USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire as it is. In three parts. Part I. A historical sketch of New hampshire. Part II. A gazetter of New Hampshire. Part III. A general view of New Hampshire. Together with the constitution of the State > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
RELIGION.
The constitution of New Hampshire guaranties to every individual the right to worship God according to the dic- tates of his own conscience, provided he does not disturb the public peace, or disturb others in their religious wor- ship. In July, 1819, the memorable act called the tolera- tion law was passed by the legislature, which provides that no person shall be compelled to join, or support, or be classed with, or associated to, any church or religious soci- ety, without his express consent first had and obtained, and that any person may withdraw from a society of which he is a member by leaving a written notice with the clerk of the same.
The following notices comprise accounts of all the prin- cipal denominations found within the limits of our state :-
(Orthodox) Congregationalists .* - The organization of the first Congregational church in New Hampshire was in 1638, 18 years subsequent to the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth. It is an unsettled question whether the first church was that at Exeter, of which the celebrated John Wheelwright was pastor, or that at Hampton, of which the Rev. Stephen Bachilor was pastor. Both doubt- less were formed in 1638 - the latter in the fall of that year. Settlements had previously been begun at Dover and Portsmouth. In the former place a meeting house was erected as early as 1633, and William Leverich, "a worthy and able Puritan minister," was engaged as a preacher.
* From Historical Discourse by Rey. Mr. Bouton.
ยท
1492
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
To him succeeded one Burditt, and then Hanserd Knollys, or Knowles, both unworthy men. But a church was not formed in Dover till 1639, and no pastor was regular- ly settled till 1642. However it may be a question wheth- er Wheelwright of Exeter or Bachilor of Hampton was first in the order of New Hampshire pastors, it should be acknowledged that the oldest church now in existence in the state is that of Hampton, the first Exeter church be- ing dispersed on the removal of Wheelwright, about four years afterwards, to Wells, in Maine. The only towns in the province in which ministers had been settled previous to 1670, a half century from the landing of the Pilgrims, were Hampton, Exeter, and Dover. Of the seven that had been pastors in those towns, only two were then in office, viz., Samuel Dudley, of Exeter, and Seaborn Cotton, of Hampton. ' In 1671 a church was organized, and Rev. Joshua Moody settled the same day, the first minister of Portsmouth, though he had preached there since 1658, and occasional preaching had been enjoyed since 1640.
The fifth church organized was at Dunstable, under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, now the first church in Nashua, and a minister settled in 1685. Subsequently other towns bordering on the sea coast, as New Castle, Newington, Stratham, Durham, Kingston, and Rye, had ministers. Thence, very gradually, settlements were made in the interior, and ministers settled, in Londonderry, (1719,) Concord, (1730,) Chester, Winchester, Pembroke, Hudson, and Keene. In the latter place Rev. Jacob Ba- con was settled in 1738, a century after the settlements at Exeter and Hampton. He was the 55th pastor in order settled in the state. But at the formation of the conven- tion in 1747, there were only about 30 ministers living. The progress of settlements continued slow, extending into
493
RELIGION.
the interior, averaging, till after the revolutionary war, only about four annually in the whole state ; but subsequent- ly the growth was more rapid. The number of pastors living at different periods in the history of the denomina- tion, is as follows : -
In 1670, 2 ; 1700, 5 ; 1747, 30 ; 1776, 65; 1800, 76; 1820, 90 ; 1847, 117.
At the present time the General Association reports as follows : -
Number of churches, 187. Do. ministers, 158. Do. communicants, 20,309. Total value of church property in 1850, $527,340.
The Congregational Journal, a weekly paper published at Concord, is devoted to the interests of this denomination.
Episcopalians. - This denomination was among the earliest established in the state. A church was erected at Portsmouth prior to 1638, and Rev. Richard Gibson was the first minister, who remained until 1642.
Number of parishes, 11. Do. rectors, 7. Do. commu- nicants, 572. Do. Sabbath school children, 364. Total value of church property in 1850, $41,100.
Christians. - Number of churches in 1850, 24. Ag- gregate accommodations, 7240. Total value of church property, $30,350.
