USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire in history; or, The contribution of the Granite state to the development of the nation > Part 1
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Gc 974.2 M56n 1531236
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01085 8709
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/newhampshireinhi00metc_0
DANIEL WEBSTER (From his last portrait.)
Reproduction by Kimball Studio, Concord, N. H.
NEW HAMPSHIRE IN HISTORY &
OR
The Contribution of the Granite State to the Development of the Nation
BY
c 74.2 HENRY HARRISON METCALF
156- State Historian Under Governor Samual D. Felker; President N. H. Old Home Week Association; Secretary N. H. Ter-Centenary Commission
CONCORD,
- NEW HAMPSHIRE
1922
PRINTED BY W. B. RANNEY COMPANY BOUND BY CRAGG BINDERY Concord, New Hampshire
1531236
FOREWORD
The basis of this little volume is a lecture which was originally prepared for delivery before the Conway Woman's Club, in March 1921, and which was repeated, with some additions, under the auspices of the Men's Club of the Universalist Church in Concord, a year later. On each of these occasions there was a very intelligent and appreciative audience in attendance, among those present in Concord being Governor Brown, Secretary of State Bean, and Judge Corning, President of the New Hampshire Historical Society, as well as many others of prominence, all of whom expressed great satisfaction with the lecture, and the hope that it might be published, in some form, in the near future.
In view of these expressions and the fact that in Old Home Week of 1923 the 300th anniversary of the settlement of the State, at Portsmouth and Dover in the spring of 1623, is to be formally celebrated, by virtue of a joint resolution passed by the last Legislature, providing for a Commission to make the preliminary arrangements therefor, the lecture in question, somewhat elaborated and extended, is presented in the following pages, illustrated by por-
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traits of a few of those persons whose lives and labors have been a part of New Hamp- shire's contribution to the life and progress of the nation at large.
From early boyhood the writer has been interested in the history of New Hamp- shire, and particularly in the lives of those who have aided in giving the state the proud position it holds among the states of the Union. What first called his atten- tion in this direction was a little poem on "New Hampshire," published in the old "Boston Cultivator," about 75 years ago, the only lines of which he can now recall being these:
"Her names of Burke and Woodbury, Of Webster and of Cass, Pierce, Greeley, Hale and Atherton, No sister states surpass."
It was not until many years later that the identity of the author of this poem, which appeared over the pen name of "Jack," who subsequently became one of the successful educators of the country and who is mentioned in the body of this work, became known to the writer.
If there ever was a time when the thought of every loyal resident, or absent son and daughter, of the old Granite State should be turned toward its grand, historic record, and the lives and achievements of
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FOREWORD
those who have made that record what it is, that time is now, upon the near approach of the great anniversary occasion to which reference has been made. If this modest publication shall contribute in any meas- ure to the furtherance of such object; if it shall stimulate in the minds of any a deep- er love for the state of their birth or the home of their adoption, and stronger pride in its magnificent contribution to the na- tion's history and especially if it shall call effective attention of those in authority to the crying need of a simple, but compre- hensive history of New Hampshire, for universal use in our public schools, the writer will feel abundantly rewarded for his work.
HENRY H. METCALF.
Concord, N. H., 1922.
NEW HAMPSHIRE IN HISTORY
The strongest incentive to future prog- ress is the knowledge of past achieve- ment, in individual, state or national life. Familiarity with local, state or national history develops civic pride, which is the basis of true patriotism and the surest guaranty of loyal citizenship.
New Hampshire is one of the smallest states in the Union. Territorially it em- braces less than one 300th part of the en- tire forty-eight states. Its soil is rugged; its climate severe, and all its conditions ad- verse to the prolific production of material wealth; yet through the patient industry and sturdy effort of those who have tilled its soil in generations past, it has produced larger crops per acre than any other state.
It is reported that once on a time an in- quisitive Westerner asked a distinguished representative of the state what they rais- ed in New Hampshire: He replied-"They raise men," using the term, of course in a generic sense, including men and women. In this he was, indeed, right. More men and women, who have made a marked im- press for good upon the life of the nation at large, have been born in New Hampshire than in any other State in the Union, in
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proportion to population, and it would al- most be safe to say it without the qualifica- tion as to population.
