USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Meredith > Old Meredith and vicinity > Part 7
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THE PUBLIC SQUARE
Not far from where the pound now stands, the Proprietors had planned to have a Center Square of six acres. This was to have been farther to the east, however, and the Province Road passed through on the left and at an angle. This region is the despair of the surveyor, but these six acres would probably have been at the foot of the cliffs north-east of the pound.
It was in this way that Meredith lost the little green common that is so attrac- tive a feature in many small towns.
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OLD RED OAK
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THE OLD RED OAK
Abbie V. Smart
Nearly two hundred years have passed since this "Red Oak Tree " figured so prominently in our early history, when, in 1738, it was "spotted on four sides " to mark the starting point of the lots in the most northerly part of Gilmanton. This part of Gilmanton was part of the town of Gilford later, and now the lots along the east shore of Paugus belong to Laconia.
Lancaster, in his report of the meeting of March 8, 1739, says: "The surveyers' return of the second division of 40 acre lots embraced five ranges, beginning 80 rods E. S. E. from the mouth of the river leading from the lake, at a Red Oak Tree spotted on 4 sides, running southward."
This tree, which must at that time have been of good size to survive spotting on four sides, is still standing at the southwesterly corner of the junction of the Weirs road leading to Gilford Station and the White Oaks road, so called, but it has died during the past year.
It reaches a height of about 75 feet and is 13 feet in circumference at the base. Its branches are wide spreading and its trunk has great scars on the four sides, which, no doubt, were from wounds made by the surveyor's axe. The picture shown cannot do justice to this beautiful tree, as it was taken after it had com- menced to weaken with age and could not send forth its foliage with its accus- tomed strength and vigor. Each year it has grown weaker until finally this past summer it failed to send forth even the tiniest green shoot.
Over two hundred years this "Red Oak Tree" has stood "on guard." It has earned its place in history and with its likeness preserved it will not be forgotten when it has fallen by the wayside.
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THE STORY OF PEHAUNGUN
MRS. MARY GALE HIBBARD,
Laconia, N. H.
Dear Mrs. Hibbard:
Concerning old traditions of Pehaungun, I will tell you what was told to me when I was a young boy, by old people, most of whom were people who could well recollect events before the year 1800.
It seems that in the early days of Meredith, a ranger working his way down from the north towards the fortified garrison, at what is now Canterbury, was pursued so closely by Indians that he was forced to swim across from the lower point of Meredith to a spot near the Weirs. From there he worked his way down to what we know as the outlet of Winnipesaukee River, Messer Bridge, so-called, where he found a camp of Indians. One of the Indian women assisted him to make his escape and here we have two different stories.
One was that he was hidden by her in a cave near our present County Farm buildings, where he was cared for until he recovered strength enough to resume his trip, when she assisted him across Winnisquam so that he reached Canterbury safely.
Another story was that he was discovered immediately after he reached this Indian camp, and she helped him to escape to Winnisquam, where he was forced to swim Winnisquam at a point near the Three Islands, but he escaped, and rangers and their friends called the body of water which we now know as Round Bay, and later Opechee, by the name of the Indian who had helped this ranger.
Just who this trapper was, and where he came from we do not know, nor the date, but as you know Major Rogers with his rangers destroyed St. Francis village in Canada in September, 1759. As I understand it, Major Rogers' records show that after the destruction of that village, he fell back, pursued by a large force of Indians, and fought another battle at what is now known as Sherbrooke, where he again defeated the Indians and then afterwards made a hurried march to the head waters of the Connecticut, where he was expecting to receive supplies that were to be sent him there. There were none found, and as winter was approaching, it was thought best for the organization to disband and the men get home in small groups, rather than to attempt it in a large body. Not all of them ever made the trip in safety, some it was supposed died of starva- tion, others were killed by the native tribes of Indians. It is possible that this ranger was one of those who was attempting to make his way home after the campaign with Rogers was over and the men were trying to work their way home as best they could.
