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 44
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
" They who stand around your grave Will rank you nobly." T
Sentiment No. II : " Jaffrey-Her Past and Her Present." Response by Dr. Daniel B. Cutter, of Peterborough, N. H.
MR. PRESIDENT : It affords me great pleasure to meet you and my former associates here to-day. Few indeed are our numbers, so few that in this vast congregation here as- sembled I recognize only here and there a familiar face. Time has made such sad inroad into our numbers, that to-day I feel like a stranger in my own native town. The old church, the place where our fathers worshipped in gone- by days, now stands, a memorial of its former greatness, but the sound of the gospel is there no longer heard. Minister and people lie buried together in yonder graveyard, silent in the sleep of death. Forever sacred be their ashes! To commemorate the doings of these men is the occasion of our meeting here to-day. A little more than one hundred years ago, the place on which we now stand, and its sur- roundings as far as the eye can reach, were an unbroken forest. On the banks of the Contoocook grew the lofty pine, while on the hills and in the valleys grew a variety of hard wood, fir, and hemlock : the mountain, which now pre- sents a bare rock, was covered with spruce. From its side flowed numerous rippling streams, which, after passing through bog and swamp, united their flowing waters and formed the Contoocook river. The inhabitants of this then wild domain were the moose, the deer, the bear, and the
624
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
wolf, together with the wild turkey and the partridge. The streams were filled with trout, and the ponds with pickerel. Over this wild domain, in majestic grandeur, then clad with fir, now bald with age, peered the lofty Monadnock, survey- ing the vast territory around, watching the progress of events as the white man, here and there, made inroads in his wild domain. Such was Jaffrey, when, in 1752, Moses Stickney, Richard Peabody, and seven others made an at- tempt at settlement in the south-east part of the town. Through fear of the Indians they all soon left, except one of their number, known as Captain Platts. During their stay, on Dec. 9, 1753, Moses Stickney had a son born, whose name was Simon, who is supposed to be the first white child born in Jaffrey. He never after resided there, but returned with his father to Boxford, Mass., and, on ma- turity, settled in Holden, and afterwards removed to New Haven, Vt., and died in 1791. He left three daughters.
The next attempt at settlement was made by a colony of hardy adventurers from Londonderry, encouraged probably by their brethren, who had previously made a settlement in Peterborough, an adjoining township. But few of these, however, had the hardihood to remain as permanent settlers. After enduring the hardships and privations of a pioneer life for a time, they sold their rights to a Massachusetts colony, mostly from Essex and Middlesex counties. These were the men who, on the 14th of September, 1773, met and organized the town. This was done by virtue of a charter granted by His Excellency John Wentworth, then govern- or of the province of New Hampshire, and council, at Portsmouth, August 17, 1773, who changed the original name, Middle Monadnock No. 2, to Jaffrey, in honor of George Jaffrey, Esq., one of the original proprietors. The first town-meeting was held at the house of Francis Wright, inn-keeper, situated on lot No. 14, range 8. A second meeting was held at the same place, on the 28th of the same month, and £80 L. M. was voted for the repairing of roads, and £6
625
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
L. M. for preaching. No church was then built. They had preaching, probably in some private house. The next year, 1774, the town voted to build a meeting-house. Voted to raise said house in June, 1775. This was the first year of the Revolutionary War : one battle had already been fought, another was pending. Sixteen of their men were in the field, and, while raising the church, it is said the sound of the cannon was heard from Bunker Hill. Actuated by a sense of duty they did not despond, but readily obeyed the call of their country. Men, money, provisions, and muni- tions of war were promptly furnished ; and when we learn that a town of only 351 inhabitants furnished seventy-two men during the war, we cannot be surprised at their success in that war. During seven long and perilous years they met the requirements of their country, and, through the blessing of God, triumphed at last, and laid the foundation of her future greatness. We, their descendants, may well feel proud of such fathers, and mothers too, who, if they were not on the battle-field, were in other fields, doing no less glorious service for their God and their country. Dur- ing all this period of war and suffering the church was not only raised, but so far completed as to be made use of for public worship. With the men of that time a neglect of re- ligious duty would have been fatal, in their minds, to their success in battle. They relied on the God of heaven, and acted under a sense of his presence, feeling sure of victory only through his aid and with his blessing.
