USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > A history of the town of New London, Merrimack county, New Hampshire, 1779-1899 > Part 2
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The town of Alexandria, including the greater part of what is now known as Alexandria and all of Danbury, was granted to Joseph Butterfield, Jr., and others in 1767. The conditions of the grant not being fulfilled, the Masonian proprietors again entered upon the land and took legal possession. July 7, 1773, the proprietors held a meeting at Portsmouth, at which a new grant of Alexandria was made to Jonas Minot and others,
7
PALEFACE PROPRIETORS.
embracing all the land included in the former grant to Butter- field. They also, as the record sets forth,-
" Voted that there be, and there hereby is, granted to the " before-named Jonas Minot, and others, upon the terms, " conditions, limitations, and reservations hereinafter men- " tioned : A certain tract of land situated in the county of " Hillsborough and Province of New Hampshire, bounded as " follows, viz. : Beginning at the southwesterly corner of Alex- " andria, aforesaid, on the patent line, and running on said " patent line to Fishersfield Corner in Great Sunapee Pond ; " from thence east on the northerly line of said Fishersfield, " 472 rods, to Perrystown Corner; thence north eighty-five " degrees east, about four miles, to a beech tree marked on " the Perrystown line; from thence north, thirty-nine degrees " east, about 1,672 rods, to a beech tree marked in Alexandria " Corner ; from thence north, 12 degrees west, to the patent " line afore mentioned on the westerly side of said Alexandria." One third of the land in the grant was reserved to the proprie- tors according to their custom, and one of the conditions " hereinafter mentioned " was that the lots should be drawn or divided within ninety days, that a schedule of the numbers, with the list of the settling lots and the lots thereto belonging, should be returned to the grantors within that time, and also that the " said grantees, within said ninety days, shall vote an " acceptance of both said grants, and make a record of such " acceptance." All the conditions were fulfilled within the ninety days, the meeting for the vote of acceptance being held at Londonderry, September 7, 1773, just two months from the issuance of the grant. At this meeting the proprietors voted to " accept of the grant agreeably to the condition of the charter " granted to them by the proprietors of Mason's patent, bear- "ing date July 7th, 1773, which grant includes the township " called Alexandria, in the county of Grafton, and the land " called the 'Addition of Alexandria,' lying in the county of " Hillsborough, both in the Province of New Hampshire." The bounds described in the grant of this "Addition of Alex- andria " are those of the town of New London at the time of its incorporation in 1779, and thus it was that " Jonas Minot and others " became possessed of the lord proprietors' rights in two thirds of the land of the original town.
8
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
It was not until the winter of 1774 that the woodsman's axe awoke the echoes of the forest. Moses Trussell had come up from Hopkinton and built a rude camp on what is now known as the Belden Morgan farm near the Perrystown (Sutton) line. There he dwelt alone through the long, cold winter, and by spring several acres were ready for a " burn." The strong, new ground thus prepared was planted to corn, and cheered by the prospect of an abundant harvest, Trussell returned to Hopkinton for the summer. In due time he came to gather his crop, but found himself anticipated by the bears and hedgehogs. The following spring was the memorable one of 1776, and Trussell, instead of returning to the "Addition of Alexandria," as he had intended, went to Bunker Hill, where in the engagement of June 17 his left hand was taken off by a cannon ball, while he was helping his wounded commander from the field. It was not until 1804 that he finally became a citizen of New London.
The same year that witnessed the corn planting on the Morgan farm also marked the coming of the pioneer settlers, James Lamb and Nathaniel Merrill. Before the close of the year 1775 these were joined by Eliphalet Lyon and Ebenezer Hunting. Lamb made a clearing on what is now the Nathan- iel Knowlton farm, adjoining Morgan's. Merrill located in the vicinity of the "Hominy Pot," and probably was the original settler on the Alston Brown place. Lyon located a little to the east of Merrill, not far from where Lyon brook, named in memory of him, crosses the present highway. Hunting was still farther to the east, and had a log cabin near the old John Trussell house on the road which runs from the Hominy Pot to Crockett's corner. The following year, 1776, was marked by the birth of the first child within the limits of the grant, John Alexander, the son of James Lamb. He lived to a good old age, and is still well remembered in Sunapee, where the days of his manhood were passed.
