USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Nashua > Gill's Nashua and Nashville directory, 1843 > Part 1
USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Nashville > Gill's Nashua and Nashville directory, 1843 > Part 1
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Gc 974.202 N17g 1770155
M. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Ga
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00055 5703
1843.
GILL'S
NASHUA AND NASHVILLE
DIRECTORY.
BY JAMES A .. DUPEE.
NASHVILLE: PUBLISHED BY CHARLES T. GILL. 1843.
1770155
I never & cuir little.
HUITAUSVN AMALANTO UNY HOHNER
F 8426
. 341
GILL'S Nashua and Nashville directory. By James A. Dupee. 1843. Nashville[N.H. jC. T. Gill, 1843. IV. front., plates. 16cm.
16-4788
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/gillsnashuanashv1843dupe
PREFACE.
THE Publisher and Editor request the attention of' their Patrons to the following improvements upon the Directory published in 1841.
In the old Directory, the names were arranged sim- ply in alphabetical order. In the new one,/all the names are alphabetically arranged under the heads of their respective professions, business, or employ- ments. That, contained but two or three items rela- tive to the history of Nashua. This, contains seve- ral pages of interesting matter concerning the rise and progress of Dunstable, Nashua, and Nashville. That, contained but a meagre account of the Manu- factures, Churches, Military Companies, &c. This, having devoted several pages to them, contains all that is interesting to the public generally.
The Almanac, which occupied twelve pages in the old book, is omitted in this, and its space filled by more useful reading.
The statistical information which does not strictly belong to a work of this kind, will, we trust, be found useful, and not unworthy of insertion.
The embellishments which were drawn, by an ex- perienced artist, expressly for this work, will add much to its value.
4
PREFACE.
Many thanks are due to Charles J. Fox, Esq. for the loan of his invaluable Manuscript, containing " Historical Sketches of the old Township of Dun- stable ;" to Samuel Shepherd, Esq., for all informa- tion relative to the beautiful building, in the archi- tectural design of which, he has exhibited so much taste ; and to the citizens generally, who have, with no hesitation, given every aid, without which, it were impossible to compile a book of this description.
January 1, 1843.
COUNTING ROOM ALMANAC :
MONTHS.
SUNDAY.
MONDAY.
TUESD'Y.
WEDN'Y.
THURS'Y.
FRIDAY.
SATUR'Y.
MONTHIS.
SUNDAY.
CO | |MONDAY.
TUESD'Y.
WEDN'Y.
THURS'Y.
FRIDAY.
SATUR'Y.
JANUA'Y.
1
2
3
4
5 67
1
8 9 10
11
12 13:14
4 5678 2
15 16 17 |18 19 2021
9,10 11 12 13 14 15
22 23,24 25 26 2728
16 17 18 1920 21 22
29 30,31
23 21/25 26 27.28.29
30 31
-
..
-
FEBRU'Y.
5
6 7 8 91011
12345
6
7 8 9 10 11 12
19 20 21 22 23 2125
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29.30 31
-
1
2 3
4
271 5
6
7
8 9 10 11
3
4
5
6
7 8 9
19 20 21 22 23 24:25
261
28 29,30 31 -
17 18 19 20 21 2223
24 25,26
27 28 29 30
1
,
-
7 8
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
8 9 10 11/12 13 14;
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
15 16 17 18 19:20 21 22 23 24 25,26,27 28
30
-
-
-
-
29 3031
-
1
-
-
1234
5 6
NOVEM.
1
- 1|2
3 -
MAY.
7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 - -
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19,20 21 22 23 21 25
26,27 28,29 30' - |
-
4 5| 6 7|8 910
3 4
5 6 7 8.9
10 11 12 13
51
17 18:19 20
21 25 31
29.30
-
-
-
AUGUST.
SEPTEM.
1
1 2
12 13 14
15 16 17 18
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
APRIL.
23456
OCTOB'R.
5 6 7 8 91011
JUNE.
12,13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 2321 26,27 28,29 30 -
DECEM.
1
1
-
1
1 2 3
1 *
-
JULY.
1234
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
26 27 28
MARCH.
1
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
ANNALS
OF
DUNSTABLE, NASHUA, AND NASIIVILLE.
[Dates previous to 1751 are Old Style-Subsequent to 1751 are New Style.]
To the invaluable manuscript of Charles J. Fox, Esq., containing Historical Sketches of the towns which composed the "Dunstable Grant," the editor is indebted for the information contained in this ar- ticle.
