USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Peterborough > History of the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire > Part 35
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* Sketch of Peterborough, Rev. E. Dunbar, Historical Coll., note, page 138, vol. 3.
+ Sketch of Peterborough, Rev. E. Dunbar, Historical Coll., note, page 138, vol. 3.
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ELIZABETH CUNINGHAM.
Elizabeth, b. March 15, 1784 ; m. Thomas Caldwell. Sarah M., b. May 4, 1786 ; m. James Cuningham, Jr. Rachel, b. May 10, 1788 ; m. Zacheus Porter ; r. Belfast, Me.
Fane, b. June 10, 1790 ; m. Hudson Bishop ; r. Belfast, Me .; d. Jan. 21, 1874, æ. 84 yrs., 7 mos.
Samuel, b. Nov. 5, 1792 ; m. Eliza Dummer ; r. Bucks- port, Me .; d. November, 1870, æ. 78 yrs. William, b. June 17, 1795 ; m. Charlotte Nesmith; r. Montville, Me. ; d. Sept. 9, 1871, æ. 76 yrs. James, b. Jan. 5, 1800 ; unm .; d. Belfast, Me.
JAMES CUNINGHAM, Jr., settled on the homestead, and took care of his parents in their last days. He m., Ist w., May 6, 1802, Hannah Porter. She d. July 10, 1804, æ. 25 yrs. ; c. Hem., 2d w., Sarah M. Cuningham, dau. of Samuel Cuningham, March 20, 1806. He re. to Rockford, Ill., in 1835, and d. there. She d. at Rockford.
28 29 30 3I 32 33 34 35 36 37
Isaac Newton, b. July 14, 1806 ; m. Nancy White, dau. Robert White.
James P., b. July 9, 1808 ; d. June 6, 1836, æ. 28 yrs.
Samuel, b. - -, 1810 ; d. Aug. 5, 1813, æ. 3 yrs.
Thomas, b. March 7, 1813 ; m.
Samuel, b. Aug. 15, 1815 ; m. Emily Cutter, of Jaffrey ; r. Rockford, Ill.
William, b. Nov. 5, 1817 ; went to California. Benjamin F., b. Feb. 3, 1820.
Sarah H., b. Sept. 14, 1822 ; d. Sept. 10, 1835, æ. 13 yrs. Rachel, b. -, 1824 ; d. Sept. 8, 1826, æ. 2 yrs.
George f., b. July 1, 1827 ; d. Aug. 8, 1831, æ. 5 yrs.
THE CUTLER FAMILY.
I
JOHN H. CUTLER, M. D., son of Charles Cutler, of Rindge, and Melinda Wright, of Ashby, was b. Feb. 16, 1834. He received his education at the common and high schools of his native town, the Merrimack Normal Insti- tute at Reed's Ferry, and at the Westminster Seminary, Vt. He pursued his medical studies in the office of Dr. O. H. Bradley, of East Jaffrey ; attended medical lect- ures at Pittsfield and Burlington, at which latter place he took his medical degree of M.D., June 9, 1861. After practising his profession in New Ipswich and Mason Village, he entered the army as assistant surgeon in the spring of 1864, and remained till the close of the war. After leaving the United States service, and looking at several fields for practice, he located himself in Peter-
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Bufford's Lith. Boston.
Daniel B. butter
ASA DAVIS.
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borough, in the fall of 1865, and has resided here since ; m., June 6, 1865, Martha Louise Ryan, b. in Sharon, Nov. 30, 1845.
Samuel Ryan, b. April 29, 1866.
Charles Henry, b. Sept 9, 1867.
Castella Melinda, b. Nov. 21, 1869.
Martha Evangeline, b. Oct. 20, 1875.
THE CUTTER FAMILY.
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DANIEL B. CUTTER, (Dr.) son of Daniel and Sally Jones Cutter, of Jaffrey, b. May 10, 1808, came to town as a prac- tising physician in 1837. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1833, and took his medical degree at Yale College, New Haven, in 1835. He spent two years in the practice of medicine at Ashby, Mass., before he re- moved to Peterborough. He has held important offices in town ; moderator for 1848, '49, '50 ; representative to General Court, 1852. He m., Ist w., Clementine Par- ker, dau. of Hon. Asa Parker, Jaffrey, Dec. 8, 1835 ; she d. Aug. 28, 1870 ; 2d w., Mrs. Tryphena T. Rich- ardson, Dec. 5, 1872.
