USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Wentworth > History of the town of Wentworth, New Hampshire > Part 3
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Mr. Page settled on the land which later was bought and used by the town as a town farm, the place having been held continuously by the family until sold by his grandson, James K. Page in 1853 to
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
the town; the farm is now owned by Clarence Eaton who is descended on his mother's side from the original settler.
Ephraim Page died November 4, 1802; he with his wife and many of their descendants are buried at the village.
SIMEON SMITH, a native of Kensington, N. H., lo- cated on Clifford Hill on the upper East Side in either 1772 or 1773, settling on the farm owned in after years by Rawson Clifford and still later by Van Mer- rill. Smith received the title to his land from the pro- prietors of Warren and supposed he was a citizen of . that town, holding town office there.
Warren Smith his son, born October 26, 1773, re- ceived his name on account of being born in Warren, which he was not.
When the town lines were resurveyed, Smith found his farm was really in Wentworth: according to the Warren History, Simeon Smith served in the Revolu- tionary Army, being stationed on the northern fron- tier or the Upper Coos region.
REUBEN WHITCHER came from Chester, N. H., in 1774, bringing his son Henry, a child only six weeks old, the most of the way on his back. His wife and the household effects were transported on the back of a horse. Captain Whitcher, as he was usually called, had been in town most of the time for two years pre-
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
vious to this, in the employ of Phillips White; he had built for White's account, in 1772, the first frame house in town, of which more will be told. At that time he was offered the land afterwards sold to John Aiken, which included also the mill privilege at the village, for the equivalent of sixty dollars; he was then of the opinion he would not accept from the propri- etors, the whole township as a gift.
He subsequently changed his mind, however, for coming here in 1774 with his little family he lived first in the house he framed and helped build for White. He lived there until 1783, when he moved to the south part of the town to what was later known as the Thayer place, or in that vicinity. He was the third settler in that part of the town and lived on this place the remainder of his life. The two other settlers who had preceded Captain Whitcher in the south part were William Cotton, on the Clark place, so- called, near the foot of Hooper Hill, and Experience Cross, on what is known as the "Fisk " or Samuel B. Burnham place. William Cotton settled the Clark farm probably as early as 1775 and was no doubt the - first in that part of the town.
Benjamin Cotton, a brother of William, had al- ready worked in town for Judge White; he enlisted in the Revolutionary Army and after the war closed he joined his brother on the farm.
A
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VALLEY OF THE SOUTH BRANCH - SMART'S MOUNTAIN IN THE BACKGROUND
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
In 1775 JOHN AIKEN with his son John, Jr., came from Chester, N. H., (then known as Old Chester in order to distinguish it from the township of New Chester now Hill).
John Aiken with his family and Samuel Aiken lived first in a log house about where the land is now ยท buried with sand and gravel near Eugene Brown's; after some years he built a frame house nearly across the road from the present town hall and lived there until his death in 1793. The Aiken property included the mill site on Baker's River at the village bridge. John Aiken was a miller and millwright by profession. He built at the falls what was known for many years as Aiken's Mills, probably as early as the year of 1776.
This was the first practical business grist mill in town; the Hackett mill built some five years earlier, was never capable of doing much.
John Aiken, the pioneer, was no doubt of Scotch descent and a man of character and ability. He proved to be a very valuable acquisition to the new settle- ment.
The first town meeting, which was in 1779, was held at his house; at that meeting he was elected town clerk and also a selectman. He continued to hold one or both of these offices the most of the time for the next twelve years and more.
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30 HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
He wrote a neat, legible hand and did most of the writing apparently for the whole settlement. He made deeds and other legal papers. Some of his town ac- counts, still in existence, show very plainly that he was a careful, painstaking man who had received better than an average education. He was probably. one of the oldest of the original settlers and he was also one of the first who died. His death took place in I793, at an advanced age.
The last representative of the family in town was Mark L. Aiken, whose death, in his eightieth year, occurred March 5, 1904, when the Aiken name became extinct in Wentworth.
John Aiken, Jr., married Anna Weeks in 1786. He built him a house on the site of the one now owned by Selectman Charles H. Brown. He died there Decem- ber 8, 1825.
About the year 1775 the first settlement was made on Ellsworth Hill by JOSEPH SMITH, who located upon the farm lately (1857) occupied by Oliver Ellsworth.
