History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 190

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 190
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 190

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remain in close Custody till the next second day of the week ; and there yon are to Execute the said sentence according to Warrant formerly delivered unto you ; hereof you are not to fail.

"' DOVER the 4th of 5th Month 1663

4. THOMAS WIGGINS 44' WILLIAM HARTSHORNE "'EMIAZER LUSHER.'"

This sentence was executed.

" At another time Thomas Newhouse, John Liddal, Edward Wharton, Jane Millard, Ann Coleman, on a first day of the week, coming to your worship house in Dover, were by Walden's Command (of whom I have formerly spoken) haled to prison, where after he had eaused them to be detained almost two weeks though he confessed, That for aught he knew they might be such as were spoken of in the 11th of Hebrews, yet he must Execute the Law against them, and so set them at Liberty. The people promised that the Priest Rayner should give them a fair rea- soning when his worship was done; but he broke their word and packed away ; and though the women followed him to his honse yet he would not turn but elapt to his door, having taken ont the key and turned Anna Coleman out of the house."

In time the laws against the Quakers ceased to be enforced. The result of all the rigor used against them in Dover was that they eventually became a third of the entire population, a most orderly, thrifty Christian body. Their first house of worship stood on Dover Neck, on the east side; it was afterwards taken across the river into Kittery. Their second house, built before 1720, stood on the corner of Silver and High Streets, where the house of Jacob K. Purinton now stands, in which are kept the Friends' records. This meeting-house had disappeared before 1780, and the present one had been erected.

Masonian Claims .- The grant to Capt. John Mason of lands covering Dover, and overriding, ap- parently, the Hilton patent, descendled, on his death, in 1635, to his heirs. It is needless to trace the claims, so far as Dover is concerned, prior to 1680.

On the 30th of December, 1680, Mason arrived from England to enforce his claims, bringing with him a mandamus to admit him to a seat in the Couneil. But instead of having the disputed claims brought to trial, he commenced issuing arbitrary orders to the people, requiring them to take leases of him, forbidding them to ent firewood and the like. Sneh proceedings became so intolerable that the Council forbade them, and at last Mason departed for England, exceedingly irritated at his reception. The manner in which his orders had been treated may be inferred from the following :

" Robert Mason Esqr Proprietor of the Province of New Hampshire maketh onth, That the Writing hereto annexed is a true Copy of the Declaracon which he caused to be set up at the usuall places in the several Towns of the sd Province, Aud that Maior Richard Walderwe did say to this deponent, That no such Papers should be set up to amuse the People and did show unto this Depout one of the afore sd Declaracons or some part thereof that he had pulled down.

" ROBERT MASIN.

" Taken upen Oath the 17th of October 1684 before me.

"R. CHAMBERLAIN, Just P."

John Cutt died on the 27th of March, 1681, and Walderne, of Dover, who was Deputy Governor, suc- ceeded to his office as President of the province ; this post he occupied until the arrival of Edward Cran- field, 4th of October. Of course, while Walderne was at the head of the government, nothing was done regarding the elaims of Mason, who was then in Eng- land. The appointment of Cranfield was made in pur- suance of an arrangement in which Mason's interest in the whole province was mortgaged to him for twenty-one years. Cranfield was therefore a party directly interested in Mason's claims, and this was the eause of the rancor with which he pursued those who opposed his purposes. Only six days after his arrival he suspended Walderne and Martyn from the Conneil on frivolous pretexts, but this use of his power only served to render him odious in the very commencement of his administration. Ashamed, per- haps, of this action, on the 14th of November he restored them to their places.

The Assembly met on the same day, but after a short period of harmony, their opposition to his meas- ures became so irritating that the Governor adjourned the Assembly. Its next session was no more to his mind, and he then dissolved it, an act which aroused the anger of the whole body of the people, unused as they were to snch proceedings. One person, Ed- ward Gove, a member of the Assembly from Hamp- ton, endeavored in a half-erazy manner to exeite the people to arms, but however much they were dissatis- fied with the government, they had no sympathy with Gove's wild proceedings. His attempt failed entirely. He himself was brought to trial on an accusation of high treason. A special court was created Feb. 15, 1682-83, of which Walderne was judge. Gove was convicted, being the first and last man convicted of high treason in the State of New Hampshire, and the horrible sentence of the law was passed upon him by Maj. Walderne ; it is said that the judge shed tears as he pronounced the sentence.

