USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of Hampton Falls, N.H., Volume II > Part 17
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1903.
Jan .: There was snow enough for sleighing during the first part of the month, but from the effects of warm weather it soon dis-
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appeared. The moderate weather is favorable to those who are short of fuel. Anthracite coal sells in Portsmouth at $12 per ton, and only in limited quantities at that. Soft coal, which many are using, sells at $10. Later in the month anthracite coal sold in Newburyport at $15 per ton, and wood sold as high in pro- portion. Cold. Warm on the 8th, which lasted a number of days when it was very hard to keep the houses warm enough to be comfortable. 13th: Mrs. Dr. Curtis was buried. She was a daughter of George Janvrin. 17th: Good sleighing on a small depth of snow. Wood is getting scarce, as a great deal is being sent to market. 18th: Cold wave. The glass went down 54°
in forty hours. 21st: Rainy all day. The glass went up as suddenly as it had gone down. 22d: Icy and slippery. Many accidents have happened on the road from this cause. 24th: Zero at sunrise. People are cutting ice which is eighteen inches thick. 29th: Very dark day, icy and slippery about the building. Last day of the month dull and wet.
Feb. 1st: Warm and pleasant for the first few days. 4th: Very rainy all day. It has rained every Wednesday so far since the year came in. Icy. 11th: Rainy. Snow nearly all gone. 16th: Snow and high winds; badly drifted snow has de- layed the trains. 18th: Twenty degrees below zero in the morning. This has been the longest cold spell of the winter. 28th: Warm, wet and rainy. Snow going fast.
Mar. 1st: Miss Sarah E. Sanborn was buried. 8th: We have had four days of rain. The snow is all gone. 18th: Pleasant, glass at + 60°. Heard frogs for the first time. Fair and pleasant. Frost nearly all out; the roads are so dry that travelling is very good, being little mud. 24th: The glass went up to 74° in the shade. Vegetation very forward. Grass as green as in ordinary years a month later. 22d: Wild geese have been seen going north for a number of days. 29th: An inch of snow fell which soon disappeared. The month of March has been one of the pleasantest ever known. It had more pleasant weather than any month this year.
Apr. 15th-16th: Considerable rain fell in the early part of the month. Severe northeast rain storm; a great deal of water fell. 17th: Cold, raw day. Andrew J. Chase died. The re- mainder of the month quite cool. Grass continues very forward. Sheep and young cattle turned to pasture last of the month. Frost last days of the month.
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May 1st: Hugh McAllister died suddenly. He was a native of the north of Ireland and had been a resident of the town for forty years. There has not been any rain for two weeks; the roads and plowed lands are dry and dusty. 5th: Joseph Bent- ley's buildings were consumed by fire, supposed to have been the result of an accident. Government quarantine prevents cattle being brought from Massachusetts for pasturage or the moving of cattle for any purpose, over the state line. 16th: Cool; land too dry to plow to advantage. Grass looks well but much in need of rain. 12th: The town voted 63 to 2 against license to sell intoxicating liquors. 17th: Warm, with wind from the west for the first time in two weeks. Five acres of saltmarsh, owned by the late Nathan Moulton, sold at auction for $3.50 per acre; a few years ago this marsh was sold for $60 per acre. Only .15 of an inch of rain has fallen so far this month. Farm hands are scarce with wages at $25 per month and board The apple trees are not blooming as much as usual. Heavy frosts on morning of the 24th, 25th and 26th, which did a great deal of damage.
June 6th: The drought continues with increased severity, and planted seeds are failing to germinate. The prospect for the hay crop is poor. The atmosphere is heavily laden with smoke from forest fires in Maine and elsewhere. The sun having been obscured by smoke has prevented more serious injury from the drought. Fine ashes have been falling which came from the forest fires. Stove coal on the cars is $6.25 per long ton in Portsmouth. 19th: Charles Thomas Brown died. He had been town treasurer for twenty-five years. 9th-10th: Rain came, which had a very beneficial effect on all kinds of vegeta- tion. Harry B. Brown died from a surgical operation in Boston. 21st: A heavy rain all day. 26th: First fair day for three weeks. The low lands are inundated. Many have not done any plant- ing. The previous dry weather, and the heavy rains have had a disastrous effect upon all planted crops The hay crop now promises well. 27th: The warmest day of the season.
