Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885, Part 58

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 > Part 58

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Daniel Butterick, Jr., was born in Concord, Mass .. January 23, 1783, moved to Winchendon, Mass., with his father, where he remained a few years, and came to Troy in 1831. He married Mary, daughter of William Knight,. of Fitzwilliam, December 23, 1810, and had born to him seven children. He died here in 1860, aged seventy-seven years. His father, Daniel, Sr., died here at the age of one hundred years and four days. Edwin, son of Daniel, Jr., was born June 18, 1813, and married Lucy Wetherbee, of Swan- zey, March 31, 1835. He has been selectman four years, town representa- tive in 1859-'60, and was again elected to the office in 1885. He has been justice of the peace since 1860, and deacon of the Congregational church for fifteen years. His son-in-law, Asa C. Dort, who is associated with him in business, is a native of Marlboro, and the son of Eli Dort, who now resides in Keene. He has been town treasurer since 1874, town clerk in 1867-'68, and represented the town in 1881-'82.

Winthrop Knight, the youngest of fourteen children, was born in Sudbury,. Mass., September 9, 1816. His father, Joel Knight, died when he was but four months old. His mother moved to Dublin about 1824, where she mar- ried Rev. Elijah Willard. Winthrop came to Troy in 1834, learned the sash,. blind and door business of Lemuel Brown, and, in 1839, built his present shop, on road 6, beginning business for himself. He married for his first wife Lydia Fuller, in 1843, who bore him three children, one of whom, Ar- thur P., is a wheelwright in Marlow, Winthrop Knight's first wife died in-

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TOWN OF TROY.

1866. He married for his second wife Betsey (Clark) Starkey, July 21, 1867, He has been engaged in the wheelwright, machinist and grist-mill business for over forty years, and has been a member of the Baptist church since 1842.

Hezekiah and Abraham Coolidge, brothers, came from Sherburne, Mass., and settled in the eastern part of the present town in 1787. Abraham kept a hotel from 1818 to 1824, and was a drover. taking cattle to Brighton mar- ket. He was the first constable and collector of the town of Troy. He reared a family of seven children, of whom Charles, the youngest, born in 1804, married Sarah Carpenter, and spent his life in this town. Charles Coolidge was selectman several years, and was engaged in the tub and pail business. His widow and his son Charles R. still reside in town.

Lemuel Brown, a native of Sudbury, came to this town in 1823, locating upon what was then known as the Daniel Cutting farm. He was accompanied by his father, Abel Brown, and a younger brother, George W. His children were as follows : Almira, born October 6, 1818, married Lyman Spooner, March 27, 1842 ; Emily, born April 3, 1820, married Gregory Lawrence, June 15, 1843 ; Harriet, born January 9, 1831, married Warren McClena- thon, November 5, 1850, died November 19, 1854; Caroline, born October 4, 1832, died October 24, 1839 ; Lemuel Warren, born October, 1835; and Charles W., born January 30, 1839.

Abner Haskell, a native of Harvard, Mass., came to this town in 1778, married a Miss Ward, and reared a family of two sons and two daughters. His son William married Sarah White, October 20, 1818, and located on the homestead. Though he subsequently lived in Rindge one or two years, he returned to this town in 1833, where he died, January 26, 1841. His chil- dren were as follows: Ezekiel, born February 6, 1820, married Mirintha Demary, of Rindge ; Joseph, born October 28, 1822, became a Baptist clergyman, and married Anna Cleaves ; Alonzo, born February 16, 1824, married Bet- sey Marshall, of Jaffrey; Albert, born March 10, 1826, died August 6, 1846 ; Sarah Ann, born February 26, 1830, married Horace Knapp, of Boston ; Lydia, born March 6, 1832, married Addison Marshall, of Jaffrey ; Mary, born June 29, 1834, married Augustus Adams, of Cavendish, Vt .; and Charles, born May 14, 1840.

