USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Exeter > Accounts of Exeter (1750-1800) > Part 1
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Gc 974.202 Ex2e 1770153
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 9804
EXETER HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bulletin No. 4
ACCOUNTS OF EXETER 50-1800)
Edited by HOWARD T. EASTON
and WILLIAM G. SALTONSTALL
EXETER, N. H. The Dems-Letter Press 1938
EXETER HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bulletin No. 4
ACCOUNTS OF EXETER (1750-1800)
₩70153
Edited by HOWARD T. EASTON and WILLIAM G. SALTONSTALL
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EXETER, N. H. Che Detus. Letter Press 1938
..
1.
F EASTON, HOWARD T ed.
84226 ... Accounts of Exeter (1750-1800) edited by 25 Howard T.Easton and William G.Saltonstall. Exeter, N.H. ,News-letter press, 1938. 28p. (Exeter historical society. Bulletin no.4)
Contents .-- 1. James Birket .-- 2. The Marquis de Chastellux .-- 3. Joseph Hadfield .-- 4. George Washington .-- 5. Timothy Dwight .-- 6. Duke de La Rochefoucault Lioncourt .- 7. Samuel Tenney.
ift '39
SHELF CARD
NL 39-7388
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The following series of "impressions" of Exeter contains accounts by visitors to the town during the latter half of the 18th century. Except for Dr. Tenney's more formal description, they are impressions rather than studies of Exeter. They are inter- esting in that they show how the town appeared to men of such different callings as a West India merchant, a chief executive of the United States, and a president of Yale College. The Exeter Historical Society publishes these sketches of the town as a small contribution towards the celebration of the Tercentenary of the Wheelwright settlement.
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·ACCOUNTS OF EXETER
1. JAMES BIRKET
2. THE MARQUIS DE CHASTELLUX
3. JOSEPH HADFIELD
4. GEORGE WASHINGTON
5. TIMOTHY DWIGHT
6. DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULT LIANCOURT
7. SAMUEL TENNEY
The first Squamscott Gov. Gilman's
Benj. C. Gilman's
The Granite Bank
The First Church
Burley Tavern
Deacon Brooks's A REPRODUCTION OF AN ENGRAVED BANK NOTE, GIVING A VIEW OF FRONT STREET LOOKING WEST, ABOUT 1840
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JAMES BIRKET*
[In August, 1750, James Birket, a merchant and sea captain from Antigua in the West Indies, whence he had recently come, drove over to Exeter from Portsmouth. A glance at the Portsmouth Customs Records shows the extent of Antigua's commercial relations with this section of New England at that time. Birket appears to have been "in frequent communication with many merchants of the Northern colonies, and probably acted as correspondent and factor for them in their commercial dealings with Antigua."]
August 24, 1750.
Went with Henry Sherburne in his chair to Exeter 15 miles fine road & dined with Colº Gilman; the town is Scituate upon a branch of Piscataway river, where they have a large Wooden bridge over the Same where there is severell sawmills Grist mills &cª and here the build Ships of good Burthen, this Branch of the river being Navigable up to the town which is well built and Pleasantly Scituated there is two Presbyterian meeting houses here, one of the Newlight And one of the old, but 'tis hard to Say which Sees best there Seems to be 100 houses or more in the town, some of them built after the modern taste which make a- very good apearance; The People here as well as in Other branches of Piscataway river complain that there Lumber is far to fetch out of the Country and Stand, them very dear which really seems to be the case for the road that we went was extreamly well Inhabited all the way and the ground generally Cleared and as far as we could see beyond the town, but indeed one cannot see far here as the country is so much upon a level that it's few Places that Afford- any distant prospect, Abundance of Lumber is brought down to this town by Land carriage and afterwards is rafted down the river to Portsmº
*"Some Cursory Remarks" by James Birket, published by Yale University Press, 1916.
