USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Candia > History of the town of Candia, Rockingham County, N.H., from its first settlement to the present time > Part 29
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BORROWING FIRE.
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Until within about fifty years people were frequently put to considerable inconvenience when the fire in the fire- place became extinguished, In such cases one of the boys or girls was sent with a tin lantern containing a tallow candle to one of the neighbors for a supply of the needed element. With the lighted candle the messenger hastened home and soon there was a blazing fire upon the hearth. In the olden times this proceeding was called borrowing fire. It doth not appear that the borrowers ever honestly and honorably returned the fire they borrowed.
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When fire was lost and there were no near neighbors a flint was struck upon a piece of steel over a small quantity of tinder made of burnt rags placed in a tinder box made of tin. The spark upon the tinder was raised to a flame by touching it with the end of a match which had been dipped in melted sulphur. Friction matches made of sulphur, phosphorous and other materials first came into general use about the year 1838. The secret of making lucifer matches was discovered three or four years earlier, but inasmuch they were a great deal more expensive than the friction . match of the present day their sale was limited.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.
Until within about sixty or seventy years the most of the houses were lighted at night with tallow cand- les. When the town was first settled and but few cat- tle were raised some people could not afford to furnish themselves with candles but a small part of the time and so they depended largely upon pine knots or white birch bark which they found in the woods. These thrown upon the fire, made a brilliant light by which the women sewed, knit and spun, and the boys and girls read and studied their lessons, or played fox and geese and otherwise enter- tained themselves. When some important work required the use of a candle it was blown out when the work was . finished. In later times, whale oil which gave a much better light was used in many families Then came a com- bustible material called burning fluid which often exploded the lamps and caused many fatal accidents. About the year 1856, just about the the time when whales were be- coming scarce in the ocean, the great reservoirs of petrol- eum in Pensylvania and other middle states which had been stored far down beneath the rocky crust of the earth many thousands of years ago were discovered. Wells were bored through the hard rock to a depth of one or two thousand feet and the oil spouted forth in quantities almost incredible. The oil, in the refined state, is kerosene which isone of the greatest of blessings to mankind.
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GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS.
During the first few years after the settlement of the town the ceilings in the sitting-rooms and kitchens were made of well-matched pine boards, each of which was often two feet wide. There were long poles overhead, supported by hooks fastened to the great beams. Upon these there were hung stockings and various other articles of dress, bunches of yarn, and in the fall and winter, there were long strings of peeled and quartered apples, also a goodly num- ber of great crooked neck squashes. There were no Brussels carpets in those days, but the floors were generally kept well scoured and sanded, and everything wore a very neat and tidy appearance in the houses of the industrious and enterprising people of the town.
In the early days all persons at the table helped them- selves from the dishes of meat, beans, pudding, bread etc., which were set in the middle of the table. There were no tumblers and all drank from one mug containing water or cider. One of the most prominent features of house-keep- ing of this class seventy or one-hundred years ago was a piece of furniture called the " dressers." This consisted of a large, well-finished, hard wood, open cupboard which extended from the floor to the ceiling. Upon the tiers of shelves there was a great quantity of pewter ware consist- ing. of plates, mugs, tea pots, basins and great platters, fifteen inches in diameter. The plates and platters were set up singly on their edges tipping backwards towards the wall and the whole arrangement made a very fine appear- ance.
Many of the people of the town were very fond of tea and coffee but they could not always afford to purchase these luxuries for every day use. As a substitute for coffee, rye, roasted well and ground, was used in many familes. Chocolate was also a favorite drink, but that was also somewhat expensive, and avens root, which grew in many of the meadows, was used as a substitute. From this cir- cumstance, avens root was commonly called chocolate root. A very palatable beverage can be made from the root, but it has seldom been used in latter days.
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Some families of the poorer class had wooden plates for every day use as late as the year 1825. A few years after that date, when earthern crockery became plenty and com- paratively cheap, the wooden plates and the dressers with the pewter ware almost wholly disappeared.
