USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
built the first house for worship and town meetings. In the south-west corner, stood the old first pound, already described. Near the church door, on the south side of the edifice, was the old "horse block" upon which the women stepped when they alighted from their horses. It is a tradition that there were horse sheds on the lower side of the common, although horses, at first, were put into Mr. Rowe's barn, in rough or wintry weather. There were, at first, no vehicles to be accommodated. We find no deed from Rowe to the town. Mr. Rowe sold the farm on which it was situated, and died, later, at a house which stood a little west of where Winfred J. White lives. His widow repurchased the old farm and also married Caleb Winch of Fitzwilliam. At her death, she willed the whole farm to the town of Sullivan, its income to be used in maintaining the poor. For that reason, the town owns, in connection with the whole farm, what was the original common. That spot was not used for a common after the dedication of the second meeting-house, Dec. 29, 1808.
The second and present common was not located without great difficulty. Meeting after meeting was called to decide where to locate the new meetinghouse, after it was decided to abandon the first one. Finally, at an adjourned meeting, on Sept. 23, 1807, it was agreed to "end the quarrel " by request- ing a committee of gentlemen from outside the town to decide upon a locality. It was voted that Samuel Seward, Erastus Hubbard, and Solomon White nominate such a committee, whose report should " be binding". They nominated Jonathan Robertson of Surry, Robert Hurd of Gilsum, and Samuel Griffin of Packersfield, who accepted the charge. Their report was received and accepted at an adjourned meeting, Sept. 29, 1807. They selected the spot where the blacksmith-shop of Enoch Woods then stood. It is the same spot which has continued to be the common to the present time, on which the Town Hall stands. The town had already purchased this piece of land of Mr. Woods, by deed dated, June 22, 1807. The price was twenty dollars, but Mr. Woods afterwards wanted twelve dollars more, on account of the expense of moving his shop. This was granted and the land, including about an acre, was thus obtained for $32.00. This was after the road, No. XLV., had replaced
287
ROADS, BRIDGES, POUNDS, AND COMMONS.
that portion of road No. III. which extended from the house on the hill to a point east of the present Town Hall, but before the building of road No. LI., from the "common " to the Spaulding Brook. The common, at first, had no road through it. It was bounded on the west by the road which leads down the hill from the site of the old town-farm house, continuing southerly past the present house of Mr. Jewett, to a point west of the house of M. A. Nims, whence it turned easterly by the last named house. In the north-west part of this common spot, a little way down the road to the north, was the shop of Mr. Woods, which he removed to the north-west corner formed by the intersection of the roads. Along the northerly part of the common was built the second meetinghouse, dedicated, Dec. 29, 1808. Still back of this was a long row of low horse sheds. The style of the meetinghouse will be noted in another chapter. That edifice was used for worship just forty years, when the third meeting- house was dedicated, Dec. 7, 1848. The old second meeting- house was used for the last time at a special town meeting, May 31, 1851, when it was decided to have it taken down and to build a new Town Hall. That hall was first used for the annual town meeting of Mar. 9, 1852. On Oct. 19, 1807, only four months after Mr. Woods deeded the common to the town, a road was laid from the south-east corner of it, No. L., towards Pack- er's Quarter (now called East Sullivan ), and another, through the common, thence to Spaulding Brook.
Mar. 8, 1859, the town authorized the select-men to convey that part of the common lying south of the road leading through the common to East Sullivan. Sept. 7, 1812, the town had voted to sell the Rowe land (the old first common) which had been given to the town. No records are found at the Chesh- ire registry of any conveyance of either. All of the Rowe land came to the town by the will of Mrs. Winch, formerly Mrs. Rowe.
CHAPTER VI.
CEMETERIES.
