USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Exeter > History of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire > Part 9
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The law for dividing the province into counties, a long delayed act of justice to the people, went into effect in 1771. By its pro- visions certain terms of the courts were to be held in Exeter, and it was proposed that the town should furnish a suitable site for a county court-house. The open space in front of the present town- honse, was then disfigured by a pound and several small buildings, erected in the midst of it. At a meeting of the town held July 8, 1771, it was voted " to grant liberty for a county court-house to be built on the land on which the pound and the shops belonging to Dr. Josiah Gilman, John Ward Gilman, Samuel Gilman and Samuel Folsom now stand," and that the land should be cleared of all incumbrances whatsoever. It was some years, however, before the court-house was erected, and in the meantime the courts were held in the town-house, which stood nearly opposite the First church. The earliest session of the Superior Court in the town was held on the first Tuesday of September, 1771.
In the year 1771 was built, at the expense of the town, the brick powder-house, near the first point on the eastern side of the salt river. Whether this was done in anticipation of the armed struggle that was soon to follow, we cannot tell. It is probable,
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HISTORY OF EXETER.
however, that it became the storehouse in that war, and perhaps in subsequent wars, of " the town's stock of powder." The quaint little structure is one of the links that connect us with the past, and should not be suffered to go to decay.
ANOTHER PATRIOTIC EXPRESSION OF THE TOWN.
Political affairs were now gradnally but surely tending towards a wider separation of the colonies from the mother country. The British Parliament, with a perverse misunderstanding of the temper of our people, persisted in retaining the duty on tea imported into the colonies, as a token of their right to impose taxes on them without their consent. It was the fly in the ointment. The Ameri- cans, who had previously been liberal consumers of tea, would have no more of it. And when the attempt was made to force it upon them, the sons of liberty of Boston boarded the vessels laden with the detested herb, and flung their cargoes into the sea.
Thereupon, on the twenty-fifth of the same December a meeting of the citizens of Exeter was called for an expression of opinion in the premises ; and was held on the third of January, 1774. Nathaniel Folsom was chosen moderator. The action of the voters is thus described :
The meeting proceeded to take into consideration the rise of the present general uneasiness through the continent, which appears to them to be fairly, as well as briefly, stated by the honorable his majesty's council of the province of Massachusetts Bay, in their late advice to their governor. It was then moved [and] ruled that a number present draw up what they conceive to be the general sense of the meeting upon the matter under consideration, who, having consulted together, report that they apprehend the sense of this town cannot be better expressed than by adopting the resolves of the patriotic citizens of Philadelphia, which are as follows, viz. :
Resolved, That the disposal of their own property is the inher- ent right of freemen ; that there can be no property in that which another can, of right, take from us without our consent ; that the claim of Parliament to tax America is, in other words, a claim of right to levy contributions on us at pleasure.
2. That the duty imposed by Parliament upon tea landed in America, is a tax on the Americans, or levying contribution on them without their consent.
3. That the express purpose for which the tax is levied on the Americans, namely, for the support of government, the adminis- tration of justice and the defence of his majesty's dominions in
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America, has a direct tendency to render assemblies useless, and to introduce arbitrary government and slavery.
4. That a virtnous and steady opposition to this ministerial plan of governing America, is absolutely necessary to preserve even the shadow of liberty, and is a duty which every freeman in America owes to his country, to himself and to his posterity.
5. That the resolution lately come into by the East India Com- pany to send out their tea to America subject to the payment of duties on its being landed here, is an open attempt to enforce the ministerial plan, and a violent attack upon the liberties of America.
6. That it is the duty of every American to oppose this attempt.
7. That whoever shall directly or indirectly countenance this attempt or in any wise aid or abet in unloading, receiving or vending the tea sent or to be sent ont by the East India Company while it remains subject to the payment of a duty here, is an enemy to America.
The foregoing resolves, after having been repeatedly read, passed almost unanimously.
Further Resolved, That we are ready on all necessary occasions to risk our lives and fortunes in defence of our rights and liber- ties, professing to have as great a veneration for freedom as any people on earth.
Voted, That this town do return their sincere thanks to all the cities, towns and persons in America who have at any time nobly exerted themselves in the cause of liberty.
