History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900, Part 58

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1202

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Bedford > History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900 > Part 58

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Changes have taken place at the present day, some for the better and some for the worse. Customs used to prevail of which it may be said, "They were more honored in the breach than the observ- ance." Of these, one was having ardent spirits at funerals, a prac- tice that was once almost universal. It is said that at the funeral of Major Goffe, a barrel of rum was set out before the house for all to help themselves, and it was all gone before night.

Then with regard to the Sabbath, it was formerly better observed than now. The following article appears in the town-meeting war- rant for 1779: " As for some time past the Sabbath has been greatly profaned by persons travelling with burthens upon the same, when there is no necessity for it,-to see whether the town will not try to provide some remedy for the same, for the future." Catechistical instruction in families and schools, now so much neglected, then gen- erally prevailed, while now the Sabbath-school system presents some advantages not then enjoyed.

It is related of Deacon Orr, father of the late John Orr, Esq., a man

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remarkable for Scotch wit and fondness for joke, that at one time he went to Boston to sell his butter and other produce, and having got through at the close of the day and being greatly fatigued, he put up at a place of entertainment in Boston, and being asked what he would have for supper, spoke of his fatigue, and said he would like some- thing to restore his spirits. The landlady suggested a cup of tea would be good for him, which he readily accepted, and of which he drank several cups. After he had done the lady said it was custom- ary to turn the cup upside down to signify no more was wanted. He apologized, and said he would remember it. The next morning, in- stead of a cup of tea, he took at breakfast a bowl of bread and milk, and not wanting the whole, he finished and then turned the bowl upside down with the contents on the table. The hostess adminis- tered a severe reprimand, but he pleasantly replied she must not blame him for following her direction.

There is another anecdote related of the same man who so sadly misunderstood the Boston landlady. People then were less scrupu- lous in the use of language than now. On one occasion some words escaped him that were thought highly out of character, and they got to the ears of the minister; one said to another, I must certainly re- buke him for using such terms. The other said you had better let Orr alone. However, on one occasion, when several of the clergy were together, and Deacon Orr among them, one of them repri- manded him for the objectionable language. "How could you suffer yourself to speak so? Why was it?" The expression was men- tioned to him. "And what o' that," said he, "d'ye expect me to be a' spirit and nae flesh ?"

The murder of McQuade by Indians has been alluded to. Burns, the survivor, had to bear occasionally the ridicule of one of his neigh- . bors, who called in question his courage in this affair. He intimated that Burns' imagination had conjured up the Indians, or, peradven- ture, if it was by Indians they were squaws-not warriors. At one time, one Caldwell threw this up to Burns at his house. "Well, well, perhaps you may yet be scared by Indians-squaws or not." Very soon Caldwell set out for home; it was just on the edge of evening. He had no sooner gone than Burns took down his wig, and putting it on followed Caldwell. He soon approached him, and stepping cautiously, broke the dry twigs off as he passed along ; Caldwell, hearing the sound, immediately suspected it was an In- dian, and jumped into the bushes, where he stood still; Burns did

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the same. Caldwell ventured out, and looking round very circum- spectly, moved on again; Burns, too, stepped out and moved on after him, breaking more twigs off as he passed along. The moment Caldwell heard the steps of the supposed Indian he would dart into the bushes, and Burns would do the same. At last, Caldwell could endure it no longer, and he set out on the run at the top of his speed. In getting to the nearest house he had to pass a small brook, over which was a single square stick of timber, which served for foot passengers to pass over without getting wet. But Caldwell took the safe cut, and terror giving wings to his speed, went directly through the brook at two bounds, up the bank, and into the house of his friends, about four rods off. When fairly in, and as soon as he could get his breath, he cried out, "Where's the gun?" There happened to be only a single person in the house at the time, a female. "I say-give me the gun, I have seen a thousand Indians in the woods; they will be here in a moment." On this, in came the owner, making serious inquiries what was the matter. "Oh," said Caldwell, " I have just come from Burns', and I have seen a thou- sand Indians, and they will be here in a moment ; no doubt they are ' now looking through the cracks of the house." "Oh," said Moor, the owner of the house, "it's nothing else, Caldwell, but Burns, who is making a fool of you; come with me down to the brook, and I have no doubt you'll see him." To cut the story short, the result was that Burns was never troubled with any more slurs on his valor.

