History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 126

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire > Part 126

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

" Long live the good town, giving out, year by year, Recruits lo true manhood and womanhood dear ; Brave boys, modest maidens, in beauty sent forth, The living episties and proof of its worth !"

526

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

JAMES LANGDON CHAMBERLAIN.

James L. Chamberlain was born in Mason village (now Greenville), N. H., February 16, 1824. He was the son and only child of Hon. Loammi Chamber- lain, and grandson of Captain Isaac Chamberlain, of Chelmsford, Mass.

Hon. Loammi Chamberlain was, in many respects, a man of uncommon mould. He had a remarkable genius for the mechanical arts, and fine inventive faculty. He had much to do with perfecting and putting in successful operation the machinery of the various mills and manufactories in and about his native village, and made many valuable improve- ments in various machines, particularly in power- looms, which extended his reputation and business to other States. Some years prior to his death he gave up practically all attention to mechanics, and devoted himself to the superintendence of his saw- mill and farm. His biographer says of him, that " few men have done more for the material prosperity of Mason village than Mr. Chamberlain."

His son, James L., seems to have inherited, in a very marked degree, the best traits of his father's character. He had not the advantage of a collegiate course of study; but being of a studious, thoughtful turn of mind, and possessed of fine powers of obser- vation, his tastes led him to be, throughout his life, a close student, not only of books, but of that broader field for study, human nature. The choice library he left behind him shows more than ordinary culture and a rare appreciation of the best works in art, sci- ence and literature. He early manifested an aptitude for business pursuits ; and when he had attained his majority, his father, whose health was declining, re- linquished to him the care and control of his busi- ness, which he soon began to improve and extend. In 1857 he built a new flouring mill, and dealt largely in grain. He also entered quite extensively into the manufacture of furniture, and carried on a large lum- ber trade. He was a wide-awake, generous-minded, liberal-spirited man,-the kind of mau, who, while careful of his own interests and investments, labors also with the broader view of building up and advan- cing the material interests of the community. He was a safe and judicious counsellor, and his judgment was sought after and vahured by his fellow-townsmen in every important public measure. He was an ear-

nest, active member of the Masonic fraternity, in nearly all its branches. In politieal life he was a Republican and an efficient local leader in the party, and was frequently chosen to the most responsible positions in the gift of his townsmen. He repre- sented them in the legislature. He was also chosen as one of the members of the Constitutional Conven- tion in 1876.

He was married, February 16, 1854, at Boston, Mass., by Rev. Rollin H. Neal, D.D., to Miss Mary A. Prescott, of Mason. They had two children, Ida F. and Nettie F. The latter, a lovely maiden, died December 15, 1873, at the age of fourteen.

For two years prior to Mr. Chamberlain's death, he suffered much from declining health. The imme- diate cause of his death, however, was the crushing of his hand, which was caught in the machinery of his mill. He died eight days later, May 5, 1883. The Jerusalem Commandery, K. T., of which he was a member in full rank, followed him to his grave and buried him with their impressive service. His wife and daughter survive him.

The following extract from the sermon at his obse- quies, by Rev. J. M. Coburn, is eminently true of him: "The man of sterling integrity, the active pub- lic-spirited citizen, the judicious helper, the kind neighbor and firm friend, the beloved brother, the affectionate father and true husband, has passed away, leaving distressing voids in the marts of business, in a large number of grateful hearts, and in a wide cir- cle of strong friends, and especially in his own happy and endeared household, which can never be filled. But his name and deeds, his hearty forgiveness of enemies, his constant patienee in suffering, his calm resignation to Heaven's decree in sickness and death, will be cherished, with loving remembrance, long after his noble, outward form is turned to dust. The thrift and industries of the beautiful village of Green- ville, its excellent free public library, and the fine Baptist Church edifice, are perpetual reminders of his wise and noble beneficence. The entire commu- nity deeply feel and mourn the mysterious sad be- reavement."

As was written of his father, so may it truthfully be written of him: "He was eminently a domestic man, and it was in the bosom of his family and in the circle of his most intimate friends, that his virtues were best known, and his many excellencies most fully appreciated."

526

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Ved, active member of the M. ric frater at, in medy all its branches. In online I life be was a

day we- frequently men to the most reson ink H. ropie my feed themin un finvare. He was al chose 1

0% of one of the oneties of the Constitutionalwoven-

in 1820

He was manual agentury 16, 1 54, at Boston

MIT MANS PROBLEM MED, by P . Roll H Neal I.D. to Miss Mary & Percent, of Mars, il y hat Two chipley. J. Y med Vedres T Tho latoer, a lovak molen diel D .. . . 1875 M the cof fom pel.

