USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of Hampton Falls, N.H., Volume II > Part 24
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get on the ground by sunrise or as soon as it was light enough to see to work, as the grass cut much easier when wet with dew. The average man could cut about an acre in a day. Some expert mowers could cut two or more acres.
The grass when cut was allowed to lie for two or three days, according to the weather, before it was raked and put in cock, and allowed to remain a day or two. The cocks were then taken on poles by two men and carried to the stack bottom and put in stacks. When the stacks were properly built the hay would come out in good order in the winter when the marsh was frozen enough to use teams to remove it. There was not much variation in the manner in which the salt hay was managed from the beginning for two centuries and a half, or until the mowing machines came to be used on the upland. Soon after this, hand mowing became nearly a lost art. The mowing machine has been used to some extent on the marshes, but its use has not in all cases been safe or satisfactory. In the 40's a great many more men could be seen at work on the marshes than at a later period. At that time the old men said a great many more men could be seen in their boyhood. The cause of this was that the marsh had come into the possession of many less owners.
The farmers in Hampton Falls owned a great deal of marsh. The Batchelders, Browns, Sanborns with Wells Healey and a few others were large marsh owners. In its natural state the marsh was wet with many sloughs and ponds. When the water was removed by drainage better kinds of grass were induced to grow. Cultivation of the marsh made as much improvement in its appearance as better care did the upland.
ยท William A. Hopkins, an Englishman, dug hundreds of miles of ditches. The ditches were eight inches wide at the top and from two and one-half to three feet in depth. When thorough work was done the ditches were put in about two rods apart. The sods were removed. In two or three years the ditch closed up at the top, leaving a passage for the water underneath. Drainage caused the better class and quality of grass to grow than had grown before. Many valued their marsh more highly than they did the uplands. When any marsh was for sale, if well located, there was considerable competition among would-be buyers. Good marsh land sold for from $40 to $50 per acre and some- times for more, with a good demand. Now there is neither
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS
demand or sale. Five acres of marsh owned by the late Capt. Nathan Moulton were sold soon after the Civil War closed at $60 per acre and were considered a good bargain at that. It was sold a few years ago at auction for $3.50 per acre. Marsh above the railroad which in former times sold for $25 and $30 per acre has since been sold as low as sixty cents per acre. The marsh in those days was all cut. If from any cause a piece of marsh was left uncut, it made a great deal of talk, and the owner was con- sidered to be on the downward road.
On the thatch ground and marshes too low to make hay, the grass was taken off in boats and made on the upland. There were four gondolas at Hampton Falls landing and many more at Seabrook and Hampton. Now there is scarcely a boat at either of those places. There were spreading places near all the land- ings where the hay could be spread and made. Salt hay did not make as well on the upland as on the marsh because it drew moisture from the ground. The charge for the use of the spread- ing ground was $1 for each boat load. After the season com- menced the boats were in demand until the end of autumn and when wanted they had to be engaged beforehand. The charge for the use of the boat was fifty cents per trip.
In the early days of the town the parsonage had twelve acres of thatch ground. We have never seen any account of how much was received from the sale of the grass or how the land was finally disposed of as there is no mention of it upon the church or town record. Thatch is now considered of little feed- ing value. Black grass, fox grass and the branch grass which came in after drainage were considered the most valuable varie- ties, and on an average produced about a ton to the acre, in some cases more. Black grass needed to be cut at the same time as the English grasses and needed as much care to get it in the best manner; when this could be done it was a valuable feed for all kinds of farm stock. When cut at this time the green head marsh flies were the most numerous and troublesome.
It might not be out of place to give the names of different localities on the marsh which were about as well known as the residence of the prominent citizens of the town. When we speak of islands we mean spots surrounded by water but not covered by high tides and on which fresh water vegetation grows. Pine Island was situated above the turnpike and was in Hampton.