Lucia Antoinette, b. Sept. 7, 1836 ; d. July 25, 1854, æ. 18 yrs. Isabella P., b. July 6, 1847 ; m. Albert Noone ; d. March 16, 1871, æ. 23 yrs.
EDWARD S. CUTTER, a graduate of Dartmouth Col- lege, 1844, son of Daniel and Sally Jones Cutter, of Jaffrey, was b. March 27, 1822. He studied law, and practised his profession in town until he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Hillsboro Co., when he removed to Amherst. He was moderator in town, 1852, '56, '57, '58. He m., Ist w., Janet Swan, May 21, 1850. She d. 1873, æ. 42 yrs .; m., 2d w., Dec. 21, 1874, Sarah A. Lord, of Boston.
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Edward f., b. July 5, 1855. Henry A., b. Oct. 27, 1857. Anna L., b. June 13, 1863. Leonard T., b. Nov. 3, 1871.
THE DAVIS FAMILY.
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ASA DAVIS, son of Asa and Lydia Laughton Davis, of Hancock, was b. Oct. 7, 1806, received his education at the common schools, which were then very limited, and
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ASA DAVIS.
spent his early life on the farm with his parents to his majority. The first three years after were spent in stone work and road building ; the first year in stone work, and in the subsequent two years he contracted and built ten miles of the Forest Road, so called, between Mar- low and Hancock. He then purchased the Bradford Mills in 1833, and carried them on six years. In 1839 he re. to Peterborough, having purchased of Gen. James Wilson a half of the old grist-mill formerly owned by Job Hill, and in partnership with him built the granite-mill as it now stands. After its erection it was fitted up in the best possible manner for grinding all kinds of grain, and especially for a flouring-mill. It was soon, under his care, one of the best establishments of the kind in the State. The adjoining dwelling-house was built in 1841. He carried on this mill for nine years with great success and reputation, so that it was resorted to from all this region which imposed upon him such a degree of labor that his health failed, and he was compelled to withdraw from the business. He sold out in 1848 to Thayer & Buckminster. He commenced trading in " Powers Building" in 1848, having purchased the same in 1846, which business he still continues at the same place. He also carries on a large business in quarrying stone on Granite Street. He lives on Pine Street, in the house south of Albert S. Scott's, on same side of the road, and opposite to the house of F. A. Tarbell ; Rep- resentative 1854 ; Selectman 1856, '57, '58, '66, '67, '68 ; Overseer of the Poor eight or nine years ; Road Agent nine years, and also many minor offices in town. m., Dec. 15, 1831, Permelia Washburn, dau. John Wash- burn, of Hancock ; b. Lempster, June 28, 1810.
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Adelia A., b. in Hancock, Oct. 19, 1832.
Anna M., b. in Hancock, Dec. 14, 1833.
Wilbur E., b. in Hancock, March 7, 1838 ; m. Aug. 19, 1864, Ann E. Carson, of Chicopee, Mass., one ch., Marion, b. Aug. 26, 1875.
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Charlie Freddie, b. April 10, 1850 ; d. Sept. 13, 1853, æ. 3 yrs., 5 mos.
THE DAVISON FAMILY.
THOMAS DAVISON (Deacon) came to this country from Ireland, and settled in Londonderry when he was quite a young man. His brother, John Davison, and his fa- ther-in-law, Matthew Wright, came with him when he emigrated to Peterborough, and settled in Jaffrey. Matthew Wright's oldest daughter is said to be the first
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51
THOMAS DAVISON.
child born in Jaffrey. Deacon Davison had a large fam- ily of ten children. He was b. in 1727 ; m. Anna Wright, 1757. He d. April 11, 1813, æ. 86 yrs. She d. Jan. 4, 1823, æ. 88 yrs. He began the place in the south-western part of the town where he lived and died. There is some uncertainty as to the precise time he came to town. It must have been after his marriage, which occurred not far from 1757, as the first child, Thomas, was b. Dec. 20, 1758. It was probably in 1757 that he took up his permanent residence here.
Mr. Davison was a deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and his name is among the remonstrants to Mr. Dun- bar's settlement in 1799 ; but he subsequently joined his church in 1802, and retained his connection till his death. As to his religious character we know nothing. It is supposed that he met all the requirements of his office. Mr. Dunbar, April 12, 1813, makes this record in the Church Book : Attended the funeral of the aged and venerable Deacon Thomas Davison ; preached at the house of the deceased from Luke 2d ch., 29, 30 VS. Deacon Davison's name appears on the Town Records in 1764 as Deer-keeper (what was his function?), and in 1778 as one of the Committee of Safety, an office which none could hold but tried patriots.
