USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Chester > History of Chester, New Hampshire, including Auburn : a supplement to the History of old Chester, published in 1869 > Part 50
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Auburn > History of Chester, New Hampshire, including Auburn : a supplement to the History of old Chester, published in 1869 > Part 50
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The older people, too, were social in their habits. Whist parties were more common then than now. Tea parties at all seasons brought the matrons together. Occasionally we remember a grand supper, when some gentleman had in some way procured wild game or had a fine turkey of his own raising to offer. Wine was commonly offered to all guests, even to callers in the day or evening and the gentlemen took pride in pouring out a fine glass of Maderia, and the ladies in presenting a good glass of currant wine of home-made manufacture.
We gave all our hired men New England rum daily, about a pint a day in winter to keep them from freezing in the wood lot, and the same quantity in haying to keep them from melting. Old Jamaica rum and brandy were at hand for gentlemen who needed something stronger than wine, and gin was sometimes used, but whiskey had not then come into use, though a rude sort of potato whiskey was some- times made. So common was the use of spirit that in any dispute among laboring men it was usual to back up an opinion by the chal- lenge, "I'l bet you a quart of rum on it." I well remember my father offering Jerry, one of his men, two quarts of rum if he would ride the black colt, which had never been ridden, home from pasture, and that Jerry did it and got his rum. New rum was sold by the glass in the stores and "black strap," which was half rum and half molasses, was an enticing mixture for learners. All the men drank spirit and the effect on that generation was that many ,if not most ,of the farmers
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died poor, some of them having mortgaged their farms to supply this craving for strong drink.
There was as much feeling of caste in our society then as ever existed since. "Our set" did not mix socially with any other. We boys could not fail to feel the attraction of the rosy lassies whom we met at play or at school, and sometimes even dared to take an evening walk with them, but it was by no means a thing to boast of among the girls of our own set.
Fifty years ago, the best apple orchards that have ever been in the town had been already planted and may still be seen along the street in decay. The Baldwin and the Roxbury Russett were the best known late varieties, though many other sorts were tried. Great attention was given to gardens of fruit and vegetables, and a generous rivalry constantly existed among neighbors. Pears and cherries and peaches, plums. currants and gooseberries were in all the gardens.
The same rivalry in cattle and horses and sheep that exists in every agricultural community existed there. The blood of the Morgan and Bellfounder horses was at great expense and trouble introduced, and colts of fabulous speed were boasted of, and as there were no trotting courses or measured distances on level roads, no limit was imposed on the statement.
By my father's account book I find that the common price of a day's labor was in 1830 fifty cents for a man or a yoke of oxen . Prob- ably the man had his dinner at the house. By the month, for seven months, from ten to twelve dollars, and for the other five about eight dollars a month, with board, was paid. As, however, the men received potatoes at twenty-five cents a bushel, and cider at one dollar a barrel ; wood at two dollars a cord; poultry at seven cents a pound and beef at five, the purchasing power of their wages was not, less than at pres- ent. Indian corn at that time was worth about one dollar a bushel, as none was brought from the West until long after.
CHESTER, 1845 TO 1922. BY EDWARD COOLIDGE
Mr. Edward Coolidge came to Chester with his parents, brothers and sister in Dec., 1845. He was born in Lynn, Mass., 25 Dec., 1836, and died in Chester in 1923. He spent the larger part of his life in Chester. By accident he lost the sight of one eye at 17 and became totally blind in May, 1871. Deprived of sight he developed to a remarkable degree the power of memory. His recollections as reproduced by his daughter are as follows :
That the lives of the early settlers of Chester were ever in danger from the depredations of the Indians is borne out by the fact that several garrison houses were kept in the township till the peace of 1759. Were we able to verify all that has been transmitted orally, we could declare with accuracy that two of the olden times dwellings located within the present limits of the town, were closely interwoven with the traditional history of byegone days.
The first of these old garrisons stood on the site of the Benjamin Wilson place adjacent to Couch's mill and a fragment is said to be in existence still. The other, formerly known as the William Phelps place, stood near the foot of Jack's Hill and was destroyed by fire in March, 1900. The original structure of the latter was remodelled by Mr. Phelps, whose family resided there till the spring of 1847, when
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it was sold at auction to B. Frank Morse. The lot is now owned by George S. Webster.
