USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 217
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 217
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The above being in Captain Gray's handwriting, it is safe to conclude that it is what was lost on his re- treat from Sheensborough to Fort Ann, July 6, 1777.
" To Captain James Gray :
" You are hereby empowered, immediately, to enlist a Company to consist of Eighty-eight able-bodied and effective men, including Non- Commissioned Officers and Privates, as Soldiers in the Service of the Colony, to defend and secure the Harhour of Boston, and cause them to puss Muster as soon as possible at Boston.
" Boston, 14th Day of May, 1776.
" THOR MANSHALL, Collo.
"We, the Subscribers, hereby severally inlist Ourselves into the Ser- vice of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, to serve in a Company whereof James Gray is Captain, until the first day of December next, unless the service should admit their discharge sooner, and each of us do engage to furnish and carry with us into the Service a good, effective Fire Arm and Bayonet, if to be obtained, Cartridge Box, Knapsack and Blanket ; and when formed we engage to march to the Town of Boston, or such Place within the Colony as the General Court of said Colony shall ap- point ; and do hereby oblige Ourselves faithfully to observe and obey all such orders as we shall from Time to Time receive from our Superior Officers.
" Muy 30th, Seth Richardson ; June 3d, Joseph Dale ; June 3d, Joseph Ililbort; June 6th, Daniel Berry ; Juno 12th, John Maley ; June 13th, John Holman ; June 13th, John Hutchinson, Juo. ; June 13th, Benja- min Jeffery ; June 15th, David Tolton."
An evidence of the generosity and benevolence of the early inhabitants is shown by the following sub- scription-paper found among the papers of the late Captain James Gray :
" Whereas, by a lato distressing fire, in the Town of Portsmouth, many of its Inhabitants ure deprived, not only of common necessaries of life, but even of s comon shelter at this inelement season ; and, considering
it a duty incumbent on all to commisserate and assist, as far as in their power, by extending the liberal hand to alleviate the distresses of the poor and indigent ;
" Therefore, we, the subscribers, inhabitants of the Town of Epsom, voluntary subscribe the sums annexed to our names, respectively, to be particularly appropriated to & for the relief of those inhabitants in the Town of Partsmonth who are most distressed by the late calamity, & promise to pay the same to the committee appointed to receive donations in Epsom by the 1st day of February, 1803.
" Jan. 15th, 18.13.
Name Anıt.
" Levi Brown $2 50
Saml Morrill 5 00
David L. Morrill 5 00
Francis Lock. 1 00
Jonª Pearson 50
Sam' Lock . . 5 00
Isaac Osgood. . 50
Moses Osgood 1 00
Thomas Babb 3 00
2 00
Thon Bickford 1 00
Michael McClary.
20 00
Daniel Cilley. 5 00
James Moses 5 00
Jeremih Prescott
1 50
Benj. Moody
3 00
J. H. McClary .
10 00
Josiah Sanboro 5 00
Jaines Brown. 1 10
Thomas Marden
50
John Wallis 1 00
Joseph Wallis 29
Sam1 Lear .
1 00
Joseph Brown
1 25
Josiah Knowles 1 00
Geo. Sanders
1 00
Wm Sherburne .
50
Total
$112 37"
Andw Sanborn
2 00
Name. Amt.
John Babb. 1 00
John Ham 1 00
Sam1 Osgood, Jr 1 00
John McClary 1 00
James Gray 5 00
John Godfrey
Elizabeth MeClary 2 00
McClary & Gookin 10 00
.Joseph C. Wallis
1 00
Mark French
1 00
Dan1 Philbrick 1 00
Wm Barton 1 00
FRANKLIN.
Congregational Church .- This church was organ- ized June 11, 1822, under the advice and direction of Revs. Samuel Wood and Ebenezer Price, both of Boseawen ; Rev. Thomas Worcester, of Salisbury ; and Rev. Abraham Bodwell, of Sanbornton, who was ap- pointed by the church its first moderator. A Church Covenant and Confession of Faith was at that time adopted and signed by fourteen persons.
The church edifice, in which the society still con- tinues to worship, was erected in 1820, from funds raised by subscription and the sale of pews. It was built upon a very eligible lot, the gift of Ebenezer Eastman, in what was then known as Republican village, in Salisbury, by residents of four adjacent towns representing different denominations, the Con- gregationalists predominating. Portions of these four towns, including Republican village, were, De- cember 24, 1828, formed into the town of Franklin. The bell still iu use was purchased and placed up- on the house, when finished, by individual subscrip- tions, the only subscriber now living being Richard Judkins, of Franklin.
