History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 189

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 189
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 189

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It is not the purpose to follow the history of the seven years' struggle. With the statement that the towns which made ancient Dover did their full share, we can barely mention the names of a few others who did service. We see the name of Ilercules Mooney, of Lee. He had been a captain under Col. Meserve, in

1757. In 1777 he was lieutenant-colonel in Col. Long's regiment, at Ticonderoga, and in 1779 was colonel, and commanded a regiment. In Col. Long's regiment was also Lieut. Samuel Stackpole, also - at Ticonderoga, and later under Washington farther south. Dr. Paul A. Stackpole, of this city, is his grandson. In September, 1776, Col. Thomas Tash, the old French war soldier, led a regiment to reinforce the Continental army, which with others joined Wash- ington in Pennsylvania, and was at Trenton and Princeton. Joseph Smith was his adjutant, and Jon- athan Chesley his quartermaster. Timothy White, who had been at the capture of Louisburg, was quar- termaster of Col. Joshua Wingate's regiment, raised for Canada, but which joined the Northern army in New York. Hon. John H. White, late of this city, was Timothy White's grandson. Dr. Samuel Wiggles- wath was surgeon of that regiment. Lieut. Enoch Chase, of Dover, was with Winborn Adams and Ben- jamin Titcomb and Frederick M. Bell, and was in the Burgoyne campaign. He was captain in 1780 and 1781. Mrs. J. B. H. Odiorne is his granddaugh- ter. In Moses Yeaton's company, in 1775, was Lieut. Samuel Wallingford. He was captain in Col. Gil- man's regiment in 1776 (James Nnte his first lien- tenant), and was lieutenant of marines on Jones' "Ranger" in 1778, when he fell in its action with the "Drake." Col. Stephen Evans, a soldier at the capture of Louisburg, commanded a regiment at the capture of Burgoyne. He was a colonel on the staff of Gen. Whipple in 1778. He lived to a ripe old age, and his descendants are in Dover. Alpheus Chesley was lieu- tenant-colonel in Col. Walderne's regiment in 1776, and Jonathan Chesley was quartermaster under Col. Wingate in 1778. William Twombly was ensign in Col. Reid's regiment in 1777 and later. Numerous descendants are still here. Of the Dover company in Col. Evans' regiment in the Burgoyne campaign, James Libby was captain, Joshua Roberts, first lieu- tenant, Nathan Horn, second lieutenant, and Francis Warren, ensign.

The records of others, and of the rank and file from Dover in the war, have not been preserved, nor the record of the sailors who went from Dover. Of these it can only be said that the large number of volunteers from Dover proved worthy of their descent from the hardy emigrants who came from the maritime counties of England.

But three men should be mentioned who were not in the army. Col. John Wentworth, of Rollinsford, was Speaker of the House in 1771, and to the com- mencement of the Revolution. Of the same name with the Governor, and of the same blood, his posi- tion was peculiar. He proved true and efficient. He was president of the several Provincial Conventions which met in 1774-75. On the 11th of June, 1774, he wrote to the Massachusetts committee :

" A rivetted opinion of the good and gracious in- tentions of our lawful sovereign constrains me to

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. believe that, to reinstate in his royal favor, he needs only to be divested of the unfavorable impressions of America's inveterate foes, whose secret machinations evidently tend to disunite what, when disunited, will be no longer powerful.

" The sons of freedom in New Hampshire, I be- lieve, sympathize with your metropolis in its present distress. So mighty a display of ministerial ven- geance can be accounted for only from your noble efforts to stem the torrent of oppression."

He died in 1781, and thus did not live to see our independence acknowledged.

His son, John Wentworth, Jr., of Dover, was the only lawyer in Strafford County except John Sulli- van. "His father's blood," said Governor Langdon, " ruus through all his veins." Hon. John Went- worth, LL.D., of Chicago, is his grandsou.1

CHAPTER CXVIII.

DOVER .- ( Continued.)

THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKERS .- MASONIAN CLAIMS.

THE following accounts of the coming of Quakers to Dover are taken from George Bishop's "New England Judged by the Spirit of the Lord," the first part of which was published in 1661, and the second in 1667, the whole being republished in 1702-3. The reader must remember that the narrative is written by a man who was too deeply interested in the events to be an impartial historian : In the year 1662, Mary Tomkins and Alice Ambrose, who came from Old England, and George Preston and Edward Wharton, of Salem aforesaid, came to Piscataqua River, and passed up, landed at the town aforesaid (Dover), whither to go it was with them from the Lord, where they had a good opportunity in the inn with the people that resorted to them, who reasoned with them concerning their faith and hope, which to the people being made manifest, some to the Truth thereof Con- fessed, and others, being not able to gainsay the Truth, ran to Rayner, their Priest, and told him that such a people were come to Town; and that they had discourse with them about their Religion, and were. not able to contradict what they said, and therefore desired him to come forth and help them. "Or else," said they, " we are like to be run on ground."