Baptists. - The first Baptist church in this state - indeed, the first north of Boston - was organized in New- ton, Rockingham county, in 1755. The members were separatists for " conscience sake " from the Congregational church, and were the fruit of the " great awakening " un- der Whitefield and others in 1740. Walter Powers be- came pastor at its organization. The centennial celebration will take place in October, 1855, in connection with the meeting of the Baptist State Convention.
42
494
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
The first Baptist communicant known in the state was Rachel Thurbur, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, who became Mrs. Scammon, and moved to Stratham, 1720. It was the result of her labors that Dr. Samuel Shepherd became con- nected with the denomination in 1770, under whose inde- fatigable labors the Brentwood church and its branches were organized, in connection with which he lived to intro- duce more than 600 members.
More than a century before any Baptist church existed in this state, Hanserd Knollys came to this state, and after- wards became an eminent Baptist. Mr. Knollys was grad- uated at Cambridge College, England, and ordained by the Bishop of Peterborough in 1629. Becoming afterwards a Puritan minister, he came to this country, and to Dover, in this state, in 1638. He organized the first Congregational church in Dover, being the second in the state. In 1641 he returned to England, and organized a Baptist church in London, where he was eminent as a pious and useful minister till his death in 1691. A denominational publish- ing society exists in London, called by his name.
Number of Baptist churches is this state in 1755, 1; 1780, 9; 1800, 26; 1853, 96. Do. ordained ministers in 1853, 90. Do. communicants, 8376.
About $2000 are annually expended for domestic mis- sions.
Freewill Baptists. - The first church in New Hamp- shire of this denomination was founded at New Durham, in 1780, by Elder Benjamin Randall. This denomination was recognized as a distinct sect by an act of the legisla ture, December 7, 1804.
The following statistics are given as reported in the Freewill Baptist Register for 1854 : -
Number of churches in New Hampshire, 132. Do.
495
RELIGION.
ordained ministers, 135. Do. licentiates, 12. Do. com- municants, 9751. Amount contributed for missions dur- ing the year, $1644.28.
The Freewill Baptist printing establishment is located at Dover, by which are issued The Morning Star, a weekly paper, and The Myrtle, a semi-monthly Sabbath school pa- per. The profits of the publications of this establishment are devoted to the interests of the denomination.
Friends, or Quakers. - The Friends made their appear- ance in New Hampshire at an early date, and at first suf- fered severe persecution. They have now several small societies, but no regular ministers. A society was formed at Seabrook in 1701.
Number of churches in 1850, 15. Aggregate accom- modations, 4700. Total value of church property, $15,200.
Methodists. - In July, 1791, Jesse Lee preached the first Methodist sermon in New Hampshire, at Portsmouth. On the 26th of August of the same year he preached in a private house in Greenland. Two weeks after this time he again preached in Portsmouth, standing upon the Court House steps. He also visited, the same year, Rindge, Marlborough, Chesterfield, Dublin, and some other towns. In 1794 Joshua Hall was appointed to preach in New Hampshire, but the following year the appointment was withheld. On the 1st of January, 1795, Mr. Lee again visited Portsmouth, and preached to an audience of four persons.
The first Methodist society in New Hampshire was or- ganized at Chesterfield, in the latter part of 1795. At the conference of 1796, this society reported 68 members, and became a regular circuit. Philip Wager was the first stationed preacher, and reports his circuit " more than fifty miles square."
496
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
.... The number of members reported in the state in 1797 was 92 ; in 1798, 122. The Methodists were recognized by law as a distinct religious sect June 15, 1807.
The New Hampshire Conference was organized and held its first session at Barre, Vermont, June 23, 1830. The Vermont Conference was separated from the New Hamp- shire Conference in 1845. The New Hampshire Conference Seminary, at Northfield, was established the same year. The Methodist General Biblical Institute went into opera- tion at Concord, April 1, 1847, having an endowment of $37,000.
.. In May, 1854, Methodism reports itself as follows : -
Preachers' appointments, 102. Travelling preachers, 82. Superannuated preachers, 24. Local preachers, 98. Mem- bers in society, 9352. Probationers, 1782. Number of Sabbath schools, 123. Do. Sabbath school teachers, 1487. Do. Sabbath school scholars, 9683. Do. Bible classes, 498. Do. scholars in infant classes, 512. Raised for benevo- lent objects, (i. e. missions, Bible classes, &c.,) $5119.78. Total value of church property in 1850, $175,590.
