USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Antrim > History of the town of Antrim, N.H. for a period of one century from 1744 to 1844 > Part 1
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GO 974.202 An8w 1411555
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION cat 17.50
Imperfect: pp 35-38 notin numerical sequence; these pas fachow 3, 50
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 8764
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF ANTRIM, N. H.
FOR A PERIOD OF
ONE CENTURY;
FROM 1744 TO 1844.
BY
REV. JOHN M. WHITON.
CONCORD : STEAM POWER PRESS OF MCFARLAND & JENKS, REAR OF LOW'S BLOCK, MAIN STREET.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
DEDICATION,
Page.
3
INTRODUCTION, 5
CIVIL HISTORY OF THE TOWN, from 1744 to 1844, 13
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOY, for the same period, 43
NOTICES OF EARLY SETTLERS,
53
TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN,
78
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS,
87
1411555
DEDICATION.
TO THE CITIZENS OF ANTRIM :
HAVING spent with you forty-four years in the Ministry of the Gospel, twenty-eight as the town's minister, and the remaining sixteen as pastor of the Presbyterian church and congregation, in general peace and harmony, I have felt of course a deep interest in all the transactions and concerns of the place. Unable much longer to perform, especially in winter, the full amount of pastoral labor necessary in a society so widely scattered, I propose at no distant day to resign my charge. Soon after my ordination, 1808, I began to collect from the first settlers, most of whom were then on the stage, accounts of the early transac- tions in the place. Unwilling they should pass into the oblivion to which they are rapidly hastening, I have concluded to publish this Historical Sketch. The records of the town, church, presbytery, and my own private records have been thoroughly examined. As a sort of farewell token of my interest in your welfare, and an expression of gratitude for the friendly reception of my labors, on the part of the great mass of the inhabitants, for a period now approaching toward half a century, I submit these pages to your perusal, in the hope, that not- withstanding the details are minute, and the interest in them limited to those who are or have been residents, they may be found not altogether devoid of utility to the present and future citizens of the place. That you may enjoy the blessings of education and religion, and see their happy results in the prevalence of peace, good order, Christian morality, and the support of Christian institutions, is the ardent wish of
Antrim, June, 1852.
JOHN M. WHITON.
P.O. 3845
goodspecial $ 17.50 5-9-67. Inv. 4677
INTRODUCTION.
THE town of Antrim having been originally settled by Scotch Irish Presby- terians, a brief view of the causes which led to the emigration of their ancestors, first from Scotland to Ireland, and next, at a subsequent period, from Ireland to America, will throw light on the following History.
Near the close of the sixteenth century, the Catholic Irish raised a formidable rebellion against the English government. They doubtless had grievances that ought to have been redressed ; but the question of right, in relation to the matter, falls not within the scope of this work. Queen Elizabeth, then on the British throne, distinguished for the vigor of her administration, suppressed the rebellion and confiscated the great landed estates of many of the Popish leaders, to the amount of half a million of acres. It then became important to the English government both to provide for the occupancy and cultivation of these lands, and to infuse into the population of the country a Protestant element that should serve as a counterpoise to Catholic influence, and a check on future plots of the native Irish. Where should these new elements of popu- lation be found ? The Scots were zealous Protestants and Presbyterians. In- habiting a rough and rugged country, the offer of other lands more arable and fertile, would be to them attractive. In the reign of Elizabeth's successor, James I, the vacant lands in the north of Ireland were offered to them on terms so easy that multitudes were induced, about 1612, to cross the water separating the west of Scotland from the north of Ireland, and settle in the counties of Antrim and Londonderry; and, more sparsely, in several neighboring counties. Many of them were from the Scottish county of Argyle. The emigration continued for some years, during which the northern counties of Ireland were overspread with a population of Scottish Protestants.
They resided in Ireland in tolerable security and comfort more than a quarter of a century, founding numerous churches and presbyteries, and introducing into the country a new era of civilization and agricultural improvement. The Catholic Irish, the original Celtic population, regarded them, however, with prejudice and aversion, as foreigners, heretics, and intruders on their lands -
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INTRODUCTION.
they felt their presence as an odious restraint, a humiliating memorial of their own subjugation. The animosity smouldering in their breasts, like explosive elements pent up in the bowels of the earth, burst forth, 1641, into open re- bellion. The civil troubles then existing in England, inspired the hope that from that quarter the Protestants could look for no succor. In one day, Oct. 23d, in execution of a deep laid but carfully concealed plot of the Irish Catholics, many thousand English and Scottish Protestant were massacred before they could provide for defence or even suspect danger. It was like a sudden, sweep- ing hurricane. Those who escaped the slaughter lived for several succeeding years in disquietude and danger, until at length the strong arm of Cromwell, 1649, subdued and disarmed the Irish. The fact that the Papists were deprived of their arms, while the Protestants retained their's, is said to have given rise to the Scotch-Irish custom of firing guns at wedding festivals, in token of superiority over their enemies.
