History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 94

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

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The first name of this family of which we have record is Hugh1 Gregg, a Scotchman, who had a son, Alexander2, who was born November 22 (old style), 1746, and died, date unknown. He married Mary Christie2, who was born June 14 (old style), 1749, and died September 13, 1817.

The children from this union were Jane3, born November 29, 1774, and died September 11, 1822; Hugh3, born October 14, 1776, and died April 12, 1859; Peter C.3, born August 26, 1778, and died in 1869; Alexander3, born November 27, 1780, and died January, 1834; James3, born March 29, 1784, and died July 5, 1811 ; Samuel3, born April 26, 1786, and died July 13, 1849; Anna3, born August 21, 1789, and died February 4, 1834; Reuben3, born May 19, 1793, and died July 7, 1871.

Samuel 3, who died in Deering, N. H., married, first, Lydia Dodge. She was born July 15, 1784, and died November 8, 1826. She had six children,-Eunice +, born January 21, 1812, and married Mr. James Ful- ton, of Deering, whose portrait is to be found in this volume; James4, the subject of this sketch, who was born August 18, 1814, and died, unmarried, February 9, 1871 ; Asenath4, born September 13, 1816, and died September 12, 1855; Samuel+, born March 18, 1819, and died February 3, 1879; Lydia A.4, born March 6, 1822; Rebecca4, born April 5, 1825, and died August 23, 1850. The second wife was Mary Currier, who died December 11, 1865.

Another very important branch of the Gregg family is that of Anna3, who was married, in 1810, to Enos Merrill, of Deering, and had seven children,- Anna A.4, born December 5, 1811, and died August 27, 1837; Charlotte L.4, born January 20, 1813, and died April 29, 1861; Hannah+, born April 20, 1815, and died July 10, 1834; Thomas A.4, born March 17, 1817, is living ; Mary J. C.4, born February 27, 1819, and died December 6, 1837 ; Lydia A.4, born Novem- ber 17, 1825, and died December 30, 1864; Eliza J.4, born August 30, 1827, and died September 2, 1854.

Mr. Gregg was born in Deering, N. H. His boy- hood was passed on his father's farm. The common district schools of the town were attended by him, and he early showed a fondness for books, and, desir- ing better educational advantages, went to Hopkin- ton Academy for a time, and, later, finished at Han- cock Academy. He learned the mason's trade, and worked at it in the summer months for several years, and in the winter taught school in Deering and in the adjoining towns, and was successful. Never of a robust constitution, his health failed ; and on this account, with a desire for out-door work, he took up book-canvassing, and, for several years, followed it in many parts of the country, but chiefly through the West. He was careful and prudent in his money matters, and in the western country found it greatly to his advantage to make loans on real estate, by which means he became rich. Mr. Gregg was a member of the Free-Soil party, entertained broad views on religious subjects, and was liberal in his contributions to the cause of religion. It was during his travels through the country, and from his intimate contact with the people, that he discovered the need of Bibles among the poorer classes, which need he most nobly met by a gift to the American Bible So- ciety of twenty-three thousand dollars.

Mr. Gregg died at the residence of Joseph H. Vaught, at Shopiere, Wis., where he had made his home for many years, beloved by all who knew him, and, through the American Bible Society, his influence will be felt for many years. The beautiful steel portrait of Mr. Gregg was donated by his eldest sister, Mrs. Fulton, of Methuen, Mass.

JAMES FULTON.

The ancestors of Mr. Fulton were Scotch-Irish, and came to America at an early date. The first definite record is of Robert1, of Francestown, N. II., who was born in June, 1752. He married Sarah Brown, who was born in July, 1750. Her mother came from Scotland and settled in Derry, N. H. Robert1 had six children, all boys, who were born as follows:

Alexander2, born May 17, 1773; Samuel2, born June 4, 1775; James 2, born October 18, 1777 ; John 2, born February 6, 1780; Jonathan 2, born June 25, 1782; Robert2, born October 12, 1785.

James? married Hannah Faulkner, April 6, 1803. She was born July 24, 1779, and died December 30, 1833. There were ten children from this union, as follows : Betsy3, born December 30, 1803, died No- vember 8, 1828; James 3 (the subject of this sketch), born April 3, 1806; Lyman3, born December 6, 1807, died December 30, 1879; Jenny3, born February 27, 1810, died March 28, 1880; Robert3, born July 2, 1812, is living; Curtis3, born July 31, 1814, died May 29, 1850; Abiel3, born September 18, 1816, died in infancy ; Mary 3, born November 19, 1818, died May 16, 1842; Charles3, born January 13, 1821, died De-

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

cember 30, 1547; Hannah 3, born August 25, 1823, is living.

