History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 41

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

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The battle fought on the 17th of June, 1775, in sight of the metropolis of New England, destroyed less of human life than many of the sanguinary con- fiets of the American Revolution. But no one had a more decisive influence in determining the future of the Anglo-Saxon race on the western continent. It taught the British to respect American character and to fear American valor.

Events of 1776 and 1777 .- The people of Dunsta- ble were anxiously awaiting the Declaration of Inde- pendence, and in 1776 the town officers made procla- mation for the annual meeting, not as heretofore, "in His Majesty's name," but in the name of the people of New Hampshire. At this meeting the " spirit of '76" was strongly manifested. Samuel Roby, Noah Lovewell, William Walker, Joseph Eayrs, Joseph French, Jr., Captain Benjamin French and Thomas Butterfield, were chosen delegates to the County Congress.

Jonathan Lovewell, Robert Fletcher, Joseph Eayrs, Noah Lovewell Silas Adams, Samuel Roby, Joseph Whiting and Thomas Butterfield were chosen a Com- mittee of Safety.

Samuel Roby, Benjamin Smith, Thomas Butterfieldl, John Searles, David Allds, James Blanchard, Wil- liam Walker, John Wright and Henry Adams were chosen a Committee of Inspection, to see that no British goods were sold in town. Early in 1776 New Hampshire raised three regiments of two thousand men, which were placed under the command of Colo- nels Stark, Reed and Hale. They marched to Ticon- deroga, and up the Lakes to Canada, but were com- pelled to retreat. The soldiers from Dunstable suf- fered severely, and lost one-third of their number by sickness and exposure.

In 1777 three regiments of two thousand men were again raised by New Hampshire, for the Continental army. The same quota of troops was furnished by the State during the war, besides voluntary enlist- ments. In every levy of two thousand men the propor- tion to be furnished by Dunstable was sixteen. More than twice this number, however, must have been constantly in the army. It was in the summer of this year that General Burgoyne, marching with a large army from Canada, captured Ticonderoga, a strong fortress at the head of Lake George. The loss caused great dismay in the Eastern States. One of the New Hampshire regiments, commanded by Colonel Hale, was pursued and overtaken on July 7th, at Hubbard- ton, Vt., seventeen miles southeast from Ticonderoga.

A severe skirmish followed, in which several officers and one hundred of our men were taken prisoners. Of the Dunstable soldiers, John Butler and James Harwood were killed, and John Manning taken pris- oner.

There was great excitement in Vermont and New Hampshire at the success and intentions of General Burgoyne and his forces. The Legislature of New Hampshire met at Exeter, and ordered a regiment to enlist immediately, under the command of John Stark, " in order to stop the progress of the enemy on our western frontiers." The State could vote to raise troops, but could not pay them. The treasury was empty. In this emergency, John Langdon, Speaker of the House, and a merchant of Portsmouth, offered to loan three thousand dollars in coin and the avails of his plate and stock of goods, remarking that if our cause triumphed, he would be repaid; but if not, the property would be of no use to him. He also enlisted as a private.

The appointment of John Stark was received with enthusiasm throughout the State. The people had confidence in him. They predicted his success, for they knew his dauntless courage, keen sagacity and untiring vigilance. Volunteers in large numbers flocked to his standard. All classes were eager "to take the woods for a Hessian hunt." Stark made his headquarters at Bennington, where the Vermont forces, under Colonel Warner, joined him. He was ordered by General Gates to take his militia to the west side of the Hudson. He declined to obey, as he was in the service of New Hampshire, and her interests required his presence at Bennington. Congress thereupon passed a vote of censure upon Stark, which in a few days they changed to a vote of thanks. He best understood what was his duty. Carrying out his own plan, he found that General Burgoyne had sent from Fort Edward fifteen hundred Germans, Tories and Indians to rob and plunder the people of Ver- mont, and thus secure horses and provisions for the British army, and Colonel Baum, at the head of these troops, was close at hand. A brisk skirmish took place on the 14th of August, in which thirty of the enemy were killed. The next day a heavy storm delayed the contest, and gave the British time to build a breast-work of logs and timbers. They were also defended by heavy artillery.