Voted, That John Phillips, Esq., John Giddinge, Esq., Col. Nicholas Gilman, Mr. Samuel Brooks and Mr. Joseph Gilman, they or any three of them, be a committee to correspond with the committee of Portsmouth, and any and all other committees, in this or the neighboring governments, as they may see occasion ; and that they cause the proceedings of this meeting to be pub- lished in the New Hampshire Gazette as soon as may be.
Voted, That the Committee of Correspondence wait on the dealers in teas in this town, and desire them to desist from pur- chasing any more teas, until the duty thereon is taken off.
Upon the eighteenth of July the town chose as deputies to the first Provincial Congress, John Giddinge, Theophilus Gilman, Nathaniel Folsom, John Phillips and Samnel Gilman, with power to them or any three of them to join in choosing delegates to the Continental Congress ; and voted that ten pounds, lawful money, should be paid by the selectmen towards defraying the expenses of such delegates. The Provincial Congress met on the twenty-first of July at Exeter, and chose Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter, and John Sullivan delegates to the Continental Congress.
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HELP FOR THE SUFFERING POOR OF BOSTON.
The next step taken by Great Britain towards effectually alienat- ing her American subjects, was the passage of the Boston port bill. This measure put an end to all commerce and nearly all business in the principal town of New England, and as a matter of course, caused great distress to the laboring class there, whom it threw out of employment. The warmest sympathy was expressed from all quarters with the oppressed inhabitants of Boston.
In Exeter a town meeting was called to take into consideration " the distressing circumstances of the town of Boston, occasioned by a cruel and arbitrary act of the British Parliament in blocking up their harbor," and to pass a vote to raise money for the relief of the industrious suffering poor of said town.
At the meeting held October 31, 1774, it was resolved to raise by taxation one hundred pounds, lawful money, for the suffering poor of Boston ; with the proviso that "if any person or persons Shall be against paying their proportion of the tax, if they enter their names with the clerk within ten days, they shall be exempted from paying anything of said tax."
The assessment of this sum is set forth on the town books, and to the credit of our fathers it may be said that few, if any, appear to have taken advantage of the clause of exemption. The full amount was promptly collected and paid over to the authorities of the town of Boston.
The following correspondence respecting the gift, is worthy of preservation.
LETTER FROM EXETER TO THE COMMITTEE OF BOSTON.
Gentlemen,
It gives us peculiar satisfaction that we are the happy instruments of conveying relief to the distressed. We send you by the bearer hereof Mr. Carlton, one hundred pounds, which sum was unani- mously and cheerfully voted by this town for our suffering brethren in Boston. The cause for which you now suffer we esteem the common cause of all America ; your prudence and fortitude we admire. That you may be assisted by all the colonies in the present glorious struggle for liberty, and endued with wisdom and patience to persevere to the end is the desire and hearty prayer of your sincere friends.
I have the honor, Gentlemen, in behalf of the selectmen of Exe- ter, to subscribe myself your most humble servant,
SAMUEL BROOKS.
New Hampshire, Exeter, 6th February, 1775.
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REPLY TO EXETER.
BOSTON, February 8, 1775.
Sir,
Our worthy friend Mr. Carlton has just now called in and left with me one hundred pounds, lawful money, a generous dona- tion from the patriotie inhabitants of Exeter for their suffering brethren in Boston. You will please to tender the thanks of the Committee of Donations to our kind benefactors for this mark of their Christian sympathy and affection. The approbation of the past conduct of this greatly oppressed and distressed metropolis affords us great satisfaction, but especially the tender and benevo- lent sentiments expressed in your letter. Prudence and fortitude have doubtless been exhibited, but humility becomes us, and onr thankful acknowledgements are due to God, from whom alone every good gift and every perfect gift is derived, and on Him alone we must constantly depend for all that wisdom, patience and forti- tude, we need in this day of sore trial. By his help and favor we shall persevere, and in the end see the happy accomplishment of all our desires. We hope for the continuance of the prayers, countenance and assistance of our friends. We cannot doubt it since they unitedly consider the cause as common.
Yours and others', our friends' donations will be applied agreea- ble to the intent of the charitable donors. Printed accounts of the conduct of the Committee are now inclosed, and I trust will give satisfaction to all the friends of truth and righteousness.
