USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Antrim > History of the town of Antrim, New Hampshire, from its earliest settlement to June 27, 1877, with a brief genealogical record of all the Antrim families > Part 30
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Occasionally the men entered into some sports not reported in literary or religious documents. Cases in point were the hust- ling-off of Randall Alexander, and the taking-down of the old Jonas Parker house. On one occasion, a man who called on Robert McCauley's wife oftener than the highest propriety required, was met at McCauley's by a company of men who " rode him on a rail " to Dea. Isaac Cochran's, - more than two miles. It may be said they shook the rail some. Some of the best men in town took part in these summary but righteous deeds. After these things were over it was not known who had done them, but it was generally said to be Mr. Whiton ! And Mr. Whiton was on hand enough to like the joke !
It was customary to have no adornments except those of per- sonal beauty, neatness, and virtue, about the house. Even as late as fifty years ago, the walls were as bare of pictures as our barns are now. A few were able to have certain figures painted on the plastering, relics of which, in some old houses, may yet be seen. Hardly a dwelling can now be found in Antrim without its chromo, or engraving of some kind, and neat little ornaments, - attractive, even if cheap. But there was nearly nothing of the kind in our ancestors' humble abodes. Now pianos are common, and an organ may be found in almost every house. No such pleasure had they. The first piano in Antrim was pur- chased in 1842 by Judge Luke Woodbury. The mothers had no parlor tables, covered with choice books, and most of them had no parlors at all. If there was any " best room," it was without carpet, or paint, or picture !
As a specimen of the old habits, I have been told of a dinner at the house of James Hopkins, about ninety years ago. Hon. Samuel Dinsmore, afterwards governor, Hon. Silas Dinsmore, Sen., and other relatives and guests were present. After the usual greeting, five or six of the male guests were seated at the table ; the young ladies stood up round the large room, and, when they wanted anything, they reached over the guests who
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WHAT THEY ATE.
were seated, took the meat in their fingers and stepped back to eat it! And it was all considered very popular and' fine ! Indeed, in some families, it was the daily habit for the children to stand back from the table and take in their fingers what was allowed them. At other times, the pudding and milk, or broth, was put in a great wooden pan on the top of a barrel or table, and all stood around with wooden spoons and ate out of the same dish at once !
Their food was of a cheaper, healthier type than ours. I have heard the Antrimites mention a dish called " sowens," which I had not previously heard of. It was made of oat-meal, sifted, and left in water to sour, and then boiled down to a jelly. This was a favorite dish. It could be seasoned to suit, but was com- monly eaten in milk. When Mr. Whiton came to town it was a new thing to him, and he declined to try it. At length Mrs. Hopkins came along to him one day with a bowl of it in her hands, and, lifting a spoonful, she prevailed on him to " take one bite.". But being exceedingly smooth and slippery stuff, it dis- appeared instantly, and Mr. Whiton looked up surprised and puzzled ; yet, with his usual quiet dignity, he said, "I declare, madam, it is gone!" This saying pointed many a joke for a . time, but it cured Mr. Whiton of his dislike, and he lived to say of many a dish of " sowens," " Madam, it is gone !"
I have heard it said that their cheap, humble food was very relishable, and that, with their hard work and vigorous appetites, they enjoyed it keenly. The good mothers knew how to make the most of everything. With little to do with, they would pre- pare a really inviting meal. And isn't this the highest skill of housewifery ? The bannock, baked by the open fire, has hardly been improved upon in modern cookery ; the " short-cake " has no modern equal ; and it may be believed, without hesitation, that no bride of to-day can cook meats equal to her great-grand- mother a hundred years ago !
Until within about fifty years, the people manufactured their own clothing, and a great deal of cloth has been made in Antrim since such a date,-all by hand. There was a wheel and a loom in every house. The ladies were accustomed to spin by fire- light far into the night. The daughters were good spinners at ten years of age ; and many, at twelve, could spin a " hank a day." They wove all sorts of flannels and linens then in vogue. The women and girls made their various cloths, and walked
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WHAT THEY WORE.
through the woods to New Boston to sell them, and back the same day. These home manufactures of this and other Scotch towns attained quite a reputation. In some cases the selectmen inspected the articles, and put the seal of the town on them, if good. Some specimens of their work I have seen are very deli- cate and beautiful.
