USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Northwood > History of Nottingham, Deerfield, and Northwood, comprised within the original limits of Nottingham, Rockingham County, N.H., with records of the centennial proceedings at Northwood, and genealogical sketches > Part 23
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Nottingham > History of Nottingham, Deerfield, and Northwood, comprised within the original limits of Nottingham, Rockingham County, N.H., with records of the centennial proceedings at Northwood, and genealogical sketches > Part 23
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Deerfield > History of Nottingham, Deerfield, and Northwood, comprised within the original limits of Nottingham, Rockingham County, N.H., with records of the centennial proceedings at Northwood, and genealogical sketches > Part 23
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This church was disbanded June 29, 1787, Mr. Smith having removed from the town some years prior. Soon after this, a branch church was organized as part of the Brentwood church, then under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr.
CALVIN BAPTIST CHURCH.
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HILTORY OF DEERFIELD.
Shepherd. A revival was enjoyed in 1792 and 1793, and one hundred and four persons were added to the church, John Peak preaching for them about this time for the space of one year. It would seem that this church became independent about 1801; but when it became extinct, does not appear. But in 1816, September 12, thirteen men and women, at the house of Theophilus Stevens, formed a church to be known as the "First Baptist Church in Deerfield." Benjamin Sanborn was chosen clerk, and Samuel Hoyt, deacon. For more than thirty years there seems to have been no regularly settled pastor over this church, - a period of struggle for existence, with brief periods of limited pros- perity. October 13, 1825, Rev. James Barnaby became pastor, and continued until August 27, 1828. Rev. Isaac Merriam succeeded him April 26, 1829, and was dismissed February 25, 1831. Rev. Bela Wilcox was settled April 8, 1832, and was dismissed April 2, 1837. From May, 1838, to January, 1843, Rev. Isaac Sawyer was pastor, by whom more than one hundred persons were added to the church, making the whole membership two hundred and two. O. O. Stearns was settled November, 1843, and dismissed April, 1845. Noah Hooper began to preach to this church in July, 1845, and was dismissed February, 1848, to be fol- lowed by James N. Chase, ordained July, 1849, and removed in the autumn of 1855. In 1856, L. C. Stevens became pastor, and closed that relation July, 1858. September of the same year, Mr. Barnaby, after an absence of more than thirty years, returned and remained until April 21, 1861, followed by Edward T. Lyford, settled May 6, 1862. He was soon after drafted into the service of his country, and was commissioned as ehaplain, resigning his pastoral rela- tion, September, 1863. December 30, 1864, Oliver Ayer was settled, and dismissed April 1, 1866.
September 29, 1867, Rev. Henry O. Walker, the present pastor, was settled. Mr. Walker was born October 15, 1835, in Whiting, Vt. ; graduated at New Hampton Liter-
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ary Institution, 1860, and at Newton Theological Seminary in 1863 ; married, November 26, 1863, Mary A. Coburn of Lowell, Mass. Mr. Walker was ordained pastor of the Baptist Church in East Weare June 20, 1864, whence he came to Deerfield.
MEETING-HOUSES.
The first house of worship occupied by the Baptists was built, 1770, and located about one mile and a half south- east of the center of the town. In 1822, it was removed to the center, and occupied in connection with the Freewill Baptists, and was called the "Union Meeting-house." The Baptists completed and dedicated their present sanc- tuary October, 1834, where they worship God in peace, encouraged by constant tokens of divine favor.
Thanks are due to Rev. Mr. Walker for many of the foregoing facts which he has cheerfully furnished.
FREEWILL BAPTIST CHURCH.
This church was organized in 1799. They worshiped many years in the Union meeting-house, which was burned in 1839, and rebuilt in 1840 by the Freewill Baptist people alone, and is occupied by them now. This house is pleas- antly located at the center of the town, midway between the Congregational and Calvin Baptist churches. The sabbath assemblies are quite respectable in number, and the ministry is well sustained, and several interesting revivals have been enjoyed. A convenient parsonage, having a valuable tract of land connected with it, was secured about 1850.
Among those who have labored as pastors of this church are John Kimball, S. B. Dyer, I. S. Davis, G. D. Garland, P. S. Burbank, C. S. Smith, Aaron Ayer, Ezra Tuttle, G. S. Hill, and Ira Emery. Mr. Emery came here in 1871. He studied theology at Bangor Seminary, and was ordained at Industry, Me., September 9, 1868. He was dismissed from Deerfield in 1876, and was followed by E. Blake, the present pastor.