He was a man of much energy of character, and by his industry and perseverance succeeded well in life. He first purchased one hundred acres of land, and after making some improvements upon it, he bought land in Jaffrey, near the south-west corner of Peterborough, and built a saw-mill on the Contoocook River, probably on the spot of the Chamberlain Mills, so called. This mill he carried on for many years, going from home in the morning and returning in the evening, a distance of more than two miles. He gave his sons farms, and to most of his daughters he gave land. To his son Will- iam he gave the home farm, and all the land west of Deacon Robert Smith's farm to the Jaffrey line, and the land south to the Sharon line. He was considered a temperate man in his day, and it is not supposed that he transmitted tastes and appetites to his descendants that have resulted in the ruin of so many of his sons and grandsons. It has been supposed that the tendency to this vice in Deacon Davison's family came from the maternal side, and was owing to the injurious influence of Matthew Wright upon the young men. Mr. Wright was a man of superior talents and attractive powers, but very intemperate. He professed to be an infidel, and wished everybody he met to be like himself. His opin- ions were very abhorrent to the people of his day. It
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THOMAS DAVISON.
was said that, on the day of his death, he called his son Francis to his bedside and said : "When I am dead, I want you to tak the big jug and gang down to New Ipswich and get it filled with rum, and when I am buried give the poor divils all the rum they want." We are in- debted to George W. Moore, of Medina, Mich., for most of the above.
Thomas, b. Dec. 20, 1758 ; m. Betsey Pierce, of Dublin ; two ch., Asa and Jonas.
Charles, b. Sept. 10, 1760 ; m. Abigail Evans, June, 1785 ; c. He d. Dec. 31, 1831, @. 71 yrs. She d. April 4, 1842, æ. 74 yrs. ; b. Sept. 15, 1768.
Mary, b. May 2, 1762 ; m. Maj. Jotham Hoar.
Sarah, b. Feb. 15, 1766 ; m. Samuel Patrick, of Jaffrey ; six ch.
Betsey, b. - ; m. Dr. - Frisby ; r. Phelpstown, N. Y. ; three ch.
John, b. -; was in U. S. service, war of 1812 ; d. at Lewiston, N.Y.
Robert, b. -; m. Dolly Phelps ; re. to Canada ; nine ch.
Anna, b. -; m. Capt. Alpheus Dodge ; r. Derby, Vt. ; eight ch.
Hannah, b. -; m. Dr. Ezra Clark ; re. West ; two ch.
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WILLIAM DAVISON. He settled on the homestead and lived there during his life. He m. Abigail Hunt, sister to Deacon Timothy Hunt, July 9, 1795. She d. Feb. 29, 1796, æ. 24 yrs. He m., 2d w., Nov. 15, 1798, Jane Wright, his cousin, b. Nov. 18, 1777 ; d. April 1, 1860, æ. 82 yrs. She was the mother of all his children. He died of a cancer Jan. 29, 1838, æ. 70 yrs. The farm is yet in possession of the family.
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Matthew W., b. Feb. 27, 1799 ; unm. ; d. Sept. 25, 1835, æ. 36 yrs.
Abigail, b. Jan. 27, 1802 ; m. Moses Cutter Jaffrey ; three ch.
Thomas, b. Aug. 28, 1806 ; unm.
Francis, b. Sept. 6, 1808 ; unm. ; d. Oct. 31, 1832, æ. 25 yrs.
William, b. Sept. 9, 1810 ; unm. ; in poorhouse, Branch County, Mich., by intemperance.
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John, b. Dec. 3, 1812 ; m. -; r. Holyoke, Mass. Charles, b. Feb. 19, 1816 ; d.
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2 3 4 5 6 t William, b. Feb. 6, 1768 ; m., Ist w., Abigail Hunt ; 2d w., Jane Wright.
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WILLIAM DIAMOND.
Calvin, b. Nov. 16, 1818 ; unm. ; d. May 7, 1850, æ. 31 yrs. Fane, b. Jan. 25, 1821 ; m. - Nichols ; d. about 1848.
THE DAY FAMILY.
