USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Windham > Supplement to The history of Windham in New Hampshire : a Scotch settlement > Part 11
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
Besides, what little information is given is, of course, in the currency of Spain at that time, and the value of gold and silver was much greater in 1492 than now; that is, its pur- chasing power was much greater, a fact that a great many
155
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
political orators in the present campaign seem to entirely ignore when they dwell upon the fact that a laborer in Eng- land receives only $0.50 a day, as against $1.50 in America.
The share of the expenses that Queen Isabella contributed is said to have been 1,140,000 maravedis, which sounds large, but which, in our currency, would only amount to about $3,500, and the part, if any, which Columbus, with the aid of his friends Pinzon raised, would not exceed one-half million maravedis, making the whole expense in the region of $5,000; but, as before stated, that would probably represent a purchasing power equal to $15,000 in our times, surely not a great sum to pay for discovering a new world.
The three vessels that Columbus finally got together, with the aid of the royal decrees and his friends, were all small. That is the way they are described in the annals and histo- ries of the times, but to us it does not give very definite infor- mation when vessels now-a-days vary in length from 25 feet to 800 feet. One authority, probably as good as any, says that the Santa Maria, which was the largest, was about 63 feet in length over all ; 57 feet on her keel, or bottom ; as long, perhaps, as this building; 20 feet wide, and 10 feet deep. The other two vessels, the Pinta and Nina, were smaller still.
On the largest one were Columbus and a crew of twenty men. The Pinta had a crew of nineteen men, and the Nina only eight, making, with other officials, a total force, accord- ing to one account, of ninety men, and, according to another, of one hundred and twenty.
Had such vessels with such an equipment sailed from Liverpool, Glasgow, or Havre, westward across the Atlantic to Halifax or New York, the probabilities are very strong that they would have gone to the bottom before reaching the latter ports, because of the storms and rough water of the North Atlantic ; but fortunately for Columbus, his path lay across the South Atlantic through the tropics, and his course was favored by the trade winds, so that they sailed for days, the diary tells us, without changing a sail, while the sea was so smooth that the sailors, at various times, swam about the
156
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
vessels. Of course the season of the year was also most pro- pitious. Although they left the Spanish coast at Palos on the 3d of August, they could not be said to be in unknown waters till the 6th of September, when they last saw the Canary islands west of the northern part of Africa.
From the 6th of September to the 21st of October, this voyage, of about six weeks, was over a sea, the waters of which had never borne a vessel of any size or shape, and viewed in any light, it was the most wonderful voyage ever named in any history, ancient or modern.
Tell the plain facts of that voyage in the plainest language, and even then you cannot help making a romance of it. Historians, essayists, critics, have examined and re-examined the story, until a light is thrown upon it equal to that "fierce light that beats upon a throne ; " and still I say it is the most wonderful voyage ever made. There certainly was none like it before, there has been none like it since, and until men become insensible to icy cold, so as to voyage to the North pole, there will never be another like it while the earth retains its present shape.
Had we time it would be most interesting to go over its incidents and history, and recount the steadfast purpose and perseverance of the admiral, as Columbus was called; the sometimes mutinous spirit of the crews; the two reckonings, kept by Columbus, of the distance sailed each day, one cor- rect, for his own eye, and the other making the distance much less, kept for the public inspection; the finding of a broken mast, which the crews were sure only betokened their own shipwreck; the discovery of the variation of the needle, which the pilots thought showed that the very laws of nature were changing as they advanced into this other world, and the explanation Columbus gave them that it was the north star that was changing its position; the sight of birds and masses of weeds, on one of which was a live crab, har- bingers of land; the increasing discontent of the crews as the voyage lengthened and lengthened and the signs of land failed, like signs of rain in a dry time; the seeing a whale, another indication that land was near; the deceptions in the
157
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
clouds of the horizon, which seemed land but floated away when approached ; the changing the course from due west, which would have brought them off the coast of the Caro- linas, to the south-west, which brought them to the West Indies ; the finding a branch of thorn with berries on it and recently separated from the tree, a small board, and above all, a staff artificially carved; the seeing a moving light abont ten o'clock at night; and about two o'clock in the morning of the 21st of October, while all were on the alert, the boom of a gun from the Pinta, announcing sight of land, and the discovery of the new world.
