USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 17
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During the year 1746 the conquest of Canada was planned by the British ministry, and the American Colonics were directed to prepare for the contest. The Indians attached to the inter- ests of the French had already commenced their depredations along the whole frontier, destroying the fields and cattle, burn- ing houses and mills, and killing and carrying away the inhabi- tants. So an offensive campaign was designed to carry the war into the country of the enemy. Eight hundred men were enlisted in New Hampshire in June, and ready for embarkation in July, under command of Colonel Atkinson ; but the English fleet which was to co-operate with it did not arrive. The arri- val in Nova Scotia of a French army and fleet alarmed New England, and for a time they acted on the defensive, strength- ening the forts at the mouth of the river and preparing for an attack. But the French fleet met with misfortunes and losses, give up their proposed attempt to subdue New England, and returned to France greatly discouraged. To New Englanders the troubles of the French seemed providential. Colonel Atkinson's regiment during the fall and winter was stationed on the frontier in the neighborhood of Lake Winnipiseogec.
During the war Massachusetts sustained garrisons in the
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valley of the Connecticut, in townships that had been granted by that Province within New Hampshire, to protect their northern frontier. They had forts at Number Four, or Charles- town ; Great Meadow, or Westmoreland ; Great Fall, or Walpole ; Fort Dummer, or Hinsdale ; Upper Ashuelot, or Keene; and Lower Ashuelot, or Swanzey. New Hampshire maintained garrisons along the frontier of their settlements at Penacook, or Concord ; Suncook, or Pembroke; Contoocook, or Boscawen ; New Hopkinton, or Hopkinton ; Souhegan East, or Merrimack :
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FRONTIER BLOCK HOUSE, 1746.
Souhegan West, or Amherst; and at Londonderry, Chester, Epsom, and at Rochester. In the garrison houses the inhabitants took refuge by night and never left them with a feeling of security. They went constantly armed. Nor were their fears without foundation. Although parties of scouts were kept ranging the woods, surprises and attacks, more or less successful, were of frequent occurrence.
The first appearance of the enemy in the Province was at Great Meadows, early in July, 1744, where they killed William Phips. The same week they killed Joseph Fisher of Upper Ashuelot.
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In October the Indians captured Nehemiah How and killed David Rugg at Great Meadow.
In the spring of 1746 the Indians captured John Spofford, Isaac Parker, and Stephen Farnsworth, at Number Four, and killed their cattle. In April they attempted to surprise the Fort at Upper Ashuelot. John Ballard and the wife of Daniel McKenny were killed and Nathan Blake was taken into captivity. They burned several houses and barns. About the same time they surprised a garrisoned house at New Hopkinton and captured and took to Canada Samuel Burbank and David Woodwell and six members of their families. Mary Woodwell, one of the captives, afterwards joined the Shakers at Canterbury.
In May a small party made an attack upon Number Four, and killed Seth Putnam, but were repulsed by Major Josiah Willard.
At Contoocook Elisha Cook and a negro were killed and Thomas Jones taken captive. At Lower Ashuelot, Timothy Brown and Robert Moffat were captured. Near the end of the month there was quite a battle at Number Four, in which five were killed on each side.
In June another engagement occurred at the same place, in which one settler lost his life. Captain Phinehas Stevens was in both battles. At Bridgman's Fort, near Fort Dummer, William Robbins and James Baker were killed, and Daniel How and John Beaman were captured. At Rochester, they killed Joseph Heard, Joseph Richards, John Wentworth, and Gershom Downs, and wounded and captured John Richards and took a boy named Jonathan Door.
In August they killed one Phillips at Number Four, Joseph Rawson at Winchester, and Moses Roberts at Rochester. At Contoocook two men were taken. At Rumford, on the road to Millville, were killed Samuel Bradley, Jonathan Bradley, Obadiah Peters, John Bean, and Peter Lufkin. Alexander Roberts and William Stickney were carried into captivity. The Indians lost four killed and several wounded, two of them mortally. A monument marks the site of the massacre on the outskirts of the precinct of the city of Concord. A Mr. Es- tabrook was killed near the same place in November.