As I have said before, the people who told me this were those who could remember back to quite early in the history of Meredith, and as the population was not large at that time, the story must have been familiar to all the older
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people and it does not seem as though it could all be romance. As you well know, when the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad was built through here, I think in 1848, among the early engines that were put on were those named for the bodies of water here, Winnipissiogee, Aquadocktan and Pehaungun, meaning what we now know as Winnipesaukee, Paugus, and Opechee.
I distinctly remember a conversation between Esquire Lyford and another gentleman, concerning the names of those engines, in which this old tradition of the Indian girl was mentioned, but as I heard them from so many different parties, all old people, there must have been much truth to it.
I have always felt that it was a mistake to have allowed these bodies of water to have been renamed by irresponsible people. It seems to me unfortunate, and to think that New Hampshire names were not good enough is disturbing; they had to go and bring in names from the Far West, as you know that Robin in the Sioux language is Opechee, and has no reference or connection to anything in New Hampshire. These same parties also gave the name Winona to a rail- road station close by us here, which also came from the West and then they went over in the State of Maine for an Indian name there.
If I have read New Hampshire history correctly, there is no reason why Long Bay should have been named Paugus; it is quite certain that he was not in touch with the Indians in this section.
This is all I know about the name Pehaungun and where it originated. There are people still living who are very familiar with the name, but whether any of them remember the old story or not, I do not know.
Yours very truly,
G. H. TILTON.
THE RUSSIAN COUNT
The Reverend Simon Finley Williams had a son, whose name was probably Peter, but he met with most romantic adventures, and the name given him varies with the writer of the story. It is generally believed that the merchant from whom he stole the money was Stephen Perley.
After she had read several of these tales, this version was selected for us by Mrs. Elizabeth L. Putnam.
On Meredith Parade, about two miles distant from Lake Winnipesaukee, there still stands where it has withstood the blasts of more than a century a large two- story house in which lived in 1792-1797 Rev. Simon Finley Williams who was settled as the pastor by the town, as the custom at that time was. He came from Methuen to Meredith. He had a son whom he bound over to service with a merchant at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia.
When he was about seventeen he went to see the girls one night, for which heinous offence, upon his return in the morning, he was chastised by his em- ployer with the twigs of the wilderness. The night following he set out on a pil- grimage, taking with him three hundred dollars from his employer's desk. He reached Ossipee, hired a man to take him to Portland, where he shipped on board
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a Russian merchantman which left the wharf only an hour or two before an officer reached Portland in pursuit. On their way to Russia they were attacked by pirates. The captain, thinking he would be obliged to surrender, expressed himself to that effect; but the boy told him that he did not propose to have his throat cut, and if he would give him two good men to help him that he would take care of the pirates, as he had found a cannon on board which they loaded to the muzzle. They sunk two boatloads of buccaneers as they were coming to board the ship.
They reached St. Petersburg safely, and soon the news found its way to the emperor who sent at once for the captain. The latter gave the boy credit for his bravery, and was ordered to send the boy to the palace immediately, which was done, and the Yankee boy became a nobleman of high rank, and admiral-in-chief of the Russian navy.
In 1831 he came to America, landed in Boston, and with his suite drove to Meredith Bridge in great style. He found that his former employer was still living, and drove to his door, requesting to see him. The old man came out, sur- prised to see such a turnout, and was informed by the visitor that he had called to pay a bill he owed him. On being asked who he was he replied, "I am Count Zinchercoff from St. Petersburg," and the old man, more mystified than before, could only say, "I do not know you, sir." He was then asked, "Do you remember a boy by the name of William Williams who was bound out to you, and to whom you gave a sound thrashing, who the next night disappeared, taking with him three hundred dollars from your desk? I am that boy, and I have come from Russia to pay the bill. How much will it be?" The old gentle- man said he would be satisfied with the amount taken, but the count paid him in gold with interest to date. He then said, "I go back to Russia an honest man."