There was a great deal of primitive simplicity and warmhearted- ness among the first settlers. They were principally established near the river, but John Orr (already mentioned), Benjamin Smith, and William Moor selected farms west of Strawberry Hill. Being separated from the main settlement by miles of dense forest, they were warmly attached to each other, and as Mr. Orr had not been ' accustomed to labor in his native country, he would have found it difficult to get along with his work if his more skilful neighbors had not cheerfully lent him assistance. "Indeed," said Catherine, wife of Benjamin Smith, more than sixty years afterwards, "I am sure Billy and Ben never grudged the time they spent helping John Orr to clear his land, for he was a father to us all, and they were never with him without hearing something that did them good. When there was any difficulty, we were all but one family; we were healthy and contented ; the only thing we missed was our sanctuary privileges. We could seldom hear a single sermon without going

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to Londonderry. But we did na' always stay at home. Annis Orr [grandmother of Rev. Silas Aiken ] and I carried my Robert in our arms when he was ten months old, traveling on foot, to Mr. Mc- Gregor's meeting; Ben went with us, but he did us little good, for he was not worth a fig to carry a bairn. It was a weary journey, but we had a good will to the way, and were never a hair the worse for it. We had a day's preaching once in a while in some barn. In one instance, Margaret Orr left her children at home and went with John to meeting; but she got no good of the sermon for thinking of the little ones she had left at home. 'They might be careless, and tittle-tottle down to the brook, and fall in and be drowned; I'll not do so again,' said she. The next Sabbath, John, and such of the children as were able, went to meeting, and Margaret stayed at home to take care of the baby; and taking her Bible to read a little, the child slipped out and was gone. As soon as she missed it she ran to the brook, but it was too late. She could only wade into the water and draw it out, take it in her arms, carry it home, a corpse, and watch in silence till the meeting was done."

The above information is from the late Miss Ann Orr, who had it from the lips of old Mrs. Smith. The following, from the same source, is a graphic sketch of the death-bed scene of a good man. In 1752, John Orr was seized with a malignant fever; he seemed to be aware that this might be his last sickness. " He sent for us all," said the venerable Mrs. Smith, when she was more than eighty years of age, "and we gathered around his dying bed, and there was mourning there, such mourning as could not now be heard around the death-bed of a father. He took Matthew Patten by the hand and told him that he must now take his place in town affairs. 'See that the records are fairly kept, and everything done in an orderly manner.' He gave each one of us such advice as he knew we needed." "And you remember it yet, I suppose ?" said Miss Orr. "How can I e'er forget it? "Tis the last thing I shall think of in this world, if I have my senses."

Mr. Orr was, no doubt, a fine specimen of a shrewd, pious, plain- hearted Scotchman, such as Scott has represented the father of Jeannie Deans, in the " Heart of Mid-Lothian."

In the early days great flocks of wild pigeons used to fly over the town. The season of their flight was northward in April and May to the woods of Maine, where they mated and hatched their young. In the fall they flew southward, usually about October. Sometimes

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stray birds remained during the summer and nested here, but the greater quantity came and went in the summer and fall. They were caught in great numbers with nets spread over "beds " or " pigeon stands," which may be described as follows: A piece of ground about ten feet long and fifteen feet wide was selected, usually in an opening near the woods, and from it the turf was entirely removed. Tall, dead trees were cut down and set into the ground along two sides. The pigeoner then visited the bed at intervals, and scattered about on it, as bait, buckwheat or corn, so that the birds might be accustomed to find there a supply of food. They would gather on the dead trees, and come down in flocks to feed. When the birds had been well baited for a week or ten days -the length of time varied with different pigeoners-the net was "set." This was done as follows : The net was attached by one of its long sides to the ground on one edge of the bed. A spring pole about five feet high was set in the ground on a line with the other side, and some thirty feet from the corner, from which a rope ran through the loose edge of the net to the other pole, which was erected at about the same distance from the first corner in a bough house, or shelter made of boughs, where the pigeoner was concealed. Before he hid himself, he gathered back the loose edge of his net by bending down the spring poles at each corner where the net was fastened. A forked stick or flier about three feet long was laid horizontal, and braced at the butt end by a hub driven into the ground, the forked end being placed on the rope and lightly fastened to it. The purpose of the flier was to raise the loose side of the end so that when it was sprung it would pass over the birds as it fell. When a sufficient number of birds had gathered on the bed, a slight pull on the rope loosened its fastenings, the poles sprang up straight, and the net, flying over the birds, caught them. In order to induce the birds to come down from the pigeon stand on to the bed, a "stool pigeon," or " hoverer," was used. This was the name given to a bird caught alive, and whose eyes were sewed up. After this he was fastened to one end of a stick some eight feet long, and the other end was so fixed into the ground as to allow the end where the bird was to rise or fall as he was lifted by a cord running to the bough house. The bird was raised by the cord fastened to the end of the stick to which he was bound, the other end of the stick rest- ing on its swivel end, his fluttering attracted the birds on the stand, and they would fly down more quickly. Sometimes a whole flock

