USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Boscawen > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 2
USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Webster > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 2
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Not only the white light of a spiritual life, but the pure flame of patriotic devotion. The little log meeting-house was loop- holed for defence. The settlers worshipped with their rifles by their sides. Rev. Phineas Stevens marched with his flock in pur- suit of the savage. No Indian war-whoop blanched the cheeks of Andrew Bohonnon, Moses Burbank, Nathaniel and William Danforth, on that day when Enos Bishop was captured within sight of the meeting-house, nor when Thomas Cook and Cæsar were shot down at Clay hill. The settlers of Hopkinton, Warner,
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PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
and Salisbury might abandon their homes, but they would not. Who can measure the influence of that courage upon those who came after them ? If they had been pusillanimous then, would Lieut. Samuel Atkinson, David Burbank, Edmund Chadwick, Asa Corser, David Flanders, and their comrades have stood like a wall of adamant at Bunker Hill? would Capt. Peter Kimball and his soldiers have stormed the heights at Bennington ? would John Adams Dix, a century later, by a single stroke of the pen, have thrilled the country with patriotic fervor,-"If any man attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot" ?
Men die, generations come and go, but teachings, examples, and principles live. So the unflinching bravery of 1746-1760, after a century had rolled away, bloomed anew in 1860 for the preserva- tion of the republic.
This volume is a simple recital of hardships, sufferings, and pri- vations ; of courage and endurance ; of the principles and progress of a rural community. It is no ignoble record, for, numbered among the citizens of Boscawen, are those who have sent their names down the advancing centuries. It is a memorial which will be of ever-increasing value as the years go by, which will be an heirloom to other generations; for through it the citizens of Boscawen will connect themselves with those whom the world has recognized as worthy of all honor.
In all ages there has been a desire among men to associate themselves with the great and good, thus manifesting their capac- ity and longing for immortality : for greatness and goodness are eternal in their nature, and men possessing them can never die.
Said Daniel Webster, standing on Plymouth rock, in 1820,- " By ascending to an association with our ancestors; by con- templating their example, and studying their character; by par- taking their sentiments and imbibing their spirit; by accom- panying them in their toils ; by sympathizing in their sufferings, and rejoicing in their successes and their triumphs,-we seem to belong to their age, and to mingle our existence with theirs. *
* Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind than a consciousness of alliance with excellence which is departed, and a consciousness, too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in its sentiments and thoughts, it may be II
xviii
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
actively operating on the happiness of those who come after it."
So the great orator recognized the aspiration of the human race to associate itself with departed greatness. To be born where great men have had their nativity, or where they have lived, is, as it were, a patent of nobility.
"And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there."
So the poet king of Israel sets forth the inherent nobility that comes from such a nativity. And the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews takes up the theme, and pictures the exaltation that comes to the citizens of the commonwealth of Israel through those who "subdued kingdoms, and wrought righteousness."
This desire for an alliance with the great and good is one of the mightiest motives for human action. Over burning sands the weary pilgrim of the Orient wends his way, that he may bow in adoration before the tomb of Mahomet, and so prepare himself for the pleasures of Paradise. The church of Rome, recognizing this aspiration of the human race, canonizes its saints, and exhibits its multitudinous relics, investing them with power to heal disease, preserve from harm, or to save from sin. Is there any other force that can so stir the human heart ? "Soldiers of France ! four thousand years look down upon you." So Bonaparte ad- dressed his soldiers, and in that one sentence lay enfolded, as it were, the victory of the battle of the Pyramids. At Plymouth rock, at Bunker Hill, at Gettysburg, or wherever men have made great sacrifices for their fellow-men, our longing for immortality is kindled anew ;- so through their devotion are we lifted to a higher plane of existence.
In this volume no attempt has been made to measure the value of services rendered. Omnipotence alone can gather up results. Plain and simple the record, but the sons and daughters of the good old town, perusing it, shall say,-GOD BLESS HER IN THE FUTURE AS HE HAS BLEST HER IN THE PAST !
xix
LOCALITIES IN BOSCAWEN.
LOCALITIES IN BOSCAWEN.
KING STREET.
The first settlers of Contoocook manifested their loyalty to their sov- . erign by calling the street on which they erected their meeting-house, " King street." In time it began to go by the name of " The Plain." As laid out by the surveyor, it extended from the small brook emptying into the pond at the southerly end, called " Town House brook " in the records, to the " Hollow," through which flows "Mill brook." For a half century or more it has been known as Boscawen Plain. It was laid out wide and straight, with house lots on each side.
QUEEN STREET.
