USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Boscawen > One hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boscawen and Webster, Merrimack Co., N.H., August 16, 1883. Also births recorded on the town records from 1733 to 1850 > Part 5
USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Webster > One hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boscawen and Webster, Merrimack Co., N.H., August 16, 1883. Also births recorded on the town records from 1733 to 1850 > Part 5
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" Major " Alfred Little, the sweet singer, was an honored son of that section of Boscawen now known as Webster. I know of no man who has carried com- fort to a greater number of families, or exerted a more salutary influence upon the young people, than he.
. His songs were always chaste and elevating. Many are the hearts that mourn his loss, and miss him from their firesides and social gatherings. These two men shall surely " walk in white, for they are worthy." The influence for good which they exerted will be as far reaching as eternity: the work which they did for God and for the world will never be known until the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, but many will yet rise up and call them blessed.
The vigorous lives of these worthies, and of many others that might be named, all testify that Boscawen was a good town in which to be born, and an excel-
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lent one from which to emigrate. Its rough roads, its rocky hills, all urge the young and ambitious to seek smoother paths and easier routes to fame and fortune.
We live in a wonderful age. The many inventions and improvements which we possess, that render life more comfortable and useful, are indeed astonishing, and most of them have had their birth and develop- ment in the latter half of this town's existence. The reaper, the mower, the steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph, the telephone, the fire-alarm telegraph, the electric light, the electric railway,-all are the produc- tions of the last seventy-five years, and contribute to our comfort and happiness, rendering us better able to work for the good of humanity and for the advance- ment of the Redeemer's kingdom.
To some of these improvements, as well as to oth- ers not alluded to here, it has been my good fortune to contribute a little, having constructed the first pair of roller skates in 1834, the first electrical railway which carried passengers in 1847, the first apparatus for giving alarm of fire by telegraph in 1848, the first duplex repeater in 1856, which subsequently, in the hands of Edison, made his famous quadruplex possi- ble, also having lighted my house by electricity and the incandescent light in 1859, and having built the first self-exciting dynamo in 1866, and the largest thermo-electric battery which the world ever saw in 1868.
We have much to be thankful for, and our bless- ings are manifold. May the sons and daughters of Boscawen and Webster in the future, as in the past,
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labor for the advancement of civilization, and of the religion of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Very truly yours, MOSES GERRISH FARMER.
FROM MRS. ANN B. EATON.
PALMYRA, N. Y., Aug. 13, 1883.
ISAAC K. GAGE, EsQ., Chairman of Committee :
Dear Sir : In dreams we often revisit Boscawen. Neighbors and relatives come in at the south door, or let fall the knob of the big knocker at the front door. We are young again. We roam the woods, · pluck the Mayflowers, gather the blueberries, stand gaily on the " Pinnacle," or assemble in happy mood, with a brightly scoured brass candlestick in hand, at the singing-school.
When " terrified through visions," and nightmare is on us, the scenes of disquiet are ever laid in the same spot. Burglars are entering the old dwelling, and we grope blindly for the stairs, and call faintly for the help of the strong brother sleeping in the chamber above. Or sick immigrants from Quebec, in- fected with the cholera of 1832, are coming down the road, burdened with hugh packs : they have reached Amos Webber's. There is but little philanthropy in dreams, and we tremble as we note the door ajar, which we are unable to close. Or it is in the deep- ening twilight, and we are wandering alone and afraid in the graveyard where the " forefathers of the ham- let sleep."
We have said that in dreams we are often with you. To-day, would that we were with you, not in
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fancy but in fact. "Though absent from you in body, we are present with you in spirit," and greet you one and all. "The dead past" shall not to-day " bury its dead," but we will beckon to our side the shadowy forms of the loved and revered ones, who once called Boscawen their home, but who have passed on to the other shore. Your assembly may be larger than you see.
It was a choice inheritance to have been born and reared amid the scenery of Boscawen. Clark's Hill, upon whose summit we could view New Hampshire o'er, High street, Water street, "where Kearsarge looked wondrous large," the Merrimack, with its green and fertile intervales, and a hundred other local- ities of surpassing beauty and grandeur, were uncon- scious but insinuating educators. And surely, could Goldsmith have seen that long and quiet street, over- arched by those majestic elms; he would have sung, not "Sweet Auburn," but " Sweet Boscawen, love- liest village of the plain." How have the wanderers from " the old roof-tree " on dull and leaden prairies sighed for the ragged peak, the mountain afar, the river rushing or serene like the Merrimack !
