USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > History of Manchester, formerly Derryfield, in New-Hampshire : including that of ancient Amoskeag, or the middle Merrimack Valley, together with the address, poem, and other proceedings of the centennial celebration of the incorporation of Derryfield at Manchester, October 22, 1851 > Part 2
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6. POEM .- By WILLIAM STARK, Esq.
7. ORIGINAL HYMN .- (By WM. STARK, Esq.) Sung by the Audience.
TUNE-Old Hundred.
Oh God, to thee our voices raise, The Song of glory and of praise ; Our Fathers worshipp'd at thy throne, Their chidren bow to thee alone.
We thank thee for thy goodness shown, In former years which long have flown ; In name of those who gave us birth, We thank thee, God of Heaven and Earth.
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Thy heart, so kind in days of yore, Still gives as freely as before ; Where'er we live, where'er we roam, Thy hand protects our native home.
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God of our fathers, now to thee, Let all the.praise and glory be ; In thee we've found all good before, In thee we'll trust, forever more.
8. BENEDICTION .- By Rev. HENRY S. CLARKE.
Thursday, 2 o'clock, P. M. Oct. 23, 1851,
The committee met at the call of the Chairman.
The Secretary being absent, on motion of Daniel Clark, Esq. I. W. Smith, Esq. was chosen Secretary pro tempore.
On motion of David Gillis, Esq.
Resolved, That the thanks of the Committee be presented to the Rev. Mr. Wallace, and to William Stark, Esq., for the very interesting and appropriate Address and Poem, delivered by them respectively, on the 22d instant, on the occasion of the Centennial Celebration of the Incorporation of Manchester, and that they be requested to furnish copies of the same for publication.
Voted, That the Secretary pro tem. communicate the above Resolution to Messrs. Wallace and Stark.
Voted to adjourn. I. W. SMITH, Sec'y. pro tem.
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OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER.
ADDRESS.
BY REV. CYRUS W. WALLACE.
Many solemn reflections rush upon the mind on an occasion like the present. A century ! How many events of thrilling interest, which left their impress on after time, have been crowded into its passing years.
And how many other events, unknown to the world and to fame,-but which really constitute the sum of human life,- have perished from the records of the living. Three genera- tions have been swept from the earth during this period .- What hopes, what fears, what joys, what sorrows, once animat- ed the bosoms of those millions, who now sleep in the dust.
The past is the key to the future. The crowning excellence of man appears in that he is able to profit by the experience of those who have lived before him. One generation can com- mence their researches and improvements where the preceeding terminated-thus showing the vast superiority of the lowest reason over the highest instinct.
An hundred years afford time for the trial of great experiments. A nation will scarcely attain its manhood, and demonstrate that its institutions rest on a firm basis, in a period less extended.
The first inhabitants of a new country are mainly drawn to- gether by certain affinities of blood, or religious, or industrious habits. They lay foundations as in their wisdom they deem best. And when a period has elapsed sufficient to make a fair experiment, it is well to inquire for the result. Do we not thus learn what are the true elements of national life ? Are we not enabled to judge what are the institutions, civil and religious, that tend to secure the richest and most lasting blessings ? 'Tis well, also, to walk among the graves of the departed, because it chastens the spirit, and reminds us that we are actors in a vast drama, whose shifting scenes will soon introduce us to an- other state of being.
Surely it is the dictate of wisdom, to study the history of those who have lived before us, that we may avoid their follies, and improve by their experience.
The original charter by which the town of Derryfield was in- corporated, bears date Sept. 3, 1751. It was granted by
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George II, styled in the instrument, "By the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Holland, King, Defender of the Faith," and signed by Benning Wentworth, Governor and com- mander of the Province of New Hampshire.
The first town meeting was called by John McMurphy, and was held Sept. 20, at the house of John Hall, Innholder.
