USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of Hampton Falls, N.H., Volume II > Part 16
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James Howard Brown was representative from this town in 1903. He was library messenger during the legislative sessions of 1905 and 1907.
At the presidential election in 1908, Warren Brown was chosen one of the presidential electors, receiving 53,144 votes.
At the same election John N. Sanborn of this town was elected senator from the twenty-first district.
Fred P. Sanborn was elected representative from this town, after the most spirited contests, both in caucus and at the polls, that we have ever had in my remembrance.
In an old deed, dated 1690, the Moulton elm is spoken of as the old elm.
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS
In the autumn of 1904 the selectmen put up new guide posts and signs all over the town where needed-twenty cedar posts and all new boards-which was a long needed improvement and added much to the good appearance of the town. In 1915 the town put up signs, where the roads from outside enter the town, bearing this inscription, "This is Hampton Falls." It is a great convenience for the information of strangers.
In 1904 the Ananias Club purchased a building to be used for club purposes and moved it from N. M. Batchelder's and located it near the house of the late Lewis S. Sanborn, on the Hampton road.
The name of Swain appears very early upon the town records. Several families of the name were living here before 1800 when the name disappears. After 1900 the name again appears. Nahum Swain, married a daughter of George S. Merrill. On the death of Mr. Merrill, Swain succeeded to his homestead. In 1908 Roscoe F. Swain of South Hampton married Mildred, daughter of Warren Brown, and has since made his residence here. Both are descendants of the early residents of the town by that name.
Abel Ward, son of Thomas of Hampton, was born January 1, 1694. He married Mary Melcher, daughter of Samuel Melcher, October 23, 1724. He settled in Hampton Falls upon the lot now occupied by the house of the late Nathan Moulton. All the land on the north side of the road around the Moulton house was taken from the Melcher farm. Abel Ward had nine children, one of whom was Melcher who was a Revolutionary soldier from this town, and lived near the Exeter road schoolhouse.
Thankful Hamilton, whose tombstone is in the Well's lot in the old cemetery, died in 1835, aged eighty-five years. She was a domestic in the family of Moses Wells and had been considered one of the family.
Charles L. Hardy, adopted son of Charles Hardy (adopted some time in the 40's), went to England and enlisted in the army and served until the completion of the Crimean War. When he came home he was denied the right of voting by the selectmen, in 1868, because he had taken an oath to support the English government. In after years he was allowed to vote. He died in 1880. His son, Charles William Hardy, graduated from Harvard College in 1895, and is a director of physical education of the Y. M. C. A.
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Ralph Adams Cram, a native of this town and a son of Rev. William A. Cram, is an architect in Boston. In 1903 he was selected by the United States Government to remodel the entire plant of the military academy at West Point.
There has been a question as to the origin of the name "Murray's Row." No person of the name ever lived in the town. We find that Lieut. Joseph Akerman, an original char- acter, was the first to apply the name to that locality. It seemed to be a name which happened to strike him. At that time there were but two houses on the row, his and the Marshall house.
When the meeting house was built at the Line, it could have been located on any suitable lot between the Falls River and Seabrook line, but no lot could be obtained. When a lot was selected Isaiah Page, who lived where Clarence Brown's buildings were burned, was much opposed, as the meeting house when built cut off the view and sunshine from his house, and he exclaimed, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The name Diana has been applied to this house and it is often spoken of by that name.
The name of Butler appears upon the record as early as 1726, but disappears during the time of the Revolutionary War. It appears again soon after 1850. Robert Butler is a descendant of the early family of that name. The Butlers were royalists and that was why they left the town in 1776.
When the meeting house was built in 1768, the location was so far west of the old meeting house that it was called the Ohio meeting house. Some of our people had emigrated about that time to Ohio which was at that time, the far west.
Horace A. Godfrey who lived at the hill was a railway postal clerk for many years, beginning in 1876 and continuing until his death in 1905. He was much interested in the town common and it was through his efforts that the chestnut and other trees were set out. He looked after and cared for them as long as he lived. They are a monument to his memory which bids fair to continue a long time. His run in the mail car was from Boston to Bangor.
EXTRACTS FROM WARREN BROWN'S JOURNAL.
1899.
The following records of the weather, crops and current events are from a journal kept by Warren Brown, beginning January 1, 1899:
Jan. 1st: A light snow recently fallen is drifted and requires that the roads be broken. 10th: Zero weather. 15th: Snow has nearly all disappeared. Good wheeling. The remainder of the month cold, with little snow.
