USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Centennial celebration of Manchester, N.H., June 13, 1810-1910 > Part 3
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Five chaises were owned in town, three valued at $100 apiece, one at $80, while General Stark was charged with one at $50. The appropriation to pay all town charges was $75. The same sum was appropriated to pay for preach- ing. There was a meeting house but no church or regular preacher, and at town meeting there was an article in the warrant to see if the town would pay Enos Webster for boarding Mr. Pickles when the latter was preaching in town, but the article was dismissed. Seventy-five dollars a year without refreshments seems to be the value placed on preaching. There was about one liquor license for each one hundred of population, and each poll tax payer was assessed $1.50 to pay for the repair of highways, of which there were enough to call for the election, if not the ser- vices, of eight highway surveyors. The town clerk was voted $5 for one year's service, and the three outgoing selectmen were paid respectively $13.75, $12.25 and $10.25 for their time and services the last year.
Fishwards seem to have been important officers, seven being chosen. Three corders of wood, six surveyors of lumber, a culler of stones were chosen. A sealer of weights and measures was elected, and the town was so extravagant as to vote that "a chest be purchased at the expense of the town to put the weights and measures in." The selectmen were voted fence viewers and overseers of the poor. A town clerk, a treasurer and one constable were elected, and the collection of taxes was "vendued to the lowest bidder." This seems a frugal and economical municipal government. The warrant contained an article "to see if the Town will provide any support for" a certain man. "he being old and unable to care for himself," but the
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meeting voted to dismiss the article. Judged by this vote, it might not be unfair to call the town something "nearer" the truth than economical, but loyalty to the old community bids us to be careful in our choice of adjectives.
In examining old records and studying the history of former times, one is forcibly struck by the proofs that human nature is a good deal the same from one generation to another, and that men's motives and actions are very similar in similar circumstances, though in widely different times and places. We hear a good deal nowadays about ring rule, boss control, one-man power and such like in political affairs, and we are told that the country ought to return to the practices of the early days of the republic when the people were under no dictation, but, as it were, spontaneously acted without suggestion or direction. But I am fearful that the town meeting held in Derryfield in 1810 would not bring much comfort to those who would seek an example of disinterested leadership and altruistic political management. The records show an example of political cohesiveness and co-operation on the part of the leaders of the town that, to-day, would call forth the loud- est denunciations from those who did not happen to be of the elect.
At that meeting, Thomas Stickney was chosen select- man and a member of the committee to petition the legis- lature for a change of the name of the town. John G. Moor was elected town treasurer of highways, surveyor of lumber, fish ward, and a member of the legislative com- mittee. Isaac Huse was elected selectman, highway sur- veyor, sealer of weights and measures, and hogreeve when there was something for that official to do. Samuel Moor, Jr., was chosen selectman, town clerk and surveyor of lum- ber, and Messrs. Stickney, Huse and Samuel Moor, Jr., were ex-officio fence viewers and overseers of the poor. For years before and after 1810, the records show a similar centering of official control in a block of a few men.
The historian calls these men leading citizens, and
LAKE MASSABESIC, LOOKING WESTWARD FROM THE AUBURN SHORE
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From a Rare Painting by COL. JOHN B. BACHELDER
FIREMEN'S MUSTER. 1859
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proves it by the records. Is it possible that what was leadership then would be ring rule or bossism now? Or is it true that "bossism" is simply one way of describing long and successful leadership in political matters, and a "ring" merely another term for a number of leaders acting together for a common purpose? As we study the past, we are apt to grow more lenient in our estimate of the men and measures of the present and to be more charitable in our opinions and criticisms, for this reason, if no other, the study of history ought to be encouraged.
In 1810, the Democratic-Republican candidate for gov- ernor received 41 votes to 37 for his Federalist opponent, with one scattering.
For nearly thirty years after it received its new name, no great changes took place in the town. In 1820, the census showed a population of 761; and in 1830, 887; and in 1840, 3,325, and most of the last increase was made in the two years immediately preceding the last-named census taking. The War of 1812 made but little impression on the town except to cast it into the slough of hard times, which prevailed all through New England. It was not a popular war hereabout, and few enlistments were made except enough to fill the quota of the town under the pres- ident's call for troops. The number and personnel of those who did serve is not accurately known, but in 1816 it was "voted to make up ten dollars per month" to the drafted soldiers.
