USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Charlestown > History of Charlestown, New-Hampshire, the old No. 4 > Part 11
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Thus, after a period of twenty years of hardship, and of trials such as few settlements have been called to bear, blessings of every kind began to flow in upon them ; and those who had had the courage to out- stand, for so long a period, the perils from the wilderness and the inroads of the savage foe, began to reap a rich reward for their trials and labors. During the year 1760, the population which flowed towards the Connect-
97
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
icut River paused almost wholly in the townships below Charlestown, which had previously been settled, but had been, deserted by the inhabi- tants, or nearly so, in consequence of the war. But in 1761 the wilder- ness above and beyond Charlestown, on the river, was penetrated, and a number of settlements projected. Both of these years, however, were seasons of great activity on the part of many in the older settlements in Massachusetts and Connecticut, in making preparations for removal, and in 1762 and '63 population began to flow into the newly chartered town- ships with a rapidity which had not before been known, and which great- ly increased the business and prosperity of the town ; as, for a considera- ble time, it became the depot of supply for all the new settlements beyond.
Captain John Spafford's grain mill, which had been rebuilt after it was burned by the French and Indians in 1757, was, for several years, resorted to by the inhabitants of the new townships, as far north as Lancaster. Thus, Dr. Timothy Dwight says in his " Travels in New- England " of Captain David Page, the first settler of Lancaster, " For several years after he came to this spot, he carried all his bread corn to Charlestown (one hundred and twenty-four miles) to be ground." This was the case also with the first inhabitants of Haverhill, Newbury, Or- ford, Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme and other places too numerous particular- ly to designate. Most of the articles of merchandise also, required by the settlers, such as molasses, sugars, liquors, salt, hardware, &c., were obtained from the same source. When boards, or sawed timber were re- quired, they were also furnished by Spafford's mill. But such were the circumstances of the times that few articles were purchased except such as the settlers felt it impossible to dispense with. Many of the people had been brought into great straits by the long continuance of the war, and they had nothing to spare beyond what the most rigid economy would allow. Considerable numbers had no money and were under the necessity of depending upon barter. And in this condition of their finances, the people of Charlestown accommodated them as well as they could ; but by perseverance and energy these pioneer settlers soon began to rise above the greatest difficulties of their situation, and, in a very few years, had at command all the necessaries of life, though very few of the first generation ventured to indulge in anything more.
From the time of the incorporation of Charlestown by New-Hamp- shire, in 1753, there was not, from any cause, during the war, nor has there been since, any omission of the regularly constituted annual town meetings ; nor any negleet to choose the town officers necessary to trans- act the business of the town. The following is the record of the first
98
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
town meeting, which Captain Phineas Stevens was commissioned, by the charter, to call, and of which, by the same instrument, he was ap- pointed moderator :-
At a legal meeting of the freeholders and proprietors of the town of Charlestown, begun and held at the fort, in said town, on the 14th day of August, 1753, at nine of the clock in the morning, then and there- upon met, and duly formed,
Voted, First : that John Hastings be the town clerk.
2nd. Voted, that there be three selectmen chosen for the present year.
3d. Voted, that Captain Phineas Stevens, John Hastings and Cap- tain John Spafford be selectmen for the present year.
4th. Voted, that Captain Phineas Stevens be the town treasurer for the present year.
5th. Voted, that Deacon Thomas Adams be constable for the present year.
6th. Voted, that Ebenezer Putnam be tithing man for the present year.
7th. Voted, that there be a sufficient pound built and set up in this town.
8th. Voted, that John Hastings, jr., and Moses Wheeler be survey- ors for the highways for the present year.
9th. Voted, that Nathaniel Parker and William Heywood be fence viewers for the present year.
10th. Voted, that James Farnsworth and Benjamin Allen be the field drivers for the present year.
11th. Voted, That Lieutenant Isaac Parker be the pound keeper.
12th .- Voted, that Nathaniel Parker and Sylvanus Hastings be hog- reeves for the present year.