Dr. Charles W. Whitney, born in Rindge, November 15, 1791, located here in 1815. He married Mary, daughter of Dea. Samuel Griffin, of Fitz- william, in November, 1818. He served as postmaster of Troy over twenty years. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits for twenty-five years, and served about nine months as a clerk in the commissary department in the civil war. He was town representative in 1871-'72. His children were as follows : Samuel G., born September 20, 1819, married Abigail Whittemore : Charles, born July 27, 1824, died January 10, 1827 ; Henry N., horn Octo- ber 8, 1825, died February 17, 1827 ; Charles W., born November 26, 1827, married Frances Taylor ; Mary Jane, born August 13, 1830, married S. Rich- ardson, M. D., of Marlboro ; and Sarah Ann, born August 1, died August 7, 1838.

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

Thomas Goodall, a native of Dewsbury, Yorkshire county, England, was born September 1, 1823, and located in Troy in 1851. He served an ap- prenticeship in a large manufacturing establishment in his native town eleven years, came to New England in 1846, married Ruth, daughter of Jeremiah Waterhouse, April 29, 1849, and resided in South Hadley, Mass. Upon taking up his residence in Troy he engaged in the manufacture of woolen cloth, and after a few years, seeing a good opportunity for the enlargement of his business, he added the manufacture of horse blankets, making the first of these articles ever produced in Troy. In 1865 he sold out his business here and revisited England. After his return to America he located in Sanford, Maine, in 1866, where he now is, having done a large business, but retired in favor of his sons, in 1878.

Levi Streeter settled in the village of Troy. He was a carpenter by trade, lived and died in town. He had a family of eight children, all of whom are living, but only three in this county. Elizabeth married Rufus Grout, and lives in Fitzwilliam; Caroline married Henry Goodspeed, and lives in Win- chendon, Mass .; Daniel lives in Fitzwilliam ; Charles H. lives in Keene; Sophia married George Davis, and lives in West Townsend, Mass .; Mary I. married Frank Whitcomb, and lives in Nebraska ; Elvira married Albert P. Ames, and lives in Groton, Mass .; and Abbie M. married Albert Daisey, and lives in Boston.

The Troy Baptist church, located on North Main street, was organized in 1789, with twenty-five members, two of whom were Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clark, their first pastor being Rev. Rufus Freeman. Their church building, erected in 1849, will seat 250 persons and is valued at $3.000.00. The society now has seventy-eight members, with Rev. William F. Grant, pastor. The society has also an interesting Sabbath-school, with ninety scholars, Carlos M. Barnard, superintendent.

The First Congregational church of Troy was organized with twenty mem- bers, September 14, 1815, Rev. Ezekiel Rich being the first pastor. The wood structure built during that year was replaced by the present brick church in 1835. It will seat 320 persons, cost $3,000.00, and is valued, including grounds, at $5,000.00. The society now has eighty-seven members, with Rev. Josiah Merrill, pastor. The society has also a Sabbath-school with an average attendance of sixty.

W ALPOLE lies in the northwestern corner of the county, in lat. 43º 5' and long. 4° 42', bounded north by the county line, east by Als tead and Surry, south by Surry and Westmoreland, and west by the west- ern bank of Connecticut river. It has an area of about 24,331 acres, which was originally granted by the Crown as follows : In 1735 Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, obtained leave of the assembly, for services rendered by

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

his brother Andrew, in the Canada expedition of 1690, to survey and lay out in two pieces, 1,000 acres of the unappropriated land of the province. Ac- cordingly "two plots" of land on Connecticut river were laid out by "Thomas Hinsdale and chairman on oath." One of these "plots " was laid out on the east side of the Connecticut, in the vicinity of Cold river, and thus included a portion at least of the present Walpole. It is said, also, that a plan of the town, granted to Willard, Bellows and others, in 1736, is on file at the state house in Massachusetts. In that year, also, several towns were laid out on the Connecticut, among which the territory cf Walpole received the title of No. 2, the present town of Westminster, Vt., being No. 1. These numbers were changed a few years later, however, and made to correspond with the numbers of the several forts, Walpole being No. 3. But in 1752, Col. Bel- lows, Theodore Atkinson, Col. Josiah Blanchard and sixty-seven other gran- tees purchased township No. 3, and obtained a charter from New Hampshire, signed by Governor Wentworth on the 13th of February of that year. The territory, together with that on the opposite side of the river, had for a long time borne the name of Bellowstown, but it now received its new name of Walpole. The conditions entailed in this charter the proprietors, owing to Indian troubles, etc., failed to comply with; but nine years later, March 12, 1761, their charter was confirmed to them, and upon it is based the legality of the town's land-titles of to-day.

