USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Washington > History of Washington, New Hampshire, from the first settlement to the present time, 1768-1886 > Part 16
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
December 12, 1851, he moved to Washington, on the place where he now resides. Here he engaged in butcher- ing, and for a time ran a market wagon to Lowell. In September, 1859, at the earnest entreaty of his townsmen, he bought the Lovell House, and ran it as a hotel until August, 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company I, of the 16th New Hampshire volunteers. He then moved his wife on to their farm, and returning to Concord, was commissioned as first lieutenant of his company. Novem- ber 4, 1862, with his regiment, he joined the Banks expe- dition, and went to New Orleans, where they arrived about January 1, 1863. Lieutenant Wilkins passed the voyage in joyful anticipation of meeting his son Hamilton, a member of the 8th New Hampshire volunteers. But up- on his arrival he received the sad intelligence that his son had died on the 15th of December previous to his arrival. It was a cruel blow, which left him childless. Lieutenant
218
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Wilkins had command of his company and on the 20th of June, 1863, received his commission as captain and was discharged as such, Sept. 20, 1863, his term of service having expired.
He returned home, broken in health and spirit, and la- bored as best he could to support himself and wife in their coming age and loneliness. The mother obtained, and for a time received, a pension, but through cruel misrepre- sentations and the intricacies of red tape, they were de- . prived of it.
July 19, 1880, he received another crushing blow in the death of his wife, with whom he had lived nearly forty-five years, and who had been a true wife and mother. For a few years he lived alone, and to one of his active tempera- ment, it was a great privation. November 29, 1882, he married Mrs. Lizzie Dutton, who, with her children, has done much to brighten the declining years of our worthy townsman.
CHAPTER XXX.
Sharpshooters. Amos B. Jones. Samuel D. Monroe. List of Wash- ington men who served in the War of the Rebellion. Conclusion of the Military History.
AMOS B. JONES
AS graduated from Dartmouth in 1861, and was at once commissioned captain of the first company of sharpshooters called for from this state, and which were enlisted by Captain Jones himself, and con- taining probably one hundred of the best riflemen in the state. The test from the war department for sharpshoot- ers was a "string" of ten shots, in which the sum of all the distances from the center of each ball to the center of the bull's-eye should not exceed fifty inches. The strings made by the members of Company E came far within the test, varying from seven to thirty inches. Captain Jones was commissioned major of the 2d Regiment, United States Sharpshooters, Dec. 3, 1861 ; May, 1862, was com- missioned colonel and A. A. D. C., and reported to Maj .- Gen. John C. Fremont, at Strausburg, in the Shenandoah valley, with whom he served until Fremont resigned his command. Colonel Jones was then made inspector-gen- eral and sent to West Virginia to inspect the troops in and adjacent to the Kanawha valley. While upon this duty, West Virginia was made a separate department, and he was as- signed to duty therein. He was afterward made chief-com-
220
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
missary of muster in the army of Northern Virginia, with headquarters at Cumberland, where he mustered out a good portion of the army after Lee's surrender. Colonel Jones served with marked ability in the various positions to which he was assigned, and was conspicuous among officers of his rank for his military bearing and efficiency.
SAMUEL D. MONROE.
Samuel D. Monroe, the subject of this sketch, was born in Washington, March 17, 1841, and a little more than twenty years later enlisted with Capt. A. B. Jones, in Com- pany E, Ist Regiment, of Colonel Berdan's Sharpshooters. He was a young man of perhaps more than average abili- ty, yet modest and unassuming, and when the strife of '61 was thrust upon us, he did not hesitate to forego all the pleasures which surrounded him and array himself with the loyal hosts who were determined to protect the flag or fall beneath its folds. His keen eye and steady nerve especially fitted him for a sharpshooter, and those who knew his unerring aim cannot doubt the efficiency of his service at Lewinsville, Big Bethel, Yorktown, Hanover Court House, Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Gainesville, 2d Bull Run, Blackford's Ford, Fredericksburg, The Cedars, Chancellorsville, Gettysburgh, Wapping Hights and Au- burn. Neither can those who knew him fail to mourn his untimely death at Kelley's Ford, Nov. 7, 1863.
