USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Dunbarton > History of the town of Dunbarton, Merrimack County, New-Hampshire, from the grant by Mason's assigns, in 1751, to the year 1860 > Part 13
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We received the above account from Mr. Mckinstry, on his return from Savannah.
¡ Hon. John Vose, the well known preceptor of Atkinson and Pembroke academies.
INDIVIDUAL NOTICES.
ARCHIBALD STARK.
Archibald Stark, although never a permanent inhabit- ant of Dunbarton, was the first applicant for the grants of that township, of which he was a large proprietor, and which for fourteen years bore his name.
He was born at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1697, and received his education at the university in that city. At an early age he removed with his father and family to London- derry, Ireland, where he married Eleanor Nichols, the daughter of a Scottish emigrant.
In 1720 he embarked with a company of adventurers for New-Hampshire, whither a considerable party of his countrymen had previously proceeded to form a settle- ment.
After a tedious voyage, during which all his children died, the emigrants arrived at Boston, late in autumn. As many of them were ill with the small-pox, they were not permitted to land, and were in consequence compelled to depart for the wilds of Maine. At a place called Sheepscot, near the site of the present town of Wiscasset, they endured their first trial of the horrors of a northern winter in the forests of New-England.
In the course of the year following, after encountering and enduring many severe hardships and privations, they joined their Scottish friends at Nutfield (now Londonderry, N. H.), then a wilderness, rendered hideous by the fre- quent incursions of hostile savages, who at that period, and for many succeeding years, harassed the frontiers. His house in Londonderry having been burned in 1736, he, in consequence, removed to that portion of land on Merrimack river then known as Harrytown, and settled
175
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
upon a lot which had been granted to Samuel Thaxter by the government of Massachusetts, a short distance above the falls of Amoskeag.
Thither several of his friends soon afterward followed him, and the new location received the name of Derry- field. Several sons and daughters were born to him after his arrival in America, to whom, at his fireside, he gave the best instruction which his own acquirements and the circumstances of the times would permit. " His educa- tion fitted him for the walks of civil life; yet," says the historian of Manchester, "we find him a volunteer for the protection of the frontier against the ravages of the Indians in 1745; and for the protection of the people 'in his immediate vicinity, a fort was built at the outlet of Swager's, or Fort brook, which, in compliment to his enterprise in erecting and garrisoning the same, was called Stark's Fort.
His sons were William, Samuel, John and Archibald, who all held commissions in the British service during the "Seven Years' War," and were distinguished for good conduct, coolness and courage.
A stone in the old burial ground at Manchester bears this inscription :
" Here Lyes The Body of Mr. ARCHIBALD STARK. HE Departed this life June 25th, 1758, Aged 61 Years."
COLONEL WILLIAM STARK, eldest son of the foregoing, was born at Londonderry, April 1st, 1724, ( Old Style). He was among those to whom the proprietors first granted lands in this town, in the early affairs of which he was an active and prominent agent. He had acquired a good education for the times, was a fair penman, and a prompt man of business. The meetings of the proprietors and of the town were, for several years prior to the erection of the first meeting-house, held at his house.
He was a man of plausible address, possessing a chiv- alrous spirit and undaunted courage. He was distin-
176
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
guished as a captain of rangers on the northern frontier ; was with Amherst at the capture of Louisburgh, and fought under the victorious banners of Wolfe on the heights of Abraham. At the commencement of the Revolution, his inclination was favorable to the popular cause. The cannonade of June 17, 1775, at Bunker Hill, the day being fair and the wind favorable, was distinctly heard at his house on the high lands of Dunbarton, although at the distance of seventy miles. In consequence he mounted his horse and rode with all speed toward Charlestown, but did not reach the American camp until after the action.
He applied to the State Council of New-Hampshire for the command of a regiment, to which his previous services and military experience amply justified his claim. Had he obtained the appointment he would doubtless have proved true to the cause, and rendered important service, for, as a soldier, his talents and courage were unquestion- able. For reasons best known to themselves, the Council assigned the command to another.
Stark, indignant at what he considered an unjust and insulting neglect, accepted overtures from the enemy, repaired to New-York in 1776, and became a colonel in the British service. He was soon afterward killed by a fall from his horse. His son John served as adjutant of the first continental regiment of the New-Hampshire line, and died of small-pox at Chimney Point, on Lake Cham- plain, in 1776, in the eighteenth year of his age.
