USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Nashua > History of the city of Nashua, N.H. > Part 10
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September 26, 1757, the town voted; "that some measures be taken to settle the Gospel in this town; " and four persons were selected to preach one month each, on probation. Nov. 7 they gave a call to Rev. Elias Smith, (a graduate of Harvard in 1753), but difficulty ensued, and Dec. 16 the call was retracted .* It was a custom for those dissatisfied to enter their protest, and as a curiosity and a specimen, the following is inserted :
"We, the subscribers, being freeholders in Dunstable, do for ourselves protest against the choice of Mr. Elias Smith for our minister, which they have essayed to choose for these reasons : first, because we are not of the persuasion he preaches and indeavors to maintain ; we are Presbyterians, and do adhere to the Westminister Confession of faith ; and do declare it to be the confession of our faith ; and that we are members of the Presbyterian Church in Londonderry-some 18 years-some 15 years, and have partaken of Baptism, and of the Lord's supper as frequently as we could, they being the sealing ordinances, and that we cannot in conscience join in calling or paying Mr. Smith. Therefore we plead the liberty of conscience that we may hear and pay where we can have the benefit.
JOHN ALLD, JEREMIAH COLBURN."
There was also a protest of David Hobart and others against his settlement, because, as they say, "Mr. Smith's preaching is contrary to our persuasion, and as we judge favors the Armenian scheme, which we judge tends to pervert the truths of the Gospel, and darken the counsels of God."
April 7, 1758, died Colonel Joseph Blanchard, aged 53. He was born Feb. 11, 1704, and his grandfather, Deacon John Blanchard, was one of the first settlers of the town. His father, Captain Joseph Blanchard, was town clerk, selectman and proprietor's clerk for many years, a very active and useful citizen, and died in 1727. On the death of his father, although young, Joseph Blanchard was chosen proprietor's clerk, which office he held, with a slight interval, during his life, and was constantly engaged in town business until his death. In early life he became distinguished as a surveyor of land, and was almost constantly employed in that capacity. In conjunction with Rev. Dr. Langdon of Portsmouth, he projected a map of New Hampshire, which was published after his death, in 1761, and inscribed to "Hon. Charles Townsend, his Majesty's Secretary of War."
At this period no accurate maps of the State existed, and to prepare one from the then scanty materials must have been a work of great magnitude. Surveys were to be made, and information collected from every quarter. Most of the labor, of course, fell on Colonel Blanchard. The greater part of our territory was then a wilderness, for our whole population scarcely exceeded 50,000, and the means of intercommunication were limited and difficult. But settlements were springing up rapidly, and the lands were becoming every day more and more valuable, and accurate information
*Perhaps the founder of the sect of Christians.
- -- -
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
of the localities was important. Under these circumstances the map was considered of great value, and as a token of their estimate of it, Mr. Townsend procured from the University of Glasgow, for Mr. Langdon, (Colonel Blanchard having deceased), the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity .*
Upon the dissolution of the connection between New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1741, and the accession of Benning Wentworth as governor, Mr. Blanchard received the appointment of counsellor of state by mandamus from the Crown. This was an office of great dignity and authority, and, next to that of governor, was the most honorable and responsible in the colonies in the gift of the king. This office he held for a number of years, and probably until his death. In 1749, on the death of Chief Justice Jaffrey, he was appointed a judge of the superior court of judicature of the State, which office he held during life.
When the old French war broke out in 1755, an expedition was planned against Crown Point. New Hampshire raised a regiment of 500 men, and Mr. Blanchard was appointed colonel. Of this regiment, the famous Rangers, under the command of Rogers and Stark, formed a part. The regiment was stationed at Fort Edward, and returned home in the autumn of the same year.
Colonel Blanchard married Rebecca Hubbard, [Hobart?] by whom he had twelve children. He died in this town and is buried in the Old South Burying Ground; his tombstone bears the following inscription :- " The Hon. Joseph Blanchard, Esqr., deceased April the 7th, 1758, aged 53."
Nov. 27, 1758, the town voted to give Rev. Josiah Cotton a call, and offered 178 milled dollars salary. Jan. 29, 1759, they added £5 sterling, making his salary about $2co. The call was accepted,-the day of ordination appointed, and the churches invited to attend to assist in the services. But a quarrel ensued as usual,-the opposition prevailed, and Mr. Cotton was not ordained. Protests were entered at every meeting by the minority, as each party in turn prevailed.