This street, leading west from King street, was the second one laid out by Mr. Brown.
MARLBOROUGH STREET.
The third street laid out by Mr. Brown ran from Queen street north, parallel with King street, extending also to the " Hollow." The set- tlers named it in honor of the Duke of Marlborough. It was on the west side of the " Mountain," and crossed the present travelled road at the top of the hill east of "Cold brook." In the records it is sometimes written Mulbury street. A century ago it was probably quite as much of a thoroughfare as King street.
THE HOLLOW.
There is a deep ravine at the northern end of King street, through which flows Mill brook, upon which the first mill was erected. The locality is known as " The Hollow," sometimes as " The Valley of Indus- try," from the number of industrial pursuits carried on there. Forty years ago it was familiarly known as " Sodom." Why so called is not known, but certainly not for any extraordinary and special wickedness of the dwellers therein, whose reputation for honesty and sobriety has never been called in question.
THE MOUNTAIN.
The hill west of the Plain has received the name of " The Mountain." From the highest point, the Indians, during the first French and Indian war, were accustomed to look down upon the garrison, and watch for opportunities to capture incautious settlers. On its highest summit the
Xx
LOCALITIES IN BOSCAWEN.
students of the academy, about 1830, erected a stone platform, where they used to rehearse their declamations, sending forth incipient oratory for the benefit of the inhabitants and travellers on the street below.
FISH STREET.
The road extending from the Hollow to Franklin received the name of Fish street in 1738. How far north it was laid by Mr. Brown at that time is unknown, but it was extended to Salisbury on the petition of John Sergent soon after [see Hist.].
THE TURNPIKE.
The highway, beginning at the bridge across the Merrimack known as Boscawen bridge, and extending to Salisbury, was made a part of the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike, in the charter of that corpora- tion : hence its name.
THE TOLL-GATE.
One of the toll-gates of the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike was located at the top of the hill east of Cold brook. The toll-house is still standing.
TIIE GULF.
The deep ravine through which Cold brook flows was known as " The Gulf" by the first settlers, as appears from its frequent mention in the records, and has ever since been so called.
CLAY HILL.
The north bank of the Gulf is a compact bed of clay, which was re- served by the Proprietors as common land for the use of the settlers, and has always been called " Clay hill."
HIGH STREET.
The section of highway extending from the late residence of Col. Enoch Gerrish to Salisbury line was laid out by John Brown, and was appropriately named " High street."
WOODBURY PLAIN.
The small but level section of land a half mile west of the Gulf and east of the cemetery was the site selected by Mr. Ephraim Woodbury, an early settler, for his home, and hence became known as the Wood- bury Plain. The clay deposit shows itself upon the eastern border of the plain, and bricks were at one time manufactured there.
xxi
LOCALITIES IN BOSCAWEN.
WATER STREET.
The highway extending from the easterly end of Great pond to Salis- bury, parallel with High street, was laid out by John Brown, and named Water street.
EEL STREET.
The street from the hotel kept by Capt. John Chandler to Boscawen bridge was called Eel street. In the autumn large quantities of eels were caught there, in pots set near the mills. Recently it has been called Commercial street.
DUSTON'S ISLAND.
At the junction of the Contoocook with the Merrimack is a small island, wholly in Boscawen, which was the scene of the heroic deed of Hannah Duston and Mary Neff, in delivering themselves of their Indian captors. The island is now crossed by the Northern Railroad ; and upon it is the monument erected to commemorate Mrs. Duston's achieve- ment.
STIRRUP-IRON BROOK.
Tradition has it, that many years ago a stirrup iron, lost by Gen. Henry Dearborn, of Revolutionary fame, a general in the War of 1812, while on a visit to a sister in Salisbury, gave a name to the stream which has its source among the Salisbury hills, and which empties into the Merrimack at North Boscawen.
INDIAN BRIDGE.
The bridge across Stirrup-Iron brook bears this name in Rev. Mr. Price's history of Boscawen, so named from the killing of Sabbatis and Plansawa by Bowen a few rods north of the locality.
LOWER INTERVALE.
The intervale lands in the bend of the river, above the junction of the Merrimack and Contoocok, were called by the first settlers the Lower Intervale lots.
MIDDLE INTERVALE.
The wide reach of lands above the Lower Intervale and Canterbury bridge is put down upon the first survey of the town by John Brown as the Middle Intervale.
xxii
LOCALITIES IN WEBSTER.
UPPER INTERVALE.
The land in the bend extending from the mouth of Mill brook to the small pond east of the Hollow is recorded on Surveyor Brown's map as the Upper Intervale.
MUCHYEDO.