The tract of land covered by the Charter, embraced a portion of what was originally Chester, a part of Londonderry, and likewise a piece of land belonging to the purchase of John Tufton Mason, and never before included in any town .*
This last mentioned tract was a narrow strip of land, eight miles in length, situated on the bank of the river. In the ear- ly records, it is sometimes called " waste land," and sometimes dignified with the name " Harrytown." In 1810, the name of Derryfield, by act of the legislature, was changed to that of Manchester. It has been said that this change of name was suggested and mainly effected by the efforts of a man then res- ident in the town, by the name of Stickney, who predicted that, as a manufacturing place, Manchester of New England would one day vie in importance with the Manchester of Old England.
Much of the soil is of a light, sandy quality, and poorly adapted to thriving agriculture, yet there are some farms that will bear comparison with any in the neighboring towns, and, taken as a whole, it would seem, that the land is better than the reputation it has had in former years.
A few weeks since, I met an old man above 80, a native of the town. At the age of 21 he emigrated to the western part of the State, and his early impressions as to the poverty of the land, I found were very vivid. He said "his father owned 400 acres, and he was an only son. But," said he, "it was not worth ninepence an acre. My father wished me to stay with him ; but I told him I could not,-I must go where land was better."
And he related the old story of the grass-hopper, which was found by the traveller on some of the Manchester pine plains, wiping the tears from its swarthy cheeks; and when inquired of about the cause of its grief, replying, " the last mullen leaf is wasting, and I see nothing but certain death by starvation."
The Indians left this part of the country some years before the white man made any permanent settlement. The Pena- cooks, who inhabited the valley of the Merrimack as far down as Nashua and Lowell, removed from this ancient seat of the
* Appendix A.
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OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER.
Sagamons, about 1680 or '85 .* Historians are not agreed as to what became of the last remnant of this once powerful, and re- markably friendly tribe.
Wonnalancet and a part of his tribe, went to Canada soon af- ter the war with Philip. Some suppose they all went. But as we hear of the Penacook and other Indians, in connexion with an attack on the settlement of Dover, some years later, the most probable conclusion is, that the tribe had separated, a part going with their chief to Canada, while the rest united with other Indians at the East, about the Androscoggin in Maine.
We have no time to devote to the Indian history, and yet we cannot pass it by, without feelings of regret and of pity for the poor red man.
Once he stood the proud monarch of the western world .- But the white man came, and the sons of the forest faded away before the march of civilization, till now only a few scattered remnants are left to tell us of their former greatness. It is sad, thus to see a mighty people pass away, even though a nation more mighty may take their place. And a deeper sadness comes over us, from the conviction that this was a much injured race, and, though themselves guilty of cruelty, yet experiencing cru- elty perhaps still greater from those who became possessors of the soil.
An anonymous poet expresses the truth but too plainly, when he makes the Indian say,
"I will go to my tent and lie down in despair, I will paint me with black and sever my hair, I will sit on the shore where the hurricane blows, And reveal to the God of the tempest, my woes.
I will weep for a season, on bitterness fed, For my kindred are gone to the mounds of the dead ; But they died not by hunger, or wasting decay, The steel of the white man has swept them away."
It was probably nearly forty years after the Indians left this part of the Merrimack valley, that white men first became per- manent residents in this town. The exact date of the first set- tlement cannot now be determined.
The first inhabitants of Londonderry arrived in 1719. That town was settled very rapidly, and as the land was taken up, the people spread into other townships.
Bedford (Souhegan East ) received her first inhabitants in 1737. Tradition says that Derryfield began to be settled a year or two
* Appendix B.
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previous. The Walkers, who were the first to make a settle- ment in Bedford, lived a short time on this side the river, near Moor's Ferry, (Goff's Falls, ) before they commenced west of the Merrimack.
Archibald Stark, father of the General, came into town in 1736. Col. John Goff was probably among the first residents. His home was at Goff's Falls. He afterwards moved to Bedford. The Perham family, also Hall, Dickey and McMurphy were among the early settlers.
So far as can now be ascertained, there are no authentic re- cords, to any great extent, that reach back prior to the incor- poration of the town. Some scraps of history are found, relat- ing to individuals, but nothing like a connected account of the first settlement.
Church records, which usually furnish the earliest and most accurate information, concerning the settlement of our New England towns, are here entirely wanting.
