USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Dunstable > History of the town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, from its earliest settlement to the year of Our Lord 1873 > Part 17
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DUNSTABLE.
My childhood's home ! what music in the sound, Dear to each heart, wherever man is found ! By every nation, every clime and tongue, In sweetest praise their dwelling-place is sung. Go to the Indian in the western wild, Ask him where Nature has most kindly smiled ; He'll point you to his dark old forest home, And to his cheerless wigwam bid you come. Go to the regions of the frozen zone,
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE. [1873
Where naught but stinted shrubs and moss are grown, Ask the poor native what delights his eye ; He'll point you to his hut of snow hard by. Enlightened man no pleasure here can find, And blesses God that He has not designed To cast his lot in regions cold and drear, Removed from all he holds on earth so dear. Across the ocean, in the eastern world, Where freedom's banner ne'er has been unfurled, Where superstition rules with tyrant sway, And man, degraded, wears his life away, Yet even here the heart clings to one place, - Here is his home, here dwells his kindred race. To nations proud in wealth and culture turn ; From their attachments, too, we plainly learn How strong, how deep, the feeling of the heart For one dear spot of this great earth, small part, And yet within that little space, close curled, Lies love's rich treasure, making it a world.
And thus, fair Dunstable, thy children come To celebrate the birthday of their home. Two hundred years ! We'll bridge across time's space, And turn thought backward on its swiftest race, Call back the forms and faces that were here, - In mental vision they will reappear, Show us the regions that around them lay Rude and untilled, two centuries to-day. Then brute creation, tenants of the wood, Untamed and fierce, were prowling for their food ; And savage man, more to be feared than they, Would lie in ambush to make man his prey, Lurk round the dwellings, slyly watch and wait Till on the pale face he could wreak his hate ; With torch to burn and tomahawk to destroy, Rending the air with wild, mad whoops of joy. On scenes like these we will but briefly dwell, Truths stern and sad the historic page must tell. We use the past to contrast shade with light, And make the present look more clearly bright.
Fair Dunstable ! sometimes they call thee old : Thy youthful days are not yet fully told ; The peaceful tenor of thy even way Has left no furrows time and age display.
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POEM BY MRS. ROCKWELL.
Thy fields are fair, thy woods are bright and green, Thy lakes and streams are dressed in silvery sheen, On thy smooth brow is written early life, Untrodden yet the paths of vice and strife. But changes soon will come thy peace to mar ; E'en now is heard the rattling railroad car Along thy wood where quiet reigned around, And the lone night-bird's song the loudest sound, Till the last year of two long centuries past Proclaimed, by engine, " men were going fast." Business and hurry bring on middle age, They're foes of youth, a war they quickly wage, Turn peaceful streams from their calm, gentle course, Restrain their waters for propelling force. The hills are brought on level with the plain ; And plains made hills to answer hope of gain. If such of sister towns has been the fate, Thy turn may come, though it be rather late, When on the morning breeze the factory bell Shall to the sleeper hours of labor tell, When whizzing cars on every side shall go, And prove this place is neither slack nor slow. We'll not attempt to use prophetic ken, We know what has been and may be again !
Fair Dunstable ! a tribute we would pay Thy worthy children, long since passed away ! Of the first century history contains A warlike record, full of griefs and pains. Hearts brave and noble were compelled to yield, And for a season leave the foe the field. No doubt that race were men of sterling worth, Beloved, respected, while they dwelt on earth. But of the century now just passed away, More of thy children we can know, and say : Some have been worthy tillers of the soil, Substantial men, rewarded by their toil ; Some in mechanic arts have spent their days, Their works declare them men deserving praise ; And some have sought a livelihood by trade, Have bought and sold, and thus their fortunes made ; Others preferred in learning's paths to go, In three professions Dunstable can show Men who have made their mark and won renown, In other places than their native town.
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE.
But time forbids to pass each in review, - One name we'll mention of the noted few, A name this place may well be proud to own, Virtues like Amos Kendall's wide are known ! Called by his country to high posts of trust, Honored and honest, numbered with the just ; His friends and relatives are with us here, And all who knew him hold his memory dear. An aged women lives, still pleased to tell, She made him coats and pants, - he liked them well. In politics this town has borne its part, Both parties know the tricks of party art ; And to the statesmen who are here to-day, We pay due honor, - better than "back pay " !
