USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 10
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117
QUEEN ANNE'S WAR.
1708]
captors at a disadvantage, killing them while they were asleep, and possibly drunk.
The peace of Ryswick, which closed King William's War, was of short duration. Louis XIV proclaimed the Pretender king of England, and his governor, Villebon, had orders to extend the Province of Acadia to the Kennebec river. The English claimed to the St. Croix river. Governor Dudley had particular orders to rebuild the port at Pemaquid, but the Massachusetts Assembly would not consent to the expense. He met at Casco delegates from the tribes of the Norridgewock, Penobscot, Pigwacket, Penacook and Androscoggin Indians, and concluded a firm peace with them in June, 1703. This did not prevent the Indians, however, after the declaration of the Queen Anne War, from join- ing the French and invading New England. They killed and took captive one hundred and thirty people between Casco and Wells in a few weeks, burning and destroying all before them. About the middle of August a force of thirty killed five people at Hampton, a Quakeress among the number, and plundered two houses ; but fled before a pursuing party. Instantly the whole frontier was in arms. A visit of a company to Pigwacket in the fall led to the death of six and the capture of six Indians. During the winter the settlers were very active in carrying the war into the enemy's country, under the command of Major Winthrop Hilton and Captains John Gilman of Exeter, and Chesley and Davis of Oyster River.
During the year 1704 the aggressive policy of New England was continued, yet the Indians succeeded in killing and captur- ing several people in the Province, one at Oyster River in April, and several at Lamprey River the next day. In August they killed several at Oyster River. In January, 1708, Colonel Hilton led a force against Norridgewock, which was only successful in destroying the village. During the year another attempt was made to settle the township of Kingston, which did not succeed. Amongst the settlers were Ebenezer Webster, an ancestor of Daniel Webster, Moses Elkins, Jonathan Sanborn, Ichabod Robie, Aaron Sleeper, Thomas Webster, Thomas Philbrick and
118
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1709
Jabez Colman. The first birth in the town was that of Benjamin Webster, in 1701. In 1725 the town contained eighty-one fami- lies. In 1732, it had one hundred and sixty-four ratable inhabi- tants and one hundred and fifteen dwelling houses, of which sixty-four were two stories high.
An attempt was made to settle Rev. William Thompson in 1720. Rev. Ward Clark was ordained and settled in 1725 ; Rev. Peter Coffin, in 1737; Rev. Amos Tappan, in 1762 ; Rev. Elihu Thayer, D. D., in 1776; Rev. John Turner, the last minister settled by the town, in 1818.
The Indians of New England had been encouraged to remove to Canada by the French governor, and accordingly had been incorporated with the St. Francis tribe on the St. Lawrence and were thus more readily wielded against the English. At the re- opening of hostilities, in 1706, after a short truce, a small party of Indians attacked the house of John Drew, at Oyster River, in April, and killed eight and wounded two; but the women suc- cessfully defended the place. On the retreat of the Indians they killed John Wheeler, his wife and two children, who fell into their hands. In June two men were killed in Dover. In July two men were killed at Dunstable. In August an attack was made on Dover, in which ten men lost their lives or were carried into captivity. The Indians also killed several others during the summer at Dunstable, Hampton, and along the fron- tier. During the winter of 1707, Colonel Hilton was successful in cutting off a party of twenty-two, near Black Point, in Maine. During the following summer, while a force of a thousand men were attacking Port Royal, a harassing warfare was kept up by the enemy along the frontier and several men were killed at Oyster River, at Kingston, and at Exeter. The Indians were accustomed at this time to wander in small parties and the settlers were always armed and generally within the protection of their block- houses. In September, a lumbering party was surprised at Oyster River by a party of French Mohawks and eight of their number were instantly killed.
New Hampshire escaped any loss during the year 1708, but in the spring of 1709 several men were captured in Exeter, and one
119
1713]
QUEEN ANNE'S WAR.
was killed at Oyster River. One of the Exeter captives was in- humanly tortured. During the year an expedition was planned against Canada, but was not carried into effect.
