USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Plymouth > History of Plymouth, New Hampshire; vol. I. Narrative--vol. II. Genealogies, Volume I > Part 28
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The building commission were Nahum T. Greenwood of New London, Alpheus Gay of Manchester, and Amos M. Kidder of Plymouth, and Head & Dowst of Manchester were the contractors. The present convenient school building and the Normal Hall were promptly completed, and were first occupied early in the year 1891.
From the date of the original act of 1870 until the section of the law was repealed in 1879 the state board of education annu- ally appointed a supervisor of the normal school. The principal of the school, the state superintendent of public instruction, and the supervisor constituted a commission with power to prescribe courses of study and the conditions of admission and graduation. The supervisors were Hiram Orcutt of Lebanon, one year; Ephraim Knight of New London, seven years; and Rev. Ger- herdus L. Demarest of Manchester, one year.
The superior mission of the institution and the years of pros- perity and of depression are expressed in an exhibit of the number of graduates during the thirty-four years of its work in this state. The whole number is eight hundred and twenty-five. On account of the small number in attendance and a rearrangement of condi- tions, none were graduated during the year ending in the summer of 1880.
324
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
YEAR.
GRADUATES.
YEAR.
GRADUATES.
YEAR.
GRADUATES.
1871
6
1883
8
1894
27
1872
37
1884
21
1895
19
1873
45
1885
9
1896
17
1874
15
1886
4
1897
34
1875
33
1887
22
1898
20
1876
36
1888
13
1899
21
1877
43
1889
27
1900
37
1878
37
1890
21
1901
39
1879
21
1891
24
1902
39
1881
2
1892
21
1903
54
1882
10
1893
21
1904
42
The first treasurer of the institution was Charles M. Whittier, who died Sept. 13, 1881. He was succeeded by Charles A. Jewell, who removed to Boston, Mass., in 1886. Frank W. Russell, who declined a re-election, was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Mr. Jewell. Mr. Russell was succeeded by George H. Adams, who has completed seventeen years of continuous service. The annual reports of the treasurers are concise exhibits of the finances of the institution, presenting a full statement of the receipts and expenditures of the institution during thirty-three years.
The state appropriations of $5000 in 1871 and $8000 in 1872 were mainly expended in repairs upon the buildings. From 1873 to 1887 the annual appropriation for maintenance was $5000, with the exception of 1879, when $3000 was appropriated. Since 1887 the state has appropriated $7000 five years, $10,000 eight years, $15,000 two years, and, beginning 1903, the annual appro- priation is $25,000. The whole sum paid to the institution by the state to the close of the school year 1903-4, including salary of trustees and printing account, is $361,148.05. The amount paid by the village district of Plymouth for tuition, as stipulated in successive contracts, was increased from $600 to $3300 per annum. Since the establishment of the new high school, begin- ning 1903, the sum is $1000. The whole sum paid by the district from 1871 to 1904 is $58,323.63.
325
THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
The act of 1870 provided for a board of seven trustees, two from each of the three congressional districts and one at large. Three were appointed for one year and four for two years. In 1872 the board was increased to fifteen, and in 1879 reduced to five. At all times the governor and state superintendent of public instruction have been members ex officio of the board. Eighteen governors have participated in the proceedings of the trustees: Stearns, Weston, Straw, Cheney, Prescott, Head, Bell, Hale, Currier, Sawyer, Goodell, Tuttle, Smith, Busiel, Ramsdell, Rol- lins, Jordan, and Bachelder. The superintendents of public in- struction have been John W. Simonds of Franklin, two years; Daniel G. Beede of Sandwich, one year; John W. Simonds, two years; Charles A. Downs of Lebanon, four years; James W. Patterson of Hanover, thirteen years; Fred Gowing of Nashua, five and one-half years; and Channing Folsom of Dover, since September, 1898. Fifty-nine persons have been appointed trustees, with date of first appointment and term of service as follows: -
DATE OF FIRST APPOINTMENT.
