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Full text of "Old home week, Lee, New Hampshire, August 23, 1916 : two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of settlement of the territory : one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of incorporation of the town"

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JOHN  SCALES 


OLD  HOME  WEEK 


LEE,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 
August  23,  1916 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  TERRITORY 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF 

INCORPORATION  OF  THE  TOWN 


ADDRESS  BY 
JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 


f^^ 


X^^^^ 


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THE  TOWN  OF  LEE 


First  Settlement  1 666  Incorporated  1  766 


The  territory  of  Lee  was  a  part  of  the  old  town  of  Dover, 
which  began  to  be  settled  at  Dover  Point  in  the  spring  of 
1623,  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  years  ago.  Just  when 
the  first  settler  struck  this  part  of  Old  Dover  is  not  known, 
but  we  do  know  that  it  was  at  a  very  early  date.  The  early 
emigrants  from  England  to  Dover  were  always  on  the  look- 
out for  the  best  localities,  and  they  found  some  of  them  in 
this  section  of  it ;  and  those  good  places  have  remained  here 
ever  since,  and  some  of  their  descendants  still  hold  posses- 
sion. You  speak  of  your  town  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old,  but  the  first  settlers  here  antedate  that  number  by  a 
hundred  years,  so  really  you  are  celebrating  your  two  hun- 
dred and  fiftieth  anniversary.  Do  you  appreciate  what  that 
period  of  time  means?  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years, — No 
doubt  the  young  folks  who  are  here  think  a  person  who  is 
fifty  years  old,  is  "old"  indeed,  yet  the  Civil  war  closed 
before  such  persons  were  born,  and  Lee  began  to  be  settled 
two  hundred  years  before  that  war  began.  The  ancestors 
of  some  of  you  were  soldiers  in  the  war  of  1812-15,  which 
war  closed  one  hundred  years  ago,  but  the  settlement  of  Lee 
began  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  that  war  closed. 
All  of  you  think  of  the  Revolutionary  War  as  a  very  long 
time  ago,  yet  your  town  began  to  be  settled  a  hundred  years 
before  that  war  began.  From  these  illustrations  I  think  you 
get  an  appreciative  idea  of  the  meaning  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years ;  you  have  occasion  to  feel  that  your  town  is  old, 
this  day  of  celebration. 

The  first  immigrants  built  their  village  on  Dover  Neck, 
on  the  hill  north  of  Dover  Point.  By  the  way,  that  locality 
is  called  the  "  Neck  "  because  it  lies  between  three  rivers, — 


4 

the  Newichawannock  on  the  east, — the  Pascataqua  on  the 
south, — and  Back  River  on  the  west.  When  they  had  got 
well  housed  on  the  Neck,  they  commenced  to  branch  out  in 
business.  The  whole  country  from  here  to  Canada  was  a 
vast  forest;  the  trees  had  to  be  cut  and  the  ground  cleared 
for  farms.  Saw  mills  were  the  first  mills  to  be  erected,  to 
cut  logs  into  lumber,  for  which  there  was  a  ready  sale  in 
the  West  Indies  and  in  England  and  in  European  countries. 

In  those  days  they  did  not  have  portable  saw  mills  as  the 
lumber  men  now  have,  but  used  the  water  falls  to  produce 
power;  hence  there  was  a  great  demand  for  sites  for  saw- 
mills. The  town  owned  everything,  and  the  people  had  to 
get  grants  from  the  town  before  they  could  set  up  a  mill,  or 
cut  any  trees  for  the  mill.  Another  point  should  be  kept 
in  mind;  Old  Dover  was  a  part  of  Massachusetts,  being  a 
town  in  Norfolk  County,  till  1680 ;  there  was  not  any  "  New 
Hampshire  "  till  that  date ;  so  Lee  is  about  a  quarter  of  a 
century  older  than  New  Hampshire.  Being  under  Massa- 
chusetts rule  the  authorities  in  Boston  thought  they  had  the 
right  to  make  grants  of  land  to  its  citizens;  not  knowing 
the  precise  southern  boundary  line  of  Old  Dover,  they  gave 
a  grant  to  Samuel  Symonds,  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  of  640  acres 
of  land  at  the  second  falls  in  "  Lamperele  "  River,  June  3, 
1657,  two  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago.  This  was  granted  in 
the  presence  and  with  the  consent  of  Moharimet,  the  Indian 
sagamore  of  this  region,  whose  home  was  on  Moharimet's 
Hill  in  Madbury,  also  called  Hick's  Hill. 

When  the  Selectmen  of  Dover  found  this  out  they  pro- 
tested, on  the  plea  that  the  falls  were  in  their  town,  and 
that  none  but  the  town  had  any  right  to  make  grants  of 
land  within  its  boundaries.  But  Mr.  Symonds  held  posses- 
sion ten  years,  or  more.  Probably  he  had  a  mill  there,  but 
I  do  not  know.  Dover  kept  on  protesting  against  the  action 
of  the  Boston  authorities  for  making  a  grant  of  their  terri- 
tory; the  result  appears  in  the  Dover  Town  Records,  as 
follows : 

May  3,  1669,  Robert  Wadleigh  was  received  as  an  inhabi- 
tant in  the  town  of  Dover,  "  according  to  ye  tenure  of  ye 


last  inhabitant  received."  At  the  same  town  meeting  he 
received  the  grant  of  what  has  ever  since  been  known  as 
"  Wadleigh's  Falls,"  being  the  same  that  Massachusetts  had 
granted  to  Mr.  Symonds,  which  shows  the  town  regarded 
the  Symonds  grant  as  of  no  legal  value.  The  grant  reads 
as  follows: 

"At  a  general  town  meeting  held  in  Dover,  March  3, 
1669, — Given  and  granted  unto  Robert  Wadleigh,  as  accom- 
modation for  the  erection  and  setting  up  of  a  saw  mill,  or 
mills  at  the  uppermost  falls  upon  Lamperele  River,  common- 
ly called  by  ye  name  of  ye  Cleland  falls ;  with  an  accommoda- 
tion of  timber  thereunto  belonging,  ye  bounds  of  ye  timber 
are  as  follows:  Yt  is  to  say, — all  ye  timber  on  ye  south 
side  above  sd  falls  as  farr  as  ye  towns  bounds  doth  goe,  and 
on  ye  north  side  all  ye  timber  yt  is  within  the  River  above 
sd  falls  as  farr  as  ye  Towne  bounds  doth  goe,  with  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  on  ye  south  side  of  ye  sd  River  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  on  ye  north  side  of  ye  sd  River  adjacent  unto 
ye  sd  falls,  on  both  sides ;  all  which  falls,  timber  and  land  is 
granted  unto  ye  sd  Wadleigh  and  his  heires,  executors,  and 
adminst,  and  assigns,  provided  it  doth  not  intrench  upon 
any  former  grant,  either  in  part  or  whole.  In  consideration 
of  sd  grant  of  ye  falls,  timber  and  land,  ye  sd  Robt.  Wadleigh 
doth  engage  himselfe,  heires,  executors,  and  adminstr.  to 
pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid  unto  ye  Towne  of  Dover  ye  sum  of 
ten  pounds  per  an.  in  merchanta.  pine  bords  at  price  curran'c 
at  the  ordinary  landing  place  on  Lamperele  River  lower  falls, 
as  long  as  he  or  they  doe  keepe  possession  there,  of  which 
payment  is  to  begin  ye  last  of  August  next  insueing  this 
instant,  to  be  made  unto  ye  Selectmen  of  Dover,  or  their 
order,  and  further  it  is  agreed  and  ordered  that  if  any  pt. 
thereof  be  taken  away  by  any  former  grant  then  ye  Towne 
is  to  abate  of  ye  rate  proportionally.  And  alsoc  ye  Towne 
doth  reserve  free  egress  and  regress  for  any  transportation 
of  timber,  either  by  land  or  water ;  and  ye  Inhabi lance  have 
ye  same  Liberty  in  sd  Grant  as  they  have  in  other  Mill 
grants." 

Soon  after  the  town  grant  was  made  the  authorities  of 


the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  confirmed  the  grant  to  Mr. 
Wadleigh,  and  he  had  a  saw  mill  running  there  that  year; 
in  due  time  there  was  a  gristmill,  and  mills  have  been  there 
ever  since.  In  the  old  Dover  records  Wadleigh's  falls  are 
frequently  mentioned,  in  land  transfers  and  otherwise. 
There  has  been  a  settlement  there  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  perhaps  that  is  the  oldest  place  in  Lee;  there  is 
much  interesting  history  connected  with  it,  which  cannot 
be  mentioned  at  this  time. 

Old  Dover  included  all  of  the  present  city  and  Somers- 
worth,  Durham,  Newington,  Lee,  Madbury  and  Rollinsford. 
For  a  hundred  years  all  of  the  town  meetings  were  held  on 
Dover  Neck,  and  the  town  business  was  transacted  there; 
the  courts  were  held  there;  there  was  the  jail,  the  stocks, 
the  whipping  post,  and  meeting  house,  to  which  the  people 
had  to  travel  when  they  attended  church.  When  the  settle- 
ments in  other  parts  of  the  old  town  grew  large  they  estab- 
lished parishes,  in  which  religious  meetings  could  be  held, 
but  they  all  had  to  go  to  Dover  Neck  to  attend  town  meet- 
ings. When  the  parishes  grew  in  inhabitants,  they  were 
granted  town  privileges,  for  convenience  in  the  management 
of  local  affairs.  Newington  was  the  first  to  be  granted  the 
rights  of  a  town,  in  1714;  up  to  that  time  it  was  called 
"  Bloody  Point  in  Dover."  Durham  was  the  next  to  be  cut 
oflf  and  made  into  a  town ;  that  was  in  1732 ;  up  to  that  time 
it  was  called  "  Oyster  River  in  Dover."  That,  you  under- 
stand, included  Lee.  Somersworth  was  made  a  town  (which 
included  Rollinsford)  in  1754.  Madbury  followed  in  1768 
Thus  Old  Dover  was  reduced  to  its  present  limits. 

Lee  remained  a  part  of  Durham  till  1766,  when,  after  a 
lot  of  preHminary  legislation,  on  January  16,  the  act  for  the 
new  town  of  Lee  became  a  law,  and  the  new  town  was  born. 
The  petitioners  did  not  give  it  that  name,  in  fact  they  did 
not  suggest  any  name ;  it  was  probably  the  gift  of  Governor 
Benning  Wentworth.  The  reasons  for  the  division  of  Dur- 
ham were  the  same  as  those  which  led  to  the  incorporation 
of  the  other  towns ;  that  is  to  afford  better  accommodations 
for  the  management  of  local  affairs. 


Why  did  Governor  Wentworth  select  the  name  "  LEE  " 
for  this  town  ?  He  named  a  large  number  of  new  towns,  and 
gave  them  very  appropriate  names,  but  none  better  than 
this  excellent  town  has  borne  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  There  is  no  record  of  his  reason  for  so  naming  it. 
In  selecting  the  English  town  names  he  took  those  in  which 
his  friends  and  acquaintances  lived,  the  residences  of  dis- 
tinguished persons.  I  guess,  but  do  not  know,  that  he  took 
the  name  Lee  from  the  town  of  that  name  on  the  River  Lee, 
now  in  greater  London. 

During  the  hundred  years,  from  the  first  settlement  at 
Wadleigh's  Falls,  about  1666,  to  the  time  the  territory  was 
set  off  from  Durham  and  made  a  town,  a  great  deal  of 
business  was  done  in  this  territory ;  there  is  a  record  of 
some  things,  but  a  great  many  more  have  no  record,  only 
tradition.  Let  us  consider  some  of  them,  and  thus  see  how 
the  territory  grew  to  be  a  town. 

As  already  mentioned  the  first  settlement  in  the  future 
town  was  at  a  saw  mill,  at  Wadleigh's  Falls.  The  money 
making  propositions  then  consisted  chiefly  of  the  lumber 
business ;  saw  mills  were  necessary  for  cutting  the  trees  into 
plank,  boards,  and  dimension  timber;  all  the  large  timbers 
of  houses,  and  buildings  in  general,  were  hewn  by  skilful 
workmen  with  broadaxes.  You  older  men  here  remember 
how  it  was  done ;  they  snapped  a  chalk  line  from  end  to  end 
of  the  log,  and  then  hewed  to  the  line,  straight  as  an  arrow. 
^0  saw  mills  were  built  wherever  there  was  a  water  fall; 
there  were  several  of  them  in  the  territory  of  Lee.  The 
second  one  appears  to  have  been  built  on  the  first  fall  of 
the  river  that  is  the  outlet  of  Wheelwright's  Pond ;  the  last 
J.  heard  of  it  they  said  it  was  Layn's  mill.  But  at  the  begin- 
ning of  things  there,  250  years  ago,  or  more,  it  was  Jemi- 
son's  mill,  and  not  long  after  that  the  locality  a^'ound  it  was 
^nown  as  New  Town ;  if  I  am  not  mistakened,  it  is  so  called 
at  the  present  time.  The  saw  mill  was  placed  there  not  long 
After  Symonds  had  his  mill  at  Wadleigh's  Falls.  It  is  a 
^natter  of  record  that  the  town  of  Dover,  October  17,  1063, 
granted  Patrick  Jemison  120  acres  of  land,  about  a  mile  and 


8 

a  half  from  Wheelwright's  Pond,  down  the  river  on  both 
gides,  and  including  the  falls.  So  New  Town  in  Lee  is  250 
^ears  old.  A  few  years  after  that  the  town  of  Dover  had  a 
piast  road  cut  through  the  woods  to  New  Town,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  lumbermen  all  along  the  route,  in  get- 
ting the  pine  trees  for  masts  from  their  lots  to  Back  River 
^n  Dover,  down  which  they  were  floated  to  Portsmouth  and 
placed  on  ships  and  sent  to  England,  for  use  in  the  ship 
J)uilding  in  general,  and  in  the  King's  navy  in  particular. 
The  old  Dover  records  have  frequent  mention  of  New  Town. 

