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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02867 9741
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Bicentennial celebration, Town of Newton, New Hampshire
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BICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
1749-1949
NEWTON NEW HAMPSHIRE
Historical Booklet
PRICE JO CANZ'S
GEN
Bicentennial Celebration Town of Newton, New Hampshire
--
NEWTON TOWN HALL
Historical Booklet and Program Celebration July 30, 1949
Published July 1949
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
JUSTEIL BAR FLETESQ.
STONE IN OLD TOWN BURYING GROUND
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FOREWORD
Interest in the town of Newton prompts us to pass on the records and incidents of years past, which we have col- lected. The town's growth and activities, the progressive work of churches, schools and orders have all been given due prominence.
Our town has always had a full quota of good citizens, ministers, teachers, and boys and girls who regard Newton with allegiance and affection. The town history gives us a knowledge of its parentage or ancestry and with this know- ledge comes a deeper admiration for the traditions that are ours.
State papers from the Concord, New Hampshire library, the History of Strafford and Rockingham Counties, reports of the Newton Town Records at the New Hampshire Historical Society, Merrill's History of Amesbury, and scraps and pic- tures from old attics of Newton have given us much valuable and authentic information.
"'Tis man's worst deed to let the things that have been go to waste."
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THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
There are hermit souls that live withdrawn In the peace of their self-content; There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart, In a fellowless firmament; There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths Where highways never ran ;- But let me live by the side of the road And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road, Where the race of men go by- The men who are good and the men who are bad, As good and as bad as I. I would not sit in the scorner's seat, Or hurl the cynic's ban ;- Let me live in a house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road, By the side of the highway of life, The men who press with the ardor of hope, The men who are faint with the strife. But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears- Both parts of an infinite plan ;- Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.
I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead And mountains of wearisome height; The road passes on through the long afternoon And stretches away to the night. But still I rejoice when the travellers rejoice, And weep with the strangers that moan, Nor live in my house by the side of the road Like a man who dwells alone.
Let me live in my house by the side of the road Where the race of men go by- . They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, Wise, foolish-so am I. Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat Or hurl the cynic's ban ?- Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.
Sam Walter Foss New Hampshire poet
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History of Newton, N. H.
Although the incorporation of Newton as a New Hamp- shire town came about in 1749, the populating of the territory we now know as Newton took place over one hundred years previous. In 1639 a grant was given by England to a group of people to form New-Salisbury (Amesbury) which was at first somewhat indefinite, but was subsequently defined to include South Hampton, and portions of Kingston, Plaistow, Newton, Seabrook, Hampstead as well as the territory of Amesbury and Merrimack.
The region west of the Powow River was wild country and formed the frontier for that section. As with other frontiers as they progressed across the United States, the wilderness around the western bank of the Powow was infested by Indians. Until well after 1700 there was con- siderable danger from the "red-skins" for all who ventured across the river to clear the land and establish homes. The Naumkeaks were the best known of the Indians in this area, but the majority of the most destructive raids were carried
Home of Johathan Greeley Gale situated on the Bear Hill Road as it appeared about the year 1850. Dr. Gale practiced medicine in Newton for forty years and was followed by his son Dr. Walter C. Gale. Mrs. Emma Gale Harris, his daughter, created a $25,000 trust fund to be used for the benefit of the town, in memory of her father.
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on by bands of nomadic Indians who roamed New England. Newton, however, seems to have been spared the dreadful misfortunes that had befallen such towns as Haverhill, Massa- chusetts and Kingston, New Hampshire at the hands of the war-like red-men, as no records concerning any widespread or concentrated massacres have been found.
This section of the Amesbury grant remained a sparsely settled wilderness until the years following 1700. About that time families began to settle on the western shore. of the Powow, and to live more as a separate unit than they had previously done. A meeting-house had been erected, and more and more they were drifting away from their original township of Amesbury.
About 1720 Joseph Bartlett, who was destined to become one of Newton's first citizen's, took up residence in the Amesbury-Newtown area following his twelve year experience with the Indians. It was not long before he was surrounded by neighbors. Concentrated efforts were undertaken to form a township of Newtown, since the establishment of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire boundary line placed this section in the territory of the Province of New Hampshire.
