USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Sanbornton > History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, Vol. I - Annals > Part 8
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
On the 22d of April, 1766, JJosiah Sanborn and Josiah Robinson were appointed a committee by the proprietors " to visit Sanborn Town, between May 20 and June 20, to see what the settlers who gave bonds have done in their settlements." Four shillings a day, " lawful money," were promised for their services, and permission to " hier assistance as they shall have occasion, for pilots," etc. It is doubtful whether this committee discharged their commission ; for on Aug. 18, 1766, " at a leagul meeting of the Proprietors of Sanborn Town (so cauled)," Josiah Sanborn and Capt. Joseph Hoighit, as committee, and Abraham Perkins "as substitute for Watchfulness of the propri- eturu. either," were designated " to go and view the setelments and see if the setelers have fulfilled the conditions of their bonds." This committee made their report Sept. 22, when £4 " old tenner a day" were allowed them for service, and it was voted that two individuals (specified) should not be allowed as " setelers," but that Mr. " Darling, in the right of Josiah Sanborn of Epping, and James Gibson, in the right of Seth Fogg, should be received as settlers," thus marking the year of their arrival.
It was during the previous season, doubtless (1765), that the first "framed house " in town was erected by Sergt. Jolm Sanborn, near the original Sanborn homestead, now disappearing (1880) under the ownership of Mr. Morgan, three quarters of a mile north of Tilton Village. To the one finished room of this house, Mr.
Earliest
frumued house. Sanborn repaired with his family, February, 1766, and himself, his cousin Daniel, who moved up a few days before, and three other men with their families, five in all, were here domiciled the rest of the winter, the beds being turned up in the day- time and completely covering the floor at night ; the cattle also being tied up in the back part of the house ! It is certain, however, that
* By some it is thought that Andrew Rowen was here temporarily, and alone, during an earlier season (perhaps in 1762 or 1763), when he "went for the axe"!
47
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND INCORPORATION.
the wife of Daniel Sanborn did not arrive in town till the June follow- ing, when he had put up the first part of his house at the Square (now the Thomas M. Jaques place), with material brought on his own and other men's backs, by easy stages, from his mil! at
Lumber first the bridge, at least a portion of the way, for several days curried to the in succession! A similar experience is assigned to Square.
Edward Kelley, -backing the boards of his house still higher up the hill, to the present " Kelley Ledge."
To this or one of the two preceding years (1764, 1765) must be referred the experience of three young men - Satchel Clark, Jacob Smith, and John Thorn - who came from Epping, with provisions (for a few days), axes, and guus, to a point just west of the present Tin Corner, in Tilton. They were there engaged in felling trees, helping each other by turns, when, on one occasion, their camp took fire from the fire of their boiling pork, near by. They were first alarmed by the report of one of the guns at a distance ; a second gun was heard after they started, and the third before they reached the burning camp, to which they hastened, but not in season to save their effects. They were obliged to go to Canterbury in
Burning of the camp at
Tin Corner. order to replace the provisions they had lost. This camp is said to have stood on the site of the old burying-ground, west of the late Lorenzo Smith's.
In 1767 there came from Epping, James Cate, Sr., whose wife had been saving seeds from their best apples all the winter before,
A primitive for the orchard they would plant at their new home!
orchard.
They settled on the late Edward Wyatt place, in Frank-
lin. Some of the apple-trees from those seeds were still remaining a few years since.
In company with the Cates came Nathaniel Burley and his family, from Newmarket and Canterbury, who settled two miles farther cast (late Mrs. Davis's, Calef Hill). It is well authenticated, by tradition in this latter family, that there were " only three or four little clearing> at the Square " on Burley's arrival in town : viz., Daniel Sanborn's, as before named; his brother Aaron's, a little south (present Kimball or Joslina Lane place) ; Josiah Sanborn's, in the hollow east of the Square, and Edward Kelley's on the hill above: while their nearest
"Clearings" neighbors in other directions were John Sanborn . this
in 1707. side," and Ebenezer Morrison and Benjamin Darling " at the Bridge" (now Eleazer Davis's) ; Clark, Smith, and Thorn " at the Tin Corner " ; the Danforths " on the Plains " ; Solo- mon Copp and Andrew Rowen " near the Ferry" ; and David Dustin " at the north." The latter part of this year were added to their immediate neighborhood John Folsom upon, and Samuel Smith to the
,
40
HISTORY OF SANBORNTON.
north of Calef Hill, and others in other parts of the town, as will soon appear; while the next year, Major Taylor cante
ellers to the Square ; und the second spring (1769), William Thompson, to the present Eben Burleigh place .. It is also a tradition from the Burley family that their crops Failure of were cut off, or greatly injured, these two first years in crup'o. succession : in 1767 by frost, in 1768 by hail ; but . the third year, 1769, they succeeded."