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CONDITIONS IN TOWN FROM 1840 TO 1850
The Breeches was a tract of marsh above the turnpike and on the north side of the river. It takes its name because it is shaped like a pair of pantaloons. The river formerly run around it. At some time a ditch was dug to keep the cattle off the marsh; this ditch soon became the channel of the river, being nearly a mile shorter than the old course. This tract is in Hampton Falls. Robie's Island is near the upland and the Toppan pasture. Birch Island is near the bridge where the Boston and Maine Railroad crosses the river; both are in Hampton. Fresh Island is where the railroad station now is. Bremner's Island is on the south side of the Falls River southeast from the depot. This island is sometimes called Mike Island from Michael Brown who lived here in the time of the Revolutionary War. Healey Island is below Mike Island; here a great many horses were picketed when the men were at work on the marsh. A great deal of indignation was expressed when the wood was cut off and the horses left without shade. About half a mile southeast of Healey Island was the great stake on the marsh of Lawyer Brown; it was not of such great size as its name would indicate, but was useful in the darkness of the early morning for the owners to locate their marsh by taking their bearings there. Dr. Rowe's Point was where the Hampton River was the farthest north. When the wind was strong from the northwest boats loaded with hay found it difficult to get up past Rowe's Point. Hoyt's and Swain's creeks are two large creeks which empty into the Hampton River from the Falls side. Two men were drowned in 1849 in Swain's Creek. Fifield's rocks are on the river between these two creeks. Steep banks are on Seabrook River which is the town bound. Great Neck is an island of about eighty acres on the Hampton side of the river surrounded by Hampton and Brown rivers, and Great Neck Creek. Lea- vitt's Island is where the willows are. A large tract of marsh was made an island by Nudd's Canal.
By legislative act in 1823, Mr. Nudd was allowed to construct a canal from the Hampton landing to Brown's River, which shortened the distance his vessels had to go to the sea by about two miles. He was to furnish the marsh owners a ferry, which was a boat with a rope at each end fastened to a stake on each side of the canal. This was continued as long as any one cut marsh on the inside, but from this cause appears to be now
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS
abandoned. He put on a bridge in winter to facilitate the moving off of the hay. After a time he ceased to do this, although both bridge and ferry were required by the act of incorporation. In Dow's History of Hampton we find that the cost of digging the canal was a hogshead of rum. Orin D. Green and his two horses were drowned while crossing the river to remove hay from inside the canal. In 1855 two men who were going to work on the marsh inside the canal, were drowned near the Falls river mouth.
The salt works were near the Hampton landing and were vats made of timber in which the salt water was evaporated. The making of salt was said to have been profitable as long as the embargo lasted. They were owned by David Nudd who afterward removed the timber and used it in the construction of the Granite House at Boars Head.
The Spring marsh was situated between Perkins' tide mill and the causeway. The dam at the mill kept the marsh saturated with water. The town of Hampton purchased and removed the mill for the benefit of the marsh owners.
The time for cutting, called the marsh season, was after the change of the moon and before the full, and after the full and before the new moon. If the perigee occurred between these phases of the moon one tide kept up and it was not a suitable time to make hay. Some made it a rule to cut just after the 3 o'clock tide which was usually the highest. As soon as the new almanacs came in January some men laid out the marsh seasons for the year. Thomas Brown was considered an oracle in this matter. The green head fly made its appearance the last of June and continued until some time in August. They were noted for close application to business and a quick reminder of their presence. Some years it was nearly impossible to work during their reign. The same species of fly is found on the wild prairie of the West. The marsh season was a social occasion where people met and talked over the news. Old men, past labor, regretted that they could not go on the marsh.