Feb. 1st: Cold. 8th: A heavy snow which turned into a blizzard and blocked the roads badly. There were no trains running on the steam railroads for a day or two. It cost this town $300 to render the roads passable. 19th: Snow going away rapidly and had nearly all gone by the end of the month.
Mar. 1st: Baldwin apples sold for $3.50 per barrel; No. 2 at $2.25. Considerable snow fell which soon went away. 7th: A hard storm of snow. 12th: Very muddy. 19th: Ice storm which adhered to the trees. It made good sleighing, but was slippery and dangerous. The remainder of the month was snowy and disagreeable.
Apr. 1st: A storm of rain. Very muddy and bad travelling. It continued muddy until the middle of the month. 21st: Very cold for the time of year. 29th: Warm day, 80° in the shade.
May 1st: The hottest May day on record. 3d: A heavy white frost in the morning. Tent caterpillars are very numerous and require a great deal of attention. 13th: The top of the ground is getting dry. 13th: The first street car passed through Hampton Falls. 26th: Very dry, roads dusty, and a complaint that planted seeds do not come up well. Grass looks slim.
June: The first of the month very hot and dry. 20th: A thunder shower accompanied with hail. 28th: Rained all day; considerable water fell. There was some good hay weather the last of the month.
July: Intensely hot; a good rain fell which was much needed. A good hay season; much less hay cut than last year but is of much better quality.
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Aug .: The weather generally pleasant and favorable for farm work, and dry enough to facilitate work on low lands.
Sept .: Was a pleasant month.
Oct. 1st: Very cold for the time of year. Ice formed one fourth of an inch in thickness. Snow flakes in the air. Signs of a storm which did not come. The first part of the month was pleasant. 22d: The ground has been frozen quite hard the past two mornings. The leaves have nearly all fallen from the trees. The month ended pleasant.
Nov. 1st: Dull and wet all day. 11th: It has been pleasant so far this month. Began to rain and some snow fell today. 12th: Snowing and the ground is white. The rest of the month pleasant, with little rain. Apprehension of a water famine for the winter. The first day of November was a very dark day.
Dec .: Very pleasant until the middle of the month. The ground is frozen hard. The month as a whole has been pleasant; 4° above was the lowest temperature recorded.
The year 1899, as a whole, has been a pleasant one, more pleasant weather than usual. Good crops with the exception of apples which are scarce. A great deal of extra work has been done on the farms in town this year. Wages of farm help are about $20 per month with board. Day labor for many years has been $1.50 per day without board. Indian meal has retailed during the year for less than $1 per bag, somewhere about 90 cents per bag. Hexall flour, $5.25 per barrel.
1900.
Jan. 1st: About a foot of light snow fell which became drifted and required two days' breaking to open the roads to travel. 4th: Zero in the morning; continued cold for a number of days, with good sleighing until about the 20th. 19th: Said to have been the warmest day in January for twenty-seven years. 15th: Ice cutting, eleven inches in thickness and of fine quality. 27th: Considerable rain fell which was soon frozen, making it very slippery and dangerous. Miss Jessie B. Dodge fell from the roof of a piazza and sustained fatal injuries. Disagreeable weather continued until the end of the month.
Feb .: Came in with zero weather and it remained cold a number of days. 12th-13th: Very rainy which did much damage by washing and flooding. It took a number of days' labor to repair
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the roads in the town. 18th: A severe snow storm which left the roads badly drifted and the snow unevenly distributed. The roads required a great deal of attention before being made passable. It was cold and disagreeable the remainder of the month.
Mar. 1st: Heavy rain which caused a freshet. Highest tide for twenty-seven years, with one exception. The water came up over the Boston and Maine Railroad track. 10th: The snow nearly all gone; warmer for a number of days. Last of the month disagreeable. No. 1 apples sell for $4 per barrel at retail.
Apr. 1st: Pleasant, which continued through the month.
May 3d: A heavy rainfall. 5th: Cold for time of year, which lasted for a number of days. Ice formed one fourth of an inch thick and the ground frozen. 12th: Peach trees in bloom. Trees are. backward. 15th: Hot, 99° in the shade reported from Boston. 19th: A good rain. Middle of the month cold. 28th: Eclipse of the sun, invisible by reason of clouds. A dark, cold disagreeable day followed by a hard frost at night. 30th: Apple trees in full bloom.
