USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Peterborough > History of the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire > Part 1
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Gc 974.202 P44s 1138917
Presented to Rev John G. Serned by the author.
albert Smitte
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00056 0927
M. L.
-FRICALOGY COLLECTION
350
47517.5'0
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofp00smit
Lames Miller
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF PETERBOROUGH,
.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY,
NEW HAMPSHIRE,
WITH THE
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION IN 1839; AN APPENDIX CONTAINING THE RECORDS OF THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS; AND A GENEALOGICAL AND HISTORICAL REGISTER.
BY ALBERT SMITH, M. D., LL. D.
"Memor esto majorum."
.
BOSTON: PRESS OF GEORGE H. ELLIS, . NO. 7 TREMONT PLACE. 1 87.6.
3
PREFACE. 1138917
THIS history is given to the public as it is. That it would have been better with more research and a longer time de- voted to its preparation, there can be no doubt ; but the hasten- ing years and the attendant infirmities of age admonished the writer (now past seventy-five years) that the work must soon be completed, if ever.
The work was undertaken at the earnest solicitation of friends who thought it might prove an agreeable and useful occupation, as I withdrew from the labors of an active pro- fession ; and it has now for five years engaged almost my en- tire attention. It has proved a work of great labor. Till I commenced my researches, I did not realize my own igno- rance, nor the ignorance of others of my own age, of the early history of the town. The old men of the second gener- ation, so familiar with all the early affairs of the town, were gone. Every succeeding generation knows less of its pred- ecessors, and the men of the third generation were found to be sadly deficient in any definite knowledge of their ances- tors ; so there has been little or nothing to my hand for this history. Mr. Dunbar's history is barely a sketch, which it purports to be, and is of very little value in an extended history like this. The town records have gone on uninterruptedly to the present time, but they furnish little material for history ; they do little else than furnish the dates of certain events. No town papers of any kind are found preserved, till near the beginning of the present century. The invoice is not found
4
PREFACE.
till 1792, but can then be traced down to the present time. All these sources of information have been carefully explored and used.
This history was begun too late,-not till the second genera- tion had all passed away, and the third had become old men. It is unfortunate that the second generation was suffered to pass away before any one had been found to put in a perma- nent form the large knowledge which it possessed relating to the men and events in the early history of Peterborough. I have found many descendants of the early settlers of the town lamentably deficient in the history of their own families, being able to go no farther back than their grandfathers. I have had, in numerous instances, to make up the first and often the second generations of these families as I could from other sources.
At the present time, tradition seems to have died out. Many large families have become extinct, strangers having come into their places, who knew not the fathers ; while other families have been greatly reduced by emigration and removal. Altogether, such changes have taken place that it becomes almost impossible to trace back the history of the early times.
A great loss was experienced in the destruction of the church records in the conflagration of Dea. Morison's house, in 1791. We can never know much concerning the establish- ing of the church, or of the ministries of Messrs. Morrison and Annan. This has been a great misfortune, as the history of the church in those times was the history of the town. No private diaries and no other written record of individuals have come down to us as they have done in many other towns, to throw light on these times. The fathers were men to act rather than write, and so our record comes short, no one hav- ing recorded their deeds.
Much aid has been afforded by Mr. Dunbar's "Church' Book of the Congregational Society," which he kept faithfully through his ministry of twenty-seven years,-from 1799 to 1827. All his facts and items have been found to be correct, and have greatly helped to correct dates and determine events in the town history.
5
PREFACE.
But with all the sources of information furnished, and with the helps and aids from every quarter, we must yet ask, Who is there to tell us of the habits, customs, manners, modes of life, amusements, etc., of the fathers? The third generation, now on the stage, is small and profoundly ignorant of these matters, and we can hardly go beyond conjecture on these topics.
