History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 63

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

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James Hutchinson was killed the previous year at Bunker Hill. Thus one-seventh of all the Antrim citizens had fallen thus early in the war. But in this, as in other dark years, the women of Antrim came forward and wrought wonders of courage and hard- ship. Boys became men in work and fortitude, shrinking from no task. So, in face of all obstacles, enlargement and improvement were noticeable in the town.

This year (April 12, 1776) the colony of New Hampshire sent out for signature the following paper: "We, the Subscribers, do hereby solemnly en- gage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our Power, at the Risque of our Lives and Fortunes, with Arms, oppose the Hostile Proceedings of the British Fleets and Armies against the United American Col- onies ! "

This was, in fact, treason against the most powerful government in the world. It places little New Hamp- shire three months ahead of the Declaration of Inde- pendence of the United States. And every man in Antrim "signed !"

This year (1776) the few people of Antrim sought to be incorporated as a town.

This shows how courageous and hopeful they were, notwithstanding fewness, poverty and war. About midsummer they held a meeting and appointed Mau- rice Lynch, John Duncan and Samuel Moore a com- mittee to petition for incorporation.

The petition was presented (September 4, 1776) to the Legislature at Exeter, and the usual notices were given to parties to appear for and against at the open- ing of the next General Assembly of the State. When the time came no opposition was made, and the act of incorporation passed through its several stages, and bears date March 22, 1777.

It was called Antrim from the old town by that name in Ireland, occupied for generations by the an- cestors of the settlers here. The name was very dear to the Scotch. The settlers in Londonderry retained that honored name, and likewise the Scotch settlers here clung to that which was next most memorable and precious. The town of Antrim, Ireland, was the shire-town of the county of Antrim. It is a small town, but most beautifully located, sloping toward the lake (Lough Neagh-lok nā-) about as Antrim, seen from the hills of Deering, seems to slope toward the Contoocook. Many a romance hangs about the old name. The signification of the name Antrim is " hab- itation upon the waters," which, as is obvious, was ap-

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propriate to the old localities, both county and town. The inhabitants of these places in Ireland were nearly all Scotch, with a strong dislike of the Irish, and the settlers in this town of which we write were almost entirely Scotch, and few of any other race came to Antrim for many years.

The first town-meeting in Antrim was at the house of " Esquire John Duncan," May 1, 1777. The meet- ing was called by said John Duncan. They were but a handful,-twenty-three,-but they had great hearts and great hopes. It had little resemblance to the crowded, noisy town-meetings of modern date. A kitchenful of quiet, brave, noble, united men ! What a treasure a picture of that first town-meeting would be! John Duncan was (apparently) first moderator ; Maurice Lynch, first town clerk ; and Thomas Stuart, James Aiken and Richard McAllister, constituted the first Board of Selectmen.

At this first town-meeting they " Voted to take Some Meathod to find a Centor." This " Meathod " was by survey, and the "Centor " fixed upon was a broad common on the top of " Meeting-House Hill," -a high and commanding summit, from which nearly all the town could be seen. It seems to have been a little east of the real centre, and was a mile east of the geographical centre after the enlargement of the town. They turned aside a little for the sake of building on the top of a high hill ! At this "Centor " they called a meeting (August 20, 1777) to clear ground for a burying-place and a "Spoot to Build upon; " this town-meeting was in the woods, under " A Read oak tree marked with the figure of Eight; " there was no road, and out of the thick woods there was no open- ing from which a human dwelling could be seen ! They met at eight o'clock in the morning, each man bringing his axe; in about half an hour the public business was completed, and then they "immediately went to work felling trees" on the " Acer, more or less," which now constitutes the old cemetery. They made rapid progress that day in laying the forest low. They were clearing the ground where their own bones were to lie ! Now the " Read oak tree marked with the figure of Eight," and the meeting-house subse- quently built there, the highest landmark in the vicinity for fifty years, and several dwelling-houses built near the church, and those strong-armed voters themselves are all gone ! Only the stones placed at the graves of those noble men remain to identify the spot.

The first saw-mill in Antrim was built by John Warren, at the Branch, in 1776. The first grist-mill was built at the Branch in 1777, by James Moore, be- fore which time the settlers all went to mill " to Hills- borough, Peterborough and New Boston." The new grist-mill was a thing of pride and satisfaction to the town, and brought more joy than a railroad or a gold- mine could bring toa town now. This year, also, An- trim had her first public highway, though " barely passable for horses," the same first road being merely

a path " cut and cleared " from the Contoocook River, by the "old road," now so called, to the Centre ; thence over Meeting-House IIill to the "corn-mill " at the Branch; thence over the English Hill to Hills- borough.

