USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens > Part 31
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New Hampshire troops participated in the battle at Trenton and Princeton and honored themselves and the State by their bravery and good conduct. Durham men did their share of brave work. But it was not wholly in the field service that Durham men were active and influential leaders; in the committee of safety, in the Council and in the Assembly they were among the leaders.
Judge Ebenezer Thompson, a neighbor of Gen. John Sullivan and Col.
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Winborn Adams, and Col. Alexander Scammell, and Col. Thomas Tash, and Col. Hercules Mooney. He was a descendant of one of the old families of that town, son of Robert and SA Thompson. He was born March 5, 1737-8; he died suddenly August 14, 1802. His father gave him a good education and he studied medicine when a young man but does not appear to have practiced that profession much as his time was too much taken up in other directions. He built the house and lived where his great-great grandson, Col. Lucien Thompson, lives in Durham, not far from the State College, which house has remained in possession of his descendants ever since. Governor William Plumer in his biographical sketch of Judge Thomp- son says : "He was esteemed a good physician, but as his talents qualified him for office the people required his service, and he yielded prompt obedience to their will."
He was selectman of Durham in 1765; he was Representative in the Gen- eral Assembly of the province in 1766, and served continuously for ten years, to 1776, when the Provincial Assembly ceased to exist, and the Colonial or State Assembly took its place. He was a prominent member of the House and took a decided stand for the rights of the people. Governor Wentworth ap- pointed him justice of the peace to May 10, 1773, for Strafford county, when the county was organized, and he held the office continually until his death. In the Assembly records he is called "Dr. Thompson" and is called one of the prin- cipal leaders of the House. His name has the signal honor of being connected with the very last act of the Royal Government in New Hampshire. This was in June, 1775, when the House of Representatives voted not to receive three members from Grafton county, who had been "sent by virtue of the king's writ only," from towns which had not heretofore had that privilege, and without the concurrence of other branches of the Legislature. This was considered as "a breach of the spirit and design of the constitution, and pregnant with alarming consequences." Governor Wentworth entered a vig- orous protest and demanded a repeal of the vote of exclusion and leave the three members free to take their seats. The same day, July 14. 1775. the House voted that Captain Langdon, Colonel Bartlett, Doctor Thompson and Mishech Weare be appointed to prepare an answer to his excellency's mes- sage. Their reply, refusing to rescind the vote and giving the reasons, was so unsatisfactory to Governor Wentworth that he immediately ordered the House to adjourn. This was July 15, 1775, and the General Assembly of the Provincial Government never met again.
Doctor Thompson was member from Durham in all of the five conven- tions called "Congresses," the seven held at Exeter during the year 1775, and was an active member. At the opening of the Second Provincial Con-
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gress at Exeter, January 25, 1775, Ebenezer Thompson was, by vote of the delegates, chosen one of the committee of seven with power "to call a Pro- vincial Convention of deputies when they shall judge the excgencies of pub- lic affairs shall require it." This was first called Committee of Correspondence but is known in New Hampshire history "The Committee of Safety," and they were practically the ruling power during the Revolution, acting for the Assembly when not in session.
This committee met at Thompson's house in Durham on April 20th and issued a call for a convention to be held at Exeter immediately, and the next day sixty-six members assembled there. Ebenezer Thompson was chosen clerk of the convention, and the same day appointed one of the committee to reply to the Massachusetts Congress about the needs of the country. When Theodore Atkinson, former provincial secretary of the province, tendered his resignation to the Fourth Provincial Congress in 1775, and delivered up the provincial records to a committee which was sent to receive them, Ebenezer Thompson, Esq .. was appointed in his place. And after the organization of a State Government changing from a province to a state in the "United States of America" he was the first to hold the office of Secretary of State of New Hampshire and every succeeding year he was reappointed by the Legislature until June. 1786-eleven years. He was clerk of the Senate from 1776 until 1786.
