USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Walpole > A history of Walpole, New Hampshire, Volume I > Part 2
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ENS. WILLIAM SMEAD, at Franklin Barrett farm (#239), River Road, owning through to Wentworth Road.
JOHN GRAVES, on Graves land Wentworth Road, east and west from Allen Holmes (#291). CONSTANTINE GILMAN, Stearns farm (#456), later Webber (#452) on Ramsay Hill.
JOHN PARMELEE (Pomaly), Ramsay Hill, Hoyt neighborhood (#448).
TIMOTHY MESSER, Malcolm Williams (#441).
JOHN MARCY (1763), Eastman (#449) or Walcott farm (#451), Ramsay Hill; later south of Howlands' (#446).
JONATHAN HALL, Lot next north of Allen Holmes (#291), Wentworth Road.
ELEAZER MELVIN (?)
MOSES BROWN (1764), #279 on Wentworth Road.
JAMES BUNDY, Brittons' (#413) Keene Road.
JOSEPH BARRETT, Beatrice Graves' (#259).
JOHN PEAKE (?)
EBENEZER EAGAN, probably Ramsay Hill, west side near top of first hill.
JEREMIAH PHELPS, probably in village.
JONATHAN EASTMAN (1765), Ramsay Hill, opposite Harris (#449).
SAMUEL ROOT (?)
MATTHEW HAMMOND (1766) (?)
EBENEZER EATON, Keene Road, Clarence Jennison (#335).
SAMUEL TROTT, later opposite Ira Hubbard (#460).
ISAAC JOHNSON (1767), west of Watkins Hill on County Road (#323). I.EMUEL HOLMES (1768), later west side Wentworth Road near Hicks (#281). CHRISTOPHER WEBBER, Ramsay Hill (#452).
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BENONI BANISTER (?)
GEORGE STOW, Albert Fletcher's (#440).
JOHN JENNISON (1769), Howlands', Ramsay Hill (#446).
AARON ALLEN, Watkins Hill, O'Brien (#333).
SIMEON CALKINS (?)
ITHIEL HOADLEY, District #5, old Ebenezer Stowell place (#414).
JOSIAH JOHNSON, Watkins Hill, Joseph Fay farm (#334).
ALEXANDER PARMELEE, Ramsay Hill.
BENONI FARNUM, at first down near Westmoreland line south of Carpenter Hill.
JONATHAN BIXBY, at Country Club (#410).
DANIEL BIXBY, at Reynolds', Kingsbury Road (#401).
Most of these families settled along Wentworth Road, the old Watkins Hill Road to Keene and on Ramsay Hill. The Bellows had kept for them- selves most of the land from Cold River south to the village. In 1767 the first provincial census showed a population of 308, already beginning to center in the present village and further accelerated in that direction by the location of the first meeting house on the west side of North Main Street.
"It is inferred that during this decade there was no store kept in town, of any importance, for in an old ledger that once belonged to Aaron Burt of Northfield, Mass., are found accounts against sixteen Walpole men. In 1762 a large invoice of nails and hinges are charged to Benjamin Bellows the same year he built his new house." (AH)
An account of manners and customs of this decade was given in the Cheshire Gazette in 1826 in an article by Dr. Morse from material com- municated to him by a Mrs. Watson of Pennsylvania. She lived in Wal- pole in 1762, aged eight years, having come with her father, John Fan- ning, and family from Stonington, Connecticut. They bought a piece of land, now the Blackwell place (Valley Farms) on Wentworth Road.
"They built a house of square timber, cut down the trees and cleared the land, so as to raise a good crop of corn the same year. The roof of the house was covered with bark, and the gable ends remained open for some time, which enabled them to hear the barking of foxes, the howling of wolves, and the cries of panthers. . ..
"The flesh of the deer and bear afforded the settlers many a delicious repast. Wild turkeys were trapped and shot, and quails and pigeons caught in nets in great abun- dance. The brooks were filled with trout and dace, and the river abounded in salmon and shad.
"At this time (1762) there were about twelve or fifteen houses in town. The meet- ing house was unfinished; there was not a carriage in town, the travelling being per- formed on foot or horseback; sometimes three or four children were carried in this way at a time, besides a wife, on a pillion, and upsetting a load of this magnitude was not an uncommon occurrence.