Joseph Smith's son Benjamin went into the army in 1780 from Wentworth, "as a soldier for the town" and served on the northern frontier: evidently a man was drafted from the town at the time young Smith went to war.
HUGH MCCLELLAN and family settled upon Ells-
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
worth Hill near where Joseph Smith was located, probably in 1776.
The McClellan family at a later period moved down from the hill and lived upon the place now owned by Mr. Zack Rolfe and are believed to have been the original settlers upon that land.
Mrs. Jane McClellan, wife of Hugh, outlived her husband many years and died October 14, 1821, aged IOI years and some months.
"Grammy McClellan," as she was usually called, was an expert at spinning and weaving; when she was more than 100 years of age, a caller found her beside her little flax wheel, drawing out the fine even threads, soft and almost silky in their texture.
The McClellan family belonged to the so-called Scotch-Irish race who have made a great contribution to the history of our state.
Beyond a doubt the Aikens belonged to the same stock.
About this same year of 1776 JOHN TURAL settled and built a house on Ellsworth Hill. He was located really about as much on Sanders as Ellsworth Hill, being upon the farm where Ezekiel Davis now (1857) lives.
Tural remained some twenty years in town. The large brook running through his land is called on old maps, the Tural Brook and received its name from him.
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
Before 1780 SAMUEL HOOPER made a beginning on what has ever since borne the name of Hooper Hill.
He was the founder in town of the Hooper family and his name is still attached to the locality where he first settled, lived and died.
As early as 1775, a settlement was made on the Governor's Reservation on Wentworth Hill as it was then usually called; it is now known as Atwell Hill.
EDWARD GREEN was the first man to locate in that region; he was shortly followed by EXPERIENCE CROSS who soon moved into the south part of the town; and a little later by DANIEL CLARK and WILLIAM SIMPSON. All these places were on the top of the hill and near what was later the farm of Ebenezer Atwell.
COLONEL SIMPSON, as he was called, built on this hill a large log house two stories high; it was the type of building known in those days as a block house and appears to have been the only such building ever built in the town.
Simpson's name does not appear in the 1783 tax list but he was listed by Dr. Hoyt as shown above.
MAJOR ENOCH PAGE came from Salisbury, Mass., and settled his family in town near where John P. Currier now lives, in the year of 1776 or 1777. Previ- ously to this, he had spent much time in town as agent for the proprietors, one of which he was. His
>
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
brother, Ephraim Page, lived nearly opposite, on the other side of the river.
Major Page deserves much more than a passing notice. He was a practical land surveyor and had much to do with dividing and allotting the different parcels and lots of land in the town; he was looked upon as the supreme authority upon such matters as long as he lived. He presided at the first town meeting and many more; he was the first citizen of Wentworth to sit in the Legislature; in 1783 he was appointed Associate Justice of the court of Common Pleas for the County of Grafton, remaining on the bench for several years. He took a deep interest in town affairs and did his utmost to assist in its settlement and aid in its development. The first tax list ever recorded was in 1783; at that time Major Page had the largest taxable estate in town. He was of a kind and liberal disposition and apparently served others better than himself.
It adds a touch of bitterness to find that this man, who deserves far more than any other individual to be respected as the father of the town, became destitute in his declining years, being supported as a pauper and now lies in the village cemetery in an unmarked grave, "Alone and unnoticed."
Major Page did not live many years on the East Side but moved into the region above the village and
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
lying between the Brook Road and the Atwell Hill Road. Here were also settled before the year 1795, Johnathan and Benjamin Hidden and John Munn. A tract in that locality is known yet as the Munn pasture. No one has lived on the land in this region within the memory of any person now living; to look at it today, few would suspect that any one ever had lived there. Major Page died in a house which stood about where Dr. Hoyt's does now, as did his son, Enoch, Jr.
John Gove came from England at a very early period and died in Charlestown, Mass., in 1648. He had a son, Edward, who married Hannah Titcomb; they lived in Salisbury, Mass., and Hampton, N. H., and reared a large family.
