History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 152

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1520

USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 152
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 152

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

He was appointed postmaster, under President Lin- coln, in 1861, and held the office until he resigned, in 1869.

In 1864 he spent some time in Virginia, in the service of the United States Christian Commission, having charge of Christian Commission headquarters of the Tenth Army Corps, being located on the Ber- muda Hundred, about two miles southeast of Dutch Gap.

He has served on the Board of Selectmen several times. In 1860 he was chosen a deacon of the Congre- gational Church, which office he continues to hold, and has identified himself with the moral and re- ligious interests of the community.

Mr. Little's home is the same that was occupied by his father and grandfather, who came here from New- buryport, Mass., in 1801. It is pleasantly located in the South village, near the Congregational Church with which Daniel Webster united in 1807, and was near the old academy in which Mr. Webster at- tended school. Such a location, amid the varied and beautiful scenery of these hill-tops, is a fit place for the development of physical and mental powers. They had the following children :

I. Thomas Rowell, born September 19, 1853; married, April 29, 1876, Carrie B., daughter of Lewis A. Hawkins.

II. Charles Webster, born December 20, 1855; died May 6, 1870.

III. Susan Paulina, born July 8, 1858; married, July 13, 1882, Rev. Samuel H. Barnum, son of Rev. S. W. Barnum, of New Haven, Conn.

IV. John Webster, born January 21, 1861; mar- ried, November 26, 1884, Hannah M., daughter of the late H. C. W. Moors.

V. Alice Maria, born June 4, 1866.

VI. Robert Smith, born May 7, 1870.

VII. William Dearborn, born January 11, 1874; died November 15, 1874.

VIII. Edwin Dearborn, born September 14, 1778.

1 HENRY PEARSONS ROLFE.

Henry Pearsons Rolfe was born in Boscawen Febru- ary 13, 1821. His father, Benjamin Rolfe, was also a

native of Boscawen. His grandparents, on his father's side, Benjamin and Lydia Pearsons Rolfe, came from Newbury, Mass., immediately after the close of the French War, and settled on the frontier in Bosca- wen, near the Salisbury line.

His mother, Margaret Searle Rolfe, was the daughter of Rev. Jonathan Searle, the first settled minister of Salisbury. His grandmother, on the ma- ternal side, was the daughter of Jethro Sanborn, a sea-captain, of Sandown, who, to feed our suffering soldiers at Valley Forge, gave a large share of his for- tune in exchange for depreciated Continental money, which became worthless, and for which the government never made any return to him or his heirs. Several thousand dollars of this irredeemable scrip came into the possession of the mother of the subject of this sketch, Margaret Searle.

The mother of Mr. Rolfe and Daniel Webster were both pupils of Master Tappan, and for a time were schoolmates. She graduated from Atkin- son Academy when it was in charge of the then famous Professor Vose, and after that was a teacher for nine years. She was teaching in Mr. Webster's school district when he returned from his school in Fryeburg. A friendship sprang up between them, and she loved to rehearse, in later years, to her chil- dren, how Webster unfolded to her all his struggles and ambitions and his fixed purpose never to be guilty of an unworthy act.

Mr. Rolfe was raised on a farm, and his parents be- ing poor, his education, till his tenth year, was limited to six months yearly in the district school. From ten to sixteen he was allowed only three months of school- ing during the winter terms. The winter of his six- teenth and seventeenth year he spent in the woods with his father, driving a lumber team. From that time till he was twenty years of age he enjoyed only nineteen weeks of schooling,-five at Franklin and fourteen at Salisbury Academy.

Such privileges seem scanty in our day, and yet such were his powers of acquisition that at eighteen we find young Rolfe teaching his first district school, an employment which he followed for nine suc- cessive winters with unvarying and ever-growing success.

When nineteen, the family moved to Hill, in this State. In 1841, when twenty years of age, he began his preparation for college at New Hampton. He spent three years in the preparatory course, and en- tered Dartmouth College in 1844. Being obliged to depend upon his own efforts to secure the necessary means to defray the expense of his education, he taught school during the winters of his preparatory and collegiate courses. For several successive seasons

1 By Rev. James W. Patterson.

Henry PA Golfe

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he was employed upon Cape Cod, but during his sophomore and junior years he taught for five months each year at Dartmouth, Mass., and three months of his senior year in the same school.

When in attendance upon the college, Mr. Rolfe was exceptionally punctual in the discharge of all his duties. During his senior year he was never absent from a recitation, lecture or other exercise. He asked for no excuse, and met every requisition. Such a record is unusual in college classes, and per- haps stood alone in his own. Mr. Rolfe's student- life was eminently successful, both in the acquisition of mental discipline and scholarly attainments. In 1848 he graduated from Dartmouth with the highest respect of the faculty and the warmest attachment of his class-mates.

