USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Rindge > History of the town of Rindge, New Hampshire, from the date of the Rowley Canada or Massachusetts charter, to the present time, 1736-1874, with a genealogical register of the Rindge families > Part 5
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
ences to the law-suits were no idle threats. The trouble arose from the fact that to several lots of land there were two owners, each claiming two undivided halves. Abel Platts, Joseph Platts, Joel Russell, Nathaniel Russell, Ezekiel Jewett, Jonathan Stanley, and George Hewitt came from Massachusetts, and had settled in the township previous to the date of these proceedings. Abel and Joseph Platts, and perhaps the others, had settled upon land purchased of the Rowley Canada proprietors, and the stubbornness with which they insisted on the validity of their purchase, and resisted the demands of the new pro- prietors, was the occasion of these warm proceedings.
At a subsequent meeting the committee chosen to ascer- tain the number and location of the lots which were occupied by the persons who had purchased the land of the Rowley Canada proprietors was paid for this service. Their account, paid in old tenor, was as follows : -
To Capt. Peter Powers 6 days @, 40S £12- 0-0
" Jacob Gould
4 @, 305 6- 0-0
" Solo Stewart 4 @ 305 6- 0-0
" Samuel Kennedy 4 @ 405 8- 0-0
" Robert Fletcher, Jun™ 6 @ 6os 18- 0-0
" Expenses at J. Reids 12- 0-0
ditto at Fitches 2-10-0
" Mr. Kennedy his expenses at Platts's I- 5-0
" Making return to Collo Blanchard 6-10-0
" The plan of lots where settlements are made described by Mr. Fletcher 2- 0-0
£74- 5-0
The three, who were paid for four days' service, resided in Lunenburg, while Capt. Powers came from Hollis, and is
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THE MASONIAN CHARTER.
paid for two additional days' attendance. Mr. Kennedy was not one of the persons selected to perform this duty, and perhaps in the language of their instructions the committee took him with them "as such assistance as they may need." The nature of their report to Col. Blanchard, or the plan of Mr. Fletcher, the surveyor, is not preserved upon the rec- ords. At this meeting it was also voted to "pay Lieut. James Stevens twenty-five pounds, old tenor, for his ex- traordinary service in serving an execution on Joseph Platts." Lieut. Stevens resided in Portsmouth, and this service was probably deemed extraordinary on account of the distance traveled. and not from any remarkable event connected with the discharge of his official duty. The com- mittee selected to view the premises, and obtain evidence against the intruding settlers, had but recently returned un- harmed : and, without doubt, this officer of the law had courage to venture among the trespassers without the en- couraging presence of extraordinary assistance. From the schedule of lots drawn, it will be seen that Samuel Johnson, Jr .. drew the ninth and tenth lots in the fourth range. These lots included the original Platts farm upon which Abel Platts first settled. This land he gave to his son Joseph about 1750, and entered upon another tract near Pool Pond. Through the obliging attention of Hon. C. H. Bell. of Exeter, the following Court record is presented : -
SAMUEL JOHNSON appellant vs. JOSEPH PLATTS appellee.
Parties appearing and being fully heard by their Counsell learned in ye law, ye case was committed to ye Jury sworn accord- ing to law to try ye Issue, who made return of their Verdict upon oath and say Jury find for ye apt ten shillings damages and costs of courts.
Judgment and execution were issued on the twenty-fifth
9
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
of March, 1754. Without doubt, this was the execution served by Lieut. Stevens.
The following affidavit, copied from the orginal in the office of the Secretary of State, is a part of these legal pro- ceedings : -
Francis peabody and Huberd Gould boath of lawful age tes- tifyeth and sayth That in ye year 1742 we went to work at Rowley Canada and we kept ower horses on Able plats hay in the medo whare ye trespas is said to be done & paid him for ye same and ye said plats hath ben in possession of sd meado ever sence till he gave it to his son Joseph ye defendant who hath ben in possess- ion ever sence & as to ye upland whare ye trespas is sd to be Done we se Able plats in ye year 1742 ye 29 & 30 days of sep- tember Cut wood & timber on the lot whare ye trespas is said to be Done & ye sd Able plats hath ben in possession ever sence till he gave it to his son Joseph plats the Defendant & he hath ben in possession to this day.
