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 2
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JOHN TAYLOR,
STEPHEN HOW,
WILLIAM BADCOW,
JESSE RICE,
SILAS GATES,
MANING SAWIN,
EBENEZER DEXTER, BENJAMIN HOW,
DANIEL GOODENOW',
EBENEZER JOSLIN.
'The first meeting of these proprietors of which there is any record, was held at the house of Abraham Wil- liams, Esq., "Inholder in Marlboro, in the county of
24
HISTORY OF TROY.
Middlesex," on the 10th day of December, 1761, and the following is copied from the records of that meeting ;
"1st Made choice of Noah Church, Moderator.
2dl Ebenezer Dexter, Proprietors' Clerk.
3d Jesse Rice, Proprietors' Treasurer.
4th Noah Church, Jacob Felton, Assessors.
Ebenezer Dexter,
5th Stephen How, Proprietors' Collector.
Then the Proprietors voted to adjourn this meeting, to the 30th day of April next, at 12 o'clock, to meet again at the house of John Warren, Inholder in Marl- boro', in order to act upon the remainder of the articles mentioned in the notification aforesaid.
Attest, NOAH CHURCH, Moderator.
April 30th 1762. At a meeting held at the house of John Warren, Inholder in Marlboro' by adjournment; voted to allot out the whole of said township in one hun- dred acre lotts. Voted to allot out the whole on or be- fore the 20th day of June next.
Voted that Dr. Bond, Capt. Joseph Biglo, Mr. Dan- iel Harrington & Lieut. Silas Gates be a committee by themselves, and proper persons to be employed by them, to lay out the above said tract of land into 100 acre lotts, and return a plan thereof to the proprietors, at their next meeting, the expense to be paid by this pro- priety.
Voted to raise 5 dollars on cach proprietor's right to be converted to the proprietors' use.
Voted to adjourn this meeting to the 30th day of June next, to meet again at the house of Capt. Bezalel Eager, Inholder in Westboro' to hear the report of the committee & to draw the lotts.
Attest, NOAH CHURCH, Moderator.
25
HISTORY OF TROY
WESTBOROUGH, June 30th 1762.
At a meeting held at Capt. Bezalel Eager's in West- borough by adjournment, Heard the report of the com- mittee, and were not ready for drawing the lotts, by reason of the whole of the above said tract of land not being allotted out. Voted that this meeting be adjourn- ed to the second Wednesday of October next, at 9 o'clock in the forenoon to meet again at the house of Col. Williams, Inholder in Marlborough.
Attest NOAH CHURCH, Moderator.
Marlborough, October 13, 1762.
At a meeting held at Col. Williams, by adjournment, voted that De. Bond, Daniel Harrington, Capt. Rice, Sint. Joseph Biglo & Noah Church be a committee to couple the lot ; in order for drawing. 1
Attest, NOAH CHURCH, Moderator."
At the next meeting, held at the house of Abraham Williams of Marlboro', the lots were drawn, and each proprietor had a particular part of the township assigned to him. But who were all the proprietors of that por- tion of the territory which now comes within the limits of Troy, does not readily appear, but it is known that among the number were William Barker, Jacob Felton, Silas Wheeler and Daniel Harrington.
Monadnock No. IV. was re-granted carly in 1765 to the following gentlemen, viz : SAMPSON STODDARD, WILLIAM EARL TREADWELL, PAUL MARCII, BENJAMIN EDWARDS,
JACOB TREADWELL, JR., MATTHEW THORNTON, NATHANIEL TREADWELL, THOMAS SPAULDING, NATIIANIEL BROOKS, DANIEL MILLEN, JONATIIAN LOVEWELL, JOHN HONEY, JOHN STEVENS, JOHN WOODS,
CHARLES TREADWELL,
EDMUND GROUARD,
JONATHAN BLANCHARD, SAMPSON STODDARD, JR.,
ABEL LAWRENCE, JAMES REED, BENJAMIN BELLOWS, GEORGE LIBBEY. JONATHAN WILLSON, JEREMIAH LIBBEY.