June: The first part of the month dry and cool. 11th: Dry and very dusty; the hay crop unpromising. Last of the month very dry. 27th: Very hot, 104° in the shade. It remained hot the remainder of the month.
July 1st: The wind blew too strong to handle hay for a number of days. Very dusty and good hay weather. 7th: A heavy shower accompanied by hail and wind, which did much damage to buildings, trees and fences. Hugh McAllister's house was struck by lightning. The remainder of the month pleasant. A good rain on the 25th. The smallest crop of hay for many years. Salt grass more in demand than for a long time. More of the marsh cut than usual, with a very favorable time to secure the hay.
Aug. 5th: Hot, with a great deal of smoke in the air. Com- plaint of dry wells. 16th: More rain fell today than has fallen during the past three months. 26th: Intensely hot.
Sept. 16th: A strong, southwest wind which did a great amount of damage. Thousands of bushels of apples were blown from the trees. Trees were badly broken, hay stacks damaged, etc. Many are now suffering for want of water. 16th: Two and one- half inches of water fell. The month was generally pleasant.
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EXTRACTS FROM WARREN BROWN'S JOURNAL
Oct .: The first of the month was wet and misty. 14th: A severe rain storm, which cleared away warm and pleasant. 17th: Cold, with frost and a number of cool days following. 22d-26th: Very hot for the time of year. There is a very large crop of apples, many of which have been sold at a very low price. Those who held them realized much better prices later in the season.
Nov .: First week pleasant. 8th: A very high tide; it being still little damage. was done. 7th-8th: Heavy thunder showers; cleared away warmer. 17th: Snow, with the ground frozen. 18th: The roads are very soft. 20th: Roads are drying. 25th- 26th: Southeast rain storm. A great deal of rain fell which went into the ground.
Dec. 1st: Cold, with some snow on the ground. 4th: A fish- ing vessel came ashore at Hampton; crew lost. People are moving the hay from the marshes upon wheels; conditions are very favorable, and most of the hay was removed during the month. 17th: The past week has been very pleasant. English hay has been sold for $20 per ton at the barn which is the highest price for many years. Zero a number of mornings last of the month.
1901.
Jan. 1st: Cold, the ground frozen hard; the roads smooth. Zero a number of mornings. 12th: Snow upon the ground; the first sleighing of the season, which is the very best. 14th: Ice cutting, ten inches in thickness, of the best quality. Rain coming interfered with the work. Snow going away. 20th: Ten degrees below. 25th: Very slippery around the buildings, but not snow enough for sleighing. Continued cold for the remainder of the month.
Feb. 1st: Very cold. 7th: Drifting snow which caused a great deal of inconvenience to street cars, and required the roads to be broken. From the 10th to the 20th there was very severe weather, followed by bad travelling, alternating between snow drifts and bare ground. Cold continued until the end of the month. It has been a poor time to remove hay from the marshes.
Mar. 1st: Warmer. The roads are getting muddy. 11th: Rainy all day; more rain has fallen than for some months pre- vious. The rain did a great deal of damage by washing, etc.
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16th: The snow nearly all gone. The roads were muddy until the end of the month. The wind has been from the west nearly all winter, which is an unusual and notable occurrence.
Apr. 3d: A heavy rain. A milk war going on in Boston be- tween the farmers and contractors which does not affect our farmers directly as our milk goes to Lynn, and is not subject to the surplus clause so called. 6th-7th: Very rainy. A great amount of water in sight. 12th: The first fair day this month; pleasant for two or three days. 26th: The roads are quite dry and considerable plowing has been done. 22d: Rainy; the wind has been from the northeast nearly all the time this month. Only 50-2 hours sunshine during the entire month.
May 3d: The wind northwest for the first time in a number of weeks. The grass looks remarkable well. Less planting done than usual at this date. 19th: Very rainy, five or six inches of rain fell. 20th: The ground is very full of water and the work of planting much delayed. We have had but little sunshine during the month.
June 1st: It is too wet to do much work on the land. Planters seed reported in many cases to be rotting badly, and all slow of germination. 2d: Apple trees are in full bloom. The Baldwins as a rule have not bloomed at all. Very few tent caterpillars. 5th: A hot day. 9th: Fair and quite cool. 14th: No rain has fallen for a week and the top of the ground is getting dry and the roads dusty. 22d: A heavy thunder storm at night. Haying began the last week in the month. The yield is considerably more than last year. Very hot, 105° in the shade. Some deaths reported from the effects of the heat; continued hot until July 4th; on the 3d it was 108° in the shade.
