USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Keene > History of the town of Keene, from 1732, when the township was granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it became a city > Part 3
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 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
"Voted that the proprietors shall pay the cost of the above said Laying out of said Lots when they Draw them, or that they will do it by the Last day of May next Ensuing.
"Voted that the cost of a Pilot (viz) of Decon Elex- ander's press 1 Shewing the propriators Said Township and house Lots shall be paid by the proprietors according to their Interest.
"Voted that mesueres Josiah Fisher, Samuel Witt and John Hawks be a committee to search and find out the best and most convenient way to travil from the upper unto the Lower Township.
"Voted that this meeting be adjourned untill the Last Wednsday of May next at twelve of the clock on said day, to be at the Dwelling house of mr Ephraim Jones Inn holder in Concord."
(Proprietors' Records.)
The committee appointed at this meeting laid out sixty lots of the intervale land that fall, but neglected to lay out the three extra lots as required by the grant.
The Massachusetts legislature again took cognizance of the settlers as follows:
"Friday
Nov" 22, 1734
"In the House of Represent.es Whereas by the accompt of the Committee of the three Towns to the westward, there Remains three hundred and Sixty Eight pounds nine shillings and Eight pence in their hands to be Disposed of as this Court shall order; Voted That when and as soon as the said Com.tee or any three of them on view or otherwise shall be Certified that forty familys are settled in Each or Either of the said Towns and they have Raised the Frame of a meeting house that the sum of One hun- dred pounds be paid to each Town or their order and that in the mean time the Hon. ble William Dudley Esq™ ye Chairman of the Committee be Desired and Impowered to Improve the money by letting it out to Interist for the use of the said Towns Rendering an acc't thereof when he shall pay the said Three hundred pounds, or any part thereof to Either of the said Towns that shall have forty
1 Probably "presence."
.
25
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
familys and shall have Raised a frame of a meeting house as aforesaid; The Remaining sixty Eight pounds nineteen shillings and Eight pence with the Interest money that shall be Received further to be accounted for-
"In Council Read & Concurred-
Consented to J. Belcher." (Massachusetts Archives.)
Agreeably to the adjournment of the meeting on the township, Sept. 19, 1734, the proprietors met on the last Wednesday in May, 1735, at the inn of Ephraim Jones in Concord, Capt. Samuel Sady, moderator, and immediately adjourned to the town house.
The report of the committee to lay out the lots of in- tervale land was accepted with the "amendment" that three blanks to represent the three lots yet to be laid out be put in to be drawn with the sixty lots. As the lots were not all of equal value those of less than the average worth were "qualified " by an additional allotment of two to four acres each. These lots of intervale land, like the house lots, were of eight acres each; and they voted to pay twenty shillings for each lot, into their treasury, when they drew their second division lot. The lots were drawn at this meeting.
It was voted that Josiah Fisher, Ebenezer Alexander and John Hawks, or any two of them, be a committee to lay out the three additional lots, and also the allowances of land to those lots that needed "qualification."
Capt. Samuel Sady and Lieut. Joseph Hill were chosen a committee "to joyn with such as the Lower Town pro- priators shall appoint to search and find out whether the ground will admit of a conveniant Road from the two Townships on Ashuelot River Down to the Town of Townshend." 1
"May 28th, 1735, the accompt of the charge of Laying out of the second Division Lotts in the upper Township on Ashauelot River Exhibited by the committee as fol- loweth :
"Josiah Fisher for sixteen days at twelve shillings pr day ...... £ 09=12=0 Samuel Witt fourteen days at twelve shillings pr day .... 08=08=0
John Hawks ten days at twelve shillings pr day ... 06=00=0
1 On the 80th of June, 1787, the proprietors "Voted that there be the sum of 27 pounds payd out of the proprietors Treasury to Capt. Samuel Sady for searching and Laying out a Road from this Township down to the Town of Townshend."
.
26
HISTORY OF KEENE.
Decon Ebenezer Elexander eight days at twelve shillings pr day 04=16=0 Nathaniel Kellogg Surveyor thirteen days at fifteen shillings pr day and for drink twelve shillings and six pence ... 10=07=6 Thomas Weeks twelve days at ten shillings pr day .06=00=0
William Smeed ten days at ten shillings pr day ... 05=00=0
on the day abovesaid the proprietors by al Total 50=03=6 vote accepted the above accompts
"Attest Samuel Heywood propriators Clerk."
This meeting adjourned to meet at the township on the second Wednesday of the following September; and all succeeding meetings of the proprietors were held at the township.
