History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 61

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 61
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 61

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

There are many hundred acres of plain land. The soil of these plains is generally rather light and dry, and is not well adapted to high culti- vation, but profitable crops of corn, rye, oats and buckwheat have been raised upon them, and to some extent they have been cultivated for the hay crop. It is supposed, by many, that the surface of the plains was formed when Ashuelot Valley was a lake, and that it was by the action of the water of the lake that the material which composes the surface of the plains was so finely distributed as is seen upon our level plains.

The proportion of intervale and meadow-land to the upland in Swanzey is quite large, and the quality of the soil is in marked contrast. At some period large quantities of earth, com- posed largely of clay, were distributed over the valley, which was subsequently covered by the sand of the plains. The sand formation that covers the clay formation varies from a few inches to forty or fifty feet. In some places the clays come to the surface upon the upland. Where it does, the soil is of excellent quality.

Since the Ashuelot Valley ceased to be a lake the rivers have been doing their work to mould the surface into its present formation. From hundreds of acres the sand has been removed, and in many places several feet of the clay earths. The result of these operations has given to the low lands of the town, in most cases, an excellent soil.

The effect of the drift period is seen in many places. It is the most noticeable of any place in the town at East Swanzey.

The distribution of boulders from our own hills and mountains, from those in adjacent towns at the north, and from some mountains far away have been very profuse. In many places they are very thick, and many of them quite large. Upon our plains and meadows they are not to be seen. The great amount of material dis- tributed through the valley since their distribu-

378

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

tion has buried them in these places generally entirely out of sight.

Of the forests of Swanzey, at the time the township was granted, the most extensive was white pine. Upon the plains it was the prin- cipal timber, and it constituted a large amount of the timber upon the intervales and hill lands and it was generally of excellent quality. Hemlock, next to pine, was the most abundant. Large numbers of these trees grew upon the intervales, and many of them were of large size, and upon the hill land they constituted a large part of the timber, particularly in the valleys. Red oak was mingled amongst other forest-trees in most places. There was much good white-oak timber in the southwest part of the town, and in the southwest corner there was some chestnut. The soil of the intervales and meadow land was congenial for the growth of the elm. Many of these trees upon these lands were of majestic proportions. Black- birch, yellow-birch and white-birch were found in many places. The poplar was not an un- common tree. Rock-maple could not be con- sidered as one of the principal forest-trees, but upon some of the intervales and hills a suf- ficient number of them were found of good size, and so conveniently together as to make good sugar-orchards. White-maple was more widely diffused than the rock-maple, but less majestic. The shagbark walnut grew in many parts of the town, particularly about the centre and in the westerly part. Some of the hills were largely covered with beech. Hard-pine grew upon some of the plains, black-ash in the swamps, white-ash in some of the valleys amongst the hills, where the soil was rich.

Of the wild animals, the early settlers of the town were familiar with the bear and wolf. They knew that occasionally a deer, a cata- mount, a lynx was seen. Of the denizens of the larger rivers, they knew something of the habits of the salmon, the shad and the lan- prey eel.

The great trouble of the early settlers were

the Indians. It was some twenty years from the time that the first settlements were made before they could feel themselves not in danger from them. It is probable at first they were not much apprehensive of danger, but this feel- ing of security could not have been of long du- ration. As early as 1738 a fort had been par- tially built around Capt Nathaniel Hammond's house. November 6th, of this year, the pro- prietors voted that eighteen pounds of powder and thirty-six pounds of lead be purchased for a reserve stock. Subsequently, the proprietors voted to finish the fort around Captain Ham- mond's house, and a committee was chosen to see to the building of two more. The com- mittee were directed to build one of the two upon Meeting-House Hill, and the other around John Evans' house. Apprehensions of danger from the Indians continued to increase, and by the spring of 1797 they had become so grave that it was deemed necessary, for the safety of the in- habitants, to abandon the settlement. Such articles as could not be taken away were buried in the ground or concealed that they might es- cape destruction or being captured by the Indians.

To have left the settlement under such circum- stances must have been very sad. It was full ten years from the time the settlement was commenced. During this time much hard work had been done, much land had been cleared of the heavy timber that was found upon it, houses had been built, roads had been laid out in different directions, and work enough done upon them to make them useful in pass- ing to and from the neighboring towns ; mills had been built and the building of a school- house had not been neglected. It is traditional history that only one building escaped destruc- tion by the hands of the Indians.