Within the necessarily narrow limits of this work, we can, of course, give but the faintest outline of the beautiful sketch Mr. Fox has drawn of the hardy, en- terprising, and religious character, of the hardships and the prosperity, of the glees and the glooms of the carly settlers of the valleys of Salmon brook and Nashua river. Ere long we hope to have a copy of this in- teresting narrative placed within the reach of every family claiming descent from the hardy pioneers of civilization in this region. These pioneers were P'u- ritans. And the history of the Puritans on the shores of Massachusetts Bay, is the history of the Puritans in the forests of New Hampshire. And who is the man or the woman that is not proud of Puritan blood ? Truc, it may be, that we can find on our Trees of Genealogy, no branches of nobility, no scions of roy- alty. But we can find that our ancestors belonged to no race enfeebled by luxury, or offeminated by the voluptuousness of regal courts. In their veins, flow-
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Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
ed richly and purely, the blood of Nature's Nobility -True Men. Hence the freedom of our institutions and our national prosperity. We may smile at the quaintness of the laws, and sneer at the strietness of the religion of the men of the Mayflower. Better would it be for us, their children, had we less of our manworship, always savoring of expediency which too often violates Right,-and more of their reverence of the laws from Above. Destitute of a code of laws, of a form of government, they came to this wil- derness. But in the Book,-the right to construc which as they pleased they came here to defend,- they found the principles upon which all laws should be founded, and most strictly, most conscientiously, did they follow them. In the Bible, they found no leave to tamper with evil, so that in destroying it, the fear of a worse might come upon them; but, on the contrary, they had full faith in the idea that "the kingdom of God is at hand"-nay, it was to them, already present. Hence they feared not to do battle for Justice, from whatever quarter and in whatever form the opposition might come.
The valleys of the Merrimac, and the Nashua or Watunanock rivers, and Salmon brook, were favorite resorts and abodes of the Indians. The Nashaways' head quarters were at Lancaster, the Nashobas' at Littleton, the Pawtuckets' at Pawtucket Falls, the Wamesits' at Wamesit Falls at the mouth of Concord river, the Penacooks' at Concord, N. II., and the Nati- cook tribe inhabited this vicinity. The Mohawks from New York were the enemies of them all. Mest of these tribes were friendly to the whites. The Penacooks, however, were untameable, and the Mo- hawks were more vindictive than all the rest.
In 1665 the settlements of the English had extend- ed in Massachusetts as far north as Chehnsford and Groton. Then the rich alluvial soils of the valleys of the Nashua and Merrimac, soon became objects of ea- ger desire to the settlers, and accordingly grants were made of farms by the General Court to various indi-
Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville. 9
viduals until 1673. In passing, we will remark that one of these grants was made in September, 1673, to the " Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company " of Bos- ton, of 1000 acres of land lying north of the Nashua river, and was the same tract which now constitutes the village of Nashville. It was then called the " Artillery Farm." Hence the name of the small pond northwest of Mr. Abbot's house-" Artillery Pond."
At this time it became necessary, for the mutual benefit of the proprietors of farnis lying on the Mer- rimac, between Chelmsford and Groton on the south, and the Souhegan river on the north, to petition the General Court for a consolidation of their several grants into a township. On the 15th October, 1673, O. S. their request was granted. In 1674 the easterly line was extended to Beaver brook, and the town called Dunstable, thus complimenting Mrs. Mary Tyng, wife of Hon. Edward Tyng, one of the magis- trates of Massachusetts, who came from Dunstable, England. The boundaries of Dunstable in 1674 may
. be defined thus: the northeastern corner was a very high and large rock, now standing about three miles northeasterly of the mouth of Souhegan river in Lon- donderry. The line then extended westerly across the Merrimac to the mouth of the Souhegan, thence up the Souhegan till it came to the northwestern cor- ner at " Dram-cup hill" in the westerly part of Mil- ford. The westerly Jine ran due south, passed near the west end of Muscatanapas pond near the Brook- line meeting-house, and crossed the Massachusetts line to the southwest corner, now within the bounda- ries of Pepperell. The southerly line passed near the present southern boundaries of Dunstable, Tyngs- boro', and Hudson, crossing the Merrimac to Beaver brook and thence northerly to the Rock in London- derry. Of course it included the present towns of Litchfield, Hudson, Merrimac, Hollis, Nashville and Nashua, and parts of Pelham, Londonderry, Milford, Amherst, and Brookline, in New Hampshire; Dun-
10 Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
stable and Tyngsboro', and parts of Pepperell, Towns- end, and Dracut, in Massachusetts-embracing a re- gion of more than two hundred square miles.