The struggle against the adverse condi- tions, to which reference has been made, has contributed to the fuller development of the physical, mental and moral powers of the people, so that, at home or abroad, whenever their lot has been cast, the sons and daughters of New Hampshire have made a record in character and achieve- ment, comparing most favorably with that of any other State.
Some inquiring person who looked the matter up, finds that of the 23,000 men and women whose names were found in the 1919 edition of "Who's Who in America," 352, or one in every 65, were born in New Hampshire, although the total population of the State is less than one 250th part of the total of the country at large.
The people of a state which has con- tributed so much to the life and progress of the nation should be proud of its his- tory, and teach their children to cherish a like sentiment of loyalty and devotion. I venture to suggest, moreover, that the study of New Hampshire history should be made a part of the curriculum, in all the schools of the State above the primary grades, and that the state government
JOHN LANGDON
Reproduction by Kimball Studio, Concord, N. H.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE IN HISTORY
should take steps, at once, to secure the compilation and publication of a proper text book for use in the schools in carrying out such purpose.
Of the 258 cities and towns in the state, only about 75, or less than one-third of the entire number, have published histories, and many of these are of comparatively ancient date and far from being complete. It is most desirable that every town, which has not already done so, should take meas- ures at once to secure the preparation and publication of as complete and accurate a history as possible.
It is not my purpose, here, to deal with the history of New Hampshire, in general or detail. To do either in a satisfactory manner would require an extended series of addresses whose publication would fill a large volume. I am simply to speak of "New Hampshire in History"-to con- sider, briefly, New Hampshire's part in the upbuilding of our republic-its contribu- tion to the life of the nation and the prog- ress of the world. Some reference, how- ever, to the beginnings of the State and the development of its government may prop- erly be made in the outset.
What white man, or men, first saw the New Hampshire coast is now unknown. The Norse explorers of the 10th century,
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may or may not have landed at Hampton Beach, as some ancient legends have it. Whether they did or not is immaterial; nor does it matter whether or not Bartholo- mew Gosnold, the early English explorer, who visited the coast of Maine in 1602, and made his way thence to Cape Cod, observ- ed any part of New Hampshire as he pur- sued his voyage. It seems to be admitted that Martin Pring, who came over from England in 1603, with an expedition of 43 men, in two small vessels, was the first Englishman who really visited the New Hampshire coast. He is credited with having sailed up the Piscataqua River for several miles, and must consequently have seen, if he did not land upon, the territory now occupied by Portsmouth and Dover.
In the following year a French expedi- tion under De Monts, who was accom- panied by Champlain, sailed along the same coast, and on the 16th day of July, as Champlain writes, a party from the ex- pedition made a landing at a point or cape, since determined to be Odiorne's Point in the present town of Rye, where they met some of the natives and gave them small presents. This is the first credible ac- count of the landing of any white men on the New Hampshire shore. Nothing came however, of the visits of either Pring or
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De Monts, and it was not until after the visit of Capt. John Smith, with a small party from his Monhegan Island expedi- tion, to the Isles of Shoals, in the summer of 1614, that any attention was directed to this region. He made a map of the coast, and gave a glowing description of the coun- try on his return to England. To the islands, which he traversed extensively, he gave his own name, calling them "Smith's Islands," and at his suggestion the name of New England was applied to the country at large.
In 1622 Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason received from the King of England a grant of all the territory be- tween the Merrimack and Sagadohoc rivers, and running back to the great lakes, the same being then named "Laconia." They proceeded to form a company, with a view to settlement, and in the following spring sent over an expedition, in two parties, one headed by David Thompson, and the other by Edward and William Hil- ton. Thompson's party landed at Little Harbor, then included in the territory of Portsmouth or "Strawberry Bank," but now in Rye; while the Hiltons went up the river to Dover Point, and there located. A year or two later Thompson and his party, who had become dissatisfied with
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their location, abandoned the same and re- moved to an island in Boston Harbor, and it was not till several years later that any permanent settlement was made at Ports- mouth. The Dover settlement continued, however, and was undoubtedly the first permanent settlement in the state .* Here, in 1633, the first church building in New Hampshire was erected, the present First Parish Church in Dover being its legiti- mate successor.