From 1684 to 1688, the colonists in Ireland received from Scotland accessions to their numbers, consisting of refugees, Scottish Covenanters, who fled their country to avoid the bloody executions of Graham of Claverliouse, a name never pronounced by Protestant lips without execration ; who, under the auspices of the tyrant, James II, persecuted the Protestants of Scotland to the death. Among these refugees were the McKeans, the McGregors, the Cargills, and others, some of whom were the ancestors of persons now resident of Antrim.
The courage, loyalty, and Protestantism of these Scottish colonists were put to a severe test in the memorable siege of the city of Londonderry, 1689. That arbitrary Popish bigot, James II, had been expelled from his throne the preced- ing year, and succeeded by William III, a Protestant prince of liberal views. This great revolution, the news of which was received in New England with joy unbounded, dashed the hopes of the Catholics of restoring Papal supremacy in Britain, and gave promise of security to the Protestant religion. James, who had fled to France, resolved on an attempt to recover his crown, and having re- ceived aid in men and money from the King of France, crossed over to Ireland and found such resources in the sympathy and zeal of the Irish Catholics, as enabled him to raise a formidable army. His plan was, to pass with his force from the north of Ireland to the west of Scotland, to rally to his standard the powerful clans of the Catholic Highlanders, and with this great augmentation of strengh to invade England, and bear down all opposition. To the execution of this design, the possession of the city of Londonderry, the population of which, and the surrounding region, was in large measure Scottish and Protest- ant, was essential. Several treacherous efforts to seize the city by strategem, were detected and baffled. It was at length invested by a powerful Irish army, who pushed the siege with the utmost vigor. Never was made a braver defence.
vii
INTRODUCTION.
Guided and animated by the Governors of their own choice, the Rev. George Walker and Col. Henry Baker, the Protestant defenders of the city, aware that not only a kingdom but also their religious liberties were at stake, repelled, during a siege of eight months, assault after assault, till their ranks were thinned and their stores exhausted. To such extremities of want were they reduced, that a quarter of dog's flesh sold for five shillings, six-pence ; a dog's head for two shillings ; a pound of horse-flesh twenty pence ; a cat four shillings six-pence ; a rat, one shilling ; a mouse, six-pence. Many feared they should be compelled to resort for food to the bodies of the dead. At length, vessels despatched from England with provisions, forced their way with infinite difficulty to the city, and were hailed by the famished defenders with acclamations of joy. Baffled and disheartened, the Irish army, having lost some thousands of men by sword, and; camp diseases, raised the siege and withdrew. From some of these heroic de- fenders of the city, a few of the present inhabitants of Antrim can claim descen t the McKeans, Cochrans, Dinsmoors, and perhaps others.
The successful defence of Londonderry, followed by the victory of William over James at the Boyne water, and the speedy subjugation of all Ireland, gave to the harrassed Protestants safety and quiet. They could worship God agree. ably to their own sense of duty, without molestation, and lived for many suc- ceeding years in comparative comfort.
Their condition, however, was not without distasteful circumstances. Rents and taxes were burdensome ; and in addition to the voluntary support of their own ministers, they must pay tithes for the support of the established church. It was natural for men who had suffered so much in defence of liberty, to thirst for a more perfect degree of it than was attainable under a monarchial govern- ment, an established church, and a landed aristocracy. Flattering accounts of the rich and cheap soil, plenty, and personal independence attainable in America, were wafted to them by almost every western breeze; inducing numbers to think of a removal to the New World. Early in 1718, a large company of clergymen, tradesmen, and farmers sent an agent to ascertain from Gov. Shute of Massa- chusetts on what terms they could obtain grants of land :- the agent, Rev. Mr. Boyd, received from the Governor every necessary encouragement, and carried back a report so favorable, that in the latter part of the year five vessels, laden with emigrants and their effects, sailed from the north of Ireland for Boston. On their arrival, a part of them settled in that city, and after some years founded a church, originally Presbyterian, but since known as "Federal Street Church." Another portion settled in other places in the central and western parts of Mas- sachusetts, as Lunenburg, Worcester, Palmer, Pelham, and Colraine. A third portion of these emigrants had lived in Ireland under the ministry of Rev. James McGregor, who accompanied them to America; they wished to settle
-
viii
INTRODUCTION.