The carliest compact settlements in the vicinity of our village, were made on Salmon brook, principally between the Merrimac and what is now called the " Harbor." In the rear of the school-house in the Harbor district, near the north and cast edges of the Mill pond, several cellar holes are still visible. Ap- ple trees are there standing, bearing marks of great antiquity. In the town records, orchards are men- tioned as early as 1675. Probably these trees are of the original stock, or at least their immediate de- scendants. About fifty rods north-east of the school- house, near a small cluster of oaks, stood the "Old Fort" or garrison, in which the inhabitants dwelt in times of imminent danger, and to which they often retired at night.
After the charter was obtained, the inhabitants in- creased rapidly. On the 11th May, 1674, a meeting was held at the house of Lt. Joseph Wheeler, at which a written agreement was made between the proprictors and settlers, in which it was provided that "the meeting-house which is to be erected, shall stand between the house of Lt. Wheeler and Salmon brook, as convenient as may be for the ac- commodation of both."
In the summer of 1676, commenced Philip's war, which involved most of the Indians in New England. Dunstable, being at that time on the northern fron- tier of white settlements, suffered accordingly. Many of the settlers deserted their homes, and fled to places of greater security. In 1678 the troubles with the Indians ceased, and the deserted cabin was retenanted.
There are no records in existence of town meet- ings prior to 1677. That town officers were chosen in 1675, we know from the records of 1682, as at that time the town voted to pay Joseph Parker, "for his seven years services as constable." For many
Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville, 11
years the town meetings were held at Woburn, and occasionally as late as 1711. The earliest record we have is dated November 28, 1677. At this meet- ing, Capt. Thomas Brattle, Capt. Elisha Hutchinson, Capt. James Parker, Mr. Jonathan Tyng, and Abra- ham Parker, were chosen selectmen for the town of Dunstable, " for the year ensuinge and to stand as such till new be chosen." The selectmen, at this time, were instructed to procure a minister, whose salary should be " fifty pounds and the overplus of the ffarmes, and never be abated." Provision was also made for the finishing of the church, which had been commenced previous to the desertion of the settle- ment in 1675. It was finished in 1678, and was probably built of logs. Its precise location is not known, but is supposed to have been in the vicinity of the old burying-ground in the south part of the town. For forty years this, and the churches built subsequently upon or near the same spot, were the only edifices of the kind in the southern part of New Hampshire.
. April 22, 1679, was born William Tyng, son of Jonathan Tyng. This is the first birth on the town records.
In 1680, the settlement contained thirty families.
The first saw mill was probably built in 1679, near the residence of Jesse Bowers, Esq.
As early as May 1, 1679, Rev. Thomas Weld was employed as minister.
In the spring of 1680, lands were improved on the north side of the Nashua river.
June 14, 1681, fence viewers were chosen, " and an order was passed, commanding all persons to take care of and yoak yr hogs on penilty of paing double damages." "To the present holders of the ancient and honorable office of " hogreeve," it may be inter- esting to know that, on the 8th May, 1682, "at a selectmen's meeting, it was ordered that the hogs of Dunstable of 3 mo. old and upward, be suficiently yoked and rung at or before the twentieth of the
خليط
12 Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
present month, and John Ackers be appointed and imployed to pound, yoake and Ringe such hogs, and for so doing, it is ordered that the owner of every such hog shal pay to the Swinyard twelv penc, and John Acres (or Ackers) is appointed hog constable to se this order exsicuted."
August 28, 1682, Mine Islands were laid out to Hezekiah Usher. The islands at the foot of Mine Falls had already acquired this name on account of the mines which were supposed to exist here. In those days, as in ours, speculators were not wanting. Among that class were the most extravagant ideas prevalent respecting the mineral wealth of New Eng- land. Usher was one of the most eager searchers for the hidden treasures, and so extensive were his excavations at the falls, that, for half a century after- wards, in all records, letters, and journals of scouting parties, these islands were called " the mines."
In 1683, a new meeting-house was probably built, of larger size and more expensive materials, and must have cost three or four hundred dollars.
Up to this time, Rev. Mr. Weld had been preachi- ing without ordination. In 1684 he was invited to settle, and having consented, was ordained December 16, 1685. At the same time a church was formed, consisting of seven male members. John Blanchard and Cornelius Waldo were chosen the first deacons. The covenant of faith used by this church was un- doubtedly the same as that promulgated by the Gen- eral Assembly, in 1680, for the use of the colony. It is remarkably free from those doctrinal points which have since caused so much controversy, and, saving some peculiarities of the times in which it was written, might safely be adopted by many of the sects of the present day.