The marsh was owned in tracts of from two to five or more acres; each tract was generally called by the name of the former owner. The bounds were marked by stakes and ditches. The mains left in mowing were plainly visible, and the bound lines were respected. Sometimes a storm, with a high tide, came after the grass was cut and it would be carried away. This
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CONDITIONS IN TOWN FROM 1840 TO 1850
occurred in 1858, and to some extent in other years. Sometimes in the fall or winter high tides would remove the stacks. A great deal of damage of this kind was done in the winter of 1838 and 1839, in November, 1861, and again in November, 1871, when a great many stacks were moved and deposited along the rail- road embankment. Much ill feeling was shown in the division of the drift hay. Some farmers living a few miles back in Kings- ton, Danville and Freemont owned marsh. They used to come down and camp, bringing their provisions, supplemented by clams which were dug and cooked. The men who came with them did not cost a great deal as it was considered an enjoyable outing. In this way the hay was secured at no great expense. It was thought a bad thing to sell hay from the farm but if a quantity of salt hay could be fed, hay could be sold with no fear of injury. The salt hay did not receive as much care and atten- tion as the hay on the upland. When well cared for it was much more valuable for feeding. Chemists have claimed that salt hay was nearly as valuable feed as English hay; few have found this to be correct in actual practice. In the fall when the grass had all been cut and the creeks, ditches and sloughs neatly trimmed out and filled with water at high tide, with the hundreds of hay stacks, it made a very pretty picture.
As soon as the marsh was sufficiently frozen and there was snow enough for sledding on the road, people got busy in removing the hay; this was easy when sleds could be used. Some made the stacks upon sleds which could be moved without loading. If the wind did not blow too much it was considered better to handle the hay as the dust was removed and the hay was im- proved by being handled. If the hay had to be moved on wheels it was a more difficult task. Charles E. Akerman, who worked at shoemaking when he could see, told the writer that he had counted as many as two hundred loads of hay in a single day moving over the hill. These loads were mostly drawn by oxen, using hardly any teams of horses. There was always a good snow path on the road as long as the hay was being moved.
The question may be asked why the marsh has lost its popu- larity, and ceased to be utilized as formerly. When the mowing machines came into general use, hand mowing with scythes went out. Young men did not come to be expert in this work as their fathers had, as no hand mowing was done on the upland. It was
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS
much harder to mow on the marsh. At that time almost the only source of manure came from the keeping of cattle, and salt hay could be used to increase the number kept. Commercial manures, whereby good crops could be raised, were unknown. By their use good crops could be raised on the fields cheaper than to cut salt hay. The silo, with the growing of millet and Hungarian, became popular as the work could be done at home. The younger generation did not take kindly to the long days of their fathers. The women folk did not like to get up in the middle of the night to get breakfast and put up dinners, and then spend a long and lonesome day with the care of things at home. While the hay is just as valuable for feeding purposes as formerly, the help costs much more and is inefficient in that kind of work. Under these conditions the hay costs more than it is considered to be worth. The feeds substituted bring better results at less costs.
In the years after 1850 the grasshoppers were very plenty on the high marshes, eating a good share of the grass above the rail- road. In August, 1856, there came a hard storm with a high tide which carried the grasshoppers to the edge of the high land and deposited them in a windrow a foot in depth. There has- not been any serious trouble from them since.
When we look at the large area of salt marsh and reflect that for two hundred and fifty years the entire tract was cut with the hand scythe, and gathered with the hand rake, carried on hay poles to the high ground to the stack bottom or onto a boat, with no labor-saving tools or implements, we find it represents an amount of physical exertion the present generation would be unwilling to exercise. We have been particular to describe and give the details relating to the marshes in the early days because they are past and gone, never to return, and that the methods and customs may be preserved for those who are to come after. The time will probably come when the salt marshes will be again utilized for some purpose and become valuable, but not in the same manner as in former times.
Quite a number of our people used to go to the fish houses at Hampton, in the morning, to be there when the boats came in from fishing to get fresh fish which were supposed to be better than those carried by peddlers. The price at that time was three quarters of a cent per pound when taken from the boat.
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CONDITIONS IN TOWN FROM 1840 TO 1850
When the peddlers raised the price to two cents per pound it was thought to be exorbitant. Haddock were sold for three or four cents each, such as now sell for twenty-five and thirty cents. Clams were peddled at twelve and one half cents per peck. Some neighborhoods formed a club, the members taking turns in going for fish as often as once a week, or as occasion required.