I am, sir, your obliged friend and humble servant,
DAVID JEFFRIES.
Per order of the Committee of Donations. To SAMUEL BROOKS, ESQ.
At a meeting of the town December 26, 1774, it was voted to adopt the association agreement determined upon by the Continen- tal Congress, and by them recommended to the British colonies, commonly known as the non-importation agreement ; and the following persons were chosen to see that the agreement be strictly adhered to, viz. : Daniel Tilton, Thomas Odiorne, Theophilus Gilman, William Parker, John Emery, Nicholas Gilman, Nathan- iel Folsom, Theodore Carleton, Enoch Poor, Theophilus Smith, Thomas Folsom, Peter Coffin, Samuel Folsom, Joseph Gilman, James Hackett, John Giddinge, Josiah Gilman, Eliphalet Hale, Josiah Robinson, Josiah Barker, Nathaniel Gordon, Ephraim Robinson and Samuel Brooks.
We have information (though the record fails to show it), that at the same meeting a resolution was adopted against the intrusion of pedlers, hawkers and petty chapmen, who obviously could deal
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in the forbidden commodities with little danger of detection. The popular sentiment against violations of the non-importation agree- ment was plainly expressed in a published letter of the time written from Exeter, that if this vote of the town and the law of the province should be ineffectual to prevent them, "it is the opinion of many that an experiment ought to be made of Tar and Feathers !"
At the same meeting the following persons were chosen deputies to represent the town in the (second) Provincial Congress held in Exeter on the twenty-fifth of January, 1775 : Nathaniel Folsom, Theophilus Gilman, Nicholas Gilman, William Parker and John Giddinge. By that congress John Sullivan and John Langdon were elected delegates to the Continental Congress.
Throughout the year events were hurrying on to a crisis. Three other congresses of the province assembled in Exeter in 1775. The first of these met on the twenty-first of April. Exeter was represented in it by Nathaniel Folsom, Nicholas Gilman, John Giddinge, Theophilus Gilman and Enoch Poor. On the seven- teenth of May another like convention of deputies of the people opened its session. The delegates of the town were Nathaniel Folsom, Nicholas Gilman and Enoch Poor ; but when the first and last of these were summoned into the military service, a new elec- tion was held June 26, to supply their places. John Giddinge and Theophilus Gilman were chosen. The latter desired to be excused, because he was elected " against his consent," and Noah Emery, and afterwards Samuel Brooks were selected " to serve six months, if necessary."
This body was kept alive, by repeated adjournments, till the fifteenth of November, and in its recesses the provincial committee of safety was in continual session, in Exeter.
It was from this Congress, it is alleged, that the earliest official suggestion of national independence emanated. Matthew Thorn- ton, its president, in a " noble letter " to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, bearing date May 23, 1775, held this language :
We will not conceal that many among us are disposed to conclude, that the voice of God and Nature to us, since the late hostile design and conduct of Great Britain, is, that we are bound to look to our whole political affairs.
TIIE CENSUS OF 1775.
On the twenty-fifth of August, 1775, the Provincial Congress recommended to the selectmen of the several towns and places in
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the colony, to take the exact number of all the inhabitants therein, and make return of the same in several columns as specified ; and also to report the number of fire-arms and the stock of powder in each place.
The return made by the selectmen of Exeter was as follows :
Males under 16 years of age
401
Males from 16 years to 50 not in the army 273
All males above 50 years of age
86
Persons gone in the army
51
All females
892
Negroes and slaves for life
38
Fire arms
193
Fire arms wanting
150
Powder
804 lbs.
Town stock of powder
50 lbs.
SAMUEL BROOKS -
THEODORE CARLETON
Selectmen of
PETER COFFIN JUN.
EPHM ROBINSON
Exeter.
6 October 1775, Sworn to before Zaccheus Clough, Just. Peace.
THE EARLIEST WRITTEN CONSTITUTION.
The authority of the king's officers having come to an end, the need of a regular and stable system of government in New Hampshire had now become so urgent, that in October the province made application to the Continental Congress for advice and direction what course they ought to adopt. The answer of the Congress, given in November, was a recommendation in substance that a full and free representation of the people should be called, to establish, if thought necessary, a form of government such as should best promote the welfare of the province, during the contin- uance of the dispute with Great Britain.