How precious were the old homesteads of Bos- cawen ! There were open fireplaces in all the rooms. Cranes hung and swung. Thankful are we that the New York millionaire has kindled again the cheerful flame of the New England fireplace in his city home.
There was the kitchen, with its deep, capacious oven, from whence issued, on a Sabbath morning, the baked beans and rye and Indian bread, the som- niferous feeders of devotion for the entire day.
How the rain pattered on the roof of the garret
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and unfinished back chamber, lulling and soothing our youthful spirits,-a very benediction ! These were charmed places, where were kept the loom, the little flax-wheel, and the larger wheel for woollen rolls, vestiges of the "Age of Homespun," even then departing.
There was " the best room." It was only opened when there was a sewing society, a wedding, a funeral, or when Dr. Wood came to visit.
Dearest of all was mother's bed-room. True, it was there she " settled " in the most emphatic man- ner with the refractory or runaway child, dealing with nothing so severely as with the least shade of deception. But in that room we saw her heart. 'Twas there she nursed us in sickness. 'Twas there we heard her plead for us in prayer.
There is a volume and a poem in every room of the old Boscawen homes.
Let us away to the school-house.
"Set on her rocks and on her sands And wintry hills, the school-house stands."
Ours was situated on the north-west corner of the graveyard, adjoining Mr. Hosmer's hatter's shop. The grass grows green over its site, but we have " taken pleasure in her stones, and favored the dust thereof." A portion of one of its bricks adorns our parlor cabinet.
"No man may put off the law of God," was the first sentence conquered. It was from the master- piece of Noah,-not the one who made the ark, but the spelling-book. Miss Martha Holt was our first teacher,-kindly and learned. Her Sunday bonnet was the syphon-shaped leghorn of the period, with a
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broadly developed frontal periphery. In sermon- time this antique millinery went down with a " nid, nid, noddin," just to the front, then to the right of her, then to the left of her. But even in her drowse her ears were open, for on waking she could repeat the whole discourse up to " tenthly."
But how the heart warms and the tear starts as we revert to the old academy ! It was there, with excited mien and stealthy glance, we gazed out of the win- dow upon the "trainers," as they marched by on a May or September afternoon "armed and equipped as the law directed, for inspection and military exer- cise." Little did we then think that the red and white of their plumes foreshadowed the gore and the pallor which should cover the faces of their sons and brothers, as they fell in the deadly strife upon the savannas of the South.
In the seats of the old academy we can place the pupils of the different years ; while in the desk we see again Jarvis Gregg, Sarah Crocker, Charles B. Kittredge, and many other able and faithful instruc- tors. If to canonize be a part of your duty to-day, don't forget the far-seeing, large-hearted founders of Boscawen academy !
We cast "one longing, lingering look behind," as we leave this shrine of our early devotion, and pass- ing the houses of Joseph Chadwick # and John Cogswell, ; we are at the meeting-house " whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord to the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord." In this consecrated place were the hidings of Bos-
* Now the residence of Dr. Graves.
t Now the residence of Mrs. Emily Smith.
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cawen's power. It was a magnet that drew the peo- ple to it, and mentally and spiritually vitalized them. Beyond her scenery, beyond her school-houses, her academy, alongside her godly homes, we place the church of Boscawen.
It is a December morning, the thermometer be- tween ten and twenty degrees below zero. Save foot-stoves, there is no fire in the church: but the piety is winter-strained. The snow is deep : the wind is piling it in curling drifts of frightful height. Dr. Wood is in the eighties. The last bell has just begun to toll, when his sleigh, with its precious freight, halts before the front entrance, which opens without a porch into the church. Some kind parishioner as- sists the aged couple to alight, while another cares tenderly for that horse, more sacred than Alborak, upon which Mohammed rode to the seventh heaven. The dear old pastor's locks are thin and white ; his form is bent, and he leans upon the top of two staves. He is wrapped in the ample folds of a rich, dark blue broadcloth cloak, the gift of the ladies of his parish. With reverent step he walks up the broad aisle, and carefully, but as though a well learned task, he as- cends the high, steep stairs to the pulpit. He rises to read. In changing his two pairs of spectacles, he says, " Children, prize your eye-sight while you have it. It is a gift from God." We look at him with wonder, awe, and love. We fear lest the sounding- board crush that holy man's head, but somehow be- lieve that even were it hung by a hair, goodness would neutralize gravitation. Still we wish it were out of the way. The venerable man gives out the 6
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hymn. Mr. John Jackman (senior), the chorister, sounds the " faw, sol, law." His right hand is his baton .. The orchestra set in. Mr. Caleb Jackman, and the worthy Sabbath-school superintendent, Mr. Joseph Morrill, are next the leader on the left, Misses Fanny Atkinson, Augusta and Charlotte Hosmer, and Anne Atkinson are on the right wing. " Per- haps Dundee's wild, warbling measures rise, or noble Greenville, worthy of the name." If St. Martin's is the lay, a slight look of defiant triumph can be de- tected on the faces of the choir, as they seem to say to the tune, Writhe and twist as you may, singing, we'll conquer you !
