History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 93

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 93
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 93

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).

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WINCHESTER.

the building of dams upon the river for manufacturing purposes, about and during the time of the Revolution, prevented the return of the fish to their accustomed breeding-places, and effectually excluded them from the river. This so disturbed the settlers who were not personally interested in the mills that they ad- dressed a petition in the following words to the General Assembly of the State :

" To the Honb, the General Assembly now sitting at Concord :

"The petition of the Selictmen of the town of Winchester, homble sheweth, that the River called Ashewilet formerly produced a large number of Salmon and shad, with a variety of hook fish ; but of late, the corse of sd fish is intirely stopd by Reson of three Dams acrost said River, viz,-one in Hinsdale, one in Winchester, and one in Swanzey, which is a Greate Damage to this and the Neighbouring towns, and notwithstanding the Repeated Requests of the people in this Town to the owners of Said Dams to open a Corse for Said Fish, they still Refuse to Do it, which very much Disspleases the people in general, and if there is nothing dun to prevent it, there is a prospect of the people Rising in a hostile manner and puling Down Said Dams; to prevent which, and to establish a free course for Said Fish, we beg your Honnours to take this matter under your wise con- sideration, and pass such an act as you in your wisdom shall think proper, and we in Duty Bound will ever pray.

" Winchester, June 1st, 1784. " SIMON WILLARD, "JOHN ALEXANDER, " PAUL RICHARDSON, " PRENTICE WILLARD,

Selectmen."

Upon which petition the General Assembly took the following action :

"STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE,

" In the House of Representatives, Feb. 11, 1785, Upon Reading & Considering the foregoing petition, Voted, that the petitioners be heard thereon before the Gen1 Court, on the Second Thursday of their next Session, & that in the Meantime the petitioners serve the Owners of the several Dams on Ashawillat River, in Winchester and Hinsdale, with a copy of the peti-

tion & order of Court thereon, that they, or either of them, may then appear and shew cause (if any they liave) why the prayer thereof may not be granted.

"Sent up for Concurrence.

"GEO. ATKINSON, Speaker. " In Senate the same day read & concurred. "E. THOMPSON, Secy."

This movement evidently miscarried, for we find a petition couched in almost the same identical language on June 3, 1786. This petition was signed by Daniel Ashley, Moses Chamberlain and Asa Alexander, as selectmen of Winchester ; and again another dated May 30, 1788, signed by Ezra Parker, Daniel Haw- kins and Asahel Jewell, selectmen of Winches- ter. The whole matter evidently ended in the cool courtesy offered by the Legislature, when they,

" Upon reading and considering the foregoing peti- tion, Voted that the prayer thereof be Granted and that the petitioners have leave to bring in a Bill Ac- cordingly.

"Sent up for Concurrence. "JOIIN LANGDON, Speaker. "In Senate June 14, 1786, read and Non-concurred. " J. PEARSON, Secy."

The dams stood and the fish came not back from the sea.

In the early years of settlement wild animals were abundant,-bears, deer, the lynx, wolves, wildcats, foxes, raccoons, hedgehogs, skunks, woodchucks, weasels, squirrels (black, red, gray, striped and flying)-on the land, whilst the streams were frequented by the beaver, otter, mink and muskrat. Of these animals, only foxes, raccoons, hedgehogs, skunks, wood- chucks, weasels, and the gray, red, striped and flying squirrels remain. Occasionally an otter is seen, whilst mink and muskrats are quite abundant. The last bear of which there is record was killed in 1853 near Round Pond. The forests afforded and now afford resting- places for owls, hawks, crows, pigeons, par- tridges (the ruffed grouse), and all the song birds of New England. Wild geese and ducks

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HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

used to be abundant, but at the present only a few geese are seen, and those only that, having become weary in their migratory flight, alight for a period of rest. A few black and wood ducks still annually rear their broods of young in the most secluded nooks of the ponds and streams.

The main agricultural productions are hay, corn, oats, rye, potatoes, some wheat, barley and buckwheat. Tobacco was at one time during the war a profitable crop, but ceased "to pay " when the Southern States were able to place their erop upon the market. Garden erops of peas, beans, turnips, carrots, cabbage, squash and melons are abundantly grown, whilst the orchards produce the apple, pear, peach, quince, red cherries and other small fruits. Grapes, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blue- berries and the strawberries grow, both native and cultivated, in great abundance. The forests are almost exclusively of second growth, and consist of pine, hemlock, oak, ash, beech, maple, birch, elm and walnut, whilst all the forest growths common to New England are to be found here.