Capt. Ebenezer Gove, the founder in Wentworth of our Gove family, was a descendent of Edward and Hannah (Titcomb) Gove and born in 1755. He was more or less closely associated with the family of Enoch Page in Salisbury. He had spent much time in town as an assistant to Mr. Page and others en- gaged in running lines and clearing out roads before 1776, finally coming as a settler at the same time that Enoch Page came with his family.
In the year 1777 he married a daughter of Major Page and lived either with or near his father-in-law until 1787.
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
This marriage in 1777 was the first one in town, so far as any record exists. 1248166
His wife with their infant child died in the year following their marriage and are buried on the East Side.
In 1780 he married Mary Davis, the daughter of Abel Davis, the pioneer of 1770. Captain Gove served an enlistment in the Army during the Revolution, his service being on the northern frontier; his title of Captain, however, was of the militia.
In 1787 Captain Gove bought of William Heath the farm now owned by his great grandson, Charles T. Gove, and moved there with his family. He was a very active and useful citizen and contributed much to the welfare and comfort of the townspeople. He died at an advanced age and is buried with many of his descend- ants in the village cemetery.
RICHARD PILLSBURY came from Chester in or near the year 1778 with his three grown-up sons, Josiah, Merrill and Richard, Jr. They located on the East Side on what has ever since been known as the Pills- bury place, it being in part at least the same land now owned and occupied by his descendant, Miss Mary Ellen Pillsbury.
A fatality seemed to follow the name of Richard in this family.
Richard, Sr., was breaking out roads in the winter
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
of 1782, was overcome by the cold and later found buried in the snow dead and frozen; his body was guarded by his faithful dog until removed by members of his own family.
Richard, Jr., removed to Warren and was killed there by a falling tree.
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Merrill Pillsbury settled on the opposite side of the river on land since owned by John Marston.
Samuel Hodge, whose name is spelled "Hodg" on the old records, came probably in 1778; he was lo- cated very near the point where Baker's River crosses the town line and enters Rumney.
Hodge was drowned in the river while trying to kill some ducks, probably in 1780 as the record shows his tax was abated for that year and he was not again mentioned.
His widow was left in a rather desperate condition with several small children. She soon married Thomas Todd for her second husband and they continued to live in about the same place.
From some of the stories that have been told of Todd, it seems reasonable to believe the last estate of this resolute woman was worse than her first.
The first clearing on the Kezer place, so called, was made in 1778 by Ephraim True.
In the year.1784 LEMUEL KEZER moved to town and bought the place which was then on the main road through town. He opened here a public house
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
called for many years the "Kezer Tavern Stand." "Grandsir Kezer," as he was called in later years, was a very eccentric and peculiar man, original, shrewd and indifferent apparently to either praise or blame. Some of the anecdotes in regard to his whimsical trades and jokes have persisted to this day. The orig- inal buildings were burned, the barns in 1819, the house in 1838. The place in later years was known as the Charles Merrill place.
PETER STEVENS moved to town from Chester, N. H., in the spring of 1782. He settled where Lois Stevens lived for many years, on the East Side at the foot of Clifford Hill.
Deacon Stevens, as he was called, was a blacksmith and for a long time the only one in town or in the vicinity; as such, he was a great help to the settlement. Stevens was induced to settle here by Major Enoch Page on the promise of 100 acres of land at his own price. The tradition is, he later paid the major one cow for the above land.
About 1782 SAMUEL WOOSTER settled on what was later known as the "Old Stuart place." Wooster was one of the leaders in the early days. He was unfor- tunately killed while working in the woods in 1789. His widow married Alexander Stuart; they kept the farm and it received its name from Stuart; he died about 1835.
Perhaps the next settler to deserve mention is
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
AARON PUTNEY; he came from the Montolina district of the town of Dunbarton in 1783 and settled very near the Warren line on the place since owned by Samuel Colby: his widow died here in 1846 at the age of 82 years.
ASA PUTNEY came also from Dunbarton probably in the same year of 1783 and settled on the "Lyster place" so-called, now owned by the Goves. Asa Put- ney was born on the frontier, never lived anywhere else and never wanted to; he was a hardy and power- ful man and famous hunter; the tradition is, he killed 18 bears in one fall, mostly around the Gove's ledge region. He moved in 1790 to what was later the David Sanders place on Sanders Hill. He was the first settler on that hill. Perhaps Asa Putney deserves to be called the Nimrod of Wentworth.
