USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > New Boston > History of New Boston, New Hampshire > Part 5
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The first church edifice built in town, used as a place of pub- lic worship, was the one to which allusion has been made in a previous connection, and known, since the crection of the new structure in 1823, as the " old meeting-house." It stood on the northern slope of the hill, and overlooking the river valley, a few rods south and above the burying-ground. It was built by Ebenezer Beard, under contract with the proprietors, by whom the plans and specifications were furnished. It was begun as early as 1764, and completed in July or August, 1767, and about the time the call to Mr. Moor bears date.
The commencement of the work was greatly delayed in con- sequence of difficulty or indecision with reference to the ques- tion of location. Becoming satisfied, from the report of the committee of visitation in 1756, that the " settlements " would prove a success, the proprietors proceeded immediately to ap- point a committee, with instructions " to fix on a place in or near the centre of the town, for the public worship of God ; and also for a public burying-place, as they shall think most suitable, for the whole community."
The only record left to us of the action of this committee, is comprehended in the brief entry : "Ficed on lot 81." This lot embraced Buxton Hill, an eminence on the north side of the river, corresponding to that on the south, upon which the site
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was aftewards located, and is supposed to have been the place selected. No action appears to have been taken on the report of this committee, if indeed any formal report was ever sub- mitted, and the question still remained an open one. In 1762, a more successful effort was made. The proprietors, for the convenience of the inhabitants, and in order to secure greater facilities for general consultation and interchange of views, held a meeting at the house of Thomas Cochran ; and, subsequently, at Dunstable, September 14, 1762, appointed a new committee, consisting of Matthew Patten, John Chamberlain, and Samuel Patten, with directions " to select a spot for a meeting-house, in the most convenient place, to build a meeting-house or place of public worship thereon, and report as soon as possible." At this meeting, Allen Moore, George Christy, John McAlister, James Hunter, Thomas Wilson, Thomas Cochran, and James Caldwell, residents of the town, are named as having been present, and participating in its proceedings. In July follow- ing (1763), the committee, having unanimously agreed upon a location, submitted their conclusions in writing, in which they state that " they had visited several places, and heard the rea- sonings of the proprietors and inhabitants of said town, and do report to the proprietors that the lot No. 79, in the second di- vision, and near the centre of the lot on the south side of the Piscataquog river, south of a red oak tree marked with the let- ter C, near the grave of a child buried there, is the most proper place or spot to build a meeting-house on in town, according to our judgment."
The report was at once adopted, and the question of location settled accordingly ; and, in September, the same committee were further authorized to enter into contract, on behalf of the proprietors, with " some suitable person, for building the meet- ing-house already voted, as soon as may be." Thus, after re- peated delays and disappointments, more or less inseparable from all new beginnings, the settlers were now able to look for- ward to a speedy realization of what from the first they had steadily sought and devoutly wished, an appropriate house of public worship, and a settled ministry.
That portion of the present graveyard, first used as a burial- ground, was set apart for that purpose about the date at which
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the church site was fixed upon. The southerly bounds were run so as to include the new-made grave mentioned in the com- mittee's report, thus making it the first within the sacred in- closure. Whose was next, is not known or now ascertainable. The earliest inscription is that on the stone erected to the memory of the first town clerk, Mr. Alexander McCollum, and bears date in 1768.
As connected with our own early history, and principally because it is our own, how interesting and suggestive is the allusion to that first little grave. The emotions excited are mingled with pleasurable sadness as well as awakened inquiry. Whence this child, its name, its age, its parentage, was not stated, and is not known. Its story and its remains rest in a common silence, to be revealed together at the last. Though the tenant be nameless, the tenement has a history which will be read with interest by generations coming after us.
The "red oak marked with the letter C," as a monument of location, stood where the old south gate of the yard was situated, and the raised sod which was " near " points the spot, in the bosom of that ample slope, where now "heaves the carth in many a mouldering heap," first disturbed to sepulchre our dead. The site for the burial-place was well chosen ; com- manding a view of both villages, the river, and the prospect beyond, and capable of indefinite extension, it possesses rare natural advantages for the uses to which it has been conse- crated. Within our recollection, it has been much enlarged and improved, and with a growth of ornamental trees spread- ing their green drapery over the bare surface, and the naked marble, and bringing with them the melody of birds, and all the grateful and varied charms of the grove, it would become the most delightful, as it is now the most sacred, feature of the town.