During the first eight years after the house was built worship was maintained through the assistance of several ministers of the gospel, a complete list of whom, unfortunately, is not found in the records, who served for short periods only ; but November 16, 1828, Rev. Joseph Lane became acting pastor and served for more than two years. He was succeeded
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914
HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
by Rev. Benjamin P. Stone, who was ordained the first pastor of the church and society May 26, 1831, and dismissed May 2, 1832. The ministrations of Revs. D. D. Tappan and Samuel Nichols, who served as acting pastors, extended over the next four and a half years, the former serving about one, and the latter about three and a half years. Its second pas- tor, Rev. Isaac Knight, was installed September 27, 1837, and dismissed December 21, 1848.
Rev. William T. Savage, its third pastor, was in- stalled September 4, 1849. His able and faithful ministrations covered a period of exactly a quar- ter of a century.
The fourth pastor of the church, Rev. Austin H. Burr, then a recent graduate of Andover Seminary, was ordained and installed over the church November 3, 1875. Mr. Burr was succeeded by Rev. W. A. Had- ley and Rey. H. M. Andrews, acting pastors.
In 1831 and the two subsequent years a doctrinal controversy prevailed in the society, which resulted in the surrender of the church edifice for a brief per- iod to those of Unitarian views, who, soon finding themselves incapable of maintaining worship, resur- rendered it to those of Orthodox faith, who have advanced in number and strength to the present time.
For many years previous to the ministry of Dr. Savage, the church received pecuniary aid from the New Hampshire Missionary Society, but during the last quarter of a century or more it has been a self- sustaining church. It has, moreover contributed lib- erally to the support of many of the worthy institu- tions and benevolent objects of the day.
In 1834 through the agency of Benjamin Wood- bury, formerly of New London in this State, a schol- arship was founded for Oberlin College, Ohio. Par- ker Noyes, Esq., Dr. Jesse Merrill and Deacon Dear- born Sanborn, all members of the church, were the principal contributors to this object. The church also took an early and decided stand in regard to the question of temperance. September 6, 1834, Deacon Paul Noyes at a church meeting moved the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
" Resolved, That no person shall he admitted as a member of this church who does not adopt the total abstinence principles of the day in regard to the use of ardent spirits."
The enjoyment of special seasons of religious in- terest and precious in-gatherings had not been with- held from its experience.
Several years since, the church edifice was exten- sively repaired by the pew-holders at an expense of about fifteen hundred dollars. More recent- ly, in 1876-77, the society secured ownership of the old academy building and lot, enlarged and re- constructed the house, converting it into one of the best vestries in the State, with excellent facilities for Sabbath-school and social religious work, and con- venient apartments for both a Sabbath-school and a public library, at an aggregate cost of more than three thousand dollars.
PEMBROKE.
The Langmaid Murder .- On the 4th day of October, 1874, the quiet community of Pembroke was aroused by the news of a terrible crime committed in their midst. Josie A. Langmaid, a daughter of James F. Langmaid, a prosperous farmer living on Bnek Street, was brutally murdered by a fiend in human guise on her way to school at the Pembroke Academy. She was scarcely eighteen years of age, and was gen- erally beloved by all who knew her. Her murderer was twice tried by the highest courts of the State and convicted by a chain of circumstantial evidence. He was hung in the prison at Concord March 15, 1878. His very name should be obliterated from the annals of the State.
The details of the murder were of the most atro- cious character, unfit for the ears of the rising gen- eration, but the memory of the murdered maiden- student, kept alive in song and story, will long survive. A commemorative monument on Academy Street marks the place of the cruel deed and testifies to the love and respect in which she was held by her townspeople.
Jewell Lodge, No. 94, A. F. A. M .- Jewell Lodge, named in honor of Colonel David L. Jewell, of this village, was organized April 7, 1879, working under a dispensation which was granted October 20, 1879, from the Grand Lodge, until May 19, 1880, when a charter was granted to Edmund E. Truesdell, Augustus B. Johnson, John P. Johnson, Charles Williams, David L. Jewell, George H. Larabee, George P. Cofran, Nathaniel Head, George P. Little, Oscar B. Truesdell, Enoch H. Holt, James M. Young, Frederick E. Northrop, Joel N. Corbin, Otis S. East- man, William Wainwright, Lewis S. Dunbar, Henry M. Hadley, Martin R. Sawyer, John B. Haselton, Charles P. Bridgman, Josiah W. Dudley, Edwin P. Northrop, Retyre M. Davis, Benjamin L. Culver, Joseph L. Hos- mer, William F. Head, George A. Robie, Eben H. Nutting, Samuel S. Ordway, Charles P. Morse, Addison N. Osgood, Alonzo Osgood, Charles F. Hil- dreth, Clifton B. Hildreth and Charles A. Seavey, who, realizing from the beginning that liberal con- tributions and increasing executive labor were the most essential requisitions for the future prosperity and success of the work before them, began at once to lay the foundation of what is to-day one of the most prosperous and flourishing lodges within the Masonic juristiction of the State. Its first officers were George H. Larabee, Worshipful Master; Charles P. Bridg- man, Senior Warden ; George P. Little Junior Warden ; Charles Williams, Treasurer ; John P. Haselton, Secretary ; Oscar B. Truesdell, Senior Deacon ; Enoch H. Holt, Junior Deacon; Frederick A. Northrop, Senior Steward; Henry M. Hadley, Junior Steward ; George W. Ruland, Chaplain ; William Wainwright Tiler. But one death has occurred among its charter members up to the present time,-that of our beloved
915
APPENDIX.