The following list gives, as far as has been ascertained, the names of the inhabitants pre- vious to the abandonment of the township, with the year in which their names first appeared upon the records, and, as far as we are able, the place from which each came :

379

SWANZEY.

Nathaniel Hammond, Littleton, Mass., 1737; Charles Lummis, Bolton, Mass., 1737; John Evans, Bolton, Mass., 1737 ; Samuel Farnsworth, 1737 ; Thomas Cres- son, Sunderland, Mass., 1737; William Carr, Deer- field, Mass., 1737; Samuel Hills, Sunderland, Mass., 1737; Benjamin Jethro Eams, 1737 ; Benjamin Brown, Concord, Mass., 1738; Abraham Graves, Hat- field, Mass., 1738; Samuel Mitchel, 1738; David Beld- ing, 1738; William Grimes, Lancaster, Mass., 1738; Samuel Gunn, Sunderland, Mass., 1738; Nathaniel Gunn, Sunderland, Mass., 1738; Ephraim Jones, Concord, Mass., 1739; William Scott, 1739; Andrew Gardner, 1739; Charles Armes, 1740; Timothy Brown, Brookfield, Mass., 1740; Thomas Hammond, Little- ton, Mass., 1740; Rev. Timothy Harrington, 1741;

Jonathan Hammond, Littleton, Mass., 1741; Nathaniel Hammond, Jr., Littleton, Mass., 1741 ; Eliakim King, 1743 ; James Heaton, 1743; Seth Heaton, Wrentham, Mass., 1744; Joseph Hammond, Littleton, Mass., 1744 ; Samuel Belding, 1745; Charles Eams, 1746 ; Samuel Chamberlain, 1746; Samuel Hills, Jr., Sunderland, Mass., 1746; Timothy Hammond, Littleton, Mass., 1746.

It is evident from the above list of persons who settled in the township, that most of those who were grantees did not intend to settle in it. They might have become grantees to forward the settlement of new towns, or their motives might have been speculative. The above list includes only Nathaniel Hammond, Jonathan Hammond, James Heaton, Ephraim Jones and William Carr, who were original grantees.

The first settlers of the town were much embarrassed by the result of the settle- ment of the boundary line between Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire. When they came here they had no doubt but the territory belonged to Massachusetts. On the 3d of October, 1740, they held a meeting to consider what should be done to relieve them from their embarrassed condition. The following extract, from the records of this meeting, discloses the general feeling of disappointment :

" The proprietors being informed that by ye Deter- mination of his majesty in Council Respecting ye Controverted bounds between ye province of ye Massa- chusetts Bay and New Hampshire they are Excluded from this province of ye Massachusetts Bay to ye which they always supposed themselves to belong therefore

they unanimously voted that a petition be presented to ye King's Most Excellent Majesty setting fourth our Distressed Estate and praying we may be annexed to Ye said Massachusetts province also unanimously voted that Thomas Hutchinson Esq, be impowered to present ye said petition to his Majesty and to appear and fully to act for and in ye behalf of this town re- specting the subject matter of said petition according to his best discretion."

By this establishment of the boundary line the inhabitants of the town not only lost the protection they had a right to claim from Massachusetts, but they also lost all legal claim to their lands vested in any act of that prov- ince. In the face of these discouragements, it is little wonder that they eventually left their possessions and fled to their former homes in Massachusetts.

The exact time that the settlers commenced to return to the township is not known. It is probable that it was at the same time that the settlers commenced to return to Keene. The proprietors of the two townships up to this time seem to have moved simultaneously in all transactions connected with the settlement of the two townships.

The proprietors of Upper Ashuelot held their first meeting at Concord, Mass., June 26, 1734. Those of Lower Ashuelot held their first meet- ing at the same place, June 27, 1734. Both of these proprietors' meetings were adjourned to meet in the respective townships the 18th of the following September. The two townships ap- pear to have been abandoned at the same time.

The " Annals of Keene" contain the follow- ing in relation to the resettlement of that town : " In October, 1748, peace was declared between England and France. The Indians, however, con- tinued their depredations until June, 1749, and a treaty of peace was not made with them until Sep- tember of that year.

"On the restoration of peace the settlers, who had been driven from their lands by the war, made prep- arations to return. The exact time when Upper Ashuelot was again occupied has not been ascer- tained. It was probably some time in 1750,-cer- tainly as early as 1751, as it is within the recollec- tion of Thomas Wells, now living, who came to reside

380

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

here in 1752, that eight or ten dwelling-houses had been erected."

