USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 36
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v. FIRES.
Sullivan may be fairly considered to have been remarkably exempt from fires, considering that there have been only about eighteen fires since the settlement of the place in 1768, a period of 137 years to the present time(1905). By fires we mean such as resulted in the destruction of some building. The average is only one for seven years. As the town has never had a fire department and no means of extinguishing fires, beyond the simple
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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
expedient of throwing water by hand from ordinary pails, which can do no good after a fire assumes much headway, we feel that this average is, upon the whole, very favorable. The kindness of neighbors at such a time has been very noticeable. Nearly every destructive fire has been followed by a kindly pecuniary contribution from neighbors and townsmen, to aid in rebuilding or otherwise aiding the sufferers. In addition, the townsmen have frequently aided the victims of fires with a goodly amount of manual labor, either upon their farms, or by personal labor upon the new buildings while in process of construction. Such noble deeds of love serve to bring out into relief that which is best in human nature. Sympathy and help, properly and judi- ciously bestowed, cement society and help to promote brotherly- love. The following is a list of the fires in town which have been made known to the writer.
In 1809, the dwelling of Daniel Wilson, which stood near where George Hubbard has recently lived, was burned. Two daughters, Sally, who married Roswell Nims, and Betsey, who married James W. Osgood, were " fixing " to get married. The flax wheels were humming and tow and flax were much in evidence. While they were busily spinning, a dog chased a cat through the room. His tail brushed through the open fire and caught afire. He switched it into the flax, of which there was an abundance lying around, and no human power could save the house, which was soon in flames. Very little was saved from the wreck. The household goods, including a fine outfit for the two girls, "went up in smoke." Sally expeditiously renewed her preparations and was married "inside the frame of the house being erected on the new site," Jan. 1, 1810.
Not far from 1820, three barns in Sullivan were struck by lightning and destroyed during the same shower, which occurred upon Sunday. They were the barns upon the Samuel Osgood farm, where Mason A. Nims lives; the barn upon the Capt. Eliakim Nims farm, on the brow of the hill, above the present house of John H. Woodbury; and the barn on the farm of Samuel Seward, Jr., where Nahum Nims afterwards lived.
Between 1820 and 1825, the house of Samuel Seward, Jr., upon the last named farm, was destroyed by fire, Mrs. Seward had been sweeping with a brush broom. In sweeping her dirt into the open fireplace, sparks had lodged in the broom, which became ignited after she had hung it in a back room and set the house afire.
The old store, which had been used, in different places, by Roswell Hubbard, Jr., and Nathaniel Evans, after having been moved to a spot nearly opposite the William Brown house, now owned by Miss H. A. Peabody, was burned.
In the middle of winter, in the early part of 1844, the cottage of Mrs. Mary, widow of Pompey Woodward, a Negress, was burned. She had purchased some fish. Ignorantly supposing that it was necessary to keep it warm, in order to preserve it, she had put a dish of live coals in her cupboard, to keep it from
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FIRES.
freezing. This tin dish had holes in the bottom of it. The hot coals set her cupboard afire, which soon communicated the flames to the rest of the house. It was in the night and she escaped in her night dress, and went barefoot to the house of James Rawson, who lived where Mrs. Preckle now lives. Her feet were frozen on the way. All the contents of her cottage were destroyed. There was no insurance and she had no means of rebuilding. Except for a pension, from the fact that her husband was in the service of the Revolution, and a small consideration which she received in consequence of a certain right in her little place, she was supported by the town, until she went among some of her friends in Worcester, where she died in the fifties.
During the morning of July 4, 1854, the new house of Dauphin Spaulding, 2d, on the valley road, was burned. Several young men had passed the preceding night at the house. As soon as it was light, indeed before, they had begun to throw fire-crackers out of the windows, making merry, in boyish fashion, with the explosions. Although some defect in a chimney was regarded as a possible cause, it was more generally supposed that the burning crackers, in some way, ignited the building. The house had been built partly or wholly from materials taken from the old second meetinghouse, which Mr. Spaulding had purchased and taken down. The old pulpit stairs and balustrade were used for the back stairs. The dwelling was a thoroughly-built new house. Its destruction, without insurance, was a sad celebration of the anniversary of Independence. Mr. Spaulding had gone to Keene before the fire broke out. Messengers were sent for him, but when he returned he saw only the blackened ruins, at the sight of which he fainted, The furniture was mostly saved, so many men being on the spot at the time. Another house, similar to the first, was built upon the site, now occupied by a daughter of the late Mrs. Jacob Spaulding.
