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 34
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LIBERTY POLES.
For a number of years previous to 1828, a tall liberty pole stood in the Village opposite the present residence of W. J. Dudley and close to the remains of the old poplar tree. Other liberty poles have been erected in various places, but by far the finest and tallest was one which stood for several years on the common opposite the front end of the Congregational church. It was erected during the great political campaign of 1856, by the Republicans. The
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pole, consisting of a very tall main-mast with a mast-head and a top-mast, was about 150 feet high. When the pole was dedicated and the first national standard was raised to the top there was a great political gathering and various speeches were made. The flag stood through several presi- dential campaigns, but it finally became decayed and was torn down. During the presidential campaigns of the past forty years there have been flag raisings in various parts of the town, including the Village, the Corner, Depot Village, East Candia and High street.
THE SECRET BALLOT.
At the session of the State Legislature, in 1891, a law, was enacted by which each voter at the polls was required to enter a secret place unattended and deposit the ballot of his choice in an envelope. The ballot with its contents was , then to be presented to the moderator in the usual manner.
The new system is called the Australian ballot as it first came into use in that country.
INTEMPERANCE.
Until within about sixty years, the people of Candia, in common with those of all other towns in New England, were in the habit of using spirituous liquors or other intox- icating drinks to a greater or less extent as a beverage. All classes of people, including ministers and deacons, indulged in the use of spirits as a luxury and a pleasure, while some believed that very hard work, like haying and building a wall, could not be well performed without a moderate use of alcoholic liquors .. At raisings, weddings, funerals, or- dinations and on other public occasions, rum, brandy and other alcoholic liquors were provided as a matter of course.
Liquors were sold at stores as freely as coffee, tea, mo- lasses or sugar, and, when a good customer with his wife or friends entered a store for the purpose of trading, the proprietor often politely invited them to take a dram as a matter of courtesy, or policy and perhaps both. At town meetings, tents were erected near the porch at the east end
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of the old meeting house and rum and molasses, some- times called black strap, were dealt out to the voters for three cents a glass. Sometimes the boys from eight to twelve years old were treated to a drink of rum and molas- ses by their seniors and the aforesaid boys enjoyed that sort of fun quite as well as they did the sticks of molasses candy, and sometimes they became a little boozy.
All well-to-do farmers made large quantities of cider, sometimes as many as fifty barrels or more. There was a cider mill in every neighborhood and many of the people were foolish enough to believe that it was about as neces- sary to have a great supply of cider in the cellar as it was to provide a goodly store of corn, potatoes and other farm products. It seems incredible that a man could drink a gallon or more of cider a day and follow it up year in and year out. Many cider drinkers of this sort became miser- able sots.
The great majority of the people at that time could enjoy a glass of rum or brandy or a tumbler of cider with moder- ation and had a sufficient degree of moral force to contro! their appetites within proper bounds, attended to their business and faithfully performed their duties to their fam- ilies.
In 1831, a movement in favor of temperance was com- menced in the town. William H. Duncan and various other citizens delivered addresses on the subject. A tem- perance society was organized at Master Fitts' hall and a large number of the people, both old and young, signed the pledge. Among the latter were Josiah Shannon, Austin Cass, Frederick Smyth and Thomas Wheat. Since that time, hundreds of temperance lectures have been given in the town and still the evil has not been eradicated. In 1855, a stringent law forbidding the sale of intoxicating drinks was enacted. In some of the towns the law has been enforced, but in most of the cities and large towns, little attention has been paid to the statute as a general rule, except at rare intervals. It may be said, however, that in many of the smaller towns the people are more temperate than were those of sixty years ago, while in the cities and many of the large towns, very large numbers of the people are
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afflicted with the habit of using liquors to excess. It would seem that, so long as a large number of persons are born with an appetite for stimulants of some kind, there will be more or less drunkards.
ASA FITTS' ACADEMY.
