History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 38

Author: Hazlett, Charles A
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 1390

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Exeter during the period of the Revolution was a place of great resort, and as those were not days when men could whirl into town from their homes by the train in the morning, and whirl back again to their own firesides

LANE MEMORIAL LIBRARY, HAMPTON, N. H.

OLD GENERAL MOULTON HOUSE, HAMPTON, N. H.

GOV. WEARE HOUSE (THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE) HAMPTON FALLS, N. H.

HOUSE WHERE WHITTIER DIED, HAMPTON FALLS, N. H.

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in the evening, nearly every visitor here had to pass a night or two under the roof of one or another of our hospitable landlords.

At the close of the Revolution Exeter had but just assumed the position in the province to which its size and importance entitled it. Forty years before, the town had become an object of jealousy and dislike to some of the dignitaries under the crown at Portsmouth, and in consequence thereof had been tabooed and "left out in the cold," so far as it was in their power to accomplish it. The last royal governor, John Wentworth, however, was too sensible and politic to allow his conduct to be influenced by an old grudge. He took particular pains to conciliate the inhabitants of Exeter, visited the town repeatedly in much state, formed and commissioned a company of cadets here, embracing many leading men, as a kind of bodyguard to the occupant of the gubernatorial office, and established relations of intimacy with several of the prominent citizens. He labored zealously and conscien- tiously for the good of the province, and at the same time to uphold the power of Britain over it. He hoped no doubt that his special friends in Exeter might adhere to the cause of the crown, as so many of his connec- tions and dependents in Portsmouth did. But he reckoned without his host. When the tocsin of war was sounded Exeter might be said to be a unit on the side of liberty, and the men whom Governor Wentworth had delighted to honor were the first to declare in favor of their oppressed country.

Exeter then became, and remained for many years, the capital of the province and state. The Legislature held its sessions here, and during its adjournments the committee of safety took its place, and exercised its func- tions. The courts were again established here, and the town became prac- tically the headquarters of all military undertakings in which New Hamp- shire was concerned. And here on the 5th day of January, 1776, was adopted and put in operation the first written Constitution for popular gov- ernment of the Revolutionary period. The honor of taking the lead of her sister colonies in this momentous "new departure" belongs to New Hamp- shire, and Exeter may well be proud to have been the scene of an occurrence so interesting and so memorable.

The Old Powder-House .- The structure in our town which has perhaps retained its old-time appearance most perfectly for the past century is the powder-house, situated on the point near the river on the east side. It was built about 1760, and has apparently undergone little repair since that time. It probably first held military stores destined for the French and Indian war, which, however, terminated before they could have been much needed. A few years later it was opened, no doubt, to receive a part of the powder cap- tured by the provincials in the raid, under Sullivan, upon Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor in December, 1774. But as powder without ball hardly met the requirements of the times, the selectmen of Exeter pur- chased lead for the "town stock" from John Emery, and sent for a further supply to Portsmouth by Theodore Carlton; employed Thomas Gilman to "run it into bullets," and finally stored the leaden missiles in a chest, which Peter Folsom made for the purpose, at a cost of three and sixpence. The ammunition was dealt out from time to time to other places which stood in greater need, very sparingly though; for notwithstanding Exeter had a pow- 20

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der-mill in 1776, the explosive dust was too precious to be wasted through a large part of the Revolutionary war. The old powder-house is now some- what weather-beaten and dilapidated, and perhaps past its usefulness; but we hope it may be spared, on account of the good service it has done in former days. May no vandal hand be laid upon it, but may it remain a land- mark for many years to come !

The Old Jail .- Another prominent object on the east side, which survived until a recent date, was the jail, on the spot occupied by the house of Mr. N. K. Leavitt. It is supposed to have been built about the year 1770, when the province was divided into counties. It was a wooden structure, of lim- ited capacity, and at first was surrounded by no exterior fence or wall. It could not have been a very secure place of confinement for a person of in- genuity and resources; and indeed more than one prisoner made his escape from it. The notorious Henry Tufts, who published his memoirs thirty years afterwards, tells us that he was incarcerated there before the Revolution, and made his way out without much difficulty. After 1775 the jail became crowded; not only were the persons in this province suspected of disaffection to the American cause committed there, but Tories from other jurisdictions, counterfeiters of the colonial paper money, and deserters and skulkers from the Continental army. So much apprehension was then felt that the building was not strong enough to contain its inmates that armed guards were con- stantly stationed at the door.