That such a movement was afoot sometime previous to 1741 is shown by a petition submitted by South Hampton residents to Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire requesting that the signers be polled out to parishes other than the proposed town that had been petitioned for at an earlier date. In this petition of 1741 it was stated that there were approximately sixty families desirous of forming a new town. This fact leads us to believe that this was the approxi -. mate population of the new town soon to be formed. Since the United States census did not begin until 1790, we have no definite count to refer to for the time preceding the first census.
The aforementioned petition rested in the hands of the New Hampshire Council for a number of years before any action was definitely taken. It was not until December 6, 1749 that Newtown was officially incorporated and entitled to the rights and privileges of a New Hampshire town. On this date the Newtown Charter was given to the anxious settlers of this area by Governor Benning Wentworth. This docu- ment set forth the bounds and limitations of the town, as can be seen by the copy of the charter which follows:
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"Province of New Hampshire
"George the Second by the Grace of God of Great Brittian France & Ireland King Defender of the faith etc .-
"To all to whom these Presents Shall come Whereas our Loving Subjects Inhabitants of a Tract of Land within our Province of New Hampshire afore Said Lying to the North- ward of the Dividing line between our Said Province of New Hampshire and our Other Province of the Massachusetts bay and to the Westward of the town of South Hampton in our Province of New Hampshire aforesaid Have Humbly Pe- titioned & requested of us that they maybe Errected & In- corporated into a Township & Infranchised with the same Powers and Previledges which other Towns within our Said Province by Law have & Enjoy and it Appearing to us to be Conducive to the General Good of our Said Province as well as of the Said Inhabitants in Perticular by maintaining good order & Incouraging the Culture of the Land that the Same Should be Done -----
"Know ye therefore that We of our Especial Grace Cer- tain knowledge & for the Encouragement & Promoteing the good Purposes & Ends aforesaid by & with the Advice of our Trusty & Well beloved Benning Wentworth Esq our Govern- our & Comander in Chieff & of our Council for Said Prov- ince of New Hampshire Have Erected & ordained and by these Presents for us our heirs & Successors Do Will & ordain that the Inhabitants of the Tract of Land aforesaid or that Shall Inhabit or Improve thereon hereafter butted & bounded as follows Viz beginning at the South West Corner of the Town of South Hampton where South Hampton Line Intersects the Curve Line that is the Northern Boundary of our Province of the Massachusetts Bay & bounding on the Said Curve Line & running on the Same South West nine Degrees West One Mile then South Twenty Eight De- grees West (by Said Curve Line) one mile to Haverhill Line So Called at a place Called Brandy Brow then by Haverhill Line aforesaid North West Three Degrees West Two Miles then North East Seven degrees East one hundred & fifty rods to Peasleys Barn So Called then North East Three hundred and Six rods to the Long Causey So Called in the Country road then North Three Degrees East one
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hundred & Seventy rods to A Place called Long cove in Country Pond so called then North East Cross Said Pond to the Pounds Mouth So called then East five degrees South Two hundred & forty rods to the North West Corner bounds of South Hampton aforeSaid then South Two Miles & Sixty Rods by South Hampton Line to the bounds first above mentioned ---- And by these Present are Declared & ordained to be A Town Corporate and Are hereby Erected & In- corporated into a body Pollitick & Corporation to have Continueance for ever by the name of New Town with all the Powers & Authorities Previledges Imunities & Infranchises to them the Said Inhabitants and their Successors for ever Allways reserveing to us our heirs & Successors all White Pine Trees growing & being or that Shall hereafter grow & be on the Said Land fit for use of our Royal Navy reserving alsoe the Power of Dividing the Said Town to us our heirs & Successors when it shall Appear Necessary & Convenient for the Benefit of the Inhabitants thereof and as the Several Towns within our Said Province of New Hampshire are by the Laws thereof Enabled & Authorized to Assemble & by the Majority of Votes to Choose all Such officers as Are mentioned in Said Laws We do by these Presents Nominate and Appoint Captain Joseph Bartlett to call the first meeting of the Said Inhabitants to be held within the Said Town at any time within Thirty Days from the Date hereof giving Legal Notice of the Time Place & Design of Holding Such meeting after which the Annual Meeting in Said Town Shall be held for the choice of officers etc forever or the last Wednesday in March Annually In Testamony whereof We have caused the Seal of our Said Province to be hereunto affixed Witness Benning Wentworth Esq our Governour & Commander in Chieff of our Said Province the Sixth Day of December in the year of our Lord Christ 1749 & in the Twenty third Year of our Reign ---- --
"B Wentworth
"By his Excelencys Comand
with the Advice of the Council
"Theodore Atkinson Sec"
At a legal meeting of the people of South Hampton held on July 6, 1748 consideration was given to a matter which concerned Newtown. There was a number of per- sons residing at the western end of South Hampton who felt
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that it would be to their advantage to be incorporated within the bounds of Newtown. It was therefore agreed at this meeting that these persons should be allowed to poll them- selves out to another parish providing they filed a list of their names with Governor Wentworth within thirty days of the meeting. This detail was taken care of and on August 2, 1748 Theodore Atkinson, Secretary of the Council, certi- fied that the necessary list had been filed.
