USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Lee > Old home week, Lee, New Hampshire, August 23, 1916. Two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of settlement of the territory; one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of incorporation of the town > Part 2
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" The above & within are True Copyes, as on Durham Town Records.
attest - Ebenr. Thompson, T. Cler."
Petition to the General Assembly.
Captains Smith and Sias had the following petition to the General Assembly all drawn up and ready to be signed when the meeting adjourned, and the men in attendance signed as appears below; the list is interesting as showing " who was who " in Durham and Lee (to be) at that time.
" Province of New Hamp'r, To his Excellency Benning Wentworth, Esqr., Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over his majesty's Province of New Hampshire to the Honourable his majesty's Council and the House of Repre- sentatives, in General Assembly Convened - The Petition of Sundry Inhabitants Sufficient for two Parishes and to maintain and support the charge thereof,-That many of the Inhabitants live more than eight miles from the place of Worship and where all the Town meetings and the Pub- lick Affairs are holden and transacted which Renders it very Difficult for them to Attend there at any time, but more Especially in the Winter Season, that Consequence there-
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of, it is probable, will be that many of the Youth of Said Town will be brought up in great Ignorance, unless the Difficulties be removed, and the Petitioners are in a great measure prevented the use of their Privileges in their pres- ent Situation.
"Wherefore, your Petitioners most humbly pray your Excellency and Honours, that there may be two Parishes in said Town, and that the Dividing Line between the Two Par- ishes, Beginning at Paul Chesles house at Beech Hill, so called, then North Six Degrees East to the Line Between said Dur- ham and Madbury, then running westerly on said line one hundred and twenty-four rods, then Beginning and Running from thence to New Market line to one mile and a half above the Dwelling House of John Smart, which Line was agreed upon by a Committee Chosen by the Said Town of Durham in the year one thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Four, and Voted in Publick Town meeting, and so to Include the whole of said Durham above this line. We therefore Hum- bly pray your Excellency and your Honours to take our Case into your wise Considerations and Set said Parish off by said Line, with the Powers and Privileges of Other Towns, or Parishes in this Province, and your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall Ever pray.
" Dated at Durham November 18th, 1765.
Hercules Mooney
Timothy Davis
Gideon Mathes
thomas York
Winthrop Durgin
mason Rendel
Elijah Denbo
Joseph Clay
Samuel Jackson
Nathaniel Stevens, Jun.
Joseph Thompson
Stoten Tuttle
James Hall
Miles Randel
Jonathan runnels
Samuel Langley
Samuel pitman
Zacheus Clough John Davis
, John follett
Benjamin Bradley
James Giles Bunker
Robert York
Joseph Jackson Josiah Johnson
Bartholomew Smart
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Nicholas Tuttle Samuel Burley Nathaniel Randal Reuben Hill
John Giles Joseph Meder Thomas Huckins Nicholas Duda Eben Lethers
Clement Davis
James Watson
William Renely
Nathaniel Frost
francis Eliot
Samuel Watson
Benjamin Bickford
Josiah Durgin
Isarel Randel
John Durgin
Francis Durgin
John Shaw
Joshua Burnum
Benjamin Woodman -
Samuel Carter
Samuel Sias
Thomas huckins, jr.
David munsey
Solomon Sias
Benja Clark
francis Allen
Eben Jones, Junr.
Edward Scales
Moses Davis, Jr.
William Cashey
William Waymoth
Samuel Bickford
James Davis
william Rendel
Hanary tufts
Job Runels
nathaniel Watson
John Clark
Andrew Watson
David Davis
Isaac small
Jonathan Stevens
Joseph Hicks John Sanborn
Nathaniel Watson, Jun.
Edward Hill
Joseph Huckins John Shaw, Junr.
Thomas Snell
Eli Clark, Junr.
