USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Troy > An historical sketch of Troy [N.H.] and her inhabitants, from the first settlement of the town in 1764 to 1855 > Part 18
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Rev. Seth E. Winslow was employed as a stated sup- ply three years from 1820. Rev. O. C. Whiton, from September, 1824, to December, 1827. He was invited to become pastor, but declined. After he closed his la- bors in Troy, he preached in different places till April 18, 1841, when he began to preach at Harrisville, and was installed Aug. 11, 1842, and remained pastor till his decease, Oct. 17, 1845, aged fifty-one years. After Mr. Whiton, Rev. Messrs. Peabody, Pittman, and Er- win, were employed for short periods, to supply the pulpit in Troy, when Rev. Stephen Morse-a graduate of Dartmouth College, 1821-commenced preaching, and was installed as the second pastor of the church, Aug. 26, 1829. This relation he sustained till Jan. 31, 1833. Mr. Morse had a short but successful min- istry. There were some thirty additions to the church, nineteen joined by profession on one occasion.
For various reasons, there was some falling off in the support of Mr. Morse, and he was dismissed. There were some in town, who were in favor of preaching, which the church could not sanction as hearers or in any way support; and as the Meeting-house was desired and occupied a portion of the time by others, the church ne- gotiated supplies for a time-and when they could not
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have the Meeting-House, worshipped at private dwel- lings or the centre school-house.
Dec. 16, 1833, a new religious society was formed, by the name of the Trinitarian Congregational Society of Troy, composed mostly of members of the church. During the years 1834 and '35, a new Meeting-House was erected by the new society in connection with the church. Rev. Messrs. Ainsworth, Crosby, Farnsworth, Spaulding, and Holman, supplied the pulpit after Mr. Morse was dismissed, till the autumn of 1835, when Rev. Jeremiah Pomeroy commenced his labors, and was installed the third pastor of the church, and the first of the Trinitarian Congregational Society, Jan. 6, 1836. There were several seasons of unusual religious interest during his ministry, which continued till Feb. 27, 1844, when he was dismissed. Mr. Pomeroy was a graduate of Amherst College and Auburn Theological Seminary. He went to. Harrisville on leaving Troy, where he la- bored successfully for four years. Mr. Pomeroy is now in Massachusetts.
The present pastor, Rev. Luther Townsend, was or- dained and installed March 5, 1845. He graduated at Dartmouth College, A. D. 1839, and at Andover Theo- logical Seminary, September, 1842.
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The following has been prepared by Rev. C. D. Ful- ler, present pastor of the Baptist Church in Troy :
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH IN TROY.
THIS CHURCH was organized November, 1789, at the house of Agabus Bishop, in the south-western part of the (now) town of Troy; with a membership of twenty-
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five. It was known at that time by the name of the Fitzwilliam Baptist Church. For a number of years after the constitution of the Church, or down to 1791, they were destitute of regular preaching, but were fa- vored occasionally with the labors of the pastors of sev- cral Baptist Churches in the immediate vicinity.
At this time, (1791, ) the Church licensed Mr. Rufus Freeman to preach the Gospel, and for a length of time, not definitely known, he furnished them with regular preaching. From the organization of the Church in 1789. down to 1836, they were obliged, (for want of a better place,) to meet in school and dwelling-houses within the limits of the Church. In 1836, under the pastoral labors of Rev. Obed Sperry, they united in worshiping, with the First Congregational Society, and met with them in the Town House, in the village of Troy. Here they continued to meet and worship regu- larly until 1849, when they entered a house of worship of their own.
In 1848, the incipient steps towards the erection of their house, were taken. A site was obtained, the work commenced, and in 1849, a convenient house was com- pleted. dedicated to God and opened for His worship. Here, from that time down to the present, they have been enabled to maintain the regular ministration of the Sanctuary. Here God (from time to time) has mani- fested His saving power, -souls have been converted to Christ and added to their number; to the other Evan- gelical Society in the place and to other churches in other places. From the first of this church's history, down to the present time, they have had to contend against adverse influences, growing out of a variety of circumstances, which have, in a great measure, hindered her prosperity.
In the first place: that, provision of the law of this State (as well as some other of the New-England States)
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making it necessary that every man should pay a spe- cific tax for the support of the "Standing Order," ope- rated very seriously against the members of the Baptist Church; for they were, almost without an exception, in indigent circumstances, and every dollar they were com- pelled to pay to another Society, took just that amount from their means of supporting their own Society.