Although compelled to be absent, teaching, five months during the first three years of his collegiate course, upon his graduation he received this special commendation from the president of the institution,-

"DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, July 25, 1848.

" This may certify that Mr. Henry P. Rolfe is a graduate of the present year at this college. He is a highly-respected studeut. His course has been remarkably correct and exemplary. It gives me pleasure to commend him as a good scholar and an upright man. He is a well-qualified teacher, and worthy of the confidence and patronage of any who may have occasion for his services."

After a few weeks of rest lie entered the law-office of Hon. Asa Fowler, of Concord, on the 21st of Sep- tember, and, after two years and a half of study, was admitted to the bar in May, 1851. On admission to the bar he immediately opened an office in Concord, and step by step advanced in professional strength and standing till, in 1869, he was appointed United States attorney for the district of New Hampshire by President Grant, and discharged the responsible and exacting duties of the office vigorously, ably and conscientiously for five years.

During the years 1852 and 1853 he was a member of the Board of Education for Concord, and served as chairman of the board the last year. He was also elected as a Democrat to represent the town in the Legislature of 1853. He was again sent to the Legis- lature as a Republican to represent Ward 5 in the city of Concord, during the stormy years of 1863 and 1864. This was during the period of war, when the government called for the services of its ablest and most trusted citizens.

In 1859 and 1860 he was the Democratic candidate for State Senator from his district, and during the latter was candidate for Presidential elector for the same party on the Douglas ticket. In 1866 he was appointed postmaster of Concord by Andrew John-

son, but his commission was withheld because he re- fused to assist in electing Democrats to Congress.

In 1878, Governor Prescott made Mr. Rolfe a mem- ber of the commission to take testimony and report to the Legislature what legislation was necessary to pro- tect the citizens in the vicinity of Lake Winnipi- seogee against the encroachments of the Lake Com- pany.

An investigation was had and a report made by the commission, and where constant complaint had been made, not a murmur of dissatisfaction has since been heard.

This is no ordinary record and is the evidence of solid merit. Mr. Rolfe has been a patient student, a sound lawyer and a strong advocate. A good cause is safe in his hands, if a suit-at-law can be said to be safe in any hands.

He has often been called to speak before assemblies of his fellow-citizens, political and otherwise. On such occasions he always impresses his hearers with the extent and accuracy of his information, and with his strong and sterling good sense. Mr. Rolfe be- lieves what he says, and says what he believes. His friendships are strong, and he is slow to see faults in those whom he loves.

On the 22d of November, 1853, he married Mary Rebecca Sherburu, daughter of Robert H. Sherburn, of Concord, by whom he has had five children, as follows :

Marshall Potter Rolfe, born September 29, 1854, died August 6, 1862.

Margarett Florence, born January 12, 1858, died May 2, 1858.

Henrietta Maria, born January 17, 1861, died Sep- tember 22, 1862.

Robert Henry, born October 16, 1863.

George Hamilton, born December 24, 1866.

The fourth child, Robert Henry, is now a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of 1884; and George Hamilton, a lad of eighteen, is pursuing his studies at the Holderness School for Boys, in Holderness, N. H.

In the spring of 1882, Mr. Rolfe nearly lost his life from the kick of a vicious horse. The result of this terrible accident has been the loss of his right eye and a complete prostration of the ner- vous system, from which he has been slowly recover- ing. He has not yet regained his former vigor and elasticity, but the original force of his constitution and the sleepless care of his most estimable wife are grad- ually bringing him back to his professional duties and power. He is resuming his practice, which, at the time of his injury, was quite lucrative.

This brief sketch of life and character has been

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drawn by an impartial, though friendly hand, and it gives us no ordinary man.

Mr. Rolfe is a man of large frame and unusual gifts of mind. He has led an active, successful life, but,

in the judgment of the writer, has never yet brought the full strength of his faculties into action. He has a reserve of power which, it is hoped, the future may give him an opportunity to use.

HISTORY OF SUTTON.

BY MRS. AUGUSTA HARVEY WORTHEN.

CHAPTER I.

SUTTON was first granted by the Masonian pro- prietors of New Hampshire lands November 30, 1749, at Portsmouth. It was called Perrystown, from Cap- tain Obadiah Perry, of Haverhill, Mass., whose name heads the list of the sixty persons receiving the grant, the most of whom were inhabitants of Haver- hill, Newbury and Bradford.

Of Perry it is known that he had served in the War of 1744-48, against the Eastern Indians, his name being on record as corporal of the nine men sent by Haverhill at the call of the provincial government.