Ichabod Denbow
Moses Dam
Thomas Wille
joseh doe
John Snell
Benja Durgin
Eli Clark
Eben Randel
Hunkin Dam
Micah Emerson
Thomas Noble
Joseph Clark
Ebenezer Jones
Joseph Sias
Nathaniel Sias
John Elliot
Nathaniel Stevens
Joshua Woodman, Jun.
George tutle
In the above petition no mention is made of a name for
Ebenezer Dow, Junr.
·'
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the new town; the petitioners simply say they wish to be set off from Durham as a parish and that Durham is willing for the Assembly to grant their request. Probably Gover- nor Wentworth selected the name, as he did for many other New Hampshire towns, but there is an interesting tradition that has come down in the Cartland family that their an- cestor suggested the name to Governor Wetnworth, as his emigrant ancestor came from Scotland, in which is a town of Lee; and Sir Walter Scott, in one of his novels, speaks of " the Cartlands of Lee." This is given as an interesting tradition, but the present generation of the family do not claim it is "authority" for settling the question.
The Journal of the House (New Hampshire Provincial Assembly) for Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1766, A. M., has the following :
"A message was sent to the Council by the Clerk of the House to Enquire what Acts had passed the Council and were consented to by the Governor.
"P. M. In answer to the message to the Council by the Clerk in the forenoon Mr. Secretary (Theodore Atkinson) came down and informed that the following Acts were con- sented to by the Governour (Benning Wentworth), viz: " For a new Parish in Durham,-To enable the Treasurer to recover debts,-To revive the Proprietary Act,-To en- able the Selectmen to exchange Roads,-To enable inhabi- tants to call town-meetings,-To dissolve the marriage of Samuel Smallcorn."
In passing it is of interest to note that in those days Governor Wentworth performed marriage ceremonies and the General Assembly granted divorces.
The records of the Assembly from January 15 to Jan- uary 23 are missing. Perhaps no business was done during that period. But on the 16th of January, 1766, the Act for a new parish (town) of Lee became a law; because the record for January 10th states that the House passed an "Act for incorporating a new Parish in Durham." In that Act the name " Lee " is first mentioned.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN
The Act of incorporation authorized Joseph Sias to call the first town meeting ; he performed that duty and ordered the meeting to be held on the 18th of March, 1766. The voters met and organized by choosing Miles Randall for moderator and clerk; Robert Thompson, Ely Clark, and Nicholas Duda were chosen selectmen. Various routine work was then done; one thing was the appointment of Zacheus Clough to,-" Inspect into the affairs of Reverend Samuel Hutchins," who was then minister at The Hill, where the first town meeting was held, and where all the rest of the town meetings have been held for one hundred and fifty years. There is no record of when Mr. Hutchins began preaching there. Mr. Clough attended to the duty assigned him and in due time reported that the " affairs of Mr. Hutch- ins " were satisfactory; whereupon the town voted to con- tinue him as minister. He held the office till about 1800, and appears to have done good work among the people. During the Revolution he was a valiant supporter of the patriotic cause; and was influential in getting men to serve in the army, and in aiding their families while they were away from home. His successor was Rev. John Osborne, who was minister here thirty-one years,- 1800-1832. The history of the ministers will be considered later in this brief account of Lee.
Before the town was incorporated, the locality where the town house is was known as " The Hill," since then it has been " Lee Hill," to outsiders, but for the home dwellers it is, and always will be,-" The Hill." There is no record of the man's name who built the first house on The Hill, but it was built by some lumbermen two hundred years ago. The years went by; business increased; more houses were built; then the store-keeper put in an appearance and kept
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supplies of what the lumbermen and farmers wanted for their famiy use. Business increased; five roads, or more, came to center here and brought business from all points of compass, and more stores and houses had to be built here to accommodate public demands. So, a hundred years ago, The Hill was quite a village, and a very lively place of business ; it remained so till the Boston & Maine railroad reached Newmarket, in 1841; during the seventy-five years since then it has decreased to its present quiet ways of living.