NUMBER OF YEARS IN SERVICE.
Dewitt C. Durgin, Newmarket, Sept. 22, 1870 6
Charles W. Pickering, Greenland, Sept. 22, 1870 8
George Dustan, Peterborough, Sept. 22, 1870 3 Amos Hadley, Concord, Sept. 22, 1870 1
George A. Bingham, Littleton, Sept. 22, 1870
7
Abel Herbert Bellows, Walpole, Sept. 22, 1870
5
Hiram Orcutt, Lebanon, April 7, 1871 ; at large
6
Paul A. Stackpole, Dover, Oct. 2, 1871 5 John W. Simonds, Franklin, Oct. 2, 1871 ; declined. Clinton S. Averill, Milford, Dec. 21, 1871 8
George T. Day, Dover, Aug. 6, 1872; died.
George R. W. Scott, Newport, Aug. 6, 1872
3
Samuel B. Page, Concord, Aug. 6, 1872 3
Atwood B. Meservey, New Hampton, Aug. 6, 1872 ; declined.
Hazen Bedel, Colebrook, Aug. 6, 1872 7
Daniel G. Beede, Sandwich, Ang. 6, 1872 1
Joseph G. Edgerly, Manchester, Aug. 6, 1872 6
King S. Hall, Laconia, Aug. 6, 1872 7
John C. Ray, Dunbarton, Oct. 24, 1872
326
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
NUMBER OF YRARS IN SERVICE.
DATE OF FIRST APPOINTMENT.
Reuben B. Jordan, Tamworth, Sept. 4, 1873
2
William H. II. Allen, Newport, Feb. 10, 1874 3
John D. Lyman, Exeter, Oct. 24, 1874 5
William H. Farrar, Somersworth, Oct. 24, 1874 William T. Norris, Danbury, Oct. 24, 1874
1
Dauphin W. Buckminster, Keene, July 26, 1875
1
William A. Heard, Sandwich, July 26, 1875 ; declined.
Benjamin M. Mason, Moultonborough, May 25, 1876 3
Edward L. Goddard, Claremont, Sept. 5, 1876 2
Solon A. Carter, Keene, Sept. 5, 1876 ; declined.
Royal H. Porter, Keene, Sept. 5, 1876 2
Charles F. Stone, Laconia, Sept. 20, 1876
3
Parsons Brainard Cogswell, Concord, Sept. 20, 1876
3
William M. Chase, Concord, Sept. 20, 1876
3
Howard F. Hill, Ashland, Sept. 20, 1876
3
Charles A. Jewell, Plymouth, Sept. 20, 1876
10
George B. Spalding, Dover, Oct. 24, 1876
9
A. Bardwell Haywood, Keene, Ang. 22, 1878
1
Gerherdus L. Demarest, Manchester, Aug. 22, 1878 Osman B. Way, Claremont, Sept. 5, 1878
1
Edwin A. Peterson, Greenland, Sept. 5, 1878
1
Daniel C. Roberts, Concord, July 30, 1879
10
William E. Buck, Manchester, July 30, 1879 8
Hosea W. Parker, Claremont, July 30, 1879 10
Edward B. S. Sanborn, Franklin, Sept. 9, 1885 2
Alvin Burleigh, Plymouth, Jan. 13, 1887 11
Eliza Nelson Blair, Manchester, Sept. 8, 1887
2
Amos M. Kidder, Plymouth, Sept. 8, 1887 2
William H. Mitchell, Littleton, Sept. 21, 1887 12
George H. Stearns, Manchester, Sept. 8, 1889
10
Jason H. Dudley, Colebrook, Sept. 8, 1889 2
Charles H. Sawyer, Dover, Sept. 8, 1889 ; declined.
John Scales, Dover, Nov. 7, 1889 2
Cyrus Sargeant, Plymouth, Dec. 8, 1891
8
Channing Folsom, Dover, Dec. 8. 1891 5
James Clifford Simpson, Portsmouth, Feb. 23, 1897.