FRANCIS PEABODY. HUBBARD GOULD.
ESSEX ss. January ye twenty seventh Day 1752 then the within named Francis Peabody and Hubard Gould both being strictly cautioned to the truth of what is above written and then made oath to the same the adverce party not Notified living more than thirty [miles] Distance.
Before the subscriber Augt 6.
THOMAS LAMBERT Jus. of Peace.
It is to be regretted that a more extended account of these lawsuits, and information of the result, has not been discovered. It is certain, however, that the Plattses re- mained in possession of the lands in dispute, but how the controversy was settled or compromised is not known. The only remaining reference to the subject upon the records
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THE MASONIAN CHARTER.
occurs in a notice of a meeting to be held in November, 1758. in these words :-
To hear what proposals, the old Proprietary (so called) of the township, have to make to ye present Proprietors and act thereon.
The record of the meeting states : -
That after a debate had thereon ye question was put whether ye Proprietors would act on said Article and it passed in the negative.
The affidavit of Peabody and Gould is of importance beyond the connection in which it has been employed, since it establishes a date previous to which Abel Platts first com- menced a clearing in the township. It will be seen that this date is about ten years earlier than has generally been sup- posed.
In the midst of this controversy concerning titles, the war for the conquest of Canada was begun. The Indians in the French interest again took up the hatchet, and their predatory incursions spread terror and alarm on every side. In the proceedings of a meeting of the proprietors of Monad- nock Number One, held in September, 1754, an opinion was expressed that on account of Indian hostilities it would be exceedingly hazardous to build a meeting-house at present. These fears were not altogether imaginary. In the month of May preceding this meeting, Nathaniel Meloon, his wife, and four children were captured by the Indians in Salisbury, and soon after three persons were killed and several persons captured in the same locality. They also broke into the house of James Johnson at Charlestown, and carried the entire family of eight persons into captivity. The following year Benjamin Twitchel was captured at Keene, two men were murdered at Walpole, and at Hinsdale a party of men at work in the woods were attacked, and three of them were
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
slain. Traces of Indians were also found in Winchendon, and the inhabitants of that town took refuge in the block- houses, which they had previously built ; and during their alarm they petitioned the Governor and Legislature for assistance. Exaggerated accounts of these atrocities were swiftly spread by increasing alarm throughout the settle- ments. A general feeling of insecurity prevailed to such an extent that all progress in the settlements in this vicinity was suspended, and many temporarily left their homes to seek places of greater security. Such being the state of affairs, it is evident that the fears which pervaded the weaker settlements were not groundless. Yet in addition to the sum of all accredited history, every town has its Indian traditions, which should be received with many grains of allowance. If the oral accounts of the number of Indians slain by pioneers were true, the race long since would have been exterminated. It is a fact in history that, about 1723, the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire offered a bounty of one hundred pounds, which at that time was equivalent to forty pounds sterling, for every Indian scalp which should be exhibited to the proper authorities. Capt. John Lovewell, with a company of men from Dunstable, Groton, and vicinity, made an excursion into New Hampshire, where they killed one Indian and captured a small lad. So elated were they with their suc- cess that they immediately marched to Boston, where they received the stipulated bounty, and a handsome gratuity beside. This incident is related in resistance to those tradi- tions which magnify the exploits of the early settlers in the slaughter of a wary foe.
Previous to the settlements in this vicinity, the Indians, attracted by the number and extent of the ponds in this town, made frequent visits to their shores. A most inter-
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THE MASONIAN CHARTER.
esting collection of arrowheads, hatchets, and other imple- ments, has been collected by Hiram Blake, Esq., of Keene. They were found near the southern shore of Long Pond, where they were unearthed by the plow after a repose of more than a century. They are indisputable evidence of the former presence of the Indians in this locality. It is not probable, however, that they ever made any continued residence in this town, nor is it certain that any hostile excursion was ever made within its limits since the advent of the white man. The savages had a wholesome fear of the more populous settlements, and unless they could stealthily approach the defenceless borders they gave them a wide berth. The older and stronger towns of Keene, Charles- town. Lunenburg, Townsend, and Groton were fortifica- tions to the settlements in this vicinity. A retrospect of the fortunes of the settlement to this date exhibits many discouragements. The first charter has been annulled by the location of the province line; the confirmation of the Masonian patent has rendered the deeds acquired of the Rowley Canada proprietors for a season extremely problem- atical, and finally worthless; the conflict of titles which ensued, and the fear of Indian depredations, has been a most effectual barrier to emigration into the township.
