,  although  it  was  not  until 
October,  1839,  that  a  constitution  was  adopted 
uniting  the  two  societies,  and  since  known  as  the 
Union  Universalist  Society  of  Langdon  and  Al- 
stead. In  1828  we  find  Rev.  William  Skinner 
settled  here.  After  him,  Rev.  Mr.  Randolph,  who 
first  resided  in  Langdon,  and  afterward  at  Alstead, 
severing  his  connection  with  the  church  in  1843. 
In  September,  1844,  the  new  church  edifice  at 
Alstead  was  dedicated,  Rev.  Joseph  Barber  being 
selected  as  pastor,   preaching   one-quarter  part  of 


the    time    in  Langdon,    which  custom  has   con- 
tinued until  the  present  time. 

Father  Barber,  as  he  is  now  reverently  styled 
throughout  the  denomination,  labored  with  this 
society  for  eleven  years,  and  the  old  and  the 
middle-aged  here  testify  to  the  good  accomplished 
by  him  during  his  pastorate.  He  resigned  in 
1853.  At  this  time  the  society  was  the  largest 
Universalist  denomination,  with  one  exception,  in 
the  State.  Perhaps  it  will  not  be  ami-s  to  say 
here,  that  in  1877,  Father  Barker,  having  closed 
his  labors  as  a  pastor,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy- 
six,  returned  to  make  Alstead  his  home.  Here  he 
lived  for  the  remaining  five  years  of  life,  beloved 
and  respected  by  all  parties  and  all  denominations, 
and  here  he  calmly  and  peacefully  sank  to  his 
final  sleep,  and  here  his  body  was  lain,  among  the 
people  he  loved  and  by  whom  he  was  admired. 

In  1857  Rev.  Edwin  Davis  was  settled.  After 
him  Rev.  Judson  Fisher,  who  remained  five  years, 
closing  his  pastorate  in  1866. 

Rev.  O.  D.  Miller  next  labored  a  number  of 
months.  Then  Rev.  Ephraim  A.  Read  came  one 
year.  Then  came  Rev.  Mr.  Crosley  for  one  year. 
Then  Rev.  Mr.  Jenks,  who  remained  three  years. 
Later,  Rev.  L.  F.  Fortney,  who  reorganized  the 
church,  it  having,  from  various  causes,  become 
weakened  and  separated,  and  he  sought  and  did 
much  to  strengthen  the  society,  and  make  the 
weak  places  strong.  After  some  three  years  with 
this  people  he  sought  another  field,  and  Rev.  S.  H. 
McCollester,  D.D.,  who  was  the  settled  pastor  at 
Bellows  Falls,  Vt.,  came  here  every  Sabbath  after- 
noon, and  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  much 
the  pastor  here  as  at  his  own  particular  parish. 
When  his  labors  closed  at  Bellows  Falls,  and  his 
place  was  filled  by  Rev.  J.  N.  Emery,  the  same 
plan  has  been  observed.  Mr.  Emery,  though 
settled  at  the  above-named  village,  speaks  each 
Sabbath  afternoon  for  this  society,  and  at  present 
the  people  are  very  harmonious  and  united.  The 
society  is  becoming  strong,  and  the  church  gain- 
ing new  members  ;  the  good  work  of  universal 
salvation  is  going  bravely  and  faithfully  onward. 


HISTORY   OF  LEMPSTER. 


BY   HELEN   BINGHAM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  township  of  Lempster,  originally  six  miles 
square,  has  an  irregular  surface,  diversified  with 
hills,  valleys  and  mountains,  affording,  at  different 
points,  very  fine  and  extensive  views ;  on  a  clear 
day,  Mount  Washington  may  be  seen  from  an 
elevation  on  the  estate  of  D.  B.  Wheeler,  Esq.,  a 
short  distance  east  of  the  village.  From  whence 
the  town  received  its  name  we  are  not  informed, 
either  by  history  or  tradition,  but,  as  the  ancestors 
of  the  early  settlers  came  from  England,  we  may 
infer  it  had  an  English  origin. 

From  the  State  records  we  learn  that  the  town- 
ship was  granted  January  1,  1753,  to  Samuel 
Clark  Paine  and  others,  under  the  name  of 
Dupplin.  No  settlement  was  attempted  or  ex- 
pected under  this  grant,  but,  October  8,  1761,  a 
re-grant  of  the  territory  was  made  to  Benadum 
Gallup  and  others.  The  conditions  of  this  grant 
not  being  fulfilled  in  the  matter  of  settlements, 
another  was  made,  January  5,  1767K  to  Dudley 
Woodbridge  and  others,  in  sixty-seven  equal 
shares;  and  tradition  hath  it  that  General 
Spencer,  to  whom  this  territory  had  been  awarded 
for  some  military  achievement,  sent  a  young 
colored  man  named  Tattan  from  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  as  a  pioneer  to  explore  the  then  wilderness, 
with  permission  to  settle  if  he  pleased. 

This  energetic  son  of  Africa  made  his  way  by  a 
line  of  marked  trees,  and,  arriving  near  the  banks 
of  Cold  River  just  at  nightfall,  weary  and  foot- 
sore, encamped  with  his  dog  and  gun.  When  the 
rays  of  the  morning  sun  lighted  up  the  forests  and 
hills,  the  place  pleased  him,  and  he  commenced  at 


once  to  erect  a  rude  cabin,  returning  shortly  for 
his  wife ;  his  glowing  accounts  of  the  new  El 
Dorado  induced  the  immigration  of  other  families, 
both  from  East  Haddam  and  Windham,  Conn.  ; 
among  the  earliest  was  Deacon  Elijah  Bingham 
and  Jabez  Beckwith  (first  colonel  appointed  in  the 
county).  The  apple-trees  gnarled,  and  hoary 
with  age,  are  still  standing,  the  seeds  of  which 
young  Tattan  brought  from  his  home,  and 
Tattan's  spring  still  quenches  the  thirst  of  man 
and  beast  as  they  pass  along  the  highway. 

In  1772  there  were  eight  families  in  town,  and, 
two  years  later,  they  held  their  first  town-meeting 
at  the  house  of  Elijah  Frink,  innholder,  called  by 
order  of  Benjamin  Giles,  justice  of  the  peace. 

The  legal  voters  were  John  Perkins,  William 
Story,  Timothy  Nichols,  Major  Linkham,  Silas 
Bingham,  Elijah  Bingham,  Allen  Willey,  Elijah 
Frink,  William  Markham,  William  Carey  and 
Jabez  Beckwith.  The  first  settlers  were  remark- 
able for  their  mental  as  well  as  muscular  develop- 
ment, and  for  their  independence  of  thought  and 
action,  as  we  see  in  their  decided  rejection  of  the 
plan  of  government  of  the  State,  which  was  re- 
ceived August  12,  1779.  Why  rejected,  history 
does  not  tell. 

Their  early  homes  were  rudely  built  of  logs,  the 
sunshine  of  hope  gilding  the  otherwise  dark 
interiors,  glass  windows  being  a  too  expensive 
luxury.  Tradition  informs  us  that  the  young 
bride  of  Captain  Timothy  Miner,  possessed  of 
much  mechanical  skill,  whittled  from  soft,  straight 
pine  (of  which  there  was  an  abundance  in  those 
days)  some  window- sashes,  tying  them  with  stout 

linen  thread,  and  then  substituting  oiled  paper  for 

185 


186 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


glass,  a  pin-hole  affording  glimpses  of  the  outer 
world  !.  In  time,  these  primitive  homes  were  sup- 
plemented by  substantial  framed  dwellings;  the 
earliest,  being  built  by  Colonel  Jabez  Beckwith 
in  1780,  is  still  standing,  with  its  gambrel  roof  and 
picturesque  dormer-windows,  although  the  six 
Lombardy  poplars  which  graced  its  front  have 
long  since  passed  away. 

James,  the  son  of  Deacon  Elijah  Bingham, 
erected  the  most  expensive  house  in  town,  having 
expended  one  thousand  dollars  on  the  foundation 
when  it  was  ready  for  the  frame.  This  old 
mansion  is  still  standing,  reminding  one  of  the 
homes  of  the  old  English  esquires,  with  its  square 
roof,  wide  halls,  spacious  rooms  and  lofty  ceilings  ; 
here  in  the  early  days  was  heard  the  hum  and 
buzz  of  wheels,  and  click-clack  of  loom,  for  the 
wool  and  flax  raised  on  the  large  farm  was  manu- 
factured in  the  home.  And  not  only  was  this 
music  heard,  but  the  family,  possessing  great 
musical  talent,  were  in  themselves  both  orchestra 
and  choir,  rendering  with  ease  the  works  of 
Handel,  Haydn  and  Mozart,  piano,  violin  and 
ffute  being  skillfully  played. 

The  settlement,  in  its  infancy,  suffered  from  the 
incursion  of  wolves  ;  they  made  the  nights  hideous 
with  their  howls,  often  having  severe  battles,  the 
morning  light  revealing  the  killed  and  wounded. 
A  certain  locality  is  still  known  as  "  Wolf 
Swamp." 

In  1778  the  following  vote  was  passed  by  the 
town  : 

"  Voted,  that  if  any  person,  that  belongs  to  the  town, 
shall,  by  trapping,  or  any  other  way,  Shall  kill  a 
grown  wolfe  in  the  town,  or  shall  take  a  wolfe  track  in 
the  town  and  follow  him  till  he  kill  him,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  thirty  Dollars  for  every  such  wolf  he  killed; 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  town  Treasury." 

Until  about  1782  the  town  joined  with  Acworth 
and  Marlow  in  sending  a  representative  to  the 
General  Court.  During  this  time  the  following 
petition  for  a  civil  officer  was  sent  to  the  Honor- 
able Council : 

"  As  their  is  a  Veakency  in  Lancaster  for  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  I,  as  a  Representative  for  that  Town, 


have  taken  Sum  pains  to  Inquire  who  is  the  fittest 
person  for  that  Office,  and  the  people  Differ  sum  in 
sentiment. 

"  But  wm.  Cary  and  mr.  Elijah  firink  is  held  up  to 
vew  as  proper  persons,  Either  of  them,  for  that  office. 
Leaving  it  to  your  Honours  to  apint  One  of  them,  as 
you  in  your  wisdom  think  fit. 

"Concord,  february  17th,  1785. 

"Damel  grout." 

From  the  early  records  we  judge  that  Elijah 
Frink  received  the  appointment,  and,  together 
with  Colonel  Jabez  Beckwith,  Elijah  Bingham 
and  Oliver  Booth,  were  the  prominent  business 
men  of  the  settlement. 

The  second  New  Hampshire  turnpike  from 
Windsor,  Vt.,  to  Amherst,  incorporated  December 
26,  1799,  passing  directly  through  the  site  chosen 
for  the  village,  at  once  brought  thrift  and  activity 
to  the  place,  as  it  was  the  main  thoroughfare  to 
Boston  for  farmers  and  merchants  from  the 
northern  portions  of  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire. It  was  nothing  uncommon  to  see  thirty 
and  forty  teams  in  line,  many  having  four  and  six 
horses  This  afforded  ample  custom  to  the  three 
innkeepers  of  the  village,  besides,  en  route  to 
Washington,  one  inn  at  the  foot  of  Lempster 
Mountain  and  the  other  at  the  summit. 

In  1791  portions  of  Lempster,  Newport,  Unity 
and  Sunapee  were  incorporated  into  a  town  by 
the  name  of  Goshen,  but  not  without  much  oppo- 
sition from  the  citizens  of  Lempster,  on  account 
of  the  extra  tax  on  those  who  remained  to  support 
Rev.  Mr.  Fisher,  and  it  was  not  agreed  to  until 
the  persons  living  in  the  said  northeast  corner 
promised  to  continue  their  tax  as  formerly,  and 
Mr.  Fisher  was  to  preach  there  a  certain  portion 
of  the  time. 

The  following  Continental  soldiers  were  fur- 
nished by  the  town :  Abner  Bingham,  Asahel 
Koundv,  William  Tattan,  Matthew  Grear  and 
Bethuel  Beckwith.  Tradition  informs  us  that 
one  Niles  Beckwith  was  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  carried  the  gallant  Warren  from  the 
field.  In  amusing  contrast  to  this  was  the  con- 
duct of  one  Peter  Lowell,  who  was  also  there,  but 


LEMPSTER. 


187 


who,  at  the  first  booming  of  cannon,  turned  and 
fled, — never  stopping  till  he  reached  his  home, 
ninety  miles  away! 

The  following  persons  enlisted  in  the  War  of 
1812,  under  the  leadership  of  Lieutenant  William 
Cary  (then  a  youth  of  nineteen),  and  were  sta- 
tioned at  Portsmouth:  Daniel  Rogers,  Jeremiah 
Parker,  Leonard  Way,  Jerome  Strickland,  Luther 
Reed,  Silas  Chamberlain,  Benjamin  Chamberlain, 
Charles  V.  Ames,  Timothy  Scott,  George  Way, 
Willard  Rogers,  John  Wheeler,  Anson  Wheeler. 

Afterward  Captain  William  Cary  was  made 
major-general  of  the  Third  Division  of  New 
Hampshire  Militia,  for  which  position  he  seemed 
well-fitted  by  nature, — a  massive  frame,  well-pro- 
portioned and  of  commanding  presence. 

The  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter,  April  12, 1861, 
aroused  all  the  cultivated  and  inherited  patriot- 
ism of  Lempster's  sons,  and  there  were  early  en- 
listments. The  town  voted  a  bounty  of  one 
hundred  dollars  to  each  volunteer,  and  three 
hundred  dollars  to  each  drafted  man.  Many 
meetings  of  the  citizens  were  held,  testifying  of 
their  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  country.  Nor 
were  the  wives  and  mothers  less  interested,  organ- 
izing quite  soon  a  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  in  which 
were  gathered  from  chest  and  closet  the  treasures 
of  linen,  spun  and  woven  by  the  dear  old  grand- 
mothers; and  many  a  box  of  bandages  and  dain- 
ties found  its  way  to  hospital  and  camp.  A  neat 
granite  monument,  erected  by  the  town,  commem- 
orates the  memory  of  the  fallen  heroes. 

Quite  early  in  the  settlement,  November  13, 
1781,  the  First  Congregational  Church  was  organ- 
ized by  the  following  members :  Elijah  Bingham, 
Thomas  Scovell,  Nathan  Sewell,  William  Cary, 
Samuel  Nichols,  Shubael  Hurd  and  Samuel 
Roundy.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the 
church  records  were  lost  when  the  old  parsonage 
was  burned  in  1844. 

In  March,  1779,  the  citizens  agreed  to  unite 
with  Acworth  in  hiring  a  minister,  and  to  meet 
for  Sabbath  worship  at  the  dwelling  of  Elisha 
Beckwith ;  also  agreed  to  raise  one  hundred 
pounds  of  money  on  the  ratable  estate  and  polls 


"  Dea.  Elisah  Bingham 
"  Uzzel  Hurd 
"  Cap'  James  Rogers 
"  Cap'  Jabez  Beckwith 


of  the  inhabitants.  At  this  meeting  three  choris- 
ters were  chosen, — Timothy  Nichols,  James  Bing- 
ham and  Joseph  Wood,  Jr.  June  5,  1787,  the 
following  call  was  given  to  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher : 

"  Voted  to  give  the  Rev.  Elias  Fisher  a  call  to  settle 
in  this  town  as  a  Gospel  Minister.  To  give  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Fisher  thirty  pounds  in  addition  to  the  Minis- 
terial right  of  Land— the  one  half  to  be  paid  in  Sep1 
1788  the  other  half  to  be  paid  in  Sep1 1789  to  be  paid 
in  Labour  and  Materials  for  building— As  Incourage- 
ment  for  settlement.  And  forty  pounds  the  first  year 
as  Sallery,  and  rise  Annually  with  the  List  Until  it 
Amounts  to  Seventy  pounds  with  the  addition  of  Cut- 
ting and  Drawing  his  fire  Wood  to  the  door  Annually, 
his  Sallery  to  be  paid  in  Wheat  at  Six  Shillings,  Rye 
at  four  Shillings  pr.  Bushel,  flax  at  Eight  pence  pr. 
pound,  Sheeps  Wool  at  two  Shillings  pr.  pound  and 
any  other  kind  of  produce  in  like  proportion; 

^  Chosen  a  Commit- 
tee to  transmit  a 
Coppyof  the  above 
proceedings  to  the 
Sd.  Mr.  Fisher, 
and  to  treat  with 
him  in  conse- 
quence of  the  same 
"  Oliver  Booth,  Moderator. 
"  A  true  copy,  attest, 

"James  Bingham,  Town  Clerk.'" 

Rev.  Elias  Fisher  was  ordained  pastor  over  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  September  26,  1787, 
and  held  this  relationship  till  his  death,  March 
22,  1831.  In  1828  Charles  M.  Brown  was  in- 
stalled as  colleague,  and  to  meet  the  increased  ex- 
pense the  members  of  the  church  were  assessed 
seventy-five  per  cent. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Fisher's  ordination  there  was 
no  church  edifice,  and  the  services  were  held  at  the 
north  end  of  the  village,  in  front  of  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Oliver  Booth  (now  owned  by  John  O'Brien), 
a  platform  being  erected  for  the  ministers  and 
choir. 

Two  choristers  aspired  to  the  honor  of  wielding 
the  baton  on  that  memorable  occasion,  the  matter 
being  decided  by  one  of  the  authorities  of  the  day. 

Those  who  knew  Mr.  Fisher  in  those  early  days 
describe  him  as  having  a  petite  figure,  set  off  to  fine 


138 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


advantage  by  his  style  of  dress.  Short  breeches, 
long  silk  stockings,  shoe  and  knee-buckles,  and  in 
later  years,  when  hair  grew  thin,  the  now  fashion- 
able black  silk  cap  adorned  his  head.  He  had  a 
fund  of  humor,  and  was  quick  at  repartee.  At 
times  he  was  quite  absent-minded  and  the  old  par- 
sonage floor  had  a  well-defined  path  worn  in  its 
surface,  where  he  used  to  pace  back  and  forth, 
talking  rapidly  to  himself;  on  one  such  occasion 
his  wife  says :  "  To  whom  are  you  talking, 
my  dear?"  quickly  came  the  reply — "the  wisest 
man  in  town."  He  was  very  successful  as  a  min- 
ister and  much  beloved  by  his  people,  as  his  long 
pastorate  attests.  He  requested  that  his  place  of 
burial  should  be  on  the  western  border  of  the  cem- 
etery, that  he  might,  as  he  said,  "  rise  at  the  head 
of  his  people." 

Rev.  Charles  M-  Brown,  although  a  man  of  strong 
intellect  and  an  excellent  sermonizer,  remained  but 
a  little  over  two  years,  his  eccentricities  proving  a 
hindrance  to  his  usefulness.  For  a  space  of  four 
years  the  church  was  without  a  settled  pastor,  em- 
ploying the  services  of  Rev.  Broughton  White; 
during  the  time  of  his  stay  there  was  a  very  exten- 
sive and  interesting  revival.  Rev.  Ebenezer  Cole- 
man was  installed  December,  1834 ;  dismissed 
September  25,  1838. 

In  1835  the  Second  Congregational  Church  was 
formed  by  the  withdrawal  of  some  of  the  members 
from  the  First,  on  account  of  disaffection  at  the  lo- 
cation of  a  new  church  edifice  built  during  Mr. 
Coleman's  pastorate. 

Rev.  S.  H.  Tolman  succeeded  Mr.  Coleman,  re- 
maining about  five  years,  his  ministry  eminently 
successful.  Rev.  Daniel  Sawyer  was  ordained  May 
13,  1846;  it  was  during  his  ministrations  that  the 
parsonage  was  burned  and  rebuilt.  Rev.  Robert 
Page  came  in  1851,  remaining  five  years,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  there  were  many  additions  to  the 
church  of  young  people.  Rev.  Robert  Fuller  suc- 
ceeded him,  commencing  his  labors  July  13, 1856  ; 
a  very  talented  man,  but  a  constant  sufferer  from 
bodily  infirmities,  so  that  he  left  preaching  in  1860. 
Rev.  Augustus  Chandler  came  next  in  1861.  Rev. 
William  H.  Barrows,  1865.    Rev.  Benjamin  Howe, 


1867,  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Le  Bosquet,  who 
remained  seven  years;  a  very  genial  man  and  fine 
writer.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  A.  E.  Hall  who 
was  ordained  and  installed  November  12,  1880 ; 
dismissed  June,  1881, — a  change  necessary  for  the 
restoration  of  health. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of 
deacon  :  Samuel  Roundy,  Elijah  Bingham,  Jacob 
Smith,  Aaron  Hardy,  William  Cary,  Eliot  Cary, 
John  Taylor,  Alvah  Smith,  James  H.  Collins,  A. 
B.  Sabin,  A.  J.  Mitchell,  Joseph  Marshall  and 
James  A.  Evans.  Reuben  Roundy  and  Collins 
Hurd  were  deacons  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church,  which  worshipped  in  a  church  edifice 
erected  at  the  East  village,  in  1835. 

In  1822  Truman  Booth,  Nathan  Booth,  Charles 
More  and  Thomas  More  "  j)etitioned  not  to  be 
taxed  for  Mr.  Fisher's  support,  as  they  were  not  of 
the  same  belief."  Their  petition  was  followed  by 
that  of  twenty -eight  others,  and  since  about  that 
time  the  minister's  support  has  been  by  voluntary 
contribution,  and,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Fisher, 
aided  by  funds  arising  from  the  parsonage  and 
farm  bequeathed  by  him  to  the  church  and  society. 

Until  about  1794  the  Sabbath  services  were 
held  in  private  houses  and  school-houses.  Then 
the  town  voted  to  build  a  "  meeting  house ;"  but  it 
was  not  until  after  repeated  meetings  and  adjourn- 
ments that  a  site  was  at  length  decided  upon, 
with  which,  it  seems,  no  one  was  pleased,  it  being 
a  rocky  hill  some  rods  northwest  of  Elijah  Frink's. 
(The  house  is  now  owned  by  heirs  of  Oliver 
Davis.)  After  ground  was  broken  and  pews  were 
sold,  a  vote  was  passed  to  change  the  location,  but, 
on  consultation  with  a  lawyer,  it  was  found  that 
the  change  would  nullify  former  contracts,  and  so 
the  massive  beams  and  rafters  of  the  structure 
were  raised  on  the  hill ;  dimensions,  forty  by 
fifty  feet,  with  two  porches.  Like  all  the  old-time 
churches,  it  had  square  pews  above  and  below  ; 
high, bird's  nest  pulpit,  resting  upon  one  ornamental 
pilaster;  seats  to  the  pews  hung  on  hinges,  so  that 
they  might  be  raised  to  afford  convenient  standing- 
place  in  prayer  time.  The  "  Amen  "  was  the  sig- 
nal for  a  rapid  succession  of  slams,  like  the  firing 


LEMPSTER. 


189 


of  musketry  at  old-fashioned  trainings.  The  gal- 
lery ran  around  upon  three  sides,  supported  by 
fluted  pillars.  Here  the  people  literally  "  went 
up  to  worship,"  regardless  alike  of  heat  or  cold, 
ease  or  fatigue.  In  winter-time  the  house  of 
Elijah  Frink,  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  would  be 
filled  with  young  and  old  seeking  the  fire  at  noon, 
the  women  replenishing  their  little  foot-stoves  from 
the  large,  open  fire-place.  The  minister's  foot- 
warmer  was  twice  the  usual  size  to  admit  of  his 
standing  upon  it  in  the  pulpit.  In  1822  this 
building  was  taken  down  and  re-erected  on  the 
village  green,  with  added  bell-tower  and  spire, 
where  it  now  stands,  having  defied  the  winds  and 
storms  of  almost  a  century. 

This  building,  belonging,  as  it  did,  to  the  town, 
held  the  interests  of  other  denominations,  who  felt 
it  their  right  to  have  the  use  of  the  house  a  portion 
of  the  time.  This  led  in  time  to  the  building,  by 
the  First  Congregational  Church  and  Society,  of  a 
new  house  of  worship  in  the  year  1835,  and  the 
disaffection  resulting  from  its  location  (as  has  been 
mentioned)  caused  the  withdrawal  of  some  mem- 
bers, who,  uniting  with  Methodists  and  Universal- 
is, built  a  new  church  at  the  East  village.  Since 
then  a  small  chapel  has  been  erected  by  the  Uni- 
versalists,  nearly  opposite,  in  which  are  held  Sab- 
bath services  during  a  portion  of  the  summer,  sup- 
ported by  a  fund  left  the  society  by  Asa  Way. 

Nothing  very  definite  can  be  learned  as  to  the 
early  formation  of  a  Methodist  society.  It  appears 
there  were  quite  early  in  the  settlement  occasional 
meetings  conducted  by  itinerant  clergymen.  In 
1823  Dr.  Fiske,  a  presiding  elder,  came  in  town 
and  visited  every  family.  There  followed  soon 
a  wonderful  revival — one  hundred  conversions. 
Many  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  and  not  a  few 
the  Congregational. 

Since  1835  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  has 
supplied  the  society  with  preaching,  and  they  now 
have  control  of  the  house  of  worship  at  the  East 
village.  Among  the  prominent  men  in  that  so- 
ciety, we  may  mention,  as  the  earliest,  Edmund 
Perley,  Abner  Chase  and  Alden  Cary;  more  re- 
cently, Henrv  Hurd  and  Albert  Noyes. 


Mr.  Perley  had  a  large  family  of  daughters, 
three  of  whom  married  distinguished  ministers — 
Bishop  O.  Baker,  A.  A.  Miner,  D.D.,  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Field. 

Abner  Chase's  family  has  been  styled  the  family 
of  Levites,  on  account  of  its  ministerial  connec- 
tions. The  eldest  son,  Charles  Henry,  has  been  a 
very  successful  clergyman  for  many  years  ;  Minerva 
E.  married  Rev.  L.  D.  Barrows,  D.D.  ;  Eliza  C, 
for  many  years  a  teacher  both  at  Newbury,  Vt., 
and  Tilton,  is  the  wife  of  Prof.  C.  S.  Harrington, 
of  Middleton  College ;  many  of  the  grandchildren 
have  married  clergymen.  Mr.  Chase  was  one  of 
the  prominent  business  men  of  the  town  :  not  only 
had  a  store,  but  carried  on  a  farm,  and  in  the 
early  days  paid  some  attention  to  raising  mules, 
"  whereby  hangs  a  tale."  It  will  be  remembered 
that  in  the  early  days  of  Methodism  everything 
superfluous  about  dress  was  laid  aside.  Mr.  Chase 
was  conscientiously  strenuous  in  the  matter,  often 
arguing  the  same  with  his  neighbors  On  one  such 
occasion  his  eldest  daughter,  about  five  or  six 
years  of  age,  listened  quite  attentively,  till  at  last, 
reasoning  in  her  own  little  mind,  she  says,  "Why 
don't  you  cut  off  Jack's  ears  then?" 

The  early  settlers  were  wide-awake  and  alert  in 
educational  matters.  School-houses  were  erected, 
not  like  those  of  the  present  day,  but  rude,  like 
the  dwellings ;  ceilings  low,  devoid  of  paint  or 
plaster,  the  seats  and  desks  rough-hewn  slabs,  with 
supports  at  either  end,  the  chimney  and  wide-open 
fire-place  fashioned  of  stones;  but,  rude  and  rough 
as  they  were,  they  sent  forth  bright  and  energetic 
men  and  women,  whose  descendants  have  occupied 
positions  of  eminence  and  trust,  and  whose  influ- 
ence will  be  felt  to  the  latest  generation  It  was 
not  until  1795  that  the  town  passed  a  vote  to  raise 
money  for  building  school  houses. 

The  schools  were  large,  for  in  those  days  each 
home  was  blessed  with  many  sons  and  daughters. 
The  elder  William  Cary  had  seventeen  children; 
Deacon  Elijah  Bingham,  thirteen;  and  John 
Sabin,  who  moved  from  Franklin  Ct,  in  1790, 
brought  with  him  eleven  children,  and  perhaps,  as 
a  bit  of  antique  history,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  give 


190 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  names  of  the  latter:  Lydia,  Azariah,  Jerusha, 
Cynthia,  Temperance,  Nabby,  Pamelia,  Wealthy, 
John,  Jehediah  and  Benejah.  Alden  B.  Sabin,  a 
grandson  of  the  elder  John,  is  still  living  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-one ;  served  three  years  as 
county  commissioner;  elected  1857. 

His  only  son,  Wm.  C,  has  held  positions  of  trust 
in  the  town,  and  a  granddaughter  given  satisfaction 
as  superintendent  of  the  school  committee.  As  far 
as  known,  the  earliest  graduates  from  Dartmouth 
College  were  John  Cary.  Aaron  Hardy  and  James 
Harvey  Bingham,  the  latter  graduating  in  1800, 
being  class-mate,  room-mate  and  life-long  friend  of 
Daniel  Webster,  their  correspondence  covering  a 
space  of  fifty  years  to  a  day.  Mr.  Bingham  opened 
a  law-office  in  Alstead,  N.  H.,  became  cashier  of 
Claremont  Bank  in  1826,  and  the  last  fifteen  years 
of  his  life  was  a  clerk  in  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, Washington,  D.  C.  He  was  at  one  time  es- 
teemed the  best  bass-viol  performer  in  New  Eng- 
land. Aaron  Hardy  went  to  South  Carolina  as 
teacher,  and  there  died  on  the  island  of  Edisto. 
John  Cary  was  a  teacher  in  New  York.  Other 
graduates  from  Dartmouth  have  been  Homer 
Taylor,  whose  promised  life  of  active  usefulness 
was  ended  while  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary; 
Holmes  T.  Fuller,  perhaps  the  most  scholarly  of 
Lempster's  sons,  nowT  principal  of  the  Polytechnic 
School  in  Worcester ,  Mass.,  (he  has  twice  made 
the  tour  of  Europe)  ;  Anson  Keyes,  a  teacher  in  the 
Far- West ;  George  A.  Butler,  civil  engineer  in 
Chicago;  George  F.  Perley,  a  lawyer  and  music- 
teacher  in  Moorhead,  Minn.  ;  Fred.  C.  Parker, 
a  graduate  from  the  Agricultural  Department, 
Hanover,  nowr  a  merchant  in  Acworth ;  our 
latest  graduate,  Bertrand  T.  Wheeler,  civil  engi- 
neer, now  in  the  employ  of  the  Old  Colony  Kail 
Road  Company.  Hon.H.  W.  Parker,  a  prominent 
lawyer  in  Claremont,  and  for  one  term  member  of 
Congress ;  also  Walter  Beckwith,  teacher  and 
superintendent  of  schools  in  North  Adams,  Mass., 
pursued  their  studies  at  Tufts  College.  Daniel  B. 
Wheeler,  a  descendant  of  Deacon  Elijah  Bingham, 
was  educated  at  various  private  schools  in  addition 
to  what  was  furni-hed   by  the    public   schools   of 


Lempster,  including  Unity  Academy  as  taught  by 
Rev.  A.  A.  Miner,  and  finishing  his  school  course 
at  Kimball  Union  Academy,  Meriden. 

He  soon  commenced  teaching,  a  vocation  which 
he  has  made  his  life-work,  and  in  which  he  has 
been  eminently  successful.  His  connection  with 
the  public  schools  of  Massachusetts  covers  a  period 
of  thirty  years,  the  last  fifteen  of  which  was  as 
master  of  the  Shepard  School,  Cambridge.  He  was 
appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  in  1863, 
a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, being  school  commissioner  for  Sullivan 
County.  Like  the  Swiss  mountaineer,  Mr.  Wheeler 
has  returned  to  his  native  hills,  and  by  taste  and 
industry  has  made  very  attractive  one  of  the 
pleasantest  residences  of  the  village,  which,  each 
summer,  welcomes  within  its  maple-shaded  portal, 
Cora,  the  only  daughter,  a  successful  teacher  of 
elocution.  Tradition  informs  us  of  one  Benjamin 
Way,  a  fine  scholar,  and  one  of  the  earliest  teachers 
of  Sanborn  ton  Academy. 

Eight  young  men  have  become  physicians, — 
Jesse  Smith,  Truman  Abell,  Justice  Hurd,  Eras- 
mus D.  Abell,  Yorrick  Hurd,  Wm.  Hurd,  Wil- 
lard  Hurd  and  Carl  A.  Allen  ;  and  the  three  de- 
nominations, Congregationalists,  Methodists  and 
Universalists,  have  sent  out  twelve  ministers;  all 
efficient  and  successful ;  perhaps  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  number  is  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Miner, 
D.D.,  of  Boston.  The  earliest  physicians  of  the 
town  of  which  there  is  any  record  were  Dr.  Mer- 
rill and  Dr.  Mather.  We  are  informed  by  tradi- 
tion that  the  wife  of  Col.  Jabez  Beckwith  sup- 
plied the  place  of  physician  in  the  early  settle- 
ment, oftentimes  making  her  visits  by  the  aid  of 
snow-shoes.  Truman  Abell  succeeded  Dr.  Mather, 
and  practiced  until  the  failure  of  sight,  whin  for 
a  time  his  son  Erasmus  filled  the  position.  About 
1842  or  1843  Dr.  Pillsbury  moved  into  town,  remain- 
ing but  a  short  time,  his  successor  being  J.  N. 
Butler,  who,  for  forty  years,  has  held  the  post  of 
physician  in  the  town.  Dr.  Truman  Abell  was 
the  author  of  an  almanac,  which  was  for  many 
years  issued  from  the  press  in  Claremont.  After 
his  death  it  was  arranged   by   his  youngest  son, 


LEMPSTER. 


191 


Truman  "Wales.  Dr.  Abell  had  much  mechanical 
skill,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Deacon  John  Taylor, 
constructed  a  piano,  which,  in  tone,  compared 
favorably  with  those  of  the  early  days.  It  should 
have  been  mentioned  before  this,  when  alluding  to 
the  educational  advantages,  that  much  is  due  a 
town  library  of  some  two  hundred  volumes, 
owned  as  early  as  1800,— solid,  substantial  works 
of  history  and  travel.  These  were  read  with  avidity 
by  even  the  children.  Tradition  informs  us  of  the 
reading  of  "  Josephus  "  and  the  eight  volumes  of 
Rollin's  "Ancient  History"  by  Arethusa  Miner,  at 
the  age  of  nine  years.  The  long  winter  evenings 
were  whiled  away  in  many  a  family  in  reading 
these  books,  aided,  perhaps,  by  the  comments  and 
criticisms  of  the  district  school-teacher,  who  in 
those  days  was  one  sought  from  classic  halls  and 
able  to  teach  as  well  as  govern.  In  1844  a  room 
for  select  schools  was  made  in  the  upper  story  of 
the  old  "  meeting-house,"  supported  at  first  by 
tuition  ;  afterwards  the  town  voted  a  certain  amonnt 
each  year  for  the  purpose,  and  after  a  town-house 
was  built  at  the  East  village,  schools  alternated  be- 
tween the  two  places.  Teachers  have  been  sought 
from  Dartmouth  and  Meriden.  Carl  A.  Allen, 
one  of  Lempster's  sons,  taught  a  number  of  terms 
very  successfully,  as  also  George  E.  Perley. 

The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  town  were 
never  very  extensive.  The  first  mills  built  were 
saw  and  grist-mills.  One  in  1780,  located  on  a 
branch  of  Cold  River,  in  "  Cambridge  Hollow," 
owned  by  Oliver  Booth  ;  the  second,  a  mill  privi- 
lege allowed  Samuel  Locke,  on  a  branch  of  Sugar 
River,  in  1791.  A  tannery  and  shoe-shop  were 
owned  and  carried  on  by  Captain  Timothy  Miner. 
The  tannery  consisted  of  a  few  uncovered  vats,  and 
the  shoe-shop  the  "gude  wife's"  kitchen.  As 
means  increased,  a  building  was  erected  for  lime, 
curry  and  shoe-shop.  At  Captain  Miner's  death, 
in  1816,  the  business  was  continued  by  the  late 
Hon.  Alvah  Smith  and  gradually  increased  until 
there  were  one  hundred  employes.  It  was  here 
that  calf-skins  were  first  tanned  with  the  hair  on, 
being  made  into  overshoes  and  boots,  which  found 
an  extensive  market.     In   1854  the  establishment 


was  burned  by  an  incendiary;  the  loss,  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  The  business  seemed  so  necessary 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  place  that,  aided  by  the 
efforts  of  the  citizens,  the  shop  was  rebuilt  on  a 
larger  scale  and  with  the  modern  appliances  for 
both  shoe-shop  and  tannery.  Subsequently  this 
was  burned,  having  been  ignited  by  a  spark  from 
the  furnace  chimney.     It  has  never  been  rebuilt. 

About  sixty  years  ago  John  Cambridge  and 
son,  Philip,  owned  a  factory  in  "  Cambridge  Hol- 
low "  for  dressing  cloth — said  to  be  the  best  in  the 
county — turning  out  eight  thousand  yards  an- 
nually. A  blacksmith's  stand  and  trip-hammer 
were  owned  by  James  Mitchell.  Since  then,  for 
some  years,  there  has  been  a  carding-machine  and 
machinerv  for  manufacturing  butter-tubs;  more 
recently  the  Keyes  Brothers  erected  a  large  build- 
ing with  steam-engine,  where  they  made  carriages 
and  various  other  articles,  but  now  there  is  no 
business  there.  At  present  the  town  has  four 
shingle-mills, — one  on  a  branch  of  Sugar  River, 
owned  by  William  T.  Thissel ;  one  at  the  outlet 
of  Cold  Pond,  owned  by  Charles  Putnam  ;  Lewis 
Cutler's,  run  by  steam  ;  another  on  the  mountain, 
owned  by  the  Pollards ;  and  a  fourth  in  "  Cam- 
bridge Hollow." 

Perhaps  there  are  none  of  the  natives  of  the 
place  whose  life  has  been  so  closely  identified  with 
its  interests  and  those  of  the  county  as  that  of  the 
late  Hon.  Alvah  Smith,  son  of  Jacob  Smith,  one 
of  the  early  settlers,  and  born  in  1797.  He  re- 
mained upon  his  father's  farm  until  eighteen  years 
of  age,  only  attending  district  school  in  winter ; 
but  each  hour  of  study  was  improved  and  many 
a  mathematical  problem  he  solved  by  the  light  of 
pine- knots.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  Captain  Timothy  Miner  (whose 
daughter  Arethusa  he  afterward  married)  as  tan- 
ner and  currier.  At  the  death  of  his  employer 
the  business  came  into  his  hands ;  but  even  now 
we  find  him  employing  each  leisure  hour  in  read- 
ing and  study,  and  he  always  has  a  dictionary  at 
hand.  Although,  by  law,  not  liable  to  military 
duty,  he  was  induced  to  take  command  of  a  vol- 
unteer company  in  the  militia,  from  which  he  rose 


192 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


by  regular  gradation  to  the  office  of  inspector,  and 
performed  the  duty  of  inspecting  the  Third  Divi- 
sion of  the  New  Hampshire  Militia  as  reviewed  by 
Governor  David  L.  Morrill  and  Major-General 
William  Cary.  He  served  in  many  town  offices — 
as  superintending  school  committee,  selectman, 
Representative,  justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum 
throughout  the  State;  active  delegate  to  the  con- 
vention at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  which  gave  birth  to  the 
Free  Soil  party  ;  also  a  delegate  to  the  Presiden- 
tial Convention  in  Philadelphia  in  18.16  ;  two  years 
member  of  the  Governor  s  Council  and  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Insane  Asylum  ;  eleven 
years  Probate  judge,  only  resigning,  as  the  law 
required,  at  the  age  of  seventy ;  one  year  Senator  ; 
a  director  of  Cheshire  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company  from  its  commencement  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1879;  for  four  years  State  pension 
agent ;  thirty-five  years  deacon  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  with  winch  he  united  at  the 
age  of  twenty.  His  strong,  Christian  faith  has 
been  a  sure  support  in  every  time  of  trial  ;  even 
when  he  saw  the  labor  of  years  reduced  to  ashes, 
he  could  thankfully  say,  "  The  Lord  reigns  "  A 
precious  heirloom  in  the  old  home  is  a  gold-headed 
ebony  cane  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"Presented  to  Senator  Alvah  Smith  for  his  un- 
wavering fidelity  to  principle  and  ri^ht,  by  Republi- 
can members  of  the  Legislature,  June  Session,  1871." 

Hiram  Parker,  Esq.,  a  brother  of  Hon.  H  W. 
Parker,  of  Claremont,  is  one  of  our  successful 
farmers  and  prominent  citizens;  has  been  for  some 
years  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture, which  position  he  fills  satisfactorily.  He 
is  at  present  our  village  merchant. 

We  would  not  forget  that  the  town  has  had  its 
hermit  and  its  antiquarian.  Some  years  since, 
the  traveler,  in  making  his  way  up  Silver  Moun- 
tain, would  have  found  a  rude  hut,  the  home  of 
one  Jacob  Hewes,  who,  through  disappointment 
in  matrimonial  overtures,  although  well  educated, 
relinquished  the  luxuries  and  even  necessaries  of 
life,  and  buried  himself  in  the  solitude  of  its 
rugged    grandeur ;    nor    do    we    think    he   ever 


bestowed   one   thought   on    the   lovely   views   by 
which  he  was  surrounded. 

Reuben  Roundy,  a  grandson  of  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  had  a  passion  for  old  literature,  and 
would  travel  miles  to  find  the  complete  set  of  any 
old  magazine,  pamphlet,  almanac  or  spelling-book. 
When  found  binding  them  in  volumes,  a  short 
time  previous  to  his  death,  he  refused  one  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  library  thus  collected,  which 
now  is  scattered  to  the  winds. 

This  history  would  be  incomplete  if  no  word 
was  written  of  the  pleasant  township, — of  its  at- 
tractive drives,  either  winding  in  and  out  along 
the  valleys,  giving  an  intense  sense  of  quiet  and 
repose,  broken  by  occasional  glimpses  of  distant 
scenery,  or  over  the  hills  and  mountains,  where 
can  be  had  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  valleys,  with 
their  patches  of  cultivated  ground  and  woodland, 
their  lakelets  set  like  gems  among  the  greenery  of 
the  hills,  the  view  bounded  in  the  far  distance  by 
the  range  of  the  Green  Mountains  ;  Ascutney,  in 
the  northwest,  standing  a  little  in  advance,  like  a 
sentinel  on  duty.  The  principal  village  has  but 
one  street,  running  north  and  south,  lined  with  elms 
and  maples,  among  which  the  neat  and  tasteful 
cottages  seem  playing  bo-peep  with  the  passer-  by. 

Around  the  village  gre-n  are  clustered  the 
post-office,  hotel,  store,  church  and,  towering 
above  all,  the  old  meeting-house,  with  its  lofty 
spire  and  weather-vane,  which  has  ever  been  true 
to  all  the  winds  of  heaven. 

A  little  north  of  the  village  is  a  continuous  line 
of  lofty,  wide-spreading  maples,  extending  one- 
fourth  (if  a  mile,  set  out,  about  forty  years  ago,  by 
Captain  Martin  Beck  with,  a  son  of  Colonel  Jabez 
Beckwith,  and  the  first  white  child  born  in  the 
settlement,  who  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  one 
hundred  and  one  years  and  one  month.  These  trees 
are  a  beautiful  monument  to  his  memory. 

The  East  village  is  nest'ed  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  and  is  rendered  attractive  by  Dodge's 
Pond,  on  the  western  border  of  which  is  the  old 
town  cemetery,  much  enlarged  and  improved  the 
last  few  years,  and  containing  many  fine  tablets 
and  monuments. 


LEMPSTER. 


193 


The  village  has  its  two  churches,  town- house, 
hotel,  post-office  and  store  ;  here  also  is  the  home 
of  the  poet,  G.  B.  Griffith.  The  little  hamlet  on 
the  western  border  of  the  town,  formerly  "  Cam- 
bridge Hollow,"  has  for  the  past  year  had  its 
post-office  called  Keyes. 

Thus  have  the  threads  and  thrums  of  the  town's 
history  been  woven  into  an  imperfect  tissue,  it 
may  be,  but  one  of  perfect  truthfulness,  so  far  as 
thorough  search  of  records  and  facts  elicited  by 
inquiry  of  the  oldest  citizens  could  make  it.  If 
any  who  should  have  a  place  here  have  been 
omitted,  it  has  been  through  ignorance  and  the 
limited  space  allowed  for  the  history,  which,  if 
written  in  detail,  would  itself  fill  a  volume. 

REPRESENTATIVES   OF   LEMPSTER. 


Oliver  Booth,  1778. 
Elijah  Frink,  1781-83. 
Elijah  Frink,  1788. 
James  Bingham,  1791-98. 
Jabez    Beckwith,    1798- 

1800. 
James  Bingham,  1800-06. 
Jacob  Smith,  1806-14. 
Shubael  Hurd,  1814-17. 
Jacob  Smith,  1817. 
Harris    Bingham,    1818- 

21. 
John  Way,  1821-24. 
William  Cary,  1824-27. 
Abner  Chase,  1827-30. 
Alvah  Smith,  1830-32. 
Daniel  M.  Smith,  1832- 

35. 
Martin  Beckwith,  1835- 

38. 
Alvah  Smith,  1838. 
Matthew  Parker,  1839. 
Daniel  M.  Smith,  1840. 
No  choice,  1841-42. 
Martin  Beckwith,  1843. 


Benjamin  Parker,  1844. 
No  choice,  1845. 
Nathaniel  B.  Hull,  1846. 
No  choice,  1847. 
Lemuel  Miller,  1848-50. 
Aaron  Miller,  1850-52. 
William  B.  Parker,  1852 

-54. 
Jacob     B.     Richardson, 

1854-56. 
James  Booth,  1856. 
Jacob     B.     Richardson, 

1857. 
Harvey  Dudley,  1858. 
H.  W.  Parker,  1859-60. 
Ransom  Beckwith,  1861- 

-63. 
Hiram  Parker,  1863-65. 
Dennison  Nichols,  1865. 
Nathan  George,  1866-68. 
Abram  Bean,  1868-70. 
George  Dame,  1870-72. 
E.  B.  Richardson,  1872- 

74. 


TOWN   CLERKS   OF    LEMPSTER. 


Allen  Willey,  1774-77. 
Elijah  Frink,  1777. 
Allen  Willey,  1778-82. 
Jabez  Beckwith,  1782-86. 
James  Bingham,  1786-98. 


Dr.   Asa   Merrill,    1798- 

1803. 
Uzzel  Hurd,  1803-10. 
Dr.  Truman  Abell,  1810- 

16. 


Uzzel  Hurd,  1816. 
Nath.Brainard,   1817-21. 
Abner  Chase,  1821-26. 
Alvah  Smith,  1826-30. 
Daniel   M.   Smith,  1830- 

35. 
Amasa  A.  Gould. 
Abner  Chase,  1836-39. 
David    Thornton,    1839- 

42. 
John  S.  Bingham,  1842. 
David    Thornton,    1843- 

45. 
Abner  Chase,  1845-47. 
J.  N.  Brown,  1848. 
James  Booth,  1849. 


T.Wales  Abell,  1850. 
Abner  Chase,  1851-58. 
Benoni  Fuller,  1858. 
David   Thornton,    1859- 

60. 
Lemuel  Miller,  1860-65. 
E.  B.  Richardson,  1865. 
Benoni  Fuller,  1866. 

E.  B.  Richardson,  1867- 
79. 

H.    L.  Thompson,  1879- 

82. 
Josiah  Hooper,  1882. 

F.  C.  Parker,  1883-85. 
William  A.  Bowen,  1885. 


SOLDIERS    ENLISTED   IN   THE   LATE   CIVIL    WAR. 

The   following  were   three    months'    men,   and 
each  received  ten  dollars  from  the  town : 

George  S.  Fletcher,  re-enlisted  in  the  Fifth  Regiment. 

George  Youngman. 

Jndson  Tandy. 

Carlos  Well  man. 

Henry  Morse,  re-enlisted  for  three  years,  Second  New 

Hampshire  Regiment ;  killed  in  the  first  battle 

of  Bull  Run. 
Henry  Adams. 

Marshall  P.  Hurd,  re-enlisted;  killed  at  Antietam. 
Timothy  W.  Bruce. 

Elisha  A.  Bruce,  wounded  at  Fort  Wagner. 
Nathan  Calkins. 
John  S.  Currier. 

On  another  call  for  four  thousand  men,  the  fol- 
lowing enlisted : 

Wilson  Thompson. 

Jerome  Thompson. 

Stephen  C.  Smith. 

Charles  B.  Davis,  wounded   in  foot;  taken    prisoner 

and  released. 
T.  J.  Davis. 
Henry  J.  Davis2   taken   prisoner ;  exchanged ;    died 

from  starvation. 

A  bounty  of  one  hundred  dollars  was  offered  to 
fill  the  town  quota,  and  the  following  enlisted : 

Isaac  M.  Dodge,  died  of  disease  in  camp. 
William  E.  Way. 


194 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


William  H.  Wilcox. 

John  Wilcox. 

Emerson  D.  Hurd,  served  one  year;  discharged  for 

disability. 
George  C.  Bruce,  died  in  camp. 
Almon  J.  Fletcher,  discharged  for  disability. 
George  Gunnison,  died  in  camp. 
Luman  Spencer,  died  in  camp. 
Orville  Smith,  lieutenant,    Company   G;    afterward 

captain  ;  killed  in  battle  at  Spottsylvania. 
Lucius  A.  Spencer,  went  into  camp  in  Concord,  and 

there  died. 
George  W.  Libby,  died  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
Francis  P.  Fletcher. 
Frank  G.  Pollard. 
Walter  Scales. 
Albert  Hutchinson,  taken  prisoner,  but  died  at  home. 

On  another  call  two  hundred  dollars  bounty 
was  offered,  and  the  following  enlisted  : 

Jackson  B.  Herrick. 

Charles  M.  Carey. 

William  Welsh. 

Joseph  Barrett. 

Ceylon  M.  Dodge,  three  hundred  dollars  bounty. 

Benjamin  T.  P.  Leeds,  Heavy  Artillery,  stationed  at 
Portsmouth. 

Albert  B.  Corey,  Heavy  Artillery,  stationed  at  Ports- 
mouth. 

The  following  were  drafted  September,  1863 : 

John  G.  Smith. 

Henry  Makepeace,  stationed  at  Portsmouth. 
William  C.  Sabin. 
Leander  Hill. 
Horace  Gee. 
George  Sargent. 

Levi  C.  Taylor,  provided  substitute. 
Alanson  B.  George,  provided  substitute. 
Henry  Spalding. 

Alden  Honey,  provided  substitute. 
Freeman  Gordon,  provided  substitute, 
lliram  Parker,  provided  substitute. 
Augustus  Chandler,  provided  substitute. 
Kimball  Pollard,  provided  substitute. 
Isaac  Blanchard,  provided  substitute. 
James  Evans,  provided  substitute. 
Henry  E.  Huntley,  provided  substitute. 
William   W.   Huntoon,  enlisted   in   cavalry  and   re- 
mained till  close  of  war. 


William  Bruce,  drafted  ;  accepted;  paid  his  bounty, 

then  enlisted  in  cavalry. 
Abram  Bean,  enlisted  in  cavalry  ;  remained  till  close 

of  war. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


HON.  ALVAH  SMITH. 

It  is  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  trace  the 
history  of  families  ;  to  note  the  peculiarities  of 
character  that  are  transmitted  from  one  generation 
to  another.  In  searching  the  genealogical  record 
of  Hon.  Alvah  Smith  on  the  maternal  side,  we 
find  him  descended  from  the  Hurd.i, — also  written 
"Herd"  and  "Heard."  This  family  has  been 
somewhat  noted  for  physical  strength,  long  life  and 
military  tastes.  About  1635  John  and  Adam 
Hurd — brothers — came  from  England  to  Stratford, 
Conn.  John  appears  to  have  been  a  land  surveyor, 
and  was  "  a  man  of  education  and  influence."  In 
1644  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to 
collect  money  in  Connecticut  for  "  the  maynten- 
ance  of  scollars  at  Cambridge."  He  was  for  sev- 
eral years  member  of  the  Legislature  in  New 
Haven.  Among  his  sons  was  Ebenezer,  who  re- 
moved to  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  where  he  had  a 
son,  Justus,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch,  and  who  emigrated  with  his 
wife  and  ten  children  to  Gilsum,  N.  H.,  between 
1770  and  1780  (date  not  certain). 

Asenath,  his  fourth  daughter,  born  October  15, 
1766,  married,  in  1790,  Jacob  Smith,  born  in  the 
pleasant  old  township  of  Middleborough,  Mass.,  and 
son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Chipman)  Smith.  They 
both  dying  of  small-pox  when  Jacob  was  but  eight 
years  of  age,  he  was  early  apprenticed  to  a  shoe- 
maker. 

We  have  not  the  date  of  his  removal  to  Lempster, 
but  it  was  probably  soon  after  his  marriage.  His 
devotion  to  public  interests  is  shown  by  the  various 
responsible  positions  to  which  he  was  chosen  by 
his  townsmen.  He  was  their  representative  from 
1806  to  1814,  and  again  in  1817.  We  learn  his 
loyalty  to  the  polls  by  his  being  taken  from  his 


LEMPSTER. 


195 


sick  room  of  months  and  carried  on  a  bed  to  cast 
his  vote.  He  was  deacon  of  the  Congregational 
Church  till  1822,  when  he  moved  to  Potsdam, 
N.  Y.  There  he  was  active  in  building  up  social, 
political,  educational  and  religious  interests  in  the 
then  new  county  of  St.  Lawrence. 

We  do  not  wonder,  then,  that  Alvah,  fourth  son 
of  Jacob  and  Asenath  (Hurd)  Smith,  inheriting 
from  the  mother  a  vigorous  constitution  and  strong 
will-power,  and  from  the  father  sound  judgment 
with  moderation,  should  possess  a  character  worthy 
a  record  in  the  history  of  the  county. 

His  early  education  was  limited  to  the  district 
school,  never  attending  in  summer  after  his  ninth 
year,  remaining  at  home  until  eighteen,  freely 
lending  his  assistance  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
family,  his  father  being  in  feeble  health,  with  lim- 
ited means,  pecuniarily,  but  rich  in  the  love  and 
devotion  of  a  wife  and  eight  children  ;  of  those 
eight  but  one  is  now  living, — the  youngest,  Eliza 
beth  (Smith)  Banister,  now  in  her  seventy-ninth 
year,  feeble  in  body,  but  with  strong  mental  facul- 
ties unimpaired.  Young  Alvah,  arriving  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  was  apprenticed  to  Captain  Timo- 
thy Miner,  tanner,  currier  and  shoemaker.  He 
dying  the  first  year  of  service,  the  young  apprentice 
was  retained  in  business  by  Mrs.  Miner,  and  served 
his  time. 

On  arriving  at  his  majority  he  contracted  for 
the  tannery  and  shoe-shop,  and  was  eminently 
successful,  in  time  building  up  a  large  business, 
giving  employment  to  one  hundred-  operatives ; 
new  dwelling-houses  were  erected,  and  a  store 
opened  for  the  accommodation  of  his  employes. 
He  made  sales  in  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  New 
York  and  Illinois,  and  some  of  the  time  work  was 
sent  to  the  Southern  States  via  Boston.  It  was 
in  his  tannery  that  calf-skins  were  first  tanned 
with  the  hair  on,  the  first  one  being  an  experiment 
by  Joseph  Marshall,  one  of  Mr  Smith's  earliest 
apprentices,  to  oblige  a  townsman.  This  soon  be- 
came quite  a  lucrative  business,  the  skins  thus 
tanned  being  made  into  overshoes  and  boots,  which, 
being   impervious    to   the  water  and  very  warm, 

found  a  ready  market.    On  November  19,  1854,  the 
13 


shoe-shop  and  tannery  were  burned  by  an  incen- 
diary, involving  a  loss  of  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
The  business  being  so  necessary  to  the  interests  of 
the  town,  the  people  lent  their  aid  in  rebuilding 
it  on  a  large  scale,  adding  the  modern  appliances 
and  improvements. 

In  April  of  1863  this  building  was  burned,  hav- 
ing been  ignited  by  a  spark  from  the  furnace  chim- 
ney, and  was  never  rebuilt.  In  all  these  years  of 
business  activity  Mr.  Smith  neglected  no  opportu- 
nity for  the  improvement  of  his  mind,  but  spent 
all  leisure  moments  in  gaining  information  both  as 
to  political  and  religious  movements.  Not  infre- 
quently the  morning  light  revealed  the  scorched 
newspaper,  telling  all  too  plainly  that  Morpheus 
had  been  robbed  of  rightful  hours.  His  fellow^ 
townsmen  were  not  slow  in  appreciating  his  busi- 
ness capacities,  bestowing  upon  him  the  honors  ot 
office  in  their  gift.  He  was  town  clerk  from  1826 
to  1880;  Representative  from  1830  to  1832;  for 
some  years  selectman  and  superintending  school 
committee,  and  often  chosen  to  administer  on  and 
settle  estates.  While  being  thus  favored  by  his 
town,  he  was  made  justice  of  the  peace  and 
quorum  ;  two  years  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council  and  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Insane 
Asylum  ;  one  of  the  directors  and  agents  of  the 
Cheshire  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  from  its 
inception,  retaining  both  until  two  years  before  his 
death,  when  he  relinquished  the  agency.  In  1856 
he  received  the  appointment  of  Probate  judge,  re- 
tiring in  1867  at  the  age  of  seventy,  having  ful- 
filled the  trust  with  honesty  and  fidelity.  He  was 
also  delegate  to  the  Presidential  Convention  in 
Philadelphia  in  1856. 

At  the  annual  election  in  1871  he  received  a  few 
votes  on  the  temperance  ticket  for  Senator  in  Dis- 
trict No.  10.  The  person  elected  to  that  office  (a 
Democrat)  died  before  the  Legislature  met,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  Constitution,  "the  vacancy  must  be 
filled  by  joint  vote  of  Legislature,  for  one  of  the 
two  highest  candidates  voted  for  at  the  an- 
nual election ; "  he  therefore  became  a  candidate. 
The  Democrats  and  Labor- Reformers  united  were 
a  majority  in  the  Legislature,  and  hoping  he  might 


196 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


feel  under  obligation  to  go  with  them  if  elected  by 
them,  elected  him. 

Although  offered  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
Legislature  or  Governor  and  any  amount  of  money 
if  he  would  vote  with  them  in  their  revolutionary 
movements  (as  he  held  the  balance  in  the  Senate), 
he  stood  aloof  from  all  their  offers,  and  remained 
firm  and  true  to  the  principles  of  liberty  and  equal- 
ity he  had  ever  supported  from  early  manhood. 

A  precious  heirloom  in  the  old  home  is  a  gold- 
headed  ebony  cane,  bearing  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : 

"  Presented  to  Senator  Alvah  Smith,  for  his  un- 
wavering fidelity  to  principle  and  right,  by  Repub- 
lican members  of  the  Legislature,  June  session, 
1871." 

He  was  State  pension  agent  for  four  years,  which 
would  have  proved  a  more  lucrative  position  had 
not  the  infirmities  of  years  made  it  necessary  for 
him  to  employ  extra  help  in  the  office. 

His  well-known  sound  judgment  procured  him 
many  calls  as  referee  in  difficult  cases,  not  only  in 
town,  but  in  others  in  the  county ;  and  after  ma- 
ture deliberation  he  was  always  ready  to  give  his 
opinion,  except  in  cases  where  the  differing  parties 
were  man  and  wife,  where  he  considered  a  third 
party  like  the  "  fifth  wheel  to  a  coach,"  and  advised 
for  both  forbearance  and  conciliation.  Making 
himself  well  acquainted  with  points  of  law,  he  was 
many  times  solicited  to  enter  the  bar,  but  knowl- 
edge of  his  own  acquirements  modestly  forbade. 

Although  the  law  would  have  exempted  him 
from  military  duty,  he  was  induced  to  take  com- 
mand, in  early  life,  of  a  volunteer  company  in  the 

militia;  from  which  he  rose  in  military  gradation 

> 
to  the  office  of  inspector,  and  performed  the  duty 

of  inspecting  the  whole  of  the  then  Third  Division 
of  New  Hampshire  Militia,  as  reviewed  by  Gover- 
nor David  Morrill  and  General  William  Carey,  a 
fellow  townsman.  Mr.  Smith  was  an  active  poli- 
tician in  the  State,  but  not  what  would  be  termed 
a  bigoted,  zealous  partisan,  always  advocating  and 
voting  for  those  principles,  measures  and  men  that, 
from  candid  consideration,  he  thought  were  for  the 
best  good  of  the  country  and  nation.     In  early  days 


he  was  a  Whig,and  so  great  was  the  influence  that 
went  out  from  his  manufactory  that  it  obtained  the 
name  of  "  Whig  Fort."  At  the  birth  of  the  Free- 
Soil  party,  at  the  Buffalo  (N.  Y.)  Convention,  to 
which  he  wras  sent  as  active  delegate,  he  adopted 
Free-Soil  principles  as  best  suited  to  carry  out  his 
ideas  of  right,  from  which  he  could  not  be  moved. 
His  firm  principles  made  him  proof  against  politi- 
cal bribery,  though  the  temptation  once  came  when 
in  straitened  circumstances  and  declining  years. 
When  told  at  the  time,  '•  It  is  said  every  man  has 
his  price,"  he  made  quick  reply,  "One  man  has 
not."  Feeling  from  his  own  experience  the  disad- 
vantages arising  from  a  limited  education  he  was 
thoroughly  awake  in  educational  matters,  giving 
his  children  every  help  in  his  power,  not  only  pat- 
ronizing the  district  and  select  schools  of  his  own 
town,  but  giving  them  academical  advantages. 

He  was  much  interested  in  the  "  Teachers'  Insti- 
tutes "  in  the  county,  and  used  his  influence  in 
their  favor ;  also  wras  ever  ready  to  procure  the 
latest  and  most  approved  text-books  for  his  fam- 
ily, and  it  was  rarely  that  a  book  or  map  agent  re- 
ceived from  him  the  "  cold  shoulder  "  if  his  wares 
promised  assistance  in  gaining  knowledge.  Being 
"  fully  persuaded  by  what  he  read  by  his  own  obser- 
vation and  experience,  that  there  was  no  nourish- 
ment in  alcohol,  and  that  an  individual  could  do 
more  and  better  work  without  it  than  with  it," 
he  early  espoused  the  cause  of  temperance,  becom- 
ing one  of  its  most  earnest  advocates.  His  shop, 
raised  in  1831,  was  the  first  building  in  town  raised 
without  rum. 

When  he  proposed  the  idea  to  the  master-work- 
man, he  at  once  said  "  It  cannot  be  done."  "Then," 
replied  Mr.  Smith, "  It  shall  uot  be  raised."  The  day 
came  and  with  it  scores  of  people,  some  from  out 
of  town,  fully  expecting  a  failure  ;  but,  contrary  to 
all  expectation,  every  joist,  beam  and  brace  came 
in  position  with  no  other  stimulant  than  hot  coffee. 
It  was  a  success  in  every  respect  and  was  not  the 
last  building  raised  on  temperance  principles. 

Mr.  Smith  was  known  throughout  the  county 
and  State  as  an  earnest  temperance  man,  and  was 
sent  as  county  delegate  to  the  World's  Temperance 


LEMFSTER. 


197 


Convention  in  New  York  in  1853.  He  avoided 
the  formation  of  bad  habits.  Being  ordered  by 
his  physician  (?)  at  one  time  to  smoke,  as  soon 
as  he  realized  he  was  becoming  a  slave  to  the 
vile  weed,  he  at  once  and  forever  abandoned  its 
use ;  and,  as  an  instance  of  his  self  command,  he 
laid  pipe  and  tobacco  where  he  would  see  it  each 
day.  At  another  time  he  forsook  the  use  of  mor- 
phine, given  to  ease  the  pain  of  a  fractured  hip, 
although  it  cost  him  more  than  a  week  of  sleepless 
nights.  It  is  said  by  those  who  knew  him  from 
his  earliest  days  that  no  profane  or  indelicate  word 
passed  his  lips,  and  rarely  an  expletive,  obeying 
the  Scriptural  injunction,  "  let  your  communication 
be  yea,  yea,  and  nay,  nay,"  etc.  His  great  will- 
power, guided  by  Christian  principles,  enabled 
him  to  keep  in  control  a  naturally  violent  temper, 
— an  inheritance,  perhaps,  from  his  grandfather 
Hurd,  of  whom  it  is  related  by  Gilsum's  his- 
torian that  at  one  time,  before  the  settlement  of  the 
first  minister,  a  black  man  came  and  offered  him- 
self to  preach.  He  was  sent  to  Mr.  Hurd  (first 
clerk  of  the  church),  who  was  at  work  in  the  field. 
Whether  thinking  the  proposal  an  insult  to  the 
people,  or  a  sacrilege  to  the  ministerial  office,  is 
not  known  ;  but,  in  his  indignation  at  the  pre- 
sumption, he  drove  him  out  of  the  field  with  his 
cane.  This  same  historian  also  states  that  Mr. 
Hurd's  family  are  well  remembered  by  the  elder 
people  for  their  activity  in  church  and  town 
affairs.  A  love  for  Christian  principles,  therefore, 
seemed  hereditary  in  Mr.  Smith.  Jn  early  life 
he  became  a  disciple  of  Christ,  uniting  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  with  the  Congregational  Church, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Elias  Fisher,  the 
town's  first  minister.  His  Christian  character  was 
a  consistent  one,  carrying  religion  into  the  every- 
day acts  of  life,  making  him  solicitous  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  those  around  him,  especially 
those  in  his  employ  and  members  of  his  household  ; 
a  constant  attendant  on  divine  service,  despite  heat 
or  cold,  sunshine  or  storm,  taking  his  place  as 
Sabbath-school  superintendent,  teacher  or  scholar, 
not  only  attending  himself,  but  sending  his  team 
around  for  those    who  had    no  conveyance ;    for 


over  thirty  years  performing  the  office  of  deacon, 
resigning  only  when  so  obliged  by  infirmities. 
His  seat  in  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  was  rarely 
empty,  considering  the  hour  thus  spent  among  the 
"  most  precious  of  the  week,"  although  there  were 
times  when  these  duties  involved  a  great  sacrifice 
of  bodily  comfort ;  but  that  these  were  appreciated 
by  his  pastors  will  be  shown  by  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  received  from  Rev.  J.  Le  Bos- 
quet on  his  eighty-second  birth-day:  "  I  thank  you 
for  your  unfaltering  friendship  and  assistance  in  the 
work  of  God  during  the  seven  years  of  my  resi- 
dence in  your  vicinity."  Mr.  Smith  was  remark- 
able for  his  fortitude,  the  severest  pain  seldom 
extorting  a  groan,  never  a  complaint,  his  favorite 
expression  at  such  times  being  "  the  Lord  reigns," 
thus  showing  his  belief  and  trust  in  an  overruling 
Providence. 

As  a  neighbor  and  friend  he  was  ever  ready  to 
oblige,  often  lending  his  name  to  his  own  detri- 
ment, as  in  one  instance,  in  combination  with 
other  circumstances,  it  occasioned  his  failure, from 
which,  owing  to  the  perfidy  of  the  assignee,  he 
never  recovered. 

Very  free  from  suspicion,  trying  to  do  right 
himself,  he  thought  the  same  of  others  ;  showed 
no  favoritism,  using  the  same  hospitality  and 
courtesy  to  the  poor  as  to  the  rich.  It  can  with 
truth  be  said,  that  at  his  death,  August  7,  1879, 
the  town  lost  one  of  its  most  public-spirited  men, 
for  he  not  only  lent  his  influence  to  all  good 
schemes  and  measures,  but  aided  pecuniarily — 
never  giving  grudgingly. 

Of  Mr.  Smith's  personal  appearance  we  have 
said  nothing ;  the  likeness  accompanying  this 
sketch  was  copied  from  a  photograph,  taken  at 
the  age  of  sixty-nine.  He  had  a  fine  military  fig- 
ure, some  inches  over  six  feet  in  hight,  strong  feat- 
ures and  a  smile  full  of  benevolence.  The  im- 
pression he  left  upon  the  minds  of  the  youth  of 
fifty  years  ago  may  be  learned  by  an  extract  from 
"  Backward  Glances,"  written  by  L.  P.  Frost,  for 
the  Cold  River  Journal,  of  May  8,  1885  :  "  In 
looking  the  Journal  all  thro',  I  found  but  one 
familiar  name,  Hon.  Alvah  Smith — how  well  I 


198 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


remember  him  !  I  used  to  think,  nor  has  my 
mind  changed  since,  he  was  the  best-looking  man 
I  ever  saw  ;  whether  at  church,  as  conductor  of  a 
funeral,  or  officiating  at  funerals  when  there  was 
no  clergyman  in  town,  or  standing  in  front  of  the 
pulpit  in  the  old  church  on  the  common  as  mod- 
erator of  the  town-meeting,  he  had  the  same 
attractive,  beneficent,  noble,  manly  look  ;  take  him 
all  iu  all,  I  shall  never  look  upon  his  like  again." 

March  8,  1820,  when  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  Mr.  Smith  married  Arethusa,  fourth  daughter 
of  Captain  Timothy  and  Polly  (Ames)  Miner,  a 
companion  well  fitted  for  the  position  she  assumed 
at  the  early  age  of  nineteen.  Eight  children  were 
given  them, — seven  sons  and  one  daughter. 

GENEALOGY. 

I.  Milo  (Smith),  born  Lempster,  March  9, 1822 ; 
married,  May  14,  1850,  Mary  Ann  Chaffin,  of 
Enfield,  N.  H. 

1.  George  Alvah  Smith,  born  Lempster,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1851 ;  married,  first,  November  28, 1872, 
Alfaretta  Sophronia  Tyler,  Manchester,  N.  H. ; 
died  November  22,  1882;  married,  second,  Delia 
Adelaide  Clement,  Manchester,  June  18,  1884. 

2.  Ella  Frances  (Smith),  born  Lempster,  Janu- 
ary 6,  1853;  married,  October  24,  1874,  George 
Augustus  Jackson,  Boston,  Mass. 

a.  Milo  (Jackson),  born  Boston,  Mass.,  January 
16,  1876  ;  died,  January  19,  1876. 

3.  Gertrude  Fremont  (Smith),  born  Lempster, 
May  11,  1857  ;  died  Manchester,  July  17,  1875; 
married,  July  4,  1874,  Leroy  Alphonso  Bartlctt. 

4.  Ira  Percy  (Smith),  born  Hillsborough  Bridge, 
October  12,  1859  ;  married,  July  14,  1881,  Alice 
Pearson  Chase,  of  Hillsborough  Bridge. 

a.  Gertrude  Emma  (Smith),  January  1882. 

II.  Norman  (Smith),  born  Lempster,  February 
25,  1824  ;  marrried,  first,  September  30,  1*45, 
Rebecca  Ward,  Plainfield,  N.  H.  ;  died  January 
22,  1864. 

1.  Helen  Arethusa  (Smith),  born  Lempster, 
November  23,  1847  ;  died  Boston,  Mass.,  March 
18, 1875  ;  married,  October  19, 1870,  Josiah  Baker 
Small. 


a.  Hila  Helen  (Small),  born  Boston,  Mass., 
October  4,  1873. 

b.  Ada  Rebecca  Smith,  born  Lempster,  July  20, 
1824  ;  married,  December  24,  1879,  Josiah  Baker 
Small;  died,  April  16,  1882. 

2.  Grace  Ada  (Small),  born  April  10,  1882. 
Norman  married,  second,  Julia  Etta  Hammond, 

July  2,  1864,  Framingham,  Mass. 

3.  Minnie  Etta  (Smith),  born  Boston,  October  1 , 
1865  ;  married,  January  12,  1882,  Solomon  Lafay- 
ette Bradley. 

4.  Edward  Alva  (Smith),  born  Netawakee, 
Kan.,  December  3.1,  1870. 

III.  Truman  (Smith),  born  Lempster,  February 
6,  1827  ;  married,  December  21,  1852,  Arvilla 
Jane  Gregg,  Deering,  N.  H. 

1.  Imogene  Virginia  (JSmiUh),  born  Lempster, 
October  27,  1853 ;  married,  June  18,  1872,  Benja- 
main  Emons,  Wilmot  Flat,  N.  H. 

a.  Amelia  (Emons),  born  Wilmot  Flat,  August 
14,  1876. 

b.  Lina  (Emons),  born  Wilmot  Flat,  February 
19,  1879. 

c.  Eva  (Emons),  born  Wilmot  Flat,  October  16, 
1883. 

2.  Wallace  Dana  (Smith"),  born  Lempster, 
April  14,1856;  married,  January  12,  1879,  Mary 
Lizzie  Allen,  Concord,  N.  11. 

IV.  Alvah  (Smith),  born  Lempster,  March  22, 
1830;  died  there,  January  17,  1833. 

V.  Orville  (Smith),  born  in  Lempster,  March 
11,  1832;  died  May  12,1864,  at  Spottsylvania, 
Va  ;  married,  February  19,  1869,  Julia  Ann 
Pollard,  Lempster. 

VI.  Edward  Payson  (Smith),  born  in  Lempster 
May  21, 1834  ;  died  there  April  24, 1875  ;  married, 
January  10,  1858,  Jane  Amelia  Chester,  Duds- 
well,  C.  E. 

1.  Frank  Herbert  (Smith),  born  in  Athens, 
Ohio,  May  19,  1863;  died  there  January  2'.), 
1865. 

VII.  Dwight  C.  (Smith),  born  in  Lempster 
September  20, 183<> ;  married,  September  20,  1859, 
Helen  Maria  Tracy,  Acworth,  N.  H. 


LEMPSTER. 


199 


1.  Frederick  Austin  (Smith),  born  in  Acworth 
June  9,  1861. 

2.  Willie  Edward  (Smith),  born  in  Acworth 
September  16,  1864;  died  there  November  19, 
1864. 

3.  Alvah  Dwight  (Smith),  born  in  Worcester, 
Mass.,  January  20,  1867 ;  died  there  March  6, 
1867. 

VIII.  Marianna  (Smith),  born  in  Lempster 
September  8,  1838. 

Mr.  Smith's  descendants  are  filling  honorable 
and  useful  positions  in  society.  The  eldest  son, 
Milo,  has,  for  many  years,  been  in  the  employ  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada  Express  Company, 
at  Manchester.  His  son  George  Alvah  is  a 
skilled  machinist  for  the  railroad ;  Ella  Frances, 
a  book-keeper  in  Boston ;  and  Ira  Percy,  the 
youngest,  is  salesman  for  an  agricultural  house  in 
Boston.  Norman,  the  second  son,  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  business  ;  since  its  closing  up  has 
been  in  the  employ  of  different  parties.  His 
eldest  daughter,  Helen  Arethusa,  was  a  graduate 
from  the  Normal  School,  Westfield,  Mass.,  and  a 
very  successful  teacher.  The  second,  Ada  Re- 
becca, was,  for  some  years,  book-keeper  for 
Everett  &  Small,  Boston,  Mass. ;  Minnie  Etta, 
third  daughter,  is  a  fine  pianist,  while  young 
Edward  Alvah  is  still  a  student.  Truman,  now  a 
farmer  in  Pittsfield.  N.  H.,  was  a  successful 
teacher ;  also  rendered  his  father  invaluable 
service  in  the  Pension  Office.  His  son,  Wallace 
Dana,  is  a  clerk  in  railroad  office,  Concord.  The 
daughter,  Imogene,  a  model  wife  and  mother. 

Orville,  the  fifth  son,  entered  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity, Middletown,  Conn.,  but  was  forced  to  leave 
on  account  of  some  trouble  of  the  eyes.  Was  in 
Kansas  at  the  time  of  her  great  trial,  and,  although 
prostrated  vith  chills  and  fever,  was  carried  upon 
his  bed  to  the  polls.  Returning  home,  was  chosen 
principal  of  Hopkinton  Academy,  which  pleasant 
situation  he  left  when  our  country  called  "  to 
arms."  Enlisting  in  the  Ninth  New  Hampshire 
Regiment,  was  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of 
Company  B,  and  fell  in  the  battle  of  Spotsyl- 
vania, Va.,  while  leading  his  men  to  charge,  for 
he  always  said  "  come,  boys."  As  soon  as  safety 
would   permit,    his    remains    were   found   by   his 


comrades  and  buried  at  the  head  of  his  brave 
men  who  had  fallen  with  him;  they  now  repose  in 
the  beautiful  National  Cemetery  on  Marye's 
Heights. 

Edward  Payson,  being  in  Ohio  at  the  com- 
mencement of  our  Civil  War,  enlisted,  and  was 
commissioned  lieutenant  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-first  Regiment,  Company  B,  of  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry  ;  was  one  of  the  Home  Guard  at  the 
time  of  the  Morgan  raid ;  afterward  provost- 
marshal  in  West  Virginia.  At  the  close  of  the 
war,  by  reason  of  impaired  health,  went  to  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  and  there  became  one  of  the  con- 
tractors of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  His 
health  failing,  he  came  to  his  father's  home  Feb- 
ruary, 1875,  passing  away  the  following  April,  a 
noble  Christian  man. 

Dwight  C,  the  youngest  son,  employed  in  his 
father's  shop,  became  an  expert  in  the  cutting  of 
sole  leather ;  subsequently  found  employment  in 
Hopkinton  and  Worcester,  Mass. ;  is  now  super- 
intendent in  the  shoe-factory  of  Critchell  &  Sibley, 
Belfast,  Me.  His  only  son,  Frederick  Austin,  is  a 
clerk  in  the  Marine  Insurance  Company,  Boston. 

Marianna,  the  youngest,  is  the  only  one  of  her 
father's  family  left  in  the  old  home,  whose  walls 
have  echoed  and  re-echoed  to  the  music  of  patter- 
ing feet,  to  the  gleesomeness  of  childhood,  to  the 
many  home  gatherings  on  the  nation's  feast-day, 
and  to  the  sadder  home-comings  when  the  loved 
were  laid  to  rest.  Hers  has  been  the  blessed 
mission  to  care  for  the  aged  parents  as  they  passed 
so  gently  from  earth  to  heaven. 

Mr.  Smith  had  resided  in  the  village  of  his  na- 
tive town  ever  since  his  apprenticeship,  erecting 
in  1824,  an  unpretentious  brick  cottage,  shaded 
now  by  luxuriant  maples,  set  out  and  fostered  by 
himself  and  wife  Within,  there  has  always  been 
true  republican  simplicity,  and  to  the  hospitable 
board  the  stranger  and  friend,  the  poor  and  needy 
were  always  welcomed. 

This  home  in  the  summer  months  is  not  only 
pleasant  with  the  song  of  birds  and  perfume  of 
floweis,  but  vocal  with  the  merriment  of  childhood, 
it  still  being  the  favorite  resort  of  the  grandchil- 
dren and  great-grandchildren,  as  well  as  many 
other  family  friends. 


HISTORY   OF  NEWPORT. 


BY  JOSEPH    \\ -.  I 'All  MELEE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

It  is  matter  of  interest  that  in  this  year  of 
grace,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
five,  there  are  living  many  persons  in  the  town 
of  Newport  whose  grandfathers  and  grand- 
mothers were  the  disloyal  subjects  of  George 
III.  King,  etc.  It  is  also  matter  of  interest 
anil  consideration  to  all  residents  of  the  town, 
native  or  adopted,  and  must  so  continue  to  be  to 
the  latest  generation,  that  its  local  history 
reaches  back  into  the  colonial  era,  when  New 
Hampshire  was  a  royal  province  of  Great 
Britain,  with  a  royal  Governor,  whose  pom- 
pous edicts  were  based  upon  a  sovereignty  that 
was  not  of  the  people. 

The  first  settlement  of  our  town  of  Newport 
occurred  at  a  most  interesting  period  in  Conti- 
nent:! 1  affairs.  The  great  contest  for  supremacy 
in  America,  between  England  and  France,  had 
been  terminated  by  the  results  of  the  old 
French  and  Indian  War,  and  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  17.")U-G:}.  France  sullenly  retired  and 
England  dominated  on  the  North  American 
Continent  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Arctic  Zone,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

The  Indian  tribes  after  nearly  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  contact  with  the  pale-faced 
invaders  of  their  hunting-grounds — worsted  at 
all  points  ;  unable  or  unwilling  to  mingle  with 
or  oppose  the  progress  of  the  civilization  that 
had  planted  itself  in  New  England — had  taken 
up  their  dreary  and  desultory  march  towards 
the  western  sea — an  anabasis  that  has  continued 
for  another  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
200 


A  sentiment  of  dissatisfaction  was  gaining 
strength  among  the  people  of  the  colonies  that 
in  the  near  future  was  to  burst  out  in  revolu- 
tion and  deliver  them  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
British  government. 

With  the  peace  to  which  we  have  referred 
there  came  to  the  people  of  the  New  England 
colonies  a  renewal  and  enlargement  of  their 
domestic  industries.  The  populous  condition 
of  the  older  settlements  invited  an  extension  of 
their  boundaries.  The  war-whoop  and  the  war- 
dance,  and  the  dusky  savage,  as  a  local  element 
of  population,  had  forever  disappeared — a  great 
and  peaceful  wilderness,  full  of  magnificent 
possibilities,  beckoned  to  their  hardy  sons  and 
daughters,  from  its  primeval  solitudes. 

The  shout  that  broke  the  silence  when  that 
green  island  of  the  southern  sea  first  dawned 
upon  the  vision  of  Columbus,  "  Land  !  land  !" 
has  been  the  key-note  of  American  progress 
and  civilization.  It  was  only  when  the  hand  of 
labor  appeared  on  the  scene  that  permanent  and 
valuable  settlements  were  made  in  the  New 
World.  It  was  then  that  the  forests  began  to 
disappear,  and  farms  were  opened  and  towns 
and  villages  were  settled.  It  was  land  that  the 
wise  old  farmers  of  Massachusetts  and  Connec- 
ticut wanted  for  themselves  or  their  stalwart 
sons,  and  to  this  end  they  sought  out  the  fairest 
valleys  and  the  best-timbered  uplands  for  in- 
vestment and  occupation. 

The  desirable  character  of  the  region  of  coun- 
try now  known  as  Western  New  Hampshire 
became  known  to  the  people  of  the  older  and 


NEWPORT. 


201 


more  populous  colonies  as  early,  at  least,  as  the 
time  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  when  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  River,  from  Massa- 
chusetts to  Canada,  was  traversed  by  scouts  and 
companies  of  armed  men  and  captives,  as  the  re- 
quirements of  savage  warfare  sent  them  to  and 
fro,  between  Southern  New  England  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  River. 

Again,  the  wealth  derived  from  the  capture 
of  fur-bearing  animals,  as  well  as  the  excite- 
ments of  the  chase,  has  tempted  men  into  re- 
gions beyond  the  confines  of  civilization  ;  and 
thus  the  hunter  and  trapper  have  become  pio- 
neers in  the  discovery  of  new  lands  and 
streams  and  regions  hitherto  unknown. 

It  was  undoubtedly  in  this  way,  and  for  this 
purpose,  that  the  territory  of  the  present  town 
of  Newport  was  first  visited. 

Some  time  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury a  famous  hunter  and  trapper,  Eastman 
by  name,  of  Killing  worth,  Conn.,  is  said  to 
have,  left  his  home  on  a  hunting  expedition. 
Pushing  his  way  up  the  Connecticut  River,  he 
came  to  a  very  considerable  stream  of  water 
flowing  in  from  the  east,  now  known  as  Sugar 
River.  Following  the  course  of  this  tribu- 
tary, he  penetrated  these  wilds,  and,  doubtless, 
came  to  the  place  where  Newport  village  now 
stands,  and  set  his  traps  in  the  meadows  of  the 
South  Branch  and  its  affluents. 

He  was  successful  in  his  trapping,  and,  in 
due  time,  returned  to  Connecticut,  laden  with 
the  skins  of  otter,  beaver,  mink  and  musquash, 
the  spoils  of  these  streams. 

The  glowing  accounts  he  gave  of  the  natural 
resources  of  this  section  in  fertility  of  soil,  water- 
power,  timber,  healthfulness  of  climate,  pictur- 
esque scenery  and  accessibility,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  his  friends  and  induced  them  to  set 
about  securing  a  charter  for  a  township  in  the 
interest  of  their  families. 

He  set  out  again  on  a  similar  expedition, 
from  which  he  never  returned.  At  an  early 
period  in  the  settlement  of  the  town  a  human 
skeleton  was  found  on  land   about  a  mile  west 


from  Newport  village,  now  the  farm  of  Reuben 
Haven,  near  a  small  stream  of  water  much  fre- 
quented by  rodents  and  aquatic  animals. 

This  discovery  was  supposed  to  solve  the 
mystery  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate 
Eastman, — the  first  white  man  that  set  foot 
upon  the  soil  of  Newport. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Colonial  Governor  at 
Portsmouth,  through  his  Surveyor-General, 
Isaac  Rindge,  had  caused  surveys  of  many 
townships  to  be  made  in  the  valley  of  the  Con- 
necticut, claiming  jurisdiction  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  and  was  not  without  good  knowledge 
of  the  quality  and  value  of  these  lands. 

Mr.  Barstow,  in  his  "  History  of  New  Hamp- 
shire," makes  the  following  statement  as  re- 
gards the  Governor  and  people  in  relation  to 
this  matter : 

"  The  soldiers  perceived  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
immediately  upon  the  cessation  of  hostilities  a  great 
crowd  of  adventurers  and  speculators  made  applica- 
tion for  these  lands.  Applications  increased  and  the 
surveys  were  extended  so  rapidly  that  during  the 
year  1761  not  less  than  sixty  townships  were  granted 
on  the  west  and  eighteen  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
The  Governor's  coffers  were  filled  by  the  fees;  and 
scarcely  had  two  years  more  elapsed  before  the  num- 
ber of  townships  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  amount- 
ed to  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight.  A  stream  of  emi- 
gration poured  northward  from  Charlestown  to  Lan- 
caster and  Northumberland,  and  settlements  were 
soon  extended  to  Claremont  and  Plainfield,  Lebanon, 
Hanover,  Lyme,  Oxford,  Newport,  Lempster,  Marlow 
and  Alstead.  The  passion  for  occupying  new  lands 
seemed  hardly  exceeded  by  the  passion  for  grantinir 
them.  The  soldiers  to  whom  they  had  been  promised 
for  their  meritorious  services  in  conquering  the  coun- 
try from  France  were  forgotten  in  the  hasty  covetous- 
ness  of  an  avaricious  Governor.  Wentworth  retained 
five  hundred  acres  of  land  in  each  town  to  himself." 

The  last  statement  may  be  correct  in  regard 
to  other  towns,  but  to  mitigate  his  selfishness  as 
much  as  possible,  we  may  state  that  his  acquisi- 
tion in  Newport  was  a  lot  of  two  hundred 
acres. 

AVe  may  here  observe  incidentally  the  influ- 


202 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ence  of  the  more  important  water-courses  of 
New  Hampshire  as  regards  its  first  settlement; 
and  how  the  Piscataqua  and  the  Merrimack  and 
the  Connecticut,  and  their  more  important  trib- 
utaries, became  water-ways  and  high-ways  far- 
ther and  farther  into  the  interior,  and  their  allu- 
vial borders  were  first  dotted  with  settlements. 
We  may  also  perceive  how  entirely  convenient 
it  was  for  the  people  of  Central  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  to  push  their  settlements  up  the 
valley  of  the  beautiful  river  that  came  down  to 
them  from  the  borders  of  Canada.  Of  the  set- 
tlers on  the  .Merrimack  and  its  western  tributa- 
ries, the  greater  part  were  from  Eastern  Massa- 
chusetts. For  years  the  peculiarities  of  these 
different  classes  of  people  were  of  so  decided  a 
character  as  to  identify  their  origin.  Both 
classes  were  in  Newport. 

In  view  of  the  demands  for  progress  and  the 
general  situation,  a  number  of  the  enterprising 
citizens  of  New  London  County,  Conn.,  and 
more  particularly  of  Ivillingworth,  one  of  its 
important  towns,  had  obtained  from  the  royal 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire  a  charter  for  a 
township  of  land,  as  follows : 

"Province  of  New  Hampshire  George 
the  Third  by  the  Grace  of  God,  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland;  King  De- 
j  fender  of  the  Faith  &c. 

"To  all  persons  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come : 
Greeting. 

"  Know  Ye  that  We  of  our  special  Grace  certain 
Knowledge  and  Meer  Motion  for  the  due  encourage- 
ment of  Settling  a  New  Plantation  within  Our  Said 
Province  by  and  with  the  advice  of  Our  Trusty  and 
Well-beloved  Benning  Wentworth  Esqr:  Our  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander  in  Chief  of  Our  said  Province 
of  New  Hampshire  in  New  England  and  of  Our 
Council  of  the  said  Province,  Have  upon  the  Condi- 
tions and  Beservations  hereinafter  Made,  Given  and 
Grunted  and  by  these  Presents  for  Us  Our  Heirs  and 
Successors  do  Give  and  ( irant  in  Equal  Shares  Unto 
Our  loving  Subjects,  inhabitants  of  Our  said  Province 
(it  New  Hampshire  and  Our  Other  <  lovernmentsand  to 
their  Heirs  and  Assigns  tor  Ever,  whose  names  are 
entered  on  this  Grant  to  be  divided  to,  and  amongst 


[Seal.] 


them  into  Sixty  Eight  Equal  Shares,  all  that  Tract 
or  Parcel  of  Land  Situate  lying  and  Being  within  Our 
said  Province  of  New  Hampshire  Containing  by  Ad- 
measurement Twenty  Tbree  Thousand  and  Forty 
Acres,  which  Tract  is  to  Contain  Six  miles  square 
and  no  more  Out  of  which  an  Allowance  is  to  be  made 
for  Highways  and  unimprovable  Land  by  Eocks, 
Ponds,  Mountains  and  Rivers  One  Thousand  and 
Forty  Acres  free  according  to  a  Plan  and  Survey 
thereof  made  by  Our  said  Governors  order  and  re- 
turned to  the  Secretarys  Office  and  hereunto  annexed 
Butted  and  Bounded  as  follows,  Viz,  Beginning  at  a 
Stake  and  Stones  which  stands  South  78  degrees  East 
at  the  distance  of  Six  Miles  and  One  Half  Mile  from 
the  North  Westerly  Corner  of  Charlestown  a  town 
formerly  Granted  in  this  Province,  and  runs  from  the 
said  Stake  and  stone  North  Eight  degrees,  East  Five 
Miles  and  Seven  Eighths  of  a  Mile  to  a  Stake  and 
Stones,  then  South  GO  degrees  East  Eight  Miles  and 
One  Quarter  of  a  Mile,  then  South  Ten  degrees  West 
Six  Miles  to  a  Stake  and  Stones,  then  North  Sixty 
Three  degrees  West  Six  Miles  and  One  Quarter  of  a 
Mile  to  a  Stake  and  Stones ;  the  Bound  first  mentioned 
being  Six  Miles  and  One  Half  Mile  from  the  Bank 
of  Connecticut  River. 

"  And  the  same  be  and  hereby  is  Incorporated  into 
a  Township  by  the  Name  of  Newport.  And  the  In- 
habitants that  do,  or  shall  hereafter  inhabit  the  said 
Township  are  hereby  declared  to  be  Enfranchised 
with  and  Intitled  to  all  and  Every  the  privileges  and 
immunities  that  other  Towns  within  Our  Province  by 
Law  Exercise  and  Enjoy — And,  further,  that  the  said 
Town  as  soon  as  there  shall  be  Fifty  Families  resident 
and  settled  therein,  shall  have  the  liberty  of  Holding 

two  Fairs,  One  of  which  shall  be  on  the And 

the  other  on  the  annually,  which  Fairs  are  not 

to  continue  longer  than  the  respective follow- 
ing the  said and  that  as  soon  as  the  said  Town 

shall  consist  of  Fifty  Families,  a  Market  may  be 
opened,  and  kept  One  or  more  days  in  each  week,  as 
may  be  thought  most  advantageous  to  the  Inhabit- 
ants. 

"Also,  that  the  first  Meeting  for  the  choice  of  Town 
Officeis  Agreeable  to  the  Laws  of  Our  said  Province 
shall  be  held  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  November  next, 
which  said  Meeting  shall  be  notified  by  Mr.  George 
Harris  who  is  hereby  appointed  the  Moderator  of  the 
said  First  Meeting,  which  he  is  to  Notify,  and  Govern 
Agreeably  to  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  Our  said  Prov- 


NEWPORT. 


203 


ince,  aud  the  annual  Meeting  forever  hereafter  for 
Choice  of  such  Officers  for  the  Said  Town  shall  be  on 
the  second  Tuesday  of  March  Annually — To  Have 
and  to  Hold  the  said  Tract  of  Land  as  above  expressed, 
together  with  all  Privileges  and  Appurtenances  to 
them  and  their  respective  Heirs  and  Assigns  forever, 
upon  the  following  Conditions,  viz. : 

"  1st.  That  every  Grantee,  his  Heirs  or  Assigns 
shall  plant  and  Cultivate  Five  Acres  of  Land  within 
the  Term  of  Five  years,  for  every  Fifty  Acres  con_ 
tamed  in  his  or  their  share  or  proportion  of  Land  in 
said  Township,  and  to  continue  to  improve  and  settle 
the  same  by  Additional  Cultivations,  on  Penalty  of 
the  forfeiture  of  his  Grant  or  Share  in  the  said  Town_ 
ship,  and  of  its  Reverting  to  Us  Our  Heirs  and  Suc- 
cessors to  be  by  Us  or  Them  regranted  to  such  of  Our 
Subjects  as  shall  effectually  Settle  and  Cultivate  the 
same. 

"2dly.  That  all  white  and  other  Pine  Trees 
within  the  said  Township  fit  for  Masting  Our  Royal 
Navy,  be  carefully  preserved  for  that  Use — and  none 
be  Cut  or  felled  without  Our  Special  Lease  for  so  do- 
ing first  had  and  obtained  upon  the  Penalty  of  the 
forfeiture  of  the  right  of  such  Grantee,  His  Heirs  and 
Assigns,  to  Us  Our  Heirs  and  Successors  as  well  as 
being  subject  to  the  Penalty  of  any  Act  or  Acts  of 
Parliament  that  now  or  hereafter  shall   be  Enacted — : 

"  3dly.  That  before  any  of  the  Land  be  made  to  and 
among  the  Grantees,  a  Tract  of  Land  as  near  the  Cen- 
tre of  said  Township  as  the  Land  will  admit  of,  shall 
be  reserved  and  marked  out  for  Town  Lotts,  One  of 
which  shall  be  Allotted  to  each  Grantee  of  the  Con- 
tents of  One  Acre. 

"  4thly.  Yielding  and  Paying  therefor  to  us  Our 
Heirs  and  Successors  for  the  space  of  Ten  years  to  be 
computed  from  the  date  hereof  the  Rent  of  One  Ear  of 
Indian  Corn  only,  On  the  Twenty-Fifth  Day  of 
December  Annually,  if  lawfully  demanded  the  first 
payment  to  be  made  on  the  Twenty-Fifth  day  of 
December,  1762. 

"5thly.  Every  Proprietor,  Settler,  or  Inhabitant 
shall  yield  and  pay  unto  Our  Heirs  and  Successors 
yearly  and  every  year  forever  from  and  after  the  Expi- 
ration of  Ten  years  from  the  above  said  Twenty-fifth 
day  of  December,  which  will  be  in  the  year  of  Our 
Lord  1772,  One  Shilling  Proclamation  Money  for 
every  hundred  Acres  he  so  owns  settles  or  possesses, 
and  so  in  proportion  for  a  greater  or  lesser  Tract  of 
the  Land,  which  Money  shall  be  paid  by  the  respec- 


tive Persons  abovesaid  their  Heirs  or  Assigns  in  Our 
Council  Chamber  in  Portsmouth  or  to  such  Officer  or 
Officers  as  shall  be  appointed  to  receive  the  same, 
and  this  to  be  in  Lieu  of  all  other  Rents  and  Services 
whatsoever — In  Testimony  whereof  we  have  caused 
the  Seal  of  Our  said  Province  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 
"  Witness,  Benning  Wentworth,  Esqr.,  Our  Gover- 
nor and  Commander-in-Chief  of  Our  said  Province  the 
(3th  day  of  October  in  the  Year  of  Our  Lord  Christ 
One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  &  Sixty-One  and  in 
the  First  year  of  Our  Reign 

"  B.  Wentworth. 

"  By  His    Excellency's  Command  with   advice  of 

Council. 

"  Theodore  Atkinson,  Sec'ij. 

"  Province  of  New  Hampshire  Recorded  in  the 
Book  of  Charters,  Page  221-222,  1761. 

"  pr  Theodore  Atkinson,  Sec'y. 
"  A  true  Copy. 

"  Benin.  Giles,  Propritrs'  Clark." 

The  proprietors'  record  has  a  plan  of  the  town 
drawn  in  accordance  with  the  royal  grant  as  given 
by  Isaac  Rindge,  surveyor-general  of  the  province 
and  copied  by  Benjamin  Giles,  the  proprietors' 
clerk.  There  were  some  provisions  afterwards 
considered  by  the  proprietors,  though  not  speci- 
fied in  the  charter,  as  follows  : 

A  lot  of  two  hundred  acres  was  reserved  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  town  to  be  ac- 
counted as  two  of  the  before-named  shares  for  the 
benefit  of  Governor  Wentworth.  In  addition,  one 
share  was  reserved  for  the  "  Incorporated  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts  ;"  one  share  for  a  glebe  for  the  Church 
of  England  as  bylaw  established;  one  share 
for  the  first  settled  minister  of  the  gospel  ;  and 
one  share  for  the  benefit  of  a  school  in  said 
town. 

That  the  grant  of  this  township  was  origin- 
ally a  matter  of  speculation  is  apparent  from 
the  fact  that  of  the  names  of  the  sixty-one 
grantees  to  whom  the  charter  was  given,  but  one 
appears  as  an  actual  settler  of  the  town.  The 
settlers  and  owners  of  17(i(!  had  evidently 
purchased  their  rights  from  the  original  gran- 
tees. 


204 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  township  of  Newport  thus  granted  is 
situated  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  some 
forty  miles  northwesterly  from  Concord. 

Mathematically  described,  it  is  about  43° 
30'  north  latitude,  and  4°  30'  longitude  east 
from  Washington  City,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Croydon;  south,  by  Unity  and  Go- 
shen ;    east,  by    Sunapee;  and  west  by  Clare- 

IIKIIll. 

In  regard  to  its  physical  aspects,  the  first 
point  of  interest  and  value  is  the  splendid  river 
system  by  which  it  is  watered  and  drained,  and 
from  which  Newport  derives  its  importance  as 
a  manufacturing  town.  We  have  reference  to 
the  Sugar  River  and  its  branches. 

The  main  stream  of  the  Sugar  has  its  source 
in  a  great  natural  reservoir  of  water  lying  some 
five  or  six  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  town, 
known  as  Sunapee  Lake.  This  lake  covers  an 
area  some  ten  miles  long  from  north  to  south 
and  on  an  average  about  three  miles  in  width. 
It-  resources  are  deep  among  the  granite  knobs 
on  the  great  back-bone  or  ridge  known  as  a  part 
of  the  Apalachian  system  of  high  lands  between 
the  Merrimack  and  Connecticut  Valleys,  and  its 
slopes  forming  on  either  side  water-sheds  to 
the  rivers  that  flow  through  those  valleys. 

The  surface  of  the  lake  is  estimated  by  com- 
petent engineers  at  an  altitude  of  one  thousand 
one  hundred  and  three  feet  above  mean  tide- 
water in  Boston  Harbor,  and  some  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  on  a  line  eighteen  miles  due 
wesi  in  the  town  of  Claremont. 

The  fall  of  the  river  between  the  gates  of  the 
Sunapee  Dam  Company,  at  its  lake  outlet, 
and  the  valley  at  Newport  is  estimated  at  from 
three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  feet. 
Much  of  this  power  has  been  employed  to  good 
advantage  by  mills  and  manufactories;  and 
more  remains  unimproved,  awaiting  the  coming 
capitalist  or  man  of  enterprise  and  skill  to  build 
his  shop  or  mill  and  control  its  idle  force  to 
some  good  purpose. 

In  the  Newport  meadows  the  Sugar  receives 


the  waters  of  its  South  Branch,  flowing  north- 
wardly  from  Goshen,  with  its  affluents  from 
Lempsterand  Unity,  and  goes  on  for  about  three 
miles  by  the  course  of  the  stream  to  receive 
another  principal  tributary,  the  North  Branch 
from  Croydon  and  Springfield.  The  course  of 
the  stream  then  tends  westerly  to  the  rapids  at 
North  Newport,  where  it  again  takes  up  its 
rollicking  career  to  Kellyville,  and  from  thence 
to  the  meadows  and  fall  in  Claremont,  and  its 
confluence  with  the  Connecticut. 

There  are  several  other   lesser  tributaries  oi 
the  Sugar  in  Newport,  of  which  arc  Reed,  Kim- 
ball, Perry  and  Comstoek  Brooks — some  of  them 
with  water  sufficient    to   turn  a  mill,  and  all  of 
them  in  times  past  the  delight  of  the  angler. 

The  length  of  the  Sugar  River  in  its  circui- 
tous course  is  estimated  at  about  twenty-five 
miles,  to  accomplish  some  eighteen  miles  in  a 
straight  line.  The  waters  we  have  sought  to 
describe  drain  an  area  of  some  two  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  territory,  and  flow  from 
twelve  different  towns. 

Spreading  out  along  the  margins  oi'  these 
brooks  and  larger  streams  are  ample  meadows 
rising  into  uplands,  and  highlands,  and  hills, 
and  ridges  affording  fertile  lands  for  tillage, 
sweet  pastures  for  sheep  aud  cattle  and  horses, 
— abundant  wood-lots  and  orchards  of  sugar- 
maple,  on  all  of  which  efficient  labor  would  find 
a  reward. 

Another  pleasant  feature  of  the  township  is 
its  diversified  and  beautiful  scenery.  It  would 
seem  the  result  of  design,  rather  than  a  chance 
survev,  that  so  many  desirable  features  should 
be  found  in  a  "certain  tract  or  parcel  of  land," 
as  regards  meadow-lands,  Mater-power  and  gen- 
eral situation. 

We  might  ask,  "  Why  did  not  the  compass  of 
the  original  surveyor  send  the  boundary  lines 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  divide  our  meadows  and 
water-power  with  Croydon  or  Goshen,  instead 
of  locating  them  in  the  heart  of  Newport?" 
The  only  answer  to  such  a  query  would  be  that 
"these  lines,  which    have   fallen  to  us  in  such 


NEWPORT. 


205 


pleasant  places,  were  indicated  by  the  finger  of 
Providence,"  and  we  have  a  "goodly  heritage." 
Among  the  most  prominent  elevations  outly- 
ing about  the  valley  of  Newport  is  Pike  Hill, 
which  appears  to  have  been  used  as  a  signal 
station  in  the  trianoulation  of  the  State  bv  the 
Coast  Survey,  as  shown  by  the  weather-beaten 
staff  upon  its  top. 

There  appears  also  a  geological  wonder  on 
the  top  of  this  hill,  known  to  the  natives  as 
the  Elephant  Rock,  on  account  of  its  resem- 
blance in  color  and  proportions  to  that  huge 
Asiatic  pachyderm.  It  rests  upon  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  and  measures  nearly  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  circumference  and  twenty-four  feet 
in  height.  The  altitude  of  its  location  is  esti- 
mated at  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
above  sea-level.  When  and  how  it  was  landed 
upon  that  granite  knob  is  matter  of  grave 
speculation.  It  is  known  to  antedate  the  arrival 
of  any  other  first  settler,  and  is  at  present  the 
only  original  occupant  of  that  hill.  A  little 
farther  to  the  southwest  is  Wilmarth  Ledge,  a 
bold  ridge,  easily  accessible  and  worth  visiting 
for  the  sake  of  the  magnificent  views  presented 
and  the  geological  specimens  that  may  be  found 
there. 

Another  immense  conglomerate  boulder  or 
loggan,  estimated  to  weigh  from  thirty  to  forty 
tons,  receives  many  callers  at  its  lodge  on  Clare- 
mont  Hill,  about  forty  rods  north  of  the  road. 
This  rock  is  so  poised  upon  the  ground  that  it 
may  be  moved  to  and  fro  by  the  ordinary  force 
of  one  hand.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  choice 
specimen  lost  out  of  the  cabinet  of  some  passing 
glacier  in  the  olden-time. 

Of  other  curiosities  in  stone,  reference  might 
be  had  to  the  pot  or  well-holes  in  the  ledges  of 
the  South  Branch  at  South ville. 

There  is  no  locality  in  Newport  where  the 
age  of  the  world  is  more  emphatically  dis- 
played; no  "Sermons  in  Stones"  more  im- 
pressive than  are  to  be  found  there.  Some  time 
since  a  couple  of  village  philosophers  selected 
one  of  the  pot-holes,  to  which  we  have  referred, 


for  investigation.  They  prepared  for  the  duty, 
and  with  syphon  and  other  facilities  for  bailing 
and  digging  they  removed  the  water  and  sand 
and  gravel  from  a  circular  hole  in  the  solid 
ledge  to  the  depth  of  six  feet,  and  varying  from 
twenty-seven  inches  in  diameter  at  the  surface 
to  forty-two  inches  at  its  greatest  size.  The 
shape  of  the  chamber  or  cavity  thus  disclosed 
was  somewhat  like  that  of  an  egg,  if  made  to 
stand  upon  its  largest  end ;  and  its  capacity 
must  have  been  at  least  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  gallons.  The  inside  of  this  immense 
jug,  so  to  speak,  clearly  indicated  the  spiral 
sweep  of  the  water  and  pebbles  as  the  wearing 
process  went  on  during  the  ages  and  ages. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  town,  over- 
looking the  valley  of  the  Sugar  on  the  south, 
stands  a  rugged  elevation  know  as  Blueberry 
Ledge,  which,  extending  into  Claremont,  be- 
comes Green  Mountain.  In  this  remote  corner, 
sometimes  known  as  the  Cat  Hole,  are  mines  of 
plumbago  and  mica,  which  may  attract  further 
attention  in  the  future.  The  views  there  are 
very  fine. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  beyond  the 
bend  in  the  river  and  its  adjacent  meadows, 
rises  a  huge  swell  of  land  known  as  Baptist 
Hill.  Such  tracts  of  upland,  originally  cov- 
ered with  a  growth  of  hard-woods,  such  as 
beech,  birch,  maple  and  oak,  were  considered 
very  desirable  by  the  early  settlers  as  affording 
a  soil  of  great  strength  and  fertility,  and  not 
easily  exhausted  by  cultivation. 

Across  the  valley  of  the  North,  or  Croydon 
Branch  of  Sugar,  in  the  northeastern  section  of 
the  town,  rising  to  an  elevation  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  feet  above  sea- 
level,  is  a  rugged  hill  known  as  Coit  Mountain  ; 
and  further  on  in  an  easterly  direction  is  a  simi- 
lar knob,  distinguished  as  Bald  Mountain. 
The  tops  of  these  hills  arc  very  delightful,  af- 
fording, as  they  do,  fine  outlooks  and  desirable 
situations  for  summer  parties. 

Lying  along  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  town 
and  valley  are  the  East  Mountain  and  Thatcher 


206 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Hill,   devoted    to    farms   and   agriculture,  and 
abounding  with  pleasant  situations. 

From  many  of  the  points  thus  described 
within  the  town  lines,  the  observer  may,  with 
the  natural  eye,  or  aided  by  a  field-glass,  rise 
out  of  his  loeal  boundaries  of  town,  county  and 
State,  to  the  contemplation  of  far-oil'  views  of 
surpassing  interest  and  grandeur.  Some  eight 
miles  to  the  north  the  summit  of  Croydon 
Mountain,  the  highest  point  of  land  in  Sullivan 
County,  looks  down  upon  the  Newport  Valley 
from  an  altitude  of  two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  feet  above  sea-level  ;  and 
further  to  the  northeast  the  clustering  pinna- 
cles of  the  White  Mountain  group  arc  dis- 
tinctly visible.  On  the  east  we  have  Kearsarge 
in  serene  individuality,  and  the  far-off  lands  of 
Maine.  To  the  southeast  the  dark  and  rugged 
brow  of  Sunapee  seems  watching  its  own  shadow 
in  the  crystal  lake  at  its  base.  On  the  south 
are  the  Washington,  Unity  and  Lempster  hills, 
while  the  western  horizon  is  outlined  by  a  clear 
and  well-defined  view  of  the  Green  Mountain 
range  of  Vermont. 

Returning  to  the  business  affairs  of  the 
grantees;  no  action  appears  to  have  been  taken 
in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  these  shares  mi- 
til  some  three  years  alter  the  date  of  the  charter. 

On  December  "Jo,  1704,  a  meeting  of  pro- 
prietors was  held  at  Killingworth,  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed,  consisting  of  Stephen  Wilcox, 
Robert  Lane,  John  Crane  and  Isaac  Kelsey, 
"to  proceed  to  Charlestown  (No.  4)  and  attend 
to  the  allotment  of  the  shares,"  which  ulti- 
mately took  place  at  the  house  of  John  Hast- 
ings, Jr.,  on  July  6,  1765. 

This  committee  was  also  authorized  "to locate 
the  Town  Plott"  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  charter,  and  arrange  convenient 
highways  for  the  accommodation  of  the  lot- 
owners. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  in 
March.  1766,  another  committee,  consisting  of 
Ebenezer  Merrit,  Deacon  Jeremiah  Clement 
and  Stephen  Wilcox,  was  appointed  "to  open 


a  cart-road  in  New  port,"  and  also  "a  road  to 
the  west  end  of  said  lotts,"  extending  from  lot 
No.  64,  owned  by  Ezra  Parmelee,  northward 
to  what  was  afterward,  and  still  remains,  the 
Jenks  place. 

It  was  also  "  Voted  that  Mr.  Morgan  sell  the 
boat  owned  by  the  proprietors,  and  that  Stephen 
Wilcox  proceed  to  Portsmouth  and  procure  an 
extension  of  the  charter,"  which  was  in  hazard 
of  forfeiture,  through  the  non-compliance  with 
its  provisions — twenty-one  shares  had  already 
(April,  L765)  been  sold  at  auction  for  this 
cause. 

It  is  matter  of  regret  that  we  know  nothing 
more,  either  by  record  or  tradition,  in  regard 
to  the  "  boat  owned  by  the  proprietors,"  for 
what  purpose  it  had  been  used,  and  why  it  was 
sold. 

Up  to  this  time,  17<!o-i)f),  all  that  had  been 
in  settlement  of  the  township  was  preliminary. 
The  surveys,  the  grant,  the  allotment  of  shares, 
the  trading  and  planning  had  mostly  been  ar- 
ranged, and  all  the  characteristics  and  privileges 
and  beauties  of  the  new  township  were  thor- 
oughly examined  and  understood. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  fall  of  1  7G~>,  after  the 
drawing  took  place,  a  number  of  the  men  in- 
terested came  to  the  promised  land  to  spy  it 
out,  and  make  arrangements  for  the  company 
that  were  to  come  the  next  spring;  that  three 
of  them  remained  to  finish  some  extra  work 
after  their  companions  had  left. 

At  night  they  went  to  "  Bragg/s  camp," 
which  was  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
roads  ;it  the  loot  of  Claremont  Hill.  The 
next  morning  a  severe  snow-storm  came  on. 
They  were  without  food  and  obliged  to  follow 
their  companions  to  No.  4,  or  remain  and 
starve.  While  traveling  through  Unity,  Mer- 
ritt,  one  of  the  party  became  fatigued  and 
chilled,  thoughl  he  could  go  no  farther,  and 
laid  down  to  die.  Kelsey,  another  of  the  party, 
who  believed  in  severe  remedies  in  such  cases, 
cut  sprouts  and  applied  them  vigorously  to 
Merritt's    person,    whereupon    he    arose  in  his 


NEWPORT. 


207 


wrath  to  pursue  and  take  vengeance  on  his 
persecutor.  The  exercise  restored  him  to  the 
use  of  his  limbs  and  probably  saved  his  life, 
and  they  reached  Charlestown  in  safety. 

Early  in  the  month  of  June,  1766,  the  first 
party  of  actual  settlers  and  workers  made  their 
appearance  in  Newport. 

They  came  in  from  Charlestown  (No.  4), 
which  for  several  years  had  been  the  most 
northern  outpost  of  civilization  on  the  Con- 
necticut River.  The  descent  on  this  place  in 
September,  1760,  when  the  Willard  family 
were  captured  and  taken  to  Canada,  was  among 
the  very  last  of  the  French  and  Indian  depre- 
dations in  New  England.  It  was  at  this  time 
a  resting-place  and  base  of  supplies  for  the 
s  ii  rround  i  n  g  coun  try. 

From  that  point  a  traveled  road  and  civil- 
ization disappeared  from  their  view,  and  they 
took  their  way  through  the  woods  for  about 
twenty  miles,  guided  by  blazed  trees,  on  foot, 
as  may  be  supposed,  bearing  their  guns,  am- 
munition, provisions,  axes  and  extra  clothing 
on  their  backs.  It  has  been  erroneously  stated 
by  writers  on  this  subject  that  the  wives  of 
several  of  the  party  were  with  them  at  this 
time  ;  but  such  is  not  the  tact,  as  will  appear  in 
the  further  progress  of  this  sketch. 

In  regard  to  the  personnel  of  the  party  whom. 
as  individuals,  we  now  welcome  to  Newport,  it  is 
matter  of  regret  that  so  little  is  known.  Thev 
took  no  thought  for  their  descendants  and  sue- 
cessors,  and  were  not  posing  before  a  future 
historian.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  their  private 
records  would  have  been  more  ample. 

The  oldest  member  of  the  party  was  Deacon 
Stephen  Wilcox,  whose  ancestors  were  settled 
on  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  visible  from 
the  Connecticut  shore,  as  early  as  1685,  He 
was  born  July  5,  1706  :  married,  May  10,  1733, 
Mary  Hurd,  and  with  their  family  of  twelve 
children  lived  in  Killingworth.  He  was  at 
this  time  about  sixty  years  of  age.  With  him 
were  two  sons,- — Jesse,  born  October  5,  1744 ; 
Phineas,  born  January  14,  1747.       Uriah,  who 


was  not  of  the  party,  but  came  afterward,  was 
born  March  13,  1749,  and  consequently  was 
about  seventeen  years  of  age.  Here  came  also 
Samuel  Hurd,  whose  wife  (married  1757)  was 
Lydia,  the  daughter  of  Stephen  Wilcox. 

Stephen  Wilcox  was  never  a  permanent 
resident  of  this  town.  His  interest  here  and 
business  was  to  place  these  sons  and  the  son-in- 
law  on  lands — three  hundred  acres  to  each — he 
had  acquired  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 
charter,  or  by  purchase. 

His  name  is  several  times  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  proprietary  and  town  affairs,  but 
he  ultimately  returned  to  Killingworth. 

Here  came  also  Absalom  Kelsey,  about  twen- 
ty-four years  of  age,  who  afterwards  married 
Mercy  Hill,  of  Killingworth,  and  Jesse  Kelsey, 
his  brother,  born  February  25,  1746,  married, 
May  12,  1769,  Hester  Hurd,  a  sister  of  Samuel 
Hurd,  before  mentioned. 

Of  this  party  was  Ezra  Parmelee,  whose  father 
was  a  neighbor  of  the  Wilcoxs,  Hurds  and  Kel- 
seys,  and  we  believe  a  connection  of  some  of 
them  bv  marriage.  Ezra,  Jr.,  afterward  mar- 
ried,  May  1,.  1769,  Sybil  Hill,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Hannah  (Nettleton)  Hill,  of  Killing- 
worth,  and  a  sister  of  Mercy,  the  wife  of  Absa- 
lom Kelsey. 

We  have  been  careful  in  regard  to  these  gen- 
ealogies, as  frequent  errors  have  been  made 
which  we  desire  to  correct. 

We  have  thus  specified  seven  members  of  the 
settling  party,  who  appear  to  have  been  person- 
ally related  or  connected,  and  who  made  up  a 
kind  of  family  party  under  the  supervision  of  Dea. 
Wilcox.  The  tradition  in  regard  to  this  matter 
is  that  there  were  eight  ;  that  they  arrived  at  a 
point  near  the  present  four  corners  at  the  toot  of 
Claremont  Hill  late  on  a  Saturday  evening. 
The  probability  is  that  they  came  to  Bragg's 
unoccupied  cam]),  abandoned  the  previous  fall, 
and  that  Bragg  himself  was  now  one  of  their 
number.  We  would  have  known  more  about 
this  matter  had  a  generation  of  Braggs  come 
down    to    the    present    from    that   early  stock. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  tradition  also  runs,  and  we  have  no 
doubt  of  the  truth  of  it,  that  the  next  day  be- 
ing the  Sabbath,  religions  services  were  held 
in  the  shade  of  a  large  birch-tree,  and  con- 
ducted by  Deacon  Stephen  Wilcox. 

As  to  there  being  eight  in  the  party,  it  mat- 
ters not ;  others  were  on  their  way  hither,  of 
whom  were Zephaniah  Clark,  Ebenezer  Merritt, 
Daniel  Dudley  and  others  whose  names  will 
appear  hereafter. 

The  individuals  of  the  party  soon  left  the  gen- 
eral encampment  to  occupy  cabins  or  camps  of 
their  own  construction,  on  their  own  lots.  Jesse 
Wilcox  came  to  lots  12  and  13,  now  the  home- 
stead of  Freeman  Cutting;  Samuel  Hurd  to 
lot  14,  on  the  north  end  of  the  plain,  so-called; 
Jvs^q  Kelsey  to  lands  at  the  locality  now  known 
as  Kellevville.  The  place  has  since  been  owned 
by  Deacon  John  Keller,  Richard  Everett,  John 
S.  Parmelee  and  Geo.  II.  Towle.  That  neigh- 
borhood  was  soon  known  as  "  New  <  "ity." 

Ezra  Parmelee  made  his  camp  on  lot  No.  li  1, 
at  the  south  end  of  the  meadows,  on  the  South 
Branch,  not  far  from  the  present  residence  "I 
George  E.  Dame.  The  meadow  lands  in  that 
locality  have  been  greatly  changed  in  later 
years  by  the  action  of  the  water  in  times  of 
freshet.  Absalom  Kelsey  located  at  the  south- 
west corner,  and  Benjamin  Bragg  at  the  north- 
wesl  corner,  at  the  cross-roads.  Zephaniah 
Clarke  erected  a  log  cabin  on  the  '"plain," 
where  P.  P.  Claggett  now  lives.  It  was  the 
hostelry  of  the  settlement.  Ebenezer  .Merritt 
timk  possession  of  lot  No.  ■"»,  afterwards  owned 
by  Benjamin  Giles,  and  in  later  times  by  donas 
< lutting  and  Win.  Davis. 

The  stalwart  settlers  wroughf  industriously 
through  the  season,  chopping,  burning,  clear- 
ing and  planting  each  on  his  five  acres  or  more, 
:i>  "  Dominated  in  the  bond." 

The  committee,  of  which  Stephen  Wilcox 
was  chairman,  undoubtedly  pushed  the  opening 
of  the  cart-road  towards  Charlestown,  their 
base  of  supplies.  The  road  extended  in  a 
southwesterly  direction    over  the  Newport  and 


Unity  hills,  with  more  regard  to  straight  lines 
than  grades,  and  was  the  first  thoroughfare 
opened,  though  others  had  been  projected. 

At  that  time  the  woods  abounded  in  game 
suitable  for  food,  and  the  streams  with  trout 
and  other  kinds  of  fish.  The  breadstuffs, 
groceries  and  salt  meats  were  transported  with 
much  labor  from  "No.  4,"  as  it  was  almost  al- 
ways called,  and  each  settler  took  his  turn  in 
taking  the  trip  and  returning  therewith.  In 
the  autumn  of  that  year,  17(5(5,  they  sowed  win- 
ter grains  in  their  clearings,  raking  it  in  as  best 
they  could  by  hand,  and  late  in  the  season 
closed  their  camps,  and  returned  to  Killing- 
worth  to  spend  the  winter  with  their  families 
and  friends.  Referring  to  the  names  and  a<res 
heretofore  stated  of  several  of  the  young  men,  it 
may  reasonably  be  supposed  that  more  or  less  of 
old-fashioned  New  England  courting  was  before 
them  during  the  winter.  That  the  time  was 
well  applied  the  records  hereafter  will  show. 
There  is  very  little  doubt  but  that  the  new  set- 
tlement was  deserted  during  the  first  winter,  as 
(  lark,  Kurd,  Bragg  and  Merritt  had  left 
their  wives  and  all  the  young  men  their  sweet- 
hearts in  ( lonnecticut. 

It  may  be  observed  in  this  connection  that 
in  the  primitive  days  of  Newport,  and  New 
England  generally,  the  married  state  was  en- 
tered upon  early  in  life.  The  man  and  the 
woman  who  wen*  to  be  made  "one  flesh  "  came 
together  with  a  suitable  equality  of  age  and 
condition,  ami  were  thus  better  fitted  to  aid  and 
comfort  each  other  in  all  the  possibilities  of  life 
that    were  before  them. 

They  reared  large  families  of  children,  and 
were  able  to  see  them  grow  up  around  the 
family  hearth-stone  under  good  training  and  ex- 
ample,  and  finally  push  out  into  new  fields  of 
labor  and  usefulness,  while  yet  the  homestead 
\\;i^  in  full  vigor,  as  a  base  of  operations  and 
encouragement. 

It  was  not,  perhaps,  good  judgment  that  the 
sickly  and  weak-kneed  members  of  the  flock 
were  oftenest  educated  and   turned  into  the  pro- 


NEWPORT. 


209 


fessions ;  but  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
parent  of  that  period,  muscle  was  the  pre-emi- 
nent quality,  and  it  was  not  considered  wisdom 
or  good  policy  to  waste  a  healthy  and  vigorous 
young  man  in  an  office  or  a  profession  while 
there  were  savages  to  fight,  or  forests  to  hew 
down  and  farms  to  open  and  cultivate. 

It  was  in  those  good  old  times  that  families 
were  founded,  as  well  as  States ;  and  the  men 
and  women  of  the  present  turn  with  reverence 
and  pride  to  the  genealogies  and  memories  of 
their  New  England  ancestors  and  the  old  home- 
stead or  burial-place,  possibly  to  become  a 
shrine  or  a  Mecca,  to  some  distinguished  de- 
scendant from  the  Far  West,  who  would  establish 
his  lineage,  or  who  has  found  his  way  to  high 
official  position — perhaps  the  Presidency. 

In  the  spring  of  17l!7  the  Newport  colony 
returned  to  their  cabins  and  labors,  in  the  build- 
ing up  of  their  colonial  town.  They  found 
that  during  their  absence  the  wild  animals  that 
hover  about  the  borders  of  civilization  had 
anticipated  them  in  the  gathering  of  the  crops 
they  had  planted;  but  undiscouraged,  they  pro- 
ceeded as  before  to  chop  and  dig  and  build  in 
the  line  of  substantial  progress. 

Several  additional  settlers  were  added  to  their 
number  this  year,  among  whom  was  Benjamin 
Giles,  who  came  to  be  an  important  factor  in  the 
general  progress.  He  at  once  appreciated  the 
wants  of  the  settlement  and  proposed  the  build- 
ing of  saw  and  grist-mills,  at  an  eligible  privi- 
lege on  the  main  branch  of  Sugar  River  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town. 

The  want  of  facilities  fur  the  grinding  of 
corn  and  grain  and  the  sawing  of  logs  into 
boards  was  very  great,  for  reasons  already 
stated. 

It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  state  that  the 
present  Granite  State  Mills,  at  Guild  post-office 
and  station,  occupy  the  site  of  the  <  riles  mills. 

Referring  to  the  old  records,  we  find  that  the 
first  regular  meeting  of  the  proprietors  in  New- 
port was  held  October  13,  1767,  at  the  house  of 
Jesse  Wilcox.     The  meeting  was  called  to  order 


by  Benjamin  Bellows,  of  W^alpole,  one  of  "  His 
Majesties  Justices." 

Stephen  "Wilcox  was  chosen  moderator ;  Ben- 
jamin Giles,  clerk ;  Samuel  Hurd,  Charles 
Avery,  Zephaniah  Clark  were  chosen  assessors; 
and  Benjamin  Giles,  Amos  Hall,  Eben  Mer- 
ritt,  Samuel  Hurd  and  James  Church,  a  com- 
mittee "to  lay  out  a  second  division  of  land." 

It  is  understood  that  the  first  division  ex- 
tended across  the  meadows  east  and  west,  and 
the  lots  contained  each  fifteen  acres.  This 
meeting  votes  :  "  To  lay  out  to  each  proprietor 
thirty-five  acres,  either  at  the  east  or  west  end 
of  the  lots  already  laid  out. 

This  meeting  adjourned  to  the  10th  hist.,  at 
the  house  of  Zephaniah  Clark,  inn-holder,  etc., 
where  it  was  "  Voted:  That  Zephaniah  Clark, 
Ebenr  Merritt,  Benju  Bragg,  Sam'  Hurd  and 
Jesse  Wilcox,  having  families  now  in  Newport, 
have  each  80  acres  of  land,  and  also  that  any 
person  who  is  a  proprietor  and  becomes  an  in- 
habitant, with  his  wife,  in  said  Newport  by  the 
first  of  July,  1768,  shall  be  entitled  to  80  acres  ; 
Others  who  have  been  in  town,  to  improve  the 
first  division,  50  acres." 

This  year  (1767)  there  came  a  marked  im- 
provement to  the  condition  and  prospects  of  the 
infant  settlement  consequent  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  wives  of  several  of  the  leading  men,  as 
indicated  by  the  action  of  the  town  in  awarding 
premiums  to  those  having  wives  present,  and 
to  families  who  might  be  induced  to  settle  in 
the  town. 

Of  those  present,  with  wives,  there  ap- 
pears one  newly  constituted  family — Jesse  and 
Thankful  (Stevens)  Wilcox,  who  were  married 
in  Killing-worth,  June  11th,  previous  to  their 
departure  on  their  wedding-tour  to  Newport. 
A  tradition  is  extant  that  the  ladies  of  a  party, 
on  approaching  the  town  by  the  new  "cart- 
road,"  were  offered  a  premium  in  a  race  for  a 
boundary-tree,  pointed  out  as  on  the  town-line; 
that  two  of  the  ladies  won,  and  thai  Jesse  Wil- 
cox thus  became  liable  for  two  silver  crowns, 
English  money,  to  the  two  winners.     This  also 


210 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


may  have  been  the  party  that  is  said  to  have 
broken  down  somewhere  on  Pike  Hill,  in  their 
efforts  to  reach  Newport  over  the  said  "cart- 
road,"  and  were  compelled  to  camp  out  tor  the 
eight.  That  these  may  have  been  the  experi- 
ences of  that  wedding-party  is  altogether  within 
the  hounds  of  probability. 

We  have  heretofore  announced  the  arrival  of 
Benjamin  Giles  in  the  settlement,  and  his  pro- 
posal to  build  mills.  The  following  act  of  the 
town  has  reference  to  this  proposition  : 

"  At  mi  adjourned  meeting  holden  on  the  29th  day 
<if  October,  at  the  house  of  Zephaniah  Clark,  at'oresd, 
by  the  Proprietors  of  Newporl  aforesd,  Mr.  Stephen 
Willcocks,  Moderator,  Voted,  that  Benjamin  Giles, 
now  Resident  in  Newport,  have  one  hundred  Acres 
of  Land,  laid  out  by  the  proprietors'  committee,  to 
him,  his  heirs  and  assigns  Forever,  and  to  be  so  laid 
out  as  to  secure  to  said  Giles,  his  heirs  and  Assigns, 
that  part  of  the  Fast  Branch  of  Great  Sugar  River, 
SO  i  ailed,  near  where  said  <  riles  is  about  to  sett  up  a 
Corn-Mill  and  a  Saw-mill,  so  that  said  Giles  may  build 
a  Damm  aCross  said  River  witli  all  the  privileges  of 
said  River,  so  far  as  is  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  s'1 
Mills,  with  the  land  Adjoining  said  River,  so  as  to 
take  in  a  sufficiency  of  Laud  for  to  sett  said  Mills  and 
what  may  lie  convenient  around  the  same,  and  also  to 
be  SO  laid  out  as  to  take  a  part  of  the  White  Fine 
Timber,  and  also  to  Procure  a  Fair  of  Mill  Stones  for 
said  (iiles  at  said  Mills.  Also  that  said  Giles  have  a 
Tax,  or  Kate,  to  the  Vallu  of  Four  Days  Labor  on 
each  Proprietors  Right,  or  Share,  the  afores'1  Grants 
given  for  sd  Giles  Encouragement  towards  his  build- 
ing the  afores'1  Mills  in  Newport,  afore-1." 

Iii  view  of  these  considerations,  the  mills 
were  built  and  ready  for  operation  September 
24,  1768.  We  have  it  traditionally  that  Ezra 
Parmelee,  who  was  one  of  the  youngesi   men  of 

the  settlement,  took  great  interest  in  these 
mills  and  worked  out  his  "Tax,"  and  even 
mine,  with  a  greal  deal  of  cheerfulness;  that, 
when  "Squire  (iiles"  proposed  to  send  to 
Charlestown  for  a  mechanic  competent  to  file 
ami  hang  the  saw,  young  Parmelee  came  for- 
ward and  -aid  "  he  could  do  it  as  well  as  any- 
body he  could  get  from  No.  1."  He  was,  ac- 
cordingly, entrusted  with  the  job. 


He  improvised  a  vise  by  cutting  a  small  tree 
so  as  to  leave  a  high  stump,  the  top  of  which  he 
split  in  a  manner  to  receive  and  wedge  in  the 
saw  for  filing';  after  winch  it  was  properly 
placed  in  the  works,  and  the  first  log  was  made 
into  boards  in  the  presence  of  an  applauding 
crowd,  comprising,  we  believe,  every  man  in 
town. 

The  name  and  character  of  Benjamin  Giles 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice,  and  it  may 
as  well  have  attention  in  tin's  place  as  any  other. 
It  is  matter  of  regret  that  the  data  extant  from 
which  to  construct  a  sketch  of  his  life  is  so 
meagre  and  desultory.  It  is  thus  with  many 
other  interesting  lives,  whose  only  written  his- 
tory is  found. upon  the  stone  that  marks  the 
place  of  their  long-buried  remains.  He  died  in 
178*7,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  He  must, 
therefore,  have  been  born  in  1717,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival  in  Newport  was  fifty  years 
of  age.  He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  in 
the  course  of  wandering's  bv  sea  and  land  had 
come  to  Groton,  Conn.,  where  he  was  settled, 
and  from  whence  he  came  to  Newport.  His 
family  consisted  of  daughters— *two  bv  a  first 
marriage,  and  one  by  a  second  wife,  lately  de- 
ceased. Of  the  first,  Mary  married  Christopher 
Newton,  and  Hannah  was  the  wife  of  Isaac 
Newton.  These  Newtons  were  cousins  and 
came  to  Newport  in  177!»,  with  their  families, 
where  they  lived  and  died.  The  daughter  of 
the  second  marriage,  Ruth,  came  with  her  father 
to  this  town.  She  was  possessed,  in  her  own 
right,  of  considerable  property,  inherited  from 
her  mother.  A  third  wife,  whom  he  married 
after  coining  here,  was  Abigail  Hubbard,  of 
Charlestown,  who  survived  him.  There  were 
no  children  bv  the  last  marriage. 

Benjamin  Giles  was  a  man  of  good  natural 
ability,  well  educated,  a  fair  estate  with  much 
experience  in  human  affairs.  He  was,  for  the 
time  and  place  in  which  he  acted,  a  strong  man, 
and  his  influence  in  all  matters — social,  political 
and  religious — was  controlling  and  recognized 
in  all  the  affairs  of  the  community.     No  name 


NEWPORT. 


211 


appears  with  more  frequency    upon    the   town 
records  than  that  of  Benjamin  Giles. 

His  influence  was  not  confined  to  his  own 
town,  but  extended  to  other  towns,  and  was 
felt  in  the  councils  of  the  State. 

The  differences  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country  already  foreshadowed  revolu- 
tion, and  wisdom  and  intelligence  were  needed 
in  all  counsels.  He  was  a  lover  of  liberty,  an 
enthusiastic  friend  of  the  patriot  cause,  a  true 
Irishman  with  pronounced  American  proclivi- 
ties. 

After  the  downfall  and  flight  of  the  royal 
Governor,  John  Wentworth,  New  Hampshire 
was  without  an  organized  State  government. 
By  a  concerted  movement  on  the  part  of  the 
towns,  a  convention  was  called  to  meet  at  Exeter, 
1775,  '76,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  pro- 
visional government  for  the  time,  or  during  the 
war.  To  this  convention  Benjamin  Giles  was 
sent  as  representative  by  the  six  classed  towns 
of  Newport,  Unity,  Acworth,  Lempster,  Croy- 
don and  Saville  (now  Sunapee). 

He  was  chosen  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives (so  called)  of  the  State,  or  colony,  one  of 
a  committee  of  twelve  to  constitute  an  Upper 
House,  or  Senate.  Meshech  Weare,  the  first 
Governor  of  the  State,  was  the  presiding  officer 
of  this  body,  an  assembly  to  which  only  the 
ablest  men  in  the  State  were  called. 

In  the  year  1778  the  controversy  between 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  in  regard  to 
the  boundary  line,  assumed  formidable  propor- 
tions. Conventions  were  held  at  Cornish,  Wal- 
pole  and  Windsor,  Vt.,  to  consider  the  matter. 
To  these  conventions  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate. 
He  favored  the  claims  of  Vermont,  as  in- 
structed by  the  town,  at  a  meeting  held  March 
29,  1781,  when  it  was  voted  "  That  the  town  of 
Newport  join  in  Union  with  Vermont.  That 
Benjamin  Giles,  Esq.,  be  a  delegate  to  represent 
the  town  of  Newport  in  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  Vermont,  to  be  held  at  Windsor 
in  April  next  ensuing.  That  Aaron  Buel, 
Jesse  Wilcox  and  Josiah  Stevens  be  a  commit- 
14 


tee  to  give  instructions  to  the  representative 
above  named  for  his  direction  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  Vermont." 

At  another  town-meeting,  held  the  same 
year,  the  town  voted  for  State  officers  of  Ver- 
mont, and  the  meeting  was  called  in  the  name 
of  the  State  of  Vermont. 

The  excitement  in  regard  to  this  matter  be- 
came so  great  that  troops  were  called  out  and 
arrests  were  made.  Benjamin  Giles  and  Nath- 
aniel S.  Prentice  were  arrested  by  the  New 
Hampshire  authorities,  and  Enoch  Hale,  the 
sheriff  of  Cheshire  County,  was  arrested  by  the 
authorities  of  Vermont.  Giles  is  said  to  have 
been  rescued  from  the  custody  of  Colonel  Hale, 
in  Charlestown,  by  the  "  people  in  a  most  ex- 
traordinary manner." 

This  difficulty  was  afterward  amicably  set- 
tled and  the  town  of  Newport  returned  to  its  al- 
legiance to  New  Hampshire. 

The  annual  town-meeting  of  March,  1782, 
was  called  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire ;  otherwise  the  good  people  of  New- 
port at  this  time  might  have  rejoiced  as  citizens 
of  the  Green  Mountain  State. 

To  close  the  eventful  history  of  this  most 
prominent  citizen  of  Newport  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary period,  we  may  take  the  reader  in 
imagination  to  the  first  burial-place  of  the  town, 
where  nearly  all  "  the  rude  forefathers  of  the 
hamlet  sleep,"  and  read  from  the  stone  that 
identifies  his  grave  his  "  short  and  simple  an- 
nals,"— 

"  Erected  in  memory  of  ye  Honourable  Benjamin 
Giles,  Esquire,  who,  after  serving  his  generation  faith- 
fully in  publick  life,  then  departed  this,  in  hopes  of  a 

better, 

December  9th,  1787. 

"  Although  I  sleep  in  dust  awhile, 
Beneath  this  barren  clod, 
Ere  long  I  hope  to  rise  and  smile 
To  see  my  Savior  God." 

Other  reference  is  made  to  Benjamin  Giles 
in  the  article  on  Congregational  Church. 

As  the  settlement  progressed  it  became  neces- 


212 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIA^AN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


sary  to  lay  out  and  cut  out  additional  roads  in 
every  direction,  in  order  to  accommodate  the 
people  and  facilitate  communication  with  other 
towns. 

This  work  went  on  as  the  community  ex- 
panded. It  is  not  desirable  that  we  go  into 
details  in  regard  to  this  matter. 

The  present  system  of  well-graded  roads  and 
safe  and  convenient  bridges,  over  which  people 
travel  with  so  much  satisfaction,  in  easy  and 
elegant  carriages,  is  a  growth  and  outcome 
of  years  of  labor  and  expense,  which  may  not 
at  all  times  be  properly  appreciated. 