In the summer of 1857, the dwelling of James W. Osgood, in the south part of the town, was destroyed by fire. Charles F. Nims was then a tenant in one part of the house. Mrs. Nims was deranged and was finally taken to the insane asylum at Concord. It is understood that the fire was probably due to some carelessness on her part. Mr. and Mrs. Osgood were aged persons. They man- aged to save a large part of their furniture. They had been intending to leave the house shortly to live, with their daughter, in the new house of their son-in- law, Dauphin W. Nims, which they did do eventually. For a short time, after the fire, they lived in a part of the house of Perry E. Kemp, near their former home. No house was built upon the site of the burned building.
In the middle of the night, in the early morning of Feb. 25, 1859, the dwell- ing and wheelwright-shop of Dexter Spaulding were burned, in the east part of the town. The two buildings joined. The fire caught in the shop, from sparks from an open fireplace. Mr. Spaulding and his wife were alone in the house. As they could not lose the time it would take to summon neighbors, they carried, at once, a large part of the furniture from the house. They could not save what was in the chambers nor all that was upon the first floor. The loss was estimated at a thousand dollars. An insurance of $400.00 in the Ashuelot Insurance Co. was promptly paid. Mr. Spaulding rebuilt, but no buildings now stand upon the site.
Feb. I and 2, 1871, the new dwelling of Daniel Willard Rugg, on the valley
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HISTORY OF SULLVAN.
road, just above the place where Mr. Stevens built, was destroyed by fire. The origin of the fire is not definitely known, but was probably due to a defect in the chimney. The family were away when it started and much of the contents of the house was destroyed. The house had cost $1800.00. The insurance was for $1200.00. The loss on house and contents above insurance was about $1000.00. It was not replaced by another dwelling. A shed stands upon the site. Mr. Rugg now lives upon the Lucius Nims farm.
On the night of Thursday, Aug. 20, 1874, the steam tannery of J. N. Grout at East Sullivan was totally destroyed by fire, together with a large amount of the finished stock. Estimated loss, $20,000. Insurance $12,000. It is a mystery, not wholly divested of unpleasant suspicions, how this fire originated. The insur- ance had been greatly increased immediately before. A new tannery was built upon the opposite side of the river, but the latter building is not now standing.
Sometime in 1877, the barn upon John R. Preckle's farm, formerly the Solon Estey place, was burned. It is understood to have been the result of some care- lessness upon the part of Mr. Preckle's son; but the circumstances were such that it is not probable that it would be just to attribute any positive blame for the occurrence. Young Preckle was a good fellow, who never intended to injure anybody and, in a normal condition, would undoubtedly never have been the occasion of any such misfortune.
Sept. 30, 1878, the dwelling of Justus Dunn, in the east part of the town, on the farm adjoining the Preckle farm just mentioned, was totally destroyed by fire. The disaster was caused by a defective chimney. The loss was estimated at $1000.00. with an insurance of $600.00. Some of the contents were saved. A new house was built upon the site, which still stands, and is owned by Mr. Dunn's eldest daughter.
On Sunday, Aug. 17, 1890, while the family were at church, the two barns of Augustus F. Nims, in the centre district, were totally destroyed by fire, with their contents, consisting principally of a valuable lot of new hay. There was an insurance of $300.00 on the barns, and of $250.00 on the contents. The amount paid was $360.00. The cause of the fires is unknown, but must have been an incendiary, or less likely resulted from the matches or pipe of a tramp. A good barn was built upon the farm, to replace these.
On Mar. 31, 1897, the dwelling formerly occupied by Perry E. Kemp, with the barn connected, was destroyed by fire. The cause was a defective chimney. It was insured for $600.00, the amount paid being $400.00. The buildings were then owned by Mr. Kemp's daughter, Mrs. Rosa M. Tyler, but were occupied by the family of James W. Price, who has purchased the site and built a new house upon it.
On Jan. 13, 1898, the mill of Will. H. Harris, formerly the mill of Dauphin Spaulding, 2d, was totally destroyed with its contents. The fire which destroyed it was presumably set accidentally by unknown fishermen, who had come to the neighboring reservoir to fish and had, most likely, built a fire to warm themselves. It might possibly, as so often happens, have resulted from pipes or matches of fishermen or tramps. The loss of the mill was estimated at $400.00, and of the contents about $1500.00. No mill has ever replaced it.
