Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire, Part 1

Author: McClintock, John Norris, 1846-1914
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Boston, B.B. Russell
Number of Pages: 916


USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67



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M. L


GENEALOGY COLLECTION


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01085 8642


1


Colony


province


State


1623-1888


AMERIC


L SIG. PR


IN .AM


.


TONIA


KI'S


VINCIE . NOST


Co


HISTORY OF


NEW HAMPSHIRE


1623-1888


BY


JOHN N. MCCLINTOCK


BOSTON B. B. RUSSELL, CORNHILL 1889


COPYRIGHT, ISSS, By JOHN N. MCCLINTOCK.


PILOTE AT THE Algonquin Press, Boston.


1159759


To HIS EXCELLENCY CHARLES H. SAWYER, GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, This work is respectfully dedicated by the AUTHOR.


ERRATA.


Page 21. For " Mohegan" read " Monhegan."


" 39. For " Cape Anne " read " Cape Ann."


" 40. For " Rev. William Burdet " read "Rev. George Burdet."


" 58. Title of illustration should read " House of the Seven- teenth Century."


" 69. For " George" read "Governor."


" 71. For "Rev. James Langdon" read " Rev. Samuel Langdon."


" 76. Illustration, " First Fort at the mouth of the Piscata- qua," was omitted.


" 91. Illustration, "The Bell House, New Castle," was omitted.


" 108. Illustration, "Our Alley," was omitted.


PREFACE.


THE Author and Compiler of this work desired to produce a book of reference for the home, for the office, and for the public library, which would be available for the student and of interest to the general reader. For his facts he has drawn liberally upon Rev. Dr. Jeremy Belknap's History of New Hampshire, George Barstow's History, John M. Whiton's His- tory, Prof. E. D. Sanborn's History ; the ten volumes of the Provincial and State Papers, edited by Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Bou- ton ; the six volumes edited by Isaac W. Hammond, A. M .; the eight volumes issued by the New Hampshire Historical Society ; the three volumes, published by Farmer and Moore ; the five volumes of the Adjutant-General's Reports, 1865, 1866, and 1868; Major Otis F. R. Waite's New Hampshire in the Rebellion ; the Life of William Plumer ; the Life of Jeremiah Mason ; the works of John Scribner Jenness; the many town histories, county histories, and registers ; Manuscript Records in the Office of the Secretary of State ; Official Succession, by Hosea B. Carter ; the Author's unpublished History of Pem- broke; and the eleven volumes of the Granite Monthly. From the last he has taken bodily many sentences, paragraphs, and whole articles, which he considered especially worthy of repro. duction, from the pen of ex-Governor Charles H. Bell, LL. D. ; Samuel C. Bartlett, LL. D., President of Dartmouth College ; ex-Chief Justice J. Everett Sargent, LL. D. ; ex-Judge George W. Nesmith, LL. D. ; Hon. Joseph B. Walker ; Hon. Charles Levi Woodbury; Mr. George Wadleigh ; General George Stark ; Rev. Dr. Alonzo H. Quint ; Mr. John Albee ; L. A. Morrison, A. M. ; Mr. Fred Myron Colby ; Mr. C. S. Spaulding ; Rev. Dr. F. D. Ayer; John M. Shirley, Esq. ; Rev. Dr. C. W. Wallace ; Mr. Asa McFarland ; Mr. C. C. Lord ; Dr. William


6


PREFACE.


G. Carter ; Rev. Daniel Rollins ; Mr. W. F. Whitcher ; Mr. L. W. Dodge; and many others,- proper credit to whom is given in footnotes.


By an oversight, several corrections were not made as marked in the proof, and errors have been printed in the whole edition but are noted among the Errata.


Necessarily many facts and events of interest in New Hamp- shire history have been omitted ; many have simply been alluded to which would require many pages for their proper recital. There is enough history connected with every town in the State to require a large volume to contain it. A history of every regimental organization during the Rebellion should be, and is to be, printed. Hon. Charles H. Bell is preparing a History of the Bench and Bar of New Hampshire ; and Dr. Irving A. Watson is to issue an account of the doctors and the medical profession of the State.


