USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 37
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I William Plumer, Jr.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1791
of distinction, hard workers, prompt in action, and ready and wil- ling alike with the tongue and the pen. They concurred for the most part in their general views of policy, though occasionally differing on questions of minor importance. But in concert or opposition it was hard to say whether, aside from the strength of their arguments, the House most admired the broad humor, the Scotch-Irish drollery and shrewdness of Smith, or the keen re- tort, the ready resources, and strong practical common sense of Plumer. Smith being at that time a member of Congress was present only during the first session of ten days. Plumer was present to the end and busy from the first. They were at this time friends, although, placed ultimately at the head of opposite parties in the State, their friendship was not destined to survive.
Their respect for each other was probably lifelong. The sub-
jects in which Mr. Plumer took the strongest interest were the provisions on the subject of religion, the organization of the exec- utive department, the judiciary, and the basis of representation in the House. Mr. Plumer took the broadest view of religious tolerance : his opponents would have subjected all the inhabi- tants of the State to a town tax for the support of the clergy- man whom the majority of the voters should select as their pas- tor. Neither party prevailed, and the provision of the 1784 constitution remained in force. His motion to abolish the reli- gious test for office holders, who were required by the consti- tution to be " of the Protestant religion," though at first rejected, was finally adopted by the convention. It was not accepted by the people at that time nor subsequently in 1850, although it remained a dead letter for very many years before it was finally stricken from the constitution in 1876. Mr. Plumer's idea was to divide the State into sixty representative districts, nearly equal as to population, but this was rejected by a strong majority. The smaller towns, miniature republics, refused to sur- render their ancient privileges of representation in the legislative assemblies. Mr. Plumer advocated the separation of the execu- tive from the legislative department and the power of veto, and would have made a plurality of votes alone necessary for a choice by the people of senators, so that the Senate should not
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depend upon the House for the election of any of its members. The plan for organizing the judiciary department to secure a more speedy and less expensive administration of justice, and to reform "its expense, its injustice, its delays," by lessening the number of courts and increasing their power, and for extending the jur- isdiction of justices of the peace to sums not exceeding four pounds, was rejected by the people, except as to extending the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. The convention appointed a committee to reduce the amendments to form, and another committee to take the whole subject into consideration and re- port at a future meeting the amendments proper to be submitted to the people.1
The convention then adjourned to meet 'in February, 1792. The committee of ten, two from each county, met frequently. Peabody, who was chairman, was disposed to perplex and em- barrass, rather than aid, the business. Atherton acted almost uniformly with Peabody. Freeman was opposed to all amend- ments. The infirmities of age made Payne inactive. Page was able and well disposed, but indolent and inattentive. The chief labor and responsibility fell on Plumer.1 The other mem- bers of the committee gave him little trouble and no assistance. He had to control perverseness and rouse indolence, both very laborious and perplexing. By perseverance he surmounted every obstacle thrown in his way. The committee agreed upon amendments which Mr. Plumer reduced to form, and transcribing the whole constitution, introduced them into their proper places. On the meeting of the convention, in 1792, the report of the committee was assailed from various quarters, but Page and Atherton joined Plumer in its defence, and succeeded after long debates, continuing for two weeks, in carrying it through, al- though not without some important modifications. The con- vention then adjourned, to meet again in May to receive the answer of the people. On coming together again a committee was appointed to ascertain what amendments had been adopted and what rejected, and to harmonize the old and new constitu- tions. This being done the subject was again submitted to the
I William Plumer, Jr.