1 o macht ry vi thu

me. vihell man - fre spired former declining well. The haun

pey & bis death To 8-6 0 mechanics, rooms are of his - ways of hiv, that

trial prosperity

mert his father's · UmMEcal a collegiate , thoughtful and powers of phaper- pochout his Mu. af fawns but he that broalles

Kan wadimary ulnare work. in art & i- weclinile i d'an .; tito

Mirre it li best. OVE an Vend.

At Camed Als cash forever, was de cru lun

mat pool ifrys later, Max ) 1983 The Justieso Con odes K. T., of which lo w a meraber in full tant. Wwwwww. hun to be grave and buried him with their bopres ne service. His wife and daughter shrviv hinh

The following ev rat frem thy serwor at his abs quies, by Re . J. M Coborn, is oninently true lin: "The m h of sterling utcgrity, the cifre pub- lic-spirited inzen, the idicious helper, the kind Fig bor and firm friend. the beloved brother. the lotio ate father and true husband has passed away. I bieg listrowing voids in the marts of busit essy in a large number of grateful heart and in A wide vin Peerstrong friends, and espe sally in his own happy and andered Your holm, which can never be filled In his zamy ad deeds his lessly forgiveness of enemy his constant patience 1 soff riva. his calor will be cher hed, with living con sabiam, les afte his nebi . o .w. rd for i turm Idom . Il. thrift a lin le wies of the beaut is ylase if træet- vill its ANclient fre public library and the joy Baofiel Church edifi o, are por onal reordered ntv deeply feel acd roon'n the my terion in l los I ment

man, si f it was in the boom of our family and a Paraboli most atmete friends, the his best known ang his many ex clusnies du il's Appreciat 1.

HISTORY OF MERRIMACK.

BY ELLIOT WHIPPLE.

CHAPTER I.

Natural Features .- The town of Merrimack is situated on the west side of the river bearing the same name, and extends north from the mouth of the Pennichuck Brook, a distance of about six miles. The western boundary line runs due north from the Pennichuck, at a distance of about three and a half miles from the most westerly point reached by the Merrimack River within the limits of the town, which is at Thornton's Ferry. The northern boun- dary extends due west from the river until it inter- sects the western boundary. Hence the shape of the town is approximately a rectangle, the eastern and southern boundaries being very irregular, in conse- quence of the windings of the above-named streams. Its average length is about six miles and its average width a little less than five miles, and it contains nineteen thousand three hundred and sixty-one acres.

Along the river the land is comparatively level, free from stone, and easily cultivated; but the soil is po- rous and sandy, so that the farmer must enrich it with fertilizers freely and frequently, if he would gather rich harvests. The western portion is broken and hilly, and the soil is stony, but stronger than that of the plains. The prevailing rock, whether in the form of boulders, drift-pebbles, or bed-rock, is granite, gneiss, mica schist and other granitic formations, with here and there some slate and shale.

In many places the granite is suitable for building purposes, and is used to a considerable extent for foundations. There are extensive clay deposits, ex- cellent for brick-making.

Near the northwest corner of the town, between it and Amherst, lies the beautiful Babboosuc Pond, which offers many attractions to picnic-parties and summer visitors. The largest pond wholly within the limits of the town is Naticook Lake, in the southern part of the town. It contains about seventy-five acres. Horse-shoe Pond, close to the Merrimack River, just above Thornton's Ferry, Dumpling Pond, near Reed's Ferry, and various other small lakelets diversify the scenery.

The Souhegan River enters the town from the west

and winds through the middle portion, emptying into the Merrimack at Souhegan Village. It affords seve- ral excellent water privileges; one furnishes the power for the mills at Souhegan, another, about three- fourths of a mile up the stream-said to be the best on the river-lies wholly unimproved, and affords as charming and picturesque a scene as can be found in the State. The fall is occasioned by the river's break- ing through a barrier of rocks tilted up nearly seventy degrees, as is evidenced by the stratifications still clearly discernible, notwithstanding the twistings and metamorphisms of geologic times. At one point, too, it requires no great amount of imagination to see in a projecting rock the face of a man peering steadily and forever out over the boiling waters, past the tangled forest, westward along the smooth surface of the river above the falls, as if it were the crystalized genius of a vanished race, watching their departing footsteps.

