A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I, Part 59

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.]
Number of Pages: 888

USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 59

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BASKETRY. Silas Davis, who lived in a little cottage at 187, was an expert basket maker. This pretty work was quite extensively carried on, in former times by several men who lived in that part of Gilsum known as Nash Corner. Cyrus Bliss, whose early days were spent in Sullivan, did good work of this kind. Older readers of this book will remember the loads of handsome baskets which the people of that neighborhood used to bring to their doors, offering them for sale. The baskets used by many of the farmers in their work were made in that neighborhood.

CIDER MILLS. Sullivan was not noted especially for fruit culture. Most gardens were supplied with small fruits, such as currants, cherries, and plums, of the kinds formerly cultivated. Excepting gooseberries, which were found in a few gardens, no berries were cultivated. Strawberries, raspberries, black- berries, huckleberries and blueberries grew wild in abundance and were not cul- tivated. Pears were cultivated to some extent. Every farm had a few apple- trees and some of them had very good orchards. From the first settlement of the town the farmers made cider in quite large quantities, much more in former times than at present. At first, their cider was probably made at Keene or in some other adjoining town. Very early, a cider-mill was established at 254, on the Thomas Spaulding farm, which was used for many years by Thomas Spaulding and his son Ashley. The Erastus Hubbard distillery, at 169, was used a long time for a cider-mill. There was another cider-mill on the farm of Reuben Morse, near his house, at 2. Amos Wardwell, Sr., also had a cider-mill, on the south side of the road, opposite his house, which was at 25. The mill was opposite the place where the so-called Wardwell road, leading south from the Dea. Frost place, enters the Hubbard road, leading from East Sullivan to the Nims Hill road. There were possibly other cider-mills, which farmers built for their own private use. These appear to have been the chief mills located in the town which did a business for the farmers in general.

EAR-MARKING. Although most farmers of the olden time could make the ear-marks put upon their animals, yet there were those who did it in a sort of professional way. According to law, if ear-marks were registered, no one had the right to duplicate them. It was a sort of patent, and thus identified offi- cially the ownership of animals which had strayed from the enclosures of their owners, or had been impounded. The following ear-marks were described and recorded by the town clerks of Sullivan upon the records, at the dates named :

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James Comstock, Mar. 9. 1804, crop of left ear, slit in right. Samuel Mason, Nov. 24, 1803, half-penny, upper side of left ear. Jeremiah Leland, Nov. 24, 1803, hole through left ear. Dea. Josiah Seward, Mar. 24, 1800, half-penny under side of left ear, slit in right. William Comstock, May 25, 1798, crop of left ear, slit in under side of right. Elijah Osgood, Apr. 12, 1797, hole through left ear, crop of same. Nathan Ellis, May 28, 1796, swallow's tail in end of each ear. Ephraim Adams, May 17, 1796, half-crop of right ear, slit in under side of right. Samuel Osgood, May 17, 1796, two slits in left ear. Philip Proctor, Oct. 20, 1795, crop of right ear, slit in same. Daniel Wilson, Jr., Oct. 20, 1795, swallow-tail in right ear. John Dimick, May 27, 1793, two slits in right ear. Calvin Wilder, May 27, 1793, swallow-tail in left ear. Thomas Beals, May 27, 1793, a hole through left ear. Jonathan Baker, May 27, 1793, half-penny on under side of right ear. Ensign Timothy Dimick, Apr. 28, 1792, half-crop of right ear. Lieut. Jonathan Heaton, Aug. 5, 1791, crop of both ears, slit in right ear. Capt. Abel Allen, Aug. 5, 1791, crop of both ears. Daniel Wilson, June 22, 1789, half-penny under each ear. Benjamin Kemp, Apr. 29, 1789, swallow-tail in right ear, a notch on under side of right. Cornelius How- lett, Apr, 29, 1789, a slit in left ear, a notch under side of left ear. Eliakim Nims, Apr. 29, 1789, crop of right ear, a slit on under side of same. Lieut. Zadok Nims, Apr. 29, 1789, crop of left ear, a slit on under side of same. Ros- well Hubbard, Esq., Apr. 24, 1789, crop of right ear. Thomas Morse, Apr. 24, 1789, hole punched through right ear. Erastus Hubbard, Apr. 24, 1789, half- crop of left ear. John Chapman, Sept. 8, 1788, slit in left ear. James Locke, May 26, 1788, crop of left ear. Joseph Seward, Oct. 1817, crop of both ears, slit in left. Joseph Gibbs (lived at 228), Dec. 1815, right ear cropped, with a hole through it; left ear with a piece cut out, leaving it in shape of a swallow- tail. Amos Wardwell, Dec. 1810, crop of left ear, and a half-penny on under side of same. Selim Frost, no date given, two slits in left ear. James Bolster, no date given, a notch on upper left ear. James L. Proctor, no date, a crop of right ear, slit in both. Samuel Locke, no date, whole crop of right ear, half- crop of left. Samuel Seward, Jr., crop of left ear and slit in the same.