Fair Dunstable ! thy sons have had their praise, And shall thy daughters share not in these lays ? To "woman's rights " they ne'er have laid their claim, To be right women is their highest aim, Act well each part within their sphere of life, A faithful mother and devoted wife.
And now, fair Dunstable, our work is done ! Another century has for thee begun !
Throughout thy realms, may peace and temperance reign, Increase each virtue and each vice restrain ! And when life's changes all with us are o'er, Safe may we meet upon that heavenly shore Where centuries are uncounted and unknown, And joys are endless round the Eternal Throne.
The second toast, "The President of the United States," was responded to by the Dunstable Band playing " America." The third toast was, " Massachusetts, - the earliest and fore- most in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The lapse of two hundred years has added lustre to her renown, force to her example, and prominence to her high place in history. All honor to the governor ! and the governed of the old Common- wealth !"
Gov. Washburn rose and responded happily to this sen- timent, and in the course of his remarks said, " The influ- ence of old Dunstable upon those that were born here has caused them joyfully to return, and in the celebration demon-
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ADDRESS OF THE HON. G. S. BOUTWELL.
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strate their full appreciation of the benefits received by them from the place of their birth."
The fourth toast, " Our Representative in Congress,- the eminent jurist, the practical statesman, the honest politician : old Dunstable can trust him, and he will honor her," received a pleasant response from Hon. E. Rockwood Hoar, M. C., who said : -
" The founders of old Dunstable, with all the hardships of pitiless winter, merciless savages, poverty, want, and disease, still had some recom- pense, as they had no member of Congress. They worried over temporal cases, predestination, and free-will, but had no cause to worry over back pay and Credit Mobilier. An occasion more touching, delightful, and suited to the beautiful day, could not have been devised than the celebration. The town is the smallest of the county of Middlesex, and to-day it has seemed like the old mother sitting in advanced age by her hearth-stone, her family reduced in numbers by its contributions to other neighborhoods and places, her daughters changing their names as they form new alliances, but welcoming to the old homestead and to the thanksgiving table her numerous progeny."
" The ideas of free education were always cherished in Dunstable, and will always be cherished as long as the great and undying principles of justice and truth shall continue."
The fifth toast, "New Hampshire : bleak are her hills in winter, and warm are the hearts of her sons all the year round," received a brief response from the Rev. Mr. Philbrook.
The Hon. Levi Wallace responded to the sixth toast, " Our railroad, - the tie that binds two cities that Act-on as one."
The seventh toast, " New England : her townships were the nurseries of Republican institutions ; to-day they are the model democracies of the world," called up the Hon. George S. Boutwell, who said :-
" There were three points in the history of New England which he never liked to pass, when New England is concerned, namely, the muni- cipal system, the public-school system, and the 'religious tolerance of the forefathers.' It may be said of the Puritans that they recognized the right of government to set up a church, in which all should worship and should pay toward its support ; but they were willing to have any church established not interfering with that church, and thus they should be ex- cused from intolerance. The public-school system is due entirely to the Puritan Protestantism which prevailed in Massachusetts long ago. Its
14
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first object was to train up youth to be able to examine and judge of the Scriptures for themselves. He deemed it a loss to the municipal system that the towns, as towns, are not represented in the General Court.
"The larger cities and municipalities are absorbing and corrupt. They are to be saved, if at all, by large legislative bodies. The civil govern- ment should be in the hands of those who are well paid. The assembly should be large, and the cost would, of course, be great ; but we must pay for government. He desired to see the municipalities strengthened and their pride encouraged. One means of connecting these celebrations will be by a celebration every half-century."
Gen. Israel Hunt responded to the eighth toast, which was, " The City of Nashua."
The ninth toast was, "The Orator of the Day : by the ability, research, and eloquence which he has displayed to-day, he has proved himself worthy to be a son of old Dunstable, and we adopt him."
Mr. Loring responded in his usual happy manner, and the president of the day then announced that, owing to the lateness of the hour, no more toasts would be offered.
The Clark family then sang an original parting song, com- posed by Mrs. Mary Rockwell.
CLOSING SONG, BY MRS. MARY ROCKWELL.
Air, -"DAYS OF ABSENCE."