"Col. Benjamin Bellows was the most considerable man in town; his eldest son,
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Peter, was settled in Charlestown, where the people used to go often to attend meeting. A remarkable trait in the character of the first settlers was their punctuality in at- tending public worship. Mr. Leavitt, the minister, like other clergymen of that day, wore a large wig, full powdered, and when he entered the meeting house, the whole congregation rose to do obeisance to the man in black, who, in his turn, always re- sponded with a formal bow. Powder was not worn on the hair by those who were contented with the use of eel-skin, which was considered as adding dignity to the wearer, in proportion to the size and length of the queue.
"Officers of the militia wore cocked hats. Of the ladies Mrs. Leavitt took the lead in dress; at church she wore a full suit of lutestring (a plain, stout, lustrous silk), without any bonnet, holding a fan to shade the sun from her face, as was the fashion 'down country'.
"Next to her were the daughters of Col. Bellows, and their two half-sisters, Jennisons. They wore plain Quaker bonnets of black silk; white or colored ones were not seen. To improve their figures the ladies quilted their petticoats with wool, to make their hips show off to advantage, which contrasted with the smallness of the waist, pain- fully compressed with long stays. Home-made durants, camblets and serges, full of gay flowers of artificial needlework, were fashionable articles. Stockings, of their own knitting, and high-heeled shoes with buckles, were indispensable. It was thought an improvement to beauty and elegance to expose the petticoat before, through a screen of lawn apron, the gown being left to swing open. The hair was all combed back, leaving no curls nor ringlets about the face. Instead of following the modern fashion of covering the back part of the head, their bonnets were so much pitched forward that the cap and back part of the head were exposed.
"A large portion of pin money was derived from the sale of gold thread, ginseng, and snake root, which were procured by their own hands. Dr. Chase was the only physician .. . "
DECADE 1770-1780
In 1771 the town began to raise money for the support of schools and built three schoolhouses. In 1775 the town thanked Col. Bellows for his gift of 100 acres for a school, probably not realizing that this was a charter stipulation. There is no record as to where this plot was located, no deed having been found recorded.
During these early days, an inhabitant working on the highways was paid four pence an hour.
In 1772 it was voted "that the constable warn out of town every person that comes in, that has no estate in town", this having become one of the duties of that functionary. Some of the people so warned managed to get into town and later became town officials; for example, Benoni Banister, his wife Ruth and their five children. In those days tramps would have fared hard.
The town voted to pay a wolf bounty of 40 shillings. Aaron Hodskin's first money was a wolf bounty. With the money he bought a saddle and
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pair of steers. Wolves were quite numerous, congregating in great num- bers in the hemlock woods that then covered the Valley. Bears and cata- mounts were frequently seen and killed.
"On the 19th of April, 1775, was fought the Battle of Lexington, and messengers were immediately dispatched from the scene of strife to every town of any importance in New England bearing the news. As soon as the news reached Walpole, Gen. Ben- jamin Bellows, his next brother, Col. John, and Thomas Sparhawk mounted their horses and started for Lexington followed by a large number of townsmen. . . . There were thirty-five that went from Walpole on this occasion, and they were out about eleven days on this expedition. (See also History of Keene.)
"Gen. Benjamin Bellows, though he rose from the lowest office in the militia of the state to be a Brigadier General, never was long in the field. He was mostly engaged in raising troops for the regular United States service and was one of the principal men in the state sought for when any aid to the National Government was wanting. Twice he marched his own regiment to Ticonderoga, first in October 1776, for a service of twenty-five days; and again, June 28, 1777, to reinforce the garrison there besieged by the enemy, when, according to the pay-roll, the time of service was only twelve days. Finally, he carried his regiment, September 21, 1777, to reinforce the Northern Continental Army at Saratoga under the command of Gen. Gates at the time when Burgoyne surrendered. ... In Gen. Bellows' account with the government is a charge for a horse killed in his service, but it is not stated whether killed under the General or not.
"Most likely many of the men from this town were with Gen. Bellows at this time for it is said, 'all the men from Walpole went to Saratoga'. Gen. Bellows was highly complimented by Gen. Gates for the services he rendered him with his men from Cheshire County, on that occasion. ... Mr. Lyman Watkins ... says among the Wal- pole men in the above named battle was one Crane and one Hall, who went out with Gen. Bellows as scouts and fell in with Indians and captured one hundred and fifty in the first day of their service. Crane had a dreadful encounter with an Indian armed with a cutlass which in the struggle he grasped, cutting his fingers in such a way as to be unable to open his hand ever after. . . .