In July, 1710, the Indians, who had before made several at- tempts, succeeded in killing Colonel Winthrop Hilton. Two of his companions were killed at the same time, and two others were captured. Colonel Hilton was the son of Edward Hilton and Ann (Dudley) Hilton. Edward Hilton was the son of Edward Hilton, the first settler of Dover. Ann Dudley, Colonel Hilton's mother, was the daughter of Rev. Samuel and Mary' (Winthrop) Dudley, and was the granddaughter of Governor Thomas Dudley and Governor John Winthrop. His loss was severely felt in the Province, and he was buried with military honors. Soon after the attack on Hilton's party, the Indians killed or took captive several persons at Exeter, four at Kingston and one at Cocheco. During the summer Colonel Shadrack Walton led the New Hampshire quota of one hundred men to help capture Port Royal. Late in the fall he led a force to the eastward, and slew several hostile Indians. In the spring of 17II five men were killed at Dover, and a party returning from church fell into an ambush. During the summer a formidable expedition of some six thousand troops were sent to reduce Canada, but lost a thousand of their number in the St. Lawrence river during a stormy night, and the balance of the fleet returned to Boston.
The Indians, encouraged by the failure of this attack, com- menced their aggressions in the spring of 1712, killing a settler in Exeter, another at Dover, and another at Oyster River. A marauding party of eight Indians were surprised and killed on the Merrimack. During June and July the enemy attacked the settlers at Exeter, Kingston and Dover, and caused some loss of life. In the autumn the news of the peace of Utrecht was received and a suspension of arms was proclaimed at Ports- mouth. In July, 1713, a formal treaty of peace was made with the Indians, and an exchange of prisoners was brought about the next summer. During the whole war, Usher was a faithful officer. He frequently came into the province by Dudley's
I20
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1713
direction, and sometimes resided in it several months, inquiring into the state of the frontiers and garrisons, visiting them in person, and consulting with the officers of the militia as to the proper methods of defence.
The drain of the war had been fearful on the little province of New Hampshire, still it was more than offset by the large families and the natural increase within the colony. It had bred a race of men skilled as the Indian in the arts of wood- craft and the peculiar stratagems of Indian warfare. Children had been reared amidst the alarms of the dread war-whoop and the whistle of the hostile bullet. Boys were trained as soldiers at an early age, and even the women, on occasion, successfully defended their homes from the prowling savages. Hannah Dustin is a typical heroine of that era. After such a school those boys could never wear the yoke of servitude. Henceforth they were freemen.
The Indians, on the other hand, suffered from war and famine. Sleuth hounds, for the sake of the reward or to revenge the massacre of a family, in the shape of desperate man-hunters, rangers and scouts, were continually on their trail and diminish- ing their numbers. In endurance the white man was their superior and was bound to be the victor in the end.
CHAPTER VI.
ROYAL PROVINCE, 1692-1715.
SAMUEL ALLEN - JOHN USHIER - NEW COUNCIL - SMALL POX -- POST OFFICE - NEW CASTLE INCORPORATED - KINGSTON INCORPORATED - WILLIAM PARTRIDGE - PISCATAQUA REBELLION -EARL OF BELLOMONT -GOVERNOR ALLEN - JOHN USHER - MUTILATION OF RECORDS - NEW TRIAL OF CLAIM - APPEAL TO KING - JOSEPH DUDLEY - DECISION OF ENGLISH COURTS - NASHUA - OFFERS OF COMPROMISE - DEATH OF ALLEN - RENEWAL OF SUIT-NEW TRIAL- DEATH OF THOMAS ALLEN- HAMPTON FALLS - NEWINGTON.
THE administration of John Usher, as lieutenant-governor, representing his father-in-law, Samuel Allen, and Gover- nor Joseph Dudley, was at a time the most mournful in the his- tory of the Province or the State, and the most illy suited for the establishment of claims to lands which were occupied by people defending them from a savage foe, and exciting sympa- thy in the minds of home and foreign judges by their bravery and sacrifices. According to the common law of England, Allen was undoubtedly right. The discovery and occupation of a vast continent, however, brought different elements into the legal questions involved. The right of even a prince to grant land to the exclusion of actual settlers in long and undisturbed possession is seriously questioned. When to the difficulties of the case is added the purchase of the territory from its un- doubted owners, the Indians, and thereafter the maintaining the possession by right of conquest, one's sympathy must lean towards the settlers. In a foreign war, it is the patriotic duty of a citi- zen to sustain his government, right or wrong ; but even in that case, when it becomes a matter of history, he may question the justice and equity of the course pursued by the public or the State.