In  regard  to  methods  of  travel  in  the  early 
days  of  the  town,  it  may  be  said  they  were  in 
harmony  with  the  roads  and  bridges  or  fording- 
places  and  the  needs  of  the  time.  People  went 
about  much  on  foot  and  on  horseback  ;  and  the 
women  rode  on  pillions  behind  the  men,  or  took 
the  saddle  best  adapted  to  their  purpose.  With 
the  forehanded,  the  oxen  and  cart  furnished 
a  turnout  of  great  consideration. 

During  the  year  17(38  we  find  no  special 
records  to  suggest  remarks.  The  inference  is 
that  the  new  town  was  reasonably  progressing 
in  its  civil  and  social  affairs. 

In  1769,  February  2d,  it  appears  that  the 
proprietors,  having  failed  to  perform  according 
tn  the  conditions  of  the  charter,  which  required 
them  to  cultivate  five  acres  of  land,  in  five 
years,  for  every  fifty  acres,  had  a  further  period 
of  four  years  granted  in  which  to  fulfill  these 
conditions. 

At  that  period,  as  stated  by  Governor  Went- 
wortb  in  his  extension  of  the  charter,  fifteen 
families  had  settled  in  the  town. 

This  defalcation,  and  possibility  of  forfeiting 
the  town  charter,  indicates  a  struggle  against 
difficulties  and  obstacles  which  the  people  of 
this  time  can  hardly  appreciate.  Whatever 
may  be  said  against  Governor  Wentworth  in 
general  terms,  it  was  certainly  kind  in  him 
to  favor  them  in  their  efforts  for  municipal 
existence. 

Ezra   Parmelee,  though   a   young  man,  had 


made  good  progress  on  lot  No.  64.  He  had 
thus  far  spent  his  summers  in  his  camp  and 
clearing. 

The  partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows,  for  the 
time  being,  was  Ephraim  Towner,  who  shared 
the  comforts  of  his  camp  and  aided  him  in  his 
labors. 

Towner's  lot,  No.  66,  was  at  the  southeastern 
end  of  the  meadows,  and  not  far  distant.  When 
the  season  was  over  Mr.  Parmelee  closed  his 
cabin  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Connecticut, 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Parmelee  home- 
stead, at  Killingworth,  lived  the  Hill  family. 
They  were  people  in  good  circumstances,  with 
sons  and  daughters,  the  oldest  of  whom  was 
Sibyl,  born  October  10,  1746.  She  was  now 
about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  the  witchery 
of  her  name,  or  charms,  had  ensnared  the 
heart  of  the  young  backwoodsman,  Ezra  Par- 
melee. 

They  had  grown  up  in  the  same  society,  at- 
tended the  same  school,  heard  the  same  preach- 
ing, and  together  they  thought  they  might 
journey,  not  only  to  New  Hampshire,  but 
through  life.  We  accordingly  give  place  to  the 
following  record  copied  from  the  old  church 
register  at  Killingworth. 

"  On  ye  1st  day  of  May,  1769,  Ezra  Parmelee  and 
Sibyl  Hill  were  joined  in  ye  Marriage  Covenant  by 
Rev.  William  Seward,  Pastor  of  ye  2nd  Church  of 
Christ  in  Killingworth." 

Shortly  after  his  marriage,  leaving  his  bride 
at  her  father's,  Mr.  Parmelee  returned  to  New- 
port, this  time  making  the  trip  with  oxen  and 
cart  laden  with  furniture  and  housekeeping 
articles,  which,  with  a  heifer  that  was  driven 
along  with  the  team,  comprised  the  wife's  "  set- 
ting-out," or  marriage  portion. 

Accomplishing  this  somewhat  tedious  trip,  he 
commenced  with  renewed  energy  to  prepare  a 
comfortable  home  for  his  wife,  who  was  to 
come  to  him  in  the  autumn.  His  house  was 
placed  on  high  land,  near  the  "  Potash  Brook," 
so-called,  west  of  the  Unity  road,  a  short  dis- 
tance southward  from  the  residence — 1885 — of 


NEWPORT. 


213 


George  E.  Dame.  It  was  necessarily  a  homely 
structure,  one  story  iu  height,  framed  and 
fashioned  by  his  own  hands.  Having  good 
mechanical  ability,  he  constructed  chairs  and 
tables,  which,  with  the  articles  brought  from 
Killingworth,  furnished  the  place  very  com- 
fortably. The  labors  in  the  field  alternated 
with  the  work  on  the  building,  as  the  summer 
went  on,  and  for  the  complete  establishment  of 
a  home  it  only  remained  that  a  principal 
divinity  should  be  installed  among  the  house- 
hold gods.  The  autumn  came,  and  with  it  the 
arrival  of  the  bride,  accompanied  by  the  senior 
Parmelee.  They  came  on  horseback,  Sibyl 
riding  behind  on  a  pillion.  The  distance 
traveled  was  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles. 
There  were  but  few  women  in  the  settlement, 
and  as  a  matter  of  course  the  arrival  of  Mrs. 
Parmelee  was  an  event  of  great  interest  and  joy. 
The  greeting  of  the  neighbors  was  most  cor- 
dial, to  say  nothing  of  the  expectant  husband, 
and  the  house-warming  that  followed  was 
among  the  events  of  the  twelvemonth.  The 
Parmelee  family  were  thus  established  in  New- 
port. 

To  Ezra  and  Sibyl  were  born,  during  the 
years  from  1770  to  179-3,  three  sons  and  five 
daughters. 

In  1793  Mr.  Parmelee  purchased  the  house 
and  lands  of  Josiah  Stevens,  adjoining  his 
premises  on  the  north.  The  house  which  had 
sheltered  the  family  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
was  moved  from  the  hill,  and  annexed  to  the 
more  pretentions  new  house,  built  by  Deacon 
Stevens,  as  an  L  part,  where  it  still  remains  in 
good  condition. 

The  dwelling  of  the  Parmelees  was  a  seat  of 
hospitality  to  visitors  and  strangers,  ministers 
and  people.  Ezra  and  Sibyl  lived  to  a  great  age, 
and  it  is  to  them  and  their  descendants  that  we 
are  indebted  for  much  of  the  social  and  general 
history  of  the  town.  In  their  comfortable 
home,  cared  for  by  their  children  and  friends, 
they  descended  into  the  vale  of  years,  passing 
far  beyond  the  allotted  three-score  and  ten  of 


human  life,  until,  with  bended  forms  and 
whitened  locks,  they  stood  upon  the  outer  mar- 
gin of  nearly  an  entire  century  ere  they  passed 
away.  Ezra  died  January  18,  1838,  in  the 
ninety-third  year  of  his  age.  Sibyl  died  April 
6,  1838,  in  the  ninety-second  year  of  her  age. 

William  and  Mindwell  (Buel)  Stanard  came 
from  Killingworth  in  1768-69.  The  Stanards' 
farm  was  on  the  Croydon  road.  It  descended 
to  his  son  William,  and  next  to  his  grandson 
Obed,  who  sold  the  estate  to  James  Hall  in 
1836,  and  moved  to  Iowa. 

The  first  social  party  in  the  town  of  Newport 
was  given  by  the  Stanards,  on  New  Year's  day, 
1770.  Every  inhabitant  of  the  settlement  was 
present.  We  know  by  "  heresay  "  that  Mrs. 
Ezra  Parmelee  was  there  with  her  first  baby, — 
Rhoda,  born  November  1,  1770,  and  then  two 
months  old.  The  occasion  was  one  of  much 
enjoyment. 

Edwin  O.  Stanard,  son  of  Obed,  and  great- 
grandson  of  William,  is  a  prominent  citizen  of 
St.  Louis,  was  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Missouri 
in  1868,  and  a  member  of  the  Forty-third 
Congress  from  that  State.  Jeremiah  and  Lucy 
(Whipple)  Jenks  came  from  Smithfield,  R.  I. 

They  are  said  by  their  biographer  to  have 
"arrived  in  Newport  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776, 
and  first  established  themselves  on  what  is 
known  as  the  Parmelee  place,  on  the  south 
road."  This  must  have  been  but  a  temporary 
occupation.  The  deed  of  Mr.  Jenks  to  lands 
"attests  the  purchase  of  one  share  of  three 
hundred  and  forty  acres  on  east  side  of  Connec- 
ticut river  (Newport),  one  sixty-eighth  part  of 
its  territory" — a  somewhat  indefinite  descrip- 
tion and  difficult  to  locate.  "Between  1778 
and  1792  he  made  purchases  of  land  from 
Josiah  Stevens,  Aaron  Buel,  James  Church, 
Israel  Bryan,  Uriah  Wilcox,  Nathan  Fisher 
and  Stephen  Perry,  by  which  he  became  the 
largest  landholder  and  the  heaviest  tax-payer  in 
Newport."  The  Jenks  homestead  was  located 
on  what  may  have  been  called  the  North  road, 
and  is  one  of  the   few  estates  still   owned  and 


214 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


occupied  by  descendants  of  the  first  proprietor. 
The  Jenks  family  have  always  been  prominent 
and  valuable  citizens  of  the  town. 

Jeremiah  and  Love  (Buel)  Nettleton  came 
from  Killingworth  in  1779,  and  located  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town.  Mr.  Nettleton  was 
the  proprietor  of  Bald  Mountain  and  the 
adjacent  lands  to  the  river.  These  lands  and 
their  improvements  descended  to  his  son  Aaron 
and  his  grandson,  Jeremiah  D.  Nettleton,  at 
whose  death,  December  8,  1852,  the  estate 
passed  to  other  hands.  The  Nettletons  were 
also  for  many  years  prominent  in  the  social  and 
civil  affairs  of  the  town.  The  grandsons  of 
the  first  settler,  Aaron,  Jr.,  and  Bela  Nettleton, 
were  many  years  in  the  mercantile  business  on 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Sunapee  Streets,  where 
the  "  Nettleton  Block,"  so  called,  now  stands. 
The  post-office  was  for  many  years  located  in 
their  building,  and  they  were  successively  post- 
masters. 

The  original  store  building  now  fronts  on 
Sunapee  Street,  and  is  occupied  by  the  United 
States  and  Canada  Express  Company. 

The  Stevens  family,  originally  from  Killing- 
worth,  were  in  Newport  at  an  early  period — 
1771.  Josiah  Stevens  was  born  October  21, 
174:!;  married  Mary  Gray,  January  26,  1763. 
This  family  was  settled  on  the  place  adjoining 
that  of  Edward  Parmelee,  on  the  north.  There 
were  eleven  children,  mostly  daughters,  born  to 
them  in  the  years  from  1763  to  1785.  Mr. 
Stevens  was  a  well-educated  man,  a  school- 
teacher, a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
and  occasionally  a  town  officer,  lie  was  in 
moderate  circumstances,  occupied  a  log  cabin, 
and  had  pretty  hard  scrabbling  to  get  bread 
and  meat  for  so  large  and  unproductive  a  fam- 
ily. Their  principal  resources  were  a  somewhat 
unthrifty  farm,  a  potashery,  over  on  the 
brook  that  crossed  the  Unity  road,  not  tin-  south 
of  this  place,  and  to  which  that  at  present 
emaciated  stream  is  indebted  for  its  euphonious 
name,  "  Potash  Brook,"  and  possibly  some  in- 
come from   his  occasional  vocation  as  a  teacher. 


The  excellent  wife  and  mother  of  all  these 
children  died  September  26,  17*87. 

A  few  months  later  Benjamin  Giles  also  de- 
parted this  life,  leaving  an  attractive  widow, 
possessed  of  considerable  property,  to  mourn 
his  departure.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  in 
less  than  a  twelvemonth  the  vacant  chair  in  the 
family  circle  of  the  good  deacon  was  filled  by 
his  wedding,  May  15,  1788,  the  Widow  Giles. 

In  consideration  of  his  more  prosperous  cir- 
cumstances, Deacon  Stevens  set  to  work  and 
built,  for  the  time,  a  fine  dwelling-house,  locat- 
ing the  same  a  few  rods  south  of  the  old  cabin. 
The  style  of  architecture  adopted,  whether 
English,  French,  colonial  or  Renaissance,  was 
peculiar  to  that  period.  The  front  elevation 
was  of  two  stories,  surmounted  with  a  short 
roof,  and  the  rear  sloping  from  the  ridge-pole, 
with  a  long  roof  to  one  story  in  height.  There 
were  many  such  constructions  in  New  England. 
The  north  front-room  was  fitted  up  for  a  store, 
in  which  he  had  placed  a  stock  of  dry-goods, 
groceries,  etc.,  and  was  doing  business  as  a  mer- 
chant. 

There  was  an  apparent  prosperity  for  a  time, 
but  at  last  it  became  evident  that  the  combined 
incomes  of  his  several  undertakings  were  not 
equal  to  their  advanced  style  of  living ;  and  it 
was  found  desirable,  if  not  necessary,  to  dispose 
of  their  real  estate  and  various  other  interests. 
The  family  removed  to  Orwell,  Vt.,  where,  in 
a  short  time,  their  eight  daughters  were  all  re- 
spectably married  and  settled. 

Incidental  to  this,  it  is  said  that  a  wealthy 
and  somewhat  eccentric  resident  of  that  place, 
Colonel  Austen,  gave  a  social  entertainment  at 
his  house,  at  which  the  eight  daughters  [and 
their  eight  husbands  were  all  present  by  special 
invitation,  as  a  social  curiosity. 

Deacon  Stevens  afterwards  took  orders  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel,  and,  returning  from 
Vermont,  preached  for  a  time  in  the  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Goshen.  His  second  wife,  Abigail 
Giles,  died  March  15,  1800.  After  her  decease 
Mr.  Stevens  went  in  the  interest  of  the  Society 


NEWPOKT. 


215 


for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,  as  a  missionary  to  the  fishermen  on  the 
Isles  of  Shoals.  What  remains  of  his  some- 
what varied  history  may  be  best  told  by  quoting 
from  the  marble  tablet  that  covers  the  remains 
of  himself  and  a  third  wife,  to  be  found  in  the 
burial-place  connected  with  a  dilapidated  meet- 
ing-house on  Star  Island,  and  which  summer 
visitors  have  read  and  pondered  over,  and  will 
continue  so  to  do  as  time  goes  on,  as  follows  : 

"  In  memory  of  Josiab  Stevens,  a  faithful  instruc- 
tor of  youth,  and  Pious  Minister  of  Jesus  Christ, 
supported  on  this  Island  by  the  Society  for  Propaga- 
ting the  Gospel,  Died  July  2,  1804,  aged  64  years. 
Likewise  Mrs.  Susannah  Stevens,  his  beloved  wife, 
who  died  Dec.  10,  1810,  aged  54  years." 

Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  son  of  the  foregoing,  re- 
mained a  citizen  of  Newport  and  was  a  deacon 
of  the  Congregational  Church  until  his  death, 
in  1 844.  He  was  the  father  of  Josiah  Stevens, 
some  time  Secretary  of  State,  who  became  a 
citizen  of  Concord,  where  he  died  in  1869. 
Another  son  of  the  first  Josiah,  Edward,  was 
drowned  in  returning  by  sea  from  Georgia, 
where  he  had  been  to  visit  a  third  son,  Oliver, 
who  had  settled  in  Liberty  County,  Ga.,  where 
he  has  left  descendants.  The  Stevens  name,  as 
descended  from  the  first  settler,  has  disappeared 
from  Newport  for  many  years. 

The  Dudleys,  of  whom  mention  has  been 
made,  came  from  Saybrook.  A  stone  may  be 
found  in  the  old  cemetery  bearing  the  following 
inscription  :  "  In  memory  of  Deborah  Dudley, 
who  died  February  6,  1780,  aged  one  hundred 
years ; "  and  another  in  memory  of  Daniel 
Dudley,  who  died  in  1808,  aged  ninety-two 
years.  Her  son,  who  was  the  father  of  Daniel 
Dudley,  Jr.,  also  born  in  Saybrook,  April  10, 
1755,  and  three  generations  of  Dudleys  were 
early  settlers  of  Newport,  and  the  name  still 
continues  on  the  cheek-list.  The  Dudleys, 
father  and  son,  built  the  first  grist-mill  in  New- 
port village,  in  1787.  The  original  site  is  still 
occupied  for  that  purpose. 

Ephraim  Towner  was  another  of  the  earliest 


settlers.  We  find  his  name  connected  with  the 
ownership  of  lot  No.  66,  at  the  southeastern 
termination  of  the  meadows  on  the  South  Branch. 
His  house  and  mills  were  at  a  point  near  the 
Goshen  road,  where  the  present  Pond  Street 
diverges  towards  Southville.  He  left  his  name 
with  the  brook,  while  house  and  mills  and  all 
the  Towner  family  have  long  since  disappeared 
from  Newport. 

Many  other  names  early  known  in  Newport 
have  no  succession.  Zephaniah  Clark  removed 
from  here  to  Newbury  ;  was  also  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  that  town  and  its  representative 
in  the  Legislature  in  1785.  The  Braggs, 
Churches,  Halls,  Lanes,  Merritts,  Stanards, 
and  some  others,  familiar  to  the  oldest  inhabit- 
ants, have  disappeared,  and  can  be  known  to 
the  present  only  as  we  give  them  life  in  a  town 
history. 

The  wants  of  a  more  thriving  community, 
1772,  required  better  accommodations  for  the 
transaction  of  the  public  business.  A  building 
was  also  wanted  for  school  purposes  and  a  more 
appropriate  place  for  public  worship  on  Sun- 
days. Heretofore  the  people  had  resorted  to 
private  houses  or  barns  for  these  purposes  ;  ac- 
cordingly, at  a  meeting  of  proprietors,  held  at 
the  house  of  Jesse  Wilcox,  November  23, 1772, 
Daniel  Dudley  in  the  chair,  it  was  voted  to 
erect  a  building  for  the  use  of  the  town,  and  a 
tax  of  fifteen  shillings  was  levied  on  each  pro- 
prietor to  meet  the  expense.  It  was  stipulated 
that  the  building  should  be  thirty  feet  long  by 
twenty  feet  wide,  with  one  fire-place,  and  that 
it  should  be  ready  for  use  by  the  next  July, 
1773. 

This  first  town  hall  of  Newport  was  unique 
in  its  style  of  architecture  and  rudely  con- 
structed. Its  roof  descended  from  a  common 
centre  to  each  of  the  four  sides. 

It  is  appropriate  that  we  here  present  a  de- 
scription of  this  building,  given  by  one  who 
saw  it  and  used  it,  a  native  of  Newport.  We 
have  reference  to  Rev.  James  Hill  Parmelee, 
son   of  Ezra,   born   May   15,   1783.      He   was 


216 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1808,  afterwards 
at    the   Theological    Seminary    at    Princeton, 
N.  J.  ;    was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of   the 
Presbyterian   Church    and    spent  the  vigor  of 
his  life  in  connection  with  the   missionary  en- 
terprises of  that  church  in  the  West  and  South, 
and  died  at  his  home  on  the  Muskingum  River, 
near  Zanesville,  Ohio,  April   6,    1872,  in    the 
eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age.     He  was  a  gentle- 
man of  fine    culture    and    many    experiences. 
The  following  is  an   extract  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  him  to  the  author  of  this  sketch  but  a 
few  mouths  before  his  decease.     He  says, — 

"  I  know  very  little  about  Newport  after  the  year 
1798,  and  the  few  facts  prior  to  that  date  lie  scattered 
along  the  borders  of  an  early  memory.  When  quite 
a  small  boy,  I  remember  standing  round  Mr.  Reme- 
lee's  knees,  with  other  boys  of  my  own  age,  in  the  old 
Proprietors'  House  to  learn  my  letters.  That  stood  on 
the  Plain  on  which  were  the  houses  of  Robert  and 
Jesse  Lane.  It  was  covered  with  rough  boards, 
like  a  barn,  and  my  recollection  is  lively  that  they 
were  fastened  on  with  wooden  pins.  It  was  both 
school-house  and  meetinghouse. 

"  I  was  among  the  boys  that  lay  on  the  boards 
above  the  beams,  with  our  faces  over  the  edge  look- 
ing down  at  Mr.  Remelee  as  he  was  preaching,  and  at 
the  people  as  they  sang  good  old  Lenox  and  Weare 
and  Wells.  When  the  boys  were  too  playful  the 
Tithingman,  of  whom  we  were  much  afraid,  would 
lift  up  his  rough  stick  and  rap  upon  the  edge  of  the 
boards,  when  we  would  be  whist  as  mice. 

"  Mr.  Remelee  was  a  good  scholar,  an  able  preacher 
and  a  man  of  much  wit  and  humor. 

"  Our  neighbors  were  Absalom  Kelsey,  Jesse  Wil- 
cox, Jesse  and  Robert  Lane,  Dea.  Josiah  Stevens, 
Dea.  Elias  Bascom  and  Uriah  Wilcox,  all  with  sons 
and  daughters." 

He  speaks  of  the  ladies  as  follows: 
"  It  was  not  the  fortune  of  the  women  of  those 
days  to  he  clothed  in  soft  raiment,  made  compara- 
tively without  hands,  as  is  the  privilege  of  the  women 
of  this  day.  For  them  were  the  spinning-wheel  and 
the  loom  to  be  run,  as  regular  as  the  revolution  of  the 
seasons.  There  was  the  wool  in  the  fleece  and  the 
cotton  in  the  seed  to  be  cleansed  and  carded  by  hand- 
cards,  and  spun  thread  by  thread.      There  were  piles 


of  flax  also  to  be  spun  and  woven  into  cloth.  It  was 
their  ambition  to  show  the  highest  pile  of  linen 
cloths,  flannels  and  blankets,  and  their  pride  to  ex- 
hibit long  pieces  of  dressed  cloth  for  family  use.  In 
recompense  of  this  stern  toil,  their  constitutions 
were  clear  of  scrofulous  diseases,  the  effects  of  indul- 
gence. They  needed  not  the  disguise  of  cosmetics, 
their  teeth  were  like  rows  of  ivory,  their  beauty 
bright,  their  morals  free  from  the  corruptions  of  fic- 
tion and  their  minds  full  of  purity  and  innocence." 

In  regard  to  the  first  newspaper  which  came 
to  the  town,  he  says, — 

"About  the  year  1790  appeared  the  first  newspa- 
per which  visited  our  community.  It  was  called  the 
Farmers'  Museum,  printed  at  Walpole,  at  that  time  the 
metropolis  of  this  region.  It  was  carried  by  post  on 
a  circuit  through  Charlestown,  Claremont,  Newport, 
Unity,  Lempster  and  Acworth  to  Alstead. 

"  How  impatient  were  we  to  see  the  weekly  post ! 
(Read  Cowper.)  He  was  made  welcome  to  a  plate  at 
the  table  and  lodging  all  the  way  round.  He  was 
burdened  with  parcels  and  errands  from  one  family  to 
another  and  from  town  to  town.  In  this  was  fore- 
shadowed in  a  small  way  the  great  system  of  ex- 
presses which  extended  throughout  the  land." 

The  new  town  building    became  a  rallying- 
point  of  great  interest   to  the  community.     Tt 
was  here  the  proprietors  now  came  together,  and 
the  citizens  of  the  town  to  regulate  their  muni- 
cipal affairs  ;   here  the  magistrate  held  his  court  ; 
here  the  children  collected  to  receive  instruction 
from  appointed  teachers  ;  here  gathered  on  Sun- 
days the  people  in  their  tidy  homespun  apparel ; 
many  on  foot ;  some  on  horseback  ;   the  wife  or 
daughter  or  sister  riding   behind,  on  a  pillion, 
while,  perhaps,  a  juvenile  of  the  family  may 
have  had  a  front  seat  on   the    pommel   of  the 
saddle,  or  in    arms,  or    the    long-horned  oxen 
hauling  a  cart  prepared  with  suitable  seats  and 
coverings,   were   driven   forth— a  team   such  as 
Uzza   drove    out    from    Kirjath-jearim   to    the 
tlnvshing-floor   of   Chidon    in   Old   Testament 
times,  and  the  whole  family,  and  as  many  neigh- 
bors as  possible,  found  transportation. 

At  the  annual  meeting   March  8,  1774,  the 
town  "  Voted  to  build  a  bridge  across  the  East 


NEWPORT. 


217 


branch  of  Sugar  river,  near  the  East  End  of 
the  first  division  of  lots."  Fifteen  pounds  were 
raised  to  defray  the  expense,  to  be  paid  in 
labor  or  grain  at  market  price.  "  Aaron 
Buel,  Phineas  Wilcox  and  Ezra  Parruelee  were 
chosen  as  a  building  committee  to  have  charge 
of  this  work."  The  bridge  was  located  on  or 
near  the  site  of  the  present  bridge  on  Main 
Street. 

At  the  annual  meeting  March  13,  1775,  the 
town  "  Voted  to  build  a  bridge  over  the  South 
branch  between  lots  No.  16  and  No.  17  in  the 
first  division."  Twenty-five  pounds  were  ap- 
propriated for  the  expense.  Amos  Hall,  Ebe- 
nezer  Merritt  and  Aaron  Buel  were  chosen  a 
building  committee.  The  bridge  was  built  in 
October,  1776.  This  was  the  intervale  bridge, 
now  on  Elm  Street. 

On  the  22d  day  of  January,  1783,  by  the 
concurrent  action  of  the  town,  Rev.  John 
Remele  was  installed  as  the  first  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Newport. 

A  more  particular  account  of  the  personal 
characteristics  and  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Remele 
is  given  in  connection  with  the  article  on  the 
Congregational  Church,  oh  another  page  of  this 
sketch. 

That  the  clergy  in  the  early  New  England 
times  were  called  to  secular  trusts  and  duties, 
as  well  as  sacred,  and  that  they  were  greatly 
reverenced  by  parishioners  and  people,  arose 
from  the  fact  of  their  superior  education  and 
more  general  intelligence. 

During  the  residence  of  Mr.  Remele  in  this 
town,  as  may  be  supposed,  he  mingled  some- 
what in  political  affairs,  and  it  is  in  this  regard 
that  we  refer  to  him  in  this  place.  The  colonies 
had  achieved  their  independence.  The  con- 
vention for  the  formation  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  had  accomplished  its  work 
at  Philadelphia,  and  it  was  now  before  the 
people  of  the  States  for  ratification.  At  the 
New  Hampshire  State  Convention  held  for  this 
purpose  at  Exeter,  in  February,  1788,  Rev. 
John  Remele  was  chosen  by  the  classed  towns 


of  Newport  and  Croydon  as  their  representa- 
tive. The  bias  of  public  opinion  in  the  State 
and  the  temper  of  the  convention  rendered  its 
adoption  doubtful,  and  the  friends  of  the  Con- 
stitution, without  coming  to  a  vote,  caused  an 
adjournment,  to  be  reassembled  at  Concord  in 
the  month  of  June  following.  At  the  adjourn- 
ed meeting  the  matter  was  thoroughly  discussed 
and  the  Constitution  adopted.  The  vote  in  the 
convention  stood  57  for  adoption  and  46  against, 
Mr.  Remele  voting  with  the  forty-six. 

From  our  standpoint  of  time  and  intelligence 
we  can  hardly  imagine  any  reasonable  ground  of 
objection  to  the  Constitution  under  which  the 
country  has  gone  forward  to  so  much  of  pros- 
perity and  power.  But  there  was  a  respectable 
minority  in  the  convention,  led  by  Joshua  Ath- 
erton,  of  Amherst,  that  opposed  its  ratification. 
We  propose  to  state  one  or  two  of  these  objec- 
tions in  order  that  the  position  of  our  local  mem- 
ber may  be  better  understood.  The  first  was 
the  clause  in  regard  to  the  African  slave  trade — 
providing  for  its  abrogation  after  the  year  1808, 
and  prohibiting  any  action  on  the  subject,  be- 
yond a  trifling  tax  on  the  importation  of  Afri- 
cans before  that  time.  The  discussion  on  this 
occasion  involved  the  slavery  question,  which 
culminated  three-quarters  of  a  century  later  in 
the  grandest  civil  war  of  modern  times.  An- 
other objection  was  that  provision  had  not  been 
made  for  a  sufficiently  strong  government;  but 
this  and  some  others  were  of  little  consequence 
compared  with  the  first,  New  Hampshire  be- 
ing the  ninth  state  to  ratify,  her  action  secured 
the  establishment  of  our  general  government. 
Time  has  vindicated  the  strength  of  the  Consti- 
tution and  slavery  has  gone  to  the  wall. 

In  the  year  1790  the  census  of  Newport  rep- 
resented a  population  of  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  souls.  This  increased  population  and  a 
general  prosperity  demanded  larger  and  more 
suitable  accommodations,  both  secular  and  re- 
ligious. The  good  people  of  the  town  had  no 
idea  of  living  in  houses  of  cedar  and  pine,  wrhile 
the  Ark  of  the   Testimony  abode  in   the   old 


218 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Proprietors'  House,  which  had  served  them  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  Accordingly,  at  a  meeting- 
held  November  7,  1791,  it  was  "  Voted  that 
some  land  be  procured  from  Mr.  Absalom  Kel- 
sey  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  meeting-house 
upon  it."  Christopher  Newton,  Jeremiah  Jenks, 
Phincas  Chapin,  Samuel  Hurd  and  Aaron  Buel 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  superintend  the 
work.  The  site  secured  was  a  pleasant  elevation 
of  land,  lying  in  tha  southeasterly  of  the  four  cor- 
ners at  the  foot  of  Claremont  Hill.  The  com- 
mittee reported  progress  at  an  adjourned  meeting, 
and  the  sum  of  two  hundred  pounds  was  appro- 
priated to  pay  Mr.  Kelsey  for  the  land,  and 
commence  the  work.  The  building  was 
raised  June  26,  1793,  and  was  soon  in  order 
for  religious  services  and  town-meetings. 

The  new  meeting-house  and  town  hall  were 
in  due  time  appropriately  finished.  The  ap- 
pointments of  the  interior  accorded  with  the 
fashion  of  the  times.  There  was  the  high  pul- 
pit, flanked  by  the  stairs,  and  the  deacons'  seats 
about  half-way  up  ;  the  sounding-board  sus- 
pended from  the  ceiling  like  a  huge  inverted 
toad-stool ;  the  square,  high-backed  pews,  wTith 
panels,  and  open  space  about  the  top  filled 
with  turned  pieces,  which  supported  the  rail. 
This  meeting-house  was  occupied  by  church  and 
town  for  about  twenty  years,  and  would  prob- 
ably have  maintained  its  position  and  character 
much  longer  had  not  the  village  or  the  busi- 
ness part  of  the  town  taken  an  unceremonious 
leave  of  it  where  it  stood.  The  building  was 
afterwards  taken  down  and  re-erected  as  a  barn 
at  a  homestead  on  the  Unity  road,  where  it 
still  stands.  The  ornamental  wood- work  re- 
ferred to  was  incorporated  into  a  door-yard 
fence  on  Main  Street,  at  the  south  part  of  the 
village,  where  it  remained  many  years. 

During  the  year  1770,  and  from  that  time 
forward,  there  was  a  coming  in  of  new  settlers 
from  Massachusetts  as  well  as  from  Connecticut. 
Many  of  them  gathered  upon  Baptist  Hill  in  a 
community  which  will  have  special  attention 
in    connection    with    a   sketch   of    the    Baptist 


Church.  The  smoke  of  their  cabins  and  slashes 
arose  from  Pike  Hill  and  Thatcher  Hill,  the 
East  Mountain,  from  the  slopes  of  Blueberry 
Ledge  and  the  valley  of  the  Sugar,  towards 
Claremont. 

They  were  the  Metcalfs,  Wheelers,  Cham- 
berlains, Wakefields,  Pikes,  Perry  s,  Osgoods, 
Peabodys,'  Dunhams,  Bowmans,  Fletchers,  Saw- 
yers, Noyes,  Richardsea,  Howes,  Kelleys  and 
many  others  of  time-honored  and  worthy  citi- 
zens, whose  labors  and  influence  aided  in  mak- 
ing for  the  town  of  Newport  its  good  reputa- 
tion and  place  in  comparison  with  other  towns 
in  the  western  part  of  the  State. 

The  fathers  of  the  town,  as  heretofore  stated, 
made  liberal  arrangements  for  a  village  and 
business  centre  on  the  western  side  of  intervale. 
On  the  magnificent  avenue  they  had  pro- 
jected, eight  rods  in  width  and  extending  from 
Captain  Parmelee's  to  the  Jenks'  place, 
were  scattered  the  homes  of  the  leading  and 
wealthy  men  of  the  town.  On  the  plain  stood 
the  Proprietor's  House,  and  after  a  while,  far- 
ther north,  at  the  corners,  stood  the  new  Congre- 
gational meeting-house,  and  still  farther  on 
among  the  Lombardy  poplars,  rose  the  sightly 
residence  of  Rev.  Abijah  Wines,  while  stores 
and  shops  clustered  about  the  corners  at  the  foot 
of  Claremont  Hill. 

While  all  this  was  going  on  so  pleasantly,  a 
power  they  little  appreciated  or  feared  at  the 
time  was  asserting  itself  among  the  rocks  and 
alders  not  more  than  a  mile  distant,  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  valley,  where  stood  the  Dudley 
mill. 

This  was  no  other  than  a  water-power,  and 
a  mill  to  which  came  the  farmers  with  their 
grists.  And  while  the  grinding  was  going  on  it 
was  convenient  to  get  the  horse  shod  or  the 
share  sharpened,  or  something  mended  ;  and  the 
next  thing  in  order  was  a  blacksmith-shop,  and 
the  mill  and  the  smithy  begat  other  shops  and 
trades.  In  the  mean  time  the  Croydon  turn- 
pike, extending  from  Lebanon  to  Washington, 
had  been  opened — 1806 — to  travel  and  traffic. 


NEWPORT. 


219 


This  road  passed  through  the  town  north  and 
south  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the  valley,  cross- 
ing the  main  branch  of  Sugar  River  at  right 
angles,  and  had  become  a  thoroughfare  between 
the  northern  towns  and  Boston. 

About  the  year  1790-92  Isaac  Reddinffton 
erected  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present 
Main  and  Maple  Streets,  in  this  village,  the  first 
framed  building  that  appeared  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  intervale, — the  intervale  road  at  that 
time  and  place  crossing  a  highway  that  after- 
ward became  the  Croydon  turnpike.  A  store- 
room was  suitably  arranged  in  the  south  end  of 
this  building,  in  which  he  carried  on  a  mer- 
cantile business.  The  premises  were  otherwise 
occupied  by  Reddington  as  a  public-house.  In 
1797  this  establishment  became,  through  pur- 
chase, the  property  of  Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  who 
continued  the  hotel  and  store  business,  as  here- 
tofore, until  the  time  of  his  decease,  February, 
1811.  The  place  remained  in  possession  of  the 
Wilcox  family,  and  in  course  of  time  the  three 
sons  of  Jesse,  Jr., — Calvin,  Albert  and  Jesse, — 
came  to  their  majority  and  revived  the  mer- 
cantile part  of  the  business  at  the  old  stand. 
Amos  Little  was  afterward  connected  with  the 
senior  Wilcox  in  trade  at  this  stand.  About 
the  year  1  835-36  the  place  was  abandoned  as  a 
business  location  and  became  a  tenament-house, 
known  as  the  "  old  red  store."  In  1840-43  the 
store-room  was  fitted  up  as  a  hall  and  became 
the  headquarters  of  the  Millerites.  Since  1865 
the  old  store  has  given  place  to  a  handsome 
private  residence. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  present  centurv 
Sylvanus  Richards  removed  with  his  family 
from  Dedham,  Mass.,  to  Newport,  and  settled 
on  a  tract  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  the 
town,  on  the  main  road  to  Claremont. 

Mr.  Richards  was,  for  a  time,  one  of  the 
largest  land -holders  and  tax-payers  in  the  town. 
In  connection  with  his  farming  business  he  kept 
a  wayside  inn,  where  rest  and  refreshment 
awaited  the  weary  traveler, — summer  and  win- 
ter,— man  and  beast. 


This  was  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century 
before  the  neigh  of  the  iron  horse  was  heard 
in  this  part  of  New  Hampshire, — a  time  when 
the  people  were  dependent  upon  their  own  re- 
sources in  regard  to  methods  of  travel  and 
transportation. 

We  may  digress  to  illustrate  some  phases  of 
life  at  this  period.  In  the  early  winter  season 
the  forehanded  up-country  farmer  loaded  his 
sled,  or  cutter,  or  pung,  with  pork,  poultry  and 
other  products  of  his  farm,  and  drove  independ- 
ently to  Boston,  Salem  or  Newburyport,  and 
bartered,  or  sold,  and  invested  the  products  of 
his  load  in  dry-goods,  fish,  salt,  rum,  snuff,  to- 
bacco and  groceries  generally,  for  family  use 
during  the  year. 

The  main  roads  leading  to  the  sea-ports  were 
busy,  and  the  country  inns  and  village  taverns 
literally  swarmed  with  pungs,  sometimes  called 
pod-teams,  and  their  drivers. 

In  course  of  time,  as  the  country  became 
more  settled  and  the  roads  better  improved,  and 
business  increased,  the  great  six  or  eight-horse 
teams — or  land  schooners — came  to  be  em- 
ployed in  the  carrying  trade  to  and  from  the 
interior  and  the  markets. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  this  travel  and  traffic, 
at  convenient  distances  along  the  routes  the 
wayside  inn,  as  well  as  the  more  pretentious 
village  hostelry,  opened  its  hospitable  doors. 

It  was  here  the  teamsters  gathered  after  their 
day's  drive,  and  around  the  glowing  wood- 
fire  cracked  their  jokes,  while  the  firelight 
flashed  upon  the  beams  and  panels  and  lattice- 
work that  guarded  the  mysterious  precincts 
from  whence,  over  a  bar  of  unusual  height, 
were  dispensed  to  the  jolly  circle  the  slings  and 
toddies  that  inspired  the  festive  scene,  and  which, 
for  the  time  being,  doubtless,  more  than 
matched  the  "  slings  and  arrow  of  outrageous 
fortune." 

About  the  year  1812,  Sylvanus  Richards  re- 
moved to  the  village  and  assumed  the  proprie- 
torship of  the  Rising  Sun  tavern,  a  public- 
house  erected  the  year  before  by  Gordon  Buel. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Captain  Setli 
Richards,  who  continued  the  business  until 
March  1,  1826,  when  Captain  John  Silver  be- 
came the  proprietor  of  this  famous  hostelry. 

Mr.  Silver  afterward  removed  to  the  Eagle 
Hotel,  and  the  Rising  Sun  came  to  a  setting  in 
a  private  house. 

The  original  Newport  Hotel  was  built  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Newport  House,  corner  of 
.Main  and  Sunapee  Streets,  in  the  year  1814  by 
Colonel  William  Cheney.  It  was  purchased 
and  improved  by  Captain  Joel  Nettleton  and 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Nettletons,  father 
and  sons,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
It  was  burned  in  I860,  and  the  present  building 
was  erected  the  same  year  by  the  Messrs.  (  'ross, 
then  proprietors.  The  establishment  was  pur- 
chased by  E.  L.  Putney,  the  present  owner,  in 
L866,  and  is  widely  known  as  the  Newport 
House.  It  lias  been  a  popular  hostelry  for 
more  than  seventy  years. 

The  Eagle  Hotel,  built  bv  James  Breck  and 
Josiah  Forsaith  in  182o,  remained  a  favorite 
house  under  various  proprietors  until  1856, 
when  it  was  converted  to  business  purposes. 

It  was  at  the  height  of  its  popularity,  under 
the  proprietorship  of  John  Silver,  during  the 
"hard  cider"  campaign  of  1840. 

About  the  year  1810  Wm.  Cheney  removed 
his  business  from  the  west  side  to  a  location 
north  of  the  bridge,  the  site  of  the  present 
Richards  Block,  aud  thus  the  stores  came  over, 
and  finally  the  meeting-houses  surrendered  and 
the  victory  was  complete.  In  1821  the  Baptist 
meeting-house  at  Northville  was  abandoned 
and  a  new  house  of  worship  erected  at  the 
north  end  of  the  village  common. 

In  1822  the  Congregational  Society  erected 
the  brick  meeting-house  at  the  south  end,  and 
the  old  house  on  the  west  side  was  left  for 
town  purposes  exclusively — the  uniou  between 
church  and  state  had  been  abrogated  by  the 
Legislature  of  1819,  and  the  ministers  and 
churches  of  the  different  denominations  were  sup- 
ported by  their  several  adherents  and  societies. 


The  present  county  of  Sullivan,  comprising 
fifteen  towns,  was  originally  a  part  of  old 
Cheshire  County,  which  extended  some  sixty- 
live  miles  along  the  Connecticut  River.  The 
courts  were  held  at  Keene  and  Charlestown, 
alternately.  The  increased  population  and  busi- 
ness of  the  upper  towns  were  such  that,  on 
December  26,  1824,  a  law  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  removing  the  May  term  of  the 
Supreme  ( lourt  of  Judicature  from  Charlestown 
to  Newport. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  June  23,  1826, 
the  question  of  dividing  the  county  of  Cheshire 
was  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  several 
towns,  and  decided  in  favor  of  division. 

On  July  5,  1K27,  an  act  incorporating  the 
county  of  Sullivan  was  passed,  to  take  effect 
the  September  following;  and  the  question  of 
establishing  the  shire-town  of  the  new  county 
as  between  Newport  and  Claremont  was  also 
submitted  to  the  popular  vote  and  decided  in 
favor  of  Newport  by  a  majority  of  three  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  twenty-eight  votes. 
By  consulting  a  map,  it  will  be  clearly  seen 
that  Newport  is  the  geographical  centre  of  the 
county,  as  nearly  as  can  be  practically  attained. 
And  still  it  was  not  without  a  struggle,  even 
after  so  decisive  a  vote,  that  the  courts  were 
formally  established  there. 

Of  those  who  were  specially  influential  in  the 
Legislature  and  otherwise  in  the  organization 
of  the  new  county,  and  in  making  Newport  its 
shire-town,  were  Colonel  William  Cheney, 
James  Breck,  James  I).  AValcott  and  other  lead- 
intr  citizens  of  the  town  and  active  business  men. 

At  a  meeting  held  June  13,  182"),  the  town 
voted  almost  unanimously  to  raise  the  sum  of 
two  thousand  dollars  to  assist  in  the  building  of 
a  court-house  and  town  hall;  the  remaining  one 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  necessary  to 
meet  the  estimated  expense  of  the  building  to 
be  raised  by  individual  subscription.  The  lot 
on  which  the  building  was  placed  was  purchased 
from  Aaron  Nettleton,  Jr.,  for  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  and  ten  dollars. 


NEWPORT. 


221 


A  building  committee,  consisting  of  William 
Cheney,  James  Breck,  James  D.  Walcott,  was 
appointed  to  superintend  the  work.  On  Feb- 
ruary 11,  182(3,  Oliver  Jenks,  James  D.  Wal- 
cott and  David  Allen,  selectmen  of  Newport, 
and  Salma  Hale,  clerk  of  the  court,  certified 
that  the  new  court-house  was  ready  for  occu- 
pation. 

This  building,  with  desirable  additions  and 
improvements,  was  occupied  as  court-house  and 
town  hall  until  the  year  1873,  when  it  was  con- 
veyed exclusively  to  the  town  and  by  the  town 
to  Union  School  District  for  a  term  of  ninety- 
nine  years  and  became  the  Central  School 
building  and  the  home  of  the  Intermediate, 
Grammar  and  High  Schools,  of  the  district. 

The  county  jail  at  Charlestown  continued 
to  be  occupied  until  April  1,  1842,  when  it  was 
set  on  fire  by  one  of  the  criminal  inmates  and 
destroyed.  The  same  year  a  new  jail  was  built 
in  Newport  at  a  cost  of  three  thousand  three 
hundred  dollars.  It  was  reconstructed  and 
improved  in  1876  and  again  1883. 

The  necessity  of  a  fire-proof  building  in 
which  to  locate  the  public  offices  and  their  im-r 
portant  books  of  record  became  more  and  more 
apparent ;  accordingly,  on  August  1,  1843,  the 
town  voted  to  lease  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
court-house  common  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  county  building  for  officers  and  safes  to  be 
held  so  long  as  used  for  that  purpose. 

About  the  year  1871-72  the  question  of  a 
new  court-house  became  a  subject  for  the  consid- 
eration of  the  people  of  the  town.  There  were 
obvious  reasons  that  something  must  be  done  in 
that  direction.  In  the  first  place,  the  building 
of  1825-26  had  been  in  use  for  nearly  fifty 
years  and  had  become  somewhat  dilapitated, 
out  of  stvle  and  unsatisfactory  to  the  people  of 
the  count)'. 

Again,  the  town  of  Claremont,  ever  on  the 
alert  to  become  the  shire-town,  stood  ready  to 
furnish  more  suitable  accommodations  for  the 
courts  without  expense  to  the  county — a  plaus- 
ible consideration  which  it  was  not  slow  to  ad- 


vance. The  State  had  assumed  the  war  debt  of 
its  towns,  and  the  proportion  which  came  to  the 
town  of  Newport  was  about  sixteen  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  thought  advisable  to  appro- 
priate this  money  as  far  as  it  would  go,  to  the 
building  of  a  new  town  hall  and  county  build- 


ing. 


A  meeting  was  called  and  plans  and  estimates 
were  presented  and  considered.  After  a  some- 
what exciting  controversv,  a  location  was  agreed 
upon,  and  the  plan  of  Edward  Dow,  architect, 
of  Concord,  was  adopted.  The  work  of  erect- 
ing the  building  was  accomplished  by  W.  L. 
Dow  &  Co.,  at  an  expense  of  about  forty  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  amount,  over  and  above  the 
value  of  the  old  county  buildings,  which  were 
reconveyed,  was  paid  by  the  town. 

The  new  building  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
most  spacious  and  convenient  for  public  uses  to 
be  found  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  It 
stands  as  the  concession  of  the  town  of  New- 
port to  the  county  of  Sullivan. 

The  Proprietor's  House  of  1773  and  the 
spacious  town  hall1  and  court-house  of  1873 
may  illustrate  in  some  degree  the  progress  of 
the  town  of  Newport  during  the  one  hundred 
years  intervening. 

Colonel  William  Cheney,  who  established 
himself  on  Main  Street  as  early  as  IS  10,  and 
whose  name  was  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  social  and  public  affairs  of  the  town  for 
many  years,  died  June  15,  1830.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  sons  in  the  mercantile  business 
he  had  successfully  founded,  who  continued  the 
same  until  the  year  1835,  when  they  disposed 
of  the  Cheney  stand  and  stock,  and  removed 
from  town. 

Captain  Seth  Richards,  their  successor,  was 
a  man  of  great  personal  activity  and  tact, 
and  the  business  was  continued  by  him, 
as>isted  by  his  sons,  until  about  the  year  1867, 
when    he    retired    from   active    life.     He  died 


1  Destroyed  by  fire  Sunday  morning,  June  '21,  1885, — 
since  the  above  was  written. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


October  30,  1871,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his 
age.  The  business  was  afterwards  continued 
under  the  direction  of  the  sons — Dexter  and 
Abiathar  Richards. 

As  early  as  the  year  1816  James  Breck  had 
erected  the  two-story  brick  store  on  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Elm  Streets,  opposite  the  Wilcox 
store  and  dwelling-,  and  was  a  prominent  mer- 
chant and  man  of  affairs. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  1840  the  river 
and  the  village  bridge  formed  a  dividing  line 
between  rival  interests  and  rival  parties  in  the 
village.  The  Rising  Sun  tavern  and  the  Breck 
and  Wilcox  stores  and  some  trades  and  shops 
clustered  about  the  four  corners  at  the  south 
end  ;  and  the  Newport  Hotel  and  the  Cheney 
and  Ncttleton  stores,  with  a  like  following,  had 
a  centre  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Sunapee 
Streets,  at  the  north  end,  near  the  common.  A 
contention  as  to  which  should  be  considered 
the  most  popular  side  of  the  river,  or  end  of  the 
town,  largely  prevailed,  and  each  party  had  its 
supporters.  The  particular  adherents  of  each 
side  were  grouped  around  these  social  and  busi- 
ness leaders,  Breck  and  Cheney,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  Montagues  and  Capulets  of  Verona 
seemed  to  prevail. 

The  appearance  on  the  north  side  of  an  ur- 
chin from  the  south  side,  and  rice  rer.sa,  amount- 
ed to  a  challenge  at  single  combat,  or  the  jeers 
of  a  crowd.  This  feeling  was  carried  into  social 
relations  and  business  affairs.  When,  <>n  Mon- 
day afternoon,  June  27,  1825,  the  nation's 
guest,  General  Lafayette,  was  escorted  into 
town,  en  route  from  Concord  to  Montpelier,  Y\., 
it  appears  from  a  record  of  the  event  found  in 
the  village  paper  <>f  that  time,  that  he  was 
accorded  a  double  reception, — first,  by  Colonel 
William  Cheney  at  his  residence  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  and  afterwards  by  dames 
Breck,  Es<j.,  at  his  resilience  on  the  south  side, 
the  crossing  at  the  bridge  being  under  a  tri- 
umphal arch,  ornamented  with  flowers.  Speeches 
and  introductions  were  made  at  both  houses, 
and   Montagues   and  Capulets,  and   their   wives 


and  daughters  and  all  their  friends,  were  grati- 
fied and  happy. 

But  time  aud  effort  and  capital  and  railroad 
proximities  are  superior  to  mere  personal  influ- 
ences and  ambition,  and  Newport  village  has 
shaped  itself  accordingly  in  the  later  years,  and 
rivalries  of  the  character  referred  to  have  disap- 
peared. 

As  indicating  the  growth  of  Newport  at  dif- 
ferent dates  by  the  census  returns,  we  find  the 
population  to  have  been  as  follows  :  17(57,  29; 
1775,  167;  1790,  7X0;  1800,  1265;  1810, 
1427;  1820,1679;  1830,1913;  1X40,1958; 
1850,2020;  1860,2077;  1870,  21(53;  1880, 
2612. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  until 
the  year  1824  no  necrological  records  appear  to 
have  been  made.  From  1824  to  1837  such 
statistics  were  carefully  collected  and  published 
by  Rev.  John  Woods,  and  from  the  latter  date 
to  January  1,  1885,  by  Dr.  John  L.  Swett. 
From  the  facts  thus  gathered  we  find  that  for 
the  sixty-one  years  prior  to  January  1,  1885, 
there  were  2155  deaths  in  Newport,  as  fol- 
lows: Males,  955;  females,  1059;  sex  un- 
known, 141.  Of  these,  591  were  under  ten 
years  of  age  ;  184  between  ten  and  twenty  ;  214 
between  twenty  and  thirty;  158  between  thirty 
and  forty;  145  between  forty  and  fifty  ;  154  be- 
tween fifty  and  sixty;  226  between  sixty  and 
seventy  ;  250  between  seventy  and  eighty  ;  184 
between  eighty  and  ninety  ;  48  between  ninety 
and  one  hundred ;  1  over  one  hundred.  It 
would  be  fair  to  estimate  the  number  of  dead  in 
Newport  from  the  beginning  at  about  3000. 

Of  those  who  have  reached  the  greatest  lon- 
gevity since  1837  are  : 

Mrs.  Anna  Wakefield,  ninety-one  years. 

Mr.  Ezra  Parmelee,  ninety-two  and  a  half  years. 

Mrs.  Ezra  Parmelee,  ninety-one  and  a  half  years. 

Mrs.  Widow  Dow,  ninety-one  years. 

Mrs.  Brown,  ninety-seven  years. 

Miss  Peggy  Atwood,  ninety-seven  years. 

Mr.  Daniel  .Stearns,  ninety-three  years. 

Colonel  Phincas  Chapin,  ninety-three  years. 


NEWPORT. 


223 


Mr.  Samuel  Goldthwait,  ninety-three  years. 

Deacon  Philip  W.  Kibbey,  ninety-three  years. 

Mr.  Daniel  Wilmarth,  ninety  years. 

Mr.  John  Bertram,  ninety-seven  years. 

Mrs.  Ruth  Pike,  ninety  years. 

Mrs.  Benjamin  Whiteomb,  ninety-four  years. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Wakefield,  ninety -six  years. 

Mrs.  Anna  Locke,  ninety-one  years. 

Mr.  John  Baily,  ninety-four  years. 

Mrs.  John  Blake,  ninety-five  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hall,  ninety-four  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  Pike,  ninety-two  years. 

Mr.  Joel  Kelsey,  ninety-nine   years,  seven  months. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Whiteomb,  ninety-four  years. 

Mr.  Moses  Goodwin,  ninety-four  years. 

Mr.  Joel  McGregor,  one  hundred  years,  eleven 
months,  twenty-two  days. 

Deacon  Isaac  Warren,  ninety-one  years. 

Mrs.  Roxy  Newton,  ninety-two  years. 

Mr.  Nehemiah  Rand,  ninety-two  years. 

Mrs.  Erastus  Newton,' ninety-one  years. 

Mrs.  Lois  Colby,  ninety  years. 

Mrs.  Samuel  Barker,  ninety  years. 

Mrs.  Thankful  Wheeler,  ninety-four  years,  six 
months. 

Mrs.  Mahitable  Cutte,  ninety-three  years. 

Mrs.  Luke  Paul,  ninety-one  years. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Perry,  ninety-three  years. 

Lemuel  Osgood,  ninety-two  years. 

Rev.  Ira  Pearson,  ninety-two  years. 

Colonel  Jessiel  Perry,  ninety-one  years. 

Miss  Lovina  Reed,  ninety-two  years. 

Mrs.  Lucy  G.  Rowell,  ninety-five  years. 

Amasa  Edes,  Esq.,  ninety-one  years. 

Mrs.  Abel  Rowe,  ninety-four  and  a  half  years, 

Mrs.  Lois  Fletcher,  ninety-eight  and  a  half  years. 

The  following  table  of  altitudes  was  pre- 
pared a  few  years  since  by  Richard  S.  Howe, 
a  civil  engineer  of  this  town,  who  died  Decem- 
ber 5,  1879,  in   the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

Feet 
Sunapee  Lake  above  mean  tide-water  at  Boston  1103 
Sill,  front   door,  new   court-house,  above   mean 

tidewater  822 

Top  Coit  Mountain,  Newport,  above  mean  tide- 
water at  Boston 1588 

Croydon  Mountain 2789 

Sunapee 2683 

Ascutney 3186 

Kearsarge 2942 


Agriculture  has  been  a  leading  interest  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  people  of  Newport.  The 
diversity  of  lands  from  the  river-sides  to  the 
hill-tops,  is  such  that  nearly  every  crop  grown 
in  New  England  may  find  a  congenial  soil. 
The  industry  of  the  agriculturist  has  ever  been 
rewarded  by  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity,  but 
more  so  in  the  earlier  years  up  to  about  the 
year  1840  or  1850  than  subsequently.  Those 
who  will  examine  statistics  in  regard  to  this 
matter  will  find  that  in  these  later  years  there 
has  been  a  falling  off  in  the  number  of  sheep 
and  cattle,  and  in  the  aggregate  value  of  our 
farm  products. 

This  state  of  things  is  not  peculiar  to  New- 
port, but  common  to  all  the  agricultural  towns 
in  New  England,  and  its  explanation  is  general 
and  beyond  the  scope  of  this  sketch. 

The  fact  that  the  valuation  of  the  town  of 
Newport  has  increased  from  year  to  year  is  due 
to  the  advancement  of  other  interests  founded 
on  the  natural  resources  of  the  town  in  the  way 
of  water-power.  Sugar  River  has,  in  fact,  se- 
cured to  the  town  a  permanent  prosperity. 

The  inventory  of  the  town  of  Newport,  as 
exhibited  by  the  report  of  the  selectmen  for 
the  year  1885,  is  as  follows  : 

Number.  Value. 

Polls 665  $66,500 

Horses 500  35,354 

Mules 3  250 

Oxen 182  8.010 

Cows 766  18,315 

Other  neat  stock 4.!.~>  6,624 

Sheep 1440  3,430 

Hogs 86  685 

Carriages  71  5,110 

Land  and  buildings S24,(i"i(l 

Stock  in  public  funds 11,300 

Stock  in  banks,  etc 67,400 

Bank  surplus 200 

Money  on  hand  and  at  int'rst     ...  104,788 

Stock  in  trade 92,186 

Aqueducts,  mills,    and     ma- 
chinery   72,350 

Total $1,317,152 


224 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


In  point  of  valuation,  Newport  is  the  six- 
teenth of  the  cities  and  towns  in  the  State,  ac- 
cording to  the  new  apportionment  for  the  as- 
sessment of  public  taxes  by  act  of  1883. 

The  Sullivan  County  Agricultural  Society 
held  an  annual  fair  in  this  town,  October  1,  1851. 

The  Sullivan  Grange,  No.  8,  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, was  organized  in  November,  1873,  and 
is  now  in  successful  operation. 

The  Farmers' and  Mechanics'  Association  was 
organized  in  September,  1S74,  and  the  first 
town  fair  under  the  direction  of  this  society 
was  held  in -September,  1875.  With  some  ex- 
ceptions, these  fairs  have  been  continued  an- 
nually, and  have  been  well  sustained.  The 
town  hall  and  its  surroundings  have  been  ap- 
propriated for  the  exhibition  of  articles  of  do- 
mestic handicraft,  works  of  art,  dairy  products, 
fruits,  vegetables,  implements  of  husbandry, 
etc.,  while  the  village  park  and  the  sheds 
of  adjacent  churches  have  been  thronged  with 
horses,  colts,  horned  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  all 
awaiting  examination  by  committees  for  the 
awarding  of  prizes. 

The  discussions  in  the  meetings  of  the  g-rangre 

©  ©  © 

and  the  association  in  regard  to  ways  and  means 
and  methods  in  general  farming  and  the  man- 
agement  of  stock  have  awakened  additional 
interest  on  these  subjects  and  stimulated  to  bet- 
ter effort  and  more  of  success. 

We  may  refer  to  a  time  within  the  memory  of 
many  people,  when  the  old  industries  of  the 
household  quietly  disappeared  ;  when  the  hum  of 
the  spinning-wheel  and  the  clack  of  the  loom 
ceased  ;  when  the  tailoress  was  no  longer  re- 
quired to  cut  and  fashion  from  home-made  cloths 
the  garments  of  the  family  ;  and  the  shoe- 
maker to  come  with  his  kit,  and  cut  and  ham- 
mer and  peg  until  the  shoes  and  boots  for  all 
sizes  of  feet  were  prepared  for  the  winter  sea- 
son,— a  time  when  the  "  hatter's  shop,"  and  the 
"cabinet-maker's  -hop/'  and  the " shoe-maker's 
shop,"  and  the  "  tailor'-  .-hop,"  except  SO  far  as 
mending  and  cobbling  and  patching  are  con- 
cerned,   closed    their  doors    or   supplied    their 


shelves  and  counters  and  store-rooms  with  the 
ready-made  from  the  great  mills  and  manufac- 
tories  tilled  with  machinery  and  driven  with 
steam  or  water-power,  which  as  quietly  monop- 
olized these  and  other  industries  of  the  home, 
peculiar  to  the  first  half  of  the  century,  and 
relegated  the  spinning-wheels  and  shuttles  of 
our  grandmothers  to  museums  and  garrets. 

In  olden  times  the  trades  seemed  more  im- 
portant, and  to  have  been  sustained  by  men  of 
more  intelligence  and  ability  than  at  present.  The 
carpenters  and  joiners  in  a  double  sense  helped 
to  build  up  the  town.  Of  the  earliest  of  these 
was  Ebenezer  Merritt,  whose  name  often  appears 
in  the  early  records. 

After  Merritt  came  Daniel  Wilmarth,  who 
was  succeeded  in  that  line  by  his  son,  Jonathan 
M.  Wilmarth,  who   is  still  a  resident  (1885). 

The  lives  of  these  three  span  the  entire  age 
of  the  town  ;  contemporary  with  them  many 
other  worthy  names  might  be  mentioned . 

The  blacksmith's  shop  was  perhaps  the  most 
important  place  in  the  neighborhood  as  a  cen- 
tre of  information. 

"  Under  the  spreading  chestnut  tree 

The  village  smithy  stands; 
The  smith — a  mighty  man  is  he — 

With  large  and  sinewy  hands 
And  the  muscles  of  his  brawny  arms 

Are  strong  as  iron  bands." 

Here  came  his  customers  with  shares  to 
sharpen,  chains  to  mend,  and  all  sorts  of  jobs, 
and  while  the  work  was  being  done  the  news  of 

© 

the  day,  social  affairs,  polities  and  religion,  were 
discussed  in  homely  phrase,  and  the  smith  be- 
came the  receptacle  of  many  opinions  and  much 
local  knowledge.  Seth  Chase  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  blacksmith  in  Newport,  lie  was 
succeeded  by  the  Churches  (Samuel  and  Sam- 
uel, Jr.)  and  the  Keiths  (father  and  son),  the 
Dwinels,  McGregors,  Deacon  David  B.  Chapin 
and  others. 

(  aptain  John  Parmelee,  son  of  Ezra  and 
Sibyl,  served  his  time  with  Colonel  David 
Dexter,  of  Claremont,  and  about  the  year  1803 


NEWPORT. 


225 


established  a  homestead  and  opened  a  shop  for 
the  manufacture  of  scythes  on  the  South  Branch 
of  Sugar  River  at  Southville,  so  called.  He 
had  a  good  water-power  by  which  to  propel  the 
trip-hammer,  grind-stone  and  other  machinery 
necessary  to  his  business.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  he  furnished  largely  of  scythes  to 
all  the  towns  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  present 
county  of  Sullivan.  In  connection  with  this 
business  lie  also  cultivated  a  small  farm.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  Parson  Remele's  in  the  old  Pro- 
prietors' House  and  in  his  prime  was  the  first  of- 
ficer of  well-known  Light  Infantry  company  of 
the  Thirty-First  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Mi- 
litia. He  is  remembered  as  a  successful  farmer, 
an  ingenious  mechanic  and  a  worthy  citizen. 
He  died  October  31, 1839,  aged  sixty-one  years. 

Newport  in  its  time  has  had  cabinet-makers, 
carriage-makers,  brick-makers,  shoe-makers, 
saddlers,  tanners,  tailors,  hatters,  coopers,  ma- 
sons, marble  and  granite-workers,  and  all  other 
necessary  workers  and  machinists  and  architects 
to  aid  in  its  progress  as  a  town. 

Reuben  Bascom,  a  son  of  Elias,  who  came 
from  Northfield,  Mass.,  about  the  year  1779, 
established  the  first  cloth-dressing  business  in 
Newport.  His  homestead  was  on  the  "  South 
Road,"  and  his  water-power,  where  he  had  a 
fulling-mill  and  other  machinery,  on  the  South 
Branch,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  the  stream 
from  the  mills  at  Southville.  Every  vestige  of 
his  enterprise  there  has  long  since  disappeared. 
He  married,  1786,  Lydia  Hurd,  daughter  of 
Samuel,  the  first  female  born  in  the  settlement 
(June  7,  1768),  and  has  descendants  in  town  to 
perpetuate  his  name  and   memory. 

About  the  year  1800,  Nathan  Hurd  put  up  a 
mill  at  a  "  privilege"  a  short  distance  above  the 
present  Sugar  River  Mills,  where  he  carried  on 
the  business  of  carding,  fulling  and  cloth- 
dressing  until  1822,  when  he  sold  out  to  Elisha 
Kempton,  who  was  succeeded  by  Philo  Fuller, 
Oliver  Comstock,  Smith  and  Rockwell.  The 
falls  are  now  submerged  in  the  upper  end  of 
the  Richards  mill-pond. 


Oshea  Ingram,  who  came  to  this  town  about 
the  year  1820,  was  also  engaged  as  a  clothier 
for  many  years.  His  mill  was  on  the  canal, 
near  the  upper  tannery. 

The  hatting  business  was  first  represented 
here  by  James  White,  who  is  said  to  have  car- 
ried  on  the  trade  in  the  back  part  of  the  house 
of  Dea.  Jesse  Wilcox,  as  early  as  1  783.  After 
White  was  Nathaniel  Fisher,  and  perhaps 
others. 

In  the  year  1818,  Amos  Little,  a  native  of 
Springfield,  born  February  27,  17! Mi,  who  had 
learned  the  trade  in  Hampstead,  came  to  New- 
port and  built  a  shop  near  the  village  bridge, 
where  he  carried  on  the  business  successfully 
for  more  than  forty-five  years,  or  up  to  the  time  of 
his  decease,  August  17,  1859.  Since  that  time 
there  has  been  no  occasion  for  a  hatting  estab- 
lishment here,  the  market  being  fully  supplied 
from  the  large  manufactories  in  Massachu- 
setts and  elsewhere.  Mr.  Little  was  prominent 
in  town  affairs,  was  selectman  in  1839,  and  rep- 
resented the  town  at  the  General  Court  in  1842 
and  1843.  He  was  also  a  liberal  and  efficient 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  society. 

From  the  time  of  Daniel  Dudley,  the  first  ex- 
pounder of  the  lapstone  and  the  last  in  this  town, 
the  shoemaking  trade  has  been  represented  by 
able  and  intelligent  men.  As  a  local  interest,  it 
had  its  climax  about  the  years  1828—30,  when 
John  Russ  and  Samuel  Belknap  erected  a  build- 
ing opposite  the  Eagle  Hotel,  where  they  em- 
ployed from  ten  to  fifteen  hands  in  the  manu- 
facture of  boots  and  shoes.  After  that  time  the 
business  was  monopolized  by  the  large  estab- 
lishments in  the  cities  and  larger  towns,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  village  mechanic. 

NEWPORT  Mills. — The  first  cotton  manufac- 
turing business  was  established  in  the  town  by 
Colonel  -lames  I).  Walcott,  who  came  from 
Rhode  Island  in  the  year  1812,  and  in  L813 
erected  a  factory  on  the  site  of  the  present  Dow 
wood-shop.  He  constructed  the  dam  and  canal, 
still  in  use,  by  which  the  water-power  was  ap- 
plied to  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton 


226 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


yarn.  Franklin  Simonds  afterward  purchased 
the  establishment  and  continued  the  business 
until  l$'-\\,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
Mr.  Simonds  removed  \<>  Warner.  Afterward, 
Moses  Paine  Darkee  placed  a  building  upon  the 
site  of  the  burnt  factory,  which  was  used  as  an 
oil-mil]  until  1844,  when  Ingram  A:  Parks  put 
in  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  cloths, 
cassi meres,  etc.  It  was  afterward  occupied  by 
Solomon  Deane  for  the  manufacture  of  flannel, 
and  by  him  sold  to  Abiathar  Richards,  in  whose 
ownership  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1872. 

In  1873  Wallace  L.  Dow  &  Co.  erected  a 
spacious  building  upon  the  premises  and  put  in 
machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  sash,  blinds, 
doors  and  other  articles  in  wood.  In  1880  the 
establishment  passed  into  the  hands  of  Samuel 
H.  Edes,  and  so  continues. 

Tin-:  EAGLE  Mills  were  built  in  the  year 
1822  by  Farnsworth  &  Durkee,  and  first  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  linseed  oil;  afterward 
by  James  Breck  &  Co.,  for  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  yarn. 

In  1835  a  company,  incorporated  by  the 
Legislature  and  known  as  the  Newport  Me- 
chanics' Manufacturing  Company,  occupied  the 
premises  for  the  manufacture  of  satinets.  After 
running  about  two  years  the  incorporated 
bubble  burst. 

In  1838  Parks  &  Twitchell  took  the  mill 
and  commenced  the  making  of  cassimeres.  In 
1844  Thomas  A.  Twitchell  succeeded  to  the 
business,  enlarged  the  building  and  put  in 
machinery  for  making  broadcloths,  cassi- 
meres, satinets,  tweeds,  flannels  and  fancy 
cloths.  He  was  successful  for  a  time,  but  ulti- 
mately became  embarrassed,  and,  in  1854,  sold 
out  to  the  Eagle  Mills  Company. 

After  a  long  pedigree  of  unsuccesses  the  Kagle 
Mills  property  was,  in  the  year  1866,  purchased 
by  Samuel  H.  Edes,  and  has  since  been  run  by 
him  for  the  manufacture  of  blue,  mixed  and 
twilled   tiannels. 

The  Sugab  Rivku   Mills   were  built  by 

ar 

Perley  S.  Coffin  soon  after  he  came   to    New- 


port (1840),  and  John  Puffer.  The  interest  of 
Puller  came,  through  David  G.  Goodridge,  in 
1853,  into  possession  of  Seth  and  Dexter 
Richards. 

In  1867  the  senior  Richards  and  P.  S.  Coffin 
retired  from  the  concern,  leaving  Dexter  Rich- 
ards sole  proprietor.  In  1872  Seth  M.  Rich- 
ards became  interested  in  the  business,  under  the 
firm-name  of  Dexter  Richards  &  Son,  and  so 
continues.  Enlargements  and  improvements 
have  been  made  at  various  times,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  the  mills  annually  exceeds  one 
million  vards  of  mixed  twilled  flannels. 

The  Granite  State  Mills  were  built  in 
1867  by  Perley  S.  Coffin  and  William  Nourse, 
and  were  occupied  by  them  in  the  manufacture 
of  woolen  goods  until  about  1881-M2,  when 
they  passed  into  the  hands  of  George  C.  Rich- 
ardson &  Co.,  of  Boston,  bv  whom  they  arc 
operated  for  the  manufacture  of  various  kinds 
of  woolen  goods.  They  occupy  the  site  of  the 
old  Giles  mills. 

In  regard  to  the  amount  of  water-power 
afforded  by  Sugar  River,  and  the  amount 
already  utilized,  we  gather  the  following  statis- 
tics from  the  report  to  the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature,  recently  made  (1885)  by  John  T. 
Abbott,  of  Kecne,  commissioner  in  relation  to 
the  effects  of  drawing  off  the  waters  of  New 
Hampshire  lakes  and  ponds  to  supply  mills, 
etc.  Regarding  Pake  Sunapcc,  he  says  that  its 
outlet  is  the  Sugar  River,  which  flows  from  its 
westerly  shore  at  Sunapee  Harbor,  through  Sun- 
apee,  Newport  and  Claremont,  about  eighteen 
miles,  to  the  Connecticut  River,  in  which  dis- 
tance it  falls  between  eight  hundred  and  nine 
hundred  feet. 

For  many  years  it  has  furnished  the  power 
for  a  large  number  of  mills,  representing 
different  industries,  and  is  an  important  source 
of  wealth  to  those  places.  In  Sunapee  the 
capita]  invested  in  mill  property  amounts  to 
$31,300;  the  annual  product,  S81,000,  while 
the  waterfall  connected  with  mills  and  their 
privileges  is  168  feet. 


NEWPORT. 


227 


In  Newport  the  capital  invested  is  $297,000; 
the  number  of  hands  employed  315;  stock 
in  trade  valued  at  $118,200;  annual  pro- 
duction, $602,500  ;  monthly  pay-roll,  $6000  ; 
and  the  fall,  218.5  feet.  In  Claremont  the 
amount  of  fall  utilized  by  13  privileges  is 
stated  at  223  feet  in  the  aggregate  609.5  feet, 
which  leaves  nearly  300  feet  of  power  running 
to  waste.  The  capital  in  these  mills  has  nearly  all 
been  invested  with  reference  to  using  Sunapee 
Lake  as  a  reservoir  of  water  supply.  The 
Sunapee  Dam  Company,  which  is  in  the  interest 
and  controlled  by  the  mill-owners,  has  full  con- 
trol, according  to  their  charter,  of  these  waters. 
The  opposing  interest  comes  from  the  hotels, 
steamboats  and  riparian  proprietors  about  the 
lake,  and  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  region  is 
becoming  largely  a  summer  resort,  and  much 
capital  has  been  invested  in  this  view,  and  it  is 
damaging  to  these  proprietors  that  the  waters 
of  the  lake  should  be  too  much  drawn  out  to 
the  injury  of  their  boating  and  other  interests. 

The  matter  remains  without  much  of  con- 
cession on  the  part  of  the  mill-owners,  and  is 
virtually  unsettled  up  to  this  time. 

Up  to  the  year  1871  the  manufacturing  and 
agricultural  interests  of  Newport  had  achieved 
all  the  prosperity  it  was  possible  for  them  to 
attain  without  railroad  facilities  to  enable  them 
to  compete  successfully  with  other  towns  in  the 
enjoyment  of  such  facilities. 

As  early  as  the  year  1848  the  Concord  and 
Claremont  Railroad  Company  had  been  incorp- 
orated, and  in  1850  the  road  had  been  put  in 
operation  to  Bradford.  From  Bradford  to 
Newport  the  rugged  character  of  the  route  was 
appalling  to  engineers  and  contractors  and  par- 
ticularly so  to  capitalists,  who  were  expected  to 
furnish  money  for  the  construction  of  the  road. 
The  enterprise  here  came  to  a  stand.  Further 
efforts,  legislative  and  otherwise,  to  continue 
the  work  were  made  without  success,  and  for 
twenty-one  years  the  heavy-laden  stages  and 
teams  continued  to  toil  on  over  the  weary  roads, 
to  and  fro,  waiting  for  some  able  and  friendly 
15 


hand  to  establish  a  new  order  of  things  and  re- 
lieve  them. 

In  the  mean  time  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
that  had  absorbed  the  thought  and  muscle  and 
capital  of  the  country,  had  come  and  gone,  and 
"  enterprises  of  great  pith  and  moment,"  that 
had  long  slumbered,  were  again  revived,  and 
day  again  dawned  upon  the  Sugar  River  Rail- 
road Company. 

In  the  year  1866,  mainly  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Dexter  Richards,  then  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  from  the  town,  the  Sugar 
River  Railroad  Company,  now  known  as  the 
Concord  and  Claremont  Railroad  Company,  was 
chartered.  The  means  to  revive  and  continue 
the  building  of  the  road  through  to  Claremont 
were  furnished  by  the  Northern  Railroad  Com- 
pany, aided  by  large  assessments  on  the  towns  on 
the  route  of  the  road. 

The  town  of  Newport,  by  official  act,  became 
responsible  for  the  sum  of  $45,000,  or  about 
five  per  cent,  on  its  valuation  at  that  time.  In 
addition  to  this  amount,  the  further  sum  of 
$20,000  was  recpiired  to  assure  the  continuance 
and  completion  of  the  work.  Of  this  amount 
Mr.  Richards  became  liable  for  811,000  and 
several  other  parties  interested  made  up  the  re- 
maining $9,000.  The  assurance  of  si; 5,000 
from  the  town  of  Newport  secured  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road  through  to  Claremont. 

On  the  31st  day  of  May,  1<S7<>,  ( laptain  Seth 
Richards,  then  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his 
age,  and  Dr.  Mason  Hatch,  in  the  eightieth  year 
of  his  age,  the  former  with  spade  and  mattock 
and  the  latter  with  a  gaily-painted  wheelbarrow 
in  which  appeared  a  shovel,  attended  by  a  large 
number  of  enthusastic  citizens,  repaired  to  a 
point  on  the  projected  road  near  where  the  pas- 
senger depot  now  stands,  and  while  the  church- 
bells  rang  and  cannon  pealed,  and  the  crowd 
cheered,  those  veterans  picked  and  shoveled  and 
wheeled  the  first  ground  broken  in  the  continua- 
tion of  an  enterprise  which,  in  its  completion, 
has  been  of  incalculable  value  to  Newport  and 
the  neighboring  towns  north  and  south. 


223 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  first  train  of  cars  crossed  Main  Street, 
in  Newport,  November  "ili,  1871.  The  mad 
was  soon  after  completed  to  Claremont,  and  the 
first  regular  train  from  Concord  to  Claremont 
passed  through  Newport  September  16, 1872. 

A  telegraph  connection  was  made  by  the 
Western  Union  Company  witli  this  town,  by 
the  way  of  Bradford,  in  July,  I860,  and  ex- 
tended to  Claremoni  in  October,  1873. 

Telephone  lines,  connecting  with  the  towns 
north,  south,  east  and  west,  and  local  about  the 
village,  were  established  in  1883-84. 

The  business  men  of  Newport  have  for 
many  years  enjoyed  the  facilities  afforded  by  a 
sound  banking  institution.  The  Sugar  River 
Bank  was  incorporated  in  1853,  with  a  capital 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  In  1858,  Ralph  Met- 
calf,  the  first  president,  removed  from  town  and 
was  succeeded  by  Thomas  W.  Gilmore.  In 
1865  it  was  reorganized  as  a  national  bank,  and 
the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  In  1875  Mr.  Gilmore  re- 
tired and  Dexter  Richards  was  elected  presi- 
dent and  F.  W.  Lewis  cashier,  and  so  continue. 

The  Newport  Savings- Bank  was  incorporated 
in  1868.  This  bank  has  made  semi-annual 
dividends  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent,  from 
its  organization.  In  April,  1885,  it  reported: 
deposits,  $421,433.32  j  guaranty  fund,  $20,000; 
surpl  ns,  $10,538.85. 


CHAPTER    II. 

NEWPORT— (Continued). 
MILITARY. 

What  we  know  about  Newport  during  the 
Revolutionary  struggle  is  confined  to  a  few  old 
records  and  traditions  which  we  have  been  able 
to  gather  up,  with  a  regret  that  they  are  not 
more  complete. 

The  town  was  young  and  small,  but  active, 
intelligent  and  full  of  patriotism.  The  popu- 
lation, in  1775,  is  stated  at  157,  and  in  1790, 


fifteen  years  afterward,  780,  so  that  a  gradual 
increase  must  have  continued  during  the  seven 
years  of  the  Mar.  We  are  confident  in  stating 
that  there  was  not  a  resident  Torv  within  its 
lines. 

The  first  public  act  bearing  upon  military 
affairs  appears  under  date  July  20,  1775,  sup- 
plemented by  further  consideration  on  August 
7th  following,  when  a  town  Committee  of 
Safety  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Benjamin 
Giles,  Aaron  Buel,  Jesse  Lane,  Josiah  Stephens, 
Robert  Lane  and  Jesse  Wilcox. 

Early  in  the  year  1776  the  Continental  Con- 
gress enacted  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  sent  to  each  of  the  United  Colonies: 

"  Ix  Congress,  March  16,  1776. 

" Resolved,  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  several 
Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils,  or  Commit- 
tees of  Safety  of  the  United  Colonies  immediately  to 
cause  all  persons  to  be  disarmed  within  their  respec- 
tive colonies,  who  are  notoriously  disaffected  to  the 
cause  of  America,  or  who  have  not  associated, 
and  refuse  to  associate  to  defend  by  Arms  the  United 
Colonies  against  the  Hostile  attempts  of  the  British 
Fleets  and  Armies. 

(Signed)  "Charles  Thompson, 

"  Secy." 

The  foregoing  resolve  came  through  Me- 
shech  Weare,  chairman  of  the  Colonial  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  and  was  by  him  submitted  to 
the  towns  as  follows  : 

"Colony  of  New  Hampshire. 

"In  Committee  of  Safety. 
"  In  order  to  carry  the  Resolve  of  the  Hon'ble  Con- 
tinental Congress  into  Execution,  you  are  requested 
to  desire  all  Males  above  twenty-one  years  of  age — 
Lunatics,  Idiots  and  Negroes  excepted — to  sign  to 
the  Declaration  on  this  Paper  ;  and  when  so  done  to 
Make  Return  thereof,  together  with  the  name,  or 
names  of  all  who  shall  refuse  to  sign  the  same  to  the 
General  Assembly,  or  Committee  of  Safety  of  this  Col- 
ony. 

"M.  WeABE,  Chairman." 

The  document  submitted  for  signature  is 
known  as  the  "  Articles  of  Association,"  and 
proceeds  as  follows  : 


NEWPORT. 


229 


"  Articles. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  above  Resolution  of  the 
Hon.  Continental  Congress  and  to  show  our  deter- 
mination in  Joining  our  American  Brethren  in  de- 
fending our  Lives,  Liberties  and  Properties  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  United  Colonies. 

"  We  the  subscribers  do  hereby  solemnly  engage 
and  promise  that  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  power, 
at  the  Risque  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes,  with  Arms 
oppose  the  Hostile  proceedings  of  the  British  Fleets 
and  Armies  against  the  United  Colonies. 

"  Benjamin  Giles.  Uriah  Wilcox. 

Samuel  Hurd.  Phineas  Wilcox. 

Jesse  Kelsey.  Nathan  Woodbury. 

Benjamin  Bragg.  Jedediah  Reynolds. 

Jesse  Wilcox.  Isaac  Newton. 

Absalom  Kelsey.  Jesse  Bailey. 

Joseph  Buel.  Jeremiah  Jenks. 

Nathan  Hurd.  Ezra  Parmelee. 

Robert  Lane.  Joel  Bailey. 

James  Church.  Abraham  Buel. 

Amos  Hall.  Jesse  Lane. 

David  Brown.  Daniel  Buel. 

Aaron  Buel.  Josiah  Dudley. 

Josiah  Stevens.  Daniel  Dudley. 

Ephraim  Towner.  Jedediah  Reynokls,Jr. 

Seiner  Kelsey.  Ebenezer  Merritt. 

William  Stanard.  John  Lane. 
"Newport,  June  20,  a.d.   1776— The  Inhabitants 
of  Newport  that  is  requested  (sic)  have  all  signed  the 
Association. 

"  Josiah  Stevens,  1  Selectmen 

"Samuel  Hukd,      L   of  New  - 

I 
"  Aaron  Buel,  port." 

It  is  matter  of  interest  to  consider  the  pre- 
ceding thirty-four  names  not  only  as  patriots, 
ready  and  willing  with  arms  to  oppose  the  hos- 
tile proceedings  of  the  British  fleets  and  armies, 
but  as  the  fathers  of  the  town  and  the  male 
heads  of  every  family  then  resident  in  New- 
port. 

Further  on  we  find  that,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
inhabitants  held  on  July  24,  1776,  Samuel 
Hurd  was  chosen  captain,  Jeremiah  Jenks  lieu- 
tenant and  Uriah  Wilcox  ensign. 

On  August  16, 1776,  the  Committee  of  Safe- 
ty certify  to  the  following  report : 


"  The  number  of  able-bodied  effective  men  in  the 
township  of  Newport  is  Thirty-Six— the  number  of 
muskets  fit  for  service  is  fourteen — the  muskets  that 
are  not  fit— five— which  will  be  made  fit  forthwith— 
seventeen  muskets  wanted." 

May  27,  1777,  at  a  town-meeting"  Voted- 
To  raise  eighteen  pounds,  lawful  money,  to  buy 
a  town's  stock  of  ammunition,  viz.  :  forty 
pounds  powder,  one  hundred  pounds  lead  and 
ten  dozen  flints." 

About  that  time  the  war-cloud  hung:  dark 
over  Northern  New  England  and  New  York. 
Burgoyne,  with  an  army  of  about  eight  thou- 
sand men,  was  at  the  north  end  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  preparing  to  cut  his  way  through  and 
meet  another  British  army  proceeding  from 
New  York,  and  thus  separate  New  England 
from  the  Confederacy.  Ticonderoga  was  in 
his  path.  The  excitement  in  this  particular 
section  of  the  country  was  intense.  This  was 
the  nearest  approach  to  us  on  the  north  and 
west  of  "  hostile  British  armies." 

The  alarm  company,  or  minute-men,  from 
the  towns  were  called  out  June  17,  1777. 
Officers  of  the  alarm  company  in  Newport 
were  chosen  as  follows  : 

Ezra  Parmelee,  capt.  Isaac  Newton,  2d  lieut. 

Christopher   Newton,   1st     Joshua  Warner,  ensign, 
lieut. 

The  names  comprising  the  alarm  company 
that  left  on  June  21),  1777,  for  the  defense  of 
Ticonderoga  are  as  follows  : 

Capt.  Ezra  Parmelee  and     Nathan  Hurd. 

officers  as  above.  Absalom  Kelsey. 

.Matthew  Buel.  Ebenezer  Merritt. 

Daniel  Buel.  Jesse  Wilcox. 

Jeremiah  Jenks.  Abraham  Buel. 

Jesse  Lane.  Stephen  Hurd. 

Josiah  Stevens.  Thomas  Lane. 
Joseph  Buel. 

The  capture  of  Ticonderoga  by  Burgoyne 
occurred  July  6,  1777.  Our  men  had  started 
for  its  relief,  but  were  detained  at  Charlestown, 
Xo.  4,  or  Bellows'  Falls,  in  order  that  Geueral 
Bellows  might  perfect  his  arrangements  for  the 


230 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


march,  and  while  there  news  came  of  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  fortress  by  the  Americans ;  without 
proceeding  farther,  they  were  discharged  and 
came  home. 

The  names  of  Revolutionary  soldiers  credited 
to  this  town  are  nearly  as  follows: 


Thomas  Carr. 

Robert  Durkee. 
John  McGregor. 
Philip  W.  Kibbey. 
John  Pike. 
Richard  Goodwin. 
William  Haven. 
Jonathan  Wakefield. 
Simeon  Buel. 
Daniel  Chapin. 
Theophilns  Goodwin. 
Daniel  Stearns. 
Robert  Woodward. 


Samuel  Thompson. 
Samuel  Washburn. 
Amos  Hall,  Jr. 
Phineaa  Chapin. 
Solomon  Dunham. 
Joel  Kelsey. 
Samuel  Siseho. 
Silas  Wakefield. 
Elias  Dudley. 
Joel  McGregor. 
Jesse  Kelsey. 
Josiah  Wakefield. 
Hezekiah  Reynolds. 


Joel  McGregor,  whose  name  occurs  in  this 
list,  was  a  native  of  Enfield,  Conn.,  born  No- 
vember 22,  1760.  He  enlisted  in  the  Conti- 
nental army  April  17,  1777,  and  was  five  yens 
in  the  service.  He  was  some  eight  months  a 
prisoner  in  the  "Old  Sugar-House"  iu  New 
York  City,  where  he  suffered  much  from  cold 
and  hunger.  He  died  at  his  home,  at  North 
Newport,  in  November,  1861,  aged  one  hundred 
and  one  years. 

Joel  Kelsey,  another  of  these  patriots,  was  a 
native  of  Killingworth,  born  August  6,  1761. 
He  enlisted  in  1777;  was  also  a  British  pris- 
oner in  the  same  "Old  Sugar-House,"  in  New 
York,  where  he  endured  great  hardships.  After 
the  war  he  married,  January  12,  1780,  Jemima 
Buel,  of  Connecticut,  and  settled  on  the  East 
Mountain,  where  he  died  March  l>,  I860,  aged 
nearly  one  hundred  years. 

Joel  McGregor  and  Joel  Kelsey,  both  Joel-. 
and  citizens  of  this  town,  were  the  two  last 
names  of  Revolutionary  heroes  on  the  pension- 
roll  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  War  of  1812-14  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  of  particular  interest  to  the  people  of  New- 
port.    We  have  no  means  of  knowing  how  the 


enlistments  were  made,  or  any  of  the  attending 
circumstances. 

The  names  of  seventeen  men  are  credited  to 
Newport  as  soldiers  in  that  war    as   follows: 


Barnabas  Brown. 
William  Carr. 
Calvin  Call. 
Charles  Colby. 
Robert  Durkee. 
Solomon  Dunham. 
Daniel  Dudley. 
Jaeob  Dwinells. 
Lama  McGregor. 


Samuel  Hoyt. 
Jared  Lane 
Daniel  Muzzy. 
Stephen  Pike. 
David  Reed. 
Zaeebeus  Shuxtleff. 
Nathan  Wilmarth,  Sr. 
Hartford  Wilmarth. 


Calvin  Coyle,  who  died  July  23,  1880,  aged 
eighty-four  years,  was  the  last  survivor  of  the 
number. 

The  Mexican  War  of  1846-47  was  regarded 
only  in  its  political  aspects  in  this  remote  cor- 
ner of  the  Union.  This  war  was  the  result  of 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  by  which  the  area  of 
slave  territory  was  increased.  Fifty  thousand 
volunteers  were  called  for  by  the  government, 
and  the  recruits  were  mostly  from  the  Southern 
States.  It  resulted,  not  only  in  a  settlement  of 
the  Texas  question,  but  in  the  acquisition  of  a 
large  amount  of  Mexican  territory  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  and,  also,  the  defeat  of  the  Whig 
party  under  the  head  of  Webster  and  Clay. 

The  Avar  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
received  a  most  enthusiastic  support  in  the 
town  of  Newport.  A  long-delayed  crisis  had 
arrived  ;  the  time  for  argument  had  passed  ;  the 
resort  to  arms  had  conic. 

The  call  of  President  Lincoln  for  seventy-five 
thousand  volunteers  received  prompt  attention. 
On  the  22d  of  April,  1861',  the  citizens  of  the 
town,  without  distinction  of  party,  crowded  the 
low  ii  hall  ;  addresses  were  made,  and  with  the 
utmost  unanimity  of  feeling,  the  sum  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  was  pledged  for  the  fitting  out 
and  support  of  such  as  might  volunteer  to  fill 
the  (piota  of  the  town.  This  action  was  after- 
ward ratified  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  legally 
warned. 

Ira    McL.   Barton,   a  young  lawyer  of  the 


NEWPORT. 


231 


town,  having  received  authority  for  the  pur- 
pose, recruited  the  first  company  of  volunteers 
for  three  months'  service  and  was  commissioned 
its  captain. 

The  company  served  its  time  in  the  First 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  under  Colonel 
M.  W.  Tappan.  The  town  made  appropria- 
tions during  the  war  in  aid  of  the  volunteers 
amounting  to  $70,491.78. 

Each  quota  was  promptly  filled  without  the 
necessity  of  a  draft  for  that  purpose. 

Captain  John  B.  Cooper  did  efficient  service 
in  recruiting  and  afterwards  in  the  field  during 
the  war. 

The  whole  number  of  soldiers  enlisted  from 
the  town  during  the  four  years  of  the  war  was 
two  hundred  and  forty. 

Those  that  survived  the  conflict  returned  to 
receive  the  plaudits  of  the  people,  and  the  dead 
have  not  been  forgotten.  The  country  has  not 
been  ungrateful  to  its  brave  defenders.  Liberal 
appropriations  have  been  made  by  the  govern- 
ment in  their  behalf,  and  for  the  support  of 
their  widows  and  children. 

The  names  of  those  enlisted  are  as  follows: 


Ira  McL.  Barton,  capt. 
Thomas  Sanborn,  sur. 
Dexter  G.  Reed,  2d  lieut. 
Edgar  E.  Adams,  1st  lieut. 
Ervin  T.  Case,  capt. 
John  B.  Cooper,  capt. 
Chas.  C.  Shattuck,  capt. 
Benj.  R.  Allen,  capt. 
J.  W.  Hastings,  capt. 
Edw.  Nettleton,  1st  lieut. 
Truman     L.    Heath,    1st 

lieut. 
Sumner  F.  Hurd,  1st  lieut. 
P.  H.  Wellcome,  2d  lieut. 
A.  V.  Hitchcock,  q-m. 
John  A.  George,  2d  lieut. 
Sam  Nims,  hos.  std. 
Paul  S.  Adams,  hos.  std. 
Benj.  Howe,  2d  lieut. 
Jesse  T.  Cobb,  1st  serg. 
Chas.  H.  Little,  serg. 


M.  W.  Home. 
Moses  Hoyt. 
Henry  S.  Howard. 

E.  S.  Home. 
Abiel  L.  Haven. 
Wm.  A.  Hutchinson. 
L.  B.  Hastings. 
Robert  Harris. 
George  Howard. 

A.  C.  Home. 
Hugh  Higgins. 
Alamcndo  Heath. 
Amos  Hastings. 
Antoine  Hockman,  killed. 
Arthur  H.  Ingram. 
S.  S.  Ingalls. 

F.  A.  Johnson. 
E.  B.  Johnson. 
Chas.  A.  Jackson. 
William    Kennedy,    died 

of  wounds. 


Wm.  Delano,  com.  serg. 
Jas.  M.  Russell,  serg. 
Austin  Reed,  3  mo.,  died. 
E.  D.  Whipple,  serg. 
M.  S.  Wilcox,  serg. 
Geo.  A.  Chase,  serg. 

D.  W.  Home,  serg. 
Wm.  W.  Page,  serg. 

A.  J.  Hastings,  q.-serg. 
Alvin  A.  Young. 
Sylvester  Spaulding,  serg. 
John  R.  Hall,  1st  serg. 
Gilford  L.  Hurd,  serg. 

R.  M.  J.  Hastings,  corp. 
Chas.  A.  Puffer,  corp. 
Chas.  C.  Gilmore,  corp. 
Elijah  Hutchinson,  corp. 
Peter  Crowell,  corp. 
Chas.  H.  Crandall,  serg. 
Edwin  R.  Miller,  corp. 
Henry  M.  Haines,  corp. 
Joel  S.  Blood,  corp. 
Henry  Tompkins,  corp. 

E.  C.  Kelsey,  corp. 

P.  C.  Hutchinson,  corp. 
Bela  H.  Wilcox,  corp. 
Hiram  M.  Austin,  serg. 
Richard  W.  Allen. 
Dexter  W.  Allen. 
George  Anderson. 
Thos.  Anderson. 
James  Armstrong. 
Henry  W.  Badger. 
John  W.  Bradley. 
Nathan  T.  Brown. 
Geo.  P.  Beane,  died. 
Hazen  Barnard,  wgr. 
Nathaniel  Bright,  corp. 

B.  B.  Barton. 
Wm.  H.  Belknap. 
Jonathan  Blake. 
Josiah  H.  Bacon. 
Edgar  Boyden. 
Albert  Boyden,  killed. 
Ziba  C.  Burton. 
George  Bates. 
Clarke  E.  Craige. 
John  Conners. 
Michael  Crumney. 


Michael  Kelliher. 
Geo.  W.  Kelsey. 
John  C.  Kelley. 
Roswell  J.  Kelsey. 
Frank  J.  Latimer. 
Joseph  Leeds,  died. 
Frederick  H.  Lull. 
Edgar  Lacy. 
Chester's.  Marshall. 
Chauncey  Marshall. 
Sullivan  Marston. 
Perry  Miner. 
John  Munnegan. 
Peter  McGlone. 
D.  M.  Marshall. 
James  McCarty. 
Francis  Mullen. 
Andrew  J.  Moody. 
Freeman  W.  Nourse. 
Joseph  Nelson. 
Patrick  Owens. 
S.  B.  Ordway. 
N.  R.  Osmer,  killed. 
Edmund  Parker. 
John  Phillips,  died. 
James  C.  Parish. 
John  Peterson. 
J.  S.  Preston. 
Wm.  H.  Perry. 
Edwin  A.  Perry. 
Philander  H.  Peck,  died. 
John  M.  Page. 
Clarence  F.  Pike. 
James  C.  Parker. 
Asahel  Putnam. 
J.  A.  Putnam,  died. 
Samuel  L.  Pike. 
Lucius  P.  Reed. 
Wallace  L.  Reed. 
Davis  B.  Robinson. 
John  I).  Roberts. 
Elmidore  Roberts. 
Asa  Richardson. 
George  C.  Round  v. 
Alonzo  Reed. 
George  Richardson. 
Preston  Reed. 
J.  P.  Reddington,  died. 
D.  Z.  Robbins. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Hial  Comstock,  died. 
Truman  C.  Cutting. 
Warren  Colby,  killed. 
George  Comstock. 
Janus  Call. 
Alva  S.  Chase. 
1 1  en  iv  Cutting. 
Edward  Cochran,  killed, 
('has.  Collins. 
George  F.  Cram. 
Jonathan  Crowell,  died. 
Henry  Currier,  died. 
Wm.  Collins. 

C.  H.  Comstock,  died. 
Reuben  ( Iraige. 

E.  E.  Corbin. 

David  Carlisle. 

J.  R.  Corey. 

John  Canny. 

J.  E.  Dean,  died. 

Frank  P.  Dudley. 

Ira  C.  Dowliu. 

Daniel  Dowder. 

Lewis  Daffer. 

H.  W.  Davis. 

Harry  Downs. 

Pat  Donohue. 

W.  0.  Emerson,  died. 

Wm.  ( J.  Egan. 

Frank  Elkins. 

D.  W.  Fitch,  died. 
George  C.  Eoss,  died    of 

wounds. 
L.  J.  Fitch. 
\V.  II.  Flanders. 
John  Foote. 
C.  F.  Foote. 
CM.  Farr,  serg. 
John  Finnigan. 

C.H.  Fellow,. 

Ira   I*.  I  reorge,  wounded. 

I  >aniel  W.  <  l-eorge. 

A.  1'.  Goodrich. 
.1.  U.  Hutchinson. 

Geo.  A.  Hutchinson,  died. 

Wm.  Hoban. 

C.  H.  Hall,  died. 

B.  E.  Haven,  died  in  rebel 
prison. 


II.  A.  Reynolds. 

John  Ryan. 

Lawrence  Reath. 

Oliver  F.  Stearns. 

Andrew  J.  Sawyer. 

Gardner  Sweet. 

Ruel  Swains. 

Israel  Sanborn,  died. 

Daniel  Spaulding. 

Edward  Siddell. 

Wm.  S.  Sischo. 

John  H.  Shattuck. 

Daniel  L.  Straw. 

Joseph  Sennott. 

C.  H.  Stockwell. 

Moses  1'.  Sinclair. 

Simon  C.  Smith. 

Chas.  F.  Smith. 

Wm.  Snow. 

Arthur  Sykes,  died. 

William  Smith. 

Chas.  St.  Clair. 

Eli     Tompkins,    died    of 

wounds. 
Frank  S.  Taylor. 
Simon  A.  Tenney,  corp. 
John  P.  Tilton. 
Patrick  Tuffer. 
I  >.  W.  Thompson,  died. 
Chas.  C.  Webber. 
Chas.  1).  Worcester. 
Sylvester  P.  Warren,  corp. 
Albert  Wright,  died. 
Marcine  Whitcomb. 
Richard  A.  Webber. 
A.  A.  Wynian. 
George  Williams. 
Chas.  E.  Wiggin. 
.Fames  P.  Wheeler,  died  in 

hands  of  the  enemy. 
Calvin  H.  Whitney. 
Calvin  W.  Wright. 
Wm.  Wallace,  corp. 
David  G.  Wilmarth. 
John  Wilson. 
Charles  Williams,  died  of 

wounds. 
Martin  L.  Whittier. 
Chas.  B.  York. 


John  H.  Hunter. 
Henry  H.  Haven,  corp. 
Win.  C.  Hur.l. 
John  C.  Harris. 
Win.  A.  Humphrey. 


George  Williams. 
Thos.  A.  Gilmore,  serg. 
Bela  Nettleton. 
Willard  Reed. 


The  following  natives  of  Newport  were  en- 
listed in  other  places,  and  served  during  the 
Civil  War: 

George  H.  Cheney,  on   staff  of  General   Nickerson, 

division  provost-marshal. 

Mason  XV.  Tappan,  colonel  First  New  Hampshire 
Regiment. 

Samuel  J.  Allen,  M.D.,  surgeon  in  a  Vermont  regi- 
ment. 

Belah  Stevens,  surgeon  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Joseph  A.  Chapin,  hospital  steward. 

M.  V.  B.  Wilmarth,  Third  Michigan  Cavalry. 

Milton  E.  Pike,  Vermont  Volunteers. 

Job  Puffer,  Fourteenth  Connecticut  Regiment. 

Elias  B.  Bascom,  captain  in  the  Fifth  Iowa  Regi- 
ment. 

Wallace  Bascom,  Second  Massachusetts ;  shot  at 
Gettysburg. 

James  Parmelee  Bascom,  Ninth  New  Hampshire. 

E.  M.  Kempton,  Third  New  Hampshire. 

Hiram  C.  Hall,  Croydon. 

Albert  Nettleton,  son  of  Daniel,  First  Regular  Army. 

( 'ommodore  George  E.  Belknap,  United  States  Navy. 

George  W.  Brown,  volunteer,  lieutenant  United 
States  Navy. 

Nathan  T.  Brown,  master's  mate. 

Charles  J.  Belknap,  United  States  Navy. 

Henry  S.  Belknap,  captain's  clerk  United  States 
Navy. 

But  one  native,  or  citizen  of  Newport,  was 
among- those  marked  as  deserters. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  an  institution 
or  secret  society,  made  up  of  Union  soldiers,  was 
organized  by  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson,  in  Dakota, 
111.,  which  proved  to  be  the  first  post  of  the 
"  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,"  as  from  that 
its  posts  and  camp-fires  have  spread  all  over  the 
land. 

Frederick  Smvthe  Post,  No.  10,  was  estab- 
lish in  Newport  in  the  spring  of  18G8.  Its 
charter  members  were    Major  W.  H.  II.  Allen 


NEWPORT. 


233 


Captain  John  B.  Casper,  B.  R.  Allen,  Paul 
S.  Adams,  Charles  H.  Little  and  others, 
There  are  about  seventy-five  veterans  connected 
with  this  post.  The  objects  of  the  institution 
are  "  To  cherish  and  keep  alive  the  memory  of 
our  experiences  during  the  war.  To  care  for 
the  disabled  and  unfortunate  of  our  number 
and  all  worthy  UnioD  soldiers,  their  widows  and 
orphans.  To  faithfully  observe 'Memorial  Day,' 
— May  30th, — and  annually  strew  flowers  and 
evergreens  upon  the  graves  of  our  departed  com- 
rades. To  foster  a  spirit  of  loyalty  to  our  gov- 
ernment and  honor  its  rla«;  as  the  emblem  of 
National  Unity.  The  cardinal  principles  of  the 
order  are  Fraternity,  Charity  and  Loyalty." 

This  institution  proves  to  be  a  source  of 
great  interest  and  benefit  to  the  veteran  soldiers 
as  they  continue  to  gather  at  stated  times  around 
its  camp-fires. 

The  citizen  soldier  is  indigenous  to  this  coun- 
try. The  necessity  for  a  defensive  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  colonists  of  America  is 
apparent  from  the  beginning. 

They  were  invaders,  and  as  such  were  at  all 
times  subject  to  the  assaults  of  the  Indian 
people  whose  possessions  they  were  grasping. 

There  was  no  standing  army  to  protect  their 
advance  as  they  pushed  their  settlements  into 
the  wilderness.  They  were  dependent  on  their 
owrn  craft  and  personal  valor  for  the  defense  of 
themselves  and  their  families. 

They  carried  their  arms  and  ammunition  to 
the  clearings  where  they  wrought  and  to  the 
meeting-houses  where  they  worshipped  God, 
each  individual  the  embodiment  of  a  War 
Department  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners. 

They  fought  in  the  interest  of  the  old  coun- 
try through  the  Indian  and  French  and  Indian 
Wars,  and  aided  largely  in  driving  France  from 
the  possession  of  the  Canadas.  They  then 
turned  round  and  fought  the  mother-country 
until  she  was — we  will  not  say  pleased,  but 
obliged  to  let  them  go  with  a  benediction  of 
objurgations.     Hence  the  colonial  people  were 


a  military  people — a  citizen  soldiery,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  term. 

After  the  Revolution  the  idea  of  order  at 
home  and  defense  from  without  centred  in  a 
militia  system  instead  of  a  standing  army,  and 
to  that  end,  and  to  keep  alive  and  cultivate  a 
martial  spirit  among  the  people,  a  State  militia 
system  was  organized,  which  made  it  obligatory 
upon  the  citizens  at  a  certain  age  to  enrollment 
and  the  performance  of  military  duty.  From 
this  came  the  May  trainings  and  the  regimental 
fall  musters  that,  year  after  year,  for  more  than 
fifty  years7  disposed  the  citizen  soldiery  of  this 
town  and  State  in  martial  array  and  brought 
such  delight  to  both  sexes  and  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions of  our  people  as  they  looked  upon  the 
gay  uniforms,  waving  plumes  and  martial  evo- 
lutions of  the  companies  belonging  to  the  old 
Thirty-first  Regiment  upon  the  common,  or 
listened  to  the  harangues  and  witticisms  of  the 
peddlers  and  hucksters  that  swarmed  upon  its 
margins. 

Finally,  the  militia  system  of  the  State  became 
a  vehicle  by  which  designing  politicians  sought 
influence  and  preferment.  Its  grand  old  mus- 
ters came  to  be  little  better  than  political  and 
partisan  mass-meetings,  and  the  system  was 
overthrown  and  abandoned  in  disgust.  This 
was  the  situation  when  the  Civil  War  burst  upon 
the  country.  Since  that  time  a  new  military 
system  has  been  organized  in  the  State,  which 
has  promise  of  usefulness  for  the  time  to  come. 

In  the  spring  of  1883,  under  recent  legisla- 
tion, Company  D,  Second  Regiment  New  Hamp- 
shire National  Guards,  was  successfully  recruit- 
ed and  formed  in  the  town  of  Newport.  Col- 
onel White,  of  the  Second  Regiment  New  Hamp- 
shire National  Guards  came  from  Peterborough 
to  preside  at  the  organization  of  the  new  com- 
pany, to  be  known  as  the  Newport  Rifles. 
Ashton  W.  Rounsevel  was  chosen  captain,  Fred 
W.  Cheney  first  lieutenant,  and  C.  E.  Dud- 
lev  second  Lieutenant.  The  building  known 
as  Bennett's  Hall  has  been  leased  and  fitted  up 
as  an  armory  and   drill-room.      The   martial 


234 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


spirit  of  our  people  will  not  he  permitted  to  de- 
cline. The  citizen,  under  certain  regulations, 
should  he  instructed  in  the  use  of  arms  and  tac- 
tics, and  in  nowise  consent  to  delegate  the  na- 
tional defense  exclusively  to  a  standing  army. 
Among  the  citizens  of  Newport  who  have 
held  positions  in  the  State  militia  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Ralph  Metcalf,  Governor  and  commander-in-chief. 

Edmund  Burke,  aid  to  Governor  Hubbard. 

Edmund  Wheeler,  aid  to  Governor  Williams. 

Martin  W.  Burke,  aid  to  Governor  Weston. 

Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  aid  to  Governor  Stearns. 

Edward  Wyman,  brigadier  general  Third  Divi- 
sion. 

Simeon  Wheeler,  Jr.,  inspector,  staff' Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Wyman. 

Bela  Nettleton,  aid  to  Brigadier-General  Carey. 

Benjamin  P.  French,  quartermaster,  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Glidden. 

William  H.  Cheney,  aid  to  Brigadier-General  Glid- 
den. 

John  S.  Parnielee,  aid  to  Brigadier-General  New- 
ton. 

Henry  E.  Baldwin,  quartermaster,  staff*  of  General 
Newton. 

David  Dickey,  brigade  inspector,  staff  of  General 
Wyman. 

Edmund  Burke,  inspector,  staff  of  General  Newton. 

Colonels. — Phineas  Cliapin,  Erastus  Baldwin,  Wil- 
liam Cheney,  James  D.  Walcott,  Benjamin  Carr,  Jo- 
siab  Stevens,  Jr.,  Edward  Wyman,  Jessiel  Perry, 
Charles  Corbin,  Jacob  Reddington,  Daniel  Nettleton, 
Benjamin  M.  Gilmore. 

Majors. — Josiah  Stevens,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Erastus 
Newton,  John  H.  Patch,  Josiah  Wakefield,  Cyrus  B, 
Howe,  Sullivan  G.  Pike. 

Adjutant*. — Calvin  (Jail,  Cyrus  Barton,  Edmund 
Wheeler,  Simeon  Wheeler,  Francis  Boardman,  Lewis 
Smith,  Hartford  Sweet,  John  Day,  Lyman  Gould. 

The  Thirty-first  Regiment  New  Hampshire 
Militia,  tu  which  reference  has  been  made,  was 
comprised  of  citizens  legally  qualified  to  per- 
form military  duty,  from  the  towns  of  <  roshen, 
Sunapee,  Newport,  Croydon,  Grantham  and 
Springfield.  The  annual  musters  were  held  by 
appointment  in  the  different  towns,  but   more 


frequently  in  Newport,  on  account  of  its  central 
position  and  desirable  parade-ground.  The 
scenes  and  incidents  in  connection  with  these 
parades  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  the 
mind  of  the  writer  when  a  lad,  and  have  been 
by  him  committed  to  verse,  which  is  here  pre- 
sented, to  close  this  chapter  on  military  affairs, 
in  the  following 

HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  BALLAD. 
CANTO    I. 

As  Time  is  ever  on  the  wing 

We  may  as  well  rehearse, — 
And  thus  preserve,  as  best  we  can, 

In  this  our  homely  verse, — 

The  annals  of  the  "Thirty-first,"— 

That  regimental  corps, 
That  grandly  inarched  and  counter  inarched 

In  the  good  old  days  of  yore. 

Already  much  of  interest 

Thai  held  the  local  ear, 
And  caused  a  smile  to  lookers-on, 

Can  never  reappear. 

And  hence  we  travel  back  in  time 

Full  fifty  years  or  more  • 

To  find  a  theme  on  which  to  rhyme, 

That  ne'er  was  rhymed  before. 

We  hear  again  in  memory 

The  booming  of  the  gun 
That  broke  the  silence  of  the  morn, 

And  hailed  the  rising  sun. 

While  wideawake  and  listening, 

Expectant  youngsters  lay, 
And  heard  the  echoes  crash  along 

That  told  of  muster-day. 

We  hear  the  deep-toned  basso-drum, 

The  stirring  reveille; 
"  Ear-piercing  fife,"  and  clarionet, 

In  martial  revelry. 

We  see  the  gorgeous  Stars  and  Stripes 

Emblazoned  on  the  sky, 
As  from  the  flag-staff  on  the  mall 

So  gallantly  they  fly. 


NEWPORT. 


235 


Anon,  the  Wendall  men  arrived, 

At  fat  John  Silver's  Inn  ; 
And  drummer  Stephen  Scranton  came, 

And  fifer  Asa  Winn.1 

And  there  they  took  of  sugared  grog 
And  smoked,  and  chewed,  and  spit, 

As  independent  yeomen  could  ; 
And  plied  their  rustic  wit. 

In  later  times,  the  Knowlton  boys, 

Both  standing  six  feet  four, — 
In  pride  of  strength  and  martial  mien 

Led  on  this  valiant  corps. 

Then  came  the  Goshen  Infantry, 

No  infants  sure  were  there. 
With  bayonets  glittering  in  the  sun, 

And  banner  high  in  air. 

And  "John  the  Man,"  and  "  John  the  Boy,"  - 

Ben  Rand  and  Walker  Lear, 
Accoutered  as  the  law  directs 

In  rank  and  file  appear. 

Some  measured  fully  six  feet  four, 
And  marched  with  powerful  stride, 

While  others,  scarcely  four  feet  six, 
Like  ducklings,  waddled  wide. 

The  canteens  dangling  at  their  side 

Smelt  of  New  England  rum, 
And  tall  Scott  Tandy  played  the  fife, — 

Short  Sammy  beat  the  drum. 

And  John  C.  Calef,3  then  a  lad, 

A  youngster  full  of  life, 
Came  with  these  Goshen  fusileers, 

And  played  the  second  life; 

And  now,  at  nearly  four-score  years, 

With  recollection  clear, 
The  legends  of  his  early  lime 

1  delights  to  quote  and  hear. 

And  Belknap  Bartlet,  known  to  fame, 
And  William  Wonder  (fulj  Pike, 

Were  members  of  thai  martial  band 
Prepared  to  blow  and  strike. 


1  Musicians  in  the  War  of  L812-14. 
a  The  two  John  Sholes,  of  Goshen. 
3  Of  Gloucester,  Mass. 


Conspicuous  among  the  rest 

Was  Captain  Maxfield  seen, 
As  in  command  he  proudly  strode, 

Along  the  village  green. 

His  white  duck  pants,  somewhat  too  short, 
Were  held  by  straps  of  leather 

From  underneath  his  ample  soles, 
And  in  his  hat  a  feather. 

In  Croydon,  Grantham,  all  around, 

The  morning  gun  was  heard, 
And  distant  Springfield  felt  the  sound, 

Or  Pollard  *  sent  them  word. 

Thus  early  roused,  the  mountain  boys, 

To  thwart  the  morning  fog, 
And  brace  their  stomachs  for  the  day 

Took  lustily  of  grog. 

And  Captain  Stone,  the  Grantham  chief, 

Was  drier  than  the  rest, 
And  anxious  comrades  wiped  his  chin 

And  straightened  down  his  vest. 

CANTO    II. 

And  on  they  came,  the  rank  and  file, 

Colonel  and  brigadier, 
And  all  the  country  folks  that  could 

From  hamlet  far  and  near. 

And  here  they  met  our  flood-woods,  formed 

In  orderly  platoons, 
Artillery,  Light  Infantry, 

And  dashing,  plumed  dragoons. 

Those  gallant  troopers  certainly 

Enrapt  our  youthful  gaze. 
And  well  deserve  in  this  our  lay 

A  stanza  in  their  praise. 

Their broidered  coats  and  epaulets, 
Brass  buttons,  sashes,  straps, — 

And  fiercest  thing  id' all  to  see, 
Their  frowning  bear-skin  caps. 

We  know  that  jokes  were  often  made, 
And  sometimes  gibes  and  jeers. 

At  the  expense  of  that  brave  troop, 
Not  worth  their  horses'  leers. 


A  newsy  citizen. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  troops  sometimes  lost  their  wits, 
( )r  heedless  played  the  clown; 

Their  "stock  "  not  all  of  Morgan  breed 
Would  sometimes  tumble  down. 

But  horse  and  rider  left  their  trail 

Along  the  sands  of  time, 
Else  naught  had  been  to  gather  up 

In  this  historic  rhyme. 

"Advancing  backwards"  from  the  line, 

See  Nathan  Wilinarth  (Jr.)  stand, 
\  stalwart  form,  "an  eye  like  .Mars' 
To  threaten  and  command." 

And  stately  was  the  plume  that  waved 

Upon  his  glossy  tile, 
Before  the  "  Old  South  Company  " 

When  formed  in  rank  and  file. 

He  marched  it  up  and  down  the  street, 
That  corps  so  truly  brave, — 

And  when  the  discipline  grew  slack, 
He  "  wished  they  would  behave.'' 

Another  feature  of  the  day 
That  gave  the  occasion  tone, 

Was  a  distinguished  windy  baud, 
Made  up  of  Pikes  alone. 

And  Luther,  Ransom,  Calvin  John, 

Sul,  and  Abiel  D., 
Bach  on  his  favorite  instrument 

Made  thrilling  harmony. 

While  "Major  Saxie,"  mace  in  hand, 

Most  gorgeously  arrayed, 
Pranced  high  before  this  pick'rell  hand 

To  mark  the  time  they  played. 

And  on  the  ground  was  Calvin  Call, 

A  man  of  some  renown, 
A  soldier  of  the  "  War  of  Twelve," 

A  fanner  of  the  town. 

A  blue  dress-coat  he  often  wore. 
With  buttons  bright  and  flat, 

And  mi  his  head  was  always  seen 
That  famous  bell-crowned  hat. 

A  man  decided  in  his  views, — 
Out-spoken.  -Mine  would  think, — 

He  made  his  speech  town-meeting  days 
\nd  sometimes  took  a  drink. 


But  other  things  we  would  discuss 

Instead  of  local  trifles ; 
The  Springfield  men  that  marched  so  well 

And  then  the" Grantham  Rifles." 

The  Springfield  Infantry  came  down 
And  quartered  on  the  ground, 

Behind  the  Baptist  .Meeting- house 
Where  ample  space  was  found. 

To  form  the  company  and  drill, 

( >r  lounge  in  easy  way, 
And  find  a  solaee  for  the  toil 
That  came  with  muster-day. 

But  when  Sam  Robie  came  to  griel 

From  too  much  grog,  'tis  said,  < 

His  comrades  laid  his  manly  form 
Within  a  Baptist  shed. 

Where,  after  hours  of  sweet  repose, 

He  roused  himself  to  find 
His  "company  "  had  left  for  home, 

And  he'd  been  left  behind. 

He  gazed  into  the  fading  light, 

And  saw  the  glare  of  eyes  ; 
At  which  his  visage  lengthened  out, 

So  great  was  his  surprise. 

The  monster  proved  a  simple  calf 

That  in  the  stall  was  stayed, 
And  like  the  ass  of  which  we  read 

Developed  when  he  brayed. 

And  what  Sam  did,  and  what  he  said, 

We  may  not  here  repeat  ; 
But  from  the  precincts  of  the  shed 

1  le  heat  a  swift  retreat. 

CANTO   III. 

In  course  of  time  the  ( 'roydoiiers, 

For  some  unworthy  cause, 
Resolved  to  nullify  and  spurn 

Our  wise  militia  law-. 

Then  Captain  Mitchell,  of  our  town, 

By  order  of  the  Stale, 
Rode  gallantly  to  ( Iroydon  Flat 

With  martial  pride  elate. 


NEWPORT. 


237 


A  posse  comitatus  went 

The  captain  to  support, 
And  bring  the  recreant  Croydoners 

By  force  of  arms  to  court. 

The  Croydon  ladies  flew  to  arms,— 

Not  Mitchell's  we  are  sure, — 
But  'gainst  his  wicked  legal  wiles 

Their  men-folks  to  secure. 

And  Mrs.  General  Emery, 

A  Minerva  in  command, 
Was  constituted  leader  of 

That  Amazonian  band. 

She  soundly  rated  "  Newport  folks  " 

In  words  unfit  to  hear, 
And  said  she'd  "  drive  such  trash  from  town," 

And  "splinter"  Mitchell's  ear. 

And  short  and  sharp  her  orders  were 

To  "  Nathan  "  l  and  the  rest, 
That  no  delinquent  Croydoner 

Should  suffer  an  arrest. 

The  men  took  refuge  in  the  fields, 

The  women,  with  much  jaw, 
Stood  to  obstruct  by  force  of  tongues 

The  process  of  the  law. 

Then  Sergeant  Crooker,  of  our  squad, 

Phil.  Humphrey  to  restrain, 
"Went  charging  through  a  patch  of  grass 

With  all  his  might  and  main. 

And  on  his  way  he  overturned 

A  quadruped  whose  scent 
Would  indicate  his  general  course 

Whichever  way  he  went. 

The  upshot  of  this  matter  was, 

So  runs  the  last  report, 
That  Mitchell  and  his  men  returned 

Disgusted  to  Newport. 

And  of  those  braves,  Charles  Emerson, 

Who  with  the  posse  rode, 
Now  lives  to  read  these  epic  lines, 

Down  on  the  Goshen  Road. 

And  now  a  scheme  political 

Was  foisted  on  the  State, 
Involving  rank  and  patronage 

We  may  right  here  relate. 

1  Brigadier-General  Emery. 


A  citizen  of  great  renown 

Was  General  John  McNiel, 
The  same  who  fought  at  Chippewa. 

A  soldier  true  as  steel. 

And  when  our  worthy  Governor 

Would  honor  John  McNiel, 
He  dubbed  him  Major-General 

With  gorgeous  sign  and  seal. 

Now  superseding  all  our  braves 

Wide-spread  his  orders  flew 
To  colonel  of  each  regiment, 

To  muster  for  review. 

Then  up  rose  Colonel  Reddington, 

And  swore  whate'er  betide, 
Before  his  gallant  "Thirty-first  " 

McNiel  should  never  ride. 

And  John  McNiel  and  Reddington, 

Defiant  and  irate, 
Remained,  until  their  names  were  struck 

From  roster  of  the  State. 

But  this  digression  here  must  end  ; 

The  regiment  must  form ; 
The  common  waits  the  grand  parade — 

The  day  is  bright  and  warm. 

CANTO   IV. 

The  adjutant,  on  prancing  steed, 
As  deep-toned  bass-drum  pealed, 

The  companies  in  order  ranged 
Upon  the  muster-field. 

The  colonel,  then,  with  aids  advanced, 

Assuming  the  command, 
As,  well-displayed,  full  in  his  view, 

The  waiting  squadrons  stand. 

Anon  the  General  and  staff — 

A  brilliant  cavalcade — 
In  buff  and  and  blue,  and  nodding  plumes, 

Most  gorgeously  arrayed, 

Appear  upon  the  tented  field, 

And  up  and  down  the  line 
They  grandly  ride,  while  colors  dip 

And  flashing  swords  incline. 

Then  posted  at  the  front  they  stand, 
While  orders  prompt  and  shrill, 

According  to  the  manual 
For  regimental  drill, 


238 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Find  quick  response  along  the  line, 
And  ordered  arms  respond  ! 

The  steel  that  glittered  in  the  air 
Now  thunders  on  the  ground. 

We  here  may  note  an  episode, 

Occurring,  as  appears, 
When  Quartermaster  Harvey  rode 

That  famous  horse  "Childiers." 

The  steed,  excited  at  the  scene, 

Regardless,  it  is  said, 
Of  bit  and  spur  and  pious  talk, 

Rushed  for  the  Sanhorn  shed; 

And  must  have  placed  his  rider  hold 

In  desperate  condition, 
Had  he  not  grasped  his  ample  neck 

To  strengthen  his  position. 

So  "Childiers"  to  his  stall  was  sent; 

Another  horse  was  brought, 
On  which  the  gallant  chevalier 

His  waiting  comrades  sought. 

Again  along  the  field  of  Mars 

Repeated  orders  flew, 
With  note  of  preparation  for 

Inspection  and  review. 

The  Inspector-General  passed  on  foot 
Through  all  the  rank  and  file, 

To  view  the  equipments  of  the  men, 
From  cowhide  boots  to  tile. 

To  each  and  all  the  companies 

A  proper  speech  he  made, 
As  much  to  air  his  eloquence 

As  shine  on  dress-parade. 

Ne\t  came  a  regimental  move — 
A  form  in  hollow  square — 

And,  as  uncovered  heads  were  bowed, 
The  chaplain  offered  prayer. 

The  General,  as  he  had  mind, 
With  words  of  compliment, 

Or  on  some  topic  of  the  time 
Addressed  the  regiment. 

Perhaps  he  had  an  "axe  to  grind," 
A-  politicians  say, 

And  wanted  votes  to  turn  the  crank 
i  )n  m-\t  flection  day. 


On  loud  huzzas  the  eagle  soared, 
As  "  Birds  of  Freedom"  can, 

Clutching  the  arrows  in  his  claws. 
To  shield  the  right  of  man. 

Then  hurst  the  inspiring  martial  hymn 

From  regimental  hand, 
Such  as  once  thrill'd  the  patriot's  heart, 

And  nerved  the  yeoman's  hand. 

Vet'rans  were  listening  to  those  strains,- 
Old  men  with  trembling  hands 

That  pined  in  British  prison-pens, 
Or  trod  the  Jersey  sands. 

Once  more  they  hear  the  bugle  blasl 
And  words  of  high  command, 

The  muffled  tramp  of  armed  men 
Along  the  solid  land. 

They  see  the  serried  squadrons  move 

With  gonfalons  displayed, 
As  in  review  they  now  salute 

The  General  and  brigade. 

This  mimic  scene,  these  martial  airs 

Rouse  memories  of  the  past 
Within  the  breasts  of  those  old  men, 

The  loneliest  and  the  last. 

Of  that  great  host  of  patriots 

None  grander  can  we  trace 
Whose  life-work  made  it  possihle 

To  free  the  human  race. 

They  founded  deep,  they  huilded  strong 
A  home  wide-spread  and  free, 

A  "Sheltering  Arms"  for  toiling  men 
From  lands  across  the  sea. 

They  come  no  more  to  our  parades, 

Forsooth,  in  this,  our  day, 
The  man  who's  seen  a  "  Pensioner" 

.Must  have  himself  grown  gray. 

Their  graves  are  scattered  o'er  the  land, 

Some  nameless  and  ohscure, 
I'.ut  witli  the  millions  they  have  blesl 

Their  memory  will  endure. 

And  to  those  graves,  win  rever  found, 

As  sure  as  comes  the  spring, 
Bach  year  on  1  >ecora1  ion  I  >:iy 

Fresh  laurels  will  they  hring. 


NEWPORT. 


239 


CANTO   V. 

And  savage  and  Britishers 

While  musing  thus  on  "Pensioners," 

AVere  routed  in  dismay, 

The  Thirty -first— called  "crack"— 

Else  had  our  quiet  village  been 

Has  march'd  down  town,  across  the  bridge, 

To  ravishers  a  prey. 

And  now  conies  proudly  back. 

And  thus,  mimetic  of  the  times 

Of  butchery  and  woe, 

Again  deployed,  the  order  rang 

That  made  New  England  history 

Along  the  bristling  line ; 
"  'Tention  battalion  !  Order  arms!  " — 

Two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  time  had  come  to  dine. 

Now  let  us  sing,  down  with  a  king, 

And  long  live  Liberty  ! 

And  now  the  hungry  musketeers 

"  A  man's  a  man,"  as  he  has  mind, 

Their  burnished  fire-arms  stack, 

Where  all  men  may  be  free. 

And  on  the  grass  all  negligee 

Discuss  the  noon-tide  snack. 

And  thus  our  verse  has  wander'd  on, 

To  note  the  grand  display 

From  haversack  and  tin  canteen 

Of  men,  and  arms,  and  things  we  saw, 

The  rations  disappear, 

In  military  way. 

And  as  they  pass  from  hand  to  mouth 
They  revel  in  good  cheer. 

CANTO  VI. 

But  this  was  scarcely  half  the  show 

We  well  remember  the  sham  fight 

That  came  that  day  to  town  ; 

That  finished  up  the  day, 

And  hence  we  join  the  motley  crowd 

When  red-coats  and  Americans 

That  wandered  up  and  down. 

Jousted  in  mimic  fray. 

Here  came,  in  holiday  attire, 

And  when  we  heard  the  war-like  din, 

Some  quite  unique  in  style, 

The  sounds  of  fife  and  drum, 

From  all  the  regimental  towns, 

And  saw  the  tumult  all  around, 

The  rural  rank  and  file. 

We  thought  old  Mars  had  come. 

Comprising  types  of  human  kind, 

The  cannon  thundered  on  the  right, 

Fierce  rattled  the  platoons; 
Against  the  ranks  of  infantry 

From  infancy  to  age — 
Both  sexes,  all  conditions  known 
On  life's  uncertain  stage. 

Came  charge  of  light  dragoons. 

And  here  they  played  their  several  parts — 

Some  gentle  and  well-bred, 

Then  came  the  painted  savages, 

And  others  arrogant  and  loud, 

Led  on  by  Calvin  Call, 

Or  clownish  and  corn-fed. 

Who  ambush'd  for  the  regulars 
Behind  a  high  stone  wall. 

And  some  by  cruel  circumstance 
Deformed,  or  dumb,  or  blind, 

And  now  old  Indian  "Thunderbolt"  ' 

Were  making  capital  of  fate 

Burst  whooping  into  view, 

To  move  the  pitying  mind 

With  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife 

To  deeds  of  charity  and  alms, 

And  all  his  savage  crew. 

And  chuckling  as  they  went, 

While  valiant  Captain  Roby,  with 
The  Wendall  Light  Brigade, 

O'er  Continental  nine-pence  made, 
Or  e'en  a  copper  cent. 

Came  down  upon  them  in  the  rear 

The  Tontine  on  the  village  green — 

And  fearful  havoc  made. 

A  stately  wooden  pile — 

Pillars  and  portico  in  front, 
In  somewhat  ancient  style, 

'Personateil  by  Oliver  Emerson. 

240 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Swarmed  then  with  buxom,  merry  wives, 

And  maidens  fresh  and  fair, 
Who  came  to  watch  their  soldier  boys, 

Or  rustic  hearts  ensnare. 

Along  in  front,  upon  some  boards, 

Spread  our  for  that  intent, 
A  jolly  party  might  be  seen 

Of  African  descent. 

And  Tony  Clark,1  a  sable  wag, 

Plied  well  his  rosin'd  bow, 
While  Wash,  and  Lyd,  and  Charlie  Hall2 

Made  saltatory  show. 

Old  Jesse  Sherburn,  near  the  inn, 
Dispensed  his  liquid  blacking, 

An  article  that  far  outshone 

"  The  stuff  made  by  McCrackin." 

The  Ethiop  wagged  his  sooty  head 

In  concert  with  his  brush, 
And  gather' d  in  the  four  pence-haps 

With  what  is  termed — a  rush. 

Barbaric  faces  thus  were  seen  ; — 

And  Ethiopian  style 
In  dress,  dance,  mirth  and  minstrelsy, 

A  gaping  crowd  beguile. 

And  rural  lovers,  hand-in-hand, 

Regardless  of  expense, 
Invested  at  the  candy  stand 

And  posed  against  the  fence. 

The  peddler  on  his  painted  cart 

Became  an  auctioneer, 
And  roared  his  wit  as  well  as  wares 

To  throngs  that  gathered  near. 

Thus  were  two-score  of  lust}-  throats, — 
Some  gruff,  some  shrill  and  harsh, — 

Discordant  croaking  on  a  bid 
Like  bull-frogs  in  a  marsh ; 

1  When  a  lad  a  waiter  to  General  Brooks,  of  Massachu- 
setts, during  the  Revolution.  lie  died  in  Warner  aged  one 
hundred  years — a  ''  pensioner." 

2  Said  to  have  been  brought  to  Boston  by  schooner  "  Star- 
ling" in  a  sugar  hogshead,  from  the  coast  below  Savannah, 
Ga.,  by  a  Mr.  Knowlton,  a  brother-in-law  of  Deacon  Jona- 
than Cutting,  about  1836.  "  Wash  "  and  "  Lyd  "  were 
children  of  Tony.  Charles  Hall  became  the  husband  of 
Lyd. 


And  Barlow  knives,  and  buttons  made 

By  famous  "  Nathan  Mann," 
Dutch'd  quills,  and  soap,  ne'er  went  so  cheap, 

They  said,  "  since  time  began." 

And  Morgan's  "Book  on  Masonry," 

Denounced  by  Masons — trash  ! 
Sold  faster  than  the  auctioneer 

Could  take  the  "offered"  cash. 

Here  gathered  round  a  fancy  stand 

A  close,  attentive  throng, — 
The  game  was  Rouge-et-Noir,  so  called 

And  some  were  betting  strong. 

The  more  small  change  the  boys  put  down 

The  less  they  gather'd  up, 
And  realized  the  adage  old 

Of  slip  'twixt  lip  and  cup. 

CANTO   VII. 

Then  came  a  grand  saloon  on  wheels 
And  famous  "Old  Blind  Beers," 

With  violin,  and  waxen  show, — 
His  main  support  for  years. 

A  rustic  crowd,  with  wondering  eyes 
And  gaping  mouths,  stood  round, 

As  though  they  feared  his  effigies 
Would  meet  them  on  the  ground. 

And  Jane  McCrae,  and  Helen  Marr, 

And  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
With  glassy  eyes,  in  wax  despair 

Would  wave  their  gory  locks. 

A  henchman  tended  at  the  door; — 

Beers  scraped  his  violin  ; — 
The  henchman  made  persuasive  speech  ; 

The  curious  entered  in. 

The  Olympian  games  were  bere  revived 

As  once  in  Ancient  Greece, 
To  test  the  vigor  of  their  youth 

In  "  piping  times  of  peace." 

Apart  upon  the  green  sward  firm 

A  party  formed  a  ring, 
Where  athletes  strove  for  mastery 

In  bouts  of  wrestling. 

Anon  another  crowd  appears 

Engage  in  such  exploits 
As  jumping,  turning  somersaults, 

And  some  were  pitching  quoits. 


NEWPORT. 


241 


We  also  noted  booth  and  stands 

Where,  well  disposed  for  sale, 
Were  ginger-bread  in  cards,  and  fruits, 

And  pies,  and  cakes,  and  ale. 

The  thrifty  farmer  might  be  seen 

A  tapster  for  the  time, 
Serving  new  cider  by  the  glass 

To  turn  an  honest  dime. 

Crowds  gathered  at  the  taverns,  stores 

And  dram-shops  on  the  street, 
Where  in  fierce  conflict  with  strong  drink 

Some  suffered  sore  defeat. 

There  was  no  sham  in  such  a  fight, 
When  men  laid  down  their  arms, 

And  yielded  in  unmanly  way 
To  rum's  beguiling  charms. 

And  now,  in  this  our  history 

One  point  to  which  we  come 
Is,  that  the  curse  of  muster-day 

Was  vile  New  England  Rum. 

And  as  the  judgment  of  "  this  court" 

We  may  still  further  find; — 
It  curses  every  other  day, 

To  millions  of  mankind. 

EXIT   OMNES. 

The  revelers,  athletes,  and  the  crowd 

The  showman  and  his  show, 
The  seller  and  the  sold  disperse, 

In  dusty  guise  they  go. 

The  pageantry  of  mimic  war 

No  longer  stirs  the  town 
With  martial  pomp — no  armed  host 

Now  marches  up  and  down. 

But  into  gray  and  wrinkled  eld  ! — ■ 

Into  the  shadowy  years ! — 
The  martial  and  the  social  throng 

Forever  disappears. 

And  as  the  echo  of  our  song 

We  hear  in  mystic  chime 
Their  muffled,  solemn,  tramp  !  tramp!  tramp  ! 

Into  the  jaws  of  Time. 

Note. — The  old  militia  laws  of  New  Hampshire  were  re- 
pealed by  the  Legislature  in  the  year  1849,  and  since  that 
date  there  has  been  no  general  military  parade  in  Newport. 


CHAPTER    III. 

NEWPORT— {Continued). 

CHURCHES    AND    MUSIC. 

Congregational. — The  town  of  Newport 
was  exceedingly  fortunate  in  the  personal  char- 
acteristics of  its  first  settlers.  Every  member 
of  the  party  that  arrived  here  from  old  Killing- 
worth,  in  June,  1766,  as  we  have  heretofore 
stated,  was  in  himself  an  institution,  with  set- 
tled views  on  the  subjects  of  religion,  civil  gov- 
ernment and  social  affairs. 

Unlike  greedy  adventurers  who  rush  for 
mining  regions  to  delve  and  spoil  from  place  to 
place  for  immediate  gain,  they  came  to  estab- 
lish homes  and  a  community  for  themselves  and 
their  heirs  and  successors  in  the  generations  to 
come. 

We  have  seen  how  the  party,  under  the  di- 
rection, probably,  of  Deacon  Stephen  Wilcox, 
finished  their  tiresome  journey  from  Charles- 
town  and  went  into  quarters,  such  as  they  found 
or  improvised  for  the  occasion,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  four  corners  at  the  foot  of  Claremont 
Hill. 

The  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  their  first 
collective  act  was  that  of  prayer  and  praise  to 
Almighty  God,  who  had  guided  their  steps 
hitherward.  They  first  sought  His  blessing  on 
the  new  settlement  they  were  about  to  commence. 
For  this  purpose  they  are  said  to  have  gathered 
in  the  shade  of  a  large  birch-tree. 

It  requires  but  little  of  imagination  to  sug- 
gest that  their  place  of  worship  on  that  occasion 
may  have  been  the  site  on  which  the  first 
Conoreirational  meeting-house  was  afterward 
erected. 

From  that  day  they  failed  not  to  "  assemble 
and  meet  together"  on  each  Lord's  day  for  so- 
cial worship  after  the  manner  of  their  ancestors. 
The  religion  of  Christ  depends  not  on  the  min- 
istrations of  priest  or  prelate,  but  may  be  en- 
joyed  wherever  two  or  three  tire  gathered  to- 
gether in  1 1  is  name.  They  afterwards  met  in 
their   camps  and   cabins;  one  of  their  number 


242 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


led  the  meetings  and  sermons;  were  read  from 
printed  volumes.  Since  that  first  act  of  public 
worship  in  the  town  of  Newport,  the  fire  upon 
the  altar  has  never  ceased. 

This  state  of  things  continued  for  some  six 
years,  the  first  party  being  reinforced  from  year 
to  year  by  new-comers  who  added  strength  and 

Stability  to  the  settlement. 

The  completion  of  the  Proprietors'  Mouse,  in 
1773,  afforded  a  central  and  public  place  for  re- 
ligious meetings.  When  the  settlers  first  en- 
joyed  the  services  of  a  regular  minister  is  not 
fully  ascertained.  It  must,  however,  have  Keen 
prior  to  June,  1775,  for  in  a  warrant  calling  a 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  on  the  29th  of  that 
month  was  an  article, — "  To  see  if  the  town 
will  hire  Mr.  Ebenezer  Sweet  land  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  Newport  some  time  longer;"  and  at 
an  adjourned  meeting  the  next  day,  it  was 
"Voted,  That  Mr.  Robert  Lane,  Mr.  Daniel 
Dudley  and  Mr.  Josiah  Stevens  be  a  commit- 
tee to  treat  with  Mr.  Eliezer  Sweetland  in  re- 
gard to  our  employing  him  in  some  future 
time."  The  result  of  any  negotiations  with 
Mr.  Sweetland  does  not  appear  on  the  record. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  votes  and  negotiations 
in  regard  to  the  employment  and  compensation 
of  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  acts  of  the  town 
as  a  body  corporate. 