Mr. Fulton was born in Deering, N. H. His father, James?, who first saw the light of day in the stirring times of the Revolution, was a farmer, and young Fulton, with his brothers, assisted in the farm- work, and, being the oldest boy, was a leader in the work as well as the sports incident to the times. Hi- educational advantages were limited to such as were obtainable in the common schools of the town, and his attendance there was limited to a few months in the winter season, as the summer months were given to the usual round of farm duties. The farm of the Fultons was one of the best to be found in this rugged section. At the age of twenty-two he left the old home and went into the machine-shop of John Smith & Co., at Andover, Mass., where he remained three and a half years, doing general work for a stipulated sum of money. Owing to the failing health of his parents, Mr. Fulton returned to the farm, and his father gave him a half-interest in it, and he cared for them as long as they lived. Mr. Fulton was successful as a farmer, and, December 1, 1535, married Eunice, daughter of Captain Samuel and Lydia (Dodge) Gregg, of Deering, by which union there were born five children,-Lydia A.4, born Sep- tember 23, 1836; Joseph W".4, born September 7, 1839; Hannah J.4, born August 3, 1842, died October 30, 1>>1; Charles J.,' born December 25, 1848; Mary E.+,

born July 7, 1853. These children were born in Deering.

Joseph WV.4 married, first, Laura A. Harnden, who bore him two sons,-James Arthur5 and Warren Gregg5,-and she died February 10, 1871. His second wife was Lucy A. Sargent. Charles J.4 married Mary A. Wilson, who bore him two children,-John W.5 and Charles Warren 5, who died August 12, 1879. Mary E.+ was married to Irving G. Rowell, of Weare, N. H., and has two children, Alice M.5, born in Manchester, N. H., and Charles W.5, born in Sunapee, N. H.

Mr. Fulton 3 was a Whig, and when the Repub- liean party was formed he joined it, and up to the present time has maintained its principles and exer- cised his right of franchise in support of its candi- dates to public office. In religious belief Mr. Fulton 3 is a Congregationalist, and has always been a liberal contributor to the support of, and a constant at- tendant upon, public worship, and his daily life has ever been consistent and devoted. Mr. Fulton 3 held a commission from Governor Hill as captain in the New Hampshire militia. In 1873, his parents having passed away, Mr. Fulton 3 sold the farm in Deering and removed to Methuen, Mass., where his two sons had established themselves in a successful mercantile business, and there, in a pretty cottage in the suburbs of that lovely village, he is passing his declining years, in company with his beloved wife, surrounded by com- forts befitting the closing years of a successful life.

James Sulten

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.

BY REV. HARRY BRICKETT, M.A.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction-Topography-Settlements-The Pioneers-The Cape Bre- ton War-The French and Indian War, 1754-63-Re-settlement.

THE town of Hillsborough has made a good record among the towns of Hillsborough County, to which it has had the honor of giving its name. It is my purpose to sketch briefly its history. The litera- ture of the town, the sources from which its history may be gathered, and from which I shall truly glean, are rich in facts-in some cases scattered very widely at random-and are as follows: I. "The Annals of Hillsborough," by Charles James Smith, of Mont Vernon, delivered in a lecture before the Hillsborough Lyceum in 1841, it being the one hundredth anniver- sary of the first settlement of the town, rich in scattered material and full of genuine interest, show- ing commendable accuracy of research. Mr. Smith was then a young man, twenty-one years of age. IIe is enjoying life at home in Mont Vernon. II. A very readable article in the first volume of the Granite Monthly, published at Concord, from the pen of Colo- nel Franklin H. Pierce, of Hillsborough, a member of the bar, recently appointed judge-advocate of the Amoskeag Veterans, and United States consul to Matanzas, Cuba. Mr. Pierce is the nephew, name- sake and heir of the late ex-President Franklin Pierce. III. Facts gathered and published under the title of "Early Town Papers," by Hon. Isaac W. Hammond, of Concord, Deputy Secretary of State. IV. " Military History of New Hampshire," by the late Hon. Chandler E. Potter, of Hillsborough. V. " History of New Hampshire Churches," by Rev. R. S. Lawrence. VI. The well-kept records of the town. VII. "The Press of Hillsborough County," prepared by Edward D. Boylson, of Amherst, a practical printer. an interesting and valuable history. In addition, I should mention the memory of aged citizens of the town, to whose well-told tales of early times in Hills- borough I have often listened with thrilling interest : such as the late James Chase, Perkins Cooledge, Jon- athan Gould, Captain William Booth and the ven- erated school-teacher of the long ago, Miss Clarissa Stow, daughter of Deacon Joel Stow, of Stow Moun- tain farm.