The weaving was mostly done by women, at odd jobs, but sometimes a few men followed it all the time. I find Daniel McIlvaine, great-great-grandfather of Moody B. McIlvaine, Esq., charging my great-great-grandfather, Capt. John Cochrane, in Windham, with the weaving of " 27 yds of Toa Cloth." John McClary came to this town as a professed weaver. It was con- sidered an honorable and favored calling.
For many years, almost every article worn by man or woman, young or old, in this town, was spun, woven, colored, and made here. Every woman knew how to do every part. Men had their whole suits of " striped cloth," and these were worn to church and everywhere else. In later days, they took the plain white woolen cloth to the " fulling-mill " and had it " dressed " for " nice suits," either blue or black, or what the old folks . called " blue-black." Blankets and table-cloths were always made at home, and were taken as tests of the woman's skill. The maiden manufactured her own "outfit," as it was called ; and her "intended," as they named the happy creature, had ample chance to judge of her work beforehand. Every woman in this town had her " patch of growing flax," which she culti- vated herself. From this they made strong and beautiful linens, of many styles, valuable specimens of which may yet be seen. I will not dwell on the process of preparing flax, pulling, breaking, swingling, carding, spinning, and weaving, as almost every town history has elaborately explained it before me.
The women and girls were accustomed to work with the men in the field all day long, if occasion required. They not only raised their own flax, but they took care of the barn, milked, split wood at the door, raked hay, and reaped the grain. They would lend a hand at any job in the smartest possible way, and it was considered proper and honorable. Dea. Aiken's three daughters reaped all day with him and his hired men, on Meet- ing-House Hill. Generally, the "girls " were the smartest reapers.
I will now grace this reference to old customs By a quotation
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VARIOUS CUSTOMS.
from Dr. Whiton, whose habit it is to put things better than anybody else : - 1
Their dwellings were log houses, without glass, ill fitted to exclude the cold. Had it not been for the roaring fires kept up in winter in the huge fireplaces, fed continually by great logs, which they were glad to get rid of, the inmates must have suffered. Wood and timber were so abundant that the faster they could consume them the better. Their farming utensils were clumsy; their clothing homespun and coarse, but durable ; the men wore tow shirts, striped woolen frocks, and leather aprons. The best suit of coarse woolen cloth was reserved for Sabbaths and special occasions, and lasted year after year. In winter they wore shoes, excluding snow by a pair of woolen leggins fastened over the mouth of the shoe by strings. Boots were rare; great-coats and sur- touts rarer still. A pair of boots would last a man many years. In summer, neither men nor women wore shoes at home; on the Sabbath, the women often carried their shoes in their hand, to save wear, till they came near the meeting-house, when they put them on. They were clad, when engaged in their work, which was nearly all the time on week- days, in a short gown and petticoat of some coarse material, with a striped apron, calicoes being thought quite a dressy article. The house- hold furniture was rude and coarse ; carpets, sofas, pianos, were unheard of ; instead of them was the spinning-wheel, both small and great, and the loom, - articles of less ornament, certainly more indispensable. Tea and coffee were almost unknown; broths of various kinds, corn, bean, barley broth, were in constant use. In many families, hasty-pudding with milk, if milk could be had, was almost the standing supper. For a lunch in the intermission of public worship on the Sabbath, instances were not wanting of men carrying in their pocket a few cold boiled pota- toes, and nothing else. Sometimes in winter, families were conveyed to meeting through deep snow on an ox-sled; in summer, the man, if he were the owner of a horse, rode to meeting with his wife seated on a pillion behind him, and a child seated on a pillow before him; and some- times another and smaller child in the mother's lap, encircled by one of her arms. A party of the smart young people once assembled at a neighbor's, in early times, for a social interview. The supper, - what was it ? Not a modern supper of roast turkey and oysters, but hasty- pudding and milk ! There being but three spoons, one division of three' guests sat down to table, then another division, and another, till all had been served. All went off well, and it was considered a fashionable, well-managed affair.
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PRIVATIONS AND DISCOMFORTS.
CHAPTER XV.
INCONVENIENCES THE SETTLERS HAD TO CONTEND WITH.