Over a year passed before any action was taken on this matter, as it was not until March 23, 1749 that the names of Jonathan Farron, Thomas Carter, Benjamin Kimball, Jacob Coleby, Jonathan Watson, Robert Martin, Zacheus Coleby, Thomas Jewell, Thomas Greenfield, David Goodwin, Michale Hoit, Benjamin Carter, John Carter, Rogles Coleby, Roger Eastman, James George, Jonathan Kimball, Philip Challis, Nathaniel Ash, Zebulou Farren, Thomas Tuexbury, Orlando Carter, Samuell Carter, Nathan Coleby, Samuell Goodwin, David Coleby, Aron Currier, Daniel Goodwin, Abraham Merrell, and John Eliot were annexed to Newtown along with the estates they held in South Hampton. These individuals were to give up all voting privileges in the town of South Hampton except where the mending or repair of high- ways was concerned, and to transfer their votes to Newtown. This addition to the grant of Newtown was entered and re- corded on the original charter on December 15, 1749.
It is interesting to note at this point that the addition
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to Newtown was made before Newtown was incorporated as a New Hampshire town. The charter granting the ad- dition of the thirty estates to Newtown was signed on March 23, 1749, whereas the charter making Newtown an official town was not signed until December 6, 1749. The answer to this discrepency doubtlessly lies buried with Benning Wentworth, as no plausible answer was to be found among the state records.
The First Baptist Church of Newtown, which was found- ed in 1754, is the oldest of that denomination in the state of New Hampshire. Soon after the church was organized much persecution was suffered because its members could not con- scientiously subscribe to the doctrines of the "Standing Order", which was the Congregational Church. At the time of its first settlement, this church was the only religious denomination in the town of Newtown. Consequently, because there was a dis- agreement with the Congregational doctrines, these members of the Baptist Church refused to pay the parish taxes to the Congregational Church. As a result lawsuits followed and property was attached. The dissenters won out in these law- suits and the town was obliged to reimburse the individuals, paying them the cost of their rates or taxes while the costs of the lawsuits were borne by the individuals themselves.
As many of the inhabitants of Newtown were original settlers of Amesbury, it is not surprising to find that many of them were still members of Amesbury churches. As time went on such persons were granted transfers as was the case, on December 3, 1757, when William Rowell, David Sargent and wife, Thomas Fowler and wife, Henry Bagley and wife, Reuben Hoyt and wife, Christopher Rowell and wife, Widow Ruth Merrill, and Mary Juell were granted letters of dis- missal by the Second Church of Amesbury so that they could be taken into the folds at Newtown.
The Congregationalists had raised a meeting house on the spot where the Town Hall now stands, but they were unable to complete it. The town then purchased the build- ing and finished it, whereupon it was used as a town building and also by all the religious orders of the town.
With the coming of the conflict between America and Great Britain in 1774, we find that Newtown was far from backward in sending her men to fight for freedom. Three
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THE OLD BAPTIST CHURCH, 1907, before remodeling.
.men, Micah Hoyt, Reuben Hoyt, and Wister Sanborn, fought at Bunker Hill. In September, 1775 it was voted in Newtown to send as many men as would go to Portsmouth to help in the work on the Batteries. Just seven days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence the town voted to send nine men to Crown Point to reinforce General John Sullivan. In all, Newtown placed 31 men on the New Hampshire rolls and nine
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men on the Massachusetts rolls in this, her first war as a New Hampshire town.
