USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > Annals of the town of Concord, in the county of Merrimack, and state of New-Hampshire, from its first settlement, in the year 1726, to the year 1823 > Part 1
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Gc 974.202 C74mo
Gc 974.202 C74mo 1252566
M. I
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 9556
ITA
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12.
ANNALS
OF THE -
TOWN OF CONCORD,
IN THE COUNTY OF MERRIMACK, AND STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE,
FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT, IN THE YEAR 1726,
TO THE YEAR 1823.
WITH SEVERAL BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
A Memoir of the Penacook Indians.
BY JACOB B. MOORE.
" I et us read, and recollect, and impress upon our souls, the views and ends of our fore- fathers, in exchanging their native country for a dreary, inhospitable wilderness. Recollect their amazing fortitude, their bitter sufferings ! the hunger. the nakedness, the cold, which they patiently endured ! the severe labors of clearing their grounds, building their houses, and raising their provisions, amidst dangers from wild beasts and savage men."-ADAMS.
CONCORD :
PUBLISHED BY JACOB B. MOORE
1824.
State of Dem-hampshire.
ROCKINGHAM, SS .... ] Concord, March 12, 1823.
At a legal town-meeting, held in said Concord on the day aforesaid-
Voted, That the Town-Clerk be directed to purchase of Mr. Jacob B. Moore, so many copies of his Sketches of the History of Concord, about to be published, as will supply each family in town with a copy.
ATTEST ....
FRANCIS N. FISK, Town-Clerk.
1252566
PREFACE.
WHEN the compilation of the following brief no- tices was undertaken, the writer had no other inten- tion than to preserve the facts which he might ob- tain for his own particular use and amusement .- But on examination, many things of an interesting nature were found mingled with the concerns of the town, which it was conceived might be useful and entertaining to the inhabitants. The circum- stances attending the first settlement, the hardships endured by the settlers, and their frequent expo- sure to Indian warfare ; the massacre by the In- dians, and their depredations upon the property of the inhabitants ; and the tedious and perplexing controversy with the proprietors of Bow-were all deemed subjects of sufficient importance to interest the people of this town. 'The generation to whom these things were familiar, is rapidly passing away ; and there will ere long be no one, from whom these particulars could be collected. Even at this time, great difficulty has been encountered in con- necting the series of events, and reconciling con- tradictory accounts. The want of records, for sev- eral years, and the deficiency of a portion of those we have, were also evils not to be remedied but by unwearied search and inquiry among the most intelligent aged people of the town. The writer
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PREFACE.
has devoted much time to the collection of the ma- terials here embodied ; and though, from the nature of things, and his own inability to give the narrative any original attractions, he must be aware that er- rors and deficiencies may be discovered-it is be- lieved the good citizens of Concord will find some things, embraced in the following pages, worthy of perusal and of preservation.
For the memoir of the tribe of Indians, who once inhabited this town and vicinity, the writer acknowledges his obligations to JOHN FARMER, Esq. of this town. To the politeness of CHARLES WAL- KER, and FRANCIS N. FISK, Esquires, and the Rev. Dr. M'FARLAND, he is also indebted for the use of sundry records and papers in their possession, which have been of great service to him. And to the aged citizens generally who have cheerfully aided him in completing this task, would he present the most hearty thanks, with the hope that what they have helped to accomplish, will not be found so wholly uninteresting as to be deemed unworthy of preser- vation.
March 1, 1824.
ANNALS OF CONCORD.
CONCORD, the seat of the state government, and shire town of the county of Merrimack, New- Hampshire, is pleasantly situated on both sides of Merrimack river, in latitude 43º 12' N .; 45 miles N. 721° W. of Portsmouth, 62 miles N. 22° W. of Boston, and 500 miles from Washington-City. It was originally known by the name of Penacook, from that of the tribe of Indians who once inhabited the vicinity. It is bounded on the north-west by Can- terbury and Boscawen, north-east by Loudon and Chichester, south-east by Pembroke and Bow, and south-west by Hopkinton: comprising an area of 40,919 acres.
As the principal design of this little work is to present in a summary view the most interesting circumstances which can now be collected in rela- tion to the history of Concord, further notice of its local situation, topography, &c. will be omitted in this place.