A VOLUME might be written concerning the hardships and difficulties which the settlers of Antrim met. I will barely notice a few items, as they have appeared to me. I have else- where referred to the obstacles in the way of communication. Few of the early settlers were able to have horses. Of carriages, there were absolutely none. Roads were few and poor, - often nothing but paths in the woods. Some families lived for years with not even a path out, a few marked trees being the only guide. John Campbell, on the James Wood place, had nothing but marked trees for two miles. Most that was brought or car- ried away, had to be borne on the settler's back. His bushel of corn was carried to mill on his own shoulder. Aiken carried a bushel of corn nine miles to mill and brought it back the same day. It was considered a great thing when roads were cleared and horses could be secured and the animal be led with these loads on his back ! Now we must have easy carriages and fast horses and smooth roads. Men now threaten to sue the town, if there be a rock in the road unsafe to drive rapidly over. With our present facilities, it is hardly possible to get an idea of the difficulties of communication then.
The houses were inconvenient and uncomfortable. · Some fam- ilies had but one room, and a " loft " overhead, to which they ascended by a ladder. Many could not afford, or could not get, glass for windows. A few openings in the wall gave them light, which openings were closed in intense cold weather by a board, or a bundle of rags ; and then their only light was a blazing, open fire ; generally, however, amply sufficient. The first chim- neys were roughly made of stone. Many early cabins were built each against a great rock, which answered in part for a chimney. In such rude, small dwellings, they struggled along, raised their families, put up with discomforts, and were cheerful in the hope of better things.
For many of the earlier years the houses had no cellars, - only a hole in the ground, to which they descended by trap-door and ladder, and only about large enough for a man to turn round in at that.
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BORROWING FIRE.
A well-ordered modern kitchen, with grained floor, extension- table, screen-windows, fine drawers, polished range, and cane- seat chairs, etc., etc., would have frightened our grandmothers ! An oil-stove would probably have been attributed to the devil ! What would they have thought of a sewing-machine, a clothes- wringer, or a " lightning apple-parer " !
Generally, the good old mothers had to carry every pail of water from five to fifty rods! Often they washed at the nearest brook, and hung their clothes on poles. Wells were dug as soon as they became able to have such luxuries ! Then, women stooped down and drew up the pail of water with a pole. The " well-curb " and the " well-sweep" were later inventions. Still later the pump was introduced. It is but a few years since the first water-pipe was laid in this vicinity. Happy the log cabin that was located near a spring of water !
They had no friction matches to start a fire, these being intro- duced here, in very small quantities, about 1833. Many fami- lies had a " tinder-box," which was a very inconvenient and uncertain thing. Sometimes a fire was started by flashing pow- der in the pan of an old-fashioned gun. But it was a rule in every house never to let the fire go out ; and seldom, summer or winter, did the big pile of coals fail. If, by absence, the fire went out, it was customary to send to a neighbor's for a pailful of coals. " Borrowing fire " was considered perfectly proper. Sometimes, if the distance were great, they rolled up a bundle of old cloth and set it on fire, as being lighter to carry. The first school-house in South Village was burned by dropping coals by a boy who had been after fire. Lamps they had not. Can- dles were lighted by a coal, or a splinter. Their chief light was the open fire. The writer learned many a lesson in boyhood by firelight; and when the light began to grow dim, he would take the " big shovel " and give it an extra " punch."
Cooking was performed by the open fire. It was years before there was a brick oven in Antrim. A tin oven, to set down before a bed of coals, was considered a great invention, and came a little later than the brick oven. A " crane " swung over the open, fire, on which were six or seven hooks of different lengths, so that the pot could be raised or lowered. Sometimes it was needful to put the " pot on the crane." I have seen four pots hanging over the same fire at once. Then there would be a " spider " and coffee-pot on the coals, and a "johnny-cake "
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METHODS OF COOKING.
baking in front, all at once. The cook's face was red with the heat of the roaring fire. Then she would " turn the johnny- cake," -a process requiring great skill. To drop it, or break it, or pile it up in a heap, was very humiliating to a young cook. I have seen the " lassie " " turn the cake " quick as a flash and in perfect order. As late as forty years ago, stoves were very rare. . There was a great prejudice against them when they came round. The great brick oven was a convenience in its day. It was heated once a week, and " baked full " of pies, beans, etc. There, in later days, the turkey was roasted. But the first generation clung to the old way of cooking over the fire alone. The goose, or turkey, or spare-rib was splendidly cooked by being hung up before the open fire. Some of the old people thought food tasted best in the old way. Some " doughnuts fried over the fire " had a marvelous goodness about them, if my boyhood's idea be correct. The dresses of the women often caught on fire, but, being always woolen, no damage was done. What would a housewife think now, if obliged to cook in the old way ?
