History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 133

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 133
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 133

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In 1871-72 he did an important work in aiding in the establishment of the Nesmith Free Public Li- brary of two thousand volumes. In politics he is a Republican, and is a member of the Republican State Central Committee. But the most important labor of his life, that which will be looked upon with most satisfaction, is his literary work. Since 1861 he has been an occasional contributor to the newspapers.

In 1878, '79,'80, he prepared a history of the Morison or Morrison family, an octavo volume of four hundred and seventy pages. An edition of eleven hundred copies were printed, published by A. Williams & Co., Boston, Mass. The labor of the work was immense, and it was peculiarly rich in ancient historical lore. It received many warm encomiums from the family, and

1 Haverhill, Mass.

L. A. Morrison.

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was most cordially welcomed by the press, receiving many favorable reviews. Copies found their way into many of the State libraries of the country, the His- torieal and Genealogical Society libraries, the college libraries, and libraries of many of the larger cities and towns. Some copies found their way to Scotland and England. This brought him a request from the editor of a magazine in Inverness, Scotland, to rewrite and condense the history, making it appropriate for the Scotch readers. This work he has nearly com- pleted. In the spring of 1880 he commenced the preparation of the History of Windham, N. H., 1719- 1883. Upon this he has since labored continuously and persistently till the present. The history is now passing through the press, and estimated to contain seven hundred or eight hundred pages. He wrote the condensed history of Windham, N. H., found in the History of Rockingham and Strafford Counties. He was enumerator of the census in 1880, and was elected a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society in June, 1882.

CHAPTER LXXXV.

LONDONDERRY, 1719-1827.1

THE boundaries of Londonderry, as defined by the charter of June 21, 1722, included all the territory of the present towns of Londonderry, Derry, and Wind- ham, and adjacent parts of Manchester, Hudson, and Salem. The history of these towns is one till divis- ion of the large tract became a necessity, thencefor- ward each town has its own history. As Windham was early set off, nothing pertaining to that town will be embraced in this sketch. Londonderry is the most western town in Rockingham County, is in latitude 42° 54' north, and longitude 5° 45' east from Waslı- ington. It is about twenty-five miles from Concord, N. H., twenty-five from Exeter, and forty from Bos- ton, Mass. There are a few ponds in town. Beaver Pond, called by the Indians "Tsienneto," is a beau- tiful sheet lying between Derry East village and the English Range. Northwest of this lie Upper and Lower Shield's Ponds in Derry, and Scoby's in Lon- donderry. Ezekiel's Pond is near the Windham line, and a part only of Island Pond lies in Derry. Beaver Brook, in the Indian tongue "Kiahiomtatie," is the only considerable stream. The surface of the ground, though broken, is not hilly. The highest elevation is probably Richey Hill, a little over one mile east of East Derry village. The original growth of oak, hickory, and chestnut is everywhere succeeded by pine. The town has always been mainly agricultural, although much of its early thrift was directly derived from the manufacture of linen cloth within its own borders, while much of its later prosperity is in-

directly derived from the manufacture of cotton in the cities of Manchester, Lowell, and Lawrence.

At the time of the settlement of Londonderry, N. H., April 11, 1719, O. S., the people of Ireland were mainly divided into three classes : the descendants of the Celtic race, which had occupied the soil from time immemorial, and who were Roman Catholics; the descendants of the English emigration of 1612 and thenceforward, and who were attached to the forms and ceremonies of the Church of England ; and the descendants of the Scotch emigration of the early part of the seventeenth century, and who held with undying tenacity to the principles of the Presbyterian Church. From the former of these, the Irish and the English, Londonderry derived its name, and to the latter is it indebted for the hardy men and women who took possession of its virgin soil, and made set- tlements of its wooded hill-tops, its sunny slopes, and fertile vales.

Name .- The Irish name of Derry had come down with the race through the long centuries prior to 1612, when the great London guilds in taking posses- sion and settling the seqnestered lands granted by James I. prefixed to the old name that of their famous city. It was thus that the name of London- derry had origin, and our settlers shortly after their arrival adopted it from the mother-country, although the territory they selected had for some years previ- ous been known as a part of a very indefinite tract called "Nutfield." The latter name disappeared from the record early in 1722.