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which was flying over would be induced to alight in this way. From twenty-five to thirty dozen were frequently caught at one haul.

Among the men who were noted pigeoners were : David Sprague, Nathan Kendall, Daniel H. Ferguson, David Stevens, Thomas Har- ris, Elijah Atwood, and Samuel E. Morrison, who was the last man in town to catch the birds in this way. Shooting the birds on the stands put an end to catching them by nets. When, also, people here ceased to raise grain in any quantity, the birds had no induce- ment to come, and were found afterward in the western country. The last of pigeoning in Bedford was about 1865 or 1870. When taken the birds were usually thin in flesh, so that usually they were brought home alive from the beds and fattened on corn and water for about two weeks in a pigeon house; then they were killed, picked, and taken to Boston to market, where they sold at from nine shillings to two dollars a dozen. As many as a thousand dozen were caught here in one season.

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF OHIO.

Senator Hoar said of this settlement "that it was one of the very greatest in the history of liberty-the saving that vast territory from which afterwards came five mighty states to freedom forever."

It was but shortly after the declaration of peace after the Revo- lution that the attention of New Englanders was turned to the fer- tile lands of the "Ohio country." In the spring of 1788 a colony of several families started thence from Bedford, N. H., and settled at Marietta, the first settlement of which (the oldest in Ohio) was commenced that year. Other families followed the next spring, and it had already become known as "the city of Marietta."

Passes or licenses were issued to those immigrants by the local authorities, setting forth as follows :

To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Know ye that the Bearer hereof David Patten is a Native of the Town of Bedford in the County of Hillsborough and State of New Hamp- shire.

His moral conduct has been so circumspect that for aught we . know he deserves the character of a sober, honest, and inoffensive man, and may be received into the communion by any Christian society or family without fear or dread of harm, and whereas that he now entertains a desire to travel from hence to Pittsburg and the adjacent country on the Ohio river, we hereby grant him license and recommend to all civil officers and others to let him pass and repass

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unmolested, as they would any free citizen of the United States worthy of this, his character.

Given at Bedford this 17th day of May A. D. 1788.

WILLM MOOR Jun'. JESSE WORCESTER, STEPHEN DOLE, Selectmen.

One of the selectmen, Jesse Worcester, was father of the lexi- cographer Worcester. Upon the back of the license was endorsed :

All civil magistrates of the United States unto whom the bearer hereof may have occasion to make application are requested to permit him to pass and repass agreeable to the within commenda- tion.

Signed by us for that intent, in behalf of respected counties and towns to which we belong.

For County of Hillsborough, JOHN ORR, Just. Peace.

For county of Middlesex,

PARKER VARNUM, Justice of Peace.

For some reason the person named in the above license did not set out as was intended, but his brother, James Patten, a late Revo- lutionary soldier, and others from Bedford, did set out.

The difficulty of conveying intelligence between the different sec- tions of country may be inferred from the fact that a letter written in June, 1789, declares :

"I gladly embrace the opportunity to send you a line pr Robert Walker, being the first I have had since you removed from Bedford. We have earnestly expected a line from you before this time. We had account, by the way, of Doctor Donar of Roxberry, who met them on Aleganie Mountain on their journey," and " by a letter from Joseph McAlpine," and "an account following the spring by Capt. Dodge of Windham in the Bay Government."

