USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > A history of the town of New London, Merrimack county, New Hampshire, 1779-1899 > Part 18
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" AUCTION.
"On thursday June Ist 1820 at 4 o.clock P. M. at the meeting " house in this town the maintainance of Mr. Moses Smith and " his wife paupers now in this town will be set up at auction " by the week for one year if the town shall have to maintain " them so long and struck off to the lowest bidder
"New London Nathan Herrick Selectmen
" May 24th 1820 Job Seamans Jun S of N. London "
"JUNE Ist 1820
·· Pursuant to the above notice the support and maintainance of
"Mr Moses Smith and his wife town paupers is now exposed " to sale
"The lowest bidder shall be considered as undertaking to "maintain said paupers by the week for one year if the " town of New London shall stand chargeable with their main- "tainance so long & shall be entitled to the use of all the " household furniture clothing &c of the said Smith and his
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
" wife and shall also be entitled to all the reasonable services " of the said Mr Smith and his wife and shall maintain them in " a decent and comfortable manner in health and sickness the " Doctors bill excepted and shall forthwith produce sufficient " bonds for their support and maintainance
"Struck off to Jeremiah Burpee at $1.37 per Week "
Before the year was out Moses Smith was in his coffin, and his wife went back to Hopkinton. A year later the town was recompensed in full for all expenditures for the Smiths by the town of Hopkinton. The only other persons assisted during this period were a Mr. Cross and Jonathan Shepard and his wife.
Year after year the sweeping and general care of the meet- ing-house was struck off to the lowest bidder. The salary was never anything approaching a bonanza, but in 1804 the low- water mark was touched by Capt. John Woodman, who per- formed the duties of janitor one year for the truly modest sum of thirty-five cents. In 1815 he agreed to serve for the privi- lege of confining his sheep in the unused part of the burying- ground. In 1817 Edmund Davis, Jr., combined the duties of janitor and sexton, and was voted $15 for his services. It was in 1804 that the crows and crow-blackbirds were first doomed to destruction, with premiums of ten and three cents per head respectively. A year later hedgehogs at fifteen cents, and striped, red, and gray squirrels at one, two, and three cents, were added to the list. In 1805 the town purchased of Col. Daniel Warner of Amherst a set of standard weights and measures for $46.
Dea. Zebedee Hayes was the first person to pay a tax on a chaise (value $40), in 1809, and the first tax for money at interest was levied in 1813, when Elder Job Seamans had $134 and Widow Mehitable Knowlton $64. In 1821 Joseph Colby had $2,500 at interest, Samuel Greenwood had $1,000, and Jonathan Greeley held interest-bearing mortgages for a similar amount. A novel item in the inventory for this year is that of two jacks and four mules, which were owned by Anthony Colby. This was the beginning of his famous mule colony, which reached its largest number, 52, in 1829. In summer they ran at large in a pasture on the shore of Lake Pleasant, and " the governor's mule-pasture " has become a local landmark. The
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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
raising of mules for Southern planters was at this time carried on quite extensively at the North, and paid big dividends ; but so many engaged in it, and the difficulties of transportation were so great, that the business at length ceased to be profita- ble.
The census of 1810 gave a population of 692, which was a gain of only 75 since 1800; but the census of 1820 showed a marked increase, the figures returned giving a total of 924. In 1820 the town book records 161 polls and 17 other tax-payers, exclusive of non-residents. The total amount of the invoice was $70,855, not including $3,010 at interest, three chaises valued at $60 each, the income from five separate mills, and the value of the stock-in-trade returned by the three storekeepers, Wil- liam Clark, Joseph Colby, and Samuel Greenwood, which was $250, $200, and $250 respectively. For a town almost exclu- sively devoted to farming interests, the above figures present a most commendable showing for the general industry and prudence of its citizens.
In matters outside of purely local interest the town generally remained neutral, but in 1807, when the question of revising the constitution was submitted to the voters, the popular sentiment stands recorded as forty-two to one against revision. The problem of public highways, however, was one with which the town fathers strove annually, and on this point were liberally inclined,-not only in the number of surveyors chosen but in the amount of money devoted to repairs and extension of travelled ways. In 1801 the town appropriated £40 for this purpose ; in 1805, the sum of $500; and in 1813 it was increased to $600, and this was the standard maintained up to 1825.
