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 36
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The Masonic bodies were in a flourishing condition, and leading men of the town, including Col. James Wilson, John Prentiss and John Hatch, were active members.
There was the Keene Musical Society, already men- tioned; the Keene Harmonic Society; and the- Keene Musical Association-formed in 1831-all of which as- pired to the rendering of classical music; and the Chesh- ire County Sacred Music Society, which held most of its sessions in Keene, was composed largely of Keene people. The Handel and Haydn Society's collection of church music had just then been published and gave new impetus to the cultivation of the art of singing.
There were two bookstores in town, kept by John Prentiss and George Tilden, and two weekly newspapers, besides a Unitarian monthly called the Liberal Preacher, begun in 1827, with Rev. T. R. Sullivan as editor. It was
1 See sketch of Rev. Dr. Barstow.
GEORGE TILDEN.
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TOWN AFFAIRS.
published at the Sentinel office for several years and finally passed into the hands of George Tilden.
There were many other organizations for the promo- tion of temperance, charity and other good works-the Tract Society of Keene; the Ladies' Cent Society, of which Mrs. Barstow succeeded Mrs. Hall as president; the Hesh- bon Society, Miss Olive Prime, president, Miss Hannah Newcomb, secretary and treasurer, and Miss Lucretia Dawes and Miss Newcomb, prudential committee; and the Ladies' Charitable Society,1 of which again Mrs. Barstow succeeded Mrs. Hall as president, and held the office for nearly half a century. The two latter societies are still in flourishing condition. There was an association of men and another of women in aid of foreign missions.
Much was done at this period for the cause of temper- ance. A large meeting for that purpose was held in Keene in October, 1829, at which Joel Parker, Gen. Wilson, Thomas M. Edwards and other prominent men made addresses. And such gatherings were frequent throughout the country. The Cheshire County Temperance Society was formed which survived for many years, usually holding its meet- ings at the town hall in Keene. Dr. Amos Twitchell was its first president, followed by Joel Parker and other men of influence. Previous to that the same class of men had organized the Association of Keene for Discountenancing the Use of Ardent Spirits, and much active work was done by that society, and many powerful appeals and addresses were made to the public. Another society was formed called the Keene Temperance Association, and a little later the Young People's Association for the Promotion of Tem- perance. Intoxicating liquors were sold at all public houses and most of the stores, by the glass and in larger quan- tities -either with license or without-and the use of them was so general and excessive as to become alarming; hence the vigorous action above indicated.
1 The Ladies' Charitable Society was formed in 1815 as a reading society, meeting once a week and reading the Bible and other religious works, and the same year it opened a Sabbath school. The next year it established a charity school, and bought wool and had it carded and spun to be knit by the society -and cotton yarn to be woven-for the poor and destitute. In 1820, it made clothing and sent to the Indians, and in 1824, it appropriated twenty dollars to aid the Greeks in their struggle for independence. An extended historical report of the society, by Mrs. Catherine P. Dinsmoor, with the original pream- ble of its rules and regulations, was published in the Sentinel of Dec. 19, 1876.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
John Hatch still kept the Phoenix Hotel; Col. Stephen Harrington the Eagle; Henry Coolidge the old Ralston; Daniel Day and Henry Goodnow theirs on the respective turnpikes; Joseph and Robert Shelly the one at the junc- tion of those routes, formerly the Widow Leonard's; Jo- siah Sawyer was keeping his popular house in Ash Swamp; Abijah Metcalf the Sun tavern, also an excellent house; Samuel Streeter had one on the Westmoreland road; and a little later Asa Lincoln kept one on the Chesterfield road near the town line.
The attorneys in town were Samuel Dinsmoor, James Wilson, Elijah Dunbar, Joel Parker, Elijah Parker, Thomas M. Edwards, Samuel Dinsmoor, Jr., and James Wilson, Jr. The physicians were Daniel Adams (died in 1830), Amos Twitchell, Charles G. Adams and John B. Dousman. Dr. C. Stratton, the dentist, was making occasional visits to Keene and other towns, beginning in 1826.