122
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1692
In the midst of the Indian war, the Province of New Hamp- shire was placed under a new government. The people desired for the most part to continue their union with Massachusetts, but Samuel Allen of London, who had purchased the interest of the heirs of Mason to New Hampshire, claimed recognition of his title from the crown, and a commission for the govern- ment of the province. A petition from the people for a union with Massachusetts was neglected, and the power of govern-
Ref. John Emerson
ment was conferred upon Allen. His son-in-law, John Usher, was appointed lieutenant-governor in his absence. The coun- cillors named in the commission were John Usher, John Hinckes, Nathaniel Fryer, Thomas Graffort, Peter Coffin, Henry Greene, Robert Elliot, John Gerrish, John Walford and John Love. To these were afterwards added Major Vaughan, Nathaniel Weare and Richard Waldron.
The lately appointed lieutenant-governor arrived and pub- lished his commission in August, 1692. His council were gen- erally men who had the confidence and good will of the people, but Usher himself was unpopular on account of his connection
123
ROYAL PROVINCE.
1692]
with the government under Andros and his interest in Allen's claim to the lands. He was a native of Boston, a tradesman of considerable wealth, and had successfully conducted the
1
: Portion of old. : PROVINCE HOUSE :
negotiations on the part of Massachusetts for the purchase from Gorges of the Province of Maine. He had been treasurer in the government of Sir Edmund Andros, and was largely
124
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1692
interested in land speculation. He was good-natured, open, and generous ; but no statesman or courtier. He was not affa-
: Old Church
New Castle !
ble, but rather stern and severe. He prided himself on his authority, was consequential and dictatorial, but fairly gov- erned during the Indian troubles.
125
ROYAL PROVINCE.
1692]
During the year 1692, besides the terror of the Indian war, a very fatal epidemic of small pox raged at Portsmouth and Greenland.
In 1793 the first post-office in the Province was established at Portsmouth. During the same year Great Island, Sandy Beach (Rye), and Little Harbor were incorporated as the town of New Castle. Great Island had been a place of considerable importance. During Cranfield's administration it was the seat of government. It was afterwards reduced in size by the incor- poration of Rye, until to-day, with an area of only 458 acres, it is the smallest township in the State. It was the home in later years of Theodore Atkinson, chief justice of the Province.
Rev. Samuel Moody preached at New Castle before 1700; Rev. John Emerson was ordained in 1704; Rev. William Shurtleff, in 1712; Rev. John Blunt, in 1732 ; Rev. David Robinson, in 1748; Rev. Stephen Chase, in 1750; Rev. Oliver Noble, in 1784.
1 What was the population of New Castle at the date of its charter, it is quite impossible to determine accurately. On one occasion forty men signed a petition, which list included none of the government officials. It is probable that, in 1693, there were within the whole territory of this town not far from five hundred inhabitants.
The records of the town from 1693 to 1726 were lost for many years, and were not recovered until 1873, when they were found in the hands of a private gentleman of England, who pre- sented them to the town authorities.
The following description of a New Hampshire town meeting is taken from Mr. Albee's readable History of New Castle :
In general, it may be said that it is an occasion when some public busi- ness is transacted, of the necessary sort, and the year's accumulation of criticism, grievances, and personal grudges be discharged. In New Castle we deliberate with our hats on, after the manner of the British Parliament. We always think there is time enough to take them off when we go to bed. No sooner is a new town government elected than it begins to be watched and found fault with. Then appears that almost natural impulse of our race, or, perhaps, inherited in its long contests for freedom, which impels it to
1 John Albee.
126
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1693
consider its civil rulers natural enemies. In town governments this watch- fulness and criticism are not always an unmixed good; they often become frivolous, and turn on personal or party sympathies and antipathies.
" How can I find my family history ?" said a gentleman to a genealogist- "Simply by running for an office," was the answer. The selectmen are seated behind a long table, on which are the records, the account books and papers, and a law book or two -the town officer, perhaps, and the statutes of the State. They look nervous, but defiant. Indeed, it does put a man on his mettle to face a body of citizens to whom he is directly accountable. Before the selectmen stand their fellow citizens - perhaps fifty, perhaps two hundred -ready to listen to the report of the year's transactions; ready, also, to put the most provoking questions. The town methods of conducting business are clumsy, absurd, informal ; the manners of the meeting rough - now violent, now indifferent; matters proceed confusedly; but the ends attained are the pride of our civilization, - equitable taxation, safe roads and bridges, care of the poor, public order, and equal and sufficient education for all.