This year (1777) Antrim, with all her struggles at home, did not forget the suffering cause of liberty. One-fourth of those belonging in town capable of bearing arms were in the army part of the year, and those at home carried forward the " clearings" and paid the taxes of those in the field. Several new settlers came this year, and altogether it was a lively year for Antrim,-the year of incorporation, healthy, toilsome, struggling, hopeful 1777 !

From this time to the close of the war the troubles of this small frontier town were many and great. Poverty, depreciation of currency, absence of needed men in the army, the proprietors' resistance to the non-resident tax, war expenses, terrible winters, the "Dark Day," loss of money by a dishonest town treasurer,-all these, together with untold hardship in labor and perils of wild beasts, combined to make dark and heavy the trials of this company of settlers. Yet the town slowly gained in population each year. June 1, 1781, Antrim had "fifty families or more." Early in 1784 a question arose as to receiving a tract on the west of Antrim as a part of the town. Stoddard, then the most populous town in this vicinity, discovered that there was a strip of unclaimed and unincorporated land on her western border ; and, thinking this tract more desirable than that on her east line, she laid claim to the western part, and ceased taxing an equivalent area on the east. The last-named part was untaxed one or two years. But after discussion all summer, Antrim voted (November 3, 1784) to "tax the Land Unclaimed by Stodder." And this has since remained a part of Antrim.

In 1785 the town raised its first meeting-house, having become so weak and impoverished by the war as to be unable to do it before. The population of Society Land (Antrim, Hancock, Bennington and part of Greenfield) was one hundred and seventy-seven in 1775. In 1786 the population of the town of Antrim was two hundred and eighty-nine. In 1790 the popu- lation of Antrim was five hundred and twenty-eight, nearly doubling in four years. But the population was not enough for Antrim to have a representative till 1798. Henniker, Hillsborough and Society Land, and afterwards Henniker, Hillsborough, Antrim and Society Land, formed a district till 1783, when a dis- trict was formed, including only Antrim, Deering and Hancock. For about fourteen years this district was represented by Hon. John Dunean, of Antrim, who resigned in 1796 on being elected State Senator.

The first store in Antrim was opened in the spring of 1788. Previously the inhabitants went to trade to Amherst, New Boston and even to Londonderry. It was customary for the women of this town to take the linen cloth, which their own hands had manufactured,

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go to New Boston on horseback with it, ex- change the same for goods or money, and re- turn the same day, seventeen miles ! And it did not seem a severe day's work. A second store was opened in Antrim in 1789, and the two stores accommodated the people till the population of the town was more than a thousand. Trade was far less for the same number of persons than now, as then their wants were few. They spun their own yarn and wove their own cloth of every description, and raised their own grain. The first barrel of flour was brought into Antrim in 1820.

In the year 1800, Antrim, like other towns, was swept with the dysentery scourge. One week in August there were nineteen funerals. From July 23d to September 23d there were sixty-five deaths in this little community, mostly children. Fifty little graves made in the old cemetery that year are un- marked and forgotten. But still the population had increased in the fall of 1800 to one thousand and fifty- nine. The largest population was in 1820, when it reached the number of thirteen hundred and thirty. At the census of 1870 it had dwindled down to nine hundred and four, since which date there has been considerable increase. It is now (Jannary 1, 1885) twelve hundred and thirty-eight.

As to religions matters, Antrim being settled almost entirely by Scotchmen of the Presbyterian faith, formed a church of that order. Up to the year 1836 the town and church were united in action, the town, by vote, calling the minister and paying him out of its treasury, like any other town officer. He was called the "Town's Minister." The first town war- rant ever posted in Antrim had in it an article "To See What Money they Will Rease to Get preaching." The first sermon ever preached in the town was in Deacon Aiken's barn, September, 1775, by Rev. William Davidson, of Londonderry. Subsequently, for ten years, they had meetings in private houses, being too poor to build a church. They finally raised the frame of the building June 28, 1785, and held their first meeting within the uncovered frame the following Sabbath. It took them eight years to finish the building! At the March meeting (1788) the town chose Isaac Cochran and John Duncan a committee to go to the Presbytery and ask them to organize a church in Antrim. In response thereto they commis- sioned Rev. William Morrison, of Londonderry, who came here and organized the Presbyterian Church August 2, 1788, with seventy-two members, being one- third of the adults then in town. Thus they were strong as a church from the first. But they did not succeed in settling a pastor to their liking till 1800, though constantly increasing in membership. Their annual sacramental seasons were times of great in- terest. Absolutely all the people attended. The whole town kept the preceding Thursday and Friday and Saturday with great strictness as "fast days." Neighboring ministers were called in, and the long-

