USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Peterborough > Historical sketches of Peterborough, New Hampshire : portraying events and data contributing to the history of the town > Part 27
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Amid all these labors and activities he was still the faithful shepherd of his flock and the consecrated minister of God. His pure and modest exam- ple, so free from all self-interest and the common follies and passions of men; his pulpit teachings, so inspiring, so devout and persuasive; his wide knowledge, his loving spirit and example of service appealed to his people and touched them on all sides. He visited often among them, won their confidence, entered into their sorrows as into their joys and made their lives a part of his own. He took them all into his large generous heart, sharing with them its warmth and life. His ministry was to the young people equally with the elders. "We children," says the one above quoted, "knew that he loved us; and though
we reverenced him, we also returned his love. He never passed a child unnoticed and our little wayside greetings were always a pleasure to him."
His retirement in 1839 was not the end of his ministry. People still looked to him for instruction and guidance and they continued to visit him and invoke his adviee and assist- ance in times of doubt and trial. I well remember the profound respect and honor with which he was held, and his opinions quoted even after he had left Peterborough. Those also who did not worship at his church often called on him and found in him a wise adviser and a sympathetic friend. "To the last he maintained," says Dr. Morison, "the cheerfulness of the philosopher, the simplicity of the child and the modest humility of the master."
I recall the venerable and saintly man as he appeared during the last years of his residence in town. He was about five feet seven inches in height, spare of frame and ereet in carriage. He walked with a cane and his gait was a quick nervous step. In the winter season he wore a large cloak, an outer garment much worn in those days, and his eovering was a low- crowned blaek felt hat. His face was thin and pale, but his countenance was lighted by keen dark blue eyes which illuminated his whole frame. His pew in church was next to the pulpit on the left hand side of the broad aisle. I can see him, now as he used to stand during the prayer, his frame erect, his long white hair flow- ing in ringlets down upon his shoul- ders and his head bowed in worship. To my boyish imagination he seemed of a truth to be the old Hebrew pro- phet come back to earth, once more to lead his chosen people into the Promised Land.
[From page 217 to here was published in the Peterborough TRANSCRIPT Aug. 12, 1915.]
UNVEILING OF CATHARINE PUTNAM TABLET IN PUTNAM GROVE, OLD HOME DAY, AUGUST 24, 1915
The exercises were under the aus- pices of Peterborough Chapter D.A.R. when Miss Motley of Boston, a de- scendant of the Putnam family, spoke reminiscently of Miss Putnam as fol- lows:
MADAM REGENT, LADIES AND GEN- TLEMEN: - I consider it a great honor to be present on this memorable oc- casion and I feel it a privilege to speak of one who was the valued friend in our family for four genera- tions.
Miss Catharine Putnam was born in Boston on June 9th, 1778, and was the only child of Susannah, and Jesse Putnam, who was a graduate of Har- vard College in 1775, and a nephew of the famous patriot, Gen. Israel Put- nam who was born in Danvers, Mass., and later removed to Connecticut. Miss Putnam's father was one of the leading merchants of Boston and a prominent citizen, being one of the incorporators of the Bunker Hill Asso- ciation, an original shareholder in the Boston Athenæum and a Director in the Boston Provident Institution of Savings. He was highly esteemed and honored by all his fellow citizens, it being written of him after his death, that he was long known as the Father of the Merchants of Boston. The intelligence, energy, and integrity with which, for more than half a cen- tury, at home and abroad, he followed and adorned his profession were in- herited by his daughter, and impressed upon her character a deep feeling of patriotism, love of justice, and self- sacrifice, and a stern sense of duty, the more rugged virtues that were a natural part of our ancestors' lives and characters, the characters that were
moulded in those early days of trial, into finer fibre than now. Miss Put- nam was most carefully educated by her wise parents and from them re- ceived the taste for literature and art, which she cultivated and enjoyed throughout her life.