The settlers did not find, after their return, that they were relieved from apprehension of danger from the Indians. In 1754 the Indians were engaged in capturing individuals, destroy- ing property and causing a general alarm in the frontier settlements in the province of New Hampshire.

In 1755 armed laborers with a guard of four soldiers went to work in the Great Mead- ows. The soldiers were in advance. They heard a rustling in the bushes and supposed that it was caused by a deer, and one of the soldiers fired at the spot. The noise proved to have been made by Indians. When the gun was fired the Indians supposed they were dis- covered and they fired at the soldiers. The laborers coming up, saw the Indians and attacked them and drove them to the plain at the north. An express was instantly sent to Keene and a party of fifteen men, under Captain Metcalf, went out to meet them. The Indians made their escape. This may have been the last time hostile Indians were seen in Swanzey. The place where these Indians were discovered in the meadow has been known from that time to the present as the Indian Meadow.

The statement has been made in some pub- lished works that many of the inhabitants of Swanzey lost their lives at the hands of the In- dians. We do not think these statements are well authenticated. If any one was ever killed in the town, or if any inhabitant of the town was killed when away from the town, the fact does not appear in any of the town records, nor is there any traditional evidence who they were or where they were at the time.

The only person who is known to Swanzey people to have suffered personal harm by the hands of the Indians was Thomas Cresson. He was born in 1722, and died in Swanzey in 1821, lacking but a little more than one year of being one hundred years old at the time of his death. His father, Thomas Cresson, came to Lower

Ashuelot, when his son was a lad, from Sunder- land, Mass. Thomas Cresson, Jr., went with a party from about here for the protection of Fort Dummer, and was captured near that fort and carried to Canada. It was some three years after his capture that he was permitted to return. A number of persons are now living who re- member having seen Thomas Cresson in his old age.

It is stated in Belknap's " History of New Hampshire " that Deacon Timothy Brown and one other gentleman was captured by the In- dians, and it is also stated in the same work that some women and children were captured in Lower Ashnelot ; names not given. Belknap's history is good authority.

Lower Ashuelot was granted by New Hamp- shire as Swanzey, July 2, 1753, to the fol- lowing persons :

Nathaniel Hammond.

Asa Grout.

Abraham Graves. Daniel Arms.

William Grimes. Ebenezer Arms.

Benjamin Grout.

Nathaniel Gunn.

Thomas Cresson. Wyat Gunn.

Thomas Cresson, Jr. Daniel Gunn.

William Hill.

Ebenezer Sprague, Jr.

William Cresson. Ebenezer Sprague.

William Carr.

Joseph Merchants.

Elijah Graves.

Noah Bodman.

Samuel Belding.

Benjamin Shelding.

Eliakim King.

Mark Ferry.

Jonathan Woodcock.

Jonathan Tracey.

John Tracey.

Phinchas Tracey.

Jonathan Arms.

Jonathan Bardwell.

Oliver Wit.

James Heaton.

Oliver Hammond.

Joshua Prime.

Joseph Write.

Samuel Hills.

Benjamin Brown.

Simon Davis.

J. Woodcock, Jr. Jonathan Hammond.

Samuel McClenon.

Thomas Nutter.

Zebulon Balord.

Ebenezer Hills.

Stephen Nutter.

John Prat.

Cæsar Freeman. Samuel Gaylon.

Timothy Prat.

Samuel Prat.

James Blood, Jr.

Christopher Grout.

Joseph Hammond. Thomas Hammond.

Seth Gay.

His Excellency B. Wentworth, Esq.

Joshua Graves.

Abner Graves.

David Belding.

Timothy Brown.

James Heaton, Jr.

William Heaton.

Nathaniel Hills.

381

SWANZEY.

All rights that were supposed to have been acquired by the proprietors from Massachusetts were confirmed to them by New Hampshire.

Previous to the abandonment of the town more than half of the land had been divided among the proprietors. At a meeting held at Concord, Mass., October 9, 1734, the proprietors voted to divide the intervale land called the Great meadow, and so much of the intervale, on the South Branch, as lies below Town- House Bridge, into sixty-three lots, as equal as practicable in area and quality, and appointed Eleazer Robbins, Nathaniel Hammond, Eph- raim Jones, Benjamin Read and Nathaniel Mat- toon as a committee to make such division.