I am especially indebted to George W. Moore, Esq., of Medina, Mich., for much information in relation to the early inhabitants of the town, and for some of the most interesting sketches of the book. His interest and help have encouraged me in every stage of my work. N. H. Morison, LL. D., Provost of the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Md., has made many researches, and examined much historical record out of my reach, and kindly looked over my manuscript before pub- lishing. I wish gratefully to acknowledge his continued in- terest and encouragement in all stages of my labors. I am also not less indebted to John H. Morison, D. D., for substan- tial aid to the book, as well as an encouraging word to the writer amid the perplexity of his researches.
I am also especially indebted to Dr. David Youngman, of Boston, for the very efficient aid he has rendered me in the various stages of my labor. During the past winter, and through a long indisposition in the spring, he has been my agent and manager in all matters relating to this history. He has not only furnished important facts and items, but very largely assisted in correcting proofs.
He also had the entire charge of the lithographic engrav- ings, some of which were obtained by his own exertions, and all of them received his personal oversight. Although a few were obtained from old, faded pictures, they reflect great credit on him and the Messrs. Bufford, the gentlemanly and accomplished artists.
The author and readers of this history are also indebted to Dr. Youngman for the very full and well-arranged index at the close of the volume.
I have also been indebted to many others for genealogical records, whose aid I have acknowledged in its proper place in the book.
6
PREFACE.
But for the interest and encouragement of a few friends, being left generally to work out the history as I could, I should have faltered and failed in my enterprise, so great and complicated were the difficulties that environed me.
The book now goes forth in the Centennial year, as the last and only tribute we can pay to the fathers who were on the stage a century ago. It is with regret we say that perhaps the best part of their history is unrelated, having passed out of the recollection of any one living ; yet what little we have saved is now put into a permanent form for another century.
ALBERT SMITH.
PETERBOROUGH, N. H., Sept. 1, 1876.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
GRANT AND LAYING OUT OF THE TOWN IN 1738, 17-30
The Objects of History. - Characters of the First Set- tlers. - Use of Town Histories. - Scanty Materials for the Same .- Decrease of the Early Families. - Town had its Origin in a Spirit of Speculation. - Petition to Massachusetts Legislature. - Petition Granted. - Act became a Law in 1738. - Grantees Admitted, Survey Made, 1738. - East Mountain not Included. - Starting Point. - Report of Surveyor. - Accepted and Town Granted. - Grantees Selected. - All Falls into the Hands of Four. - Their Character and Object. - First Meeting and Drawing Lots. - Proprietors' Meeting in Town, 1753 .- Surveys in Town, 1738. - A Farm to each Proprietor of 500 Acres. - Masonian Proprietors Quit- claim their Right, 1748, by Agreement. - Conditions. - Early Surveys of Little Value.
CHAPTER II.
ACCOUNT OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH, 31-38.
Character of Early Settlers .- Intelligent .- Stern Presby- terians. - Persecutions. - Emigration to Ireland. - Their Hardships. - History of the Scotch-Irish. - Irish Rebel- lion and Confiscation. - Second Rebellion. - Repeoplin from Scotland. - Principally about 1610 .- One Com- pany from London. - Prosperity. - Persecution of Pres-
8
CONTENTS.
byterians in Scotland. - Claverhouse sent against them. -Contest from 1670 to 1688 .- Presbyterians Rush to Ireland. - Ulster County Prosperous. - Exactions of Government .- Advance of Rents .- Emigrate in great Numbers .- Beginning Eighteenth Century .- Landlords Alarmed. - First and Second Emigration. - Settled in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, &c .- Character of these Men. - Number of Descendants .- Service in the Revolution. - All Loyal .- Their Perseverance.
CHAPTER III.
SETTLEMENT,
Uncertainty as to the Early Settlers. - Names. - All came to Town. - Time of Settlement. - How Fixed. - Petition. - Time of Centennial. - Small Party, 1742 .- Morison and Russell, 1743. - Visit of Indians to their Camp. - Their Theft. - Return to Townsend. - Frontier Line .- Danger of Settlement. - Causes that Retarded the Settlement of the Town. - No Permanent Settle- ments till 1749 .- After Close of War of 1744 and the Quitclaim of the Masonian Proprietors. - Tardiness to Comply with it. - Causes.