Agreeably to adjournment the proprietors met at the township on the 10th day of September, 1735. "Capt Samuel Sady not appearing the said propriators proceeded to the choice of another in his Room, and upon Examina- tion of the votes for that purpose it appeared that M." Jeremiah Hall was chosen Moderator of said meeting;" which then adjourned till the next day.
On the 11th it was "Voted that Daniel Haws jr., Gid- eon Ellis and Joseph Guild shall be accepted as voters on their fathers Rights." It was also voted to assess the proprietors in the sum of sixty pounds to defray charges, to be paid to the treasurer "by the second Thursday of May next." Jeremiah Hall, Elisha Root and Nathaniel Rockwood were chosen "assessors to make the Rate," and William Puffer, William Hoaton and Seth Heaton "col- lectors to gather the Rates." Deacon Samuel Heywood of Concord was chosen proprietors' treasurer, and it was "Voted that William Puffer, John Guild and John Corbet be a committee to bill out this money according to the proprietors' direction.
"Voted to adjourn to tomorrow morning at five of the Clock. Jeremiah Hall Moderator."
The adjourned meeting on the 12th "Voted That Elisha Root, Josiah Fisher and Seth Heaton, be a comttee to Lay out a Road to the sawmill place, and to cleare the same, and to cleare the Road from the house Lots, to the Lower Township and to desire the other Towns (Arlington and Northfield) to clere their Roads to meet the same, and to prosecute any that neglect, and to be paid at the propria- tors cost. Jeremiah Hall moderator.".
The same meeting voted to "give an Hundred acres
27
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
of midling good Land and twenty five pounds of money out of the Treasury with conveniancies, to any man or men that shall appear to build a saw mill in the most conven- iant place to accomidate the said propriators, they giving Sufficient Security, to a committee that shall be chosen, that they will have a good saw mill fitt to saw, at or be- fore the first day of July next, and dureing the Term of ten years next after, will keep sd mill in good Repair, and saw bords for the said propriators for Twenty shillings pr Thousand, And slitwork for three pounds and ten shil- lings pr Thousand, during the said term of ten years."
In case of neglect to fulfil the contract the privileges of the dam and stream were to be forfeited to the propri- etors. The vote also required the same parties "to build a good Grist mill on the said dam within the space of three years and three months, from this time." John Cor- bet and Elisha Root appeared and gave the required security for the building of the mills, and John Hawks, William Hoaton and Seth Heaton were chosen "a committee to Lay out said Land." The meeting then "adjourned to the second Thursday of May next to meet at the House Lott of Joseph Fisher.
(Signed) Jeremiah Hall, Moderator."
The minutes of the survey of those one hundred acres, in three lots, may be found in the Proprietors' Records, page 13, signed by Josiah Willard, surveyor; and those first mills were built on what is now the middle one of the three dams on Beaver brook, near upper Washington street.
Thursday, May 13, 1736, the proprietors met accord- ing to adjournment at the house lot of Joseph Fisher- Jeremiah Hall, standing moderator-and immediately ad- journed to meet at 6 o'clock the next morning.
On the 14th the meeting voted to make another "Divi- sion of medow Land of ten acres Layd out to Each Right by a Skilfull Surveyor, according to the judgment of a committee of three meete persons who shall be chosen and Impowered by the Propriators to Lay out the said Divi- sion according to the following Directions (viz) that they proportion Each Lott in quallety by considering the Qual- lities of Each mans former Divisions to make Each mans Right in all former Divisions alike in Quallety; coupling Each Lott, by saying which Lott Belongeth to Every per- ticuler Right or house Lott."
Each proprietor was to pay the charges for surveying
28
HISTORY OF KEENE.
his ten acres, and if any neglected or refused to pay with- in the next three months, their lots were to be " conse- crated" to the use of those who did pay.
Capt. Samuel Sady, Elisha Root and Seth Heaton were chosen a committee to make this distribution, and Seth Heaton was authorized to receive the money and pay the charges of the survey. The meeting adjourned to meet at the same place on the last Thursday of September.
It was at this time that the first permanent settle- ment of the town was made.