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In the fall of 1746, Massachusetts withdrew her garrisons from the towns within New Hampshire and many of the inhab- itants left at the same time. Four families, who remained at Shattuck's fort, in Hinsdale, successfully defended it against an Indian attack
In the Spring of 1747, Captain Phinehas Stevens, with a ranging company of thirty men, occupied the fort at Number Four, and within a few days sustained a most determined attack from a party of French and Indians, which was kept up for three days, when the enemy retired Robert Beard, John Folsom, and Elizabeth Simpson were killed at Nottingham. In the autumn, Bridgeman's fort (Hinsdale) was captured, with its garrison, several of whom were killed and the others taken to Canada.
That wide stretch of hilly country lying between the Mer- rimack and Connecticut rivers was, 1 at that time, a densely- wooded wilderness. The few who would have ventured to occupy it well knew that so long as the French remained in possession of Canada the region was in continual danger from attacks by the Indians. In 1746 these attacks had become so frequent and successful, that many of the settlements com- menced in the central and southern parts of the State had been abandoned. There remained on the Merrimack small openings at Nashua, Litchfield, Concord, Amoskeag, Suncook, Boscawen, and Canterbury, and one at Hinsdale and another at Charles, town on the Connecticut ; but the entire midland between these valleys was an unbroken, heavy-wooded country.
In the fall of 1747 two explorers from Dunstable, Nehemiah Lovewell and John Gilson, started from the present site of Nashua for the purpose of examining the slope of the Mer- rimack, and of crossing the height of land to Number Four, now Charlestown, which was known as the most northern settlement in the Connecticut valley. Knowing the difficulties in traversing hills and valleys mostly covered with underbrush and rough with fallen timber and huge bowlders, they carried as light an outfit as possible - a musket and camp-blanket each,
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with five days' provisions. Following the Souhegan to Milford and Wilton, they then turned northward, and crossing the height of land in the limits of the present town of Stoddard, had on the afternoon of the third day their first view of the broad valley westward, with a dim outline of the mountains be- yond. The weather was clear and pleasant, the journey laborious but invigorating. On their fourth night they camped on the banks of the Connecticut, some ten miles below Charles- town. At noon of the next day they were welcomed at the rude fort, which had already won renown by the heroic valor of its little garrison.
At this time the fort at Number Four was commanded by Captain Phinehas Stevens, a man of great energy and bravery. Lovewell and Gilson were the first visitors from the valley of the Merrimack, and their arrival was a novelty. That night, as in later days they used to relate, they sat up till midnight, listening to the fierce struggles which the inmates of this rude fortress, far up in the woods, had encountered within the previous eight months. The preceding winter this fort had been abandoned, and the few settlers had been compelled to return to Massachusetts. But Governor Shirley felt that so im- portant an outpost should be maintained. As soon as the melting of the deep snow in the woods would permit, Captain Stevens, with thirty rangers, left Deerfield for Number Four and reached it on the last day of March. The arrival was most fortunate. Hardly was the fort garrisoned and the entrance made secure when it was attacked by a large force of French and Indians. Led by Debeline, an experienced commander, they had come undiscovered and lay in ambush for a favorable moment to begin the attack. But the faithful dogs of the garrison gave notice of the concealed foc. Finding they were discovered the Indians opened a fire on all sides of the fort. The adjacent log houses and fences were set on fire. Flaming arrows fell incessantly upon the roof. The wind rose and the fort was surrounded by flames. Stevens dug trenches under the walls and through these the men crept and put out the fires that caught outside the walls.
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For two days the firing had been kept up and hundreds of balls had been lodged in the fort and stockade. On the morning of the third day Debeline sent forward a flag of truce. A French officer and two Indians advanced and proposed terms of capitulation, which were that the garrison should lay down their arms and be conducted prisoners to Montreal. It was agreed that the two commanders should meet and Captain Stevens's answer should be given. When they met, Debeline, without waiting for an answer, threatened to storm the fort and put every man to the sword if a surrender was not speedily made. Stevens replied that he should defend it to the last. "Go back," said the Frenchman, "and see if your men dare fight any longer." Stevens returned and put to the men the question, "Will you fight or surrender?" They answered, " We will fight." This answer was at once made known to the enemy, and both parties resumed arms. Severe fighting was kept up during the day. The Indians, in approaching the stockade, were compelled to expose themselves. They had already lost over a dozen of their number, while not one of the defenders was slain. The French commander, reluctantly giving up all hopes of carrying the fortification, returned towards Canada. The cool intrepidity of the rangers saved Number Four. Sir Charles Knowles, then in command of the fleet at Boston, sent Captain Stevens an elegant sword. Subse- quently in his honor, Number Four was called Charlestown.