On the morning of the 16th, General Stark laid his plans for a decisive fight, and was strengthened by a detachment from Western Massachusetts. The bat- tle began at three in the afternoon. After a two-hours' struggle the fortifications were carried, and two can- non and many prisoners captured. The rest of the British and Hessians fled. An hour later the enemy were reinforced by Colonel Breyman, and the fight was renewed. They fought till the sun went down, and Stark was master of the field. Only a small frac- tion of the foe escaped. The fruits of the victory obtained by these raw militia over European veterans,

166

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

tories and savages were four pieces of brass artillery, eighty loads of baggage, one thousand stands of arms and seven hundred and fifty prisoners. Two hundred and seventy fell on the battle-field. The American loss was thirty-four killed and forty wounded. But the important result of this victory was the restoration of confidence to the desponding American army. "One more such blow," said Washington, "and we shall have no more anxiety as to the designs of Britain."

Congress having adopted a temporary form of government, both for the State and the Union, the voters of Dunstable, on February 9, 1778, in town- meeting, adopted unanimously the Congressional Artic- les of Confederation. On April 17, 1778, Captain Ben- jamin French and Deacon William Hunt were chosen delegates to the State Convention, to be held in June, to form a State constitution. A committee of eleven was also appointed, namely, Cyrus Baldwin, Joseph Whiting. Robert Fletcher, Jonathan Lovewell, Captain Daniel Warner, Joseph Eayrs, Captain Benjamin Smith, Lieutenant David Allds, Colonel Noah Love- well, Lieutenant Joseph French and Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, "to assist said members during the conven- tion's session." A bill of rights and a constitution were drafted, and an able address to the people issued, signed by John Langdon, president of the convention. But the people would not sanction either. Their ex- perience of royal usurpation, and the fear of giving too much power to the rulers prevailed, and both were negatived by a large majority. Dunstable voted unan- imously to reject them.

In August, 1778, fourteen men went as volunteers from Dunstable, under Colonel Noah Lovewell, to Rhode Island. The seat of war having changed from New England to the Middle and Southern States, in 1779, 1780 and 1781 a large number of Dunstable men went into active service as soldiers in New York and Virginia.

How many soldiers were furnished to the army from Dunstable during the seven years of the War of the Revolution it is not possible to ascertain with entire accuraey, but the number was maintained till the close of the contest, in October, 1781. No town in this State had greater unanimity in favor of national in- dependence and the most vigorous prosecution of the war. There were no Tories in Dunstable, and no resi- dents of the town went into exile for supporting the usurpations of the British King.

In preparing the only history of Nashua hitherto published, its author, Charles J. Fox, Esq., made an examination of the town and State records, and availed himself of other sources of information to obtain the names of those who participated in that long and bloody struggle. Mr. Fox had the habits of investigation which admirably fitted him for the work, and it was his intention, had his health and life been prolonged, to have given the subject further attention. His summary of the services of the soldiers of this town, we give in his own words,-

" The whole male population of Dunstable in May, 1775, between the ages of sixteen and fifty years, was only one hundred and twenty-eight, and nearly every man, either as a volunteer or as a draft, was at some period in the service. They were in almost every fight, from Bunker lill to Yorktown, and their bones are mouldering upon many a battle- field, from Massachusetts to Virginia. They were at Bunker Hill in the post of danger and honor; they were at Ticonderoga, where, borne down by pestilence and want, they were compelled to retreat, fighting step by step, in the face of a victorious foe; they were at Bennington with Stark, where the first gleam of light broke in upon our prospects ; at Saratoga, where this first omen of victory was converted into an en- during triumph ; at Trenton and Princeton, where, under the eye of Washington, they surprised and captured the Hessians, and gave hope to the disheartened nation ; and at Yorktown, when the whole British army capitulated, and independence was won."

The following is the list of soldiers from Dunstable who served in the army at some time between April, 1775, and October, 1781. Some of them were in ser- vice only a few months, or for a single expedition. The names thus collected number one hundred and fifty-nine, or thirty-one above the number of males in the town on April 1, 1775, between the ages of six- teen and fifty. But it is to be borne in mind that quite a number went into service for a single expedi- tion, like that to Bennington, who were over fifty years of age. Of this class there were said to have been over forty. The list was made chiefly by Mr. Fox in 1844, at which time there were four Revolutionary soldiers living in the town, namely, Eleazer Fisk James Jewell, Isaac Foot and Ebenezer Harris, from whose recollection several of these names were ob- tained. The thirty-nine marked with a star were at the battle of Bunker Hill; the forty-four marked with a dagger are taken from the town records; those without mark are from verbal and other sources :