In 1780 a church was organized, and on December II, 1782, the Rev. Laban Ainsworth was ordained their pastor, who, during an extraordinarily long life, ministered to the wants of this people in all matters pertaining to religious duty. In person he was of medium height, in appearance dignified, in deportment affable, which, together with an in- tellectual superiority, enabled him to command the love and respect of his fellow-men. He was the ruling power of the church, the district school, and, I might say, the town.
41
626
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
For a long series of years he was the superintending school committee, whose frequent visits and sage counsel I well remember. In the early days of the town, the education of their children was a matter of interest. In 1775, £8 lawful money was voted for a school. No school-houses were then built. Where the school was taught is a matter of conject- ure. School-houses, school-teachers, and school-books were rare things in those days. The Bible, the psalm-book, and the primer were almost the only books in their posses- sion. With such means, it must have required the ingenu- ity of a mother to teach their children to read. The spell- ing-book, reader, and arithmetic at length made their appearance. With a determination admirable, and patience remarkable, they overcame every obstacle, established schools, educated their children, furnished the world with twenty-five college graduates, besides many more who quali- fied themselves for a professional life by an academical edu- cation. Jaffrey has furnished pastors for the church, counsellors for the bar, and physicians for the sick. One of her sons has been honored with the seat of chief-justice in his own state, while another is a distinguished missionary in Ceylon.
The clouds of war at length pass away : the sunshine of peace blesses the land. The farmer returns to the plough, the mechanic to his work-shop, the merchant to his counter ; the swords are beaten into ploughshares and bayonets into reaping-hooks, and the people hope to learn war no more.
A new era has now commenced. The foot-paths gradual- ly become passable roads ; the rude cabin a framed house ; the thatched hovel a commodious barn ; the forest falls -upon its ashes the fertile field and the green meadows ap- pear. The little school-house is seen here and there by the side of the road. Grist-mills, saw-mills, stores, and tav- erns, showing trade and travel, are now becoming common. Wheel-carriages take the place of the saddle and the pillion : the whole family can now ride to church. The turnpike,
627
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
the wonder of the age, is now built, opening the way for a stage-coach from Boston to Walpole and back, twice a week, which, in its turn, affords not only means of conveyance for passengers, but for a mail also, which is established,-and a post-office, too : letters can now be sent and received. The sons and daughters abroad can exchange letters with their parents at home, and, to clap the climax, they can now take a newspaper, one being published at Keene in 1799.
The town is now in a healthy, thriving condition ; all of the necessaries and conveniences of life are at command. The farmer can now sleep undisturbed by the howl of the wolf, prowling around for the destruction of his flock ; his herd and flock are safe in the field by night as well as by day,-no more herding or folding necessary. He is indeed lord of his own domain, independent of all monopolies.
We have now reached the present century, the age of scientific research, the age of invention, the age of high in- tellectual culture and refinement. The winds and the waves now obey the dictate of man, and are made subservient to his wishes. The lightning, too, at his command, carries in- telligence at his bidding. Head-work is the order of the day, and bodily labor discreditable. No means are spared in the culture of the intellect, and hardly any used for the improvement of the moral and physical organization. Great- ness has left the seat of goodness, and now sits in the lap of ease and luxury. We are now showered with blessings, but, like Rome of old, are we not in danger of the Goths and Vandals ? Will not the extravagance of our times, so de- structive to our offspring, open wide the door for the en- trance of another race that will supplant us? Or do we look forward, with the expectation of Abraham of old, that our children and our children's children are to be the pos- sessors of this gift of their fathers through all coming gen- erations? Do we rely on our intelligence ?- so did Rome on hers. Do we rely on our own goodness ?- so did the chil- dren of Abraham on theirs. Both fell! By obeying the
628
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
precepts of the Lord our fathers were blessed, and we, their descendants, can receive the same blessing only by the same obedience. May we, then, emulate their virtues, and render due obedience to the precepts of our Heavenly Father.
Sentiment No. 12: "The Homes of our Youth." Re- sponse by Rev. Andrew O. Warren, of Montrose, Pa.
