USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampstead > A memorial of the town of Hampstead, New Hampshire : historic and genealogic sketches. Proceedings of the centennial celebration, July 4th, 1849. Proceedings of the 150th anniversary of the town's incorporation, July 4th, 1899, Volume I > Part 16
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With kind regards, I am faithfully yours,
WILLIAM ISAAC SMITH.
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MEMORIAL OF THE TOWN OF
Mr. Edward C. Smith regretted exceedingly being detained at home in Manchester, as he felt it his duty to represent his father (the late Judge Isaac W. Smith), who was looking forward to the 150th anniversary of the Town of Hampstead with so much pleasure. The following " Ode, dedicated to the Citizens of Hampstead, New Hampshire, on the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of its Birth, by William Isaac Smith, July 4th, 1899," was read by Rev. Rufus P. Gardner.
Old Hampstead, fairest, loveliest of all New Hampshire's inland towns,
Rich in thy store of manly sons and noble daughters unsur- passed,
Beneath whose soil my grandsire and his sire await their heaven- ly crowns,
Among whose fields and woods my father's happy boyhood days were passed,
We greet thee, on this day of days. These woods, these lakes, these vernal skies,
Unite to do thee honor. Thy children meet around this festal board,
Renew once more their early friendships, forge anew the ancient ties
Which bind us all to thee. Just as the miser counts his prec- ious hoard,
So canst thou count thy loyal sons thy richest treasure, thine alone,
And yet to-day all come not at thy call. Some lie in distant graves,
Thy deathless heroes-Hampstead's loyal dead-whose names are carved in stone
From yonder Granite Hills. Some lie beneath old ocean's restless waves,
And some in yonder churchyard-all at rest with God. We see them not,
And yet, perhaps, their pure souls hover near and bless us here today.
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HAMPSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Sons of old Hampstead, wist ye why your fathers chose this lovely spot,
One hundred two score years and ten, ago? Grant me the right to say.
In the heart of every true man is enshrined a Heaven-born flame, Growing brighter when its owner lifts himself above the plane, Where his brothers dwell contented, to the heights which those may gain
Who make ladders of their failures, scorn defeat, and laugh at pain.
And this Heaven-descended fire spurs man on to deeds sublime ; Deeds that echo through the ages, growing with the growth of time.
Wrongs are righted, truths supported, faiths are strengthened, slaves set free-
Where the fire burns the brightest, shines the light of Liberty. And the flame which leads to action, planted in the human heart, Finds in every age and nation, in all lands, its counterpart, For it burns among the lowly, and with those of high descent ; It is known in every language by the name of Discontent.
From the ages comes the warning, from your fathers comes the cry,
Forward, Sons of Hampstead, Forward ! 'Tis a message from on High.
Let your discontent wax stronger : if it lifts you 'tis sublime ; Man can never rise with fetters, 'tis the free alone who climb. So shall your circles widen, till their radii, longer grown,
Merge themselves among the countless emanating from the Throne.
TRENTON, N. J., June 29, 1899.
REV. RUFUS P. GARDNER, Chairman of the Committee of the 150th Anniversary of the Town of Hampstead. Dear Sir :-
Your kind invitation to be present on the 4th of July next at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of my native town received. It would give much pleasure to be present on that day and it is only the distance that keeps me from it.
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Fifty years ago I attended the Centennial celebration in the same grove, where you will now assemble. May the day be as comfortable and pleasant as it was on that day, July 4th, 1849.
Respectfully yours, MRS. TRYPHENA W. LADD.
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, June 21, 1899.
MR. R. P. GARDNER, Hampstead, N. H.
Dear Sir :-
Permit me to avail myself of this earliest opportunity to thank you for the invitation to be present at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the town of Hampstead. Two very important factors-time and distance have the control of the situation at present and will only allow me to participate in imagination, the renewal of old friendships on this anniver- sary day.
Your invitation, illustrated by the old meeting house, high school and public library, teaches a lesson of substantial growth ; the ready facility for moral, educational and social improve- ment. Hampstead-conforming to the best in literature and art-chaste, pure, and refined, will I trust, with such an en- vironment, ever be loyal to that which makes for the better- ment of its citizens, and its homes now and in the years to come the birthplace of a perfect manhood.
Yours fraternally,
HARLEN H. PILLSBURY, M. D.
PHILADELPHIA, PA. July 3d, 1899.
Messrs. GARDNER, BENNETTE, and EMERSON.
Fellow Townsmen and Friends :-
Your kind invitation to be present July 4th, at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the town of Hampstead duly received.