Later generations might rebel at unbroken paths in the depth of winter snows, but in 1808 each man had to clear for himself or stay by his own fireside; and six years later, when each highway surveyor was made responsible for the proper break- ing of the roads in his district, it was stipulated that he should procure a snow-plow at his own cost. A temporary bridge of logs had been built at the outlet of Lake Pleasant in very early times, but the first substantial structure, with stone abutments, as planned by Joseph Colby, Josiah Brown, and Jonathan Greeley, committee for the town, was built by Levi Harvey in
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
1815, at a cost of $150. The Otterville bridge, "near Jesse Blake's mill," was constructed in 1819.
Among other old papers and documents brought to light in the search for historical material, was a small printed sheet, published in 1815 by Joseph Colby, Jr., " pro bono publico," and opening to public view the details of a most nefarious action. The title of this pamphlet is " New London Jacobin- ism Unveiled," and one or two extracts from its columns will perhaps best explain the reason of its publication :
"Mr. Printer, ' He who steals my purse steals trash,' but "' He takes my life when he doth take the means whereby I "live ; ' therefore, to favor our good citizens, and to counteract " the attempts lately made to injure their character-and who " have ever endeavored to injure character by speaking all " manner of evil &c-who have carried their evil designs "against them so far as to seek an opportunity to send a BAND . " OF ROBBERS to plunder and destroy their property,-and " endeavor to crush them by false swearing, lying, slandering, " and all the mischief they can do :
"And to make things appear right we wish you to publish " the following DOCUMENTS, &c, as an appendix to numer- " ous publications which have occurred, treating on the most " wicked Enterprise, which was secretly designed, planned " and transacted by a self styled Custom house officer as a " deputed leader, and the BAND, upon Merchandize in one " of the Stores in New-London, N. H. March 1, 1815, and on "other affairs transacted by the New London Jacobins and " their associates. The public, and the peace and quietness of " the town, having been agitated by these disturbers, we hope " a continual calm will take place and follow this development " and statement of the difficultities by the parties, which we " anticipate."
Several columns of details succeed the above opening par- agraphs, and on the last page of the sheet appears the fol- lowing :
" We have produced something against each of the prominent "actors of the tragedy. 'Tragedy nagedy mum.' We could " mention a thousand things more, anecdotes, &c, against the " custom house gentry, and bring living evidence real as life, " but we will be honorable and forbear.
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"NEW LONDON JACOBINISM UNVEILED."
"N. B. Those Editors of Newspapers who may please to " favor the public by exposing the doings and characters of " bad men, are requested to publish 'the statements and " remarks' and these Documents, &c in their respective papers.
Newlondon [N. H. ] March 1, 1815.
" It has lately appeared that some time previous to last " March, a company of men secretly designed and planned an " attack on the store, with an intention to search for smuggled " goods and to share in the plunder. As there was no custom " house officer in town nor its vicinity, they despatched their " best man to Portsmouth to be authorized to lead them in the " undertaking. On hearing that the owners of the Store had "set out on a journey, they met in order to execute their " designs, but finding the owners had delayed setting out at " that time, they therefore postponed the undertaking ; But on " said first day of March, they finding all the owners were from " home, and only an attendant at the store, ventured forth, " made the attack, stripped the shelves, and took a VAST QUAN- " TITY OF REMNANTS OF MERCHANDIZE ; a catalogue of which " may be seen in an advertisement published in the N. H. " Patriot in part of the impression of March 21, 1815, consist- " ing of the smaller articles therein named ; viz. 'I 3-4 yd. of " blk. mode' (worth 16 cts. 3 1-3 mills per yd. ) & '2 yards of " calimanco' (worth three fourpence piece per yd. ) &c, &c, " and a pamphlet bearing the name of an ENGLISH author, " which they deemed good prize and lawful for the Captors to "pocket, sans ceremonie. They were about taking a small "remnant of millinet, yclept catgut, a boy came in and said " Mrs .- could give a bill of that ; that she made it for sieve " bottoms ; which circumstance saved the millinet.
