USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 61
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The present officers are : Wilbur W. Cragie, Noble Grand ; Charles Elliott, Vice Grand ; S. Everett Richardson, Secretary ; Edward H. Wells, Treasurer; Edward Pyer, Conductor ; Philip Nessor, Warden.
Littleton Encampment No. 26, I. O. O. F., was instituted, April 3, 1879, by the officers of Grand Lodge. The officers then installed were Chauncey H. Greene, Chief Patriarch ; George T. Cruft, High Priest ; E. B. Hamblin, Senior Warden ; George W. Barrett, Scribe ; Elbridge Flint, Treasurer ; Henry J. Fisher, Junior War- den. The present officers (1903) are Cyprian Trombley, Chief Patriarch ; George H. Van Ness, High Priest ; E. B. Hamblin, Senior Warden ; Percival S. Graham, Scribe ; Orrin W. Hunkins,
591
Odd Fellows and other Fraternal Orders.
Treasurer ; John K. Beers, Junior Warden. The present mem- bership of the encampment is sixty-five.
Grand Canton Albin was organized in 1887 with a membership of seventy-five members, of whom William A. Richardson, Cap- tain, Henry J. Fisher, Lieutenant, Fred A. Russell, Ensign, were charter members.
Helen L. Fisher Rebekah Degree Lodge No. 54, I. O. O. F., was established, June 7, 1893, with the following officers : Jay O. Galer, Noble Grand ; Mrs. Lillian M. Hunkins, Vice Grand ; Mrs. Jane A. Galer, Secretary ; Mrs. Eliza Huron, Treasurer ; Mrs. Nettie F. Kelley, Conductor ; and Mrs. Mary E. Flint, Warden.
It will be seen that fraternal organizations did not thrive in Littleton half a century ago. The Odd Fellows were the first to institute a lodge. They were followed by the Sons of Temperance. The influence of Know-Nothingism was such as to place all secret societies under a ban for several years. During this period both the Odd Fellows and Sons of Temperance surrendered their char- ters. It was at the beginning of the Know-Nothing episode that the first attempt was made to establish a Masonic Lodge, an effort that was postponed for several years, and its final institution was the first event to mark the passing of the prejudice against such societies that had prevailed since 1854.
Within twenty years there has been a marked tendency to patronize such orders in the town. Taken in their order of found- ing, lodges of the following societies have been established here in that period : Knights of Honor ; the Grange and its auxiliary societies, if they be classed with the fraternal orders ; the French- Canadian Society, Catholic Order of Foresters, the Independent Order of Foresters, and Knights of Pythias, each of which has a well-established lodge or society in Littleton. These are exclusive of the temperance societies, and the social and women's clubs that are not secret organizations.
The first Lodge of Good Templars was organized in the autumn of 1865 with a large membership. The temperance laws of the State had not been enforced systematically during the war period, and the condition of affairs was of a character to induce temper- ance people to organize to put down the evil. They chose this society as the agency for the accomplishment of their purpose. The officers at the time of its institution were: George Farr, Worthy Chief Templar; Mrs. Elizabeth Hodgman, W. Vice Tem- plar ; Lafayette Noble, W. Secretary ; Charles Hodgman, W. Treas- urer ; Nelson C. Farr, W. Financial Secretary, and John Merrill, W. Chaplain. In the chapter on Temperance will be found an account of the history of this lodge in Littleton.
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History of Littleton.
Chiswick Lodge No. 2411, Knights of Honor, was established March 31, 1881. Its first officers were as follows: Thaddeus E. Sanger, Dictator ; Fred. B. Wright, Vice Dictator; Robert M. Dow, Assistant Dictator ; Henry F. Green, Reporter; William H. Bellows, Financial Reporter; and Oscar C. Hatch, Treasurer. The present officers, in the order named above, are : Charles Eaton, Henry F. Green, Allen J. Church, George R. Williamson, and Benjamin F. Wells.1
The French-Canadian Society - as its name indicates - is com- posed exclusively of French Canadians, or their descendants born in this country. This society was organized December 16, 1892. It has a large membership and is in a flourishing condition. At the time of its institution it was officered as follows: Charles Laflame, President ; Ubald Cormier, Secretary, and Louis Cayer, Treasurer. The present board (1903) consists of Victor Aude- beau, Ubald Cormier, and Archie Ricard.
The Catholic Order of Foresters, St. Rose of Sima Court, No. 526, was chartered August 28, 1895, when its officers con- sisted of Cyrille J. Paradis, Chief Ranger ; Charles F. Kelley, Vice Chief Ranger ; Louis E. Gireaux, Secretary. The official board for 1903 is : Frank Vignau, Francis Garneau, and Eugene Byron.