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FREE- WILL BAPTIST CHURCH .
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
and " Master James Husey " were the most prominent suc- cessors of Mr. Howe.
This academy-building was ultimately sold to the Parade school-district, and destroyed by fire about 1842. It was here that the young received a higher education than was common in those days; and this accounts for so. many being sent out from Deerfield who have reflected honor upon the town in which they were born; who, to-day, are adorning every department of literature and of honorable activity, showing intellects quickened by the discipline of the academy, and the rivalry of struggling minds. Never do those men seem so great as when establishing a tuition- school, and giving it their patronage and encouragement. They sowed generously, and they reaped abundantly. Money never yields, better interest than when employed in educating the intellect of the young. When not generously invested, generations grow up with narrow and unworthy views of human life, each generation growing less in stature and real manliood, until greatness is despised, enterprise is laughed at, and there is glorying in their shame. If the present generation of Dcerfield shall fail to equal former in efforts to educate the young, then let her know that her de- cline in all that is honorable and glorious is inevitable. Nobly does it speak for Deerfield, that one of her sons, ben- efited by this school, donated to the town for the benefit of the youth the annual income of five thousand dollars ; and that another has built a school-house for the district in which he was born, - a model for taste and convenience, - and annually contributes liberally to supplement the efforts of the district to prolong the terms of instruction. Let Richard Jenness, for his five thousand dollars, and Frederick Plummer James, for his elegant school-house and generous appropriations, be models of manhood, and there be some from every town that shall do likewise.
The Parade of to-day has not the business activity of " ye olden times," but it is great in memories of the past ; while
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FREE. WILL BAPTIST CHURCH.
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
CHAPTER V.
Parade. - Rand's Corner. - Old Center. - New Center. - South Road. - Coffee Town.
PARADE.
D EERFIELD Parade was well chosen by the early settlers, because of its elevated position on the main road from Portsmouth to Concord, and so into Vermont. It was the seat of no inconsiderable trade. Boards, shingles, staves, hoop-poles, were brought here in great quantities, and ex- changed for articles that were always to be found at coun- try stores in those days. The Parade, for many years prior to the turnpike road through Northwood and railroads, was a scene of liveliness. Several stores were here ; among them was that kept by Daniel Williams, near Shephard's tavern, and that kept by the Jennesses. Here were taverns of much notoriety. Gen. Benjamin Butler, a soldier in the Revolution, and afterwards adjutant-general in New Hamp- shire, who died May 12, 1828, aged sixty-eight, kept a pub- lic house in " ye olden times," where Judge St. Clair died ; and Maj. Joseph Shephard, a man of no mean reputation, kept a hotel where Dr. Stephen Brown lived. Lawyers and doctors found business here, and the school-master was not omitted. The families that settled here, and on lands con- tiguous, were, to an unusual degree, possessed of wealth and intellectual culture ; and, besides caring for the district school, they supported a high school, which for many years was known as the academy, founded about 1798 by Joseph Mills, Esq., Col. Joseph Hilton, Gen. Benjamin Butler, Maj. Isaac Shepard, and Andrew Freeze, Esq. It was a flourishing school in its day. Phineas Howe, a young law- yer at the Parade, was its first preceptor, and continued at its head until about 1812. Mr. Jewett, Nathan T. Hilton,
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
and " Master James Husey " were the most prominent suc- cessors of Mr. Howe.
This academy-building was ultimately sold to the Parade school-district, and destroyed by fire about 1842. It was here that the young received a higher education than was common in those days; and this accounts for so. many being sent out from Deerfield who have reflected honor upon the town in which they were born ; who, to-day, are adorning every department of literature and of honorable activity, showing intellects quickened by the discipline of the academy, and the rivalry of struggling minds. Never do those men seem so great as when establishing a tuition- school, and giving it their patronage and encouragement. They sowed generously, and they reaped abundantly. Money never yields better interest than when employed in educating the intellect of the young. When not generously invested, generations grow up with narrow and unworthy views of human life, each generation growing less in stature and. real manliood, until greatness is despised, enterprise is laughed at, and there is glorying in their shame. If the present generation of Deerfield shall fail to equal former in efforts to educate the young, then let her know that her de- cline in all that is honorable and glorious is inevitable. Nobly does it speak for Deerfield, that one of her sons, ben- efited by this school, donated to the town for the benefit of the youth the annual income of five thousand dollars ; and that another has built a school-house for the district in which he was born, - a model for taste and convenience, - and annually contributes liberally to supplement the efforts of the district to prolong the terms of instruction. Let Richard Jenness, for his five thousand dollars, and Frederick Plummer James, for his elegant school-house and generous appropriations, be models of manhood, and there be some from every town that shall do likewise.