In pursuance of this advice a fifth Provincial Congress was summoned, to be composed of persons having real estate in the province to the value of five hundred pounds each, to meet at Exe- ter on the twenty-first day of December, and to serve for one year, to transact such business and pursue such measures as they might judge necessary for the public good; and in case there should be a recommendation from the Continental Congress that the colony assume government in any particular form, which would require a House of Representatives, to resolve themselves into such a House as the Continental Congress should recommend.
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HISTORY OF EXETER.
John Giddinge and Noah Emery were selected as delegates of Exeter, without specific instructions.
This last provincial representation of New Hampshire came together on the day appointed, and spent the first two weeks of their session in disposing of preliminary matters, in order that time might be allowed for deliberate consideration before acting upon the momentous question of " taking up government," as the phrase of the day was.
Then, everything being made ready, on the fifth day of Janu- ary, 1776, the delegates, in pursuance of the powers committed to them by their constituents, resolved themselves into a House of Representatives ; adopted a WRITTEN CONSTITUTION, THE FIRST OF EITHER OF THE UNITED STATES ; elected under it the needful legis- lative, judicial and executive officers ; and thus New Hampshire became, in effect, free and independent of the British Crown.
CHAPTER IV.
EXETER UNDER THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
THE Constitution adopted by New Hampshire in the early part of 1776, though in some respects imperfect, as might naturally have been expected, being the first of its kind, yet served the purposes of the people sufficiently well until it was superseded by a more complete instrument, framed about the close of the Revo- lution.
Exeter, by the census of 1775, containing seventeen hundred and forty-one inhabitants, had become practically the capital of the State, the seat of government, and the centre of all civil and military activity in New Hampshire.
There is little upon the records of the town to show that the people had become sovereign, except that new safeguards were set up against the selection of unsuitable persons for public office. The members of the council, for example, were required to be respectable freeholders, and no man could sit in either house of the Legislature who had treated electors with liquor to gain their votes. The people evidently valued at its true worth the privilege of governing themselves, which they were paying so heavy a price to secure.
THE ASSOCIATION TEST OF 1776.
The Continental Congress resolved on the fourteenth of March, 1776, to recommend to the several Assemblies or Committees of Safety of the United Colonies immediately to cause to be disarmed all persons within their respective colonies who were notoriously disaffected to the cause of America, or who refused to associate to defend by arms the United Colonies against the hostile attempts of the British fleets and armies.
The Committee of Safety of New Hampshire in order to carry this resolve into execution, on the twelfth of April, 1776, sent circulars to the selectmen of the several towns and places in the
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HISTORY OF EXETER.
colony, requesting them to desire all males above twenty-one years of age (lunaties, idiots and negroes excepted) to sign the following declaration, and, when that should be done, to make return thereof together with the names of all who should refuse to sign the same, to the General Assembly or Committee of Safety of the colony. The declaration was in these words :
We the subscribers do hereby solemnly engage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our power, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, with arms oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies against the United American Colonies.
It is a matter of deep regret that the complete return from Exe- ter has not been preserved. At least three hundred names, and probably more, must have been reported, for or against the patri- otic declaration, but all except those upon a single sheet, forty- eight only, are lost. The names preserved are here given. From what is known of the sentiments of the voters of the town it is believed that the number of those refusing to sign might be counted on the fingers of one hand, with some to spare.
Josiah Beal
Samuel Folsom Gilman William Odlin John Patten
John Bond
Zebulon Gilman
John Cartee
Nathaniel Gordon
Samuel Quimby
Benjamin Cram
Daniel Grant
Jos. Rollins
Stephen [Creighton?]
Samuel Harris
David Smith
Thomas Dolloff
Jonathan Hopkinson
Theophilus Smith
Noah Emery
Kinsley H. James Joseph Stacey
Gerould Fitz Gerould.