The surface of the town is beautifully diversified by hills and vales, while in fertility it is equal to any in the county. But perhaps the town's greatest source of scenic beauty is Bellows falls, in the Connecticut. Above the falls the river varies from sixteen to twenty rods in width, and at their verge a large rock divides the stream, so that at low water the river flows only through the western channel, which is contracted to a width of sixteen feet. But at times of high water the appearance of the falls is sublime. Through its rocky bed the stream rushes with irresistable force. masses of water being broken by opposing ledges of rock and dashed many feet into the air, until the whole volume is thrown to the lower level, a distance of forty-two feet. The scenery both above and below this point is exceedingly attractive. Kilburn mountain rises abruptly from the river about 800 feet, forming the eastern wall of the great gorge spoken of. In examining in the river passage, geol- ogists have concluded that it has been worn out by the passage of the stream, and that the valley above must have formed a lake 800 feet in depth, its surface being 722 feet above the present level of Bellows falls. An ac- count of the boating, etc., at this point has been given on pages 53-55. Cold river flows across the northern part of the town, dropping into the Con- necticut about a mile below the falls. Several minor streams drop into the Connecticut here, but none of them are of much importance.

In 1880 Walpole had a population of 2,017 souls. In 1884 it had fourteen school districts and seventeen different public schools, one of which was a graded school and another a high school. Its fifteen school-houses were

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

valued, including sites, furniture, etc., at $14,400.00. There were 380 pupils attending these schools, taught by five male and twenty-two female teachers, the former at an average monthly salary of $46.00, the latter $23.67. The entire amount of revenue for school purposes during the year was $5,314.16, while the entire expenditure was $5,276.70, with George Aldrich, superin- tendent.

WALPOLE is a beautiful post village located about four miles south of Bel- lows falls, on a plain, high above the river. It has three churches (Congre- gational, Christian and Roman Catholic), a savings bank, hotel, two boarding houses, three stores, two blacksmith shops, harness shop, three meat mar- kets, boot and shoe store, a town-hall, etc. The main street runs north and south, and is broad and beautifully shaded with grand old elms and maples. Bordering on either side are the houses, stores, shops and churches. Many of the residences are elegant and costly, and orna- mented with spacious and beautiful lawns, carpeted with green grass, and made fragrant by blooming flowers; while other dwellings have a a rich, antique appearance which are suggestive of the days of the past. There is a handsome common, neatly laid out and ornamented with beauti- ful shade trees. This common furnishes a delightful promenade for the quiet villagers, or their visitors, on the pleasant summer evenings, just as the sun settles below the horizon and reflects its golden beams on the western sky, or upon the crest of the towering mountains beyond the Connecticut, the whole presenting a picture far beyond the most splendid drapery of human imagination. The general neatness and quiet which prevails, together with the beautiful scenery of the surrounding country, render this one of the most beautiful and attractive villages in New Hampshire. Many summer tourists spend their vacation in this village, and it has thus become quite a summer resort.

DREWSVILLE is another pleasant post village, located in the northeastern corner of the town. It has one church (Episcopal), one hotel, one store, two blacksmith shops, a pill-box manufactory, sash and door factory, and about twenty-five dwellings.

NORTH WALPOLE is located in the northwestern part of the town, just op- posite the falls. It has one church, one store, one hotel, a steam saw-mill and two chair-splint manufactories.