At this the Priest chafed and fretted, and asked the people, " Why they came amongst them ?" To which they answered, "Sir, it is so we have been amongst them, and if you come not forth to help us we are on ground ;" and said the Priest's wife, " Which do you like best, my Husband or the Quakers?" Said one

of them, " We shall tell you that after your husband hath been with them." Whereupon in come Rayner in a fretting and forward manner, saying, "What came ye here for? see the laws of the country are against such as you are." "But what hast thou against us?" replied Mary Tomkins. "You deny magistrates," said the priest, "and ministers and the churches of Christ." "Ilow sayest so?" replied Mary. "And you deny the Three Persons in the Trinity," said the priest. To which Mary answered, "Take notice, people, the Man falsely accuseth us, for godly Magistrates and the Ministers of Christ we own, and the Churches of Christ we own, and that there are three that bear Record in Heaven, which three are the Father, Word, and Spirit, that we own, but for the three persons in the Trinity, that's for thee to prove." "I will prove three Persons in the Trinity," said the priest. "Thou sayest so," said George Pres- ton, "but prove it by the Scriptures." " Yes," replied Rayner, " by that will I prove it where it is said, ' And he is the express image of his Father's Person.'" " But," said one, " that is falsely translated." " Yea, it is," replied a learned man, " for in the Greek it is not Person but substance." "But," said the priest, " it is a Person, and so there is one Person." "Thou sayest so," said George. "But prove thy other Two, if thou canst," said the priest. "There are three Some- things," and so in a rage flung away, called to his people from the window to go away from amongst them ; but Mary soon after got after him, and spake to him to come back, and not to leave his People amongst them he called wolves; but away packt the priest, whereupon she said unto the people, "Is not this the hireling that flees and leaves the flock ?" So truth came over them all, and there was great service for the Lord, and many were convinced of the truth that day, and notwithstanding the terror of your wicked laws, many waxed hold, and invited them to their houses, and they had at that time a good and great meeting amongst them, and the power of the Lord reached many of them that day. Having had this good service at that time at Dover for the Lord, they passed away into the province of Mayne, being invited to Major Shapleigh's.

If Parson Rayner had " written a book" he would have presented a different view of this theological discussion. The account of his "fretting, etc.," is doubtless drawn from imagination; it is totally op- posed to all other accounts of his character. But the Quakers did not remain long in Maine, for "towards the winter it came into the hearts of Alice Ambrose, Mary Tomkins, and Ann Coleman to go and visit the seed of God amongst them that had received the truth in Piscataqua River, where they were not long, but a flood of persecution arose by the instigation of the priest, who caused them to be apprehended by Virtue of your Cart-Law, and order was made to whip and pass them away as followeth :

"' To the constable of Dover, Hampton, Salisbury,

1 See chapter 1xxxix.

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, Wenam, Linn, Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, and until these vagabond Qua- kers are out of this jurisdiction.

"' You and every one of you are required in the King's Majesty's name to take these vagabond Qua- kers, Anna Coleman, Mary Tomkins, and Alice Am- brose, and make them fast to the cart's tail, and draw- ing the cart through your several towns, to whip them upon their naked backs, not exceeding ten stripes apiece on each of them in each town ; and so to con- vey them from Constable to Constable till they are out of this jurisdiction, as you will answer it at your peril ; and this shall be your warrant. Per me, Rich- ard Walderne, at Dover, dated Dec, 22, 1662.'