While Asa Fitts was trading on High street, in the fall of 1837, he conceived a plan for erecting a large academy on a part of his father's farm on the "plain," about one-fourth of a mile south of the present residence of Franklin A. Hall. He believed that, if a fine seminary of learning was established on that elevated and beautiful spot there would be no difficulty in attracting large numbers of pupils from the cities and towns in New England and that soon a flourishing village in the locality would be the result. With these bright visions of future glory, Asa, in Novem- ber of that year, laid the foundations of the building and great loads of timber, boards and shingles were hauled to the place from the saw and shingle mills on North Road. A number of carpenters were employed to construct the frame and a day was set for the raising. But, alas! on the morning of the day appointed, a furious snowstorm was raging and soon the ground was covered with snow to the depth of more than two feet. Othe . storms soon followed and the timbers for the frame of the academy were covered with snow drifts, and the great raising was indefinitely postponed. Asa was heavily in debt, his creditors were clamorous for their dues and he was obliged to suspend business. John Moore, Esq., was appointed assignee, the goods were sold and the store was closed. In a few months " afterwards Asa and his family removed to Boston. He taught singing schools and engaged in various other kinds of business there. When modern spiritualism came into vogue, in 1850, Asa became a very enthusiastic convert and gave various lectures upon the subject. After his wife died, he removed to Waltham, Mass., and, in the course of a few years, he became a hermit and lived upon a secluded spot some distance from other people of the town. At length, he became somewhat insane and believed that he
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held direct intercourse with spirits who had lived on the earth. It is said he verily thought that he was visited at times by the spirit of his grandfather, Lieut. Abraham Fitts, a Revolutionary officer of Candia. Lieut. Fitts and the most of his descendents, were musicians and Asa believed that his grandsire, on his visits from the Celestial regions, performed various tunes upon the fife, his favorite instru- ment. Asa died in 1878, aged 68. His remains were in- terred in the old cemetery in Candia.
DEBATING CLUBS.
About the year 1830, a considerable number of the citi- zens and young men and women of the town formed a literary society called "The Candia Literary Club" and once a week during the fall and winter, they met at the old school house in District No. 2, for debate and exercises in declam- ation, dialogues, etc. The school house was usually crowded on such occasions. A weekly paper called "The Flying Battle Ax," edited by Julia Rowe and Emily Eaton was read at the meetings. Many of the articles which were written by the editors and contributors were able and interesting, especially those containing hard hits at the fol- lies and vices of the times. At that period, the temperance movement had just commenced and the opponents of the reform were handled without gloves, though no names were mentioned. When these articles were read there were often decided tokens of disapprobation on the part of some persons in the audience. Among those who were members of the club were Moses H. and Franklin Fitts, Alfred M. Colby, Richard E. Lane, Francis Patten, Abra- ham Emerson, Samuel Cass, Henry Clough, Nehemiah Colby and John Rowe. In the winter of 1831, the exer- cises were varied by a mock trial of Henry Clough on the charge of stealing a rooster. There was a judge and a jury of twelve persons, Franklin Fitts was the prosecuting at- torney and Richard E. Lane appeared for the defence. After the charge by the judge, the jury retired and considered the case. In a few minutes they returned a verdict of not guilty.
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At this time the Bunker Hill monument had reached a height of only about eighty feet and the work had been suspended several years for the want of funds. At one of the meetings of the club the following question was dis- cussed: "Ought the Bunker Hill monument to be finished at once?" Richard E. Lane, one of the speakers in the affirmative, quoted the peroration of the famous speech which Daniel Webster delivered when the corner stone. of the monument was laid by Lafayette, in 1825, without giv- ing any credit to the great orator. Moses H. Fitts, who kept the school in the district in the winter of 1832, sup- ported the negative side of the question and informed the audience just where Lane got the materials for his great effort, much to his discomfiture.
Some of the speakers displayed much ability in debates, among whom Richard E. Lane was one of the most con- spicuous.
In the winter of 1831, and 1832, when the old debating club was in the height of its glory, some of the younger boys from eleven to fifteen years old, formed a debating society called "The Candia Juvenile Club." This also met at the old District No. 2 school house and made things quite lively in their way. Among the members were Austin Quincy Cass, George Fitts, Thomas Wheat, Fred- erick Smyth and Waterman Read. Debating clubs were flourishing institutions in the town for many years.