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people ; and the labors of the convention were closed by an- other short session in September. The constitution thus formed remained in force without alteration until 1876, nor was there any attempt at change for nearly half a century. Of this convention Governor Plumer was the last survivor when the convention of 1850 met, and he did not live to see it close.1
One clause in the constitution of New Hampshire Governor Plumer always claimed the credit of inserting: "No member of the General Court shall take fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate in any cause before either branch of the legislature : and upon due proof thereof such member shall forfeit his seat in the legislature." 2
3 The first singing of which we have any record was mainly congregational, without instrumental accompaniment, and identical with that style which prevailed in the early New England church. It was led by a precentor, who read two lines of the hymn to be sung at a time, then announced the tune, gave the key on the pitch-pipe, and, standing usually in front of the pulpit, beat the time and sang with the congregation. Moreover, the precentor was usually a deacon, hence the term " deaconing the hymn ; " and from the early period to the present day many of the deacons have been prominent singers. The names of the tunes used in the early period are very curious. Most of them are named from places, and New Hampshire is well represented in " Alstead," "Bristol," "Concord," "Dunbarton," "Exeter," "Epsom," " Pembroke," "Portsmouth," " Lebanon," and "Loudon ; " some for States, as " Vermont," " New York," "Pennsylvania, " and " Virginia ; " some for the saints, as " St. Martin's," " St, Ann's," " All Saints ; " some for countries, as " Africa," " Russia," "Denmark ; " a very few for persons, as " Lena ; " and we find one, which was probably not used in church, entitled, "An Elegy on Sophronia, who died of small-pox in 1711," consisting of twelve stanzas set to a most doleful melody.
Tradition has it that the first hymn ever sung in Concord was the 103rd, Book I, Watts's Psalms and Hymns, " I'm not ashamed to own my Lord."
This method was pursued for some time, but at length it is recorded in Dr. Bouton's " History of Concord," that " Mr. John Kimball, subsequently deacon, being one of the singers, proposed to Rev. Mr. Walker to dispense with the lining of the hymn, as it was called; but as Mr. Walker thought it not pru- dent to attempt it first on the Sabbath, it was arranged between them to make the change on Thanksgiving day. Accordingly, after the hymn had been given out, the leader, as usual, read two lines, the singers struck in, but instead of stopping at the end of the two lines, kept on, drowning the voice of the leader, who persisted in his vocation of lining the hymn."
Although some singers sat in the front seats in the neighborhood of the I William Plumer, Jr. 2 Sec. 7, Part Second, Constitution of New Hampshire. 3 Dr. W. G. Carter.
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leader, still many more were scattered throughout the congregation, and gradually it became apparent that the singing could be made more effective by collecting the " men and women singers " together in a more compact body, and accordingly the choir was formed, which was under the direction of a choir-master. " When the meeting-house was finished in 1784 it was fitted with a singers' pew in the gallery opposite the pulpit. This was a large square pew, with a box or table in the middle for the singers to lay their books on. In singing they rose and faced each other, forming a hollow square. When the addition was made to the meeting-house in 1802, the old singers' pew was taken away, but seats were assigned them in the same rela- tive position opposite the pulpit."
The first instrument in use was the pitch-pipe, which was made of wood, " an inch or more wide, somewhat in the form of a boy's whistle, but so con- structed as to admit of different keys." This was simply used to give the correct key, and was not played during the singing. Under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Evans, who was himself very fond of music, some instruments were introduced, which innovation was attended with so much opposition that, according to tradition, some persons left the meeting-house rather than hear the profane sound of the " fiddle and flute." We find, then, at the begin- ning of the second century of the existence of the church, the service of praise was sustained by a large choir, accompanied by wind and string instru- ments, usually a violin, flute, clarinet, bass viol, and double bass, the two lat- ter being the property of the society.
The choir consisted of thirty persons of both sexes, under the direction of a chorister, who was usually a tenor singer. This leader was the only indi. vidual who received compensation, and it was stipulated in his engagement that he should teach a singing-school, which any person in the society could attend for improvement in singing. The singing-school was usually held in the court-house, sometimes in the bank building, was promptly attended, and its weekly meeting an occasion which was eagerly looked foward to by the young people, especially for its social as well as musical advantages. Frequently the rehearsals of the choir were held at the various houses of the singers, and were most enjoyable occasions. Concerts, or musical entertain- ments, were of rare occurrence, consequently the weekly rehearsal, combining so much of recreation with musical instruction, was attended with an interest and promptness unknown to the " volunteer choir " of the present day. On the Sabbath they promptly appeared, bringing with them their music-books, many of them their luncheon, and in cold weather their foot-stoves, making themselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. Doubtless the singers and players of to-day can appreciate the difficulty of keeping the pitch, and handling the bow, and fingering the strings and keys, at a tem- perature frequently below freezing.
