USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of Hampton Falls, N.H., Volume II > Part 20
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Apr .: The weather was not as pleasant as it had been in March.
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The roads were dry and settled early in the month. Considerable ' rain fell during the first half of the month. Grass in fields and pastures more forward than usual. Not a great amount of farm work done during the month. From present appearance insect pests are to be numerous and destructive.
May: The weather was much cooler than usual at this time of year. There were no warm days. Much rain fell up to the 20th, and the ground was full of water. No rain fell in the last part of the month. The apple trees did not bloom to any great extent, in this part of the state. The bloom was injured later by frost. Tent caterpillars and other insects doing a great deal of damage. Farm work late, much planting to be done last of the month. 20th: Grass much better than usual in the pastures. A great deal of stock offered for pasture.
June: There were a number of frosts during the month, which did damage. The month cooler than usual. Only a fraction of an inch of water fell. It was so dry that planted seed failed to germinate; in many cases did not come up at all. What crops did grow were very backward. At the end of the month the apple bloom blighted badly.
July: Opened dry, no rain of any account fell during the month. Crops badly dried up and in most instances will be a failure. Hay crop not up to last year, best of hay weather to secure it. No second crop in sight. Cattle are being fed at the barn. Clarence Eugene Janvrin died. He was a son of James D. He had been engaged in the retail meat business for many years. Ellen Crosby, daughter of Charles H., died from tuberculosis.
Aug .: No rain of any amount fell in August. Crops of all kinds nearly or quite ruined. Good time to get salt hay. No water running in Taylor River, the channel being dry for rods in many places. There is no record or tradition that this ever occurred before.
Sept .: Opened fair and dry. 15th: A frost which made ice. Some rain followed which made fields and pastures green. There was a good crop of peaches.
Oct .: There was a great deal of cloudy and misty weather in October which made the fields and pastures very green. On the 20th there was better feed in the pastures than any time during the season. A severe snow squall on the 14th. Not many apples, less than for many years. Potato crop variable. Some had a
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good crop but with others it was near a failure. Corn immature and spoiled in the crib. Ensilage corn killed by frost and was of poor quality. Heavy rain the 20th.
Nov .: The weather this month was generally favorable. Quite an amount of rain fell during the month. Some second crop cut. Mrs. Emmons Brown died, aged eighty. She was a daughter of Aaron Coffin of Hampton and had been a widow for twenty years. Edwin Janvrin died the 22d, aged seventy-seven years. He had been extensively and successfully engaged in the lumber business for many years. N. W. Healey's farm has been sold and is to be converted into an orchard farm.
Dec .: On the whole this was a pleasant month; the ground was bare most of the time, favorable for out-door work. Snow enough for sleighing on the 27th.
1914.
Jan .: There was but little snow during the early part of the month. Not very cold. It was a good time to do out-door work. Cold wave came on the 11th, which lasted a number of days, during which time 20° below was registered. It continued cold for a number of days. The intense cold penetrated the buildings and did a great deal of damage. Ice of the best quality was harvested. Mary Ann Sanborn died, aged ninety-three years. She was a daughter of Joseph Sanborn who died in 1836.
Feb .: Opened with moderate weather but soon became cold; as low as 23° below was registered. It was zero on a majority of the mornings during the month. A blocking snow came on the 16th, which filled the roads and made breaking necessary. Miss Luceba H. Brown died, aged seventy-nine. She was a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Lane) Brown. Mrs. John S. Cram died, aged eighty-three years. She was a daughter of Ira Blake of Kensington. She had lived in the town more than sixty years. She survived her husband more than twenty years.
Mar .: A very severe northeast rain storm came on the 1st day of the month and continued all day. There was a great deal of stormy, unpleasant weather during the month, with con- siderable rain, thirteen days of falling weather. At the annual election, James H. Brown, William E. Janvrin and Charles F. Coombs were made selectmen; Arthur W. Brown, treasurer; Frank H. Lord, town clerk; John E. Brown, collector. Mary
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Emeline Brown, daughter of Sewell Brown, died, aged seventy- eight. The entire stand of buildings owned and occupied by Clarence Brown, near the Line meeting house, were destroyed by fire which was, undoubtedly, of incendiary origin. The pre- vailing wind has been from the southwest.
Apr .: The month was cold and stormy, snow falling frequently until the middle of the month. Roads very muddy. Little farm work done during the month. The ground very full of water.
