USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Stratford > History of the town of Stratford, New Hampshire, 1773-1925 > Part 11
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
For the years 1785 to 1789 the records are missing. We learn the names of the town officers during that period from the State Papers. (See Appendix.) The town records of Stratford sub- stantially began with the year 1800, and although comparatively brief, they are invaluable from a historical point of view. Ex- tracts from them have been placed in the Appendix; for long lists of taxpayers, inventories, the raising and expenditure of public funds become interesting when they tell us who were residents of Stratford over a century ago, what was their financial condition, and how the affairs of the town were managed by our pioneer ancestors.
Several offices now obsolete were in force then : hog reeves or hog howards, as they were sometimes called; fence viewers; shep- herds or sheepmasters; poundkeepers; sealers of weights and measures; tything men, the latter not elected after 18II.
One thing that attracts our attention is the numerous applica- tions for licenses as taverners. After the war, settlement began once more in the towns north of Stratford and in the eastern prov- inces of Canada. Homes in Stratford must be opened to enter- tain these incoming settlers, and the sale of spirituous liquors was evidently considered an essential part of that entertainment. Some restrictions were perhaps attached to those licenses, for in one instance we find that a license was granted to Asa Hall, "he being a reputable man and of sound judgment."
We are somewhat startled when we find in the warrant of 18II such an item as this: "Elizabeth Rhodes will be set up at vendue and struck off to the lowest bidder for the term of one year." There are several instances when the care of little children and old people was provided for in this manner. At last the care of the poor was placed in the hands of the selectmen without town publicity ; but as late as 1827 we find this record: "Voted to allow $1.30 for keeping- - , but reconsidered and allowed $1.34." The care of the poor became a large item in the town ex- penses : "March, 1817, voted to raise $300 for the care of the poor, $200 to repair highways. 1823, Voted to raise $200 for the care of the poor, $300 to repair highways." Another item, 1813: "Agreed and contributed $5.38 in cash to hire a cow for the Widow Dodge, and the remainder for her use, and 2 bush. 3 pks. grain, I bush. potatoes, 2 lbs. sugar and 3 lbs. pork." You will notice that this was not put to vote and acted upon, but was evi-
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
dently a personal contribution. Rightly to estimate the value of a dollar in those days we must know the price of labor; and in the warrant of 1811 we read: "8 cents an hour for highway tax, find- ing his own tools and diet, and 6 cents for pair of oxen." Agur Platt was paid $5 for his services as clerk.
The town became early involved in a law suit-November, 18II: "Law suit against David W. Holbrook for non-support of his mother, Widow Anna Holbrook." Ephraim Mahurin was for the town, and the suit was carried to the higher courts, and was finally decided against the town in 1817. This item soon ap- pears: "Anna Holbrook sent to Bethlehem, Conn., as cheap as possible.". There we hope the old lady, whatever the justice of her cause, was cared for in her old home town.
As time passed on we find the amounts appropriated for the care of the poor grew smaller. The town became more prosper- ous. Indeed, there was a period of several years when the dis- posal of a surplus revenue was yearly discussed at the town meet- ings. We have been unable to find the source of that revenue, but it seems to be a sum set apart, that was sometimes lent to in- dividuals at a certain rate of interest, but was never expended in public improvements. Possibly it was derived from the sale of public lands. The nonresident landowners were a constant source of irritation to the town, if we may judge from the space devoted to them in the records. The original grantees forfeited their rights to their divisions by nonpayment of taxes, and these lands were sold at auction to the highest bidder. These sales were advertised in the newspapers of the state-Dartmouth Gazette, 1814; New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette, 1824; Coös County Democrat, James Rix, Editor, 1842. In 1821 Noah Hatch bought 1,640 acres for $12.54; Ephraim Mahurin, 429 acres for $5.34. These two instances will show how cheaply Stratford's magnificent timber lands could be bought at that time. Gradually the holdings of the proprietors passed from their hands, but their names will be forever with Stratford's lots.
In 1805 we find our first jurors : Isaac Stevens and Isaac John- son, Jr., petit jurors. Nathan Baldwin, the first representative to the General Court, was elected in 1810, the district comprising Stratford, Northumberland, and Percy.