In pursuance of the previous arrangements the Gov- ernor called upon the inhabitants, Feb. 14, 1683, to take leases of Mason within one month. But this, of course, was out of the question. Within the month, however, Walderne, accompanied by John Wingate and Thomas Roberts, all large land-owners, waited upon the Governor. He directed them to see Mason ; the proposition of Walderne that the whole affair should be referred to the King was refused, and there was therefore no way of avoiding a series of legal quarrels.

Walderne was again suspended from the Council, as were Martyn and Gilman. "The judicial courts were also filled with officers proper for the intended busi- ness. Some who had always been disaffected to the country, and others who had been awed by threats and promises, took leases from Mason, and these served for nnder-sheriffs, jurors, evidences, and other necessary persons.

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

"Things being thus prepared, Mason began his law-suits by a writ against Maj. Walderne (who had always distinguished himself in opposition to his claim ) for holding lands and felling timber to the amount of four thousand pounds. The major appeared in court and challenged every one of the jury as inter- ested persons, some of them having taken leases of Mason, and all of them having lands which he claimed. The judge then caused the oath of voire dire to be ad- ministered to each juror, purporting ' that he was not concerned in the lands in question, and that he should neither gain nor lose by the cause.' Upon which the major said aloud to the people present, 'that his was a leading case, and that if he were cast they must all become tenants of Mason, and that all persons in the province being interested, none of them could legally be of the jury.' The cause, however, went on, but he made no defense, asserted no title, and gave no evidence. Judgment was given against him, and at the next Court of Sessions he was fined for ' muti- nous and seditious words.' "

Suits were instituted against many other land- owners, and decided in the same summary manner. In Dover, besides Walderne, there were John lleard, Sr., William Horne, Jenkin Jones, William Furbur, Jr., John Hall, Jr., Joseph Field, Nathaniel Ilill, James luckins, William Tasker, Zachary Field, Philip Chesley, Jr., Thomas Chesley, Robert Burn- ham, Anthony Nutter, William Furbur, Sr .; Thomas Paine, Charles Adams, Thomas Edgerly, Henry Longstaffe, Thomas Stevenson, John Meader, John Woodman, John Windiet, John Davis, Sr., Joseph Beard, John Roberts, Joseph Stevenson, Samuel Hill, Philip Lewis, John Gerrish, John Hill, Joseph Hall, Thomas Roberts, Sr., and perhaps others, who were thus declared dispossessed From seven to twelve cases were dispatched each day. Some exe- cutions were levied, but the officers could neither re- tain possession nor find purchasers, so that the prop- erty soon reverted to its owners. These matters went on until the representations of Nathaniel Weare so influenced the Board of Trade that they ordered Cranfield to suspend the suits. Executions, however, were issued after this; the success which they met with may be learned from an incident which occurred in Dover : Certain officers, attempting to levy an ex- ecution, were driven off; they returned on the Sab- bath, with warrants to apprehend the rioters ; a ti- mult ensued, which was ended by a young girl's knocking down one of the officers with her Bible ; such a spirit it was useless to resist.

The suits were suspended, however, and were not resumed until long after Walderne's death. It is un- necessary for us, therefore, to say more than that in the final decision the rights of the colonists were fully preserved. The " proprietors," so called, who bought out the Masonian heirs or holders in the next cen- tury, quit-claimed all settled lands at once ; and thus ended the controversy.

CHAPTER CXIX.

DOVER .- (Continued.)

PROGRESS FROM THE REVOLUTION.

THE population of the town in 1776 was less than 1700. By a census of the State, taken in the previous year "for the purpose of establishing an adequate representation of the people," Dover was returned as containing males under sixteen years of age, 410; males from sixteen years of age to fifty, not in the army, 342; males above fifty years of age, 74; per- sons gone in the army, 28; all females, 786; negroes and slaves for life, 26. Total population, 1666.