My heart was overjoyed to realize that while absent, I am not forgotten. Sadly do I regret that on account of sickness in my family I will not be able to be present, although up to
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this date I had expected to once again visit the home of my childhood, where the happiest days of my life were spent; to once again visit the old church, where I loved to worship with my mother ; to once again visit the high school where I finished my education ; to once again (as in days gone by ) to ring the bell that yearly reminds our townsfolks that we are living in a glorious land of liberty and independence.
My memory will not carry me back to the incorporation of my native town, but since leaving my home, I have learned of many changes.
Ten years ago God, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to call home my schoolmate and friend, Dana G. Marble, soon after followed my Sunday school teacher, Deacon Sanborn, and but recently I have learned of the death of my grandfather ( Amos Atwood). Such men will be sadly missed, and it can be truly said that when their life's work was ended, there passed from earth to heaven the spirits of true Christian gentlemen.
Time is ever passing on, and pauses not in its swift career but snatches away the young and the old and bears them on to the dark ocean of eternity.
Of the pleasant changes that have taken place in the past twelve years, I am not familiar, but I trust they are many. God grant that you may continue to prosper, may your anni- versary be of such a nature that it will do the most credit to my old New England home.
Though absent, my heart will be with you on the fourth.
Most truly yours, WILL C. WILSON, 3244 Fairhill St.
From Rev. Henry A. Merrill, Pastor of the Congregational Church, Kennebunkport, Me.
KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE, July 3d, 1899.
REV. RUFUS P. GARDNER.
Dear Sir and Brother :-
I am so sorry not to be able to be with you July 4th. A fall makes it impossible to get about without crutches.
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Hampstead, Atkinson and Plaistow are towns of great in- terest to me. My great grandfather Noyes went from Atkinson where he was born, to Landaff, N. H. in his later years. He married a daughter of Reuben and Mehitable ( Putnam) Har- riman, who were early and prominent residents of Hampstead until their deaths, in the early part of this century.
My grandfather, Abel Merrill, moved from Plaistow to War- ren, N. H. and was a son of Dea. John Merrill of Hamp- stead's interests, before the town's incorporation. My grand- mother Merrill was a daughter of Dea. Benjamin Kimball of Hampstead, who was a son of Dea. Jonathan Kimball, first dea- con of the church at Plaistow. Dea. Kimball's wife was a daughter of Dea. Daniel Little of Hampstead, who was named in the charter of the town on its incorporation, to call the first town meeting.
Thus four of my great great grandfathers were of the Proprie- tors of the town, the Harrimans being there as early as 1722, when sent out as one of the scouting party from Haverhill, Mass.
Permit me through you to extend to the people of Hamp- stead, my hearty congratulations, on all that the day brings to your minds of the past and present ; and your hopes for the future. Towns, as well as nations, are made up of persons, individuals. Each person's character is a part of the town's life. It cannot be separated from it. The true, earnest Chris- tian men of the past, gave strength and character to your town. They rehearsed their principles to their children, who tried their experiments in their colonies, and when God's hour struck, furnished forth these United States. When we re- member what they accomplished with their meagre resources, can we no less than stand with uncovered heads before their memory? Urged on by a common faith, they made intelli- gence, equality and uniformity, characteristic of our country. Hampstead has had a century and a half of progress of which she may well be proud. Her citizens may well look towards heaven and say "Bless God for the glorious heritage that has
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come down to me from the fathers." Every citizen of the town should make a solemn vow to God, in the secret cham- ber of his heart, to hold in sacred trust the inheritance that has come down to him ; nothing less will pay the debt of al- legiance-nothing less will pay the solemn duty.
The future of Hampstead depends upon the individual. To- day's acts of today's actors, are sowing the seed of the next half century's reaping. It is for the men of today to decide what the future of the town shall be.
I wish for the town greater and more important results, in the next half century, than any which has marked the past.
May the intellectual, moral and spiritual development in- crease. May the divine blessing be conspicuous in its en- larged views of the people.
Very cordially, HENRY A. MERRILL,
Pastor of South Congregational Church.
STILL RIVER, MASS., June 30, 1899.
RUFUS P. GARDNER.
Sir :-
The invitation to attend the celebration of the anniver- sary of the incorporation of Hampstead was received. An answer was delayed in the hopes that it might be an ac- ceptance, but it must be a regret that we cannot gather with the other sons and daughters of the old town.
With warm wishes for a successful celebration and for the continued life and prosperity of the town, we are,
Most Respectfully Yours, ISAAC H. MARSHALL. M. ALICE MARSHALL.
READING MASS., June 26, 1899.
REV. RUFUS P. GARDNER.