The  support  of  a  Congregational  minister 
was  obligatory  upon  the  people  without  respect 
to  difference  of  opinion  or  creed.  After  the 
year  1803  no  compulsory  action  was  taken  by 
the  town  upon  this  subject.  In  that  year  a 
Congregational  Society  was  incorporated  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  which  continued  until 
1828,  when  it  was  superseded  by  a  general  law 
in  regard  to  church  corporations. 

A  complete  and  legal  separation  between  the 
affairs  of  church  and  state  came  with  the  "  Tol- 
eration Act,"  1819,  the  passage  of  which  by  the 
Legislature  caused  a  notable  sensation  through- 
out the  State. 

In  a  warrant  calling  a  meeting  of  the  propri- 
etors, to  be  held  on   the   2!>th  of  April,  1778, 


was  the  following  article, — viz. :  "  To  see  if  the 
Town  will  agree  to  have  Mr.  Kendall  stay  and 
Preach  with  us." 

At  the  meeting  thus  warned,  Robert  Lane, 
Benjamin  Giles  and  Josiah  Stevens  were  chosen 
a  committee  to  confer  with  Mr.  Thomas  Ken- 
dall "  to  see  if  he  will  continue  a  space  of  time  to 
Preach  the  gospel  in  this  town  of  Newport." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting,  on  .May  4th, 
"Voted,  That  Mr.  Thomas  Kendall  stay  and 
Preach  in  this  Town,  and  the  town  to  con- 
tribute every  Sabbath  for  to  Support  it."  Also 
"Voted,  That  the  Com00  confer  with  Mr. 
Thomas  Kendall  to  see  if  he  will  return  to  this 
town  as  soon  as  he  can,  with  convenience,  after 
he  hath  accomplished  his  purposed  journey." 

Whether  Mr.  Kendall  "  continued  a  space  of 
time,"  or  whether  he  "accomplished  his  jour- 
ney" and  returned  does  not  appear  on  the 
record. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  March  i),  177i>,  it 
was  "  Voted,  To  see  if  the  Town  will  choose  a 
committee,  in  order  to  look  out  a  candidate  to 
settle  with  us  in  the  work  of  the  gospel  min- 
istry." And  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  on  the 
loth  of  the  same  month,  it  was  "  Voted,  That 
Aaron  Buel  and  Josiah  Stevens  be  a  committee 
to  make  application  to  Rev.  Mr.  Hall,  of 
Keenc,  to  look  out  for  a  candidate  to  settle  in 
the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  in  the  Town 
of  Newport." 

Some  thirteen  years  had  passed  away  since 
the  men  of  Killing  worth  appeared  in  Newport, 
and  as  yet  no  regular  church  organization  had 
been  effected.  In  view,  therefore,  of  the  present 
and  prospective  welfare  of  an  increased  and  in- 
creasing population,  and  of  greater  efficiency  in 
Christian  work,  and  in  order  that  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  church  might  exert  their 
full   and    proper   influence  and   be    enjoyed   in 

their  midst,  the  g 1  people  of  the  town   were 

impressed  with  the  necessity X)f  moving  forward 
in  this  regard.  The  principles  of  a  stern  and 
true  religion  had  been  here  in  spirit  from  the 
commencement   of  the  settlement.       The   time 


NEWPORT. 


243 


had  now  come  when  they  should  appear  in 
form  and  by  institution.  To  this  end,  on  the 
28th  day  of  October,  1779,  a  meeting  was  held 
in  accordance  with  previous  notice  and  arrange- 
ment, when  Rev.  Aaron  Hall,  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Keene,  and  the  only  clergyman  pres- 
ent, was  chosen  moderator,  and  Aaron  Buel 
scribe. 

Articles  of  faith  and  discipline,  and  a  church 
covenant  previously  drawn  up,  were  then 
adopted  as  the  canon  of  the  new  church. 

These  rules  and  regulations  exhibit  educa- 
tion, ability  and  clear  views  of  Christian  faith 
and  practice  on  the  part  of  the  founders  of  the 
church  in  this  town. 

The  covenant  obligations  then  entered  upon 
were  of  the  most  solemn  character,  to  which 
were  subscribed  the  following  names  : 

Robert  Lane.  Susannah  Dudley. 

Daniel  Dudley.  Lydia  Hurd. 

Daniel  Buel.  Eunice  Bascom. 

Aaron  Buel.  Mary  Stevens. 

Elias  Bascom.  Esther  Lane. 

Matthew  Buel.  Jane  Buel. 

Josiah  Stevens.  Chloe  Wilcox. 

Esther  Buel.  Mary  Buel. 

Following  this  church  union  it  was 

"  Voted,  That  all  the  parties  thus  subscribed,  '  upon 
hearing  each  one's  relation  and  experience,  and  ask- 
ing each  one's  forgiveness,  receive  each  other  into 
their  love  and  fellowship.' 

"  Voted  :  Yt  Captain  Samuel  Hurd,  Mrs.  Jane  Buel, 
Mrs.  Chloe  Wilcox,  having  heard  their  relations  and 
experiences,  and  they  having  asked  ye  brethren's 
forgiveness,  be  taken  into  love  and  fellowship. 

"  Benjamin  Giles  received  as  a  member  on  con- 
dition that  he  get  his  letters." 

Brother  Giles  undoubtedly  received  his  let- 
ters, as  we  hereafter  find  his  name  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  active  members. 

On  December  6,  1779,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed "  to  confer  with  Mr.  Tracy  and  desire 
him  to  tarry  and  preach  the  gospel  four  Sab- 
baths longer,  if  they  could  discern  a  probability 
of  his  settling  or  a  disposition  in  him  to  settle 
16 


with  the  people  of  this  town,  as  a  preacher,  at 
some  future  time,  if  circumstances  admitted  of  it ; 
if  not,  to  proceed  on  his  way." 

Though  extremely  desirous  of  having  a  set- 
tled minister,  the  people  would  not  insist  too 
much  on  Mr.  Tracy's  coming,  and  he  was  al- 
lowed "  to  proceed." 

Not  long  after  this,  a  young  man  by  the  name 
of  Samuel  Wood  was  invited  "  to  preach/'  and, 
at  a  meeting  held  August  7,  1790,  it  was  voted 
"  to  ask  the  above-named  gentleman  to  preach 
two  Sabbaths  longer  on  probation."  On  the 
24th  of  the  same  month  a  call  was  given  to  Mr. 
Wood.  He  was  offered  £100  as  settlement 
and  £45  per  year  as  salary,  which  was  to  be  in- 
creased £5  per  year  until  it  reached  £70.  The 
call  was  not  accepted. 

We  learn  from  the  town  records  in  regard  to 
values  that  thirty  pounds  in  colonial  money, 
at  this  time,  was  equal  to  one  hundred  silver 
dollars. 

It  would  seem,  judging  from  the  hints  given 
in  the  records,  that  the  revival  which  took 
place  shortly  after  the  formation  of  the  church 
was  due  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Wood,  as  during 
his  sojourn  in  Newport  some  thirty  members 
were  added  to  the  church. 

The  ordinary  details  usually  found  in  church 
records,  consisting  as  they  do  of  dealings  with 
erring  and  refractory  members,  are  of  but  little 
interest.     If  such  records  represented  the  entire 
work   of  the  church   instead  of  its   purifying 
processes,  our  confidence   in  its  efficiency  as  a 
leading  institution  among  us  would  necessarily 
weaken.     But   occasionally   a  matter  arises  of 
more  than   ordinary  interest — and  such  is  the 
one  to  which  we  are  about  to  refer,  as  it  became 
the  subject  of  an  ecclesiastical  council,  to  which 
Rev.  Aaron  Hall,  of  Keene,  and  Rev.  Pelatiah 
Chapin,  of  Windsor,  Vt.,  were  called  to  aid  in 
its  discussion  and  settlement. 

In  the  spring  of  1781  a  complaint  was  made 
by  Brother  Robert  Lane,  a  prominent  member, 
against  Brother  Benjamin  Giles,  another  prom- 
inent member,  "  in  ye  following  particulars  :" 


244 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  1st.  For  causing  a  book  to  be  read  in  publick, 
published  by  Mr.  Whitefield  in  which  men  in  an  un- 
regenerate  state  are  represented  to  be  half  beast  and 
half  devil. 

"  2d.  For  speaking  against  profane  swearing  in 
publick." 

The  record  proceeds: 

"  In  ye  first,  Brother  Giles  appeared  ready  to  de- 
fend Mr.  Whitefield's  description  of  unregenerate 
men  as  true.  As  to  ye  second  charge,  Brother  Giles 
vindicated  his  conduct,  in  public  speaking,  against 
profane  swearing,  as  no  ways  out  of  character." 
The  record  continues  : 

"  The  Chh  found  y'  nothing  in  this  view  on  brother 
Giles'  part  could  be  considered  matter  of  offence  in 
ye  charges  brought  against  him." 

Further  ou  in  the  record  we  learn  that 
Robert  Lane,  the  complaining  brother,  was  so 
much  dissatisfied  with  the  verdict  of  the  church 
that  he  requested  to  have  his  relationship  with 
it  dissolved,  and  his  request  was  formally 
granted. 

In  considering  the  matter  of  the  first  charge 
we  are  satisfied  the  complaining  brother  would 
have  the  unquestioned  sympathy  of  all  sensible 
people  certainly  in  this,  our  time;  and  how  it 
was  that  Brother  Giles,  who  was  considered  a 
foremost  man  as  regards  intelligence  and  ability, 
could  consent  to  leave  such  an  expression  of 
opinion  on  the  church  records  the  reader  of 
this  generation  will  be  unable  to  understand. 

In  regard  to  the  second  charge,  whereby  the 
complaining  brother  felt  aggrieved  by  being  re- 
stricted in  the  use  of  profane  language,  he 
would  find  no  justification  in  the  public  or 
private  sentiment  of  our  time.  We  may  say, 
however,  in  explanation  or  extenuation  of  the 
position  taken  by  Mr.  Lane,  that,  up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century,  in  this  country 
and  in  England  profanity  was  not  regarded  as 
incompatible  with  a  Christian  life,  or  as  an  out- 
rage against  the  church  and  good  manners  and 
an  indictable  offense  at  law. 

The  efforts  of  the  church,  by  the  concurrent 
action  of  the  town,  to  settle  a  minister  were  at 
last  crowned  with  success. 


On  January  22,  1783,  Rev.  John  Remele 
was  duly  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Newport.  By  this  he  came 
in  possession  of  a  tract  of  land  set  apart  by  the 
charter  of  the  town  to  the  first  settled  minister. 
His  salary  was  fixed  at  seventy  pounds  per  an- 
num, which,  according  to  a  former  estimate, 
would  be  $233.33  in  silver  money. 

According  to  all  accounts,  traditional  and 
otherwise,  Mr.  Remele  was  a  well-educated, 
genial  man,  an  able  preacher  and  a  successful 
instructor  of  youth.  Of  his  personal  history, 
previous  to  his  coming  to  this  town,  we  have 
no  knowledge.  He  was  here  with  his  wife, 
Anna  Read,  and  their  five  children,  the  young- 
est of  whom  was  born  in  Newport. 

The  ministry  of  Rev.  John  Remele,  not- 
withstanding his  many  estimable  qualities,  was 
not  a  success.  During  the  more  than  eight 
years  of  his  pastorate  only  thirteen  members 
were  added  to  the  church.  Grave  charges  were 
made  against  him  on  account  of  some  social 
eccentricities,  involving  his  moral  character. 

His  ministry  practically  ended  some  time 
before  his  dismissal,  which  formally  occurred 
October  10,  1791.  He  afterward  removed  to 
Orwell,  Vt.,  taking  with  him  all  the  church 
records  existing  at  the  time,  which  must  have 
contained  the  doings  of  the  council  by  which 
he  was  dismissed,  and  consequently  the  evi- 
dences of  his  improper  conduct,  and,  though 
much  effort  was  made,  they  were  never  re- 
covered. 

In  December,  1803,  a  vote  was  passed  recit- 
ing the  facts  in  the  case,  and  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Jesse  Wilcox,  Uriah  Wilcox,  Samuel 
Hurd,  Phineas  Wilcox  and  Ezra  Parmelee,  was 
appointed  "to  attend  to  this  business," — i.e.,  the 
recovery  or  reconstruction  of  the  church  records. 
On  the  28th  of  the  following  March  the  commit- 
tee reported  that  the  call  of  the  church  was  made 
in  December,  1782,  that  it  was  concurred  in  by 
the  town,  ami  that,  on  January  17,  1783,  the 
town,  voted  to  have  Mr.  Remele  ordained  on 
January  22d.     The  report  was  accepted.     This 


NEWPORT. 


245 


and  a  few  loose  papers,  found  in  the  archives 
of  the  society,  partially  restored  the  record^. 

The  church  was  much  weakened  by  these 
trials,  but  their  courage  was  good,  and  at  a  meet- 
ing held  July  3,  1791,  at  which  the  council 
agreed  on  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Remele,  it  was 
"  Voted,  y*  ye  chh  will  reunite  and  go  on  together 
as  a  chh  according  to  ye  plan  and  constitution  yl 
it  first  settled  upon  in  discipline,  &c." 

After  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Remele  the  church 
remained  without  a  settled  minister  some  time 
over  four  years.  In  the  mean  time  a  good 
spirit  prevailed.  Jesse  Wilcox  was  chosen  a  dea- 
con, and  they  had  availed  themselves  of  the 
services  of  itinerant  preachers,  or  depended 
upon  the  ability  local  to  the  church,  which  was 
by  no  means  of  an  inferior  order. 

A  new  town  and  meeting-house  had  been 
erected  more  commodious  in  its  proportions,  and 
it  remained  to  place  a  desirable  pastor  over  the 
church. 

A  painful  accident  occurred  at  the  raising  of 
the  new  meeting-house.  A  raising  in  those 
days,  and  particularly  the  raising  of  a  meet- 
ing-house, was  a  matter  of  much  importance  and 
Mas  liberally  attended  by  people  from  the 
neighboring  towns.  Charles  Seamans,  a  young 
man  in  the  twentieth  year  of  his  age,  had  come 
over  from  New  London,  probably  with  others, 
to  aid  in  the  work  and  in  so  doing  lost  his  life. 

Backus,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Baptists," 
states  that, 

"  In  June  (26),  1793,  an  alarming  Providence  re- 
sulted in  a  revival  of  religion.  The  eldest  son  of 
Elder  Job  Seamaus,  Pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
New  London,  came  to  Newport  to  assist  in  raising  the 
frame  of  the  Congregational  Meeting-house.  He  fell 
from  the  top  of  it  and  soon  died.  The  Spirit  of  God 
made  use  of  it  for  good." 

A  common  gray  stone,  standing  in  the  "old 
burial-ground,"  bears  record  of  this  sad  event  as 
follows  : 

"  In  Memory  of  Mr.  Charles  Seamans,  of  New  Lon- 
don, son  of  Rev.  Job  Seamans  and  Mrs.  Sarah,  his 
wife,  who,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1793,  fell  from  the 


plate  of  the  Meeting-house  and  expired  in  4  hours, 
aged  19  years  and  10  months. 

"  Behold  and  see  as  you  pass  by, 
As  you  are  now  so  once  was  I, 
As  I  am  now  so  you  must  be, 

Prepare  for  death  and  follow  me." 

On  December  13,  1795,  a  call  was  extended 
to  Mr.  Abijah  W7ines  to  become  the  pastor  of 
this  church.  Abijah  Wines  was  a  native  of 
Southold,  on  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island, 
born  May  28,  1766.  His  parents  and  other 
members  of  the  family  came  to  Newport  in  1781. 
When  about  twenty  years  of  age,  Abijah  Wines 
had  married  Ruth,  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Giles.  The  youthful  couple  and 
newly  constituted  family  settled  on  land  a  short 
distance  north  of  the  cross-roads,  in  later  years 
and  still  known  as  the  Aiken  place.  After 
some  years  of  labor  on  the  farm,  Mr.  Wines, 
who  was  studious  in  habits  and  religiously  in- 
clined, felt  called  to  a  higher  work  than  that  of 
grubbing  roots  and  tilling  the  ground.  It  has 
come  to  us  that  in  this  new  departure  he  was 
advised  and  encouraged  by  his  excellent  wife, 
and  that  it  was  at  her  suggestion  that  he  entered 
upon  a  course  of  study — probably  at  first  under 
the  tuition  of  Rev.  Mr.  Remele,  and  was  finally 
graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  the  class 
of  1794.  He  was  the  first  alumnus  of  that 
institution  from  the  town  of  Newport.  He 
afterward  pursued  a  course  of  theological  train- 
ing and  study  with  Rev.  Dr.  Emmons,  of 
Franklin,  Mass.  Returning  to  Newport,  he  ac- 
cepted the  call  and  pulpit  of  the  Congregational 
Church. 

During  this  period  of  study  and  absence  at 
college  and  in  Massachusetts,  Ruth,  like  her 
historic  and  Scripture  namesake,  who  gleaned 
in  the  fields  of  ancient  Boaz,  with  an  energy 
that  would  appall  the  minister's  wife  of  the 
present,  wrought  in  her  own  fields,  carried  on 
the  farm,  personally  superintending  all  the  de- 
tails of  its  husbandry,  selling  the  crops  and 
paying  her  husband's  expenses  from  the  proceeds. 
It  is  said  of  her  that  she  much  preferred  out-of- 


246 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


door  work  to  the  domestic  labors  of  the  house- 
hold. In  the  course  of  her  life  in  Newport  she 
also  became  the  mother  of  ten  children. 

The  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wines  continued 
until  November  26,  1816,  when  he  was  dis- 
missed at  his  own  request  and  accepted  a  pro- 
fessorship in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Ban- 
gor, Me.,  from  which  he  retired  at  the  close  of 
the  first  year,  and  during  the  remaining  years  of 
his  life  was  engaged  in  preaching  the  gospel  on 
Deer  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  Mr.  Wines 
was  a  beloved  pastor  and  a  highly-esteemed  and 
useful  citizen.  He  died  February  11,  1833, 
aged  sixty-seven  years. 

The  church  continued  without  a  pastor  about 
two  years,  when,  on  December  2,  1818,  Rev. 
James  R.  Wheelock,  a  grandson  of  the  first  and 
a  son  of  the  second  president  of  Dartmouth 
College,  was  called  to  its  ministry.  Mr.  Whee- 
lock was  an  able  and  scholarly  man,  as  one 
would  suppose  from  his  genealogy — an  earnest 
Christian  worker  and  preacher.  It  was  in  his 
time  that  the  first  Sunday-school  was  organized 
in  connection  with  this  church.  Soon  after  his 
ordination  an  extensive  revival  was  experienced, 
by  which  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  new  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  church.  Mr.  Wheelock's 
pastorate  continued  until  February  23,  1823, 
when   he  was  dismissed  by  a  mutual  council. 

Mr.  Wheelock  had  many  friends  in  Newport 
who  felt  that  he  had  not  been  fairly  treated  in 
matters  leading  up  to  the  council.  The  charges 
against  him  were  of  the  most  trivial  character 
and  were  not  sustained  before  the  council.  He 
was  dismissed  as  a  matter  of  policy  and  not  of 
personal  right,  and  it  is  apparent  that  he  left  the 
church  in  a  most  inharmonious  condition. 

An  ecclesiastical  council  was  again  called, 
with  a  view  to  correct  this  unhappy  state  of 
things.  A  fast  was  appointed  on  the  6th  of 
November  ;  a  paper  was  drawn  up  and  signed 
by  members  containing  mutual  acknowledg- 
ments and  on  the  13th  the  church  voted  to 
extend  a  call  to  Rev.  John  Woods,  who  had 
already  moved  into  town  from  Warner. 


The  call  was  accepted  and  he  was  installed 
January  24,  1824.  His  salary  was  fixed  at 
four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum. 

It  was  in  the  year  1822,  during  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelock,  that  the  present  brick 
meeting-house  was  erected. 

Mr.  Woods  took  possession  of  its  pulpit 
with  the  improving  confidence  of  his  people. 
How  well  he  acquitted  himself  in  all  the  duties 
incumbent  upon  him  through  a  period  of  more 
than  twenty-seven  years  is  still  in  the  memory 
of  the  Congregational  people.  There  were 
added  to  the  church  during  his  pastorate  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  members. 

Mr.  Woods  was  the  pioneer  in  the  temper- 
ence  reform  in  this  town.  In  1841  the  church 
adopted  rules  of  total  abstinence  as  a  require- 
ment applicable  to  all  members. 

On  July  16,  1851,  an  ecclesiastical  council 
convened  for  the  purpose  of  dissolving  the  pas- 
toral relation  with  Mr.  Woods  at  his  own 
request,  and  at  the  same  time  Rev.  Henry  Cum- 
mings, a  late  graduate  of  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  church 
with  a  salary  of  seven  hundred  dollars  per 
annum. 

The  pastorate  of  Mr.  Cummings  continued 
for  a  period  of  fifteen  years  and  was  marked 
by  an  unusual  degree  of  prosperity  to  the 
church  and  people, — one  hundred  and  seventy 
new  members  were  added. 

Mr.  Cummings  resigned  his  charge  to  accept 
a  call  to  another  and  wider  field  of  labor,  and 
was  dismissed  by  a  council  in  regular  order 
July  25,  1866. 

After  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Cummings,  Rev. 
G.  R.  W.  Scott,  also  a  graduate  of  Andover, 
supplied  the  pulpit  for  a  time  so  acceptably 
that  he  was  called  to  the  regular  pastorate  of 
the  church  and  duly  installed  September  17, 
1868. 

It  was  during  this  pastorate,  in  1869,  that  the 
old-time,  elevated  pulpit  and  high-backed  pews 
were  removed  and  the  auditorium  reconstructed 
more  in  accordance  with   modern  ideas  of  com- 


NEWPORT. 


247 


fort  and  convenience.  A  large  and  fine-toned 
organ  was  also  placed  in  the  choir,  the  gift  of 
Deacon  Dexter  Richards,  as  a  memorial  of  a 
beloved  daughter  who  died  in  1868,  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years. 

In  1871  an  additional  structure  of  brick,  of 
fair  architectural  proportions,  was  erected  partly 
in  the  rear  and  connecting  with  the  main  build- 
ing, for  use  as  a  chapel,  with  parlors  and  a 
cuisine  arranged  for  social  meetings  and  gather- 
ings of  the  church  and  society. 

Rev.  Mr.  Scott  was  dismissed  at  his  own 
request  and  accepted  the  pastorate  of  a  church 
in  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  where  he  still  remains 
(1885). 

At  his  suggestion  Rev.  E.  E.  P.  Abbott  came 
to  supply  the  pulpit  of  the  church  until  another 
pastor  could  be  established. 

Mr.  Abbott  was  a  native  of  Concord,  born 
September  20,  1841,  was  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1863.  He  was  for  two  years 
a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  in  New 
York  City  and  a  graduate  from  Andover 
Theological  Seminary  in  1867.  He  was  called 
to  the  pastorate  of  the  Congregational  Church 
at  Meriden,  which  he  resigned  in  1872, 
for  the  purpose  of  travel  and  study  in  Ger- 
many, where  he  spent  a  couple  of  years  with 
his  wife.  His  ministrations  were  so  acceptable 
that  he  was  finally  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  Newport  Church  and  formally  installed 
March  24,  1875. 

After  a  ministry  of  about  ten  years'  duration^ 
he  sent  in  his  resignation,  to  take  effect  March 
1,  1884.  On  Sunday,  24th  February,  the 
auditorium  and  galleries  of  the  venerable  South 
meetiug-house  were  packed  to  their  utmost  ex- 
tent to  listen  to  his  farewell  discourse  previous 
to  his  departure  for  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  where 
he  now  ministers  over  a  Congregational  Church. 

After  the  retirement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Abbott  a 
call  was  extended  to  Rev.  Charles  N.  Flanders 
to  become  the  pastor  of  the  church,  which  was 
duly  accepted  and  the  installation  services 
occurred  on  Wednesday,  May  28,  1884.      Rev. 


G.  R.  W.  Scott,  D.D.,  of  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
was  chosen  moderator  of  the  council  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  exercises.  Mr.  Flanders  is  a 
native  of  Bradford,  Vt,  born  April  1,  1844, 
was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1871 
and  from  Andover  Theological  Seminary  in 
1874.  He  came  to  the  church  from  Wapping, 
Conn. 

Before  closing  this  sketch,  it  is  fit  and  proper 
that  we  take  a  backward  glance  along  the  line 
to  the  begiuniug  in  1779,  and  call  up  the 
names  and  memories  of  the  worthy  men  who 
have  filled  the  diaconate  of  this  church,  of  whom 
are  Josiah  Stevens,  Sr.,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Uriah 
Wilcox,  Moses  Noyes,  Elnathan  Hurd,  Josiah 
Stevens,  Jr.,  Joseph  Wilcox,  Henry  Chapin, 
David  B.  Chapin,  whose  bodies  are  buried  in 
peace,  but  whose  names  and  memories  still  live, 
and  whose  works  of  usefulness  still  abide  in 
the  church  for  which  they  labored,  and  whose 
prosperity  and  beauty  was  dear  to  them  and  to 
the  community  they  sought  to  benefit  by  their 
good  example. 

Our  sketch  now  leaves  the  Congregational 
Church  in  the  hands  of  Rev.  C.  N.  Flanders, 
its  pastor,  and  its  present  deacons,  Dexter 
Richards  and  Rufus  P.  Claggett. 

Baptist  Church. — During  the  year  1770 
there  came  to  this  town  and  Croydon  a  number 
of  settlers  from  Central  Massachusetts.  Some 
of  them  located  on  the  high  lands  in  the  north- 
western part  of  Newport,  and  others  on  con- 
tiguous land  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Croy- 
deu,  thus  establishing  an  important  neighbor- 
hood or  colony  across  the  line  of  the  two  towns. 

These  people  were  mostly  from  Worcester 
County,  where  Baptist  Churches  had  for  many 
years  been  established,  and  as  they  were  nearly 
all  Baptists,  the  locality  soon  came  to  be  known 
as  Baptist  Hill,  and  so  continues  to  this 
time. 

Their  centre  of  business,  where  they  had  a 
store,  a  school-house,  a  tannery  and  mechanic 
shops,  and  where  in  the  course  of  time  timber 
was  drawn   and  deposited  for  the   purpose  of 


248 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


building  a  meeting-house,  was  on  the  road  run- 
ning north  from  the  present  Northville  ap- 
proaching and  crossing  the  town  line.  The 
Wakefields,  Havens,  Metcalfs,  Durkees,  Cham- 
berlains and  Wheelers  of  this  town,  and  the 
Stows,  Jacobs  and  others  comprised  this  settle- 
ment— a  thrifty  and  intelligent  people,  strong 
in  the  faith  of  their  prototype,  Roger  Williams. 

For  eight  or  nine  years  they  abode  in  this 
new  settlement,  clearing  land,  opening  farms, 
building  houses  and  barns  and  increasing  in 
basket  and  in  store. 

Although  scattered  on  the  hill  as  sheep  with- 
out a  shepherd,  they  went  not  astray  and  fell 
into  no  neglect  of  their  religious  belief,  failing 
not  under  any  circumstances  to  gather  in  private 
houses  and  barns,  and  finally  in  the  school-house 
after  it  was  built,  for  religious  services,  depend- 
ing upon  their  own  resources  with  the  help  of 
the  Lord  for  edification  and  interest. 

Their  number  and  wants  accumulated  until 
about  the  year  1779,  when  some  of  their  lead- 
ing men  and  women  sought  the  good  offices  of 
Rev.  Caleb  Blood,  of  Marlow,  pastor  of  the 
nearest  church  of  their  denomination,  to  procure 
for  them  a  "  qualified  religious  teacher." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Warren  Association 
(Rhode  Island)  of  Baptist  Churches,  held  at 
Leicester,  Mass.,  September  8-9,  1778,  a  letter 
was  read  from  Rev.  Mr.  Blood,  setting  forth 
the  religious  condition  and  necessities  of  this 
section  of  the  country.  This  appeal,  doubtless, 
reached  the  minds  and  hearts  of  former  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  still  living  in  the  old  county 
of  Worcester,  from  which  they  had  come,  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Leicester,  which 
was  then  half  a  century  old. 

The  following  is  copied  from  the  minutes  of 
that  association  for  1778  : 

"  A  most  presssing  application  being  made  in  be- 
half of  a  vast  extent  of  country  to  the  northward  al- 
most entirely  destitute  of  ministerial  helps,  we  have 
recommended  it  to  our  Elders,  Jacobs,  Ledoyt,  Sea- 
mans  and  our  Brother  Ransome  to  visit  and  labor  in 
those  parts;  and  they  have  undertaken  to  go;  and  as 
the  expense  of  their  journey  must  be  considerable,  the 


Churches  are   earnestly   requested   to   contribute   to 
their  support  and  send  it  to  our  next  Association." 

These  brethren  proceeded  to  the  task  as- 
signed them.  Benedict,  the  Baptist  historian,  tells 
us,  that  Elders  Job  Seamans  of  Attleborough, 
Mass.,  and  Biel  Ledoyt,  of  Woodstock,  Conn., 
traveled  up  the  Connecticut  River  as  far  as 
Woodstock,  Vt.,  preaching  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  but  mostly  on  the  Xew  Hampshire 
side.  Their  coming  was  refreshing  to  the 
hearts  of  many,  and  an  evident  blessing  fol- 
lowed their  zealous  and  evangelical  labors. 

Elder  Ledoyt  visited  Newport  and  Croydon 
among  other  places,  and  preached  to  the  little 
community  of  Baptists  on  Baptist  Hill.  It 
was  undoubtedly  through  his  influence  that 
they  were  encouraged  to  associate  themselves 
together  in  church  fellowship,  and  in  May,  1779, 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Newport  and  Croydon 
was  organized.  It  was,  however,  soon  after- 
ward known  only  as  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Newport. 

There  were  eight  constituent  members,  as 
follows  : 


Seth  Wheeler. 
William  Haven. 
Mrs.  Seth  Wheeler. 
Mrs.  William  Haven. 


Elias  Metcalf. 
Ezekiel  Powers. 
Mrs.  Elias  Metcalf. 
Mrs.  Nathaniel  Wheeler. 


It  will  be  seen  that  this  church  was  organized 
in  the  midst  of  the  Revolutionary  period  of  our 
country,  when  the  minds  of  the  people  were 
absorbed  in  political  affairs,  the  movements  of 
armies,  American  and  British,  campaigns  and 
battles,  questions  of  victory  or  defeat;  and 
every  neighborhood  had  its  representative  in 
the  ranks  of  the  patriot  army.  The  church, 
however,  seems  to  have  made  some  progress,  for 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  1783,  though  destitute 
of  pastoral  care,  it  had  twenty-two  members,  a 
gain  of  fourteen  during  the  first  four  years. 

Seth  Wheeler,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  man 
of  decided  ability  and  highly  respected  in  the 
community,  was  chosen  its  first  deacon,  and  for 
its  general  prosperity  the  church  is  greatly  in- 
debted to  his  offices.     Elias  Metcalf  was  after- 


NEWPORT. 


249 


ward  associated  with  him  in  the  diaconate,  and, 
under  the  leading  of  these  good  and  wise  men, 
it  continued  to  nourish  several  years  without  a 
pastor  other  than  those  occasionally  coming  to 
them  from  other  and  more  prosperous  places. 

Their  principal  strength  came  from  meeting 
together  for  prayer  and  Christian  conference 
and  exhortation,  and  the  Spirit  that  is  promised 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together. 

It  would  seem  that  Elder  Ledoyt  continued 
to  hold  in  remembrance  the  church  he  had  been 
instrumental  in  founding  in  this  destitute  re- 
gion, and  that  he  revisited  the  places  where  he 
labored  in  1778-79,  to  strengthen  and  establish 
the  brethren  in  the  faith. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  after  a  lapse  of  twelve 
years  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate,  and 
was  installed  as  first  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Newport.  The  sermon  on  the  occa- 
sion was  by  Rev.  Job  Seamans,  who  afterward 
became  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  New 
London. 

It  is  unfortunate  for  our  sketch  that  we  can- 
not give  the  exact  dates  and  all  the  attending 
circumstances  connected  with  this  matter,  from 
the  fact  that,  on  the  night  of  January  11, 1816, 
the  dwelling-house  of  Philip  W.  Kibbey,  an 
officer  of  the  church  and  the  custodian  of  its 
records,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  with  much  of  its 
contents,  including  the  archives  of  the  Baptist 
Church  and  society,  covering  the  first  forty-five 
years  of  its  existence. 

The  following  passage  from  Backus'  "  History 
of  the  Baptists  "  will  furnish  some  idea  of  the 
character  of  that  old  soldier  of  the  cross,  Elder 
Ledoyt,  the  "  qualified  "  founder  and  first  pastor 
of  this  church. 

September  16,  1793,  he  writes  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend : 

"It  hath  been  a  long,  dark  and  cloudy  night  with 
me  and  people  here,  but  glory  to  God,  the  clouds  are 
dispersing  fast.  His  work  is  begun  among  us  :  New- 
port and  Croydon  are  greatly  blessed.  There  have 
been  forty  souls  hopefully  converted  in  a  few  weeks 
among  us.  I  have  baptized  twenty -nine  in  four  weeks. 


The  work  appears  still  going  on.  I  cannot  be  idle.  It 
is  out  of  my  power  to  answer  all  the  calls  I  have  at 
this  time ;  but  I  endeavor  to  do  all  I  can.  Being 
favored  with  health  and  the  spirit  of  preaching,  I  as- 
cend the  mountains  easy. 

"  There  is  a  prospect  of  a  glorious  reformation  in 
these  parts.  O  may  it  spread  far  and  wide  !  God 
hath  remembered  my  family  also  for  good.  My  three 
eldest  daughters  I  hope  are  converted, — the  oldest 
seventeen  years,  the  youngest  ten  years  old  are  bap- 
tized. O  bless  the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt 
His  name  together !  I  never  more  sensibly  needed 
wisdom  than  at  present. 

"  You  will  not  cease  to  pray  for  me,  O  dear  brother, 
be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  the  power  of  his  might." 

In  1795  the  church  reported  a  membership 
of  eighty-nine.  Hitherto,  as  stated,  it  had  wor- 
shiped in  private  houses,  barns  and  the  school- 
house. 

A  barn  is  still  standing  by  the  river-side 
where  Thomas  Baldwin,  afterward  the  dis- 
tinguished Baptist  divine  of  Boston,  preached  a 
sermon  which  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
those  who  heard  it. 

In  1798  the  first  meeting-house,  in  size  forty 
by  forty  feet,  was  erected  on  land  adjoining  the 
cemetery  grounds  on  the  south  at  North  New- 
port. 

The  following  description  of  that  church 
edifice  and  the  worship  and  the  habits  of  the 
people,  as  they  appeared  in  1810,  is  from  the 
pen  of  the  late  Baron  Stow,  D.D.,  of  Boston  : 

"  I  am  in  that  plain  edifice  with  a  superabundance 
of  windows,  and  a  porch  at  each  end  ;  with  its  eleva- 
ted pulpit,  sky  blue  in  color  overhung  by  the  sound- 
ing-board; with  the  deacon's  seat  half-way  up  the 
pulpit;  with  the  square  pews  occupied  by  families; 
with  a  gallery  containing  one  row  of  pews  fronted  by 
the  singers'  seats. 

"  There  is  the  horse-shed;  there  is  the  horse-block ; 
there  are  the  horses  with  men's  saddles  and  pillions, 
and  a  few  women's  saddles,  but  not  a  carriage  of  any 
description. 

"  On  occasions  of  baptism  the  whole  congregation 
would  go  down  the  hill  and,  standing  in  a  deep  glen 
on  the  banks  of  Sugar  River,  would  witness  the  cere- 
monies.    Elias  McGregor  played  the  bass-viol.     Asa, 


250 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  brother,  led  the  choir,  and  his  sisters  Lucy  and  Lois 
sang  soprano  and  alto.  In  that  choir  were  Asaph 
Stow,  Moses  Paine  Durkee,  Philip  W.  Kibbey  and 
more  than  one  Wakefield." 

The  church  continued  to  prosper,  and  in  the 
year  1800  nine  were  added  by  baptism. 

In  1805  Mr.  Ledoyt  offered  his  resignation, 
which  was  reluctantly  accepted,  and  thus  closed 
a  successful  pastorate  of  about  fourteen  years. 
He  returned  soon  after  to  his  former  home  and 
field  of  labor  in  Woodstock,  Conn.  He  is  de- 
scribed as  "  a  man  of  moderate  education,  but 
of  unusual  natural  ability."  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker and  plied  his  trade  as  he  found  opportun- 
ity with  considerable  skill.  A  story  is  told  of 
an  unregenerate  hearer,  who  afterward  became 
a  Christian,  who  was  greatly  annoyed  at  the 
great  length  of  the  hymns  in  connection  with 
the  public  worship,  and  suggested  that  if  Elder 
Ledoyt  would  only  carry  his  bench  and  work 
into  the  pulpit,  he  might  top  a  shoe  while  the 
choir  were  singing  a  hymn. 

Many  people  now  living  well  remember  when 
the  Sabbath  services  continued  to  much  greater 
length  than  at  present,  and  when  the  sermons, 
forenoon  and  afternoon,  furnished  opportunity 
for  the  exercise  of  "  an  active  patience." 

Elder  Ledoyt  was  an  energetic  worker,  and 
considered  one  of  the  most  devoted  men  in  the 
gospel  ministry.  He  often  expressed  the  hope 
that  he  might  not  outlive  his  usefulness.  His 
wish  was  granted  :  he  was  suddenly  taken  away, 
being  found  dead  in  his  garden,  where  he  had 
been  at  work. 

We  know  very  little  of  the  Ledoyt  family, 
other  than  what  we  are  able  to  gather  from  the 
records  of  the  church.  They  came,  lived,  loved, 
labored  and  passed  away  in  the  earlier  days  of 
the  town  far  beyond  the  memory  of  this  gene- 
ration. 

There  is,  however,  one  other  memorial  of 
their  presence  here,  to  which  we  may  refer,  that 
appeals  to  our  humanity, — a  grave.  It  may  be 
found  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  first 
burial-place  of  Newport,  and  across  an  interval 


of  nearly  a  hundred  years  the  record  of  a  great 
sorrow  may  be  read  from  that  cold  gray  stone, 
as  follows : 

"  Iu  memory  of  Miss  Esther,  Daughter  of  the  Rev'd 
Biel  Ledoyt  and  Mrs.  Joanna,  his  wife,  who  after  a 
long  sickness,  died  February  10,  1792,  aged  20  years 
and  10  months. 

"My  loving  friend,  as  you  pass  by 
On  my  cold  grave  pray  cast  an  eye, 
As  I  am  now,  so  you  must  be, 
Prepare  for  death  and  follow  me." 

In  1806  Rev.  Thomas  Brown  was  installed 
as  second  pastor  of  the  church.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  man  of  good  ability,  and  highly 
respected  in  the  community. 

His  pastorate  was  attended  with  a  good  de- 
gree of  success.  During  the  year  1810  sixty- 
six  were  baptized,  and  eighty-five  in  all  were 
added  to  the  church. 

In  1812  the  church  reported  to  the  Wood- 
stock Association,  with  which  it  was  connected, 
a  total  membership  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
three. 

About  this  time  some  misunderstanding; 
occurred  between  Mr.  Brown  and  a  number  of 
his  parishioners,  which  caused  him  to  resign 
his  pastorate  in  1813. 

In  1814,  Rev.  Elisha  Hutchinson,  formerly 
of  Pomfret,  Vt.,  and  for  some  time  a  Congrega- 
tional minister,  came  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  class 
that  was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  great  zeal  and 
piety.  During  his  ministry  the  church  was 
greatly  troubled  for  reason  as  follows :  In 
1816  a  young  man,  named  Solomon  Howe, 
settled  on  or  about  Baptist  Hill.  His  religious 
sentiments  were  of  the  Arminian  school,  in  con- 
trast with  the  Calvinistic  views  of  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson. Their  open  discussions  on  this  ubject 
caused  a  division  of  the  church.  The  disaf- 
fected and  larger  party  withdrew  and  formed 
an  "  Independent  Baptist  Church,"  with  Mr. 
Howe  for  their  pastor. 

The  year  following,  two  sets  of  delegates  and 


NEWPORT. 


251 


the  two  ministers  were  present  at  the  Associa- 
tion, which  met  at  Mount  Holley,  Vt.,  each 
claiming  to  represent  the  Newport  Church. 

A  committee  was  appointed  by  the  associa- 
tion to  visit  Newport  and  investigate  the  matter. 
The  following  year,  1818,  the  church  under 
the  lead  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  was  recognized 
as  the  legitimate  church. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Hutchinson, 
1818,  Rev.  Leland  Howard,  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Windsor,  occasionally  supplied  the 
pulpit. 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Howard  are  held  in  grate- 
ful remembrance.  From  November  8,  1818, 
to  September  30,  1819,  under  his  supervision, 
one  hundred  and  ten  members  were  added  to 
the  church,  among  them  Alonzo  King,  who 
afterward  entered  the  ministry,  and,  by  request 
of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  wrote  the 
Memoir  of  George  Dana  Board  man,  and  Baron 
Stow,  afterward  Rev.  Dr.  Stow,  of  Boston. 

In  June,  1819,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of 
Colonel  William  Cheney,  who  was  a  convert 
under  Mr.  Howard,  a  charter  was  granted  by 
the  Legislature  for  "  The  First  Baptist  Society 
of  Newport."  The  corporators  were  James  D. 
Walcott,  Elisha  Hutchinson  and  Philip  W. 
Kibbey. 

Its  first  meeting  was  held  August  4,  1819. 
William  Cheney  was  chosen  moderator  ;  James 
D.  Wolcott,  clerk  ;  and  William  Cheney,  Joseph 
Farnsworth  and  Ira  Walker,  wardens.  Women 
were  admitted  to  membership;  the  name  of 
Deborah  Stow,  the  mother  of  Baron  Stow, 
being  the  first  one  recorded. 

In  1819,  October,  the  church  ordained  Mr. 
Parsons,  of  Boston,  as  an  evangelist.  He  preach- 
ed several  months  and  was  succeeded  by  Brad- 
bury Clay,  of  Nottingham  West,  who  supplied 
for  a  time,  but  not  as  pastor. 

A  revival  began  in  June,  1820,  in  the  New- 
port Academy  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Shedd,  of 
Boston,  and  some  twenty  persons  were  baptized 
by  Rev.  Ariel  Kendrick,  of  Cornish,  as  the 
result  of  this  awakening. 


During  the  year  1821,  through  the  energy 
and  enterprise  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  and  society,  a  new  house  of  worship 
of  ample  dimensions  (sixty-four  by  forty-four) 
was  erected  on  its  present  conspicuous  site  at 
the  north  end  of  the  village  park. 

On  October  11th  the  church  ceased  its  Sab- 
bath services  in  the  old  house  at  North  New- 
port, and  set  apart  the  new  house  at  the  village 
as  its  future  place  for  public  worship.  Rev. 
J.  Ellis  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon,  from 
Haggai  2  :  9 — "  The  glory  of  this  latter  house 
shall  be  greater  than  of  the  former,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts  ;  and  in  this  place  will  I  give 
peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

In  July,  1821,  Rev.  Ira  Pearson,  of  Hart- 
land,  Vt.,  came  to  the  pastorate.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Windsor,  Vt.,  and  was  born  September 
28,  1791.  It  is  matter  of  interest  to  state 
that  when  Rev.  Biel  Ledoyt  came  forward  to 
receive  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  as  the  first 
installed  minister,  October  3,  1791,  his  dis- 
tinguished successor  in  the  pastorate  was  five 
days  old. 

Under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Pearson  the 
church  increased  in  number  and  strength. 
With  a  new  house  of  worship  and  a  new  minis- 
ter, the  people  "  had  a  mind  to  work,"  and  the 
results  were  most  cheering.  In  1824  a  mem- 
bership of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  was  re- 
ported to  the  Woodstock  Association. 

In  1828  the  churches  on  the  New  Hampshire 
side  of  the  Connecticut  River  seceded  from  the 
Woodstock  Association,  and  the  "  Newport  As- 
sociation of  Baptist  Churches"  was  formed, 
taking  the  name  "  Newport  "  on  account  of  the 
central  position  and  standing  of  this  church. 

Since  the  Association  was  thus  organized  it 
has  met  with  the  Newport  Church  six  times, 
viz  :  1836,  '42,  '48,  '55,  '65,  '79.  During  his 
first  pastorate  of  fourteen  years,  which  ended 
July  1,  1835,  Mr.  Pearson  baptized  nearly  two 
hundred  persons.  In  all  this  time  the  church 
was  united  and  prosperous,  and  the  pastor  high- 
ly esteemed. 


252 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  Rev.  Mr.  Pearson  removed  to  Chester, 
Vt.,  and  became  the  minister  of  the  church 
there.  After  his  retirement  from  Newport  the 
pulpit  was  supplied  for  a  time  by  Rev.  Edward 
Peterson,  of  Moriah,  N.  Y.  In  the  spring  of 
1836  Rev.  Orrin  Tracy,  of  New  London,  took 
charge  until  January,  1838.  In  the  mean 
time  the  anti-slavery  agitation  had  become  a 
fruitful  source  of  discord  in  the  community. 
It  invaded  the  church;  parties  were  arrayed  on 
either  side  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  religion 
of  Christ  was  about  to  be  overwhelmed  by  the 
fanatical  spirit  of  the  time.  In  its  distracted 
condition  the  church  turned  to  its  former  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Mr.  Pearson,  as  one  who  could  guide 
it  suceessfully  out  of  its  perilous  condition. 
Seeing  its  great  need  he  left  the  church  at  Ches- 
ter, became  a  second  time  pastor,  March,  1838, 
of  the  Newport  Church.  In  September  of  this 
year  Mr.  Pearson  secured  the  services  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Grant,  and  after  Grant,  Rev.  Mr.  Waldron. 
These  were  noted  evangelists,  and  the  attention 
of  the  church  was  thus  diverted  from  the  dis- 
cussion of  ulterior  questions  and  enlisted  in  a 
grand  revival  which  brought  unity,  peace  and 
concord  to  its  councils.  A  hundred  and  forty 
new  members  were  added.  At  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Association  the  church  reported  a 
membership  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
the  largest  number  heretofore  reported.  The 
results  stated  illustrate  the  good  judgment  of 
Mr.  Pearson  in  the  settlement  of  an  unhappi- 
ness  in  the  church. 

In  1841,  the  meeting-house  was  reconstruct- 
ed by  raising;  the  auditorium  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  make  space  for  a  lower  story,  which  was 
fitted  up  for  school  purposes,  and  occupied  for 
several  years  by  the  Newport  Academy.  The 
room  was  also  used  for  social  meetiugs.  The 
second  pastorate  of  Rev.  Ira  Pearson  continued 
four  years  and  eight  months,  closing  in  Novem- 
ber, 1842.  The  two  pastorates  extended  over 
a  period  of  nearly  nineteen  years,  during  which 
time  about  four  hundred  additions  were  made  to 
the  church.     After  brief  pastorates  at  Lowell 


and  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  at  Milford,  N. 
H.,  Mr.  Pearson  removed,  in  1853,  to 
Ludlow,  Vt ,  where  he  continued  nineteen  years 
as  pastor,  and  in  1872  closed  a  career  as  a  set- 
tled minister,  aggregating  fifty-six  years.  On 
his  retirement  from  active  ministerial  work, 
1872,  he  selected  the  town  of  Newport,  from  all 
others  known  to  him  in  New  England,  as  the 
home  of  his  declining  years.  His  ninetieth 
birthday  was  celebrated  August  28,  1881,  by  a 
grand  ovation  at  the  town  hall.  It  will  be 
seen  that  his  life  runs  parallel,  nearly,  with  that 
of  our  country  under  the  Constitution,  and  with 
that  of  the  Baptist  Church  during  its  first  hun- 
dred years.     He  died  August  22,  1882. 

Rev.  Joseph  Freeman,  of  Cavendish,  Vt., 
came  to  the  pastorate  in  1842,  and  so  continued 
until  1846.  During  his  ministry  the  Millerite 
excitement  prevailed,  and  it  required  much  of 
skill  and  prudence  to  tide  the  church  through 
the  trial,  and  preserve  its  unity.  Mr.  Freeman 
was  succeeded  in  1847  by  Rev.  William  M. 
Guilford,  who  continued  until  February,  1851. 
At  this  time  the  membership  had  become  reduc- 
ed to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five.  Rev. 
Paul  S.  Adams  came  from  Georgetown,  Mass., 
and  commenced  pastoral  work  here  October  1, 
1851.  Mr.  Adams  was  pastor  of  the  church 
five  years.  During  this  time  the  membership 
was  raised  to  two  hundred  and  eighty.  He 
was  dismissed  at  his  own  request  to  the  church 
in  Brattleborough,  Vt.  At  this  crisis  Rev.  Ira 
Pearson  was  called  a  third  time  to  the  pastorate 
but  declined.  Rev.  James  Andem  was  called 
April  1,  1857,  and  installed  June  18  and  closed 
his  labors  in  August  of  the  following  year. 

Rev.  Mylon  Merriam,  of  Sharon,  Mass.,  was 
pastor  from  October  17,  1858,  until  September 

4,  1850.     The  pulpit  was  then  supplied  by  Rev. 

5.  G.  Abbott,  of  Bradford. 

It  appears  on  the  record  that  on  August  17, 
1859,  the  church  was  "called  to  mourn  the 
death  of  Brother  Amos  Little,  one  of  its  most 
ardent  friends,  firm  supporters  and  main  pillars." 
Rev.  W.  H.  Watson,  of  West  Acton,  Mass., 


NEWPORT. 


253 


was  settled  in  1860,  and  dismissed  in  May,  1861. 
David  T.  James  settled  June  4,  1862  ;  dis- 
missed in  the  spring  of  1866.  Rev.  Foster 
Henry  was  settled  July  8,  1866.  He  came 
here  from  Dan  vers,  Mass.  His  labors  were  ac- 
ceptable to  the  people,  and  quite  a  number  were 
added  to  the  church.  The  parsonage  was  built 
during  his  pastorate — 1867 — at  a  cost  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  in  1870  the 
church  edifice  was  rebuilt  at  an  expense  of  about 
nine  thousand  dollars.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pearson  July  8th,  with  ap- 
propriate ceremonies. 

Rev.  Foster  Henry  closed  his  pastorate  of 
nearly  six  years  on  June  1,  1872.  During  his 
ministry  thirty-two  members  were  added  to  the 
church. 

Rev.  Halsey  C.  Leavitt,  of  Go verneur,  N.  Y., 
came  to  the  pastorate  October  1,  1872.  The 
church  prospered.  In  1875  a  new  vestry  was 
erected  at  an  expense  of  about  one  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  Mr.  Leavitt  closed  his  labors 
on  the  last  Sunday  in  September,  1878.  Sixty- 
five  members  were  added  during  his  ministry. 

Rev.  Charles  F.  Holbrook,  of  Saco,  Me., 
came  to  the  pastorate  January  1,  1879.  The 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  church  was  cele- 
brated with  appropriate  services  on  September 
23d  of  that  year.  After  an  interesting  and 
successful  ministry  of  somewhat  over  four  years, 
Mr.  Holbrook  was  dismissed,  at  his  own  request, 
to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the  Baptist  Church 
at  Hallowell,  Me.  Sixty  members  were  added 
to  the  church  while  under  his  pastoral  care. 

Rev.  Frank  T.  Latham,  of  Suffield,  Conn., 
assumed  the  duties  of  the  pastorate  August  5, 
1883.  His  discourse  on  the  occasion  was  from 
Luke  22  :  27  ; — "  I  am  among  you  as  one  that 
serveth." 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Newport  has  the 
honor  of  having  furnished  twelve  candidates 
for  the  Christian  ministry,  viz. :  Baron  Stow, 
D.D.,  Alonzo  King,  William  Heath,  Elias  Mc- 
Gregor, Enoch  and  Elijah  Hutchinson,  John 
Learned,  Simeon  Chamberlain,    F.   W.  Towle, 


Elijah  Baker,  Caleb  Clark  and  Julius  Leavitt. 

It  has  had  fourteen  deacons,  viz. :  Seth 
Wheeler,  Elias  Metcalf,  Asaph  Stow,  Jeremiah 
Nettleton,  Abel  Metcalf,  William  Cheney,  Jona- 
than Cutting,  Joseph  Farnsworth,  Israel  Kelly, 
Timothy  Fletcher,  Parmenas  Whitcomb,  James 
Tandy,  Austin  L.  Kibbey,  Henry  A.  Jenks. 
It  is  estimated  that  about  one  thousand  mem- 
bers have  been  connected  with  it  since  its  org-an- 
ization,  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  Our  sketch 
leaves  its  interests,  spiritual  and  temporal,  in 
the  hands  of  Rev.  F.  T.  Latham,  pastor,  and 
Henry  A.  Jenks,  George  F.  Whitney  and  E. 
M.  Kempton,  deacons.  The  future  will  call 
upon  them  for  an  account  of  their  stewardship. 

The  Methodist  Church  in  Newport  traces 
its  origin  to  an  event  of  minor  importance 
which  occurred  about  the  year  1815.  It  seems 
that  Peter  Wakefield,  a  resident  of  Northville, 
then  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  became 
dissatisfied  with  the  stringent  doctrines  ad- 
vanced by  Rev.  Elisha  Hutchinson,  his  pastor, 
in  regard  to  election  and  the  final  perseverance 
of  the  saints.  All  efforts  to  reclaim  him  to 
Calvinistic  views  failed  and  he  was  dismissed 
from  the  church.  At  that  time  he  had  never 
heard  a  Methodist  discourse  or  read  a  Method- 
ist book,  but  found  himself,  on  examination, 
unconsciously  in  sympathy  with  the  leading 
doctrines  of  Methodism.  In  this  state  of  mind 
he  sought  spiritual  aid  and  comfort  from  Rev. 
Elijah  Hedding,  afterward  Bishop  Hedding, 
who  at  that  time  preached  occasionally  in  the 
town  of  Wendall  (now  Sunapee). 

At  the  suggestion  of  Father  Wakefield  he 
visited  this  town  and,  in  all  probability, 
preached  the  first  Methodist  sermon  ever  heard 
in  Newport.  In  1830  a  class  was  formed  con- 
sisting of  six  persons  ;  these  brethren  were  af- 
terwards supplied  by  preachers  from  the  Goshen 
Circuit. 

Of  these  Avere  Eleazer  Jordan,  Guy  Beck- 
ley  Nathaniel  Ladd,  Amos  Kidder,  Joseph 
Baker,  John  Cummings  and  others,  who 
preached  to  them  in  turn  most  of  the  Sabbaths 


254 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


from  1829  to  1836.  About  the  year  1840,  ob- 
jections being  made  to  their  using  the  school- 
house,  Father  Wakefield  built  a  chapel  in 
which  religious  services  were  held  and  which 
is  still  standing  at  Northville  and  open  for  the 
use  of  all  evangelical  Christians.  In  1843  the 
Miller  excitement  brought  disaster  to  this  infant 
society,  then  in  a  flourishing  condition.  The 
only  male  members  that  proved  faithful  and 
consistent  were  Peter  Wakefield  and  Nathaniel 
O.  Page.  The  flock  was  scattered  and  they 
were  cast   down  ;  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed. 

Events  afterward  proved  that  Methodism  had 
not  yet  accomplished  its  mission  in  Newport. 
About  the  year  1850  the  dissensions  that 
troubled  the  Congregational  Church,  then  un- 
der the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  John  Woods,  re- 
sulted in  the  secession  of  quite  a  number  of  its 
influential  members.  Whether  this  departure 
was  caused  by  a  change  of  views  in  regard  to 
creed  or  for  merely  personal  reasons,  we  are  not 
qualified  to  state.  At  all  events,  the  seceders, 
with  some  disaffected  Baptists,  proposed  a  per- 
manent union  with  the  Methodist  remnant  at 
Northville,  which,  being  agreed  upon,  they 
asked  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  for  a 
preacher.  Accordingly,  in  May,  1850,  Rev. 
Warren  F.  Evans  was  stationed  here  and  the 
Universalist  Chapel  secured  as  a  place  of  wor- 
ship. 

Ou  October  30,  1852,  a  society  was  organ- 
ized under  the  discipline  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  consisting  of  N.  O.  Page,  I. 
B.  Ilurd,  N.  Batchelder,  F.  Kelley,  James 
Baker,  Abner  Whipple,  Jacob  Robinson,  Jo- 
seph Sawyer,  Jr.,  Thomas  A.  Twitchell,  Elna- 
than  Hurd,  Henry  Chapin  and  their  associates. 
Steps  were  taken  to  erect  a  church  edifice,  and  a 
central  site  was  selected  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  Street  near  the  south  end  of  the  village 
park.  Such  was  the  progress  of  the  work  that 
on  December  25,  1851,  they  were  able  to  dedi- 
cate their  house  to  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God.  Rev.  Mr.  Evans  remained  two  years. 
They    have  since  enjoyed  the  pastoral  care  and 


offices  of  Sullivan  Hoi  man,  A.  C.  Manson,  J. 
W.  Guernsey,  D.  P.  Leavitt,  John  Currier, 
James  Thurston,  S.  G.  Kellogg,  C.  M.  Dins- 
more,  Charles  Young,  C.  W.  Mellen,  Charles 
E.  Hall,  Elijah  R.  Wilkins,  O.  H.  Jasper,  A. 
W.  Bunker,  John  "W.  Adams  and  James 
Noyes. 

In  1854  a  lot  was  purchased  and  a  parsonage 
built  at  an  expense  of  about  two  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

About  the  year  1880  the  church  edifice  was 
thoroughly  reconstructed  at  much  expense,  and  a 
convenient  vestry  erected  and  finished.  A  fine 
organ  stands  in  the  chancel  and  desirable  im- 
provements have  been  made  on  the  outlying 
grounds.  The  Methodist  Church  in  Newport 
is  one  of  the  best-appointed  in  this  section  of 
the  State. 

With  such  a  record  of  prosperity,  a  rapidly- 
increasing  membership,  a  large  and  flourishing 
Sunday-school,  great  good  may  be  expected  as 
a  result  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  in  this  town. 

The  Free-Will  Baptist  Church,  which 
held  a  somewhat  conspicuous  place  in  this  town 
for  many  years,  grew  out  of  a  division  in  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Northville,  then  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Elisha  Hutchinson, 
1815-16. 

The  first  pastor  of  this  denomination  was 
Rev.  Solomon  Howe,  a  disciple  of  Arminius, 
and  the  leader  of  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Hut- 
chinson. 

Mr.  Howe  was  a  native  of  Hillsborough  and 
was  licensed  to  preach  at  Washington,  N.  H., 
in  1815,  and  ordained  in  Newport  July  5, 
1819,  and  was  here  until  1827,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Smyrna,  N.  Y. 

That  he  suffered  persecution  as  an  outgrowth 
of  the  religious  dissensions  at  Northville  may 
be  inferred  from  the  following  certificate,  which 
has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  and 
which  was  publicly  circulated  about  the  year 
1826.  It  is  just  to  Mr.  Howe  that  he  should 
have  the    benefit   of  this    vindication    from    a 


NEWPORT. 


255 


malicious    charge.      He    died    at    the    age    of 
seventy-two,  iu  1858. 

"  We  the  undersigned  having  been  appointed  a 
committee  to  investigate  an  accusation  brought  by 
Mr.  David  Fletcher  against  Rev.  Solomon  Howe  for 
taking  apples  from  a  tree  belonging  to  Mr.  Wm  Knapp 
on  the  14  Oct.  1824,  which  accusation  was  supported 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Fletcher  by  the  testimony  of  three 
of  his  children  all  being  under  13  years  of  age.  Mr. 
Howe  in  defence  brought  forward  Mr.  Knapp,  and 
his  wife,  who  testified  that  they  gathered  the  apples 
from  the  aforesaid  tree  before  the  15th  Sept.  except- 
ing a  few,  probably  less  than  one  half  bushel ;  and 
they  further  testify  that  their  brother  went  to  the  tree 
on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  with  a  basket  to  get 
some  apples  and  did  not  bring  home  but  a  few.  They 
thought  it  was  impossible  that  there  could  be  any 
apples  there  at  the  time  the  said  Howe  was  accused  of 
taking  them  from  the  fact  that  the  tree  stood  in  a 
pasture  and  the  apples  were  ripe  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust. We  therefore  upon  the  above  stated  evidence 
and  several  circumstances  connected  therewith  do 
unanimously  report  that  in  our  opinion  the  said 
Howe  is  not  guilty  of  the  accusation. 

(Signed)  "  Moses  P.  Durkee, 

"  Joseph  Kimball, 
"  Silas  Wakefield,  Jr., 
"  Norman  McGregor. 

"Newport,  March  27,  1826." 

Other  preachers  after  Mr.  Howe  were  elders 
Elijah  Watson,  Mr.  Goodale,  L.  H.  Stevens 
and  David  Marks.  For  many  years  Nathaniel 
Wheeler  and  Abel  Wheeler  were  deacons  of  this 
church,  and  afterwards  Abel  Wheeler,  Jr.,  and 
Ira  Wakefield. 

The  organization  and  successful  progress  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this  town 
has  had  a  tendency  to  gather  up  and  appro- 
priate to  itself  the  members  of  the  Free- Will 
Baptist  Society,  and  the  organization  has  not 
been  sustained  since  1834-35. 

The  Universalist  Society  of  Newport. 
was  organized  February  11,  1830.  Meetings 
were  held  at  the  town  hall  and  court-room 
until  1837,  when  their  chapel  was  built. 
Among  those   who   have  ministered  to  this  so- 


ciety are  Revs.  John  Moore,  William  S.  and  A. 
S.  Balch,  W.  S.  and  Levi  Ballou,  Walter  Har- 
riman  (afterwards  Governor  of  the  State),  Eze- 
kiel  Dow,  Lemuel  Willis,  Luther  Walcott, 
Thompson  Barron,  J.  T.  Powers,  Joseph  Bar- 
bor  and  James  Eastwood.  The  pastorate  of 
Mr.  Eastwood  closed  January  1,  1885,  and  the 
pulpit  has  since  been  vacant. 

The  Unitarian  Society  was  formed  Sep- 
tember 30,  1873.  Eev.  G.  F.  Piper  was  called 
to  the  pastorate   which   he  filled  for  one  year. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  S.  Nickerson. 
During  1876-77  the  Universalist  chapel  which 
the  Society  has  occupied  was  reconstructed  and 
modernized.  In  1878  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Patten  was 
engaged  as  pastor.  He  continued  about  one 
year  and  had  no  successor. 

Roman  Catholic. — In  the  development  of 
the  various  interests  which  have  added  to  the 
wealth  and  importance  of  the  town  of  Newport, 
many  people,  individuals  or  in  families,  of 
Irish  birth  and  others  reared  in  the  faith  and 
forms  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  have 
come  into  town  at  different  times  as  operatives 
or  laborers,  and  by  industry  and  economy  ac- 
quired property  and  social  standing,  and  become, 
collectively,  an  important  element  in  political 
and  religious  affairs.  The  Church,  ever  mind- 
ful of  the  welfare  of  her  children,  has  not, 
however,  suffered  them  to  wander  beyond  her 
protecting  care. 

The  first  Roman  Catholic  service  in  this  town 
was  held  in  the  year  1854.  A  mission  was 
then  established,  of  which  the  Rev.  Father 
O'Sullivan,  the  pastor  at  Claremont,  had  charge, 
and  regular  services  at  stated  times  continued 
to  be  observed.  During  the  ten  years  from 
1873  to  1883  the  mission  occupied  the  old 
Masonic  Hall,  in  Burke's  building,  near  the 
bridge  on  Main  Street. 

At  length  the  increasing  need  for  more  con- 
venient accommodations  for  worship  created  a 
sentiment  in  favor  of  erecting  a  church  edifice, 
and  active  measures  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this    object    were   commenced.     Three    lots    of 


256 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


land — two  by  Dexter  Richards  and  one  by 
Patrick  Herrick — were  donated,  on  which  to 
erect  the  building,  and  on  June  22,  1882,  work 
on  the  foundation  was  commenced.  The  work 
was  carried  steadily  and  successfully  forward, 
and  on  Christmas,  December  25,  1882,  services 
were  held  in  the  new  house  for  the  first  time. 

The  architect  builder  was  Kira  R.  Beckwith, 
of  Claremout.  Its  entire  cost  was  live  thousand 
six  hundred  dollars.  The  external  appearance  of 
the  building  is  very  attractive.  It  is  of  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture,  and  is  located  at  the 
corner  of  Chase  and  Winter  Streets,  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  village,  and  being 
situated  on  a  commanding  eminence,  may  be 
seen  at  quite  a  distance  from  many  surrounding 
points  and  approaches. 

The  interior  appointments  of  the  house  are 
very  attractive.  The  frescoing,  window  stain- 
ing and  the  elegance  of  the  altar,  which  was 
donated  to  the  society  by  Mrs.  Patrick  Herrick, 
are  especially  noticeable. 

The  formal  dedication  of  this,  (St.  Patrick's) 
church  took  place  in  accordance  with  the  forms 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church,  ou 
Thursday,  November  29,  188.'}.  The  sermon 
was  preached  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  James 
A.  Healy,  of  Portland,  Me. 

The  Rev.  P.  J.  Finnegan,  of  Claremont,  has 
charge  of  the  society  in  connection  with  his 
duties  as  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
Church  at  Claremont. 

Music  was  early  in  Newport.  It  came  with 
the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  town, — a  jolly 
party,  considering  their  Puritan  proclivities. 
But  men  and  women  must  sing  or  acknowledge 
themselves  fit  for  "  treason,  stratagems  and 
spoils." 

From  the  earliest  times  the  people  of  old  Con- 
necticut have  been  noted  as  singers;  and 
wherever  they  have  gone  in  all  the  earth,  they 
have  continued  to  sin-. 

In  contrast  with  their  vocal  organs,  to  them 
musical  instruments  were  high-priced  and 
inconvenient.       They  had  few    harps   to  hang 


upon  the  willows.  The  harp  of  a  thousand 
strings,  with  which  they  could  work  and  sing, 
was  all  sufficient. 

The  voice  of  song  was  undoubtedly  heard  in 
the  worship  under  the  tree  on  that  first  Sabbath 
morning  after  their  arrival  near  the  road-cross- 
ings across  the  intervale. 

We  have  heard  how  they  sang  Mear  and 
Wells  and  others  of  these  ancient  tunes,  at 
their  meetings  in  the  old  Proprietors'  House. 
We  have  also  heard  how  neighboring  families 
would  come  together  for  an  evening,  and  in  a 
circle  around  the  great  open  fire-place,  with 
back-log  and  fore-stick  aglow  with  light  and 
heat,  blend  the  songs  of  Zion  with  their 
kindly  social  intercourse.  Love-making  and 
psalm-singing  went  hand-in-hand.  In  fact, 
they  are  going  that  way  still. 

The  shows  known  nowadays  as  "Old  Folks' 
Concerts"  affect  to  illustrate  the  manner  ofy° 
olden  time  in  dress,  as  well  as  the  rendering  in 
nasal  vocalization  of  the  old  contrapuntal 
music,  apparently  so  exhaustive  of  breath  and 
effort.  Among  the  early  singers  were  Matthew7 
Buel,  Philip  W.  Kibby  and  the  McGregors 
and  the  Elder  Aldolphus  King.  Of  those  who 
came  afterward,  1825  to  1840,  no  one  was  more 
conspicuous,  or  did  more  for  the  advancement 
of  musical  culture  in  this  community,  than 
Elnathan  Duren,  of  Charlestown.  He  was  a 
man  whose  whole  being  was  enlisted  in  his 
work,  and  he  had  the  ability  not  only  to  illus- 
trate music  as  an  art,  but  to  fill  it  with  spirit 
and  understanding,  and  clothe  it  with  elo- 
quent expressiveness. 

The  music  in  our  churches  is,  properly  con- 
sidered, a  part  of  public  worship,  and  has  been 
carefully  sustained  in  all  the  years.  The  ma- 
terial out  of  which  choirs  are  constructed  has 
sometimes  proved  combustible,  or  explosive,  and 
the  cordial  relations  between  minister,  singers 
and  people  have  been  much  strained,  if  not  out 
of  joint.  Hut  the  retirement  of  some,  and  a 
wise  reconstruction  bv  those  that  remained, 
have  resulted  successfully. 


NEWPORT. 


257 


Such  troubles  have  come  and  gone  as  clouds 
that  sweep  the  sky,  leaving  an  improved  serenity 
in  the  atmosphere.  A  hindrance  of  years  ago  to  the 
culture  and  progress  of  church  music  was  an 
objection  on  the  part  of  the  more  Puritanical  of 
the  brethren  to  the  introduction  of  musical  in- 
struments other  than  the  pitch-pipe  and  tuning- 
fork,  to  aid  the  voices  and  fill  up  the  harmony. 
The  viol,  and  the  harp,  and  the  organ  were  re- 
garded as  unsanctified,  mechanical  and  devilish 
accessories  to  worship,  unnecessary,  if  not  sin- 
ful. 

Their  inspiration  and  effect  was  to  cause  some 
of  the  more  sensitive  hearers  to  retire  from  the 
house  of  God  with  an  emphasized  alacrity.  But 
this  sentiment  in  our  community  has  entirely 
disappeared,  or  remains  only  as  a  historical 
fact. 

The  existence  of  an  instrumental  band  in  this 
town  has  been  somewhat  intermittent,  particu- 
larly since  the  old  militia  system  was  aban- 
doned. 

But  martial  music  in  the  later  years  has  had 
good  attention,  especially  since  the  organization 
of  the  "  Newport  Cornet  Band,"  which  consists, 
of  about  twenty  pieces,  and  is  handsomely  uni- 
formed and  prepared  to  do  good  work  at  fairs, 
festivals,  military  parades  and  on  other  public 
or  social  occasions.  Its  services  are  well  ap- 
preciated in  this  community. 

In  1879  a  handsome  band-stand  was  erected 
at  a  central  position  on  the  common,  which  af- 
fords a  desirable  opportunity  for  open-air  con- 
certs during  the  summer  months. 

The  "Arion  Quartett "  is  a  society  of  long 
standing,  and  often  appears  at  social  gatherings, 
and  sometimes  has  charge  of  the  music  on  fu- 
neral occasions  and  at  public  meetings  in  the 
town  hall  in  connection  with  the  band,  and 
is  always  well  received. 

We  might  follow  the  musical  sentiment  of 
our  people  to  their  homes,  in  many  of  which 
are  pianos  and  organs,  and  choice  selections  of 
church  and  secular  music,  with  other  evidences 
of    musical    culture,    which    is    an    important 


factor  in   the  social  and  domestic  life  of  our 
citizens. 

The  first  piano  in  Newport  was  brought  here 
by  Dr.  John  B.  McGregor,  about  the  year  1830, 
for  the  use  of  his  daughters,  one  of  whom, 
Mrs.  Marion  (McGregor)  Christopher,  was  the 
organist  of  the  Tabernacle  Church,  Rev.  Dr. 
Taylor,  Thirty-fourth  Street  and  Broadway, 
New  York  City,  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years,  up  to  1885. 

The  "  Sullivan  Musical  Association  "  errew 
out  of  a  large  singing-school  held  in  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  this  town  in  August  and 
September,  1872,  under  the  direction  of  Wil- 
liam P.  Dale,  of  Fitchburg,  Mass.  It  is  prob- 
able that  Mr.  Dale  was  here  at  the  suggestion 
or  invitation  of  Rev.  Mr.  Scott,  then  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  Church.  The  class  was 
made  up  of  singers  from  the  church  choirs  in 
Newport  and  the  adjoining  towns.  Two  or 
three  concerts  were  given  and  the  exercises 
otherwise  were  of  great  interest,  so  much  so 
that  at  the  close  of  the  school  the  friends  of 
musical  culture  and  the  lovers  of  music  came 
together  and  organized  the  association  above 
named. 

The  officers  then  chosen  were  Rev.  G. 
R.  W.  Scott,  president ;  M.  R.  Emerson, 
vice-president;  Granville  Pollard,  treasurer; 
Arthur  B.  Chase,  secretary;  Executive  Com- 
mittee,— A.  W.  Perkins  (Claremont),  S.  S. 
Bowers  (Newport),  M.  B.  Presby  (Bradford), 
Alden  Sabin  (Lempster),  E.  D.  Comings  (Croy- 
don). 

Its  officers  during  the  succeeding  years  have 
been  :  1874-75,  M.  B.  Presby,  president ;  Rev. 
H.  C.  Leavitt,  vice-president.  1876-79,  Rev. 
H.  C.  Leavitt,  president ;  Francis  Boardman, 
vice-president.  1880-85,  E.  D.  Comings, 
president;  George  E.  Dame,  vice-president. 
Granville  Pollard  and  A.  B.  Chase  have  con- 
tinued to  fill  the  offices  of  treasurer  and  secre- 
tary, excepting  that  Mr.  Chase  resigned  in 
1884,  and  H.  P.  Coffin  was  chosen  in  his 
stead. 


258 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Executive  Committee,  1885:  Newport,  S.  S. 
Bowers,  A.  S.  Wait,  Seth  M.  Richards,  J.  W. 
Parraelee,  B.  R.  Allen,  C.  S.  Partridge,  H.  P. 
Coffin  ;  Croydon,  E.  D.  Comings ;  Cornish, 
E.  G.  Kenyon  ;  Acworth,  W.  S.  Woodbury  ; 
Snnapee,  Nathan  A.  Smith  ;  Newbury,  M.  W. 
Cheney  ;  New  London,  A.  C.  Burpee  ;  Goshen, 
Mrs.  James  Trow  ;  Claremont,  C.  M.  Leet, 
Miss  M.  E.  Partridge  ;  Langdon,  Martin  Bas- 
com  ;  Lempster,  George  E.  Perley ;  Meriden, 
Josiah  Davis,  Converse  Cole ;  Sutton,  John 
Merrill,  Frederick  Keezer ;  Grantham,  Rufus 
Hall ;  Springfield,  Jonathan  Sanborn,  Charles 
McDaniel ;  Washington,  George  Brockway ; 
Plainfield,  Willie  Freeman ;  Henniker,  A.  D. 
Huntoon  ;  Lebanon,  D.  J.  Hurlbut,  E.  H. 
Thompson ;  Bellows  Falls,  C.  L.  Barber ; 
Bradford,  A.  W.  Chellis ;  Salem,  M.  B. 
Presby. 

Musical  Conductors :  1873,  Solon  Wilder,  of 
Boston;  1874-79,  L.  O.  Emerson,  of  Boston ; 
1880,  J.  P.  Cobb,  of  Boston;  1881,  L.  O. 
Emerson,  of  Boston  ;  1882-84,  Carl  Zerrahn, 
of  Boston. 

Pianists:  1873,  Mrs.  J.  P.  Cobb,  of  Bos- 
ton ;  1874,  Mrs.  Martha  Dana  Shepard,  of 
Boston;  1875,  T.  P.  Rider,  of  Boston  ;  1876 
to  1884,  Mrs.  Martha  Dana  Shepard,  of  Bos- 
ton. 

The  executive  committee  have,  from  year  to 
year,  secured  artists  of  distinguished  ability  in 
the  leading  vocal  parts  and  as  humorists  and 
readers.  The  grand  chorus  of  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  voices,  comprising 
singers  from  church  choirs  and  others  gathered 
for  instruction,  is  a  notable  feature  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. The  conventions  are  held  annually  at 
the  town  hall  in  Newport,  and  generally  oc- 
cupy the  last  full  week  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust. On  account  of  the  destruction  of  the 
hall,  there  was  no  convention  in  1885.  The 
record  of  the  Association  for  thirteen  years,  finan- 
cially and  otherwise,  has  been  one  of  distin- 
guished success.  Its  tendency  has  been  to  im- 
prove  the    musical    taste   and    culture    of    its 


patrons,  and  it  has  come  to  be  one  of  the 
substantial  and  well-appreciated  institutions  of 
the  town.  The  new  town  hall  is  expected  to  be 
in  order  for  the  convention  of  1886. 

MASONIC. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1816,  a  dispsnsation 
was  granted  by  William  II.  Underwood,  Grand 
Master  of  Masons  in  New  Hampshire,  to  Ar- 
nold Ellis  and  ten  others,  to  form  and  open  a 
Masonic  lodge  at  Newport,  by  the  name  of 
Corinthian  Lodge,  No.  28.  On  the  21st  of 
June  following,  the  first  meeting  was  held, 
when  officers  were  chosen  and  the  lodge  was 
duly  organized.  The  first  regular  communi- 
cation of  the  lodge  was  held  at  Colonel  Luther 
Delano's  hall  on  July  2,  a.l.  5816,  and  the 
lodge  was  opened  on  the  first  degree  of  Ma- 
sonry. A  charter  was  afterwards  obtained  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  (November  12,  1816)  and 
the  lodge  was  duly  constituted  and  its  officers 
installed.  On  the  records  of  this  lodge  may  be 
found  the  initiatory  step  leading  to  temperance 
reform  in  Newport,  when,  at  a  regular  meeting 
on  the  1st  day  of  September,  1818,  it  was 
"Voted,  That  no  ardent  spirits  shall  be  hereaf- 
ter introduced  into  our  lodge  during  lodge 
hours." 

The  Corinthian  Lodge  was  increased  by  the 
addition  to  its  membership  of  many  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Newport  and  the  adjoining 
towns,  and  continued  to  prosper  until  the  time 
of  the  Morgan  disclosures  and  abduction,  which 
occurred  in  Western  New  York  in  September, 
1826.  The  lodge  continued  to  hold  its  monthly 
meetings  with  but  feeble  support  until  May, 
1833,  after  which  the  charter  was  surren- 
dered. 

Mount  Vernon  Lodge. — Mount  Vernon 
Lodge,  No.  15,  was  originally  located  in  the 
town  of  Washington.  In  the  year  1848,  by 
authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  it  was  removed 
to  Newport.  Its  first  meeting  here  was  held  on 
the  10th  of  July,  of  that  year,  Brother  Jonas 
Parker  being  Worshipful  Master,  Lewis  Un- 


NEWPORT. 


259 


derwood  Senior  Warden  and  John  Gunnison 
Junior  Warden,  all  residing  in  the  town  of 
Goshen,  and  Daniel  M.  Smith,  of  Lempster, 
Secretary.  At  this  communication  Brother 
Harvey  Huntoon,  of  Unity,  acted  as  Senior 
Deacon ;  Naylor  Starbird,  of  Newport,  as  Jun- 
ior Deacon  ;  Oliver  Lund,  of  Newport,  as 
Treasurer;  and  John  Carr,  of  Newport,  as 
Tiler;  and  Brothers  John  Silver,  Harvey 
Huntoon,  Naylor  Starbird,  Amos  Little,  Seth 
Richards,  Oliver  Lund  and  Mason  Hatch,  all 
formerly  members  of  the  Corinthian  Lodge, 
were,  on  a  vote  by  ballot,  admitted  members  of 
Mount  Vernon  Lodge. 

On  the  removal  of  the  lodge  to  Newport  its 
meetings  were  first  held  in  a  hall  prepared  for 
its  reception  in  the  building  known  as  "  Matson 
Block,"  where  it  remained  until  the  year  1872, 
when  its  increased  membership  and  importance 
demanded  more  ample  accommodations.  In 
view  of  this  state  of  things,  arrangements  were 
made  with  Dexter  Richards,  a  member  of  the 
lodge,  who  prepared  an  elegant  hall  and  ad- 
joining apartments  for  the  use  of  the  lodge,  in 
the  upper  story  of  his  building,  known  as  Che- 
ney Block.  On  the  13th  of  November,  1872, 
this  hall  was  publicly  dedicated  to  the  patron 
saints  of  the  order  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire. 

From  the  period  of  its  removal  from  Wash- 
ington the  career  of  Mount  Vernon  Lodge  has 
been  attended  with  great  prosperity  and  an  ex- 
tended influence  for  good  as  inculcated  by  the 
Masonic  creed  and  order.  The  names  of  those 
who  have  been  Worshipful  Masters  of  the 
lodge  since  its  removal  to  Newport  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

Jonas  Parker,  1848-49;  Levi  Underwood,  1849-50; 
Virgil  Chase,  1850-51  ;  John  Puffer,  1851-52  ;  Thomas 
Sanhorn,  1852-53;  James  Karr,  1853-54;  Benjamin 
M.  Gilmore,  1854-55  ;  D.  W.  Watkins,  1855-56  ; 
Charles  H.  Little,  1856-57  ;  Charles  Emerson, 
1857-58;  William  E.  Moore,  1858-60 ;  Thomas  San- 
born, 1860-61 ;  Jonas  Parker,  1861-62  ;  John  Young, 
Jr.,  1862-65;    Matthew  Harvey,  1865-67 ;    Alberts. 

Wait,  1867-69 ;  David  McLauchlin,  1869-71 ;  Josiah 
17 


Turner,  1871-73  ;  Henry  M.  Ingram,  1873-75;  Arthur 
H.Ingram,  1875-76;  John  Young,  1876-77;  F.  A. 
Rawson,  1877-80 ;  A.  W.  Rounsevel,  1880-83  ;  Abia- 
thar  Richards,  1884. 

Present  officers,  1885  :  Worshipful  Master, 
Abiathar  Richards  ;  Senior  Warden,  F.  P.  Me- 
serve  ;  Junior  Warden,  E.  Hatch  Carr,  Goshen  ; 
Treasurer,  F.  A.  Rawson  ;  Secretary,  William 
H.  Wright, 

Chapter  of  the  Tabernacle. — On  June 
10,  1872,  a  dispensation  was  granted  by  Ed- 
ward Gustine,  of  Keene,  Grand  High  Priest  of 
the  State,  to  A.  S.  Wait,  of  Newport;  John 
Young,  of  Sunapee  ;  Albina  H.  Powers,  of 
Croydon  ;  and  nine  other  Royal  Arch  Masons 
of  Webb  Chapter,  at  Claremont,  to  open  a  Roy- 
al Arch  Chapter,  at  Newport,  by  the  name  of 
"Chapter  of  the  Tabernacle,"  in  which  the 
three  companions  named  were  designated,  re- 
spectively, High  Priest,  King  and  Scribe. 

At  the  convocation  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
the  State  in  May,  1873,  a  charter  was  granted 
to  this  chapter,  and  on  the  19th  of  the  follow- 
ing February  it  was  duly  constituted,  and  its 
officers  installed.  Incumbents  as  High  Priests  : 
A.  S.  Wait,  1872-76  ;  A.  W.  Rounsevel,  1877 
-80;  George  C.  Edes,  1881-82;  D.  G.  Chad- 
wick,  1882-84;  Daniel  P.  Quimby,  1885. 

Present  officers,  1885  :  High  Priest,  D.  P. 
Quimby  ;  King,  F.  A.  Rawson  ;  Scribe,  Henry 
M.  Ingram  ;  Treasurer,  Dexter  Richards ;  Sec- 
retary, Charles  H.  Little. 

ODD-FELLOWS. 

Sugar  River  Lodge,  I.   O.   O.   F.,   was 

instituted  May  25,  1874,  under  the  direction  of 
M.  T.  Tottingham,  Grand  Master  of  the  State, 
assisted  by  S.  J.  Osgood,  D.  G.  M.;  George  A. 
Cummings,  Grand  Warden  ;  Joel  Taylor,  Grand 
Secretary ;  Amos  Jones,  G.  R.;  R.  M.  Blanch- 
ard,  Grand  Marshal;  and  E.  A.  Cotting,  Grand 
Conductor. 

The  original  petitioners  for  the  lodge  were 
Obadiah  Johnson,  W.  H.  Raymond,  S.  M. 
Richards,  F.  A.  Rawson,  George  F.  Livermore, 
S.  C.  Coffin,   H.  C.  Tenney,  W.  S.   Kempton, 


260 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


L.  A.  Richardson,  A.  S.  Chase,  C.  S.  Par- 
tridge, A.  W.  Clarke,  R.  AY.  Tilton,  G.  H.  Dar- 
ricott,  H.  P.  Griswold,  M.  W.  Burke,  M.  L. 
Whittier,  C.  H.  Matthews  and  Charles  H. 
Watts. 

From  its  institution  until  August  9,  1880, 
the  lodge  occupied  a  hall  in  the  third  story, 
north  end  of  Richards'  Block.  Afterwards  it 
removed  to  elegantly  decorated  and  furnished 
apartments  in  the  upper  story  of  the  town  hall, 
where  the  lodge  first  met  August  16,  1880. 
This  hall  was  dedicated  October  4,  1880,  by 
<  I  rand  Master  John  II.  Albin,  assisted  by  Dep- 
uty Grand  Master  Robie,  Past  Grand  Master- 
George  A.  Cummings  and  Joseph  B.  Smart. 
These  apartments  were  leased  for  a  term  of 
twenty-five  years,  and  were  the  home  of  the 
lodge  until  June  21,  1885,  when  the  town  hall 
and  most  of  its  contents  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  loss  of  the  lodge  in  regalias,  fixtures,  fur- 
niture, etc.,  was  estimated  at  about  two  thousand 
live  hundred  dollars,  on  which  there  was  an  in- 
surance of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  which  was 
paid  over  in  due  time.  The  lodge  then  leased 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years  a  spacious  hall  and 
other  apartments  in  the  south  end,  third  floor 
of  Richards'  Block,  which  were  appropriately 
fitted  up  and  dedicated  to  the  uses  of  the  order 
in  December,  1885. 

In  connection  with  this  lodge  the  Stony 
Brook  Encampment  was  instituted  March  30, 
1880. 

"Visit  the  sick."  The  number  of  weeks  of 
sickness  reported  during  the  eleven  years  of  the 
existence  of  the  lodge,  and  which  have  been  visited 
;i-  found  necessary,  is  two  hundred  and  fifty-two. 

"Relieve  the  distressed."  The  amount  of 
cash  paid  for  the  relief  of  members  of  the  lodge 
is  nine  hundred  and  twenty-one  dollars.  For 
sojourners  in  this  jurisdiction  of  members 
of  other  lodges,  which  amount  has  been  refund- 
ed, $109.25. 

"  Bury  the  dead."  Three  brothers  and  ten 
sisters  have  been  buried  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  order. 


"  Educate  the  orphan."  No  call  has  been 
made  for  this  purpose,  but  the  lodge  stands 
ready  to  fulfill  this  injunction  whenever  it  shall 
be  found  necessary. 

Frank  A.  Rawson  was  elected  Grand  Master 
of  the  State  in  1881,  and  in  1882-83,  Grand 
Representative  to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  E. 


Cll  A  I'TER  IV. 

NEW  PORT— ( Continued). 

EDUCATION,    LITERATURE    AND    THE    l'KESS. 

EDUCATION. — The  value  of  intelligence  flow- 
ing from  mental  culture  was  appropriately  esti- 
mated by  the  founders  of  New  England. 

The  subject  of  education  received  early  atten- 
tion in  the  town  of  Newport.  Before  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  first  settlers  had  increased  to  any 
great  extent  arrangements  were  made  for  school 
purposes.  The  first  public  building,  the  Pro- 
prietors' House,  erected  in  1772-73,  was  intend- 
ed in  part  as  a  public  school-house.  Referring 
to  the  earliest  public  record  in  regard  to  schools, 
we  find  the  following  : 

"March  8,  17p4,  Voted,  That  there  shall  be  four 
pounds,  lawful  money,  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury 
towards  the  support  of  a  school  the  ensueing  sum- 
mer— to  be  paid  in  grain  at  the  market  price." 

The  next  year  arrangements  were  made  for 
two  terms  of  school  during  the  year,  as  follows  : 

"March  14,  1775,  Voted,  To  pay  five  pounds',  law- 
ful money,  worth  of  grain  to  support  a  school  ;  one- 
half  is  to  support  a  school  in  the  summer,  and  the 
other  half  in  the  winter.  Wheat  at  five  shillings  per 
bushel  and  Rye  at  three  shillings  and  nine-pence  per 
bushel." 

Josiah  Stevens,  who  came  from  Killing-worth 
to  A 1  stead  in  1767,  and  to  Newport  in  1771, 
then  a  young  man  about  thirty  years  of  age, 
was  the  schoolmaster  of  that  time. 

During  the  Revolutionary  period,  which  af- 
ter this  greatly  enlisted  the  attention  and  encr- 


NEWPORT. 


261 


gies  of  the  people,  no  public  appropriations  ap- 
pear to  have  been  made  for  the  support  of 
schools,  and  for  the  time  they  were  dependent 
on  the  private  subscriptions  of  parties  inter- 
ested. 

In  1783  and  for  some  years  after,  Rev.  John 
Remele,  the  first  settled  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  officiated  as  teacher  as  well  as 
preacher,  and  we  are  sure  that  he  made  good 
and  lasting  impressions  upon  the  minds  of  his 
pupils,  of  whom  the  immediate  progenitor  of  the 
writer  was  one.  Another,  Rev.  James  Hill 
Parmelee,  refers  to  him  as  "a  good  scholar  and 
teacher,  and  a  man  of  much  wit  and  humor." 

This  was  School  District  No.  1.  As  the  years 
went  on,  and  the  population  increased,  other 
districts  were  organized.  No.  1  extended  from 
the  "  plain  "  to  the  Unity  line.  No.  2  covered 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  village.  No.  3 
the  region  about  Kelleyville.  No.  4  the  East 
Mountain.  No.  5  the  neighborhood  of  Guild 
Post-Office.  No.  6  the  vicinitv  of  Northville. 
These  districts  were  afterwards  subdivided  and 
in  1873  there  were  eighteen  school  districts  in 
the  town  of  Newport. 

In  the  spring  of  1874  the  village  districts, 
four  in  number,  in  accordance  with  legislative 
acts  for  the  establishment  of  graded  schools  in 
the  larger  towns  as  might  be  desirable  to  pro- 
mote the  efficiency  of  school-work,  voted  in 
their  several  meetings  to  unite  and  form  one 
district. 

To  this  end  committees  of  three  were  ap- 
pointed from  each  district,  to  confer  and  settle 
upon  the  terms  of  this  union.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  people  of  the  several  districts,  held  May 
13,  1874,  the  report  of  this  general  committee 
was  considered  and  unanimously  adopted,  and 
Union  School  District  was  organized.  Richard 
S.  Howe,  Edmund  Wheeler  and  George  R. 
Brown  were,  at  the  same  meeting,  chosen  a 
committee  to  make  arrangements  in  regard  to 
school  buildings  and  rooms,  and  take  other 
necessary  action  to  put  the  graded  schools  in 
operation. 


The  erection  of  the  new  county  building,  in 
1873,  had  thrown  the  old  town  hall  and  court- 
house out  of  use.  It  was  apparent  that  these 
premises  might  be  utilized  for  school  purposes 
without  much  labor  or  expense. 

A  town-meeting  was  called,  at  which  it  was 
voted  unanimously  to  convey  the  same  to  Union 
District  for  the  term  of  ninety-nine  years,  pro- 
vided they  be  put  in  suitable  order,  kept  in 
good  repair  and  that  the  district  should  main- 
tain therein  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  twenty 
weeks  each  year  a  grammar  school,  without  ex- 
pense to  the  town,  the  inhabitants  of  other  dis- 
tricts in  town  having  the  privilege  of  sending 
their  scholars  to  any  department  of  the  school 
by  paying  a  reasonable  tuition  fee. 

By  arrangement  there  were  to  be  four  prim- 
ary departments,  which  were  each  to  occupy 
the  four  school  buildings  heretofore  used  by  the 
former  districts.  The  old  town  hall  was  par- 
titioned off  and  the  Intermediate  Department 
was  assigned  to  the  north  room  and  the  Gram- 
mar Department  to  the  south  room.  The  sec- 
ond floor  of  the  building,  formerly  the  court- 
room, was  fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the  High 
School. 

At  first  the  affairs  of  the  Union  District 
came  under  the  supervision  of  the  superin- 
tending school  committee  of  the  town  in  com- 
mon with  the  outlying  districts  ;  but,  having 
assumed  these  proportions,  it  was  thought  ad- 
visable, for  the  sake  of  more  independent  action, 
to  place  the  management  of  its  affairs  in  the 
hands  of  a  Board  of  Education,  elected  by  the 
district.  Accordingly',  at  the  next  session  of 
the  Legislature,  June,  1877,  a  special  act  was 
passed,  authorizing  such  action,  and  at  the  an- 
nual school-meeting,  in  1878,  a  Board  of  Edu- 
cation was  elected,  consisting  of  Edmund 
Wheeler,  S.  H.  Edes,  George  W.  Britton,  T. 
B.  Sanborn,  A.  S.  Wait  and  George  E.  Dame. 
After  some  little  practical  experience  the  num- 
ber of  persons  comprising  the  board  was  found 
unnecessarily  large,  and  it  was  reduced  to  three 
members,  agreeably  to  the  act.     The  term   of 


262 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


office  being  three  years,  the  construction  of  the 
board  is  such  that  there  is  one  retiring  member 
each  year,  the  vacancy  to  be  filled  by  the  elec- 
tion of  one  new  member  annually. 

The  names  of  those  who  have  served  on  the 
School  Board  are  as  follows : 

Richard  S.  Howe,  1874-75,  two  years. 
Edmund  Wheeler,  1874-81,  eight  years. 
George  R.  Brown,  1874,  one  year. 
S.  L.  Bowers,  1875-77,  three  years. 
S.  H.  Edes,  1876-78,  three  years. 
George  W.  Britton,  1878-79,  two  years. 
Thomas  B.  Sanborn,  1878,  one  year. 
A.  S.  Wait,  1878,  one  year. 
George  E.  Dame,  1878,  one  year. 
Mrs.  L.  W.  Barlow,  1879,  one  year. 
Miss  Georgia  E.  Wilcox,  1880,  one  year. 
Mrs.  Harriet  S.  Jenks,  1880-82,  three  years. 
Joseph  W.  Parmelee,  1881-85,  five  years. 
Dana  J.  Mooney,  1882-85,  four  years. 
David  M.  Currier,  1883-85,  three  years. 

The  teachers  who  have  had  charge  of  the 
High-School  are  as  follows  : 

1874. — George  R.  Brown,  Emily  Leavitt  (assistant). 

1875. — H.  A.  Hutchinson,  C.  E.  Blake,  George 
Dodge. 

1876.— Cynthia  F.  Payne. 

1876-77.— Herbert  J.  Barton. 

1878.— Frank  S.  Hotaling. 

1879-84.— Hartstein  W.  Page,  Mattie  M.  Chellis 
(assistant). 

1884-85.— Stephen  A.  Snow,  Mattie  M.  Chellis  (as- 
sistant). 

1885-86.— Charles  O.  Thurston,  A.B.,  Carrie  M. 
Deming  (assistant). 

The  graduates  are  as  follows  : 

1877. — Fred.  Allen,  Frank  Hanson,  Isaac  Stone. 

1878. — Georgie  Barnard,  Addie  Blood,  Ella  Foote, 
Lois  Hurd,  Emma  Howe,  Lillian  Wells,  Mary  Wiley, 
John  McCrillis,  Frank  Chellis,  Fred.  Nettleton. 

1879.— Sadie  Cutting,  Etta  Fletcher,  Lillian 
Fletcher.  May  Howard,  Alice  Howe,  Lillian  Kemp- 
ton,  Emma  Nourse,  Ralph  Howard. 

1880.— Kate  Chellis,  Nellie  Clough,  Zilpha  Cut- 
ting, May  Parker,  Carrie  Watts,  Homer  Graves, 
Charles  Emerson,  George  Lewis,  R.  Wilkins. 


1881. — Florence  Barton,  Nellie  Chase,  Loxa  Ellis, 
Emma   Gilmore,   Margaret   Gilmore,   Grace  Nourse, 
Grace   Royce,  Fred.  Aiken,    Fred.    Carr,   George  A. 
Fairbanks,  Henry  Fletcher,  Benjamin  Pliny  Holbrook 
Robert  Jenks,  Charles  Royce,  William  Walker. 

1882.— Alice  Carr,  Spedie  A.  Clough,  Abbie  R.  Cut- 
ting, Cora  B.  Dodge,  May  E.  Emmons,  Leslie  C.  Hun- 
tress, Mary  E.  Reardon,  Elmer  H.  Cutts,  Charles  V. 
French,  John  Herrick,  Herman  A.  Kibbey,  Charles 
Nutting,  Philip  Robinson,  John  C.  Silsby. 

1883.— Frances  W.  Cutting,  Rosa  Bell  Dodge,  Julia 
Ann  Herrick,  Charles  Edward  Holbrook,  Mary  Leslie 
Jenks,  Frank  Eugene  Warren. 

1884.— John  P.  Reardon,  Ora  L.  Walker. 

1885. — William  Fletcher,  Joseph  Chapin  Kimball, 
Ralph  Stevens  Pollard,  Fred.  Truman  Pollard,  Frank 
Amasa  Robinson,  Charles  Herbert  Towle,  Mary  Beck, 
Stella  May  Britton,  Viola  Almira  Cutting,  Hattie 
Burt  Haskell,  Edith  Abide  Mooney,  Lizzie  Viola 
Woodbury. 

Total,  79— boys,  38;  girls,  41. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  advantages  for  edu- 
cation afforded  by  the  public  schools,  the  people 
of  Newport  have  sometime  enjoyed  oppor- 
tunities for  a  more  advanced  culture.  Goino; 
back  to  the  year  1819,  we  find  an  organization 
known  as  the  Newport  Academy. 

This  institution  was  authorized  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  June  24,  1810.  Its  incorpor- 
ators were  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  town. 

It  was  for  many  years  under  the  supervision 
of  a  board  of  trustees,  consisting  of  James 
Breck,  Joseph  Farnsworth,  James  I).  Wolcott, 
John  B.  McGregor,  Alexander  Boyd  and  Hub- 
bard Newton.  It  had  no  permanent  fund  as  a 
l>;i<is  of  support,  but  was  dependent  upon  the 
tuition  fees  of  the  scholars,  the  trustees  guaran- 
teeing the  preceptor  the  sum  of  four  hundred 
dollars  per  annum. 

The  home  of  this  institution  was  a  two-story 
building,  in  white  paint,  occupying  a  lot  on  the 
south  side  of  the  present  Elm  Street,  near  the 
east  end  of  the  bridge  across  the  South  Branch. 
The  lower  floor  was  occupied  by  the  school  in 
District  No.  2,  and  the  upper  story  as  the 
academy.  The  building  was  long  known  as 
the  "  White  School-house,"  and  was  afterward 


NEWPORT. 


263 


moved  to  the  present  site  of  the  Congregational 
parsonage  and  used  for  a  vestry  and  school- 
house,  and  ultimately  destroyed  by  fire  No- 
vember 2,  1843. 

Thus  perished  the  old  AVhite  School-house,  a 
noted  structure  in  its  day,  towards  which  the 
recollection  of  many  now  living  will  turn  with 
interest  and  pleasure. 

After  the  year  1834  the  Newport  Academy 
occupied  the  court-house,  and  sometimes  the 
lower  story  of  the  Baptist  meeting-house, 
which  was  fitted  up  for  school  purposes,  in  1841. 
From  1819  till  1873,  when  the  High  School  in 
Union  District  took  the  j)lace  of  the  academy, 
there  were  thirty-five  different  instructors  or 
preceptors  of  the  academy. 

The  names  of  the  preceptors  of  the  Newport 
Academy  are  as  follows  : 

1819.— William  Shedd. 
1820.— Christopher  Marsh. 
1821-23.— William  Clark,  A.B. 
1825. — Amasa  Edes,  Harriet  Cook. 
1826. — Josiah  Peabody. 
1827.— William  Heath. 
1828.— William  Claggett. 
1829.— A.  G.  Hoyt,  Miss  S.  Trask. 
1829.— Kendrick  Metcalf. 
1833.— David  Crosby  (died  in  Nashua,  1881). 
1835.— Ursula  Kelley. 
1839.— M.  L.  Eastman. 
1840. — Susan  Woodward. 

1841. — Miss  Colby  (daughter  of  Governor  Colby). 
1842.— Sarah  0.  Dickey. 
1845.— Abner  S.  Warner. 
1848.— William  M.  Guilford. 
1848.— J.  C.  Crooker. 
1850.— Charles  Chapin. 
1851.— C.  F.  Eemick. 

1852. — L.  W.  Barton,  Lizzie  F.  Jewett  (assistant). 
1853.— Mary  B.  Fitz. 
1853.— M.  Bradford  Boardman. 
1855.— John  Paul. 
1857.— R.  M.  Gunnison. 

1858.— H.  F.  Hyde,  Miss  A.  C.  Baker,  assistant, 
1859.— George   P.  Brooks,  Miss    F.  A.  Corbin  (as- 
sistant). 

1862.— Eugeue  Lewis,  A.  F.  Gleason  (assistant). 


1862.— Sarah  G.  G.  Gregg. 

1863.— A.  H.  Kimball. 

1865.— Mary  Dwinell  Chellis. 

1866.— Alfred  F.  Howard. 

1870. — George  R.  Brown,  Miss  Leavitt  (assistant). 

1873.— Susan  C.  Eastman. 

Literature. — A  careful  estimate  will  show 
that  of  natives  of  Newport  and  others  localized  in 
the  town  since  its  first  settlement,  more  than 
one  hundred  have  been  graduated  from  colle- 
giate institutions  to  engage  in  professional  life 
and  business  affairs.  Of  some  we  have  been 
able  to  give  brief  biographical  sketches.  To 
follow  them  all  in  their  various  departures  we 
would  be  led  to  all  parts  of  our  own  country, 
to  other  continents  and  the  islands  of  the  ocean, 
whither  they  have  gone  as  soldiers,  sailors, 
travelers  and  merchants,  or  as  missionaries  and 
educators. 

In  these  latter  regards  we  would  find  the 
Moores  in  Burmah ;  Miss  Jane  Eliza  Chapin 
in  China;  the  Rowells  and  Chapins  in  the 
Hawaiian  kingdom ;  and  Miss  M.  Lizzie  Cum- 
mings,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry  Cummings,  a 
former  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  to 
her  duties  as  a  teacher  in  the  Huguenot  Semi- 
nary  at  Wellington,  Cape  Colony,  South  Africa. 

Others  have  a  record  in  the  literature  of  the 
country,  and  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  Rev. 
Carlos  Wilcox,  born  in  Newport,  October  23, 
1794,  a  graduate  from  Middlebury  College, 
Vermont,  a  Congregational  minister  at  Hart- 
ford, and  afterward  at  Danbury,  Conn.,  where 
he  died  in  1827.  He  published  a  book  of  ser- 
mons and  was  the  author  of  many  poems  of 
much  merit. 

Sarah  Josepha  (Buel)  Hale,  who  died  in 
Philadelphia,  April  30,  1879,  and  who  had 
been  for  more  than  fifty  years  the  approved 
editor  of  Godey's  Lady's  Bool:,  was  a  native  of 
Newport,  where  she  was  born  October  24, 1788. 
She  married,  October  13,  1813,  David  Hale, 
an  attorney -at-law,  by  whose  early  decease,  in 
1822,  she  was  left  in  widowhood  with  limited 
resources  and  five  children  (the  oldest  not  over 


264 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


.seven  years  of  age)  for  maintenance  and  proper 
education. 

Her  father,  Gordon  Buel,  was  not  in  circum- 
stances to  afford  her  any  assistance.  The  gravity 
of  her  situation  and  future  would  have  been 
appalling  to  one  of  less  courage  and  ability. 
I  |>  to  this  time  her  literary  ventures  had  not 
been  outside  the  columns  of  the  village  paper,  in 
which  she  occasionally  appeared  over  the  signa- 
ture of  ( 'ornelia,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  she 
indulged  in  any  higher  aspirations  as  a  litter- 
ateur.      The  outlook   was   in  another  direction. 

By  the  advice  and  aid  of  her  best  friends,  she 
was  induced  to  make  arrangements  with  Miss 
Thyrza  Kale,  a  sister  of  her  deceased  husband, 
for  the  prosecution  of  a  business  which  seemed 
to  promise  more  immediate  and  certain  results. 
An  advertisement  in  the  New  Hampshire  Spec- 
tator of  May  18,  1S'25,  is  authority  as  well  as  an 
interesting  reminiscence  in  relation  to  this  mat- 
ter.    It  states  as  follows  : 

"New  Fancy  Goods  and  Millinery.  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Hale  Have  just  received  from  Boston  and  New  York 
a  supply  of  the  most  Fashionable  Spring  and  Sum- 
mer Goods  which  they  offer  for  Sale  as  cheap  as  can 
be  purchased  at  any  other  store  in  this  vicinity.  Brown 
cambricks,  Figured  Gauze,  Silk  &  Mourning  Bonnets, 
Caps  and  Head-dresses  of  the  latest  and  most  approved 
patterns  kept  constantly  on  hand.  Miss  Hale  and  a 
young  Lady  with  her  who  is  well  acquainted  withMil- 
linary  and  Mantua-making  will  give  constant  atten- 
tion and  cheerful  attendance  on  all  Ladies  who  please 
to  favor  them  with  their  patronage.  feathers,  Rags 
and  Tow  cloth  received  in  payment  for  goods." 

At  this  crisis  of  affairs  we  find  the  future 
poetess,  novelist,  author  and  compiler  of  some 
twenty-two  different  literary  works  and  com- 
pilations of  great  merit  engaged  in  bartering 
silks,  gauzes,  bonnets,  caps  and  head-drapes 
for  country  "  truck  and  dicker."  During  the 
succeeding  two  or  three  years  she,  undoubtedly, 
found  she  had  mistaken  her  calling.  The  busi- 
ness was  not  a  success.  The  vista  now  opening 
before  her  was  not  festooned  fancy  goods,  milli- 
nery article-,  feathers  or  tow- cloth. 


Her  literary  abilities  had  come  to  be  appre- 
ciated. In  the  year  L828  she  was  called  to  the 
editorial  charge  of  the  Ladies'  Magazine,  pub- 
lished in  Boston,  and  discharged  the  duties  of 
tins  responsible  position  until  1887,  when  this 
periodical  was  united  with  the  Lady's  Book  of 
Philadelphia  ;  she  was  afterward  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  working  of  her  long  life  was  crowned 
with  financial  success,  as  well  as  popular  favor, 
and  she  was  able  to  educate  her  sons  and 
daughters  in  the  most  prominent  educational 
institutions  of  this  country.  She  was  a  person 
of  remarkable  vitality,  and  had  lived  more  than 
ninety  years ;  and  at  the  time  of  her  decease 
was  the  most  widely-known  and  distinguished 
of  the  daughters  of  Newport. 

Horatio  Hale,  son  of  the  foregoing,  was  born 
in  Newport,  May  11,  1817;  was  graduated  from 
Harvard  College,  educated  as  a  lawyer  and 
admitted  to  the  practice,  in  Chicago,  in  1855. 
A  man  of  letters,  author,  scientist ;  was  philolo- 
gist to  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition 
commanded  by  Captain  Wilkes  (1837),  and  has 
contributed  largely  to  philological  and  ethnologi- 
cal science. 

The  Baldwins  were  of  Connecticut  lineage. 
They  were  grandsons  of  Captain  Samuel 
Church,  whose  ancestor  is  said  to  have  decap- 
itated King  Philip,  of  Mount  Hope.  Captain 
Church  was  an  early  settler  of  the  town,  and 
owned  all  the  land  in  the  village  between  Main 
Street  and  the  river,  north  of  the  intervale 
bridge. 

Henry  E.  Baldwin  was  born  December  l'J, 
1815.  We  find  him  first  as  a  youthful  angler 
for  trout  in  the  Towner  Brook  ;  afterward  as  a 
practical  printer,  engraver  on  wood,  caricatur- 
ist, artist,  humorist,  editor  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Argus  'mil  Spectator,  register  of  deeds 
and  probate  for  the  county  of  Sullivan,  clerk 
of  the  State  Senate,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Lowell  Daily  Advertiser,  inspector  in  the  Bos- 
ton Custom-House,  and,  finally,  private  secre- 
tary   to     Franklin     Pierce,     President    of    the 


NEWPORT. 


2G5 


United  States.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  presence 
and  agreeable  personal  qualities,  and  a  versa- 
tile and  able  writer.  He  died  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  February  12,  1857. 

Samuel  Church  Baldwin  was  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1817.  He  was  associated  with  his 
brother,  Henry  E.,  in  the  management  of  the 
Argus  and  Spectator  and  the  Lour  11  Advertiser. 
He  was  afterward  (1844)  proprietor  of  the 
Plymouth  (Mass.)  Rock,  and  twice  elected  to 
the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  He  ultimately 
returned  to  his  Dative  State  and  was  proprietor 
oftheiVe?o  Hampshire  Democrat,  published  at 
Laconia,  where  he  died  December  3, 1<S(31.  He 
was  an  able  journalist  and  litterateur. 

Amos  B.  Little  was  a  native  of  Newport,  born 
February  16,  1841.  He  was  educated  princi- 
pally at  the  Kimball  Union  Academy,  Meriden, 
and  at  Brown  University,  Rhode  Island.  He 
commenced  the  study  of  law,  but  an  infirmity 
of  deafness  prevented  the  carrying  out  of  his 
purpose  in  that  direction. 

In  1845  he  was  appointed  to  a  position  in 
the  Patent  Office  by  Edmund  Burke,  then 
commissioner  of  patents.  He  was  afterward 
promoted  to  the  position  of  law  clerk,  and 
while  in  that  office  codified  and  published  the 
"  Patent  Laws  of  the  United  States."  He  was 
a  vigorous  political  writer,  and  correspondent 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Patriot  and  other  jour- 
nals of  that  time.     He  died  October  1,  18(32. 

Mrs.  Mary  Chellis  Lund,  nee  Mary  Dwinell 
Chellis,  the  name  by  which  she  is  known  in  her 
writings,  is  an  author  of  many  books.  An  in- 
ferior boundary  line  only  prevents  her  from 
being  a  native  of  Newport ;  but,  as  her  residence 
is  here,  and  has  been  for  many  years,  and  her 
husband,  S.  F.  Lund,  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Stephen  Wilcox,  of  old  Killingworth,  we  may 
at  least  contend  with  our  neighboring  town  for 
the  honor  of  her  intellectual  life  and  growth,  if 
not  her  birth.  Her  productions  are  mostly  of  a 
moral  and  religious  character  and  are  greatly 
prized  for  their  good  influence  upon  the  young. 
They  are  found  in  all  Sunday-school  libraries. 


Commodore  George  E.  Belknap,  United 
States  Navy,  is  a  native  of  Newport,  born 
January  22,  1832.  In  1847  he  entered  the 
Naval  Academy,  at  Annapolis.  After  gradua- 
tion from  that  institution,  in  1854,  we  find  him 
early  in  command  of  national  vessels,  asserting 
the  honor  and  rights  of  his  country,  at  different 
times  and  places,  on  all  seas.  During  the  Civil 
War  he  was  conspicuous  in  many  successful 
naval  engagements  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
earning  his  promotion  in  rank  by  sturdy 
achievement. 

In  1873  he  was  assigned  to  special  duty  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  the  steam  cor- 
vette "  Tuscarora  "  in  making  deep-sea  soundings 
across  the  Pacific  from  California  to  Japan,  to 
determine  the  practicability  of  laying  a  cable 
between  America  and  Asia.  The  published 
account '  of  this  cruise  has  attracted  the  pro- 
found attention  of  scientists  in  Europe  and 
America. 

He  was  afterward  in  command  of  the  navy- 
yard  at  Pensacola  until  1881,  when  he  was  or- 
dered to  the  Pacific  Station,  on  the  coast  of 
South  America,  in  command  of  the  United 
States  Steamer  "Alaska,"  to  protect  the  interests 
and,  if  necessary,  vindicate  the  honor  of  the 
United  States  on  that  coast  during  the  late  hos- 
tilities between  Chili  and  Peru.  This  cruise 
was  continued  (1882)  to  the  Hawaiian  kingdom 
and  from  thence  to  San  Francisco,  where  the 
"  Alaska  "  went  out  of  commission. 

In  1883  he  was  detached  from  command  of 
the  "Alaska"  and  ordered  to  the  Norfolk  navy- 
yard  as  captain  of  the  yard.  He  has  also 
been  assigned  to  special  duty  as  president  of 
the  Torpedo  Board,  and  also  president  of  the 
Naval  Commission,  to  examine  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  construction  of  the 
"Dolphin'  and  determine  its  acceptance  by 
the  government.  On  June  1,  1885,  Captain 
Belknap  attained  the  rank  of  commodore  and 
was  ordered   by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy   to 

1  See    United    Service     Quarterly    for     April     and    July, 
1879. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  Naval  Observatory  at  Washington  as  super- 
intendent. Commodore  Belknap's  reputation 
as  an  officer  and  a  scientist  is  of  the  highest 
character.  He  is  a  fellow  of  the  American 
Geographical  Society;  fellow  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  ; 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  and 
Genealogical  Society,  Boston;  member  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Historical  Society,  Concord; 
companion  First  (lass  Military  Order  Loyal 
Legion,  United  States ;  Knight  Commander  of 
the  Royal  Order  of  Kamehameha  I.,  of  the 
Hawaiian  kingdom.  ( For  further  account,  see 
Hamersly's  "  Naval  Encyclopedia.") 

Edward  A.  Jenks,  whose  progenitors  are  said 
to  have  arrived  in  the  town  of  Newport  on  the 
Ith  of  duly,  1770,  was  born  October  3,  1830, 
and  while  a  printer,  editor,  incumbent  of  pub- 
lic office  and  at  the  head  of  the  Republican 
Press  Association  of  Concord  has  found  oppor- 
tunity in  the  course  of  a  busy  life  to  scatter 
here  and  there  leaves  that  have  found  places  in 
the  choice  collections  of  verse  that  adorn  our 
libraries.  In  the  "  New  Hampshire  Poets," 
compiled  by  Bel  a  Chapin,  there  are  over  twenty 
names  of  poets,  natives  or  residents  of  Newport. 

Tin:  Press. — In  connection  with  other  in- 
stitutions, the  town  of  Newport  has  had  the 
advantage  of  an  ably-conducted  newspaper 
press  for  a  period  of  more  than  sixty  years. 
In  the  year  1825  Cyrus  Barton  moved  the 
New  Hampshire  Spectator,  which  he  had  estab- 
lished at  Claremont,  to  this  town.  He  Mas 
here  severally  associated  with  Dunbar  Aldrich, 
B.B.French  and  Cyrus  Metcalf,  and  finally 
removed  to  Concord,  leaving  the  paper  in  the 
hands  of  French  &  Metcalf.  Mr.  French  was 
also  an  attorney-at-law  and  the  first  clerk  of 
the  courts  for  the  new  county  of  Sullivan.  He 
was  afterward  clerk  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  commissioner  of  public  buildings 
at  Washington,  where  he  died  in  187<>.  Mr. 
Metcalf  soon  after  withdrew  from  the  paper 
and  Simon  Brown  took  his  place. 

In    1833    Edmund    Burke    had    located    at 


Claremont  and  had  established  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Argus.  In  1834  Mr.  Burke  removed  his 
press  to  Newport.  In  1835  the  Spectator  and 
Argus  were  united  under  the  editorial  manage- 
ment of  Mr.  Burke  and  became  the  New 
Hampshire  Argus  and  Spectator. 

From  1838  to  1840  the  paper  was  controlled 
by  the  Baldwins  and  William  English.  In 
1X40  the  Argus  and  Spectator  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Henry  G.  Carleton  and  Matthew 
Harvey,  and  so  continued  until  April  1,  18711, 
a  period  of  about  forty  years,  when  Hubbard 
A.  Barton  and  W.  W.  Prescott  became  the 
proprietors  of  the  paper  and  printing-office. 
About  September  1,  1880,  W.  W.  Prescott 
withdrew  from  the  concern  and  his  interest 
was  assumed  by  George  B.  Wheeler.  Barton 
&  Wheeler  continue  the  publication  of  the 
Argus,  which  has  always  been  Democratic  in 
its  political  character. 

The  Northern  Farmer  and.  Political  Adven- 
turer and  the  Northern  Farmer  and  Horticul- 
turist, were  published  by  Hubbard,  Newton  & 
Son  during  the  years  J  830  to  1833,  and  were 
discontinued. 

The  first  number  of  the  Republican  Cham- 
pion, Fred.  W.  Cheney,  editor  and  proprietor, 
was  issued  in  this  town  January  (5,  1881.  The 
Champion  is  ably  conducted  and,  as  its  name 
implies,  is  devoted  to  the  interests  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party. 

There  have  been  other  publications  started  in 
the  town,  which  were  of  short  continuance 
and  no  lasting  benefit,  of  which  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  speak. 

Matthew  Harvey  came  from  Sutton  to  New- 
port in  the  year  1831,  and  from  that  time  until 
his  death,  on  January  3,1,  1885,  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years,  was  connected  either  as  appren- 
tice, journeyman  or  proprietor  with  the  New 
Hampshire  Argus  and  Spectator.  He  was  a 
son  of  Colonel  John  Harvey  and  a  nephew  of 
Jonathan  and  Matthew,  both  members  of  Con- 
gress and  the  latter  a  Governor  of  the  State 
and  United  States  district  judge. 


NEWPORT. 


267 


Mr.  Harvey  was  devoted  to  his  profession  and 
in  many  respects  had  few  equals  as  a  journalist. 
He  was  a  versatile  and  easy  writer  and  a  forci- 
ble speaker, — full  of  ready  wit  and  fond  of 
repartee.  He  had  poetic  ability  of  a  high 
order  and  many  efforts  of  his  pen  are  extant. 
The  files  of  the  Argus  for  more  than  forty 
years  will  bear  testimony  to  his  genial  character 
and  ability  as  a  humorist,  a  poet,  a  writer  of 
entertaining  locals  and  more  dignified  political 
articles.  He  was  an  esteemed  and  valuable 
citizen  of  the  town  during  his  fifty-four  years 
of  life  in  Newport. 

In  the  files  of  the  New  Hampshire  Spectator, 
printed  by  Cyrus  Barton  in  this  town  from 
fifty  to  sixty  years  ago,  we  find  piquant  essays 
and  disquisitions  on  various  subjects  which 
illustrate  in  some  degree  the  advanced  liter- 
ary culture  that  existed  among  the  people 
of  Newport  during  that  period.  It  is  matter  of 
regret  that  the  names  of  the  authors  of  these 
papers  are  concealed  under  signatures,  classical, 
Scriptural  and  sometimes  common-place,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  destroy  their  identity. 

A  pleasing  social  feature  of  that  time  was 
a  "  Coterie  "  made  up  of  these  literary  young 
people,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Mrs.  Sarah 
J.  Hale. 

The  try  sting-place  of  this  society  was  a  gigan- 
tic elm,  or,  more  particularly,  a  pair  of  elms, 
as  the  main  body  of  the  tree  not  far  from  the 
ground  forked  into  divergent  trunks,  which 
rose  high  in  air,  interlocking  their  lofty  branches 
in  a  widely  spreading  and  reciprocal  embrace. 

This  tree,  illustrating  as  it  did  the  idea  of  dual- 
ity in  unity,  was  considered  emblematical  of 
the  married  state  and  came  to  be  known  as  the 
"  Matrimonial  Tree." 

It  stood  on  a  natural  terrace,  or  elevation  of 
land  overlooking  a  delightful  sweep  of  meadow, 
diversified  with  other  elms  and  clumps  of  trees, 
and  outlined  bv  the  "  Sugar  "  in  one  of  its 
graceful  detours  known  as  "  the  bend,"  its 
course  bordered  with  alder  and  witch  hazel, 
festooned  with  climbing  vines. 


Upon  the  closely-mown  sward,  within  the 
well-defined  and  ample  shade  of  this  druidical 
tree,  at  appointed  times  on  golden  summer 
afternoons,  came  the  members  of  this  aesthetic 
circle — the  married  with  a  well-sustained  com- 
placence at  their  advanced  social  position  ;  and 
the  single  in  all  the  incipient  stages  of  the 
tender  passion  leading  up  to  the  connubial 
state. 

Without  a  great  stretch  of  imagination,  we 
might  here  group  the  pseudonyms  from  the 
/Spectator  as  follows :  Philo,  Apollonius  and 
Cornelia ;  Gamaliel,  Mentor  and  Minerva ; 
Mercurius,  Theophilus  and  Thyrza ;  Crito, 
I  Fnus  and  Ariadne ;  Jotham,  Uncle  Toby  and 
Rebecca,  and  others  whose  exponents  had  been 
a  letter  of  the  alphabet,  or  an  asterisk  under 
which  to  conceal  their  real  names. 

The  tout  ensemble  of  the  individuals  of  the 
party,  on  such  occasions,  and  their  various  pos- 
turings  and  movements  in  the  refreshing  shade 
of  the  twin  elms,  are  pleasantly  suggestive  of 
character  and  scenes  in  "  As  You  Like  It," 
where  we  find  the  Dukes  and  their  retainers, 
Rosalind  and  Orlando,  Celia  and  Oliver,  Old 
Adams  and  the  melancholy  Jaques,  love-making 
and  philosophizing  in  the  forest  glades  of 
Ardennes. 

Scats  and  tables  were  placed  all  about  upon 
the  smooth  ground  in  picturesque  disorder 
for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  members 
of  the  Coterie  as  they  gave  audience  to  dramatic 
performances,  recitations  and  readings  from 
books  and  magazines,  or  the  productions  of 
some  of  their  leading  spirits.  In  addition  to 
the  more  dignified  exercises,  free  scope  was  given 
to  conversation,  songs,  merriment,  wit  and 
repartee. 

A  most  interesting  episode  in  the  routine  of 
the  afternoon  was  the  withdrawal  and  investi- 
gation of  the  contents  of  a  sly  pocket,  or  covert 
place  in  or  about  the  venerable  tree  which  had 
become  the  receptacle  of  all  manner  of  anony- 
mous contributions,  personal,  humorous  and 
tender, — in    prose   and    verse,    the   reading   of 


268 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


which  added  greatly  i<»  the   interest  of  the  occa- 
sion. 

The  delectation  of  the  physical  as  well  as  the 

intellectual  nature  was  riot  disregarded  at  these 
assemblies.  As  the  day  declined,  a  fire  was 
kindled  under  a  significant-looking  kettle,  sus- 
pended from  a  tripod  at  convenient  distance, 
and  anon  the  smell  of  Bohea  or  Young  Hyson, 
or  both — fragrant  and  lively — filled  the  air.  A 
symposium  of  tea-drinking,  and  a  discussion  of 
sandwiches,  cakes  and  confections  concluded 
the  afternoon's  entertainment. 

There  are  gray-haired  men  and  women  walk- 
ing about  town  in  this  year  of  grace,  1885,  who, 
as  small  hoys  and  girls  with  curious  interest, 
hovered  on  the  outer  margin  of  the  charmed 
circle  we  have  affected  to  describe,  as  spectators  ; 
and  the  gay  appearance  of  these  rural  gather- 
ings on  Captain  Church's  meadow,  as  seen  from 
the  Aiken  hills,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  is  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  those  who 
inhabited  the  old  "  Wines  Manse  "  as  children. 

I  low  much  the  "Matrimonial  Tree"  did  for 
the  cause  of  social  advancement  can  never  be 
properly  estimated.  The  woodman's  axe  and 
the  scythe  of  Time  closed  the  record  from  mor- 
tal ken  long  ago. 

With  all  our  schools  and  superior  advan- 
tages, we  doubt  if  any  society  for  social  and 
mental  culture,  equal  in  scope  and  merit,  has 
had  any  foothold  or  existence  in  this  town  since 
this  Coterie  disappeared;  and  are  prone  to  be- 
lieve that  the  standard  of  literary  attainment 
at  this  time  must  suffer  in  contrast  with  that  of 
two  generations  ago. 

Edmund  Wheeler,  a  long  time  citizen  of  this 
town,  is  a  native  of  Croydon,  where  he  was 
born  August  25,  1814.  He  was  educated  at 
Kimball  Union  Academy,  came  to  Newport  in 
IS.').0)  and  engaged  with  his  brother,  William  P. 
Wheeler,  in  the  harness-making  trade.  In 
1839,  on  the  retirement  of  William  P.  to  en- 
gage in  the  study  and  practice  of  law,  he  as- 
sumed, by  purchase,  the  control  of  the  business, 
which    he   successfully    continued    until    1866, 


when  he  sold  out  to  Granville  Pollard.  Dur- 
ing a  residence  of  more  than  fifty  years  Mr. 
Wheeler  has  ably  sustained  himself  as  an  en- 
terprising and  substantial  citizen  of  the  town. 
He  was  adjutanl  in  the  State  militia,  and  for 
two  years  on  the  stall'  of  Governor  Williams, 
lie  has  been  twice  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
1851—52,  the  latter  year  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  incorporations,  and  taking  an  active 
pari  in  all  the  leading  measures  before  the 
House.  He  was  director  in  the  Sugar  River 
Bank,  and  since  in  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Newport,  anil  also  in  the  Newport  Savings- 
Bank. 

He  was  active  in  the  organization  of  Union 
School  District  in  1S74,  and  eight  years  on  its 
Board  of  Education  as  chairman  and  other- 
wise. 

In  his  time  he  has  published  a  book  entitled 
the  "Croydon  Centennial,"  and  in  1879,  com- 
piled, edited  and  issued  from  the  press  an  elab- 
orate "History  of  Newport,"  to  which  we  are 
indebted  for  much  statistical  matter  used  in  the 
composition  of  this  sketch. 

Edmund  Wheeler  married,  September  21, 
1851,  a  daughter  of  Sherman  Rossiter,  of  Clare- 
mont,  and,  second,  Augusta  L.  Sawyer,  of  this 
town.  His  only  son,  George  B.,  the  issue  of 
the  first  marriage,  born  February  4,  18o4,  is  at 
present  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Argus  end  Spectator. 

Joseph  W.  Parmelee,  the  writer  of  this 
sketch,  is  a  native  of  Newport,  born  February 
2,  1818.  His  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest 
English  emigrants  to  this  country.  I  lis  paternal 
grandparents,  Ezra  and  Sibyl  (Hill),  were  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Newport.  His  parents, 
John  and  Phebe  (Chase)  Parmelee,  were  resi- 
dent at  a  locality  on  the  South  Branch  of  Sugar 
River  known  as  Southville.  lie  was  a  scholar 
in  old  School  District  No.  1,  under  several  in- 
structors, and  in  1833-34  at  the  Newport  Acad- 
emy, under  the  tuition  of  the  late  David  Crosby, 
of  Nashua.  After  about  a  year  at  Kimball 
Union  Academy  his  school-days  terminated  and 


NEWPORT. 


269 


he  turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits. 
In  the  year  1847  he  removed  to  Charleston, 
S.  C.j  and  engaged  with  a  substantial  concern  in 
the  dry-goods  trade — Wiley,  Banks  &  Co. — 
into  which  he  vvas  afterward  admitted  as  a  suc- 
ceeding co-partner,  and  in  which,  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Civil  War,  he  had  accumulated  a  fair 
estate  that  met  with  confiscation  and  ruin  in 
that  vortex  of  national  and  human  affairs. 

From  1863  to  1879  he  was  identified  with 
the  Southern  trade  in  connection  with  the  house 
of  H.  B.Claflin  &  Co.,  in  New  York  City.  During 
a  varied  business  career  he  has  found  much 
time  for  reading  and  self-culture,  has  been  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  press,  and  has  writ- 
ten occasional  poems,  which  have  attracted  some 
attention.  Mr.  Parmelee,  since  1879,  has  resided 
in  his  native  town,  where  his  family  for  many 
years  have  had  a  homestead.  He  is  much 
interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  has  been 
for  four  or  five  years  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Education  for  Union  District,  and  some  time 
superintending  school  committee  for  the  town. 
Mr.  Parmelee  married,  August  13,  1851,  Fran- 
ces Ann,  only  daughter  of  Amos  Little,  Esq.,  of 
Newport.  Their  children  are  Edward  Little, 
born  May  16,  1852,  now  a  resident  of  Kansas 
City,  Mo.;  Francis  Joseph,  born  June  27, 1857, 
a  resident  in  New  York  City;  and  Anne,  born 
June  1,  1860,  resides  with  the  family  in  New- 
port. 


CHAPTER    V. 

NEWPORT— (Continued). 
MEDICAL   AND   LEGAL   PROFESSIONS. 

Medical  Profession. — The  professions  fol- 
low in  the  wake  of  civilization.  The  conditions 
in  a  new  country  subject  the  settlers  to  much  of 
exposure  and  accident,  the  evils  of  which  are 
sometimes  greatly  enhanced  without  the  imme- 
diate aid  of  medicine  or  surgery,  as  prescribed 
and  directed  by  skillful  hands;  hence  the  im- 
portance of  a  doctor  in  a  new  settlement. 


There  was  no  permanently  settled  physician 
in  Newport  until  the  year  1790.  Previous  to 
that  time  it  was  customary  in  critical  cases  to 
send  to  Charlestown  for  medical  aid. 

We  knowr  traditionally  that  Captain  Ezra 
Parmelee  was  dispatched  to  that  place  for  a 
doctor  to  attend  Mrs.  Josiah  Stevens,  his  neigh- 
bor, and  that  she  died  before  he  could  come  to 
her  relief. 

There  were  women  in  the  settlement  who 
ministered  to  the  wants  of  the  afflicted  with 
much  of  ability.  They  also  possessed  the  neces- 
sary skill  as  midwives.  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Nettle- 
ton  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  these,  and  to 
have  traveled  long  distances  on  foot,  sometimes 
using  snow-shoes,  to  visit  the  sick.  It  is  also 
said  that  she  once  traveled  to  New  London  on 
a  hand-sled  hauled  by  four  men  for  the  purpose 
of  visiting  a  patient.  Her  daughter,  Mabel, 
born  November  15,  1762,  in  Killingworth,  and 
who  came  to  Newport  with  her  parents  in  1779, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Aaron  Buel,  Jr.,  suc- 
ceeded her  mother,  and  was  the  only  physician 
in  Newport  for  several  years,  and  particularly 
successful  in  her  practice.  She  was  known  in 
the  later  years  of  her  life  as  Aunt  Mabel,  and 
is  still  remembered  as  a  most  estimable  woman. 

About  the  year  1790  Dr.  James  Corbin,  born 
in  Dudley,  Mass.,  1762,  established  himself  in 
Newport  as  a  physician,  and  so  continued  until 
his  death,  January  16,  1826.  In  connection 
with  his  medical  practice  he  improved  a  tract  of 
land  and  erected  substantial  buildings  on  what 
continues  to  be  known  as  Corbin  Hill,  between 
Newport  village  and  Northville.  A  large  part 
of  this  estate — that  north  of  the  river — con- 
tinues in  possession  of  his  grandson,  Austin 
Corbin,  of  New  York. 

Dr.  William  Joslyn,  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Corbin's, 
commenced  practice  in  Newport  in  1804,  and 
after  a  residence  of  six  years  removed  to  Ver- 
mont. 

Dr.  Arnold  Ellis,  born  in  Meriden,  Conn., 
October  29, 1776,  was  in  Newport  early  in  the 
ceutury,    and    engaged    in    the   practice.       His 


270 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


preparation  of  bitters,  for  bilious  disorders, 
was  niuch  esteemed.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master (1810),  and  filled  the  office  of  town 
elerk  in  1811.  He  was  also  by  trade  a  tailor 
and  a  jeweler,  and  cleaned  and  repaired  watches, 
a  lover  of  music  and  a  skillful  performer  on  the 
violin. 

At  a  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  in 
1827,  Dr.  Ellis  had  charge  of  the  music.  The 
band  consisted  of  Arnold  Ellis,  violin  ;  John 
B.  McGregor,  bass  viol ;  Abijah  Dudley, 
clarionet;  Bela  W.  Jenks,  bassoon;  Jere- 
miah W.  Walcott,  bugle;  Major  David  Harris, 
fife;  Major  Willard  Harris,  drummer.  Here- 
moved  to  Sutton  about  this  time,  and  from 
thence  to  Newbury,  where  he  died  at  an  ad- 
vanced age. 

Dr.  John  B.  McGregor,  a  son  of  Lieutenant 
John  McGregor,  was  born  in  this  town  Novem- 
ber 27,  1787;  was  a  student  in  Dr.  Corbin's  of- 
fice ;  a  graduate  of  the  Medical  Department  of 
Dartmouth  College  in  1809  ;  commenced  prac- 
tice here  in  1810,  and  was  the  leading  physi- 
cian of  the  town  and  a  valuable  citizen  until  his 
removal  to  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  where 
he  died  September  14,  1865. 

Dr.  Alexander  Bovd,  of  Scotch-Irish  de- 
scent,  a  native  of  Londonderry,  born  February 
8,  1784,  was  in  successful  practice  here  for 
about  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  died  Septem- 
ber 28,  1851. 

Dr.  \V.  P.  Gibson,  a  native  of  Croydon,  was 
in  the  profession  from  1830  to  1837,  when  he 
removed  to  Windsor,  Vt.,  and  took  orders  as  a 
clergyman  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
He  died  in  1X37,  aged  about  forty  years. 

Dr.  William  F.  Cooper,  also  a  native  of 
Croydon,  wa<5  settled  here  for  about  one  year 
(1S27),  and  removed  to  Kellogsville,  N.  Y., 
where  he  was  engaged  in  a  successful  practice 
for  more  than  fifty  years. 

Dr.  John    L.    Swett.     (See  biography.) 

Dr.  Reuben  Hatch,  of  Alstead,  was  in  the 
practice  1808-09. 

Dr.   Isaac   Hatch  succeeded    to  the  office  and 


practice  of  Dr.  Gibson  in  1837.  His  continu- 
ance here  was  short.  He  sickened  and  died 
in  1838,  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years. 

Dr.  Mason  Hatch.     (See  biography.) 

Dr.  W.  C.  (/handler  was  in  practice  here  from 
1838  to  1841,  when  he  removed  to  South  Na- 
tick,  Mass.,  and  died  in  1848,  in  the  forty-sec- 
ond vear  of  his  &ge. 

Dr.  Thomas  Sanborn.     (See  biography.) 

Dr.  James  A.  Greggs  was  in  practice  in  New- 
port from  1855  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
1866. 

Dr.  Wra.  H.  Hosmer  was  here  for  about  a 
year,  1847-48,  and  removed  to  Concord. 

Dr.  W.  W.  Darling,  of  the  homoeopathic 
school  of  practice,  was  born  in  Croydon  Novem- 
ber 20,  1834.  Received  his  medical  degree  from 
Dartmouth  in  1859,  and  has  been  in  practice  in 
Newport  since  1869. 

Dr.  David  M.  Currier,  a  native  of  Grafton, 
born  September  15,  1840,  received  his  medical 
degree  from  Dartmouth  in  18(57;  came  to  this 
town  in  1871,  where  he  is  engaged  in  a  success- 
ful practice. 

Drs.  Thomas  B.  and  Christopher  A.  Sanborn, 
sons  of  Dr.  Thomas  Sanborn,  were  educated  to 
the  medical  profession,  and  graduated  from  the 
Bellevue  Medical  College,  New  York  City. 
They  succeeded  to  the  office  and  business  of 
their  father,  and  are  engaged  in  a  successful 
practice. 

Several  other  names  might  be  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  medical  profession,  but  the 
continuance  of  the  parties  was  of  a  temporary 
character  and  made  little  or  no  impression  upon 
the  community. 

Of  the  sons  of  Newport  whose  lives  have  been 
devoted  to  the  medical  profession  and  resulted 
in  great  usefulness  to  their  fellow-creatures,  there 
died  in  Morley  Parish,  Canton,  St.  Lawrence 
County,  N.  Y.,  on  July  9,  1874,  Ezra  Parme- 
lee,  M.D.,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age. 
Dr.  Parmelee  came  of  the  old  Killingworth 
stock  that  originally  settled  the  town.  He 
passed  a  jolly  boyhood  at  the  paternal  homestead 


NEWPORT. 


271 


near  the  South  Branch,  at  Southville.  Sum- 
mer and  winter  he  was  an  attentive  scholar  at 
the  old  red  school-house  then  standing  on  Pot- 
ash Hill,  until  he  came  to  be  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  found  employment  in  the 
store  of  James  Breck,  whose  business  occupied 
the  premises  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main 
and  Elm  Streets.  A  year  or  more  in  dry -goods 
and  groceries  failed  to  satisfy  his  ideal  of  a  life- 
work,  and  consulting  an  inclination  some  time 
cherished,  he  determined  to  educate  himself  for 
the  medical  profession. 

After  completing  a  course  at  the  Newport 
Academy,  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  John  B.  McGregor,  at  that 
time  one  of  the  most  eminent  practitioners  in 
this  part  of  the  State,  and  was  afterwards  with 
Dr.  Caleb  Plastridge,  of  East  Lebanon,  whose 
daughter  he  married. 