Family Record .- William Stark, b. April 1, 1724 ( Old Style ) ; Mary Stinson, b. March 3, 1734, married Febru- ary 22, 1754, (N. S.) Children : William, b. August 27, 1756 ; John, b. November 1, 1758 ; Archibald, b. Novem- ber 7, 1760; Mary, b. August 19, 1762; Stephen, b. September 27, 1764; Thomas, b. January 25, 1767; James, b. March 22, 1773.
Mary, the wife of William Stark, senior, died October 15, 1817, aged 82. We have in possession a powder-
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
horn, thus inscribed : " William Stark, his horn. Sandy Hook, 1757, or 1759," the last figure being indistinct. It is a well made article, with a metallic mouth-piece, ornamented with sundry devices, and was the work of Captain William Stark, who commanded a corps of rangers in Lord Loudoun's eastern expedition, in 1757, who, in the same capacity, attended that of General Amherst against Louisburg, and that of General Wolfe against Quebec, in 1759.
In each of these campaigns the forces which sailed from New-York were detained a short time at Sandy Hook. Therefore, whether the horn was made in 1757 or 1759, the fact appears more than probable that the owner had it slung by his side in the memorable battle on the heights of Abraham, September 13, 1759, which decided the fate of Canada, and crowned with laurels many of New-England's gallant sons ; although the con- quest was purchased by the life-blood of the amiable and heroic Wolfe.
In connection with his lofty name, we copy a passage from the memoir of the celebrated John Robinson, in the Edinburgh Encyclopædia :
" An anecdote which Mr. Robinson used to tell," says Mr. Playfair, " deserves well to be mentioned. He hap- pened to be on duty in the boat in which General Wolfe went to visit some of their posts, the night before the battle which was expected to decide the fate of the cam- paign. The evening was fine, and the scene, considering the work we were engaged in, and the morning to which we were looking forward, sufficiently impressive.
" As they rowed along, the General, with much feeling, repeated nearly the whole of Gray's Elegy ( which had appeared not long before, and was yet but little known, to an officer who sat with him in the stern of the boat), adding, as he concluded, that he "would prefer being the author of that poem, to the glory of beating the French to-morrow."
"To-morrow came, and the life of that illustrious sol-
178
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
dier was terminated amid the tears of his friends and the shouts of his victorious army. The body of General Wolfe was brought to England in the Royal William, and landed at Spithead on the 18th of November."
ARCHIBALD STARK, youngest brother of Colonel William Stark, and of General John Stark, was a lieutenant in the ranger corps, and among the first grantees of this town. He died at Hopkinton, at the age of 90. His son James was a skillful physician and surgeon, and settled at Hopkinton. In 1813 he was appointed a surgeon in the United States Army. He died at Hopkinton in 1827-8.
Lieutenant SAMUEL STARK, brother of Archibald, above named, settled in Conway, N. H., where his descendants are persons of property and respectability.
All the sons of Archibald Stark, senior, received from the British crown extensive grants of land in the vicinity of Conway, as a reward for their distinguished services in the " Seven Years' War."
Captain JONATHAN STARK, of Conway, son of Samuel, was an officer of the U. S. Army during the war of 1812.
MAJOR ROBERT ROGERS. This justly celebrated com- mander, so well known in the campaigns of the "Seven Years' War" in America, was the son of James Rogers, and born at Londonderry in 1727. He was probably four- teen or fifteen years of age when his father established his abode in the woods of Dunbarton. He dwelt there with him, except when engaged in distant hunting expeditions, until his death, or until the year 1755, when his well known prowess as a hunter, his knowledge of the Indian character, as also of their modes of warfare, and his daring resolution, recommended him as a suitable person to com- mand a corps of rangers. His services rendered in that capacity justified the confidence of the government. In person he was above the common stature, and as remark- able for personal strength and activity as for courage and decision.
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
He went to England after the peace of 1763, and while traveling in a mail-coach over Hounslow Heath, the coach was stopped by a highwayman, who presented a pistol at the window, and demanded the passengers' money. The Major opened his cloak, as if about to comply, and the robber lowered his pistol. That instant, the vigorous hand of the hardy American seized him by the collar, and by main strength drew him from his horse through the window of the coach, and made him prisoner, and ordered the terrified coachman to drive on. He proved to be a celebrated offender, for whose head a reward of £40 sterling had been offered. The Major delivered him to the authorities and received the bounty.
