USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Richmond > History of the town of Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, from its first settlement, to 1882 > Part 15
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Silas F. Jillson, son of Wheaton C. Jillson, was living in Berlin, Mass., when the war commenced. He enlisted in Company A, 25th Massachusetts regi- ment. He served three years, and then re-enlisted in same. He died at Charlotte, N. C., of disease contracted in the service, June, 1865, just as the regi- ment was leaving for home. Was not married.
Benjamin Newell, jr., enlisted in Company F., 14th New Hampshire regiment, and was with the regiment in the Louisiana campaign. He was taken sick, and was in the hospital at Philadelphia, and from thence was removed to Richmond and died soon after his arrival, October 14, 1864. He left be- hind a wife and six children.
Dexter Palmer, who lived with Barnabas Barrus, enlisted in Company I, 16th New Hampshire regi- ment. He returned with the regiment to Concord in August, 1863, and then died before reaching his home, of disease contracted in the service. He left a wife, who married Hiram Bryant.
Nahum Putney, who lived on the William Hill farm, enlisted in Company I, 16th. New Hampshire regiment, and died of disease at Algiers, La., June 12, 1863. He left a wife and seven children.
John Starkey, jr., was sergeant of Company F, 6th New Hampshire regiment, and was killed at the second battle of Bull Run, August 29, 1862. He left a wife and two children.
Caleb C. Harris, son of Lorenzo Harris, who was
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living in Orange, enlisted August 4, 1862, in Com- pany H, 36th Massachusetts regiment. He died in the service, October 31, 1864.
Other Richmond men, living with their families in other places, are worthy of special mention for services rendered and sacrifices made. Among the more dis- tinguished of these are Captain David Buffum and Captain Amos Buffum, sons of Dan Buffum, both of whom lost their lives in the service, a more par- ticular mention of which may be found in the gene- alogy of the Buffum family.
John Pickering, son of Timothy Pickering, Esq., who was living in Cascade, Iowa, in 1865, was drafted, and while on his way to join the army died of disease at Louisville, Ky. He had a wife, but no children.
Edgar Parkhurst, son of John Parkhurst, jr., who was born in Richmond about 1840, enlisted in the service in Pennsylvania, and died of wounds or dis- ease contracted in the same. He is said to have been a young man of much promise, and was a law student at the time.
Twenty-three, at least, of those that were counted on the quotas of the town, together with other natives of the town living elsewhere, were either killed in battle or died of disease contracted in the service.
ENROLLMENT OF MILITIA, JULY, 1862.
Francis S. Aldrich,
Samuel Lesure,
Daniel P. Thompson, Nahum Cass, John H. Johnson, Ahaz Cass,
William W. Starkey,
Otis Martin,
Hosea B. Aldrich,
Anderson Aldrich,
Charles W. Aldrich,
Lyman Starkey,
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Martin Cook,
Reuben H. Coombs,
Paul J. Bullock,
Parley Amadon, Orlan Whipple,
Daniel Twitchell,
Ansel Martin,
Hiram P. Sprague,
Leason Martin, jr.,
Vibbert Whipple,
Robert Martin, 2d,
Alvan H. Atherton,
Willard Martin,
Andrew S. Arnold,
Nathaniel B. Fisher,
Lucius Carroll,
Andrew J. Starkey,
John A. Bryant,
Alfred A. Tolman,
Lewis G. Rich,
John G. Dingman,
Asahel Kelton, jr.,
Henry E. Tolman,
Lucius L. Fisher,
Melvin Smith,
Dexter Palmer,
William W. Ballou,
William Nash,
Abner S. Barden,
Alvan Kimpton,
David H. Aldrich,
Enoch D. Sprague,
George W. Stratton,
Zerah C. Goddard,
Jarvis Ingalls,
Luther W. Wright,
Henry R. Bowen,
John Parker,
Alonzo C. Bowen,
Curtis Parker,
Wright Wood,
Simeon Kimpton,
Ebenezer S. Cook,
Asahel I. Goddard,
Stephen W. Williams,
Ozro T. Cass,
Charles Norwood,
Oscar F. Blanding,
Almando Ballou,
George T. Curtis,
Sumner P. Taylor,
Henry O. Curtis,
Lewis W. Randall,
Jonas B. Wheeler,
Stephen S. Perry,
Frank G. Amadon,
Daniel C. Perry,
Andrew Amadon,
Asa H. Bullock,
Nathaniel Naromore, jr.,
French Hunt,
George B. Naromore,
Asahel Bennett,
Robert Aldrich,
George H. Taylor,
George W. Randall,
Frank M. Taylor,
Anthony S. Whitcomb,
Lorin L. Taylor,
James Harkness,
Benjamin Newell, jr.,
John F. Whitcomb,
Rufus Freeman,
Dennis Harkness,
William Garnsey,
John M. Ballou, Silas B. Boyce,
Walter A. Scott,
Albert W. Bolles,
Samuel P. French,
Israel C. Hale, jr.,
Julius M. Whipple,
Henry R. Martin,
Stephen M. Whipple,