On the east side of the Merrimack, in Canterbury, is a high sand- bank, which is a conspicuous landmark from the summit of Kearsarge mountain. Although not in Boscawen, occasional mention is made of it. There are various traditions relative to the origin of the name,- one, that an Indian, speaking broken English, exclaimed,-"Much-ye- do to climb it."
LOCALITIES IN WEBSTER.
CORSER HILL.
The long and high swell of land upon which the Congregational meet- ing-house stands bears the name of the settler David Corser, who pur- chased a large tract of land upon it, and erected the first framed house west of Beaver dam.
FOWLER'S PLAIN.
The level plat of land east of Corser hill and west of Beaver dam was so named from the settler Lemuel Fowler, who lived near Beaver Dam brook. It was originally covered with Norway pines, and in the rec- ords is sometimes called Norway plain. From the beginning of the century to 1816, many regimental musters were held there.
LITTLE BROOK.
The small brook west of Beaver dam, having its rise near Salisbury line and flowing into Couch pond, has long borne the name of "Little brook."
COOK'S HILL.
The rounded eminence north of Corser hill has borne the name of Cook's hill since 1745, when Thomas Cook built his log cabin near it, which probably was the first house erected in what is now the town of Webster. He was killed the next year by the Indians at Clay liill.
Is ana The Large sauc
xxiii
LOCALITIES IN WEBSTER.
MUTTON ROAD.
The road leading from Corser hill to Salisbury south village was laid out to enable the residents of Salisbury to reach Hopkinton, which prior to 1823 was one of the shire towns of Hillsborough county. It received the name of Mutton road, from the fact that some per- sons had been in the habit of helping themselves to mutton which did not belong to them, from the flocks of sheep in the pastures through which the road was located.
PLEASANT STREET.
The highway leading south from Mutton road was laid out by the first surveyor of town lots,-John Brown,-and was named Pleasant street by the first settlers.
DINGIT CORNER.
The junction of several roads near the great bend of Blackwater river bears the name of Dingit corner,-so named, according to tradi- tion, from a little domestic turmoil. A settler lived near the local- ity. One day there was a difference of opinion between himself and wife; and the latter seized a skillet to use as an argument in the case, but hesitated about throwing it. The husband, probably not having any great fear of the skillet, cried out,-" Ding it! ding it!" Hence the name.
BATTLE STREET.
The road leading from Corser hill north to Salisbury, west of Cook's hill, was one of the original highways laid out by the proprietors, and was named by them " Battle street."
LITTLE HILL.
Mr. Enoch Little, an early resident of what is now Webster, located on the swell of land west of Blackwater, in the north-west section of the town, and his sons settled around him, giving a name to the locality.
WEST NEWBURY STREET.
The highway leading north over Little hill was laid out by the pro- prietors, who named it "West Newbury street," probably because it was the most westerly highway in the division of lots, and also to keep in remembrance their former home in Newbury.
xxiv
LOCALITIES IN WEBSTER.
LONG POND.
This pond, in Webster, is nearly two miles long, and from one half to three fourths of a mile wide ;- hence the appropriateness of the name.
WHITE PLAIN.
The etymology of the name is unknown. It is applied to the valley through which flows the stream issuing from Long pond westward to Warner river.
DUBLIN.
The region west of Little hill is known to the inhabitants of Webster as " Dublin." A citizen of Irish descent once lived there, and hence the name of the capital of Ireland.
POND HILL.
The high swell of land west of Long pond.
BASHAN.
The south-western section of the town was covered with a dense forest growth. There were so many great red and white oak trees, that Dea. Enoch Little, Sr., thought it was worthy of bearing the biblical name of " Bashan," the country east of the Jordan, renowned for its oaks, mentioned in Zech. 11:2: " Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan." The name thus given has remained to the present time.
RATTLESNAKE HILL.
Webster, in common with many other towns, has its " Rattlesnake hill," the highest hill in Bashan. When the first settlers erected their homes in that section, it was the haunt of rattlesnakes. Mr. Moses Gerrish, on one occasion, killed forty in one day. The hearts of rattle- snakes were regarded as a specific for the cure of consumption in those days, and Mr. Gerrish was employed by the Shakers to hunt the reptiles.
KNIGHT MEADOW BROOK.
The brook which runs south, west of Little hill, from Tucker's pond, in Salisbury, to the stream issuing from Long pond.