together in a compact body, and to enjoy the services of Mr. McGregor as their pastor. To facilitate the exploration of the country, in order to the selection of a proper location, they divided themselves into several parties, and passed their first winter in America in different places, as Andover, Dracut, and Casco Bay.
The party who wintered at Casco Bay, near Portland in Maine, suffered much from cold and want of provisions. Not pleased with the lands in that region, they returned in spring to Haverhill, Ms., and soon selected Nutfield, since called Londonderry, as their future home. The plantation was begun April, 1719, by sixteen families, that of Mr. McGregor being one of the number ; a wise and excellent minister, whose name is held in honor to this day. Accessions poured in rapidly ; many families of their countrymen were added to them that same season ; in a few years, the church they founded in the wilderness contained about 300 communicants. They took the utmost pains to obtain a good title, both legal and moral, to their lands. Lieut. Gov. Wentworth, then presiding over New- Hampshire, essentially befriended them. From these people sprang the first settlers of Antrim, Peterboro', New-Boston, Bedford, and many other towns in New-Hampshire, Vermont, New-York, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Not improb- ably their descendants, in the United States and the British Provinces, are at this time not less than 50,000 souls ;- Parker carries the estimate much higher.
President Dwight justly pronounces Londonderry to have been the most re- spectable Scottish settlement in New-England. The settlers brought with them the foot spinning-wheel, and soon manufactured large quantities of fine linen cloth and thread, which gained in market a high reputation ; the sale of these articles in distant towns and provinces, gave to many persons a profitable em- ployment, and laid the foundation of some of the largest fortunes in the counties of Rockingham and Hillsboro'. They were the first who introduced into the State, to any considerable extent, the cultivation of the potatoe. Londonderry presented, more than a century ago, many commodious buildings and well-cul- tivated farms. Among the descendants of this people, are several of the Governors of New-Hampshire, many members of Congress, eminent ministers of the gospel, and some military men of high distinction, both in the revolution- ary war, and in that of 1812.
Many of the native New-Englanders at first regarded the settlers of London- derry with prejudice and suspicion, called them Irish, and ignorantly imagined they must be Papists. Better acquaintance dispelled these illusions, and made their English neighbors to understand that between the Scotch Irish and the proper or Celtic Irish, there was a striking difference in point of race, language, manners, and religion.
The Scotch-Irish were a people of simple habits, of little artificial refinement, but of sterling intelligence ; high-spirited, quick in their resentment, of great
ix
INTRODUCTION.
plaincss of speech ; generous in their feelings ; lovers of wit and repartee ; con- stant in their friendships ; courageous and independent in their feelings and bearing ; possessed of decp reverence for the institutions of Christianity, and immovably attached to the religious principles of their fathers. Their hospi- tality was unbounded, being freely tendered both to friend and stranger, and as readily accepted. Great frankness in avowing their religious principles was a trait of their character always prominent ; not that they were apt to obtrude the subject on others, but if what they deemed cardinal religious truths were assailcd, they were not men to stand mute. Their fearless defence of principle often ap- proached almost to that recommended by John Randolph to his colored servant, with whom he ascended a lofty mountain ; when, excited and transported by the glorious prospect spread out before him, he said, "Jack, if hereafter any body says there is no God, do you tell him he lies !"
Of two other traits of their character, truth will not permit a representation so favorable. Drinking together was regarded as a pledge of friendship, and it was thought to be a matter rather venial to drink, provided they did not get down. The other objectionable trait was a propensity to settle little personal difficulties by a boxing-match. These traits are now effaced ; or no more prom- inent among them than among those of English derivation. There were many redeeming traits : if a man had hard thoughts of a neighbor, he did not vent them in private slander; there was no " snake-in-the-grass " management ; he went with a bold step, erect gait, and loud voice to expostulate with the of- fender ; if their anger was easily kindled, it was as easily appeased, when they would be good friends as ever.