This work, such as it is, is submitted to the Public with the hope, on the Author's part, that it will be kindly received, and awaken an interest in historical research and in the preservation of the history of New Hampshire.


J. N. M.


CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I.


DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS, 1623-1641.


Page


Introduction - Description - Early Voyagers - Martin Pring - Cap- tain John Smith - Winter Fisheries - Aborigines- Virginia - Coun- cil of Plymouth - Sir Ferdinando Gorges-Captain John Mason - Mariana - Maine-David Thomson - The Hiltons - First Settle- ment - Little Harbor- Dover Neck- Landing- Character - Pro- gress - Thomas Morton - Massachusetts Charter -New Hampshire Grant - Laconia - Hilton's Patent - Isles of Shoals - Piscataqua Grant - Walter Neal- White Mountains - Dixy Bull - Division of Patent - Death of Mason - Thomas Wiggin - Dover - Captain John Underhill - Rev. John Wheelwright - Exeter - Rev. Stephen Batchelor - Hampton -Union with Massachusetts


17


CHAPTER II.


UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS, 1641-1679.


Laws - Courts - Judges - Masonian Claim - Deputies - Magistrates -Dover -Norfolk County - Town Lines -Roads - Portsmouth - Survey of Northern Boundary - Endicott Rock - Market - Dun- stable -Witchcraft - Quakers-King's Commissioners - Corbet - Masts - Sabbath Laws - Harvard College - Oyster River - Indian War - Effect of Union - Church History : Hampton - Exeter - Dover-Portsmouth - Massachusetts Governors - Magistrates and . Deputies .


CHAPTER III.


KHI G PHILIP'S WAR, 1675-1678.


Long Peace - Character of Indians-Edward Randolph - French - Dutch-New York - Mohawks - Causes of War - Indian Vices - Sachem Philip-Mount Hope - Rum - Indian Shortcomings - Lic- ensing the Sale of Arms - Loss to the Colonies - Loss to the Indians -Philip's Straits - Terms of Peace - French Estimate of Indian


49


8


CONTENTS.


Page


Character - Kindness to Quakers - Injustice to Indians - Indian Youth anxious for War- Squando - Insult to Squaw - Attitude of Penacooks and Cochecos- Praying Indians-Their Loss - Murder of their Old People-Indian Depredations in New Hampshire - Peace- Death of Philip - Simon, Andrew, and Peter-War in Maine -Treachery at Major Waldron's Garrison - Expedition to Ossipee -- Mohawks warring on Friendly Indians -Defeat at Black Point - Major Andros and Peace -Independence of the Colonists - St. Castine . 77


CHAPTER IV.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1680-1692.


Condition of affairs - John Cutt-Council - Assembly - Laws - Capital Offences-Penal Offences - Grants Confirmed - Randolph - Barefoote - Mason - Richard Waldron - Tax-Payers in New Hampshire - Cranfield - Edward Gove's Rebellion - Lawsuits - Appeal to King- Riots -Joshua Moodey - Dudley - Andros - Re- volution - Union with Massachusetts - King William's War . 92


CHAPTER V.


KING WILLIAM'S AND QUEEN ANNE'S WARS, 1689-1713.


Causes - St. Castine - Grievances - Richard Waldron's Death - Dover - Oyster River - Salmon Falls - Newington - Lamprey River - Wheelwright's Pond - Sandy Beach - Portsmouth - Ran- gers - Durham Massacre- Widow Cutt - Breakfast Hill - Return of Captives -Treatment of Captives - Queen Anne's War-Peace at Pemaquid - Eastern Settlements ravaged - Hampton - Kingston - Removal of Indians to Canada - Dunstable -Death of Colonel Winthrop Hilton -Peace -Condition of Parties . 109


CHAPTER VI.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1692-1715.