They were termed Scotch-Irishmen. New ideas and new facts demanded new names. it was neces- sary that a people originating in the blood of one nationality and born on alien soil should have a dis- tinctive name. From this came the appellation of Scotch-Irish ; nor is it inappropriate, barring a little long-forgotten misconception of the meaning of the term. Excepting a few of English descent and an occasional Scotchman to the " manner born," the Lon- donderry settlers were of Scotch lineage, born on Irish soil; and, although reared among and sur- rounded by the native Celt, whose origin antedated veritable history, little if anything distinctively Irish was engrafted upon the Scotch character by the an- cestral one hundred years' sojourn in Ireland. The antagonisms arising from the diversity of the races and widely differing religions, in connection with the unforgotten confiscations of James I., were more than sufficient to prevent any intermingling of bloods. The peculiar circumstances that surrounded the Scotch- Irish kept them as homogeneous a race as was that of their contemporaries in Scotland, who had never taken departure from their native heaths of Argyle- shire. In this respect their isolation from the Cath- olic Irish was as complete as if an ocean rolled be- tween them.

Cause of Emigration .- The motives that led the Scotch-Irish emigrant of 1719 to sunder all ties

1 By R. C. Mack.

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HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

with his native land and make for himself a new home in the wilderness were widely different from those which impel the emigrant of to-day. The former, in the assured hope of securing freedom of conscience and religious liberty, was willing to take his chance in worldly matters. The latter reverses this order, and for the sake of worldly advantage he is willing to imperil his religious interests. Rev. James McGregor, one of the Londonderry emigrants, and their pastor the last ten years of his life, gives the following reasons for their removal to America : "1st. To avoid oppressive and cruel bondage. 2d. To shun persecution and designed ruin. 3d. To withdraw from the communion of idolaters. 4th. To have an opportunity of worshiping God according to the dictates of conscience and the rules of his inspired Word."

Emigration .- The settlers of Londonderry left their native Ireland late in the spring or early in the summer of 1718, and arrived at Boston, Mass., Au- gust 4th of that year. As they were embarking on board the ship at Belfast that was to convey them across the sea, an old lady of the kith and kin of the emigrants, too far advanced in life to encounter the perils of the deep, gave them her parting blessing : " Go, and God be wi'ye a' but Willie Humphrey, and he'll be smart enough to take care of himself."

The winter following their arrival in Boston was spent in the harbor of Falmouth, now Portland, Me., under great privations for want of shelter and food, so much so that the great and General Court of Mas- sachusetts aided them to the amount of one hundred bushels of meal. Some late changes in the waters of Casco Bay, near the anchorage of their vessel, have revealed among other things a stone fireplace built by them and used in cooking their food during their sojourn there.

To Nutfield .- Leaving Falmouth April 1, 1719, they retraced their steps toward Boston as far as Haverhill, Mass., where they arrived the next day. Here they remained a few days awaiting the selection of land for a township by their agent, James MeKean, grandfather of Joseph MeKean, first president of Bowdoin College. This done and a portion of the Nutfield or Chestnut territory determined upon, a part of the resolute company on the morning of April 11, 1719, saddled their horses and struck out into the pathless wilderness in search of their future homes, taking their route over " Providence Hill," in what is now Salem, N. H. Another small company under the guidance of Rev. James McGregor, who had spent the previous winter at Dracut, Mass., engaged in teaching, left that place, and, taking their line of travel up Beaver Brook, joined, by previous arrangement, the Haverhill party near the southern shore of Beaver Pond.

Settlement .- Tying their horses at the foot ef the hill, ever since known by the name of Horse Hill, they made survey of the surroundings on foot. They

passed around the western end of the pond and along its northern shore, arriving at its most eastern ex- tremity a little after noon. Ilere, under the spread- ing branches of a stately oak, one of the ancient lords of the soil, they rested their weary limbs, grati- fied their religious feelings, and fortified their faith by listening to a discourse from their future pastor, Rev. Mr. MeGregor. Returning to their horses, they took a sontherly direction to the northern side of a brook, to which they gave the name of West Running Brook. Here they kindled their first fire beside a rock on land now owned by James M. Batchekler, and en- camped for the night. The following day, after a sermon by Mr. McGregor, they made their way back to llaverhill to bring on their families, leaving two young men, John Gregg, son of Capt. James Gregg, and Andrew Walker, to pre-empt the soil and guard their hastily constructed camp. They left a gun and ammunition for their protection and three days' provi- sion for their sustenance. Some unforeseen eireum- stanees prevented the return of the settlers at the al- lotted time, and the young men fell into peril for want of food. In a few days, however, sixteen men with their families arrived upon the ground, took occu- pancy of the soil, and the work began in earnest.

