USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Orford > Centennial celebration of the town of Orford, N.H. : containing the oration, poems and speeches delivered on Thursday, September 7, 1865 : with some additional matters relating to the history of the place > Part 7
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With deep and hearty feelings of affection for my native town and townsmen,
I am, very truly, yours, WILLIAM ROGERS.
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LANCASTER, N. H., Sept. 4, 1865. Henry Il. Howard, Esq., Chairman Committee of Arrange- ments Orford Centennial Celebration :
MY DEAR SIR : From the announcement of your intended celebration, I have fully intended to be with you on that occasion, and it is with no ordinary feeling of regret that I am compelled, at this late day, to abandon my cherished purpose. Business engagements, and circumstances over which I have no control, entirely preclude the possibility of my attendance.
I shall, however, be with you in spirit as you observe your happy anniversary, and it will afford me much pleas- ure to learn, as I make no doubt I shall, that it has occurred to the entire satisfaction of the glad concourse of friends who will have aided in its celebration.
How many and startling events have crowded the world's history since the pioneer first camped upon the rich mead- ows of my ancestral town ! How gratifying now the thought, that as you assemble on its hundredth civic birth- day, you do so in a land free in every sense, and rising to its true position of practical usefulness among the nations of the Earth. We may well mingle, on this occasion, our vows of patriotism, and devotion to the country's defend- ers, and our thanksgiving to that God who has preserved us, with our memories of those ancestors whose pure example, let us hope, we have neither forgotten or dis- graced.
With the warmest regard for the old home of my maternal ancestors and hearty wishes for its prosperity with that of its enterprising and excellent citizens, and with renewed regrets at the circumstances which deprive me of the anticipated pleasure of mingling with you, let me lay upon your board the following sentiment :
Orford and its Citizens. Nestling in the verdurous lap of our beautiful river, the town is a fitting nursery of pat-
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riotism, culture and prosperity. May its ripe old age be honored by the fame of its children, and may generations yet unborn, imitate the sturdy and God-fearing integrity of those, who set and nurtured this gem in the northern wilderness, to blossom in after time, a rose of beauty and of plenty. With very kind regards, I am,
Your obedient servant,
HENRY O. KENT.
CHELMSFORD, MASS., May 21, 1865. Messrs. Howard, Perrin and Marston, Committee :
GENTLEMEN : Returning from a short absence from home, I find upon my desk, yours of the 26th ult., extend- ing to me the honor of an invitation to be present at the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the settle- ment of Orford, to be held on the 7th of September next.
One of the happiest years of my early ministerial life, I spent preaching in Orford ; and received many attentions from friends there, whose kindness is still cherished. I al- so received my birth and education in its immediate vi- cinity, and have many reasons for holding its remembrance in kindest regards.
If circumstances will permit at that time, I shall be hap- py to join with you in the celebration.
Yours truly,
H. W. MORSE.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Aug. 30, 1865. To H. H. Howard, and other members of the Committee :
Your invitation was duly received by me at my home in Michigan. I have tried very hard all summer to make ar- rangements to be present at the Centennial next week,
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and it is only at the last moment that I can really feel that I am not going, and must take this way of communicating with you. I was born in Orford, near the extreme north- ern boundary of the town ; am the son-the youngest son -of Col. James Rogers, who was also born in Orford .- His father was Nathaniel Rogers, formerly of Leominster, Mass .; but a resident of Orford as early as 1770. I think my great-grandfather, also, lived for a time, in Orford .- With an ancestry identified with the town in its infancy, and youth and manhood, I may well be proud of old Or- ford. I admire the beautiful streets, and the grand old mountains, and love to revisit such scenes. If there is any history of the town published, I should like a copy .- N. R. Sargent, my cousin, will see that it is forwarded to me. Wishing you a pleasant centennial,
I am, very sincerely, your townsman,
SAMUEL J. ROGERS.
CHARLESTOWN, May 12, 1865. Messrs. Howard, Marston and Perrin, Committee :
GENTLEMEN : Your note containing an invitation to be present at the Centennial Celebration of the settlement of the town of Orford, was duly received. Be assured, gen- tlemen, it would give me great pleasure to be present on the occasion, but business, I fear, will not allow me that gratification. Though not a native of your town, I have known her people but to honor and esteem them, and know that she has native sons that are and have been an honor, not only to herself, but to the country, in the differ- ent professions and walks of life. Believe me,
Yours with respect, JOS. B. MORSE.