After various perils and a narrow escape from capture by the Indians, Lovewell and his companion arrived safely at Dunstable.
In the spring of 1748, Captain Stevens was again in com- mand at the fort at Number Four, with a garrison of one hun- dred men. A scouting party of eighteen, sent from the fort, lost six of their number.
During the summer, the Indians made an attack on Roch- ester, in which the wife of Jonathan Hodgdon was killed ; and later, three men were killed at Hinsdale's Fort,- Nathan French, Joseph Richardson, and John Frost. William Bickford, of the seven prisoners taken, died of his wounds.
Captain Hobbs, with a scouting party of forty men, was
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attacked near West River, in Hinsdale ; and, after a battle of three hours, withdrew with the loss of three men killed and four wounded. The same party of the enemy killed two men and captured nine in the same neighborhood. Peace was declared between France and England in 1749, but an attack was made upon Number Four in the early summer, in which one man, Obadiah Sartwell, was killed, and a son of Captain Stevens was captured and taken to Canada. Peace was destined to continue until 1754.
During this war the Indians did not murder nor torture their prisoners, but treated them humanely, according to the testi- mony of many who returned.
During the continuance of the war had occurred an event of much interest to New Hampshire. It will be remembered that Thomlinson had purchased of the last Mason heir his interest in New Hampshire, promising him £1,000 in behalf of the As- sembly. After the settlement of the line between the prov- inces, and during the attack on Louisburg, in which Mason had command of a company, Governor Wentworth frequently called the attention of the General Court to the matter, but that body hesitated to appropriate the necessary funds to complete the purchase. At length Mason, becoming impatient, and the entail having been docked, made a trade with certain gentlemen of the Province, and, January 30, 1746, disposed of his whole interest for £1,500 currency, on the very day a committee of the Assembly called upon him to arrange the matter. The purchasers were Theodore Atkinson, M. H. Wentworth, Rich- ard Wibird, John Wentworth, George Jaffrey, Nathaniel Me- serve, Thomas Packer, Thomas Wallingford, Jotham Odiorne, Joshua Pierce, Samuel Moore, and John Moffat. Their act raised a storm of indignation ; but they prudently filed at the recorder's office a quit-claim decd to all the towns which had been granted by New Hampshire authority, viz., Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, Hampton, Gosport, Kingston, Londonderry, Chester, Nottingham, Barrington, Rochester, Canterbury, Bow, Chichester, Epsom, Barnstead, and Gilmanton.
In 1746 the towns of Merrimack, Pelham, Hudson, Hollis, and Dunstable were incorporated.
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Merrimack, formerly Souhegan East, had been settled about thirteen years. A Mr. Hassell was among the first settlers. The first house in town had been built many years before any permanent settlement was made, and was occupied by John Cromwell for purposes of traffic with the Indians. The house was standing near the Merrimack River in 1679, but was after- ward burned. Rev. Jacob Burnap, D. D., was settled as min- ister in 1772, and died in 1821 ; Rev. Stephen Morse, in 1825; Rev. Stephen T. Allen, in 1839; Rev. E. G. Little, in 1850. A church was organized in the south part of the town in 1829. The town was the home for many years of Hon. Mathew Thornton.
The first settlements were made in Pelham, in 1722, by John Butler and William Richardson, the grandfather of Chief- Justice Richardson. A meeting house was built in 1747, and Rev. James Hobbs was ordained as minister in 1751. He was succeeded by Rev. Amos Moody, in 1765; by Rev. John H. Church, in 1798; by Rev. John Keep, in 1835; by Rev. Cyrus W. Allen, in 1843; by Rev. Charles Rockwell, in 1854.
Hudson was incorporated as Nottingham West, and formed a part of Dunstable. It was settled as early as 1710. Some of the early names were Blodgett, Winn, Lovewell, Colburn, Hill, Greeley, Cross, Cummings, Pollard, Marsh, and Merrill. A man by the name of Cross was taken prisoner to Canada from the town. Rev. Nathaniel Merrill was settled as minister in 1737 ; Rev. Jabez L. Fisher, in 1796; Rev. William K. Talbot, in 1825; Rev. D. L. French, in 1852.