The poverty of the beginners in Antrim I have already noticed. They had no newspapers. The Bible was the only book in most houses. The almanac could be found in most, after the commencement of the present century. The little paper-covered catechism was in every family. A few had spell- ing-books. There was no mail to Antrim for more than sixty years after its settlement ; Amherst, for most of that time, being the nearest office, - more than twenty miles away. Snows were deeper and winters harder than now, on account of which many hardships had to be borne. Often, bodies had to be carried to the grave on sleds, with a long team of oxen wading through the snow, and a few mourners laboriously following on foot. Instances are given where it was impossible to fill the graves with earth till spring. A few handfuls of gravel were thrown on the coffin, and the piling, whirling snow did the rest !
There was also what was called the "pine-tree " law, which greatly troubled the people of New Hampshire, and to some extent the people of Antrim. The king " reserved " all pine- trees over twelve inches in diameter, and chose Gov. Went- worth " Surveyor of the King's Woods," his duty being, by deputy or in person, to mark all the trees " fit for the royal navy." This law was exceedingly hateful in the eyes of the
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PINE-TREE LAW.
people. A man by the name of Mudgett cut one of these " marked trees " in Weare. A great cry was made, and Mud- gett was arrested. As it was late in the afternoon, he suggested to the sheriff to stay over night. The latter complied. But in the night the matter was whispered about, and, before daylight, the sheriff's horse was trimmed clean of mane and tail, and at dawn a mob put the obliging officer on said horse's back, facing the rear of said animal, and led him out of town amid shouts of laughter, and without his prisoner ! Moral. - Kings should let other people's pine-trees alone, and sheriffs should not put up with their prisoners over night !
This was in 1772, but this hated law had then been in force half a century. Antrim was not specially a pine town, and was settled somewhat late, and was at a distance from any king's offi- cer, but yet was subject to this annoyance with the rest. There is reason to believe that some who claimed to be residents of Antrim had part in this affair.
Our fathers in Antrim also suffered the inconveniences and hardships of scanty living. Flour was scarce and rare. To be without meat and to be without meal, was common. I have heard old people say that even potatoes were carefully kept as a luxury for company. This will explain what Mr. Whiton said about a man's carrying nothing but a cold boiled potato for a lunch in the long day at church. When at work in the woods, it was sometimes the case that a man took a piece of frozen bean-porridge for dinner! For children to go to bed without their supper occasionally, was not looked upon as disgraceful, or alarming. They used to get along with anything that would support life. Often a hard-shell pumpkin was baked for the meal of a large family. When I was a boy I heard the old peo- ple tell of cutting a hole in the top of the pumpkin big enough to let the hand in, taking the seeds and loose parts out clean, putting in a small bit of meat, and then, replacing the piece cut out, baking the whole in the old oven. Then the whole family, and sometimes guests, would gather round and eat everything but the shell. The shell was often preserved as a receptacle for balls of thread, or as a " rag-bag."
Pumpkin and milk was counted quite a luxury. The pump- kin was prepared the same way as above ; but instead of meat, they filled it nearly full of new milk, and baked with the greatest heat they could get. In earliest times they all stood round and ate with wooden spoons immediately from the shell.
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INTRODUCTION OF WAGONS AND UMBRELLAS.
As showing the scantiness of what people commonly live on now, it may be said that there was no such thing as buying a barrel of flour in Antrim prior to 1820, or about that time ; and for a long time subsequent to that date it was not the chief item of food. Oat-meal and corn-meal and rye-meal were common. Sometimes potatoes were roasted in a bed of coals, and eaten with a little salt ; and thiis made a very acceptable meal. I thought it delightful when a boy if I could have this, - especially when permitted to add a little butter. I have supposed that this was the origin of the phrase spoken of shiftless, aimless fellows, fifty years ago, that they " wouldn't earn their salt."