Another cause has been, their pecuniary resources; which have never been sufficient to meet all the demands made upon them and necessary to be met, in order to promote the rapid and vigorous growth of the Church.
Another and perhaps not the least formidable obstacle in the way of their prosperity, has been, the frequent pastoral changes that have taken place. These changes have principally been the result of two causes. First, the established polity of the denomination, has always been opposed to the practice of settling their ministers for life. This Church, following the prevailing prac- tice of the denomination, has been in the habit (except in a single instance) of frequent changes in the pastoral relation. In this one case, the minister (Rev. Darius Fisher) was licensed by the Church, ordained as her pastor, and held that relation for sixteen years, or until his death, which took place in 1834. A second cause for these frequent changes has been (as stated above) the pecuniary condition of the Church. This has often ren- dered or seemed to render these removals necessary, and, therefore, they have been made. But, notwithstanding all these adverse circumstances, the Church has enjoyed some prosperity. New members have, from time to time, been received to her fellowship, and in turn she has dis- missed from her membership, those who have gone to swell the ranks of Zion in other parts of the country.
In 1815, some twelve or fourteen members were dis- missed from this Church and went to constitute a Church in Fitzwilliam, which became the nucleus of the now 23*
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flourishing Baptist Church in that town. Besides this, five young men have been licensed by this Church to preach the everlasting gospel, and have gone forth to labor in the great Vineyard of the Lord. Five, also, have been ordained at different times, as pastors of the Church, some of which are still living, while others have closed their labors on earth and gone to their reward in Heaven. The Church now numbers sixty-one members. The following named ministers have served as pastors of the Church for terms varying from one to sixteen years, viz: Rufus Freeman, Aruna Allen, Darius Fish- er, (who served in this capacity for sixteen years), D. S. Jackson, Obed Sperry, John Woodbury, P. P. Sander- son, Phinehas Howe, A. M. Piper, A. B. Egleston, J. B. Mitchell, T. P. Briggs, John Fairman, and C. D. Fuller.
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A few of the citizens of Troy holding more liberal views than either of the existing religious societies, as- sembled at the Town Hall to consider the expediency of forming a new society. At this meeting, of which Isaac Aldrich, Jr., was Moderator, and Leonard Farrar, Clerk, it was voted to form a religious society; and Leonard Farrar, Charles Carpenter, and Isaac Aldrich, Jr., were chosen a committee to prepare a constitution. At an adjourned meeting Sept. 25, 1858, this committee re- ported a constitution, which was adopted, and the society took the name of "THE FIRST LIBERAL UNION SOCIETY OF TROY. At an adjourned meeting two days after, this society elected its officers as follows, viz. :
ISAAC ALDRICH JR., President.
CHARLES CARPENTER,
FRANCIS FOSTER, Directors.
STEPHEN B. FARRAR,
JOHN CLEMENT, Secretary.
The society has so far had no settled minister, but has hired different persons for limited periods, and being destitute of a church edifice, its meetings have been held in the Town Hall, and are quite well attended.
APPENDIX.
LETTER FROM C. E. POTTER, ESQ., RESPECTING THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE STATE.
IT has been stated in the former part of this work, that Sir Ferdinando Georges and Capt. John Mason obtained from the Council of Plymouth, in 1622, a grant of the territory extending from the Merrimack to the Sagadahock and back to the great lakes and river of Canada-the St. Lawrence; also, that Rev. John Wheelwright and others, in 1629, purchased of the In- dians a considerable tract of land between the Piscataqua and Merrimack; and further, that Mason alone, shortly after, obtained a new grant of this very same territory. Some account was given of the efforts of Mason and his heirs to maintain their title to the territory. It was also stated that on the 30th day of January, 1746, John Tufton Mason, who was then considered the legal heir to the soil, sold his interest to a company of twelve men, in Portsmouth, denominated the " Masonian Proprietors." We have shown that the townships in the vicinity of the Monadnock were granted by these Masonian Proprietors. Now, it may not be well understood how the original grant to Mason could be made to include the territory so far west as the Monadnock. To explain this, we will insert the following communication from C. E. Potter, Esq., author of the "History of Manchester."*
* This subject not being perfectly clear to the writer's mind,
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HISTORY OF TROY.
