USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Lancaster > History of Lancaster, New Hampshire > Part 23
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3:12 : 0.
To 3 men 6 days with me surveying at 5 sh. 6d.
4:19 : 0.
Paid to Moses Page for work in finding hands with the surveyor 5 days at 5 sh. 6d.
I : 7: 6.
Due Bill by the committee
I : 7: 6.
Do Do Capt. Weeks
0:12: 0.
Paid Jonas Baker acct.
14:17: 0.
Do Dennis Stanley finding hands with surveyor
I : 4: 9.
Paid Emmons Stockwell account with surveyor
9: 2: 0.
Paid Col. Jonas Wilder acct. with surveyor .
33 : 2: 9.
I791
June. S To paying 12sh. for Coppy of ye Charter 0 :12 : 0.
£62: 5: 6."
We do not find any account of the settlement of this last account among the private papers of General Bucknam, and as the Proprie-
198
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
tors' Records have been lost we have no source of information ; but it was probably settled as other accounts of Bucknam's were.
General Bucknam was one of the administrators of the will of David Page, and the later's private accounts fell into the hands of Buck- nam, and they have been preserved along with his papers. Among them we find this account with the town :
" David Page's account with the Proprietors for the work done.
" Lancaster June 26th. 1774.
"To one days and half work £o: 4: 6.
Nov. 1772 to Four days work
0 :12 : 0.
December Eight days I : 4 : 0°
April 1773 Two days 0 : 8 : 0°
to work Fourteen days and half
2 : 18 : 0°
To work three days and half
0 :12 : 0° To work Four days
To two days
0 : 8 : 0.
To Clearin the River
0 : 4: 0.
November 1773 to five days and half
0 :16: 6.
February 1773 three days work
0 : 9: 0.
April 1773 Five days work .
I : 0: 0.
to three days and half .
0:14:
to work Four days
0:14: 0.
to two days at Samuells
0 : 8 : 0.
to four days man .
0: 3: 0.
May 30 to John one day
June 2 day three and half same
0:12: 0.
May 1774 to work at the highways 12 days
2: 8: 0.
£15 : 8: 6."
CHAPTER XVII.
THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS-RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS, MUSTERS, AND RAISINGS.
In the early days of Lancaster Christmas was not observed ex- cept in the breach of the rule for its observance. The Puritans had condemned it as savoring too much of Popery, or at least as under the patronage of the church of England, both of which were odious to them. The people here were influenced by the conservative no- tions of their ancestors in these matters, and this holiday, now so universally observed was neglected until about 1875. In this respect there is nothing for us to chronicle in Lancaster that was not com- mon in almost all New England villages. There were a few men, however, who did make some account of Christmas, chief among whom was Captain John Weeks. He never failed to call around him his family and friends to partake of roast goose on Christmas day.
0 :16 : 0.
199
THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS.
Fast day had not lost its original significance and taken a new mean- ing as it later did. It was observed with a good conscience. From the rise of the sun to its going down not a morsel of food did any one dare to take. This strictness was not peculiar to devout and religious people, but all shared in it alike. It was the one day of the whole year when the conduct of saint and sinner did not differ.
There came a time, about the beginning of the present century, when the strictness of Fast day observance began to relinquish its hold upon a portion of the community. With a settled state of peace and prosperity, when no foreign foe seemed to be lurking about our borders, and prosperity had come to the country, there seemed less reason for fasting, and more reason for feasting. Thanks- giving day grew more important from year to year until it had sup- planted Fast day in interest for the masses. Fast day began to be used for an occasion of amusement. The older people took it more as a day of rest, a brief respite from the heavy and prolonged labors common in the life of the early times, while the young men and boys, with a surplus of energy to put into motion made it an occa- sion for horseback riding. It came at a season when the roads were in that condition, the older people were accustomed to call, " be- tween sleighing and wheeling." In fact wheeled vehicles were scarce at the time, and as the sleigh was no source of comfort in the mixture of snow and mud that usually characterizes the roads on that day, they naturally took to horseback riding. This practice was continued so long that it gained that force of custom which makes a thing respectable in the eyes of those who participate in it. If the men and women of a century ago could see a troop of small boys dash- ing up Main street at a break-neck speed, and on reaching the end of the street wheel round and dash off in the opposite direction, repeating the process for hours, on the Fast day of to-day, they would think it a most outlandish desecration of the day. But the day has lost its original meaning, as nobody now believes that he should "mortify the flesh" to win the favor of God. We have come to think that God is pledged to the help of all his creatures in the right. We know now that we must think, and put ourselves in right attitudes to enjoy the favor of the All Father. We do not regret that civic Fast days are no longer kept as our ancestors kept them, but that they have become seasons of amusement.