As we cannot go over these in detail I earnestly advise you, boys and girls, to obtain and read one, at least, of these four books : Sir Arthur Helps's "Life of Columbus," Irv- ing's "Life and Voyages of Columbus," Adams's " Life of Columbus," Justin Winsor's (librarian of Harvard college) "Columbus."
The two first have grown old, for books, like men, grow old, which simply means that new investigations and re- searches have changed the conclusions drawn in earlier works, but any one of them will tell you the most wonderful story, and I speak it reverently, since the story of the Babe of Bethlehem, and these two wonderful events in the history of the world are connected by the name "La Navidad " or "The Nativity," given to the first building erected by white men on these shores.
On the 4th of January, 1493, Columbus set sail on his return voyage in the Nina, the smallest of his vessels, the largest having been wrecked on the island through the care- lessness, I am sorry to say, of a boy at the helm, although where the boy came from and what he was doing on such an expedition I cannot imagine, and the Pinta having gone off on its own account; and so on the 15th of March, 1493, he entered the harbor of Palos whence he had sailed seven and one half months before. He was, of course, on his return, received with loud acclaim, and the wonderful stories of his voyage were for the time the all-absorbing topic.
The captives that he brought were called Indians because
1
158
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
he and all others then supposed that the lands he had dis- covered were a part of India, and the name has clung to the aborigines ever since.
There was no difficulty in fitting out a second expedition, and on the 25th of September, 1493, he sailed with seventeen vessels, and on the 3d of November arrived at the island of Dominica.
He made two other voyages to America, or four in all, but after the second the highway from Spain to the West Indies became so well known that many sailed to and fro, influenced by love of adventure or hope of gain.
The story of these later voyages, his attempt on the fourth to find a passage by water through the isthmus connecting North and South America, in which he was disappointed (nature herself being disappointed, for she evidently at- tempted to make one but attempted it in vain), is interest- ing in the extreme.
He returned from his fourth voyage, probably nearly seven- ty years of age, broken in health, poor in purse, and out of favor at court. The death of Isabella, the queen, was a great blow to him, and on the 20th of May, 1506, the great navigator breathed his last at Valadolid, in Spain.
When we come to reflect on the character of Columbus, and assign him a place among the great men of the earth, we hardly know whether to agree with Washington Irving, when he calls him a hero, or with Justin Winsor, when he calls him a failure.
The latter says of him, " Hardly a name in profane history is more august than his, hardly another character in the world's record has made so little of its opportunities. His discovery was a blunder; his blunder was a new world; the new world is his monument. Its discoverer might have been its father; he proved to be its despoiler. He might have been an unselfish promoter of geographical science; he proved a rabid seeker for gold and a viceroyalty."
Probably a just estimate of his character lies, as usual, between this and the panegyrics of Irving. He had very great virtues, and his faults were not small or far between,
159
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
He was a man of great physical courage. The unknown sea had no monster which he dared not meet ; the unknown land no savage he was afraid of. He had moral courage. He overcame superstition in a superstitious age. He was a geographical crank, as Garrison was an anti-slavery crank ; Horace Mann, an educational crank; and the Puritans, religious cranks.
He had perseverance. He clung to his idea through evil report and good report. In Genoa, Portugal, Spain, France, he was as determined at the end as at the beginning. Noth- ing daunted him.
The religious element was prominent in him. He was a 'devout Catholic. Probably he would have been as devout a Presbyterian or Congregationalist had either of those been his church. The money and revenues he expected to gain from the discovered countries were to be devoted to freeing the holy sepulchre from the control of the infidels. He did not purpose to give it to science. How can we blame him for that? There was then no science. It was too near the time of the Crusades. Yet with this religious zeal was coupled the plan of opening up a trade in slaves; but we must remember this was four hundred years ago.
He was not a perfect man. There never has but one such lived. But why forget the brightness of the sun in looking for its spots ? There never was a Damascus blade but had some slight imperfection.