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ELIZABETH, September 5, 1865.
Henry H. Howard, Esq .:
DEAR SIR : Your favor of the 24th of July, desiring my attendance upon the Centennial Celebration to be held at Orford, on the 7th inst., was duly received, and should have been immediately answered.
I have, however, taken the liberty to delay this reply, in the anticipation that, by some possibility, I might be able to accept your polite invitation, and comply with your re- quest. But I now find myself reluctantly obliged to fore- go that pleasure, and hasten, in consequence, to say that, although I have not "bought a farm," nor "a yoke of ox- en," nor even " married a wife," (though I expect one home to-day), I cannot consistently, with engagements here, meet with you upon the occasion named.
Under other circumstances, it would have given me great satisfaction to meet with old acquaintances still upon the stage; to recall the associations of others who have passed away, and to revive the memories of those, who, long years ago, laid deep and firm the foundations of the social fabric of our native village and town.
A hundred years! How short, and yet what mighty changes are in the space ! In the future, who can tell what a century will produce ? Many a child seen in your streets will see our people (the nation) numbered by a hundred million. And when the time shall have been car- ried forward the full period of another century, who shall tell their increase ? Who the developement of the country, its institutions, its resources -- agricultural, mechanical and mineral, its polity, its laws, its education and its religion ?
The men of the future, like those of the present and the past, will move rapidly from the theatre of life. Genera- tion after generation, as the cycles of time shall roll on, will celebrate the virtues of those who shall have "gone be- fore," as you now recall the names and the memories of
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the great, brave and good men, and women, too, who have made, with their lives, the earlier history of Orford. How, much we call life, hangs upon the remembrance of other days.
I give you, as a not inappropriate conclusion to this hasty note-
The memory of the just-Let it ever be sacred as well as blessed.
With much respect, dear sir, for yourself, and the gen- tlemen of your committee, and with kind recollections for all, I have to remain,
Respectfully and very truly yours, &c.,
THOMAS B. MANN.
To the friends gathered at the Centennial Anniversary of the settlement of Old Orford, greeting :
The invitation to be present at your Anniversary, made through your committee, was duly received. It trans- ferred me at once to the associations of early life-to my mountain home, its surroundings, its joys, its sorrows, its labors and its trials. The brooks and mills and trout haunts; the orchard, the haying and the blueberry pickings ; the storms, the drift, and the sliding places-these and the ex- perience connected, are as clearly in memory, after an ab- sence of nearly thirty years, as though they were the ex- perience and observation of yesterday. The old school house, with all its experiences, in doors and out ; the famil- iar faces-so many gone forever; the churches, the old Methodist, with its four-sided roof and wood color so thor- oughly browned ; the old back meeting house-a very cas- tle, and, as I remember, without underpinning ; the meet- ing house on the river road, down the rod of which came the lightning, tearing up the ground, on a time, and the
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galleries around those huge structures where wild boys played truant ; and then priest Dana, with his fine bass voice, always pronouncing near the close of his prayer tlie words "triune God ;" and priest Farnsworth, a little cor- pulent, social and kindly-one of the trio, with Capt. Wheel- er at their head, who visited the school (dread trio); and the new brick meeting house by the brook, now grown old, I remember them all, and much that was connected with them, and should feel it the happiest day of my life, if I could be with you on your anniversary occasion.
I can be so only in spirit, and with these few words of cheer and congratulation.
And in representing the tribe of Aaron, the son of one of the first settlers of your town, and those of our friends here who are not otherwise represented, I can say-we feel proud of our ancestral home-of its institutions-of its thrift, and, especially, of its age.
We congratulate you on your " Plymouth Rock;" we congratulate you on your puritan principles ; we con- gratulate you that your institutions have a firmer founda- tion than granite, and that they will be as enduring as the existence of the race. We congratulate you on the honor to you and to the institutions you foster, resulting from the fidelity to principle of those who have gone out from you, and that you are permitted to celebrate your hun- dredth birthday with your soldiers, so many of them re- turned ; the Union restored ; popular government vindi- cated, and peace and plenty so generally enjoyed. Ac- cept the assurance that our family is loyal to you, to pu- ritanism and to the Union.
