USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 34
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He was in early life interested in the militia, and was Adjutant of the Eighteenth Regiment, Brigade Inspector, and Captain of a company. While a resident of Missouri he held a commission as Lieutenant of a company in that State, and served in the force under the command of Gen. Sterling Price against the Mormons.
Mr. Lyford was a student of local history and an interesting writer on such topics. He was a man of pleasing address, an entertaining companion, and a man of influence in his denomi- nation. His social tendencies led him into several fraternal organizations, he having been a Mason of high degree, an Odd Fellow, a Son of Malta, a member of the Knights of
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REV. GRANVILLE C.WATERMAN. REV. BURTON MINARD. REV. ELIJAH GUILFORD. REV. IRA EMERY. REV. FRANCIS H. LYFORD. FREE BAPTIST PASTORS.
REV. EDWIN P. MOULTON. REV. JOHN B. MERRILL.
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Ecclesiastical History.
Pythias and of the secret temperance orders. He died at Woodstock in 1891.
In the month of March, 1881, occurred the death of Deacon Otis Crane, the first deacon of the church.1 In the summer of that year the meeting-house was repaired at an expense of 82,000. It was rededicated November 30, 1881, the Rev. C. E. Cate preaching the sermon. Mr. Lyford's pastorate ended in . October, 1886, after which the church was without regular preach- ing for nearly a year. The Rev. Granville C. Waterman entered into the pastorate in 1886.
Mr. Waterman, a graduate of Bowdoin, was a man of genial temperament, of vigorous intellectual and executive capacity. Before he came to Littleton he had held long pastorates in several towns and cities in New York and southern New Hampshire, and in each place had served on educational committees and aided in every good work. His efforts in these directions were as marked here as elsewhere. During his pastorate a debt of $1,400 was lifted from the society, which in the spring of 1887 was free from debt, and had also made improvements in its property costing more than $200. Mr. Waterman's departure in 1891 was deeply regretted, not only by his people, but by all with whom he had come in contact. He was in Providence for four years, and after- ward in St. Johnsbury, Vt. He has held important positions on the denominational boards, and from 1881 to 1886 was editor of the Sunday-school Quarterlies.2
The Rev. J. B. Merrill was chosen to carry on the work laid down by the Rev. Mr. Waterman. Mr. Merrill had been successful as a missionary in the home field before he was ordained to the Free Baptist Ministry in May, 1869. He had been pastor of several societies as well as engaged in independent mission work at Old Orchard, Me., and was Postmaster there for a time. In 1891 he became pastor of the society in Littleton. He was a zealous worker, and for eight years was a part of the religious and social life of the town. During his service as pastor the church edifice was raised and remodelled, and a vestry constructed in the base- ment. He resigned in 1899, and now has a pastorate in Nova Scotia.
The Rev. Jolin C. Osgood was the successor of Mr. Merrill. He was born in Randolph, Vt., in 1848. His education was gained in the public schools, New Hampton Institute, and later in Cobb
1 The deacons who have since held this office are John Wallace, William H. Crane, Daniel B. Crane, Orin H. Streeter.
2 At the time of publication of this work Mr. Waterman is located at Hampton. VOL. II .- 21
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Divinity School. He was ordained at Gilmanton Iron Works, N. H., and preached in many towns in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, before coming to Littleton in 1899. He was a man of attractive personality, of great moral courage, and impressed all who held intercourse with him that here indeed was a follower of the Master. He was here for a short time from March, 1898, to October, 1901, but during that period was a prominent factor in all movements for the spiritual and moral elevation of the com- munity, and his departure was a source of sorrow to many.1
The year following the departure of Mr. Osgood marked the pastorate of the Rev. V. E. Bragdon, who was born in Sidney, Me., October 19, 1856, and was educated at Easton, Presque Isle, and at the Cobb Divinity School, Lewiston, Me. He was located at Mapleton, Blaine, Sabattus, Lisbon Falls, Me., and at East Roch- ester, N. H., before coming to Littleton in 1901. His relations with the society were terminated in September, 1902, and in Jan- uary, 1903, Rev. George B. Southwick became pastor.
In 1888 a debt of $1,500 with which the society was burdened was paid by a popular subscription. The subscription paper bears the names of representatives of almost every known creed, together with those of persons with a leaning toward agnosticism.