The sweeping of the rooms until about the year 1830 was done with brooms made of green hemlock boughs taken from the trees in the w ods and pastures when wanted. The women or the larger children went "brooming " once a week or. ten days, except in winter when a stock of boughs was brought to the house and often laid over the potatoes in the cellar to aid in keeping them from freezing. It required considerable ingenuity to make a serviceable broom of this kind and tie it securely to the end of the broomstick. A parcel of boughs well trimmed and care- fully placed over one another with the sides which had been exposed to the weather as they grew on the tree laid upwards. Then the pile was divided into two equal parts and tied to each side of the broomstick with their inner sides facing each other. When the broom became old and worn out it was used to sweep the ashes and embers from the great oven upon baking days, when there was a very merry crackling and snapping of the burning twigs and tiny leaves of the broom, much resembling the explosion of a great bunch of Chinese crackers on the evening of a fourth of July celebration.
Many of the first framed houses were simply boarded on the outside but not clapboarded, and previous to the year 1830 a small number only were painted. At that date there was not a single painted house on the North Road and not more than three or four on High Street above the Congre- gational meeting-house. Since 1830 the increased prosperi- ty of the people is demonstrated by the greatly improved condition of their dwelling-houses and outbuildings. A large proportion of the houses in the town are now well painted.
Among the great improvements which have been made within the last hundred years are those relating to the break. ing up of the soil The plows were first made by car- penters in the town. They had very long, straight handles.
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Afterwards the handles were split out of a tree which had a short bend. The mould boards were of wood, plated with various pieces of sheet or wroughtiron. Since 1830, plows have been greatly perfected by skilled workmen nd man- ufactured in large quantities by companies and firms organized for that purpose.
Previous to 1800, there were no iron or steel shovels in the town. Wooden shovels were made of red oak and the edges were shod with plated iron. These were called shod shovels. Scythes, hoes and pitchforks were made by the common blacksmith previous to seventy or eighty years ago. They were very rude and clumsy. Soon after that date implements of a much better quality were manu- factured on a large scale by firms and companies organized for that purpose.
Previous to 1810, there were no swings for shoeing oxen. Before that time, the oxen were thrown down upon a bed of straw in the barn and turned upon their backs. One man held their heads and the fore and hind legs were tied together so that they crossed each other between the knees and ankles. The blacksmith then shod them in that po- sition with shoes that had been previously prepared. Some of the blacksmiths of that day were in the habit of going from place to place with shoes, nails, hammers, etc., and shoe oxen for the farmers on their premises.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
It may be stated here that seventy years ago or less a few of the farmers in the town were too stupid or shiftless to take pains to see that their cattle, horses and swine were well protected from the extreme cold weather in winter. The boards which had been nailed to the frames of their barns had become so shrunken that there were cracks be- tween them an inch or more in width, through which the wind passed, causing the poor brutes to shiver through the long nights with the mercury in the thermometer often be- low zero. The most of the farmers of the early days seldom provided bedding for their cows and oxen to any great extent, but compelled them to lie upon the hard floor.
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The hogs, belonging to some of the indolent and unfeeling farmers, were frequently confined in pens where they were poorly protected from the cold, and worse still, they were sometimes half starved upon a diet which consisted largely of skimmed milk in very limited quantities, or dishwater with a few small potatoes or potatoe peelings thrown in. The bill of fare was sometimes changed by putting into the swill a pint or so of cob meal in lieu of the potatoes. It was no wonder that, under these circumstances, the hogs squealed uproarously half the time during the day and a part of the night.
For several years previous to 1830, it was the fashion with some of the citizens of the town to mutilate their horses by cutting off their tails so as to leave them only six or eight inches long, in imitation of the people of England who admired bob-tailed horses. This was not only a pain- ful operation but it robbed the horse of its only protection against the flies in summer. There was another custom still more barbarous which consisted first, :n severing the muscles on the under side of the tail of the horse, next to bring the end of the tail to a perpendicular line above the back of the horse and confine it to a pully attached to a beam in the scaffold. The horse was made to stand in that painful position for several days and until the wounds inflicted upon him were healed. All this was done to make the horse carry a high tail.
The people of Candia as a whole have no doubt treated their animals as well, and possibly better than those of many other towns, but there is, nevertheless, room for improvement in this respect, for there are always some people who are utterly indifferent to the sufferings of the dumb creatures which come into their posession. Within the last few years, the public mind in many cities and large towns has been directed to this point and societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals have been organized and laws have been enacted for the punishment of the guilty in this respect. It ought to be universally understood through- out the length and breadth of the land that no man is en- titled to respect who is guilty of inflicting unnecessary suffering upon the brute creation. Cowper, the English
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Sketch, page 517.
