Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 75

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 75

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Horace Duncan was born in Acworth, N. H., in 1799, and came to Ly- man, now Monroe, in 1820. He was a farmer, engaged in the mercantile business and in the manufacture of lumber. He represented his town in 1831, in 1834-35, and in 1861. In 1854 he was elected selectman, being the first one chosen from the town of Monroe.

Isaiah Cross was born in Landaff about 1790, and moved to Bath when quite a young man, where he remained until 1820. He then located in Mon- roe, then called Lyman, and resided here the remainder of his life. He had born to him seven children, five of whom are living. His son Freeman H. resides here, on road 14.

William Frazer came to this town, from Scotland, about 1824, and located upon the farm now occupied by his son Oscar, on road 16. He was a farmer and a cattle broker, and reared a family of nine children, eight of whom are living. Mr. Frazer died in 1847.

David Warden came to Bath, from Ryegate, Vt., about 1830, and located in the northwestern part of the town. He died in Bath in 1862. Seven of his nine children are living, four sons residing in California, one in Hanover, N. H., and one in McIndoes, Vt. Another son, Alexander, is a merchant in Monroe, has served the town of Bath as selectman for four years, and also

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the town of Monroe for the same period. He was county commissioner in 1864, '65 and '66.

William Lang and his brother Samuel moved to Bath, from Portsmouth, N. H., about 1800. William afterwards moved to Irasburg, Vt., where he died. Samuel remained in Bath until his death. David, son of William, was born in Bath, where he lived until his death. His son George W. resides in this town, on road 14.

Alexander Albee moved to Littleton, from Chesterfield, N. H., about 1814, locating in the southern part of the town, where he lived the remained of his life. Four of his nine children are living. Of these, Joseph resides in this town with his son-in-law, Charles Parker, on road 14.

John Clark moved to Landaff, from Newmarket, N. H., sometime previ- ous to 1783, locating on road 14. He died in Lisbon. Eben, one of his nine children, moved to Landaff with his father, where he remained until his death in 1827. He lived about a mile southwest of the center of the town, was a farmer and a chair manufacturer. He reared a family of nine children, only one of whom, Moses Clark, of Landaff, is living. Daniel, son of Eben, was born in Landaff, and lived there until his death in 1852. He was a farmer and a surveyor, and took an active part in town affairs. He served the town as selectman, was postmaster several years, and represented the town in the legislature several times. He had born to him eight children, four now living. His son Benjamin M., resides in this town, on road 17. He has been engaged in trade in Orford, and has also kept a hotel. Mrs. Mary M. Eastman, daughter of Daniel, lives on the homestead. Mrs. Ellen Hay- wood, another daughter, lives in Cleveland, O., and a son, Arthur M., resides in Lexington, Mich.

The Union church of North Monroe, located at North Monroe village, was organized about 1816 or '17. A church building was erected in 1820, and the present building in 1854. It is a wood structure capable of seating 220 persons, and valued at $1,000.00. The society now has about twenty mem- bers, mostly Methodist, with Rev. C. C. Sangford, pastor.

0 RANGE lies in the southern part of the county, in lat. 43º 39', and long. 71º 55', bounded north by Groton and Dorchester, east by Alexan- dria, south by Grafton and west by Canaan. It was granted to Isaac Fellows and others, February 6, 1769, under the name of Cardigan, which name had been applied to the locality some years before. The inhabitants petitioned several times to have the town incorporated, viz .: in 1779, by the name of Bradford ; in 1783 by the name of Middleton ; and in 1789 by the name of Liscomb, which name was crossed out in the petition and Orange inserted instead. In answer to this latter petition, June 18, 1790, the town was incorporated, by its present name. According to charter the town was to

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have an area of 24,000 acres, but it fell short of this, and has been greatly curtailed at various times since, viz .: by an act passed December 13, 1804, a part of Hebron was annexed to Orange and a portion of Orange set off to Hebron ; but the last named act was amended, December 2, 1808, and the lines between the two towns established. Lastly, December 6, 1820, an act was passed making the eastern boundary of the town range with the summit of Cardigan mountain, thus severing a large amount of territory. Other than these, no changes have been made in the territorial limits of the township, leaving it with an area of about 16,000 acres.