In 1759, in consequence of the divisions and the bitterness of feeling which existed, an ecclesiastical council was called to settle the difficulties. For many years there had been two churches and two meeting-houses, but no minister. After much trouble and effort, a compromise was made and an union effected. Mr. Bird's meeting-house was purchased by Jona. Lovewell, removed, and converted into a dwelling house, which is now [1843] occupied by Jesse Bowers, Esq., and the two societies again became one.
As the town at its public meetings settled and paid the minister, so it determined his creed, and we find accordingly, the following to us curious record. In 1761 a town meeting was called expressly "to see what doctrines the town would support ;" and it was voted, "that the Doctrines contained in the New England Confession of Faith are the standing doctrines to be defended by this Town."
July 19, 1762, an invitation was given to Mr. Jonathan Livermore to settle here. He was to receive {100 for a settlement, and 640 sterling per annum salary, "if he will fulfil the duties of a Gospel minister agreeably to the Congregational persuasion, according to Cambridge Platform, and New England Confession of Faith." This proviso was adopted by a party vote, and was a renewal of the old sectarian difficulties of past years. Mr. Livermore would not accept and afterward settled in Wilton.
During the next two years various preachers were heard, but not to general satisfaction. Although nominally united there was still a variance at heart, and no attempt was made to settle a minister until August, 1764. A call was then given to Mr. Thomas Fessenden, (a graduate of Harvard college in 1750), and an offer of {100 settlement, and £50 sterling salary. Against this call three separate protests were entered by persons styling themselves "Presperterions," or Presbyterians, because this mode of settlement was "contrary to the fundamental doctrines of Christianity," and "of our persuasion." Mr. Fessenden accepted the call, but such was the spirit of discord that he was never ordained. He left town very soon after for he commenced a suit at law against the town for the recovery of his salary before May, 1765, and recovered judgment.
For nearly twenty years the town had been without a settled minister. Sept. 12, 1766, they gave a call to Mr. Joseph Kidder, (a graduate of Yale college in 1764), and offered him {132 6s. 8d. [about $450] for a settlement, and a salary of £53 6s. 8d. lawful money, [or about $180]. Mr. Kidder accepted the invitation, and, more fortunate than his predecessors, succeeded in being ordained March
*1 Belknap. 312.
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. II.
18, 1767. After many years old difficulties revived and new ones arose. Parties were again formed, and in 1796, by a reference of all disputes to a committee mutually chosen, the civil connection between Mr. Kidder and the town ceased. He was the last minister over the town. He continued his relation to the church, however, as before, and preached to his society until his death, Sept. 6, [818. Nov. 3, 1813, Rev. Ebenezer P. Sperry was ordained as his colleague but was dismissed in April, 1819 .*
A picture of Dunstable as it was before the Revolution, and of the manners and customs, opinions and feelings, doings and sayings of the inhabitants, would be highly interesting. To sketch such a picture would require the hand of a master, as well as materials, which can now hardly be obtained. A few facts and anecdotes must serve instead.
Slavery was then considered neither illegal or immoral. Several slaves were owned in this town; one by Paul Clogstone. She was married to a free black named Castor Dickinson, and had several children born here, but before the Revolution he purchased the freedom of his wife and children. Slavery in New Hampshire was abolished by the Revolution.
In those days it was customary to drink at all meetings, whether of joy or of sorrow. The idea which was long after in vogue-" to keep the spirits up, by pouring spirits down"-seems to have been then universally prevalent. Even at funerals it was observed, and in the eyes of many it was quite as important as the prayer. The mourners and friends formed themselves in a line, and an attendant, with a jug and glass, passed around and dealt out to each his or her portion of the spirit ; and the due observance of this ceremony was very rarely omitted. It is said that sometimes "one more thirsty than the rest," after having received one "portion," would slyly fall back from the line, under some pretext or other, and re-appear in a lower place, in season to receive a second portion.t
*Mr. Sperry is now [1843] or was recently Chaplain of the House of Correction, at South Boston.
+This is stated on the authority of Mrs. Kidder, wife of Rev. Mr. Kidder, an eye witness.
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
CHAPTER IX.