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MARQUIS DE CHASTELLUX*
[The Marquis de Chastellux was born of ancient family in Paris, in 1734. He entered the French army at the age of 15 and commanded a regiment at 21. His deep interest in literature and science secured him election to the French Academy. In 1780, he came to America as a Major-General in the army of Count Rochambeau. He was highly thought of by enemies and friends alike, amongst the latter, George Washington. While in America, the Marquis kept a record of his travels during the years 1780 to 1782. This he published about 1786, and an English translation was made in 1787. An American edition came out in 182S. The Marquis died in 178S.]
We left this place [Haverhill, Mass.] the 9th [Nov., 1782] at nine in the morning, our road lying through Plastow, a pretty considerable township; after which we met with woods, and a wild and horrid country. We saw a great number of pines and epicias; there are also several large lakes, some of which are traced upon the chart. Since we quitted the confines of Connec- ticut, I have in general observed a great number of these ponds, which contributed to increase the resemblance between this country and that of the Bourbonnois, and the Nivernois, in France. Twelve miles from Haverhill is Kingston, a township inferior to those we had observed upon the route; and at the end of eighteen miles is Exeter, at present the capital of New-Hampshire, that is to say, the place where the President or Governor resides, and the members of the state assemble. It is rather a handsome town, and is a sort of port; for vessels of seventy tons can come up, and others as large as three or four hundred tons are built here, which are floated down Exeter river into the bay of that name, and thence to Piscataqua. We stopped at a very handsome inn kept by Mr. Ruspert, which we quitted at half past two; and though we rode very fast, night was coming on when we reached Ports- mouth. The road from Exeter is very hilly. We passed through Greenland, a very populous township, composed of well built houses. Cattle here are abundant, but not so handsome as in Connecticut, and the state of Massachusetts. They are dis- persed over fine meadows, and it is a beautiful sight to see them collected near their hovels in the evening. This country presents, in every respect, the picture of abundance and of happiness. .
*"Travels in North-America in the Years 1780-S1-82, Part III, Journal of a Tour in New-Hampshire, the state of Massachusetts, and Upper Pennsyl- vania," by the Marquis de Chastellux, p. 309 & pp. 313 and 314, edition of 1828.
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New-Hampshire hitherto has no permanent constitution, and its present government is no more than a simple convention; it much resembles that of Pennsylvania, for it consists of one legis- lative body, composed of the representatives of the people, and the executive council; which has for its chief, a President, instead of Governor. But during my stay at Portsmouth, I learnt that there was an assembly at Exeter, for the purpose of establishing a constitution, the principal articles of which were already agreed on. This constitution will be founded on the same principles as those of New-York and Massachusetts.
When I was at Portsmouth the necessaries of life were very dear, owing to the great drought of the preceding summer. Corn costs two dollars a bushel, (of sixty pounds weight) oats almost as much, and Indian corn was extremely scarce. . . Butcher's meat only was cheap, selling at two-pence halfpenny a pound. That part of New-Hampshire bordering on the coast is not fertile; there are good lands at forty or fifty miles distance from the sea, but the expense of carriage greatly augments the price of articles, when sold in the more inhabited parts. As for the value of landed property it is dear enough for so new a country. Mr. Ruspert, my landlord, paid seventy pounds currency per annum, (at eighteen livres, or fifteen shillings the pound) for his inn. Lands sell at from ten to sixteen dollars an acre. The country produces little fruit, and the cider is indifferent.
JOSEPH HADFIELD*
[Joseph Hadfield, a young Englishman, who passed through Exeter on Sep- tember 20, 1785, has left the earliest known printed description of the town. He was born in Exeter, England, of a family prominent in the mercantile trade. His mission to America was the collection of debts owed his father's firm since before the Revolutionary War by merchants in this country. He was a member of the famous Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.]
We then proceeded forward to Exeter. Here we ordered dinner and while it was preparing I took a walk round the town. I can- not but dwell upon the situation of this place which is really
*From "An Englishman in America-Joseph Hadfield's Diary."