The interest in church music continued unabated during the later years of occupancy of the old North Church, and when the new church was occupied in 1842, the choir filled the greater part of the gallery, which was finished for their accommodation. To this church then came the choir, bringing with them the ancient viols, soon to be sacrificed at the shrine of the new organ.
CHAPTER XIII.
STATE GOVERNMENT-1792-1812.
JOHN TAYLOR GILMAN -- WALPOLE - MR. WEST -MILFORD -TURNPIKES - PORTSMOUTH - METHODISTS - CENTRE HARBOR - TITHING MEN - DEATH OF WASHINGTON-SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE TURNPIKE-BANKS -LAWS - JUDGE SMITH - MIDDLESEX CANAL - JUDGE PICKERING - FEDERAL JUDGES - FOURTH NEW HAMPSHIRE TURNPIKE - REPUBLICANS -POST-OFFICES-DANIEL WEBSTER - BURNHAM -NAVIGATION ON THE MERRIMACK - EMBARGO - PATRIOTS - GOVERNOR JEREMIAH SMITH - CROW BILL - WILLIAM PLUMER.
T HE new State constitution went into operation in June, 1'/92, during the administration of President Josiah Bartlett, who was the first to assume the title of governor of the State of New Hampshire. During the preceding year the New Hampshire Medical Society had been organized, of which he was elected first president. The first bank in the State was established at Portsmouth in 1792, with a capital of $160,000, a year memora- ble for the advent of Elder Jesse Lee, who introduced Metho- dism into the State. A newspaper had been established in Concord by George Hough as early as 1790.
John Taylor Gilman was elected governor in 1794. He be- longed to a noted and wealthy family of Exeter.
1 Through all the colonial period they were a notable and influential race. Members of the family held civil office from the time our colony became a royal Province up to within the memory of men now living. Edward Gil- man, the ancestor of all the Gilmans of this State, came into New Hampshire soon after its first settlement, and among his descendants have been men in every generation who have done honor to their country, and whom this country has delighted to honor. Hon. John Gilman, the son of the preced- ing, was one of the councillors named in President Cutts' commission in
I Fred Myron Colby.
:794]
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1679. He died in 1708. His son, Capt. Nicholas Gilman, was an officer of skill and decision during the Indian wars of Queen Anne's reign, was a friend of Col. Winthrop Hilton, and had command of a detachment that marched against the savages to revenge the death of that lamented officer in 1710. Hon. Peter Gilman was a royal councillor under John Wentworth, and was the first to fill the office of brigadier-general in New Hampshire. Col. Daniel Gilman was one of the commissioners from New Hampshire, stationed at Albany, in 1756, to take care of the provisions furnished by the Province for our troops quartered at Ticonderoga. He was also the colonel of the 4th New Hampshire regiment of militia for many years. He was a grantee of the town of Gilmanton, and two of his sons settled there.
Nicholas Gilman, his oldest son, was born October 21, 1731. The greater part of his life was passed at Exeter. He inherited his father's patrician rank, and early became a man of influence in his native village. In 1752 he pur- chased of William Ladd, Esq., the large mansion-house that had been built by Nathaniel, and moved into it with the wife he had recently married, Miss Ann, daughter of Rev. John Taylor of Milton, a descendant of one of the Pilgrim fathers. The new mistress of the Gilman house, as it was thereafter termed, was a woman of large culture, strong mind, and great beauty of per- son. Her first child, who was born just a year after her marriage lacking two days, was named for her father, a patronymic that was famous in New Hampshire in after years. The early years of marriage were somewhat disturbed by the rumors of war, that blew fateful and threatening from the frontiers, and his second son, who bore his own name, was an infant of scarcely two months when Nicholas Gilman marched, as lieutenant, under his uncle Peter, to join in the operations around Lake George in 1755.
Prior to the Revolution he held many important civil and military appoint- ments under the government of the Wentworths. Between him and the last royal governor, the cultivated and enterprising Sir John, there was a strong personal friendship. When the storm of the Revolution came, he threw all of his influence into the patriot cause ; but this did not antagonize him with the governor, who declared that, when the rebellion should be put down, Col. Gilman should be spared all punishment. No other man shared his friend- ship to such a degree, save Major Benjamin Thompson, who was afterward Count Rumford.