Oct. 18, 1903, the barns, hay, and farming tools of Israel Pregent, on the old
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THE GREAT GALE.
Leland farm, were destroyed by fire, which was most likely the work of tramps or an incendiary. The buildings were prized at $400.00, and the contents at $200.00. There was no insurance.
v. THE GREAT GALE.
The general exemption of Sullivan from the various kinds of calamities so common in other parts of the country has one notable exception, which seems to call for a special paragraph. We refer to the " Great Gale," as it is usually termed, of Sunday, July 1, 1877. The first indication of this disaster was an im- mense black cloud, of threatening appearance, which appeared in the west, coming from the region of Surry Mountain. As it advanced, a most terrific wind arose which seemed to drive everything before it. It crossed the farm of Dauphin W. Nims, ruining a valuable wood lot, partly demolishing one of his barns and a cider mill. It crossed the farm of Perry E. Kemp, removing his house partially from its foundations. It swept over the farm of the Hubbard brothers, prostrating twenty-five acres of timber and wood. It destroyed, in its course, several acres of wood and timber on each of the farms of Oliver Wilder and Lucius Nims. It finally reached the village of East Sullivan, where it scattered lumber like chaff before an ordinary wind. The two- story house of L. S. Bond was moved several inches from its foundation. The latter's little son, ten years of age, being in the yard, was carried five or six rods through the air and set down in safety. Edwin Albert Blood was leading a horse (drawing a buggy) to the barn. He was lifted into the air and soon landed on his feet, when he saw the buggy coming over the horse towards him. It took the roof from Mr. Blood's house, landing a piece of it five or six rods across the road, and taking the remainder eight or ten rods in the opposite direction, across the Otter River. It then swept up the hill and demolished a barn of Henry Davis, moved another six feet from the foundation, unroofed a sheep barn, and nearly destroyed his orchard. Several other buildings in town were more or less injured.
This was the most sensational freak of nature ever experi- enced in the town. It did much damage likewise in Gilsum and Nelson. On the following day, probably a thousand persons came from different directions and rode through town to observe the results of this remarkable phenomenon. There had never been
40
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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
any such rushing of the elements before and nothing of the kind has since been experienced on anything like such a scale. On Sept. 12, 1900, something, a little like this great gale, occurred, thought to have been the tail-end of the Galveston hurricane. It did little harm, save to tear limbs from trees. The writer went to Sullivan upon that day and found the roads much impeded by broken limbs and fallen trees. See page 89.
CHAPTER VIII. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
I. FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
A first care of all new towns in New England was to provide for the maintenance of religious worship. For several years, until the settlement of the first pastor at a stated salary, the town made regular appropriations for occasional preaching. These appropri- ations were : for 1788, £7, 4s; for 1789, £9; for 1790, nothing appropriated, perhaps because they had some money left of the preceding appropriation ; for 1791, £6; for 1792, £15 ; for 1793, £20; for 1794, £15 ; for 1795, £25; for 1796, £30; for 1797, £40 ; for 1798, no appropriation was made, because Rev. Mr. Muzzy had been settled, at a stated salary. Committees to hire preaching and expend the money appropriated, before the settle- ment of Mr. Muzzy, as the first pastor, were the following : James Locke, Roswell Hubbard, and Elijah Carter, for 1788; Josiah Seward, Joshua Osgood, and Jonathan Burnham, for 1789, "to procure a preast," and to use a part of the appropriation for " board and expense of going after the priest, to be paid in the produce of the earth "; Zadok Nims and Samuel Seward, for 1791 (no committee recorded for 1790) ; Erastus Hubbard and Eliakim . Nims, for 1792; Abel Allen and Ezra Osgood, for 1793 ; Roswell Hubbard and Cornelius Howlet, for 1794; Jonathan Baker and Abraham Clarke, for 1795 ; names of those chosen for 1796 not recorded; Joshua Osgood and Benjamin Kemp, for 1797, after which, a permanent pastor removed the occasion for such a com- mittee.
