USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Haverhill > The history of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1640, to the year 1860 > Part 23
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The granting of new lands was still held in abeyance, as it was not yet known to whom they belonged. The town were evidently determined to move carefully in the matter, as may be seen from the following : -
" Capt Saml Ayer moving to the proprietors of the land lying in Com- mon in Haverhill that before any vote or act pass for the disposing of the land or timber in Haverhill, it may be known who by law have right to vote in the affair : This petition is granted."
" Many other petitions were read in the Town meeting, but because of the last vote, nothing was acted on them."
At the same meeting, a motion was made that the Town Clerk have the keeping of the " Town's old book of grants and orders so that copies might be given out, as out of other books in his hands," but being strongly ob- jected to, it was not put to vote.º
A committee of five were chosen, at the same time, to "run lines and settle bounds between individuals and the common-lands," and " the mod- erator gave notice for a meeting of the proprietors of the Common or undivided lands in Haverhill for April 2d."
April 2d, " at a meeting of the Commoners," the old committee chosen to examine the claims of persons to these lands, were dismissed, and a new one chosen .¡ This new committee were ordered "to do it as speedily as they can."
The next meeting of the Commoners, was July 21, 1707, when nothing was done except to adjourn to September 2d. At the latter meeting, a committee was chosen to prosecute all trespassers on the common lands,
" We do not learn in whose hands the book was at this time, but it was probably one of the original proprietors of the township.
1 Captain Samuel Ayre, John White, Joseph Peasely, Sen.
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and the Town Clerk was empowered, as "Clerk of the Proprietors in Hav- erhill Commons," to execute a power of attorney for the committee."
At the Commoners' meeting of September 2d, Thomas Ayer petitioned " for a small piece of land to set a house on near the Meeting house, that so the said Ayer's wife might be the better accommodated for the keeping of school to teach children to read." The Selectmen were empowered to lay him out a piece for that purpose, to enjoy during her lifetime. f
With the opening of the spring of 1706, the Indians again commenced harrassing the frontier settlements. The first attack was made in April, at Oyster River, where eight persons were killed, and two wounded. On the 3d of July, seven were killed at Dunstable, and the same day, Ser- geant Kingsbury, of this town, was killed, or taken prisoner.} A few days after, (10th) two more were killed, and two captured, at Dunstable ; and the same party penetrated as far as Amesbury, where they killed some cattle. At Exeter, the same day, four were killed, one wounded, and three captured. About the same time, one person was killed at Hampton.
To add to the general alarm, Governor Dudley received intelligence from Colonel Schuyler, of Albany, that two hundred and seventy French and Indians were on the march toward Piscataqua ! Fortunately for the in- habitants, the expedition was abandoned.
Sometime in the summer of this year, a small party of Indians again visited the garrison of Joseph Bradley; and it is said that he. his wife and children, and a hired man, were the only persons in it at the time. It was in the night, the moon shone brightly, and they could be easily seen, silently and cautiously approaching. Mr. Bradley armed himself, his wife and man, each with a gun, and such of his children as could shoulder one. Mrs. Bradley, supposing that they had come purposely for her, told her husband that she had rather be killed than be again taken. The Indians rushed upon the garrison, and endeavored to beat down the door. They succeeded in pushing it partly open, and when one of the Indians began to crowd himself through the opening, Mrs. Bradley fired her gun and shot him dead. The rest of the party, seeing their companion fall, desisted from their purpose, and hastily retreated.§
Some idea of the dangers and alarms of these years, and the great exer- tions made for the security of the frontier towns, may be had from the
" Suits were immediately instituted against several persons by the Committee.
Thomas Ayer married Ruth Wilford. Children,-Ruth, born 1693; Josiah, born 1698; Thomas, born 1699; Gibberd, born 1702; Ruth, born 1705, killed by Indians August 29, 1708. Ruth, the wife, was also killed at the same time. Ayer afterward married widow Blasedell. Children,-Ruth, born 1711, died young.
Į Pike's Journal. § Tradition .- Mirick.