The way is now prepared for the most important Stute document which pertains to this period of Saubornton's history ; viz., the paper indorsed " Petition to be released from paying Province Tax." which, in 1875, was published in Vol. IX. p. 755, of Dr. Bouton's " Provincial Records." We give it in full, " verbatim et literatim," as follows, from the original State paper : -
"SANBORN TOWN, Jun. y' 8, 1768.
l'etillon for " To his Excellency, John Wentworth, Esq., Cuptain General, Governor, and
release from
Province tux. Commander in Chief, in and over his Majesty's Province, of New Hump- shire, in New England :
"The Humble Petition of ye Inhabitants of Sauborn Town. We, the Inhabitants of this Town, Promicing ourselves your Excellency's Protec- tion, Both in our Public nud Private Interests, Humbly beg y. Liberty of Declaring to your Excellency ye Present Condition of this infant Town, which is as followeth, viz. : We have thirty-too Familys in town, and a number more we expect will sone move fu, and we doubt not But that in a few years we shall, if Prospered, be a flourishing Town, able to support our familys, and be a help to ye Public. But at Present we are under the neces- sity of Going to other Towus for many things to support our Selves and our Cattle, which are but very few, ye time Being so very short since we moved into Town, there Being no more than seven family's that have Been in Town, so Long as two years, and they were Poor People that moved in for ye sake of' Cetching a few fish to support their familys. Many of us have Been here But one year, and some not so Long; our Land is Very henvy to Clear, and after it is Cleard and affords us a Considerable Crop of indin Corn, it is next to imposable to Plough the Land for Some years, by Reson of ye Stumps and Roots; there hath Been But a Very few acres ever Ploughd. in Hardships Frauthetically deplored. Town; not more than six or seven meu that have Ploughd any, and, ou y" whole, it is not without a Great Deal of Difficulty that we Bring ye year abont, Being obliged to Spend on the Store we had Before we moved up, those that had nny, and those that had not, to Run in Debt many of us or be beholden to friends, which can't, we humbly conceive, be thought Strange considering that this was all a wilder- uess so Very Lately.
* The tradition in this Thompson family agrees with the foregoing, as Mrs. Josiah Sanborn, the daughter of William Thompson, remembered to have "gone that year by spotted trees from her father's clearing to Bear Folsom's, as the mert cast (opposite Mr. Calef's), and to Daniel Sanborn's, at the Square, as the next in that . direction," though the Burleys, upon the first range south, must have been their nearer neighbors.
49
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND INCORPORATION.
" Now, with Submission to your Excellency's Pleasure, our Humble Petition is, that your Excellency would Consider our Sireumstances, and Release us from Paying any tax for a Little time; your Excellency Granting of which, we humbly Conceive, will be an advantage, not only to your humble Peti- tioners, But also to ye Publick, as it will Enable us to make the Greater Progress in Clearing our farms, and so of consequence to Pay ye Greater tax, which at Present Could be But Very Small, having but Little to Pay for.
"We Remain your Loyal Immable Servants,
"JAMES CATES.
EDWARD KELLY.
THOMAS SENCLER.
DANIEL. SAMBORN.
JOHN GALR.
BENJAMIN SAMBORN.
JOHN SAMBORN.
EBENEZER MORRISON.
JOSIAHI SAMHORN.
THOMAS GH.MORE.
WINTHROP HOIT.
BENJAMIN DARLING.
WILLIAM KINESTON.
NATHANIEL BURLEY.
SATCHEL CLARK.
JOIN FOLSOM.
COLE WEEKS.
JONATHAN LARY.
DANIEL. LARY.
SOLOMON COPE [COPP]. (+)
AARON SAMBORN.
SAMUEL SHEPHERD. (+)
DAVID DUSTRN.
MOSES DANFORTH. (+)
JONATHAN SMITH.
ANDREW RORN. (+)
JOSIAH KENTFIELD.
JOHN GIPSON.
JACON SMITH.
SAMUEL. SMITH.
JONATHAN THOMAS.
PHILIP HUNT.
THOMAS LYFORD.
DANIEL FIFIELD." (+)
[Dr. Bouton adds this "Note": "The above names are mostly written by one hand, which may account for the spelling of Sanborn uniformly with an w."]