During the stage coach period of New Hampshire, which began about 1800 The Hill was one of the centers of travel between the seacoast towns and the upcountry towns to Concord. There is nothing here today to indicate there was such activity ; but history shows it was so.
The old Pascataqua Bridge was completed in 1794; the New Hampshire Turnpike was opened for travel from there to Concord about 1802, and its route through Lee made quite a change in conditions of travel; the Lee families who lived "on the Turnpike " were looked upon by the other farmers as " aristocrats," and taverns sprung up to accom- modate the travelers. But The Hill was the center of busi- ness. Stage coaches were run from Newmarket to the Turnpike to meet the coaches for Concord. Another coach line ran from Dover through Lee, Nottingham Square, Chester, Derry, Windham to Lowell, when they began to build the cotton factories there. They began to build the cotton factories at Dover about the same time. At Notting- ham Square, General Bradbury Bartlett was the agent for the management of this line for a number of years. He was son of Col. Thomas Bartlett ; in his later years he was known as Judge Bartlett.
Edwin B. Nealley, brother-in-law of Judge Bartlett, came to Lee to reside on the Hill, about 1810. He purchased the large house that is now standing a short distance north of the present store and post-office, and which was the resi- dence of Simon Otis in the last half of the 19th century. That house was built by Elijah Cartland about one hundred and thirty years ago; he married Abigail Scales, who was
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born up here on the Scales farm in Nottingham, and they commenced house-keeping in it soon after it was built. Mr. Cartland is great uncle to Mr. Charles S. Cartland, cashier of the Strafford National Bank; and Abigail Scales is my father's great aunt. Mr. Cartland was one of Lee's enter- prising business men in the last quarter of the 18th century and the first decade of the 19th century; he then removed to Maine, and was one of the prominent men there the rest of his life. When I was a boy and used to come to The Hill to private schools, there was a store on the north side of the house, and a hall over the store, the entrance to which was by stairs on the outside of the building. I presume that Mr. Cartland built the store and hall after he built the house; any way he always had the store and hall, and they were much used. Sullivan Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons held their meetings there, from the beginning of the organization, for a number of years. Private schools were kept there by excellent teachers. Public assemblies were held there, under the management of accomplished dancing- masters, who furnished music with their violins. My recol- lection is that both the day school and the dancing-school were well conducted; for a brief time I attended both and received profit and pleasure. One of the teachers, when my father was a boy, was Dr. Hilliard ; one of the teachers when I was a boy was B. Van Dame, whom many of you remember.
I have said that Edward B. Nealley came here to reside about 1810; this was his home till his death in 1839. He was a very able business man ; a popular citizen ; a first class politician, in the best sense of the word; there was nothing petty about his work. In 1809 he married Sally True of Deerfield, a most excellent woman; they raised a remarkable family of children,-four sons and six daughters, all born in that old house, a short distance from the town house. The elder son. Greenleaf, was born in 1810; about 1810 he went to Iowa, and was one of the leading business men in Burlington for a half century. The second son, Edward St. John, born in 1811, was a member of the class of 1835. Bowdoin College ; he became a lawyer and was a resident of
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Bath, Me., till his death in 1881; he was one of the distin- guished citizens of that city; he was Collector of that port from 1866 till 1881. The third son, Benjamin Franklin, was a merchant in Lowell, Mass., many years. The younger son, Joseph Bowdoin, was a distinguished citizen of Bur- lington, Iowa, and engaged in business with his brother, Greenleaf. The daughters were all excellent women, and · well educated. One daughter, Elizabeth Sarah, was the wife of United States Senator James W. Grimes of Iowa, who had been Governor of that State before he was Senator, which latter office he held from 1859 till 1869, when he resigned on account of ill health. He was one of the ablest men in the Senate during the Civil War. Mrs. Grimes' twin sister, Sarah Elizabeth, was the wife of Judge Cyrus Olney of Astoria, Oregon, for many years one of the leading men of that State. Lee has occasion to be proud of its sons and daughters, who have won fame in other States. A granddaughter of Edward B. Nealley was wife of Senator William B. Allison of Iowa. He died but recently, after a service in the United States Senate of thirty years or more. The Nealley burial ground was on the east side of the road, northeast of the house. About 1875 Greenleaf Nealley had the remains of all removed to Burlington, Iowa, and rein- terred in the City Cemetery there, and erected appropriate memorial stones.