At a later period, being engaged in Indian warfare, Perry was killed by Indians, and Colonel Josiah Bartlett (Governor Bartlett) became the purchaser of his right in Perrystown.

In the charter the granted township is described as lying west of Kiahsarge Hill (so called), containing the extent and quantity of six miles square, adjoin- ing No. 1 (Warner) and No. 2 (Bradford) to the north of said numbers.

No settlement was made in Perrystown till the au- tumn of 1767, when David Peaslee, from Sandown, moved in with his family.

With all this delay the charter was forfeited and renewed twice. As late as 1773, the conditions re- maining unfulfilled, the Masonians demanded of the town a sum of money to prevent its being declared forfeited again, which the town agreed to pay, Colonel Josiah Bartlett and his brother, Major Enoch Bart- lett, being security for the town, and using their in- fluence with the Masonians in favor of the town proprietors. Important as was the service he ren- dered, Governor Bartlett appears not to have been a gainer himself by his Sutton transactions. An auto- graph letter from him to the proprietors' clerk of Perrystown, under date of 1786, requests that a meet- ing of proprietors be called to ascertain why the money has not been paid by the town, and that se- curity taken up, adding, " I am unwilling to have it lay any longer against me."

He seems to have been unfortunate in the quality of the lands of which he became possessor in Perrys- town. Under date of 1773, the year he assisted in

obtaining the new grant, the proprietors, moved probably by considerations of good policy, "Voted that if there is not upon the original Right of Obadiah Perry, now Colonel Josiah Bartlett's, lands fit for settlement, he shall have other lands fit for it, of the undivided lands in town." The committee chosen to examine report that "the First Division Lot is but ordinary, but some lots in town have been settled on meaner land than that, but that the Second Division Lot, we think, will do for a pretty good settlement."

In the charter the Masonians reserve for themselves eighteen rights or shares, which are to be exempt from taxation till sold. The remainder of the land is divided into sixty-three shares,-one each for the support of a minister, for a parsonage and for a school, the remaining sixty shares to be drawn for by the sixty proprietors of Perrystown. Very few of these proprietors ever became settlers in town, and many of their rights were sold for non-payment of taxes.

SETTLERS IN PERRYSTOWN PREVIOUS TO 1780.

1767 .- David Peaslee and family.

1770 .- Cornelins Bean, Samuel Bean, Jacob Davis, Ephraim Gile, Jonathan Stevens.

1771 .- Benjamin Wadleigh, Jonathan Davis.

1772 .- Matthew Harvey, Ebenezer Kezar.

1773 .- Silas Russell, Benjamin Philbrick, Jr., Phineas Stevens, Capt. William Pressey, Jeremiah Davis.

The other settlers previous to 1780 were,-

Pain Toogue, Daniel Messer, Benjamin Mastin, Jucob Mastin, David Eaton, Samuel Andrew, Benjamin Critchett, Jonathan Wadleigh, Joseph Wadleigh, Captain George Marden, Jonathan Roby, Samnel Roby, Jona- than Nelson, Philip and Asa Nelson (sons of Jonathan), Moses Quimby James King, Ezra Jones, Francis Como, Peter Peaslee, Abraham Peaslee, Joseph and Jonathan Johnson (brothers), Caleb Kimball, Thomas Wad- leigh, Nathaniel Cheney, Thomas Walker, Amos Mills, Joseph Youring, Jonathan Page, Hezekiah Parker, Leonard Colburn, Benjamin lleath, Robert Ileath, John Davis, Samuel Peaslee, Jacob Peaslee, David Peas- lee, Jr., Ezra Littlehsle.

POPULATION AT DIFFERENT EPOCHS.

In 1773 there were 12 tax-payers in Perrystown.

In 1775 Sutton and Fishersfield, together, had 130 inhabitants.

In 1779 Sutton bad 50 tax-payers, 49 legal voters.

In 1790 the population of Sutton was 520.

En 1800 the population of Sutton was 878. Polls, 142.

In 1810 the population of Sutton was 1328. Polls, 203.

In 1820 the population of Sutton was 1573, greatest ever reached. In 1850 the population of Sutton was 1387.

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HISTORY OF MERRIMACK COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

In 1860 the population of Sutton was 1431. In 1870 the population of Sutton was 1155. Polls, 330. In 1880 the population of Sutton was 993. Sutton is estimated to contain 23,000 acres.

In 1798 there were, of pasturing, 359 acres.

In 1798 there were, of mowing, 263 acres.

In 1798 there were, of tillage, 39 acres.