All of the working members of this community were mainly engaged in the cultivation of the soil, and a few of them added thereto the business of sawing logs and grinding corn. A small number perhaps may have been called mechanics,-tanning the leather and making the shoes of their neighbors, shoeing their cattle, building their houses and small boats for the river, etc., when there was any call for such labor. Some lumber business still remained ; some ship-building was also carried on at Dover Point ; but all of them relied mainly upon the pro- duce of the land for support; for here, as elsewhere, a man was hardly considered a desirable acquisition to the town unless he had an interest in the soil. As early as 1666 the town had voted that no more per- sons should be admitted to citizenship until all former grants had been laid out and recorded on the town's book, and a list made out of all inhabitants, so that " the town may see how many we are to take care of."

There was then little which might properly be called a village in the town. Dover Neck, where the settlers of 1633 had first laid out a city, which was never built, then, as it had for one hundred and fifty years, contained a considerable population. But after Cochecho, as that part of the town around the falls was called, succeeded, in 1713, in removing the place of meeting on the Sabbath by building the new meet- ing-house at Pine Hill, the prestige of the Neck, as the seat of government, which it had maintained for nearly a century, departed. South of the river, stretching from what is now Central Square to the road beyond Pine Hill, there may have been twenty dwelling-houses. On what is now called Silver Street there were half a dozen more. On the north side of the river, in addition to the Walderne house, standing just back of where Morrill's Block now stands, there were but four other houses on all the territory now comprising the most thickly-settled section of the city. The landing was principally used as a depot for the lumber and for tying up the boats of those of the inhabitants who possessed boats, and there was in addition a few scattered trees, remnants of the for- ests which once covered it, and a cooper's shop only. These were the main, if not the only, roads for travel

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through the town. Of the buildings then standing upon them, not more than half a dozen now remain. The long winding street from Garrison Hill through the landing to Pine Hill still exists, but the whole conformation of the land over which it passes has been greatly changed. Hills have been dug down and ra- vines filled up, if the crooked places have not always been made straight, not only in the vicinity of the falls, but elsewhere along its course, until hardly one stone remains upon another, or one shovelful of earth rests where it did at that time.

The only public buildings in the place were the meeting-house, built in 1758, the predecessor of the present house at the Corner; the Friends' meeting- house, now standing, built in 1770; the jail, of un- known antiquity, which was located where Daniel Niles' house now stands ; and a school-house, which stood on or near the spot where the building so long devoted to the purpose of " teaching the young idea how to shoot" still stands, though now used as a ward house.

At the Falls, near the upper bridge, besides the Walderne house already referred to, its tben occupant, Thomas Westbrook Walderne, the fourth in descent from Maj. Richard Waklerne, the first proprietor, had a saw- and grist-mill. His barns occupied the pres- ent site of the American House, and his possessions stretched from the river far away towards Garrison Ilill. Opposite to him, on the south side of the river, the descendants of old Peter Coffin were still lords of the soil, holding it so tenaciously that when, in 1820 or thereabouts, the town laid out Washington Street, they refused for a long time to accept the money which was awarded them as damages, considering it little less than sacrilege to alienate any part of the land which their far-off ancestor had handed down to them. Within the last forty years, Coffin's woods, now covered in part by streets and residences and the railroad track, Coffin's orchard of antediluvian apple- trees, occupying all the space from Washington up to and beyond Orchard Street, and jutting down into the very heart of the city, and Coffin's Brook, over which the City Hall has been erected, have disap- peared, but the brook, covered from view, still flows on.

On all the territory now comprising the compact part of the city there must in 1776 have been less than fifty families. The old Dover Hotel, or some parts of it, then Gage's tavern, stood where it now stands. Rev. Jeremy Belknap, afterwards known as the " Historian of New Hampshire," was the minister in the town, living in the house which he built, and which was taken down to make place for the Belknap school-house. Col. Thomas W. Wallerne, Col. Otis Baker, Col. John Gage, Capt. Stephen Evans, Capt. Caleb Hodgdon, Capt. Joshua Wentworth, and Capt. John Walderne were its most prominent inhabitants, serving as officers in the provincial militia, as mod- erators at town-meetings, as selectmen, and as rep-

resentatives in the Provincial Legislature. John Wentworth, Jr., was the only lawyer. John Sullivan, of Durham (once a part of Dover), was the only other lawyer of the county. He was drilling a company of minute-men, and he became a major-general in the Revolution.