Dear Sir :-
Your letter addressed to my father, Silas D. Gordon, was duly received.
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He appreciates fully the honor your committee have ten- dered to him to address the town's people of Hampstead on the afternoon of July 4th, and would hesitate in declining, but the infirmities of age are unsurmountable and he must be ex- cused as physically incapable (being past the allotted three score and ten).
That he has always taken a deep interest in the good old town there is no doubt, as he often comments upon the public spirit, and the honest practical government of the town af- fairs.
We accept with great pleasure the part of your invitation to be present, and heartily and sincerely thank you for the at- tention you have given our family.
Respectfully,
ARTHUR D. GORDON, for S. D. G.
CHARLTON, WORCESTER CO., MASS., June 19, 1899.
REV. R. P. GARDNER.
My dear Brother :-
Your very kind letter of invitation to the coming celebra- tion of the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Hampstead, was duly received.
In response to your kind solicitation, it would afford me great satisfaction to be present and be a happy participant in its exercises. But I am sorry to say that ill health compels me to forego the pleasure I should no doubt experience, and must decline the invitation.
My wife and two daughters, however, expect to be there, and will rehearse to me the many excellent experiences of the occasion.
From 1848 to 1875, with the exception of some five years spent in the South, I was a resident of your good old town. Here I found and won my wife, whose ancestry was promi- nently and honorably identified with the interests of the town in its carlier history. The remains of my mother, my grand-
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mother, my step-father, and of the three first born of my chil- dren, and later those of my father and mother-in-law, have all been laid to rest in the old cemetery.
For several years the town honored me with the office of Superintending School Committee, and while Rev. Ebenezer Bullard was pastor of the Cong'l Church, the Sunday School of which I was superintendent, I was called by the New Hampshire Missionary Society to become one of its Home Missionaries over a Congregational Church in the town of Wakefield, where I remained five years when I removed to Mas- sachusetts, my native state, where I have since labored in the ministry, most of the time as a Home Missionary.
In the twenty-four years absence from the good old town of my childhood, very many of the inhabitants I used to know, and with whom I was pleasantly associated, have passed on beyond. But some yet remain whose friendly hands I would like to grasp once more within the precincts of the old home.
I need hardly say, that in spirit I shall certainly be with you, altho' absent in the body.
Yours most cordially and sincerely, GEORGE O. JENNESS.
HAVERHILL, MASS., June 29, 1899.
REV. RUFUS P. GARDNER, Chairman of the Committee of the 150th Anniversary of the Town of Hampstead.
Dear Sir :-
Your kind invitation of the 13th inst. inviting me to be present at the coming anniversary of our town, received. I should have replied sooner only I was waiting to see if I could possibly make arrangements to attend the celebra- tion. I find that my arrangements are such that it will be impossible for me to do so. I very much regret that this is the case for I have always felt a great deal of interest in the town of Hampstead, which was my birthplace, and I well re- member all of the older people in the town with a great deal of satisfaction and pleasure.
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Such old families as I once knew have many of them passed away, but the memory of them comes trooping back at this time. The Tabors, the Dows, the Emersons, the Eastmans, the Moultons, the Smiths, the Hoyts and many others which I knew so well I cannot forget.
I hope the celebration will be all that you anticipate and that everything will pass off well and do honor to the town, and when I read the names of your committee I am sure such will be the case. I can assure you that no business engage- ment would detain me from being with you to participate in the 150th anniversary.
With regards to you all and regretting exceedingly my ina- bility to be present, I pray God bless the good old town. Very respectfully yours, CHARLES W. ARNOLD.
A GREETING.
BY SARAH ELLEN IRVING COWDERY, OF HAVERHILL.
Today we come; the children Of a proud and stately dame,
Who long upon these hill-tops Has bourne an honored name ; We come to give our homage, We come to render praise,
With joyous hearts and voices Our loyal song to raise ; We love her fertile valleys, Her charming lakes and rills. We love, as in our childhood, Her many wood-crowned hills.
We love her rocky ledges, We love this " Wash pond " grove, Our hearts are full of gladness As through its paths we rove ;
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HAMPSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
We miss familiar faces Which we as children knew ;
We miss the smiles of welcome From loving friends and true. Yonder in God's own acre Our many dear ones sleep,
Their lives a precious memory, That in our hearts we keep.
Who, loyal to our country, Their lives so freely gave. Yes : Good old town of Hampstead, One hundred fifty years, We proudly call you Mother, And greet you with our cheers ; Cheers for the town of Hampstead, From loyal hearts and true ; Cheers for our starry banner, Our own Red, White and Blue.