In 1815, the legislature granted the town the privi- lege of choosing a representative without the assistance of Litchfield and, in 1816, Isaac Huse, who was still select- man and highway surveyor, was elected the first repre- sentative of Manchester in the general court. In 1814, the navigation of the Merrimack River was fully opened, and the first boat came through. The river became a con- siderable water highway, whose traffic, though it was im- paired by the opening of the Concord Railroad in 1842, continued in bulky articles nearly a score of years there- after. For many years the care of the pound called for
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considerable attention, and the boarding of the town pau- pers was auctioned off to the lowest bidder.
After 1810, religious matters received but little atten- tion from the town meeting. At the annual meeting in 1814, it was voted not to raise any money for the support of preaching, and nothing more was done till 1827, when additional emphasis was given to the refusal to spend pub- lic money for religious exercises, when it was decided not to allow certain money coming from the sale of "minis- terial land," to go towards the support of a minister. This was recognized by those who desired a town sup- ported church as their Waterloo. In 1828, a Presbyterian Church Society was organized at Manchester Center, which afterwards united with the Congregational Society of Amoskeag, and in 1839 the two became the First Congre- gational Church of Manchester. No church edifice was built by these church societies until 1840, when the first church on Hanover street was constructed, standing where the Opera House block now is. A Methodist Episcopal church was formed and a building was erected, in 1829, at the Centre, a few rods south of the old meeting house, and this seems to have been the first building in Manchester erected exclusively for religious purposes. Universalist and Baptist societies held servies in Amoskeag some years before 1840, but they met in a hall, and not till after that date were church buildings erected.
From 1821 to 1826, a controversy long drawn out and bitterly contested by Manchester's people existed over the building of the Mammoth road as the more direct stage route from Concord to Lowell. Only one man in Man- chester favored it, and he is said to have kept a tavern or been in the position to keep one on the line of the road. Finally the court ordered it built, and Manchester reluc- tantly, but obediently, constructed the part within the town limits. But it was not built soon enough to make it worth while. If built when it was originally planned, it might have paid for itself in its use, but coming so late, it
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had but few years of coaching before the newly con- structed railroad changed all lines and methods of travel.
In 1822, General Stark, the most noted man then res- ident in New Hampshire, was gathered to his fathers. He sleeps in the little burying ground in the attractive park bearing his name, which, by the gift of his descendants, has become the property of the city. The plain granite shaft, markings the spot, is visible from the passing trains, but very few of the travelers realize that this is the monu- ment of one who, in the darkest hours of the patriots' strug- gle, led his New Hampshire regiment to Vermont, and at Bennington broke the power of Burgoyne's army and con- tributed so largely to the final triumph of America's cause. This hero of the Indian War, the survivor of Bunker Hill and Trenton, deserves better treatment. Let us hope that sometime the Nation will provide above his grave a more fitting memorial, and if the Nation will not then the State ought to do so.
In 1824, the town showed its lack of appreciation of its own political importance when it voted, 90 to o, to make Amherst the county seat of Hillsborough county, and it displayed its customary frugality, in 1836, by voting, 67 against 15, against the establishment of a state asylum for the insane. In 1836, the old meeting house at the Centre was repaired at the expense of $500 and was divided into two stories, the upper story for a school-room and the lower one for a town hall.
So much for a general view of thirty years from 1810 to 1840. If nothing more than I have narrated had hap- pened, Manchester, to-day, might be like Bedford or Litch- field or Merrimack. But Manchester had a resource not vouchsafed to any other town. Amoskeag Falls were her one big asset, and the development of their power is the reason for the city.
The project of manufacturing cloth near Amoskeag Falls was started in 1809, by Benjamin Prichard and Ephraim, David and Robert Stevens, and in 1810 they
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formed a company under the name "Amoskeag Cotton & Wool Factory." They had a small mill on the west bank of the river in Amoskeag. They had little capital or machinery and their output was diminutive.