Nearly half of this territory lies upon the steep western side of Cardigan mountain, near whose summit the town line extends. In the southern part rise Hoyt hill and two other abrupt elevations, while a part of Kimball hill lies in the northern part. Orange is thus extremely mountainous in its char- acter, and presents but comparatively little available farming land, though it has localities of rich, arable territory, and many fine farms. Orange brook, the principal stream, has several tributaries and flows west into Indian river. There are several other streams, of minor importance, which afford some- available mill privileges. There is a small pond in the southern part of the town, from which is taken a species of paint, resembling spruce yellow, and near it also chalk and magnesia have been found. Yellow ochre, of a quality superior to that imported, is found in various localities.

In 1880 Orange had a population of 335 souls. In 1885 the town had seven school districts and seven common schools. Its seven school-houses were valued, including furniture, etc., at $1,021.00. There were fifty-nine children attending school, four of whom were pursuing the higher grades, taught during the year by one male and seven female teachers, at an average monthly salary of $18.00 for the former and $15.28 for the latter. The en- tire amount raised for school purposes during the year was $404.34, while the expenditures were $402.00, with Frank H. Perkins, superintendent.

The town has no village and no postoffice, most of the inhabitants depend- ing upon the postal facilities of Canaan for accommodation. The settlement of the town was begun in 1773, by Silas Harris, Benjamin Shaw, David Eames, Col. Elisha Bayne and Capt. Joseph Kenney. Settlement was slow, however, for in 1786, thirteen years after the settlement was begun, there were only eighty people here. As late as 1791 this number had only been increased to 131, though during the next decade the population nearly doubled, being 203 in 1800.

Jotham Stevens moved to Grafton from Enfield, married Ruth Cross, of Ellsworth, and had born to him two children, Alonzo W. and Samuel H. The former married Rhoda, daughter of Asa and Lucy (Whittier) Hoyt, located in Grafton, where he remained sixteen years, and then came to Orange. He has had born to him two children, Alfred A. and George O. The latter mar- ried Mahala, daughter of Steven W. and Maria (Chapman) Knowles, of Alex- andria, has one child, Eulali, and resides on road 18. Alonzo W. lives at East Canaan village, and has been town representative.

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TOWN OF ORANGE.

Isaac Lowell, son of Daniel, who lived in Vermont, married Mehit able Orsborn, of Loudon, N. H., and reared five children. He resided in Orange, where he died in 1865. His son Elijah O. married Sarah, daughter of Jona- than and Sally (Tucker) Batchelder, and had born to him four children. He died June 27, 1874, aged fifty years. His son Edgar I. resides with his mother on road 7.

Richard Ford, a native of Grafton, married a Miss Kimball, and reared seven children. His son Abel came to this town, from Grafton and married twice, first, Clarissa, daughter of Wilder Greeley, and second, Mrs. Judith Ladd, daughter of Moses Atwood, of Bristol. He died July 21, 1881, aged eighty-two years. Charles H., one of the six children now living, married Nettie, daughter of Solomon Shattock, of Dracut, Mass. He is first selectman of the town. John, son of Abel, married Sophia, daughter of Oliver Pierce, of Moriah, N. Y., and has four children, namely, Olin J., Jennie I., Wallace A. and Clara E. He served in the late war, in Co. F., 15th N. H. Vols. William Ford was also a soldier in the Rebellion, and died at Andersonville prison.

Elijah Whittier moved to Canaan, from Amesbury, Mass., in 1776, and was one of the early settlers. Elijah, one of his four children, married twice, first, Nancy Kineston, of Canaan, who bore him nine children, and second, Lucretia Aldrich, and had born to him three children. His son Nathaniel married Sophia, daughter of Jonas Hastings, of Bristol, has one child, Mrs. Julia S. Hoyt, and resides on road 18. He has been town representative twice.

Oliver French resided in Sutton, N. H., and reared eight children. His son John married twice, first, Polly Brown, who bore him seven children, and second, Maria J. Flanders, and had born to him two children. His son John H. married Hannah M., daughter of Lorenzo and Margaret (French) Dow, of Warren, and resides on road 7. There are strong indications of iron ore de- posits on his farm.

Thomas Fernald was a resident of Loudon, N. H., and had born to him seven children. His son Seth, a native of Loudon, married Celia Huntoon, of Unity N. H, located in Orange where he lived for a time, then removed to Loudon where he died November 2, 1881, aged seventy-six years. He reared a family of seven children, four of whom are living. His son John married twice, first. Betsey B. French, of Orange, who bore him one child, Clara A., and second, Mary E., daughter of Jonathan and Margaret (Clark) Patten, and resides on road 12.