He visited the old parish where his father had preached, and on a pleasant Sunday morning was passing a well-kept farmhouse whose owner stood on the lawn with his baby in his arms, watching the splendid turnout approaching. The carriage stopped; a heavily bearded face appeared, and a voice rang out, "Halloo! How are you, Dick Neal?" The response went back, "Hullo! Bill Williams, how are you?" "Carry the baby into the house, Dick," said the Count," "and go ride with me." So for a little while they were boys once more.
This was the only time that the Count came back to America.
He figured in the war with Hungary in 1848.
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THE HERMIT OF HERMIT WOODS Mary E. Neal Hanaford
Joseph Plumer, "The Hermit," descended from Francis Plumer, who settled in Newbury, Mass., and was admitted as a freeman in 1634. One of his descend- ants, Jesse Plumer, married Sarah Merrill: they removed from Londonderry to Crotchtown. This name is found in the old Massachusetts records, and was given to the town from its position at the fork of the rivers. About 1768, as the state archives say, it was laid out as the infant town of Sanborn Town. The family lived a short time on the "Minister's Great Lot" No. 76, now Sanbornton Square; three years later they settled permanently on the edge of Meredith, in the so-called Plumer neighborhood.
Their fourth child, Joseph, born in Londonderry in 1774, was very sensitive and timid toward people, and had a fear of mankind; he was a good scholar and well read: when twenty-one years old he bought seven acres of land at the foot of Meredith Hill, and built a house in the forest with a circular cellar. The chimney was built of stones, with old scythes protruding upward so that no one could climb down the chimney and surprise him in the fireplace. He burned long pieces of wood he had cut, and as the ends burned off he would push the stick farther into the fire until it was wholly consumed.
He did not have any windows in his house for any outsiders to look in at him. The only entrance was a door some four feet high and three feet wide. This door was set some two feet above the ground without any outside steps, and in front of it on the inside was a trap-door, so if anyone tried to surprise him suddenly he could open the trap and the intruder would fall into the cellar.
His bedstead was made of spruce poles with boards to edge it and on the bot- tom, with herbs that he had gathered in the woods to sleep on. He had great faith in Nature's remedies, and he always kept brimstone along with the herbs, for disinfecting.
The young people often went there for curiosity, and as long as they behaved he made them welcome. He entertained the ladies by weighing them with a pair of steelyards he had suspended from a beam overhead with a hoop hung in it for the lady to sit in, at a "penny a weight."
The theological students from New Hampton often visited him, and held arguments on Bible topics, but he invariably got the best of the argument, as he was a good Bible student, and could quote scripture as well as the most learned of the students.
He wore homespun cloth uncolored for clothing, and no hat. It is said that he wrote some jingles, but never read a newspaper. He was said to watch strangers with an eagle eye, until he was satisfied that they were friendly towards him.
He died as he had lived "alone," aged 84 years.
The Plumer family were industrious, well-to-do-citizens, and well spoken of in the community.
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A FEW EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR HOUSES Mary Gale Hibbard
The reader must remember, when trying to follow our plan, that the roads marked there are not in all cases the roads of today. Even when the general direction is the same, there are many more curves and angles now. Changes were made to avoid a steep hill or swamp, or even a large ledge or boulder. We know, for instance, that the curve on Pleasant Street opposite Harvard Street was caused by a large ledge on the east side of the Province Road.
Many families settled on land owned by Ebenezer Smith. He would help a man at first, and sell him the land later, if he "made good," as we say now. In looking over his old deeds we find that he bought at various times fourteen whole proprietors' rights, and nine single lots in the first division. It is easy to see why many proprietors were ready to sell their shares. Few of them thought of settling themselves, and they had to pay one assessment after another for im- provements.
The lots above the Mill Grant were called "Point Lots." These lots were very long from north to south. In 1770 Daniel Morrison was on the first lot on the right as we go north, and Thomas Danforth on the side bordering on Winnis- quam. Thomas Danforth, Jr., and Jonathan Morrison were two of the Meredith men at Bennington.
