USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Jaffrey > History of the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, from the date of the Masonian charter to the present time, 1749-1880 : with a genealogical register of the Jaffrey families, and an appendix containing the proceedings of the centennial celebration in 1873 > Part 37
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
The expenses of the celebration were paid by subscription, as will herein be shown.
A letter of invitation was issued by the committee, print- ed on eight hundred postal cards, copied as follows :
" JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
"The One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the town of Jaffrey, N. H., occurs this year. It is pro- posed to celebrate the event on the twentieth day of August, with appropriate ceremonies. The Sons and Daughters of Jaffrey, and all former residents, are cordially invited to be present and take part in commemorating the day.
FRANKLIN H. CUTTER, ADDISON PRESCOTT, BENJAMIN PIERCE, JULIUS CUTTER, GEO. A. UNDERWOOD, LEWIS L. PIERCE,
Committee of
Arrangements.
JAFFREY, July 26, 1873."
This letter was, by the committee, sent to all parts of the country, to former residents of the town.
As the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town occurred on Sunday, August 17, it was decided to celebrate on the Wednesday following.
The day proved favorable. At an early hour, from all quarters, crowds assembled at the place of meeting, to the number of five thousand or more. Many friendly and hearty greetings were passed between those who had long
534
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
been separated, and were now permitted to take each other by the hand.
A mammoth tent, covering 150 by 60 feet of ground, was erected in close connection to the "old-town house." An ample platform, measuring forty by fifteen feet, was covered by a nice piano, large reporters' table, and settees for one hundred and fifty persons,-the "auditorium" proper having seats for more than three thousand people.
"THE DAY'S DOINGS."
The component parts of a long and eye-pleasing proces- sion,-Captain George A. Underwood, chief-marshal ; J. W. Fassett, J. C. Rice, H. B. Wheeler, assistants,-formed at three different points. Having been brought together on time, it moved from the vicinity of J. T. Bigelow's store at 9 A. M., in the following order : I. Peterborough cavalry company, Capt. D. M. White, fifty-five men; 2. East Jaffrey Cornet Band, G. W. Capen, leader, twenty pieces ; 3. Con- toocook fire engine company, Liberty Town, foreman, forty uniforms ; 4. President of the day, orator, toast-master, and chaplain ; 5. The vice-presidents ; 6. Committee of arrange- ments ; 7. Invited guests expected to respond to sentiments ; 8. Choir, marshalled by J. S. Lacy, thirty strong ; 9. Loyal veterans, Lieut. Wm. Robbins, commander ; 10. Four-horse wagon with four generations of the Rice family, and a ban- ner lettered "Mrs. Dorcas Rice, 104 yrs., the oldest lady in New Hampshire ;" II. Twenty-three young ladies (conducted by John E. Baldwin), representing Cheshire county by carry- ing elegant banners, each respectively inscribed with the name of a single town ; 12. Teachers and scholars of thirteen district schools, with handsomely mottoed and numbered standards ; 13. Citizens generally. Having marched and countermarched perhaps a half mile, the procession (except the cavalry, which left for East Jaffrey depot to escort soon- to-arrive members of the Boston city government) entered
Franklin & Butter
4
535
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
the tent, which proved of insufficient capacity for the occa- sion, many hundreds being obliged, nolens volens, to remain outside. Precisely at ten o'clock Chief-Marshal Underwood felicitously introduced Franklin H. Cutter, Esq., president of the day, who forcibly enunciated the subjoined
ADDRESS OF WELCOME.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I congratulate you upon this eventful occasion-this celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Jaffrey. I congratulate you at our re-union, under so favorable circum- stances, here at the foot of old time-worn Monadnock. Since that incorporation day, one hundred years ago, which bears the prominent place on the pages of our town's history, this earth has made thirty-six thousand five hundred and twenty-four daily revolutions ; and ofttimes has the morn- ing sun kissed the brow of Grand Old Monadnock, nature's pride, lighting up the hills with rosy glow, then beaming down into the valleys draped with shadows, till nature has changed her sable robe of night for that of the sun's molten, golden light. Then came the mid-day, with all its meridian glory, and as many times that sun has cast its evening shades on the hillsides, and left its last ray on that same mountain's brow, reflecting upon the sky most gorgeous hues of flame-color and crimson, imperceptibly deepening into the purple tinge of evening.