The church building has seven handsome memorial windows given by and dedicated to the memory of the following persons : By Chester, Eli, and Woodman Wallace, in memory of their grandfather, Phineas Wallace; by the Advocates of Christian Fidelity (now the Endeavor Society), in memory of Ansel and Mary Kenney ; by Mrs. Viana Streeter, in memory of Deacon Orin H. Streeter ; by Mrs. Hannah Hildreth, in memory of her husband, Leonard B. Hildreth ; by Mrs. Dennis Wheeler, in mem- ory of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Blandin; by Daniel B. Crane, in memory of Amoretta Crane.2
The Sunday-school was organized when the first service was held, and has been in active operation ever since, at present numbering sixty-five pupils and six teachers. The young people formed a society in 1889, known as the Advocates of Christian Fidelity, and this has been a spiritual help.
There is no record of the Sunday-school superintendents prior to May, 1880. But since that time the following have held that
1 The Rev. Mr. Osgood since leaving here has been located at New Market, and is now (1904) stationed at Gilmanton Iron Works.
2 Substantial bequests to the society by deceased members have been made, a list of which is appended : Reuben Phillips, $100; Lyman Blandin, $100; Mary Whitcomb, $100; Phineas Wallace, $600; Joel Bronson, $1,000; Ansel Kenney Fund, $200.
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office : Charles A. Glovier, Charles E. Baker, Ellery H. Carter, William F. Andrus, Warren E. Burt, Horace J. Kenney, Lemuel N. Philips, Daniel B. Crane, the Rev. Granville C. Waterman, Dr. George F. Martin, Mrs. M. S. Waterman, Thomas H. Pearson, George F. Cole, Ira E. Ainsworth.
A sketch of the Free Baptist Society in this town would not be complete without mentioning the Pettingills, father and son, who both bore the Christian name Jolin. The elder resided from 1854 to 1857 at West Littleton, in which locality as well as in neighboring towns he occasionally preached. His religious zeal, however, was manifested in the efforts he made to suppress Romanism. He was the leader of Know-Nothingism and the pre- siding officer of the lodge in West Littleton. After he left this town in 1857 he was expelled from the ministry and the church. The younger John resided here for a year after his father's depar- ture, but became a preacher in Baptist and Freewill Baptist de- nominations in Maine and New Hampshire. Though a man of limited education, he was a natural emotional preacher, one of a class that exerts a powerful influence in times of strong religious excitement. He is now a resident of the State of Maine.
All these years the pastors have been ably seconded in their work by the women of the parish, who in 1870 organized the Ladies' Beneficent Society, with Mrs. E. Guilford as President, and Mrs. William A. Crane as Secretary and Treasurer ; and every year since its organization this body of devoted women have raised a goodly sum for the cause. A Woman's Auxiliary Mis- sionary Society was organized in 1888 with Mrs. M. S. Waterman as President, whose records show each year a substantial sum for missions.
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History of Littleton.
XXXVI.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY (Continued).
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
O F the earlier history of the Catholic Church in New Hamp- shire but little is known. The missionaries who were engaged in the work of converting the Indians were connected with religious orders, Jesuits and Franciscans chiefly, and the story of their heroic labor, suffering, and death has been often told. The priests were in the habit of following the Abenaquis in their wanderings from one hunting-ground to another, and it is not improbable that more than once they visited and erected their altars in this section, which was a favorite resort of one of the tribes of this people. More devoted, self-sacrificing men than these priests, who for two centuries struggled to christianize and civilize the savages, never lived. Parkman has described their work, and draws this picture of their journeyings and an incident illustrating their zeal : " The way was pathless and long, by rock and torrent and the gloom of savage forests ; the goal was more dreary yet. Toil, hardship, famine, filth, sickness, solitude, insult, - all that was most revolting to men nurtured among arts and letters ; " and again, "Their patience, kindness, their intrepidity, their manifest disinterestedness, the blamelessness of their lives, and the tact which never failed them had won the hearts of those wayward savages ; " and once more, "When we see them in the gloomy February of 1637, and the gloomier months that followed, toiling on foot from one infected town to another, wading through the sodden snow, under bare and dripping forests, drenched with incessant rains, till they descried at length through the storm the clustered dwellings of some barbarous hamlet ; when we see them entering one after the other those wretched abodes of misery and darkness, and all for one sole end, the baptism of the sick and dying."
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, 1893.
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Ecclesiastical History.
