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 7

Author: Noyes, Harriette Eliza, b. 1848, comp
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston : G.B. Reed
Number of Pages: 676


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 7


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happy. We, that live here, are much blessed. He had spent some years out of New England, but had always returned with a deeper attachment for his native section.


We have not the inexhaustible fertility of the West, its vast prairies, and boundless forests, nor the " ever-during " verdure of the " bright and sunny South ; " but our agreeable succes- sion of hills and valleys charms the eye in summer; and if a stranger objects to the deep snows and storms of a New Eng- land winter, if he will enter our dwellings, the warmth of his welcome and the comforts around him will soon teach him to forget that the thermometer without ever sinks to zero.


He had also visited our "Fatherland," and seen something of the splendor of the mightiest kingdom of Europe. Yet after having gazed on the face of " Her Majesty," he was well con- vinced if one wished to see Queens he must come to New England on some occasion like the present. There is much, indeed, to charm the mind in treading the Halls of such a magnificent palace as Windsor Castle, where kings have dwelt for nearly a thousand years ; in visiting Universities, whose grey old walls seem as ancient as the Greek of Homer ; in gaz- ing upon costly Cathedrals and splendors of Art, which every- where abound in England. We have none such with us. Yet, what is of far more importance, we have no such beggary and abject wretchedness, as make the American sick at heart, because he sees them there for the first time. Men and wom- en, healthy and willing to labor, yet asking charity for want of employment, meet the traveller in every town in some countries of the Old World. They live where the interest of the few is jealously watched, the rights of the masses little re- garded. They have no Independence there to celebrate, though if they had they would hardly be able to find a more beautiful grove to assemble in, nor fairer hands to arrange it with better taste than has been manifested here today.


On this occasion then, when we have met to celebrate the anniversary of our Independence, to hear justice done to the memory of deceased citizens of this town, and listen to the


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voices of living sons who have come back to their native town, let us not forget to be thankful all, that " the lines have " in- deed, " fallen to us in pleasant places."


Mr. Todd concluded by remarking that after what he had said he could, perhaps, offer no more fitting sentiment than :


New England, and the People of New England .- There is no land better than ours, no people happier than our people.


8th. The Davis Grove .- A beautiful spot, endeared to us by the cheerfulness and pleasure with which its venerable owner has consecrated it to the public on such occasions as the present. May we never cease to remember the exemplary life he has led, nor forget his virtues and good deeds when he shall be gathered to the fathers.


Mr. Jesse Davis, a venerable man of more than four score years, came forward and acknowledged the compliment in a brief but effective manner that touched the hearts of all who heard him.


He spoke as follows : I am an old man,-probably the old- est native citizen now present. I have a distinct recollection of the scenes of the Revolution, of the trials and sacrifices made by the Patriots of Hampstead. Little did I think at. the time what glorious results would follow.


It was surely befitting this occasion to commence with prayer to Almighty God, and Thanksgiving to His name for His great goodness to our land.


I have but little time to remain here. But I shall leave my best wishes and sincerest prayers for the temporal and spir- itual prosperity of those who shall survive, and who shall come after me.


Rev. Mr. Bartley spoke of the duties and responsibilities of the rising generation, and offered as a sentiment :


The youth and children in Hampstead .- May Heavenly wisdom be their guide, in whose right hand is length of days, and in whose left hand are riches and honor.


Hymn by the Juvenile Choir.


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9th. Sentiment by Dea. Joshua Eastman, complimentary to the military command under Capt. Stickney.


Many other sentiments were offered, and remarks made by other gentlemen present, but unfortunately no record was made of them at the time, and it has become impossible to re- call them. For the same reason the preceding account is necessarily incomplete. At different intervals the exercises were varied by music from the band, or songs from the choir.


At five o'clock the President announced that the exercises were nearly ended, and would close with a sentiment compli- mentary to the ladies.


10th. Mr. I. W. Smith said he had been requested to make some publie acknowledgment in behalf of the gentlemen to the ladies, for the beautiful but modest manner in which they had decorated the Grove, for the good taste they had dis- played in all their arrangements, and for the interest they had taken in the celebration.