Our modern Memorial day, May 30th, has become the patriot's day of remembrance of national and individual obligations.
Memorial day was first observed in Lancaster in 1869. As the day for its observance fell on Sunday the clergy and churches were not at all in sympathy with it, nor did either take part in the observ- ances. The old soldiers were determined, however, to do honor to the memory of the comrades who had fallen in battle at their sides,
200
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
or by disease in camp or on the march. As they appeared upon the streets with banner and music the sight appealed at once to public spirit and sympathy and the people followed them to the graves of loved and honored dead. Since then the clergy and churches have been in most hearty accord with the veterans in this most becoming memorial of our deceased soldiers.
Lancaster was one of the first towns in the northern part of the state and adjoining parts of the "north country" to make public ap- propriations for the fit observance of Memorial day, and has always been very liberal in its support of Memorial day observances.
Thanksgiving day was the great day that every boy was glad to see come, as it meant feasting and the reunion of families ; and youth and maiden hailed it as the day that flooded their lives with sun- light, joy, and love. Not infrequently the day was preceded by dancing, as the evening before Thanksgiving and New Year were set apart to that amusement into which the young people of every com- munity entered with zest.
This holiday has changed less, perhaps, than any other on the calendar. To-day the people spend it as their ancestors did a hun- dred years ago, in feasting and family reunions. Thanksgiving does not exceed Christmas to-day as a holiday. Everybody keeps Christ- mas, though business is not entirely suspended as on Thanksgiving day.
The holidays of the early settlers that gave everybody the chance to give way to the spirit of mirth and merry-making were the muster days. The general muster and the May and fall trainings were the most important holidays. These were the days of all days that brought the people together for a real hearty time. It gave the boys a chance to see the men muster, and the youth of eighteen years was included among the men, as the militia requirements included all males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. These the captain of the company notified to appear at such time and place as seemed most suitable. The law required every man to appear at the training grounds "armed and equipped with a musket and bayonet in good condition, knapsack, canteen, cartridge box, capable of hold- ing twenty-four rounds of ammunition, priming wire and brush, and two spare flints."
It was a custom to approach the officers' quarters before sunrise, and by firing of guns, beating of drums, and other vociferous dem- onstrations, "wake them up," and call for a speech, which was always supposed to be closed promptly for the first "ration of grog." In this the militia were never disappointed, for rum was considered as much a necessity at a training as powder was in a battle. Without those potations, a muster or training would have been a tame, perfunctory, and spiritless performance of duty.
20I
THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS.
The rudiments of military exercise were quite well understood by the men and boys, but the exercises were not of the polished and precise order that the many old soldiers about town had seen in actual service in the War of the Revolution and the War of 1812. It is remembered that some of those old veterans could but illy con- ceal their contempt for the whole performance, and we need not wonder that a training in a country village, removed by hundreds of miles from the scenes of war, should seem a sort of boy's play to men who had seen service under some of the best military disciplinarians of our two wars with Great Britain. That we give a better impression of the early drills, I will insert here a military announcement that went the rounds in 1799, and a " manual of arms" used at that time :
" Hanover, New Hampshire, " 27th. June, 1799.
" Brigadier Genl. Bucknam,
" Sir :
" Major General Brewster is informed, by a communication from His Excel- lency Governor Gilman, of his intention to review the 2nd Division of Militia, in the Month of September next. If agreable it is the Major General's wish that you would attend a meeting of the Field Officers of some of the Regiments in your Brigade (to whom notice will be given by the Major General) at the dwell- ing house of Major Joseph Bliss in Haverhill on Monday the fifteenth day of July next, at two o'clock afternoon, to concert the most proper measures to advance the respectability of the Grafton militia on the occasion. A general review of as many regiments as it may be practicable to convene together is contemplated. It is a favorite object with the Major General that the Sixth Brigade, which he has lately had the honor of commanding, as their Brigadier, should at the Review make a display of as great taste and knowledge in military art as any other corps in the State of New Hampshire.
