History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 39

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

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Enoch Poor was one of the most active business men of Exeter when the war began. He had come here some ten years before from Andover, Mass., his native town, and had engaged in trade and ship-building. He showed himself to be decided, bold, and fitted for command, and as he was an ardent friend of liberty, he was regarded at an early period as a leader in organizing resistance to the British authority. He was absent from home when the first shot was fired at Lexington, but in a very short time was found at Cam- bridge marshaling the sons of New Hampshire, who at the first note of alarm had quitted the plow to take up arms in behalf of their imperiled brethren of Massachusetts Bay. He was at once made colonel of the Second Regiment of New Hampshire troops, and thence forward until his death shared the for- tunes of the American army. He was in command of his regiment on the Canada expedition, and was appointed a brigadier-general in 1777, in which capacity he did excellent service in Gates' army in the battles which resulted in the capture of Burgoyne. In Valley Forge he bore his part in the priva- tions and sufferings of the troops, and at Monmouth he won distinction by his efforts in retrieving the fortunes of the day, at first imperiled by Lee's "ill-timed' retreat." He accompanied Sullivan in 1779 in his expedition against the Indians; and in 1780 was put in command of a brigade of light infantry under the orders of Lafayette, who had a high opinion of him. He died at Paramus, N. J., on the 8th of September in that year, of fever, after a short illness.

General Poor was much esteemed by his brother-officers. Washington wrote of him in terms of high commendation; and when Lafayette visited this country, half a century ago, he paid a graceful tribute to his merit, as well as to that of another distinguished New Hampshire officer, by giving as a sentiment on a public occasion, "The memory of Light-infantry Poor and Yorktown Scammell." The residence of General Poor was in the house

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formerly at the easterly corner of Centre and Water Streets, where his widow continued to live during the fifty years that she survived him. We have, unfortunately, no portraits of many of the principal citizens of Exeter one hundred years ago. But a likeness of General Poor is still extant. The tradition is that it was drawn by the accomplished Polish engineer in the American service, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, upon the fly-leaf of a hymn-book in church. It represents the general in the Continental uniform, with a cocked- hat and epaulets. The features are bold and prominent, and we can easily. believe that the original must have been a man of mark.

Another of the foremost men of that time was Col. John Phillips, the location of whose dwelling has already been described. Though he wore a military title, he was noted not so much for his warlike as for his civic achieve- ments. He was, however, the commanding officer of the Exeter Cadets, and a very well drilled and disciplined corps it was said to be. He was also a decided friend of his country, it is understood, notwithstanding he took no active part in public affairs in the Revolution. He was bred to the ministry, though he was engaged in business as a merchant for the greater part of his working life. He employed his large accumulations wisely and generously in promoting the cause of education in this and other states.

In the house formerly occupied by Mr. John W. Getchell lived Col. James Hackett in 1776. He had been for some time engaged in ship-building here, and was a man of enterprise and determination. He was no laggard in evinc- ing his willingness to enlist in his country's cause, for he was one of the first to march to the scene of hostilities on the morning after the Concord fight. The unanimous voice of his fellow-volunteers made him the commander of the extemporized company, and he acquitted himself well of the trust. Repeatedly afterwards during the war he was chosen to important military commands, but his contriving head and skillful hands were so constantly needed in constructing ships-of-war and flotilla for offensive and defensive purposes on our coast that he is not known to have served as a soldier in any campaign, except in Rhode Island, under General Sullivan, in 1778, where he held the post of lieutenant of a company of light horse, of which no less a person than John Langdon was captain. Colonel Hackett appears to have passed much of his time, at a later period, in Portsmouth, where he pursued the business of ship-building, and on the occasion of Washington's visit to New Hampshire in 1789 commanded a battalion of artillery, which received his excellency on his arrival in Portsmouth with a grand salute.

