Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 39

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers
Number of Pages: 1266

USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886 > Part 39

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Capt. Converse G. Morgan, born in Canaan, married Helen A. Bridgman, of Hanover. He enlisted as a captain in 1861, and was discharged for disa- bility about April, 1862. April 1, 1863, he was appointed to a clerkship in the paymaster-general's office, at Washington, D. C., where he remained until the autumn of 1867. He died here November 1, 1880, in his fifty-second year.

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TOWN OF ENFIELD.

Dr. F. C. Manchester, the only child of Dr. C. W. Manchester, of Leba- non, studied medicine with his father, and at Dartmouth medical college, where he graduated in 1884, and located at Enfield January 1, 1885.

Alfred A. Cox located in Enfield in 1860, coming from Northwood, N. H. He. erected the building where the postoffice now is, in which he established the manufacture of boots and shoes, employing about twenty hands in the shop, and putting out work in the surrounding towns, employing about fifty more. He continued this until 1864, when he engaged in the lumber business, and, with A. H. Hayes, of Enfield, and W. A. Batchelder, of Lynn, Mass., in the manufacture of flannel in the Mascoma mill. He is now a partner in the firm of Parker, Cox & Co., employing 100 hands in the manufacture of shoes, at Laconia, N. H. He has represented Enfield in the legislature of 1865- 66, was senator from 1881 to '83, sheriff of the county, and has served on the governor's staff.

The Congregational church of Enfield .- It is stated in the New Hamp- shire Gazetteers, that Rev. Edward Evans was the first minister of the Con- gregational church in Enfield. This is not correct. Mr. Evans was the first settled minister in Enfield, being settled in December, 1799, by a small coun- cil of Congregational ministers, (Rev. M. Burroughs, of Hanover, and Rev. Mr. Page, of Hebron,) and obtained the land in the town appropriated to the benefit of the first settled minister. Mr. Evans was dismissed in 1805, but continued to preach in the town a number of years longer. He was quite popular, and collected a church of not far from one hundred members. But Mr. Evans was not an Orthodox Congregationalist, nor was his church an Ortho- dox church of that order. Aged people who knew him well have said that in sentiment he was always a Methodist, and no one of his church ever united with the Congregational church, subsequently organized in Enfield-and so far as is known with any other Congregational church. After a while Mr. Evans discontinued the duties of the clerical office, directed his attention more to civil and political affairs ; was appointed judge of probate, which office he filled for several years, but eventually left the town. His church became extinct. The only real Congregational church in the town of Enfield was organized May 30, 1826, consisting of four teen members, all of whom, or nearly all, belonged to the family of Col. Benjamin Choate, or were con- nected with that family by marriage. Of this church located at Enfield Cen- ter, Nathan Choate and George W. Fifield were appointed the first deacons, June 27, 1826. From 1827 to 1838 twenty-one were added to the church, and Rev. S. Arnold, Amos Foster, Hobart Langley and John Clark, supplied them a part of the time. In 1836 the church purchased one-half of the new meeting-house erected near the center of the town. The society is at pres- ent without a pastor.

Shakers .- The founding of this sect in Enfield has already been detailed. In a religious point of view the Shakers claim that their church is organized and established after the pattern of the first Christian church at Jerusalem,.

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founded by the apostles. Hence, in their possessions they hold all things in common, distributing to the necessities of the members as they stand in need. Or, to quote from a letter of Elder Perkins to us on the sub- ject : "The faith and doctrines of the Shakers were promulgated in Enfield, September, 1782, when many individuals embraced their religious views, and until the year 1793 lived in and looked after the interests of their own private families. They then brought together their several personal interests and established one common fund, dedicating it unto the Lord for charitable and religous purposes, and for nearly one hundred years have maintained peace- fully and successfully communistic relations, having in their church no rich or poor, possessing all things and yet possessing nothing, no one claiming or saying ' that aught of the things which he posessed was his own ; but they had all things common.'-Acts iv. 32."

The Methodist Episcopal church, located in the northeastern part of the town, was organized in 1837. Their church building was erected in 1858, a wooden structure capable of seating 350 persons and valued, including grounds, at $3,000.00. The society how has eighty-three members, with Rev. E. F. P. Dearborn, pastor.