13th. Voted, that the hogs in town shall have liberty to run on the common, for the space of three weeks, provided they be yoked and ringed.
14th. Voted, that this meeting be adjourned to 2 of the clock, af- ternoon.
No record is made of any business transacted at this meeting after this adjournment.
This first town meeting was called by a notification from Captain Phineas Stevens, probably posted in some public place, most likely at the fort, as it was there held. But how the second was notified, which was held on the 12th day of March, 1754, is not recorded. Another
99
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
meeting of the voters of the town was called on the 5th of April of the same year. This was called by the following formula :-
Province of
New-Hampshire. To any or either of the constables of the town of Charlestown within the Province aforesaid, Greeting.
In His Majesty's name, you are hereby required to notify and warn the free holders, and other inhabitants of the said town of Charlestown, that are duly qualified by law to vote in town meetings, that they as- semble, and meet at the fort in said town, on the fifth day of this in- stant, April, at one of the clock, afternoon, then and there when met to act and vote on the several articles, following :-
The third of these articles was " To see whether they (the town) will agree on a proper method for calling the town meetings for the future.
Following the articles is the appended formula addressed to the con- stable :- " Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, and your doings therein unto some one of us, the selectmen of Charlestown, aforesaid, at or before the time for said meeting."
Given under our hands and seal the A. D. 1754, and in the twenty- seventh year of His Majesty's reign,
PHINEAS STEVENS, JOHN HASTINGS, ISAAC PARKER,
Selectmen.
Province of New-Hampshire, In obedience to the warrant, I have notified and warned the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Charles- town to assemble and meet, as is herein required, at the time and place therein mentioned, to act and vote on the several articles within mentioned, according to the tenor of the warrant, by giving them ver- bal and personal. THOMAS PUTNAM, Constable.
At the meeting above notified, it was " Voted on the 3d article, that the constables posting up a warrant or notification for a town meeting in some public place in the town seven days before the time set for a meeting shall be accounted a sufficient warning, and that the constable may be at liberty to warn the meetings, either by posting up the war- rant as aforesaid, or to notify the freeholders and other inhabitants qualified by law to vote in the town meetings by word of mouth."
Succeeding meetings of the town were usually called by the warrant or notification posted in some public place according to the require- ment of the above vote. The meetings were invariably called in His Majesty's name.
100
IIISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
The favorable position of Charlestown for affording business facili- ties, in connection with the new settlements, would quite naturally lead to the expectation of a rapid increase in its permanent population. But the facts in the case afford little warrant for such a statement. A com- parison of the number of the inhabitants of Charlestown with other towns does not give it the superiority, in this respect, which might have been anticipated. The first census of New-Hampshire, on which any reliance is to be placed, was taken in the year 1767. It was made un- der the supervision of the selectmen of each town, and was returned by them to the government. Governor Wentworth had, several times before, attempted to ascertain the number of the population of the Province, as he had been directed to do it by the British ministry, but there being no fund to pay the expense, and no law to compel obedi- ence to his order, he was subjected to the inconvenience of delay and disappointment. But in the year above mentioned his endeavors were at length crowned with success ; and he had the pleasure of receiving quite full returns from most of the towns. From these returns I give the enumeration of the inhabitants of several towns, mostly on the riv- er, both below and above Charlestown, which will afford some idea of the progress of emigration, and also comparatively of the progress of population in each place.
TOWNS.
Unmarried men
Married men from
Boys 16 years and
Men 60 years and
unmarried.
Females married.
Male Slaves.
Female Slaves.
Widows.
Total.
Keene ..
51
66
84
4
|149
68
0
0
8 430
Swanzey
23
49
82
7
96
54
1
0
8
320
Winchester.
35
64
107
10
132
74
1
1
4
428
Hinsdale
18
23
36
2
50
24
0
1
4
158
Chesterfield.
30
56
107
4
104
60
0
0
4
365
Westmoreland.