HILLSBOROUGH, Sept. 5, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR:
On page 235 of the History of Manchester (Ante & Post) you will find a history of the sale to the Masonian Proprietors. The purchase by them was a bit of sharp practice on the part of speculators and huckstering poli- ticians, that would not be tolerated at the present day, as corrupt as the croakers say we have become. Their western and northern line was claimed to be a curve or arc parallel to the seacoast of New-Hampshire, lying betwixt the Piscataqua and a point three miles north of the Merrimack. This claim was undoubtedly an after thought made for the purpose of taking in a much larger amount of land than was intended in the original grant. This line, which was called the "Masonian curve" and the "Masonian Curve Line," was surveyed and run out at various times, -and down to the time of the Revolu- tion, was a fruitful source of vexation. The bounds of New-Hanpshire as granted to Mason, on the south and south-west were a line three miles north of the Merri- mack and parallel to that river to the "fartherest head thereof" till sixty miles were made, and then the head line extended east till it reached a point sixty miles from the mouth of the Piscataqua and on a line running up that river. This grant was made by the Council of Plymouth, supposing that the Merrimack river had its source in the West, as placed down on Smith's and the maps of that time. After the Massachusetts people dis- covered that the Merrimack made an elbow at Dracut and there came from the north, they claimed that the "Crotch of the River" at Franklin was the "fartherest head of the Merrimack," and that a large Pine three
he addressed a letter of inquiry to Judge Potter of Hillsborough, - than whom there is probably no better historian in the State, -who very kindly furnished this paper, with permission to publish it.
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miles north of there (and called the "Endicott tree," because marked as the line tree, under Endicott's ad- ministration) was a bound or line tree on their northern line, which passed east and west through the tree from the coast of Maine to the "South Sea."' In 1652, they placed the fartherest head of the Merrimack still farther north, at the "Endicott Rock" at the outlet of the Lake Winnepesaukee, and thence running three miles north, established a point, through which their north line ex- tended east and west. This claim covered Mason's grant and was in controversy down to 1740. In that year the board of "The Lords of Trade" decided "that the northern boundary of the province of Massachusetts be a similar curve pursuing the course of the Merrimack river, at three miles distance, on the north side thereof, beginning at the Atlantic ocean and ending at a point due north of Pawtucket Falls, and a straight line drawn from thence due west till it meets with his Majesty's other government." This determination was made on the ground that when Massachusetts and New-Hamp- shire were granted, the Merrimack was supposed and laid down as coming from the West.
As Mason's grant ran upon the Merrimack parallel, at three miles north of the river, which was the north line of Massachusetts-when the Lords of Trade deter- mined the north line of Massachusetts in 1740, to be as above described, and where it is at present-the heirs of Mason and afterwards the Masonian Proprietors claimed that their line on the south should conform to that line, and the State Legislature acquiesced in that claim. It commenced on the line of Massachusetts, at a point sixty miles north from the sea shore (three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimack) at the south-west corner of Fitzwilliam. Fitzwilliam was granted by the Maso- nian Proprietors as "Number Four" of the townships granted in the Monadnock country. There were eight
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of these townships. Of these, Nos. IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII, were bounded westerly by the "Masonian Curve." No. IV included what is now Fitzwilliam and a part of Troy. No. V included what was formerly Oxford, but now Marlborongh and Roxbury. No. VI was Packersfield, now Nelson and Sullivan, in part. No. VII was Limerick, now Stoddard. No. VIII was first New Concord, then Camden, now Washington. These towns were all originally bounded on the west by the "Masonian Curve." No. I of the Monadnock grants was what is now Rindge, No. II is now Jaffrey, No. III is now Dublin.
These were called Monadnock No. I, II, III, &c., to distinguish them from certain grants made by Massa- chusetts and known as Narraganset No. I, II, &c., and Canada No. I, II, &c. Canada No. I, is now Mason, No. II was what is now Wilton, and No. III was what is now Lyndeborough. These townships were granted by Massachusetts to the soldiers in the expedition against Canada and their heirs-but the real object was to give to people of Massachusetts the soil, as the government was about to pass out of their hands. So of the Narra- ganset Townships, No. III was what is now Amherst, No. IV was what is now Goffstown, mainly, No. V was what is now Bedford, and No. VI was what is now Dun- barton and Hopkinton, or nearly so. Nos. I and II were located in Maine and Massachusetts. These were granted to soldiers and their descendants, that had been in the Narraganset war. Charlestown was also called No. IV, being the fourth of a number of frontier towns granted as security against the incursions of the Indians.