In 1798 there were, of orcharding, 7 acres.

This was about 30 years after the first settlement.

Municipal Organization Previous to Incorpora- tion,-There is nothing to show that any attempt at organization was made previous to 1777, when, "by order of the Court, Captain John Putney being em- powered to call the meeting," the voters met and chose,-

Ebenezer Kezar, moderator; Benjamin Wadleigh, clerk: Benjamin Wadleigh, David Eaton, Samuel Peaslee, selectmen ; Samuel Peaslee, constable.

1778 .- Benjamin Wadleigh, clerk ; Daniel Messer, Matthew Harvey, Benjamin Wadleigh, selectmen ; Ebenezer Kezar, constahle.

1779 .- Daniel Messer, moderator ; Ephraim Gile, clerk ; Matthew Harvey, Joseph Johnson, Benjamin Wadleigh, selectmen ; Daniel Messer, constable ; Jacob Davis, treasurer.

1780 .- Silas Russell, moderator ; Ephraim Gile, clerk ; Matthew Harvey, Benjamin Wadleigh, William Pressey, selectmen ; David Eaton, constable.

1781 .- Ebenezer Kezar, moderator; Ephraim Gile, clerk ; Jacob Davis, George Marden, Samuel Peaslee, selectmen ; Peter Peaslee, con- stable.

1782 .- David Eaton, moderator ; Ephraim Gile, clerk ; George Marden, Benjamin Philbrick, David Eaton, selectmen ; David Eaton, constable.

1783 .- Ebenezer Kezar, moderator ; Ephraim Gile, clerk ; Matthew Harvey, William Pressey, Ephraim Gile, selectmen ; Matthew Harvey, constable.

INCORPORATION.

"The Bill for incorporation of Perrystown, under the name of Sutton, passed the House of Rep's April 9, 1784.

"JOHN DUDLEY, Speaker.

"Read in Council three times, and voted that the same be enacted April 13, 1784.

"M. WEARE, Pres.

"Copy examined by

"E. THOMPSON, Secretary."

In the act of incorporation Ebenezer Kezar was empowered to call the first town-meeting, which was held at the house of Pain Tongue, May 20, 1784, Thomas Wadleigh was chosen town clerk; Jonathan Johnson, Caleb Kimball, Phineas Stevens, selectmen ; James King, constable; Silas Russel, Daniel Messer, Benjamin Wadleigh, David Eaton, commissioners to lay out roads ; Benjamin Philbrick, Joseph Wadleigh, William Pressey, Asa Nelson, Ephraim Gile, Matthew Harvey, Jacob Mastin, surveyors of highways.

"Voted 60 Lbs. to repair roads, 20 Lbs. to defray Town Charges."

It seems remarkable, at first thought, that, while the new township was yet in it infancy, and all its affairs but a series of experiments, the early settlers should not only have proceeded to organize a sort of home government by calling a town-meeting, but that they should have shown themselves so capable and judicious in the management of town business. It would almost appear that they brought with them the result of actual knowledge and experience in the older and more thickly-settled towns whence they came. Perhaps a few of them did, they serving as the little leaven that leaveued the whole lump. Yet, such are not the men most likely to emigrate. If a man's am-

bition is gratified at home, he is not apt to seek out new fields for its exercise. Therefore, it is to be presumed that our fathers, if they had held the "bird in the hand " in the good old orthodox town of Haverhill, would have valued it more than any possible "bird in the bush" of Perrystown. It is probable of most of these men, and certain, of course, of the sons who came of age after settling here, that here was their first awakening to the duties of citizenship; that those who, if they had remained at home in a quiet, prosperous com- munity, would have been content to be governed, now felt that the needs of the times required them to govern and manage. So they stepped forward and found, or made themselves, equal to the demands of the hour and occasion. It is certain that one man, who, in affixing his signature to an important docu- ment, was compelled to " make his mark," also man- aged to make his mark most effectually and beneficially on the interests of this town.

All qualities, teudencies and capacities the human soul ever exhibits are inherent in the soul itself, and, more than anything else, great occasions make great men.

It is not possible for us at this day to properly esti- mate the hardships and inconveniences endured by the early settlers in Perrystown, so remote from settled towns and so destitute of roads leading thither. Let one try to picture for himself the dis- comfort of a house made of rough, or even of hewn logs, with no floor but bare earth, or, at best, pieces of bark laid down, and he will probably be willing to own that the mightiest of all civilizing agents in a cold, wilderness country is the saw-mill. Without it the church, the school and the influx of fairly-edu- cated people cannot show their power nor fully wield their rightful influence, since constant bodily discom- fort works against us spiritually and intellectually. It was not till the latter part of the decade between 1780 and 1790 that mills were in operation, so that people began to exchange their log dwellings for framed houses. Rough logs laid one upon another did not very effectually keep out the cold or keep in the heat, even when people, as they usually did on the approach of the inclement season, took the hint conveyed in the construction of a bird's nest, and "caulked" their houses with tow or even moss and clay. The chimneys were made of stone and clay, topped out with logs. Yet in these rude dwellings the early settlers lived, and the older children of most of them were born and cradled there.