-
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large number of soldiers ferried across the Merrimack at a single place - Griffin's ferry, opposite the present village: - March 9, 1705, thirty men; July 1, 1706, forty-seven men ; 6th, forty-five men and horses ; 9th forty-one men ; 15th, thirty-eight men and horses; June 4th, 1707, eleven men ; 14th, forty-five men and horses ; 30th, thirty-one men and horses ; July 15th, thirty-nine men and horses; August 1st forty-five men and horses; 26th, thirty-nine men and horses ; September 27th, thirty men and horses; October 24th, forty-four men and horses. In 1708, Griffin ferried across, at various times, one hundred and eighty men, and thirty- one horses. A company of " Centinels," under Colonel Saltonstall, was posted at Bradford, from May 20th to October 7th ; and another at Ando- ver for the same time.
No further damage was done by the enemy, until the next spring. when (May 22, 1707,) a small party killed and captured four persons at Oyster River. On the 24th of June, Joseph and Ebenezer Page, sons of Joseph Page of this town, were killed by the Indians. In August, another attack was made on the town, in which Nathan Simonds, of this town, and Jon- athan Marsh, of Salem, were wounded." The particulars of these attacks on the town are now lost. In September, two persons were killed at Kingston and Exeter, and a party of Mohawks attacked the settlement at Oyster River, killing eight of the inhabitants, and wounding another.
For several months succeeding this, the enemy seemed to have forsaken the frontiers, and the inhabitants once more began to feel some degree of security. But. early in the spring of 1708, intelligence was carried to Governor Dudley, at Boston, that an army, consisting of eight hundred men, was about marching for some one of the frontier settlements. Upon the receipt of this, he " ordered guards in the most exposed places of both his provinces." A body of troops, under Captain Robert Coffin, patrolled from Kingston to Cocheco, and scouts were ordered to be kept out continually. Four hundred Massachusetts Militia were posted in N. H. Province. The guard sent to this town, consisted of about forty men, accompanied with three officers, from Salem,-Major Turner, (afterward Colonel, a principal merchant of that place, and for many years a member of the council), Captain Price, and Captain Gardner, and soon after their arrival, they were posted in the frontier houses and garrisons. The follow- ing account is copied from Mirick : -
" Early in the year, a grand council was held at Montreal, when an extensive engagement was agreed upon; which was to be joined by the principal Indians of every tribe in Canada, the Abenakis tribe, one hundred
· State Archives, Vol. S.
28
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select French Canadians, and a number of volunteers, several of whom were officers in the French army, composing a formidable body of about four hundred men. The French were commanded by DeChaillons, and the infamous Hertel de Rouville, the sacker of Deerfield," and the Indians by by La Perriere. The Indians were merciless, insolent and revengeful ; but the French at that period equalled, and we had almost said, exceeded them in acts of wantonness and barbarity. When the former were weary of murdering "poor, helpless women and children"-when they were glutted with blood, it is said that M. Vaudreuil, then Governor of Canada, employed the latter to do it .;
To excite less surprise among the English, they divided their army into two bodies; the French with the Algonquin, the St. Francois, and Huron Indians, were to take the route by the river St. Francois, and La Perriere and the French Mohawks, were to pass by Lake Champlain. Lake Nickisipigue was appointed the place of rendezvous, and there they were to meet the Norridgewock, the Penobscot, and other eastern tribes.} These arrangements being completed, they commenced their march the 16th of July ; but before the first named party had arrived at the St. Francois, a Huron was accidentally killed by a companion, which was considered by the tribe as an ill-omen, and that the expedition, though commenced under such favorable auspices, would certainly prove unfortunate. Strongly impressed with this idea, and not wishing to be connected with it if it should so prove, they deserted. The Mohawks then pretended that an infectious distemper had broken out among them, and that it would soon spread among the rest of the tribes, if they remained-and they also returned. M. Vaudreuil, when he heard of this, immediately sent word to the French officers to proceed, and fall upon some of the English settle- ments, even if they should be deserted by the Algonquin and St. Francois tribes. These, however, remained firm to their allegiance, and they continued their march ; but when they arrived at Nickisipigue, their rendezvous, what was their astonishment at finding that the eastern Indians had broken faith with them.
It is said that their first design was to attack Portsmouth, and then, marching rapidly onward to other settlements, spread terror and desolation
" Deerfield was desolated in the winter of 1704. The French and Indians were commanded by this same Hertel de Rouville, whose name will ever be coupled with infamy, assisted by four of his brothers ; all of whom had been trained up to the business by their father, who had been a famous partizan in their former wars. They slaughtered forty-seven of the inhabitants, plundered the village, and set it on fire. They then retreated, carrying with them one hundred and twelve, as prisoners of war. Dr. Samuel Williams, the immediate descendant of one of the principal sufferers, and the accomplished historian of Vermont, has given an interesting account of the whole affair.