" They proceeded and searched a neighboring dwelling- " house, and made prize of some tea that was purchased on a "peddling tour. Having finished the expedition, they pro- "ceeded to their place of rendezvous, and then after rejoicing "in an Indian manner, and destroying a part of the goods they " had taken from the 'old Tory,' carried their booty all the " way to Portsmouth, to the MAN whom they had pleased " with the idea that they would soon fetch him fourteen or " fifteen sleigh loads of smuggled goods. The old man anx-
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
"iously inquired after the Goods. 'Here are the Goods.' .'' What-these, A PARCEL OF OLD REMNANTS !! " Don't you ever be seen fetching me such trash again !!! ' "The evidence furnished at the trial was such as might be "expected from such characters. They could swear to any " thing. None of the Goods taken from the store were con- "' demned. * *
" A generous public, having a proper knowledge of their " characters, frowns on the authors and their abettors in that "nefarious affair, and unanimously loads them with detesta- " tion. NEWLONDON."
The summer of 1816 is memorable as a season of unprece- dented frost and drouth throughout the whole country, and New London shared in the general disaster. On June 6,-to quote Elder Seamans-" it was uncommonly cold and a tedious snow storm." The following morning the ground was frozen hard, and ice had formed " an Sth of an inch thick." Another frost came June 9 ; and again a month later, for under date of July 8, the Elder writes,-" there was a frost which cut down " corn, beans, potatoes, &c. It held cold for some days after- " wards, so that a man on horse-back would be comfortable with " a great-coat and mittens. And in addition to this dreadful " calamity there is a terrible drouth lays upon us ; The corn is " but just above the ground, the pastures drying up, and but a " little hay will be made this year. Indeed there seems to be " nothing but famine before our eyes." Lord's day, August 18, he writes,-" The heaven that is over our heads is as " brass : the earth under us as iron : and the rain of our land " has become as powder and dust." On September I is this : " It was so cold in the meeting-house I wanted a great-coat. " Every thing looks as though death had spread his wings "over it. The dumb beasts are greatly distressed." And again, on September 28: " There has been a very heavy frost " the three nights last past which has cut down everything. It " is a most melancholy time. What the Lord is about to do with " us I know not : but surely there never was such another time "in this Country." In another place he refers to the great suffering among " the poorer class of people," because of the failure of the crops and consequent high prices of food. The next spring seed corn sold for four and even five dollars a
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THE GREAT WHIRLWIND OF 1821.
bushel, but this season was as remarkable for its abundant har- vests as the preceding one had been for its scarcity.
One more event of this period remains to be chronicled, the story of the great whirlwind of 1821,-a scene of terror never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The following account is taken from a book formerly owned by Joseph Colby, Esq., Volume I of the " Collections of the New-Hampshire Historical Society," published by Jacob B. Moore and printed at Concord in 1824 :
" Account of the Great Whirlwind in New- " Hampshire, September 9, 1821.
" The month of September, 1821, will long be remembered, "as a season of uncommon storms and tempests. On the 3d " a most violent storm raged on the whole Atlantic coast, from " Portsmouth to Charleston, in which many lives, and a "great amount of property, were destroyed. The gale con- "tinued during the whole day, and its severity was felt over " the whole country. On the sea shore, and in the several " harbors, it was terrible. The morning had been dark and " gloomy, and at six o'clock the clouds began to discharge " their watery contents, not in gentle showers, but literally in "torrents. At ten o'clock the rain abated for a few minutes, " as if to collect itself for a more copious discharge; for it " presently set in with increased violence, and the wind com- " menced blowing a heavy gale from N. E. which continued to " increase to a most alarming height. From half past eleven " till half past twelve so great was the fury of the elements, that " they seemed to threaten a general demolition of everything " within their reach .- During that period the scene they pre- " sented was truly awful. The deafening roar of the storm, and " the mingled, crashing of windows and chimneys, and falling " timbers, with the continuous torrents of rain, together inspired " the beholder with the greatest terror. About twelve o'clock, " the wind shifted round to N. W. but without abating its fury " until half an hour after, when it ceased raining ; the storm " began to subside and the water to recede. At four o'clock "it changed to S. W. and the weather became calm and " serene.
" This storm, though one of the most violent ever known in
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
" New Hampshire, produced little injury, in comparison with " the whirlwind of the ninth of the same month.