May 1st: Ice formed as thick as window glass. Frozen sleet on the 13th. Considerable rain fell during the month. Grass starting well. Apple trees in bloom on the 24th. Not a full bloom. Work on the land not as forward as usual. The ground full of water.
June: The first of the month quite an amount of rain fell. The latter part of the month dry, and from this cause planted seed is slow in coming up. The month cooler than the average June. Christopher G. Toppan of Hampton died. He owned quite an amount of real estate in this town. Some haying done in June.
July 1st: Some snow was seen to fall at Exeter. Good hay weather first part of the month, catching weather last of the month. Not much hay damaged. Crop about the same as last year. Drought becoming severe. Not as much hot weather as usual. From this cause corn and hoed crops are backward in coming along. Green head flies not much in evidence.
Aug .: Some rain fell in August, which revived vegetation to some extent. The foliage on all kinds of tree is dense and vig- orous and of a deep green color. Not much evidence of insect depredations. Corn still backward. Not much second crop grass. Benjamin W. Elkins died. He had been a selectman, and representative, 1906.
Sept .: The first part of month very hot and dry. Only a fraction of an inch of rain fell during the month. Hot wave the 20th, which lasted a number of days. Charles N. Dodge sold out his store to George F. Merrill. The month was notable for cloudless days.
Oct .: The month was generally pleasant with little precipita- tion. Corn backward and is in some cases near a failure owing to unfavorable weather conditions. A good crop of potatoes.
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Apples a fair but not a general crop, of excellent quality. Sold at a low price. Cold wave middle of the month. Thunder shower on the eve of the 10th. Snow on the 20th. Soon went away. Some rain fell during the month, but not enough to affect the water supply. Many put to serious inconvenience for water for domestic use. Biennial election on the 3d. Governor vote, Democrat 9; Republican 75. The first election of United States Senator by the people. Gallinger, 69; Stevens, 7; 65 votes for Sulloway for member of Congress. John F. Gynan, representa- tive.
Dec .: A cold month. Ice storm on the 3d, which made it slippery and dangerous for a number of days. Six inches of snow came on the 21st, which made good going for the remainder of the year. 23d: 23° below. Drought continues without abatement; ground frozen hard with no sign of any let up. The war in Europe has disturbed business conditions in this country, from which cause many are out of employment. Daniel Emmons Pervear died. He was a Union veteran and was elected repre- sentative in 1893. Harriet Ann Maria Prescott, daughter of the late True M. Prescott, died, aged seventy-nine. Extensive alterations and improvements have been going on on the Newell Healey place, by Mr. Farmer.,
1915.
Jan .: Rather cold month. Glass going as low as 20° below on some mornings. There was some falling weather; both rain and snow, but with little precipitation. Less than six inches of snow made the best of going but was of short duration. Great complaint of want of water; wells and other supplies have failed. Ice of the best quality cut, twelve inches thick. Owing to the war in Europe many necessaries of life have advanced in price. Mrs. George C. Healey died. She was the daughter of Capt. John W. and Harriet D. Dodge. She was a woman universally respected and beloved.
Feb .: Cold and variable weather prevailed. Not much pre- cipitation. The water shortage has been relieved in a measure. Second cutting of ice, fully as good as the first, has been har- vested. Many ice ponds are not available because of no depth of water underneath. Not much sleighing during the month. Charles W. Lane, a native of Hampton, but for forty or more
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years a resident of this town, died, aged eighty-four. Owing to unfavorable business conditions there are a great many people out of employment.
Mar .: This was a remarkable month. The weather was fair with a cloudless sky. Only a small fraction of an inch of precipi- tations during the entire month. Cold west winds nearly all the time. The glass as low as 8° below on a number of mornings. The roads during the entire spring were dry and free from mud, the ground having frozen up dry. This was a condition never known before. The water very low in the ground. Springs and streams in many instances without water. Many wells are dry, with no snow to melt. The severe drought which prevails shows no immediate sign of abatement. It has been so dry that grass and other fires have done a great deal of damage and are a constant menace. Annual town meeting; James H. Brown, Charles F. Coombs and William E. Janvrin, selectmen; Frank H. Lord, clerk; Arthur W. Brown, treasurer. Mrs. William E. Walton died early in the month. Eliza Drew, daughter of the late Timothy P. and Lois (Prescott) Drew, died, aged sixty-eight. Mrs. Thomas G. Moulton, a native of Paris, Me., died, aged seventy-three. Alvah D. Prescott died, aged eighty-four. Wil- liam H. Temple, who came here a year or two since from Massa- chusetts, died suddenly. He owned and occupied the Pike place near the Exeter line.