Now comes the prayer. There is no formalism in Dr. Wood's service, but he uniformly begins his prayer thus, "Supremely great, infinitely glorious, and ever blessed God." There is one part of the in- tercession for which we wait with interest. We have watched him too many times ever to suspect he will forget it. He never does. It is always uttered in the fervor and climax of his supplication, and these are the words : "O Lord, regard in mercy the chil- dren and youth of this congregation. May they be ornaments to the church and blessings to the world."
Dear friends, favored as we have been in our Bos- cawen birth and education, let us bear in mind that these impose upon us great obligations. Was the scenery of Boscawen beyond expression beautiful ;- set down amid landscapes "tame and domestic," we cannot create a rill or a crag, but we can plant a tree at least. With a generous public spirit we can
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make even "the wilderness bud and blossom as the rose."
Were the educational advantages of Boscawen of a high order ;- wherever her sons and daughters wander, let them guard well the common school for the people, for all the people, for the stranger as well as the home-born. Let them foster and sustain the pristine standards in our higher schools and colleges against the clamor of new-time innovators.
We are debtors to Boscawen homesteads to make our habitations, whether humble or palatial, abodes. of industry, peace, refinement. The daily incense offered at the family altar will invite one Guest who can give true prosperity to every home.
By all the blessings that have come to us from that old church, let us pledge ourselves to support. by influence, prayer, treasure, with sacrifice if need be, the worship of the Most High. Let not distance, winter's cold, or summer's heat keep us from the house of God.
The lonely grave of a native * of Boscawen in Siam,-another, ; but lately made, in the " dark con- tinent,"-call upon us to remember the benighted heathen across the sea, while many a home mission- ary from our town, on our southern and western bor- ders, or in our deep interior, summons us to vigilant effort to secure "Our whole broad land for Jesus."
Judge Ebenezer Webster, when dying, thus ad- dressed his two sons, Ezekiel and Daniel : "Where- in I have obeyed Christ, follow my example ; where- in I have not so done, in no wise imitate me."
* Rev. Henry G. French. t Rev. Myron Pinkerton.
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Let us honor our noble Boscawen ancestors by shunning their faults. "The times of their igno- rance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." The sun itself has spots on its disc.
Let the descendants of Boscawen be total abstain- ers from all that can intoxicate. Let none have com- plicity with the traffic in alcohol. Alcohol was the most malignant foe that ever attacked our dear old town.
On that Saturday evening when Dr. Wood went to rest, he said to a young college student who watched by his side, and who, at his request, offered the last prayer in his hearing, "I'm a great sinner. I have n't loved God as I ought." Then, changing his voice, he spoke triumphantly of his hope in the Great Saviour. Some three years ago my aged moth- er, who lived with you long and loved you well, ex- pressed the like sentiments as her end drew near : " I have no righteousness of my own, not any, not any, but I rest entirely on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I do trust Him." May this vital union with Christ be our strength in life, our support in death, and may we all meet in the Boscawen reunion and jubilee above.
ANNA K. (WEBSTER) EATON.
FROM MR. & MRS. PETER STONE.
SANTA ROSA, CAL., Aug. 1, 1883.
Dear Sir : Nothing but distance prevents our meeting you at the Old Fort, of which so many
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legends were told us in childhood-the death of my great grandmother Call by the Indians, &c. As our ancestors were of the early settlers, many of their sufferings and privations were related to their chil- dren. Time has wrought great changes. What would be said now, if a woman should take a spin- ning-wheel in her lap, on horseback, and ride on the canter ! Such was common then. Great progress and refinement had taken place before our day, almost eighty-four years ago, and still improvement goes on. Although we live in the land of the sun, of the vine, and of tropical fruits and flowers, we cherish the remembrance of dear old Boscawen and the many true and tried friends there, among whom was your honored father. We live more in the past than in the present. Our conversation is where old memories cluster.
We have a pleasant home, and are tenderly cared for in the City of Roses. Kind regards to all.
MR. & MRS. PETER STONE.
FROM JONATHAN TENNEY.
ALBANY, N. Y., Aug. 14, 1883.