3
26
HISTORY OF TROY.
1
The Charter being lost the writer has no means of knowing, precisely, what the conditions of the grant were, but from some allusions to them in existing rec- ords, it is evident that they did not differ materially from those of the grant of Monadnock No. V. It is not now known when or where the first meeting of the pro- prietors was held, or when the township was surveyed and divided into lots; but the preliminary arrangements were made at an early period after the reception of the charter, and the lots drawn according to the common custom. And the following will show, the proprietors of that part of the township, now within the limits of Troy, as settled by the draught, with the number and range of the lot of each:
PROPRIETORS' NAMES. SAMPSON STODDARD,
5
21
6
21
7
18
S 118
20
10
20
6 22
7
19
8
120
9 21
66
10
21
6 23
7
20
8 22
12
16
66
10
22
11
17
7
21
8
12
19
10
23
11
21
7
22
12
22
4
21
MATTIIEW THORNTON,
4
22
5
23
ABEL LAWRENCE,
.
23
12
18
11 20
JOIIN MOFFAT,
5
22
JOHN WOOIS,
7
23
JONATHAN ODIORNE,
8
19
10
19
JONATHAN WILLSON.
8
21
JOHN STEVENS,
9
19
12
21
DANIEL MILLEN,
9
22
9
23
NOAH EMERY,
10
17
TIIOMLINSON & MASON,
10
18
11
18
CHARLES TREADWELL,
11
16
RICHARD WIBIRD,
11
19
PEINE & MOORE,
11
23
12
NATHANIEL TREADWELL, 12
17
PAUL & MARCII,
12
20
No. Range. N
Range. No Filange. No.
Range No. Ringe
11
22
HEIRS OF J. LIBBEY,
18
JAMES REED,
The first meeting of the grantees of which a record exists, after the lots had been drawn, was held at the
27
HISTORY OF TROY.
house of Thomas Harwood in' Dunstable, on Monday, the 20th day of May, 1765.
At this meeting "Sampson Stoddard, Esq. was unan- imously chosen Moderator.
2d. Chose Sampson Stoddard, Jr., Clerk for the Grantees.
3d. Then the following method for Calling Meetings for the future was agreed upon, & voted that upon ap- plication of the Owners of Ten Original Shares made in Writing to the Clerk (for the time being) Inserting therein the several matters and things Desired to be act- ed upon, he shall and is hereby authorized and Impow- ered to call such Meeting or Meetings, Posting up Prop- er Notifications, at some place in Dunstable in New- Hampshire, and at some public place in Chelmsford at Least fourteen Days Before hand & all meetings so post- ed up & held accordingly shall be Good & Valid.
Then this Meeting was Dismissed.
Attest, SAMPSON STODDARD, Mod'r."
The next meeting was held at the house of Capt, Ol- iver Barron in Chelmsford, on Monday, the 19th day of August 1765, and the following is from the records of that meeting: "Whereas the Grantees are Injoyned by Grant of said Township to Build fifty houses and make them Comfortable habitations, on said Tract of Land, such shares to build as the Grantees shall Determine, & also to have Twelve acres of Land cleared and fitted for Tillage, Pasturing and Mowing, & to add an acre more annually (till an incorporation) on Each share, subject to the Duty of Settlement :
Therefore voted that the said settlements be Done and Performed by the following Grantees & in the Propor- tion hereafter Declared, Namely, Col. Stoddard Eigh- teen, Edmund Grauard two, Jacob Treadwell Jr. one,
28
HISTORY OF TROY.
Jonathan Lovewell one,. Benjamin Bellows two, Mat- thew Thornton three, Nathaniel Brooks one, Thomas Spaulding one, John Honey one, Nathaniel Treadwell one, Abel Lawrence three, Paul March one, Sampson Stoddard Jr. one, James Reed four, heirs of George Libbey one, Charles Treadwell one, John Stevens one, Daniel Millen one, Jonathan Blanchard one, Jonathan Willson two, John Woods one, Benjamin Edwards one & the heirs of Jeremiah Libbey one by Building & Clearing in such Way & Manner as to fulfil the Grant.