From what data we have, however, there is no difficulty in tracing the origin of a majority of the early inhabitants. They were from the north of Ireland, or sons of the first settlers of Londonderry. Their ancestors were of Scotch origin, and in those days were called " Scotch Irish."
Col. Barnes, in his centennial address at Bedford, says, " It is true that nearly all this class of settlers, or their fathers and mothers, came to this country directly from the great northern province of Ulster, in Ireland; yet they were nevertheless not Irishmen. No Irish blood ran in their veins. The two races were, and are entirely distinct, as much as it is possible they can be, with the same general features and the same color." No one acquainted with the history of the Scotch and Irish, will doubt the correctness of what is here said of the distinction between the two races.
During the reign of Henry VIII, there began in England and Scotland a long and bitter struggle for supremacy, between the Episcopal church on the one hand, and the church of Rome on the other. It was a struggle for power, without very much of conscience or piety in either party. About the same time, there arose a third party, the Puritans in England and the Presbyte- rians in Scotland. They contended for greater rights of con- science, and for a purer faith and form of worship, and in con- sequence were persecuted both by King and Pope.
To escape from this persecution, to enjoy liberty of con- science, and to leave to their children an inheritance of civil
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OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER.
and religious liberty, the Puritans sought an asylum in this western world.
About the same time, and for the same purpose, large num- bers of the Scotch emigrated to the north of Ireland. But not finding there all the freedom they desired, many of them, or their descendants, emigrated a second time, and came to this country. One colony settled in Londonderry, and from thence went out many of the first inhabitants of Bedford, New Boston, Antrim, Peterborough, Acworth and Manchester. Most of the first settlers of Manchester were, therefore, of the right stock. Perhaps a nobler race of men never lived, than the Scotch Irish. It is true they did not possess so much that is courteous and refined in manner, as may be desirable, and in those qualities they might be behind their English neighbors; bnt in stern in- tegrity, in uprightness of purpose, in a conscientious regard to truth, they were surpassed by no men who ever lived.
They were the worthy descendants of those who withstood the long and bloody seige of Londonderry, in their adopted Ire- land ; worthy themselves to lay the foundation of civil and re- ligious liberty in their chosen country-worthy to be the fath- ers of those, who afterwards fought at Bunker Hill and Benning- ton.
It is worthy of notice, that among the most distinguished opposers of British aggression, were the Scotch Irish. The doctrine of the divine right of kings, which had so long held in chains the best minds of Old England, and which had contrib- uted to warp the consciences of not a few in New England, had long sat loosely on the minds of the emigrants from Ulster in Ireland. Their views of religious liberty, the rights of con- science and of the obligations of the law of God, as above all edicts of kings and popes, contributed to this result. The civil and religious oppression they had felt in the mother country, had prepared both the Puritan and Presbyterian mind to throw off, in this country, without any sacrifice of conscience, allegi- ance to the king and parliament.
Those who acknowledged the king to be the head of the church, found a serious draw-back to their patriotism, in their religious obligations. It was not so with dissenters in England and Scotland. They had already found a " Church without a Bishop," and from that, the step was a short one to a "State without a King."
Hence, when the cry " to arms " sounded along the valley of the Merrimack, the Scotch Irish were ready for the conflict .- Not only had they no scruples of conscience to overcome, but
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conscience was with them. Like Cromwell and his men, they carried the force of religious principle into the hottest of the fight. Their trust was in the righteousness of their cause. The blow they struck was for "God and their native land."
Thus in the town of Londonderry there were but 15 men who refused to sign what was called "The Association Test ;" by which they pledged themselves " at the risk of life and fortune, with arms, to oppose the hostile proceedings of British fleets and armies." And in forty days after the battle of Bunker Hill, they had nearly one hundred men in the Continental army.
Bedford, also, possessed the same spirit. Not a single man, except the minister, refused to sign the "test act." The same was true of New Boston, Antrim and Peterborough. The best of their sons marched to the bloody field, and did noble service for the truth and the right. Nor was Derryfield, according to her numbers and ability, a whit behind the best of them. The selectmen, in their return, say, "we have presented the within declarations to the inhabitants of said town, and they have all signed said declarations, which we, in our judgement, thought had a right to sign the same." And they were ready to perform all that the test required. First among the number of patriotic citizens, stands the name of Stark.
