History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 115

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1714


USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 115
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 115


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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(Page 13.) "17 February : 1715: Att a chh. Meting Att the Meting bouse 1Charles Steward was Publickly Admonished An Reproved for the Breach of the 8th Commandme who Readily Confest that he had sinned and Thereupon forgiven and Accepted into Favour, Att the sante Time the following votes were past.


"1. Voted that every Communicant shall give ye Advancing year for the Maintainance off the Lord's Supper Is. Gd.


"2. Voted, That every communicant shall pay In the one half of sd eum or more To the Deacon the first Day off March or before, and the other half att or before the first 7br.


"3. Voted, That In the end of the year The chh Be called togather (Iff need be) to call those to An Acct, who have Been Defective In paying


ther Respective sums, And Iff Itt falls short threw poverty off any- to have a contribution for to make Itt up.


" 4. Voted That the Deacon shall pay himself for what Is yet Due to him viz: 5- 48 == 7d with the first money that Is pd Iuto bim by the communicants (page 14).


"5. Voted, That Deacon Shaw shall have for his Trouble In providing the elements & Looking after the utensils this Advancing year 2uhg 6d a day, wch vote never was complyed wth by ye Deacon Shaw."


That is, the good deacon refused to accept of any compensation for his services.


"18 : octobr 1717. Att a chh. Meting Att the house off Descon Shaw Thes following votes were past :


"1. That the communicants should Continue the giving 18 6ª apiece per annum this Advancing year for the Maintaining of the ordinance of ye Lords supper.


"2. That Benjamin Sanburoe and Benjamin Batchelour should be Assistants to Deacon Shaw In stirring up psone to bring in ther Respect- ive sums to the Deacon for his Defraying the charge off ye sacramts.


"3. That the Revd Mr. Colton then Pastor Administer the sesl off Baptism to Adult persons & to ther children; they owning the Cort Iff they dare not as yet proseed to ye other seal off the cort Provided he is clear In ye matter and any offer themselves there for who In the Judgmt off charity are suitable Subjects for that ordenance.


"28: April: 1721. Att a chh. Meting att my house The chh. concluded that Eighteen pence p annum for each communicant wuld but be suffi- cient to mayntayn the ordinance off the Lords supper among us an- nually and ther beiug considerable behind for the 6 years past they chose Philemon Blake In lein off Benjamin Ratchelor Decessd to Be Assistant to Deacon Weare and Benjamin Sauburne. In stirring up the comomoicants To bring in ye Respective sums to Deacon Shaw for his defraying the charge of that holy ordinance."


" Records for this year 1712: Beg : 2 Jan. off Persoos Admitted to full Communion."


Some of these foregoing records of Mr. Colton are almost illegible, in consequence of being crowded to- gether in a fine hand. But the record of persons ad- mitted to full communion during his ministry of nearly fifteen years is in a large plain hand covering eight pages and including ninety-eight names, of whom forty-nine were admitted the first four years. During the fifth and twelfth years only one name is recorded for each year, and nine in the thirteenth year, among whom was " Mr. Leo. Colton, schoolmaster of ye parish & Hannah his wife." This record of persons admitted by Mr. Colton closes June 5, 1726 : " Record of Mar- riages consummated 1712: before me T: Colton."


While some of the pages of this little volume are almost as hidden as Greek, these records of marriages of Mr. Colton are as legible as print after the lapse of one hundred and seventy years since he united his first couple, in the persons of Nathaniel Healy and Hannah Tilton, Dec. 13, 1712. This date was just a year after the day of fast, when Mr. Colton assisted in organizing the church, and about three weeks be- fore his ordination. Nathaniel Healey, a member of his church and a prominent citizen, was twice mar- ried by Mr. Colton, the second time in 1722, to Su- sanna Weare. The number of marriages consum- mated by Mr. Colton (ninety-nine) was almost exactly the same as the number of persons admitted to full communion with the church during his ministry. It might be said of these also that they were admitted to full communion with each other through the di- vinely-sanctioned rite of marriage. Among the mar- riages by Mr. Colton was that of Jonathan Fifield to HIannah Wate, on the 15th of January, 1723. Mr.