Appleton & Elliot had continued in business at the cor- ner store1 and in the manufacture of glass until 1826, when that firm was dissolved, Mr. Appleton retired, John Elliot & Co. 2 took the glass business, and Adams & Hol- man 3 took the store the second time, the firm changing in 1828 to Adams, Holman & Wood, and in 1830, to Adams, Holman & Dutton (Ormond D.) which continued till 1835.
In the autumn of 1827, William Lamson occupied his new brick block, corner of Roxbury street. He had, as successive partners, John T. Hale, George Dutton and Franklin H. Cutting. The firm of Lamson, Cutting & Co. continued for many years. Sumner Wheeler succeeded Perry & Wheeler, continuing the manufacture of glass bottles with the business of the store. Capt. Jesse Corbett still carried on his watch repairing, jewelry and lottery ticket business, but was succeeded a few years later, as jeweler, by Norman Wilson, who remained for many years.
Richard Montague, the merchant tailor, had removed to a store on the west side of the Square, and in 1827, took William Dinsmoor as partner. The firm changed names several times, but Mr. Montague continued in business
1 Adams & Holman took the store in the spring of 1821, but in the autumn of 1822 it passed back into the hands of Appleton & Elliot.
2 John Elliot, Oliver Holman and Benj. F. Adams.
3 Benj. F. Adams and Oliver Holman.
KEYES & COLONY BLOCK, AND VIRW OUT WEST STREET.
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until 1835. In 1833, Mr. Dinsmoor formed a partnership with Selden F. White, at No. 2 Wilders' building. The firm soon became Dinsmoor, White & Lyon, and was the first in town to sell ready-made clothing. The change in the national administration brought about the removal of Thomas M. Edwards and the appointment of Mr. Dins- moor as postmaster, and he removed the office to his store. In 1836, Selden F. White took the business of the store and carried it on for several years.
Upon the completion of Wilders' building in 1828, Keyes & Colony (Elbridge Keyes and Joshua D. Colony) took the west store and kept a general assortment of goods. Five years later they built and moved into their own three-story brick building, on the corner of West street, the site of the present postoffice building, and remained in business there for many years. There was a hall in the upper story of their building. They were suc- ceeded in Wilders' by Jacob Haskell, with a silk and dry goods store. Sylvester Haskell had occupied a store on the west side of the Square, and in 1827, he removed "to the new brick store," where the Sentinel building now stands, and kept a general assortment of goods there for several years.
The cut of Wilders' building shown on the following page is from an original wood engraving made soon after the block was built. It is the property of Miss Frances M. Colony, 143 West street, through whose kindness it is now used.
Some matrimonial ventures came about in the course of trade in town. Miss Abagail Woods, daughter of Elijah Woods, kept a milliner's shop over S. A. Gerould's store, east side of Main street, afterwards over A. & T. Hall's. In 1827, she married J. Gilman Briggs, who was after- wards in business here with his brother, Eliphalet Briggs. The same year Miss Maria V. Wood, a milliner, sister of John V., married Dea. Asa Duren, the baker. A few years later, Miss Harriet Keyes, sister of Elbridge Keyes, who had a milliner's shop in Wilders' building, afterwards over Keyes & Colony's store, corner of West street, married Nathaniel Evans, a popular merchant who came from
AWILDER'S CABINET SLET HIG
REYES & COLONY
WILDERS' BUILDING IN ITS EARLY DAYS.
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Sullivan and was in business here many years. She bought the old Capt. Richardson tavern on West street and they made their home there, leaving it, at her death, to her sis- ter (Susan), Mrs. Harvey A. Bill, who was the last to occupy it.
Dexter Anderson came in 1827 and was the fashion- able hatter here for many years. He began business on the east side of Main street. Afterwards his shop was on the north side of the Square, east of the church, and is now the dwelling house of Dr. G. C. Hill on Winter street.