Lee Hill from being a hustling village during the first half of the 19 th century, has gradually diminished to the proportions of the quiet hamlet it is at the present day, with its meeting-house, town-house, small store with the post- office in it, grange hall, parsonage and a few dwelling houses. In ancient times there were lawyers and doctors in Lee, but for a long time no doctor or lawyer has had an office here ; no need of them. It has too small a population to support more than one religious society; so all combine in one church, regardless of minor religious opinions, in support of a Congregational church, in the altruists sense of the word. In the interim between the stage coach period and the long continued period of present quiet and prosperity,
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there was a prevalence of intemperance, but vigorous Chris- tian heroism in a few years wrought for the better, and now Lee for many years past, has held the rank, in respect to temperance and sobriety, of being " the banner town of Strafford County."
MEN OF LEE IN WARS AND PEACE
The men of Lee have a patriotic record in the French and Indian wars and in the Revolutionary war; and likewise in the Civil War. During the Indian war period, 1675-1725, the inhabitants had to keep constant guard lest they be attacked by a secret Indian foe, but the only great battle with the Indians in Lee was at Wheelwright's Pond, in July, 1690. On March 18th previous, the Indians had at- tacked and destroyed the settlement at Salmon Falls, now in the town of Rollinsford. The inhabitants there made a brave defense, but were out numbered by the foe, and after thirty of their fighting men had been killed, the rest sur- rendered. In May following, this same party of Indians, with some additions, attacked and destroyed Casco. The Indians then came up to Fox Point, in what is now New- ington, where they burned some houses, killed about fourteen and carried away six as prisoners. On the 4th day of July eight men were killed as they were mowing in a field some- where along Lamprey River, in Lee. A boy was carried away captive. The next day they attacked Captain Hilton's garrison at Exeter. This was well defended and they failed to capture it. They then came back to Lee (territory). They had their camp on the bank of Wheelwright's Pond.
Two companies under Captains Floyd and Wiswell were out scouting on the 6th day of July and discovered the tracks of the Indians; they followed the trail and found the Indians engaged in fishing on the west bank of the pond. The savages were taken by surprise, but quickly changed work from fishing to fighting, and a bloody engagement followed for several hours. The pond was surrounded by heavy growth of trees, behind which the warriors concealed themselves as best they could, from the bullets of their opponents. They went from tree to tree and shot as they saw an Indian's head or body. It was a hand-to-hand
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contest, but dodging from tree to tree. Captain Wiswell's company suffered the worst, and very badly, though his men gave the Indian fighters a severe drubbing. When you visit the pond you can see where the battle took place; the railway track lies over part of the ground. Captain Wis- well, Lieut. Flagg and Sergt. Walker were killed; twelve privates of the companies were killed and several were wounded. Captain Floyd kept up the fight for a while after his companion officer was killed, but it was an exceedingly hot day and his men had become so wearied that he had to give up the battle; as he withdrew his men in an easterly direction through the woods, the Indians withdrew in the opposite direction, being too weary to pursue the white men. The Indians took their dead with them to some safe place where they buried the bodies; they also took their wounded with them. It is not known how many Indians were killed, but it was a drawn battle. That night Captain Conners went to the battlefield and searched for the wounded. He found seven whom he took to the nearest farm houses at " Newtown," or maybe Layne's mill, and had them cared for, about sunrise. The dead were buried among the trees of the forest, by the pond; of which number were Captain Wiswell, Lieut. Flagg and Sergt. Walker. No man knows where their graves are, not even a common field stone being placed at the heads of their graves. The Indians on their way westward, in the course of a week, killed between Wad- leigh's Falls and Amesbury, Mass., not less than forty people, according to the chronicles of the day. They did not take any prisoners.