This barbarous method of ear-marking was, in time, superseded by the method of branding the wool on the side of a sheep with an iron letter, or set of letters, or monogram, dipped in hot tar. It did not hurt the sheep and made a pretty and legible mark. Long before this form of marking with iron markers was introduced, the custom of marking any animals other than sheep had, as a general thing, gone out of use. The old custom was not only cruel, but it was difficult to distinguish owners, where the marks were similar, and often the marks were duplicated. In those olden times, when a man had chosen a mark, he could not alter or change his mark, after it had been recorded as such. At first, poor fences, or the absence of fences, made it difficult to keep animals, and especially sheep, where they belonged. In later years, the better fences obviated to a great degree the need of marking any animals except sheep. They were such good climbers and jumpers that it was necessary to mark them. The first record of one of these iron letter-markers was of that of Amos Wardwell, Jr.

INNKEEPERS. Benjamin Ellis kept a public house, which stood nearly or quite on the site of Geo. L. Mason's house, at 237. It was the first public house

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in the place. It was used as such long before the incorporation of the town. The house was very small. It was probably not often that a guest was enter- tained for the night. Such guests as were entertained would be entirely satis- fied with the conditions and accommodations, which must have been very primitive. Mr. Ellis received a license as innkeeper, which was recorded, Mar. 12, 1793, and still another which was recorded, Mar. 12, 1794. He left town shortly after. The license probably gave the right to sell ardent spirits, which was doubtless the chief business of an old-fashioned inn. The old house was later moved, as is understood, to the site of Mr. Chapin's house, at 232. Capt. Abel Allen lived in it. He took out licenses as an innkeeper, on May 27, 1796, Mar. 13, 1797, Mar. 23, 1798, and Mar. 11, 1800. He had moved to the Four Corners from the old Dewey farm, now occupied by M. J. Barrett, although Allen's old house stood at 256. Capt. Allen was a popular landlord and an important man in town.

The next innkeepers were James and John Kingsbury, who lived on the old Mack farm, later the Gibbs farm, where Charles A. Bates now lives, at 206. They were brothers. They had no license, but, in the deeds, are called inn- keepers. Josiah Coolidge received licenses to keep an inn, which were recorded on May 22, 1801, Mar. 9, 1802, and Mar. 13, 1804. His " hotel " was the old house on the town farm, known later as the Winch house, which stood at 70. Many of our readers will remember that little house and wonder at its being a hotel. Its bedroom accommodations would have been indeed very limited, but the house was then on the great highway from Stoddard to Keene, and scores of teamsters stopped there for their grog. Next on the list of innkeepers comes Dea. Elijah Carter, whose licenses are recorded on Mar. 9, 1802, Oct. 19, 1802, June 15, 1805, and Mar. 11, 1806. His " hotel " was the small house where Mrs. Lorenzo W. Mason lives, at 228. Dea. Carter built that house. He afterwards moved to Keene. Caleb Hunt was licensed as an innkeeper, June 10, 1807. He had just purchased of Elijah Osgood the farm known later as the Esquire Locke farm, at 102. He mortgaged the farm to Mr. Osgood, who had to take it back. Hunt came here from Stoddard. His inn was probably the old Joseph Ellis house, previously the old Griswold house, and the first in town. Capt. Elijah Osgood wanted to establish a good hotel, better than any that the town had known ; therefore, after taking back the farm from Hunt, he borrowed money of Ephraim Aplin and built the two-story house at 102, where Samuel Locke, Esq. lived many years. He mortgaged the place to Mr. Aplin. His license is recorded, Mar. 27, 1809, as entitled to sell spirituous liquors. He could not keep up his interest and, getting badly into debt, he ran away in the night and never returned to town again. Mr. Aplin took the place by foreclosure and sold it to the Lockes.