The carly records of the township disclose an isolated in- stance relating to the legal modes formerly observed in making delivery of lands, which deserves mention. In 1756, certain lots were forfeited by the action of the proprietors, for failure on the part of purchasers, to fulfil the conditions of their sey- eral agreements. At a meeting of the proprietors, William McNeil and Thomas Cochran, Jr., of New Boston, and William
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Gibson, of Litchfield, were constituted a committee to make delivery, by " turf and twidge," of the forfeited lands, to Thomas Cochran, Sr., acting for the proprietors. This an- cient ceremony was actually gone through with, and has this explanation : In the transfer of real property under the feudal laws of Great Britain, investiture of title, or livery of seizen, as it was called, was made by the parties going upon the land, and the feoffer (grantor), delivering to the fcoffee (grantee), " the ring of the door, or turf, or twig of the land," in the name of the whole. This mode of delivery has long since gone into disuse ; the simple delivery of the deed, or convey- ance, being all that is necessary in order to invest the title.
In attemping within the limits imposed by the proprieties of the occasion, a historical sketch of the township, little more could be done than to present a mere outline of principal events, and afford here and there an occasional glance into its interior life. To me personally, the task, though undertaken with some disadvantages, has been a pleasant one, and I only regret that it has not been better and more thorougly per- formed. For the honor done me by the generous assignment of this duty, my warmest thanks are due, and these are given.
The point of interest with us, as with you, has been the early settlers, the events they shaped, the ends at which they aimed, the obstacles overcome, and the results they accom- plished. To these fathers of the town, we owe a deep debt of gratitude, and it was fitting that we should recognize it, in this united and public manner. They were, indeed, men of no or- dinary mould ; men, in whom was united that relative measure of faith and works, of purpose and action, by which victories, whether of war or peace, are compelled. While profoundly acknowledging a superintending providence to which all hu- man instrumentalities were subordinate, they recognized in the right and resolute use of their own powers, the appointed means for carrying forward the enterprises, and securing the purposes of life. With such, success depends upon no other conditions ; against such, no fancied lions hold the way ; with · such, there can be no failure ; failure itself is victory. If such were our fathers, our mothers were not less equal to the de- mands of the situation. These, content with their rugged lot,
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shared the cares and toils of their husbands, and, in the spirit of true female heroism, met and overcame the numberless privations and severities which pertained to life in the new settlements. Superior to every trial, and armed for any ex- tremes of fortune, they present in their lives, noble models for the imitation of American mothers. Like the virtuous woman of the sacred proverb, whose price is estimated above rubies, -
They sought wool and flax, and worked willingly with their hands.
They rose also while it was yet night, and gave meat to their households, and a portion to their maidens.
They laid their hands to the spindle, and their hands held the distaff.
They stretched out their hands to the poor, and reached forth their hands to the needy.
They were not afraid of the snow for their households, " knowing their households were clothed with the scarlet cloth of their weaving."
They made fine linen and sold it. Strength and honor were their clothing.
They opened their mouths with wisdom, and in their tongues was the law of kindness.
They looked well to the ways of their households, and ate not the bread of idleness ; and their children, as we do this day, rose up and called them blessed.
Said the settlers in their invitation to Mr. Moor, "From a very small, in a few years, we are increased to a considerable number, and the wilderness by God's kind influences, in many places amongst us, has become a beautiful field, affording us a comfortable maintenance." While this is the language of humble dependence, it is also the language of appropriate con- gratulation, of conscious success, and Christian self-reliance. In scarcely more than a quarter of a century from the time the first clearing was opened to the sun, individuals had united into families, and families into neighborhoods, and neighbor- hoods into a stable and flourishing community. The triumphs of associated industry and enterprise were visible on every hand, and their extent and achievement attested the qualities of the race from which the fathers and mothers of New Boston
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sprung. Flocks grazed in abundant pastures, the orchard bloomed in its season, the red clover scented the summer air, fields of yellow grain nodded in the harvest winds, the wren, sweet bird of rural peace, from her perch by the farm-house, welcomed the dawn with joyous song ; and the robin, following the abodes of cultivated life, poured forth her evening carol to the setting sun. With these evidences of prosperity and con- tentment, came the "New England Sabbath," with its calm stillness, its faithful lessons, and sacred solemnities, proclaim- ing the presence of a devout colony, already rejoicing in the more precious institutions of a Christian civilization, and look- ing forward to a posterity to whom they might safely commit the keeping of their faith and their inheritance.