There was a period in the history of all New England towns when they had the care of religion.
That the ancient town meetings were much like the modern, is evident from careful reading of the records. It is clear enough when matters are in contention ; it is clear what is of public interest from year to year.
The first town clerk of New Castle, by election, was Theodore Atkinson.
Theo: attheinfor
Below is the seal of Richard Jose, sheriff of the Province and town, in the seventeenth century.
There was a regular night watch for all parts of the town ; and every night the constable, with four men of the watch, visited all public houses to enforce the regulations concerning them. No strangers were allowed in New Castle above fourteen days, without notice to the selectmen. Whoever
1693]
ROYAL PROVINCE.
127
sold liquor to a common drunkard was liable to fine ; and the selectmen gave to the innkeeper the names of persons to whom they were forbidden to sell.
The selectmen, in early times, met monthly to attend to any business
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brought before the board. They also sat as judges, deciding trivial matters appertaining to the community.
Sampson Sheafe, a graduate of Harvard College, was the first schoolmaster Among the inhabitants of New Castle for two centuries, appear the names
R
128
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1694
of Amazeen, Bell, Frost, Lear, Meloon, Tarlton, Vennard, White and Yeaton. Here have lived those of the name of Atkinson, Elliot, Estwick, Fryer, Hinckes, Jackson, Jaffrey, Jones, Jordan, Langmaid, Leach, Odiorne, Parker, Rand, Randall, Seavy, Stileman, Trefethen, Tucker, Waldron, Wal- ford, Wallis, Walton, Sargent, and Prescott.
The following year, 1694, an attempt was made to extend the settlements, and the township of Kingston was granted to a party of twenty men from Hampton and the town was incorpo- rated ; but within two years the settlers deserted the place and did not return until peace was declared in 1799.
GRANTEES OF KINGSTON.
James Prescott, Sen. Benjamin Sanborn. John Mason. Nathaniel Sanborn.
- Thomas Philbrook, Jr. Samuel Colcord. Samuel Dearborn.
Daniel Moulton.
Isaac Godfrey. John Moulton.
Gershom Elkins.
Francis Towle.
- Jacob Garland.
-Thomas Webster.
Ebenezer Webster. William Godfrey.
During the two or three first years of Usher's administration the public charges were provided for by an excise on wines and liquors and a tax on merchandize, the Assembly voting them year by year. During the year 1695 the deputies became unmanage- able and refused to grant money, except for the defence of the Province. Nor could Usher obtain money from Allen, the pro- prietor of the Province, for his drafts were dishonored. He de- sired Governor Allen to take the government into his own hands or find a successor to himself. The people, however, had antici- pated him, for having removed Hinckes, Waldron and Vaughan from the council, on account of their opposition of the proprie- tary claim, he so irritated the leading men of the Province that they conspired for his removal, and privately recommended Wil- liam Partridge as his successor as lieutenant-governor. " Part- ridge was a native of Portsmouth, a shipwright, of extraordinary mechanical genius, of a politic turn of mind, and a popular man." 1 He was treasurer of the Province, largely concerned in trade, well known in England as a dealer in masts and timber for the navy, and he received his commission as lieutenant-governor
1 Belknap
129
ROYAL PROVINCE.
1696]
in June, 1696. He returned to New England and assumed the duties of office in January, 1697, and the suspended councillors resumed their seats. John Pickering, "a man of rough and ad- venturous spirit, and a lawyer," was made King's attorney, and the records which Usher had compelled him to deliver up were deposited in the hands of Major Vaughan, who was appointed recorder.
Usher, who resided in Boston, claimed these acts to be illegal, and sent his secretary, Charles Story, to England, with an account of what he styled the "Piscataqua rebellion ; " and re- ceived directions from the English authorities to keep his office of lieutenant-governor until Partridge was legally "qualified." He was frustrated in his designs, for Partridge went through the required forms and duly " qualified " himself the day after Usher arrived in Portsmouth with his commission, in December, 1697.