Between 1775 and 1779 numerous additions were made to the little band of pioneers. There was Samuel Messer, the first " 'Squire," who settled near the George M. Knight house on Knight's hill, and in whose house the first town meeting was held; Dea. Benjamin Eastman, who remained in the vicinity only a few years, though he was one of the petitioners
9
THE PIONEER SETTLERS.
for the town's incorporation ; Ensign Nathaniel Everett, who was on the Charles Crockett farm, near the Sutton line; Nathan Goodwin, who settled near Pike's Landing on Sunapee lake ;- all these, besides Ephraim Gile, John Austin, Jedediah Jewett, Thomas Whittier, Noah Kidder, Israel Hunting, Jacob Hadley, and Nathaniel Stevens, making at least sixteen fami- lies in the settlement in 1779.
Rude indeed were the homes of these bold pioneers, and many were the hardships cheerfully endured by them and their families. There were no roads, the location of the lots being indicated by " metes and bounds," and the settlers made their way about by trails and spotted trees ; but the very few- ness of their numbers, and their remoteness from any supplies, engendered a spirit of interdependence and friendliness. Each newcomer was welcomed heartily to the neighborhood, and all lent a hand to assist him in preparing a home for his family. A simple camp of saplings thatched with brush served for a shelter until the sturdy yeomen with their gleaming axes had made a small clearing and wrought out sufficient timber for the construction of a comfortable cabin. The clearing was burned over, a crop of corn or rye provided for, and then the ener- gies of all were devoted to the building of the dwelling that was to give protection from the severities of winter.
Until Lieut. Levi Harvey built his mills at the Hominy Pot about 1780, every man lived in a log cabin of one or two rooms with an open loft, according to his means and family. How did it look, compared with the houses of to-day? The walls were of logs, dovetailed together at the corners, the chinks filled with moss or clay, the roof being covered with sheets of bark lapped and pinned like shingles. The chimney for the fireplace, built, not of bricks, but of sticks of green wood, laid cob-fashion and plastered inside and out with clay, was at one end and on the outside. The floor of rough-hewn plank, perhaps one small window, and a heavy, swinging door com- pleted a dwelling rude in the extreme yet by no means uncom- fortable. With the coming of cold weather the outer walls were stacked with brush, into which the drifting snows settled and made the cabin snug and warm. There was no lack of wood for the great fireplace, where over the blazing logs hung the huge iron pot in which the skilful housewife compounded
IO
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
the steaming porridge or savory stew ; while cakes of rye or Indian meal carefully disposed on a piece of hewn plank at one side, took on a golden brown crust in the fierce heat that came from the bed of glowing coals.
There were few pieces of furniture, and that of the simplest description. Home-made tables, chairs, and bedsteads served in lieu of the cabinet-maker's productions. The scanty stock of pewter and crockery was arranged on shelves at one side of the fireplace, while a box or chest often did duty as linen closet and wardrobe for the entire family. Yet in these primi- tive homes lived the men and women who served their day and generation so well, and in spite of hardships and pri- vations reared families that were a credit to themselves and to the community. No matter how many pairs of hands there were, there was always enough for them to do. Within, the wheel and loom were kept busy, for the housewife and her daughters must provide the yarn and cloth for the household needs and fashion them for use, must cook the family meals, wash, iron, keep the rough floor neat with brooms of hemlock twigs, and be ready to do a turn for a neighbor in case of need. Out-of-doors the men and boys were equally diligent. The land was made ready for crops by slow and arduous toil, shelter for the stock had to be provided, and for the ingathering of the har- vest barns and various outbuildings were needed. Neighbors joined forces for such tasks as these, and many hands made light work of the heavy framing timbers. Day in and day out they labored, each season bringing its allotted tasks. With the winter came the cutting and hauling of the yearly supply of wood, or the clearing of a new piece of land. The earliest days of spring started the sap in the giant rock maples, and day and night the big kettle swung over the blazing fire till the fleeting harvest of sweets had been gathered in, and then the ground must be prepared and planted. Through the long, bright summer days they toiled, and with the autumn came the reward of their labors. Barn and storehouse were full, and when the wind blew strong and cold from the north and west, till the tiny cabin was almost buried in the drifting snow, within there was warmth and good cheer. Books and papers were scarce, but the Bible was the daily food of this little com- munity of God-fearing men and women.
"PINE POINT" IN LITTLE SUNAPEE, WITH NEW LONDON HILL AND KEARSARGE IN THE DISTANCE.
II
HEIDLEBURG.
CHAPTER II.