The grain raised was mostly barley and oats, with some rye. It was sometimes separated from the straw by cattle and horses walking over it on the barn floor. Some was threshed with flails. The stroke of the flails, when two men were threshing, falling with the regularity of machinery, could often be heard during the entire day. Ten bushels to a man was considered a good day's work in threshing.
There were a great many more birds than at the present time. The ground sparrows were numerous; their nests were found in large numbers in the grass. The black and yellow bobolinks, whose arrival announced that it was time to plant corn, are now rarely seen. The kingbird, disliked by beekeepers, are not now in evidence. The woodwall and bluejay have disappeared. The night-hawk, which made its nest upon rocks in the plowed land, has not been seen for years. The wild pigeon, often seen at that time, is now said to have become extinct. Peeps and yellow legs were common on the salt marsh. All these birds mentioned and many others were at that time very plentiful. Old people said, that in their young days, there were a great many more birds than there were at that time. Bird life has been ruthlessly destroyed by hunters and boys, and, as a result, insects have multiplied and are very destructive to the farmer's crops and all other vegetation.
The Rockingham Academy was in active operation during the entire decade. Rev. Zebulon Jones became principal in 1843 and continued until 1857. Before this Messrs. Biggs and Stearns had been principals, each of whom had preached as supplies at the Baptist Church. There were four terms of eleven weeks each; tuition, $3.50 for common and $4 for the higher English branches and the languages. Board for the out-of-town students could be obtained in families for $1.50 per week. The average attendance was from forty to fifty. There were quite a number of students from Seabrook. When the Seabrook girls came up to evening entertainments, some of the
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boy students often escorted them home. The return trip was not always as pleasant. Sometimes the irate natives gave them heroic treatment for having invaded their territory.
The academy building was situated in a cold and wind-swept location. The underpinning was not pointed and the wind had free course underneath, making it difficult to make the school- room comfortable in cold weather. The surroundings were not attractive, as the building was situated in the centre of a gravel pit where hundreds of boulders of all sizes were scattered over the surface. The doors at each end of the building were much exposed to wind and storm, and were unpleasant to approach except in pleasant weather. There was a small library kept in the academy, with some electrical and philosophical apparatus which was up to date at that time. The academy was of great value to the young people of the town, as they could go farther than the common school at small expense. Mr. Jones could mpart instruction in a pleasant and impressive manner with good effect. The out-of-town attendance was always quite large.
There were old men clothed in rags and tatters, who wandered about and were called stragglers. They called at people's houses and demanded food. They were men of great appetite, eating many times a day and were very fond of cider for which they usually asked. They were dirty and repulsive in appear- ance and much feared and dreaded by the women folks, as they were often impudent when the men folks were not around. The time when the men folks had to be away all day on the marsh was much dreaded, the women being left alone. The doors were kept fastened to prevent the straggler's entrance, if any came . around. These men were usually harmless, being mildly insane, or demented. It was the custom of some towns to turn their paupers loose in the summer months to shift for themselves and thus save expense. The nuisance of old stragglers was long since abated as such people are now confined in the charitable institutions, and are now no longer a menace to the community. There were some women of this class: Hannah Chesley from somewhere up country, and Lucy Perose, colored, were annual visitors to this town. The Perose woman was found dead in the road in Kensington and was buried at the expense of the town.
In retail transactions of small amount the English currency
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was generally used and spoken of, instead of the federal cur- rency of dollars and cents. Fourpence-halfpenny was 6} cents; ninepence was 12} cents. Some people saved four of the former and two of the latter and passed them for a quarter of a dollar, which was considered quite a stroke of finance. A shilling was 163 cents; two shillings, 33} cents; two and threepence, 37} cents; two and sixpence, 42 cents; three and ninepence, 62} cents; five shillings, 83} cents; seven and sixpence, $1.25; nine shillings, $1.50; ten and sixpence, $1.75; fifteen shillings, $2.50. After the Civil War the use of the English currency ceased and dollars and cents became the medium in trade.