HISTORY OF CANDIA. 369
poet, whose works were well known to the more advanced pupils in the schools of Candia seventy years ago was right when he wrote " I would not enter upon my list of friends the name of one who would needlessly step his foot upon a worm.".
PICTURES.
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There were but few pictures in the houses of the people of the town previous to the year 1835, except the engrav- ings and wood cuts in the school books and those which belonged to the social libraries and a few private citizens. About that time, the art of making excellent engravings upon stone at a comparatively small expense was discov- ered. By this method, which was called lithography, land- scapes, portraits, representations of historical events, por- traits of celebrated persons, etc., were produced and sold in large quantities all over the country. A considerable number of these pictures were brought to our town and decorated the walls of rooms in many dwellings. At a later date many of this kind of engravings were painted over with water colors, and then in oil colors of many tints. The art was improved from time to time, until the finest specimens, to a great extent, resemble the oil printings of the best artists, both in drawing and coloring. These paintings were called chromos and this branch of art has been a great advantage to those who were unable to pur- chase original oil paintings of value as well as a means of educating the tastes of the people.
PORTRAITS.
Many years ago the only representations of the features of persons in town were the old-fashioned profiles, some- times called silhouettes, which were cut with scissors in black silk or paper, one side of which was colored black. A skilled artist could draw a correct profile at sight; but the method commonly pursued was to draw the profile by an instrument consisting of a small rod of about four feet long
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hung horizontally upon a pivot about five inches from one of its ends. A pencil was inserted in the short end of the rod and when the long end was passed carefully over the features of the sitter an excellent profile likeness in minia- ture was traced by the pencil upon a sheet of paper attach- ed to a board standing in a perpendicular position.
Between the years 1843 and 1850 the author of this histo- ry painted from life the portraits of a considerable number of the people of Candia in oil or crayon of the size of life and a much larger number of cabinet size.
In 1838, Daguerre, a French artist and scientist who lived in Paris, discovered the art of fixing upon a polished plate of silver the reflection or image of any object which was transmitted to it through the lens of a camera. The invention was first applied to the taking of pictures of land- scapes, buildings and other objects in still life. The first exhibition in America of Daguerre's process of making pictures in the manner referred to was given in New York city and Boston in the winter of 1839. The exhibit in Bos- ton was made in the old Masonic Temple on Tremont Street, and the first picture was a view of Park Street church. The pictures of this kind were called daguerreotypes in hon- or of the discoverer of the process. A considerable time elapsed before the new process was sufficiently perfected to take likenesses of persons. The first likenesses were quite crude and dim and a person was required to sit about six minutes.
In the course of two or three years, however, beautiful miniatures were produced and artists in this line were well patronized. The first daguerreotypes ever taken in Candia were the work of a man who came to town with a large sa - loon, or operating room, on wheels, about the year 1848. He located himself on the common near the Congregation - al church.
About the year 1853, it was found that a negative of a person or any other object could be taken upon a plate of glass covered with collodion and a solution of silver, and a positive picture could be printed on paper by sunlight. After a negative was once secured, the picture called photograph could be duplicated to any extent desired.
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HISTORY OF CANDIA.
WALL DECORATIONS.
About the year 1825, the walls of one or two rooms in a few houses of the most thrifty citizens were decorated with paper hangings of an inferior quality as compared with those of a modern date. Since that time paper hang- ings of a much improved quality, both in design and finish, have been introduced into most of the houses in the town.
In 1825, a very ingenious young man named Stephen Bad- ger came to Candia from Amesbury and resided here for a few months. While here he carved from a block of black cherry wood two figures or statuettes, each about a foot in height. One of the figures represented LaFayette and the other John Quincy Adams, the President of the United States at the time. He also painted in fresco or water colors the walls of the west room in Dr. Wheat's house, now owned and occupied by Albert Bean. The pictures represented landscapes, with mountains in the backgrounds, lakes and also representations of men, wom- en, children and animals. He also painted the walls of one room in each of the residences of Samuel Fitts (now - Frank Hall's), and John Emerson on High Street, now the home of George Smith. One of the pictures in Mr. Fitts' house was a representation of an ocean scene with a ship under full sail and near an immense sea serpent moving rapidly over the waters.
