USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Hollis > Hollis [N. H.] seventy years ago > Part 4
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Tenney of Greenwich, Conn., for a copy which lies before me. It seems to me of sufficient interest to justify my giving it in full:
"An agreement or bargain between Ephraim Burge of Hollis, gentleman, and guardian for Ralph Tenney, a minor, on the one part, and the widow Phoebe Tenney, of said Hollis, on the other."
The bargain is as follows:
"Said Ralph is to live with his mother, the said widow Tenney, from the present time un- til he shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years, all of which time he is to be faithful, dutiful, and obedient, and carefully to refrain from all those vices and practices which it is reasonable that common apprentices should be required to conduct. And further, the said widow Tenney is to improve the whole of said term as though it were her own, two pieces of land which were assigned to said Ralph in the last will and testament of his father, William Tenney, dec'd, which lands are known by the name of the Mosier meadow, and wood-lot and road pasture; and the said widow Tenney on her part engages that she will from time to
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time and at all times during said term provide decent and suitable clothing and provision, and lodging suitable for such a young man, and in all respects during said term she engages to do for and to treat said Ralph well as it is reason- able that a master should be required to do for or treat an apprentice, and at twenty-one to clothe him with three suits; and further she engages to give him two months' schooling in each year, and to keep for him the whole of said term one yoke of oxen or to the value thereof in other stock as he shall choose and provide, and also to give annually ten bushels of rye. And at the age of twenty-one years she hereby obligates herself to pay him two hundred dollars in money, or to bear interest, and if not paid in one year, compound interest till paid; and it is further agreed by the parties that in case said Ralph should by reason of sickness or wounds, be unable to labor at any one time for more than one week, the said widow shall have full compensation for the time which he shall lose in this manner, viz .: all over one week at a time, and that he shall be at the expense of all physicians and sur-
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geons for himself during said term; but for all the time he shall lose by sickness and not ex- ceeding one week at a time nor for any nursing or boarding, there shall be no charge against said Ralph.
Agreed to this fifteenth day of Sept., 1806, by
PHOEBE TENNEY, EPHRAIM BURGE.
Assented to by RALPH E. TENNEY.
Attest: JESSE WORCESTER."
This same Ralph E. Tenney succeeded to the homestead. To it he brought, in 1818, as his second wife ( his first wife was Olive Brown, who lived but a short time after her marriage ), Phœbe C. Smith, the good and faithful help- meet who made his home bright and happy throughout his life. A few rods from the fam- ily residence a little house, once used as a malt- house, had been fitted up for the reception of the "town's poor" whom Mr. Tenney "bid off" according to the curious custom of the time. My earliest recollections of my aunt, Mrs. Tenney, are connected with the generous plat- ters of excellent food which I was accustomed to see her carry out to those unfortunate ones.
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She moved among them like a queen, forgetful of her high estate, and seeking only to carry comfort and cheer to the needy; or like an angel of mercy, shedding the light of her high- er life upon darkened pathways. All through her long life, in her own large family, in the church and in the town, she was one of the most active and useful of women.
Mr. Tenney early ranked as one of the sub- stantial men of Hollis. He was wise above many, for he knew both how to speak (and to speak well), and how to hold his peace. To many of those who knew him, he was, like General Grant of recent years, "the silent man"; but when he chose to speak, his words were weighty ones, with an influence which the words of no chatterer can carry. Hollis was a whig town. Mr. Tenney was an Adams man in 1824, but in 1828 he espoused Jackson's cause. On learning the fact, Squire Pool said, "That turns Hollis."
In the course of his career Mr. Tenney filled nearly all the different town offices, and was for many years deputy sheriff of the county. He also served several terms in the State Leg-
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islature, both in the House and in the Senate. All of his children, except the eldest son, Wil- liam N. Tenney, who inherited the home farm, found distant homes. Emeline, who became Mrs. Putnam, of Bedford, Mass., was a charm- ing and lovable woman. She died many years since. Mrs. Phebe Tenney McIntire rejoices in one son, Frank K. Her home is in Salem, Mass. Mary Tenney is the fortunate wife of Mr. L. P. Hubbard, of Greenwich, Conn., and her youngest sister, Harriet Maria Tenney, for- merly one among the many teachers who have gone out from Hollis, has for some years re- sided with Mrs. Hubbard.
