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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY REYN 3 1833 00083 4520 GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Gc 974.202 Sa 32g 1148187
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofsalemnh00gilb_1
William G. Csource
HISTORY
OF
SALEM, N. H.
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY EDGAR GILBERT, A. B.
-
ILLUSTRATED
CONCORD, N. H .: RUMFORD PRINTING COMPANY 1907
COPYRIGHT, 1907 BY EDGAR GILBERT
1148187
To the Memory of WILLIAM GREENLEAF CROWELL Educator and Public Servant of Integrity and Honor this book is affectionately dedicated by The Author
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION.
Early History of New England-Council of Plymouth- Mason and Gorges-The Two Conflicting Grants-Appeal to the King-Final Settlement of Province Line-Masonian Proprietors-Wheelwright's Deed 4
CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY.
Location and Size-Villages-Elevations-Water Courses -Spicket River-Captain's Pond-Hitty Titty Pond-
Canobie Lake-World's End Pond-Soil and Vegetation . 16
CHAPTER II. SETTLEMENT.
Early History of Haverhill-Indian Deed-Granting of Land-Fourth Division Lots-Satchwell's Pond-Source of First Settlers of Salem(?)-First Schools-Wolves- Indian Troubles-Highways-Church Matters -Govern- ment-Proprietors and Non-commoners-Methuen Set Off
31
CHAPTER III. BUILDING THE TOWN.
Spicket Hill Petition-North Parish Set Off- First Offi- cers of the Parish-Parsonage Grant-Meetinghouse Raised -First Settled Minister-Burial Ground Laid Out-Church Difficulties-Division of the Parish-Petitions for Town- ship-Salem Incorporated-First Town Officers-Altera- tions in the Lines-Windham-Atkinson Controversy- Seeking New Grants-Quit Claim Deed of 1759-The Pound .
70
CHAPTER IV. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Congregational-Baptist-Methodist-North Salem M. E. Church-First M. E. Church-Pleasant St. M. E. Church -Miscellaneous Religious Notes-Cemeteries and Funerals 129
vi
CONTENTS.
-
PAGE
CHAPTER V. CIVIL AND POLITICAL HISTORY.
Early Census Returns-First Tax List-Tax List of 1800 -Affairs at the Town House-Liquor Traffic-Town House Condemned-New Building Proposed-Political Notes-Division of Counties-State and National Organ- ization-Town Politics-Fremont Campaign-List of Se- lectmen-List of Representatives -Senators -Postoffice and Mail Service-One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniver- sary-Paupers-Town Farm-Water Works-Hose Com- panies . 155
CHAPTER VI. EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.
First Schools-Early Teachers-Houses Built-Districts Established-History of the Buildings-Old Districts Abol- ished-Superintending Committee-Extracts from Reports -High School-Salem Social Library-Public Library . 207
CHAPTER VII. MILITARY HISTORY.
Lake George Expedition-Boys of '76-Bunker Hill-Re- cruiting Companies-"Association Test"-List of Revolu- tionary Soldiers from Salem-Committee of Safety-Rob- ert Young Case-Captain Woodbury Imprisoned-Militia Organized-War of 1812-Militia Act of 1820-Salem Officers in Militia-" Salem Guards "-Mexican War-Out- break of the Rebellion-Records of Soldiers from Salem . 231
CHAPTER VIII. INDUSTRIAL.
Currency-Sawmills and Lumber-Gristmills-Farming- Textile Industries - Hatting - Shoe Industry- Enamel Cloth-Board of Trade-Growth of the Villages . 291
CHAPTER IX. HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES.
Early Methods of Travel-Paths and Trails-First Roads -Oldest Bridge in Salem-Laying Out Roads-London- derry Turnpike-Taverns on Turnpike-Macadam Roads -Washouts-Other Taverns-Railroad Built -Electric Railway Line Opened . 310
CONTENTS.
vii
PAGE
CHAPTER X. ORGANIZATIONS.
Masons - United Order of Pilgrim Fathers -Grand Army of the Republic -- Women's Christian Temperance Union-Patrons of Husbandry-Women's Relief Corps- New England Order of Protection-Junior Order United American Mechanics-Daughters of Liberty-Miscellaneous Organizations . 334
CHAPTER XI. HISTORICAL TALES.
