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 6
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I am, sir, very respectfully, yours, etc., J. B. DAVIS.
Letter from Mr. Arthur W. Marshall, now at Valparaiso, Chili, unexpectedly called to sail to South America about a month sooner than he intended, and thereby prevented from being present at the celebration.
SHIP VISTULA, E. BOSTON, June 26, 1849. ISAAC SMITH, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Arrangements :
My Dear Sir :- I have but a moment to spare, but I can- not let the opportunity pass without offering a word for your celebration on the 4th. Though I shall be far away from the home of my childhood, a wanderer on the pathless ocean, my thoughts, my feelings and sympathies will be on that day with the friends of my native town, mingling with their joys, participating in their festivities. The occasion will be one in which every citizen of Hampstead must have a deep interest, for you are assembled for the noble purpose of reviewing the virtuous deeds of our forefathers, of enquiring who bequeathed the blessings we enjoy, and who left us our goodly heritage. As expressive of my feelings on that occasion, allow me
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to quote the following from one of Moore's beautiful melodies :
" Where'er my path lies, be it gloomy or bright, My soul, happy friends, shall be with you that night, Shall join in your revels, your sports, and your wiles, Aud return to me beaming all o'er with your smiles; Too blessed, if it tells me that, 'mid the gay cheer, Some kind voice had murmured, " I wish he were here." Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, Bright dreams of the past which she cannot destroy, Which come in the night time of sorrow and care And bring back the features that joy used to wear, Long, long be my heart with such memories filled, Like the vase in which roses have once been distilled. You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will,
But the scent of the roses will hang round it still."
I close with the following sentiment :
Old Hampstead !- May she never be forgotten by any of her children.
With high regard, I am truly yours, A. W. MARSHALL.
Letter from Mr. Edmund T. Eastman, of Boston, Mass. BOSTON, July 2, 1849.
ISAAC SMITH, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Arrangements :
Sir :- I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the eighteenth ultimo, extending to me a polite invitation to be present on the 4th inst., at the very ap- propriate exercises commemorative of the event of the char- tering of the "Town of Hampstead one hundred years ago."
Permit me, dear sir, to thank you for your kind remem- brance, and to assure you and all my fellow townsmen that it would afford me the highest pleasure and satisfaction to be present on that interesting occasion-but I have exceedingly to regret that previous engagements absolutely forbid.
Still, you will allow me to flatter myself that in my imagi- nation I shall be with you, touched with something of that en- thusiasm, pride, and love of one's native town, which ought to burn in the breast of every wanderer from the " Home-
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stead," and which the exercises of that day will be pre-emi- nently adapted to excite. On that day I will think of those who there began life with me,-some of them are with you- some of whom are far away-two that we have bid God-speed over the wide ocean-and some of whom are at rest ;- and of the many pleasing and profitable associations of my earlier life. Then, too, will I call to mind what our fathers have told us, of the " many virtues and noble deeds " of their and our an- cestors.
In conclusion, allow me to offer the following wish, or if you please " sentiment."
Hampstead-May those who wander from her reflect some rays of light upon the escutcheon of their father's glory, and do honor to the spot that gave them birth.
Your humble and most obedient servant,
EDMUND T. EASTMAN.
Letter from Mr. Hazen L. Hoyt, of Sturbridge, Mass. STURBRIDGE, June 30, 1849.
ISAAC SMITH, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Arrangements :
Dear Sir :- I have received your very kind invitation to return to Old Hampstead, and join in the pleasures of the celebration on the Fourth of July,-but though my heart will be with you on that occasion, I feel obliged to decline the invitation.
We have a Young Men's Celebration in Sturbridge, and I was chosen and agreed to be one of the Marshals of the day, previous to the receipt of your letter.
Your obedient servant,
H. L. HOYT.
Letter from Rev. Joseph Smith, of Newport, R. I.
NEWPORT, R. I., June 24, 1849.
To the Committee of Arrangements.
Gentlemen :- Most sincerely do I regret my inability to
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comply with your polite invitation to be present at the Cen- tennial Celebration of the settlement of my native town.