87 LYNNFIELD ST., SOUTH PEABODY, MASS. June 22d, 1899.
GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE :
Sirs :-
It would give me much pleasure to accept your kind invitation and be present at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Hampstead. It was the birthplace of my mother and the home of my dear parents till they moved to Danvers. In Hampstead my aged grandparents lived, and are buried there, and many other dear friends.
I think it would be too long a journey at my age, as I have entered upon my ninetieth year.
Wishing much happiness and prosperity to attend all your efforts for the welfare of Hampstead,
I remain your aged friend,
SUSANNA MILLS.
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Letter from William Little, President of the Newbury and Newburyport Historical Society, for about thirty-five years part owner of the celebrated " Island Farm," on Island pond, in which he takes much interest historically.
NEWBURY, MASS., June 2d, 1899.
Messrs. GARDNER, BENNETTE and EMERSON, Committee on Invitations.
Gentlemen :-
I gratefully acknowledge an invitation to attend the cele- bration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Hampstead.
I trust that you may have a very successful celebration, and that it may provoke a feeling of loyalty to the honored town.
May it lead to a livelier remembrance of those who in your town, and other towns, endured the toil and suffered priva- tions, sowing the seeds of a harvest, that we, all over New England, and far beyond its limits, are now reaping.
It would give me great pleasure to accept your invitation, but I fear my health will not enable me to do so.
Most respectfully yours, WILLIAM LITTLE.
Charles H. Little of Newport, N. H., wrote :
" I am interested in all that concerns the " Old Town," as it was the home of my father and mother. It was there that they were united in wedlock by " Parson Kelly," the pastor of the church so many years, and immediately removed to this town, where they resided till their death. Although I and my brothers and sisters were born here, we spent years of our youthful days in old Hampstead with our maternal grand- parents (James Brickett), and paternal uncles, Nathaniel and Jonathan Little.
Time has made great changes and has left but few of the old inhabitants. The time was when I could call at almost
MOSES HOYT ESQ.
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every house on the main road from Chester to Plaistow, and find a relative or dear friend of my father or mother.
I have got to be an old man (eighty years almost), but when I look back to my young days and years I spent with my Grandfather Brickett and Uncle Nathaniel Little, it seems but a short time.
I wanted to visit old Hampstead at your celebration 4th of July. but the infirmities of old age prevented."
Lt. Col. A. W. Corliss, 2d Infantry, U. S. Army, sent thanks for anniversary invitation. "Would have been glad to have been present. My great grandfather, Joshua Corliss, was one of the early settlers of your town. I was major of the 7th infantry and severely wounded at El Caney, July 1st, 1898."
John W. Emerson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sent regrets that he could not be present and thanks for the kind remem- brance of him. "It is fifty years since I visited Hamp- stead, but I feel well acquainted with the town, for father referred to it often, and especially to the elections held at the town hall."
MANCHESTER, N. H., Aug. 5th, 1899.
Rev. RUFUS P. GARDNER and Committee of Arrangements. Dear Sir :-
Permit me to acknowledge with great gratitude your kindness in forwarding me a copy of the programme of the very interesting exercises that occurred at the cel- ebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Hampstead, my native town and the home of my childhood and youth, whose memory (together with the incidents of my life there) will ever abide among the sweetest and dearest recollections of my existence.
I also thank you most cordially for the pretty souvenir worn by participants in the celebration, and exceedingly re-
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gret that I could not be present to join hundreds of others in the festivities of the day, whose hands I would have warmly grasped in renewal of lifelong and highly esteemed friendship.
Sincerely yours, WILLIAM E. BUCK.
Letters of greeting to the town and inability to attend the exercises were received from Hon. A. A. Collins of South Danville, Helen Brickett Sturgis of Auburn, Me., Moses H. Dow of Haverhill, Mass., Mrs. Clara Tewksbury Hitchcock and family of Aurora, Ill., Moses C. Noyes of Bethlehem, N. H., Thomas Calef of Bridgeport, Conn., George B. Mer- rick of the University of Wisconsin, Col. Henry E. Noyes, U. S. A., Santa Clara, Cuba, Mrs. H. N. Carter, Newton, N. H., Mrs. Susan McEvoy, Lowell, Mass., Harry Shannon, Cleveland, Ohio, Abby Dustin, Peabody, Mass., Ellen K. Ladd, Newport, N. H., Will. P. Shannon, Laconia, N. H., Mary J. Barry, Buffalo, N. Y., Rev. Geo. E. Lake, Patten, Me., and Elmer E. Harris of Melrose, Mass.