Widow Harris' Loom-Granny Ober's Witchery-Tavern Tales-An Aged Teacher- Tales of Capt. Israel Wood- bury-First Baldwin Apple Tree in New Hampshire- Odd Items-Kissing and Quilting Parties-Bird Shoot- Mary Campbell . . 347
CHAPTER XII. KEY TO HISTORICAL MAP . . 362
CHAPTER XIII. BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOG- ICAL.
Biographies -Tables of Births, Marriages and Deaths, from Town Records and Other Sources . 422
INDEX OF NAMES.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PORTRAITS.
PAGE
Abbott, Daniel A.
.
428
Ayer, James
1
Bailey, Stephen
68
Buxton, Fred C.
104
Cate, Edwin G.
185
Cluff, Aaron Milton
36
Cluff, Isaac Newton
272
Coburn, Eliphalet .
168
Cole, Hon. Wallace W.
200
Crowell, William G.
Frontispiece
Davis, Frank D.
144
Duston, Ebenezer .
188
Duston, Thomas
340
Emery, David S. .
201
Ewins, James
173
Gilbert, Edgar
4
Gordon, George C.
261
Gordon, Howard L.
128
Hall, Alvah .
24
Hall, Arthur .
113
Hall, Clarence
160
Hall, Clifton
. 336
Hall, Prescott C. .
313
Hall, L. Wallace .
368
Kelley, Gilman D.
48
Kelley, Mrs. Walter B. .
429
Kimball, Charles A.
184
Kimball, Four Generations
440
Kimball, William B.
144
Lancaster, Thomas D. . ·
· 349
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
X
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Lancaster, William E. .
125
Pulver, Willis Du Bois .
.
180
Sikorsky, Dr. Vladimir N.
224
Smith, Smiley
432
Smith, Mrs. Smiley
424
Soule, Dr. Lewis F.
·
164
Taylor, Daniel
. 329
Taylor, Henry P. .
. 208
Taylor, John
433 45
Taylor, Levi W.
444
Taylor, Hon. Matthew H.
197
Tenney, John F.
108 57
Thom, Darius M. .
216
Thom, Isaac
245
Wheeler, Hon. Benjamin R. .
268
Wheeler, John R.
252
Wheeler, Hon. John W.
176
Wilson, Frank D.
80
Woodbury, George
361
Woodbury, Hon. Frank P.
72
Woodbury, Isaac . .
13
Woodbury, John .
92
Woodbury, Levi .
357
Woodbury, Oliver G.
352 .
RESIDENCES.
Atwood, John P. .
· 420
Austin, Moses
. 256
Ayer, James
438
Ayer, Philip
41
Bodwell, Warren N.
85
Bradford, William
. 265
Brady, John F.
249
Chase, Benjamin .
. 264
Coburn, Eliphalet .
444
Cole, Wallace W. .
105
Crowell, William G.
9
.
.
.
.
.
Thom, George W.
.
.
·
.
.
.
.
.
.
Taylor, John Jr.
.
·
xi
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Duston, David
Duston, Ebenezer .
PAGE 425 433
Duston, Obadiah .
240 409
Emerson, Isaac
384
Fletcher, Samuel .
129 345
Goodwin, Alfred E.
416
Gordon, Kimball
341 337
Hall, Alvah .
8
Hall, Ezra Baxter .
52
Hall, Prescott C. .
233
Hall, Silas
192 389
Hoyt, David M.
160
Hutchins, Batchelder B.
385
Jones, George W.
360
Kelley, S. Milton .
61
Kimball, Charles .
12
La Court, Peter .
65
Little, Maj. Henry
121
Littlefield, Albert L.
404
Lowell, John
321
Messer, Moses
73
Pattee, Seth J. M.
417
Pettingill, Jonathan
393
Robie, Mrs. Frank
33
Rowell, Jacob
136
Shannon, Stephen S.
421
Sikorsky, Dr. Vladimir N.
365
Smith, Morton E. .