When with joy our hearts are beating, Why must Time speed on his way, Bring to end our happy meeting, Close the pleasures of the day ? Here we'd love to tarry longer, Live again the happy hours ;
Bind our friendships firmer, stronger, While our pathway 's strewn with flowers.
But life's scenes are ever changing, Clouds and sunshine come and go ; Earthly joys are prone to ranging, Few the gifts their hands bestow. But for these bright hours of gladness That have now so swiftly flown,
We would banish thoughts of sadness, Make them evermore our own ;
1873]
CLOSE OF THE CELEBRATION.
21I
Bid our friends a hearty farewell, Give our wishes warm and kind,
But we'll not attempt to foretell What another century 'll find. Ere three hundred years are ended, We shall sleep all in the tomb.
May our lives with Christ be blended, Find through Him a heavenly home !
At the conclusion of the singing a salute was fired, and the people, with many felicitations on the serenity of the day, the excellence of the speaking, the music, and the repast, bade each other good by, and retired to their several homes, well satisfied that old Dunstable had honorably and successfully observed the two hundredth anniversary of her incorporation .*
Fine stereoscopic views of the Common, the decorations, the concourse of people, and the dinner-table were taken during the celebration, which serve to recall vividly the varied and brilliant scenes of the day.
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE.
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CHAPTER XIII.
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT. - COLONELS. - CAPTAINS. - DEACONS. - PHYSICIANS. - COLLEGE GRADUATES. - TEACHERS - VOTERS IN 1873.
"Progress is the motto of the age. Let this progress not be confined to discovery, invention, science, and art. Let it be seen also in morals, in the love of man for man." AMOS KENDALL.
" Knowledge is thine armor bright, Liberty, thy beacon-light, God himself, thy shield of might : Bow to Him alone." LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY.
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT FROM DUNSTABLE.
JOHN WALDO.
1689. 3 CORNELIUS WALDO. ROBERT PARRIS.
1692. S JONATHAN TYNG.
THOMAS HENCHMAN.
1741. JOHN TYNG.
1775. JOEL PARKHURST.
1777. EBENEZER BANCROFT.
1778. JOHN TYNG.
1780. JOHN TYNG.
1783. JOHN TYNG.
1784. JOSEPH DANFORTH.
1801. JOHN PITTS.
1805. ROBERT BRINLEY.
1806. ISAAC WRIGHT.
1807. ISAAC WRIGHT.
1808. MATTHEW SCRIBNER.
1809. Dr. MICAH ELDREDGE.
1810. Rev. JOSHUA HEYWOOD.
18II. Dr. MICAH ELDREDGE.
1812. Dr. MICAH ELDREDGE.
1823. Capt. JOSIAH CUMMINGS.
1826. JOSIAH CUMMINGS, Jr.
1840. HENRY PARKHURST.
1841. PETER KENDALL.
1873]
VIEW OF THE VILLAGE.
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VIEW OF DUNSTABLE CENTRE.
FROM CHENEY'S HILL.
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE.
[1873
1842. HENRY PARKHURST.
1843. HENRY PARKHURST.
1850. IRA HALL.
1851. IRA HALL.
1852. BENJAMIN FRENCH.
1859. ALPHEUS SWALLOW.
1862. ISAAC O. TAYLOR.
I865. GEORGE W. FLETCHER.
1870. JAMES T. BURNAP.
ALLEN CUMMINGS was a member of the State Senate in 1853, and the same year ISAAC KENDALL represented the town in the Convention for the revision of the Constitution of the State.
The following Dunstable men have held a colonel's com- mission : -
JONATHAN TYNG.
ELEAZER TYNG.
WILLIAM TYNG.
ZACCHEUS LOVEWELL, b. July 22, 1701 ; d. April 12, 1772.
JOSEPH BLANCHARD, b. Feb. 11, 1704 ; d. April 7, 1758.
EBENEZER BANCROFT, b. 1737 ; d. 1827.
FREDERIC BLODGETT, d. Oct. 27, 1837, aged 62 years.
LEVI P. WRIGHT.
The following Dunstable men have been commissioned as captains : -
JOSEPH BLANCHARD. JONATHAN BUTTERFIELD.
JOSEPH BUTTERFIELD.
BENJAMIN BUTTERFIELD, d. 1745.
LEONARD BUTTERFIELD, d. Nov. 17, 1800.