28
71
112
3
103
71
0
0
3
391
Walpole
24
52
104
1
72
52
0
0
3
308
Alstead.
15
25
30
0
35
25
0
0
0
130
Charlestown.
31
44
86
4
114
48
1
0
6
334
Claremont ..
13
27
50
0
40
27
0
0
0
157
Newport.
16
5
3
0
0
5
0
0
0
29
Cornish .
17
21
36
0
37
22
0
0
0
133
Plainfield.
10
20
36
0
26
20
0
0
0 112
Lebanon ..
12
30
50
0
40
30
0
0
0
162
Hanover.
11
26
16
0
13
26
0
0
0
92
Orford
12
14
18
1
18
12
0
0
0
75
Haverhill
21
32
43
1
43
29
2
1
0
172
from 16 to 60.
16 to 60.
under.
above.
Females
101
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
In addition to these townships in New-Hampshire, there were Put- ney, Westminster, Rockingham, Springfield, &c., west of the Connect- icut River, which were considerable settlements, of the number of whose inhabitants, at the time of the New-Hampshire census, no defi- nite information has been obtained.
Persons acquainted with the rapid progress of population of late years, in our western states, may think these early pioneer settlements of New-England very small matters ; especially if they forget to take into consideration the difference in the circumstances under which they were made. But viewed in their relation to the establishment and pro- gress of our institutions, there were connected with them interests of the most vital importance ; for it was in these settlements, and such as these, that the great principle of popular government "The government of the people, by the people" had its earliest, and, in many respects, its most beautiful illustrations. They were no mere collections of inhabit- ants thrown together without regulations or any definite and fixed principles of order, but were persons who, while they clearly saw and understood their own rights, as clearly saw and understood that these rights were of such a nature as to involve, in their preservation and support, both the recognition and duty of maintaining the rights of others. Their principle of government, therefore, began, not with the King or chief ruler, as had been customary in Europe, but with the individual governed ; and they had the sagacity to see that if the rights of every individual were sacredly respected, the rights of all must of necessity be secured. The utmost carefulness was, therefore, always exercised in their public action, that there should be no in- fringement on any lawful individual interest or pursuit. Hence, all over New-England these principles were spread, to be ultimately trans- fused to form the basis of our national institutions.
The importance of these settlements, then, did not result from the number of their population nor the amount of business accomplished in them, but from their being the fields where the great principles of hu- man rights took their earliest and firmest root. The inhabitants, ac- customed to liberty and the enjoyment of equal rights, from the begin- ning, soon came to regard them, not as mere privileges, but as their birth rights ; and the consequence was, that when they saw them in- trenched upon by the King and British Parliament, there was every- where, through New-England, a perfect unanimity of feeling that they must not be surrendered : a unanimity which never would have existed had the government of the townships been differently adminis-
102
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
tered. The universal diffusion of the principles underlying the Amer- ican Revolution, therefore, is to be traced to our little town republics, in which those principles had constituted, almost necessarily, the rules of their action from the beginning.
It has been seen that, when hostilities were brought to an end by the subjugation of Canada, and no further dangers were to be apprehend- ed from the enemies that for so long a period had harrassed and dis- tressed the frontier settlements, Charlestown at once entered upon a new career of prosperity. For. though no negotiations of peace had been entered into, and Great Britian and France were still at war, it was felt that the matter was settled that France could by no possibil- ity regain the power she had lost. The people, therefore, felt that all those things which had operated as obstacles and hindrances to the set- tlement of the country, were at length removed, and immediately be- gan to take advantage of the new circumstances, by making prepara- tion for occupying the rich lands which had been laid open to them, and making for themselves and their children homes in the wilderness, which, owing to their straitened circumstances, in consequence of the long and disastrous war, very many were not able to do in the older settlements. Of those who settled in Charlestown, between the years 1760 and 1775, we have a very imperfect list.