The longer I live, the more deeply am I sensible that I owe much, very much to the place of my birth. And most happy should I be, might my wandering feet, with others, press up- on the soil, which first they trod, and bring back some tribute of affection and respect. Though more than half of my years have been passed in other places, and midst other scenes, yet what are other places and other scenes, compared with the place of my birth and the scenes of my youth ! To me, the latter, compared with the former, seems like the ever changing, bois- terous, foaming waters above, compared with the firm enchang- ing, ever abiding, rock that lies beneath. Indeed, it seems to me, I am what I am, because I was what I was ; and I was what I was, because the place and circumstances of my birth and early life, contributed in no small degree to make me such.
Yes, my early, my first early home, I love thee still : the vale and hills, thy fields, and forests, thy flowing streams and silvery lake, thy summer breeze and thy winter's snow, thy rising and thy setting suns, thy wild flowers that blessed the eye by day, and the stars that crowned thy nights. Yes! I love thee, and praise my maker, that, in such a place, so free from snares, He was pleased to give me being and nurse me into manhood. Yes ! I love thee, and ever shall, for there my father sleeps ! and brothers !
My home in the Granite state- long may thy glory be, thy Granite men, living pillars, supporting, unmoved, amidst every storm, Christianity, Science, and Good Government.
Respectfully, your friend and ob't serv't, JOSEPH SMITH.
Letter from Mr. Horatio G. K. Calef of Boston, Mass.
BOSTON, July 3d, (evening) 1849.
ISAAC SMITH, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Arrangements.
Dear Sir :- Your polite letter of invitation to unite with my former respected townsmen in the celebration of the first
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Centennial Anniversary of the Incorporation of the good old Town of Hampstead, was duly received, and until this mo- ment, I had fully purposed to have availed myself of it, and had anticipated much pleasure in participating in the festivities and exercises of the occasion. But I am sorry to say that circumstances beyond my control render it impracticable.
That the celebration may be pleasant, and long to be re- membered is the wish of, dear sir,
Yours very truly, H. G. K. CALEF.
After the reading of letters was concluded, the remainder of the afternoon was taken up in offering sentiments and making short speeches.
No regular toasts were offered upon the occasion, but the president of the day invited all " to make themselves perfectly at home " as it was a " Home celebration."
Isaac Smith, Esq., offered the following sentiment :
The City of Boston-Indebted to New Hampshire for her great men, and to Hampstead for her most successful authors.
Frederick Emerson, Esq., of Boston, who had just arrived upon the ground, now came forward and after apologizing for his late appearance responded as follows :
Mr. President and Fellow Townsmen,-There is not in our whole country another place, which at this hour, present to my feelings matters of interest to be compared to those which surround me. As I left the metropolis, a few hours since, the stars and stripes were floating from the lofty turrets ; glittering columns of soldiery were parading the public streets ; floral processions of school children were promenading upon the public green ; bells were pealing from every church tower, bugles were pouring their music upon the air ; cannons were booming from the heights where first the Patriotic Fathers entrenched in the cause of freedom; and to complete the scene, there stood Bunker Hill, the gigantic pile-erect in solumn grandeur-alike the representative of the past, and
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the presiding genius of the present. The scene was indeed imposing, and fitly so ; but I left without regret, for my heart was not there-its impulse was homeward. I say, homeward my friends, for although I have been long absent from among you, and every member of my paternal family has either re- moved elsewhere, or gone down to the silent grave, still the local attachments of childhood and youth are unbroken, and there is no place on earth but Hampstead, that my habitual feelings regard as home. The abiding force of early associa- tions is not peculiar to myself,-it is common to all, who were duly impressed in early life by the kind offices of paren- tal care.
The sentiment is most heartily illustrated in the beautiful lines of Sir Walter Scott-
" Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land : Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign strand? If such there breathes, go mark him well : For him no minstrel raptures swell ; High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless liis wealth, as wish can claim ; Despite these titles, power, and pelf, The wretch concentrated all in self, Living shall forfeit fair renown, And doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonored, and unsung."