Gould Dimond, an native of Loudon, N. H., married Dolly Marden, of Canterbury, and reared eight children. He moved to Alexandria, where he died, aged seventy-two years. Mrs. Dimond died at the age of eighty-two years. His son Reuben married Judith S. Goodwin, of Northfield, N. H. Of his eleven children, his second son, Furber G., married Mary, daughter of David and Rhoda (Morse) Currier, and has eight children, namely, Francis,

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Edward C., Nellie M., Lillian M., David A., Rhoda D., Willie L., and Susie M. He resides on road 5.

Micajah Morrell, a resident of Chichester, N. H., reared eight children, one of whom, Micajah, was a soldier in in the war of 1812. The latter mar- ried Sally Shaw. of Chichester. James, one of his nine children, married Lovina, daughter of George and Nancy Stoning, and resides on road 7. Mrs. James Morrell, died in 1856, aged twenty-two years.

Samuel Adams, son of Samuel, married Dorcas Hall, of Carlisle, Mass. Jonas J., one of his twelve children, married twice, first, Betsey Foster, of Tewksbury, Mass., and second, Mrs. Sarah A. Preston, daughter of Thomas and Hannah P. (McCoy) Perkins. Mr. Adams served in the late war, in Company A, 5th N. H. Vols., and was honorably discharged. He came. to this town, from Manchester, in 1882, and resides on road 14. Seven of his ten children are living.

The Union church, located in the southern part of the town, was built by the Free Will and Calvinistic Baptist residents, in 1835, though it belongs to the former denomination now, which was organized in 1835, with thirteen members. The church building will accommodate 150 persons and is valued at $500.00. The society has forty members, with no regular pastor. The society also has a Sabbath-school with twenty-five scholars.

0 RFORD lies in the western part of the county, in lat. 43º ° 53', and long. 72° 5', bounded north by Piermont, east by Wentworth, south by Lyme and west by the west bank of Connecticut river. It was originally granted September 25, 1761, to Jonathan Moulton, Jr., and others. But the conditions of the grant not being fulfilled, the proprietors made ap- plication to the governor for an extension of the time, which was granted February 8, 1772, giving them a further time of three years. By an act ap- proved June 28, 1837, the farm of John Dana, Jr., was severed from Orford and annexed to Wentworth. Other than this, no change has been made in the original boundaries of the town, so that it now has an area of 27,000 acres, 16,315 acres of which is improved land.

There are but few if any farming towns on the Connecticut equal Orford in its fine scenery and mountain, hill, vale and river views. As you stand on many of the farm hills which are cultivated to their summits, you have a view of the hills and beautiful valleys around you dotted with fine farm-houses and well filled barns, and a little farther you have an indistinct view of the vil- lages nestling beneath the shade of the stately elm, while the church-spire, peering through their tops, and the ring of the village school-bell, all denote that religion, education and liberal principles harmoniously dwell within ; while still a little farther flows the winding Connecticut, clothed on either side with broad intervals now burdened with the rewards of the husbandman's

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toil, and still beyond all this are the green, cultivated hills of Vermont, while at their base can be seen the puffing locomotive, and the luxurious cars freighted with precious lives, as they glide through the vale. While the Con- necticut river forms the western border of the town, Orford Mill river passes nearly through the center and furnishes some good water-power. There are four or five ponds of considerable size. Baker's Upper pond lies within three or four miles of the Connecticut, and discharges its waters into another pond, lying partly in Wentworth, and the waters of both flow into Baker's river. Indian pond lies about one mile west from Baker's Upper pond. There are two considerable elevations called Mount Cuba and Mount Sun- day, lying near the center of the town, Mount Cuba extending east into Wentworth. Orford is also one of the seven best farming towns in the state, in respect of value of agricultural productions, and ranks as the third town in the county. It being, as we have said, situated on the Connecticut, which here furnishes broad intervals, it has well-tilled farms producing excellent crops of corn, oats and hay. The uplands and hills afford fine pasturing and tillage lands. But one other town in the state produces as many bushels of wheat. On the west side of Cuba mountain there are several beds of lime- stone, which is granular but does not crumble in burning. Specimens of quartz containing acicular crystals of oxide of titanium are also found here. Near Sunday mountain is a bed of talcose slate which answers well for soap- stone. There are many other mineral crystals found in various sections of the town.

In 1880 Orford had a population of 1,050 souls. In 1885 the town had twelve school districts and thirteen common schools. Its fourteen school- houses were valued, including furniture, etc., at $1,450.00. There were 240 children attending school, fifty-two of whom were pursuing the higher grades, taught during the year by four male and twenty-two female teachers, at an average monthly salary of $31.25 for males, and $22.25 for females. The entire amount raised for school purposes during the year was $2, 128.47, while the expenditures were $2,383.65, with Miss M. J. Cushman, superin- tendent.