Brother Nathaniel Head-who has gone, we trust, to a higher and brighter Lodge; a good man and true brother, ever ready to stretch forth a helping hand with a free and liberal heart; beloved in life and mourned in death. To Worshipful Brother Edmund E. Truesdell we are indebted for the energy, perse- verance and correspondence necessarily required in collecting the portraits of all the charter members, which are grouped in a massive gilt frame, in all re- spects a combination of good taste and artistic skill, and placed in a position assigned it upon the wall of our reception parlor, there to remain through the ages that are to come. The Past Masters are George H. Larabee, Charles P. Bridgman and Edmund E. Truesdell, and let us here add that too much credit cannot be given to these three brothers for the in- creasing efforts which they have at all times mani- fested to render whatever assistance in their power, financially and socially, that would tend to make its work harmonize with the pure principles contained in the order. In 1880 Jewell Lodge, by invitation of Andrew Buntin, then Grand Master, exemplified the work in the third degree before the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, and although at that time being the youngest lodge in the State, it won from the craft unexcelled praise for the acceptable manner in which it performed the work assigned it, and it was at this time that Jewell Lodge took its rank among the best working lodges in the State, a position which, by its harmonious and increasing efforts it has maintained up to the present time. Its hall, reception and ban- quet rooms were fitted up in an elegant and elaborate manner, at au expense of about two thousand dollars, being all paid for and a balance in the treasury when the lodge was dedicated, showing the deep interest and liberality which characterized its charter mem- bers, who have contributed many valuable gifts to the lodge, among which was a beautiful and costly set of jewels, presented by David L. Jewell, and I think the aim of Jewell Lodge has ever been liberality and nobility of purpose, always realizing that it is the high character to which its credit has attained that has brought Masonry from beyond the dark ages, and it is its character which will carry the noble work on through an unknown future till time shall be no more.
1 Although Masonry may, by some of the unini- tiated, be considered as derogatory to the advance- ment of man, yet the experience of ages has taught the conservative and thinking mind that it is an in- stitution whose moral, social and intellectual attain- ments are so deeply rooted in the heart of civilized society and indorsed by so many great and good men of every age and country, that its advancement is es- sential to the welfare of a true and noble cause, and, to more fully demonstrate this fact, ancient history in- forms us that it has been the usual and almost uni- versal custom for even monarchs, for a season, since the reign of the wise King of Israel, to lay aside the
sceptre and desceud the throne to patronize its mys- teries and mingle with the assemblies of the order.
CANTERBURY.
JOSEPH CLOUGH.
Joseph Clough was one of the most prominent men in the political, religious and business affairs ot the town for many years.
His life covered nearly a century, and during his active manhood he was diligent and energetic.
He was born in Canterbury February 1, 1795, in the Mansion House, where he spent his life, and where he died, March 24, 1885. He was born during the second term of Washington's administration, and died subsequent to the commencement of Cleveland's administration ; thus he lived under the administra- tions of all the Presidents of the United States.
His grandfather, Thomas Clough, came to Can- terbury from Salisbury, Mass., very soon after the town was chartered, probably about 1735. The rec- ord of the marriage of this Thomas Clough in Can- terbury was the 10th of December, 1741. The father of Joseph was born August 29, 1753.
This family was among the earliest settlers of the town and many of the descendants of it still live there.
Joseph Clough was a pioneer in the cause of tem- perance, and was true to it through his whole life in theory and practice. His example in this particular never contributed a reproach or a weakness.
He was careful and correct in the transaction of such business as is often necessary to be done be- tween neighbors in country towns where there are no educated lawyers, such as conveying property, dis- posing of estates by wills and settlements under them, much of which he did and did well.
He was elected a member of the Executive Council in 1848 and 1849.
He married Mehitable Ambrose Chase, daughter of Stephen Chase, of Northfield, May 31, 1817. She survived him thirteen days.
In 1838 he was ordained a minister of the Free- Will Baptist denomination, and for many years preached in the church in what is called the " Baptist District " in the town, and elsewhere in the neighbor- ing towns.
His Christian life was characterized by a constant and steadfast devotion, by a belief that did not weaken when death approached, by a prudence that was not deferred nor abandoned when farm-work was most pressing, and by a conviction that afforded con- solation through the many vicissitudes and trials of a long life.
He was a representative man in his sphere and time, and whose memory is cherished iu these re -. spects : that he was an industrious farmer, an obliging neighbor, a conscientious business man, a worthy ex- ample and a faithful Christian to the end of life.
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