In her thrilling poem, entitled "New Hampshire," written for the 250th anni- versary celebration of the settlement of the state, by the N. H. Historical Society; Edna Dean Proctor, New Hampshire's female poet laureate, speaks as follows:
"A goodly realm, said Captain Smith, Scanning the coast by the Isles of Shoals,
While the wind blew fair as in Indian myth, Blows the breeze from the land of souls; Blew from the marshes of Hampton, spread Level and green that summer day,
And over the brow of Great Boar's Head,
From the pines that stretched to the West away. And sunset died on the rippling sea,
Ere to the south, with the wind, sailed he. But he told the story in London streets
*This is in accordance with the account adopted by Bel- knap and other early historians; but recent writers have sought to make it appear that the Dover settlement was not made until a later indefinite date.
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And again to court and prince and king. "A truce," men cried, "to Virginia heats- The North is the land of Hope and Spring !" And in sixteen hundred and twenty-three, For Dover meadows and Portsmouth river, Bold and earnest, they crossed the sea, And the realm was theirs and ours forever !"
For fifteen years these settlements re- mained the only white settlements within the limits of what is now the state of New Hampshire. Fishing and trading with the Indians were the primary objects of the first settlers, and no more attention was paid to agriculture than was absolutely necessary for the maintenance of life for the first few years, notwithstanding the superior richness of the soil in the ad- jacent country, where now are found some of the finest farms in the state.
In 1638 two other settlements were made -one at Hampton and one at Exeter, the former headed by Rev. Stephen Bachilor, and the latter by Rev. John Wheelock, both noted religious leaders of their day, and the settlements largely made up of their devoted followers.
These four settlements-Dover, Ports- mouth, Hampton and Exeter-were prac- tically all there were in the province for more than 40 years, their grants cover- ing the entire eastern portion of what is 2
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now Rockingham county and the larger part of Strafford. Each had its own local government and enacted its own laws, though acknowledging allegiance to the British crown, and nominally under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. It may prop- erly be stated that there were fishing set- tlements on the Isles of Shoals, which were partly within New Hampshire limits, though of transient and changing nature, nearly if not quite as early as any on the mainland, but there is no recorded evidence of any government or organization there, till considerably later.
In March 1679-80 a separate government was set up for the New Hampshire prov- ince, with a Governor, or President as then called, Council and Assembly,-the Governor and Council being named by the King and the Assembly chosen by the people of the several towns or settlements. John Cutt was appointed President. The call for the Assembly included the names of the men in the several settlements en- titled to vote of whom there were 71 in Portsmouth, 60 in Dover, 57 in Hampton and 20 in Exeter.
This first General Assembly of New Hampshire, which met at Portsmouth on the 16th day of March, 1679-80, enacted a "body of laws," establishing courts, pro-
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viding for trial by jury, prescribing severe penalties for various crimes, levying taxes, fixing the age of majority, etc. Represen- tatives were chosen annually thereafter, and the assembly met once each year, or oftener, Portsmouth being the meeting place for the first four assemblies. The fifth met at Great Island or Newcastle, as it is now known, which had formerly been a part of Portsmouth. Subsequently the meetings were sometimes held in Ports- mouth and sometimes in Newcastle.
It was not until the Eighth Assembly, in 1692, that a representative appeared from any settlement outside the four originally named. At that time one came in from the Isles of Shoals, the southern portion of which belonged to New Hampshire and subsequently became the town of Gosport, where quite a settlement of fishermen was located.
Meanwhile, from December 20, 1686, New Hampshire became a part of the Royal Province of New England, including all the territory now included in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, to which Connecticut was subsequently added, which arrangement continued about three years; then followed a year with no province government at all, and in 1690 a union with Massachusetts
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was effected which continued till 1692, when separate government for New Hamp- shire was again established.