A study of the first resident inventory, taken in 1805 (see Appendix), shows us that there were 69 polls, most of them names
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
of the men who were most instrumental in building up the town ; 46 acres of arable land, 123 of mowing, and 30 acres of pasture. These figures represent the work of twenty-five years in clearing the forest. There are but two men who can claim nine acres each of arable land, there is but one who has ten acres of mowing. The wild lands count up into the hundreds of acres. There is one herd of six cows, but few farms possess more than one. In 1827 there are 66 polls, 74 taxpayers; arable land 148 acres, mow- ing 166 acres. You will see that while the number of cultivated acres has increased, the number of polls has diminished owing to the removal of several of Stratford's leading families-The Lam- kins, Daniels, Agur Platt, Benjamin Strong, the Barlows, Peter Gamsby, and several of James Brown's grandsons. Some of these went to western states, others into Canada. There was a general exodus from the towns in the north country during that period. A comparison of the tax lists with those of the present day is interesting, for they show us not only the difference in the value of the dollar, but how little could be spared for public com- fort and benefit. The first fifty years of Stratford's history were years of hardship and struggle.
MARKER OF THE FIRST SETTLERS OF STRATFORD
CHAPTER IX
LIFE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF STRATFORD
A little cluster of log cabins built along the banks of the Con- necticut in the southern part of the town represented the first homes in Stratford. Because of the spring floods that often attend that river, these lowland cabins were abandoned for the uplands, where the frame house usually replaced the log cabin.
The first framed house in town was built by Jabez Baldwin in 1778-9, on the site of the Baldwin Homestead. Other framed houses soon followed. Boards were rafted from Guildhall, and the width of those still found in the oldest houses, 27 inches wide or more, show what a magnificent growth of pine King George lost with his New Hampshire colonies. Timber was at a discount, as the great beams used in building testify. Nails were hand- wrought. Where the brick for those first huge chimneys was made we are unable to learn, but brick was made on the Forbes place in Northumberland later by a Mr. Fellows. There was once a brickyard on the John Connary place, and in the '60's, one on Kimball Brook. We do know that excellent brick was used extensively. Isaac Stevens built a brick house; there was a brick schoolhouse; and the great chimneys, with fireplaces and ovens, required a large quantity of brick.
The houses were built for the most part like the cabins, upon a slightly enlarged scale, and often were not as comfortable as those humble dwellings. The big fireplace that could accommodate a log, that required the strength of two or three persons to move it, was the heart of the home, and was placed in the center of the building. The brick oven was built in at one side of the chimney, and the arch kettle at the other. Often a kettle was built into an arch outside the house, or was suspended from poles in gypsy fashion. The housewife did much of the family cooking by means of kettles swung over the fire, or by the tin baker on the hearth before the glowing coals. Cooking stoves were not known in Stratford until after nearly fifty years of settlement had passed. David Platt and Samuel F. Brown owned the first in town. When a housekeeper lost her fire, she usually borrowed coals from her neighbor. Ezra Barnes, who came to Stratford in 1810, set up
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OLDER RESIDENTS OF STRATFORD
Joseph Merriam Judge Nahum D. Day Marcus D. Johnson
Luther Parker
Abijah French
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his home fires here with coals carried in a skillet borrowed from the fire of Mr. Blake, at whose home he had stopped as he entered Stratford.
Around these great home fires were gathered all the household industries : spinning, weaving, carding, knitting and sewing. In one corner of the room was often found the shoemaker's bench, oc- cupied by the traveling shoemaker, who went from house to house, making up the yearly supply of shoes for the family. Light as well as heat was furnished by the blazing logs. Tallow candles, dipped by hand, served for lamps. In one home where great economy was practised, a twisted rag set in a saucer of grease furnished the light for a tailoress to make buttonholes by. But such instances we hope were rare. Fluid lamps, as they were called, belonged to a later generation, and kerosene came into use not many years be- fore the Civil War.
Copper and pewter furnished much of the kitchen equipment. The furniture of those old kitchens was of the simplest. For "the best room" was reserved the tall clock, the Windsor chairs, the secretary, and the bureau with the mirror hung above it. This mirror, set in a gaily pictured frame, was the most decorative article in the room, if we except the four-poster with its dimity hangings and netted fringes, and the billowy feather bed which filled it. But the services of the long-handled warming-pan were frequently required to make its icy interior bearable. Upon this bed was displayed the finest coverlet the family loom had pro- duced, or a patchwork quilt of marvelous design and coloring, over which the quilters had spread their exquisite needlework. Great "comforters" there were, also, made of heavy home-made flannel and stuffed with wool. The bed linen was all of home manufacture, as were the fleecy blankets.