To the sons and daughters of those who have occupied these granite hills in days gone by,-the statesman, the lawyer, the preacher, the doctor,-and to all those in every station of life, coming from the colder climes of the North, from the South, where the orange-trees in fragrance bloom, from the East, where the angry Atlantic lashes the rock- bound shore with its turbulent waters, from the broad prairies of the West, dotted here and there with mammoth fields of wheat, corn, and other grain, on to the shores of
536
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
the mighty Pacific,-we give you all a most cordial welcome upon this festival day to our hearths, where the fire goeth not out, and hospitality ever reigneth,-to the homes of your ancestors, the places of your childhood about which so many tender recollections cluster, as we sing,-
" How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view ;
The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew ; The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it, The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell ;
The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it, And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well."
We welcome you back to witness the beautiful scenery of Jaffrey ; to look upon our mountain in all its magnificence and grandeur ; to follow its winding streams, and from their pure waters catch the spotted trout suited to the most fas- tidious taste ; to walk in the old graveyard and gaze upon those tombstones which denote the spot where our fathers rest.
Our neighbors and friends, we welcome you to participate in the festivities of this occasion. We give you all a friendly gripe of the hand, invite you to take part in this centennial celebration, and thank God that we are here to speak one to another of days gone by, and spend a short time together with the memories of Auld Lang Syne. May blessings rest upon this day and the town of Jaffrey, her sons and daughters, through all coming centuries.
Applause having subsided, the band played " Keller's American Hymn" in good style, when Rev. Rufus Case, pastor of the First Congregational Church, at Jaffrey Cen- tre, offered an excellent prayer, after which the choir, led by Prof. George Foster, of Keene, harmoniously vocalized an original
537
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
SONG OF WELCOME.
BY MISS ALMEDA M. SMITH.
Back from the prairied West, Dear kindred, welcome home ! This native soil you blest, Ere tempted far to roam. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
Back from the South's fair land, Back from the holly's shade, Welcome to join our band, From every hill and glade. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
O'er Ocean's waters blue We bid you come once more; Our hearts are faithful, true, As in the days of yore. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills,
Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
Come, join our festal throng, 'Neath stern Monadnock's brow ; Our hearts to-day are strong In friendship pure, I trow. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
A century ago Your fathers trod this soil; The gray old rocks we know Bear witness of their toil. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
With thankful hearts we bow To God, our Father, Friend, That here we meet e'en now, And our glad greetings blend. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
538
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
We welcome you again To your dear native land ; Join in our sweet refrain With voice and heart and hand. Welcome to Jaffrey's granite hills, Her rocky vales and sparkling rills.
President Cutter then came forward and said,-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It is with great satisfaction that I have the pleasure of introducing to you, as orator of the day, a native of Jaffrey. The venerable gentleman has lived nearly half a score of years more than the number allotted to man, and is thoroughly acquainted with the early history of this town. He has served his native state, New Hampshire, as chief-justice, for a series of years, and to him the jurists of our state have looked for counsel. He has also been a guiding star in the legal profession of our sister state where he now resides. Well can we afford to listen at this time to the Hon. Joel Parker, of Cambridge, Mass., whom I now introduce to you.
CENTENNIAL ADDRESS.
BY HON. JOEL PARKER, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Fellow-Citizens, Friends, Ladies, and Gentlemen :
Some threescore years since, a favorite piece for declama- tion by the junior schoolboys commenced with this couplet :
" You'd scarce expect one of my age To speak in public on the stage."
When I received the invitation of the committee of ar- rangements to deliver an address at the close of a century, more than three quarters of which I represent, so far as years are concerned, in my own person, I was forcibly re- minded of this schoolboy exercise, and strongly tempted, reversing its significance, to make it the basis of my reply.