The courthouse, known also as the townhouse and statehouse, stood at what is now the easterly corner of Front and Court streets, on the site of the dwelling of the late Mr. Joseph Boardman. The building had formerly been the meeting-house of the first parish. When it was moved across the street and devoted to judicial purposes, it was flanked by the stocks and the whipping-post. Possibly the former instrument of discipline may have dis- appeared before 1776, but the latter undoubtedly lasted till then. The horse- thief Tufts was flogged there shortly before that date, unfortunately without eradicating his inborn propensity to appropriate unlawfully the property of other people to his own use.

One of the town schools ( for the excellence of which Exeter was early noted) was long kept in this townhouse. A "grammar school" was likewise maintained at the expense of the town in 1775-76, under the charge of Clement Weeks, a room being hired of Samuel Davis for the purpose.

The town and courthouse was the place of assembly for the Legislature of New Hampshire, whence it received the additional name of statehouse. Its halls in the "times that tried men's souls" continually echoed to the tread of the wisest and bravest of the dwellers among our granite hills. Sullivan and Folsom, Stark and Poor, Cilley and Scammell, Dearborn and Reid, in their military attire of blue and buff, often trailed their swords along its corridors : while Weare and Langdon, Gilman and Bartlett, Thornton and Whipple, and a host of other patriots in civil life assembled periodically within its walls to devise the ways and means for keeping an army in the field, until the power of Britain was at length broken, and peace crowned the independence of America.

The meeting-house of the first parish occupied nearly the same spot which

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its successor, the present church, does now. But the yard which surrounded it was then of greater extent, and was filled with substantial stone monu- ments, bearing inscriptions in memory of the dead who were interred beneath. A number of years ago those monuments were carefully leveled with the ground, placed above the bodies they were intended to commemorate, and thinly covered with earth. The rank grass soon sprang up and obliterated all traces of the burying-ground. Subsequently the street was widened in front, and it is understood that the present sidewalk passes over a portion of what was formerly the churchyard. The good taste and propriety of these alterations has been questioned by some of the present generation, we believe; but there is a consolation in the reflection that the memorial stones were neither destroyed nor removed from their proper locations, so that should occasion require, the information they contain can at any time hereafter be made available. A portion of the main floor of the old meeting-house was left open to all worshipers indiscriminately, except that the men and women occupied different sides.

Comparatively few persons had private seats. The privilege of erecting a pew was highly prized it would appear, for in 1775 the rights to build three of them in the meeting-house were sold at auction to the highest bidders, and realized handsome premiums. The services in the religious meetings at that period were conducted in most respects as in our own day. We no longer have tithingmen, however, to look after the sleepers and the uneasy youngsters in sermon time. And we do have church-organs and an abundance of hymn- books, which our predecessors did not, by reason of which there has been an essential change in the style and manner of the sacred music. The "pitch pipe" alone was formerly employed to "set the tune," and in good old Deacon Brooks' day the hymn in the first church was "deaconed" out, a line at a time, before it was sung by the choir.

In 1776 the meeting-house was opened on two occasions of peculiar interest to the society. The first was on the 14th of March, when funeral services were performed over the remains of the Rev. Woodbridge Odlin, who had been the pastor of the church for many years. We learn from a contemporary record that a great congregation assembled to witness the solemn ceremony, for the deceased clergyman was highly esteemed. The other occasion was on the 9th of October, when the Rev. Isaac Mansfield, of Marblehead, Mass., was ordained as the successor of Mr. Odlin. The Rev. Messrs. Thayer, of Hampton, Fogg, of Kensington, and Webster and Noyes, of Salisbury, were present and took part in the exercises.