It will be hardly possible to mention even by name, all the settlers as they arrived henceforth, but men- tion will be made of some who founded in the town, families that have been long connected with the town's history, or otherwise of more than usual influ- ence or importance.
GEN. ABSALOM PETERS Was born in Hebron, Conn., March 25, 1754. He was intended for a profession and graduated from Dartmouth College, class of 1780. Soon after leaving college he entered the Army. He served as aide to General Bailey, who was in command
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
of the troops stationed around Newbury, Vt., to repel an invasion from the north, of which the colonists were in great dread.
At the close of the war, General Peters settled on the so-called Howard farm on Atwell Hill; for nearly forty years he was a prominent figure in town affairs, and a leading citizen. His college education and army serv- ice gave him great prestige in the militia of the period. He was major and later Lieutenant Colonel Commandant of the old 13th Militia Regiment; finally in 1806, he was commissioned Brigadier Gen- eral, Sixth Brigade, which then included about all of northern New Hampshire along the valley of the Con- necticut River. He held this high position for some years.
General Peters, as he was always entitled, pros- pered in town and reared a large family; many of his descendants have been able and distinguished as scholars, teachers and in the professions. He left town about the year 1820 and died in New York, March 29, 1840.
General Peters' picture, taken in old age, shows him to have been apparently a somewhat fleshy man of about medium height, a rather wide forehead, with a full, round, kindly face, smooth shaven.
Mrs. Peters died in 1819 and is buried at Went- worth in the Village Cemetery.
F
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
SAMUEL ELLSWORTH, with his stalwart family of six sons and several daughters, came to town in 1789. He settled on the hill destined later to be the home of many of his descendants, which for a hundred years or more has been called Ellsworth Hill.
He settled on the farm later owned by his son, Aaron, and at a later period by Oliver Ellsworth.
The family became in time very numerous; for years they led all other names in town in regard to either voters or taxpayers of the same name. Generally speaking, the Ellsworths were heavy, broad-shoul- dered, stocky men and an industrious, law-abiding race; many of the heavy bank walls in and around the village are a monument to their industry, as also is the massive stone wall around the town pound which was built for the town by the Ellsworths.
ELDER SAMUEL CURRIER moved into the town about 1782. He settled on the land on the East Side of the river which has ever since been occupied by his descendants.
Elder Currier was an ordained minister of the Bap- tist faith and was beyond any doubt the first minister who ever lived in town.
There is no reason to believe Elder Currier ever preached in town, except perhaps occasionally. After the first meetinghouse was built in 1790, he would probably have been regularly installed as the town's
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THE SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS
minister, but for the fact there was then as now, religious intolerance and the Congregationalists and others objected to paying towards the support of a Baptist clergyman.
Elder Currier died May 5, 1802, age 56. His wife Mary died April 13, 1801, age 54.
Their son Aaron Currier lived and had a tannery about where John P. Currier now lives; the place where the old tan pits were located, still shows in the ground near the present buildings.
JOB EATON moved to Wentworth from Plaistow, N. H., in the year 1785. He settled on the place known as the old Eaton farm, owned recently (1856) by Jesse Stetson.
A few years later, probably in 1792, Moses Eaton, a brother of Job, came to town and located on the road leading to Atwell Hill: this place was held by him and his descendants for about 100 years. Moses Eaton was an industrious and thrifty man as well as an excellent farmer. His only son, Jesse, was born in Wentworth and lived upon the old homestead. He married Elinor, the daughter of John Page and grand- daughter of Ephraim Page, the pioneer.
Clarence Eaton, a descendant of Jesse, now owns and occupies the old farm in Wentworth where Ephraim Page settled and which for three generations was held by the Pages as their homestead.
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
Mention has here been made of all the families be- lieved to have been located in town when the first town meeting was held, as well as some who had not then arrived.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN FIRST TOWN MEETING
During the first few years of settlement there was no government established, there were no officials, no inventories made and hence no taxes; this very happy and desirable state of affairs was too good to last.
By the time the year 1779 had arrived, it became necessary for the Province of New Hampshire to make use of every resource both of money and men in order to carry its share of the heavy burdens imposed by the War of the Revolution upon the struggling colonies.