Hollis, known to the Indians as Nisitissit, was, before its in- corporation, the west parish of Dunstable. The first settlement was made by Captain Peter Powers, in 1731. A church was organized, and Rev. Daniel Emerson was settled as the minister in 1743. He was chaplain during the French and Indian War. He died in 1801. Rev. Eli Smith was settled as colleague pastor „in 1793; Rev. David Perry was settled in 1831; Rev. James Aiken, in 1843; Rev. Matthew D. Gordon, in 1849; Rev. P. B. Day, in 1852. Among the notable families who have lived in the town are those by the name of Powers, Goodhue, Cum-
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mings, Emerson, Burge, Farley, Proctor, Kendrick, Worcester, Blood, Jewett, Tenney, Eastman, Hardy, Smith, Holt, and Sawtell.
The old town of Dunstable was granted in 1672, and was divided in 1740 by the Province line. Among the early settlers appear the names of Weld, Blanchard, Waldo, Cumings, French, Lovewell, Farwell, Lund, and Colburn. Hon. Edward Tyng was among the earlier settlers, and the town received its name in honor of his wife. A church was organized in 1685, when Rev. Thomas Weld was settled as minister. He was killed by the Indians in 1702. Rev. Nathaniel Prentice was settled in 1718, and ministered to the people until his death in 1737. He was succeeded, in 1738, by Rev. Josiah Swan ; in 1748, by Rev. Samuel Bird ; in 1767, by Rev. Joseph Kidder ; in 1813, by Rev. Ebenezer B. Sperry ; in 1826, by Rev. Handel G. Nott ; in 1836, by Rev. Jonathan McGee ; in 1842, by Rev. Matthew Hale Smith; in 1846, by Rev. Samuel Lawson ; in 1849, by Rev. Daniel March. The Olive Street church separated in 1834; the Pearl Street church in 1846.
The towns of Hampstead, Newton, Plaistow, and Litchfield were incorporated in 1749, and the township of Salisbury was granted the same year.
With great wisdom the Masonian proprietors sought to dis- arm antagonism to their claims by granting townships to peti- tioners, often without fees, and always without quit-rents. "They quieted the proprietors of the towns, on the western side of the Merrimack, which had been granted by Massachusetts, before the establishment of the line; so that they went on peaceably with their settlements. The terms of their grants were, that the grantees should, within a limited time, erect mills and meeting-houses, clear out roads, and settle ministers. In every township, they reserved one right for the first settled minister, another for a parsonage, and a third for a school. They also reserved fifteen rights for themselves, and two for their attorneys ; all of which were to be free from taxes, till sold or occupied. By virtue of these grants, many townships were settled, and the interest of the people became so united
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with that of the proprietors, that the prejudice against them gradually abated." 1
The towns of Suncook and Rumford were not included in this general amnesty.
In November, 1750, a suit was commenced against Deacon John Merrill, "by the proprietors of the common and undivided lands lying and being in the town of Bow," in an action of ejectment, wherein they demanded eight acres of land and all improvements made by Deacon Merrill. This seems to have been the beginning of litigation, the test of the right of the proprietors of Bow to lands claimed by them. The settlers voted to raise money to defend Deacon Merrill.
At the same time Captain John Chandler, Colonel Benjamin Rolfe, Lieutenant Jeremiah Stickney, Mr. Ebenezer Virgin, and Dr. Ezra Carter, or the major part of them, were appointed a committee for said proprietors, "to advise and order Deacon John Merrill how he shall pursue and defend the action brought against said Merrill by the proprietors of Bow ; also, to advise and order any other person or persons that shall be sued or shall sue in order to support and defend their rights or claims, what method they shall pursue for the purposes aforesaid." 2
Bedford and Salem were incorporated in 1750.
The township of Dunbarton was granted in 1751.