89
Smith, Smiley
388
Taylor, Daniel
16
Taylor, Matthew
48
Taylor, Matthew H.
412
Tenney, John F. .
'405
Duston, Thomas
.
.
Hunt, Lincoln H. .
Kelley, J. William
392
Hall, Arthur C.
Gordon, Benaiah
xii
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Thom, Darius M. .
56
Thom, George W.
353
Webster, Amos N.
64
Webster, Charles .
320
Webster, Thomas . Wheeler, Fred O. .
397
Wheeler, John W.
408
Woodbury, Asa
377
Woodbury, Isaac .
77
Woodbury, Israel .
325
Woodbury, John
369
Woodbury, Levi .
437
Woodbury, Luke .
256
Woodbury, Richard
248
Woodbury, Samuel
.
.
381
MISCELLANEOUS VIEWS.
Atlas Worsted Mill
301
Baptist Church
129
Boat House, Stillwater .
· 40
Bridge near Wheeler's Mill .
17
Canobie Lake, from Levi Woodbury's
33
Canobie Lake Park, Main Walk
100
Canobie Lake Park, Rustic Seat
240
Canobie Lake, R. R. Station
401
Carbarn
333
Causeway
. 328
Common
.
376
Congregational Church .
133
Cowbell Corner, Looking North
25
.
Cowbell Corner, Old Mill
296
Crosby Wharf, Stillwater
4
Dam at North Salem
21
Ewins' Store
112
Graduates, Methuen High School .
232
Graveyard and Hearse House
148
Graveyard, Interior View
88
High School Pupils
237
.
396
·
.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
xiii
PAGE
Hitty Titty Pond Road
28
Hose House, No. 1
204
Hose House, No. 2
192
Hotel Rockingham
96
Lawrence Road
316 228
Library
Littlefield Farm, Landscape
356
Maple Tree, Webster Farm .
169
Masonic Building .
. 372
M. E. Church, Center
140
M. E. Church, Depot
144 .
M. E. Church, North Salem .
137
Mill Site, Millville
. 292
Morrison Store
413
New Road, near Stillwater
. 320
North Pond Road, Stillwater
.
324
Panorama View of Salem Center
16 176
Pine Grove Cemetery
152
Pound .
.
128 344
Russ Shoe Factory
304
Schoolhouses : No. 1
212
No. 4
217
No. 6
221
No. 8
224
Spicket Path
312
Stillwater-A Landscape
120
Stone Schoolhouse
208
Tavern, Salem Center
332
Taylor's Mill
297
Tower, Meadowbrook
364
Town House, Exterior
153
Town House, Interior
80
Wheeler's Mill
304
Winter Scenes :
Below Point A, Looking East
· 176
Center, toward North Salem .
. 400
.
.
Panorama View of Salem Depot
.
.
Railroad Station, Salem
·
.
·
.
xiv
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Winter Scenes :
Electric Line, Toward Nashua
116
Looking toward Point A .
339
Main Street, near Carbarn ·
157
Woodbury Shoe Factory
308
MAPS AND CHARTS.
Grants to Mass. Bay Co. and Capt. John Mason
7
First Plan of Haverhill
35
Haverhill Boundaries as Originally Laid Out 37
Fourth Division Upland
51
Plan of Meetinghouse
90
Charter Plan of Salem .
104
Petition Plan
117
Locations about 1759
122
Map of Salem Center
364
Map of Salem Depot
373
Map of Town of Salem
Back Cover
.
JAMES AYER.
Foreword.
Nineteen years ago began the agitation which has resulted in the publication of this History of Salem. Many of the older citizens believed that such a work should be undertaken, and caused an article to be inserted in the warrant with this in view. A committee, of which William G. Crowell was chairman, was chosen to investigate the advisability of the plan. Although no money was appropriated, the committee went ahead enthusias- tically with their work and prepared a report for the next annual meeting. But the result was most disappointing; so little inter- est was manifested by many at the meeting that Mr. Crowell was compelled, by talking and other disturbances, to desist before his report was half finished.