Could I wield the pen of a dramatist I would construct a play, the first scene of which should be the lowly cottage of the parents of Columbus in Genoa, with the weaver's loom in operation, and the infant Christopher playing about the hearth.
The second should be the student at school, perhaps the University of Pavia, reading the best books then known to the world, having no taste for trashy literature of the dime novel order, even had any existed in those days.
The third scene should show the same Columbus, now approaching middle life, still a student of astronomy, study- ing the stars and their motions, making mathematical calcu-
160
Address of Hon. William H. Anderson.
lations as to the size of the earth and the amount of its sur- face then.unknown.
The fourth should be the wayfaring man, travelling from city to city, from country to country, fully possessed of the idea of other continents, and waiting audiences in the ante- chambers of nobles whose very names are now forgotten; so very poor and needy that he was given the nickname of "the stranger of the threadbare cloak."
The fifth scene should, after the lapse of many years, be the landing on the unknown shores of a new-found world, early on the morning of the 21st of October, and the wonder and alarm of the natives, who supposed the Spaniards to be visitors from the celestial world, borne to earth on wings, in the form of sails on their vessels.
The sixth should embody the well known scene of Colum- bus on his return, before Ferdinand and Isabella, telling his wonderful story, and displaying as its proofs the gold, the ornaments, the woods, and natives he had brought.
The seventh scene should tell the sad story of his being sent home from his third voyage from the lands he had dis- covered, in chains, a prisoner, broken in spirit by the terrible injustice of his former patrons.
The eighth should tell the still sadder story of his death in Valadolid, on the 26th day of May, A. D. 1506, the thrill- ing story of his achievements apparently forgotten in the mad rush for gold of those who sailed after him, an obscure, heart-broken man.
And the last scene of all should show after four hundred years a continent, yea, two continents, this day vying with each other to see which could, by speech and written memo- rial, by sculptured marble and brazen tablets of praise, by naval reviews and processions miles in length, by Columbian arches and pageants of every kind, by the Columbian exposi- tion in Chicago, with its acres of architectural beauty, its treasures of all kinds from all parts of the known world, and its millions of expense, most do honor to the memory of Christopher Columbus.
With us, to-day, the curtain falls on the first act of the
161
Concluding Exercises.
play. What shall the second act, at the end of the second four hundred years, disclose? [Applause.]
THE PRESIDENT .- Music will be given by the band.
At its conclusion L. A. Morrison said,-
MR. PRESIDENT: We all have listened with much satisfac- tion and profit to the instructive and able address of Mr. Anderson, and I move that this meeting extend to him a vote of thanks.
THE PRESIDENT .- The motion is seconded, and all who are in favor of the motion of thanks to Mr. Anderson for being present with us, and for his address, will manifest it by a rising vote, after which the audience will sing "America," which will close the public proceedings of the day.
The vote passed unanimously, all the audience rising. "America " was sung with a will, and the exercises were closed.
The event was successful in all particulars, and reflected much credit upon those who had it in charge.
11
CHAPTER XII.
OBITUARIES.
Notices of deaths of some of Windham's people and former residents .- This list of brief notices does not embrace the names of all those who have "passed over the river " which I would like to include, but it includes those of whom I have personal knowledge, and whose printed obituary notices have come into my possession. It is inserted at the very last moment at the suggestion of one who has always manifested a deep and abiding interest in this town and its people, but who is not a native or a resident.
Mrs. Catherine (Abbot) Abbot (see p. 302, History of Windham), died in West Medford, Mass., in 1891 or 1892.
Samuel H. Anderson (see p. 311, History of Windham) died of consumption at the home of his father, July 22, 1891, in his twenty-fourth year. He was a descendant of one of the early families of the old Londonderry settlement. For several years his home had been in Boston, Mass., and life seemed bright and fair before him, when his life was thus early terminated.
Robert Armstrong, a native and resident of the town (see p. 325, History of Windham), died suddenly April 23, 1885, of heart disease, after an illness of only a few hours, aged 73 years, 2 months, 3 days. His life was a quiet and domestic one. He found his happiness in his home, his enjoyment in the management of his farm, in his business, and the duties which they laid upon him. They were performed with great fidelity. He was quiet and unassuming in manners, and cor- dial in his greetings of friends and relatives. In the town and neighborhood he was held in much esteem, and was an honest and upright man.