These townships are laid down and named and num- bered, as I have mentioned above, in Blanchard & Lang- don's Map, of 1761, and in Holland's Map, of 1784. Thus, you will see that Troy was within the grant of Mason as claimed by the Masonian Proprietors. This
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Curve Line of the Masonian Proprietors was surveyed soon after the settlement of your town by Robert Fletcher in 1768, and again in 1769. The two surveys differed, but the difference did not effect the line in Cheshire County. This line of 1768, crossed the Pemigewasset betwixt the towns of Plymouth and Bridgewater, (then a part of Alexandria, ) passed through Holderness and the north part of Squam Lake and intersected the State line betwixt Freedom and Eaton, that now are, but at the north angle of what was then "Leavittstown." This line of 1769, commenced to divide from that of 1768, at the south corner of Grafton and on the line of what was then called Alexandria, overplus now Danbury, and passing a little north, crossed the Pemigewasset at the bend of the river above the Livermore Farm in Holder- ness, and intersected the State line where the Saco crosses the same in Conway.
After the Revolution the controversy as to the Maso- nian Curve was settled by the Legislature. Jan. 6, 1787, they appointed John MeDuffie, Josiah Bartlett, and Archibald McMurphy, a committee to run and de- termine the line. They determined upon a straight line as the head line of Mason's Patent. Their report was accepted by the Legislature. This cut off a large seg- ment from their claim, and the Masonian Proprietors then came forward and purchased it of the State, for forty thousand dollars in State securities, and eight hun- dred dollars in specie. The State's title was passed to them June 18, 1788, by a Committee consisting of Thomas Bartlett. Dudley Odlin, and Archibald MeMur- phy. Thus ended the Masonian controversey, and leav- ing Troy still within the Masonian claim. [See History of Manchester, pages 520 and 521.]
Yours, respectfully,
C. E POTTER.
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HISTORY OF TROY.
THE SUPPOSED MURDER.
IN the winter of 1818, there was great excitement in Troy, in consequence of the discovery of what were sup- posed to be human bones, under a barn formerly owned by Levi Haskell. The circumstances were substantially as follows: A son of Aaron Holt, who at that time lived on the Haskell farm, was sick, and Dea. Griffin rode down to Mr. Holt's in the evening of the 3d of January. for the purpose of watching with the sick lad during the
night. On arriving there, another son of Mr. Holt. (Joel, ) took a lantern and accompanied Mr. Griffin to the barn to put up his horse. While there, the lantern was accidentally held too near some combustible material. which took fire, and the whole building was quickly en- veloped in flames. After the barn had been burnt, a small mound of earth was observed, immediately under where the floor of the hay-mow was; and upon digging into this, there were discovered what were supposed to be human bones. It appeared as though a small excavation had been made, into which a human body had been de- posited upon a board, and the whole covered with carth. But time and the fire had so affected the few bones re- maining, that their real character was not easily made out. It was the public opinion, however, that a murder had been committed, and that these bones were the re- mains of a man who had mysteriously disappeared from the town some years before. Suspicion was fixed upon various individuals; and the excitement run so high that the Selectmen of the town published the following ad- vertisement:
"A SUPPOSED MURDER.
We the undersigned Selectmen of the town of Troy, county of Cheshire, State of New-Hampshire, hereby certify, that on the 3d of January 1818, a barn in this town was accidentally burnt; - that a few days after
24
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HISTORY OF TROY.
there was discovered the evident appearance of the re- mains of a full grown human body, laying on a board, slightly covered with sand, under the place of the floor of the hay-mow. This appearance was examined, and bones found, which were, by those present, judged to be human; though they were so affected by time, and the intense heat of the fire, that their original form was not entire, nor were they capable of being arranged in due order by the anatomist. It is the current opinion of people in this town and vicinity, that these are the remains of a man, whose death was occasioned by unlawful means, and whose body was concealed in that place; and many circumstances are called to mind, which go far towards strengthening this opinion. About fourteen years ago, it is very generally recollected that inquiry was made after a stranger of whom it was said, that the last which was seen or heard of him was in this town; but his name and place of residence, and those of his friends, who were in search of him, are not recollected. The undersigned request that printers of newspapers, throughout the United States would be so good as to publish.this, as soon as convenient; and also that any people who can give any information respecting a person, who was missing, or supposed to be murdered, in or near this town, previous to the time said barn was burnt, would, without delay, forward to us such informa- tion, that all possible means to detect, and bring to justice the perpetrators of the supposed horrid deed may be speedily employed.