The Parade of to-day has not the business activity of " ye olden times," but it is great in memories of the past ; while
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PARADE.
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
the present shows what the past must have been, and pleas- ant dwellings, broad streets, green commons, ample stores, and charming scenery render it a place of much attraction to the dwellers in the town, and of greater interest to the stranger. The mansions of the late Dr. Brown and the Hon. Ira St. Clair look like abodes of plenty and comfort, where the great and good men of past generations found rest when wearied with toiling over long, steep hills, and were greeted by gentlemanly landlords and treated to warm toddy, while landladies spread bountiful tables, and prepared for them large chambers with beds clean and warm. The generals and captains of Revolutionary fame, and soldiers who " shouldered their crutch and showed how fields were won," and the noble statesmen whom all de- lighted to honor, were alike made to feel at home in the presence of those who took pride in ministering to the com- forts of their guests. True, the flowing bowl was often filled, and merry times were the order of the day, and some- times of the night; yet quietness generally reigned, and those once here entertained resolved to come again.
The stores of to-day present a more attractive assortment of merchandise than those of yore, which, though they please the eye and flatter the vanity, do not inflame the appetite nor bewilder the intellect. The lawyers grasp fewer fees than their predecessors, doctors give less nau- seating drugs, and school-masters apply the birch more ten- derly.
The people in this district have shown good taste, and an appreciation of education for their children, in the erection of a commodious and well-finished school-house, which they opened in 1877, furnished with modern appliances. With the presence of a deputy-sheriff, in the person of E. A. J. Sawyer, and of Justices Sawyer and Hazen, and of a physi- cian, in the person of G. H. Towle, the community may abide in safety, assured of length of days, not only from medical skill, but from the life-giving currents of air from
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
regions so high as to be purified from all noxious elements. Nor can the dwellers here be lonely, since they are the cen- ter of a world stretching in beauty in every direction ; em- bracing the White Mountains of the north ; the rich valley of the Merrimack on the west, with its wealthy towns; the vast Atlantic on the south, with the pleasant towns in Mas- sachusetts ; and the picturesque regions of Maine in the east. Mountains rise gracefully at appropriate distances, and lakes sparkle in many a valley around this favorite locality. May the Parade exist a thousand years, - a place of beauty and a joy always.
The like of old Capt. Daniel Moore, whose tavern was where Mr. Sawyer resides ; of Capt. McCrillis, whose strong liquors were sold where Dr. Stephen Brown lately died ; of Gen. Benjamin Butler, whose hotel was where Judge St. Clair lived; and of Maj. Shepherd, whose public house was where J. T. Brown resides, - may never be reproduced. All honor to such patriots! Yet may men strong for the right, and women mighty in virtue, walk these streets and adorn thesc homes; cultivate these farms and beautify these dwellings.
Such merchants as Daniel Moore, Goss and Carlton, Todd and Piercc, Shepard, Runlet, Upham, and the Jen- nesses, may not make the place lively by their activities ; yet S. C. Danforth and others may prove as advantageous to society as those whosc stores were odorous with the va- pors of alcoholic beverages. May the days never return when merchants who keep intoxicating drinks for sale shall find a customer on this historic Parade, where men were adapted to the demands of the times in which they lived, but not for later generations made wiser by their knowledge of the past.
RAND'S CORNER.
This location is a few miles north-west of the Parade, on the great highway towards Concord from Exeter and Ports-
RAND'S CORNER.
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
mouth. Like all other centers of business in early times, it is situated on a large, high swell of land, surrounded by a fertile tract of farming country, whereon men can live and rear families amid all that is essential to their highest well-being, but not in the elegance and extravagance of affluence. Industry and economy are necessary, but penuri- ousness and illiberality are not required. The strong arm and generous soul, absence of injurious habits, industry and forecast in business, with needful education, make the till- ers of the soil monarchs of their broad acres, and princes in all sources of rational enjoyment appropriate to country life.