ORFORD is a post village located in the western part of the town, on Con- necticut river. Osgood's White mountain guide says : "Orford is ranked among the mountain villages on account of its vicinity to Mt. Cube and several other bold summits. It is one of the most beautiful hamlets in New Hampshire, and is just across the Connecticut river from Fairlee and Orford station, on the Connecticut and Passumpsic railroad. It is built along a straight and level street, one mile in length, the ' Mall' of which is bordered for a considerable distance by a double line of fine old maple and elm trees, with promenades between ; thirty rods east of this pleasant avenue is the terrace of an old river bank, upon which is Orford academy and its boarding house, with a line of fine old mansions. The churches are on the common in the upper part of the village. A beautiful view of the Connecticut valley is

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open from the 'seven pines,' on the hill east of and ten minutes' walk from the 'Mall.' Washington Irving said of Orford during his visit there : 'In all my travels in this country and Europe, I have seen no village more beautiful than this. It is a charming place. Nature has done her utmost here.' Ab- bott wrote considerable portions of his historical works here. Christine Nilsson, Elihu Burritt, W. R. Alger and James T. Field were among those who loved to come to Orford. Just across the river is what is known as Yosemite cliff, 200 to 300 feet high ; its summit is easily reached, and commands a charming view of the river, for thirty five miles, and includes villages and the environing mountains. From Mount Cube the view includes nearly all of the Franconia and Pemigewasset mountains which mask the White mountains ; Moosilauke is conspicuous under the thin and lofty crests of Lafayette, and on the other hand Mount Wachuset is seen in Massachusetts, and the moun- tains of Maine and the long line of Green mountains of Vermont, and the still farther mountains of New York."

ORFORDVILLE, located just southwest of the central part of the town, has one church (Congregational), a general store, furniture store, blacksmith shop, school-house, town hall and about seventy-five inhabitants.

Orford academy, located at Orford village, is an educational institution upon which the people of Orford look with pride. The Orford Academy Association was incorporated in 1850, with Abitha G. Britton, president ; Joseph W. Patterson, vice-president ; Samuel M. Willcox, secretary, and Steadman Willard, treasurer. During the following year, 1851-'52, by the benificence of many public spirited citizens, the present academy build- ing was built by this association, costing $6,000.00. It is a three-story brick structure, containing a large assembly hall, recitation rooms, labratory, library and dormitories. The third story, called Patterson Hall, contains large high- posted dormitories for young men. The boarding-house, situated within the academy grounds, is used as a residence for the principal's family and associ- ate teachers, and for the accommodation of lady pupils. The present officers of the association are Hartwell C. Cushman, president ; Horace H. Conant, vice-president, and Isaac Willard, secretary and treasurer. B. M. Weld, A. M., is principal of the academy.

Tillotson & Carr's saw-mill, on road 18, was built in 1850. They employ six men and manufacture about 500,000 feet of lumber per year.

D. F. Tilliston's cheese factory, on road 23 corner 21, built in 1865, manu- factures about thirty tons of cheese per year.

Frank C. Bradford's broom factory, on road 2, established in 1885, turns out about 500 dozen brooms per year.

Matthew F. Wyman's grist-mill, on road 18, built by James Daton, in 1821, and purchased by Mr. Wyman in 1878, has three runs of stones and grinds about 36,000 bushels of grain per year.

Henry Dayton's shingle and cider-mill, on road 18, operated by his son, Edward J., was built by James Dayton, for a woolen-mill, in 1829, and was

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converted into its present use in 1863. Mr. Dayton manufactures about 100,000 shingles and 500 barrels of cider per year.

B. F. Trussell's saw mill, on road 29 was built in 1866. He manufactures about 1,000,000 feet of lumber and 100,000 shingles and does planing and matching.

John H. Ladd's grist and shingle-mill, on road 12, was built by him in 1833. He does custom grinding and manufactures about 200,000 shingles per year.

Edwin Bugbee's saw-mill, on road 29, was built by him in 1870. He manu- factures about 400,000 feet of coarse lumber per year.

R. Beal & Son's bobbin factory, on road 26, built in 1884, upon the site of their chair factory which was destroyed by fire, turn out about 500,000 bob- bins per year.

George O. West's saw-mill and cider-mill, located on road 3, cuts out about 7,000 feet of lumber per day. The mill was formerly owned by E. E. Grimes, a merchant at Piermont. The cider mill is of small capacity.