For a time the matter rested, to be again brought up in 1894. From that time several committees were appointed to carry on the work of preparing the history for publication, and money was raised for the purpose. William G. Crowell, Matthew H. Taylor, Levi W. Taylor, James Ayer, Wallace W. Cole, Frank D. Davis and David S. Emery served on these committees at dif- ferent times. Some progress was made, but the work was neces- sarily slow. The death of Mr. Ayer in the fall of 1905 put a stop to the work, and left some doubt as to whether anything further would be done.
At this time the author became interested in the unfinished work and proposed to undertake the completion of it. This was brought about through the efforts of Mr. Emery and Mr. Cole. An article was inserted in the warrant for the March meeting, 1906, upon which the town accepted the proposition then sub- mitted. Work was undertaken at once. The material already collected contained many valuable facts and clues which were later followed out, although nothing had been written for the book. In other words, some of the brick, mortar and lumber had
2
2
HISTORY OF SALEM.
been obtained but the work of building had not been commenced. All of the stock had to be cut and fitted to the new material later obtained.
In the preparation of this work the aim has been to combine the history of the place with the history of its people-to present civil history in connection with genealogy. This is no slight matter for a town as old as Salem; the proper proportion of space to be given to each of these branches, and still keep the whole within the limits of a single volume, is the historian's greatest problem. The complete genealogy of even one of our old families will make a book in itself, and would be out of the question here. Still there must be some way of tracing the rela- tion of people to town. The plan adopted is this : to present the principal interests of the town, and therewith make mention of the men who were prominent in them. This shows the relation of men to affairs. For the inter-relation of persons the plan is twofold, biographical and statistical. Brief biographies of some of the citizens have been given. Also the complete records of the town in births, marriages, and deaths have been alphabet- ically arranged and included here. By this means the lines of each family may be traced so far as they are shown by the records. Even a brief consideration will make it evident that this is the most acceptable method of an accurate and condensed presentation.
The arrangement selected for the book is topical rather than chronological, in order to obtain a unity otherwise impossible. Many of the facts mentioned are trivial in themselves, but they serve the author's purpose to take the reader back into the life of our ancestors and permit him to view that life in the spirit of the times. Many of the lists of names are given to supple- ment the chapter on genealogical matters. It is the hope of the author that the omissions or inaccuracies discovered will be charitably overlooked as inherent in a work of this kind pre- pared in a short period of time.
It is hoped that the illustrations in the book will be found a valuable collection. They have been prepared with no small outlay of time and money, and made possible by the cooperation of many of our citizens.
3
FOREWORD.
The author would acknowledge his indebtedness to all who have so generously given of their time and effort to assist in the work; especially to the late Mr. Crowell and Mr. Ayer for the part they performed; to the late Mr. Thomas D. Lancaster, who by his clear memory furnished many facts regarding the early days; to the late Matthew H. Taylor, also to Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Charles Kimball, Mr. Ezra B. Hall, Mr. Oscar Hall, Mrs. Edith Woodbury and Mr. George Thom, for valuable re- miniscences furnished; to Mrs. D. A. Abbott, Miss Helen Fred- erick and Miss Ruth Doyen, for assistance with the copy and the proof.
That the work may be found acceptable to the many friends of Salem is the earnest desire of the author.
Methuen, Mass.
July 24, 1907.
E. G.
Introduction.
Since the present can be satisfactorily interpreted only through the illuminating knowledge of the past, it becomes neces- sary for us to rehearse the early history of New England, espe- cially in its bearing upon New Hampshire and northern Massa- chusetts, in order to obtain the setting or historical background for the principal theme of our story. The many controversies that arose during the early days of the town of Salem were in most cases the direct outcome of unsettled disputes in the still earlier days of the first grantees of territorial and governmental rights. While in no less degree is it true that the success and progress of the community were the results of careful planning and energetic operation on the part of the builders of the town.
The early history of Salem is inextricably interwoven with that of two of the neighboring towns, Methuen and Haverhill, of which it was formerly a part. Lying on the state line be- tween New Hampshire and Massachusetts and in part separated by it, these towns were compelled to bear great inconvenience caused by the unsettled question of location of this boundary line. Thus the early history of Haverhill and Methuen will be an essential preface to the settlement of Salem, after we have . followed the earlier stages of colonization of the eastern New England wilderness. The interesting story of the discovery, exploration and occupation of the lands of the western hemi- sphere is not only generally well known in its essentials but is also slightly extraneous to the present work and therefore here omitted.