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Apr. 24, 1788, the town voted to hire 6 days' preaching. The committee named above, for that year, hired Rev. Micah Lawrence, a man about 49. years of age, at that time, to preach eight Sundays, that year. The town paid Mr. James Rowe six shillings for the eight dinners of Mr. Lawrence. This gentleman had been settled several years over the church in Winchester, N. H., but was then the register of probate for Cheshire County, and resided in Keene, where he died in January, 1794. He was a graduate of Harvard College, in the class of 1759. He was a native of Lexington, Mass., the birthplace of Rev. Wm. Muzzy, and doubtless recommended that gentleman as a candi- date for the Sullivan church.
The first sermon ever preached in Sullivan, at a public divine service, was by this Rev. Micah Lawrence, in the barn of James Rowe, on the hill to the north of the present Town Hall. The grandmother of the author of this history, then a little girl in her fifth year, was one of the children in that audience. She clearly remembered the event and often described it to the writer. It was a beautiful morning, the second Sunday of June, 1788. She was led by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Wilson, who lived near, across the fields to the barn of Mr. Rowe. She recalled the long rows of horses, with the saddles upon them, hitched to the trees upon both sides of the "newly-cut road," as she called it. She remembered the great wooden horse-block, which Mr. Rowe had placed by the great doors of his barn, upon which the women alighted from their horses. Blocks of equal lengths, sawed from logs, were placed upon the floor of the barn, across which were laid boards upon which the audience sat. She could remem- ber how Mr. Lawrence looked and she "thought he was God."
Mr. Lawrence preached again in 1789 and in 1790. In 1791, James Rowe was paid two shillings for four dinners for the Rev. Abishai Colton, who had evidently preached that number of Sun- days. Mr. Colton was a native of Longmeadow, Mass., a graduate of Yale, and then a candidate for the ministry. He was afterwards settled in Stoddard, for two years. He evidently preached again in 1792. On Oct. II, of that year, the town voted not to hire him in connection with Gilsum. Mar. 10, 1795, the town ap- pointed Roswell Hubbard, Elijah Carter, and Abel Allen a committee to take the "minds of the town" in regard to the
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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
settlement of a minister and "form some rules how to proceed." On Nov. 7, 1796, it was voted neither to hire nor to settle a preacher. July 24, 1797, it was voted by the town to hire Mr. William Muzzy six sabbaths on probation. He preached his first sermon in Sullivan on Sunday, July 30, 1797.
In the mean time, a church had been organized on Oct. 17, 1792, with 22 covenant members, whose names will appear in the list of members. Aug. 30, 1797, this church observed a day of fasting and prayer, "to seek divine assistance in giving Mr. William Muzzy a call to settle in the Gospel ministry" in Sul- livan. On that day, after the service, the call was formulated and forwarded to Mr. Muzzy. The town, at a special meeting, concurred in the call, on Sept. 4, 1797. Mr. Muzzy accepted the call; Nov. 3, 1797. He was the first and only minister set- tled by the town. The dissatisfaction with that method of settling ministers began about this time throughout the country. Although Mr. Muzzy was one of the most excellent pastors of his time, came of an excellent family, was a perfect gentle- man, and a model Christian, there was that unrest about his ministry which was solely occasioned, not through any fault of his own, but because the idea of being compelled to pay a "minis- ter tax" was getting to be immensely unpopular. As the Bap- tists and Methodists and Universalists and other denominations arose, each claiming to be as good and as much entitled to taxes as any other, it became increasingly difficult to keep peace in the town, while a compulsory tax was paid to the preacher of a single denomination.
As a concession to those who were disaffected with the pay- ment of ministerial taxes, laws were passed by the state, at different times, recognizing as distinct denominations sects which had not before been legally differentiated from the prevailing order of Trinitarian Congregationalists. Thus the Freewill Baptists, the Methodists, and the Universalists, in the early part of the nineteenth century, were declared to be sects different from the Congregationalists. It also became a law that men could be excused from paying the town ministerial tax, if they could prove that they belonged to a different sect from that to which the town minister belonged. In Sullivan, the following men were excused from their town ministerial tax, at the dates named, and for the reasons given :
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Asa Nash, Mar. 26, 1801, was excused to join the Alstead Baptist society. Timothy Dimick, David Chapman, and Reuben Wright, all on Mar. 14, 1804, "refused before evidence to pay a minister's tax hereafter in town." Antipas Maynard, on May 31, 1805, also Benjamin Eaton, on same date, were excused to join the Baptist society in Dublin (now Chesham). Dalphon Gibbs, on May 31, 1 805, was excused because he had become a Baptist by profession. Mar. 4, 18c6, David Chapman was again excused because he had joined the Sullivan Baptist society. Under date of Mar. 21, 1806, occurs this entry upon the town records : " To all whom it may concern, this may certify that Melatiah Willis of Sullivan attends the public worship of God amongst the people called Methodists, and contributes to the support of their ministry. Signed in behalf of the society. William Stevens, Teacher." David E. Boynton, excused Apr. 6, 1807, had joined the Sullivan Baptist society. Nathan Bolster, excused Mar. 29, 1808, had joined the Universalists of Stoddard. Silas Morse, excused Mar. 12, 1813, had joined the Sullivan Baptist society. Daniel H. Corey and Eleazar Hathorn, both excused Mar. 10, 1818, had also joined the Sullivan Baptist society.