Dear Sir : It would delight me to be with you on your one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Your town was the scene of nine years of arduous yet pleasant labor. I had many worthy pupils in that Elmwood, in whose history I continue to feel a deep interest. Tell the living I would be glad to see them. Tell the friends of the dead, I mourn with them. Tell all that ever knew me as a friend,
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that I am still their friend. I never forget; I am never ungrateful.
I hope I did some good to the boys and girls there, twenty and twenty-five years ago, and that many are better men and women, better citizens, because of Elmwood.
Sacred memories of those school-rooms, of that house, of other homes, and of that once animated dust that now sleeps in your cemetery, come back to me as I write. God bless old Boscawen !
Yours truly,
JONATHAN TENNEY.
FROM T. H. CURRIE, M. D.
LEBANON, Aug. 7, 1883.
Respected Friends and Citizens of Boscawen :
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I regret very much not being able to meet with you on this occasion. I shall be absent on my annual vacation at the Adirondacks. I have been one of Boscawen's adopted sons most of the time since September, 1843. May this, the one hundred and fiftieth year, be the mere beginning of the pros- perity of Boscawen.
Yours very truly,
T. H. CURRIE, M. D.
FROM PROF. FORREST SHEPHERD.
NORWICH, CONN., Aug. 14, 1883.
ISAAC K. GAGE :
Dear Sir : My previous engagements will not permit me personally to attend the approaching one
المـ
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hundred and fiftieth anniversary of my dear native town, the very name of which carries me back to the Brave Admiral, or Lord Boscawen, who in his time was considered the monarch of the ocean, and to his correlative descendants near Falmouth and Truro in western Cornwall, England, whose characters shine with a brightness worthy of imitation ; also to John Coffin, the leading spirit in the early settlement of Boscawen, with his associates, whose enterprise and energy are deserving a monument as lasting as the granite in our native hills. I believe his spirit will be present on the interesting occasion, together with the spirits of the worthy departed settlers; and in imagination I behold Rev. Phineas Stevens, Rev. Robie Morrill, Rev. Dr. Samuel Wood, Rev. Eben- ezer Price, Rev. Jacob Little, Rev. Henry Little, Daniel Webster, Hon. John Adams Dix, together with the great company of the departed, who will all be present in sympathy to witness the celebration.
My sanguine hope is that the children of the present, in remembrance of this anniversary, will keep in mind the virtues of their ancestors, and be influenced to imitate their example. For this pur- pose I herewith enclose for the clergy and schools some copies of my decimal chart, that the boys in their childhood may have a fixed purpose on hand, with a determination to accomplish it.
For this I have changed the golden verses of Pythagoras to suit the occasion, as follows :
Soon as the morn salutes thine eyes, Arrange thy duties on this wise : What do to-day that's worth the doing ? What can I learn that's worth the knowing ?
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What deeds of kindness to the lowly ? What worship render Spirit Holy ? These self-inquiries mark the road Made bright by Jesus up to God.
While the lines of Pythagoras were for self-exam- ination in the evening as follows :
"Let not soft slumber close thine eyes Before thou recollectest thrice
Thy train of actions through the day :
What know I more that's worth the knowing ?
What have I done that's worth the doing ?
What have I sought that I should shun ?
What duties have I left undone ? Or, into what new follies run ? These self-inquiries mark the road That leads to virtue and to God."
With thanks for the kind invitation of the com- mittee, and my sincere regards to each individual of the assembled guests, I remain, dear sir,
Respectfully yours, FORREST SHEPHERD.
FROM ENOCH COFFIN.
BELOIT, WISCONSIN, Aug. 3, 1883. I. K. GAGE, EsQ. :
· Dear Sir : Your card of invitation to be present at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boscawen has been received. Nothing would afford me more real satisfaction than to be with you on the occasion.
Twenty-seven years' absence from my native town and all the associations of my early life have in no way diminished my fondly cherished remem-
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brance of the scenes of childhood and youth, that will stir all your hearts as they pass in review at your gathering. It will be a day in history, that coming generations will repeat, and to which our children will turn in their thoughts and devotions with the greatest satisfaction. Such gatherings are the way-marks being set up in our country, from Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate, to make this our beloved land what we might reasonably expect from the seeds that generated from the Mayflower and the peace-offering of William Penn.
We will share with you in spirit what we cannot enjoy by our personal presence.
Very cordially yours,
ENOCH COFFIN.
FROM FREDERIC P. STONE.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., August 2, 1883. ISAAC K. GAGE, EsQ., Fisherville, N. H. :
Dear Sir : Your thoughtful invitation to non- residents to attend the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boscawen has just reached me.