SYLVESTER P. FLINT, DANIEL W. FARRAR, GEORGE FARRAR.
N. B .- Troy is a newly incorporated town, taken principally from Marlboro' and Fitzwilliam, nine miles southwardly from Kcene (N. H.) through which passes . a great road from Keene to Boston, (Mass.)
TROY, March 18, 1818."'
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HISTORY OF TROY.
Early the following winter, Joseph Nimblet of Wood- stock, Vt., appeared and stated, that fourteen years be- fore, his brother-in-law, Seth Lucus, started from Prov- incetown, Mass., to go to Woodstock, with a large sum of money; and that he was traced as far as the Hotel of Christopher Harris in Troy, (then Marlboro', ) and that nothing farther was ever heard of him. It was stated that he was in pursuit of a farm; and the report was that a stranger, answering the description of Lucus, was seen to leave the Hotel, in company with Levi Haskell and Jonathan Lawrence Jr., for the purpose of exanin- ing the farm which Haskell proposed to sell to him. This was the farm upon which the barn was burnt, the same that is now (1859) owned by Alvah S. Clark. It appears that the opinion had long prevailed, to some ex- tent, that human blood had been shed upon those prem- ises; and it had been currently reported that there had been seen, in and about the barn, many marvellous phe- nomena which were considered indicative of the commis- sion of a horrid crime. Many of these phenomena were substantiated by men whose veracity we should hardly dare question; but we have a very imperfect idea of the various phantoms to which the imagination under certain circumstances will give birth.
In this case, the evidence was such, and the excitement ran so high, that it seemed necessary that something should be done to satisfy the public mind. Consequent- ly, the persons suspected, Levi Haskell and Jonathan Lawrence, Jr., were arrested, and, on the 11th of Jan- uary, 1819, were examined in the Town House, before Elijah Dunbar, Esq., of Keene. James Willson, Sen., was employed as counsel for the State and Joel Parker for the prisoner. It appeared in the evidence that Lucus was missed some fourteen or fifteen years before, that search was made for him, that he was traced as far as the Harris tavern, and that nothing farther could be
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heard of him. It also appeared that Haskell, about that time, had in his possession more money than he could reasonably account for; and there were other cir- cumstances which led some people to suppose that he had something to do with the disappearance of Lucus. In the result of the examination, Haskell was committed, and Lawrence was ordered to recognize for his appear- ance at the next Superior Court, to give his testimony in behalf of the State. Haskell had to lay in jail until the next May, when his case was brought before the grand jury, at Charlestown; and upon an examination of the testimony, the Attorney General thought it was not sufficient to convict the prisoner of the crime with which he was charged, and as the jury did not find a bill against him, he was discharged, and, of course, in the eyes of the law, judged innocent.
BURYING GROUNDS.
THE first interments within the limits of the town were made in ground which was held as private property ; although when a small lot had been set apart by a fami- ly for burial purposes, other neighboring families often deposited there their dead. We have no means of know- ing when the first death in the town occurred, but it was, probably, about the year 1772, when a child of Jonathan Shaw died, and was buried on the swell of ground a lit- tle north of the paternal residence. In a few years other persons in the neighborhood died and were interred in the same ground, so that this became the Burying Ground for the use of this part of the town at that early period, although it was never really public property.
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Since the last interment there, some seventy years since, the soil has repeatedly changed owners, and it is humili- ating to record the fact, that the sacred domain of the dead has been wantonly invaded, in as much as the plough in the hands of some thoughtless proprietor, long since, levelled the mounds, so that not a vestige of them can now be seen. Such sacrilege should be severely censured. Although we are not an advocate for the erection of extravagant "monumental piles" to perpet- ual the memory of departed humanity, yet we do say that every individual should possess sufficient respect for the dead to prevent his disturbing the sods, beneath which repose the ashes of human beings of a former generation.
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