George G. Martin,
Ethan M. Allen,
James M. Bennett,
Warren A. Pickering,
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Amos Garnsey, jr.,
Joseph Whipple,
Willard J. Ballou,
Lysander Ballou,
William Whipple, 2d,
Asa W. Allen,
Asahel G. Sprague,
Jerahmeel Allen,
Ambrose W. Swan,
Silas Whipple,
James H. Buffum,
Amos Martin,
Charles Howe, George B. Handy,
Charles L. Johnson,
Charles Newton,
Ozial Ballou,
James M. Ballou,
Marcus D. Crooks,
Franklin O. Bowen,
Emery Cass,
Samuel Bolles,
Elisha W. Harkness,
Nathaniel Hills.
Addison Paine,
Total, one hundred and twenty-five, not including some in the service.
WAR RALLIES.
Meetings for the purpose of promoting enlistments were held at various times when new calls were made for men to fill the depleted ranks of the armies of the Republic. The enrolled men of the town liable to military duty were the persons most inter- ested in these rallies, as in case of deficiency of vol- unteers, the draft was sure to come to some who had no especial taste for the music. Prior to the organi- zation of the 14th New Hampshire regiment, an enthusiastic war rally was held in the Quaker grove, at the Four corners, in which Captain Ripley and several others of Winchester took an active and lead- ing part. Quite a number were induced to enlist at this time. And, again, at the old town -house, another meeting was held to drum up recruits. At this meeting the principal speaker appears to have been Benjamin Newell, jr., whose patriotic appeals were supplemented by his acts, as he immediately enlisted in that service which he recommended to
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others, thereby demonstrating to the world his honesty of purpose. Of no less interest was a meeting held at the Brick church for the purpose of obtaining volunteers for the 16th New Hampshire, in which Captain David Buffum took a leading part. He, too, invited the boys to engage in the country's defence from the highest considerations of duty and patriotism, the perils and honors of which service he was willing to share with them. His appeal was probably more effective in saying "Come, boys !" than in the injunction more frequently made at war- meetings of "Go, boys, your country calls you !" Other meetings of lesser note were held at times to devise ways and means to answer the repeated calls for more men. As a matter of necessity in nearly all towns, recourse was had in the last years of the war to the purchase of substitutes and recruits. In this the town followed the example set by the fathers, both in the war of the Revolution and in the war of 1812.
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
BIBLE
The ecclesiastical history of the town presents some phases of special interest to the student engaged in examining the early religious organizations of New
.
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England. In no other town, perhaps, outside of Rhode Island, was the Puritanic element less distin- guishable than in the town of Richmond; the first settlers coming from a state filled with refugees from Massachusetts, brought with them the religious tenets held by the people from whence they came; these were largely of the Baptist and Quaker denomina- tions, which at the time were possessed of sufficient zeal and vitality to commence at once the work of organizing meetings for public worship, which even- tually grew into churches possessing considerable activity 'and strength. For seventy years after the town was organized, these continued to occupy the field exclusively, except that about 1776 the Baptist church was divided by the seceding of a portion of the members who formed a second Baptist church, which continued separate about fourteen years. About 1835 a new Baptist church was formed, as the old church at this time was nearly if not quite extinct. In 1837 the Universalists and Unitarians organized societies, and about the same time the Methodist soci- ety was first formed. The following pages will be devoted to a more particular consideration, respec- tively, of all the churches and societies above named, presenting such facts pertaining to each as have been gleaned from diverse sources and meager records, found oftentimes in distant places.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
The First Baptist church was formed 1768, and was among the first Baptist churches organized in New Hampshire. There was one at Newtown and per- haps one or two more in the eastern part of the state.
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TOWN OF RICHMOND.
