USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 57
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1 Hoskins was a soldier of the Revolution, and subsequently a participant in Shays' Rebellion. He came to northern New Hampshire after the failure of this up- rising and on account of his connection with it. This possibly is where he acquired his military title.
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History of Littleton.
Capt. Ebenezer Pingree, Capt. Caleb Hopkinson, and Capt. Samuel Hudson, neither of whom, so far as any record now cx- tant shows, with the exception possibly of Peleg Williams, had acquired the rank of captain in the active service in the Revolu- tion. At some time between 1790 and 1800 the town was accorded a separate company. Capt. James Williams, Licut. Nathaniel Webster, and Ensign Jonas Nurse were its officers. This is on the authority of Mrs. Martha (Nurse) Goodwin, a daughter of Ensign Nurse. She recollected the occasion of their first train- ing. The men were entertained by the officers at the public tavern. Each of the officers, it may be noted, was an innkeeper. Mrs. Goodwin remembered that the officers dined in the house and the men were treated with nutcakes and cheese on the out- side. In her reminiscences Mrs. Goodwin made no superfluous allusion to the subject of supplementary refreshment. In those days this was sine qua non at trainings and musters. Those affairs took place at the tavern kept by the several officers in town.
In time the growth of population allowed a division into two companies, - one in the north part, including the village ; and the other in the southwest part, taking in the Rankin Mills region and West Littleton. This was not later than 1814, and perhaps earlier. No State record of the appointment of company officers is extant for the years between the close of the Revolution and 1816. From the latter date for a period of about forty years, they are recorded in the office of the Adjutant-General at Con- cord. Prior to that time casual records and traditions are the source of such information as we have as to the personnel of company officers.
The date of the organization of the first separate military com- pany at Littleton may be fixed approximately by the first mention of James Williams as Captain in the town records, which was in 1799. The succession of commanders of the company, accord- ing to the same test, would be, (2) Capt. Nathaniel Webster, (3) Capt. Andrew Rankin, (4) Capt. Perley Robins, (5) Capt. David Goodall, Jr., (6) Capt. Noah Farr, (7) Capt. David Rankin, (8) Capt. Guy Ela, (9) Capt. Elihu Sargent.
It will not be understood that this statement of the official suc- cession in the first Littleton company or companies has the sanc- tion of definite records, and it is of course quite possible that the first organization of a separate company in town was at an earlier date than is indicated by the evidence on which our supposition is based.
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The Militia in Northern New Hampshire.
The assumptions here given preference are those that seem the most probable when the record is read with reference to tradi- tional evidence which is apparently authentic and reasonable.
David Rankin had become Major of the regiment in 1814, and of course had previously been Captain of his company. Guy Ela is remembered as a Captain by persons now living, as is James Williams. Descendants of Elihu Sargent exhibit his commission, and in the instrument (1814) he is named as Captain of the second company in Littleton. James Williams became known later as Major, perhaps acquiring the title by a staff appoint- ment. George Little, a village merchant of a subsequent date, had the same title. Possibly he obtained it before coming to Lit- tleton. Certain reliance is placed upon the significance of the mention of a person in a public record in the early times by a military or other title of honor, because they were considered im- portant and a misapplication in formal documents was not toler- ated. In tables given elsewhere in the work, the full roster of Littleton men in commission in the militia is elaborated.
This review of the relations of the people of the town and the regions with which it was associated in military affairs has been developed with careful reference to authentic historical records and publications, and with special scrutiny of the laws of the province and State which governed the subject. The absence of certain information at several important points is an embarrass- ment which is fully realized. Nevertheless, in the general out- line of the narrative and in many important features the course of events has been traced with care and scrupulous attention to the available sources of local and State history. Without this effort some lines of inquiry might have remained obscure and some important facts might have passed beyond recovery.
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History of Littleton.
LIII.
FREEMASONRY.
BY ALBERT STILLMAN BATCHELLOR.
T HE institution of Freemasonry gained an organized establish- ment in New Hampshire in 1736. This was in St. John's Lodge at Portsmouth. It received its authority and privileges immediately from a deputy of the Earl of London, then Grand Master of England. A long period of war and political commotion intervened between this event and the conclusion of the War of the Revolution. In such times it would not- be expected that an in- stitution having for its great objects "the restraint of improper desires and passions, the cultivation of an active benevolence, and the promotion of a correct knowledge of the duties we owe to God, our neighbor and ourselves," would find the general temper and disposition of men at all congenial to its advancement. Until the reign of peace fairly began, Freemasonry seems to have ac- complished little more than to hold its own in this State.