It will appear from the records that the first settlers

did good, if not the best, work. They were men and women, too, of pluck and endurance, just the ones to settle in what was then a wilderness infested with what were objects of terror to women,-bears and In- dians. Their hardy frontier life fitted the men to become good soldiers.

In all the wars in which the nation has been in- volved,-the Cape Breton War, from 1744 to 1746, in- clusive ; the French and Indian War ; the War of the American Revolution ; the War of 1812; the Florida War; the war with Mexico, undertaken "to conquer a peace; " the War of the Rebellion, the fiercest and bloodiest of them all,-in all these wars Hillsborough has had a full part; its men have fought in the field, their blood has been shed and lives have been sacri- ficed. Hillsborough has furnished a full share of brave officers who led "to victory or to death." It will be found that the early settlers of the town were simple and frugal in their habits, and in their food made free use of milk and broth. It was the day of samp and bean porridge. The forests abonnded in wild game,-the bear, the moose and the deer. The drumming of the partridge was heard in all directions, and the brooks and rivers afforded a plentiful supply of fish,-the trout, the perch and the salmon. Trav- eling for the most part was on foot ; the roads were simply bridle-paths for years, and all riding was on horseback, often two on the same animal. The pil- lion was a well-known article, and one often used on Sundays.

As it is not originality of facts, but only their dis- covery, solution, right arrangement and clear state- ment, that is required of a historian, I shall take well- authenticated facts from whatever source I may be able without, in all cases, stating the source.

It will be my object to condense into the smallest compass that will allow the presentation of the most important and interesting facts in the clearest light. I desire to bring Hillsborough, past and present, its original settlers, its military achievements, its topog- raphy, the occupations of its citizens, its corporate industries, its professions, its progress in social life, in fine, Hillsborough and all that concerns it,-into a full and clear view. Very likely, after the greatest care in sifting facts that is possible, some things, taken for granted because so many times repeated without

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

contradiction, may be over or understated, and at this lapse of time, and especially on account of the dis- appearance of several generations of actors and the absence of well-authenticated documents. it may be found impossible to get any nearer the truth. It has recently been stated, on reliable authority,-of Walter Gibson, A. B., historian of Concord,-that original documents and records of several towns, including Hillsborough, were known to be in existence in 1815, in the possession of one Sarson Belcher, a hatter of Boston, deceased. Mr. Belcher was the executor of the will of Colonel John Hill, proprietor of the town of Hillsborough, and for whom the town was named. It is is hoped, though not confidently ex- preted, that these papers may yet be in the posses- sjon of Belcher's heirs, and may fall into the hands of the local historians of the towns interested, viz. : Hillsborough, Rindge, New Boston and Peterborough. They would be of great value, whether corrobora- tive or corrective.

Topography .- The town of Hillsborough is in the northwest corner of Hillsborough County. The original grant to Colonel Hill was for a section " about six miles square." Looking at it on a good map, it has the appearance of having two opposite parallel sides pressed a little together, forcing, thereby, an acute angle against one of the sides of Sullivan County and the town of Washington, in that county, and forcing a corner of Hillsborough into that town a considerable distance. It is bounded on the north by Washington and Bradford, on the east by Henniker, on the south by Deering and Antrim and on the west by Windsor and Washington. It is in latitude 43º 5' north and in longitude 5 5' east. Its first line, beginning at the southeast corner of Henniker, deflects to the south 5 30' from due west. The surface of the town i- greatly diversified with hill and valley, so much so that it is popularly, though erroneously, believed that this fact gave to the town its name of Hills- borough. There is, however, a limited extent of level land along the course of its streams.