As regards the Committee of Safety, sometimes called the "Little Con- gress," Ebenezer Thompson was a member from the beginning during the most critical period of the Revolution-that is, from 1775 till 1781, when the war was virtually over. The number first appointed on May 20, 1775, consisted of Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton, Nathaniel Folsom, Ebenezer Thompson and William Whipple; but the number was afterwards increased and varied from year to year. Ebenezer Thompson was always secretary of this committee while he was a member, and frequently chairman pro tem. At the same time he belonged in Durham, to the town Committee of Safety, of Correspondence and of Inspection. During some part of the time Dur- ham had another member on the Committee of Safety, Hon. John Smith, who has an honorable record as a patriot and for efficiency in managing the affairs of government in the state.
Mr. Thompson was the first Representative elected in Durham to attend the first Assembly or Legislature under the State Government, and he was one of the committee appointed "to draw up a plan for the government of the Colony of New Hampshire during the contest with Great Britain;" on the 28th of December, 1775, he was one of the five men chosen "to form the plan of constitution for the rule of the government of the colony." At
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one of the preceding Congresses the name had been changed from "province" to "colony" to make it uniform with the form used by the other twelve "col- onies." On Jan. 9, 1776, he was chosen one of a committee of six "to revise the system of laws lately in force in this colony, and to report what alterations, additions and amendments are necessary to be made in our pres- ent circumstances for guidance of the executive officers of the Government." This new form introduced the Council which has continued to the present time and has the power of confirming or rejecting appointments made by the Governor. The first Council consisted of twelve members and was appointed Jan. 6, 1776, and Mr. Thompson was one of the number. At first and during the Revolutionary period, the Council constituted a kind of senatorial body, which together with the House of Representatives made the laws and governed the state for several years. Up to Jan. 26, 1776, Mr. Thompson had held the commission of justice of the peace by appoint- ment by Governor Wentworth; on that day, together with other members of the Council, he was appointed justice of the peace and quorum throughout the state.
The records show that Ebenezer Thompson served on a great many important occasions for the success of the American cause and the welfare of the State of New Hampshire. For example, Jan. 22, 1778, Ebenezer Thompson and Nathaniel Peabody were appointed commissioners to New Haven to meet delegates from other states for the purpose of deciding some questions of national economy, such as the regulation of prices, then daily rising in consequence of the rapid depreciation of the currency.
In the celebrated controversy about "New Hampshire Grants," which had been made by Gov. Benning Wentworth on both sides of the Connecticut river, Ebenezer Thompson was appointed agent of the state to confer with a committee sent to that territory by the Continental Congress. New York claimed its boundary line extended to the Connecticut river and took in all of Vermont, on the ground that it was included in a grant of Charless II to his brother, the Duke of York. The settlers themselves did not wish to belong to either New Hampshire or New York. They asked to be recognized as a separate state, and to be admitted into the Federal Union under the name of Vermont. This led to bitter controversy with New York, whose influ- ence prevented Vermont from being admitted until 1791. Vermont wanted not only the towns along the western bank of the Connecticut which Gov- ernor Wentworth had granted, but also the towns along the eastern bank of the river which are now and were then New Hampshire towns. So this com- mittee of which Ebenezer Thompson was a member, was instructed to draw up a remonstrance to the Congress at Philadelphia against the proceedings in
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Vermont in "taking into union a certain number of towns on the New Hamp- shire frontier, and inviting others to revolt from the state, as an infringe- ment on the Confederacy of the United States and the special rights of New Hampshire, and desiring Congress to grant some order thereon "to prevent effusion of blood." June 26, 1779, it was voted "that the Hon. Ebenezer Thompson be and hereby is chosen in behalf of this state to repair to the New Hampshire grants and that he be instructed to confer with the Commit- tee of Congress, and lay before it the nature and origin of the difficulty, and the action of the General Assembly, and to answer any matters touching the dispute." Mr. Thompson performed the duties thus conferred upon him and successfully prevented civil war along the Connecticut river. The mat- ter was finally referred to Congress, which, Aug. 20, 1781, declared to Vermont that it would be an indispensable preliminary to her admission into the Union to renounce all jurisdiction east of the Connecticut river. To this, after some opposition, consent was finally given; but the dispute with New York was not settled till 1791, when, on the 18th of February, Vermont was, with the consent of all the states, admitted into the Union.