1 None of that bame about here now.


490


HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


Fifield was one of the early deacons of this church, prominent in town affairs, and for many years parish clerk. He resided on the farm now owned by Mr. John Thayer Batchelder, and the rock is now pointed out whereon one of his ancestors was killed by the Indians and another at the same time taken captive.1 Deacon Fifield was the grandfather of Betsey Fifield Dodge, the mother of the Baptist Church in Hampton Falls. After the list of marriages by Mr. Colton, we come by a natural sequence to the record of infants and children sprinkled or baptized by him. We find this on the third page, beginning from the back side upside down of the book. This unique little book is a literary curiosity in several respects, among which is the arrangement of its contents with two little pages and several reversed compartments between.


" Records for This year 1712 off pssons Baptised. Beg: 2d January." In 1712 the number was twenty- four. The next year forty-two, among whom was "Sippai, my own Indian servant, wm we engaged to bring up In the fear of God. The next entry is " Meshack, son to Deacon Weare." The infant Meshack became a mighty man of valor, and left an ever-enduring record, while to this little stray book "Sippai" is indebted for rescue from oblivion. Per- haps Sippai also acted well his humbler part. In 1714 twenty were baptized, and twenty-two in the next year.


In 1716, Mr. Colton baptized eighteen, one of whom was


" Mary, daughter of Andrew Mace, of the Ile Sholes. Baptized at the Sholes."


In 1817 the number was twenty-nine, and the next year thirty-one, among whom was


" Elizabeth, danghter of William Sanburne. Just after his awful death."


Also twelve at the "Ile Shoals" in the month of July.


In 1719 the number of baptisms was twenty-six, including "Sarah and Mary, children of my kins- man William Norton," whom Mr. Colton had mar- ried to "Elizbth Colton," June 6, 1717. She was probably a sister of his. Thirty-five were baptized in 1720, one of whom was "Stephen, son of Doctr Marches."


In 1721 the number was thirty-six, and thirty-eight the next year.


On the 20th of January, 1723, the rite was admin- istered to two pairs of twins, "Richard and Anne, twin children of Jacob Stangan," a family name now unknown in this vicinity, and "Nathaniel and Eliz- abeth, twin children of Nathaniel Healey." The descendants of this last family are among the most respectable and prosperous of the present residents of Hampton Falls.


It is a little remarkable that the two sexes were


represented in both of these cases. Eighteen other children were baptized the same year. At the close of each year the number of baptisms was summed up and stated by Mr. Colton, and his gratification at the large number of sixty-eight in 1724 is indicated by an unusual size of dividing pen-marks at the close. Among the number this year were "Hannah and Esther, children of Benjamin Gree (possibly Green), a Quaq"." Also in the month of Angust quite a num- ber at the Shoals, six of them being children of one Joseph Dammerille. In 1725 he recorded the names of twenty-two, with always the date and parentage in each case. In 1726, the last year of Mr. Colton's pastorate and about three weeks before his death, which occurred August 16th, he again visited the Shoals, perhaps for his health partly, and baptized seventeen children, about half of the whole number (thirty-five) for that year. Thus closes this good man's record of his labors, including four pages enti- tled


" Records off Those That own the Covt. either for Baptism for them- selves or Children or Both & C. 10 : Nov : 1717."