To this period belong the trundle beds, that were in evidence only during the night, being rolled away under the larger bed during the day. The older children often slept in the loft, where the snows sometimes sifted in upon them, and the stars twinkled down through the widened cracks.
The furniture of these "best rooms " had been brought from the old homes in Connecticut and Massachusetts; but other pieces after a time appeared, the handiwork of two men, Samuel Blake and James Lewis. Mr. Blake settled in Northumberland, on the outskirts of the town, so near the border that in theory, if not in
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fact, he might be reckoned one of Stratford's citizens. He was a skilled artisan, and specimens of "Uncle Sammy's" craft are treasured in Stratford homes today. "Uncle Jimmy," as Mr. Lewis was called by his familiars, was an Englishman, who made his home with Mr. Beach. He was an intemperate man, and had been pressed into the English navy while in a state of intoxica- tion. He escaped from his ship at Quebec, and finally arrived in the States. He also was a skilled workman. Elisha Baldwin gave him his best cow to make the cherry case for his tall clock which stands in the Baldwin Homestead today. "Uncle Jimmy's" pieces are usually cherry inlaid with delicate lines of a lighter colored wood. He was a builder besides, and the schoolhouses in the Baldwin and Johnson districts are supposed to have been erected by him. He was a famous gardener as well, and his beautiful garden at the Beach place, with its rows of fragrant pinks, its currants and its damsons, that garden where vegetables ripened marvelously early, was "Uncle Jimmy's" pride. This was when "the Beach's," which we have known in later years as "the Square House," was Stratford's leading hostelry. This well-built house, dating back to 1803, with its stately Lombardy poplars, its big stables where the stagecoaches made their relays, was one of the best known taverns in the country.
In the '40's Mr. Lawrence Beach placed his delicate wife and his little children in the family carriage-that remarkable carriage, having steps that could be lowered to the ground-and rode back to Connecticut, and "Uncle Jimmy" disappeared from Stratford.
These pioneer homes were homes of great hospitality. Their doors were never closed to the traveler, the guest was ever wel- come, and these wonderful great-grandmothers of ours found means and ways to provide comfort and cheer for stranger and friend.
When our great-great-grandmother went abroad in the winter time she wore a heavy quilted cloak and hood, slipped her hands into a great pillow muff of sable, the skin of which she had perhaps tanned and sewed herself, while under her feet she placed her foot stove, a perforated tin box set in a wooden frame, and carry- ing a little pan of coals. Thus equipped she was ready for her ride over drifted roads, or to sit for a couple of hours in a church where heat was noticeably absent. In the summer time her rides were usually made upon horesback, and the hood was replaced by
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
a leghorn, a bonnet of generous proportions, that, by bleaching, re-pressing and re-trimming, did service for a score of years. If she were bent upon a visit, her cap-box accompanied her; for every matron donned her cap upon marriage, and tiny caps were a part of her baby's wardrobe. Her dress might be of silk, rarely cotton, an English print often costing $I a yard; or it might be a homespun, every thread of which she had spun, dyed and woven herself. The woollen dress was sometimes a plaid of two or more colors. A web of this had been prepared, sent to the mill for shrinkage and pressing, and the material furnished dresses for the women and girls of the family, and shirts for the men were pro- vided in the same manner; those of linen and tow taking their place in the summer.