CHAPTER III.
RECORD OF SETTLEMENTS, 1758-1768.
Amended Fortunes. - Retrospect. - Roads Laid Out. - Saw-Mill. - Labor upon Highways. - Severe Drought. - The Common. - Delin- quent Tax-payers. - Rev. Seth Dean Ordained. - Incorporation first Proposed. - Census of 1767.
FROM the beginning of the year 1758, the fortunes of the settlement were greatly amended. The emigration hither was much increased and uninterrupted, while a sense of security and exemption from any further suspension, never before enjoyed, was most happy in its results, and encour- aged considerable expenditure in the anticipation of the increasing demands of the settlement. The changes which had occurred in the membership of the proprietary were of a fortunate character. The speculators, who had only a selfish interest in the grant, had generally sold their land, and thereby transferred their right to vote in the meetings of the proprietors, to persons who became residents of the township, and had a more lively interest in its affairs. The effect of this new element in the proprietary was soon apparent in more liberal legislation, and in the adoption of several measures which must have sprung from more elevated motives.
The names of only a few of the persons who were resi-
67
SETTLEMENTS.
dents of the township, at this date, have been incidentally mentioned. It has been seen that Abel Platts, at this time about fifty-four years of age, had been acquainted with the township not far from twenty years, and during the time he had resided alternately in Lunenburg and in this town. Since 1751 or 1752, his residence in this town was contin- uous until his death. As previously stated, he first settled upon the farm now owned by Martin L. Goddard. This farm, with many acres adjoining, he gave to his son Joseph previous to 1752, when he commenced another clearing, and built a house a short distance north of Pool Pond. His son Abel, born 1738, remained with him until his death, and received, by bequest, the farm on which he last resided. Joseph Platts was married in 1752, and then became a per- manent resident of this town, and had probably been at work upon his land during a portion of several preceding years.
Ezekiel Jewett settled about 1752 upon the farm now owned by Dr. C. E. Ware, where he resided until his death. This land he first purchased of the Rowley Canada grantees. After considerable improvement had been made, and a house had been built, he found that his title was to be disputed. To avoid contention he bought the same land of Thomas Prentice, Esq., who had received it in the distribu- tion of lots among the Masonian grantees. In this manner he was relieved from a law-suit, and perhaps an "extraordi- nary service " of an execution by Lieut. Stevens. In the preceding chapter, evidence was presented that Mr. Jewett had a nursery growing upon this farm in 1753; and the tra- ditions of his numerous descendants, received from the lips of his widow, who lived until 1830, are clear that before he entered the army, during the last French and Indian war, he had planted an orchard of apple trees from this nursery.
68
HISTORY OF RINDGE.
The few remaining fruit trees in this orchard are probably the oldest in town. Mr. Jewett married, June 16, 1759, Hannah, daughter of Abel Platts. A few years later Stephen and Jonathan Jewett, brothers of Ezekiel, settled on adjoining farms, and lying next south of the farm of their brother. Jonathan Stanley, from Topsfield, was an early resident in this town, but the date of his removal is not precisely known. He was taxed in Lunenburg, 1753 and 1754. It is probable that during this time he was clearing land and building a house preparatory to the removal of his family, and that his residence in Lunenburg was only an incident in his removal from Topsfield ; and his place of abode in 1754 is made certain in the record of the baptism of a child at Lunenburg, in which his residence in this town is stated. Among his children were Abigail, Sam- uel, John, and Joseph, to whom further reference will be made. He settled on lot eleven in the ninth range. John Hewitt was among the earliest settlers. He was taxed in Lunenburg, 1750 and 1751, and probably came to this town during the latter year. For several years his name occurs upon the proprietors' records, but none of this name are mentioned after the incorporation of the town. Nothing concerning his family is known. "George Hewitt, of Row- ley Canada, and Miss Triphena Hodgskins, of Lunenburg, were married Oct. 21, 1760." This, probably, was a son of John, and removed with him, since a common obscurity sur- rounds them both.