One other anecdote is related of him while in England. He was once in company with a party of British officers at a convivial meeting, where it was agreed that the person who should tell the greatest lie, or the most improbable story, should have his bill paid by the company. After all the others had told their stories, Rogers was called upon. He stated "that he was born in the province of New-Hampshire - that when a boy, he made birch or hazel brooms, which he carried on his back, through the woods, to Concord, (the nearest settlement, ten miles distant ) and disposed of them - that his father was shot dead by a hunter, being mistaken for a bear -that his mother was tracked several miles by a hunter, who mis- took the track in the snow for that of a wolf." It was decided that the Major had told the greatest lie, when in fact he had told the truth.
Rogers returned to America in 1775. He visited Cambridge and Medford, then occupied by the Conti- nental troops. He applied for permission to visit the camp, which Washington refused. Colonel Stark, who had been his second in command in the Seven Years' War, with others of his old companions in arms, visited him at Medford. He soon after joined Sir William Howe, but in a short time returned to England, and never again visited America.
180
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
General Stark, who had been for years the companion and friend of Rogers, gave him full credit for his courage, and was of opinion that he would have proved a true man to his native country, had not suspicions been pre- maturely entertained of his designs. He was denounced as a tory before he had avowed his principles. Washington considered him as a British agent, and as such prohibited his entering the camp. Rogers owned an estate in Con- cord, N. H. He left his wife in this country, and the estate remained in the possession of his family until about 1833, when it became the property of Ex-Governor Hill. A more particular account of Major Rogers and his services may be found in a work lately published, entitled "A Memoir of General Stark," &c. A lot of land was set apart for him by the proprietors of Dunbar- ton, as the eldest son of James Rogers. Another was giv- en by them to the eldest son of Joseph Putney ( being lot No. 8, in the fifth range, and lot No. 8, in the sixth range.)
The wife of Major Rogers was a Miss Browne of Portsmouth. He was appointed a colonel in the British service, and raised a corps known as the queen's rangers, with which he was for a time a scourge to the country in the vicinity of Long Island Sound. He was proscribed by the N. H. Legislature in 1778. His wife was divorced by an act of the Legislature. When and where he died is unknown to the writer.
Anecdote of Rogers .- While in garrison at Fort Edward, in the winter of 1757-8, two British officers, half seas over, or sufficiently so to be very affectionate and patriotic, were one evening lamenting the misfortunes of their country, occasioned by her enormous debt. Rogers com- ing in, and learning the cause of their trouble, told them to give themselves no more uneasiness about the matter, as he would pay half of the debt, and a friend of his the remainder, and thus clear the nation at once of her diffi- culties. The officers treated the captain, and pronounced him the nation's benefactor. Hence the saying, " To pay one's debts, as Rogers did that of the nation."
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
CAPTAIN CALEB PAGE.
CALEB PAGE, who may be considered as a principal character among the forefathers of the town, was born in the year 1705. He, with other individuals, from Hamp- stead, Haverhill, and their vicinity, were among the early settlers of Derryfield. He was one of the grantees of Starkstown, and was in the charter of incorporation, in 1765, named as the person authorized to call the first meeting of the inhabitants, under that instrument. He was a large proprietor in the new township, in the north- ern part of which, upon lot No. 18, in the third range, a fort was erected, and his permanent residence established.
The locality still bears the name of "Page Corner," and the road leading to it from the east is called the " Page road." This road now (1860) contains many well built and tastily arranged dwelling-houses, and exhibits a more ostensible claim to the title of "the city," than it did when thus termed in former days. The house of Captain Page and that of Israel Clifford were the first frame buildings erected in that vicinity.
Captain Page was one of the most efficient cooperators in advancing the progress of the settlement. At the pro- prietors' meetings he acted frequently as moderator, as general agent, chairman of the most important commit- tees, and for several years as proprietors' clerk .*
In 1753 Captain Page was, with Col. Zacheus Lovewell and Major John Talford, appointed by the General Court of New-Hampshire, commissioners "to survey and make (or mark) a road to Coös," in which service he acted as surveyor as well as commissioner. The following account for the performance of their duties upon this expedition was presented by the commissioners to the General Court of the Province :
* The notice dated March 27, 1751, calling the proprietors' first general meeting at Londonderry, held on the 8th of April, 1751, was signed by Alexander McMurphy, who had been appointed by a committee consist- ing of Archibald Stark, Hugh Ramsay, and John Hogg. Mr. McMur- phy was succeeded, as proprietors' clerk, by Caleb Page, senior. His son, Jeremiah Page, was third proprietors' clerk, and made his last record, in that capacity, of their meeting which was dissolved on the second Tucs- day of September, 1802.