I. OLD FOUR CORNERS CEMETERY.
The first person who died within the limits of Sullivan, as the town is now bounded, was William Comstock, Sr., who died Oct. 7, 1773, at the age of 40 years. His body was the first buried in the old cemetery at the Four Corners. His headstone was not erected until many years later. The first headstone, made of a rough stone taken from the field, probably by his father, was erected at the grave of little Timothy Dewey, who died May 12, 1783, in his second year. These facts are pre- served by authentic tradition. After the burial of Mr. Comstock's body, that locality continued to be used, by common consent, as well as the consent of the owner, as a place of burial for the dead. On March 13, 1792, the town appropriated £10 to fence the graveyard, and voted that the select-men give orders to the high- way surveyors to work out the same as they may think proper. It was also voted to choose a committee to survey the ground and mark it out and to procure a deed for the town from the owner, who was Benjamin Ellis. The names of the committee are not recorded. They reported on May 7, that the grounds would not .permit a burial spot of more than eight rods square, which would answer well for the purpose. Their report was accepted and the select-men were authorized to procure a deed for the town from Benjamin Ellis, the owner.
On March 14, 1797, a committee of six men was chosen, consisting of Zadok Nims, Abraham Clarke, Elijah Carter, Jo- siah Seward, Roswell Hubbard and Eleazar Brown, to lay out the burying-ground in form. This was a most timely and valu- able act. They proceeded to lay out the ground as directed, into rectangular plots, about 7 by 14 feet each, which were after- wards selected by families, as occasion required, for family burial
289
CEMETERIES.
lots. A chart of the ground was prepared on sheepskin parch- ment, which was then, or later, fastened to stout cloth. The writer of this volume has seen it. On this chart, the lots were properly delineated and the names of lot-takers inserted from time to time, as they were taken. As a result of this extraordi- nary foresight on the part of the founders of this town, the writer has been enabled to identify every grave in the old cemetery, with possibly the exception of those in a single lot of which the lot-taker's name had become illegible upon the old chart. The writer also made a copy of this chart for himself and another for the superintendent of cemeteries. The chart of the cemetery made by the committee aforenamed was accepted by the town, at a meeting held Sept. 27, 1798.
On Mar. 11, 1800, the town appropriated eight dollars for a bier and a " burying-cloth." The latter was a pall made of black broadcloth, of large size, in rectangular form, the borders of which were edged with heavy black fringe. It is still in the care of the town burial sexton, unless it has perished very re- cently, as is also the bier. At an old-time funeral, the coffin was draped with the pall during the funeral service, and was borne to the grave, by hand, upon the bier. From eight to ten men or boys would accompany the bier, taking their turns carrying it, the mourners following all the way on foot, though later upon horses, however far the distance might be.
Abel Allen bought the house and land, which had been oc- cupied by Benjamin Ellis. He bought the same of a Mr. Hills of Swanzey to whom Ellis had sold them. Perhaps the town had been remiss in taking a deed from Ellis. None seems to be on record. At all events, the town, on Mar. 14, 1815, appointed a committee, consisting of Josiah Seward, Samuel Seward and Roswell Hubbard, to settle with Allen about the matter of the burying-ground. Probably Allen's deed covered that ground and he demanded pay for it.
On Mar. 13, 1827, the town voted that the select-men be authorized to purchase a hearse and build a house to keep it in, the hearse house to be as near the cemetery as convenient. On the eighth day of the preceding December, Samuel Osgood died, who lived where M. A. Nims does. There had been a heavy fall of snow, which had been melted by a thaw, and the roads were
290
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
exceedingly muddy. It was decided to convey his body to the grave upon the body of a wagon, in consequence of the bad travelling. This was the first corpse in town which had been carried to a grave upon a wheeled vehicle. In winter, however, when the snow was deep and drifted, a few bodies had been conveyed to the cemetery upon ox sleds. The body of Nathan Bolster, whose funeral occurred in the midst of a howling snow- storm in March, was thus carried to the grave. The hearse was built by William Brown within a month from the day that the town authorized its construction. It was hurriedly finished, at last, that it might be used at the funeral of Sparhawk Kendall, who died on April 4 of the same year. . His body was the first which was borne to its grave in Sullivan upon a regular hearse. Mr. Brown also built the hearse-house, the same season, exactly where the gate of the cemetery is placed. He received forty dollars for making the hearse and the hearse-house.