I
JOSEPH DAY was the son of Robert Day, who lived in the south part of Greenfield. He was b. in Andover, Mass., Sept 19, 1777 ; m. Esther Tuel. After marriage he moved to Vermont. She was the mother of his six children. Mr. Day moved to Peterborough in 1823, and bought and occupied the place on which John H. Holt now lives, till 1843, when he re. to Bennington, where he d. June, 1850, æ. 72 yrs., 8 mos .; Ist w. d. at Antrim, 1829 ; m., 2d w., Widow Peavey.
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Joseph, b. Sept. 19, 1801 ; d. in Georgia, 1841. Esther S., b. Dec. 21, 1803 ; m. -; d. 1871, æ. 68 yrs. Mary, b. March 1, 1805 ; d. July, 1829, æ. 24 yrs., 4 mos.
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Robert, b. Washington, Nov, 23, 1807 ; m. Lydia N. Carr. Henry Payson, b. Rindge, April 8, 1812 ; d. 1815. George H., b. Feb. 16, 1816 ; d. young.
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ROBERT DAY came to town with his father's family in 1823 ; was trained to the cabinet-making trade. Com- menced business in 1832, having bought the shop of Moses Dodge, situated near to the North Factory ; m. Lydia N. Carr, Dec. 4, 1832. He sold his property in town, and re. to the North Branch, Antrim, April, 1874, where he now resides.
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German, b. April 17, 1834 ; m. Hannah Forbush, Oct. 10, 1861 ; one ch., Katie H.
Edwin, b. July 5, 1836 ; now lives in Exeter ; of firm of Hobbs & Day, photographic artists.
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Mary, b. Sept. 8, 1838 ; m. Samuel S. Sawyer, of An- trim, May 15, 1861.
Louisa, b. Feb. 9, 1841 ; m. Horace Gowing, July 13, 1869 ; r. Wakefield, Mass.
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Harry, b. Jan. 21, 1845 ; d. of consumption Aug. 17, 1867, æ. 22 yrs., 6 mos.
THE DIAMOND FAMILY.
I
WILLIAM DIAMOND was b. in Boston, July 21, 1755, where he served his time in apprenticeship to the wheel- wright trade. He re. to Lexington in 1775, where he continued to reside till he came to Peterborough in 1795.
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WILLIAM DIAMOND.
He first occupied the place where Asa Carley lived for five years, and then bought and begun the farm where John D. Diamond now lives. He d. on this place, sud- denly, July 29, 1828, æ. 73 yrs. He m. Rebecca Sy- monds, of Lexington, b. Sept. 1, 1762. She d. April 8, 1855, æ. 92 yrs., 7 mos.
Mr. Diamond was a drummer in the military service of his country, and said that he learned this art of a British soldier who was stationed at Boston. Mr. Dia- mond was the drummer of the sixty or seventy militia or minute men who stood on Lexington Common on the morning of April 19, 1775. He said he knew the name of every man who was on parade that morning. Wheth- er there was anything menacing in the attitude or ap- pearance of these men, history does not tell us. It is certain they evinced no fear, and probably cast a look of defiance upon their invaders. They did not mean to be the aggressors, but waited till they were attacked, slaughtered, murdered, before they fired. The British, on their refusal to surrender, thought to make summary work with such a handful of men, and at once poured into their ranks a deadly volley of shots. At the first fire five were killed, and as many at the second, and a con- siderable number wounded. It was a dastardly act, - so many well-armed and disciplined soldiers firing a deadly volley into a handful of undisciplined, unarmed militia. It gloriously opened the ball of the Revolution. After the first fire, Capt. Parker told every man to take care of himself. Mr. Diamond said he had to step over the body of one of his comrades when he started to run, and that he took the Bedford road from the Common, and wishing to disencumber himself of his drum, he found he could not detach it, so he slipped it over his head, and by so doing he threw off his hat. He then threw his drum over the wall, and stooping to pick up his hat he saw the British bayonets so near him that he had to run for life and leave it. Nothing daunted, and having obtained a musket and ammunition of a man who had neither the courage nor the disposition to use it himself, he rushed on to Concord, and reaching the town before the British troops, he took part in the fight there, and with his brave comrades hung on the rear of the invad- ers all the way from Concord through Lincoln and Lex- ington, till the British were reinforced by twelve hun- dred men below Lexington. Mr. Diamond recognized among the troops the soldier who had taught him to drum, who endeavored to make a sign to him of the hostile and deadly intent of the invaders, but he was not then understood.
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NETTIE HELEN DIAMOND.