Ordinations were great events in the last century, and we read of one in a town in Massachusetts during the Revolution where the Council during their session disposed of no less than thirty-eight mugs of flip, twenty-four mugs of cider, eleven gills of rum bitters, and two mugs of sling! But we have no reason to suppose that the good clergymen and brethren who assisted on the occasion referred to in our town found it such thirsty work. On the contrary, it seems to have been accomplished with all due decorum. It may be necessary to remind readers of the present day that houses of worship a hundred years ago contained neither fireplaces, stoves, nor other heating apparatus. The congregation, so far as temperature was concerned, were

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not much more comfortable in the winter season in-doors than out. But the generation of that day was brought up to bear hardships without complaint. The good mother used to rely upon a few coals in a foot-stove to keep up the vital heat, and perhaps the youngest child was bundled up so as to be kept comfortable; but the big boys had to take the severity of the weather seated on the bare boards, with little protection in the way of extra clothing. It is a question how large the attendance in our churches would be if the old fashion of cold rooms were to be resumed. Luckily for the enjoyment as well as for the size of the congregation, in the matter of conveniences and com- forts there is no retrogression. Improvements once introduced become neces- sities ; and New England will never go back to cold churches.

The meeting-house of the first parish had long been provided with a bell, and the town books inform us that in 1776 it was daily rung by Pompey Peters at I and 9 o'clock P. M., according to ancient custom, which has also been continued down to our own day. The present church was not built till more than twenty years after that date. It has been much admired for its archi- tectural proportions, and is undoubtedly a fine specimen of the ecclesiastical edifices of the last century. Having fortunately escaped destruction by fire, which threatened to consume it, it is to be hoped it may now safely survive its centennial in perfect strength and condition.

The other meeting-house in the Exeter of 1776 was that of the second parish, and stood on the lot now occupied by the house of W. N. Dow. It was a building of ample size, and had resounded to the voice of the eloquent Whitefield in former years. The church in the academy yard is its lineal successor. No other place of religious worship existed in the town a century ago, unless the few Quakers who lived here and in the vicinity may still have occasionally held meetings. Twenty years before, they are said to have used a building which stood upon Front Street, where now the residence of Doctor Day is, as the place for the dumb devotions. No doubt they here received occasional visits from itinerant brethren of their sect, who in "good old colony times" perambulated the whole country, and kept up communica- tion and interest between the families and communities of Friends in every section. In the Revolutionary times, however, the peaceful principles of the Quakers became unpopular, and their numbers here had probably dwindled, so that it may be doubtful if the small remainder did any acts to attract public attention.

The residence of the Rev. Woodbridge Odlin was in Front Street, on or near the spot where the house of Mr. B. L. Merrill now stands. Mr. Odlin's father, the Rev. John Odlin, lived there before him, and the Rev. John Clark occupied the same premises at a still earlier date, and as the Rev. Dr. Isaac Hurd subsequently passed some forty years of his life in the same place, it would be difficult, probably, to find another lot of land in New England which has been the home of successive clergymen for so long a period. The Rev. Woodbridge Odlin is described as portly in person, and a perfect gentle- man in his conduct and deportment. He was outspoken in his patriotic sen- timents.

The Rev. Daniel Rogers, the pastor of the second parish, was a very estimable man, and possessed much learning. During the long term of his

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residence here he kept a daily journal of occurrences, which our local anti- quaries, a generation ago, greatly relied on as containing materials for the history of the town that somebody has been always going to write. What has now become of that journal we know not. Mr. Rogers lived in a house that formerly stood about where the entrance to Franklin Street now is. It faced towards Water Street, and was long ago removed to another situation.

The "great bridge," perhaps the grandfather of the present one, spanned the river in 1776, as at present. Of course it did not receive its designation from its abstract magnitude, but by way of distinction from its neighbor, the "string bridge," which, much less than a century ago, consisted of merely a single string-piece of timber flanked by a hand-rail, over which only pedes- trians could pass.

The next house to the Rev. Mr. Rogers', probably on the west, was that of "Brigadier" Peter Gilman, as he was universally called. It is still stand- ing. It was built by Councilor John Gilman, if we may credit tradition, near two centuries ago, and is undoubtedly the oldest structure in the town. The main body, which was the original edifice, has its walls composed of squared logs, making it what was called a garrison house, for protection against the attacks of the Indians. It was formerly much more quaint in its external appearance than now; but the interior is still worthy of inspection, as an example of the primitive domestic architecture of the country. The front wing is an addition of later date, made by the brigadier.