He said he cheerfully complied with the request, and could not pay them a better compliment than to announce a senti- ment sent in by a gentleman from a neighboring state who married a Hampstead girl, but was unable to be present him- self and had sent his wife.


The Ladies of Hampstead .- If correctly represented abroad they make most exemplary wives, and deserve to receive every one a husband.


The meeting then adjourned amid the utmost satisfaction and good feeling. The day was as pleasant and comfortable as the most eager could desire. Every arrangement was carried out to the satisfaction of all ; nothing happening dur- ing the day to mar the enjoyment of any one.


The number present was variously estimated from ten to fif- teen hundred ; it did not probably much exceed twelve hun- dred. The population of the town is about nine hundred. Al- lowing six hundred of the population to be present, the remain- ing six hundred were composed of strangers from abroad,


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most of whom were natives of the town, or had formerly re- sided within its limits.


It was announced by the Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, that it might be of interest to some to learn that one of the roses sent in by Mr. Amasa Eastman, to be placed upon the Speaker's desk, grew upon a bush in his yard, over one hundred years old.


Probably on no occasion were so many of the natives of Hampstead ever before assembled. The opportunity was em- braced to renew old acquaintances and form new ones. Not only was it a source of profit and gratification to those present, but every one went away with an increased love for the town of his nativity or adoption.


Old friends and acquaintances were again brought together, face to face, to recount the scenes enacted in "days of auld lang syne." The sports of childhood, the happy hours passed in the district schoolhouse and on the village playground, the plans of youth, the fate of companions of former days, the untimely death of intimate friends, formed the theme of many a conversation ; the silent tear upon the cheek marked with the traces of care and affliction, betrayed the emotions of the heart; or the pleasant smile and laughing eye revealed a life of pleasure and of joy, where the hand of time had lightly passed over the dearest objects of the affections.


The mind run rapidly back through the last century, and reviewed the changes that had taken place in the town. The events of the past came up in successive array before the minds of the assemblage, and the acts and motives of the men who preceded them were quickly scanned.


And then the imagination looked forward into the future ; the wondrous changes yearly effected in governments, science and commerce, imposed no limit to its range. What would be the condition of our native town in 1949, none dare predict. All indulged the hope that its citizens in every act, would study the example of its first settlers, and that the present generation would so discharge its duties, that in after


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years our children's children might point to our lives and our example, and say that their fathers did not live for themselves alone, that they did not exist for the moment, but looked forward to the future.


The next Centennial Celebration will find all of that as- semblage quietly sleeping in their graves. One by one, as their ancestors went down to the grave, they would leave these places, and long before the next one hundred years shall have passed by, the last one will be gathered to his fathers.


MR. ISAAC W. SMITH.


Dear Sir :- The Committee appointed by the Citizens of Hampstead, to make arrangements for the Centennial Cele- bration of the incorporation of the town, would hereby ex- press their high gratification in listening to the very able and valuable address delivered by you on the occasion, and re- spectfully request a copy for publication.


Amos Buck. Frederick A. Pike.


Moody H. Brickett.


Ebenezer Hoyt.


Henry Putnam.


Jacob E. Eastman.


Nelson Ordway.


Tristram Little.


Caleb Moulton. Christopher P. Ayer.


Stephen S. Shannon. Joseph G. Brown.


HAMPSTEAD, August 15th, 1849.


MANCHESTER, August 20th, 1849.


Gentlemen :- I have just received your communication of the 15th inst., requesting for publication, a copy of the Address delivered upon the 4th of July last.


It was my desire that Frederick Emerson, Esq., of Boston, whom we are happy to claim as a native of Hampstead, and to whom in the first instance your invitation was extended,


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would have found leisure to comply with your request. When he declined from press of dutics and the invitation was extended to me, I hesitated to accept it, because of the shortness of the time for preparation (less than a month) would not allow me to make such investigation in the history of our town as the occasion required. My other duties would not permit me to devote so much attention to the matter as I wished. The subject of my labors was a new one to me, and I was almost entirely ignorant of the history of our town, I am conscious that the Address is deficient in more than one particular. It affords me the greatest pleasure, if my efforts merit, in the least degree, the flattering language of your communication.