From his own merits purely he had risen from the ranks, having been promoted to sergeant, Jan. 1, 1863. Here, by his uniform kindness and soldierly qualities, he won the respect and confidence of his regimental com- mander, the love and admiration of his comrades in the ranks, and at their special request he was commissioned Ist lieutenant, August 20, 1863. He now laid aside his trusty rifle and grasped his sword, resolved to honor the uniform he wore and the "bar" he had earned, and we may well be- lieve that with his erect and manly form, his flashing eye,
221
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
he was the model idea of American soldiery. Says an eye witness of his last engagement : "We had driven the en- emy across the river and were pressing them back, giving and receiving a murderous fire ; some of our men faltered and were about to retreat ; noticing this, Lieutenant Mon- roe sprang up straight as an arrow, while his piercing dark eyes seemed to flash forth the command before his lips uttered the words, 'Keep in your places, men, and -. ' The command was finished in the 'grand review' of the unfathomed future; his lips were sealed in death, while the life current flowed from his faithful heart." His com- rades are forced back, and he is buried within the rebel lines. But kind friends sought his mortal remains for the purpose of giving them Christian burial in the church-yard of his native village, and under a flag of truce they are re- covered and borne back to the circle of true and sorrow- ing friends, for the last sad rites performed by the living for the dead. A platoon of returned soldiers, under com- mand of Lieutenant Wilkins of the 16th regiment, per- formed the usual martial ceremonies at the grave; the usual volleys were fired, and
The hero who fell that his country might live, Had given all in the power of mortal to give. The flag that he loved forever shall wave, The sweet flower of spring shall bloom on his grave.
A COMPLETE LIST OF WASHINGTON MEN WHO SERVED AS SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
Name. Co. Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks.
Langdon Millen, G,
2d N. H., June 5, 1861,
Henry L. Jones, G, 2d N. H., June 5, 1861,
Amos B. Jones,
E, Berdan's sharpsh'trs,
Samuel D. Monroe,
E,
Edwin J. Peaslea,
E,
Sept. 9, 1861,
Marstin A. Burbank,
E,
David H. Bailey,
K, 5th N. H.,
James Culkeene,
A, 7th N. H.,
Sept. 9, 1861, Oct. 12, 1861, Oct. 29, 1861, Oct. 29, 1861,
Killed Feb. 20, 1864.
George W. Peaslea,
A, 7th N. H.,
Joseph A. Powers,
A, 7th N. H.,
7th N. H.,
Robert J. Powers,
A, A, A, A,
7th N. H., 8th N. H.,
Oct. 29, 1861, Oct. 25, 1861,
George C. Crane,
A, 8th N. H.,
Henry J. Millen,
A, 8th N. H.,
John C. Philbrick,
Hamilton Wilkins,
A, A,
8th N. H., 8th N. H.,
Oct. 25, 1861, Oct. 25, 1861, Oct. 25, 1861, Oct. 25, 1861,
Died Jan. 19, 1863. Died Nov. 14, 1861. See page 219
Killed Nov. 7, 1863. See page 220 Des't'd; May 7, '64, apprehended and trans. Co. G, 2d U. S. S. Deserted April 8, 1862. Discharged May 12, 1862.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Discharged July 20, 1862. Discharged Jan. 5, 1863.
Lewis A. Powers,
7th N. H.,
Oct. 29, 1861, Oct. 29, 1861, Oct. 29, 1861,
Albion Ritter, Henry N. Chapman,
Died Aug. 7, 1862. Re-enlisted and transferred to 5th Vermont. Discharged June 26, 1862. Re-enlisted Jan. 4, 1864,discharged Jan. 18, 1865.
Killed Oct. 27, 1862. Discharged Oct. 25, 1864. Died Dec. 15, 1862.
222
Name. Co. Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks.
Mark G. Wilson,
A, 8th N. H., Oct. 25, 1861, See page 188
David Ritter,
G, 9th N. H., Aug. 13, 1862, Died October, 1864, from effect of wound rec'd at Peebles' Farm.