¡ Hutchinson. # Ibid.
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along the whole frontier. But being unable to accomplish this, on account of the unexpected desertions, they were obliged to modify their plan. Their whole force was now about 250, a small number when compared with that which started from Canada. Probably the French officers felt ashamed to return without effecting something, after they had been at so much trouble and expense ; accordingly, Haverhill, a compact village, consisting of about thirty houses," was selected for the slaughter.
At the break of day, on the 29th of August, they passed the frontier garrisons undiscovered, and were first seen near the pound, marching two and two, by John Keezar,; who was returning from Amesbury. He im- mediately ran into the village and alarmed the inhabitants, who seem to have slept totally unguarded, by firing his gun near the meeting-house. The enemy soon appeared, making the air ring with terrific yells, with a sort of whistle, which says tradition, could be heard as far as a horn, and clothed in all the terrors of a savage war-dress. They scattered in every direction over the village, so that they might accomplish their bloody work with more despatch. The first person they saw, was Mrs. Smith, whom they shot as she was flying from her house to a garrison. The foremost party attacked the houset of Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, which was then garri- soned with three soldiers, and he, and a part of his beloved family, were suddenly awakened from their slumbers, only to hear the horrid knell for their departure. Mr. Rolfe instantly leaped from his bed, placed himself against the door, which they were endeavoring to beat in, and called on the soldiers for assistance ; but these craven-hearted men refused to give it, for they were palsied with fear, and walked to and fro through the
· Hutchinson.
t This Keezar, the son of John Keezar, who was killed when Mrs. Dustin was captured, was a very eccentric man, and a jack of all trades. He was said to be exceedingly proud of his proficiency in walking, leaping, and other manual exercises; and, if tradition may be relied upon, he was certainly a great walker and leaper ; for it said that he walked to Boston and back again in one night, and jumped over a cart with two large pails full of milk in his hands. It was his custom to go from this town to Amesbury and pitch his tent on the side of a hill, where he worked at the trade of shoemaking, and lived in all respects, while there, like an austere hermit. Some say, that when he discovered the enemy, he was out to take in his horse, which, according to his custom, he had turned into his neighbor's field to feed. Others say they were discovered by one Hutchins, who was out to steal milk from his neighbor's cows.
Another account says that the slaughter might have been prevented had it not been for the agitation of a young man, who, intending to start very early that morning for a distant town, went up on the Common to catch his horse, and while there, discovered the enemy advancing toward the village. He immediately hastened to the town, but in his extreme agitation, he thought only of the safety of the young lady to whom he had paid very particular attention some time previous. It is said that he passed through a part of the village, went directly to the abode of his mistress, and concealed her in a pile of boards. He then, after seeing his own property safe, and which, perhaps, was all he possessed in the wide world, gave the alarm ; but the attack had already commenced.
# Where Dr. Moses Nichols' house now stands.
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chambers, crying and swinging their arms." Had they displayed but half the ordinary courage of men, no doubt they would have successfully de- fended the house. But, instead of that, they did not fire a gun, or even lift a finger toward its defence. The enemy finding their entrance stren- uously opposed, fired two balls through the door, one of which took effect, and wounded Mr. Rolfe in the elbow. They then pressed against it with their united strength, and Mr. Rolfe, finding it impossible to resist them any longer, fled precipitately through the house, and out at the back door. The Indians followed, overtook him at the well, and despatched him with their tomahawks .; They then searched every part of the house for plunder, and also for other victims, on whom they might inflict their savage cruelties. They soon found Mrs. Rolfe and her youngest child, Mehitable, and while one of them sunk his hatchet deep in her head, another took the infant from her dying grasp, and dashed its head against a stone near the door.
