USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Dunbarton > Record of the centennial celebration of the incorporation of the town of Dunbarton, N.H., on Wednesday, September 13, 1865 > Part 1
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Gc 974.202 D91d 1771764
M. G.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01096 2162
RECORD
OF THE -
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
OF THE
INCORPORATION OF THE
TOWN OF DUNBARTON, N. H.,
ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,
1865.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
MANCHESTER, N. H. FROM THE PRESS OF HENRY A. GAGE, 85 MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE. 1866.
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1771764
REPORT
-OF-
CENTENNIAL PROCEEDINGS
- AT -
DUNBARTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE,
SEPTEMBER 13, 1865.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICACO
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1.
F .245 84223
Dunbarton, N. II.
Record of the centennial celebration, of the incorpora- tion of the town of Dunbarton, N. H., on Wednesday, September 13, 1865. Manchester, N. H., Press of H. A. Gage, 1866.
124 p. 224cm. Edited by Rev. Silvanus Hayward.
1. Dunbarton, N. H .- Centennial celebrations, etc. 1. Hayward, Sil- vanus, 182S-1908, ed. 11. Title.
18-2206
13824
Library of Congress
F44.D9D8 CHELY CARS
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/recordofcentenni00dunb_0
PREFACE.
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Some apology may seem due for the long delay in issuing this Cen- tennial Record. This delay has been caused entirely by the difficulty of procuring the manuscripts promptly. Some have not yet been re- ceived ; but it is thought best to wait no longer.
It should be remembered that, owing to the lateness of the hour, several of the responses and other exercises were omitted on the day of celebration. They are, however, all collected here, representing as nearly as possible what would have been done had time permitted. Two or three sentiments, the responses to which, could not be ob- tained, have been omitted.
If this Record seems too minute in any respect, the readers will please consider that matters which seem very trifling in the present, become of great interest as time passes by. Let the items be read from the standpoint of 1965, and they will have an interest not now realized.
For errors and omissions in the parts for which he is responsible, the Editor craves a kind indulgence.
Dunbarton, N. H., January 22, 1866.
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DUNBARTON CENTENNIAL.
The first definite action in reference to a Centennial Celebration, was the posting of the following notice :
TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF DUNBARTON :- It being customary for towns to celebrate their Centennial Anniversaries, and this being the one hundredth year since the incorporation of this town, by request of many citizens we hereby invite all who are in- terested, to meet at the Town House on Wednesday, July 5th, at 7 o'clock, P. M., to take the subject into consideration, and take such action in relation thereto as may be necessary.
JOHN B. IRELAND, SELECTMEN ENOCH P. MARSHALL, OF
CHARLES KIMBALL, DUNBARTON.
Dunbarton, June 30th, 1865. 1
In response to the above invitation, a few of the citizens came to- gether and unanimously voted to celebrate the one hundreth anniver- sary of the town's incorporation. There being so few present, it was judged expedient to take no further action till an attempt should be made to secure a larger attendance. Measures were accordingly tak- en to notify all the inhabitants by a committee in each school dis- trict, and invite them to meet on Saturday, July 8th. At this meeting it was voted that the proposed Celebration be on Wednesday, Sep- tember 13th, and the following committees were appointed to carry the vote into effect :
COMMITTEE ON EXERCISES :- Silvanus Hayward, Stephen Pillsbury, Nathaniel H. Wheeler, Daniel HI. Parker, Charles G. B. Ryder.
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE :- Thomas Wilson, John Lord, Eliphalet R Sargent, John Burnham, Leroy R. Mills.
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COMMITTEE ON INVITATIONS :- Henry M. Putney, David Story, Gil- bert B. French, James M. Bailey, Leonard Rowell.
COMMITTEE ON DINNER :- Charles Stinson, Henry L. Burnham, Enoch P. Marshall, Thomas Johnson, Oliver Bailey, Jr.
COMMITTEE ON BUILDING :- Charles Kimball, John C. Mills, Harris E. Ryder, Lyman Woodbury, David T. Whipple.
It was also voted that these twenty-five constitute one Executive Committee to arrange for, and conduct the Celebration. This Com- mittee organized by the choice of Silvanus Hayward, Chairman, and Henry M. Putney, Scribe; and subsequently Thomas Wilson was ap- pointed Treasurer. As was evidently necessary, the Committee held frequent meetings up to the day of celebration, a definite record of which is uncalled for, as their action is sufficiently indicated in the transactions of that day. Suffice it to say, they proceeded to solicit and collect subscriptions to defray the expenses, (see appendix) and made all other necessary arrangements.