And whereas the speedy settlement of said Township Depends much upon having a Good saw-mill Built there as soon as may be. Voted that in Consideration of Col. Stoddard's Conveying to Mr. Daniel Millen two Lots of Land there, having a mill place on em, for Encourage- ment of his Undertaking the arduous Task of Building and keeping a saw mill in Repair, to be fit to go within fourteen months, that said Stoddard be Entitled to Draw out of the Treasury Twenty pounds, Lawful money, & that sum be in full for the said Two Lots of Land. * *
Voted that Messrs. Daniel Millen, James Reed & Benjamin Bigelow be a Committee, or the Major Part of them to Mark, Lay out and Clear all Necessary Roads in said Township, Rendering their account to ac- ceptance. until the Proprietors order the Contrary. Then this meeting was dismissed.
Attest, SAMPSON STODDARD, Moderator."
It will be perceived as we proceed with the history of the settlement of these townships, or that part of them which comes within the present limits of Troy, that but few of the grantees became actual settlers in either of them. A majority of them were men who lived either in the easterly part of New-Hampshire or in Massachu- setts, and probably never intended to establish their res-
29
HISTORY OF TROY.
1
idence upon land here, of which they obtained a grant. They doubtless expected to realize an adequate return for their outlay, and they appear to have well under- stood what would most inhance the value of their posses- sions. They sought to make them comfortable and agree- able homes, and as these could not become such without the influence of religious institutions, they took, at & very early period, the initiatory steps towards support- ing a permanent christian ministry. But as there may be an occasion for alluding to this matter again, we will leave it for the present, and proceed to speak of some of the early settlers.
CHAPTER II.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY SETTLERS FROM 1764 TO 1768.
IT is impossible, in the absence of authentic history, to fix with much accuracy the date of the first settle- ment of these townships. But according to the best in- formation we have, both were settled the same year. Monadnock No. IV. was first settled by James Reed, John Fassett, Benjamin Bigelow and others; and the first settlement in Monadnock No. V. was made by Isaac McAlister, William Barker, Abel Woodward, Benjamin Tucker and Daniel Goodenough. But only one of these individuals settled within the limits of what is now Troy. William Barker, a native of Westborough, Massachu- setts, came to Monadnock No. V. as is supposed some- time in the year 1761, and selected a location* with the view of making it his future residence. He made but little stop, but the following year he returned, bringing with him provisions sufficient to last him for a limited time, and commenced a small clearing, but neither in this nor the following year, did he make but little im- pression upon the hitherto unbroken wilderness. In 1764, he again returned, and spent several weeks, dur- ing which time he enlarged his clearing, constructed a log-house, and made the necessary arrangements for re- moving his family. Early in the fall he made prepara-
*This was the lot now owned by Joel Holt.
31
HISTORY OF TROY.
tions for his final departure from Westborough, taking with him a supply of domestic utensils and stores of provisions, with his wife and five children he set out on his journey with an ox team. The roads being in a poor condition their progress was necessarily slow, but they easily reached Winchendon, from which place there was no road, and they had to follow the direction of marked trees; and with their load and method of travelling, this part of their journey was extremely difficult, but after much toil and many slight accidents, they arrived at their new home the 17th day of Sept., 1764, being says the record "the first family that moved into Monadnock No. V." During the first year he was dependent for the most of his provisions, upon the neighboring towns; consequently he had to make several journeys to North- field and Westborough to obtain the requisite supplies; but after that, his lands being tolerably productive, he was obliged to obtain but little from those towns except groceries, and these being expensive luxuries, were used with strict regard to economy. For the first few years. he must have felt some of the privations incident to a pioneer life; but he may have been one of those individ- uals, to whom solitude imparts her most delightful charms. Be this as it may, we have no evidence that he was not contented with his lot, and that he did not take as much comfort with his family in his quiet retreat, as he could have taken, amidst the busy scenes of a pop- ulous town. For one year or more, this was the only family in the westerly part of the township, their nearest neighbors McAlister, Woodward, Tucker and Goode- nough with their little families, being at a distance of from three to four miles; so that the influence of society beyond the limits of the domestic circle could have been but little felt. In 1770, after a road had been built by his residence, he opened a public house which he kept some eight or ten years. This was the first public house
32
HISTORY OF TROY.