Five lodges preceded the establishment of a Grand Lodge. This was effected in 1789, and the eminent soldier and statesman, Gen. John Sullivan, then President of the State, became the first Grand Master.
After the organization of a Grand Lodge, the extension and increase of Freemasonry kept pace with the general prosperity. Lodges multiplied, and attracted the best men and strongest minds of the principal communities. It is said that fifty of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence had been members of this fraternity. For a long period no imitative organization arose as a rival to this order. The location of subordinate lodges of course followed the centres of population and municipal promi- nence. Littleton continued to be one of the "least of the cities of Judah " for nearly seventy-five years from its first settlement in 1770. Northumberland, Lancaster, Bath, Haverhill, and Water- ford, Vt., had meantime enjoyed superior positions as local " capitals."
Freemasonry and other similar institutions which take root in the social character of man do not assume the form of active and
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Freemasonry.
efficient organizations until they find the advanced fruits of in- dustry and civil progress at their disposal. Hence the first organic work of the institution is exemplified in the more advanced communities. The lodges first established in this vicinity were North Star, at Northumberland in 1797; Union, at Haverhill in 1799; Meridian Sun, at Bath in 1815; and Morning Dawn, at Waterford, Vt., in 1818. The relations of these lodges to Freemasonry in this section, and particularly Littleton, will be considered in their order.
Northumberland gained early importance as a military post. It had a fort in the French and Indian War, and another in the Revolution. Here the settlers assembled for safety in times of alarm. The town became a centre of trade and occupied a position of importance as compared with the other early settle- ments in the vicinity. Several Freemasons who had become residents of the "Coos Country " obtained a charter for a lodge, dated the eighteenth day of December, 1797, to be designated as North Star, No. 8, and to be established at Northumberland. The lodge was continued at this place only until 1800, in which year it was moved to Lancaster. Two citizens of Littleton appear by the returns and records to have been recipients of the degrees at Northumberland. These were Levi Aldrich and James Rankin, Jr.
The first Freemason of Littleton, so far as has been ascertained, was Levi Aldrich. He was a son of Gen. George Aldrich, a veteran of the War of the Revolution, who was prominent in Masonry and in public affairs. Levi received his degrees in 1799, but the exact dates cannot be ascertained. He was present at the "raising " of Mr. Rankin, and evidently is to be ranked as his senior in the craft. Mr. Aldrich was a native of Westmoreland. Levi Aldrich settled in Littleton as early as 1796. In that year he held the town offices of collector and constable, and was a Selectman in 1797. It is said that he occupied the farm on which Mr. C. Frank Lewis now lives. His wife, Sybil Merrill, was also of Westmoreland. Slie deceased before he removed from Little- ton, and he subsequently remarried.
At this period a considerable emigration from the States into Canada was in progress. Superior inducements to settlers were offered by the government. This was an attraction to many resi- dents of New Hampshire and Vermont. The relief which self- imposed exile to the Provinces gave to poor debtors was another motive which impelled the movement from the States.
Mr. Aldrich removed to Barnston in 1800. He at once identi- fied himself with the brethren of the fraternity along the line.
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History of Littleton.
In 1809 he appears as a charter member of Lively Stone Lodge, established at the Hall of Samuel Pomeroy at Derby Line, Vt.
The War of 1812. so disturbed the relations of the brethren of this lodge, belonging as they did on both sides of the line, that the Canadians obtained from the Grand Lodge of Canada a char- ter for a new lodge, which was styled Golden Rule Lodge and located at Stanstead.
Mr. Aldrich was one of the charter members of that lodge, and Tyler from 1814 to 1823. He died in 1832.
The second Littleton Freemason was James Rankin, Jr. He was a son of Elder James Rankin and a man of eccentric char- acter. This led him to extremes in a variety of undertakings. At one period he was an exhorter in the Methodist denomination. He was made a Master Mason March 19, 1799; was subsequently identified with Meridian Sun Lodge at Bath and with Morning Dawn at Waterford. It is inferred that he had some unmasonic propensities from the fact that he was admonished by North Star Lodge, and afterwards suspended for six months by Morning Dawn. He resided in this town until about 1810, when he re- moved to Canada, and lived near the hamlet now known as Smith's Mills near Stanstead. He died in 1820.