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beautiful, being upon the banks of the main branch of the river Piscataway which runs a course of about twenty miles to Ports- mouth. This is a great place for building ships. We saw a beautiful one upon the stocks. Some of the American frigates were built here. The river receives the influence of the tide which rises from 8 to 11 feet to the foot of Piscataway Falls, where the navigation terminates. These falls, with the assistance of art, form a dam which supplies a number of mills that are upon its banks. They are mostly grist or saw mills. There is an oil mill which I went to see. The process of making it is simply this. Take a basket of flaxseed, and put it into a dry cauldron under which there is a fire. The seed is heated to give it expansion. It is then put into a mill, or rather a large millstone is turned in a circular direction and in the channel or rather the course it turns, the seed is placed and is by this means bruised. From this it is put into a kind of cave and by the means of a compressing power the oil is squeezed out. A basket yields six quarts of oil.
GEORGE WASHINGTON*
[George Washington, during his first administration, set the precedent for presidential tours about the country. Partly to familiarize himself with the new nation, partly to repair his health, he thoroughly covered the whole Union.
Having stayed at Portsmouth, he rode over to Exeter on the morning of No- vember 4th, 1789. The road was lined by people from Stratham on, but the cavalcade which was to receive him at Exeter was not ready for such a prompt arrival; so Washington, accompanied by Major William Jackson and Tobias Lear, his secretaries, had to be satisfied with the 13-gun salute of Captain Simon Wiggin's artillery company.
In Exeter for only an hour (he was expected at Haverhill at 2:30), the Presi- dent was served lunch at Col. Folsom's tavern. Here, "according to tradition Margaret Emery, a relative of the landlord's wife, sought and obtained the honor of waiting on Washington. As a reward she had a pleasant word and a kiss from the President." Here, too, Major Nicholas Gilman, Washington's former Assistant Adjutant General, waited upon him.
That evening "a very sumptuous entertainment and ball was given, which was graced with the presence of above an hundred of the first characters in the state, of both sexes. Exeter could not be satisfied, even when he had gone, not to celebrate his coming."
Washington's reference to Exeter in his diary is brief, and notable for its failure to mention the young Academy .!
This is considered as the second town [in importance, not popu- lation] in New Hampshire, and stands at the head of the tide-water
*As quoted in "Washington in New Hampshire," by Elvin Page.
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of the Piscataqua River; but ships of 3 or 400 tons are built at it. Above (but in the town) are considerable falls, which supply several grist mills, 2 oyle mills, a slitting mill, and snuff mill. It is a place of some consequence, but does not contain more than 1,000 In- habitants. [This is too low an estimate by 700.]
A jealousy subsists between this town (where the Legislature alternately sits), and Portsmouth; which, had I known it in time, would have made it necessary to have accepted an invitation to a public dinner, but my arrangements having been otherwise made, I could not.
From hence, passing through Kingstown, (6 miles from Exeter) I arrived at Haverhill about half-past two, and stayed all night. The lands over which I travelled to-day, are pretty much mixed in places with stone-and the growth with pines-till I came near Haverhill, where they disappeared, and the land had a more fertile appearance. The whole were pretty well cultivated, but used (principally) for grass and Indian corn.
[Bell's "History of Exeter," p. 100, thus describes his departure:
A cavalcade of gentlemen escorted him outside the village. He took the road to Kingston, on his way to Haverhill, Massa- chusetts. When he reached the top of Great hill, he directed the driver of his carriage to halt, that he might look back upon the wide view of Exeter and its vicinity. He gazed a few moments at the fair landscape that lay at his feet and stretched away to the ocean, and remarked admiringly upon its beauty; and with this pleasant farewell to Exeter he went on his way.]
TIMOTHY DWIGHT*
[Timothy Dwight, "Congregational divine, author, president of Yale College from 1795 to 1817," visited Exeter on October 4, 1796. His "Travels in New England" was written to record how that section appeared and "to refute foreign misrepresentations of America." It was his one great work. The sedentary nature of his duties at Yale led him to devote his vacations, "particu- larly that in the autumn, which includes six weeks, to a regular course of travelling." He kept a journal of his travels, planning to use it as the basis of his book.]
Oct. 4, 1796.
Exeter is a considerable town, situated on the falls of Squam- scut, or Exeter river, a branch of the Pascataqua, about fourteen
*"Travels in New-England and New York," by Timothy Dwight, publ., 1823.