In the Tenth Assembly, which held two sessions, in Newcastle, October 18, 1693 to May 24, 1694, that town first had represen- tation, two delegates appearing therefor, while Dover had three, Portsmouth three, Exeter two, Hampton three, and the Isles of Shoals one. The Fourteenth Assembly which held two sessions, met once in Hamp- ton. In the Twenty-third Assembly, cov- ering the time from July, 1704 to Novem- ber, 1714, the town of Kingston (then known as Kingstown) had a representative. Stratham came in, in the Twenty-sixth, in 1716, and Hampton Falls in the Twenty- eighth, in 1718. Rye was the next town to have representation, then Londonderry,
Greenland, Newington and Durham, fol- lowed, later, by Newmarket. Concord came in, in the Forty-third assembly, in 1745, as did Chester and South Hampton, and there were gradual accessions, as set- tlements had been extended, till, in 1775, there were thirty-four towns and places, represented by thirty five members, some having two or more members, and some members representing two or more classed towns each.
Many towns had been established in the
GEN. JOHN SULLIVAN
Reproduction by Kimball Studio, Concord, N. H.
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southern part of the province, up the Merrimack valley, in the southwestern section and along up the Connecticut, and the province had been divided into five counties-Rockingham, Strafford, Hills- borough, Cheshire and Grafton. The set- tlers had endured hardship and privation, suffered from Indian depredations, hard winters and crop failures, but had develop- ed strength of character and a spirit of in- dependence.
It was about this time that New Hamp- shire began to take a prominent part in the making of American history, although the people of the province had rendered their full share of service in the French and Indian wars in the middle of the century, which had resulted twice in the siege and capture of Louisburg by the forces under command of Sir William Pepperell, a New Hampshire man; the reduction and cap- ture of Crown Point, and the conquest and capture of Canada from the French. More than 2,500 New Hampshire men had been engaged in the service, of whom 500 had been engaged in the last seige of Louis- burg and as many at Crown Point.
The independent spirit had begun to as- sert itself, however, at an even earlier date. The Assembly, elected by and re- sponsible to the people, had all along claim-
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ed the right to determine who should be admitted to membership therein, and re- fused to allow men to occupy seats who had been called by the Governor from places not previously represented. This disagreement became so sharp that during the entire life of the Forty-fifth General Assembly, from 1749 to 1751 inclusive, there was no legislation at all enacted.
The impositions put upon the colonies by the British government had long been resented. The Stamp Act, followed by the tax on tea, and other oppressive im- posts, had so aroused the indignation of the people that armed resistance seemed imminent; while the manifest purpose of the government to enforce its edicts by military power kindled the fire of revolu- tion in the popular mind.
It was on New Hampshire soil, on the night of December 17, 1774, that the first overt act of the Revolution was perform- ed. This was the assault upon Fort Wil- liam and Mary, at Newcastle, by a party of patriots, led by John Sullivan of Durham and John Langdon of Portsmouth, which resulted in the capture and taking away of a large quantity of gunpowder and other munitions, the small garrison being taken by surprise and no bloodshed ensuing. This powder, by the way, as is generally
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known, was furnished to the patriot forces, who fought at Bunker Hill, nearly two- thirds of whom were New Hampshire men under Stark and Reid, stationed at the "rail fence," who held their ground and covered the retreat of the Massachusetts men from the hill, thus preventing the threatened rout, and turning what seemed at first a disastrous defeat into a practical victory for the patriot forces, in that it demonstrated their valor, and ability to resist effectively the trained forces of Great Britain. . It was in this contest, that one of the bravest and most promising of New Hampshire's soldiers lost his life- Maj. Andrew McClary of Epsom, who was struck by a stray cannon shot near the close of the action.
The population of New Hampshire at this time, as shown by the census of 1775, was 82,200. Portsmouth, then regarded as the capital, was by far the largest town, having a population of 4,590. Second in population was Londonderry, then includ- ing what is now Derry, Windham, a part of Manchester, and some other territory, which then had 2,590 inhabitants. Exeter had 1,741, Dover 1,666, Rochester 1,548,
Amherst 1,428 and Durham 1,214.