" By order of Major General Brewster, " Wm. Woodward, Aid de Camp.
"P. S. Be so kind as to inform the field officers of the twenty-fourth regi- ment of the meeting and request their attendance. W. W."
The following " manual of arms," in the handwriting of General Bucknam, though it bears no date or other mark by which we can be certain of the fact, was, no doubt, prepared for this or similar occasions, when it was desired that his brigade should make a good appearance in the muster or review. It ran as follows :
"' I. Attention.
2. Raise firelock.
3. Cock firelock.
13. Return Rammer.
14. Shoulder firelock.
15. Order firelock.
16. Ground firelock.
17. Take up firelock.
8. Prime.
9: Shut pan.
IO. Charge with cartrage.
II. Draw Rammer.
12. Ram down cartrage.
4. Take aim.
5: Fire.
6. Half cock firelock.
7. Handle cartrage.
18. Shoulder firelock.
19. Secure firelock.
20. Shoulder firelock.
202
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
21. Fix Bayonet.
22. Shoulder firelock.
23. Present arms.
24. Shoulder firelock.
25. Charge Bayonet.
26. Shoulder firelock.
27. Advance arms.
28. Shoulder firelock."
Having gone through these evolutions in the " manual of arms," the instructions of the manual continues :
" The Colonel then commands by Platoons - to the right Wheel march, the whole wheel by platoons to the right and march by the General, the Colonel at the head of the Batalion with the Major behind him followed by the Drums of the Right Wing the Adjutant on the left of the fifth platoon.
" The officers and colors salute when within eight paces of the General and the Colonel having saluted advances to him."
" Inspection of batalion :
"After having been reviewed, the officers fall into the ranks, the colonel then orders By Companies to the Right Wheel, march - a quater round then halt, when Captain orders non-comiccioned officers to the front march - the officers take post 4 paces & non-commissioned 2 paces in front of their Companies - the whole when the General is within 30 paces order Present Arms. When ye General arives on the left then the Colonel orders Shoulder Firelocks.
" The Inspector begins on ye right with ye field & staff officers & inspects the companies and when inspection is over the Colonel forms the batalion and causes any exercises or manoevre the Inspector shall think proper."
The old soldiers, the remnants of noted armies, were the leaven that leavened the whole mass, for the citizen-militia took great pains to imitate their military carriage and manners. Poor as the militia training must have been, one can yet, at this late day, tell who had the good fortune to share in its advantages, for it had great advan- tages. There is a remnant of the old-timers left who profited by the training of those musters, and they show it in their bearing and manners, that are above those of the younger generation in point of elegance. It would be well if the young men of to-day could have some such training. It would relieve them of much awkwardness that is characteristic of the movements of the younger men of our day. In the graded and well-managed schools of the cities and larger villages this is partly made up by a system of drills that, while they are not in accordance with military discipline, are yet beneficial in correcting the faults of bearing and manner, and teach a boy how to use his legs in an orderly fashion. It is to be regret- ted that our system of public education does not make a greater effort at training the youth to bear themselves in better form than they drift into if left to their own unguided habits.
In the autumn came the half day of drills, but the great day was that of the general muster. The only regiment of the section was the old Twenty-fourth, which for a long time was enrolled from the whole of Coös county, giving a well-selected quota of men of good bearing in the ranks. The only "Independent Company " was the
203
THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS.
troop. This company was a well-mounted one; the men were good riders, and at one time numbered as many as forty horsemen. Their uniforms were quite imposing, consisting of black trowsers, red coats with black trimmings, helmets of leather with scarlet sides and red plumes eight inches long standing erect, with bear skin trimmings extending from the front over the tops of the caps, while yellow bands and gorgeous tassels dangled over their backs. Their arms consisted of long sabres, a pair of " horse pistles " in holsters cov- ered with bear skin.