Frank Ritter, enlisted as a recruit in the above company, date of enlistment and discharge unknown.
Hezekiah M. Severance, G, 9th N. H., Aug. 13, 1862, Deserted Nov. 9, 1862.
Francis P. Fletcher,
H. IOth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862, Discharged.
George H. Fletcher, H, Ioth N. H., Sept. 4, 1862,
Samuel T. Farnsworth, H, Ioth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862,
Died Dec. 26, 1864.
Hiram I. Hoyt,
H, Ioth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862, Discharged May 30, 1865.
George L. Mellen, H, Ioth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862, Sept. 4, 1862,
Discharged June 21, 1865.
Moses D. Proctor,
H, IOth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862, Killed May 17, 1864.
William F. Severance,
H, Ioth N. H.,
Sept. 4, 1862,
Died Oct: 15, 1863.
Ezekiel Hadley,
I,
14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Discharged Aug. 7, 1865.
George S. Jones, Serg't., I, 14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Discharged July 8, 1865.
Charles S. Bowker,
I, 14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Discharged July 8, 1865.
Christopher Hoyt,
1, 14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Died Dec. 27, 1864.
Freeman S. Stowell, I,
14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Discharged July 8, 1865.
George W. Peaslea,
I, ,
14th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1862, Discharged July 8, 1865.
* Frank G. Pollard was, and now is, a resident of the town of Lempster, but as he served with the "Washington Squad" in the 10th Regiment, we cannot forbear to insert his name in this work, as but a fitting recognition of his service for his country, his uniform kindness in camp and march, and his bravery in the fierce ordeal of battle.
223
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Discharged June 21, 1865.
Discharged June 21, 1865.
* Frank G. Pollard, H, IOth N. H.,
Name.
Co.
Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks.
Judson Wilkins, Capt.,
I, 16th N. H.,
Nov.
I, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
*George W. Carr,
I, 16th N. H., Nov. I, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Lucius H. Wilson,
I, 16th N. H., Nov. 1, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863. Died.
Henry Crane,
I, 16th N. H.,
Nov. 1, 1862,
Gilman Danforth,
I, 16th N. H.,
Nov. Nov.
1, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
William W. Hall,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov.
I, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
John C. Millen,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov. 1, 1862, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Moses P. Millen,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov. 1, 1862,
Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Stillman F. Simons,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov. I, 1862,
Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Henry S. Strickland,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov.
1, 1862,
Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Edward W. Severance,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov.
I, 1862,
Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Gilman Beckwith,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov.
1, 1862,
Died June 18, 1863.
Smith H. Brockway,
I,
16th N. H.,
Nov. 1, 1862, Discharged Dec. 4, 1862.
¿Arthur H. Jaquith,
L. IstN. H., H. A. Sept. 20, 1864,
Discharged June 15, 1865.
Joseph A. Powers,
H, IstN. H., H.A. Sept. 14, 1864,
Discharged June 15, 1865.
Horatio Eaton,
F,
18th N. H.,
Sept. 29, 1864, Discharged June 10, 1865.
* George W. Carr, after serving his time in the 16th Regiment as Sergeant of Pioneers, and returning home, was drafted from the town of Windsor, where he was temporarily at work, and furnished a substitute.
+ Owing to the age of this soldier he was unable to enter the service at an earlier date in the war, and he was con- sequently deprived of the active service which he so earnestly desired to see. He was undoubtedly one of the best "Foragers," Washington ever furnished ; and it is a remarkable fact that the rebel army capitulated before he had been a year in the service, principally from want of supplies.
224
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
1, 1861, Discharged Aug. 20, 1863.
Horatio Eaton,
I, 16th N. H.,
RECRUITS FURNISIIED BY TIIE TOWN OF WASHINGTON TO COMPLETE HIER QUOTA IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
After furnishing thirty-five volunteers for three years, and fourteen men for nine months, either by individual effort or by town agents chosen for that purpose, the town sent thirty-four substi- tutes for better men we hope. The historian of a neighboring town classed the recruits furnished by said town as a " disgrace to the army and a reproach to humanity." In many instances the recruits assigned to this town disgraced the army but a short time, and as it is only fair that economists of the town should know what benefit the army realized for the money expended for that class of soldiers, I have carefully prepared a list of their names and term of service, and to the credit of Washington "subs," I think their record is above the average, for "attendance" or " conduct."