Two later settlers on the lower part of this lot on the left were Timothy Somes and David Boynton. In January, 1778, Ebenezer Smith sold to Timothy Somes, for 25 pounds lawful money, eighty-one acres of this lot. The land ran down to the Great Bay and was described as "the same land where the said Somes lives and improves." We know from the testimony of his son, Timothy D. Somes, that he built the house where Stephen R. Sanborn now lives, 226 Pleasant Street. The house did not look then as it does now, as the roof has been changed so that it faces the street, instead of the south, as was usual in early days. The Somes family later lived in Somes Court, but when Mrs. Gertrude Somes Downing moved from Laconia to Arizona none of the family was left here.
David Boynton came later. He was a descendant of John Boynton, one of two brothers who settled in Old Rowley, Mass., in 1638. Mrs. Susie Noyes Sanborn, his great granddaughter, tells us that they lived in Lakeport while he built the "old red house," and before it was ready they moved on the ice to a little house that stood about where the turn is made to go to the County Farm. F. W. Boynton (Wooster) was a little boy then. His wife died before the house was finished, and later David Boynton married Mrs. Sibley, a widow, with a son, George L. Sibley, of about the same age as F. W. Boynton.
When this house was sold in 1811 to Stephen Gale, David Boynton had already moved to the Gilmanton side of the river, and his son Nathaniel lived there. An old newspaper clipping speaks of an "obfuscation" in regard to the distillery.
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A FEW EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR HOUSES Mary Gale Hibbard
The reader must remember, when trying to follow our plan, that the roads marked there are not in all cases the roads of today. Even when the general direction is the same, there are many more curves and angles now. Changes were made to avoid a steep hill or swamp, or even a large ledge or boulder. We know, for instance, that the curve on Pleasant Street opposite Harvard Street was caused by a large ledge on the east side of the Province Road.
Many families settled on land owned by Ebenezer Smith. He would help a man at first, and sell him the land later, if he "made good," as we say now. In looking over his old deeds we find that he bought at various times fourteen whole proprietors' rights, and nine single lots in the first division. It is easy to see why many proprietors were ready to sell their shares. Few of them thought of settling themselves, and they had to pay one assessment after another for im- provements.
The lots above the Mill Grant were called "Point Lots." These lots were very long from north to south. In 1770 Daniel Morrison was on the first lot on the right as we go north, and Thomas Danforth on the side bordering on Winnis- quam. Thomas Danforth, Jr., and Jonathan Morrison were two of the Meredith men at Bennington.
Two later settlers on the lower part of this lot on the left were Timothy Somes and David Boynton. In January, 1778, Ebenezer Smith sold to Timothy Somes, for 25 pounds lawful money, eighty-one acres of this lot. The land ran down to the Great Bay and was described as "the same land where the said Somes lives and improves." We know from the testimony of his son, Timothy D. Somes, that he built the house where Stephen R. Sanborn now lives, 226 Pleasant Street. The house did not look then as it does now, as the roof has been changed so that it faces the street, instead of the south, as was usual in early days. The Somes family later lived in Somes Court, but when Mrs. Gertrude Somes Downing moved from Laconia to Arizona none of the family was left here.
David Boynton came later. He was a descendant of John Boynton, one of two brothers who settled in Old Rowley, Mass., in 1638. Mrs. Susie Noyes Sanborn, his great granddaughter, tells us that they lived in Lakeport while he built the "old red house," and before it was ready they moved on the ice to a little house that stood about where the turn is made to go to the County Farm. F. W. Boynton (Wooster) was a little boy then. His wife died before the house was finished, and later David Boynton married Mrs. Sibley, a widow, with a son, George L. Sibley, of about the same age as F. W. Boynton.
When this house was sold in 1811 to Stephen Gale, David Boynton had already moved to the Gilmanton side of the river, and his son Nathaniel lived there. An old newspaper clipping speaks of an "obfuscation" in regard to the distillery.