The most popular commanders of this company were Captains. Thomas Carlisle, Charles Hilliard, and John Loomis. There were several other persons who shared in the honor and distinction of the command of this noted company, but these I have named were the notables among them all.
This company took the leading part in all the manœuvres and sham fights which invariably closed a regimental muster. They bravely charged against the infantry squares, discharging their pis- tols and retreating as the manual called for. For this performance a good horse was an important factor. The horses differed as much as the men. Some of the horses used in the troop were remarka- ble for the intelligent spirit with which they entered into the duties of the occasion. Most notable among them was a large, black horse with a white face, that Maj. John Weeks brought from the army at the close of the War of 1812, and which was always in demand at the musters. He was a fine beast, with a high step and proud manner. When dressed in his regimental trappings, he mani- fested great pride and seemed to know his part as well as his rider, and not infrequently, it seemed, he knew it a little better than his rider. This animal was used in several regiments, being passed from one to another for some years.
In 1823 an artillery company was formed, with John Wilson as captain, and in 1828 Capt. Perley Foster settled in Whitefield, and military organizations and activities at once revived. He was a great religious and military enthusiast. He had been in the regular army, and managed a gun on McDonough's fleet in the battle on Lake Champlain. This service gave Captain Foster great prestige among the military spirits of his time. He soon organized a rifle company, the officers of which were Capt. Perley Foster; Henry Fiske, lieutenant; Thomas H. Kimball, ensign. The uniform of this company consisted of blue coats richly embellished with bright metal buttons, tall bell-crowned fur hats, with shining metallic plates. in front and white plumes of liberal size with red tips, and gaiters of the same colors as the head-gear. This company soon became very popular with the people. Among the boys who drank in all this inspiration and military glory from the standpoint of lookers-on,
204
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
was Captain Foster's own son, who won great distinction in the late War of the Rebellion-Maj. and Maj .- Gen. John G. Foster.
One who saw those musters can never forget the joy it gave the boys to see their fathers, uncles, and sometimes older brothers, deport themselves creditably on the training-field, and win the applause of their neighbors-the old men, women, and children.
One of the old-time stories told, is that of the muster held here in 1845, on H. F. Holton's plain, Gen. R. M. Richardson commanding. A company of infantry, sometimes called "flood wood," from an adjacent town, appeared, and were without musical escort, so the captain applied to Allen Smith, an 1812 drummer, and Stephen Hayes, a veteran fifer, for the occasion. As this company appeared on the field, these old veterans struck up the " Rogue's March," and the company was placed in line. Anything that was music was good, and as no one of the company knew much about different tunes, it passed off well until the captain was told how he and his men came on the field. "Thunder !" said the captain, "I supposed it was Hail Columbia." The band hid immediately.
All this may look to the younger generation of our day as the glory of a child's play with his " tin soldiers," but not so, as the sequel will show. There came an evil day when, through the mis- taken greed of a few men, the state was induced to pay for the ser- vice rendered on the training field. The true military spirit that had moved the men of the early days to such a wonderful degree began to decline, and the paid service was rather looked down upon as a sort of mercenary chance to earn a small fee. The pride and glory of the old-time musters and trainings passed away, and left the people no adequate compensation for the care they had exer- cised all those years to keep a class of citizen soldiers in proper training. I do not question the superior organization of the militia under the later arrangement, but it removed it too far from the peo- ple. The new order of militia no longer interested the masses, giv- ing pleasure to the men and nothing less than unbounded joy to the boys, as the old system did. Its glory had departed, and the pleas- ures it afforded to old and young has become a memory only.