Did time permit, it would be alike pleasant and instructive to enter upon a brief review of the scenes of toil and activity, as well as some of the more stirring events of local and public interest, which attended the growth and development of this people, but we may not trespass farther upon your generous forbearance.
This centennial occasion, with its pleasures and duties, has- tens to a conclusion, and in a few brief hours, will be num- bered among the events of the past. Soon we shall again sep- arate, and in our allotted places and various callings, resume the journey and burdens of life, and, while all which we shall accomplish in what remains of mortal activity will be less than a unit in the grand summary of events which shall complete the measure of the coming century, the transactions of to- day, it may be reasonably hoped, will live on and live after us. The history we indite as a tribute of gratitude to the past, we leave as an offering to the future. Though the gift be unpre- tending, it will be eagerly accepted, and gratefully cherished by every true son of the soil, whatever fortunes betide him, and wherever he may make his later home.
Time, measured by the changes wrought upon us and ours, is remorseless and fleeting. Individuals die and are forgotten, and brevity and mutability are written upon all that is outward and personal in human life. On the world's broad stage, both the scenes and actors are constantly shifting, but upon the great drama the curtain never falls. What though, amid the
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revolution of the centuries, generations come and go, and peace and war follow each other, in protracted alternation ; what though continents are now calm and now convulsed, and the armies of light and darkness seem to wage uncertain con- flict; what though storms assail the noblest fabrics of social wisdom, and at times comes "the winter of our discontent," in which the greenest leafage of our moral summer may fade and fall, - the race, with all its transcendent interests and hopes, untouched in its life and unity, shall remain firm in its destiny, and the cause of truth, working out a full and free civilization, will move steadily onward, however thrones may crumble and empires perish, until the nations of mankind, perfected through discipline and trial, shall pass at length into the tranquil glories of the promised millennium.
GRANTEES AND GRANT.
In 1735, John Simpson, John Carnes, James Halsey, John Ty- ler, John Steel, Daniel Goffe, Charles Coffin, Ebenezer Bridge, Daniel Pecker, William Lee, Henry Howell, Job Lewis, Thomas Bulfinch, John Indicott, John Erving, James Day, Andrew Lane, Byfield Lyde, John Hill, John Spooner, John Read, Samuel Tyler, John Boydell, John Homans, John Williams, Jr., Joshua Henshaw, Jr., Benjamin Clark, Jacob Hurd, James Townsend, William Salter, Thomas Downs, Zachariah Johonnett, Daniel Loring, John Crocker, William Speakman, Thomas Greene, Gilbert Warner, John Larrabee, John Green, Rufus Greene, Thomas Foster, John Arbuthnott, James Goold, Joseph Green, Isaac Walker, Robert Jenkins, Benjamin Bagnald, Richard Checkley, John Mavericke, Joshua Thomas, and Thomas Han- cock, became petitioners " to the Great and General Court or Assembly of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- land, for a grant of six miles square for a township."
On what they based their claim for such a grant, does not appear from any record before us, and the petition itself is not at hand, but it is probable that the grant of this town is con- nected with one of the most remarkable events in the history of New England. It will be remembered that in 1690 the Province of Massachusetts undertook an expedition, under the command of Sir William Phipps, in the conquest of Canada, for the purpose of securing the Colonies against the frequent in- cursions of the Indians, at the instigation of their French allies. That expedition proved painfully disastrous. The Treasury of Massachusetts becoming impoverished by this expedition, bills of credit to pay the soldiers, and to defray other expenses, were issued, which soon depreciated so far as to become nearly worthless, and the soldiers who had received them laid claims
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for further remuneration. Hence, many petitions were pre- sented to the General Court of Massachusetts, of those " who were in the expedition to Canada in the year 1690, and the de- scendents of such of them as are dead, praying for a Grant of Land for a township, in consideration of their ancestors' suffer- ings in the said expedition." And many grants of land were made, under the general name of "Canada," with the name of the town prefixed to which the grantees belonged, or such grants were located so as to be bounded in such a manner, as in some way to indicate their relation to that event. Thus the grant for New Boston was doubtless given to men in Boston who had suffered in that ill-fated expedition, or their descend- ants.
On the petition of John Simpson and others, the following action was taken, as attested by Thaddeus Mason, Dept. Secre- tary : -
At a Great and General Court or Assembly for his Majesty's Province, of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, began and held in Boston upon Wednesday, the 28th of May, 1735, and continued by several adjournments to Wednesday, the 19th of November following.