These, we are told, were the assembling places of the early settlers when their unfriendly neighbors were observed to be acting alarmingly restless and the war-paint besmeared their faces. Here, with their guns and provisions the settlers would tarry until the savage tumult had abated.
Whether the farm once belonging to the first John Hall and his successors was ever the scene of their military maneuvers is only a matter of conjecture, but many Indian arrow-heads have been un- earthed on this farm at different times by John G. Hall. Evidently this was contending ground.
We may conclude that one of the most eventful days in the lives of the first Chester settlers was when the last poisoned arrow left its bow. We would reverence the spot could we but know just where the last red skin shook the dust of Chester from his moccasins never to return.
A piece of hallowed ground lies beyond the Hall's Village road stretching toward the south. Tradition tells us that the Indians were here domiciled in three camps and that fact gave the name of Three Camps Meadow to the locality. A large body of water once covered this area, the over-flow forming a wide brook, which, taking sinuous course, finally united with the waters from Hazelton's Mill Pond far to the eastward. In by-gone days unknown hands fashioned a dam along one side of the water and enclosed it within this Indian domain.
A well patronized foot-path once crossed this famous camping- ground of the red men and connected the Cowdry neighborhood with the Jack Hill road and points beyond. Eighty years ago and more teams infrequently travelled this abandoned foot-path, as the grade was too steep for ease and safety.
Earlier generations of Chester people tried in vain to associate the first white inhabitants with the peculiar appearance of a certain piece of ground lying northwest of the Cowdry farm. In 1845 a small boy coming from Massachusetts to reside in town was conducted to this spot by his young schoolmates who regarded it as a great curiosity.
Here was a perfect circle like a circus ring, the boundary being a slight depression like a beaten path. Within the ring two large chestnut trees were growing, witnesses to the age of the formation. This enigmatical earth-circle has remained unchanged through the succeed- ing years. No one has ever explained its meaning or how it came to be as it is.
Once an attempt was made to examine beneath its surface in the hope of finding some relics, but the explorers became apprehensive lest some of the Indians might have died of a pestilence and their survivors had buried them here. They wisely left the sail of the earth circle undisturbed, presuming this to be a piece of ancient handiwork anti- dating historical records.
A century of time has brought remarkable changes in the land- scape within our borders. There is hardly a pasture but what used to have its well-trodden path over which distant neighbors journeyed daily to visit each other on matters of pleasure or business. Within the last half century these paths have largely disappeared, many of those hospitable neighbors are now deceased, their shady walks have disappeared and some of their homes have disappeared.
Early in the winter of 1863, an old man attempted to travel over one of these obliterated paths which crossed the Brown farm recently vacated. A few days later his remains were found by Mr. Brown's
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daughters, Martha and Maria. The news spread quickly over the town and many visited the spot where the remains lay. Josiah D. Morse was the only person who identified the man. He was a former resident of the town of the name Jack Wilson. He had reached the century mark and here he met his tragic death.
The "South Woods" were the haunts of many olden time neighbors. Distant localities that were inaccessible save by many miles of travel around the public highways, were brought into closer communication by private roads that extended through large tracts of land. These were much frequented by those who lived in parts of Auburn and Chester remote from the villages. When the Congre- gational Church of Chester was undergoing extensive repairs, a few good people living in the southwest part of the town, faithful to their church vows, walked over these woodland avenues to the Long Meadow Meeting-house in Auburn, rather than to be denied the enjoyment of religious worship on Sunday.
On his way to Goffstown, a peculiarly interesting almshouse character popularly known as "Dr." John Dunlap, occasionally made pilgrimages over the private foot-paths. Dunlap possessed an accurate knowledge of the topography of this territory and was a privilged character, having served as a soldier in the war of 1812. It is said that he had an extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of every herb that grew hereabouts. Hence he received the title of "Dr." He was noted for his quaintness, his irascible temper and his marvelous gastronomic capacity. He died in June, 1867, at the age of 77.