In the settlement of new lands, emigrants have generally been careful to select such as were fer- tile, and well situated for their various pursuits. Hence alluvial valleys and the borders of rivers are sooner settled than the highlands, which, though often as productive, are less easy of cultivation. The Indians were not less sagacious in this partic- ular than the whites, for we find near our principal rivers, remains of their fortifications, and other memorials of their residence there. The intervals situated on the river Merrimack early attracted notice ; and several parties, desirous of commencing new settlements, surveyed the lands a great dis- tance from its mouth.
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
· About the year 1720, Captain Ebenezer East- man and several others, from Haverhill, Mass. ex- plored the lands in this vicinity, and noticing the richness of the intervals, resolved to procure a grant and commence a settlement. Accordingly, at the session of the "General Court of the Prov- ince of the Massachusetts Bay," assembled at Bos- ton in May, 1721, a petition was presented for a tract of land " situated on the river Merrymake, at the lower end of Penacook," to contain about eight miles square. The petitioners were unsuccessful in their application until 1725; the governor dis- senting from all proceedings of the legislature, though they twice "allowed the petition," in 1721 and 1722, and in 1724 appointed a committee to view the lands. In the beginning of the year 1725, upon the petition of Benjamin Stevens, Ebenezer Eastman and others, in behalf of the intended set- tlers, a tract of land of about seven miles square was appropriated for a township, by the govern- ment of Massachusetts. The conditions of the grant were, that the tract should be divided into one hundred and three equal shares or lots; that one hundred families should settle thereon within the space of three years; that each settler should build a good dwelling-house, " comfortably to re- ceive and entertain his family," and break up and fence in six acres of land for a home lot, within the term aforesaid; that the houses should be
1725. Jan. 18. At a meeting of the committee of the general court of Mas- sachusetts, for bringing forward the settlement of a place called Penacook, on each side of Merrimack river, to begin where Contoocook empties itself into the Mer- rimack-present William Tailor, Elisha Cooke, William Dudley, John Wain- wright, Captain John Shapleigh, John Sanders, Eleazar Tyng, and Mr. Joseph Wilder-cach admitted settler paid the committee 20s.
Feb. 7. "Voted that the settlers shall well and truly fulfil the conditions and or- ders of the general court. And for the effectual accomplishing the same, itis agreed and resolved, that such and so many of the intended settlers as shall fail of fallowing, fencing or clearing one acre of land within twelve months from the first of June next, shall each of them forfeit and pay the community or settlers, £5, to be appro- priated by them to their own benefit."- Pro. Records.
ANNALS OF CONCORD.
-erected within twenty rods of each other on thre home lots, and in a regular and defensible manner; and that a convenient house for the public worship of God should be completely finished within the time first mentioned. Each settler was to pay the province £5 for his right; and as soon as one hun- dred were admitted settlers, they were empowered to hold proprietary meetings for the transaction of the business of the settlement. The remaining three rights were reserved, one for the first settled minister, one for a parsonage, and one for " the use of the school forever."* 'The requisite number of settlers having been admitted, a meeting was holden at Haverhill, on the 7th of February, 1725, when the following, among other regulations, was adopted by the proprietors :
" Agreed and resolved, That no alienation on any " lot shall be made without the consent of the com- " munity. And if any of the intended settler or " settlers shall alienate his or their lots or settle- " ments to any person or persons, without the con- " sent of the community first had and obtained, such " sale shall be declared void of itself, and the " settler that shall so pretend to alienate his lot, " shall forfeit the same to the community."|
The object of this regulation undoubtedly was to exclude Irish settlers, against whom a strong national prejudice existed, heightened perhaps by zeal in differing religious opinions. There is another evidence of this in the last petition,
1726. At a meeting of the "intended settlers," at Andover, Feb. 8, it was agreed and voted that a block house of 25 feet in breadth and 40 feet in length be built at Penacook, for the security of the settlers.
-
June 28. Mr. Agent Dummer, at London, was instructed, as it was ap-
prehended by the government of Massachusetts, that New-Hampshire might send home a complaint against the grant of Penacook lately made, to take care and an- swer any complaint; and he was furnished with the necessary papers .- Mass. Records.
* See Appendix No. I.
+ For the names of the original proprietors, see Appendix No. II.