It has been justly remarked, by one who is thoroughly acquainted with the records of New Hampshire, that Ebenezer Thompson, during the Revo- lutionary period, "was appointed on more legislative committees to inquire into and report on matters of disputes between towns, etc., than any of his contemporaries, especially committees which were authorized to sit when the Legislature was not in session."
At a town meeting in Durham, April 2, 1778, it was voted "that the Hon. Ebenezer Thompson, Esq., be and is hereby appointed to attend the convention at Concord-for the forming and laying a permanent plan or sys- tem of government for the future happiness and well being of the people of the state, and pass any vote or votes thereunto that may be deemed expe- dient." Mr. Thompson accepted the office and was the delegate from Dur- ham in 1778 and 1779, and was chosen secretary of the convention.
Aug. 14, 1778, he was appointed one of the Representatives of New Hampshire to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia for one year; but he declined the appointment. This closes the notice of Mr. Thompson's career during the Revolution. It must not be supposed by the reader that Mr. Thompson was the only man in Durham who rendered service to the American cause of independence in the performance of duties other than in the army. No, there are several of this class, but mention of them cannot be here made to any extent. But what has been given shows that Durham was one of the important centers of influence in both departments of the Revolution.
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Perhaps it may be a matter of interest to the general reader to give a brief of Judge Thompson's career in the post-revolutionary period. After the organization of the courts of law under the constitution of the state in 1783, he was appointed clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in the county of Strafford, which office he held till September. 1787, when it was given to his son Benjamin. In 1786 and 1787 he was Representative of Durham at the General Assembly. He was again chosen member of the Executive Council in 1787 for one year, and State Senator in 1787 and 1788. On the 7th of September. 1787, he was appointed justice of the peace of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Strafford county, whickh office he held till April, 1795, when he accepted the appointment of justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. Governor Plumer says: "This office required so much time and travel that it fatigued him, and in the spring of 1796 he resigned it." The roads were hard to travel in those days and the means of conveyance were very wearisome. But he was permitted to be idle. May 12, 1796, he was judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Strafford, the duties of which did not require wearisome travel, and he held that office until his death in 1802. Altogether, he was a judge for more than fifteen years.
Judge Thompson had the honor of belonging to the college of Presi- dential Electors of New Hampshire when George Washington was first chosen President of the United States, and was likewise appointed to that trust at the three following elections, 1792, 1796, and 1800, giving his first vote for Washington and Adams, and afterwards for Adams and Pinckney. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention held in Concord, 1791-1792, and as Governor Plumer says, "took an active and efficient part in that business."
Judge Thompson in Strafford county, in 1794 received 845 votes for Governor in opposition to John Taylor Gilman; in his own town of Durham he received 178 votes to 10 for Gilman.
Governor Plumer of Epping who was personally acquainted with Judge Thompson, wrote a biographical sketch of him which is now in possession of the New Hampshire Historical Society. In it he speaks of the judge in very complimentary terms. He says : "From a long and intimate acquaintance with him I know he was a man of much reading and general information. His manners were simple, plain and unassuming. He had a strong aversion to extravagance and parade of every kind. Usefulness was the object of all his pursuits, both in relation to himself and the public.
"As a legislator he was industrious, efficient and useful. Though he was not an eloquent or graceful speaker, his arguments were clear and logical, concise, and confined to the subject, and his influence in popular assemblies
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was great. In party politics he was a steady and undeviating Federalist. As Secretary of State, he was attentive and faithful to his trust. Though he was not a lawyer, yet he appeared to advantage.".
Judge Thompson died suddenly Aug. 14, 1802, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. After dining at home with a gentleman from a neighboring town, he withdrew with his client to the so-called "hall room," and soon after, while sitting there, book in hand, he fell from his chair and instantly expired.