A bridle path used to extend along the southern side of the "South Woods" and was much frequented by equestrians long ago. Horse- back riding was a common mode of travel then and this was a favorite route to Manchester. It is a hundred years ago and more since the last horse cantered over this old bridle path. No one knows the rank or destination of the rider. The bridle path survives only in name.
A new road 38814 rods in length was built a mile south of Che: ter Village in 1836, making a continuous direct road to East Derry at a cost of $696.60. On the east side of this road David Currier built a small house and was for many years the blacksmith. Here he died in July, 1890, at the age of 82. Another piece of land on the west side of the road farther south was purchased by William Shirley.
He bought the Greenough house of Senator Bell and removed it to its present site. Here he lived for many years till 1888 when he sold it to John Holman, who came from Maine. Mr. Shirley died at the home of his son Jesse Shirley in Hampstead a year or two later.
In the summer of 1838 a work of considerable importance was accomplished. The grades of Clay's and Morse's Hills were greatly reduced and Dearborn's bridge at the foot of Morse's Hill was con- structed. This was a splendid piece of work. The lowest estimated cost of these improvements was $1000, but Dudley C. Swain declared that $600 was an adequate appropriation and he was thereupon ap- pointed superintendent of the undertaking.
The bridge was begun about June I, and in thirty-two days was practically completed at a cost of $365.64 and entire expenditure was only $430.97. Major Swain received commendable praise from the County Commissioners who pronounced it the best piece of road in the county.
In 1846 a steam mill was erected on the west side of the Dearborn bridge. It was built by shares of $100 each by the influential men of the town. It proved a failure and the share holders lost heavily by this investment.
Che. I Willums.
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The same year parties from without the state erected a large mill on one side of the "South Woods" and employed a large number of workmen. John A. Hazelton assisted in building the large chimney. The foundation was carried on uninterruptedly through the week including Sundays. On these days many came from the surrounding towns, attracted by the magnitude of the enterprise. A small barn was built for the horses of the workmen. Ezekiel Wakefield came from Kennebunk, Me., to operate the gang-saw which required skill and experience. Many men and teams were employed in transporting the lumber to distant points. The large farm-house of Isaac Morse, near by, sheltered many of the carpenters and lumber operators.
The mill buildings remained in the woods for a number of years, but were finally removed. Some of the lumber in them was purchased by Mr. Londergan out of which he erected a pretty cottage which has ornamented our main street in recent years.
One romance grew out of this extensive lumbering enterprise. Mr. Wakefield won the heart and hand of Miss Mary Ann Morse, one of the daughters of Isaac Morse. Three resident descendants of that union remain in Chester, viz. Arthur I. Morse, Mrs. Maud B. (Wakefield) Goodrich, wife of Preston E. Goodrich and Aaron Wake- field Goodrich.
In 1845, when Auburn was set off, Abel G. Quigg was one on the part of Chester chosen to make the division. Mr. Quigg was a man of influence in the town. He was proprietor of the Village Hotel and was a good citizen. He was square and upright in all his dealings and loyal to his friends, among whom was Major Dudley C. Swain.
Mr. Quigg's attitude toward a small boy on a certain occasion was a favorite oft-repeated story in the latter's family years afterwards. It happened one evening at the close of the dancing-school in the Spring of 1850. A ball and turkey supper was the special feature of the evening. The affair took place in Mr. Quigg's Hall. Upon learning that a small boy was present and had not been a participant in the festivities of the evening Mr. Quigg conducted him to a spacious well- filled pantry and summoning the waiters ordered them to attend to the boy's needs till his appetite was satisfied. The boy's father was one of the musicians of the evening and the boy then residing in Hall's Village has not forgotten this in seventy years and more.
In April, 1865, the news that Lincoln had been assassinated thrilled the nation with excitement. It cast a gloom over many a Chester home including that of William Brown, commonly called "Tanner" Brown. An old lady was visiting at Mr. Brown's at the time and all unmindful of the patriotic atmosphere about her remarked upon the good fortune which she considered had come to the country by this tragedy.