The Independent Order of Foresters Court Ammonoosuc No. 1995, was established October 8, 1895, with a board of officers consisting of Fred A. Thorn, C. D. H. Chief Ranger ; Henry O. Jackson, Chief Ranger ; Otis H. Merrill, Vice Chief Ranger ; George Walker, Recording Secretary ; George C. Austin, Finan- cial Secretary ; George E. Walker, Treasurer ; Charles Brown, Senior Warden ; Henry D. Harriman, Junior Warden, and George F. Abbott, Physician. In 1900 C.D. H. Chief Ranger was dis- continued. The other officers in the order named above are : F. W. Page, Edward McCray, Frank C. Brown, Elmer E. Russell, Adam Prindle, Joseph Lakeway, Joseph Houle, and John M. Page.
Chiswick Lodge Knights of Pythias was organized August 9, 1895. Among the charter members were Frank L. Dunlap, James J. Harrington, Erving S. Prescott, Charles P. Barnum, Charles E. Smith, Eldridge C. Young, Fred. J. Gonyer, J. A. Fogg, E. P. Parlin, W. C. Spencer, E. E. Wells, W. C. Chase, F. M. Strain, F. B. Hatch, E. B. Lynch, and Charles McCarthy.
1 The position of Assistant Dictator was abolished in 1900.
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Agriculture.
LV.
AGRICULTURE.
F OR eighty years following the settlement of the town agricul- ture was the chief industry of the inhabitants. The soil here was of the same general character as that found in the hill towns of the State ; strong and difficult of cultivation on account of the rocks that incumbered its surface, but, when subdued by the arts of the husbandman, yielding an abundant harvest to reward his toil.
The soil is as diverse in quality as in the form which nature has given it. Snow, in making his survey and allotment, noted briefly in his field book the general characteristics of the territory traversed by him. That on Mann's Hill and at North Littleton was described as "good wheat land," that to the north of the old meeting-house as " cold but good grass land," and several lots on or near Mount Misery as " the seat of poverty ; " the Ammonoosuc meadows were "good but not equal to the Cohos meadows," and those on the Connecticut at North Littleton were " thin and poor, especially the upper lots." On the whole, according to his judg- ment, the good wheat and grass lands largely predominated, and the trial of years has approved the conclusions he then reached. The same criticism might have been made by Robert Charlton in his field book of the survey of the west end.
The variety of that class of products on which the farmers have relied at different times to market for cash or its equivalent has been described to some extent in the Annals in the first volume, and need not be stated at length here. Taken in the order of succession, they have been salts or potashes, beef and pork slaughtered, then beef on the hoof, potatoes for starch, hops, and the products of the dairy, and, since 1835, cord wood has been an unfailing source of revenue. Each of these products of the farm was produced in abundance in the different periods of demand.
VOL. II .- 38
594
History of Littleton.
For a hundred years the method of cultivating the soil was practically the same, the same tools were used, and the same system of rotation of crops followed. In the seasons of planting and harvesting the farmer was in the field at dawn, and his day's work was ended only when the light of day had vanished. In this as in other departments' of human endeavor inventive genius has come to the aid of the husbandman with machinery that has lessened his hours of labor and brought them to corre- spond in a measure to those of the mechanic. Among the marked results brought about by a change of implements have been the smoothing of the surface of the farms and substitution of wire fences for those of brush and stumps once so common. Improve- ments on the farms of the town have kept pace with those in the village in appearance, and probably in all other respects, during the last thirty years.
The large summer population in this section, and the develop- ment of the manufacturing industries of the town, have combined to make this one of the best, if not the very best, market in the State for farm products. The merchants in recent years have, to a considerable extent, co-operated with the farmers in establishing prices, and the average for twenty years will show that they have received the maximum price for their products in the State. How far tlie change in the method of disposing of the products of the dairy by sending milk to the Boston market may have affected their income cannot be estimated with anything approaching exactness, as there are no statistics obtainable upon which to base an estimate.