The decline of the musters and trainings did not leave the people without a holiday or day of recreation, for the "raisings" took the place, in a large measure, of the day of amusement afforded by the musters. The raising of a large building in early times was no small affair. To raise the heavy hewn frames called for all the able- bodied men in the neighborhood, for the builders had to rely on them for help. The frames were generally very heavy, as the sills, plates, posts, and beams were seldom less than eight inches square, and of solid timbers. If the building was to be a large one, it would require upwards-of fifty men to raise it. Accordingly the
205
THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS.
requisite number would be invited, and that gave the boys a holi- day. Every boy for miles went to the raising to which the men of his family were invited; they felt entitled to that much pleasure, at least, to see the building go up. Whether they were permitted to partake of the dinners provided on such occasions for the workmen, and the potations that were considered an indispensable article at raisings, my information does not warrant me in stating, farther than that almost any boy could be useful on such an occasion in some capacity when he was counted a worker among the company. If he were not large enough and industrious and curious enough to carry water for the crowd, carry tools to the workmen, or run errands, then we are not so sure about his prestige and standing. He probably stood afar off with open-mouthed wonder at the ope- rations going on before his sight. It may well be counted a misfor- tune to any one who has never been a boy at a raising, first as an on-looker, then as actor in some humble capacity, as the carrying of the water-pail or handing the tools to the busy workmen, and, finally, taking a man's part in the more responsible parts of the ope- ration, an experience the younger generation knows nothing of.
When invitations were extended to man or boy to attend a rais- ing, it was in good faith, and no one thought of treating such an invitation with any slight whatever, as he would be expected to be present or give some plausible excuse for his absence. When all hands were present on the grounds, a friendly drink was taken, and then the business was proceeded with in the following fashion :
First the two sides of the structure were put together on the sills and underpinnings and securely pinned in the joints. Long poles called, in the vernacular of the trade, "follerin poles," were chained to the upper and outside corners. The next step, generally, was to stop and take another drink preparatory to the tug of war that was coming. This feature of the business being attended to, and all being in perfect readiness, the master workman distributes the men at such places in which he thinks they can best serve. The oldest and most trusty men were assigned to the task of tending the foot posts, to guide the tennon into the mortice as the framed side rises serenely in the air. The master workman now took a position from which he could see all his men, and from which all could see him as he gave orders. He called out in lusty and commanding tones, " Are you all ready?" When all had responded affirmatively to the question, he commanded, " Pick 'er up," in response to which every man laid out his strength to comply with the command. The frame was lifted as high as men could lift by hand, when handspikes and pike- poles were brought into use. The master workman next called out, " Heave at the follerin-poles." The " follerin-poles " having been duly " heaved on," the frame was raised until the tennons sank home
206
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
in the mortices, and the whole side reached a perpendicular position. It was then securely fastened by temporary braces and stays. The second side went up after the same manner as the first, after which " all hands took another drink," and had a short breathing spell. They next proceeded with ends, and middle timbers of the frame, in the same manner as with the sides. At this point a situation of affairs was reached in which the courage and agility of the more venturesome and level-headed young men could show off their skill to great advantage. Some one was needed to mount to the corners and guide the tennons into the mortices and pin them together. This task generally fell to the lot of apprentices at the carpenter's trade, or the carpenter's assistants, called joiners and finishers, or in the absence of such, to some young man possessed of the requisite courage and skill for a task so far above ground.
Once the body of the frame was up, and the beams in place, the next step was that of placing the rafters in position, a pair at a time, when they would be securely pinned. This done, the work of pin- ning the ribs to which the shingles were to be fastened was divided between two forces that strove for the privilege of placing the ridge- pole, which privilege belonged to the party that got their ribs on first. This was the finishing touch of a raising, the last thing the assembled crowd could do for the building. The time for merri- ment had come. Although many drinks had been indulged in up to that point, nobody would be drunk, just a little jolly, with once in a while one a little hilarious.
Hon. James W. Weeks gives the following account of this kind of ceremony. It was a large barn on the place of Asahel Allen, where Phineas Hodgdon now lives, that was raised and to be "named ":
" The south end of the frame stood ten or twelve feet from where Allen afterward had his cooper shop for making pearl-ash barrels, so that the ridge-pole at that end of the building must have been fully forty feet high. Two men, one at each end of the frame, clam- bered to the ridge-pole, bottle in hand, and on reaching the top or ridge, stood erect. The one at the south end called out, 'This is a fine frame and deserves a good name.' All hands responded, ' Oh, yes ! Oh, yes !' and 'What shall we call it?' The man on the north end of the ridge responded by giving a high-sounding name, upon which the man at the other end, James Meserve, once a sailor, responded, ' Oh, yes !' and proceeded to recite some doggerel verse that ended in these lines :
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