In April, 1776 all New Hampshire towns were ordered to circulate the State Test Act and send the returns to the state Committee of Safety. This was an oath of allegiance in which the signer pledged himself to defend the liberties of America with arms if necessary. This oath was used dur- ing the Revolution to separate, as nearly as possible, the Tories (those loyal to the King) and the Patriots. No returns could be found from Newtown, so it is not known whether there were any in town who refused to sign the test oath. It is known, however, that one Asa Porter was required to pay a bond of five hundred pounds, and was also required to remain within the limits of the town of Newtown until further orders from the General Court because of his Tory sym- pathies. If he attempted to leave or did leave the town limits, he would be immediately confined to jail in Exeter.
It may be interesting to note that although the Colonies put a Continental Army on the field, it was not, at first, paid for by the government. Rather, the various towns set different rates which they would pay to prospective soldiers. At one point in the war, July 1780, one might judge that it was becoming somewhat difficult to get new recruits, because at that time, Captain Robert Stuart and Ensign Daniel Morse of Newtown were chosen to hire soldiers to serve in the army for three months, and they were to give them any price which they thought suitable.
On January 1, 1771 the selectmen of Newtown, William Rowell, Aaron Currier, and Moses Carleton, sent a petition to Governor John Wentworth for a new boundary line be- tween Newtown and South Hampton. South Hampton had previously asked that a line be drawn up, but the selectmen felt that they did not wish such a line to be drawn unless they could be strengthened by it. The people of Newtown rightly felt that they should have a number of families who resided between Poe River and their meeting house. These families were nearer the Newtown meeting house than to that of South Hampton. It was requested in this petition by the selectmen that the decision should rest with an unbiased Committee of the Court, which they felt sure would be of the same mind as the people of Newtown. Just a year later, on
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The Eagle Inn as it appeared in 1900. This building dates back to early Revolutionary days and became a popular half-way stopping point on the old stage road from Haverhill to Exeter. It was located on the corner of Wallace and Main Streets now Ralph Bowen's lawn and was torn down at the time John Hayford built his home.
January 4, 1772, the boundary line between Newtown and South Hampton was fixed to the satisfaction of all concerned. Meetings with South Hampton as well as with Plaistow and Kingston, were held every seven years following a state act passed in July 1791, which required towns to renew their bounds and marks every seven years.
In a town meeting held on September 29, 1796 select- men Joseph Bartlett, Jr. and Thomas Currier authorized Eliphalet Bartlett to keep a "Publick House" of entertain- ment at his dwelling house which was situated near the meeting house. It was felt that since his house was cen- trally located, it would be an excellent place to have a tavern and could hardly be passed up. This tavern came to be known as the Eagle Tavern of Newtown and in 1798 it was the halfway house on the much travelled stage-road between Haverhill and Exeter. In 1797, at the March town meeting, Thomas Currier was authorized to open a tavern, and four years later Micah Favour and Ely Hoit were given licenses to maintain taverns and to sell spirits. So, by the beginning of the 19th Century, there were four known taverns in Newtown which were prospering.
With the turn of the century came the beginning of the
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United States census reports. The report taken in 1800 shows Newtown to have had a population of 450, marking a con- siderable gain over the early days of the town when there were approximately 100 inhabitants. There was no appreci- able gain in population until 1830 when the census report showed the inhabitants numbered 767. By 1900 Newton's population was 924. The present population is in the vicinity of 1000, Newton's population grew, as can be seen by the marked jumps in 1830 and 1900, about the time new busi- nesses began to thrive in the community.
The boundary lines of Newtown were not to be left undisturbed, however. In 1845 on the 2nd of July the last bit of annexation took place. On that date a portion of East Kingston was added to Newtown. A year later, July 10, 1846, the name Newtown was changed to the Newton that we know today. So, throughout the years, from 1749 until the present, Newton has been far from dormant. As a town it has grow from infancy and has taken a creditable part in state and national affairs as can be seen by Newton's military rolls and prominent men.