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
March, 1753. Messrs. Zacheus Lovewell, John Talford and Caleb Page charge ye Province of New-Hampshire, debtor for themselves and men, here named, hired to sur- vey and make the road to Coös, in March current :
£. s. d.
Zacheus Lovewell, 22 days,
@
35 s.
38 10 0
John Talford, 22 days,
35
38 10 0
Caleb Page, 22 days,
35
38 10 0
Nathaniel Smith, 19} days,
30
29
50
John Emery, 19} days,
30
29
50
Reuben Kimball, 19} days,
30
29
50
Benjamin Larkin, 19} days,
30
29
50
Enoch Webster, 19} days,
30
29
50
Ebenezer Copp, 192 days,
30
29
50
Jonathan Burbank,* 19} days
30
29
50
John Johnson, 192 days,
30
29
5 0
Benjamin Eastman, 192 days,
30
29
50
Peter Bowen, 19} days,
30
29
5 0
Nathaniel Ingalls, 22 days,
30
33 00
Robert Rogers, 19} days,
30
29
50
John Combs, 22 days,
30
33
0 0
John McCluer, 22 days,
30
33 0 0
John Stark, (pilot) 21 days,
35
36 15 0
Abraham Perry, 22 days,
30
33 0 0
Caleb Page, surveyor, 22 days,
60
66 00
Zacheus Lovewell, John Talford, Caleb Page, each one day's attendance to appoint the day and prepare for ye march,
5 50
Caleb Page, journey to Rumford, to hire men, four days,
7 00
Old tenor,
684 5 0
ZACHEUS LOVEWELL, JOHN TALFORD, CALEB PAGE,
Committee.
Dated March 31, 1763.
See files in the office of Secretary of State.
* Jonathan Burbank, Robert Rogers and John Stark were officers in the corps of Royal American Rangers. Capt. Burbank was killed in a skirmish in 1759.
183
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
In 1758 Caleb Page was appointed by Governor Went- worth a Captain of Provincials. The following commis- sion describes the extent of his command :
[L. s.] PROVINCE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
BENNING WENTWORTH, Esq., Captain-General and Governor- in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Province of New-Hamp- shire, in New-England, §.c. :
To CALEB PAGE, Gentleman, GREETING :
By virtue of the power and authority in and by His Majesty's Royal Commission to me granted, to be Captain General, &c., over this, His Majesty's Province of New- Hampshire, aforesaid, I do (by these presents,) reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage and good conduct, constitute and appoint you, the said Caleb Page, to be Captain of the foot company in Starkstown ( so-called), in Hopkinton ( so-called), in Goffstown ( so- called), and in Halestown ( so-called), in Colonel Zacheus Lovewell's Regiment.
You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of a Captain, in leading, ordering and exercising said company in arms, both inferior officers and soldiers ; and to keep them in good order and discipline, hereby com- manding them to obey you as their captain ; and yourself to observe and follow such orders and instructions as you shall from time to time receive from me, or the Com- mander-in-Chief for the time being, or other your superior officers for His Majesty's service, according to military rules and discipline, pursuant to the trust reposed in you. Given under my hand and seal at arms, at Portsmouth, the thirtieth day of May, in the thirty-first year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Second, Anno Domini 1758. B. W. WENTWORTH.
By his Excellency's command,
THEODORE ATKINSON, Sec'y.
Captain Page possessed a noble and benevolent spirit, with ample means to carry out his generous intentions. His
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
bank, which contained his treasure of golden guineas, sil- ver crowns and dollars, was a half bushel measure constant- ly kept under his bed-a far more secure place of deposit than many modern offices of discount have proved to be. One of his guineas was, some thirty-five years ago, turned up in his field by the plough. His grandson, Caleb Stark, remembered being with him near the place where the coin was found, when a person who had purchased a cow paid for it in the field ; that a guinea was part of the purchase money paid, and that Captain Page, missing the piece after his return home, supposed the man had smug- gled the guinea back to his own pocket. The coin is still in possession of the family.