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FELLOW- TOWNSMEN : I do not come forward to make a speech at this hour, for I have none written. But I did think this morning that possibly I might find one here already written at my hands. If I were to speak at all, you would find that I was good in dispersing a crowd in that way.
But allow me to congratulate you, fellow-townsmen, at this time, for the grand history of the past one hundred years that is closed by this anniversary, and for its grander prophecy for the next century. I feel it to be one of the proudest days of my life that I am permitted to be here, and to acknowledge this as my native place. Here, indeed, are "the dear homes of our youth." Here we began our very being, and laid the foundation for every superstructure : we have our record, morally, socially, intellectually, and spiritually. My native place was in school-district No. 4, and I hope I never have, nor shall be permitted to dishonor it. Well do I remember some of the old people in that sec- tion of the town, particularly one old Mr. Horton, who was favored far above the most of his neighbors by the Divine Being, if we can believe his story. He said as he was work- ing by his flat piece, the voice of the Lord came to him and said, "Go preach my word to the people." At first he ex- cused himself, but on the repetition of the call he started out, came to my father's house, and talked to my good mother day after day. One Sunday he made an appoint- ment at the school-house, and I attended. During his speech he said he should preach nothing that was not
629
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
found between the lids of the Bible. But he soon began a tirade of abuse upon the "pockey cotton-factories" and other corporations in the land, and declared his conviction that they would be the ruin of our country. But the coun- try lives, the cotton-mills live and prosper, but Mr. Horton rests with his fathers.
I remember particularly my first Sunday-school teacher, Levi Fisk, Esq., and I never shall forget one remark made by him. He was a man of good judgment in most matters, yet he had his weak points. Speaking of railroads, as one was then being talked of from Boston to Bellows Falls,-one route might lay across some part of our town,-the old squire said he "would rather have three of the best farm-buildings in town all destroyed by fire annually, to be replaced by taxes on the town, rather than have a railroad in it." You of this hour do not concur in that opinion. If it were to be said now that no more cars would ever enter your town, you would seek and follow the cars wherever they went.
But I will not detain you. From "the homes of our youth " many of us have made a wide departure. Yet it is no matter where we may go in after time, we shall find no place around which cluster such hallowed memories as gather here. In memory we see again the forms of our fathers and mothers, long since gone to their eternal rest, gliding in our midst. We hear their voices saying to us, " Here we lived toiled, and died to sow the seeds, the fruit of which you, our children, are permitted this day to gather."
Mighty changes have marked the march of years that are past, but the record is good. Go forward still, with a stout heart and a manly purpose, and you shall have a grander history to conclude one hundred years from to-day. Not one of us shall see that distant time, save in promise, the reality of which we cannot doubt.
The whole field of my thought at this time is beautifully expressed by the poet, if I am able to call the words to mind, thus :
630
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
" Life is like a stately temple That is founded in the sea, Whose uprising fair proportions Penetrate immensity ; Love the architect who builds it, Building it eternally.
" To me, standing in the present, As one waits beside a grave, Up the aisles and to the altar Rolls the Past its solemn wave, With a murmer as of mourning Undulating in the nave.
" Pallid phantoms glide around me In the wrecks of hope and home; Voices moan among the waters, Faces vanish in the foam ; But a peace, divine, unfailing, Writes its promise in the dome.
" Cold the waters where my feet are, But my heart is strung anew, Tuned to Hope's profound vibration, Pulsing all the ether through, For the seeking souls that ripen In a patience strong and true.
" Hark ! the all-inspiring angel Of the Future leads the choir ; All the shadows of the temple Are illumed with living fire, And the bells above are waking Chimes of infinite desire.
" For the strongest or the weakest There is no eternal fall ; Many graves and many mourners, But at last the lifted pall ! For the highest and the lowest, Blessed life containeth all.
" O thou fair unfinished temple, In unfathomed sea begun ! Love, thy builder, shapes and lifts thee In the glory of the sun ; And the builder and the builded To the pure in heart are one."
631
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
PARTING HYMN. BY MISS HENRIETTA S. CUTTER. AIR : "Auld Lang Syne."