Judging from the style of his chirography or pen- manship, we should say that Mr. Colton was a culti- vated, genial man; and this view is corroborated by the fact of hi's being called upon to baptize so many children beyond the limits of his own parish, and that of the ninety-nine marriages performed by him in forty-one cases the parties resided elsewhere, some of them being from Boston. That Mr. Colton did not enjoy firm health is indicated by his death at the early age of forty-four years, and by the following from the parish records under date of 22d December, 1719:


" Deacon Weare, Deacon Shaw Lft. Ililliard Chosen & Committee to discours Mr Colten Consarning the Carrieng ou the works of the min- istrey the winter ensuing which they Accordingly did-and the answer that Mr Colten gave the Commite was that he was in hops that he should be able to Carrey on the worke of the ministrey bimeelf either in his owne house or in the meeting house this winter."


Concerning his unselfish regard for the welfare of the people of his charge, we find that he settled with them for the small salary of sixty pounds, besides the parsonage, to which was added twenty pounds " as a free gift," at the second parish-meeting after its in- corporation, held Dec. 8, 1718. And that he left them a legacy of some considerable amount, as indi- cated by the following record :


Mch. 28, 1728. " Voted that whereas theare are sundry of the Inhabi- tants Living neare the metting honse are willing to build a school hous summe wheare neare the metting house provided they may have the benefit of the money Mr Colten wiled as a gift on that account voated that if these be a number that will appear to build sd house without any further Charg to the parish and that the Inhabitants have occasion to make use of sd house it shall be free for them without any further de- mand that then the gift that Mr Colten gave shall be delivered to those men towards the defraying the Charg of building of ed house."


Further than this record we only know that a school-honse was at some time built on the common near the meeting-house, and afterwards moved, by vote of the town, to near the location of the present


{ This happened on a Sabbath morn, when they went to catch their horse to attend church.


49I


SEABROOK.


one. On the second page of the back fly-leaf of the little volume we find this record, apparently in the hand of his successor, Mr. Whipple :


" Hampton, August 16, 1726. Died the Revd Mr Theophilus Colton, Pastor of the Second church of Hampton after a faithful Discharge of that office for nigh 15 years & was Decently Buried the 18th following att the charge of the Parislı."


This act indicates the love and respect of his parish, and not the necessity of his own case. The remains of this faithful minister of the gospel lie in the old parish burying lot, a part of the lower parsonage lot, nearly in front of the entrance, under a stone slab supported by brick-work. The following is the in- scription cut in a slate tablet imbedded in the słab, which is of coarse freestone. The tablet has been badly cracked by the formation of ice beneath it :


"HERE LYES Y. BODY OF Ye REVd. M. THEOPHILUS COL- TON, Y. FIRST MINIS OF Y. CHURCH AT HAMPTON FALLS, WHO, AFTER HE HAD SERVED GOD FAITHFULLY IN HIS GENERATION, DECEASED AUGUST YE 16th 1726 IN Y. 45th YEAR OF HIS AGE.


"" Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord.'"


Our Mr. Colton's branch of the family settled in Plymouth, Mass., where he was born in 1682, gradu- ating from Harvard in 1701, at the age of twenty-one years, and was not ordained until eleven years after- wards. The name is an uncommon one at the present time. Thirty-five years ago a very reliable young man bearing the name of Simon Colton and belonging in Hampton was in the employ of the writer's father, and a merchant of Portsmouth, Mr. William Colton, honors the name and has one male child.


The records of Hampton Falls as a separate parish cover only the last half of Mr. Colton's settlement, and so smoothly did the religious affairs of the parish move under his management that only a few refer- ences to them occur during this period. And one of the bighest tributes to his worth is found in the promptness and unity with which they proceeded to plan for the further maintenance of the gospel min- istry among them. And at a parish-meeting held six days after his death the selectmen were directed to settle with Mrs. Colton; she was voted the free use of the parsonage during the summer ; the selectmen were instructed to negotiate with her for the entertainment of supplies for the pulpit ; and they were to "asses Every men of Estate in ye parish Excepting Quakers in order to pay the Charges of our Reverend M' Col- ton's funeral." And at a meeting held on the 13th of September it was "voated that wee will voat for the Calling of a minister by proxes." "Voated that mr. merch shall be the minister first sought too in order to preech to us." Negotiations with Mr. Merch1 apparently failing, at a meeting held October 4th "ye three Deacons" were appointed a committee " to treet with m' Whippel and if he may be agreed with to Carrey on the work of the ministrey amongst us for a


munth or two or three," etc. And at a meeting No- vember 1st it was voted to call Mr. Whipple at a salary of "one hundred and forty pounds money Annualy," he finding himself in firewood and everything else. Deacons Nathaniel Weare, grandfather of Meshack, Benjamin Sanburn, and Nathaniel Bachilder were named as the committee to treat with him.