anticipated occasion was often one of great revival. In March, 1790, the town "Voted M' David Meleary Provide table Linning, twelve yds, 7-8ths wide, at the town's Coast," the same being for the long communion tables in the aisles of the church. Each pastor sup- plied his floek with "tokens," entitling them to ad- mission to the table. These were small, cheap lead coins. Those for Antrim were marked with the letter A. They ceased to be used here in 1824. A new church building was erected in 1826 and remodeled in 1857. The membership of this old church, now in its ninety-seventh year, numbers two hundred and seventy-four. Its pastorates have been as follows:

Rev. Walter Little, settled September 3, 1800 ; resigned September 4, 1804.

Rev. John M. Whiton, D.D., settled September 28, 1808; resigned January 1, 1853.

Rev. Jolin II. Bates, settled March 16, 1853; resigned July 1, 1866. Rev. Warren R. Cochrane, began service January 1, 1868, and is pastor at this date.

A Congregational Church was organized in East Antrim October 25, 1827, but, being reduced in num- bers, it dissolved in 1843, most of its members uniting with the Presbyterian Church.

There is now a flourishing Baptist Church in An- trim, located at the south village. This church was organized at the house of Joseph Eaton, in Greenfield, December 17, 1805. Their first meeting-house was in that town, and was built prior to 1812. In 1826 they had moved to Society Land (now Bennington) and had a meeting-house there. In April, 1851, they " voted to hold the meetings on the Sabbath half the time at South Antrim." February 6, 1852, they "voted to hold the meetings all the time at South Antrim," and this has since been the location of the church. They worshiped in Woodbury's Hall till 1871. Their pleasant house of worship was dedicated, free of debt, October 25, 1871. They have a parson- age, built in 1879. The church was built in the pas- torate of Rev. William Hurlin, now the efficient secretary of the New Hampshire Baptist Convention. The pastors of the Baptist Church since its removal to Antrim have been as follows : Rev. W. W. Lovejoy, Rev. W. Kimball, Rev. L. C. Stevens, Rev. William ITurlin (1866-73), Rev. E. M. Shaw, Rev. W. H. Fish, Rev. E. M. Shaw, Rev. Horace F. Brown.

The efforts of the Methodist denomination in An- trim began in 1838. A class was formed at the Branch that year, which continued for a time. In 1840 a class was formed in South Antrim. In 1851, through the exertions of Rev. S. S. Dudley, the work was revived at the Branch village, and the two classes were brought together into a church in 1852. The organization numbered fifty-one members, and ser- vices were held chiefly at the Branch. But in 1864 a meeting-house was built in South Antrim, and dedi- cated October 9th of that year. Since then the Methodist Church has been at South Antrim, and has constantly gained in numbers and in strength, so that it is now among the best of its order outside the

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cities. A fine parsonage has been built this year (1885). Its pastors at its present location have been as follows : Rev. E. A. Howard, Rev. A. A. Cleveland, Rev. J. W. Fulton, Rev. C. E. Dorr, Rev. Lewis Howard, Rev. Jacob F. Spalding, Rev. J. W. Cool- idge, Rev. J. R. Bartlett, Rev. J. L. Felt (1876-79), Rev. G. F. Curl, Rev. William Wood, Rev. N. C. Alger, Rev. A. F. Baxter.

