USA > New Hampshire > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, New Hampshire > Part 52
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CHAPTER XXXV.
Congregational Church - Methodist Episcopal Church - First Christian Church - Second Christian Church - First Freewill Baptist Church - Advent Church - Temperance - Schools.
C HURCH HISTORY .- In 1800 a Congregational church which had a brief existence was established in town. Rev. Joseph Kellum, Method- ist, was the first minister. Nothing but tradition is preserved concern- ing this church, as no records are preserved if any were kept. They have probably gone from earth as completely as those who made them. The members built no meeting-house, but held their services at the homes of the different members. Before 1800 no minister was settled, and they had to rely for preaching on such of the clergy as came back from the coast towns to spread the light of the gospel through the settlements. By such means as these the early settlers of Tuftonborough kept their altar fires burning brightly.
The old Congregational society never had a separate existence, but was connected with the Freewill Baptist and Methodist societies, and ultimately became merged in the Methodist church. Its only pastor was buried near the church, but the passing footsteps of many years have obliterated every trace of the spot. During the great revival period (see Congregational church history
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of Wolfeborough), another church was organized with Nathaniel Bickford deacon. Its members and attendants came from the families of Deacon Bick- ford, George W. Piper, Jeremy B. Wingate, Jacob Moulton, Jonathan Leavitt, Jonathan and William Copp. Its records were kept by Deacon Bickford. The church has been extinct for years, and its communion service was sent to a needy church in the West.
Methodist Episcopal Church. - The Tuftonborough circuit forms an ellipse with preaching places ten miles apart for the foci. The two extremities are about twenty miles distant. This is quite a circuit for these days in New England, but is only a fragment of what it originally was, for it once stretched away to the very fringes of the state northerly, touching the Canada lines. Later it embraced Rochester on the south, Moultonborough on the north, Parsonsfield and Newfield on the east, with Lake Winnipiseogee forming a natural boundary on the west. This was a territory fifty miles in length and thirty miles in width, and included ten towns or more, among them Rochester, Wakefield, Wolfebor- ough, Milton, Moultonborough, Ossipee, Tuftonborough, Brookfield, Parsons- field, and Newfield. Tuftonborough was the scene of the 'earliest action, and gave the name to the circuit.
The first Methodist sermon was preached here in 1804 by Caleb Dustin, in a private house since known as the "old Peavey house," which is still standing. At this time (1804) Tuftonborough belonged to the New Hampshire district of the New England Conference, which embraced most of the six New England states. In 1805 Tuftonborough with several other stations were added, and Lewis Bates was the first preacher appointed by the conference to the charge. John Brodhead, whose name is quite conspicuous in American Methodism, was the first presiding elder. These pioneer preachers were followed by a long line of illustrious men, both pastors and presiding elders.
Bates was alone the first quarter of 1805, and Thomas Goodhue was asso- ciated with him the second. Bates, John Johnson, and Nathaniel Stevens shared the toils of the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, Bates, Warren Banister, and Benjamin Bishop traversed the circuit together. In 1806 John Brodhead, presiding elder, L. Bates, and W. Banister were preachers in charge. In most cases where classes were formed church building was early under con- templation, though frequently the worshipers gathered for years in private houses, barns, groves, and schoolhouses. The first Methodist church in Tuf- tonborough was built in 1820. It was unplastered, and heated by an old- fashioned fireplace. The men who pioneered here evidently did not have hopes of gain in contemplation, or follow Christ for the loaves and fishes. The total amount collected the first year, 1805, was $26.45. This scanty pit- tance was disbursed as follows: Lewis Bates, $13.07; Thomas Goodhue, $6.48, and Brodhead, presiding elder, $4.10, leaving a small balance for incidentals. In 1809, when the societies aggregated about 300 members, only little more than
1
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
$100 were contributed. The cases of discipline in the early days of Methodism on this circuit are worthy of notice. The Tuftonborough first class contained about fifty members. Seven of these were expelled for violation of discipline. Two were turned out for intemperance. Two others of Tuftonborough class were suspended for breaking the "rules," one other for negligence, and still another for " lightness." Such was the summary punishment which the diso- bedient received at the hands of early administrators.
Mrs. Sally Keniston, who died in Tuftonborough, December 4, 1879, aged ninety-eight years and nine months, was the oldest person in the town, and the oldest member of the Methodist church here; she joined the class in 1805. She retained her mental faculties till within a few years of her death. Her funeral was conducted on the place where she had lived seventy-eight years.