July 6th-18th: Good hay weather. 19th: One of the most severe northeast rain storms ever known in July; it did a great deal of damage to the crops. 27th: Wind from the west; wind too strong to handle hay. The remainder of the month poor hay weather. 29th: Explosion of a dynamite factory in
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Lowell, Mass., which was attended with serious damage to prop- erty and loss of life. The shock was distinctly felt here, and with much force at the Isles of the Shoals.
Aug. 1st: Miss Almira Towle died suddenly. Miss Eliza- beth Green and Mrs. Warren B. Pervear died about the same time. The past few days have been good hay weather. Many did not finish haying until the middle of August. 17th: Good weather for the past week; more like summer than anything we have had. Second crop of grass making a great growth. The last of the month the glass was 55° in the morning for a number of days. Cold and raw, more like November than August.
Sept .: Month was on the whole a pleasant one. 14th: Hot, 92° in the shade. A heavy thunder shower. Mrs. John W. Dodge died early in the month. 16th: Rain and high wind at night, which did a great deal of damage. Dean R. Tilton, a life long resident of the town, fell from a chamber window at the residence of his daughter in Chelsea, Mass., and was found dead in the morning. A great deal of second crop grass is being cut, and with the first crop will make the hay crop above the average.
Oct .: Month was for the most part pleasant. Favorable time for doing out-door work. Heavy dew in the morning. Apples are a light crop, but the yield is more than was expected; they are not of the best quality, selling from $1 to $1.50 per barrel. Corn planted at the usual time failed to germinate be- cause of dry weather. Afterward it was so cold and wet that the seed rotted in the ground. Many fields were not planted until late in June. While now and then there was a field which made a fair yield, the majority had only a small crop of im- mature corn, probably the poorest corn crop since 1816. Po- tatoes not a full crop, but are of good quality and selling at seventy-five cents per bushel. Hoed crops are very near a fail- ure this year. Garden vegetables are scarce in the farmers' cellars. Some of the last days of the month were cold and raw. On some days there were light falls of snow. The leaves are all off the trees.
Nov .: The first until the middle of the month was generally pleasant, with now and then a light fall of snow; weather favor- able for out-door work. Complaint that the water is very low in the wells and springs. Mrs. Hugh McAllister was found dead
.
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in her house, from heart failure. The ground closed up the 18th and is frozen a foot in depth. Roads are smooth and hard. Turkeys are scarce and sell from twenty-eight to thirty cents per pound and in some cases higher prices are reported.
Dec. 2d: It began to snow and continued the next day; about six inches fell but was too light to make good going. It has been very cold for the past two weeks. 13th: A heavy rain carried away the snow. Ground frozen from. one to two feet in depth. 21st: Zero weather, with high winds from the west. 29th: Below zero in the morning. A little snow, which makes very good going on the roads. Ice cut nearly a foot in thickness. The year ended cold. 31st: A Theatre fire in Chicago caused the death of 587 persons. Thus ends a year which has not been a pleasant or prosperous one to the people of the community.
1904.
Jan .: The first ten days were very cold, ranging from zero to 15° below. Water pipes were badly frozen. Mrs. Forest F. Brown died on the 8th. Snow on the 9th, after which it was a a little warmer for a few days. Rain on the 14th, which froze and made it very slippery. It was one of the coldest Januarys on record. At the end of the month there was more snow upon the ground than at any one time in many years. There were few days in the month favorable for out-door work. The salt marshes were frozen in better shape than for a long time. The removal of the hay was easily and safely accomplished.
Feb .: The first half was very cold with little let up, and no perceptible thawing. About a foot of snow fell on the 15th, followed by high winds which drifted the snow and blocked the roads to a greater extent than had been known before. It took a number of days' labor to open the roads to travel, the drifts being six or more feet in depth, and the weather very cold. 19th: More moderate for a few days; a little rain which settled the snow. John Batchelder died, aged eighty-four. 25th: Roads again blockaded with snow. No mail for a number of days. The town put to great expense to open the roads. The remainder of the month rough, cold weather with high winds. Emmons B. Towle died.
Mar. 1st: Ten degrees below, followed by warmer weather, the snow thawing and going away rapidly with much water in
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sight. Variable weather until the 26th when most of the snow had disappeared. Most of the water from the melting snow has gone into the ground. A severe shock of earthquake was felt; no damage done here. 24th: The milk teams went on wheels for the first time this spring. The roads were pretty well settled at the end of the month, and little snow was visible.