Benjamin Kimball
Benjamin Swasey
Josiah Folsom
Robert Kimball
Joseph Swasey
Bartholomew Gale
Edward Ladd
Joseph Thing
Eliphalet Giddinge
Joseph Lamson
Stephen Thing
John Giddinge
Samuel Lamson
Winthrop Thing Thomas Tyler
David Gilman
Thomas Lyford Dudley Watson
Joseph Gilman
Benjamin Morse
Josiah Weeks
Josiah Gilman, Jr.
Habertus Neale
Josiah Wyatt
John Giddinge, Jr.
Robert Lord
FIRST READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
A little more than seven months after New Hampshire had " taken up government," a scene was witnessed in Exeter which is worthy of a brief description.
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HISTORY OF EXETER.
Hostilities had been waged between Great Britain and the United Colonies for more than a year, and the foolish obstinacy of the king forbade all hopes of reconciliation on terms that Ameri- cans could submit to without disgrace. Even the conservative and the timid had begun to think of "independency " as something within the range of possibility, while the ardent sons of liberty chafed at the delay in shaking off the yoke of allegiance to the mother conntry. We have already seen that the subject had been mooted long before in the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire.
The leading men of Exeter and of the State government were fully prepared, and even anxious, for the final step of separation. Both honses of the Legislature had united in instructions " to our delegates in the Continental Congress to join with the other colo- nies in declaring the thirteen United Colonies free and independent States ; solemnly pledging onr faith and honor that we will on onr parts support the measure with our lives and fortunes."
From this time forward all was impatience in Exeter to learn the action of the Continental Congress on the momentous question. At lengthi, on the eighteenth day of July, 1776, the wished for news arrived. A courier rode into the village, bringing with him a packet addressed to the chief executive of New Hampshire, containing the immortal Declaration of American Independence, under the authentication of John Hancock, president of Congress.
As soon as its contents were ascertained, it was determined that the paper should be publicly read to the citizens, forthwith. The Legislature had adjourned, but the Committee of Safety were in session. The tidings circulated through the town with lightning rapidity. Men, women and children dropped their employments, and gathered abont the court-house, to listen to the words that made them free.
John Taylor Gilman was chosen for the signal honor of reading for the first time in the capital of the State, the charter of Ameri- can freedom. Prominent among his hearers were Meshech Weare, the President of the State, Matthew Thornton, who was himself a few months later to set his hand to the Declaration, General Nathaniel Folsom, Colonel Pierse Long and Dr. Ebenezer Thomp- son, all sterling patriots and members of the Committee of Safety. There too was Colonel Nicholas Gilman, the New Hampshire financier of the Revolution and the right hand of the executive. He had ardently longed for the time when independence should be proclaimed, and now he was to hear, from the lips of his son, that the hour had struck.
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HISTORY OF EXETER.
As soon as his hastily gathered audience had assembled, the youthful reader began his grateful task. We can imagine with what bated breath all listened for the first time to that impressive statement of the causes which led America to take up arms. The clear tones in which the eloquent periods were enunciated never faltered, until the masterly climax was reached, when the rush of patriotic feeling became too great for speech, and for a moment the reader was compelled to pause, to regain the power of utter- ance.
Often as the charter of our liberties has been since repeated in Exeter, in times of national trial and of national prosperity, it was never listened to with more devout thankfulness, greater faith, or more honest pride than on this, its first reading.
THE EVILS OF A PAPER CURRENCY.
The colonies committed the often repeated mistake of attempt- ing to carry on a war by means of bills of credit. The result was a rapid inflation of the prices of all the necessaries of life, which the people vainly attempted to control, by legislation.
On May 5, 1777, a meeting of the town was called " to regulate and aflix the prices of goods and other articles, for said town, and to do and act in all affairs agreeable to the directions of an act of this State passed the tenth day of April last." The following persons were chosen a committee to make report upon said matters : Eliphalet Hale, Josiah Barker, David Fogg, Samuel Folson, Joseph Lamson, Josiah Gilman, Peter Coffin and Samuel Brooks. No report of their doings is upon record, but it is safe to say that any plan they could have devised, short of a complete change of the circulating medium, would have been inadequate to relieve the financial troubles of the time.
On May 11, 1778, the town chose Nathaniel Folsom, Samuel Hobart and John Pickering delegates to the convention to be held at Concord on the tenth of June following, to form a permanent plan of government for the State.
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