It is some thirty years, my friends, since I ceased to be a resident among you; and as I now look around upon the present audience, composed of both sexes and all ages, I am forcibly impressed with the changes which time has wrought upon this community. I see before me the same volunteer company in which I once had the honor of a subaltern com- mand, but no fellow soldier of mine is there-they have all laid down their arms ; and the field is taken by another gen- eration. As I direct my attention to the numerous ladies of
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the assembly, I recognize, here and there, an early acquaint- ance, who at the time I left town was just emerging from her teens, full of vivacity, ever contributing to the enjoyments of the social circle ; and, by the sweetness and chasteness of her manners, unconsciously inspiring the youth of our own sex with generous and manly sentiments. Now she sits the sedate matron, sobered, but not saddened by the cares of life. Again, as I turn my eyes upon the Fathers of the town, seated upon this rostrum, I see one and another, and another venerable man, whom I left in the full strength of his days, pursuing the purposes of life, with activity and energy. He is not now, as then. The flakes of time have fallen lightly, but thickly, on his head. He retains indeed, his seat in your councils, but he has given into stronger hands the implements of husbandry, and resigned to more ambitious minds the lead of affairs.
If such change has been wrought in the lapse of thirty years, what must have been the changes of a century ? I will not go back upon their history, that duty has been ably and ade- quately performed by my young brother townsman who pre- ceded me; and I congratulate both you and him on the universal satisfaction which his services have given.
Mr. President, the town of Hampstead may truly be called a nursery-her sons are to be found transplanted throughout the country. There is no profession, no depart- ment of business, in which they have not engaged, none in which they have not succeeded. I have met them in my travels, have seen them at their homes; and seldom have I found one who has not done honor to the place of his origin. Inured in early life to habits of industry and economy, they readily accumulate a competence. Having grown up under the constant influence of a gospel ministry, they are usually found to be in the practice of moral principles, and not un- frequently in the exercise of religious faith. With these traits of character to commend them, they seldom fail to be numbered with the valued and respected class of the com- munity in which they reside.
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After bearing this testimony in favor of the absent sons of Hampstead, allow me, Mr. President, to close with a corre- sponding sentiment :
The Fathers and Mothers of Hampstead-May the virtues of the sons and daughters illuminate the evening of their life.
2d. By Capt. Jesse Ayer. Our Puritan Ancestors-We glory in being their descendants. May we honor them by cherishing their principles, and copying their examples. Rev. Jesse Page of Atkinson, rose and said :
That he had taken great pleasure in participating in the exercises of the day and had been highly gratified. He had not the honor of being a native of Hampstead, but he belonged to an adjoining town, and his ancestors were intimately con- nected with the first settlers of Hampstead, and he could claim here many intimate friends. The settlers of the two towns were descendants from the Puritans, and engaged in a common cause.
He regretted the necessity of immediately returning home, and his inability to remain longer. He begged to be excused from speaking longer, and from offering any sentiment. He would, however, express the wish that the people of Hamp- stead and Atkinson would continue, as in days past, to imi- tate the example and cherish the principles of the Puritans.
3d. The City of New York-In the War of the Revo- lution, earnest and active to resist oppression. She will be among the last places of America to betray the cause of liberty.
Mr. Albert L. Eastman said :
He supposed the sentiment just offered was designed for him ; that he arose to reply with great reluctance, because his native townsmen knew he was unused to public speaking. His whole life in New York had been devoted to the dry goods business, and however much he might be at home in that line, he felt out of his element in attempting to make
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his first speech. He could not, however, do less than to as- sure them of his undiminished love for his native town ; that as soon as he heard of the proposed celebration, he deter- mined to be present and participate with his fellow towns- men in the festivities of the occasion. As one of the im- provements of the age, he would mention that he left New York the evening previous, and on the morning of the 4th, at nine o'clock, found himself again on his native soil. Such speed in travelling would have seemed incredible to our an- cestors in 1749. In conclusion he would offer as a sentiment The Orator of the day.
Mr. Isaae W. Smith, in responding to this call, said :
He had trespassed so long upon their attention in the morn- ing, that he would detain them but a few moments. He accepted the invitation of the Committee, to prepare the ad- dress, with great hesitation, for reasons already made known to them.