Rivers .- The town is liberally, more than the aver- age, supplied with living streams of water. The largest of these is the Contoocook, an important river, that assumes the name Contoocook-an Indian name meaning a place of crows-just as it enters the limits of the town at the corners of Deering and Antrim It is formed by the union of two consider- able streams, called, respectively, the South Branch and the North Branch, forming a union near the corners above mentioned.

in part, so that it becomes of itself no inconsiderable stream. But as it enters Hillsborough it is greatly increased in quantity of water by the confluence of the North Branch, which rises in Horse-shoe Pond, on the west side of Lovell's Mountain, in Washing- ton, forming Long Pond in Stoddard, flowing through a portion of Antrim, giving its own name to a flourishing village in the town of Antrim. Flowing a short distance in Hillsborough, which it enters on the south line, passing through the Lower village, it soon receives the waters of the Hillsborough River, so called, and the united streams join the South Branch, and they together form the Contoocook. The Hillsborough River takes its first supply from the drainage of the eastern slope of Lovell's Moun- tain, increased by a stream flowing from the marshy grounds of Bradford. It runs somewhat diagonally through the town for a distance of about seven miles. It is increased also by the drainage of the ponds in Windsor and from the Symond meadows, in Hills- borough. The stream which comes from the west does good work in turning wheel and driving ma- chinery at the Upper Village, in Hillsborough. The Hillsborough River joins with the North Branch near the foundry near the residence, for so many years, of Major Charles D. Robbins, now of Bradford. The Contoocook, thus formed, becomes an important river, bearing an unfailing supply of water, available for industrial purposes as it flows through the Hills- borough Bridge village, and for its size it is doubtful if it can be surpassed by any stream in New England. There is descent enough for all practical purposes, and suitable locations for mills for a long distance down the river. There is no reason in the nature of things-except distance from market-why it should not, in time, create a rival of Lawrence or Lowell.

The town is also well watered with brooks, one plentifully supplied with the speckled trout, but which are, for the most part, among the good things that were, but are not. There are also three con- siderable ponds in town, viz .: Loon, a half-mile north of the Centre; Contention, about a mile northwest of Loon ; and Campbell's Pond, in the eastern part, near the Henniker line and in the neighborhood of Jonathan Gould. Loon Pond deserves the name of a lake. It is much frequented as a summer resort. Seekers of rest and recreation began living in tents, as in the nomadie age; now cottages are going up on its shores. It abounds in bass, pickerel and pouts, and, in their season, the water lily.

As has been said, it well deserves the name of lake, for it is about two miles in length by three-quarters of a mile in width in its widest part. It is nearly surrounded with a fine forest growth. The waters are clear, cool in the hottest weather, and deep, and the fish caught from it are consequently of fine flavor and of the best quality. Those who own the land theless it is open and free to all comers. The late

The principal stream-the South Branch-takes its rise in the elevated swamps of Rindge, in full view from the railroad between Peterborough and Win- choenlon. It is augmented by streams from the Ostern slope of the Monadnock Mountain and from the numerous lakelets lying at its base. It is still father increased by the drainage of Peterborough, I bordering claim the sovereignty of its waters; never- Greenhellin part, Bennington, Hancock and Stoddard

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John Gilbert, of Boston, who owned a summer resi- dence at the Centre, to which he had all his children and grandchildren repair to spend the summer months, had a well-trodden path to the harbor, where he kept his boats upon its cool and salubrious waters. As a regular camping-ground for spending one's vaca- tion, Loon Pond was first brought prominently into notice by Rev. Harry L. Brickett, of Lynnfield Centre, Mass., the successful principal of Valley Academy and Union School, at Hillsborough Bridge, for three years, from 1876 to 1879, inclusive. Here he spent his summer vacations, in good part residing in camp and fishing. He entertained hosts of friends with fried fish and chowders which he prepared with his own hands, to the enjoyment of those who visited him, camping in the quiet and beauty of this sylvan lakeside retreat. Now the enterprising editor of the Hillsborough Messenger, Charles W. Hutchins, has built a summer-house for campers upon its banks, and every year many are the camping-parties that make merry upon its pleasant shores. The writer would suggest that, in memory of the late John Gilbert, of Boston, who for many years has done so much for Hillsborough Centre, it be called Lake Gilbert. Although the surface is so much diversified with hills and valleys, yet its elevations are hardly high enough to be called mountains, and most of the land has, at some time, been cleared to the very top of its highest hill. There is, however, one elevation famous in the early settlement of the town, which has received the name of Stow's Mountain, located in the north- west part of the town, in what is now best known as the Edgar Hazen neighborhood, and in that school district. Deacon Joel Stow (the father of one better known than he,-Clarissa Stow, to whom so many owe their first good start in learning) lived on the southeast slope of this mountain. Justus Pike lived highest up. A few years ago-just before the war- his house was taken down, brought to Hillsborough Bridge, and re-erected as a tenement-house just in the rear of the Methodist meeting-honse.