The military and patriotic record of Antrim is ex- ceedingly honorable. I have already said that every man in town, and every boy of sufficient size, marched for Lexington at the first sound of battle, with the single exception of John Gordon, who soon after en- listed for the whole war. There was not a male old enough to march that did not respond to his country's call. How many other towns can say as much ? The company from Society Land, including the men and boys of Antrim, then a part of Society Land, marched as far as Tyngsborough, where they were met by General Stark, who complimented them in high terms, advised them to return and plant their corn and hold themselves " ready to march at a moment's warning." Three men from this settlement were in the battle of Bunker Hill, one of whom was killed, and two from this place were lost at White Plains, all which was before the incorporation of the town. Two men from Antrim were killed subsequently, and several wounded. Five months after incorporation a town-meeting was called to "Regulate the expense the town has been at in respect of the war." Thus, though few and poor, the citizens of Antrim assumed their part of the war expenses at once; and they filled every quota, both of men and means, to the end. About ten men from this place were in the battle of. Bennington (August 16, 1777), in a company of which Daniel Miltimore, of Antrim, was first lieutenant; and afterwards they took part in the series of contests which resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne.

There were at least four men from Antrim in the last company that was disbanded at the close of the war. The last surviving soldier of the army of the Revolution was Samuel Downing, of Antrim, who went from this place to Edinburgh, N. Y., 1794, and died there February 19, 1867, aged one hundred and five years, two months and twenty-one days.

In the old militia system Antrim fell within the bounds of the famous Twenty-Sixth Regiment, first commanded by Governor Benjamin Pierce and af- terwards by Colonel David McClure, of Antrim. By the act of 1792 each regiment was to have a company of grenadiers, meaning thereby a uniformed and picked and trained set of men. The company for this regiment was organized by General John McNiel, afterwards distinguished in the War of 1812. McNiel was six feet and six inches tall, and received no one into his company who were less than six feet in height. At first the men were picked out from Antrim, Deer- ing, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Henniker and Hillsborough. But because Antrim raised bigger men

than other towns, the majority of the grenadiers be- longed here from the start. With gorgeous uniform, tall caps and high, brilliant plumes which seemed to in- crease the stature of the men, this company of giants made a most imposing appearance,-the wonder of small boys, the admiration of all. This noted com- pany was all made up from Antrim as early as the year 1823, and continued to flourish until the enact- ment of the disbanding law of 1851, after which it did not survive many years.

When the War of 1812 broke out a company called the Alarm List was promptly formed here, in addition to the other companies, and it was composed of the old men, most of whom actually bore the scars of the Rev- olution. It had forty members ; their uniform was a large white frock thrown over their ordinary clothing; they were under command of Captain Peter Barker, a soldier of the Revolution, and they actually offered their services to the Governor. Several of them were seventy-five years old when they offered to march for their country's defense. Forty-four soldiers from An- trim were in the War of 1812, of whom seven, in one way or another, lost their lives. In the Mexican War there were four soldiers from Antrim, and they were all killed. In the War of the Rebellion the action of this town was thoroughly patriotic and vigorous. There was a town-meeting called, a resolution was passed to defend the flag and to do our part whatever struggle might come, a committee appointed to assist volunteers and an appropriation of money made, all within less than three weeks of the hour when the first gun was fired on Fort Sumter. Through all the struggle money was freely voted for volunteers and their families. On all the many calls Antrim fur- nished twelve men more than her aggregate quota, furnishing one hundred and thirty-nine men in all. Of these, thirty lost their lives on the battle-field or by disease. Thus her full part was performed in the long and fearful contest. The heavy war debt of the town is now nearly all paid.

The first village in Antrim was the Old Centre, on the top of Meeting-House Hill. Going up from the south, the new building seemed to lean against the sky. A school-house, church, tavern and a few dwelling-houses made up the whole. It was the chief place in town for more than fifty years. At the time of the town's greatest population it had no other meeting-house or meeting-place. Congregations of four or five hundred assembled there for worship. It was a spot very dear to the fathers. Now all is changed. The spacious and conspicuous common is an ordinary field; every building is gone, and only the ancient burial-ground remains unchanged to re- mind one of departed scenes.

The Branch village is situated in the north part ot the town, on North Branch River. For many years, down nearly to 1840, this was the largest and most flourishing village in the town. It was seriously in- jured by the burning of its bobbin-shop and peg-shop

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(1846 and 1569), which were not rebuilt. It has now a store. post-office, blacksmith's shop, chapel, school- house, large saw-mill and twenty-five dwelling-houses. The stage from Keene to Hillsborough passes through this village. It has also a daily stage to the depot at South Antrim, four miles away. Branch village has a delightful situation on the river, has excellent water privileges sufficient for a large place; is sur- rounded by comely and protecting hills, and is quite a resort for summer boarders.