June 12, 1789, Lieutenant Smith and family, of Bedford, set off for the Ohio. The news was: "The youngsters are doing as we are told will be at the last day-marrying and giving in marriage." In 1790, Ensign Patterson arrived from the West, bringing a letter. He told Mr. Patten that he thought his son James wanted a fine shirt, which he proposed to carry to him. His father wrote a letter, December 1, 1790, saying :

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" We have no linen at present to make one of. We called on Rob- ert Spear for the linen he owes you, and he has none, but promised he will pay the cloath in the spring. He would have let me have his own shirt, but it is much worn with divers patches and holes that need patches, which I would not take for I think it is only fit to make baby things of."

The following year, 1791, word came that one of the early colo- nists from Bedford, James Patten, who had been a soldier in the Revolution, with Isaac Choat of Liester, in the county of Worcester, and three others, were taken prisoners by the Indians and marched or taken to an Indian town about 150 miles from Detroit. The march was made in the month of January, and the prisoners "stripped almost as naked as they were born, in that inclement sea- son of the year, besides being much beat and abused." Mr. Choat escaped and came to Bedford to inform the parents of the captive of his situation, and "he supposed he could be purchased from the Indians for $100."

The father, Matthew Patten, had been an active business man, well known throughout the whole state as a land surveyor, justice of the peace, one of the committee of safety, judge of probate for the county of Hillsborough, representative to the general court, etc., yet, owing to the hard times following so shortly after the Revolu- tion, he was unable to raise the requisite sum without making an appeal to his friends as follows :

And being moved by paternal affection as well as humanity, I have used my utmost endeavors to borrow the money, but have not been able to procure it, or any part of it. And being advised by a number of my good neighbors to raise said sum by subscription, these are therefore to pray for assistance of all my friends and neigh- bors to advance to me such sum as they please to enable me to re- deem my son out of the hands of his cruel savage enemies, whose tender mercies are cruelties, hereby assuring every person who may advance any money they shall be paid as soon as it is in my power to do it, with the hearty thanks of their humble suppliant.

The money was raised (thirty-seven subscribers), forwarded by special messenger to Montreal, and thence to Detroit. Notwith- standing all the exertions, Patten was held in captivity three years. In June, 1795, he was bought for $70, one half down and the bal- ance in a month, when he was to be delivered up. The Indian changed his mind, and he was afterwards exchanged for another. "Want and poverty set him to work to put some clothes on his back." He was "without clothes, money, or friends." When he

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returned to the Ohio settlement he found that he had been con- sidered dead; his land had been taken possession of by the Ohio company; his father had died, and the estate had been settled with- out him, but his brother assured him it would be made right. The first letters were sent by private parties going to and fro. The first letters by mail were directed to Concord post-office (1797), and soon afterwards to Amherst post-office, till 1823, when the first one was sent to Bedford post-office. Such were some of the hardships and experiences of the first settlers of the Ohio country.

Changes in the Occupancy of Farms.

To the preparation of the following chapter upon the changes in the occupancy of. farms in Bedford, much time, labor, and study has been given. The facts to be astertained were of such character as to depend very largely upon the memory of some one, and to deter- mine them as fully as may be many inquiries had to be made. Re- ports received had to be compared with one another, and with mate- rial facts still observable. Helpful information has been obtained from several aged people, particularly from Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barr, Isaac P. Hodgman, Charles H. Kendall, Solomon Manning, and Horace Campbell.

A striking fact in the study of the subject, covering the period of fifty years past, is the small number of places that retain the family names of the occupants in 1850. In District No. 1, there are the names of Woodbury, Barnard, Kendall, French, Goffe, Riddle, Far- ley, Cutler, and Campbell ; In District No. 2, the names of Moore, Parker, and Burns are to be found, but on other farms than in 1850; in No. 3, Darrah and Walker; in No. 4, Mrs. Fanny (Parker) Bailey lives upon the Parker place, and Taffe continues to live in the district; in No. 5, there are Hodgman, French, and Patten; in No. 6, Holbrook, Worthley, and Bursiel; In No. 7, Barr, Vose, and Dunlap ; in No. 8, Tolford, Webber, Tinker, Holbrook, Gage, and French; in No. 9, Gage, Shepard, Stevens, and Manning; and in No. 10, Flint, Nichols, and Campbell. From the Goffstown line to Merrimack, through the ceutre, there are only two farms now held by persons of the same name as in 1850,-that of Charles Kendall and that of John A. Riddle. Of the family name of Patten, Riddle, Kendall, Goffe, Walker, and Moore, which were so numerous among the earlier dwellers, only one of each remains.