Two of Mr. Rolfe's children, about six and eight years of age,¿ were providentially saved by the sagacity and courage of Hagar, a negro slave, who was an inmate of the family. Upon the first alarm, she leaped from her bed, carried them into the cellar, covered them with two tubs, and then concealed herself. The enemy entered the cellar and plundered it of every thing valuable. They repeatedly passed the tubs that covered the two children, and even trod on the foot of one, without discovering them, They drank milk from the pans, then dashed them on the cellar bottom, and took meat from the barrel, behind which Hagar was concealed.§
" Just what we might expect of such "hired boys" as Colonel Noyes had sent to defend (!) the town. -G. W. C.
t Another account says that he was killed by one of the bullets shot through the door, and this we be- lieve is the prevailing opinion ; but we feel confident that it is untrne. We know that it is hard for others, as well as ourselves, to give up a tradition which we have often heard repeated by our neighbors, and by our fathers ; but in this case we think it must be done, if the truth is desired. When we first began to develope the affair, we felt confident, almost to a certainty, that he was killed through the door, because every body said so; and indeed, we had so wrote it, and read it to a friend of ours, who agreed with us on that point, at least he made no objections to it. But while examining other affairs, we were shown some extracts from the manuscript account of Rev. Abiel Abbot, taken by him from the lips of Judith Whiting, and which has been before mentioned in this work. Mrs. Whiting was eight years old when the attack happened, and when she gave the account to Mr. Abbot, though very aged, her facnlties were unimpaired ; and she stated that he was shot through the elbow, fled through the house, and was tomahawked at the well. We place much reliance on her statement, and no doubt, the story of Mr. Rolfe's being killed through the door, arose from the wound which he received in his elbow. It appears to us very probable that it should .- Mirick.
# Elizabeth, was afterward the wife of the Rev. Samuel Checkley, of Boston, and was the mother of the wife of Samuel Adams, the patriot. Mary became the wife of Cotonel Estes IIatch, of Dorchester.
§ " Iler father's maid-servant hearing that the Indians were upon them, jumped from her bed, and with wonderful presence of mind, took two of the little daughters, who probably slept in the room with her, one 13 and the other 9, named Mary and Elizabeth, and fled with them into the cellar. There, under two large tubs, she concealed them, and then successfully concealed herself."-Drake's History of Boston.
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Anna Whittaker, who was then living in the family of Mr. Rolfe, pro- bably as a nurse, concealed herself in an apple-chest, under the stairs, and escaped unharmed." But it fared differently with the cowardly soldiers. They earnestly begged for mercy, of their inhuman conquerors, but their cries were unheeded; and when the massacre was over, their bodies were numbered with the slain. We can have no pity for the fate of such contemptible cowards. A man who will shrink from danger at such a time, and in such a situation, while he holds the weapons of defence in his hands, should be ranked with the reptile, and ever be looked upon with scorn by the world. The names of such, should sink in oblivion, or survive as memorials of surpassing infamy.
The family of Thomas Hartshorne suffered as severely as that of Mr. Rolfe. He saw a party approaching to assault his house, which stood a few rods west of the meeting-house, and escaped out of it, followed by two of his sons, to call assistance; but all three were shot dead immediately after leaving it. A third son was tomahawked as he was coming out at the door. Mrs. Hartshorne, with that presence of mind which is a characteristic of her sex, when surrounded with danger, instantly took the rest of her children-except an infant which she left on the bed in the garret, and which she was afraid would, by its cries, betray their place of concealment, if she took it with her-through a trap door into the cellar. The enemy entered the house, and began to plunder it, but happily did not discover them. They went into the garret, took the infant from its bed, and threw it out of the window. It fell on a pile of clapboards, and when the action was over, it was found completely stunned. It lived, however, and became a man of uncommon stature, and of remarkable strength. His neighbors would frequently joke him, and say that the Indians stunted him when they threw him from the garret-window .;
One of the parties proceeded towards the river, and attacked the house of Lieutenant John Johnson .¿ Mr. Johnson and his wife, with an infant a
" From the following extract, it would seem that Anna Whittaker afterward claimed for herself the eredit of saving the children. . The above, however, has always been considered the correct version of the incident : -
" Brookfield, Sep 24, 1764.