Samuel Allen - John Usher - New Council - Small Pox - Post Office - New Castle incorporated - Kingston incorporated - William Part- ridge - Piscataqua Rebellion -Earl of Bellomont-Governor Allen -John Usher - Mutilation of Records - New Trial of Claim - Appeal to King-Joseph Dudley-Decision of English Courts - Nashua-Offers of Compromise-Death of Allen -Renewal of Suit-New Trial-Death of Thomas Allen - Hampton Falls - Newington ·


121


9


CONTENTS.


CHAPTER VII.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1715-1722.


Page


Introduction - George Vaughan -Samuel Shute-John Wentwortlı - Commerce - Two-Mile Slip -Scotch-Irish - Londonderry -Early Settlers - Chester . · 136


CHAPTER VIII.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1722-1740.


Lieutenant-Governor John Wentworth - Governor Samuel Shute - Fourth Indian, or Lovewell's War - Indian Grievances - Depreda- tions in New Hampshire - Attack on Nashua -John Lovewell's Three Expeditions - Suncook - Peace - Penacook - Rye - Rumford - Timothy Walker -First Church of Concord - Hollis - Bow - Sun- cook Settled - Other Settlements - Newmarket - William Burnet - Jonathan Belcher - Death of Wentworth - Character - David Dun- bar - Durham - Amherst - Boscawen - Charlestown - Riot at Exe- ter - Commerce- Episcopal Chapel- Throat Distemper -Suncook - Boundary Line adjusted - Massachusetts Documents - Windham - Retirement of Belcher . 151


CHAPTER IX.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1741-1760.


Governor Benning Wentworth - Wentworth Hall- Martha Hilton - A Cold Winter- Epping- Windham -Brentwood - French and Indian War - Louisburg- SirWilliam Pepperrell - Pepperrell House - William Vaughan - Number Four - Incorporation of various Towns-Rumford (Concord) - Wrestling Matches - Old Style and New Style - The Bow Case -Coos County - The "Seven Years' War" - Rogers' Rangers - Rev. John Houston -An Audacious Re- connaissance-A Fierce Fight in the Woods -John Stark - Con- quest of Canada - Saint Francis Indians - Quebec and Montreal - Pontiac and Major Rogers - Rogers House .


. 189


CHAPTER X.


ROYAL PROVINCE, 1760-1775.


Hampshire Grants - Taxation by Parliament - Stamp Act -Its Re- peal- Resignation of Governor Benning Wentworth - Governor John Wentworth - His Popularity - Early Settlers - Their Customs - Gilmanton - Marlboro - Canaan - Enfield - Lyme - Orford - Bath - Lebanon - Hanover - Goffstown - Newport - Plainfield -


IO


CONTENTS.


Page


Danville - Peterborough - Bow Controversy - Suncook - Candia - Wilton - New Ipswich - Lisbon - Gilsum - Lancaster - Clare- mont - Wentworth - Salisbury -Milan - Berlin - Hillsborough - Fitzwilliam -Annals of Portsmouth - Paul Revere - Capture of Fort William and Mary - Holderness and the Livermores - White- field - White Mountain Notch -Colonial Laws . · 251


CHAPTER XI.


THE REVOLUTION, 1775-1783.


Lexington -Portsmouth Fortified -Bunker Hill - General Stark - General Reed -Nottingham - Meshech Weare - House of Repre- sentatives - Gov. John Wentworth - Gen. John Sullivan - Siege of Boston - Exeter in 1776-Committee of Safety - Bennington - Stillwater - Saratoga - First Schoolmasters - Keene Raid - Free- will Baptists - Samuel Livermore and Family - Slavery - North- field - Shakers - Canterbury - General Stark .


. 314


CHAPTER XII.


STATE UNDER FIRST CONSTITUTION, 1784-1792.


Constitution of 1784-First Legislature-First President-Council - Senate - House of Representatives - Lawlessness - Trouble at Keene - Mock Convention at Concord - John Langdon - John Sullivan - Mob at Exeter - Federal Constitution - Littleton - United States Constitutional Convention - Election under Constitu- tion - Members of the Continental Congress - Officials at Ports- mouth - Josiah Bartlett - Town of Bartlett - Orange - Revision of Statutes - Constitutional Convention - Ancient Singing


401


CHAPTER XIII.