Local conditions also required attention. There were no roads worthy of the name and no schools and there could be none until money could be raised by taxation for such purposes; no taxes, however, could be imposed until officers were elected with authority to take an inventory and lay a tax.
Samuel Emerson of Plymouth, then the first select- man and a leading citizen of that town, was author- ized to call a meeting of the legal voters of Wentworth
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ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN
and to preside in said meeting until a moderator had been duly elected.
The meeting was called in July, 1779, at the house of John Aiken.
There is no record preserved of those who were qualified to attend this first meeting in 1779, but we may assume fairly that the following were present or were at least entitled to the right to vote at this time:
Major Enoch Page - then living on the East Side.
Ephraim Page - living on the old town farm.
John Aiken - living near Eugene Brown's.
Joseph Smith - living on Ellsworth Hill.
Ebenezer Gove - living then on East Side. John Aiken, Jr. - lived with his father.
Samuel Aiken - lived with or near John Aiken.
Hugh McClellan - on Ellsworth Hill.
Benjamin Weeks - from Ellsworth Hill.
John Tural - on slope Sanders Hill, near the brook.
William Heath - on Charles Gove place.
Capt. Reuben Whitcher - in Phillips White house, near rail- road bridge.
Isaac Clifford-near Smart's landing.
Samuel Hodge - near Rumney line, about where Samuel Smart settled later.
Experience Cross - on Samuel B. Burnham place in south part of town.
Edward Green - on Atwell Hill, then called Wentworth's Hill. Samuel Hooper - of Hooper Hill.
Joseph Cooper - on Ben B. Foster place.
William Cotton - on Clark place.
If our estimate is correct, there were then nineteen voters in town.
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
The meeting was duly held and opened by Mr. Emerson.
Major Enoch Page was chosen to preside. The first officer elected after a moderator has been chosen is the town clerk hence it is likely the first man ever elected in Wentworth to hold a town office was John Aiken. John Aiken, Joseph Smith and Ephraim Page were chosen selectmen, Ebenezer Gove, constable.
The constable was an officer of much importance in those days. He warned or issued warrants for town meetings, collected the taxes and also discharged for many years, most of the duties of the town treasurer.
The writer is well aware that this statement of selectmen elected at the first town meeting conflicts with the list named in the Grafton County Gazeteer of 1886. But as the selectmen's account for the year 1779, now open before him, is signed by John Aiken and Joseph Smith, Selectmen, the case would seem to be clear.
The original book containing the selectmen's ac- counts for the first fifty years of the town's history is in existence and in a good state of preservation. From 1779 to 1785 the book is all in the neat legible handwriting of John Aiken; the account was care- fully kept, and until the year 1795, all money was reckoned in pounds, shillings and pence. The first year's account contains exactly eight items of ex-
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SELECTMEN'S ACCOUNTS
pense. The selectmen charged for "6 days taking Inv. and making rates and committing them to the con- stable"; later they had "three mugs of Flip" at the expense of the town.
In 1780 the town was required to furnish men for the Army and also supplies. Beef and rum appear to have been deemed the most essential. The town's quota of beef at this time was fixed at 1,065 pounds; we are unable to say how much rum was asked for. Both articles were furnished, however.
An item in selectmen's account for 1780 reads "pd Capt. Whitcher in part of his oxen for Continental beef, 330 pounds, no shillings, no pence." Also the same year "pd Maj. Enoch Page, soldier money, 300 pounds, no shillings, no pence. pd John Aiken for soldier money, 300 pounds, no shillings, no pence." In 1781, same account, "pd Benja. Smith, a soldier for the town, 3 pounds, 15 shillings, no pence. pd for rum for town's proportion, 2 pounds, 8 shillings, no pence."
The patriotic citizens of Warren in their zeal for freedom, furnished through their benevolent propri- etor, Phillips White, for the use of the army "Nine garlins and two qts. best West Indea Rum." It is not on record they ever furnished any beef.
Then, as now, there were "undesirable citizens": in 1783 the town "Pd constable for warning Wil-
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HISTORY OF WENTWORTH, N. H.
liam - and Molly out of town, 4 shil- lings." The above names have been deleted in order to avert comment. Also the same year "Paid Simon Smith for carrying Margaret Lemay to Rumney select- men, 9 shillings." Evidently some house cleaning was being done in our good town on or about this date.
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