in the township. His sign was an upright post with an arm projecting from the top, upon the end of which was the picture of a heart.
But in 1765, a small beginning was made towards a settlement in the easterly part of the township. This year Silas Fife, a young man from Bolton, Mass. came to Monadnock No. V. and purchased a lot of land in- cluding the most of the farm now owned by Dea. Abel Baker. Here he constructed a rude hut, or perhaps more truly a cave, near the entrance of which over a temporary fire he cooked his scanty supply of food, while within, upon a couch of gathered boughs, the livelong night he slept, gun in hand, ready at a moment's warn- ing to send bruin howling from his presence. Young Fife appears to have possessed a sort of Boon-like spirit to which the wild region of his choice was well adapted. Being an experienced marksman and fond of the chase, the abundance of game in the vicinity of the mountain afforded him ample scope for the exercise of his sporting propensities. And as his supply of bread was exceed- ingly limited, he was obliged to depend upon his favorite amusement for his daily sustenance; and whenever he felt the pangs of hunger the sharp crack of his musket was pretty certain to bring him relief. For several summers he toiled on mostly alone, clearing his ground and bringing it into a state of cultivation; and in the mean time he constructed a more commodious cabin, and then thinking like many others, that he had experienced fully his share of the sweets of single blessedness, he married a young lady by the name of Holton, from his native town, and took her to his wilderness home. Mrs. Fife was probably but little accustomed to the rude life she had here chosen to live; consequently it is no won- der that in her first effort to bake pies on pewter plates in a stone oven, she should look in shortly after and find her plates a liquid mass running about in dif-
33
HISTORY OF TROY.
ferent directions. But a few such lessons probably served to correct her judgment, and led her to avoid such perplexing casualties.
In 1767, a large number of individuals came to these townships,-Monadnock No. IV. and Monadnock No. V.,-purchased land, and made preparations for taking up their abode here. The following year no less than eleven individuals and some of them with their families, settled on territory now included in Troy. Among these may be mentioned :
THOMAS TOLMAN, CALEB WINCII,
PHINEIIAS FARRAR, JONATIIAN SILAW,
RICHARD ROBERTS, JONAH HARRINGTON,
JAMES BREWER, DAVID WHEELER,
JOIIN FARRAR,
JOSEPHI TIFFANY,
AND EZEKIEL MIXER.
Thomas Tolman came from Dorchester, Mass. and was the son of Henry* and Mary Tolman whose ances- tors came from England, and were among the first set- tlers of that town. He purchased a large tract of land, in the north-westerly part of Monadnock No. IV. most probably of Sampson Stoddard, t who was the proprietor of the most of the land in this part of the township. He moved with his family into a log-house, which he had previously built, on land now owned by Elisha H. Tol- man, and the marks of the cellar and the well may still be seen in the south-east corner of the field in front of Mr. Tolman's house. After clearing a few acres of
*Henry Tolman was born at Dorchester, Feb. 23, 1709, and was the only son of Henry Tolman who was the son of John Tolman ; and John was the son of Thomas Tohman who came over with an organized church from Dorchester, in England, and landed on Nantucket beach and made their way across the bay to Dorchester shore, in Indian canoes, where they arrived June 17, 1630, and commenced a settlement, and called it Dor- chester, after the place they had left in England.
+Since writing the above the compiler has found a copy of the original deed which was from the heirs of Stoddard.