For  example, — 31  May,  1721,  sixty  acres  of  Jemison's 
grant  were  laid  out  to  Captain  Samuel  Emerson,  and  in  de- 
scribing the  bounds  it  says, — "  Beginning  below  New  Town 
(Orchard,  at  a  red  oak  on  the  south  side  of  Oyster  River,  etc." 
That  shows  the  place  had  an  orchard,  hence  had  been  settled 
a  long  time.  Captain  Emerson  bought  it  of  John  Webster 
and  wife,  Bridget,  of  Salisbury,  Mass.  Webster  sold  the 
other  half  of  the  Jameson  grant  to  Nathaniel  Randall,  27 
January,  1720 ;  in  the  description  of  it  the  record  says  it  was 
"  along  side  of  the  Mast  Path,"  leading  through  Madbury 
to  Dover,  at  Wingate's  slip,  at  Back  River. 

Nathaniel  Lamos  had  forty  acres  of  land  laid  out  to  him 
17  May,  1729,  "  Beginning  at  Oyster  River  a  little  above  the 
mill  called  New  Town  mill."  A  high  way  "  From  New  Town 
mill  up  into  the  woods,"  is  mentioned  20  October,  1735,  when 
jtwenty-five  acres  were  laid  out  to  Robert  Huckins.  William 
Clay  conveyed  to  his  sons,  Samuel  and  Joseph,  23  October, 
1742,  "  One  full  quarter  part  of  a  saw  mill  situated  in  Dur- 
ham, upon  ye  stream,  or  river  called  New  Town  River,  being 
^e  uppermost  mill  standing  upon  ye  sd  stream,  and  is  next 
yto  ye  pond  called  Wheelwright's  Pond,  out  of  which  sd 
stream  issues."  Also  "  a  quarter  part  of  ye  running  geer, 
dam,  stream,  and  privileges  there  unto  belonging."  Various 
other  land  transfers  might  be  mentioned  in  which  Newtown 
mill  is  mentioned.  About  1800  it  began  to  be  called  Layn's 
fnill,  from  its  then  owner.  Captain  John  Layn,  who  was  a 
Resident  of  Durham  as  early  as  8  March,  1760,  when  he 
enlisted  in  Captain  Samuel  Gerrish's  company.  Col.  John 


Goff's  regiment,  for  the  Canada  expedition.  "John  Layn 
of  Durham,  gunsmith,"  in  a  petition  26  May,  1761,  states 
that  he  was  employed  as  armorer  for  that  regiment  and 
furnished  his  own  tools,  but  had  received  no  extra  pay  for 
his  service,  hence  he  petitioned  for  it,  and  was  allowed  four 
pounds  sterling.  In  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  captain 
of  a  company  in  Col.  John  Waldron's  regiment  that  served 
in  the  siege  of  Boston,  being  stationed  at  Winter  Hill  in 
1776.  He  acquired  land  at  Newtown  in  1763,  and  again  in 
1766.    He  has  honorable  descendants  who  bear  the  name. 

Newtown  Plains  have  a  unique  history  in  connection  with 
the  mill.  It  is  a  sandy  and  not  very  prolific  part  of  your  good 
town;  it  is  loose  wheeling  for  teams  that  occasionally 
pass  through  there,  on  business,  not  for  pleasure.  Frequent 
imention  of  the  plains  is  made  in  the  old  town  records.  No 
doubt  some  of  you  know  a  good  deal  more  about  it  than  I  do. 
The  Clay  family  gave  it  much  fame  in  the  19th  century. 

Other  saw  mills  and  grist  mills  were  built  elsewhere  in 
the  territory  before  it  became  a  town.  Wadlefgh's  Falls  are 
in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  at  the  south  end  of  the 
"  Hook  "  in  Lamprey  river.  The  river,  below  the  falls  turns 
and  runs  southwesterly  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  where  it 
strikes  a  high  hill  of  gravel  and  hardpan ;  this  obstacle  turns 
the  water  almost  at  right  angles  and  it  flows  in  a  northeast- 
erly direction  almost  a  half  mile,  where  it  strikes  the  foot 
of  another  hill,  and  is  curved  in  a  northerly  direction  a  mile 
and  a  half,  through  a  fertile  valley  until  it  strikes  the  foot 
of  the  historic  Lee  Hilly  and  is  diverted  in  a  large  circle, 
flowing  easterly  out  of  Lee  into  Durham.  This  valley 
through  which  the  river  forms  the  "  Hook,"  has  some  of 
the  finest  farms  in  Strafford  county. 

Little  river  runs  into  Lamprey  river  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  above  Hill's  bridge,  and  a  like  distance  from  the  town 
house ;  on  Little  river  are  two  falls,  in  Lee,  which  were  much 
used  in  the  centuries  before  the  territory  became  a  town. 
It  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  early  records  of  Dover  and 
Durham.  Its  source  is  Mendum's  Pond  in  Barrington. 
These  mills  with  that  on  Lamprey  river,  at  the  foot  of  the 


10 

hill,  made  business  lively,  which  in  time  made  the  village  on 
the  Hill,  here;  men  do  not  build  villages  where  there  is  no 
business  going  on. 

John  Thompson,  Sr.,  had  a  grant  of  land  from  the  town 
of  Dover,  April  21,  1694,  which  included  the  "  Little  River 
Falls,"  where  the  first  mill  was  built,  soon  after.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son mentions  the  saw  mill  in  his  will,  12  April,  1733.  This 
mill  was  at  the  foot  of  the  high  and  steep  hill,  on  the  sum- 
mit of  which  was  the  home  of  the  Thompson  family  from 
two  centuries  ago  to  the  present  time.  What  is  now  known 
as  the  "  Mast  road  "  from  the  State  Collej?e  to  Lee  Hill 
was  built  about  that  time  to  accommodate  the  lumbermen, 
and  extended  to  Little  River  mill. 

23  June,  1701,  three  score  acres  of  land  were  granted  to 
Jethro  Furber,  by  the  town  of  Dover,  "  adjacent  to  Lam- 
pereal  Little  River ;  "  this  was  laid  out  2  Feb.,  1726-7,  as 
follows, — "  Beginning  on  the  northeast  side  of  said  Little 
Rive7\  above  the  old  mast  ivay."  It  was  called  "  mast  way," 
because  the  large  pine  trees  for  masts  were  hauled  over  it 
to  Oyster  River  Falls,  and  then  floated  down  to  Pascataqua 
River  and  on  to  Portsmouth,  or  wherever  needed.  This 
grant  of  land,  or  part  of  it,  has  remained  in  possession  of 
the  Furber  family  more  than  two  hundred  years.  The  road 
from  The  Hill,  by  Furber's  place  to  Wadleigh's  Falls,  was 
laid  out  31  July,  1753,  but  communication  with  Little  River 
was  opened  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  log 
houses,  for  the  lumbermen,  began  to  be  built  here  on  the 
Hill.  What  is  called  the  North  River  road,  from  Little  River 
falls  to  the  falls  in  North  River,  where  Lee  joins  Notting- 
ham, was  laid  out  about  1740,  but  there  was  a  path  up  over 
the  Thompson  hill,  and  along  by  the  Cartland  farm  several 
years  before  that.  It  was  the  old  fashion  to  build  the  houses 
first  and  then  build  the  roads  later.  That  is  why  so  many 
of  the  old  roads  in  New  Hampshire  go  over  steep  hills, 
instead  of  in  the  valleys,  around  the  hills. 

A  short  distance  below  Little  River  Falls  are  what  were, 
in  early  times,  called  Thompson's  Falls ;  Jonathan  Thompson 


11 

had  a  gristmill  and  fullingmill  there,  and  in  his  will,  10  Sept., 
1756,  he  gave  these  and  an  acre  of  land  to  his  son  Joseph, 
who,  May  3,  1774,  sold  them  to  Josiah  Bartlett  of  Haverhill, 
Mass. ;  the  sale  included  his  dwelling  house  and  one  acre  of 
adjoining  land,  and  four  acres  between  the  fullingmill  and 
the  Little  River  sawmill.  Mr.  Bartlett  lived  near  his  mills 
and  carried  on  the  business  there  for  many  years.  He  was 
one  of  the  enterprising  business  men  and  influential  citizens 
of  the  town;  he  had  a  family  of  several  children,  sons  and 
daughters.  One  of  his  brothers  was  Col.  Thomas  Bartlett 
of  Nottingham,  the  distinguished  patriot  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and  whose  grandson,  Hon.  John  C.  Bartlett,  of 
this  town  needs  no  introduction  to  this  audience.  He  is 
the  only  surviving  grandson  of  Col.  Thomas,  who  died  on 
Nottingham  Square  111  years  ago. 

Lee  "  Hook  "  has  no  duplicate  in  New  Hampshire,  in  the 
windings  of  any  of  its  rivers.  The  first  "  Hook  "  sawmill 
was  probably  built  about  1700.  The  inventory  of  George 
Chesley's  estate,  of  Durham,  27  August,  1724,  mentions 
part  of  the  mill  "  at  ije  Hook  of  Lampreel  River.''  It  is 
called  the  "  Hook  mill  "  in  a  deed  of  1728,  Ephraim  Foul- 
sham,  4  Dec,  1742,  conveyed  to  his  son,  John,  sixty  acres 
of  land  in  Durham,  bought  of  Major  Peter  Oilman,  8  Dec, 
1739,  "  Lyinge  next  to  ye  highway  below  ye  Hook  mill,  be- 
ginning twenty  rods  above  ye  second  brooke  from  ye  house, 
formerly  Captain  Oilman,  his  house,  towards  ye  Hook  mill." 
2  May,  1749,  Peter,  John,  Samuel,  and  Noah  Oilman  con- 
veyed to  Joseph  Smith  190  acres  "  at  a  place  commonly 
called  The  Hook,  beginning  by  the  side  of  Lampreel  river, 
in  the  turn  below  the  falls,  where  the  Hook  mill  stood." 

The  Durham  grants  of  land  at  the  Hook  conflicting  with 
the  Oilman  claims,  Samuel  Smith  and  Capt.  Jonathan 
Thompson  were  appointed  agents  of  the  land  proprietors  in 
Durham,  28  Nov.,  1748,  to  agree  with  Col.  Peter  Oilman  and 
others,  about  "  the  parcel  of  land  in  Durham  on  the  south 
side  of  Lampreel  River,  commonly  called  and  known  as  the 
Hook  land."  John  Thompson  of  Durham,  "  one  of  ye  pro- 
prietors of  ye  Hook  land,  and  ye  proper  owner  of  one  whole 


12 

share/*  conveyed  his  share,  30  August,  174S,  to  Abner 
Clough  of  Salisbury.  Mass. 

The  "  Hook  road  to  Northwood  "  is  mentioned  on  the 
State  map  of  1803.  It  runs  from  Newmarket  through  the 
Hook,  and  crosses  Lamprey  river  at  Hill's  bridge  near  the 
falls,  where  have  been  the  Hook  mills.  This  bridge  was 
so  called  because  Capt.  Reuben  Hill  settled  near  there  about 
1750  and  owned  a  sawmill  and  gristmill  at  the  falls.  He 
built,  about  17G0.  and  lived  in,  the  house  on  the  hill,  south  of 
the  bridge,  now  known  as  the  Israel  Bartlett  house.  Capt. 
Hill  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  Lee  for  many  years.  His 
mills  are  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  town,  as  also  his 
bridge.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  several  years  and 
performed  other  official  duties.  Capt.  Hill  died  in  1794,  and 
his  heirs  sold  the  water  privilege  at  the  Hook  in  the  first 
decade  of  the  19th  century,  but  the  bridge  still  retains  his 
name ;  let  it  be  forever  *'  Hill's  bridge." 

The  hamlet  here  at  Lee  has  been  a  place  of  business  two 
hundred  years,  at  least.  Much  that  I  have  been  telling  you 
happened  before  Lee  became  a  town,  by  itself:  hence  as  I 
have  already  remarked,  you  are  celebrating  a  250th  anni- 
versary, as  well  as  the  150th.  of  historic  events, — one  the 
first  settlement,  and  the  other  the  incorporation  of  the 
town. 


THE  INCORPORATION  OF  THE 
TOWN,  1766 


When  a  century  had  passed,  from  the  first  settling  of  the 
town  territory,  at  Wadleigh's  Falls,  the  farm  holdings  had 
become  quite  numerous,  and  the  farmers  were  complaining 
of  having  to  travel  to  Durham  Falls  to  attend  town  meet- 
ings ;  they  had  a  minister  and  a  meeting  house ;  the  time 
had  come  to  have  their  own  town  meetings ;  following  is 
the  first  step  taken  in  1764 ;  the  record  is  : 

"  Province  of  New  Hamp.  at  a  Publick  Town  meeting, 
(Legally  Notified)  held  at  the  Meeting  house  at  The  Falls 
in  Durham,  on  Monday  the  third  day  of  September,  A.  D. 
1764, — Joseph  Atkinson,  Esq.,  was  chosen  Moderator,  for 
the  well  Regulating  Said  Meeting, — Voted  that  there  should 
be  a  Committee  Chosen  to  run  Line  across  said  Town  of 
Durham,  from  Paul  Chesley,  his  house,  near  madbury  line, 
to  the  house  of  John  Smart  upon  Newmarket  Line,  being 
according  to  the  request  of  Sundry  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
Said  Town,  requesting  that, — All  the  upper,  or  Western  End 
of  said  Town,  above  the  aforesaid  line  may  be  voted  to  be 
Sat  off  as  a  Parish. 

"  Voted  that  Lieu.  Joseph  Sias,  mr.  Miles  Randel,  and  mr. 
Nicholas  Duda  of  the  Petitioners  and  Capt.  Benjamin  Smith, 
Capt.  Stephen  Jones  and  mr.  Thomas  Chesley,  of  the  lower 
Part  of  the  Town,  be  the  Persons  to  be  employed  as  a  Com- 
mittee for  the  aforesaid  Purpose. 