After September, 1815, little was done in the manu- facturing line until 1822, when there was a sale to other parties, who were unsuccessful, and finally, in 1825, Dr. Oliver Dean and his associates got control of the property They constructed and operated mills on the west bank and on the island in the river and made sheetings, shirtings and tickings, and the last became quite famous under the name "A C A Ticking," still a valuable trademark.
In 1831, the present Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany, of which Dr. Dean was the first president and agent, was chartered with a capital of $1,000,oco, a large sum for those days-for the purpose of taking over the old com- pany, developing water power, acquiring and selling land, selling sites and power to other manufacturing concerns, building and operating mills of its own, and so bringing about the growth of a flourishing manufacturing town worthy the name it had been given. By 1835, the com- pany had acquired the power rights at Amoskeag Falls, at Hooksett and Garvin's Falls, most of the land on the east bank and quite a large tract on the west bank.
It built a dam and canals; built and sold a mill and boarding houses to the Stark Mills, newly organized; built two mills and other buildings of its own, and in 1838 and 1839 had its first two land sales, following the plan it had prepared, in accordance with which so much of our city has been built up. From this time on, the future was assured. Mill followed mill in the Amoskeag and Stark yards; then the Manchester Mills; the Langdon and Amory came in due course. Where a few farms and pine lands had lain almost in solitude, a town grew up as by miracle. In six years, following 1840, seven thousand peo- ple flocked here to find work and homes. The manage- ment of town affairs was taken over by the men of the
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MANCHESTER IN 1855
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"New Village," in 1840, after a bitter fight in town meeting with the old inhabitants. A town hall was built, in 1841, on the site of the present city hall, and town meeting was held there in 1842. The building was burned in 1844, and in 1845 another town hall, the historic structure in which we are holding these exercises, was erected at a cost of $35,000.
In 1846, the town became a city, and its history since then is too well known to need extended comment now. Fourteen years ago, a whole week was given over to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the granting of the city charter. Eloquent words in prose and poetry, uttered by men who, by their own experience or from tra- dition or record, were qualified to describe the events of the half century, made known to all the story of the city's life, and they have been published and bound in lasting form. During those fifty years, the city grew and pros- pered. Its manufactures increased and became more diversified, churches and schoolhouses were numerously constructed, the city became a county seat, the river was spanned by bridges, parks and commons were beautified a bountiful water supply was acquired, police and fire pro- tection were amply provided, and it was fitting that our people should celebrate as they did their civil, industrial and social advancement. And they had the right to be proud, as we are all proud, of the record made in the days when rebellion was trying to destroy the republic and Man- chester sent more than one in every ten of its people to battle for freedom and for Union. There were tears in Manchester following every battle during those awful days. Almost every great battlefield was reddened with the blood of Manchester men. The spirit of Stark ani- mated the boys of '61, and a grateful city erected to the ·memory of those who gave their services on land and sea the beautiful monument which we hope will teach to future generations the full meaning of the loyalty and victory of the heroic dead.
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Since 1896, little of startling note has transpired. The growth of the city has continued its even way. On the west bank of the river has grown up a population nearly twice that of the whole city in 1846. More and better mills have been built. The figures showing the out- put of cloth by the Amoskeag Company are overwhelming. Over 100,000 miles of cotton and woolen cloth, besides nearly 2,000,000 bags. The shoe manufacturing industry has become so established that Manchester stands among the leading cities of the country in that line of business. No pestilence or great calamity has been experienced. Though the annals of the last fourteen years have been uneventful, they have been years of progress and pros- perity. When in 1898, in the cause of an outraged human- ity, the United States went to war with Spain, the quota ot Manchester in the troops called for in New Hampshire was filled and the Sheridan Guards marched away, ready to do and dare all that mightconfront them. Happily, the war was short; no great sacrifice was demanded. But the spirit of 1898 was the same as that of other days. It proved that martial valor and patriotic fervor still exist among the American people and that we may rest assured that, whenever duty shall call in the name of a periled country, the sublimest effort and most daring sacrifice will be forthcoming.