In their wedding ceremonies were some peculiarities. All their relatives, however distant in consanguinity, and the neighbors, must be invited, two or three days beforehand ; a short notice being considered as a slight. The bride- groom and his friends set out on horse-back for the abode of the bride, and were met on the way by a party of the bride's male friends and relatives :- each party selected a champion " to run for the bottle" to the house of the bride's father ; the one who arrived soonest being considered as the victor. They re- turned with the bottle to the company on the road, all drank, and then procceded together to the scene of the wedding, being saluted from the houses on the way by the firing of guns, and themselves firing a salute on their arrival at the bride's residence. If any in adjacent houses felt themselves slighted by not being in- vited, they sometimes vented their spleen by firing squibs instead of a full charge ; one instance of this kind is said to have occurred in Antrim.
At funerals, all labor was suspended, people walked miles to the house of mourning, and spirituous liquor was passed round the whole assembly, both before and after the religious service.
1*
X
INTRODUCTION.
These usages and peculiarities were quite perceptible in the early days of Antrim ; modified indeed, and somewhat assimulated to those of English origin by a half a century's residence in America ; yet presenting, at that time, points of contrast, indicative of a different race. The speech of the early settlers was considerably marked with the brogue, the broad Scottish pronunciation ; and contained some words purely Scottish. To English ears this brogue was rather pleasant ; it seemed to add force and emphasis to the expression. One of the former ministers of Londonderry having preached an election sermon before the Legislature of the State, one of the members, on a motion to print the usual number of copies, remarked that he should move to increase the number, if the brogue could be printed with the rest of it. The two races, English and Scotch-Irish, are now, in this region, so intermingled by marriage and assimilated by social intercourse that almost the last vestiges of these peculiaritics have dis- appeared ; and instead of some shade of prejudice formerly existing, there is now subsisting between them mutual respect and cordial good will.
The Scottish character has certainly a substratum of great energy and excel- Ience. The emigrants from the north of Ireland, and their immediate descend- ants in New Hampshire, were a frugal and hardy, yct gencrous and well-prin- cipled people ; diligent readers of the Bible ; strict observers of the Sabbath ; constant attendants on public worship, walking, if needful, many miles to the church rather than be absent ; great abhorrers both of Popery and Infidelity ; attentive to the moral and religious instruction of their children, taking them to the parish catechizings formerly observed in the Presbyterian church, and causing them to commit to memory perfectly, not only the shorter, but in many instances .
the longer catechism of the Westminster Assembly of Divines.
They brought with them many memorials of the "father-land," treasured up in memory, in the form of ballads, songs, stories, and " catches of history ;" most of which are now lost. Some of them met with thrilling incidents on the passage, of which we will give a sample or two. A passenger vessel, in which was a Mrs. Wilson, was taken by a pirate ship; soon after the capture Mrs. W. gave birth to a daughter, an event which so awakened the sensibilities of the pirate captain, who had a wife and children at home, that he permitted the pas- senger ship to proceed on her voyage unharmed, having given Mrs. Wilson a silk dress and other valuables, and requested that the child might be called after the name of his own wife, Mary. Among the descendants of this Mary Wilson, thus ushered into the world in the memorable " pirate ship," are some who have been natives and residents of Antrim. Another ship, which brought to this country a company of emigrants in 1740, was long talked of as " the starved ship." One of the passengers was Samuel Fisher, afterwards known as Dea. Fisher, whose descendants now amount to almostone thousand. The provisions
xi
INTRODUCTION.
were so far exhausted, that only one pint of oat-meal and a very little water re- mained to cach person. Mr. Fisher and the rest of the passengers and crew, subsisted fourteen days on one table-spoonful of meal to each person per day, moistened with salt water. They were at length driven to the dreadful necessity of feeding on the bodies of some who had died ; and at last of casting lots to determine who should die to preserve the rest ! The lot fell on Mr. Fisher ; but in the critical hour a vessel hove in sight, saw their signal of distress, and sup- plied their wants. It was said of him, " that in after life, he could never see, without pain, the least morsel of food wasted, or a pail of water thrown care- Icssly on the ground." Some Antrim families have been connected by marriage with some of his posterity.
t
CIVIL HISTORY OF ANTRIM,
FROM 1744 TO 1844.
" WE will tell you, if you listen, How a hundred years ago,
Pilgrims saw our waters glisten In the valley, far below. Where the forest, grand and lovely,
. In primeval beauty stood ;
And the wandering red men, only, Knew the windings thro' the wood.