As a' son of that old town, I appreciate the remem- brance, and, were it possible, I would highly value being with you on this occasion. The early edu- cation, the habits of industry and economy, the teachings of morality and temperance, have made the sons and daughters of Boscawen the true pioneers in every portion of our country where they are found. I honor the old town that gave
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me birth, and I owe to her in a large degree the success that has attended me thus far through a busy life.
Born a neighbor to your chief-marshal, Mr. J. C. Pearson, and as a schoolmate of Rev. Arthur Little, with warm attachment for our worthy townsman, C. C. Coffin, Esq., your anniversary would be doubly enjoyed could I be with you.
Should the proceedings be published, please send me about five copies.
Trusting that the day may be one long to be remembered, I am
Yours very truly,
FREDERIC P. STONE.
FROM NATHAN J. STONE.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 6, 1883. MR. ISAAC K. GAGE :
Dear Sir : I am in receipt of your invitation to attend the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boscawen. I regret that I shall not be able to be with you on that memorable occasion.
In the course of my life I have had occasion to thank God that I was born in old Boscawen. Some- how I feel that there is something in her rocks and brakes and hardhacks that gives her sons and daughters industry, force of character, 'and stead- fastness, which are essentials to success in life.
With great respect, I remain
Yours faithfully, N. J. STONE.
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APPENDIX.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE FOR THE CELEBRA- TION OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT OF BOSCAWEN, AUG. 16, 1883.
Cash received of the town, $300.00
from citizens of Webster,
50.50
Enoch P. Couch, of Nashua, 5.00
Abial R. Chandler, of Lawrence, Mass., 10.00
Edgerton Raymond,
3.00
Abial Rolfe, of Concord, 1.00
R. S. Morrison, for use of ground,
5.00
sale of meat, bread, and coffee on hand, as follows, to wit : -
Mrs. Jeremiah Chadwick, 2.10
Mrs. Judith Coffin, 2.55
Samuel B. Chadwick, .55
Henry Getchel, .25
William P. Abbott,
1.05
E. W. Durgin,
.25
N. S. Webster,
1.40
Addie Flanders, .15
.O. A. Towne, to make up deficiency, 2.50
N. S. Webster,
3.67
Isaac K. Gage,
3.67
Samuel Choate,
3.67
John C. Pearson,
3.67
Sam'l B. Chadwick, " 66
3.67
Peter Coffin, .6
3.67
Frank L. Gerrish,
3.67
$410.99
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Accounted for as follows, to wit :
Paid Kilburn, Young & Co., beef, ham, and tongue, $113.00
Norris & Crockett, for bread,
30.00
C. W. Carter, for sundries,
31.11
H. W. Bowman & Co., for use of tents,
97.00
Telegrams,
1.18
Car fare,
.60
Hopkinton band, for music,
30.00
M. F. Bickford, for services, 3.00
· Edmund Atkinson, for services,
2.25
James B. Smith, for services,
4.00
washing dishes, 1.20
for two thousand wooden plates, 11.50
William A. Huntress, for services,
1.50
Joseph Jackman, for services,
4.50
Independent Press Association, for print- ing,
15.00
O. A. Towne, for printing, 2.50
A. R. Ayers, use of crockery and damage, 21.57
Benjamin Pritchard, for services, 2.00
John E. Rines, for use of team,
8.00
Foot & Morse, for cloth,
.33
lamp broken,
1.94
John A. McClure, for butter,
1.75
George Pillsbury, for services,
3.00
Mrs. George Carter, for services,
2.00
Frank L. Gerrish, use of team,
7.50
Mr. Rawson, for services,
2.00
Gilman Shaw, for team,
3.00
William H. Allen, for cloth,
1.00
Isaac K. Gage, postage and postal cards,
5.24
C. M. & A. W. Rolfe, for lumber,
.62
Samuel B. Chadwick, incidentals,
2.70
- $410.99
F. L. GERRISH, Treasurer.
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Thomas M. Lang and Charles A. Lang, sons of Charles E. Lang, Esq., who for more than a third of a century has been a resident of Boscawen, were among the first who enlisted for three years from Boscawen. By some strange oversight they appear never to have been credited to the quota of the town, and their names do not appear among those of the volunteers in Coffin's History of Boscawen. They were good soldiers, and both were discharged, one for " disability," and the other for " wounds received." Thomas M. Lang was terribly wounded through the lungs, and is now in the receipt of a handsome pension from the government. The committee of publication of this volume are glad of this opportu- nity to do these brave men tardy justice by publish- ing this and the Adjutant-General's certificates of enlistments.
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