Mr. Diamond at once entered the service of the Colo- nies, and was subsequently at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He thought that Gen. Warren threw his life away by needlessly exposing himself during the battle. He served all through the war of the Revolution as a drum- mer. He received a pension in his last days, which at his death was continued to his wife during her long life.
Rebecca, b. Lexington, Sept. 20, 1783 ; m. Joseph Mace. t William, b. Lexington, Nov. 20, 1785 ; m. Lucinda Haggett, Nov. 18, 1824.
Mary, b. Lexington, April 5, 1788 ; m. Joseph Johnson, Greenfield ; d. 1857, æ. 71 yrs.
t Fohn S., b. Lexington, Aug. 9, 1790 ; m. Octavia Davis, of Concord, Mass.
Elizabeth, b. Lexington, March 4, 1792 ; m. James Bar- ker ; re. Wisconsin.
Lydia, b. Peterborough, May 6, 1797 ; m. Aaron Avery ; re. Wisconsin.
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WILLIAM DIAMOND. He lived in the east part of the town on a farm directly west of his father's. He m. Lu- cinda Haggett, dau. of Abner Haggett, Nov. 18, 1824. He d. Jan. 25, 1872, æ. 86 yrs. A few years before his death he sold his farm, and bought the William White place, where he died.
Mary Louisa, b. -; m. Frank Condy ; one ch., Ida. Caroline, b. -; m. Joseph Fifield, Roxbury, Mass.
Elizabeth, b. - -; m. Gorham Hall, Manchester ; d. -
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JOHN S. DIAMOND m. Octavia Davis, of Concord, Mass., Dec. 28, 1819 ; b. Oct. 12, 1800. They have al- ways lived in town. He is a wheelwright by trade. He is now living on the old homestead.
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t John Davis, b. Aug. 6, 1821 ; m. Laura Ann Farwell. Octavia Lavina, b. Aug. 18, 1825 ; m. Daniel Edes, Jr., March 29, 1853.
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JOHN DAVIS DIAMOND. He lives on the old home- stead, and is a wheelwright by trade. He m. Laura Ann Farwell, b. June 23, 1834.
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Laura Ada, b. July 21, 1854. George F., b. July 26, 1856. John C., b. Oct. 23, 1863.
I6 Nettie Helen, b. July 12, 1870. .
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MOSES DODGE.
THE DODGE FAMILY.
I
MOSES DODGE, son of Nathaniel and Sally Bailey Dodge, was b. in New Boston, March 17, 1779, where he spent his youth. He learned the carpenter's trade in Vermont. Came to Peterborough in 1814 to build the machinery of the North Cotton Factory in company with Andrew Harris. He remained here through his life. He at one time carried on the cabinet-making business. He d. 1850, æ. 71 yrs. He m. Sally Rich- ardson, of Holliston, Mass. He was Selectman 1829, 30, '31. He was much respected as a worthy and hon- est man.
THE DUNBAR FAMILY.
ELIJAH DUNBAR, Jr., (Rev.) was the son of Elijah and Sarah Dunbar, of Canton, Mass., and grandson of Rev. Samuel Dunbar of that part of Stoughton now Can- ton. He was b. July 7, 1773. A sermon preached by Rev. Jason Haven in Dedham, Mass., on Sunday, June 18, 1783, at the funeral of the Rev. Samuel Dunbar, pas- tor of the first church and society in that town gives the following facts : He was in the seventy-ninth year of his age and the fifty-sixth of his ministry. Mr. Dunbar was a decided friend of the liberties of his country. In 1775 he was Chaplain to Col. Brown's regiment in the expedi- tion against Crown Point. His zeal and firmness in the Revolution contributed not a little to support the hopes and sustain the sinking spirits of the people when cloud- and darkness shrouded our prospects. This man was reported to have left seven thousand manuscript sers mons. They were written in characters peculiar to him- self, so that no one now can decipher them, and, per- haps, with no great loss to the world either.