STATE GOVERNMENT, 1792-1812.


John Taylor Gilman - Walpole - Mr. West - Milford - Turnpikes - Portsmouth - Methodists - Centre Harbor - Tithing Men - Death of Washington - Second New Hampshire Turnpike - Banks - Laws -Judge Smith - Middlesex Canal - Judge Pickering - Fed- eral Judges - Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike - Republicans - Post-Offices - Daniel Webster - Burnham - Navigation on the Merrimack - Embargo - Patriots - Governor Jeremiah Smith - Crow Bill - William Plumer . · 444


II


CONTENTS.


CHAPTER XIV.


WAR OF IS12 - IS12-1815.


Page


Causes of the War - Right of Search - Orders in Council - Declara- tion of War - Governor William Plumer - State Militia - Daniel Webster - Governor John Taylor Gilman - Federalists restored to Power - Change of the Judiciary - Jeremiah Mason - Defence of Portsmouth - False Alarms - Hartford Convention - Peace . . 487


CHAPTER XV. STRUGGLE FOR TOLERATION, 1815-1819.


The Federalists disband as a Party - Dartmouth College - September Storm - Middlesex Canal - Dartmouth University - State House - Chief Justice Richardson - Daniel Webster - Baptist Denomina- tion - President Monroe's Visit - Governor Samuel Bell - Bristol - The Town House - The Toleration Act - Colonial Laws for the Support of the Ministry and Public Schools . 507


CHAPTER XVI. ERA OF GOOD WILL, 1819-1828.


Power-Loom at Amoskeag - Shelburne - New Hampton Hurricane - Levi Woodbury - David L. Morril - Great Freshet - Militia - General Lafayette's Visit - The Farmer - Governor Benjamin Pierce and Family - John Bell - Franklin . . 530


CHAPTER XVII. TURNPIKES. CANALS, RAILROADS, 1828-1840.


Journey from New Hampshire to Philadelphia - War against Turn- pikes - Matthew Harvey - Concord - Canal and River Navigation - Samuel Dinsmoor - Visit of Andrew Jackson - Murder in Pem- broke - New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane - William Badger - Nathaniel P. Rogers - Parker Pillsbury -Railroads - Isaac Hill - Surplus Revenue - Judge Boswell Stevens -End of Turnpikes - John Page - Edmund Burke - James Wilson - Eastern Railroad 556


CHAPTER XVIII. ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION, 1841-1860.


Stephen S. Foster - Harry Hubbard - Pittsburg - Indian Stream War - John H. Steele - John P. Hale - Anthony Colby - Man- chester - Jared W. Williams - Samuel Dinsmoor, Jr. - Dr. Noah Martin -Franklin Pierce - Kansas - Countess Rumford - Nathan- iel B. Baker - Ralph Metcalf - Daniel Clark - William W. Haile - Ichabod Goodwin - Reminiscences .


582


12


CONTENTS.


CHAPTER XIX.


WAR OF THE REBELLION, 1861-1865.


Page


Election of Abraham Lincoln - Seceding States - Firing on Sumter - First Regiment - Mason W. Tappan - Old Militia - Governor's Horse Guards - Thomas L. Tullock - Second Regiment - Gilman Marston - J. N. Patterson - Nathaniel S. Berry - Third Regiment - Enoch Q. Fellows -John H. Jackson - John Bedel - Fourth Regiment - Thomas J. Whipple - Louis Bell - Fifth Regiment - Edward E. Cross - Charles E. Hapgood - Edward E. Sturtevant - Sixth Regiment - Simon G. Griffin - Henry H. Pearson - Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Regiments - Colonel Henry O. Kent - Joseph A. Gilmore - Eighteenth Regiment - Cavalry, Artillery, and Sharpshooters - Summary of Number of Volunteers - E. H. Durell - George Hamilton Perkins . 611


CHAPTER XX.