Under date of November 30th, it was voted to give Mr. Whipple "one hundred and twenty pounds in money and ye use of our parsonag." And at the same time it was " votted that we will take up with mad- dum Colton's offer and will give her for her buildings & Land & all things thereon excepting her movebles three hundred and fifty pounds in money or Lawful bills of Creidet." Our interpretation of this last vote is that up to this time the parish had owned only land and no buildings, and that it was now proposed to purchase the buildings which Mr. Colton had erected, " to be for the use of the parish forever." As the parish records do not again allude to Mr. Whip- ple until a vote of 20 pounds additional salary in 1732, we will consult his own records in the little volume left by Mr. Colton. And first we learn from another source that Revd Joseph Whipple, second pastor of the Hampton Falls Church, was born in Ipswich, Mass., in 1701, the same year in which Mr. Colton graduated, and that he graduated from Har- vard in 1720. The following record appears to be in his handwriting :


" Hampton Falls, Jannary the 4, 1726-7, Joseph Whipple was ordained Pastor of that church. The Revd Mr. Sookin made the first prayer, The Revd Mr. Wigglesworth Preached from 2 Cor. 5: 11. The Revd Mr. Cughing give the charge. The Revd Mr. Odlin the Right hand and the Revd Mr. Parsons the Last prayer."


The above entry appears on the last of twenty-eight pages of baptisms, running from 1727 to 1750, and these pages are sandwiched between two chapters of records of Mr. Colton, and a record of about thirty- five baptisms are crowded on each page, making nearly or quite one thousand for the twenty-three years. They are headed "Children Baptised by me 1727. Joseph Whipple at Hampton Falls." We will note some of the most interesting of them :


1729. 11 May. "Elizabeth Varril; my wife and I engaged for her." 1733, 20 May. " Fortunatus, my negro boy." "1734 Ja: 27. Jupiter Mr tifield's negro man; J- Mr. J. Brown's negro man." " 1735 Nov. 9. The wife and six children of Jonathan Prescott, Jun. 1739 Aug. 5. " James coll. weares (Col. Peter) negro man." 1741 May 24. " Rachel Daughter to Jupiter D (Dea.) Fifield negro." Sept. 27. "Samuel weare son of meshech." 1742 Jan. 10. " Jack negro Servant to Capt J. Tilton." Feb. 14. " ceaser negro servant to J. Bachelor." Nov. 21. " Zilpah Daugh. to Deacon fifields negro woman." 1743 Oct.1 6. " Mary weare Daugh of mesheck." "1747 N. 1 Nathan weare son of Mesheck." " 15th Mary williams wid : N : 71." " 1749 Ju : 11. Elisabeth weare Daug. of Mesheck." " 1718 Dinah Snelling Servt to Joueth Tilton." "Jndah Snelling eer: to Jon. Tilton." "1750 Apr. 29 Judith - to Jonh Tilto lundian woman." " Turn to another place 44 leaves forward" is the direction at the foot of the last page.


On page 40 we find "an account of Persons dis- missed from this chh. to other chhs &c oct 4, 1737 dismissed to - att Kensington," then follows a list of twenty-two male and thirty-five female members.