3 The first settlement was made about 1735, by Joseph and William Putney, James Rogers and Obediah Foster, who came from Rumford (now Concord), and located in the eastern part of the town, at a place called "Great Meadow." Here they erected log houses, planted fruit trees and set about improving the land. When a body of Indians appeared in the vicinity of Rumford, two friends of Rogers made their way by "spotted" trees to warn the settlers of the danger. They found one of the families engaged in cooking for supper and the other churn- ing. Upon the receipt of the alarming intelligence they at once abandoned their homes, "leaving the meat to fry itself away and the cream to churn itself to butter," and during the night succeeded in reaching Rumford. Returning the next day
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to drive their cattle to the garrison, they found them all slaugh- tered, their houses plundered and burned, and the apple trees cut down. Three years later Messrs. Putney and Rogers made a permanent settlement, though they had procured no title to the land, but their possession was confirmed by the proprietors, who, in 1751, obtained a grant of the township. The extensive range of meadow land already cleared by the industrious farmers was particularly adapted to agriculture and was rich in the kind of grass called "blue-joint." The name given by the settlers was "Mountalona," from a place where they once dwelt in Ireland, for religious oppression had driven them from their ancestral homes in Scotland. We can but admire the intrepidity of this little band in removing so far away from the garrison at a time fraught with so many dangers, for although the Indian war ended about this time, the peace was not of that substantial character which ensures perfect security. It was more than likely that the pioneers were suspicious of their former foes, for a long time after the cessation of hostilities, and even while pur- suing their daily avocations, they were ever on the alert to detect the cat-like tread of the treacherous red-skins. They had not forgotten the devastation of their farms and homes, and the massacre on the Hopkinton road was still fresh in their minds. But the remembrance of these scenes, while it served to increase their caution, rendered them only the more deter- mined in their enterprize. Mr. Rogers was the father of Major Robert Rogers, celebrated as a leader of the rangers in the French and Indian war. The elder Rogers met with a singular and painful death in attempting to visit his friend Ebenezer Ayer. Mr. Ayer, who was a hunter of no little renown, had been in quest of game during the day, and returning to camp early in the evening was still on the lookout for a bear, when Mr. Rogers appeared. Mistaking his friend (who was dressed in a bear-skin suit) for an animal of that species, he fired and mortally wounded him. Mr. Ayer was intensely grieved at the accident and could never relate the occurrence without shed- ding tears. At the time of this settlement, Concord (or Rum- ford) had about 350 inhabitants, Bow not more than five
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families, and Goffstown might have had a few inhabitants, though it is very doubtful, while Hopkinton had been settled ten years. In 1751 arrangements were made for a regular settlement of the town, the included territory being granted by the assigns of John Tufton Mason to Archibald Stark, Caleb Paige, Hugh Ramsey and others. This grant embraced a territory five miles square, and included a portion of the present town of Hooksett. The next settlement was made in the western part of the town, by William Stinson, Thomas Mills and John Hogg. These families were for a time three miles apart, with no intervening neighbors, and we can imagine the sense of loneliness which would at times enter their hearts despite the cheerful character of their natures. During the day the cares of the farm would engross their attention, but when the setting sun had proclaimed the hour of parting day, "and all the earth a solemn stillness wore," they must have keenly felt their isolation and sometimes deeply sighed for the homes which they had left. To add to the dreariness of the long winter nights, savage beasts rent the air with yelps and howls till children trembling buried their heads in the pillows and sterner hearts still feared the inroads of their skulking foes. The first child born in the town was probably Sarah Mills, daughter of the above mentioned Thomas Mills, although Stark, the historian, says : " We are inclined to believe that the first child born upon the territory was one of the family of James Rogers or Joseph Putney, who settled upon it several years prior to 1746, to the oldest sons of whom lots of land were granted in 1752." From this time emigrants flocked to all parts of the town, some com- ing direct from Scotland, others from Haverhill, Ipswich, Salem, Topsfield, and other Massachusetts towns, until, in 1770, Dunbar- ton boasted of its 497 inhabitants, being two-thirds of its pre- sent population. These people, actuated by a love for their new homes and assisted by the generous hand of nature, rapidly de- veloped those resources which have added wealth and impor- tance to the town. The building of highways was one of the first improvements, and as early as 1760 we find notice of roads being laid out, and the main highway running through the west-
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ern part of the town was probably established long before- This was the principal route to Boston from central New Hamp- shire, and for years these hills resounded with the busy strains of travel. The whirling coach threw clouds of dust to blind the teamster's sight, and the rumbling of its wheels brought many a head to the windows whose narrow panes afforded but a lim- ited view of the "Fast Mail."
In 1760, lot No. 12, in the 4th range, containing 100 acres, was granted to Captain John Stark (afterwards General), upon condition that he build a saw-mill, the same to be put in opera- tion within one year. The condition was fulfilled. Captain William Stinson erected the next mill.
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