July 4th-5th: Quite cool. Potato bugs numerous. 10th: Dull for a day or two. Much hay colored and injured. 14th: Cooler and quite comfortable; wind northeast most of the time. The remainder of the month was not favorable for hay making, which work was much delayed on this account. Haying not finished before August 1st.
Aug. 7th: A much needed rain came. The top of the ground had become very dry. The potato crop promises to be short, and potatoes are selling for $1.75 per bushel. 17th: Quite dry; there has not been much precipitation for some time. The August season has not been favorable for securing salt hay, and
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EXTRACTS FROM WARREN BROWN'S JOURNAL
much hay was put up in bad shape. The last of the month was fair and hot.
Sept .: Hot until the 9th when a light frost came. The re- mainder of the month quite cool. The marsh season in Septem- ber was much better than the August season.
Oct .: The entire month was fair and pleasant. The leaves have fallen from the trees. Apples are a small crop and of poor quality.
Nov .: Fair until the 11th when a light snow came; the ground was frozen. The snow went away by the heat of the sun, a very unusual thing at this time of year. The same thing happened with a snow which came on the 20th-23d. The ground freezes a little every night. 24th: A severe northeastern rain storm. The tide rose to an unusual height. 28th: Ground frozen hard; 10° above. Ice formed three inches thick. Many people have dry wells and are short of water.
Dec. 1st: Pleasant. Nearly a foot of snow came on the 4th, which blocked the roads. The snow continued until the 14th when it nearly all went away with rain. The frost came out of the ground. 15th: Very rainy, which did a great deal of damage but replenished the wells and springs. 20th: Cold with high wind. Roads smooth and frozen hard. 26th: Four inches of snow came, which made fine sleighing; it was spoiled by a rain on the 28th. 29th: Rainy and a very dark day. The weather has been changeable all the month. 31st: A sudden change in tem- perature; a fall of more than 30° in a few hours, accompanied by a strong northwestern wind. A serious conflagration narrowly averted by the timely discovery of an incipient blaze, by those upon a passing street-car. It was at the house of Horace A. Godfrey.
1902
Jan .: Came in cold, with no snow upon the ground. 6th: Ice being cut, ten inches thick. 7th: Very snowy. 10th: Sold Baldwin apples in Newburyport, No 1, $4.50 per barrel, No. 2, $2.25. 12th: About a foot of snow which laid level, followed by a week of pleasant weather, which made good sleighing until the 22d when a rain came and carried off nearly all the snow. The ground was bare until the end of the month.
Feb. 1st: Snowing all day. 2d: Rain carried off all the snow. It has been very cold with high winds, and the roads are frozen
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hard and smooth. 17th: A severe snowstorm which blocked the roads and caused serious delay to steam and electric cars. There has been little thawing weather since Dec. 1st. 25th: It began to rain in the night. From the great amount of water falling and the depth of snow upon the ground the roads were impassable in many places. 27th: Warmer, the snow going away. Roads are very muddy.
Mar. 5th: Ten inches of snow fell which made good sleighing. 9th: Rain, which carried away most of the snow. 14th: Roads are very muddy, but are beginning to dry. 16th: Rainy all day. 18th: E. B. Towle is plowing, the frost being out of his garden land. Work is being done on the land in many places. 23d: Warm and spring like. Frogs heard for the first time this spring. The grass begins to look green. The remainder of the month pleasant, and favorable for doing farm work.
Apr .: First week very pleasant. 8th: Began to rain in the evening; five or six inches of water fell during the night. Pleas- ant until the 26th, when a rain storm came, with thunder and lightning. Hail stones fell more than an inch in diameter.
May 3d: Rainy. Grass looks uncommonly well. Signs of a big bloom on all kinds of fruit trees. 10th: A cold wave came; ice formed three inches in thickness and the ground was frozen hard. Peach trees were in full bloom but from some cause were not injured, as we had one of the largest crops of peaches ever known. The two succeeding days were cold, with strong north- western winds. The cold weather continued for a number of days. The Hampton River bridge at Rivermouth was formally opened with appropriate ceremonies on the 14th. It was a cold disagreeable day. Apple trees in full bloom on the 18th. Cold weather continued until the end of the month.