39-50
CHAPTER IV.
PETITION FOR INCORPORATION, 1759, 51-57
Name of the Town. - How Obtained. - Early Method Naming Towns. - Account of Earl Peterborough. - Not on Proprietors' Records till 1753. - Petition for Incorpo- ration. - Town Charter. - First Meeting. - Record of Town Meetings. - Entire Loss of Town Papers. - Mate- rials for Early History Sparse.
CHAPTER V.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY SETTLERS, 58-68
No Permanent Settlements till 1749. - All Residences before Temporary. - Great Increase from 1749 to 1759. - Causes. - Not Checked by the War of 1754. - Rea- sons. - Loyalty of the First Settlers, and Disasters to them. - The First Settlers of the Town.
9
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
HOME LIFE, 69-73
Home Life. - Apparent Austerity. - Fun and Humor. - Daily Family Worship. - Industry of all. - Hard Condi- tion of Women. - Effects of Bible. - Intelligence of Settlers. - How Obtained. - Diet. - Wild Game. - Fish. - No Luxuries. - Articles Used. - Abundant. - Mode of Dressing. - Probably Insufficient. - Poor Dwellings. - All Attended Meeting. - Inconveniences.
CHAPTER VII.
HOME MANUFACTURES, 74-77
Home Manufactures. - Flax preceded Wool. - Wolves Common .- Process of Preparing Wool. - Articles Manu- factured. - No Machinery but Home-made, Cheap, and Rude. - Was a Business. - Prices. - Flax Culture a Great Business. - Flax Crop Profitable. - Process of Preparing Flax. - Great Skill. - All Families Engaged in Manufacture. - Decline after Revolution. - All now Passed Away.
CHAPTER VIII.
AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL HABITS, 78-82
Difficulties of the Subject. - The Use of Spirit .- Its Dangers not known. - Its Excess an Abuse. - Wrestling an Amusement. - Quoits. - Social Gatherings. - Mode of Recreation. - Spirits used Freely. - Conversation Useful and Instructive. - Various kinds of Recreations. - Raisings, Huskings, Log-rollings, Quiltings, Apple- parings, and Parties to Destroy Wild Game. - Trainings and Musters. - Election Days .- Horse Racing and the Horse Jockeys. - Bowling Alleys.
.
CHAPTER IX.
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS, 83-102
First Meeting-houses. - Rev. John Morrison. - His Scan- dalous Ministry according to a Petition from Inhabitants 2
10
CONTENTS.
of Town to be Released from his Support. - Dismission. - Settlement Rev. David Annan. - His Ministry. - Complaint of Elder Moore. - Dismission. - Calls to Rev. Abram Moore and to Rev. Zephaniah S. Moore, D.D. - Ordination of Rev. Elijah Dunbar. - His Ministry. - Causes of Dismission. - The Different Ministers in Congregational Unitarian Society. - Presbyterian Soci- ety. - Formation of New Society. - Methodist and Bap- tist Societies. - Catholic Church.
CHAPTER X.
EDUCATION, 103-112
Schools before Incorporation. - No Money Raised from 1760 to 1772. - The Sums Raised and Expended for this Purpose to 1790. - Five New School-houses Built in 1790. - Agents Appointed for Schools. - Long Struggle to Obtain a School-house in No. I .- Description of the New School-houses and Mode of Warming. - Districts Defined and Numbered. - The Old School-houses Re- placed in 1824 by Seven Brick School-houses. - Peter- borough Academy. - High School.
CHAPTER XI.
LIBRARIES AND TOWN LIBRARY,
Social Library, 1811. - Another Started by Dr. Abbot. - Union and Phoenix Libraries. - Peterborough Minis- terial Library. - Town Library Established in 1833. - Edwards' Definition of a Town Library. - Correspond- ence with Commissioner of Education. - The Claims of Salisbury, Ct., and Castine, Me., Considered. - First Pro- ceedings of Town in .Relation to its Library. - First Appropriation. - First Library Committee. - Appropria- tions made since 1833. - Various Aids and Donations. - A Fund of $1000 Raised by Rev. A. M. Pendleton. - Names of Donors of Money and Books. - Number of Books, March 1, 1876.