"  Voted  likewise,  if  the  said  Committee  Don't  Think  the 
Line  Petitioned  for  to  be  Suitable  (then)  to  fix  any  other 
Line  that  they  may  Unanimously  agree  upon  and  make 
Report  thereof  Accordingly,  to  the  Town  on  the  24th  inst., — 
The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  the  24th  day  of  September, 
instant,  to  2  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"  Met  according  to  adjournment,  Sept.  24th  and  the  Com- 


14 

mittee  made  the  following  Report,  in  writing,  under  their 
hands,  To  the  Town: 

"  Whereas,  we,  the  subscribers,  were  chosen  at  a  Publick 
Town  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Durham,  the  3d  inst. 
to  run  a  line  across  said  Town,  agreeable  to  a  petition.  Ex- 
hibited to  said  Town  by  Sundry  of  the  Inhabitants  Request- 
ing the  Western  Part  thereof,  to  be  Sat  off  into  a  Parish, 
it  was  likewise  voted, — That  if  we  the  Subscribers  Don't 
Think  the  line  Petitioned  for  proper,  to  Fix  Some  other 
Line,  that  we  might  agree  upon,  and  make  Report  to  the 
Town  accordingly.  Pursuant  Thereto  we  have  Run  the  Line 
Petitioned  for,  and  indeavored  to  View,  and  inform  our- 
selves, into  the  Circumstances  of  said  Town,  and  do  Unani- 
]nously  agree  that  a  Straight  Line  (be  run)  :  Beginning 
one  hundred  and  twenty-four  Rods  above  the  dwelling  house 
of  Paul  Chesley,  on  Madbury  Line,  and  so  to  Run  a 
Straight  Point  across  to  Newmarket  Line,  to  one  mile  and 
a  half  above  the  dwelling  house  of  John  Smart,  may  be  a 
suitable  Line. 

"  N.  B.  It  is  the  intent  of  the  above  Resolve  that  the  line 
fixed  upon.  Run  from  the  house  of  Paul  Chesley,  North  6 
degrees  East,  to  Madbury  Line  &  then  to  measure  up  124 
rods,  by  said  Madbury  Line. 

Stephen  Jones,  Miles  Randel, 

Benjamin  Smith,  Joseph   Sias, 

Nicholas  Duda,  Thomas  Chesley, 

Committee. 

"  The  meeting  adjourned  to  the  8th  day  of  October,  next, 
to  2  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon, — October  8th,  met  ac- 
cording to  adjournment,  and  Voted :  That  Capt.  Benjamin 
Smith,  and  Lieut.  Joseph  Sias,  be  appointed  to  draw  a  vote 
for  the  Western  Part  of  the  Town  to  be  Sat  off  as  a  Parish, 
and  bring  it  to  the  Town  at  some  Publick  Town  meeting. — 
The  Town  meeting  Dissolved. 

"  November  18,  1765. — At  a  Publick  Town  meeting  (Le- 
gally Notified)  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Durham,  held  this  day 
at  the  falls  in  Durham — Joseph  Atkinson,  Esq.,  Chosen  mod- 


15 

erator  for  Said  meeting  —  Capt.  Benjam.  Smith,  Esqr.,  and 
Capt.  Joseph  Sias  Brought  the  following  Vote  to  the  Town 
in  Writing, — That  the  Western  End  of  said  Town  of  Dur- 
ham, be  voted,  to  be  Sat  off  as  a  parish,  Agreable  to  the 
Result  or  the  Report  of  a  Committee  (Chosen  and  appointed 
for  that  purpose)  and  brought  into  Publick  Town  meeting 
the  24th  day  of  Septmr.,  1764  —  with  this  addition  thereto, 
that  the  said  parish  (when  an  act  may  be  Obtained  for  that 
Purpose)  shall  take  Their  proportionable  Part  of  the  Poor 
now  supported  by  the  whole  Town,  and  Likewise  That  the 
Said  Parish  shall  not  in  any  Respect  Interfere  with  any 
Lands  belonging  to  the  Proprietors  in  said  Town  — Voted 
that  the  above  Vote,  Brought  by  Capts.  Smith  and  Sias,  is 
agreeable  to  the  Sense  of  the  Town,  and  that  it  be  Recorded 
accordingly. 

"  The  above  &  within  are  True  Copyes,  as  on  Durham 
Town  Records. 

attest  —  Ebenr.  Thompson,  T.  Cler." 


Petition  to  the  General  Assembly. 

Captains  Smith  and  Sias  had  the  following  petition  to  the 
General  Assembly  all  drawn  up  and  ready  to  be  signed  when 
the  meeting  adjourned,  and  the  men  in  attendance  signed 
as  appears  below ;  the  list  is  interesting  as  showing  "  who 
was  who  "  in  Durham  and  Lee  (to  be)  at  that  time. 

"  Province  of  New  Hamp'r,  To  his  Excellency  Benning 
Wentworth,  Esqr.,  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  in 
and  over  his  majesty's  Province  of  New  Hampshire  to  the 
Honourable  his  majesty's  Council  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, in  General  Assembly  Convened  —  The  Petition 
of  Sundry  Inhabitants  Sufficient  for  two  Parishes  and  to 
maintain  and  support  the  charge  thereof, — That  many  of 
the  Inhabitants  live  more  than  eight  miles  from  the  place 
of  Worship  and  where  all  the  Town  meetings  and  the  Pub- 
lick  Affairs  are  holden  and  transacted  which  Renders  it  very 
Difficult  for  them  to  Attend  there  at  any  time,  but  more 
Especially  in  the  Winter  Season,  that  Consequence  there- 


16 

of,  it  is  probable,  will  be  that  many  of  the  Youth  of  Said 
Town  will  be  brought  up  in  great  Ignorance,  unless  the 
Difficulties  be  removed,  and  the  Petitioners  are  in  a  great 
measure  prevented  the  use  of  their  Privileges  in  their  pres- 
ent Situation. 

"  Wherefore,  your  Petitioners  most  humbly  pray  your 
Excellency  and  Honours,  that  there  may  be  two  Parishes  in 
said  Town,  and  that  the  Dividing  Line  between  the  Two  Par- 
ishes, Beginning  at  Paul  Chesles  house  at  Beech  Hill,  so  called, 
then  North  Six  Degrees  East  to  the  Line  Between  said  Dur- 
ham and  Madbury,  then  running  westerly  on  said  line  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  rods,  then  Beginning  and  Running 
from  thence  to  New  Market  line  to  one  mile  and  a  half  above 
the  Dwelling  House  of  John  Smart,  which  Line  was  agreed 
upon  by  a  Committee  Chosen  by  the  Said  Town  of  Durham 
in  the  year  one  thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Sixty-Four, 
and  Voted  in  Publick  Town  meeting,  and  so  to  Include  the 
whole  of  said  Durham  above  this  line.  We  therefore  Hum- 
bly pray  your  Excellency  and  your  Honours  to  take  our  Case 
into  your  wise  Considerations  and  Set  said  Parish  off  by 
said  Line,  with  the  Powers  and  Privileges  of  Other  Towns, 
or  Parishes  in  this  Province,  and  your  Petitioners  as  in  Duty 
bound  shall  Ever  pray. 

"  Dated  at  Durham  November  18th,  1765. 

Hercules   Mooney  -^  Timothy  Davis 

Gideon  Mathes  thomas  York 

Winthrop  Durgin  mason  Rendel 

Elijah  Denbo  Joseph  Clay 

Samuel  Jackson  Nathaniel  Stevens,  Jun. 

Joseph  Thompson  Stoten  Tuttle 

James  Hall  Miles  Randel 

Jonathan  runnels  Samuel  Langley 

Samuel  pitman  Zacheus  Clough 

John  follett  John  Davis 

Benjamin  Bradley  James  Giles  Bunker 

Joseph  Jackson  Robert  York 

Josiah  Johnson  Bartholomew  Smart 


17 


Nicholas  Tuttle 
Samuel  Burley 
Nathaniel  Randal 
Reuben  Hill 
Clement  Davis 
James  Watson 
Nathaniel  Frost 
Samuel  Watson 
Josiah  Durgin 
John  Durgin 
John  Shaw 
Benjamin  Woodman 
Samuel  Sias 
David  munsey 
Benja  Clark 
Eben  Jones,  Junr. 
Moses  Davis,  Jr. 
William  Waymoth 
James  Davis 
Hanary  tufts 
nathaniel  Watson 
Andrew  Watson 
Isaac  small 
Joseph  Hicks 
John  Sanborn 
Edward  Hill 
Thomas  Snell 
Eli  Clark,  Junr. 
Moses  Dam 
joseh  doe 
Benja  Durgin 
Eben  Randel 
Micah  Emerson 
Joseph  Clark 
Joseph  Sias 
John  Elliot 

Joshua  Woodman,  Jun. 
In  the  above  petition  no 


John  Giles 
Joseph  Meder 
Thomas  Huckins 
Nicholas  Duda 
Eben  Lethers 
William  Renely 
francis  Eliot 
Benjamin  Bickford 
Isarel  Randel 
Francis  Durgin 
Joshua  Burnum 
Samuel  Carter 
Thomas  huckins,  jr. 
Solomon  Sias 
francis  Allen 
Edward  Scales 
William  Cashey 
Samuel  Bickford 
wilham  Rendel 
Job  Runels    "^ 
John  Clark 
David  Davis 
Jonathan  Stevens 
Ebenezer  Dow,  Junr. 
Nathaniel  Watson,  Jun. 
Joseph  Huckins 
John  Shaw,  Junr. 
Ichabod  Denbow 
Thomas  Wille 
John  Snell 
Eli  Clark 
Hunkin  Dam 
Thomas  Noble 
Ebenezer  Jones 
Nathaniel  Sias 
Nathaniel  Stevens 
George  tutle 
mention  is  made  of  a  name  for 


18 

the  new  town;  the  petitioners  simply  say  they  wish  to  be 
set  off  from  Durham  as  a  parish  and  that  Durham  is  wilHng 
for  the  Assembly  to  grant  their  request.  Probably  Gover- 
nor Wentworth  selected  the  name,  as  he  did  for  many  other 
New  Hampshire  towns,  but  there  is  an  interesting  tradition 
that  has  come  down  in  the  Cartland  family  that  their  an- 
cestor suggested  the  name  to  Governor  Wetnworth,  as  his 
emigrant  ancestor  came  from  Scotland,  in  which  is  a  town 
of  Lee ;  and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  one  of  his  novels,  speaks  of 
"  the  Cartlands  of  Lee."  This  is  given  as  an  interesting 
tradition,  but  the  present  generation  of  the  family  do  not 
claim  it  is  "authority"  for  settling  the  question. 


The  Journal  of  the  House  (New  Hampshire  Provincial 
Assembly)  for  Wednesday,  Jan.  15,  1766,  A.  M.,  has  the 
following : 

"A  message  was  sent  to  the  Council  by  the  Clerk  of  the 
House  to  Enquire  what  Acts  had  passed  the  Council  and 
were  consented  to  by  the  Governor. 

"  P.  M.  In  answer  to  the  message  to  the  Council  by  the 
Clerk  in  the  forenoon  Mr.  Secretary  (Theodore  Atkinson) 
came  down  and  informed  that  the  following  Acts  were  con- 
sented to  by  the  Governour    (Benning  Wentworth),  viz: 

"  For  a  new  Parish  in  Durham, — To  enable  the  Treasurer 
to  recover  debts, — To  revive  the  Proprietary  Act, — To  en- 
able the  Selectmen  to  exchange  Roads, — To  enable  inhabi- 
tants to  call  town-meetings, — To  dissolve  the  marriage  of 
Samuel  Smallcorn." 

In  passing  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  in  those  days 
Governor  Wentworth  performed  marriage  ceremonies  and 
the  General  Assembly  granted  divorces. 

The  records  of  the  Assembly  from  January  15  to  Jan- 
uary 23  are  missing.  Perhaps  no  business  was  done  during 
that  period.  But  on  the  16th  of  January,  1766,  the  Act 
for  a  new  parish  (town)  of  Lee  became  a  law;  because  the 
record  for  January  10th  states  that  the  House  passed  an 
"Act  for  incorporating  a  new  Parish  in  Durham."  In  that 
Act  the  name  "  Lee  "  is  first  mentioned. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TOWN 


The  Act  of  incorporation  authorized  Joseph  Sias  to  call 
the  first  town  meeting ;  he  performed  that  duty  and  ordered 
the  meeting  to  be  held  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766.  The 
voters  met  and  organized  by  choosing  Miles  Randall  for 
moderator  and  clerk ;  Robert  Thompson,  Ely  Clark,  and 
Nicholas  Duda  were  chosen  selectmen.  Various  routine 
work  was  then  done ;  one  thing  was  the  appointment  of 
Zacheus  Clough  to, — '*  Inspect  into  the  affairs  of  Reverend 
Samuel  Hutchins,"  who  was  then  minister  at  The  Hill,  where 
the  first  town  meeting  was  held,  and  where  all  the  rest  of 
the  town  meetings  have  been  held  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  There  is  no  record  of  when  Mr.  Hutchins  began 
preaching  there,  Mr.  Clough  attended  to  the  duty  assigned 
him  and  in  due  time  reported  that  the  "  affairs  of  Mr.  Hutch- 
ins "  were  satisfactory ;  whereupon  the  town  voted  to  con- 
tinue him  as  minister.  He  held  the  office  till  about  1800, 
and  appears  to  have  done  good  work  among  the  people. 
During  the  Revolution  he  was  a  valiant  supporter  of  the 
patriotic  cause ;  and  was  influential  in  getting  men  to  serve 
in  the  army,  and  in  aiding  their  families  while  they  were 
away  from  home.  His  successor  was  Rev.  John  Osborne, 
who  was  minister  here  thirty-one  years, —  1800-1832.  The 
history  of  the  ministers  will  be  considered  later  in  this  brief 
account  of  Lee. 

Before  the  town  was  incorporated,  the  locality  where  the 
town  house  is  was  known  as  "  The  Hill,"  since  then  it  has 
been  "  Lee  Hill,"  to  outsiders,  but  for  the  home  dwellers  it 
is,  and  always  will  be, — "  The  Hill."  There  is  no  record 
of  the  man's  name  who  built  the  first  house  on  The  Hill,  but 
it  was  built  by  some  lumbermen  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  years  went  by;  business  increased;  more  houses  were 
built;  then  the  store-keeper  put  in  an  appearance  and  kept 


20 

supplies  of  what  the  lumbermen  and  farmers  wanted  for 
their  famiy  use.  Business  increased;  five  roads,  or  more, 
came  to  center  here  and  brought  business  from  all  points  of 
compass,  and  more  stores  and  houses  had  to  be  built  here  to 
accommodate  public  demands.  So,  a  hundred  years  ago.  The 
Hill  was  quite  a  village,  and  a  very  lively  place  of  business ; 
it  remained  so  till  the  Boston  &  Maine  railroad  reached 
Newmarket,  in  1841 ;  during  the  seventy-five  years  since 
then  it  has  decreased  to  its  present  quiet  ways  of  living. 