SACRIFICES MADE FOR INDEPENDENCE. CONVENTION FOR STATE CONSTITUTION. REPRE- SENTATIVES. CONVENTION TO ADOPT CONSTITUTION OF UNITED STATES. DIFFERENT OPINIONS. VOTE OF THE TOWN AGAINST IT. NOTICE OF HON. JONATHAN BLANCHARD,- OF JUDGE JONATHAN LOVEWELL.
W TE CAN form but a faint idea of the sacrifices which were made for independence. Beside perilling life in battle and submitting to privations of every description, so large a proportion of the able-bodied population were in the army that the fields were often left untilled. Yet they gave both time and treasure to their country, without measure and without a murmur. "Our efforts are great," Mr. Adams said in 1780, " and we give this campaign more than half our property to defend the other. He who stays at home can not earn enough to pay him who takes the field."* The amount annually expended by the town during the war was several thousand dollars ;- a heavy burden upon a population numbering in 1775 only 705. Yet this small number had diminished in 1783 to 578, showing a decrease of 127, or 18 per cent .; a fact which proves better than pages of description the amount of the exertions which were put forth and the sacrifices which were made, and the consequent paralysis of the energies and prosperity of the community.
In 1781 another convention was holden at Concord for the purpose of forming a state constitution, and Jonathan Lovewell, Esq., was chosen a delegate. But the same jealousy continued to exist as heretofore and the new constitution, which was our present one with slight modifications, was rejected by the town " unanimously." In December, 1782, Jonathan Blanchard, Esq., was chosen representa- tive, and it was again voted "not to receive the Bill of Rights and Plan of Government " as adopted, and the town chose Capt. Benjamin French, Joseph Whiting, Jonathan Lovewell, Esq., and Col. Noah Lovewell, a committee to state the reasons of rejection.
March, 1784, Capt. Benjamin French was chosen representative.
March 6, 1786, Col. Noah Lovewell was chosen representative, and the town voted that "the selectmen with Jona. Blanchard, Esqr., Jonathan Lovewell, Esqr., Mr. Joseph Whiting and Deacon William Hunt be a committee to give instructions to the Representatives." In 1787 the same proceedings were renewed.
January 10, 1788, Deacon William Hunt was chosen a delegate to the convention, which met at Exeter in February of the same year, to consider of and adopt the constitution of the United States, which had recently been formed' and sent out for the approval of the people. Throughout the country as well as in the convention which formed it, there was a great diversity of opinion respecting it and much opposition. It contained no bill of rights as it now does; as its opposers thought no limitation of powers. The states had long been sovereign and independent democracies and hesitated to give up any of their rights. The confederation had been inefficient from the want of central authority.
Thus while some believed that the constitution vested too much power in the General Government, which would eventually swallow up the several states, others feared that it possessed too little power to protect itself from the encroachments of the states; and would soon share the fate of the old confederacy. There was danger on both sides ; on the one side anarchy-on the other usurpation. It was an untried experiment and every little community was divided. It was discussed in town meeting and the town voted "not to accept said Constitution," and chose a committee of nine to give their delegates instruction to oppose its adoption by the convention. This committee reported a list of objections, which were adopted by the town and forwarded to the convention. The Constitution, however, was adopted. It was a medium and a compromise, between the doubts of conflicting parties and the fears of both have happily proved vain.
July 16, 1788, died Hon. Jonathan Blanchard, aged 50 years. He was the son of Col. Joseph Blanchard, and was born September 18, 1738. He had not the advantage of a collegiate education, but was early initiated by his father into the active business of life. After the death of his father,
*Mrs. Adams's Letters, 152.
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. II.
which occurred in his zoth year, he was called upon to fill his place as proprietors' clerk and surveyor and was soon deeply engaged in the management of town affairs and other public business.
When the events which preceded the revolution occurred, the people of New Hampshire were among the first to resist the usurpations of the Crown. When in 1685 Cranfield forbade the ministers to preach unless they would administer the communion to all who requested it in the Episcopal form, they refused obedience, denounced him from the pulpit and went to prison rather than yield. When the governor at a later day, levied a tax upon the lands of the people for his private advantage, the women resisted the collection and drove his officers from their houses with water, scalding hot. The " broad R," cut by some "prowling official," upon their choicest trees, thus devoting them to the Royal Navy without redress or compensation was a continued eye-sore.