Apr .: During the first half of the month the weather was variable with a few warm, pleasant days. 16th: Three or four inches of snow fell, which did not all disappear for a number of days. 26th-27th: About four inches of rain fell. But little farm work was done in April. Mrs. James Creighton and Mrs. Margaret McIlveen, sisters, died. They came to this town from Scotland forty years ago.
May: Pleasant weather until the 8th when some rain fell. 14th: Alec. Cochran's buildings on the depot road burned. 18th: Very rainy. It has been so wet that little farm work has been done. 25th: The apple trees are in full bloom. Weeds and witch grass have got the start of the hoed crops. The last days of the month very pleasant.
June 1st: A cold disagreeable day. Some snow was seen to fall. Cold wet and rainy until the 10th, when there was quite a frost. The season very backward; planted seed in many cases have rotted in the ground. Planting of corn continued all through the month. The week ending the 19th was pleasant and favor- able for work, the top of the ground having become dry and dusty. Dr. William W. Curtis, a native of Vermont, died, aged eighty-nine. He had been a resident of this town for more than forty years. 25th: Heavy thunder shower. C. Barton's buildings in North Hampton burned by lightning. Grass is looking fine and gives promise of a heavy hay crop. For the first time for forty years we do not see any signs of canker worms. The brown tail month, a new pest, imported from France, is making its appearance. It has been over the line in Essex County for a number of years. 26th: Lewis T. Sanborn died, aged sixty-nine years and eight months.
July 11th: Little haying has been done as the weather has been unfavorable. There has been but little precipitation, but it has been cloudy and damp with the wind from the east. A good crop grown. The work of haying more backward than usual. The week ending the 18th was good hay weather and a
14
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great deal of hay was secured in good condition. The remainder of the month was cool and cloudy with an east wind. On account of poor weather there is considerable haying to be done in August.
Aug. 1st: Weather still unfavorable. 20th: More rain fell than has fallen for a number of weeks It has been a cold sum- mer. Corn is having a hard time to make growth. Latter part of the month pleasant.
Sept .: The first half was pleasant, but cooler than usual. 19th: About four inches of rain fell, which did a great amount of damage by washing. This was followed by a heavy frost which killed the corn and other tender vegetation, and destroyed the grapes and peaches.
Oct. 1st: Very cold for time of year, with high winds. Snow fell on the 12th, an inch being reported in some parts of the state. The glass showed a temperature of 38° for a number of days in succession, going as low as 14°. But little rain fell during the month. Down to 18° on the 29th, with a heavy frost. A large crop of apples with little demand. Flour barrel selling at forty cents. Most of the apples were sold in bulk at forty cents per barrel, emptied into the car.
Nov .: First week pleasant. At the biennial election David F. Batchelder was elected representative. Only one vote cast for license to sell intoxicating liquors. The ground was frozen every night during the month. A cold northeast storm on the 20th. Some snow fell. Twenty-eight inches of snow reported from Littleton, N. H. Glass went to 10°. Joseph Brown, a native of Scotland, but for forty years a resident of this town, died, aged eighty-two. The body of Mrs. Abigail, widow of Samuel Batchelder who died in 1858, was brought here for burial. John E. Sanborn, a native of Exeter, a machinist by trade, died this month. He married a daughter of John Marshall and had lived in this town for several years. A successful effort was made to extend the independent telephone line from Exeter to Hampton Falls railroad station. It is in operation from N. W. Healey's to the depot. The weather all through December has been unusually cold with no thawing during the month. The ground has been bare, the roads smooth and frozen hard. It was a good time to do out-door work. The water is very low in the ground and many are put to serious inconvenience to get water for stock and domestic purposes. The weather has gen-
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erally been fair, with less dark, cloudy days than usual at this time of year. 25th: Zero in the morning. One inch of rain fell on the 29th, which was soon frozen, making it very slippery. The coldest December on record. At its close we had had sixty days of close winter weather.
REVIEW OF A PECULIAR YEAR.