Sarah Tenney, Mrs. Rodney J. Hardy, has a home in the pleasant Boston suburb of Ar- lington, She has six or seven bright boys and girls, some of whom have won honors for the family at the various New England colleges.
The two younger sons came to the west. Near the Chicago Post Office, at 46 Lakeside Building, is the business home of Ralph A. Tenney, the elder of these two, who has spent the last forty-one years mainly in the state of his adoption, Illinois. He was at first located
R. A. Finnsy.
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at Kewanee, being, indeed, one of the original founders and proprietors of that thriving town, and labored with characteristic public spirit to promote its best interests. Then came four years of service as Captain in the United States army. Since then, Chicago has been his resi- dence -- with intervals for extensive travels in the East and on the Pacific slope. No man lives who holds more sacred, than R. A. Ten-
ney, the memory of his childhood's home. No one rejoices more than he in the honors which come to Hollis through the lives-brilliant, dis- tinguished, famous, or simply noble, upright and good-of those whom she has sent forth to do the world's work. He loves the old home, but wherever he has lived-merry, genial, whole-souled, generous man that he is-he has gathered round him such a host of friends, and made himself so large a place in their esteem, that ever after that place is "home" to him, and claims him as her own. With a heart as warm and tender as a woman's, his own confid- ing, trustful spirit and winning manner draw all to him. To old and young alike he is just "Ralph," and the name is a synonym for all
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that is cordial and kind and cheering. I al- ways think of him as young; he looks young and feels young; but, dear me, he isn't young. Why, he has several grandchildren, and one of them is a young lady grown.
"Ralph's" youngest brother, Charles F. Ten- ney, has long resided at Bement, Ill., where he has been a successful business man. A part of his interesting family have recently visited Hollis with him. Mr. Tenney is highly es- teemed in his town and county, as is proved by the majority which he received on the occasion of his election to the State Legislature. An- other Hollis man may be found in Bement, a brother of R. E. Tenney, now living in Hollis. I am told that he is doing a good business there. Still another brother has found an Iowa home at Farragut.
All this passes before my mind as I linger in thought about my grandfather's farm. I can- not leave the spot of so many associations with- out remembering that it was my mother's birth- place, the home of her happy girlhood; that here she commenced her faithful, Christian life; that here she was married, and from here went
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forth to make the new home which provides the setting for the dearest of my own early memories.
May the line of Tenneys, to own and occupy the dear old place, never fail; but may it never fall to a Tenney who shall not, in life and char- acter, be worthy to succeed to so rich an in- heritance and so noble an ancestry.
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X.
In the neighborhood of the Hubbards and the Tenneys lived Benjamin Farley, senior, father of Benjamin Mark Farley. I remember him only as a retired gentleman. In describing him I cannot do better than to quote from a speech of L. P. Hubbard, Esq., delivered in ISSO. "He was a gentleman of the old school. He took a great interest in the boys. I worked for him sixty years ago; he could not have treated me more kindly if I had been his own son. On Saturdays, several hours earlier than usual, he would say, "Boys, it is time to quit work and get ready for the Sabbath."
A little beyond we now find Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Farley. I well remember the latter as a child, living at home with her father, Cap- tain Ben. Farley, as he was familiarly called.
Let us stop next at the home of Amos East- man, Esq. He was already, in my childhood, far on the downward side of the hill of life, but he had been one of the strong, positive men of
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the town. He had served in the Revolutionary War, and had held many important offices in Hollis. In 1826 I worked for him several weeks, picking apples; and I now recall that in the last year of my residence in Hollis, in 1832, on one Sabbath afternoon, I attended the funeral of the venerable man, and listened to an impressive sermon from the text, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
His was a fine farm, and, judging from the tax-list, he must have been an extensive prop- erty owner. I have before me a list of those "warned out" in 1822, by the Selectmen, B. M. Farley and Wm. Ames, to work their road tax, at the rate of eight cents per hour for a man, and the same for a yoke of oxen. Here are a few of the items: Amos Eastman, $14.64; Daniel Lawrence, $7.36; Benjamin Farley, Esq., $3.25; R. E. Tenney, $4.42; Dr. William Hale, $2.37; Alpheus Eastman, $3.17; James Hardy, .73.