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
by Stevens and others : They, state, " that ma- "ny applications have been made to the govern- " ment of New-Hampshire for a grant of the said " land, (at Penacook) which, though it be the un- " doubted right and property of this province; yet "it is highly probable that a parcel of Irish people " will obtain a grant from New-Hampshire for it, "unless some speedy care be taken by this great " and honorable court to prevent it."*
In May, 1726, a committee appointed by the government of Massachusetts, with surveyors, chainmen, and a number of the admitted settlers attending them, "proceeded to Penacook, and laid out 103 home lots or divisions on the river, in equal proportion, according to the quantity and quality as near as the land would admit thereof, agreeabl; to the order and direction of the great and genera court."+ This year considerable progress was made
*The jealousy prevalent at this period of the encroachments of settlers upon un appropriated lands, is also evinced in the following order of the general court o Massachusetts, relative to the settlers of Nutfield, [Londonderry] passed Dec. 1 1720:
" Whereas it appears that several familys lately arrived from Ireland, and other. from this province, have presumed to make a settlement upon lands belonging to this province, lying westward of the town of Haverhill, (which they call Nutfield" without any leave or grant obtained from this court : Resolved, that the said people be warned to move off from said lands, within the space of seven months, and i they fail to do so, that they be prosecuted by the Attorney-General by writts of tres- pass and ejectment."
t Extracts from the journal kept by John Wainwright, one of the committee.
May 12, 1726. The committee left Haverhill, and proceeded as far as Amos- keag.
13th. " This morning we proceeded on our journey-very hilly and mountain- ous land. About 8 o'clock we passed by a fall called Annahookline, [Hooksett] in Merrimack river, which is taken from a hill of the same name. About 10 er It o'clock, we forded Suncook river, which is a rapid stream, and many loose stones of some considerable bignesse in it, making it difficult to pass. About 1 o'clock we passed Penacook river, [Soucook] pretty deep and very rocky. In a short time after, we came up as far as Penacook falls, [Garven's] and steered our course north over a large pitch pine plain, three miles at least in length, and about 5 o'clock af- ternoon arrived at Penacook, and encamped on a piece of intervale called Sugar- Ball plain, from a very large head or hill called Sugar-Ball hill, whereon was the first Indian fort, as we were informed, which the Indians in old times built to defend themselves against the Maquois [Mohawks] and others their enemies. This Sugar- Ball plain is a pretty large tract of land encompassed on all parts with very high and mountainous land, as steep as the roof of an house ordinarily-only where the river runs round it, which encompasses the other parts of it. It is altogether impracticable for a team or even horse-cart to get on the plain, the land is so noun- tainous round it; and there is no spring on it as we could find."
14th. " About 12 o'clock this day, Messrs. Nathaniel Weare, Richard Waldron. jun. and Theodore Atkinson, a committee appointed by the governor and council of
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
in the settlement, about fifty persons being em- ployed during the warmer season. A new path was cut through the woods from Haverhill to Pen- acook, by the way of Chester, some portion of the distance on the same route now travelled. The same year the building of a block-house, for the defence of the plantation, and also to serve for a place of public worship, was commenced-to be 25 feet in breadth and 40 in length.
New-Hampshire, came up to our camp, (being attended with about half a score Irish- men, who kept at some distance from the camp) and acquainted us that the govern- ment of New-Hampshire, being informed of our business here, had sent them to de- sire us that we would not proceed in appropriating these lands to any private or par- ticular persons, for that they lay in their government ; and our government's making a grant inight be attended with very ill consequences to the settlers, when it ap- peared that the lands fell in the N. H. government. And then they delivered a copy of an order passed by his honour the lieutenant governor and council of New-Hampshire respecting the settling of the lands at Penacook,to which we refer. We made them answer, that the government of the Massachusetts Bay had sent us to lay out the lands here into a township; that they had made a grant of it to some particular men, and that we should proceed to do the business we were come upon, and made no doubt but our government would be always ready to support and justifie their own grants; and that it was the business of the publick, and not ours, to en- gage in, in order to determine any controversy about the lands. We sent our sa- lutes to the lieutenant governor of New-Hampshire, and the gentlemen took their leaves of us, and set homewards this afternoon."
15th. "SUNDAY .- Mr. Enoch Coffin, our chaplain, performed divine service both parts of the day."
16th. " At sunrise this morning, according to notification, we chose a represent- ative, nem. con. viz. Mr. John Sanders."