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miles from Portsmouth. The tide flows up this river to the town, where its progress is terminated by a ridge of rocks. The highest rise of the tide is about eleven feet. The river is therefore navi- gable to these falls for vessels of five hundred tons. At a small distance above the town, the Squamscut is joined by another stream, called Little river. On these waters are erected eight grist-mills, six saw-mills, two oil-mills, two chocolate-mills, two fulling-mills, one paper-mill, one snuff-mill, one slitting-mill, and a furnace. In the summer, however, there is sufficient water for the grist-mills and fulling-mills only.
Granite, though not without considerable labour, is here wrought into handsome materials for building. Marl has been found here.
The soil of Exeter is various. The centre of the township is a fertile plain, particularly favourable to the growth of maize. I was very credibly informed, that, although planted year by year for a great length of time, and cultivated with a husbandry moderately skilful, it still yields plentiful crops. Some parts of the township are good, some indifferent, and others poor. All of them, however, might easily, with a superior cultivation, become more productive than the proprietors could be induced to believe.
Exeter contains about two hundred and twenty houses, of which many are indifferent, many decent, and some of a still higher class. The court-house is a good building; one of the churches very ordinary, and the other handsome. This structure is of wood, and was erected at the expense of seventeen thousand dollars.
I have already mentioned Exeter academy. It was founded in the year 1781 by the Honourable John Phillips, LL.D., of this town. Its funds, which, as is said, amount to about 80,000 dol- lars, were almost all given by this gentleman. The interest of 6,666 dollars 67 cents, or £1,500 sterling, is appropriated to the purpose of boarding poor scholars of promising characters, while they are qualifying themselves to enter upon a collegiate educa- tion. This institution. like that of Andover. is eminently respect- able and prosperous. The academical building is a handsome struc- ture, standing at the bottom of a spacious yard, about one-fourth of a mile south-west of the court-house. It is seventy-six feet
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in length, and thirty-six in breadth, and contains all the accom- modations, either necessary or convenient, for the system of edu- cation pursued here, and is superior to any other building destined to the same purpose within my knowledge.
This academy is under the direction of seven trustees, a pre- ceptor, and an assistant. The number of students is usually from sixty to eighty.
The trade of Exeter is much smaller than it was formerly; five or six vessels only being employed by the inhabitants in foreign commerce. A manufactory of sail-cloth and twine was established here, in 1790 or 1791, by Thomas Odiorne, Esq., and has met with some success. Ship-building was heretofore a considerable and profitable business in this town. Since the revolution it has de- clined. A few vessels, however, are built annually, and a great quantity of saddlery is manufactured; more, probably, than in any other town in New-England.
The morals of the inhabitants have been much improved during the last half century. Formerly, they were employed to a great extent in the business of getting lumber. The effects of this dissolute business I shall consider hereafter. Suffice it now to say, that such of the people of Exeter as were engaged in it were poor, idle, haunters of taverns, and devoted to all the baser pur- suits of vulgar vice. In consequence of the termination of this business, industry has succeeded to sloth, regularity to dissolute- ness, thrift to poverty, and comfort and reputation to suffering and shame.
Exeter, though low and flat, is eminently healthy. The princi- pal inconvenience of climate in this region, and all along this coast, an inconvenience supposed by some persons to have in- creased gradually for many years, in consequence of disforesting the country, is the prevalence of easterly winds. Throughout the months of April and May they predominate, and blow with an efficacy unknown in the western parts of New-England. The delicate fruits are often destroyed by their chilling influence. Even the leaves of some of the tender trees are at times so agitated by these blasts as to perish. On the peninsula of Cape Cod, the in- habitants defend their orchards by trees of a more hardy nature.
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The same expedient might probably be repeated elsewhere with advantage.
These winds are generally considered as peculiarly unfavour- able to persons of slender constitutions, especially to those who are liable to pulmonic diseases. It has been supposed, that one- third, or at least one fourth, of the deaths, which take place here, are produced by the consumption.
The inhabitants of this town have been distinguished by a meritorious attention to their schools.