People lived more simple lives in those days, but they were full of in- terest. There was much social inter- 'course in which Miss Putnam took great pleasure, and in receiving her friends at their house in Tremont Place it was said of her, that she was so unusually gifted, that one rarely met anyone so familiar with every subject, so agreeable in conversation, so full of information, that she could meet each person however varied his pursuits or achievements on his own ground.
There were many charitable insti- tutions to which she belonged and gave most generously of her sympathy advice, and money. Charities were not so much organized in those days, but the love and duty to one's neigh- bor who was less fortunate were more deeply realized. Miss Putnam was most affectionate and devoted a daughter to her parents, who lived to a ripe old age, after over sixty years of married life, and after her father's death, was the solace and support of her mother's last years.
Miss Putnam having some delicacy of her lungs, decided after her mother's death to leave Boston, and to go to Peterborough away from the sea coast and East winds. She be- came very fond of her country life, and her letters told of her enjoyment of the beautiful country, her pleasant intercourse and friendships with Mr.
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Morison and his family, her love for
sympathies were much aroused in be- flowers and the garden she was plant- half of the slaves. Miss Putnam was ing, and the help in advice given by of a stately, erect carriage, yet of a sunny presence, a most devoted friend to old and young, of an affectionate, sympathetic, loyal nature, a true christian in life and works. Almost the last act of her life was a gift of money to a poor woman, and then she passed peacefully away to another world, at the age of eighty-four. her kind neighbor, Mrs. Scott; of her deep interest in the Unitarian Church, of which she was a regular attendant, except when prevented by physical infirmities or severe weather, and when unable to be at church her kind minister always brought her both his sermons which were always carefully read. Her love for reading was a great solace to her in the long winter days when she was often housed, and her criticism of books and analysis of character of which she writes in her letters show a keen mind, well trained and cultivated, and her devotion and goodness to the poor and unfortunate could never be forgotten; they were as her children it was said after her death. Her early life must have been influenced by the atmosphere of the troublous days of the Revolution through which her parents had passed, and her patriotism, Inherited from those Revolutionary days, was tre- mendously stirred in the early days of the Civil War. She writes with vigor and enthusiasm at the age of cighty-two of Major Anderson s de- fense of Fort Sumter, and of her pride in the raising of a company by a young cousin, called the Putnam Guards of Danvers, near the home, she writes of "the Old General." To this company she presented a stand of colors, and otherwise encouraged them. She also showed a deep in- terest and gave generous help to the companies raised in Peterborough, and shared in the anxieties and sor- rows which followed among her neigh- bors and friends It was a remark- able and strange experience for one life to have touched the Revolution- ary period and ended in the dark days of the Civil War. But even then she was hopeful of the result, and her
It was written of her that she was a devoted daughter, constant friend, a lover of letters and art, a christian in faith and good works, in gentleness of temper and speech, in cheerful pa- tience and precious trust. Her mem- ory is dear alike to the high and gifted and to the poor and lonely. In the sermon preached after her death by her friend and pastor, Rev. Charles B. Ferry, he said, "If there was one thing more than another that charac- terized her life and principles, it was a large and catholicity of spirit. Any- thing narrow or sectarian she abhored. She was perfectly willing to let every- one think for himself, and was even charitable if he did not think for him- self. She was very careful not to wrongly or hastily judge another, a juster, fairer, or more charitable woman was never seen. Ever since she took up her residence in Peter- borough she longed heartily, labored faithfully, and sacrificed much to bring the people of different societies together, that they might see more, and thus think better of one another.
Her largeness of sympathy was not confined to Peterborough, but she labored, sacrificed and pleaded for the oppressed, the unacknowledged, and unfortunate everywhere. Her sympathy for the enslaved African was remarkable. She saw the Divine Image in all men. Her benevolence was well known; the thing or amount bestowed was only a small part of the
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benefaction, it was the kindly spirit and tender interest expressed in the act. Her children were the needy and suffering, and there never was a more faithful and devoted mother. May it not be in in vain that this noble Christian woman has lived among us. A very remarkable woman, who though she lived beyond fourscore, had found out the secret of not grow- Ing old, by keeping up her interest in people and things and living for others ' and a proof of how her life was valued and her memory reverenced,is in this beautiful tablet to her just unveiled.