But, as an imperfect list of those who were here over one hundred years ago, may give some satisfaction, where nothing better can be ob- tained, I will give the names, of such as are known to have taken up their abode, or were residents in the town previous to the year 1776, affixing an asterisk * to the names of such as had been killed, or had died before 1760.
Captain Phineas Stevens .*
Benjamin Allen.
Samuel Farnsworth .*
Dea. Thomas Adams .*
David Farnsworth.
Sampson Colefax.
Stephen Farnsworth.
William Heywood.
Dr. John Hastings.
Seth Walker.
Slyvanus Hastings.
Abel Walker.
John Hastings Jr.
Lieut. John Sawyer.
Lieut. Moses Willard .*
Benjamin Sawyer.
Moses Willard Jr.
Ens. Moses Wheeler.
James Nutting Willard.
Seth Putnam.
Captain John Spafford.
Ebenezer Putnam.
Bradstreet Spafford.
Thomas Putnam.
Lieut. Isaac Parker.
Seth Putnam Jr .*
/
103
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
Isaac Parker, Jr.
Peter Labaree.
Nathaniel Parker.
Joseph Willard.
David Parker. James Porter.
Capt. Ephraim Wetherbe. James Farnsworth.
William Porter.
Ebenezer Farnsworth.
Noah Porter.
Oliver Farnsworth.
Ens. Obadiah Sartwell .*
Samuel Hunt, 1759.
Simon Sartwell.
Capt. James Johnson .*
Nathaniel Sartwell.
Lemuel Hastings.
Solomon Sartwell.
Peter Labaree, Jr.
Capt. Simon Stevens.
Joseph Woods.
Willard Stevens.
Capt. Jonathan Hubbard.
Samuel Stevens.
Abijah Wetherbe.
Enos Stevens.
Jonathan Wetherbe.
Andrew Gardner.
James Farnsworth.
The above had all had their homes in Charlestown before 1760. The following settled in town between 1760 and 1776.
Rev. Bulkley Olcott.
Constant Hart.
Hon. Simeon Olcott.
Paul Cushman.
Joel Matthews.
John Hart.
James Willard.
Asa Walker.
Nathan Stone.
Josiah Farwell.
Samuel Hastings.
Jonathan Willard.
Phineas Graves.
John Hubbard.
Peter Page.
William Henry.
Elijah King.
William Farwell.
Aaron Adams.
James Farwell.
William Holden.
Jotham White.
Richard Holden.
Obadiah Wells.
Joseph King. William Leighton.
Aaron Willard.
Stephen Alvord.
Benjamin Towner.
Simeon Alvord.
Sylvanus Johnson.
Shem Kentfield.
Capt. Aaron Brown.
Comes House. Samuel Scot.
Simeon Powers. Loudon Priest.
Capt. John Metcalf. John Simonds.
Benjamin Whitcomb. Silas Whitcomb. Tyler Spafford.
Capt. John Church.
Dr. David Taylor.
104
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
Elijah Grout.
Isaac Farwell.
Dr. Abram Downer.
Nathaniel Powers. Samuel Remington.
Simon Powers.
Osmon Baker.
Elijah Parker.
Taylor Spencer.
Phineas Nevers.
David Brown.
Joseph Powers.
Dean Carlton.
Elisha Farwell.
Edmund Langley.
Caleb Willard.
John Harris.
Seth Walker.
Peleg Williams.
Seth Walker, Jr.
William Jacobs.
Samuel Wetherbe.
In the above list, are embraced the names of the sons of the early settlers who had become of age.
The inhabitants of Charlestown, with those of other townships in the State, partook of the dissatisfactions with the Government of Great Britian which, in consequence of her unjustifiable acts, became gen- eral through the country a short time previous to the commencement of the revolution, and we find them discontinuing the use of all those forms in which there might be supposed to be any acknowledg- ment or recognition of kingly authority.
CHAPTER VII.