A part of the farm of James M. Wilkins, near the Centre,-which, by the way, is made to be a very pro- ductive farm,-is on very high ground. As you go east towards Henniker from his farm the land rises to a great height, from which the view on a clear day is extensive and grand. A long stretch of the White Mountain range is seen, and sometimes Mount Wash- ington itself.

The lowest part of the town is a little to the east of Hillsborough Bridge. It is np-hill from the bridge every way, except along the river road leading from Henniker to Peterborough, through Hillsborough Bridge village. That, for the most part, is a level road. The land rises gradually from the valley of the Con- toocook, going north. A very hilly road leads from the Bridge village to the Centre through some of the best farms in town,-Baker's, Dutton's, the Clarkes', Taylor's and others. Another road, crossing the road

from Hillsborough Bridge to the Lower village, at the distance of one mile, at the Deacon Sawyer place, now owned and occupied by Gawn Mills, leads over Bible Hill, owned and occupied by good farmers, then de- scends into a fertile valley, whence it climbs the rest of the way to the Centre. About two miles further south is the Old New Hampshire turnpike, leading through the Lower and Upper villages and on to Washington. The roads through the Centre lead to East Washington and Bradford. Over these roads, and converging towards the same point, the Centre, all of the people of the town once traveled on the Lord's Day to the one house of worship. The Centre was once an important village, and had its store and blacksmith-shop; but these long since disappeared. Death and removals have thinned its population and weakened its strength. Old and venerable men, once its strength and pride, have been dropping away one by one, and few young people are willing to stay on the good old farms to make their places good. The recent death of Mr. John Gilbert, a native of the Centre, a resident and business man in Boston during many years, has saddened the hearts of the people at the Centre, among whom he was accustomed to spend the summer months at his residence there.

The Soil .- Hillsborough has a strong and, for the most part, productive soil, complained of, however, by not a few, for its rocks and for being hard to cultivate. It once abounded in forests, some of which now re- main, greatly diminished - especially within easy reach of the railroad station-during the last twenty- five years. As a compensation for this, large tracts of hill land have been allowed to return again to the condition of forests. Much of the new growth is now large enough for lumber. The tall and stately white pines that once abounded, reserved in the orig- inal charter for the King's navy, have now almost wholly disappeared, though, as it turned out, King George had but very few of them. Most of those now standing are of second growth.

The trees in the forests are of the usual kind found in other towns in the vicinity,-such as hemlocks, spruces (not so abundant), the ash, the oak (of several kinds, white and red), beech, white, red and rock or sugar maple, the butternut, fir-balsam (rich in liquid gum) and the cherry.

The sugar maple (Acer saccharinum) deserves especial notice. It abounds in town. These trees have been spared in the general demolition for their value as deposits from which sugar is so readily ob- tained at a season of the year when other kinds of work are not so pressing. In one section of the town the sugar orchards of Wilkins, Clark Brothers and Dr. Dutton are noted for the quality and amount of sugar produced.

The Clark Brothers exhibited specimens at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, and received honorable mention, and a correspondence was solicited by the agent of the French government

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

in regard to the subject and was carried on from the department at home, in Paris. The writer of this ar- tiele had the pleasure of reading and translating the letters to the Clark Brothers from Paris, and knows that they were full of valuable information on the subject of sugar products and highly complimentary to the Clarks.

Great pains are taken by the best sugar-makers to keep the sap perfectly sweet and clean from its exu- dation from the tree to its entering the evaporating apparatus, so that it comes to market white, clean und pure.

Settlements. - The first settlement in Hillsbor- ough, made in 1741, was one hundred and eighteen years after the first made in the colony, in Dover, in 1623, under the lead of Gorges & Mason, proprietors, by the favor of James I., of England. They sent out two small colonies. Their charter, embracing New Hampshire, included the territory lying between the sea and the St. Lawrence, and the rivers Kennebec and Merrimack. Massachusetts colony set up a claim to New Hampshire, in part, to all north of the Merri- mack, and for many years the two colonies were united under one government. But in 1741, the very year that the first settlement was commenced in Hills- borough (then called No. 7), a final separation was etlected between the two colonies. The separation was peaceably gained.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 94

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