Name.
Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks.
Leonard W. French,
Co. C, 3d N. H.,
Jan. 5, 1864,
William Grant,
C, 3d N. H.,
Oct. 10, 1863,
Deserted en route to regiment. Mustered out July 24, 1865. Mustered out Aug. 23, 1865.
James Ahern, William Brown,
I, 4th N. H., Dec. 28, 1864,
Mustered out Aug. 23, 1865.
James Clark,
I,
4th N. H.,
Dec. 28, 1864,
Deserted April 13, 1865.
Thomas Carter,
1, 4th N. H.,
Dec. 28, 1864,
Not officially accounted for. Not officially accounted for.
225
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
William Humphrey,
I, 4th N. H., Dec. 29, 1864,
Name.
Co.
Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks. 226 .
James Williams, James N. Endive, William Haynes,
Reuben M. Holman, Charles Hall, John James,
E, 5th N. H.,
Mitchell Lacours,
F,
5th N. H.,
John French,
D, 6th N. H.,
John Geany,
A, 6th N. H.,
James Lawler,
6th N. H.,
6th N. H.,
C, 6th N. H.,
Charles Morriss,
B, 6th N. H.,
6th N. H.,
June 7, 1864,
Deserted July 2, 1864.
Frederick Perry,
B, 6th N. H.,
June 7, 1864,
Deserted.
Antonio Provono,
B, 6th N. H.,
Deserted.
Corneill Herber,
G, 7th N. H.,
Henry Jones,
I,
7th N. H.,
June 7, 1864, Sept. 23, 1864, Oct. 15, 1863,
Discharged July 20, 1865. Discharged July 20, 1865.
Deserted March 22, 1865. Deserted en route to regiment. Wounded June 16, 1864, dis- charged April 20, 1865. Aug. 19, 1864, Sept. 1, 1864, Oct. 13, 1863, Discharged June 28, 1865. Deserted en route to regiment. Wounded July 27, 1864, dis- charged June 28, 1865. Sept. 1, 1864, Jan. 5, 1864, June 14, 1864, Discharged June 28, 1865. Discharged July 17, 1865. Wounded August 2, 1864, Dis- charged July 20, 1865. June 1, 1864, Deserted en route to regiment. June 2, 1864, Deserted en route to regiment. June 4, 1864, Wounded July 2, 1864, died July 10, 1864. June 7, 1864, Taken prisoner Oct. 1, 1864, dis- charged Aug. 7, 1865.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Thomas McCue, James W. McCauley,
John McCarthy,
K,
I, 4th N. H., 5th N. H., C, 5th N. H., C, 5th N. H., 5th N. H.,
Dec. 28, 1864, Oct. 13, 1863, Oct. 13, 1863,
Name. Co.
Regiment. Date of Muster.
Remarks.
James McLaughlin,
D, 7th N. H.,
Oct. 13, 1863, Deserted July 5, 1864.
Henry . Sherwood,
1, 7th N. H.,
John Wilson,
D, 7th N. H.,
*George Williams,
7th N. H.,
Sept. 24, 1864, Sept. 21, 1864, Sept. 27, 1864, Aug. 25, 1864,
Discharged July 20, 1865. Deserted Oct. 20, 1864. Deserted on furlough.
David Gamball,
C,
9th N. H.,
Deserted en route to regiment.
Arthur M. Johnson,
K
9th N. H.,
Discharged July 17, 1865.
Patrick Kelley,
9th N. II.,
June 6, 1864, Aug. 26, 1864, Jan. 4, 1864,
Deserted en soute to regiment.
Benjamin F. Elliott,
14th N. H.,
W'nd'd and capt'r'd Oct. 19, '64, pa- rol'd J'ne 8, '65, dis. July 8, '65.