At this period, 1830, Faulkner & Colony were still dressing cloth and carding wool into rolls for families to spin and weave. Azel Wilder, near them, was making wheel-heads for hand spinning; Luther Smith, the brass founder, was still making the tall clocks, as in former years; the Briggses and Abijah Wilder, Jr., were manufac- turing large quantities of cabinet-work, chairs, sleighs, etc .; Jennings & Perkins-afterwards Charles P. Perkins-had a carriage manufactory on Washington, north corner of Mechanic street; and Charles Ingalls, and Joseph Wheeler the portrait painter with him for a time, had a shop over them for sign and ornamental painting. Thomas F. Ames was making chaises, and he and the Watsons, father and son, were making saddles, harnesses, etc .; Col. Stephen Harrington and his son-in-law, William King, had a tan- nery and a curriers' shop in rear of Eagle Hotel, with a leather and shoe store on the street, and a morocco dress- ing establishment, in which they were succeeded by Josiah Burnap. Page & Holman still had turning works and made pumps on the North branch; Aaron and Oliver Wil- son the same at their mills in Ash Swamp; and Jehiel Wilson made pails at South Keene. Dea. Samuel Wood, Jr., had succeeded his father as baker, removing from the Lamson building on the west side of Main street to the north corner of Main and Church streets, where a bakery was kept until 1900. He was succeeded by his brother, Amos Wood, and later by Dea. Asa Duren. Jeduthan Strickland had a distillery on the south side of the road just beyond Sawyer's tavern, at West Keene, but at this period he distilled only cider brandy.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
The principal blacksmiths in 1830 were-Aaron Davis, John Towns, Nathan Wood, Jabez Daniels, James Wilson, 2d, and Nathaniel Wilder; and they made axes, knives and other edge-tools by hand. The principal carpenters and builders were Nathan Bassett, Samuel Crossfield, Kendall Crossfield, John G. Thatcher and Everett Newcomb. The principal shoemakers were Abijah Kingsbury, Dea. C. H. Jaquith and Capt. George Brown, commander of the Keene Light Infantry. John C. Mason was the gunsmith, on Winter street; Whitcomb French had a livery stable, suc- ceeding John Chase, the first in town, on the site of the present one on Washington street, and remained there for many years-an important institution of the town. He owned the house and lived where Mrs. J. G. Warren now does.
Alonzo Andrews1 had a private school "over John Towns' blacksmith shop, one door north of the Bank," and Alphonso Wood had one in the Prentiss building, each for a few terms. Previous to that, Osgood Herrick taught a grammar school in Harrington's hall. Miss Fiske's school was called the Young Ladies' Seminary, and was exceedingly successful, numbering about one hundred pupils. She employed two assistants besides Miss Eliza P. Withington, who remained with her constantly. Reuel Blake taught writing and bookkeeping in chambers on the west side of the Square.
In November, 1829, John Towns' two-story brick black- smith's shop, next north of the bank, was burned; but it was immediately rebuilt and reoccupied by Mr. Towns, the upper room being used by the Debating Club and for schools.
There were two fire companies and two engines in town, captains, John V. Wood and Jonas B. Davis, be- sides the Keene Fire Society, sixty-four members, S. Dins- moor, president, succeeded about this time by John Wood, president, with T. M. Edwards, secretary, S. Dinsmoor, Jr., treasurer, and a board of trustees; and the Fire Fencibles, Joel Parker, captain, succeeded by Col. James Wilson, with Jesse Corbett, John Hatch and Wm. Dinsmoor, lieutenants,
1 Two Fox boys came from Fitchburg, the father writing Mr. A. that he sent him "two young foxes to tame."
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and S. Dinsmoor, Jr., treasurer. Gen. Justus Perry was promoted to major general commanding the Third division of the state militia, and he appointed Richard Montague and Sumner Wheeler aids, with the rank of major. Benja- min F. Adams was colonel of the Twentieth regiment, and William Dinsmoor captain of the Keene Light Infantry.