Mrs. John Pillsbury, daughter of Benjamin Wad- leigh, Sr., several years since supplied the following reminiscences :

"The Sutton Wadleighs came from Hampstead. My father's family was the seventh that moved into Perrystown. They made & log house and we lived in it, but it was cold, and the soow would blow between the logs. So much work was needed on the land that it was more than a year before there was time to dig a well, and we depended on catching rain or melting snow for water. More children were horn before we ex- changed the log house for a good one, and, in process of time, my parents had twelve.

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" When the men went to the lower towns to trade their furs, their fanii- lies used to get together for safety and companionship-two or three fami- Iles in a house-and so live till the men returned. Often people gathered in each others' houses and held religious meetings. There was then no saw-mill or grist-mill nearer than Hopkinton,-twenty miles-and my father used to take his bag of corn on his back and go thither to get it ground. When we could do no better, we used to pound our corn in great wooden mortars. The log houses were poorly lighted, of course, on account of the extreme difficulty of procuring and transporting glass, plates of mica, when they could he found of sufficient size, or even oiled paper being sometimes used as its ineffectual substitute."

This lady was mother of John S. Pillsbury, who in 1855 emigrated to Minnesota. From 1863 to 1875 he served in the State Senate, and was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1875 and re-elected in 1877 and 1879.

The first framed houses in town were built by James King and William Pressey, on the road from King's Hill to Mill village. The third was built by Jonathan Stevens, of Warner, on the Littlehale place. The first horse in town was brought thither by Ebenezer Kezar, who lived near where the brook enters Kezar's Pond. He was a blacksmith, as was also his son Simon, who, with his family, followed his father, coming from Londonderry.

Ephraim Gile was a tanner,-probably the first.

There was no physician within twenty miles for many years. For more than a quarter of a century Mrs. Cornelius Bean and Mrs. Moses Quimby per- formed the duties of physicians very successfully.

The first saw-mill in town was built by Ezra Jones about half a mile below the South village, which was known as Jones' Mill. He afterwards built a grist- mill near the same spot, and lived close by, attending both mills.

Moses Quimby came to Perrystown from Hawk. He cut the first tree in the hollow above Mill village, and built the first grist-mill there, carrying on the business till his death, when it passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Daniel Andrew. In process of time they had carding, saw and grist-mills.

A saw-mill was erected by Jacob Davis, Samuel Bean and others, a little above where has since been William Little's clothes-pin building.

Public Roads,-Previous to 1784 no roads had been laid out, except from house to house. The need of public roads had been sadly felt, and formed a considerable impediment to speedy settlement and progress. The first public road built in town of which any authentic record can be found was laid out in 1784, commencing at Fishersfield town line and on by Samuel Peaslee's house; thence over Burnt or Chellis Hill to the bridge at South village; thence on by Ezra Littlehale's and Ezra Jones' to the foot of Kimball Hill; thence over the hill to Warner, passing through the whole width of Sutton diagonally. This became the main traveled road from Warner to Fishersfield and towns above.

About the same time a road was made from New London line on by Deacon Matthew Harvey's to Kezar's Pond; thence on by Daniel Messer's to foot

of Gile Hill; thence to the foot of Kimball Hill to intersect with the road before named. This road was the outlet of the town.

Deacon Harvey kept a tavern on a hill north of the pond. Caleb Kimball kept tavern at the same time in the southeast part of the town on Kimball Hill, the newly-opened public roads having made taverns a necessity. Up to 1790 no wheeled carriages had been used, nor were the roads suitable for such. Most burdens were carried on sleds or drays, or ou horseback. At that date there were no traders in town, trading being done chiefly at Warner, Salisbury and Hopkinton.

Oxen and Spotted Trees .- When they commenced bringing oxen into Sutton there were not many roads. In most cases the way was indicated by marked trees. When going through a clearing, a man drove his oxen yoked together, and, when they came to woods again, he would take off the yoke and carry it, and let the oxen go singly through the forest. It was noticed that the oxen soon became expert in finding their way along, turning their eyes in all directions in search for the spots on the trees, and following the path thus indicated as well as the men themselves could do.

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 152

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1520

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1520