Many who read this volume will remember well that old hearse. During its existence, it had called at nearly every door in Sullivan. It was a clumsy vehicle, for one horse, with heavy black cloth curtains at the sides and rear end, the bottoms of the curtains being edged with deep black fringe. During the funeral service, the coffin was covered with the heavy black pall, called the " burying-cloth," to which we have alluded. The ser- vice, anciently, was of great length, the sermon alone often occupying an hour, not to speak of the Bible reading, prayers, and hymns. Few flowers were used, only simple bouquets or wreaths of common garden flowers in their season, or perhaps a few wild flowers. At the funeral of Mrs. Daniel Wilson, in 1825, a bunch of tansy in blossom was laid upon the pall. In winter, the absence of flowers, the chilly air, and the dreary services rendered such an occasion a most gloomy procedure. All the citizens of the town, as a rule, attended funerals in the olden time. At the funeral of the first wife of Amos Wardwell, Sr., a town meeting adjourned, for a time, to afford all an oppor- tunity to be present. Mourners were seated, during the ser- vice, with a mathematical precision, beginning with the "head mourner " (because placed at the head of the coffin), and pro- ceeding according to the varying grades of blood relationship. Complaints were not infrequently heard of those who were "not
291
CEMETERIES.
placed as near the corpse as they should have been." Errors on the part of the "conductor of the funeral," that is to say " the master of ceremonies " ( a duty now often left to the undertaker ), were likely to be forcefully brought to his notice. The sermon set forth the certainty of death and the dangers of a lack of preparation for eternity, and, often, entered minutely into the details of the life of the deceased. These biographical niceties were formerly considered of far greater importance than they are today. After the long service was concluded, the assembled friends "took their leave of the departed," as the phrase was. The face of the corpse was not exposed to view during the service. After this was concluded, the " conductor " would fold the pall back and open the lid of the coffin. This was an almost invariable custom, no matter what was the nature of the disease of which the person had died, and no matter how much the face and features were distorted and mutilated by the ravages of any infectious distemper. Two young children of Rev. Mr. Muzzy caught the "spotted fever," so-called, by viewing the bodies of some children of a prominent citizen which had died of that dis- temper, and both of them died of it. This leave-taking was always done in the most painfully public manner, beginning with the "head mourner," and ending with the neighbors who were not relatives. It called forth a certain morbid curiosity to watch the chief mourners as they took their leave, to see "how they took it," to quote the current expression. In modern times, pains are taken to afford the afflicted family and nearest friends an opportunity to perform this sacred duty in the greatest possi- ble privacy, as is always most fitting.
After all had taken their last look at the face of the de- ceased, a white cloth, sometimes called a "napkin," was placed over the face of the corpse (perhaps suggested by the napkin placed about the head of Jesus, to which an allusion is made in John XX. 7.). The coffin was then closed and the pall wrapped about it. It was then fastened to the bier, on the ends of whose legs were rude castors. This bier, surmounted by the coffin, was then trundled into the body of the hearse. This action pro- duced a squeaking, grating sound, strikingly noticeable on such an occasion. Children were sometimes frightened with the thought that the corpse was screaming. The procession to the
292
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
grave was formed with the same precision as the seating of the mourners at the house. Funerals were sometimes in the meeting- house, but most usually at the homes of the deceased. When they were at the church, a service of prayer was usually held at the house before proceeding to the church. At the meeting- house, the body of the deceased person was sometimes left in the entry upon the bier. Sometimes, and with much more pro- priety, it was carried to the altar of the church.
Having reached the cemetery, the bier, bearing the coffin, was removed from the hearse and borne by the bearers to the grave. This bier (which is still used upon certain occasions) has wooden handles, which could be dropped to a perpendicular position when in the hearse, or raised to a horizontal position when the bier was borne by hand. The cemetery was entered by passing through the hearse house. This dark brown, dismal little building was built in 1827, on a lot which had been selected by Judson White for a family burial lot, on the south side of the cemetery. His little daughter, Nancy Angelia White, had died in 1818, at about six years of age, and her body was already buried and continued to remain on the spot where the hearse house was built. There was no headstone. This tiny building was just large enough for the hearse and for a structure which was used for a winter hearse, consisting of a long, black sleigh bottom, with three slender, upright, black posts upon each side. Upon this the coffin, draped with the pall, or " burying-cloth," was strapped, with straps permanently secured to the flooring of the sleigh. This little dark-brown, almost black, hearse house in time became very rusty and unsightly. It had large, single doors on the north and south ends, which were always open upon the occasion of a funeral, and the procession always passed through this building in going from the carriages to the grave, as it was the only entrance to the cemetery. No steps were built in front of it, and the bank was then so steep that it was not easy to reach the south door. The floor boards were loose, and those of our readers who remember one of those old-time funerals will recollect the clattering which was made as the procession passed through.