" A cruel warrant, through eleven townships by name and whatsoever else were in that jurisdiction to whip three tender women, and one of them little and crooked, with ten stripes apiece at each place in the bitter cold weather, through such a length of ground, near eighty miles, enough to have beaten their flesh raw and their bones. Oh, the mercies of the wicked, how are thy cruelties! The devil certainly bore through that warrant (and as men used to say) top and topgallant, no interruption, Your warrant was through these towns ten stripes apiece, enough to sink down any man whom God did not uphold; but this outruns the law in the constable, as the proverb is: there is eleven named which, according to the rate of ten in a place, is one hundred and ten apiece laid on so as, if it were possible, the knots might kiss the bones every stroke. And yet this was not enough ; if any more towns through them they must go. From whom sprung this unreasonable warrant? who influenced all this? And through whose instigation were they apprehended? And who drew the war- rant ? Omne malum, saith the proverb, incipit a sacerdote, that is, all evil begins from the priest ; or from the priest all evil hath its beginning. Priest Raynor aforesaid (who could not evince his own position, but as has been said, instead of proving three persons in the Trinity by the Scriptures, said ' They were three Somethings') and so fled away, being not able to stand before the power and force of truth in these servants of the Lord, and sets on this deputy magistrate, Walden, who began to tell them of your law against Quakers. Mary Tomkins replied, 'So there was a law that Daniel should not pray to his God?' 'Yes,' said Walden, 'and Daniel suffered, and so shall you' (see how he appears influenced by this priest's spirit mad and blind), and so demands Alice Ambrose her name ; said, 'She is written in the Lamb's book of life.' He answered, ' Nobody here knows this book, and for this you shall suffer.' So, on a very cold day, your Deputy Walden caused these women to be stripped naked from the middle upwards, and tied to a cart, and after awhile crnelly whipped them, whilst the priest stood and looked and laughed at it, which some of the Friends seeing, testified against, for which Walden put two of

them (Eliakim Wardel, of Hampton, and William Faurbish, of Dover) in the stocks. Having dis- patched them in this town, and made way to carry them over the waters and through woods to another, the women denied to go unless they had a copy of their warrant ; so your executioner sought to set them on horseback, but they slid off, then they endeavored to tie each to a man on horseback ; that would not do neither, nor any course they took till the copy was given, insomuch that the constable professed that he was almost wearied with them. But the copy being given them, they went with the executioner to Hamp- ton, and through dirt and snow at Salisbury half-way the leg deep, the constable forced them after the cart's tail, at which he whipped them, under which cruelty and sore usage the tender women traversing their way through all, was a hard spectacle to those who had in them anything of tenderness; but the presence of the Lord was so with them (in the ex- tremity of their sufferings) that they sung in the midst of them to the astonishment of their enemies.

" This Walden keeps a Saw Mill, and is a log saw- yer, but that day that he sentenced these women, his wife caused him to have hand cuffs put on,

"The tender women they tied with Ropes to the Cart at Dover to be whipped, which being very cruel, James Heard asked whether those were the Cords of the Covenant. €

" The constable of Dover's name was Thomas Rob- erts, who looking pitifully the same night through his extreme toil to bring the servants of the Lord thither to be whipped as they had been at Dover, they were so far above his cruelty that they made some good things for his refreshment, which he took. This disgraceful sentence was executed no farther than Salisbury. But these gentle dealings did not reclaim the wanderers.

" After their release they passed a short time at Maj. Shapleigh's, in Kittery, but when 'after a little space at Maj. Shapleigh's' they returned again to Dover, the place of their late barbarous execution, and there vis- ited their friends who had both received and suffered with them; where being met together on the next First Day of the week after their coming together, whilst they were in prayer, the constables, Thomas Roberts, aforesaid, and his brother John, like sons of Belial, having put on their old clothes with their 'aprons, on purpose to carry on their drudgery (taking Alice Ambrose), the one by the one arm and the other by the other arm, they unmercifully dragged her out of doors, with her face towards the snow, which was knee deep, over stumps and old trees near a mile; in the way of which, when they had wearied themselves, they commanded two others to help them, and so laid her up Prisoner in a very wicked man's house (Thomas Canny's), which when they had done, they made haste with the rest that were with them to fetch Mary Tom- kins, whom, as they were dragging along with her face towards the snow, the poor Father of these two

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wicked constables followed after, lamenting and ery- ing, ' Wo, that ever he was the Father of such wicked children.' (From this man Thomas Roberts, whose labor was at an end, and who had lived in Dover thirty years, and a member of their church about twenty years, they took his cow away, which gave him and his wife a little milk, for not coming to their worship.)

"So thither they bauled Mary Tomkins also, and kept them both all night in the same house, and in the morning, it being exceedingly cold, they got into a certain Boat or Canoe, or kind of Trawl hewed out of the body of a tree, which the Indians use on the water, and in it they determined to have the three women down to the harbor's mouth ; and they put them in threatening that they would now so do with them that they would be troubled with them no more.