Samuel O. Gee,
B, 14th N. H., Jan. 4, 1864, Died Sept. 30, 1864.
* The above recruit supposed to have represented S. E. Jones.
Of the foregoing thirty-four recruits, seventeen deserted ; the remainder, it may be presumed, were fair soldiers. After the days of substitutes were over the town sent a volunteer and two re- enlisted veterans, and to these we add two men, Joseph T. Snow and Charles A Williard, who en- listed in the veteran reserve corps, making a total of eighty-six men. Seven men re-enlisted, counting two each on the town's quota, or the equivalent of ninety-two men furnished by the town of Washington for the suppression of the Rebellion.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
227
228
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
It may be claimed perhaps that some of our volunteers were only temporary residents of the town. In reply to · this, we refer with honest pride to residents of the town who enlisted and faithfully served the state and nation from other towns, who are worthy of honorable mention here. The Wrights, Col. C. D. and his brother, Lucius, were natives of Washington ; Morrill, the gallant young lieutenant in the 5th New Hampshire ; the three Bixby brothers, two of whom lost their lives and the third an arm, were practically Washington boys; the Crane brothers, three in number, who enlisted from Deering, in the Eighth, spent most of their lives previous to enlist- ment in this town. These men with others we might mention fully offset any temporary residents who served in the quota of the town, and will in no way detract from the valor of her military record.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion I can only say that I have performed the duty assigned me to the best of my limited ability. That I have spent many hours in the endeavor to gather items of interest relating to those early settlers of Washington, who left their firesides and families to defend a cause which they looked upon as sacred, and which endowed upon them those inalienable rights-life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I have been able to gather reliable information in regard to perhaps a majority of them, which has enabled us to preserve their military record as regards the regiments in which they served, and under whose command they performed the arduous duties of a soldier's life, yet the record is very meagre and incom- plete, but is perhaps the best we can ever obtain. The nation which they founded in the wilderness of America is the grandest monument ever erected to the honor of brave men and gallant deeds, and one which shall endure so long as humanity exists. Later, and in what is to be
·
229
IIISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
hoped the last struggle with the Mother Country, we find another valiant band ready to battle for sailors' rights and an untrammeled commercial intercourse with the nations of the globe. It has been my earnest wish to preserve the name, and so far as possible the length of service, of each soldier of 1812, yet I do not expect it is either per- fect or complete. The fact that we also had a represent- ative in the Mexican war is proof conclusive of a spirit which has ever pervaded the hearts of our people. Of the gallant men who sprang to arms in defence of our in- heritance, the protection of the American Union and uni- versal freedom, I can only wish for their sake that my pen had been wielded by one better able to do them just- ice and one who might in brilliant language have inscribed in imperishable words their noble deeds upon the roll of fame. But, comrades, one and all, who bore an honorable part in upholding the honor of our town and state and the integrity of the national union intact and indivisible, this has been a labor of love and true soldierly greeting. If my labors have won your approval I care not for other recompense or reward. Let us remember that unswerv- ing loyalty to our country, and that eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty, are the grandest and purest tributes we can render to those who fell in a holy cause, and that the fraternal love which bound us heart to heart, as we stood shoulder to shoulder in the darkest hour of the na- tion's peril, is the holiest and richest recompense we shall ever receive for our labors and our scars. Comrades of Washington, may you live long to enjoy the peace you so gallantly won.
CHAPTER XXXI.
-
SCHOOLS.
Record of Early Votes passed relating to Schools. Division into Districts. Boundaries of Districts. Building of School Houses.
.
T the first annual town meeting, held after the in- corporation of the town under a charter, a vote was passed to raise the sum of ten pounds for schooling and defraying other necessary town charges. At a meeting held the 21st of September, 1778, we find the first allusion to the erection of a school house. It was voted :
"To build a school house for the town, on the place ac- cepted by the town for to build a meeting house on ; which place is on Mr. Joseph Rounsevel's farm, about eighty rods north of said Rounsevel's dwelling house."