Gen. John Stark was one of those men, who are raised up for a specific purpose, prepared beforehand for great events, rea- dy at the hour of trial, to perform the duty assigned them.
His early life was spent in this then frontier settlement, inur- ing him in youth to danger and hardship. Spending much of his time in hunting, he often came in contact with wandering parties of Indians, and once became their prisoner.
At the age of 26, at the commencement of the French and Indian war, he entered the British army as an officer. Through a long and bloody campaign, he served faithfully at one of the most important and dangerous posts of duty.
Twelve years after, when the war of the revolution began, he was among the first to march to the scene of conflict.
Although he had been an officer in the British army, and many who had served with him, (his own brother, among oth- ers,) were found opposed to the colonists, Stark was, from the first, true to the cause. Says his biographer,-" Within ten minutes after the reception of the intelligence of the battle of Lexington, Stark had mounted his horse and was on his way towards the sea-coast, having directed the volunteers of his neighborhood to meet at Medford."
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OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER.
After the battle of Bunker-hill, he remained some time in the army under the immediate command of Washington, taking part in several engagements, and everywhere distinguished as a brave officer. The event, however, which did most to establish the military character of Stark, was the battle of Bennington.
Taking all the circumstances into the account, circumstances which preceded, attended and followed the engagement, it was evidently one of the most important battles of the Revolution.
Up to this time, the American army had manifested skill and bravery, which would have gained credit on any sanguinary field. Still our arms had gained no decisive victory. Every- thing was dark. The colonists began to feel the burden of the war. They were disheartened, and doubt hung in gloom over the future. The mind of Washington himself was not entirely free from that doubt which pervaded other minds.
In a letter he wrote, dated only thirty days previous to this battle, he said, " Though our affairs have for some days worn a gloomy aspect, yet I look forward to a happy change." That happy change, which the hopeful mind of Washington anticipat- ed, occurred when Gen. Stark, at the head of troops raised in New Hampshire and Vermont, and among the hills of Berkshire, met the enemy at Bennington. It was a decisive victory. It turned the tide of affairs. It led the American people to "lose sight of past misfortunes, " and urged them to fly to arms, to af- ford every aid in their power.
From this hour the American cause brightened. Other suc- cessful engagements with the enemy soon followed; and the star of promise never again left our political sky, till the last for- eign foe was driven from our shores.
It is not claimed for Gen. Stark, that he possessed qualities of mind or heart, that in civil life, would have distinguished him above many other men. But, as a military officer, he had few equals. He belonged to the Putnam perhaps to the Napoleon school. He never dreamed of victory but by hard fighting ; and that hard fighting, he had both the courage and the will to per- form.
How large a number of Stark's townsmen fought with him the battles of our country, we are not informed. * I have met with the name of no one who deserted the American cause, ex- cept that of William, brother of the General, who became a Col. in the British army, and was killed by a fall from his horse on Long Island.
* Appendix C.
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From the records of the town at that exciting period, and from other historical fragments, it is evident there was no want of the right spirit among the inhabitants.
In March, 1775, the constable issued his warrant for town meeting, in the name of " His Majesty, the King." In Decem- ber of the same year, another meeting was called in the name of America. In the mean time, other steps were taken, which show there was no wavering in regard to the aggressions of Great Britain.
While, however, we delight to speak of the early inhabitants of this town as the sons of noble sires ; while it gives us pleasure to bear witness, that they stood shoulder to shoulder with their countrymen, in the struggle for Independence, still it must be confessed that in some important respects, they were unlike the first settlers of other towns who descended from the same noble ancestry. This difference appears in the sacrifices that were made to support the institutions of religion. Our Puritan fathers believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that " Godliness is pro- fitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." In accordance with this conviction, wherever they commenced a settlement, they laid the founda- tion of religious institutions, with forms of faith and worship, ac- cording to their views of the teachings of scripture.