Enoch Woods took a license as innkeeper on Oct. 16, 1810. He had just built that fine two-story mansion at 80, where Mr. Jewett lives. He had perhaps kept an inn previously on the same spot, as he was licensed, Mår. 14, 1809, to sell spirits. The new house of Mr. Woods was the best hotel that had as yet been built in the town. He kept a public house for many years. The last house used for a hotel was the one built by Dr. Lane at 232, which was on the site of the little house that Abel Allen had used for an inn many years before.

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When I. N. Wardwell purchased this house of Dr. Lane, he had the idea of keeping a public house, and did so for a short time, his licenses bearing the dates of Mar. 16, 1832 and Mar. 16, 1833. These are the only inns or public houses in town of which the books give any record. Doubtless many other persons entertained strangers from time to time. Mr. Wardwell took no special license for selling spirituous liquors, and we are not aware that he did. Pre- vious to that time, all hotels and stores sold such articles as a matter of course. It was not until after the great Washingtonian temperance movement spread over the land that the sale of such articles was considered from the moral side. We of today can clearly perceive that they should have been considered from that point of view, but the world moves. Our forefathers, while condemning all excesses, as they would have condemned all other forms of abuse of any custom or privilege, did not, as a general rule, rise to the point of condemning this whole business, as men of correct principles would do, or should do, today.

MERCHANTS. As in the case of innkeepers, the succession of the early traders is traced by their licenses to sell spirits. The first such license was granted, June 1, 1801, to Josiah Dorr, according to the record. We do not know whether the name is here spelled correctly. It may have possibly been Joseph Dorr. He is supposed to have kept a store in what was afterwards the Tirzah Boynton house, at 97. The place had been purchased of Nathan Ellis by Enoch Woods, who had built this building, where he lived a short time before building the great house at 80, or one that preceded it temporarily on the same spot. At the time that Mr. Dorr took out his license, the place was owned by out-of-town persons, and it was most likely here that Dorr kept his store. The next man to take such a license was Roswell Hubbard, Jr., who, as we know, moved into this very house. His license was dated, Mar. 9, 1819. Dorr had probably remained here but a very short time, as he owned no property and is not other- wise mentioned in any of the town records. Hubbard, about 1819, built a store, at 234, just below the site of Miss Peabody's house on the same corner. He continued to live in the house at 97 until 1824, when he bought the site of the house where Geo. L. Mason lives, at 237, and built the house now standing there. He had hardly completed it before he sold it and moved to the state of New York. Nathaniel Evans, who came from Peterborough, bought the house on the corner, at 97, Oct. 14, 1824, and he also bought the Hubbard store, and moved it from its first position at 234 to its second position at 96, immediately east of and adjoining the house at 97. Mr. Evans took out his license to sell spirits, Mar. 14, 1827, and was the last person in town thus licensed. He was in trade many years at this place. His store was a famous rendevouz for the boys in the evening, in the olden time. The customs of that day with respect to country stores were observed here as everywhere. It was before the days of the Washingtonian temperance movement, and men, warming themselves by the blazing fire, would " take something for the stomach's sake," and often treat their friends. Town meetings sometimes adjourned for " half an hour". Thus far only do the records enlighten us. Tradition adds that the men quite gen- erally visited the Evans store between times. If the maintenance, by the month, of poor old " Maney " Hibbard were to be set up at vendue, it was often found expedient to adjourn to the store of Mr. Evans before the bidding could be

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started. Here the tongues would get limbered and bids would be made by dif- ferent persons, who would have to carry the unwelcome intelligence to their wives. Mr. Evans left town in 1832. The old store was afterwards moved around to a new place, at 95, immediately north of the house that F. B. Nims built, or perhaps covering the site of the ell. After standing here a few years, without any specific use, it was finally burned.

The next store in town was that of Mr. I. N. Wardwell, who built a build- ing for that purpose, with a hall in the second story, known as Wardwell's hall. This store was built about 1833 or 1834. Its first position was at 233, in the south-west corner of the four corners of the roads at the centre of the town. It was immediately east of the north-east corner of the house at 232, now occupied by Mr. Chapin. It was a very awkward and inconvenient situation, entirely ruin- ing the beauty of the house at 232, which is a very good house. In the course of half a dozen years, this first location proved to be so disagreeable that the store was moved to its final position at 231. Here it remained for many years, until the property came into the possession of Albert G. Nims, and for some years after that. About 1860, Mr. A. N. Wardwell, son of the first owner, sold out the stock of goods in the store at auction. After that, there was never a store at the Four Corners. This store had been a very good one for a country location, by far the best of any that the town ever had. Like all country stores, it was a variety store and the farmers and their families could buy here every- thing that was ordinarily used in household affairs. Mr. Wardwell put out knitting and braiding of palm-leaf hats. Women and girls in the town earned many a dollar doing such work. Knitting machines and factory-made hats, filling the stores with cheap goods of this character, have, of course, destroyed these old-time industries.