HEIDLEBURG - INCORPORATION -FIRST TOWN MEETING -
FIRST SCHOOLS - FIRST HIGHWAYS - SAW-MILL AND
GRIST-MILL - REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER - ELDER AM- BROSE - OATH OF ALLEGIANCE -THE CHURCH AND
MEETING-HOUSE - FIRST CENSUS - ELDER SEAMANS - END OF THE FIRST DECADE-SECOND CENSUS-KEAR- SARGE GORE LOTS ANNEXED- REPRESENTATION - SCHOOL DISTRICTS - THE MILL CONTROVERSY.
Prior to its incorporation as the town of New London, the tract of land granted as the "Addition of Alexandria " had been known more familiarly as Heidleburg. As far back as 1768 a map of New Hampshire was published in London, Eng- land, drafted from surveys of the territory made by Mitchell and Hazzen in 1750, which shows the state divided in numer- ous tracts bearing various fanciful names, though much of the country was still unbroken forest. Among others were some which would hardly be recognized to-day-Heidleburg (New London), Protectworth (Springfield), Dantzick (Newbury), and Perrystown (Sutton). Another map of New Hampshire, prepared at Portsmouth in 1761 by Col. Joseph Blanchard and Rev. Samuel Langdon,-evidently for the use of the Masonian proprietors-has the curved line marking the western and northwestern boundary of the Masonian claim, and within the curved line are included the towns mentioned above. The early settlers of New London knew it as "Heidleburg," and for some years after its incorporation the names of Heidleburg and New London were used indiscriminately by its inhabitants.
Alexandria Addition, alias Heidleburg, was surveyed and laid out in one hundred and thirty-seven lots of one hundred and fifty acres each, within the ninety days specified in the grant issued by the Masonian proprietors, and at the meeting of the grantees held in Londonderry, September 7, 1773, these one hundred and thirty-seven lots were proportionately divided and drawn by the different owners. By the original deed the Masonian proprietors reserved to themselves one third part of the said land, and forty-five lots and one third of two lots had been allotted to them. Of these, nine lots fell to Theodore
12
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Atkinson, Mark Hunking Wentworth had six, and the remain- der of the proprietors- Richard Wibird, John Wentworth, George Jaffrey, Nathaniel Meserve, Thomas Packer, Thomas Wallingford, Jotham Odiorne, Joshua Pierce, Samuel Moore, and John Moffatt-had three each. One half the remainder, or another third part, became the property of Capt. Jonas Minot, of Concord, Mass., making him the largest owner in the Addition. The remaining third part was divided as fol- lows : To Col. Matthew Thornton of Londonderry, ten lots and a fraction ; to Maj. John Talford and Dea. William Talford of Chester, six lots and a fraction and seven lots and a fraction respectively ; to Robert McMurphy of Londonderry, seven lots and two fractions, " and all the common land adjoining the lot 108 by Little Sunapee Pond ;" to Jonathan Bagley of Amesbury, Mass., five lots and a fraction ; to Hon. Daniel Rindge of Portsmouth, two lots, and to Joshua Talford, hus- bandman, of New Chester, one lot; certain lots were also reserved for the benefit of the schools and for the first settled minister. Thus it is that the ownership of most of the land in the present towns of New London and Wilmot is based on title-deeds conferred in consequence of the transactions of September 7, 1773.
But the sixteen or more freeholders who were dwelling within the limits of Heidleburg in the beginning of the year 1779, were still without the capacity to act as a body politic in providing for the various needs of the growing community. There were roads to be laid out and built, and schooling and preaching to be provided for, which called for incorporation and the choosing of sundry properly constituted officials. So it came about that the general court of the state of New Hamp- shire, sitting at Exeter in March of the year of our Lord 1779, was called to act on the following petition :
" To the Honobl Council and house of Representatives Con- " vened at Exeter the Secont Wednesday of march Next
" The humble Portion of a number of inhabitetants of a Tract " of land in the State of Newhampshire Known by the name of " Alaxandria addition or newlondon Sitivat Between old Alax- " ander and fishers field and Parrytown : humbly Sheweth that " your Portisherners labour under a Grat Disadvantage Being
13
INCORPORATION.