" After the great rains of the third and fourth, the weather " was pleasant and generally calm. The eighth and ninth " were warm, the latter sultry .- The wind in the afternoon " blew from the southwest, until about six o'clock, when a " dark cloud was observed to rise rapidly in the north and " northwest, and passing in a southeasterly direction, illumined "in its course by incessant flashes of lightning. There " was a most terrifying commotion in the cloud itself; and its " appearance gave notice that irresistible power and desola- " tion were its attendants. Few, however, apprehended the " danger that was threatening, or that their dwellings, which " had long withstood the fury of the tempest, were to be swept " away, like leaves before the winds of autumn.
" The tornado was felt, and it is said to have commenced " near Lake Champlain ; hail storms and violent winds were " also experienced in various parts of the United States, at the " same time, and nearly at the same period in the West Indies. "The whirlwind entered this state at Cornish, and crossing " the mountain, gathered in strength as it passed through " Croydon. Here the house of Deacon Cooper was shattered ; " his barn and its contents entirely swept away. Passing in a " direction E. S. E., in its progress collecting into a narrower " compass its power, its path was along the low lands, till it " came to the farm and buildings of Harvey Huntoon in Wen- " dall, about eighty rods distant from the borders of the " Sunapee Lake. The people in the house, eight in number, " were frightened by the appearance of the cloud. They saw " the air before it filled with birds and broken limbs of trees. " In an instant the house and two barns were prostrated to the " ground. A side of the house fell upon Mr. H. and his wife, " who were standing in the kitchen. The next instant it was " blown off and dashed to pieces. The woman was carried " across the field. A Mrs. Wheeler, who with her husband and " child were then living in the house, had taken her child and " fled to the cellar .- Mr. W. found himself in the cellar covered " with timbers and bricks, and much injured. A child eleven " months old was sleeping upon a bed in the west part of the " house ; the gown which it wore was soon after found in the
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THE GREAT WHIRLWIND OF 1821.
" water on the shore of the lake, one hundred and fifty rods " from the house, and on the Wednesday following [the whirl- " wind was on Sunday], the mangled body of the child was " found on the west shore of the lake, whither it had floated on " the waves. Though the sun was an hour above the horizon, "it was now as dark as midnight. The air was filled with " leaves, fragments of trees and gravel. The bedstead on " which the child lay was found in the woods eighty rods from " the house northerly and out of the general track of the wind. " And the feather-bed was afterwards found in Andover by a " Mr. Durgin and restored to Mr. Huntoon.
" Bricks from the chimney of the house were carried to the " distance of 100 rods ; large pieces of timber, belonging to the " house and barns, some seven and eight inches square and " twelve feet long, were carried eighty and ninety rods ; a pair " of cart wheels were separated from the body and spire, " carried about sixty rods and dashed to pieces ; a large iron " pot was blown upwards of seven rods ; nearly all the trees of " a middling sized orchard were blown down, many of them " torn up and carried from seventy to one hundred rods into " the woods ; casks, furniture, clothing, and dead fowls, were " found at much greater distance. The only furniture found " near the house was a kitchen chair. A bureau was blown " across the lake, two miles wide at that place, and excepting " the drawers, was found half a mile beyond the lake, the " whole distance being two miles and three quarters ! From " the buildings the land rises about one hundred feet in the " distance of fifty rods, then descends to the lake. A door " post of the barn, of beech, thirteen feet long, eight by twelve "inches square, was blown through the air, up this rising " ground forty-four rods. A large hemlock log, sixty feet in " length and three feet in diameter at the butt, and nearly two " at the top, was moved from its bed, where it had lain eight " or ten years, and carried by the wind up hill and over two " large rocks seventeen inches above the ground, situated about " six feet from where it lay, to the distance of six rods. The " rise of land in this distance is ten feet six inches. It struck a "rock, which breaking it in two, stopped its progress. A " piece of wood, heavily timbered, one hundred rods east, of " forty acres, was entirely prostrated ; not a whole tree was
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
" left standing on any part of it. A horse was blown up the " rise before mentioned, forty rods, and so injured as to make " it necessary to kill him. No human lives were lost, except- " ing that of the child .- All the other seven persons, however, " were injured, and some of them very severely. A house and " barn belonging to Isaac Eastman were much shattered, but " not entirely ruined. The path of the whirlwind here was " about half a mile wide.