Enraged by this thrust at the "Great Captain" whose staunch supporter Mr. Brown was, the choleric old gentleman, forgetting his rheumatic twinges, seized his crutches and rushing at the offending woman, drove her out into the street.
Barely escaping the downward stroke of the upraised crutch, the old lady fled in terror to the home of a neighbor, not daring to stop to recover her possessions. Those were indeed the days that tried men's souls. Honor to the memory of Mr. Brown whose granddaughter Mrs. Olive A. McDuffee still resides in Chester.
In the olden times horse-racing was seldom seen in Chester. How- ever, Charles Coolidge had the gift of a little bay weighing less than 800 pounds She was unsurpassed in spirit and speed and was known as fleet-footed "Little Fannie." She came with the family in 1845 and had a record of twelve miles an hour for twenty miles.
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But in the year 1922 the equipage of other days has been sup- planted by the prophetic "horseless carriage." The earth still performs its revolutions far beyond the allotted time of the prophetess of old. Within this latter period the rugged intellect and restless energy characteristic of the people of Chester moves onward.
CHESTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Helen A. (French) Cochrane From the METEOR of Aug. 17, 1893
Twenty-five years ago the ladies of the Congregational Society held a Fair, in connection with which the Meteor was published, copies of which may still be found among the archives of the town. In this paper is recorded the fact that Mr. Robie had offered five thousand dollars toward a church fund, on certain conditions. These condi- tions were accepted, and thus was established the fund which has since been increased by contributions from various sources. It was at this time also, that the "Ladies' Social Library" was founded. This was accomplished mainly through the efforts of Miss Lizzie Noyes and Miss Lucy Greenough. Many still remember with what zeal they can- vassed the town; beguiling money alike from men who had more children than dollars, and from hard-hearted old bachelors hitherto insensible to the wiles of womankind. The family man has long since reaped the reward of his generosity through his children; and we hope the old bachelor, if not rewarded in the same way, has never had reason to repent opening his heart and his purse in a good cause. We hold our Fair to-night in the same hall, and we worship in the same church which were used twenty-five years ago. The latter, however, has un- dergone some alterations. It was at that period that the choir descend- ed from its elevation in the gallery to the corner at the minister's left hand, and the alcove was built behind the pulpit : all which, at the time, was considered a daring innovation; but still greater changes have taken place since. The ancient "Seraphim" has been replaced by a fine organ, and the choir now faces the gallery from which it first started on its tour around the church. Twenty-five years ago the pulpit was occupied by an interesting single gentleman-just as it is to-day. The former incumbent, however, in the end, took to himself a wife- thereby, of course, making himself doubly interesting. Whether the present incumbent will profit by his example, another quarter of a cen- tury may reveal.
In looking over the Meteor, we find some prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled. For instance:
"Just let us get our railroad built, Our stocks all firm and snug- Greenbacks will wave on every tree, And gold will be a drug."
To this we may now add the mournful refrain :
We haven't got our railroad built, Our stocks, oh, where are they ! A hollow sham the greenbacks proved; Our gold has shrunk away.
Taking it as a whole, there has been little change in Chester dur- ing the last twenty-five years, or even for a much longer period. If
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Rip Van Winkle had gone to sleep on Devil's Den Hill instead of the Catskill Mountains, he would not have been at all bewildered when he awoke from his twenty years' nap. He would just have shaken him- self, yawned a little, and posted off down to the store to buy a plug of tobacco for his pipe without realizing that anything extraordinary had happened.
Science tells us that the human body undergoes an entire change every seven years. Yet the man is always the same man, and carries his birth mark to his grave. In like manner, Chester is the same town that it has been from its foundation, and its inhabitants are identical with the early settlers in blood and name, and general characteristics. A former resident, returning after a long absence, recognizes the children, whom he never saw before, from their family traits. That is a Lane, or a Fitz, or a Tenney, he says; and he is right in almost every instance. No doubt Ichabod Robie, one of the grantees of Chester, is now walking our streets in the person of some descendant. Sampson Underhill is said to have been the first person buried in our cemetery. He was calling at our houses the other day collecting taxes.