Winchester lies in what is believed to have been the bed of a lake that, some distant day in the past, included a large portion of what is now Cheshire County, and that found an outlet to the south in Warwick, Mass. But in some convulsion of nature the mountain chain that bound it in on the west was ruptured, and a new outlet was formed, draining what had been before a submerged territory, leaving only the bed and course of the Ashuelot River in its stead. The town is hilly, with very little plain or level land, such as there is being found near the Centre village (" Pine Plain "), in the val- ley of Mirey Brook, on the banks of the river and in the southwesterly part of the town near the Connecticut River. The ranges of hills on the west, north and cast of the Ashuelot extend in a northwardly and southwardly direction, whilst the range of hills upon the south of the river extend more nearly cast and west. The

valley of the Ashuelot here is about four hun- dred feet above sea level, and several of the mountain peaks in Winchester rise to an alti- tude of from six hundred to one thousand feet. The soil is such as is common to most New England hill towns. Upon the sides of the mountains and upon her cultivatable hills it is generally strong; but it is very strong and re- tentive of fertilizers, and when brought under cultivation produces large crops for many suc- cessive years. In the valleys and about the Centre village the soil is of a lighter character, and, being free from stones, is much easier to cultivate, producing as good crops as the hill lands, though it requires closer attention and more frequent cultivation. The bottom lands on the Ashnelot and Connecticut Rivers are very fertile and only require slight attention to secure abundant returns year after year.

Winchester, in the one hundred and fifty-three years of her existence, has developed from an unbroken wilderness into a thriving and pros- perons town. She has always been loyal to her State and the government to which she belonged. She has always been loyal to her convictions of right in all matters pertaining to education, polities, religion and morals, and where her heart has been, there her purse has been also. She has never hesitated to stand with out- stretched hands, palms upwards, bearing in them the shining coins of her treasury, that she has showered in abundance on every cause where her sense of duty or patriotism called. The foundations of her prosperity are struck as deep as the granite that underlies her, whilst the structure she has and is building towers upward and upward, keeping pace with the hopes and the aspirations of her citizens.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

DAVID BALL.

Prominently identified with the active busi- ness life of the town of Winchester, as well as

David Ball

James A Turma

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WINCHESTER.

every enterprise having for its object the gen- eral good of the community, may be found the name of Ball.

In 1799 we find that Stephen Ball, a resident of Warwick, Mass., married Betsey Weld, of the same place, and to them was born David Ball, the subject of this sketch, October 7, 1801, and was the eldest of the family. His boyhood, like most youths of those days, was spent mainly at the home of his parents until about 1817 or 1818, when he came to Keene, N. H., and engaged as a clerk in mercantile business with Mr. Whee- lock ; from there he removed a few years later to the village of West Winchester, continuing in the same line of business with William F. Pulsifer, later as Pulsifer & Ball, Ball & Capron and D. & A. W. Ball. He married Fanny P. Capron, December 29, 1825. He was also identified with other kinds of business, being interested in purchasing real estate, the lumber business and later in manufacturing.

Mr. W. F. Pulsifer, his partner, died Febru- ary 22, 1837, leaving for that time quite a large estate, of which disposition was made by will to his heirs in Boston. Mr. Pulsifer showed his confidence in Mr. Ball by making him executor of his will.

About the year 1838 he, with his brother, John P., formed a co-partnership and commenced the manufacture of linseed oil, locating a branch of their works in Pittstown, N. Y. This part- nership was continued actively for over twenty years, David attending the mill in West Win- chester, while his brother John gave his time and attention to the one in Pittstown. In 1840 David Ball purchased the woolen-mill located at what has sinee been known as Scotland, and which had been owned by Cyrus Greenwood.

He continued to operate this until it was de- stroyed by fire in 1847, and it was not rebuilt by him, but a few years later he disposed of his interest in the power to a company who rebuilt the woolen-mill.

In 1860 he again engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods in connection with another

party, having put the necessary machinery into the mill formerly used by D. & A. W. Ball as a pail-factory. In 1862 he purchased the interest of the other partner for fifteen thousand dollars and continued the business under the firm-name of D. Ball & Son. His death occurred Ang. 4, 1864. His children were D. L. C. Ball, Mrs. W. E. Thayer and Jennie E. Ball, all of whom sur- vived him. His wife died September 6, 1863.