1 Mr. Merch afterwards settled in Amesbury, and was dismissed in 1743.


492


HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


Mr. Colton was a splendid penman, and his marriages are recorded in a style worthy of the happy events, while those of Mr. Whipple are crowded together in a nervous style most unceremoniously. But he united a good many, ranging in position from " Andrew & Dinah M' Worths negroes" to the immortal Mesheck Weare, whom he had the honor of marrying twice, the first time July 20, 1738, to Mrs. Elizabeth Shaw, and the second time, Dec. 11, 1746, to Mrs. Mehitabel Wainwright. Had the Governor lived at a later day he might have heard and perhaps heeded the advice of Sam Weller, "beware of vidders."


From his first marriage, Jan. 26, 1727, to Sept. 12, 1751, are recorded the names of three hundred and forty-nine couples united by him, three in one day, many of them belonging in other places.


We come now to seventeen pages of records of church actions. Under date of June 5, 1730, the church voted " that if any had children under seven calendar months, they should be called to an account before the church." This was the most frequent cause of church discipline, the usual course being to sus- pend the offenders " for breach of the 7th command- ment," until after some months they made public ac- knowledgment and were restored to the privileges of the church.


April 16, 1732, Jacob Gorland was suspended from the Lord's table for the sin of drunkenness. July 16th, he made a public confession, and was restored to his former privileges.


Oct. 28, 1739, it was voted to send delegates to the ordination of Mr. Peter Coffin at Kingstown. At the same date it was voted to send Deacons Fifield and Bachelor and Mr. Mesheck Weare as delegates to the ordination of Mr. Nathaniel Gookin, "at north hill, in Hampton," now North Hampton.


February, 1742, it was voted to send delegates to assist in gathering a church and ordaining Mr. William Parsons at South Hampton.


August, 1741, it was voted to send the pastor and delegates to attend the ordination of " Mr webster." The place we presume was Hampton, and the "Mr webster" the relative of Daniel, who was settled there.


July 22, 1743, Voted to send delegates to assist in the ordination of Mr. Elisha Odlin at " almesbury." In our early recollections this used to be the pronun- ciation of Amesbury by the old people.


1746, February Ist, Voted to send Deacons Fifield, Bachelor, and Mr. Mesheck Weare as delegates to attend the ordination of Mr. Langdon at Ports- mouth.


1747, May 10th, " Voted that Jos. Bachelder, Saml. Shaw & Caleb San- born be assistants in reading & sitting (tuning) the Psalm."


1747, October 18th, " Mary - made a second acknowledgment of her violation of the 7th commandment & the sabbath following had her base born child baptized."


1744, November 18th, and at other times reference is made to the cases of Job Haskell, Jeremiah Pres-


ton, John Philbrick, Abigail Prescutt, Mary Preston, Phobe Cass, Martha Cass, Abigail Cass, and Mary Blake, who proved incorrigible to all attempts to ad- monish them. They seem to have been Quakers.


With regret we now lay aside this little volume, from which we have quoted so freely, and which sheds so much light on the early ministry of Hamp- ton Falls. Communion with its pages has inspired love for the genial Mr. Colton and respect for the faithful Mr. Whipple. Turning to the parish records, we find in 1733 six men chosen " to take care of the youth on the Lord's day," and such officers, called tithing-men, continued to be chosen for more than an hundred years. The last of whom we have any rec- ollection was Daniel Perreau, at the Baptist Church about 1845, called by the boys "tidy man ;" and we are sorry to record that the conduct of some at the present day, destitute alike of reverence and good manners, seems sometimes to call for the presence of such an official at church services.


In October, 1734, it was


" Voted that if the people on the west part of this parish-now Ken- sington-hire a minister for four monthe this winter Ensuing the charg thereof Shall be adid into our Reverend mr Whippel Rate in order to be paid by the whole parish."


And at the next annual March meeting the select- men were authorized and instructed to raise money to pay Mr. Gilman for this service. The depreciation of the currency was the chief disturbing cause during the ministry of Mr. Whipple, the subject appearing at most every annual meeting, commencing with 1732, when twenty pounds additional was voted to him for the ensuing year.