When the news reached Oyster River that a battle was going on at the pond all of the fighting men made haste to take their guns and run to the aid of Captains Floyd and Wiswell. It is recorded that some of the men made such haste that they fell exhausted by the heat; one man died of surfeit, but the others got there in season to render valuable assistance.
GARRISONS IN LEE
Only three garrisons are mentioned as being in the town of Lee; of course you understand these were long before the town was incorporated; the red men had disappeared seventy years before the date of your celebration was on the calendar of time. There was one at South Lee, on the North River road, which was built by Joseph Doe, who bought land there 23 June, 1737, of John Bickford, which had been assigned to Bickford as his share of the common lands in Durham in 1734. After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Doe, the house became the property of their daughter, who had married Elijah Fox. Up to that time it had been called the " Doe garrison." Later it came to be called the "Fox garrison," because Mr. and Mrs. Fox owned it, and lived there a long time. At the death of Mr. and Mrs. Fox it passed to the ownership of their granddaughter, wife of Daniel Cartland, but it never lost the name of " Fox garrison." After the death of Mrs. Cartland, Mr. Samuel French bought it and resided there till his death, about 1880. Soon after it was taken down.
The Jones garrison was at "Newtown." This was built long before the Fox garrison, as there was a settlement at that locality before 1700, probably two hundred and thirty years ago, and the garrison was built about that time, as the Indians were then very troublesome neighbors. It stood on the Nehemiah Snell farm, and was much resorted to for safety by the farmers in that section of Old Dover, when the Indians were reported to be on the warpath at Cochecho and Oyster River, where the awful massacres occurred in June, 1689 and July, 1694. The old garrison was taken down many years ago.
The Randall garrison stood on the Mast road, between The Hill and where now is the New Hampshire College. It stood on the south side of the road near what is known as the A. D. Wiggin house. It was built of logs with the
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upper story projecting over the lower, with loop-holes in the walls for the discharge of guns when an Indian might be seen prowling in the bushes for a snap-shot on some member of the family. The builder was Captain Nathaniel Randall, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Tozer) Randall. Captain Randall's grandfather was Richard Tozer, who mar- ried Judith Smith in Boston. Governor Richard Belling- ham performed the marriage ceremony; of course it was a fine wedding at the Governor's house, which is now stand- ing near where the Boston Evening Transcript printing office is. Later they came to reside at Salmon Falls, where they were killed by the Indians 16 October, 1675. Captain Ran- dall, the garrison builder, married Mary Hodgdon of Dover, one of the old families of that city. He probably built the garrison about 1720, nearly two hundred years ago. He took his bride there to live, and that was their home till his death, 9 March, 1749. His grave is in the old cemtery, about two miles and a half from The Hill, on that road to the State College. There is no record, or tradition that the Indians ever attacked these garrisons, but the dwellers therein were in constant fear all the time lest an attack might be made.
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LEE MEN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Lee has a good record in the Revolutionary War period. The first action on their part was to sign the "Association Test," which was sent out to all the towns, by the Committee of Safety, in the spring of 1776. This was designed to find out how many were Tories, or persons opposed to the pro- posed war with Great Britain, for American Independence. It reads as follows :
" We, the subscribers, do here by solemnly engage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our power, and at the risque of our lives and fortunes, with arms, oppose the hostile proceedings, of the British fleets and armies against the United American Colonies."