Roman Catholic. - Number of churches in 1854, 4. Aggregate accommodations in 1850, 1450. Total value of church property in 1850, $20,000.
Unitarian. - Number of churches in 1850, 13. Ag- gregate accommodations, 8380. Total value of church property, $72,800.
Universalists. - The Universalists were recognized by law as a distinct religious sect June 13, 1805. The first society of this denomination was formed at Portsmouth as early as 1781.
Number of societies, 70. Do. meeting houses, 56. Do. preachers, 27. Total value of church property in 1850, $83,100.
497
RELIGION.
Shakers. - " New Hampshire contains two societies of those curious and interesting people called Shakers, or United Believers - one situated in Canterbury, Merri- mack county, and the other in Enfield, county of Grafton. These two societies contain usually from 250 to 350 mem- bers each.
" There are now in the United States eighteen societies . of these people, containing about 7000 members. An epit- ome of the principal features of the two societies in New Hampshire will give a very general representation of the whole, as their religious opinions and practices, as well as their internal regulations, are identical, whether in Ken- tucky, New York, or New Hampshire.
" They are the followers of Ann Lee and her associates, who came to this country from England in 1774.
" The religious and domestic polity of this singular order of people presents many peculiar and highly distin- guishing characteristics. Their church government may be called Episcopal, or vested in bishops and elders, after the order of the primitive church. The central or lead- ing spiritual authority devolves upon a succession of min- istry, or order of bishops, residing alternately at New Leb- anon and Watervliet, in the State of New York.
" In New Hampshire, the religious principles, as first inculcated by Ann Lee, were adopted by several families in the before-mentioned and several of the surrounding towns in 1782 ; but in 1792 these families associated them- selves together in a joint interest, in all their temporal and spiritual concerns, under the supervision of a ministry, or order of bishops, appointed by, and subject to, the head authority in New York. The societies in New Hampshire have continued under the episcopal jurisdiction of a suc-
42*
498
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
cession of ministry alternately residing at Canterbury and Enfield.
" The most striking of their peculiar religious dogmas are the following : -
" That the Deity is composed of two great and funda- mental essences, viz., power and wisdom, or male and female principles. For proof of this they quote Rom. i. 20.
" That Christ has made, not only his first, but his sec- ond appearing. That these are both to be considered as emphatically spiritual manifestations ; the first as seen in and through the mission of Jesus of Nazareth, and the second as seen in the same manifestations through Ann Lee. Through these two manifestations they recognize a spiritual parentage, or the father and mother of the new creation.
" That the object of these two appearings of Christ - first in the male, and secondly in the female - was to make an end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteous- ness ; to make an end of the world, or order of the flesh, perfected in the first Adam and Eve, that all who would might come into the order or dispensation of the new creation, through regeneration, or the spiritual parentage of the second Adam and Eve. Through this agency, they believe a new heavens and a new earth are being insti- tuted, as seen in their order. Hence celibacy is rigidly and tenaciously observed in every instance.
" That the resurrection concerns the soul or spiritual body only, and can have nothing to do with the natural.
" In short, the above leading points of doctrine would seem to indicate a foundation, with no borrowed material, since Christ, or the declension of the primitive church.
" However objectionable these dogmas may appear to
499
RELIGION.
the casual observer, the fact cannot be disguised, that this doctrine, as a foundation for practical holiness, possesses many decided advantages. And that the isolated position in which they stand to the world without should expose them to much scandal and reproach, is not astonishing. But when scandal and reproach become the cause of re- ligious persecution, they should become a source of uni- versal regret. Indeed, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to procure legislative enactments, in New Hamp- shire, ostensibly and specially designed to oppress this peaceable and quiet class of people, and tending to destroy many of those sacred privileges now so faithfully guaran- tied to every good citizen by our constitution. May special legislation, and every species of religious intoler- ance, never find a stronger foothold in the old Granite State than they already possess.
" The Shakers take no part in political affairs, believing themselves subjects of another kingdom, although they cheerfully yield all their constitutional obligations for their privileges secured in return.