In the House of Representatives, Dec. 3, 1735, in answer to the petition of John Simpson and others, -
Voted, That the prayer of the Petition be granted, and that together with such as shall be joined by the Honorable Board, be a Commit- tee at the charge of the Petitioners to lay out a Township of the contents of six miles square, at the place petitioned for, or some other suitable place ; and that they return a platt thereof to this Court within twelve months for confirmation, and for the more effectual bringing forward the settlement of the said new Town.
Ordered, That the said Town be laid out into sixty-three equal shares, one of which to be for the first settled minister, one for the ministry, and one for the schools, and that on each of the other sixty shares the petitioners do, within three years from the confirmation of the platt, have settled one good family, who shall have a house built on his house-lot of eighteen fect square, and seven feet stud, at the least, and finished ; that each right or grant have six acres of land brought to and ploughed, or brought to English grass, and fitted for mowing ; that they settle a learned and Orthodox minister, and build and finish a convenient Meeting House for the publick worship of God. And the said committee are hereby directed to take bond of each settler of forty Pounds for his faithful complying with and performing the conditions of set- tlement, and in case any of the said settlers fail of performing the aforesaid conditions, then his or their right, share, or interest in said Town, to revert to
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and be at the disposition of the Province; and that the said Committee be, and hereby are impowered to sue out the Bonds and recover the possession of the forfeited Lotts (if any be) at the expiration of the three years, and to grant them over to other persons that will comply with the conditions within one year next after the said grant ; and the Bonds to be made and given to the said Committee and their successors in the said Grant.
Sent up for concurrence.
J. QUINCY, Chairman. IN COUNCIL, Jan. 14, 1735.
Read and concurred.
J. WILLARD, Secretary.
Consented to.
BELCHER.
A true copy ; examined by
THAD. MASON, Dept. Sec'y.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Jan. 16, 1735.
Ordered, That Capt. William Collings, and Mr. Ebenezer Parker, with such as shall be joined by the Honourable Board, be a Committee to take a platt of the within Township, and effectual care the same be brought forward to all intents and purposes, agreeable to the conditions of the Grant.
Sent up for concurrence.
J. QUINCY, Speaker. IN COUNCIL, Jan. 16, 1735.
Read and concurred, and William Dudley, Esq., is joined in the affair.
THAD. MASON, Dept. Sc'y. A true copy ; examined by
THAD. MASON, Dept. Sec'y.
Agrecably to these acts, the committee appointed Jeremiah Cummings surveyor, to lay out the township, with Zacheus Lovewell and James Cummings for chainmen. He performed the task, and submitted his report, accompanied by a rude map of the township, denoting its boundary lines, rivers, and Joe English or Eldost Hill. Here follows the report : -
I, the subscriber, together with Zacheus Lovewell and James Cummings, have laid out, pursuant to the Grant of the General Court to Mr. John Simp- son and other Petitioners with him for a Township in the unappropriated Lands of the Province, of the contents of six miles square, with a thousand acres added for ponds that lye within the s4 Township, and have bounded it thus : Beginning at a Beach tree, one of the Corners of the Narragansit town, No. 5, and in the north line of ye Narragansit, No. 3, from thence running
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two degrees South of the west by ye sª Narragansit Town No. 3, four miles and three-quarters to the northeast corner of the sª Township, from thence the same course one mile and one hundred and twenty rods to a Burch tree marked, thence the line turns and runs North two degrees to the west by Province Land six miles and forty-two rods to a white pine tree marked, from thence the line turns and Runs East two Degrees north by Province Lands six miles and forty-two Rods to a White Oak tree marked, from thence we run South two degrees east Partly by Province Lands and partly by the Narragansit town afore sª No. 5 to the beach tree the first mentioned bound, with two rods in each hundred added for uneavenness of Land and Swagg of Chain.
Which said Lands Lye on the west side Merrimack river on the Branches of Piscataquog river.
JEREMIAH CUMMINGS, Surveyor.
FEBRUARY The 12th, 1735.
MIDDLESEX SS., DUNSTABLE, Jan. 28th, 1735.
Jeremiah . Cummings as Surveyor, and Zacheus Lovewell and James Cummings as Chainmen, personally appearing before me ye Subscriber, one of his Majesty's Justices of the peace for the County of Midt. made Oath that in Surveying and measuring a Township granted by the General Court to Mr. John Simpson and others, they would deal truly and faithfully in their Respec- tive trusts.
ELEAZER TYNG.