18th. " It may be observed, that divers rattlesnakes were killed by the several surveying companies, but, thanks be to God, nobody received any hurt from them."
The committee in their report, (June, 1726) say,-" In May last, we proceeded to the place, in order to lay out the whole township, and the lots directed in the order of the General Court, beginning at the mouth of Contoocook river, where that joins Merrimack river, and thence run a line east seventeen degrees south four miles, and so at right angles at the extremes of each of the aforesaid lines, seven miles southerly each, and thence from the termination of the seven miles which completes the grant and is according thereto ; and upon view and strict survey of the lands on the east side of Merrimack, we find that there is little or no water, the land near the river extremely mountainous and almost impassable, and very unfit for and uncapable of receiving fifty families, as the court has ordered ; more especially considering that near the centre of the town on the east side of the river Merrimack, the Hon. Samuel Sewall, Esq. has a farm of five hundred acres of good land, formerly granted by this court, and laid out by Gov. Endicott. The conimit- tee, therefore, with submission to the honorable General Court, thought it advisable and accordingly have laid out one hundred and three lots of land for settlements, on the west side contiguous to each other, regularly, and in a defensible manner, as by the plot of theirs, and of the whole grant (which is hereby' presented) will appear; and inasmuch as tbe generality of the land answers not the grantees' ex- pectation, and five hundred acres laid out as aforesaid, humbly offer, that the like number of acres of the unappropriated lands adjacent to the township, may be made to the settlers as an equivalent therefor." The government of Mas- sachusetts thereupon empowered the grantees to make settlements on the westerly side of the river at pleasure.
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
The Indians who at this time inhabited the vi- cinity, were on terms of amity with the whites. During the winter of this year, two or three per- sons only resided in the block-house at Penacook. The snow was very deep, the cold unusually severe, and their provisions were insufficient to support them through the season. The Indians saw their situation, and as soon as possible journeyed to Haverhill. They there called on the proprie- tors, and represented to them the situation of the families, very seriously observing that they would soon come upon the town, unless they were assisted ! A'sleigh with stores soon after arrived at Penacook, and rescued them from starvation.
On the 20th May, 1727, the government of New- Hampshire made a grant to Jonathan Wiggin and others of the tract comprised within the following bounds, viz : " beginning on the S. E. side of the town of Chichester, and running nine miles by Chi- chester and Canterbury, and carrying that breadth of nine miles from each of the aforesaid towns S. W. until the full complement of eighty-one square miles are fully made up." This grant, covering the greater part both of Concord and Pembroke, and a part of Hopkinton, gave rise to a serious controver- sy between the claimants under each grant, which was continued in law for several years, and was not finally settled until 1762.
During the year 1727, the block-house was finish- ed; considerable quantities of corn and hay were gathered, and the wilderness reduced to some de-
1726. Dec. 20. The memorial of the Penacook settlers was presented, respecting 500 acres of land on the E. side of the river, formerly granted to Gov. Endicott, and praying for land instead thereof on the W. Voted unanimously to grant 500 acres on the west side. This grant was confirmed by governor Burnet, Aug. 6, 1728 .- Mass. Records.
1727. March 6. Messrs. Joseph Hall and John Pecker were " empowered to to agree with a minister to preach at Penacook the year ensuing, to begin the ser- vice from the fifteenth of May next. The said committee are directed to act with all prudence, and not assure the gentleman more than after the rate of £100 per annum for his service."-Prop. Records.
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
gree of cultivation. Several dwellings had previ- ously been erected; and in the fall of this year the first family, that of Ebenezer Eastman, moved into the place .*
Aug. 6, 1728, the government of Massachusetts, in consideration of a grant of 500 acres of land, formerly made to governor Endicott, which fell within the boundaries of Penacook, and was claim- ed by the heirs of judge Sewall, empowered the proprietors " by a surveyor and chainmen on oath, to extend the south bounds of the township one hundred rods the full breadth of their town, as an equivalent."
Considerable improvements were made in the settlements in 1729 ; saw and gristmills were erec- ted by Nathan Simonds, with the assistance of the proprietors ; and a ferry was established for the convenience of the settlers.t A substantial fence was this year built for the first time to enclose the interval on the river, "at the common charge." A
1728. On the 15th of February this year, the first child was born at Penacook- Dorcas, a daughter of Edward and Dorcas Abbot: she died Sept. 28, 1797. The first male child was Edward, son of the same parents, born Dec. 27, 1730: he died in Sept. 1801. John Hoit, the second male, was born Sept. 10, 1732-and married a sister of Dr. Carter, Jan. 2, 1755. The elder Mr. Hoit was of Amesbury, Ms.