How many of the proprietors came that spring is not known, but Jeremiah Hall, Capt. Samuel Sady, Elisha Root, Seth Heaton, and John Corbet were present at the meeting, according to the records, and there are indica- tions that there were several others in the party. It was during this summer of 1736 that Nathan Blake put up his log house, on the lot which is still the homestead of his descendants in the direct line, at what is now the corner of Main and Winchester streets. There is little doubt that this was the first house erected in town, but it is probable that others were built during the same summer; for, by the records of the meeting in the fall, Josiah Fisher, Joseph Fisher, William Smeed, Joseph Richardson, Nathan Fairbanks, Samuel Daniels, Nathaniel Rockwood and Stephen Blake-and it is likely there were others-had spent the summer at the township, preparing for settlement; and the saw mill had been built and com- pleted, ready for use. A large number of settlers arrived the next spring, and it is altogether probable that houses -log cabins- had been prepared for them.
But only three of that party were prepared to spend the winter here. The others all returned to their former homes, as in the two previous years.
At that time the "Upper Township on Ashuelot River," as it was then called, was the extreme northern point of the frontier settlements in the valley of the Connecticut. On the south, Agawam (Springfield), had been settled for one hundred years, and ground had been broken at Northampton in 1654, and at Hadley and Hatfield soon afterwards. Pocumtuck (Deerfield), settled in 1670, and
29
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
then including Greenfield, Conway and parts of other towns, was a village of several hundred inhabitants. Squawkheag (Northfield), covering both sides of the Con- necticut river and including Vernon, Hinsdale, and parts of Winchester and other towns, had been settled in 1673; Hinsdale as a part of Northfield, lying on both sides of the Connecticut and afterward called Fort Dummer, had been settled by Rev. and Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale in 1683. A few log cabins were put up at Earlington about the same time with those first built here; and the settlement of Lower Ashuelot was made at the same time as that of the upper township.
To the east there were settlements at Penacook, Con- toocook (Boscawen and Franklin), Canterbury, Suncook, Bow, Amherst, Dunstable, and the older places further east. New Hampshire had a population of about 12,000 at that time, but it was all in the eastern part of the province.
To protect her western frontier against the Indians, whose incursions were usually made from the west, or from Canada by following down the Connecticut river, Massachusetts had established a line of forts along the valley of that river, at Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, Deerfield, Northfield and Fort Dummer, manned them with a few troops, kept up communication with them, and maintained them partly at least at the expense of the province. In most cases, those fortifications-some of which were mere block houses-had been built by the pioneers themselves for their own protection, and after- ward enlarged and equipped at the public expense. But the line was weak from the long distances between the posts and the small number of troops employed; and to the north and northwest of Upper Ashuelot there were no settlements and no protection whatever.
The country was a wilderness, covered with dense for- ests through which no roads had yet been opened. Rov- ing bands of Indians prowled those forests for game, or threaded them in single file, on habitual trails, to and from their more permanent abodes. For many years but few Indians had lived in this immediate vicinity, and never since the landing of the Pilgrims had this region been
30
HISTORY OF KEENE.
occupied by them in any large numbers. Dr. Trumbull computes the whole number of savages in New England to have been at one time 123,000, but in the winter of 1616-17 a virulent disease swept away, as was believed, more than one-half the whole number; so that soon after the landing of the Pilgrims it was estimated that not more than 12,000 warriors could be mustered in all New Eng- land. This would indicate a population of about 50,000 Indians at that time.
The Schaghticoke tribe had lived in this region about Grand Monadnock, but removed to the Hudson river be- fore the arrival of the whites, and but little is known of them. More definite information has been preserved con- cerning the Squawkheags. They had been nearly destroyed by the Mohawks, and probably came as fugitives to the Ashuelot country, which had been abandoned by the Schaghticokes. They occupied the country along the Con- necticut river and its branches from Greenfield to Brattle- boro and above, extending about ten miles to the west, and as far east as the head waters of Miller's river and those of the Ashuelot. On this territory, rich in fish and game, they lived for several generations, cultivated the meadows in their rude way, and raised corn, which they preserved for use in winter, and sometimes sold to the early settlers of the towns below. They claimed all the territory of northern New Hampshire and Vermont; but it is not known that they sold lands, as was done by some other tribes, except in a very few instances. They did give a deed to William Clark and John King, agents of the original proprietors of Squawkheag, granting the tract for that township, six miles wide on each side of Connecticut river, dated August 13, 1687, and signed by Nawelet, chief of the Squawkheags, and by four subordinate chiefs of the same tribe-Gongequa, Aspiambemet, Hada- rawansett, and Meganichcha. No other deed of that tribe is known to have been preserved; and this deed was given after the tribe had been nearly destroyed and most of the remnant had abandoned their country. They were reputed to be relatives of the Pennacooks and in close alliance with them after King Philip's war in 1675.