Finally, in 1819, the State of New Hampshire passed the " Toleration Act," which abolished the right of a town to raise any tax to pay any clergyman, and left all men free to pay what they pleased and where they pleased, and placed all denomina- tions on the same footing, of supporting their preaching by voluntary contributions. This toleration act, so-called, was per- fectly just, but there can be no doubt that, after the passage of the act, many men gave nothing for religion, or, at the most, a mighty deal less than they would have given, if the old law had prevailed. On the other hand, many, in their zeal for their church, gave very much more than they had ever given before. Had it not been for this fact, the churches could not have sub- sisted. As a rule, however, when men give what they "can afford " they are exceedingly lenient with themselves in regard to the amount.
As soon as the toleration act was passed, it became increas- ingly difficult to raise Mr. Muzzy's salary. As he was settled by the town, of course the town had to pay him while he did stay, because a state cannot pass ex post facto laws. The law could prevent a town from making any future contract of that kind. It could not prevent the execution of a solemn contract already made. Notwithstanding, the voters, knowing that the next min- ister would be simply a parish minister, and not a town minister, naturally grew uneasy and began to wish that the "next minis- ter " were already on the spot. All this had nothing to do with the acceptable ministrations of Mr. Muzzy. He was the equal,
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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
probably in many ways the superior, of any minister that the town has ever had. It was the wrangle over the mode of paying his salary that virtually drove him from town. The difficulties which came up in the town meetings have been mentioned in the MUNICIPAL ANNALS and will not here be repeated. The town clerk's records are as meagre and cautious as one would expect them to be under the circumstances.
There have been three edifices in which the congregation of the first church has worshipped. The first was erected on the
PULPIT.
WEST.
EAST.
DOOR.
FLOOR PLAN OF FIRST MEETINGHOUSE.
hill to the east of what we once called the old Winch house, a house which has now disappeared. It was completed and the building committee discharged, Mar. 13, 1792. It was last used for public worship on Christmas day, Sunday, Dec. 25, 1808. A fuller account of the building of this house may be seen on pages 21 and 22. There is no record that it was formally dedicated.
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
This meetinghouse was first actually used on the occasion of a special town meeting, July 19, 1791. On that day, the ma- terials for construction which had not been used were sold to the citizens. Undoubtedly religious services began to be holden on the following Sunday, July 24, 1791. The town had raised £52, at two different meetings, for building this house. A row of pews was constructed, by vote of the town, around the walls, one of which appears to have been reserved by the town as a "minister pew." According to the custom of the time, these pews would have been arranged, as in the plan, about 14 in all. We do not know who bought these 14 pews. It is highly probable that the list included Daniel Wilson, James Locke, James Rowe, Joseph Ellis, Joshua Osgood, Abel Allen, Roswell Hubbard ( with whom his brother Erastus, then unmarried, probably sat), Eliakim Nims, Zadok Nims, Elijah Osgood, Josiah Seward, Samuel Seward, and Elijah Carter. Jonathan Burnham was about ready to leave town. Grindall Keith was just ready to sell his farm to Elijah Rugg. Jesse Wheeler was very poor in purse and not likely to have bought a pew. The inhabitants of the north-west part of the town were all Baptists. We conclude that the probable list of pew owners here named would be likely to have been the 1 3 who took the pews, but we know not in what order they were num- pered or sold. In the centre of the building were rows of seats, or slips, for those not owning pews. The door, on the south, opened directly into the audience room, opposite which was the pulpit. John Winch gave the writer these facts and also told him that the roof was square, "very high, with a steep pitch." Mr. Winch said that the building, after being disused, stood in ruins many years, and fell, one night, in the middle of the night, with a loud crash. Its site is plainly visible today.
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