The public, I believe, is considered to have greater claims upon Historical and Centennial Addresses, than it has upon those of a different character. I do not, therefore, feel at liberty to decline furnishing a copy for the press, although the publication is in direct contravention of my own wishes.


With the Greatest Respect, Your Obedient Servant.


ISAAC W. SMITH.


To Messrs. AMOS BUCK, and others,


Committee on Arrangements, &c.


ADDRESS DELIVERED JULY 4TH, 1849, AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD, N. H.


BY ISAAC W. SMITH.


Fellow Citizens and Natives of Hampstead :- By your in- vitation I am to speak of our honored forefathers; of men whose lives were the history of our own homes, whose char- acters were indissolubly identified with the Revolution of our Independence.


To us this day is doubly interesting. We have met to celebrate the anniversary of our Nation's birth ; to pay a pass- ing tribute to those who stood up manfully in the strife for freedom, and nobly gave their lives, to lay deep the founda- tions of that Government under which we live in such per- fect serenity of life and liberty.


We have also met to celebrate an event in which we are peculiarly interested. A century is just completed, since a handful of hardy settlers were honored with an act from King George II, incorporating this place with the privileges and conveniences of a municipal government.


We have met to recount the early history of our town; to rescue from oblivion the names of its settlers ; to honor the memory of its most worthy inhabitants ; to show our love and veneration for the spot " where our eyes first saw the light," or to which, from a long residence within its limits, we have become ardently attached.


Unfortunately for posterity, there has been too little care bestowed upon the preservation of those legends in our earliest annals, which give the true index to the character and habits of our ancestors, and make up a valuable part of their event-


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Pane M. Runthe


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ful lives. Though removed only two centuries from the earliest scenes in New England history, we are yet ignorant of many of the most interesting particulars of that period.


The eventful story of our forefathers is yet to be written. " The lore of the fireside is becoming obsolete. With the octogenarian few, who still linger among us, will perish the unwritten history of border life in New England."


The period of the Trojan war is called the Heroic Age of Greece. The Iliad of Homer, founded upon the incidents of that war, represents to us, in startling reality, the charac- teristics of the ancient Grecians ; their indomitable spirit and unyielding courage ; their superstitious awe of divine inter- ference ; their love of country predominating over that of kin- dred ; their eager desire to be led fourth to battle ; their rest- less inactivity in time of truce ; the martial spirit they infused in youthful breasts ;- all these qualities that made the Grecian's fame reach the most distant shores. The sightless bard has portrayed to us with matchless skill the noble im- press of the power of the Generals of Greece ; the wisdom of her statesmen ; the eloquence of her orators, surpassing emu- lation ; the sublimity of her poets, more musical and harmo- nious than any who lived before them, than all who have lived since their time.


England's Heroic Age embraces the darkest and most per- plexing period in her annals. In tracing down the events through the Middle Ages, the historian when near the Age of Chivalry, finds that the poet has woven out of the doubtful and obscure, dark and mysterious tragedies :- " that he has oc- cupied the vacant field, turned to account the dark hint and half breathed suspicion, and poured into the unoccupied and too credulous ear his thrilling and attractive tale ;- that the genius of Shakespeare seized upon the history of this era as a vacant possession, and peopled it with beings, who had indeed historic names, but whose attributed actions lacked the stamp of authenticity."


But the Historic Age of New England, the eventful story


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of the Puritans, has far more interesting connections. Look- ing back through a period of little more than two centuries, we turn to old England's shores, to the scenes in which they were " burning and shining lights," to the day of their long per- secutions, to the noble confessions of faith before the world, and " sealed with their blood."