"Joyined to Old Alaxander on the accont of Tax Sation the " Distance being Seven or Eight miles threw the Woods whare " there is no Road, nor Cannot be aney Easley had the Ground " Being so Ruff and mountanies, and your Portisherners being " Wholy Deprived of anney Privilege of assessing ower Selves " as Selectmen Can be Expected in the Sitevation we are in at " Present among us Tharefore your Portisherners Prayer is " that we may be incorporated into a Town and have the Same " Privileges that other Towns in this State have your Portish- " erners ar willing cheerefully to Pay ower Equill Porportion " of Taxes with aney other Town in this State Provided we " are in Capasety to assess ower Selves and like wise your Por- "tisherners at Present Laboure under Grat Disadvantages " Concurning Clearing and Repairing highways among us, as " your Portisherner in Duty Bound Doth Ever Pray- "January ye 22 : 1779-
" Samuel Messer Ephraim Gile
" Nathan Goodwin
Jedidiah Jewett
" Noah Kidder Israel Huntting
" James Lamb
Jacob Hadley
" Ebn" Huntting
Nathaniel Stevins
" Benja Eastman."
With the large amount of other business to be transacted it was not until the month of June that the general court found opportunity to heed the prayer of the petitioners, but finally all the forms were duly gone through by that august body, and the twenty-fifth day of the most beautiful month in all the year became the birthday of fair New London. The neighboring town of Andover was incorporated the same day. The legal instrument conferring the rights of a body politic on the inhabi- tants of New London is the opening record in the first town book, with this brief explanatory paragraph :
" The Inhabitants of a track of Land known by the name of " the Addition of Alexandria, petitioned The Honorable General " Court, of the State of New Hampshiretting at Exeter on " the Second Wednesday in March, one Thousand Seven " Hundred and Seventy Nine that they might be Incorperated "into a town which said petition was Granted and an act of " Incorperation Sent to them of which the following is a Coppy."
I4
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
" In the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and " seventy-nine.
" STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
"An act to incorporate a place called Addition of Alexan- " dria, in the county of Hillsborough.
"WHEREAS, a petition has been preferred to the General " Court in behalf of the inhabitants of a tract of land called " Addition of Alexandria, in the county of Hillsborough, set- " ting forth that they labor under great inconveniences for "want of incorporation, and praying that they may be incor- "porated, of which public notice has been given and no " objection has been made.
" Be it therefore enacted by the Council and House of Rep- " resentatives in general court assembled, and by authority of " the same, that there be and hereby is a township erected and "incorporated by the name of New London within the follow- "ing bounds, viz. : Beginning at the southwesterly corner of " Alexandria, aforesaid, on the patent line, and running on " said patent line to Fishersfield Corner in Great Sunapee " Pond ; from thence east on the northerly side line of Fishers- " field four hundred and seventy-two rods, to Perrystown " Corner ; then north, eighty-five degrees east, about four " miles, to a beech tree marked on Perrystown line; from " thence north, thirty-nine degrees east, about sixteen hundred " and seventy-two rods, to a beech tree marked in Alexandria "Corner ; from thence north, twelve degrees west, to the " patent line aforementioned on the westerly side of Alexandria. "And the inhabitants of said township are hereby erected " into a body politic and corporate, to have continuance and " succession forever, and invested with all power, and enfran- " chised with all the rights, privileges, and immunities which " any town in the state holds and enjoys, to hold to the said " inhabitants and their successors forever.
" Mr. Samuel Messer is hereby authorized to call a meeting " of said inhabitants, to choose all necessary and customary " town officers, giving fourteen days' notice of the time and "place and design of such meeting, and the officers then " chosen shall hereby be invested with all the power of such " officers in any other town in the state, and every other meet-
.
I5
FIRST TOWN MEETING.
"ing which shall be annually held in said town for that " purpose, shall be on the second Tuesday of March forever. " State of New Hampshire. In the House of Representa- " tives, June 24th, 1779. The foregoing bill having been read " a third time, 'voted that it pass to be enacted.'
" Sent up for concurrence.
[Signed] " JOHN LANGDON, Speaker.
" In Council June 25th, 1779. This bill was read a third
" time, and 'voted that the same be enacted.'
[Signed] " M. WEARE, President.
" Copy examined by E. Thompson, Secretary."
It is not recorded where the warrant for the first town meet- ing was posted, but 'Squire Messer duly warned the meeting, as attested by the following record in the town book : .