First Families .- The names of these men are as follows : James MeKean, John Barnett, Archibald Clendenin, John Mitchell, James Starrett, James An- derson, Randal Alexander, Robert Weir, James Gregg, James Clark, James Nesmith, Allen Ander- son, John Morrison, Samuel Allison, Thomas Steele, and John Stuart. Rev. Edward L. Parker, a careful and judicious writer, in his excellent "History of Londonderry," says,-

" These pioneers of the settlement were most of them men in middle life, robust, persevering, and adventurous, well suited to encounter the toils and endure the hardships of such an undertaking. Most of them attained to advanced age. They lived to see their descendants settled around them and the forest converted into a fruitful field. The average age of thirteen of the number was seventy-nine years, six attained to nearly ninety, and two surpassed it. John Morrison, the oldest of this company, lived to the ad- vanced age of ninety-seven years."

First Land Laid Out in Londonderry .- This was without doubt granted by the Massachusetts Colony to the Indian sagamore Passaconnaway, of Penna- cook, now Concord, N. H., upon his petition of March 8, 1662, and was surveyed March 27, 1663. It was a tract three miles square, and as it extended one mile and a half east of the Merrimac River, opposite the northern part of the town, must have included a part of Londonderry.

The second grant was by Massachusetts to the pro- prietors of "Old Dunstable," Oet. 16, 1673. This must have overlapped the territory afterwards Lon- donderry, as its most " eastern line ran within sight of Beaver Brook."

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LONDONDERRY.

"Leverett's Farme."-This " farme" was the third grant in order of time, and was to John Leverett, Gov- ernor of the Massachusetts Colony from 1673 to 1679. It was a " Wilderness Farme" of one thousand acres, and was situated between what is now Ezekiel's Pond, in Derry, and the Dock. A bridge and the meadows there still bear his name. There is some evidence that the Governor sent parties to colonize the grant, but the enterprise failed.

Wheelwright Deed .- The deed of Col. John Wheelwright to the proprietors, Oct. 20, 1719, first gave bounds to the territory. It conveyed a tract of land not exceeding ten miles square, bounded on the north by Cheshire, on the east by Haverhill, on the south by Dracut, and on the west by Dunstable. The settlers had, however, taken possession of the soil on the principle of "squatter sovereignty" six months before, under encouragement from Governor Shute, of Massachusetts, in accordance with a numer- ously signed petition of the " Inhabitants of ye North of Ireland," dated March 26, 1718.

The First Crops raised by the emigrants were potatoes and flax. They had brought their seed and spinning-wheels from Ireland, and were the first to cultivate the potato and manufacture linen in New England. They appear to have cultivated land in common the summer after their arrival, as there is a traet known by the name of the "Common Field," containing about two and one-half acres, situated a few rods west of the dwelling-house of Mr. Jonathan Cate, in Derry. It was undoubtedly a clearing, and may have been an abandoned planting-ground of the Indians, who were gradually retiring to deeper shades of the wilderness in the wilds of Canada.

Allotment of Lands,-Before the settlers received the deed from Wheelwright three lots of land had been laid out : the " Common Field," April 18, 1719, only seven days from their arrival ; James McKean's home lot, August, 1719; and Robert Wears' home lot of sixty acres, also August, 1719. For some reason no more land was assigned till the following year, when nearly all the one hundred and five home lots were laid out, most of them in the summer and autumn. After- ward, when the town came to receive its charter from the Legislature, several gentlemen residing in Ports- mouth, N. H., then called "Strawberry Bank," were admitted as proprietors, making in all about one hun- dred and twenty-five grantees of the town.

The proprietors designated their different divisions of land as " Home lots, 2d, 3d, and 4th divisions, amendment land, and meadows." The former were sixty acres each, while the other lands varied very much in size.

The lots assigned to each proprietor by the com- mittee are designated by the name of home lots sec- ond, third, and fourth divisions, addition land, amend- ment land, and meadows. The home lots were sixty acres each, the second divisions forty acres amendment land, "to make up to every proprietor what his Home ! their first meeting-house.

Lot wanted in quality to make equal with what was termed 'The Precept.'" The Precept was the home lot of John Stuart, agreed upon as a fair average of lots, and to this all others were compared. If a pro- prietor deemed his sixty acres of less value than John Stuart's lot, and the lot-layers coneurred in this opinion, they laid out to him amendment land in quantity sufficient to equalize his interest.