" Whither to go the three women were not willing. They forced them down a very steep place, in deep snow, and furiously they took Mary Tomkins by the arms and dragged her on her back over the stumps of trees, down a very steep hill to the water side, so that she was very much bruised and after was dying away; and Alice Ambrose they plucked violently into the water and kept swimming by the Canoe, being in danger of drowning, or to be frozen to deatlı. (What acts of violence and cruelty are here !) Ann Coleman they put in great danger of her life also, in view of enemies in great hazard, and in all proba- bility they had destroyed them quite according as they had said, viz .: That they would do so now as that they would be troubled with them no more ; but on a sudden a great Tempest arose, and so their cruel and wicked purpose was hindered, and back they had them to the House again and kept Prison- ers there till midnight, and then they cruelly turned them all out of doors in the frost and snow, Alice Ambrose's clothes being before frozen like boards, and was much and to no other thing could be attrib- uted but to the arm of the Lord that Alice especially and the rest had not been killed; such unmerciful- ness to their fellow-creatures lodgest in the Breasts of these wicked men who doubtless thought by these Things to have dispatched them ; but the hand of the Lord, who keeps all those who wait upon him, pre- served and upheld them, to whom be the glory. Amen."

Neither imprisonment, fines, nor starvation could daunt these fearless disciples of the Inner Light. Show them a whipping-post, they cling to it ; a prison, they enter it; a halter, and they put their heads in it. Others fascinated by the glory of persecution came to the place of its infliction.

to be troubled, and having spoken something against women's preaching, he was confounded and knew not well what to say ; whereupon Mary standing up and declaring the truth to the people, John Hill in his wrath thrust her down from the place where she stood, with his own hands, and the Priest pinched her arms, whereupon they were had out of the place of worship, but in the afternoon they had their meeting, unto which came most of the Priest's Hearers, when truth gave the Priests such a blow that day, that a little while after the Priest left his Marketplace and went to the Isles of Shoals, three leagues in the sea."

Another aspirant for martyrdom soon came,-Eliza- beth Hooten. Bishop says:

" Then at Dover for asking Priest Rayner aforesaid a Question, she was put in the Stocks and kept in prison four days in the cold weather, being an ancient woman which might have cost her her life, but the Lord preserved her ; Richard Walden aforesaid (whose wife, it is said, begged the office of Deputy Magistrate for him that he might mischief Friends) being he who executed this cruelty through the instigation of the Priest, as before he had done to others of whom I have made mention ; more eold storms she endured and Persecution in the service of the Truth in these Parts than she was able to express, being made a strength to Friends, and leaving the others without excuse."

She says of herself, "I was imprisoned also at Ilampton and Dover where a wicked Constable Came with a warrant and fetched away a poor old man's heifer [Thomas Roberts' probably] who had little else to maintain him, for €3 5s. fine imposed on him by fine of 5 shillings a day for not hearing their teacher which was a horrible oppression, five times worse than the Bishop's law which is but one shilling a day for not coming to hear their Common. Prayer. I being present asked him 'who made that warrant ?' He said the Treasurer, Peter Coffin. But he read it 'in His Majesty's name;' I asked him ' who was that Majesty ?' He said 'the King.' Then said I, 'in the King's name restore the poor man his heifer, for he hath made no such law.' But he would not. So I went to Peter Coffin the Treasurer and cleared my conscience unto him and told him 'that he had done contrary to God's law and the King's law in taking away the poor man's cow, for that the King had sent to them That their Church members should not make laws by themselves excluding others.' He told me that he would take away more yet, But the Lord stopped him in that purpose.

" From him I went to Richard Walden the magis- trate, to whom I said, Yesterday thou and thy wife were at a fast and to-day a poor man's cow is taken away in his Majesty's name hy a Warrant. 'I asked him if he made that warrant.' He said 'no.' I said ' then make a warrant to fetch him again.'

" George Preston, Edward Wharton, Mary Tom- kins, Alice Ambrose, Alice Gary, having been at Do- ver [Neck], passed from thence over the water to a place called Oyster River, where, on the first day of the week, the women went to Priest Hull's place of " But he answered, 'if I had a cow he would fetch worship; who standing before the old man he began | her.' I said it was contrary to God's law, and to the

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

king's. Then said he, 'it is the Devil's law.' I answered, 'then thou may take it home; as thou sayest it is the Devil's law, so say I, for thou has said it.' Then I bid him repent and turn from these wicked laws and wicked actions, or else God would cut them off. From him I went again to the consta- ble, and bid him return the poor man his cow again, for he did not as he would be done by. But he an- swered, 'if the magistrate commanded him to take away the man's life he must do it.' So you may see by what law these men act in prosecuting the just, as Walden said himself, 'it is the Devil's law.' So a company of blood-thirsty men are, etc.