Joel Russell, with his wife and five children, removed from Littleton in 1752, and settled in the northwest part of the town. After removing several times, he settled upon the farm for many years owned by Benjamin Hastings. His son Silas was married previous to 1767.
During the year 1758 came John Coffeen from Boston,
69
SETTLEMENTS.
and his brothers Eleazer and Henry Coffeen from Lunen- burg. The former settled on the farm now of Thomas and Charles G. Buswell. Henry married Lucy Hale soon after his arrival, and located near the Jaffrey line, and not far from the clearing of Abel Platts. Eleazer was not married in 1771, and no reference to his house, if he had one, is found upon the records.
William Carlton came from Andover. Two years later he married and settled a short distance south of the Com- mon, where he continued to reside as a farmer and innholder for many years.
The arrival of John Lilly from Lunenburg, with his wife and one child, probably completes the record of the families in the settlement to this date.
1759. During this year a road was laid out from Moses Foster's in Dorchester Canada, and another from Aaron Kidder's in New Ipswich, to the centre of Monad- nock Number One, and measures were instituted to secure the building of a saw-mill. It was also determined to hold all future meetings of the proprietors at the house of Abel Platts, and that notices thereof should be posted in this town, and in Lunenburg, Dunstable, and Groton. Preach- ing was enjoyed for the first time during a portion of the year.
The continued record of the early settlers during a few succeeding years will be stated as briefly as possible, since each of them will be more particularly noticed in the second part of this volume.
The arrivals during the year were not numerous. Aaron Taylor, a native of Littleton, removed from Lunenburg, and settled in the northwest part of the town. His family consisted of a wife and three children. And Samuel Hodgskins - who had lived in several places, but last in
10
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
Lunenburg, - with his wife and one child, settled near the present residence of Dea. Norcross.
1760. The saw-mill was built by the proprietors during the summer of this year. Numerous roads were laid out, the sum of one hundred dollars was raised to secure the public ministrations of the Gospel, and the house of Samuel Hodgskins designated as the place "where the preaching should be."
The names of Hale and Ingalls appear for the first time upon the records.
Moses Hale removed from Hampstead, N. H., and died in 1762. His grave-stone bears the earliest date in the cemetery. His widow survived him nearly twenty years. Moses Hale, Jr., with his wife and two children, also other sons, Enoch and Nathan, and three daughters, came to this town at the same time. They settled in the north part of the town. James Philbrick, also from Hampstead, settled upon the farm now owned by James P. Clay. He subse- quently married a daughter of Moses Hale, senior.
Josiah Ingalls, from Andover, located near Grassy Pond, and soon after acquired possession of the saw-mill which was in the vicinity of his dwelling.
Jonathan Parker came from Groton, and settled near the centre of the town. His wife and two sons composed his family. Samuel Harper also removed into this town during the year. His wife and several children were here soon after, and probably accompanied him.
1761. The legislation for the year related mainly to the highways, and provision was made for repairing the roads already built "to make them passable for teams." Aaron Taylor, Enoch Hale, Joseph Platts, and Jonathan Stanley were chosen highway surveyors, with instructions "to allow each labourer half a dollar for each day's service
71
SETTLEMENTS.
from the first of May until the last of October, and then two pistareens to the first day of May, and for a pair of oxen for each day's service fifteen shillings, old tenor, of ye Massachusetts Bay." Provision was made to secure preaching, and Jonathan Hopkinson was chosen to engage a minister. The continued record of the measures adopted in regard to the meeting-house and the settlement of a minister will be found in subsequent chapters.
The past few years had been seasons of great plenty, which rewarded the labor of the husbandman with abundant harvests. This and the succeeding year were as remarkable for their scarcity. The severe drought which prevailed during the summer months rendered them as memorable in the distress of the settlement as the former had been in abundance. Benjamin Wetherbee, of Lunenburg, who had been here a portion of the time for two or three years, removed his wife and three children to their future home in the southeast part of the town. His younger brothers, John and Abraham, who subsequently settled in this town, were mere lads at this date.