Perhaps our great-great-grandmother was on her way to attend a quilting, a great event in the social life of that day. We have preserved to us the story of one that was given by Mrs. Buffington in Maidstone, probably the most famous quilting party ever held in this region. Three quilts were on the frames at once, and all the women in town and the surrounding towns were present, and in the evening the men were invited, and a bounteous feast was served. Mrs. Buffington, who was Laura Lamkin, daughter of Thomas Lamkin, was the hostess at this great society event; and, from the noted cooks among her descendants, we can imagine what the bounteous feast might have been. This famous quilting took place on the Wooster Bow, where Dr. Samuel Clark and Mr. Mc- Lellan of Boston had bought farms for the purpose of raising Merino sheep. Mr. Comens Buffington came as overseer. The climate proved too severe for the Merino sheep, and the work of raising potatoes was commenced for the manufacture of whiskey. When the harvest time came a party was made, and 1,300 bushels were dug in one day. Dr. Clark built a large house on this farm. Mrs. Clark and Mrs. McLellan were daughters of General Hull, who visited them there, and had a suit of clothes made from the wool grown on the farm. The wool was cleaned, spun and woven, and the women cut and made the clothes, so that the General wore them home. A letter from Dr. Clark written in 1814 directs that the slippery elm and butternut bark be saved, as when he came up he would "boil it into physic."
The errands that took the Stratford housewife from her home were frequently errands of mercy, for sickness and sorrow often
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
visited the frontier town, so far from medical skill. Little chil- dren came and went away, victims of accident or disease. Families were large, and but few were unbroken. Smallpox made its ap- pearance in 1803, and Jabez Baldwin, then a man of 70, died from the effects of inoculation. The infection was brought into town in the clothing of a young woman, to a party which one of Mr. Baldwin's daughters attended. The family was immediately inoculated, a direct virus being used, vaccination not being em- ployed here at that time. Mr. Baldwin was away from home, but on his return, instead of remaining at a neighbor's as his wife re- quested, he rejoined his family, and in his enfeebled condition he succumbed to the treatment of those days. There is no record of any other cases, but great alarm was felt at the appearance of that disease, so common and so uncontrollable at that time.
The Connecticut River has always exacted a heavy toll of life. Joshua Lamkin, when an old man, wandered out at night in the time of a freshet, and fell from a high cliff into the river and was drowned. Rich Stevens, Peter Gamsby, and Wealthy Fuller, a young woman of eighteen, were drowned while crossing on the ice. In later years Frank Waters, twelve-year-old son of Noah B. Waters, and Frank Day, ten-year-old son of Eliphalet Day, lost their lives while swimming. And many others could be mentioned. An incident that greatly affected the little town was the drowning in Lisbon of the bridegroom of Hannah Brown, the Rev. Mr. Towle, a young Methodist minister, who was on his way to be married, bringing his wedding gifts with him in his saddle-bags. Mr. Towle was on horseback, and in fording the river, which was swollen by recent rains, the horse lost its footing and was carried down stream. It was rescued, but without its rider. Prepara- tions had been made at the expectant bride's home, where they awaited the bridegroom. At last word reached them of the sad event. The horse and presents were delivered to Miss Brown by Mr. Towle's parents. After years of service the horse was drowned in the Connecticut. Hannah Brown afterwards married David Burnside and removed to Kingston, Ont. She had no children, and never returned to Stratford.
Another pathetic incident occurring in 1825 was the case of little Eddie Stevens, son of John and Samantha Fuller Stevens. The little five-year-old boy wandered away into the woods of Brighton with the family dog, Painter. After a four days'
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search, in which the people of the adjoining towns took part, they were led by the dog, who had returned half famished, to the body of the little child, which was found five miles from home, under roots of a fallen tree, covered with moss and leaves, the work of its faithful protector, who had remained as long as hunger would per- mit.
Wild animals long troubled the settlers; wolves howled on both sides of the river, and made frequent raids upon the flocks. Peter Gamsby lost twenty sheep in one night. James Curtis was chased by a wolf, and frightened it away by making shrill whistles through his fingers. This was undoubtedly the great wolf which seemed to resist all efforts at capture, and became such a terror to the timid. He was finally brought down in a squirrel hunt in the woods of Guildhall, by an Indian and Mr. Coggswell. This is spoken of as the last large wolf. Then there is the story of the girl who, on jumping over a fence, found herself in the embrace of a bear, from which she was rescued by her cow, which attacked the bear. Stories those old settlers told, too, of mad dogs and cats and foxes. Marcus Johnson remembered being chased by a wild fox when only six years old. Wild foxes abounded; many died, and their carcasses were found in pasture and field. Mr. Johnson also told of the mad dog that chased his father, who es- caped by jumping over a fence. The dog succeeded in biting a hog. There was great excitement and difference of opinion over this incident. However, the dog was shot and the hog confined, to die later and confirm their fears. These several incidents which Mr. Prescott collected from the old residents throw a little light on some of the events that loomed large in the early life of Strat- ford.