Union Lodge, No. 10, was established at Haverhill under a char- ter dated January 3, 1799. Among the prominent men in the organization were Gen. Moody Bedel, Hon. Stephen P. Webster, and Gen. Moses Dow. The lodge was removed to Orford in 1809.1 While located there Edward Sawyer was one of its initiates. He brought the lodge into some notoriety by his alleged connection subsequently with the Morgan affair. He became a colonel of the New York State Militia, and was indicted in the latter part of 1826 upon a charge of being an accessory to the exit of Morgan from Western New York.2 The " Anti-Masonic Almanac " of 1834 states that he was " a very respectable mechanic."
In an editorial in the " Boston Herald " of May 24, 1884, which clears off some of the current nonsense about " the oldest Mason," he was represented as residing at Grand Blanc, Mich., the oldest Freemason but one then living. Capt. Sylvanus Hatch, of Port Lavacca, Tex., was his senior in this regard, having been initiated earlier than Colonel Sawyer, but in the same year, 1809. The article quoted gives Grand Secretary Berry of Maine as its author- ity. Mr. Berry had made this subject a specialty, and his state-
1 Proceedings Grand Lodge, N. H., vol. i. pp. 145, 148.
2 Weed's Autobiography, vol. i. p. 23; History of the Morgan Affair by Robert Morris, LL.D., p. 151.
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Freemasonry.
ment is no doubt deserving of the utmost confidence. Both of these venerable Freemasons have since deceased, though Colonel Sawyer's death preceded that of Captain Hatch.
The next Freemason becoming a resident of this town, of whom there is any information, was Joseph Emerson Dow. He was made a Master Mason in Union Lodge at Haverhill, May 20, 1799. He was a son of Gen. Moses Dow, before mentioned, and father of Moses A. Dow, the successful editor and publisher. Joseph E. Dow resided here from 1807 to 1811, and was our first resident lawyer. His house was at North Littleton, which was then the principal settlement. He was born at Haverhill in 1777, and died at Fran- conia, August 25, 1837. He held many local offices, and was a very useful citizen in the communities where he dwelt, but was not otherwise successful for himself.1
Meridian Sun, No. 25, of Bath, became the nearest Masonic in- stitution that was accessible to citizens of Littleton and so contin- ued to be till the fall of 1818. It maintained a very high standing socially in Bath for many years. Its rolls of membership bore the names of Swan, Payson, Hutchins, Jonathan Smith, and many other worthy and notable men. Not one of its members is now known to be among the living, and its local records are lost. Much of the interesting story of their Masonic labors and recreations is forever buried with the actors or obliterated with their archives. One story of the craft at Bath has become famous and a part of the common stock of the older narrators.
It seems that the brethren were accustomed to celebrate St. John's Day on an elaborate scale and with religious regularity. On one of their festive occasions, Rev. David Sutherland, the celebrated Scotch Presbyterian clergyman of the place, was present, though not a member of the order, and was invited to propose a sentiment. The reverend gentleman responded with due caution but with pungent wit. He said: "May all Masons be good men ; and, if it be a righteous institution, may all good men be Masons."
As Bath was the commercial emporium of the Ammonoosuc Valley, it naturally became the principal centre of other popular activities.
Its lodge of Freemasons held its first regular communication in 1815. James Rankin, Jr., and Nathaniel Rix, Jr., of Littleton, at once identified themselves with this lodge.
Mr. Rix had lived many years in Canada, and probably re-
1 Granite Monthly, vol. x. p. 229 ; Proceedings Grafton and Coos Counties Bar Association, 1893, vol. ii. p. 416.
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History of Littleton.
ceived his Masonic degrees in that province or near the line in Vermont; but definite information as to that point has not beenl found.
Asa Gould and Daniel Carter, two West Littleton farmers, next appeared as candidates for the degrees at Bath. They both were made Entered Apprentices August 27, 1817, Fellow Crafts June 17, 1818. On the 8th of April, 1819, they were both raised to the degree of Master Mason in the then new Morning Dawn Lodge at Waterford.
Mr. Gould was a native of Henniker, a farmer who had resided several years in Vermont, but passed the most of his life in Little- ton. He was a Democrat in politics, but without church affilia- tions. He lived on the Joseph Albee place, more recently owned by mining operators, and died in 1849.
Mr. Carter was born in Pembroke in 1773, and came to Littleton about 1794. He was always a farmer, a Democrat, and a Metho- dist. He occupied the farm which his son, George Carter, Esq., of this village, cultivated with large success.
