USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 65
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 65
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"SAMUEL HILLS, " JOSEPH HAMMOND, Committee."
"It appears by the Books, that John Nicholson and John Bemis were allowed by the Committee of Safety, as Soldiers for the Town of Swanzey, in the Year 1782. It does not appear by any Books or returns when they were mustered.
" J. GILMAN."
The following Swanzey men were in the First New Hampshire Regiment :
Joel Andrews, enlisted May 12, 1778; discharged December 31, 1780.
Corporal John Cross, enlisted January 1, 1778; dis- charged December 31, 1781.
William Frankfort, enlisted January 9, 1778; died April 17, 1779.
Levi Simmons, enlisted February 13, 1778; dis- charged December 17, 1780.
Joseph Tucker, enlisted February 3, 1778; dis- charged December, 1780.
Sergeant Amasa Parker and Solomon Hazel- tine were in Captain Benjamin Ellis' company in 1781 and in the First New Hampshire Regi- ment in 1782.
The following is a copy of a bill for pastnr- ing government cattle :
"SWANZEY, Dec. 20th, 1789.
"Capt. John Jennison, Collector of Beef, Dr., to the Selectmen of Swanzey for Pasturing Beef Cattle as followeth (viz.)
"For pasturing thirty-one Head of Beef cattle from the 16th Day of July till the 7th of September, being Seven Weeks and four Days, at nine pence per Head per week. £8 168. 4d.
" For pasturing Nine head 2 weeks and four Days (viz.), from the Seventh of Sept. till the 25th 168. 6d.
403
SWANZEY.
" For Pasturing thirty-two Head from the 25 of Sept. till the 11th of Oct., be- ing two weeks and two Days .. ..
" For Pasturing Twenty-two Head of Beef Cattle from the 11th of Oct. till the first day of Novem', being three weeks
"For keeping one Beef Creture from the first Day of Nov. till the 16th of De- cember, being Six weeks, at 9ª per week ..
14s. 9d.
48. 6d.
£13 18. 7d.
" JOSEPH DICKINSON
Selectmen
" DAVID BELDING, JUNR. "CALVIN FRINK
of Swanzey."
A most exciting state of affairs existed in the westerly part of New Hampshire during some of the last years of the Revolution, and some of the following years, which was caused by a portion of the people becoming disaffected to- wards New Hampshire and wishing to unite with Vermont. The following statements, made by the selectmen of Swanzey to the General Court, show the state of affairs in the town :
"The Selectmen of the town of Swanzey in behalf of themselves and the Town Humbly Shew
" That under the Present unhappy Situation of our affairs in this part of the State, when most in many and many in all the Towns have revolted from under the Government and Jurisdiction of the State, bid- ding defiance to the Authority and Laws of the same, Absolutely Refusing to pay Taxes or to contribute any thing in any way or manner towards Raising men for the Continental Army, or Providing Supplies for the same, We find it extreemly Difficult for us to Comply with the Requisitions of the State, for, altho' the greatest part of the People in this Town Remain firm in their Allegiance to the state, Utterly averce to the late and present factious and Seditious conduct of a great (if not the greatest) part of the people in this Western part of the State. Yet our affairs are extreemly Embarrassed, for, if Taxes are Assessed, they cannot be Collected, as some will Refuse to pay, and if Constables or Collectors should Distrain Such Delinquents for their Rates mobs would Arise, and perhaps the power of the State of Vermont would be employed for their protection.
"We have exerted ourselves as much as we could in order to Raise our Quota of Men for the Continen- tal Army, and Also for Six Months, but have not
been able to compleat the former, nor to Raise any part of the latter, which Inability is owing princi- pally, if not Solely, to the confused Situation of this part of the State, And unless Something can be done for our Assistance it will be Absolutely Impossible for us to Raise men or money for the Service of the State.
"We consider ourselves as Subjects of the state of New Hampshire, and are firmly Resolved to persist in our Allegiance and expect the protection of the State, without which we shall not be able to stand against the opposition that will be made.
"We Humbly pray that your Honors would take the matter into your Wise consideration and make Such provision for our protection and Safety as that we may not be Obliged to Yield to unreasonable men and Measures.