34
HISTORY OF TROY.
ground he commenced building a grist-mill which he completed near the close of the year 1769. This mill stood near the factory now occupied by Thomas Goodall; and a few years later he built a saw-mill on the same stream about where the highway now is, and a few feet only from the grist-mill. After he had got his saw-mill in operation, and he had had time to prepare his lumber and make the necessary arrangements, he built a new and more commodious house which, as we shall hereafter see, was opened to the public as a tavern. This was the house now owned and occupied by Mr. Joseph Haskell, and is the oldest house now standing in the town. A few years since it underwent extensive repairs; and its position was changed, as it formerly stood farther back, with the end towards the Common. Mr. Tolman was an active, athletic man, and capable of prosecuting great plans, and, in the forest which then covered the ground now occupied by the village, he cut with his own hands the first tree that ever bowed to the woodman's axe; he built the first house, and was himself the first settler. And he lived to see settled around him many neighbors, whose society he appreciated, and to whom he ever ex- hibited himself as an upright man and faithful friend.
Phinchas Farrar was a descendant of Jacob Farrar who immigrated to this country in 1658, and settled in Lancaster, Mass. He was the 6th generation, and the eldest son of Josiah and Hannah Farrar and born at Sudbury, August 20, 1747. In 1768, he came to Mo- nadnock No. V. purchased several lots of land, and built a small house near the spot where Jonas Bemis's house now stands. And either in the same, or carly in the following year he married Lovina Warren of Marlbor- ough, Mass., and immediately removed to his new home, where he addressed himself to the work of converting a, dense forest into a productive farm. In 1773 or '74, he went to Newfane, Vermont, where he resided about two
35
HISTORY OF TROY.
years, at the expiration of which time, he returned to Monadnock, and purchased a lot of land, comprising the most of the farm now owned by Elisha H. Tolman, and built a house near the turn in the road a little west of Mr. Tolman's house. Here he lived till 1778, when he sold this place to Duncan Cameron, as will hereafter be noticed, and returned to the location he first purchased. Here he built a new and more capacious house, and was soon joined by his venerable father and mother from Sudbury, who came to spend the remainder of their days with their son. He obtained possession of nearly all the land now comprising the farms owned by Joseph M. Forristall, Farwell Cobb and Gregory Lawrence, and monuments of his industry may still be seen in many parts of this territory.
Richard Roberts was a man of whose early life the writer can obtain no information. The first knowledge we have of him was in 1768, when he came to Monad- nock and purchased the land and built a house where Hamilton Parker now lives. About the same time one Thompson settled on land now owned by Edmund Bem- is, but he soon sold his interest there to Daniel Goode- nough and removed to Keene. Goodenough became in- volved in debt and was soon obliged to sell; and Roberts considering it a desirable location for a tavern, was anx- ious to obtain possession of it, but he could only do this by selling the farm he then owned. Consequently he sold this to Reuben Ward, an acquaintance of his, and then bought Goodenough's place and opened a public house which he kept through the time of the Revolution- ary war. Col. Roberts was a person of ordinary height, but very corpulent, and had a ruddy countenance, and what he lacked in education, he made up, in part at least, in an untiring energy.
James Brewer came from East Sudbury, now Way- land, Mass. and built a log-house a short distance below
36
HISTORY OF TROY.
where Abel Garfield now lives, to which he removed his family in 1768 or '69. His time like that of the other settlers was principally employed in clearing and til- ling the ground, for it was from this source that he obtained his daily bread. He possessed naturally a strong mind which was considerably improved by edu- cation; and in his intercourse with his fellow men he was upright and affable, and readily securred their con- fidence and esteem; consequently he was often promoted to stations of honor and responsibility. In that carly period there was no school in the neighborhood, and he took delight in teaching the children, who would gather around him to have him "set them copies and give them sums." At the commencement of hostilities with Great Britain he enlisted in the patriot cause, and became an efficient officer in a company of men raised in this vicin- ity, and marched to the seige of Boston.