Very truly yours
Joel Parker
539
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
But the afterthought was, that upon such occasions remi- niscences are generally acceptable, even if they are trivial ; and that, perhaps, urged by such a complimentary requisi- tion, I owed it to the town of my birth to waive my claim to exemption, make my " last appearance " on this occasion, and tell what I know, little though it may be, of its early history.
Little enough it is, in fact, for the years of my early youth were passed in the remote seclusion of the north- eastern corner of the township ; and with only a few inter- vening years in the Centre, my personal knowledge respect- ing its people and its affairs has been only through occa- sional visits.
If " sixty years since " I had had even a remote suspicion that I might stand here to-day to discourse respecting the first inhabitancy of this town and its incorporation, I would have come to you this morning with a portfolio full of nota- tions respecting its ancient history. Having no such pre- monition, many of the incidents of its early days have escaped from my grasp, and the sources from which alone information respecting them could have been derived are gone forever. The century which is commemorated has, in the course of nature, carried away the fathers who saw the inception of the settlement here, with those who immedi- ately followed and were conversant with things done and transacted within its borders.
Even in regard to a much later date, a few only of that period seem to stand, somewhat like the servants of Job, who came from different quarters and said, one after another, "I alone am escaped to tell thee ;" and doubtful upon whom I should charge the duty of having greater knowledge than I ought to have respecting the first half of the century, and thereby release myself from the conscrip- tion by presenting a substitute, my conclusion, at last, led me, in obedience to the requisition, to come before you at the present time, and ask your indulgence for the deficien-
540
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
cies which you will perceive in what I have to offer for your acceptance.
The great antiquity of the township where we are assem- bled does not admit of a doubt. It seems to be the better opinion that, in the creation of the world, granite was first formed. We are assured that granite appears to be the fun- damental rock of the earth's crust, and that " wherever we reach the base of the stratified rocks we find them resting upon granite." This being so, it follows that New Hamp- shire is entitled to the credit of being part of the earliest creation. And that Jaffrey had a larger interest in that creation than any of her neighbors is shown by the fact, that on the subsequent partition the larger portion of the Monadnock was assigned to her.
It is one of the jests about Father Sprague, as he was called, long the minister of Dublin, that, discoursing one day upon faith, and quoting the passage of Scripture re- specting its power to remove mountains, he turned his eye through the window to the mass of granite in full view, and expressed a doubt whether that applied to the Monadnock.
If there have been any very great changes in the struct- ure of the earth here since the period of creation, they are not chronicled. The Monadnock exhibits no evidence of disturbance, by faith or by volcanic influences. The only fires have been upon its exterior surface. At the settle- ment of the township it must have been covered nearly to its summit with a dense forest. Some of my earliest recol- lections are of fires on its sides, which furnished pillars of smoke by day and of fire by night, sufficient to have guided the children of Israel, if their path to the Promised Land had lain in this vicinity. These fires left a tangled windfall, and a "bald rock," as it was called, at the top, which was perhaps bare before that time. Possibly they are responsi- ble, in some measure, for my inability to hunt up a re- spectable bear story, as a part of the minor history of the town.
541
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
But if the mountain has not changed its local habi- tation, the town has its geologic and historic problem of a different character, in the meadow lying just east of this village. Some twenty years since, in one of my occa- sional visits to Jaffrey, I found Dr. Fox engaged in remov- ing large pine stumps, with roots of great size and length, from his portion of the meadow, on the westerly side; and he showed me, at the distance of a rod or two from the up- land, small pieces of wood bearing evidence of having been cut by the beavers, and supposed to be parts of a beaver- dam, taken from a depth of some five feet below the surface. There were sticks of yellow birch and of alder, about three or four inches in diameter, cut at the ends by a grooved instrument.