" That they constitute the only successful attempt for an institution, or association, for a community of joint inter- ests, and that they have gained for themselves a character for honesty, industry, temperance, neatness, and sobriety, have become universally proverbial. Their villages pre- sent a spectacle of thrift, order, and cleanliness nowhere else to be found.
" At Enfield, for 61 years, or since the society there was first founded, they have had but 201 deaths. The average age of all these lives has exceeded, a trifle, 52 years. The society at Canterbury, in these particulars, is very nearly the same. This is worthy of great consid- eration.
500
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
" Agriculture, horticulture, and the various mechanic arts claim their constant attention, all of which they pursue with much profit and success. By means of their indus- try and frugal habits, their honesty and punctuality in all their business transactions, they have accumulated a respec- table property ; and after bestowing much for charitable purposes, they live quiet, peaceful, and happy lives."
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
DANIEL WEBSTER .*
THE family of Daniel Webster was of Scottish origin, though it was established in America at a very early peri- od. Thomas Webster, the remotest ancestor in this coun- try, settled at Hampton, New Hampshire, in the year 1636, or sixteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plym- outh ; and from him the descent has been definitely traced in the records of Hampton, Kingston, and Salisbury.
Ebenezer Webster, the father of Daniel, is represented as having been a man of " striking personal appearance," tall, erect, and athletic, a man of great energy of character and indomitable courage. He rendered important services both in the French war and the revolution ; was at West Point at the time of the discovery of Arnold's treason ; at the battle of White Plains, and at the battle of Bennington, be- ing, in the latter, a major under General Stark. After the decease of his first wife he married Abigail Eastman, who became the mother of Ezekiel and Daniel Webster. Like
.
* See plate.
1
501
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the mothers of most men of distinction, she was possessed of superior intellect and great energy of character. She lived, like every true mother, for the good of hier children, and looked forward to the time when they should rise above the humble position in which their lot was cast. The distinction which they afterwards attained is no doubt attributable, in a great measure, to her early precepts and instructions.
Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of January, 1782, in Salisbury, New Hampshire, a place at that time on the very borders of civilization, and subject to all the diffi- culties and dangers of a frontier settlement. In this place he passed the days of his childhood, receiving his first im- pressions from the wild and picturesque scenery which there abounds, and his first instructions from his pious and devoted mother, who, on account of his feebleness when a child, always treated him with special kindness, and proph- esied even then that he would become eminent.
Yes, New Hampshire was the place of his birth, the birthplace of so many men of renown. In this, indeed, she acknowledges no superior among her sister states. Of her it may be said, as Homer said of Ithaca, " Rugged is her surface and unprolific is her soil, but she is the nursing mother of great men." Here was he born who was ap- pointed to be the guardian of the Union, the great ex- pounder of the constitution, as Mount Washington seems keeping guard over the land of his birth. Here he im- bibed that dignity, that freedom of thought, and that in- tellectual vigor which left so indelible a mark on his ora- tory and his public career.
" It may well be supposed that his early opportunities for education were very scanty." He was obliged to walk two and a half miles to school in midwinter, when quite young.
502
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
His first masters were Thomas Chase and James Tappan, whom he always regarded with the most profound respect and esteem. In the year 1796 he was taken by his father to the Academy in Exeter, where he remained for a few months only, but sufficiently long to give his mind a most powerful impulse.
Strange as it may seem, there appear to exist in all possessed of true genius a spirit of distrust, a want of confidence in their own ability to perform that for which they appear, in after life, to have been specially created. Perhaps this arises from a greater appreciation of excellence, and a consequent shrinking from attempting any thing which must at first fall so far short of it. Be that as it may, it is a fact attested by Mr. Webster himself, that he found declamation the most difficult of all his exercises. He says, " I believe I made tolerable progress in most branches which I attended to while in this school. But there was one thing I could not do. I could not make a declama- tion. I could not speak before the school. The kind and excellent Buckminster sought especially to persuade me to perform the exercise of declamation like other boys, but I could not do it. Many a piece did I commit to memory, and recite and rehearse in my own room, over and over again ; yet when the day came, when the school collected to hear declamations, when my name was called, and I saw all eyes turned to my seat, I could not raise myself from it."