Fifty years ago the New Hampshire Agriculture Society held an annual fair in the cities or large towns of the southern or central part of the State. Its management was in the hands of farmers, and the fairs were creditable exhibitions of the products of the farms. Racing was an incident and not the main purpose of tliese fairs, and they did much to create an interest in and advance the cause of agriculture in the State. There were many what we may term subsidiary organizations, mostly in the different counties, but some represented geographical rather than political districts. Of the last-named class was the Ammonoosuc Valley Agriculture Society, which usually held its annual fair in this town. The first exhibition given here was on September 24, 1852. It was a beau- tiful day, and two thousand people were present. The exhibit of the products of the valley was unexpectedly large and varied, in- cluding two hundred and fifty yoke of oxen, one town team having eighty pair attached to a cart. There was also an excellent display
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Agriculture.
of horses and cattle. The women contributed a large number of useful and artistic articles, the Granite Hall being used as a Floral Hall on this occasion. The exhibit of agricultural imple- ments, churns, and tools, by J. Kilburn & Son and David Page Sanborn, were among the attractions of this hall also. Subse- quent fairs by this society were held once or twice at Bath, and possibly elsewhere, but notwithstanding its first success in this town, no other was held here.
The Grafton County Agricultural Society, an organization officered by residents of Lyme, Orford, and Wentworth, with a committee list containing representatives of nearly all the towns in the western judicial district of the county, held its fair for 1859 in this town. Its exhibition was given on the Bowman meadow, the lower level of which was converted into a race course where a number of trotters famous at the time contested for supremacy. The steep bank which runs parallel with Union Street was con- verted into a grand stand by building board seats along its surface. A Floral Hall was erected, seventy feet in length and twenty feet in width. A band stand, which was also used as a judges' stand during the races, was built opposite the seats on the bank and separated from them by the race track. The races were regarded as a great success, the best time made being 2.42, which was fast for those days. Black Diamond, owned in Stanstead, Lower Canada, was the winner. Music by Holderness and Littleton Brass Bands was the principal amusement feature on this occasion. This exhibition lasted through two days.
The same society held its fair here the following year, on the same grounds with substantially the same programme. E. D. Rand delivered an unusually interesting address; his agricultural lore was mostly ancient, referring as it did to times sung by Virgil and Horace, and his " horse talk" was confined to the exploits of Rosinante, the steed of the immortal Knight of La Mancha. This was the last exhibition given by this society here. We believe it was soon after reorganized, and its permanent fair grounds established at Plymouth.
In 1863 a number of Littleton people who were interested in agriculture in general, and in horse racing in particular, purchased the land lying between what is now the plant of the Pike Manu- facturing Company and the Allen place, at the corner of Union Street and the Bethlehem road at Apthorp, constructed an excel- lent half-mile track, and built a large Floral Hall, grand stand, and judges' stand, with pens for cattle, and other needful buildings for a fair ground. These grounds were first used for their designated
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History of Littleton.
purpose on October 7 and 8, 1863, when a fair that divided with impartial exactness the attention of visitors between pure agri- cultural products and an agricultural horse trot met with the success that was its due, and rewarded in a liberal manner the acumen of its projectors. Fully four thousand people were present on the second day of the fair. This success was repeated in 1864. The management this time gave more attention to the lovers of the horse than to the followers of the plough, which led to so much dissatisfaction that no effort was made in 1865 to give an exhibition. The races of 1864 attracted muchi attention, and the record of the town was lowered by a second, the race being won by Draco 2.41.
In the summer of 1866 W. W. Cameron leased the grounds for two years. He was a noted handler of fast horses, and under his management several meets were arranged in 1866 and the following year. The first in 1866 was patronized by horsemen, and was a fair success, as were those of the succeeding year, but they had nothing of an agricultural flavor ; and when in 1868 the Connecticut Valley and Grafton County Agricultural Societies held a joint fair here, they met with failure, more probably on account of rainy weather than the disfavor of the farmers arising from the exclusive use of the grounds for track performances in the preceding seasons. The want of success on this occasion dis- couraged the parties interested, and no efforts were afterward made to hold fairs here.
in 1870 Charles A. Sinclair and others purchased the property, and for a few years used it for trotting purposes, and a number of successful meetings were held. With the removal of Colonel Sinclair from town, in 1874, the grounds were no longer used for the purposes for which they had been set apart.
The early fairs served to stimulate agricultural interest, espe- cially in the direction of cattle breeding and, to a less extent, in horticulture, and for a time their influence was continued, but when the interest waned the industry lost its stimulating force and there was no unity or rivalry among those engaged in the calling.
The movement culminating in the various forms of organized labor was one of the most prominent of the nineteenth century. The various crafts had their guilds hundreds of years before, but there was antagonism rather than union among the different trades, and, in this country at least, there had been no effort to combine in any form on a considerable scale for mutual protection among those engaged in agricultural pursuits. The numbers employed in this calling, the wide diversity of their products, and
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Agriculture.
the fact that they were proprietors and employers of labor were obstacles to union that were not common to the occupations that organized the unions of laboring men.