I have often thought that if the long-gone generations who are sleeping in our grave-yard, should suddenly rise, I should know them all, and be able to call them all by name.
But some of the families of the early settlers have run out. I remember one who was the last of his race .- John Dunlap, by name. He belonged to a reputable family, and was well educated, but he was a prodigal son and went the usual way of prodigals. His tall, stooping figure was once a familiar object in our streets, as he went from house to house selling roots and herbs for beer, or asking for a job on the old eight-day clock, for no one knew the internal mechanism of a clock better than he. The town clock was for years his special care. But at last he died and went where time is no more, and clocks are no longer needed. The old town clock did not long survive him; it ticked with a creak and struck with a groan, and at last it covered its face with its hands and was forever silent.
Another who was the last of her family was Zillah Hill. She, too, was born to better things than ever fell to her lot, and it was through no fault of hers that she missed them all. No whisper of scandal, no story of love or folly was ever connected with her name. In this re- spect she was as unassailable as a chestnut burr. She had her peculi- arities, and perhaps the softer elements did not enter largely into her composition, but is that any reason why the boys should throw things down her well or break her windows or pull up her cabbages and turnips ?
Zillah was not a pauper; she had a small inheritance which was at the same time her boast and her bane. "I've got property," she was fond of saying, "I'm as well off as Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Aiken." Yet she never met a man of any note in the street, especially a lawyer, that she did not stop him at the point of her parasol, and pour into his ear the story of her wrongs and trials concerning this same proper- ty. It is true she seldom acted upon the advice offered her, but in that respect she was much like other mortals. Poor Zillah! the world did not treat her tenderly, and even death, the last friend of the poor and wretched, came to her in his most tragic guise. It was said that she threatened to haunt a certain person after her death, but I have never heard that she carried the threat into execution.
I commiserate those who are too young to remember John Dunlap and Zillah Hill. They were characters in their day, and we ne'er shall look upon their like again.
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When another twenty-five years have come and gone, who will chronicle the doings of to-day? Some of us will still be dwelling under the pleasant shadow of our trees, and some will be sleeping beneath them; some will be represented by children or grandchildren, and some, perchance, will not be represented at all, but, in any case, we trust to the charity of posterity that we shall not be misrepresented.
CHESTER IN THE SIXTIES BY CHARLES A. WILCOMB, FULLERTON, CALIF
"My observation convinces me that ninety per cent. of the character of a town is due to environment. Before the days of the telegraph, the daily paper, the telephone and automobile conditions of life and living individualized men and women, no two alike, each de- pendant on himself or herself. There were real upstanding characters in the days of my youth, men and women stern, but sturdy, slow but sure, and they built themselves into their houses, their stone walls, their very garments, and the trade-mark on everything was "Made to Last."
"Their Literary Digest was the Church and adjacent horse-sheds, the' town-meeting and the village store; their daily news, family prayer ; their movies, the cows, pigs, chickens and the old dash churn; their telephone, the dinner bell and horn; their tractor, four handsome oxen which partook of the times in their slow but mighty well-done work. The manual training and physical culture schools' curriculum, milking cows, churning butter, darning stockings, braiding hats, taking care of a fourteen-room house, kindred other 'chores', and walking three miles through the snow to school.
"In contrast with the average life of today, one may well ask 'is it quality or quantity that counts ?' and above all to realize that such a state of supreme peace and happiness as then existed was possible with New England rum at three cents a glass and every minister of the gospel a partaker thereof. Was life worth living? The number of years our forefathers managed to stand it indicates that they thought it was, so they drank their rum, the old ladies smoked their clay pipes, and who of this untoward generation shall rise up and say that they were not God-fearing, honest and of that class of whom Lincoln said, 'God must love the common people, for He made so many of them.'
"I was arriving at years of understanding when the Civil War was raging and well do I recall many of the stirring events of that time. As boys we did not comprehend the mighty import of the happenings of those days, still we entered into the spirit of the times with zeal and enthusiasm, whether we picked lint for the wounded or tagged some new soldier just home from camp, with his brand new blue suit, to bid farewell to loved ones before going South.
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