"Thomas Bellows in speaking of the men who went to Saratoga from Walpole re- membered the names of twelve, among whom were Ephraim Stearns, Farnam, Messer, Lawrence, Massey, etc. Although his memory was very remarkable, he never was able to recall to mind the name of the twelfth one. After hesitating a moment he would say, 'No matter, 'twas a black man any way.' This black man was a blacksmith who had a shop on a farm near where the old meeting-house used to stand . . . (Hooper School site). .
"August 16, 1777, was fought the Battle of Bennington which decided the fate of Burgoyne. . . . During the day the booming of the cannon was distinctly heard on the Walpole hills and in the valleys (according to tradition). Moses Burt was with another man, stooking wheat in his field, when he heard the reports of cannon reverberating from mountain to mountain. He and his men immediately set out for the seat of war. Roger Wolcott also heard the firing and left for the scene of conflict the next day. Most of the surrounding towns had to keep an eye on Tories in their midst; but Walpole seems to have been free from them. With the exception of Gen. Bellows,
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Col. Christopher Webber appears to be the only man that gained military distinction during the Revolutionary struggle." (AH)
"Voted John Bellows Esqr have and receive out of the Treasury Twelve Pounds nine Shillings in full for eight Guns supply'd by the Town of Walpole for Capt. John Marcy's Company in Col. Reed's regiment in June 1775. . . . " (Page 418 Journal of the House (1776) )
"Col. Benjamin Bellows died July 10, 1777. . .. In person he was tall and stout, weighing, a short time before his death, three hundred and thirty pounds; but still he continued, until late in life, looking after his extensive farm interests; riding about his farm on a strong sorrel horse, from place to place, with his son Josiah (aged 9 at his father's death) mounted behind, ready to slip off as occasion required to let down the bars. He lived in a style that necessitated much activity and forethought to satisfy the daily demands of his own household, to say nothing of the numerous strangers and public men who were hospitably treated and cared for, as they called when going and coming. A large oaken table, in the kitchen under his house was always spread for his workmen. He maintained a separate table for his own family. He raised his own stores, and killed an ox or a cow every week, which was consumed by the family. He made four hundred barrels of cider annually and put down twenty barrels of pork every winter. Eggs were brought in by the half bushel, and salmon was so common that his hired men stipulated that they should not have it oftener than three times a week." (AH)
DECADE 1780-1790
In 1790 the town called upon Thomas and Theodore Bellows to an- swer to the charge of voting illegally. Anyone who knew the Squire would hardly believe that he could have been caught in such a situation. The town does not seem to have pushed the matter farther than a gentle remonstrance, while the Squire vindicated his act satisfactorily to himself on the ground of representing his property. However, Elisha Marsh, the moderator, who dared to question the voting rights of the Bellows boys, was dismissed from office and an attempt was made to remove him as a judge.
During this decade the trouble arising from the claims of both New York and New Hampshire to what is now the state of Vermont reached a climax. (See AH 52.) Most of the settlers on the New Hampshire Grants on the east side of the Connecticut River were from the state of Con- necticut and had more in common with the people of Vermont than with those in the eastern part of New Hampshire. When a Vermont constitu- tion was formed in 1778, sixteen towns in New Hampshire applied for admission. The towns were admitted, with the power to send representa- tives. Other towns might join by passing a majority vote to that effect. It had been represented to the Vermont Assembly that the State of New Hampshire would not notice the movement, and also that the petitioning
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towns were unanimous in their votes to be annexed, whereas in some towns a bare majority was procured in the most unscrupulous and under- handed way. The seceding towns justified their course on the following grounds: that the original grant of New Hampshire was limited by a line drawn 60 miles from the sea; that the lands west of this line were annexed to the province merely by royal authority and, as that authority ceased at the Declaration of Independence, the inhabitants of those lands had reverted to a state of nature and might form such political connec- tions as were most convenient.
The Vermont Assembly soon found that such encroachment upon the territory of New Hampshire was frowned upon by Congress, to whom Vermont was looking for admission to the Union.
Matters had become pretty well mixed up, and the most intense ex- citement prevailed on both sides of the river. It required the most astute wisdom and caution on the part of Vermont's leading men to know what course to pursue. One party was bound to dismember New Hampshire, another to annihilate Vermont, a third party to adhere to New York, while a fourth was desirous of forming a new state of all the western New Hampshire grants.
Congress delayed making any decision in the matter. Finally on No- vember 8, 1780, a group of leading men met informally at Charlestown to exchange views and to initiate some movement to better their condi- tion. The New York adherents were foremost in this movement. Since there was unanimity of sentiment in regard to consolidating the grants, a convention was called at Walpole.