At  less  than  twenty-three  years  of  age — 1833 
— Dr.  Parmelee  pushed  out  into  the  world,  a 
graduate  from  the  Medical  Department  of  Dart- 
mouth, his  diploma  signed  by  the  distinguished 
physiologist,  Reuben  D.  Mussey.  He  located 
at  first  in  the  town  of  Warner,  but  afterward, 
through  the  influence  of  friends,  and  in  view7 
of  a  wider  professional  field,  he  removed,  in 
1839,  to  Morley,  where,  for  more  than  forty- 
five  years,  he  had  been  in  the  successful  practice 
of  his  profession. 

Ira  W.  Peabody,  M.D.,  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College  Medical  Department  of  1833, 
after  a  successful  professional  career,  died  at 
Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  August,  1877,  aged  sixty- 
nine  years. 

Adolphus  Cutting,  born  June  25,  1811,  a 
medical  graduate  also  of  1833,  settled  first  in 
Ohio,  and  now  lives  retired  from  practice  at  La 
Grange,  Ind. 

Leonard  W.  Peabody,  M.D.,  born  September 
13,  1817,  graduated  from  the  Medical  College 
at  Woodstock,  Vt.,  in  1843,  and  is  now  in  suc- 
cessful practice  at  Henniker.  He  was  member 
of  the  Legislature  of  1885. 

Samuel   J.  Allen,  M.D.,  born    January    4, 


1819,  was  graduated  at  the  Castleton  (Vt.)  Medi- 
cal College  in  1842,  and  received  an  honorary 
degree  from  Dartmouth  in  1870.  He  has  spent 
the  most  of  his  professional  life  at  Hartford,  Vt. 
He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Union  army  during 
the  Civil  War. 

Noah  Addison  Chapin,  M.D.,  born  June  18, 
1818,  was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College 
in  1845,  and  from  the  Medical  Department  at 
Yale  College  in  1849,  and  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  professon  at  Winchester,  where  he  died 
May  9,  1854,  from  poison  received  through  a 
cut  in  the  hand  while  performing  an  operation. 

Clifton  Claggett,  M.D.,  born  September  12, 
1807,  had  his  early  training  at  the  Newport 
Academy;  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Alexander 
Boyd,  his  brother-in-law  ;  was  graduated  at. 
Dartmouth  in  1832,  and  settled  at  Northfield, 
Vt.,  where  he  still  resides. 

Laugdon  Sawyer,  M.D.,  born  September  7, 
1815,  was  graduated  at  the  College  of  Medicine 
at  Castleton,  Vt.,  in  1843,  spent  one  year  at  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New 
York  City,  and  settled  in  Springfield,  Vt.  In 
1869  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  M.D. 
from  Dartmouth.     He  died  in  1880. 

Carlos  G.  Metcalf,  M  D.,  born  in  1846,  was 
a  student  with  Dr.  J.  L.  Swett,  and  was  grad- 
uated at  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  is  in  practice  at 
Troy,  N.  H. 

Alvah  Paul,  M.D.,  born  .Inly  14,  1805,  was 
graduated  at  Castleton,  Yt.,  and  attained  dis- 
tinction and  wealth  in  his  profession  at  Royal- 
ton,  Ohio. 

Bela  N.  Stevens,  M.D.,  born  December  22, 
1832,  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Medical 
College  in  1854;  was  two  years  in  the  Marine 
Hospital  at  Chelsea,  Mass.,  and  five  years  a  sur- 
geon in  the  Government  Insane  Hospital  at 
Washington,  where  he  died  July  5,  1865. 

Mason  A.  Wilcox,  M.D.,  born  December  25, 
1844,  was  graduated  at  the  Detroit  Medical 
College,  1868,  and  is  now  in  practice  in  Col- 
orado. 


272 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Elbridge  G.  Kelley,  son  of  Deacon  John 
Kelley,  of  Kelleyville,  was  born  September  2!), 
1812;  graduated  at  the  Jeffersoo  Medical  Col- 
lege of  Philadelphia,  but  made  dentistry  a 
specialty,  and  established  himself  at  Newbury- 
portj  Mass.,  where  he  attained  a  prominent 
position  in  his  profession  and  as  a  citizen.  lie 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  twice 
mayor  of  the  city.  To  him  the  precinct  of 
Kelleyville,  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  is 
indebted  for  its  name. 

James  H.  Parnielee,  son  of  John  and  grand- 
son of  Ezra,  was  born  March  2,  1820,  at  the 
precinct  in  Newport  known  as  Southville,  where 
his  boyhood  and  school-days  were  passed,  after 
which  he  went  to  Xew  York  City,  and  was  for 
a  time  connected  with  the  office  of  the  Con- 
necticut Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  in 
Wall  Street.  He  afterward  turned  his  attention 
to  dentistry  as  a  profession,  and  opened  an  office 
in  Brooklyn.  In  1847  he  married  Abbie,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Levi  Jones,  of  Amherst, 
and  some  years  afterward  came  to  Milford, 
N.  H.,  and  later  to  Manchester,  where  he  con- 
tinued the  business  of  his  profession  until  the 
time  of  his  decease,  September  29,1879.  His 
daughter,  and  only  child,  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
B.  Waite,  of  Manchester.  Dr.  Parmelee  was 
genial  in  his  disposition  and  temperament,  and 
dnw  around  him  warm  friends  wherever  he 
went.     He  was  an  accomplished   vocalist. 

William  Wallace  Hurd,  a  grandson  of  Sam- 
uel, one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town,  and  son 
of  Samuel,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Ann  (Corbin)  Hurd, 
was  boi-ii  in  Newport  about  the  year  1820.  He 
educated  himself  to  the  profession  of  dental 
surgery,  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  for 
many  years  in  the  city  of  Xew  York. 

Henry  Tubbs  ha-  Keen  in  the  practice  of 
dental  surgery  in  Newport  since  1 SOO.  He  is 
a  native  of  Peterborough,  born  February  2  1, 
1831.  His  professional  success,  and  his  char- 
acter as  a  citizen  during  the  quarter  century  of 
his  residence  here,  entitle  him  to  confidence 
and  regard.     He  married,   December  25,  I860, 


Mary  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Rogers,  of 
Sunapee,  and  they  have  children, — Annie  L., 
born  Aug.  3, 1868  ;  Gertie M.  born  Oct.  27,1874. 

Legal  Profession. — The  fact  that  no  rep- 
resentative of  the  legal  profession  found  encour- 
agement to  settle  in  Newport  during  its  first 
quarter  of  a  century  affords  much  of  argument 
in  favor  of  the  peace  and  good  neighborhood 
that  existed  among  its  people.  The  bickerings 
and  misunderstandings,  if  any,  among  the  people 
of  that  time  were  not  beyond  the  reach  of 
settlement  by  the  good-will  and  consent  of 
parties  or  their  friends.  An  ordinary  justice  of 
the  peace,  or  a  magistrate  of  wisdom  and  ability, 
such  as  was  found  in  Benjamin  Giles,  was  equal 
to  any  requirement  of  the  community. 

Caleb  Ellis  is  said  to  have  opened  the  first 
law-office  in  Newport.  He  was  a  native-  of 
Walpole,  Mass.,  and  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1793.  After  his  admission  to  the 
bar  he  came  to  Newport,  and  it  was  here  that  in 
the  year  1800  he  received  his  first  political 
advancement.  From  this  town  he  removed  to 
Cornish  and  to  Claremont  not  lony;  afterward. 
He  was  a  representative  from  this  district  in 
Congress  from  1805  to  1809,  was  a  member  of 
the  Council,  and  in  1811  was  elected  to  the 
State  Senate.  In  1813  he  was  appointed  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire)  and 
continued  in  that  position  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  May  9,  1816,  in  the  forty-ninth  year 
of  his  age. 

Hubbard  Newton,  son  of  Christopher  and 
Mary  (Giles),  was  the  first  native  of  the  town 
that  entered  the  legal  profession.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  Dartmouth  College  in  1804  j  ad- 
mitted to  the- bar  in  1  .S0G.  Weare  Tappan, 
Esq.,  was  for  a  time  associated  with  him  pro- 
fessionally, and  afterward  removed  to  Bradford. 
Aside  from  the  business  of  his  profession,  Mr. 
Newton  took  much  interest  in  educational  and 
literary  affairs,  and  was  some  time  editor  of  a 
weekly  paper.  He  represented  the  town  in 
1814  and  1815.  He  died  in  February,  1847, 
in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 


NEWPORT. 


273 


Amasa  Edes  was  a  native  of  Antrim  ;  born 
March  21,  1792;  was  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1817.  He  educated  himself 
to  the  legal  profession  ;  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1822  and  settled  in  Newport  the  same 
year.  He  was  one  of  the  early  preceptors  of 
the  Newport  Academy,  1825,  and  afterward  a 
trustee.  He  was  also  one  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  temperance  movement  in  this  town.  He 
had  a  long  and  successful  career  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  was  president  of  the  Sul- 
livan County  bar  at  the  time  of  his  decease, 
which  occurred  September  10,  1883,  in  the 
ninety-second  year  of  his  age. 

David  Hale,  of  Alstead,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1811  and  opened  an  office  here  soon  af- 
ter; married  Sarah  Josepha,  a  daughter  of  Gor- 
don Buel.  He  died  in  1822,  aged  about  forty 
years.  Mrs.  Hale  afterward  turned  her  atten- 
j    tion  successfully  to  literature. 

Josiah  Forsaith  was  a  native  of  Deering; 
born  December  14,  1780;  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth in  1807  ;  read  law  with  Caleb  Ellis,  of 
Claremont,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Goffstown,  and  afterward  for  a 
time  in  Boston.  He  came  to  Newport  in  1822; 
was  superintending  school  committee  and  some 
time  represented  the  town  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  was  one  of  the  builders  and  pro- 
prietors of  the  Eagle  Hotel,  a  famous  hostelry 
of  that  time,  and,  after  a  successful  career,  died 
March  30,  1846. 

Ralph  Metcalf  was  born  at  Charlestown,  No- 
vember 21,  1798;  was  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth in  1823 ;  fitted  for  the  legal  profession 
in  the  offices  of  Henry  Hubbard,  of  Charles- 
town,  and  George  B.  Upham,  of  Claremont, 
and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  182(5 ;  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  David  Hale  in  Newport.  He  was 
seven  years  Secretary  of  State,  returning  to 
Newport  in  1843-44;  was  register  of  Probate 
for  the  county  of  Sullivan.  In  1852-53  he 
represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature,  and 
was  one  of  a  committee  to  codify  the  laws  of 
the  State ;   wTas  trustee  of  the  Insane  Asylum 


in  1855  and  Governor  of  the  State  in  1855-56. 
Benjamin  B.  French  was  here  as  lawyer, 
clerk  of  the  county  courts  and  editor  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Argus  and  Spectator  until  his 
removal  to  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1834. 

Edmund  Burke  was  a  native  of  Westminster, 
Vt. ;  born  January  23,  1809,  and  came  to 
Newport  in  1834  as  an  editor.  Disposing  of 
his  newspaper  interest,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  his  profession  and  to  politics.  He  was  three 
times  elected  as  Representative  to  Congress 
from  this  district — 1839  to  1845;  was  ap- 
pointed commissioner  of  patents  by  President 
Polk  in  1845.  He  was  afterward  connected 
with  editorial  work  on  the  Washington  Union 
up  to  1850,  after  which  he  returned  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Newport.  He 
died  January  25,  1882. 

Austin  Corbin  is  a  native  of  Newport;  born 
July  11,  1827.  He  was  educated  as  a  lawyer 
and  received  his  degree  from  the  Harvard  Law 
School  in  1849.  After  admission  to  the  bar 
he  commenced  practice  in  this  town  in  company 
with  Ralph  Metcalf,  Esq.  In  1851  he  re- 
moved to  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  was  at  first 
engaged  in  the  practice  vt  his  profession,  but 
after  a  time  turned  his  attention  to  banking 
and  financial  business  generally.  In  1865  he 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  Iowa  and  removed  to 
New  York  City,  where  he  organized  the  Cor- 
bin Banking  Company.  He  afterwards  ac- 
quired a  valuable  interest  in  lands,  railroad  and 
hotel  property  on  Coney  Island,  and  later  has 
pushed  his  enterprises  until  he  has  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  Long  Island  Railroad  and  has 
become  its  president. 

There  are  other  names  connected  with  the 
legal  profession  in  Newport  for  a  limited  time, 
on  account  of  their  removal  or  death.  Of 
these  are  David  Allen,  Jr.,  Lewis  Smith,  J.  C. 
Crooker,  George  S.  Barton,  Samuel  M.  Wheeler5 
Brooks  K.  Webber,  Arthur  C.  Bradley,  N.  E. 
Reed,  W.  H.  H.  Allen  (now  judge,)  William 
P.  Wheeler  and  M.  W.  Tappan  (Attorney-Gen- 
eral). 


274 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  members  of  the  profession  at  present 
in  active  business  in  Newport  are  Levi  W. 
Barton,  Samuel  H.  Edes,  Albert  S.  Wait, 
Shepard  L.  Bowers,  William  F.  Newton  and 
George  R.  Brown. 

Personal  sketches  of  these  gentlemen  will 
more  properly  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  histo- 
rian yet  to  appear  after  the  "  living  present " 
lias  been  relegated  to  the  dead  past. 

Of  natives  of  Newport  who  have  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  in  other  parts  of  the  country 
are  Ebenezer  Allen,  at  Austin  Texas  ;  Horatio 
Buell,  judge,  etc.,  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y.  ;  Wil- 
liam Breck,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  ;  James  Breck, 
Jr.,  Chicago,  111. ;  James  Corbin,  Sante  Fe, 
N.  M. ;  Rufus  Claggett,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ; 
Charles  II.  Chapin,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  William 
J.  Forsaith,  Boston,  Mass.;  Horatio  Hale, 
Clinton,  Out. ;  William  G.  Hale,  New  Orleans; 
Solomon  Heath,  Belfast,  Me.  ;  Elijah  D.  Hast- 
ings, Cherry  Yale,  Kansas  ;  Erastus  Newton, 
Lockport,  N.  Y. ;  Charles  H.  Woods,  Minne- 
apolis, Minn. ;  Frank  H.  Carleton,  Minne- 
apolis, Minn. 


1769.- 
1770. 

1772.- 
1776.- 

1781.- 
1782.- 
1784.- 
1786.- 
1787.- 
1791.- 
17'.^.- 
1800.- 
1803.- 
1809.- 
1810.- 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NEWPORT— {Continued). 

TOWN   OFFICERS. 

MODERATORS   FROM    1769. 

-Benjamin  Giles. 

-Ebenezer  Merritt,  two  years. 

-Robert  Lane,  four  years. 

-Aaron  Buell,  five  years. 

-Benjamin  <  Jiles. 

-Aaron  Buell,  two  years. 

-Cbristopher  Newton,  two  years. 

-Aaron  Buell. 

-Christopher  Newton,  four  years. 

-Jesse  Lane. 

-Aaron  Buell,  eight  years. 

-Christopher  Newton,  three  years. 

-Phineas  Chapin,  six  years. 

-Hubbard  Newton. 

-William  Cheney. 


1811.— Hubbard  Newton. 

1812. — William  Cheney,  two  years. 

1814. — Hubbard  Newton,  two  years. 

1816. — William  Cheney,  four  years. 

1820. — Hubbard  Newton,  three  years. 

1823. — William  Cheney,  three  years. 

1826. — Oliver  Jenckes,  four  years. 

1830. — Austin  Corbin,  three  years. 

1833. — Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  six  years. 

1839.— Bela  Nettleton. 

1840. — Edward  Wyman,  two  years. 

1842. — Bela  Nettleton,  four  years. 

1846. — Edward  Wyman,  three  years. 

1819. — Bela  Nettleton,  five  years. 

1854. — Edward  Wyman,  two  years. 

1856. — Benjamin  E.  Sawyer,  two  years, 

1858. — Paul  J.  Wheeler,  five  years. 

1863.— W.  H.  H.  Allen. 

1864. — Francis  Boardman,  two  years. 

1866.— W.  H.  H.  Allen. 

1867.— E.  C.  Converse. 

1868. — George  W.  Nourse,  live  years. 

1873.— Paul  S.  Adams. 

1874.— Rufus  P.  Claggett. 

1875.— E.  C.  Converse. 

1876.— Edward  A.  Jenks. 

1877.— Levi  W.  Barton. 

1878. — E.  C.  Converse,  two  years. 

1880.— John  B.  Cooper. 

1881. — Dexter  Richards,  five  years. 

TOWN   CLERKS    FROM    1769. 

1769.— Amos  Hall. 

1770. — Jesse  Wilcox,  two  years. 

1772. — Josiah  Stevens,  eleven  years. 

1783. — John  Lane. 

1784. — Josiah  Stevens,  two  years. 

1786. — John  Lane,  two  years. 

1788. — Josiah  Stevens. 

1789. — John  Lane. 

1790. — Aaron  Mack,  two  years. 

1792. — Josiah  Stevens,  three  years. 

L795. — Samuel  Church. 

L796. — Josiah  Stevens,  two  years. 

17i»s. — Joseph  Bascomb. 

17'.»'.». — Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  twelve  years. 

1811.— Arnold  Elllis, 

1812. — Joseph  Bascomb. 

1813.— John  B.  McGregor. 

1S14. — Erastus  Baldwin,  nine  years. 


NEWPORT. 


275 


1823. 

— James  D.  Walcott,  five  years. 

1812.- 

— Peter  Stow,  two  years. 

1828. 

— Ira  Person,  seven  years. 

1814.- 

— Hubbard  Newton,  two  years. 

1835. 

— Nath'l  B.  Cutting,  two  years. 

1816.- 

—William  Cheney,  two  years. 

1837. 

— Jonathan  W.  Clement,  two  years. 

1818.- 

—Uriah  Wilcox. 

1839.- 

—Benjamin  B.  Cushing. 

1819.- 

—William  Cheney. 

1840. 

— John  Towne. 

1820.- 

—Uriah  Wilcox,  two  years. 

1841. 

—Parker  N.  Newell. 

1822.- 

—James  Breck. 

1842. 

— Sawyer  Belknap,  three  years. 

1823.- 

—David  Allen. 

1845.- 

—Parker  N.  Newell,  two  years. 

1824.- 

—William  Cheney,  two  years. 

1847. 

— Dexter  Richards,  two  years. 

1826.- 

—David  Allen. 

1849.- 

— John  Higbee,  two  years. 

1827.- 

—William  Cheney. 

1851.- 

—Sawyer  Belknap,  two  years. 

1828.- 

—Oliver  Jenckes,  two  years. 

1853. 

— Fred.  W.  Lewis. 

1830.- 

—Moses  P.  Durkee,  two  years. 

1854.- 

— Calvin  Wilcox,  two  years. 

1832.- 

—Austin  Corbin,  two  years. 

1856.- 

— William  Nourse,  two  years. 

1833.- 

—Benjamin    B.    French   and   Seth    Richards. 

1858.- 

—Thomas  A.  Twitchell. 

1834.- 

—Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  and  Amasa  Edes. 

1859.- 

—George  Herrick,  two  years. 

1836.- 

—Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  and  James  Breck. 

1861.- 

— E.  C.  Converse,  two  years. 

1837.- 

—Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  and  Jeremiah  D.  Nettle- 

1863.- 

—George  W.  Nourss,  two  years. 

ton. 

1865.- 

— Benjamin  Wadleigh. 

1838.- 

— Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  and  Alvin  Hatch. 

1866.- 

—John  Towne,  two  years. 

1839.- 

—Jeremiah  D.  Nettleton  and  John  B.  Stowell. 

1868.- 

— Ira  P.  George,  two  years. 

1840.- 

—Alvin  Hatch  and  Josiah  Forsaith. 

1869.- 

— Carleton  Hurd,  to  fill  vacancy. 

1841.- 

— Zina  Goldthwaite. 

1870.- 

—Henry  P.  Coffin,  two  years. 

1842.- 

—Amos  Little  and  Zina  Goldthwaite. 

1872.- 

— Elbridge  Bradford. 

1843.- 

—Amos  Little  and  Silas  Metcalf. 

1873.- 

—George  C.  Edes,  two  years. 

1844. — Silas  Metcalf  and  Nathan  Mudgett. 

1875.- 

—Arthur  B.  Chase,  three  years. 

1845.- 

—James  Hall  and  Bela  Nettleton. 

1878.- 

—Frank  P.  Meserve,  two  years. 

1840.- 

—James  Hall  and  Nathan  White. 

1880.- 

—Henry  P.  Coffin,  five  years. 

1847.- 

—Nathan  AVhite  and  Stephen  Parker. 

1885. 

—Fred.  W.  Cheney. 

1848.- 

—Nathaniel  C.  Todd  and  Edward  Wyman. 

1849.- 

—Nathaniel  C.  Todd  and  David  Allen. 

REPRESENTATIVES   FROM   1793. 

1850.- 

--David  Allen  and  Nathan  Mudgett. 

(Previous  to  1793   Newport  was   classed  with  Ac- 

1851.- 

—Bela  Nettleton  and  Edw.  Wheeler. 

worth,  Unity,  Leinpster,  Croydon   and  Sunapee    for 

1852.- 

— Edw.  Wheeler  and  Ralph  Metcalf. 

the  election  of  representatives.      The  elections  were 

1853.- 

—Ralph  Metcalf  and  H.  G.  Carleton. 

held  in 

Unity ;   Benjamin  Giles  was  chosen  in  1775 

1854.- 

—Mason  Hatch  and  Benjamin  F.  Sawyer. 

and  1776.) 

1856.- 

—John  Trask  and  Jabez  Thompson. 

1793. 

— Jesse  Lane. 

1857.- 

—John  Trask  and  Thomas  Sanborn. 

1794.- 

—Uriah  Wilcox,  three  years. 

1858.- 

—Thomas  Sanborn  and  John  H.  Hunton. 

1797.- 

—Jesse  Lane,  two  years. 

1859.- 

—Paul  J.  Wheeler  and  John  H.  Hunton. 

1799. 

— Uriah  Wilcox. 

1860.- 

—Paul  J.  Wheeler  and  Samuel  H.  Edes. 

1800. 

— Phineas  Chapin. 

1861.- 

—Paul  J.  Wheeler  and  Samuel  H.  Edes. 

1801. 

— Uriah  Wilcox. 

1862.- 

—Paul  J.  Wheeler  and  William  Nourse. 

1802. 

— Phineas  Chapin. 

1863.- 

—Levi  B.  Barton  and  Calvin  Wilcox. 

1803.- 

—Uriah  Wilcox,  two  years. 

1864.- 

—Levi  W.  Barton  and  Calvin  Wilcox. 

1805. 

— Phineas  Chapin. 

1865.- 

—Dexter  Richards  and  Shepherd  L.  Bowers. 

1806. 

— Uriah  Wilcox. 

1866.- 

—Dexter  Richards  and  Himan  A.  Averill. 

1807. 

— Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  four  years. 

1867.- 

— Himan  A.  Averill  and  Charles  Emerson. 

1811.— Josiah  Wakefield. 

18 

1868.- 

—Benjamin  F.  Sawyer  and  John  Cooper. 

276 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1870. — Dexter  Richards  and  Orren  Osgood. 

1871.— Orren  Osgood  and  Ezra  T.  Sibley. 

1872.— Ezra  T.  Sibley  and  Perley  S.  Coffin. 

1873.— Perley  S.  Coffin  and  E.  C.  Converse. 

1874. — Voted  not  to  send. 

1875. — Eben  L.  Rowell,  Halsey  C.  Leavitt  and  L. 
W.  Barton. 

1876. — Eben  L.  Rowell,  Alex.  V.  Hitchcock  and  L. 
\V.  Barton. 

1877.— Alex.  V.  Hitchcock,  L.  W.  Barton  and  Geo. 
H.  Fairbanks. 

1878.— Himan  A.  Averill,  George  F.  Whitney  (2d) 
and  Jeremiah  L.  Elkins. 

1*79. — George  F.  Whitney  (2d)  and  Jeremiah  L. 
Elkins. 

(In  accordance  with  the  constitutional  amendment 
of  1876,  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  were  made 
biennial  from  the  last  date.) 

1881.— Thomas   B.  Sanborn  and  Augustus  AVylie. 

1883. — Dana  J.  Mooney  and  George  H.  Towle. 

1885. — Shepherd  L.  Bowers  and  Seth  M.  Richards. 

Uriah  Wilcox  was  delegate  to  the  convention 
that  formed  the  present  State  Constitution. 

Bela  Nettleton  and  Nathan  Mudgett  were 
delegates  to  the  eonvention  ealled  to  revise  the 
State  Constitution  in  1850. 

Dexter  Richards,  L.  W.  Barton  and  John 
B.  Cooper  "were  delegates  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1876. 

Nathan  Mudgett  and  Dexter  Richards  have 
been  members  of  the  Council. 

Uriah  Wilcox,  David  Allen,  Austin  Corbiu, 
Jeremiah  D.  Nettleton,  Levi  W.  Barton  and 
George  H.  Fairbanks  have  been  State  Senators. 

The  following  natives  and  former  residents 
have  held  distinguished  positions  in  other  towns 
and  States  :  Samuel  C.  Baldwin,  Plymouth, 
Mass. ;  George  Dustin,  Peterborough,  N.  II. ; 
Simeon  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Norfolk,  Va. ;  George  E. 
Jenks,  Concord  ;  Josiah  Stevens,  Jr.,  Secretary 
of  State,  Concord ;  Ralph  Metcalf,  Governor 
of  New  Hampshire  ;  Simon  Brown,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Massachusetts;  Edwin  O.  Stan- 
ard,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Missouri  and 
member  of  Congress ;  Edmund  Burke  and 
Mason  W.  Tappan,  also  members  of  Congress. 


SELECTMEN. 

1769. — Samuel  Hurd,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Amos  Hall. 

1770. — Jesse  Wilcox,  Ezra  Parmelee,  Jesse  Lane. 

1771. — Robert  Lane,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Samuel  Hurd. 

1772. — Benjamin  Giles,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Amos  Hall. 

1773. — Aaron  Buell,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Samuel  Hurd. 

1774. — Josiah  Stephens,  Samuel  Hurd,  Jesse  Wil- 
cox. 

1775. — Josiah  Stevens,  Aaron  Buell,  Jesse  Lane. 

1776. — Josiah  Stevens,  Aaron  Buell,  Samuel  Hurd. 

1777. — Jesse  Lane,  Jedediah  Reynolds,  Ezra  Par- 
melee. 

1778.— Aaron  Buell,  Samuel  Hurd,  Uriah  Wil- 
cox. 

1779. — Benjamin  Giles,  Aaron  Buell,  Ezra  Parme- 
lee. 

1780. — Benjamin  Giles,  Elias  Bascoui,  Samuel 
Hurd. 

1781. — Aaron  Buell,  Elias  Bascom,  Ezra  Parme- 
lee. 

1782. — Aaron  Buell,  Elias  Bascom,  Uriah  Wilcox. 

1783. — Jesse  Lane,  Jedediah  Reynolds,  Phineas 
Chapin. 

1784.— Jedediah  Reynolds,  Christopher  Newton, 
Uriah  Wilcox. 

1785. — Jedediah  Reynolds,  Christopher  Newton, 
John  Lane. 

1786. — Aaron  Buell,  Samuel  Church,  Jesse  Lane. 

1787. — Jedediah  Reynolds,  Ezra  Parmelee,  Stephen 
Perry. 

1788. — Jesse  Lane,  Samuel  Hurd,  Uriah  Wilcox. 

1789. — Jesse  Lane,  Uriah  Wilcox,  Samuel  Church. 

1790. — Uriah  Wilcox,  Jesse  Wilcox,  Thomas  War- 
ner. 

1791. — Uriah  Wilcox,  Jesse  Lane,  Jeremiah  Jenks. 

1792.— Uriah  Wilcox,  Elias  Metcalf,  Matthew 
Buell. 

1793. — Jesse  Lane,  Samuel  Church,  Elias  Metcalf. 

1794.— Uriah  Wilcox,  Matthew  Buell,  Reuben  Bas- 
com. 

1795. — Uriah  Wilcox,  Phineas  Chapin,  Elias  Mct- 
cal  f. 

1796. — James  Corbin,  Reuben  Bascom,  Elias  Met- 
calf. 

1797. — Uriah  Wilcox,  Reuben  Bascom,  Elias  Met- 
calf. 

1798. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Elias  Met- 
calf. 


NEWPORT. 


277 


1799. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Joseph 
Bascom. 

1800. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Jeremiah 
Nettleton. 

1801. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Josiah 
Stevens. 

1802. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Jesse  Wil- 
cox, Jr. 

1803. — Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  Joseph  Bascom,  Stephen 
Hurd. 

1804. — Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  Phineas  Chapin,  Josiah 
Wakefield. 

1805. — Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  Reuben  Bascom,  Moses 
P.  Durkee. 

1806. — Moses  P.  Durkee,  Reuben  Bascom,  Joseph 
Bascom. 

1807. — Josiah  Wakefield,  Joseph  Bascom,  Reuben 
Bascom. 

1808. — Jesse  Wilcox,  Jr.,  Phineas  Chapin,  David 
Allen. 

1809. — Samuel  Church,  Phineas  Chapin,  Jesse 
Wilcox. 

1810. — Samuel  Church,  William  Cheney,  Phineas 
Chapin. 

1811. — Samuel  Church,  Josiah  Wakefield,  Moses 
P.  Durkee. 

1812.— William  Cheney,  Caleb  Heath,  Peter  Stow. 

1813.— Peter  Stow,  Caleb  Heath,  Arphaxad  Whit- 
tlesay. 

1814.— Peter  Stow,  Oliver  Jenckes,  William  McAl- 
aster. 

1815. — Oliver  Jenckes,  Josiah  Wakefield,  Erastus 
Baldwin. 

1816.— William  Cheney,  Josiah  Wakefield,  Oliver 
Jenckes. 

1817. — William  Cheney,  Josiah  Wakefield,  James 
D.  Walcott. 

1818.  —William  Cheney,  James  D.  Walcott,  James 
Breck. 

1819. — William  Cheney,  James  D.  Walcott,  James 
Breck. 

1820. — James  Breck,  David  Allen,  Oliver  Jenckes. 
1821. — James  Breck,  David  Allen,  Oliver  Jenckes. 
1822. — James  Breck,  David  Allen,  Oliver  Jenckes. 
1823. — Oliver  Jenckes,  James  D.  Walcott,  Austin 
Corbin. 

1824. — Oliver  Jenckes,  James  D.  Walcott,  Moses 
P.  Durkee. 


1825. — Oliver   Jenckes,  James   D.  Walcott,  David 
Allen. 

1826.— James   D.  Walcott,  Israel   Kelley,  Samuel 
Hurd. 

1827. — Oliver  Jenckes,   James   D.  Walcott,  David 
Allen. 

1828. — James   Breck,  Joseph   Farnsworth,  Henry 
Kelsey. 

1829. — James  Breck,  Henry  Kelsey,  Joseph  Farns- 
worth. 

1830.— David   Allen,  Austin    Corbin,  Seth    Rich- 
ards. 

1831.— David  Allen,  Austin   Corbin,   Seth    Rich- 
ards. 

1832.— Seth  Richards,  Silas  Wakefield,  J.  D.  Net- 
tleton. 

1833.— Silas  Wakefield,  J.  D.  Nettleton,  Seth  Rich- 
ards. 

1834.— J.  D.  Nettleton,  Henry  Kelsey,  Samuel   F. 
Chellis. 

1835. — Alvin  Hatch,  Edward  Wyman,  Charles  Cor- 
bin. 

1830.— Alvin  Hatch,  Edward  Wyman,  Charles  Cor- 
bin. 

1837.— Josiah  Stevens,   Jr.,  John  B.  Stowell,  Par- 
menas  Whitcomb. 

1838.— John  B.  Stowell,  Parmenas  Whitcomb,  Silas 
Metcalf. 

1839.— Amos  Little,  Silas  Metcalf,  Jonathan  M.Wil- 
marth. 

1840.— Eli   Twitchell,  Zina  Goldthwaite,  Jonathan 
Cutting. 

1841.— Nathan  Mudgett,  J.  M.  Wilmarth,  Jonathan 
Cutting. 

1842.— Bela  Nettleton,  Nathan  Mudgett,  Alexander 
Metcalf. 

1843. — Nathan  White,  Joseph  Hoyt,  James  Hall. 

1844.— John  B.  Stowell,  J.  D.  Nettleton,  Nathaniel 
O.  Page. 

1845.— J.  D.  Nettleton,  Edward  Wyman,  Zina  Gold- 
thwaite. 

1846. — Edward    Wyman,  Jonathan   Cutting,  Isaac 
Griffin. 

1847. — Edward  Wyman,  Jonathan  Cutting,  Josiah 
Bailey. 

1848.— Edward  Wyman,  J.  D.  Nettleton,  Sylvanus 
Larned. 

1849.— Dexter  Richards,  J.  D.  Nettleton,  David  A. 
Farrington. 


278 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1850. — Dexter  Richards,  J.  D.  Nettleton,  David  A. 
Farrington. 

1851. — Dexter  Richards,  David  A.  Farrington,  J. 
D.  Nettleton. 

1852. — Dexter  Richards,  John  H.  Higbee,  Mark 
Gove. 

1853.— Jonathan  Cutting,  Ezra  T.  Sibley,  Calvin  N. 
Perkins. 

1854. — Jonathan  Cutting,  Calvin  N.  Perkins,  Aus- 
tin L.  Kibbey. 

1855. — John  H.  Higbee,  Austin  L.  Kibbey,  Charles 
Emerson. 

1856. — John  H.  Higbee,  Charles  Emerson,  C.  C. 
Shedd. 

1857.— William  Emerson,  C.  C.  Shedd,  Albert  S. 
Adams. 

1858. — William  Emerson,  Albert  S.  Adams,  Henry 

A.  Jenckes. 

1859. — Dexter  Richards,  Sylvanus  G.  Stowell,  Sam- 
uel K.  Wright. 

1860. — Francis  Boardman,  Abner  Hall,  Moses  C. 
Ayer. 

1861. — Francis  Boardman,  Moses  C.  Ayer,  Lewis 
W.  Randall. 

1862. — Francis  Boardman,  Lewis  W.  Randall,  Or- 
ange Whitney. 

1863-— J.  M.  Wilmarth,  Orange  Whitney,  Moses  W. 
Emerson. 

1864. — Francis  Boardman,  Moses  W.  Emerson,  Sim- 
eon Whittier. 

1865.— George  W.  Nourse,  Simeon  Whittier,  Wil- 
liam Kelley. 

1866.— George  W.  Nourse,  William  Kelley,  John  B. 
Cooper. 

1867. — George  W.  Nourse,  John  B.  Cooper,  William 
H.  Sprague. 

1868. — George  W.  Nourse,  William  H.  Sprague, 
Frank  W.  Rawson. 

1869. — George  W.  Nourse,  William  Dunton,  Orren 
C.  Kibbey. 

1870.— George  W.  Nourse,  Orren  C.  Kibbey,  Wil- 
liam II .  Perry. 

1871.— George  W.  Nourse,  William  H.  Perry,  L.  F. 
Dodge. 

1872. — George  W.  Nourse,  L.  F.  Dodge,  Augustus 
Wylie. 

1873. — Daniel  Nettleton,  Augustus  Wylie,  William 

B.  Kibbie. 


1874. — Daniel  Nettleton,  Lyman  Rounseval,  Benja- 
min Marshall. 

1875. — Francis  Boardman,  William  Woodbury, 
George  H.  Towles. 

1876. — Francis  Boardman,  William  Woodbury, 
George  H.  Towles. 

1877.— William  Woodbury,  George  H.  Towles, 
Charles  A.  Silsby. 

1878. — Freeman  Cutting,  Daniel  G.  Chadwick,  Fred- 
erick S.  Little. 

1879. — Freeman  Cutting,  Daniel  G.  Chadwick, 
Frederick  S.  Little. 

1880.— Daniel  G.  Chadwick,  Alfred  J.  Gould,  D.  J. 
Mooney. 

1881— Daniel  G.  Chadwick,  Alfred  J.  Gould,  George 
A.  Ellis. 

1882.— John  B.  Cooper,  George  F.  Whitney  (2d), 
Edwin  R.  Miller. 

1883.— Daniel  G.  Chadwick,  Alfred  J.  Gould,  Wil- 
liam H.  Perry. 

1884.— Daniel  G.  Chadwick,  Alfred  J.  Gould,  Wil- 
liam H.  Perry. 

1885. — Daniel  P.  Quimby,  George  S.  Stone,  Charles 
Emerson. 

STATE   JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 


William  H.  H.  Allen. 
Edmund  Burke. 
L.  W.  Barton. 
Ira  McL.  Barton. 
Shepard  L.  Bowers. 
Lyman  J.  Brooks. 
George  R.  Brown. 
Francis  Boardman. 
Martin  A.  Barton. 
Austin  Corbin. 
Rums  P.  Claggett. 
Samuel  H.  Edes. 
Geo.  E.  Dame. 
Thomas  W.  Gilmore. 


Benjamin  F.  Haven. 
A.  V.  Hitchcock. 
Richard  S.  Howe. 
Ralph  Metcalf. 
Aaron  Matson. 
William  F.  Newton. 
George  W.  Nourse. 
Dexter  Richards. 
Jacob  Reddington. 
John  Towne. 
Albert  S.  Wait. 
Edmund  Wheeler. 
Nathan  White. 
Paul  J.  Wheeler. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE  AND  QUORUM. 


James  Breck. 
Henry  E.  Baldwin. 
William  Cheney. 
Amasa  Edes. 
James  A.  Gregg. 
James  Hall. 
Elisha  M.  Kempton. 


Amos  Little. 
J.  D.  Nettleton. 
Bela  Nettleton. 
N.  O.  Page. 
Edward  Wyman. 
Edward  A.  Jenks. 


NEWPORT. 


279 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 


David  Allen. 
David  Allen,  Jr. 
Cyrus  Barton. 
H.  J.  Barton. 
Sawyer  Belknap. 
George  S.  Barton. 
David  B.  Chapin. 
H.  G.  Carleton. 
J.  C.  Crocker. 

D.  D.  Chapin. 

E.  L.  Cntts. 
William  Emerson. 
Jonathan  Emerson. 
Josiah  Forsaith. 
George  H.  Fairbanks. 
Calvin  N.  Fletcher. 
Zina  Goldthwaite. 
Caleb  Heath. 

Paul  S.  Adams. 
Albert  S.  Adams. 
E.  P.  Burke. 
Elbridge  Bradford. 
William  E.  Brooks. 
B.  F.  Carr. 
E.  C.  Converse. 
Frederick  Claggett. 
Frederick  Chapin. 
Austin  Corbin,  Jr. 
George  Dodge. 
W.  S.  Eastman. 
George  C.  Edes. 
B.  B.  French. 
H.  D.  Foster. 
Jeremiah  Fogg. 
Milton  Glidden. 
E.  D.  Hastings. 
A.  F.  Howard. 
Matthew  Harvey. 
David  Harris. 
George  Herrick. 
Alvin  Hatch. 
Arthur  H.  Ingram. 
Oliver  Jenckes. 
M.  S.  Jackson. 
William  Kelley. 


F.  W.  Lewis. 
Sol.  H.  Moody. 
Silas  Metcalf. 
M.  H.  Moody. 
Nathan  Mudgett. 
H.  J.  Marshall. 
W.  H.  McCrillis. 
Hubbard  Newton. 
A.  Nettleton,  Jr. 

A.  F.  Nettleton. 
Samuel  F.  Nims. 
William  Nourse. 
Chase  Noyes. 
John  S.  Parmelee. 
Granville  Pollard. 
Abiel  D.  Pike. 
Calvin  H.  Pike. 
Daniel  P.  Quimby, 
James  S.  Riley. 
Isaac  A.  Reed. 
Joseph  S.  Hoyt. 
John  H.  Higbee. 
Nathan  E.  Reed. 
Seth  Richards. 

S.  M.  Richards. 
Josiah  Stevens. 
E.  E.  Stearns. 
Joseph  Sawyer,  Jr. 

B.  F.  Sawyer. 
Ezra  Stowell. 
Frank  A.  Sibley. 
Jonathan  Silsby. 
Allen  Towne. 
N.  C.  Todd. 
George  H.  Towle. 

C.  A.  Thompson. 

D.  W.  Watkins. 
A.  P.  Wellcome. 
Siloam  S.  Wilcox. 
Augustus  Wylie. 
Calvin  Wilcox. 
Parmenas  Whitcomb. 
John  Wilcox. 
William  Woodbury. 


The  following  citizens  of  Newport  have  held 


county  offices  since  the  formation  of  Sullivan 
County  : 

Clerks  of  the  Court. — Benjamin  B.  French,  Thomas 
W.  Gilmore,  W.  H.  H.  Allen,  William  F.  Newton, 
George  E.  Dame. 

Solicitors. — Edmund  Burke,  Samuel  H.  Edes,  Levi 
W.  Barton. 

Sheriffs. — David  Allen,  Frederick  Claggett,  Rufus 
P.  Claggett,  Milton  S.  Jackson. 

Treasurers.  —  Jonathan  M.  Wilmarth,  Paul  J. 
Wheeler. 

Commissioner. — Francis  Boardman . 

Registers  of  Deeds. — Cyrus  Barton,  Calvin  Wilcox, 
N.  B.  Cutting,  Henry  E.  Baldwin,  Henry  G.  Carleton, 
Matthew  Harvey,  John  Towne,  L.  W.  Barton,  Arthur 
H.  Ingram,  Elisha  M.  Kempton,  William  E.  Brooks, 
Alonzo  D.  Howard. 

Jailors. — David  Harris,  James  L.  Riley,  Martin  A. 
Barton,  Milton  S.  Jackson,  Rufus  P.  Claggett. 

Judge  of  Probate.— W '.  H.  H.  Allen. 

Registers  of  Probate. — Aaron  Nettleton,  Jr.,  Ralph 
Metcalf,  Henry  E.  Baldwin,  Henry  G.  Carleton,  Ed- 
ward Wyman,  Shepherd  L.  Bowers,  George  R. 
Brown. 

The  postmasters  since  the  office  was  first  es- 
tablished in  1810  are  as  follows  : 


Arnold  Ellis. 
Erastus  Baldwin. 
Lucy  C.  Baldwin. 
Aaron  Nettleton,  Jr. 
Bela  Nettleton. 
Seth  Richards. 
Calvin  Wilcox. 


John  B.  Stowell. 
Sawyer  Belknap. 
David  W.  Watkins. 
Sarah  M.  Watkins. 
Sam  Nims. 
George  W.  Nourse. 
John  J.  Dudley  (1885). 


A  post-office  was  established  at  North  New- 
port in  1878,  and  Ezra  T.  Sibley  appointed 
postmaster. 

An  office  was  also  opened  at  Guild,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town,  in  1882,  and  George 
Heritage  was  appointed  postmaster. 

The  main  office  is  in  the  village. 


280 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER     Y  I  I  . 

NEWPORT — ( Continued). 


MISCKM.ANEOUS. 


During  the  one  hundred  and   twenty  years 

since  the  first  tree  was  felled  in  the  settlement 
until  the  present,  Newport, in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  world,  has  had  its  periods  of  local 
excitement  of  various  kinds,  to  which  we  may 
properly  refer  at  this  time. 

There  have  been  times  when  households  have 
been  darkened  and  the  whole  community 
thoroughly  alarmed.  Such  was  the  ease  when, 
in  the  year  1783,  a  putrid-nervous  fever, 
so-called,  visited  many  families  and  was  fear- 
fully destructive  of  human  life.  In  the  year 
1812  a  disease  called  the  spotted  fever  is  said  to 
have  carried  nearly  one  hundred  of  the  people  to 
their  graves.  In  the  year  1825  the  typhus  fever 
raged  to  an  alarming  extent.  There  are  said 
to  have  beeu  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  cases 
in  the  months  from  August  to  December  of 
that  year,  twenty-six  of  which  proved  fatal,  and 
the  record  of  mortality  for  the  year  was  fifty- 
five. 

In  the  years  1833, 1840  and  1880  the  small- 
pox made  its  appearance,  causing  a  thorough 
scare  on  each  occasion.  Roads  were  fenced 
across,  pest-houses  were  established  and  other 
sanitary  measures  adopted  to  prevent  the  ex- 
tending of  the  disease.  Thus  circumscribed 
and  guarded,  the  mortality  occasioned  has  been 
quite  limited.  There  have  been  seasons  when 
scarlet  fever  has  widely  prevailed  and  been 
very  fatal  among  children;  but  in  later  years 
educated  and  skillful  physicians  have  done 
much  to  counteract  the  influence  and  spread  of 
epidemic  diseases,  and  allay  excitements  arising 
from  their  prevalence. 

We  may  turn  from  the  contemplation  of 
periods  of  sickness  and  death  to  matters  of  a 
more  pleasing  character,  and  regard  with  satis- 
faction the  superior  education  and  abilities  of 
Mr-.  Benjamin  Bragg,  who  is  said  to  have  es- 
timated the  first  taxes   levied    in  the  town  ;  or 


angle  for  trout  in   the  South  Branch,  and  drop 
in  at  the  camp  of  Captain  Ezra  Parmelee,  near 

its  brink,  for  a  siesta  on  his  couch,  made  from  a 
half-section  of  a  large  hollow  tree,  cut  at  suit- 
able length  and  placed  upon  legs  or  supports, 
like  a  grand  piano, — it  was  stuffed  with  pine- 
needles  and  dried  leaves,  and  upholstered  with 
quilts  and  blankets,  and  met  all  the  conditions 
necessary  to  repose  after  a  day  of  toil  ;  or  start 
out  with  all  the  men  of  the  neighborhood  and 
dogs  and  guns  in  pursuit  of  a  thievish  old  bear, 
that  had  many  times  depredated  upon  the  pig- 
pens and  sheep-cotes  and  garden  patches  of  the 
settlers — in  fact,  that  had  become  the  brie  noire 
of  the  community,  and  capture  the  villain  in 
the  top  of  a  tree  by  the  light  of  torches  ;  or 
make  our  way  into  the  old  Proprietors'  House 
some  time  about  the  last  of  July,  177G,  and 
listen  to  the  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, which  had  come  in  on  foot  or  on 
horseback,  certainly  not  by  steam  or  electricity  ; 
or  investigate  the  larder  of  Mrs.  Ebenezer 
Merritt,  who  kept  her  sixteen  boarders  in  good 
humor  and  their  stomachs  full  on  the  milk  of  a 
farrow  cow,  a  bag  of  meal,  and  fish  taken  from 
the  river ;  or  play  the  agreeable  to  Mrs.  Ezra 
Parmelee,  over  her  baked  potatoes  and  a  rib  of 
pig-port ;  or  feast  on  the  mince-pies  made  of 
pumpkins  and  bears'  meat,  from  the  oven  of 
Mrs.  Matthew  Buell  ;  or  call  upon  the  ambitious 
lady  of  ye  olden  time,  who  cut  her  bright  pew- 
ter basin  in  two  parts,  and  so  disposed  them  on 
the  dresser  as  to  excite  the  envy  of  her  less 
prosperous  neighbors  ;  or  stand  near  while  Mrs. 
Christopher  Newton  (who,  by  the  way,  was  a 
Giles),  by  her  superior  mathematical  knowledge 
allotted  to  its  thirsty  proprietors  their  several 
shares,  pro  ruin,  in  the  first  barrel  of  rum 
landed  in  Newport  ;  or  lake  an  airing  up  and 
down  Main  Street  with  Captain  Matthew  Bud 
(1X10)   in   his  new  gig-wagon,  .the   first   intro- 


duced 


The  first  marriage  ceremony  in  town  is  said 
to  have  taken  place  under  the  sighing  boughs 
of  a  lofty  pine-tree.     It  is  matter  of  regret  that 


NEWPORT. 


281 


names  and  dates  are  not  to  be  had  to  give  in- 
terest to  this  statement. 

Another  wedding  is  spoken  of  as  having  oc- 
curred at  a  very  early  period — 1777 — that  of 
Jonathan  Brown  and  Sarah  Emery,  at  the  house 
of  Amos  Hall,  on  the  South  road,  near  the  Uni- 
ty line.  All  the  people  in  town  were  invited. 
The  turn-outs  on  the  occasion  consisted  of  two 
one-horse  cutters  and  twenty-four  ox-sleds. 
The  prancing  bovines  were  hawed  and  geed 
through  the  snow-drifts  up  to  the  front-door  to 
deposit  and  receive  the  wedding  guests.  No 
"  Ancient  Mariner  "  with  glittering  eye  detained 
a  guest.  Our  progenitors  had  less  trouble  in  get- 
ting wives  than  did  those  first  Romans,  who, 
finding  their  state  of  no  value  without  women, 
fell  upon  the  unfortunate  Sabines,  sword  in 
hand,  and  acquired  by  force  of  arms  what  they 
had  been  unable  to  obtain  in  a  less  hostile  man- 
ner, a  process  thoroughly  at  variance  with  what 
we  know  about  real  old-fashioned  New  England 
courting  and  marrying. 

Among;  the  names  that  have  come  down  to 
this  generation  with  more  or  less  of  interest  is 
that  of  Coit.  It  has  by  common  consent  been 
indorsed  upon  one  of  the  most  prominent  eleva- 
tions of  land  in  our  picturesque  town,  from 
whose  granite  brow  the  lover  of  fine  views  can 
survey  the  delightful  valley  of  the  Sugar,  the 
village  of  Newport  and  villas  and  farms  all 
about,  hobnob  with  Kearsarge  on  the  east,  As- 
cutney  on  the  west,  while  Croydon  and  Sunapee, 
with  their  vast  intermediate  sweeps,  furnish  the 
northern  and  southern  outlook. 

The  Coit  family  made  its  appearance  in 
Newport  near  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
The  male  head  was  an  American  citizen  of  Af- 
rican descent,  and,  we  might  add,  proclivities 
also.  The  wife  was  a  white  woman  who  had 
formed  a  connubial  alliance  with  this  sooty  man 
and  brother  for  reasons  best  known  to  herself. 
The  Coit  homestaad  was  well  elevated  upon  a 
slope  of  the  mountain,  and  it  comes  to  us  with 
the  traditions  of  that  time  that  the  trace-chains, 
crow-bars,  iron  wedges,  axes  and  other   imple- 


ments of  wood  and  farm  work,  by  some  mag- 
netic or  other  process,  mysteriously  found  their 
way,  in  the  hours  of  darkness,  to  the  premises 
of  the  Coits. 

It  Avas  a  clear  pise  on  Coit.  He  was  brought 
before  a  magistrate  and  sentenced  to  receive 
thirty-nine  lashes  on  his  bare  back,  there  being 
no  jail  in  which  to  incarcerate  the  thief.  The 
majesty  of  the  law  was  vindicated  at  the  whip- 
ping-post, which  stood  not  far  from  the  south- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Maple  Streets.  At  in- 
tervals during  the  progress  of  the  whipping  the 
woman  came  forward  and  tenderly  bathed  his 
lacerated  back  with  rum  from  a  saucer,  and  at 
its  close  soothed  her  own  lacerated  feelings  by 
drinking  the  bloody  potation  from  the  saucer. 

It  was  while  Coit  was  thus  expiating  his  of- 
fenses towards  an  exasperated  community  and  a 
violated  law  that  he  gave  utterance,  among 
other  doleful  laments  and  expressions,  to  the 
bottom  conclusion  of  his  heart — "  Dis  worl  is 
only  a  few  minnits  full  of  worry  " — exhibiting 
the  philosopher  and  the  man  in  his  hour  of  great 
trial. 

The  moral  reflection,  or  conclusion,  to  which 
we  arrive  in  view  of  the  foregoing,  is  that  this 
beautiful  mountain,  so-called,  to  which  our 
people  so  much  resort  for  picnic  purposes  and 
fine  breezes,  is  destined  to  bear  to  future  gener- 
ations the  name  of  a  thieving  negro,  while  the 
respectable  fathers  of  the  town,  the  philoso- 
phers, teachers,  preachers,  chief  captains  and 
mighty  men  slumber  around  its  base  compara- 
tively unhonored  and  unsung.  Such  are  the  ap- 
parently unjust  and  unequal  awards  or  sar- 
casms of  Fame. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  there  lived  on  the 
southeastern  acclivity  of  Coit  Mountain  an  hon- 
est farmer  by  the  name  of  Nathan  Currier.  He 
came  from  Amesbury,  Mass.,  to  that  rugged 
hillside  farm  in  1806  and  was  borne  from  thence 
to  his  grave  in  1857.  We  refer  to  him  as  an 
old-time  worthy  citizen,  and  more  particularly 
as  the  only  man  who  has  come  to  our  knowledge 
in  the  annals  of  the  town  who  theoretically  and 


282 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


practically  asserted  himself  as  perfectly  satisfied 
with  his  condition  in  life  and  the  sufficiency  of 
his  worldly  possessions. 

As  evidence  of  this  statement,  it  is  said  that 
news  once  came  to  him  of  the  death  of  a  rela- 
tive in  Massachusetts,  by  which  a  legacy  of 
about  one  thousand  dollars  awaited  his  reception, 
whereupon  he  counseled  with  his  son  Oliver 
whether  it  was  best  to  receive  it  or  not.  He 
pointed  to  the  lands  adjoining  his  farm  on  the 
north  and  said :  "  All  rocks  above !  ':  He 
looked  toward  the  valley  of  the  Sugar  on  the 
south  and  said  :  "All  sand  down  there !"  and 
seeing  no  way  of  investing  the  money  satisfac- 
torily— "Guessed  he  wouldn't  take  it — got 
enough!  Dummit!"  We  may  explain  that  the 
strongest  word  used  by  him  in  qualifying  an 
assertion  was  "  Dummit,"  on  account  of  which  he 
was  familiarly  characterized  "  Old  Dummit."  He 
was  also  a  man  of  few  words  and  conjunctions  and 
other  connectives  were  almost  entirely  excluded 
from  his  vocabulary.  In  regard  to  punctuation  he 
sometimes  made  very  long  pauses — commencing 
a  sentence  or  a  narrative  one  day  and  complet- 
ing it  the  next.  One  of  his  most  cherished 
household  gods  was  a  spy-glass,  which  gener- 
ally occupied  some  wooden  pegs  over  the 
kitchen  door.  With  this  he  amused  himself  in 
viewing  the  surrounding  scenery  and  in  taking 
a  kind  of  bird's-eye  view  of  the  movements  of 
his  neighbors.  He  was  also  able,  from  his  ele- 
vated situation,  to  watch  the  rise  and  progress 
of  thunder-showers,  that  sometimes  suddenly 
arise  in  the  haying  season  to  interrupt  the  work 
of  the  hay-makers. 

On  one  occasion  he  saw  an  approaching 
shower,  and  by  dint  of  great  activity,  he  and 
Oliver  were  able  to  get  their  hay  in  the  barn 
before  the  rain  came  on.  lie  then  proceeded 
to  investigate  with  his  glass  the  condition  of 
his  neighbors  and  found  they  had  received  a 
profuse  wetting.     Hence  the  value  of  the  glass. 

His  headquarters  in  the  village  were  at  the 
old  Xettleton  store,  and  when  he  felt  that  he 
had  been  particularly  "  smart"  he  would  hitch 


up  the  old  horse  and  drive  in  to  recount  to  a 
number  of  kindred  spirits  he  was  sure  to  find 
on  that  corner,  as  well  as  the  other  spirits  that 
were  present  there,  the  history  of  his  exploits, 
which  ran  thus  :  "  Saw  shower — scratch'd  to 
— got  our'n  in — took  it  down  (i.e.,  the  glass), 
—  shoved  it  up — stuck  it  out — look'd  down  on 
'em — cocks  all  out — dummit — I  la-a-f'd." 

On  another  occasion  he  came  out  at  sunrise 
one  morning  and  saw  in  a  field  in  front  of  his 
house  some  kind  of  a  wild  animal.  He  returned 
to  the  house  for  his  gun  and  prepared  to  shoot 
the  beast,  but  his  courage  failed.  Putting 
away  his  gun  he  went  down  to  consult  with  his 
neighbor  Paul,  who  ridiculed  the  idea  of  its 
being  a  dangerous  animal,  and  said  it  was  only 
a  raccoon. 

The  account  given  of  the  matter,  as  reported 
by  one  of  the  old  habitues  at  the  corner,  ran  as 
follows  :  "  Got  up  fore  sun — went  on  piece 
afore — see  one — thought  t'was  a  wild  one — set- 
tin  up  on  his  hind  ones — holdin  up  his  fore 
ones — and  stickin  out  his  picked  one  (i.e.,  his 
nose) — went  in — got  ready  to  fire — I  up  and 
dasn't — went  down  told  Dan — Dan  said,  '  Poh 
— nothing  but  a  rac,'  dummit."  Thus,  in 
few  and  short  words  and  long  pauses,  "  Old 
Dummit  "  finished  his  eccentric  career. 

Captain  George  W.  Brown,  a  native  of  New- 
port, the  incidents  of  whose  life  have  made  him 
somewhat  prominent,  was  born  May  10,  1835, 
at  the  homestead  of  his  parents,  sometimes 
known  as  the  "Benjamin  Teal  place,"  located 
on  the  road  leading  to  Unity  Springs  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town.  The  Browns  after- 
ward removed  to  the  village  and  occupied  a 
part  of  the  building  then  standing  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Maple  Streets,  where 
Nathan  Brown,  the  father  of  George  W.  died 
October  11,  1840,  leaving  his  wife  and  several 
small  children  with  somewhat  limited  resources, 
aside  from  their  personal  effects  for  support. 

About  this  time  George  W.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  then  a  lad  of  about  eleven  years  of 
age,  was  employed  by  Shubael  Hawes,  a  retired 


NEWPORT. 


283 


sea  captain,  then  living  on  a  farm  on  the  Croy- 
don road  about  a  mile  north  of  Newport 
village.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California 
had  induced  Captain  Hawes  to  purchase  andfit 
out  at  Boston,  a  trading  or  merchant  vessel  for 
San  Francisco  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  George 
who  had  read  "  Jack  Halyard  "  and  other  sea 
stories,  and  conversed  freely  Math  Captain 
Hawes,  became  thoroughly  enlisted  in  this 
enterprise,  and  would  have  sailed  away  with  the 
enterprising  captain,  but  for  the  protests  and 
objections  of  his  affectionate  mother.  As  time 
went  on,  however,  his  desire  for  the  sea  and  a 
sailor's  life  in  no  wise  abated.  In  the  spring  of 
1850  he  again  met  his  old  friend  and  sometime 
school-fellow,  George  E.  Belknap,  (now  Com- 
modore) then  a  midshipman  in  the  United 
States  Navy,  returned  from  his  first  cruise; 
and  while  no  influence  was  exerted  on  the  part 
of  Lieutenant  Belknap  to  encourage  him  in 
this  matter,  he  quietly  determined  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  first  opportunity  to  go  to  sea. 

After  the  departure  of  Captain  Hawes, 
George  found  employment  through  the  influ- 
ence of  his  friend,  Frederick  Claggett,  Esq., 
then  sheriff  of  the  county,  in  a  marble-yard  at 
Springfield,  Vt.  A  few  months  at  picking  and 
hammering  on  grave-stones  and  other  marble 
work,  fully  satisfied  his  ambition  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  led  to  an  arrangement  with  two  other 
boys  for   a  clandestine  departure  for  Boston. 

One  of  these  boys  was  possessed  of  between 
three  and  four  dollars,  and  was  to  furnish  cap- 
ital on  which  to  float  the  enterprise ;  but  when 
the  time  for  their  departure  came  the  courage 
of  both  failed,  and  George  found  himself  alone 
without  a  single  cent  in  his  pocket.  His  only 
capital  was  indomitable  pluck,  and  this  was 
equal  to  the  emergency.  On  a.  Sunday  morning 
he  drove  the  family  to  church,  as  usual,  return- 
ing with  the  team,  and  in  his  anxiety  to  grasp 
the  little  bundle  he  had  packed  and  deposited 
in  the  barn  early  in  the  morning,  and  take  his 
departure,  the  last  part  of  his  Sunday  morning 
service,  the  going  for  the  family,  was  omitted. 
19 


With  a  feeling  that  there  was  a  wide  world 
before  and  around  him,  he  put  out  on  foot  and 
alone  for  the  Connecticut  River  bridge.  For- 
tunately for  him,  the  toll-gate  was  on  the  New 
Hampshire  side,  and  he  had  passed  quite  over 
before  he  was  hailed  for  the  one-cent  fare,  which 
he  was  unable  to  pay.  His  legs,  however,  did 
good  service  in  this  financial  crisis,  and  the 
good  woman  of  the  bridge,  by  whom  he  was 
pursued,  soon  gave  up  the  chase  and  in  nautical 
parlance  "fell  astern." 

George  begged  and  worked  his  way  to  Bos- 
ton, arriving  in  that  city  April  30,  1850.  The 
next  morning  he  began  looking  about  for  a 
vessel,  and  in  attempting  to  pass  over  the 
bridge  from  Boston  to  Charlestown,  another 
toll-gate  obstructed  his  progress.  There  was 
no  opportunity  for  a  race  this  time,  and  while 
he  stood  chaffering  with  the-  toll  gatherer  a 
sailor  came  up,  and  when  asked  for  his  penny 
fare,  said  he  was  going  to  a  vessel  at  the  "  draw," 
whereupon  George  took  a  hint  and  also  wished 
to  board  a  vessel  at  the  "  draw,"  and  they  were 
permitted  to  pass.  At  the  draw  George  found 
a  brig  hauling  through,  and  stepping  up  to  the 
captain,  asked  if  he  wanted  a  boy  on  board. 
The  sailor  answered  emphatically  and  with  a 
big  oath  in  the  negative,  but  George  was  pre- 
pared for  bluff  treatment,  and  pushed  his  ap- 
plication still  further  by  jumping  on  board 
without  invitation  or  permission,  and  taking 
a  hand  with  the  tars  as  they  went  on.  The 
vessel  was  the  brig  "Delhi,"  Captain  Hodgson, 
and  sailed  from  Boston  to  Matanzas,  Cuba,  on 
May  10th,  George's  fifteenth  birthday.  He 
was  connected  with  her  until  she  was  stranded, 
in  July,  1851.  After  this  he  visited  his 
mother  in  Newport,  returning  again  to  his  sea- 
faring life  with  the  same  captain,  in  the  brigs 
"Borneo"  and  "  Marshfield,"  filling  every  posi- 
tion from  cabin-boy  to  mate,  until  1855,  when 
Captain  Hodgson  left  him  in  command  of  the 
"  Marshfield.  " 

The  first  voyage  of  now  Captain  George  W. 
Brown  was   to  Surinam,  where  he    was    pros- 


284 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


trated  by  an  attack  of  yellow  fever,  out  of* 
which  his  vigorous  temperament,  aided  by  good 
medical  treatment,  successfully  brought  him  in 
good  condition,  with  a  future  guaranty  against 
further  annoyance  from  "  Yellow  Jack." 

Captain  Brown  remained  in  this  employ, 
voyaging  to  West  Indian  and  South  American 
ports  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War, 
in  1861,.  when  he  entered  the  navy  as  acting 
master,  and  was  ordered  as  navigation  officer  to 
United  States  steamer  "  Keystone  State,"  on  a 
cruise  in  search  of  the  privateer  "Sumter." 
He  was  afterward  on  court-martial  duty  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Commander  (now  Admiral)  Porter, 
who  was  then  fitting  out  the  "  Mortar  Fleet," 
and  was  by  his  request  ordered  to  the  command 
of  the  "Dan  Smith,"  one  of  the  schooners  of 
that  fleet,  which  he  held  during  the  bombard- 
ment of  the  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  and 
the  first  year's  attack  on  Vicksburg.  He  was 
afterward  sent  to  Havana  with  dispatches  to  the 
government  at  Washington,  giving  an  account 
of  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  which  reports 
were  the  first  published  at  the  North. 

On  the  abandonment  of  the  first  year's  attack 
on  Vicksburg,  Captain  Brown's  vessel,  with 
eleven  of  the  mortar  schooners,  was  ordered 
north  to  assist  in  the  capture  of  Richmond,  but 
their  services  were  not  needed  there  on  account 
of  a  "change  of  base,"  and  six  of  the  schooners 
under  his  command  were  ordered  to  Baltimore, 
and  during  the  time  of  Lee's  raid  into  Mary- 
land they  were  stationed  off  that  city  ready  for 
action  in  case  of  need.  In  October,  18(52,  Cap- 
tain Brown  was  ordered  to  the  Mississippi 
squadron  with  Admiral  Porter,  and  sent  to 
<  lincinnati  to  assist  in  fitting  up  the  first  of  the 
"  Tinclad  Fleet,"  and  Mas  ordered  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  first  one  of  that  afterward  numer- 
ous class  of  gun-boats,  the  "Forest  Hose." 
He  was  with  the  fleet  that  took  Sherman  to 
Vicksburg,  and  participated  in  the  attack  on 
Haynes'  Bluff,  etc.,  and  afterward  led  the  fleet 
up  the  Arkansas  River  to  Arkansas  Post,  and 


took  part  in  that  engagement.  On  the  return 
of  the  fleet  to  the  Mississippi  River  he  was 
sent  up  the  White  River  to  Des  Arc,  and  with 
a  company  of  troops  on  one  transport,  took 
possession  of  that  town.  He  was  then  ordered 
to  Memphis  with  dispatches,  and  met  for  the 
first  time  General  U.  S,  Grant,  who  was  pre- 
paring to  go  to  Vicksburg,  and  take  the  com- 
mand. 

Captain  Brown  has  in  his  possession  the  au- 
tograph order  of  General  Grant  directing  his 
attendance  as  a  convoy  down  the  river,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Headquarters  Dept.  of  the  Tennessee. 

"  Memphis,  Tenn.,  January  26,  1863. 

"  Captain  Brown,  Commanding  G.  B.  'Forest  Rose:* 
"  Captain  :  I  shall  be  going  clown  the  river  to  join 

the  tleet  near  Vicksburg  and  will  be  glad  to  have  you 

convoy  the  steamer  on  which  I  go.     I  will  be  on  the 

steamer  '  Magnolia.' 

"Officers  just  up  from  the  fleet  report  having  been 

fired  into  by  artillery    and    musketry    from  the   east. 

bank  of  the  river  at  Island  No.  82. 

"  Respectfully,  etc., 
"U.  S.  Grant, 

"  Major- General." 

Captain  Brown  was  with  the  fleet  that  first 
went  to  Yazoo  City  and  destroyed  the  rebel 
navy -yard  and  vessels  on  the  stocks. 

The  "  Forest  Rose"  took  part  in  nearly  all 
the  expeditions  up  the  various  tributaries  of 
the  Mississippi  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
In  January,  I860,  Captain  Brown  was  pro- 
moted to  volunteer  lieutenant.  He  was  sent  to 
cut  the  levee,  and  open  the  old  Yazoo  Pass,  and 
his  was  the  first  vessel  to  enter  Moon  Lake, 
and  the  pass  was  explored  with  small  boats 
from  his  vessel,  and  upon  his  report,  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wilson,  of 
General  Grant's  staff,  the  expedition  was  or- 
dered, and  had  it  been  properly  commanded  they 
would  no  doubt  have  succeeded  in  getting  to 
the  rear  of  Vicksburg  and  hastening  its  sur- 
render. When  the  vessels  returned  from  this 
unfortunate  expedition   they  made  a  sorry  ap- 


NEWPORT. 


285 


pearance  with  their  smoke-stacks  knocked 
down,  wheels  broken,  decks  torn  up — in  short, 
almost  wrecks. 

Captain  Brown  then  returned  to  Vicksburg 
and  remained  in  that  vicinity  until  the  surren- 
der. About  a  month  prior  to  that  event  he  vol- 
unteered to  take  a  battery  of  naval  guns  in  the 
trenches  in  Sherman's  corps,  Steele's  division, 
which  held  the  right  of  onr  lines,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  surrender,  July  4,  1863, 
when  he  had  the  honor  of  riding  into  the  city 
with  General  Steele,  Lieutenant-Commander 
(now  Commodore)  Walker  and  others.  The 
day  following  he  took  command  of  his  vessel 
and  went  down  the  river  to  give  notice  of  the 
victory  to  the  gun-boats  below.  About  a  month 
later,  after  several  expeditions  up  the  Red, 
Black,  Ouachita,  Tensas  and  other  rivers,  he 
was  ordered  to  Cairo  for  repairs.  More  than 
half  his  crew  were  prostrated  with  fever,  and 
being  himself  unable  to  attend  to  his  duties  on 
account  of  sickness,  he  was  granted  sick-leave 
and  went  to  his  home  in  New  York  for  a  cou- 
ple of  months.  Returning  to  Cairo,  he  was  or- 
dered to  the  command  of  the  "  Queen  City  "■ 
and  all  the  vessels  convoying  transports  on  the 
White  River,  carrying  supplies  for  General 
Steele's  army  at  Little  Rock, — the  transports 
going  as  far  as  Duval's  Bluff,  the  stores  being 
carried  by  rail  the  rest  of  the  way,  the  road  be- 
ing run  by  an  Ohio  regiment. 

About  this  time  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
General  N.  B.  Beauforcl,  commanding  Eastern 
Arkansas  Headquarters,  at  Helena,  who  was 
organizing  a  colored  regiment,  of  which  he 
urged  Captain  Brown  to  accept  the  colonelcy, 
which  he  declined.  During  his  superintendence 
of  the  convoying  of  transports  no  accidents  oc- 
curred and  no  lives  were  lost.  He  was  next 
placed  in  command  of  the  iron-clad  monitor 
"  Ozark,"  then  fitting  out  at  Cairo  for  the  Red 
River  expedition — sometimes  known  as  the  "  cot- 
ton-stealing expedition."  The  "Ozark"  was  one  of 
the  heaviest  armed  vessels  of  the  squadron,  having 
two  11-inch  guns  in  the  turret,    a  10-inch  pivot 


gun  aft,  and  three  9-inch  guns  broadside.  She 
was  built  expressly  for  the  river  service.  She 
carried  a  crew  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
men.  The  history  of  the  Red  River  expedi- 
tion is  too  well  known  to  need  comment  here. 
The  difficulty  of  navigation  in  that  crooked 
stream  with  so  large  and  heavy  a  vessel  was 
exceedingly  great,  and  but  for  the  assistance  of 
tugs  and  transports  he  would  hardly  have 
reached  Grand  Ecore.  He  remained  on  the 
"Ozark"  until  November,  1864,  when  he  re- 
turned to  New  York  on  sick-leave. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  he  was  ordered 
to  the  South  Atlantic  squadron  and  was  en- 
gaged in  special  duty  off  Charlston,  S.  G,  in 
charge  of  the  scout    and  picket-boats. 

There  it  was  his  pleasure  to  meet,  for  the 
first  time  during  the  war,  with  his  old  friend, 
George  E.  Belknap,  then  in  command  of  the 
monitor  "  Canonicus."  The  divers  ways  by 
which  the  two  Newport  boys  were  able  to  meet 
in  the  service  of  their  country  off  Charleston, 
S.  C,  which  city  was,  for  many  years,  the  home 
of  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  also  a  native  of 
Newport,  involves  more  of  incident  and  ro- 
mance than  can  properly  be  introduced  in  this 
place. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Charleston,  Captain 
Brown  was  ordered,  at  his  own  request,  to  the 
command  of  the  United  States  brig  "  Perry," 
ten  guns,  then  stationed  at  Fernandina,  Fla., 
where  he  remained  until  March,  1865,  when  he 
was  ordered  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  ar- 
rived a  few  days  prior  to  the  assassination  of 
President  Abraham  Lincoln  and  where  his  ac- 
tive service  ended.  In  September,  1865,  Cap- 
tain Brown  was  honorably  discharged  from  the 
naval  service,  having  declined  to  go  before  the 
examining  board  for  transfer  to  the  regular 
navy,  preferring  civil  life  and  merchant  service. 
He  came  to  New  York  and  had  partly  arranged 
for  the  purchase  of  a  part  of  a  vessel.  One 
of  the  parties  with  whom  he  was  negotiating 
failed  to  keep  an  appointment  in  the  matter, 
which   caused  a  feeling   of  disappointment  on 


286 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  part  of  the  captain,  and  in  passing  down 
Wall  Street  towards  his  home  in  Brooklyn,  by 
way  of  the  ferry,  his  eye  caught  sight  of  a  sign 

at  Xo.    115 ,  as  follows:  "Desk  Boom  to 

Let."  Without  further  consideration  he  en- 
gaged the  plaee,  ordered  the  necessary  furniture, 
and  some  cards  printed  and  at  once  started  the 
business  of  ;i  ship  broker,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued until  1875,  in  the  mean  time  organizing  the 
New  York  and  Washington  Steamship  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  for  three  years  the 
agent.  Afterward  he  fitted  out  the  ( !uban 
man-of-war  "  Hornet  "  and  sent  several  cargoes 
of  arms,  etc.,  to  the  insurgent  Cubans.  At  one 
time  he  took  a  somewhat  active  part  in  local 
politics,  and  in  1869  received  the  appointment 
of  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue,  but 
his  private  business  was  of  more  value  to  him 
than  the  office,  from  which  he  retired  at  the 
close  of  the  year. 

In  187o  Captain  Brown  was  unexpectedly 
called  upon  by  the  New  York  Marine  Under- 
writers to  go  to  Hayti,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
vestigating an  intricate  case  involving  them  in 
heavy  loss.  His  success  in  the  matter  so  far 
exceeded  their  expectations  that  inducements 
were  offered  which  caused  him  to  abandon  the 
shipping  business  and  devote  himself  exclu- 
sively to  the  interest  of  marine  underwriters. 

Since  that  time  he  has  traveled  extensively, 
making  investigations  and  settlements  of  cases 
in  Europe,  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies.  In  his  early  days  of  sailor 
life  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  Spanish- 
speaking  people  in  foreign  ports,  first  picking 
up  the  language  by  the  ear  and  in  later  years 
making  it  a  study  and  an  advantage  in  the 
transaction  of  business  with  the  people  to  which 
we  have  referred. 

The  domestic  relations  of  ( iaptain  Brown  are 
of  the  ino-t  agreeable  character.  He  married, 
Octoberl8,  1860,  Mary  E.  Stainburn,  of  New 
York.      They  have  children  a<  follow-  : 

George  Titus,  born  <  October  16,  1861  ;  Grace 
Stainburn,    born    November   7,   1866;  Alfred 


Hodgdon,   born   April   8,    1871.     The    family 
occupy  a  pleasant  home  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn, 

\.  y". 

Captain  Brown  is  a  vestryman  in  one  of  the 
Episcopal  Churches  in  Brooklyn  ;  a  Master  Ma- 
son; a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, his  badge  being  No.  1242  ;  a  charter- 
member  of  Harry  Lee  Post,  No.  24,  Depart- 
ment of  New  York;  a  member  of  the  Military 
Order,  Loyal  Legion  New  York  Coramandery  ; 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Marine  Society, 
the  oldest  society,  excepting  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  in  Xew  York ;  a  member  of  the 
American  Legion  of  Honor  and  of  the  Na- 
tional Provident  Union. 

Captain  Brown  says  he  owes  much  of  what 
he  is  to-day  to  two  women, — his  mother,  who 
died  May  16,  1861,  -whose  precept  and  exam- 
ple were  the  guard  and  guide,  under  Providence, 
of  his  life  ;  and  his  wife,  whose  superior  educa- 
tion proved  of  great  benefit  to  him  in  over- 
coming the  scanty  opportunities  of  his  early 
years. 

We  arc  unable  to  learn  the  exact  date  of  the 
establishment  of  the  first  line  of  stages  through 
this  town.  Soon  after  the  Croydon  turnpike 
was  opened,  in  1  8<  »'J?  stages  arc  said  to  have  been 
placed  upon  a  route  running  from  Washington 
to  Lebanon,  passing  north  and  south  through 
Newport.  A  few  years  later,  by  the  construc- 
tion of  better  roads  east  and  west  through  the 
town,  daily  lines  were  established  which  diverted 
the  travel  from  the  turnpike  line.  The  Croy- 
don turnpike  was  accordingly  abandoned,  and 
iu  1838  a  public  road  laid  out  over  its  route  by 
the  town,  and  "the  old  turnpike  was  a  pike  no 
more." 

With  the  opening  of  railroads  in  other  sec- 
tions, the  staging  through  this  town  grew"  small 
by  degrees  and  beautifully  less,"  and  during  the 
twenty  years  previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
railroad  (1871)  there  was  but  one  daily  line. 

The  new  line  east  and  west,  referred  to, 
commenced  running  from  Windsor,  Vt.,  by 
the  way  of  Newport  and  Bradford,   to  Boston, 


NEWPORT. 


287 


in  the  year  1818,  and  we  have  heard  how,  on 
stage-days,  the  boys  and  girls,  and  all  hands, 
young  and  old,  were  on  the  qui  vive  to  witness 
the  magnificent  turn-out  as  it  swept  into  town, 
and  through  the  street  to  the  Eagle,  or  the 
Newport  Hotel,  or  both,  where  the  passengers 
were  refreshed,  and  the  team  changed. 

We  doubt  if  the  arrival  of  the  first  train  of 
cars  in  1871,  and  the  snorting  of  the  iron  horse, 
attracted  more  attention  or  caused  greater 
delight. 

We  have  had  political  excitements,  and  in 
this  connection  may  refer  to  the  local  ferment 
occasioned  in  1825,  '26,  '27,  by  the  dismember- 
ment of  old  Cheshire,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  new  county  of  Sullivan  out  of  its  fifteen 
most  northern  towns,  with  the  goodly  town  of 
Newport  as  its  seat  of  justice.  The  foresight 
and  energy  of  the  leading  citizens  of  that  time 
have  been  suitably  appreciated  by  their  suc- 
cessors and  descendants,  who  now  maintain  and 
enjoy  the  work  then  accomplished. 

Nor  can  we  overlook  the  great  temperance 
reform  movement  that  burst  upon  the  whole 
country  about  the  year  1828,  and  thoroughly 
aroused  this  community  to  its  important  de- 
mands. 

The  people  of  New  England  towns  and 
villages,  in  common  with  mankind  everywhere, 
have  had  no  more-stubborn  and  satanic  foe  to 
contend  with  than  alcohol  in  all  its  insinuating; 
forms.  It  appeared  in  Newport  mostly  in  the 
guise  of  New  England  rum.  At  that  time  it 
was  openly  sold  by  the  glass  or  quantity  at  all  the 
general  stores  on  the  street,  and  showy  bars 
were  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  "bar-rooms," 
so-called,  at  the  hotels,  and  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  was  engaged  in  the  distilling  cider 
brandy. 

Here,  then,  came  the  venerable  Lyman 
Beecher,  of  Boston  ;  the  energetic  and   impresT 

sive  Doctor    Jewett,   of   Rhode  Island ; 

and  the  eminent  Reuben  D.  Mussey,  M.D., 
then  at  the  head  of  the  Medical  Department  of 
Dartmouth    College,   at    different    times,    and 


from  the  pulpits  of  the  churches  denounced  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits  as  a  beverage,  and  the 
first  societies  for  the  promotion  of  temper- 
ance were  organized,  and  the  work  went  on 
under  the  earnest  direction  of  Rev.  John  Woods 
,  and  Rev.  Ira  Pearson,  then  efficient  pastors  of 
the  churches  in  this  village,  and  was  sustained 
and  augmented  by  the  best'  people  of  the  town, 
and  reform  came. 

There  are  many  people  now  living  and 
active,  who  will  remember  the  scenes  enacted 
on  Main  Street  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  on 
public  days,  and  the  old-time  resorts  about 
which  throngs  gathered  every  day  to  enter  for 
their  early  morning  grog  as  soon  as  the  drowsy 
clerk  withdrew  the  bars  and  bolts  and  swung 
open  the  doors.  Comparing  that  state  of 
things  with  the  present,  we  are  able  to  estimate 
the  degree  of  progress  attained.  No  alcoholic 
minister  now  dispenses  the  bread  or  the  water 
of  life  to  an  alcoholic  church,  as  Dr.  Jewett, 
heretofore  referred  to,  once  charged  in  thun- 
dering accents  from  the  pulpit  of  a  Congrega- 
tional meeting-house,  and  the  old  hats  and 
rags  have  been  mostly  withdrawn  from  the 
windows,  or  if  they  still  supply  the  places  of 
panes,  it  is  due  to  other  causes  than  rum. 

Next  in  the  succession  of  general  excitements, 
was  that  caused  by  the  work  of  the  early  Aboli- 
tionists, during  the  years  from  1830  to  1840, 
who  persevered  in  preaching  and  lecturing  and 
talking  at  the  hazard  of  life  and  limb,  broken 
windows  in  churches  and  school-houses  and  as- 
saults in  the  way  of  epithets  and  stale  eggs. 
The  discussion  of  that  question  involved  the 
existence  of  churches  and  societies,  and,  in 
many  instances,  agreeable  social  relations. 

The  contemplative  mind  will  recur  to  that 
period  across  one  of  the  bloodiest  chasms  that 
ever  divided  a  country  against  itself. 

About  the  year  1838  several  of  the  citizens 
of  the  town  undertook  to  introduce  the  culture 
of  the  morns  mult  i  caul  Is  tree  and  the  silk- 
worm, and  the  manufacture  of  silk  goods  in 
various  forms. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


If  French  and  Italian  skies  could  have 
been  introduced  with  the  worm  and  the  "  silk- 
trees  "  to  our  impracticable  soil  and  climate,  a 
different  result  might  have  been  obtained.  As 
it  was,  a  good  deal  of  speculative  excitement 
ensued,  and  the  whole  matter  was  not  more 
unfortunate  for  its  projectors  than  it  proved 
ridiculous. 

Some  time  during  the  veins  from  1835  to 
1840  certain  Boston  manufacturers  and  capital- 
ists were  thought  to  be  on  the  alert  to  monopol- 
ize at  low  prices  all  the  water  privileges  of  any 
account  on  Sugar  River  and  its  branches.  The 
alarm  spread  among  the  knowing  ones  and  also 
to  some  that  did  not  know  very  much;  and  not 
only  water  privileges,  but  real  estate  advanced 
in  estimation  to  fabulous  prices,  quite  turning 
the  heads  of  some  of  the  dwellers  upon  the 
hillside  farm-. 

The  excitement  subsided  in  due  time,  and 
some  of  the  grasping  speculators  found  them- 
selves the  possessors  of  property  they  could 
neither  utilize  or  sell  without  loss.  It  was 
probably  about  that  time  when  a  midnight  cour- 
ier rode  in  from  the  "  Harbor"  with  the  start- 
ling intelligence  that  the  Sunapee  dam  was 
about  to  explode ;  and  to  warn  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Sugar  River  Valley  and  the  town  of 
Newport  to  prepare  for  an  inundation,  which 
did  not,  however,  conic  to  pass. 

Subsequent  to  the  year  1840,  incited  by  the 
calculations  and  preaching  of  a  man  named 
Miller,  who  indulged  in  advanced  views  in  re- 
gard to  the  second  coming  of  the  Messiah,  a 
religious  sect  sprung  up  in  New  England  and 
elsewhere  known  as  "  Milleritc-."  The  ttb 
day  of  April,  afterwards  changed  to  the  10th  of 
October,  1843,  had  been  fixed  by  the  leader  of 
these  enthusiasts  as  the  great  day  of  doom. 
The  months  previous  to  this  date  were  spent  in 
the  most  energetic  preparation. 

Their  headquarters  at  North  ville  were  at  the  old 
meeting-house  and  in  the  village  at  the  "old 
red  store,"  then  standing  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Maple  Streets.       At  the  latter  place  the 


most  disorderly  and  reckless  element  in  the 
population  gathered  at  their  meetings,  and  they 
came  to  require  the  presence  of  the  sheriff  or  high 
constable  to  maintain  a  becoming  order.  The  ex- 
citement not  only  in  Newport,  butthroughoutthis 
section,  was  for  a  time  intense,  and  led  to  acts  of 
foolishness  beyond  account.  But  the  sun  rose  in 
splendor  on  the  10th  of  October,  1843,  and  also 
on  the  11th,  and  dissipated  the  fogs  that  hung 
over  the  minds  of  the  Millerites,  and  they  re- 
turned to  their  neglected  farms  and  workshops, 
and  interests  not  squandered,  wiser  if  not  better 
people. 

The  culmination  of  excitements,  after  which 
it  would  be  trifling  to  speak  of  any  other,  was 
that  occasioned  by  the  mustering  of  our  "  boys 
in  blue,"  and  their  departure  for  the  battle-fields 
of  the  Rebellion,  where  some  of  them  found 
soldiers'  graves — and  from  which  others  re- 
turned  bearing  the  indelible  certificates  of  their 
bravery  in  defending  and  preserving  the  unity 
of  the  great  commonwealth  inherited  from  the 
earlier  heroes  and  patriots. 

The  Newport  of  to-day  is  the  goal  to  which 
we  have  now  come  as  we  gather  up  the  several 
topics  of  this  discursive  and  imperfect  narrative. 
It  spreads  out  along  the  sunny  intervale  of  the 
Sugar  and  the  slopes  of  its  surrounding  hills. 
Its  streets  have  assumed  the  names  of  the  var- 
ious forest-trees  whose  places  they  have  taken  by 
right  of  way.  Its  Main  Street — a  splendid 
thoroughfare  of  two  miles  in  length — extends 
north  and  south  on  the  eastern  side,  parallel 
and  in  view  of  the  grand  avenue,  laid  out  by 
the  fathers  of  the  town,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  valley. 

In  passing  along  its  various  streets  we  see  its 
many  tidy  and  pleasant  homes  ;  its  more  pre- 
tentious private  residences ;  its  substantial  blocks 
of  wood  and  brick  for  business  purposes;  its 
Newport  House  and  Phoenix  Hotel,  comforta- 
ble hostel  lie-  for  the  traveler  on  the  incoming 
train  ;  its  school-houses,  and  churches,  and  spa- 
cious public  buildings,  and  shaded  and  delight- 
ful village  park. 


NEWPORT. 


289 


The  valetudinarian  or  the  summer  visitor 
from  the  cities  and  sea-ports  will  here  find  a 
pleasant  resting-place,  and  entertainment  in 
pleasing  variety  of  walks  and  drives  within  our 
town  lines  along  the  brooks  and  rivers,  and  from 
the  hill-tops,  from  whence  views  which  the  un- 
sparing hand  of  nature  has  spread  out  may  be 
enjoyed ;  or  find  himself  within  reach  of  ample 
facilities  for  visiting  localities  beyond  our  limits, 
of  much  interest,  such  as  Lake  Sunapee,  about 
five  miles  distant,  or  Unitoga  Springs,  or  the 
summits  of  Sunapee  and  Croydon  Mountains, 
in  New  Hampshire,  and  Ascutney,  in  Vermont. 

The  slopes  of  Baptist  Hill  smile  with  com- 
fortable homesteads,  and  from  the  precinct  of 
Northville,  in  its  foreground,  comes  the  clatter 
of  machinery  from  the  extensive  scythe  manufac- 
tory of  the  Sibleys.  That  locality  also  boasts  of 
a  store,  a  railroad  station  and  a  post-office  ;  and 
as  it  has  increased  in  age  and  dignity  it  has 
dropped  the  "  ville  "  from  its  cognomen,  and  is 
now  known  as  "  North  Newport." 

The  present  year  of  our  Lord,  1885,  the  foun- 
dations for  a  new  chapel  have  been  laid  not  far 
from  the  site  of  the  ancient  meeting-house,  the 
memory  of  which  is  so  fraught  with  stirring  re- 
ligious events  in  the  past.  The  new  structure 
will  rise  and  stand  with  open  doors  and  inviting 
hands  for  the  use  of  all  religious  denominations, 
and  the  descendants  of  them  that  "  stoned  the 
prophets,''  and  the  descendants  of  the  prophets 
themselves  will  meet  in  harmony  in  the  same 
fold  and  listen  to  the  words  of  the  same  shepherd. 

In  accordance  with  the  laws  that  govern  pop- 
ulation and  business,  another  enterprising  little 
village  has  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Gran- 
ite State  Mills,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town, 
and  Guild  post-office  and  railroad  station  invite 
the  attention  to  a  splendid  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment, a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Giles  Mills, 
and  an  indorsement  of  the  good  judgment,  as 
regards  water  power  and  location,  of  that  emi- 
nent father  of  the  town.  Had  justice  been  done 
to  his  name  and  memory,  the  post-office  or 
precinct  would  have  been  christened  Gilesville. 


The  Common. — The  site  of  the  "  Common," 
or  Park,  which  contributes  so  much  to  the 
beauty  of  Newport  village,  is  one  of  those  natur- 
ally level  spaces  or  plateaus  which  are  found  as  we 
recede  from  the  Sugar  River  Valley  eastwardly 
towards  the  highlands  known  as  Coit  Moun- 
tains and  the  Buell  Hills.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  town  it  is  said  to  have  been  an  "  alder 
swamp,"  and,  consequently,  a  paradise  for 
frogs,  mud-turtles  and  mosquitoes.  Its  eleva- 
tion, however,  above  the  river-lands,  was  such 
that  it  yielded  readily  to  drainage  and  improve- 
ment. 

The  old  county  road,  opened  in  1779,  after- 
ward the  Croydon  turnpike,  and  at  present 
North  Main  Street,  lay  along  its  eastern 
margin. 

When,  in  1809  or  1810,  William  Cheney  oc- 
cupied his  new  residence,  where  we  now  find  the 
post-office,  and  opened  his  mercantile  business 
on  the  site  of  "  Richards'  Block,"  Jeremiah 
Kelsey  was  the  owner  of  this  land,  and  also  his 
competitor  in  trade  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road,  at  present  the  southeast  corner  of  Main 
and  Sunapee  Streets. 

By  an  extract  from  the  diary  of  Colonel 
Cheney,  lately  published  in  one  of  the  weekly 
papers  of  this  village  (the  Argus),  we  are  told 
that  the  locality  was  then  used  for  military 
parades,  in  consideration  for  which  the  officers 
of  the  companies  agreed  to  purchase,  at  the 
store  of  said  Kelsey,  the  grog  considered 
necessary  for  the  comfort  of  officers  and  men  on 
such  occasions.  It  also  appears  that  Kelsey 
had  bargained  a  building  lot,  about  midway  of 
this  common,  to  Sylvanus  Richards,  and,  some 
time  afterward,  a  second  lot  to  Dr.  Kibbey, 
and  some  buildings  were  placed  thereon. 

At  this  rate  of  progress  it  was  only  a  question 
of  short  time  when  the  eastern  side  of  the  turn- 
pike, as  far  north  as  the  Sand-Hill,  so  called, 
would  have  been  forever  alienated  from  public 
use  as  a  common,  and  our  park,  parade  and  fair- 
ground, ornamented  with  elms  and  maples,  as 
at  this  time,  would  have  existed   onlv  in   the 


290 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN   COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


special  and  unsatisfied  needs  of  the  generations 
to  come. 

This  matter  was,  undoubtedly,  considered  by 
Colonel  Cheney,  whose  good  judgment  and 
scope  of  mental  vision  enabled  him  to  appreci- 
ate the  matter  in  all  its  bearings,  present  and 
future. 

Instead  of  making  out  the  deeds  of  convey- 
ance for  the  house  lots,  as  desired  by  Kelsey,  he 
insisted  and  argued  that  Newport  should  have 
a  "  common,"  and  succeeded  in  preventing  the 
transfers.  Xot  long  after  this  he  purchased  the 
property  from  Kelsey,  removed  the  buildings 
and  fences,  and  left  it  open  for  parades  and 
other  public  uses. 

On  its  eastern  margin,  now  Park  Street,  cor- 
ner of  Sunapee,  he  built  the  Newport  Hotel,  af- 
terward disposed  of  to  Captain  Joel  Nettleton, 
and    now    the    Newport    House.     In    1816,    a 
little  farther  on,  he  erected  an  immense  wooden 
building,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and 
four  stories  high,    known    as  the  Tontine,  the 
front  roof  of  which  projected  several  feet  and  was 
supported    by    tall,  slender  columns  from    the 
ground.     It  had  five  stacks  of  chimneys,  fur- 
nishing fire-places  and  ovens  on  each  floor,  and 
a  countless  number  of  apartments  of  all  dimen- 
sions.    The  rooms  on  the  ground-floor  were  for 
business  purposes,  and  those  on  the  upper  floors 
were  arranged   in  suites  for  families.     At  the 
time  of  its  erection  it   was  considered   the  most 
imposing  structure  in  this  part  of  the  State.     It 
was  taken  down  in  1851.     Its  site   is  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  edi- 
fice   and   two    dwelling-houses  erected    by    the 
Batchelder  Brothers,  from  material  taken  from 
the  preceding  structure.     Some  time  afterward 
Colonel  Cheney  sold  ami  conveyed  t"  Rev.  Ira 
Person  (since  Pearson)  a  plot  of  ground  still  far- 
ther north,  on  the  east  line  of  the  present  Park 
Street,  on  which  Mr.  Pearson   built  a  dwelling- 
house,   long   known   as   the   Baptist  Parsonage, 
and  where  he  lived  many  years. 

In  1871  the  Parsonage   became  the  property 
and    residence    of  Joseph    W.    Parmelee.      In 


course  of  time,  a  new  house  of  more  modern 
construction  took  the  place  of  the  old,  and  was 
first  occupied  by  the  Parmelees  on  July  4,  187<L 

In  1821  Colonel  Cheney  donated  a  plot  of 
ground  at  the  north  end  of  the  Common  to  the 
Baptist  Church  and  Society,  "  to  have  and  to 
hold  "  as  long  as  it  should  be  required  for  church 
purposes.  It  was  there  that  the  first  church 
edifice  in  the  village  was  erected,  and  on  which 
the  present  graceful  front  elevation  of  the  lately 
reconstructed  building  appears. 

In  the  year  1S20  Colonel  Cheney  proposed 
to  present  and  deed  his  Common  to  the  town  of 
Newport  on  certain  conditions,  with  which  the 
town  at  its  annual  meeting  did  not  see  fit  to 
comply. 

He  then  further  proposed  to  sell  and  convey 
the  same  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars, 
another  and  principal  condition  being  that  it 
should  remain  a  "  common  forever,"  otherwise 
to  revert  to  the  heirs  of  the  grantor. 

At  the  annual  meeting  March  13,  1821,  the 
town  voted  to  accept  and  comply  with  the  terms- 
of  this  proposition. 

The  deed  of  conveyance  bears  date  May  22, 
1821,  and  is  on  record  in  the  archives  of  Chesh- 
ire County,  liber  88,  folio  194,  under  the 
certificate  of  James  Campbell,  register. 

The  description  of  property  conveyed  is  as 
follows  : 

"  Bounded  on  the  west  by  the  East  line  of  the  old 
county  road  and  Croydon  turnpike  (now  north  Main 
Street),  on  the  north  by  a  line  running  easterly  in  a 
range  with  the  South  Side  of  Jonathan  Cutting'* 
bam  to  a  stone  set  in  the  ground,  near  the  house  of 
A.  S.  Waite.  On  the  East  by  a  direct  line  running 
Southerly  Six  feet  west  of  the  South  Side  of  the  Ton- 
tine, Nettleton's  tavern,  and  the  Site  of  the  old  white 
school-house  when  Owned  by  Colonel  James  D. 
Walcott  (probably  the  north  line  of  the  lot  on  which 
the  present  county  building  now  stands),  and  on  the 
Southwesterly  from  Said  corner  of  the  School-house 
two  rods  and  Six  links  to  a  stone  set  in  the  ground, 
the  bound  lirst  mentioned.'' 

The  plot  of  ground  is  nearly  triangular  in 
shape,  and  contains  about  four  acres. 


NEWPORT. 


291 


From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that  the 
Common  was  not  a  positive  gift  from  Colonel 
Cheney  to  the  town  of  Newport,  as  has  some- 
times been  stated.  He  received  a  fair  compen- 
sation for  the  land,  as  considered  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  time  when  the  conveyance  was 
made.  It  is  due  to  his  name  and  memory, 
however,  to  state  that  it  was  through  his  deter- 
mination and  management  that  this  tract  of 
land  was  made  a  Common  and  will  so  remain 
"  forever." 

Disastrous  Fire  of  1885. — About  two 
o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  June  21,  1885,  the 
cry  of  fire  and  the  ringing  of  bells  broke  the 
silence  of  the  hour,  and  roused  the  people  of  our 
village  to  witness  the  most  disastrous  con- 
flagration that  ever  visited  the  town. 

The  fire  was  first  seen  bursting  from  the  roof 
and  rear  of  the  two-story  wooden  building 
known  as  "  Nettleton  Block,"  located  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Sunapee  Streets. 
The  basement  of  this  building  was  occupied  as 
a  meat  and  vegetable  market;  the  first  floor, 
south  room,  by  C.  H.  Watts,  harness-maker ; 
the  north  room,  by  F.  E.  Nelson,  a  dealer  in 
small  wares  ;  the  second  floor,  south  rooms,  as 
the  printing-office  and  editorial  rooms  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Argus  and  Spectator, — Barton 
&  Wheeler,  proprietors  ;  and  the  north  rooms 
were  the  offices  of  A.  S.  Wait,  Esq.,  attorney  - 
at-law. 

The  flames  spread  with  great  rapidity  to  all 
parts  of  the  main  building,  and  from  thence  to 
the  extension  on  Sunapee  Street,  occupied  by 
the  United  States  and  Canada  Express  Com- 
pany, eastward  to  a  livery  office  and  two  large 
stables ;  and  southward  to  the  brick  building 
once  occupied  by  the  First  National  Bank,  and 
more  recently  by  several  families ;  and,  lastly, 
to  the  town  hall,  of  which  some  account  has 
been  given  on  a  preceding  page. 

It  is  matter  of  interest  that  the  express  office 
was  the  store-house  originally  built  and  occu- 
pied by  Jeremiah  Kelsey, — referred  to  in  the 
sketch  of  the  Common, — and  afterward  by  the 


Nettletons  as  a  store  and  post-office,  and  moved 
back  to  give  place  to  the  more  pretentious 
"  block  "  erected  in  1854.  The  "  old  bank," 
so-called,  was  built  in  1825  by  A.  Nettleton,, 
Jr.,  for  a  residence,  and  where  he  lived  and 
died. 

The  land  and  buildings  covered  by  this  con- 
flagration, up  to  the  court-house  common,  were- 
owned  by  Mrs.  Bela  -Nettleton  and  Frederick 
W.  Lewis. 

The  insurance  on  the  property  of  the  various 
occupants  and  owners,  consisting  of  buildings,, 
books,  machinery,  fixtures,  wares,  merchandise,, 
etc.,  amounted  to  about  forty  thousand  dollars, 
and  the  losses  of  the  different  proprietors  and 
occupants  would  aggregate  sixty  thousand  to 
seventy  thousand  dollars.  The  most  important 
items  of  loss,  and  those  most  difficult  to  restore, 
were  the  valuable  law  library  of  Mr.  Waite,  and 
the  files  of  the  New  Hampshire  Argus  and  Spec- 
tator, running  back  more  than  sixty  years. 

Whether  this  fire  was  the  work,  of  an  incen- 
diary or  the  result  of  carelessness  and  stupidity 
on  the  part  of  dissolute  and  drunken  persons 
who  may  have  sought  obscurity  in  the  attic  of 
Nettleton  Block,  which  was  accessible  from  the 
street  at  all  hours,  has  not  transpired,  and  no 
investigations  have  been  made. 

The  resources  available  for  the  extinguish- 
ment of  a  fire  of  this  magnitude  were  entirely 
inadequate,  and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to 
prevent  its  spreading  to  adjoining  buildings  and 
neighborhoods. 

Had  a  brisk  wind  prevailed  on  the  night  and 
morning  of  that  21st  of  June,  in  spite  of  our 
two  hand-engines,  their  brakes  manned  by  ath- 
letic firemen  and  citizens,  the  fire  must  have 
marched  before  it  in  a  direct  line  out  of  town 
in  accordance  with  the  direction  given.  A 
brave  effort  at  great  hazard  was  made  to  save 
the  town  hall  and  court-house,  and  the  fact 
that  this  magnificent  structure  collapsed  so 
readily  under  fire  is  evidence  of  a  faulty  con- 
struction, and  does  much  to  dispel  a  feeling  of 
regret  at  its  loss. 


292 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIArAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  Court-House  and  Town  Hall  of 

1885-86. — Before  the  smoke  had  subsided 
over  the  smouldering  ruins  of  this  fire,  a  meet- 
ing of  citizens  from  several  of  the  towns  of  the 
county  was  held  at  Rowell's  Kink,  in  Newport, 
Friday,  June  26th,  to  consider  the  situation. 
There  was  perhaps  a  feeling  at  that  time  on 
the  part  of  Newport,  whose  court-house  lay  in 
smoking  ruins,  that  the  old  agitation  in  re- 
gard to  the  removal  of  the  courts  to  Claremont 
might  again  he  revived  ;  but  this  matter  was 
soon  set  at  rest  by  the  appearance  in  this  meet- 
ing of  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  that 
town,  with  kind  words  for  Newport  in  the  hour 
of  its  calamity,  and  suggesting  in  accordance  with 
a  resolution  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  their 
citizens  the  day  previous,  that  the  county  build- 
ing be  rebuilt  in  Newport,  and  made  separate  and 
distinct  from  a  town  hall.  After  some  discus- 
sion a  resolution  was  passed  at  this  rink  meet- 
ing in  favor  of  the  erection  of  two  buildings, 
one  for  county  and  one  for  town  purposes,  with 
but  one  dissenting  vote.  The  stand  taken  by 
the  town  of  Claremont  was  thus  defined. 

In  the  mean  time  a  County  Convention,  com- 
posed of  the  members  from  its  several  towns  to 
the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  convened  at 
Agricultural  Hall,  in  Concord,  on  several  oc- 
casions to  hear  arrangements  and  deliberate  in 
regard  to  the  erection  of  a  new  county  building, 
and  whether  the  two  interests  of  the  county  of 
Sullivan  and  town  of  Newport  should  proceed 
jointly  to  erect,  as  heretofore,  or  take  a  new  de- 
parture and  build  separately.  Their  delib- 
erations resulted  in  the  following  proposition  to 
the  town,  to  wit  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  County  of  [Sullivan  proceed  t<> 
bui Id  a  court-house  and  county  offices  in  connection 
with  the  town  hull  of  Newport  ;  t lie  County  of  Sulli- 
van and  town  of  Newport  each  to  share  one-half  the 
expense  of  such  building,  which  shall  he  placed  on 
the  site  of  the  one  recewtly  destroyed  by  fire,  the  cost 
of  the  county  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of  eleven  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars  ;  provided  said  town  of  Newport 
shall   deed    to  said    county    the  land  on   which  said 


building  shall  stand,  also  the  court-room  and  neces- 
sary county  offices  on  the  first  floor  of  the  building, 
for  all  time  the  county  shall  desire  to  use  said  land 
and  building  for  .such  purposes.  And  there  shall  be 
no  rooms  constructed  or  occupied  above  the  second  floor. 
A  building  committee  of  three  persons  shall  be  chosen 
by  the  county  convention   to  act    in  connection  with 

a  c nitteeoftwo  persons  from  the  town  of  Newport, 

whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  see  that  the  building  is  built 
in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  that  the  expense  is 
equally  divided  between  the  county  and  town  of  New- 
port. The  actual  expenses  of  such  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  county  to  be  paid  by  the  county." 

The  convention  chose  as  members  of  the  com- 
mittee, the  county  commissioners  (L.  A.  Pur- 
mort,  of  Lempster,  S.  F.  Rossiter,  of  Clare- 
mont, and  Alvin  S.  Bartholomew,  of  Plain- 
field)  and  Messrs.  Parker,  of  Claremont,  and 
A.  S.  Wait  and  L.  W.  Barton,  of  Newport, 
Attorneys-at-law,  were  chosen  to  draw  up  the 
deed. 

In  response  to  the  action  of  the  County  Con- 
vention, as  before  stated,  the  town  of  Newport, 
at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  July  18,  1885, 
adopted  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions, 
viz.  : 

"  Whereas,  At  a  County  Convention  of  the  County 
of  Sullivan,  held  at  Concord  on  the  16th  day  of  July, 
inst.,  it  was  voted — (See.  foregoing  resolutions  of 
County  Convention.)  Now  therefore,  be  it  resolved 
that  the  town  of  Newport  will  join  the  County  of  Sul- 
livan in  the  erection  of  the  said  building  upon  the 
terms  and  conditions  of  the,  aforesaid  vote  of  the  said 
County  Convention,  and  that  said  vote  of  said  County 
Convention,  so  far  as  is  necessary  and  appropriate 
therefor,  be  adopted  as  the  vote  of  this  town;  the 
\\<>n!s  of  said  vote,  '  above  the  second  floor '  being  in- 
terpreted to  mean,  above  the  town  hall. 

"  Resolved  that  Milton  S.Jackson  and  Frank  A. 
Rawson  he  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  town  to 
act  with  that  of  the  County  in  the  erection  of  said 
building  and  that  they  be  and  hereby  are  authorized 
in  the  name  of  the  town  to  execute  and  deliver  to  the 
County  of  Sullivan  the  deed  to  be  executed  in  ac- 
cordance with  said  vote  of  the  County  Convention, 
and  of  the  fust  above  resolution." 


NEWPORT. 


293 


The  meeting  adjourned  to  the  25th  inst.,  and 
afterward  to  Saturday,  August  1st. 

At  an  adjourned  town-meeting  held  on  Satur- 
day, August  1,  1885,  the  following  resolution 
appropriating  the  sum  of  eleven  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  town 
hall  was  passed  : 

"  Resolved  that  a  Sum  not  to  exceed  eleven  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  he  appropriated  from  any 
moneys  in  the  treasury  of  the  town  not  otherwise  ap- 
propriated, to  the  defrayal  of  the  expenses  of  the 
erection  of  a  town  hall  in  Newport  in  connection  with 
a  court-house  and  county  offices  [for  the  County  of 
Sullivan  ;  the  insurance  ($10,000)  in  favor  of  the 
town  upon  the  former  huilding,  consumed  by  fire, 
when  recovered  to  be  set  apart  as  a  fund  to  be  applied 
towards  the  amount  of  said  expense  ;  and  that  the 
selectmen  and  treasurer  of  the  town  be  authorized  to 
.borrow  so  much  of  said  sum  as  is  needed  before  such 
insurance  is  collected  and  issue  the  notes  of  the  town 
therefor." 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that  the  court-house 
and  town  hall  was  insured  for  twenty  thousand 
dollars, — ten  thousand  dollars  of  which  went  to 
the  county  and  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the 
town. 

The  foundations  of  the  new  county  and  town 
building  were  laid  in  the  most  substantial  man- 
ner under  the  direction  of  the  joint  building 
committee  before  named. 

F.  N.  Footman,  of  Boston,  was  the  architect 
of  the  superstructure,  the  dimensions  of  which 
are  60.5  feet  front  by  93.5  feet  running  back  ; 
thi'  elevation  of  the  lower  story  is  sixteen  feet 
clear,  and  the  walls,  of  brick,  are  sixteen  inches 
in  thickness. 

The  basement  is  arranged  for  fire-proof  vaults, 
furnaces,  storage  for  fuel,  closets,  etc.  The 
county  floor  will  furnish  a  room  forty  by  fifty 
feet  for  tlie  sessions  of  the  courts,  a  private 
apartment  for  the  judge,  rooms  for  the  grand 
and  petit  juries,  witnesses  and  county  commis- 
sioners, offices  and  safes  for  the  register  of  deeds, 
register  of  probate  and  clerk  of  the  courts. 

The  elevation  of  the  second  story  is  twenty- 
four  feet  clear,  with  a  gallery  all  around,  and 


suitable  ante-rooms  and  stairways  front  and 
rear.  The  walls  are  twelve  inches  in  thickness, 
the  whole  interior  strengthened  by  a  complex 
system  of  timbers  and  supports  from  the  roof. 
The  town  will  thus  be  provided  with  a  sub- 
stantial and  elegant  hall  for  civic  purposes, 
assemblies  and  conventions. 

The  plans  and  specifications,  as  prepared  by 
the  supervising  architect,  Mr.  Footman,  were 
submitted  for  inspection,  and  the  contract  for 
the  erection  of  the  building  was  awarded  to  the 
lowest  bidder,  Hira  R.  Beck  with,  of  Claremont, 
for  the  sum  of  twenty-one  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  dollars.  The  work  is  going 
on  during  these  months  of  September,  October 
and  November.  The  building  is  to  be  com- 
pleted and  ready  for  use  on  the  1st  of  July,  1886. 

Coincident  with  the  action  of  the  town  in 
regard  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  county  and 
town  building,  was  the  consideration  of  better 
means  and  methods  for  the  protection  of  the 
property  of  the  citizens  against  fire. 

Steam  Fire-Engines,  Etc. — A  committee 
of  citizens,  consisting  of  S.  H.  Edes,  A.  W. 
Rounsevel,  F.  P.  Rowell,  John  B.  Cooper  and 
Frederick  W.  Cheney,  appointed  at  a  former 
meeting,  to  inquire  into  the  necessities  of  the 
town  as  regards  suitable  apparatus  for  the  extin- 
guishment of  fires,  reported  in  favor  of  the 
purchase  of  a  steam  fire-engine,  etc.  ;  and  reso- 
lutions appropriating  six  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  for  that  purpose,  and  instructing  the 
committee  to  make^he  purchase,  were  passed,  as 
follows  : 

"Resolved,  that  the  Sum  of  Six  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars  be  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  a 
Steam  Fire  Engine  ;  two  thousand  feet  of  hose ;  hose- 
carriage  ;  engine  house  and  site  for  same,  and  me- 
chanical apparatus  for  working  and  caring  for  and 
procuring  water  for  said  engine,  and  that  the  select- 
men and  treasurer  of  the  town  be  authorized  to  bor- 
row the  said  sum  and  issue  the  notes  of  the  town  for 
that  amount,  payable  on  demand  with  interest  at  the 
rate  of  four  per  cent,  per  annum  free  of  taxation  by 
said  town. 

"Resolved,  that  the  town  authorize  their  committee 


294 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAJN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


to  purchase  a  steam  fire  engine  of  a  capacity  of  about 
Six  hundred  gallons  per  minute,  with  mechanical  ap- 
paratus for  working,  caring  for,  and  procuring  water 
for  the  same  ; — two  thousand  feet  of  hose  suitable  for 
the  said  engine  ;  and  one  carriage  to  carry  800  feet  of 
hose,  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  five  thousand  three 
hundred  dollars — also  to  purchase  a  site,  if  need  be, 
and  erecl  thereon  a  suitable  engine  house  at  an  ex- 
pense not  exceeding  twelve  hundred  dollars." 

In  accordance  with  the  action  of  the  town,  as 
represented  in  the  foregoing  resolutions,  a  Xo. 
.**>  steam  fire-engine  from  the  Silsby  Manufac- 
turing Company,  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  was 
purchased  and  delivered  in  Newport  in  Septem- 
ber, 1885.  The  "  Newport/'  so-called,  weighs 
five  thousand  five  hundred  pounds,  has  a  pump- 
ing capacity  of  six  hundred  gallons  per  minute 
and  is  otherwise  in  accordance  with  the  order 
given. 

Th  i:  X  ewport  Steam  Fire-Eng i n b  C< >m- 
I'any  was  formed  on  Monday,  October  5, 1885, 
consisting  of  thirty  members.  F.  J.  Latimer 
was  chosen  foreman ;  Fred.  W.  Cheney,  assist- 
ant foreman;  Rodney  W.  Tilton,  second  assist- 
ant foreman  ;  S.  A.  Williams,  clerk ;  M.  L. 
Whittier,  treasurer  ;  J.  R.  Hutchinson,  steward  ; 

F.  P.  Rowell,  engineer  ;  M.  L.  Whittier,  assist- 
ant engineer;  Day  E.  Maxfield,  George  E. 
Lewis  and  John  W.  Johnson,  standing  com- 
mittee;  Day  E.  Maxfield,  M.  F.Thompson, 
firemen.  Hose-men,  pipe-men,  ladder-men,  etc., 
— lame-  Bevine,  M.  C.  Blaisdell,  Alexander 
Bre/sell,  C.  B.  Chase,  A.  W.  Clarke,  M.  O. 
Cooper,  F.  P.  Dudley,  F.  H.  Huntoon,  H.  (). 
Hutchinson,    F.    H.    Jordan,    J.    \V.  Johnson, 

G.  \V.  Ivarr,  G.  E.  Lewis,  S.  D.  Lewis,  F.  II. 
Morse,  F.  S.  Morse,  C.  F.  Pike,  F.  E.  Rowell, 
R.  \V.  Tilton,  C.  W.  Tenney,  E.  15.  W Ibury. 

The  qualities  of  the  new  "steamer"  were 
thoroughly  tested  on  Friday,  the  9th  of  Octo- 
ber, before  a  large  collection  of  the  people  of 
Newport  ami  the  adjoining  towns.  The  after- 
noon was  made  a  holiday  for  the  children  in 
tiie  public  schools.  Firemen  were  present  from 
Penacook,  Springfield,  Vt.,  and  Claremont. 
The  occasion  was  of  much  interest.     At  a  meet- 


ing of  the  committee  in  the  evening  the  steamer 
was  aeeepted  without  a  dissenting  voice,  and 
payment  made  according  to  contract 

Citizens'  National  Bank. — During  the 
summer  of  1885  the  question  of  enlarging  the 
banking  facilities  of  Newport  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  some  of  the  capitalists  and  active 
business  men  of  this  and  the  adjoining  town-. 

The  matter  finally  took  definite  shape  in  the 
formation,  in  accordance  with  the  general  bank- 
ing laws  of  the  United  States,  of  an  association 
known  as   "  The    Citizens'   National    Bank  of 
Newport,"     Capital,  $50,000. 

The  subscribers  to  the  stock,  which  was  soon 
taken,  held  a  meeting  on  Monday,  September 
7th,  and  agreed  upon  articles  of  association, 
and  directors  were  chosen  as  follows :  F.  A. 
Rawson,  L.  F.  Dodge,  M.  S.  Jackson,  George 
H.  Bartlett,  Sunapee ;  S.  G.  Stowell,  William 
Woodbury,  E.  H.  Carr,  Goshen ;  C.  M.  Emer- 
son, R.  M.  Rowe.  L.  F.  Dodge  was  chosen 
president  and  F.  A.  Rawson,  vice-president. 
At  a  further  meeting  of  the  directors,  Perley 
A.  Johnson,  of  Barton,  Vt.,  was  elected  cash- 
ier. 

The  association  has  leased  from  the  town  for  a 
term  of  twenty  years,  and  will  reconstruct  and 
occupy  as  a  banking-house,  the  lower  story  of 
the  fire-proof  building  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  court-house  common,  known  as  the 
"Old  ( "ounty  Safe." 

LEWIS  Block. — Frederick  W.  Lewis  having 
become  sole  proprietor  of  the  lot  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Sunapee  Streets,  on 
which  stood  the  <k  Nettleton  Block,"  lately  de- 
stroyed  by  lire,  has  made  arrangements  with 
I  lira  R.  Beck  with,  of  Claremont,  the  well- 
known  architect  and  builder,  for  the  erection 
thereon  of  a  substantial  building,  with  a  front 
on  Main  Street  of  seventy-four  feet  and  fifty 
feet  deep,  with  an  extension  of  twenty  feet  on 
Sunapee  Street. 

The  structure  will  be  two  stories  in  height, 
built  of  brick  trimmed  with  granite.  The 
lower  story  will  be  divided  into  four  rooms  for 


NEWPORT. 


1>95 


business  purposes  and  the  second  floor  adapted 
for  offices. 

The  Sullivan  County  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company. — The  enactment  by  the 
Legislature  of  1885  of  a  law  in  regard  to  for- 
eign insurance  companies,  known  as  the  "  Val- 
ued Policy  Bill,"  was  followed  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  agencies  of  all  such  companies 
from  the  State.  To  meet  the  demands  for  in- 
surance caused  by  this  movement,  stock  and 
mutual  companies  have  been  formed  within  the 
State.  Of  these  was  the  Sullivan  County 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  organ- 
ized at  Newport,  November  10,  1885.  Presi- 
dent, Dexter  Richards ;  Vice-President,  Ira 
Colby  ;  Treasurer,  George  E.  Dame  ;  Secretary, 
H.  S.  Osgood ;  General  Manager,  R.  C.  Os- 
good ;  Directors :  Dexter  Richards,  George  E. 
Dame,  S.  L.  Bowers,  Ezra  T.  Sibley,  R.  C. 
Osgood,  of  Newport ;  Hiram  Parker,  of  Lemp- 
ster;  Ira  Colby,  W.  E.  Tutherly,  D.  W. 
O'Neil,  of  Claremont ;  George  Olcott,  of 
Charlestown  ;  George  H.  Bartlett,  of  Sunapee ; 
E.  H.  Carr,  of  Goshen  ;  Rufus  Hall,  of  Grant- 
ham ;  AY.  C.  True,  of  Plainfield  ;  J.  S.  Walker,, 
of  Langdon. 

The  organization  of  such  companies  will,  in 
all  probability,  meet  the  demands  for  insur- 
ance, and  the  wisdom  of  the  Legislature  in  en- 
acting the  law  will  be  indorsed  by  the  people 
of  the  State. 

Notwithstanding  the  somewhat  desultory  char- 
acter of  this  work,  it  will  not  be  difficult,  per- 
haps, to  gather  from  its  pages  some  idea  of  the 
gradual  and  substantial  progress  of  the  town  of 
Newport  during  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  of  its  existence  as  a  corporate  municipality. 
There  may  have  been  periods  in  its  history 
-without  much  of  advancement,  but  no  positively 
retrograde  movement  worthy  of  consideration 
oan  be  shown.  From  one  decade  to  another  its 
valuation  has  steadily  increased,  until,  as  here- 
tofore stated,  we  have  come  up  to  the  sum  of 
one  million,  three  hundred  and  seventeen  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  fifty-two  dollars. 


For  its  continued  advancement  and  prosperity 
it  is  indebted,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  intelligent, 
industrious,  well-intentioned  moral  and  religious 
characteristics  of  its  first  settlers, — qualities 
which  were  ingrained  in  their  descendants  and 
successors,  and  which  have  stood  the  test  of  the 
changes  of  the  first  century  and  more  of  its  ex- 
istence. 

If  we  examine  the  statistics  of  crime  during 
this  period,  we  shall  find  that  of  the  very  limit- 
ed number  who  have  expiated  offenses  against 
the  peace  and  property  of  the  citizens  of  this 
community  in  the  State  Prison,  but  two  or  three 
were  natives  of  the  town  and  descendants  of  the 
first  settlers ;  and  that  no  blood,  shed  by  the 
hand  of  a  murderer,  has  ever  stained  its  soil. 

In  the  second  place,  Newport  is  indebted  to 
its  geographical  situation  in  some  degree  for  its 
importance  as  a  town, — its  territory  being  cen- 
tral to  a  group  of  other  towrnships,  which  in  the 
course  of  past  events,  came  to  organize  as  the 
county  of  Sullivan,  of  which  it  became  the  seat 
of  justice,  with  its  court-house  and  county  offices 
and  local  incumbents. 

Its  river  system  and  water  power  are  a  further 
and  more  important  consideration  as  affording 
facilities  for  progress.  At  an  earlier  period, 
when  agriculture  was  a  more  leading  interest, 
the  town  had  no  particular  advantage  on  ac- 
count of  fertility  over  the  adjoining  towns ;  but 
when  agricultural  pursuits  became  less  profitable 
in  New7  England,  Newport  had  its  water  power 
iu  reserve,  and  mills  for  the  production  of  cot- 
ton and  woolen  fabrics  and  wares  of  various 
kinds  sprung  up  at  the  falls  on  the  Sugar  River, 
and  a  manufacturing  interest  came  in,  not  only 
to  keep  up,  but  to  increase  the  inventory  of  the 
town. 

The  town  has  also  prospered  because  of  the 
interest  that  has  been  taken  in  its  educational, 
social,  religious  and  benevolent  institutions, 
whereby  an  intelligent,  temperate,  industrious, 
charitable,  law-abiding,  church-going,  God-fear- 
ing people  have  been  raised  up  to  join  in  a  gen- 
eral effort  for  the  public  welfare,  as  against  ig- 


296 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


norance,  intemperance,  vice,  crime  and  suffering 
from  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  The  widow 
and  the  fatherless,  in  their  destitution,  have 
found  friends  in  the  lodges  of  the  Masons  and 
Odd-Fellows,  and  around  the  camp-tires  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  in  the  var- 
ious religious  societies,  to  say  nothing  of  indi- 
vidual charities  and  benefactions  flowing  from 
private  sources. 

It  would  afford  the  writer  much  satisfaction  to 
be  able,  in  a  sketch  of  the  town,  to  trace  the  owner- 
ships of  the  sixty-eight  lots  originally  granted  in 
the  charter.  To  do  so  would  require  a  careful 
examination  of  records  of  transfer  in  the  archives 
of  the  county  of  Cheshire  prior  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  of  Sullivan. 

'flie  genealogies  of  the  owners  of  these  lots, 
and  their  descendants  and  successors,  would  also 
furnish  material  of  interest  in  a  town  history. 
Such  researches  would  involve  time  and  expense 
and  should  be  made  under  the  patronage  of  the 
town,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  whose  duty  and 
privilege  it  should  be  to  protect  its  own  life  and 
welfare  historically. 

The  State  has  already  enacted  stringent  laws, 
by  which  the  matter  of  "Vital  Statistics"  is  no 
longer  at  the  hazard  of  desultory  and  uncertain 
private  records.  The  earliest  incidents  in  con- 
nection with  the  first  settlement  of  Newport  by 
English-speaking  people  are  still  within  the 
grasp  of  history.  That  they  should  be  collected 
and  preserved  is  a  proposition  that  needs  no  ar- 
gument. Our  effort  in  this  direction  is  here 
presented. 

The  vista  opening  before  the  town  towards 
the  future  is  interminable,  and  the  "  living 
present"  should  have  a  jealous  regard  for  the 
character  of  the  statistics  that  are  daily  and 
yearly  accumulating  to  go  down  the  stream  of 
time,  from  generation  to  generation. 

The  writer  may  be  excused  for  indulging  in 
bright  anticipations  as  regards  the  future  good 
name  and  welfare  of  his  native  town,  particu- 
larly as  his  paternal  grandfather  was  one  of  its 
original   settlers,  and  of  which  his  father   was 


a  life-long,  worthy  citizen,  and  while  he  is  the 
sole  survivor  of  the  third  generation,  and  the 
last  of  the  lineage  who,  in  all  probability,  will 
ever  abide  here,  the  old  home  will  continue  in 
the  time  to  come  to  be  held  in  affectionate  re- 
gard by  descendants  settled  in  other  parts  of 
this  great  country.  Standing; as  he  docs  notfarre- 
moved  from  its  beginning,  he  may  also  be  excused 
for  indulging  in  a  speculative  mood  as  regards 
the  appearance  of  the  valley  of  the  Sugar  and  the 
village  of  Newport,  or  the  place  on  which  it 
stood,  and  the  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
characteristics  of  its  population  after  the  lapse 
often  or- fifteen  centuries,  and  our  time  shall 
have  become  "  what  men  call  ancient." 

EPILOGUE. 

Some  six-score  years  ago,  where  Newport  stands, 
A  howling  wilderness  held  all  the  lands  ; 
The  Sugar,  pouring  from  its  crystal  lake. 
Wild,  idle,  resolute  through  bush  and  brake. 
Chanting  or  shouting  from  its  rocks  and  Calls 
To  echoing  hill-sides  and  lone  forest  halls; 
And  thus  had  poured  and  roared  since  time  began 
And  "wood or  grass  had  grown  or  water  ran." 

At  length  the  men  of  Killingwortli  appeared, 
And  sound  of  axe  and  anvil's  ring  was  heard; 
They  builded  dams  across  this  rushing  stream 
And  clack  of  mills  disturbed  its  ancient  dream  ; 
And  next,  in  old  colonial  guise  appeal-, 
The  preacher,  doctor,  trader  in  the  rear; 
And  thus  our  civil  history  began, 
Inspired  by  water-power  and  power  of  man. 

How  well  those  hardy  yeomen  wrought  and  planned 
In  building,  sawing,  grinding,  clearing  land, 
How  well  they  plied  their  trades  and  with  what  art 
The  women  spun  and  wove  and  did  their  part 
In  founding  homes  and  making  glad  a  wild, 
Where,  ne'er  till  then,  had  gentlewoman  smiled, 
Though  daughters  of  the  wigwam  had  been  there 
In  simple  vestments  and  dark,  shining' hair. 

The  growth  of  this  our  town,  as  now  appears, 
Resolves  the  progress  of  a  hundred  years, 
And  of  the  various  interests  concerned 
On  which  a  fair  prosperity  has  turned, 
Have  we  not  staled  all?     It  now  remains 
To  close  the  record — estimate  the  gains — 
And  bid  good  speed  in  unpretentious  rhyme, 
The  chip  now  cast  upon  the  stream  of  time. 


NEWPORT. 


297 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


JOHX  LANGDON  SWETT,   M.D. 

John  Langdon  Swett,  M.D.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  and  whose  likeness  is  here  presented, 
is  of  English  ancestry. 

It  is  among  the  traditions  of  his  family  that 
four  brothers  of  the  name  emigrated  to  this 
country,  some  time  during  the  colonial  era,  from 
the  south  of  England  ;  that  they  were  Puritans 
in  faith,  and,  in  their  estimation,  freedom  to 
worship  God  in  accordance  with  their  own  views 
and  feelings,  though  it  be  in  a  far-off  wilder- 
ness, across  the  ocean,  was  more  desirable  than 
all  the  comforts  and  privileges  of  their  English 
home,  with  persecution  for  opinion's  sake. 

It  was  of  this  stern  material  that  the  New 
England  States  were  founded,  and  from  which 
they  derived  the  brain-power  and  courage  to 
enable  its  people  to  order  and  direct  so  largely 
in  the  earlier  and  later  affairs  of  our  country. 

For  more  than  two  centuries  the  various 
branches  of  this  family  have  occupied  repu- 
table positions  in  society,  in  letters,  in  the  pro- 
fessions and  under  the  government.  The 
paternal  ancestor  of  Dr.  Swett  was  one  of  these 
brothers.  His  maternal  progenitor  came  from 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  the  Euglish  Channel,  to 
the  Massachusetts  colony  in  the  year  1(337. 

The  first  positive  record  we  are  able  to  obtain 
in  regard  to  his  lineage  is  found  in  the  old  fam- 
ily Bible  of  his  grandparents,  as  follows  : 

Josiah  Swett  (1),  born  December  20,  1741, 
died  December  25,  1808.  Prudence,  his  wife, 
born  October  9,  1747,  died  August  1,  1831. 
These  lived  and  died  in  Wenham,  Essex  County, 
Mass. 

Josiah  Swett  (2),  their  son,  was  born  in  Wen- 
ham  October  2,  1768.  He  married,  February 
17,  1791,  Hannah  Healy,  a  native  of  Newton, 
Mass.,  born  September  24,  1771.  They  re- 
moved to  Claremont,  X.  H.,  in  1793,  where 
they  spent  their  lives  and  reared  their  ten  chil- 
dren.    The  former  died  December   19,   1843, 


aged   seventy-five  years.     The  latter  died   De- 
cember 3,  1854,  aged  eighty  three  years. 

John  Langdon  Swett,  the  ninth  child  of  the 
foregoing, — born  February  17,  1810, — was  em- 
ployed on  his  father's  farm  until  eighteen  years 
of  age,  attending  the  public  schools  during  the 
winters.  In  1828  and  1829  he  was  a  student 
at  Wilbraham  Academy,  Mass.,  and  in  1830  at 
Kimball  Union  Academy,  Meriden,  X.  H.  The 
two  succeeding  years  were  spent  in  teaching  and 
perfecting  himself  in  classical  studies. 

In  1833  he  commenced  the  study  of  medi- 
cine  under  the  tuition  of  Drs.  Tolles  and  Kit- 
tredge,  practitioners  in  Claremont.  He  attended 
two  courses  of  lectures  at  Dartmouth  Medical 
College,  and  one  at  Jefferson  College,  Philadel- 
phia, from  which  he  received  the  degree  of 
M.D.  in  March,  1836.  In  July  of  the  same 
year  he  opened  an  office  in  Newport,  where  a 
generous  and  liberal  patronage  was  accorded  to 
him,  and  where  he  has  remained  in  the  success- 
ful practice  of  his  piofession  for  a  period  lack- 
ing only  a  few  months  of  fifty  years. 

In  1841  he  became  a  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Medical  Society,  and  has  been  hon- 
ored with  various  positions  in  this  association, 
including  that  of  its  presidency  in  1874, 
when  he  delivered  an  address  upon  the  duties 
of  the  profession  in  regard  to  alcoholic  stimu- 
lants. 

He  has  been  an  active  member,  since  1864, 
of  the  National  Medical  Association,  and  served 
as  a  delegate  from  the  New  Hampshire  Society 
to  that  association,  which  met  in  New  York 
that  year  ;  also  a  member  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Medical  Society,  and  an  honorary  member 
of  the  California  State  Medical  Society.  He  is 
a  member  and  vice-president  of  the  Alumni 
Association  of  Jefferson  Medical  College;  also 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity. 

In  the  year  1842  Doctor  Swett  married  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Kimball,  of  Bradford.  She  became 
the  mother  of  four  children, — two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy, — and  died  greatly  beloved  and 
lamented  June  7, 1852. 


298 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Of  these  surviving  children  was  Francis  Mary, 
born  June  29,  1843,  who  was  educated  at  the 
Mt.  Holyoke  Female  Seminary,  Mass.,  and 
married,  December  7,  1865,  Charles  C.  Shat- 
tuck,  a  shipping  merchant  in  San  Francisco, 
where  they  reside.  Their  children  arc  Eliza- 
beth Kimball,  born  October  11),  1866  ;  Jane 
Prances,  born  June  30,1875;  Charles  Curtis, 
born  January  1!»,  1879. 

The  second  surviving  child  was  William 
Kimball,  born  March  7,  1852.  He  was  fitted 
for  the  medical  profession  under  the  supervis- 
ion of  Dr.  J.  P.  Whitney,  of  San  Francisco, 
and  settled  at  Kerneville,  Kerne  County,  Cal. 
He  married,  July  6,  1ST:*),  Lizzie  A.  Davis,  of 
Visalia,  Cal.  Their  children  are  John  Lang- 
don  (2),  born  August  17,  1874;  William  Kim- 
ball (2),  born  June  10,  1876.  He  died  July 
15,  1876,  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

Doctor  Swett's  second  marriage,  June  2, 
1853,  was  with  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Ephraim 
Beaman,  of  Princeton,  Mass.  In  later  years 
he  has  three  times  visited  the  Pacific  coast, — 
the  first  time  accompanied  by  his  wife. 

In  1838,  Doctor  Swett  purchased  the 
place  on  Court  Square  for  many  years  occu- 
pied by  Doctor  John  P>.  McGregor,  who  was 
about  to  remove  to  Rochester,  N.  Y.  The 
location  was  central  and  delightful,  and  it 
became  the  home  of  his  family  until  1S72,  when 
it  was  acquired  by  the  town  as  the  site  of  the 
new  court-house  and  town  hall,  built  in  1873, 
destroyed  by  fire  June  21,  1885,  and  re-erected 
on  the  same  spot  the  same  year.  He  afterward 
purchased  a  valuable  estate  on  Maple  Street, 
known  as  the  "  Russ  Place,"  where  he  now  re- 
sides, and  continues  to  advise  professionally  or 
act  in  consultation  with  other  physicians. 

It  is  matter  of  satisfaction  that  we  are  able 
to  illustrate  this  work  with  the  likenesses  of 
representative  men  of  the  medical  profession, 
who  in  their  time  have  been  a  benefit  and  an 
honor  to  the  town. 

Without  proposing  in  any  way  to  estimate 
the  comparative  value  to  mankind  of  the  three 


leading  learned  professions,  we  hazard  nothing 
in  stating  that  the  one  which  has  regard  to  the 
maladies  and  ills  to  which  flesh  and  blood  are 
subject  comes  nearer  to  us  than  either  of  the 
others. 

The  physician  is  called  to  visit  in  families 
under  circumstances  which  develop  their  great- 
est inwardness.  A  diagnosis  of  the  ailments  of 
the  body  often,  if  not  always,  involves  the  con- 
dition of  the  mind  of  the  patient,  and  it  be- 
comes necessary  that  mental  as  well  as  physical 
temperament  and  tendencies  should  be  regarded 
in  view  of  successful  treatment. 

Another  consideration  bearing  on  this  mat- 
ter is  the  fact  that  people  generally  are  more 
than  willing  to  disclose  their  aches  and  pains 
and  feelings  to  their  physician.  Hence,  the 
amount  and  diversity  of  information,  confided 
to  a  medical  practitioner  of  long  standing, 
requiring  discreet  consideration. 

Perhaps  no  practitioner  was  ever  better 
equipped  by  disposition,  temperament  and  abil- 
ity to  meet  these  and  others  phases  of  life  in 
the  medical  profession  than  Doctor  Swett.  No 
one  has  had  higher  regard  for  professional 
honor  and  etiquette  as  regard  contemporaries 
or  patrons.  No  physician  has  held  a  larger  or 
more  important  practice  in  this  and  the  ad- 
joining towns,  or  one  that  has  resulted  more 
successfully.  His  membership  in  the  Congre- 
gational Church  reaches  back  to  1842. 

In  all  these  years  he  has  been  a  prominent 
and  useful  citizen  of  the  town.  He  has  loved 
and  honored  his  profession,  and  in  the  evening 
of  life  may  review  with  great  satisfaction  his 
fifty  years  in  Newport. 


DR.    MASON    HATCH. 

Dr.  Mason  Hatch  was  a  lineal  descendant,  in 
the  sixth  generation,  of  Joseph  Hatch,  who  came 
from  England  to  this  country  not  many  years 
after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth; 
say  about  the  year  1625-30.  The  motives  that 
induced  Joseph  Hatch,  in  common  with   many 


i^aja^is  /V^^X 


NEWPORT. 


299 


others,  to  leave  the  lan<l  of  his  nativity,  cross 
the  ocean  and  take  up  his  residence  in  a  wilder- 
ness, may  be  easily  understood,  as  the  non- 
conformity of  the  Puritans  to  the  Established 
Church  subjected  them  to  many  and  grievous 
persecutions  during  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and 
Charles  I.,  from  which  they  fled  in  disgust. 
Some  time  after  his  arrival  he  purchased  of 
the  Indians  the  original  township  of  Fal- 
mouth, situated  on  the  northeast  part  of  Vine- 
yard Sound,  in  Barnstable  County,  Mass.,  where 
he  settled,  lived  and  died  at  an  advanced  age. 

He  left  three  sons, — Joseph,  Benjamin  and 
Jonathan — who  were  the  progenitors  of  nearly 
all  of  the  name  in  the  United  States. 

The  lineage  of  Dr.  Hatch  comes  through, — 

1st.  Joseph(l),  the  English  emigrant. 

2d.  Joseph  (2),bornin  Falmouth, Mass.,  1652. 

3d.  Ichabod,  born  in  Falmouth,  October  12, 
1691,  who  married  Abigail  Weeks. 

4th.  Joseph,  born  in  Tolland,  Conn.,  August 
15,  1718,  who  married  Sarah  Stearns.  This 
family  came  to  Alstead,  N.  H.,  about  the  year 
1770  and  were  of  the  first  settlers  of  that 
town. 

5th.  Mason  (1),  born  in  Tolland,  August  23, 
1762,  who  married  Mitty  Brooks.  This  Mason 
came  to  Alstead  with  his  parents  when  a  child. 

6th.  Mason  (2),  born  in  Alstead,  March  3, 
1791,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Dr.  Hatch  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
when  about  twenty  years  of  age,  first  with  Dr. 
T.  D.  Brooks,  of  Alstead,  continuing  his  studies 
with  his  kinsman,  Dr.  Reuben  Hatch,  of  Hills- 
borough, and  Dr.  Charles  Adams,  of  Keene,  and 
was  graduated  from  the  Dartmouth  Medical 
College. 

He  first  settled  in  Hillsborough,  and  was 
there  engaged  in  good  and  successful  business 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  to  him  the 
homes  and  roads,  hills  and  dales  of  old  Hills- 
borough were  ever  dear.  On  March  5,  1818,- — 
the  first  year  of  his  settlement  there, — he  married 
Apphia  Andrews,  born  March  5,  1795.  To 
them  were  born  eight  children,  viz.:  (1)  Emily 


T.,  born  April  1,  1819,  died  September  1839; 
(2)  Abigail  A.,  born  February  6,  1821,  died 
October,  1839;  (3)  Leonard,  died  in  infancy; 
(4)  Sarah  S.,  born  June  19,  1824,  married  Sam- 
uel C.  Baldwin;  (5)  Louisa  F.,  born  April  10, 
1827,  married  Dexter  Richards,  of  Newport ; 
(6)  Charles  M.,  died  in  infancy ;  (7)  Ellen  M., 
born  September  19,  1834,  married  William 
Nourse,  of  Newport ;  (8)  Caroline,  died  in  in- 
fancy. There  are  no  living  male  descendants 
of  the  name  in  his  family. 