Anson Wheeler of Littleton followed Mr. Carter and Mr. Gould in Meridian Sun Lodge. He received the E. A. degree December 24, 1817; F. C. July 15, 1818; M. M. November 11, 1818. He was a well-known citizen of this town. His blacksmith shop was located near the Tillotson Wheeler store on the east side of the road. These places were on the farm at North Littleton, now owned by George W. Richardson. Mr. Wheeler became a resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., in his later years, and died at that place.
Another associate of these early craftsmen at Bath, who was a resident of Littleton, was Major George Little. He was a well- known merchant and a man of general affairs. Of large capacity and broad views, he stood among the first business men of this region. He had wealth, but it was his own personality that made him the man of mark that he was in the midst of prominent contemporaries.
Elijah Sabine Woolson, while a resident of Lisbon, received his degrees in Meridian Sun Lodge, being made a Master Mason April. 15, 1825. He bore a high character as a public official and as a business man. He was a useful and energetic member of this community for a long term of years, and died respected by all who knew him. He was one of the petitioners for the establishment of Kane Lodge at Lisbon in 1858.
Lodges had been established previously at Danville, St. Johns- bury, Newbury, and other places in the neighboring counties of Vermont, and a Masonic sentiment was created which stimulated
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Freemasonry.
the brethren along the Connecticut Valley to organize themselves into a Masonic body. Waterford was then a flourishing village, and there they determined to erect the altar.
The petition to the Grand Lodge of Vermont for the charter for Morning Dawn Lodge has been lost or is not accessible.
The Early Records, Grand Lodge of Vermont, Reprint, p. 209, informs us that " a petition of sundry brethren in Waterford was presented." It was voted to grant a charter. The date of it is given in the early records as October 7, 1818.
The Record Book of Morning Dawn Lodge, No. 48, has been preserved. November 12, 1818, is the date of the minutes of the first meeting contained in the book. The last meeting of which there is a record is that of November 20, 1828. A report of the secretary on the financial affairs of the lodge is on a loose sheet, dated December 18, 1828.
For the meeting of November 12, 1818, the record is that the
" Lodge opened for the first time on the first degree of Masonry for the despatch of business, with the following officers and brethren present :. A. Jacobs, Master; D. Quimby, S. W. P. T .; H. Quimby, J. W .; N. Pike, Treasurer ; N. Rix, Jr., Secretary ; Isaac Farrington, S. Deacon ; Daniel Pike, J. D., and other brethren, viz. : H. Holbrook, J. Joslin, S. Gaskell, A. Gould, B. Pike, H. Cole, Daniel Carter, A. Wheeler, J. Rankin, Frye, and Kidder."
How these officers were designated we are not informed. The book of by-laws has not been preserved. That might add to our information concerning the preliminary doings of the grantees of the charter. At this meeting of November 12, which, it will be noted, was within a month and two or three days after the receipt of their authority to proceed with the organization, two Littleton men, Comfort Day and Amasa Wheelock, presented their petitions. At this meeting " a committee was voted to agree with Mr. Caswell for the use of his hall and firewood and candles for the term of three months ; the committee reported we could obtain them for one dollar per month. Lodge voted to accept. Chose a committee to settle with Mr. Caswell for the use of the hall heretofore. Re- ported that he charged sixty-seven cents per night. Lodge voted to accept the charge."
These votes indicate previous gatherings of the brethren or meetings of the lodge.
It appeared, also, by the record of this meeting, that Nathaniel Cook, Sen. Warden, had deceased, and Harvey Holbrook was chosen to the vacancy.
560
History of Littleton.
This record is continued without interruption for ten years, and is largely filled with the routine business which possesses no gen- eral interest.
In reviewing it some entries will be found which illustrate the peculiarities of the times, or yield personal items of historic interest.
Two dollars was the candidate's preliminary deposit; ten dol- lars, the next; and three dollars for raising; fifteen dollars, full fce. Clergymen received them for one dollar, the balance remitted.
December 10 a code of by-laws was reported and accepted.
Feb. 14, 1819. " Bro. Rankin's case had under consideration and voted to suspend him for the term of two months."
" Voted to pay Mr. Caswell for the use of the hall and candles the last quarter three dollars."
June 3rd, 1819. " Voted to remove the place of meeting of the Lodge on the day of our installation and in future to the hall of Mr. Seth B. Ellis."
"Voted to have Bro. W. Jacobs give notice to the Lodge at St. Johns- bury of our installation."