It is proper to mention that from May 17, 1774, till January 1776, no legislation was
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enacted in the province, and no regularly constituted government existed during a considerable portion of the time. The Assembly, whose members were chosen by
the people, and were generally imbued with a patriotic spirit and a disregard for the royal prerogative, could not, or would not, conform to the demands of the Gov- ernor, Sir John Wentworth, who, while a native of the province, and sincerely de- sirous of promoting its material interests, was a thorough loyalist, and would brook nothing which, to his mind, smacked of disloyalty to the King and mother country.
Because of the disloyal or insubordinate spirit manifested, the Governor had dis- missed the General Assembly in June, 1774. He soon came to realize that revolution was "in the air." His efforts to secure men to go to the assistance of Gen. Gage, the British commander in Boston, in the erec- tion of barracks for his troops, were un- availing, as nobody would respond, and his proclamation ordering the arrest and pun- ishment of the men engaged in the assault on Fort William and Mary, fell flat and was utterly ignored. He remained in Portsmouth, however, for some time long- er, though little respect was shown for his authority by the people generally, and he was subjected at times to actual indignity,
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so that he finally repaired to the fort, and in August, 1775, embarked for Boston, re- maining some time under the protection of the British fleet or army, and later depart- ing for England, where he remained till the close of the war.
It is proper to remark in this connection that Sir John Wentworth, whose knightly title came later in life, was really the best, the most enterprising and progressive, of all the royal governors. He was a pioneer in the cause of advanced education, and was mainly instrumental in the establish-
ment of Dartmouth College. He really originated the "Summer home" movement, which in later years has done so much to promote the prosperity of the State, by establishing a summer home for himself on the shore of Smith's Pond, (since called Lake Wentworth in his honor) in Wolfe- boro, and erecting there a fine residence. Moreover he did more than all his prede- cessors to promote the building of roads in the province, extending them to the new settlements, and particularly to the north- ward, with the view of making direct com- munication with Canada, a scheme which had it not been interrupted by war might ultimately have made Portsmouth instead of Boston the great commercial city of
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New England, and the main seaport of the North Atlantic coast.
But although government under royal prerogative had disappeared, the people of the colony were alive to their own interests, and representatives, duly chosen from the several towns, met in convention or Con- gress to consider the situation and take such action as might be deemed expedient. Five of these Provincial Congresses were called and held between July, 1774 and December, 1775, all at Exeter. The first of these met July 21, 1774, having been called through the action of the members of the Assembly which although dissolved by the Governor, had been recalled by the Committee of Correspondence,-a body whose previous appointment by the Assembly had been ob- jected to by the Governor. This Congress elected delegates to a General Congress of the Colonies, to be held in Philadelphia, and John Sullivan and Nathaniel Folsom were the men chosen; while John Wentworth (the Speaker of the Assembly, not Gover- nor John) Meshech Weare, Josiah Bart- lett, Christopher Toppan and John Picker- ing, were named as a Committee to "in- struct" the delegates and to name others in their places, if necessary.
A second Congress was held January 22, 1775, and a third on April 25 of the same
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year, the latter called because of the crisis precipitated by the conflict of April 19, at Lexington and Concord, Mass., the trans- actions of which body were kept a profound secret; but it was succeeded, on May 17, fol- lowing by a fourth Congress, whose session continued over a period of six months, and which, early in its deliberations, adopt- ed a resolution "in view of the evident pur- pose of the British government to subju- gate this and the other American Colonies to the most abject slavery," providing for the raising immediately of 2,000 effective men in the province, including officers and those already in service, their enrollment to continue until the last day in December, unless the Committee of Safety should deem it proper that a part or the whole be discharged sooner.
This Committee of Safety, which was ap- pointed on the same day, was a body of supreme importance, clothed with power to co-operate with Congress, and the succes- sive legislatures relative to the common defence and the prosecution of the war, and authorized to deal with all emergen- cies that might arise when the legislature was not in session. As originally named the Committee consisted of Matthew Thornton, Josiah Bartlett, William Whip- ple, Nathaniel Folsom and Ebenezer
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