Walpole Savings Bank .- In 1850 a savings bank was established here, which did business until after 1864. In November, of that year, it was burg- larized to the extent of $52,000.00 in money, and securities of various kinds. Soon after this it closed its business. The present bank was chartered in June, 1875, and went into operation the following October. The first presi- dent was Benjamin F. Aldrich, and Josiah G. Bellows secretary and treas- urer. The present officers are Alfred W. Burt, president; and Josiah G. Bel- lows, secretary and treasurer.

Joseph Fisher's sash, door and blind factory, located at Drewsville, on road

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

6, was built by A. Faulkner, in 1834. In 1838 David and Joseph Fisher bought the factory and continued the business seven years under the name of D. & J. Fisher, when Joseph purchased his father's business and has since conducted the enterprise.

H. H. Hall's grist-mill, on road 43, was built by L. Lane. In 1881 the present proprietor purchased the property of L. A. Ross, and in 1884 added steam-power, in order to run the mill at all times of the year. The mill has two runs of stones, and the capacity for grinding 500 bushels of grain per day.

J. H. Heald's ash-splint factory, located at North Walpole, was built in 1880, for manufacturing ash-splints for chair seats and backs. Mr. Heald makes about 60,000 of these per annum.

Nathaniel Monroe's ash-splint factory, at Walpole village, was built in 1868. He makes about 28,000 chair bottoms per year.

A. F. Nims's steam saw-mill was built in 1880. He manufactures about 2,000,000 feet of lumber and $2,000.00 worth of pails per annum.

The Charles B. Hall saw-mill, on road 43, has the capacity for sawing 6,000 feet of lumber per day.

The Walpole Farmers' club was organized November 30, 1878, for the purpose-as recited in its constitution-" of promoting the interests of agri- culture, by the intelligent discussion of topics connected therewith, and by bringing the farmers of Walpole into more intimate social relations with each other." The club meets fortnightly during the winter season, the questions for discussion at each meeting being prepared by the executive committee, and published in printed programmes. One or more free public lectures upon agricultural subjects, by distinguished practical farmers and scientists, are given under its auspices every season. Its discussions have been pub- lished in the county papers, and have attracted considerable attention. The club's first board of officers was as follows: president, John W. Howard ; vice-president, Alfred W. Burt; secretary, William W. Guild ; treasurer, Thomas B. Buffum ; executive committee, George B. Williams, Curtis R. Crowell, Albert C. Dickey. The officers for 1884 were : president, John P. Holmes ; vice-president, Charles H. Barnes; secretary, Alvin Dwinnell ; treasurer, William W. Guild; executive committee, Oliver J. Hubbard, John L. Hubbard, Hiram Watkins. Membership, January 1, 1884, ninety- three.

The first settlement in the town was begun by John Kilburn, in 1749. His family then consisted of his wife, Ruth, and two children, Mehitable and John. The spot where he settled is situated about one-third of a mile south of the "Cold River Bridge," upon the highway. His log cabin stood on land now owned by Mrs. Joseph Wells, on the east side of the present high- way, near where a young apple tree is now growing. Col. Benjamin Bellows located here in 1753, having built his house in 1752. His family then con- -sisted of his wife and five children, the latter being as follows : Abigail, born December 21, 1736 ; Peter, born January 6, 1739; Benjamin, born October

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

6, 1740 ; John, born November 3. 1743 ; and Joseph, born June 6, 1744. His dwelling was built near the spot where now stands Thomas Bellows's- horse-barn, a little north of his dwelling. It was built sufficiently strong for a fort, and was shaped like the letter L, being about one hundred feet in the arms and twenty feet broad, strongly built of logs and earth, and sur- rounded by a palisade. In 1759 there were six families in the town, viz .: John Kilburn's, Benjamin Bellows's, Asa Baldwin's, John Hastings's, Fairbanks Moore's, and Timothy Messer's. In 1763 there were about fifteen families, and in 1767 there were 308 inhabitants, divided as follows: Twenty-four married men between the ages of sixteen and sixty ; fifty-two unmarried, be- tween sixteen and sixty ; 104 boys under sixteen ; one man over sixty ;: seventy-two unmarried females ; fifty-two married females, and three widows.