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OLD RED HOUSE
A paper given to Nathaniel Boynton by Stephen Gale, June, 1811, reads thus: "The said Nathaniel may improve the distillery on said farm until the fifteenth day of April next, and then may remove the same from said farm." Mr. Stephen R. Sanborn, who lived in this house when a boy, had heard that a woman who lived there made extracts. From the old orchard of native fruit back of this house Orchard Street took its name.
On the two lots north of these there was a little settlement in early times. Ebenezer Smith deeded one hundred acres to Jonathan Danford in January, 1785. There were two Danford (or Danforth) houses later, both on high land over- looking the Great Bay. One stood where the county buildings now stand, the other was farther south. The Province Road swung farther toward the west than it does at present, and Danforth Rock lies off the shore here. Near here two thieves are said to have buried a silver image of the Virgin stolen from a cathedral in Montreal.
Jonathan Smith lived on the lot opposite in 1770, and the schoolhouse was near. The old well is still to be found in the corner near the lane, and also the cellar-hole of the house where Stephen Boynton, the nephew of David, lived later.
When the house where Mr. Pearson now lives was spoken of sixty years ago, it was usually called the Maloon place, although Elder Hartshorn lived there. William Maloon was a Revolutionary soldier and pensioner. Near here Elder Folsom lived for a short time.
On the next lot bordering on Round Bay John Kimball or Kimbel settled. On November 22, 1792, he sold all his land on the water side and his house and 181/4 acres on the west side to Dr. Zadock Bowman for £55. Dr. Bowman had an innkeeper's license for fifteen days in this very month. He may have entertained a few guests at the time of the installation of the Rev. Simon Finley Williams, but we have no reason to suppose he kept an inn.
In 1804, when he was already living on the Gilmanton side of the river, Dr. Bowman sold this place to Samuel Lawrence. The land where the house stood is now owned by Dr. Baker, and is nearly opposite the house where he now lives.
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This was a two-story house of good size and was empty in November, 1871, when there was a fire in the county building. A part of the inmates were taken for a time to the Lawrence house. The night after they were moved back to the county building, the Lawrence house burned to the ground. We have failed to trace the Kimball family; Dr. Zadock Bowman was for many years a well known resident in what is now Laconia.
Sodaß Bowwow -
The lots above the point lots were about a half mile in length, from east to west, and contained 100 acres each. The Crockett lot, however, is of a different shape, as another lot is cut out of one end. In the list of 1770 William Crockett is placed on this lot, but later Capt. Joshua Crockett and his son Samuel lived there, and later yet Selden Crockett. Many remember Madam Crockett and her daughters as they drove through town many years ago. We shall say little of the family, as their story has been told elsewhere.
The first building on the grounds of the State Home is the Crockett house, changed and enlarged, of course. The road up Cock Hill, on both sides of which the school buildings now stand, was not built until later, so we must go north by the Province Road, often called the Parade Road in this part of the town. On the school grounds, before we have gone many rods, we see a one-story house; this is known as the old Woodman house. There was a Joshua Woodman in the census of 1790, later a Daniel Woodman, whose wife was a Peabody, and Deacon John Woodman.
The last member of this family to live for a time near her old home was Mrs. Mary C. Leonard. Tall and slender, wearing the dress of the 60's in the 80's, she is remembered by all who knew her for her cheerfulness, and for her ready wit and breezy talk full of apt quotations. Her life showed that she really meant it when she said: "I don't want to sit on a cloud, playing a harp, I want some anvil to hammer at." "How can I tell you what I don't but jest know myself?" is the saying that appeals most to the writer at the present time.
On the lot at the very head of Round Bay, Ebenezer Smith built his house, the road to Folsom's Mills (Lakeport) as laid out in December, 1769, running two rods south of his house. This is often called the Country Club Road. Ebenezer Smith had bought, one at a time, all of the lots between his house and Abraham Folsom's lot, now the west side of Lakeport. About 1800 a man by the name of Henry Kendall lived on this road. He was a cordwainer, pronounced probably "corder." He was not only a shoemaker, but also a tanner, and so must have lived on the brook a little beyond Mrs. Hall's house. He moved away, taking some of his buildings with him. A Tilton family came here later.
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