.
I13-123
11
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY, .
. 124-137
College Graduates. - Lawyers. - Those Educated as Lawyers, and Settled Elsewhere. - Clergymen. - Physi- cians. - Those who became Physicians, and Settled Else- where.
CHAPTER XIII.
MUNICIPAL, 138-143
The Record of Town Meetings. - List of Moderators. - Town Clerks. - Selectmen. - Treasurers. - Representa- tives. - Committee of Safety.
CHAPTER XIV.
MILITARY AFFAIRS, 144-175
No Records of the Military. - Efficient Military Train- ing. - French and Indian Wars. - American Revolution. - Association Test. - Men who Served in the Revolu- tion. - At Battle of Bunker Hill. - War of 1812. - The Late Rebellion. - Men in Service. - Soldiers' Monu- ment.
CHAPTER XV.
PAUPERISM, -
176-180
Few Paupers Early .- Increased by the Revolution. - Jean Culberson. - Warning out of Town. - Lydia Peram. - Widow Mary Swan. - Margaret Caldwell and New Boston. - A Cow Lent to Jona. Barnett. - Dr. Young Aided. - William Powers. - Selling Paupers at Auction. - Poor Let Out on Contract. - Purchase of a Town Farm.
12
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
HIGHWAYS, .
181-194
Legislation on Roads in Town Meeting. - Roads Poor before Incorporation. - A Road Cut and Cleared by Pro- prietors from Meeting-House to New Ipswich in 1738. - Object of Incorporation to Improve the Roads. - The Roads in Town.
CHAPTER. XVII.
MANUFACTURES, 195-207 Bell Factory. - Phoenix. - Eagle. - South. - North. - Union Manufacturing Co. - Paper Manufacture. - Wool- len Manufacture. - Peg Mill. - Stone Grist Mill. - Bas- ket Shop. - Manufacture of Barometers and Thermome- ters. - Manufacture of Hand-Cards for Cotton and Wool. - Machine Shop and Foundry. - Marble and Granite Works. - Briggs' Manufactory of Portable and Patent Piano-Stools.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TOPOGRAPHY, .
208-219
Situation of the Town, etc .- Village .- Little Waste Land at First .- East Mountain Added. - Uneven in its Sur- face. - Best Portions of It .- Forests. - Letter of S. J. Todd, Esq. - Forests Destroyed and Land Deteriorated. - Small Growth of Wood now. - Game has all Disap- peared. - Climate not Materially Changed. - Salubrious. - Longevity Increased. - Causes. - Rivers. - Contoo- cook. - Nubanusit. - Brooks. - Arboreal Products. - Wild Fruit. - Wild Animals. - Insects Injurious to Veg- 'etation. - Putnam's Grove.
CHAPTER XIX.
CEMETERIES AND BURIALS, . 220-226
Three Cemeteries in Town. - The Little Cemetery .- Old Cemetery. - First Burials in It. - Gravestones
13 .
CONTENTS.
Neglected. - Village Cemetery, 1833, with Two Acres. - Its Gravestones and Monuments. - Pine Hill Ceme- tery, Purchased 1867, Dedicated July 4, 1869. - First Burials in Town. - Customs at Funerals. - First Hearse, ISO2. - Second Hearse in 1868. - A Sexton Appointed by Town.
CHAPTER XX.
MISCELLANEOUS, . . 227-243
Town Hall. - Monadnock Railroad. - Masonry. - Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. - Banks. - Newspapers. - Temperance. - Casualties. - Town Clock. - Fire En- gines. - Surplus Revenue. - Osgood Gratuity. - Post- Office. - Population.
CHAPTER XXI.
CONCLUSION,
. 244-252
Difficulties of the Work. - Changes in Town. - Number of Families Left or Extinct. - Present Descendants. - Comparative Merits of the Descendants with their An- cestors. - Character of the Adopted Citizens. - Number and Character of the Professional Men.