Kilburn's gallant defense of his home, August 17, 1755, against a large band of savages, forms an episode of Indian warfare familiar to every school boy. The story has been recorded by many pens, with varying degrees of accuracy. From the most reliable sources, it appears that Kilburn was. attacked by vastly superior numbers-197 were counted as they crossed a foot-path in sight of the cabin, and there is no doubt that there were four or five hundred in all; for General Shirley had notified the settlers, some two or three months before, that 500 Indians were collecting in Canada, whose pur- pose it was to wipe out by wholesale slaughter the entire advance settle- ments on the Connecticut river. The fight lasted from about noon until nearly sundown, according to some accounts, but the family tradition says, "it lasted nearly all day." There were in the cabin besides Kilburn, his wife, son and daughter, a man by the name of Peck and his son. These four men kept up a well-directed fire, which kept at bay the overwhelming numbers of the savages, who riddled the roof with bullets. The women aided by loading the guns, and when the ammunition began to fail, suspended blankets to catch the bullets which came through the roof. These they immediately ran into new bullets and sent them back to the enemy. Near sundown the Indians withdrew, leaving Kilburn victor in a hard-fought battle against overwhelm- ing numbers. Peak was wounded in the shoulder, and died eight days afterward. The ball was extracted with a butcher knife. This battle proved an effectual check to the expedition against the settlements in the Connecti- cut Valley, and doubtless saved them from destruction. During the succeed- ing eight or ten years, the period of the French and Indian war, Walpole was not visited by the Indians, and, in fact, they never appeared in town after- this battle.

The records of the first three town meetings appear to have been made at the same time and one sitting, and probably were, from the fact that seven years later each settler was assessed one shilling, to purchase a "town book to be kept for the use of the town." When obtained, most likely the records were transcribed into the new book from some loose memoranda. The record is as follows :-

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

"At a meeting held in Walpole, In the Province of Newhampshire agreeable to Charter on . the third Wednesday of March, A. D., 1752, Benjamin Bel- lows being appointed Moderator, -first voted and Chose theodore Atkinson Esq., Joseph Blanchard, Esq., and Benjamin Bellows, Selectman for sd year Insuing, Secondly chose Benja. Bellows, Town Clark, then dismissed said meeting. Attest Benjamin Bellows, Town Clark."

The record of the meeting in 1753 is precisely like the first. In 1754 the first part of the record is the same, except "Sam Johnson" is chosen mod- erator. "Secondly chose Benjamin Bellows, Sam Johnson and Robert Bowker, selectmen. Third chose Colonel Willard, town clark." The name of Colonel Bellows seems to have been scratched out, and Colonel Willard's name substituted. "Fourthly chose Enoch Cook, constable, chose Cook Servayer of hie Ways."

The first road, extending from Charlestown line to Westmoreland line, was laid out in 1762. In 1768 the town voted to have three schools, and voted £15 to support them in winter, and the next year voted £24 for school pur- poses, and form three districts. Thomas Sparhawk was the first representative, in 1775. The first after the adoption of the state constitution was Thomas- Bellows, in 1792. The first physician in Walpole was Dr. Chase, and the second Dr. Francis Kittredge. He was called here from Massachusetts, re- duced a fracture of the leg of a Mr. Bellows. This visit so favorably im- pressed him with the town that he concluded to settle here. Accordingly, he bought land and established himself upon what is still known as the Kitt- redge farm, now the property of Charles E. Watkins. He was blessed with sixteen children. His son Jesseniah succeeded him as a physician, liv- ing on the same place, and was in turn succeeded by his son, Jesseniah, Jr., who resided in the village and practiced here for more than one-half a cen- tury. Thus, for over one hundred years, father, son and grandson sustained in Walpole the name of Doctor Kittredge. The third physician to locate here was Doctor Abram Holland, who came over one hundred years ago and practiced here during a long life. The fourth was Doctor Sparhawk, fifth Doctor Johnson, and sixth Doctor E. Morse, who was followed by doctors Bond, Emerson, Gilbert, Gallup, Crain and Smith. The present physicians are doctors Porter, Blake, Richardson, Watkins, Ingham, and Knight.