The First Universalist church of Enfield, located at Enfield village, was organized by S. C. Hayford, January 24, 1856, with twenty-six members, Rev. F. S. Bliss being the first pastor On November 7, 1874, the church was re- organized, Rev. Eli Garfield being the first pastor. The church building, erected 1852, will seat 200 persons, and is valued at $1,500.00. The society has twenty members, with Rev. Walter Dole, pastor.

F RANCONIA, one of the most picturesque of the famous White Moun- tain towns, lies in the northern part of the county, in lat. 44º 11 and long. 71º 40', bounded north by Bethlehem, east by Livermore, south by Lincoln and Easton, and west by Lisbon. It was originally granted to Jesse Searle and others, under its present name, February 14, 1764. But as no steps were taken towards making a settlement, another grant was issued, June 8, 1772.which covered all of this town and a part or all of the township of Lincoln, to "Sir Francis Bernard, Bart.," and twelve other notables, among whom were " His Excellency Thomas Hutchinson " and " The Honorable Corbyn Morris, Esq." This new township was given the name of Morris- town, in honor of the last mentioned gentleman. These conflicting grants led to much litigation, and greatly retarded the settlement of the town, as both sets of grantees claimed a right to the territory. though the original grantees came out victorious in the struggle. The following extract from a petition for redress, sent the legislature in 1793, by John Taylor, an inhabit- ant of the town, gives one a fair idea of this controversy, and which we may

Richard Haft

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add, was not an isolated example of troubles of this class, which were usually resultant from the cupidity of the crown's officers, who, in granting lands, often looked only to the fee for making out the necessary papers :--

" Many years since the tract of land covered by Morristown charter had been granted in two parcels & under the names of Franconia & Lincoln with the usual conditions annexed-that after the period had elapsed in which said conditions were to have been fulfilled viz in the year 1772 the govern- ment, finding that no part of said conditions had been fulfilled, & in con- formity to received ideas of the operations of law in such cases regranted the said tract of land by the name of Morristown-that the proprietors of Mor- ristown grant went on immediately at a great expense & cut a road through the woods fifteen miles in length to get on to said tract-carried mill irons from Exeter to Morristown (not being able to purchase any nearer) -built mills -allotted the town-put on settlers-& paid in taxes to the State of New Hampshire Prior to the year 1782 seven pounds seven shillings and three pence in specie, one hundred & eighty nine pounds five shillings in new emis- sion money, and three thousand seven hundred & twenty pounds in old emis- sion bills equal at the time of payment of said old emission to £79,, 18,, 10 in specie & that since the year 1782 they have paid to David Webster Esqr Sheriff of the county of Grafton in specie Eight hundred & twenty dollars & thirty eight cents for State taxes and charges-& thirty nine dollars & twen- ty nine cents for county taxes & charges that after all their labours & ex- penditures they are unable to retain by law one single foot of the land grant- ed to them-that the settlers under them have been obliged to purchase their lands again of the Franconia & Lincoln proprietors-that they have been defeated in the possession of the land granted to them by an alteration in our judicial determinations-& that they felt themselves obliged to pay the taxes before & since ye year 1782 in consequence of being recognized & taxed by the General Court of New Hampshire-"

Just at what period the controversy was finally settled we are unable to state ; but on the tax books of the treasury, the first mention of " Morris- town" was in the year 1777, and "Franconia" is not named from the year 1775 to 1781, inclusive.

The surface of Franconia is so richly diversified as to present all phases of beautiful scenery-the wild and picturesque, the grand and sublime. It has an area of 32,938 acres, only 5,369 of which is improved land. The moun- tain streams in the eastern part of the town unite in forming Franconia Branch, a tributary of the east branch of the Pemigewasset. In the western and northern parts of the town the streams unite in forming the South Branch of the Ammonoosuc, while in the southern part the Pemigewasset has its source. The principal elevations are Mt. Lafayette. Mt. Lincoln, Haystack mountain, Twin mountains, and Profile and Bald mountains. Its great curiosities, the Franconia Notch, Echo lake and Old Man of the Mountain, are among the most noted in the country, are visited by thou- sands of tourists each season, and are far too well known to require a detailed description here. Aside from its wonders of scenery and curiosities of nature, Franconia has many points from which superb views may be obtained, en- compassing the entire horizon. Commencing at the northeast, many miles

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away, with Mt. Starr King and its neighboring heights, the eye, wandering to the right until it has taken in every point of the compass, embraces in its vision the monarchs of the Presidential Range, Mt. Lafayette : nd its neigh- bors and Moosilauke; and after crossing the Connecticut valley is impressed with a broad panoramic view of the Green Mountains of Vermont, ex- tending a hundred miles along the horizon-the circuit terminating with the Canadian Heights visible in the dim distance-the scene in its mag- nitude and grandure, being unsurpassed by any in the White Mountain re- gion. The extensive iron works which formerly flourished here are spoken of in connection with the sketch of Lisbon.