At this date, there were but four churches and four ministers within the present limits of New Hampshire.
In 1686, the Indians living in this vicinity sold all their lands to Jonathan Tyng and others, included
Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville. 13
within the limits of Dunstable, and nearly all of them removed from the vicinity.
May 21, 1688. "Samuel Goold is chosen dog- whipper for the meeting-house." Whether the duties of this officer extended farther than the name im- plies, we are not informed.
Up to this time the settlement had prospered. But in 1689, the first French war, known as King Wil- liam's war, broke out between France and England. Of course, war followed between the respective col- onies in North America. Through the influence of the Jesuits, the French excited almost all the Indians of New England against the English. Until 1698, the history of the frontiers is a constant succession of devastations and massacres.
Without warning, the war was commenced by an attack upon Dover, June 28, 1G89, in which Major Waldron and fifty others were killed or taken prison- ers. The same party meditated an attack upon Dun- stable, but, through the means of some friendly Indi- ans, preparations for defence were made, and the · settlement saved from destruction.
In 1690, Christopher Reed was chosen tything- man-the carliest record of the choice of such an officer in the town. It was his business to take care of the children and unruly persons in or about the meeting-house during services.
November 29, 1690, a truce was agreed upon with the Indians until the first of May, 1601, which was strictly observed.
On the evening of September 2, 169], the sav- ages suddenly appeared in this town, and attacked the house of Joseph Hassell, senior, which stood on the north bank of Salmon brook, on a small knoll just in the rear of Miss Alld's house. Hassell, wife and son, and Mary, daughter of Patrick Marks, were killed. Tradition says, that Mary Marks was killed between the Hollis road and the canal, about a quar- ter of a mile above the Nashua Corporation. They were all buried on the knoll on which Hassell's
2
14 Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
house stood, and a rough stone, without inscription, points out the place of interment. On the morning of the 28th September, the Indians killed Obadiah Perry and Christopher Temple. It is supposed that they were murdered near a rock, called Temple's rock, about thirty rods above the Nashua Corpora- tion, now covered by the flowago of the water. IIas- sell, Perry, and Temple were original settlers, and were town officers at the time of their death.
The war lasted until 1698. During the remainder of the war we have no authentic record of attacks on Dunstable, yet hardly a town in its vicinity escaped. Yet the constant alarms caused once more a deser- tion of many inhabitants, and we find the town po- titioning the General Court for abatement of taxes, and for grants of sums of money for the support of the ministry. In 1701 the town contained but twen- ty-five families.
In 1700, the town voted to glaze the meeting-house, at a cost of £1, Is. Gd. Probably the windows were neither large nor numerous.
June 9, 1702, died Rev. Thomas Weld, first minis- ter of the town, aged 50 years. He was buried in the Old South burying-ground, and over his grave is a granite slab without inscription. Mr. Weld was a native of Roxbury, and grandson of Rev. Thomas Weld, the first minister of Roxbury, who came from England in 1632. He is said to have been a man of great piety and a very respectable clergyman.
In 1703, war was renewed between France and England. It is known in history as Queen Anne's war. As usual the Indians joined the French. It was probably soon after the commencement of this war, that the garrison of Robert Parris was surprised, and himself and part of his family murdered. He lived in the southerly part of Nashua on the main road. Two small girls, who composed the remainder of the family, escaped, by concealing themselves un- der an empty hogshead in the cellar. One of these girls married a Richardson, and the other a Goffe, fa- ther of the celebrated Col. Goff'e.
Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville. 15
On the occasion of another attack, some two years after the above, occurred a similar almost miraculous escape. The Indians attacked a garrison, took pos- session of it, killed, as they supposed, all within it, plundered it, set it on fire, and retired immediately. At the commencement of the attack a woman con- cealed herself under a dry cask. At first she en- deavored to escape by the window, but finding it too small, she succeeded in loosening the stones, till she had forced a breach large enough to permit her es- cape. She remained concealed in the bushes till the next day, when she reached a neighboring garrison.
From 1703 till the close of the war in 1713, the history of the frontiers is a continued series of at- tacks, burnings, captivity, and massacre. Dunstable was scarcely more advanced in 1714 than 1680.
After the death of Mr. Weld, for many years the ecclesiastical affairs of the town are involved in much obscurity. No minister was settled during the war. Rev. Samuel Hunt preached here for a short period. IIe left here in the spring of 1707 to accompany, as chaplain, the expedition against Port Royal.
About the 1st October, 1708, Rev. Samuel Parris commenced preaching here and probably remained until the spring of 1712. He is notorious for having commenced the famous " Salem Witchcraft" delusion in his family and society at Salem village or Dan- vers, in 1691.