The Cheshire Agricultural Society exhibited in Keene on the 7th of October. Salma Hale was vice president; Thomas M. Edwards, chairman of committee of awards; John Elliot, Elijah Parker, Thomas F. Ames, James Wilson, Jr., and Abijah Wilder, Jr., committee of arrangements; and Col. B. F. Adams, chief marshal, assisted by Major Sumner Wheeler and Capt. William Dinsmoor. The society dined at Harrington's hotel.
Among the deaths this year were those of Noah Cooke, aged eighty; Daniel Ingersoll, aged seventy-nine; and Dr. Josiah Goodhue, father of Mrs. Levi Chamberlain, aged seventy-one.
At the annual meeting in 1830 the town voted to give Samuel Dinsmoor and others leave "to erect tombs in the village graveyard." The tombs were built in 1833.
A meeting in April chose Zebadiah Kise, John Elliot and Azel Wilder a committee to consider the question of a town-farm for the support of the poor. The committee reported in favor, and a farm three miles west of the vil- lage known as the "Dea. Kingsbury farm " was purchased. The same meeting instructed the selectmen to build and make alterations for the "Concord road"-leading from the Sullivan road at the James Wright farm down into the valley of the North branch and up to Roxbury line.1
The subject of a railroad from Boston to Brattleboro had been agitated for some time. Surveys were made and the whole cost was estimated at $1,000,000. Large meet- ings favorable to the project were held in Boston and along the line. It was thought that a "branch might lead through Keene and Walpole," and it became the absorbing question of the time for the people of Keene and vicinity.
1 The "Concord road," following the route described, from Keene through East Sullivan and Munsonville to South Stoddard and beyond, was another of those roads required by the public but opposed by the respective towns because they ran along their borders and would be of small advantage to the people of those towns. This road was petitioned for in 1820, but was fought so vigor- ously by the towns, including Keene, that it was not built until 1833.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
The following is quoted from the Sentinel: "A pump- kin vine which grew in a garden in this village produced, this year, twenty-eight pumpkins, besides several small ones pulled off when green. The twenty-eight weighed five hundred and forty pounds."
According to the census of 1830, Keene had a popula- tion of 2,3741-1,239 in the village-whole increase in ten years, 477.
The notable deaths that year were: Capt. Stephen Chase, aged sixty-seven; Mr. Samuel Heaton, aged sev- enty; Dr. Daniel Adams, aged sixty-four; Mr. John New- comb, formerly of Norton, Mass., aged eighty-two; Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Hon. James Wilson, senior, aged forty- nine.
The ten highest taxpayers were James Wilson, Samuel Dinsmoor, Benj. F. Adams, Adams, Holman & Wood, Ste- phen Harrington, John Elliot, John Prentiss, Aaron Apple- ton, Azel Wilder and Perry & Wheeler. (Mrs. Sarah F. Wheelock paid one cent less than the latter firm.)
Gen. Samuel Dinsmoor, Democrat, was elected governor in 1831. On his return from Concord on the 4th of July, at the close of the session of the legislature, he was met at Marlboro by the Keene Light Infantry, Capt. James Wilson, 2 Jr .; the Ashuelot Cavalry, Capt. Chase; and a large cavalcade of citizens, all under Gen. Justus Perry as marshal, and escorted to Keene. The procession came in at the lower end of Main street, and as it passed Miss Fiske's school the governor was gracefully received by the teachers and young ladies paraded in two lines in front of the building. Arriving at his home3 on Main street, by invitation of the governor, the escort partook of a colla- tion. The tables had been prepared in his yard north of the house, 4 and toasts were drunk and speeches made.
In October, 1831, there was a muster of the independ- ent companies of the Sixth, Twelfth and Twentieth regi- ments on Nine Lot Plain, now the Keene driving park. There were two companies of cavalry, the Ashuelot Cavalry
1 Westmoreland had 1,647; Swanzey, 1,816; Walpole, 1,979; Chesterfield, 2,046; Winchester, 2,052. Cheshire county had 27,016, gain, 173; New Hamp- shire, 269,533 ; gain, 25,372; the United States, 12,793,649, gain, 3,155,450. 2 His second term as captain.