Henry H. Clark, Franconia, April 11, 1899.
Benjamin F. Dame, Newmarket, Nov. 22, 1899.
James H. Fassett, Nashua, Nov. 22, 1899.
George D. Towne, Manchester, Nov. 22, 1899.
1
2
327
THE LIBRARY.
XXII. THE LIBRARY.
N EW HAMPSHIRE, in the early foundation of a State library and in the establishment of local libraries, has ever maintained a foremost position. The first library movement was inaugurated immediately after the Revolution. One of the earliest and most influential advocates of local libraries was Rev. Jeremy Belknap, D.D., the State historian. An able and convincing plea in their behalf is found in the third volume of the History of New Hampshire. The first local library in New Hampshire was the Dover Social Library, of which Dr. Belknap was one of the incor- porators and an active supporter. It was incorporated Dec. 18, 1792. The number of local libraries rapidly increased. They were not founded, as in modern times, under the provisions of a general statute, but each was created and existed under a special act of incorporation.
Succeeding the pioneer library of Dover, fifty-six libraries were incorporated before the close of the eighteenth century, one hundred and sixteen before 1808, and one hundred and fifty- six before 1820. These were not free public libraries. The books were owned and used by the incorporators and their admitted associates, who were styled proprietors. They were supported by a tax upon the proprietors, who enjoyed exclusive privileges, and were not unlike a subscription library of later times. In the several acts of incorporation they were called social libraries.
The story of a large majority of these early libraries is one of decay and early extinction. They were founded on an existing impulse without any assurance of future support. There were no library buildings, and the collection of books was moved from
328
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
house to house as often as a new librarian was chosen. The general public was not enlisted.
If the number of volumes of these early libraries were measured by scores instead of by thousands, as at the present time, they were solid, instructive works and were read for instruction. The good influence and educational work of the early libraries of New Hampshire is demonstrated by the character and intelligence of the generation which they served.
As a part of the early library movement the Plymouth Social Library was incorporated June 10, 1807. The incorporators were: Rev. Drury Fairbank, Dr. John Rogers, Jotham Cummings, Jr., Col. David Webster, William Webster, Moor Russell, Samuel Wells, James Little, and John Porter, Esq. By the terms of the act the annual meetings for the choice of officers were held the first Wednesday in January, and the proprietors were privileged to receive donations and subscriptions not exceeding one thousand dollars. The record book is lost, and how many years the Social Library of Plymouth was maintained is not known.
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
To the young women of Plymouth the town is indebted for the early establishment of a public library. In the summer of 1873 a number of young ladies who were associated in social life began to discuss the project of founding a circulating library, with a hope that a free public library would eventually succeed a modest yet substantial beginning. Their ambition invited discussion, and encouraged by the advice and friendly support of Senator Blair and other good citizens of Plymouth, their first plans were enlarged and matured. The Young Ladies' Circulating Library was organ- ized Sept. 2, 1873. If this effort was a slender beginning, it possessed the power of a lofty resolution and the vigor and the bloom of the heroism of young and enthusiastic people. The original membership of the organization was fourteen. Officers were chosen at the first meeting. Ida M. Stearns was the first president; Elizabeth Andrews Dodge, vice-president; Carrie
YOUNG LADIES' LIBRARY (OLD COURTHOUSE)
-
-
329
THE LIBRARY.