COUNCIL OF PLYMOUTH.
Our interest is first enlisted in the year 1620, when King James I of England gave his approval to an association of noble- men and prominent men of England known as "The Council of Plymouth for planting and governing colonies in New England
O
EDGAR GILBERT.
CROSBY WHARF, STILLWATER.
01*
5
INTRODUCTION.
in America." The president of this council was Fernando Gorges and the secretary was Capt. John Mason. These two names are already familiar to all students of New England his- tory, but their influence will be more fully appreciated from the fact that they were the two highest officers of this organization which was to have such vast territory at its disposal. For the king granted to the council all the land in North America lying between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees north latitude- that is, from New Jersey to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The colonization of this vast region was expected to yield rich profits to those who should undertake it.
Already glowing reports of a fair land, with fine gardens and forests, occupied by a noble, healthy race of men, and furnish- ing sightly spots for habitations, had been brought home by those who had made voyages of exploration, notably Captain John Smith, who had visited the New England shores in 1614. The attention of many leading men was turned westward and the inducements offered by the Council of Plymouth were most al- luring. The willingness with which grants of land were made, without due investigation into the geography of the country, was the cornerstone for long and bitter legal contention in the years that were to follow. Captain John Smith had made a chart of the coast, and this, with a few brief descriptions, con- stituted the principal source of information. But these gave no knowledge of the interior, consequently the various grants were frequently in direct contradiction to each other.
MASON AND GORGES.
Captain Mason and Fernando Gorges of course had the sit- uation well in hand, and in the very year that the council was formed, 1620, Mason obtained from it a grant of all the land between the rivers Merrimack and Naumkeag, to the sources of each. This assumed that these two rivers were parallel and ran in an easterly direction for the entire length. The Naumkeag is the small stream at Salem, Mass., and is only twelve miles long.
Two years later, 1622, Mason and Gorges obtained from the Council of Plymouth a joint grant of land from the Merrimack River to Kennebunk in Maine, and extending inland as far as
6
HISTORY OF SALEM.
the Great Lakes. This grant, known as Laconia, proved of no great importance, as the movement for colonization demanded more specific and constricted boundaries. But under the La- conia grant Gorges gave a title of land to one David Thompson, a business man of Plymouth, England, who, with his wife and four men, came, in 1623, to the mouth of the Piscataqua River and became the first white settlers in New Hampshire, at Or- diorne's Point. Here they built a cabin, planted a considerable area of ground, and undertook some trade in furs with the In- dians. This small beginning was destined to be the cornerstone of the flourishing city of Portsmouth, known as "Strawberry Bank" until 1653, when the name was changed by the Massa- chusetts General Court. Here we shall later find the seat of government of the province-a fitting tribute to the antiquity of the town. Thompson (also spelled Tomson) did not remain long on his new claim, but in 1626 moved to the island in Boston Har- bor, which still bears his name.
In the same year, 1623, two brothers from England, Edward and William Hilton, obtained a grant similar to Thompson's, and settled in Cocheco, later called Dover, at the place now known as Dover Point.
THE TWO CONFLICTING GRANTS.
Up to this time matters had gone smoothly, as there were not many instances in which the authority of occupation of the land had come into question. In the next two years, however, were issued two grants which were in direct contradiction to each other and which caused trouble and dissension for nearly a cen- tury and a half. It came about in this way: On March 19, 1628, a charter was granted to Sir Henry Roswell and others in behalf of the Massachusetts Bay Company, for jurisdiction over all territory between two lines, one "three miles north of Mono- mack (Merrimack) River or any part thereof," the other three miles south of the Charles River, and extending from the At- lantic Ocean to the South Sea, as Lake Champlain was then called. The limited knowledge of geography here repeated the error found in Mason's deed of 1620, namely the supposition that the Merrimack held an easterly course throughout its entire
7
INTRODUCTION.