The same house was years afterwards tenanted by another person, who filled during the Revolution a still more conspicuous public position. This was Gen. Nathaniel Peabody, who was in 1774 a physician in Plaistow, prac- ticing his profession with great success. He was popular and aspiring. He denounced the usurpations of Britain at the outset, and is said to have been the first man in the province to resign the king's commission from political motives. He was repeatedly chosen to the Legislature, and upon the Com- mittee of Safety, and was in 1779 and 1780 a delegate to Congress. Besides these, he held numerous other offices, civil and military, of dignity and importance. As adjutant-general of the state his only active service, by a singular coincidence, was in the same Rhode Island campaign in which his

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predecessor in the habitation, Colonel Hackett, first heard the sounds of actual conflict. After the war, General Peabody's popularity was undiminished, and he received frequent testimony of the confidence of his fellow-citizens in the shape of elections to office. He afterwards removed his residence to Exeter, where he passed the remainder of his life. Towards the close of his career he was annoyed by pecuniary troubles, and is said to have become petulant and rough in his manners. Many stories are yet current of his sharp speeches and harsh conduct. They furnish an exemplification of the truth of the oft- quoted words of Shakespeare :

"The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones."

General Peabody was undoubtedly possessed of ability far above the average, and rendered valuable service as a legislator to his state and country, and in his professional capacity to the sick and suffering. We can make allowance for faults of temper, and even for more serious defects in one who so stanchly defended the rights of his country in the hour of her sorest trial, and bore so important a part in laying the foundations of the nation's pros- perity and greatness.

Where the town-house now is, Joseph Gilman lived in 1776, in the gambrel- roofed house which, having been reduced one story in height, now occupies a place on the north side of Franklin Street. Mr. Gilman was bred to mer- cantile pursuits, and for several years before the Revolution was a member of the firm of Folsom, Gilman & Gilman, which did a large business in Exeter, in trade, in ship-building, and in ventures at sea. A printed shop-bill of the concern has been preserved, which shows that almost as great a variety of merchandise found a sale among the good people of the place three or four generations ago as now. "Crimson, scarlet, and various other color'd Broad Cloths; scarlet and green Ratteens ; scarlet, blue, and green Plushes; crimson, cloth color'd and black figur'd cotton waistcoat Shapes; Velvet of most colors for capes; crimson, scarlet, black, blue, green, and cloth color'd Shaloons," are all articles which indicate the prevailing taste of that day for bright colored clothing; a taste which must have rendered an assemblage of ladies and gentle- men a spectacle much more imposing and pleasing to the eye than a company attired in the sombre hues, or the white and black, which are prescribed by more recent fashions.

Folsom, Gilman & Gilman dealt in hardware also, and in their enumera- tion of merchandise of this description, we find almost identically the tools and iron utensils which are advertised by their successors in the same line of business in 1876. Of course there are more or less Yankee inventions of modern date, however, which have superseded the older contrivances. The almost universal use of cooking-stoves, for example, has rendered much of the apparatus of the old-fashioned fireplaces obsolete; gun-flints are little in demand since percussion locks were invented ; hour-glasses are now mere matters of curiosity, and "H and HL hinges," thumb-latches, warming-pans, and shoe and knee-buckles are certainly no longer articles of common 11se. Some of the goods are described by names that sound strangely to our modern

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ears. Tammys and Durants, Dungereens, Tandems, Romalls, and Snail Trim- mings would be inquired for in vain, we fear, at our dry goods stores ; and it is doubtful whether Firmers, Jobents, Splinter Locks, or Cuttoes would be recognized under those designations among our dealers in ironmongery.

In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that another printed Exeter shop-bill of the ante-Revolutionary period is still extant. It contains a brief list of the articles to be sold by William Elliott, "at his shop formerly occupied by Mr. Peter Coffin, and opposite Peter Gilman, Esq'rs." It indi- cates that Mr. Elliott's stock in trade was also quite miscellaneous, compris- ing dry goods, hardware, and groceries.

Indeed, there was one article under the last head that was then kept by every trader,-spirituous liquor. Its use was all but universal. We have already related an incident to show that good men, engaged in a religious duty, sometimes partook of the enticing cup with freedom. In fact, there was no occasion of unusual interest, from a christening to a funeral, but must be observed by a plentiful oblation. The selectmen when they met to transact the town business repaired to a tavern, where it was convenient to obtain the means to moisten their clay ; and the landlord duly scored the mugs and bowls of fragrant beverages which they consumed to the account of the town, and his bill was promptly met at the close of the year. The judges on their circuit were unable to hold the courts without spirituous refreshment. We have seen a bill of the "Courts' Expences," of somewhat earlier date than the era we have been referring to, in which the dinners each day were supplemented by a liberal number of "Bottels of wine" and "Boules of punch.'