Elizabeth Hall, secretary; Clara Thompson Clark, treasurer. The directors were Ada Elizabeth Howe, Elizabeth Dearborn, Clara Eaton Cummings, Annie M. Dearborn, and Julia Eliza Hobart. The first librarian was Eliza Ann Hilton Cummings. It was an excellent organization, but as yet it was not a library. They had no books and no money with which to purchase them. The young ladies conducted fairs and a series of entertainments, at which the good will of the community was expressed in a liberal patronage. With a generous sum of money, books were purchased, and early in 1874 the door of the library was opened. It was established on the second floor of a small building on Main Street, immedi- ately south of the present store of Charles J. Gould. Those who enjoyed the benefit of the library paid an annual fee of one dollar, and to enlarge the fund for the purchase of new books the young ladies with tact and success made many appeals to the public. Fairs, concerts, lectures, and dramatic entertainments followed in rapid succession, and the library was enlarged from year to year. In 1875 Capt. John Bertram of Salem, Mass., while sojourning at the Pemigewasset House became interested in the successful library work of the young ladies, and expressed his approbation in a donation of five hundred dollars. A portrait of the donor is hung in the library.
The purchase of the first courthouse in Plymouth and its re- moval to Court Street by Senator Blair is stated in another con- nection. This was done in 1876, and the library was then removed to its present home. In recognition of the good work of the library association the town made an appropriation for its benefit in 1885 and renewed its support in several succeeding years.
On account of important and radical changes in the laws of the state regulating public libraries, and in order to permanently establish the library in Plymouth upon the basis of a free public library, the town, since 1896, has chosen library trustees, and by mutual arrangements has joined with the directors of the library association in the general management of the library. The library trustees elected by the town in 1896 were Frank W. Russell, three
330
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
years; Alvin Burleigh, two years; and Henry C. Currier, one year. In 1897 Caroline S. Burns was elected, and Frank W. Russell, Alvin Burleigh, and Caroline S. Burns by re-election have been the trustees to the present time. The librarians in the order of service are Eliza Ann Hilton Cummings, Clara Thomp- son Clark, Mary Emma Merrill, Annie Maria Dearborn, Julia Eliza Hobart, Martha Higginson Leverett, and Caroline Ruth Leverett. The present efficient librarian is Elizabeth Fox, a grad- uate of Wheaton Seminary.
The conditions of the present joint management of the library are clearly defined in the contract between the library trustees of the town and the directors of the association. This contract has been continued by renewal since 1897. The terms of the agrec- ment are appended.
That the Directors of the Young Ladies Library Association, duly empowered for the purpose, and the Library Trustees of the Town of Plymouth, duly authorized by the vote of said town, mutually agree as follows:
Said Directors in consideration of the sum of three hundred dollars to be annually paid to them by said Town, agree that said Association will furnish for the term of three years from the first day of April, 1902, for the free use of all inhabitants of the town, under such rules and regulations as are now in force, and which are not to be changed except by consent of both parties, its complete library, together with its library building, suitably heated, cared for and lighted, and will furnish a competent librarian, who shall have charge of said library, and also the books therein which are owned by the town, and which are to remain, together with any other purchased by, or in behalf of, the town, for the use of all its inhabitants. Said Directors, in considera- tion aforesaid, further agree that said Association shall keep its Library and the books aforesaid of the town, insured for its benefit and that of the town as their respective interests may appear, and that whatever part, if any, of said annual payment of $300. shall remain unexpended by said Directors for current expenses, which among other things shall include repairs on books and replacing those worn out, shall be expended annually, or at the end of said term, at the option of the Association, in the purchase of books approved by said Trustees, which shall be the property of the town, and so marked and
331
THE LIBRARY.
used as a part of its free public library. Said Trustees agree that in consideration of the foregoing covenants on the part of said Associ- ation, and its Directors, made and to be kept, the town of Plymouth, through said Trustees, will pay to said Association annually for the term of three years from the first day of April, 1902, the sum of three hundred dollars.
332
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTHI.