REUBEN BUTTERFIELD, b. Oct. 1727 ; d. Feb. 22, 1816. JOEL CUMMINGS.
JOHN CUMMINGS, d. Aug. 15, 1770, aged seventy-four years. JOSIAH CUMMINGS.
OLIVER CUMMINGS, d. Aug. 15, 1810, aged eighty-three years.
JOSEPH DANFORTH, b. 1754; d. 1855.
HENRY FARWELL.
JONATHAN FLETCHER, d. March 28, 1813, aged seventy-two years. MARK FLETCHER. NATHANIEL FLETCHER. NATHANIEL W. GILSON. IRA HALL.
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PHYSICIANS OF DUNSTABLE.
1873]
NATHANIEL HOLDEN. He lived on the margin of Howard's Brook and bore the name of " Peacemaker."
ABEL JOHNSON.
JESSE JOHNSON.
JONAS KENDALL, commissioned April 1808; discharged Feb. 9, 1811.
JOHN LOVEWELL, killed at Pequawket.
PETER POWERS, b. in Littleton, and d. in Hollis, N. H., 1757.
CALEB READ.
SAMUEL STEVENS. He was from Chelmsford, and d. Dec. 10, 1805. ABRAHAM SWALLOW, commissioned May 3, 1803, by Caleb Strong. AMAZIAH SWALLOW.
CHRISTOPHER ROBY, now of West Chelmsford.
JEPHTHA STEVENS.
A LIST OF THE DEACONS OF THE CHURCH IN DUNSTABLE. EBENEZER SHERWIN, elected 1757.
SAMUEL TAYLOR, 1757, son of Abraham Taylor, and was born Oct. I, 1708, and died Oct. 23, 1792, aged eighty-five.
JOSEPH FLETCHER, 1759, d. July 17, 1784.
ZEBEDEE KENDALL, 1789 ; d. Aug. 12, 1839, aged eighty-four years. JOEL PARKHURST, 1794.
ISAAC TAYLOR, 1801. SAMUEL STEVENS, ISOI.
JAMES TAYLOR, 1814.
MICAH ELDREDGE, 1819 ; d. 1849, aged seventy-three years.
MARK FLETCHER, 1832 ; d. Aug. 4, 1851.
JOSEPH SWALLOW, 1832.
ISAAC TAYLOR, Jr., 1834.
THOMAS PARKER, 1845. CHILES KENDALL, 1845. He was born Dec. 29, 1798, and is descended through Jacob2 and Jonas3 from John1 Kendall, who came from Woburn about 1726. He married Susannah, daughter of Dea. James Taylor, May 3, 1827.
PHYSICIANS OF DUNSTABLE.
Dr. NATHAN CUTLER practised in town before the Revo- lution, and acted as a surgeon in the war. He lived on the river road near Spit or Cutler's Brook, a little north of the State line.
Dr. EBENEZER STARR came to Dunstable from Dedham, soon after the Revolution, and lived on a Kendall Place in the northerly part of the town. He was highly esteemed as a physician and as a man. He died Sept. 7, 1798, aged fifty- two years.
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE.
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Dr. MICAH ELDREDGE practised long in Dunstable ; living near Salmon Brook, on the road from the Centre to Hollis, N. H. He married Sally Buttrick of Concord, and had a family of twelve children, several of whom received a liberal education. He served the town in various capacities. At one period he taught a public school ; he was a deacon of the church, and twice elected representative to the General Court. He received the degree of M. D. from Dartmouth College in 1841, and soon afterwards removed to Nashua, N. H., where he died in 1849, at the age of seventy-three years. His son, HEZEKIAH ELDREDGE, who was of the Medical Department of Brown University in 1825, succeeded him in the practice of medicine at Dunstable.
Dr. MILES SPAULDING practised for some time in town and resided in the house now occupied by Mr. Harvey Wood- ward, near the Centre. He now lives in Groton. He was admitted to the church by letter Sept. 5, 1847, and dismissed to the church in Groton, Oct. 29, 1851.
Dr. ADONIJAH W. HOWE settled here about the year 1852, and practised in town several years. He married Miss Martha D. Butterfield, and occupied the old tavern house, built by Ebenezer Kendall, and noted as one of the rallying-points during the Revolution. He now resides in Westford. The town has at present no resident physician, but employs, for the most part, Dr. CHARLES DUTTON, a skilful practitioner of Tyngsborough.