Elder Maturin Ballou had moved into town in 1768, and had labored in the field two years before he was ordained, which took place September 27, 1770. The names of the members cannot, with the means at hand, be definitely ascertained, as the records of this church are now nowhere to be found. The church was connected with the Warren Association of Rhode Island, a denomination known as " the Six- principle Baptists " whose theological views were deduced largely from the sixth chapter of Hebrews, first and second verses. They insisted on simplicity in modes of worship, and like the Friends, they re- lied on the operation of the Divine Spirit for direc- tion in their public ministrations, and religious services. Their ministers were not expected to be professionally educated ; ability to edify their hear- ers was considered essential, whether obtained by practice in exhortation or otherwise, and the only compensation for their services was the free and vol- untary offerings of the people. No instrumental music was tolerated in their worship, and at first in some churches singing was hardly allowable. Such appears to have been some of the religious views and observances of the Baptists connected with the War- ren Association. The more noticeable difference however, between these and other Baptists, was the laying on of hands, but this was not considered essen- tial or obligatory. Meetings at first were held at Elder Ballou's, but sometimes at Deacon Simeon Thayer's, and at Elder Artemas Adrich's, until the building of the meeting-house, 1780 .* The church became divided in 1776 by reason of a controversy
* See page 185 for additional details and description of building.
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about ministerial taxes and the glebe lands, so called, one share of which, by the charter of the township, belonged to the first settled minister, and as Elder Maturin was the first, the case appears quite clear that he should have had without question the one share expressly so named in the grant ; but such was
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GROUND PLAN OF FIRST BAPTIST MEETING-HOUSE.
the opposition of those belonging to other denomina- tions, in which some of his own church may have joined, that for the sake of peace and harmony, the good old Elder was induced substantially to quitclaim to the town, by naming in the deed as grantees 126 tax payers of the town, a part of the land that had been assigned to him under the charter ; this lot was in the twelfth range, bordering on Winchester.
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TOWN OF RICHMOND.
The grievance complained of by people in other towns who were compelled to pay "minister's rates " for preaching, whether they believed it or not, did not apply to Richmond. The Baptists, as did the Friends, relied wholly on voluntary contributions for their sup- port. But members of this old church living in other towns were oppressed in this regard, as the following extract from a letter from this church to the Warren Association in 1771 more fully shows :
We request some special advice on several occasions : for we are young in such cases, for we meet with great opposition in our province, and the main point of their objection is, they say our settlement is not according to law, so that they threaten to pay no . regard to our certificates given to our brethren living in other towns. Another particular is, it is so ordered in our charter by the King's grant that one whole share of land shall be given to the Church of England, one whole share to the Incorporated Society to Propagate the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and one whole share to the first settled minister of the gospel in said town. Our Elder being the first, we think it belongs to him, but being opposed by the inhabitants of the town of other denominations, we ask your advice what we had best do. Furthermore, there are a number of brethren in the town of Rindge, in our province, who are embodied in church state, with government and articles of faith agreeable to ours, and are under our care to assist them in administering the ordinances of the Gospel. These brethren have suffered much by the inhabitants of their town, who have taken away their cattle and sold them at the post for their minister's rates, and they are threatened still to be used in like manner; they require us to make request for them, what they had better do."
In response to this appeal, the President of Brown University was requested to write to Rev. Hezekiah Smith, of Haverhill, "That if possible he might make interest with the governor or some of the great men to redress their grievances." Notwithstanding this want of sympathy from the town, the church
15
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HISTORY OF THE
increased from twenty-nine to seventy-nine members in three years.
In order to convey more clearly to the general reader the exceptional state of affairs in church and town at this time, it is necessary to revert back to the policy of the Puritans in the first settlement of New England, which was to build up a religious commonwealth by the union of church and state ; hence all matters pertaining to the church were sub- jects of legislation and town action. The meeting- house was usually built by the town. Provision for the minister was made at the public expense by an annual appropriation. Every town was expected to have an orthodox church in unison with all the other churches thus founded. These were called the " standing order." Every person liable to taxation had at first to pay for the support of these. After- wards, the law was so modified that every one must pay to some church or society, leaving it optional as to the one he should pay ; but here in Richmond there was no standing order. The town, as such, appears never to have invested a single cent in church mat- ters any way. They paid for preaching or not as they pleased, for there was no church or society in town demanding payment for the support of public worship. Nearly all were Baptists, or Quakers, or Agnostics, who did not believe in compulsory attend- ance on churches, or forced payment for their sup- port. Later on, as is well known, all laws were repealed requiring compulsory payment of minis- terial taxes.