" 'W. B.,' Hampton Falls, in Country Gentleman, January 9: The season of 1904 was peculiar. A short, cold summer followed a winter of great severity, with winter conditions beginning again November 1, and continuing until the end of the year. Autumn was generally fair, but much colder than usual, with little precipi- tation. The year was the coldest for twenty years with one exception, 1888. Last snow in spring fell April 20; first in fall, October 12. Latest frost was June 10; earliest in the fall, Septem- ber 22. With so short a season corn, except under the most favorable condition, failed to make an average yield. It was a very poor hay season, with haying prolonged later than usual. Lowest temperature of the year, January 26, 22 below; highest, June 26, 95, making range of 117 degrees. December was the coldest month of the name for twenty years, mean temperature being 22, against an average of 27; precipitation for the month, 2.31 inches, against an average of 3.70. Total precipitation for the year, 37.62 inches, against an average of 42.74. An inch of rain fell December 27, with more rain a day or two later followed by a little thawing; becoming cold, the water was soon frozen and little perceptible effect was to be seen on the streams. A cold northeast snowstorm commenced January 2, and continued thirty hours, which makes the first sleighing."
1905.
Jan. 1st: The first thawy day since November 1st. Ten inches of snow came on the 5th, followed by rain which carried most of the snow away. The storm was attended by a high tide which did a great amount of damage along the coast, followed by cold weather and icy roads. Very good sleighing, with little snow. Thus far no let up in the cold weather. The hay nearly all re- moved from the marshes. Ice being cut eighteen inches thick. 25th: Severe northeast snowstorm which blocked the roads. Continued cold remainder of the month.
Feb .: During first half of month there were no signs of warmer weather. Mrs. Joseph Brown, who came to this country with her husband in 1856, died. She was a native of Scotland. 15th: The free rural mail delivery was installed with Charles
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I. Akerman as carrier. Great complaint of scarcity of water. 21st: It thawed enough so that water stood in the road for the first time since Nov. 1st.
Mar .: The first week the snow yielded slowly to the action of the sun. Some water moving in the streams but the wells are very low. Sleighing continued all winter until the 16th when wheels began to be used. Active measures are being taken to destroy the nests of the brown tail moths which are numerous, the town appropriating money for the purpose of destroying them along highways and waste places. Icy and dangerous until the 20th when eight inches of snow fell, which made good going for a day or two. The remainder of the month pleasant. The snow disappeared by action of the sun, the water resulting going into the ground which was nearly settled at the end of the month. Less mud than usual in the roads which are now quite dry. There is no improvement in the water supply in the wells.
Apr. 1st: Cool, with a disagreeable wind. Two inches of rain on the 4th, which did not make any show as it soon disappeared into the ground. It was cool and dry all the month. Signs of rain do not materialize. Forest fires are numerous and doing a great deal of damage. Grass starts slowly. Edward D. Pike died.
May 1st: Spring work more backward than usual. A little rain fell on the 8th. Vegetation coming forward slowly. 6th: Ninety degrees in the shade. Frank Merrill, son of George F. Merrill, died. Mowed lawn first time on the 11th. Apple trees in full bloom. 26th: Farm laborers scarce and hard to obtain. Very dry last of the month. Less than an inch of rain has fallen during the month.
June: The first of the month cool and dry. 17th: Ninety-one degrees in the shade. This was followed by a sudden fall of 40° in a few hours. Some snow was seen to fall. 19th-22d: Dull and wet, which did a great deal of good, causing vegetation to come forward rapidly. Remainder of the month fair and warm. Good hay weather. Favorable conditions have had a beneficial effect upon the crop, which at one time it was feared would be a failure.
July: The first week was good hay weather. Mrs. Jonathan Robinson died, aged ninety years. She was the mother of Mrs. John J. and Mrs. James D. Brown. She formerly lived in Exeter. 10th: A heavy thunder shower, which did much damage in
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Kensington. John M. True's barn and the barn of Abel Page were struck and burned; another barn was struck; in each in- stance some live stock was killed. Tornado on the 13th, which did some damage. Natt M. Batchelder's barn was struck and two pigs killed, not much damage to the building. The weather during the entire month was fair. The best hay season for years, with about two thirds of an average crop. Rev. Daniel B. Phillips, a retired Congregational clergyman, died. He had lived in the town for the past fourteen years. Hugh Brown, a Scotch- man, died. He lived below the railroad on the Brimmer road. Mrs. Ellen F. Brown, who conducted a sanitarium, at the Presi- dent Weare home, died. The month closed dry, with rain much needed.