Nicholas Gilman was one of the great men of New Hampshire during the Revolutionary period. He had wealth, large ability, and a great name, and he threw them all into the scale for the patriot cause. Nor did he shirk the toils incumbent on the patriot of '76. He won, it is true, no glory in the field of carnage. His was not the genius of a man of war, but that of a man of peace. He was needed at home, and the services of Meshech Weare himself could have been better dispensed with than those of Col. Gilman. From 1775 to 1782 he was treasurer of the State of New Hampshire. Besides this, he was Continental loan officer, one of the chief members of the Committee of Safety, and councillor of the State from 1777 to the day of his death. His re- lation, therefore, to the financial affairs of New Hampshire resembled much
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that of Robert Morris to those of the nation. He was an active and accom- plished man of business, and his prudence and skill in finance were remark- able. New Hampshire had no abler servant in the field, at home or abroad, than Col. Gilman ; and perhaps it is not saying too much to state that he furnished a fourth part of the brains of New Hampshire in the Revolution, the other members of the quartette being Meshech Weare, Samuel Livermore, and Josiah Bartlett. Moreover, his own personal strength and the influence of his able sons and numerous friends furnished a firm support to the patriot cause in the eastern part of the State, which, if such powerful influence had been lacking, would probably have been overawed by the authority of the crown.
Col. Gilman survived the treaty of peace but a short time. He died in the prime of life, April 7, 1783. His wife preceded him to the grave by a few days, dying March 17, 1783. Their tombs are still visible in the old ceme- tery of Exeter. They were the parents of three sons, John Taylor, Nicholas, and Nathaniel Gilman, all prominent men of New Hampshire in their day.
The Gilman mansion was built somewhere near the year 1740, and is there- fore of an age contemporary with the Mount Vernon mansion, the Walker house at Concord, and the Sparhawk mansion at Kittery. It is only a few years older than the Gov. Wentworth house at Little Harbor, and but a year or two younger than the Meshech Weare house at Hampton Falls. It is a good specimen of the domestic style which prevailed in the colonies before the Revolution. Built of brick covered with wood, three stories in height, with dormer windows in its upper story, gambrel-roofed, and its walls a yel- low dun color, its air of antiquity is unmistakable, and at the same time it pleases the eye with its varied charms. It stands well in from the street, with a yard and shrubbery in front.
The mansion occupied by this distinguished worthy from the time of his marriage to that of his death is still standing on Water street. It occupies a slight eminence, overlooking the street and the river, with the front facing the south-east. The old house has been kept in pretty good repair, and has never been altered nor in any way modernized. It stands out alone in the landscape, with an air of venerable dignity, its huge chimneys rising above the tall trees, and its windows looking down upon the street and over the water, where many a time they must have seen pageants and sights worth looking upon. In its one hundred and fifty years of life it must have seen much that was interesting in the history of Exeter.
After the death of Nicholas Gilman, the old house became the property of his oldest son, John Taylor Gilman, who resided in it until his marriage with his third wife. John Taylor was the most prominent of the three brothers. He was born December 19, 1753. IIis early education was scant, being no more than what the common schools of Exeter afforded at that time. At an early age he became interested in shipbuilding, an industry that was then actively engaged in by many of the citizens of Exeter. The elder Gilman was a wealthy and enterprising man, owner of a large estate and a store. In connection with navigation, young Gilman now and then busied himself with agriculture and trade.
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One of the schoolmates of John Taylor Gilman was Miss Deborah Folsom. She was the daughter of Gen. Nathaniel Folsom, the rival of Gen. Stark, and a famous Revolutionary worthy. Born the same year that Gilman was, Miss Folsom was, during the few years prior to the Revolution, the reputed belle of Exeter. The two families were intimate, John Taylor soon became an announced suitor, and a few months before that affair at Concord Bridge, " Where the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world," they were married. When the Revolution broke out, John Taylor Gilman was only twenty-two years old.