IRISH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.


Early Irish Settlers - Soldiers in Indian Wars - At Louisburg - Con- quest of Canada - Revolution - Emigration of 1840-60 - Ship Fever - Terrors of the Plague - Hawthorne's Description - Mob in Manchester - Rebellion - Growth of Catholic . Church - Bishop Bradley


631


CHAPTER XXI.


SINCE THE REBELLION, IS65-1888.


Frederick Smyth - Sylvester Marsh - Provincial Papers - Rev. Dr. Bouton - Walter Harriman - Public Instruction - Academies and High Schools - John B. Clark - J. C. Moore - People - News- papers - Onslow Stearns - James A. Weston - Bishop Baker - E. A. Straw - Asa Fowler - J. E. Sargent - Charles H. Burns - P. C. Cheney - Phillips Exeter Academy -Constitutional Convention - B. F. Prescott - J. F. Briggs - White Mountains - Natt Head - Charles H. Bell - Frank Jones - Ossian Ray - S. W. Hale - C. H. Bartlett - J. H. Gallinger -Moody Currier - C. H. Sawyer - Jonathan Sawyer - Joseph Wentworth - Jonathan Kittredge -W. E. Chandler - Harry Bingham - Railroads - J. W. White -Dr. Edward Spalding - Summer Resorts - Manufacturing - George H.


Emery . . 646


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Seal of Province


Title Page


Seal of State


Old Langdon Farmstead .


16


White Mountain Range, from Milan


19


Great Bay .


32


Scene in White Hills


35


Summit of the Ravine, White Mountains


36


Farmhouse of Seventeenth Century


58


Governor John Winthrop


75


The First Fort at the Mouth of the Piscataqua .


76


An Indian visiting the Settlers .


78


Garrison House, built about 1645


85


Treaty of Peace between the Indians and the Settlers .


86


Death of King Philip


87


The Conflict


90


The Bell House, Newcastle


91


Our Alley


IOS


Garrison House in King William's War


112


Hannah Dustin at the Massacre .


116


The Well


120


Rev. John Emerson


122


Portion of Old Province House


123


Old Church, New Castle .


124


Autograph and Seal of Theodore Atkinson


126


Seal of Richard Jose


126


Map of New Castle


127


Cape Road, New Castle


I35


New Castle Fishermen


150


First Congregational Church at Concord


166


Plan of Eastern Part of Suncook, or Lovewell's Township


170


Rural Scene


172


Piscataqua Gundalow


188


Old Wentworth House, Rye


190


Mantel, Old Wentworth House


193


Frontier Block House, 1746


206


White Mountain Scene


226


Scene in Coos County


227


New Hampshire Farm Scene


276


14


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Page


Lancaster


277


Warren


.


278


Plymouth


279


View from Bridge in Berlin


288


Governor John Wentworth's House, Portsmouth


294


Paul Revere's First Ride


296


Notch of White Mountains


313


Battle of Lexington


315


Post Rider of the Revolution


361


Jaffrey Cottage, New Castle


362


Governor John Taylor Gilman's House, Exeter


369


Town House, Exeter


374


Residence of Mr. Joseph B. Walker, Concord


397


Littleton


414


View of Portsmouth Harbor


427


Giant Stairs, Bartlett


434


Old Blodgett Mansion, Amoskeag Canal, Manchester


476


With Wind and Current .


477


Boat entering Locks


477


Mending Lobster Nets


486


Fort McClary


492


On the Beach


492


Walbach Tower


495


Gateway of Fort Constitution


503


Shot of Lumber coming out of a Lock


509


State House, Concord


513


Squam Lake and Mount Chocorua


529


New Hampton Institute


537


Residence of Prof. A. B. Meservey


537


Mount Carter, from Gorham


555


.


567


Railroad Cut


.