During  the  stage  coach  period  of  New  Hampshire,  which 
began  about  1800  The  Hill  was  one  of  the  centers  of  travel 
between  the  seacoast  towns  and  the  upcountry  towns  to 
Concord.  There  is  nothing  here  today  to  indicate  there 
was  such  activity ;  but  history  shows  it  was  so. 

The  old  Pascataqua  Bridge  was  completed  in  1794;  the 
New  Hampshire  Turnpike  was  opened  for  travel  from  there 
to  Concord  about  1802,  and  its  route  through  Lee  made 
quite  a  change  in  conditions  of  travel ;  the  Lee  families  who 
lived  "  on  the  Turnpike  "  were  looked  upon  by  the  other 
farmers  as  "  aristocrats,"  and  taverns  sprung  up  to  accom- 
modate the  travelers.  But  The  Hill  was  the  center  of  busi- 
ness. Stage  coaches  were  run  from  Newmarket  to  the 
Turnpike  to  meet  the  coaches  for  Concord.  Another  coach 
line  ran  from  Dover  through  Lee,  Nottingham  Square, 
Chester,  Derry,  Windham  to  Lowell,  when  they  began  to 
build  the  cotton  factories  there.  They  began  to  build  the 
cotton  factories  at  Dover  about  the  same  time.  At  Notting- 
ham Square,  General  Bradbury  Bartlett  was  the  agent  for 
the  management  of  this  line  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was 
son  of  Col.  Thomas  Bartlett ;  in  his  later  years  he  was  known 
as  Judge  Bartlett. 

Edwin  B.  Nealley,  brother-in-law  of  Judge  Bartlett,  came 
to  Lee  to  reside  on  the  Hill,  about  1810.  He  purchased  the 
large  house  that  is  now  standing  a  short  distance  north  of 
the  present  store  and  post-office,  and  which  was  the  resi- 
dence of  Simon  Otis  in  the  last  half  of  the  19th  century. 
That  house  was  built  by  Elijah  Cartland  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years  ago;  he  married  Abigail  Scales,  who  was 


21 

born  up  here  on  the  Scales  farm  in  Nottingham,  and  they 
commenced  house-keeping  in  it  soon  after  it  was  built.  Mr. 
Cartland  is  great  uncle  to  Mr.  Charles  S.  Cai:tland,  cashier 
of  the  Strafford  National  Bank;  and  Abigail  Scales  is  my 
father's  great  aunt.  Mr.  Cartland  was  one  of  Lee's  enter- 
prising business  men  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  18th  century 
and  the  first  decade  of  the  19th  century ;  he  then  removed 
to  Maine,  and  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  there  the  rest 
of  his  life.  When  I  was  a  boy  and  used  to  come  to  The  Hill 
to  private  schools,  there  was  a  store  on  the  north  side  of 
the  house,  and  a  hall  over  the  store,  the  entrance  to  which 
was  by  stairs  on  the  outside  of  the  building.  I  presume 
that  Mr.  Cartland  built  the  store  and  hall  after  he  built 
the  house ;  any  way  he  always  had  the  store  and  hall,  and 
they  were  much  used.  Sullivan  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  held  their  meetings  there,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
organization,  for  a  number  of  years.  Private  schools  were 
kept  there  by  excellent  teachers.  Public  assemblies  were 
held  there,  under  the  management  of  accomplished  dancing- 
masters,  who  furnished  music  with  their  violins.  My  recol- 
lection is  that  both  the  day  school  and  the  dancing-school 
were  well  conducted ;  for  a  brief  time  I  attended  both  and 
received  profit  and  pleasure.  One  of  the  teachers,  when  my 
father  was  a  boy,  was  Dr.  Hilliard ;  one  of  the  teachers  when 
I  was  a  boy  was  B.  Van  Dame,  whom  many  of  you  remember. 
I  have  said  that  Edward  B.  Nealley  came  here  to  reside 
about  1810;  this  was  his  home  till  his  death  in  1839.  He 
was  a  very  able  business  man ;  a  popular  citizen ;  a  first  class 
politician,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word ;  there  was  nothing 
petty  about  his  work.  In  1809  he  married  Sally  True  of 
Deerfield,  a  most  excellent  woman ;  they  raised  a  remarkable 
family  of  children, — four  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  born 
in  that  old  house,  a  short  distance  from  the  town  house. 
The  elder  son,  Greenleaf,  was  born  in  1810;  about  1840  he 
went  to  Iowa,  and  was  one  of  the  leading  business  men  in 
Burlington  for  a  half  century.  The  second  son,  Edward  St. 
John,  born  in  1811,  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1835, 
Bowdoin  College ;  he  became  a  lawyer  and  was  a  resident  of 


22 

Bath,  Me.,  till  his  death  in  1881 ;  he  was  one  of  the  distin- 
guished citizens  of  that  city ;  he  was  Collector  of  that  port 
from  1866  till  1881.  The  third  son,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
was  a  merchant  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  many  years.  The  younger 
son,  Joseph  Bowdoin,  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Bur- 
lington, Iowa,  and  engaged  in  business  with  his  brother, 
Greenleaf.  The  daughters  were  all  excellent  women,  and 
well  educated.  One  daughter,  Elizabeth  Sarah,  was  the 
wife  of  United  States  Senator  James  W.  Grimes  of  Iowa, 
who  had  been  Governor  of  that  State  before  he  was  Senator, 
which  latter  office  he  held  from  1859  till  1869,  when  he 
resigned  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  Senate  during  the  Civil  War.  Mrs.  Grimes'  twin 
sister,  Sarah  Elizabeth,  was  the  wife  of  Judge  Cyrus  Olney 
of  Astoria,  Oregon,  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading  men 
of  that  State.  Lee  has  occasion  to  be  proud  of  its  sons 
and  daughters,  who  have  won  fame  in  other  States.  A 
granddaughter  of  Edward  B.  Nealley  was  wife  of  Senator 
William  B.  Allison  of  Iowa.  He  died  but  recently,  after  a 
service  in  the  United  States  Senate  of  thirty  years  or  more. 
The  Nealley  burial  ground  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  road, 
northeast  of  the  house.  About  1875  Greenleaf  Nealley  had 
the  remains  of  all  removed  to  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  rein- 
terred  in  the  City  Cemetery  there,  and  erected  appropriate 
memorial  stones. 

Lee  Hill  from  being  a  hustling  village  during  the  first 
half  of  the  19  th  century,  has  gradually  diminished  to  the 
proportions  of  the  quiet  hamlet  it  is  at  the  present  day,  with 
its  meeting-house,  town-house,  small  store  with  the  post- 
office  in  it,  grange  hall,  parsonage  and  a  few  dwelling 
houses.  In  ancient  times  there  were  lawyers  and  doctors 
in  Lee,  but  for  a  long  time  no  doctor  or  lawyer  has  had  an 
office  here ;  no  need  of  them.  It  has  too  small  a  population  to 
support  more  than  one  religious  society;  so  all  combine  in 
one  church,  regardless  of  minor  religious  opinions,  in  support 
of  a  Congregational  church,  in  the  altruists  sense  of  the 
word.  In  the  interim  between  the  stage  coach  period  and 
the  long  continued  period  of  present  quiet  and  prosperity, 


23 

there  was  a  prevalence  of  intemperance,  but  vigorous  Chris- 
tian heroism  in  a  few  years  wrought  for  the  better,  and 
now  Lee  for  many  years  past,  has  held  the  rank,  in  respect 
to  temperance  and  sobriety,  of  being  "  the  banner  town  of 
Strafford  County." 


MEN  OF  LEE  IN  WARS  AND  PEACE 


The  men  of  Lee  have  a  patriotic  record  in  the  French 
and  Indian  wars  and  in  the  Revolutionary  war ;  and  hkewise 
in  the  Civil  War.  During  the  Indian  war  period,  1675-1725, 
the  inhabitants  had  to  keep  constant  guard  lest  they  be 
attacked  by  a  secret  Indian  foe,  but  the  only  great  battle 
with  the  Indians  in  Lee  was  at  Wheelwright's  Pond,  in 
July,  1690.  On  March  18th  previous,  the  Indians  had  at- 
tacked and  destroyed  the  settlement  at  Salmon  Falls,  now 
in  the  town  of  Rollinsford.  The  inhabitants  there  made  a 
brave  defense,  but  were  out  numbered  by  the  foe,  and  after 
thirty  of  their  fighting  men  had  been  killed,  the  rest  sur- 
rendered. In  May  following,  this  same  party  of  Indians, 
with  some  additions,  attacked  and  destroyed  Casco.  The 
Indians  then  came  up  to  Fox  Point,  in  what  is  now  New- 
ington,  where  they  burned  some  houses,  killed  about  fourteen 
and  carried  away  six  as  prisoners.  On  the  4th  day  of  July 
eight  men  were  killed  as  they  were  mowing  in  a  field  some- 
where along  Lamprey  River,  in  Lee.  A  boy  was  carried 
away  captive.  The  next  day  they  attacked  Captain  Hilton's 
garrison  at  Exeter.  This  was  well  defended  and  they  failed 
to  capture  it.  They  then  came  back  to  Lee  (territory). 
They  had  their  camp  on  the  bank  of  Wheelwright's  Pond. 

Two  companies  under  Captains  Floyd  and  Wiswell  were 
out  scouting  on  the  6th  day  of  July  and  discovered  the 
tracks  of  the  Indians;  they  followed  the  trail  and  found 
the  Indians  engaged  in  fishing  on  the  west  bank  of  the  pond. 
The  savages  were  taken  by  surprise,  but  quickly  changed 
work  from  fishing  to  fighting,  and  a  bloody  engagement 
followed  for  several  hours.  The  pond  was  surrounded  by 
heavy  growth  of  trees,  behind  which  the  warriors  concealed 
themselves  as  best  they  could,  from  the  bullets  of  their 
opponents.  They  went  from  tree  to  tree  and  shot  as  they 
saw  an  Indian's  head  or  body.     It  was  a  hand-to-hand 


25 

contest,  but  dodging  from  tree  to  tree.  Captain  Wiswell's 
company  suffered  the  worst,  and  very  badly,  though  his 
men  gave  the  Indian  fighters  a  severe  drubbing.  When  you 
visit  the  pond  you  can  see  where  the  battle  took  place ;  the 
railway  track  lies  over  part  of  the  ground.  Captain  Wis- 
well,  Lieut.  Flagg  and  Sergt.  Walker  were  killed ;  twelve 
privates  of  the  companies  were  killed  and  several  were 
wounded.  Captain  Floyd  kept  up  the  fight  for  a  while  after 
his  companion  officer  was  killed,  but  it  was  an  exceedingly 
hot  day  and  his  men  had  become  so  wearied  that  he  had  to 
give  up  the  battle;  as  he  withdrew  his  men  in  an  easterly 
direction  through  the  woods,  the  Indians  withdrew  in  the 
opposite  direction,  being  too  weary  to  pursue  the  white  men. 
The  Indians  took  their  dead  with  them  to  some  safe  place 
where  they  buried  the  bodies ;  they  also  took  their  wounded 
with  them.  It  is  not  known  how  many  Indians  were  killed, 
but  it  was  a  drawn  battle.  That  night  Captain  Conners 
went  to  the  battlefield  and  searched  for  the  wounded.  He 
found  seven  whom  he  took  to  the  nearest  farm  houses  at 
"  Newtown,"  or  maybe  Layne's  mill,  and  had  them  cared 
for,  about  sunrise.  The  dead  were  buried  among  the  trees 
of  the  forest,  by  the  pond ;  of  which  number  were  Captain 
Wiswell,  Lieut.  Flagg  and  Sergt.  Walker.  No  man  knows 
where  their  graves  are,  not  even  a  common  field  stone  being 
placed  at  the  heads  of  their  graves.  The  Indians  on  their 
way  westward,  in  the  course  of  a  week,  killed  between  Wad- 
leigh's  Falls  and  Amesbury,  Mass.,  not  less  than  forty 
people,  according  to  the  chronicles  of  the  day.  They  did 
not  take  any  prisoners. 

When  the  news  reached  Oyster  River  that  a  battle  was 
going  on  at  the  pond  all  of  the  fighting  men  made  haste  to 
take  their  guns  and  run  to  the  aid  of  Captains  Floyd  and 
Wiswell.  It  is  recorded  that  some  of  the  men  made  such 
haste  that  they  fell  exhausted  by  the  heat;  one  man  died 
of  surfeit,  but  the  others  got  there  in  season  to  render 
valuable  assistance. 


GARRISONS  IN  LEE 


Only  three  garrisons  are  mentioned  as  being  in  the  town 
of  Lee;  of  course  you  understand  these  were  long  before 
the  town  was  incorporated;  the  red  men  had  disappeared 
seventy  years  before  the  date  of  your  celebration  was  on 
the  calendar  of  time.  There  was  one  at  South  Lee,  on  the 
North  River  road,  which  was  built  by  Joseph  Doe,  who 
bought  land  there  23  June,  1737,  of  John  Bickford,  which 
had  been  assigned  to  Bickford  as  his  share  of  the  common 
lands  in  Durham  in  1734.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Doe,  the  house  became  the  property  of  their  daughter,  who 
had  married  Elijah  Fox.  Up  to  that  time  it  had  been 
called  the  "  Doe  garrison."  Later  it  came  to  be  called  the 
"  Fox  garrison,"  because  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  owned  it,  and 
lived  there  a  long  time.  At  the  death  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fox  it  passed  to  the  ownership  of  their  granddaughter, 
wife  of  Daniel  Cartland,  but  it  never  lost  the  name  of  "  Fox 
garrison."  After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Cartland,  Mr.  Samuel 
French  bought  it  and  resided  there  till  his  death,  about 
1880.    Soon  after  it  was  taken  down. 