Many of the family names once well known in Bedford are now held by no one. Among them are: McDuffie, Scoby, Peebles, Cald- well, Dole, Colley, Bell, Barron, Sprague, Orr, Houston, Nevins, Barnes, and Chandler.

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The English population of Bedford originated in different sections of Massachusetts. Some came from Billerica, as the Kittredge, Sprague, Dowse, and Manning families; some from towns south of Boston,-Plymouth, Abbington, and Norton, as the Lincoln, Gard- ner, Chubbuck, Atwood, and Shepard families ; and some from Rox- bury, Brighton, and that neighborhood, as the Chandler and Hol- brook families.

At the one hundredth and fiftieth anniversary celebration of the town, there were only two couples that had been united previous to the centennial year. They were Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barr and Mr. and Mrs. Isaac P. Hodgman. Mr. Barr and Mrs. Hodgman have since died.

In the following description the occupants of a place have been given in successive order, without explanation, unless there seemed to be some particular reason for comment.

DISTRICT NO. 1.

John Mclaughlin (1), first town clerk of Bedford, lived on what is now known as the Gordon farm, north of the present house, and on the east side of the road near the Bradbury Rowe place. Wm. Barnett (2) lived on the south side of the Gordon farm, on the hill near F. F. French's land, and on the east side of the old range line road, now discontinued. This road used to run from Phineas French's due north over the hill and came out opposite the Gordon house. Mr. Kenicum (3) and Amos Gardner lived on the west side of the Gordon farm. Here is where Samuel Gardner was born. James Little, for several years town treasurer in the early history of the town, also lived here, probably before Mr. Kenicum, but the land is still known by the name of Kenicum. The cellar is in a good state of preservation ; red roses are growing near where the house stood. Samuel Gordon bought of John Mclaughlin, and later sold to his brother, John Gordon, at an early period of the settlement. John lived and died on this farm. It was afterwards owned by Josiah Gordon, who built the present house (4) in 1810; later by Adam Gordon and Dr. Peter P. Woodbury, son and son-in-law of Josiah Gordon, Esq. It was for many years the home of Miss Jane Gor- don, his daughter, and now owned by Mrs. Charles H. Woodbury, Miss Martha R. Woodbury, and Dr. George E. Woodbury, and occupied by John W. McDole. The present barn was built by Charles H. Woodbury. Josiah Sanborn, Charles Shepard, Samuel C. Jenkins, Hugh R. French, John P. Conner, William McDole, George Palmer, Charles Pillsbury, Joseph S. Parkhurst, Pomphret P. Smith, and George B. Turney, at different times, have lived in the Gordon house. This farm has been owned by Gordons and Woodburys

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since its earliest settlement. Pharez Shirley (5), William Bursiel, his son Leonard, and Dea. James French have lived where Daniel S. Campbell lived on a part of the Gordon farm. It is now owned by Edward D. Campbell and the house is unoccupied. Robert Lincoln (6) lived where Stephen French, senior, built, lived, and died. He bought the land of Lincoln. This house was constructed for two families. Captain Leonard French, his son, Freeman R., lived in the west end where his widow, Augusta A., and her daughter, Myra, now live. Rev. Daniel L. French, his son, Hugh R. French, Isaiah Johnson, Judge James Savage, John F. Gove, and John M. Quaid, lived in the east end where Emerson E. Dinsmore now lives. The barn now standing was built by F. R. French. John Lincoln once lived on this farm; the house (7) stood about fifty rods southeast of Freeman R. French's. The house was burned while occupied by Robert Walker. He was drying powder before the fire, went away and left it, and a spark snapped out and ignited the powder.

Frederick F. French (8) built and lived where his widow, Al- mira French, and her son, William B., now live. Mrs. French built the barn. He first built and lived where his son, William B. French, (9) afterward lived. These buildings were struck by lightning and burned August 23, 1902. The neat cattle were all burned; the horses being in the pasture were saved.

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History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900, Part 58

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town) Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1202

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1202