LIST OF COLLEGE GRADUATES.
JOHN TYNG, H. C. 1691, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Usher) Tyng.
ELEAZER TYNG, brother of the above, b. in 1690; H. C. 1712.
HABIJAH SAVAGE WELD, H. C. 1723 He was the son of the Rev. Thomas Weld, and was born in Dunstable, July 2, 1702. He was ordained at Attleborough, Oct. 1727, where he continued in the ministry fifty-five years. He died suddenly May 14, 1782.
PETER POWERS, H. C. 1754, d. 1800, aged seventy-two years.
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COLLEGE GRADUATES.
1873]
JOSIAH GOODHUE, H. C. 1755.
JOHN FARWELL, H. C. 1808, a lawyer.
ISAAC FLETCHER, Dart Coll. 1808, M. C.
AMOS KENDALL,
18II.
JOSIAH DANFORTH, 18II.
CHARLES BUTTERFIELD, H. C. 1820.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS ELDREDGE, Dart. Coll. 1832.
ERASMUS DARWIN ELDREDGE, Dart. Coll. 1829.
SAMUEL MARK FLETCHER, Am. Coll. 1846. Born March I, 1822, and married Sally Kendall Taylor in November, 1849. He was a son of Capt. Mark, grandson of Phineas and great- grandson of Dea. Joseph Fletcher, the first settler of the name in Dunstable. He studied medicine in Philadelphia, and practised two years in Westerly, R. I. He was assistant surgeon in the war of the Rebellion ; he then practised medicine in Denver City and Chicago, where he died Oct. 3, 1875. His wife died April 20, 1867. Their son, Alfred M., was born Sept. 13, 1850 .* SAMUEL HOWE TOLMAN, Dart. Coll. 1848.
JOSEPH WILLARD KEYES, the youngest son of Joel and Phœbe (Cutter) Keyes, was born in Dunstable, Sept. 30, 1837, and graduated from the Theological Department of St. Lawrence University, Canton, N. Y., 1864. He was first settled over the Universalist Church in Minneapolis, Minn., then over one at Arlington, Mass., and afterwards over that in Auburn, N. Y. He is an earnest and effective speaker. Under his ministrations many have been led to seek for a higher life.
ASA DANFORTH studied medicine with Dr. Thomas of Tyngsborough, and settled in Norway, Me.
ERASMUS DARWIN ELDREDGE, son of Dr. Micah and Sally (Buttrick) Eldredge, was born in Dunstable, March 10, 1804. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1829, and was principal of the Pepperell Academy from June 10, 1834, until November, 1837. He was ordained pastor of the Congrega- tional Church in Hampton, N. H., April 4, 1838. From this pastorate he was dismissed at his own request, May 7, 1848,
* See Fletcher Genealogy, p. 103.
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABI.E.
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and on the 12th of June following he was installed pastor of the church in Salisbury, where he continued until Nov. I, 1854, when he was compelled by ill health to relinquish the pastorate. "The labors of Mr. Eldredge," says the Rev. B. F. Foster, in The New Hampshire Churches, p. 413, " were very useful to the church and acceptable to the people generally, and it was with much regret that they yielded to his request to discontinue his connection with them."
Mr. Eldredge and his wife subsequently taught a young ladies' institute at Monticello, and then at Milledgeville, Ga. He was installed at Alton, N. H., Jan. 24, 1861, and is now pastor of a church in Kensington, N. H. He married, June 30, 1864, Miss Isabella Hill, and is highly esteemed, both as a pastor and as a citizen.