It was not surprising that the beavers should have had a habitation in that vicinity. In fact, recent inquiries show that this town must have been a favorite locality with them. But it was a mystery how, in the present conformation of the land, there could have been a beaver-dam in that spot. Recently it was determined to have a further examination, and it was soon ascertained that there had been a beaver- dam at the outlet of the meadow, on the south-east, near Mr. Cutter's tannery, in the place which any sagacious beaver might have designated for a dam; and the conclu- sion was readily reached that what had been discovered by Dr. Fox was the remains of a beavers' cabin, on the west- erly shore of the pond which must have been formed by this dam. And so it proved. Selecting a spot a short distance from that opened by Dr. Fox, we struck another cabin, shown clearly to be such, by finding the beavers' bed, composed of small twigs, leaves, and grass, well constructed in layers, the general color being of a light orange when taken out, but becoming dark very soon on exposure to the air. Many of the leaves were of perfect form, so that the kinds could be distinguished ; and a small beech-nut was
542
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
found between the sheets, probably not stowed away for use, but taken up with the leaves in forming the bed.
All mystery about the formation of a beaver-dam was solved, but there was a marvel remaining. The beavers' bed was about seven feet below the surface, and when made must have been in a dry position, and above the surface of a pond. By what process of accretion had this pond been filled, and some seven feet of mud deposited above the bed ? On testing the depth of the mud with a pole, it was found to be about thirteen feet. In the centre of the meadow it must be much more. The surrounding hills, at the present time, do not give evidence that great aid in filling could have been derived from them, indicating that the basin must have filled itself, to a great extent, from its own resources. Sufficient material must perhaps have been washed in for the commencement of the process.
Dr. Fox states, that, in clearing his meadow of these stumps and roots, he dug down into the mud in some places to the depth of ten feet ; and that he found three tiers of large pine stumps, perhaps none directly over the others, but on three different levels,-one at the surface, the second about a foot below the bottom roots of the first, and the third about the same distance below the second, bringing the third about on the level with the beavers' cabin. The trees were very large pines, generally three or four feet in diameter, and similar in the several tiers.
This statement is supplemented by Benjamin Cutter, Esq., who says that in clearing his part of the meadow he dug cross ditches, and that at the intersection he found three large stumps in a perpendicular line-the upper one directly above the other two-the two upper of pines, one to two feet in diameter-the lower apparently of birch, and about one foot-and that there were pine stumps at the surface, near or quite four feet in diameter, within, prob- ably, ten rods.
That trees grow and decay is no marvel. But three suc-
543
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
cessive generations of them, so to speak, situated on the same spot, and attaining this gigantic size, and on such a wet soil, formed to a great extent by their own decay, are not often seen or heard of-never before, to my knowl- edge.
Centuries seem to be comprised in this problem. Pine trees four feet in diameter do not grow in a short period, and when grown it requires some time to resolve them, by a natural process of decay, into good meadow mud, capable of sustaining another like growth.
I can hardly assign less than five hundred years-perhaps it may be a thousand-as a time when this beaver's cabin was erected, and his bed made. How much longer, and how many tiers of pine trees there may have been below those discovered, is not very material.
If any one is disposed to cavil about the exact period, I have no objection to discount a century or so ; but I cannot consent to give up any of the stumps, because, as they stand, or, rather, stood, the town may stump all the towns in the region round about to show anything bigger of that description.
It needs not that I should say to you that it was perse- vering industry and diligent hard labor which subdued the forest here, and converted so large a portion of the township into reasonably fertile fields.
It must be admitted that the surface is somewhat un- even : I should be unwilling to apply the term rough to the township, or to any body or thing connected with it. And there are some stones scattered here and there, notwith- standing the "heaps of 'em" piled up in the fields, in times past, by the boys, somewhat to their disgust when they wanted to "go a-fishing."
But this is a world of compensations. Pure air, pure water, and good drainage are conducive to good health and good morals ; and it is but just to say that this is a place where a man, under ordinary circumstances may expect to
544
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
"live out half his days," and even something more, if careful about his habits.