Dr.  Hatch  removed  to  Bradford  in  1836, 
where  he  remained  until  the  year  1838,  when 
he  came  to  Newport  to  occupy  the  place  made 
vacant  by  the  death  of  his  brother,  Dr.  Isaac 
Hatch,  who  had  been  settled  here  about  two 
years. 

After  a  successful  professional  career  in  New- 
port of  nearly  forty  years,  he  died  December  2, 
1876,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  His 
wife,  Apphia,  the  mother  of  his  children,  died 
September  18,  1855.  He  contracted  a  second 
marriage,  November  12,  1856,  with  Mrs.  Mary 
R.  Day,  of  Cornish,  who  survived  him  several 
years. 

It  is  matter  of  gratification  that  hearts  full 
of  loving  and  filial  regard  have  placed  in  this 
volume  the  "  counterfeit  presentment "  of  Dr. 
Mason  Hatch.  It  is  also  eminently  fitting 
that  a  face  which  has  been  so  familiar  in  the 
homes  of  Newport  and  the  adjoining  towns  for 
nearly  forty  years  prior  to  his  decease,  in  1876, 
should  thus  be  placed  on  record  in  a  book  that 
is  likely  to  be  found  in  so  many  of  these 
homes,  and  that  one  for  whom  a  sincere  per- 
sonal regard  has  been  so  widely  entertained 
should  be  thus  presented  and  preserved  after 
his  days  of  usefulness  are  past  and  his  earthly 
career  ended.  Aside  from  his  professional  life, 
it  is  pleasant  to  find  herein  the  likeness  of  one 
with  whom  we  have  been  familar  as  a  neigh- 
bor and  a  citizen,  and  whose  presence  was 
always  sunshine, — one  who  had  a  kind  look,  or 
word  or  incident  for  all  with  whom  he  met. 
We  do  not  believe  there  lived  in  Newport  or 


300 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


the  county  of  Sullivan  an  individual  who  ever 
felt  inclined  to  take  a  street -crossing  to  avoid  a 
meeting  with  Dr.  Hatch.  There  was  a  vein  of 
original  humor  about  him  that  was  not  only 
amusing,  but  positively  instructive.  His  joke, 
or  story  or  comparison  had  a  point  that  did  not 
fail  to  tell  upon  the  matter  under  consid- 
eration. Many  of  his  apt  sayings  are  still 
quoted  with  appreciative  delight. 

It  will  be  pleasing  to  greet  on  one  of  these 
pages  the  lace  of  one  whose  head — to  use  a 
familiar  expression — was  "  always  level  "  in  re- 
gard to  matters  and  things  generally.  He 
despised  shams  and  destroyed  them  with  an 
emphatic  "pshaw!"  There  was  a  basis  of 
good  sense  and  judgment  in  the  mental  con- 
struction of  the  man  that  insured  success  in  his 
own  undertakings  and  made  his  opinion  val- 
uable to  other  people. 

His  medical  practice  was  large,  extending  to 
the   adjoining   towns,   and    his    tenderness   and 
care  and  ability  gave  him  success  and  a  strong- 
hold upon  the  feelings  of  his   patrons.     Profes- 
sionally, he  was  not  given  to  technicalities,  but 
stated   matters  in  terms  within  the  comprehen- 
sion of  patient  and  patron.     It  is  very  probable 
that    his   character   in   this   regard,   and   which 
with   him   was   perfectly   natural,  added   to   his 
popularity  as  a  physician.     By  his  industry  and 
good   management  he  acquired  a  handsome  es- 
tate.     His   residence  was  pleasantly  situated  on 
Main  Street,  and  his  lands  spread  out  over  the 
intervales   and    the   uplands  near    the   village. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  valuable  citizen  in   all 
town  affairs,  and  was  twice  called  upon — 1854 
and    1855— to   represent  the    town    in  the  State 
Legislature.     His  public  character  and  private 
life  were  above  reproach.      In   religious  belief, 
he  was  true  to  the  convictions  which   forced    liis 
ancestor  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  and   lived 
and  died  a  worthy  and  conscientious  member  of 
the  Congregational  Church.     He  is  referred  to 
elsewhere  in  this  sketch  of  Newport. 


T1I<»MAS   SANBORN.,  M.D. 

Thomas  Sanborn,  M.D.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  native  of  Saubornton,  N.  H., 
born  September  26,  1811.  He  was  a  grandson 
of  Benaiah  Sanborn, — in  his  time,  an  eminent 
and  highly-esteemed  physician  of  that  part  of 
the  State, — the  only  son  of  Christopher  Smith 
Sanborn  and  a  lineal  descendant,  in  the  fifth 
generation,  of  Daniel  Sanborn,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  that  town  and  from  whom  it  derived 
its  name. 

The  early  years  of  Dr.  Sanborn  were  oc- 
cupied in  the  duties  and  privileges  incident  to 
the  life  of  a  New  England  farmer's  boy  of  that 
period.  He  engaged  in  farm-work,  attended 
the  district  school  during  the  winter  seasons, 
and  the  village  academy,  and  thus  came  to 
adult  age  with  a  sound  constitution,  a  clear 
head  and  a  basis  of  general  knowledge  on  which 
afterward  to  construct  his  valuable  life-work. 

The  death  of  his  father,  by  drowning,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
greatly  increased  his  responsibility  as  a  member 
of  the  family,  but  only  to  develop  additional 
strength  and  excellence  of  character. 

A  good  son,  with  a  careful  regard  for  the 
happiness  and  welfare  of  his  widowed  mother 
and  sister,  he  remained  for  five  or  six  years  at 
the  homestead  and  industriously  aided  in  the 
management  of  the  farm  and  other  family 
affairs. 

Id  the  year  1831  he  engaged  for  a  time 
in  a  mercantile  business  in  Lawrence,  Mass., 
but  the  outlook  in  that  direction  was  not  at- 
tractive, and  he  turned  from  it  to  enlist  in  the 
study  of  medicine. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  his  course  in 
regard  to  this  matter  took  shape  in  accordance 
with  the  often-expressed  wish  of  his  grand- 
father that  one  of  his  grandsons  might  choose 
for  his  life-work  the  profession  in  which  he  had 
achieved  so  much  of  distinction  and  success. 

In  1833  he  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Thomas 
l(.  Hill,  of  Saubornton,  and,  after  a  term  of 
study,  attended  on  a  course  of  lectures  at  the 


yy///  ,  j  /^yy  ?.,   /?, 


NEW  POUT. 


301 


Maine  Medical  School,  at  Brunswick.  The  suc- 
ceeding five  or  six  years  were  devoted  to  other 
affairs;  but,  in  1839,  he  resumed  his  medical 
studies,  under  the  direction  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  Dr.  W.  H.  Hosmer,  of  New  London  (now 
of  Penacook),  with  whom  he  remained  two 
years,  in  the  mean  time  attending  two  courses 
of  lectures  at  the  Dartmouth  Medical  College. 
He  was  subsequently,  for  some  time,  under  the 
patronage  and  instruction  of  Dr.  Gilman  Kim- 
ball, of  Lowell,  Mass.  He  received  his 
medical  degree  from  Dartmouth  in  1841,  and 
commenced  practice  in  Goshen,  where  he  re- 
mained until  August,  1843,  when  he  removed 
to  Newport. 

After  locating  in  this  town  Dr.  Sanborn 
availed  himself  of  lectures  and  hospital  prac- 
tice at  the  Bellevue  Medical  Institution,  in  New 
York  City,  and  applied  himself  with  great 
assiduity  to  the  continued  study,  as  well  as  the 
practice,  of  his  profession.  A  successful  under- 
standing and  management  of  the  cases  that  came 
under  his  care  and  his  conspicuous  skill  as  a 
surgeon  in  due  time  won  for  him  an  extended 
and  profitable  patronage  and  a  wide  celebrity. 
In  view  of  greater  proficiency  in '  many  of  the 
details  of  his  professional  work,  Dr.  Sanborn, 
in  1853,  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  England,  Scotland,  France  and 
Belgium,  visiting  their  medical  schools,  hos- 
pitals and  museums,  returning  to  his  home  aud 
friends  in  Newport  with  an  increased  intel- 
ligence, professionally,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
patrons,  and  that  enlarged  view  of  men  and 
things  derived  from  foreign  travel. 

Aside  from  his  professional  standing,  he  was 
a  public-spirited  and  leading  citizen  of  the  town, 
which  he  twice  represented — 1857,  1858 — in 
the  State  Legislature,  to  the  satisfaction  of  a 
large  constituencv. 

Among  the  many  distinguished  surgical  op- 
erations performed  by  Dr.  Sanborn  we  take 
the  liberty  of  referring  to  one  which  was  re- 
ported in  detail  in  the  New  Hampshire  Journal 
of  Medicine  of  May,  1855.     It  was  a  plastic 


operation  for  the  relief  of  deformity  resulting 
from  a  burn,  it  being  one  of  the  first  in  this 
part  of  the  State  which  proved  entirely  successful. 

The  subject  was  Jane  Johnson,  of  Newbury, 
ten  years  of  age.  The  burning  occurred  when 
she  was  four  years  of  age  and  resulted  in  the 
following  deformities :  "  Thick,  uneven  cica- 
trix, bending  the  chin  down  to  the  sternum, 
pulling  the  under-lip  below  the  chin  and  ex- 
posing the  mucous  membrane ;  everting  the 
inferior  eyelids ;  twisting  the  neck  so  as  to 
cause  the  face  to  look  toward  the  right  shoul- 
der ;  bending  the  inferior  maxillaries  ;  causing 
the  inferior  incisors  to  project.  The  mouth  was 
kept  constantly  open  and  there  was  a  continual 
How  of  saliva,  which  she  was  entirely  unable  to 
retain.  The  assistance  of  the  fingers  was  re- 
quired to  retain  the  food  in  the  mouth  for  mas- 
tication, the  posterior  molars  only  coming  in 
contact."  The  friends  report  that  "  the  wry  neck 
is  cured,  the  eye  natural,  exhibiting  none  of 
the  deformity  observed  before  the  operation. 
The  saliva  is  retained  in  the  mouth,  the  food 
masticated  without  the  aid  of  the  fingers,  and 
the  patient  continually  improving  in  personal 
appearance." 

Dr.  Sanborn  took  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of 
the  Union  of  the  States,  and  manifested  his 
patriotism  in  deeds,  as  well  as  words.  In  1863 
he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  the  Sixteenth 
Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Nineteenth  Armv 
Corps  in  Louisiana.  After  his  return  he  was 
appointed  United  States  army  surgeon  of  this 
military  department. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Medical  Society,  the  National  Medical  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Connecticut  Medical  Society.  He 
was  also  a  Past  IS  [aster  of  the  Mount  Vernon 
Lodge  of  Masons. 

The  social  and  domestic  relations  of  Dr. 
Sanborn  were  ever  of  the  most  agreeable  char- 
acter. He  married,  November  14,  1844,  Har- 
riet, a  daughter  of  Hon.  David  Allen,  of  this 
(own.     Their  children  were, — 


302 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


1.  Harriet  E.,  born  October  30,  1845,  died 
August  16,  1864. 

2.  Mary  J.,  born  March  16,  1847,  was  edu- 
cated at  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary,  Mass.,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Rev.  George  H.  Ide,  of 
Hopkinton,  Mass.,  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren,— Carrie  S.,  born  June  2,  1872,  Charles 
E.,  born  January  22,  1874,  and  died  January 
26,  187-".. 

.">.  Thomas  Benton,  born  July  9,  1852. 

4.  Christopher  Allen,  born  April  5,  1855, 
married,  September  1(>,  1885,  Mary  Braman, 
daughter  of  Hon.  Augustus  Mudge,  of  Dan- 
vers,  Mass. 

5.  Kate  A.,  born  March  19,  1867. 

The  Sanborns  for  many  years  owned  and  oc- 
cupied as  a  residence  the  place  at  present  known 
as  "Cheney's  Block."  After  disposing  of  this 
property — 1872 — which  came  into  use  as  the 
post-office  and  for  other  business  purposes,  they 
removed  to  a  pleasant  and  otherwise  desirable 
residence  farther  north  on  Main  Street,  oppo- 
site the  Park,  which  continues  to  be  the  home 
of  the  family. 

Dr.  Sanborn  took  great  pleasure  in  being  the 
owner  of  a  farm — a  sentiment  that  undoubtedly 
came  along  with  him  from  his  boyhood  and 
early  experiences — and  in  the  producing  of  hay 
and  grain  and  in  the  raising  of  cattle  and 
dorses.  He  first  owned  the  place  on  Corbin 
Hill  once  occupied  by  Dr.  James  Corbin,  and 
afterwards  the  Gordon  Buell  farm,  near  Guild 
Station  and  post-office,  which  remains  in  pos- 
session of  the  family. 

Dr.  Sanborn  was  a  thorough  scholar,  a  man 
of  the  strictest  integrity  and  possessed  a  remark- 
ably kind  and  genial  disposition.  He  sought 
no  place  or  preferment — the  place  and  the  pre- 
ferment sought  him.  His  great  experience, 
general  reading  and  good  judgment  made  him 
a  safe  practitioner  in  all  departments  of  his 
profession,  and  a  wise  counselor  professionally 
and  in  general  affairs.  His  life  in  Newport 
covered  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years. 
His  death  occurred  July  2:J,  1875,  in  the  sixty- 


fourth  year  of  his  age.  The  decease  of  no 
citizen  of  the  town  has  been  more  generally 
lamented. 

It  is  proper  to  state,  in  connection  with  this 
biography,  that  Dr.  Thomas  Sanborn  has  beeu 
worthily  succeeded  by  his  sons,  Thomas  B.  and 
Christopher  A.  (see  genealogy),  who,  first,  under 
his  careful  influence  and  instruction,  and,  after- 
ward, under  other  instructors  and  in  the  best 
schools  and  hospitals  of  the  country,  have  been 
thoroughly  educated  and  taken  their  places  in 
the  medical  profession,  and  are  unitedly  carrying 
on  and  extending  the  practice  founded  by  their 
father.  It  is  through  their  filial  regard  and 
loyalty  to  his  name  and  memory  that  we  are 
able  to  place  his  likeness  and  this  brief  record 
of  his  life  upon  the  pages  of  this  volume. 


HON.    LEVI    WINTER    BARTON.1 

Ancestral  excellence  is  an  invaluable  legacy. 
Asa  rule,  "  blood  will  tell,"  and  the  marked 
physical  mental  and  moral  traits  of  a  promi- 
nent family  are  likely  to  re-appear  in  many 
successive  generations.  And  added  to  this 
hereditary  wealth  comes  the  inspiration  of  a 
noble  example,  suggesting  the  possibility  and 
the  desirability  of  worthy,  helpful  living.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  fortunate  in  this  re- 
gard. In  the  garnered  wealth  of  a  vigorous, 
talented  and  virtuous  ancestry,  he  has  "a  good- 
ly heritage." 

Levi  W.  Barton's  parents  were  Bezaleel 
Barton  (2d),  and  Hannah  (Powers)  Barton. 

The  family  of  Power  (or  Le  Poer,  as  former- 
ly written)  was  of  Norman  extraction,  and  set- 
tled in  England  at  the  conquest  of  that  king- 
dom by  the  Normans,  under  William,  Duke  of 
Normandy,  in  the  person  of  Power,  orLe  Poer, 
who  is  recorded  in  "  Battle  Abbey"  as  one  of 
the  commanders  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  in 
1066.  Soon  after  Sir  John  Le  Poer  resided  in 
Poershayse,  Devonshire,  England. 

In    1172  one  of  his  descendants,  Sir   Roger 


1  By  Rev.  .1.  W.  Adams. 


'  / 


Z     V. 


NEWPORT. 


303 


Le  Poer,  went  with  Earl  Stoughton  in  his  inva- 
sion and  partial  conquest  of  Ireland,  where  he 
greatly  distinguished  himself,  and  received  large 
grantsof  land.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  a  succession 
of  distinguished  men,  among  whom  were  Sir 
Nicholas  Le  Poer,  who  had  a  summons  to  Par- 
liament in  1375  as  Baron  Le  Poer,  and  Sir 
Richard,  Sir  Peter,  Sir  Eustace  and  Sir  Ar- 
nold Le  Poer. 

The  family  was  also  a  distinguished  one  in 
England,  from  the  Norman  Conquest  down. 
In  1187  Richard  Poer,  of  this  line,  high  sheriff 
of  Gloucestershire,  England,  was  killed  defend- 
ing the  "  Lord's  day  ;"  and  Sir  Henry  Le  Poer 
distinguished  himself  greatly  as  a  commander 
under  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

This  remarkable  family  has  outlived  the 
dynasties  of  the  Conquerer,  the  Plautaganets, 
the  Tudors  and  the  Stuarts  and  flourishes  yet. 

Since  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  they  have 
returned  to  their  early  orthography  of  Power, 
and  finally,  in  America,  here  added  "  s,"  mak- 
ing it  Powers. 

Walter  Powers,  the  ancestor  of  all  the  Pow- 
ers families  of  Croydon,  N.  H.,  was  born  in 
1639.  He  came  to  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1654. 
He  married,  January  11,  1660,  Trial,  daugh- 
ter of  Deacon  Ralph  Shepherd.  He  died  in 
Naslioba  in  1708. 

The  town,  in  1715,  was  incorporated  by  the 
name  of  Littleton  (Mass.) 

Of  the  nine  children  of  Walter  and  Trial 
Powers,  the  eldest,  William,  was  born  in  1661, 
and  married,  in  1688,  Mary  Bank. 

Of  the  nine  children  of  William  and  Mary 
(Bank)  Powers,  William  (2d),  was  born  1691 
and  married,  1713,  Lydia  Perham. 

Of  the  four  children  of  William  (2d)  and 
Lydia  (Perham)  Powers,  Lemuel  was  born  in 
1714  and  married  Thankful  Leland,  of  Grafton, 
Mass.,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Leland.  All 
except  the  eldest  of  their  children  settled  in 
Croydon,  and  two  of  his  sons  served  that  town 
as  soldiers  in  Revolution. 

Of  the  ten  children  of  Lemuel  and  Thank- 


ful (Leland)  Powers,  Ezekiel  was  born  in  Graf- 
ton, Mass.,  March  16,  1745,  and  married,  Jan- 
uary 28,  1767,  Hannah  Hall,  of  Uxbridge, 
Mass.      Levi  W.  Barton  was  their  grandson. 

They  came  to  Croydon  in  1767.  He  was  a 
man  of  industry  and  indomitable  energy.  He 
died  in  Croydon  November  11,  1808.  His 
widow  died  October  21,  1835. 

Of  the  seven  children  of  Ezekiel  and  Han- 
nah (Hall)  Powers,  Ezekiel,  Jr.  (the  first  male 
child  born  in  Croydon),  was  born  May  2,  1771. 
He  married    Susannah  Rice,  January  18,  1790. 

Of  the  six  children  of  Ezekiel,  Jr.,  and  Su- 
sannah (Rice)  Powers,  Hannah  (mother  of 
Levi  W.)  was  born  February  20,  1795,  and 
married  Bezaleel  Barton,  born  in  1794. 

The  Bartons  are  of  English  descent.  With  - 
out  undertaking  to  be  precise  as  to  the  de- 
tails of  kinship,  we  are  able  to  identify  the  fol- 
lowing as  among  their  earliest  ancestry  in 
New  England  :  Marmaduke  Barton  was  in  Sa- 
lem as  early  as  1638.  Edward  was  in  Salem 
in  1640.  Rufus  fled  from  the  persecution  ot 
the  Dutch  at  Manhattan,  N.  Y.,  and  settled  in 
Portsmouth,  R.  I.,  in  1640,  and  died  in  1648. 
Mrs.  Eliza  Barton  testified  in  an  important 
case  at  Piscataqua,  N.  H.,  in  1656.  Edward, 
undoubtedly  the  one  living  in  Salem  in  1640, 
and  husband  of  Eliza  Barton,  came  to  Exeter, 
N.  H.,  in  1657,  and  died  at  Cape  Porpoise 
January,  1671.  Benjamin  Barton,  of  Warwick, 
son  of  Rufus  Barton,  married,  June  9,  1669,  Su- 
sannah Everton.  Edward  Barton,  son  of  Ed- 
ward of  Exeter,  took  the  freeman's  oath  in 
1674.  Dr.  John  Barton,  son  of  Dr.  James 
Barton,  married,  April  20,  1676,  Lydia  Roberts, 
of  Salem,  Mass. 

James  Barton,  born  in  1643,  came  to  Boston, 
Mass.,  before  1670.  He  died  in  Weston,  Mass., 
in  1729,  aged  eighty-six  years.  Samuel  Barton 
(probably  son  of  Dr.  James  Barton)  was  born 
in  1666.  He  testified  in  a  witch  ease  (in  favor 
of  the  witch,  be  it  said  to  his  credit)  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  in  1691.  Stephen  Barton  was  at  Bris- 
tol (then  in  Massachusetts)  in  1690. 


304 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Colonel  William  Barton,  born  in  Providence 
R.  I.,  in  1747, — who  with  a  small  body  of  men 
crossed  Narragansett  Bay  on  the  night  of  July 
20,  1777,  passed  unnoticed  three  British  ves- 
sels, landed,  reached  the  quarters  of  the  Eng- 
lish General  Prescott,  and  captured  him, 
for  which  history  informs  us  he  received  from 
Congress  the  gift  of  a  sword,  a  commission  as 
colonel  and  a  tract  of  land  in  Vermont, — was 
a  descendant  of  Samuel  Barton  and  Hannah,  his 
wife,  ancestors  of  the  Bartons,  the  early  settlers 
of  Croydon. 

They  were  living  in  Framingham,  Mass.,  as 
early  as  1090,  and  moved  to  Oxford,  Mass., 
in  1716,  where  his  will  was  proved  September 
23,  1738.  Of  their  eight  children,  Samuel,  Jr., 
was  born  in  Framingham  October  8,  1691  ; 
married,  May  23,  1715,  Elizabeth  Bellows.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Sutton, 
Mass.  He  was  a  man  of  influence  and  held 
different  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the 
town. 

Of  his  seven  children  Bezalcel  was  born  in 
Sutton  July  26,  1722,  and  married  Phebe 
Carlton,  April  30,  1747, — a  lady  noted  for  her 
beauty. 

( )f  the  children  of  Bezaleel  and  Phebe  (Carl- 
ton) Barton  were  Phebe  (one  of  whose  grand- 
daughters was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Judson),  Beza- 
leel, Jr.,  Benjamin  and  Peter.  The  father  and 
sons  moved  to  Royalton  in  1764  and  served 
that  town  as  soldiers  in  the  Revolution.  Beza- 
leel, Sr.,  died  in  the  service  at  Bunker  Hill 
in  1775,  aged  fifty-three  years.  Bezalcel  and 
Benjamin  came  from  Sutton  to  Croydon  in  1784 
and  Peter  in  1793.  From  these  have  descended 
the  numerous  families  in  Croydon  bearing  their 
name.  They  were  brave,  sturdy  men,  inured 
to  toil  and  danger,  and  they  grappled  manfully 
with  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life.  They  gave  up 
the  endearments  of  home  to  receive  in  exchange 
the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  a  new 
settlement. 

( )f  Puritan  stock,  they  inherited  their  love  of 
justice,    their  devotion  to  principle  and   their 


contempt  of  toil  and  danger.  Both  they  and 
their  descendants  occupied  leading  positions, 
and  their  history  is  interwoven  most  closely 
with  the  history  of  the  town  from  its  earliest 
days. 

Of  the  thirteen  children  of  Peter  and  Hep- 
sibeth  (Baker)  Barton,  born  in  Croydon,  Beza- 
leel Barton  (2d)  was  born  July,  1794,  married 
Hannah  Powers,  daughter  of  Ezckiel  Powers, 
Jr.  and  as  we  have  before  noticed,  the  first 
male  child  born  in  Croydon. 

Here  the  Barton  and  Powers  genealogies 
unite. 

Of  the  children  of  Bezaleel  Barton  (2d)  and 
Hannah  (Powers)  Barton,  Levi  Winters  was 
born  March  1,  1818. 

The  father,  a  man  of  marked  social  qualities 
and  frank  and  genial  in  his  bearing,  died  before 
the  son  had  reached  his  majority,  and  previous 
to  this  business  had  taken  the  father  from  home, 
so  that  most  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  fam- 
ily rested  upon  the  mother.  But  it  is  no  idle 
pun  upon  her  maiden-name  to  say  that  she  was 
a  power  in  that  household ;  her  intuitive  vision 
saw  every  material  necessity  of  the  family  ;  her 
unsurpassed  executive  capacity  was  equal  to 
every  demand,  and  what  is  quite  as  essential  to 
the  formation  of  a  symmetrical  character,  her 
moral  and  religious  precepts  and  example  com- 
pelled a  recognition  of  the  claims  of  God  and 
man.  The  sick  and  poor  of  her  neighborhood 
were  often  greatly  indebted  to  her  for  the  wis- 
dom of  her  counsels,  the  abundance  of  her 
alms-deeds  and  the  warmth  of  her  sympathy. 
Universally  venerated  and  esteemed,  she  died 
in  Croydon  September  14,  188.1,  aged  eighty- 
six.  Inheriting  the  best  qualities  of  such  an 
ancestry,  moulded  and  inspired  by  such  a  moth- 
er and  'in  boyhood  acquiring  his  fibre  in  the 
severe  but  practical  school  of  tireless  industry, 
rigid  economy,  and  heroic  self-denial  and  self- 
reliance,  we  might  anticipate  for  Mr.  Barton  a 
character  and  a  career  which  would  place  him 
among  the  best  and  foremost  citizens  of  his  State 
and  entitle  him  to  an  important  chapter   in   its 


NEWPORT. 


305 


history.  We  hazard  nothing  when  we  say 
that  he  has  made  that  anticipation  a  reality  and 
that  he  has  afforded  us  another  conspicuous  ex- 
ample of  what  the  humblest  may  achieve  un- 
der the  fostering'  genius  of  republican  institu- 
tions. 

From  the  age  of  ten  years  till  he  left  the 
district  school  at  eighteen,  his  attendance  was 
restricted  to  a  short  term  in  winter,  and  this 
with  frequent  interruptions.  In  all  other  parts 
of  the  year  he  was  wholly  engaged  in  manual 
labor.  At  eighteen  he  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  own  education  and  support.  He 
had  no  money,  but  he  had  what  is  better — 
courage  and  muscle.  He  went  to  work.  His 
books  wTere  always  near  by,  so  that  when  there 
was  a  leisure  moment,  the  "  horny  hands  of 
toil "  would  grasp  and  his  hungry  mind  would 
feast  upon  it.  He  would  brook  no  discourage- 
ments. No  hours  were  allowed  to  run  to  waste. 
Often  on  rainy  days  he  would  call  on  his  old 
friend,  John  Cooper,  Esq.,  book  in  hand,  for 
instruction  in  the  common  branches,  but  never 
without  receiving  sympathy  and  encouragement. 
These  efforts,  supplemented  by  a  term  at  the 
Unity  Academy,  then  under  the  instruction  of 
Alonzo  A.  Miner,  now  Doctor  Miner,  of  Boston, 
qualified  him  to  teach  in  the  common  schools. 
He  now  regarded  his  school-days  closed,  and 
cheerfully  chose  the  occupation  of  a  farmer. 

In  1839  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Pike,  of 
Newport,  a  young  lady  of  great  worth,  who 
died  in  1840,  leaving  an  infant  son,  the  late 
Colonel  Ira  McL.  Barton.  He  placed  his 
motherless  boy  in  the  care  of  his  sister,  who 
tenderly  cared  for  and  reared  the  child.  The 
death  of  his  wife  was  a  severe  blow  to  one  in 
whose  nature  the  domestic  element  is  so  marked. 
With  the  light  of  his  home  gone  out,  and  with 
his  life-plan  destroyed,  he  seemed  almost  par- 
alyzed for  a  time ;  but  the  bent  steel  of  his 
intense  personality  was  sure  to  react. 

The  second  year  after  his  bereavement  he 
entered  Kimball  Union  Academy  to  pursue  a 
classical  course,  under  that  distinguished  teacher, 


Dr.  Cyrus  Richards.  Having  but  one  hundred 
dollars  when  he  entered,  he  was  compelled  to 
teach  winters  and  to  toil  with  his  hands  during 
the  summer  vacations ;  but  his  uncompromising 
zeal  carried  him  successfully  through  the  three 
years'  course.  Few  believed  that  he  could  com- 
plete a  labor  commenced  and  continued  under 
such  circumstances. 

We  cannot  repress  our  admiration  for  the 
young  man  whom  neither  bereavement  nor 
poverty  could  crush,  but  who,  in  spite  of  the 
most  disheartening  circumstances,  earns  the 
right  to  stand  in  the  front  rank  with  his  most 
brilliant  competitors.     This  he  did. 

In  the  same  spirit,  and  relying  upon  his  own 
exertions  for  means,  he  entered  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  1844,  and  honorably  graduated  in  1848. 
His  oration  on  graduation  was  highly  com- 
mended by  the  public  journals  of  the  day. 
Being  anxious  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession  at  the  earliest  possible  day,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law  with  Hon. 
Daniel  Blaisdell,  of  Hanover,  during  his  senior 
year. 

Immediately  after  graduating  Mr.  Barton 
commenced  teaching  the  Canaan  Academy,  and 
at  the  same  time  entered  as  a  student  the 
office  of  Judge  Kittredge,  where  he  remained 
until  January,  1851.  While  there  he  taught 
the  Academy  five  terms,  and  was  also  appointed 
postmaster  of  Canaan.  In  the  early  part  of 
1851  he  came  to  Newport  and  completed  his 
legal  studies  with  Messrs.  Metcalf  &  Corbin, 
and  was  there  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  July 
following.  In  1854  he  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  Hon.  Ralph  Metcalf,  which  continued 
until  Mr.  Metcalf  was  elected  Governor.  He 
then  became  the  law-partner  of  Shepherd  L. 
Bowers,  Esq.,  with  whom  he  was  associated 
until  1859. 

Notwithstanding  his  extensive  law  practice, 
Mr.  Barton  has  been  engaged  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  building,  farming,  stock-raising  and 
fruit-growing.  No  man  with  equal  means  has 
contributed  more  to  the  growth   and  permanent 


306 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


improvement  of  the  village  of  Newport;  none 
have  clone  more  by  their  own  personal  industry 
to  convert  rough  fields  into  attractive  streets, 
luxuriant  gardens  and  pleasant  homes.  Taught 
from  childhood  to  cultivate  the  soil,  he  has,  all 
along  through  his  busy  life,  found  his  highest 
enjoyment  in  turning  aside  from  the  turmoil  of 
professional  labors  t<»  the  more  genial  occupa- 
tion of  agricultural  pursuits. 

As  evidence  of  his  superior  legal  abilities, 
and  of  the  public  esteem  in  which  he  is  held, 
we  point  to  the  following  record  : 

He  was  register  of  deeds  for  Sullivan  County 
from  1855  to  1858  ;  county  solicitor  from  1859 
to  1864;  representative  to  the  State  Legislature 
in  1863,  1864,  1875,  1876  and  1877,  and  State 
Senator  in  1867  and  1868.  During  all  these 
seven  years  of  service  in  both  Houses,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  for 
five  years  its  chairman.  In  1866  he  Mas 
chairman  of  the  board  of  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Smy the  to  audit  the  war 
debt  of  the  State.  In  1876  he  was  a  member 
of  the  convention  which  revised  the  State  Con- 
stitution, and  the  same  year  was  chosen  elector 
of  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States;  Governor Harriman  appointed  him  bank 
commissioner,  but  he  declined  the  office.  He 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Prescott  in  1877 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  revise  and  codify 
the  Statutes  of  New  Hampshire.  His  many 
friends  have  hoped  to  see  him  elected  to  Congress; 
it  is  conceded  that  his  abilities  and  his  fidelity  to 
important  public  trusts  reveal  his  eminent  fitness 
for  such  a  position ;  but  local  divisions,  for 
which  he  is  in  no  ways  responsible,  have  thus 
far  prevented  his  nomination.  In  the  legisla- 
tive caucus  which  nominated  Hon.  E.  H.  Rol- 
lins for  United  States  Senator,  Mr.  Barton 
received  a  handsome  complimentary  vote  with- 
out any  effort  on  his  part. 

When  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
Newport,  he  found  there  able  rivals  for  the 
honors  of  the  profession,  whose  reputations  were 
well  established.      I  cannot  better  express  the 


truth    than   to   use   the  language  of  a    writer 
who,  speaking  of  this  period  of  his  life,  says, — 

"The  field  seemed  to  be  fully  and  ably  occupied, 
l>ut  bis  early  training  had  made  him  self-reliant.  Itsoon 
became  apparent  that  he  had  come  to  stay,  for,  from 
the  outset,  his  success  was  assured;  that  he  would 
bring  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  new  posi- 
tion the  same  energy  and  devotion  to  principle  which 
had  hitherto  characterized  his  actions.  From  that 
time  to  the  present  he  has  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  public.  As  a  counselor  he  is  cautious  and 
careful,  dissuading  rather  than  encouraging  litiga- 
tion. As  an  advocate  he  is  eloquent,  zealous,  bold 
and  persistent.  In  the  preparation  and  trial  of  causes 
he  has  few  equals  ami  no  superiors  at  the  Sullivan 
County  bar.  His  faithfulness  and  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  his  clients  have  often  been  a  subject  of  re- 
mark. The  late  Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  who  was  op- 
posed to  him  in  many  hard-contested  cases,  has  been 
heard  to  say  to  the  jury  that  his  '  brother  Barton's 
clients,  in  his  own  estimation,  were  always  right  and 
his  witnesses  always  truthful ;  in  fact,  his  geese  were 
always  swans.  '  " 

Mr.  Barton's  legislative  experience  began  in 
1863, — that  intensely  feverish  period  of  the 
Rebellion.  The  Democratic  party  was  repre- 
sented by  its  ablest  orators  and  most  skillful  par- 
liamentarians. Never  was  a  minority  abler  led 
by  adroit  leaders.  They  were  artful,  bitter  and 
desperate.  Although  Mr.  Barton  was  a  new 
member,  unused  to  the  rules  of  the  House,  still 
he  almost  at  once  became  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  majority.  Wary  and  watchful, 
alert  and  forcible,  Mr.  Barton  promptly  and 
successfully  met  the  assaults  of  the  opposition, 
and  sometimes  "carried  the  war  into  Africa." 
The  House  soon  acknowledged  his  leadership. 
Returned  in  1864,  his  position  was  the  same  as 
in  the  former  year.  The  soldiers  will  never 
forgot  his  fearless  advocacy  of  the  measure  al- 
lowing them  the  right  to  vote  in  the  field. 

This  cost  him  his  reappointment  as  solicitor, 
as  he  openly  denounced  Governor  (Jilmore  for 
his  purpose  and  attempt,  through  the  opposi- 
tion, to  veto  the  bill.  But  he  was  not  the  man 
to  sacrifice  principle  for  the  "  loaves  and  fishes 


NEWPORT. 


307 


of  office."  In  1875  and  1876  he  was  chairman 
of  the  Republican  legislative  caucus,  the  la- 
bors of  which  were  both  extremely  difficult  and 
important. 

In  the  sessions  of  1876  and  1877  his  atten- 
tion to  business  was  such  as  to  give  him  a  com- 
manding influence  in  the  House.  Always  in 
his  place,  he  was  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  any  needed  work.  At  the  close  of  the  latter 
session,  one  who  had  watched  his  course  as  a 
legislator  said, — 

"  Barton,  of  Newport,  is  a  man  who  brought  with 
him  an  established  reputation,  and  who  has  been  one 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  House.  He  is 
a  ready  debater,  quick  to  see  a  point  and  take  it,  pop- 
ular with  his  acquaintances  and  has  had  a  large  legis 
lative  experience,  which  gives  him  the  full  measure 
of  his  ability.  He  was  the  most  prominent  champion 
of  the  Prison  Bill,  which  he  managed  with  great 
tact  and  carried  to  victory  against  odds  which  threat- 
ened at  times  to  defeat  it.  If  Sullivan  County  is  per- 
mitted to  name  the  successor  of  Colonel  Blair  as 
member  of  Congress,  an  honor  which  her  reliable  Re- 
publican majority  seems  to  entitle  her,  he  will  doubt- 
less be  the  man." 

Not  less  complimentary  was  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Statesman,  whose  chief  editor  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House, — 

"  One  of  the  best  members  of  the  House  was  Bar- 
ton, of  Newport.  Suave  and  considerate  at  all 
times,  and  willing  to  take  a  hand  in  any  dis- 
cussion affecting  the  public  weal,  his  cheerful, 
hearty  voice  striking  in  upon  a  dull-  or  an  acri- 
monious debate,  had  a  pleasing  and  mollifying 
effect.  Although  careful  and  cautious,  it  cannot  be 
assumed  that  he  is  not  sufficiently  aggressive  in  the 
maintenance  of  his  convictions  when  they  are  as- 
sailed. Sometimes  sharp  in  his  personal  sallies,  they 
are  singularly  free  from  bitterness  or  malice,  and  no 
one,  howrever  much  aggrieved  at  first,  could  hold  re- 
sentment against  him.  Few  members  had  more  in- 
fluence in  the  House,  and  his  advocacy  of  any  meas- 
ure gave  it  strength.  Perhaps  the  secret  of  his  influ- 
ence with  the  House  was  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact  that 
he  seldom  got  on  the  wrong  side  of  a  question.  On 
all  moral  questions,  also,  he  was  sound,  foremost  with 
voice  and  influence  and  vote." 


His  long  and  able  legislative  experience  has 
never  been  stained  by  political  corruption  or  by 
the  betrayal  of  any  moral  question.  John 
Cooper,  Esq.,  in  the  Granite  Monthly  of  May, 
1879,  has  truthfully  said,  "  Through  all  these 
years  of  political  life  he  presents  a  record  with- 
out a  blemish." 

Mr.  Barton  is  a  man  of  commanding  phy- 
sique and  is  well  preserved  by  temperate  living 
and  total  abstinence,  from  all  intoxicants  and 
narcotics.  He  is  a  man  of  fluent  and  agreea- 
ble  speech,  of  fine  conversational  powers,  and  is 
the  inspiration  of  every  social  circle  which  he 
enters.  At  home  as  well  as  abroad,  in  private 
as  well  as  in  public  life,  he  is  the  invariable  ad- 
vocate of  every  moral  and  social  reform.  He 
is  an  honor  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  whose 
principles  he  worthily  represents.  He  is  the 
warm  and  helpful  friend  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  to  which  he  belongs  ;  but  he 
has  an  unaffected  contempt  for  all  sectarian 
narrowness.  His  sense  of  justice  is  intuitive, 
his  sympathy  quick,  and  in  its  exercise  he  re- 
gards neither  state  nor  condition. 

The  destitute  and  forsaken  always  find  in 
him  a  true  friend.  From  boyhood  he  has, been 
an  avowed  and  uncompromising  opposer  of 
slavery,  and  of  whatsoever  oppresses  the  masses, 
whether  white  or  black.  If  he  sometimes 
asserts  and  maintains  his  opinions  with  earnest- 
ness and  warmth,  he  never  does  so  with  malice. 
In  the  advocacy  of  what  he  deems  to  be  just 
he  is  never  turned  aside  by  motives  of  self- 
interest. 

He  is  kind  as  a  neighbor ,  is  strongly  attach- 
ed  to  his  friends,  generous  to  his  opponents  and 
social  with  all. 

In  1852  he  married  Miss  Lizzie  F.  Jewett, 
of  Hollis,  a  cultured  Christian  lady.  Her 
amiability,  good  sense  and  force  of  character 
render  her  every  way  worthy  of  her  honored 
husband.  Their  "  silver  wedding"  was  ob- 
served in  1877  and  was  attended  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends.  Besides  other  tokens  of  ap- 
preciation bestowed  at  that  time,  Hon.  Edmund 


308 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Burke  presented,  in  behalf  of  the  donors,  an 
elegant  silver  service  accompanying  the  presen- 
tation with  remarks  replete  with  friendship  and 
good-will,  to  which  Mr.  Barton  replied  in  a 
feeling  and  impressive  manner. 

Their  children  are  Herbert  J.,  Florence  F., 
Natt.  L.  and  Jesse  M.  The  eldest  son,  Her- 
bert J.  Barton,  was  born  September  27,  1853. 
He  prepared  for  college  at  Tilton,  and  gradu- 
ated from  Dartmouth  in  the  class  of  1876, 
standing  fourth  in  a  class  of  sixty-nine  students. 
He  has  taught  with  great  success  the  Newport 
High  School,  the  High  School  ofWaukegan,  111., 
and  is  now  professor  of  Latin  and  Greek  in 
State  Normal  University,  at  Normal,  111.  In 
1881  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Illinois,  at 
Chicago,  and  was  associated  with  his  father  for 
one  year,  when  he  returned  West  and  opened  an 
office  at  Winona,  Minn.  While  here  he  accepted 
the  oiler  of  his  present  position.  He  is  a  fine 
scholar  and  a  successful  instructor. 

Florence  F.  graduated  from  the  Newport 
High  School  in  1881,  and  is  a  young  lady  of 
fine  promise. 

Natt  L.  and  Jesse  M.  are  members  of  the 
Newport  High  School.  They  all  have  many  of 
the  elements  which  have  contributed  to  their 
father's  success. 

But  I  should  do  injustice  to  the  memory  of 
the  patriot  dead  should  I  fail  to  speak  briefly 
of  the  eldest  son,  Colonel  Ira  McL.  Barton. 
He  was  born,  as  we  have  said,  in  1840.  Upon 
the  remarriage  ofhis  father,  in  18;V2,  he  became 
a  member  ofhis  family,  and  was  cared  for  with 
parental  solicitude.  He  fitted  for  college  at 
Kimball  Union  Academy  and  entered  Dart- 
mouth in  the  fall  of  L858,  but  the  following 
year  he  became  a  law  student  in  the  office  ofhis 
father,  and  assisted  him  as  clerk  in  his  labor  as 
register  of  deeds.  He  commenced  teaching 
school  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  and  taught 
five  terms  with  marked  success,  securing  high 
commendation  from  both  parents  and  pupils. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  though 
but   twenty-one  years  of  age,   he   Avas   the  first 


man  in  Sullivan  County  to  enlist.  He  recruited 
Company  E,  First  New  Hampshire  Volunteers, 
and  was  commissioned  its  captain.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  the  term  of  service  he  returned,  and 
immediately  commenced  the  enlistment  of 
another  company;  was  commissioned  captain  of 
Company  F,  Fifth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers, 
known  as  the  "  Fighting  Fifth."  After  serving 
in  the  Peninsular  campaign,  under  General 
McClellan,  where  he  won  the  commendation  of 
his  superior  officers  for  bravery  and  for  his  care 
of  his  men,  he  returned  home  sick,  but  recover- 
ing, he  enlisted  a  company  of  heavy  artillery. 
He  went  with  the  men  to  Fort  Foote,  near 
Washington,  D.  C,  as  captain  of  Company  B. 
In  1864  he  was  sent  home  to  organize  a  regiment 
of  heavy  artillery,  which  he  did,  and  was  com- 
missioned by  Governor  Gilmore  lieutenant- 
colonel.  He  was  in  command  of  Fort  Sumner, 
in  the  defenses  around  Washington,  at  the  time, 
of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  and 
was  mustered  out  of  service  the  summer  follow- 
ing, at  Concord.  He  was  soon  after  appointed 
second  lieutenant  in  Twenty-eighth  Infantry 
of  the  regular  army,  and  was  ordered  to  Pine 
Bluff,  Ark.  He  was  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant  of  same  company.  In  this  capacity 
he  served  for  two  years,  when  he  resigned  and 
was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  of  the 
Tenth  Arkansas  Judicial  Court.  He  remained 
in  this  position  till  he  was  appointed  judge  of 
the  Criminal  Court  for  that  district  and  filled 
that  office  with  marked  ability  for  two  years, 
when  he  resigned  and  took  the  position  of  editor 
of  the  Jeffersonia/n  Republican,  a  Republican 
paper  at  Pine  Bluff,  where  he  remained  until 
December,  1874.  In  the  contest  of  Brooks  and 
Baxter  for  Governor  of  the  State,  he  commanded 
Baxter's  forces. 

After  this  contest  was  settled  and  Baxter  was 
declared  Governor,  he  returned  to  Newport  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the 
practice  of  the  law,  where  he  died  January  19, 
1876,  before  he  had  reached  his  thirty-sixth 
birthday. 


NEWPORT. 


309 


Possessed  of  brilliant  native  talent,  disci- 
plined and  developed  by  intellectual  culture,  of 
generous,  humane,  philanthropic  impulses,  of 
the  nicest  sense  of  honor,  true,  strong,  unwav- 
ering in  his  friendship,  he  won  for  himself  the 
highest  esteem  of  the  entire  circle  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. Soldiers  always  found  him  a  true 
comrade  and  friend,  and  the  needy  and  suffer- 
ing of  all  classes  were  sure  of  his  sympathy 
and  aid,  and  sorrow  filled  the  breasts  of  all  that 
his  "  sun  went  down  while  it  was  yet  day." 

Mr.  Barton,  though  now  sixty-seven  years  of 
age,  is  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession, 
constant  and  unremitting  in  his  labors,  whether 


in  his  office  or  upon  his  farm.  His  physical 
and  intellectual  forces  are  still  strong  and  active. 
Conscious  of  his  personal  integrity  and  of  the 
worthiness  of  his  aims,  happy  in  his  family, 
honored  by  the  community,  and  cheered  by  the 
favor  of  Providence,  he  may,  with  great  pro- 
priety, congratulate  himself  that  he  has  not 
lived  in  vain.  And  as  he  is  still  in  the  vigor 
of  mature  manhood,  we  may  with  reason  hope 
that  his  fellow-citizens  may  for  many  years  to 
come  enjoy  the  benefits  of  his  practical  wisdom, 
and  that  his  posterity  may  as  nobly  sustain  the 
name  of  Barton  as  he  has  the  name  of  those 
from  whom  he  descended. 


HISTORY   OF  PLAINFIELD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Plainfield  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county  and  is  bounded  as  follows :  On  the  north 
by  Grafton  County  ;  on  the  east  by  Grantham  ;  on 
the  south  by  Croydon  and  Cornish,  and  on  the 
west  by  the  Connecticut  River,  which  separates  it 
from  Vermont. 

The  township  was  granted  August  14,  1761,  to 
Benjamin  Hutchins  and  fifty-nine  others,  the  most 
of  whom  were  from  Connecticut.  The  first  pro- 
prietors' meeting  was  held  in  Plainfield,  in  that 
State,  from  which  this  town  derived  its  name.  Set- 
tlements were  made  in  1764,  and  the  town  had  a 
population  of  308  in  1775. 

By  an  act  passed  June  23,  1780,  the  easterly 
portion  of  this  town  and  the  westerly  portion  of 
Grantham  were  united  and  erected  into  a  parish 
fur  parochial  purposes,  by  the  name  of  Meriden. 
In  1856,  July  12th,  the  Grantham  portion  of  this 
parish  was  annexed  to  Plainfield. 

The  ratable  estate  of  the  town  in  1773  was  about 
$375.     The  following  is  an  inventory  of  that  year: 

"Province  of  Newhampshire  Cheshire  ss.  plainfield 

april  21s1  Anno  Dom  1773 — 

"  The  Inventory  of  the  Ratable  Estate  In  the  town 

of  plainfield  Taken  and  made  out  By  us  the  Select 

men  of  Sd  plainfield  The  AVhole  of  the  Ratable  Kstate 

In  plainfield  amounts  to  Seventy  five  pounds  fourteen 

Shillings  Including  Sixty  one  polls  Sum  total  £75: 

14s— 

"Ben  Kimball  John  Stevens 

Benjamin  Chapman         Amos  Stafford  " 
Sworn  to  before  Francis  Smith,  justice  of  the 

peace. 

310 


Plainfield  was  well  represented  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.  The  following  is  a  return  of  Cap.  Rus- 
set's company : 

"  A   Return   of  Cap'  Russels   Company  with   the 
Name  Annexed— Plainfield  May  3rd  1777— 
"  Cap  Josiah  Russel  Stutely  Stafford 

Sart  Maj  John  Stevens         Benin  Gallop 


Serg'  Dannel  Kimball 
Cor  Benjn  Cutler 
Cor  Timothy  Cory 
Drum  Benju  Chapman 
fifer  Sam1  Farefield 
"  the  above  Out  from  ye  3d  of  may  to  20th  June  in  ye 
whole  48  Days  Cald  45  do     No.  14 


Ziba  Robberts 
Rob1  Scott 

Serg'  Ebenezer  Jinne 
James  Wilson 
Walter  Blois 


"  Ensn  Isaac  Main 
Ser  Thomas  West 
Cor  Silas  Gates 
Dannel  Short 
Nites  Cutler 
Oliver  Addams 


Laben  Hall 
Sam1  Williams 
JoD  Parker 
Job  Cotton 
Elexandrew  Petterew 


"the  above  out  from  ye  3d  of  May  to  18,h  June  4b' 
Days  Calld  43  Days    No.  11 
"  Cor  David  Gitehel  Duthan  Kingsbury 

Littlefield  Nash  William  Wilson 

Jon  Parker  Jr  Joseph  Kimball 

Perla  Robberts 

"  the  above  in  ye  Service  from  ye  3d  of  may  to  ye  13tb 

of  June  39  Days     Calld  40  Days    No.  7 
"Abel  Stone  Out  until!  ye  20:  of  May  17  Days 
"Josiah  Russel  out  from  \K  3d  of  May  to  yc'  14'"  11 
Days" 
The  following  Plainfield  men  were  at  Saratoga: 

"  Lieu'  Reuben  Jerold  Return  of  the  men  that 
march  from  Plainfield  to  Sallatogue  in  Col0  Chases 
Regiment  In  Sep'  2G  1777  with  their  names 


PLAINFIELD. 


311 


Names  Days  in  Service 

"Lieut  Reuben  Jerold 35 

Serg'  Elias  Gates 32 

Serg1  William  Cutler 32 

Corp1  Nathan  Gates 16 

Corp1  Nathaniel  Stafford 32 

Drumm1  Benjn  Chapman 32 

John  Andres 32 

Timothy  Vinson 32 

James  Walker 32 

Isaac  Williams 32 

Wilard  Smith 32 

Laban  Hall 32 

Christopher  Hall 32 

Zadoc  Bloss 32 

Rulaf  Spalding 7 

Stutley  Stafford 7 

Josiah  Rushel 16 

"  Return  of  Baggage  Horses 

"Lieu1  Reuben  Jerold 1  Horse   9  days 

Rulaf  Spaulding 1      "      15     " 

William  Cutler 1      "      15     " 

Hezekiah  french 1      "      15     " 

Christopher  Hall 1      "      15     " 

Job  Cotton 1      "      15     " 

Capt  Josiah  Rushel  himself  and  horse..6  days  each 
Charles  Spaulding  dito        ..2     " 

Abel  Stafford  dito        ..3     " 

"  Reuben  Jerold  paid  feridges  for  21  men 

and  6  horses  going  out  at  a  /3  each 6s:  9c? 

Returning  home  for  feridges  for  17  men  6 

horses 5:9 

Reuben  Jerold  paid  for  Rum  dealt  out  to 

the  above  men  5  quarts  and  1  pint £3:  6:  0" 

The  following  is  "  A  Return  of  the  Quota  of 
Continental  men  Belonging  To  Plainfield  in  Co1 
Jouth  Chases  Redgerment:" 

Regt.  Enlisted    Capt  Enl.  Date  "       Time  Enl. 

in  under  for 

"  Eiry  Evans    Col.  Silly   Farewell    May  1777  3  years 

W.  Willard1         Dito       House  Dito         Dito 

Negro  Darock 

Lemuel  Dean 

Ebenezer  Giune2    "  May  1778 

Jonth  How  "  " 

Laban  Hall  "  "9  mos. 

Walter  Blois 

Wills  Kimball   Peabody  June  7  mos. 

John  awlsworth       "  -" 

Joseph  Kingsbury  Bedel  May  1776     is  now 

among  the  Engians  or  Regelors  Prisoner 

"Josiah  Russell  Cap'" 

1  Belonged  in  Hartford,  enlisted  for  Plainfield. 

-  Belonged  in  New  Grantham,  enlisted  for  Plainfield. 


"  Cap1  Russels  Return 
"A  Return  of  the  men  of  Plainfield  in  the  Conti- 
nental servis 

"  Wilder  Willard  Darick  a  Negro  Lemuel  Dean  in 
Cap1  Houses  Comp 

"  Eire  Evens  in  Cap1  fairwell  Comp 

"  Jese  Roberts  Ziba  Roberts  Simeon  Short  Ephraim 
Dunlap  Ebenezer  Re  in  Connectticut  Servis 

"Mr  Hall— with  majr  waite 

"  Asa  Briggs — in  the  Bay  State 
"  Sept.  4,  1777." 

"  Plainfield  October  ye  26th  1778 

"  Sr  these  may  Inform  You  that  the  people  appeared 

to  Be  Inanimous  in  the    choice  of  Daniel  Kimball 

for  an  Ensign  in  Cap4  Josiah  Russells  company  and 

suppose  he  ought  to  Be  Commissioned 

"these  from  your  Humble  Ser' 

"  Francis  Smith  Majr 
"  To  Col0  Jonathan  Chase  " 

Military  Company. — The  following  is  a  peti- 
tion from  inhabitants  of  Meriden  to  form  a  mili- 
tary company : 

"  To  his  Honour  Jonathan  Chase  Esq  Col0  of  ye  1st 
Regiment  in  the  3'1  Briggade  in  the  State  of  Ver- 
mont. 

"  The  Petition  of  ye  Soldiery  and  Alarm  Men  of 
the  Parish  of  Meriden  humbly  Sheweth. 

"  That  your  Petitioners  being  allways  ready  to 
obey  military  orders  we  with  ye  more  boldness  ad- 
dress your  Honour  on  ye  following  subject. 

"That  your  Petitioners  being  contiguously  situated 
and  desirous  as  much  as  in  us  lies  to  promote  Mili- 
tary skill  and  dissipline  are  very  desirous  to  form  a 
Military  Company  in  sd  Parish  which  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  Plainfield  being  very  numerous  having 
upward  of  one  hundred  men  of  the  trained  band  N. 
Grantham  very  small  not  more  than  twenty-five  and 
to  make  a  Company  in  this  Parish  makes  it  respect- 
able and  leaves  a  large  Company  in  Plainfield  we 
hope  that  your  Honour  will  grant  us  our  desire  and 
issue  orders  accordingly — And  your  Petitioners  as  in 
Duty  bound  shall  ever  Pray 
"  Meriden  April  30th  1781. 

"  Charles  Scott  Perly  Roberts 

Wm  Huntington  Jesse  Roberts 

James  Jenne  Simeon  Pool 

Ebenr  Jenne  John  Packard 

Peter  King  Nathan  Draper 


312 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Isaac  Williams 

Job  Steven 

Sample  Gilkey 

Peter  King 

Timothy  Scott 

Jabez  Shapley 

Phillip  Hopkins 

Ben  Cory 

Ebenr  Brown 

Ephraim  Kile 

Eber  Clough 

Sam1  Pool  Jur 

Philip  Hopkins 

Isaac  Rice 

Daniel  Kimball 

Theophilus  Howard 

Simeon  Adams 

Rulaf  Spalding 

Abel  Stevens 

Joseph  Spalding 

Walter  Bloss 

Abel  Stevens 

Lemuel  Cotton 

Abel  Stafford 

Abraham  Roberts 

John  Stevens 

Nathan  Parkhurst 

Eliphalet  Adams 

Sample  Gilkey 

Nathan  Young 

Jonathan  Parkhurst 

;            Parley  Hews 

Samuel  Pool  Jur 

Daniel  Kimball 

Jesse  Roberts 

Isaac  Jenne 

Caleb  Cotton 

Abel  Stafford 

Nathan  Young 

Philip  Jorden 

Tho9  Howard 

Isaac  Jenne 

Ziba  Roberts 

Sam1  Eglestone 

Philip  Spaulding 

Ben.  Cory 

Ebenr  Jenne 

Na*.  Stafford 

Alexander  runalds 

Jonathan  Parkhurst 

Stephen  Jinnings 

Champion  Spalding 

Asa  Bates 

Joseph  Kimball 

James  Jenne 

Philip  Spalding 

John  Kile 

Samuel  Bloss 

Elijah  Gleason 

Na'  Taylor 

Phillip  Jorden 

Thomas  Gallup 

Job  Stevens 

Robert  Scott 

Wilks  Kimball 

Ziba  Roberts 

Asa  Bates 

Charles  Scott 

Benn  Kimball 

John  Andrews 

Simeon  Short 

Na'  Delano 

Am  mi  Wilson 

Eliphalet  Adams 

Zadock  Bloss 

Peter  Bugbee  " 

Squier  Wilson 
Elijah  Gleason 
Hodges  Cutler 
Lathrop  Shurtleff 
Nathan  Parkhurst 

Lemuel  Cotton 
Champion  Spalding 
David  Shapley 
Benjamin  Gorden 
William  Kile 

"Plainfield  Febr  27th  1781 

"  We  whose  Names  are  under  Riten  Do  Voluntarily 
Inlist  our  Selves  as  Privit  as  Solders  in  Cap'  Nelsons 
Comp  to  Escort  and  gard  on  the  Fruntteers   Near 

Oliver  Adams 

Nath1  Stafford 

Conne*  River  and  Ingage  to  obey  our  officers  accord- 

Parley Hughes 
Zadok  Bloss 

Joseph  Spalding." 

ing  to  the  Rule  of  war  till  the  first  Day  of  April  Next 
if  not  sooner  discharged  as  witness  our  hands 

Meriden  Company,  1781. 

"  We  the  Subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the  Parish  of 
Meriden  do  Voluntarily  form  ourselves  into  a  Com- 
pany of  Militia  which  Company  shall  be  called  and 

"Ephraim  Dunlap               Steward    how 
Job  Williams                        Daniel  Kimball  " 
James  Kelsy 

Soldiers'   Orders. 

known  by  the  name  of 

ye  Meriden  Company.     And 

"  Plainfield,  Sept.  Is'  1784 

we  do  pawn  our  words  and 
freely  and  cheerfully  submit 
Major  part  shall  chuse 

Honours  that  we  will 
to  such  officers  as  ye 

"  Sir    Please  to 
wages  for  service  in 
Point  in  1784 

pay  the  bearer  the  whole  of  my 
Cap'  Steven's  Company  at  West 

"  Meriden  June  ye  25,h  1781 

"  John  Andres                      Hogges  Cutler 
Stiles  Muncel                       Ruin  I'  Spalding 
Perley  Roberts                      Ben  Jorden 

"  Phillips  Warren 
"£7.16.4 

"  To  the  Treasurer  of  New  Hampshire  " 
"State  op  New  Hampshire 

Thomas  Gallop 

Nathan  Draper 

"Plainfield  24  April  1785 

Oliver  Adams 

Ebc 

■"  Burr 

"  To  Mr  Josia  Gil 

man  Paymaster  General  for  said 

Eliphalet  Miner 
Be"  Bugbee 

Stephen  Sq  Pcttecrew 
Sam1  Fairfield 

state  Sr.  please  to  pay  the  Bearer  hereof  the  wages  due 
to  me  the  subscriber  for  going  into  the  service  of  sd 

Elijah  Johnson 

Isaac  Rice 

state  three  months  and  a  half  to  West  Point  in  Cap' 

Simeon  Pool 
Wi"  Huntington 
Isaac  Williams 
Walter  Bloss 

John  Stevens  3d 
Wi"  Kile 
Thomas  West 
John  Steveas  Jur 

Abel  Stevens  Company  in  Col.  Nichols  Regiment  in 
the  year  1780  and  this  order  shall  be  your  Receipt  for 
the  same  from  your  Humble  Ser't 
"£8.19.     June  14                                   "EbenJoy" 

PLAINFIELD. 


313 


The  following  is  a  petition  of  sundry  inhab- 
itants relative  to  taxes  :  addressed  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  1785. 

"  Humbly  shew, 

"  Elisha  Read,  Andrew  Tracy,  Jonathan  Stevens, 
Walter  Weld,  David  Allen,  Jabez  Balding,  John  Ost- 
ing,  William  Chote,  Darius  Spalding,  Benjamin  Jack- 
son, Daniel  Earl,  Benjamin  Cole,  Daniel  Cole,  Moses 
Weld,  Daniel  Hovey,  Benj"  Joy  Junr,  Ebenezer  Sab- 
ings,  Daniel  Joy,  Jesse  Heath,  Moses  Brigham,  Philip 
Spalding,  Chapling  Spalding,  Gardner  Dusting,  John 
Dusting,  Walter  Smith,  John  Spalding,  Barzilla 
Spalding,  James  Freeman, Elisha Herick,  Rosil Minor, 
Benjamin  Joy,  Samuel  Reed,  Daniel  Freeman,  David 
Perry,  Abel  Benit,  Ebenezer  Cole,  David  Steavens, 
Abel  Stone,  John  Cole,  Daniel  Robert,  Aaron  Palmer, 
Nathan  Andrus,  Ruins  Wheeler,  Elias  Bingham  & 
Cary  all  of  Plainfield  &  Cornish  in  the  County  of 
Cheshire  and  said  State — That  your  Petitioners  have 
all  removed  into  said  Towns  of  Plainfield  and  Corn- 
ish from  other  States  in  the  Union  since  the  year  1780 
at  which  time  many  of  them  were  under  Twenty  One 
years  of  Age— that  your  petition™  have  paid  all  then- 
taxes  in  the  several  states  whence  they  have  removed 
up  to  the  time  of  their  Removal — That  the  Selectmen 
of  sd  Plainfield  &  Cornish  have  nevertheless  assessed 
your  Petitioners  for  all  the  Taxes  of  said  Towns  from 
the  Commencement  of  the  late  War  to  the  present 
year,  thereby  compelling  them  to  pay  over  again 
Taxes  for  the  years  they  had  paid  for  before  they 
came  into  this  State  and  obliging  Parents  to  Pay 
Taxes  for  their  Children  ever  since  they  arrived  to 
the  Age  of  Ten  years — That  sd  Selectmen  have  further 
endeavored  to  compell  those  of  your  Petitioners  who 
have  come  of  Age  since  they  became  Inhabitants  of 
this  State  to  pay  Taxes  from  the  year  1777  when 
many  of  them  were  no  more  than  ten  years  old. — 

"  Your  Petitioners  are  ready  chearfully  to  pay  all 
their  taxes  from  the  time  they  became  inhabitants  of 
their  respective  Towns  and  humbly  conceive  the  Con- 
duct of  said  Selectmen  to  be  flagrantly  unjust  .&  op- 
pressive and  opposed  to  every  principle  of  Equity. 
Wherefore  they  pray  that  your  honors  would  be 
pleased  to  take  their  hard  Treatment  under  your  wise 
Consideration— that  you  would  exempt  them  from 
paying  Taxes  towards  the  support  of  a  Government, 
to  which  at  the  Time  they  ought  to  have  been  paid, 
they  did  not  belong,  and  which  can  serve  only  to  ease 
those  who  have  refused  to  pay  their  Taxes  in  season  ; 


or  that  your  honors  would  take  such  other  Order  con- 
cerning the  Premises  as  in  your  wisdom  shall  seem 
meet,  and  your  Petition"  as  in  Duty  bound  will  ever 
pray.  &c 

"John  Pickering  for  Petitioners" 
The  following  is  a  petition  for  a  ferry,  addressed 
to  the  General  Court,  1785: 

"The   petition   of  Joseph    Kimball   of    Plainfield 

humbly  Sheweth  that  your  Petitioner  hath  been  at 

the  Expence  of  keeping  a  ferry  across  Connecticut 

River  in  Plainfield  for  upwards  of  five  Years  at  ye 

mouth  of  water  quecher  River  which  ferry  hath  been 

verey  expensive  to  Your  petitioner  in  providing  boats 

to  Serve  the  publick  for  which  he  hath  Reca  Little  or 

no  benefit,  and  expecting  that  in  some  future  time  it 

may  be  some  profit  wherefore  your  petitioner  humbly 

prayeth  that  your  Honours  may  take  his  case  into 

your  wise  Consideration  and  grant  to  your  petitioner 

the  Exclusive  right  of  a  ferry  begining  at  Lebenon 

South  Line  extending  three  miles  down  said  River,  to 

him  his  heirs  and  assigns,  and  Your  petitioner  as  in 

duty  bound  shall  ever  pray 

"Joseph  Kimball" 

In  House  of  Representatives,  February  10, 1786, 
the  foregoing  petition  was  granted. 

Tax  on  Governor  Weniwoi^th,s  Right. 

"  Plainfield  Decr  ye  10th  1786  This  may  certify  that 
the  State  Tax  against  Bening  Wentworths  Right  of 
Land  in  Plainfield  for  ye  years  1777,  1778,  1770,  and 
1780  amounts  to  three  pounds  twelve  Shilling  and  the 
county  tax  for  ye  above  Years  is  three  shillings  & 
Eight  pence. 

"Att    Sam11  Fairfield,  Constable. 
"Att    David  Perry  1     Selectmen  For 

Charles  Spaulding  J      Plainfield" 

The  following  is  a  petition  for  a  poll  parish, 
1788,  addressed  to  the  General  Court: 

"  The  Petition  of  the  subscribers  inhabitants  of  the 
towns  of  Cornish  and  Plainfield,  in  the  County  of 
Chesire  in  said  State,  Humbly  sheweth  that  the  great 
diversity  of  Sentiments,  in  matters  of  Religion,  and 
the  jaring  opinions  concerning  the  most  suitable 
place  for  Buildings  for  Religious  worship,  renders  it 
impossible  ever  to  effect  such  union  in  either  of  said 
Towns,  as  to  enable  them  happily  to  settle  and  main- 
tain, the  Gospel  Ministry  amongst  them  with  that 
harmony  whiah  ought  ever  to  reign  in  religious  Soci- 


314 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


eties,  without  a  Division  of  said  Towns  into  Parishes 
— and  whereas  the  inhabitants  of  Different  Sentiments, 
are  so  intermixed  in  their  sentiments  that  Parish  lines 
would  not  effect  the  desired  purposes,  Your  petition- 
ers therefore  pray  the  General  Court,  to  grant  to  the 
subscribers,  with  such  others  as  may  hereafter  be  dis- 
posed to  join  with  them,  such  privelidges  and  immu- 
nities of  a  Poll  Parish  as  may  enable  them  to  erect 
and  maintain  in  proper  repair  a  place  of  Publick  wor- 
ship and  to  raise  and  apply  Money  for  the  support  of 
the  Ministry  among  them,  and  with  such  other  privi- 
leges as  may  be  necessary  for  the  well  ordering  of 
Parish  affairs, — and  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray. 

"Cornish  November  the  Is'  AD  1788. 

"Thomas  Hall  Daniel  Cole 
Moody  Hall  John  Bartlet 
Abel  Johnson  David  Smith 
Nath"  Huggins  Hezekiah  Fitch 
Will™  Ripley  Nathan  Whiting- 
James  Ripley  Benjn  Read 
Thomas  Lewey  John  Lucas 
Jesse  Johnson  Nath"  Bartlet 
David  Read  James  Fitch 
Elisha  Read  Samuel  Fitch 
Sam"  Read  Joseph  Kinyon  Junr 
Andrew  Tracy  Simon  Blan chard 
John  Spaulding  Samuel  Bartlet 
Lovil  Kimball  James  Hunter 
Elisha  Herrick  Joshua  Woodward 
Reuben  Jerald  Joel  Hildreth 
Josiah  Stone  Walter  Foss 
James  Ladieu  Abel  Stone 
John  Whitten  Samuel  Mackres 
Willm  Lewey  Abel  Stone  Junr 
Moses  Chase  John  Cady 
Nahum  Chase  Levi  Stone 
Jonathan  Read  Daniel  Freeman 
Eliphalet  Kimball  Junr      Chester  Chapman 
Moses  Barrows  Joseph  Smith 
Moses  Barrows  Junr  Jabez  Spicer  " 
Nathan  Hains 

In    House    of    Representatives,    November    8, 
1788,  a  hearing  was  ordered  for  the  next  session. 

Rank  of  Sundry  Officers,  1788. 

"Elias  Cady  first    Lieut    April   y'   27"'   1785,  Capt 
May  ye  8lh  1781  under  Vermont 


"Jeremiah  Spencer  Capt  April  ye  27th  1785  in  this 
State. 

"Capt  May  8—1781  Vermont,  Lt  1777  in  this 
State 

"Joseph  Smith  Capt  April  ye  27th  1785  in  this 
State,  first  Lt  Sepr  ye  5th  1775,  in  this  State. 

"  Jesse  Willcocks  Cap'  April  ye  27"'  1785  in  this 
State  1st  Ll  Sepr  ye  5th  1775  in  this  State  Capt  May 
8th  1781  Vermont 

"  Nathan  Young  Capt  April  y"  27,h  1785  in  this 
State,  Ensign  May  ye  8th  1781  under  Vermont— 

"  Daniel  Chase  Capt  April  ye  27,h  1785  in  this  State, 
Second  Lt  Sepr  5th  1775,  first  Lt  Sepr  19th  1775  all  of 
this  State 

"John  Cook  Capt  April  ye  27th  1785  in  this  State, 
Ensign  May  ye  19th  1775,  Ensg  July  ye  Is"  1775  under 
Massaeh,s 

"  David  Perry  Capt  April  ye  27th  1785  in  this  State, 
Second  Lt 

"May  ye  1st  1775,  first  Lt  Decr  ye  2d  1776  under 
Connecticut 

"  John  Quimby  Capt  April  ye  27,  1785  in  this  State 

"State  of  Newhampr  Plainfield  Jan?  ye  15,h  1788 

"  To  his  Excellency  the  President  and  the  Honble  the 

Council — 

"  May  it  please  Your  Excellency  and  Honors  I  have 
called  on  the  Captains  of  the  Several  Companies  of 
the  fifteenth  Regiment  of  Militia  to  produce  their 
Credentials  in  order  to  assertain  their  Rank,  which  is 
as  heretofore  mentioned,  The  reason  of  my  making 
a  return  in  this  manner  I  was  adviz'd  to  it  by  Gen1 
Chase  and  the  other  officers,  therefore  I  hope  to  par- 
don'd  not  makeing  a  Return  in  usual  form 

"  From  your  most  Obed'  and  Very  Humble  Servt 
"  Joseph  Kimbel,  Majr  CD" 

The  following  is  a  petition  relative  to  service  in 
Revolution  : 

"  Humbly  sheweth  the  Petition  of  Joseph  Kimbal 
in  behalf  of  the  Town  of  Plainfield  that  the  sd  Town 
was  called  on  for  Eight  men  for  the  continental  Ser- 
vice in  the  Year  1777 — which  they  furnished  and  in 
the  Year  1781,  said  Town  was  call'd  on  to  furnish 
Light  men  more  of  which  said  Town  furnished  two 
only  one  of  which  soon  deserted  the  other  served  his 
time  out  which  was  during  the  War,  Your  Petitioner 
would  further  add  that  y8  abovesaid  Proportions  were 
made  by  doomage,  and  that  on  examining  the  invoices 
of  said  Town  in  February  1786  it  appeared  that  in  ye 


PLAINFIELD. 


315 


year  1777  Plainfields  proportion  was  four  men  only, 
and  as  there  is  a  large  demand  agt  sd  Town  for  defi- 
ciency of  men  in  ye  Year  1781  Your  petitioner  prays 
that  their  overplus  services  done  in  77,  may  be  brought 
forward,  and  give  creadit  on  the  deficiency  for  the 
Year  81  or  otherwise  grant  such  relief  as  Your  Hon- 
ors in  their  wisdom  shall  see  cause  to  direct,  And 
Your  petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray 
"Joseph  Kimbal  in  behalf  of  sd  Town" 

In  House  of  Representatives,  June,  1791,  the 
matter  was  postponed  to  the  next  session. 

The  following  is  a  petition  of  Amos  Stafford  for 
remuneration,  addressed  to  the  Legislature,  1795: 

"  The  request  of  your  Petitioner  Humbly  Sheweth 
that  in  the  Cours  of  the  war  with  Great  Brittain  in 
obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  Legeslator  of  the  State 
of  New-hampshire  i  did  lay  my  Self  out  to  obey  their 
orders  in  assisting  to  Raise  men  and  aid  them  in  their 
Mach  to  and  from  tyconderago  with  Provision  & 
Pack  hose  and  Raising  thee  three  years  men  I  did  ad- 
vance money  in  the  Cause  to  a  Considerable  amount 
and  Spent  my  own  time  as  one  of  the  Committe  of 
Safety  for  the  town  of  Plainfield  and  in  the  time  when 
Royaltown  in  Vermont  was  burnt  by  indians  I  did  by 
order  of  Generl  Bellows  Given  mee  by  Capt  Peter  Page 
and  Co11  Abel  walker  of  Charlestown  to  open  my  house 
and  Stores  and  Delt  cut  to  A  Large  amount  in  Provi- 
sion and  hors  Keeping  for  four  days  and  four  Nights  I 
I  Nor  my  wife  Could  not  get  Leasur  time  to  ondress  to 
take  rest  for  our  house  was  full  both  Night  and  Day 
of  men  going  up  or  Returning  back  all  which  I  did  in 
obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  State  and  Commanding 
officers  of  the  State  for  the  Support  of  the  Cause  then 
Depending  and  furthermore  in  obedience  to  the  Re- 
quest of  the  State  sent  out  to  the  towns  to  send  in 
theire  accounts  in  order  for  A  Settlement  with  the 
Unighted  States  Congrees  I  did  Exhibbit  my  account 
to  Sanford  Kingsbery  Esqr^of  Clarmont  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  Receive  the  accounts  of  these  towns  along 
hear  and  he  Excepted  them  as  Sufficienly  authentica- 
ted, and  as  I  have  allways  paid  my  Proportion  of  tax 
to  the  State  that  has  been  Called  for  of  Mee  and  as  I 
have  not  received  any  pay  for  all  the  afore  Cited  Ser- 
vice and  performances  I  pray  this  Honorable  Boddy 
to  Consider  the  Cause  of  the  poor  Petitioner  Now 
humbly  Requesting  his  part  of  the  Ballanc  Struck  in 
favour  of  this  State  with  the  United  States  Congress 
as  a  Compensation  for  all  my  trouble  as  you  in  your 


wisdom    may  think   Proper  and  as   in    duty   Bound 
Shall  Ever  Pray — 

"As  your  humble  Pittioner — 

"Amos  Stafford" 

The  following  is  a  petition  relative  to  grebe  land, 
1795: 

"The  Petition  of  the  Select  Men  of  Plainfield 
Humbly  Sheweth,  That  there  is  two  Rites  of  Band 
Called  the  Glebe  and  Propagating  Rites  Lying  in  sd 
Town  which  at  Present  are  no  Benefit  to  the  Town 
and  Do  not  answer  the  End  and  Design  of  their  Ap- 
propriation— 

"  Therefore  your  Petitioners  Prayer  is  that  your 
Honours  wou'd  Take  the  Matter  under  your  wise  Con- 
sideration &  Grant  the  Town  the  Privilege  of  Con- 
verting Either  or  both  of  the  beforementioned  Rites 
or  the  use  of  Either  or  both  of  them  for  the  Support 
of  the  Gospel  Ministry  in  sd  Town  or  otherwise  Grant 
as  your  Honours  in  your  wisdom  Shall  See  fit — 

"Dated  at  Plainfield  November  Y*  25th  AD  1795. 

"  Zadoc  Bloss  )  Select   Men  of 

"Chester  Chapman  [    Plain  field." 

The  following  petition  is  from  Kimball  and 
Galluj)  for  authority  to  construct  locks  ;  address  to 
the  General  Court,  17! Hi  ; 

"Humbly  Sheweth  the  petition  of  Joseph  Kimball 
&  Peres  Gallop  that  there  are  falls  in  Connecticut 
River  opposite  the  Town  of  Plainfield  known  by  the 
name  of  Waterqueche  falls  which  Renders  the  Navi- 
gation impasable  with  Boats  which  is  very  Injurious 
to  those  that  do  Business  on  said  River  therefore 
Your  petitioners  pray  Your  Honours  to  take  the  mat- 
ter under  Your  Wise  consideration  and  Grant  your 
petitioners  the  Exclusive  Right  of  Locking  sd  falls, 
so  that  the  Same  be  made  Navigable  for  Boats  &c 
under  Such  Regulations  and  Restrictions  as  Your 
Honours  in  Your  Wisdom  shall  see  cause  to  direct  and 
Your  petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray 

"Concord  Decr  1st  17!x;. 

"  Joseph  Kimball 
"Perez  Gallup  " 

Petition  granted  December  2,  17!  Hi. 
The  following  petition  is  for  the  incorporation 
of  a  library,  1797  : 

"  Humbly  Sheweth  Daniel  Kimball  that  he  with  a 
number  of  others  in  the  Parish  of  Meriden  purchased 


316 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


a  Collection  of  Books  for  a  Social  Library  but  find  it 
necessary  to  be  incorporated  in  order  to  realize  tbe 
advantages  contemplated — Therefore  pray  that  they 
may  be  incorporated  with  such  privileges  as  are  usually 
Granted  in  Such  Cases,  and  as  in  Duty  bound  will  pray 
"  Nov'  27th  1797 

"  Dan1  Kimball  for  the  purchasers." 

The  library  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of 
Meriden  Library,  December  11,  1797. 

Ecclesiastical. — The  first  religious  services  in 
this  town  of  which  we  have  any  record  were  held 
in  1771  by  Mr.  Isaac  Smith  of  the  Congregational 
order.  From  this  time  until  1804  services  were 
held  in  private  houses  and  at  various  other  places. 

September  20,  1804,  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  West  Plainfield  was  formed,  and  July 
16,  1805,  Rev.  Micaiah  Porter  was  settled  as  pas- 


tor. The  present  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church  at  Meriden  is  Rev.  Benjamin  A.  Dean. 

There  are  two  Baptist  Churches  in  the  town, — 
one  at  Meriden,  Rev.  B.  F.  Lawrence,  pastor ;  and 
the  other  at  Plainfield,  Rev.  J.  A.  Graham,  pastor. 

About  the  year  1804  an  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized  here.  The  Methodists  and  Univereal- 
ists  have  also  held  services  in  the  town. 

The  postmaster  at  Plainfield  is  William  Hall  ; 
at  Meriden,  Abbie  F.  Spaulding ;  at  East  Plain- 
field,  Kate  Saltraarsh. 

Kimball  Union  Acad  km  y  was  incorporated 
June  16,  1813,  and  endowed  with  a  permanent 
fund  of  $40,000  by  Hon.  Daniel  Kimball.  It  is 
located  in  Meriden  and  is  an  educational  institution 
of  high  character.  The  present  principal  is  Mr. 
D.  G.  Miller. 


HISTORY    OF  SPRINGFIELD. 


BY   CHARLES   McDANIEL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

This  town,  at  the  time  of  its  being  granted  to 
John  Fisher,  Esq.  and  fifty-nine  others,  of  Ports- 
mouth, was  in  the  county  of  Grafton,  afterward 
Cheshire,  now  (1885)  in  Sullivan  County,  in  lati- 
tude 43°  30',  bounded  north  by  Grafton,  east  by 
Wilmot  and  New  London,  south  by  Sunapee  and 
New  London,  and  west  by  Croydon,  Grantham  and 
Enfield.  It  was  granted  January  3,  1769,  by  the 
name  of  Protectworth.  Its  first  settlement  com- 
menced in  1772,  by  Israel  Clifford,  Ebenezer  Lov- 
erin  and  Timothy  Quimby.  It  was  incorporated 
January  24,  1794,  by  the  name  of  Springfield. 
By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  passed  June 
20,  1817,  a  tract  of  land  lying  between  this  town 
and  Enfield,  called  "  Heath's  Gore,"  was  annexed 
to  this  town.  In  the  year  1858,  after  a  long-con- 
tested trial,  a  portion  of  the  "  Gore  "  was  disan- 
nexed  from  this  town  and  annexed  to  the  town  of 
Grantham  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature. 

Census  Population  of  Springfield. — 1790, 
210;  1800,570;  1810,814;  1820,967;  1830, 
1192;  1840,1252;  1850,1270;  1860,1021;  1870, 
781  ;  1880,  732.  The  decrease  of  the  popula- 
tion between  1850  and  1860  was  in  part  due  to 
the  disannextion  of  the  "  Gore." 

Springfield  is  thirty-five  miles  from  Concord, 
and  ninety  from  Boston.  Branches  of  the  Sugar 
and  Blackwater  Rivers  have  their  sources  in  this 
town ;  the  former  empties  into  the  Connecticut,  the 
latter  into  the  Merrimack.  There  are  several  ponds, 
viz.,  Station,  Baptist,  Star,  Gilman  and  Morgan. 
In  the  east  part  of  the  town  is  a  granite  quarry  • 
also  mica  mines  abound  in  several  sections,  and 
were  worked  to   some  extent    in  1840  to  1845,  by 


Bowers,  of  Acworth.  Since  then  several  companies 
have  been  formed,  among  which  the  Mountain 
Mica  Company  and  the  Globe  Mica  Company  are 
perhaps  the  most  prominent.  The  land  is  rough 
and  stony,  but  is  adapted  to  the  raising  of  potatoes, 
corn,  oats  and  barley ;  and  even  thirty  bushels  of 
wheat  to  the  acre  have  been  produced.  In  the 
spring  of  the  year  the  leading  industry  is  the 
making  of  maple  sugar  and  syrup,  tons  of  which 
are  annually  manufactured,  being  of  a  very  supe- 
rior quality  During  the  past  few  years  many 
labor-saving  and  improved  machines  and  agricul- 
tural implements  have  been  bought  by  the  farmers 
and  are  now  in  general  use  through  the  town. 
Springfield  and  Grantham  established  a  Union 
Fair  in  the  year  1880,  and  have  since  holden  one 
annually.  This  has  served  to  act  as  a  stimulus 
to  the  cause  of  agriculture.  At  the  last  fair  one 
member  exhibited  two  hundred  and  ten  different 
varieties  of  apples,  and  another  member  gathered 
over  one  thousand  bushels.  Improved  breeds  of 
cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  swine  are  now  quite  com- 
monly owned.  Better  varieties  of  grain  and  vege- 
tables, with  the  raising  of  apples,  grapes  and  small 
fruits,  show  that  the  farmers  are  alive  and  active 
in  their  calling ;  while  the  profusion  of  flowers  seen 
indicates  plainly  that  the  beautiful  is  being  blended 
with  the  useful. 

CHARTER. 

"Province        )       George  the  Third  by  the  Grace 
of  [  of  God  of  Great  Britain,  France 


New  Hampshire 
Protectworth 


and   Ireland,  King   Defender   of 
the  Faith,  etc. 
"  Know  ye  that  we  of  our  special  grace,  certain 
knowledge  and  mere  motion,  for  the  due  encourage- 
ment of  settling  a  new  plantation   within  our  said 

317 


318 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


province,  by  and  with  the  advise  of  our  trusty  and 
well-beloved  John  Wentworth,  Esquire,  our  Governor 
and  Commander-in-chief  of  our  said  province  of  New 
Hampshire  in  New  England  and  of  our  Council  of 
the  said  province.  Have  upon  the  conditions  and 
reservations  hereinafter  made,  given  and  granted,  and 
by  these  presents  for  us  our  heirs  and  successors  do 
give  and  grant  in  equal  shares  unto  our  loving  sub- 
jects, inhabitants  of  our  said  province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire and  our  other  Governments,  who  have  peti- 
tion'd  us  for  the  same,  setting  forth  their  readiness  to 
make  immediate  settlement,  and  to  their  heirs  and  as- 
signs forever,  whose  names  are  enter'd  on  this  grant, 
to  be  divided  to  and  amongst  them  into  Sixty  equal 
shares,  all  that  tract  or  parcel  of  land,  situate,  lying 
and  being  within  our  said  province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire containing  by  admeasurement  twenty-five  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  eleven  acres  and  two  rods,  and 
is  to  contain  something  more  than  six  miles  square, 
out  of  which  an  allowance  is  to  be  made  for  highways 
and  unimprovable  lands  by  rocks,  ponds,  mountains 
and  rivers,  one  thousand  and  forty  acres  free,  accord- 
ing to  a  plan  and  survey  thereof,  exhibited  by  our 
Surveyor-General  by  our  said  Governor's  order,  and 
returned  into  the  Secretary's  Office,  a  copy  whereof  is 
hereunto  annex'd,  butted   and   bounded   as   follows, 

m 

viz.:  beginning  at  a  beech  tree  standing  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Grafton ;  from  thence  south  thirty-nine 
degrees  west  two  miles  and  forty-four  chains  on 
Mason's  curve-line,  so  called;  then  south  thirty-seven 
degrees  west  four  miles  and  thirty-seven  chains  on  the 
said  curve-line ;  thence  turning  off  and  running  north 
seventy-four  degrees  west  five  miles  and  nineteen 
chains  by  Saville ;  then  turning  off  and  running  north 
sixteen  degrees  east  one  mile  and  forty-four  chains  to 
a  small  rock-maple  at  the  southerly  corner  of  Grant- 
ham ;  thence  north  thirty-one  degrees  east  five  miles 
and  thirty  chains  by  Grantham  to  a  hemlock  tree  at 
the  northeast  corner  thereof;  thence  turning  off  and 
running  south  seventy-two  degrees  east  one  mile  to  a 
hackmatack  tree;  from  thence  on  the  same  course,  five 
miles  and  thirty-six  chains  and  one-half  to  the  beech 
tree  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Grafton  began  at. — 

"  To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  tract  of  land  as 
above  express'd,  together  with  all  privileges  and  ap- 
pertenauces  to  them  and  their  respective  heirs  and  as- 
signs forever,  by  the  name  of  Protectworth  upon  the 
following  conditions,  viz':  (First)  That  the  Grantees 
at  their  own  cost  shall  cut,  clear,  bridge  and  make 


passable  for  carriages  of  all  kinds,  a  road  of  eight 
rods  wide  thro'  the  said  tract  hereby  granted,  and  this 
to  be  completed  within  three  years  from  the  date  of 
this  grant;  on  failure  of  which,  the  premises  and 
every  part  thereof  shall  be  forfeited  and  revert  to  us 
our  heirs  and  successors  to  be  by  us  or  them  re-enter'd 
upon  and  regranted  to  any  of  our  loving  subjects. 

"  (Second)  That  the  said  Grantees  shall  settle  or 
cause  to  be  settled  twelve  families  by  the  first  day  of 
July,  1774,  who  shall  be  actually  cultivating  some 
part  of  the  land,  and  resident  thereon  ;  and  to  con- 
tinue making  further  and  additional  improvement, 
cultivation  and  settlement  of  the  premises,  so  that 
there  shall  be  actually  settled  and  resident  thereon 
sixty  families  by  the  first  day  of  July.  1778,  on  pen- 
alty of  the  forfeiture  of  such  delinquent's  share,  and 
of  such  shares  reverting  to  us,  our  heirs  and  succes- 
sors, to  be  by  us  or  them  enter'd  upon  and  regranted 
to  such  of  our  subjects  as  shall  effectually  settle  and 
cultivate  the  same. 

"(Third)  That  all  white  and  other  pine  trees 
within  the  said  township  fit  for  masting  our  Royal 
Navy,  be  carefully  preserv'd  for  that  use;  and  none 
to  be  cut  or  felled  without  our  special  license  for  so 
doing  first  had  and  obtained  upon  the  penalty  of  the 
forfeiture  of  the  right  of  such  Grantee,  his  heirs  and 
assigns,  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  as  well  as  being 
subject  to  the  penalty  prescribed  by  any  present  as 
well  as  future  act  or  acts  of  Parliament. 

"  (Fourth)  That  before  any  division  of  the  land  be 
made  to  and  among  the  Grantees,  a  tract  of  land  as 
near  the  centre  of  the  said  township  as  the  land  will 
admit  of,  shall  be  reserved  and  marked  out  for  town- 
lots,  one  of  which  shall  be  alloted  to  each  Grantee  of 
the  contents  of  one  acre. 

"(Fifth)  Yielding  and  paying  therefor  to  us  our 
heirs  and  successors  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1774,  the  rent  of  one  ear  of  Indian-corn  only  if 
lawfully  demanded. 

"  (Sixth)  That  every  proprietor,  settler,  or  inhabi- 
tant shall  yield  and  pay  unto  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors yearly  and  every  year  forever,  from  and  after 
the  expiration  of  one  year  from  the  above  said  first 
day  of  January,  namely  on  the  first  day  of  January 
which  will  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  Christ  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five,  one  shilling 
Proclamation  money  for  every  hundred  acres  he  so 
owns,  settles  or  possesses,  and  so  in  proportion  for  a 
greater  or  lesser  tract  of  the  said  land;  which  money 


SPRINGFIELD. 


319 


shall  be  paid  by  the  respective  persons  above  said, 
their  heirs  or  assigns  in  our  Council  Chamber  in 
Portsmouth  or  to  such  Officer  or  Officers  as  shall  be 
appointed  to  receive  the  same  ;  and  this  to  be  in  lieu 
of  all  other  rents  and  services  whatsoever. 

"  The  road  of  eight  rods  wide  to  remain  reserved,  but 
to  be  cleared  and  bridged  as  above  expressed,  only 
two  rods  wide. 

"  In  testimony  whereof  we  have  caused  the  seal  of  our 
said  Province  to  be  hereunto  affixed.  "Witness  John 
Wentworth,  esquire  our  Governor,  and  Comman- 
der-in-Chief of  our  said  Province  of  New  Hampshire, 
the  third  day  of  January,  in  the  ninth  year  of  our 
reign  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  Christ  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-nine. 

"  By   his    Excellency's   command   with    advice  of 

Council. 

"George  King,  D:  Sec'y. 

♦ 

"Names  of  the  Grantees  of  the  Township  of  Protectworth. 

"  John  Fisher  Esqr  Daniel  Fowle  Esqr 

Daniel  Warner  Esqr  Eobert  Lewis  Fowle 

M.  H.  Wentworth  Esqr  John  Dennett 

Daniel  Pierce  Esqr  William  Partridge  Junr 

Jona  Warner  Esqr  George  King  Esqr 

Leveret  Hubbard  Esqr  Hall  Jackson  Esqr 

James  Stoodley  Esqr  Thomas  Martin 

Ebenezer  Russell  Esqr  Daniel  Sherburne 

Isaac  Rindge  Esqr  William  Knight 

John  Hurd  Esqr  Temple  Knight 

John  Parker  Esqr  Joshua  Wentworth 

Samuel  Ham  Samuel  Warner 

William  Yeaton  George  Libbey 

Benjaman  Yeaton  Jotham  Blanchard 

Peter  Gurtis  John  Beck 

Richard  Woods  Giles  Seaward  Junr 

John  White  John  Churchill 

John  Barter  George  Marshall 

Stephen  Cogan  George  Marshall  Junr 

Samuel  Grindell  Alexander  Welch 

Daniel  Gridell  John  Ayers 

Samuel  Tripe  Ephraim  Ham 

Robert  Hart  Foster  Trefethen 

John  Pierce  William  Walker 

William  King  Roger  Hayes 

John  Marsh  William  Jones 

George  Craigie  Joseph  Bass 

John  Jackson  Gibbius  Mase 

Giles  Seaward  John  Goatham 

George  Wentworth  Samuel  Sherburne 

';  J.  (L.  S.   Wentworth. 

"  Recorded  according  to  original  Charter  under  the 
Province  Seal  this  Seventh  Day  of  August,  1775. 

"  Attest  Theodore  Atkinson,  Sec'y." 


It  appears  from  records  and  history  that  before 
the  formation  of  counties,  in  1771,  all  the  courts 
were  holden,  and  all  public  business  was  transacted, 
at  Portsmouth,  being  then  the  largest  town  in  the 
State  ;  therefore  the  following  meetings  were  hold- 
en,  and  business  in  regard  to  the  settlement  of 
Springfield,  then  known  as  Protectworth,  was 
transacted  at  said  Portsmouth. 

"  Province  of  }  Application  having  been  made  to 
New  Hamj^s.  i  me,  the  subscriber,  one  of  his  Ma- 
jestys  justices  of  the  Peace  for  said  Province,  by  more 
than  one  Sixteenth  Part  of  the  Proprietors  of  Protect- 
worth in  said  Province,  to  call  a  meeting  of  Said  Pro- 
prietors to  Act  upon  the  following  matters  and  Things, 
vizt.:  1st  To  choose  a  Moderator,  Clerk  and  Treasurer  ; 
2dly  To  see  what  encouragement  the  Proprietors  will 
give  to  twelve  settlers  who  shall  incline  to  settle  in 
said  Township ;  3dly  To  agree  upon  what  roads  shall 
be  immediately  laid  out  and  clear'd  to  promote  the 
settlement;  4th!y  To  appoint  some  suitable  person  to 
allot  out  so  much  of  said  Township  as  the  Proprietors 
shall  think  Convenient ;  5tUy  To  Confirm  any  Grants 
that  may  have  been  made  by  the  present  Proprietors 
of  said  Township  ;  6thly  To  make  any  further  Grants 
of  Land  as  the  Proprietors  may  find  necessary ;  7"'ly 
To  assess  each  Proprietors  Right  in  Such  a  sum  as 
may  be  found  Sufficient  to  answer  the  Payment  of 
any  charges  that  ha^e  arisen,  or  may  hereafter  arise, 
in  Consequence  of  any  Services  that  may  be  voted  ; 
gtniy  To  ci100Se  a  Collector  for  said  Tax  ;  9thly  To  re- 
ceive, examine  and  allow  of  any  accounts  that  may  be 
laid  before  the  Proprietors  at  Said  meeting;  10thly 
To  agree  upon  a  method  of  calling  all  future  meetings, 
and  of  adjourning  the  same.  In  Consequence  of  said 
Request  I  do  hereby  notify  the  Said  Proprietors  to 
meet  at  the  House  of  Capt.  Jacob  Tilton,  in  said 
Portsmouth,  on  Friday,  the  8th  of  June  next  at  6 
o'clock  p.m.,  then  and  there  to  act  upon  the  premises. 

;<  H  Wentworth  Jus.  Pac. 
"  Portsmouth  May  23,  1770." 

"  Province  of  ]  Pursuant  to  a  notification  from 
New  Hamps.  I  Henry  Wentworth  Esq.,  one  of  his 
Majestys  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  said  Province, 
warning  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  Protectworth 
on  the  eighth  day  of  June,  1770,  the  Said  Proprietors 
have  met  accordingly  and 

"  Voted,  That  Jonathan  Warner  Esq.  be  moderator 
of  this  meeting. 


320 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Voted,  That  John  Wendell  Esq.  be  Clerk  of  this 
Proprietry. 

"  Voted,  That  Jonathan  Warner  be  the  Treasurer 
of  this  Proprietry. 

"  Voted,  That  John  Fisher  Esq.  be  impowered  to 
treat  with  Darius  Abbot,  or  others,  to  make  a  settle- 
ment in  said  Township  with  twelve  Settlers. 

"  Voted,  That  whereas  the  present  proprietors  have 
by  Deed  Conveyed  to  John  Hurd  Esq.,  twelve  Thou- 
sand acres  of  land  in  the  Township  of  Protectworth 
as  by  sd  Deed  will  appear,  The  same  is  hereby  rati- 
fied, confirmed  and  declared  to  be  the  act  of  this  Pro- 
prietry. 

"  Voted,  That  two  Sixtieth  Parts  of  the  ungranted 
Land  in  this  township  be  granted,  and  is  hereby 
granted,  to  John  AVendell  Esq.  and  his  assigns,  He 
or  they  performing  all  the  settling  duties  required  by 
Charter. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Clerk,  upon  application  to  him 
made  by  more  than  one  Sixteenth  Part  of  the  Propri- 
etors, shall  call  any  future  meeting,  giving  fourteen 
days'  notice  of  the  same  in  the  New  Hampshire  Ga- 
zette, or  otherways,  so  that  the  Proprietors  may  hear 
of  the  same,  and  that  in  the  absence  of  the  Moderator 
he  shall  adjourn  said  meetings  to  such  Convenient 
Time  as  may  suit  the  Proprietors. 

"  Voted,  That  this  meeting  be  adjourned  to  the 
Second  Friday  in  July  next,  at  this  house. 

"  Jonathan  Warner  Mod." 

"  Friday,  July  13,  1770. — Met  as  pr  adjournment, 
and  the  Moderator  not  being  present  this  meeting  is 
further  adjourned  to  Wednesday  the  Eighteenth  instant 
at  3  o'clock  l'.M.,  at  this  house. 

"  Attested  Pr  J.  WENDELL,  Prop'r  Clerk." 

"  1770,  July  18th,  met  as  pr  adjournment. 

"  Voted,  That  John  Wendell  Esq.'s  account, 
amounting  to  One  hundred  and  forty -three  pounds, 
three  shillings  and  Ten  pence  be  allowed  and  paid  by 
the  Treasurer,  being  for  sundry  expenses  for  this  Pro- 
prietry. 

"  Voted,  That  the  first  twelve  settlers  shall  have  One 
hundred  acres  each  to  be  laid  out  to  them  from  the 
whole  of  the  south  Line  of  the  Town  toward  the  Cen- 
tre, provided  they  settle  thereon  with  their  Families 
in  two  years  from  this  Date. 

"  Voted,  That  John  Wendell  Esq.  be  empowered 
to  procure  a  proper  Surveyor  to  allot  out  Eighteen 
Lots  of  One  hundred  acres  each,  and  to  Establish  and 


ascertain  the  dividing  Line  between  the  Township  of 
Protectworth  and  Saville  (now  Sunapee. — Ed.),  and 
to  lay  out  all  such  necessary  Roads  as  he  may  find 
wanting. 

"  Voted,  That  this  meeting  be  dissolved,  and  it  is 
hereby  according  dissolved. 

"  Jonathan  Wentworth,  Mod." 

"  The  Proprietors  of  Protectworth  to  John  Wendell. 

Dr. 

1768  £.    s.  d. 

Nov  8      To  Cash  p'd  0:Corey  for  his  Survey 

Bill 25     0  0 

1769 

Jany  10  To  do  pd  V  Royse  for  Plans  &c 1     4  0 

Deer  14  To  do  pd  O  Scott  for  Howard  Survey  10  10  0 
To  my  own  time  in  Drawing  Peti- 
tions  Deed   Ser's   procuring    the 

Charter 4  16  0 

To  do   p'd   Ferryman    Drawing  ye 

Charter 0  12  0 

1770 

Mch  21  To  drawing  deed   to  Hurd  6s.,  and 

Tin  Case  2s.  Qd 0     86 

June  8    To    Cash    pd    Fawler     advertising 

Meeting 0  12  0 

"        To  Cash  pd  Tilton  for  Expences....     0     14 
To  the  Charges  &  Fees  for  ye  Char- 
ter  100    0  0 


L.  My     143    3  10 
"  Errors  Excepted 

"  this  8th  June  1770 

"  Mr  John  Wendell  " 

"  Dec.  17,  1772. — At  a  Proprietors  meeting  duly 
called  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Tiltons  in  Portsmouth. 

"Voted,  That  Jonathan  Warner,  Esq.,  be  the  Mod- 
erator. 

"  Voted,  That  Daniel  Ladds  Survey  of  the  Eighteen 
hundred  acre  lots  be  received,  allowed  and  paid. 

"  Voted,  That  only  Such  settlers  as  Mr.  Wendell 
has  agreed  with  shall  have  any  of  the  hundred  acre 
Lots  Any  votes  notwithstanding  as  the  Time  limited 
to  the  first  Twelve  is  expired  &  does  now  cease. 

"Voted,  That  a  tax  of  fifty  Shillings  lawful  Money 
be  assessed,  and  it  is  hereby  assessed  on  each  Pro- 
prietors original  share  for  defraying  the  Charges  & 
Demands  on  this  Proprietry. 

"  Voted,  That  John  Wendell,  Esq.,  be  the  Collector 
of  Said  Tax  and  account  with  the  Proprietors  Treas- 
urer for  the  Same  when  it  is  by  him  received. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


321 


"  Voted,  Adjourned  to  Friday  the  Sth  of  January, 
1773.     Adjourned  to  June  22,  1773. 

"John  Wendell,  Props  Clerk." 

"  June  22,  1773. — Met  as  pr  Adjournment. 

"  Whereas  it  is  not  so  agreeable  to  those  who  incline 
to  l>e  Settlers  in  the  Town,  to  take  up  any  of  the 
hundred  acre  lots  laid  out  by  Daniel  Ladd  as  by  his 
Survey  returned,  but  had  rather  have  Seventy-five 
acres  in  lieu  thereof,  to  be  laid  out  on  an  East  and 
West  Course  through  the  Town  on  a  road  proposed  to 
be  laid  out,  Therefore, 

"Voted,  Tbat  Mr.  Wendell  by  Virtue  of  a  former 
vote,  as  well  as  by  this  vote,  be  impowered  to  lay  out 
a  Road  Eight  rods  wide  through  the  Town  on  the 
South  line  of  that  Tract  of  Land  which  the  Pro- 
prietors Sold  to  John  Hurd,  Esq.,  and  which  was 
purchased  of  Him  by  his  Excellency  Governor  Went- 
worth,  and  as  he  has  agreed  to  give  away  his  propor- 
tionable Part  for  Settlement,  Therefore, 

"  Voted,  That  Mr.  Wendell  be  further  impowered  to 
iruploy  proper  Persons,  to  allot  out  as  many  Seventy- 
five  acre  Lots  on  Each  Side  of  said  line  and  Road, 
as  the  Distance  through  the  Town  will  admit  of,  ex- 
cepting that  he  leaves  two  Lots  together  near  the 
Centre  of  the  Town,  to  be  appropriated  as  the  Pro- 
prietors may  hereafter  think  proper  ;  and  also  that  he 
imploys  the  Same  person  to  lay  out  the  Eighteen 
hundred  acre  Lots  which  the  Governor  proposes  to 
give  to  Capt.  Minot  for  twelve  Settlers  and  to  return 
a  Survey  at  our  next  meeting. 

"  Voted,  That  Mr.  Wendell  be  impowered,  and  he  is 
hereby  impowered  to  give  away  twenty  of  the  Said 
Seventy-five  acre  Lots  to  and  amongst  such  Settlers 
and  their  Heirs  as  he  Shall  agree  with,  on  certain 
conditions  of  Settlement  to  be  by  them  performed. 

"Voted,  That  this  meeting  be  adjourned  to  Oct.  7, 
1773." 

"Oct.  7,  1773. — Met  as  pr  Adjournment. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Return  of  Survey  made  by  Mr. 
Zepheniah  Clark  and  his  associates  of  the  marking 
out  the  great  East  and  West  road,  and  the  allotment 
of  the  Seventy-five  acre  Lots,  on  each  Side  the  Said 
Road,  as  also  of  his  laying  out  the  Governor's  Eighteen 
hundred  acre  Lots,  be  accepted  and  their  Bills  for 
the  Same,  amounting  to  Eight  Pounds  four  Shillings, 
be  paid,  and  that  the  Same,  together  with  Daniel 
Ladd's  former  Survey,  be  both  recorded  by  the  Clerk. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Said  Road  be  cut  and  cleared  out 


one  Rod  wide  through  the  Town,  and  that  Mr.  Wen- 
dell be  impowered  to  get  the  Same  done  as  soon  as 
may  be  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Settlers. 

"  Voted,  That  the  account  of  money  paid  by  John 
Wendell,  Esqr.,  for  this  Proprietry  be  allowed, 
amounting  to  Fifty-six  Pounds  Eight  shillings  L. 
Money,  and  that  he  be  paid  the  Same  with  Interest 
upon  this  and  his  former  account  until  the  Treasurer 
shall  be  in  Cash  for  the  Proprietry. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Clerk  record  Said  account. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Collector  shall  not  make  sale  of 
any  Delinquent  Proprietors  Rights  till  further  orders. 

"  Voted,  That  this  meeting  be  adjourned  to  Nov.  13, 
1773.   Then  to  Feby  11, 1774.  Then  to  Aug.  3,  1774." 

"August  3d,  1774,  Met  as  per  Adjournment. 

"  Voted,  That  Daniel  Clark  and  others  account  for 
cutting  &  clearing  the  East  &  West  Road  one  rod 
wide,  Six  &  half  miles  long,  amounting  to  £15  2s., 
be  allowed  and  paid  by  Mr.  Wendell. 

"  Voted,  That  as  John  Wendell,  Esq.,  is  largely  in 
advance  for  this  Proprietry,  &  that  it  does  not  suit 
him  to  let  it  remain  so,  he  is  hereby  impowered  to 
hire  One  hundred  Pounds  L.  My  on  account  of  this 
Proprietry,  who  will  account  with  him  for  the  same. 

"Voted,  That  this  meeting  be  adjourned  to  Friday 
the  24th  day  of  November  next. 

"  Jonathan  Warner,  Mod." 

"  Mr.  Daniel  Clarks  acct  for  Protectworth  Roads : 
"To   cutting   out  &  clearing  6J  miles   of 

Road  thro  Protectworth  @.  48s.  per  mile  £15  12s." 

Ladd's  survey  and  Zepheniah  Clark's  survey 
are  both  on  record  in  full  in  the  proprietors'  rec- 
ord-book, which  is  in  our  town  clerk's  office. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  John  Wendell's 
second  bill. 

"  Dr  The  Propr  of  Protectworth  To  John  Wendell. 

1772. 

Sept.    To  Cash  pd  D.  Lad  his  Bill  of 

Survey  18-100  Lots £6  lis  3d 

To  my  own  time  on  said  Business        3  12  0 
1773. 
July  3.    To    my    Horse    &    expence    to 

Kingston  wth  Settlers 2  11    G 

"         To  Advance  as  a  Bounty  to  send 

7   Settlers 25  10   0 

July  10.  To  Cash  paid  Clarke  &  Cliff. ird 

for  2  Horses  for  Settlers 6    0   0 

July.    To  Cash  gave  for  Rum  15'1 0    13 


322 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


To  Cash  paid  Clark,  Lang,  Kenis- 
ton,  Muchmore  and  Sisco  for 
their  allotting  the  Govenors 
18-100    acre 

To  my  own  Time,  Horse  &  ex- 
pence    ab4  Said  Business 

To  cash  paid  Nere  Boyse  for  a 
Plan 


84 

0 

3  12 

0 

0    6 

0 

"  Errors  excepted. 


L.  Money...     £56    8s  Od 
"  pr  John  Wendell. 


"November,  24,  1774.— Met  as  per  adjournment. 
"  Whereas  his  Excellency  Gov.  Wentworth  now 
owns  that  tract  of  Land  which  Messrs.  Fisher,  Warner 
&  Wendell  Conveyed  to  John  Hurd,  Esq.,  containing 
twelve  Thousand  acres,  which  is  nearly  equal  to 
twenty-seven  Shares  or  Rights  in  the  Town.  There- 
fore it  is  hereby  voted  That  Twenty-seven  of  the 
Seventy-five  acre  lots  on  the  north  side  of  the 
great  Road  be  drawn  to  twenty-seven  original  Pro- 
prietors, of  whom  Said  Wendell,  Warner  &  Fish- 
er bought  the  same  &  when  so  drawn,  that  they  be 
entered  in  the  Proprietors  Book,  and  that  in  future 
those  Rights  shall  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
Governor,  &  subject  to  the  Same  Taxes  &  Terms  of 
Settlement  as  the  other  Rights." 

"  April  20,  1777. — Met  as  per  adjournment. 
"  Voted,  That  by  reason  of  the  Troubles  of  the 
Country  and  Many  of  the  intended  Settlers  being 
called  away  into  the  army,  the  Time  for  Said  Settlers 
is  further  prolonged  for  twelve  months,  from  this 
Day." 

"Jan.  26,  1778. —  Whereas  Governor  Wentworth 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Settlement  did  agree  with  Capt. 
Minot,  of  Concord,  to  give  him  Eighteen  Hundred 
Acre  Lots  to  procure  Settlers  on  the  Same,  which 
were  accordingly  laid  out  for  him  at  the  expense  of  this 
Proprietry  as  being  a  part  of  his  proportion  of  settle- 
ment, and  whereas  the  Governor  also  gave  away  a 
number  of  his  Seventy-five  acre  lots  to  Settlers,  but 
before  a  proper  conveyance  was  got  of  him,  he  unex- 
pectedly left  the  Government,  and  as  the  Said  Minot 
did  not  fulfill  his  engagement  by  which  the  settle- 
ment has  been  greatly  retarded  and  fallen  heavy  upon 
a  few.     Therefore 

"  Voted,  That  a  Representation  be  made  to  the 
General  Assembly  for  Redress  on  this  Matter,  as  well 
to  the  Settlers  as  those  Proprietors   who   have  done 


more  Duty  than  others,  and  that  the  Same  be  pre- 
sented by  the  Moderator  when  he  thinks  proper. 

"  Voted,  that,  if  any  person  will  undertake  to  build 
a  Grist-Mill  and  Saw-Mill  in  twelve  Months  from  this 
date,  This  Proprietry  hereby  engages  to  give  them 
Thirty  Pounds  in  Money,  and  the  Mill  Lot  of  Seven- 
ty-five Acres,  provided  they  build  the  Same  to  the 
Satisfaction  of  Mr.  Wendell,  who  is  appointed  for 
that  purpose  of  Agreeing." 

"Aug.  29,  1778. —  Voted,  that  the  Collector  proceed 
to  notify  the  Delinquents  to  pay  Their  taxes  already 
assessed,  and  in  Default  thereof,  to  make  Sale  of 
their  Lands  according  to  Law,  and  to  pay  the  State 
Treasurer   the  State   Tax  for  the   last   and    present 


„  >> 


year 

"Portsmouth,  Dec.  20, 1778.—  Voted,  that  the  fol- 
lowing Petition  be  presented  by  Jonathan  Warner, 
Esq.,  Moderator  of  this  meeting,  to  the  Hon.  Gener- 
al Assembly,  and  that  the  same  be  Signed  by  him  in 
Behalf  of  this  Proprietry,  and  a  copy  Attested  by 
the  Clerk  be  given  thereof. 

"To  the  Honble  Council  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in  General 
Assembly  convened,  at  Exeter. 

"  The  Memorial  and  Petition  of  the  Proprietors  of 
Protectworth,  in  the  County  of  Grafton,  in  the  State 
aforesaid,  unto  your  Honors  Humbly  Shews, — 

"  That  John  Wentworth,  Esq.,  late  Governor  of 
New  Hamphire,  purchased  Twelve  Thousand  Acres 
of  Land  in  said  Township,  equal  to  Twenty-seven 
shares  which  were  accordingly  allotted  out  at  the  ex- 
pense of  this  Proprietry,  and  afterwards  drawn  to  said 
Shares.  That  for  Settlement  of  said  Land,  the  Gov- 
ernor agreed  to  give  away  Eighteen  Lotts  of  one 
hundred  Acres  each  to  setlers,  and  imployed  Capt.  J. 
Minot,  of  Concord,  for  that  Purpose,  and  also  gave 
away  to  sundry  Persons  several  of  his  Seventy-five 
Acre  Lots  to  be  setled,  but  before  he  had  executed 
his  Deeds  for  the  same,  he  quitted  the  Government, 
and  Capt.  Minot  also  failing  in  his  Contract,  the 
whole  Burthen  of  the  Settlement  has  fallen  on  ye 
Petitioners  who  have  given  away  more  than  Twenty 
set  ling  Lots,  besides  paying  for  public  Roads,  & 
allotting  the  Town,  and  the  State  Taxes  for  the  years 
1777  and  1778,  whilst  all  the  Proprietry,  and  State 
Taxes  on  the  said  Governor's  Rights  are  wholly  un- 
paid, and  altho  your  Petioners  have  directed  their 
Collector  to  proceed  in  the  Sale  thereof  agreeable  to 
Law,  and  notifications  in  the  public  Prints  for  that 


SPRINGFIELD. 


323 


purpose,  yet  as  by  the  Sequestration  &  Confiscation 
Acts,  the  said  Governor's  Estate  becomes  forfeited, 
Your  Petitioners  out  of  Respect  to  Government,  have 
desired  said  Collector  to  desist  in  the  Sale  of  the  de- 
linquent Rights  until  they  have  theadvisment  of  the 
Honble  Court,  and  they  humbly  pray  your  Honours 
to  appoint  a  Committee  to  examine  into  the  State  of 
this  Dependency,  &  to  report  thereon  so  as  this  HonbK" 
Court  may  grant  such  Relief  thereon  as  may  be 
found  Reasonable.  And  that  those  Persons  who 
have  had  Lots  promised  them  by  the  Governor  may 
be  confirmed  thereon,  and  that  the  said  Eighteen 
Lots  of  one  hundred  Acres  each  designed  for  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Town,  may  be  disposed  of  by  the 
Proprietors  in  the  most  Beneficial  manner  for  the 
Settlement  of  the  Town,  and  that  the  Seventy-five 
Acres  on  which  the  Taxes  have  been  laid,  may  be 
sold  for  payment  thereof  agreeable  to  Law,  or  other 
ways  paid  by  an  Order  on  the  Treasury,  and  your 
Petitioners  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

"Jonathan  Warner,  Moderator. 

"  Portsm"  June  17th,  1780.— A  true  Coppy  from  the 
Records  of  the  Proprietors  of  Protectworth. 

"  Attested  per  John  Wendell,  prs  Clerk." 

"Friday,  January  1,  1770. — Met  as  per  adjournment. 

"  Whereas,  JohnWendell,  Esq.,  hath  agreed  with  Rob- 
ert Wadleigh  Smith,  David  Bean,  and  Joseph  Bean 
to  give  them  that  Seventy-five  acre  Lot  of  land  in 
Proteetworth,which  was  intended  for  a  Mill  Privilege 
near  the  Centre  of  the  Town,  and  their  Choice  out  of 
any  of  the  hundred  acre  Lots  laid  out  by  Daniel 
Ladd  and  Eighteen  Pounds  Lawful  Money  in  Cash,  in 
Consideration  whereof  they  are  to  build  a  Saw  Mill 
and  Complete  the  Same  by  the  last  day  of- Sept.  next 
in  a  workmanlike  manner,  at  their  proper  Cost  and 
expence  and  for  their  own  use.  Therefore  it  being 
fully  considered  on — 

"  Voted,  That  the  said  agreement  be  confirmed  and 
considered  as  the  act  of  this  Proprietry." 

"Portsmouth,  June  14th,  1782.— Met  as  per  Ad- 
journment. After  considering  the  Subject  of  Taxes 
and  the  result  of  a  conference  with  the  Administrator 
or  Trustee  of  Gov.  Wentworth's  Estate,  and  passing 
notes  in  relation  thereto 

"  Voted,  That  Judith  Clifford,  wife  of  Israel  Clifford, 

junr.,  Shall  have  fifty  acres  of  Land  out  of  some  of 

the  hundred  acre  Lots  laid  out,  and  that  Prop'r  to 

whom  said  hundred  acres  shall  belong,  Shall  be  made 
21 


good  fifty  acres  some  where  else, — Said  Land  being 
voted  in  Consideration  of  her  being  the  first  female 
settler  in  the  Town  of  Protectworth." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Protect- 
worth, duly  warned  to  meet  at  the  house  of  John 
Wendell,  Esq.,  at  Portsmouth  Plains,  on  the  14th 
day  of  April,  1789,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, the  following  votes  were  passed  : 

"  Voted,  Jona.  Warner,  Esqr,  be  the  Moderator. 

"  Whereas,  the  Inhabitants  and  settlers  in  said 
Town  of  Protectworth  have  not  been  provided  by  the 
Charter  of  said  Town  with  a  Ministerial  Lot,  which 
is  a  discouragement  to  said  settlers  and  unprecedented 
in  Charters,  the  said  proprietors  being  willing  to 
assist  them  with  their  Proportion  towards  that  Pur- 
pose have,  and  do  hereby  consent  and  agree  to  vote 
and  it  is  now 

"  Voted,  That  the  said  Town  shall  have  the  choice 
out  of  any  of  the  One  Hundred  acre  (hundred  acre) 
Lots  to  take  Seventy-five  acres  to  be  for  and  as  a 
Ministerial  Seat  forever,  and  for  that  use  only,  provi- 
ded said  choice  shall  be  made  as  near  the  centre  of 
said  south  side  as  may  be  found  proper  for  a  settle- 
ment, and  reserving  a  Road,  and  any  Proprietors  land 
which  may  be  chosen  for  said  purpose  shall  be  made 
equally  good  by  this  Proprietry  in  any  other  lands 
after  that  he  shall  have  executed  a  deed  to  said  Town 
for  said  use. 

"  Whereas,  the  inhabitants  and  settlers  in  said  Town 
are  destitute  of  a  proper  Place  for  a  training  Field, 
Burying  ground  and  other  Public  uses  and  praying 
this  Proprietry  to  grant  them  Five  acres  for  ye  said 
those  purposes,  and  said  Proprietors  being  disposed 
to  comply  with  their  request,  Therefore 

"  Voted,  That  if  the  said  inhabitants  can  find  Five 
acres  within  any  of  the  Lots  belonging  to  the  Pro- 
prietors of  said  south  side  which  shall  be  by  the 
selectmen  of  said  Town  thought  suitable  for  said  use 
the  Town  shall  have  said  five  acres  for  said  publick 
uses  forever.  Provided  the  same  be  laid  out  in  a 
square  form  and  shall  be  keptenfenced  by  said  town 
so  as  not  to  Injure  the  Proprietor  of  said  Lot  out  of 
which  the  same  may  be  taken  by  laying  the  same 
common,  and  the  Proprietor  or  owner  of  said  Lot 
shall  be  satisfied  for  the  same  out  of  the  proprietor's 
other  Lands  after  he  shall  have  executed  a  Deed  of 
the  same  to  said  town  for  said  uses." 


324 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


THE  TOWN  RECORDS  OF   I'KOTECTWORTH. 

"Mar.  yc4,  1789. 

"State  of  New   Hamp-]    The8e  to  notil*  &  warD 

;  all    the    legal    voters    of 
shire  Cheshire,  SS.  j  th(,  fcownsMp  of  Protect- 

worth    to    meet    at    the    house    of     Mr.    Ebenezer 

Loverill  in  town,  on  the  last  Monday  in  this    Instant 

March,  at  2  o'cloek  P.  M.,  there  to  act,  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  first,  to  ehoose  a  moderator  to  govern  s'1  meeting. 

"  2d,  to  choose  Town  Clerk. 

"3d,  to  choose  Selectmen,  Constable  and  all  other 

town  officers  as  the  law  Directs, 
"4th,  to  see  how  much   money  the  town  will  raise 

to  Repair  highways  for  the  year  Insuing. 
"  Given    under   our    hands  this  the  15th    Day    of 

March,   1781. 
"  This  by  order  of  Court.     "Mr.  Giles. 

"Selectmen, 

of  Protectworth" 
"  Mr.  Giles,  Moderator. 

"  The  town  of  Protectworth  being  met  together  at 
time  &   place    aforesaid    Passed   the    following 
votes,  viz. : 
"  1st,  by  vote  Chose  Nathaniel  Clark,  town  Clerk. 
"  2d,  by  vote  Chose  Izrael  Clifford,  jur,  ] 

John  Chouch,  }  Selectmen 

Nicholas  Hardy,      J 

"  3d,  by  vote  Chose  Sam'l  Stevens,  Constable. 

"  4th,  by  vote  Chose  Thomas  Gordon,  1  Survairs  of 
Israel  Clifford,      J  highway. 

"  5th,  bv  vote  Chose  George  Whicher,  ) 

,TT....  i  hawards. 

\\  llliam  Corser,    J 

"6th,  Voted  to  raise  thirty  Pounds  L.  M.  to  sup- 
port highway  at  Corn  3s.Pr.  bushel  &  3*.  pr  Day. 
"  Attest  : 

"Nathaniel  Clark,  Town  Clerk." 

"  March  13th,  1782.— Chose  Benjamin  Choat,  Mod- 
erator; Nathaniel  Clark,  Town  Clerk;  Israel  Clif- 
ford, Junr,  David  Hall  &  Nicholas  Hardy,  Select- 
men ;  John  Chouch,  Constable ;  Berley  Hardy  A: 
Robert  W.  Smith,  Sessars;  George  Whicher  &  John 
Sawyer,  Hawards;1  Nicholas  Hardy,  Town  Treasurer; 
Israel  Clifford,  Junr,  Thomas  Gordon,  Survairs  of 
highway." 

"March    31,    1783.— Chose    John    Sawyer,  Mod.; 

1  Hay -wards  or  field-drivers,  whose  duty  was  to  take 
care  of  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  going  astray,  doing, 
damage,  owners  known  or  unknown. 


Nathaniel  Clark,  Town  Cl'k ;  John  Couch,  Birley 
hardy,  John  Quimby,  Selectmen  ;  David  Bean,  Con- 
stable. Put  to  vote  to  see  if  the  town  will  raise 
any  money  for  Schooling  and  passed  in  the  negative. 
Voted  to  raise  money  to  Defray  town  Charges  and  for 
the  Selectmen  assess  so  much  as  they  shall  think  Nes- 
sary." 

"March  yc  29th,  1784.— Chose  John  Sawyer,  Mod. ; 
Sam1  Rohie,  Town  Clerk  ;  John  Chouch,  Nicholas 
Hardy  &  Reuben  Stevens,  Selectmen  ;  Timothy 
Quimly,  Constable.  Put  to  vote  to  see  if  the  town 
would  carry  in  votes  for  a  President  and  County 
Senator  and  Passed  in  \°  Negative — 

"8,hly  Voted  that  ye  Selectmen  should  lay  out 
Roads  through  town  where  Wanted." 

"March  7,  1785.— Chose  Sam'l.  Stevens,  Mod.; 
Sam'l.  Robie,  T.  C. ;  Sam'l  Robie,  Israel  Clifford,  jr., 
&  John  <  Quimby,  Selectmen.  Voted  to  higher  four 
Days  Preaching  this  year  &  chose  Ebenezer  Loverin 
to  hire  said  preaching." 

"  Sept.  19,  1785.— Chose  David  Bean,  Delegate,  to 
attend  a  convention  at  Hanover.  Voted  to  petition 
to  General  Court  for  a  small  land  tax  on  Non-resident 
Land.  Put  to  vote  to  see  if  the  town  would  buy  a 
Law  book  and  Passed  in  the  Negative." 

"  December  15,  1785. — A  Special  Town  meeting 
was  called  and  lstly,  Chose  Reuben  Stevens,  Modera- 
tor of  said  meeting:  2llly,  by  Ballots  Chose  David 
Bean  for  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  said  Town." 

"Dec.  30,  1785.— Special  Town  Meeting  at  the 
house  of  Capt.  John  Quimby.  Voted  to  send  Saml 
Robie  as  Delegate,  with  a  number  of  others,  on  Con- 
vension  ye  3d  day  of  January  next,  at  the  house  of 
Coll.  Bruster,  in  Hanover." 

"March  27,  1786.— Benj.  Choat,  Moderator;  Mose 
Elkins,  Town  Clerk  ;  Abraham  Sanborn,  Nathaniel 
Clark,  &  Sam'l  Clay,  Selectmen  ;  also  chose  Survairs 
of  highways  iV  Lumber,  Sessors,  Sealer  of  weights  & 
measures,  and  hogg  Reifs.  Voted  to  send  a  Petition 
to  the  General  Court  for  abatement  of  war  tax. 
( 'hose  Daniel  Bean  to  carry  in  s'd  Petition.  It  is 
understood  that  voting  was  pract  iced  by  proxy  this 
year  and  that  the  Clerk  was  unable  to  write  or  read, 
but  Sam'l  Robie,  post  Clerk,  olliciated  as  Clerk  for 
.Mose  Elkins,  Town  Cl'k,  who  was  also  the  Pound- 
keeper." 

"Mar.  20, 1787.— Benj.  Choat,  Mod.;  Sam'l  Robie, 
T.  C. ;  Matbew  Gault,  Timothy  Quimby  &  Sam'l 
Robie,  Selectmen.     Voted   to  raise  some  money  for 


SPRINGFIELD. 


325 


Schooling  but  no  money  for  preaching  this  year. 
Chose  Reuben  Stevens  tidings  man  ;  Chose  Abraham 
Sanborn,  Grand- Juryman.  Voted  not  to  choose  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  Chose  a  committee  of  three  to 
examine  Selectmen's  ac'ompt.  Special  town  meetings 
were  called  to  elect  Grand  Juryman." 

"Mar.  31,  1788.— Israel  Clifford,  Jr.,  Mod.;  Sam'l 
Robie,  T.  Clerk;  Mathew  Gault,  James Carr  Hazzard 
&  Sam'l  Robie,  Selectmen.  Voted  to  hier  four  days' 
preaching,  and  to  raise  12£  for  Schooling  the  Insuing 
year,  to  be  paid  in  grain  at  48  per  bushel.  Chose 
tidiugsmen  and  Haywards  as  usual." 

"Dec.  9,  1788. —  Voted,  to  build  a  meeting-house, 
and  that  it  be  set  on  that  Lot  of  land  that  the  Pound 
stands  on  in  the  Convenient  place.  Chose  Timothy 
Quimby,  Reuben  Stevens  and  Israel  Clifford  Junr., 
Committee  men  to  build  said  meeting-house.  Voted 
to  see  if  the  Town  would  build  a  school-house  and 
Passed  in  the  Negative." 

"Mar.  30th,  1789.— Israel  Clifford  jr.,  Saml.  Robie, 
T.  Clerk  ;  Abraham  Sanborn,  Israel  Clifford  Junr., 
Moses  Richardson,  Selectmen;  Abraham  Sanborn, 
Representative  for  Protectworth  and  New  Grantham. 
Voted  for  President  of  State,  Senator  &  County 
officers  (first  time  on  record).  Voted  to  raise  3£  for 
Preaching  &  no  money  for  Schooling  this  year." 

"Mar.  29,  1790.— Nathaniel  Clark,  Moderator; 
Saml.  Robie,  Town  Clerk ;  Theodore  Morse,  Isaac 
Noyes  &  Nathaniel  Clark,  Selectmen.  Voted  to  raise 
3£  for  Preaching  &  6£  for  Schooling.  Voted  to 
divide  the  town  into  districts  for  Schooling." 

"Aug.  30,  1790.—  Voted  for  first  time  for  Repre- 
sentative to  Federal  Congress." 

"  March  28, 1791.— Israel  Clifford,  Jr.,  Mod. ;  Saml. 
Robie,  T.  Clerk;  Theodore  Morse,  Israel  Clifford, 
junr.,&  Reuben  Sanborn,  Selectmen.  By  proces  chose 
Samuel  Dunkiu,  Esq.  (Grantham),  Rep.  for  Protect- 
worth &  New  Grantham.  Voted  to  raise  6£  for 
Preaching  and  G£  for  Schooling,  &  Voted  that  each 
district  build  their  own  school-houses.  All  Town 
officers  Sworn  in  Presence  of  the  People.  Samuel 
Duncan,  Esq.,  chosen  delegate  by  the  District  of 
Protectworth  &  New  Grantham,  to  Convention,  to 
revise  State  Laws,  August  1,  1791  ;  chose  Nathaniel 
Clark  to  Serve  on  the  Grand  Jury  at  the  Court  of 
General  Sessions,  for  one  year,  August  18,  1791." 

"  Mar.  10,  1792.— Moses  Richardson,  Mod. ;  Saml. 
Robie,  T.  Clerk;  Nathaniel  Little,  Jedediah  Phil- 
brick  &  Theodore  Morse,  Selectmen.     Voted  to  raise 


Six  £  for  Preaching,  half  time  at  Capt.  Quimby's  & 
half  at  Ebenezer  Loverin's.  Raised  twelve  £  for 
Schooling.  Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  should  em- 
ploy Tilly  How  to  preach  so  long  as  the  money  raised 
will  pay  him,  provided  they  can  agree  with  him  on 
reasonable  terms.  And  that  they  hire  Mr.  How  to 
teach  the  school  so  long  as  the  money  raised  will  pay 
him." 

"Nov.  20,  1792.— Selectmen  Perambulated  the 
town  line,  from  S.  E.  corner  of  Grantham  to  N.  W. 
Corner  of  Wendell  (being  1st  record  of  perambulating 
town  lines)." 

"May  17,  1792. — First  Petit  Juryman  elected  at  a 
Special  meeting,  John  Noyes." 

"March  11,  1793. — Moses  Richardson,  Moderator  ; 
Sam'l  Robie,  T.  Clerk ;  Town  officers  chosen  by  hand 
vote ;  Moses  Richardson,  Sam'l  Robie,  Capt.  John 
Quimby,  Selectmen  ;  Caleb  Loverin,  Constable  and 
Collector,  at  (9)  nine  pence  upon  the  pound.  Voted 
to  raise  twelve  pounds  for  schooling  and  not  any 
money  for  preaching.  Jedediah  Philbrick,  Repre- 
sentative for  the  towns  of  New  Grantham  and  Pro- 
tectworth. Selectmen  approved  of  Jedediah  Phil- 
brick,  Charles  Hogg  and  David  Bean  selling  rum  and 
all  other  spirituous  liquors,  by  retail,  being  suitable 
men  and  living  in  suitable  places  to  serve  the 
publick;  also,  approved  of  Sam'l  Clay  selling  rum, 
brandy  and  all  other  spirits,  by  the  Retail,  by  the 
Gallon  and  any  under,  but  not  to  mix  with  water." 

"State  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  Thousand  seven 
hundred,  ninety-four. 

"An  Act  to  incorporate  the  Inhabitants  of  a  place 
in  the  County  of  Cheshire,  called  Protectworth. 
Whereas,  the  said  Inhabitants  have  petitioned  the 
General  Court  to  be  Incorporated,  of  which  due 
notice  has  been  given  and  no  objection  been  made  to 
the  same,  and  it  appearing  for  their  benefit  and  just. 

"  Be  it,  therefore,  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  in  General  Court  convened,  That 
there  be,  ami  hereby  is,  a  township  erected  and  In- 
corporated in  the  said  County  of  Cheshire,  by  the 
name  of  Springfield,  Bounded  as  follows:  Begining 
at  a  Beech  tree  at  the  South-East  corner  of  Grafton  ; 
from  thence,  runing  South  thirty-nine  Degrees 
West  two  miles  and  forty-four  chains,  on  the  Curve 
Line  so  called;  then  South  thirty-Seven  Degrees 
West  four   miles   and   thirty-seven   chains,   on   said 


326 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


curve  line;  then  runing  North  seventy- four  Degrees 
West  five  miles  and  nineteen  chains,  by  Wendell ; 
then  runing  North  Sixteen  Degrees  East  one  mile 
and  forty-four  chains,  to  a  small  rock  maple-tree  at 
the  southerly  corner  of  New  Grantham ;  then  North 
thirty-one  Degrees  East  five  miles  and  thirty  chains, 
by  said  New  Grantham  to  a  hemlock-tree  at  the 
Northeast  corner  thereof;  then  runing  South  twenty- 
two  Degrees  East  one  mile  to  a  small  Hackmatack- 
tree  ;  then  on  the  same  course  five  miles  and  thirty- 
six  chains,  and  one-half  chain  to  the  Beech-tree 
whence  it  began;  and  the  Inhabitants  thereof  erected 
into  a  body  Politic,  and  are  hereby  invested  with  all 
the  Powers,  and  Enfranchised  with  all  the  Rights, 
privileges  and  immunities  which  other  towns  in  this 
State  hold  and  enjoy.  To  Hold  to  the  Said  Inhabit- 
ants and  their  Successors  for  ever.  And  Mr.  Jedi- 
diah  Philbrick  is  hereby  authorized  to  call  a  meeting 
of  Said  Inhabitants  to  choose  all  necessary  and 
customary  town-officers,  giving  Fourteen  days  notice 
of  the  time  and  place  and  design  of  said  meeting. 
And  said  officers  shall  be  and  hereby  are  invested 
with  all  the  powers  of  the  like  officers  in  any  other 
town  in  this  State;  and  every  other  meeting,  which 
shall  be  annually  held  in  said  town  for  that  purpose, 
shall  be  on  the  Second  Tuesday  of  March  for  ever. 

"State  of  New  Hampshire.  In  the  House  of 
Representatives,  January  21st,  1 71»4.  The  foregoing 
Bill  having  had  three  Several  Readings,  passed  to  be 
Enacted.     Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

"Nathl  Peabody,  Speaker. 

"In  Senate,  January  23,  1794.     This  Bill  having 

been  Read   three  times.       Voted  that  the  Same  be 

Enacted. 

"  Abiel  Foster,  President  of  the  Senate. 

"  Approved  24th  January,  1794. 

"  Josiah  Bartlett. 
"  True  Copy. 

"Nathaniel  Parker,  Dep'y  Sec'y." 

"  Agreeable  to  the  foregoing  act  of  Incorporation, 
Jedediah  Philbrick  warned  the  first  annual  Town 
Meeting  in  the  town  of  Springfield  to  be  bolden  Mar. 
11th  1794.  Chose  Jedediab  Philbrick,  Esq.,  Mod. 
Voted  to  chose  Town  Clerk  and  Selectmen  by  proxes. 
Moses  Richardson,  Town  Clerk;  Moses  Richardson, 
Israel  Clifford,  Junr,  Ens.  Nathaniel  Little,  Select- 
men; Nathaniel  Clark,  Constable  and  Coll.  at  one 
penny  per  pound.  Ebenezer  Loverin  as  bondsman 
for  said   Clark    was  accepted.     Chose   Lieut.   Saml 


Robie,  Sam'l  Clay  and  David  Bean  Committee  to  ex- 
amine the  Selectmen's  accompt.  Moses  Richardson, 
Town  Treasurer;  John  Muzzey,  Ebenezer  Noyes, 
Reuben  Stevens,  Charles  Hogg  and  Dean  Stephen 
Kinsman,  Surveyors  of  Highways ;  Lieut.  Sam'l  Robie 
and  Moses  Elkins,  Tything-men  ;  Eliphalet  Quimby 
and  Timothy  Quimby,  Surveyors  of  Lumber  ;  Joseph 
Nichols  and  Eliphalet  Quimby,  hawards;  Israel  Clif- 
ford, Junr.,  Capt.  Reuben  Hoyt  and  Jonathan  San- 
born, Fence  Viewers  ;  Nicholas  Hardy,  Pound  Keep- 
er; Lieut.  Saml.  Robie,  Sealer  of  Weights  and  Meas- 
ures; Saml.  Clay,  Sealer  of  Leather  ;  Stevens  Colcord, 
Deer  Inspector.  All  the  above  were  sworn.  Voted 
to  raise  Fifty  pounds  for  Repairing  Highways,  Twenty 
pounds  for  Schooling,  Fifteen  pounds  for  Preaching. 
Selectmen  were  chosen  a  Com.  to  lay  out  said  money 
for  preaching. 

"  Voted  to  build  a  Pound  twenty-five  feet  square 
with  Hemlock  or  Pine  Sills,  Posts  eight  inches  square 
and  eight  feet  high,  Rails  to  be  Spruce,  hewed  or 
sawed,  four  Plates  of  Pine,  twelve  inches  square  eight 
good  and  sufficient  Braces,  and  a  Gate  sufficient  for 
said  Pound.  The  building  of  said  Pound  being  setup 
at  Vendue,  was  struck  off  to  John  Loverin  for  three 
pounds  six  shillings,  his  having  the  three  days  work 
due  from  Moses  Elkins,  Jr. 

"  The  Hon1'1"  John  Taylor  Gilman,  45  Votes  for 
Governor;  Daniel  Rand,  Esq.,  39  Votes  for  Counsel- 
lor; John  Bellows,  Esq.,  35  Votes  for  Senator  ;  John 
Hubbard,  Esq.,  38  Notes  for  County  Treasurer;  Ben- 
jamin Bellows,  36  Votes  for  Recorder  of  Deeds. 

"  Voted  that  the  Selectmen  find  books  for  ye  Town 
and  a  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures.  The  fore- 
going is  the  principal  part  of  this  first  Town  Meeting. 

"  The  first  Record  of  Inventory  and  Taxes  which 
we  find  was  during  the  present  year,  and  against  the 
following : 

Capt.  Ephraim  Kinsman.  John  Bachelor. 

Col.  Aaron  Kinsman.  Zebb  Gilman. 

Dea"  Stephen    Kinsman.  Joseph  Webster. 

James  Riddell.  James  McDaniel. 

James  Riddell,  Jr.  John  Philbrick. 

Ephraim  Colby.  Thomas  Challace. 

Capt.  John  Gaile.  Silas  Barker. 

Ebenezer  Noves.  James  C.  Hazzard. 

Daniel  Cilley.  Stephen  Sawyer. 

Ens.  Nathaniel  Little.  John  Sawyer. 