In 1880 Franconia had a population of 550 souls. In 1885 the town had five school districts, and five common schools. Its five school-houses were valued, including furniture, etc., at $2,025.00, There were eighty- seven children attending school, eight of whom were pursuing the higher grades, taught during the year by seven female teachers, at an average monthly salary of $21.14. The entire amount raised for school purposes during the year was $674.00, while the expenditures were $706.75, with Mrs. Lydia K. Gould, superintendent.

FRANCONIA is a post village pleasantly located in the western part of the town. It has three churches (Adventist, Free Will Baptist and Congrega- tional), two stores, five hotels and summer boarding-houses, a fine high school building, the Dow academy, a saw-mill and bobbin shop, and about forty dwellings.

Dow Academy, founded in 1884 by Moses A. Dow, is situated in Fran- conia. In beauty of scenery and healthfulness of location it is unsurpassed by any institution in Northern New England. The design of this academy is to promote the higher education of young men and women, and to afford a thorough preparation for college for those who desire it. The instruction, discipline and influences are such as, it is believed, will secure the highest development of character, and be the best preparation for a life of future use- fulness. Every facility and encouragement is given to the ambitious student to obtain a liberal education. The board of trustees aim to provide the best advantages at very moderate rates of tuition, so that none, however limited their means, shall be debarred the privileges of this institution. The building stands in a sightly position, commanding on every side remarkable mountain views. It is heated throughout by steam, handsomely furnished, and supplied with every modern convenience. The success of the academy thus far has been phenomenal, and no labor or expense will be spared to make this school the peer of any in the State. The trustees are F. V. D. Garretson, presi- dent ; F. W. Ernst, secretary ; W. F. Parker, treasurer; Osman Parker and Stephen Eaton. Its corps of instructors are F. W. Ernst, principal ; W. H. Weisman, professor or arts; Carrie Lane and Effie Bartlett, assistants.

The Forest Hills Hotel, Harry W. Priest and James W. Dudley, proprie- tors, is a spacious summer hotel affording ample accommodation for 150

DON ACADEMY 1884

Dow Academy, Franconia, N. H.

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guests, and complete in all modern conveniences-steam, open fires, hot and cold water, electric bells, and gas in every room. The location is cool, dry, and central, upon the summit of Pine Hill, the house being immediately sur- rounded by a beautiful lawn, shaded by a grove of ancient pines. The broad piazzas, extending 500 feet, afford views unsurpassed in grandure, including Mt. Washington with its ascending trains, and the entire Franconia range. This hotel was built in 1882.

Elmwood House is another fine hotel, opened for the first time June 15, 1885, by its present proprietor, S. D. Morgan. The house has ample accom- modations for forty guests. The rooms are spacious, well lighted, and fitted with all modern conveniences. The house is surrounded by a broad veranda, from which extensive views may be obtained, while the location is in close proximity to churches, postoffice and stores.

Kendall's steam grist mill, George H. Kendall, proprietor, was built in 1855 for the grinding of provender. Its capacity is about 150 bushels per day.

Stephen Eaton & Co.'s bobbin factory and saw-mill, located on road 6, was built in 1875, and gives employment to seven hands.

Brooks & Whitney's grist-mill, on road 13 corner of 14, was purchased by then in 1857. It has three runs of stones.