John Farrar was a native of Framingham, Mass., where he spent a large proportion of his life. Oct. 13, 1740, he married Martha, daughter of the Rev. John Swift of that place, by whom he had four children. His wife died in 1749, and the following year he married Deborah Winch, by whom he had nine children. Major Farrar was an active man, and appears to have possessed more than an ordinary mind. He was ten years Select- man of Framingham, and eight years town Treasurer, and held other important offices. About the year 1768, he came to Monadnock No. IV., bought the land and built a house near the present residence of Alvah S. Clark. Previous to this time two of his children had died, and several had married and settled in different places; but with the remainder of his family he removed to Monadnock, as is supposed, in 1768 or '69. A few years later his son, William, removed hither into a house which he had previously built, a little south-east of his father's, where he died May 4, 1837.
37
HISTORY OF TROY.
The first account we have of Caleb Winch is of his settlement in 1768, on the place now owned by Levi Whittemore. He came from Framingham, the former residence of many of the early settlers in this county, and built a log-house near the spot upon which Mr. Whittemore's house now stands. He was an intelligent and useful citizen, and took a deep interest in all those enterprises which had for their object the improvement of his fellowmen. In nearly all the public business of the town, he acted a conspicuous part, thus showing the estimation in which he was held, by those who had the best means of knowing his real merits. Although not blessed with a liberal education, he appears to have pos- sessed talents of a high order, and he has certainly left conspicuous "foot-prints upon the sands of time."
Of the early life or place of residence of Jonathan Shaw, or Jonah Harrington we can give no account. The former built a house on what is now called the Hunt Hill, a little west of George Farrar's, on an old road which formerly commenced near the foot of the hill this side of Joseph Alexander's, and terminated in the present travelled road a little west of Timothy Fife's. The latter was the first settler on the farm now owned by Lemuel Brown. It is quite probable that he was the son of Daniel Harrington, one of the grantees of the township, and he might have come in possession of his land by his honored father. Be that as it might, he owned the most of the land extending eastward from the road by his house, to lots owned by Silas Fife and Rich- ard Roberts. Both Shaw and Harrington lived on their respective places, some ten or fifteen years, and then re- moved to Vermont, Harrington selling his place to Dan- iel Cutting as will hereafter be mentioned.
David Wheeler came from Marlborough, Mass. and purchased the land comprising the farms now owned by Daniel Buttrick, Amasa Fuller, Artemas Bemis, Asa
4
38
HISTORY OF TROY.
and Luther Bemis and George Lovering. The low ground in the vicinity of Mr. Buttrick's house was at that time covered with a heavy growth of ash trees; and from these trees young Wheeler split out the timber, with which he built quite a substantial house, on a small swell of ground a little south of Mr. Buttrick's barn. Some of the timber of which this house was built may still be seen in Mr. Buttrick's barn. Here he lived alone four or five years, then married a Miss Hoar, the daughter of a man by that name who had just removed into the neighborhood. From what we can learn of Mr. Wheeler, we should judge that he was an honest, hard- working man, and a good farmer; and that he was high- ly esteemed is fully attested by the numerous offices which he held within the gift of his fellow-citizens.
Of Joseph Tiffany and Ezekiel Mixer we can say but little as there is but little recorded of them, and there are none living who remember anything more than tra- flitionary reports of them. Tiffany came from Attle- borough, Mass. and settled on the place now owned by Abel Garfield where he lived till 1772, then sold his lot with its improvements to Moses Kenney and farther than this we cannot trace him. Mixer* made the first improvements on the farmt now owned by Daniel Far- rar. He built a small house on the west side of the road a few rods north of Mr. Farrar's barn. Here he lived till 1775, and in the mean time he cleared quite a quantity of land near the road, (or more properly path) and brought it into a condition for yielding considerable of a supply of the indispensables of life. But as we shall have an occasion to allude to him again in a differ- ent connection we will leave him here for the present.
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