About 1852, a " union store " was established at East Sullivan, at 15, just west of the ell of the house at 14, then occupied by Joseph Whitney, now by Thomas A. Hastings. The neighbors helped to stock the store and retained, for a time, a share in its proceeds. Hence it was called a union store. For about eight years there were two stores in town, this store and Wardwell's store, and both did a fairly good business. Each store had about the same assortment of goods as the other, but Wardwell's was rather the better of the two. At a later date, Leonard B. Curtis, who married a daughter of Gardner Towne, kept a store in the same place, between 1865 and 1870. His wife tended the store and, after her death, in 1869, her father, Gardner Towne, and later, John Sy- monds, continued the store for a few years, being also engaged in other business.

About 1872, Laban S. Bond bought the land immediately south of the Nahum Bridge place and erected a store, which is now the ell of the Gauthier house, at 30. He kept a store here for six or seven years. His property here was finally sold at a sheriff's sale and passed into the hands of Edwin R. Locke of Keene, who recently died at Fitchburg, Mass. Horace H. Bridge kept a store here a few years. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. William M. Leland had the post office here for a time, and sold a few goods. There is now no store in town.

INVENTORS AND NOTED MECHANICS.

Several families in town have been noted for rare mechanical skill. It is to

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the honor of Sullivan that some of the most important mechanical industries of the United States have been invented or started in this country by natives or residents of Sullivan.

The DEWEYS were a remarkably fine family. They settled at 256, on the same farm and near the house, where M. J. Barrett lives. Here was born in 1784, TIMOTHY DEWEY, named for an older Timothy, who had died at the same place in his second year. This second Timothy became one of America's greatest mechanics. While studying in Germany, he learned the secret of mak- ing illuminating gas from coal. He introduced that process of lighting into the city of New York, the first successful plant of that character which was ever established on the American continent, his own house on Grand St. being the first building successfully equipped for permanent illumination by gas. As a mere laboratory, or toy, experiment, such gas had been produced in Boston and Baltimore. Dewey's gas works, or those started under his initiative were the first ever devised for strictly mechanical uses. This distinguished honor is hardly second to that of his distinguished kinsman of recent times, who won the great naval victory in the harbor of Manila.

The FOSTER family has likewise been distinguished for its ingenious me- chanics. All the sons of Stephen Foster, Sr., were good workmen at various trades, but JOSEPH FOSTER deserves to rank among the great inventors of the world. He made a telephone which connected his shop at Keene with the court house and the town hall, long before the famous invention was announced by those who are credited with the discovery. He invented a machine to spin wool from the mass, without carding, by drawing out the fibre in a continuous thread. The machine was in his shop when he died, but no one else could ever put it together. He was experimenting with electricity at the same time as Morse, and along similar lines. In Sullivan, in the old Hemenway shop at 209, he built, in 1829, the first cabinet organ ever made in the world. The instru- ment received the various names of melodeon, aeolian, seraphine, and cabinet organ, according to the form and fashion of the case. This invention has now become one of the most important in the country. He left in his house, at his death. an instrument combining pipe organ, reed organ, and piano, but no one else could ever repair it.

The HEMENWAYS were remarkably ingenious men. In the little shop which stood at 209, LUTHER HEMENWAY made a patent awl handle, which was patented in 1826. The principle is still in use, although he reaped, as is usual with inventors, but a meagre portion of the profits, the patent having early been bought by other persons. Artemas P. Hemenway resided for many years with his father, living, after they moved across the Gilsum line, at 220, which had previously been an awl shop, and, at a later date, was again used for a shop. In 1852, Artemas went to Springfield, Mass., and worked in the United States Arsenal, and, later, was employed there by a private firm in the manufacture of fire-arms. In 1875, his health was suddenly destroyed by " inhaling the oxide from red-hot lead with which he was experimenting in the interest of the firm in whose employ he had for years held an important position." Luke Hemenway, a brother of Artemas P., was a successful and wealthy business man in the city of New York.