Mr. William Elliott left his business when the country called for armed defenders and joined the army. He was adjutant in the regiment of Col. Nathan Hale in 1777, and at the disastrous fight at Hubbardtown was taken prisoner. He was probably exchanged subsequently.

The house of Mr. Joseph Gilman was the place where most of the meet- ings of the Committee of Safety were held during the war. The Legislature was in session more than one-third part of the year 1776, and the committee nearly the entire residue of the year. It would seem to be a hazardous thing to delegate to a dozen men the power to arrest, imprison, and release at their pleasure any of their fellow-citizens of the province. If they had been vin- dictive, here was ample opportunity to wreak their vengeance; if they had been rapacious, here were plenty of chances to fill their pockets. Many who were apprehended by their authority made bitter complaints, of course; but the action of the Committee of Safety is believed, on the whole, to have been characterized by much prudence and moderation. They had a great variety to deal with. Not a few of the men of wealth and position were opposed to resistance to the British authority. They feared the result of an organized insurrection against the power and warlike resources of England, and they preferred to submit to what they considered the small evil of taxation without representation rather than to incur the hazards of rapine and confiscation which might come in the train of a rebellion suppressed by force of arms. These timid souls were treated tenderly, and after a taste of jail-life were

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allowed to go at large upon giving security for their good behavior. It may have been one of these who wrote to the committee the following letter :

"Prison in Exeter, 24th Apl. 1776.

"may it Please your Honors,

"Gratitude being a Duty Incumbent on those who have Receiv'd Favors, begg Leave to Return your Honors most sincere thanks for the Very Great Favor you have Done me in admitting me to Bail for the Liberty of this house and the Yard thereto adjoyning, & am with the utmost Respect, Sin- cerity & Esteem

"yr Honors most obedient Servant, "John Patten. "The Honorable Committee of Safety."

As the "liberty of the yard" is alluded to in this letter, a word on the subject of that ancient legal fiction, as it may be termed, will perhaps not be void of interest to the people of this age, to whom imprisonment for debt is happily unknown. In former times, when a man who could not pay what he owed was liable to compensate for his inability by the loss of his personal liberty, debtors in many cases could enjoy the privilege of living outside the jail walls, provided they did not exceed certain limits, which were fixed at a convenient distance-for a long time 200 rods-from the building in every direction. In order to secure this advantage, which was obviously a great relief from actual incarceration, the debtor was obliged to give a bond, with good sureties, that he would keep within the prison "yard," as the limits were called. And if he overstepped the line, even for a single inch, his bond was forfeited, and his sureties were liable to pay the debt.

A story is told of a debtor in Exeter in the olden times who, being under bond to confine himself to the jail yard, saw a child who had fallen into the river struggling for its life at a point just beyond the line which he was bound not to transcend. His humanity outweighed all other considerations, and he broke bounds without hesitation and saved the child. It is pleasant to record that though the creditor might have extorted his debt from the bonds- men, for this act of mercy on the part of their principal, he never made the attempt. If he had forgiven his debtor in full it would have been better still.

But some of the Tories who came under the cognizance of the Committee of Safety were not to be handled with too much tenderness. They were sullen and vindictive, and ready to do anything to obstruct the progress of popular government. One of the men concerned with Fowle, the printer, in emitting counterfeit paper money was of this description. He had occupied a position of some distinction in the province. It was a bitter humiliation for him to lie in the jail with common malefactors, but he was too proud and obstinate to recant the opinions he had often expressed; and so he chafed in confine- ment, until by the aid of friends without he was enabled to make his escape. This was the well-known Col. Stephen Holland, of Londonderry. His influence on those about him must have been rated high, since it was deemed necessary to imprison his negro man Cato as well as his master. After the colonel's flight, the committee appear to have issued hand-bills for his appre- hension, and employed Benjamin Boardman to go express to Boston, "to carry

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advertisements after the Col. Holland." They turned out to be "after" him indeed, for he was so far in advance of them that he reached the enemy's lines in safety. He was banished by a formal act of the General Court, and his property confiscated.