In 1848, a club composed of the bright young men of that time met for debate in the vestry of the present Con- gregational church. In February of that year, the follow- ing question was discussed, "Is the World improving in morals?" Great interest was manifested in the discussion, which continued two evenings, John Lane , Esq., presided. On the second evening of the debate, Rev. Mr. Thayer, of Windham, delivered a short lecture in which he favored the parochial school system where the pupils could be taught certain doctrines of religion, to take the place of the common schools. After the lecture the discussion of the subject relating to moral improvement was resumed. One of the speakers, who had been appointed to support the negative side of the question, ventured to criticise the re-
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marks of Rev. Mr. Thayer and also replied to the argument introduced by one of the speakers in the affirmative that the people of the world were becoming more moral by the establishment of missions in heathen lands. Near the close of the exercises, Rev. Mr. Murdock arose and most solemnly advised the audience to give no heed to the re- marks of the speaker in the negative referred to, but he made no reply whatever to his arguments and paid no attention to the presiding officer. This attempt to dictate to the people what they should believe concerning the re- marks which had been made or what they should reject was not received with favor by the audience. Of late years there have been debating societies at the Village as well as upon the "Hill." A good society of this kind is one of the very best institutions for disciplining and strengthening the mind and should be at all times encouraged.
SPELLING SCHOOLS.
Sometimes the exercises in the schools were varied by spelling matches or choosing and spelling, as it was some- times called. The spellers were chosen alternately by two of the best in the class and formed into two divisions, each of the leaders endeavoring to secure those who could speil the best. After the words in the regular lesson had been spelled several hard and unusual words were selected by the leaders of one class to be spelled by the members of the other. Each leader would search the Bible or the dic- tionary for the hardest "jaw-breakers" and much of the suc- cess of one or the other parties depended upon their ability to spell the hard words. At one time Ephraim Eaton, son of Peter Eaton, who was the leader of a class, selected from Webster's spelling book the monosylable "iz" for his opponents to spell. The best spellers, thinking that the word was of a very complex character, spelled it in all sorts of ways but the right way. One spelled it "eihtz" another "eitz" and another "ettz." The word was passed down the class of more than twenty pupils to Jonathan Varnum, or "Jock" Varnum as he was often called, without being spelled correctly. "Jock," who was the poorest
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speller in the class, spelled the word as it should be and great was the chagrin of the good spellers when they found that it was only one of the a. b. abs. after all. "Eph's" cunning trick worked to perfection and showed that in an emergency he was a strategist of the first order.
SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS.
The examination of the schools in the several districts of the town by superintending and prudential committees at the close of the summer and winter terms was an impor- tant occasion sixty-five years ago to the pupils and their parents and friends. The pupils always appeared in their best attire. The writing books of the scholars were first examined by the committee and the assemblage of other visitors for the purpose of tracing their progress in the art from the big coarse hand of the new beginners up to the elegant specimens of the older pupils. Among the copies set by the teachers the following are still remembered by some of the pupils of that day: "The sword has slain its thousands, strong drink its tens of thousands.".
"Seize upon truth wherever found, On Christian or on heathen ground."
The latter motto was not found in the Sunday School books or primers of the day, but some people think that it is none the worse on that account.
The pupils were examined in arithmetic, grammar, ge- ography and reading. At the close of the winter term, when all the larger scholars were in attendance, there were exercises in declamations, dialogues, etc. At the close of the winter school of District No. 2, in 1824, Franklin Fitts delivered an extract from Gen. Warren's address in the Old South Church of Boston, in 1774, in commemoration of the "Boston Massacre," when five American citizens were shot in King street, now State street, by a detachment of Brit- ish troops. The address, which was found in the Colum- bian Orator, began with the following words : "When we turn over the historic page and trace the rise and fall of em- pires." After Fitts' declamation two of the young men, who were nearly full grown, enacted the scene from Shake-
WOODBURY J. DUDLEY.
Sketch, page 508.