In reviewing the outlines of an active life snch as Mr. Ball's has been, we cannot but ob- serve the energy and perseverance of the man in the many interests with which he was eontin- ually occupied. At one time in the mercantile business with his brother under the firm-name of D. & A. W. Ball, the manufacture of oil at two different points, an iron foundry, a coop- erage, a pail-factory, a saw and stave-mill and a woolen-mill, besides being actively en- gaged in all that pertained to the general bene- fit of the town where he resided.

He was one of the original instigators of the Ashnelot Railroad and the Winchester Bank. The name of the village was changed to " Ash- uelot " through the efforts of his son, D. L. C. Ball, postmaster, in 1852, and has since been known by that name.

The results of a life of this character speak more eloquently of its real worth and value to a community than any words of commendation which we might add, and the example of his integrity and uprightness will be long remem- bered by those who knew him.

THE TURNER FAMILY.

The first ancestor of James B. Turner to come to this country was William H. (1), who left England, with his widowed mother, when he was a small boy, and settled in Glastenbury, Conn. He married Mercy, oldest daughter of Reuben Risley. From this union there were two girls, who died single, and seven boys,- William H., (2) Jr., James B. (2), Chauncey Alanson (2), Robert (2), Sanford (2) and George

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HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

(2). These boys all married, reared families of children and lived cach to advanced age.

James B. Turner (2), the subject of this sketch, who was born February 16, 1791, passed his childhood in Glastenbury, Conn., and attending the district school of that place, he obtained a fair education. Young Turner early developed a fondness for the water, and his first business was that of a sailor on a coasting vessel that plied between Hartford and New York, chiefly, though he occasionally voyaged as far south as " the Carolinas" and elsewhere, as the neces- sities of the coasting trade demanded. He was a young man of good habits, and, by industry and frugality, he, while yet quite young, had saved a considerable sum of money. Alanson (2), a younger brother of James B., was carly ap- prenticed to learn the trade of a elothier, and, by diligence and care, mastered all the details of the business, as carried on at that time. About the year 1817, these brothers, the one with considerable money and the other with a practical knowledge of the business, formed a copartnership for the manufacture of woolen cloth, and, coming to Ashuelot, N. H., bought a water privilege, on the Ashnelot River, and a small building, in which the cloth business had been carried on in a small way, and, en- larging the buildings to meet their requirements, went to work. They soon established them- selves firmly in the business, and carried it on successfully for nearly forty years, adding im- proved machinery and, from time to time, enlarging their mill as the necessities of an increasing and profitable business demanded.

Mr. Turner was prominent in the civil affairs of the town and filled nearly all of the various town offices and also represented the town in the General Court. In politics Mr. Turner was a Whig, and at the time of the organization of the Republican party he joined it and acted with it up to the time of his death. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Church and was liberal in the support of public wor- ship. May 10, 1815, he married Milly, daughter

of James and Jemima Galpin, and she bore him eight children,-

Martha J. (3), born July 5, 1816; William G. (3), born June 4, 1818, died August, 1846 ; Chauncey A. (3), born June 13, 1820, died August, 1821 ; Eunice H. (3), born November 30, 1822; Theresa A. (3), born February 1, 1826, died September, 1832; Aurelius B., (3), born June 23, 1828; James E. (3), born No- vember 19, 1830, died August, 1833; Arletta A. (3,) born February 28, 1834, died Decem- ber, 1847.

Aurelius B. (3), (who furnished the engraving of his father for this work) learned the business of cloth manufacture in the mills of his father and uncle and finally succeeded them and be- came the proprietor of large manufacturing in- terests in the vicinity of the old mill. His educational advantages were such as were at that time found in the district schools. Ilis first business was that of a manufacturer of satinets, in 1858, under the firm name of Turner & Raymond. In 1862 Mr. Raymond died, and the reorganized firm was Buell, Pratt & Turner, and they made union beavers, cotton-warp, wool and shoddy filling. The enterprise has been carried on under various firm changes up to the present time. The firm is now Thayer & Turner. Messrs. Thayer, Pratt and Turner, Captain Ansel Dickinson and D. L. C. Ball bought the property of the Ashuelot Company, and, after running it five years, formed a Stock Company of it and carry it on as such at the present time.

