History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 167

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

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PETITION FOR PROTECTION AGAINST THE INDIANS.

" To his Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., Governor and Commander- in-Chief of his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire :

" The petition of the Inhabitants of Salem-Canada, in said Province, IInmbly shews That your petitioners live in a place Greatly exposed to the Indians and have not men Sufficient for to Defend ns, That tho' there be but few of ns, yet we have laid out our estates, to begin in this place, so that we shall be extremely hurt if we must now move off, for we have, by the Blessing of God on our labors, a fine crop of corn on the ground, and tho' we have a Garrison in the town, Built by Order of Maj. Lovell, yet we have nobody empowered so much as to set a watch among us, nor men to keep it ; we would pray your Excellency that we may have some assistance from the Government, in sending us some souldiers, to Guard and Defend us, as in your wisdom you shall think proper.

"Though we are but newly added to this Government, yet we pray your Execllency not to disregard us, but to assist us, that we may keep

our estates and do service for the government hereafter. And your Pe- titioners, as in duty Bound, will ever pray.

" John Cram, Jr. Joseph Cram.

John Cram. Samuel Leman.

David Stevenson. John Stevenson.

John Dale.

Jonathan Cram.

Ephraim Putnam.

Benjamin Cram.

Abraham Leman.

"Salem-Canada, June 26th, 1744."

No. 2 .- The grant of Salem-Canada, in 1735, by the Massachusetts General Court, and the settlements formed in it, were followed, in 1749, by the grant of a new township from the proprietors, holding under the charter of John Tufton Mason, to a company of pur- chasers, forty-six in number. Many of them never resided on the lands, but afterwards sold them to settlers coming in. These shares were drawn by lot. The deed conveying the land was dated October 1, 1749, at Dunstable, and the lots were drawn on Octo- ber 16th. The name first given to the new township, which included on the north a part of Salem-Canada, was No. 2.

The following conditions were prescribed by the proprietors to the grantees :

1. Two lots of eighty acres each should be set apart to encourage the building of mills.

2. One share of two hundred and forty acres should be given to the first minister.

3. One share should be set apart for the Christian ministry.

4. One share should be given to schools.

5. The share-holders should make all roads.

6. The original proprietors should be exempt from all taxes.

7. The shareholders should build a church by November, 1752.

8. The share-holders should settle and build houses on forty lots.

9. Each settler should pay $13.33 to aid in building up the town. 10. Those not fulfilling the conditions, except in case of an Indian war, were to forfeit their shares.

11. White pine trees were to be reserved for the British navy.

This new township, which, with new territory on the south, included a portion of Salem-Canada, received the name of No. 2, as stated above. This name was continued till 1762, thirteen years, as the title of Sa- lem-Canada had been for fourteen years, viz. : 1735 to 1749. No. 1 became afterwards Mason, No. 3 became Lyndeborough and No. 4, Charlestown, N. H.

Wilton Proper. - In 1761, June 18th, the following petition for incorporation, was addressed to Governor Benning Wentworth :

PETITION FOR INCORPORATION.

"To his Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esy., Governor, &c., in the Province of New Hampshire, and the Honorable His Majesty's Council of said Province :

"The Petition of us, the subscribers, being Inhabitants of a tract of Land in said Province, of the contents of five miles square, called and known by the name of Number 2, which Township bounds northerly on Lyndeborough, westerly and southerly on Peterborough slip and Number 1, Easterly on ye Mason's Grant, not taken up ; which Tract of land is considerably settled and improved, and is this year Taxed to the Province with other Towns.

" We would, therefore, llumbly request of your Excelly and Honors, that we may be Incorporated into a Township, and be invested with such Privileges and Immunities as other Towns have, and do enjoy in this Province, for ye more easy carrying on our Public affairs. &c., and that the said Corporation may be Bounded according to the Grant of the said

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WILTON.

Township, and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c., June 18, 1761.

" James Mann. Henry Snow.

John Cram.

William Gibson.

Jonathan Stevens.

William Kinkeid.

Ilaczialı Hamblet.

William Mansur.

Elexander Milieen.

Robert Smith.

John Deale.

William Vance.

John Burton.

Robert Renker.

Philip Putnam.

David Barker.