Apr .: The weather a part of the month was warm for the time of year. No rain fell until the 30th when nearly an inch came. No mud in the roads, owing to the severe drought of previous years. The grass shows better than could have been expected after so many dry years.
May: A cool month. One or two rains during the month. The ground is very dry. Severe drought, wells and springs failing. Apple trees in full bloom. 20th: A very full bloom in this section. Ice one-quarter of an inch thick on the 26th. A num- ber of frosty mornings. Potatoes are a drug upon the market, selling at a low price if at all. Business of all kinds poor and uncertain because of the European war. Mrs. Joseph W. Moul- ton died, aged upward of eighty years. She was a native of Brentwood. Her maiden name was Smith. More work has been done on the roads than usual.
June: Dry and cold, with a number of frosts in the early part. 16
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The outlook for the hay crop poor. No rain until the last day of the month. At the close of the month the crops had made small growth. Insects had not made as much show as usual.
July 1st: A heavy rain, nearly four inches of water fell. A similar downfall on the 8th, with frequent rains later. From ten to twelve inches of rain fell during the month, which made the low lands very soft. Many planted fields were flooded. Hoed crops small and backward. Corn not spindled Aug. 1st. Owing to poor weather little haying was done during the month. The rains have caused the grass to grow so that there will be an average crop of hay. Potato fields never looked better. The wet weather has been unfavorable to insects. No damage visible from these depredations as yet. There was little hot weather during the month.
Aug. 5th: Four inches of rain has fallen during the past twenty- four hours. A great deal of haying yet to be done. Some fields are too soft and wet to use teams on. Wet weather all through the month. Haying not all done at the end. Corn came along slowly with not much prospect of making a crop.
Sept .: Haying finished early in the month. Fine weather with little rain all the month.
Oct .: Rain first three days of the month. The remainder warm and pleasant. More second crop grass cut than ever before. The warm, damp weather caused the potatoes to rot badly. Apples about one-third of a crop, with slow sale. Some corn fields good, others nearly a failure. Ensilage corn light.
Nov .: Some cold weather, but on the whole it was a pleasant month. It has been a good time to prepare for winter. First snow 24th. Thanksgiving, 25th; turkeys sold for thirty cents.
Dec .: Not a pleasant month. A great deal of cloudy and stormy weather. Not much snow. Two or three days sleighing. Quite an amount of rain which froze and made it slippery and dangerous. On the whole the year has not been a pleasant one. June, July and August were cool with a great deal of unpleasant and rainy weather. It is a common remark, "It does not seem as if we have had any summer." The end of the year saw no shortage of water, as had been the case in a number of years just past. The European war has caused a big advance in the price of living. Mr. Farmer has done a great deal of extension work
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on the Newell Healey place by way of additions and improve- ment. A new house has been built on the Thomas Brown place, on the site of the one burned in 1885.
1916.
Jan .: The weather was variable. The storms cleared away warm. Not many zero mornings. There was little sledding. Quite an amount of rain fell which made the roads icy and dan- gerous. Ice of good quality was cut about the 20th. The frost came out of the ground and the roads were soft the last of the month. Potatoes have advanced in price owing to scarcity, selling at $1.50 per bushel. There has been a great deal of sick- ness. Grip and pneumonia have prevailed to an alarming extent.
Feb .: The ground not frozen; roads very muddy. Weather changeable all through the month. A foot of snow on the 14th, which made good going for ten days. Zero on a number of mornings, after which the filling of ice houses was completed. Miss Clarissa Weare died first of the month, aged eighty-two years. She was daughter of John Weare. Elizabeth Batchelder died last of the month, aged eighty-eight years. She was the daughter of Moses and Abigail (Drake) Batchelder. These two ladies joined the Line Church on the same day in 1851, and were members for sixty-five years.