In the House of Representatives, March 19, 1735, this report was read, and it was, -
Voted, That a platt containing six miles square of Land laid out by Jere- miah Cummings, Surveyor, and two Chainmen on Oath, to satisfy the Grant aforesaid, Lying adjoining to the Naragansit Towns No. three and No. 5, and. on province Lands, with an allowance of one thousand acres of Land for ponds Lying within the said Platt was presented for allowance. Read and ordered that ye platt be allowed, and ye Land therein delineated and described be and hereby are Confirmed to the said John Simpson and the other Gran- tees mentioned in said petition passed ye last sitting of the Court, their Heirs and assigns, respectively, forever, provided the platt exceeds not the quantity of six miles square, and one thousand acres of Land, an allowance for Ponds within the Tract, and does not interfere with any other or former Grant, pro- vided also the Petitioners, their Heirs or assignes Comply with ye Conditions of the Grant.
Sent up for concurrence.
Read and concurred.
Consented to.
J. QUINCY, Speaker. IN COUNCIL, March 20, 1735. SIMON FROST, Dept. Sec'y. J. BELCHER.
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By an additional act, Mr. John Simpson was "impowered to call the first meeting," and thus the way was clearly opened for the unembarrassed action of the Proprietors, and their first meeting was held at the house of Mr. Luke Vardy, in Boston, April 21, 1736, and among the first acts of that meeting was a vote instructing their committee, Daniel Pecker, Andrew Lane, John Hill, John Indicott, and James Halsey, " to build a saw- mill on some convenient stream, for the use of the proprietors in said township."
It will be seen by the foregoing that New Boston was granted March 12, 1735, while all authorities affirm that it was granted January 14, 1736. The solution is this : - In the old style the year commenced March 25, and by calculating backward it will be found that March 12, 1735, in the old style, was March, 1736, in the new style, it being borne in mind that the new-style cal- endar was introduced into England in the year 1752. And thus the grant bears date March 12, 1735, old style ; it is also true, according to the new style, that it was granted Jan. 14, 1736.
In the report of the Surveyor, the name of Zacheus Lovewell appears as one of the chainmen. This was, we apprehend, the same Zacheus Lovewell who afterward commanded one of the New Hampshire regiments in the French and Indian war, and who, as colonel commanding, was at the taking of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a son, as Belknap affirms, but a younger brother, as other authorities say, of the hero of Fryeburgh or Piquawket, Capt. John Lovewell, who fell in 1725.
MASONIAN HEIRS AND NEW ADDITION.
In 1620 the King of England, James I, constituted a Coun- cil, consisting of forty noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, by the name of " The Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, and governing of New England in America." The territory under their jurisdiction extended from the fortieth to the forty-eighth degree of north- ern latitude. This patent, or charter, was the foundation of all grants subsequently made of the country of New England. Great confusion prevailed in the transaction of the business of
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this Council. Two of the most active members were Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges and Capt. John Mason. Gorges had been an officer in the navy of Queen Elizabeth, and associated much with Sir Walter Raleigh, and partook of his adventurous spirit. Mason was a merchant of London, but became a sea-officer, and governor of Newfoundland. Mason, acquiring great influence in the Council, procured a grant of all the land from the river Naumkeag, now Salem, round Cape Ann, to the river Merri- mack, and up each of those rivers to the farthest head thereof, then to cross over from the head of the one to the head of the other. The next year another grant was made to Gorges and Mason jointly, of all the lands between the rivers Merrimack and Sagadchock, extending back to the great lakes and river of Canada, which tract was called .Laconia. And, in 1629, Capt. Mason procured a new patent for the land, " from the middle of Piscataqua River, and up the same to the farthest head thereof, and from thence northwestward until sixty miles from the mouth of the harbor were finished; also through Merrimack River, to the farthest head thereof, and so forward up into the land westward, until sixty miles were finished ; and from thence to cross over land to the end of the sixty miles, ac- counted from Piscataqua River ; together with all islands with- in five leagues of the coast." This tract of land was called New Hampshire. At length, in 1635, Capt. John Mason died, and a great revolution transpired in England. The tract of land known as New Hampshire came under the protection and government of Massachusetts, and though claims to it were often preferred, and much litigation was had, these claims were resisted until John Tufton Mason, a great-grandson of Capt. John Mason, conveyed, in 1746, his interest to lands in New Hampshire, " for the sum of fifteen hundred pounds currency " to Theodore Atkinson, M. H. Wentworth, and thirteen others.
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