About 600 copies of the following circular were sent to natives and former residents of the town : 1
DUNBARTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION .- Dunbarton sends greeting to her absent sons and daughters, and bids them all-Come Home.
Dear Sir: The citizens of this town propose to celebrate the One Hundredth Anniversary of its incorporation, on Wednesday, the Thirteenth day of September next. Entertainments befitting the oc- casion and of interest to the intelligent and the hungry, will be pro- vided. -
In behalf of our fellow-townsmen we cordially and earnestly in- vite you to meet with us on that day, to unite with us in reviewing the Century just passed, and bidding our honored mother "God Speed" for a hundred years to come.
Yours truly,
H. M. PUTNEY, DAVID STORY, G.B. FRENCH, J. M. BAILEY, L. ROWELL,
COMMITTEE.
Dunbarton, N. H., July, 1865.
The Manchester Cornet Band was employed to furnish the music. A platform and seats sufficient to accommodate four hundred persons were erected at the east end of the Town House. The old pews hav- ing been removed from the center of the house, tables built of rough boards, and covered with large sheets of white paper, were extended across the space thus obtained. A long table was likewise built in
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the front gallery. The ladies decked the house with evergreen wreaths, while high above the old pulpit were displayed the words "WELCOME HOME." Portraits of distinguished citizens, mostly deceased, were hung within the wreaths in front of the galleries .- Provision was made ready in ample quantities, the bread and pastry being furnished by the ladies. The officers of the day were appoint- ed as follows : Chief Marshal, Col. Charles Stinson ; President, Dea. . Daniel H. Parker; Vice Presidents, Col. John Stinson, Capt. Benja- min Whipple, Ebenezer Page, Esq., Capt. Samuel Kimball and James Stone, Esq. ; Toast Master, Henry M. Putney, Esq. The Chief Marsh- al appointed the following Assistant Marshals : Nathaniel T. Safford, Horace Caldwell and Marcus M. Holmes.
The day proved pleasant, and the number in attendance was not far from two thousand. The hour announced for forming the pro- cession was nine o'clock, but owing to the non-arrival of the Band, it was delayed till nearly half past ten. The procession consisted of about one thousand persons. Its most noticeable feature was a car- riage under the charge of Leonard Rowell, Esq., containing nine of the most aged guests, viz : Mrs. Anna Ray, aged 86, supposed to be the oldest person present, Mrs. Nancy Ray, aged 79, John Chase, Esq., aged 77, Mrs. John Chase, aged 80, Mrs. Polly Anderson, aged 73, Mr. John Lull, aged 80, Mrs. John Lull, aged 70, Mr. Nicholas Dolby and wife, each aged 73. The aggregate of their ages was 691 years. The oldest native male person present was James Allison, Esq ., of Goffstown, aged 81. The oldest native male person still resident in town, was Col. John Stinson, aged 80.
The procession having formed at the Town House, marched once around it, then to the house of Capt. Benjamin Whipple, and back to the stand. Music by the Band next followed, and was interspersed ad libitum through the exercises. The President, Daniel H. Parker, addressed the assembly as follows :
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF DUNBARTON :
The Committee of arrangements liave assigned to me the pleasing .duty of extending to you a cordial and hearty welcome on this occa- sion of celebrating the centenary of the settlement of this town.
It seemed proper and right, that a period of time so marked with progress in all that pertains to the welfare of man-a period in which nearly three generations have lived and have passed to the other world-that such an epoch should be particularly noticed. And in what manner so fitting as that we have a family meeting? For this we have invited the absent ones to return to the old hive; that we may see the faces of our beloved friends once more-take each other
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by the hand and speak of the past, the present and the future, and that we may perpetuate those principles of virtue, morality and re- ligion which adorn human society, and which were possessed in good degree and were handed down to us by our ancestors.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Giver of all good that the "lines have fallen to us in such pleasant places, and that we have so goodly a heritage."
The honorable and useful course you have pursued in the various professions and walks of life, has been observed by us with lively in- terest. You have proved that Dunbarton is " a good place to emi- grate from," while we bear testimony that it is a good town to live in.