8 Now known as the Laton Martin house, No. 95.
"Where the brick house now stands.
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of Keene, and one from the Twelfth regiment: three of artillery; two of grenadiers: four of light infantry; and four of riflemen. The Keene Light Infantry was commanded by Capt. James Wilson, Jr. They were reviewed by Gov. Dinsmoor; and Col. Franklin Pierce, a member of his staff, afterwards president of the United States, delivered an address. The day was fine and the military display was exceedingly brilliant.
Among the deaths that year were those of Capt. Asa Ware, aged eighty; Oliver Whitcomb, aged eighty-two; and Abijah Houghton, a Revolutionary pensioner, aged eighty-four.
The centennial anniversary of the birth of Washington was celebrated in Keene with elaborate demonstrations in 1832. A meeting of the citizens at the town hall in Janu- ary chose a general committee of two from each town in the county, among them Hon. Salma Hale and Henry Coolidge, of Keene, Larkin G. Mead, of Chesterfield, Levi Chamberlain, of Fitzwilliam, Gen. Samuel Griffin, of Rox- bury, Henry Melville, of Nelson, and A. H. Bennett, of Winchester. Gen. Justus Perry, Zebadiah Kise, Timothy Hall, Josiah Colony, John Wood, James Wilson, Jr., John H. Fuller, Abijah Wilder, Jr., and Thomas Thompson were the local executive committee. The principal ceremonies were at the meetinghouse, where Hon. James Wilson, senior, presided, with Hon. Nahum Parker, of Fitzwilliam, Hon. Phineas Handerson, of Chesterfield, and Hon. John Wood, of Keene, vice presidents. Hon. Salma Hale delivered an oration, and Rev. Z. S. Barstow served as chaplain. The music rendered by the choir under Mr. Eliphalet Briggs was described as "truly excellent." About eighty gentlemen sat down to dinner at Hatch's tavern, at the close of which thirteen regular toasts were drunk, with eloquent speeches in response. His excellency, Gov. Dinsmoor, was an invited guest. In the evening a ball was given at Hatch's, and the village was illuminated.
Some of the parents complained that their children received too much religious instruction in the schools, some of it, as they alleged, of a sectarian character; that the teachers and others distributed religious tracts among the
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of Keene, and one from the Twelfth regiment; three of artillery; two of grenadiers; four of light infantry; and four of riflemen. The Keene Light Infantry was commanded by Capt. James Wilson, Jr. They were reviewed by Gov. Dinsmoor; and Col. Franklin Pierce, a member of his staff, afterwards president of the United States, delivered an address. The day was fine and the military display was exceedingly brilliant.
Among the deaths that year were those of Capt. Asa Ware, aged eighty; Oliver Whitcomb, aged eighty-two; and Abijah Houghton, a Revolutionary pensioner, aged eighty-four.
The centennial anniversary of the birth of Washington was celebrated in Keene with elaborate demonstrations in 1832. A meeting of the citizens at the town hall in Janu- ary chose a general committee of two from each town in the county, among them Hon. Salma Hale and Henry Coolidge, of Keene, Larkin G. Mead. of Chesterfield, Levi Chamberlain, of Fitzwilliam, Gen. Samuel Griffin, of Rox- bury, Henry Melville, of Nelson, and A. H. Bennett, of Winchester. Gen. Justus Perry, Zebadiah Kise, Timothy Hall, Josiah Colony, John Wood, James Wilson, Jr., John H. Fuller, Abijah Wilder, Jr., and Thomas Thompson were the local executive committee. The principal ceremonies were at the meetinghouse, where Hon. James Wilson, senior, presided, with Hon. Nahum Parker, of Fitzwilliam, Hon. Phineas Handerson, of Chesterfield, and Hon. John Wood, of Keene, vice presidents. Hon. Salma Hale delivered an oration, and Rev. Z. S. Barstow served as chaplain. The music rendered by the choir under Mr. Eliphalet Briggs was described as "truly excellent." About eighty gentlemen sat down to dinner at Hatch's tavern, at the close of which thirteen regular toasts were drunk, with eloquent speeches in response. His excellency, Gov. Dinsmoor, was an invited guest. In the evening a ball was given at Hatch's, and the village was illuminated.