The grange differs in many ways from the unions. It is largely a social organization, and is free from the arbitrary features that characterize those societies, and the financial benefits derived from membership have come mostly through indirect channels. This organization within a few years became one of the powerful socie- ties of this country.
The grange in this town was formed February 19, 1875, by Stephen Richardson, of Columbia, master of the grange in that town. Through the efforts of John C. Quimby, thirty-one persons met in Weeks' Hall 1 and were organized under the title of White Mountain Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. The charter members were Abijah Allen, Mrs. Adeline Allen, Charles R. Allen, Charles W. Bedell, Mrs. Mary Bedell, Mrs. D. Y. Clarke, Mrs. Melissa English, Marshall C. Dodge, John W. Farr, John W. English, Mrs. A. T. Farr, Charles H. Fitch, Chester M. Goodwin, Noah Farr, George O. W. Hatch, Milo Harris, Sophronia Hale, Warren McIntire, Amos H. Mills, Mrs. Ella Mills, Frank I. Parker, John C. Quimby, Henry Richardson. Mrs. Betsey Wallace, Amos P. Wallace, Edward O. Wheeler, William Wheeler, and Mrs. Eliza Wheeler.
The organization was perfected by the election and installation of officers : Abijah Allen, Master ; Chester M. Goodwin, Over- seer ; Warren McIntire, Lecturer ; Noah Farr, Steward ; Wil- liam Harriman, Assistant Steward ; John C. Quimby, Chaplain ; Amos P. Wallace, Treasurer ; John W. English, Secretary ; Marshall C. Dodge, Gate Keeper ; Mrs. Jane Quimby, Ceres ; Mrs. Mary Bedell, Pomona; Sophronia Hale, Flora, and Mrs. Eliza Wheeler, Assistant Steward.
White Mountain Grange has had fourteen different Masters. Abijah Allen held the office seven years, from 1875 to 1882; John W. Farr, six years, from 1883 to 1885 and again from 1891 to 1893; William Harriman, three years; C. W. Bedell and Charles R. Allen, two years each ; Mrs. A. T. Farr, one year ; D. B. Crane, one year ; Leslie F. Bean, two years ; and Elmer E. Crane, two years.
From the beginning to the present time this grange has been well officered by substantial men and women, and has steadily increased its membership until at the present time, 1903, it has one hundred and ninety-three members.
1 Formerly Brackett's Hall in the Calhoun Block.
598
History of Littleton.
At the beginning its meetings were held in Weeks Hall, and afterward in Farr's Hall. Grange Hall, at the corner of Union and Pine Streets, was built in 1877, and there the meetings were held for twenty years. This property was owned by the grange, and was sold in 1897, and the meetings have since been held at Odd Fellows Hall. Field meetings have, as is usual with the organization, been held at appropriate seasons, and all have been of a character calculated to promote its highest interests. Inter- change of ideas has benefited the members, and the social influence has broken the monotony and given an added zest to those who in the past have narrowed their daily rule of conduct to a close adherence to business.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of White Mountain Grange, No. 50, was appropriately observed on the 19th of February, 1900. At a regular meeting of the grange on August 28, 1899, resolutions in relation to the observance of the event were passed, and an executive committee, consisting of Charles E. Swasey, Charles E. Baker, Charles R. Allen, with Leslie F. Bean, Worthy Master, and Stella M. Bean, Secretary, as members ex officio, was appointed to arrange and carry out a programme. At a subsequent meeting the executive committee recommended the appointment of the Rev. John C. Osgood, Elmer E. Crane, Mrs. Mary E. Baker, Mrs. Sarah Farr, Mrs. Jennie D. Henry, and Mrs. Lydia Mooney, as a sub-committee, and they were appointed by the Master. The committees were divided into sub-committees as follows : On reception, Leslie F. Bean and Stella M. Bean ; on programme, Charles E. Baker and the Rev. J. C. Osgood; on music, Charles E. Swasey and Mrs. J. D. Henry ; on refreshment, Charles R. Allen, Elmer E. Crane, Mrs. Mary E. Baker, Mrs. Sarah Farr, and Mrs. Lydia Mooney.
The exercises were largely attended, many persons from abroad being present. The State grange was represented by State Master N. J. Bachelder, State Lecturer H. H. Metcalf, State Secretary E. C. Hutchinson, and General Deputy Thomas H. White. The address of welcome was made by the Rev. J. C. Osgood, and the response was by H. H. Metcalf. An address by the organizer of this grange, Stephen Richardson, of Utah, was read by Mrs. Jennie D. Henry. Then came the historical address by Charles E. Baker, followed by a poem by Mrs. Flora J. Miles, of Northern Pomona Grange. At the evening session Master Elmer E. Crane presided, and the exercises consisted of song, recitations, and readings by pupils of our schools, and remarks by visiting members.