Hon. Ezra M. Smith delivered on the occasion the following historical address:
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REV- OLUTION, CITIZENS AND FRIENDS:
You have met on the afternoon of Old Home Day, in this beautiful grove a gift by a former resident to the town of Peterborough, situated on the Bank of the Nubanusit River, within the limits of the village to dedicate a boul- der placed here by the members of the "D. A. R." as a memorial to the name and worth of a noble woman, Miss Catharine Putnam. Memorials had their origin in the distant past and all along the pathway of history they have been placed to mark some noted spot or perpetuate the record of some great event or noble deed. This boul- der does not point to some daring deed on the field of battle: it does not speak of a great discovery made by some mind of genius, nor does it call to mind some tragic act in human life. It has a voice though we may not hear it, and that voice today is teaching us a lesson though we heed it not. In response to that voice I place before you today the picture of a woman, refined, cultured, having passed almost through the changing scenes of life and nearing its
close, looking backward over a journey of more than four score years and look- ing forward into the unknown future. She has been thinking how best to leave an expression of her interest in her adopted town. She contributed for the benefit of their poor. In look- ing further she sees this grove and the thought presents itself to her that if she can preserve it, this will be a means to express to all future generations more fully her interest in the needs and pleasures of the people. To her it appears more serviceable and more in accordance with her views than a granite shaft or a monument of bronze. On the fifteenth day of Feb- ruary, 1862, she purchased this grove, containing a little more than two acres of land of James Scott for five hun- dred dollars, and on the same day she made a deed of the same to the town of Peterborough but the deed was not delivered at that time. In the war- rant for the annual town meeting in March, 1862, Article 10 read as fol- lows. To see if the town will vote to accept of the Grove lot, so called, as a gift from an individual. When the article came up in the meeting for action, it was explained by George A. Ramsdell, Esq. who said that it was placed in the warrant at the request of Miss Catharine Putnam and she desired to make a gift of the Grove lot to the town, and had purchased it of Mr. James Scott for that purpose. The deeds were made out and exe- cuted and would be passed into the hands of the selectmen whenever action was taken upon it by the town. The town voted unanimously to ac- cept the gift and also voted to extend a unanimous vote of thanks to the donor. From that time the grove became the property of the town sub- ject to the following conditions named. in the deed. Reserving to John A. Bullard and his assigns the right to
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draw water from the well at the north east part of the grove in the same man- ner he now uses it, with the privileges granted him by James Scott by deed of Feb. 14, 1862.
This conveyance is made on the ex- press condition that the said described premises shall forever be held by said town for the purpose of Public exhi- bitions, public meetings, public or private walks, picnics, private parties, or other exhibitions and amusements in which the public take an interest and are sanctioned by the selectmen or the Trustees or Agents to whom the care of this grove is committed by the town, and also upon the condition that no buildings shall ever be erected on said land by said town or its assigns except such buildings as shall be neces- sary to store and preserve such tables, benches, chairs, or other apparatus necessary to the full enjoyment of said grove as a public resort and park. Intending to impose on said town the same restrictions as are imposed on me by James Scott by his deed of even date. Reference being had to said last mentioned deed. And in case the said town shall violate the above conditions, then said premises shall revert to Dartmouth College a corporation in said state, and I hereby grant the said premises to said College for the consideration aforesaid in the event of a violation of said conditions. The consideration named in said deed was as follows.
In consideration of my regard for the inhabitants of said Peterborough and in consideration of onc dollar to me paid by the town of Peterborough. The above language describes clearly and fully the purposes for which this grove can be used. No society or class have exclusive rights to its en- joyments or control. The rich and the poor, the cultured and the un- lettered may here enjoy the same
privileges ,and have the same rights. It was set apart for pleasure and not for profit. At this point I wish to say a few words in regard to the original layout of the lots and the lot from which this grove was taken. In 1738 the original proprietors of the town laid out sixty-three double lots, the settlers were to have sixty lots, the proprietors sixty-thrce lots, one lot was set aside for the schools and one lot, each for the first and second settled ministers. Each lot to consist of fifty acres. Lot number 50-112 was drawn by Peter Prescott and he sold it with other lots to James Gor- don, who sold the mill farm to Jona- than Morison. Mr. Morison was a skilled mechanic and he built the first saw and grist mill built in town in 1751, on lot number 112 where the old Bell Mill, so called, now stands.