These thirty-four men, therefore, represent all the " thirty-two fami- lies " who hnul settled here in 1768 ; the two Larys living together. and one other, probably Lyford or Gilmore, being only a workman in town, nud residing, perhaps, in Northfield. The "seven familys" which only had been in town " so long as two years " were of the five men marked (;) and of two others still in doubt. Only twenty-one of the thirty-four names appear on the " Test" of 1776.
As the preceding petition of our Sanbornton fathers, with a truly "loyal" rather than a democratie spirit, was made to " his Excel- leney," and not, as in many similar cases, to the . Provincial Assen- bly," it can never be ascertained whether or not the prayer of the petitioners was granted; for among the State documents tion unkuown, at Concord, the so-called "Governors' and Councils' Ree- Fate of peti- ords" are suspended at 1767, a break occurring from that year till 1772 Gov. John Wentworth came into office carly in the former year; but proving a Tory, most of his official papers were afterwards carried with him to Halifax, and were there probably destroyed. All that is known personally of the above thirty-jour 4
50
HISTORY OF SANHORNTON.
earliest inhabitants of the town are embodied in the " Genealogies" of Vol. II.
From the State archives in Concord, it is learned that before the end of 1768, the " Amount of Ratable Estates" in San-
Valuation lu
1.08. bornton * was £1,000 ; proportion (of tax) to the £1,000, £2 7s." " No. of polls, thirty-secen."
It has been said that among the other inducements held out by the proprietors to insure the settlement of the town, was " the promise of a lot of land to the first male child that should be born in town," und that John Sunborn, the son of Esq. Daniel, " received the prom- ised reward." But there is no documentary evidence that the promise was even made; and no proof has yet come to light, from tradition or Lot of land to otherwise, that the lot on which John Sanborn finally set-
the fral-born tled, No. 16, First Division, came to his hands except by child. Doubt- ful.
purchase from Joseph Jewett, its first owner.
Reserving further incidents respecting the early settle- ment of the town for other places, we may appropriately close this chapter by giving the official documents which pertain to its incorpo- ration.
The first movement in this direction was on the part of the proprie- tors (money being raised and committee chosen, as below, at their meeting, Jan. 8, 1770) ; nor is there evidence that the inhabitants petitioned, except through them. The following among the " Town Papers " at Concord (Bouton, Vol IX. p. 757) is indorsed : -
" Petition of Joseph Hoit and associates, for a Charter of Incorporation for ye town of 'Sunborn.' 1770, March 1. Grunted.
" PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Petition for "To his Excelleney John Wentworth, Esq., Captain General,
incorporation. Governor, and Commander in Chief of the Province aforesaid, in Council.
"The Petition of Joseph Iloit of Stratham, and his Associates, humbly sheweth :
"That your Petitioners, being ageuts for and interested in the Township of 'Sanborn' (so called), In which there are upwards of Forty Familys settled, who are very desirous of being incorporated into a Town, for many good reasons, humbly request your Excelleney and Honors to grant them that privilege by a Charter of Incorporation, as usual; and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &c.
(Signed) [ouly by two, - the committee of Jan. 8]. "JOSEPH HOIT. "JOSIAH SANBORN. "PORTSMOUTH, 1 March, 1770."
[NOTE. - At this stage, as appears above, a little uncertainty existed, in some minds at least, as to the name which should finally be given to the town. ]
51
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND INCORPORATION.
In response to this we find the following Charter, indorsed : -
Sunbornton Incorporated.
[L. s.] "PROVINCE OF N. HAMPSHIRE.
Charter of "George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, the town. France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith and so forth - To all People to whom these presents shall coule; Greeting :
"Whereas our Loyal Subjects, Inhabitants of a Truet of Land within our province of New Hampshire aforesaid, known by the name of Sanborn Town, containing, by estimation, six milles square, have humbly Petitioned and requested us that they may be erected and Incorporated into a Township. und enfranchised with the same powers and privileges which other Towns within onr.said province by Law have and enjoy; and it appearing nuto us to be conducive to the general good of our said province, as well as of the said Inhabitants in particular, by maintaining good order, and encouraging the cul- ture of the Land that the sume should be done : Know ye, that we, of our special Grace, certain Knowledge, and for the encouragement and promotion of the good purposes and ends aforesaid, by and with the advice of our Trusty and well beloved John Wentworth, Esq., our Governor and Commander in Chier, and of our Council of the same, Have erected and ordained and by these presents, for us, our Heirs and successors, do will and ordain that the Inhabitants of the aforesaid Tract of Land and others who shall Imuprove and Inhabit thereon hereafter - the same being butted and bounded as follows ; viz., Beginning at a hemlock Tree standing by the Great Bay of Winnipesiokee River, marked with the letter ' B' and several other letters, with the date of the year 1748, and spotted on four sides, then running North 65 degrees West to u beech tree, six miles, marked ou four sides, then running Established
South 65 degrees West to Pemigewasset River, then running as boundaries. said River runs, bonnding on the same to the crotch made by said Rivers, thence Easterly np Winnipesiokee River to the Bay aforesaid, then by the said Bay to the Tree, first bonds mentioned, where it begins - Be, and they are hereby declared to be, a Town Corporate, and are hereby Erected und Incorporated into a body Politiek and Corporate, to have continuance for- ever, by the name of Sanbornton, with all the powers and anthori-
Privileges ties, Privileges, Immunities, Franchises which any other Towns guaranteed.