These lots averaged about eight acres each. At a meeting held at Concord, June 11, 1735, the committee appointed to make this second division made their report which was accepted, and the proprietors drew for their shares.

At a meeting held in the township September 8, 1736, it was voted to make a division of twenty acres of the undivided lands to each owner of a house-lot, and appointed Nathaniel Hammond, Nathaniel Mattoon, James Heaton, Benjamin Haywood and Peter Evans a com- mittee to make said division. This called the third division of the intervale land, included most of the remaining intervale and meadow land in the township. The lots laid on the South Branch, above where the Town -House Bridge now stands, were called the South Branch meadows, those on the Pond Brook the Pond Brook meadows, those on the Ashue- lot River, above West Swanzey, the Mill mea- dows and those between West Swanzey and Westport were called the Hyponeco meadows. The lots of the third division were drawn October 27, 1736.

At a meeting held at Concord, March 16, 1737, it was voted to make a fourth division of the undivided lands. These lots were laid out on the upland, about two-thirds of them being between the road which runs through the centre of the town and the road which runs from

West Swanzey to Westport, on the east side of the river. The remaining third was laid where the road now runs from Town-House Bridge to Keene, and upon the hill east of this range of lots. Nathaniel Hammond, Benjamin Read, Samuel Chamberlain, Ephraim Jones and Nathaniel Mattoon constituted the committee for making this division.

At a meeting held in the township, at the house of Captain Nathaniel Hammond, Sep- tember 7, 1737, it was voted to draw lots for the fourth division shares, and that he who should draw No. 1 should make his pitch on the morning of the 19th. He who should draw No. 2 should make his pitch on the after- noon of the same day and that this should be continued, making two pitches per day, until the division should be completed. In this divi- sion the lots each contained about sixty-five acres.

At a meeting held at the same place, October 26, 1737, it was voted to make a fifth division, each lot to contain one hundred acres. This pitch was made in the following manner : The proprietor who drew the right to make the first pitch made his selection in any part of the un- divided land he chose, and had his land laid out in form to please himself. Number two had the same privilege, and so on in numerical order. This resulted in farms being surveyed into all conceivable shapes.

The marsh-meadow lots must have constituted the sixth division. These lots were laid out in good form. A seventh division, each share to contain fifty acres, was made February 6, 1760. These shares were pitched in any place and in any shape that the proprietor might choose. A division of fifty acres was made April 18, 1774. The lots were pitched the same as the fifth and seventh were. A division of ten acres was made November 11, 1803 ; a division of nine acres was made June 7, 1809, and a divi- sion, being the last one, was made May 7, 1833, containing three acres. The time that the last division was made lacked but a little over a

382

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

year of one hundred years from the time that the first proprietors of the township drew lots for their house-lots.

As Richmond was granted February 28, 1752, it contained a tract of land lying on the east of Swanzey, that extended to Keene line, that was afterwards known as Richmond Gore. December 11, 1762, this gore was disannexed from Richmond, and annexed to Swanzey. The length of the west line of this gore was seven miles. The north line ran on Keene thirty rods ; the east line ran on Marlborough and Fitzwilliam six miles and one hundred and thirty rods ; the south line, which severed it from Richmond, was about three miles and a half in length.

The original grant of the township of Lower Ashnelot, six miles square, and the annexation of Richmond Gore, gave to Swanzey all of the territory that the town ever contained. The present shape of the town is owing to having had land included within its bounds that had been granted for another township previous to being included within the bounds of Lower Ashuelot, and by having some of its territory taken to form the town of Troy, by having about three hundred and fifty acres annexed to Marlborough, and a small piece annexed to Keene.

Those who first surveyed Lower Ashuelot could not have been aware that they in- cluded within its bounds a large tract of land that belonged to Winchester. Winchester's claim was good, as their grant was made pre- vious to the grant of Lower Ashuelot. The line, as first run, extended six miles from the southwest corner of Keene, south thirty-nine degrees, west to a corner, and thence east six miles. One can see by looking at the map of Swanzey that this survey carried the southwest corner of Lower Ashuelot far into Winchester. When Troy was incorporated, in 1815, a num- ber of hundred acres of the southeast corner of the Richmond Gore was taken from Swanzey to form that town. The north end of the gore

had previously been taken from Swanzey and annexed to Marlborough.