Dr. Edward Dearborn and Dr. Terrell Brown, both of Seabrook, did most of the work in their line in this town, and were called very good physicians. Dr. Dearborn practiced medicine for more than fifty years. He died in 1851. By his will the Dear- born Academy was endowed. He left $4,000 to the Line Church. Dr. Brown committed suicide in 1849. At that time there were few dentists and the country doctors usually extracted teeth. For this purpose they used an instrument resembling a cant-hook which produced anything but a pleasant sensation on those who had to have teeth extracted.
The duties of the housewife were laborious. She was expected to do many things not required of women at the present time. Many did spinning and weaving. Not a great many cows were kept at that time, as the milk business came later. In many cases the women did the milking, and then made the butter and cheese. The labor-saving devices, in general use in nearly every domestic department at the present time, were then unknown. The water supply was generally from the well, often at some distance from the house to which the water was carried in pails, with much exposure to wind and storm. It was raised from the well by pump, windlass, or the well sweep. Those who had water at the sink were very few. The premises where water could be had without going out of doors were rare. The women often had the entire care of the hogs and poultry, and from the proceeds of the latter often supplied the groceries used in the family, which were received in exchange at the store. She made the soft soap, dipped the candles, made cider apple sauce, and dried apples. Much of the cooking was done by the open fire, or in the brick oven. Cook stoves had not been developed enough 19
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to come into general use. Often there was a lack of dry wood with which to kindle and keep a fire with ease. The family sewing and many other duties kept our mothers busy and little time was afforded for recreation and pleasure. In one important respect they had an advantage over the housewives of the present time : efficient and experienced in-door help could be obtained at a low price. This did much to render the housework much easier than it is today.
The brick oven was found in nearly every farm house and occu- pied an important place in the domestic economy. Beans, brown bread, pies and other things baked in the brick oven were, and are still supposed to be by those who can recollect, better than cooked in the modern range. The drop cakes baked on the oven bot- tom were thought to be good enough to set before a king. To heat the oven dry wood and enough of it was required. When the black was burned off the bricks and the top of the oven looked bright and clean, the fire could be removed and the oven was then ready to receive the things to be cooked, and a number of dif- ferent things could be cooked at the same time. In some fami- lies the brick oven was heated every day; when this was done it implied prosperity and forehandedness which commanded respect. The oven was sometimes used to smoke hams and bacon in. This was a practice said to injure and soften the mortar and thus to damage the oven; it was a practice not to be encouraged. At the present time there are but few brick ovens remaining and those are in the older houses; they have gone out of use and there are few now living who could successfully ma- nipulate a brick oven. The tin baker was used to cook biscuit, gingerbread and other things before the open fire. It was made of tin, open in front to the fire, and constructed in such form that the bright surface of the tin reflected the heat with great power upon the things in the baking pan to be cooked. In those days the baker was in general use, and only yielded when cook stoves and ranges became perfected. The tin kitchen, made of tin and constructed on the same principal as the baker, was used to roast meat and poultry which was done to perfec- tion. The baker and tin kitchen ceased to be used a long time ago. Those who ever saw either in use are now very few. Indian bannock was made of meal mixed with water and spread upon a sheet of tin and baked before the fire; this, made into
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toast and with melted butter, was much prized and would be as popular today if it could be reproduced of the same quality. Let no one suppose that the people of that day did not know what good living was, although afforded at much less cost than at present.
It was the custom of many families to gather herbs in the sum- mer time, such as catnip, pennyroyal, thoroughwort, elder blows, sarsaparilla and some others, tying them into bundles and hang- ing them to the roof timbers in the garret to dry. An old-fash- ioned attic had a pleasant aromatic odor which lasted long after the herbs had been removed. A tea made from these herbs was used in case of sickness in the family. For juvenile com- plaints they often proved very efficacious. In the hands of some old women, medicines were concocted and used with good results, and were found fully as good remedies as the drugs used later, with no fear of the dangerous effects which were sometimes produced by later medicines. They were inexpensive and safe. This is another practice which has gone out of use in the later years.
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