in said province, by Law hold and enjoy, to the said Inhabitants or those who shall herenfter inhabit there, and to their Successors forever. Always reserving to ns, our heirs and Successors all white pine Trees that are or shall be found being and growing on the said Tract of
Royal reser- Land fit for the use of our Royal Navy ; reserving also to us, our vatione. heirs and successors the Power and Right of Dividing said Town, when it shall appear necessary and convenient for the Inhabitants thereof: Provided, nevertheless, and tls hereby Declared that this Charter and grant is not intended and shall not In any manner be construed to affect the private property of the soil within the limits aforesnid. And as the Several Towns within our said Province are by the Laws thereof enabled and authorized to assemble, and by the majority of the Voters present to choose all such officers
and transact such affairs as in the said Laws are Declared : We
do, by these presents, nominate and appoint Daniel Sandborn to
Provision for the first lowu meeting. call the first meeting of said Inhabitants to be held within the said Town at any time within seventy days from the date hereor,
52
HISTORY OF SANBORNTON.
glying Legal hotlee of the Thie and design of holding such meether, after which the annual meeting In sald Town shall be held for the cholee of sald uffleers, and the purposes aforesald, on the last Tuesday lu March, annually.
" In testinmony whereof, we have caused the Seul of our sald provice to be hereuntu allyed. Witness, John Wentworth, Esg., our aforesald GGovr and Commander in Chief, the first day of March In the Tenth year of our Helgen, Anno Domini 1770.
"J. WENTWORTH.
" By his Excellency's command, with advice of the Counell. " THEO. ATKINSON, Sec'ry."
·
CHAPTER VIII.
ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS AND SKETCHES OF THIE EARLY SETTLERS.
" The place where we live is a wilderness wood, Where grass is much wanting that's fruitful and good; .. . And when the northwest wind with violence blows, 'Then every man pulls his cap over his nose ; But if any 's so hardy, and will it withstand, Ile forfeits a finger, a foot, or a hand. . . . If fresh meat be wanting to fill up our dish,
We repair to the river, and there we catch fish. Instead of pottage and puddings and custards and pics, Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies; We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noou, If it was not for pumpkins we should be undone." " FOREFATHERS' SONG," 17th Century.
"THERE should not perhaps be much reliance placed upon tradi- tional accounts generally, at the distance of time at which we are writing ; but they may be taken with safety in delineating the charac- ter of a people, or to show the habits and customs of the
'The value of times, especially when they are related by those who still traditional accounts. live among us. The few anecdotes, therefore, which may be thrown into this work upon such authority will be in- tended only to chronicle events truly, without intending any praise or censure upon the persons of whom they are related. The descend- auts of such persons will of course feel neither pride nor mortification, but let them pass. as they are intended, for a picture of the times in which they occurred " ( Annalist of 1841) ; adding, in innmediate con- nection, that in 1768 there were only three horses in town and three great-coats, and that Daniel Sanborn and Chase Taylor Nearcity of owned, each of them, a pair of boots ! " It is said that things now iu-
dispensable. the first person who had shoes upon his horse gave great offence to a neighbor, who was about to go a journey, by refusing to lend his horseshoes to be used on the occasion."