581 610


Mount Washington Railroad


650


Phillips Exeter Academy


665


Echo Lake, Franconia Notch


669


Castellated Ridge of Mount Jefferson


670


Governor Charles H. Bell


675


Hooksett


688


Concord Depot


690


Laconia


694


George H. Emery .


696


Pembroke Academy


.


. 697


493


Daniel Webster


497


Pushing against the Current


509


Tow-path of the Canal


478


Whaleback Light


New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane


View near Meredith Village


LIST OF STEEL ENGRAVINGS.


Governor Charles HI. Sawyer Chief Justice Jeremiah Smith Hon. John P. Hale


Page Frontispiece.


481


Hon. Abraham P. Olzendam


597


General Gilman Marston .


611


Hon. Thomas L. Tullock


614


Colonel Henry O. Kent


628


Judge Edward H. Durell .


630


Right Rev. Dennis M. Bradley, Bishop of Manchester


631


Governor Frederick Smyth Colonel John B. Clarke


646


Hon. Joseph C. Moore


655


Governor Onslow Stearns


656


Governor James A. Weston


657


Chief Justice J. Everett Sargent


660


Hon. Charles H. Burns


661


Governor Person C. Cheney


662


Hon. Daniel M. Christie


667


Hon. James F. Briggs


668


Hon. Aretas Blood


674


Hon. Frank Jones


676


Hon. Virgil C. Gilman


677


Hon. Ossian Ray .


.


678 678


Governor Samuel W. Hale


.


Hon. Charles H. Bartlett


679


Hon. Jacob H. Gallinger .


6So


Governor Moody Currier


6S


Mr. Jonathan Sawyer


682


Colonel Joseph Wentworth Hon. William E. Chandler


686


Hon. Harry Bingham


6Sy


Mr. Jeremiah W. White


692


Hon. Edward Spalding


693


.


.


.


654


. 594


.


685


· Old Langdon Farmstead.


HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.


CHAPTER I.


DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS, 1623-1641.


INTRODUCTION - DESCRIPTION -EARLY VOYAGERS - MARTIN PRING -CAP- TAIN JOHN SMITHI - WINTER FISHERIES - ABORIGINES - VIRGINIA- COUNCIL OF PLYMOUTH - SIR FERDINANDO GORGES - CAPTAIN JOHN MASON -MARIANA -MAINE-DAVID THOMSON-THE HILTONS-FIRST . SETTLEMENT - LITTLE HARBOR -DOVER NECK-LANDING -CHARACTER - PROGRESS - THOMAS MORTON - MASSACHUSETTS CHARTER - NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANT - LACONIA - HILTON'S PATENT - ISLES OF SIIOALS - PISCATAQUA GRANT - WALTER NEAL - WHITE MOUNTAINS - DIXY BULL - DIVISION OF PATENT - DEATH OF MASON -THOMAS WIGGIN - DOVER - CAPTAIN JOHN UNDERHILL - REV. JOHN WHEELWRIGHT - EXETER -REV. STEPHEN BATCHELOR -HAMPTON -UNION WITH MASSA- CHUSETTS.


T THE history of New Hampshire involves an account of the first settlements at the mouth of the Piscataqua and on the shores of Great Bay, their growth into towns and their union under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Colony ; the forma- tion of the Royal Province of New Hampshire; the woful conflict with the Indians and with the French ; the inroad into the province of the Scotch-Irish and the spread of Massachusetts settlers up the valleys of the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers ; the contest of the inhabitants with the Masonian proprietors ; the part taken by the people of the province in achieving national independence ; the formation of an independent State govern- ment ; the compact settlement of the State and the growth of


18


HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.


[1523


manufactures, railroads, and cities ; the share taken in the Great Rebellion ; the changes in the laws, habits and customs of the people ; together with some account of those men who, in the different generations, have guided and directed the destinies of the people in church, state and municipal affairs. It is the story of the evolution of a settlement of poor, unedu- cated, bigoted and brave people, fresh from the tyranny of the laws of the old world, and imbued with the prejudices of their time, into a sovereign state, a liberal and enlightened common- wealth, one of the partners in the great Republic, the United States of America.