" THOS APPLIN J
" CALVIN FRINK
" ELIJAH BELDING
" ISAAC HAMMOND
" ELISHA WHITCOMB
Selectmen of Swanzey.
"Swanzey, June 9, 1781."
The following petition, relative to beef tax of 1784, was addressed to the General Court February, 1785 :
"The Petition of the Selectmen and Assessors of the Town of Swanzey, in said State, for the year 1784, " Humbly sheweth,-
" That whereas in the year 1781 the General Court of this State Ordered and directed the Selectmen of said Swanzey to Assess the Inhabitants of said Town their Quota of Beef for the Continental Army, which was accordingly done, and the greatest part of said Beef was paid by said Inhabitants, yet some were de- linquent, Refusing to pay their State Tax, Occasioned Principally by the Union of the Grants (so-called) with Vermont, by reason of which agreably to an Act of the General Court, said Swanzey was Ordered to pay a deficiency of said Tax and a fine for their De- linquency, both of which amounting to £137, which the Treasurer of this State, by his Warrant directed to the Selectmen of said Town, has ordered to be Assessed, which has not yet been complied with, Be- cause your petitioners think it very unjust to Assess, Levy and Collect the aforesaid Sum of those Persons who paid their Tax in due time, and your l'etitioners have no Warrant to Assess said Sum on those that were Delinquent, and dare not venture to Assess said Sum, either on the whole or part of the Inhabitants, lest it should make great confusion, murmuring and Complaining among the People of Said Town. Your
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HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Petitioners, therefore, most Humbly and earnestly pray that this Honorable Body would take the above Stated Case into their Serious consideration, and make sneh Order thereon as in their Wisdom they shall think most just and Equitable.
" And as in Duty Bound shall ever pray.
"DAVID BELDING, § Selectmen & Asses- "ISAAC HAMMOND, \ sors of Swanzey."
The following, relative to the beef tax, was addressed to the General Court December 13, 1786 :
"The Selectmen of Swanzey, in the County of Cheshire, humbly beg leave to lay before this Honor- able Body their Embarrassments as to Assessing the Doomage for this Town's Deficiency of Beef in the year 1781. Your Petitioners immediately on Receiv- ing Orders for collecting Said Beef, Assessed the Inhabitants of Swanzey, Seting the Beef at twenty- Seven Shillings per Hundred weight, and as your Petitioners were Sensible of the Importance of the Order of Court being complied with, they exerted themselves and Collected a considerable part of the Becf by the Set time, and would undoubtedly Col- lected the whole had it not been for a number of Politi- cal Heriticks in this and Adjacent Towns, who, by their Instigations and artful insinuations, Shook the Allegiancy (of the ignorant and unprincipaled part of the community) from the State of New Hampshire, and Attached them to the usurped State of Vermont, and the Imbecillity of Government was so great at that Day that your Petitioners thought it not wise to compel or use Coersive measures with those who would not freely pay their proportion of Said tax, and since the Energy of Government has increased and this Town has been caled upon to pay Said Tax, with a Doomage, the Selectmen have taken up the matter and find it Difficult, if not Impossable, to make an Assessment for said Doomage in any way which will not blow up an unquenchable fire in this Town, for if we should Assess it on the Delinquents only, who in justice Ought to pay the Same, we Should in so doing do injustice, for a Number of said Delinquents are Removed out of this Town, and, consequently, out of the reach of an Assesment, and should an Asses- inent be made on the whole Town, it would be to make the Righteous be as the Wicked, which the Patriarch of the Hebrews Saith, is far from the Al- mighty. Your Petitioners, therefore, most Humbly pray this Honorable Body to take the matter into their wise Consideration, and either except of the twenty-Seven Shillings on the Hundred weight, which is already Assessed, and which may be Collected
without Dificulty or Direct Your Petitioners in what manner to proceed, that they may escape the Publiek Odium.
" ISAAC HAMMOND, ( Selectmen of
" CALVIN FRINK, Swanzey.