Mr. Joseph Gilman was himself chairman of the Committee of Safety at one period, and held various public trusts during and after the war. His wife was a woman of thorough education and many accomplishments. His house appears to have been repeatedly visited by strangers of distinction dur- ing the Revolution. Some of the high-bred French officers who drew their swords in behalf of America are said to have expressed their admiration for the culture and esprit of Mrs. Gilman, as beyond anything they had witnessed elsewhere in the country. Samuel Adams passed a night at Mr. Gilman's house in the latter part of 1776, just before the victories at Princeton and Trenton had relieved the feeling of despondency caused by the prior disasters to our arms; and all Mrs. Gilman's powers of pleasing were said to have been exerted to cheer the drooping spirits of the patriot without effect. A military success was then the only cure for the gloom of the stern king-hater.

The dwelling-place of Maj. Jonathan Cass, one of the veterans of the Revolution, was where the house of Mr. Henry W. Anderson now is. At the outbreak of the war he was twenty-two years of age, and according to description was an erect, handsome man, with keen black eyes. He enlisted in the army as a private soldier, and served until peace was established, having taken part in most of the principal battles. As early as 1777 his merits pro- cured him promotion to an ensigncy, and at the close of the war he was a captain. He then resumed his residence in Exeter for a few years, and his distinguished son, Lewis Cass, was born here in 1782. About 1790 the father re-entered the army in command of a company raised for the defense of the western frontier, and subsequently received the commission of major. He was so much pleased with the appearance of the western country that he established his home in Ohio, where he died in 1830.

Lewis Cass remained in Exeter till he finished his studies at the academy, and received a diploma, signed by the principal and president of the board of trustees, certifying his proficiency and good conduct, a copy of which, in his own youthful handwriting, is still preserved. His career after he quitted the home of his youth is a matter of familiar history.

Col. Samuel Folsom, a brother of Gen. Nathaniel Folsom, was a well- known and respected citizen in 1776. His house was at the easterly corner of Court Square and Water Street, and is now occupied by the Hon. John Scammon. It is believed to have been built a year or two before the date mentioned, probably to replace a former edifice removed or destroyed. Colonel Folsom kept a public-house, as his widow continued to do many years after his death. He was lieutenant-colonel of the Exeter Corps of Independent Cadets, commanded by Col. John Phillips. He was intrusted with much important business during the Revolution, requiring sound and tried capacity and devotion to his country's interests.

After John Langdon, in the midst of the apprehensions excited by the triumphant incursion of Burgoyne, inspirited the people of New Hampshire, by the offer of his private property to organize an expedition under General

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Stark, with the purpose of turning back the invader, Colonel Folsom was delegated by President Weare, chairman of the Committee of Safety, to visit General Stark, to convey him money for contingent expenses, to learn how his expedition was progressing, what articles it stood in need of, and to "advise with all persons in the service of this state on such things as he thought needful to forward the business they are engaged in." His confidential and discretionary mission appears to have been executed to the satisfaction of all parties : and we know how thoroughly Stark was enabled to perform the part required of him when he met the enemy at Bennington. A couple of years afterwards Colonel Folsom was selected by the General Court to discharge the agreeable duty of presenting in behalf of the state of Col. Joseph Cilley a pair of pistols which had been the property of Col. Stephen Holland, the Tory absentee: and the receipt of Colonel Cilley remains to testify that the commission was duly accomplished. It was at the house of Colonel Folsom that President George Washington stopped and partook of a collation when he visited Exeter in his tour through the Eastern States, in the autumn of 1789.

If time would permit, information could be obtained, no doubt, which would enable us to fix the residences, and give some account of the services, of many others of our former townsmen who responded to the call of the country in the struggle for independence. But the brief space allowed for the completion of these sketches forbids extended inquiry and research, and we must be content with recording such fragments of personal history of that character as are to be collected at short notice.