Exeter was settled by a number of people from Braintree in Massachusetts, and was incorporated in 1638. For a long period the inhabitants were distressed by the inroads of the savages, al- though less than several of the neighbouring settlements. So great were the discouragements from this source, that there were only twenty voters so late as the year 1680. In the year 1697, it was remarkably preserved by the following accident :- A number of the women and children, having imprudently ventured into the fields to gather strawberries, some men, returning from their work, fired an alarm-gun to frighten them. At this moment a body of Indians lay concealed in the skirts of the town. Upon hearing the gun they imagined themselves to be discovered, and fled.
The number of inhabitants in Exeter, in 1775, was 1,741; in 1790, 1,722; in 1800, 1,727; and in 1810, 1,759.
A number of intelligent, genteel, and very respectable families reside in this town.
DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULT LIANCOURT*
[The Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, a well known and distinguished member of the French nobility, made journeys in 1795, 6 and 7 "for philoso- phical and commercial observation throughout a great part of North America." "A traveller of no ordinary discernment and diligence in enquiry," he was a friend and pupil of Mr. Arthur Young, the English author of many journals of
* Extract from "Travels through the United States of North America, the Country of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797;"' by the Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt. 2d edition. London, Printed for R. Phillips, 1800. Translated by H. Neuman.
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husbandry. Interested in commercial and industrial as well as agricultural progress, he skillfully painted a lively picture of the young nation at work and play. A victim of the French Revolution and one of its most illustrious exiles, "he inclines, at times, to encourage the milder class of those political sentiments little adapted to promote the general welfare."
It is interesting that Liancourt saw fit to make note of "an academy in this town." Liancourt was in Exeter in 1796.]
This town, fourteen miles distant from Portsmouth, is the seat of the government of New-Hampshire, and situate in the county of Rockingham, on the river Surampscot, at the head of the bay of Piscataqua. It contains about three hundred and fifty houses and from sixteen to seventeen hundred inhabitants. The houses are tolerably neat; and the place receives a good share of activity from several mills for corn, paper, fulling, tobacco, chocolate, and sawing, and from some iron-works.
I have observed that there was an academy in this town. It was incorporated in 1781 by an act of the legislature, under the name of "Phillips's Exeter Academy," from the name of a Mr. Phillips, a minister of Exeter, who was the principal donor to it .- Before the revolution, and at the time when Portsmouth carried on an extensive commerce, many vessels were built at Exeter: but, since the decline of the trade of Portsmouth, the ship-build- ing at Exeter has dwindled almost to nothing; not more than two or three vessels being annually built there, and these being only sloops. No vessels above the burden of twenty tons can go up to that town.
Under the head of Portsmouth I forgot to notice a particularity which would there have been more properly placed than under the head of Exeter, although the same fact exists here also. It is, that in that considerable town, where all the houses except one or two are built of wood, the only mode practised for cleaning the chimneys is to set them on fire. That operation is performed in rainy weather, that the roofs, which are covered with shingles, may be the less exposed to catch fire from the flying sparks. There is not an instance on record of any mischief having been caused by this singular process of cleaning the chimneys. The want of chimney-sweepers first gave rise to this practice, which is at length so thoroughly established by habit, as to be now em- ployed in preference to any other, even when sweeps happen to
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pass through the town. The same custom almost universally pre- vails in all the small towns or villages of New-England, and also in many other parts of America.
SAMUEL TENNEY*
[Dr. Samuel Tenney was born at Byfield, Mass., in 1748, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1772, after which he studied medicine. In 1775, he settled in Exeter, whence he went as a surgeon to join the Revolutionary Army. After the war, he returned to Exeter, where he married and resided the rest of his life in a houset located where the Courthouse now stands. He· did not practice medicine, but entered politics, helping to form the Constitution of New Hampshire in 1791, and serving as Judge of Probate from 1793 to 1800, after which he went to Congress for three terms. His death came in 1816. He was a member of several literary, historical, and scientific societies, among them the Massachusetts Historical Society, for which he wrote the following account of Exeter in 1795.i
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