" Voted to have Bro. Albee Hurlburt invite the Lodge at Lancaster to our installation.
" Voted to have the Secretary invite by letter the Lodge at Bath to attend our installation."
June 9. " The instalment of our Lodge took place by warrant from the Grand Lodge to R. W. Jolin H. Cotton, whio presided as Grand Master, and who filled the several stations of the Grand Lodge with the brethren following : W. Jude Kimball, D. G. M. ; - Wilson, S. G. W. ; W. Peck, J. G. W .; W. - -, G. T .; Br. Lyman, G. S. ; . Br. Phineas Peck, G. C. ; Br. Joseph Haseltine, G. Marshal; Br. Elijah Davis, S. G. D .; Br. Wilson, J. G. D .; Br. Armington, G. S. B. ; Br. Elisha Cushman, G. T.
The procession proceeded to the meeting-house, where a dis- course was delivered by the Grand Chaplain, from 1 Corinthians iii. 11-15. The lodge was then duly installed, and the following brethren inaugurated to their respective offices. (See table for list of these officers.)
At the next meeting, July 1, we get a back sight at some fea- tures of the meeting.
" Voted to have Bros. Wheeler and Gregory pay the Musick for ser- vices at Installation as they had agreed."
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Freemasonry.
" Voted to pay Capt. Freeman for two quarts of rum, and trouble of house on the day of Installation two dollars and fifty cents."
The annual meeting was November 4, 1819. Rev. Dr. Blumley, a visitor, installed the newly elected officers.
" Voted to have the Stewards agree with some person to furnish the Lodge with necessary refreshments for the term of six months, and that the Stewards be furnished with cash to meet the disbursements."
Dec. 1. " Voted to hire an Instructor to instruct the Lodge in the Masonic Art, so long as the subscription money shall last."
Apr. 27, 1820. " Voted to have a Pedestal and a Pillar."
The record indicates that the lodge often responded to the calls of charity, and that differences between the brethren were usually referred to committees for adjustment.
The instructor seems to have been among the brethren in 1820, for the lodge voted to pay for the hall used by him.
Oct. 19. The Lodge was removed to the hall of Mr. Oakes.1
" Voted that spirituous liquors be prohibited in the Lodge after this date."
The provision in the by-laws for assessments was disapproved.
June 14, 1821. " Voted to purchase silk, red, for sashes for the offi- cers of this Lodge, likewise Trimming for the same."
June 25. The Lodge celebrated St. John's day in private by listen- ing to an oration by Dr. Thomas McDole, and to a recitation of a section of the first degree by Bros. Kidder and Barker.
June 24, 1822. Celebrated St. John's Day. " Received a sermon delivered by Rev. David Sutherland."
Aug. 29. Voted to summon Bro. Ralph Bugbee [Senior] before the Lodge.
This, the late Nathan Pike, Jr., told us was a case of discipline growing out of a practical joke played off upon the brethren by the doctor at his house-raising. After many adjournments it ended in an apology by the doctor.
June 24, 1823. Celebrated St. John's Day. Discourse was by Rev. Mr. Hall for which the Lodge voted him $5.00.
May 9, 1824. "Voted to have a Mark Masters Lodge in this place."
Dec. 30. "Voted to hire a lecturing master for the benefit of this Lodge. $30 appropriated from the funds of the Lodge for this pur- pose."
1 Henry Oakes, formerly a merchant of this town, and grandfather of Henry O. Kent, of Lancaster.
VOL. II .- 36
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History of Littleton.
Nov. 31, 1825. "Voted to take the ' Masonic Mirror' six months."
May 10. The test degree received from Chas. Abbott by several members.
June 15. " Voted to dine at Brother Pike's at the festival, 25th in- stant. Chose Brother C. Day as Grand Marshal and Brother A. Brackett as Marshal of the Ladies.
"Voted to have the Master engage the St. Johnsbury Band of Music to play at the Festival."
Aug. 18. " Voted the Lodge accept Wm. Mann's hall the ensuing year on the following terms, viz .: The Hall furnished and candles and furniture gratis, and liquor at cost freight and three per cent. coms."
Nov. 9. " Wm. Brackett, James Joslyn and Laban Tift chosen a committee to procure the use of the hall from Lyman Dewey, who re- ported that he would furnish refreshments and accommodations on the same conditions proposed and agreed to by Mr. Mann."
July 26, 1828. " E[than] A[llen] Crawford was then initiated into the degree of entered apprentice in due form."
This was the last degree work performed by the lodge.
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