Ebenezer Perry.

John Daveson.

Jonathan Greele.

Benjamin Thompson.

Hugh Smylie.

Samuel Mansur.

Jacob Putnam."

The prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the town was incorporated, June 25, 1762, under the name of Wilton, derived from an ancient borough in Wilt- shire, England. This act of incorporation was to con- tinue in force till January 1, 1765. The first town- meeting was held June 27, 1762. A second act of incorporation was granted, January 2, 1765, signed by Hon. Benning Wentworth, Governor of the Province of New Hampshire, " to have continuance until His Majesty's pleasure shall be further known." As His Majesty and His Majesty's successors have, so far as is known, taken no exception to it, it is presumed this aet of incorporation remains valid to the present day.

Addition of Part of Wilton to Temple .- In 1768 a petition was addressed to the Governor and Council, by the inhabitants of Peterborough Slip, the part of Peterborough lying east of the mountains called Pack Monadnock, to have one mile of the west part of Wilton, and extending the length of the town, five miles, added to Peterborough Slip, to form an inde- pendent town. To compensate for this slice of a mile wide being taken off Wilton, the petitioners also prayed that one mile wide of territory might be added to the town on the east. The people of Wilton ad- dressed the authorities with a counter-petition, asking that Peterborough Slip itself might be added to Wil- ton, and deprecating any addition on the east. But the petitioners of the Peterborough Slip prevailed over the Wiltonians, and a tract half a mile wide and five miles long was taken from Wilton and added to Peter- borough Slip, constituting the town of Temple.

Thus, after all these changes of names and bounda- ries, of Salem-Canada; No. 2; Wilton five miles square; and Wilton four and a half miles wide by five miles long, as at present constituted; we have the proprie- tary and territorial history of the town of Wilton up to the present time.

CHAPTER IV.

WILTON-(Continued).

TOWN INSTITUTIONS-MEETINGS-OFFICERS-DEBTS- TAXES-IIOUSES-ETC.

I'r has been said that American liberty was born in the cabin of the "Mayflower" in 1620, when the Pilgrims made a covenant with one another, and 45

signed it as the instrument of their civil and religious polity. But its earliest effective institutions were the town church, supported by the taxes of all the peo- ple, and the town-meeting, to which all freemen were admitted and which regulated all municipal affairs. Thus more than a century before a thought was enter- tained of a free and independent nation, separated from the parent country, the citizens of the colonies were virtually put to school in the knowledge and practice of public and official duties in State and church, and were trained to administer the affairs of the nation in peace and war.

De Tocqueville, in his "Democracy in America," the best work by a foreigner ever written upon our in- stitutions, says,-

" In New England political life had its origin in the townships, and it may be said that each of them originally formed an independent nation. " In the American townships power has been distributed with admira- ble skill for the purpose of interesting the greatest possible number of persons in the common weal.

" They possess two advantages, which strongly excite the interest of mankind, namely,-independence and authority. It is incontestably true that the tastes and habits of republican government in the United States were first created in the townships and the Provincial Assemblies."

A good illustration of this public spirit and interest in the common weal, which was strengthened and cherished by the township system, is found in the records of the town, dated July 15 and September 8, 1774, in which the inhabitants enter into a covenant of non-importation and non-consumption of British goods. This instrument is given in full subsequently in the chapter on the Revolutionary War. It seemed a trifling thing for this little community of farmer people, perched on the granite hills of a sparsely in- habited State, thus to fling defiance in the face of a great nation, but it had its serious meaning and weight. The act showed a determination to repel unjust laws by sacrifices of comfort and peace, and to vindicate the cause of freedom at whatever cost. It also showed sympathy and made common cause with the sister colonies, who suffering from the stamp act and taxation without representation and other inva- sions of the rights of British freemen, needed the support of their brethren. That same spirit ac- quiring force as it proceeded sent "the embattled farmers " to Bunker Hill and Bennington, and finally after a war of eight years with one of the greatest powers of the old world, won the independence of the new.