Still further to illustrate the hardships and deprivations, not to say dangers, of the earliest comers to town, and resuming somewhat of a
54
HISTORY OF SANBORNTON.
chronological order, the three first actual settlers seem to have been Moses Danforth, near the Little Bay on the Plains ; Andrew
Partleular lo. Rowen, above Union Bridge ; and Solomon Copp, below
catlotle of thu
drol outtlers. Mohawk Point. These three families procured their sub- sistence at first chiefly from the river und bays. They must have come to town early iu the spring of 1764, and later in the same season Thomas Danforth joined his brother Moses ; Daniel Fitield settled with his family back among the hills, between the present Deacon Lougee's and John Perkins's ; Samuel Sheppard was uckdled to the list, and Philip Hunt ( without family ) made a commence- ment in the hollow southeast of Fifield's. Mr. Ihmt that season ( to amplify a previous allusion) raised something of a crop of potatoes, and left them in a cave or deep hole under ground for the winter, while he returned to his family. Mr. Fitfeld and family being likely to starve towards spring, pillaged the cave and secured the approved nicht. potatoes ; which act was heartily approved by their owner ! -A Seripturally (See Prov. vi. 30.) It is made certain by the " Proprie- tors' Records," as quoted in the last chapter, that all the above (except HIunt and possibly Rowen) passed that first trying winter in town.
Solomon Copp used to bring his provisious (Indian meal chiedy), the first year or two after settlement, on his back all the way from Canterbury, and in a few instances even from Concord.
Provisions from a dis- tuneo. On one occasion, being belated iu starting for Concord, and finding himself and family brought to a very short allowance, he was at a loss what to do, when a small dog in his posses- sion, by rather more than his customary " yelping," informed them that he had treed some game. It was found to be a bear cub, A timely sup- ply of game. which was soon shot, brought in, dressed, and devoured with the utmost relish, though without potatoes or bread, thus giving Mr. Copp new strength and courage for the long journey before him ! Other members of Mr. Copp's family used to share this labor with him (see Vol. II. p. 182) ; aud once when his son Thomas, a few years later, was returning from Canterbury with his bushel of corn meal, overtaken by extreme darkness, when not even the stars could be seen above the high tree-tops, he was startled by a loud snorting in the path before him, accompanied with a sharp, snapping noise, as of teeth. IIe was too much frightened at first to speak ; but afterwards, by dint of his stout hallooing, the probable bear was induced to move farther and farther from the path, till at last he ven- tured by in safety, - slowly and carefully at first, and then as fast as his weary legs and heavy load would allow him !
Mrs. Tabitha Sanborn, the wife of Sergeant John ( Vol. II. p. 629 [112]), is remembered to have said that while in their original dwelling,
55
INCIDENTS AND SKETCHES OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
the wolves would come aud howl frightfully near their house, when nothing but pieces of bark and quilts were before their
Unwelcome
intruders.
door! This would make the experience of Mr. Ebenezer
Morrison's wife, in the same neighborhood, all the more trying ; who,
"On returning from meeting one Sabbath, missed the path which led from the house of Mr. Sanborn to her home (now Tilton village), and was out in the woods all night. Her husband supposed she had stopped at her sister's, and remained In quiet unconcern at home. Mrs. Morrison, find- All night in ing she was lost, and night coming on, went calmly to work the woods. preparing the best lodgings she could, in order to make her- self comfortable till morning. During the night there was a severe thun- der-shower, for which she was unprovided, and of course got thoroughly drenched. In the morning, she followed down a small brook, intending to proceed to the river, and then down the river to her home. She soon, how- ever, came to a path which she knew, and went home a nearer way than she had anticipated."
Sometimes the perils of fire, consuming their humble dwellings, were added to the other hardships of these carly settlers. Mr. Benja- min Sanborn had settled in their original house on the Sanborn Road (back from road opposite the late Moses Clark's), when there were no neighbors nearer than his brother Jolm's, over the woods, and Mr. Danforth's, on the Plain, southeast. Ile had gone to Concord (or Canterbury) to bring home meal upon his back ; their little house took fire, and his wife, after seeing it consumed, took her children, then two in number, and " went over to John Sanborn's."
Perils occa- wioned by tire. Mr. John Colby (grandfather of the present Mr. Chase Colby) had located above the Esq. Weeks place, School District No. 11, building him a log-cabin with a "cat chimney." Mr. Jotham Rollins was also boarding with them, while clearing his own lot above. One night, in the dead of winter, the cabin took fire and burned to the ground, obliging Mrs. Colby, scantily clothed, to wade through the drifted snow and by spotted trees all the way to the Cole Weeks (late Cogswell) place, a distance of about one mile !
No cases of extreme suffering from lack of provisions have come down to us, except that of Mrs. Stephen Smith, on the mountain, who was once driven from home by hunger, while her husband Driven front home by hun- was absent for a supply and delayed. She came over the
Ner. spar of the mountain in a sontheasterly direction some one and a half miles to the late Wadleigh place, carrying twins in her arms, and " driving . Jake' before her"! She was there (iu the evening) met by her husband, and they passed the night at Mr. Wadleigh's.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.