The second division was made as soon as the set- tlers began to feel themselves "straitened for want of room." At first no reserve was made for land for roads, and this oversight was remedied by laying out tracts isolated from the home farm in lieu of land taken for highways.

The meadows were of great value, for it was from them that the settlers for a long time obtained the means of keeping their cattle and horses. Every proprietor therefore had a small piece of meadow as- signed to him, and it often happened that it was located many miles from his home lot. The quan- tity of this sort of land allotted to each one varied from one-quarter of an acre to one and a half acres. The rule adopted was that each proprietor should have land enough to yield " three small loads of hay." These meadows must have had astonishing fertility. as many of them yield great burdens after undergo- ing the discipline of one hundred and sixty-three years' cropping without the smallest return.

Double Range .- From a fragmentary record in the first volume of the proprietors' books it appears that the first lots were laid out in the Double Range, situated within the present bounds of Derry, on both sides of West-Running Brook. There are about thirty lots in this range, and are one mile long north and south, and thirty rods wide. The committee began at the line, as claimed by Haverhill, on the south side of the brook, at the eastern end of the range, assigning the first lot probably to William Humphrey, and passing westerly down the brook, the third lot fell to Jonathan Tyler, the south part of which became the property of Archibald Stark shortly after, and on which Gen. John Stark was born, Aug. 28, 1728.

John Stuart's lot, "The Precept," was the most eastern one north of the brook of this range, and was situated a few rods east of the present residence of Col. George W. Lane, once known as the Prentice, or Gen. Derby place. The settlers built their cabins very near together, the north side of the range build- ing at the south end of their lots, and the south side at the north end, the brook running between, seeur- ing in this way an advantage in case of an attack from the Indians.

Back Range .- The range known on the records as the Back Range consisted of some half a dozen lots, and in this and the northern part of the Double Range is situated the present village of East Derry, and is the place selected by the emigrants as the site of

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HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

English Range .- The English Range, of about twenty lots, lies north of Beaver Pond, the long lines running northeast from the pond, six of which abut upon its waters. This range took its name from the fact that several of the proprietors of English de- seent had their lands assigned in that locality. Among them were John Goffe, first town clerk, and his son, John Goffe, Jr., afterwards quite prominent in the civil, ecclesiastical, and military history of the State. The most northwestern lot of this range was laid out to James Rogers, father of Maj. Robert Rogers, the ranger, who was born here.

Aiken's Range .- The Aiken's Range, of seven lots, derived its name from the three or four families of that name that settled there. At the west end of this range John Bell, the emigrant ancestor of this honored family, had his home lot and second division laid out together, making one hundred acres in all. The South Range of a few lots adjoined the Double Range on the south near the Windham line. All these ranges are within the present town of Derry ; and in the east part of this town several lots were laid out to Portsmouth proprietors, and Governor Wentworth's three-hundred-acre farm in the locality, known as " Derry Dock." James C. Taylor, Esq., is now the owner of part of this farm.

Governor Shute's charter farm of five hundred acres was laid in Windham, and other land in that town to a considerable extent was assigned to the Londonderry proprietors, but was mainly amendment or other lands than home lots. In the present town of Londonderry the Ayers' Range and the Iligh Range were regularly laid out, the lots of the former being uniform in size and shape with those of Derry. Excepting the seven Ayers' Range lots, the greater part of the present town of Londonderry was laid out as second division amendment and highway lands in very large tracts, amounting in some instances to over four hundred acres.

As the original charter bounds of Londonderry covered considerable portions of the city of Man- chester, extending a mile across Hanover Street, a range of several lots, termed Blaisdel's Range, was laid out by the Londonderry committee. This range extended from Nutt's Pond to a point abont one mile northeast of the City Hall. On this land, or near it, is the site of a fort built for the protection of the set- tlers there. It was at the outlet of Nutt's Pond, then Swager's Pond, and called Stark's Fort in compliment to Archibald Stark, who was efficient in building and garrisoning it.

Large tracts of land were laid out for the support of the ministry. They were called " Ministerials." The land assigned to the West Parish, or that part of the town called Canada, was laid out Nov. 6, 1729, on one of the highest hills in what is now London- derry, and contained one hundred and twenty acres.

The next year a ministerial was allotted to the old parish church, now East Derry, of fifty-four acres.

In 1744 new bounds were given to it, and six acres added. Most of this land is now owned by Hon. William H. Shepard. The ministerial land for the parish of Windham was situated near "Cobbit's Pond," and was laid out in 1744, and contained fifty- five acres.