" In House of Rep. January 16, 1787, Voted that as there is great difficulty respecting the assessment for the deficiency of Beef in the Town of Swanzey, the Treasurer be directed, so far as respects said Beef Tax, to stay the Extent against said Town untill the first Wednesday of June next."
Of the Swanzey men who rendered important services during the Revolution, Lieutenant- Colonel Joseph Hammond may be considered the most conspicuous. He marehed immediately at the head of a company for the field of con- fliet when he heard of the battle at Lexing- ton. He went with his regiment to Ticonderoga, being lieutentant-colonel under Colonel Ashley. He resigned his commission June 14, 1779. He was, however, employed in various ways during the war, acting as mustering officer, and at times in charge of the transportation of sup- plics to the army at Ticonderoga, etc. He was at home when the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. He knew that many of the Swanzey soldiers were with the army in that vicinity, and among them his son Joseph. When he heard of the battle he prepared to start im- mediately, that he might know the results of the battle. He started in the morning and rode through in a day, a distance of about ninety miles, and returned the following day. The following poem deseribes this famous ride :
"Says old Colo. Hammond, ' I'd like to know The fate on the morrow of my son Joe ; I learn by the herald that rode by to-night, The unwelcome news of the Bunker-Hill fight; Nor doubt I a moment my son Joe was there, In fighting our foemen, to fight his full share ; And I have resolved and approved of the plan To off on the morrow and learn what I can. So, wife, in the morning the breakfast prepare, While I catch and curry the old red mare ; Till then let us sleep-'tis needful we rest- And dream what we may, we will hope for the best, The Colo. rose early and early prepared To start on his journey as he had declared,
405
SWANZEY.
And soon in the door-yard the old mare was tied, ' All saddled, all bridled,' all fit for a ride.
The Colonel's cocked-hat now he put on his head, His spurs on the heels of his boots, as he said :
' Wife, now my blue-coat and my doublet of buff, And I shall be rigged for the ride well enough.' The sun got up some minutes before
The Colonel was ready to step from the door, And say to his lady ' good morn,' or ' good bye, Then thinking of Joseph, a tear in her eye. He reached for the bridle when started the mare And snorted, the Colonel looked so militaire ! He patted her neck as he stood by her side, To calm her a wee ere he got up to ride, Then sprang to the saddle, 'thout further delay, And like a knight errant he galloped away.
From Swanzey, New Hampshire, thro' Fitzwilliam sped,
Swift skim'd the red mare, and strong was her tread ; And onward, and onward, and onward she prest, No sign that she was weary-that she required rest ; Tho' sweating the heat, and oppressive the dust,
She turned not ; she stopped not to half quench her thirst,
And ere Sol his car to the Zenith had run, The Colonel's long journey was more than half done. When looking ahead, lo! the Colonel espied An inn-stand, inviting, close by the roadside ; To this he reined up for a little respite, And called for refreshments as would a bold knight; ' Some oats for my mare and a drink at the spring, And as for myself, I'll a bumper of sling !'
(For all liquored up in those days, you will find, To strengthen their courage and cheer up the mind). But short was his tarry, and, proud of her load, The old mare was prancing along the high-road ; On ! on through old Concord she gallantly sped, And onward she galloped through Lexington's town, A place on the road of fame and renown, And drew up at Charlestown, at Bunker Hill's side Before it was sunset, where ended his ride. And glad was the Colonel when Joseph he found, His limbs and his wind and his body all sound. And early next morning the red mare was seen, Her head up, her tail up, just leaving the green ; Her strength like an engine with fleetness combined, (The Colonel on forward and Joe on behind). So lightly she cantered and turned up the road, Not caring a ' fip' for the weight of the load, She started for home with the Colonel and son, And ere it was sundown her day's-work was done. And how felt the mother when meeting with Joe, There's none but a mother can feel or can know ;
And what think ye, reader, hadn't we here As goodly a rider as 'Paul Revere ?' "
Swanzey furnished its full complement of soldiers for the War of 1812. Of those that went into the service, William C. Belding was killed at Chippewa Plains, July 5, 1814 ; Rufus Graves was killed at Bridgewater, Canada, July 25, 1814; a son of John Guild was killed in Upper Canada ; Joshua Prime, a lieutenant of marines, died at Sackett's Harbor March 1, 1813; Gains Cresson died a Burlington, Vt .; and Benedict Arnold died at Portsmouth.