31
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
At one time during that war the Squawkheag country was the rendezvous for Philip's forces; and his warriors assembled here to the number of more than 3,000. Here he held his court, surrounded by many powerful chiefs and notable squaws. Among them were a sister of Philip, a prin- cess of the Wampanoags; the wise and wary Awashauks, the powerful squaw sachem of Sogkonate, with all her braves, led by Peter Awashauks, her son and chief cap- tain; and the unfortunate queen Weetamoo, the widow of Wamsutta, the elder brother and predecessor of Philip.
To the north and east the Coos tribe occupied what is now Coos and the upper part of Grafton counties; the Winnepesaukees lived on the shores of the great lake; the Ossipees on the smaller ones beyond; and the Pennacooks and the Amoskeags were in the Merrimac valley, their chief places being Pennacook and Amoskeag (Manchester).
The Pennacooks, at that time, were the most powerful tribe in all that region, and their great chief, Passacona- way, had been a staunch friend of the whites. The Paw- tuckets were below, and these three tribes, the Pawtuckets, Amoskeags and Pennacooks, with some others, formed at one time a confederacy under the general name of Paw- tuckets, or the Pawtucket Confederacy, with Passaconaway for their chief. His son, and successor as chief of his tribe, Wonalanset, adopted the friendly policy of his father, and, when King Philip's war broke out in 1675, he withdrew his people farther north to avoid joining the other tribes against the whites. The Nashuas occupied the valley lower down and along Nashua river, and there were other small tribes in eastern Massachusetts.
To the east, and in Canada, was the large and pow- erful family of the Abenakis, one of whose tribes gave its name to the Penobscot river, and another to the Andros- coggin. It was the Penobscot chief Bashaba of whom Whit- tier wrote his "Bashaba's Feast." Those eastern tribes sometimes invaded this region, and they gave the name Gonitigow (Long river) to the Quinnehtuck or Quinetticut of the Pocumtucks-the Connecticut-but they never re- mained here for any long time.
The Massachusetts, or Wampanoags, were in the south-
32
HISTORY OF KEENE.
eastern part of the province of Massachusetts Bay, and their great chief, Massasoit, had also been a firm friend of the whites; and, for a long time (54 years) while he lived, there was peace. He was succeeded by Wamsutta, and he by his brother, Pometacan, called by the English King Philip, who intrigued against the white faces, formed a confederacy to destroy them, and roused the savages all over New England. He was slain in 1675, when his short but celebrated and disastrous war ended.
The Narragansetts were in Rhode Island, and the Pequots in Connecticut, with the Mohegans, an offshoot of the same tribe, to the north of them, extending from the Hudson to the Connecticut river. The Mohegans fre- quently roamed through this region, and might almost be said to have lived here at times.
The Mohicans-a tribe wholly distinct from the Mohegans-were on the Hudson river below Albany; and the Agawams were about Springfield.
At the same time that the Squawkheags were on the Ashuelot, the Pocumtucks were on Deerfield river and on both sides of the Connecticut, with their principal village at Deerfield; and the Nipmucks east of them, in central Massachusetts, about Brookfield and Worcester. In King Philip's war the Nipmucks joined his confederacy and fought the whites, although previous to that time they had been friendly. All these smaller tribes in New England belonged to the great family of Algonquins, which ranged from the St. Lawrence river to the Carolinas; and they all spoke the same language.
To the westward were the Mohawks, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois family, the most powerful and warlike tribe then known. They occupied the Mohawk valley and all the adjacent country. So fierce and savage were they that the smaller tribes stood in abject fear of them and called them "Man Eaters;" and the whites learned to dread them more than any other tribe.
When the pioneers from Dedham explored the Connect- icut valley in 1668, and purchased their land with a view to the settlement of Deerfield, they found the Pocumtucks more intelligent and civilized than most of the other tribes.
33
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
They recognized many of the rights of women, and under- stood perfectly the nature of the contracts they made and the effect of the deeds by which they conveyed their lands to the whites; but they did not understand the value of those lands, or that of the trinkets they received in pay- ment. Some of those deeds were given by squaws who held their lands by inheritance from their ancestors. A few years previous to that time this tribe numbered about 5,000. They formed a confederacy with the Nipmucks and Squawkheags, and became so powerful and arrogant as to defy even the Mohawks. When the latter sent an ambas- sador, with presents, to make peace with them, they mur- dered him and his suite in cold blood. The Mohawks in revenge attacked and destroyed them; and then turned north and punished their allies, the Squawkheags, whom they had once before nearly destroyed.