" And whereas the vallue of Provision is gratly Risin & the wood on the Parsonag is allmost gon,"


it was voted at the annual meeting in 1738 to give him thirty pounds, on condition of his signing a re- ceipt in full. Said receipt appears on record Feb. 29, 1739.


In 1740 the term " badness of our money" is used, and in 1743 the annual allowance was increased to forty pounds, and this was continued until 1747, when provision was made for the annual appointment of a committee to adjust the salary under oath, making it equal to what it was at the time of his settlement, Dec. 24, 1756. The selectmen called a meeting as follows :


" Whereas it has Pleased God in hie Providence to visit our Revd Pastor Mr Joseph whipple with sickness so as he has been for some time past taken off from his Publick Labours In the ministry among ue and there doeth not yet appear any prospect that he will be able for some time to Preach among ns- Therefore to se if the Parish will agree to hire some suitable person for to Preach among ue till such a time as Mr Whipple, shall be able to Preach again," &c.


Mr. Whipple's death occurred Feb. 17, 1757, at the age of fifty-seven, just after entering on the thirty- first year of his pastorate, and at that date a meeting was called for the next day, when a committee con- sisting of Deacon Jona Fifield, Capt. Richard Nason, and Col. Mesheck Weare, were chosen to take charge


493


SEABROOK.


of his burial at an expense not exceeding four hun- dred pounds. At a meeting, March 15th, Col. Weare and two others were chosen a committee to secure preaching for two or three Sabbaths. And it was voted that Mrs. Whipple should have the use of one- half of the parsonage-house for one year, also half of the garden, the fruit of thirty apple-trees, the use of half the barn, the pasturing of a cow at the upper parsonage, the improvement of the whole lower par- sonage for pasturing a horse and cutting hay for a horse and cow, and also the full produce of an acre of rye sowed at the upper parsonage. At a meeting, May 3d, a committee was chosen to present to Mr. Josiah Bailey a unanimous call to settle with them as the successor of Mr. Whipple. And at a meeting, May 23d, he was offered a salary of fifty pounds sterling and a part of the parsonage lands. Declining to ac- cept this offer, on the 23d of June the other lands were included, with the provision that he should keep in repair at his own expense the buildings and fences. This offer he accepted in the following form :


" To the Inhabitants of the Parish in Hampton falls, Gentlemen- I have calmly weighed & deliberated upon the last vote you passed for my encouragement to settle in the work of the Gospel ministry over yon in this place. And under a solemn seuse of the great importance of this work and with humble dependence upon the Grace & good Providence of God, I hereby declare my acceptance of your invitation and offer to settle in the work of the Gospel ministry, not doubting your readiness not only cheerfully and faithfully to make good your purposes for any outward comfort but upon every occasion to testify the same good will for me as unforeseen Providence may give occasion and above all a con- stant remembrance of me at the throne of grace that I may be faithful and successful in my office among you who am Your affectionate friend and humble servant for Christ's sake. " JOSIAH BAYLEY.


" Hampton Falls June 30th 1757."


The above is the first instance in the records where Falls is written with a capital F. And Levi Lane, a man of excellent ability and education, continued until 1861 to write it with a small f in the records of one of the religious societies. It was a case of fre- quent occurrence in the early records of the parish that one or more individuals recorded their objection to a certain measure, as follows: "A. B. dissents against ye last vote." The call to Mr. Bayley was unanimous, and no objection to the terms offered him is recorded ; but on the 29th of July more than thirty of the inhabitants petitioned the selectmen to call a meeting to reconsider the vote as to the terms offered, and their petition being unheeded, a meeting was called of Justices Samnel Gilman and Theodore Smith, of Exeter. This meeting was held October 5th, when the offer of fifty pounds was reconsidered, and at the same date Mr. Bayley's acceptance of forty-two pounds is recorded. Nothing further con- cerning Mr. Bayley occurs until the following, under date of Feb. 17, 1762 :




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