"The Centre," now so called, is a small collection of buildings, hardly to be dignitied by the name of village. It is located well down the southward slope of Meeting-House Hill, about half a mile from the site of the old church. The beginnings here were made by Benjamin and Samuel Gregg. 1776-77. It is about a mile southeast of the geographical centre of the town. The situation is sightly and attractive, and in the summer is well thronged by boarders from below, as the popular summer boarding-house of Eben Bass, Esq., is near by. Here is also the board- ing-house of A. R. C. Pike. The Presbyterian Church, with its long lines of horse-sheds, the vestry, the town-house, school-house and eight dwellings (with barns) make up the buildings at the Centre.

In Clinton village the first building was put up by Deacon Imla Wright, in 1828, for a cotton-mill. Soon after several houses were built. Now there are twenty dwelling-houses (twenty-six families), six mills and factories, a store, blacksmith-shop and cooper-shop. There is also an undertaker's warerooms. This vil- lage is one-half a mile south of the Centre, and is a thrifty, smart village, with excellent water-power. A variety of wares made from wood are manufactured here, consisting of bedsteads, cribs of various kinds, window-shades, spring-beds and pail-handles, be- side- threshing-machine, grist-mill, wheelwright-shop, cider-mill and saw-mill.

But the chief village in Antrim is South village, formerly called Woodbury village, situated near the south line of the town and near the Contoocook River. It has grown rapidly in the last ten years, and is now by far the largest. It is "beautiful for situation," being on a ridge rising from the west bank of the Contoocook, and seen for long distances from the hill- around. It has many fine residences. In it there are two churches, wheelwright-shop, silk-factory, two saw-mills, printing-office (where the Antrim Re- porter is published), blacksmith-shop, six stores, banking-office, shoemaker's, jeweler's, harness-maker's, barber's, tailor's and tin-shops. Here also are the shops of the Goodell Company, which employ about two hundred hands, chictly in the manufacture of cutlery. A gri-t-mill, "Excelsior Shop," paper-box factory and several halls are here. Here are Hourishing lodges of Masons, Odd-Fellows, Knights of Honor and Good Templar -. Here are the headquarters of the Antrim | sisted of a few seanty quilts, a fry-kettle and an axe! Cornet Band. In this village there are two ministers (pastore), two physicians and about one hundred and

twenty families. Has excellent graded schools, streets are wide, some of them finely shaded; and every way this is one of the liveliest, smartest, handsomest, cleanest, healthiest and pleasantest villages to be found in New Hampshire.

Antrim has been for seventy-five years a fruitful town to emigrate from. In every part of the land, and in all lines of business, their absent sons and daughters are found. They are of the solid, substan- tial and reliable kind. They have grit and grace. Farmers, mechanics, lawyers, ministers, teachers, merchants, manufacturers, engineers,-they stand high among the best in the land. Among Antrim's more conspicuous sons are these,-

Hon. Daniel M. Christie, LL.D., one of the ablest lawyers ever pro- duced in New Hampshire.

Hon. George W. Nesmith, LL.D., judge of the Supreme Court.

HIon. Luke Woodbury, judge of Probate, nominated for Governor, 1851, but dying before election.

HIon. Benjamin P. Cheney, Boston.

Ilon. Charles Adams, Jr.

Ilon. A. H. Dunlap, Nashua.

Hon. Jacob Whittemore, of the Governor's Council and judge of County Court.

Professor James E. Vose, the distinguished teacher and author.

Professor Benjamin F. Wallace.

Professor Joseph McKeen, LL. D., New York.

Professor James W. Barker, President New York Teachers' Associa- tion.

Besides these, a long list of ministers, doctors and lawyers might be given, of whom a large part are young and just entering upon their life-work.

There is not room, in this brief sketch, to enter into details of the customs and privations of the pio- neers of this town. Among our Seotch ancestry the drinking of liquor was universal. The minister was treated with the best drink at every house. Women drank as well as men. It was looked upon as a rightful and pleasant custom. In every hard job, planting, hoeing, having, harvesting, they calculated to have plenty of rum. If a meeting-house was to be i raised or a bridge built, the town always voted the proper supply of rum. The first barn raised in An- trim without rum was in 1830; and the first house built without rum was in 1845. It was considered a great calamity to get out of rum. If out when a friend called, they would detain him in conversation till a small boy could run to a neighbor's and borrow some rum. The most pious and devoted saw nothing wrong in this. Yet the number of drunkards and sots was small. Not half so many died from the ef- feets of liquor as at the present day.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 63

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