New Hampshire, one of the New England States and one of the original thirteen colonies which formed the American Union, lies between 70° 37' and 72° 37' west longitude, and between 42° 40' and 45° 18' 33" north latitude, and has an area of 9,336 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Province of Quebec, the line following Hall's stream to its source and the watershed between the valley of the St. Law- rence and the Atlantic coast ; it is bounded on the east by the state of Maine and the ocean, the Salmon Falls and Piscataqua rivers forming a part of the boundary ; it is bounded on the south by the State of Massachusetts, the line running north of, parallel with, and generally three miles from, the Merrimack river, from its mouth to where the course of the river is south, thence due west by compass to the Connecticut river; and it is bounded on the west by the State of Vermont, the west bank of the Connecticut river being the boundary line. The general shape of the State is that of a triangle, with a base of one hundred miles and a length of one hundred and eighty-five miles. It is drained on the west by the Connecticut river, on the east by the Androscoggin, the Saco and the Piscataqua rivers, while the central and southern part of the State is drained by the Merrimack river and its tributaries. Between the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers there is a high ridge, frequently rising to lofty elevations, extending from the Massa- chusetts line to the Franconia and White Mountain ranges, the loftiest summits on the Atlantic seaboard. The northern


WHITE MOUNTAIN RANGE FROM MILAN.


20


HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.


[1542


section of the State is very mountainous. In the central part there are many large ponds and lakes, the grandest of which is Lake Winnipiseogee, with an area of seventy square miles, elevated five hundred feet above the ocean. The height of Mount Washington is 5,293 feet, and the mountainous tract of which it is the highest elevation occupies a territory of fourteen hundred square miles, sometimes called the Switzerland of America. The average elevation of the State above the sea is estimated to be twelve hundred feet.1


Soon after the discovery of land beyond the Western Ocean by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, adventurous sailors from Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and England hastened to imitate the great discoverer and crossed the Atlantic in search of fame and fortune. As early as 1523, Verazzano, an Italian captain in. the employ of the French government, sailed from Europe and struck America south of Cape Hatteras ; thence he followed the shore northward. From his accurate descrip- tion of the prominent landmarks, he probably landed, the fol- lowing summer, at or near the mouth of the Piscataqua river, and traded with the natives. He stated that the Portuguese had been before him in these parts. It was admitted by contem- porary writers that for half a century, from as early as 1504, the Basques were whaling and fishing on the American coast. The patent authorizing a settlement in Newfoundland, in 1610, says that the coast had been used for more than fifty years for the fishery by the English. In 1527, John Rut, sent by Henry VIII to explore, reported that he saw in the harbor of St. Johns "eleven sail of Normands, one Breton and two Portu- guese barks, all a fishing." A French fisherman rescued his


party from starvation. Jacques Cartier, in 1534 and 1535, explored the gulf and river of St. Lawrence, and reported that he met many ships of France and Brittany. Robeval, in 1542, found " seventeen ships of fishers " at St. Johns.


The official explorers found on their voyages fleets of fisher- men already practical pilots of the coasts and harbors.2


Martin Pring, with two small ships, sailed into the Piscataqua


1 Prof. C. H. Hitchcock.


2 Charles Levi Woodbury.


21


DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS.


1614]


in June, 1603. The French discoverer, De Champlain, visited the river in July, 1605, and claimed the discovery of the Isles of Shoals.1


Of the voyagers who visited the northern coast of America, for the sake of its furs and fish, one of the most remarkable was Captain John Smith, who ranged the shore from Penobscot to Cape Cod, in 1614, and, in his route, discovered the river Piscataqua, which he found to be a safe harbor with a rocky shore.2 He states that, prior to this voyage, he had procured seven or eight charts from the fishermen and traders, who had been in the habit of frequenting the coast of New England, and that he did not enter the Merrimack river because two French ships were lying there. The French had traded with the natives in the vicinity for several years.3




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