W. A. Brooks's saw and shingle-mill, on road 6, cuts about 100,000 feet of lumber and 250,000 shingles per annum.

The first permanent settlement of the town was made in 1774, by Capt. Artemas Knight, Lemuel Barnett, Zebadee Applebee and others. But the settlement did not increase rapidly, probably owing, in a great measure, to the controversy over land titles. As late as 1790 the census reports show the population to have been only seventy-two souls. Among the early settlers were the following: Bigford Spooner, who came in 1781, William Aldridge and Ebenezer Streeter, in 1782, George Howland and Rue Aldrich, in 1785, George Jesseman, Jr., in 1786, Nathaniel Snow, Ona Snow and Dr. Joshua Harris, in 1787, Jacob Aldrich and Thomas Spooner, in 1788, and Timothy Taylor and Alexander Jesseman, in 1789. In 1797 there were in the town, aside from those already mentioned, the following: Benjamin, Zebedee, Jus- tin and Josiah Applebee, John and David Aldrich, Capt. John, Lawson and Buckminster Drury, Henry Gale, George Jesseman, Nicholas Powers, John, John, Jr., Michael and David Wallis, Caleb Baker, Oliver Harris, Timothy and Luke Brooks, Nathan Wheeler, John Hatch, Amos Wheeler, Thomas Hatch, Benjamin Brown, Nathaniel Wheeler, Jr., Jonas Warren, Ezra Tay- lor, Jonas Baker, Edward Oaks, Abraham Taylor, and Amos Baker and perhaps some others.

Captain Artemas Knight, a soldier of the Revolution, was one of the earliest settlers in Franconia, and owned at one time nearly the whole of the township. He married Tabitha Saunders, of Worcester, Mass., and moved to this town a few years after his marriage. Their eldest son, Thomas, born in 1783, was the first male child born in the town. Ar- temas erected a large house on the hill east of the village, and reared a family of three sons and four danghters. To each of his sons he gave

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a farm, as they became of age. He owned the water privilege which he sold to a Boston firm, who put in a foundry, furnace, and other manufactories to work the iron ore which was discovered in the western part of the town. About these factories the village grew up, and the Knight House was moved into the village and became the first hotel in Franconia. Artemas, after selling the property, removed with his two younger sons to Westmoreland, N. H., thus leaving Thomas the only representative of the family in Franconia. Thomas spent his life in the town, honored by his townsmen, reared twelve children, and died at the age of sixty-one years. Eight of his children are now living, as follows: Oliver, James and Horace, in Franconia, Dr. Luther M., in Franklin, Thomas, in St. Johnsbury, Vt., George R., in Chelsea, Mass., Mrs. John Wilson, in Woods- ville, and Mrs. A. K. Hoit, in St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Simon Oakes was an early settler of Franconia and was engaged in the iron works. His son Ebenezer spent his life in the town, as an iron- worker. In 1852-53 he represented Franconia in the legislature, being elected by an unanimous vote. He married Philinda, daughter of Simeon Spooner, reared eight children, and died in 1871, aged seventy-six years. His son John E. resides in Benton.

Priest Young was born in Lisbon, October 6, 1797, and came to this town when twenty-one years of age, settling on the place where his son Charles B. now lives, on road 11, where he cleared the farm and built a log house. He married Mary Oakes, in 1818, and reared twelve children, seven of whom lived to maturity, viz .: Eliza, Adaline, George, Harriet, Charles B., Herbert and Adelaide. Of these, Martha, George, Charles B. and Adaline live in town. Priest Young was one of the leading citizens of the town, held all the offices in the gift of his townsmen, served as representative in 1847-48, and died in December, 1869. George and Charles B. have held many of the town offices, the latter being at the present time one of the selectmen.

Manning Whitney came to this town from Stowe, Mass., in 1818, locating on road 22. He married Dolly Brooks, in 1818, and reared a family of six children, namely, Emeline, Daniel, Henry B., Lydia, Jane and Sally H. He died in Alabama, in 1841. Henry B. and Daniel still live in the town.

Benjamin Applebee, a native of Rhode Island, came to this town as an early settler, locating on the place where Daniel Whitney now lives, on road 13. Here he resided until 1825, when he moved to Easton, where he died. He reared a family of eight children, of whom five were sons-Justice, Emer, James, David and Minot. Minot remained on the homestead several years, then moved to Easton, but returned to this town in 1842, locating on the place where his son David H. now lives. He married Rhoda Howland and reared a family of six children, as follows : Jerome, Lydia, Sally, Mary, George H. and David H. The last mentioned is the only one of the family now living here.