" Pursuant to the appointment of The Honorable General " Court m' Samuel Messer Called a metting of the freeholders " and other Inhabitants Qualified by Law to Vote in town " affairs on tuesday the third day of August one thousand " Seven Hundred and Seventy Nine of which he gave Notis
" for the following Purposes
"Viz
" firstly to Chuse a town Clerk
"Secondly to Chuse Select men
" thirdly to Chuse a Constable & Such other Officers as
" Shall be thought Proper in town
" fourthly to See what method the town will take to have " Roads
" fifthly to know what Sums of Money Shall be Granted to
" Pay the town charges for the Present year
" Sixthly to See if the town will Vote to hire Preaching
" Seventhly to See if the town will hire any School for Chil- " dren."
In compliance with this warrant thirteen qualified voters met at 'Squire Messer's dwelling-house on Messer (Knight's) hill Tuesday, August 3, 1779. 'Squire Messer, by virtue of the power conferred on him by the general court, was considered the proper moderator of the meeting, and after the act of incorporation and the notification had been read the voters proceeded to act on the business of the day. The election of
16
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
town officers was an important affair, and was done by written ballots. There were nearly enough offices to go around, Ebenezer Hunting being chosen town clerk, Samuel Messer, Benjamin Eastman, and Nathaniel Everett as selectmen, Nathan Goodwin for a constable, Nathaniel Everett as town treasurer, and Ephraim Gile and John Austin as surveyors, " Each of which were Sworn faithfully to Serve in the Office " or Offices into which they were Respectively Chosen." The remaining articles of the warrant were then taken up, and the meeting
" Voted to Chuse a Committee to Lay out Roads where at " Present Necessary
" Voted that m" Samuel Messer m" Benjamin Eastman and " m" Nathaniel Everett Serve as a Committee to Lay out " Roads this year
" Voted that Roads be Laid out three Rods wide
" Voted to Purchas the Land for sd Roads
" Voted that four Hundred & fifty Pounds be Raised for " Clearing roads & that Labour Shall be three Pound Per day "Voted that one Hundred & Eighty Pounds be Raised to
" Pay town Charges
" Voted Not to Hire any Preaching this year
" Voted to hire three months Schooling this year
" the meeting Dissolved"
The town of New London was now in running order, and it is only fair to presume from the results that the newly honored officials were zealous in the performance of the duties assigned them. It may be thought that the appropriations for highways and town charges were somewhat liberal for so small a town- ship, but it must be taken into account that the currency then in use was the depreciated Continental money, for the colonies were involved in the Revolutionary War and business was in an unsettled and unsatisfactory condition for several years. A pound in Continental currency was then equivalent to a shilling in silver, and three silver shillings or a bushel of corn was a fair price for a day's work. At this rate the amount voted for highways provided for one hundred and sixty days' labor, which was little enough considering the difficulties that lay in the way.
17
THE SECOND TOWN MEETING.
No record has been preserved as to where the "three months' schooling " was held, or who was the master, but the town book shows that the March meeting for 1786 was held "at the School house in Said town near the mills." At this meeting the town appears to have been set off into districts, and the money raised for school purposes divided proportionately, though there is no mention of any other schoolhouse than the one "near the mills." This was on the right-hand side of the road leading from the Hominy Pot to the West Part and not far from where the late Joseph Trussell had bars at the mouth of a cart-road leading to his woodland at the foot of Clark pond. Many years later the schoolhouse was vacated for lack of pupils, and finally was burned to the ground.
The first school on Colby hill was taught by Mary (Messen- ger) Everett, wife of Jonathan Everett, who came to New London from Attleboro, Mass., in 1788. He first built a log cabin near the site of the Capt. A. J. Sargent house, and the school was kept in one end by the dame, while at the other end Jonathan was shaving shingles for the new frame house which was to be built the coming spring. Mary Everett's education was far superior to that of most people in her day, and her assistance was sought frequently by those to whom the proper exemplification of the three Rs was an uncongenial task. The selectmen of an adjoining town, for instance, dressed flax three whole days for her husband while she made out the taxes for them. She was a woman of remarkable force of character, and her influence in the community is referred to with loving pride by her descendants to this day.
The second town meeting was held March 14, 1780, the warrant for the same being signed by Samuel Messer and Benjamin Eastman, selectmen. In addition to the previous list of town officials, Thomas Whittier was chosen swine driver. The sense of the meeting was that the constable should receive six pence on a pound for gathering the taxes, while the three selectmen were to have one pound, sixteen shillings " between them." The committee on roads made a return of two high- ways,-one from a beech tree on the Perrystown line to the southwest corner bound of lot 103 (a West Part road which if ever built fell into disuse long since), the other being the present highway running from Newbury line to a point a little 3
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