And now, dear friends, as you have come back to the old home again, we open our doors and our hearts to you, and ask that you will tarry with us so long as may be for your convenience and pleas- ure. And as you pass over these hills and valleys, through the groves and by the meandering brooks, and as you sit under the tree planted by your own hands and partake of its fruit, may the associations and memories of the scenes of childhood and youth be pleasant and profit- able.
The following Hymn, written for the occasion by Mrs. Annis G. Marshall, was then sung to the tune, Mount Santis, by a choir of Dunbarton singers, led by Col. S. B. Hammond. The singing book used through the day was " The Harp of Judah."
Welcome home again, ye children, Welcome to your native town, Laden each with well-earned honors, We are glad in your renown ; Every heart in pleasure beating With an honest, grateful glow, That our fathers this location Sought, one hundred years ago.
And thrice welcome to each soldier Whom the dawn of peace has freed ; Ye have served our country nobly In her time of sorest need, With that old heroic spirit Which our fathers used to show, In the stormy revolution, Near one hundred years ago.
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Then to every son and daughter We will shout a welcome home ; May our children's children gather Here a century to come. Tears we shed for those who slumber Wishing all our joys to know ; May we meet in Heaven the fathers Of one hundred years ago.
May our King, our heavenly Father,- To whose name be all the praise,- Give us hearts to love our Savior, Health, and strength, and length of days ; Guide us ever onward, upward ; Keep us from the ways of woe ; Help us imitate the virtues Of one hundred years ago.
Psalms XLIV. 1-3, LXXVIII, 1-7, and LXVII were read by Rev. William Clark, of Amherst; after which, prayer was offered by Rev. Leonard S. Parker, of Derry. The following Centennial Address was then delivered by Prof. CHARLES G. BURNHAM, of Haverhill, Mass.
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ADDRESS.
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MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW CITIZENS :
I thank you for honoring me with an invitation to partici- pate in the exercises of this day. It is pleasing to me to be thus assured that I am held in favorable remembrance by the people of my native town. I have only to regret, that I have not had more time and ability to devote to a preparation for an occasion of so much interest.
The labor, however, is not so much to collect the materials for a Historical Address, as to select from facts already col- lected, a connected series that can be properly presented with- in the limited space of time allotted to a single exercise.
Dunbarton has been fortunate in rearing upon her own soil, her own historians. AMOS HADLEY, JR., and CALEB STARK, have earned a place among the benefactors of the town, in that they have bestowed so much time and gratuitous da- bor to collect and arrange the materials of its history. Mr. Hadley, in 1845, delivered an exceedingly well written Ly- ceum Lecture of great value as a History of the Town. Mr. Stark followed Mr. Hadley, and added much valuable matter. The Town, in 1800, in its liberality, voted to publish the man- uscript of Mr. Stark, and place a copy in the hands of every tax payer in town.
This generous intention of the town, I am informed, was not carried out, owing to the question having been raised, af- ter the vote was passed, whether the law would justify the enforcement of the collection of a tax for such a purpose. It did not, probably, occur to the objectors that there was no
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law to prevent every property holder in town from paying his due proportion of the expense of the publication of the work.
There is a marked difference between breaking a statute law, and refusing to put forth an act because the law has not anticipated and provided for it. In the one case, we are transgressors of law ; in the other, we should be liable to the charge of holding knowledge at a discount, when our pockets are touched.
However, be this as it may, the manuscript was published, and to his credit be it said, by the author. The work was carefully prepared, and has appeared before the public in a creditable form. Still there are, probably, many present to- day, who have not seen the history of their native town. I shall therefore avail myself of the labors of Mr. Stark and others, and re-produce a brief history. I must, of necessity, be brief-omitting much that would be interesting-other- wise I shall consume more time than properly falls to my share.
And now you will allow me to present the subjects of inter- est, which cluster around this day and distinguish it from all others, as they occur in my own mind. The day, in itself, does not differ materially from other days. If the morning was clear and cloudless, or dark and stormy, cold or hot, wet or dry, there have been thousands of a like character in past time. Standing here in your presence, the first thought of interest, is that here are assembled most of the inhabitants of the town,-persons of all ages,-children and grand-children -sires and grand-sires. They have never met on a like oc- casion, and never will again. There never has lived but one person in town, whose age could span a century. Mrs. Jo- seph Leach lived 102 years.