It was nearly five o'clock when the assembled company left the grove, many of the guests from out of town returning to their homes, but all who could do so remained to join in the evening festivities, enjoy the music from the band, the fire- works from the village street, make friendly calls, or pay a visit to the display of antiquities in the High school hall.
A collection of articles, many of them of historical interest, loaned by the families in town who cherish the olden time relics, were on exhibition in the hall of the High school build- ing from 6.30 A. M. till 9 o'clock P. M., and nearly a thousand visitors attested to the pleasure afforded by this feature of the day's enjoyment.
The collecting, tasteful arrangement, and care of the four hundred and thirteen articles exhibited, was under the charge of Dr. George R. Bennette, who labored assiduously to make the exhibition interesting. From his own home he had brought a
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bed, which was brought from England, in 1720, by his ances- tor Thomas Eaton, one of the petitioners of the town. A sabre which was carried to Louisburg, in 1745, by Thomas Eaton, in Capt. Titcomb's Co. from Newbury, Mass. Continental hat, flint lock, cartridge box, two powder horns, two bullet moulds, canteen, linen coat, trousers, and vest of ancient date, infant's clothing, Indian cradle, pewter plates and platters, candle mould, snuffers and tray, three chairs at least two hun- dred years old, two pictures, three bags, sampler, Bible, hand- kerchiefs, two papers of early publication, also twenty-four pieces of different designs of rare and valuable old china.
The collection by Miss Mary Emerson was a center of in- terest, sixty-seven articles, including many pieces of china, some of which dated back to the sixteenth century ; glassware, pictures, pewter plates and cups, lamps, bellows and lanterns, andirons, and various other relics of antiquity.
Mr. Joseph G. Brown loaned another large collection, forty- six articles, including many ancient pieces of tableware and household furniture, also spinning wheel, tow combs, reel, swifts, distillery, many of the articles being in use before 1775.
Daniel N. Hoyt loaned King's Arms, used by Eliphalet Hoyt in the Revolution, and other keepsakes. Clarence B. Morse exhibited a brick from the house early built by Peter Morse, said to be the first framed house in Hampstead, and a good collection of household articles of early date.
James H. Emerson sent a shingle which was put on the old meeting-house in 1792, and taken off in 1882, and in a good state of preservation, also wooden bodkin, door latch, linen wheels, wool spread, etc. George C. Fitts sent a wed- ding vest of ancient date, powder kegs, hackle, mortar and pestle, etc. Giles F. Marble, china and glassware of rare de- sign and other articles of early use. Mrs. Betsey Ayer con- tributed an hour glass two hundred and fifty years old, water. barrels, family tumbler, cartridge box carried in the Revolu- tionary war, pictures, brooch, New England primer and cat- echism, looking glass used two hundred years ago, samplers,
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bowls, and various pieces of china. Mrs. Aaron Smith added to the interest of the visitors by her loan of the baptismal bowl and plate used by Rev. Henry True ; sermons, the wed- dling skirt worn by the wife of Rev. Mr. True, warming pans, etc. From the Noyes family were sent a cradle, poke bonnet, green calash, shoe buckles worn in 1800, branding iron marked H. H. from the old Hutchens homestead, ancient mirror and holder, newspaper containing the death of Gen. Washington, sugar bowl brought in " the Mayflower," powder horn used at the battle of Bunker Hill, and other articles. Nelson Ordway contributed case and contents, footstove, lantern, calash worn in the early part of this century, home made linen, etc. Daniel H. Emerson, several angers, and other ancient tools. From the Putnam home came goose quills, relics of table use, pew- ter porringer, etc. Mrs. Mary Johnson Carter sent a cannon ball brought from the battle of Bunker Hill, mortise axe, chair once used by Aquila Chase, etc. Mrs. Mary A. Pike loaned a Captain's Commission under George II, china, papers, etc. Other interesting contributions were the original Indian deed to the Wheelwright Co. with Indian signatures, owned by Charles W. Garland. Paper weight and watch once owned by John Hancock, also other articles, from Daniel Emerson. The memorials from the navy department, medal of honor, resolutions, etc., presented to Daniel G. George, the hero of the destruction of the Rebel Ram Albemarle, in 1864. Diary belonging to Hon. John Calfe in times of the Revolu- tionary war, sent by John S. Sanborn. Shoe, worn by Pris- cilla, wife of John Alden. Many articles of various uses in household purposes by Mr. Tristram Little, William A. Em- erson, Nellie Chase, Alden Pillsbury, George Lake, Mrs. Mary Richardson, Willard Williams, Mrs. Mary Tabor, George Tit- comb, Mrs. Morgan, Mrs. Randall, Andrew M. Moulton, Mr. Henry Clark, Mrs. Darby, and others.
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