The Assembly met early in January, 1698, and approved what had been done, and sent Ichabod Plaisted to meet the Earl of Bellomont, the newly-appointed governor of New England, upon his arrival in New York. During the year, Governor Allen, a man " of a pacific and condescending disposition," came from England, and, as his commission was still in force, took the oaths and assumed the command. Usher was reinstated in the coun- cil, Partridge was suspended, and an altercation ensued between the governor on the one part and the council and the Assembly on the other. Elliot withdrew, and was soon followed by Coffin and Waldron ; the Assembly refused to appropriate money ; and the governor dissolved them. Fryer, of the old board, alone re- mained in the council. Joseph Smith of Hampton and Kingsley Hall of Exeter were appointed to the council, and Sampson Sheafe, the secretary, and Peter Weare, made up a quorum.
In the summer of 1699, the new governor-general, the Earl of Bellomont, "a nobleman of distinguished figure and polite man- ner, a firm friend to the revolution, a favorite of King William, and one who had no interest in oppressing them," published his commission in New Hampshire, to the great joy of the people. Upon the change in rulers, Partridge took his seat as lieutenant-
130
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1701
governor, and the displaced councillors were again called to the board. Richard Jose was made sheriff in place of William Ardell, and Charles Story secretary in the room of Sheafe.
Peace within and without the Province having been tempora- rily restored, and the government modelled in favor of the peo- ple, both parties in the land suits agreed to leave the decision to properly constituted courts. The Assembly having voted Bello- mont £500, he left the Province within three weeks to the gov- ernment of his lieutenant-governor, Partridge. Partridge ap- pointed Hinckes chief justice and Peter Coffin, John Gerrish, and John Plaisted assistants ; and Waldron chief justice of the inferior court, with Henry Dow, Theodore Atkinson, and John Woodman, for assistants.
During the summer of 1700, Colonel Romer, a Dutch engineer under Bellomont's direction, planned a fortification for the harbor to cost £6,000, but the Assembly pleaded their poverty as an excuse for not building it. In the mean while, Allen saw very little chance for him to recover his rights under the new courts as then constituted. The records of the superior court having been mutilated, all evidence of judgments recovered by Mason were lost and suits had to be commenced from the beginning. Waldron, one of the principal land-holders, and a strenuous opposer of the proprietary claim, was singled out to stand foremost in the controversy with Allen, as his father had with Mason. The decisions were invariably given in favor of the defendant with costs. " Allen's only refuge was in an appeal to the King, which the courts, following the example of their brethren in Massachusetts, refused to admit." He then petiti- oned the King, who granted an appeal, and censured the court for not permitting it.
During the year 1701, Bellomont died in New York; and the Assembly confirmed the grants of land within their townships and ordered their township lines to be determined. But Allen prevented the laws being enacted and sent Usher to England to attend to his appeal before the English courts.
King William having died, Queen Anne, his successor, ap- pointed Joseph Dudley, a former president of New England, to
131
ROYAL PROVINCE.
1702]
be governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and his commission was published in Portsmouth in July, 1702. The Assembly, by a well-timed present, interested him in their favor ; but Usher was successful before the Queen, and not only won Allen's case, but secured for himself the appointment of lieu- tenant-governor of the Province, against the protest of Waldron, who represented the people of New Hampshire.
In 1703 the attorney-general of the English court reported that Allen's claim to the waste land of the Province of New Hampshire was valid, and late in the year Usher published his commission in Portsmouth.
1 During the year of 1702 the colonial court of Massa- chusetts built a trading-house for the Indians, and established a fortified garrison at Watanic-the Indian name for Nashua - which was afterwards called Queen's garrison, and situated about sixty rods easterly of Main street, in Nashua, and about as far north of Salmon brook. This was the head-quarters of trade with the Indians for many years.
If we consider the appearance and extent of the primitive forests, in the midst of natural scenes like these, it is not sur- prising that these bold pioneers should select a place like this in which to rear their log huts ; for, as Governor Wentworth said, the royal or mast pines of Dunstable plains were the best in New Hampshire ; and they presented a majestic appearance. These trees often grew to the height of two hundred feet, and as straight as an arrow, many of them forty inches in diameter. These pines were, by royal enactment, reserved for the king's navy, and were designated by the surveyors of the woods by a mark made to represent an Indian arrow, and the owners of the land were forbidden to cut them.
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