Such were some of the hardships endured by those who first traversed northern New Hampshire.
The first known Roman Catholic in Littleton, other than the St. Francis Indians and the missionaries who sometimes accompanied them in their excursions into this region, was Joseph Du Clarett, who married a daughter of Capt. Peleg Williams. He probably located here as early as 1785 and remained until 1802 or 1803, when with his family he returned to Canada, his native country, and settled in Compton. Little is known of him, except that he accompanied a party of St. Francis Indians on one of their jour- neys to the Lower Cohoes, where General Bayley persuaded him to come to this town to work during a season for Captain Wil- liams, and that he died in Canada prior to 1815.
The first influx of Roman Catholics was in 1840, when the Woollen Factory was put in operation. Among the first operatives employed in that mill was John Smith, an Irish Catholic and a man of character and more than average education for one in his posi- tion. He was soon joined by two or three other workmen of the same religious convictions who were without families. When John Herren became insolvent in 1843, Mr. Smith and William Jackson, the finisher in the Woollen Factory, together purchased a farm in Cabot, Vt., to which town they moved. After a season Mr. Smith purchased the interest of his partner, and was the owner of the farm at the time of his death.
It was at this period, 1840-1843, that the town was first visited by a Catholic priest. All New England was then under the jurisdiction of Bishop Fenwick, of Boston. The Rev. Jeremiah O'Callaghan, a missionary priest, was located at Burlington, Vt., as early as 1830. His field of labor embraced all of Vermont and that part of this State lying in the valley of the Connecticut River. and it fell to his lot to become the guest of Mr. Smith in 1841 and on one or two subsequent occasions. No service, how- ever, was held on these occasions. There is a tradition that the Rev. Father O'Reilley, who was associated with Father O'Callaghan, also visited the town during these years.
In 1846 the factory was again in operation under the proprie- torship of the Hales, and John Smith was in his old place at the woolsorters' bench. In the spring of 1847 he was joined by his family. They occupied the easterly tenement in the double house at the southwesterly corner of Main and Brook Streets, and in the parlor of this house in the late summer of 1847 was said the first mass.
For some time it was believed that the Rev. Hector Antoine
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History of Littleton.
Drolet was the officiating clergyman on that occasion. Informa- tion, the result of recent investigation, renders it improbable, if not impossible, that such was the fact. Father Drolet was a French priest, and the writer, who was then a lad of about nine summers and a near neighbor of Mr. Smith, clearly recalls the event and much of the talk occasioned by it, and is clear as to the point that the officiating priest was an Irishman. The view that it was some one other than Father Drolet is supported by the records in the archives of Quebec relating to the Canadian clergy. These state that from 1839 to 1849 Father Drolet " was a missionary at Caraquet," Canada ; that in " 1849 he was sent to Montpelier Vt.," in the same capacity. This date of his first appearance at Montpelier is supported by a writer in Hemenway's " Vermont Gazetteer, "1 who states that Father Drolet came to Montpelier " about 1850," where he remained until near the close of 1854. From this evidence it is clear that Father Drolet in 1847 was stationed at a Mission in Canada, and that he was not appointed to Montpelier until 1849, two years after the first mass was celebrated in Littleton.
All ascertainable facts indicate that this mass at the house of John Smith was celebrated by the Rev. Father John B. Daly, a missionary priest, whose headquarters were at Claremont, and whose field covered all the central and western part of this State at that time, the Rev. Father Canovan having immediate charge of the eastern part, with headquarters at Dover. The period of the activity of Father Daly extended from 1845 to 1856. He journeyed from place to place, being constantly on the move, and it was his " boast never to have slept more than one night under the same roof." The "History of the Catholic Church in New England " discloses the extent of his visitations in these years, and how important a factor he was in the upbuilding of his church in this region. He was at Concord, Claremont, Keene, Laconia, and Lebanon in 1845; Littleton in 1847; Walpole in 1848 ; Nashua, Milford, and Hinsdale in 1849; Penacook in 1850, and Tilton in 1854. This statement covers only "first visits ; " the intervening years were filled with abundant evidence of the extent of his travels and his tireless zeal.2 This territory was within his mission, and the description given by Colonel Linehan of his personal appearance corresponds to that of the clergyman who visited John Smith in 1847, and his nationality
1 Vol. iv. pp. 289, 422-423.
2 History of the Catholic Church in the New England States. Boston, 1899. Hurd & Everts Co. Pub. Vol. ii. pp. 596-675.
" DEACON " JOHN SMITH HOUSE, RESIDENCE OF DR. E. K. PARKER. Place of First Mass by Roman Catholics in Town.