Town-Meetings, Etc .- These were usually held annually the second Tuesday of March. A public notice was posted by the selectmen, informing the people when, where, and for the transaction of what business the meeting was called and summoning the legal voters to assemble and discharge their legal duties as freemen. The assembly in early times was held in the church, but at the present day in a town- house or hall, built for the purpose. A presiding officer called, a moderator was chosen, and prayer was offered by the minister of the church. A town clerk

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

was elected to record the proceedings. A board of selectmen, usually consisting of three men, was chosen to administer the affairs of the town, relating to schools, roads, the poor, taxes, etc. A representa- tive was chosen to the General Court or State Legis- lature, also town treasurer, town collector, superin- tending school committee, tithing men, constables, etc. Reports were read by the officers of the preceding year in relation to roads, schools, taxes, bridges, and all matters pertaining to the welfare of the town. Thus the town-clock was wound up to run another year. It was really a democratic republic in miniature. All power sprang from the people and was referred di- rectly back to the people as the legitimate source of all human authority. In these political schools the people were nurtured and strengthened for the days to come, the "times that tried men's souls." And the permanence and success of the republican system of government depend to a considerable degree upon the extension and efficiency of the public town-meet- ing. This is the nest egg of the political system of America.

One who long filled important offices in town and who has been a careful observer remarks,-" ] am unable to perceive where we have in our political organizations any that are purely democratic, except in the towns and wards. All our other organizations, city, county, State, etc., are representative, and I think only in New England is the pure town organ- ization still retained."

Town Debts and Town Taxes .- The expenses of the town for the church, schools, roads, bridges, pub- lic improvements, the poor, etc., were met by taxes levied on all property, real and personal, collected by au officer- appointed for the purpose and paid over to the treasurer, to be disbursed by orders signed by the selectmen. Unfortunately in many States since the formation of the government the township system has fallen into disuse, and so there has been in some re- spects a perceptible decline in municipal liberty and spirit which augurs ill for the future of the country. Reports of public affairs are now printed, not read before the assembly of the people and submitted to their judgment. There is no discussion in the presence of the legal voters of the interests of the public and the caucuses cut and dry the measures to be adopted and the men to be chosen in office, while the town-meetings only ratify what has been deter- mined on elsewhere. The restoration of the town- meeting to its primitive place and power and its extension to all the States of the Union would be a most beneficial agency in the progress of America. All hail to the town-meeting !

Town Hall or House .- As already seen the earliest town hall was the Congregational Church. The civil as well as the religious meetings of the town were held there. The moderator and town clerk oc- cupied the " deacons' seat " in front of the pulpit, the voters the pews and the spectators the galleries. The

burning of the church in 1859 led to the subsequent building, the next year, of the town hall, situated on the common in the centre of the town, just south of the site of the church, and in this hall the town meet- ings were held until 1868, when it was voted to sell the town hall, and the meetings were held in the depot hall at the East village. The town hall at the Centre was sold to a company and called Citizens' Hall, and is used for lectures, social meetings and amusements. At the annual meeting in 1883, it was voted by the town to erect a town house at the East village "for the convenient transaction of the public business of the town." The lot of land was given by the Messrs. Whiting and the building was erected at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars and dedi- cated January 1, 1885.

Town Church and Town Schools will be treated of under the respective heads of "The Ecclesiastical Affairs" of the town and " Education."

Town Officers, Census, Etc., will come under the head of the chapter of Statistics.

CHAPTER V.

WILTON-(Continued).

ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.

No more important subject is connected with the history of New England towns than that of religion and religious institutions ; for the general spirit and motive which prompted the first settlers to leave their homes in the old world and brave the perils of the wilderness in the new, was their desire to have free- dom to worship God. However imperfectly they carried out the idea, and however they may have been at times inconsistent in trespassing upon the religious freedom of others, their religious interests were their supreme interests. For these they lived, labored, prayed and suffered. If other lands and climes may boast of richer soils, milder skies, more precious mines, it is the glory of New England that the motto of her homes and her churches, her States, her schools and colleges was Christo et ecclesice, to Christ and the church.

Churches and Church Buildings .- We have al- ready seen the origin of the religious history of the town in the provision made by the original grantors to establish a town church, as was customary in those days by assigning one share of two hundred and forty aeres to the first minister and one share of the same extent to the ministry in general. This town church, to the support of which all contributed by annual tax and on whose services almost all the inhabitants regularly attended, was for many years the only church in town, and went under the name of the Congrega- tional church, that being the form of the church gov- ernment.