The pulpit seems to have been supplied by several individuals, but none were ordained until 1720, when Rev. Nathaniel Prentice accepted the call, and was probably settled in the autumn. It was agreed that his salary should be C80 per annum, with £100 set- tlement, or, in the language of our day, for a " fitting out." IIe seems, after his ordination, to have asked for a higher salary, as November 13, 1720, it was vo- ted, "'That when Mr. Prentice comes to keep house and have a family and stands in need of a larger sup- ply, then to ad Reasonable Aditions to his salary if our abilities will afford it." December 8, 1720, it was
1
16 Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
voted, " That Mr. Prentice after marriage should have sufficient supply of wood, or ten pounds of passable money in lew thereof yearly." Ile soon after mar- ried Mary Tyng, of Dunstable, and died February 27, 1737. It is supposed that he was buried in the Old South burying-ground, but there is nothing to mark the place of interment.
On the evening of September 4, 1724, as Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard were manufacturing turpentine on the north side of Nashua river, some- where on the ground where Nashville stands, they were surprised by a party of Indians, who carried them into captivity. At that time there were no dwellings on the north side of the river, and these men lodged in a mill on the south side. This mill was probably John Farwell's, which stood on Salmon brook, near Miss Alld's. The night following the capture, not having returned as usual to the mill, the alarm was given, as it was feared that they had fallen into the hands of the Indians. A party of ten, under the direction of Lieut. Ebenezer French, started in pursuit. Finding the hoops of the barrel cut, and the turpentine not ceased spreading, they concluded the Indians must be in the vicinity, and decided on instant pursuit. Their route was up the Merrimac. At Naticook brook, near Thornton's ferry, they were waylaid. The Indians fired upon them, and killed the larger part instantly. A few fled, but were soon overtaken and destroyed. French was killed about a mile from the place of action under an oak tree, late- ly standing in a field belonging to Mr. John Lund, of Merrimac. Only one escaped-Josiah Farwell, who was next year Lieutenant under Lovewell at Pequaw- kett.
Soon after this, is supposed to have taken place the fight which gave the name "Indian Head" to that part of Nashville, in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Nashua river. One account is, that the Indi- ans were on the north side of the river, and the Eng- lish on the south, and that after the fight had lasted a
Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville. 17
long time across the stream without decisive result, both parties drew off, and that after the Indians had departed, upon a large tree, standing by the river side, nearly opposite the "Great Rock," the figure of an Indian's head was found, carved by them, as if in de- fiance. Another account is, that a fight once took place between the whites and Indians ; that the latter were defeated, and all of them supposed to be slain ; that one, however, escaped, and carved upon a tree the Indian head, as a taunt and threat of vengeance. About a year since, the "Great Rock" was blown in pieces, and now composes the abutments which support the bridge of the Concord Rail-Road across the Nashua. The " tree " has not been standing for many years.
After the fight near Thornton's ferry, a party im- mediately mustered and proceeded to the fatal spot, to find the bodies of their friends. Eight were found and conveyed by water down to Dunstable. They were interred in the ancient burying-ground near the State line, in which there is a monument still stand- ing with the following inscription :
Memento Mori. Here lies the body of Mr. Thomas Lund, who departed this life September 5th, 1721, in the 42d year of his age. This man with seven more that lies in this grave was slew all in a day by The Indians.
In consequence of the great devastation everywhere committed by the Indians, John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, and Jonathan Robbins, in November, 1721, petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts, for leave to raise a company to scout against the Indians, and in case of obtaining any Indian scalps, to be al- lowed five shillings per day-and if, at the end of a year, they should not have killed any of the enemy, they were contented to be allowed nothing for their wages, time, and trouble. The petition was granted, changing the conditions into a bounty of £100 per
2*
13 Annals of Dunstable, Nashua and Nashville.
scalp. The company was raised and a commission of Captain given to Lovewell. They became great- ly distinguished, first by their successes, and after- wards by their misfortunes. Lovewell was a man of great physical courage, and was ever seeking ad- ventures. His father is said to have been an ensign in the army of Cromwell, and a soldier under the fa- mous Capt. Church in the great Narragansett Swamp Fight. His sons inherited his military taste and ar- dor. The story of Lovewell's fight with the Pequaw- ketts at the pond in Fryeburgh, Maine, since called "Lovewell's Pond," is well known. In Mr. Fox's MS. is a long, minute, and interesting account of this affair, as well as of some more successful previous expeditions.
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