February 9, 1864, he married Matilda M., daughter of Miles and Martha D. Mitchell, and lives in a beautiful home on a bluff overlooking the mills, in the village of Ashuelot.

ANSEL DICKINSON.

Among the families of New England that have shown energy, force of character and per- sistent industry, and by the force of indom- itable will impressed itself on the present era

Angel Section

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WINCHESTER.

by the perpetual labors of several generations, is the Dickinson family, of whom, in the fourth generation from Nathaniel (1), Nathan- iel (2), William (3), is Ansel (4), the subject of this sketch. Nathaniel (1) came from England early in the seventeenth century, and settled in Deerfield, Mass., and was a farmer. He was a soldier in the Indian War, sta- tioned at the garrison fort at Northfield, Mass., and was killed by the Indians April 15, 1747. His son, Nathaniel (2), with his brother Joseph, left the home farm after the death of their father, and pushing northward, they lo- cated in the wilderness, on a tract of four hun- dred acres, in what is now the northern part of the town of Swanzey. Later they divided their tract of land, and each built residences thereon, in which they lived during the re- mainder of their lives.

Nathaniel was twice married and was the father of six sons and one daughter. The sons- William (3), Asa, Abel, Uriah, Aaron and Na- thaniel-all grew to manhood. The daughter died in infancy. The mother of these children was Caroline Cummings, of Swanzey. Wil- liam (3) was a farmer, and married Lucinda Gardner, by whom he had eleven children, four of whom died young. The seven who lived to grow up were Erastus, Caroline, Nathaniel, Arvilla, David S., Ansel (4) and Rollins. Of this family, the eldest, Erastus, demands espe- cial mention. He was born December, 1800, and attended the district school. He married Esther, daughter of Moses Hills, Esq., of Swanzey, and removed to Winchester, where he engaged extensively in the business of lumber- ing, buying large tracts of timber-lands. He had no taste for polities, but represented the town of Winchester in the Legislature in 1852. Early in life he showed a fondness for military affairs, and when he became a man

joined a local military company as a private. He was promoted through all the grades of office to that of major general of volunteers. He died July 22, 1865.

Ansel (4) was born in Swanzey February 22, 1822. His boyhood was spent on the farm, where his life was not unlike that of other boys of this period in the history of New Hamp- shire. His educational advantages were such as were afforded by the common schools of that time, but by close attention to his studies he made progress much beyond the average. Showing considerable capacity for business he came to Winchester and was associated with his brother, General Erastus, at the age of seventeen. Ansel (4) was twice married-first, in 1852, to Jane L. Boleyn, of Hinsdale, N. H., who died shortly after marriage ; second, to Mary Theresa Felch, from which latter union there have been born La Fell, Milan A., John H. and William Eugene.

Captain Dickinson has acquired large busi- ness experience, and is engaged in a great num- ber of business enterprises in his town and vi- cinity, and furnishes employment to a large number of workmen, each one of whom has the most implicit faith in his word and entire confidence in his business judgment. In politics Captain Dickinson is a Democrat. In religion a Methodist. For many years he has been a director in the Winchester National Bank, and is also president of the Security Savings-Bank, of Winchester. He has repre- sented the town of Winchester (which is largely Republican) four terms in the General Court, has been a member of the School Board, and is sure to be found as an active participant in labors of love for the good of the many. Such a life, earnest, vigorous, true, successful, has a value not to be easily measured, but sure to make the world better and faith in man more firm.

HISTORY

SULLIVAN COUNTY,

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

HISTORY

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CHAPTER I. GENERAL HISTORY.

BY JOSEPH W. PARMELEE.

PREVIOUS to the year 1771 there were no county divisions in the State of New Hampshire. The courts for the adjustment of all legal matters were held at Portsmouth.

In 1771 the State was divided into five counties. Of these was the county of Cheshire, which ex- tended north from the State line of Massachusetts some sixty-five miles, and east from the Con- necticut River, which was its western boundary, about twenty miles, making an area more than three times as long as it was broad. '

It consisted of thirty-eight towns, and the courts were held alternately at Keene and Charles- town. Jails were erected at each place, and that at Charlestown did good work in Revolutionary times as a hostelry for the "offensive partisans " of His Majesty George III.