The Pavilion stock farm, owned by S. S. Houghton, of Boston, Mass., is worthy of special notice. The farm, consisting of 750 acres of land, is de- voted to the raising of blooded trotting horses, and has had expended upon it to put it in its present fine condition over $100,000.00. It has a barn and stables built in 1877, in the construction of which 1,200,000 feet of lumber was used, and which will comfortably accomodate several hundred horses and colts. It has a frontage of 240 feet and the distance from top of tower to the ground is 168 feet.

The settlement of the town was begun by Daniel Cross and his wife, who came on from Lebanon, Conn., arriving in June, 1765. The first permanent settlers, however, were John Mann and wife, from Hebron, Conn., who ar- rived here on the 24th of the following October. According to an address delivered by his son, Rev. Joel Mann, at the centennial celebration of Orford, in 1865, the history of the migration is mainly as follows :-

In the history of Hanover, Plymouth county, Mass., there is an extended genealogy of the Mann family, that being among the first settlers of the town. It states that Richard Mann, a planter. came in the May Flower with the Pilgrims, a young man in the family of Elder Brewster. The posterity of Richard spread in Plymouth and Norfolk counties, and many of their de- scendants are now resident there. One of Richard's descendants was the Rev. Samuel Mann, the first minister of Wrentham, Mass., and John Mann was his great-grandson. Nathaniel, son of Rev. Samuel Mann, came to what is now Mansfield, Conn., when it was a wilderness, being the first settler there in 1720, and the town was called after his name. Having in after time pur_ chased a farm in Hebron, Conn., he removed there for life, and there both John and his future wife, Lydia Porter, were brought up. They were mar- ried in Hebron, in the Episcopal church, by the Rev. Samuel Peters, D. D. on the Sabbath day, February 17, 1765. The elder John Mann, finding that

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the original proprietors of Orford were offering these distant, uninhabited lands for sale, selected and purchased one lot of fifty acres, at the lower end of the present village, for which he paid one dollar an acre ; and this he gave to his son as his patrimony. For this Eldorado he started on October 16, 1765, his wife on horseback, where the road was such that it was practical to ride, with a wardrobe by no means ample for a bride. Mr. Mann rode with her a part of the way, carrying a knapsack, some tools for coopering, and an axe, which in such hands wrought wonderous changes.

The Rev. Grant Powers, in his "Historical Sketches of Coos Country," says that "at Charlestown, N. H., Mr. Mann purchased a bushel of oats for his horse, and some bread and cheese for himself and wife, and set forward- Mann on foot ; wife, oats, bread and cheese, and some clothing, on horseback." From Charlestown to Orford, a distance of sixty miles, there was no road, only a foot-path with marked trees, instead of guide-boards. The path was frequently hedged across with fallen trees ; and when they came to such an obstruction which could not be passed around, the young bride was dis- mounted, the articles of lading taken off, and the horse made to leap the windfall. This was many times repeated. In one instance the impatient animal did not wait to be unladen, and leaped the trunk of a large tree, throwing the fair rider and all the luggage in a promiscuous heap upon the ground. Through a kind providence no limbs were broken, and no joints dis- located. All things being re-adjusted, the journey was soon resumed. In Claremont two young men had made some clearing. In Cornish there was but one family, that of Moses Chase. In Plainfield there was one family, Francis Smith. In Lebanon there were three families, Charles Hill, son and son-in-law, Mr. Pinnick. In Hanover there was one family, Col. Edmund Freeman, and several young men making settlements. In Lyme there were three families, all by the name of Sloan. These afforded stopping places for rest and refreshment at night. The new-comers in the solitary wilderness were kindly welcomed and treated hospitably to the scanty fare. When they came to a stream that was too deep for wading, it was necessary to go up till a place was found for safe crossing, and this, with steep banks and tangled un- derbrush, must have been attended with much peril. The whole of this fatiguing and hazardous journey of about one hundred miles, was performed in eight days, averaging twenty-five miles in a day. They arrived here Octo- ber 24, 1765, Mr. Mann being then twenty-one years of age and his wife six- teen. "When our parents arrived in Orford," said the eldest of the pio- neer's sons, Major Mann, "there were Mr. Daniel Cross and wife, who had come in June preceding and some time afterward removed. They were living in a small hut, covered with barks of trees, a floor of split logs, hewed a little, near the bank of the river, having no chimney or hearth. Mr. Cross admitted the new comers into his cabin, agreeing to be equal in cutting wood, and keeping a fire in the middle of which would accommodate both. For a partition be- tween thern, blankets were hung up, so that now they were comfortably situ-

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Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 75

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