The First Christian Church of Centre Tuftonborough. -- The church was organized at the house of Thomas French, May 27, 1820, these seventeen persons having met for that purpose: Thomas French, Joshua Neal, Jere- miah Foss, Ezra Shepherd, Enoch Burley, Levi Tibbetts, John Doe, Robert Haley, Daniel Morrison, Lydia Shepherd, Polly Doe, Mary Hoit, Hannah Marden, Abigail Marden, Betsy Burley, Miriam Perkins, Susanna Burley.
Elder Mark Fernald was chosen pastor and retained his pastorate until June 29, 1829. Elder Fernald resigned, and Elder William Blaisdell suc- ceeded him. Elder Blaisdell was the pastor until February 18, 1841, when he resigned. March 30 the church again chose Elder Mark Fernald pastor, and he continued to serve until his death, December 30, 1851. Up to this time the pulpit was supplied for the most part by Elders Fernald, Blaisdell, Piper, Colby, and Dixon. The church was then without a pastor until April 20, 1853, when Elder William H. Ireland was chosen pastor, and remained until 1859. July 13, 1860, the church was reorganized and Thomas Bartlett was chosen pastor.
Names of Members. - Enoch Haley, George W. Abbott, Cyutha Haley, Eliza Thompson, Woodbury L. Wiggin, Jacob Hersey, Jane Abbott, Mary Wiggin, George W. Piper, Jacob Burleigh, Gordon Ladd, Susan Wiggin, Ann Haley, John Doe, Andrew L. Hersey, John S. Haley, Sarah Gilman, Mary E. Piper, Hannah Young, James S. Doe, William W. Blaisdell, Joseph Welch, Mary A. Young, Rosilla Rollins, John H. Young, James P. Hersey, Isaiah S. Wiggin, Albert Wiggin, Mary A. Haley, Isaiah Wiggin, Mary E. Haley, Dolly Doe, Susan Brown, Joseph Kimball, Susan P. Rogers, Marianna Wiggin, Huldah Wiggin, Levi Chase, Mary F. Kimball, Hannah Kimball, Sarah Chase, Mary Ann Haley, Eliza Haley, Polly Blaisdell, Samuel T. Piper, Clara J. Hersey, Polly Swett, Drusilla Fox, J. L. Morrison, Mary F. Peavey, Pamelia MeIntyre, Julia C. Morrison.
July 6, 1861, Elder Bartlett resigned the pastorate and Elder John W. Tilton became pastor; he resigned March 5, 1870, when William S. Morrill
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was chosen; he resigned February 4, 1871. Joseph Whitney was chosen pastor August, 1871, and resigned January 27, 1876. May 2, 1876, the church again chose John W. Tilton pastor, and he continued in labor until his death. July 2, 1881, chose Hezekiah Short pastor ; he resigned July 2, 1882. June 2, 1883, chose James P. Topping pastor for one year. George D. Garland succeeded him December 6, 1884, and he resigned October 1, 1887. April 7, 1888, James Phillips became pastor. Number of members at present time (1889), about sixty-five. The deacons are Woodbury L. Wiggin, Thomas Young ; clerk, Franklin L. Hersey. Charles W. Pinkham is superintendent of the Sabbath-school, which numbers forty scholars.
In June, 1839, a new church was built one mile north of Centre Tufton- borough on the main road, at an expense of $1,500. In 1869 the church was removed to Centre Tuftonborough and rebuilt at a cost of $2,000. A parsonage was built in 1882 and 1883 at a cost of $800.
Second Christian Church. - Standing just across the bridge from the direction of Wolfeborough, the bridge that spans the stream running from Mirror lake (as it is now called) into Winnipiseogee, is the Second Christian Church building. Close beside the singing stream, commanding a view of the lake, it stands on the Neck proper. The section for miles around is a farming country and the best, or equal to the best, in town; the neat, well-painted, and well-cared-for buildings speak most eloquently of thrift and comfort. This church was organized November 12, 1864, by Rev. Daniel A. Wiggin, and on the twelfth day of April, 1869, the society began to build the nice little place of worship which it now occupies. On the eighth day of the following August it was dedicated. The dedicatory sermon was delivered by Dr J. D. Fulton, of Boston, who was assisted in the services by Rev. Edward Edmunds, also of Boston.