Next door dwelt Mr. Alpheus Eastman, an interesting man of great life and activity. I always liked the man in spite of the fact that he dreadfully disappointed my boyish aspira-
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tions when he decided, once upon a time, that I was too young to attend his singing school. Perhaps if he had been willing to take me then under his skillful tuition, I might be now a bet- ter singer than I am. He was high-keyed him- self, but none too much so for a man who keeps himself well under control. I doubt not that the sweet singer, the lover of earthly music, has been for many years-as we count time-sing- ing the "new song" of the redeemed, above. His son, William Plummer Eastman, very near my own age, was called to the ministry. He preached successfully through life in Ohio, and a few years ago was called to his reward.
Passing by the Lawrence farm, a few years ago, I found that it had been divided up, and the mutations of three-score years had stripped it of all representatives of the old family which I recollect. It lay south of the home last men- tioned, and was the residence of Daniel Law- rence, one of the staid citizens of Hollis, an ex- tensive farmer, with a large family. The names which he chose for his sons are evidence of his acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures, for they are all to be found therein. Daniel
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went early to seek his fortune in the wilds of the West. Mark followed his father's calling. Luke was indeed the beloved physician, but his life was full of suffering, and he died young. Caroline went about among the various families of the town, in the capacity of tailoress, and was greatly beloved by all who knew her.
South of the Lawrence farm lived Jesse Read, who removed some time since, to New York City.
Going on a little farther in this direction, I reach one of those old stone posts, common in New England, set up according to law as bound- ary marks. The capital letter "H" cut in the north side of the stone, gives me notice that I must not pass beyond, even far enough to look at the "P" on the opposite side, if I would not step out of the town of Hollis, out of New Hampshire, out of my bailiwick, and into the town of Pepperell, Mass.
"Fog End" is close at hand. It was fully seventy years ago that I first knew Mr. Matthew Withington who lived on the corner next to the blacksmith shop. For the times, he was a good and somewhat progressive farmer, and I re-
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member that he brought in improved stock.
We boys always used to look with wonder at the blacksmith, Mr. William Adams, with his bowed form, bent nearly at right angles. He seemed to be, in spite of it, a strong, healthy man. He was very ingenious, and made good rifles in all their parts.
Close by lived Amos Haggett, who, as regu- larly as the Sabbath morning came, might have been seen with his wife and daughter on the way to church, seated in their one-horse chaise, behind his fine, dark bay fast-stepper.
The residence of Captain Flagg is one of those which I used often to visit with my father, and it seems that when I go again I shall see him as of old, and hear him talk in his pleasant way, and then, bringing out, every now and then, that quaint, favorite expression of his, "Bless my body! Bless my body!" But he has been under the sod these many years. The Rev. Mr. Smith was not more regular in attend- ance at meeting than Captain Flagg and his family, though he was often obliged to stand up during the sermon to prevent drowsiness. It is pleasant to know that a son occupies the
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old homestead, and all the more so since I have learned that the wife who presides over the home is a sister of James and Luther Proctor, who were my schoolmates at Beaver Brook school.
Westward, toward Brookline, the land was of the poorest quality. I have not seen it for nearly seventy years, but I am sure I have never seen more bogs to the acre than were to be found in these meadows. The poor farmers, among whom were Levi Kemp and Jonas Law- rence, remained upon that wretched soil only because they did not know that the great, rich West was then open to settlement at a dollar and a quarter an acre.
Robert Colburn's home was one of the land- marks of my time. His industry as cooper and farmer supported a large family. He was hap- py in a cheerful, contented disposition, and his merry laugh seemed to ring out as readily in times of adversity as in prosperity.
If one of the old prophets had shown Jesse Worcester, Esq., three-fourths of a century ago, that his son, John N. Worcester, would com- mence and his grandsons bring to completion
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the great improvements on that old farm which he purchased in the south part of the town, and bring it to its present high state of culture, with its orchards and fruits, and its magnificent build- ings, I think he would have found it hard to put full faith in the vision.