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The SPAULDINGS were another family justly noted for mechanical ingenuity. THOMAS SPAULDING, the first of the name to settle in town, built the Hancock meetinghouse, the second Sullivan meetinghouse, which stood back of the Town Hall, and the second Dublin meetinghouse, which stood on the height of land, where the residence of Mrs. Farnham is situated, the rain which descended upon one side of which meetinghouse flowed into the Contoocook, thence into the Merrimack, while that which descended upon the other side found its way into the Connecticut. All the sons of Thomas Spaulding were remarkably ingenious. One son died comparatively early, the other six all built mills or shops of some kind. Jacob operated and finally owned the mill built by his father at 118. Curtis worked also in the same mill and had an interest in it at one time. Dex- ter had a wheelwright-shop at 120 and, later, another, with water power, at 52, which was not wholly completed at his death. Martin built a steam saw-mill at 25212. Dauphin built a saw-mill at 162, and Ashley built a mill across the line in Keene, on the north side of the West Road, near the point where the latter road joins the road along Beaver Brook from Keene to Gilsum, just south-west of the Keene house-site marked 48. The sons of all these men who reached maturity followed some mechanical pursuit, excepting Dea. H. O. Spaulding, the son of Ashley, although he, also, is an excellent carpenter. The latter's half-brother, Edward, is an expert carpenter. Those of the next generation, in this family, exhibit also a high degree of mechanical ability. E. Osgood Spaulding, son of Edward, is a first-class dentist, and the latter's brother, M. Orlan Spaulding, has no superior as a carpenter in this part of the state. The same mechanical ingenuity is discovered in all branches of the James L. Proctor family, who are descendants of Ruth Spaulding, a daughter of Thomas. Burton H. Proctor of Dublin, while a mere lad, made, with his own hands, a wagon which was in use several years.

The GOODNOWS have also been noted for rare mechanical skill, as well as for exceptional musical ability. DANIEL GOODNOW, the first of the family to settle at East Sullivan, was a skilful carpenter. CALEB GOODNOW, a son of the latter, built the best grist-mill and the only bolting-mill ever used in town. There was machinery in this mill which required much skill and ingenuity to keep it in repair. Mr. Caleb Goodnow was a very particular man. He would never operate a machine, any more than he would play a musical instrument, unless it were in perfect order. It was his good fortune that he could adjust his machinery, even as he could perfectly tune an instrument. His children in- herited his mechanical tastes. Mr. L. H. Goodnow is doing fine work, in his line, at his mill.

The ELLISES, in different branches of the family have also developed mechanical tastes. ATWELL C. ELLIS was a good mill man. His son, HON. AUSTIN A. ELLIS of Keene, very early displayed taste in the use of lathes and delicate machinery. He has applied his skill to his present business at Keene, and has built up a flourishing business.

There are many other families in the town in which there have been exhibi- tions of mechanical taste and skill. Originally, all the carpenters were, at the same time, excellent makers of cabinet furniture. Many beautiful specimens of hand-made cabinet furniture, of a hundred or more years ago, are still to be

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seen among the descendants of those who made them. Many more specimens could have been exhibited today, if they had not been wantonly destroyed before their possessors came to a realization of their genuine worth as relics of the past, no less than for their intrinsic beauty and worth.

Space would fail us to enumerate individually all who have done meritori- ous mechanical work. The families which we have mentioned especially seemed to merit this special notice because of the prevalence of the mechanical genius among all their various members, especially the male members, almost without exception.

CHAPTER XIV. LITERATURE AND ART.

I. LIBRARY.

So early as Nov. 23, 1869, a social reading circle was formed in Sullivan, for the purpose of intellectual improvement, which we have described on page 550 of this book. Mr. Stow wrote with reference to this society : "The circle took eight magazines for home reading, and had besides a small collection of choice books. One ultimate object was to secure a library that would meet the wants of the town in regard to good reading." This was the small beginning of a library, in the strict sense, in Sullivan. There had been a little Sunday-school library, of no very great value, but serving a special purpose. It simply con- sisted of a few 'little works of fiction intended to convey certain religious or ethical truths, but contained few works of a didactic character, which would occupy any permanent place in literature. It was a private library, and, in no sense, a town library, as was much more the case with similar libraries at Dublin and Peterborough.

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A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I, Part 59

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917 Publication date: 1921 Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.] Number of Pages: 888

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.]
Number of Pages: 888