John  Noyes.  Reuben  Stevens. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


327 


Isaiah  Johnson. 
Stephen  Webster. 
Samuel  Clay. 
John  Karr. 
Reuben  Sanborn. 
Philip  Colby. 
Lt.  Saml.  Robie. 
Moses  Richardson. 
Joseph  Nichols. 
Capt.  John  Quiraby. 
Elisha  Quimby. 
Deputy  Bowman. 
Jacob  Ferrington. 
Moses  Elkins. 
Moses  Elkins,  Jr. 
Docr  Will™  Phillips. 
Lt.  Reuben  Hoyt. 
Nicholas  Hardy. 
Benjamin  Hardy. 
Ebenr  Loverin. 
Caleb  Loverin. 
Israel  Clifford,  Jr. 
Timothy  Quimby. 
John  Loverin. 
Nathaniel  Clark. 
Osgood  Taylor,  Esqr. 
Jedediah  Pbilbrick. 
Abraham  Philbrick. 
Jonathan  Young. 
Samuel  Stevens. 
Eliphalet  Quimby. 
Jerremiah  Fogg,  Esq. 
David  Bean. 
Jasson  Hazzard. 


Jonathan  Stevens. 
Theodore  Morse. 
Enoch  Heath. 
John  Heath. 
Daniel  Bean. 
Dustin  Cheney. 
Evan  M.  Heath. 
Thomas  Davis. 
William  Quimby. 
Jesse  Davis. 
Daniel  Richardson. 
Jonathan  Dudley. 
Israel  Clifford. 
John  Dudley. 
Stevens  Colcord. 
Tristram  Clifford. 
Jonathan  Sanborn. 
Joseph  Taylor. 
Moses  Pillsbury. 
Joseph  Pillsbury. 
Isaac  Colby. 
Robert  Hogg. 
Charles  Hogg. 
Moses  Merrill. 
John  Stevens. 
John  Muzzy. 
Biley  Hardy. 
Daniel  Philbrick. 
Samuel  Evans. 
Amos  Flood. 
Asa  Kinsman. 
John  Cilley. 
John  Gilman. 


"The  total  County  and  Town  Tax,  £40  14s.  lid.; 
School  Tax,  £10  7s.  5c/.  2  far.  ;  Highway  Tax,  £51  5s. 
3c/.;  Poll  Tax,  County  and  Town,  3s.  2d.  2  far.; 
School,  Is.  Id.  1  far.  ;  Highway,  4s.  Total  Poll  Tax, 
8s.  9d.  3  far. 

"  Mar.  10,  1795.— Jedediah  Philbrick,  Mod. ;  Saml. 
Robie,  T.  Clerk  ;  Samuel  Robie,  Jonathan  Sanborn, 
David  Bean,  Selectmen ;  Nathaniel  Clark,  Cons.  & 
Coll.;  Moses  Richardson,  T.  Treas. ;  Ens.  Nathaniel 
Little  chosen  by  the  towns  of  Springfield  and  New 
Grantham,  to  represent  the  said  towns  in  General 
Court.  Ens  Philip  Colby  was  elected  Agent  to  get 
the  plan  of  the  Salisbury  Meeting  House. 

"  We  find   by  the  Records,  that  previous  to  this 


several  families  and  persons  had  been  warned  out  of 
town  by  the  Selectmen." 

"Sept.  7,  1795. —  Voted  to  accept  the  plan  of  a 
Meeting  House,  as  laid  before  the  Town  by  Ens  Philip 
Colby,  and  that  the  Constitution  of  said  Meeting 
House  shall  be  as  followeth  (viz.)  That  when  said 
house  be  built  that  any  Gospel  Minister  or  Preacher 
of  any  Denomination  shall  Preach  in  said  house,  he 
or  they  being  of  good  caracter,  at  the  Request  of  any 
Denomination  in  said  Town,  according  to  their  num- 
bers." 

"Mar.  8,  1796.— Jedediah  Philbrick,  Mod.;  Saml. 
Robie,  T.  Clerk  ;  Saml.  Robie,  Jedediah  Philbrick, 
Nathl.  Little,  Selectmen ;  Barachias  Farnum,  Cons. 
&  Coll.;  Moses  Richardson,  T.  Treasurer.  Hog- 
reeves  were  chosen  this  year  in  addition  to  other 
Town  officers.  Voted  to  raise  forty  pounds  for  school- 
ing, and  no  money  for  preaching.  Robert  Duncan  of 
New  Grantham  was  chosen  to  represent  the  Towns  of 
New  Grantham  and  Springfield  in  General  Court." 

"  Mar.  14,  1797.— Saml.  T.  Clark,  Mod.,  and  Select- 
men as  in  1796  ;  Nathaniel  Clark,  Cons.  &  Coll. ;  Na- 
thaniel Little  to  represent  New  Grantham  and  Spring- 
field in  General  Court." 

"  Aug.  28,  1797.— Prior  to  this,  the  Town  Meetings 
have  been  holden  at  the  houses  of  Capt.  John  Quim- 
by and  Sam1  Clay.  To-day  a  Meeting  is  to  be  holden 
in  the  Meeting-house.  Jedediah  Philbrick,  Mod. 
Secondly,  brought  in  their  votes  for  Peleg  Sprague, 
Esqr.  27  vote  to  Represent  this  State  in  Congress  of 
the  United  States." 

"  Oct.  30, 1797.— Moses  Richardson,  Timothy  Quim- 
by and  Israel  Clifford,  Jr.,  were  chosen  Committee- 
men to  Convene  with  Mr.  Hibard  and  see  on  what 
terms  he  will  supply  us  as  a  Minister." 

"  Mar.  13,  1798.— The  same  Mod.  Town  Clerk  & 
Selectmen  as  in  1796-97.  Robert  Duncan  to  repre- 
sent New  Grantham  and  Springfield." 

"  1799.— Jedediah  Philbrick.  Mod. ;  Saml.  Robie, 
T.  Clerk ;  Saml.  Robie,  Nathaniel  Little,  Jedediah 
Philbrick,  Selectmen.  Jedediah  Philbrick  was  chosen 
to  represent  New  Grantham  and  Springfield.  It  was 
voted  to  pay  Rev.  Solomon  Hibard  $100  for  preaching 
two-thirds  of  the  time  during  1798,  and  in  1799  they 
voted  to  pay  him  $200  for  the  year,  one-third  being  in 
cash  and  two-thirds  in  produce.  The  Meeting-House 
was  Dedicated  the  last  AVed.  in  Sept.,  1799." 

"  Mar.  1800.— Nathaniel  Little,  Mod.  ;  Saml.  Robie, 
T.  Clerk ;  Theodore  Morse,  Nathaniel  Little,  Dr.  Na- 


328 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


thaniel  Prentis,  Selectmen.  Voted  to  allow  John 
Quimby,  Jr.,  one  dollar  for  taking  care  of*  meeting- 
house the  past  year.     No  Representative  elected." 

"  1801. — Jedediah  Philbrick,  Mod.  Voted  to  choose 
all  officers  by  hand  vote.  Saml.  Robie,  T.  Clerk; 
Saml.  Robie,  Jedediah  Philbrick  &  Dr.  Nathaniel 
Prentis,  Selectmen  ;  Osgood  Taylor,  Cons,  and  Collec- 
tor. Voted  that  the  Selectmen  make  Mr.  Dean  some 
compensation  for  his  services  for  the  last  Sabbath. 
(Nov.  13,  1800).  In  1801  voted  to  raise  Sixty  Dollars 
for  preaching  and  those  who  gave  their  names  to 
Selectmen  before  the  tax  was  made  should  have  their 
proportion  and  the  committee  lay  out  the  remainder 
for  travelling  preachers,  unless  they  otherways  agree. 
Samuel  Robie,  Representative  for  towns  of  New 
Grantham  and  Springfield.  Voted  to  dispense  with  the 
services  of  the  clerk  of  the  New  Grantham  &  Spring- 
field Representative  district." 

"  1802.— Dr.  Nathaniel  Prentis,  Moderator;  Saru'l 
Robie,  Town  Clerk  ;  Sam'l  Robie,  Nathaniel  Prentis 
&  Charles  Hogg,  Selectmen  ;  Reuben  Sanborn,  Col- 
lector of  taxes  at  Id.  per  £." 

"  Nov.  18,  1802. — Called  a  special  town  Meeting 
chose  a  Moderator  and  voted  to  employ  Mr.  Rolfe  to 
preach  one  day  with  us." 

"  1803.— Chose  Capt.  Charles  Hogg,  Mod. ;  Sam'l 
Robie,  T.  Clerk ;  Nathaniel  Little,  Capt.  Charles 
Hogg,  Capt.  Philip  Colby,  Selectmen  ;  and  Capt.  Ca- 
leb Lovering,  Constable  and  Collector  at  6c.  per  £. 
Voted  to  chose  a  Committee  of  seven  men  to  divide  the 
town  into  districts  for  schooling,  and  that  their  pro- 
ceedings shall  be  valid.  Chose  Samuel  Robie  to  rep- 
resent New  Grantham  and  Springfield." 

"  1804.— Jedediah  Philbrick,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Robie, 
Town  Clerk;  Charles  Church,  Jedediah  Philbrick, 
Sam'l  Robie,  Selectmen,  who  were  sworn  by  Nathaniel 
Little,  he  being  one  of  the  old  Selectmen.  Daniel 
( rilman,  Cons,  and  Coll.  at  8|c.  per  £." 

"  Oct.  20, 1804. —  Voted  to  petition  the  General  Courl 
to  allow  the  town  of  Springfield  to  send  a  Representa- 
tive inasmuch  as  New  Grantham  has  notified  us  that 
they  have  constitutionally  gained  their  freedom." 

"  1805.— Capt.  Philip  Colby,  .Mod.  ;  Sam'l  Robie, 
Town  Clerk  ;  Sam'l  Robie,  Nathaniel  Prentis,  Samuel 
Little,  Selectmen  ;  Thomas  Colcord,  Cons,  and  Coll. 
at  9i  cts.  per  £." 

"  Dec.  25,  1805. —  Voted  to  build  five  school-houses 
before  November  next." 

"  1806.— Chose  Capt.    Reuben  Hoyt,  Mod.;    Sam'l 


Robie,  Town  Clerk ;  Sam'l  Little,  John  Quimby,  Jr., 
Jedediah  Philbrick,  Selectmen  ;  Daniel  Oilman,  Cons, 
and  Coll.  ;  Chose  Lieut.  Daniel  Noyes  to  represent 
this  town  in  General  Ccurt  the  ensuing  year,  he  being 
the  first  Representative  chosen  by  Springfield  alone." 

"1807.— Capt.  Reuben  Hoyt,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Robie, 
Town  Clerk.  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  exam- 
ine the  Selectmen's  accounts  for  last  year,  and  said 
committee  to  report  to-morrow ;  they  reported,  and 
the  report  was  accepted  agreeably." 

"  Sam'l  Robie,  Sam'l  Little,  John  Quimby,  Jr.,  Se- 
lectmen ;  Daniel  Noyes,  Representative.  Voted  that 
the  Collector  of  taxes  shall  be  considered  as  Consta- 
ble, and  the  Collecting  of  Taxes  be  struck  off  to  the 
lowest  bidder.  Enoch  Challis,  Coll.  at  6c.  per  £., 
(equal  to  $1.80  per  $100)." 

"  1808.— Capt.  Philip  Colby,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Robie, 
Town  Clerk  ;  Sam'l  Robie,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Prentis, 
Lieut.  Benjamin  Colby,  Selectmen ;  Capt.  Reuben 
Hoyt,  Coll.  at  2\  cts.  per  dollar.  Daniel  Noyes,  Esq., 
Representative." 

"  Voted  to  build  a  Pound  with  stones." 

"  May  2,  1808. — Sold  the  seventy-five  acre  lot  gran- 
ted the  town  by  the  original  proprietors  for  support  of 
Preaching,  at  vendue  to  the  highest  bidder,  being 
struck  off  to  William  Quimby  at  $5  per  acre." 

"1809.— Philip  Colby,  Mod.;  Sam'l  Robie,  Town 
Clerk;  Sam'l  Robie,  Jedediah  Philbrick,  John  Quimby, 
Jr.,  Telectmen  ;  Daniel  Noyes,  Representative.  Voted 
to  give  Mr.  Watson  the  interest  on  the  town  for  his 
services  the  ensuing  year,  he  being  a  Resident  and 
Preacher;  Reuben  Hoyt,  Coll." 

"1810.— Jedediah  Philbrick,  Moderator;  Nathl. 
Prentis,  Town  Clerk  ;  Capt.  Benjamin  Colby,  Lieut. 
Sam'l  Little,  Jonathan  Sanborn,  Selectmen  ;  Capt. 
Reuben  Hoyt,  Coll. ;  Daniel  Noyes,  Representative  ; 
Nathl.  Prentis,  Town  Clerk;  Died  Oct.  10,  1810,  and 
Samuel  Robie  was  elected  to  serve  out  the  year." 

"1811.— Jedediah  Philbrick,  Moderator;  Sam'l 
Little,  Town  Clerk;  Sam'l  Little,  Jedediah  Philbrick, 
Moses  Pillshury,  Selectmen;  Thomas  Colcord,  Coll. 
($.014)  1  ct.  &  4  mills  per  dollar;  Col.  John  Quimby, 
Rep." 

"1812.— Col.  John  Quimby,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Little,  T. 
Clerk;  Jedediah  Philbrick,  Esq.,  Capt.  Benj.  Colby, 
Ens.  Andrew  Pettingill,  Selectmen  ;  Thomas  ( 'oleord, 
Coll.;  Col.  John  Quimby,  Representative.  Chose 
Mr.  JosiahBaily,  Dr.  Amasa  Howard  and  David  Col- 


SPRINGFIELD. 


329 


cord  a  committee  to  inspect  schools,  being  the  first  on 
record." 

"1812,  Oct.  10.— The  Warrant  for  Presidential  elec- 
tion contain  the  following  Article  and  Request:  To 
see  what  sum  of  money  the  inhabitence  of  .this  town 
will  give  each  Soldier  by  the  month  who  now  stands 
at  a  minuits  warning  to  bee  Called  out  in  Defence  ol 
the  Country.  And  it  is  earnestly  Requested  that  no 
person  should  unnecessarily  Bee  Detained  at  Home 
on  said  day  as  it  is  a  day  when  every  man  must  show 
himself  a  friend  or  an  enemy  to  his  Country." 

"1813.  -  Chose  Sam'l  Robie  Mod.;  Sam'l  Little,  T. 
Clerk;  Sam'l  Little,  Benj.  Colby,  John  Morrill,  Se- 
lectmen ;  Capt.  Reuben  Hoyt,  Cons,  and  Coll.,  at  9 
mills  on  a  dollar ;  David  Colcord,  Representative." 

«  1814.— Sam'l  Robie,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Little,  Town 
Clerk ;  Sam'l  Little,  John  Quimby,  John  Hoyt,  Se- 
lectmen ;  Ens.  Andrew  Pettingill,  Cons.  &  Coll.  ;  Da- 
vid Colcord,  Representative." 

"  Voted  to  give  Elder  Elijah  Watson  the  interest  that 
arises  from  tbe  town  lot  the  year  past  and  what  will 
arise  the  year  ensuing.  Sam'l  Little  died  in  April, 
and  April  25,  at  special  town  meeting,  chose  Col.  John 
Quimby  Town  Clerk, pro  tern" 

"  May  16. — At  special  town  meeting  chose  Jedediah 
Philbrick  Town  Clerk." 

"  1815.— Sam'l  Robie,  Mod. ;  Jedediah  Philbrick, 
T.  C;  Jedediah  Philbrick,  Moses  Pillsbury  and  John 
Morrell,  Selectmen.  Chose  Elder  Elijah  Watson 
Rep.,  and  voted  to  give  him  the  interest  arising  from 
the  town  lot  the  present  year.  David  Colcord,  Coll. 
&  Cons." 

"  1816.— Sam'l  Robie,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby,  Town 
Clerk.  Voted  to  give  Mr.  Watson  the  interest  on 
town  lot.  David  Colcord,  Representative,  also  Cons, 
and  Coll." 

"  1817.— Chose  David  Colcord,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby, 
T.  C. ;  John  Quimby,  John  Stocker,  John  Caswell, 
Selectmen  ;  Moses  Pillsbury,  Coll.  &  Cons. ;  Abner 
Johnson,  Reuben  Hoyt,  Joseph  Baily  to  examine  the 
schools  ;  John  Quimby,  Rep." 

"  1818. — Dr.  Abner  Johnson,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby, 
T.  C.  and  Rep. ;  John  Quimby,  John  Stocker,  Dr. 
Abner  Johnson,  Selectmen." 

"1819.— David  Colcord,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby,  T. 
C.  and  Rep. ;  John  Quimby,  Moses  Pillsbury,  Reuben 
Hoyt,  Selectmen." 

"  Voted  not  to  raise  any  money  for  Preaching  and 


the  interest  from  the  town  lot  be  laid  out  to  repair 
the  meeting-house." 

"  1820.— David  Colcord,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby,  T. 
Clerk ;  Reuben  Hoyt,  John  Stocker,  David  Colcord, 
Selectmen;  John  Stocker,  Rep. 

"  Voted  to  lay  out  the  interest  arising  from  the  town 
lot  for  preaching,  and  the  Selectmen  be  a  committee 
to  lay  out  the  same." 

"Sept.  20,  1820. — Selectmen  approve  of  and  license 
Jonathan  Sanborn,  Jr.,  Joseph  Goss  and  Israel  San- 
born to  sell  spirituous  liquors  on  Muster  day,  near 
Jonathan  Sanborn's,  in  Springfield." 

"  1821.— Benj.  Colby,  Mod.;  John  Quimby,  Town 
Clerk;  John  Quimby,  John  Colby,  Reuben  Hoyt, 
Selectmen.  Lt.  Daniel  Heath  gave  8  mills  on  the 
dollar  for  the  privilege  of  collecting  taxes,  and  he 
was  chosen  Constable,  John  Quimby,  Rep." 

"1822.— Capt.  Benj.  Colby,  Mod. ;  John  Quimby, 
Town  Clerk ;  John  Quimby,  Joseph  Johnson,  John 
Colby,  Selectmen  ;  Sam1  Stevens,  Jr.,  Collector  at  one 
cent  on  the  dollar  ;  John  Quimby,  Rep. 

"Voted  to  set  up  the  support  of  Sally  Robie  at  ven- 
due, by  the  week,  for  one  year,  should  she  live  so  long, 
while  in  health,  and  when  sick  the  Town  to  pay  the 
Doctor's  bill,  and  was  struck  off  to  John  Gilman,  Jr., 
at  twenty-one  cents  per  week." 

"1823. — Benj.  Colby,  Mod.;  Abuer  Johnson,  Town 
Clerk;  John  Quimby,  Reuben  Hoyt,  Benj.  Colby, 
Selectmen ;  Sam1  Stevens,  Jr.,  Coll.  at  1  ct.  on  the 
dollar;  John  Stocker,  Rep. 

"  Voted  to  have  the  Minister  money  equally  divided 
among  the  different  denominations  of  Christians  in 
town,  each  person  making  known  to  the  Selectmen  to 
what  denomination  he  belongs. 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  that  we  receive  Ebenezer  Lit- 
tle and  others  as  inhabitants  of  this  town. 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  to  receive  David  Tewksbury 
and  others,  now  belonging  to  Grafton,  as  inhabitants 
of  this  town." 

The  object  of  the  above  votes  was  that  those 
persons  should  be  inhabitants  of  the  town,  as  they 
were  members  of  the  Congregationalist  Church 
here,  of  which  Job  Cushman  was  the  pastor. 

"  1824. — Chose  Nathan  Stickney,  Mod. ;  Abner 
Johnson,  T.  Clerk ;  John  Quimby,  Abner  Johnson. 
John  Stocker,  Selectmen ;  Sam1  Stevens,  Jr.,  Coll.,  at 
one  cent  on  a  dollar. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  Voted  that  the  Selectmen  should  have  thirty  dol- 
lars for  their  services. 

"  Voted  to  choose  a  Committee  to  inspect  schools, 
and  chose  Josiah  Johnson,  Joseph  Nichols  and  Abner 
Johnson. 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  to  have  the  Court  removed 
from  Charlestown  to  Newport.     Chose  John  Quimby, 

Rep." 

"Mar.  5,  1825.— Selectmen  licensed  Elihu  Chase, 
W.  Quimby  and  Langdon  L.  Hill  to  sell  Wine,  Rum, 
Gin  and  other  spirituous  liquors  by  retail  (either 
mixed  or  not)  on  the  Common,  near  the  Meeting- 
house, on  Mar.  8,  1825,  and  at  no  other  time. 

"  Langdon  L.  Hill  also  had  permission  to  sell  at 
his  father's  house  in  said  Springfield. 

"  Chose  Nathan  Stickney,  Mod. ;  Abner  Johnson, 
T.  Clerk ;  John  Quimby,  Solomon  Clement,  Reuben 
Hoyt,  Jr.,  Selectmen;  Dr.  Joseph  Nichols,  Treasurer; 
Sam1  Stevens,  Jr.,  Coll. ;  Joseph  Nichols,  Reuben 
Hoyt,  Solomon  Clement,  Com.  to  Inspect  Schools; 
John  Quimby,  Rep.  Vendued  the  charge  and  sweep- 
ing of  the  meeting-house  and  care  of  the  burying 
yard,  and  struck  off  to  Moses  D.  Richardson  a't  fifteen 
cents  for  the  present  year. 

"  Voted  to  let  the  swine  run  at  large." 

"1826. — Elihu  Chase  again  licensed  to  sell  liquors 
on  town-meeting  day.  Chose  Nathan  Stickney,  Mod. ; 
Abner  Johnson,  T.  Clerk  ;  Solomon  Clement,  Reuben 
Hoyt,  Samuel  Stevens,  Jr.,  Selectmen;  John  Quimby, 
Coll. ;  Jos.  Nichols,  Treas.  and  Representative. 

"  Voted  to  have  Dr.  Nichols'  present  of  five  dollars 
to  the  town  placed  in  the  town  treasury." 

"1827 — Sullivan  Co.  was  formed  this  year.  Nathan 
Stickney,  Mod. ;  Abner  Johnson,  T.  Clerk. 

"  Voted  to  hear  the  report  of  Committee  to  inspect 
schools.  John  Quimby,  Solomon  Clement,  James  G. 
McAlwin,  Selectmen  ;  Hiram  French,  Coll.  at  1>  its. 
per  dollar;  Joseph  Nichols,  Treasurer  and  Rep.;  Job 
Cushman,  Abner  Johnson,  Joseph  Nichols,  Commit- 
tee to  inspect  schools." 

"  June  19,  1827. — Moses  D.  Richardson  and  Solo- 
mon Clement  were  licensed  to  mix  and  sell  Rum,  Gin, 
Brandy  and  Wine  at  their  houses  and  buildings  on 
Wed.  the  20  of  June  inst." 

"  1828.— Reuben  Hoyt,  Mod.;  John  Quimby,  T. 
Clerk;  John  Quimby,  Lewis  Fisher,  Hiram  French, 
Selectmen  ;  Hiram  French,  Cons,  and  Coll.  at  1T9^  cts. 
per  dollar ;  also,  chose  Joseph  Lear,  Constable ;  Levi 
Hill,  Treas.     Chose  one  man  for  school  committee  in 


each    school   district  by  town  vote.     John  Quimby, 
Rep. 

"  Voted  to  set  up  the  poor  at  vendue  to  be  struck  off 
to  the  lowest  bidder." 

"1829.— John  H.  Williams,  Mod.;  John  Quimby, 
Town  Clerk  ;  John  Quimby,  John  H.  Williams,  John 
Field,  Selectmen.  James  McDaniel,  Cons,  and  Coll. 
at  nine  mills  per  dollar.  Voted  that  the  Coll.  set- 
tle and  pay  over  all  taxes  to  the  Treasurer  at 
least  ten  days  before  the  next  annual  town-meeting. 
Levi  Hill,  Treas. ;  John  Quimby,  Rep.  Voted  to 
put  the  literary  fund  school  money  at  interest  and 
expend  the  interest  annually,  and  to  be  divided  in 
the  several  school  districts  according  to  their  school 
money  in  their  districts.  Voted  to  divide  the  time 
in  the  meeting  house  among  the  several  Christian 
denominations. 

"October26,  1829.— Chose  John  H.  Williams  Town 
Clerk,  Pro  tern." 

"  1830.— Dr.  Joseph  Nichols,  Mod. ;  John  Quim- 
by, Town  Clerk;  Solomon  ^Clement,  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  Lewis  Howard,  Selectmen.  Chose  Nathan 
Stickney  agent  to  look  up  back  arrearages  and  that 
he  have  power  to  prosecute  if  they  dont  pay  it  over. 
James  McDaniel,  Coll.;  at  let.  per  dollar.  Moses  D. 
Richardson,  Treas. ;  John  H.  Williams,  Rep.  Voted 
that  each  School  District  choose  their  own  Committee. 
Voted  to  lay  out  the  interest  among  the  several  Socie- 
ties according  to  their  number  of  Polls  in  said  Socie- 
ties. Voted  that  the  time  in  Meeting  house  shall  be 
divided  according  to  the  number  of  Polls  in  each  So- 
ciety, and  the  Selectmen  be  the  Committee  to  divide 
as  aforesaid.  Abner  Johnson  and  D.  N.  Adams,  Town 
Clerks  Pro  tern,  at  two  special  town  meetings  and  re- 
corded by  J.  Quimby,  T.  Clerk.  Voted  that  one 
hundred  dollars  of  the  Literary  fund  be  expended  for 
schooling,  and  chose  Abner  Johnson  Agent  to  look  up 
said  Literary  fund." 

"1831. — Nathan  Stickney,  Mod. ;  Joseph   Nichols, 
Town    Clerk ;    M.    D.    Richardson,   Treasurer ;     Hi- 
ram French,  Coll.  ;  Lewis  Howard,  Moses  Pillsb  ury, 
John  Cambell,  Selectmen ;   Solomon  Clement,  Rep- 
resentative." 

"  1832.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod.;  Joseph  Nichols,  T. 
('Krk  ;  Solomon  Clement,  Joseph  Lear,  Moses  At- 
wood,  Selectmen  ;  Solomon  Clement,  Rep. ;  M.  D. 
Richardson,  Treas.  ;  John  Quimby,  Coll.  Chose  a 
Committee  to  consider  the  subject  of  buying  a  farm 
for  the  support  of  the  poor." 


SPRINGFIELD. 


331 


"1833.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod.;  Joseph  Nichols,  T, 
Clerk  ;  John  Fisk,  Solomon  Clement,  John  Morrill, 
Selectmen  ;  Joseph  Lear,  Treas. ;  James  McDaniel, 
Coll. ;  Sam.  Colby,  Rep." 

"  1834.— Nathan  Stickney,  Mod.;  Joseph  Nichols, 
Town  Clerk;  Joseph  Nichols,  Isaac  Colby,  James 
Noyes,  Selectmen  ;  Joseph  Lear,  Coll. ;  Saml.  Quim- 
by,  2nd  Coll. ;  Sam.  Colby,  Representative.  Voted  to 
abate  David  Fuller,  Jr.  tax  for  1833.  Voted  that  the 
selectmen  abate  such  other  taxes  as  they  think  proper, 
that  are  in  the  hands  of  James  McDaniel,  Coll." 

Previous  taxes  appear  to  have  been  abated  only 
by  special  vote  of  the  town. 

"  1835. — Nathan  Stickney,  Mod. ;  Joseph  Nichols, 
T.  Clerk  ;  Joseph  Nichols.  Saml.  Quimby,  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  Selectmen ;  Joseph  Lear,  Treas. ;  J.  McDan- 
iel, Coll. ;  John  Nichols,  Rep." 

Auditors  were  first  chosen  this  year.  Previous 
to  this  a  committee  had  been  chosen  to  inspect 
the  selectmen's  accounts. 

"  1836.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod.  ;  Saml.  Quimby,  Town 
Clerk ;  Samuel  Quimby,  James  McDaniel,  Joseph 
Goss,  Selectmen ;  John  Quimby,  Treas. ;  James  Mc- 
Daniel, Coll. ;  John  Nichols,  Representative. 

"  May  25,  1836.— Voted  to  buy  a  Town  farm. 

"Springfield,  Mar.  26,  1836. — Personally  appeared 
Saml.  Quimby  2nd,  James  McDaniels,  and  Joseph 
Goss,  Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Springfield  for  the 
year  ensuing,  and  took  the  following  oath  :  We  sev- 
erally solemnly  swear  that  we  will  make  a  just  and 
true  appraisement  of  all  ratable  estate  subject  to  as- 
sessment of  public  taxes  in  the  town  of  Springfield  at 
its  full  value  in  money,  according  to  the  "best  of  our 
judgment.     So  help  us  God. 

"  Before  me, 

"John  Quimby, 

"  Justice  of  Peace." 

"  1837.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.Adams,  T. 
Clerk ;  Joseph  Nichols,  Benjamin  Colby,  Kimball 
Haseltine,  Selectmen  ;  Moses  D.  Richardson,  Treas.  ; 
Richard  Sanborn,  Coll.  ;  Saml.  Quimby,  2nd,  Rep. 
Chose  James  Noyes  first  agent  to  manage  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Poor  Farm.  Selectmen  to  buy  stock  for 
Poor  Farm." 

"  Aug.  1.— James  Noyes  declined ;  was  elected 
agent." 

"  1838.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  T. 


Clerk;  Joseph  Nichols,  Benj.  Colby,  Sam.  Colby,  Se- 
lectmen; Saml.  Quimby,  2nd,  Rep.;  Richard  Sanborn, 
Coll.  Voted  to  pay  the  soldiers  of  Capt.  Peasley's 
company,  who  did  duty  on  Muster  and  Training  days, 
one  hundred  dollars,  and  voted  to  raise  said  sum  by 
tax." 

"  1839.— Sam.  Colby,  Moderator;  Daniel  N.  Adams, 
T.  Clerk;  Sam.  Colby,  Saml.  Quimby,  James  McDan- 
iel, Selectmen  ;  Orra  C.  Howard,  Rep. ;  J.  McDaniel, 
Collector.  Voted  to  pay  Eliakim  Putney  twenty-five 
dollars  extra  for  his  services  on  the  Town  Farm." 

"  1840.— Sam  Colby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  T. 
Clerk ;  Sam'l  Quimby,  James  McDaniel,  William 
Stocker,  Selectmen  ;  Orra  C.  Howard,  Rep. ;  Richard 
Sanborn,  Coll. 

"  Nov.  2,  1840. —  Voted  that  the  selectmen  furnish  a 
suitable  Standard  for  the  4th  Military  Co.,  before  the 
4th  of  Mar.  next,  and  that  they  pay  the  Rifle  Co.  the 
same  as  the  standard  of  Co.  4,  and  that  the  4th  Co. 
and  Rifle  Co.  meet  on  the  Common  on  the  4th  of 
March  next,  to  celebrate  the  inauguration  of  the 
President ;  that  the  town  furnish  powder  for  the  occa- 
sion and  dinner  for  the  soldiers  belonging  to  both 
companies  and  dinner  for  all  the  spectators  belonging 
to  the  town  present  on  the  occasion." 

"  1841.— Sam'l  Quimby,  Mod.  ;  Orra  C.  Howard, 
Town  Clerk  ;  Sam'l  Quimby,  Joseph  Nichols,  William 
Stocker,  Selectmen ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  Rep. ;  Rich- 
ard Sanborn,  Coll.  Check-List  first  used  in  election 
of  Representative  and  State  and  County  officers." 

"1842.—  Sam'l  Quimby,  Mod.;  Orra  C.  Howard, 
T.  Clerk ;  James  McDaniel,  Richard  Sanborn,  Joel 
Whittemore,  Selectmen;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  Rep  ; 
James  McDaniel,  Coll." 

"  1843.— Francis  M.  Morrill,  Mod. ;  Orra  C.  How- 
ard, Town  Clerk ;  Richard  Sanborn,  Sam'l  Quimby, 
Ebenezer  Nichols,  Selectmen ;  Joel  Whittemore, 
Rep.  ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Coll.  There  were  four 
political  parties  for  State  officers  this  year.  Demo- 
cratic having  170  votes,  Whig  17,  Liberty  8  and 
White  22." 

"  1844.— Orra  C.  Howard,  Mod. ;  Sam'l  Quimby, 
Town  Clerk  ;  James  McDaniel,  E.  L.  Nichols,  James 
McAlvin,  Selectmen ;  James  McDaniel,  Representa- 
tive. 

"Oct.  23. — 4th  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  pur- 
chased by  town  award  of  County  Commissioners  for 
$383.00.  Sold  the  cleaning  of  the  Meeting-House 
to  Reuben  Robie,  he  being  the  lowest  bidder,  at  f  1.37j, 


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HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  chose  Sam  Colby  committee  to  see  that  the 
house  is  well  cleaned,  and  he  served  free  from  any 
expeuse  to  the  town.  Jurors  first  drawn  at  Town 
Clerks  office  this  year;  previous  to  this  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  voters  was  called." 

"  1845. — Orra  C.  Howard,  Mod. ;  Samuel  Quimby, 
Town  Clerk ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  James  McAlvin, 
James  McDaniel,  Selectmen;  Orfa  C.  Howard,  Rep.; 
Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Coll.  Bids  were  rec'd  for  Collector 
of  taxes  and  then  elected." 

"  1846.— Orra  C.  Howard.  Mod. ;  Samuel  Quimby, 
T.  Clerk :  Orra  C.  Howard,  Joel  Whittemore,  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  Selectmen  ;  James  McDaniel,  Rep. ;  Jos- 
eph Davis,  Jr.,  Coll.  Voted  to  raise  $50,  to  be  laid 
out  on  New  road  and  not  to  pay  over  ($.75)  seventy- 
five  cents  per  day  nor  allow  themselves  any  more." 

"  1847.— Sam'l  Quimby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams, 
T.  Clerk  ;  Sam'l  Quimby,  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Amasa 
S.  Abbott,  Selectmen  ;  Joel  Whittemore,  Rep. ;  John 
Baily,  Collector." 

"  1848.— Sam'l  Quimby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams, 
T.  Clerk ;  Sam'l  Quimby,  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Amasa 
S.  Abbott,  Selectmen ;  Philander  Loverin,  Coll.  ; 
Daniel  N.  Adams,  Rep. ;  D.  N.  Adams  resigned,  and 
Lewis  Fisher  elected  to  fill  vacancy." 

"  1849.— Orra  C.  Howard,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams, 
Town  Clerk ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  Joel  Whittemore, 
William  Stocker,  Selectmen ;  Philander  Loverin, 
Coll. ;  Lewis  Fisher,  Rep.  Voted  to  raise  ten  dollars 
in  aid  of  Teachers'  Institutes,  and  Eld.  Timothy 
Cole  was  correspondent  in  regard  to  same.  John 
Wiggin  had  the  cleaning  of  Meeting-house  for 
Beventy-five  cents.  Sept.  15,  1849,  Joseph  W.  Hill 
and  Phineas  Messer  drawn  as  jurors  to  attend  U.  S. 
Circuit  Court  at  Exeter." 

"  1850. — Daniel  N.  Adams,  Mod. ;  Sam1  Quimby, 
T.  Clerk ;  Joel  Whittemore,  William  Stocker,  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  Selectmen;  John  C.  Nichols,  Coll. ;  O.  C. 
Howard,  Rep. ;  E.  L.  Nichols,  Sealer  of  Weights  and 
Measures.  Sam1  Quimby  was  chosen  Delegate  to  at- 
tend the  State  Convention  for  the  Revision  of  the 
Constitution  of  this  State,  at  Concord,  in  November." 
"  1851.— Daniel  N.  Adams,  Mod. ;  Levi  Richard- 
son, Town  Clerk  ;  James  McDaniel,  Thomas  East- 
man, Joseph  W.  Hill,  Selectmen  ;  William  Moran, 
Rep. ;  John  B.  Hovey,  Coll. ;  John  C.  Nichols  and 
Daniel  N.  Adams,  Supt.  Sch.  Committee.  Printed 
reports  of  Selectmen. 

"  Voted,  to  move  Meeting-house  to  grove  near  the 


Grist  mill,  the  spot  to  be  fitted  ready  to  set  said  house 
by  individuals,  free  from  any  expense  to  town.  Jo- 
seph Nichols,  Richard  Sanborn,  D.  N.  Adams,  J.  G. 
McAlvin  and  John  B.  Hovey  were  the  Committee  to 
select  the  site  and  report  in  substance: 

"  That  the  said  house  can  be  moved  for  about  $300. 
That  the  lower  part  be  finished  for  a  Town  House, 
and  the  upper  j:>art  for  a  Meeting  House.  That  the 
Town  and  Meeting-house  Society  each  pay  half  the 
expense  of  repairing  and  keeping  in  repair  outside  of 
house,  and  each  party  care  for  their  own  repairs  on 
inside.  Report  adopted  and  accepted.  Voted,  to 
commence  moving  said  house  May  15,  1851." 

The  first  statistical  school  report  on  record  was 
this  year, — 185  weeks  school,  14  districts,  393 
pupils  in  winter  and  211  in  summer  terms.  Aver- 
age wages  of  male  teachers,  $11.59  per  month  and 
boarded  ;  of  female  teachers,  $5.05  per  month  and 
boarded.  Eleven  male  and  three  female  teachers 
during  winter.  The  road  from  Washburn's  mill 
to  Grantham  town  line  was  laid  in  1851. 

"  1852.— Sam1  Quimby,  Mod. ;  Daniel  N.  Adams, 
T.  Clerk;  James  McDaniel,  William  E.  Melendy, 
Benjamin  F.  Goss,  Selectmen ;  William  Moran,  Rep.; 
Moses  H.  Loverin,  Coll.  265  voted  State  and  Co. 
Ticket. 

"Voted  to  sell  the  Town  farm  and  all  personal 
property  on  Sat.  Mar.  20.  Chose  Sam'  Quimby  and 
D.  N.  Adams  Committee  to  sell  and  deed  the  same. 

"Voted  that  the  Agency  of  Dr.  Joseph  Nichols  be 
continued  until  the  Town  House  is  completed. 

"  Voted  to  enlarge  the  burying  ground  and  fence 
the  same,  so  as  to  take  in  all  of  the  town  land. 

"  Voted  to  have  the  Printed  Town  Reports  include 
the  report  of  the  School  Committee. 

"1853.— Sam.  Colby,  Mod.;  Sam'  Quimby,  Town 
Clerk;  Sam1  Quimby,  Benj.  F.  Goss,  Sam  Colby,  Se- 
lectmen ;  William  Moran,  Rep.  ;  Moses  H.  Loverin, 
Collector.  Town  paupers  were  kept  by  lowest  bid- 
ders, and  the  cleaning  of  Town  House  by  Tallant 
Boyce  at  4  cts.  M.  H.  Loverin  resigned  the  office 
and  Benj.  F.  Goss  was  appointed  Coll.  Apr.  18,  1853." 

"  Juue  7,  1853. — D.  N.  Adams  was  appointed  to  col- 
lect balance  of  taxes  in  1852  on  account  of  the  death 
of  M.  II.  Loverin.  Road  laid  from  Wasburn's  to  O. 
C.  Howard's  mill  this  year." 

"1854. — James    McDaniel,    moderator;     Samuel 


SPRINGFIELD. 


333 


Quimby,  town  clerk ;  Samuel  Quimby,  Benjamin  F. 
Goss,  James  McDaniel,  selectmen  ;  William  Moran, 
representative;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  collector.  School 
district  boundaries  were  changed  by  a  committee 
chosen  for  that  purpose." 

"1855. — Samuel  Colby,  moderator;  Levi  Richard- 
son, town  clerk ;  James  G.  McAlvin,  William  P. 
Smith,  Lorenzo  Bailey,  selectmen ;  Israel  Sanborn; 
representative ;  Richard  F.  Sanborn,  collector.  Voted, 
that  the  selectmen's  and  school  committee's  reports  be 
on  separate  pamphlets.  Daniel  N.  Adams  was  chosen 
a  special  agent  to  investigate  a  pauper  case  in  Jaf- 
frey. 

"  Jonathan  B.  Smith  appointed  tax  collecter  May  10, 
1855. 

"  1856. — Orra  C.  Howard,  moderator ;  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  town  clerk ;  Wm.  E.  Melendy,  William  D. 
Colby,  Otis  S.  Haseltine,  selectmen ;  John  Nichols, 
representative;  D.N.Adams,  collector.  Voted,  that 
every  man  give  in  his  interest  money  under  oath." 

"1857. — Orra  C.  Howard,  moderator;  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  town  clerk ;  William  D.  Colby,  Otis  S.  Hasel- 
tine, William  Washburn,  selectmen ;  Charles  McDaniel, 
supt.  school  committee ;  John  Nichols,  representa- 
tive. Voted,  that  William  Washburn  and  James 
McDaniel  be  a  committee  to  buy  a  town  farm  and 
stock  the  same.  D.  N.  Adams  was  appointed  col- 
lector." 

"  1858. — 0.  C.  Howard,  moderator ;  Joseph  Davis, 
Jr.,  town  clerk ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  William  Wash- 
burn, Smith  N.  Stevens,  selectmen  ;  Richard  F.  San- 
born, supt.  school  committee ;  William  E.  Melendy, 
representative ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Collector.  Chose 
Austin  Loverin,  J.  W.  Hill  and  0.  C.  Howard  com- 
mittee to  buy  town  farm." 

"1859. — Orra  C.  Howard,  moderator;  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  town  clerk ;  Orra  C.  Howard,  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  Daniel  H.  Peaslee,  selectmen  ;  Richard  F. 
Sanborn,  supt.  school  committee;  Wm.  E.  Melendy, 
representative;  D.  N.  Adams,  collector." 

"1860. — Orra  C.  Howard,  moderator;  Samuel 
Quimby,  town  clerk ;  Orra  C.  Howard,  Daniel  H. 
Peaslee,  John  E.  Babbitt,  selectmen  ;  Charles  McDan- 
iel, supt.  school  committee ;  Samuel  Stevens,  rep- 
resentative; William  Washburn,  collector." 

"1861. — Daniel  H.  Peaslee,  moderator;  Samuel 
Quimby,  town  clerk  ;  Daniel  H.  Peaslee,  William  P. 
Smith,  Richard  F.  Sanborn,  selectmen;  Richard  F. 
Sanborn,  supt.   school    committee.     Failed   to    elect 


a  representative.  William  Washburn,  collector  and 
overseer  of  poor.  Four  roads  were  laid  out  in  1861  ; 
none  built." 

"  1862. — Orra  C.  Howard,  moderator ;  John  C. 
Nichols,  town  clerk ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Charles 
McDaniel,  Carlton  H.  Melendy,  selectmen  ;  E.  R. 
Boyce,  Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  William  D.  Colby, 
supt.  school  committee  ;  Luke  W.  Blood,  representa- 
tive ;  William  Washburn,  overseer  of  poor ;  D.  N. 
Adams,  collector.  Several  special  meetings  were  held 
during  the  year  in  regard  to  furnishing  soldiers  for 
the  United  States'  service  in  the  War  of  the  great 
Rebellion,  the  town  paying  two  hundred  dollars  to 
each  person  mustered  into  the  service;  also,  paying 
the  soldiers'  families  the  amount  due  them  as  'State 
aid.'  The  selectmen  were  instructed  to  hire  money 
to  pay  the  above  on  the  credit  of  the  town.  John  E. 
Babbit,  Elihu  Chase,  Dr.  Valentine  Manahan,  Wil- 
liam Washburn,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  encourage  enlistments." 

"  1863.— William  P.  Smith,  moderator;  John  C. 
Nichols,  town  clerk;  Charles  McDaniel,  Carlton  H. 
Melendy,  William  P.  Smith,  selectmen;  Daniel  P. 
Quimby,  supt.  school  committee;  Luke  W.  Blood, 
representative;  Joseph  Davis,  collector;  John  F. 
Hardy,  overseer  of  poor.  The  town  paid  three  hun- 
dred dollars  to  each  drafted  man,  or  his  substitute, 
who  was  accepted  and  mustered  into  the  United 
States'  service ;  also,  paid  the  same  sum  to  volun- 
teers. 

"  November  26, 1863. — Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  was  chosen 
agent  to  act  with  selectmen  to  procure  eleven  men 
under  call  of  October  17,  1863. 

"  February  27,  1864. — Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  was  ap- 
pointed town  clerk. 

"1864. — Samuel  Quimby,  moderator;  Daniel  H. 
Adams,  town  clerk;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  William  P. 
Smith,  Jacob  Messer,  selectmen ;  Daniel  P.  Quimby, 
supt.  school  committee;  Jeremiah  Philbrick,  rep- 
resentative ;  John  F.  Hardy,  overseer  of  poor ;  D.  H. 
Adams,  collector. 

"August  18,  1864. — Charles  McDaniel  was  chosen 
agent  to  fill  the  town's  quota  under  call  of  the  Pres- 
ident, July  18,  1864.  The  selectmen  were  instructed 
to  hire  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  furnish  men  to 
fill  said  quota,  and  pay  it  over  to  the  agent,  not  ex- 
ceeding nineteen  thousand  dollars. 

"  September  3,  1864. — Voted,  to  pay  citizens  who 


334 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


enlist  for  one  year  one  thousand  dollars  each  as 
bounty. 

"  December  7, 1864. — Voted,  that  the  selectmen  pay 
as  a  bounty  to  each  enrolled  man  of  this  town  who 
furnishes  a  substitute  for  three  years,  and  to  any 
townsman  who  may  enlist  in  Hancock's  corps  as  a 
veteran,  and  count  on  the  quota  of  this  town,  three 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  pay  the  highest  bounty 
allowed  by  law  for  volunteers  who  are  not  townsmen, 
and  that  the  selectmen  be  authorized  to  hire,  on  the 
credit  of  the  town,  a  sum  of  money  not  exceeding  five 
thousand  dollars;  provided  all  the  men  so  enlisted 
shall  not  exceed  twelve  in  number." 

"  1865.— Daniel  N.  Adams,  moderator;  Daniel  H. 
Adams,  town  clerk  ;  Charles  McDaniel,  Jacob  Messer, 
Stephen  P.  Colby,  selectmen  ;  R.  F.  Sanborn,  supt. 
school  committee ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  collector. 
Voted,  to  instruct  the  selectmen  to  put  three  men  into 
the  United  States  army  to  fill  our  present  quota." 

The  whole  money  to  pay  war  expenses  was 
hired  upon  the  credit  of  the  town.  The  town 
debt  at  the  close  of  the  year  1862,  exclusive  of 
war  expenses,  was  $270.37. 

At  the  close  of  1871  the  total  indebtedness  of 
the  town,  over  and  above  availabilities,  was  $36,- 
405,37. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  the  total  indebtedness, 
over  and  above  availabilities,  was  $17,077.13. 

"1866. — Daniel  P.  Quimby,  moderator;  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  town  clerk ;  Charles  McDaniel,  Stephen  P. 
Colby,  Joseph  P.  Bailey,  selectmen  ;  Horace  F.  Goss, 
supt.  school  committee;  John  M.  Philbrick,  rep- 
resentative ;  Charles  McDaniel,  treasurer ;  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  collector." 

"1867. — Daniel  M.  Adams,  moderator;  David  P. 
Goodhue,  town  clerk;  Charles  McDaniel,  Jacob  Mes- 
ser, Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  selectman  ;  James  M.  Da- 
vis, supt.  school  committee;  Joseph  Colcord,  rep- 
resentative ;  D.  N.  Adams,  collector ;  W.  P.  Smith, 
overseer  of  poor  ;  Charles  McDaniel,  treasurer." 

"  1868. — Daniel  N.  Adams,  moderator  ;  David  P. 
Goodhue,  town  clerk  ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Charles  V. 
Pillsbury,  Edgar  A.  Washburn,  selectmen  :  James  M. 
Davis,  supt.  school  committee ;  Charles  McDaniel, 
representative ;  Joseph  Davis,  treasurer ;  John  C. 
Nichols,  overseer  of  poor." 

"1869. — Daniel  H.  Peaslee,   moderator;  David  P. 


Goodhue,  town  clerk  ;  Charles  McDaniel,  Horace  F. 
Goss,  Edgar  A.  Washburn,  selectmen ;  Daniel  H. 
Adams  was  elected  supt.  school  committee ;  Levi 
F.  Hill,  representative ;  Charles  McDaniel,  overseer 
of  poor;  Sargent  Heath,  collector;  Charles  McDan- 
iel, treasurer,  and  was  appointed  supt.  school  com- 
mittee." 

"  1870. — Samuel  Quimby,  moderator  ;  David  P. 
Goodhue,  town  clerk;  Charles  McDaniel,  Horace  F. 
Goss,  Sargent  Heath,  selectmen  ;  Elvin  F.  Philbrick, 
supt.  school  committee;  Levi  F.  Hill,  representa- 
tive; Sargent  Heath,  collector;  Charles  McDaniel, 
treasurer  ;  Daniel  H.  Peaslee,  overseer  of  poor." 

"  1871. — Daniel  H.  Peaslee,  moderator  ;  David  P. 
Goodhue,  town  clerk  ;  Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  Sargent 
I  Lath,  Jacob  Messer,  selectmen  ;  Charles  McDaniel, 
supt.  school  committee;  Lorenzo  Bailey,  repre- 
sentative ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  collector  ;  Charles  V. 
Pillsbury,  treasurer." 

"1872. — Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  Solomon 
H.  Clement,  town  clerk  ;  Horace  F.  Goss,  Charles  V. 
Pillsbury,  John  S.  Sanborn,  selectmen  ;  Calvin  W. 
Spencer,  supt.  school  committee ;  Lorenzo  Bailey, 
representative;  H.  F.  Goss,  treasurer;  Edgar  A. 
Washburn,  collector ;  Charles  McDaniel  was  chosen 
agent  to  sell  town  farm  and  personal  property  ;  Mar- 
tin M.  Wiggins  was  appointed  town  clerk,  June  3, 
1872." 

"1873. — Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  ;  Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  Stephen 
P.  Colby,  Sargent  Heath,  selectmen;  Franklin  Bailey, 
supt.  school  committee  ;  Florace  F.  Goss,  represen- 
tative ;  Edgar  A.  Washburn,  collector." 

"  1874.— Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  :  Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  William 
M.  Powers,  Edgar  A.  Washburn,  selectmen  ;  Charles 
McDaniel,  supt.  school  committee ;  Horace  F.  Goss, 
representative  ;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  collector  ;  David 
P.  Goodhue,  treasurer." 

"  1875.— Henry T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  ;  Charles  V.  Pillsbury,  William 
M.  Powers,  Albert  Morrill,  selectmen;  Parker  T. 
Smith,  supt.  school  committee ;  Johu  M.  Phil- 
brick, representative ;  D.P.Goodhue,  treasurer;  Jo- 
seph Davis,  Jr.,  collector." 

"1876. — Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  ;  Horace  F.  Goss,  Albert  Mor- 
rill, Henry  T.  Sanborn,  selectmen ;  Charles  McDan- 
iel,  supt.  school     committee;      Daniel   N.    Adams, 


SPRINGFIELD. 


335 


representative;  D.  P.  Goodhue,  treasurer;  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  collector ;  D.  N.  Adams  was  chosen  dele- 
gate to  State  Convention  to  revise  the  Constitution." 

"  1877. — Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator  ;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk;  Charles  McDaniel,  supt. 
school  committee ;  Horace  F.  Goss,  Henry  T.  San- 
born, John  H.  Johnson,  selectmen  ;  Hosea  B.  Chase, 
representative ;  D.  P.  Goodhue,  treasurer ;  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  collector." 

"  1878.— Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator  ;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk ;  Daniel  N.  Adams,  William  D. 
Colby,  Horace  W.  Stevens,  selectmen  ;  Charles  Mc- 
Daniel, supt.  school  committee ;  David  P.  Good- 
hue, representative  and  treasurer;  J.  Davis,  Jr. 
Under  the  new  Constitution,  the  biennial  election  of 
representatives  began,  and  D.  P.  Goodhue  was  chosen 
in  November.     Supervisors  also  elected." 

"1879.— Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  M.  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  ;  William  D.  Colby,  Horace  W. 
Stevens,  John  H.  Johnson,  selectmen;  Charles  Mc- 
Daniel, supt.  school  committee;  D.  P.  Goodhue, 
treasurer;  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  collector;  Moses  O. 
Boyce,  Tallent  Boyce  and  Willard  Reed,  investiga- 
ting committee  on  war  accounts,  which  resulted  in 
finding  the  charges  against  the  selectmen  and  agents 
to  be  without  any  proof." 

"  1880.— Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  M.  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk  ;  Horace  W.  Stevens,  John  H. 
Johnson,  Martin  M.  Wiggins,  selectmen ;  Charles 
McDaniel,  supt.  school  committee ;  Hosea  B. 
Chase,  representative ;  Sargent  Heath,  collector  ; 
James  T.  Colby,  treasurer." 

"  1881.— Stephen  P.  Colby,  moderator  ;  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk ;  John  H.  Johnson,  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  Willard  Reed,  selectmen  ;  Charles  McDan- 
iel, supt.  school  committee ;  James  T.  Colby, 
treasurer ;  Sargent  Heath,  collector." 

"1882.— Moses  O.  Boyce,  moderator;  M.  M.  Wig- 
gins, town  clerk;  same  selectmen,  supt.  school 
committee,  treasurer  and  collector  as  in  1881 ;  Joseph 
W.  Hill,  representative." 

"  1883.— Stephen  P.  Colby,  moderator;  M.  M.Wig- 
gins, town  clerk;  Herbert  H.  Messer,  supt.  school 
committee;  John  H.  Johnson,  Martin  M.  Wiggins, 
George  W.  Clark,  selectmen ;  James  T.  Colby,  treas- 
urer ;  Sargent  Heath,  collector." 

"1884. — Moses  0.  Boyce,  moderator;  the  same 
town     clerk,    selectmen,     supt.    school    committee, 


treasurer  and  collector  as  in   1883.     Henry  T.  San- 
born, representative." 

"1885.— Henry  T.  Sanborn,  moderator;  M.  M. 
Wiggins,  town  clerk;  John  H.  Johnson,  Martin  M. 
Wiggins,  G.  W.  Clark,  selectmen :  David  P.  Good- 
hue, supt. school  committee;  James  T.  Colby,  treas- 
urer ;  Oscar  F.  Eastman,  collector." 

REVOLUTIONARY   SOLDIERS. 

John  Quimby,  sergeant,  enlisted  April  23, 1775 ;  three 

months  and  sixteen  days 
Israel  Clifford,  enlisted  May  4, 1775,  three  months  and 

five  days. 
Reuben  Sanborn,  mustered  in  June  9,  1775. 
Moses  Perkins,  mustered  in  June  3,  1775. 
Joseph  Webster,  mustered  in  June  3,  1775. 
Ebenezer  Lovering,  mustered  in  June,  1775,  Novem- 


ber 5,  1775,  and  November  23,  1776. 
aham  Sai 
ber,  1776 


Abraham  Sanborn,  lieu 


November 
ieutenant, 


mustered    in  Septem- 


Enoch  Heath  Plastow,  mustered  in  June  2, 1775,  July, 
1776  and  March  7, 1777,  for  eight  months. 

Timothy  Quimby  (Sandown),  mustered  in  May  25, 
1775,  and  July  9, 1776. 

Eliphalet  Quimby  sergeant,  (of  Salisbury),  mustered 
in  1777,  for  three  years. 

John  Sawyer  (Londonderry),  mustered  in  February 
8,  1776. 

Daniel  Gilman,  mustered  in  November  5,  1775,  and 
July  9,  1776. 

Mathew  Pettengill,  lieutenant,  (Pembroke,  N.  H.), 
mustered  in  December,  1775. 

John  Burbank,  corporal,  mustered  in  November  5, 
1775. 

Samuel  Robie,  ninety  days'  man,  mustered  in  Novem- 
ber 23,  1775  and  October  19,  1776. 

Reuben  Stevens,  mustered  in  July,  1776. 

James  Boyce,  mustered  in  August  23,  1776  and  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1777. 

Ichabod  Robie,  mustered  in  September  26,  1776  and 
December  30,  1776. 

James  C.  Hazzard,  mustered  in  September  26,  1776. 

Jeremiah  Quimby,  mustered  out  December  16,  1776, 
two  months  and  ten  days. 

John  Collins,  mustered  in  December  6,  1776 ;  mus- 
tered out  December  7,  1777. 

Thomas  Colcord,  mustered  in  1777,  for  thirty  days. 

Reuben  Hoyt,  mustered  in  March  31,  1777,  for  three 
years. 


336 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Samuel  Clay,  mustered  in  1777,  for  three  years. 
Tsaiali  Johnson,  mustered  out  1777,  eight  months. 
Jason  Hazzard,  Daniel  Bean ;  no    date  to  be  found 
at  present. 

SOLDIERS   OF   WAR   OF    1812. 


Adam  Boyce. 
Isaac  Colby. 
James  Perkins. 
Stephen  H.  Heath. 
Jonathan  Heath. 
Richard  Loverin. 
James  Hazzard. 
James  Boyce. 
Joseph  Morse. 


William  Quimby. 

Nathaniel  Heath. 

Tristram  C.  Hoyt. 

Isaac  Morse.1 

F.  M.  Morrill.' 

Levi  Chaffin.1 

Lieut.  Ephraim  French.1 

John  Silver.1 

Joseph  Maxfield.1 


Dexter  Stevens  served  in  the   Mexican    War 
He  died  and  was  buried  in  Mexico. 

The  whole  of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  above 
recorded,  except  two,  are  buried  in  our  cemetery 
at  the  centre  of  town. 

James  Boyce  was  buried  on  farm  of  James  T. 
Colly,  on  "  Hogg  Hill ;  "  John  Collins,  in  Collins' 
burying-ground,  on  old  road  from  Springfield  to 
New  London. 

When  James  Hazzard,  soldier  of  1812,  was 
about  to  leave  home  for  the  war,  his  father's  last 
words  are  said  to  have  been  :  "  James,  don't  you 
ever  come  home — shot  in  the  back." 

SOLDIERS   OF   THE   WAR   OF   REBELLION,  1861. 

Christopher  Farney,  Company  G,  Third  Regiment; 
mustered  in  October  3,  1863. 

John  Quigley,  Company  K,  Third  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  December  24,  1864. 

Otto  Richter,  Company  G,  Third  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  October  8,  1863;  missing  at  Deep  Run, 
Va.,  August  16,  1864. 

Charles  Radford,  Company  K,  Third  Regiment; 
mustered  in  December  22,  1864;  mustered  out 
July  26,  1865. 

James  Theney,  Company  C,  Third  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  October  14,  1863;  promoted  to  corporal; 
promoted  to  sergeant  August  24,  1864;  wounded 
October  7,  1864 ;  discharged  for  disability,  Octo- 
ber 20,  1865. 

lNot  residents  when  enlisted,  hut  buried  here  in  town. 


Augustus  F.  Russell,  Company  I,  Fifth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  October  15,  1861 ;  discharged  for 
disability,  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  February  6,  1863. 

Jacob  Bure,  Company  G,  Third  Regiment ;  mustered 
in  October  8,  1863;  captured  at  Drury's  Bluff, 
Va.,  May  16,  1864;  died  at  Andersonville,  Ga., 
July  13,  1864. 

Fernand  G.  Lull,  Company  G,  Third  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  October  8,  1863 ;  died  at  Bermuda 
Hundred,  Va.,  May  31,  1864. 

Hartwell  Frink,  Company  C,  Fifth  Regiment ;  mus- 
tered in  September  16,  1864 ;  mustered  out  July 
28,  1865. 

Thomas  Mack,  Company  H.,  Fifth  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  October  5,  1863. 

Charles  Walker,  Company  C,  Fifth  Regiment ;  mus- 
tered in  October  2,  1863 ;  absent  without  leave 
since  April  2,  1865;  no  discharge  furnished. 

James  A.  Chase,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment ;  mus- 
tered in  December  11,  1861;  discharged  at  Prov- 
idence, R.  I.,  April  20,  1863. 

James  T.  Colby,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment ;  mus- 
tered in  November  28,  1861 ;  promoted  to  corpo- 
ral ;  discharged  at  Washington,  D.  C,  August 
12,  1862. 

John  M.  Colby,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  November  28,  1861 ;  paroled  prisoner ; 
died  of  disease  at  Camp  Parole,  Annapolis,  Md., 
September  29,  1862. 

Martin  V.  B.  Davis,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  November  28,  1861 ;  missing  at 
Camden,  N.  C,  April  19,  1862 ;  gained  from 
missing;  discharged  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  Septem- 
ber 18,  1862. 

Lewis  G.  Hilborn,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  November  28,  1861 ;  died  of  disease 
at  City  Point,  Va.,  November  15,  1864. 

George  W.  Hazelton,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  November  28,  1861;  discharged. 

Oliver  M.  Heath,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  November  28,  1861 ;  missing  at  Bull 
Run,  Va.,  August  29,  1862;  gained  from  missing; 
died  of  disease  at  Emory  General  Hospital, 
Washington,  D.  C,  September  16,  1862. 

Abraham   Quimby,    Company   G,   Sixth   Regiment; 

mustered  in  November  28,  1861;  discharged  for 

disability   at   Roanoke   Island,  N.  C,  June   18, 

1862. 

Joseph  M.  Robie,  Company  G,  Sixtli  Regiment,  mus- 


SPRINGFIELD. 


337 


tered  in  November  28,  1861  ;  discharged  for  disa- 
bility at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  January  25, 
1864. 

James  W.  Whaler,  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment, 
mustered  in  November  28,  1861 ;  discharged  at 
Newport  News,  Va.,  September  23, 1862. 

Joseph  V.  Simonds,  Company  H,  Sixth  Regiment, 
mustered  in  December  12,  1861 ;  discharged  for 
disability  at  Washington,  D.  C,  January  19, 
1863. 

George  Birch,  Company  H,  Sixth  Regiment,  mustered 
in  December  22,1863;  transferred  from  Company 
H,  Ninth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  June  1, 
1865;  absent  without  leave  July  17,  1865. 

Charles  Johnson,  Company  C,  Sixth  Regiment,  mus- 
tered in  December  9,  1863;  transferred  from 
Company  C,  Ninth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers 
June  1,  1865  ;  missing  in  action  since  September 
30,  1864. 

Reuben  F.  Stevens,  Company  F,  Sixth  Regiment, 
mustered  in  December  23,1863;  transferred  from 
Company  F,  Eleventh  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers June  1,  1865 ;  mustered  out  July  17,  1865. 

George  W.  Austin,  corporal,  Company  B,  Sixth  Reg- 
iment, mustered  in  January  3,  1864 ;  promoted 
to  sergeant  July  1,  1865 ;  mustered  out  July  17, 
1865. 

George  Henry,  Company  G,  Seventh  Regiment,  mus- 
tered in  September  21,  1864;  mustered  out  July 
20,  1865. 

Joseph  C.  Whittier,  Company  D,  Seventh  Regiment, 
mustered  in  September  28,  1864;  mustered  out 
July  20,  1865. 

Albert  Coles,  Company  D,  Eighth  Regiment,  mustered 
in  December  20,  1861. 

Nicholas  Bowen,  Company  D,  Ninth  Regiment,  mus- 
tered in  December  22,  1863  ;  died  of  exhaustion 
at  Cumberland  Gap,  Ky.,  March  9,  1864. 

Charles  Johnson,  Company  C,  Ninth  Regiment,  mus- 
tered in  December  9,  1863  ;  missing  at  Poplar 
Grove  Church,  Va.,  September  30,  1864  ;  gained 
from  missing ;  transferred  to  Sixth  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteers  June  1,  1865. 

Peter  Smith,  Company  K,  Ninth  Regiment,  mustered 
in  December  22,  1863;  wounded  July  30,1864; 
transferred  to  Sixth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers 
June  1,  1865. 

Peter  Williams,  Company  D.  Ninth  Regiment,  mus- 
tered in  December  9,  1863. 


R.  Freeman  Sanborn,  first  lieutenant  Company  I, 
Eleventh  Regiment,  mustered  in  July  25,  1864; 
not  mustered  ;  honorably  discharged  for  disability 
as  second  lieutenant  August  9,  1864. 

Francis  Richardson,  Company  E,  Eleventh  Regiment, 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  wounded  slightly 
June  3,  1864  ;  mustered  out  June  5,  1865. 

Francis  Nichols,  corporal,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Reg- 
iment, mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  promoted 
to  sergeant;  discharged  for  disability  at  Concord, 
N.  H.,  September  20,  1864. 

Robert  A.  Blood,  corporal,  Company  F,  Eleventh 
Regiment ;  mustered  in  August  29, 1862  ;  wounded 
severely  in  his  groin  December  13,  1862 ;  dis- 
charged for  disability  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  May 
11,  1863. 

John  D.  Colby,  corporal,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regi- 
ment ;  mustered  in  August  29, 1862  ;  discharged 
for  disability  at  Frederick,  Md.,  March  13,  1863. 

Charles  M.  Colby,  musician,  Company  F,  Eleventh 
Regiment;  mustered  in  August  29,  1862;  died 
of  disease  at  Covington,  Ky.,  August  14,  1863. 

Moses  J.  Adams,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

John  Austin,  Jr.,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment : 
mustered  in  August  29,1862;  wounded  slightly 
May  18,  1864  ;  captured  July  30,  1864 ;  released  ; 
mustered  out  June  4,  1865. 

Moses  C.  Colcord,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862;  wounded  severely 
May  26,  1864 ;  promoted  to  corporal ;  mustered 
out  June  4,  1865. 

Ziba  S.  Eastman.  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29, 1862;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

Benjamin  F.  Hill,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  discharged  for  dis- 
ability at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  January  20, 
1864. 

Harrison  M.  Johnson,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regi- 
ment ;  mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  promoted 
to  sergeant ;  mustered  out  June  4,  1865. 

David  S.  Luce,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,1862;  wounded  slightly 
May  12,  1864 ;  discharged  for  disability  Decem- 
ber 17,  1864. 

James  Morrill,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  wounded  severely 


338 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


June  19,  1864 ;  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps  September  16,  1864 ;  mustered  out  June 
28,  1865. 

Lovell  W.  Nichols,  Company  F.  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  transferred  to 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps  September  30,  1863 ; 
mustered  out  August  28,  1865. 

William  Rowe,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  discharged  for  dis- 
ability at  Washington,  D.  C,  March  9,  1863. 

Merrill  Robie,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

John  Rollins,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  August  29,  1862  ;  wounded  severely  De- 
cember 13,  1862  ;  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps  September  1,  1863. 

Samuel  Robie,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862 ;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

George  B.  Robie,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  wounded  severely 
May  16,  1864 ;  discharged  for  disability  at  Con- 
cord, N.  H.,  June  7,  1865. 

John  Saunders,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  died  of  disease  on 
board  transport  August  9,  1863. 

Henry  T.  Sanborn,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

Alexander  Stevens,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment; 
mustered  in  August  29, 1862  ;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

George  R.  Stevens,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  discharged  for  dis- 
ability at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  February  13, 
1864. 

Burnell  K.  Randall,  musician,  Company  K,  Eleventh 
Regiment ;  mustered  in  April  2,  1862 ;  mustered 
out  June  4,  1865. 

Hiram  S.  Barber,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment  ; 
mustered  in  December  23,  1863  ;  killed  at  Spott- 
sylvania,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

Darius  K.  Davis,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,1862;  promoted  to  cor- 
poral April  18,  1865;  mustered  out  June  4,  1865. 

James  M.  Davis,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29,  1862;  discharged  for  dis- 
ability at  Fort  Schuyler,  N.Y.,  January  23,  1863. 


Otis  S.  Hazelton,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  August  29, 1862 ;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 

Sydney  A.  Hazelton,  Company  F,  Eleventh  Regi- 
ment; mustered  in  August  29,  1862  ;  died  of  dis- 
ease at  Annapolis,  Md.,  April  16,  1864. 

John  Gilman,  Company  G,  Twelfth  Regiment;  mus- 
tered in  September  11,  1862  ;  wounded  May  3, 
1863  ;  died  of  wounds  at  Washington,  D.  C.,May 
23,  1863. 

James  W.  Lull,  sergeant,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment; mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  wounded 
May  27,  1863;  mustered  out  August  13,  1863; 
died  in  New  York. 

George  F.  Colby,  corporal,  Company  F,  Fifteenth 
Regiment;  mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  died 
of  disease  at  Carrollton,  La.,  February  2,  1862. 

William  M.  Fowler,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment ;  mustered  in  October  10,  1862  ;  discharged 
for  disability  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  April  14,  L862. 

Richard  W.  Heath,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regiment ; 
mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  mustered  out 
August  13,  1863  ;  sick  at  Wilmot. 

Joseph  D.  Loverin,  Company  E,  Fifteenth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  October  10,  1862 ;  mustered  out 
August  13,  1863. 

Gustavus  Loverin,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  died  of  disease  at 
Carrollton,  La.,  January  31,  1863. 

George  McDaniel,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regiment; 
mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  mustered  out 
August  13,  186::. 

James  K.  Richardson,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment; mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  mustered 
out  August  13,  1863. 

John  D.  Washburn,  Company  F,  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment; mustered  in  October  10,  1862;  mustered 
out  August  13,  1863. 

First  Regiment  of  Cavalry. 

Charles  P.  Bryant,  mustered  in  March  21,  1865;  mus- 
tered out  July  16,  1865. 

AlKan  Bishop,  mustered  in  April  -1,  L865;  mustered 
out  May  6,  1865. 

Heavy  Artillery. 

James  McDole,  Jr.,  mustered  in  September  29,  L863  ; 

discharged  for  disability  June  1,  1864. 
.John  J.  Quimby,  mustered  in  September  7,  186-'!. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


339 


First  Regiment  of  Heavy  Artillery. 

James  H.   Hardy,  mustered  in    September  7,  1863  ; 

mustered  out  September  11,  1865. 
John  H,  Prescott,  mustered  in  September  7,  1863 ; 

mustered  out  September  11,  1865. 
Augustus  G.  Russell,  mustered  in  September  7,1863; 

mustered  out  September  11,  1865. 
Abner  J.  Sanborn,  corporal,  mustered  in  September 

7, 1864;  mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 
A  hired  H.  Fowler,  mustered  in   September  7,  1864; 

mustered  out  June  15,  186"). 
Tristam    F.  Hoyt,  mustered  in   September   7,  1864; 

mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 
Ebenezer  S.  Kibbey,  mustered  in  September  7,  1864 ; 

mustered  out  June  15, 1865. 
George   P.  Sholes,  mustered   in   September   7,  1864 ; 

mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 
Isaac   D.  Tenney,  mustered   in  September   7,  1864; 

mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 
Andrew   J.  Young,  mustered   in  September  7,1864; 

mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 

Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

James  T.  Colby,  mustered  in  September  6,  1864. 
James  A.  Chase,  mustered  in  September  6,  1864. 
Albert  H.  Davis,  mustered  in  September  6,  1864. 
Benjamin   F.  Hill,  mustered   in   September   6,  1864 ; 
mustered  out  November  14,  1865. 

United  States  Sharpshooters,  Company  G,  Second  Regi- 
men/. 

Henry  A.  Colby,  mustered  in  October  9, 1861 ;  re- 
enlisted  December  20,  1863;  wounded  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  June  18,  1864 ;  died  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  October  31, 1864,  aged  twenty -three  years 
and  nine  months. 

Militia. — The  people  of  Springfield  took  a  deep 
and  lively  interest  in  military  affairs.  Among  the 
early  settlers  were  quite  a  number  of  Revolutionary 
soldiers,  who  brought  with  them  the  military 
spirit  and  patriotism  imbibed  during  that  war. 
One  man  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  had  used 
a  barrel  of  ink  when  first  sergeant  in  one  of  the 
companies  in  General  Washington's  army. 

It  was  considered  an   honor  to  hold  a  military 

commission,   and   those  who  were  chosen   captains 

and    lieutenants   retained   these    titles,  and  were 

honored  with  them  during  their  whole  life.      As 
22 


early  as  1820,  General  John  Quiinby,  who  had 
risen  step  by  step  from  the  ranks,  was  in  command 
of  the  Fifth  Brigade.  For  several  years  there  were 
three  companies, — North  Company,  South  Com- 
pany and  a  company  of  Light  Infantry.  Two  of 
these  companies  remained  until  1840,  when,  becom- 
ing somewhat  run  down,  it  was  thought  something 
must  be  done  to  revive  the  military  sj>irit,  and 
through  the  exertions  and  influence  of  some  public- 
spirited  individuals,  a  company  consisting  of  one 
hundred  men  was  formed,  who  uniformed  and 
ecpiipped  themselves,  and  by  a  special  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature received  from  the  State  Arsenal  one  hundred 
guns.  They  carried  them  on  to  the  parade-ground,  re- 
ceiving the  plaudits  of  the  field  officers  and  others. 
The  officers  and  sergeants  of  that  company,  when 
formed,  consisted  of  one  physician,  one  ex-colonel, 
four  ex-captains,  two  merchants,  one  postmaster, 
seven  justices  of  the  peace,  besides  all  the  smaller  fry , 
and  all  were  volunteers. 

This  company  retained  its  existence  until  the 
militia  was  abolished.  Of  all  the  officers  and  ser- 
geants of  that  company  when  formed,  but  one  re- 
mains to  tell  the  story, — the  Hon.  Daniel  N. 
Adams. 

"  Jan.  21,  1833.  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General's 
Office,  Concord,  N.  H.  Sep.  4,  1833,  31st  Reg.  4th 
Co.    Capt.,  Sam  Colby,  Clerk,  Joseph  Richardson. 

"  General   Order. 

"Joseph  Low,  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General. 

"  W.  H.  Cheney,  Adjutant  of  31st  Reg. 

"  May  1834.     Total  in  Co.,  92. 

"  Aug.  5,  1834.     Samuel  Quimby  (2nd),  Captain. 

'•  May,  1835.     Aggregate,  116. 

•'  April,  1837.     Benjamin  Perley,  Capt. 

"  April  19,  1839.     John  Morrill  (2nd),  ( llerk. 

"Mar.  16,  1844.  Bela  Howard,  Capt.  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.  Clerk. 

"May  1,1846.  Levi  Richardson,  Capt.  Richard 
F.  Sanborn,  Clerk. 

"  Mar.  20,  1847.  Moses  Johnson,  Capt.  Moses  H. 
Loverin,  Clerk. 

"  Mar.  24,  1848.     William  H.  Quimby,  Clerk. 

"Mar.  7,  1849.  John  C.  Nichols,  Capt.  Joseph 
Davis,  Jr.,  Clerk, 


340 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


"  May,  1849.  100  Bayonets,  Muskets  and  Ramrods, 
52  Bayonets,  Scabbards  and  Belts,  Cartridge  Boxes 
and  Belts,  Priming  Wires  and  Brushes,  104  Spare 
Flints,  52  Knapsacks  and  52  Canteens,  1  Roll  Book 
and  1  Orderly  Book. 

"  April,  1857.     148  Enrolled  men." 

Churches,  Pastors,  etc. — As  will  be  noticed  by 
the  early  records,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town 
were  much  inclined  to  support  the  church.  When 
appropriations  failed  to  support  a  preacher,  or  from 
any  other  cause,  not  having  a  preacher,  meetings 
were  holden  constantly  by  laymen,  Moses  Rich- 
ardson reading  from  a  "  book  of  sermons  "  and 
leading  in  prayer  while  the  singing  was  kept  in 
full  (piantity  by  the  interested  citizens.  Through 
the  instrumentality  of  Daniel,  eon  of  Moses  Rich- 
ardson, the  first  Sabbath-school  was  formed  in  the 
first  school-house  that  was  built  in  District  No.  9, 
situated  then  on  the  old  New  London  road,  near 
the  spot  known  as  the  "  Devil's  Den."  Preachers 
we  find  records  of,  as  far  back  as  Tilly  How, 
teacher  and  preacher,  "  imployed  "  by  the  town  to 
teach  and  preach.  Then  Rev.  Salmon  Hibbard, 
Congregational ;  Rev.  Elijah  Watson,  Free-Will 
Baptist ;  Rev.  Job  Cushman,  Congregational ;  Rev. 
Stephen  Combs,  Baptist;  Rev.  P.  C.  Hines,  Free- 
Will  Baptist;  Rev.  Win.  Moran,  Methodist;  Rev. 
Bennett  Palmer,  Christian ;  Rev.  Timothy  Cole, 
Christian ;  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Nason,  Christian ;  Rev. 
Jas.  R.  Phillips,  Christian  ;  Rev.  Lorenzo  Bailey, 
Christian  ;  and  Rev.  Lewis  Howard,  Methodist, 
have  been  residents.  Rev.  Mr.  Howard  still  lives 
here  and  preaches  regularly,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three  years. 

Occasional  or  non-resident  preachers  that  are 
called  to  mind,  are  Elder  Ambrose,  of  Boscawen  ; 
Rev.  Edwin  Burnham,  ordained  and  preached 
here  nearly  a  year  ;  Walter  Harriman,  ex-Gover- 
nor of  NeAv  Hampshire,  preached  for  the  Univer- 
sal ist  Society  a  few  years  part  of  time,  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Sargent  for  a  few  times,  and  Rev.  Robert 
Stinson  one-fourth  of  time,  also,  for  the  Universalist 
Society.  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Gardner,  of  New  London 
(Calvinistic  Baptist),  Rev.  Walter  Phillips,  Rev. 
Wm.  S.  Morrill  and  son,  Rev.  Alvah  H.  Morrill, 


now  of  Stanfordville,  N.  Y.,  Philoman  Clough  and 
his  son  Newton,  who  were  natives  of  the  town,  and 
many  others  have  labored  here  to  the  general 
acceptance  of  the  people.  A  flourishing  Sabbath- 
school  is  still  connected  with  the  Union  Church 
Society.  A  church  was  built  and  still  stands  upon 
the  "  Gore  "  annexed  to  Grantham.  The  church 
building  at  the  centre,  that  was  built  and  dedi- 
cated in  1799,  and  moved  in  1851  from  its  origi- 
nal location  on  the  five-acre  town  "  Lot,"  occupied 
now  as  a  cemetery,  to  its  present  location.  It  is  a 
union  house  and  contains  our  town  hall. 

Rev.  Daniel  Noyes,  Congregational,  a  native  of 
this  town,  now  and  for  a  long  time  professor  in  Dart- 
mouth College,  at  Hanover,  preached  the  dedica- 
tion sermon  at  our  church,  after  being  repaired 
and  moved  to  its  present  location.  He  was  fol- 
lowed in  the  service  by  Rev.  John  Moore,  Univer- 
salist, of  Concord  ;  Rev.  Reuben  Sanborn  was  edu- 
cated at  Harvard  a  Presbyterian;  died  in  New  York, 
1830  ;  Rev.  Morrison  Cross,  now  supposed  to  be 
living  in  the  "  West ;"  Rev.  James  Fowler,  an 
"  adopted "  native  of  the  town,  a  successful 
Universalist  preacher  in  Tennessee  ;  Rev.  Loren 
Webster,  son  of  Mrs.  D.  N.  Adams,  is  an  Episco- 
pal clergyman  at  Ashland,  N.  H. 

Augusta  A.  Adams,  oldest  daughter  of  Hon. 
D.  N.  Adams,  who  is  the  only  man  in  town  that 
has  served  in  the  State  Senate,  was  educated  at 
Meriden,  taught  in  NewT  York  and  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  married  Rev.  Lucian  B.  Adams,  and 
went  to  Turkey  as  a  missionary  and  died  there. 

Hotels. — Ensign  Nathaniel  Little  built  the 
first  real  hotel  on  the  "  French  Place,"  on  the 
great  "  East  and  West "  road,  east  of  where  Chas. 
M.  Noyes  now  lives.  Daniel  Noyes  built  the 
hotel  where  John  S.  Colby  now  lives,  about  the 
time  the  fourth  New  Hampshire  turnpike  was 
built,  which  was  a  "  toll "  road ;  said  hotel  was  af- 
terward occupied  as  such,  and  did  a  large  business 
(often  stabling  one  hundred  horses  as  transient),  by 

dames  Willis,  Enoch  Chellis, Ring,  Nathan 

Stickney  for  some  fifteen  years,  D.  X.  Adams,  John 
Brown,  John  Nevins,  J.  S.  Durgin,  O.  C.  Howard 
and  Wm.  E.  Melendy. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


341 


Sam'l.  Little  built  a  tavern  upon  the"  height  of 
the  land  "  where  Mrs.  Wm.  Bean  now  lives,  known 
as  the  Calif  place.  After  Mr.  Little's  death  his 
widow,  a  very  capable  landlady,  managed  the 
house,  after  which  it  gradually  became  extinct, 
passing  out  of  the  Little  estate.  Dr.  Joseph 
Nichols  built  where  J.  Davis,  Jr.,  and  Dr.  D.  P. 
Goodhue  now  resides,  which  was  occupied  during 
the  most  of  the  time  of  its  being  a  "  hotel  "  by  D. 
N.  Adams,  being  some  thirty  years  in  all,  during 
which  time  it  did  a  very  large  business. 

Merchants. — We  have  been  able  to  find  that 
several  of  our  citizens  have  at  different  times  been 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  give  them  as 
tradition  informs  us.  Captain  Deputy  Bowman 
traded  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Joseph  Davis, 
Jr  ;  Daniel  Noyes,  where  L.  L.  Hill  now  lives, 
who  afterwards  built  a  store  where  J.  S.  Colby 
now  lives;  James  Willis,  at  same  store  ;  also  Wm. 
E.  Melendy  at  same  place  ;  David  Colcord,  at  four 
corners  in  house  built  by  Timothy  Quimby  (2d), 
several  years  ;  Moses  Johnson  and  Solomon  Clem- 
ent, at  same  store  ;  then  said  Clement  built  the 
building  or  store  now  occupied  by  Henry  E.  Quim- 
by, and  traded  there  some  twelve  years  ;  since  oc- 
cupied by  Win.  Carroll,  John  H.  Williams,  How- 
ard &  Knisley,  John  White,  Merrill  &  Johnson, 
Howard  &  Melendy,  and  Joseph  B.  Prescott  as  a 
store.  Joseph  Colby  traded  where  James  H.  Co- 
fran  now  lives;  Benj.  E.  Woodman  &  Co.,  at 
Langdon  L.  Hill's  ;  also  Nichols  &.  Adams,  Adams 
&  Clement,  D.  N.  Adams,  Kimball  Haseltine  and 
Dr.  Abner  Johnson.  At  the  store  now  occupied 
by  D.  N.  Adams  &  Son,  which  was  built  by  Dr. 
Joseph  Nichols  and  D.  N.  Adams  some  fifty  years 
ago,  Levi  Richardson,  now  merchant  in  Frank- 
lin, was  clerk  two  years  and  partner  with  D.  N. 
Adams  eighteen  years,  said  Adams  having  been 
in  the  business  some  sixty  years.  T.  Cole,  J.  E. 
Babbitt,  Dr.  A  Johnson  and  others  at  different 
times  and  places. 

Mills  and  Brick- YaPwDS. — The  following  are 
among  the  prominent  mills  that  have  been  in  use 
in  town  ;  Lowell's  mill  was  built  in  about  1775, 
near  Mrs.  Austin  Loverin's  present  residence,  and 


used  for  grinding  corn,  rye,  etc.  Robert  Wadleigh 
Smith,  Daniel  and  Joseph  Bean  built  a  "  saw  and 
grist "  mill  on  land  now  occupied  by  M.  C.  Col- 
cord, west  of  the  mill  recently  destroyed 
by  fire,  that  was  built  by  Edgar  A.  Washburn  in 
1869,  wThich  was  forty  by  eighty  feet,  and  con- 
tained circular,  lathe,  shingle  and  other  saws, 
planing-machine,  etc. ;  said  Smith  and  Beans  re- 
ceiving  land   and   money  as  per  votes  from  the 

Protectworth  proprietry  herewith  recorded. 

McGregory  and  John  Field  erected  a  carding-mill 
near  the  above  mentioned  mills  and  it  was  after- 
wards occupied  by  Ebenezer  Clough,  now  of 
Enfield. 

Seth  Gay  had  grist  and  saw-mills  on  different 
sites,  near  where  Gilman  Smith  now  lives.  Reu- 
ben Hoyt  purchased  the  LowTell  mill  and  occupied 
it  several  years,  after  which  his  sons  Tristam  and 
Reuben,  Jr.,  rebuilt  said  corn  or  grist-mill  nearly 
opposite  where  the  church  now  stands,  and  built 
a  saw-mill  near  or  just  below  the  mill  now  owned 
and  used  by  James  T.  Colby ;  also  they  built  sub- 
stantial dams  at  the  Station  Pond,  which  nowr 
remain. 

Deacon  Moses  Richardson  and  Reuben  Stevens 
built  the  "  Old  Spruce  mill,"  about  1795,  near  the 
site  where  Sargent  Heath's  now  stands  ;  and  tra- 
dition informs  us  that  said  Richardson  received 
fifty  acres  of  land  (as  an  inducement  to  build  C. 
McDaniels  Karr  said  mill),  now  contained  in  past- 
ure, and  said  Stevens  fifty  acres,  about  due  east  of 
the  Hill  Mica  Ledge,  near  what  is  called  "  Scot- 
land." About  1833,  Gilman  Sawyer,  of  this  town, 
built  a  shingle-mill  just  "  across  the  line  "  in  Wil- 
mot,  where  Josiah  Johnson  had  a  saw-mill.  Deacon 
Philip  Brown  owned  a  large  tract  of  timber-land 
in  this  town  and  Grantham,  and  erected  a  saw  and 
shingle-mill  on  same  spot  where  the  Washburn 
mill  stood  about  the  years  1837-38,  afterward  in  the 
hands  of  Joseph  and  Moses  C.  Colcord  and 
others. 

About  1810,  Samuel  Little  and  John  Karr 
built  a  saw-mill  near  top  of  "  Sorrel  Hill,"  on 
fourth  New  Hampshire  turnpike ;  also  had  a 
brick-yard  near  by.     Isaac   Morse   and  D.   Bean 


342 


HISTOIIY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


had  another  brick-yard  opposite  where  E.  A. 
Washburn  now  lives,  which  furnished  brick  for 
many  of  the  present  houses  in  town. 

There  was  another  yard  near  Gilnian  Pond, 
owned  by  Enoch  Collins,  Jr.,  and  Captain  Jona- 
than Loverin,  who  sent  their  brick,  many  of  them, 
to  New  London. 

Elihu  Chase  built  the  shingle-mill  afterwards 
owned  by  Alonzo  Cross,  and  now  owned  by  Alon- 
zo  B.  Putney,  and,  in  company  with  Kimball 
Haseltiue,  the  saw-mill  now  owned  by  F.  P.  George. 
Seth  Fisher  built  a  shingle  and  clapboard-mill 
where  A.  J.  Kidder's  lower  mill  now  stands. 

John  W.  Noyes,  now  of  Chester,  built  the  best- 
finished  mill  on  turnpike,  on  land  now  owned  by 
John  F.  Hardy,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  when 
about  ten  years  old. 

Shingle-mills  of  Kneeland  Stocker  and  Joseph 
W.  Hill  also  had  their  day,  and  passed  away. 
Warren  Johnson  and  CharlesD.  Sargent,  under  the 
firm-name  of  Johnson  &  Sargent,  erected  dams  and 
saw,  shingle  and  clapboard-mills  at  the  outlet  of 
Morgan  Pond,  where  they  owned  five  hundred 
acres  of  heavy  timbered  land,  in  the  year  1847, 
now  owned  by  A.  J.  Kidder,  of  New  London. 

Orra  C.  Howard,  in  1848,  purchased  a  very 
large  tract  of  land  of  Nathan  Stickney,  of  Con- 
cord, erected  dwelling-houses  and  a  costly  mill — 
shingle,  clapboard  and  saw — on  the  site  of  the 
"Old  Spruce  mill."  After  it  had  served  its  pur- 
pose, the  machinery  and  frame  were  sold  to  differ- 
ent parties  and  carried  away. 

In  1843  a  company  was  formed,  and  built  a 
nice  and  expensive  grist-mill,  opposite  the  church, 
which  was  operated  by  the  company  known  as 
Station  Mill  Company  for  about  seven  years,  when 
it  was  sold  to  Ebenezer  L.  Nichols;  afterwards  in 
hands  of  Alonzo  P.  Nichols,  then  sold  to  Albert 
H.  Davis  and  A.  J.  Sanborn,  and  was  run  by 
Richard  T.  Sanborn,  who  with  A.  II.  Davis,  built 
the  present  saw-mill,  now  owned  by  J.  T.  Colby. 
Said  Station  Company's  grist-mill  was  sold  and 
moved  away  in  about  1870. 

Kneeland  and  William  Stocker  have  for  manv 
years  hail  a  carriage-shop  anil    wheelwright    mills. 


their  wheels  being  noted  for  perfection  and  dura- 
bility. 

Cowles,  Gass  &  Co.  also  had  a  carriage  manu- 
factory on  the  Sugar  River  Branch,  that  was 
moved  into  Grantham,  being  on  the  Gore  that,  as 
elsewhere  mentioned,  has  been  annexed  to  Gran- 
tham. 

A  "  baker's  dozen  "  or  more  of  cider-mills  have 
been  erected,  lived  and  died,  or  decayed,  and 
only  three  now  in  the  vigor  of  life  remain,  viz. : 
Sanborn's,  Putney's  and  McDaniel's,  with  Boomer 
&  Boschert,  grater  and  press.  There  have  been 
used  in  town  three  steam  mills, — one  near  John 
Robie's,  one  in  the  Perly  District,  and  one  near 
the  Eben  Blood  place. 

Physicians. — Dr.  William  Phillips,  who  lived 
on  the  farm  owned  by  Levi  S.  Hill,  is  the  first  res- 
ident doctor,  we  are  informed,  who  made  a  short 
stay  here.  Dr.  Nathaniel  Prentis  served  the  town 
several  years  in  different  town  offices  and  repre- 
sented the  town  in  General  Court,  as  appears  by 
record  and  this  history ;  and  he  was  surgeon  of  the 
Thirty-first  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Militia,  and 
a  man  who  was  very  much  honored  and  respected 
by  the  community.  He  was  killed,  almost  in- 
stantly, October  10,  1810,  on  his  way  home  from 
Newport  in  company  with  his  comrades — from 
"muster" — by  being  thrown  from  his  horse  near 
the  Cornish  road  and  A.  P.  Welcome's  buildings 
in  said  Newport.  His  residence  was  on  "  Phil- 
brick  Hill,"  on  the  farm  now7  owned  by  George  H. 
Cross.  Dr.  Samuel  Flagg,  a  traveling  physician, 
ministered  to  the  "  physical  "  ailments  of  the  peo- 
ple for  a  short  time.  Dr.  Amasa  Howard  was  here 
in  1812,  located  near  L.  L.  and  L.  F.  Hill's,  and, 
after  a  few  years,  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Abner 
Johnson,  father  of  Mrs.  Ferona  Howard,  and 
owned  the  place  now  occupied  by  Rev.  Lewis 
Howard.  He  remained  in  town  until  about  1835 
and  removed  to  Lowell,  Mass.  lie,  like  Dr. 
I'rentis,  took  an  important  position  in  State,  town 
and  society  matters,  and  was  a  skillful  practitioner. 
Dr.  Joseph  Nichols,  a  native  of  this  town,  born  in 
the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Joseph  L. 
Brown,  spent  his   lite  among  his  native  hills.      No 


SPRINGFIELD. 


343 


person  labored  more  to  benefit  the  town  by  im- 
proving the  public  roads,  the  schools  and  church 
than  did  Dr.  Nichols.  As  a  physician  he  had  few 
equals  about  the  country.  He  died  in  May,  1853. 
During  Dr.  Nichols'  practice  he  sold  out  to  one 
Dr.  Copp,  of  New  London,  reserving  the  right  to 
attend  his  relatives  and  personal  friends  when 
called  upon.  Dr.  Copp,  a  well-read  physician, 
after  remaining  in  town  a  year  or  more,  teaching 
singing  and  other  branches,  decided  that  Dr. 
Nichols  had  more  "  relatives  and  personal  friends" 
than  any  other  man  he  ever  heard  of,  and  left 
town  for  a  clearer  field  of  practice.  Dr.  Valen- 
tine Manahan,  a  native  of  New  London,  came 
here  and  commenced  practice  in  1851,  having  been 
fitted  by  the  medical  schools  of  Philadelphia  and 
other  places.  He  never  accepted  any  town  or 
other  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  but 
labored  earnestly  politically,  and  was  very  success 
ful  both  in  politics  and  medical  practice,  having 
had  a  very  large  circle  of  patients.  He  closed 
practice  here  in  18G6,  and,  after  looking  over 
the  Western  country  settled  in  Enfield,  where 
he  continues  a  very  successful  practitioner.  Dr. 
D.  P.  Goodhue,  a  native  of  Dunbarton,  after 
serving  in  the  navy  during  the  Rebellion,  took 
Dr.  Manahan's  place  as  physician  and  still  contin- 
ues to  practice  medicine  here  with  great  credit  to 
himself,  and  has  the  entire  confidence  and  sym- 
pathy of  his  townsmen. 

The  following  physicians,  practicing  elsewhere, 
were  natives  of  this  town  :  Joseph-  D.  Nichols, 
died  in  Pennsylvania  ;  Dr.  Moses  C.  Richardson, 
died  in  Marlborough,  Mass.;  Dr.  John  Robie,  died 
in  Corinth,  Vt.,  where  he  had  a  large  and  successful 
practice;  Dr.  Yanransellier  Morse;  Dr.  Willard 
Bowman,  went  to  Vermont  to  practice  ;  Dr.  Still- 
man  Wood,  practiced  and  died  in  Enfield; 
Dr.  Moses  C.  Hoyt,  emigrated  westward  ;  Robert 
A.  Blood,  educated  at  Harvard  Medical  School 
is  now  practicing  in  Charlestovvn,  Mass  ;  Charles 
A.  Messer,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Medical 
School,  is  practicing  at  Turner's  Falls,  Mass. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Bailey. — Joseph  Bailey  moved  here  from  Old 


Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  married  Sally  Sanders,  of 
Grafton.  She  brought  a  cow  here  in  1810,  the  descen- 
dants of  which,  with  a  few  exceptions,  have  been 
white-faced  and  been  in  the  Bailey  family,  and  are 
now  owned  by  Westley.  Roxana  Bailey  married, 
first,  John  F.  Youngman,  of  Lempster;  second, 
Moses  Spaulding.  John  married  Eliza  Nich- 
ols and  he  died  several  years  ago.  Franklin  mar- 
ried Eleanor  Stevens,  who  died  a  few  years  ago. 
Lorenzo  married  Sarah  A.  Leavitt.  He  is  at 
present  temporarily  located  in  Grafton,  preaching 
there.  His  only  son,  John,  lives  on  the  place  he 
formerly  occupied.  Westley  married  Ann  Stevens. 
Nancy  married  Eli  Spauling,  and,  after  his  death, 
the  Rev.  F.  S.  Bliss,  a  native  of  Cheshire,  Mass. 
He  was  a  very  successful  Universalist  clergyman, 
preaching  at  Enfield,  N.  H.,  and  Barre,  Vt ,  for 
fifteen  years.  He  died  at  Greensborough,  N.  C  , 
March  23,  1873.  Mrs.  Bliss  is  now  living  in 
Cornish. 

Boavman. — Deputy  Bowman  married  Sarah 
Philbrick,  only  sister  of  Abraham  Philbrick,  in 
1795.  She  died  in  1800,  leaving  two  children, — 
Sarah  and  Walter.  Sarah  married  John  Loverin 
and  had  one  child.  Philander,  who  lived  and  died 
in  town.  Walter  married  and  moved  to  Vermont 
Deputy  Bowman  married  Margaret  McClure,  De- 
cember 2,  1802.  The  children  were  Willard, 
Joseph,  Susanna,  Sylvester,  Deputy  Casson,  John, 
Oliver,  Mary  Ann,  Margaret  Maria,  Elizabeth  and 
Narcissa.  Willard  was  a  physician ;  Joseph  a 
successful  lawyer,  of  Belfast,  Me.;  Sylvester  a 
brewer,  living  in  Boston  ;  Mary  Ann,  the  only  one 
living  in  town,  is  the  wife  of  Phiueas  Messer ; 
they  have  three  sons  living, — Melvin,  Charles  and 
Sylvester.  Narcissa  married  George  Thompson, 
living  in  Lexington,  Mass. 

Boyce. — James  Boyce  and  Adam  Boyce  were 
also  among  the  first  settlers,  both  of  whom  had 
many  descendants,  only  two  of  which  remain  in 
town, —  sons  of  James, — viz.:  Talent,  who,  with  a 
family,  lives  near  Station  Pond,  and  Moses  O. 
and  family  on  "  Hogg  Hill." 

Smith. — Israel  Smith,  a  pioneer,  had  three 
adopted   boys, — Charles  Carpenter,  Jacob  Smith 


344 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


and  Josiah  Chandler  Williams, — and  four  chil- 
dren of  his  own, — William  Plummer  Smith,  who 
died  several  years  since  ;  Jonathan  B.  Smith,  now 
living  in  town  and  one  of  the  largest  sugar- 
makers;  his  twin  sister  Joanna,  married  Joseph 
Johnson,  both  died  here;  and  Mary  W.  Smith, 
born  November  11,  1823. 

PlLLSBURV. — Joseph  Pillsbury  came  here  at  an 
early  day,  having  eight  children,  only  one  of 
which  now  resides  here, — Asa  F.  and  his  sou, 
Amos  H.  Pillsbury.  Said  Joseph  was  drafted  in 
the  War  of  1812,  and  Adam  Boyce  went  as  a 
substitute  for  him. 

Collins.  —  Some  time  about  1798,  Enoch 
Collins  came  to  this  town  from  Salisbury,  N.  H., 
and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  town,  where 
Richard  AY.  Allen  now  lives.  He  had  four  sons 
and  three  daughters, — Benjamin  P.,  Enoch,  Jr., 
Enos  and  John  ;  Mary  lived  in  New  York, 
Clarissa  lived  in  Nebraska,  and  Nancy  married 
George  W.  Craft  and  lived  in  New  London  ;  she 
is  alive  now  and  a  very  smart  old  lady.  None 
of  his  descendants  now  live  in  town  but  one 
granddaughter,  Mrs.  Charles  Woodward. 

Enos  Collins,  Enoch's  brother,  came  here  before 
1800,  and  died  in  1817.  He  left  a  large  family,  who 
are  now  all  dead  but  Mrs.  Susan  Robie,  who  lives 
in  Salisbury,  N.  H.  He  has  but  two  descendants 
in  town, — Henry  T.  Sanborn  and  John  Robie. 

Joseph  Collins,  another  brother,  came  here  and 
raised  a  family  of  eight  or  ten  children.  He 
went  from  this  town  more  than  forty  years  ago  to 
Stewartstown,  N.  H,  and  died  there.  One  of  his 
sons,  Joseph,  Jr.,  always  lived  in  town,  and  died 
here  when  more  than  eighty  years  old.  Only  one 
of  his  descendants  lives  in  town,  Henry  J.  Collins, 
who  is  a  blacksmith. 

Charles  Collins  settled  here,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren,— Sarah,  married  Moses  D.  Richardson  ; 
Nancy,  married  Nathaniel  Loverin ;  Hannah, 
married  Benjamin  D.  Collins;  and  Charles,  Jr.. 
married  Nancy  McDaniel.  They  are  all  dead, 
and  none  of  their  descendants  remain  in  town. 

Seth  Collins,  another  brother,  settled  here,  but 
moved  to  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  many  years  ago. 


Deacon  John  Collins  and  wife  came  to  spend 
their  last  days  with  their  children  in  town,  and 
died  here. 

All  the  Collinses  lived  in  School  District  No.  9, 
on  the  old  road  leading  to  New  London.  They 
were  honest,  respectable  people,  and  very  indus- 
trious citizens. 

Colby. — Benjamin  Colby,  born  in  Hopkinton 
September  25,  1776.  Abigail  Eaton,  his  wife, 
born  in  New  Salem  March  9,  1776.  They  were 
married  March  25,  1800,  and  moved  on  to  farm 
bought  of  Robert  Hogg,  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  town,  three  days  after  their  marriage.  They 
had  seven  children, — Benjamin,  Jr.,  William  D., 
Sally,  Timothy,  Eliza,  James  and  Polly.  Mrs. 
Colby  died  in  1852,  and  Mr.  Colby  in  1854. 
Benjamin  Colby,  Jr.,  born  in  1801,  married  Polly 
L.  Eastman,  who  was  born  in  Weare  in  1804,  but 
moved  to  Springfield  with  her  parents,  Moses  and 
Polly  Eastman,  in  1807.  They  moved  on  to  the 
Colby  place  in  1851.  They  had  four  sons  and 
one  daughter, — Eliza,  now  stopping  with  her 
brother,  James  T.,  postmaster  of  West  Spring- 
field. Stephen  P.  also  lives  in  town.  The  old 
place  still  remains  in  the  Colby  name. 

William  D.  Colby,  the  oldest  son,  is  an  enterpris- 
ing farmer,  living  on  "  Sanborn  Hill."  He  mar- 
ried Mahala  Sanborn.  They  have  five  children 
living,  one  of  whom  is  a  very  successful  teacher. 

Philip  Colby,  of  Salisbury,  married  Abra 
Greeley,  and  settled  on  the  west  side  of  Colonel 
Sanborn's  hill,  near  where  the  large  elm-tree  now 
stands.  He  afterwards  bought  out  Stephen  and 
John  Sawyer,  and  built  new  buildings  where 
Center  F.  Smith  now  lives,  and  died  there  in 
1842.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  town  offices, 
in  building  the  meeting-house,  also  the  fourth 
New  Hampshire  turnpike.  He  will  be  long  re- 
membered by  the  old  citizens.  He  had  nine 
children, — John,  Sally,  Nancy,  Bill,  Rillah, 
Cinda,  Sam,  Clara  and  Sophia ;  all  are  dead  but 
Sophia.  John,  Bill  and  Sally  lived  in  Rochester, 
N.  Y.  Nancy  married  I.  Webster,  of  Wilmot ; 
she  was  thrown  from  a  carriage  and  killed  in 
1828.       Rillah    married    Joseph    Severance,    of 


SPRINGFIELD. 


345 


Derby,  Vt.,  and  died  iu  Warner,  N.  H.,  in  1855 
Sally,  Cinda,  Clara  and  Sophia  never  married. 
Cinda  died  in  1818;  Clara  in  1879.  She  was 
well  known  as  a  very  industrious  woman,  and  was 
highly  respected  by  her  townspeople.  Sam  Colby 
married  Maria  Adams,  of  Mason,  and  lived  upon 
the  farm  owned  by  his  father  until  1870,  when  he 
sold  it.  He  died  in  1878  at  his  daughter's,  Mrs. 
Leora  M.,  wife  of  John  H.  Johnson.  Leora  died 
in  1883.  Christopher  C.  resides  in  Manchester, 
N.  H.  John  D.  lives  in  Kansas.  Charles  M. 
died  August  14,  1863,  at  Covington,  Ky.,  while  in 
the  Union  army.  Henry  A.  died  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  from  the  effects  of  a  wound. 

Sophia,  the  youngest  of  Philip  Colby's  children, 
still  lives  within  a  few  rods  of  the  paternal  home, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 

Colcord. — Among  the  early  settlers  were  three 
brothers — Thomas,  Stephen  and  Joseph  Colcord. 
They  married  three  sisters  by  the  name  of  Bean, 
and  came  here  from  Candia. 

Thomas  lived  on  the  hill  east  of  the  Timothy 
Davis  place.  They  had  several  children.  Hittey 
and  Sarah  married  and  lived  in  Vermont ;  Abigail 
married  John  Johnson,  of  Enfield,  N.  H.  ;  Nancy 
married  John  Heath  ;  Hannah  married  Andrew 
Pettingill.  He  lived  in  town,  near  Enfield,  and 
died  here,  after  which  she  married  John  Field 
and  moved  to  the  West.  David  married  Milly 
Philbrick.  He  died  and  was  buried  in  town. 
Jennie  and  Dolly  died  young,  and  Moses  went 
West. 

Stephen  lived  where  John  Johnson  now  lives. 
Had  four  girls.  Elvira  married  Reuben  Hoyt ; 
lived  and  died  in  town.  Hannah  married  Dr. 
Joseph  Nichols.  Their  children  were  named 
Ann,  Joe,  Jeannette,  Elizabeth,  Frank  and  Ade 
line.  None  of  them  live  in  town.  Mary  married 
and  lived  in  Vermont.  Abigail  married  James 
Johnson.  Had  two  daughters — Betsy  Ann,  now 
dead,  and  Elvira,  now  married  and  living  in 
Grantham.  Mrs.  Johnson  is  now  living  in  town. 
Joseph  Colcord  lived  where  Sylvanus  Gross  now 
lives.  -His  children  were  Sam,  Hittey,  Thomas, 
Joseph,   David,  Stephen,   Mahala   and   Dorinda. 


None  living  in  town  but  Joseph.  One  son,  Moses, 
by  first  wife,  also  lives  here.  His  second  wife  was 
Betsy  Gilman.  Three  only  of  their  nine  children 
are  living. 

Hazzard. — James  Carr  Hazzard  was  born  in 
Newbury,  Mass.  (now  Newburyport),  August  2, 
1759.  He  enlisted  in  the  army  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, calling  himself  eighteen.  He  was  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and  in  several  other  battles. 

He  married,  February  11,  1787,  Betsy  Greeley, 
daughter  of  Shubael  Greeley,  of  Salisbury.  They 
moved  into  town  when  there  were  but  twenty 
families  here,  and  endured  the  hardships  and  pri- 
vations of  a  newly-settled  country. 

She  sowed  seeds  from  apples  her  father  raised  in 
Salisbury,  and  planted  with  her  own  hands  the 
orchard  that  now  stands  on  the  farm  (known  as 
the  "  Town  Farm  "),  owned  by  Sargent  Heath. 

They  had  eleven  children, — Anna  Hazzard,  born 
April  15,  1788  ;  Mary  Hazzard,  born  January  20, 
1790;  James  Hazzard,  born  December  30,  1791  ; 
Ruth  Hazzard,  born  February  12,  17D4;  Sarah 
Hazzard,  born  March  6,  1796;  Asenath  Hazzard, 
born  February  12,  1798;  Cyrus  Hazzard,  born 
April  15,  1800 ;  Thirzah  Hazzard,  born  June  28, 
1802  ;  Luther  Hazzard,  born  December  28,  1804; 
Lucy  Hazzard,  born  February  5,  1808 ;  Thirzah 
Hazzard,  born  October  6,  1810. 

Anna  Hazzard,  when  eighteen  years  of  age, 
went  to  Salisbury,  at  Deacon  Cate's,  to  learn  the 
tailor's  trade ;  she  gave  three  years'  time.  She 
married  Jesse  Fuller,  of  Lebanon,  April  11,  1811. 
They  moved  to  Lebanon  and  lived  one  year ;  then 
they  moved  to  Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  Boston  and  Salem  baggage-wagons 
about  seven  years.  He  was  returning  from  Boston 
one  very  dark  night,  when  his  wagon  ran  against 
a  large  heap  of  dirt  which  had  been  thrown  from 
the  town  pumps,  and  he  was  instantly  killed, 
April  18,  1822.  His  wife,  Anna,  was  left  with 
four  small  children.  Abigail,  who  was  known 
in  this  town  as  a  successful  teacher.  John  was 
sent  to  Hanover  to  learn  the  tanner's  trade. 
He  went  to  New  York  as  a  teacher ;  married, 
lived  and   died  there.     Elizabeth  S.  was  sent  to 


346 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Springfield  to  live  with  her  grandparents,  where 
she  was  brought  up,  and  who  prides  herself  of  her 
Greeley  descent.  Lucius,  the  baby,  his  mother 
kept  with  her.  He  afterwards  was  a  tailor  in 
town;  he  married  for  his  wife  Laurette  F.  Con- 
verse, of  Lyme,  N.  H.  ;  he  went  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  on 
a  visit  to  his  brother's,  and  died. 

Mary  Ffazzard  married  Isaac  Haselton ;  lived  in 
Springfield.  They  had  three  children — James, 
who  died  young,  Rhoda,  James.  Rhoda  lives  in 
Webster,  N.  H. 

James  Hazzard  married  a  lady  in  Vermont ; 
went  there  to  live.  He  had  four  children  — 
Rosanna,  Irena,  Clara  and  Thirzah. 

Ruth  Hazzard  married  Josiah  Johnson,  of 
Springfield.  They  had  five  children — Hannah, 
Ben,  Samuel,  Melinda,  Mary-  Two  are  now  liv- 
ing— Hannah  Johnson  Noyes  in  Atkinson,  N.  H., 
and  Mary  Johnson  Davis  in  Jaffrey. 

Sarah  Hazzard  married  Jonathan  Stewart,  and 
lived  in  Bow.  They  had  nine  children,  only  two 
living — Jonathan  M.  Stewart,  dealer  in  carpets,  at 
Concord,  X.  H. ;  Marion  Stewart  Osgood,  a  dress- 
maker, at  Concord,  N.  H. 

Asenath  Hazzard  married  Jerry  Lamborn,  of 
Enfield,  N.  H. ;  moved  to  Boonville,  N.  Y.  They 
had  three  children,  one  living  in  New  York  in 
1885. 

Cyrus  Hazzard  went  to  New  York  ;  married  and 
lived  there.  He  had  six  children;  five  are  now 
living.     Thirzah  died  when  about  two  years  old. 

Luther  Hazzard  went  to  New  York  as  a  teacher; 
married  and  settled  in  Rensellearville,  N.  Y., 
where  he  lived  until  his  death.    He  had  one  child. 

Lucy  Hazzard  married,  first,  a  farmer,  Giles 
Stockwell,  of  Croydon;  married,  second,  Jonathan 
Emerson,  of  Lebanon,  where  she  now  lives  alone 
at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

Thirzah  Hazzard  married,  first,  Silas  Kinsley,  a 
merchant,  and  lived  in  Springfield.  They  had 
three  children;  two  are  now  living.  Orenda  lives 
in  Stoneham,  Mass.,  and  works  at  dressmaking. 
Charles  lives  in  California.  He  married  for  his 
wife  Fran  Hill,  daughter  of  L.  L.  Hill,  of  Spring- 
field.   She  married  for  her  second  husband  Colonel 


Beals,  of  Lyme,  where  she  now  lives  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four  years. 

Lucy  and  Thirzah  are  the  only  ones  left  of  the 
family. 

Elizabeth  Fuller,  wife  of  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  is 
the  only  one  left  in  town  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Hazzards.  She  had  two  children.  Henry  died  at 
the  age  of  sixteen.  Abby  is  married  and  lives  in 
Springfield.  She  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  David  P. 
Goodhue. 

Heath. —  In  the  early   days  there  was  a  family 
of  seven  brothers  and  sisters,  who  came  here  from 
Salem,  Mass, — Evan   M.,    Daniel,    Enoch,   John, 
James,  Hannah  and   Rachel.     Evan  M.  married 
Betsy  Woodward  and  had  seven  childen, — Rhoda, 
Nathaniel,  Jesse,  Johnson,  Enoch,  Ira  and  Daniel. 
Rhoda  first  married  David  Bean,  having  two  chil- 
dren,— Rhoda    and     David, — and    then    married 
Joshua   Stevens,   having   three    children, — Mary 
Ann,  who   married  Joseph  Robie,   now   living  in 
town  ;  Nathaniel  and  Manley,  who  are  dead.     Na- 
thaniel married  Margaret  Streeter,  of  New  York. 
They  had  eleven   children, — Uriah,  in  the  navy 
three  years,  married  Mary  E.  Stevens,  of  Grafton, 
daughter  of  Barnard   C.  Stevens ;    Elias  and  H. 
Johnson   Heath   went  to  Canada  ;  Betsy  married 
Albert  Swetland,  of  Providence,  R.  I.;  Evan  M. 
married  Grace  Loverin,   now   living  in  Salisbury, 
N.  H.;    Francis  A.  married  Rhoda  A.  Heath,  of 
Pittsburg,  N.  H.,  now  living  in  Enfield  ;  Charlotte 
died  in  infancy ;  Vensana   married   John  Jeflfers, 
who  have  only  one  child  living, — Lizzie  V.,  mar- 
ried toM.  A.  Burnham, — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeffers  hav- 
ing buried  eight  children  with  diphtheria;  Rhoda 
A.,  widow  of  John  Sunders;    Stephen  S.    died  in 
the  Union  army  ;  and  Charles  J.  died  in  town  when 
eighteen    years    old.     Jesse,    son   of  Evan  M.,  of 
Salem,  married  and  died  in  New  York.     Johnson, 
son  of    Evan    M.,    who   married  Nancy   Sanborn, 
of  Grafton,  was  the  father  of  Monroe  C.  Heath, 
ex-mayor  of  Chicago,  and  of  Warren  and  Calista, 
who  are  dead.     Enoch,  son   of  Evan  M.,  married 
Polly  Jones.     Children  were  Diana,   present  wife 
of   John   F.    Carter,   of    Andover;    Nicanor,  of 
Grafton;  Arville,    wife   of    Joseph    Whitcomb,  of 


SPRINGFIELD. 


347 


Andover  ;  Josiah,  died  in  Grafton  ;  Roxanna,  first 
wife  of  George  Miller,  who  lives  at  East  Canaan  ; 
Aurilla,  married  Barauch  Smith, of  Grafton;  and 
Ora  C.,  living  in  Orange.  Ira,  son  of  Evan  M., 
married  Rebecca  Greeley ;  had  one  child.  Dan- 
iel, son  of  Evan  M.,  married  Sophia  Barnhart,  of 
Cornwall,  Canada.  Daniel's  second  wife  is  the 
present  wife  of  Moses  Leavitt,  of  Grafton.  Dan- 
iel Heath,  who  came  from  Salem,  lived  on  George 
Hill,  in  Enfield,  and  was  the  father  of  Dorset 
Heath.  Enoch  Heath,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  married  Lizzie  Stevens  and  lived 
where  Russell  Kidder  now  lives.  Enoch's  son, 
Samuel,  married  Mary  Dearborn.  Of  their  chil- 
dren, only  Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  Samuel  Maxfield, 
and  John  Heath,  are  now  residents.  Enoch's 
other  son,  Ezekiel,  married  Lucretia  Babbitt  and 
had  one  child.  He  then  married  Jerusha  Fuller 
and  had  nine  more, — Leonard,  married,  first,  Sally 
Morgan,  and,  after  her  death,  married  Lydia  Jane 
Hill;  Levi  married  Priscilla  Clifford,  he  died 
several  years  ago,  and  his  widow  and  several  chil- 
dren are  living  in  town  ;  Enoch  and  Hiram  died 
in  Vermont ;  George  is  a  depot-master  of  Sharon, 
Vt;  William  died  in  town;  Van  Buren,  the 
seventh  son,  died  in  Lowell,  Mass.;  Gerrard  first 
married  Hannah  Hook,  and  second  Rosalette 
Heath,  now  living  in  town  ;  and  Narcissa,  died  in 
town.  John,  who  came  from  Salem,  married  Dolly 
Davis,  lived  opposite  M.  C.  Burnham's  and  died 
at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  seven  years.  They 
had  fourteen  children, — James,  Dolly^John,  Zac- 
cheus,  Lydia,  Marion,  Nancy,  Hannah,  Jonathan, 
Edmund,  Christopher,  Polly,  Rhoda  and  Phebe. 
Dolly  married  John  Jeffers,  who  came  here  from 
Hampstead.  They  had  eight  children.  Mary 
Jeffers  married  Enoch  Quimby ;  Phebe  Jeffers 
married  Samuel  Sanders  and  is  the  present  wife  of 
Jeremiah  Stevens ;  Jacob  Jeffers  married  Cathe- 
rine Kempton,  of  Croydon  ;  Stephen  Jeffers  died 
in  Lyme  ;  John  Jeffers  married  Vensana  Heath  ; 
David  Jeffers  married  Melinda  Cummings,  of 
Colebrook  ;  Edward  Jeffers  married  a  Smith  of 
Salisbury  ;  Polly  Jeffers,  died.  John  Heath  mar- 
ried Nancy  Colcord  ;    their  children  were  named 


Alfred,  Jonathan,  Charlotte,  Dorothy,  Stephen 
and  Martha.  Hannah  Heath  married  Daniel 
Bean  ;  had  one  child,  Emeline,  who  married  Nich- 
olas Hardy  of  this  town.  James,  who  came  from 
Salem,  married  Hannah  Clark  and  lived  where 
J.  C  Pettengill  now  lives ;  had  three  children, — 
Moses,  lived  in  Wilmot;  Lucinda,  married  John 
M.  Philbrick,  of  this  town  ;  and  Mary,  married 
Freeman  Smalley,  of  Hanover.  Hannah,  who 
came  from  Salem,  married  Dr.  Peaslee,  of  Alex- 
andria. One  of  his  children  is  the  present  wife 
of  Esquire  John  Austin.  Rachel,  who  came  from 
Salem,  married  Samuel  George,  commonly  called 
"  King  George  ;"  had  five  children,  none  known 
to  be  living. 

Hogg. — Among  the  early  settlers  were  Charles 
and  Robert  Hogg.  Charles  settled  on  a  hill,  which 
resulted  in  the  name  "  Hogg  Hill."  We  find  from 
the  records  that  James  Hogg,  the  son  of  Charles 
and  Hannah  Hogg,  was  born  in  1791  ;  Polly 
Hogg,  in  1793  ;  Susannah  Little  Hogg,  in  1796 ; 
Sophia  Hogg,  in  1799  ;  Benjamin  Franklin  Hogg, 
in  1800 ;  and  Thomas  Jefferson  Church,  son  of 
Charles  and  Hannah  Church,  was  born  in  1802 ; 
and  Charles  Church,  in  1805. 

None  of  their  descendants  are  known  to  be  in 
town.  Robert  Hogg,  brother  of  Charles,  lived 
opposite  where  James  K.  Richardson  now  lives. 
Robert  Hogg,  Jr.,  born  in  1787,  married  Huldah 
Winter,  November  17,  1808.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Margery.  John  Hogg,  son  of  Robert, 
married  Susanna  Sanborn.  Their  children  were 
Betsy  Hogg,  born  in  1807  ;  John  Hogg,  in  1810  : 
James  Hogg,  in  1812;  Joseph  Hogg,  in  1814; 
Moses  Hogg,  in  1816  ;  Daniel  Hogg,  in  1820;  and 
Israel  and  Mathew  Harvey  Johnson.  Thus  it  ap- 
pears that  John  and  Susanna  Hogg  had  their 
names  changed  to  Johnson  some  time  after  1820. 

Betsy  married  Kneeland  Stocker  aud  died  soon 
after.  James  married  Abigail  Colcord  ;  had  two 
daughters, — Betsy  Ann,  who  married  Mark 
Burnham,  died  several  years  ago  ;  Elvira,  married 
Dr.  W.  C.  Kempton,  and  is  now  living  in  Grant- 
ham. Joseph  married  Joanna  Smith.  They  had 
two  children, — John,   wjio   married  Leora  Colby, 


348 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


who  died,  and  he  has  recently  married  Kate 
Gault,  of  Arlington,  Vt. ;  and  Susan,  who  married 
Rev.  WarreD  Noyes,  who  has  preached  in  town 
several  time*  and  now  lives  in  Vermont.  Moses 
and  Daniel  were  blacksmiths  in  town  and  both 
died  here.  Israel  married  Huldah  Sargent.  He 
is  dead  and  his  widow  now  lives  in  town  with  her 
brother,  Enoch  Sargent.  Harvey  married  Han- 
nah Sargent.     They  live  in  Concord,  N.  H. 

Karr. — -Samuel  Clay  married  Hannah  Karr. 
They  came  here  from  Candia,  N.  H.,  and  settled 
on  the  Colonel  Sanborn  Hill,  so-called.  He  served 
as  a  town  officer  and  was  licensed  to  sell  rum,  gin 
and  brandy,  but  cautioned  not  to  mix  water  with 
it. 

John  Karr,  of  Candia,  N.  H,,  married  Eliza- 
beth Murray,  of  Chester,  N.  H.  They  settled  at 
an  early  date  on  what  is  called  Colonel  Sanborn's 
Hill.  Karr  was  a  large,  powerful  man  and  fought 
wild  beasts  and  witches.  Our  informant  remembers 
when  a  small  boy,  of  looking  on  with  fear  and  see- 
ing him  destroy  one  with  hot  irons,  but  does  not 
remember  of  seeing  the  dead  witch.  Old  inhabit- 
ants claimed  that  Mr.  Karr  cleared  more  acres  of 
land  than  any  other  man  that  settled  in  town. 
He  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  Hannah,  who 
never  married^  and  died  in  1822  ;  Samuel,  married 
Nancy  Greely,  of  New  London,  and  lived  and 
died  there;  John,  Jr.,  never  married,  lived  at 
Concord  the  last  of  his  life ;  Mark  lived  and  died 
at  Epping,  N.  H.  ;  Joseph  lived  and  died  at  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,and  has  several  children  living  there 
now.  Mr.  Karr  built  where  Joseph  M.  Robie  now 
lives,  and  died  there  in  IMS.  He  has  no  descend- 
ants living  in  town. 

Kinsman. — In  1794  Captain  Ephraim  Kins- 
man, Colonel  Aaron,  Deacon  Stephen  and  Asa 
Kinsman,  Joseph  and  James  Riddle,  Jr.,  lived  in 
that  part  of  the  town  now  called  Fowler  Towu, 
then  Kinsman  Corner. 

It  was  about  six  miles  from  the  centre  of  the 
town,  and  an  unbroken  forest  lay  between  them 
and  the  small  settlement  at  the  centre.  The 
Kinsmans  had  lived  there  several  years,  but  it 
was  not  known  to  the  people  at  the  centre  until 


Samuel  Robie,  Esq.,  and  Captain  John  Quimby 
took  a  compass  and  went  on  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion, and,  much  to  the  surprise  of  both  parties, 
found  their  neighbors.  This  was  several  years 
before  1794. 

John    Morrill     married   Kinsman,     and 

settled  at  an  early  date  in  this  part  of  the  town. 
He  was  a  very  worthy  man,  and  "  Let  his  moder- 
ation be  known  to  all  men."  He  had  three  sons, 
— Stephen,  John,  Jr.,  and  Enos  ;  also  two  daugh- 
ters Stephen  has  been  gone  from  town  many 
years,  but  has  one  son  living  in  Wilmot,  the  Rev. 
William  S.  Morrill.  John  Jr.,  and  Enos  still  live 
in  town,  having  sons  and  daughters  living  near 
them. 

Little. — Nathaniel  Little  was  born  in  Atkin- 
son, N,  H.,  November  10,  1746;  married  Mary 
Carleton,  of  Plaistow,  N.  H.  After  living  a  time 
at  Portland,  Me.,  he  purchased  a  farm  and 
resided  at  Plaistow,  N.  H.  About  the  year  1790 
he  removed  with  his  younger  children  to  this  town, 
where  he  cleared  wild  lands  and  settled  them  upon 
farms.  His  daughter,  Susan,  married  Osgood 
Taylor,  who  was  a  tavern-keeper  at  Springfield, 
Sandown  and  Hampstead,  where  he  died. 

Samuel  married  Sally  Pettengill,  of  this  town, 
and  built  and  kept  a  tavern  at  the  James  Calef 
place,  on  the  turnpike.  He  died  in  1814.  Joseph 
married  Sarah  Webster,  of  Salisbury,  and  lived  on 
a  farm  near  Stoekertown.  He  was  a  sea-captain, 
and  died  away  from  home,  in  1820. 

Elizabeth  married  John  Hoyt,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  near  the  old  Stickney  tavern. 

John,  at  the  age  of  twrentytwo,  left  home  and 
was  not  heard  from  for  thirty  years.  He  was 
a  sea-captain,  and  died  in  1840,  unmarried. 

Amos,  the  youngest  of  thirteen  children  (the 
only  one  born  in  town),  was  born  February 
27,  1796;  he  lived  with  his  father  until  he 
was  fifteen  years  old,  when  he  left  home  and  learn- 
ed the  hatters'  trade.  In  1818  he  commenced 
the  manufacturing  of  hats  at  Newport,  N.  H.,  and 
continued  in  the  business  until  his  death,  August 
17,  1859. 

Nathaniel   Little    (Senior)    was  in   the   Revo- 


SPRINGFIELD. 


349 


lutionary  War,  served  as  ensign,  and  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Saratoga.  After  the  death  of  his 
son  Samuel,  in  1814,  he  went  to  Harapstead, 
N.  H.,  to  live  with  his  oldest  son,  where  he  died, 
August  11,  1827. 

Loverin. — Eben  Loverin  and  Lydia,  his  wife, 
came  here  about  1780  with  six  children, — John, 
Ebenezer,  Caleb,  Polly,  Lydia  and  Hittey.  They 
walked  from  Salisbury  on  snow-shoes,  bringing 
the  youngest  in  their  arms.  John  Loverin  mar- 
ried Betsy  Hall,  of  Croydon,  and  lived  there. 
Ebenezer  Loverin  married  Polly  Bliss,  of  Leba- 
non ;  lived  and  died  in  town.  Caleb  Loverin  mar- 
ried Mary  Keniston,  of  Stratham.  Polly  Loverin 
married  Joseph  Nichols,  father  of  Dr.  Joseph, 
John,  Phiueas,  Eben  and  Lydia.  Johu  Nichols 
married  Betsy  Stevens;  they  had  several  children, 
only  one  of  which,  Johu  C,  is  now  living  in  town. 
Lydia  Nichols  married  Cutting  Greeley,  of  Salis- 
bury. 

Dr.  Joseph  Nichols  married  Hannah  Colcord. 
He  was  a  successful  physician  in  town  ;  had  several 
children,  all  away  from  town  now.  Eben  Nichols 
married  Sarah  McDaniel.  Phineas  Nichols  taught 
over  thirty  years  in  the  High  School  at  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H. 

Lydia  Loverin  married  Dr.  Nathaniel  Prentis, 
who  was  instantly  killed,  leaving  one  daughter, 
now  dead.  Hittey  Loverin  married  Abraham 
Philbrick,  who  came  here  from  Kingston ;  had 
nine  children, — Sally,  Milly,  Abram  S  ,  Porter 
K.,  Jeremiah,  John,  Hittey,  Olive  and  Lydia. 
Sally  married  James  Noyes  and  lived  in  town. 
She  is  now  eighty-seven  years  old,  living  in  Buda, 
111.,  with  her  daughter.  Milly  married  David 
Colcord,  who  died,  leaving  two  children,  James 
and  Ann  (now  Mrs.  H.  Hatch),  both  living  in 
Lebanon.  She  died  in  1882.  Abram  S.  married 
Lydia  Loverin,  of  Croydon,  and  had  five  children, 
— Henry,  Horace,  Marietta,  Louisa  and  Betsy 
Jane.  Henry  lives  in  Manchester.  Marietta  in 
Croydon ;  the  others  in  town — Louisa  living  with 
her  father,  who  is  eighty-three  years  old.  Porter 
K.  married  Nancy  Hoyt,  of  Enfield,  and  lived  in 
Wilmot.     He  died  a  few   years  ago.     Jeremiah 


married  Lydia  Jane  Sanborn  and  had  four  chil- 
dren,— James,  Martha,  Ellen  and  Orra,  who  is 
the  only  one  living  in  town.  His  second  wife  was 
Mrs.  Angie  Williams,  of  Grafton;  one  child, 
Leona. 

John  married,  first,  Lucinda  Heath ;  four  chil- 
dren now  living, — Loren,  Elwin,  Warren  and 
Milly.  All  in  town  but  Loren.  Second,  Sephina 
Morgan,  of  New  London.  He  always  lived  in 
town,  and  died  in  1880. 

Hittey  married  James  McDaniel. 

Olive  married  L.  L.  Hill.  Only  three  children 
living, — Porter  and  Francis  in  California  and 
Edson  with  his  father  in  town.     She  died  in  1883. 

Lydia  married  L.  F.  Hill.  Always  lived  in 
town  and  have  three  sons, — Orin,  Cyrus  and 
Charles.     Orin  lives  in  Michigan. 

Jedediah  Philbrick,  of  Kingston,  brother  of 
Abraham,  married  Hannah  Thirston,  March  19, 
1794.  Their  children  were  Betsy,  Samuel,  Dolly, 
Lua,  Anna,  Dinah  and  Emily  B. 

Anna  married  Ezra  Pillsbury,  and  is  now  liv- 
ing in  town,  seventy-nine  years  old,  and  Emily  is 
living  in  the  West. 

Jonathan  Loverin  and  wife  came  here  from 
Candia  and  settled  on  the  old  New  London  road. 
They  had  eight  sons, — Benjamin  went  to  Vermont 
and  died  there;  Nathaniel  married  Nancy  Col- 
lins ;  John  married  Sarah  Bowman ;  Prescott  mar- 
ried Betsy  Sawyer;  Daniel  married  Sarah  Russell ; 
Jonathan,  Jr.,  married  Malone,  from  Salis- 
bury ;  Ira  married  Mary  A.  Brigham,  from  Ver- 
ment ;  Austin  married  Susan  Kinsman,  and  after 
her  death  married  Lovina  Morrill.  Only  two  of 
their  children  now  living  in  town, — Ida  L.  and 
Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  George  H.  Morgan. 

Thorp.  —  Samuel  Thorp,  of  Beverly,  Mass., 
came  here  with  Ephraim  Morgan  and  helped  clear 
land  near  Morgan  Pond.  Said  Thorp  and  wife 
had  five  daughters.  One  married  a  Cressy,  of 
Bradford  ;  one  a  Mr.  Ward,  of  Lebanon ;  Olive 
married  Josiah  Johnson,  of  Wilmot ;  Hannah 
married  John  Silver;  Almina  married  Ebenezer 
Whittemore,  of  Wilmot.    No  descendants  in  town. 

McDaniel. — James   McDaniel  we  find  was  in 


350 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


town  before  1794,  with  a  family  of  four  children, — 
Mark,  Daniel,  John  and  Polly.     Pie  lived  upon 
the  same  farm  that  is  now  occupied  by  Charles  Mc- 
Daniel,  but  his  buildings  were  upon  the  top  of  the 
hill,  near  what  is  known  as  the  Whittemore  house. 
John  married  Hannah  Morse,  of  Kingston  ;  they 
were  the  parents  of  five  children, — Abigail,  Sarah, 
Daniel,  James  and  Hannah.     They  moved  to  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Charles  McDaniel,  in  1808, 
from  a  house  about  twenty-five  rods  north  of  the 
present  buildings.     Abigail  McDaniel,  born  1799, 
March     25,     married   Stephen  H.    Heath.      She 
died  in   1834,    leaving  three  boys,  who  are   now 
dead.    Sarah  McDaniel,  born  February  21,  1803, 
married   Eben  L.   Nichols.     They   both  died  in 
town,  having  reared  a  family  of  four  sons, — Alonzo 
P.,  Leonard,  Lynian  L.  and  Lovell  W.,  only  one 
of  whom  is  known  to  be  living,  Alonzo  P.  Nichols, 
now  of  Manchester,  N.  H.    Daniel  McDaniel,  born 
March  28,    1804,   went  to  Cherry  Valley,    Ohio, 
and  married  Eliza  Greene.     Three  sons,  Lanson, 
John  and  James  survive  them  ;  Lanson,  now  living 
in  the   mining   region  in  Pennsylvania ;  John,  in 
Iowa ;  and  James  in  Rome,  Ohio.    James  McDan- 
iel, born  February  13,    1807,    married,   Novem- 
ber 24,  1833,  Hittey  L.  Philbrick.      He   always 
lived  in  town,  upon  the  old  homestead,  except  while 
teaching  a  few  terms  in  New  York.     He  died  in 
1873,  leaving  four  children, — Charles,  Ann,  George 
and  Ella.     Charles  married  Amanda  M.  Quimby  ; 
Ann  married  S.  H.  Jackman,  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  now   living  in   Sacramento,  Cal. ; 
George  also  lives  in  Sacramento,  Cal. ;  Ella  is   at 
present  living  on  the  "  McDaniel  "  farm,  with  her 
mother,  who  is  seventy- three  years  old.      Hannah 
McDaniel,    born  April  14,  1813,  is  now  living  at 
Enfield,  N.  H.,  as  widow  of  Albert  Currier.     She 
has  one  son,  Nathan,  a  graduate  of  Tufts  College. 
MoRGAjr.-  Ephraim  Morgan  came  here  before 
1795,  from  Beverly,  Mass.,  and  settled  in  the  wil- 
derness, on  land  which  is  now  owned  by  Jeremiah 
Philbrick  and  used  as  a  pasture.   He  had  seven  chil- 
dren,—John,  Ephraim,  Richard,  Sally,  Ebenezer, 
William  and  Garry.     John  Morgan,  born  August 
31,  1791,  married   Betsy   Richardson.     They  had 


three  children, — Betsy,  who  is  now  living  in  Wake- 
field, Mass. ;  Sally,  who  married  Leonard  Heath  ; 
and  Rebecca,  who  died  in  town.  Ephraim  Mor- 
gan married  and  raised  a  large  family  of  children  ; 
died  in  Francestown,  N.  H.  Richard  Morgan, 
died  in  the  West,  and  Sally  died  here  unmarried. 
Ebenezer  Morgan,  born  March  14,  1801,  married 
Abigail  Rowe,  of  Candia,  had  six  children, — Mary 
Ann,  who  married  Charlton  Woodbury,  and  lives 
in  New  London  ;  Sarah  Jane,  now  living  in  Man- 
chester ;    Richard   S.,    married  Messer,  and 

lives  in  New  London;  Ephraim  D.,  married  and 
living  in  Manchester;  Ellen  J.  and  Frank  B., 
who  are  now  living  in  town  with  their  mother,who  is 
nearly  blind.  William  Morgan  married  Mary  Ful- 
ler ;  had  four  children, — Garry  ;  George  H  ,  who 
married  Sarah  Ann  Loverin,  and  lives  in  town  ; 
Laura  and  Lucy,  both  living  in  Sunapee.  Laura 
married  Willard  Chase,  and  Lucy,  Alfred  Mar- 
tin. Garry  Morgan,  born  October  22,  1806,  died 
in  town. 

Messer. — Phineas  Messer  and  wife,  of  New 
London,  cleared  the  land  where  his  sons  Phineas 
and  Jacob  now  live  (also  had  one  other  son,  John, 
died  young).  Louis  married  Darius  Kidder. 
Mary  died  of  consumption. 

Phineas  married  Mary  A.  Bowman,  and  have 
three  children  living, — Melvin.  Charles  and  Syl- 
vester. 

Jacob  married  Mariett  Burpee,  of  New  London  ; 
one  child,  Herbert  H.,  also  living  in  town. 

Noyes. — Daniel  Noyes  married  a  Miss  Ware, 
from  Andover ;  had  two  sons, — Hon.  John  W. 
Noyes,  now  living  in  Chester,  N.  H.,  and  is 
president  of  Derry  Bank;  Daniel  J.  Noyes,  of 
Hanover,  who  has  long  been  a  professor  in  Dart- 
mouth College 

Ebenezer  Noyes,  of  Kingston,  married  Lydia 
Suwyer  Plaistow.  They  settled  in  this  town  at  an 
early  date,  on  the  place  now  known  as  the 
"Blood  place;"  afterwards  lived  on  the  turn- 
pike, where  Lorenzo  Dow  now  lives.  Our  inform- 
ant well  remembers  him  as  the  "  king  of  good 
fellows."  They  had  no  children  of  their  own,  but 
adopted  several  aud  gave  them  good  homes.     One 


SPRINGFIELD. 


351 


of  the  number  was  the  late  Gilraan  Sawyer, 
another  Eliza  Jane  Phelps  (now  Mrs.  Cheney), 
living  in  Plaistow,  N.  H. 

John  Noyes,  brother  of  Ebenezer  Noyes,  first 
came  to  this  town  from  Kingston,  when  a  boy  six- 
teen years  old ;  he  came  with  Ensign  Nathaniel 
Little  and  John  Heath,  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
and  stayed  some  six  weeks,  cutting  timber  and 
clearing  land,  on  the  place  now  known  as  the 
"  French  place,"  where  Little  afterward  built  his 
tavern  and  lived.  Noyes  afterward  married 
Elizabeth  Webster,  of  Plaistow,  and  came  and 
settled  on  the  farm  where  Moses  Noyes  lately 
died,  and  now  occupied  by  Charles  M.  Noyes. 