By determined will and repeated trials, he, however, at length overcame this extreme diffidence, and began very soon to be distinguished for his oratorical powers.
The following anecdote is related of him while connected with this school. After a month his instructor, Mr. Nich- olas Emery, said to him one morning, " Webster, you will
503
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
pass into the other room, and join a higher class ; " at the same time adding, addressing his classmates, " Boys, you will take your final leave of Webster ; you will never see him again."
He remained here but a few months, when "he was placed by his father under the Rev. Samuel Wood, the minister of the neighboring town of Boscawen," with whom he remained from February till August, 1797. He was now fifteen years of age, and it was on their journey to Mr. Wood's that his father first disclosed to him the de- sign of sending him to college. Says Mr. Webster, "I remember the very hill which we were ascending, through deep snows, in a New England sleigh, when my father made known this purpose to me. I could not speak. How could he, I thought, with so large a family, and in such narrow circumstances, think of incurring so great an ex- pense for me. A warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head on my father's shoulder and wept." Many a son of New England, many a poor New Hampshire boy, who, when looking on the spires of old Dartmouth, has turned away and wept because poverty forbade him to be num- bered in those halls, can appreciate his emotions at that time.
After remaining six months with Mr. Wood, he entered college. That his preparation was imperfect there is no doubt. That it was far superior to that of many a child of wealth and luxury who has spent years in irksome study, there is also no doubt. Spurred on by the threefold incen- tive, poverty, duty, and ambition, what is not the human mind able to accomplish ? It has never yet been tasked to its capacity. The example of perseverance amid difficulties which Daniel Webster has left to the youth of our country is alone sufficient to render his name immortal.
There is a great disposition on the part of the indolent
504
NEW HAMPSHIRE AS IT IS.
students in our literary institutions to prove that idleness and dulness in college have distinguished most men of genius ; and this is said of Daniel Webster. A greater mistake could not be made ; and certainly in this particular case a greater falsehood could not well be told.
Professor Shurtleff, who alone survives of the faculty connected with the college when Webster was a student, declares that no one was more diligent and studious than he, and that he even then stood preeminent among his classmates, as he has since among men.
Graduating in August, 1801, he immediately entered the office of Mr. Thompson, near his father's, as a student of law, where he remained until 1804, with the exception of teaching an academy in Fryeburg, Maine, for a season, for the purpose of obtaining money to prosecute his own profes- sional studies, and to assist his brother Ezekiel in his college course. " In July, 1804, he took up his residence in Bos- ton. Before entering upon the practice of his profession, he enjoyed the advantage of pursuing his legal studies for six or eight months in the office of the Hon. Christopher Gore." He first commenced the practice of his profes- sion in Boscawen, near his father's residence ; but in Sep- tember, 1807, he removed to Portsmouth, where he be- came at once associated with the most distinguished law- yers of New England. Here he commenced that brilliant career which so soon placed him at the head of his profes- sion. It is said that, when asked why he chose the profes- sion of law, and if he was not aware it was already crowd- ed, he replied, " There is room enough up high." His style of pleading at the bar was peculiarly his own. Leav- ing the minor technicalities of the law, he soared aloft, and grasped the great principles of eternal truth and justice, of which the written law is but a feeble and partial im-
505
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
bodiment, and in arguing a single case decided a hun- dred.
The commencement of Mr. Webster's public life was in 1813, when he first took his seat in Congress ; and his maid- en speech was on the 10th of June, upon a series of res- olutions moved by himself relative to the repeal of the Berlin and Milan decrees. This is said to have taken the house by surprise ; and it is declared by a person present that " no member before ever riveted the attention of the house so closely in his first speech."
His history, from this time forth, " the world knows by heart," and the speeches of him who once dared not de- claim in a small school are familiar as household words to every boy in our land. Though beyond question one of the first of orators, his style was different from that of any other man that ever lived. He had not the fire and energy of Demosthenes, nor the brilliancy of Cicero, but a certain measured, logical progress, which no power could resist or gainsay. And yet his language was by no means destitute of ornament ; nothing more beautiful, indeed, can be found in the English language ; but the embellishments are like the structure itself - rich and massive, intended for all time.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.