A succession of Rands has taverned and traded here. Large teams of oxen and horses have found straw and provender ; nor was the elevation so high, nor the apex so pointed, as that oxen and horses, and teams of them, need fear rolling off, to the ruin of life and property. But here was a broad plateau where there was room enough, which was not always found where early villages were located. There were ample spaces for storage of piles of boards, staves, hoop-poles, and pine shingles. Rum, molasses, and salt fish were prime articles of merchandise, and the exciting cup made many a teamster and many a traveler forget toil and weariness for a time, though it not unfrequently enhanced both, and always, in the end, replied to the interrogatories, " Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who hath conten- tions ? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause ? who hath redness of eyes ?"-" They that tarry here long and quaff much of strong drinks ; for a serpent that bites and an adder that stings are in them." Men at length heard the reply, and were afraid, and dashed the poisoned cup from their lips, and the serpent and adder were exiled, and there came assurance, quietness, and plenty.
The Rands lived long, and others desired to live as long as they, but could not. The strongest ultimately yield.
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
So have the Rands. One maiden lady of the name, almost a century old, survives ; and G. P. Rand manufactures doors, sash, and blinds, with an integrity and cheapness that greatly help sustain the good reputation of his an- cestors.
Rand's Corner is a delightful locality, and its water and land scenery are rarely equaled. Pleasant Pond lies at the base of this swell of land.
THE OLD CENTER.
This is south-westerly from the Parade and Rand's Cor- ner. Some of the earliest settlements were in this neigh- borhood. The tract of land designed for the first settled minister was near. It is the highest point of land in Deer- field susceptible of comfortable cultivation, and was long known as Chace's Hill. Immediately after the incorpora- tion of the town, efforts were made by the people to supply themselves with a comfortable house for sabbath worship. Several localities were selected, but with no unanimity. One frame was erected, and another ; but there could be no harmony until the second frame was, with great toil, taken down and tugged up the steep acclivity, where the wor- shiper could overlook all the little kingdoms of the world. Some one, speaking of the house upon this eminence, said that the Lord created two great mountains in Deerfield, and upon those two placed a third ; but Deerfield thought that not sufficient, and erected upon the top of this third mountain their high-posted meeting-house, and this satisfied them.
But it was here and in this sanctuary three generations worshiped. To them this was the mountain of God's holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth was this Mount Zion. About this hallowed structure those good men and women walked devoutly, and to them the very stones on which their holy temple stood were precious, and the dust on the beams and carved work was sacred.
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PLEASANT POND.
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
Here the Rev. Timothy Upham led the people in their de- votions, and expounded the Scriptures during his protracted ministry ; and the Rev. Nathaniel Wells, with no less fidel- ity, did the same until a ripe old age came upon him. Both pastors were men of profound intellects, discriminating in judgment, quick in perception, ripe in scholarship, tender in sensibilities, and sincere in piety. They had no cant in their speech ; there was no distortion of countenance ; no violation of the laws of language or rhetoric ; no put-on sanctimonious airs to please the illiterate or amaze "the groundlings; " no lowering of the law or the gospel to gain proselytes. They stood forth in the dignity of noble am- bassadors of Christ, to lift the people up, to educate their minds and improve their morals. They taught the people, believing education to be an aid to the minister in preach- ing and to the hearer in understanding ; solid, substantial men, not needing to change in doctrine or style of present- ing it with every varying tide in the community. Such men were benefactors to the town; they molded the char- acter of the people, and their influence was potent even where it was affectedly despised and never acknowledged. It was their joy in age and in death, that they had laid the foundations of society wisely, and that God had blessed their labors, and the people to whom they ministered were capable of appreciating their labors. Those good men are removed to higher services ; the house in which the people worshiped has been withdrawn from its lofty eminence, and other sanctuaries invite worshipers to praise and prayer ; but the old hill remains. Men and things on it and around it change and disappear through waxing old ; but the hill is as high and strong as of yore. The tall pine and the strong oak have disappeared; but the grass and grain wave luxuriantly. And, though the tabernacle has been removed, the dust of the men who reared it, and of the people who worshiped in it, and of the pastors who minis- tered in it, reposes on its spacious breast : God's care, until
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
the morning of the resurrection. Good taste and a correct judgment have led the people to gather up the remains of those beloved pastors, and to sepulcher them close by the place where the altar stood at which they so long ministered. Let the earliest rays of the morning sun fall on the graves of Timothy Upham and Nathaniel Wells, and on those of their noble wives, who so effectually aided them in doing the work of the Master ; and it is well that the lingering rays of the setting sun should make that place luminous longest.