Some of the towns on the east side of the river were annexed to Ver- mont, courts were established and sheriffs appointed. When disputes were referred to the courts for settlement, the parties sought the one they preferred; but when executive officers like sheriffs and constables at- tempted to exercise their functions and authority, a collision was the consequence.
May 25, 1781, Walpole, Westmoreland and Swanzey forwarded the following petition to Concord: "Some firmly attached to the interest of New Hampshire set forward a Convention of Delegates (at Walpole 1780) from the several towns in Cheshire county for the purpose of the union of the whole of the New Hampshire Grants as their doings show-when a more general Convention from all the Towns on the Grants was agreed upon. At their meeting a Union with the State of Vermont was agreed upon with this and Grafton County upon terms inconsistent with our connection with this state, and our fidelity to the United States (at Charlestown January 1781).
"Some protested in the Convention against the union, and in our Town Meetings, but a Majority prevailed against us, so as to prevent a compliance with your Requisi-
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tions for men, money and beef, except that agreeable to our usual expeditions we have raised our men saving one for filling up the Continental Battalions. Our case is pitiable and calls for speedy direction and relief; we have ever thought ourselves members of one of the thirteen United States. ... We have been practically united with Hampshire in framing the present temporary Constitution. ... To be cut off from the United States (as we must by a union with Vermont) and not to be included in their confederation is what we most heartily deprecate-and if more strenuous exertions are not made, by the state to which we profess to belong, than we have yet felt, we must sink under the unequal contest. Our situation is perplexed, a majority of our selectmen are for Vermont, one Constable also, Town affairs are stagnated, we know not what to do. We desire something Categorical and conclusive by way of answer to the following queries-whether you mean to consider the Grants East of Connecticut River as a part of your State .... Whether it be advisable to submit to any mandates from Vermont, and how far to resist? Whether we can raise Men, Money, Beef, etc. for the use of the Army, individually considered, and have the same discount so much proportion of our share of the publick Debt? ... We have ap- pointed the bearer hereof to continue to set in the convention at Concord provided you give a favorable answer to this. . . . "
In 1791 Congress finally voted that the union between Vermont and the Grants should be dissolved, thus forever severing a union from which no good had ever resulted. The Vermont adherents on the east side of Connecticut River were very indignant and did not cease to make trou- ble, whenever and wherever an opportunity presented, for two or three years after. Feeling ran high in Walpole, many of the large, influential families favoring union with Vermont (Halls, Hoopers, Hutchens, Graves and many others). A more complete account of the Vermont Controversy may be found in Aldrich's Walpole As It Was and As It Is, in Saunder- son's History of Charlestown, and numerous other sources.
There were other stresses than those stemming from the Vermont Con- troversy. In 1781 the town was asked to supply seven men for the con- tinuing Revolutionary War, not an easy demand to meet.
"Although sorely pressed on every side, in order to make ends meet, still they are holding meetings several times a year to see about moving or finishing their meeting house, sometimes undoing what was done at meetings previously held, sometimes doing nothing but adjourn.
"The feasibility of building a bridge across Connecticut river was considered visionary by the 'knowing ones' when the subject was men- tioned, and in those days it might have been considered a Herculean task, but Col. Enoch Hale, a citizen of Rindge, moved to Walpole in 1784, obtained a charter from the Legislature for a toll-bridge and erected in 1785 the first bridge that ever spanned Connecticut river. It was built just below the principal fall at Bellows Falls and connected
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Walpole with Rockingham. The 'experiment', as many regarded it, at- tracted a great deal of attention at the time, and gave Col. Hale a wide- spread reputation. It remained the only bridge on the river till 1796. Its length was three hundred and sixty feet and its height above the water about fifty feet." (AH)
DECADE 1790-1800
The new meeting-house on Prospect Hill was now completed. There was room to accommodate all the people who went to church, assembling there week after week for a quarter of a century to listen to Thomas Fessenden and Pliny Dickinson, and hearing them preach their long- winded sermons, which often ran up to the tenthlies.