The increase in business and importance of Keene, which was central to the lower part of the county, and of the northern towns, of which New- port was the most central, and the fact that Charles- town was not convenient to either section, in

connection with changes that had occurred during the fifty years since the county was organized, in- dicated the necessity of a readjustment of county affairs, and on December 8, 1824, the Legislature enacted that the May term of the Supreme Court of Judicature should be removed from Charles- town to Newport.

This afforded only a partial relief from the gene- ral inconvenience, as the facilities for the trans- action of other county business remained the same as before. It was apparent that the only remedy for this state of things was in the erection of a new county. The matter came before the Legislature on June 23, 1826, and by an appropriate act the question of division was submitted to the several towns in Cheshire County, and also the question whether Newport or Claremont should become the shire-town of the new county. The result of the election was a vote to divide the county, and Newport was adopted as the shire-town of the new county by a majority of 3728 votes over Claremont.

The new county was named in honor of one of New Hampshire's most distinguished Revolutionary patriots and soldiers, -- General John Sullivan,- and comprised the towns of Acworth, Charlestown, Claremont, Cornish, Croydon, Grantham, Goshen, Lempster, Langdon, Newport, Plainfield, Sunapee,

HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Springfield, Unity and Washington,-in all fifteen towns.

The county of Sullivan, thus organized, has an average length of about thirty miles, with Grafton County on the north, and a breadth of some twenty miles, with Merrimack County on the east. Its somewhat irregular eastern boundary line traverses the great ridge between the Connecticut and Merri- mack Valleys, the surface of a part of Sunapee Lake, and the crest of the Sunapee range of high- lands, southward to the Cheshire line. Its western borders are washed by the waters of the Connecti- cut River. It is estimated that the elevation of Sunapee Lake is 820 feet higher than the waters of the Connecticut at the mouth of Sugar River, twenty miles distant. The altitude of Sunapee Mountain is 2683 feet above mean tide-water at Boston. With these statistics in view, it will be easy to estimate the extent to which the entire area of Sullivan County becomes a water-shed to the Connecticut River. Central to this area of about six hundred square miles flows the Sugar River, the main outlet of Sunapee Lake, to its confluence with the Connecticut River, in Claremont, receiving in its course the waters of its northern and southern branches, from the northern and southern extremities of the county, with many lesser affluents.

Flowing from this water-shed are streams in Plainfield and Cornish, Little Sugar River, in Unity and Charlestown, and Cold River, that has its source in the ponds of Lempster and flows through Aeworth and Langdon.

The highest point of land in Sullivan is Croydon Mount, the altitude of which is 2789 feet above sea-level. From its summit a large portion of the county is visible.

The scenery of Sullivan County, while not as im- posing as that of the more northern part of the State, is picturesque and delightful. Its climate, soil and productions vary with the distances from the Connecticut Valley.

CHAPTER II.

BENCH AND BAR.

HON. SIMEON OLCOTT was the first member of the legal profession who settled in Charlestown, and the first who opened an office in New Hamp- shire west of the Merrimack River. He was the son of Timothy Olcott, Jr., of Bolton, Conn., and Eunice White, of Hatfield, Mass., and was born October 1, 1735. He was educated at Yale College, at which institution he graduated in 1761, and, as it is supposed, commenced immediately the study of law. The exact date of his establishing himself in Charlestown has not been ascertained, but it could not have been later than 1764. The earliest date at which his name appears in the proprietors' records is December 9, 1768, at which time he was chosen chairman of a committee, with John Hast- ings, Jr., and William Heywood, to proportion the amount of quit-rent due from each proprietor to His Majesty's government, agreeable to their charter; and also to receive and pay the same to the Receiver-General at Portsmouth.

The public record of Mr. Olcott shows that after establishing himself in Charlestown he grew in favor with the people to such a degree that he was very soon elected to some of the most honorable offices in the gift of the town. In 1769, 1770 and 1771 he was one of the selectmen. In the latter year he was also elected delegate to the Assembly at Portsmouth, which office he held for three years. In 1770 and 1772 he was, moreover, unanimously chosen to direct the deliberations of the town as their moderator. In 1773 he received the appoint- ment of judge of Probate, with a salary of twenty- four pounds sterling, in addition to which his business had so increased that he deemed it suffi- cient to allow of the admission of a partner ; and in July of that year Benjamin West, who became subsequently one of the most distinguished lawyers in New Hampshire, was admitted to that connec- tion.

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 93

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