In the summer season the farmhouses in the vicinity are usually filled to overflowing with visitors from the cities seeking rest and recreation far from the crowd and confusion of the large hotels. Many of these visitors are church-going people, and attend this church and contribute liberally to its support. Fortunately for the church it has never had but one settled pastor, for the reason that that pastor is the Rev. Daniel A. Wiggin, who was chosen on the day of its organization, and who has served faithfully and well to the present time and bids fair to minister to his flock many years to come. Instances of one man serving a quarter of a century in one church better beloved and stronger in the hearts of his people as the years go by are hard to find. Rev. Mr Wiggin was born in this town October 13, 1826, and is a son of Aaron and Mary (Horne) Wiggin. His early advantages were limited ; yet he is a well-read, well-educated man, as he has been tireless in his endeavors for an education. He was a farmer until he entered the ministry, and now cultivates his land with pleasure and success. Republican
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in politics, although the town is opposed to him politically, his townsmen have honored him with positions of trust. He is often called upon to act as executor or administrator of estates, and the rights of the widow and orphan are safe in his hands. What greater seal of approbation can be set upon the life and acts of any man than to say he has traveled life's pathway ever honest, upright, and true ?
First Freewill Baptist Church. - At Melvin village on the sixteenth day of October, 1837, a little company of twenty-five men and women, with Rev. William Buzzell, united in forming a church society to be known as the First Freewill Baptist church in Moultonborough and Tuftonborough. At this meeting they chose Peter Stackpole clerk, and Richard Caverly deacon. Elder Buzzell remained with them two years, laboring faithfully for the upbuilding of the Master's cause. October 14, 1839, Rev. Silas F. Bean was chosen pastor, and in 1844 the membership had increased to sixty. But now one of those unfortunate troubles that sometimes fall upon churches - internal dissension - fell upon this one, many of the members going over to what was then known as Millerism, and from this and other causes, between the years 1845 and 1852 the church organization became nearly extinct. In 1852 the sunlight that had for so long a time been obscured by clouds of disunion and doubt broke in upon them once more, and June 18 of that year six men and two women joined hands in a common cause and reorgan- ized the church. Their next pastor was Rev. S. P. Fernald. In the summer of 1866 a church building was erected on a pleasant spot near the mouth of Melvin stream and commanding a beautiful view over Melvin bay. The several ministers who have been called by this society are: William Buzzell, founder and first pastor, Silas F. Bean, S. P. Fernald, E. G. York, William H. Cutting, and F. H. Perkins, who is now regularly settled. The society is in a prosperous condition and has a membership of sixty. The present offi- cers are : clerk, J. R. Caverly ; deacon, Orlando Richardson, who was chosen in 1866 and has held the office since.
Advent Church. - The history of the Second Advent church of Melvin village dates back to 1842 and 1843, during the great movement under William Miller. At that time quite a number left other churches and were actively identified as Adventists ; a large number were "raised up " who were engaged with great zeal in sustaining meetings in this and adjoining towns, and there were at that time not far from one hundred of the faith in Tuftonborough. In 1886 they erected a church sufficiently large to accommodate their followers and others. The seats were free, and large congregations assembled every Sunday for years, and regular services have continued uninterrupted down to the present time. The society now numbers fifty. During the greater part of the time its only resident pastor has been Elder Thatcher W. Piper; and as the history of this society is in great measure the history of the pastor (for herein he has performed the labor of his life), we briefly sketch his career.
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TOWN OF TUFTONBOROUGH.
He was born in Tuftonborough, May 9, 1824. As a boy, he was deprived of the privilege of obtaining any extensive education, even as it was then con- sidered, and only had what the common schools of the day taught, and not so very much of that. He began the work of a preacher in 1850, was ordained in 1858, and has been in active service since. His work has not been con- fined to Tuftonborough, but after the custom of the church he has gone about the country among the leading churches of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and as a revivalist has met with great success for many seasons. For eleven years he was president of New Hampshire "Confer- ence of Adventists." A hale man, seemingly carrying the strength of early manhood in his erect form, he is a type of rugged New England manhood, full of honest loyalty to God and the world, strong for the right, and earnest in every endeavor. Long may he remain to cheer and comfort his flock, and when his eyes shall behold the morning of eternity, he shall surely hear, " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Temperance. - Tuftonborough was among the first to take a forward step in the cause of temperance, and by voting no license in 1848 took an advanced position from which it has never retreated, and to-day there cannot be found within her borders a single place where intoxicating liquors are sold. It is true that as her farms abound in good orchards, producing some of the finest fruit in the county, the farmers manufacture large quantities of cider, which is productive of quite an income to them. Notwithstanding this fact, habits of sobriety almost universally prevail, and few indeed are the families broken up or farm lands made waste places by the great destroyer. May this state of affairs ever exist.