He said he had never spent his time more pleasantly nor profitably than while engaged in making the necessary re- search for the occasion ; that though the results of his inves- tigations was necessarily imperfect yet he hoped he had been successful in some degree. The history of New England towns is from the necessity of the case, full of interest. The people who settled New England were a peculiar people ; they came here with a fixed and determined purpose, to es- tablish in the wilderness of America these free institutions of ours. They were guided in all their acts by their spiritual as well as temporal welfare. They were a far-sighted people, and in all their purposes had an eye upon the interests of their children. The same people settled Hampstead, and to their enterprise, and intelligence, and piety, did they owe their prosperity as a town. Mr. S. said there were many interest- ing faets connected with the early history of the town which could be gathered together with very little trouble, and sug- gested the propriety of a more thorough search being made by some one.
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The earliest ruins of the town yet remained. They were- constantly to be met with in walks about the place. Inter- esting facts could be collected of the aged people of the town, fast passing away to the grave ; and soon every vestige of the early settlement would be lost. What was done must be done quickly.
Mr. S. further said, that although he had spent the greater part of the last dozen years away from his native place, and might not again reside there, he had lost none of his love for his native town. It was a small, quiet farming town and was noted for no picturesque scenery, no striking natural views, and for no extensive business operations. But there was his home; in its woods had he roved in his childhood; on its beautiful pond he had sailed before the cool breezes of sum- mer ; and around their shores he had participated in the sports. of youth ; in yonder schoolhouse he had acquired the rudi- ments of his education, and in later years had been engaged in the pleasing duty of attempting to guide the minds of others in the youthful teachings after knowledge ; in yonder churches he had first listened to the preaching of the word of God. In every part of the town he had recognized some fa- miliar object that bound him to this spot with the strongest ties of affection. As the Highland chief, when he regained his mountain fastnesses, exclaimed,
" My foot is on my native heath, And my name is M'Gregor;"
So could he, in the same spirit, exclaim,
"Wherever I roam, whatever realms to see, My heart untravel'd fondly turns to thee."
He acknowledged the honor his fellow townsmen had done him, in assigning to him the most important part upon this oc- casion. He regretted that reasons before intimated to them, and the inexperience of his youthful years, had not permitted him to make good the place of the gentleman from Boston, who had addressed them a few minutes previous.
To the latest hour of his life, he should never cease to re-
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member the kindness of his fellow townsmen towards him, in other instances beside the present.
Mr. S. concluded with offering the following sentiment :
The memory of our ancestors-May the remembrance of their noble example incite us to keep the reputation of our native town untarnished in our hands.
4th. By Capt. Jesse Ayer.
Departed friends-As we love to cherish their memories, may we emulate their excellencies.
Anthem by the choir.
5th. By Rev. Mr. Bartley.
The aged ladies and gentlemen in Hampstead-May they receive the veneration, sympathy, and affection of the young, and close their earthly pilgrimage in peace.
Anthem by the choir.
6th. By Isaac Smith, Esq.
The Granite State-She has furnished to the city of Bos- ton many of her most successful merchants.
The audience looked to J. S. Clement, Esq. of Boston, to respond to this sentiment. Mr. Emerson, of Boston, went across the stage to Mr. Clement and told him he must speak.
Mr. Clement came forward to the desk and said :
When the gentleman from Boston attempted to do any- thing, he knew it would be impossible to resist him. He seemed determined to make him (Mr. C.) speak. And he might surrender first as last, like the Kentucky coon when he saw Davy Crockett preparing to shoot. But he felt en- couraged to speak, by the approving smiles he saw upon the faces of those whom he was attempting to address. (Laughter.) Mr. Clement said he accepted an invitation from his friend, (Mr. Isaac Smith) to be present, and had not entertained the remotest idea of making a speech ; even a few minutes be- fore, during the intermission, he had positively refused. Like his friend from New York (Mr. Eastman), he had been en-
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gaged all his life in the dry goods business, and if people would hear him talk they must go to Boston and buy goods of him, where he could talk fast enough, as their townsmen (Messrs. Ordway and Smith) could testify.
Mr. Clement said he was not a native of Hampstead, but he was proud to say that he was a native of the Old Granite State, and he felt for his native state all the love and vener- ation that a son should feel for the land of his nativity. He said that on looking over the town records the evening prev- ious, he was struck with the neatness and uniformity, with which they had been kept. He doubted whether many towns in the State could exhibit such perfect records ; and town clerks in modern times, with all the increased facilities of better paper and writing utensils, might feel proud to equal the neatness and correctness of the first officers of Hampstead.