163
Lucy S. ( Blanchard ) Bridgman.
Sarai Armstrong, his sister, always a resident of the town, died after a few days' illness, Dec. 9, 1891, aged 87 years, 7 months, 14 days. Thus another member of a nearly extinct generation passed away at a ripe old age.
David Morrison Bachelder (see p. 327, History of Wind- ham), a former resident, died suddenly in Haverhill, Mass., April 8, 1891, of apoplexy, in his seventy-third year. He was stricken down in the full vigor of robust health. For several years his summer home had been in Windham, and his associations and interest in the town continued to the last. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist church. His life was one of activity, and he was held in general esteem.
Jacob B. Barker (see History of Windham, p. 333), an old, genial, and much respected citizen, died March 3, 1888. His wife, Mrs. Annie M. (Marden) Barker, died Jan. 26, 1887.
Mrs. Agnes L. (Park) Barker (see p. 333, History of Windham) died April 8, 1892, aged 62 years, 10 months, 30 days. She was a successful teacher in early life. She was a devoted wife and mother, and cared with great solicitude for those who were members of her household. A good neigh- bor and true friend, her departure was a heavy sorrow to those who knew her.
Rev. Silas Morrison Blanchard (see p. 346, History of Windham) died in Hudson, N. H., Dec. 16, 1888, in his sixty-ninth year. A native of Windham, he was a well known, prominent, and respected citizen of the town of his adoption.
Mrs. Lucy Stanwood (Blanchard) Bridgman (see p. 671, History of Windham), wife of Lewis J. Bridgman, died in Melrose, Mass., Jan. 26, 1892, of consumption, in her thirty- fourth year. For twenty years her summer home had been in Windham. Nature gave her a gentle, sweet, loving spirit,
164
Robert A. Campbell.
and her influence was pervasive as the sunshine. The fall- ing snow was not purer, nor the breath of flowers sweeter, than was her guileless and beautiful life. She was a mem- ber of the Episcopal church. Each of her many friends could have said to her, "It is better with me; it shall be better with me, because I have known you."
Mrs. Lucy Ann (Taylor) Burnham (see p. 353, History of Windham) died Jan. 26, 1892, aged 79 years, 10 months, 6 days.
John Campbell (see p. 372, History of Windham) died June 4, 1888, aged 70 years, 9 months, 28 days. He was one of the older men of the town, and a member of one of its oldest and prominent families. His wife, Persis H. Camp- bell, died in Hudson, N. H., and was buried in Windham, Jan. 7, 1891.
Lydia E. Campbell (see p. 373, History of Windham), wife of Dea. Samuel Campbell, died in Derry, N. H., Dec. 26, 1890, aged 64 years, 6 months, 27 days. Till a short time previous to her death she had resided in Windham, and had been intimately associated with all its best enterprises.
Sally (Campbell) (Carr) Clark (see p. 363, History of Windham) died March 4, 1885, aged 90 years, 11 months, 2 days. Another representative of an earlier generation of the Campbell family passed away in a ripe age, and with her life well filled with good works.
Forrest A. Campbell, of another branch of the Scottish clan Campbell, being of the Litchfield, N. H., family, died of typhoid fever at his mother's home in West Windham, Oct. 18, 1891, aged 24 years. He was the son of Mrs. Smith P. Davidson by a former marriage (see p. 427, History of Windham). Mr. Campbell was much respected, and his early death was a deep sorrow to many friends.
Mrs. Martha Thayer (Abbot) Cram (see p. 301, History
165
Charles Henry Dinsmoor.
of Windham) died at Pepperell, Mass., Aug. 6, 1891, aged 85 years, 4 months, 19 days.
Mrs. Eliza (Morrison) Dinsmoor, widow of Dea. Theodore Dinsmoor (see pp. 493 and 663, History of Windham), died March 6, 1887, aged 87 years, 3 months, and was the last member of her father's family. Till late in life she was very active and energetic, and bore its full responsibilities. Her mind was clear and active, and her executive abilities were of a fine order.