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peare Julius Cesar where Brutus and Cassius indulge in quite an exciting little quarrel. The actors on the occasion re- ferred to borrowed the uniforms and swords of a couple of the officers of the Candia Light Infantry and as the two fierce Romans represented in the scene brandished their swords over each other's heads, some of the little boys and girls rolled their eyes in astonishment, as though they ex- pected to see torrents of blood flowing upon the floor; but when the contestants sheathed their swords and became reconciled to each other the little folks resumed their usual equanimity. At the close of the examining exercises the minister exhorted the pupils to be very pious and perfect in their character at all times and in all places (all of which the aforesaid pupils found out sooner or later was easier said than done, even by the minister himself) and when they died they would go to Heaven. Some of the members of the superintending committee also made short addresses to the pupils of the school and told them how that, in the morning of their lives they should be honest, never tell a lie or deceive, never become angry or do anything wrong in any particular, and it was suggested that in case they complied with all these conditions, they would be loved by everybody and given the highest and most honor- able positions in the gift of the people.
When the visitors to the schools in the summer had re- tired, some of the school mistresses were in the habit of presenting their pupils with a certificate of good character printed upon a small slip of paper, in the upper part of which there was a rude wood cut representing two men threshing grain with all their might on a barn floor. In the foreground of the picture, the figure of three or four hens and roosters were represented. The following is a copy of the certificate referred to:
REWARD OF MERIT.
This certifies that John Smith, for diligence and good be- havior, merits the approbation of his friends and instructor. LUCINDA DOLLOFF, Instructor. Candia, August 30th, 1827.
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OLD HOUSES.
The most of the first framed houses of the town which were built by the early settlers have been demolished and those of a larger and better sort have been erected in their places. Among the oldest houses of this date some of which have been repaired and improved are the following: That on High Street now owned by George Wallace, built by Caleb Brown, about the year 1777; the residence of Mrs. Abraham Fitts, on the same street, which was built in 1788 ; that now owned by Samuel R. Robie, which was built on High Street by his great grandfather, Ichabod Robie; that at the upper end of High Street, which was built by Moses Bursiel and is now owned by Mr. Tufts; that on the same street next west of the residence of Samuel Morrill, built by William Hill, son of Jonathan Hill, and for many years owned and occupied by Samuel Morrill, Esq., the grandfather of the present Samuel Morrill. On the Burpee road the old John Lane mansion, which stands next west of the residence of Frank D. Rowe. The house on North Road next the cross road leading from High Street to Deerfield, which was built in 1803, by Abraham Fitts, Jr., the old Benjamin Hall house on North Road, now owned by Dana Hall ; the old Ensign John Clay house on the New Boston road, now owned by Mrs. Stickney, his grandaugh- ter ; the old Benjamin Bean house on the Colcord road near the village, which was built by Jeremiah Bean, one of the first settlers in the town ; the Dea. Abraham Bean house at the Island ; the house near the corner built by John Sargent, an uncle of Captain John Sargent, and recently owned by B. Pillsbury Colby. The house at the corner now owned by Mr. Seward, which was built by Samuel Mooers, the first town clerk, about the year 1758 ; the old two-story house on the Patten road, which was erected by Capt. Moses Baker, about the year 1772, the old Robert Patten house on Wadleigh or Clark hill, now owned by George F. Patten ; the old John Dolber house on the Chester road, now owned by Mrs. Thomas Colby ; the old Benjamin Smith house on the Raymond road below the Corner ; the Amos Knowles house on South Road, now owned by Charles Pettengill and
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the old Ezekiel Knowles house on the same road, now owned by William Crane. Also the old Knowles house on the Colby road, now owned by George F. Cass.
A QUARTETTE OF LAMBS,
About the year 1850, a sheep belonging to William Brown, who lived on North Road, had four lambs at one birth. The sheep not being able to furnish nourishment for more than two lambs, its owner, Mr. Brown, gave one of them to Susan Lang, daughter of John Lang, and the other to Mercy Clark, wife of Robert Clark. The lamb given to Mrs. Clark grew up finely and the next year pro- duced a pair of twin lambs and so on for eight successive years, producing a pair of twin lambs annually, sixteen in all.
THE FIVE STAGES OF FARMING.
In referring to the fact that a very large number of farms in New Hampshire have become run out and of little value for the raising of crops, some person of a philosophic turn of mind has said that there have been five stages of farming in New Hampshire during the past one hundred and twenty years. First the owner cleared up his lot of land, next he improved it, then he got a good living upon it, next he skinned it and lastly he deserted it.