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CHAPTER XXXII
HISTORY OF DURHAM (V)
AS A BUSINESS CENTER AND A COLLEGE TOWN
Durham, as long as it was the parish of Oyster river in Dover, had a very intelligent and active class of citizens. The men were kept busy lumbering and fishing. They had to be lumbermen first of all to get ground cleared on which to plant crops on which to subsist. They were fishermen because the rivers and bays were full of fish of various kinds at different seasons of the year, and it was profitable to catch and cure them for the English and other markets. Their farming was confined to enough cleared land to raise crops for home use, and to provide grazing for their cattle and other animals. Salt marshes were esteemed of great value because no trees grew there but plenty of grass.
The river was called "Oyster river" by the English settlers because they found in the mud beds along the channel a great supply of excellent oysters, and the households had all they wanted for family use by simply going to the oyster beds and digging up the bivalves. The Indians, for ages before the white men came, had known of these oyster beds and came there in the season for them and had feasts and dancing and a general good time. Descendants of this ancient "first settlers" in the oyster beds in the river and Little Bay are still living there, although not much used in the later century.
Just when and where the first ship was built is not on record, but it was at a very early period. The first inhabitants did most of their travel by water and they built their own boats in which to make the journeys. They had plenty of good lumber for the purpose, and ship carpenters, who had learned their trade in the old country, and could build boats or ships as the market demanded. The ships were not very large, but they had sufficient capacity to carry lumber to all parts of the civilized world; and there were sailors who could and did sail them to all points. Everybody was busy, and prospered, as prosperity was then rated. The fishing business gave employment to quite a lot of men in the season for catching fish, and later carried their cargoes to foreign ports.
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In 1794 the bridge was built across the Pascataqua river, and soon after the turnpike road was built from its terminus at Franklin City through Durham to Concord. This largely increased business at Durham village and all sorts of trades flourished there for half a century-lawyers, doctors, store keepers, tavern keepers, cabinet makers, clock makers, house carpenters (they called them joiners), tailors, boots and shoe makers, ship builders, school masters and school mistress. The writer of this has an eight-day clock. in a tall mahogany case, that was made at Durham in 1816, for his grandfather; the brass works were made in England and the case was made at Durham and the works fitted into it by an expert in the business. His name is not known now, but he was there for a number of years and did a thriving business. Young lawyers found Durham village a good place to "hang out their shingle" and make a good beginning record in their pro- fession. Some of New Hampshire's greatest lawyers made their beginning in Durham village. It was a good place for general trade; the store keepers waxed rich and some of their descendants are enjoying the benefits of the fruit of their labor. When the turnpike road was in full swing the tavern keepers were kept busy in supplying the wants of the teamsters, and in caring for their teams that had come to market from the up-country towns. Most of these teams were oxen, three or four yoke to a team-big, strong, hand- some animals. No dull times then; everybody was busy, and Durham by men grew rich.
They had schools and school masters and one school mistress, at least, Mary Sullivan, sister of Gen. John Sullivan, and the only daughter of Master John Sullivan, the famous teacher who educated about all the boys of Dover, Somersworth. Durham, Berwick, who became distinguished in the Revolutionary period. In that family were five sons, all of whom were great men, and one daughter. She was born in Somersworth in 1752; she grew to be tall and handsome, like her father, and inherited his fondness for books ; he gave her a first-class education at a time when girls were supposed to be well educated if they could write their names. Her brother John was twelve years older than she was. When he opened his law office in Durham, his sister Mary came there and lived with the family more or less and in due time she made the acquaintance of Theophilus Hardy, a business man, a resident of Durham, and married him. But for several years before mar- riage she was a school teacher in the village and won marked success. She was brilliant and attractive, mentally and socially. So far as is known she was the first woman who kept a school in Durham. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy resided in Durham village and had a fine family of children. One daughter married Edward Wells, Esq. She was like her mother and grandfather,