David Adams .* David Adams, Jr.,* Richard Adams,* Ilenry Adams, Silas Adams, t Isaac Adams, + John Allds, David Allds, Jacob Adams, t James Blanchard, + Josiah Butterfield, Abel Butterfield, Simeon Butter- field,* Thomas Butterfield, Charles Butterfield, Benjamin Bayley,* Eleazer Blanchard,* Oliver Blodgett, Daniel Blood,+ James Brown,* Samuel Butterfield,+ John Butler + (killed at Hubberton, Vermont, 1777), Ephraim Blood, + Reuben Blood, + Simeon Blood, + John Blanch- ard, + Nathaniel Blanchard, Jonathan Butterfield, + Timothy Blood, t Eliphalet Bayley, * William Butterfield,* Paul C'logstone * (died at Cam- bridge, 1775), John Cockle, + Stephen Conery, + John Conery, t Medad Combs,* . Joseph Combs (died in the army), William Cox, Thomas ('lark, John Clogstone, Samuel Conery, William Dandley, James Dandley, Jo- seph Dix, Jonathan Danforth,* Noah Downs, + Castor Dickinson (col- ored), Jonathan Emerson (a lieutenant under Cilley), Ebenezer Fosdick,* Benjamin French, Jr. (killed in the army), John Fletcher, Joseph Far- rar, Eleazer Fisk (living), David Fisk, Nathan Fisk, Richard Francis, Isaac Foot (living), Theodore French, John French, Archibald Gibson,* James Gibson,* Wm. Gibbs,+ David Gilson, t David Gilson, Jr., t l'eter Honey,* Peter Honey, Jr. (died in the army), Wm. Harris * (died in the army), Win. Harris, Jr., * Jonathan Harris,* Abraham Hale, Wmn. Hunt, John Honey, Jr. (died in the army), Thomas Harwood, James Harwood * (killed at lubberton, Vermont, July 7, 1777), Ebenezer Harris, Jr. (liv- ing), William Honey, Abijah Iloney, Calvin Honey, + Archibald Harrod, James Harrod+ (died December, 1777, in army), John Honey, John Harwood, Joseph Honey, t Calvin Honey + (died in army), Israel Ingalls, James Jewell (living), Nathaniel Jewell, Nathaniel Kemp, Jeremiah Keith, + Reuben Killicut, Charity Killient, William Lund * (killed at Bunker Hill), Joel Lundt (an ensign), John Lund, * Jonathan Lund, Thomas Lund, Jonathan Lovewell, Jr., Jonathan Lovewell, + Ichabod Lovewell,& John Lovewell,* Nehemiah Lovewell, t Henry Lovewell,* Asa Lovejoy, Noah Lovewell f (quartermaster of Colonel Gilman's regiment), Joseph Lamson, Jr., + William Lancey, Richard Lovewell, Stephen Lovewell (colored), Thomas Lancey, Levi Lund, William Mann + (killed in the army), John Manning + (taken prisoner at Ticonderoga, and afterwards retaken), Eliphalet Manning,+ Jonathan

167

NASHUA.

Powers, Thomas Perry, f Ebenezer Perry, William Powell, Pike, William Quinton, f William Roby * (an ensign, and died in the army), Samuel Roby, John Robbins, Jr., Abijah Reed,# Abbot loby,* Benjamin Robbins, David Reed, ; Thomas Roby, John Searles, Benjamin Smith, John Snow, Jr., * Joseph Swallow,* Joel Stewart,* Daniel Shedd, + Joseph Snow (died in the army), Daniel Searles, David Smiley, t James Seal, + Silas Swallow, f Benjamin Taylor, Jacob Taylor, Benjamin Tem- ple, Levi Temple, Benjamin Taylor, Jr., f William Walker * (a captain and major), Daniel Warner * (quartermaster), Joseph Whiting, Oliver Woods * (died at Cambridge), Oliver Woods, Jr., John Wright, Jr., t Ben- jamin Whitney,* Sylvanus Whitney, Phinehas Whitney,* Paul Woods,* Daniel Wood, f Nehemiah Wright,# Oliver Wright, t Jonathan Wright, t Samuel Whiting, f Oliver Whiting.t

CHAPTER IX.

NASHUA -- ( Continued).

DUNSTABLE WITH FREE INSTITUTIONS.

Scarcity of Money-Slow but Sure Growth-" The Pine Barrens "-So- cial Gatherings-Mrs. Elizabeth Butterfield-Rev. Joseph Kidder- The Striped Frock-Wholesome Food-Schools and Text-Books- Catching Salmon and Shad-Marketing-The Lovewells and Blanch- ards.