The band, choir, and audience unitedly swelling "the tide of song along."
The shades of night are gathering fast Round Old Monadnock's brow, While we must say the parting word,- With friendship's hand clasp now ; While we must break the golden links That bind reunion's chain, Yet often memory 'Il bear us back --- Back to this day again.
Among the many gathered here Are those of sterling worth, Upon whose brows the impress rests Of the great and good of earth ; And with those passing down life's hill, Just coming up are some Whose laurel crown for worthy deeds In th' future must be won.
'Mid joys of this centennial day, A silent tear we shed For parents, brothers, sisters, friends, Now sleeping with the dead. They've left to us the well worn paths On life's great harvest field ; May we the seed full early sow, That th' grain may heavy yield.
One century hence-that future day Is only known to God, But we shall rest all peacefully Beneath the flowering sod. We've met to-day, and now we part ; Now we must say " Good-bye ;" May Heaven's rich blessings on all rest : We'll meet again on high.
632
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
Peter Upton, Esq., moved that this meeting adjourn for one hundred years, and it was unanimously voted. Three cheers for "The One Hundredth Anniversary of the Town of Jaffrey" preceded a quiet dispersal of home-seeking strangers and towns-people from the soon deserted canvas.
[NOTE-We are indebted to George Wilder Fox for a por- tion of this (copied), as reported by him for the New Hamp- shire Sentinel. ]
The following letters were received from the absent sons of Jaffrey, who could not, for reasons therein specified, unite in the centennial exercises :
PITTSBURGH, PA., July 23, 1873.
To Julius Cutter and Others, Committee :
GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter inviting me to be present at the centennial anni- versary of the incorporation of the town of Jaffrey. It would give me great pleasure to be there on an occasion of such inter- est to all natives of the dear old town, but the state of my health will not permit it. Wherever its sons and daughters may wander, or wherever dwell, their thoughts must frequently turn back with kindly regards, as mine do, to the home of childhood ; and we are always glad to know that the friends we left behind us there still enjoy the thrift and comforts that come by industry and skill in the useful arts. God bless old Jaffrey and its people !
Situated near the geographical centre of New England, that town well represents New England character and life ; and its granite hills and towering mountain as well represent the old Granite State. It is New England in its purity, and its character is strongly impressed upon its children. Wherever we may be we are Americans and patriots, attached to the homes of our adoption, but Yankees still.
A century is a long time. Yet the first settled minister of the town lived, in honor and esteem, to see his centennial birthday. But how many events have occurred in that time ! A century ago considerable portions of the thirty Indian tribes that once inhabited New England were still within its borders. Now none remain ; and even their languages are all dead, or exist only on the silent pages of the Eliot Bible. A wide re- gion has become a fruitful land, distinguished for industry and
633
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
intelligence ; and out from among you have gone very many. to people new regions towards the setting sun.
A century hence, let Jaffrey again call together her children, and out from among a hundred and fifty millions of people, stretching quite across a continent, they will come, and will rejoice to find old Jaffrey still prosperous and happy.
Wishing you a large and pleasant meeting,
I am yours very truly, GEO. F. GILLMORE.
OBERLIN, OHIO, August 15, 1873. F. H. Cutter and Others :
DEAR SIRS : The card of invitation to the Jaffrey Centen- nial was duly received. I do not know of anything that would give me more pleasure than to attend this celebration if I could afford the journey. Jaffrey is my birth-place, and the birth- place of my mother, and all my brothers and sisters but one. It is just a third of a century since my father, with nine chil- dren, removed to this place. With us came my father's father, and a brother and sister of my mother,-Thomas and Betsey Joslin. Of the fourteen, only my mother and three younger sisters and myself remain.
I have repeatedly visited Jaffrey, and renewed the impres- sions of early boyhood. There is no spot on earth so full of interesting associations and touching memories as that moun- tain town. Every object, from the cloud-capped Monadnock to the old school-house and blacksmith-shop at the middle of the town, is full of suggestions and tender interest. The very changelessness of the upper part of the town is a gratification. It still stands as it appeared to my nine years old eyes a third of a century ago, and I can but hope that it will remain so. I should delight to bring the greetings of my mother and our family to the friends of our childhood, and join in celebrating the birthday of the dear old town. If she is poor in soil, she is rich in the beauty and grandeur of her scenery, and rich in her children and grandchildren, scattered over all the land. May your commemoration be one worthy of the venerable mothers, and a satisfaction to all the sons and daughters who may gather from near and far. If any printed record is prepared, please send two or three copies to me, with my share of the expense.