Early in 1775 the legislature of New Hampshire, first of all the states and evidently anticipating independence, sent a request to the Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia, May 10, 1775, to advise them as to the organization of an independent government. Agreeably to their recommen- dation, given with much hesitation,* a convention met at Exeter and adopted a constitution, bearing date January 5, 1776. It was the earliest adopted by any colony, and was violently opposed by the more timid as a virtual declaration of independence.t It provided, as has before been mentioned, for a house of delegates and a council of twelve to be elected annually by the people and which were similar to our senate and house of representatives. No provision was made for a governor and the whole executive as well as legislative authority was placed in these two bodies. Of this council, Jonathan Blanchard was chosen a member in 1776, and continued such for three years. No better testimony to his worth could be given than the bestowal of such an office at such a period.
In October, 1776, General Blanchard was sent by the legislature to recruit our regiments, which had been wasted by sickness, suffering and defeat at Ticonderoga. In 1777 he was appointed attorney general of the state, in conjunction with Col. Nathaniel Peabody and is said "to have discharged his duties in a manner satisfactory to the Government and advantageous to the people."# January 6, 1778, he was appointed a member of the "Committee of Safety" for the state, an office of unlimited responsibility and power and which he held for a long period. §
He was a delegate from this state in conjunction with Colonel Peabody, to the convention which met at New Haven, January, 1778, "to regulate prices," enforce the recommendations of Congress and relieve the distress of the people ; and he prepared a report to our legislature accordingly. | In 1784, soon after the adoption of our state constitution, General Blanchard was appointed Judge of Probate for the County of Hillsborough, an office which he held nearly or quite up to the time of his death.
In 1787, during the confederation of the states, he was elected a delegate from the state to the Continental Congress. They were chosen annually, and whether he was again elected and died in office is uncertain .** Soon after the death of his father he was appointed agent by the Masonian proprietors to manage and dispose of all the unsettled lands within the state of New Hampshire. The territory of this state had been granted originally to Robert Mason, but after many years, finding that it yielded very little income and caused him much trouble he disposed of the land as far as it remained in his possession to a company of individuals who were called the Masonian proprietors. As their agent, General Blanchard conveyed most of the lands within the state, and this circumstance caused that many of the original proprietors of a very large number of towns resided here, and from this town were drawn many of their first settlers.
General Blanchard died in this town and is buried in the Old South burying ground. He married Rebecca Farwell, who died August 20, 1811, and left five children, one only of whom is now living. [1843].
In 1790, the population of the town was 632.
*Mrs. Adams's Letters, 85. 2 Gordon's History, 150.
11 Belknap.
$3 Farmer's and Moore's Hist. Coll., 5.
§2 N. H. Hist. Coll., 39.
Il3 Farmer's and Moore's Hist. Coll., 5.
** I Belknap, 416.
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
In 1792 died Jonathan Lovewell, Esq., aged 79. He was a brother of Captain Lovewell, "The Indian Fighter, " and of Col. Zaccheus Lovewell, and was born in this town, May 14, 1713. Early in life he took an active part in town affairs, and became one of the proprietors of "common lands" in the township of Dunstable. For many years he was proprietors' clerk, and a magistrate under the crown. About the year 1746, under the preaching of Rev. Mr. Kirk, he became a convert to the doctrine of the " New Lights, " as the followers of Whitefield were then called, and soon after became a preacher. This probably, however, was of short duration, as he never left town, and in 1755, he was commissary of the New Hampshire regiment, sent out against Crown Point, under the command of Col. Joseph Blanchard. A gun taken from the French during that campaign, and brought home by him, is still in possession of the family.
In the earliest stages of the Revolution, Mr. Lovewell was an ardent and efficient friend of liberty. In April, 1774, he was chosen agent of the town to petition the general court for leave to send a representative, a privilege which they had not hitherto enjoyed. In September, 1776, he was chosen a delegate to represent the town in the convention holden at Exeter, for the purpose of sending a delegate to the first continental congress, to be holden soon after at Philadelphia. These were the first steps towards independence.
January 9, 1775, Mr. Lovewell was chosen a member of the "Committee of Inspection" for the town, to see that none of the inhabitants purchased or used British goods. February, 1776, he was chosen a member of the "Committee of Safety" for that town, a situation of no little trust, and continued a member of almost every such revolutionary committee during the war. These com- mittees were of the highest utility in diffusing information, and in exciting and concentrating the efforts of the patriotic, and demanded men of great energy and decision. June 20, 1777, he was chosen a member of the " Committee of Safety" for the state, and served in that capacity until January 5, 1779, about which period the necessity for the exercise of their functions in a great measure ceased.