The town's record in the War of the Re- bellion is as follows :
" Voted September 21, 1861, that the selectmen be instructed to borrow from time to time such sums of money as may be wanted to pay the families or parents of soldiers, who have enlisted, or may here- after enlist in the service of the United States, the sum of one dollar per week for the wife, and one dollar per week for each child.
" Voted March 11, 1862, to indemnify the select- men from all liability which they may have incurred or hereafter incur by paying money to the families of soldiers and instruct them to continue to pay to them in accordance with the State law, according to their best judgment.
"Resolved, August 11, 1862, That the town will pay two hundred dollars to each person who will enlist from the town to fill up her required quota (of a draft ordered by the President, August 4, 1862, of three hundred thousand troops for nine months), imme- diately on the mustering into service of such volun- teers, provided they received no bounty from gov- ernment, otherwise one hundred and twenty-five dollars.
"Voted September 10, 1863, To raise three hundred dollars to pay to each of the soldiers, or their substi- tutes, ten days after they are mustered into the ser- vice of the United States.
" Voted May 30, 1864, To pay the drafted men, or their substitutes, three hundred dollars each to fill all back quotas of said town under the last calls of the President of the United States.
" Voted June 16, 1864, That the selectmen shall pay three hundred dollars to each of such persons as may enlist, or their substitutes, and be accredited to the town of Swanzey on any future calls for three-years' men.
" Voted August 13, 1864, To pay volunteers for one I year, one hundred dollars ; for two years, two hun-
406
HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
dred dollars ; for three years three hundred dollars ; and that the selectmen be, and are hereby authorized to borrow a sufficient amount of money to carry the above vote into effect.
"Voted August 29, 1864, That the selectmnen be, and are hereby authorized to pay bounties to citizen volunteers who have resided in the town three months as follows : five hundred dollars for one year, seven hundred and fifty dollars for two years and nine hundred dollars for three years, immediately on being mustered into the service of the United States.
" Voted That the selectmen be, and are hereby authorized to pay bounties to drafted men or their substitutes to the full extent of the law as provided or that purpose.
"Voted That the selectmen be, and are hereby authorized to procure an amount of money sufficient to carry out the object expressed in the above votes and at the best rates possible.
"Voted That the selectmen be requested to interest themselves as much as possible in the matter of raising volunteers to fill the quota of this town.
" Voted September 1, 1864, To indemnify the select- men against any liability which may arise by reason of said selectmen paying bounties of three hundred dollars to individuals who have furnished an accepta- ble substitute to count on the quota of the town since July 16, 1864.
" Voted December 22, 1864, To pay to those persons who have or may furnish an acceptable substitute to fill the quota of the town on any future call the sum of one hundred dollars for one year, two hundred dollars for two years and three hundred dollars for three years.
" Voted To pay bounties to citizens volunteers who have resided in the town three months or more, as follows : five hundred dollars for one year, seven hundred and fifty dollars for two years and nine hundred dollars for three years on being mustered into the service of the United States.
The following persons contributed to fill the quotas of Swanzey by enlisting, or by furnish- ing substitutes, or by paying commutation when drafted :
Charles R. Applin.
Albert G. Read.
Jonathan M. Holden. Allen B. Haywood. Anson Gilson.
Samuel Hurd. Henry S. Applin. Philo Applin. 26
David W. Hill.
Sylvander Hovey.
Demerit W. Stone.
Harvey Sargent.
Thos. N. Woodward. Daniel E. Woodward. Sanford Bolles. Leonard Lyman.
William B. Marble.
Sanford S. Wilber.
Daniel H. Holbrook. Albert Ballou.
Charles Wheeler.
Henry P. Read.
Samuel Rockwood.
Charles H. Sebastian.
Edward P. Sebastian.
Sidney Stone.
Lowell W. Darling.
George Jackson.