The first wagon having been brought to Antrim by Dea. Isaac Cochran in 1815, it is astonishing how they carried on horseback the heaviest and most inconvenient things. The saddle-bags on a steady horse would carry small wares with comparative safety. But think of carrying empty cider-barrels, glass windows, black- smith's iron rods, linen-wheels, and feather-beds, on horseback ! Two-wheeled vehicles were in use long before wagons. The first cart brought to Antrim was that on which John Duncan brought some household gear in 1773 ; but for many years after that date very few could afford the convenience of a cart. The chaise, a rude, heavy affair, square as a box at the top, and having long, clumsy thills, was used in New Hampshire as early as 1802. A few years later these found their way into Antrim, the first being brought here by Isaac Baldwin about 1812.
The ox-wagon was in use years before anybody thought of a light riding-wagon. This was very heavy and bungling, and hard to turn round. When first talked of, the wonder was how a carriage with more than two wheels COULD turn round! But that problem being solved the lighter horse-wagons soon followed. Probably, however, there was no such thing in New Hampshire prior to 1809. A phaeton would then have been considered a thing of the air, and not of the earth.
The convenience of an umbrella was not known in Antrim till about 1807. The umbrella (little shade) was first used in eastern countries, and as a protection from the sun. Old paintings of the Greeks and Romans show they were in use by the ladies in those nations. Slaves carried them over the heads of Greek women. Roman lovers carried them over the lieads of their fond ones. Umbrellas were introduced into England from France about 1790, for general use, a few having been previously
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282
SUN-DIALS AND CLOCKS.
used by the rich. Some were brought over to America probably as early as 1795. Price was from five to six dollars, - too high to be afforded in log cabins.
In the old days there were great inconvenience and trouble in keeping time. People set their houses " square with the sun," and determined the time by the shadow of the sun. Some had sun- dials, - which were commonly a kind of large pewter plate with hours marked on the circumference, and an erect stick in the cen- ter, by the shadow of which time was determined. This plate was usually placed on a pedestal, and the movement of the shadow was shown by the hour marks. Of course, on cloudy days, and in the night, it would be of no service. Formerly an invention called the clepsydra took the dial's place by night, it being a round, long cylinder, set erect, and filled with water, which would empty itself out in a certain number of hours by a very small orifice in the bottom. The hours were marked on the side of the cylinder, beginning at the top, and the time was thus shown by the distance the surface fell. When the cylinder was of glass, it was easy to see the hour, and the machine was toler- ably accurate ; but it involved a great deal of work to fill and set it, and it never was in general use.
Clocks were first used in Europe about 1120; were introduced into England about 1288 ; were costly and few for several centu- ries ; and were never brought to this country in any great num- bers. Brass clocks were manufactured in New England as early as 1720, and in New Hampshire as early as 1730. Probably there was no clock in Antrim before 1793; and even after Bal- lard made them here in 1795, but very few could have them, the expense being so great. They were all of the large, tall kind, such as used to stand in the corner of the room, and the cost was from forty to one hundred dollars. The cheap clock is an American invention, and quite modern. What would our fathers and mothers have thought of a really good time-keeper, with alarm, and neat ornamentation, for two dollars and a half ? About 1825, wooden clocks of the old-fashioned shape were sold for fifteen or twenty dollars, without cases, and were set up in the corner, the long pendulum sweeping to the floor, the work all exposed, yet keeping time well, through dust and dirt, for a . generation. The scarcity of clocks gave rise to the old-fashioned way of giving out an evening meeting " to commence at early candle-lighting."
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DIFFICULTIES IN GETTING NECESSARY ARTICLES.
Our fathers suffered what would be counted an intolerable inconvenience by people now, in not being able to find many things within reach, even for money. Few things were kept in the stores. Rarely could a tool of any kind be found for sale. No boots or shoes of any kind were kept for sale till recent dates. Shoemakers went from house to house with a " kit of tools," and made shoes for the older persons. Small children had none at all. Baby-shoes were unknown. Shoes for women and girls were made of cowhide, with thick soles, projecting, I have heard old people say, so that a " mouse could run round on the rim." Women that were able sometimes had " calf-skin shoes."
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