The original Worcester homestead, which has been in the family for more than a hundred and forty years, is about half a mile from the meeting-house. As I remember, Mr. Jesse Worcester, who resided there in my early boy- hood, was already growing old, and the young- est of his children was about five years older than myself. He was a dignified, venerable man, and took an active part in town matters. Being gifted with unusual endowments, his in- fluence was always important. His youthful patriotism had led him to enter the Revolu- tionary army when only fifteen years of age. He married, in 1783, Sarah Parker, who proved a true helpmeet during the long life they lived together. Their nine sons and six daughters all lived to adult age. Fourteen of them were teachers, and seven of the sons aspired to a college education. I love to look at the pho-
John & Worcester
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tographs of that remarkable couple. Both are strong, well-balanced characters. I have fol- lowed the history of their children, and I ask, can anyone point me to a family like them in numbers, in character and in ability? One son alone, Joseph E. Worcester, author of the fa- mous dictionary and other books, has brought great honor upon his parents and upon his na- tive town. I was best acquainted with John N., the son who remained at home and spent his long life in Hollis. While he lived it always gave me pleasure to meet him, and now that he is gone, I cherish a strong interest in his enterprising sons.
The old Worcester mansion and farm are still owned by members of the late T. Gilman Wor- cester's family, and his accomplished daughter, Miss L. E. Worcester, resides there. I trust it may be long before the place passes to an- other name.
Some time ago, I received from an old Hollis friend, who has long since left the early home, a copy of the record of births in the Center School District, from 1798 to 1809, inclusive. As I read over the long list of names it is like
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calling the roll of the dead. Many of them I knew. I met them on the street, in school, in church. Of those born in the year 1808, eleven are gone. Only two are living now, Luther Prescott Hubbard and David Worcester. The latter is the youngest of the fifteen children of the late Jesse Worcester. When we were boys at school, David was one of the large boys, wise and studious, to whom I looked up from my place among the "little shavers." A good many boys have gone from Hollis district school to Harvard University, and David Wor- cester was one of them. After spending two years in Harvard's classic halls, he became himself a teacher, opening a high school in Bangor, Me. Most of his life has been spent there, but some ten or twelve years ago he came to Iowa, and now lives in Albion, about thirty miles north of the town in which I re- side. There he dispenses justice to his fellow- citizens, and they are not disposed to release him from his important duties, although his years are four-score and four. In his courts the scales are held with an even balance.
The full account given of this remarkable
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family by Judge Worcester in his History of Hollis, published in 1878, makes it unnecessary for me to dwell upon it. My little sketches, however, would be incomplete without some mention of those members of the family whom I knew.
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XI.
Captain Jeremiah Dow I knew well. He owned a good farm, was a good farmer, and one of the substantial, prosperous men of the town. He had found a real helpmeet in the wife he had taken from one of the prominent families of Hollis. Tall and strong as was the manly Captain, he could not stand before the scythe of time, which cut him down some years ago.
Another family which rises before me just as I knew them sixty or more years ago, is that of "Squire Pool,"-gentlemanly 'Squire Pool. It seemed impossible for him ever to be, in word or act, anything but a gentleman. There were the parents, two sons and five daughters, all in- telligent, energetic, full of life, and leaders in the community. Benjamin, the eldest son, was the tallest man in Hollis, and John, at eighteen, was a champion wrestler and a very Hercules for strength. Strong and gifted as they were,
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it is sad to think that, one by one, they have all passed away.
I call next at the corner, where lived Deacon Enoch Jewett. He had a bright, energetic, ambitious family. Nathan Thayer married in succession two of his daughters; another daugh- ter married Col. William Emerson. Noah was a bright, talented boy, and Gibson became a physician in Kentucky. Death has claimed the deacon, his wife, and, I think, all the children.
I want to add a few words concerning Dea- con Burge, though I have previously spoken of him as an officer in the church. He was one of the ripe Christians, of symmetrical, rounded character, of disciplined heart and head. His life was full of good works. Take him all in all, I have never known a better deacon. His family joined him heartily in works of benevo- lence; none were more faithful to the poor than they. I have heard the Rev. Doctor Caleb J. Tenney say, "Deacon Burge will come out like gold from the fire."