We have been represented in the army, by ten of our number-eight on service of three years each. One has been sacrificed on the altar of his country; two have scars they will carry through life. Accept the assurance that New England principles have been planted at the
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West-that they are exerting a controlling influence, and that they will in all coming time, and that the West will strike hands with you in maintaining the integrity and promoting the welfare of our common country.
Accept our earnest wish that your prosperity may con- tinue ; that your honor may never be tarnished, and that your glory may never depart.
Yours, fraternally,
WM. R. MANN.
Earlville, Lasalle Co., Ill., Aug. 29, 1865.
ROXBURY, April 10th, 1865.
Messrs. Howard, Perrin and Marston :
GENTLEMEN : It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 23d ultimo, inviting me to be present at the one hundredth Anniversary of the settle- ment of your beautiful town, on the 7th of September next. It would give me true pleasure to meet the acquaintances of my school-boy days, and recall the many pleasant scenes and times then enjoyed. But as I think of them, a sudden sadness comes over me, as I reflect that two of my most intimate and longest continued friendships have long since been severed by death. I refer to the death of my very early friends, James P. Howard and Lewis Mann. Their sterling qualities attached me to them as warm friends, ever after our acquaintance till their decease. I should greet their friends cordially now as my friends, were I at your celebration, and if it is consistent with my engagements and duties at that time, it will afford me high gratification to be present.
I remain, very truly, your ob't serv't,
THEODORE OTIS.
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NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 1865.
General Gilman Marston, Orford, N. H .:
MY DEAR SIR : I cannot express to you, by letter, how deeply I regret my inability to be present on the occasion of my native town's " Centennial Anniversary."
I had so confidently counted upon being with you, that I have waited till the last moment to tell you of my disap- pointment.
If opportunity should present, I wish you to say to my fellow town's-people, that if they feel one-half the disap- pointment which I experience, they have been very severely punished.
That prosperity may always be with you, is the sincere and hearty wish of
Your friend and obed't serv't, S. S. BRITTON.
PRESCOTT, Arizona, July 6, 1865
My dear old friend Howard : I left California early in May last, and arrived at this, the capital of Arizona Ter- ritory, on June 19th ; and among the first words of hope and friendly cheer to greet me on entering this new, and now the most dangerous section of our broad country, was an invitation from yourself, and from my fondly cherished New England home, to be present at a Centennial Cele- bration of the settlement of my dear, native Orford .- What sacred memories are thronging upon me ! I deem it a duty to acknowledge your kindness, and with the deep- est feelings of mingled sadness and heartfelt gratitude, I make the attempt in vain, to send you a fitting expression of my feelings, and of my entire sympathy of soul and being with the motives and object of the grand, the bless- ed occasion. No earthly event which I can imagine, would
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give me such joy, to assist and to share in, as this. But stern duty, or possibly a misguided sense of it, compels me to a cruel self-denial of this great happiness, and, instead, to toil yet a while in developing the vast hidden wealth of these western wilds. But no privations, no trials, no allure- ments, no time or space, can ever crush the bright hope that I may sometime return to New England, and finally pass my last years in blessed rest in my own native home. With many assurances of love and esteem,
ELIHU M. CORLISS.
P. S. The Apaches are very troublesome in this region, and the mails are uncertain in arriving. Have had no Cali- fornia or eastern news during the last month. But I am in hopes that this will reach you before the celebration, that you may all know that I fully appreciate the kindness and the occasion. Yours, ever,
E. M. CORLISS.
PHILADELPHIA, August, 23, 1865. GENTLEMEN : Some time since, I received your invita- tion to attend the "Centennial Celebration" of the town of Orford. I have delayed my answer, hoping that it would be in my power to accept it, and unite with you in the com- memoration of such an interesting event. I find that it will not be possible for me to do so. Please, therefore, convey to those who assemble, my sincere regret that I cannot personally participate with them ; but that I feel a deep interest in all that relates to the past history and fu- ture welfare of "Old Orford." Aside from other consider- ations, in her ancient burial place, repose the remains of my honored father and elder brother. Although born in Fairlee, my early recollections are associated with Orford and Fairlee alike. Being only thirteen years of age
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when we left there, I have a distinct recollection of many events and associates of my childhood, as well as of the then old inhabitants of both places. My mother, a daugh- ter of General Israel Morey, of Orford, was, I have been told, the first white female born in Orford. As there are many of the lineal descendants of General Morey now liv- ing there, whose testimony relating to the early history of the vicinity and its inhabitants, can be had, my imperfect reminiscences could add nothing to the interest of the occa- sion. If it be so, "that history is philosophy teaching by example," what a lesson has been taught us in the last four years. While as a christian people we should ac- knowledge God in all our ways, in calling to mind what He has done for us in the past, our special thanks are due for the triumph of freedom and the downfall of tyranny and oppression, as the result of our struggle to preserve the life of the nation, so lately in such imminent peril. The camp-fires of hostile armies have been extinguished ; but the fire of rebellion still burns in many a rebel heart. "Eternal vigilance" is, therefore, now, as ever, the price at which our liberties are to be preserved.