Harriet Dinsmoor (see p. 497, History of Windham) died of old age or general debility, in Windham, Dec. 10, 1891, aged 73 years, 4 months, 4 days. She and her sister lived together. It was a very singular coincidence that three deaths should occur in her home within four days. Miss Sarai Armstrong, an old friend and acquaintance who was stopping with them, died on Dec. 9; Harriet Dinsmoor died on Dec. 10; and during her funeral, on Dec. 12, her sister, Hannah Elizabeth Dinsmoor, passed away with pneumonia, and the house was left desolate.
Charles Henry Dinsmoor (see p. 498, History of Wind- ham) died of consumption at his home in Windham, Nov. 1, 1890, aged 28 years, 7 months, 8 days. He graduated at the Normal Art School in Boston, Mass., in 1888, after pursuing a three years course, and stood in the very front rank in his class. He was then instructor in penmanship and drawing for two years in Pinkerton academy, Derry, N. H., and re- signed his position in June, 1890. He loved his work. When in health it was as difficult for him to cease from it as for birds to cease their singing. Life seemed very bright and fair before him. His life's plans had been laid, and the years were full of promise; fair prizes lay before him; but they vanished like the dew of the morning in the blasting heat of the summer's sun. He gave up his plans and hopes with tender regret, but without a murmur. He bore his disap- pointment and sufferings with great fortitude, and died deeply lamented. He was buried in a sunny spot near the last
166
Benjamin Harvey Hughes.
resting place of his kindred, in the cemetery "on the hill." Gentle and refined by nature, his face was an index of his character. With him there was no ostentation, but there were sincerity and depth and earnestness of purpose. He treated all with simplicity of manner and unaffected kind- ness, which constitute true politeness. There are cherished mementoes of him in drawings of old homesteads, which now hang upon the walls in more than one home, which will be more highly prized as the years pass away. As other eyes rest upon them they will recall one who was gentle and lov- able, and who passed over the river in the brightness of his young manhood.
Arthur Wallace Dinsmoor, his brother (see p. 498, History of Windham), died of consumption in Boston, Mass., on Sun- day, Nov. 27, 1892, after a painful illness of some eighteen months. He was buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery.
Archibald Emerson (see p. 526, History of Windham), a native and for a long time a resident of the town, died at Salem Depot, N. H., of a stroke of paralysis, July 23, 1891, in his eighty-fourth year. Mrs. Emerson died on Sunday, July 26, 1891. They are buried in the new cemetery at South Salem, N. H.
Isaac Emerson, their nephew (see p. 525, History of Wind- ham), died in Florida, July 15, 1885, where he had gone for his health. He was strictly conscientious, an upright man, and was respected by his acquaintances.
Mrs. Mary (Park) Fenner died in Boston, Mass., June 3, 1890. (See p. 721, History of Windham.)
John Gordon (see p. 542, History of Windham) died in North Hatley, Quebec, Nov. 4, 1890, aged 77 years, 8 months, 14 days.
Benjamin Harvey Hughes (see History of Windham, p. 602) died of heart disease, July 6, 1888, aged 73 years, 10 months, 26 days. He had been attending to his ordinary
167
Naomi Morrison.
affairs, and was riding on the highway near the Giles Merrill farm when the summons came. He was found in his wagon by the side of the road. He was a genial man, with a kind heart, a good neighbor and citizen. His wife, Mrs. Betsey Jane (Cochran) Hughes, died suddenly of heart disease, March 6, 1885, aged 67 years, 10 months, 21 days. She was interested and active in aiding the best interests of the neigh- borhood and community. She had a good share of energy and executive ability.
Willis E. Hughes (see p. 601, History of Windham) died, after a short illness, May 1, 1889, aged 33 years, 7 months, 21 days. He was cut down in the midst of life's activities. He had served upon the school board, and at the time of his death was station agent, which position he had filled accept- ably for many years.