THE LOST STEFRS.
Andrew Moore, who lived about half a mile below the Corner, and Jonathan Worthen, who resided on New Bos- ton road, were great wags and neither was ever happier than when he could play a hard joke upon the other. One winter they went to market together to Newburyport. The ·sledding was good and each man drove a large ox team, that of Andrew having a pair of two-year-old steers on the lead. Andrew's team drew a load of charcoal which was enclosed in a large box made of rough boards about eight feet long, five feet wide and six feet high. In the after end
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of the box, there was a swinging door. Worthen's team hauled a load of fish barrels.
After disposing of their barrels and charcoal, the two teamsters started for their homes in Candia. Andrew's team which was ahead arrived at a tavern in Kingston a few minutes in advance of that of Worthen. After driving his team into the yard near the tavern, Andrew went into the bar room and called for a bowl of punch. While he was sipping the beverage, Worthen came up and, taking in the situation, he saw a grand chance for making a little fun at Andrew Moore's expense, and so he unhitched his steers from the team, drove them into the coal box on the sled and closed the door. He then joined Andrew in the bar- room and called for a mug of punch. The two men drank their punch, then lighted their pipes and entered into a lively conversation with the landlord. Nearly an hour was consumed in this manner, when Worthen suddenly jumped up and exclaimed, "Oh, Andrew! I forgot to tell you when I came in that I saw that your steers had got loose and were going away from the rest of the team to- wards home." Andrew thereupon started for the yard and was dismayed to find that his steers were missing. He started off hurriedly towards Candia with his team and called at every house, but found nobody who had seen them. Atlength he reached home only to find that they were not there. He was greatly worried, and, without stopping to put his oxen in the barn, he hitched his horse to a sleigh and drove back towards Kingston to meet Worthen in the hope that he had obtained some information concerning his steers. Worthen could give him no comfort except to assure him that he believed that the steers were somewhere about his home and that everything would come out all right. Andrew finally concluded that it was no use to make any further search at that time and he returned home with a heavy heart. Worthen, who had a mile fur- ther to go, very generously offered to stop a spell and help his friend Andrew in making a critical search for his steers, but no steers could be found anywhere about the premises. At length Andrew happened to think of a roll of cloth he had bought at Newburyport for a neighbor and placed in
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the empty coal box. Upon opening the door what was .his surprise to find his steers lying within, chewing their cuds in perfect contentment. At first he shed tears of joy, and then, when he fully realized the cruel trick Worthen had played on him, he shook his fists in his face and threat- ened to give him a thrashing on the spot. The next mo- ment, however, he laughed at the wit and cunning Worth- en had displayed in the affair; but he gave him warning that he would pay nim back sometime for the trouble he had caused him with compound interest.
ANECDOTES.
Jonathan Cass, for some reason often called "Tot" Cass, . was a very eccentric character, and much given to crack- ing severe jokes upon people without regard to their po- sition or dignity. It is said that about the beginning of the present century, he made a friendly call upon Rev. Mr. Remington, the Congregational minister at that time, when "Tot" inquired as to whether the minister believed the por- tion of the Mosaic law which required the people to pre- sent to the priests a part of the first fruits of the season was binding upon Christians. Mr. Remington replied by saying that, though the law was not positively binding under the new dispensation, he thought it would be very proper for Christian people to show their respect for religion by pre- senting their ministers with some of the first products of the soil in the spring of the year. "So do I," said Tot with a triumphant air, "and the very first thing which grows in the spring is Indian poke. It would kill every darned one of 'em." "Tot" attended the services at the ordination of Rev. Mr. Arnold over the Congregational Society at Ches- ter, in 1819. Upon his arrival at the place, he took great pains in making the acquaintance ot some of the promi- nent menbers of the church of the town in the hope of re- ceiving an invitation to dinner with one of them. He talked very piously and earnestly about his deep interest in the subject of religion in general and the welfare of the brethren in Chester in particular. At last, he received a cordial invitation from a wealthy deacon of the church in
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