Both here and at Souhegan Village, numerous pot- holes are worn in the solid rock, one at the latter place which is only a foot in diameter measuring seven feet in depth.

Babboosuc Brook, starting from the Babboosuc Pond, in Amherst, enters the town at its north-west corner, flows south-east, and empties into the Souhe- gan near its mouth. It affords several small water privileges, some of which have been improved.

The Naticook Brook, starting from the pond of the same name, wanders north-east and finds its way into the Merrimack through Horse-shoe Pond. There is one small improved water privilege on it near Thorn- ton's Ferry.

Productions .- The predominant forest tree is the pine, which is the source of considerable income in many parts of the town. There are patches of oak, chestnut, yellow birch, etc., furnishing some valuable timber and much fire-wood. The farms produce grass, grain, potatoes, etc. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, and the smaller fruits, are grown with ease, while huckleberries, blueberries and blackberries grow wild in profusion.

Animals .- Pickerel, perch and pouts abound in the ponds and brooks, and bass were introduced into Naticook Lake by the State Fish Commission in 1877.

527

528

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Ducks are found along the Merrimack in the spring of the year ; crows are omnipresent ; hawks reduce the number of chickens. Small birds fill the groves with music, except where driven away by cats. Wood- chucks tempt the boys to break the state law on Sun- ‹lays. Foxes are numerous enough to give those who are fond of hunting plenty of exercise. Large num- bers of beautiful gray squirrels are killed every fall. Grasshoppers, potato-bugs and other insect pests ex- haust the patience and ingenuity of farmers, here as elsewhere. More dogs are kept than sheep, but whether with as much profit is not so certain. Many farmers keep a large number of cows, and dairy pro- ducts constitute an important source of income. There are some oxen in town, but farm-work is mostly done by horses.

Pigeons were once an important source of income, some persons even acquiring considerable wealth by catching them and sending them to market. Now only a few are found where once were myriads. The method of catching them was to "bait" them in a certain spot called a " pigeon-bed," and finally, when they had come to expect a feast at that place, a large piece of cloth was spread on the ground at that point, food scattered as usual, and after the pigeons had alighted, the cloth was suddenly folded on itself, often securing several dozens at one time.

CHAPTER II.

ABORIGINES.

No traces have been discovered of any inhabitants in this town prior to the Indians who were found here by the first white settlers. Indian relics, such as arrow-heads, stone axes, etc., are still occasionally met with, but even these are becoming rare, and soon all vestiges of Indian occupancy would be gone, were it not that Indian names remain and will forever remind us of the original owners of the soil. One of the locomotives on the Concord Railroad bears the name of the grand old chieftain, Passaconaway. Merrimack, in the Indian tongue, signified " the place of strong current," though some writers give the less poetic meaning, "a sturgeon." Souhegan signified "the place of the plains ;" Babboosuc, "the twins ;" Mon- adnock, " the place of the Great Spirit."

"Their memory liveth on your hills, Their baptism on your shore ; Your everlasting rivers speak Their dialect of yore.

" Monadnock on his forehead hoar Doth seal the sacred trust ; Your mountains build their monuments, Though ye give the winds their dust."

The manner of life the Indians led, their dwellings, and means of living, have been so fully and accu-

rately portrayed in the history of Nashua that we need not stop to consider them here.

All the Indians between Lowell and Concord be- longed to the tribe of Pennacooks, and were ruled by the once powerful chieftain, Passaconaway.

"His reputation for wisdom and cunning was celebrated among all the eastern Indians. Nor was he less renowned for his pacific spirit toward the white settlers. He was ever for peace. He had almost unbounded influence over the Indians. They believed that he had secret intercourse with the mysteries of nature ; that it was in his power to make water burn and the trees dance. They supposed that he had power to change himself into flame, aud that he could darken the enn and moon. In consequence of these supposed attributes, the Indians looked upon him with wonder and veneration."

In 1660 a great dance and feast was held, on which occasion Passaconaway made his farewell speech. He showed the superior power of the whites, and told them plainly that the time would come when the English would possess all the pleasant lands of their fathers. He prophesied that there would soon be a great war all over the country, and that the only way in which they could hope to be preserved, and keep some little land, was by keeping out of the war.