Peter Coffin, the predecessor of William Elliot in his store, near the western extremity of the great bridge, was a major in Col. David Gilman's regiment. His family name was once familiar here, and his ancestors are said to have lived in what is now the yard of the academy. An orchard which belonged to them then bore its fruit on the ground now covered by the academy.

The old Exeter family of Robinson was well represented in the Continental service, two of its members holding commissions therein; the one, Caleb Robinson, as captain, and the other, Noah, as ensign.

Noah Emery, a name handed down for generations here, was a paymaster in Col. Isaac Wyman's regiment and commissary. In the latter capacity he had the charge of a large amount of stores, which tradition says were housed in a building in Spring Street, familiarly termed "the State's barn."

Dr. Samuel Tenney was a surgeon in one of the Rhode Island regiments. He had previously settled in this town, and returned and married a wife here at the expiration of his service. He was a person of uncommon literary and scientific attainments, and contributed articles to the publications of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a topographical account of Exeter to the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He felt a warm interest in political matters also, and was for seven years a representa- tive in Congress. He was also judge of probate, and was highly respected.

Another citizen of Exeter who served in the medical department of the army was Dr. William Parker, Jr. He was a grandson of Judge William Parker, of Portsmouth, whose father married, it is said, a daughter of the

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English patrician house of Derby. Doctor Parker died in Exeter of yellow fever, which he contracted from a patient.

James McClure was the adjutant of a New Hampshire regiment in the Continental service.

Benjamin Boardman performed a tour of duty in the Revolution as the commanding officer of a company. He was a noted man in the town, and many years afterwards kept a public-house on the east side of the river.

Ebenezer Light was a lieutenant for two years or more in the New Hamp- shire line. His name was once a common one in Exeter, and Light's tavern, on Tower Hill, was a well-known place of entertainment. But no branch of the family now remains here, so far as we can ascertain.

Samuel Brooks, of Exeter, appears to have been quartermaster in Col. David Gilman's regiment. Whether this was the excellent deacon, who lived in a house removed to make way for the present Methodist Church, we are not certain. But if he undertook the duties, it is safe to say that he made a good quartermaster, for he was a faithful and thorough man. There is no doubt that he was employed by the Committee of Safety to pay the New Hampshire troops who were in Arnold's ill-fated expedition against Quebec. It may interest the reader to learn that the amount paid them, includ- ing expenses, was 348 pounds seven shillings.

Ebenezer Clifford, who was quartermaster-sergeant in Colonel Poor's regiment in 1775, was probably the person who removed hither from Ken- sington about 1790, and lived in the Brigadier Gilman house until his death. He was an ingenious mechanic, and constructed a diving-bell, with the aid of which he is said to have recovered a quantity of silver money from the wreck of a Spanish or other foreign vessel at the Isles of Shoals. The coin had suffered during its long submersion a wondrous sea change, and was found to be covered with some kind of marine incrustation. A portion of it was placed for safe-keeping in the old Exeter Bank, and when the vault of that institution was entered and robbed of its valuable contents, about the year 1828, some of Mr. Clifford's silver pieces were among the spoils. The story goes that the peculiar appearance of the money afforded the clew by which the guilty persons were detected.

It would not be just, in any recital of the services of our townsmen in the Revolution, to omit to mention the independent company that volunteered under the command of Capt. John Langdon in 1777, and marched to Sara- toga to aid in the capture of Burgoyne. The lieutenant of the company was Col. Nicholas Gilman, and the private soldiers were composed of the solid men of Exeter, Portsmouth, and Newmarket. Most of them were of mature age, and many had held military commissions. No roster of the company is now accessible, but it is known that among the Exeter quota were such men as Capt. Samuel Gilman, Col. Eliphalet Giddings, Col. Nathaniel Gid- dings, and Ephraim Robinson, Esq. That citizens of such age and standing were ready to leave their families and business to shoulder the musket in defense of their country is proof positive of the pressing nature of the emer- gency. and of the aboslute necessity then felt that the progress of the hostile army should be checked, and a substantial triumph gained to the cause of America. And the momentous consequences which ensued from the capitula-

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History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 39

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