CHARLESTOWN IN THE REVOLUTION-LAST TOWN MEETING WARNED IN HIS MAJESTY'S NAME-MEASURES TAKEN BY THE TOWN-CITIZENS PATRIOTIC -REPRESENTATION AT BUNKER HILL-THE TOWN A DEPOSITORY OF MIL- ITARY STORES &C .- OFFICERS FROM CHARLESTOWN IN NEW-HAMPSHIRE REGIMENTS-TICONDEROGA-FEARS OF AN INVASION BY CONNECTICUT RIVER TOWNS-CHARLESTOWN THE PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS FOR THE SOL- DIERS OF GENERAL STARK-BATTLE OF BENNINGTON AND SCENES FOL- LOWING.
HE last notification for a town meeting, warned in His Majes- ty's name, bears date the 15th of April, 1775. This meet- ing had no political bearing, as the warrant contained only the two following articles.
" 1st. To choose a Moderator.
2d. To see if the inhabitants will raise money to defray the ex- pense of finishing the meeting-house," which resulted in raising and assessing £30 for that object. The date of the warrant for the next meeting, is July 29th, 1775; which contained no allusion to his Ma- jesty, nor any recognition of royal authority. It was notified solely on the authority of the selectmen, as the appointed guardians of the town. No reference is made to the massacre, at Lexington, or the bat- tle of Bunker Hill ; and whatever may have been said at the meeting, its accomplished business stands on the town book, in the following quiet and reticent record ;- " Voted-
1st. That Samuel Hunt be the Moderator for this meeting.
Voted,-on the 2d article in the warraut, that there be a commit- tee of safety chosen for said town.
Voted-2d, on said article, that five persons be chosen for said committee.
Voted-That Samuel Hunt, William Heywood, Abel Walker, Sam- uel Stevens, Esq., and Elijah Grout, be the committee of safety for said town.
106
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
Voted-on the 3rd, article in the warrant, "That the proceedings of the following meeting be accepted ; viz. At a meeting held in Charles- town, on the 15th day of May, 1775, at five o'clock, in the afternoon, and voted-1st. That Samuel Hunt be Moderator.
Voted 2nd. That William Heywood be chosen to serve as a deputy for said Charlestown at the Provincial Congress to be holden at Ex- eter, on the 17th of this instant, and so from term to term during their session, or sessions, for the term of six months." So quietly, apparently, did the inhabitants of Charlestown pass from under the jurisdiction of his Majesty's government to a government constituted by the people.
It is a remarkable characteristic, in the early records of the town, that the whole tenor of them is so staid, and undemonstrative. No place is given in them to temporal excitement, or individual feeling, but it is always the public responsibilities of the inhabitants which appear prominent. Thus, in all the early records of the town, there is not discoverable a single expression which can be justly interpreted as intended primarily as a compliment to any individual. They are defaced by no votes of thanks by the people to their public servants, nor by any of the sops of flattery which, at the present time, have everywhere become so common, but are the records of the actions of men regarding the public good as their chief concern and who did not, on account of any sacrifices it might cost them, shrink from any efforts, by which that good might be promoted and advanced.
At the commencement of the contest which resulted in the final sep- aration of the colonies from Great Britain, the inhabitants of Charles- town did not leave their position for a moment doubtful, but immedi- ately gave in their adhesion to the new order of things which was in- stituted. They elected Elijah Grout as a deputy to represent them in the Assembly at Exeter, to be held on January 5th, 1775, for the pur- pose of choosing delegates to send to the General Congress to be hold- en at Philadelphia, in the following May ; and they empowered Mr. Grout, as their deputy, to act with other deputies of the Province, when met, to choose a committee of their body to proportion the sum each town ought to pay towards defraying the expenses of the dele- gates to the above mentioned Congress.