There was little trade in the town; the few articles for consumption or wear not produced at home were bought of itinerant dealers or procured at Portsmouth, which with Exeter, then the seat of the provincial gov- ernment, was the residence of the principal men of the State. The spoils of Governor Wentworth's seat, at Wolfeborough, consisting, among other things, of " a valuable collection of books and two fine weather- glasses," having been confiscated and advertised by the Committee of Safety for sale in Dover, the As- sembly, "considering that they would be more likely to sell at a much greater advantage at Exeter, where there was a constant resort of people from other towns," ordered the sale to be adjourned to that place. The keys of a store which was opened here in 1776, by James McMarster, of Portsmouth, and put in charge of one Peter Mitchell, were taken from him by the Committee of Safety, and his goods confiscated be- cause of his disloyalty to the patriot cause; and stringent resolutions were passed in town-meeting against dealing with hawkers, peddlers, and petty chapmen, who were represented as " strolling through the country with goods, wares, and merchandise, much of it undoubtedly forwarded by enemies of the country." Innholders, especially, were forbidden to entertain such persons under the penalty of having their licenses taken from them.

Though the province had been divided into coun- ties, and Strafford County had been organized in 1771, it was not until 1773 that it had its separate courts, all its judicial business being transacted in Rockingham County, on account of the sparseness of the population here.

Such was the condition of Dover, briefly sketched, when the Revolution commenced and the country entered upon the great struggle for independence. Early in the contest the people had assembled in town-meeting, and with great unanimity pledged their best efforts for their country's success, and they made this resolution good by contributing to the extent of their ability both of men and money to secure it.

The close of the war of the Revolution left the coun- try poor and deeply in debt, with a worthless currency, and the people distressed for the means of paying their taxes and their private obligations. Then, as in recent times, the effects of war were widely felt long after the cessation of hostilities, and it was not until after the establishment of the Constitution that the prosperity and business of the country began to revive.

The ratification of this new bond of union by the requisite number of States was hailed in Dover, as elsewhere, with great rejoicings.

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Dover then had no newspaper, aud some correspon- dent here sent the subjoined notice of the great occa- sion to the newspaper at Portsmouth, from which it was copied into the Salem Mercury. The printer un- fortunately considered his space of more importance than the order of procession, omitted it in the publi-

cation, and there is now no living witness of the event , formed with very little taste or beauty. A small num- who can supply it :

" PORTSMOUTH, July Ist .- A Correspondent has favored us with the fol- lowing sketch of the Procession at Dover, in Consequence of having the most important Pillar in Federal Edifice Erected in New Hampshire : In the afternoon of Tuesday last, a number of gentlemen of that town as- sembled, and being embodied, Nine Cannon were discharged, at the dis- tance of nine minutes from each other-the nine States in the Union were given as toasts, one immediately preceding each Cannon, in the order they adopted the Constitution, and were succeeded by Nine Cheers.

"The Corps of Light Horse and a company on foot joined-The mem- ber of the Convention from Dover, was then waited on, and a toast was given as a testament of thanks, for his services and succeeded by Musick and a feu-de-joy from horse and foot. [Here follows an account of the order of procession.] After passing the town, animated by the approv- ing smiles of the ladies present-a semncircle was formed near the meet- ing-house, where Nine Cannon were again discharged, and nine toasts were publickly given. After repeated cheers and expressions of unaf- fected joy, the Company received an invitation to the Hall-Chamber, where nine flowing bowls, and four Empty ones stood prepared for their reception, and Nine social Songs were sung, which closed the Evening in harmony."

The four empty bowls were symbolic of the four States which had not at that time ratified the Consti- ! tution, as the nine flowing ones were of those which had. What added interest to the occasion was the fact that New Hampshire was the ninth State which ratified the great charter, and the ninth State made the Union of the States a living reality.