Having digressed somewhat from the topic under consideration, we will again revert to matters con- nected with the old Baptist church.
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TOWN OF RICHMOND.
The members whoseceded by reason of this con- troversy about taxes and the minister's land, formed a second Baptist church, with Elder Artemas Aldrich as its pastor. The meetings of this branch were prob- ably held a part of the time at Mr. Aldrich's house, which probably was the one now standing on the Joseph Newell farm. About 1780, there was a re- vival, which perhaps added to the numbers of both churches about forty members. And again, in 1790, occurred what was called the "Great Reforma- tion," inaugurated and carried on by the evangelists, Blaisdell and Marshall, by which nearly one hundred were thought to be hopefully converted, and among the number was Hosea Ballou, afterwards the cele- brated Universalist minister of Boston. At this time, the two churches laid aside their bickering, and united as one under the pastoral charge of Rev. Isaac Kenney, Elder Ballou having resigned his pas- torage in 1779, and Elder Aldrich his, when Elder
Kenney was ordained the next year, 1791. The church now was in its most flourishing condition by reason of the large accession recently made to its ranks, but from this forward the church continued steadily to diminish, both in numbers and in in- fluence. Elder Kenney remained until about 1801, when he removed to Royalston, and died soon after. After this, Elder Levi Hodge of Warwick, and Elder Nathaniel Bolles, and some others, from time to time, supplied the pulpit until about 1830, when scarcely a vestige of the old church remained. The following list embraces all that are known to have belonged to the first Baptist church, besides the ministers and their families, viz. : Deacon Ephraim Hix, Deacon Amos Garnsey, Deacon Simeon Thayer, Deacon
1
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HISTORY OF THE
Martin Ellis, Anthony Harris, Ebenezer Cole, James Kingsley, Daniel and Samuel Carpenter, Oliver Garnsey, Moulton Bullock, Nathaniel Cole, Jonathan and Nathaniel Bolles, Thomas Kelton, and Elnathan Jacobs. The two latter were probably from Warwick and Royalston.
From an inspection of the Warren Baptist Associ- ation, the following items of interest have been gathered : The Richmond Baptist church was re- ceived into the association in 1771, and was repre- sented yearly by Rev. Maturin Ballou from 1771 to 1778, inclusive, with the exception of one year, 1772. The number of members in 1778 was seventy-nine. In 1780 it was represented by Rev. Maturin and Moulton Bullock, and reported eighty-three mem- bers. In 1782 Rev. Maturin, N. Cole and T. Kelton were representatives. In 1783 the church was not represented, but reported one hundred and twenty- two members. In 1785, represented by Oliver Garnsey, reported thirty-nine members, and the same number reported in 1789. In 1791, reported forty- five members added and two excluded; total, one hundred and four. In 1792, Elder Isaac Kenney, Martin Ellis, and Elnathan Jacobs, represented the church, and reported sixty-one members added ; total, one hundred and sixty-one. In 1793, reported Isaac Kenney as minister, with three members added, nineteen dismissed, three excluded, two died; total, one hundred and forty. In 1794, Isaac Kenney, Moulton Bullock, and Nathaniel Bolles were repre- sentatives, and reported one hundred and forty-three members. After this time no mention is made of this church on the records of the association. The second Baptist church was not connected with any
MIDDLE OF THE TOWN (From Buffum Hill).
FOUR CORNERS (Looking North).
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TOWN OF RICHMOND.
association ; had forty-five members in 1780, Artemas Aldrich minister. The church, after the removal of Elder Kenney in 1801, was for some years under the pastoral charge of Elder Levi Hodge, whose super- vision extended over the churches of Royalston, Athol, Orange, and Northfield also. Elder Hodge died in 1819, after which term Elder Bolles probably had charge so long as meetings were held. The church became connected, under Elder Hodge, with the Leyden Association of Massachusetts.
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
With the advent of the first settlers of the town many of those who came from Rhode Island were members of the Society of Friends, more commonly called Quakers. These soon commenced holding meetings for worship on the first day of the week at private houses of individuals centrally located, more often, perhaps, at Daniel Cass' or Jedediah Buffum's, whose accommodations for such gatherings appear to have been more ample and convenient than those possessed by others. Permission was granted for these May 27, 1766, by the Uxbridge quarterly meeting. These were continued until about 1790, when a meeting-house was built at the Four corners, on land given by Jedediah Buffum, who donated to the society about four acres of land for a site for the meeting-house, land for a burying place, together with wood and other land for the society's use. The house was so located as to leave a small common in front, which was bounded on the west by a small barn, or wood-shed, and a row of horse-sheds.