I am glad to know that the Burge home has been kept in the name. Cyrus, a son, lived and died there, and it descends to a grandson, the present occupant, Mr. C. F. Burge.
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The important business point in Hollis, out- side the center, seventy years ago, was Run- nells' mill. Though there were several other mills in town, none of them had sufficient water to turn the great wheel all the year, Nathan Holt, Captain Wright and Winkel Wright, his brother, all owned mills which were kept run- ning while the water power was adequate, but were forced to be idle a considerable part of the year. But the Nashua never ran dry, and it furnished Runnells' mill with unfailing power. Every man, and every boy ten years old in all the country around, knew the road to that mill, where were ground the rye and corn which made the bread that was the daily food for that generation. Fine wheat flour was regarded as an expensive luxury. It was sold in the stores in small quantities-by the "stone" or "half- stone"-and used in the various families on special festive occasions, or when visitors were entertained.
When quite a small boy I was taught the way to Runnells' mill, and many a time, before I was ten, was I placed on top of a bag of corn, duly balanced across the old horse's back, and
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started on the long road to mill. It was a long distance even beyond the Burge farm mentioned last.
A little beyond that, was the Nathaniel Jew- ett home, now owned by Mr. William Farley. I recall that at one time the "town's poor" were sheltered in that house for the five years for which they had been auctioned off to the low- est bidder.
Plodding along upon a slow walk, we (my old horse and I ) pass what was afterwards the Fox Farm, and the road that turns to the left to Miles Wright's, then on over poor, sandy land, until we come to Mr. Benjamin Smith's home. A good man he was, and had married one of the proud-spirited, energetic daughters of Deacon Jewett. Why did they stay on that poor little farm? The best that could be said of it was that there was always plenty of water in the Nashua for his horse and cows.
Now we come to the bridge, and then, soon, to the mill, where we find Samuel and Eben- ezer Runnells, father and son, busy with their varied labors in saw-mill, grist-mill, and card- ing machine; none too busy, however, to help
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the small boy off his horse, grind his grist, mount him once more on his sack of meal and start him on his homeward way. As the times were, that ever-busy mill was a great blessing to Hollis.
I learn through the kindness of Mr. D. F. Runnells, of Nashua, that the estate known as the Runnells mill property was purchased by his great-grandfather, Ebenczer Runnells, in 1777, and given to his son, Samuel Runnells, in consideration of which "the said Samuel," by his father's will, was to pay his mother thirty shillings yearly, and was also to make her "an annual visit during her natural life"- a duty which he faithfully performed. About the year 1795 Samuel Runnells built the saw and grist mill, with two run of stones, and afterwards added a carding mill. For many years the hum of business there was unceasing. Now all is changed. There is no noise of saw or rumble of mill-stones. If the boy I have been speaking of were to stand there to-day, with his white head and furrowed face, and call for Samuel Runnells, he would get no an swer. On inquiry he would be told that the
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old miller, so well known in his boyish days, had been dead nearly sixty years. Let him call for Ebenezer Runnells, and only the cease- less roll of the swift river will answer, for he, too, died more than a quarter of a century ago; and the bare-foot boy now carries the weight of nearly four-score years upon his weary shoulders.
That part of Hollis on the east side of the river, containing about five hundred acres of land, was known as "the Pumpkin Yard." It was divided into several farms, one of them owned by the Runnells family, one by Winslow Read, and one by Thaddeus Marshall who had two promising sons, Darwin and Freeman, and one or more daughters. Dunstable people will never cease to boast of the good bargain they made, in ceding the territory of the "Pumpkin Yard" to Hollis, with the consideration that Hollis should build the bridge and keep it up perpetually.
On either side of the Worcester mansion with its family of fifteen children, were two other large families. In Mr. Sewall Butterfield's home, as I have been told, were sixteen chil-
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dren, while Mr. William Wood, less than a mile away, must have been envious with only four- teen. Had these forty-five children all been of school-age together, the three households would have amply filled a country school house of ordinary size.
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