As we learn from a subsequent record, this vote did not prove effective, as the town voted May 26, 1779, "to re- consider and nullify the vote of the 21st of September, . the last, in regard to building a school house on or near the place which was accepted to build the meeting house, on the land of Joseph Rounsevel, Esq." In 1780 a vote was passed, "to raise twelve pounds for schooling the current year ; and the school to be kept in four districts."
We may presume that these four districts, if the schools were actually taught as proposed, were the Center, the South, the Mountain, and the East districts. The six dis- tricts into which the town was subsequently divided, were
231
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
these four, and the district on the Marlow road, now known as No. 4, and the district on the turnpike, now known as No. 6. In 1781 a vote was passed, not to raise any money for schools. In 1782 a similar vote was passed. But in March, 1784, they began to realize the need of schools, and voted to raise the sum of eighteen pounds for that purpose.
In 1786 a vote was passed to divide the town into six districts ; and that Thomas Penniman, Esq., John Healy, William Steel, Capt. Eliphalet Dinsmore, Major Ephraim Davis, Abner Sampson, and Capt. Jonathan Brockway, be a committee for that purpose.
In 1786 the sum voted to be raised for schools was twenty-four pounds. Asa Brockway, Martin Brockway, Simeon Hildreth, and Samuel Crane were to have the privilege of expending their own school money among themselves. In 1787 no school money was raised. The next year the sum of thirty pounds was raised to meet the expenses of schools ; but the vote authorizing it was reconsidered the 9th of June, and a vote was passed to build six school houses. It was also voted, " to build two school houses that year-one in the middle district, and one in the south district ; that the dimensions of the one in the middle district should be eighteen by twenty-two feet ; the other, sixteen by twenty-two feet." Lieut. John Safford, Capt. Jonathan Brockway, and Samuel Guild were to constitute a committee to draw plans and proposals for building the above school houses, and to lay their. propo- sals before the town.
At the adjourned meeting it was voted to postpone building the school houses for one year, and that the building of them should be set up at auction at another adjourned meeting. The time of the adjournment arrived Oct. 6, of the same year ; and as is often done by deliber- ative bodies, it was voted to nullify all proceedings con- cerning the building of school houses, and that each
232
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
school district should have the liberty to build its own school house, and that the committee, appointed for that purpose, proceed to divide the town into districts, as directed.
The following year a vote was passed to raise twenty- five pounds for schools, and that each district should draw its proportion of the money, when it had a convenient house erected for a school, and not before.
At an adjourned meeting held in April, the above vote was reconsidered. A town meeting was held the 5th day of April, 1790, at which a vote was passed to raise thirty pounds, or its equivalent in rye, at four shillings per bushel, for the maintenance of schools the current year. At this meeting a vote was passed that each school district should receive out of the treasury of the town the whole of the money paid by the inhabitants of that district, to be ap- propriated for the use of schools in that district. A vote was passed, giving William Graves and others, whose local situation rendered it inconvenient for them to send their children to school in any of the several districts in town, the privilege of expending their school money in private instruction in their own houses.
At the annual meeting in March, 1790, a motion pre- vailed to raise forty-five pounds for the building of school- houses in the several districts of the town, each district to pay and receive its own proportion of that sum for the purpose aforesaid. That thirty pounds be raised for schools, each district to have the benefit of the money they paid.
In 1792 a vote was passed that the town should raise six pounds, seven shillings and six pence in addition to the sum required by law. The usual vote in regard to Wil- liam Graves and others was passed this year. It was voted that the committee for settling school districts be directed to look into the situation of the two north dis- tricts and see whether it would be better to unite them,
2
233
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
and also to select an appropriate site for a school house. This committee, at an adjourned meeting held March 28, reported : "That the two north districts be at present dis- solved and become one district, and that the school house in said distriet be placed about thirty rods south of Dea. John Farnsworth's, near the road on the line between said Farnsworth and William Steel, on the easterly side of said road. This is submitted by the town's very obedient and humble servants, Thomas Penniman, Thomas Farwell, Abner Sampson, Jonathan Brockway, committee."
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.