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Ecclesiastical History.
answers the requirements of the case. The evidence, though not all given, renders it wellnigh certain that Father Drolet did not visit the town prior to 1850, while there is abundant evi- dence extant that Father Daly was here several times in 1847- 1848 and 1849, as was also Father O'Callaghan in some of these years.
An incident may be related that had its origin in the celebra- tion of this mass. The Protestant neighbors and associates of Mr. Smith from this time gave him the title of " Deacon," - a bit of playfulness which he resented, holding its application to himself to be sacrilegious. After a time the title, though always used in re- ferring to Mr. Smith, was seldom applied in his presence.
Rev. John B. Daly 1 was a native of Ireland. He received his education, classical and theological, at the Franciscan College and Seminary located in the city of Galway, in the county of the same name, in Ireland. He was ordained a priest about 1836. This supposition is based on a statement contained in a letter written by him in 1855, where in speaking of his duties as a priest he said, " This I have not neglected these nineteen years on all Sundays and festival days," which undoubtedly covered the period of his priesthood. Of his family nothing is known, no relatives were with him during his sojourn in New Hampshire ; but that he came of good stock his name, which was one of the most noted in his native land, as well as his personal appearance and actions, gave proof.
He was one of the pioneer priests of the Catholic Church in this State ; and little as is known of his contemporaries, still less is known of him. His first professional duties were per- formed in Ireland; for how long is not known, neither can the date of his coming to America be given. In October, 1854, he was sent to Concord to take charge of the Catholic con- gregation in that city and of other adjacent localities.
His mission extended as far north as Lebanon and Littleton. An idea can be formed of the Catholic situation in those days from the knowledge that, according to the census of 1850, there were but two Catholic churches in New Hampshire. Before his set- tlement here he had labored in Maine and Vermont, for how long or to what extent is not known. One of his missions was Fisher- ville, now Penacook, and when visiting there, religious services were held in the houses of the few Catholics then resident there ; among them that of John Linehan, the father of John C. Linehan. The latter was then but fourteen years of age, and
1 By Col. John C. Linehan.
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History of Littleton.
can well remember his appearance. To him he seemed about forty-five or fifty years old, five feet eight in height, robust in health, erect in form, and in possession of a pair of bright blue eyes, which looked full at any one with whom he conversed. He had a varied experience, extending over three States, and he was in constant intercourse with the turbulent spirits who were at that time engaged in building the railroads, digging the canals, or putting in the foundations of the great mills and shops that have since then made New England famous. He was a good preacher, blest with a vigorous flow of words, which issued from his lips, either in English, Gaelic, French, or Latin, as the occasion required, and a severe as well as faithful guar- dian of those committed to his charge.
He had his full share of the wit, humor, and repartee natural to so many of his countrymen, and woe to the man or woman who attempted to cope with him in this line. A second trial was never desired by his contestants. He was merciless to those who would occasionally try to be " Yankeefied " in tongue and in dress, especially if the money which in his opinion ought to go into the contribution-box had been expended on fineries for their personal adornment. In such cases he would lashı them unmercifully, often before the altar, to the mortification of his victims, but to the intense enjoyment of the members of the congregation who were not so far advanced in speech or raiment.
"I would rather," said he, "have a man with a sugawn 1 around his middle to hold his coat together, and a brogue that you could n't cut with a knife, and who is true to his obligations to his God and to his neighbor, for a member of this congregation, than a barnful of brass-buttoned, swallow- tailed, nosey-voiced dandies who are as destitute of money as of brains, and who are, in consequence of their love of dress, unable to meet their obligations to either God or man." He remained in Concord for about two years, and during that time celebrated mass in Suncook, Hooksett, and the towns along the railroads running north from Concord within the limits of the State. Very few of those who enjoyed his visitations are living to-day, but those who still survive have good reason to bless his memory, for no storm was too severe to prevent his coming when sent for in times of sickness or death. He was one of the most tender-hearted and liberal men living, though his experience had been such as to give him a rough, blunt exterior.
1 A rope.
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Ecclesiastical History.