June 1st: Hot weather for a few days with light falls of rain. The top of the ground is getting dry and the grass is beginning to suffer from want of moisture. 16th: Heavy thunder showers in Manchester and Portsmouth, but little rain fell here. It is so dry that rainfalls do little good, as the winds soon dry it out. 21st: A good rain which cleared away cool, and it was cool the remainder of the month. Some good hay weather the last week in June. The corn is very small, fully two weeks late.
July: Weather changeable. 2d: Very rainy. Some good hay weather the first week. Quite cool, too cold for corn. There
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EXTRACTS FROM WARREN BROWN'S JOURNAL
were but two or three days during the month when the glass reached 90°. 15th: Frank Greene's house was struck by light- ning but not set on fire. A boat overturned at the Shoals and fourteen persons were drowned. Some good hay weather during the week ending the 20th. 29th: It has rained nearly all the past week. Haying has been at a standstill. The sun has not been visible for more than three hours the past week. Corn still two weeks behind.
Aug .: The weather still unfavorable for hay making and many have not yet finished haying. Much hay has been discolored and damaged, and first class hay is the exception. Corn is still backward and will require a great deal of warm weather to ma- ture much of a crop. Potatoes never looked better; the eating quality was never better. The leaves on some apple orchards have turned yellow and are falling. With all the precipitation we have had, little water has fallen; the surface is dry and the roads dusty. 11th: A heavy rain which did much damage in some parts of the state. Still cool for the time of year. 17th: Fair with the wind from the west. The prevailing wind has been from the east for the past three months. 23d: A heavy thunder shower, with hail which lay on the Bride Hill road to a depth of five inches; hail stones were gathered the next day at 5 p. m. to freeze ice cream. 24th: Cool and cloudy, followed by a week of good weather.
Sept .: The first week the weather was fine but cool. Second week, dull and wet, but little water fell. Poor weather to cure second crop and salt grass. Less salt grass cut than usual from want of help. Some wells are failing. 27th: A good rain; more water fell than for a long time. The rain continued on the 28th. Fall apples are plenty but of rather poor quality. Coal is scarce owing to a long continued strike at the mines. The local markets are bare as no coal has been mined for four months. Anthracite coal is selling for $20 per ton.
Oct. 4th: Republican caucus; James H. Brown nominated for representative and Benjamin F. Weare for delegate to the con- stitutional convention. Fair weather. Picking winter apples which are of poor quality, spotted and not well colored; small in size. These defects are attributed to the wet, cloudy weather during the growing season. Warm, pleasant weather until the 19th. This was followed by high winds and two hard frosts.
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The coal strike is reported to have been settled and work is about to be resumed at the mines. 26th: More rain fell today than has fallen for a number of months. Fair and cool.
Nov. 1st: First snow of the season but not a great deal. Drop apples are selling for thirty cents per barrel delivered at the car. 4th: Biennial election in the state; light vote cast, 76 for Repub- lican governor to 9 for all others. The caucus nominees for representative and delegate elected. 13th: Snowy, disagreeable weather, followed by a few days of Indian summer weather. Cooler until the 26th when it snowed all day which was followed by disagreeable weather.
Dec. 2d: A very dark night, followed by a dark and stormy day. 3d: Snowing all day, followed by unpleasant weather. 7th: Snowing; glass 10° above for the week following. No pleasant weather. Glass goes to 10° below and lower in some parts of the state. A foot of badly drifted snow requires that the roads be broken. The scarcity of fuel is seriously felt by many, soft coal and hardwood being used. Wood is selling from $10 to $12 per cord. 14th: Warmer, followed by rain. The sleighing is now spoiled. Ice is said to be six inches thick. Snow enough for sleighing came on Christmas day. Cold, unpleasant weather the rest of the week. The going is very good upon the main roads, but poor on the cross roads, from uneven distribution of snow. There have been no deaths in this town this year until December 20th, when a child, one day old, died. About the same time Chevy P. Chase died. This is the lowest mortality ever recorded in the town in any year. This has been a remarkable year; cooler than usual. It is said that there has been frosts in some places in the state every month. A great deal of cool, cloudy weather, so that crops did not mature. Corn in most cases was a light crop. Apples of poor quality, starting high in price and later selling at a lower price with but little demand. Much hay injured by damp and wet weather. No. 1 hay scarce and in good demand. Volcanic disturbance and eruptions in central America and in the West Indian Islands have caused serious loss of life and destruction of property.
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