Mr. Badger taught Asa Fitts something of the art, such as it was. Asa then displayed his skill in art by painting in very bright colors the walls of the southwest corner chamber and a bedroom adjoining in the residence of Joshua Lane his brother-in-law on North Road, where Chas. R. Rowe now lives. It is remembered that the trees as painted by Asa were of equal height and but little attention was given to light and shade. In one of his landscapes Asa represented the stump of a big tree with a woodman's ax stuck into it with the handle extending horizontally.
CHAPTER XXVII.
HISTORY OF MUSIC.
SACRED MUSIC.
Metrical psalmody originated with the Protestant Refor- mation, but made no great advance in England before the great Revolution in 1648, which resulted in the behead- ing of Charles I. and in placing the government temporally in the hands of the Puritans. The latter, in their zeal to abolish all popish ceremonies and practices which had been retained in the Episcopal church of England after Henry VIII. had thrown off his allegiance to the Pope and the Catholic church, demolished the organs in the churches, destroyed the music and drove out the musicians by force.
All these things were done, not only in the cities and large towns, but in the rural districts from which most of the Pu- ritans and early settlers of New England came. As a gen- eral thing the New England Puritans for a long time regard- ed music as a trap of the Evil One to ensnare the soul; and even sacred music for the purpose of worship was thought to be very wicked previous to 1650. Rev. John Cotton of Boston, who was greatly in advance of the bigotry of his time, published a treatise entitled "Singing of psalms as a gospel ordinance," in which he contended that "a Christian who hath gifts to frame a spiritual song and to sing it for his own comfort with use of instruments commits no sin." Rev. John Eliot also published a discourse and claimed that music was instituted by God himself as means of Div- ine worship.
In 1690, the first collection of music which was made in New England was printed in Boston. It was called "The Bay Psalm Book." The music was written without bars and there were only seven tunes. Two metrical versions of the Psalms of David were used in public worship, one be-
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ing of Scotch origin and the other, which was made in England, was called Tates and Brady's version. These versions, though written in measure and rhyme, had but little, if any, poetical merit. They were used in many of the New England churches, until near the latter part of the last century, when the psalms and hymns of Isaac Watts were substituted.
Before musical instruments were introduced the tune was pitched by a contrivance called the pitchpipe, which consisted of a pipe resembling the pipe of an organ with an arrangement by which the interior could he made long- er or shorter, so that a higher or lower note upon the scale could be sounded. About eighty years ago a better and more portable instrument made of steel came into use. This instrument. which was called the tuning fork, could be carried in the vest pocket.
Among the first singing books which came into' use in Candia was the Christian Harmony, published in 1805. This was succeeded by the Village Harmony and later by the Bridgewater Collection. In 1826, the Boston Handel and Haydn Society's Collection was first used. There were several editions of this book. In 1835, the Boston Acade- my of Music published a collection of tunes. In 1840, this was followed by the Carmina Sacra, The three last named books were compiled by Lowell Mason, the distinguished composer and professor of music of Boston. Later on, the Psaltery and other collections came into vogue.
The following are names of a part of the male members of the choir of the Congregational society from 1770 to 1892:
Lt. Abraham Fitts, Dea. Nathaniel Burpee, Dea. John Hill, Dea. Samuel Cass, Moses Sargent, Master Moses Fitts, Daniel Fitts, esq., Nathan Fitts, Abraham Fitts, 2nd, Reu- ben Fitts, Samuel Fitts, John Wason, Samuel Buswell, Richard Emerson, Col. Henry True Eaton, Henry Eaton, esq., Josiah French, Samuel Mooers, Stephen Smith, Jona- than C. French, Dr. Nathaniel Wheat, John Prince, Jona- than Pillsbury, Peter Eaton, Col. Samuel Cass, Ezekiel Lane, John Pillsbury, Maj. Nathan Brown, Jonathan Brown, Dr. Isaiah Lane, Dea. Daniel Fitts, Col Coffin M. French, Sim-
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on French, Joseph Fitts, John Moore, 3rd, John Emerson, Nathan Carr, Dr. John Pillsbury, John Rowe, Thomas An- derson, Lowell B. French, Benjamin Cass, Capt. Abraham Fitts, John L. Fitts, I. Newton Fitts, Nathaniel B. Hall, Rufus Hall, Charles H. Butler, Asa Fitts, Jesse Fitts, Abra- ham Fitts, 3rd, Henry Clough, Edwin Eaton, Francis B. Eaton, Charles Patten, Charles Fitts, John S. Patten, John K. Nay, Charles Towle, J. Franklin Fitts, N. Correy Fitts, Charles Gile, Henry McDuffie, Henry Hubbard.