"The townsmen were taxed pro rata for the support of preaching whether they believed in the 'standing order' of creeds and beliefs or not. There were agnostics in those days, as well as now, and what could induce all the people in cold weather, some of whom had to travel four or five miles on foot or horseback and sit through two long services in that unwarmed church, is more than can be guessed at, unless to get their money's worth, for in many cases reluctant payment of taxes was creeping in. During thirty-five years that old church never was warmed, and by some church members it was considered sacrilege to warm a church. After the benediction, at noon, many of the parishioners repaired to the public-house of Alexander Watkins and seated themselves in semi-circle around a blazing fire in his capacious receiving-room. Parson Fessenden sometimes preached a cold sermon, and on those occasions he drifted with his parishioners to Uncle Alex's, as he was called, and then and there quaffed a generous quantity of flip with them. Then it was not considered derogatory for the cloth to take a little, just a little, for the 'stomach's sake'. Here the head of each family purchased a mug of flip, from which each member partook from the same mug, and for every mug sold Uncle Alex would add another stick of wood to the already hot fire; so by the time for afternoon service the parishioners and parson were well warmed inside and outside to meet the chill of the afternoon.
"Parson Dickinson, who after this period became the town minister, was cast in a different mould from Parson Fessenden; he considered the guzzling of cider, cider- brandy and the looking upon 'wine when it was red' as dangerous to the morals and the well-being of his charge, and used his influence to discourage their use as a com- mon beverage. He was not a free liver himself, and it is presumed never touched even wine without being urged by his parishioners." (History of Cheshire County, p. 430-1.)
Mrs. Barnes in her Narratives and Traditions described the attendance at church of the Col. John Bellows family. Seated in the chaise would be seen Mrs. Bellows with her two daughters, elegantly dressed. The Colonel always rode a handsome, high-spirited horse that would often become restive when compelled to keep at the side of the carriage slowly creeping up Prospect Hill. He would gallop a short distance ahead, then wheel
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round and return to the carriage. In this way they would progress nearly to the meeting-house at the top of the hill, when the Colonel would ride on and dismount in time to assist the ladies from the carriage. (This description was more likely of a time after 1800 when carriages had come into use.)
The Revolutionary War being ended, the constitutions of the United States and the State being adopted, and the boundary line being settled, the people began to feel more hopeful and cheerful, and perhaps it would be interesting to take a view of the appearance of the village in 1793 and perhaps somewhat earlier. It is said Col. Bellows intended the village should be located near his own house, but the settlement devel- oped a half mile south.
"Beginning at the old Parson Fessenden house (now Justin Farr 1880, Hubbard Farms #43) and going south, the first house met with at that early period was Thomas Sparhawk's, on the site of Mrs. Benjamin Grant's (Von Lackum #41). About opposite, a little east of Thomas C. Sparhawk's, Samuel Trott lived (west side Hubbard Road). ... The next was the Mead house, so-called, which used to stand just in front of Mrs. Ephraim Holland's (Mrs. Nancy Hubbard's #38), and where Thomas Collins Drew lived when first married, and opposite was the first school house built in town, now (after being moved) the residence of Moses Q. Watkins (Adeline Chickering #75). The next building was a tannery, just north of the residence of Levi Foster (Richard F. O'Brien #93) belonging, it is said, at one time, to David Stevens, and afterwards to Daniel W. Bisco, whose house stood where Foster's garden now is (1880). Opposite, about where H. A. Hitchcock's (Mrs. Agnes Brewster #35) house now stands, was a bakery. The house where H. Allen (Mabel Cole #27) now lives is supposed to be the oldest in the village; but by whom built is not known (probably Asa Baldwin). About opposite was the old Johnson tavern, now occupied as a dwelling by F. A. Wier (Guy Bemis #91). One Caleb Johnson built it and the next building south, which was long occupied as a store, then as a hatter's shop and for some years as a shoe manufactory, and finally by H. A. Hitchcock for furniture, etc. (gone now 1962). Opposite was a tailor's shop where one George Cochran carried on tailoring business (gone 1962). The Wentworth House, owned by John Crafts, was in existence at that time and was called the 'Crafts Tavern' (gone 1962). The next building opposite and now owned by George H. Holden (Bridge Grain & Fuel #90) was, in 1793, the famous bookstore and printing office. If the amount of business done at that time holds any comparison with the catalogue of books advertised for sale in the newspaper of that date, it must have been a business of more than ordinary magnitude for a country town. The busi- ness was carried on by Isaiah Thomas and David Carlisle, Jr. They did quite an ex- tensive business in book publishing. Here was printed and published the first Ameri- can novel which was honored with republication in England. It was written by Royal Tyler of Brattleboro, Vt., and was entitled 'The Algerine Captive, or The Life and Adventures of Dr. Updike Underhill, six years a prisoner among the Algerines'. The work was published by David Carlisle, Jr. in 1797. In 1801 a 12mo. work of 318 pages was published by Thomas & Thomas entitled 'The Spirit of the Farmers' Museum
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