Walpole was not behind other towns in the state in furnishing men and means for the service and use of the Continental army ; nor were the families of soldiers neglected at home, for the town records bear evidence of moneys being raised from time to time for the use of such families, and committees were appointed to see that they were made comfortable. In 1778 the town " voted to raise £60 to be expended for soldiers' families who have gone to the war." The pay of the soldiers was fro for one year's service, or wheat at five shillings per bushel. In 1779 the town voted £1,000 to procure five soldiers for the continental army ; but it took that year £2,393 of the money so raised to purchase £104 in gold. The exact number of men that went into the continental service cannot be ascertained from any available source ;

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TOWN OF WALPOLE.

but it is said most of the able-bodied men in town served a longer or shorter period. The names so far as ascertained are as follows : Col. Ben- jamin Bellows, Maj. John Bellows, Capt. Christopher Webber, Lieut. John Jennison, Lieut. Levi Hooper, Ensign Ebenezer Swan, Lieut. Samuel Nichols, Ensign Joseph Lawrence, Ensign Joseph Tracy, Surgeon Martin Ashley, Moses Burt, Benjamin Floyd, Jonathan Fletcher, Jonathan Hall, Jr., - Crain, Joseph Fay, -- Fay, Daniel Marsh, - De Bell, Ephraim Stearns, Samuel Salter, John Merriam, Jr., Timothy Messer, Roger Farnham, John Massey, Lieut. John Kilburn, Ebenezer Wellington, John Martin, Joseph Mason, Sr., John Howland, Sr., Uzziah Wyman, Jonas Hosmer, William Lathwood, James Campbell, Moses Mead, Joseph Bellows and Theodore Bellows.

During the late great war, also, Walpole was prompt and efficient in her services. There were 185 men credited to the town in all, volunteers and substitutes, as going into the service, of whom seventy-five were actual resi- dents. Eight of her three months' men re-enlisted ; nine died of disease ; four were killed outright ; eight wounded ; six missing ; while fifty-three of the substitutes are known to have deserted, and five volunteers were dis- charged for disability.

Jonathan Fletcher was born in Leominster, Mass., August 29, 1753. He came to Walpole in 1780, when he was twenty-seven years of age, and pur- chased fifty acres of land of Col. Benjamin Bellows, to which his son after- wards made additional purchases. He built himself a cabin in the wilder- ness, and lived on the same place seventy-three years, where he died, Febru- ary 2, 1854, having attained the unusual age of one hundred years, five months and four days. He married Abigail Goodenow, June 11, 1781, who died September 28, 1825, they having lived together forty-four years. They reared a family of eight children, as follows : Joanna, born February 15, 1782 ; Miriam, born February 1, 1784 ; Polly, born September 17, 1785 ; Levi, born October 10, 1788; Alvan, born July 11, 1790 ; Israel, born May 26, 1792 ; Melinda, born July 21, 1794 ; and Salome, born May 29, 1796. His son Israel married Abigail Fuller, of Athens, Vt., April 4, 1826, who bore him two children. He was a farmer and remained upon the homestead. His wife died June 9, 1859, and his death occurred July 23, 1859. His son Jonathan C., born April 29, 1835, now living on the homestead, on road 43, married Diantha Emery, of Stockholm, N. Y., February 10, 1860, and has one child, Fannie A. H. H. Fletcher, son of Israel, married Mary E. Barnes, of Jamaica, Vt., in September, 1854, and has two children, William H. and Marcella M. The latter married Charles Mellish of this town.

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Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885, Part 58

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 1034