EARLY LAWS IN NEWTON
The following statements were taken from the laws of the State of New Hampshire and are, of course, authentic. However, in most cases, the wording has been condensed.
In 1799 you could not travel on Sunday except to church or to visit the sick without paying a fine of $3.00.
In 1828 any carriage passing over a toll bridge faster than a walk was subject to a fine of $2.00.
In 1811 an act was passed to prevent the destruction of salmon, shad, and alewives in the Merrimack river.
All gunpowder manufactured after 1820 must be com- posed of 14 parts fresh burnt charcoal, made from wood which has been carefully and well prepared and made into coal, after being stripped of its bark; ten parts of pure sulfur and seventy-six parts of purified nitre.
No gunpowder could be sold after dark.
In 1816 deer could be killed from September 1 to January 10.
In 1828 any idle and disorderly person, common piper
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or fiddler or common night walker could be sent to the house of correction.
A Taverner's license in 1827 cost from $2.00 to $5.00.
Sheep were valued at one cent each for assessing public taxes in 1829.
In 1822 all persons in carts, wagons, sleds or other vehicles on meeting other persons should turn to the right or be subject to a fine of not more than $12.00.
Possessing a billiard table in 1791 was a crime subject to a fine of $10.00 and costs.
Profane swearing carried a fine of five shillings for every curse or oath in 1792.
The speed limit in 1792 in any populous town was five miles per hour and carried a fine of six shillings for each offence.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ABOUT 1903 Moved by 200 yoke of oxen in 1842 to present site. Burned in 1929.
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Religion
The Baptist society of this town is said to be the oldest Baptist society in the state. It was founded in or about the year 1753. There is no doubt but that this society was organized largely due to the efforts of one Mrs. Rachel Scam- mon who came from Stratham, N. H., from Rehoboth, Mass., about the year 1720. She was a decided Baptist and the only one in the town or vicinity. She was treated by her religious neighbors and others as Baptists of her day were frequently treated, opposed, ridiculed, and sneered at as unworthy of the respect and friendship of others. But she sustained her character as a Christian woman and she maintained and nobly defended her views of religious truth and the ordinances of the gospel. She secured some tracts (Norwood on Baptism) which she distributed to her neighbors and no doubt some of them reached this town.
The early religious history of the town is in rather a misty condition as the records are very fragmentary but it seems that the denominational preferences of Newton had become very much mixed in the years preceding 1832.
In 1747 a Congregationalist church, which was the estab- lished church of the colonies, was erected on the hill in front of the old town burying ground. This old meeting house figured largely in the early history of the town. A few years later much excitement was occasioned by the deserters who refused to pay the parish rates to maintain the "Standing Order".
In 1752 the calendar was changed from the old style to the new and so it is uncertain to the exact date, but it is thought either on February 10, 1752 or May 13, 1753, Francis Chase and others, reinforced by kindred spirits from adjoining towns, formed a Baptist society, drew up a covenant and built a church in the southern part of the town, near the home of Luther Farrington or, in that section of the town now known as Brimstone Hill or Smith's Corner road, about half way between the hill and the Peaslee Crossing road, on the corner of a wooded lane. The members were baptised in the Merrimac river.
Lawsuits followed but finally after three or four years of legal controversy and much suffering from persecution,
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fines and imprisonments, this group of separatists from the established church, won and were fully sustained by the grand court of the provinces, the town being forced to re- imburse these men for the rates they had paid the Congrega- tional church.
After the Baptists gained their case, the Congregational- ists gave their church, which was in a very incomplete con- dition, to the town if they would pay the outstanding bills. After the town made many repairs, it was made an non- denominational church and was sometimes called "The Old Meeting-house on the Hill". At this old meeting-house two sermons, one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon, had to be heard in a building with no other heating apparatus than the foot stoves, which the matrons took from home and replenished with coals from some neighbor's fireplace at the noon hour. Some of those who came from a distance left their homes the night before, and during the intermission between sermons a social time was enjoyed, while they par- took of their lunches of doughnuts, cheese, and tea which the neighbors brewed for them. It was the custom for those who had far to walk to church to start barefooted, shoes and stockings in hand, and when near the meeting-house, stop and put them on. Many devoted, humble Christians lived in those days.
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