The second interesting thought is that here are those who have long been absent ; old men meeting old men, from whom they parted in their boyhood, and whom they have never met since. They have been tossed on life's broad ocean thir- ty, forty or fifty years, and most of those who shipped at the same time, have been wrecked. But the few surviving have
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returned, moored their vessels in this little harbor, whence they set sail, come on shore to-day to call the roll, to take each other once more by the hand, and to learn the history of the living and the dead. But the thought most interest- ing, and which stirs the soul in its lowest depths, letting in- to its inmost recesses the light of other days, is, that we have all come home !
Yes, we are all at home to-day. The word HOME was nev- er so beautiful-its utterance never so musical as now. Its import we all deeply feel, but cannot speak it. I once had, while in College, an Indian boy about eleven years of age, un- der my charge. When he had learned to read and write a lit- tle, he wrote a composition, and the subject was "HOME." His first sentence was a definition of the word, and also a propo- sition to be demonstrated. He commenced by saying "Home is home." He could think of no word,-he could command no language,-that would express the thoughts the word sug- gested to his mind ; and therefore, by necessity, he repeated the word "home" : "Home is home." He then proceeded to demonstrate : "For there I was born" (in the woods,) "and brought up, and there all my relations live," (the wild Indi- an,) "and therefore, I think there is no place like home."
Here is the whole philosophy of this day's gathering. It does not matter where one had his birth-whether in the artic or antartic regions-in the torrid or temperate zones- whether in the city or in the country-in the wilderness or in the town-"Home is home." Nor did I ever hear a person express any regret on account of the place of his birth. The Irishman who quaintly said "He might as well have been born in Dublin as Cork, if he had chosen to be," but that he did not choose to be, expressed a general truth. No one would exchange the place of his birth for any other spot on earth, for then would he barter away some of his most peecious as- sociations for no equivalent.
But it is time we had commenced the task assigned us .- Let us, in imagination, go back one hundred years or more ; shut out of view these beautifully cultivated fields-close our
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eyes to this limitless perspective spread around us in every direction-and fancy ourselves in the midst of a dense forest. There are tall, sturdy trees all around us, and the under- growth so dense that we can sce but few rods from us. The bear, the catamount, and the wolf, roam at large, and there is none but the red man of the forest to dispute their right of way.
We will leave this spot for the present, and go in an easterly direction about two miles in search of civilization. We come to the Great Meadow, so called, and here we find, on the east- erly side, two families. Joseph Putney and James Rogers have been here some few years, for there are apple trees already in a bearing condition, and other indications of civilized life. This is previous to 1746, but the precise year these families commenc- ed their settlement is not known. We ask ourselves what mo- tives could induce these men to assume such a Herculean task, as to live and support their families at such a time and in such a place ? It is difficult for us to divest ourselves of our life- long privileges and sources of comfort, and realize the sur- roundings and prospects of these men. It is true, an exten- sive tract of meadow land had been cleared by the industrious beaver, and even then furnished ample forage for neat stock. But where was the tillage land, upon which to raise food for their families ? The land was hilly and stony in the vicinity of the meadow, with no rich and fertile interval spreading between the hills, and not a tree felled by the ax. The men who would voluntarily grapple with such obstacles, were no common men. Surely they had none of what we call luxu- ries to anticipate in their generation. It would seem to us that they most fully realized the scripture, " No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself," for they must have lived and labored for the generations which were to come af- ter them. It would seem that they most cheerfully submitted to the law-" In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou return to the ground whence thou wast ta- ken." For it is true, that for every pound of bread which they produced, they must have expended an equal amount of
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bone and muscle. In 1746 these settlers were obliged to re- treat to Concord, then called Rumford, to escape massacre by the Indians, who came the same night they made their escape, burned their dwellings, cut down all their apple trees save one, and slaughtered their cattle. Putney and Rogers remained in Concord three years, until the close of the In- dian war in 1749, when they returned and made a permanent settlement. As yet, these persons appear to have no special title to the land they occupied. James Rogers gave it the name of Mountalona, from a place of the same name in Ire- land or Scotland. Stark says in Ireland, where he once lived. In 1751, says our historian, the 24th year of the reign of George the Second, Benning Wentworth being provisional governor of New Hampshire, a settlement was