701

WILTON.

The same grantors had also made it a condition in the original instrument of settlement, that a church building should be erected by November, 1752. This condition was fulfilled, and a log church was built not far from the spot on the common, at the centre, where the Unitarian church now stands. It continued to be used for about twenty-one years, and was then taken down. The first minister was Rev. Jonathan Livermore, a son of deacon Jonathan Livermore, of Northborough, Mass., born December 18, 1729, grad- uated from Harvard College, 1760, was ordained De- cember 14, 1763, resigned February, 1777 and died July 20, 1809. A sketch of his life and character is given elsewhere.

The second meeting-house was a large two-story building, situated a little to the north of the old one on the common. It was built like the first one at the expense of the whole town. It had a porch at the east end and one at the west end. It had a high pulpit, after the manner of the times, over which was suspended a large sounding-board. Two rows of large windows extended round the building. The pews were square, with seats that turned up in prayer-time, and were let down with a distinct emphasis at the close. In front of the pews, before the pulpit, were open seats for the deaf and aged. Galleries were built on three sides of the church, supported by pillars planted in the church floor, divided into pews, and opposite the pulpit provided with seats for the sing- ers. In the early days, the attic, to which there was an ascent by a trap-door, was the powder-arsenal of the town ; the earthly and the heavenly ammunition being thus stored under one roof. Originally there was no bell, but one was placed in the east tower or porch in the year 1832.

At the raising of the church on September 7, 1773, a terrible accident occurred. When the frame was nearly up one of the central beams broke and fell, owing to the failure of a post that supported it, being rotten or worm-eaten at the core. A large body of timber, boards and tools, such as axes, iron bars, adzes, etc., and upwards of fifty persons standing on the beams all tumbled down, in the middle of the building, some thirty feet to the ground. Three men were instantly killed, two died soon after of their wounds, others were crippled for life, and of the fifty- three that fell not one escaped without broken bones, terrible bruises, or cuts from the axes and other tools. As many of them were picked men from the town and the vicinity and were heads of families, it can be imagined what was the consternation and grief in the sparse population at that day, and how great was the loss not only at Wilton but to the neighboring towns. Upon reflection on the event in later times it has been not unnaturally conjectured that possibly a previous vote of the town may have had something to do with it, and that it was not altogether an accident, but the re- sult of too much good cheer and self-confidence on the part of the master workman and his associates.

At a town-meeting June 3, 1773, it was " Voted to provide one barrel of West India rum, five barrels of New England rum, one barrel of good brown sugar, half a box of good lemons and two loaves of loaf- sugar for framing and raising said meeting-house."

The people recovered their courage and completed the church, which was dedicated January 5, 1775. The pastor, Rev. Jonathan Livermore, preached the sermon (which has since been published), from 1 Chron. xxix. 14.

This church was struck by lightning on Friday, July 20, 1804, and, according to the narrative of Rev. Thomas Beede, then pastor of the church, "one of the middle posts at the east end was rent from top to bottom, the windows were burst out, and pieces of lath and plastering were sent from the east to the west end of the house with a force sufficient to break glass ; when the charge reached the ground it took a horizontal direction and left visible marks upon the surface for several rods before it was conducted into the earth. There was no lightning-rod then attached to the house." One was afterwards put upon it.

The second minister of the church was Rev. Abel Fiske, born in Pepperell, Mass., 1752; graduated at Harvard College 1774; was ordained in Wilton No- vember 18, 1778; and remained the pastor of the church until his death, April 21, 1802.

He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Beede, born in Poplin, now Fremont, N. H., 1771; graduated at Harvard College 1798; and was ordained in Wilton March 2, 1803, and resigned his charge, January 15, 1829.

The organization of the church was at first by a covenant agreeably to the method of New England Congregationalism, not by a specific creed. The first church in Plymouth, where the Pilgrims landed, was organized in that way and still retains its covenant. During Mr. Beede's ministry a creed was adopted, but subsequently it was dropped and the church reverted to the original method of a covenant. This caused dissatisfaction among some of the members, and "a Second Congregational Church " was formed July 18, 1823, holding Trinitarian views. It consisted of seventeen members at first.