Mar .: A rough and stormy month. Snow fell on fourteen days; thirty-four inches of snow during the month. Roads badly drifted and great expense to the town to make them passable. A greater body of snow on the ground than at any one time for many years. Zero on many mornings. Coldest weather of the winter was in March. Last two or three days of the month snow went away rapidly under the influence of the sun. James H. Brown, Charles F. Coombs, and William A. Janvrin, selectmen; Frank H. Lord, clerk; Arthur W. Brown, treasurer. Mrs. Lydia B. Towle, widow of Emmons B. Towle, died, aged eighty years. She was a daughter of Micajah Green of Seabrook and had lived in the town more than fifty years.
Apr .: An unpleasant month, few fair days. The roads were soft all through the month. The travelling the worst ever known. Six inches of snow fell on the 9th; three inches on the 15th. Snow on the 28th. Ninety inches of snow are recorded to have fallen since November last. John C. Sanborn died, aged
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eighty years. He was a son of John P. and Sally (Cram) San- born. Not a warm day during the month. A great deal of rain.
May: A great deal of rain. The land in most cases too wet to work. This, with the scarcity of help, has resulted in little being done on the land. But little planting will be done this year from these causes.
June: Not a pleasant month. A great many days on which rain fell. The great amount of water which has fallen has, in many cases, made the land too wet to do planting. Planting going on all through the month. Seed rotting in the ground. Not a warm day this spring. The gypsy moths are doing a great deal of damage. The foliage on all kinds of trees is very dense. The hay crop promises to be very large; the season has been very favorable for grass growing, and not for other farm crops. 25th: Mrs. Mary Dodge Aiken died. She was a daughter of Capt. John W. Dodge. She was a public spirited and benevo- lent woman whose loss is seriously felt.
July: The weather was very wet; a great amount of rain fell. Very few fair days. The largest crop of hay ever known. Not much haying done during the month. A great deal of hay was spoiled; in some cases this was burned or in other ways disposed of, not put in the barns. Cultivated crops have been very back- ward. A great deal of haying to be done at the end of the month. Mrs. John F. Jones died, aged ninety years. She was born in Durham and was a daughter of Charles Johnson.
Aug .: The unfavorable weather continued in August, haying going on all the month. On fields where the grass had been cut a great deal of second crop has grown. Feed in pastures has been good. Not much salt marsh will be cut. The barns are filled with hay to their utmost capacity. The summer months have been cooler than usual. The country never looked more beautiful as all vegetation has been vigorous. John Allen Brown died, aged eighty-four.
Sept .: On the whole this was a pleasant month. Some rain fell early in the month, remainder of the month fair. There was considerable haying to be done and weather was more favorable than in July and August. More second crop grass was cut than ever known before.
Oct .: This was a pleasant month; fair weather nearly all the time, with not more than one inch of precipitation. The weather
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very favorable for all out-of-door farm work. A small crop of potatoes, with much complaint of rot, and selling at a high price. Not a full crop of apples, with little demand. Prices of all necessities of living have advanced very much in price, corn selling for more than $1 per bushel; flour, $12 per barrel; beans, $6 and upward per bushel. A coal famine is threatened, said to be from scarcity. Mrs. Angeline Pervear, widow of Samuel Pervear, died, aged ninety-three years. She had lived at the county farm at Brentwood for a number of years. It is getting dry; springs, streams and wells are low.
Nov .: Colder than the normal, with the ground frozen on some mornings. A little snow fell once or twice. Not much rain fell during the month. Wells and springs very low. Plowing was done all through the month, it being a good time to do all kinds of out-door farm work. There was more demand for apples than earlier in the season, selling for $2.25 to $2.50 per barrel; potatoes selling for $2 per bushel. Thanksgiving the 30th. An attempt was made to boost the price of turkeys to fifty cents per pound. This was met by a boycott from con- sumers, who refused to pay an exorbitant price; as a result the demand fell off to such an extent that dealers sustained a heavy loss. Coal and flour are selling at lower prices than last month. The shortage which was predicted was found to be a manu- factured one for extorting money from the public. Eggs have been selling from sixty to seventy cents per dozen. There is a great scarcity of farm help. At the presidential election on the 7th, Hughes had 89 votes and Wilson 12; William E. Walton was elected representative.
Dec .: Not a pleasant month. A great deal of cold, unpleasant weather. A drifting snow came on the 17th, which blocked the roads, a thing never before known so early in the winter. There was little good sleighing during the month. On the whole the year has not been a pleasant one. Owing to various causes the necessaries of life have greatly advanced in price; in some cases so much that their use is prohibited to many people. Mrs. Bertram T. Janvrin died. She was a daughter of Charles T. Brown.