The Mill farm included number 112 and more than two hundred acres of land adjoining this lot on the south, comprising a large part of the present village. Mr. Morison sold the farm to Samuel Mitchell in 1759, and Sam- uel Mitchell sold three acres east of the river in 1769 to John Morison and sold the balance in 1780 to John Mit- chell. John Mitchell sold what there was east of the river to John Young in 1780 and the balance of the farm to David Ames in 1781. David Ames sold to Samuel Mitchell in 1783 and Samuel Mitchell sold to Nathanicl Evans in 1784. Nathaniel Evans sold one half of the farm to Asa Evans in 1787 and the other half to Asa Evans in 1790. Soon after this Asa Evans began to divide up the farm and sell off different pieces to different individuals until 1812 when he sold the last piece to James Wilson. In 1819 there were only twenty-seven dwelling houses within the limits of the old mill farm as owned by Jona- than Morison. Four of these were
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on Main Street: two on Summer Street: three on Pine Street: two on High Street: three on Elm Street: four on Winter Street: five boarding houses on Phœnix Avenue and four boarding houses on Factory Street. This grove was located within the limits of the mill farm and was a part of it.
Back of the thought and back of the act there is always some person. You have seen the gift and you have learned its purpose but you are not satisfied without knowing something about the author of this gift. Cath- arine Putnam was the only child of Jesse and Susan Putnam of Boston, and she was born in Boston in 1778. Her father was a nephew of General Israel Putnam of revolutionary fame, and her father was a graduate of Har- vard College about the time the revo- lutionary war broke out. Soon after leaving college he engaged in the mer- cantile business in Boston and was married to Susan Thatcher of Cam- bridge. For many years he was a successful merchant in the city and his daughter enjoyed all the comforts of a home of wealth and refinement, and her opportunities for education were the best that Boston furnished at that time. In her younger days she knew not the meaning of poverty and did not experience the weariness of labor. Ease, comfort, and happi- ness were hers to enjoy during that period of her life. A few years later her father was called to Paris on busi- ness and while there the rebellion of France robbed him of all his property and deprived him at times of his liberty. He was unable to leave the country and return and he was com- pelled to struggle with poverty and privation away from home and friends and for ten long years he labored in the warehouse of France before he was enabled again to come back home.
During those long years his daughter worked persistently in battling with poverty and anxiety and under cir- cumstances which she had never before experienced. It was a lesson she never forgot and in her later years it broadened her sympathy and deep- ened her interest in the welfare of others. Her father after his return again entered mercantile life and through prosperity soon became one of the most influential and trusted financiers in State Street. The home again became prosperous and happy, and it was said that she and her par- ents constituted one of the brightest, happiest, and most hospitable homes that could be found. She became acquainted with a man measuring up to her ideals of manhood and she gave him her love with all the tender- ness and devotion of which she was capable with the promise of a happy home and a happy life. Circum- stances over which she had no control changed those plans and cast a shadow over the brightness of her vision. He who was to have been her partner through life was taken by death, and It was said by one who knew her that no subsequent suitor could gain her hand. After the death of her parents she came to Peterborough to live in the family of her uncle Thomas Pay- son, who had married her mother's sister. His home was on Pine Street, additions have since been made to the house and it is today known as the Payson Place and stands at the junction of Pine and Granite Streets. Some of you have seen her in that home and some of you knew her dur- ing the last years of her life. She was a lady of refinement, quiet, social, and interested in the needy and unfortu- nate, ever desirous to make life a little brighter for some one within her reach. Children were invited to her home with the certainty of having a
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pleasant time. She was the owner of no land or home in Peterborough except this grove which she purchased expressly for the purpose of making it a gift to the present and future citi- zens of the town for an occasion like this. Those who knew her best, to- day remember her with pleasure and speak of her most highly. Fifty- three years the 27th of last March she laid down her cares and burdens and closed her eyes to every scene of this earthly life through which she had passed in her journey of eighty-four years. Her body was borne from the home on Pine Street to the Unitarian Church in this village and the closing services were conducted by Rev. Charles B. Ferry and Rev. George Dustan. Peterborough was not to be the final resting place of her body,
but it was taken to Massachusetts and · deposited in the beautiful cemetery of Mount Auburn. In closing I wish to leave with you this thought. This grove is a gift to the town, in trust, to be administered in accordance with the conditions contained in the deed. If so administered it will continue to furnish joy and pleasure to every per- son who seeks its cooling shade and its quiet retreat so long as men are bearing the burdens and cares of life. When the letters on this tablet shall be effaced by the corroding hand of time and the granite boulder itself shall have crumbled and again mingled with its original dust, then, and not till then may the visitor to this grove cease to cherish the name and be in- spired by the life and gift of Catharine Putnam.