Thus much of the "Then." What of the "Now"?
We may safely hazard the guess that our present pop- ulation is not far below 70,000, a cosmopolitan population, and, speaking generally, industrious, law abiding and decent. Large crime is and always has been rare in Man- chester. Murder and riot have been so exceptional that the Parker murder and the Firemen's Muster riot stand out with unique significance. There is abundant church room for all, and no child goes untaught for lack of proper school facilities. A varied library of nearly 60,000 volumes is extensively patronized by our people. Many miles of streets are bordered with homes, owned by the occupants.
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The relations between employer and employee, in our man- ufacturing establishments, are generally good. Wages are as high as in any similar manufacturing center. Strikes and other labor troubles have been scarce in our city. Taxation is not excessively high, and few cities anywhere can point to a better financial condition than that of Man- chester. The water works alone are worth the whole city debt, and those who have been in charge of our municipal affairs should receive the credit due them for keeping the debt within such reasonable limits. The death rate here is low, and the birth rate in some streets is high enough to gladden the heart of a Roosevelt. All in all, Manchester is a good place to live in, a good place in which to have one's home, and for him who has finished his work and left his earthly home, the Valley cemetery or the Pine Grove affords a beautiful place for the last long sleep.
The former citizens of Manchester did their work well. The present generation can find enough to do to satisfy the present needs of the city. We need better and cleaner streets and smoother sidewalks. We need a decent theatre. We need several assembly halls on the ground floors, with ample means of exit. We badly need a new, large and better library building.
We need to realize the fact that our industrial situation is a peculiar one. We have few employers but many employees, and the welfare of the whole community is dependent on the success of a very few great business enterprises. Whatever is advantageous for those enter- prises is advantageous for the whole city. If they are successful, the city is prosperous. They bear a large part of the expenses of the city and, naturally, desire an effi- cient and economical administration of municipal affairs and are entitled to a proper influence therein. We need to cultivate and maintain the most friendly relations between those enterprises and the city, for they cannot be hurt or crippled without injury to us all. They should bear their just share of the public burden, and they and the citizens
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at large should harmoniously and cordially work together for the common good.
We need, also, a keener sense of civic pride-a pride that will promote a high toned and intelligent public opin- ion and induce each citizen, honestly and to the best of his ability to discharge his duty to the city. With such a public opinion and such citizenship, the second century of Manchester life will be brighter than the first, and the work of the sons will outrival the accomplishments of the fathers.
At the close of the oration by Mr. Jones, Mrs. Nellie M. Browne read a poem, written by her for the occasion.
A TRIBUTE TO THIS DAY
BY NELLIE M. BROWNE
"'Tis sweet to be remembered," and does it not mean more to us than tablets of stone or costly marble?
"Remember me" was repeated hundreds of years ago and, though handed down to us through the long vista of years, it has lost none of its significance; rather added fresh laurels unto itself until to-day we are bound together in one unbroken wreath representing the bond of common humanity.
It has been truly said that the patriotism of a people is measured largely by the respect they show their ancestors. The fabric of Manchester was given to you and yours; you have fashioned a splendid garment.
A hundred years to Manchester's glory; A hundred years to Manchester's gain; You have already heard this wonderful story; I leave it for others to sing the refrain.
So I come not to-night with song or legend -- You have all conned them o'er and o'er; I have but a simple tribute to bring you --- A fleeting fancy of the days of yore.
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KENNARD RUINS
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The memories of the golden past- The friends we used to meet and know-
The old log house-we can see it yet --- That used to stand here in the long ago.
One hundred years our bark's been launched, On the River of Time, and still alway, If rough the waters, the course is clear, And skies grow brighter day by day.
Though the frost of time, which never melts, Has touched with care full many a brow, Yet young of heart they seem to be, And loyal ones are left to us now.
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We have kept the faith! a sacred trust, And have paused along life's way, Just to leave a little message on the sand; It may prove a help to others, Who some day will pass this way- They will read it and will understand.
And when all shall be called home, And the sun sinks low in the west, WE shall know we did our duty- THEY will know we did our best.