The joys or sorrows of one family were entered into by the whole community. Class distinctions were more sharply drawn a hundred years ago. Greater differences existed between the rich and the poor; but there was a common bond of sympathy, there were warmer friendships, broader sympathies, a more generous hospitality. The old settlers had many tales to tell also of good cheer. There was much comedy in that frontier life, a rough kind of humor, that manifested itself in practical jokes; as in the case of Luther Fuller, who had been engaged by Thomas Eames to take him across the river on his back. Eames, being bound on a visit to his lady love, was dressed in his best clothes,
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and as neither boat nor ferry was at hand, hit upon this means of appearing before his sweetheart in a presentable condition. Fuller readily agreed, and all went well until they reached the middle of the stream, when Fuller began letting his passenger down too near the water. Upon Eames' remonstrance Fuller declared it was necessary to get a new hold, and laid Eames down in the stream. We conclude that the visit was deferred. The story had its sequel, however. While Eames was engaged in the survey of the town, Benjamin Strong and Luther Fuller were in attendance. to assist in the work. Fuller was sent up a white birch tree for the purpose of prospecting the country. To pay Fuller for his joke at the river, Eames set the tree on fire. The smoke and flames rapidly ascended, and Fuller was obliged to climb with great effort into another tree.
They also loved to tell over the story of John French and Esquire Bellows. John French, who settled in Maidstone, but whose children lived in Stratford, had lived in Walpole a near neighbor to Esquire Bellows. When his hogs had gotten into the habit of troubling Mr. Bellows' garden, Mr. Bellows had them impounded, but in the night they mysteriously disappeared, Mr. French having engaged two butchers to slaughter them and to pack the meat away in his cellar. Mr. Bellows had to pay for the hogs, while Mr. French ate his pork and received pay for it, too. Mr. Bellows informed Mr. French that he would willingly pay for the hogs if he would tell him how he got them out without their squealing.
The speeches and pranks of one Tom Cooper they were all fond of repeating. He was a wit, and when he had imbibed too freely his wit took on extravagant and ridiculous forms. One day he appeared in town with a long string of dogs. He drove the length of the town, stopping at each house with the question, "Are you a poor man? Well, cut you off a dog; if you are very poor, cut you off two." At another time, on encountering a man with a very peculiar nose, he handed him a five-dollar bill and ordered him to go and buy a new nose. Once he persuaded a man, the possessor of the homeliest face that ever appeared in this north country, to go on exhibition. He placed him in a great cask and took him to Portland, where he prodded him up to appear as "The Swamp Angel." Tom Cooper's pranks enlivened those long winter journeys down through the White Mountain Notch, which were
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HISTORY OF STRATFORD
times of great jollification as well as seasons of hard and sometimes dangerous travel.
The annual musters or training days were great occasions among the men and boys. I rather think they were times to be dreaded by the women of the family, for the participants were often re- turned to them in a riotous condition, since rum was considered a vital necessity at these meetings. The captain wore a uniform resplendent with buttons and epaulets. He carried a sword, and on his head wore a large black cap, looped with long strands of silver lace; a silver eagle adorned the front, and it bore aloft a tall cockade of white feathers tipped with a tuft of red. This military organization of the state was divided into forty-two regiments, and comprised all the able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 18 and 45. It ceased to function about 1851. It met annually on the third Tuesday of May. The regimental muster was in Sep- tember. The regulation as to equipment was as follows:
Each enrolled man should be armed with a musket with a flintlock, two spare flints, with a steel or iron ram-rod, a bayonet, scabbard and belt, a priming wire and brush, a knapsack and canteen, and a cartridge-box that contains twenty-four cartridges.
FIRST CHURCH OF NORTH STRATFORD MARKER
CHAPTER X
STRATFORD'S ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
What seemed to impress the first settlers most was the matter of roads. Hardly a meeting of the proprietors took place with- out some action upon this matter. In June, 1773, we find this entry :
Voted that Mr. James Curtis be added to the committee for clearing the woods, also that said committee for the Highway be paid by the Proprietors 4/6 Lawful money pr. day for every day they faithfully Labor at the Rode, they providing for themselves their supplies so far as that until the Road through the Township is made tolerable passable.
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