The  Jones  garrison  was  at  "  Newtown."  This  was  built 
long  before  the  Fox  garrison,  as  there  was  a  settlement  at 
that  locality  before  1700,  probably  two  hundred  and  thirty 
years  ago,  and  the  garrison  was  built  about  that  time,  as  the 
Indians  were  then  very  troublesome  neighbors.  It  stood 
on  the  Nehemiah  Snell  farm,  and  was  much  resorted  to  for 
safety  by  the  farmers  in  that  section  of  Old  Dover,  when 
the  Indians  were  reported  to  be  on  the  warpath  at  Cochecho 
and  Oyster  River,  where  the  awful  massacres  occurred  in 
June,  1689  and  July,  1694.  The  old  garrison  was  taken 
down  many  years  ago. 

The  Randall  garrison  stood  on  the  Mast  road,  between 
The  Hill  and  where  now  is  the  New  Hampshire  College. 
It  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  near  what  is  known 
as  the  A.  D.  Wiggin  house.    It  was  built  of  logs  with  the 


27 

upper  story  projecting  over  the  lower,  with  loop-holes  in 
the  walls  for  the  discharge  of  guns  when  an  Indian  might 
be  seen  prowling  in  the  bushes  for  a  snap-shot  on  some 
member  of  the  family.  The  builder  was  Captain  Nathaniel 
Randall,  son  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth  (Tozer)  Randall. 
Captain  Randall's  grandfather  was  Richard  Tozer,  who  mar- 
ried Judith  Smith  in  Boston.  Governor  Richard  Belling- 
ham  performed  the  marriage  ceremony ;  of  course  it  was  a 
fine  wedding  at  the  Governor's  house,  which  is  now  stand- 
ing near  where  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript  printing  office 
is.  Later  they  came  to  reside  at  Salmon  Falls,  where  they 
were  killed  by  the  Indians  16  October,  1675.  Captain  Ran- 
dall, the  garrison  builder,  married  Mary  Hodgdon  of  Dover, 
one  of  the  old  families  of  that  city.  He  probably  built  the 
garrison  about  1720,  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago.  He 
took  his  bride  there  to  live,  and  that  was  their  home  till  his 
death,  9  March,  1749.  His  grave  is  in  the  old  cemtery, 
about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  The  Hill,  on  that  road  to 
the  State  College.  There  is  no  record,  or  tradition  that  the 
Indians  ever  attacked  these  garrisons,  but  the  dwellers 
therein  were  in  constant  fear  all  the  time  lest  an  attack 
might  be  made. 


LEE  MEN  IN  THE  REVOLUTIONARY 

WAR 


Lee  has  a  good  record  in  the  Revolutionary  War  period. 
The  first  action  on  their  part  was  to  sign  the  "Association 
Test,"  which  was  sent  out  to  all  the  towns,  by  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  in  the  spring  of  1776.  This  was  designed  to  find 
out  how  many  were  Tories,  or  persons  opposed  to  the  pro- 
posed war  with  Great  Britain,  for  American  Independence. 
It  reads  as  follows: 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  do  here  by  solemnly  engage  and 
promise  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  and  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  names  of  those  who  signed  this  pledge  in  Lee  are 
as  follows:  Elijah  Dinsmore,  Samuel  Jackson,  Bennan 
Jackson,  John  Emerson,  Samuel  Emerson,  Joshua  Burnham, 
Joshua  Burnham,  Jr.,  Steven  Wille,  Joseph  Sias,  William 
French,  Joshua  Woodmarch,  Eleson  Watson,  Philbrock  Bar- 
ker, Moses  Runnales,  Samuel  Hill,  Ruel  Giles,  Cornilus  Dins- 
more,  Job  Runals,  E.  Jones,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Dow,  Isaac  Small, 
Peter  Folsom,  Josiah  Durgien,  Miles  Randel,  Benjamin  Dur- 
gin,  John  Sanborn,  Jonathan  Runales,  Zacheus  Clough,  Job 
Runels,  Jr.,  Enoch  Runels,  William  Goen,  Ephm  Sherburne, 
Dimond  Fernald,  Richard  Hull,  Samuel  Langmaid,  Ebenezer 
Jones,  Lemuel  Chesley,  John  Jones,  Benj.  Clark,  George 
Jones,  Benj.  Jones,  Smith  Emerson,  Isaac  Clark,  Simon 
Rindel,  James  Bracket,  Stephen  Stevens,  Gideon  Mathes, 
Daniel  Chesle,  George  Chase,  Thomas  Arlen,  Zebelin  Wiley, 
Timothy  Muncy,  Micajah  Bickford,  David  Shaw,  Amos  Fer- 
nald, Edward  Scales,  Robert  Parker,  John  Mendum,  Hunk- 
ing  Dam,  John  Follett,  Ebenezer  Randel,  Eli  Furber,  Eben- 
ezer Burnum,  Joseph  Brackett,  Joseph  Follitt,  Samuel 
Stevens,  Samuel  Bickford,  Jonathan  Fisk,  William  Way- 


29 

mouth,  George  Tuttle,  George  Duch,  James  Watson,  Samuel 
Watson,  Timothy  Moses,  Dennet  Waymouth,  John  Kennison, 
Josiah  Kennison,  Wilham  GHden,  John  Putnam,  Anthony 
Fling,  John  Davis,  Clement  Davis,  Andrew  Watson,  Thomas 
Tuttle,  Thomas  Tufts,  Samuel  Burley,  James  Davis,  Jere- 
miah Hutchins,  John  Davis,  Nathaniel  Frost,  Henry  Tufts, 
Jonathan  Stevens,  Henry  Tufts,  Jr.,  Thomas  York,  Nicholas 
Tuttle,  Robert  York,  Eliphalet  York,  David  Davis,  Nathaniel 
Stev^ens,  William  Stevens,  Samuel  Durgin,  Joseph  Watson, 
Reuben  Hill,  Sam  Hutchins,  Josiah  Bartlett,  Moses  Dam, 
Jonathan  Thompson,  Samuel  Mathes,  William  Ely,  Samuel 
Langley,  Samuel  Smith,  Nicholas  Meder,  Mathias  Jones, 
Benj.  Jones,  Joseph  Jones,  Tolman  Thompson,  Zekiel  Wille, 
Edward  Leathers,  John  Leathers,  Joseph  Doe,  John  Wil- 
liams, John  Layn,  Benj.  Brily,  Thomas  Huckins,  Jr.,  Elijah 
Fox,  John  Wiggin,  James  Clemens,  John  Sias,  Benjamin 
Bodge,  Mark  Weder,  Mr.  Samuel  Bodge,  John  Glover,  Ed- 
ward Hill,  Thomas  Wille,  Ezekiel  Wille,  Thomas  Noble, 
Samuel  Woodman,  Edward  Woodman,  Thomas  Hunt,  Josiah 
Burley,  Samuel  Wille,  Joseph  Pittman,  Samuel  Snell,  Jr., 
Thomas  Langley. 

There  are  one  hundred  and  forty  names  in  the  list.  Fol- 
lowing are  the  names  found  on  the  Revolutionary  War  rolls 
who  actually  carried  arms  in  the  war.  It  is  a  very  creditable 
list  for  the  little  town  of  Lee : 

Elijah  Dinsmore,  Samuel  Jackson,  John  Emerson,  Joshua 
Burnham,  Samuel  Wille,  Ezekiel  Wille,  John  Sias,  WiUiam 
French,  Moses  Runales,  John  Runels,  Enoch  Runnels,  Samuel 
Reuben  Hill,  Ebenezer  Jones,  John  Jones,  Benj.  Jones,  Jos. 
Jones,  Jonathan  Dow,  Isaac  Small,  Benj.  Durgin,  Sam.  Dur- 
gin, Ebenezer  Randall,  Edward  Hill,  John  Sanborn,  Zacheus 
Clough,  Stephen  Stevens,  Jonathan  Stevens,  Samuel  Stevens, 
William  Stevens,  Nathaniel  Stevens,  Micajah  Bick,  Samuel 
Bickford,  Daniel  Shaw,  Robert  Parker,  Eli  Furber,  Ebenezer 
Burnham,  Jonathan  Fisk,  John  Kennison,  Anthony  Fling, 
John  Davis,  Clement  Davis,  James  Davis,  David  Davis, 
Thomas  Tuttle,  Henry  Tufts,  Samuel  Burley,  Jeremiah 
Hutchins,     Samuel  Hutchins,     Nathaniel  Frost,     Eliphalet 


30 

York,  Josiah  Bartlett,  Jonathan  Thompson,  Edward  John 
Leathers,  John  Williams,  John  Layn,  Thomas  Huckins,  John 
Wiggin,  John  Sias,  Samuel  Bodge,  John  Glover,  Samuel 
Woodman,  Edward  Woodman,  Thomas  Hunt,  Josiah  Burley, 
Joseph  Pitman,  Col.  Hercules  Mooney,  and  John  Mooney, 
son  of  the  colonel. 

Col.  Mooney's  record  is  one  of  the  best  of  New  Hampshire 
men.  His  farm  was  what  was  known,  till  a  very  recent 
date,  as  the  home  of  your  distinguished  citizen.  Miss  Mary 
A.  Hoitt.  Other  men  of  Lee  have  good  records,  but  cannot 
be  mentioned  in  this  brief  sketch  of  the  town's  history. 

The  following  refused  to  sign  the  "  Test,"  as  they  were 
"  Quakers,"  or  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  which 
opposed  all  war.  They  were  not  "  Tories."  Robert  Thomp- 
son, Joseph  Cartland,  William  Jenkins,  William  Jenkins,  Jr., 
Charles  Runlet,  Joseph  Meder,  James  Bunker,  Samuel  La- 
mas, David  Muncy,  John  Snell,  William  Colwell,  Joseph 
Emerson,  Robert  Glover,  Aaron  Hanson. 

ICHABOD    WHIDDEN, 

William  Laskey, 

Selectmen  of  Lee. 


SOLDIERS  OF  LEE  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


Charles   R.   Clay:     Co.   3d  Regt. ;   enl.   Aug.   23,   1861 
re-enl.  Jan.  23,  1864 ;  disch.  Aug.  24,  1865. 

Joseph  T.  Cummings :     Co.  3d  Regt. ;  enl.  Aug.  23,  1861 
re-enl.  Feb.  16,  1864;  disch.  June  19,  1865. 

Moses  Lovering:     Co.  D,  3d  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  23,  1861 
re-enl.  Feb.  14,  1864 ;  disch.  July  20,  1865. 

Frank  Bridges:     Co.  H,  5th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  18,  1864 
died  May  5,  1865. 

Francis  Lovell :     5th  Regt. ;  enl.  Dec.  28,  1863 ;  missing 
April  7,  1865. 

Clonen  Jean :     5th  Regt. ;  enl.  Dec.  17,  1864. 

John  A.  Randall:     Co.  A,  5th  Regt.;  enl.  Feb.  6,  1865 
disch.  June  28,  1865. 

Miron   B,   McAlister:     Co.   A,   5th   Regt.;  enl.   Feb.   4 
1865;  disch.  June  2,  1865. 

Erastus  C.  Davis :     Corp.  Co.  C,  6th  Regt. ;  enl.  Nov.  27 
1861;  disch.  June  24,  1862. 

John  F.  Jones:     Co.  C,  6th  Regt.;  enl.  Nov.  27,  1861 
disch.  Nov.  27,  1864. 

Washington  Davis:     Co.  H,  6th  Regt.;  enl.  Nov.  28 
1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  31,  1863;  killed  June  25,  1864. 

William  Hardy:     Co.  K,  6th  Regt.;  enl.  Jan.  5,  1864 
deserted  Jan.  31,  1864.    Born  in  Ireland. 

William  Johnson:     Co.  E,  6th  Regt.;  enl.  Jan.  5,  1864 
captured  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Andrew  Lawrence :     Co.  C,  6th  Regt. ;  enl.  May  18,  1864 
deserted  June  14,  1864. 

Hollis  S.  Peavey :     Co.  C,  6th  Regt. ;  enl.  Jan.  11,  1864 
died  Sept.  7,  1864. 

Andrew  Locke:     Co.  D,  8th  Regt.;  enl.  Dec.  28,  1861 
disch.  April  10,  1862.. 


32 

Nathaniel  Glover:  Co.  I,  8th  Regt.;  enl.  Dec.  20,  1861; 
re-enl.  Jan.  4,  1864,  Vet.  Bat. ;  disch.  Oct.  28,  1865. 

John  S.  Harvey:  Co.  H,  8th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  28,  1862; 
trans,  to  Co.  C,  Vet.  Bat. ;  disch.  Oct.  28,  1865. 

Edwin  Lamondan :  Co.  I,  10th  Regt. ;  enl.  Jan.  25,  1864 ; 
trans.  2d  Regt.  Jan.  21,  1865.  He  is  also  given  as  "  Edmond 
Larmandeau  "  and  "  Edmond  Normandeau ;"  born  in  Canada, 
age  19.    He  was  a  musician  and  deserted  Dec.  5,  1864. 

Joseph  White:  Co.  D,  10th  Regt.;  enl.  Jan.  5,  1864; 
trans,  to  2d  Regt.  Jan.  21,  1865 ;  disch.  June  19,  1865. 

Dana  M.  Dicy:  Co.  G,  10th  Regt.;  enl.  Jan.  5,  1864; 
killed  June  27,  1864. 

Charles  E.  Linscott:  Musician,  Co.  I,  10th  Regt.;  enl. 
Jan.  5,  1864;  trans,  to  2d  Regt.  June  21,  1865;  disch.  Dec. 
19,  1865. 

Enoch  Glover:  Co.  I,  10th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1862; 
disch.  June  21,  1865. 

Adison  Osborne :  Co.  I,  10th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1862 ; 
trans,  to  U.  S.  Cav.  Oct.  25,  1862;  mustered  out  June  21, 
1865. 

True  W.  Langmaid:  Co.  A,  11th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  18, 
1862 ;  wounded  May  6,  1864,  Wilderness,  Va. ;  mustered  out 
June  4,  1865. 

David  H.  Lang:  Co.  A,  11th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1862; 
killed  Sept.  30,  1864,  in  battle  at  Poplar  Springs  Church,  Va. 

John  N.  Marsh:  Co.  A,  11th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  28,  1862; 
disch.  June  4,  1865. 