Following Mrs. Browne's poem, Harland Davis, the boy soprano of Manchester High school, sang "The Hymns of the Old Church Choir," and responded to an encore with a typical New Hampshire folk song. He was accompanied on the piano by his sister, Miss Nellie Davis.
The President then introduced the Rev. William H. Morrison of Nashua, a former pastor of one of Manches- ter's churches for several years, and a person who has retained his interest in our city.
In opening his address, Mr. Morrison expressed a deep interest in the entertainment,-deemed it an honor and a privilege to speak before such an audience, and believed
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that the people would look back on the centennial anni- versary of the naming of Manchester with pride, and for- ward' to the next hundredth anniversary with hopeful antici- pations.
The topic of his address was "The Ideal City," of which the following is, an outline:
THE IDEAL CITY
What are some of the things that go to make up the ideal city?
First. It is a city of homes. You can't make an ideal city out of boarding houses and flats. The life of a home must be strong in such a city. . The Good Book says it is not good for man to be alone, and that is true. Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, must be one of the divinities of that city. Men work for home, men fight for home. Be it ever so humble there is no place like it. Husband, wife, children, make up a holy trinity which the ideal city must have.
Second. It is a city that is at work. 'An idle brain is the devil's workshop, It is just so with an idle city.
Ask any man who has ever lived, who has made a suc- cess in life, how he did it, and he will give a good part of the credit to work. There are two kinds of slums in every city: There is the slum in the hovel, and the slum in the palace. And in one respect they are alike. The people who live in both are loafers. They have nothing to do but hatch up deviltry. Fill the city with industry, and you do away with the slums of both kinds.
Third. It is a city that is clean.
Now that word clean can have several meanings. I will give it two. Clean and. well-kept streets and parks, with the neat and trig appearance of the home that is taken care of by the good housekeeper. Streets free from the temptations and pitfalls that, curse every city of our
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iand to-day. Where night or day your wife or mine can go anywhere without fear of insult or harm, and where the children will never meet that which will lead them into wrong.
Fourth. It is a city with ideal schools.
Schools above politics. Controlled by no church. Actuated by just one aim-to mind their own business of giving every scholar just the best education possible for the money. One of the foundation stones of our nation is the common school, and you might just as well try to pluck up Mt. Washington by the roots and throw it into Winnipesaukee as to take it from this land. It does a work that nothing else can do, and it certainly has its part to play in building up the ideal city.
Fifth. It is a city that cares for the poor and the weak.
As long as men and women exist, there will be those who can accumulate and those who can't; those who are strong and those who are weak. Now the mischief from this condition of things comes from the way in which these classes treat each other.
When men recognize the fact that with riches and power come responsibilities which they should meet and assume, you have the ideal city so far as they are con- cerned.
Sixth. It is a city where every man and woman who can read and write goes to the caucus and the polls.
It was when they slumbered and slept that the tares were sown by the enemy. The boss can rule and the ring can work if few vote. When the many walk up and do their duty, there is plenty of dynamite to blow the boss and the ring into the air. In the ideal city, suffrage will not depend on sex or money or color or race, but on brains.
Seventh. It is a city that goes to church.
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Friends, what is the special work of the church? Not "ists" nor "isms," but to fill this world with the disposition and the courage to do right. I say this is the special work of the church. It is, and it is the only institution that does this work. Our Lord and Master was the embodiment of these two things: He wanted to do right, and he dared to do right. The ideal city goes to church. It takes these two things that the church stands for, and weaves them into the warp of its civic life. That is what, more than anything else, makes it the ideal city.
O 'friends, this is the mark that I hold up before Man- chester this evening. With your splendid water power, with your mills, with your shops, you have a claim to the title of the Queen City of the Granite State. As the new days come and go, it is my hope, my prayer, that you may so use your blessings that every year will bring your city nearer and nearer to that other city that hath foundation whose builder and maker is God.
At the close of Mr. Morrison's eloquent address, an ex- pression of thanks was given him by a rising vote, and while the pianist played the crowd dispersed, feeling that the event in every particular was an entire success, re- flecting great credit upon the Historic Association.
HOPPE
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