" From Wendall, the hurricane passed across lake Sunapee " in a most terrific inverted pyramidical column, drawing up " into its bosom vast quantities of water. Its appearance on the " lake was in the highest degree sublime. About twenty rods " in diameter at the surface of the water, it expanded on each " side toward the heavens; its body dark as midnight, but " occasionally illuminated by vivid flashes of lightning. New- " London lies on the easterly shore of the lake, and the loss of " property in this town was estimated at $9,000. Fortunately, "no persons were killed. The house and other buildings of " John Davis standing directly in the path of the tornado, were " entirely demolished. Not a timber nor a board was left on " the ground where the house stood, nor a brick remained in " its original place in the chimney. A hearth-stone weighing " seven or eight hundred pounds was removed from its bed and "turned upon one edge. All the furniture of the house, " together with the bedding, clothing, &c. was swept away, " and not the value of five dollars of it was ever found. The " family were providentially absent from the house. Three " barns belonging to Josiah Davis were blown away and his " house much shattered. From a bureau standing in the corner " of a room one drawer was taken and carried out of the win- " dow with its contents, and has never been found. A house " belonging to Jonathan Herrick was unroofed, the windows " broken, and much clothing and furniture blown away, but " fortunately none of the family were injured. A new two- " story house frame nearly covered, belonging to Nathan Her- " rick, and two barns, were blown down. A house and barn " belonging to Asa Gage were unroofed, and two sheds carried "away. Anthony Sargent had one barn torn to pieces, " another unroofed, and two sheds blown away. Deac. Peter " Sargent had a barn blown down, one unroofed, and a shed
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THE GREAT WHIRLWIND OF 1821.
" torn to pieces. A house belonging to Widow Harvey was " unroofed, and a barn torn down. A barn of J. P. Sabin's " was torn down. A barn of Levi Harvey's blown to pieces- " also a saw mill torn down and twelve thousand of boards in "the mill-yard carried away ; a grist mill moved some dis- " tance, and a hog-house containing a hog that would weigh " between three and four hundred pounds, was carried two " rods and thrown upon the top of a stone wall, when it fell " into fragments, and the hog, disengaged from his prison, " walked away unhurt.
" The shores of the lake on the following morning, were " covered with the ruins of buildings, fences, furniture, &c. " which had fallen in the tempest. Parallel to the lake shore " stood a stone wall. The stones of this were scattered at vari- " ous distances : some of the stones weighing seventy pounds were " carried to the distance of two rods up a rise or at least four " feet in that distance. A pair of cart wheels, strongly bound " with iron, and almost new, with the spire and axle were " carried ten rods, the spire broken off in the middle, all the " spokes but two broken out of one wheel and more than half " of the other. All the trees in an orchard of one hundred, " without a single exception, were prostrated, and one half " were carried entirely away. The trunk of one divested of its " principal roots and limbs, was found at a distance of half a "mile at the top of quite a long hill. A piece of timber " (apparently a part of a barn beam) ten inches square and ten " or twelve feet in length, was carried a quarter of a mile up " the same hill. Near the top of the hill was an excavation " thirty-five or forty feet in length, some places two or three " feet in depth, partially filled with mangled timbers and " boards, and apparently made by the alighting of one side of " a barn, which must have taken an aerial flight of more than " eighty rods. The extent of the whirlwind in New-London " was about four miles, varying in width as the column alter- " nately rose and fell. From thence it passed up the N. W. " side of Kearsarge mountain apparently in two columns, " which closed again in one as it settled down the opposite side " into Warner."
To-day there are but few traces left of the destruction wrought by the whirlwind in its swift but terrible flight, though
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
the Josiah Davis house, a little back from Hastings shore, is still standing, its roof swept by branches of stately elms that have grown up since that dreadful time. But for months the path of desolation was strewn with flotsam which no one cared to claim or clear up. Finally a fire started in some way near the Hominy Pot, and retracing the course of the tornado burned up the greater part of the debris. The West Part was isolated by the line of fire that swept through to the shore of the lake, and it was only after a long, hard fight that the build- ings in that vicinity were saved from destruction. While the woods were on fire the odor of burning honey stored by wild bees was wafted to a great distance, and at night on Colby hill an ordinary newspaper could be read with ease.
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