Albra  Plummer:  Co.  A,  11th  Regt.;  Aug.  28,  1862; 
promoted  to  corp;  disch.  June  4,  1865. 

Lawrence  G.  Otis:  Co.  G,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862;  disch.  May  14,  1864. 

Daniel  S.  Randall:  Co.  E,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862;  trans,  to  inv.  corp,  Feb.  15,  1864;  disch.  June  28, 
1865;  died  April  10,  1872. 

Charles  A.  Fernald:  Co.  E,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862 ;  disch.  May  16,  1865. 


33 

George  W.  Hanson:  Co.  E,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862 ;  trans,  to  U.  S.  Navy  April  28,  1864.  As  an  ordinary 
seaman  he  served  on  the  "  Florida  "  and  "Quaker  City ;" 
disch.  June  11,  1865. 

Joseph  A.  Jones :  Co.  E,  13th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  19,  1862 ; 
died  Feb.  3,  1863,  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va. 

Richard  Randall :  Co.  E,  13th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  19,  1862 ; 
disch.  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Bradbury  C.  Davis:  Co.  C,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862;  disch.  June  10,  1865. 

Orrin  Dow :  Co.  E,  13th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  19,  1862 ;  pro- 
moted to  sergt. ;  disch.  May  7,  1865. 

John  W.  Emerson:  Co.  F,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Sept.  19, 
1862;  disch.  April  2,  1863. 

True  Emerson :  Co.  F,  13th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  19,  1862 ; 
disch.  April  2,  1863. 

Joseph  G.  Clay :  Co.  F,  13th  Regt. ;  enl.  Sept.  19,  1862 ; 
disch.  June  21,  1865. 

Israel  G.  York:  Corp.  Co.  D,  13th  Regt.;  enl.  Oct.  8, 
1862;  disch.  Aug.  13,  1863. 

Stephen  Hilton  :  Co.  D,  15th  Regt. ;  enl.  Oct.  14,  1862 ; 
disch.  Aug.  13,  1863. 

Josiah  D.  Thompson:  Co.  D,  15th  Regt.;  enl.  Oct.  8, 
1862 ;  disch.  Aug.  13,  1863. 

George  W.  Demeritt:  Co.  I,  18th  Regt.;  enl.  Feb.  6, 
1865 ;  promoted  to  sergt.  May  18,  1865 ;  disch.  July  29,  1865. 

Samuel  Durgin :  Co.  F,  12th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug.  31,  1862; 
born  in  Strafford;  age  44;  disch  April  16,  1863.  He  re- 
enlisted  in  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Jan.  5,  1864.  He  gave  his  age 
then  as  52.  Enl.  Jan.  5,  1864;  disch.  Sept.  9,  1865.  His 
residence  was  Nottingham,  but  he  enlisted  for  "Lee." 

Frank  G.  Wentworth :  2d  Lieut.  Co.  F,  7th  Regt. ;  enl. 
Nov.  7,  1861 ;  resigned  June  3,  1863 ;  Aug.  25,  1863,  he  was 
appointed  2d  Lieut,  of  First  Co.  Heavy  Art.;  promoted  to 
1st  Lieut.  Sept.  29,  1864;  disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 


34 

Josiah  D.  Thompson :  Co.  B,  H.  A. ;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864 ; 
disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 

David  S.  Bennett:  Co.  D,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864; 
disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 

Albert  S.  Cummings:  Co.  D,  H.  A. ;  enl.  Sept.  11,  1864; 
disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 

Joseph  B.  Davis:  Co.  D,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  11,  1863; 
disch.  June  15,  1865. 

Albert  W.  Davis:  Co.  D,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  11,  1864; 
disch.  June  15,  1865. 

George  B.  Haley:  Co.  B,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  11,  1864; 
disch.  June  15,  1865. 

Charles  A.  Rollins:  Co.  D,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864; 
disch.  May  31,  1865. 

Nehemiah  Randall:  Co.  D,  H.  A.;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864; 
disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 

Jonathan  B.  Thompson :  Co.  D,  H.  A. ;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864 ; 
promoted  to  corp. ;  disch.  June  23,  1865. 

Josiah  D.  Thompson :  Co.  D,  H.  A. ;  enl.  Sept.  4,  1864 ; 
disch.  Sept.  11,  1865. 

Robert  McKee:  Co.  M,  H.  A. ;  enl.  Aug.  14,  1864;  disch. 
June  9,  1865. 

Lawrence  Keough:  Co.  H,  14th  Regt. ;  enl.  as  substi- 
tute Aug.  14,  1863 ;  disch.  July  1,  1865. 

William  E.  Smith:  Substitute;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1864;  U. 
S.  Navy ;  served  on  the  "  Vandalia,"  "  San  Jacinto,"  "  Fort 
McHenry,"  and  "Muscoota;"  disch.  May  20,  1867. 

James  Fitzgerald:  Substitute;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1864,  U. 
S.  Navy ;  seaman  on  the  "  Vandalia ;"  deserted  Sept.  6,  1864. 
Born  in  Scotland. 

James  McPherson :  Substitute;  enl.  Aug.  17,  1864;  de- 
serted. 

John  Powers:  Substitute,  Co.  B,  10th  Regt.;  enl.  Aug. 
14,  1863;  disch.  Feb.  28,  1865. 

James  McClay:  Substitute;  enl.  Sept.  17,  1863;  de- 
serted. 


35 

John  Mullen :  Substitute ;  born  in  Ireland ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 
1863 ;  Co.  B,  10th  Regt. ;  wounded  Aug.  5,  1864,  near  Peters- 
burg; disch.  Dec.  19,  1865. 

Edwin  W.  Dalton :  Substitute,  Co.B,  10th  Regt. ;  enl.  Aug- 
14,  1863 ;  wounded  June  3,  1864,  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va. ;  died 
Oct.  15,  1864. 

G.  Singer:     Substitute ;  enl.  Oct.  1,  1863 ;  deserted. 

In  the  above  list  are  sixty-four  names.  Could  the  town 
if  called  upon  in  this  year,  1916,  furnish  sixty-four  men  for 
the  army,  if  the  President  should  call  for  volunteers? 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  LEE 


Lee  has  not  only  furnished  vaUant  and  patriotic  men  for 
war,  but  it  has  also  furnished  men  who  were  equally 
valiant  in  the  walks  of  peace.  The  first  minister  here  was 
Rev.  Samuel  Hutchins,  who  was  pastor  of  the  people  who 
assembled  in  the  old  meeting  house  here  on  the  Hill  from 
1762  till  1797.  He  signed  the  Association  TesU  to  aid  in 
carrying  on  the  war,  and  he  not  only  did  good  service  in 
his  pulpit,  in  exhorting  his  parishioners  to  join  in  the 
battles,  but  he  also  enlisted  and  set  them  an  example,  which 
they  were  not  slow  in  following.  In  the  fall  of  1775  and 
winter  of  1776,  when  it  was  expected  that  the  British  war- 
ships would  attack  Portsmouth,  and  threatened  to  destroy  it, 
as  they  had  done  with  the  settlement  at  what  is  now  Port- 
land, Me.,  Mr.  Hutchins  enlisted,  with  quite  a  number  of 
his  parishioners,  one  of  whom  was  my  great  grandfather, 
Samuel  Scales,  who  lived  on  the  Scales  farm  in  Nottingham, 
a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  your  town  house.  They  went  to 
Portsmouth  harbor  and  did  duty  there  till  the  siege  of 
Boston  ended  on  the  17th  of  March,  1776. 

Rev.  John  Osborne  was  Mr.  Hutchins'  successor.  He  was 
born  in  Newcastle,  N.  H.,  March  7,  1769.  He  died  in  the 
parsonage  on  Lee  Hill,  Feb.  28,  1832.  He  was  a  minister  in 
Newcastle  before  coming  to  Lee,  in  1800,  when  he  became 
the  settled  minister  here  and  remained  in  office  till  his  death. 
He  was  twice  married, —  first  marriage,  Nov.  25,  1790,  Abi- 
gail Smith;  she  died  Sept.  18,  1796;  second  marriage,  Nov. 
12,  1797,  Miss  Mary  Frost  of  Newcastle,  who  survived  him 
some  years.  In  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  pastor  he 
conducted  many  marriage  ceremonies.  He  kept  a  record  of 
those  marriages,  the  manuscript  of  which  has  been  published 
in  the  New  Hampshire  Genealogical  Record,  vol.  IV,  in  the 
year  1907.  He  performed  his  first  marriage  Feb.  19,  1801, 
"Asa  Kennison  of  Nottingham  to  Susanna  Kennison  of 
Newmarket."     He  married  five  hundred  and  thirty-eight 


37 

couples;  the  last  one  was  Jan.  31,  1832.  He  died  Feb.  28, 
1832.  The  epitaph  on  the  headstone  at  his  grave  is  as 
follows : 

"  Elder  John  Osborne,  born  in  Newcastle,  N.  H.,  March  7, 
1769 ;  died  in  Lee,  Feb.  28,  1832.  As  a  Christian  eminent  for 
piety,  and  a  minister  faithful  in  office,  the  people,  over  whom 
he  presided  for  more  than  thirty  years,  erect  this  stone  as  a 
token  of  their  lasting  affection  and  respect." 

In  his  early  ministry  Elder  Osborne  was  a  Congregation- 
alist,  but  later  he  was  inclined  more  to  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
belief ;  as  they  spoke  of  their  ministers  as  "  Elder,"  instead 
of  "  Reverend,"  the  change  of  belief  may  have  been  to  the 
change  in  style  of  address.  He  was  known  far  and  wide  as 
"  Elder  Osborne."  Benjamin  Randall,  founder  of  the  Free 
Will  Baptists,  was  born  in  the  same  village  at  Newcastle  in 
which  John  Osborne  was,  twenty  years  later.  Elder  Os- 
borne's preaching,  no  doubt,  led  so  many  young  men  in  Lee 
to  become  Free  Will  Baptist  ministers;  not  one  a  Congre- 
gationahst. 

Elder  Israel  Chesley  was  Mr.  Osborne's  successor,  and 
served  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  His  successor  was  Rev. 
Mason  Moore,  who  graduated  from  Andover  Theological 
Seminary  in  1855  and  commenced  preaching  on  the  Hill  that 
year.  He  remained  the  minister  till  1868.  About  this  time 
Elder  A.  G.  Comings  removed  from  Mason,  N.  H.,  to  Lee  and 
was  preacher  a  number  of  years  in  the  Baptist  church,  now 
the  Grange  Hall. 

The  present  Congregational  church  was  organized  Dec. 
3,  1867 ;  the  present  chapel  had  been  built  in  1861,  for  Mr. 
Moore.  The  ministers  who  have  followed  Mr.  Moore,  and 
the  dates  of  their  terms  of  service  are  as  follows:  Rev. 
John  W.  Lees,  1870-1880;  Rev.  Lewis  D.  Evans,  1881-1884; 
Rev.  Richard  M.  Burr,  1884-1886 ;  Rev.  W.  A.  Forbes,  1886- 
1889;  Rev.  Charles  S.  Bales,  1890-1892;  Rev.  Daniel  W. 
Richardson,  1893-1896;  Rev.  Benjamin  A.  Willmot,  1896- 
1900 ;  Rev.  James  T.  Berry,  1900-1903 ;  Rev.  George  E.  Kin- 
ney, 1904-1909;  Rev.  Isaac  A.  Ross,  1911-1913;  Rev.  Lorenzo 
W.  Multart,  1913-1914 ;  Rev.  Arthur  Brotherston,  1915. 


38 

The  following  persons  were  natives  of  Lee  who  became 
ministers  and  did  good  service  in  other  towns.  They  were 
all,  or  nearly  all,  parishioners  of  Rev,  John  Osborne,  and  he 
was  largely  influential  in  shaping  their  careers  as  ministers 
of  the  Gospel. 

Rev.  Jesse  Burnham.  He  was  born  in  1778,  and  resided 
here  till  1806,  when  he  removed  to  Sebec,  Me.,  and  began 
preaching  there.  His  work  was  satisfactory  and  he  was 
ordained  in  June,  1808,  at  Charlestown,  Me.  Jointly  with 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Scales  and  Rev.  Mr.  Libby,  he  organized  a 
church  there  and  remained  its  pastor  seven  years.  Later 
he  organized  Free  Will  Baptist  churches  in  several  Maine 
towns,  and  left  them  in  flourishing  condition.  In  1840  he 
removed  to  Janesville,  Wis.,  where  he  became  influential  in 
organizing  churches,  in  various  towns  around  there.  He 
organized  the  first  Free  Will  Baptist  Quarterly  Meeting  in 
Wisconsin.  He  was  an  able  organizer  and  did  extended  mis- 
sionary work.  He  preached  until  within  four  weeks  of  his 
death,  at  Janesville,  Dec.  5,  1863. 

Daniel  Elkins  was  born  in  Lee  in  1760 ;  removed  to  Gil- 
manton  in  1797  and  began  preaching  there  in  1798,  as  a 
Free  Will  Baptist.  He  continued  doing  missionary  work  till 
1804,  when  he  was  ordained,  as  a  minister  of  that  belief,  at 
a  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Sandwich,  N.  H.  He  organized  a 
church  in  1809  at  Jackson  and  remained  its  pastor  more 
than  thirty  years.  He  did  much  missionary  work  in  the 
mountain  towns. 

Joseph  Foss,  Free  Will  Baptist,  was  born  in  Lee  in  1765. 
He  resided  in  his  native  town  till  1802.  He  then  began  hold- 
ing missionary  meetings  in  the  surrounding  towns.  In  1812, 
when  he  went  to  Brighton,  Me.,  and  became  pastor  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church  there.  He  held  that  position  forty 
years,  and  did  much  ministerial  work  in  towns  that  had  no 
regular  minister.    He  died  in  that  town  in  1852. 