In 1790, when the census was first taken by au- thority of Congress, Dover had a population of nine- teen hundred and ninety-eight, having increased but one hundred and thirty-two in the fifteen previous years. In 1800 the number was two thousand and sixty-two, an addition of sixty-four only.

Slavery had in a great measure disappeared during the Revolution, and was finally extinguished on the adoption of the State Constitution. Some of those held to service had purchased their freedom, some had : taken it hy going abroad and failing to return, others had been voluntarily emancipated. Thomas West- brook Waklerne, in his will, dated Aug. 7, 1779, bequeaths to heirs his negro Dinah and her two chil- dren, Chloe and Plato. The framers of the Constitu- I of Garrison Hill.

tion, while making provision for the freedom of those born from and after its adoption, appear to have thought it expedient to leave the few that remained nominally the property of those who had profited by their services, so far at least as to require them to sup- port those unable to support themselves, instead of leaving them to become town paupers. This is ap- parent from the fact that in 1798, on the petition of a citizen to have the town "accountable for the future maintenance of a poor negro woman then in his family," the town voted that it would not be account- able.

During this period the town was slowly recovering from the depression consequent on the war. Dr. Dwight, in his travels through New England in 1796, in recording his impressions of the town, uses the fol- lowing language : " The scite of Dover is chiefly a de- clivity. The buildings are substantial and decent, but ber of them only are painted, and most of these with a dull, disagreeable color. There is nothing sprightly in the appearance of the town, except the activity of its inhabitants. The commerce of Dover consists chiefly in lumber. The material is daily diminish- ing, and in a short time will probably fail. Whether a substitute can be found by the inhabitants, I am ignorant."

In 1792 the first newspaper published in the place appeared, and we are able to glean from its columns some idea of what Dover was doing. Trade and a variety of mechanical pursuits had been added to its industry. The selectmen were directed by a vote of the town to sell lots on the Landing, for the purpose of promoting and encouraging trade. Many lots were thus disposed of, stores were built, and business began to grow up in that locality. The bridge over the Pascataqua, leading from Durham to Newington, and connecting Dover with Portsmouth, was opened. A post-office was established, a court-house was built in 1791, and is still standing, turned half round and now cut up into dwellings. In that court-house used to be heard Jeremiah Smith, Webster, Mason, and Bart- lett. The Strafford Bank was incorporated. The Leg- islature, for the first and last time in its history, held its session here in 1792. Ship-building to some ex- tent was followed. Dover merchants shipped lumber and other products to the West Indies, receiving in return molasses, sugar, rum, etc. Some of them im- ported goods directly from Europe, and advertised them for sale by the cargo. The Landing at this time first became the centre of business, and continued for years the principal mart of trade. Its merchants dealt with all the surrounding country up to and he- yond the "Pond" (in modern parlance Winne- pesaukee Lake) and the White Mountains. On a winter's day, as old people have often related, the country teams coming into town in the morning fre- quently extended from Ela's tavern to near the foot

In 1810 the population of the town had increased to two thousand two hundred and twenty-eight. Dr .. Dwight, who again visited Dover about this time, says, "I found Dover considerably improved since my last visit, and, what was not a little gratifying to me, furnished with a good minister of the gospel."

The embargo and the war of 1812 interfering with mercantile pursuits, the business men of the town embarked in other industries. In 1812 the Dover Cotton-Factory was incorporated, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and, as the Lower Falls were supposed to be fully occupied with the saw- and

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grist-mills thereon, the first factory was built two miles up the river, and was long known as the Upper factory. This was built in 1812, and, like most new enterprises, was but moderately successful to its pro- jectors. In 1821 a nail-factory was established at the Lower Falls, at which one thousand tons of iron were rolled and seven hundred tons manufactured into nails annually, but this business becoming unprofit- able it was abandoned.

At this time (182I) the Dover Cotton-Factory, hav- ing obtained possession of the Lower Falls, so long the property chiefly of the Waldron family, enlarged their operations. They increased their capital to five hundred thousand dollars, and built the first cotton- mill erected in the village. This is now known as No. 2, having been so called when erected to distin- guish it from the mill at the Upper Falls, which was long since taken down.

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 190

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