XXIII. THE PEMIGEWASSET WOMAN'S CLUB.
L ONG has the fairy of Plymouth lived in the valley of the Pemigewasset. The mothers and the maidens of the first settlement greeted her as a sister and called her to their homes. She is young and fair and beautiful, light and elastic in step, and graceful and charming in every motion. Her face is as rosy as the blush of morning and her voice, soft as a flute, is as clear and rippling as the laughter of brooks. She wanders over the wooded hillside giving names to singing birds and gathering the sweet blossoms of spring by the side of running brooks. She walks from home to home on the green meadows and sunny up- lands, and many flowers, before unknown in the valley, spring up in her pathway. She is ever charmed with the beautiful in nature that surrounds her, and she calls her sisters to behold the grandeur of the mountains and the verdure of the meadows. She timidly listens to the rage of the Pemigewasset in freshet, and laughingly bathes her feet in the tranquil and repentant river of summer. She sings while her sisters toil, and she lightens their burdens of household cares, cheering them in the strength of morn- ing and soothing them in the weariness of evening. She has a chair at the fireside, where she listens to the carders of wool, the hum of the spinning wheel, and the even click of the loom. She sings to the toilers the cheering songs of industry and thrift. At the shearing of the sheep she dances with joy, and is gayest and happiest when counting the sheaves of a golden harvest. She leads the children to the early schoolhouses, pleasing them with elfish songs and fairy tales. The fairy of the valley, the good goddess of Plymouth, rejoices with her sisters at the building of a church and she kneels with them at the meetings of prayer. She
333
THE PEMIGEWASSET WOMAN'S CLUB.
visits the sick, bringing flowers and the fresher bloom of her gentleness and kindness. She lays her soft, cool hand on the brow of fever and smooths the pillow of pain and suffering. She weeps in the presence of death and she walks by the bier to the burial, scattering blossoms upon the new-made grave. It is then the good goddess, with a voice vibrant with tenderness and with words of the gentlest sympathy, soothes the wounds of bereaved and sorrow- ing hearts. The good goddess, with eyes turned upward and tearful, hears the harsh, discordant notes of war. Her heart of gentleness and love is bleeding for her sisters as she touches them with the wand of resignation and heroism. She calls them to surrender fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, but she gives them strength and courage to say farewell with cheerful face and unbroken voice when the heart is breaking.
This sweet fairy of the valley is the type of Plymouth woman- hood. No one woman has lived as long or wrought as much as the good goddess, but collectively the pure lives and good works of the mothers and the maidens of Plymouth, during one hundred and forty years, have fulfilled all the attributes of a pure and lofty model. As long as the women of Plymouth imitate the graces and virtues of the mothers the good goddess will not forsake them. If she grieves when some new woman wanders from the lofty models of pious mothers and strays too far from the altar of home, she will still attend her sisters into new fields of learning, culture, and human progress, rejoic- ing with them in the substantial advancement in education that admits a woman's club among the best ideals of city and country life.
On a summer afternoon fifteen women of Plymouth assembled to consider the foundation of a woman's club. The place of the meeting was Normal Hall and the date was June 26, 1897. The club was instituted, and on the pages of each year is recorded the evidence of progress and prosperity. The charter members are Charlotte (Dearborn) Fox, Etta F. (Draper) Maynard, Mabel
334
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTHI.
L. Greeley, Ada E. (Howe) Keniston, Annie (Burgess) Hull, Louisa (Hall) Russell, Maria A. (Dolloff) Hodge, Glennie (Bartlett) Adams, Elvira (Page) Burleigh, Caroline (Sargeant) Burns, Blanche (Plaisted) Wentworth, Jennie (Lyford) Fellows, Jennie J. (Adams) Webster, Marion (Blake) Campbell, Arabella (Roberts) Mason.
The good goddess of Plymouth cheerfully and confidently sub- mitted all the details of the organization to the wisdom of her assembled sisters, entreating only for the insertion of one article in the constitution. In a clear bold hand she wrote: " The object of this club shall be to broaden and strengthen the moral, social, and intellectual life of its members and through them to make itself a power for good in the community."