[From page 225 to here was published in the Peterborough TRANSCRIPT, Aug. 26, 1915.]
DEDICATION OF THE GENERAL JAMES MILLER TABLET
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY JONATHAN SMITH, ESQ., OF CLINTON, MASS., AT THE EXERCISES ON THE SITE OF HIS BIRTHPLACE, IN THE EASTERLY PART OF THE TOWN, MONDAY AFTERNOON, AUG. 23, 1915.
We are assembled to pay tribute to the memory of a son of Peterborough, who reflected in his life and character the virtues of the race to which he be- longed, and whose achievements and public service are a priceless heritage of the State and Town. Here at the very place where General Miller was born we dedicate this tablet to his memory, and recalling what he was and what he did, record our appreci- ation of his worth and work, and our gratitude that we can claim him for our own.
On this spot General Miller was born April 25, 1776. Public events, if ever such things do, foreshadowed his career. For a year the Town had been seething with excitement over the Revolutionary War. Many of its citizens had taken active part in the campaign of the preceeding year. Mighty events were happening every day, making the struggle the universal theme of thought and conversation. It would verily seem as though occur- ing events predestined General Miller for a military career from the very day of his birth.
He was the son of James and Cath- erine Gregg Miller. His mother, Catherine Gregg, was a daughter of Hugh and Jean Gregg of Londonderry. She was the first child baptized in Peterborough, and was probably born here. The father, James Miller, was the son of Samuel and the grandson of Robert Miller, both of whom came from the North of Ireland to London- derry in the migration of 1719.
There is little known of General Miller's boyhood. He shared the
common lot of the children of those days and was trained to hard labor. Looking over the land attached to this ancient home, we can well believe it could not have been otherwise, for from these rocky and unfertile acres his father wrested a living for himself, his wife, and eight children. It re- quired the most diligent industry on the part of all who were able to work, and the hours of toil were long and many. Still there was room for recre- ation, and the boys and girls of that day as well as of this improved it. Love of amusement and a fondness for sports were ingrained in the Scotch Irish nature. The boys hunted and fished, pitched quoits, danced, had . wrestling matches, played practical jokes, and attended the musters of the militia with as much zeal as the mod- ern college student attends football. His early education was obtained in the schools of the Town. Even in his youth his innate tendency toward mili- tary life asserted itself, for as a boy he voluntarily learned the manual of arms. There were many Revolution- ary soldiers in Town and his uncle and cousin had served in the war during the previous years. The exciting in- cidents of the struggle, the stories of daring, of hardships, of suffering, the elation of victory, and the gloom of defeat were familiar to his boyish ears and stimulated an inborn talent al- ready struggling for expression. But the love of learning was there also, and sometime in the 90's, probably about 1794 or 1795, he attended the Academy at Amherst, where he quali- fied for admission at Williams College.
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How long he remained at Williams is not known but he did not complete his course. There is no present record of his attendance on the College rolls.
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