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION IN 1839, . 253-339
APPENDIX, .
· 340-360
GENEALOGICAL AND HISTORICAL REGISTER.
.
INDEX. 5
ILLUSTRATIONS.
JAMES MILLER, Faces Title Page.
ALBERT SMITH,
Faces Page 17
SAMUEL SMITH,.
66
66
197
A. P. MORRISON,
66
66 201
WILLIAM MOORE, 66
66
205
JOHN H. MORISON,
66
66
253
JEREMIAH SMITH (Steel),
66 288
JOHN H. STEELE,
66
324
MAP OF TOWNSHIP,
66
357
IN THE GENEALOGY.
ABIEL ABBOT
. Faces Page
4
T. K. AMES,
P. C. CHENEY,
66
66
49
JOHN FIELD,
66
SI
WHITCOMB FRENCH,.
66
66
88
NATHANIEL HOLMES,
66
66
I13
FREDERICK LIVINGSTON,
66
66
136
SAMUEL MILLER,
66
66
173
N. H. MORISON,
66
195
R. D. MUSSEY,
208
JAMES SCOTT,
246
ALBERT S. SCOTT,
66
251
JAMES SMITH, ..
66
66
261
ROBERT SMITH,
66
66
273
JAMES SMITH (Steel),
66
66
274
WM. H. SMITH, 66
66
282
SAMUEL A. SMITH,
66
66
285
N. W. FARWELL,
66
66 345
D. YOUNGMAN,
66
66 363
66
66
39
D. B. CUTTER,
66 157
GEO. W. MOORE,
66
275
JEREMIAH SMITH,
5I
JONAS LIVINGSTON,
Bufford's Lith. Boston.
albert Smith.
1
HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
CHAPTER I.
GRANT AND LAYING OUT OF THE TOWN IN 1738.
The Objects of History. - Characters of the First Settlers. - Use of Town Histories. - Scanty Materials for the Same .- Decrease of the Early Families. - Town had its Origin in a Spirit of Specula- tion. - Petition to Massachusetts Legislature. - Petition Granted. - Act became a Law in 1738. - Grantees Admitted, Survey Made, 1738. - East Mountain not Included. - Starting Point. - Report of Sur- veyor. - Accepted and Town Granted. - Grantees Selected. - All Falls into the Hands of Four. - Their Character and Object. - First Meeting and Drawing Lots. - Proprietors' Meeting in Town, 1753. - Surveys in Town, 1738. - A Farm to each Proprietor of 500 Acres. - Masonian Proprietors Quitclaim their Right, 1748, by Agree- ment. - Conditions. - Early Surveys of Little Value.
THE object of history is to develop the causes, the first germs or movement of things, as well as to relate the events themselves, that occur in consequence. Local history is perhaps, in many respects, much less important than general, but nevertheless it is of great value to the localities to which it pertains, and to the descendants of those concerned in the historical record.
It can never cease to be a matter of surprise and wonder how the early pioneers of the forbidding soil and climate of New Hampshire rushed upon their lands and beat their way amid all the difficulties and privations of such an adventure, and finally, surmounting all obstacles, attained an eminent
3
18
HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
success. It is to be remembered that the soil was then in its virgin state, and was very productive, even with inadequate cultivation, when to us now it requires vigorous muscular power and strong fertilizers to yield much return. Yet very much of this success was due to the men, to their persevering spirit, and enlightened will. History must tell us of these men. They were not an ordinary race, not men of grovelling appetites, of low, mean aspirations, or narrow-minded views ; but they were strong-minded, earnest, cheerful and hopeful. And then they were religious in the best sense of the word, - and that made good moral, conscientious men. If they knew little of other books, they knew their Bible well. Such men were adequate to anything. They boldly plunged into the dense forests, sat down with their families, almost isolated from the world, and there worked with patience and perse- verance for a good home and a good inheritance, with all the comforts of life. And how fortunate for us and our country that our fathers possessed this bold enterprise and courage, even if it often impelled them, as it did, to very frequent changes from one place to another.