Peter Gilman's career extended back to an early period in the history of Exeter, he having been born in 1703, and as he lived to the good old age of eighty-five, he witnessed many changes, and in the end very great improvements, in his native town. He was for a long period a leading citizen. He had the command of a regiment in the French war and served with much credit, receiving subsequently the honor of a brigadier-general's com- mission. For twelve successive years he was speaker of the Assembly of the Province, and in 1772 and 1773 he was a member of the Governor's Council. He was undoubtedly inclined to question the expediency of resisting the royal authority, and in 1775 was required by the Provincial Congress to con- fine himself to the town of Exeter, and not depart thence without the con- sent of the proper authorities. But he was evidently not looked upon as a dangerous foe to liberty, and his scruples appear to have been respected by those who took the opposite side. His fellow-citizens chose him moderator in 1775, which could hardly have been done if he had been a Tory in the worst sense of the term. Brigadier Gilman was a great admirer of Whitefield, and an amusing story is told of the power of the great preacher's eloquence upon him and others, causing them to roll upon the floor in an agony of penitence. Another tradition represents him as sending off a press gang, which had come from Portsmouth to Exeter to seize men for the king's service, by admonishing them that every individual they took would be rescued from their hands before they reached Stratham. The brigadier appears to have stood up manfully for his townsmen, and hence they naturally stood by him. He was about the only Exeter man of note whose fidelity to the American cause came early under suspicion.

At a later period, however, another person who had previously held him- self out as a zealous Whig was found guilty of the blackest defection. This

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was Robert Luist Fowle, the printer, whose office in 1776, as he advertised, was "on the grand country road, near the State House,"-probably on Water Street not far from the present Court Square. Fowle had been employed to print the paper money of New Hampshire, and was afterwards suspected, on very good grounds, of using his press for issuing counterfeits of the same to be put in circulation by disaffected persons ; it being considered a legitimate way of opposing the popular government to discredit its circulating medium. Fowle was arrested and held in durance for a time, and apparently under- took to secure his own safety by betraying his accomplices. Perhaps he was thought to be playing false in this; for we are informed that he owed his escape at last to the unfaithfulness of his jailor, whose carriage was believed one stormy night to have conveyed him away, and he sought refuge within the British lines.

The inhabitants of Exeter were almost to a man in favor of resistance to the oppressive measures of the British Parliament. Conspicuous among the patriots was Col. Nicholas Gilman, the father of Governor Gilman. At the commencement of the Revolution he was forty-four years of age, in the very prime of his powers, a man of resolution, firmness, and sound judgment. He was largely engaged in business, and was commanding officer of a regi- ment of militia. He was a great favorite with Governor Wentworth, who undoubtedly used all his influence to keep him on the side of his royal master, and it is said never ceased to retain his attachment for him. But Colonel Gilman occupied no doubtful ground. Early declaring himself on the side of his country, his counsel and services were eagerly sought for in her behalf and cheerfully rendered. Money, the sinews of war, was the thing most need- ful, and he was placed at the head of the fiscal department of the state, where he accomplished almost as much for New Hampshire as Robert Morris did for the country. But his efforts were not limited to any narrow sphere. No plan for the public security or advantage was adopted until it received the sanction of his approval. President Weare held the chief executive office, and Nicholas Gilman was his premier. The two sons of Colonel Gilman who were old enough for the military service took up arms at the beginning of the Revolutionary struggle. John Taylor, the elder, served in the company of volunteers who marched to Cambridge on the morning after the first effu- sion of blood at Lexington and Concord. Afterwards he became an assistant to his father at home, and rendered invaluable aid to the patriot cause through- out the war in various capacities. The second son, Nicholas, entered the army early, and served in it six years and three months. He was assistant adjutant- general during the latter part of his service, and as such returned an acount of the prisoners captured on the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Nathaniel, the third son of Col. Nicholas Gilman, was but sixteen when the war began, and did not take part in the fighting, though very desirous to do so; but he was useful to his father in his manifold employments, and suc- ceeded him at an early age in his official positions.