WARNER
AMESBURY RIVER
Little Pond
17
MEADOW
KNIGHT
Ox Pond
HILL
·
Putney
Pond Hill Road
LONG POND
BLACK WATER
Sweats
hills
RIVER
School
Bashan
School
Recul
School
CORSER
COOK HILL
PILLSBURY POND
Pleasant St
Long
MMilton Read
HILL HORSE
School
School
Water St
CONCORD
FLAG POND
MORSE HILL
B
S
PIKE
TURA
N.H
Cut Hole Roud
BROOK
CLARK HILL
.
M.H
Cong »
King St
-
Fish .St
County Farm
School
Academy
RIVER
«Icuden
PLEASANT
FOND
MERRIMAC
NORTH MOSCAWEN
FRANKLIN
FISILERVILLE
CANTERBURY
SALISBURY
Bringit!
PONS BIRÇOK
GREAT POND
BEAVER DAM
BROOK
1
RATTLE SAKE HILL
Battle St
Province Roud
· Town House
LITTLE HILL
HOPKINTON
iMud Pond
School
·Penacook
NORTHERN
STIRRUP IRON BROOK
Gulf
FOURTH
POPLAR HILL
DAGODY
Caeen St
S
XXV
LOCALITIES.
LOCALITIES UPON THE LINE BETWEEN BOSCAWEN AND WEBSTER.
LONG STREET.
Frequent mention is made, in the records, of "Long street." It is the highway leading from High street, in Boscawen, to Corser hill, and from thence by White plain to Warner.
BEAVER DAM.
The stream, which has its source in Salisbury, and which flows into Couch pond, has been made the dividing line between Boscawen and Webster. It was a favorite haunt of beavers, whose dams may still be seen.
POND BROOK.
The brook south of Couch pond, running to Great pond, and from Great pond to the Contoocook river, bears the name of " Pond brook."
GREAT POND.
The name, undoubtedly, was given to this sheet of water by the first settlers, as it occurs in Abner Clough's journal, 1754, an extract from which will be found in the historical section. It lies half in Web- ster and half iu Boscawen.
COUCHI POND.
This is the small pond north of Great pond.
CORRECTIONS.
It is almost certain that in the preparation and printing of books there will be mistakes. In a town history, errors are un- avoidable. Some statements will need revision ; wrong dates will be given ; there will be errors in copying and in proof-reading. This volume is no exception to the general rule. Owing to the absence of the compiler while the sheets were passing through the press, there are some errors which might have been corrected in the proof had the pages passed under his final revision. The mistakes, however, are generally unimportant. The corrections given below are placed at the beginning of the volume in order that the reader may see what they are before reading. It is rec- ommended that a * be made at the outset, with a pen, in the margin of the page, against the corrections. Such a mark will direct the attention to the proper reading.
Page 42. "Capt. Daniel Todd, of Exeter," should read Daniel Ladd.
Page 48. "The nearest grist-mill was situated at Millville," should read was situated at West Concord. The later information has been obtained from Simeon Abbot, of Con- cord.
Page 132. "Carding and fulling mills were established in every town." It is a misstatement. Carding at that date, 1786, was done wholly by hand. There was no carding by machinery in Boscawen, probably, till about twenty years later. Machine- carding was not invented till about the beginning of the century. Cloth-dressing was a distinct occupation. Dea. Isaac Pearson only dressed cloth.
xxviii
CORRECTIONS.
Page 135. "Dwight corner " should read Dingit corner.
Page 152. In the protest of Silas Call, the first " profession," although existing in the original document, is evidently a clerical error, and should be stricken out.
Page 174. In last line, " foot-stones " should read foot-stoves.
Page 208. The regiment of U. S. soldiers passing through the town should be recorded under date of 1845.
Page 225. " Resolved that passed 18 May, 1877," should read 1876.
Page 273. "Abraham Burbank, its first commander," should read second commander.
Page 278. " Thurber, Joseph," should read Thurber, Joseph B.
Page 309. "Born in Newbury, 3 June, O. S. 1712," should read 22 January, 1711.
Page 310. "He married Elizabeth Chase," should read Mar- tha Chase.
Page 324. " Mrs. Lois Jewett," should read Miss Lois Jewett ; and " Mrs. Louisa Jane Dix Pillsbury," should read Mrs. Louisa Frances Dix Pillsbury.
Page 369. "A telegraph wire with a case or covering of iron or steel," should read a steel wire covered with copper.
Page 399. " Kimball, Benj. T. He died 9 July, 1852," should read 2 July, 1852.
Page 400. " Kimball, Peter, was born 25 May, 1817," should read 25 March, 1817.
Page 408. " Little, Enoch, Dea., 2d, was born 1804," should read 1802.
Page 427. " Pearson, Nathan. He died 8 Oct., 1868," should read 12 Oct., 1868.