A party to ascend the Monadnock, after " haying time," was one of the recreations many years since ; but who could then imagine that our beloved town, with its uneven surface, would become a celebrated resort for the seekers after health, and for the lovers of quiet and of the picturesque, and that the writers of prose, and eke of poetry, would come hither, not merely to get a larger view of the world than they ever had before, but to make it a dwelling and a habi- tation, and a shelter against the heats of summer, and per- haps the storms of adverse fortune .*
Respecting the minor incidents of the early history of the town, little can now be known, for the reasons suggested. It is said that there were settlers here prior to seventeen hundred and forty-nine. If so, they were occupants without even color of title, and doubtless did not remain. If we desire to derive a title otherwise than from the original granite, we may trace it through the Right in the Crown of Great Britain by Discovery ; the grant of King James I to the Council of Plymouth, in the county of Devon, in England; the grant of that corporation to Capt. John Mason ; a devise by him to his grandson, Robert Tufton, who took the name of Mason; thence as an entailed estate, through several descents, to his great-grandson, John Tufton Mason ; and after a recovery, his conveyance in 1746 to Theodore Atkinson and eleven other persons, who afterwards became known as the "Masonian proprietors."
Acting under a vote of these Masonian proprietors, passed
*I note, however, that the inducements to the traveller to "stop over" may not, within the law, be in all respects quite as numerous as those held out by a poetical landlord who kept a tavern north of Keene village, some three quarters of a century since. They ran in this wise :
"Why will ye pass by, both hungry and dry? Good brandy, good gin, please to walk in ; Good baiting, good bedding,-
Your humble servant, Thomas Redding."
545
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
June 16, 1749, Joseph Blanchard, of Dunstable, as their agent, on the thirtieth of November of that year, conveyed to Jonathan Hubbard and thirty-nine others all the right, possession, and property of the proprietors to this township, then called the Middle Monadnock, or Number Two,-sev- eral of the grantees taking more than one share, the number of shares being in fact fifty .* The deed contained a provi- sion by which the land should be divided into seventy-one shares, three shares being "granted and appropriated, free of all charge, one for the first settled minister," "one for the support of the ministry, and one for the school there forever,"+ the grantors reserving for themselves eighteen shares, acquitted from all duty and charge until improved. And it was provided that each share contain three lots, equitably coupled together, and drawn for, at, or before the first of July next, in some equitable manner.
One of the provisions of the deed was, that each of the grantees should, at the executing of the instrument, pay twenty pounds old tenor, to defray the necessary charges arisen and arising in said township .¿
*See NOTE I, at the end of this address.
+Grants of townships by the Governor and Council, outside of the limits of the Masonian proprietors, sometimes contained provisions giving shares to the Church of England, and to The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, with a large share for His Excellency personally.
#The actual amount to be paid was but a small proportion of the nominal sum thus set down,-the old tenor being a paper currency issued long before, by the Province, which, not having been redeemed according to its tenor, had greatly depreciated. Massachusetts had three emissions of paper currency, which became known as old tenor, middle tenor, and new tenor. The old tenor had depreciated, in 1753, so that twenty shillings of it were worth only two shillings eight pence lawful money. It may be safely inferred that the currency of New Hampshire was not better. Probably it was worse. Belknap, speaking of a controversy between Governor Benning Wentworth and the Assembly, in 1749, respecting the representation of the towns, says .--- " The effect of this controversy was injurious to the governor as well as to the people. The public bills of credit had depreciated since this administration began, in the ratio of thirty to fifty-six, and the value of the governor's salary had declined in the same proportion."
36
546
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
There are conditions respecting clearing, building, and settlement, to be performed within certain specified times, by the several grantees,-a condition that a good, conven- ient meeting house should be built, as near the centre as might be with convenience, within six years from date, and ten acres of land reserved for public use ; another, that the grantees, or their assignees, by a major vote, in public meet- ing, should grant and assess such further sums as they should think necessary for carrying forward the settlement, with a provision for the sale of so much of any delinquent's right as should be necessary for the payment of a tax, by a committee appointed for that purpose ; and a further provi- sion, that if any of the grantees should neglect or refuse to peform any of the articles, he should forfeit his share and right to those of the grantees who should have complied on their part, with power to enter upon the right of the delin- quent owner, and oust him, provided they should perform his duty as he should have done, within a year.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.