1917.
Jan .: A cold unpleasant month. There was snow enough for sleighing most of the time. Not much thawing. The necessaries
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of living have advanced in price. Mrs. Sarah G. Brown, wife of Warren Brown, died. There has been an unusual amount of sickness.
Feb .: A severe snowstorm the first week, which blocked the roads; the town was at great expense to render the highways passable. Potatoes are sold as high as $8 per two-bushel sack; beans, $8 per bushel of sixty-two pounds. These are prices higher than were ever known before. The congestion on the railroads makes it difficult to get grain for cows and horses. James Wilson, a native of Scotland, a resident of this town for forty years, died. Warren B. Pervear died, aged eighty-four. Mrs. Chevy P. Chase died, aged eighty-five. Ice was cut twenty-four inches in thickness.
Mar .: Not a pleasant month. Cold, cloudy and stormy, not a spring-like day during the month. Last of the month roads soft and muddy. The frogs were not heard during the month. At one time snow enough came to require the roads to be broken. At the annual town meeting Lawrence E. Wadleigh, Millard E. Dalton and Edwin L. Janvrin were elected selectmen; William H. McDevitt, treasurer; Frank H. Lord, clerk. Voted to accept state aid upon the highways and also to make a survey of the clam flats, with a view to leasing; $800 was voted to assist in the publication of the second volume of the town history.
Apr .: Not pleasant, not a warm spring-like day during the month. A great deal of dull and cloudy weather. Snow fell late in the month. The roads a long time in getting settled. But little work was done upon the land. A large amount of hay in the barns, with little demand or sale.
May: An unpleasant month, cold, damp and wet; a great deal of cloudy weather; 4.45 inches of rain fell during the month. Many wet days with little precipitation. Wind most of the time from the east. Thick clothing as much needed as at any time in the winter. Not more than two or three spring-like days dur- ing the months. Apple trees which are usually in full bloom on the 20th, this year the leaf buds had not swelled, at that date, enough to be perceptible. Shade and other trees not fully leaved out at the end of the month. Potatoes for planting $4 per bushel of sixty pounds; beans, $10 per bushel; corn and meal, $3.40 per hundred weight; flour, $16 per barrel. Sugar advanced to ten cents per pound, many dealers finding it diffi-
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cult to get a supply for their customers, owing to congested conditions on the railroads. The delivery of goods is very un- certain, which occasions a great deal of inconvenience in getting goods ordered. Many are preparing to plant a larger area than usual. The season thus far has not been favorable for this kind . of work and the outlook is not favorable for a prosperous year. It is said that May has been the coldest month of the name for fifty years. Miss Mary Susan Blake died, aged eighty-two. She was daughter of Ira Blake of Kensington. She had been a resident of this town for many years.
June: Not as warm as in other years; a great deal of cloudy, damp weather. Three inches of rain fell on the 17th. Much land too wet to work. Seed in some cases has rotted and re- planting has been made necessary. Apple trees not in full bloom until the 10th. The cold wet spring has been unfavorable to insect life and we see no signs of these depredations. The foliage of the trees never looked more dense and vigorous. Planting has been going on during the entire month. There is a promise of a big hay crop. Many have a great deal of old hay and will be short of storage. There was no hay weather in June. Help scarce and hard to obtain; $2 and more per day of nine hours, without board, has been the price for the year past. Charles B. Brown, who has been Boston and Maine Rail- road station agent since the death of Mr. Akerman in 1908, has been transferred to Atlantic Station. A. G. Copp succeeds Mr. Brown at Hampton Falls. By order of the Government all males between the age of twenty-one and thirty inclusive were ordered to be registered preparatory to a draft; thirty-one were registered in Hampton Falls. Everett B. Janvrin has enlisted in the navy as an electrical engineer. Arthur D. Batchelder and Peter Y. Doyle have enlisted in the naval service. The green head marsh fly had not made its appearance July 1st.
The first of July the weather was dull and cloudy, with little precipitation. The last of the month was dry and gardens and hoed crops 'suffered for want of rain. Intense heat last days of the month. On August 2, 105° in the shade. No hay weather until the middle of the month. One of the largest hay crops ever known. There was a great deal of old hay, with neither demand or sale. Reported in some cases to have sold as low as $5 per ton at the barn. We have heard of fields of grass offered as a gift to
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