Detachments from Colonel Gilman's regiment were from time to time called into the field for active duty, and there is no doubt that they received his supervision there. But it is not known that he served in person during any campaign, though it is likely that he was from time to time at the front.

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It is related that he visited Gates' headquarters in 1777 for the purpose of doing his devoir in aiding to arrest the invading march of Burgoyne, but that the decisive battle had been fought before his arrival. He probably enjoyed there the opportunity of witnessing the surrender of an entire British army to the power of united America, which must have yielded him heartfelt satis- faction. Colonel Gilman resided, in 1776, in the house afterwards long occu- pied by Col. Peter Chadwick.

Gen. Nathaniel Folsom acted an important part in the Revolutionary drama. A native of Exeter, and descended from one of its most ancient families, he had been a soldier long before that time. In 1755, at the age of twenty, he was entrusted with the command of a company in a New Hamp- shire regiment, raised to serve under Sir William Johnson against Crown Point, and distinguished himself greatly by his gallantry and good conduct. He afterwards received promotion in the militia, and in 1774 was in the commission of the peace, which was then no small honor. He had also been for several years a member of the Assembly of the Province, and was regarded as one of the leaders of the popular cause. In 1774 he was chosen one of the members to represent New Hampshire in the General Congress at Philadel- phia. Apparently Governor Wentworth hoped to the last that Folsom might be brought to repent and renew his fealty to the king, for it was not till the 22d of February, 1776, that he cast him off. On that day Folsom had the honor of receiving a letter of the following tenor :

"SIR :- I am commanded by his Excellency to acquaint you that he has, with advice of his Majesty's Council, ordered your name to be erased from the commission of the peace for the County of Rockingham-that it is done accordingly, and that you act no more as a justice of the peace for said county.

"By his Excellency's command,

Is. RINDGE,

"Clerk of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the County of Rockingham."

The ex-justice did not make himself unhappy over the loss of his commis- sion, but was undoubtedly glad to be freed from the very semblance of holding office under the king, or rather, as the phrase then was, under the king's min- isters, for the Americans commonly believed that his gracious majesty was at heart very friendly to them, and that his advisers were solely responsible for every tyrannical act visited upon the colonies. At a later period the pub- lication of the letters of George III. to Lord North showed that this idea was totally erroneous, and that the American Revolution was due to the obstinacy, folly, and despotic notions of the king himself. Colonel Folsom (for that was his title in the beginning of 1775) was evidently held in the highest estimation as a military commander, for on the 24th day of May, in that year, a month after Lexington, and a month before Bunker Hill, he received the appointment of major-general of "all the forces raised (by New Hampshire) for this and the other American colonies." The province had then three regiments in the field-Stark's, Poor's, and Reed's.

General Folsom at once repaired to Cambridge to take the command of the brigade. Stark complained ( without reason) at Folsom being put over him, and was inclined to despise the authority of this colony, till his native good sense taught him to act more wisely. The misunderstanding and rivalry

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between Folsom and Stark, however, prevented the nomination of either as a general officer on the Continental establishment, and Sullivan was selected as brigadier from New Hampshire. General Folsom remained in command of the New Hampshire troops at Cambridge until the adoption of the army, and the appointment of its commanders by Congress. He then returned home, but though not again called actively to the field, he was allowed no respite from military or civil employment. He was retained in command of the militia, who were continually kept in readiness for active service in emergencies, and frequently called forth. In the course of the war he was four years a member of the Committee of Safety; was repeatedly chosen to the Legislature, and in 1777, and again in 1779, elected a delegate to the Continental Congress; and in addition to all the rest, was made a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. There was evidently an incompatibility, or at least an impropriety, in a single person exercising such diverse functions at the same time, and some exception was taken to it in the Legislature; but a majority were of the opinion that the occasion justified a departure from ordinary rules. and the perfect confidence reposed in General Folsom's honesty and patriotism silenced all criticism. General Folsom lived in a house which formerly stood where Mr. George Sullivan's residence (now the Squamscot House) was afterwards built.

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History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 38

Author: Hazlett, Charles A Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Number of Pages: 1390

Author: Hazlett, Charles A
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 1390