For many years the capital of New Hampshire was migra- tory. The question of establishing a permanent seat of government was agitated as early as 1800. Several towns were urged as being most favorably located ; among these was Deerfield, and not a few were sanguine that Chace's Hill, or what is now called the Old Center, would be the choice of the state for its capitol. It was urged, that the location was elevated, commanding a view of no small por- tion of the country ; was on the great highway from Ports- mouth to Vermont; was near the center of the state, approached by good roads in several directions; had an intelligent and virtuous population ; and was the center of much wealth, ample stores, well-kept hotels, and a well- built meeting-house of ample dimensions. But Concord, incorporated in 1765, one year prior to the separation of Deerfield from Nottingham, presented stronger claims, and was made the capital of the state in 1805. But the Old Center long retained its reputation for beauty of location, for the wealth of its business men, and the intelligence and virtue of its families. The old muster-field was the scene of grand military displays for many years ; the gun-house, with its cannon, was gazed at with awe by boys ; and every Fourth of July the " big gun " made the old hill tremble, and startled the community for miles around. The robin and the thrush make sweeter music for the inhabitants of 1878.
TOWN HALL .
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HISTORY OF DEERFIELD.
NEW CENTER.
This is located nearly equidistant from the Parade and Old Center, but south of a straight line between the two. Formerly, the more elevated the locations, the more desir- able they seemed for villages and public buildings. Now the hills are avoided and the valleys preferred. The New Center is low, however, only in comparison with higher localities. Here are located three churches; the one be- longing to the Congregational society is ample in its accom- modations, and has a lofty spire, and in its dome is a heavy, rich-toned bell, the generous gift of the late Dr. Stephen Brown of the Parade; and the worshiper within is aided in praise by an excellent organ, the gift of the estimable wife of tlie donor of the bell.
A little removed from this is that belonging to the Free- will Baptist society, pleasantly located, and inviting to wor- ship.
Farther on, and in a line with the other two, is that of the Calvin Baptist society, affording ample sittings, and presenting attractions within and without. While the Free- will Baptist has an appropriate spire, and no bell, that of the Calvin Baptist has a rich-toned bell and no spire.
In these three sanctuaries, every sabbath, devout congre- gations assemble, respectable for numbers and orderly in worship.
At the New Center, the town erected a large hall, two stories high, well proportioned, affording ample spaces in both stories for transacting the private and public business of the town, as well as for accommodating town fairs and social gatherings.
Here, too, is a hotel owned and kept by George Page, a descendant of Capt. Andrew McClary, first of Notting- ham, afterwards of Epsom, whose son, Maj. Andrew, was killed at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill, and another of whose sons was John, who acted so prominent a part in the days of the Revolution, and for a long period after-
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wards as a statesman. In the same line of descent from McClary was the Hon. John M. Page of Tamworth, who was counselor for three years, beginning with 1817, and who died in May, 1826, aged forty-eight.
I. M. Ballou has here a store, abounding with goods new and old; and the neighborhood offers strong inducements to such as desire rest and freedom from the noise and strife of the city ; and the invalid who longs for pure air can safely consult Dr. G. H. Towle, whose office is not remote.
SOUTH ROAD.
That portion of Deerfield indicated by the above caption lies in the southerly part on the highway from Portsmouth through Epping, Raymond, and Allenstown to Concord and Vermont. The street is broad and over a gentle swell of land, on which a large business was transacted from early times until recently. Here the Jennesses, father and sons in succession, traded in the well-known " Red Store," and acquired wealth by great industry and indefatigable devotion to business. Their economy was great, not allied to meanness, and their acquisitiveness never. led to dis- honesty. And the habits here acquired caused them to be trusted and respected in other places, and burdened with greater responsibilities. A large business in lumber of all forms and for many purposes was carried on here, while much activity prevailed for many years in the potash manu- facture. The Jennesses were men to keep business lively, and to make every traffic turn to advantage to themselves and others. The White families added much to the good reputation of the neighborhood ; and the Sanborn families not less. Here the Hon. Judge Butler for many years resided, and, by his urbanity, the high positions he occu- pied, and the influence he exerted in Congress and in court, reflected honor upon the town of his adoption, and espe- cially upon the neighborhood in which he lived.
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