commenced, a grant of a township having been made by the assigns of John Tufton Mason to Archibald Stark, Caleb Paige, Hugh Ramsey and others. This grant embraced a territory five miles square. It included a portion of the present town of Hooksett. The next settlement, of which we have any reliable information, was made in the western part of the town, by Thomas Mills, William Stinson and John Hogg. Many of the first settlers of Dunbarton, or Starkstown, as it was originally called, were Scotch-Irish, that is, they were Scotchmen whose ancestors, one hundred years before, fled from Scotland to Ireland to avoid religious persecution, and their descendants fled from Ireland to this country for the same reason. The southern section of the town was settled mainly by immigrants from different sections of Massachusetts. Several families came from Chebacco, now Essex. Of these families, six were of the name of Burnham, and settled in the vicinity of each other. Records show that highways were laid out previous to 1760. The road in the western part of the town, which passes the church, was one of the first laid out, and was the road trav- elled by teams from the towns above to market. Within the memory of the speaker, this road was much travelled. I well remember hearing my grandfather ask a teamster going north, where he was bound ? (a common phrase used in those
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days for where are you going?). He replied, " To the future state," meaning the state of Vermont. In 1760, one hundred acres of land were granted by the proprietors to Capt. John Stark, as an encouragement to build a saw-mill, upon the con- dition that the mill should be completed within one year .- The mill was built. A corn-mill was afterwards erected by the same individual. In 1771, a corn mill was built by a Mr. Hadley. In my boyhood, it was called Kimball's mill.
The proprietors held their meetings for the transaction of business, until the first meeting house was built, which was nearly eighteen years, at the house of Capt. William Stark. The first public meeting in Dunbarton was held October 17th, 1752, upon land settled by Daniel and John McCurdy. The historian does not say whether the meeting was held in a house or in the open air. Iextract from Stark's History the follow- ing-" Archibald Stark being the first named grantee, and one of the principal proprietors, the grant was, in compliment to him, called Starkstown, by which name it was known fourteen years. On the 10th of August, 1765, in the fifth year of the reign of George the Third, it was made 'a body politic and corporate, to have continuance until His Mejesty's pleasure should be signified to the contrary, by the name of Dunbar- ton, with powers and authorities, privileges, immunities and franchises,' belonging to other towns in the province. Its new name was adopted as a memorial of fond recollections retained for the town and castle of Dumbarton, in Scotland, from the vicinity of which Archibald Stark, and the ancestors of many of the inhabitants, emigrated."
Governor Wentworth, in the name of the king, signed the Charter, in which Caleb Paige was authorized to call the first meeting, any time within forty days after the date of it .- " Thenceforth all the meetings for the election of town offi- cers, were to be held on the second Tuesday in March. In 1791, an Act was obtained from the General Court, by which the town was authorized to hold its annual town meeting the first Tuesday in March."
" The first regular town-meeting held in Dunbarton, after
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its incorporation, assembled at the house of William Stark, Sept. 3d, 1765, when were chosen its first town officers." We have no knowledge that the town was ever represented in the Provincial Legislature. In 1775, Caleb Page was chosen a delegate to the Provincial Congress. For several years, Jere- .miah Page represented Dunbarton and Bow in that Legisla- ture. In 1793, David Story was elected representative. He was the first elected by the town in its separate capacity .- During the period over which we have now passed, the popu- lation of the town rapidly increased. In 1770, the number of inhabitants was 497. From 1770 to 1790, the increase was 420, making the whole population of the town 917 .- From 1790 to 1840, the gain was only thirty-three. Thus it appears, that for a term of fifty years, the town did little bet- ter than to hold its own ; nor does the population differ ma- terially to-day from what it was seventy-five years ago. It is not to be supposed that there has been no increase of popula- tion during all this time. The town has furnished settlers for other and newer sections of our country. The question may be asked, why it was, that when the population of the town had reached certain limits, it became nearly stationary ? The answer is obvious. The land was nearly or quite all meted out into lots, and taken up. And they reasoned that, if a man can barely gain a livelihood on a large farm, that he could not live at all on a small one. For it is a modern dis- covery, that one acre well tilled, is more profitable than two tilled as it was in those days. Not, therefore, thinking it ju- dicious to divide the old homestead, they chose to emigrate. Nor would it be strange, if occasionally, a young man of read- ing and of an inquiring mind, should have received an im- pression, that somewhere in this wide world, there might pos- sibly be a milder climate, and a more alluvial and fertile soil, than in his native town.
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