At Delfthaven we see them kneel on the sea-shore; com- mend themselves with fervent prayer to the blessing and pro- tection of Heaven ; part forever from friends and home, and native land ; embark upon the almost unknown seas, and un- complainingly encounter the dangers of the deep, to reach a place where they may in security worship the living God. And when their lone vessel reaches the bleak and barren sands of Cape Cod, --


"On the deck then the Pilgrims together kneel down, And lift their hands to the source of each blessing, Who supports by his smile, or can blast with his frown, To Him their returns of thanksgiving addressing, His arm through the ocean has led to the shore,


. Where their perils are ended, their wanderings are o'er."


We admire the enthusiasm, which impelled them to emi- grate ; the firm, unshaken spirit with which they met the hor- rors of Indian warfare, endured the extreme privations of the comfortable homes they left behind, the sufferings and death, from disease and a cold winter, " lamenting they did not live to see the rising glories of the faithful."


The memory of these men lives enshrined in our hearts and enthroned upon our affections. Their energy and incorrupt- ible integrity prepared the way for the complete enjoyment of those blessings, which New England people so preeminently possess. Amidst the stirring excitement of the present day, simple legends of the past have become, many of them, irre- trievably lost. No poet has yet sung of the heroism of the Pil- grim Fathers. In coming ages some Homer may arise, who shall describe in immortal verse, the Heroic age of the New World ; who shall sing of the Mayflower and of Plymouth Rock; of Heroes more noble than Achiles, or the son of Priam; of


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moral conflicts more sublime, of defeats more signal, than the battle between Greek and Trojan, than the sight of the ruins of the smouldering Ilium ; and of eloquence more sublime than appeals of Trojan Chiefs, or the thrilling harangues of Grecian leaders ; who shall sing of a submission to the de- crees, and of an obedience to the commands of the living and true God, more humble and yet more beautiful, than the bind ing superstitions and imposing ceremonies and sacrifices of the heathen deities.


An affectionate and respectful remembrance of our worthy ancestors is a debt of gratitude which we can pay in no way as appropriately as by the exercises of today.


If tradition speaks truly, the first inhabitants of the town were two Indians who lived near Angly Pond. An Indian is also said to have lived near the large oak in this neighborhood .* No further information of the history of these men can be found. But these rumors are undoubtedly correct ; for the fine facilities for fishing which the ponds in this town then af- forded, and the fine hunting ground the forests then presented, must have rendered it a favorite resort for the Red Man.


Our imagination takes us back to the time when this land was inhabited by the Indian only, and to scenes witnessed or enacted by him alone in centuries gone by. A wild and roving people once lived in these places, once performed their sacred rites in these beautiful groves, celebrated. their festive days with strange ceremonies, and paid tribute to the memory of their dead with strange lamentations. Unaccustomed to till the soil, and independent of the cares of life, they roved in careless indolence through these fields, bathed in these waters, and threaded the mazes of these forests in uninterrupted pleasure.


*This tree stands in front of the dwelling house of Mr. Benjamin Saw- yer, and is the same as referred to by Rev. Henry True, in his letter to the Centennial Committee. It measures about twenty-five feet in cir- cumference. It is hollow, and formerly, by means of a hole near the ground. was a favorite hiding place for the boys in the neighborhood. The aperture has now grown over.


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To use the language of another,* " Here, long ago, and per- haps on the very spot where we are assembled, has been held the war dance around their council fires, while the surround- ing hills echoed their war whoop ; here with impassioned words and startling figures have they made the woods resound with their rude but irresistable eloquence, which, more potent than the peal of the " stirring drum " and the shrill fife, aroused them to deeds of daring and of valor."


" And when in times of peace, softer passions swayed their hearts beneath these forest's pines, Indian youth have wooed their mates, and with the stars to witness and bless their vows, have pledged perpetual love and constancy."


" But the scenes are all blotted out. The history of een- turies is a blank. Oh! could we roll back the oblivion tide, and expose to view what other days have witnessed ! could we but catch the sound of some soul-stirring song, or the echo of some strain of their simple and glowing eloquence ! But it cannot be. Nor song, nor speech ean be gathered up. Like the


" Flower that's born to blush unseen,


And waste its sweetness on the desert air,"


they have died in the breeze that wafted them away."