He assumed the duties of his mission in troublesome times. The storm of religious hatred which had been inaugurated by the native American party, and still further enlarged by its successor, the Know-Nothing party, had swept all over New England, the Middle States, and as far south and southwest as Virginia and Kentucky. The most ridiculous and senseless charges were made against the church and its followers. The following letter will show the nature of some of them, and is at the same time a good illustration of the ability and vigor which Father Daly displayed in refuting them.
During the heated Know-Nothing campaign in the spring of 1855 a statement was made in the columns of the " Manchester American " that " Mr." Daly, the Catholic priest in Concord, had received $7.500 to be used " for political purposes." In reply to this charge " Mr." Daly addressed to the editor of the " American" a letter, of which the following is a copy. The letter was refused publication, and it was therefore printed in the " New Hampshire Patriot" of March 7, 1855.
CONCORD, N. H., 28th of February, 1855.
To the EDITOR OF THE "DAILY AMERICAN," Manchester, N. H.
SIR. - On my arrival here yesterday, a friend handed to me your paper of the 27th inst. containing an article relative to me, which was headed " Popery in the field : Money in the hands of Catholic priests."
I beg leave to call your attention to said article, and to lay before you whatever information you may require of me, in order that, the next time you introduce to your readers the above subject, you need not make any mistake. I am willing to impress on your mind the fol- lowing statement on the true and certain facts characteristic of me : Firstly, that I am no politician. Secondly, that during nineteen years I am in America, I never attended any political caucus, or club, for any purpose whatever.
Thirdly, that I never attended on any day of election, nor ever voted for any candidate, nor influenced others to vote in favor of any person or party. Fourthly, that I have never received any money here, or in any other place, for any political cause or purpose.
Fifthly, that I know of no Catholic priest in America receiving money from any fund, or from any society, established for that purpose.
Sixthly, that I am confident there is no such fund or society estab- lished in the Catholic Church in America to forward political design, or interest, of any particular party.
Seventhly, that I am not associated with any political club, or party in America, nor in any other part of the world.
Eighthly, that no Catholic - much less a Catholic priest - can be- long to any society in which there is a secret password, or sign, as a
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means of brotherly recognition, or an unlawful oath tendered as a test of qualification.
I might easily extend this enumeration, but I presume what I have said is sufficient to satisfy you; and, as such, I lay them before you as my candid, true, and sincere expressions. When I see, therefore, that you place me in an unfavorable position before the public, I have a just right to complain of your unprovoked act of injustice against my char- acter and profession. You are well aware, sir, that your journal has a wide circulation, and that thousands will believe whatever you may say - no matter how false - of me, where my voice in contradiction can never be heard. Now, in this time of great and unusual excitement, and, in particular, of the political conflict of the contending parties, anything, however false, you may say against me, my creed, religion, or profession, will be received by many as gospel truths, who have no other source of information except the columns of interested papers ; and you well know, from your own experience, that many misstatements figure in such journals. You accuse me of receiving $7,500 for some political purpose. Let me assure you that there is not a shadow of truth in your assertion. I have got no money - not a cent - now, nor at any other time, with respect to politics. This money affair is easily answered : I was sent here last October to take charge of the Catholic congregation of this city and of other adjacent localities. About three weeks ago, the Catholic papers announced the appointment of a new bishop to the Episcopal See of Portland, Maine, whose jurisdiction will extend to the state of New Hampshire. I hold a mortgage on property in the state of New York for the amount specified, and I called for that mortgage in order that I would be enabled to present it to the new bishop as my subscription to a church which I am disposed to build, either in this city or Nashua. I fear that I should trespass too much on your columns were I to give a lengthened explanation of other matters necessary to be known. One thing I will say, in as few words as possible. I see no motive, nor cause, for me to interfere in politics. If, in the frenzy of the present political excitement, any person be found to prefer his temporal to his eternal interest, he cannot impute such misfortune to the pastor. The pastor is called Futher on account of the paternal care and solicitude he must have alike for all, without any distinction of persons. The priest's duty is to implore a blessing on all persons-even upon his enemies. This I have not neglected, these nineteen years, on all Sundays and festival days; and if you were a president, governor, mayor, magistrate, or in any other station, or situation, in the government connected with the administra- tion of the laws, you could hear me, and every other priest in America, before he commences his mass, earnestly petitioning God in your be- half, that He, in the exercise of His infinite mercy, may assist you with the Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, and enable you to dis- charge the duties of your station or calling, with honesty and ability.
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