" Hearken," said he, "to the last words of your fa- ther and friend. The white men are sons of the morning. The Great Spirit is their father. His sun shines bright upon them; never make war with them. Surely as you light the fires, the breath of heaven will turn the flame on you and destroy you. Listen to my advice ; it is the last I shall be allowed to give you. Remember it and live."

So great was his influence that the Pennacooks were ever friendly to the English, though they suffered equally with their fiercer brethren from the continual and unjust encroachments of the whites. Passacona- way is specially an object of interest to the people of Merrimack, because a portion of the northern part of the town was embraced in a grant of land made to him by the Massachusetts General Court in 1662, and it is not improbable that here he spent the last days of his life.

In 1669 the Pennacooks made an expedition against the Mohawks of New York, and were so badly de- feated that their power was destroyed. They had previously sent an invitation to Elliot, the apostle to the Indians, to come and preach to them, and they now moved to Patucket (Lowell), joined the Wame- sits and became "praying Indians."

During the fearful scenes of King Philip's War they remained faithful, and often warned the English of approaching danger.

The Indian outrages that made the lives of the early settlers of Dunstable one continual warfare for two generations, were not committed by the original. inhabitants of this beautiful valley. They were the result of raids by Indians living farther north, and especially in Canada, inspired by the jealousy of the French.

Would that a remnant, at least, of the noble Pen- nacooks might have been spared to enjoy the Chris

529

MERRIMACK.

tian civilization they so heartily welcomed! But it was not destined to be. Unused to the arts and ways of the whites, their weakness and inability to cope at once with such unaeenstomed conditions unap- preciated by the English, they failed to gain a foot- hold in the new life. The same unjust and unfeeling policy that has characterized our national treatment of the Indians was pursued toward the Pennacooks. They felt themselves in the way ; they were bound out to service by public authority to avoid their becoming a publie charge. Gradually they faded away, until they have ceased to exist.

CHAPTER III.

MERRIMACK-( Continued).

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

THE old township of Dunstable embraced Dun- stable, Tyngsborough, Hudson, Hollis, Nashua and portions of Amherst, Milford, Merrimack, Litchfield, and Londonderry.

Some settlements were made within its limits as early as 1673, and in 1675, John Cromwell, a fur- trader, built a trading-house on the bank of the Mer- rimack, about a mile below Thornton's Ferry. He carried on a very profitable business for about four years, using his foot for a pound weight in weighing the furs he bought. But at length the Indians, not appreciating his business methods, formed a scheme to get rid of him; but when they reached his abode the bird had flown; so they burned his house, and it was nearly half a century before another was built in Merrimack.

The name of the first permanent settler is not known with absolute certainty, but it is supposed to have been Jonas Barrett, who, in 1722, built his house and began to clear up a farm on the place now owned by Washington Warner.

Soon after, William Howard, then a bachelor, settled on the farm now owned by Hazen Dodge. He planted the first orchard, and his house ultimately became a resort for those who loved to pass a little leisure time in drinking cider.

In 1724 occurred the first and only Indian skirmish known to have happened in this town. A raiding- party captured two men, Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard, who were manufacturing turpentine on the north side of the Nashua River. An alarm was given and a party of ten of the principal citizens of Dunstable started in pursuit, under the command of Lieutenant Ebenezer French. Pressing on too heed- lessly, in their eagerness to rescue their friends, they were ambushed at the brook near Thornton's Ferry. Most of the party fell at the first fire, and the rest were pursued and killed, one by one, except Josiah Farwell, who escaped to receive his death-wound in

Lovewell's fight, next year. Lieutenant French was overtaken and killed about a mile from the scene of action, under an oak-tree, whose stump yet remains on the line between the farms of C. A. Harris and Amasa Estey. Cross and Blanchard were carried to Canada by their captors, but succeeded in securing their redemption and returned home.

As early as 1656 a tract of land south of the Nati- cook had been granted to William Brenton by the Massachusetts General Court, whence the name "Brenton's Farm," formerly given to the southern part of Merrimack.

In 1728, Brenton's heirs, and others who had pur- chased shares in the grant, organized and took meas- ures for opening it up for settlement, and new elear- ings were rapidly made in various directions.

Among the early settlers were Hassell, Underwood, Usher, the Blanchards, Patten, Powers, Cummings, Temple, Lund, Spaulding, Chamberlain, Barnes, Tay- lor, Stearns, MeClure, Auld, Bowers and Davidson.