James P. Hughes (see p. 597, History of Windham, where a full sketch appears) died Sept. 11, 1891, aged 81 years, 7 months, 27 days. He was probably the oldest man in town. Mrs. Horatio (Cochran) Hughes, his wife, died Sept. 11, 1886.
Miss Elizabeth Coverly Jackson (see p. 605, History of Windham), a former resident, died at her home in Reading, Mass., of consumption, Nov. 13, 1887.
John Kebler (see p. 303, History of Windham) died in Cincinnati, Ohio, of heart disease, April 5, 1885. He was born Feb. 1, 1819.
Rev. Abiel Abbot Livermore (see p. 302, History of Wind- ham), died Dec. - , 1892, at Wilton, N. H.
Miss Naomi Morrison (see p. 663, History of Windham) died at the Morrison homestead in Windham, Dec. 27, 1886, aged 92 years, 2 months, 15 days. In her death, a long and useful life closed, and a connecting link between this and the last century was broken. Her devotion to her friends was large; her memory was a treasury of incidents of the past,
168
Nancy Simpson.
which she loved to relate to interested listeners, with a clear- ness that brought up a vivid picture of a vanished past. She was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church.
Sarah S. Noyes (see p. 706, History of Windham) died of consumption, Jan. 12, 1884, aged 39 years, 9 months, 3 days. She possessed a gentle spirit, a kind and sympathetic heart, and commanded the respect and esteem of those by whom she was known. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, and honored her profession by her daily life.
Hon. John C. Park (see p. 726, History of Windham) died in Newton, Mass., April 26, 1889.
Mary Louise (Park) Tuttle, his daughter, died previously.
Mrs. Annie M. (Page) Seelye (see p. 713, History of Windham), wife of Edwin C. Seelye, died of consumption, June 14, 1884, aged 23 years, 6 months, 8 days, and is buried in "the cemetery on the hill." She was an excellent musician, and to music she had given much attention. She was an only daughter, and her loss was deeply felt.
Mrs. Cora E. (Slate) Simpson (see p. 767, History of Windham) died Dec. 14, 1886, aged 33 years, 10 months, 17 days. She was a correspondent for several papers, and was a person of energy, executive ability, and worth.
Mrs. Nancy Simpson (see p. 768, History of Windham) died June 20, 1885, aged 82 years, 5 months, 13 days. Dur- ing the years of her most active life she was prominent in the Ladies' Benevolent Society, and its president. She was positive and pronounced, clear and incisive, in the expression of her opinions, possessed large executive capacity, and had a kind and warm heart. She was given to hospital- ity. Her departure closed a long and useful life.
Mary Elizabeth Thayer (see p. 787, History of Windham) died of consumption at Concord, N. H., May 5, 1888, aged 26 years, 5 months. She had lived at Nashua for five years
169
Mary Elizabeth Thayer.
after the death of her parents. Before she finished the course of study at the high school, she left, and in Boston devoted her energies to the study of art, for which she had a decided talent. Within two years thereafter a hemorrhage of the lungs caused her to leave this section for a prolonged stay in California and Florida. But all efforts to stay the progress of the disease were unavailing. Her sufferings were great, but her patience and fortitude were great also, and continually manifested till the close. She was very lov- able, and her strong traits of character impressed themselves upon her acquaintances. She was buried on May 7 from the church in Windham over which her father was pastor for twenty years. Twelve years before that very day she was received into the membership of that church.
Mrs. Caroline Elizabeth (Fessenden) Tobey (see p. 531, History of Windham), a former resident, died of apoplexy, at Reading, Mass., Nov. 27, 1891. Her brother-in-law, Geo. T. Coverly, died in Malden, Mass., May 2, 1888. He was born June 8, 1823.
Mrs. Mary (Anderson) Weston (see p. 811, History of Windham), a native and former resident, died in Exeter, N. H., and was buried in Windham, Oct. 19, 1891. She was in her sixty-fourth year. Her friends were many. She had been a member of the church choir for a long period, and was always anxious to do her part in every good work in the community. She was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Miriam C. Weston, her daughter, died of consumption, in Exeter, Jan. 10, 1886, in the thirty-second year of her age.
1
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.