Rev. Stephen A. Barnard was ordained over the First church January 13, 1830, and resigned his office April 25, 1833.

Rev. Abner D. Jones succeeded Mr. Barnard and was ordained January 1, 1834.

He was succeeded by Rev. Nathaniel Whitman, who was installed October 5, 1836, and continued pastor of the church till 1843.

The following ministers succeeded Mr. Whitman, in rapid rotation, as pastors :

Rev. William A. Whitwell, 1843 to 1850; Rev. Seth Saltmarsh, 1851 to 1853 ; Rev. John N. Bellows, 1854 to 1855 ; Rev. Stillman Clark, 1837 to 1863; Rev. Levi W. Ham, 1863 to 1864; Rev. William B. Buxton 1865 to 1867; Rev. Richard Coleman, 1868 to 1870; Rev. 1. Sumner Lin- coln, 1870 to July 1, 1879 ; Rev. Charles Henry Rickards, 1880 to 1881 ; Rev. Ilenry Dana Dix, 1882 to April, 1885.

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During this period several other ministers have, for a short time, supplied the pulpit.

The Universalist Society .- The second religious society established in Wilton was that of the Univer- salists, in 1813; but it had only occasional preaching, no settled pastor and no meeting-house. It was cus- tomary for them to meet in the Brick Hall, and in later years they had their services in the First Con- gregational Church.

Baptist Church.1-The Baptist Church in Wilton was constituted April 7, 1817, with eleven mem- bers: Pierce Gage, Joseph Holt, William Mansur, Ebenezer Chandler, William Howard, Jabez Gold- smith, Joseph Smith, Abigail Smith, Lucy Smith, Mary Goldsmith, Chloe Bales. The last surviving of these was Deacon Joseph Smith, who died March 16, 1883, aged ninety-four years and five months. He was made deacon very soon after the church was consti- tuted, and held the office till his death. He was a man of deep piety and fully consecrated to Christ. Associated with him in the deacon's office, during most of his active life, was Deacon Timothy Gray.

The same day the church was constituted, six were added to its membership by letter and seven by bap- tism. By letter,-William Goldsmith, Hannah Gold- smith, Anna Upton, Betsy Holt, Esther Holt, Sally Mansur; by baptism, William Bales, William L. Bales, Timothy Gray, John Peabody, Susannah Smith, Nancy Gray, Sally Peabody.

For some years previous to this a few residents of Wilton had embraced Baptist principles and had united with the Baptist Church in Mason. The pas- tor of that church, Rev. William Elliott, frequently visited Wilton and preached to the people assembled in private houses, the school-houses of the town being closed against him. The truth, however, could not be bound; quite a number received it gladly and em- bracing the same became consistent Baptists.

During the winter of 1816-17 under the labors of Rev. George Evans, the Spirit was poured out. Some were converted and the desire to have a church in Wilton, which had been for some time burning in the hearts of the faithful few, was so much strengthened that they resolved to organize a church and did so as above stated. The church thus constituted had no pastor for fourteen months, but was supplied a part of the time by Brother Benjamin T. Lane. Eleven were added to the church during this time.

In June 1818, Rev. Ezra Wilmoth was settled as pastor, the church then numbering thirty-five. He baptized forty-nine.

HIe was succeeded in February 1823, by Rev. Beuel Lathrop, who served one year. After this for a while the church was supplied by neighboring pastors. From February 1823 to October 1827 twenty-five were baptized.

In 1827, the church and society built its present

meeting-house at Wilton Centre. November 7th it was dedicated, and the same day Brother Simon Fletcher was ordained. He served the church three years and baptized three and was succeeded in 1830 by Brother Caleb Brown. He was ordained and served the church two years, and during the time eleven were baptized.

In 1833, Brother Harrison Strong was ordained. He served two years and baptized nine.

He was succeeded in June 1835, by Rev. John Cannon, who served one year and baptized seven.

After this Rev. Ezra Wilmoth again served the church for a season and baptized seven. In August, 1838, Rev. N. W. Smith became pastor; he served eighteen months and baptized two.

About this time fourteen members were dismissed to form the church in Lyndeborough. Thus the church at Wilton is a mother as well as a daughter.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 167

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