The Mohawks then swept across Cheshire county to the Merrimac valley, and the Pennacooks, the Amoskeags and the Abenakis-particularly the Pennacooks-felt the fury of their vengeance in retaliation of former defeats, and were severely punished. The Mohawks approached the river cautiously, encamped on the west bank, opposite the Pennacooks, and watched their prey, who had gathered their corn and withdrawn into their fortifications on the east side. After some maneuvering, the Pennacooks were decoyed from their fort and a terrible fight ensued, in which that tribe was nearly destroyed. The Mohawks then recrossed this region and returned to their own country; and this part of New England was almost wholly forsaken by the savages, except for an occasional hunting excursion. The hostile incursions made later were chiefly by those residing in Canada.
So thoroughly had the Mohawks done their work of destruction in the Connecticut valley, that when the pioneers from Dedham laid out their grant at Deerfield in 1670 there was apparently not a wigwam standing in all that region of desolation; and after the defeat and death of King Philip western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire were almost entirely destitute of Indian inhab- itants.
34
HISTORY OF KEENE.
The remnant of the Pocumtucks went west and joined the Schaghticokes, who had formerly been their neighbors. The few that were left of the Squawkheags remained for a short time and partly rebuilt some of their villages, but they finally went north, at one time acting with the Pen- nacooks, at other times with the St. Francis tribe in Can- ada, whom they undoubtedly led back to their familiar grounds in subsequent raids in the Connecticut valley. They continued to claim title to their lands as late as 1721-3, and came back at times to hunt and fish, as well as for worse purposes in later years. The Schaghticokes and Pocumtucks also joined the St. Francis Indians in raids on the inhabitants of their former dwelling place.
One of those raids had been made in King Philip's war, in September 1675, when seventy young men-detached troops-"the flower of Essex county," were waylaid and slain at "Bloody Brook," where now stands the village of South Deerfield. Another was made in "Queen Anne's war," in 1704. Deerfield then had 200 to 300 inhabitants and was the most northerly settlement in the Connecticut valley. In the dead of a snowy winter Vaudreuil, the French governor of Canada, sent a force of about 300 French and Indians under Hertel de Rouville. Provided with snowshoes, they came up Lake Champlain to Onion river, followed up that stream, crossed the divide, thence down Wells river to the Connecticut, and on the ice of that river to Deerfield, and took that town completely by surprise. Just before daybreak on the 29th of February, with their blood-curdling war whoop, the savages burst into the fort. Forty-seven of the citizens were slain and 112 captured, about twenty of whom died or were murdered on the way to Canada. Among the captives were the Rev. John Williams, his wife and several children. His wife and two of his children were murdered before his eyes.
Such was the terrors of frontier life in this valley of the Connecticut in the early days. That valley had also suf- fered from raids in the war of 1722, as well as the eastern parts of both provinces; and, to give better protection to the western frontier, the general court of Massachusetts, in December, 1723, voted to build a blockhouse on the
35
THE MASSACHUSETTS GRANT.
Connecticut river, and man it with forty men, who were not only to hold the fort but were to scout the country to the west and above Grand Monadnock. Col. John Stoddard of Northampton commanded on the frontier, and, under his direction, early in 1724, Lieut. Timothy Dwight with a squad of soldiers and four carpenters built Fort Dummer -named in honor of Lieut. Gov. William Dummer, then act- ing governor of the province. It stood in what is now Brattleboro-at that time a part of Northfield, afterwards named Hinsdale-on the west bank of Connecticut river, in a narrow gorge between the hills, about one mile below the present bridge leading to Hinsdale. The river was ford- able a short distance below the fort.
A brief description of the fort is given for the reason that, at the time when Upper and Lower Ashuelots were settled, it was the nearest place of refuge from the Indians, on the only practicable route of communication between those townships and the other settlements on the frontier, and even with Boston and other eastern towns; for that route followed the rivers to Northfield, Deerfield and be- yond; 1 and it was for many years the principal military post for the protection of all this part of the country. The fort was of logs, nearly square, about 120x120 feet, with strong bastions, or blockhouses, at the corners for mounting cannon, and were so constructed as to be defensi- ble on the inside in case the enemy got inside the fort. Officers' quarters, two stories high, were built inside in connection with the walls, and made defensible like the bastions. There was also a strong log-building near the centre of the "parade ground" inside the fort, called the "citadel," designed as the last resort of the besieged in case of overpowering numbers. The whole was surrounded with a stockade and armed with four swivels and one large gun which was used chiefly to sound an alarm to the other posts when threatened by the enemy.
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.