Over thirty meetings are held each year, and in the arrangement of numbers for essay, discussion, or review nearly all the members are enlisted and benefited by the discipline of personal effort. A few of the evenings of each annual course are reserved for lectures, to which the public are welcomed. Among the men and women of reputation who, under the auspices of the Woman's Club, have entertained and instructed the people of Plymouth are Russell Herman Conwell of Philadelphia, William G. Ward, May Alden Ward and Louis Charles Elson of Boston, De Witt Miller of Mary- land, Charles Francis Richardson of Dartmouth College, Eliza (Nelson) Blair and Olive (Rand) Clarke of Manchester, Sarah A. (Gerould) Blodgett of Franklin, Mary Elizabeth Blair of Plymouth, and Frank West Rollins and Lillian (Carpenter) Streeter of Concord.
The officers of the club are a president, two vice-presidents, a recording and a corresponding secretary, a treasurer, six directors, a lecture committee of four, and a social committee of five mem- bers. A member is eligible to a second but not to a third con- secutive election to the same office. The present membership is seventy-two, and the bow of promise in brilliant hues is reflected in the light of unity and progress. Since the organi-
335
THE PEMIGEWASSET WOMAN'S CLUB.
zation of the club six members have occupied the chair eight years : -
Elvira (Page) Burleigh, 1897, 1898. Marian (Blake) Campbell, 1899. Jennie J. (Adams) Webster, 1900, 1901, 1903.
Glennie (Bartlett) Adams, 1902. Ruth (McClure) Chase, 1904. Sarah Kate (Smith) Adams, 1905.
=
336
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
XXIV. POST-ROUTES AND POST-OFFICES.
F TROM the settlement of Plymouth in 1764 until near the close of the Revolution there was only one post-office in New Hampshire. Under the colonial government a post-office was maintained several years at Portsmouth with Eleazer Russell postmaster. The provincial congress established a post-office at Exeter and appointed Samuel Penhallow postmaster. There were mail communications between Portsmouth and Boston, and after 1775 between Exeter and Portsmouth, but there were no mail- routes to other towns in New Hampshire. The first mail-route and the first post-office, beside the official post-office at the seat of government, were established by the State of New Hampshire several years after the colony had ceased to exist.
With the present association of post-offices and the transporta- tion of mail with the government of the United States, it should be remembered that there was no Federal government and only a confederation of States until 1789. In the meantime New Hampshire had made material progress in the establishment of postal and other public conveniences and in the perfection of a State government.
A few months previous to the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town the legislature of this State, June 27, 1781, directed the establishment of a post-route from Portsmouth through Plymouth to Haverhill, returning to Portsmouth by way of Charlestown and Keene. The full circuit was to be made once in every fourteen days. The immediate object was to effect a more speedy distri- bution of government papers and incidentally to accommodate the public. In this act is the call to the first post-rider or mail- carrier in New Hampshire.
337
POST-ROUTES AND POST-OFFICES.
In July, 1781, John Balch of Keene and Meshech Weare were in conference at Exeter, and there consummated a contract.
State of New Hampshire
IN COMMITTEE OF SAFETY. EXETER July 27 1781
Pursuant to a vote of the Gen. Assembly of the 27th of June, 1781 authorizing the Committee of Safety to establish a Post to ride from Portsmouth to to the western parts of this State & agreeable to the proposal of Mr. John Balch of Keene, he the said John Balch is hereby appointed a Post rider for the term of three months to set out from Portsmouth on Saturday morning to ride to Haverhill by the way of Concord and Plymouth thence down the river to Charlestown, Keene aud to Portsmouth again, which tour is to be punctually performed once in each and every fourteen days, during said term, unless this Committee shall think it most convenient for the public good that the said Balch should sometimes alter his Rout. The said Balch is to convey all public Acts, Letters and Dispatches free from Charge. For which Service he shall receive from this State the sum of Seventy hard Dollars or Paper money equivalent. M. WEARE, Presd:
I, John Balch do hereby agree to the foregoing proposals and engage punctually to perform the duty of Post-rider agreeably thereto
JOHN BALCH.
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