On the morning of April 20, 1775, at daybreak, the news arrived at Exeter of the battle at Concord. With all the alacrity and ardor of a youthful patriot, the young husband gathered a company and marched for Cambridge, which place he reached at noon of the next day. Mr. Gilman, however, did little military service. He was needed at home. He acted as commissary in supplying the three regiments of the State at Cambridge. In 1779 he was elected a member of the New Hampshire legislature, and subsequently served upon the Committee of Safety. In 17So he was the sole delegate from New Hampshire to attend the convention at Hartford. He was absent six weeks from home, riding on horseback and paying his own expenses, as there was not sufficient money in the State treasury to defray them. This period was known as the " dark days." The crops of the farmers had been unfavorable, and destitution and distress pervaded the army. There was no money nor credit in either department.
In 1781 Mr. Gilman succeeded General Sullivan as a member of the fed- eral Congress, and was re-elected the second year. He was at that time the youngest man in Congress, but his influence was not the least. At the end of his service in Congress he succeeded his father as treasurer of the State, showing a remarkable aptitude for finance, only second to that of his father.
John Taylor Gilman was a Federalist in politics, and a firm supporter of the administration of Washington. In 1794 Dr. Bartlett, who had been sev- eral times elected president of the State, and who had served as the first gov- ernor, declined all further public offices, and John Taylor Gilman was selected as the standard bearer of his party. Timothy Walker was the candidate of the Republicans. That party was just then greatly in the minority, and Gilman was easily elected. He was at this time at the meridian of his strength and ripened manhood, and one of the most popular men in the State. He was re-elected several times, though opposed by such men as Walker and Langdon. In 1805 the Republicans triumphed, and John Langdon was elected governor. Four years afterward the Federalists again came into power, but Jeremiah Smith was the gubernatorial candidate. The next year Langdon was again elected, and also in 1811. William Plumer, of Epping, was elected by the Republicans in IS12. Plumer was renominated the following year, but the Federalists, who had again taken John Taylor Gilman for their stand- ard bearer, triumphed. Mr. Gilman was elected the two next consecutive years without any trouble, although opposed each time by that able Repub- lican chief William Plumer. His administration covered the exciting period
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of the last war with England, and though of the opposite party in politics, he was not one to dally when the honor of the flag was in jeopardy. He man- aged the affairs of the State with much energy and skill, its military defences requiring his exclusive attention. Detachments of militia were located on the frontier of the "Coos country," to guard against invasion in that quarter. In 1814 an attack from the British fleet, off our coast, was expected to be made on the navy yard at Portsmouth, and upon the town itself. Great excitement prevailed. Alleyes were directed to Governor Gilman, who, serene and calm, but active and determined, surveyed the scene. He issued his call for troops ; the State militia, prompt to respond, rushed forward with all its former alac- rity and patriotism. More than ten thousand men gathered at Portsmouth and upon the shores of the Piscataqua, to meet the lion of St. George. But the danger passed ; the war closed, and New Hampshire, under the guidance of its master hand, came out unscathed and untarnished.
Governor Gilman declined a re-election in 1816, and announced his inten tion never to participate in political struggles again. He had now reached that age at which it is natural for men to look forward to days of rest and seclusion. Few men had lived a more active life, or had been more promi- nently before the public. He had been chief magistrate of the State for four- teen years, a much longer period than any other man, -John Langdon, who came next to him, having been governor for a term of eight years, and Josiah Bartlett, William Plumer, and Samuel Bell four years each. No one of the royal governors held the office so long, with the single exception of Benning Wentworth, whose administration began in 1741 and ended in 1767, a period of twenty-six years.
The latter part of the governor's life was spent in that retirement which, after such a public and excited career, could not have been uncongenial to him, in the rural occupations that he loved, and in the cultivation of the social relations. The memories of the past thronged upon him. He loved to recall the days of Washington, and he wore the old costume - long waistcoat, breeches, and queue- to the last. He was interested in all educational pro- jects, and was for a long time one of the trustees of Dartmouth College, an- president of the trustees of Phillips Academy at Exeter. The site now occu- pied by the academy was given by Governor Gilman, who ever felt an affec- tionate concern for its welfare. In 1818 Dartmouth College bestowed upon. him the degree of LL.D.
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