John   Noyes    drove    the    first    yoke    of  oxen 
into  town,  bringing  the  first  sheep,  six  in  number, 
on  an  ox-sled  from   Plaistow.     He  followed  the 
business  of  teaming  many  years,  from  this  town  to 
Boston,    Salem,     Haverhill     and    Newburyport, 
Mass.     He  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters — 
James,  Stephen,  Eben,  Moses,  Polly,  Sarah   and 
Eliza, — all  being  dead  but  one,  Mrs.  Sarah  Hall, 
of  Lowell,  Mass.    He  died  in  1847.    James  Noyes 
married  Sallie   Philbrick,  and   died,  leaving   four 
daughters, — Ursula   A.,    Caroline    P.,  Milly    and 
Sarah  J.     Milly  died  and  was   buried  in  town  ; 
Ursula  married  Mr.  Durham ;  Caroline  married 
M.  G.  Loverin,  formerly  of  this  town  ;  Sarah  mar- 
ried  Cyrus   P.    Mason.     All   are   now   living   in 
Illinois.       Stephen   Noyes    married    Mary    Jane 
Brown,  and  had  five  children, — John,  Eliza,  Eben, 
Mary  I.  and  Jane  E.       Eben  Noyes  was  married 
twice  and  lived  in  Boston  ;  his  widow  and  children 
survive  him.    Moses  Noyes  married  Susan  Whitte- 
more,  and  had  six  children, — Ellen  married  Mc- 
Dole,  and  lives  in  Bedford  ;  Lydia  married  Mc- 
Dole,  and  is  now  dead  ;  Mary  married  Horace  H. 
Philbrick,  and   lives   in   town ;  William   married 
and  lives  in  Alexandria ;  Charles  married  Helen 
Pattee ;  he  and  Mrs.  Mary  Philbrick  are  the  only 
descendants    living    in    town ;     Florilla    married 
Horace  Tilton,  and   lives   in   Alexandria ;  Polly 
married  Kimball  Loverin,  of  Croydon ;  had  nine 
children — Eliza,     Mary,     Martha,     Lucy,    Ann, 
Achsah  Jane,  John,  Hiram   and   Caleb.     Sarah 


married  Calvin  Hall,  and  had  several  children. 
Eliza  married  John  Brown. 

Perley. — Paul  P.  Perley,  a  native  of  Boxford, 
Mass.,  came  here  from  Dunbarton  about  1795  or 
1796.  He  married  Sally  Story,  of  Dunbarton, 
and  raised  several  children, — Sally,  Betsy,  Benja- 
min, Dolly  A.,  Daniel,  Jacob  and  Mary  Ann. 
Sally  married  David  Perkins,  of  Dunbarton ; 
thence  moved  to  Washington,  N.  H.  Betsy 
married  Benjamin  Bunker,  of  New  London,  and 
lived  in  Wilmot.  Benjamin  first  married  Han- 
nah Adams,  of  New  London,  having  one  daugh- 
ter, Adelphia,  now  living  in  Vermont ;  second, 
Mrs.  Eliza  Gage  Collins.  They  had  two  daugh- 
ters,— Augusta,  married  Edwin  Messer,  and  Abby, 
not  married,  both  living  in  New7  London.  Dolly 
A.  married  Thompson  Baxter,  of  Quincy,  Mass., 
had  a  family  of  seven  children.  Daniel  married, 
first,  Mahala  Gile,  of  Sutton.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Mary  Ann,  who  is  now  dead.  Second, 
Mrs.  Lucy  Morrill  Brown,  who  is  now  living  in 
New  London  Jacob  died  in  infancy.  Mary  Ann 
married  Samuel  Quimby,  and  still  resides  here, 
being  the  only  one  of  the  family  now  living. 
Daniel  Perley  always  lived  on  the  original  Perley 
place,  and  Benjamin  on  an  adjoining  farm. 

Quimby. — Timothy  Quimby  married  Shuah 
Sanborn,  of  Hawke.  They  came  here  soon  after 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  settled  on  two 
seventy-five-acre  lots,  the  house  being  in  what  is 
now  a  pasture  south  of  where  Rev.  Lewis  Howard 
now  lives.  Their  daughter  Mary  was  born  in 
December,  1795.  In  1807  they  bought  of  John 
Gould  the  place  where  their  granddaughter  now 
resides.  Mary  Quimby  married  Abner  Johnson 
in  1817,  he  having  located  in  Springfield  as  physi- 
cian prior  to  this.  They  had  five  daughters, — 
Rosina,  Ferona,  Peluna,  Lorana  and  Jelana  ;  only 
three  now  living.  They  left  town  in  March,  1835, 
and  lived  in  Lowell,  Mass..  less  than  two  years; 
then  settled  in  Saxonville,  a  village  in  Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  where  he  practiced  pharmacy.  He 
died  in  Derry,  N.  H.,  aged  nearly  eighty  nine 
years,  with  his  daughter  Rosina,  who  married 
Hon.  W.  H.  Shepard. 


332 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Ferona  married  Samuel  Soden,  of  Saxonville, 
and  had  one  son,  Arthur,  living  in  Newtonville, 
Mass.  Mr.  Soden  died  in  1844,  and  in  1848  she 
married  S.  H.  Clement.  They  had  one  daughter, 
Mary,  who  recently  married  Horace  Metcalf,  of 
Walpole,  Mass.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clement  came 
back  to  the  old  homestead,  which  had  remained 
in  the  family  since  1807,  a  few  years  before  his 
death,  in  1872.  In  1879  she  married  Rev.  Lewis 
Howard,  who  has  preached  here  most  of  the  time 
since. 

Captain  John  Quimby,  brother  of  Timothy 
Quimby,  lived  here  iD  early  times,  having  three 
sons, — John,  Samuel  and  Timothy. 

John  Quimby,  born  July  21,  1773,  married 
Mary  Bean  in  1798  and  had  five  children. 
Samuel  Quimby,  born  in  1800,  married  Mary 
Ann  Perley.  When  a  young  man  he  and  Sam 
Colby  spent  a  few  ye^rs  in  Kentucky,  since  which 
he  always  lived  in  town,  and  served  in  military 
and  all  town  offices  many  years,  in  the  Legislature 
and  as  deputy  sheriff  They  had  three  children, — 
Amanda  M.,  who  married  Charles  McDaniel  ; 
Daniel  P.,  who  married  Emily  E.  Adams,  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  D.  A.  Adams  (after  her  death  he 
married  Etta  Huntoon,  now  living  in  Newport, 
N.  H.)  ;  Warren  S.  married  Ellen  E.  Keniston, 
and  live  in  Andover,  N.  H.  Samuel  Quimby 
died  in  1872.     Hannah  Quimby  died  in  1806. 

Horace  Quimby  married  Nancy  Jones,  and  had 
several  children  while  living  in  town  ;  moved  to 
Manchester,  where  he  died. 

Eri    Quimby   married    Mace,  of  Boston, 

and  went  West. 

Lucinda  S.  Quimby  married  Oilman  Loverin, 
of  Loudon,  and,  after  his  death,  married  Amos 
Copp,  of  Sanbornton.  She  is  now  living  in  Man- 
chester with  her  son,  Alberto  Loverin. 

Mary  Quimby,  wife  of  General  John  Quimby, 
died  May  20,  1820,  and,  February  4,  1824,  he 
married  Mehitable  March.  They  had  two 
daughters, —  Mary  and  Augusta  Ann,  who  mar- 
ried, and  are  now  living  in  Illinois. 

Samuel,  brother  of  General  John  Quimby, 
married  Susan  Gilman.      Had  three  children, — 


Sally  and  Philinda,  now  dead,  and  William  H., 
living  in  Enfield,  N.  H. 

Lieutenant  Timothy,  the  other  brother  of 
General  John,  married  Lydia  Robie.  They  had 
only  one  son,  Timothy  Hendrick,  now  living  in 
town.  He  married  Eliza  Davis,  of  New  London. 
They  had  six  children,  only  two  living  in  town, — 
Henry  E.  and  Timothy  H.,  Jr. 

Jeremiah  Quimby,  of  Candia,  came  here  about 
1780  and  married  Margaret  Smith,  of  Candia. 
Children  were  Jacob,  Maroa,  Hannah,  Polly,  Eliz- 
abeth, Mehitable,  Abraham,  Aaron  and  Jeremiah. 
All  moved  from  here  but  Abraham  and  Jeremiah. 
Abraham  married  Marion  Jones,  of  Hawke. 
Children, — Leify,  Enoch,  Jones,  Ruth,  Betsy, 
Abraham  and  Jacob  H.  Abraham  married  Olive 
Randall,  who  died  several  years  since,  but  he  is 
still  in  town.     Jacob  H.  married  Nancy   Russell 

and  lives  in  Enfield.     Jacob   married Bean, 

of  Candia;  had  three  children, — Irene,  Joanna 
and  Jacob.  Aaron  Quimby  married  Hannah 
Heath,  daughter  of  Enoch  Heath.  Children, — 
Enoch,  Louisa,  Sarah,  John,  Maria,  Aaron,  Jere- 
miah, Hannah  and  Peter.  Enoch  was  twice  mar- 
ried and  died  in  Cornish.  Louisa  is  the  present 
wife  of  Willis  Hardy.  Aaron  now  lives  in  Grant- 
ham in  single  blessedness.  Jeremiah  married 
Rhoda  A.  Sanborn  ;  wdien  a  young  man  he  had 
the  small-pox ;  afterwards  was  a  local  preacher 
and  died  here  in  town,  leaving  two  children, — 
Lydia  Jennie  and  Harris.  Hannah  married 
John  T.  Weeks.  Jeremiah,  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Margaret  Quimby,  married  Nancy  Jones,  of 
Hawke.  Their  children's  names  were  Charlotte, 
Nancy,  Jeremiah  and  Irene.  Nancy  died  several 
years  since,  Jeremiah  married  Belinda  Hoyt,  and 
Irene  is  the  wife  of  John  F.  Hardy.  Both  fami- 
lies are  now  living  in  town. 

Richardson. — Moses  Richardson  was  born  in 
West  Newburg,  Mass.,  November  12,  1752.  In 
early  life  he,  with  his  parents,  moved  to  Chester, 
N.  H.;  married,  1778,  Sarah  Chase,  born  Novem- 
ber 28,  1756.  In  1788  he,  with  his  family,  moved 
to  Protectworth,  (now  Springfield),  N.  H.  His  was 
the  forty- second   family   then  in  town.     He  was 


SPRINGFIELD. 


353 


one  of  the  early  school-teachers  in  town  and  was 
chosen  deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  death,  in  1842, 
aged  ninety  years.  The  following  children  were 
born  to  them  in  Chester,  N.  H. :  Jacob  Chase 
Richardson,  born  February  21,  1779,  died  in  t 
Western  New  York  in  1844 ;  Moses  D.  Richard- 
son, born  May  1,  1781  ;  Prudence  H.  Richardson, 
born  October  12,  1783,  died  October  23,  1857; 
Sarah  Richardson,  born  August  31,  1788,  married 
Theophilus  Clough  (she  died  October  22,  1863). 
The  following  were  born  in  Springfield :  Betsy 
Richardson,  born  August  2,  1791,  married  John 
Morgan  of  Springfield ;  she  died  January  10, 
1857.  Daniel  Richardson,  born  September  22, 
1793,  removed  to  West  Lebanon,  N.  H.,  in  1826, 
and  died  at  West  Lebanon,  N.  H.  Lydia  Rich- 
ardson, born  February  11,  1796,  married  Asa 
Currier,  of  Raymond,  N.  H.  ;  she  died  in  1883. 
Joseph  Richardson, born  December  2, 1798,  married 
Rhoda  Stevens,  November,  1824  ;  he  died  in  1880. 

Moses  D.  Richardson,  born  in  Chester,  N.  H., 
May  1,  1781,  moved  with  his  parents  in  1791, 
when  but  ten  years  of  age,  to  Protectworth  (now 
Springfield),  N.  H.,  into  the  wilderness  at  what  is 
now  called  Springfield  Four  Corners,  and  always 
lived  on  the  same  farm  until  his  death,  February 
26,  1861,  aged  eighty  years.  He  married,  in  1809, 
Sarah  Collius,  born  in  Salisbury,  July  18,  1787. 
They  lived  together  in  Springfield  fifty-two  years. 
She  died  at  North  Boscawen,  June  11,  1872,  aged 
eighty-five  years.  To  them  were  born  in  Spring- 
field nine  children,  as  follows : 

Laura  Richardson,  born  November  10,  1810  ; 
married,  in  1828,  David  Flanders  ;  she  now  living 
at  Ilion,  N,  Y. 

Amos  Richardson,  born  August  28,  1812 ; 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1837 ; 
married,  August  25,  1840,  Ruth  Freeman,  of  Han- 
over, N.  H. ;  was  principal  of  Fryeburg,  Me., 
Academy  until  1845,  when  he  removed  to  Free- 
hold, N.  J.,  and  established  the  young  ladies' 
seminary  ;  he  became  totally  blind  in  1855,  but 
continued  the  management  cf  the  seminary  until 
hie  death,  in  1882. 


Moses  C.  Richardson,  born  September  24,  1814, 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1841,  attended 
the  Harvard  Medical  School,  and  graduated  at  the 
University  of  New  York  City  in  1845.  He 
married,  first,  Harriet  Farnsworth,  of  Bridgton, 
Me.,  August  23, 1846.  Married,  second,  September 
10,  1849,  Mary  S.  Wingate,  of  Hallowell,  Me. 
Married,  third,  Frances  C.  Ticknor,  of  New  Marl- 
boro, Mass. ;  he  practiced  medicine  twenty-four 
years  in  Hallowell,  Me.,  then  removed  to  New 
Marlborough,  Mass.,  where  he  died  from  rupture 
of  a  blood-vessel. 

Levi  Richardson,  born  June  29,  1816,  served 
as  clerk  for  Shaw  &  Churchill,  and  B.  &  A. 
Latham,  Lyme,  N.  H,  from  1836  to  1840  ;  then 
returned  to  Springfield  ;  served  as  clerk  for  D.  N. 
Adams  for  two  years  ;  then  became  a  partner  under 
the  firm-name  of  Adams  &  Richardson  ;  married, 
September  28,  1843,  Lucy  Ann  Gustin,  of  Croy- 
don, N.  H.  She  died  September  5,  1858.  In 
1860  removed  to  Franklin,  N.  H. ;  married,  August 
2,  1862,  Mary  A.  Currier,  of  Nashua,  N.  H. ;  still 
living  in  Franklin,  N.  H. 

Lucinda  Richardson,  born  May  5, 1818,  married 
Calander  Rathburn,  now  living  at  Dallas  Centre, 
Iowa. 

David  Richardson,  born  July  2,  1820,  married 
Mary  Hill,  of  Conway,  N.  H. ;  on  account  of  ill 
health  was  obliged  to  remove  South,  and  located 
at  Knoxville,  Tenn. ;  married,  second,  Laura 
Beardem,  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Rebellion,  the  noted  rebel,  general 
Longstreet,  sent  him  an  order  to  report  at  his 
headquarters  at  a  late  hour  one  evening,  which 
order  he  obeyed.  On  his  arrival  at  the  general's 
quarters,  the  general  told  him  his  object  in  send- 
ing for  him  was  to  join  their  army.  After  listening 
to  the  general's  proposition  he  firmly  refused  to 
obey.  After  his  many  threatenings,  the  general 
said  that  he  was  in  his  quarters,  that  his  life  was 
unsafe,  and  that  he  was  liable  to  be  shot,  and  made 
a  move  for  his  revolver,  which  lay  on  his  table. 
David  quickly  drew  his  own  revolver  and  told  him 
to  shoot  if  he  dare.  The  general  quieted  himself, 
and  said:  "You  are  of  good  grit,  just  the  man 


354 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


we  want ;  but  if  we  can't  get  you,  we  want  your 
lumber,"  of  which  he  had  a  large  quantity. 
Terms  were  made  and  the  lumber  delivered. 

Shortly  after  General  Burnside's  army  arrived, 
and  General  Harriman,  with  the  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire  Volunteers,  was  stationed  in  front  of 
David's  dwelling.  During  one  of  the  battles  his 
family  were  protected  by  retreating  to  the  cellar. 
He  died  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  October  11,  1870. 

Sarah  Richardson,  born  April  11,  1824,  died 
November  24,  1839. 

Harriet  Richardson,  born  November  20,  1826, 
married  Marcus  K.  Houser,  now  living  at  North 
Boscavven,  N.  H. 

Martha  Richardson,  born  September  15,  1828, 
now  living  at  Dallas  Centre,  Iowa,  married  John 
White,  of  Franklin,  N.  H. 

Robie. — Lieutenant  Samuel  Robie  married  Dor- 
othy Worthen  ;  came  from  Chester,  N.  H.,  and  set- 
tled in  this  town  at  an  early  date.  As  the  history  will 
show,  he  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  town  offices 
aud  in  building  the  fourth  New  Hampshire  turn- 
pike, being  a  director  in  that  corporation  many 
years.  He  also  built  many  miles  of  the  road,  and, 
it  is  said,  lost  a  large  share  of  his  property  in  the 
enterprise.  He  settled  and  lived  on  land  now 
owned  by  Joseph  L.  Brown,  at  the  Four  Corners, 
and  raised  a  large  family  of  children — Dolly, 
Reuben,  Sally,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Lydia,  Nabby,  Ruth, 
John,  David,  Mahala  and  Anne.  Only  two  are 
living, — David,  a  hale  old  man,  lives  in  Salisbury, 
aged  eighty-one  years,  and  Mahala  D.  Gay,  living 
in  New  London,  aged  seventy- nine.  He  has  four 
grandchildren  living  in  town — Timothy  H.  Quimby, 
Joseph  M.  Robie,  John  Robie  aud  Mrs.  Fifield 
Sanborn  ;  also  two  in  New  London — John  Robie 
and  Mrs.  Jonathan  George.  Lieutenant  Samuel 
Robie  died  in  1822,  and  Dorothy,  his  wife,  March 
4,  1839. 

Uncle  Ike  Robie,  a  brother  of  Samuel  Robie, 
came  to  the  town  in  its  early  days.  He  was  never 
married,  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and  had  a  small 
tannery  on  the  shores  of  Station  Pond,  on  land 
now  owned  by  Levi  F.  Hill.    He  died  about  1823. 

Sanborn. — Reuben  Sanborn,  of  Sandown,  came 


to  town  prior  to  1790;  married  Sarah  Worthen,  a 
native  of  Chester.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  viz. :  Nabby,  who  married  Moses  Elkins, 
Jr.,  and  moved  to  Norwich,  Vt.  One  of  their 
sons,  James  F.  Elkins,  was  the  first  superintendent 
of  the  Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroad. 
David  W.  followed  a  seafaring  life  several  years ; 
then  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  New  York 
City;  afterwards  moved  to  Newfane,  Vt.,  married, 
and  one  of  his  sons,  Myron  Sanborn,  was  a  high 
bailiff*  in  Montreal  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Dolly 
married  Ezekiel  Johnson,  of  Enfield,  and  after- 
wards moved  to  Vermont.  Sally  married  Joseph 
Wright,  of  Thetford,  Vt.  Thomas  S.  married, 
moved  to  Canada,  and  was  drowned  there  many 
years  ago.  Reuben,  Jr.,  educated  at  Harvard 
College  and  at  Old  Andover,  Mass.,  was  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman ;  lived  and  died  in  Painted  Post, 
N.  Y. ;  he  married  Mary  A.  Wood,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Joseph  Wood,  Windsor,  N.  Y.  Betsy  mar- 
ried George  Harlow,  of  Cornish,  lived  many  years, 
and  died  in  Grantham,  raising  a  large  family. 
Polly  married  William  Quimby,  and  both  died  in 
Norwich,  Vt.,  where  they  had  lived  and  reared 
a  large  family.  Richard,  commonly  known  as 
Colonel  Sanborn,  born  in  1797,  lived  here  contin- 
ually, and  died  in  1S75.  He  married  Alice  S. 
Collins,  who  survived  him  seven  years,  a  daughter 
of  Enos  Collins.  There  were  born  to  them  Thomas 
Henry,  who  died  at  five  years  of  age ;  Richard  F., 
who  married  Minerva  Collins ;  she  died  in  this 
town.  Afterwards,  said  Richard  F.  married 
Helen  Hatch,  of  Grafton,  and  now  resides  in 
Ashland,  N.  H. 

Henry  T.,  now  living  in  town,  and  representing 
said  town  in  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature,  1885. 
He  has  always  lived  in  town,  except  two  years  in 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  served  in  the  Union  army  of 
the  "  great  Rebellion"  three  years,  till  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  married  Mary  J.  Sanborn,  of  Painted 
Post,  N.  Y. 

Reuben  C,  married  Martha  A.,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Timothy  Cole.  After  her  death  he  mar- 
ried Marion  C.  Cole,  of  Whitefield,  who  now  re- 
sides at  Lake  village  ;  said  Reuben  died  in  1879. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


355 


He  was  in  trade  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  nine  years, 
and  clerk  in  the  Cole  Manufacturing  Company, 
Lake  Village,  N.  H,  twenty  years,  just  prior  to 
his  death. 

Abna  J.  married,  first,  Martha  A.  Kelsey,  of 
New  York;  second,  Esther  J.  Knowles,  of  Epsom, 
N.  H.  ;  third,  Martha  Evans,  of  Deny,  N.  H. 
He  is  now  living  with  his  third  wife  in  Manchester, 
N.  H. 

Lydia  A.  married  Albert  H.  Davis,  descendant 
of  Thomas  Davis,  one  of  the  first  settlers.  They 
are  now   living  in  Lake  village,  N.  H. 

Robert  married  Esther,  daughter  of  Enos  Collins ; 
moved  to  Sharon,  Vt.,  some  fifty  years  ago.  Only 
one  child  survives  him, — Hon.  Nathaniel  C.  San- 
born, photographer,  of  Lowell,  Mass.  Two  chil- 
dren were  buried  in  infancy,  in  Springfield ;  and 
David  W.  served  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  died  in  Sharon,  Vt  James  served  in  a  Mass- 
achusetts regiment,  died  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  and 
buried  at  Warner,  N.  H.,  the  residence  of  his  wife. 
Sarah  Alice  married  Geo.  F.  Heath,  of  Sharon, 
Vt.,  descendant  of  Ezekiel  Heath,  of  Springfield, 
N.  H.  ;  she  died  several  years  ago. 

Jonathan  Sanborn,  of  Kingston,  married  Betty 
Smith  in  1786.  They  lived  and  died  where  Jona- 
than Sanborn  now  lives.  Their  children  were 
Susanna  Liza,  Israel,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  Reuben, 
Abram,    Marsa,  Smith,   George  W.   and   Jasper. 

Israel  Sanboru   married Goss,  and  had   six 

children, — Stephen  Colcord;  Betsy;  Lydia  J.,  who 
married  Jeremiah  Philbrick  ;  Keziah,  who  married 
Chas.  D.  Sargent,  now  living  in  New  London  ; 
Rhoda,  now  the  wife  of  Lorenzo  Dow,  and  Jonathan, 
living  on  the  old  homestead,  who  married  Emily 
Powell.  After  her  death  he  married  Sarah  Stocker. 
Reuben  Sanborn  died  in  town.  Marsa  married, 
and  moved  from  town.  Smith  Sanborn  and  Ma- 
hala,  hi:;  wife,  lived  and  died  where  Jonathan  San- 
born now  resides.  They  had  four  children,  one 
being  the  wife  of  Wm.  D.  Colby.  Jasper  built 
the  buildings,  and  lived  opposite  where  Jonathan 
Sanborn  lives. 

Joseph  Sanborn,  brother  of  Jonathan,  married 

Abigail  Smith  in  1797  ;    lived  where  Henry  Pat- 

23 


ten  now  lives.  They  had  eight  children,  and  one 
of  them,  Chase  Sanborn,  lived  and  died  on  the 
homestead.  His  son,  John  S.,  now  lives  in  Maine, 
and  his  daughter  Nancy  is  the  wife  of  W.  H.  H. 
Cowles,  ex-sheriff  of  Sullivan  County. 

Abraham  Sanborn  was  also  among  the  first  set- 
tlers, having  eight  children,  only  one  of  whom  is 
now  living  in  town,  Fifield  Sanborn,  sixty-three 
years  of  age.  The  others  were  Hiram,  Lavina, 
Alvin,  Emily,  Caleb,  Clarissa  and  Ira. 

Joseph  Webster,  or  better  known  as  Gov.  Web- 
ster, was  a  very  celebrated  potash  and  pearl-ash 
maker  in  his  day.  Raised  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, but  has  no  descendants  in  town  now. 

Sawyer. — Stephen  and  John  Sawyer  came  here 
from  Plaistow,  N.  H.  They  were  brothers  to  Mrs. 
Ebenezer  Noyes,  and  first  settled  on  the  Sam.  Col- 
by place.  Sawyer  Hill  took  its  name  from  them. 
Not  any  descendants  here. 

Davis.  —Thomas  Davis  was  born  in  Kingston, 
in  1767  ;  married  Sally  Johnson  and  settled  in  the 
north  part  of  town  about  1800.  They  had  four 
sons  and  two  daughters.  Their  son  Moses  lived 
in  town,  and  died  when  sixty-five  years  old,  leav- 
ing three  sons  and  a  daughter,  who  is  still  living 
here,  being  the  wife  of  James  T.  Colby. 

Muzzey. — John  and  Hannah  Muzzey  lived 
where  Mrs.  Abigail  Johnson  now  lives.  He  was  a 
blacksmith,  having  ten  children.  Hannah  mar- 
ried Mardin  Gross,  now  living  in  New  London. 
Their  son  Sylvanus  is  the  only  descendant  living 
in  town. 

Pillsbury — Moses  Pillsbury,  born  in  1771, 
married  Hepsibah  Greenough,  September  26,  1704. 
Their  children  were  Patty,  Ezra,  Greeno,  Elizabeth, 
Jefferson,  Lewis,  Charles,  Phebe,  Moses  and  Betsy. 
Patty  married  James  Boyce.  Ezra  married  Ann 
Philbrick  ;  they  have  only  one  descendant  living, 
J.  B.  S.  Pillsbury,  here  in  town.  Greeno  Pillsbury 
married  Polly  Stevens  ;  only  one  descendant,  Lev- 
itt S.,  who  DOW  lives  in  town.     Jefferson  married, 

first,  F^liza  Colby  ;  after  her   death   married 

Eastman,  and  lives  in  Enfield.  Lewis  married  and 
died  in  Enfield.  Charles  married  Lovina  Clifford 
and  had  five  children  ;  only  one  remains  in  town, 


35G 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Francis  B.  Pillsbury,  who  married  Naomi  Sargent. 
Phebe  married  Joseph  Burpee  and  lives  in  Grant- 
ham.    Moses  married   Green    and  lives   in 

Grantham. 

Bean. — Daniel  and  Betty  Bean,  we  find,  were 
the  parents  of  eleven  children.  One  son,  Moses, 
lived  and  died  in  town,  and  of  his  descendants  here 
are  Mrs.  C.  H.  Melendy  and  Mrs.  Win.  M. 
Powers. 

HARDY. — Nicholas  Hardy  and  wife,  who  were 
among  the  pioneers  had  five  children, — Benjamin, 
Bilev,  John,  Susan  and  Samuel.  .Biley  married  a 
Miss  Judkins  and  had  six  children  ;  no  descend- 
ant in  town  except  Mrs.  J.  C.  Severance.  John 
lived  and  died  in  town,  having  three  children  living 
now  in  town, — Mrs.  Moses  Bean,  Nicholas  G. 
Hardy  and  John  F.  Hardy. 

Stkvens.  —  Two  brothers,  John  and  Samuel  Ste- 
vens, settled  on  Philbrick  Hill.  Samuel  lived  and 
died  where  Joseph  Col  cord  now  lives.  His  chil- 
dren were  named  Polly,  Hannah,  Mehitable,  Sam- 
uel, Betsy,  Rhoda  and  Smith.  Polly  married 
Samuel  Hoyt,  of  this  town  and  had  two  children, 
— Alvin  who  mariied  Diantha  Gilman  ;  and  Amy, 
who  was  deaf  and  dumb.  Mehitable  married  John 
Brown,  of  Grantham.  Samuel,  Jr.,  married  Anna 
Johnson,  March  30,  1825  ;  they  had  two  children. 
He  died  in  town  in  1830,  after  which  she  married 

Fisher  and  moved  to  Grantham,  where  she  is 

living  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  Betsy  married 
John  Nichols.  They  lived  and  died  in  town. 
Rhoda  married  Joseph  R  chardson.  He  died  in 
town  and  she  is  now  living  with  her  son  Willard, 
in  Lowell,  Mass.  Smith  Stevens  married  Maria 
Colby,  having  several  children,  none  now  living  in 
town.  John  Stevens,  born  in  Kingston  in  1774,  and 
Anna  Judkins,  born  in  Deerfield  in  1777, 
were  married  in  1795.  They  had  eight 
children, — Dolly,  Sally,  Polly,  Peter,  Almina, 
Prentis,  Daniel  Noyes  and  Eliza.  None  of  their 
descendants  are  now  in  town.  Prentis  Stevens 
married  Hannah  Gross,  of  this  town. 

Reuben  Stevens  came  from  Plaistow  and  settled 
in  this  town.  He  has  carried  a  bushel  of  corn  to 
be  ground  to  Salisbury,  twenty  miles  and  back,  in  a 


day.  He  had  seven  children, — Jonathan,  Reuben, 
Jr.,  James,  Enoch,  Sarah,  Polly  and  Bathsheba. 
James  died  young,  and  Enoch  was  the  youngest 
of  the  family  and  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  Quimby,  and  had  a  large  family, — 
Samuel,  Reuben,  Jeremiah,  Mehitable,  Hannah, 
Jacob,  Sally,  Margaret  Smith,  Enoch  S.  and  Eliza. 

Samuel  married,  first,  Elizabeth  Webster,  of 
Kingston  ;  second,  S.  Silloway.  They  had  four 
children, — Henry  W.,  now  lives  in  Grafton  ; 
Sarah  Jane,  died  aged  twenty-seven  years ;  Mary 
E.,  married  John  Gilman,  who  died  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  of  wounds.  She  still  lives  in  town. 
Horace  W.  Stevens  married,  first,  Juline  Pres- 
cott,  of  Grafton  ;  second,  Caroline  Gove,  of  Wil- 
mot ;  they  now  live  in  town.  Samuel  died  in 
1883;  Reuben  died  in  1866. 

Jeremiah  married,  first,  Nancy  Quimby  ;  second, 
Mrs.  Phebe  Jeffers  Sanders, — still  living  at  the  age 
of  eighty-five.  Mehitable  married,  first,  Jepthah 
Russell ;  second,  Asa  F.  Pillsbury ;  now  living 
in  town. 

Hannah  died.  Jacob  left  four  children, — 
Frances,  Enoch,  Mrs.  Westley  Bailey  and  Mrs. 
Russell  Kidder  ;    now  live  in  town. 

Sally  married  Barnard  C.  Stevens. 

Margaret  S.  married  Jonathan  C.  Currier. 

Enoch  S.  died  when  thirteen  years  old. 

Eliza  married  Sargent  Heath  ;  they  have  seven 
children  now  living. 

From  the  records  of  April  1,  1885,  we  find  the 
selectmen  assess  taxes  on  twenty  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-seven  acres  of  land,  and 
the  total  valuation  of  the  town,  as  by  them  ap- 
praised, is  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand  six 
hundred  and  forty- two  dollars. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


DANIEL  NOYES  ADAMS. 

There  is  probably  no  name  in  American  history 
fraught  with  more  of  interest  to  the  student  of  our 


" 


a^i^>£ 


&7Mj 


SPRINGFIELD. 


357 


institutions,  progress  and  political  annals  than  that 
of  Adams. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  indisputable 
data  connecting  Mr.  D.  N.  Adams  with  the  illus- 
trious family  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  bearing  that 
cognomen,  which  has  furnished  us  two  chief 
rulers  ;  but  all  the  facts  we  have  been  able  to 
obtain  point  to  that  conclusion. 

John  Adams,  grandfather  of  Daniel  N.,  was  a 
native  of  Rowley,  Mass.,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  the  town  of  New  London, 
N.  H.,  whither  he  came  about  1780,  having  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  a  mile  square.  He  was  one 
of  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of  the  land,  and  possessed, 
in  an  eminent  degree,  those  sterling  qualities  of 
body  and  mind  so  necessary  to  those  who  spent 
their  lives  battling  with  the  privations  of  the 
wilderness,  to  pave  the  way  to  the  development 
and  superior  civilization  which  was  to  follow. 

Solomon  Adams,  the  father  of  Daniel  N.,  was 
also  a  native  of  Rowley,  Mass.,  and  came  to  New 
London  with  his  father.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  and,  after  the  close  of  the 
War,  was  captain  of  a  company  of  State  militia. 
His  wife  was  Mary  Sargent. 

Daniel  Noyes  Adams  was  born  in  New  London, 
N.  H.,  September  12,  1803.  His  boyhood  was 
.spent  on  the  farm.  When  about  eighteen  years  of 
age  he  went  to  Massachusetts,  where  he  remained 
about  a  year;  returning  to  his  native  town,  he 
clerked  in  a  store  a  short  time,  when,  determining 
to  embark  in  mercantile  pursuits  for  "himself,  he 
came  to  Springfield,  N.  H.  (1825),  and,  in  com- 
pany with  Emory  Woodman,  began  merchandiz- 
ing near  where  his  pre.-ent  store  stands.  From 
that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been  constantly 
engaged  in  that  channel  of  trade,  though  not  to 
the  exclusion  of  other  interests.  After  two  years 
Mr.  Woodman  sold  his  interest  to  Dr.  Joseph 
Nichols.  This  partnership  continued  seven  or 
eight  years,  when  Dr.  Nichols  retired,  and  a  year 
or  two  later  Levi  Richardson  became  a  partner 
with  Mr.  Adams,  and  so  continued  six  or  seven 
years.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Adams  has  been 
alone.     In   addition  to  store-keeping,  Mr.  Adams 


has  also  been  interested  in  hotel-keeping  and 
farming.  In  1841  he  purchased  a  farm  and 
tavern  in  Springfield ;  the  latter  he  conducted 
many  years,  until  the  railroad  was  built  to  West 
Andover  and  the  tide  of  travel  turned ;  later  on 
he  sold  the  farm.  He  at  one  time  owned  an 
interest  in  the  grist-mill  at  Springfield,  and  has 
done  more  or  less  lumber  business.  Mr.  Adams' 
business  life  has  been  crowned  with  success.  He 
has  been  untiring  in  his  energy,  systematic  in  his 
methods  and  honorable  in  his  dealings,  and,  while 
he  has  won  a  well-deserved  competence,  he  has 
also  won  that  greater  boon, — the  sincere  respect 
and  esteem  of  those  among  whom  his  life  has  been 
spent.  The  respect  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
fellow-townsmen  is  amply  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  he  has  been  so  often  chosen  to  the  various 
positions  of  office  and  trust  within  their  gift.  He 
was  elected  selectman  very  soon  after  his  settle- 
ment in  Springfield,  and  has  held  that  office  a 
great  many  years  since.  Also  that  of  town  clerk, 
and,  in  fact,  every  office  in  the  town  repeatedly. 
He  was  representative  to  the  State  Legislature  in 
1841,  '42  and  '48,  and  again  in  1876.  He  was 
county  road  commissioner  in  1847  and  '48,  and 
was  State  senator  in  1850  and  '51.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  for  the 
revision  of  the  laws  of  New  Hampshire,  1876. 

In  political  creed  he  has  always  been  a  staunch 
Democrat,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of  New  London  since  his  sixteenth  year. 

In  his  younger  days  he  was  much  interested  in 
militia  matters,  and  was  captain  of  a  militia  com- 
pany raised  and  organized  in  Springfield,  and  is 
now  the  only  officer  of  the  company  surviving. 

He  married  (1832)  Eliza,  daughter  of  Job 
Williams,  of  Sunapee.  They  had  three  children, 
as  follows: 

Susan  Augusta,  born  1833,  graduated  at  Kim- 
ball Union  Academy,  Meriden,  N.  H.,  spent 
several  years  teaching  in  the  High  School  in 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  in  academies  at  Frances- 
town,  N.  HT,  and  Whitehall,  N.  Y.  She  married 
a  minister  named  Lucian  Adams,  and  settled  for  a 
time   at   Petersham,  Mass.      They  then  went  as 


338 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


missionaries  to  Syria,  where  she  died,  very  much 
lamented  by  all  who  knew  her,  leaving  no  issue. 

Daniel  Hamilton,  born  1836,  now  in  company 
with  his  father  in  the  store. 

Emily   Eliza,   born    1840,    was   for   a    time   a 
teacher  in   Colby  Institute,  New  London,  where 
she  graduated.     She  married  Daniel  P.  Quimby, 
and  died,  leaving  no  issue. 
Mrs.  Adams  died  in  1851. 

Mr.  Adams  married,  as  his  second  wife,.  Calista 
A.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Rhoda  S.  Richardson, 
of  Springfield  (1852).  To  this  marriage  there 
were  two  children. 

Helen  Frances,  born  1855,  married  Waldo  S. 
Chace  (1875),  and  died,  leaving  one  child, — 
Daniel  Adams  Chase. 

Jennie   Josephine,   born    1858,    married    Rev. 
Lorin  Webster,  rector  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  Ash- 
land, *N.  LI. ;    they   have   one   son.      She  was   a 
graduate  of  the  institution,  Westfield,  Mass. 
Mrs.  Adams  died  October,  1860. 
Mr.   Adams'  third  and  present  wife  was  Mrs. 
Sophrouia    Webster   (nee    Pierce),   daughter    of 
June  and  Sally  Pierce,  of  Claremont.     Her  first 
husband    Avas    Lorin    A.    Webster,   of   Concord, 
N.  H  ,  whom  she  married  1852.     She  has  one  son 
living,  Rev.  Lorin  Webster,  who,  as  before  stated, 
married  Mr.  Adams'  daughter,  Jennie  Josephine. 
Mr.   Adams  and    Mrs.  Webster  were  married 
November  26,  1865.     By  this  marriage  there  is 
no   issue.     Mr.   Adams    has  always  taken   much 
interest  in  the  matter  of  education.     Having  in 
his  own  youth  been  deprived  of  the  advantages  of 
schooling,  he  determined  to  afford  his  children  the 
facilities    denied    him,   and  to   gave  each   of   his 
children  a  liberal  education. 

Mr.  Adams  is  certainly  entitled  to  much  credit 
for  the  energy  he  has  displayed  and  the  obstacles 
he  has  overcome.  The  story  of  his  business  life 
has  been  briefly  told,  but  he  has  not  devoted  his 
life  solely  to  business  matters.  He  studied  at 
home,  at  night  and  during  leisure  moments,  and 
acquired,  without  the  aid  of  schools  a  fair  educa- 
tion. He  has  been,  all  his  life,  a  great  reader, 
and   thus  kept   himself  abreast  of  the     times  and 


thoroughly  posted  on  the  topics  of  the  day ;  and, 
in  his  declining  years,  derives  much  pleasure  from 
his  books  and  papers. 


SAMUEL   QUIMBY. 

Capt.  John  Quimby  came  to  the  town  of  Spring- 
field, N.  H.,  at  an  early  date,  being  among  the 
pioneer  residents  of  that  town.  He  was  the  father 
of  Gen.  John  Quimby,  who  was  by  trade  a  carpen- 
ter and  builder,  a  farmer  to  some  extent,  and  a 
man  of  considerable  influence  and  importance  in 
town.  He  was  twice  married, — first,  to  Mary  Bean, 
of  New  Grantham.  Their  children  were  Samuel, 
Hannah  (died  young),  Horace,  Eri  and  Lucinda 
S.  Gen.  Quimby's  second  marriage  was  to  Mehi- 
table  March  ;  they  had  two  children,  Mary  and 
Augusta  Ann,  both  now  living  (1885)  in  Illinois. 

Samuel  Quimby  was  born  on  what  is  known  as 
the  "  Hill  Place,"  near  Springfield  cemetery,  and 
about  a  mile  from  the  village.  His  boyhood  and 
up  to  the  time  of  his  majority  was  passed  on  the 
farm,  in  the  mean  time  learning  the  carpenter's 
trade  with  his  father.  When  about  twenty-one 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Boston  and  helped  build 
the  dry  dock  at  Charlestown  navy-yard.  After 
nine  years  spent  there  he  went  to  Norfolk,  Va., 
where  for  two  years  he  worked  at  carpentering  in 
the  navy-yard  at  that  place.  He  then  returned  to 
his  native  town,  purchased  a  farm  adjacent  to  the 
old  homestead,  and  there  the  remaining  years  of 
his  life  were  spent,  farming  being  his  chief  voca- 
tion. He,  like  his  ancestors,  was  much  interested 
in  military  matters,  and  served  in  the  State  militia. 
He  held  repeatedly  all  the  offices  of  his  town, — rep- 
resented his  town  in  the  State  Legislature  at  differ- 
ent times,  was  deputy  sheriff  several  years,  and  in 
all  these  positions  discharged  the  duties  devolving 
upon  him  with  the  strictest  fidelity.  He  was  a 
man  imbued  with  high  principles  of  honor,  far 
above  petty  intrigue  or  subterfuge.  His  opinions 
were  clearly  expressed,  and  with  no  doubtful 
meaning,  when  occasion  required.  The  eteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow-townsmen  is 
most  amply  evidenced  by  the  various  and  contin- 


^l^VL-C-C-e 


t 


«=<^jC-^*-fe<j^ 


tz^t~- 


<* 


SPRINGFIELD. 


359 


ued  public  trusts  which  they  so  rejjeatedly  placed 
in  his  hands.     In  politics  he  was  a  Republican. 

He  married,  January  15,  1835,  Mary  A., 
daughter  of  Paul  and  Sally  (Story)  Perley,  of 
Springfield.  Paul  Perley  was  a  native  of  Box- 
ford,  Mass.,  but  came  with  his  parents  when  a 
child  to  Dunbarton,  N.  H.,  where  his  youth  and 
boyhood  were  spent.  Soon  after  his  marriage 
with  Miss  Story  he  came  to  Springfield,  where  he 
resided  till  his  decease.  The  Storys  are  a  family 
whose  name  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
annals  of  New  England,  and  always  in  honorable 
connection. 

There  were  three  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Quimby, — Amanda  M.,  born  January  10, 
1-837;  married  Charles  McDaniel,  of  Springfield 
(for  further  mention,  see  McDaniel's  biography  in 
this  volume).  Daniel  P.,  born  Aug.  10, 1839  ;  mar- 
ricd,  first,  Emily  E.,  daughter  of  Hon.  Daniel  N. 
Adams,  of  Springfield  (see  his  biography);  by  this 
marriage  there  is  no  issue.  Mrs.  Quimby  died 
December  13,  1875.  Mr.  Quimby  married,  sec- 
ond, Etta  Huntoon;  they  have  one  son,  Harvey 
W.,  born  May  28,  1882.  Daniel  P.  Quimby  was 
elected  register  of  deeds  for  Sullivan  County, 
March,  1867,  which  office  he  held  four  years.  He 
was  also  engaged  in  mercantile  business  four  years 
under  the  firm-name  of  Rawson  &  Quimby.  He 
was  express  messenger  on  the  Concord  and  Clare- 
mont  Railroad  ten  years,  and  is  now  local  express 
agent  at  Newport,  N  H,  for  United  States  and 
Canada  Express  Company,  and  is  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  of  Newport.  Warren  S., 
born  Dec.  3,  1846,  married  Ellen  E.,  daughter  of 
John  W.  Kenniston,  of  Andover,  N.  H.  They 
have  two  sons,  Vivian  S.  and  John  W.  He  is  a 
merchant  and  resides  in  Andover. 

Samuel  Quimby  died  January  7,  1872. 


REV.    LEWIS   HOWARD. 

The  name  of  Howard  is  another  form  of  Har- 
vard or  Hereward,  and  is  identified  with  the  most 
brilliant  achievements  in  various  departments  of 
knightly   and  honorable  service  in  England,  and 


is  one  of  the  proudest  families  in  that  fair  land. 
We  extract  the  following  early  trans-atlantic  his- 
tory of  the  family  from  Burke's  "  Heraldic  Reg- 
ister," an  English  work,  valuable  for  its  learning, 
research  and  accuracy,  and  standard  authority  in 
family  history : 

"  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk.  —  The  illustrious 
House  of  Norfolk  derives  in  the  male  line  from 
William  Howard,  a  learned  and  reverend  judge, 
of  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  and  with  him  the 
authentic  pedigree  commences. 

"  Dugdale  sought  in  vain  amid  the  mists  of 
remote  ages  for  a  clue  to  the  family's  earlier 
origin.  The  alliance  of  the  judge's  descendant, 
Sir  Robert  Howard,  Knight,  with  Margaret, 
elder  daughter  of  Thomas  de  Mowbray,  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  was  the  source  whence  flowed  to  after 
generations  '  all  the  blood  of  all  the  Howards.' 
Margaret  de  Mowbray  was  great-granddaughter 
and  heiress  of  Thomas  Plantagenet,  surnamed 
Brotherton,  eldest  son  of  King  Edward  I.,  by 
Margaret,  his  second  wife,  daughter  of  Philip  the 
Hardy  of  France.  This  great  alliance  may  be 
regarded  as  the  foundation-stone  on  which  was 
erected  the  subsequent  grandeur  of  the  House  of 
Norfolk ;  but  the  brilliant  halo  which  encircles 
the  coronet  of  the  Howards,  owes  its  splendor  to 
the  heroic  achievements  of  the  successive  chiefs 
on  whom  its  honors  devolved.  John  Howard, 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  fell  at  Bosworth  manfully  adher- 
ing to  Richard  III.;  his  son,  the  Earl  of  Surrey, 
was  the  hero  of  Flodden,  and  the  latter 's  grand- 
son is  ever  memorable  as  the  first  poet  of  his  age. 

"  The  gentle  Surrey  loved  his  lyre; 

Who  has  not  heard  of  Surrey's  fame? 
His  was  the  hero's  soul  of  fire, 

And  his  the  bard's  immortal  name.' 

"  In  more  recent  times  the  hereditary  gallantry 
of  the  race  continued  to  shine  conspicuously  forth, 
and  to  a  Howard  was  reserved  the  honor  of  over- 
throwing the  mighty  power  of  Spain,  and  crush- 
ing the  '  Invincible  Armada.' 

"  In  point  of  mere  antiquity  there  are  several 
nobles  who  far  exceed  the  Howards.  But  what 
family  pervades  all  our  national  annals  with  such 


360 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


frequent  mention,  and  often  involved  in  circum- 
stances of  such  intense  interest  ?  As  heroes,  poets, 
philosophers,  courtiers,  patrons  of  literature,  state 
victims  to  tyranny,  and  feudal  chiefs,  they  have 
been  constantly  before  us  for  four  centuries.  '  In 
the  drama  of  life,'  says  an  eloquent  writer,  '  they 
have  exhibited  every  variety  of  character,  good 
and  bad ;  and  a  tale  of  their  vices,  as  well  as  their 
virtues,  is  full  of  instruction  and  would  excite 
anxious  sympathy  or  indignant  censure  No 
story  of  romance  or  tragic  drama  can  exhibit 
more  incidents  to  enhance  attention  or  move  the 
heart,  than  would  a  comprehensive  account  of  this 
house,  written  with  eloquence  and  pathos.'  On 
their  escutcheon  is  the  motto,  'Sola  Virtus 
Invicta.'' " 

John  Howard,  the  first  American  ancestor  of 
the  Howards  in  Plymouth  County,  Mass.,  came 
from  England  and  settled  in  Duxbury  prior  to 
1643.  He  came  to  West  Bridgewater  in  1651, 
and  was  one  of  its  proprietors  and  original  settlers. 
He  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  here,  1657,  was  one  of 
the  first  military  officers  of  Bridgewater,  and  died 
in  1700.  His  descendants  still  own  and  live  on 
the  place  where  he  first  settled  ;  he  always  wrote 
his  name  Hayward,  and  so  did  his  descendants  till 
after  1700,  and  the  early  town  records  are  con- 
formable to  this  spelling  ;  but  for  the  last  century 
or  more  it  has  invariably  been  written  Howard. 
He  kept  the  first  "  ordinary,"  or  public-house  in 
the  town,  and  was  a  man  of  great  strength  of 
character,  possessing  much  influence  in  the  colony. 
None  of  the  early  settlers  of  Bridgewater  has  left 
more  tangible  results  of  his  existence,  nor  more 
descendants ;  and  if  he  were  permitted  to  visit  the 
scenes  among  which  his  mature  life  was  passed,  he 
would  find  nothing  in  the  conduct,  character 
or  worth  of  those  who  have  borne  his  name 
for  more  than  two  centuries,  that  the  grand 
old  Puritan  would  severely  criticise,  and  much 
in  which  he  could  take  just  pride. 

Rev.  Lewis  Howard,  a  descendant  of  the  Puri- 
tan, John  Howard,  and  the  subject  of  this  writing, 
was  born  in  West  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  December 
4,  1802.     He  is  the  son  of  Abiel  Howard   (born 


March  28,  1771)  and  Kezia  (Bartlett)  Howard 
(born  August  4,  1775).  They  were  married 
March  12,  1795.  Their  children  were  Ianthe, 
Lewis,  Rachel,  Susan,  Abiel,  Nathan,  Emma  and 
Cyrus.  All  but  the  first  two  were  born  in  Gran- 
tham, N.  H. 

Abiel  Howard  moved  from  West  Bridgewater 
to  Grantham,  N.  H.,  Avith  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren, Ianthe  and  Lewis,  in  the  winter  of  1804. 
He  bought  a  farm  of  fifty  acres,  mostly  wooded, 
with  a  small,  cheap  house  and  a  temporary  sort  of 
barn,  and  here,  where  he  first  pitched  his  abode,  he 
resided  until  his  death.  The  history  of  pioneer 
life  in  New  Hampshire  has  been  too  frequently 
written  and  graphically  portrayed  to  need  rep- 
etition here  ;  it  was  a  struggle  for  existence,  and 
Abiel  Howard's  experience  was  no  exception  to 
the  general  rule ;  but  by  hard  work  and  frugality 
he  was  enabled  to  rear  his  family  and  supply  them 
with  the  necessities  of  life.  Lewis,  being  the  old- 
est boy,  was  very  naturally  trained  in  the  labors 
of  the  farm,  and  when  quite  young  was  able 
to  render  efficient  aid  in  the  struggle  for  life 
which  was  characteristic  of  those  times.  The 
father,  Abiel,  was  noted  for  his  industry  and 
earnest  toil,  and  was  referred  to  as  the  standard 
for  honesty  in  the  community.  "As  honest  as 
Uncle  Abiel"  was  an  oft-repeated  reference  in 
that  section ;  and  it  is  said  that  no  happier  or 
purer  married  life  ever  existed  than  that  of  Abiel 
and  Kezia  Howard.  Abiel  died  April  7,  1852  ; 
Kezia,  July  19,  1857. 

Lewis  Howard,  when  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
with  most  of  the  young  people  of  that  vicinity, 
made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  was  baptized  ; 
but  he,  with  many  others,  soon  became  somewhat 
indifferent  to  religious  matters,  and  for  many 
years  the  profession  he  had  made  exercised  but 
little  influence  on  his  life,  and  he  gave  little 
thought  to  religious  duty.  June  26,  1826,  he 
married  Sally  Stone,  an  estimable  woman,  who 
was  born  in  Grantham,  August  28,  1804.  Mrs. 
Howard  was  a  woman  of  rare  intellectual  and 
physical  qualities,  and  a  well-chosen  helpmate  ; 
and  for   more  than   half  a  century  the  streams 


SPRINGFIELD. 


361 


of  their  lives  were  united  in  one  peaceful  current, 
broken    only   by    the   death    of   Mrs.    Howard, 
October  21, 1877.     Soon  after  their  marriage  they 
removed  to  Springfield,  N.  H.,  where  Mr.  Howard 
taught    school,   farmed     and     was     considerably 
engaged  in  public  business.     While  here  he  was 
honored    with  the  office  of  selectman  two  years, 
and  was  one  year  chairman  of  the  board,  an  office 
of  considerable   responsibility,  as   in   those  times 
there  were  no  supervisors,  treasurer,  or  overseers 
of  the  poor,  other  than  the  selectmen.      While 
living  in  Springfield  he  renewed  his  religious  pro- 
fession,  his   wife   also    uniting   with    him    in    an 
attempt  to  lead  a  life  of  service  to  the  Saviour. 
After  a  residence  of  five  years  in  Springfield  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  sell  his  farm  to  advantage, 
and  returning  to  Grantham,  purchased  a  part  of  his 
father's  farm,  which  then  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres ;  here  he  lived  six  years,  until  he 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church, and  left  his  home  in  Grantham  for  new  fields 
and  different  scenes.    It  was  while  living  in  Gran- 
tham that  the  anti-slavery  question  began  to  assume 
proportions.     Mr.  Howard  was  among  the  first  in 
this  section  to  espouse  the  cause  of  human  liberty, 
and  this  proved  to  be  a  turning-point  in  his  life. 
The   discussson    waxed   warm,  party  feeling  ran 
high   on   the    subject,    meetings   were   held   and 
the  question  discussed  pro  and  con  in  its  various 
phases.     Mr.  Howard  joined  in  the  public  debate, 
and  here  were  first  developed  the  latent  powers  he 
posse  sed  for  public  oratory.     His  advantages  for 
an  education  were  limited,  indeed,  so  far  as  school- 
ing went,  but  he  was  blessed  with  studious,  reading 
parents,  and  they  taught  him  at  home  the  rudi- 
ments of  an  education,  and  inspired  in  him  a  love 
of  books;   and  books  became   his  teachers.     By 
the   time   he   was  twenty   years   of  age  he   was 
qualified  to  teach,  and  did  so  winters  till   he  was 
thirty-six  years  of  age.     So,  when  he  became  a 
public  speaker  he  had  a  mind  well  stored  with  the 
kind  of  knowledge  which  could  serve  him.     He 
became  a  candidate   for   the  Legislature  on  the 
Anti-Slavery  ticket,  but  of  course  was  defeated,  as 
the   doctrine   was   at   that   time  very    unpopular 


among  the  masses,  and  its  advocates  were  regard- 
ed as  fanatics  and  dreamers.  In  July,  1839,  he 
was  received  on  probation  as  a  minister  in  the 
New  Hampshire  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  stationed  at  Deer- 
ing  to  preach  one-half  the  time  at  Deering  and 
the  other  half  at  Hillsborough  Bridge. 

We  cannot  devote  space  to  refer  at  length  to  the 
various  pastorates  he  has  so  worthily  filled  ;  but 
the  following  is  in  brief  a  synopsis  of  his  fields  of 
labor,  taken  seriatim :  Deering,  Pembroke,  Chi- 
chester, Sandown,  Bristol,  Haverhill ;  then  for  two 
years  had  charge  of  the  boarding  department  of 
New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  and  Female 
College  at  Tilton ;  then  to  Claremont,  Nashua 
(Chestnut  Street  Church),  then  to  Dover,  after 
which  he  was  for  four  years  presiding  elder  on  the 
Concord  District,  then  Nashua  (Lowell  Street), 
Salem,  Haverhill,  Mass.,  Suncook,  Lisbon,  Ply- 
mouth, Antrim,  Contoocook,  Warren,  Webster, 
Contoocook,  after  which  he  was  superannuated 
(1879) ;  he  then  removed  to  Springfield,  where 
he  now  resides,  having  supplied  the  pulpit  in  that 
town  most  of  the  time  for  five  years.  During  all 
the  long  years  of  hs  ministry  it  is  said  of  him  that 
no  church  ever  diminished  under  his  Hands  in  num- 
bers or  finances.  He  has  won  and  held  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  the  intelligent  class  of  the  community 
wherever  he  has  been  stationed.  His  children 
are  Emma  Oryntha,  born  in  Springfield,  May  4, 
1828,  married  W.  M.  Kemptou,  and  died  May  17, 
1879,  leaving  three  children  ;  Alonzo  Dearborn, 
born  in  Springfield,  February  17,  1832,  married 
H.  Augusta  Jewett,  November  27,  1855  (they 
have  a  son  and  daughter);  Daniel  Edsou,  born  in 
Grantham,  June  23,  1835,  married  Susan  M.  Pat- 
terson, August  18,  1858  (has  one  son);  Nancy 
Elvira,  born  in  Grantham,  August  27,  1837,  died 
in  Haverhill,  N.  H,  July  16,  1848. 

Mrs.  Howard  died  at  Contoocook,  October  21, 
1877.  Mr  Howard  married,  as  his  second  wife, 
March  25,  1879,  Mrs.  Ferona  Clement,  the  widow 
of  Solomon  Clement,  who  died  in  Springfield,  Au- 
gust 3,  1872,  and  daughter  of  Dr.  Abuer  Johnson, 
who  was  born  in  Grantham,  1783 ;  commenced  the 


362 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


practice  of  medicine  in  Springfield,  1816  ;  removed 
to  Massachusetts,  1835,  where  he  resided  until  near 
his  death,  which  occurred  at  Deny,  N.  H.,  July 
29,  1872.  Dr.  Abner  Johnson  was  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Springfield,  respected  and  honored 
by  his  townsmen,  who  still  cherish  his  memory. 
His  daughter  Ferona's  first  marriage  was  with 
Samuel  Soden,  December  28,  1841.  He  died  of 
consumption,  March  18,  1844.  Their  son,  Arthur 
H.  Soden,  was  born  April  23,  1843,  and  is  now 
(1885)  doing  business  in  Boston.  Her  second 
marriage  was  with  Solomon  H.  Clement,  October 
17,  1848.  Mary,  their  daughter,  was  born  in 
Hartford,  Vt,  February  26,  1851;  married  Horace 
C.  Metcalf,  February  26,  1885,  of  Walpole,  Mass., 
where  they  now  reside.  After  a  long  life  spent  in 
the  service  of  God,  the  Rev.  Lewis  Howard  is 
passing  the  autumn  of  his  days  pleasantly,  hope- 
fully and  cheerfully,  blessed  wi  h  good  health, 
good  friends  and  a  good  conscience. 


DAVID    P.    GOODHUE. 

The  genealogy  of  David  P.  Goodhue  is  David 
Putney  Goodhue,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Ager) 
Goodhue ;  Jacob  Goodhue,  son  of  Seth  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Cogswell)  Goodhue ;  Seth  Goodhue,  son  of 
Jacob  and  Joanna  (Story)  Goodhue  ;  Jacob  Good- 
hue, son  of  John  and  Ann  (Cogswell)  Goodhue ; 
John  Goodhue,  son  of  William  and  Hannah 
(Dane)  Goodhue ;  William  Goodhue,  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Margery  (Watson)  Goodhue,  who  came 
from  Assington,  Suffolk  County,  England,  to 
America  in  the  year  1635  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  called  Ipswich,  Mass. 

David  Putney  Goodhue  was  born  in  Dunbarton, 
Merrimack  County,  N.  H.,  January  10,  1838.  He 
was  the  youngest  of  ten  children  and  lived  at 
home  with  his  father  until  he  was  twentv-one 
years  of  age,  except  when  away  to  work  or  at- 
tending school.  In  the  spring  of  1838,  his  father 
moved  to  Wilmot,  X.  II.,  where  he  resided  for 
about  fourteen  years,  when  he  moved  to  Boscawen, 
N.  II.,  where  he  resided  until  the  time  of  his 
death  in  February,  1866.     After  moving  to   Bos* 


cawen,  he  worked  six  months  in  a  year  for  Hale 
Atkinson,  of  Boscawen,  for  six  years,  during 
which  time  he  only  lost  from  two  to  five  days' 
work  from  each  year.  During  the  winter  he  at- 
tended Elm  wood  Institute,  on  Boscawen  Plains, 
two  miles  distant  from  his  home,  where  he  walked 
night  and  morning,  however  inclement  the  weather 
might  be.  After  this  he  taught  school  three  terms 
in  Boscawen  and  one  term  at  Saubornton  Square. 
When  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  E.  K.  Webster,  of 
Boscawen.  He  attended  medical  lectures  at  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  at  Dartmouth  College. 
From  the  last  named  place  he  received  the  degree 
of  M.D.  in  1863,  after  which  he  attended  lectures 
in  Philadelphia. 

He  was  appointed  acting  assistant  surgeon  in 
the  United  States  Navy,  January  4,  1864,  and  re- 
ported to  Boston  for  duty,  from  which  place  he 
was  ordered  to  the  "  North  Carolina,"  at  Brooklyn, 
until  the  "  Chenango  "  was  ready  for  sea. 

April  15,  1864,  the  "  Chenango  "  sailed  from 
New  York,  but,  before  reaching  Sandy  Hook,  one 
of  the  boilers  exploded,  severely  scalding  thirty- 
four  men  and  officers,  twenty-eight  of  whom  died 
within  a  short  time,  although  no  one  was  killed 
instantly. 

The  "Chenango"  going  out  of  commission 
April  21st,  he  was  ordered  to  the  "  Nereus  "  the 
same  day,  and  on  the  23d  sailed  for  the  blockade 
off  Fort  Fisher  (Wilmington),  where  he  remained 
until  September,  when  the  "  Nereus  "  came  North 
and  acted  as  convoy  to  one  of  the  California 
steamers  to  Aspinwall  and  back. 

The  "  Nereus  "  having  to  be  repaired,  he  w;.s 
detached  from  her,  October  4th,  and  was  ordered  to 
the  "  Maumee,"  which  sailed  the  same  day.  After 
cruising  off  the  coast  a  lew  weeks,  the  "  Maumee" 
joined  the  squadron  off  Fort  Fisher,  where  she  re- 
mained during  both  attacks  and  the  caj)ture  of  the 
fort. 

Dr.  Goodhue  was  on  shore  duty  at  the  fort  for 
three  days  after  it  was  captured.  He  then  went 
with  the  "  Maumee  "  up  the  river  to  Wilmington. 
Alter   this   the   "  Maumee "    came    to    Hampton 


a£^c-< 


d^^-^v?- 


SPRINGFIELD. 


363 


Roads,  and  then  up  the  James  River,  being  the 
first  gunboat  up  the  river  from  Dutch  Gap  to 
Richmond.  The  "  Maumee  "  was  then  ordered  to 
Philadelphia,  where  she  went  out  of  commission, 
and  the  officers  and  men  were  detached,  June  17, 
1865,  and  placed  on  waiting  orders.  He  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  United  States  service 
Oct.  9, 1865. 

On  his  return  home,  his  father  being  sick,  he 
remained  with  him  until  his  death,  in  February, 
1866. 

On  February  19,  1866,  Dr.  Goodhue  came  to 
Springfield,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

On  November  14,  1867,  he  was  married  to 
Abby  J.  Davis,  of  Springfield,  the  only  child  of 
Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  S.  Davis.  Mr. 
Davis  was  appointed  a  recruiting  officer  during 
the  war  and  has  been  one  of  the  prominent  men 
in  Springfield,  being  for  several  years  one  of  the 
selectmen  and  collector  of  taxes,  besides  holding 
other  offices. 

To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Goodhue  four  children  have 
been  born, — David  Henry,  born  October  20, 1868  ; 
Libbie  Abbie,  born  February  10,  1874  ;  Laurette 
May,  born  March  13,  1882,  and  died  April  10, 
1882  ;  Lucia  Frances,  born  October  5,  1883. 

Politically  Dr.  Goodhue  is,  and  always  has  been, 
a  Democrat.  He  was  for  several  years  town  clerk, 
and  afterwards  town  treasurer  and  one  of  the 
supervisors.  He  was  chosen  representative  to  the 
General  Court  in  March,  1878,  for  one  year,  and 
also  in  November  of  the  same  year,  Under  the  re- 
vised constitution,  for  two  years.  He  was  one  of 
the  Democratic  candidates  for  county  commissioner 
for  Sullivan  County  in  the  year  1880,  and  received 
a  larger  vote  than  any  other  candidate  voted  for 
on  that  ticket.  He  was  for  several  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  State  and  County  Commit- 
tee, but  for  the  past  two  years  has  not  been  actively 
engaged  in  politics. 

Professionally  he  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  repre- 
sentative members  of  the  medical  profession  in  the 
northeast  part  of  Sullivan  County,  having  been 
in  Springfield  about  twenty  years.  As  a  practi- 
tioner he  has  been  very  successful,  both  in  medi- 


cine and  surgery,  his  practice  extending  into  many 
of  the  adjoining  towns.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Medical  Society  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Centre  District  Medical  Society,  having  been  pres- 
ident of  this  society  in  the  year  1883.  When  the 
Board  of  United  States  Examining  Surgeons  was 
formed  at  Newport,  N.  H.,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  its  members,  which  position  he  now  holds. 

He  is  respected  by  his  brother  practitioners  as  a 
man  honorable  in  his  profession  and  one  who 
would  scorn  to  do  his  brother  wrong.  He  is  em- 
phatically a  believer  in  the  "  golden  rule  "  in  all 
things. 

As  a  citizen  he  is  public-spirited  and  liberal,  be- 
lieving that  no  one  lives  for  himself  alone. 


CHARLES   McDANIEL. 

Charles  McDaniel  is  descended  from  the  Scotch 
McDaniels,  who  emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ire- 
land to  America  in  the  early  days  of  our  colonial 
history.  James  McDaniel,  the  great-grandfather 
of  Charles,  is  shown  by  the  town  records  to  have 
resided  in  Springfield,  N.  H.,  prior  to  1794.  He 
had  at  that  time  a  family  of  four  children,  and  the 
land  on  which  he  resided  is  now  owned  by  Charles, 
having  always  been  kept  in  the  family.  His 
buildings  were  upon  the  top  of  the  hill,  near  what 
is  known  as  the  Whittemore  house,  in  Enfield. 
His  son  John  married  Hannah  Morse,  of  Kings- 
ton. They  reared  a  family  of  five  children, — Aba- 
gail,  Sarah,  Daniel,  James  and  Hannah. 

Abagail  married  Stephen  H.  Heath,  and  had  a 
family  of  four  boys,  none  of  whom  are  at  present 
living. 

Sarah  married  Ebenezer  L.  Nichols.  She  also 
had  four  boys,  only  one  of  whom  is  now  known  to 
be  living — Alonzo  P.,  who  resides  in  Manchester, 
N.  H. 

Daniel  moved  to  Cherry  Valley,  O.,  and  mar- 
ried Eliza  Greene  ;  died,  leaving  three  children. 

Hannah,  the  youngest  of  the  children  of  John 
and  Hannah,  is  now  living  in  Enfield,  N.  H.,  the 
widow  of  the  late  Albert  Currier.     She  has  one 


364 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


son,  Nathan  Currier,  a  graduate  of  Tuffts  College, 
and  a  successful  teacher. 

James,  the  second  son,  was  born  February  13, 
1807.  He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm,  and 
worked  for  a  time  at  shoemaking,  but  soon  aban- 
doned it.  He  was  an  earnest  student,  and  was 
better  educated  than  most  of  the  young  men  of  his 
town.  He  attended  the  academies  of  Salisbury 
and  Meriden,  and  spent  several  years  as  teacher, 
both  in  his  native  State  and  in  New  York  State. 

Returning  to  his  native  town,  he  tilled  the  an- 
cestral acres,  and  made  this  his  chief  pursuit 
through  life.  At  his  death  the  farm  descended  to 
his  son  Charles,  whose  only  daughter  still  resides 
at  home.  Thus  we  see  through  five  generations 
the  original  homestead  of  James  McDaniel,  the 
pioneer,  has  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
family.  The  original  tract  consisted  of  sixty 
acres,  but  the  family  have  been  thrifty,  enterpris- 
ing and  energetic,  and  each  generation  has  added 
to  the  original  possession  till  the  domain  now  com- 
prises nearly  a  thousand  acres. 

James  McDaniel,  father  of  Charles,  was  a  man 
of  strong  mental  and  physical  mould,  and  in  many 
respects,  and  for  many  years,  was  the  leading  man 
of  his  town.  He  married,  November  24,  1833, 
Hittey  L.,  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Hittey 
Philbrick,  of  Springfield.  Their  children  were 
Charles,  whose  portrait  herewith  appears,  and  who 
is  the  author  and  compiler  of  the  history  of  the 
town  of  Springfield,  as  it  appears  in  this  volume. 
Ann,  married  Samuel  H.  Jackman,  of  Sacramento, 
Cal.,  where  she  now  resides.  George,  unmarried, 
also  a  resident  of  Sacramento,  and  Ella,  unmar- 
ried, is  a  teacher,  having  taught  twenty  years 
in  New  Hampshire  and  California,  and  resides 
with  her  widowed  mother  in  Springfield.  James 
McDaniel  held  at  various  times  nearly  all  the 
.  different  offices  of  his  town,  as  will  be  seen  by  ref- 
erence to  the  general  history  of  the  town  of  Spring 
field  in  this  volume. 

He  took  an  interest  in  military  matters,  and 
was  captain  of  a  company  in  the  State  militia.  He 
represented  his  town  in  the  State  Legislature,  was 
an  ardent  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  Universalist 


in  religious  belief,  but  connected  with  no  church. 
He  died  March  4,  1873. 

Charles  McDaniel  was  born  July  22,  1835,  at 
the  old  homestead  in  Springfield.  He  was  educa- 
ted at  the  district  schools  of  his  native  town  and 
at  Andover,  Canaan  and  New  London  Academies. 
After  leaving  school  he  farmed  summers  and 
taught  winters.  His  first  school  was  when  he  was 
but  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  from  that  time  till 
he  was  nearly  forty  he  taught  from  one  to  three 
terms  per  year. 

He  made  his  home  with  his  father,  and,  for 
many  years  previous  to  the  latter's  death,  he  had 
practical  charge  of  the  farm  and  estate.  Upon 
the  decease  of  his  father  he  purchased  the  inter- 
est of  the  other  heirs  to  the  home-farm,  and  has 
continually  added  to  and  improved  it  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  He  married,  May  31,  1862,  Amanda 
M.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  A.  Quiniby,  of 
Springfield. 

They  have  had  five  children, — -Carl  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  Carrie  died  in  her  sixteenth  year ;  Cora, 
the  only  one  living,  born  December  27,  1864,  now 
(1885)  attending  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Plymouth  ;  Catie  Ann  died  in  her  eighth  year,  and 
Arthur  Quiniby  died  in  his  sixth  year.  The 
three  children,  Carrie,  Catie  and  Arthur,  died 
suddenly  of  malignant  diphtheria,  within  a  few 
days  of  each  other  in  1879.  They  were  bright, 
intelligent,  lovable  children,  and  only  those 
parents  whose  hearts  are  bound  up  in  love  for 
their  offspring,  and  who  have  suffered  similar  be- 
reavement, can  fully  conceive  of  the  terrible  blow 
to  the  grief-stricken  father  and  mother. 

Charles  McDaniel  was  chosen  superintendent  of 
schools  for  Springfield  soon  after  his  majority,  and 
has  held  that  position,  more  or  less  continuously, 
to  the  present  time,  and  is  now  an  incumbent  of 
the  office.  In  1862  he  was  chosen  selectman  and 
overseer  of  the  poor,  which  office  he  has  held  re- 
peatedly since,  and  as  chairman  of  the  Board  every 
year  except  the  first. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  ap- 
pointed special  agent  for  securing  volunteers  for 
filling  the  quota  of  that  town  in  the  ranks  of  the 


SPRINGFIELD. 


365 


army.  He  has  been  town  treasurer  several  years, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1868.  He 
is  a  member  of  Social  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  En- 
field, N.  H.,  and  one  of  its  senior  living  members. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Chapter  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, No.  19,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  overseer  of 
New  Hampshire  State  Grange,  and  Master  of 
Montcalm  Grange,  No.  70,  of  Enfield.  He  is 
president  of  Grantham  and  Springfield  Fair  Asso- 
ciation, and  for  more  than  fifteen  years  has  held 
a  commission  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  done 
considerable  probate  business  in  Sullivan  and 
Grafton  Counties. 

In  1885  he,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  made  a 
trip  to  California,  and  spent  several  months  pleas- 
antly and  profitably,  visiting  friends  and  traversing 
the  various  sections  of  the  State,  and  informing 


himself  in  regard  to  its  products,  resources  and 
general  features. 

His  mother  has  twice  visited  California,  and  has 
spent,  in  all,  more  than  three  years  there.  She 
returned  with  her  son  Charles  from  her  last  visit 
there,  and,  in  course  of  the  return  trip,  visited  in 
Illinois  an  elder  sister  of  hers,  Mrs.  Sally  Flan- 
ders, who  is  now  eighty-seven  years  of  age,  and,  for 
one  so  advanced  in  years,  a  woman  of  rare  vigor 
and  intelligence,  cheerful  in  spirit  and  philosphical 
in  mental  temperament.  A  remark  of  hers  to  Mr. 
McDaniel  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  cheerfulness 
of  her  disposition.  She  said,  apropos  of  some 
question  or  remark,  "  that  this  world  was  good 
enough  for  her  to  live  in ;  that  she  enjoyed  life 
and  felt  content  to  remain  here  as  long  as  pos- 
sible,"— a  rebuke  to  the  pessimists  of  the  day. 


HISTORY  OF  SUNAPEE. 


BY   WILLIAM   C.   STUROC. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Introduction. — It  is  fortunate  that  in 
attempting  to  write  the  history  of  a  small  town, 
the  existence  of  which  extends  back  but  little 
over  a  century,  we  are  not  compelled  to  resort 
to  the  devices  of  the  ancient  writers  of  general 
history,  such  as  conjuring  up  a  she- wolf  or 
some  other  friendly  animal  to  act  as  foster- 
mother  to  our  infant  founders. 

The  records  we  possess  may,  indeed,  in  some 
details,  be  imperfect,  but  there  is  enough  to 
point  out  with  sufficient  clearness  the  kind  of 
men  and  women  who  aided  by  their  labors  the 
founding  of  our  little  municipality  of  six  miles 
square.  By  an  examination  of  some  fragments 
of  a  proprietors'  book,  and  the  records  in  pos- 
session of  the  town  clerk  and  selectmen,  and 
other  valuable  aids,  the  following  facts,  among 
others,  are  found  in  regard  to  the  settlement  of 
the  town  :  That  that  part  of  old  Cheshire 
County,  which  is  now  included  in  Sullivan 
County,  and  bears  the  name  of  Sunapee,  was 
granted  by  the  colonial  authorities  on  the  7th 
of  November,  1768,  to  John  Sprague  and 
others,  under  the  name  of  Saville.  Four  years 
later,  or  in  1772,  it  was  settled  by  a  small  com- 
pany of  emigrants  from  Rhode  Island,  and 
these  first  settlers  were  soon  followed  by  an 
enterprising  band  from  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
who  passed  on  their  journey  from  the  sea-board 
up  the  military  road  to  "  No.  4,"  now  known 
as  Charlestown,  and  thence  to  the  south  part  of 

Sunapee.     But  the  names  of  those  first  settlers 
366 


have  become  extinct,  and  few,  if  any,  of  their 
descendants  remain  in  town.  One  of  the  female 
emigrants  from  Rhode  Island  has,  however, 
left  her  name  on  a  large  rock  near  the  outlet  of 
Sunapee  Lake,  and  which  the  inhabitants  still 
call  "  Granny  Howard,"  that  being  her  maiden- 
name.  On  this  rock  she  was  wont  to  sit,  day  in 
and  day  out,  plying  her  hook  and  line  for  the 
finny  tribe,  long  before  the  introduction  of 
black  bass  or  land-locked  salmon  into  this  beau- 
tiful and  romantic  lake.  This  persistent  femi- 
uine  disciple  of  Izaak  Walton  was  the  maternal 
ancestor  of  the  Scranton  family,  well  known  in 
town  fifty  years  ago.  The  geographical  con- 
tour of  Sunapee  has  remained  substantially  un- 
changed until  the  present  day,  containing,  as  it 
does,  about  fifteen  thousand  six  hundred  and 
sixty-six  acres,  three  thousand  of  which  are 
covered  by  the  western  portion  of  the  lake. 

The  Surface  of  the  town  is  uneven  and 
mainly  hilly  ;  interspersed,  however,  are  small 
patches  of  natural  meadow,  which  yield  a  kind 
of  wire  or  spear-grass,  that,  when  cut  early,  is 
eagerly  eaten  by  hungry  cattle  in  winter, 
although  it  has  been  noticed  that  few  animals 
ever  become  fat  on  this  kind  of  fodder. 
The  hills  are  found,  when  cleared  of  timber,  to 
be  largely  covered  by  "  wandered "  boulders, 
the  profusion  of  which,  strewed  in  particular 
drifts  or  directions,  would  be  suggestive  to  the 
eye  of  the  scientest,  no  doubt,  of  a  period  when 
the  surface  of  our  earth  was  undergoing  vast 
and  perhaps  sudden  changes.  These  erratic 
blocks,  and  the  smooth  and   sometimes    eroded 


SUNAPEE. 


367 


ledges  on  which  they  now  rest,  speak  distinctly 
of  a  time  when  some  transporting  power,  equal 
to  a  mighty  glacier,  dropped  these  huge  but 
partially  rounded  lumps  where  they  now  lie,  as 
no  mere  marine  movement  could  be  equal  to  the 
work  of  placing  those  ponderous  monuments  of 
a  time  when  man  was  unknown  in  the  mun- 
dane arena  where  we  find  them.  But  the  soil, 
which  had  accumulated  with  course  of  ages 
among  these  granite  boulders,  is  strong  and  pro- 
ductive, and  for  years  after  its  first  cultivation 
yielded  immense  crops  of  all  kinds, — rye,  corn, 
oats,  barley,  wheat  and  grass. 

The  name  was  changed  in  April,  1781,  to 
Wendell,  that  being  the  name  of  one  of  the 
original  and  principal  proprietors, — John  Wen- 
dell, of  Portsmouth, — and  it  so  continued  until 
1850,  when,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  that 
year,  it  received  its  present  Indian  cognomen — 
Sunapee.  This  latter  name,  which  had  adhered 
to  the  lake  and  adjacent  mountain,  and  which 
seems  to  be,  after  all,  the  most  appropriate,  is 
alleged  by  connoisseurs  in  the  aboriginal  tongues 
to  be  an  Algonquin  word  signifying  goose-lake ; 
and  there  is  some  corroboration  of  that  assertion 
in  the  fact  that  a  smaller  pond  at  the  north 
end  of  the  lake  proper  still  bears  the  name  of 
"  goose-hole."  However  that  matter  may  be, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  lake  was  at  one  time 
the  resort  of  large  flocks  of  wild  geese,  this 
latter  fact  being  attested  by  more  than  one  aged 
citizen,  who,  although  they  have  passed  the 
limit  of  four-score  and  ten,  are  still  clear-headed 
and  communicative. 

The  census  of  the  town,  in  its  earlier  years, 
shows  that  it  increased  rapidly  in  population, 
for  in  five  years  from  its  first  grant  the  number 
of  inhabitants  is  given  as  72;  in  1786  it  was 
195  ;  in  1790,  267  ;  in  1800,  355  ;  in  1810,  447  ; 
in  1820,  603;  in  1830,  637;  in  1840,  795;  in 
1850,  787;  in  1860,  778;  in  1870,  808;  in 
1880,  897. 

For  almost  thirteen  years,  or  until  1781,  the 
town  was  known  as  Saville,  and  was  then  classed 
with  the  towns  of  Newport  and  Croydon ;  and 


a  meeting  was  held  in  this  town  April  23, 1778, 
at  which  Benjamin  Giles,  Esq., — a  noted  man 
at  that  time  in  Cheshire  County, — was  modera- 
tor and  Samuel  Gunnison  was  clerk.  At  this 
meeting  Moses  True,  Esek  Young  and  Samuel 
Gunnison  were  chosen  selectmen  of  Saville. 
A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held,  in  con- 
junction with  the  towns  of  Newport  and  Croy- 
don, on  the  5th  of  December,  1782,  or  a  little 
over  a  year  after  Wendell  had  been  adopted  as 
the  name  of  the  town.  "  Benjamin  Giles  was 
chosen,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  representative  for 
the  above-named  towns  for  that  year,"  meaning, 
of  course,  the  next  year,  or  1783.  Wendell  was 
for  several  years  classed  with  Goshen  in  the 
choice  of  representative,  and  was  only  able  when 
the  population  reached  over  six  hundred,  or  in 
1824,  to  act  alone  in  the  choice  of  that  officer, 
Thomas  Pike,  or  Uncle  Tom,  as  he  was  formerly 
called,  being  the  first  representative  of  Wendell. 
The  names  and  dates  of  service  of  the  persons 
who  followed,  up  to  the  present  time,  are  these : 

Thomas  Pike,  in  1825 ;  Lieutenant  John  Young,  in 
1826-27  ;  John  Colby,  in  1828 ;  Joseph  George  in 
1829;  John  Colby,  in  1830;  Samuel  Knowlton,  in 
1831-32  ;  John  Colby,  in  1833;  Samuel  Knowlton,  in 
1834;  John  Colby,  in  1835;  William  Young,  in 
1836-37  ;  John  Colby,  in  1838;  Daniel  George,  Jr.,  in 
1839-40;  Charles  Kodgers,  in  1841-42;  Moses  F. 
Knowlton,  in  1843-44;  Hiram  Sargent,  in  1845-46; 
Bailey  Pillsbury,  in  1847-48;  William  W.Eastman, 
in  1849-50;  John  Hopkins,  in  1851;  Joseph  G. 
Tucker,  in  1852-53;  Josiah  Turner,  in  1854;  Samuel 
Wells,  1855-56  ;  John  P.  Knowlton,  in  1857-58;  Jos- 
eph P.  Smith,  in  1859-60 ;  Daniel  George,  Jr.,  in 
1861-62;  Dennis  G.  Knowlton,  in  1863-64;  William 
Cant  Sturoc,  1865-68;  Daniel  A.  George,  in  1869-70; 
Bradford  Courier,  in  1871-72 ;  Daniel  C.  Eastman,  in 
1873_74;  John  A  Tucker,  in  1875-76;  Jeremiah  W. 
Morrill,  in  1877-78;  John  Angell,  1879-81;  Lyman 
Colburn,  in  1882-83;  John  M.  Cooper,  in  1884-85. 
(The  latter  representatives  since  November,  1878,  be- 
ing elected  for  biennial  terms,  the  two-year  system 
having  been  adopted  by  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1876). 

Postmasters. — The  successive  postmasters, 


368 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


covering  a  period  of  fifty  years,  are  given  in  the 
subjoined  list.  During  the  first  two  decades  of 
that  time  our  mail  accommodations  were  small 
and  imperfect,  consisting,  in  the  beginning,  of 
one  mail  a  week,  growing  at  length  to  twice  and 
and  three  times,  and  finally  to  a  daily  delivery. 
At  the  present  time  we  have  four  mails  per  day 
— an  outgoing  south  at  7.30  a.m.;  an  incoming 
from  the  west  at  9  a.m.;  an  outgoing  west  at  4 
P.M.;  an  incoming  from  the  south  at  6  P.M.  The 
Boston  and  other  city  dailies  reach  their  sub- 
scribers regularly,  and  what  is  known  in  the 
cities  at  noon  is  in  possession  of  the  people  of 
Sunapee  in  six  hours  from  that  time,  and,  if 
need  be,  by  telegraph  or  telephone,  instantly. 

The  postmasters  have  been  as  follows:  John 
Hopkins  to  1844  ;  John  P.  Knowlton  to  1857  ; 
Franklin  Morgan  to  18G1  ;  Josiah  Turner  to 
1866  ;  John  Young  to  1870 ;  W.  C.  Stacker  to 
1881 ;  N.  P.  Baker  to  1885;  Charles  A.  Knowl- 
ton, appointed  1885. 

Medical  Men. — Although  it  has,  from  the 
earliest  period  of  our  town  history,  been  a  cus- 
tom deeply-rooted  in  the  minds  of  the  people  to 
call  in  the  aid  of  the  medical  men  at  Newport, 
six  miles  distant,  yet  as  early  as  1815  a  young 
doctor  of  the  name  of  Caleb  Buswell  opened  an 
office  in  town  at  the  house  of  John  Chase,  Jr. 
Buswell  was  elected  selectman  and  town  clerk 
in  1817,  but  left  town  two  years  subsequent 
to  the  last-named  date.  He  was  followed  by 
Tilton  El  kins,  who  remained  only  three  years, 
and  Dr.  James  Corbin  took  his  place  and  re- 
mained until  about  1829,  when  John  Hopkins, 
a  native  of  Francestown,  settled  in  town  and 
commenced  practice.  Hopkins  remained  about 
thirty-five  years,  or  until  1864.  But  in  the 
mean  time  some  younger  practitioners  had  come 
in  and  taken  a  share  of  the  business,  as  in  1857, 
[saiah  M    Bishop,  who  remained  till  1864. 

Dr.  Hopkins  removed  to  Vineland,  N.  J., 
and  diid  there  on  the  24th  of  April,  1879,  aged 
eighty-seven. 

Dr.  Bishop  removed  to  Bristol,  X.  H. 

Jn  1866  Ira  P.  George,  son  of  Rodney  George, 


and  whose  father  was  a  native  of  Sunapee,  be- 
gan practice  as  a  physician,  but  only  remained 
about  three  years,  when  he  removed  to  Newport, 
and  finally  to  Nebraska.  David  M.  Currier,  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth  of  1867,  came  into  town 
in  1868,  and  removed  to  Newport  in  1871, 
where  he  is  at  present  in  good  practice.  The 
next  doctor  was  Charles  F.  Leslie,  from  Maine, 
a  young  man  of  great  natural  gifts,  who  com- 
menced practice  here  in  1874,  and  continued 
till  1883,  when  he  left  for  Windsor,  Vt.  His 
place  was  soon  filled  by  our  present  excellent 
physician,  Edwin  C.  Fisher. 

The  Legal  Profession. — The  lawyers' 
story  is  soon  told  in  connection  with  Sunapee, 
the  writer  of  this  imperfect  sketch  of  the  town 
being  the  first  to  establish  himself  in  town.  He 
was  admitted  in  1855  and  has  enjoyed  the  en- 
couragement commonly  falling  to  the  lot  of  a 
village  attorney,  using  his  influence  rather  to 
suppress  than  to  foment  litigation. 

In  1879  George  Dodge,  having  been  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Newport,  settled  in  town  to  pursue 
his  profession. 

About  1855  Abial  Cooper  Sargent,  son  of 
Charles  and  Sarah  Sargent,  was  preparing  him- 
self, after  a  collegiate  course,  for  law,  but  pre- 
maturely fell  a  victim  to  consumption  on  the 
14th  of  December,  1859,  aged  thirty. 

Churches  and  Keligious  Societies. — As 
early  as  1800,  Elder  Nehemiah  Woodward,  a 
Congregationalist,  was  located  on  what  was 
soon  assigned,  or  granted,  to  him  as  the  "min- 
ister's lot,"  being  substantially  the  farm  for 
many  years  and  now  owned  by  Gideon  Angell, 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  Religious  ser- 
vices were,  for  about  thirty  years,  held  either  in 
private  dwellings,  or  in  school-houses ;  and 
there  are  many  citizens  still  living  who  look 
back  with  satisfaction  on  those  devout  gatherings 
in  those  primitive  temples.  Elder  Woodward 
had  finished  his  labors  in  town  about  1815, 
when  he  removed  to  Westminster,  Vt.,  where 
age  compelled  him  to  resign  his  work,  although 
about  1824  he  made  a  farewell  visit  to  his  old 


SUNAPEE. 


369 


parish  of  Wendell;  and,  while  his  head  and 
hand  trembled  with  palsy,  he  once  more 
preached  in  the  red  school-house  in  District 
No.  2.  Meetings  during  those  early  times  were 
also  held  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Elijah  George, 
in  the  north  part,  and  at  other  points,  and  the 
leading  spirits  in  those  lay-meetings  were  Fran- 
ces Smith,  the  progenitor  of  the  Smith  family, 
and  Deacon  Adam  Reddington. 

On  the  29th  day  of  July,  1830,  Elder  Eli- 
jah Watson  organized  a  Free- Will  Baptist 
Church,  having  at  the  outset  fourteen  members, 
which,  for  twenty  years,  was  the  leading  relig- 
ious society  in  town.  The  last  survivor  of  that 
membership  was  Mrs.  Mary  Conant,  widow  of 
the  late  Josiah  Conant.  She  was  an  exceed- 
ingly devout  person,  and  bore  with  resignation 
the  terrible  affliction  of  total  blindness  for 
fifteen  years,  and  died  in  1879,  aged  eighty-nine. 

But  no  church  edifice  was  erected  until  1831, 
when  the  First  Free  Meeting-House  at  the  Cen- 
tre was  built.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the 
legal  voters  held  on  the  1st  day  of  June  of  that 
year,  it  was  voted  "  that  Nathaniel  Perkins,  Jr., 
Lieutenant  John  Young  and  Charles  Sai'gent 
be  the  building  committee;"  and  it  was  further 
voted,  "that  those  who  purchase  pews  shall  pay 
for  the  same,  one-half  in  money,  the  other  half 
in  grain." 

Even  the  hardy  yeomanry  of  Sunapee  had 
become  liberalized  in  their  views  on  religious 
freedom  when  they  proceeded  to,  form  this 
church  proprietary,  so  that  they  set  foith  in  the 
preamble  to  the  constitution,  which  they  adopted 
for  their  guidance,  the  following  principles : 

"  Believing  that  public  instruction  in  Piety  and 
Religion  has  atendency  to  promote  the  best  interests  of 
society,  and  considering  a  suitable  House  for  the  public 
worship  of  the  Deity  a  desirable  object;  believing, 
also,  that  each  person  has  a  right  to  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  and  rea- 
son,— We,  the  undersigned,  agree  to  proceed  to  the 
building  of  a  Meeting  House  in  Wendell,  free  for  all 
denominations  of  Christians,  under  the  regulations  of 
the  following  Constitution." 


This  constitution  consists  of  twelve  articles, 
and  under  it  the  organization  or  proprietorship 
has  been  maintained,  their  annual  meeting  being 
held  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  January  of  each 
year.  The  officers  for  1885  are:  Moderator, 
Joseph  Russell;  Clerk,  William  C.  Sturoc; 
Standing  Committee,  Moses  A.  Young,  Joseph 
Russell,  John  A.  Tucker;  Janitor,  Joseph  Rus- 
sell. 

For  twenty  years  there  has  been  no  stated  and 
permanent  minister  engaged,  but  partial  and 
occasional  supplies  have  been  had,  chiefly  from 
the  Universalist  denomination,  and  the  house 
is  used  on  all  proper  occasions.  In  1832  a 
similar  church  edifice  to  that  of  the  Centre  was 
built  in  a  like  manner  at  the  south  part  of  the 
town,  but  of  late  years  it  has  been  but  little 
occupied. 

In  1853  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Emerson  was  sent  by 
the  New  Hampshire  Methodist  Conference  to  this 
town,  and  was  reappointed  in  1854;  but 
there  had  existed  for  years  before  that  time 
a  "class"  of  some  dozen  or  more  members. 
Chief  among  this  little  band  were  "Uncle" 
Andrew  Young,  the  grist-miller,  and  his 
brother  Captain  William  Young,  both  of  whom 
will  Ions  be  remembered  for  their  marked  traits 
of  character. 

In  1855  Oseas  S.  Morris  was  appointed 
to  supply  Sunapee,  and  served  one  year.  In 
the  spring  of  1856  J.  C.  Emerson  was 
appointed  again,  and  remained  as  local  preacher 
and  pastor  for  the  four  years  following.  In  this 
year  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
built  and  dedicated  on  the  29th  day  of  October. 
Joseph  Emerson  closed  his  labors  here  with  the 
spring  of  1860,  and  went  to  Fisherville,  N.  H., 
where  he  became  chaplain  of  the  Seventh  Regi- 
ment New  Hampshire  Volunteers.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  went  to  Florida,  where  he  died. 
Mr.  Emerson  was  a  man  of  varied  gifts,  a 
thorough  organizer,  with  a  deep  insight  into  men 
and  their  motives. 

In  April,  1860,  Rev.  J.  W.  Johnson  was 
sent  to  Sunapee.     He  is  remembered  as  a  faith- 


370 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ful  and  devoted  minister,  but  his  feeble  health 
limited  his  effort  and  usefulness.  During  his 
second  year  he  was  able  to  preach  only  part  of 
the  time.  He  died  here  on  the  12th  day  of 
April,  1862,  and  is  buried  in  the  Centre  bury- 
ing-ground,  and  his  wife,  who  survived  him 
several  years,  also  reposes  in  that  "God's  acre." 

In  the  spring  of  1862  Rev.  Joseph  Hayes  came 
to  Sunapee  as  the  appointee  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Conference,  and  during  his  pastorate  of 
two  years  forty  were  added  to  the  membership 
of  the  church.  Mr.  Hayes  was  succeeded 
in  1864-65,  by  Rev.  L.  L.  Eastman.  He 
was  a  man  of  considerable  energy  and  true 
to  his  convictions  of  right- 

In  1866  Samuel  J.  Robinson  became  pastor. 
He  was  a  young  man  fresh  from  the  Biblical 
Institute,  at  Concord,  N.  H.  He  remained  two 
years.  He  was  followed  in  1868  by  L.  W. 
Prescott,  who  remained  three  years.  During 
his  second  year  the  church  was  enlarged  and  a 
vestry  built. 

In  the  spring  of  1871  W.  H.  Stuart  received 
this  appointment,  but  on  the  15th  of  June,  of 
this  year,  the  church  and  vestry  were  totally  con- 
sumed by  fire,  after  the  raging  element  had  spent 
its  force  on  shops  and  dwelling-houses  on  the 
south  side  of  the  highway,  including  those  of 
John  B.  Smith,  Moses  L.  Sargent,  Isaac  Ham- 
man  and  others.  There  w<as  no  insurance  on 
the  church  property. 

During  the  summer  services  were  held  in  the 
First  Free  Meeting-House,  and  a  new  church 
and  vestry  having  been  erected  on  a  new  founda- 
tion, where  it  now  stands,  the  latter  building 
was  dedicated  on  the  27th  of  December,  1871. 
Mr.  Stuart  remained  but  one  year  and  was  re- 
placed by  J.  H.  Hillman,  who  was  pastor  for 
two  years,  and  was  followed  by  S.  E.  Qui  m  by, 
who  remained  three  years.  In  1877,  B.  W. 
Chase  was  the  minister  and  served  acceptably 
in  that  capacity  for  three  years.  1880  found 
the  Rev.  S.  ( '.  Keeler  laboring  as  preacher  at 
this  station,  where,  for  two  years,  he  enjoyed 
the  esteem  of  the  entire  community. 


In  1882,  Rev.  S.  G.  Kellogg  was  sent  by  the 
Conference  to  this  place,  he  having  years  before 
filled  larger  appointments  in  various  portions  of 
the  State.  His  industry  and  ability  place  him 
high  in  the  ministry.  He  is  now  on  his  third 
and,  perhaps,  final  year. 

Native  Preachers. — A  few  men,  born  and 
reared  in  Sunapee,  have  become  preachers  of  the 
gospel,  the  first  and  most  prominent  name  among 
which  is  that  of  John  Young,  now  in  his  sev- 
entieth year,  but  still  hale  and  robust.  He  has 
preached  for  forty  years,  and  in  most  of  the 
towns  within  a  circle  of  twenty  miles  from  Sun- 
apee. He  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the 
Christian  denomination  on  the  24th  of  October, 
1850,  and  in  the  forty  years  of  his  ministerial 
service  has  attended  eight  hundred  funerals  and 
solemnized  about    half   that  number  of   mar- 


riages. 


Ezra  S.  Eastman,  another  self-made  but  vig- 
orous son  of  Sunapee,  had  been  a  Baptist  occa- 
sional preacher  for  quite  a  number  of  years, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  September  24, 

1874. 

Edward  R.  Perkins  is  a  preacher  of  the 
Methodist  persuasion,  forty-four  years  of  age, 
and  is  at  present  preaching  at  Goffstown,  N.  H. 
He  has  marked  ability  for  the  pulpit,  and  is  a 
son  of  whom  Sunapee  may  well  feel  proud. 

Charles  E.  Rogers,  son  of  Charles  and  Nancy 
Rogers,  is  fifty-seven  years  old,  and  is  an  ap- 
pointee of  the  Methodist  Conference.  He  is  a 
grandson  of  Colonel  Samuel  Rogers,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  and  for  many  years  a  prominent 
official  of  the  town. 

Alden  C.  Abbott,  who  was  born  in  Sunapee, 
April  5,  1848,  is  the  son  of  Stephen  and  Sarah 
Abbott,  He  is  also  connected  with  the  Method- 
ist body,  having  been  stationed  in  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts,  but  was  compelled,  April, 
L885,  on  account  of  a  throat  difficulty,  to 
abandon  preaching,  for  a  time  at  least,  and  is 
now  acting  as  an  agent  for  a  life  insurance 
company. 

Joseph  H.  Trow  is  the  son    of  John  and 


SUNAPEE. 


371 


Hannah  Trow,  and  is  about  thirty-eight  years 
of  age.  He  has  been  under  appointment  by 
the  Conference  and  is  preaching  at  Haverhill, 
N.  H. 

John  Batchelder  was  a  son  of  Zachariah 
Batchelder,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  and  a 
minister  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination.  He 
died  in  Iowa  about  1870. 

Calvin  R.  Batchelder,  another  son  of  Zacha- 
riah, was  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and  died  at 
Charlestown,  N.  H.,  February,  1879,  aged 
sixty-seven  years. 

MILITARY. 

Revolution. — In  regard  to  the  soldiers,  if 
any,  who  may  have  represented  Saville — for 
that  was  the  name  of  the  town  in  pre-Revolu- 
tionary  times — the  writer  is  in  great  doubt,  al- 
though it  is  claimed  by  the  descendants  of  the 
first  settlers,  whose  names  were  Young,  and 
who  came  from  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  that  they  all 
participated  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
Those  first  settlers  were  six  in  number,  it  is 
said,  and  their  names  are  given  as  Abiather, 
Robert,  Cornelius,  Esek,  Edward  and  James. 
There  was  also  a  half-brother  to  these  six 
Youngs,  who  bore  the  name  of  Bryant,  and 
tradition  has  it  that  he  carried  in  one  of  his 
ankles  a  Revolutionary  bullet  through  life. 
Our  oldest  records  are  silent  on  those  soldiers. 
But  when  we  come  to  the  War  of  J  812  we  are 
then  treading  on  solid  ground,  the  .name,  rank 
and  service  of  each  man  being  set  down  beyond 
question  or  cavil ;  and  if  the  record  had  unfor- 
tunately been  incomplete,  we  have  still  with  us 
the  last  lingering  survivor  of  that  memorable 
service  in  the  person  of  our  venerable  fellow- 
townsman,  Jacob  C.  Stickney ,  aged  ninety,  who 
will  be  found  on  the  following  list  as  a  musi- 
cian, and  whose  mental  faculties  are  still  clear,  if 
his  physical  powers  give  evidence  of  decay. 

War  of  1812. — The  following  is  a  list  of 

soldiers  who  enlisted  from  the  town  of  Wendell 

(now  Sunapee)   in  the  First  Regiment  of  New 

Hampshire  Volunteers  in  the  War  of  1812,  and 

24 


who  went  into  camp  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1813: 

Samuel  Rogers,  2d  lieut.  Amos  George. 

John  Gage,  ensign.  Thomas  Lamb. 

William  Gage,  sergeant.  James  Young  (2d). 

Scribner  Huntoon,  sergt.  James  Boyce. 

William  Lamb,  sergeant.  Daniel  Pickernell. 

Corbin  Huntoon,  mus.  James  Young. 

Jacob  C.  Stickney,  mus.  Samuel  Pickernell. 

Joseph  Avery.  Hezekiah  Peck. 

Joseph  Chase,  Jr.  Ezek  Young. 

Richmond  Clapp.  Joseph  Pillsbury. 

On  the  12th  of  September,  1814,  a  detach- 
ment of  "  three  months'  men  "  joined  camp  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  as  follows : 

Nathan  Rogers.  Moses  Follansbee. 

Charles  Gage.  Joseph  Chase,  Jr. 

On  the  26th  of  the  same  month  (September) 
a  detachment  of  "  sixty  days'  men  "  followed  to 
Portsmouth  : 

William  Lamb.  Moses  Eastman. 

Edward  Crosby. 

From  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  of  1861,  a  period  of 
almost  fifty  years,  Sunapee  had  sent  forth  no 
men  to  fight  the  minor  battles  that  inter- 
vened, and  her  citizens  had  to  content  them- 
selves with  pseudo- military  displays  under  the 
military  organizations  of  the  State. 

The  "  Sunapee  Guards,"  a  company  of  the 
Thirty-first  Regiment,  Fifth  Brigade,  Third  Di- 
vision, New  Hampshire  Militia,  was  organized  in 
1841,  with  William  Young  for  its  first  captain  ; 
Joseph  Lear,  ensign  ;  and  Francis  Smith,  lieu- 
tenant. 

As  a  not  inappropriate  way  of  preserving  the 
names  of  some  of  the  stalwart  yeomanry  of  Sun- 
apee of  that  period,  and  also  as  a  brief  but  fair 
exhibition  of  the  personnel  of  that  company,  I  here 
give  the  roster  of  1846,  that  being  about  the 
middle  period  of  the  existence  of  that  organiza- 
tion. Its  last  muster  was  held  at  Newport,  in 
fall  of  1851,  and  the  writer  of  this  sketch  had 
the   pleasure   of  seeing   and   hearing  Captain 


372 


HISTORY 'OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


William  Young  beat  the  tenor  drum  with  a 
perfection  and  vim  that  could  not  well  be  sur- 
passed. 

Com  in  i8S  io i ted    Officers. 

Moses  F.  Knowlton,  capt.  John  P.  Knowlton,  lieut. 
Abrain  Davis,  ensign. 

Non-  Comm  issioned   Officers. 

D.  G.  Knowlton,  1st  sergt.  Janson  George,  3d  sergt. 
H.  P.  Muzzy,  2d  sergt.        E.  D.  Cooper,  4th  sergt. 


James  Trow. 
Benjamin  F.  Young. 

Francis  Smith. 
William  Trow  (2d). 
Francis  S.  Trow. 
Nelson  Chase. 
Richmond  C.  Angell. 
Joseph  G.  Eastman. 
James  Eastman. 
Eli  Davis. 
John  Colby. 
Robert  Lear. 
Samuel  Gardner,  Jr. 
Solomon  Bartlett. 
Edwin  P.  Stickney. 
Jesse  E.  George. 
Josiah  Trow,  Jr. 
Stephen  Abbott. 
Andrew  J.  Kidder. 
1 1<  urv  Remington. 
James  W.  Trow. 
Perkins  Trow. 


Musicians. 

Willard  C.  Severance. 

Privates. 

Caleb  B.  Stevens. 
James  R.  Muzzey. 
Daniel  C.  Eastman. 
Jerome  Blaisdell. 
Richard  C.  R.  Cooper. 
Elias  B.  Abbott. 
Ezra  ( 'arpenter. 
William  Gardner. 
Samuel  G.  Rider. 
Wells  H.  Davis. 
Joseph  Young. 
(  harles  E.  Rogers, 
Wilson  S.  George. 
James  George. 
Samuel  O.  Baily. 
Benjamin  Morrill. 
John  Skinner. 
Warren  Simmons. 
Charles  F.  Sargent. 


There  was  also  at  the  same  time  an  inde- 
pendent company,  who  carried  the  impressive 
name  of  "The  Bold  Rangers," but  I  have  been 
unable  to  find  its  complete  personnel,  and  can 
only  give  some  of  the  successive  captains,  as 
Putney  Roby,  Moses  A.  Young,  Moses  C. 
Muzzey,  all  of  whom  have  been  saluted  by  their 
neighbors  by  these  honorable  titles. 

Wae  of  1861-65. — We  come  now  to  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  in  which  Sunapee,  by 
enlistments  and  all  the  other  modes  of  that 
eventful    period,    contributed    her    full    share. 


The  following    is    the    list    of  the  men    who 
enlisted  into  the  service  of  the  United  States : 

Cornelius  Y.  Gardner.         Nathaniel  S.  Gardner. 
Henry  Young.  Wilbur  Young. 

Jeremiah  W.  Ladd.  Samuel  O.  Bailey. 

Nathaniel  Batchelder,  Jr.  Thomas  Abbott. 


Josiah  Trow. 
Samuel  Thompson. 
John  M.  Colby. 
Oliver  Young. 
Alfred  Davis. 
Cyrus  Thompson. 
George  W.  Haven. 
Samuel  Abbott. 
Oilman  Abbott. 
Charles  D.  Hopkins. 
Charles  H.  Watts. 
John  Edminster. 


Perley  Trow. 
William  Thompson. 
Timothy  Eastman. 
Nathan  Young. 
William  C.  Eastman. 
W.  H.  Osborn. 
John  T.  Cotterell. 
Josiah  Scott. 
Sylvester  H.  Powell. 
Frank  Symmister. 
Jacob  D.  Sleeper. 
Charles  Clement. 


Wilbury  Leonard. 

In  the  mean  time,  and  before  the  last  call  for 
men  was  made,  some  twelve  substitutes  were 
put  in  by  inhabitants  liable  to  the  draft,  or  who 
wrere  drafted,  and  the  town  sent  twelve  in  a 
body  on  the  call  of  1863,  and  the  following  are 
the  names  given  by  this  batch  of  substitutes : 


James  Burke. 
William  Sullivan. 
Alexander  Peterson. 
Mitchell  Benedict. 
George  Woodman. 
Edwin  Mathews. 


Thomas  Leonard. 
James  Keneff. 
George  Johann. 
William  Smith. 
Benjamin  Williams. 
Isaac  Brown. 


John  Flanders  enlisted  in  the  navy. 

Education. — In  the  widest  sense,  this  head 
covers  a  great  deal  more  than  the  mere  manage- 
ment of  our  common-school  system,  and  if  ta- 
ken in  this  extended  meaning,  the  inhabitants  of 
Sunapee  are  at  least  equal  to  any  other  rural 
community  in  New  Hampshire.  They  discuss 
in  the  village  stores  the  passing  topics  of  inter- 
est with  an  average  amount  of  intelligence,  and 
hardly  a  man  in  town  but  takes  one  or  more 
newspapers.  Our  interest  in  our  schools  cannot 
be  less  than  that  of  our  neighbors,  for  the  to- 
tal school  money  the  present  year  was  :  Literary 
fund  and    extra  statute  appropriation,  $916.21. 


SUNAPEE. 


373 


There  are  nine  school  districts,  and  the  total 
number  of  scholars  in  town  is  one  hundred  and 
sixty-one.  Our  school-houses  are  all  in  good 
condition,  and  some  of  them  have  been  fitted 
up  in  the  most  modern  style,  giving  the  schol- 
ars of  the  present  day  many  advantages  as  com- 
pared with  their  fathers  and  mothers  of  forty 
years  ago. 

An  act  was  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Legislature  abolishing;  the  district  svstem,  and 
establishing  the  town  system  of  schools  ;  but 
the  prospect  is,  that  the  plan  will  meet  with  lit- 
tle favor  in  Sunapee.  The  constant  tinkering 
with  our  common-school  system,  making  expen- 
sive and  unnecessary  changes  in  text-books,  and 
introducing  into  the  schools,  supported  by  the 
public  taxes,  what  are  called  "  higher"  branches 
— these,  with  the  general  tendency  among  the 
would-be  leaders  in  education  to  centralizing 
the  management  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  are 
among  the  mistakes  of  our  time,  which  can  only 
be  remedied  by  an  honest  return  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  founders  of  our  State  system  of  edu- 
cation, namely  :  to  secure  to  every  child  of  the 
commonwealth,  from  the  public  purse,  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  elementary  branches,  which  form  the 
basis  of  special  and  more  advanced  courses  to  be 
procured  at  private  expense  solely. 

Prominent  Families  and  Names. — Our 
check-lists  displayed  for  a  long  course  of  years  a 
few  prominent  names,  and  these  would,  in  the 
natural  current  of  things,  change  places — at  one 
time  the  Angells  would  lead  ;  and  then  for  a 
season  the  majority  would  fall  to  the  Georges 
or  to  the  Youngs.  At  our  last  annual  meet- 
ings the  Youngs  had  a  plurality  of  fourteen 
names.  Then  a  host  of  names  less  numerous 
make  up  the  body  of  the  list,  such  as  the  Sar- 
gents,  Gardners,  Eastmans,  Smiths,  Abbots, 
Colbys,  Coopers,  Bartletts,  Trows,  Knowltons 
and  others.  But  in  a  sketch  of  this  kind,  which 
must  necessarily  be  brief,  we  shall  only  be  able 
to  refer  to  a  few  of  the  pioneers  in  the  settling 
of  our  town,  and  perhaps  make  an  allusion  to 
the  descendants  of  some. 


The  common  ancestor  of  the  Smiths  was 
Francis,  who  came  from  Rowley,  Mass.,  and 
settled  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  uot  far 
from  1792.  His  death  occurred  on  the  8th  of 
May,  1829.  But  he  left  four  children,— Nathan, 
Mary,  John  and  Hepzibah.  Nathan  was  the 
father  of  John  B.,  Hepzibah,  Joseph  P.  and 
Thomas  Pike.  Joseph  Pillsbury  Smith  and 
Thomas  Pike  Smith  still  survive,  Joseph  hav- 
ing held  office  in  town  for  twenty  years,  and 
being  the  chairman  of  the  present  Board  of  Se- 
lectmen. 

Thomas  is  a  leading  business  man,  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  a  man  of  unusual  literary 
taste  and  ability.  The  writer  has  been 
much  indebted  to  his  careful  preservation  of 
many  facts.  John  B.  Smith  was  in  all  respects 
an  extraordinary  man.  As  an  inventor  he  had 
no  superior  in  New  Hampshire,  and  his  death, 
from  paralysis,  on  the  19th  day  of  October, 
1884,  left  the  whole  community  in  sadness. 

Joseph  George  was  the  progenitor  of  the 
Georges  of  Sunapee,  and  had  five  sous, — Elijah, 
Samuel,  Joseph,  Daniel  and  Benjamin.  Daniel 
was  the  founder  of  George's  Mills,  a  subdivi- 
sion of  our  town  at  the  upper  or  north  end  of 
Sunapee  Lake.  He  was  an  excellent  mechanic 
and  miller,  and  specimens  of  his  handiwork 
still  remain,  such  as  small  and  great  spinning- 
wheels  and  reels.  His  son  Daniel  succeeded 
him  in  the  grist-mill  and  became  an  aide  and 
popular  citizen,  acting  as  moderator  of  our  town 
meetings  for  full  twenty  years,  filling  the  office 
of  representative  for  four  years  and  discharging 
various  other  trusts  with  fidelity  and  accept- 
ance. 

His  son  Daniel  A.  George,  the  fourth  from 
the  common  ancestor  Joseph,  is  the  present 
miller,  and  still  operates  on  the  old  privilege 
and  has  many  of  the  qualities  of  his  progeni- 
tors. He  has  been  moderator,  selectman  and 
Representative  and  is  still  in  the  vigor  of  life. 
Daniel  George,  the  father  of  Daniel  A.  died 
suddenly,  in  1864,  aged  fifty-six. 

The  Youngs,  as  we  have  already  intimated, 


374 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


were  of  Khocle  Island  stock,  and  were  early  in 
town.  They  numbered,  at  the  last  census,  for- 
ty-six persons. 

The  Christian  name  of  the  oldest  of  the  orig- 
inal settlers  was  Abiather,  and  he  had  sons, — 
Abiather,  John,  William  and  Andrew, — and  the 
elder  Abiather  was  the  common  ancestor  of  most 
of  the  name  found  in  town  to-day.  Several  of 
them  held  military  commissions  under  the  mi- 
litia laws  of  the  State,  and  five  at  least  of  these 
descendants  were  in  the  Union  army  in  the 
late  Rebellion.  Of  Captain  William  Young, 
whom  we  have  noticed  elsewhere  : — "  He  was 
every  inch  a  soldier."  He  was  also  the  best 
penman  of  his  time,  as  the  records  still  remain- 
ing will  verify. 

The    Chases   were   another   of    the  pioneer 
families  who,  with  great  energy,   joined  in  sub- 
duing the  wilderness  and  contributing  to    the 
enterprise  and    prosperity  of  the  town.    John 
Chase,    the    father  of    John     Chase   Jr.    came 
to  Wendell  in  1784,  and  purchased  a  lot  and  a 
half  at  the  outlet  of  Sunapee  Lake,  embracing 
every  foot  of  land  now  covered  by  the  village 
commonly  designated  "  The  Harbor,"  and  reach- 
ing from   the  Runals  Hotel    to  the  Methodist 
meeting-house.     John    Chase,  Jr.,    married,   in 
1 794,  Elizabeth  Rogers,  sister  of  Colonel  Sam- 
uel Rogers.  They  had  children, — Richard  Hills, 
Abigail,    Sarah,    Alvin,    Elmira,    Francis  and 
Elizabeth.     The   elder    John    Chase   was   the 
first  to  erect  and  run  a  grist-mill  in  town,  and 
during  the  above-named  year  (1794)  he  joined 
his  son,  John   Chase,  Jr.,  in  the    raising  of  the 
huge  two-story  dwelling-house  now  modernized 
and    owned    by    \Y.    C.  Sturoc ;    Richard   and 
Hills  Chase   left   town    when  young   men;  the 
first    becoming    a     lawyer   at  A  usable    Forks, 
X.   Y.,  and  the  last    a    physician  at  Syracuse, 
X.  Y      Alvin    Chase   was   remarkable   for   his 
many  feats   of  skill  after  he   was  totally  blind, 
lb'  built,  without  aid,  a  chaise,  the  remains  of 
which  the  writer  has  seen ;  a  cheese  press,  still 
in  existence  ;  shingled  the  house  where  he  lived, 
working  on  the  roof  in  the  warm  nights  of  sum- 


mer, aud  accomplished  many  other  things 
almost  beyond  belief.  He  died  in  June,  1834, 
aged  twenty-seven  years. 

Absent  Natives. — Nearly  sixty  years  ago 
quite  a  number  of  the  families  then  in  town  and 
individual  members  of  others  removed  to  Ohio, 
and  settled  for  the  most  part  in  the  towns  of 
Painesville  and  Concord,  the  latter  name  being 
established  in  honor  of  the  capital  of  their  na- 
tive State.  Those  emigrants  were  Huntoons, 
Youngs,  Clapps  and  Chases.  Without  a  single 
exception,  they  all  rooted  in  their  adopted  soil 
and  prospered,  and  many  of  them  have  made 
pilgrimages  to  their  uative  town. 

And  there  have  been  some,  without  going  so 
far  as  the  flourishing  West,  who  still  revisit 
with  great  pleasure  the  good  town  of  Sunapee, 
where  they  were  born.  One  of  this  kind  is 
William  Robinson,  of  Sudbury  Street,  Boston, 
who,  about  fifty  or  more  years  ago,  left  with 
his  little  bundle  under  his  arm,  and,  footing  it 
all  the  way  to  Boston,  began  life  without  a 
cent.  He  is  now  the  wealthy  owner  of  much 
property,  and  of  a  flourishing  business  in  com- 
pany with  his  two  sons,  who  are  an  honor  to 
their  worthy  father.  But  in  more  recent  times 
there  have  been  some  who  have  gone  from  Sun- 
apee in  pursuit  of  business  or  of  honor.  Wil- 
liam W.  Eastman,  now  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
a  native  of  the  town,  and  son  of  Ichabod  East- 
man, was  for  many  years  a  leading  man  in  Suna- 
pee, and  it  was  under  his  hands,  as  Representa- 
tive in  1849  and  1 850,  that  the  town  received  its 
present  name.  William,  like  his  father,  was  an 
excellent  general  mechanic,  and,  in  conjunction 
with  B.  P.  Page,  of  Bradford,  started  on  a 
large  scale  the  manufacture  of  threshing-ma- 
chines in  Sunapee,  in  the  year  1847.  He  was 
afterwards  warden  of  the  New  Hampshire  State 
Prison.  He  has,  in  late  years,  been  deeply  in- 
ter* -ted  in  tin;  oil  business  and  other  enterprises 
in  Brooklyn. 

Charles  H.  Bartlett  was  born  in  Sunapee, 
October  15,  1833.  He  is  the  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  J.  Bartlett,  bjth  recently   deceased.     He 


SUNAPEE. 


375 


studied  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Hills- 
borough Count v  in  1858.  Mr.  Bartlett  was  clerk 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Senate  from  1861  to 
I860,  private  secretary  to  Governor  Smyth  1865 
aud  1866.  In  1867  he  was  appointed  clerk  of 
the  United  States  District  Court  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  solicitor 
for  the  city  of  Manchester,  and  declined  a  re- 
election in  1872.  He  was  mayor  of  Manches- 
ter till  February,  1873.  He  has  held  many 
other  offices  and  trusts,  and  was  president  of  the 
State  Senate  in  1883. 

Alfred  T.  Batchelder,  youngest  son  of  Nath- 
aniel and  Sarah  Batchelder,  also  claims  Suna- 
pee  as  his  birth-place.  He  is  about  forty-two 
years  of  age  and  is  the  present  mayor  of  Keene, 
N.  H.,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  and  a  lawyer 
by  profession. 

The  most  prominent  dentist  in  Concord,  X.  H., 
is  George  A.  Young,  son  of  Andrew  and  Ly- 
dia  Young,  of  this  town.  He  is  acknowl- 
edged to  be  high  in  his  profession. 

Aud  in  the  same  city  will  be  found  Moses  F. 
Rogers,  grandson  of  Colonel  Samuel  Rogers 
and  brother  of  Rev.  Charles  E.  He  has  been 
actively  engaged  in  the  express  business  for 
many  years,  and  was  deputy  warden  of  the  New 
Hampshire  State  Prison  under  John  Foss.  Two 
sons  of  the  late  Mark  Dodge  are  also  natives  of 
Sunapee.  Albert  is  an  extensive  grain  dealer 
in  Gloucester,  Mass.,  and  Parker  a  physician  in 
the  West. 

Caleb  Colby,  son  of  John  Colby,  is  now  a  suc- 
cessful jeweler  in  New  York  City.  He  has  a 
double  claim  on  recognition  here,  having  mar- 
ried a  native  of  Sunapee,  Mehitable  Young, 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  John. 

Business  Enterprises. — Although  within 
easy  reach  of  the  excellent  natural  waterfalls  at 
the  head  of  Sugar  River,  the  first  settlers  labored 
for  some  years  under  difficulties  as  to  the  con- 
veniences of  saw-mill  or  grist-mill,  and  it  was 
no  uncommon  thing  in  those  early  days  of  the 
settlement  for  the  sturdy. head  of  the  family  to 
start    with  his  back-load   of  rye  or  corn,  and 


proceeding   through    the   then    wilderness,    by 
marked  or  spotted  trees,  reach  the  nearest  mill. 

They  were  under  the  necessity,  at  one  time, 
of  going  that  way  as  far  as  "  Number  Four " 
(Charlestown).  But  an  effort  was  soon  made  to 
remedy  this  evil,  and  on  the  3d  of  December, 
1782,  I  find,  by  a  document  of  that  date,  the 
proprietors  invited  one  Joel  Bailey,  of  New- 
port, to  accept  of  the  gift  of  twenty  acres  of  the 
"  undivided  land,"  as  au  inducement  for  the 
said  Bailey  to  build  a  grist  and  saw-mill  in 
Wendell.  The  signers  of  this  instrument, 
partly  in  the  form  of  a  quit-claim  deed,  were 
as  follows :  Esek  Young,  John  Sprague,  John 
Call,  Johu  Gardner,  Thomas  Martin,  David 
Call,  John  Bevins,  John  Wendell  and  Stephen 
Hardy. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Bailey  accepted  of 
this  offer  made  by  those  land-owners,  and 
nothing  was  done  in  that  direction  till  about 
1784-85,  when  John  Chase  erected  the  first 
grist-mill,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  Blodgett 
&  Runals  saw-mill  of  to-day.  The  entrance 
to  the  end  of  this  primitive  mill  was  by 
a  steep  descent  immediately  east  of  the  present 
'•Mill  Hill  "highway. 

Not  far  from  1800  a  wooden  dam  was  put 
across  the  river,  just  below  where  the  Granite 
Hame-Works  now  stand,  and  a  power  formed 
at  the  first  steep  fall,  and  that  site  has  remained 
the  Harbor  Grist-Mill  ever  since.  A  saw-mill 
was  subsequently  combined  with  the  grist-mill, 
and  the  ownership  has  passed  through  numer- 
ous hands.  At  an  early  date  it  was  the  prop- 
erty of  Hutchinson  &  Cheney  ;  then  Jeremiah 
Newall  and  Jonas  Cutting,  Purmort  &  Stevens, 
Young  &  Cobb,  Lowell  T.  Nute,  Charles  Stubbs, 
and  the  present  owners,   Purington  &  Bartlett. 

About  1820  a  privilege  was  taken  up  some 
ways  below  the  grist-mill,  and  below  where 
William  C.  Stocker's  excelsior-shop  now 
stands.  It  was  used  by  Hills,  son  of  John 
Chase,  Jr.,  at  what  was  then  called  a  clothing- 
mill,  where  home-made  cloth  was  fulled  and 
dressed. 


37G 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Jonathan  Wooster  also  pursued  the  'business 
of  Girding  and  fulling  and  dressing  cloth,  and 
was  followed  by  D.  B.  Colcord,  the  latter 
removing  his  shop  to  George's  Mills,  where  he 
conducted  the  same  for  about  twenty  years,  end- 
ing in  1845,  since  which  time  no  such  business 
has  been  done  in  town,  the  products  of  factories 
taking  the  place  of  the  home-manufactured 
article. 

In  1842  the  foundation  of  the  present  tannery 
was  laid  by  George  Keyser  and  David  Haynes, 
and  lias  been  run  by  successive  occupants.  The 
water-power  for  the  tannery  was  procured  by 
throwing  a  dam  across  Sugar  River  just  below 
the  grist-mill  dam,  and  at  a  subsequent  period 
another  dam  was  formed  still  farther  down- 
stream, this  last  being  now  occupied  by  Wil- 
liam C.  Stocker  for  the  manufacture  of  excel- 
sior. About  1837  the  substantial  stone  dam, 
just  above  the  Harbor  Bridge,  was  erected  by 
a  company  of  which  Stephen  D.  Ford  was  the 
agent,  but  nothing  was  done  on  this  dam  until 
about  1844,  when  Christopher  Cross,  from 
Lowell,  Mass.,  built  the  saw-mill  on  the  south 
end  of  the   "  stone  dam." 

About  the  same  time,  Ephraim  O.  Whitcomb 
built  a  shop  just  below  the  Harbor  Bridge,  for 
the  manufacture  of  bedsteads,  and  that  business 
was  pursued  by  various  owners  till  1852  or 
1853,  when  Dexter  Pierce  went  into  the  making 
of  clothes-pins,  and  this  shop,  the  basement  of 
which  was,  in  1857,  occupied  by  Royal  Booth 
while  he  was  constructing  card-board  machinery, 
took  fire,  and  not  only  totally  consumed  that 
shop,  but  also  the  one  on  the  north  side  of  the 
liver  occupied  by  Abiathcr  Young,  for  making 
shoe-pegs.  The  peg  business  was  carried  on  by 
Abiather  Young  for  years,  until  finally  he  oc- 
cupied the  shop  north  of  the  saw-mill  on  the 
-tone  dam,  and  that,  too,  on  the  night  of  April 
11,  1877,  took  fire  and  was  completely  de- 
stroyed. Since  then  the  shoe-peg  business  has 
not  been  resumed.  On  the  18th  of  October  of 
the  same  year  (1877),  Abiather  died,  aged  fifty. 
It  has  been  mentioned,  in   connection   with  the 


name  of  William  W.  Eastman,  that  a  large 
shop  was  built  in  1847  for  the  making  of 
threshing-machines,  although  in  a  smaller  shop, 
called  the  "  red  shop,"  Mr.  Eastman,  in  com- 
pany with  James  Perkins  and  others,  had  in 
previous  years  been  in  that  business.  This 
threshing-machine  business  was  for  a  number  of 
years,  say  from  1847  till  1870,  a  prominent  in- 
dustry in  Suuapee,  till  finally  it  fell  into  the 
hands  solely  of  Major  Josiah  Turner,  one  of 
the  first  makers,  who  died  of  apoplexy,  April 
1(3,  1883.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Turner  that 
business  has  also  been  entirely  stamped  out,  and 
the  last  shop  he  occupied  has  been  converted 
into  a  store-house  for  lumber. 

About  1852,  John  B.  Smith  having  been 
previously  engaged  for  a  short  time  in  different 
kinds  of  mechanical  employment  at  the  Har- 
bor, built  a  shop  at  the  point  now  locally  known 
as  Smithville,  and  began  making  clothes-pins 
and  inventing  machinery  for  their  rapid  produc- 
tion ;  be  succeeded  at  last  in  constructing  a  ma- 
chine that  would  turn  out  one  hundred  and  ten 
per  minute,  and  by  procuring  patents  on  his 
various  machines  acquired  a  monopoly  of  the 
business.  But  his  inventive  genius  was  not 
satisfied  with  this  narrow  field,  and  he  soon 
added  a  machine-shop  and  foundry  for  casting 
brass  and  iron,  with  all  the  necessary  buildings 
for  that  varied  business.  He  continued  increas- 
ing and  extending  until  quite  a  village  had 
grown  up  around  his  works,  when,  on  the  19th 
of  October,  he  was  struck  with  paralysis,  from 
which  he  died,  aged  sixty-six.  He  had  always 
been  an  earnest  student  of  the  science  of  astron- 
omy, and  was  tempted,  in  the  pursuit  of  that 
study,  to  try  his  hand  at  telescope-making,  in 
which  he  succeeded  so  admirably  as  to  com- 
mand the  admiration  of  men  long  skilled  in 
that  business. 

Solon  W.  Abbott  runs  a  planing,  tonguing 
and  grooving-mill,  and  combines  the  making  of 
coffins  and  caskets  with  his  other  business. 

Willis  W.  Trow  has  similar  machinery  and  a 
good  saw-mill. 


STJNAPEE. 


377 


Perkins  &  Alexander  make  hay-rakes  of  all 
kinds. 

There  has,  from  the  earliest  times,  been  one 
or  more  blacksmiths  in  town.  Nathaniel  Per- 
kins, a  man  prominent  in  our  town  affairs  sixty 
years  ago,  was,  perhaps,  the  first,  having  his 
first  shop  not  far  from  where  George  W.  Colby 
now  lives ;  afterwards  near  his  homestead, 
long  known  as  the  "  Perkins  place."  His 
forge  has,  however,  been  cold  for  forty  years. 
Moses  Muzzey  built  his  blacksmith-shop  in 
1818,  on  the  eminence  near  George's  Mills, 
known  even  now  as  Muzzey  Hill.  He  died 
about  thirteen  years  ago. 

Moses  C.  Muzzey,  son  of  the  above,  opened 
a  blacksmith's  forge  at  the  Lower  village  in 
1840,  and  has  continued  ever  since,  having  a 
partner  a  large  share  of  the  time  in  Amos  D. 
Carnes.  Asahel  Lear  has  been  a  blacksmith 
at  the  south  part  of  the  town  for  more  than  a 
common  life-time  and  still  survives. 

Stores. — The  stores  in  Sunapee  have  always 
been  of  the  kind  designated  "  country  stores,  " 
keeping  a  miscellaneous  assortment,  and  taking 
the  produce  of  the  farmer  in  pay  to  a  large  ex- 
tent. In  1820,  John  Dane  was  keeping  store 
in  the  house  built  by  him  for  that  purpose,  and 
now  owned  by  Solomon  Bartlett,  although 
among  the  older  inhabitants  it  is  still  called  the 
<:Dane  House."  About  1825,  John  Colin- 
succeeded  Dane,  and  by  1830  he  built  the  store 
which  stood  for  many  years  on  what  is  now  J.  P. 
Knowlton's  door-yard.  Colby  was  succeeded 
by  Marble,  and  he  by  Wadleigh,  and  the 
Knowlton  Bros.,  Moses  and  John,  were  run- 
ning the  business  in  1844,  and  the  latter  con- 
tinued till  about  1863.  John  was  followed  by 
D.  G.  Knowlton  &  Sons,  and  the  store  moved 
from  the  hill  to  its  present  location,  at  the  west 
end  of  the  hame-shop,  where  it  is  run  by 
Knowlton  &  Sargent. 

The  store  and  dwelling-house  which  was  built 
by  Josiah  Turner,  the  under  part  of  which  was 
from  the  beginning  intended  for  store  purposes, 
Mas  first  occupied  by  Eastman  &  Kelsey  ;  and 


the  line  of  store-keepers  who  have  filled  up  the 
thirty-seven  intervening  years  have  been  nearly 
as  follows  :  H.  Stanton,  Colby  &  Jones,  Cut- 
ler &  Wade,  Jabe  Thompson,  Quimby  & 
Simmons,  Rawson,  Ingram,  Wm.  C.  Stocker 
and  for  the  last  fourteen  years,  1ST.  P.  Baker. 
In  this  store,  since  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  or  since  1861,  the  post-office  has  been 
kept  till  the  present  year. 

At  the  Lower  village  the  successive  store- 
keepers have  been  Marble,  Wadleigh,  Col- 
cord,  Edson  and  the  present  owner,  Joseph 
Russell. 

The  "  Granite  Hame-Works."— In  1869, 
W.  H.  H.  Cowles  and  Lucius  Buswell,  from 
Grantham,  commenced  to  build  the  large  shop 
now  occupied  for  the  manufacture  of  names. 
While  the  building  was  being  erected  Mr.  Bus- 
well  was  killed,  and  Mr.  Cowles  found  a  new 
partner  in  the  person  of  George  H.  Bartlett, 
and  some  three  years  ago  Mr.  Cowles  aban- 
doned the  business  and  sold  out  his  half-interest 
to  Irwing  G.  Rowell,  the  firm  now  being  Bart- 
lett &  Rowell.  They  do  a  large  business  and 
employ  about  twenty  hands. 

About  ten  years  ago  a  tin-shop  was  started 
by  Healy  Cunningham,  but  on  the  2d  of 
April,  1884,  he  died  suddenly,  and  the  shop 
was  for  a  short  time  vacant,  but  during  the 
present  year  Fred.  C.  Keyes  purchased  the 
stock  and  shop,  and  has  extended  the  business 
by  the  addition  of  stores  and  a  general  assort- 
ment of  hardware. 

ACCIDENTS. 

The  events  happening  in  our  midst  of  an 
accidental  character  have  not  been  very  frequent 
or  unusual.  The  conflagrations  of  any  impor- 
tance have  all  occurred  within  thirty  years.  In 
the  winter  of  1857  the  two  shops  below  the 
Harbor  Bridge,  one  owned  by  Dexter  Pierce 
and  the  other  by  Abiather  Young,  were  both 
totally  consumed ;  the  fire  originating  in  the 
basement  of  Pierce's  shop  aud  spreading  north- 
ward across  the  river  to  Young's  peg-shop. 


378 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


On  the  10th  of  June,  1871,  the  clothes-pin 
shop  of  John  B.  Smith  took  fire  and  soon 
spread  to  the  adjacent  dwellings,  destroying 
those  of  Moses  L.  Sargent  and  Isaac  Harriman, 
and  damaging  the  Methodist  parsonage  and 
totally  consuming  the  church  on  the  north  side 
of  the  highway. 

The  large  shop  which  has  been  described  as 
being  built  for  the  threshing-machine  business, 
and  in  which  shoe-pegs  were  now  being  manu- 
factured, took  fire  on  the  night  of  the  11th  of 
April,  1877,  and,  although  right  on  the  river, 
for  lack  of  any  appliances  to  use  the  water 
was  soon  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 

Drownings. — On  a  body  of  water  as  exten- 
sive as  Lake  Sunapee — nine  miles  by  three — the 
number  of  deaths  by  drowning  have  been  com- 
paratively few.  If  any  loss  of  life  occurred 
previous  to  1800,  the  oldest  inhabitants  are 
unable  to  recall  it,  and  the  first  of  which  we 
have  any  account  is  the  death  of  Joel  Fletcher, 
of  New  London,  who  came  across  with  a  neigh- 
bor in  a  "  dug-out  "  or  canoe  made  of  half  of 
a  pine  log.  They  came  to  procure  clay  from  a 
clay-bed  at  the  Harbor,  near  where  the  Wood- 
sum  wharf  now  stands,  and  where  a  number  of 
brick-kilns  were  subsequently  burned  for  the 
building  of  the  first  chimneys  in  town. 

Fletcher  and  his  companion  had  almost 
reached  New  London  shore  on  their  return, 
when  a  sudden  squall  struck  the  boat,  shifting 
the  cargo  of  clay  and  upsetting  the  frail  craft. 
His  companion  swam  on  shore,  but  Fletcher 
was  drowned.  And  this  happened,  as  Aunt 
Betsey  Knowlton  informed  me,  wheu  she  was 
thirteen  years  old.  This  venerable  lady,  who 
was  a  sister  to  Thomas  Pike,  our  first  sole  rep- 
resentative, and  mother*of  the  three  Knowltons — 
Dennis,  Moses  and  John — died  in  July,  1881,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety -four.  She  retained 
her  memory  to  the  last,  and  passed  away  with 
the  grandeur  of  a  Revolutionary  matron. 

On  9th  of  September,  1821,  the  babe  of 
J.  Harvey  Huntoon,  who  lived  not  far  from 
the  lake,  was  carried,  with  the  bed  on  which  it 


lay,  into  the  lake  by  the  memorable  "hurri- 
cane "  of  that  year,  and  the  body  was  found  in 
a  few  days  drifted  to  shore,  near  "  Job's 
Creek." 

In  the  spring  of  1834,  Josiah  Currier,  father 
of  the  late  Bradford  Currier  and  William 
Currier  and  Mrs.  John  Boyce,  met  his  death 
by  falling  through  the  ice  near  the  "  Hedge- 
Hog  Den,"  at  the  commencement  of  a  terrific 
snow-storm  that  had  begun  just  about  sundown. 

His  outcries  were  heard  by  Oliver  Young, 
who  lived  at  that  time  on  the  farm  on  which 
Lake  View  House  is  built  ;  but  Young  was 
unable  to  reach  him  on  account  of  the  driving- 
storm.  It  was  nearly  two  months  before  his 
hat  was  found,  when  the  snow  had  thawed 
away,  giving  a  clue  to  the  place  where  he  went 
down. 

Not  in  the  lake,  but  near  it,  in  the  river,  on 
the  9th  of  March,  1882,  Corana  Richardson,  a 
boy  six  years  old,  was  missed,  and  on  a  careful 
search  his  body  was  found  in  the  river  a  little 
way  above  the  "  stone  dam." 

On  Thursday,  January  15,  1885,  Leander 
Blodgett,  of  Newbury,  started  with  a  horse  and 
wagon  from  the  Chandler  shore  to  go  in  the  di- 
rection of  "Pine  Cliff,"  and  on  his  return  must 
have  dropped  through  a  hole  in  the  ice,  as  the 
seat  of  his  wagon  and  the  buffalo-robe  were  found 
near  the  hole.  The  water  at  that  point  was 
about  fifty  feet  deep,  but  grapplings  were  pro- 
cured, and  the  body  of  the  unfortunate  young 
man,  as  also  the  horse  and  wagon,  were  soon 
drawn  to  the  surface. 

A  Fatal  Shooting  Affair. — On  Thanks- 
giving day,  1828,  as  quite  a  number  of  the 
young  men  of  the  town  were  collected  in  the  store 
of  Colby  <fe  Newall,  in  the  Dane  House,  one  of 
the  party,  a  Jonathan  Marston,  took  up  a  gun 
that  stood  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  resting 
it  upon  the  shoulder  of  David  Reddington,  fired 
at  random,  fatally  wounding  Elbridge  G.  Sar- 
gent, youngest  son  of  Deacon  Moses  Sargent, 
and  injuring  some  others  who  stood  in  range. 
One  of  the  injured  was  Dennis  G.  Knowlton, 


SUNAPEE. 


379 


from  whom  I  had  the  relation  of  the  accident. 
The  buckle  of  the  cap  worn  by  the  Sargent 
boy  was  driven  into  his  forehead  and  twenty- 
two  shot  were  extracted ;  but  after  lingering 
nine  days  he  expired. 

In  the  fall  of  1869,  when  the  hame-shop 
was  being  built,  the  younger  partner  of  the 
concern,  Lucius  Busswell,  while  in  the  saw- 
mill, superintending  the  sawing  of  the  lumber 
for  the  building,  was  struck  in  the  forehead  by 
a  heavy  slab  which  caught  on  the  circular  saw, 
and  killed,  lingering  only  a  few  hours.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  excellent  promise,  son  of  Oliver 
and  Deborah  Busswell,  of  Grantham. 

The  Hurricane. — Among  the  memorable 
events  connected  with  this  town,  and  without 
some  notice  of  which  a  history  would  be  incom- 
plete, was  the  terrific  hurricane  of  the  9th  of 
September,  1821,  which  swept  across  the  north- 
easterly portion  of  the  town,  towards  the  lake, 
on  its  devastating  path  to  the  neighboring  towns 
of  New  London,  Sutton,  Salisbury  and  War- 
ner. It  tore  up  trees  and  carried  them  onward 
for  miles,  and  what  trees  it  did  not  entirely  up- 
root it  laid  over,  in  many  cases,  almost  to  the 
ground.  There  are  evidences  still  standing  in 
old  orchards  over  which  this  tornado  passed, 
especially  near  Job's  Creek,  on  the  land  sloping 
down  towards  the  lake. 