THE close of the War of the Revolution found the people of New England sadly embarrassed in their resources. We can form but a faint idea of the sacrifices made by the colonists for independence. Beside periling life in battle and submitting to priva- tions of every description, so large a proportion of the able-bodied of the population were in the army that fields were often left untilled. "Our efforts are great," said John Adams, in 1780, "and we give in this campaign one-half of our property to defend the other half. He who stays at home cannot earn enough to pay him who takes the field." Great as was the depression elsewhere, it fell with unusual severity upon Dunstable. In the Indian wars no town in the State had lost so large a proportion of the heads of families, or so largely reduced its industrial capacity. Hence the sum annually expended by the town during the war, amounting to three thousand dollars each year, became a heavy burden upon a population numbering, in 1775, only seven hundred and five. Yet this small number had diminished in 1783 to five hundred and seventy-eight, showing a decrease of one hundred and twenty-seven, or eighteen per cent.,-a fact which proves better than pages of description the weight of the exertions which were put forth and the sacrifices which were made, and the con- sequent paralysis of the energies and prosperity of the community.

Added to the poverty of the people was the diversity of opinion in regard to the powers and limitations of the State and national governments. In December, 1782, Dunstable chose Jonathan Blanchard represen- tative to the State Convention at Exeter, but no decisive action was taken by that body. In 1784, Captain Benjamin French, in 1786 and 1787, Colonel Noah Lovewell were representives, but no important measures were settled. In January, 1788, Deacon

William Hunt was chosen a delegate to the conven- tion which met at Exeter the following month to adopt the Constitution of the United States, which had recently been sent out by Congress for acceptance by the several States. Throughout the country, as well as in the several State Conventions, there was great diversity of opinion in regard to it, and much opposi- tion. Some believed that the Constitution vested too much power in the general government, and would gradually annihilate the existence of the States. Others feared that it had not enough authority to protect itself from the encroachments of the States, and would soon be powerless. There was danger on both sides. On the one side was anarchy, on the other usurpation. It was an untried experiment, and every little community was divided. It was debated in town-meeting, and Dunstable voted "not to ac- cept the Constitution," and chose a committee of nine to draft a list of objections to be forwarded to the State Convention at Exeter. They attended to their duty. Fortunately, however, the State Convention adopted the Constitution. It was a compromise between the doubts of conflicting parties, and the fears of both have happily failed to be verified. The action of New Hampshire had a controlling influence upon the New York and other conventions then in session. The State Constitution, in the mean time, had been submitted to the popular vote in March, 1784, and approved by a large majority. It went into operation in June, 1784, and Mesheck Weare became chief magistrate under the title of "President," which title was changed by the State Convention of 1792 to " Governor," to distinguish the office from that of the chief magistrate of the nation.

Few of our people of the present generation are aware of the comparatively low rank of this town in population, trade and wealth at the close of the last century. We give a table of its population at four different periods, as compared with several towns in the vicinity :

1775.

1790.

1800.

IN80.

Valuation, 18>3.

NasImia

632

862

13,397

$12,195,266

Hollis.

125.5

1441

1557

1,0×0

924,675

Hudson .

106-1

1267

1,045

779,860

Merrimack

60G

819

926

1,042

836,755

Amherst.

112x

2369

2561

1,225

1,040,7~3

It will be seen by the above table that Nashua (then Dunstable) had in 1790 and in 1800 less inhab- itants than the neighboring towns. This inferiority in numbers and wealth continued till the introduction of cotton manufacture, in 1826. Her trade for many years after the Revolutionary War was exceedingly small. There was no post-office in the town, and no village. The nearest semblance to one was the little hamlet of five or six dwellings near the meeting- house located two miles below the city hall, and near the present farm-house of Mrs. Alfred Godfrey. It consisted of a store, the only one in town, kept by a

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Mr. Chamberlin ; a tavern, kept by Cummings Pol- lard; a blacksmith-shop, a hatter's shop and the residence of " Parson Kidder." It was designated by the people of the town as the "Centre." Farmers of that period had to follow the advice of Dr. Frank- lin, "to light the lamps of industry." Women had much of out-door life, and were capable of great en- durance. There was much of neighborhood good- feeling and generosity. It was needed. Among the early settlers was a class who, coming on foot, carried all their property on their shoulders. Such persons, though often valuable as hired laborers, needed ad- visers and overseers ; and unless men of more enter- . prise and foresight had aided them to shelter, food and work, they and their families must have suffered severely. Rude but pleasant homes were increasing. The hum of the wheel and the stroke of the loom told of domestic industry. In the spring, the plow and the hoe were never allowed to rust ; in summer, the scythe and the sickle were in constant use; in carly fall, there was gladness in gathering the abund- ant harvest ; farther on, the October fires roared and rushed through the fallen woodlands, and gleamed at night on the hill-sides. Nor was the winter a holiday to the farmer and his family ; but the long nights af- forded the opportunity for social gatherings of kins- folks and neighbors.