As a rule there was no committal service, nor any special religious service at the grave. The minister rarely went to the
293
CEMETERIES.
grave, except upon some occasion of unusual interest. After the coffin had been deposited in the grave, the conductor of the funeral thanked the bearers and all who had assisted in any way upon the solemn occasion, and usually invited all to return to the late home of the deceased person, where it was expected that a bountiful dinner would be served, often largely or wholly pro- vided by neighbors, and of which the greater portion would heartily partake. At a funeral, all of the kindred and, sometimes, intimate friends and persons employed in the family were ex- pected to be dressed wholly in black, or in " mourning," as it was called. The men wore weeds upon their hats. To this end, whenever a death occurred, the whole region would be searched by the kindred in their efforts to borrow mourning garments with which to be clothed at the solemn service. Formerly, even young children were expected to appear in black upon such an occasion.
Until 1827, it had been the custom to serve liquors at funerals. Sometimes they were set out upon a table, where anyone could help one's self. Sometimes a punch was served. Glasses placed upon large waiters were carried around the room, accompanying pourers filling them and handing them to the assembled friends. The "parson " was politely served first, who sometimes allowed his glass to be replenished, and who rarely refused to be served. The kindred were next served in the order of their relationship, and finally the neighbors. In well- to-do families gloves were often given to the assembled friends, to wear upon that occasion and to keep as a souvenir of the event. In larger places, gold rings were also given to funeral guests, as a souvenir of the occasion. The writer recalls no instance where rings were ever given in Sullivan, at such a time. On several such occasions, however, black gloves were given. The material and the quality of them depended on the condition of the family. Liquors were last served at Sparhawk Kendall's funeral, in 1827.
The coffins of the olden time were of a pattern not often seen by those of later generations. They were narrow at the head, and still narrower at the feet, and broadest at the shoul- ders. The ugliness of the shape gave them a particularly for- bidding appearance. The use of coffin plates was not common
29
294
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
at first. The name of the deceased and the date of death and age were sometimes made with small, brass-headed tacks so driven that the heads would make letters or figures. The coffins of Josiah Seward, Jr., and Josiah Seward, 3d, the grandfather and uncle of the writer, were marked in that manner, in 1831. In rarer cases, the dates, names, and ages were painted ingen- iously upon the lid. It was not until about the middle of the nineteenth century that coffin plates were much used in the town. It was a little later, between 1850 and 1860, that the modern casket replaced the old time coffin, When these caskets, handsomely made and usually covered with cloth, appeared, the old-fashioned pall, or " burying-cloth ", was disused.
In former times, a corpse was usually shrouded in white (either linen or fine cotton), and presented a most ghastly ap- pearance in the coffin, which, in very early times, would never be lined. The body was usually placed so as to lie wholly on the back and the head was scarcely raised. The modern custom of clothing the dead in their accustomed garments, or such as resemble them, of putting them in handsomely lined caskets, sometimes oval at the ends, and of so placing them as to cause an almost lifelike appearance, is a great improvement upon old methods, to which we are indebted to undertakers who have made an art of their business.
Originally, coffins were made by neighbors, as an act of kindness. In early times, each settler could do almost any kind of handiwork. Later, the town made contracts with particular persons to make coffins and paid for them. Still earlier, the friends of the deceased had hired them made. The price was rarely more than a dollar and a half for each coffin for an adult, and still less for a child's coffin.