1729. Sept. 4. The proprietors and inhabitants of Penacook petitioned the gen- eral court of Massachusetts for the privileges of a town; but no proceedings were had. March 6, 1730, the same petition was renewed, and referred to the consider- ation of a committee ; but no measures were adopted.
* Jacob Shute drove Eastman's team, the first that had crossed the wilderness from Haverhill to Penacook. Shute's father was a native of France, and upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantz by Lewis XIV. fled into Ireland. His children emigrated to this country.
Though Eastman's was the first family of settlers, it is believed there were sev- eral individuals who settled previously. Dr. Rolfe was the first settler, and resided near the residence of the late captain Emery. He was father of Benjamin Rolfe, Esq. The second settler was Richard Uran, afterwards of Newbury. They passed the winter of 1726 at Penacook, living mostly upon the fruits of the wilderness and the charities of the Indians.
+ The gristmill stood near the present site of the factory of Messrs. I. & J. East- man, on the east side of the river ; the saw-mill about half a mile above, on the same stream. The mill-crank was brought upon a horse from Haverhill. Soon after commencing operations, it was broken. How to remedy the evil they knew not, as there was no blacksmith nearer than Haverhill. But necessity is the mother of invention. They collectetl together a quantity of pitch knots, fastened the crank with beetle-rings and wedges, and succeeded in their attempt to weld the dis- jointed parts. The crank was afterwards used for many years.
,
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ANNALS OF CONCORD.
plank floor was also laid in the "meeting-house," or fort ; and the road from Penacook to Haverhill, was altered and improved under the direction of Messrs. Ebenezer Eastman and John Chandler.
The settlers of Penacook, like those of all the older towns, strictly observed the religious institu- tions of their fathers. Mr. Enoch Coffin, of New- bury, Mass. accompanied them on their first visits to the new lands, and other clergymen occasionally preached to them .* Measures were this year taken to provide for the settlement of a minister; and at a meeting of the settlers in October, it was "voted that every proprietor or intended settler of Pena- cook should forthwith pay or cause to be paid into the hands of the treasurer the sum of 20s. towards the support of an orthodox minister to preach at Penacook aforesaid, the same to be paid in propor- tion to the preaching." At a previous meeting, they had appointed Deacon John Osgood, Messrs. John Pecker, John Chandler, Ebenezer Eastman, Nathan Symonds, William Barker and Joseph Hall " to callt and agree with some suitable person to be minister of the town of Penacook;" and at the same meeting agreed to pay a salary of £100 law -. ful money per annum to their minister when set- tled.į
* At a meeting of the proprietors, at Bradford, March 12, 1728, they voted to pay Mr. Bezaliel Toppan 30s. " for preaching and performing divine service at Pena- cook." £4 was also voted to the heirs of Rev. Enoch Coffin, deceased, for like ser- vices. Mr. Enoch Coffin, the first preacher in Concord, was born in Newbury, Feb. 7, 1695, and died Aug. 7, 1727. He was second son of the honorable Nathaniel Coffin, and graduated at Harvard .College. Nathaniel was son of Tristram Coffin, of Newbury, whose father Tristram Coffin was son of Peter Coffin, of Brixton parish, 4 miles from Plymouth in Plympton hundred, and who came to New England in 1642, and brought with him his mother, two sisters, and four chil. dren.
t The mode of calling and maintaining ministers in congregational societies, Originated in an act passed during the reign of William and Mary, approved June 8, 1692 .- Act IV. William & Mary.
# At the meeting of the grantees and settlers, October 14, 1730, it was “ Voted, that Mr. Timothy Walker shall have £100 for the year ensuing, and then rise 40s. per annum, till it comes to £120, and that to be the stated sum annually for his salary, during his continuance in the ministry, together with the parsonage so long as he carries on the whole work of the ministry. Provided, and it is hereby to be understood, any thing to the contrary above mentioned notwithstanding, that if Mr. Walker, by extreme old age, shall be disenabled from carrying on the whole work of the ministry, that he shall abate so much of his salary as shall be rational."
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