It would be difficult to conceive of a more inde- pendent, self-reliant, hearty and healthy class than our farming people at the close of the eighteenth century. The farmer lived on the products of his own soil, was warmed by fuel from his own woods, clothed from the fleeces of his own flock, or the flax of his own field. No flour, beef, hams, lard or burn- ing fluid were then imported. Splinters of pitch-pine and resinous pine-knots were used for lights. Many a boy and girl of Dunstable studied their lessons by this light, and gained that practical knowledge which enabled them to become useful and successful in after- life. Trade was chiefly carried on by barter. Little money was in circulation, and it was not needed. The oxen and swine, which yielded the fresh meat in winter and the salt meat in summer, were fed and fattened on the farm. The surplus products of the fieldl or the slaughtered swine not needed by the family were carried to market in the farmer's " double sleigh," and exchanged for salt, iron, molasses, and, if the truth must be told, a keg of New England rum. So the year went round, and to a majority of the resi- dents was marked by contentedness and a slow but well-founded prosperity.

In the early history of this and all the towns of New England, mutual necessities and hardships awakened mutual interest and hospitalities. Each gave a helping hand to rear a house for the new- comer, to sow and harvest the fields of a sick neigh- bor. The manner of borrowing and lending among our ancestors was truly patriarchal. When a neigh- bor killed a calf, no part of it was sold, but it was

distributed among relatives and friends, the poor widow always having a piece and the minister not be- ing forgotten. When a neighbor wished for help to break up his ground, and a number of yokes of oxen were necessary, he had only to let it be known, and not only the oxen and plow could be had, but a man to drive them. Townsmen generally were well ac- quainted with each other, their circumstances and wants. The destitute found a helper, and the aid was generously rendered.

Ninety years ago there was very little of mechanism or manufacturing, except by rude hand-work, in this country. Yet mechanism was then, as now, essential, and the mechanic was the peer and helper of the farmer. Every tiller of the soil needed a house and barn, tools and furniture, clothes and shoes. The skill and craft which produced these necessaries often came to the house of the employer. The shoemaker and tailor were intinerant, working where they were needed, and often receiving for their labor the pro- duets of the farm or loom, or stores from the larder or cellar. Carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, tailors and shoemakers were found in every growing town.

The most prominent carpenter of Dunstable at that time was John Whittle. He built the first house on Concord Street, just north of the "Indian Head House," in 1782. Afterwards he removed to the vicinity of the old meeting-house at the "Centre," and a few years later built the house now occupied by his grandson, E. G. Tyler, at the corner of Main and Tyler Streets. Of his nine children, two sons and seven daughters, only the youngest survives,-Mrs. Elizabeth Butterfield, who was born May 12, 1795, and now resides in Tyngsborough village, in the ninety-first year of her age.

In 1754 the town built a meeting-house on the triangular piece of land in front of what was long known as the Jesse Estey tavern, now the farm-house of Mrs. Alfred Godfrey. For nearly sixty years it was the only place of religious worship in town. It was without bell or steeple, and externally had a rather barn-like appearance. The centre portion of the house had square pews with seats on all sides. The pulpit was reached by a long flight of stairs, and a dome-shaped sounding-board was suspended over it. Mrs. Elizabeth Butterfield, of whom we have just made mention, distinctly remembers attending Sun- day services in this house. The seats of the pews had hinges, and when the congregation rose at prayer the seats were lifted to increase the standing-room. The recollections most vivid to her are the extreme length of the prayers and the momentary "clatter" made by dropping the lids at its close. Rev. Joseph Kidder began preaching here in 1767, and continued to occupy the pulpit for fifty years. He lived and died in the house opposite the residence of Mrs. God- frey, and of late known as the Scott place. Mr. Kidder was a minister of the old school, and the man and the parish are best described in the words of

169

NASHUA.

Professor E. D. Sanborn, as used in delineating the state of society in most of our New Hampshire towns at the close of the Revolutionary War: "There were no libraries, and the very few books which did exist, being chiefly sermons or expositions of portions of the Bible, were not extensively read. Religious papers were unknown, and biographies of children of precocious piety and sainted Christians too good for earth had not then been written. A large proportion of the entire population attended church. No blinds excluded the blazing suns of summer; no fires soft- ened the intense cold of winter. The hearers listened devoutly to long, doctrinal sermons, even when the breath of the preacher was frozen as it escaped his lips. 'The minister of the standing order,' possibly the only thoroughly educated man in the town, 'mighty in the Scriptures' and austere in morals, was regarded by the children of his flock with awe, by the parents with reverence."

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 41

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