Some of the parents complained that their children received too much religious instruction in the schools, some of it, as they alleged, of a sectarian character; that the teachers and others distributed religious tracts among the
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pupils and spent too much time in devotions and exhorta- tions during school hours; and at the annual meeting this year the town voted its disapproval of those practices and directed that the teachers confine themselves to reading the Scriptures as prescribed by the committee, with one short prayer each day and instruction in those "moral virtues which are the ornaments of human society." The vote was recorded in full. The number of scholars in the public schools of Keene at this time was 768.
Gov. Dinsmoor was reelected in 1832, receiving 138 votes in Keene, the total cast being 292; while at the national election in November following, 344 Whig votes were cast, to 131 Democratic. He was also reelected the year following, without opposition.
In September the venerable Noah Webster, LL. D., spent a Sunday in Keene, and on Monday evening he gave an entertaining lecture at the town hall, telling his experi- ence and giving an account of the opposition he en- countered in his efforts to fix a uniform standard of pro- nunciation. The large octavo edition of his dictionary was then fast coming into use, and twelve million copies of his American Spelling Book had already been sold.
The Ashuelot bank was organized in 1833, with Sam- uel Dinsmoor, Phineas Handerson, John H. Fuller, Samuel Wood, Jr., Geo. S. Root, William Buffum, and Thomas M. Edwards, directors; Samuel Dinsmoor, president, and Sam- uel Dinsmoor, Jr., cashier. Its brick banking house was soon afterwards built on the west side of the Square, and there the bank still remains. Upon the death of his father, in 1835, S. Dinsmoor, Jr., was chosen president and Henry Seymour, from Brattleboro, cashier.
The Cheshire Provident Institution for Savings was also organized this year under an act of the legislature passed at the preceding session. The first meeting of the cor- porators was held on the 13th of August, at the Phoenix Hotel. Dr. Amos Twitchell was chosen president, Gen. Justus Perry and Abijah Wilder, Jr., vice presidents, and George Tilden, secretary and treasurer. Deposits were re- ceived, beginning Sept. 10, "every Tuesday from 2 until 5 p. m." The incorporators were leading men of Keene
OLD JAIL-1888-1884.
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and other towns in the county. The bank was in George Tilden's bookstore in the basement of the building south of A. & T. Hall's store, where the Cheshire bank now stands.
The old wooden jail, on the south corner of Mechanic and Washington streets had become unfit for use, three prisoners having escaped from it in 1830, and a new one was built in 1833, 24x36 feet, two stories high, all of Roxbury granite and iron except the rafters and planks for the slate roof-"one of the strongest and most thor- oughly built prisons in the Union." "A handsome brick house" was built in connection with it for the use of the jailor, now the residence of Mr. Ferdinand Petts. The stone residence opposite, on the site of Oliver Heaton's black- smith shop, was built the same year, of Marlboro granite, by Aaron Parker of Marlboro; and the brick house next south of it, by Abel Wilder.
The screw gimlet, which still stands at the head of all manufactures of the kind, had been invented just previous to this time by Gideon Newcomb of Roxbury, N. H., and had been made by him at his house, and by Everett New- comb and George Page, at Page's mill, on the North branch in Keene. These gimlets were now manufactured by Everett Newcomb and Azel Wilder at the shop of the latter near Faulkner & Colony's mills. That firm made improvements on the first invention and also made bits and augers of the same kind. Later, the business went to Chesterfield and to other places, and large fortunes have been made in the manufacture and sale of those tools.
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