Incorporation .- The long-pending dispute between New Hampshire and Massachusetts in reference to the lines between these States occasioned the London- derry settlers much inconvenience. The latter State refused to incorporate the town, and it was not until June 21, 1722, more than three years after the settle- ment, that the New Hampshire Conrt granted a charter, although "humbly petitioned" to that effect as early as Sept. 23, 1719.

Probably the colonists were hindered in their at- tempts to secure town privileges by a misconception of their character on the part of the State govern- ments. They were supposed to be Irish Roman Catholics.

Notwithstanding this the colony thrived. Before the first of the autumnal months had closed fifty-four families from Ireland and elsewhere, in addition to the original sixteen, " did sit down in Nutfield," and the work of settlement went rapidly on. Cabins were built, the forests were leveled, roads were marked out, and obstructions cleared away. There were no idlers in the new colony ; labor, skill, and enterprise soon brought their usual reward.

Encroachers .-- A large tract of land, some three or four miles wide, along the whole eastern border of the town and within its chartered limits, was claimed by Haverhill people under the old Massachusetts grant, and it was not till the settlement of the State lines in 1740-41 that the border warfare ceased. The Lon- donderry residents within that claim were arrested and confined in Massachusetts jails, and on the other hand many arrests were made of the "Haverhill squatters," and much litigation followed. Many charges like the following are to be found on the old Counter's books : "To Johne Barnet six days watch- ing prisoners 1-4-0." Nor was the comfort of these prisoners neglected. Gabriel Barr was paid for thir- teen days guarding prisoners at Mndget's house and furnishing them " Board, Rhum, and Vitals." The town also suffered much annoyance from people living on its western borders, along the Litchfield and Not- tingham-West lines, claiming lands under the old Dunstable grant.

Location of Proprietors .- The first lot in the Eng- lish Range was laid out to David Cargill, Sr. It is now owned by Mr. Tucker. The house just taken down by him was the residence of the late Robert McMurphy. It was the third framed house built in the settlement. The second lot was assigned to Sam- nel Houston. Mr. Samuel Clark is now the owner. Houston was the father of Rev. John, the Bedford loyalist. No one lives on the next original lot. It was called Governor Wentworth's " home lot." His

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early and steadfast friendship for the settlers was ap- preciated, and partly repaid in recorded thanks, gifts of salmon, linen cloth, and other very large lots of land. The fourth lot was laid out to Col. John Wheel- wright, the grantor of the famous deed. There has been mueh learned discussion relative to the validity of the Indian deed of his ancestor, dated May 17, 1629. The weight of legal evidence of late years ap- pears to sustain the will. The next three lots suc- cessively were Edward Proctor's, Benjamin Kidder's, and John Gray's. Samuel Marshall lives on the lot of Joseph Kidder. Mr. Morill resides on John Goff's lot ; Mr. Seavey on the lot of S. Graves; Mr. Na- thaniel Palmer on John Combe's. Matthew Clark's and James Lindsay's lots are now the Cheever place. Mr. Sefton lives on James Lesley's lot, John Baker on Jolin Anderson's, George Choate on James Blair's, and George W. Dickey owns the lots of John Blair, James Moor, John Shields, and James Rogers. It was on this last lot where the famous Robert Rogers, the Indian fighter, was born. The lots of Simonds, Keyes, Robie, and Senter lie northwest of Beaver Pond. Rev. B. F. Parsons resides on William Coch- ran's lot, and the other Cochran lots lie on the north of that. In the Aiken's Range, James Aiken's lot is now the Bradford place. William Aiken's is now the Carr place. John Folsom owns the Edward Aiken lot. John Wallace lived where the late David H. Pinkerton resided. He was a man of great prominence in the early history of the town. His lands are still held by his descendants. The lots of B. Wilson and Andrew Todd are owned by Joseph R. Clark. Col. Todd was a man of much influence in the town. His brother-in-law, John Bell, lived on the next lot west, and shared with others the honor and responsibility of organizing the new settlement. The land of the seven lots of the Ayers' Range lies mostly in Londonderry, while the settlers' houses were nearly all situated in what is now Derry. At the north side was David Morrison's lot, now Mrs. James MaeMurphy's, then Samuel Morrison's, now A. MeMurphy's. The last lot eame near to the mill, now Horne's, and was laid out to "John McClurg, Elizabeth Wilson, and Mary, her daughter." It is a singular fact that in this family occurred the first and last death among the proprietors.

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 133

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

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