Amasa Bourne.
Henry Hill.
John Stone.
Asa C. Hemmenway. Obed Holton.
Willard Bragg.
George F. Trobridge
Amos E. Cummings.
Benjamin F. Mead.
Elliot Wright.
William W. Starkey.
Gardner Wheeler.
Samuel Rockwood. Charles R. Applin.
Carlos Quinn.
Samuel Quinn.
John L. Meserve.
Charles Quinn.
Alonzo D. Sumner.
John A. Colby. William Read.
George B. Richardson.
William Eastman.
Jeremiah Plummer.
Michael Farrel.
Cyrus F. Holbrook.
Oliver L. Nash.
Prescot D. Coburn.
Stilman D. Nash.
Frank Canovan.
Warren F. Allen.
John Stewart.
Horace Barney.
George Perkins George Davis. Thomas Karney.
John A. Bread.
George W. Robinson.
Sexton W. Williams.
Thomas Burns.
William Oakman.
Silas W. Ballou.
Cyrus W. Stanley.
Benjamin Pomeroy.
George A. Haywood.
George Wilson.
Charles Temple.
Bradley Hill.
Asahel W. Dunton.
Amos D. Combs.
Moses D. Ballou.
George W. Johnson.
George H. More.
Oratus Very.
Ansell B. Dickinson.
George Mattoon. .
John W. Taggard.
Isaac Starkey.
Timothy Sherman.
Charles H. MeIntosh.
Henry S. Applin.
Henry Coburn.
Amos E. Cummings.
N. R. Smith.
Joseph Cross.
Aaron Sumner.
Obed Holton. Thomas Christie.
Aaron Dickinson.
John F. Hunt.
Leonard S. Holden.
Orick L. Haskell.
Warren A. Pickering.
Charles Barber.
Richard R. Ramsdell. Theodore Hovey.
Oratus J. Very. Noyce G. Wheeler. Roswell O. Aldrich. Samuel Stephenson. Lyman C. Deeth. Aaron Lebourveau,
Menzies E. Stratton.
Elbridge G. Prentice.
Joseph Cross.
Harvey Thompson. John Barker. Thomas Smith.
George O. Knapp.
Aaron Dickinson.
Albert R. Ballou.
Elbridge Prentice. John A. Bread.
James L. Davis.
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SWANZEY.
Charles H. Barber, Jr. John Barber. John S. Thayer. D. Brainerd Healey. George W. B. Caffre. A. W. Tupper. Amos Davis. Seamon A. Stone.
Edward Doolittle.
George P. Ward. Eli W. Raynolds. George I. Capron. Horace B. Starkey. William Sebastian, Jr. B. P. Lamson. Charles G. Gilmore. Samuel Mattoon.
Charles W. Philbrook. William E. Thatcher. Charles W. Mattoon. William Stone.
Chas. E. Stephenson. Charles H. Holbrook. Franklin Burbank. Dexter H. Thomas. Harrison R. Ward.
D. L. M. Comings. Calvin Greenleaf. Luther Smith. Luther Beal. Willis Reason.
Cyrus F. Holbrook.
Lincoln Wheelock.
Henry D. Holbrook. Charles H. Gove. George B. Holbrook. A. D. Combs. Carrol D. Wright.
Franklin C. Whitcomb.
Daniel F. Healey.
David Buffom (2d). Charles W. Scott.
William N. Ripley. Ira A. Hooper. George W. Sweetzer. John P. Hill. Charles Marsh. Jotham M. Ballou. Martin Jewell. Lewis Carpenter. Nathaniel Bourn, Jr. J. Q. A. Wilson. Sylvander L. Hovey. Lemuel O. Hunt. Charles B. Blodgett. Benjamin F. Clark. Edward Dickinson. Jonas C. Waters. Clark H. Houghton. Fred. E. Sebastian. Oratus J. Very. George Burns. Daniel W. Clark. Charles H. Howard. George E. Whitcomb. J. N. Forrestall. George Willis. Lyman C. Willis. Charles Bowles. Josiah Parsons. Benj. H. Richardson. James C. Eames. Orloe E. Parsons.