Northern New Hampshire Pomona Grange was organized in
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Agriculture.
White Mountain Grange Hall, January 24, 1888, with thirty-six charter members, of which eighteen were members of White Moun- tain Grange, six of Ammonoosuc Grange, Bath, six of Mount Washington Grange, Whitefield, four of Lancaster Grange, Lan- caster, and two of Monroe Grange, Monroe. George Farr was chosen the First Master; William Harriman, Treasurer ; Mrs. John W. Farr, Pomona, and C. W. Bedell, a member of the execu- tive committee. It was also voted at this meeting " that Little- ton be the home of the Pomona Grange." This, like the local grange, has had a successful history, and is among the most pros- perous of those under the jurisdiction of the State grange.
That these institutions have been instrumental in advancing the cause of agriculture cannot be doubted. Scientific farming is being substituted - slowly, to be sure, for the farmer is a natural conser- vative - for old methods of hap-hazard agriculture, and worn-out lands are being restored to their former fertility and produc- tiveness, while crops that impoverished the land have made way for those that ultimately insure its enrichment. At no time since 1850 have the farms of the town been so well cultivated or so generally productive as they are in this year of our Lord nineteen hundred and three.
600
History of Littleton.
LVI. COURTS.
U 'NTIL within a quite recent period the " shire town " was the centre from which radiated the political and business in- fluence of the county. The establishment of the courts was once, in the early history of the State, an issue which commanded uni- versal interest, and for which many towns contended. Until within the memory of many now living, the volume of litigated legal business was many times larger than at present, and the semi-annual terms of the courts extended their sessions into months, and brought to the shire town all the prominent men of the county. Haverhill and Plymouth thus became the resi- dence of the leading lawyers, and seats of influence for a period of nearly a hundred years.
Littleton, like all other towns not favored by the location of the county court, however, had its justice courts, which were in early times the scene of many important and exciting incidents, then regarded as of more importance by the people than are now the sessions of the highest judicial body. The courts over which the Rev. David Goodall, Joseph Robins, Guy Ely, Simeon B. John- son, and their successors presided as magistrates filled a large space in the public eye. They were at first held at the office of the attorney bringing the action, but in the course of time the rights of the people were considered, and then the trials upon complaints were held at the tavern or at the hall over the store of W. C. & A. Brackett.
The dockets of these magistrates have not all been preserved, but those of Guy Ely and Joseph Robins are in the vaults of the Town Clerk, and are interesting, as they cast a strong light on the litigious spirit of the time. The records of Esquire Ely begin in 1819 with an entry of the case of John Nurs v. Oliver Sawyer heard at "Hind's office, April 3," in which action judgment was rendered for the defendant, costs taxed at ninety cents ; and end " on Saturday the 6th day of Feb. A. D. 1847," with an entry of a case in which Charles M. Tuttle was plaintiff and "Luis Sauqua " defendant. In this last case the plaintiff was more for-
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Courts.
tunate than was Mr. Nurs, as judgment was rendered in his be- half for damages of $2.61, and costs taxed at $2.70.
The docket of " Esquire " Robins has its first entry " on the 10 day of November A. D. 1821," when the case of Benjamin Bemis v. Alfred Closon was entered. In this action the plaintiff recov- ered damages of $2.39, with costs taxed at $6.27, and the last civil action was that of Edward Strain v. Daniel Elliott, in which the plaintiff recovered judgment for $9.70, with costs amounting to $3.40. Magistrate Robins entered his criminal complaints in a separate docket in the same book. Other parties to suits ap- pearing often are Vespatian Wheeler, Parker Cushman, Daniel Bemis, Samuel F. Hammond, who brought or answered what may be termed neighborhood suits, - trespasses, injury to stock, and other causes indicating strained neighborly relations. In this class of cases the magistrate usually found for the plaintiff, and assessed damages at fifty cents or a dollar. Long credits often brought the merchants into court with small matters for collection. In these suits appear the names of Roby, Curtis, & Co., Henry Oakes, Oakes & Parks, George Little, W. C. & A. Brackett, and Hamlin Rand as plaintiffs. On the criminal side are complaints ranging from simple assault to that of uttering counterfeit money. There are ten complaints for passing counterfeit money against one person who lived in that part of Lisbon adjoining Franconia, on all of which he was held for the Grand Jury.
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