Page 429. " Pillsbury, Joseph L., Col. Ile died 10 Jan., 1874," should read 1873.
Page 431. Instead of " Lucy Farrer," read Lucy Farrar.
Page 432. " Ebenezer Sewell Price," should read Ebenezer Sewall Price.
Page 437. " Stone, Peter, 19 Dec., 1799," should read 11 Dec., 1799.
xxix
CORRECTIONS.
Page 455. " His widow married Prof. Guthrie, of Marietta college," should read Rev. Geo. B. Whipple, of Oberlin.
Page 462. " JABEZ4 (James,3 William,2 George1)," should read Jabez4 ( Thomas,3 Thomas,2 George1).
Page 604. "Rev. Zerah H. Hawley," should read Rev. Z. K. Hawley.
Page 615. After " Stone, Frederic P.," insert m. Lovilla San- born.
Page 638. Mills-" one near the residence of Joseph Burpee," should read on Beaver-dam brook. The mill near Mr. Burpee's was not erected till a later date, by Capt. Abraham Burbank. That on Beaver dam was near Salisbury line, and was owned by Daniel Pillsbury.
Page 650. Wolf-"shot by Samuel Call," should read by Lemuel Call.
HISTORY OF BOSCAWEN.
S
alfred Little
1729.]
CIVIL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
THE PLANTATION OF CONTOOCOOK.
HE first movement for the settlement of the territory em- braced in the present towns of Boscawen and Webster was inaugurated in 1729, by citizens of Andover, Bradford, Reading, and Woburn, in Massachusetts. The plantation of Penacook (Concord) had just begun. It was known that there was a desirable tract of land immediately north of Penacook, west of the Merrimack.
Many of the citizens of Andover, especially the Abbotts and Ballards, were interested in the Penacook plantation, and took measures to secure the adjoining tract. The first meeting was held in Andover, Feb. 25, 1729, at the house of Jeremiah Bal- lard. James Johnson was chosen moderator, and Thomas Abbot clerk. At an adjourned meeting, held March 18, a committee was chosen to view the land. The committee obtained a pilot, visited the locality, and reported at a meeting held May 20th. Fifty- three citizens of Andover, twenty-seven from Bradford, twenty from Reading and Woburn-one hundred in all-signed a peti- tion to the Great and General Court for the granting of "Land Laying on Marymeck Rever Begining at Pennacuck Upper Line and so run eight mile up ye Rever and Three Mile on ye Est & Four Mile on ye West side of sd Rever." The petitioners were unsuccessful in their application. A possible reason for their failure may have been the fact that many of the grantees of Pen- acook were from Andover, and the members of the General Court may have thought it not best to bestow a second grant upon the
2
CIVIL HISTORY.
[1732.
citizens of that town. Other towns were applying for grants. There was a movement in all the sea-coast towns towards the frontier to obtain new lands. The young men were ready to brave the dangers and hardships of frontier life, for the sake of obtaining lands which in a few years might be as valuable as the old homesteads. Others, who were more advanced in life, with children growing to maturity, were ready to dispose of their farms by the sea to obtain the fertile lands of the Merrimack valley, where their sons and daughters could secure their future homes.
But how happened it that Massachusetts exercised jurisdiction over the lands now comprised in New Hampshire ? A complete answer is to be found only in a study of the conflicting claims of Capt. John Mason, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, and Laconia grants. Suffice it to say, that Massachu- setts claimed jurisdiction of all lands ivest of the Merrimack, and continued its exercise of authority till the final establishment, by royal commission in 1740, of the present boundaries.
NEWBURY PETITIONERS.
In 1732, John Coffin and eighty other citizens of Newbury pe- titioned the General Court of Massachusetts Bay for "a grant of land, situated on the west side of the Merrimack, adjoining Pen- acook plantation." The petition was duly considered, and order issued in relation to a survey of the tract, and setting forth the conditions of the grant as follows :
" Ordered that there be and hereby is granted to the petitioners a tract of land seven miles square at the place petitioned for on the west side of Merrimack river, to be laid out by a surveyor and chain men on oath, a plan thereof to be presented to this court at their next May session for confirmation. The lands to be by them settled on the con- ditions following viz:
" That within the space of four years from the confirmation of this plan they settle and have on the spot eighty-one families, each settler to build a convenient dwelling house, one story high eighteen feet square at least, and fence and clear, and bring to four acres fit for im- provement and three acres more well stocked with English grass; and also lay out three shares throughout the town, each share to be one eighty-fourth part of said tract of land, one of said shares to be for
.
3
CIVIL HISTORY.
1733.]
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