The fact of the appointment of a committee of safety by the town has also been noted. I may add that the town was also represented, by several of its citizens, at the battle of Bunker Hill ; among whom were Lieutenant Isaac Farwell, Gilbert Caswell, John Cross, Joseph
-
107
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
Powers, and Daniel Adams ; all members of Captain John Marcy's Company, Colonel Reid's Regiment. Nathaniel Parker, son of Na- thaniel and grandson of Lieutenant Isaac Parker, moreover fell in that battle. At the time of the census of New Hampshire, the return of which for Charlestown was made by the Selectmen, Samuel Hunt, William Heywood, and Enos Stevens, December 18, 1775, of a popu- lation of 116 males between the ages of 16 and 50, Charlestown had twenty-two in the army ;- a greater proportion of its available men than was furnished by most other towns in the State. The insinua. tion has sometimes been made, that Charlestown was deficient in pat- riotism during the Revolutionary struggle ; but no further vindication of the patriotic character of the inhabitants than is afforded by the above fact need be required. A few of the citizens were inclined to allegiance to the mother country; and, as they were connected with distinguished families, it was probably in this that the impression had its origin.
Charlestown, from its situation, became, in the war of the Revolu- tion, a post of no inconsiderable importance. It was made by the State a depository of Military Stores of which Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hunt was the custodian and Elijah Grout, Esq., distributing commissary. Here, companies from New-Hampshire, on their march to Canada, or to Ticonderoga, or Crown Point, received their supplies of ammunition, and were furnished with necessary equipments. It was also appointed to be the place of rendezvous for the army of General John Stark, (see notices of Colonel Hunt, Elijah Grout, Major Wil- liam Heywood, and Captain Abel Walker in this work), on its way to Bennington, and was also in the war-path of other New-Hampshire forces, which did important service at Saratoga and Stillwater, and in bringing about the ultimate surrender of Burgoyne. It was at one time expected that Burgoyne would march upon the place or send an expedition against it, as threats were thrown out by him to that effect ; but he had probably no such intention, and only menaced it for the purpose of covering up the real designs which he had in view.
Charlestown, quite early in the Revolutionary Struggle, became also a recruiting station for the army. In January, 1776, after the unsuc- cessful attack of General Arnold upon Quebec, Captain Abel Walker raised a company, (see sketch of Captain Walker) with which he im- mediately marched to re-enforce General Thomas, upon whom the com- mand of the army had devolved. The repulse of Arnold took place on the 31st of December, 1775; and such was the promptness with which
108
HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN.
Captain Walker raised his men and accomplished his march, that he arrived before Quebec on the 25th of the following February. There were twelve in the company, all of Charlestown, with the exception of Henry Silsby, who was of Acworth. In the July following another com- pany was raised at Charlestown, under Captain Samuel Wethierbe, of which Jonathan Hubbard, also of Charlestown, was ensign. This was Company No. 5 in Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, and was raised for the defense of Portsmouth and its harbor. What was subsequent- ly termed the First New-Hampshire Regiment was organized the 7th of April, 1777. This regiment was under the command of Colonel Jo- seph Cilley, of Nottingham, and Lieutenant Colonel George Reed, of Londonderry. Isaac Farwell (see sketch of ) was Captain of Compa- ny No. 1, of this regiment, and Jonathan Willard, also of Charlestown, was his Ensign. Peleg Williams, of Charlestown, was First Lieutenant of Company No. 2, and Simon Sartwell held the same office in Compa- ny No. 7. In the following year Simon Sartwell was promoted to be a Captain, and Jonathan Willard to be a Lieutenant. The latter was moreover made Quarter-master in 1780. William Holden was captain of a company in Colonel Timothy Bedell's regiment, which was raised for frontier duty or Continental service as occasion might require, ear- ly in 1778, and which was discharged in March, in the same year. ( see William Holden.) For further accounts of the services of the citizens of Charlestown, especially in connection with the defense of Ticondero- ga and the battle of Bennington, see sketches of Captain Abel Walk- er, Lieutenant Bradford Spafford, Lieutenant James Farnsworth, Lieu- tenant Colonel Samuel Hunt, Colonel William Heywood, Commissary Elijah Grout, and others.
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