The names of those who signed this pledge in Lee are as follows: Elijah Dinsmore, Samuel Jackson, Bennan Jackson, John Emerson, Samuel Emerson, Joshua Burnham, Joshua Burnham, Jr., Steven Wille, Joseph Sias, William French, Joshua Woodmarch, Eleson Watson, Philbrock Bar- ker, Moses Runnales, Samuel Hill, Ruel Giles, Cornilus Dins- more, Job Runals, E. Jones, Jr., Jonathan Dow, Isaac Small, Peter Folsom, Josiah Durgien, Miles Randel, Benjamin Dur- gin, John Sanborn, Jonathan Runales, Zacheus Clough. Job Runels, Jr., Enoch Runels, William Goen, Ephm Sherburne, Dimond Fernald, Richard Hull, Samuel Langmaid, Ebenezer Jones, Lemuel Chesley, John Jones, Benj. Clark, George Jones, Benj. Jones, Smith Emerson, Isaac Clark, Simon Rindel, James Bracket, Stephen Stevens, Gideon Mathes, Daniel Chesle, George Chase, Thomas Arlen, Zebelin Wiley, Timothy Muncy, Micajah Bickford, David Shaw, Amos Fer- nald, Edward Scales, Robert Parker, John Mendum, Hunk- ing Dam, John Follett, Ebenezer Randel, Eli Furber, Eben- ezer Burnum, Joseph Brackett, Joseph Follitt, Samuel Stevens, Samuel Bickford, Jonathan Fisk, William Way-
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mouth, George Tuttle, George Duch, James Watson, Samuel Watson, Timothy Moses, Dennet Waymouth, John Kennison, Josiah Kennison, William Gliden, John Putnam, Anthony Fling, John Davis, Clement Davis, Andrew Watson, Thomas Tuttle, Thomas Tufts, Samuel Burley, James Davis, Jere- miah Hutchins, John Davis, Nathaniel Frost, Henry Tufts, Jonathan Stevens, Henry Tufts, Jr., Thomas York, Nicholas Tuttle, Robert York, Eliphalet York, David Davis, Nathaniel Stevens, William Stevens, Samuel Durgin, Joseph Watson, Reuben Hill, Sam Hutchins, Josiah Bartlett, Moses Dam, Jonathan Thompson, Samuel Mathes, William Bly, Samuel Langley, Samuel Smith, Nicholas Meder, Mathias Jones, Benj. Jones, Joseph Jones, Tolman Thompson, Zekiel Wille, Edward Leathers, John Leathers, Joseph Doe, John Wil- liams, John Layn, Benj. Brily, Thomas Huckins, Jr., Elijah Fox, John Wiggin, James Clemens, John Sias, Benjamin Bodge, Mark Weder, Mr. Samuel Bodge, John Glover, Ed- ward Hill, Thomas Wille, Ezekiel Wille, Thomas Noble, Samuel Woodman, Edward Woodman, Thomas Hunt, Josiah Burley, Samuel Wille, Joseph Pittman, Samuel Snell, Jr., Thomas Langley.
There are one hundred and forty names in the list. Fol- lowing are the names found on the Revolutionary War rolls who actually carried arms in the war. It is a very creditable list for the little town of Lee :
Elijah Dinsmore, Samuel Jackson, John Emerson, Joshua Burnham, Samuel Wille, Ezekiel Wille, John Sias, William French, Moses Runales, John Runels, Enoch Runnels, Samuel Reuben Hill, Ebenezer Jones, John Jones, Benj. Jones, Jos. Jones, Jonathan Dow, Isaac Small, Benj. Durgin, Sam. Dur- gin, Ebenezer Randall, Edward Hill, John Sanborn, Zacheus Clough, Stephen Stevens, Jonathan Stevens, Samuel Stevens, William Stevens, Nathaniel Stevens, Micajah Bick, Samuel Bickford, Daniel Shaw, Robert Parker, Eli Furber, Ebenezer Burnham, Jonathan Fisk, John Kennison, Anthony Fling, John Davis, Clement Davis, James Davis, David Davis, Thomas Tuttle, Henry Tufts, Samuel Burley, Jeremiah Hutchins, Samuel Hutchins, Nathaniel Frost, Eliphalet
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