Rev. E. Dunbar was fitted for college by his grand- father, the above, and entered Harvard College in 1790, and graduated in due course in 1794. We may form some idea of his scholarship in college from the fact that immediately on graduating he was selected as a tutor in Mathematics in Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., just then organized and commencing operation. He remained here two years and then studied divinity. It seems that he came and preached at Stoddard before he was engaged in this town. He was ordained over the church and society Oct. 23, 1799, and remained pastor of same twenty-seven years, till Feb. 25, 1827, when he preached his last sermon as minister of this society, and was formally dismissed June 27, 1827. He never en-
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ELIJAH DUNBAR, JR.
gaged in another pastorate. He preached occasionally for some years, retaining his faculties in full to the last. For the last five years of his life he resided at Milford with his wife's sister, Clarissa Peabody, where he died Sept. 3, 1850, æ. 77 yrs. His funeral was held at the Unitarian church in Peterborough on the 7th of Septem- ber, and the services were conducted by Rev. Levi W. Leonard, D.D., and the Rev. Liberty Billings, then pas- tor of the Congregational Society. Mr. Leonard preached a sermon on the occasion ; and then his re- mains were consigned to that last resting-place on the Meeting-house Hill, where he had so long ministered in all seasons and weathers, and to the old cemetery hal- lowed by so many associations of the old and venerated inhabitants of Peterborough. He always lived on the same place in town after his marriage,-the farm north of the John Little place, which he held in his possession till his death.
Mr. Dunbar published very little during his life. All that has been found is a catechism called the " Peterbor- ough Catechism," prepared to aid him in catechising the children in 1815. It is very rare, and mankind will sus- tain but little loss if it becomes entirely extinct. He also published a sermon preached at the funeral of Rev. Edward Sprague, Dec. 18, 1817 ; and a sketch of Peter- borough in Moore and Farmer's Historical Collections in 1822, which has been the basis of all the gazetteer no- tices of Peterborough hitherto.
It is not the antiquary alone that has to lament that during the late war of the Rebellion the price of old pa- per became so high that almost every family, all through the country, cleared out their attics of all accumulated papers, pamphlets, and useless books, to the serious det- riment of literature and of all town historians. It is to this cause no doubt that these publications have become so scarce.
Mr. Dunbar had few of the graces of oratory, or even of good elocution, but his enunciation was always good, his voice sufficiently loud and clear to be heard in all parts of the house. He was free from any disagreeable intonation, or any peculiar or sanctified tone, and was always natural in his manner of speaking. This is more than could be said of the clergy generally seventy-five or even fifty years ago. There was almost always a peculiar manner assumed in the services of public wor- ship, such as a drawl, or a peculiarly holy tone, or a wrong emphasis or accent on certain words, or a vitiated pronunciation of words which were of most frequent oc- currence, and indeed such a manner of speaking as was 8
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ELIJAH DUNBAR, JR.
met with nowhere else but in the pulpit. We could not say that Mr. Dunbar's manner of speaking was pleasing, but it was respectable and free from great faults. He stood up without a single gesture and read his sermon, holding it up with one hand before him, which was writ- ten on paper folded in a duodecimo form (6x3} inches size), - the usual form of the sermons of that day.
The sermons, as I remember them, would vary from three-fourths to an hour in length, and the whole service was rarely less than an hour and a half long ; and will it be believed in this generation that all this must take place in cold weather, in a cold house, to which no fire ever approached, so that it got to be the general belief that public worship and artificial heat were incompati- bles? How often Mr. Dunbar has preached in the old meeting-house on the hill in dead of winter one sermon, for his hearers could endure no more, for fear of freez- ing to death, and yet all these same worshippers would have deemed a fire in the church an effeminacy and im- propriety of the grossest kind. In all his ministry he never knew the luxury of a fire in the meeting-house till his last year, when he preached in the new church.
Many persons not acquainted with Mr. Dunbar have thought that he was a man of inferior talents, because he knew so little of men and things, and withal was so credulous and unsuspecting. This was a great mistake. He possessed an intellect of a high order ; he was a brilliant scholar, and if he could only have been able to keep pace with the progress in his profession, could have had leisure and the books and literature of his time, he would have left a name among the very first.
He had never kept up with the times, a thing impos- sible for him, situated as he was, and perhaps it might have been this circumstance more than any other that led to his dismission, while he was yet in his full prime. He was called old-fashioned ; his preaching was dull, his manner uninteresting; he used the old phraseology without the old dogma ; was entirely unacquainted with what was going on in the theological world at the very time when Unitarianism was just emerging to the light in Massachusetts, in the controversies of Channing, Wood, and Stuart. Mr. Dunbar was always genial and pleasant, and in his manner polite and courteous. In his conversation he always used the best language, never in his life uttering a low or slang phrase. He was an agreeable talker, always clearly and directly expressing what he wished to say, though it could not perhaps be said that he was very highly gifted in this respect.
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