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Master John Sullivan. Her sons won distinction, and manifested those strong traits of intellectual power of their Sullivan ancestors. One son, Samuel Wells, was governor of Maine two years, 1855-1856; another son, John Sullivan Wells, was the Democratic candidate for governor of New Hampshire in 1858, and lacked only fifty votes of an election by the people, a majority being required; he was Attorney-General several years; United States Senator a short term; Speaker of the House of the New Hampshire Legislature, and also President of the Senate. He was a great lawyer and a brilliant and fascinating public speaker, and one of the most popular men of his (democratic) party. Another brother, Joseph Bartlett Wells, was a distinguished lawyer in Illinois, where he was attorney general several years, and was lieutenant governor at the time of his death ; had he lived he would probably have been promoted to governor of the state. They were great grandsons of Master John and Margery ( Brown) Sullivan. It is the tradi- tion that Margery Brown, when she was coming to New England in 1723, a girl of about ten years, some one asked her what she expected to do when she got over here; her answer was "become the mother of governors!" Her prophecy turned out to be true: two of her sons were governors, John in New Hampshire and James in Massachusetts, and a great-grandson was governor of Maine, and two other great-grandsons came very near being governors of states. Edward and Mary (Sullivan) Wells resided in Dur- ham, and that town has the credit of having been the birthplace of their four distinguished sons; Samuel was born in 1801 and John S. in 1803; the latter died in Exeter when he was fifty-seven years old; the former died in Boston when he was sixty-seven. They were born when Durham was in the height of its prosperity.
June 24, 1840, the Boston & Maine Railroad was opened to Exeter; not long after that it reached Durham, and great business changes followed, consequent upon the opening of the new avenue for transportation of mer- chandise. Gradually Durham village became a quiet place; delightful for residence, but not for business. The old families lived on their accumulated wealth and took life easy. The gundalows that used to convey big loads of cord wood from Oyster River landing to Portsmouth, made voyages less fre- quent, till finally the business ceased. It paid the farmers better to sell their wood to the railroad. So Durham led a quiet, delightful, dreamy life from 1841 to 1891, an even half century, when the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was removed from Hanover, where it had been an annex of Dartmouth College, to Durham, and planted on Benjamin Thompson's "Warner Farm," which he gave to the college in his will, with a large fund of invested money, on certain conditions, which were complied
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with. The change that has followed in the score of years since then, would seem marvelous to the old teamsters who used to drive their ox teams over the turnpike road, along which now stand the beautiful and commodious college buildings, could the old fellows but return and take a look at them and the broad, green lawns, and the broad fields, under modern cultivation such as the "Warner" farmers never dreamed of. Who is the author of all this marvelous change in Durham village? Benjamin Thompson.
Benjamin Thompson was born in Durham village in 1806 and died in 1890. He was son of Benjamin and Mary (Pickering) Thompson, and grandson of Judge Ebenezer Thompson, of whom notice is given elsewhere. This grandson was educated in the common schools of Durham and the academy there, and in the business activity of the village, which was at its height during his school-boy days. He was a farmer and inherited his father's residence in Durham village with neighboring land, a part of which was the so-called "Warner Farm," on which the college buildings are now located, and which was a part of the original grant by the town of Dover, of 500 acres to Valentine Hill in 1652, at Oyster River. His father was an extensive farmer and kept a store in the village; he owned several farms which he rented. Benjamin was his youngest and favorite son. When the son was not attending school he worked on the farm, "Warner Farm," and clerked in his father's store. In this way he learned the prices and value of things and acquired a correct knowledge of keeping accounts; when he became a man of twenty-two and his father gave him the Warner Farm, he had a thorough knowledge of farming, as then conducted and of bookkeeping. His account books, now in existence, show how he did the work. During a few winters, when he was a young man, he kept district schools and was said to be a good school-master. None of the big boys ever got the better of him on occasions of discipline. When he was a young man every able- bodied man under fifty had to "train" in some militia company. Training days were great events; everybody turned out to see the soldiers. Benjamin Thompson was a first, or orderly sergeant and clerk in a Durham company company of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Second Brigade and Second Division of New Hampshire Militia. It does not appear that he attained any higher rank. Mr. Thompson did not aspire to military honors or seek to hold public office, and none of any account was given him; his mind was made up in another direction.
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