April, 1778, he was chosen a member of the committee to "assist" the delegates from this town in the convention for framing a constitution for the state. In 1781, he was chosen a member of the committee which formed our present State Constitution. After its adoption he was appointed a Judge of the court of common pleas for this County, which office he held for several years. He lived and died unmarried.
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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. HI.
CHAPTER X.
FIRST STAGE COACH. BOATING ON THE MERRIMACK. POPULATION IN 1800. CANAL BOAT LAUNCHED. ORATION. NAME OF NASHUA. DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE. POST OFFICE. MIDDLESEX CANAL. GRADUAL INCREASE. DUNSTABLE PLAINS. CHANGES IN MAIN STREET. NEW MEETING-HOUSE BUILT. REV. MR. SPERRY ORDAINED. DAMS ACROSS NASHUA RIVER. CENSUS. MANUFACTURES CONTEMPLATED. FIRST VIEWS. NASHUA MANUFACTURING COMPANY. THEIR WORKS. BOATING CANAL. INDIAN HEAD
COMPANY. MEETING-HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET ERECTED. HISTORY OF THE Two CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETIES. NEW BRIDGE. TAYLOR'S FALLS BRIDGE. UNITARIAN CHURCH. STATE OF NASHUA MANUFACTURING COMPANY. JACKSON COMPANY. NEWS- PAPERS. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. METHODIST CHURCHES. GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE.
RAILROADS. BANK. STEAMBOAT. UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. POPULATION. SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH.
NAME OF THE TOWN CHANGED. FREEWILL BAPTIST CHURCH. FIRST CHRISTIAN SOCIETY. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. MACHINE SHOP. MANU- FACTURING AND MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION. IRON FOUNDRY. FACTORY AT SALMON
BROOK. VOTE TO ERECT A TOWN HOUSE. TOWN OF NASHVILLE ORGANIZED. CONTRAST OF THE PAST AND PRESENT.
F OR a number of years little occurred in the history of the town which would be of general interest. It was slowly recovering from the effects of the war and its exhausting sacrifices. About 1795 the first stage coach was put upon this road and was an occasion of great public interest. It was a two horse covered vehicle, owned and driven by Mr. Joseph Wheat, and ran from Amherst to Boston and back again once a week. It stopped at Billerica over night, making the trip both ways in about four days. They had not then learned the advantages of changing horses, and the same team performed all the journey. People came from a distance of several miles to look at "the stage," and gazed upon it with the same feeling of wonder that they now do upon a locomotive engine. [1843].
About this time the locks and canal around Pawtucket falls were built, and boating upon the Merrimack began. At this time there were no dwellings where our village now stands, and but one or two at the Harbor.
In 1800 the population of Dunstable had increased to 862. In the spring of 1803 a canal boat was built in the village by Robert Fletcher, Esq. It was a singular structure, having sides five or six feet in height all around it, and doors, and was looked upon as a "wonder." It was the first canal boat ever built in this vicinity for the regular transportation of goods, and the fact was considered of as much importance to the infant village as the opening of a railroad at the present day. It was launched on the Fourth of July, which was celebrated by a public meeting, and an oration by Daniel Abbot, Esq .* There was a great gathering of the people, and great rejoicing. Already was it a place of some trade, and the more sanguine saw, in imagination, its trade and population doubled or even trebled. The landing was on the Merrimack near the mouth of the Nashua, and a store was there erected. The boat was christened "the Nashua," with much parade, and the village which had until then been called "Indian Head," received the name of NASHUA VILLAGE. + That may be considered the birth-day of Nashua, and forms an important epoch in its history.
Let us endeavor to picture to ourselves Nashua village as it appeared July 4th, 1803. A large, one story dwelling house stood on the site of the Indian Head Coffee House, and was kept as a tavern by Timothy Taylor, Esq. A large, one story store, owned and conducted by Robert Fletcher,
*This oration was printed.
+This name is found in Winthrop's Journal, both in its present usual orthography and in other forms, as applied to an early settlement on the Nashua river, now Lancaster, Massachusetts.
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