On the Sth Inst. died after a few Days illness, Mrs Anna Heyward in the 74th Year of her Age, the Wife of Oliver Ileyward Esq. She has left by a former Husband (John Hind) 13 Children, 82 Grand-Children, and 17 Great-Grand-Children, in all 112. She was very useful as a Mid-wife, and in her last sickness she had a most unshaken Trust in the Mercy of God, through the Redecmer. In her Youth, when the Savages invaded Haverhill, she saved two Children of the Rev Mr Rolfe's, by hiding them in the Cellar after the Indians had entered the Ilouse while they were glutting their Rage on the Parents : the two Indians followed her into the Cellar, yet such was her Presence of Mind, and Dexterity, that she conceal'd the Children and herself that they escaped their Notice; and they were the only Members of the Family at Home who survived the bloody Carnage."-From Massachusetts Gazette, Sept. 27, 1764.
+ Abbott's MSS.
# Johnson's house stood on the spot now covered by the Exchange building, on Water Street.
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year old in her arms, were standing at the door, when the enemy made their appearance. Mr. Johnson was shot, and his wife fled through the house into the garden," carrying her babe, where she was overtaken by the foe, and immediately despatched. But when she fell, she was careful not to injure her child, and it seemed as if her last thoughts were for its safety. The enemy, it appears, did not murder it, and it is somewhat remarkable that they did not; for they always took great delight in torturing and dashing out the brains of innocent babes. Perhaps it was because the mother was not alive to witness its agonies. After the massa- cre was over, it was found at the breast of its dead mother .;
Another party rifled and burnt the house of Mr. Silver, which stood within ten rods of the meeting house, and others attacked the watch-house, which was, however, successfully defended. Another party went to the house of Captain Simon Wainwright,¿ whom they killed at the first fire. The soldiers stationed in the chambers, were preparing to defend the house till the last, when Mrs. Wainwright fearlessly unbarred the door, and let them in. She spoke to them kindly, waited upon them with seeming alacrity, and promised to procure them whatever they desired. The enemy knew not what to make of this; - the apparent cheerfulness with which they were received, and the kindness with which they were treated, was so different from what they expected to meet with, that it seemed to para- lyze their energies. They, however, demanded money of Mrs. Wainwright, and upon her retiring ' to bring it,' as she said, she fled with all her chil- dren, except one daughter who was taken captive, and were not afterwards discovered. The enemy, so soon as they saw how completely they had been deceived, were greatly enraged, and attacked the chambers with great violence; but the soldiers courageously defended them, and after attempting to fire the house, they retreated, taking with them three pris- oners. In the mean-time, two Indians skulked behind a large stone, which stood in the field a few rods east of the house, where they could fire up- on its inmates at their leisure. The soldiers in the chambers fired upon them, and killed them both. They were afterwards buried in the same field, a few rods south, and but a few years since, the water washed their skeletons from their places of repose.§
Two Indians attacked the house of Mr. Swan, which stood in the field now called White's lot, | nearly opposite to the house of Capt. Emerson.
" Where the Osgood Block now stands. + Tradition.
# Captain Wainwright lived in a house which stood on the ground now covered by that of the late Captain Nehemiah Emerson's, and directly opposite the Winter Street Church .- G. W. C. § Mirick. || White's Lot was situated between White and Franklin Streets. Swan's house was probably very near the present site of the Winter Street Church .- G. W. C.
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Swan and his wife saw them approaching, and determined, if possible, to save their own lives, and the lives of their children, from the knives of the ruthless butchers. They immediately placed themselves against the door, which was so narrow that two could scarcely enter abreast. The Indians rushed against it, but finding that it could not be easily opened, they commenced their operations more systematically. One of them placed his back to the door, so that he could make his whole strength bear upon it, while the others pushed against him. The strength of the besiegers was greater than that of the besieged, and Mr. Swan, being rather a timid man, said our venerable narrator, almost despaired of sav- ing himself and family, and told his wife that he thought it would be bet- ter to let them in. But this resolute and courageous woman had no such idea. The Indians had now succeeded in partly opening the door, and one of them was crowding himself in, while the other was pushing lustily after. The heroic wife saw that there was no time for parleying - she seized her spit, which was nearly three feet in length, and a deadly weapon in the hands of woman, as it proved, and collceting all the strength she pos- sessed, drove it through the body of the foremost. This was too warm a reception for the besiegers - it was resistance from a source, and with a weapon they little expected; and surely, who else would ever think of spitting a man ? - The two Indians, thus repulsed, immediately retreated and did not molest them again. Thus, by the fortitude and heroic courage of a wife and mother, this family was probably saved from a bloody grave.º
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