length. In March, one year later, King James I gave a royal charter to the Massachusetts Bay Company which practically recites that given by the Council of Plymouth. And now comes the companion piece to this enactment. On November 7, 1629, the Council of Plymouth gave Captain Mason a new grant from a point three miles north of the Merrimack, extending westward into the country sixty miles, thence on this radius to a point sixty miles from the mouth of the Piscataqua River in a line extending beyond its headwaters. The accompanying chart,
CHAMPLAIN
LAKE
LINE CLAIMED BY MASSACHUSETTS IN 1641
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
MASON'S
GRANT
ORIGINAL LINE , SUPPOSING SOURCE OF MERRIMACK IN WEST
HUDSON RIVER
MASSACHUSETTSBAY COMPANY'S GRANT
MERRIMACK RIVER
MASS BAY
Mason's Grant
after a drawing by George Mitchell, who ran the eastern section of the boundary line between the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 1741, shows the location of these grants to Mason, and to the Massachusetts Bay Company. The dotted line shows the boundary claimed by Massachusetts after ex- ploration had revealed the fact that the Merrimack had its ori- gin to the northward instead of in the west. Mason named this tract of land New Hampshire after the county of Hampshire
-
8
HISTORY OF SALEM.
in England. It was something more than one third of the area of the present state and included approximately the land now known as the counties of Rockingham, Hillsborough, Merrimack, ·
Strafford, Belknap, and the lower half of Carroll.
In 1634 Mason bought of Gorges all claim to his share of the grant. Doubtless Gorges was influenced to sell by the ap- parent difficulty of accomplishing much with so vast, indefinite and uninhabited possessions, for he at once turned his attention to the development of his colony, which Thompson had started at the mouth of the Piscataqua. Mason died in 1635, leaving his property to his grandson, Robert Tufton, on condition that he take the name of Mason. Robert was but a boy, and very soon manifested his inability to manage so large a proposition as was before him. Trouble with the Indians caused the New Hampshire colonists to seek protection from the better devel- oped province of Massachusetts, and very soon this neighbor- ing government assumed control of the affairs in Mason's land. In fact a decree was issued in 1641 by the General Court of Massachusetts to the effect that its northern boundary extended to the Piscataqua River. It is significant that just a century later the division line between the provinces was permanently established.
In response to the repeated protests of young Mason, the Mas- sachusetts legislature established a committee in 1652 to investi- gate the boundary question. This committee, with a promptness characteristic of the progressive legislators of the Bay State, found that the headwaters of the Merrimack were in Lake Win- nipesaukee, and at once claimed that their northern line ex- tended eastward from a point three miles north of the outlet of the lake to a point on the eastern bank of the Piscataqua in the same latitude, and westward to Lake Champlain. For did not their grant from the Council of Plymouth state specifically "three miles north of any part thereof"? This was too much for Mason. He saw the futility of appealing to men who so well understood how to interpret legal documents, and still he knew the validity of his own claim. He would take the case to a higher court. After appeals to authorities in England the controversy was at last brought before the king. But the
1
RESIDENCE OF ARTHUR C. HALL. (M 248)
WILLIAM G. CROWELL HOMESTEAD. (M 457)
9
INTRODUCTION.
years had flown, Mason had become an old man, the long strug- gle had worn upon him, and in 1691 he laid down his arms and passed on, leaving as his heirs his two sons, Robert Tufton Mason and John Tufton Mason.
These sons had slight relish for the contest that had wasted their father's strength, and promptly sold their claim to Samuel Allen. With him the title lay undisturbed, and after his death was not demanded by his heirs, who really never felt that they had a very good claim to it.
Meantime the settlement of the province had progressed rap- idly, a stable government had been established, towns chartered, and the idea of any private ownership of territorial title had been nearly outgrown. The province government had taken up the quarrel with Massachusetts and the numerous petitions and ambassadors to the king succeeded in obtaining a settlement. In 1720 Henry Newman, Esq., was appointed agent to prepare maps and charts and present the matter to the king, "since no headway can be made in dealing with Massachusetts." This ac- tion was brought about by petitions from the several towns, especially along the borders, to the General Court or to the Gov- ernor's Council at Portsmouth. It will later appear that the citizens of Salem were very active in their efforts to secure a satisfactory settlement of the line.
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