Thomas  Huckins  was  born  in  Lee  in  1795.  When  a  boy 
he  removed  with  his  parents  to  East  Canada,  and  remained 
there  till  1811.  In  1812  he  was  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and 
during  the  war  he  was  a  soldier  and  sailor,  in  turn,  on  the 


39 

American  side  of  the  conflict.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  to  East  Canada  and  became  a  Free  Will  Baptist 
minister.  He  received  his  "  license  to  preach  "  before  leav- 
ing New  Hampshire,  having  shown  good  ability  for  the 
work.  In  due  time  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  He 
was  the  first  minister  to  preach  the  "  Free  Will  "  doctrine 
in  Canada.  He  remained  in  that  province  about  ten  years 
and  then  went  to  Lexington,  Mich.,  in  1839,  where  he 
established  a  church  and  was  its  pastor  ten  years.  He  died 
there  in  1853. 

Robert  Mathes,  Christian  Baptist,  was  born  in  Lee  in 
1772.  When  thirty  years  old  he  became  impressed  with  the 
feeling  that  he  must  go  and  preach  the  Gospel.  He  soon  after 
removed  to  Milton  and  began  preaching  there.  Later  he 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  did  a  large  amount  of 
itinerant  work  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 

Charles  Frost  Osborne,  Free  Will  Baptist,  son  of  Rev. 
John  and  Mary  (Frost)  Osborne,  was  born  12  March,  1800. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  fine  ability.  He  was  engaged  in 
business  at  Alton,  and  later  in  Scarborough,  Me.  He  did  not 
engage  in  preaching  until  he  was  thirty-eight  years  old.  He 
was  licensed  to  preach  in  1838,  and  was  ordained  in  1840. 
He  was  pastor  of  the  church  in  Scarborough  five  years. 
Later  he  was  minister  of  churches  in  other  towns.  He  died 
in  Gorham,  Me.,  in  1856. 

William  W.  Smith,  Christian  Baptist,  son  of  Samuel 
Smith,  was  born  in  Lee  in  1811.  He  was  a  farmer  till  he 
was  about  thirty,  when  he  received  a  license  to  preach,  and 
then  continued  farming  and  doing  itinerant  work  as  preach- 
er, but  not  as  regular  pastor  of  a  church.  In  1849  he  went 
to  California,  via  Cape  Horn.  He  was  chaplain  of  the  sailing 
vessel  during  the  long  and  tedious  voyage.  He  engaged  in 
mining,  farming,  and  running  a  gristmill.  But  he  kept  up 
the  practice  of  conducting  religious  meetings  whenever  an 
opportunity  was  found  for  him  to  preach.  He  was  a  good 
speaker  and  his  audiences  always  gave  him  close  attention. 
He  served  in  the  Navy  during  the  Civil  War.  After  the 
close  of  the  war  he  perfected  drawings  for  rapid  fire  guns, 


40 

armored  trains,  etc.,  but  some  one  stole  his  plans  before  he 
could  secure  patents  on  them,  and  others  got  the  benefit  of 
his  inventions.  He  died  at  Antioch,  Cal.,  Oct.  16,  1899.  He 
was  a  Christian  hero.  He  was  88  years  old,  and  had  been  a 
resident  of  that  State  a  half  century. 

John  G.  Tuttle,  Free  Will  Baptist,  was  born  in  Lee  in 
1802.  When  he  was  about  ten  years  old  his  parents  removed 
to  Effingham.  That  was  his  home  till  he  was  nearly  thirty 
years  old,  and  he  was  a  successful  farmer.  In  1833  he  was 
licensed  to  preach,  having  shown  good  ability  for  the  work, 
in  the  presence  of  the  Elders  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting.  He 
followed  itinerant  work  till  1837,  when  he  was  ordained  as 
regular  pastor  at  Wolfeborough.  He  served  as  pastor  in 
churches  at  Gilmanton,  Danville,  and  South  Weare.  He  died 
in  Lowell,  Mass.,  in  1845. 


JEREMIAH  SMITH  GRANGE-PATRONS 
OF  HUSBANDRY 


The  institution  in  Lee  that  deserves  to  be  mentioned  as 
second  only  to  the  church  is  the  Jeremiah  Smith  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  which  was  organized  Feb.  19,  1891, 
with  twenty-four  charter  members,  a  good  number  of  whom 
are  now  Hving.  Your  celebration  here  today  is  in  the  twenty- 
fifth  year  of  its  existence,  so  you  might  as  well  count  it  in 
as  a  part  of  the  programme.  It  has  done  a  prosperous,  en- 
joyable, and  beneficent  work  during  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
It  has  an  interesting  history,  but  I  cannot  enter  upon  that 
subject  on  this  occasion,  or  rather  do  more  than  enter  by 
giving  the  list  of  names  showing  who  have  served  as  Masters 
of  it.  They  are  as  follows:  B.  Frank  Davis,  1891-1892; 
Frank  J.  Davis,  1893;  B.  Frank  Davis,  1894-1895;  Albert  L. 
Comings,  1896-1897 ;  George  A.  Dudley,  1898-1899 ;  Arthur 
J.  Thompson,  1900-1901 ;  John  C.  Bartlett,  1902-1903 ;  Ar- 
thur J.  Thompson,  1904-1905;  Arthur  J.  McDaniel,  1906- 
1907;  George  A.  Dudley,  1908-1909 ;  Frank  J.  Caldwell,  1910- 
1911;  Albert  B.  Dudley,  1912;  Eugene  L.  Moore,  1913-1914; 
Albert  B.  Dudley,  1915;  Robert  H.  Hardy,  1916. 


ROADS  IN  LEE  IN  1804 


In  1804  John  Rundlett,  with  chainmen  John  Ford,  Jr., 
and  Andrew  Demeritt,  perambulated  the  town  lines;  and  in 
the  same  year  measured  the  various  roads  in  the  town,  and 
recorded  the  names  of  the  residents  on  the  roads,  and  the 
distances  between  their  houses.  November  27,  1804,  they 
made  a  report  to  the  town,  and  that  report  later  came  into 
the  hands  of  Tobias  Cartland.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  given 
to  Mr.  Charles  S.  Cartland,  by  whose  permission  I  am  per- 
mitted to  make  the  following  extracts,  which  I  think  you 
will  find  interesting.  In  a  way  it  shows  "  Who  was  Who  " 
in  Lee  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  ago. 

Surveyor  Rundlett  found  the  following  distances  on  the 
adjoining  towns:  The  Nottingham  Hne,  4  miles,  82  rods; 
Barrington  line,  2  miles,  211  rods;  Madbury  line,  7  miles, 
297  rods ;  Durham  line,  5  miles,  66  rods ;  Newmarket  line,  1 
mile,  186  rods;  Epping  line,  2  miles,  305  rods.  Total,  18 
miles,  187  rods. 

At  this  time  Lee  Hill  was  called  Federal  Hill ;  who  gave 
it  that  name  or  when  it  was  given  I  do  not  know.  The 
report  says  the  road  from  "  Federal  Hill  thro2igh  the  Hook  " 
to  Durham  line  was  3  miles  and  9  rods.  The  following  house- 
holders lived  on  the  road.  Several  of  their  houses  are  stand- 
ing now.  Starting  from  the  Hill:  Abraham  Mathes,  Sam 
Mathes,  Hill's  Bridge, — Sam  Thompson.  This  house  is  now 
known  as  the  Israel  Bartlett  house.  It  was  built  by  Captairi 
Reuben  Hill,  who  acquired  the  falls  on  the  river  and  the  ad- 
joining farm,  in  the  middle  of  the  18th  century.  The  house 
is  probably  not  less  than  160  years  old.  The  first  bridge 
was  built  about  the  same  time,  hence  was  called  "  HilVs 
Bridge.  "  The  next  house  is  Lieut.  Hilton's.  It  stood  where 
John  C.  Bartlett's  house  now  stands,  and  was  taken  down  to 
give  place  to  the  present  house. 

Lieut.  Andrew  Hilton  was  born  at  Newmarket,  August 
8, 1763.    He  was  son  of  Winthrop  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Hilton, 


43 

who  was  son  of  Col.  Winthrop  and  Martha  (Weeks)  Hilton; 
he  was  son  of  Col.  Winthrop  and  Ann  (Wilson)  Hilton;  and 
this  Col.  Winthrop  was  grandson  of  Judge  Edward  Hilton, 
the  founder  of  Dover,  in  the  spring  of  1623.  The  Hiltons 
were  extensive  land  owners,  and  lived  in  what  is  now  New 
fields ;  when  they  came  into  possession  of  the  Bartlett  farm  I 
do  not  know,  but  Andrew  Hilton  was  living  there  when  the 
first  U.  S.  Census  was  taken,  in  1790,  and  his  family  then 
consisted  of  two  men,  four  women,  and  two  children.  The 
farm  has  been  in  possession  of  the  Bartlett  family  since 
1822,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Hon.  Josiah  Bartlett,  and 
at  his  death  it  passed  to  the  ownership  of  his  son,  Hon.  John 
C.  Bartlett,  the  present  owner ;  so  the  farm  has  been  in  pos- 
session of  two  men  for  nearly  a  century.  The  present  owner 
has  improved  it  to  such  an  extent  that  he  raises  two  spears 
of  grass  in  his  fields  where  formerly  grew  only  one.  It  is 
one  of  the  best  farms  in  Strafford  county,  and  it  goes 
without  saying  that  Mr.  Bartlett  is  one  of  the  best  farmers 
in  the  county.  His  father  was  a  good  farmer,  as  well  as  a 
valiant  officer  in  the  war  of  1812-15 ;  his  grandfather,  Col. 
Thomas  Bartlett,  was  a  good  farmer  in  Nottingham,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  great  patriots  of  the  Revolution. 

The  next  house  beyond  Lieut.  Hilton's  was  Josiah  Burley, 
Capt.  Tuttle,  Capt.  Frost,  Thomas  Tufts,  Durham  line. 

Road  to  Northwood:  Begins  at  Esqr.  Leavitt's  store, 
Elijah  Cartland's  house  (now  known  as  Timothy  G.  Davis, 
or  Simon  Otis  house).  Esquire  Leavitt's  "M"  house,  Edward 
Hardy,  Footman  house,  Nottingham  line.  Total,  1  mile  and 
90  rods. 

Road  to  Wadleigh's  Falls :  Began  at  Leavitt's  well  (on 
the  Hill),  Eli  Furber,  Furber's  bridge,  Josiah  Durgin.  Dis- 
tance, 2  miles  and  72  V2  rods. 

North  River  road:  Began  at  one  rod  west  of  Leavitt's 
store  (on  the  Hill)  ;  then  5  rods  to  Dr.  Guy's  house,  school- 
house,  Capt.  Josiah  Bartlett's  house,  Hunking  Dame,  at 
junction  of  the  road  to  Nottingham,  Little  River  bridge, 
Peltiah  Thompson  (at  top  of  the  hill),  Jonathan  Cartland 
(now  Charles  S.  Cartland's)  Friends'  meeting  house,  Levi 


44 

Runnels,  Kelsey  road  to  Nottingham,  William  Palmer,  Moses 
Huckins,  schoolhouse,  Lieut.  Lang's  house,  Jos.  Burnham, 
Joseph  Ladd,  North  River  mill,  Sam  Allen.  Distance,  3 
miles  and  156  rods. 

This  road  is  one  of  the  old  highways  that  antedates  the 
incorporation  of  the  town.  The  Thompsons  were  on  the  Hill 
there  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  their  descendants  are 
there  now,  but  not  the  original  house ;  a  long  series  of  good 
farmers  on  a  good  farm.  The  Cartlands  have  had  their 
home  on  that  road  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years.  It  has  come  down  from  the  original  settler,  Joseph 
Cartland,  who  purchased  the  land  for  the  farm  in  1737. 
He  was  married  and  took  his  bride  there  to  live  in  1745.  The 
house  that  is  now  standing  was  built  about  that  time,  and 
the  present  owner  takes  pride  in  keeping  it  in  good  repair, 
as  he  also  keeps  the  ancestral  acres  under  a  good  state  of 
cultivation.  There  are  other  historic  associations  connected 
with  the  house  and  farm.  The  Cartlands  were  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  leaders  in  the  organization. 
They  were  also  strong  anti-slavery  men  and  women.  When 
the  "  under-ground  railroad  "  commenced  active  operation 
for  safe  transportation  of  the  colored  slaves  of  the  South 
through  the  Northern  States  to  the  land  of  freedom  in 
Canada,  the  Cartland  home  was  one  of  the  "  ivay  stations" 
and  there  were  never  any  "  return  tickets"  delivered  for 
the  South-land,  at  the  ticket  office  there. 

The  Friends'  meeting-house  that  is  mentioned  in  the  rec- 
ord of  1804,  was  later  converted  into  a  schoolhouse,  and 
somewhat  enlarged,  by  Moses  Cartland,  who  was  a  famous 
school-master,  and  kept  school  there  in  the  middle  of  the 
19th  century.  This  house  was  the  home  of  the  noted  "  Wal- 
nut Grove  School,"  which  for  many  years  was  a  fitting 
school  for  young  men,  for  business  and  for  college,  if  they 
desired  to  enter  the  higher  institutions.  They  had  interest- 
ing lectures  there,  delivered  by  distinguished  speakers,  John 
G.  Whittier,  the  poet,  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Cartland 
home.  In  its  day  this  school  ranked  among  the  best  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Academies.    It  began  work  about  1845.    It 


45 

was  in  a  flourishing  condition  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  Doe  or  Fox  Garrison  was  a  half  or  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  westerly  of  the  Cartland  homestead ;  the  story  of  it  is 
told  on  another  page.  The  house  was  torn  down  a  few 
years  ago. 

The  Quaker  Meeting-house  near  the  Cartlands  was  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  Friends  in  Lee,  who  could  not 
conveniently  attend  the  meetings  of  the  society  in  Dover, 
whose  house  is  now  standing  on  Central  avenue,  near  Pine 
Hill  Cemetery.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  Quaker  fam- 
ilies in  Lee. 

Wadleigh's  road,  from  North  River  road:  Began  at 
Moses  Huckins'  house.  Widow  Jackson,  Tobias  Cartland, 
John  F.  Meder,  Chapman's,  John  Watson,  Esquire  Steele's 
house,  Tim  Moses,  D.  Watson,  Col.  John  Folsom,  Widow 
Folsom,  Sam  Chapman.     Total  distance,  2  miles,  273  rods. 