Aug .: Not a great deal of rain fell during the month. The rain which did fall caused some second crop grass which at one time seemed impossible. Heavy shower on the 11th when the Blatchford house was struck by lightning. The golden rod is in bloom and other signs of autumn are visible. Mrs. George D. Dodge died. Mrs. John C. Akerman died about the same time. The brown tail moths are more plenty than last year, and are doing much damage. Not a great amount of salt grass cut, con- sidered to be about two thirds of an average crop. 30th: The heaviest shock of earthquake for the past one hundred years; buildings were shaken and people alarmed; no damage here. The centre of the disturbance seemed to be near Portsmouth.
Sept .: A number of heavy rains during the first half of the month flooded low lands and caused the fields and pastures to become very green. Peaches are plentiful and are a drug in the market. One dollar per barrel was offered for apples upon the trees. Bart ett pears sold for $5 per barrel in Boston. Potatoes are nearly a failure, early ones from the effect of drought, late planted from rot. First frost on the 14th. Nearly fifteen inches of rain has fallen since Aug. 1st.
Oct .: The weather for the month has for the most part been fair and pleasant, very favorable for doing all kinds of out-door work. With the scarcity of help this has been a great favor. Coldest morning the 26th when it was 22°. Snow fell in the upper part of the state. Gypsy moths found for the first time in this town. About one third of a crop of apples. Warren Brown installed electric lights and power, the first in the town.
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Horace A. Godfrey died suddenly. He had been in the railway postal service for nearly thirty years. Daniel Appleton of Gloucester, a retired architect, aged eighty years, died suddenly while on a visit to Miss Sarah A. Gove, falling dead soon after entering the house.
Nov .: The fields are very green for the time of year. More days of sunshine and less dark days than usual at this season; many mornings of white frost which were not followed by rain. Ground frozen nearly every morning during the month. Glass at 6° on the 14th. Changeable last of the month. 29th: Re- ported to have been the warmest day for the season on record, 60° in the shade, followed by a fall in temperature of 40° in a few hours. Apples have been sold at $2.50 per barrel, ones and twos packed together. Thanksgiving, 30th. Turkeys sold at retail for thirty cents per pound.
Dec. 2d: A snow flurry. 3d: Rainy, followed by fair and cool weather. Good weather to prepare for winter. Ground frozen but little. 10th: About eight inches of snow fell, which was more than came farther from the coast, followed by a co'd wave; 10° below. Considerable hay moved from the marshes, and a great deal of business done for a few days. A heavy rain the 21st, which carried away most of the snow when it became warmer, and the roads muddy. But little frost in the ground. P.owing done in the last week in the month. At the same time ice was eight inches thick in the ponds. November and Decem- ber reported to have been the pleasantest months of the name on record. This has been an unusually pleasant year from start to finish.
1906.
Jan .: The weather during the month warmer than usual with little snow. 12th: Ice cut a foot in thickness, and of good qual- ity. The roads smooth and frozen hard. This was followed by warm weather; the frost came out of the ground and the roads very muddy. The ice disappeared in some ponds and reduced from twelve to five inches in one week in others. Robins were seen. Insects and snakes made their appearance. Some plow- ing was done. On one day the glass registered 70° in the shade and for an entire week ranged from 50° to 60°. Little cold weather thus far. The remains of Joseph Bentley, a former resident, were brought here for burial.
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Feb. 2d: Cold wave came on. 3d: Five degrees below on this morning; 20° below in the northern part of the state; 30° below on the 4th, with a strong southwest wind. Zero weather for a number of mornings after. The ice did not increase much in thickness; six inches of snow came on the 8th. "John Doe," a desperate character who shot and killed an Italian at Rocking- ham Junction, was captured after a hard chase near the Guenea schoolhouse. A moderate amount of snow the first half of the month made good getting about. During the remainder of the month the snow went away; the roads were soft and muddy, and it was hard to do business. The town thus far has been at no expense for snow bills. Cold wave last of the month. Some ice of good quality was stored during the month. Wild geese were seen going north. In some places maple sap was gathered.
Mar .: Not very cold first days in March, thawing by day and freezing at night. A severe blizzard on the 9th did much damage to poles and wires, but not much snow fell. 13th: Annual town meeting; Jos. B. Cram, Arthur W. Chase and Levi N. Sanborn were elected selectmen; $100 was appropriated to fight gypsy and brown tail moth. 14th: Ten inches of snow came, attended by the coldest weather of the winter. 18th: About a foot of snow came, making nearly two feet on the ground at this time. Considerable damage was done by the recent storms, and by far the most disagreeable weather conditions of the winter. The snow nearly all went away before the end of the month, leaving the roads in a bad condition.
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