Thanking you for the remembrance of me, I am,
Very truly, yours,
I. M. BISSELL.
To Messrs. Henry H. Howard, Henry S. Perrin and Arthur Marston, Committee.
A social levee was held at the Academy halls in the even- ing.
Music by the Band ..
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The following original Hymn, by Isaac Willard, was sung by the choir :
CENTENNIAL SONG.
BY ISAAC WILLARD.
Tune-" America." - - A hundred years ago, Tradition tells us so, Here forests stood ; The birds of every flight, The wolf and bear in might, The savage as his right Claimed the whole wood.
The Indian huts we learn, Where the camp-fires burned, Were far and near ; Here the war-whoop was sung, Here the death-knell was rung, Here the dark maid was won, All without fear.
A hundred years have fied, Since the first white man's tread. How great the change- The thinned forests stand, To beautify the land, For shade on either hand, In street and lane. .
The wolf and bear have gone, The native fled the lawn, No vestige left. Connecticut's six sons, First settled on this ground, And labor has been crowned With rich success.
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Churches of which there're three, Also the Academy, In beauty shine. The schoolhouses' busy hive, Of which seventeen now thrive, Shops, town-house, dwellings, all Speak wealth and worth.
A thousand Orford sons, From city, town, and ville, To-day we greet. Come, friends, and with us stand, To make one festal band, And hand shall join with hand, In union sweet.
A hundred years from now, Both sire and son shall bow Beneath the ground. Our childrens' children then, Will celebrate this day, And we shall join again, If faithful found.
APPENDIX.
NOTE TO THE READER.
It was thought that it might contribute largely to the interest and value of this publication, if brief sketches of the early families of Orford and their descendents could be added thereto. Accordingly the chairman of the Com- mittee of Arrangements sent special requests to the differ- ent families to furnish their family records, with such addi- tional remarks as might be deemed proper. Many did not respond ; some could not, not having the necessary data at hand. After waiting a reasonable length of time, the following were received, and the only regret is that all could not, or did not comply with the wishes of the com- mittee.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
AVERY.
Deacon Simeon Avery was born in Groton, Conn., in 1730.
His wife was Sarah Niles, born in 1734. Came to Or- ford at an early day, and settled on the place known as the Capt. Pratt place. Was one of the first inn-keepers in town, and kept the first ferry across the Connecticut. He died in 1790 ; his wife in 1783.
They were parents of Deacon Silas Avery and Jesse Avery, pious, worthy and much respected citizens. Jesse died in 1824 ; Silas a few years later.
BISSELL.
Col. Edward M. Bissell, son of Simeon B. Bissell, was born in Fairlee, Vt., in 1800. His mother was Martha, daughter of Gen. Israel Morey, and the first female born in Orford. He was the eldest of four brothers, Israel M., who is a merchant and resides in Philadelphia ; Simeon B., a Captain in the United States Navy ; George W. P., who was, for many years, in command of ships in the merchant service, and subsequently became an extensive banker in San Francisco, Cal., where he died a few years since. Edward M. came to Orford in early life, and was
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for many years, prominent in mercantile business. Affa- ble and gentlemanly in deportment, he was universally esteemed. An ardent admirer of the beautiful, to his taste and judgment may be justly attributed much which adorns and beautifies the village.
He was, for a number of years, Representative of the town in the Legislature. He was twice married-first to Elizabeth M., daughter of William Howard, who died January 10th 1845; second to Catherine M., daughter of Hon. A. G. Britton. He died April 16th, 1857.