Thayer Thomson. George W. Eastman. James H. Alcott. Henry C. Clark. David Pelkey. Alvin W. Houghton. Edward P. Sebastian. George W. Ellis. Henry B. Davis. Charles S. Parks. Lewis Hunt.
In the foregoing list several names appear twice, occasioned by the person re-enlisting. In some cases, where men furnished substitutes, his name appears and also the name of the substitute.
We cannot give a correct list of those who were killed or wounded and of those who died while in the service or of those who never re- turned.
Anson Gilson, George F. Trobridge, John Stone, Thomas Burns, Aaron Dickinson were killed ; Lowell W. Darling died from the ef- fect of a wound ; Allen B. Haywood lost his right arm ; Daniel K. Healey was permanently disabled ; Albert Ballou and Francis C. Whit- comb were badly wounded. It is not known what became of Charles Wheeler and Joseph Cross. Eliot Wright, D. Brainard Healey, B. P. Lamson, David Buffum (2d), Demerit W. Stone, Sanford Bolles, Sanford S. Wilber and Henry S. Applin died.
Amos D. Combs was a lieutenant in the Sixth Regiment and a captain in the Four- teenth Regiment; David Buffum (2d) was a cap- tain in the Sixteenth Regiment.
Carrol D. Wright was a lieutenant in the Fourteenth Regiment when it was organized and was promoted to colonel before he left the regiment.
Many natives of Swanzey went into the army from other places, and of these it is known that Lyman Whitcomb, Lucius Whitcomb and Na- thaniel F. Lane were killed, and that Wallace G. Dickinson and Elmer F. Dickinson died while in the service.
HISTORY OF WALPOLE
BY GEORGE ALDRICII.
CHAPTER I.
FROM 1749 TO 1760.
THE early history of any one town on Con- necticut River only is repeated in the early set- tlements of others located in the same vicinity, in the manner in which families lived, and also in the dangers by which they were beset by hostile Indians. Town lines were no barriers to the friendship that one settlement had for another. There were prominent motives which the early settlers had for a pioneer life. One was to better their condition and make a name for themselves ; and the other was to get away from the conventionalities of populous towns into an atmosphere of freedom,-they could not brook restraint. Many of the early settlers of this town were from the State of Connecticut, who brought with them the frugal, industrious habits of the people of that State, and also the religious sentiments of the Puritans. Another class of settlers came from Londonderry, this state, who were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. They also were frugal, industrious people, and made the old rocky hills yield an abundance for man and beast.
After the lapse of more than a century and a quarter, it is impossible for the historian to tell what character all the early settlers of this town bore, only from tradition. However, it is in- ferred from their acts found recorded in the records of the town, and such stray informa- tion as has been gathered from other sources, that most of the first settlers were men of great force of character, patriotic in their political
sentiments, strict in their religious observances, frugal and industrious. The intellectual attain- ments of the first settlers were not of a high order; but in time men of culture took up an abode here. It may be that some of the first settlers left their country for their country's good and made a new home for themselves and families ; but this is not probable, for only one instance is known of a sheriff dogging the heels of a runaway, and that was Colonel Ben- jamin Bellows, who afterwards was the most prominent settler that ever settled in town. His great crime was this, he had not ready money sufficient to satisfy all his creditors be- fore he left Massachusetts.
It is not positively known whether the Aborigines ever occupied permanently the terri- tory now embraced by the lines forming the town of Walpole or not ; but one thing is cer- tain, that annually, in the months of May and June, very large numbers collected in the vi- einity of the Great Falls (now Bellows Falls), for the purpose of catching shad and salmon, it being the best fishing-ground to be found in all New England. The blossoming of the shad-tree (Amelanchier Canadensis) was the signal for all the Indians for many miles aronnd, and even from Canada, to gather about the falls for the purpose of catching shad and salmon. Multitudes of these fish would ascend the Con- necticut every spring, to deposit their spawn at its head and at the source of its tributaries. After a long-weary journey from the ocean the shad were barred further progress by the rapid flow of the water. In the basin below the rapids the shad would gather in myriad num-
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