Schools. - Tuftonborough has, as far as her resources would allow, fostered the common schools and done what she could to lay proper foundations for the education of all her sons and daughters. Away back in its infancy we find the town raising money for school purposes in excess of that required by law, and all down through the years it has manifested a progressive spirit. Tufton- borough shares with Wolfeborough in the munificent gift bequeathed by John Brewster, one of that town's most successful sons, to education and the poor. [See Wolfeborough.] All honor to him, the generous philanthropist and ben- efactor. He has erected to his memory a monument more enduring than any wrought from costly granite or marble-a monument of love and gratitude enshrined in every heart and set up by every fireside in Tuftonborough, which shall remain as long as her children shall dwell within her borders.
The trustees of the " Brewster Fund" aim to work in harmony with the members of the town school board and obtain the greatest possible results from the fund. The consequence is better schools and longer terms, and one only has to ride through the town to note the great improvement in schoolhouses
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
and grounds. This is only the beginning; as the years go on the common schools in this and her sister town cannot be surpassed in the state.
The second provision of the Brewster legacy in regard to the worthy poor is not intended or used to support the town paupers in the two towns. In the language of one of the trustees, " It is not for the purpose of encouraging and increasing pauperism, but to prevent it." Whenever a man struggling against the tide of adverse circumstances bids fair to be overcome, and himself and family likely to become charges on the town, then comes this strong hand to help him bear up against the tide.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Civil War - Postoffices - Villages - Islands - Sketches -Civil List.
IVIL WAR. - The war-cloud which cast its forbidding shadow over the land in 1860 found the citizens ready to do their part and all they could do in the common cause. And in the readiness with which her sons came to the front at the call for troops may be seen the same sublime courage which animated their fathers in overcoming every obstacle which obstructed their progress as out of the wilderness they created the homes of a " noble yeomanry."
October 15, 1861, the town called a special meeting to see if it would vote to adopt the provisions of an act authorizing cities and towns to aid the families of volunteers, and if so to raise such sum or sums of money as might be necessary. The act was adopted, and the credit of the town was pledged for the sum of one thousand dollars, and the selectmen appointed a committee to pay it out. In 1862 they voted to pay two hundred and fifty dollars additional bounty, and held meetings throughout the town to encourage volunteering in the service ; and in the same year voted to pay John Peavey five dollars for each person he would enlist to fill the town's quota for nine months' men. In 1863 they voted to pay the sum of three hundred dollars to drafted men or their substitutes, and sent two of the selectmen to Portsmouth at the time of the examination of drafted men to assist all who should need assistance. In 1864 the town voted to allow the selectmen to use the credit of the town to the amount of fifteen thousand dollars to pay soldiers' substitutes ; and later, voted to pay one thousand dollars to every citizen of said town who should enlist for one year.
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Up to April, 1865, the record shows that the number of soldiers furnished by the town was one hundred and twenty-eight. This is a record of which the town may well be proud, and if in the future war should again come upon the country, this town could be relied upon to do its whole duty.
The town has made good progress in many ways. Some of the agricul- turists are improving their farms and making a profession of their calling. From a report made to the state department of agriculture in 1889 we find that there were 19,738 pounds of butter made here in the previous year, 954 pounds of cheese, 439 gallons of milk sold, 1,006 pounds of wool grown, 12 tons of ensilage fed, 10 tons of commercial fertilizer used ; $4,448 was received from summer boarders. Among these representative farmers are John L. Har- riman, Charles MeIntire, Haley Burleigh, Daniel W. Wingate, Franklin L. Hersey, Joseph B. Whitten, Nathaniel Neal, Isaiah Wiggin, John A. Edgerly, Levi W. Brown, John E. Fox, James H. Neal, and Lyford Wiggin. One of the best farms on Tuftonborough Neck is owned by the Thomas family ; Willie W. Thomas occupying and developing it with his father.
Postoffices. - There are four postoffices in town : Tuftonborough, formerly Tuftonborough Corner, Centre Tuftonborough, Melvin village, and Mirror Lake. Water village, which lies partly in Tuftonborough, Wolfeborough, and Ossipee, though the postoffice is in Ossipee, "convenes " quite a large section of Tuftonborough.