Mr. C. spoke of the pleasure he had had, in being present at this celebration. To his mind, such social gatherings were in exact accordance with the spirit of our Republican institutions. The people in all ages and rank, of each sex and of every sect and party, could unite, as on that day, in celebrating an event, in which all had a common interest. The manner of their celebration was in his opinion most ap- propriate. In no way could the citizens of Hampstead com- memorate the simplicity and unpretending acts of their an- cestors, as by the exercises of that day. He congratulated them on the unanimity and harmony that had characterized their celebration, and expressed the hope that they would al- ways be as fortunate in their public acts.
Mr. C. offered as a sentiment :
Union Celebrations-A union of the people and a union of the States.
Mr. Emerson facetiously remarked, that there was one union he had neglected to mention, viz : a union of the sexes. Mr. C. replied, that his friend should not be permitted to ap- ply that remark to him, inasmuch as the gentleman himself was given over by the ladies as incorrigible. (Laughter.)
DANIEL NICHOLS.
:
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CHARLES WARREN GEORGE.
DR. ARTHUR PHILLIPS GEORGE.
WARREN DUDLEY GEORGE. ALBERT WARREN GEORGE.
FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE WARREN D. GEORGE FAMILY.
RESIDENCE OF WARREN GEORGE.
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1
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*
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M
RESIDENCE OF I. WILLIAM GEORGE.
JOSEPH G. BROWN.
LUTHER CHASE HOMESTEAD.
LEROCK HOUSE.
JAMES WILLIAM SANBORN.
JOHN CALEF SANBORN.
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RESIDENCE MISSES MARY A. AND SARAII A. CLARK.
JAMES HADLEY.
" GARLAND'S CORNER."
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES W. PRESSEY.
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JAMES WILLIAMS HOMESTEAD. WILLIAM A. EMERSON HOMESTEAD.
OLD HADLEY PLACE.
OLD ARNOLD PLACE. REV. JOHN KELLY PLACE.
OLD WILLIAMS PLACE.
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SCHOOL HOUSE, DISTRICT NO. 2.
SCHOOL HOUSE, DISTRICT NO. 3.
7
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RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH G. BROWN.
THE JOSEPH P. SHANNON HOMESTEAD.
BENJAMIN W CLARK.
MAJOR ISAAC SMITH.
THE ISAAC SMITH HOMESTEAD.
OLD ISAAC HEATH HOUSE.
RESIDENCE OF ALDEN PILLSBURY.
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7th. Our Invited Guests from abroad-Our ancestors were alike distinguished for the firmness with which they maintained the cause of Religion, of Education, and of Liber- ty ; we welcome their descendants as those who are bound with us in the ties of mutual sympathy and a common cause.
Mr. William C. Todd, of Atkinson, N. H., and preceptor of the Atkinson Academy, replied as follows :
He regretted that his esteemed pastor was not there to ex- press for the many citizens of Atkinson, whom he represented, the pleasure they all felt in being with the people of Hamp- stead that day. For himself, he had declined an invitation to go elsewhere, for when he heard of their contemplated cele- bration he determined no slight obstacle should prevent his attendance. He had been too well acquainted with many of the young men who had gone out from Hampstead not to take a deep interest in the town and whatever relates to its history. With him who had so deeply interested them that day, as he reviewed the events and the changes of the past century in their midst, he had been long acquainted. In early years they had met as students of Atkinson Acade- my, and in years after he felt no little pleasure in renewing the friendship in the Halls of Dartmouth College. He was well acquainted too, with him whose name had just been men- tioned, and who was then tossed about upon the bosom of the deep. Though absent bodily, they all well knew his heart was there at that moment hovering over the play ground of his youth. He hoped that prosperity and complete restoration of health would attend him in the distant land to which he was bound. With other young men of this place Mr. Todd had been on terms of intimacy, and had known no one not worthy of esteem and confidence.
Mr. Todd said a celebration of this kind always appeared to him peculiarly interesting and profitable. One hundred years ago this whole vicinity was little better than a wilderness, and now by the blessings of a kind providence we dwell in a land than which the sun in his whole course shines upon none more
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