The following are the names of some of the female sing- ers of the choir:
Nabby Emerson, Lydia Eaton, Sally Marden, Lucinda French, Eveline French, Clarissa Fitts, Polly Rowe, Julia Rowe, Phebe Fitts, Polly Sargent, Ruth Sargent, Eliza Ea- ton, Sally Eaton, Margery Eaton, Julia Eaton, Nancy Ro- bie, Lavina Eaton, Susan Eaton, Sarah Eaton, Mary Eaton, Martha Eaton, Caroline Eaton, Nancy Robie, Sally Hall, Louisa Hall, Dolly, Fitts, Hannah Fitts, Sabrina Fitts, Ruth Fitts, Sarah T. Lane, Hanah G. Lane, Abbie Lane, Emma Lane, Lucretia Lane, Mary French, Sarah French, Julia French, Almanza French, Dolly Brown, Abbie Brown, Ad- aline Brown, Augusta Brown, Sarah Jane Emerson, Ruth Patten, Emeline Rowe, Mrs. Charles Towns, Carrie R. Rowe, Ann J. Emerson, two daughters of Rev. Mr. Hid- den, Sarah Jane Fitts, Abbie Emerson.
No musical instruments of any kind were used to accom- pany the singers in the choir before the year 1806. The bass viol was the first instrument used, but there is no rec- ord as to who performed upon it. It is probable that some member of either the Fitts or Eaton families was entitled to that honor, as it is known that an instrument of the kind was owned in both of those families at an early date.
The following are the names of some of the instrumental performers in the choir of the Congregational church:
Bass viol, Dr. Isaiah Lane, Col. Samuel Cass, Jesse R. Fitts; flute, Henry French; clarionet, Edwin Eaton, Abra- ham Fitts 3rd; violin, Henry French; bugle, Henry Clough.
In 1866, the society bought an organ which had been used several years in the Congregational church at Epping. The price paid was four hundred dollars. John McKay
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was the organist several years. He was succeeded by Nel- lie Eaton.
The following are the names of some of the leaders of the choir:
Nathaniel Burpee, Master Moses Fitts, Nathan Fitts, Dr. Nathaniel Wheat, Charles H. Butler, Dr. Isaiah Lane, Jesse R. Fitts, John K. Nay.
About the year 1829, Dr. Wheat and one or two other members of the choir of the Congregational church became members of the New Hampshire Musical Society. In Octo- ber, 1830, the annual meeting took place at the Presbyter- ian church in Bedford. Many of the best singers and in- strumental performers in the state were present at the meet- ing, among whom were various musicians who belonged to the choir of the church at Bedford, which was greatly in advance of most of the other musical organizations of the times, especially in the matter of instrumental music. The people belonging to Candia that were present at the musi- cal festival at Bedford were greatly delighted with the mus- ic. About that time Dr. Wheat was elected President of the society.
In October, 1831, this society held its annual meeting in Candia. The exercises took place at the Congregational meeting house. A large audience was present. Rev. Mr, Wheeler offered a prayer, and Dr. Nathaniel Wheat deliver- ed the annual address upon the subject of music from the pulpit. During the meeting the members of the associa- tion rehearsed a variety of vocal and instrumental music. Such an exhibition of violins, violoncellos, double bass "i- ols, trombones, flutes, clarionets, bassoons, etc., was never before heard in Candia. Dr. Wheat's splendid tenor voice was fully equal to anything of the kind that was heard on the occasion.
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