1762. From year to year the management of the public affairs was more generally committed to residents of the township than to non-resident owners of land, as formerly had been the prevailing usage. This indicates that the former class of proprietors had become the more numerous and controlling element in the organization, and that a more liberal policy would be pursued. John
Lovejoy, who removed into the township early in the year, was chosen proprietors' clerk, in room of Abel Lawrence, of Groton. The preceding year Jonathan Blanchard was excused from further service as treasurer, and Josiah Ingalls was elected as his successor. The boundaries of the twenty acres reserved for a Common
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
in the centre of the town were defined by marked trees, a few acres were cleared for a "meeting-house place," and the preceding year, one and one-half acres, included within the twenty acres of Common, had been reserved for a cemetery, and a committee chosen to clear one-half of an acre without delay. Through this and the succeeding years the highways continued to be a fruitful subject of legis- lation, and the numerous measures adopted in relation to them occupy a large share of the records.
Nathaniel Russell, with his wife and three children, removed from Littleton, and settled on the farm now of William E. Robbins; and John Lovejoy, from Lunenburg, settled on the farm now owned by Addison Todd. He was married, and, at the time of removal, had five children. Samuel Larabee, an aged man, and his son Samuel Larabee, Jr., removed from Lunenburg. The latter was accompanied by his wife, five children, and one slave; and Joshua Webster, his wife and four children, came from New Salem in this State. Jonathan Hopkinson came this or the pre- ceding year. He was married, but no further information of his family has been found.
1763. For sometime past the records have foreshad- owed an increasing embarrassment, arising from the number of delinquent tax-payers. The sums assessed for public uses upon lands owned by non-residents, to a great extent, remained unpaid. Upon many of the lots the accumulation of the whole number of assessments was in arrears. This state of affairs continued to engross the earnest attention of the proprietors, and during the year no less than twelve votes were passed in relation to the subject. Committees were chosen with ample instructions. The lands were advertised for sale to meet the taxes due. But from fear that this measure would not be sustained by the Courts,
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SETTLEMENTS.
such proceedings were generally postponed. A few lots were sold, but not until the proprietors agreed to indemnify the committee chosen for that purpose from any personal loss in case a lawsuit resulted from such sales. All measures relating to this subject appear to have been adopted with extreme caution. Under the cloak of a provision in the charter, the owners of the fifty-four lots reserved by the Masonian grantors refused to pay any taxes upon them until they had been improved. As a means of relief from this dilemma, and to enable them to speedily collect the unpaid taxes on other lands, the proprietors resolved to request the General Court of the province to pass a statute that would authorize them to summarily balance accounts with these delinquent land-owners, and Dr. John Hale, of Hollis, was desired to present their petition. The Masonians possessed an influence in and around the Legislature that could easily defeat any measure hostile to their interests, and the subject continued to season the deliberations of the proprietors with vexation until the township was incorporated, and public affairs were con- trolled by a more efficient organization.
This year it was agreed that the notices of public meetings of the proprietors should thereafter be posted only in Number One and in Lunenburg. Page Norcross and John Demary removed from Lunenburg. The former was married this year, and settled on the farm owned by Nathan Woodbury. The latter, whose family consisted of a wife and six children, owned and occupied for many years the farm of the late Hubbard Moors. Jacob Gould, his brother Elijah, and his cousin Benjamin Gould, of Lunen- burg, had owned and improved land in this town for two or three years. In June of this year, Jacob Gould married a daughter of Moses Hale, and settled in the northwest part
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
of the town. The other two were soon after married, and became residents of this town.
1764. Five meetings of the proprietors were held during the year. The issues which had arisen in the past were repeatedly considered, and few new questions were proposed. The meeting-house was raised and partly finished, and numerous bills for labor and material were paid. Moses Hale was chosen treasurer, which office he held until the organization was dissolved, soon after the incorporation of the town.
The only arrival in town during the year was Silas Dutton, from Lunenburg, and his family was proportion- ately small, being a wife and an infant.
1765. Mr. Dean was ordained, and a church was embodied. A committee was chosen to prevent any encroachment on the Common, and several acres around the meeting-house were cleared and graded. It was also ordered that notices of all future meetings of the pro- prietors should be posted only in the township. For the first time the question of incorporation was proposed. At these and subsequent meetings, whenever the subject was considered, it was invariably associated with the difficulties the proprietors experienced in collecting the taxes assessed on non-resident owners of land, and the measure appears to have been sustained, not so much as a result to be desired of itself as a means of relief from this embarrassment. The evidence of the records is clear upon this point : -
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