" Edward Weymouth was the wicked one that dragged her. Hate-Evil Nutter, a ruling elder, was present stirring up the constables to do this thing for which no warrant had they as ever could be known, or did appear for procuring none they turned them out at Midnight, as is related."

The magistrates did not visit the burden of punish- ment upon strangers alone ; they also dealt with their own delinquents.

John Roberts, who have earnestly upheld the faith that their fathers persecuted.

" In the year 1663, on the 4th day of the 5th Month, Edward Wharton, aforesaid, being at Piscataqua River, and hearing of the cruelties done by your Court at Dover, was pressed in Spirit forthwith to re- pair to the Court where your Magistrates being as- sembled, he cryed aloud and said, ' Wo to all oppres- sors and Persecutors, for the indignation of the Lord is against them, Therefore, Friends, whilst you have time prize the day of his patience and cease to do Evil and learn to do well, ye who spoil the poor and devour the needy, ye who lay Traps and Snares for the innocent.'

"These words of advice and council and denuncia- tion of Judgment against that which oppresses and persecutes the innocent, were very hard to your Court, and Thomas Wiggins aforesaid (an old bloody Pro- fessor) being in a great rage cryed out ' Where is the Constable ? Where is the Constable?' The Marshal coming they had him to the stocks and put in his legs and so hield him, till having consulted what to do, they had him in again, and then William Hathorne of Sa- lem, who sat at that time Judge of the Court, demanded of him 'wherefore he came thither?' who answered, 'To bear my testimony for the Truth against Persecn- Whereupon the said Wiggins fell to raging again, to whom Edward said, 'Thomas Wiggins, Thomas Wiggins, thou shouldst not rage so ; thon art old and very gray, and thou art an old Persecutor; its time for thee to give over, for thou mayest be drawing near to thy grave.' Which gave

For absence from publie worship on the Sabbath the law required a fine of five shillings each day ; for at- tending a Quaker meeting the penalty was the pay- ment of ten shillings; for permitting a Quaker to rest in his house the hospitable criminal must pay , tion and Violence.' forty shillings per hour. These penalties were now inflicted. The records of the court tell us that Wil- liam Roberts, of Oyster River, had been absent from public worship on twenty-eight Sabbaths; William Williams, Sr., eight days; William Follett, sixteen days; James Smith, fourteen days, "and one day , an issue to an order to whip him through three towns, confest to have been at .a Quaker meeting ;" John ten stripes at each town. Goddard had been absent four days, and had heard " Jerry Tibbetts Constable having received the war- rant, he was bid to have Edward away and tye him to the Cart tail and whip him through the town. To which Edward answered manfully as he was passing from them, 'Friends, I fear not the worst ye may be suffered to do unto me, neither do I seek for any favor at your hands.' And to William Hathorne he said, ' O William, O William, the Lord will surely visit thee.' So to a pair of cart wheels he was tyed with a great Rope about his middle and a number of Peo- ple to draw them about, when the Executor cruelly whipped him, told him that he must prepare to re- ceive the like at the next town, which was about four- teen miles from thence through the woods; which the Quakers twice; Thomas Roberts, Sr., thirteen days, for which his cow was taken, as has already been related; James Nute, Sr., and wife and son, twenty-six days, " and for Entertaining Quakers four hours in one day" he was find £8; Humphrey Var- ney pleaded "non-convicted" for his absence, "unto whom the law was this day read and he admonished ;" Mary Hanson had been absent thirteen days ; Robert Burnum " had been to Strawberry Bank" to meeting, and explained the matter, "which showed him to the Court not to be obstinate ;" Jelian Pinkham, thirteen days. These fines were vigorously exacted, and such treatment had precisely the effect which might have been expected. The very sufferings of the ¡ being a long way for a man to travel on foot whose Quakers had aroused the sympathy of those who back was so torn already, to serve their pleasure in his own Execution, he told them he should not go unless they provided a horse for him or that they dragged him thither, whereupon your Executioner Complaining to your Court, this order according to this copy was issued forth as followeth : probably would never be interested in their teachings save by interest in themselves. The steadfastness with which these oppressed persons bore their afflic- tions did more to spread their tenets than a score of preachers. And it is worthy of notice that the Quakers have flourished in the very places of their "' To the Constables of Dover or Either of them : These are to require you That whereas Edward Wharton a vagabond Quaker hath been sen- tenced according to Law, and at present a Horse, according to that sen- tence, cannot be obtained, These are in his Majesty's name to and re- quire you to commit the said Edward to the Prison at Dover, there to sufferings, while many of the descendants of their perseeutors embraced their faith. Of such was the posterity of Edward Weymouth and Thomas and

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 189

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