The Scotch Presbyterians acted on the same principle. Wher- ever they went, the ark of God went with them. To build a tabernacle in the wilderness was among their first duties. The colony which came to Londonderry brought their minister, Rev. James McGregor with them. On the day after their arrival, under a large oak he preached from Isaiah 32-2. "And Aaron shall be a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
From that day the institutions of religion have been maintain- ed among the people. In Bedford, a similar course was pursu- ed. Within two months after the act of incorporation, a call was extended to a minister to become their pastor. He declin- ed, but others were invited. A pastor was soon settled, and the institutions of religion have been maintained by their descend- ants to this day.
From some cause, however, a different state of things pre- vailed here. For some years after the incorporation of the town, a good degree of interest was manifested in the support of reli- gious institutions, as appears from the following records ;- At
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OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER.
a legal meeting, called Nov. 1751 it was voted "to raise 24 pounds, old tenor, to pay for preaching the present year."
1753, an article was inserted in the warrant, calling the town- meeting,-" To see if the town will choose where the minister shall preach,"-and it was voted that " Benj. Stevens' barn and Wm. McClintock's barn be the place of public worship, till the money voted last March be expended."
The same year 1753, the town voted to extend a call to Rev. Mr. McDowell to become their minister, in connexion with Bed- ford. He however declined the offer. Twenty years after the town extended a call to Rev. George Gilmore, who likewise declined. The town continued to employ some clergyman to preach a few Sabbath's each year, but it does not appear that any minister of any denomination was ever settled in town, or became a permanent resident of it, until a very recent period.
In 1756, some steps were taken towards building a house of wor- ship, the same that now stands in the centre of the town. The work, however, proceeded very slowly. After some years the frame was put up. Then we hear in town meeting, about boarding and shingling the house, and still later, of setting up of doors, and, finally, in 1792, of the outside of the house being covered, and the pew-ground being sold to the highest bidder.
It could hardly be said, however, that the house was ever in a finished state, while it was occupied as a place of worship .- One part would decay before another part was completed, so that it was always in a dilapidated condition. And those who met there to attend to the ordinances of the gospel on a summer's Sabbath, might have been reminded of those beautiful words of the Psalmist : " The sparrow hath found a home, and the swal- low a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of Hosts."
No christian church was regularly constituted in this town, until within comparatively a recent period. The first organiz- ed, was a Presbyterian church at the centre of the town. The letter missive, inviting the council, was signed by twelve per- sons. The council was convened on the 21st of May, 1828, in the old meeting house. Of this council, Rev. Abraham Burn- ham was chosen Moderator, and Rev. Stephen Morse, scribe .- Six persons appeared and were examined on profession of their faith in Christ, and two presented letters from other churches. These eight persons, two men and six women, were organized into a church, and constituted the first church in Manchester .-- They soon received some accessions, but remained few in num- ber. They sustained the preaching of the gospel a part of the
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CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
time, but never had a pastor. Eleven years after, in August, 1839, this church united with the Congregational church at Amoskeag, and became the First Congregational Church in Man- chester. A pastor was settled over this church in January, 1840, and was the first of any denomination settled in the town.
The next church organized, was the Methodist, in Sept., 1829. An itinerant ministry has been sustained in connection with this church, I believe, since its organization.
(Other matters of an ecclesiastical character, of recent date are found noticed in their place, but come not within the scope of the present address.)
In the matter of education, the early inhabitants of the town pursued a course very different from that of their neighbors .- The good old Puritan custom of building the school house be- side the church, was imitated by the Scotch Irish. In 1753 a school was kept 6 months in Bedford. The same course had been pursued in Londonderry, and the example was followed by other towns.
But for some reason this town furnished an exception. At the annual meeting, 1756, the question of appropriating money for the support of schools was introduced, but the article was dismissed. A few years after it was called up again, and again voted down. The same question shared the same fate in a number of instances, till 1788, when a small sum was appro- priated to this purpose. But the next year a step backward was taken, and it was not till some years after, that there is evi- dence that the Common School System went into general op- eration.
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