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HISTORY OF THE
These afforded ample accommodations and con- veniences for the society, and for a time were instru- mental in extending its influence by presenting a more durable basis for its permanence and utility. Members of the society, prior to the building of the meeting-house, belonged to the Uxbridge " Monthly Meeting," but now having a meeting- house, and a goodly number of attendants, they ap- plied for and obtained the privilege of establishing a monthly meeting here in 1791. Henceforward, for some years the society was in its most prosperous condition, until one after another of the main sup- ports of the meeting were taken away by death or removal to other parts. The vacancies made were seldom filled. The result of the plan to fill their depleted ranks with birthright members, who were supposed to be brought up in the nurture and admo- nition of the Lord, proved in practice a failure. even though strenuous exertions were made to keep the youth uncontaminated by the world by mixing in tumultuous assemblies or in the common schools, substituting for the latter separate schools for their guidance and instruction, under the supervision of the society. In spite of all that was done to build up the society and make it a power for good in the com- munity, it appears to have steadily decreased, both in numbers and in influence after about 1810, continuing thereafter with lessening vitality until 1857, when from the want of a sufficient number longer to hold meet- ings, the Richmond monthly meeting of the society of Friends became extinct. No single thing operated so largely, probably, to the downfall of the society as the controversy that arose about gravestones. The society refused to have them erected in their
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yard, considering it as a useless extravagance, and doing no real good to the living or the dead. Mr. Mowry Sabin, of Winchester, believing no doubt that it was his duty to mark the last resting place of his father and mother, did so by erecting marble slabs, inexpensive and plain. The society caused these to be removed, but the way it was done gave much offence, as they were removed in the night and covered up by leaves in the Quaker woods. This led to a lawsuit, which created much bitterness of feeling throughout the town, although the decision of the court was in favor of the society. The society ever after was less popular with the people generally. This occurred about 1824. The record of the endurance of the society, however, was honorable; with less than a dozen members who regularly attended, during the last years, the meetings were still kept up twice a week, and for years when no other meetings for pub- lic worship were held in the town, this devoted band persevered with unflagging zeal to the last, amid surroundings which a less positive faith must have succumbed to long before. It practically outlived the first Baptist church more than a quarter of a century, and afforded means by which it was possible for those intending to enter the conjugal state to be legally published within a reasonable time. It is but a just tribute to the memory of individual members of this society to say that, as examples of honesty, in- tegrity, and purity of life they would bear favorable comparison with the adherents of those belonging to other denominations.
Branches or offshoots of the society sprung up in various towns. In Pelham, Mass., there was a pre- parative meeting. Meetings were held at Orange,
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and occasionally at Jonas Twitchell's, in west Swan- sey, but these continued but a brief period after the monthly meeting was established. The unfavorable conditions surrounding the germs thus planted proved more potent than the zeal of the projectors, or the aggressiveness of the doctrines, and hence these had to yield to the more popular forms of religious worship.
The society was not specially blest with members gifted in the ministry. The most noted of any was Israel Saben, whose ministrations, covering a period of more than thirty years, were highly acceptable to the society, and were favorably received by all who had the privilege of listening to his pathetic appeals. Mary Southwick, wife of Enoch Southwick, who was here from 1801 to 1814, was an acknowledged minister, and her public addresses were considered inspirational in the higher sense of the term. None others are known to have been what were called " recommended ministers," although.others exercised their gifts of preaching and exhorting, often, no doubt, to the edification and spiritual growth of their hearers. Some of the more prominent names of those belonging to the society previous to 1800, were Azariah Cumstock, sr., Daniel Cass, Jedediah Buf- fum, Nathan Harkness, James Raymer, Jonathan Gaskill, Moses Allen, sr., and Moses Allen, jr., Paul Jillson, Jonathan Sweet, sr., Paul Handy, Paul Boyce, Israel Saben, Silas Taft, Nathaniel Taft, Abraham Randall and his sons Reuben and Levi, Joseph Razee, John Martin, Joseph and John Wing, Abner and Jonas Twitchell, Gideon Man, John Bennett, William Bassett, Jazaniah Barrett, James Brown, and Enoch Southwick.
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