Town histories are not generally of much interest, except to the descendants of the early inhabitants and those con- cerned in its present administration ; yet there are points in all these productions that are of great value in making up the rise and progress of the country, and in accounting for the opinions and conduct of the inhabitants. It has its difficulties equal to any other history, if not even more. The early settlers were unlettered men, little accustomed to commit their thoughts to written language, with only enough of the rudiments of learning to transact their business ; and it was not to be expected that any written record of them should come down to us. We have hardly anything for a long series of years but the scanty and unsatisfactory record of the town- meetings. We have not been so fortunate as to find a diary of a single individual in all this region, and only one thing of value has come to us; viz., the Church Records of Rev. E. Dunbar, during his ministry from 1799 to 1827. This has been of great value, as to dates of deaths and marriages, and
19
THE TOWN IN 1738.
has been found to be perfectly correct and reliable, as compared with other sources of . information. Perhaps we should not omit to mention that the old Cemetery has often been almost the only history that could be obtained of a few individuals. So imperfect and scanty are the materials of history in the town that, in many instances, we cannot tell where the early settlers lived, where at the time of their death, or what became of their families. Tradition can help us but little. Many of the old and influential families have faded out so entirely as not to leave a trace behind them; and others, that have left descendants, are no better, as they know little or nothing of their ancestors. Of the large and influential families of Todd, Templeton, Swan, Alld, Stuart, Cunningham, Mitchell, Ritchie, Ferguson, and many more, not a single individual of their name remains in the town ; and of the large families of Steele Robbe, Smith, Holmes, Moore, and Morison, their numbers are greatly lessened, and they are growing less every year. This presents an unfavorable prospect to an historian of the town, for he has, in many cases, neither written nor tradi- tional aid on which he can rely. But this history, such as it is, is presented to the public with all its imperfections.
We have every reason to believe that the first conception of the township, which afterwards took the name of Peterborough, had its entire origin in the speculative spirit of the petitioners to the Massachusetts Legislature, which was then supposed to have jurisdiction over this unappropriated territory. Not one of these petitioners or of the proprietors ever settled on this soil. It might have been a mode of proceeding suited to the times, and was encouraged, though urged on false pre- tences, as a means of more rapidly increasing the settlement.
At a meeting of the Great and General Court of Massachu- setts, assembled Dec. 5, 1737, Samuel Heywood and others urge their petition as follows : "That in the year 1721 they humbly preferred their petition to the Great and General Court then sitting, praying, for the reasons then mentioned, they might be granted a tract of land on Souhegan River for a township, being without land for their posterity, and desirous they should not remove from out of the province, but settle
20
HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
together under the laws and liberties of this government, where they were born; that the honorable House of Repre- sentatives then passed a vote in favor of them, but, the Indian War then breaking out, they dropped their petition, and that ever since they have held together, and have often petitioned this honorable Court for a tract of unappropriated land for a township."
They go on to say, "that, although they received much encouragement, but by the carelessness and indiscretion of those who appeared for the petitioners, their petition never passed this honorable Court till the year 1735, when they voted them a township of six miles square, but voted that they should be grantees of one of the line towns, and having made choice of one, the honorable Committee of the General Court assigned that township to the Hopkinton petitioners, which, although they do not doubt the justice of it, so far broke our Committee measures, and discouraged them, that they left their trust and companions, and most of them were admitted grantees in other townships. But, however, the far · greater number of the petitioners kept to their first intention of settling together, though this accident made them quite irresolute for a season, and was the occasion that, hitherto, they have unhappily failed of it. Whereupon, the petitioners would humbly represent to your Excellency and honors that their design of settling together was, as they conceive, lauda- ble in itself, and conducing to the public good, in cultivating the waste land of the Province, that they have a long while persevered in this design from the year 1721." The above petition was signed by forty-nine persons, and a grant of un- appropriated land for a township six miles square, situated on what was commonly called the line of towns, was made, on the supposition that this territory was in the Province of Massachusetts. The following are the proceedings : -
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