William Quimby came to this town, from Whitfield, in 1832, and located on the place where Peter Godard now lives, on road 20. He married Martha

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Richard Taft .- The mountain region of New Hampshire is one of the most delightful, health-giving and accessible of the summer resorts of the country. Forty years ago, the business, which is now the most important in a number of towns lying among the mountains and about their base, was in its infancy. At the White Mountain Notch the Crawfords kept a small hostelry, principally for the accommodation of farmers making their annual prilgrimage to Portland. The Rosebrooks had been succeeded by Horace Fabyan, at the stand now known by his name. A score or two of visitors from the cities made the ascent of Mt. Washington each summer. In the Franconia Notch, near where the Profile House now stands, Stephen C. and Joseph L. Gibb kept the Lafayette House, furnishing entertainment for not more than fifty guests. Limited as was the capacity of these houses, they were ample for the patronage of that time.

Richard Taft, then landlord of the Washington House, Lowell, Mass., had visited the Franconia Notch, was attracted by the loveliness and grandeur of its scenery, and with prophetic instinct saw the vast possibilities it afforded as a summer resort. In 1849 he became proprietor of the Flume House, a small hotel built the previous year, and from this period dates his career as the most famous and successful of mountain landlords. Mr Taft was born in Barre, Vt., March 14, 1812. From boyhood he had to make his own way in the world, and when but nine years of age, he went to Alstead, N. H., where he was employed for nine years on a farm, his educational advantages being limited to the usual winter term of the district school. He began hotel life as an employee in a tavern at North Chelmsford, Mass., in 1830. Two years later he became one of the proprietors, a relation which lasted three years, when he became landlord of the Washington House, Nashua, N. H. He was afterwards in the same business at Tyngsboro, Mass, and at Lowell, Mass. When Mr. Taft came among the mountains, the entire receipts of his house for the first year were hardly equal to the salary which a competent landlord now commands, yet it was considered a fairly remunerative season. Within a decade and a half, the annual profits were wont to reach many times that sum. When the Gibbs went to the New Crawford House, in 1852, Mr. Taft and a partner purchased the Lafayette House property, and began the erection of the Profile House, of which he was principal proprietor and landlord to the time of his death. This house, built on a generous scale, was thought to be suffi- ciently large for the requirements of the business for years to come, yet the increasing popularity of its ideal landlord, and the growing fame of the region,

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required its frequent enlargement, until it became one of the most extensive and best equipped establishments of its kind in the land. Over this vast hostelry, with its hundreds of guests, its varying interests, and its constant cares, Mr. Taft was the presiding genius. Every department felt his im- press, but his unobtrusive manners and somewhat infirm health, led him to avoid the publicity incident to his position. He seldom came in personal contact with his guests, but those who enjoyed his intimacy found him not only the watchful landlord, but the cultivated, genial gentleman. May 23; 1839, he was married to Miss Lucinda Knight, of Hancock N. H. She was, in every way, especially fitted for the work and position of a landlady, and it was often his remark that she had done more than her share to establish his reputation as a hotel-keeper.

Mr. Taft gradually acquired a title to the vast tract of land extending from the Profile farm in Franconia, by Bald mountain, through the vally to and beyond the Flume House, a region that for quiet and romantic beauty can- not be surpassed by another of equal extent on the Continent.

Mr. Taft had a natural aptitude for his chosen business, and his rare sagacity brought him uniform success. It was of such magnitude as to re- quire his constant attention, and he seldom ventured to engage in enterprises not contributory to it. He was largely instrumental in constructing the nar- row gauge railroad from Bethlehem Junction to the Profile House, and was its first president. To him, more than to any other person, is due the marvel- ous growth of the mountain business. He saw what it might become, and led the way in the development of all the adjuncts required to hasten the full tide of its success. He lived to see the fulfillment of his anticipations, and harvest their rewards.

His methods were practical, methodical and always well considered, and he was equal to every emergency imposed upon him by the demands of his busi- ness. He was a close observer of human nature, and in nothing did he dis- play more sagacity than in the selection of his assistants and subordinates. They seldom failed him. He was charitable, just and considerate in all things. His word, like his friendship, was as much to be relied upon and as stable as the hills he loved so well. His honor, in all the relations of life, re- ceived that highest of tributes-it was never brought under suspicion. Being an invalid for many years he became a great student. He was familiar with the poets, was well read in history and in the arts and sciences. He was es- pecially fond of poetry, and nothing pleased him more than those descriptive

July 2cm

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passages of Byron, which applied with such force and beauty to the scenery of his mountain home. He died in Littleton, N. H., February 14, 1881, leaving a wife and one daughter, Mrs. Charles F. Eastman, of that town.

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Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 39

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers Number of Pages: 1266

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers
Number of Pages: 1266