Villages. - Tuftonborough is a small hamlet in the northeasterly part of the town on the top of a high hill commanding an extended view of Winni- piseogee, and near the place where the first tree was felled in the settlement of the town by Phineas Graves; this hill slopes to the south and west, guarded on the north by the black front of the Ossipees. Over the hills to the northeast a picturesque view of a portion of the Ossipee valley is obtained. There are no manufacturing industries of any kind here; the prin- cipal business of the people is farming. There were at one time two general stores before the railroad was extended north of Union, and during a portion of the time since. There is only one now, owned by Herbert F. Hodgdon, who is the present postmaster. Here stand several of the old houses of " the olden time," the Peavey house, the Emery house, the Drew place, and others.
Centre Tuftonborough is near the geographical centre of the town, six miles from Wolfeborough, its nearest railroad station. This little village also stands on high ground, though much lower than Tuftonborough Corner. It has one general store, owned by Andrew L. Hersey (who has been in trade here forty-eight years), and one blacksmith shop.
Melvin village, situated on Melvin bay at the outlet of Melvin stream, is the largest village. It contains two stores, a gristmill and shingle-mill ; for- merly it had connection with the outside world by boat to Wolfeborough, Alton, etc., but for years this service has been irregular. Captain Walker now
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has a little steamer running to Long Island and connecting with the lake boats, and there is a daily mail by way of Wolfeborough. It will probably ever be the same quiet town it now is, although it is becoming something of a summer resort. People will come, people will go; old faces disappear, new ones take their places. A pleasant spot indeed, but being nearly equidistant from the two great railroads of the state, not destined to rapid growth.
Mirror Lake is not a village, but a locality about four miles from Wolfe- borough on Tuftonborough Neck, where are some of the best farms in town. The beauties of its location make it a favorite place for city people to pass a summer vacation. Until 1887 the residents of the Neck went to Wolfeborough for their mail. Now they have a postoffice, and a gentlemanly postmaster, Horace MeIntire by name, to preside over it.
On the lake shore on its southeastern point, near the entrance to the bay, Mr Rollin Jones, of Boston, has built a fine summer cottage. It is a beautiful spot. A short sandy beach curves in front, at either end of which are the usual rocky shores, while on the land it is nearly surrounded by a beautiful pine grove, ever suggestive of comfort in its cool shadowy recesses. Half a mile to the west on another point, affording a more extensive view of the lake, Henry F. Hurlburt, Esq., of Lynn, Mass., two years ago built one of the most costly and best appointed summer residences on the lake shore. Thus one by one they are gathering here. These cottages add much to the charm of the lake shore, every angle, line, and color blending harmoniously with the surroundings.
Islands. - All along the shore line of Tuftonborough are scattered numer- ous islands ; seventeen have been legally annexed to different towns. Of these Tuftonborough has six: Cow island, annexed in 1799, Birch, Farm, Little Bear, and Whortleberry islands in 1858, and Sandy island in 1863. Cow island is third in size of the two hundred and sixty-seven islands in the lake proper, and contains from five hundred to one thousand acres. It lies west of and near Tuftonborough Neck, from which it is separated by a deep channel. Once it was inhabited, but now only a part of a house and the eurious ruins of the tower of a windmill remain ; the island is wholly given over to grazing purposes and affords good pasturage. Only the ruins mentioned and old cellars are left to tell of the life and industry that once had its home there.1 Birch and the other islands are utilized only for summer
1 Immediately after the War of 1812 Paul Pillsbury was sent to this island by the owners, who resided in Dover, and erected buildings, including the windmill, the tower of which is of wood, octagonal in shape, peaked top, and still of sound, solid frame, and he became a celebrated breeder of cattle. The quaint old house has fallen into decay and is now nothing more than a sheep pen. At the time the buildings were erected the island owners boasted of owning one of the best farms in the state. The old windmill was used to grind corn for the cattle, and everything continued to prosper until the owner died and the heirs lost interest in the farm, and it soon became sadly neglected, until finally the inhabitants of the island departed and every- thing was left to the mercy of the weather. At one time a deep cellar was dug and the foundation partially put In for a large hotel, but the air-castle ideas of the proprietor failed to materialize. The present owners coin considerable money annually by pasturing horses and cattle, which are brought to the island on flatboats early in the season and taken away late in the fall. The island contains among its numerous curiosities a red oak-tree, whose branches cover a space of over two hundred feet in diameter.
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