His house was the abode of hospitality, and the scene of many a joyous festival, in the " olden time," where good cheer was supplied in bounteous profusion. There, at all times, the traveler, although a stranger, found welcome, refreshment and repose. One of his adventures was as follows : Having a quantity of fresh beef to dis- pose of, he conveyed it to Newburyport for a market, and there, finding a vessel about sailing for Louisburgh, then in possession of the English, he took passage with his stores for that fortress. A contractor of the British fleet eagerly purchased his supplies at high prices, but delayed payment. Ascertaining that the fleet was under "sailing orders " for the next day, Captain Page went on board the flag-ship and stated his case to the Admiral. The latter, a good-humored, prompt, and justly deciding son of Neptune, ordered the contractor to appear before him. Upon his appearance the Admiral said to him : "Do you owe this man ( so much ), sir ?" naming the amount. He answered affirmatively. "Then pay him, or you swing at the yard-arm." The amount was instantly paid, and Capt. Page returned home with the proceeds of a profit- able venture.
In his time black slaves were possessed by every opu- lent family. He owned several of either sex, whose con- dition, his own, and the benovolence of each of his wives
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HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
(he was twice married,) rendered comfortable in every respect. They were by their servants honored and revered rather as indulgent parents than as master and mistress. He was a firm patriot, and was in 1775 elected a dele- gate to the Provincial Congress, the first from this town. Toward the close of his life he attended the funeral of a friend at the meeting-house burial-ground in the Spring. Water had risen in the grave, as is generally the case there at that season. When he returned home he de- clared that "he would not be drowned after death," and on the next day purchased a small burial lot of Soloman Heath, in the adjacent town of Bow, on the Concord road, where, after his death, his remains were laid at rest in July, 1785, at the age of 80 years.
The Rev. William Fessenden and Rev. William Pickels, the latter an Episcopal clergyman, who were his particular friends, frequently tarried with him as guests, and assisted in the education of his family.
His family consisted of two sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Caleb Page, Jr., was an ensign of Rangers, and fell in the bloody contest between Ticonderoga and Crown Point, January 21, 1757. His second son, Jere- miah, was a well educated man of business. He was an expert surveyor, and laid out most of the early town and many other roads. He was many years representative, justice of the peace, and also judge of the court of com- mon pleas for Hillsborough county .* He died November 29, 1807.
Of Capt. Page's daughters, the eldest, Elizabeth, was the wife of Gen. Stark, and Mary, the youngest, the wife of James Russell, of Bow. A stone, near Gen. Stark's monument at Manchester, is thus inscribed : " In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Stark, who died June 29, 1814, in the 77th year of her age."
* The judges of Hillsborough county in 1796 were: "Hon. James Underwood, Ist Justice. Francis Blood, Esq., Temple ; Jeremiah Page, Esq., Dunbarton ; +Ebenezer Webster, Esq., Salisbury, Justices. Moses Kelley, Goffstown, Sheriff; Robert Fletcher, Esq., Clerk."
+ Ebenezer Webster was father of the Hon. Daniel Webster.
13
186
HISTORY OF DUNBARTON.
His valuable estate was divided between his surviving children, and his grandsons, Caleb Stark and Caleb Page. The former had been adopted and brought up by him from infancy. He resided with him from the time of his birth, until two hours before daylight on the 16th of June, 1775, when, without the knowledge of the family,. he was armed, on horseback, and on the way to the camp at Medford, where he arrived at night. On the 17th of June he performed his devoir in arms, in the action of Breed's Hill, called that of Bunker's Hill, although the latter eminence is one mile north of the scene of conflict.
Of the sons of Judge Page, Caleb, the third of the name in this place, lived and died upon the homestead of his grandfather, at Page Corner. His brothers, John and Jeremiah, resided upon the divided estate of their father. The farm of the latter is now owned by his son, Ebenezer, who is a respectable citizen, and has filled the offices of selectman and representative. That of John Page is owned by his grand-nephew, John P. Tenney, who is also grandson of the Rev. Walter Harris. Caleb Page, fourth of the name, grandson of Capt. Page, settled upon the lot once occupied by Archibald Stark, Jr., (lot 14, R. 3). He was an industrious farmer and peaceable citizen. He was treasurer and selectman, and on his retirement from public duties received a vote of thanks for faithful service. He died September 17, 1846, aged 63.
His brothers were Peter Carleton, and John, both worthy men. Peter C. died after a short illness, October 15, 1858, aged 75. John resides in Hopkinton.
Family Record .- Caleb Page, son of Jeremiah Page, senior, was born April 10, 1753. The children of himself and wife Hannah, were : Sarah, b. April 18, 1776 ; Hannah, b. February 3, 1778 ; Caleb, b. June 23, 1780; Peter C., b. July 1, 1783 ; Betsey, b. November 2, 1786 ; Nancy, b. November 30, 1789; John, b. February 28, 1783.
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