The Hon. ISAAC FLETCHER, son of Joseph and Molly (Cum- mings) Fletcher, and grandson of Dea. Joseph Fletcher, was born in Joint Grass, in the northwesterly part of Dunstable, Nov. 22, 1784; was graduated with honor at Dartmouth Col- lege, in the class of 1808, and taught for some time in the academy at Chesterfield, N. H. He afterwards studied law with Messrs. Prescott & Dunbar, at Keene, N. H. In 1811 he removed to Lyndon, Vt., where he soon came into an exten- sive practice. He was eight years State attorney for Cale- donia County, four years a representative of Lyndon in the State Legislature, and twice elected representative to Con- gress, serving in that office from 1837 to 1841. He was also, at one time, military aid on the staff of Richard Skinner, governor of Vermont, and for many years adjutant and inspector-general of the militia of the State. He was prompt, energetic, and self-reliant, and, as it were, the maker of his own fortune. He married Miss Abigail Stone in 1813, by whom he had one child, Col. Charles B. Fletcher, who died sine prole, Aug. 12, 1851. The Hon. Isaac Fletcher died greatly respected, Oct. 19, 1842 .*
In a letter to his son, Charles B. Fletcher, the Hon. Isaac Fletcher said : " From my earliest recollection, my constitution
* See the Fletcher Genealogy, p. 79. See, also, Life of the Hon. Isaac Fletcher, by Isaac F. Redfield, 1843.
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THE HON. ISAAC FLETCHER.
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and health have been feeble, and have continued so to the present time, but yet able to endure much application, labor, and fatigue. One rule of my father's economy was that all the money spent by the children must be earned by themselves. By the greatest industry in raising potatoes and tobacco, I possessed myself of money enough to buy Pike's large Arith- metic, and commenced the study of it during the leisure even- ings I could spare. By dint of perseverance, I mastered every rule, and could solve any problem in the whole book. This laid the foundation for mathematical studies, which have been of use to me through life. I have ever devoted myself, when opportunity would allow, with more pleasure to the study of that science than any other." He also said : "In 1803 my father came to a resolution to suffer me to acquire a liberal education. He informed me that all he could do for me was to give me my time, and if I thought, by industry and economy, I could succeed in the attempt, I might make the experiment, but should I fail, there would be always a seat at his table and food enough and work enough for me to do on his farm. Thus encouraged and supported by my father, I collected all my movable effects, consisting of clothes and a few books, and left home with a fixed and determined resolution to tax my genius and industry to the utmost to acquire an education. With budget in hand I took my departure for Groton to pre- pare for college. At this time I was possessed of a yoke of oxen, a few sheep, and other property, in all to the amount of about $150, which I converted into cash and funded in order to draw upon as necessity might require. I did not feel myself able to take board near the academy, but at the distance of a mile and a half, where I could get it cheaper than in the vil- lage. I commenced fitting for college in September, 1803, and I entered the Freshman class in Dartmouth College in 1804.
may as well say, once for all, my feelings suffered much, for my means were scanty and my dress and style humble." Gen. Fletcher continued his classical studies through life, and to them added the study of the French language and literature. Of him his biographer says : " He was an indulgent parent, a kind-hearted friend, charitable to all, unwilling to offend or
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HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE.
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pain any one, hospitable and generous, and accomplished more for good and less for evil, I think, than most others." He was an honor to the town that gave him birth, to the State of his adoption, and to humanity.
AMOS KENDALL, son of Dea. Zebedee and Molly (Dakin) Kendall,* was born in the northerly part of Dunstable, near Salmon Brook, on Sunday, Aug. 16, 1787, and was baptized by the Rev. Daniel Emerson, of Hollis, N. H., on the first day of November following. He spent his boyhood in hard work on his father's farm, and in attending school during the winter season. He evinced, in boyhood, a love of books, and employed many of his leisure hours in reading. His sobriety gained for him the title of deacon. He was fitted for college, partly at the academy in New Ipswich, N. H., and partly in that of Groton, under the tuition of Caleb Butler, historian of that town. He was graduated, taking the highest honor of his class, at Dartmouth College, in 1811. During his college course he taught school in Dunstable. Having studied law in the office of William M. Richardson, Esq., of Groton, he removed, in the spring of 1814, to Kentucky, where he was for some time employed as a tutor in the family of Henry Clay, at Ashland. To his intercourse with this distinguished states- man he was largely indebted for his early political bias and aspiration. On leaving the family of Mr. Clay, he commenced the practice of law, and subsequently became the editor of a Democratic journal, called the Argus, published at Frankfort, in Kentucky. He advocated the election of Gen. Andrew Jackson to the Presidency, and was, by him, appointed, in 1829, fourth auditor of the treasury. From 1835 to 1840 he held the office of postmaster-general. He succeeded in intro- ducing many reforms into this department, and also in freeing it from debt. He assumed, in 1845, the entire management
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