Benjamin Hassell settled on the farm now owned by Hugh MeKean, and a daughter of his is said to have been the first white child born in town.

Aquila Underwood lived near Thornton's Ferry, and Phineas Underwood kept the first public-house.

John Usher settled on the farm now owned by George Bean, and was a justice of the peace.

Cummings and Patten were the first deacons of the church.

Captain John Chamberlain erected a saw and grist- mill, the first in town, at Souhegan Falls, in 1734, re- ceiving as an inducement a grant of three hundred acres from the Brenton proprietors.

In 1734 the General Court of Massachusetts granted a town organization to Naticook, which seems to have embraced Litchfield as well as the southern part of Merrimack, and for twelve years the people on both sides of the river elected town officers in common, erected the old meeting-house in Litehfield, and se- cured the services of Joshua Tutts, of Newbury, a graduate of Harvard, as their pastor, paying him a hundred and twenty dollars a year, and sixty dollars for settlement. Mr. Tufts was ordained in Naticook in 1741, but left in 1744.

CHAPTER IV.

MERRIMACK-( Continued).

CIVIL HISTORY, 1746-74.

WHEN the vexed question of the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was finally settled, in 1741, it divided the town of Dun- stable, and various portions of it which fell to the share of New Hampshire applied to the Governor and Council of that province for new articles of in- corporation.

530

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The people of that part of Naticook living west of the Merrimack petitioned for an aet of incorporation for the territory lying between the Pennichuck Brook and the Souhegan River, bounded on the east by the Merrimack River and on the west by a line running due north from Pennichuck Pond to the Souhegan River. The petition was granted, and the people that inhabited or should inhabit the above-defined terri- tory were "declared and ordained to be a town cor- porate, and erected and incorporated into a body politic, and a corporation to have continuance forever, by the name of Merrimack."

The act was dated April 2, 1746, which was there- fore the birth-day of the town of Merrimack.

The following is a literal copy of the records of the first meeting under the charter :

" At a meeting of the Inhabitants on March the 4th, 1746, Lawfully, Capt. Jonathan Cumings Chosen Moderator of the meeting ; Phinehas Underwood Chose Town Clark ; Phinehas Underwood, Mr. John Usher, Mr. Zecariah Starns Chosen Selectmen ; William Datten Chose Constable ; Ephriam Powers Chose Tithinman ; Jonas Barrat Chose Saviaer of High- ways ; William Lund and Jonathan Powers Chosen field Drivers ; James Karr and Timothy Underwood Chosen fence veears; all which Persons was Chosen into the Respective offices as above, this 4th day of March, 1746. "PHINEHAS UNDERWOOD, Town Clark. " Province of ? Marrymac, March the 4th, 1746.

New Hamps.

"The above Persons was sworn to the faithfull descharge of there Respective Offices before me, "JOSEPH BLANCHARD, Just. Peeas.

"Att the meting Before mentnod, it was then Voted that the Comons in this Town be grazed the Corrant year, and that Each Propr. Residant and unresidant on Ech fifty Eacrs of unfenced Land he owns, Graze one Beast, and in Proportion for a Grater Quantity in this Town and unfenced, and in as much as sum of the Inhabitants of this Town has not a sufficient Quantity of unfenced Lands to graze the whole of there stock, that in Consideration of there paying Taxes and assistance in the Charge of the Town, that thay have libarty to Graze all the Cattle and horses they have of thare own property, Equle and in the same manner as if they had a sufficient of the Comon in there own Rights, and that the Cattle and horses thus grazed on the Comons be all Entered with the Clark, and that he have one shilling old tenor for Receiving and fileing such list and Keeping them on file.

"PHINEHAS UNDERWOOD, Town Clark."

The latter portion of the above record gives us a glimpse of the hardships and struggles of pioneer life. Think of turning cattle and horses loose to pick a living in the untouched forest, and of the daily anx- iety of mothers whose sons were "gone after the eows," exposed to the attacks of wandering savages and wild beasts and the many unknown dangers of the vast wilderness !

One of the first things to be done by the town in its corporate capacity was to secure preaching of the gospel; indeed, it was usually one of the conditions of the grants of lands and charters that "a meeting- house should be built and a learned and orthodox minister be employed." Consequently, in a few weeks after the reception of the charter, another meeting was held to choose a committee to "hire preaching and to order the place to have the preaching at."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 126

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168