Where our household fires are burning, Wild deer bounded, far and free :
Streams, our busy mill-wheels turning, Idly sang a song of glee ;
Where our Fathers sat beside them, After travel long and sore-
Fearing nought that could betide them, Might they find a HOME once more.
For a home they fronted danger- Wrought with rifle lying near : To all luxury a stranger Was the dauntless Pioneer. .
Noble Fathers ! silent lying In your graves, rest - stern and cold :
Still ye preach with voice undying, To your children, from the mould !
And ye tell us, 'Love each other ; Guard the homes we toiled to win-
Let no hatred of your brother, Doubt or malice entertain.
Chiefly on each household altar Keep devotion burning bright ;
Then ye will not pause or falter, In the doing of the right.' " From the Litchfield County Centennial.
INDIAN and French wars desolated many of the frontier settle- ments of New-England, during most of the period from 1675 to 1713. Explorers and hunters found it perilous to adventure far into the interior wilderness, which was traversed by Indian enemies. The only settlement then existing within the present County of Hills- boro', was Dunstable, now Nashua. The western part of the County was not only a wilderness, but a region nearly unknown. After the peace of Utrecht, 1713, enterprising settlers soon began to establish themselves in Amherst, Merrimac, Hollis, Litchfield, and the vicinity, and hunters penetrated into the valley of the Contoocook, in quest of the moose, bear, deer, beaver, and other fur-producing animals, with which the forests abounded. Tradition says that the celebrated Love- well, who fell at last in the bloody conflict with the Indians at Pe- quawket, once led a scouting party, prior to 1725, from Nashua to the present town of Washington, in search of Indians ; and the cir- cumstance that a mountain near East-Washington bears his name, lends to the tradition an air of probability. He must have passed through or near the northeast portion of Antrim. In the quarter century from 1715 to 1740, the fine valley of the Contoocook became pretty well known. Near the close of this period, Massachusetts, then claiming a large slice of the present New-Hampshire, and hop- ing that settlements formed under her auspices would strengthen her claim of jurisdiction, made several grants of land in this region :
N
14
HISTORY OF ANTRIM.
among them, that of New-Boston, 1736; of Peterboro', 1738; and of Lyndeboro' and Hillsboro' about the same time ; the grants being soon followed by the immigration of inhabitants.
In 1741, the line between Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, which had been the subject of long and violent disputes, was definitive- ly determined by the royal authority, in a manner gratifying to New- Hampshire, and distasteful to Massachusetts.
That the territory, now constituting Antrim, was the hunting- ground of Indians of the Penacook tribe, and the occasional resi- dence of some of them, is certain. Indian graves were found by an early settler on the farm, now Mr. Dow's; and traces of an ancient corn-field, the hills being distinctly visible, on the farm, now Jesse Goodell's. Indian relics of stone in various localities have been turn- ed up by the plow. An Indian stone pipe, of neat construction and tastefully ornamented, was found imbedded in sand in the crevice of a rock, near Esq. Parmenter's, where it had been perhaps for ages. The chief seats of the Penacook Indians were at Concord and Man- chester. Their Sachem, when the English first became acquainted with them, was the celebrated Passaconaway, who made his subjects believe that he was almost a Divinity ; that he could make trees dance and water burn. This tribe, once familiar with these streams and mountains, emigrated to Canada a century and a quarter ago.
There is some reason to believe that one of the parties of early English hunters, who traversed these hills and forests before a settle- ment was effected, met a tragical fate within the present limits of Antrim. More than sixty years ago, a Mr. Puffer, then living on the farm now Artemas Brown's, plowed up, on the flat, south of his house, the greater portion of the skeleton of a man. Not far distant, he discovered two old graves, each having a head and foot stone, rough, yet plainly visible. On the bank of the adjacent brook he discover- ed the ruins of a hunter's camp ; the logs being quite decayed, yet exhibiting plainly the size and form of the camp. On the side of one of the graves grew a beech tree, apparently thirty or forty years old. The appearances induced Puffer and others to believe that the bones, graves and camp, were not relics of Indians; but that a party of three hunters had been attacked by some infectious disease ; that as one died, the others buried him ; that when a second died, the survi- vor buried him also ; that when he died, none being left to bury him, his body remained above ground, was gradually covered with leaves and dust, and the bones were at length turned up by the plow. The explanation is conjectural, but perhaps the most probable that can be given.
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