Yours truly, JOHN M. ELLIS.
634
HISTORY OF JAFFREY.
CANANDAIGUA, MICHIGAN, Aug. 14, 1873. Jaffrey Centennial Committee of Arrangements :
GENTLEMEN : Your kind invitation for me to be present at the centennial gathering of my native town reached me in due time. It would give me great pleasure to be with you on that occasion ; to meet friends from whom I have been long sepa- rated, and whom I may never see elsewhere. But my present surroundings and duties will compel me to decline your invita- tion and remain at home. If tradition be not at fault, it is just one hundred years since my grandfather, Phineas Spaulding, in the south-west part of the town, broke the forest that afterwards made him a pleasant home. Then the only highway was a foot-path through the tangled wildwood; and trees that had been marked and scathed by the woodman's axe or hatchet the only guide to those denizens of the forest, from one point to another, to meeting and to mill. Then, too, the slow- footed ox, yoked and hitched to the two-wheeled cart in sum- mer and the heavy sled in winter, was the only pleasure-car- riage for week-day or for Sunday, and the only mode of con- veyance from neighbor to neighbor, or from town to town. Horses were few, and mostly used for riding on the back. It was no uncommon thing for man and wife to be seen riding, both on one beast, he in front on the saddle, and she behind on the pillion. Young ladies with their beaux would thus ride, for recreation and for pleasure, till the pillion gave place to another horse and side-saddle, and then they travelled side by side. Sixty years ago, on the spot now occupied by your com- modious hotel, stood the dwelling-house of Deacon Eleazer Spofford, which, with out-buildings, and grist- and saw-mill down by the river, was about all that could be seen for build- ings where your pleasant village now stands. Spofford's mills were known for their superiority of workmanship over every- thing else of the kind, for many miles around. One little anecdote, as touching the old saw-mill, I can remember in my boyhood days. When it was first in operation, as one gate shut and another opened, moving the heavy carriage with its ponderous log to and from the saw, a colored man, standing by, in amazement exclaimed,-" Massa Spofford, don't you think you could invent a machine to hoe corn ?"
Those were primitive days,-times when our grandfathers and grandmothers had to toil for their daily food ; and right glad were they if they could bring the two ends of the year to meet, with a few spare dollars for deposit against the time of need. In those early days, almost every house held its instru- ment,-not the modern piano, but the old-fashioned spinning- wheel ; and while the foot pressed the pedal, the fingers, instead
·
635
JAFFREY CENTENNIAL.
of gliding over keys of ivory to the tune of Yankee Doodle or God save the King, or, perchance, the more solemn strains of Old Hundred or St. Martyn's, were busy in drawing the thread from the pine distaff, to be wrought into cloth for the clothing of the household. I will venture the assertion that you cannot in your town to-day find a young lady under twenty years of age that can spin a skein of fine linen, or in her grandmother's old hand-loom weave a yard of cloth. I say this, not by way of disparagement to any one, for I well know that modern im- provements and machinery have done away with most of that kind of labor. To-day you have your pleasant homes, your good roads, your carriages for comfort and for ease, and instead of the lumbering stage-coach, that used daily to pass through your village from Keene to Boston, is seen the iron horse, puf- fing and blowing on his feed of fire, and drawing in his wake a burden that many stage teams could not move an inch.
I have hastily glanced at a few things in the century that has passed, but who among your gathering to-day will be present to read the history of the century to come? It would be no presumption to answer, Not one.
In conclusion, I will offer the following sentiment: "Old Jaffrey-may her virtue and morality keep even pace with her internal improvements for a hundred years to come."
Very respectfully yours,
LYMAN SPAULDING.
BARRE, VT., August 18, 1873. Mr. Julius Cutter :
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.