The  Huckins  house  is  now  standing  and  occupied  by  Mrs. 
George  W.  Flummer,  who  is  a  granddaughter  of  Moses  Huck- 
ins. The  Esquire  Steele  house  is  what  was  known  later  as 
the  Gardner  Towle  house.  It  was  probably  built  soon  after 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  by  Esq.  Steele,  who  was  a 
prominent  and  wealthy  man  in  his  time.  Mr.  Towle  was  also 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Lee  for  a  number  of  years.  In  the 
later  part  of  his  life  he  lived  in  Exeter.  His  son,  Hamilton 
Towle,  was  a  distinguished  engineer.  He  was  a  passenger 
on  the  "  Great  Eastern  "  on  its  first  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic.  When  about  midway  of  the  voyage  the  stearing 
gear  became  disabled,  and  but  for  the  skill  and  ingenuity  of 
Mr.  Towle  the  ship  could  not  have  reached  New  York  under 
its  own  power.  He  saw  what  ought  to  be  done  and  did  it, 
after  long  persuasion  of  the  Captain  to  permit  him  to  do  the 
job.  Mr.  Towle  patched  the  gearing  in  such  a  way  that  it 
worked  the  steamship  into  port.  It  was  regarded  as  a  great 
engineering  feat. 

High  road :  Began  at  the  Epping  line,  Esq.  Sias,  bridge 
over  North  river,  Joseph  Lawrence,  at  Wadleigh's  road.  Dis- 
tance, 1  mile,  98  rods. 


46 

Exeter  road:  Began  at  Wadleigh's  bridge,  E.  Wiggin, 
Epping  line.    Distance,  224  rods. 

Noble's  road :  Began  at  Lawrence's  corner,  Widow  Wey- 
mouth, Thomas  Noble,  Jr.,  Moses  Davis.    Distance,  252  rods. 

Kelsey  road:  Began  at  North  River  road,  20  rods  to 
Joseph  Emerson's,  Obediah  Davis,  Jonathan  Thompson,  Not- 
tingham line.    Distance,  194  rods. 

In  passing  it  seems  well  to  speak  of  the  Rev.  Israel  Ches- 
ley  farm,  on  the  road  near  Wadleigh's  Falls.  Elder  Chesley 
was  born  November  24,  1788.  He  was  son  of  Lieut.  Benja- 
min and  Deborah  (Randall)  Chesley.  His  birthplace  was 
in  the  house  that  stood  where  now  stands  the  College  Pres- 
ident's house.  New  Hampshire  College.  October  25,  1812, 
he  married  Betsey  Folsom,  daughter  of  Col.  John  Folsom, 
and  they  commenced  housekeeping  on  the  Folsom  farm 
about  that  time.  It  had  been  in  possession  of  the  Folsom 
family  more  than  50  years ;  and  it  has  been  in  possession  of 
the  Chesley  family  a  century,  at  least,  the  heirs  of  Irving 
G.  Chesley  being  the  present  owners.  Elder  Chesley's 
grandfather,  Thomas  Chesley,  was  great-grandson  of  Phil- 
ip Chesley,  the  emigrant  ancestor  who  settled  in  Old  Dover 
275  years  ago.  Elder  Chesley  was  ordained  as  a  Christian 
Baptist  minister  in  1816,  at  Durham,  at  the  same  time 
when  Elder  William  Demeritt  was  ordained,  and  became 
pastor  of  the  Christian  Baptist  church  at  Durham.  Elder 
Chesley  was  the  minister  in  Lee  who  succeeded  Elder  John 
Osborne,  who  died  in  1832.  Elder  Chesley  died  29  Sept., 
1866 ;  his  wife  died  23  May  of  the  same  year. 

The  Mast  road :  Began  at  Durham  line,  4  rods  westerly 
of  Laskey's  bridge,  then  22  rods  to  William  Laskey's  house 
(now  the  Bartlett  house),  then  16  rods  to  the  Wednesday 
Hill  road,  Lieut.  Runals,  Capt.  Giles,  schoolhouse,  Capt. 
Robert  Parker's  house,  now  known  as  the  Hale  place.  Step- 
ping Stones  Road,  Job  Randall,  Rev.  John  Osborne,  John 
Randall,  Mica j ah  Bickford,  Joseph  Follett,  Meeting-house, 
Jonathan  Jenkins,  Esqr.  Leavitt's  house,  Sam  Furber.  Dis- 
tance, 2  miles,  154  rods. 


47 

Capt.  Parker  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Portsmouth 
before  he  commenced  farming  in  Lee,  He  built  the  house 
about  1785.  His  grave  is  in  the  old  burial  ground,  below 
his  house.  Before  the  middle  of  the  19th  century,  Hon. 
William  Hale  of  Dover  bought  it  for  his  son,  Andrew,  and 
after  Judge  Jeremiah  Smith,  Sr.,  died  his  widow  came  here 
to  reside  with  her  brother.  Her  son.  Judge  Jeremiah  Smith, 
Jr.,  passed  much  of  his  boyhood  here,  until  he  entered  col- 
lege. I  do  not  need  to  say  that  your  grange  is  named  for 
him,  in  recognition  of  the  many  good  things  he  and  his 
mother  did  for  Lee.  It  would  make  a  long  and  interesting 
story  to  tell  it  all. 

The  Laskey  house  has  been  in  possession  of  the  Bartlett 
family  for  more  than  a  century.  Jonathan  Bartlett,  son  of 
Col.  Thomas  Bartlett  of  Nottingham,  married  Love,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Mary  (Randall)  Laskey,  Feb.  2,  1809. 
That  was  their  home  till  his  death  in  1852.  She  died  Aug. 
7,  1884,  in  the  95th  year  of  her  age.  The  farm  is  now  owned 
by  their  grandson,  Charles  W.  Bartlett  of  Boston,  the  dis- 
tinguished lawyer,  senior  member  of  the  great  law  firm  of 
Bartlett  &  Bartlett.  William  Laskey's  father,  John  Laskey 
of  Kittery,  bought  that  farm  in  1722  and  came  there  to  reside 
that  year  "  near  Wednesday  Hill  brook ;"  so  Mr.  Bartlett 
of  Boston  and  his  Bartlett-Laskey  ancestors  have  owned  that 
farm  194  years.  I  do  not  know  who  built  the  house,  but 
probably  the  senior  member,  John  Laskey  of  Kittery. 

Wednesday  Hill  road:  Began  16  rods  west  of  William 
Laskey's  house,  then  96  rods  to  William  Clough's  house,  80 
fods  to  Packer's  Falls  road,  William  Jenkins,  Capt.  Giles, 
Widow  Langley,  Levi  Langley,  James  Jenkins,  W.  Hill,  Jo- 
seph Clark,  to  -the  Meeting-house.  Distance,  2  miles,  206 
rods. 

The  Clough  farm  came  into  possession  of  Thomas  Ches- 
ley,  brother  of  Elder  Israel,  about  1816,  and  is  now  owned 
by  his  son,  George  E.  Chesley,  who  is  now  in  his  84th  year, 
and  has  one  of  the  best  farms  in  town,  which  is  accounted  for 
in  part,  by  the  fact  that  he  is  one  of  the  best  farmers  in 
Strafford  County.    The  Chesley  family  has  owned  the  farm 


48 

one  hundred  years.  The  farm  was  first  taken  up  by  Zacheus 
Clough,  about  1750,  and  passed  from  him  to  his  son,  William, 
who  sold  it  to  Thomas  Chesley,  as  above  stated. 

Stepping  Stones  road:  The  surveyor  began  to  measure 
at  the  Barrington  line,  then  to  Cotton  Dockham,  Thomas 
Langley,  Thomas  Langley,  Jr.,  Oyster  River,  Warner's  house, 
east  end  of  the  pond,  cross  road  to  Widow  Chesley,  Aaron 
Hanson,  to  Mast  road.    Distance,  2  miles,  11  rods. 

Barrington  road :  Began  at  Durham  line,  Davis'  house, 
Capt.  Emerson,  Smith,  Esqr.  Steele,  Simon  Randall,  Capt. 
Leathers,  Snell's  mill,  Jones,  John  Snell,  Josiah  Bodge,  New- 
town road,  David  Munsey,  Pinkham,  to  Barrington  line. 
Distance,  2  miles,  235  rods. 

Tu7mpike  road:  Began  at  Durham  line,  20  rods  to  Oys- 
ter river,  John  Jones,  Andrew  Demeritt,  to  cross  road,  Capt. 
Giles,  John  Layne,  Edmund  Lane,  Tollhouse,  Oyster  river, 
Lemuel  Chesley,  W.  Hill,  to  Barrington  line.  Distance,  2 
miles,  20  rods. 

Ash  Swamp  road:  Begins  at  Capt.  Bartlett's  house 
(North  River  road)  to  Thompson  hill,  101  rods;  bridge,  J. 
Randall's  house,  to  Nottingham  line.  Distance,  1  mile,  82 
rods. 

The  Davis  farm  in  the  Hook  district,  has  been  in  the 
possession  of  the  Davis  family  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  It  was  purchased  by  Lieut.  David  Davis  about 
^750  and  he  settled  there  soon  after  that  date.  From  him 
it  passed  to  his  son,  David,  who  in  turn  passed  it  to  his  son, 
Nathaniel  Goodrich  Davis,  who  was  born  in  1836.  It  is  now 
owned  by  Nathaniel's  son,  Thomas  Jones  Davis,  who  was 
born  in  1859,  and  is  a  lawyer  in  Duluth,  Minn.  Esquire 
Davis  has  presented  to  New  Hampshire  College  a  tract  of 
eight  acres  in  Lee  and  Durham.  He  planted  it  to  sweet 
chestnut  trees,  and  it  is  called  "  Davis  Park."  The  college 
authorities  are  taking  special  care  of  it.  In  the  not  distant 
future  it  will  be  one  of  the  fall  recreations  of  the  college 
students  to  go  there  and  gather  the  chestnuts. 


BIG  TAX  PAYERS  IN  LEE  IN  1 804 


That  old  manuscript  from  which  the  above  mentioned 
data  were  obtained,  contains  other  interesting  matter,  among 
which  is  an  inventory  of  the  farms  in  Lee  in  1813.  It  shows 
the  number  of  acres  of  orchards,  arable  land,  mowing  land, 
pastures;  and  the  tax  rate  for  that  year,  which  was  $1.30. 
The  following  were  among  the  largest  tax  payers:  Capt. 
Robert  Parker,  $23.45 ;  Job  Thompson,  $17.50 ;  Joseph  Law- 
rence, $17.35;  David  Rundlett,  $15.82;  Daniel  Ladd,  $12.80; 
Jonathan  Cartland,  $8.45. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  Stepping  Stones  road. 
Perhaps  the  younger  people  here  today  may  not  understand 
why  that  road  is  so  called  on  the  survey,  hence  a  little  expla- 
nation may  be  in  order. 

The  stones  were  so  arranged,  at  an  early  period  in  the 
settlement,  as  to  afford  a  safe  footing  across  the  channel  of 
Oyster  river,  shortly  after  it  leaves  Wheelwright's  Pond  and 
across  the  adjacent  marsh.  Mention  is  made  of  them  Nov. 
16,  1720,  when  50  acres  of  land  were  laid  out  to  Nathaniel 
Hill  on  the  north  side  of  Wheelwright's  Pond,  beginning  at  a 
black  oak  standing  near  the  place  called  the  Stepping  Stones, 
and  thence  run  E.  S.  E.  68  rods  to  the  pond.  These  stones 
remained  in  use  till  the  middle  of  the  19th  century. 

Wheelwright's  Pond  lies  between  Lee  Hill  and  Newtown. 
The  name  of  this  pond  was  derived  from  Rev.  John  Wheel- 
wright, the  founder  of  Exeter,  in  1639.  He  had  his  grant  of 
land  from  the  Indian  Sachem  who  ruled  over  the  territory 
here,  and  this  pond  was  on  the  boundary  line,  as  Mr.  Wheel- 
wright understood  it ;  hence  in  the  disputes  with  the  Dover 
authorities  about  the  boundary  line  between  Dover  and  Exe- 
ter, which  lasted  for  many  years,  Wheelwright  claimed  this 
as  his  pond.  Richard  Otis  of  Dover  was  authorized  by  the 
town,  July  3,  1666,  "  to  cut  all  the  grass  about  the  pond  by 
Oyster  river,  which  was  known  by  the  name  of  Mr.  Wheel- 
wright's marsh.'* 


50 

Whitehorne's  plains,  in  Lee,  are  along  the  line  of  Bar- 
rington  and  Nottingham,  near  the  Lee  boundary,  and  were 
often  familiarly  called  Cm^Vs  plains,  from  Curtis  White- 
horne,  a  former  owner  thereon.  A  highway  across  the  lower 
side  is  sometimes  called  Whitehoryie's  road. 

Wednesday  Hill  is  one  of  the  ancient  landmarks  of  Old 
Dover.  It  is  on  the  upper  side  of  Lamprey  river.  It  is  east 
of  Lee  Hill,  in  what  was  known  as  District  No.  3.  Mention 
is  made  of  it  Nov.  4,  1723,  when  30  acres  of  land  were  laid 
out  to  Samuel  Purkins  on  the  south  side  of  Wednesday  Hill. 
Capt.  Nathaniel  Randall's  grant  of  30  acres  on  this  hill  is 
mentioned  in  the  division  of  his  estate,  April  25,  1750. 

There  has  been  much  speculation  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
name.  Why  did  the  settlers  about  there,  two  hundred  years 
ago,  give  it  that  name  in  preference  to  any  other  day  of 
the  week?  An  old  tradition  asserts  that  the  Indians  had  a 
skirmish  with  the  white  men  at  that  hill  on  some  Wednesday, 
jbut  there  is  no  record  of  such  a  fight  in  Lee  anywhere  than 
at  Wheelwright's  Pond.  Another  tradition  says  it  was  so 
flamed  by  the  early  surveyors,  who  were  laying  out  grants 
of  land  on  or  around  this  hill  on  a  Wednesday  and  took  their 
luncheons  on  the  top.  I  think  this  is  the  correct  solution  of 
the  problem.  Those  old  surveyors  had  to  give  names  to 
localities  in  order  to  find  the  lot  of  land  when  the  owner  went 
out  to  settle  on  it. 


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