The Richmond Gore had been, previous to being annexed to Swanzey, surveyed into ranges and lots. The lots contained about one hun- dred acres each. At the time this gore was an- nexed to Swanzey but few, if any, settlements had been made upon it ; but the lots were taken up and settlement made quite fast afterwards. Nearly all of the territory that comprises No. 9 School District, the East Swanzey School District and the district in the hollow was in the Richmond Gore.

The methods of managing the municipal affairs of Lower Ashuelot were very different from the present methods of managing town affairs. Money was raised by the proprictors to pay for preaching, for the support of schools, to build and repair roads and bridges, and for all municipal expenses by making an assess- ment equally upon the proprietors' shares. It made no difference whether the proprietor lived in the township or not, or whether any part of his land had been brought under cultivation and buildings erected upon it or not, he had to pay one-sixtieth part of the expenses of the township. Instead of town officers, committees were chosen by the proprietors for special pur- poses.

After the township had been re-granted by New Hampshire, there was a change of meth- ods. Town-meetings were held and town offi- cers elected. From 1753 to 1885 there has been considerable change in the expenses of towns, in town officers and in the duties of towns. These changes may be shown by copies of town records.

The New Hampshire charter made the fol- lowing reservations :

" For His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., one tract of land, to contain five hundred acres, one whole share for the Incorporated Society for the Prop- agation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; one whole share for the first settled minister of the Gospel in said Town; one whole share for a Glebe for the min- istry of the Church of England as by law established.

383

SWANZEY.

" Voted March 4, 1766, to build a good and suffi- cient pound, thirty-five foot square, in the highway at the end of John Frary's house.

" At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Swanzey, legally met at the meeting-house in said Swanzey, on Tuesday, the fifth day of March, 1771, the meeting being opened, Capt. Joseph Hammond was chosen Moderator; then the meeting was ad- journed for the space of half an hour to meet at the house of Lieut. Johnathan Whitcomb. Re-assembled at the time and place appointed. Thomas Applin was chosen Town Clerk ; Thomas Applin, Samuel Hills, Benjamin Brown, David Elijah Groves, chosen Selectmen. Voted, that the Selectmen be assessors. Caleb Sawyer was chosen constable; Capt. Joseph Hammond, chosen town treasurer; Thomas Ham- mond and Amasa Parker, chosen tythingmen ; Lieut. Joseph Whitcomb, Joseph Cummings, Henry Morse, David Belding, Roger Thompson and Benjamin Brown, chosen surveyors of highways; Elisha Scott and Elijah Belding, chosen fence viewers; John Starkey, sen., deer-reef; Wyat Gunn, Ebenezer Hills and Jonathan Woodcock, Jr., chosen hogreaves ; Na- than Scott and Gardner Duston, chosen field Drivers; Samuel Belding, chosen sealer of leather. Voted, to accept of the settlement of accounts with Capt. Jon- athan Hammond as treasurer for the years 1768 and 1769, as presented to the town by the selectmen.

" Voted, to raise forty pounds lawful money to make and repair road.

" Voted, that labor at the roads be set at two shil- lings and eight pence per day, from the first day of Apr. to the first day of Oct, and the rest of the year at two shillings per day.

" Voted, that swine may go at large on the common, yoked and ringed according to law, from the first of Apr. to the last of October.

" Voted, to allow Mr. Elijah Graves fifteen shillings lawful money for his services as selectman.

"At a meeting of the inhabitants of Swanzey in the Providence of New Hampshire, held at the meeting-house in said Swanzey, on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1775.

" Voted, that Mr. Samuel Hills be appointed a Dep- uty to represent this town at the Convention of Dep- uties proposed to be held at Exeter, on the 17th day of this instant ; and that he be fully empowered and authorised in behalf of this town, to join with the Deputies of other towns in addopting and pursuing such measures as may be judged most expedient to pursue to restore the right of this and the other col- onies ; and that he be empowered as aforesaid, to act for the space of six months if the said Convention of Deputies shall judge it to be necessary.

" Voted, December 18, 1775, That it is the opinion of the town that Colo. Joseph Hammond, Maj. Elisha Whitcomb, Capt. Joseph Whitcomb, Jr., Capt. Jonathan Whitcomb, Mr. Thomas Ham- mond, Mr. Benjamin Brown and Lieut. Daniel Warner be chosen a Committee of Safety agreeable to the advice of the Continental Congress, and we ac- knowledge them a Committee of Safety for this town, and we approve of what they have acted in that ca- pacity.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 61

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200