In former times, a grave presented an appearance which almost produced terror. No flowers and no evergreens were brought to it. The coffin was deposited without being placed in a box, and a thick plank of the same shape as the lid was depos- ited on the top of the coffin. The mourners then, as is still the custom in Sullivan, departed from the spot before the grave was filled. A recent custom has been introduced into Sullivan, as well as into other places, of decorating the graves with evergreen and flowers, concealing the earth that has been removed with
295
CEMETERIES.
evergreen or cloth, and sometimes lining the grave with white cloth. This tends to remove many of the disagreeable sensa- tions connected with such a solemn service.
The graves of the dead in Sullivan cemeteries are very gen- erally marked with suitable headstones. The old Welch slate headstones have proved to be far the most durable. Marble has been proved by experience to be an unreliable material for such a purpose. It will not stand the severity of our harsh New Eng- land climate. A headstone of Welch slate at the grave of Mrs. Hannah Seward (mother of Dea. Josiah. Seward), who died in 1787, is still as legible as it was when erected much more than a century ago, and the same is true of certain other headstones in the old cemetery.
After the new bell was placed in the church belfry, in 1860, it was customary to toll for the death of anyone in town. The bell was tolled for a quarter of an hour or more, with long inter- vals between the strokes of nearly a minute in length. At the conclusion, the age was struck, by giving as many strokes as there were completed years in the deceased person's age. After another pause, a single stroke was given if the person were a male and two strokes if a female. It was not customary to toll for infants under three years of age. On the day of the burial, if the procession passed the church, the bell was tolled while it passed. It was first tolled for the death of Henry H. Keith, on the afternoon of Dec. 6, 1860. He had died the previous day, at Saxton's River, Vt., while absent from home. It was again tolled as his funeral procession passed the church, on the 7th. After 1881, the bell was tolled when requested. After 1891, the town made no provision with respect to the tolling, and it is rarely tolled, unless in the case of aged or prominent persons.
It was on Mar. 10, 1835, that the town voted that a plank be provided to cover the top of the coffin in the grave. At the meeting of Mar. 10, 1846, it was voted to authorize the select- men to repair the hearse. In 1857 (as we shall see later), a new cemetery was prepared and a new hearse house built. It was voted, Mar. 8, 1859, to sell or remove the old hearse house. It was removed that year, having served its purpose since 1827. It was also voted, at the same meeting, to build a.gate at the old cemetery and repair the walls. The gate was not built, that
296
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
year, however. On Mar. 13, 1860, it was voted to place it on the south of the cemetery, on the spot formerly occupied by the south end of the old hearse house. At the last named meeting, it was voted to construct a bank wall on the south side of the old cemetery, which was done, that year. The gate was also erected pursuant to the vote.
The custom of using a committal service at the grave has been introduced, and such a service is now quite common. The first time that the burial service of the Protestant Episcopal service was used in Sullivan was at the burial of Mrs. Levi Higbee (see burial lot, VIII. I.), who died Jan. 3, 1863, and was buried on the fifth of the month. The service was conducted by Rev. (afterwards Rev. Dr.) E. A. Renouf of Keene. After this, at different times, other clergymen, of other denominations, offered brief prayers upon such occasions, or used such commit- tal services as were customarily used by them. It is rather the rule, in these later days, to use some such service at a grave, in any town. The fraternal societies, also, such as the Freemasons, the Odd Fellows, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Patrons of Husbandry, and many other social and secret orders, have their special burial services which are used, from time to time, at the graves of members of their order. On such a solemn occasion, a brief religious service seems quite in place.
We shall now proceed to give the inscriptions upon the headstones in the old cemetery. Each lot will be referred to its range and lot number according to the old plan originally made by a committee appointed by the town, to which we have already referred. The names of lot-takers follow the range number (which is in Roman numerals) and the lot number (which is in Arabic numerals). The accompanying chart of the cemetery, on a small scale, but in true proportions, will enable readers to identify the lots and the graves. It is to be hoped that it will lead to the marking of some of the unmarked graves. In these inscriptions, the original spelling and phrasing are literally pre- served, even if incorrect in grammar and orthography ; the object being to give exact transcripts. The births and deaths and family connections of those whose epitaphs are here given will appear in more ample form in the GENEALOGICAL TABLES in the latter part of this volume.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.