BLOOD. -
Stephen Blood was born in Charlton, Mass., May 3d, 1762; he was the sixteenth, and the youngest in the fam- ily. Bethiah Cole was born in Boxford, Mass., June 27, 1764. She, also, was the sixteenth, and youngest of the family. Mr. Blood was married to Miss Cole, January 11, 1784. They became citizens of Orford early in the summer of 1784. There were born unto them fourteen children ; of whom three died in early infancy-three others before attaining to majority of years, and three others after hav- ing been married and having families. Five out of the fourteen still live-Sylvester and Samuel in Orford, Mar- tha D., in Wisconsin, Sarah D., in California, and Daniel C., in Ohio.
The hardships endured by this family, in common with others, in the early settlement of the town, might easily be wrought into a considerable volume, wherein truth would seem stranger than fiction. They were repeatedly without bread for several days in succession, and twice they lost nearly everything by the burning of their house. But as Orford improved, their circumstances became easier, and
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for many years they were strangers 'to want. The young- est son, Daniel C., was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1828, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1831, and has been a successful minister of the gospel at the West, for more than thirty-four years.
CORLISS.
George Corliss was born in England, about the year 1617, and came to this country in 1639. He is believed to have been the first one of the name who came to this coun- try, and the ancestor of most, if not all, of that name in New England. He married Joanna Davis, October 26, 1645. She came from that part of England called Wales. Theirs was the second marriage in the town of Haverhill, Mass.
In 1640, he settled upon a tract of land in the west part of Haverhill, which has been handed down from father to son to the present time, and is now owned and. occupied by Charles Corliss, (of the seventh generation) and is known as " Poplar Lawn." He was an enterprising and industrious man, and well qualified to take a prominent part in the settlement of a new town, and at his death was possessed of a large landed property. He owned most of the land on both sides of the old "Spicket Path," as it was then called, for more than three miles
He died October 19, 1686, leaving an extensive farm, which he divided by will, among his children, giving his home farm, " Poplar Lawn," to his only son, John.
One of his daughters (Mrs. Mary Neff ) was taken by the Indians with Mrs. Dustin, and remained with her through the whole captivity. To her he gave the farm where William Swasey now lives, one mile east of " Pop- lar Lawn."
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John, only son of George, born March 4, 1647; mar- ried Mary Milford, December 17, 1684.
Jonathan, fourth son of John, born July 16, 1695 ; married Betsey Moore, March, 1717.
John Moore, twelfth child of Jonathan, had three wives; married for his first wife, Lydia Sanborn, who died in Al- exandria, N. H., in 1770, leaving three sons, Elihu, Daniel and John Moore, Jr.
John Moore and his brother, Jonathan, were the first settlers of the town of Alexandria, N. H., and at the time of his first wife's death, were the only men in the town.
They cut a log from a pine tree, and dug it out for a coffin, and buried her in the woods. In 1852, while re- pairing the roads, her remains were found, and buried by the side of her husband. Her hair was in a good state of preservation, only changed from black to a flax color, though having been buried over eighty years.
John Moore was a man of uncommon physical strength, and was called in his day "a double-jointed man." When young, his hair was black, at eighty it was white; it then began to turn dark, and at the age of ninety-three, (the time of his death) it was black and glossy as a young person's.
Elihu, first son of John Moore, born March 22, 1758. In 1775, he enlisted in a company of volunteers, and marched with all speed for Boston, and met the Americans at Charlestown, as they retreated from Bunker Hill. He married Sarah Gordan, and first settled in Alexandria, and moved to Orford in 1792, and died September 20, 1844, aged 86. They had eleven children, all but one of whom lived to adult age. Alexander was born October 1, 1784 ; married Abigail Marsh, March 14, 1810. Settled in Orford as a farmer, and died October 20, 1858, aged 74.
John Moore was born March 24, 1786; married Rosa-
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mond Dame, November 30, 1809. · Settled in Orford, and died August 19, 1850, aged 64. In 1848, he married a second wife, Abigail Eaton, who now lives in Bradford, Vermont. Lydia, the third child, died February 20, 1842, aged 54.
Elihu Jr., was born February 18, 1790 ; married widow Harriet Clark, (a daughter of James Dayton, Esq., of Or- ford), December 18, 1823, and died September 28, 1858, aged 68.
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