During  the  day  of  that  memorable  Sunday 
it  was  unusually  hot  and  sultry,  clearly  indicat- 
ing electrical  forces,  and  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  black  clouds  began  to  roll,  soon 
followed  by  the  roaring  of  the  bronzy,  ashen- 
colored  bugle  of  the  whirlwind,  as  it  sped 
on  to  the  southeast,  on  its  errand  of  destruc- 
tion. The  writer  has  had  corroborative 
relation  from  several  eye-witnesses  of  that 
terrible  scene.  It  was  noticed  to  start  ap- 
parently from  the  south  side  of  Grantham 
Mountain,  striking  and  partly  demolishing  one 
habitation  in  Croydon  ;  thence  onward  through 
the  northeast  part  of  Sunapee,  doing  damage 
only  to  the  forests  and  fences,  until  it  reached 
the  house  and   barn  of  J.  Harvey  Huutoon, 


near  the  west  shore  of  the  lake.  It  lifted  the 
barn  from  its  foundations  and  threw  it  in  frag- 
ments down-hill  towards  the  shore.  It  whirled 
the  roof  from  the  house  and  shattered  to  pieces 
all  above  the  cellar,  while  a  bed  on  which  the 
youngest  child  was  laid  was  snatched  up  and 
carried  in  the  air  to  the  centre  of  the  lake  and 
there  dropped. 

A  few  days  after,  as  Dr.  Alexander  Boyd,  of 
Newport,  with  Moses  Muzzey,  the  blacksmith 
of  Wendell,  and  others  were  looking  over  the 
track  of  the  destroyer,  they  noticed  an  object 
near  the  entrance  of  the  creek,  and,  on  reaching 
it,  thev  found  the  bodv  of  the  child,  its  little 
dress  torn  to  shreds,  and  its  head  bruised  and 
battered  almost  beyond  recognition.  Mr.  Hun- 
toon  and  his  wife,  Naoma,  removed  soon  after 
to  Concord,  Ohio,  where  they  died  not  long  ago, 
and  where  thev  had  been  visited  several  times 
by  persons  now  living  in  Sunapee.  They  re- 
tained, as  a  sad  memento  of  that  dreadful  and 
fatal  day,  a  small  piece  of  the  baby's  dress, 
which  they  had  encased  in  a  frame,  under  gla->, 
with  its  brief  but  sorrowful  legend.  When 
Charles  Dickens,  the  English  novelist,  visited 
the  United  States,  some  one  related  to  him  the 
above-named  facts,  and  on  that  he  built  his 
story  of  "The  Fisherman  of  Sunapee,"  wrhich 
had  the  run  of  the  magazines  and  newspapers 
of  that  time.  The  havoc  of  this  tornado,  which 
ended  its  course  at  the  south  base  of  the  Kear- 
sarge  Mountaiu,  has  been  described  by  other 
writers,  so  far  as  it  affected  the  other  towns 
named ;  but  no  circumstantial  account  of  its 
ravages  in  Sunapee  has  heretofore  been  written, 
and  soon  the  observers  of  that  startling  event 
will  be  all  numbered  among  the  things  that 
were ;  although  to-day  the  dismantled  cellar  of 
the  Huntoon  habitation  may  still  be  traced, 
and  a  few  of  the  leaning  apple-trees  are  still 
bearing  fruit,  they  were  partially  borne  down 
by    that    terrific  gust,   now   sixty-four    years 


ago. 


The   Lake   and  its  Surroundings. — We 
now   reach  a  matter  in  the  history  of  Sunapee 


380 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


that,  although  we  have  made  last,  is  not  the 
least,  but,  in  truth,  the  greatest,  in  regard  to 
our  material  future,- — the  lake  and  its  connec- 
tions. 

As  early  as  1820  a  charter  had  been  granted 
by  the  Legislature  to  Josiah  Stevens  and  others, 
giving  them  the  right  to  draw  and  control   the 
surplus   waters   of  the   lake   for  the  behoof  of 
"  the  owners   of  mills  and   mill   privileges  on 
Sugar  River  ;"  and   for  many  years  the  whole 
matter  of  the  lake  was  comparatively  but  little 
noticed,  the   regulation  of  the  drawing   having 
fallen  into  the  hands,  almost  entirely,  of  grow- 
ing mill   interests  at  the  extreme  west  end  of 
Sugar  River,  where  it  empties  into  Connecticut 
River.     All   the   intermediate    mill-owners    on 
the  river  had  cither  become  careless  of  their 
rights  or  they  were  ignored  ;  and  this  state  of 
things  ran   along  until  about  twenty  years  ago, 
when  the  importance  of  this   beautiful   sheet  of 
water,  as  a  navigable  water,  began  to  attract  at- 
tention.    The  lake,  before  this  time,  had  been 
baptized  by  N.  P.  Rogers,  as  the  Loch  Lomond 
of  New  England.       I    remember  when   there 
was    at  Sunapee  Harbor    but  one  small  row- 
boat.     To-day  there  are  probably  not  less  than 
two  hundred  row  and  sail-boats,  many  of  them 
of  superior  build  and  rig. 

In  1854,  Timothy  Hoskins,  an  ex-State 
Senator,  and  William  Cutler  built  a  horse- 
boat.  Hoskins  was  interested  in  the  saw-mill 
and  Cutler  in  the  tannery.  It  was  capable  of 
taking  on  parties  of  one  hundred,  but,  after 
running  for  about  eight  years,  it  Was  broken 
up  and  portions  of  it  can  still  be  recognized. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1859,  Austin  Goings,  of 
New  London,  launched  the  first  steamboat  upon 
Sunapee  Lake.  It  was  a  side-wheeler,  the 
length  of  the  keel  being  sixty-live  feet.  It 
could  carry  three  hundred  passengers.  Its 
name  was  the  "  Surprise.  But  that  point  in 
the  history  of  Sunapee  had  not  arrived  when  a 
steamboat  would  pay,  and,  the  war  of  1801 
coming  on,  Captain  Goings  enlisted  and  his 
boat  was  dismantled. 


From  1861  to  1876  nothing  but  row  and 
sail-boats  floated  on  Sunapee  Lake,  but  the 
centennial  year  was  appropriately  heralded  by 
the  commencement  of  permanent  steam  naviga- 
tion on  our  lake. 

In  this  year  the  little  steamer  "  Penacook  " 
was  purchased  by  N.  S.  Gardner  and  put  upon 
the  lake.  When  she  was  first  run  she  had 
side-wheels  and  her  machinery  was  very  imper- 
fect ,'  but  Captain  Nathan  Young,  her  present 
proprietor,  has  remodeled  her,  putting  in  a  new 
engine  and  screw-propeller  and  changed  her  name 
to  the  "  Mountain  Maid."  1876  will  also  be 
memorable  for  the  advent  of  the  Woodsum 
brothers,  Frauk  and  Daniel,  who  came  from 
Maine  and  built  the  snug,  fine-looking  and 
substantial  steamer  "Lady  Woodsum,"  and 
have  run  her  every  summer  since  in  connection 
with  the  trains  arriving  at  Newbury. 

The  "  Lady  Woodsum  "  can  carry  over  a  hun- 
dred passengers,  and  they  have  an  attendant 
barge  that  will  take  a  larger  company. 

Mr.  Craddock,  the  owner  of  "  Liberty 
Island,"  has  a  small  private  steamer  suitable  for 
family  parties,  and  used  mostly  for  the  con- 
venience of  his  family  and  boarders. 

For  a  few  years  past,  since  our  leading  lines 
of  railroad  have  given  special  opportunities  of 
summer  travel,  a  want  seemed  to  be  felt,  on  the 
occasion  of  extra  trains  arriving  at  Sunapee 
Lake,  for  still  further  steamboat  accommodation, 
and  in  the  winter  of  1884-85  a  joint-stock  com- 
pany was  formed  for  the  building  of  a  large 
boat,  and  in  the  summer  of  1885  the  commo- 
dious boat  named  the  "Edmund  Burke"  was 
launched  upon  the  waters  of  Sunapee  Lake  with 
appropriate  ceremonies  witnessed  by  a  greaf 
multitude  of  people. 

She  was  named  in  honor  of  the  late  Hon. 
Edmund  Burke,  who  was  the  first  projector  of 
this  enlarged  enterprise,  and  who  had  in  his  life- 
time become  deeply  interested  in  the  prosperity 
of  Sunapee  Lake  as  a  place  of  resort;  having 
built  him  a  nice  cottage  near  the  "Lake  View," 
where,  during  a  few  of  the  closing  years  of  his 


SUNAPEE. 


381 


life,  he  spent  the  summer  seasons.  He  had  also 
become  the  owner  of  the  Lake  View  House  and 
farm  on  which  it  stood.  But  his  health  failed, 
and  he  died  on  the  25th  of  January,  1882,  aged 
seventy-three,  and  his  large  property  fell  mainly 
to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Frances  M.  Dana,  wife 
of  Colouel  George  Dana,  of  Newport,  who 
has  in  a  faithful  and  energetic  manner  endeav- 
ored to  carry  out  Mi-.  Burke's  plans. 

The  dimensions  of  this  large  propeller  are 
eighty-seven  feet  in  length,  eighteen  feet  beam. 
She  has  a  double  deck,  and  is  capable  of  carry- 
ing five  or  six  hundred  passengers. 

So  far  as  it  concerns  boating  on  Sunapee 
Lake,  we  have  traced  the  matter  up  to  date 
(1885);  but  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  great 
improvements  have,  in  the  mean  time,  been 
made.  At  Lake  View  some  dozen  cottages  have 
been  erected  for  summer  occupancy;  at  Blodgett's 
four  times  that  number ;  this  last  being  a  pub- 
lic resort  for  camp-meetings  and  great  gatherings. 
At  "Pine  Cliff"  quite  a  number  of  attractive 
cottages  have  been  built,  and  are  fully  occupied 
during   the   summer    by  their  opulent  owners. 

The  Hotels  only  remain  to  be  noticed 
in  connection  with  the  outcome  of  the  town's 
prosperity  and  its  probable  future. 

"  The  Sunapee  House  "  was  built  by  C.  Y. 
&  N.  S.  Gardner,  about  forty  years  ago,  and 
for  some  years  was  occupied  as  a  tenement 
building  ;  but  has  for  nearly  thirty  years  been 
kept  as  a  public-house.  The  present  landlords 
are  Lafayette  and  Frank  Colby.  This  tavern 
is  kept  open  throughout  the  year. 

The  "  Lake  View  House"  was  erected  by 
Lafayette  Colby  in  1875,  and  was  run  by  him 
for  a  few  years. 

Mr.  Colby  was  really  the  pioneer  in  the 
large  hotel  business  connected  with  the  in- 
creasing interest  in  the  lake  as  a  place  of  sum- 
mer resort. 

The  "Runals  House"  was  built  in  1877, 
by  Albert  Runals  and  John  Y.  Gardner. 
Mr.  Kunals  died  February  13,  1882,  aged 
seventy-two,  and  the   interest    in   the  hotel  is 


now  held  by  his  relict,  Lucy  Bunals,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Mr.  Gardner. 

The  accommodating  power  of  these  last  two 
hotels  does  not  differ  greatly,  being  something 
like  a  hundred  apiece ;  and  now  the  demand 
is  for  more  hotels. 

Conjectures  cannot  be  history  ;  but  the  un- 
mistakable indications  are  that  Sunapee  is  des- 
tined to  be  an  important  place  of  summer 
resort ;  and  if  the  next  decade  shall  be  as  fruit- 
ful of  progress  as  the  immediate  past  has  been, 
a  spectacle  of  improvement  will  be  witnessed 
that  at  the  present  hour  might  be  deemed  im- 
possible. 

NAMES  OF  PRESENT  BUSINESS  MEN. 

Granite  Hame- Works.— George  H.  Bart- 
lett  and  Irving  G.  Howell. 

Wheelwright. — Moses  A.  Young. 

Saw-Mills. — Franklin Blodgett,  Edward  R. 
Sargent,  Solon  W.  Abbott,  Willis  W.  Trow. 

Merchants. — Xathan  P.  S.  Baker,  Wil- 
liam Russell,  Joseph  Russell,  Knowlton  & 
Sargent. 

Manufacturer  of  Excelsior. —  W.  C. 
Stocker. 

Tanner. — Gabe  T.  Young. 

Livery  Stables. — Frank  Blodgett,  Albert 
Huntoon. 

Shoe  Stiffenings. — John  A.  Tucker  & 
Son. 

Furniture,  Etc. — Thomas  P.  Smith. 

Grist-Millers. — D.  A.  George,  Puring- 
ton  &  Bartlctt. 

Blacksmiths. — Asahel  Lear,  Moses  C. 
Mnzzey,  Amos  D.  Carnes. 

Rakes  and  Handles. — James  Perkins, 
George  E.  Alexander,  Benjamin  R.  Sleeper. 

Machinist  and  Founder. — Nathan  Smith. 

Tin-Smith. — Fred.  C.  Keyes. 

Shoemaker. — Jeremiah  W.  Men-ill. 

Butcher. — George  S.  Reed. 

Carpenters  and  Joiners. — Stephen  Wood- 
ward, John  V.  Sargent,  Moses  L.  Sargent, 
Orren  Cross. 

Wallets. — Moses  L.  Sargent. 


3S2 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 


THE   RUNALS   FAMILY. 

This  branch  of  the  Runals  family  traces  its 
descent  from  Ayrshire,  Scotland.  The  geneal- 
ogy has  been  carefully  traced,  with  great  labor 
and  research,  by  Rev.  M.  T.  Runorels,  A.M., 
Sanbornton,  N.  H. 

John  Runals,  the  first  descendant,  settled  in 
Dover,  1718,  soon  after  moved  to  Durham  (now 
Lee).  His  son  Abraham  is  spoken  of  as  a 
brave  Scotcli  patriot.  He,  with  five  of  his  eight 
sons,  served  their  country  with  distinction  in 
the  Revolutionary  War. 

Jonathan,  his  seventh  son,  came  to  Concord  ; 
married  Dorothy  Dimon;  died  1779;  settled 
as  a  clothier  near  Turkey  River,  in  Concord ; 
soon  after  moved  to  Deering.  Being  the  seventh 
son  of  his  father's  family  he  was  consulted,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  times,  by  hundreds 
of  people  for  the  cure  of  scrofula  and  other 
diseases. 

Samuel,  eldest  son  of  Jonathan  and  Dorothy 
Runals,  was  born  in  Concord,  July  30,  1781 ; 
married,  April  26,  1809,  Eliza  Lovejoy  ;  was 
a  millwright.  He  resided  successively  in 
Bradford,  Hopkinton,  Wrest  Boscawen,  Mere- 
dith Bridge  and  other  towns,  as  his  business 
required.  He  came  back  to  Concord,  where  he, 
with  his  companion,  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  tenderly  cared  for  by  their  children. 

Albert  Runals,  who  is  more  immediately 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  eldest  child  of 
Samuel  and  Eliza  Runals,  and  was  born  in  Brad- 
ford, December  23,  1809.  He,  like  most  poor 
youths  of  his  time,  was  early  taught  to  labor 
for  his  support,  and  assist  his  father  in  the 
maintenance  of  his  young  family.  His  schooling 
was  limited  t<>  three  months  in  winter,  earning 
his  board  by  tending  the  stock  for  the  farmers 
in  the  vicinity  in  which  he  lived.  By  perse- 
verance and  industry  he  acquired  a  good  com- 
mon-school education  for  his  time.  He  bought 
his  time  of  his  father  a  few  years  previous  to  his 


majority,  and  began  to  carve  his  fortune.  He 
engaged  to  some  extent  in  the  lumber  business, 
in  which  he  was  very  successful.  He  purchased 
a  farm  in  West  Boscawen  in  1835;  built  a 
house  some  two  years  later.  He  married  Ann  M. 
Colby,  of  Concord,  a  very  estimable  and  worthy 
lady,  and  settled  on  his  farm  in  West  Boscawen. 
He  also  engaged  quite  extensively  in  the  lum- 
ber business,  and  when  the  city  of  Lowell, 
Mass.,  was  in  its  infancy  he,  with  others,  fur- 
nished large  contracts  of  lumber  for  building 
contractors  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  drawing  the  lum- 
ber to  the  foot  of  Sewell's  Falls,  in  Concord, 
and  rafting  and  taking  it  down  the  Merrimack 
River  to  Lowell,  long  before  the  advent  of  the 
steam-car  from  Concord  to  Lowell. 

In  1846  Mr.  Runals,  in  connection  with  his 
brother,  purchased  building-lots  in  Lowell,  and 
a  few  years  later  built  tenement  blocks,  from 
which  they  received  large  profits  in  after- 
years. 

To  Albert  and  Ann  Runals  were  born  two 
daughters, — Mary  Maria,  born  June  10,  1836; 
Marcia  Ette,  born  July  14,  1838.  She  married 
A.  P.  Bennett,  of  Concord,  January  1,  1859,  to 
whom  were  born  two  sons, — Frank  R.  and 
Eugene  A.  Bennett. 

Mr.  Runals  was  a  man  of  superior  business 
ability,  a  good  manager,  safe  counselor  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  though  he  sought  no  office  and  held 
none  until  1855,  when  he,  with  Mr.  Winn,  was 
chosen  to  represent  the  town  in  the  State  Legis- 
lature, and  re-elected  the  following  year. 

In  the  June  session  of  the  Legislature  in 
1860  an  act  was  passed  dividing  the  town  of 
Boscawen,  and  forming  the  town  of  Webster,  in 
the  west  part.  In  the  following  August,  at 
their  first  meeting,  Mr.  Runals  was  chosen  one 
of  the  selectmen,  and  the  following  March  was 
re-elected  ;  also  chosen  to  represent  the  town  in 
the  State  Legislature;  was  re-elected  the  follow- 
ing year.  He  held  no  office  after  this  ;  would 
accept  none.  His  advice  was  frequently 
sought,  freely  given  and  safely  followed  by 
those  who  succeeded  him  in  public  office. 


SUNAPEE. 


383 


In  the  dull  times  of  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, Mr.  Runals  was  engaged  principally 
in  farming  and  stock  and  wool-growing. 
From  the  latter  he  received  very  large  profits. 
His  bright,  worldly  enjoyments  were  turned 
to  sorrow  in  the  death  of  his  fondly-cherished 
daughter,  Mrs.  Bennett,  whose  death  occurred 
on  May  16,  1863.  It  was  a  severe  blow  to  his 
tender  heart  and  led  him  to  accept  Christ  as 
his  Redeemer.  Nearly  four  years  later  he  was 
(ailed  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his  dear  companion, 
with  whom  he  had  lived  in  perfect  happiness 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  of  whom 
he  could  never  speak  without  tears.  She 
gently  passed  away  on  October  22,  1866.  He 
married,  October  3,  1867,  Lucy  J.  Holmes,  of 
Webster,  a  young  lady  of  good  abilities  and 
firm  Christian  integrity,  with  whom  he  lived 
very  happily  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Their 
union  was  blessed  with  a  daughter,  Marcia  Alice, 
born  in  Sunapee,  September  12,  1878,  who, 
with  her  mother,  still  resides  at  his  late  home  in 
Sunapee. 

In  1868  Mr.  Runals  purchased  lumber  of 
parties  in  New  London,  cut  and  drew  it  across 
the  lake  to  the  mill  of  D.  F.  Emerys,  in  Suna- 
pee. The  following  year  he  purchased  an  in- 
terest in  the  mill  aud  engaged  extensively  in  the 
manufacture  of  lumber,  boarding  in  the  family 
of  D.  F.  Emerys  and  others.  He  was  called 
home  to  assist  in  the  care  of  his  only  remaining 
daughter,  who  quietly  passed  away  x»n  February 
20,  1872,  thus  severing  the  last  tie  that  held 
him  to  his  first  family. 

The  following  year  he  leased  his  farm  aud 
moved  with  his  wife  to  Sunapee,  where  he  had 
previously  built  a  cottage ;  he  might  almost  be 
said  to  monopolize  the  lumber  business  in  town 
and,  indeed,  in  this  section.  He  was  the  builder 
and  joint-owner  of  the  Runals  House,  drafting 
the  plan  of  the  building  and  superintending  the 
work  himself;  it  is  a  beautiful  structure  and  a 
credit  to  its  builder,  and  is  now  a  popular  sum- 


mer resort.  Mr.  Runals  was  for  a  short  time 
engaged  in  the  tannery  business  with  Calvin 
Angle,  also  with  J.  T.  Young  at  the  time  of  his 
decease,  and  being  a  man  of  property  and  active 
disposition,  he  was  always  willing  to  lend  a  help- 
ing hand  to  every  improvement  and  to  aid  in  all 
benevolent  enterprises.  Mr.  Runals  was  a  man 
of  cheerful,  pleasant  temperament  ;  he  always 
had  a  kind  word  for  every  one ;  he  was  tem- 
perate in  his  habits,  never  using  tobacco  in  any 
form  or  intoxicating  drink  as  a  beverage,  to 
which  is  largely  due  his  strong  constitution  and 
general  good  health.  He  was  a  domestic  man  ; 
home  was  the  dearest  place  on  earth  to  him,  and 
wife  the  loved  object  of  his  affection  and  tender 
care,  and  little  daughter  the  pride  and  joy  of  his 
home.  Mr.  Runals  was  not  a  member  of  any 
church  organization,  but  he  was  a  liberal  sup- 
porter of  the  gospel  and  a  constant  attendant  on 
divine  worship.  He  was  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  in  the  Methodist  Church  where  he 
resided,  which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of  his 
decease.  His  busy,  active  life  suddenly  came  to 
a  close  after  a  short  illness  of  less  than  two 
days  ;  he  was  taken  with  erysipelas  in  the  face 
on  Sundav  mornincr,  and  on  Mondav  p.m.  was 
seized  with  apoplexy  and  expired  almost  in- 
stantly on  February  13,  1882,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years. 

In  his  death  the  toAvn  lost  one  of  its  most 
valuable  and  highly-esteemed  citizens,  and  the 
business  community  one  of  its  most  active  and 
enterprising  business  men  ;  the  church  and 
society  its  most  able  and  willing  supporter, 
and  the  poor  and  needy  a  kind  benefactor. 
Our  loss  was  his  gain;  he  has  his  reward  in 
heaven. 

We  have  followed  in  this  sketch  the  career  of 
this  noble  man  from  poverty  to  wealth  and  po- 
sitions of  honor  and  trust,  aud  to-day  his  mem- 
ory is  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  his  townsmen  ;  the 
general  exclamation  is,  "  No  one  can  fill  Mr. 
Runals'  place." 


HISTORY  OF  UNITY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

This  township  was  granted  July  13,  1764,  to 
Timothy  Goodwin  and  others,  to  be  divided 
"into  such  shares  and  proportions  as  the  major 
part  shall  agree  upon."  The  grant  was  made 
to  enable  some  parties  in  Hampstead  and  Kings- 
ton to  settle  a  dispute  relative  to  some  territoiy 
claimed  by  Hampstead  parties  under  a  grant 
from  New  Hampshire,  and  by  Kingston  parties 
under  a  grant  from  Massachusetts.  Enough  of 
the  territory  in  this  grant  was  to  be  transferred 
to  the  Kingston  claimants  to  satisfy  them.  The 
controversy  had  created  considerable  bitterness, 
but  was  amicably  settled  by  means  of  this  grant, 
and  the  town  was  named  in  commemoration  of 
the  happy  termination  of  the  dispute. 

A  portion  of  the  town  of  Goshen,  incor- 
porated December  27,  1791,  was  taken  from 
this  town,  and  another  small  tract  was  severed 
from  Unity  and  annexed  to  that  town  July  6, 
1837.  By  an  act  approved  June  20,  1810,  a 
tract  of  land,  with  inhabitants  thereon,  was  sev- 
ered from  the  southwest  corner  of  this  town  and 
annexed  to  Charlestown. 

December  29,  1828,  a  small  tract  of  land, 
with  the  inhabitants  thereon,  was  severed  from 
the  northwest  corner  of  this  town  and  annexed 
to  Claremont. 

Documentary. — The  following-  is  the  war- 
rant  for  town-meeting,  1779: 

"  this  Is  to  notify  &c  the  Leagal  Inhabitants  paying 

taxes  in  the  towns  of  acworth  Lempster  Savel  Croy- 
384 


don  Unity  &  newport  to  meet  at  the  Dwelling  house 
of  Cap'  Nathaniel  huntoon  in  said  Unity  on  the  firstt 
tusday  In  December  next  at  one  of  the  Clock  In  the 
after  noon. 

"  lly  to  Chuse  a  moderator  to  Govern  Said  meeting 
''  2ly  to  Chuse  one  Good  &  Lawfull  man  to  Represent 
them  In  the  General  Assembly  to  be  held  at  Exeter 
for  the  year  Ensuing  also  to  Chuse  two  Good  and  Law- 
full  men  to  Serve  as  members  of  the  Councel  for  the 
Year  Ensuing 

"  November  the  29  1779 

"Amos  Chase  ~\  Select  Men 

"Jonathan  Glidden  V         of 
"John  Lad  J      Unity." 


Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows,  Jr.,  made  a  return 
of  the  company  officers  in  his  regiment  March 
15,  1776.  The  Ninth  Company  was  located  in 
this  town  and  officered  as  follows :  Captain, 
Nathaniel  Huntoon ;  First  Lieutenant,  Amos 
Chase;  Second  Lieutenant,  Moses  Thurston; 
Ensign,  Simeon  Giddeus.  Joseph  Frost,  aged 
twenty-six,  was  in  First  New  Hampshire  Kegi- 
ment  in  1778. 

Petition  of  Elijah  Weed  relative  to  Pettingill,  1785. 

"The  petition  of  Elijah  Weed  in  behalf  of  the  town 

of  Unity  Humbly  shews — 

"That  the  town  of  Unity  did  in  the  year  1777  hier 
one  Jonathan  Pettengal  Be  longing  to  Sd  town  a  sol- 
dier who  Inlisted  Dureing  the  war  and  Sarved 
through  the  hole  of  the  war  for  said  town  and 
through  the  Neglect  of  the  select  men  he  was  not 
Return"1  for  said  town,  nor  no  other  town, — therefore 
your  Petitioner  Prays  that  the  town  of  Unity  may  be 


UNITY. 


385 


Credited  for  Said  Pettengal  and  your  Petitioner  as  in 
duty  Bound  shall  Ever  Pray 

"Conkordoct1  28th  1785" 


"Elijah  Weed. 


Petition  of  Jonathan  Pettingill,  Soldier,  1777. 

"  Unity  May  8th  A  D  1777— 
"This  May  Certify  whom  it  may  Concern  That  I 
Jonathan  Pettingall  do  Bargain  &  Engage  to  &  with 
Amos  Chase  of  Unity  To  do  Eighteen  Months  Ser- 
vice in  the  Continental  Army  for  him  the  Said  Chase 
To  be  half  the  Town  of  three  years  that  I  am  engaged 
for  the  Said  Chase  having  Paid  &  Satisfied  me  for 
the  Said  Service  as  witness  my  hand  the  day  &  year 
abovd 

his 

"  Jonathan  X  Pettingall 

mark 

"  Witness 
"Richard  Brown." 

Deposition  relative  to  Jona.  Pettingill,  1786. 
"the  depotion  of  me  the  Subscriber  this  may  Sear- 
tify  that  I  did  in  the  year  1777  agree  with  Jonathan 
pettengal  of  this  town  to  Serve  as  a  Continatal  Sol- 
dier for  eighteen  months  as  half  a  three  years  tower 
and  paid  him  ten  pounds  for  Said  Serves  attest  per 

me 

"  Abraham  Sandborn 

"  Unity  January  the  3  and  1786  " 

Sworn  to  before  Elijah  Frink,  justice  of  the 
peace. 

The  following,  relative  to  State  tax,  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Legislature,  June  session,  1786: 

"The  Petition  of  us  the  Subscribers  In  behalf  of 
Ourselves  and  others  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town 
of  Unity— Humbly  Sheweth — that  Sence  the  Contest 
with  Great  Britton  the  Town  aforsd  Have  Been 
Greatly  Embarrast  by  having  a  Considerable  Number 
Enimical  Persons  to  the  Common  Cause — so  far  as  to 
Lead  away  from  there  Duty  a  number  of  Sd  Inhabi- 
tants so  far  as  to  make  a  majority  in  said  Town  that 
the  minor  were  Not  able  to  act  or  transact  any  Busi- 
ness as  a  Town  whereby  no  regualor  Returns  or  Inven- 
tarories  have  been  made  for  Some  Years  back  and  that 
in  the  Year  1780  there  was  no  Invoice  taken  And  the 
Town  were  doomed  and  Set  Equal  to  the  Towns  of 
Croydon  &  Lempster  whom  have  Sence  Been  abated 
the  Seventh  part  of  there  Taxes  and  we  are  fully 
Sencable  that  the  Town  of  Unity  ought  to  be  Set 
much  Lower  than   either  of  Sd  Towns — and  as  the 


Town  of  Unity  are  now  Unamously  Returned  to  their 
Duty  and  are  Determined  to  pay  Up  their  taxes  and 
have  Sold  a  Great  part  of  their  Personal  Estate  for 
that  purpose — 

"Wherefore  we  Pray  Your  Honors  to  take  the  Case 
into  Your  Wise  Consideration,  and  make  them  Such 
A  Batments  as  You  in  Your  Wisdom  Shall  Se  fit — 
and  Your  Petitioners  as  in  Duty  Bound  shall  Ever 
Pray 

"  Cheshire  ss  Unity  15th  day  Octr  1785 

"Charles  Huntoon  Amos  Chase 

David  Weed  Joseph  Huntoon 

Elijah  Weed  Joshua  Bartlett 

Nathaniel  Huntoon  Abner  Chase" 

The  following  is  relative  to  warning  a  man 
out  of  town,  addressed  to  the  Legislature, 
1786: 

"The  petition  of  us  the  Subscribers,  In  behalf  of 
the  Town  of  Unity  Humbly  Sheweth  That  in  Novr 
19th  A  D  1778— there  was  a  Warrant  Insueed  by  the 
Selectmen  of  this  Town  to  Caleb  Huntoon  he  being 
Constable  of  Sd  Town  Directing  him  to  warn  Dearbon 
Sweat  &  others  forthwith  to  Depart  out  of  Sd  Town  a 
Greeable  to  the  Law  of  this  State  in  Such  Case  Made 
and  Provided  and  that  Said  Constable  Did  Serve  Said 
Warrant  But  Being  mis  Laid  was  not  Entred  and 
Cannot  Now  be  found  and  as  this  Town  are  Like  to 
Suffer  Greatly  and  to  be  put  to  Great  Cost  by  Reason 
of  The  Failure  of  Said  Warrant  not  being  Entred  on 
the  files  of  the  Court  of  General  Session  of  the  County 
of  Cheshire — 

"  Unless  Your  Honors  will  Interpose  on  our  Behalf 
and  Establish  the  Doings  on  Said  Warrant  as  tho' 
Same  had  been  actually  Recorded  In  the  Clark  Office 
for  which  Your  Peititioners  as  in  Duty  Bound  Shall 
Ever  Pray 

" Nathaniel  Huntoon  ")  Select  men 

"Amos  Chase  V        of 

"Matthias  Bartlett     J       Unity. 
"Cheshire  ss   Unity  June  9th   1786" 

Depositions  relative  io  Dearborn  Sweatt. 
"  The  Deposition  of  Amos  Chase  of  Unity  of  Law- 
full  age  Testifieth  and  Saith  on  the  19th  day  of  Novr 
1778— Charles  Huntoon  Elijah  Weed  and  Amos  Chase 
being  Selectmeu  for  Unity  for  the  Year  1778 — 
Granted  a  warrent  Under  our  hand  and  Seal  to  Caleb 
Huntoon  he  being  Constable  —  To   warn    Dearborn 


336 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Sweatt  and  Others  to  Depart  out  of  Unity  a  Greeable 
to  the  Law  of  this  State  in  Such  Case  made  and  pro- 
vided— Your  Deponant  further  Saith  not 

"Amos  Chase" 

Sworn  to  before  Charles  Huntoon,  justice  of 
the  peace. 

"The  Deposition  of  Caleb  huntoon  of  Unity  of 
Lawfull  age  testifyeth  and  Saith  that  Some  time  In 
the  year  1778  I  Received  of  the  Select  men  of  unity 
a  warant  to  warn  Dearborn  Sweat  and  others  to  depart 
out  of  this  town,  which  warant  I  Served  and  I 
Delivered  the  Said  warant  to  amos  Chase  he  being 
one  of  the  Selectmen  of  unity  Said  Chase  was  In 
Charles  town  when  I  Deliver*1  him  the  Said  warant 
and  I  Saw  Said  Chase  Deliver  the  Said  warant  to 
benjamine  Giles  Esqr  and  I  heard  Said  Giles  promis 
Said  Chase  to  Deliver  the  Said  warant  to  the  Clerk 
of  the  General  Sessions  of  the  peace  and  further 
Saith  not 

"Caleb  Huntoon" 

Sworn  to  before  Charles  Huntoon,  justice  of 
the  peace. 

"  The  Deposition  of  Elijah  Weed  of  Unity  of  Law- 
full  age  Testifyeth  and  Saith  on  the  19th  day  of  Novr 
1778 — Charles  Huntoon  Amos  Chase  and  Elijah 
Weed  Being  Selectmen  for  Unity  for  the  Year  1778, 
Granted  a  warant  under  our  hand  and  seal  to  Caleb 
Huntoon  he  Being  Constable  To  warn  Dearborn 
Sweatt  and  others  to  Depart  out  of  Unity  a  Greeable 
to  the  Laws  of  this  State  in  Such  Case  made  and  Pro- 
vided— Your  Deponent  further  Saith  not — 

"Elijah  Weede" 

Sworn  to  before  Charles  Huntoon,  justice  of 
the  peace. 

Oath  of  Allegiance,    1787. 
"State  of  New  Hampshire,   Cheshire — ss 
"  Unity  October  23th :  1787— 
"  These  may  Certify  that  we  the  Subscribers  hath 
taken  the  following  oath  of  Allegiance  and  the  oath 
of  office. — 

"  I,  John  Huntoon,  I,  Stephen  Gilman,  I,  Jonathan 
Glidden  Junr  &  I,  Caleb  Huntoon — Do  truly  and  Sin- 
cerely acknowledge  profess  testify  &  Declare  that  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  is  &  of  right  ought  to  be  a 
free  Sovereing  &  Independent  State  &  Do  Swear  that 


I  will  bear  faith  &  true  allegiance  to  the  Same  &  that 
I  will  endeavor  to  Defend  it  against  all  treacherous 
conspiracies  &  hostile  attempts  whatever:  &  I  do  fur- 
ther testify  &  Declare  that  no  man  or  body  of  men 
hath  or  can  have  a  Right  to  absolve  me  from  the  obli- 
gation of  this  oath  Declaration  or  affirmation  &  that 
I  Do  make  this  Acknowledgement  profession  testi- 
mony, &  Declaration  honestly  &  truly  according  to 
the  Common  Acceptation  of  the  foregoing  words 
without  any  Equivocation  mental  evasion  or  Secret 
Reservation  whatever — So  help  me  God — witness  our 
hands — 

"John  Huntoon 
"Stephen  Oilman 
"Jonathan  Glidden  Jr 
"Caleb  Huntoon" 

Sworn  to  before  Charles  Huntoon,  justice  of 
the  peace. 

Vote  of  the  Town  relative  to  the  formation  of   Goshen, 

1790. 

"Unity  January  14th  1790  att  a  Legal  meeting  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  Sd  Unity  met  att  Time  &  place 
agreeable  to  warning  of  Said  Meeting  Firstly  Cap1 
Moses  Thirston  Chosen  Moderator  to  govern  Said 
Meeting  21y  Voted  to  Sett  off  at  the  East  End  of  our 
Town  to  Extend  West  So  Far  as  the  East  Side  Line 
of  the  Lott  N°  50  in  the  Second  Rang  of  Lots  with  a 
Straie  Line  Far  as  the  East  Side  north  to  Newport 
Town  Line  also  South  to  Lemester  Town  Line  to  join 
in  Union  with  a  part  of  a  Number  of  Towns  Forming 
into  a  new  Town — Viz.  Lemester  Newport  Wendell  & 
Fisherfield  31y — Voted  to  Divide  Remander  part  ot 
this  Town  into  Two  Seperate  Towns  or  Parrishes's 
According  to  quantity  of  Land  by  the  plan  of  Said 
Town  if  it  be  Complied  by  the  General  Court  of  the 
State  41y — Voted  to  Choose  a  Commitee  to  Settle  the 
Line  Between  the  two  Towns  51y — Cap'  Moses  Thirs- 
ton Charles  Huntoon  Esqr  Jonathan  Glidden  Caleb 
Gilman  &  Lieu'  Joishua  Bartlett  Chosen  the  above 
Commitee  to  Settle  the  Line  in  the  Division  of  the 
Two  Said  Towns  or  parrishes 

"  The  within  is  a  true  copy  taken  out  of  Unity  town 
Book  of  records 

"Attest  Jonathan  Glidden,  Town  Clerk" 

A  portion  of  the  town  was  taken  to  form  the 
town  of  Goshen,  December  27,  1791. 


UNITY. 


387 


Vote  relative  to  the  foregoing,  1791. 

"This  may  Certify  that  att  a  Legal  Town  meeting 
held  by  an  adjournment  on  the  Ninth  of  Sep*  AD 
1791 

"  The  Inhabitance  met  and  Voted  that  the  Town  be 
Devided  Voted  and  Agreed  that  the  Line  shall  run  on 
the  North  End  of  the  first  Eang  North  of  Corys  Road 
in  favour  of  a  petition  of  William  Story  and  others 
"  Joseph  Cutts  Clerk  protein1 

"  September  the  12th  AD  1791  " 

Petition  relative  to  dividing  the    Town:   addressed   to 
the  Legislature,  1791. 
'•'The  Pertition  of  us  the  Subscribers  Inhabitance  of 
the  town  of  Unity  Humbly  Sheweth — that  if  the  In- 
habitence  on  the  East  End  of  this  town  Should  Perti- 
tion your  Honours  to  be  Set  off  with  part  of  Several 
other  towns  as  a  Separate  town  we  are  perswaded  your 
Honours  will  think  it   Reasonable  that  they  Should 
Come  as  far  west  as  the  Court  Committee  Reportted 
Last  Sesions  agreeable  to  a  plan  taken  by  mr  Jesse 
Lane  of  Newport  Last  fall  and  It  is  our  opinion  if  it 
Should  extend  as  much  as  fifty  or  Sixty  Rods  further 
west  it  would  be  for  the  benifit  of  this  town  and  no 
damage  to  Said  New  town  as  there  is  a  Very  bad  hill 
Running  a  Crost  Said  town  and  all  East  of  Said  hill 
will  be  much  more  Conveniant  to  the  New  town  than 
to  any  part  of  this  town — and  we  give  it  as  our  opinion 
that  there  ought  to  be  a  town  Set  off  Nearly  agreeable 
to  the  S'1  plan  of  mr  lanes  as  there  Settuations  is  Such 
they  Never   Can  be   accommodated   with  the  towns 
they  are  now  incorporated  with  and  we  are  Sensable 
it  must  be  a  great  damage  and  Discuragement  to  them 
not  to  be  incorporated  as  it  much  detars  the  Settle- 
ment in  that  part  and  the  prayer  of  your  Petitioners  is 
that  they  may  be  set  off  as  soon  as  you  in  your  wisdom 
Shall  See  fit  and  we  Shall  Ever  pray 
"Unity  May  30th  1791. 

"  Amos  Chase  |  Selectmen 
"James  Lad    i  of  Unity 


Jeremiah  Dean 
Sanborn  Cram 
osteen  Pike 


Hezekiah  Yong 
Amos  Hall 
Abner  Colby  " 


"  Josiah  Moody 
Daniel  moodey 
Richard  moody 
Daniel  Moody  juner 
Jeremiah  Glidden 
Josiah  Moody  juner 
Caleb  Gilman 
James  Bodwell 
Eliphalet  Bodwell 


Joseph  Huntoon 
Ezekiel  Challis 
Ephraim  Cram 
Abner  Chase 
Moses  thirston  Juner 
Amos  T  Huntoon 
William  Weed 
Nath1  Huntoon  Jur 
Rheuben  Huntoon 


Vote  of  Town  relative  to  the  foregoing,  1791. 

"  Unity  January  14,h  1790 — At  a  Legal  meeting  of 
the  inhabitants  of  sd  Unity  met  at  time  and  place 
agreeable  to  warning  of  sd  meeting — 

"  lsl  Cap*  Moses  Thurston  chosen  Moderator  to 
govern  sd  Meeting — 

"2Dd  Voted  to  set  off  at  the  East  end  of  our  town, 
to  extend  west  so  far  as  the  East  side  Line  of  Lot  N° 
50  in  the  Second  range  of  Lots,  with  a  Straight  line 
to  Newport  town  Line,  also  South  to  Lemster  town 
Line  to  join  in  Union  with  a  part  of  a  N°  of  towns 
forming  into  a  New  town  Namely  Lemster  Newport 
Wendal  and  Fishersfield — 

"  Copyed  from  Unity  town  records — 

"  Attest    Sam1  Chase  town  Clark. 

"  Unity  9th  June  1791." 

Remonstrance  to  foregoing :    addressed  to  the    General 
Court,  1791  : 

"The  prayer  of  us  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Unity  humbly  sheweth  that  we  are  in- 
formed that  a  Petition  was  presented  to  your  Hon- 
ours at  your  last  Sessions  at  Concord,  signed  by  a 
Number  of  Persons  belonging  to  the  Towns  of  Unity 
Lemster  Wendell  &  Newport,  Praying  that  the  East 
part  of  s'1  Unity  with  a  part  of  those  other  Towns 
mentioned  in  sd  Petition  Might  be  Incorporated  into 
a  Township  distinct  from  those  to  which  they  now 
belong — 

"  Your  Petitioners  humbly  shew  that  we  have  not 
had  any  publick  notice  of  sd  Petition,  by  any  town 
meeting.  But  suppose  that  if  our  Selectmen  have 
been  serv'd  with  a  Copy  of  sd  Petition  and  order  of 
Court  thereon,  that  it  fell  into  two  of  our  Selectmens, 
hands  who  from  some  self  interested  views,  are  de- 
sirous to  part  with  the  Land  mentioned  in  sd  Petition 
and  have  kept  it  Secret,  and  not  given  the  Town  any 
notice  of  it — We  your  Petitioners  think  that  it  will  be 
very  hurtful  to  sd  town  of  Unity,  to  Part  with  the 
whole  of  the  Land  Mentioned  in  sd  Petition  But  as 
the  Town  did  vote  to  Let  sd  Petitioners  have  a  part  in 
our  Town,  when  they  Petitioned  for  it  in  December 
1789  we  are  willing  that  they  should  have  the  Land  so 
voted  to  them,  which  was  all  the  Land  lying  to  the 
East   of  a   straight    Line  ;    running  across  sd  Town 


•zo 


388 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Parallel  to  the  East  side  Line  of  Lot  No  50  in  the 
Second  Range — 

"  And  we  beg  leave  to  inform  your  Honours  that  to 
part  with  any  More  of  sd  Town  would  be  very  Hurtful 
to  it  on  Many  Accounts,  Therefore  we  do  in  the  most 
Humble  manner  Request  your  Honours,  that  the 
Prayer  of  sd  Petition  should  not  be  Answered  (so  far 
as  it  respects  sd  Town  of  Unity)  by  giving  them  any 
more  Land  off  of  our  Town  than  we  voted  to  Let  them 
have — 

"  And  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
Pray— 

"Unity  24th  of  November  1791— 

"Joshua  Bartlett,  Selectman  of  Unity. 


"Samuel  Chase 
Nathaniel  Huntune 
Samuel  thurber 
Daniel  Bachelder 
William  Long 
John  Huntoon 
Benjamin  Smart 
Wilson  Shaw. 
Moses  Chase 
Benjmin  Huntoon 
Joseph  welch 
Joseph  Huntoon  Junr 
Benjmin  Huntoon  Junr 
Cornelius  Clough 
Stephen  Huntoon 
Matthias  Bartlett 
Charles  Huntoon 
Josiah  Huntoon 
Reuben  Huntoon  Junr 
Samuel  Huntoon 
Jonathan  Glidden 
Jacob  Cram 
Samuel  P.  Glidden 


Simeon  Glidden  Junr 
Amos  Lamson 
Amos  Buckmon 
Elias  Buckmon 
David  Peirce 
Nickles  Peirce 
Moses  fifield 
Jacob  Perkins 
Jonathan  Glidden  Junr 
Jacob  Smith 
Simeon  Glidden 
Andrew  Glidden 
Jacob  Glidden 
James  Dudley 
Barnabas  Sincklear 
William  Neal 
Ebenezr  Barker 
Samuel  Neal 
John  Sleeper 
Abraham  Samborn 
Isaac  Livingston 
Jacob  Bartlett 
Darbon  Sweat" 


Joseph  Glidden 

Petition  for  a  new  Town  from  Unity  and    Charlestown: 
addressed  to  the  Legislature. 

"  The  Subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the  west  part  of 
Unity  in  the  County  of  Cheshire,  Humby  show 
"  That  the  Township  of  Unity  extends  about  eleven 
miles  east  and  west  and  about  six  miles  north  and 
south,  that  your  petitioners  are  separated  from  the 
Inhabitants  in  the  east  part  of  said  Town  by  a  moun- 
tain running  across  The  Town  north  and  south  which 
renders  their  connection   very  inconvenient,  that  by 


being  separated  from  the  east  by  a  line  on  that  moun- 
tain and  annexed  to  the  north  part  of  Charlestown,  a 
Town  might  be  formed  of  the  usual  size,  and  its  In- 
habitants well  united — 

"  They  therefore  pray  that  the  west  part  of  Unity 
and  the  north  part  of  Charlestown  may  be  incorpor- 
ated into  a  new  Town,  and  as  in  duty  bound  shall 
ever  pray 

"  Unity  April  ye  28th  1794 
"  Jona  Glidden  Jr 

Jacob  Smith 

Aaron  Marshall 

Simeon  Glidden  Jur 

Joseph  Glidden 

Jacob  Glidden 

Simeon  Glidden 

Nathaniel  Lad 

Joseph  Perkins 

Jabesh  Perkins 

Jacob  Perkins 

Lemuel  Wright 

Elisha  Perkins 


Jona  Dudley 
Samuel  Neal 
James  Dudley 
David  Dudley 
James  Dudley  Junior 
William  Neal  Jur 
Derbon  Sweat 
James  Harwood 
Benjamin  Webster 
James  Lawrance 
Jeremiah  Merrill 
Asaph  merrill 
Stephen  Bucknam  " 


The  following  signed  a  remonstrance  to  the 
foregoing : 


Charles  Huntoon 
Moses  thirston 
Benjn  Clough 
Phinehas  Sanborn 
Enoch  Johnson 
James  Graves 
Barnabas  Sinkler 
andrew  Glidden 
James  Bodwell 
Benjamin  Mathes 
Josiah  moody 
John  Huntoon 
John  Sleeper 
Charles  Hunton  3d 
Asa  Lampson 
Caleb  Gilman 
Abner  Chase 
John  Bartlett 
Amos  Chase 
Isaac  Levingston 
Nicholas  Parce 
Joshua  Parce 
Sanborn  Cram 
Jonathan  Glidden 


Jonathan  Glidden  3d 
Eliphalet  Bodwell  Junr 
Asa  Glidden 
Jacob  Bartlett 
James  Bodwell 
Joseph  Winston 
John  Ladd 
Elias  Bucknam 
Ebenezer  Barker 
Enos  Lamson 
Amos  Lamson 
Abraham  Sandborn 
Abraham  Sandborn  Junr 
Daniel  Batchder 
Jacob  shaw 
Wilson  Shaw 
Saml  thurber 
Nath1  Huntoon 
John  Bartlett 
Jonathan  Bartlet 
Daiel  Moody  Jun 
Danil  moody 
Jacob  Glidden 
David  Dudlev 


UNITY. 


389 


James  Dudley  Junior 
Samuel  Neal 
Ezra  Smith 
James  Harwood 
hezekiah  yong 
Josiah  huntoon 
Ruben  Huntoon 
epheram  Cram 
Stephen  Buckman  " 


Amos  Buckman 
Stephen  Glidden 
Jacob  Cram 
thomas  Smith 
Jeremiah  Glidden 
Amos  T.  Huntoon 
Joseph  Huntoon 
Moses  Fifield 
Richard  Moody 

The  project  failed. 

Nathaniel   Huntoon' s   Account  for  furnishing  Soldiers 
and  receipt,  July  12,  1777. 
"  Sam1  White—  Browns  Company 

Jonathan  Ston  dudley  —  Robinson 
Nath1  frost—  Bell 

Jonathan  folsom —  Drew 

wounded  dogg —  Rowel 

Richard  How—  Robinson 

Isaac  morss—  Robinson 

Paul  Sandborn —  Rowel 

Philip  Blasdel—  Rowel 

moses  Blacke—  Robinson 

John  Cook—  Bell 

"  Victuals  for  the  within  Soldiers  13  meals... £0.13.10 
toddy  2  &  f  of  mugs 0.  5.  6 


£0.19.  4 

"  Recd  of  Ebenezer  Smith  the  sum  of  nineteen  shil- 
lings and  four  pence  L.  M.  for  the  expence  of  eleven 
Continental  Soldiers  who  he  ordered  to  be  Refresht 
at  my  house — for  me 

"Nath1  Hunton 

"  unity  July  12th  1777." 

Petition  of  Joseph  Huntoon,  Soldier,  1779. 

"  Unity  March  2d  1779— 
"  To  the  Honourable  the  General  Court— May  it 
please  your  Honours— your  humble  petitioner  prayeth 
to  inform  the  Honourable  General  Court  assembled 
in  Behalf  of  the  state  of  New  Hampshire,  that  your 
petitioner  hath  served  his  Country  in  the  present  War 
(and  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in  particular)  from 
the  first  Commencement  thereof  untill  the  Glorious 
Battle  of  Stilwater,  in  the  Capacity  of  a  Subaltron 
belonging  to  the  Third  Battln  of  New  Hampshire 
Troops  Commanded  by  Colonel  Scammell  Esqr  in 
battle  Vitz  at  Stillwater  I  had  the  Misfortune  to  re- 
ceive a  Wound  in  my  arm,  which  hath  proved  so  far 


fatal  to  me  as  to  disinable  me  from  doing  Regimental 
duty  any  longer,  as  may  be  Certified  as  by  letter  from 
Colonel  Scammell,  and  also  am  not  able  to  maintain 
my  self  and  Family  by  my  Labour,  sufficiently — You 
Humble  petitioner  prayeth  your  Honours  will  Con- 
sider him  and  Grant  him  the  benefit  of  a  Certain  Act 
of  the  Honou1  the  Continental  Congress  made  and 
provided  for  the  purpose  .  .  . 

"Joseph  Huntoon" 

Huntoon  was  wounded  October  7,  1777,  at 
Stillwater.     In  House  of  Representatives,  June 
25,  1779,  his  name  was  ordered  to  be  placed  on 
the  pension-roll  at  half-pay  until  further  orders. 
Senate  concurred.       April  19,  1780,   he  peti- 
tioned to  have  the  depreciation  of  his  pay  made 
up.     March  30,  1781,   he  petitioned   for  some 
arrearages,  and  stated  that  his  dwelling-house 
was  burned  "  on  the  16th  of  February  last,"  and 
that  he  thereby  lost  his  house,  furniture  and 
provisions.       He  was  appointed  in  1781  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  battery  at  "  Piscataqua  Harbour." 
October  21,  1785,  he  again   petitioned,  stating 
that  his  half-pay    was  reduced  in   December, 
1782,  and  asked  to  have  it  restored,  as  his  right 
hand  and  arm  were  permanently  disabled,  and 
his  family  large.     He  petitioned  again  January 
7,  1790,  for  arrearages. 

Petition  relative  to  Richard  Brown]  Quartermaster. 

"  To  the  Honble  the  General  Court  of  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire.  Oliver  Tuttle  and  Mary  his  wife 
Humbly  Shew—That  Richard  Brown  late  of  Unity 
in  said  state  deceased,  was  a  Quarter  Master  in  the 
second  New  Hampshire  Reg'  late  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States— That  the  said  Mary  was  the  wife,  and 
is  the  sole  administratrix  on  the  estate  of  said  Brown 
That  the  depreciation  of  Avages,  formerly  due  to  the 
said  Brown,  have  never  been  paid— Your  Petitiouers 
humbly  pray,  that  your  Honors  will  order  all  such 
depreciation  (and  other  dues  if  any  there  be)  to  be 
paid  to  the  said  Mary  Administratrix  as  aforesaid,  or 
to  the  subscribers  or  either  of  them— and  as  in  duty 
bound  will  ever  pray  "  Oliver  Tuttle 

"  Claremont  Novr  14th  1792— 

"  Mary  Tuttle  administratrix." 

The  Methodists  have  regular  preaching  here 
by  A.  R.  Lunt. 


390 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


The  town  of  Unity  furnished  forty-nine  men 
for  the  late  war.  Major  Arnos  Perkins,  now 
ninety-six  years  old,  was  one  of  the  selectmen 
at  the  time.  The  State  paid  the  town  in  bonds, 
forty-nine  hundred  dollars  for  forty-nine  men, 
furnished  under  specific  calls  of  the  President. 

The  Unity  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company  was  formed  in  August,  1862,  being 
in  operation  twenty-two  years.  Major  Amos 
Perkins  was  president  two  years,  and  secretary 
and  one  of  the  directors  twenty  years. 

The  present  officers  are  Selem  Sleeper,  presi- 
dent ;  Benjamin  F.  French,  secretary  ;  Selem 
Sleeper,  Benjamin  F.  French,  Henry  F.  Stowell, 
Silas  M.  Gee  and  Levi  A.  Smith,  directors ; 
Charles  R.  Lewis,  treasurer. 

Hon.  Amos  Perkins  was  a  native  of  this 
town,  and  one  of  its  prominent  citizens.  He  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  but  had  rilled  many  pub- 
lic offices,  and  was  an  ex-major  of  the  old  State 
militia.  When  a  young  man  he  was  several  times 
elected  a  Democratic  representative  to  the  Legis- 


lature. In  1845  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Council  of  Governor  John  H.  Steele, 
of  Peterborough.  His  associates  in  that  office 
were  Hon.  Benjamin  Jenness,  of  Deerfield,  Hon. 
Josiah  Bartlett,  of  Lee,  Hon.  William  Parker, 
of  Francestown,  and  Hon.  Caleb  Blodgett,  of 
Canaan,  all  of  whom  have  passed  away.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  same  year  Moody 
Currier,  of  Manchester,  the  present  Governor, 
was  clerk  of  the  Senate.  Mr.  Perkins  had 
been  treasurer  of  the  town  of  Unity  for  about 
twenty-five  consecutive  years,  and  his  annual 
reports,  both  in  chirography  and  correctness, 
were  most  creditable  models.  He  was  the 
organizer  of  the  Unity  Mutual  Town  Insur- 
ance Company,  and  had  always  been  its 
secretary.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  high  exec- 
utive ability  and  of  liberal  public  spirit,  and 
during  his  life  of  almost  a  century,  which  was 
wholly  passed  in  Unity,  he  enjoyed  the  univer- 
sal respect  of  men  of  all  parties  for  his  integrity 
and  great  worth.     He  died  March  3,  1885. 


HISTORY  OF  WASHINGTON. 


BY   GEORGE   M.   GAGE,   M.D. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  township  designated  as  Monadnock 
No.  8,  in  the  line  of  towns  which  were 
laid  out  to  establish,  approximately,  the  western 
boundary  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  heirs  of 
Mason,  was  granted  in  Woburn,  Mass.,  in  the 
year  1 735,  to  a  company  of  persons  for  the  pur- 
pose of  settlement.  No  steps  were  ever  taken, 
however,  by  the  grantees  towards  its  settlement 
and  the  charter  was  forfeited. 

In  the  year  1752  it  was  again  granted  by  the 
Masonian  proprietors  in  Portsmouth  to  sixty- 
two  persons,  most  of  whom  were  residents  of 
Massachusetts,  and  thirty-three  of  whom  were 
residents  of  Concord,  Mass.  This  company  at 
once  took  steps  to  lay  plans  for  the  settlement 
of  the  township,  to  which  they  gave  the  name 
of  New  Concord.  Innumerable  meeting's  were 
held  in  Concord,  Mass.,  and  Boston,  to  discuss 
the  plans,  and  many  assessments  were  made  to 
pay  the  necessary  expenses.  These  debates 
were  continued  during  a  period  of- nearly  six- 
teen years  without  any  active  measures  being 
taken  to  settle  the  town,  and  the  charter  was 
revoked  by  the  Masonian  proprietors  for  non- 
fulfilment  of  its  terms. 

It  was  granted  the  third  time,  in  the  spring 
of  17(58,  to  Reuben  Kidder,  of  New  Ipswich, 
N.  H.,  on  the  following  terms: 

"  One-third  of  the  land  surface  of  the  town  was  to 
be  reserved  for  the  grantors ;  ten  families  must  settle  in 
the  township  the  first  year,  and  ten  more  families  during 
the  second  and  third  years;  during  each  of  the  first 
three  years  ten  convenient  houses  must  be  built,  and 
three  acres  of  land  cleared  for  each  family ;  that  all 


main  roads  be  laid  out  three  rods  wide,  and 
all  cross-roads  two  rods  wide,  and  no  damage 
was  to  be  allowed  for  land  used  for"  roads ;  ten  acres 
were  to  be  reserved  for  a  site  for  a  meeting-house, 
school-house,  burying-ground  and  training-field  ;  two 
hundred  acres  were  to  be  reserved  for  the  first  settled 
minister,  who  should  continue  in  the  ministry  until 
death  or  an  honorable  dismissal ;  two  hundred  acres 
were  to  be  reserved  for  a  glebe  for  the  use  of  a  gospel 
minister  forever;  two  hundred  acres  were  to  beset 
apart  for  the  support  of  schools  forever;  and  all 
white  pine  trees  suitable  for  masts  were  to  be  reserved 
for  the  king's  use." 

The  township,  as  originally  granted,  included 
not  only  the  present  township  of  Washington, 
but  included  lands  now  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Lempster  and  Bradford. 

Colonel  Reuben  Kidder,  the  grantee  of  the 
township,  which  was  at  first  known  as  Monad- 
nock No.  8,  then  as  New  Concord,  and,  at  the 
time  of  Kidder's  grant,  as  Camden,  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  of  New  Ispwich,  N.  H.  He 
was  possessed  of  great  energy  and  superior  busi- 
ness talent,  and  had  an  ample  fortune  at  his 
command.  Under  his  direction  the  settlement 
of  the  town  was  immediately  begun  and  carried 
on  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  grant. 

The  settlement  of  a  new  country  is  always  at- 
tended with  hardships  and  privations,  and  the 
pioneers  of  Camden  found  themselves  beset  by 
many  difficulties.  There  were  then  no  carriage- 
roads  leading  into  the  town,  and  the  only 
means  of  conveyance  was  the  backs  of  horses, 
the  roads  being  distinguished  by  marked  trees. 
The  houses  were  hastilv  constructed  of  logs, 
until  the  time  should    come    when  saw-mills 

391 


392 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


could  be  erected.  The  township  was  covered 
by  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  of  various  kinds-. 
In  some  parts  of  the  town  a  white  pine  was 
found  of  a  size  which,  at  the  present  time, 
would  be  called  gigantic.  Many  of  the  old 
houses  now  standing  in  town  are  finished  with 
a  quality  of  pine  lumber  equal  to  the  best  to  be 
found  in  any  market,  and  the  immense  stumps, 
still  in  existence,  give  us  an  idea  of  the  size  of 
the  trees  from  which  it  was  taken.  The  sugar 
maple  was  also  found  in  great  abundance,  and 
of  large  size,  and  furnished  years  afterward  ex- 
cellent keels  for  ships.  Spruce  and  hemlock 
grew  in  great  forests  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
town,  while  beech,  birch,  ash,  oak  and  other 
valuable  kinds  of  timber  were  everywhere  to  be 
found.  Much  of  this  magnificent  growth  of 
timber  was  considered  by  the  settlers  as  an  in- 
cumbrance which  must  be  got  rid  of  before  the 
land  could  be  prepared  for  cultivation,  and  was 
therefore  cut  down  and  burned,  trunk  and 
branch. 

The  soil,  rich  from  the  accumulation  of  ages, 
and  further  enriched  by  the  ashes  of  the  burned 
forests,  produced  abundant  crops  of  corn  and 
other  cereals.  Flax  was  raised,,  which  was 
manufactured  at  home  into  cloth  for  all  kinds 
of  garments  for  men,  women  and  children. 
The  table,  at  this  time,  was  supplied  with  food 
of  a  very  plain  but  wholesome  character,  con- 
sisting principally  of  bean-porridge,  corn-bread, 
meat  and  a  few  potatoes.  Fruits,  of  necessity, 
were  scarce  at  first,  but  the  settlers  showed 
their  enterprise  by  planting  large  apple-or- 
chards, many  of  which  remain  to  this  date. 
Wild  animals  were  numerous,  including  bears, 
wolves,  and  that  noble  animal,  the  moose,  now 
never  seen  here,  was  sometimes  found  in  this 
region.  The  streams  and  ponds  were  full  of 
fish  of  fine  quality.  The  speckled  trout,  always 
a  favorite  with  fishermen,  were  very  plenty  in 
all  the  brooks  and  grew  to  a  size  which  the 
angler  of  the  present  day  seldom  sees. 

The  early   settlers  of  the  town  selected  the 
hills  west  of  the  present  village  at  the  centre  of 


the  town,  and  the  region  bordering  Mi  11  en  and 
Ashnelot  Ponds  for  their  new  homes.  They 
were  generally  from  the  southern  part  of  the 
State  and  from  the  neighboring  towns  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Probably  more  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
town  came  from  Harvard,  Mass.,  than  from 
any  other  towD,  the  Saffords,  Farnsworths, 
Sampsons  and  Davises  being  among  the  num- 
ber who  came  from  that  town. 

John  Safford  was  born  in  Harvard,  Mass., 
and  removed  to  Washington  with  his  wrife  and 
oldest  children,  between  the  years  1769  and 
1771,  and  settled  on  the  hill  west  of  the  village 
at  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  on  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Joseph, 
and  his  great-grandson,  Joseph  B.  Safford. 
The  family  has  always  been  of  great  respecta- 
bility and  some  of  its  members  have  been  per- 
sons of  note.  Ward  Safford  (afterward  Staf- 
ford) was  a  son  of  the  original  John  Safford, 
and  was  born  in  Washington  after  his  father's 
settlement  here.  He  prepared  for  college  at 
Phillips  Andover  Academy  and  afterward 
graduated  at  Yale  College,  Dr.  Dwight  being 
at  that  time  president  of  the  college.  He 
studied  theology  at  Yale,  and  was  for  many 
years  actively  engaged  in  ministerial  labors  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  but  principally  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  was  very 
successfully  engaged  in  missionary  labors.  His 
whole  life  Mas  one  of  intense  activity,  and. 
although  it  closed  somewhat  early,  it  had  borne 
an  abundant  harvest  for  his  Master.  He  died 
in  Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  in  1851,  in  his  sixty-third 
year. 

George  Safford,  a  grandson  of  John  and  son 
of  Mark  Safford,  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth 
College  and  became  a  successful  teacher.  At 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty-eight,  he  was  principal  of 
the  Mount  Pleasant  High  School,  in  Nashua, 
\.  II. 

The  Farnsworth  family  also  came  from  Har- 
vard, and  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  settle  in  the 


WASHINGTON, 


393 


town.  Probably  the  first  of  the  name  to  settle  in 
Camden  was  Simeon  Farnsworth,  Jr.,  who  came 
from  Harvard  and  settled  near  the  foot  of  the 
Safford  Hill,  west  of  the  village  at  the  centre  of 
the  town.  He  died  in  1791,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-six  years,  leaving  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren. His  grandsons,  William  and  Cyrus  K. 
Farnsworth,  are  at  the  present  time  prominent 
and  respected  citizens  of  the  town.  Most  of 
the  brothers  and  sisters  of  Simeon  Farnsworth, 
Jr.,  sooner  or  later  found  their  way  to  Wash- 
ington and  made  it  their  home.  Simeon 
Farnsworth,  Sr.,  father  of  the  numerous  sons 
and  daughters  who  early  came  to  Washington, 
himself  came  here  to  reside  about  the  year  1780. 
He  died  in  1805,  aged  eighty -eight. 

Abner  Sampson  was  an  early  settler,  and 
came  from  Harvard,  Mass.  He  settled  on  the 
old  "  county  road  "  near  Freezeland  Pond,  and 
was  an  inn-keeper.  He  subsequently  removed 
to  the  village  at  the  centre  of  the  town  and 
lived  on  the  spot  where  John  L.  Safford  now 
resides.     He  died  in  1797,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 


four. 


Ward  Sampson,  son  of  Abner,  was  very 
prominent  and  influential  in  town  affairs,  and 
held  many  offices  of  trust.  He  died  in  1850, 
aged  seventy-seven. 

Ephraim,  Ebenezer  and  Timothy  Davis  all 
came  from  Harvard,  Mass.,  at  an  early  date, 
though  not  until  the  town  had  been  settled 
several  years.  Ebenezer  and  Timothy  Davis 
were  brothers  and  lived  on  the  ridge  of  land 
extending  northward  from  Lovell's  Mountain. 
Ephraim  Davis  came  to  Washington  about 
1780  and  lived  for  a  time  at  the  village  on  the 
spot  afterward  known  as  the  "  Squire  Sampson 
place  ; "  he  afterward  removed  to  the  high  land 
southwest  of  the  village  and  resided  on  a  farm 
on  the  Marlow  road. 

Ephraim  and  Ebenezer  Davis  were  both 
soldiers  in  the  Revolution  before  coming  to 
Washington  to  reside. 

Joseph  Rounssvel  settled  on  the  farm  at  the 
centre  of  the   town  now  owned  by  J.  Henry 


Newman,  He  must  have  been  one  of  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  the  town.  He  appears 
to  have  resided,  prior  to  his  settlement  here,  in 
Middleborough,  Mass.,  though  the  family  had 
long  resided  in  Freetown,  Mass.  He  was  a 
man  of  enterprise,  and  built  a  mill  east  of  his 
residence,  on  what  is  now  known  as  Water 
Street.  He  frequently  held  office,  including 
that  of  Representative  in  the  Legislature.  He 
had  sons, — Aklen,  Royal  and  John, — but  none 
of  the  name  now  reside  in  the  town. 

Archibald  White  was  probably  a  resident  of 
the  town  soon  after  its  settlement,  if  not  one  of 
the  very  first  to  arrive  in  town.  He  was  a 
native  of  Pepperell,  Mass.,  and  came  to  New 
Ipswich,  N.  H.,  in  1750.  He  was  sent  to 
Camden  by  Colonel  Kidder,  to  whom  the  town 
had  been  granted,  as  his  agent  to  look  after  his 
extensive  interests.  It  is  believed  that  it  was 
largely  through  his  influence  that  the  name  of 
the  town  was  changed,  in  1776,  from  Camden 
to  Washington.  The  name  of  Washington 
was,  as  applied  to  towns,  entirely  new;  no  other 
town  in  the  United  States  bore  the  name  at  the 
time  the  Legislature  of  Xew  Hampshire  changed 
the  name  of  Camden  to  Washington.  Archi- 
bald White  was  authorized  to  call  the  first 
town-meeting  in  Washington,  and  during  his 
residence  in  town  he  was  very  frequently  called 
to  fill  important  offices.  He  resided  on  the 
high  land  west  of  the  village  at  the  centre, 
near  the  present  residence  of  Jabez  Fisher. 
Before  his  death  he  removed  to  Windsor,  Vt. 

Jacob  Burbank  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Edward  W.  Brooks,  a  mile  and  a  half  west 
of  the  centre  of  the  town.  He  was,  undoubtedly, 
one  of  the  original  settlers  in  town.  He  built 
a  frame  house  prior  to  1780,  which  is  still 
occupied,  and  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  oldest 
house  in  town.  His  grandson,  Rev.  Justin  E. 
Burbank,  is  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College, 
and  after  his  graduation  studied  theology  at 
Andover.  In  college  he  took  high  rank  as  a 
scholar,  especially  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
Greek  language.     He  has  paid  much  attention 


394 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


to  historical  matters,  especially  to  the  history  of 
Washington,  his  native  town.  Many  facts  con- 
tained  in  this  sketch  are  made  accessible  to  us 
through  his  labors.  His  present  residence  is 
Concord,  N.  H. 

The  Severance  family  was  another  of  the 
original,  or  very  early  ones  to  locate  in  town. 
The  family  came  from  the  vicinity  of  New 
Ipswich,  N.  H.,  and  consisted  of  Ephraim  and 
sons,  Daniel,  Rufus,  Abel,  and  daughter,  Abigail 
Where  they  first  settled  is  not  now  known,  but 
at  an  early  date  Daniel,  Rufus  and  Abel  all 
lived  near  the  school-house  at  the  east  part  of 
the  town.  Ephraim  lived  with  his  son  Abel 
on  the  farm  now  the  residence  of  Ziba  Cram  and 
Charles  W.  J.  Fletcher.  He  removed  to  Tops- 
ham,  Vt.,  where  he  died  at  a  very  advanced  age. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen  in 
Washington.  David  Severance  was  a  Revolu- 
tionarv  soldier,  and  after  he  came  to  Washington 
resided  just  wTest  of  the  school-house  at  the  east 
part  of  the  town,  on  a  farm  which  he  sold  prior 
to  1800  to  Nathaniel  Gordon.  Rufus  Sever- 
ance lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Daniel 
L.  Monroe,  and  which  he  sold  to  Abijah  Mon- 
roe nearly  seventy- five  years  ago.  Many  of  the 
descendants  of  Rufus  Severance  are  now  residents 
of  town,  but  the  descendants  of  Daniel  and  Abel 
Severance  are  widely  scattered,  none  being 
residents  of  the  town. 

Simon  and  Peter  Lowell  were  pioneers  in  the 
settlement  of  the  town.  They  came  from  the  vici  n- 
ity  of  Grotou,  Mass.,  and  settled  some  two  miles 
west  of  the  centre  of  the  town,  not  far  from  the 
place  where  Charles  Lowell,  a  grandson  of 
Simon  Lowell,  now  resides.  Peter  Lowell  is 
said  to  have  come  into  the  town  with  one  of  the 
very  first  party  of  explorers,  though  he  did  not  at 
that  time  permanently  establish  his  residence 
here.  The  farm  where  Simon  Lowell  first 
settled  afterward  became  the  home  of  Thomas 
Penniman,  Esq.,  who  came  from  Bra  in  tree, 
Mass.,  some  years  after  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  was  a  very  promi- 
nent   citizen  of  the  town.     Prior  to  his  settle- 


ment in  Washington  he  went  to  Canada  and 
was  present  at  the  battle  of  Quebec,  though  he 
was  not  called  upon  to  participate  in  the  battle. 
He  held  office  while  a  resident  of  the  town,  and 
bequeathed  small  funds  to  the  First  and  Fourth 
School  Districts,  the  income  to  be  applied  to  the 
support  of  the  schools. 

Between  the  years  1772  and  1774  Captain 
Jonathan  Brockway  settled  in  town.  He  came 
from  Lyme,  Conn.,  where  he  was  married,  in 
1757,  to  Phebe  Smith.  He  had  been  a  sea- 
captain  and  had  amassed  an  ample  fortune. 
He  came,  bringing  his  wife  and  seven  children, 
and  settled  at  the  west  part  of  the  town,  near 
the  outlet  of  Millen  Pond,  then  called  Brock- 
way's  Pond.  He  is  said  to  have  purchased 
fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  he  after- 
ward divided  among  his  children,  giving  most 
of  them  good  farms  at  the  east  part  of  the  town. 
His  ample  fortune,  combined  with  great  energy, 
enabled  him  to  carry  on  a  large  amount  of 
business  of  various  kinds.  He  built  a  grist-mill 
at  the  outlet  of  Millen  Pond,  some  of  the 
ruins  of  which  remain  to  the  present  day.  He 
also  built  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  linseed 
oil,  and  a  distillery,  where  very  poor  whiskey 
was  manufactured  from  potatoes.  Later  he 
built  a  saw-mill  at  the  east  part  of  the  town, 
near  the  spot  where  Mason  H.  Carr's  mill  now 
stands,  and  erected  a  house  near  by.  On  the 
8th  of  July,  1777,  on  the  occasion  of  alarming 
news  from  Ticouderoga,  he  commanded  a  small 
company  of  nine  men  from  Washington  and 
vicinity,  who  marched  toward  the  scene  of  war. 
They  reached  Cavendish,  Vt.,  where  they  were 
ordered  to  return.  At  another  alarm  from 
Ticouderoga,  July  13,  1777,  he  again  marched 
at  the  head  of  a  company  of  fourteen  men  to 
Otter  Creek,  Vt,  where  he  met  the  American 
army  retreating.  Captain  Brockway  was  a  man 
of  commanding  presence.  His  towering  form 
and  broad  shoulders  made  him  an  object  of 
attention  in  whatever  place  he  occupied.  He 
lived  to  an  extremely  old  age,  and  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 182iJ,  at  the  home  of  his  sou  Asa,  in  Brad- 


WASHINGTON. 


395 


ford.  From  him  are  descended  all  the  Brock- 
ways  who  have  ever  lived  in  this  and  the 
adjoining  towns. 

In  the  fall  of  1775,  Captain  William  Proctor 
and  his  wife,  Mary,  with  three  children,  found 
their  way  through  the  forests  to  Washington 
from  Chelmsford,  Mass.  He  settled  near 
Ashuelot  Pond,  on  the  farm  where  Cyrus  K. 
Farnsworth  now  resides,  though  for  a  short 
time  previous  he  lived  on  a  neighboring  lot,  the 
title  to  which  proved  worthless.  He  lived  in 
that  part  of  the  town  many  years,  but  finally 
removed  to  the  east  part  of  the  town,  where  his 
son  resided,  and  died  February  19,  1846,  at  the 
age  of  ninety-nine  years,  lacking  one  day.  The 
numerous  families  of  Proctors  who  once  resided 
at  the  east  part  of  the  town  are  descendants  of 
his  sons  Israel  and  Isaac.  His  daughter  Mary, 
who  married  Jonathan  Brockway,  Jr.,  and 
resided  at  East  Washington,  died  at  the  remark- 
able age  of  one  hundred  and  one  years  and 
eleven  months.  Captain  Proctor  was  prominent 
in  town  affairs,  and  during  the  War  of  the  Rev- 
olution was  a  soldier  in  the  American  army. 

Ebenezer  Spaulding  was  born  in  Nottingham 
West,  N.  H.  (now  Hudson),  March  27,  1750, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  removed  to  the 
southeast  part  of  Lenipster,  where  he  settled. 
The  region  where  he  lived  was  then,  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  considered  a  part  of 
Washington,  and  he  frequently  held  office  in 
Washington.  He  married  Amy,  Roundy,  of 
Lempster,  January  16,  1777.  He  removed  to 
East  Washington  in  1807  and  died  July  1, 
1808.  His  widow  lived  to  the  remarkable  age 
of  one  hundred  years,  and  died  January  8, 
1859.  They  left  a  large  family  of  children, 
whose  descendants  are  widely  scattered.  Eben- 
ezer Spaulding  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution, 
and  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill 
and  Ticonderoga. 

Although  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  war, 
Washington  sent  a  goodly  number  of  men  to 
fight  for  liberty  during  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution.     William   Mann,    Nathan    Mann    and 


Abel  Merrill  were  enrolled  in  the  First  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  April  1,  1777,  and 
served  three  years,  being  discharged  March  20, 
1780.  Asa  Jackson  was  enrolled  in  the  First 
New  Hampshire  Regiment  April  18,  1781,  and 
Avas  discharged  the  following  December.  Wil- 
liam White  was  also  enrolled  in  the  same  regi- 
ment January  1,  1777,  and  was  discharged 
January  1,  1780,  after  a  service  of  precisely 
three  years.  Ebenezer  Spaulding,  William 
Proctor,  John  Safford  and  Jonathan  Brockway 
also  rendered  valuable  service  to  their  country 
during  the  struggle  for  independence.  Many 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  town  had  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  the  Revolution  before 
their  settlement  here.  The  Severances,  Jacob 
Wright,  the  Davises,  William  Graves,  Asa 
Pitts  and  Stephen  Mead  had  all  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  service  of  their  country. 

Probably  no  family  has  occupied  a  more 
prominent  position  in  town  during  the  period 
of  a  hundred  years  than  the  Healy  family. 

Joseph  Healy,  a  sou  of  John  and  Mary 
(Wright)  Healy,  was  born  in  Newton,  Mass., 
August  21,  1776,  and  removed  to  Washington 
with  his  parents  in  1778.  They  settled  in  the 
southwest  part  of  the  town  on  a  farm  which  js 
now  deserted.  During  the  most  of  his  life  he 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  though  for 
a  time  he  was  proprietor  of  the  hotel  at  the 
centre  of  the  town.  He  always  resided  in 
Washington,  and  during  his  active  life  was 
much  engaged  in  public  service.  Besides  fill- 
ing the  various  town  offices  to  great  acceptance, 
he  also  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in 
1824,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council  from  1829  until  1832.  In  1825  he 
was  chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  where  he  remained 
four  years.  During  his  long  life  he  was  active 
in  all  measures  which  tended  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  town.  He  died  October  10, 
1861,  aged  eighty-five  years. 

John  P.  Healy,  a  sou  of  Joseph  Healy,  was 
born  in  Washington  December  28,  1810.     He 


396 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1835,  and 
afterward  studied  law  with  Daniel  Webster,  in 
Boston,  Mr.  Webster  and  his  father  being  on 
very  friendly  terms.  Not  long  after  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar,  in  1838,  he  became  associated 
with  Mr.  Webster  in  the  practice  of  law,  and 
continued  to  be  his  partner  until  Mr.  Webster's 
death.  He  served  as  representative  in  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  1840, 1849  and  1850, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1854- 
He  was  appointed  judge  of  the  United  States 
District  Court  for  the  district  of  California  dur- 
ing Fillmore's  administration,  but  declined  the 
honor.  In  1856  he  was  chosen  city  solicitor 
for  Boston,  which  office  he  held  without  inter- 
ruption twenty-five  years.  In  1881  he  was 
appointed  to  the  newly-created  office  of  corpora- 
tion council  for  Boston,  which  office  he  held  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  died  suddenly,  Jan- 
uary 4,  1882.  The  other  sons  of  Joseph  Healy, 
viz.:  Henry,  Langdon  and  Sullivan  W.,  were, 
during  their  residence  in  town,  prominent  citi- 
zens. With  the  exception  of  Langdon,  who 
now  resides  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  all  are  now 
dead. 

The  early  settlers,  as  a  rule,  realized  the  im- 
portance of  religious  instruction,  and  long  be- 
fore a  settled  minister  was  employed  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  was  maintained,  at  least  a  part 
of  the  time,  at  the  town's  expense.  For  many 
years  a  tax  was  assessed  for  the  support  of  the 
gospel  ministry,  but  not  until  about  the  year 
1801  was  permission  granted  to  each  denomin- 
ation to  draw  its  share  of  the  money  raised  for 
religious  purposes.  In  the  autumn  of  1779,  at 
a  public  town-meeting,  it  was  voted  to  extend 
a  call  to  Rev.  George  Leslie  to  settle  in  town  as 
a  minister  of  the  gospel.  A  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Joseph  Rounsevel,  Samuel  Copeland, 
Archibald  White,  Ebenezer  Jaquith  and  John 
Safford,  was  chosen  to  make  proposals  for  his 
settlement.  They  reported  to  the  town  that 
they  should  invite  him  to  settle  on  the  following 
terms  :  His  salary  should  be  fifty-five  pounds 
per  year  so  long  as  he  should  supply  the  pulpit, 


and  that  as  pay  he  should  receive  rye  at  four 
shillings  per  bushel,  Indian  corn  at  three  shil- 
lings per  bushel,  pork  at  four  pence  per  pound', 
beef  at  two  and  one-half  pence  per  pound,  and 
other  food  and  clothing  sufficient  to  equal  his 
salary.  He  was  alsj,  according  to  the  grant  of 
the  town,  to  receive  two  hundred  acres  of  laud 
for  himself  and  his  heirs. 

Robert  Mann  was  chosen  to  wait  on  Mr. 
Leslie,  who  was  then  residing  at  Ipswich, 
Mass.,  and  get  an  answer  to  the  proposals  of 
the  town.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  he  re- 
moved to  Washington  in  the  spring  of  1780 
and  began  his  labors. 

George  Leslie  was  born  in  Ireland  about  the 
year  1728,  but  came  to  America  in  infancy.  He 
was  educated  at  Harvard  University,  and  set- 
tled in  Ipswich,  Mass.,  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  in  1850,  where  he  continued  to  preach 
until  called  to  Washington.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  man  of  much  learning  and  ability. 
During  his  residence  in  Washington  a  professor- 
ship at  Dartmouth  College  was  tendered  him, 
which  he  declined  to  accept.  He  continued  to 
serve  the  people  as  pastor  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  September  11,  1800,  his  pastorate 
having  extended  over  a  period  of  twenty  years. 
The  town  placed  a  monument  at  his  grave  with 
the  following  inscription  : 

"Rev.  George  Leslie,  died  September  11,  1800, 
aged  72  years.  He  was  a  man  of  brilliant  genius, 
great  learning,  and  eminent  piety  and  morality.  This 
monument  was  erected  by  the  town  of  Washington." 

In  1786  work  was  commenced  on  a  meeting- 
house at  the  centre  of  the  town,  which  was 
finished  in  1789.  It  was  the  building  which  is 
still  in  use  as  a  town-house.  The  church  edifice 
which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Congregational 
Church  was  erected  in  1840. 

Rev.  John  Lord  was  called  by  the  town  to 
preach  in  the  year  1803,  but  remained  but  two 
and  a  half  years.  Broughton  White  was  in- 
stalled as  pastor  December  22,  1818,  and  re- 
mained with  the  church  twelve  years.  After 
the  close  of  the  Rev.  Broughton  White's  pastor- 


WASHINGTON. 


397 


ate,  the  pulpit  was  occupied  until  1844  by 
several  different  preachers,  among  them  Moses 
Gerould,  Lemuel  Mason  and  T.  Darling,  but 
none  of  them  were  settled.  In  1844  Rev.  John 
F.  Griswold  was  called  to  the  pastorate,  and 
continued  to  supply  the  pulpit  twenty-two 
years,  closing  his  labors  in  1866.  His  pastorate 
was  the  longest  in  the  history  of  the  church, 
exceeding  that  of  Rev.  George  Leslie  by  two 
years.  Mr.  Griswold  was  a  native  of  Green- 
field, Mass.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College 
and  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover, 
Mass.  His  first  pastorate  was  at  South  Hadley, 
Mass.,  where  he  remained  a  long  time.  He  was 
afterward  settled  at  Fayetteville  and  Hartlaud, 
Vt.,  where  he  resided  when  called  to  the  pastor- 
ate in  Washington.  He  removed  to  Massachu- 
setts in  1866.  His  death  occurred  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  February  15,  1872.  During  his  long 
residence  in  Washington  he  won  a  large  number 
of  friends,  and  his  name  is  a  familiar  one  to 
many  of  the  younger  class  at  the  present  day 
who  never  enjoyed  his  acquaintance. 

Rev.  Edward  Basset  succeeded  Mr.  Griswold, 
and  remained  two  years  under  the  employ  of 
the  Home  Missionary  Society.  Rev.  Mr.  Clag- 
gett  began  his  labors  with  the  church  in  1868, 
but  death  closed  his  pastorate  in  1870.  Rev.  H. 
H.  Colburn  served  as  pastor  from  1871  until 
1878,  though  a  part  of  his  time  was  spent  with 
the  church  in  Stoddard. 

Since  1878  there  has  been  no  pastor,  and  at 
times  no  preacher,  although  the  church  is  open 
for  preaching  during  the  summer,  and  a  Sabbath- 
school  meets  each  Sabbath  of  the  year.  The 
membership  of  the  church  has  diminished  much, 
so  that  at  present  there  is  but  one  male  member, 
and  a  total  membership  of  less  than  twenty. 

The  settlement  of  the  east  part  of  Washington 
did  not  receive  much  attention  prior  to  1785. 
William  Graves  settled  at  the  west  part  of  the 
town,  but  removed,  not  far  from  1785,  to  the 
east  part  of  the  town  and  built  a  log  house  in 
the  field  just  west  of  Mason  H.  Carr's  mill-pond, 
and    near    the    rope-factory    of   Mcllvaine   & 


Fletcher.  He  afterward  built  a  frame  house 
on  the  other  side  of  the  stream,which  was  after- 
ward the  home  of  John  Severance.  Thaddeus 
Graves,  a  brother  of  William,  settled  on  the  old 
Mountain  road,  one  mile  and  a  half  west  of  East 
Washington,  and  subsequently  moved  to  the 
village,  where  he  died.  William  and  Thaddeus 
Graves  were  both  natives  of  Sudbury,  Mass., 
and  came  from  that  town  to  Washington.  Wil- 
liam had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution  and 
was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  some,  Thaddeus 
Graves  was  also  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

Charles  Brown,  a  native  of  Stowe,  Mass., 
settled  at  an  early  date  where  Moses  Jones  after- 
ward lived,  and  where  still  later,  his  son,  Simon 
W.  Jones,  resided. 

Captain  Jonathan  Brockway  had  built  a  mill 
where  Mason  H.  Carr's  mill  now  stands,  and  a 
house  near  by ;  and  his  son,  Jonathan  Brock- 
way,  Jr.,  settled,  about  1789,  on  the  farm  after- 
ward owned  by  Caleb  Carr,  and  at  present  by 
his  son,  George  W.  Carr. 

The  Severances  settled  short  distances  east  and 
west  and  north  of  the  school-house  at  East 
Washington. 

Caleb  Wood  ward,  who  came  from  Bellingham, 
Mass.,  in  1787  to  the  west  part  of  Washington, 
on  or  near  Oak  Hill,  removed  soon  after  to  the 
farm  where  Jerome  Hamden  afterward  lived, 
and  where  Deacon  Francis  P.  Fletcher  now 
resides 

Joseph  Crane  came  from  Milton,  Mass.,  and 
settled  on  the  southeast  slope  of  Lovell's  Moun- 
tain about  theyear  1782  or  1783.  He  had  a  large 
family  of  children,  all  of  whom  except  the  oldest 
were  born  in  Washington.  His  son  Ziba,  the 
onlv  survivor  of  the  family,  still  resides  at  East 
Washington  at  an  advanced  age.  Most  of  the 
Cranes  residing  in  Washington  are  descendants 
of  Joseph  Crane. 

John  Vose  also  came  from  Milton  a  year  or 
two  before  Joseph  Crane  and  settled  very  near 
Joseph  Crane.  The  family  gradually  found 
their    way    back    to    Boston,  Milton    and    that 


!98 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


vicinity,  and  no  one  bearing  the  name  of  Vose 
has  resided  in  town  during  the  last  fifty  years. 
Whiting  Vose,  whose  son,  James  W.  Vose,  is 
the  head  of  the  house  of  Vose  &  Sons,  piano- 
forte manufacturers,  of  Boston,  was  born  on 
Lovell's  Mountain,  where  the  family  lived  after 
they  came  from  Milton. 

David  Taber  appears  to  have  come  from 
Tiverton,  R.  I.  He  lived  and  died  on  the  hill 
two  miles  south  of  East  Washington.  Church 
Taber,  supposed  to  be  a  brother  of  David  Taber, 
was  at  one  time  an  influential  citizen  of  the 
town.  He  resided  at  the  southwest  part  of  the 
town,  on  a  farm  now  owned  by  Supply  Barney. 
He  was  a  carpenter,  and  is  said  to  have  done  a 
considerable  part  of  the  wTork  on  the  town-house 
when  it  was  built,  nearly  a  century  ago. 

Benjamin  Smith,  a  native  of  South  Reading 
(now  AVakefield),  Mass.,  came  to  Hillsborough, 
N.  H.,  about  the  year  1790.  He  afterward,  in 
1807,  purchased  about  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  Washington,  on  the  south  slope  of  the 
hills  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Washington, 
including  the  farms  afterward  owned  by  Joshua 
D.  Crane,  Nathaniel  Smith,  William  Ayre  and 
William  Dole.  Most  of  the  Smiths  now  re- 
siding in  town  are  his  descendants.  He  continued 
to  reside  in  Hillsborough  until  about  the  year 
1827,  when  he  removed  to  Washington.  He  died 
in  Salisbury,  N.  H.,  in  1854. 

Lieutenant  Ebenezer  Wood  came  to  Washing- 
ton from  Littleton,  Mass.,  about  the  year  1780 
and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Anson 
S.  Powers,  just  west  of  Lovell's  Mountain.  He 
raised  up  a  large  family  of  eleven  children,  but 
the  family  is  now  widely  scattered,  John  Wood 
and  family  and  Elzina  Wood  being  the  only 
survivors  in  town.  Ebenezer  Wood  was  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

Colonel  Jacob  Wright  was  a  native  of  West- 
ford,  Mass.,  in  1758.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
entered  the  Revolutionary  army  as  a  substitute 
for  the  man  for  whom  he  was  employed.  After 
his  term  of  service  expired  he  re-enlisted,  and, 
including  his  first  term  of  service,  was  engaged 


five  years  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country. 
In  1783  he  removed  to  Washington,  having 
resided  a  short  time  previously  at  Hancock, 
N.  H.  He  settled  on  the  high  land  south  of 
Ashuelot  Pond.  He  resided  in  Washing-ton  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1844.  He  was 
the  father  of  four  children.  Many  of  his  de- 
scendants fill  positions  of  eminence  and  respon- 
sibility. Nathan  Wright,  a  son  of  Colonel 
Jacob  Wright,  became  a  physician  and  practiced 
many  years  in  Washington,  but  finally  re- 
moved to  Cambridgeport,  Mass.,  where  he  died 
in  1853.  Rev.  Nathan  R.  Wright,  a  son  of 
Dr.  Nathan  Wright,  became  a  Uni versa!  ist 
clergyman  of  note.  He  preached  in  Dunbartou 
and  Hooksett,  N.  H.,  four  years,  and  in  1843 
became  pastor  of  the  Universal  ist  Church  at 
Washington,  where  he  remained  some  years. 
Although  advanced  in  age,  he  is  still  actively 
engaged  in  pastoral  work  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  being 
pastor  of  a  parish  containing  four  hundred  and 
fiftv  families. 

Colonel  Carroll  D.  Wright,  a  son  of  Rev. 
Nathan  R.  Wright  and  great-grandson  of  Col- 
onel Jacob  Wright,  has  become  eminent  as  a 
statistician,  having  been  chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics  of  Labor  in  Massachusetts  since  1873. 
In  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Fourteenth  New  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment, but  rapidly  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel  of 
his  regiment.  Colonel  Wright,  though  a  na- 
tive of  Dunbarton,  came  with  his  father  to 
Washington  at  the  age  of  three  years,  and  spent 
most  of  his  youth  in  this  town. 

Probably  the  first  physician  who  practiced  in 
Washington  was  Dr.  David  Harris,  who  was  in 
town  as  early  as  1785,  in  which  year  he  was 
elected  town  clerk,  to  which  office  he  was  re- 
elected many  times.  He  was  a  fine  penman, 
and  his  handwriting  is  clear  and  legible  at  this 
date,  though  written  a  hundred  years  ago. 
His  fees  for  professional  services  were  surpris- 
ingly small,  being  seventeen  cents  for  a  visit  to 
any  part  of  the  town.  He  removed  to  New- 
port,   N.    H.,  and  died  May    10,   1830,  aged 


WASHINGTON. 


399 


twenty- eight  years.  Dr.  David  McQuesten 
was  for  many  years  a  practitioner  of  medicine  at 
the  centre  of  the  town.  His  practice  was  ex- 
tensive, and  he  won  a  reputation  for  skill 
throughout  the  whole  town.  He  died  in  1850 
at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years. 

Dr.  Austin  Newton,  who  began  the  practice 
of  medicine  in  Washington,  studied  with  Dr. 
David  McQuesten,  of  Washington,  and  with 
Prof.  Dixie  Crosby,  of  Hanover,  and  graduated 
at  the  Dartmouth  Medical  School  in  1840.  He 
resided  in  Washington  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1853.  The  successor  of  Dr.  New- 
ton was  Dr.  John  Q.  A.  French,  who  had  pur- 
sued the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Newton, 
and  at  Yale  College.  Dr.  French  soon  after 
removed  to  Hillsborough,  where  he  is  still  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  practice. 

Nearly  a  mile  south  of  Washington  Centre, 
on  the  road  leading  to  Stoddard,  Deacon  Ebene- 
zer  Jaquith  settled  at  a  very  early  date.  He  must 
have  resided  in  town  prior  to  1 778,  as  he  held  of- 
fice that  year.  He  was  one  of  the  first  deacons 
in  the  Congregational  Church  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1780.  The  farm  has  passed  from  the 
hands  of  the  Jaquith  family  and  is  now  owned 
by  Darius  Y.  Barnes.  Some  of  the  descendants 
of  Deacon  Jaquith  still  reside  in  town. 

Stephen  Mead,  who  was  born  in  the  vicinity 
of  Westford,  Mass.,  came  to  Washington  as 
early  as  1780  and  settled  at  the  southwest  part 
of  the  town  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Jerry 
Gleason.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and 
one  of  his  brothers  was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill. 
He  married  a  sister  of  Colonel  Jacob  Wright, 
who  also  carne  to  Washington  to  reside  some 
three  years  later.  S.  Newell  Mead,  a  grandson 
of  Stephen  Mead,  still  resides  in  town. 

The  Barney  family  came  to  Washington  from 
Sudbury,  Mass.,  as  early  as  1784  or  1785,  and 
settled  at  the  south  and  west  parts  of  the  town. 
Thomas  Barney  was  the  oldest  of  the  name  in 
town.  He  settled  on  the  farm  where  Stephen 
Farnsworth  now  resides.  He  had  a  son  John, 
who  came  to  Washington  about  1784,  and  had 


four  sons, — John  Jr.,  Timothy,  Levi  and  Sup- 
ply, who  lived  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town. 

The  Steele  family  came  from  A  mherst,  and  re- 
sided at  the  south  part  of  the  town  for  a  time,  but 
finally  removed  to  the  district  west  of  LovelPs 
Mountain.  William  Steele  was  thrown  from 
his  horse  into  a  small  brook  near  his  home  and 
was  drowned.  James  Steele  removed  from 
Washington  many  years  ago  to  Western  New 
York.  Nothing  is  known  regarding  the  where- 
abouts of  any  of  their  descendants. 

Although  the  town  early  took  measures  for 
educating  its  youth,  by  appropriating  money  for 
the  support  of  schools,  it  is  believed  that  no 
school-houses  were  built  prior  to  1788.  By 
vote  of  the  town  in  1788  each  district  was  to  be 
allowed  to  build  its  own  school-house,  but  it  is 
not  certain  that  advantage  of  the  privilege  was 
very  soon  taken.  In  1797  the  town  voted  to 
raise  sixty  pounds  of  lawful  money  to  build 
school-houses,  and  chose  a  committee  to  build 
one  at  the  centre  of  the  town.  Probably  a 
house  was  also  erected  at  the  east  part  of  the 
town  about  the  same  time,  as  it  is  certain  that  a 
school-house  was  standing  there  in  1800.  In 
the  course  of  time  school-houses  were,  erected  in 
ten  different  districts  in  the  town.  The  present 
number  of  school  districts  is  nine,  with  a  school 
house  in  each.  The  original  school-houses  were 
rude  in  comparison  to  the  neat  buildings  now  to 
be  found  in  most  parts  of  the  town.  A  small, 
rough  building,  with  small,  high  windows,  too 
high  to  allow  the  pupils  to  look  out ;  a  sloping 
floor,  with  seats  rising  one  above  another  ;  a 
huge  open  fireplace  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
and  walls  devoid  of  paint  or  paper,  with  few, 
if  any,  maps  or  other  illustrative  apparatus, 
give  one  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  the  school- 
houses  of  our  grandfathers.  The  masters  and 
mistresses  of  the  primitive  schools  were  a  pe- 
culiar class,  noted  not  only  for  their  ability  to 
instruct  in  the  common  branches  of  learning, 
but  for  their  power  to  wield  the  birch.  The  stud- 
ies pursued  by  the  majority  of  the  pupils  were 
reading,  writing,   spelling,   arithmetic  and  ge- 


400 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ography,  while  a  few  of  the  more  advanced 
received  instruction  in  English  grammar,  and, 
in  some  instances,  surveying.  As  has  been  said, 
much  attention  was  paid  to  discipline.  The  schools 
were  large,  and  were  composed  of  boys  and 
girls  of  all  sizes  and  ages,  from  extreme  youth 
to  the  age  of  manhood  and  womanhood.  The  un- 
lucky boy  who  seriously  transgressed  the  school- 
master's rules  was  severely  flogged  or  compelled 
to  stand  a  long  time  on  the  floor,  his  knees  un- 
bent and  his  finger  on  a  nail  in  the  floor,  while 
the  girl  who  neglected  to  thoroughly  learn  her 
lesson  was  seated  on  the  dunce  block  as  a  means 
of  punishment.  These  methods  of  discipline 
have  given  way  to  milder  measures,  much  to 
the  benefit  of  the  pupils.  Some  of  the  best  re- 
membered of  the  early  teachers  in  town  were 
James  Faxon,  Edmund  Davis,  Alfred  Gordon, 
Joseph  W.  Shedd,  Solomon  E.  and  Simon  W. 
Jones. 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  June,  1849, 
an  institution  of  learning  was  incorporated  iu 
Washington,  to  be  known  as  Washington  Acad- 
emy. The  same  year  Russell  Tubbs,  of  Deer- 
ing,  gave  to  the  new  institution  one  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  used  as  a  fund  for  the  support 
of  the  school.  In  recognition  of  the  generous 
gift,  the  name  of  the  academy  was  changed  to 
Tubbs  Union  Academy.  In  1857  Mr.  Tubbs 
increased  the  fund  by  an  additional  gift  of 
five  hundred  dollars.  The  school  was  opened 
in  the  fall  of  1849,  with  Dyer  H.  Sanborn  as 
principal.  He  brought  to  the  work  a  mind  pecu- 
liarly adapted  by  nature  to  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion, and  enriched  and  strengthened  by  a  liberal 
education.  The  school  was  a  success  from  the 
start,  and  in  the  fall  of  1850  one  hundred 
and  eighty-six  >tu<lents  were  in  attendance.  It 
remained  under  his  care  four  years,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  C.  G.  Burnham,  who  remained 
but  one  term,  and  was  himself  succeeded  by 
William  Holt  and  Simeon  D.  Farnsworth,  neith- 
er of  whom  remained  long  with  the  school.  Since 
the  resignation  of  Professor  Sanborn  the  school 
has  greatly  declined,  owing  to  the  small  amount 


of  funds  at  its  command.  But,  notwithstanding 
the  number  of  pupils  has  been  small,  and 
most  of  them  residents  of  the  town,  it  has  accom- 
plished a  work  of  great  usefulness.  Its  present 
principal  is  Frank  P.  Newman,  who  has  man- 
aged the  school  to  great  acceptance  since  1881. 

The  Faxons  wTere  from  Braintree,  Mass. 
There  were  three  brothers, — James,  who  first 
lived  in  a  house  near  the  soldiers'  monument 
and  afterward  on  the  Faxon  Hill,  near  the  vil- 
lage; Azariah,  who  lived  just  east  of  the  town- 
house,  where  Dexter  Ball  now  resides ;  and 
Francis,  who  lived  on  the  hill  two  miles  west 
of  the  village  at  the  centre  of  the  town  and 
near  the  place  where  Thomas  Penniman  re- 
sided. Azariah  Faxon  was  engaged  in  trade 
during  his  residence  in  town.  Before  his  death 
he  removed  to  Vermont.  Francis  Faxon  also 
removed  to  Vermont.  James  Faxon  was  a 
musician  in  the  army  during  the  Revolution. 
After  coming  to  Washington  he  was  engaged 
for  a  time  in  trade  with  his  brother  Azariah. 
He  also  was  a  noted  school-teacher.  His  last 
days  were  spent  on  his  farm  on  Faxon  Hill. 

The  Farwell  family  came  from  Groton,  Mass., 
soon  after  the  year  1780,  and  were  prominent 
in  town  for  many  years. 

The  Millens  came  from  the  vicinity  of  New 
Boston,  N.  H.,  prior  to  the  year  1780.  The 
family  has  always  been  prominent  in  town  af- 
fairs. Some  of  the  name  are  still  residents  of 
the  town. 

Benjamin  Newman  came  to  Washington  about 
the  year  1791,  from  Deering,  to  which  town  he 
came  from  the  vicinity  of  Woburn,  Mass.,  about 
the  year  1776.  He  settled  in  the  mountain 
district,  near  the  farm  known  as  the  Dinsmore 
place.  He  was  the  father  of  eight  children. 
His  sons,  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  both  spent 
their  lives  in  Washington,  and  raised  large 
families  of  children.  Joseph  settled  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Hiram  Q.  Hoyt,  and  Ben- 
jamin, after  residing  in  the  mountain  district  a 
while  after  his  marriage,  removed  to  a  farm 
near  Long  Pond.     Some  of  the  descendants  of 


WASHINGTON. 


401 


Joseph  and  Benjamin  Newman  still  reside  in 
town. 

The  Draper  family  came  into  town  at  an  early 
date,  David  Draper  having  married  Rebecca 
Healey,  of  this  town,  as  early  as  1785.  The 
Draper  family  lived  near  the  village  and  gave 
the  name  to  "  Draper  Hill,"  which  rises  just 
north  of  the  village. 

Jonathan  Draper  held  office  in  town  in  1778, 
and  Samuel  Draper  also  appears  to  have  been 
in  town  in  1779. 

David  Danforth  was  another  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  town.  He  came  to  the  town  at  a  very 
early  date  and  resided  at  the  southwest  part  of 
the  town. 

Probably  the  first  lawyer  to  establish  himself 
in  business  in  Washington  was  David  Heald, 
Esq.  He  was  born  in  Temple,  N.  H.,  March 
21,  1768,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College 
in  1793.  He  studied  law  at  Northampton, 
Mass.,  and  came  to  Washington  to  reside  about 
1800,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  January  2,  1841.  He  lived  on  the 
spot  where  the  present  house,  belonging  to  the 
family,  stands.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Cheshire  and  Sullivan  County  bar  forty  years. 
He  was  a.  popular  man,  and  represented  the 
town  in  the  Legislature  twelve  years.  He 
was  married  in  1810  to  Phebe  Burbank,  of 
Washington,  by  whom  he  had  three  children. 
Some  years  after  Mr.  Heald  settled  in  Wash- 
ington, Abraham  B.  Story  established  himself 
in  the  practice  of  law  at  the  centre  of  the  town. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the 
class  of  1799,  and  was  engaged  a  short  time  in 
the  practice  of  law  at  Northwood,  before  he  re- 
moved to  Washington.  He  resided  where  Dex- 
ter Ball  now  resides.  While  a  resident  of  the 
town  he  often  held  office.  It  is  said  that  the 
present  method  of  keeping  the  records  of  the 
town  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Story. 

The  settlers  at  the  east  part  of  the  town, 
although  too  far  from  the  centre  to  fully  enjoy 
the  religious  privileges  which  the  Congrega- 
tionalist  Church  there  afforded,  Mere  particular 


to  meet  together  in  private  houses  for  religious 
instruction  and  worship.  Sometimes  a  sermon 
was  read  by  one  of  their  number,  and  at  other 
times  a  preacher  was  employed,  though  not  reg- 
ularly. In  1800  it  was  thought  best  to  organ- 
ize a  Baptist  Church,  as  a  majority  of  those 
interested  were  of  that  faith. 

Accordingly,  the  2d  day  of  October,  1800, 
a  church  was  formed,  composed  of  ten  mem- 
bers. They  continued  to  hold  meetings  in 
private  houses  and  in  the  school-house  until 
1827,  when  a  meeting-house,  fifty  feet  long  and 
thirty-eight  feet  wide,  was  erected  on  the  spot 
were  the  present  church  stands.  This  church 
was  occupied  until  1844,  when  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  But  the  society  were  not  discouraged, 
but  immediately  erected  another  building,  of 
the  same  length  as  the  first  and  two  feet  wider. 
This  was  occupied  until  1877,  when  it  shared 
the  fate  of  the  first  edifice,  being  burned  in 
April  of  that  year.  Before  the  next  winter,  in 
the  autumn  of  1877,  a  third  house  of  worship, 
of  the  same  dimensions  as  the  other,  but  in 
some  respects  a  fiiier  building,  was  dedicated, 
and  still  stands,  an  ornament  to  the  village 
and  a  great  convenience  to  the  church.  The 
first  settled  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
East  Washington  was  Rev.  Nathan  Ames,  who 
was  ordained  pastor  on  the  day  the  first  house 
of  worship  was  dedicated,  in  1827.  He  was  a 
native  of  New  Boston,  N.  H.,  where  he  was 
born  in  1785.  He  began  preaching  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  and  in  1819 
was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  a  church  in 
Sutton,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  He  was  pastor  of  the  church  until 
1834,  and  soon  after  the  close  of  his  pastorate 
he  removed  to  Jamaica,  Vt.,  where  he  died. 

The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  David  Gage,  who 
was  ordained  in  1835.  He  was  born  in  Wilton, 
N.  H.,  December  2<>,  1809.  He  remained 
with  the  church  ten  years,  closing  his  labors  in 
1845.  From  East  Washington  he  removed  to 
New  Boston,  where  he  preached  some  years. 
After  closing  his  pastorate  in  New  Boston,  he 


402 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


entered  the  service  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Baptist  Convention  as  a  missionary,  beginning 
his  labors  in  1855,  and  continuing  many  years, 
a  portion  of  the  time  as  State  missionary  and 
financial  agent  for  the  Convention.  His 
present  residence  is  Manchester,  N.  H. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Gage,  Rev. 
D.  P.  Dunning,  Rev.  Nathan  Chapman  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Elliot  each  served  as  pastor  a  short 
time.  In  1852  or  1853,  Rev.  Albert  Heald 
became  pastor  of  the  church,  and  continued  as 
pastor  until  1865,  when  Rev.  Eli  P.  Noyes  was 
called,  and  remained  three  years.  The  next 
pastors  were  Rev.  Horace  G.  Hubbard,  Rev. 
G.  D.  Ballentine,  Rev.  Addison  Browne, 
L.  U.  Anderson,  Rev.  L.  M.  Powers,  Rev. 
AYilliam  Beavensand  Rev.  E.  A.  Edwards,  who 
is  now  pastor  of  the  church.  Since  the  pastor- 
ate of  Mr.  Heald  all  the  pastorates  have  been 
short,  none  of  them  exceeding  three  years. 

Rev.  E.  A.  Edwards,  the  present  pastor, 
came  to  Washington  from  Beverly,  Mass.,  in 
the  fall  of  1883,  and  under  his  call  the  church 
seems  to  be  in  a  prosperous  condition.  The 
present  membership  exceeds  eighty. 

In  1858  a  Methodist  Church  was  organized 
at  East  "Washington.  Rev.  L.  L.  Dudley  acted 
as  preacher  at  the  time  the  church  was  organ- 
ized, and  was  influential  in  its  formation.  Its 
first  class  consisted  of  eleven  persons.  Samuel 
A.  Cloo;ston  was  the  leader  of  the  first  class. 

Meetings  for  public  worship  were  held  in  a 
small  hall  until  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice, 
in  1859.  The  first  pastor  after  the  formation 
of  the  church  was  Rev.  B.  E.  Whipple,  who 
was  succeeded  in  I860  by  Rev.  C.  N.  Lewis. 
During  the  year  1861  the  pulpit  was  supplied 
by  Revs.  Hoppins,  Brooks  and  Richardson. 
John  H.  Lane  supplied  in  1862  and  a  portion 
of  1863.  Chester  Dingman  appears  to  have 
been  employed  during  a  portion  of  1863.  In 
1864,  C.  Marshall  Pegg,  a  young  man  of  bril- 
liant talents,  supplied  the  desk.  About  the 
year  1869,  A.  J.  Roberts  became  pastor,  and 
was  followed  by   Rev.   Mr.    Dudley,    who  was 


the  last  settled  pastor,  the  church,  owing  to 
deaths  and  removals,  being  unable  to  support  a 
pastor.  For  a  time  the  church  edifice  was 
occupied  by  the  Free-Will  Baptist  Church, 
which  was  organized  in  East  Washington, 
February  18,  1 873.  Its  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
Edwin  Smith,  who  was  settled  in  1874,  the 
pulpit  having  been  supplied  the  first  year  by 
Rev.  G.  B.  Tewksbury. 

The  original  number  of  members  was  thir- 
teen, and  of  this  number  Samuel  Fletcher  and 
Aaron  Peasley  were  chosen  deacons.  Mr.  Smith 
remained  with  the  church  two  years.  During 
the  time  of  Mr.  Tewksbury's  service  and  the 
pastorate  of  Mr.  Smith  there  were  many  addi- 
tions to  the  church.  After  Mr.  Smith's  re- 
moval the  church  was  without  a  pastor  until 
the  autumn  of  1877,  when  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
Smithers  became  pastor,  but  resigned  in  the 
spring  of  1878,  much  to  the  regret  of  the  church. 
The  same  year  John  Willis  became  pastor  of 
the  church  and  continued  his  labors  two  years. 
He  Mas  an  able  man  and  labored  faithfully  for 
the  good  of  the  church  and  community.  Since 
1880  the  church  has  had  no  settled  pastor. 
The  church  has  never  owned  a  house  of  wor- 
ship, but  its  services  have  been  held  in  a  hall 
and  in  the  Methodist  Church. 

Near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
the  First  Universalist  Society  was  organized  in 
Washington.  No  church  was  organized,  but 
the  society  provided  preaching  a  considerable 
part  of  the  time.  About  the  year  1842  the 
town  gave  the  society  permission  to  finish  a 
room  for  religious  worship  in  the  second  story 
of  the  town-house,  and  after  that  time  relig- 
ious services  were  held  there  until  the  weakened 
condition  of  the  society  made  it  unable  to  em- 
ploy a  preacher. 

Among  the  preachers  who  have  served  the 
society  may  be  mentioned  Rev.  David  Cooper, 
Rev.  Mr.  Gilman,  Rev.  Lemuel  Willis,  Rev. 
Mr.  Holden,  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson,  Rev.  Mr. 
Palmer  and  Rev.  Nathan  R.  Wright.  David 
Cooper,    although    a  preacher  during  his  early 


WASHINGTON. 


40; 


manhood,  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  trade  on 
the  spot  where  Nathaniel  A.  Lull  &  Sons  now 
trade.  Later  he  resided  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Edward  W.  Brooks.  He  removed  from 
town  about  fifteen  years  since  and  resided  in 
Sutton  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  in 
Sutton  June  25,  1885,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six 
years. 

A  sketch  of  Eev.  X.  K.  Wright  will  be  found 
in  another  place.  He  came  back  to  his  native 
town  to  preach  in  1843  and  remained  thirteen 
years.  He  is  at  present  actively  engaged  in 
ministerial  labor  in  Lynn,  Mass. 

Near  the  commencement  of  the  present  cen- 
tury several  families  settled  in  town  and  be- 
came influential  and  useful  citizens. 

Nathaniel  Gordon  came  from  Bedford  near 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  after  living  a 
year  at  the  west  part  of  the  town,  removed  to 
East  Washington  and  purchased  a  farm,  just 
west  of  the  school-house,  of  Daniel  Severance. 
He  was  familiarly  known  as  Captain  Gordon, 
and  was  greatly  respected.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  East 
Washington. 

His  son,  Alfred  Gordon,  was  a  famous  school- 
master in  his  day.  He  resided  many  years  on 
the  old  homestead  and  then  removed  to  Illinois, 
where  he  died  at  an  advanced  age. 

Jabin  Fisher  removed  from  Canton,  Mass.,  to 
Washington  early  in  the  present  century  and 
lived  where  his  son,  the  venerable  Jabez  Fisher, 
now  resides.  Jabez  Fisher,  just  mentioned,  was 
for  many  years  successfully  engaged  in  mercan- 
tile pursuits  in  Boston.  He  has  preserved  the 
old  homestead,  where  he  is  passing  his  last  days 
in  quiet  and  peaceful  retirement. 

Deacon  Samuel  P.  Bailey  came  from  Weare 
about  the  year  1803  and  settled  where  his  son 
Jesse  F.  Bailey  now  resides.  He  lived  to  the 
great  age  of  one  hundred  years.  His  death 
occurred  in  1880. 

Moses  Jones  moved  from  Hillsborough  to 
Washington  not  far  from  the  year  1815  and 
settled  on  the  farm  at  East  Washington,  where 


his  son,  Simon  W.  Jones,  afterward  lived.  He 
came  to  Hillsborough  from  Weston,  Mass. 
His  sons,  Solomon  E.,  Simon  W.  and  Nathan- 
iel G.,  were  prominent  citizens  of  the  town. 
Solomon  E.  Jones  was  for  many  years  engaged 
in  trade  in  East  Washington.  Nathaniel  G. 
Jones  is  still  a  resident  of  East  Washington. 

Charles  French  settled  where  his  sou,  Charles 
A.  French,  now  resides  in  1811.  He  raised  a 
large  family  of  children.  His  son,  William  B. 
French,  was  for  some  years  engaged  in  trade  at 
the  centre  of  the  town. 

David  Lincoln  came  from  Bedford  in  1802, 
and  purchased  of  a  "Dr.  Kelly"  the  farm 
which  was  afterward,  for  many  years,  the  house 
of  Isaac  N.  Gage.  He  was  an  active,  stirring 
man  in  all  business  matters.  For  many  years 
he  drove  a  team  between  East  Washington  and 
Boston.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  militia,  and 
is  spoken  of,  by  those  who  remember  him,  as 
Captain  Lincoln.  He  never  had  children,  but 
his  kind  heart  led  him  to  adopt  several,  whom 
he  cared  for  as  if  they  had  been  his  own. 

The  Trains  have  long  resided  in  town,  and  have 
been  influential.  The  family  were  originally 
from  Weston,  Mass.,  from  which  town  they 
came  to  Hillsborough,  N.  H.,  at  an  early 
date.  Harry  Train  was  the  first  of  the  name  to 
settle  in  Washington.  Charles  and  Hen  ry  Train, 
sons  of  Harry  Train,  have  been  prominent  cit- 
izens of  the  town,  the  latter  being  for  some 
years  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  at  the  centre  of 
the  town,  and  representative  to  the  Legislature. 
Arthur  Train,  another  son  of  Harry  Train,  was 
for  many  years  a  very  popular  and  successfid 
physician    in  Virginia  and  Chicago. 

Samuel  Cheney  came  from  Henniker  in  1805, 
and  settled  on  the  farm  afterward  owned  by 
Joel  Severance  (2d).  He  was  probably  the  first 
settler  on  that  farm.  His  son,  George  W. 
Cheney,  was  a  highly-respected  citizen  of  the 
town. 

David  Dole  became  a  resident  of  the  town 
about  1803  or  1804.  He  bought  a  farm  of 
Jeremiah  Bacon,  near  East  Washington,  where 


404 


HISTORY  OF  SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


he  spent  most    of  his  life.     Jeremiah  Bacon, 
after  selling  his  farm,  removed  to  Hancock. 

Daniel  Greenleaf,  who  was  born  in  Haver- 
hill, Mass.,  in  1780,  came  from  Concord,  N.  H., 
to  Washington  to  reside  just  prior  to  1820. 
He  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
had  previously  been  in  trade  in  Concord  and 
Hebron.  During  his  residence  in  Washington 
he  served  for  a  time  as  postmaster.  The 
Greenleafs  of  this  and  the  adjoining  towns  are 
descendants  of  Daniel  Greenleaf. 

Nathan  Brainard  removed  from  Lempster  to 
Washington  between  the  years  1823  and 
1  825,  and  engaged  in  trade  at  the  centre  of  the 
town.  He  was  also  postmaster  for  a  while.  In 
1834  he  removed  to  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The 
firm  of  S.  Brainard's  Sons,  music  dealers  and 
publishers,  of  Cleveland,  are  of  this  family, 
and  is  composed  of  the  grandsons  of  Nathan 
Brainard. 

Seth  Adams,  a  native  of  Mason,  N.  H.,  came 
to  Washington  at  an  early  age,  and  married,  in 
1813,  Comfort  Barney,  a  native  of  the  town. 
He  was  a  woolen  manufacturer,  and,  in  company 
with  his  sons,  Calvin  and  Nathan,  established  the 
first  woolen-mill  at  the  centre  of  the  town,  in 
1843. 

Lewis  Vickery  removed  from  Lempster  to 
Washington  about  the  year  1815,  and  took  up 
his  residence  on  the  Goshen  turnpike,  some 
four  miles  from  Washington  Centre.  Prior  to 
his  residence  in  Lempster  he  had  resided  in 
Winchester,  N.  H.,  having  removed  from  that 
town  to  Lempster  in  1805. 

John  Fisk,  who  was  born  in  Hillsborough  in 
1789,  settled,  in  1812,  at  East  Washington,  on 
the  place  now  owned  by  Hiram  J.  Gage.  His 
farm  embraced  what  is  now  the  eastern  part  of 
the  village. 

Caleb  Carr,  also  a  native  of  Hillsborough, 
bought  in  1818  the  farm  afterward  owned  by 
Jonathan  Severance,  near  East  Washington. 
He  built  the  first  house  on  the  place.  He  still 
resides  at  East  Washington,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three.     His  sons,  Mason  H.  'and  George 


H.  Carr,  are  still  residents  of  the  town.  Mason 
H.  Carr  has  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  lumber  in  East  Washington  for 
more  than  forty  years,  owning  the  mill  which  is 
on  the  site  of  the  first  mill  in  the  village,  which 
was  erected  by  his  great-grandfather,  Captain 
Jonathan  Brockway. 

In  1850  Dr.  George  Hubbard  settled  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  East  Washington. 
He  had,  a  year  or  two  before,  practiced  there, 
but  did  not  permanently  locate  until  1850.  He 
remained  until  1855,  when  he  removed  to  Man- 
chester, and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  John  Haynes, 
of  Newbury.  Dr.  Hubbard  was  a  man  of  much 
skill  in  his  profession,  and  took  high  rank  as  a 
surgeon.  In  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  was 
long  in  the  service  as  an  army  surgeon,  and  par- 
ticipated in  many  battles.  After  his  retirement 
from  the  service  of  his  country  he  engaged  in 
practice  in  Lausingburgh,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died. 
Dr.  Haynes  remained  in  practice  until  1860, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  H.  Monroe. 
Dr.  Monroe  was  a  native  of  Hillsborough, 
a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College  and  of 
the  Medical  Department  of  the  same  institu- 
tion. He  died  in  East  Washington  May  2, 
"1863,  and  was  succeeded  the  same  year  by 
Dr.  Silas  M.  Dinsmoor,  a  native  of  Antrim 
and  a  graduate  of  the  School  of  Medicine  con- 
nected with  Columbian  University,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  He  removed  from  East  Washing- 
ton to  Francestown  in  1874.  His  present  resi- 
dence is  Keene,  N.  H. 

Much  might  be  written  of  the  brave  men  of 
Washington  who  participated  in  the  struggle 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  during  the 
great  Rebellion,  but  space  will  not  permit. 
Upwards  of  sixty  men,  including  substitutes, 
more  than  thirty  of  whom  were  volunteers, 
went  from  this  little  town  to  fight  the  battles 
of  their  country,  and  twelve  lost  their  lives  in 
its  defense. 

In  1866  the  people  of  the  town  erected,  on 
the  village  green  at  Washington  Centre,  a  beau- 
tiful granite  shaft,  upon   which    are    inscribed 


WASHINGTON. 


405 


the  names  of  those  who  lost  their  lives  during 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  This  monument 
was  one  of  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  erected  in 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

Edmund  Davis,  Jeremiah  Fletcher  and  John 
May  all  settled  in  Washington  near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century. 

Edmund  Davis  came  from  Hancock  and 
was  at  first  engaged  in  teaching.  He  afterward 
married  a  daughter  of  Deacon  William  Graves, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  years, 
their  whole  married  life  was  spent  in  Washing- 
ton. He  was  a  noted  schoolmaster  in  his  day, 
and  was  the  first  postmaster  in  East  Wash- 
ington. 

John  May  also  came  from  Hancock  and  first 
lived  on  the  Goshen  turnpike,  nearly  opposite 
the  present  residence  of  John  L.  Butterfield, 
where  lie  kept  a  tavern.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  the  village,  at  the  centre  of  the  town, 
where  he  died.  May  Pond,  near  the  place 
where  he  first  resided,  was  so  named  on  ac- 
count of  his  having  resided  near  it. 

Jeremiah  Fletcher  came  from  New  Ipswich 
and  settled  some  two  miles  northwest  of  East 
Washington,  where  his  son,  Francis  P.  Flet- 
cher, afterward  resided.  The  Fletchers,  still 
residing  in  town,  are  his  descendants. 

In  the  year  1869  a  free  public  library  was 
opened  in  Washington,  known  as  the  Shedd 
Free  Library.  It  was  founded  by  the  bequest 
of  Miss  Sarah  Shedd,  a  native  and  resident  of 
the  town,  who  bequeathed  the  sum  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars  as  a  fund  for  its  support. 

Sarah  Shedd  was  the  daughter  of  John  and 
Lydia  Shedd,  and  was  born  in  Washington 
April  29,  1813.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  prop- 
erty which  she  acquired  was  obtained  by  hard 
labor    in    cotton-mills.       Notwithstanding    her 


laborious  occupation,  she  found  time  to  devote 
to  literary  labor,  and  was  the  author  of  many 
poems,  which  have  been  gathered  into  a  small 
volume.  Miss  Shedd  died  April  5,  1867.  The 
library,  to  which  yearly  additions  have  been 
made,  now  contains  about  seventeen  hundred 
volumes. 

In  1881,  by  the  munificence  of  Mr.  L.  T. 
Jefts,  of  Hudson,  Mass.,  a  beautiful  library 
building,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Shedd 
Free  Library,  was  presented  to  the  town.  The 
building  is  of  brick,  with  slate  roof,  and  is 
thoroughly  and  beautifully  furnished  in  every 
part.  Mr*  Jefts  is  a  son  of  the  late  Benjamin 
and  Olive  (Reed)  Jefts,  of  Washington.  He 
was  born  in  Washington  April  4,  1830.  His 
parents,  being  in  moderate  circumstances,  were 
not  able  to  assist  him  to  any  great  extent  either 
in  matters  of  education  or  business.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  obtained  his  father's  per- 
mission to  get  an  education,  providing  he  was 
able  to  pay  his  own  expenses.  He  left  his 
home  for  the  academy  at  Marlow,  with  thirteen 
dollars,  the  gift  of  his  mother  on  her  dying 
bed.  After  attending  school  at  Marlow  and 
Washington  several  years,  paying  his  expenses 
in  the  mean  time  by  teaching,  he  went  to  Mas- 
sachusetts and  entered  a  store  as  clerk.  After- 
ward he  became  one  of  the  proprietors  of  a 
store  in  Assabet,  Mass.  In  1859  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  shoes  in  Hudson,  Mass., 
where  he  has  since  resided.  Fortune  has 
seemed  to  smile  upon  his  endeavor-,  so  that  he 
has  become  the  possessor  of  a  large  fortune.  He 
represented  the  towns  of  Hudson,  Stowe,  Little- 
ton and  Roxborough  in  the  Legislature  in 
1883.  At  present  he  is  president  of  the  Hud- 
son National  Hank,  an  institution  with  a  capital 
of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


APPENDIX. 


CHESHIRE   COUNTY. 


KEENE. 

Dr.  Amos  Twitchell,  for  so  long  a  time  the 
autocrat  of  surgery  in  New  England,  was  born 
in  Dublin,  N.  H.,  April  14,  1781.  His  father 
was  Samuel  Twitehell,  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  Dublin,  and  his  mother  Mas  Alice, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Sherburne. 

Dr.  Twitehell  entered  Dartmouth  College  in 
1798  and  graduated  in  1802.  From  early 
childhood  Dr.  Twitchell's  thoughts  had  been 
led  to  the  profession  of  medicine,  and  during  his 
college  course  his  intimacy  with  Dr.  Nathan 
Smith  had  tended  still  further  to  guide  him  on- 
ward in  the  same  path.  Upon  leaving  college 
he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr. 
Nathan  Smith,  at  Hanover,  N.  H,  and  in  1805 

< imenced  practice  in  the  neighboring  town  of 

Norwich,  Vt.  Here  he  remained  until  1807  or 
1808,  when  he  removed  to  Marlborough,  X.  IT., 
and  entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Dr.  Carter.  In  1810  he  removed  to 
Keene  and  there  labored  for  about  forty  years, 
gradually  rising  to  a  fame  of  which  any  one 
might  have  been  proud.  He  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Xew  Hampshire  .Medical 
Society  in  1811,  and  from  that  time  until  his 
death  felt  the  liveliest  interest  in  in  it. 

Dr.  Twitehell  was  solicited  to  accept   a  pro- 

orship  in  Dartmouth  College,  at  Castleton, 
Yi.,  Bowdoiii  College,  Maine,  and  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont,  all  of  which  flattering  pro- 
posals he  declined.  Dr.  Henry  1.  Bowditch, 
in  his  memoir  of  Dr.  Twitehell,  says, — 
406 


"  Dr.  Twitehell  was  no  shadow  of  another  nor  the 
exponent  of  any  set  of  opinions,  but  a  living  speci- 
men of  what  a  great,  self-relying  mortal  may  become. 
He  was  possessed  of  infinite  humor,  of  a  strong,  vig- 
orous intellect  and  a  reverence  for  truth  in  speech 
and  act  which,  while  it  made  him  always  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge his  own  errors,  likewise  aroused  his  indig- 
nation against  hypocrisy  and  pretense  wherever  seen. 
Joined  to  these  traits,  and  in  beautiful  harmony  with 
them,  was  his  warm  heart.  Ardent  in  his  attach- 
ment to  friends  through  every  stage  of  life,  and 
wisely  benevolent  to  those  closely  united  to  him,  he 
went  about  daily  doing  good." 

He  died  May  26,  1850. 


SULLIVAN  COUNTY. 


BENCH  AND  BAR. 

William  H.  H.  Allen  is  a  descendant  from 
old  Puritan  stock.  Samuel  Allen  came  from 
Braintree,  Essex  County,  England,  and  settled 
in  Cambridge;  Mass.,  in  1032.  With  the  first 
emigration  from  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony 
he  went  to  Windsor,  Conn.,  in  1635,  and  in  that 
vicinity  are  many  of  his  descendants.  Ethan 
A  lien,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  was  the  fifth  in  the 
line  of  descent  from  Samuel,  through  his  second 
Min,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eighth 
in  descent  from  Samuel,  through  his  third  son. 
Abel  Allen,  the  great-grandfather  of  William 
II.  II.  Allen,  came  from  Connecticut  and  settled 
in  Surry,  Cheshire  County,  X.  II.,  about  1760, 
and  died  there  in  1808.  His  grandfather,  Abel, 
was  horn  in  Windsor,  Conn.,  in  1750,  and  came 
i"  Surry  with  his  lather  and  lived  there  until 


APPENDIX. 


407 


he  died,  in  1837.  His  father,  Joseph  Allen, 
was  born  in  that  town  in  1798.  He  lived  there 
and  worked  upon  his  father's  and  other  farms 
in  the  vicinity,  availing  himself  of  the  limited 
advantages  afforded  by  the  public  schools  of 
that  period  and  other  means  of  education  within 
his  reach,  until  twenty-two  years  old,  when  he 
thought  he  had  a  call  to  preach,  became  a  Meth- 
odist minister  and  coupled  preaching  in  Surry 
and  some  other  towns  and  farming:  tog-ether  for 

©  © 

a  few  years.  In  1828  he  removed  to  Winhall, 
a  small  town  in  Bennington  County,  Vt.,  bought 
a  tract  of  rocky  but  productive  land,  erected  a 
house  and  other  buildings  upon  it,  and  divided 
his  time  between  farming  and  preaching.  It 
was  on  this  farm  that  William  II.  H.  Allen  was 
born,  on  December  10,  1829.  About  1832  his 
father  sold  the  farm  and  took  up  preaching 
again  in  connection  with  farming. 

From  1839  to  1844  he  lived  with  his  family 
at  Hartland,  Vt.,  farming  and  preaching.  In 
the  latter  year  he  returned  with  his  family  to 
Surry  and  remained  there,  farming  until  his 
death,  in  June,  1877,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine 
years.  He  represented  the  town  of  Surry  in  the 
New  Hampshire  Legislature  in  1857,  held  sev- 
eral town  offices  and  was  many  years  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  His  wife,  who  survived  him  un- 
til March,  1880,  was  Lyna,  daughter  of  the  late 
Daniel  Abbott,  of  Surry.  By  her  he  had  ten 
children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living. 

William  H.  H.  Allen  lived  in  liis  father's 
family,  working  upon  farms  and  attending  pub- 
lic schools  a  few  months  each  year,  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  old.  From  that  time  until  he  was 
nineteen  he  worked  on  farms  summers,  attend- 
ing; academies  at  West  Brattleboro  and  Saxton's 

© 

River,  Vt.,  and  one  term  at  Keene,  N.  H.,  falls, 
and  teaching  winters,  until  1850.  For  a  year 
and  a  half  he  was  under  the  tutelage  of  Joseph 
Perry,  of  Keene,  an  accomplishad  scholar  and 
retired  veteran  teacher,  and  under  his  instruction 
completed  his  preparation  for  college.  He  en- 
tered Dartmouth  College  in  1851  and  was  grad- 
uated second  in  his  class  of  fifty-one,  Walbridge 


A.  Field  being  first  in  1855.  Among  his  class- 
mates were  William  S.  Ladd,  of  Lancaster,  N.H., 
an  ex-judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
Hampshire  ;  Nelson  Dingley,  of  Lewiston,  ex- 
Governor  and  now  member  of  Congress  from 

© 

Maine  ;  Walbridge  A.  Field,  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Massachusetts  ;  Greenleaf  Clark, 
of  St.  Paul,  ex-judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Minnesota ;  E.  B.  S.  Sanborn,  one  of  the  New 
Hampshire  railroad  commissioners;  Rev.  Al- 
pheus  Pike,  D.D.,  now  of  Minnesota ;  the  late 
Frank  Robinson,  who  was  a  prominent  lawyer 
at  Dubuque.  Iowa ;  Samuel  R.  Bond,  a  distin- 
guished lawyer  of  Washington,  D.  C.j  and  John 
K. '  Valentine,  of  Philadelphia,  United  States 
district  attorney  for  Pennsylvania. 

Following  his  graduation,  Mr.  Allen  was 
principal  of  a  High  School  atHopkinton,  Mass., 
until  November,  1856,  when  he  returned  to 
Surry  and  read  law  in  the  office  of  Wheeler  & 
Faulkner,  of  Keene,  about  a  year;  then  went  to 
Perrysburg,  Ohio,  and  was  superintendent  of 
schools  there  until  the  summer  of  1858.  He 
commenced  reading  law  at  Hopkinton,  and  de- 
voted his  spare  time  to  it  there  and  at  Perrys- 
burg. He  returned  to  Surry,  soon  entered  the 
law-office  of  Burke  &  Wait,  at  Newport,  N.  H., 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  Sep- 
tember term  of  court  for  Sullivan  County,  in 
1858.  By  general  request  of  the  bar,  he  was 
appointed  clerk  of  the  courts  for  Sullivan 
County  in  November,  1858,  to  fill  a  vacancy 
caused  by  the  resignation  of  the  late  Thomas 
W.  Gilmore,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  New- 
port. He  continued  in  this  position,  trying 
many  referee  cases  and  doing  much  other  bus- 
iness now  done  by  the  judges,  until  September, 
1863,  when  he  was  appointed  paymaster  in  the 
army,  which  position  he  held  until  December, 
1865.  He  was  stationed  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
and  paid  soldiers  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
until  May,  1865,  when  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia and  paid  discharged  Pennsylvania  soldier-. 
When  he  was  discharged  from  the  service  he 
settled  his  accounts  with  the  government  with- 


408 


APPENDIX. 


out  difficulty,  returned  to  his  home  in  Newport, 
opened  an  office  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  which  he  continued  with  a  good 
degree  of  success,  there  and  at  Claremont,  N.  H., 
until  1876,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  bench.  He  was  appointed  judge 
of  Probate  for  Sullivan  County  in  January, 
18G7,  and  held  that  office  until  July,  1874. 
During  his  term  but  three  appeals  were  taken 
from  his  decisions,  two  of  which  were  affirmed 
by  the  full  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
the  other  one  was  not  prosecuted. 

Judge  Allen  was  appointed  register  in 
bankruptcy  when  the  bankrupt  law  of  1867 
went  into  effect,  and  held  that  office  until  1876, 
when,  by  general  request  of  the  Sullivan  County 
bar,  he  was  appointed  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  which  po- 
sition he  still  occupies.  His  opinions  will  be 
found  in  the  fifty-eighth  and  subsequent  vol- 
umes of  the  "  New  Hampshire  Law  Reports." 
In  all  the  positions  to  which  Judge  Allen  has 
been  called  he  has  discharged  their  various  and 
often  difficult  duties  with  fidelity  and  to  gen- 
eral acceptance. 

Judge  Allen  removed  from  Newport  to  Clare- 
mont, N.  H.,  in  1868,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  a  Unitarian  in  belief,  but  has 
latterly  attended  the  Episcopal  Church.  He 
was  first  married,  in  1856,  to  Ellen  E.,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Josliu,  of  Surry,  by  whom  he  had 
nine  children.  Two  died  in  infancy  and  the 
other  seven  are  still  living.  His  wife  died  in 
( llaremont  in  June,  1873.  In  October,  1874, 
he  married  Sally  S.,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
John  Sabine,  of  Strafford,  Vt.  By  this  mar- 
riage he  has  no  children. 


LEMPSTER. 

Anson  Keyes,  mentioned  as  a  trader,  should 
be  lawyer.     He  is  practicing  law  in  the  West. 

There  is  a  "  Farmers'  <  !lub  "  and  the  "Or- 
der of  Good  Templars"  which  have  done  effi- 
cient work  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 


GENERAL  HISTORY. 

Census  Table. — Tabulated  statement,  show- 
ing the  movement  of  population  of  the  several 
towns  in  Sullivan  County  at  each  census  since 
1767,  inclusive,  with  dates  of  incorporation  and 
first  called  name  : 


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APPENDIX. 


409 


GRANTHAM. 

The  first  settlement  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountain  was  made  in  1761  or  1762,  where 
Samuel  Bean  now  lives. 

The  first  settlers  were  John  Thrasher,  Rich- 
ard Coburn  and  his  brother,  John  Merrill,  Ez- 
ra Stowell,  John  Gove,  Francis  Newton  and 


three  brothers,  Samuel  Bean,  James  Smith,  Jo- 
seph Gleason,  Captain  Charles  Scott,  John  Ea- 
ton, Wm.  Moulton  and  Ezra  Bnswell. 

Captain  Ralph  Thompson  was  an  officer  in 
the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  west  side  of  the  mountain  was  annexed 
to  Plainfield  in  1856,  instead  of  1858. 


ERRATA  TO  GENERAL  HISTORY  OF    CHESHIRE  COUNTY. 
Page  1,  Chapter  I.,  General  History,  should  read  "  Willard  Bill,  Jr.,"  instead  of  "  Willard  Bill." 
Page  3,  line  16,  read  "  till "  instead  of  "  hill." 
Page  6,  line  29,  read  "  Bullard  "  instead  of  "  Ballard." 

Page  7,  lines  21-28,  read  "Lauson"  Robertson  instead  of  "  Lanson"  Robertson. 
Page  9,  paragraph  3,  read  "Peleg"  Sprague  instead  of  "  Peter  "  Sprague. 
Page  20,  line  32,  read  J.  "  T."  Abbott  instead  of  J  "  P."  Abbott, 


N   974.2 


History  of  Cheshire 


and  Sullivan  noun- 
ties,    .  .    . 


H°>5"3c            DATE  DUE 

A  fine  of  2c  is  charged  for  each  day  book  is  kept  over  time.