There is no record to show the exact time when Hampstead was settled. The earliest records of the town commence in January, 1749, with the first meeting under the charter. Ac- cording to tradition, the first settlement was made in 1728. The venerable man who ministered to this people so many years, and whose death we have so much reason to lament, did more than anyone else to preserve the most interesting events in our history. In his "Sketch of Hampstead,"ยก pub- lished in 1835, he remarks " that three white families, of the name of Ford, Heath and Emerson, moved into the place about


*Rev. Samuel T. Allen. Taken from his address delivered at the Cen- tennial Celebration of the town of Merrimack, April, 1846.


tIt is proper to say that I am indebted to his "sketch " for many of the facts here related; also to the town records. Most of the remaining. facts were communicated to me by the older inhabitants of the town.


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the year 1728 ; Mr. Emerson came from Haverhill and settled near a brook in the south part of the town. Some of his pos- terity remain here still, and among the most respectable in- habitants."


No additional light has been discovered from a search among the records and papers of the town. Mr. Kelly was always remarkably exact in his statements, and took a commendable degree of pride in collecting such interesting portions of his- tory. I have not been able to learn the place where Mr. Em- erson or the other two families settled.


But from the fact, that until recently, families of the name of Heath have lived in the east part of the town, and that that part is known to have been settled early, we may conclude that they located in that vicinity.


But another account from some of our townsmen states that the first house in Hampstead was built by Mr. Edmund or Peter Morse, who moved from Newbury, Mass., and was the grandfather of Mr. Joseph Morse, and of Samuel Morse, Esq., recently deceased. The house stood in the pasture about half a mile northeast of the home of Dr. Samuel Morse. A part of the farm is still owned by the descendants. The same account states that Lieut. Peter Morse was a son of this Mr. Morse and the first white male person born in town, and that his daughter Judith was the first white female born in Hamp- stead. The cellar where this house stood is still to be seen. It is divided into two parts by the foundation of a large chimney. Four pines, from eight to twelve inches in diame- ter, now stand in the cellar. Near by these ruins is the first burial place of our fathers. There are over a hundred graves, and not a single monument to tell us the names of those who sleep beneath the sod !


Near the eastern shore of this pond* are found the ruins of


*The exercises of this celebration were held in the "Davis Grove," situated on the western shore of the "Wash pond " and extending to the water's edge. The grove is distinct from the ruins of the first settle- ment about half a mile in a direct line.


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the early settlement of the town. It was once the most popu- lous part, the center of importance. But nothing remains save the few relics which time has spared. The roughly stoned cellars, the half filled wells, and the beaten paths to favorite springs mark the spot where our hardy townsman first began to clear the land of its heavy growth of wood and timber, erected their log house and began to undergo the privations of a life in a new settlement.


In this age of security and luxury we are apt to underrate the hardships which the first settlers of New England had to encounter.


Our soil is a stubborn one, and yields a good return only to the most persevering toil. To live in those days, when all a family could get was what it could raise from the earth, or fashion with its hands ; when neighbors were few and far scattered, and each little household was dependent upon it- self alone for help and protection ; when the work of years was liable to be destroyed in a single night; when the ruth- less savage was continually prowling about each settlement, and in an unguarded moment murdering or carrying into hope- less captivity women and children ; when no farmer felt secure at work in his field unless armed with his gun ; and when even the house of God was the scene of constant alarm from the actual or much dreaded attack of the Indians-to live in those days, and to contend with such difficulties is not the ordinary lot of man.


In reviewing the history of our town we would gladly turn to the days of our first settlement and fix on some bright spot of the past. We would picture to ourselves scenes of rural contentment and quiet : the humble log house half concealed from view by tall maples and graceful elms, alike protected from the heat of summer and the cold storms of winter; the cheerful fireside; the honest minded farmer and his simple hearted dame, surrounded by a numerous family of stalwart young men and coy maidens, training to become efficient actors in the great struggle for American Independence. We fol-


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