USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Canaan > The history of Canaan, New Hampshire > Part 41
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 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
442
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
in those woods that old Uncle David Dustin killed a bear and the wad of his rifle set fire to the underbrush that could not be quenched until a hundred acres of old growth timber had been burned and become valueless. Mr. Barber was as usual quite indignant at the "accident," but as every man in those days had all the timbered land he wanted, and there was no sale for lum- ber, he, like a good neighbor, soon recognized the fact that "ac- cidents will happen," and was easily placated. It was in those woods that a bush called wickoby used to abound, the wood cork- like, the bark as Major Trussell used to say, "tough as horn," and was sought for by Caleb Welch, the miller, to tie up his meal bags. These woods were in early days a grand place to shoot small game, but Uncle John Barber would not allow hunting in them with guns unless we would agree not to use tow for wad- ding. These woods renewed themselves and in 1888 were cut down and sawed into lumber. John M. Barber built his house of the best pine lumber, sawed at his father's mill. His work went on slowly, for the "Embargo" of Jefferson in 1807, and the "Non-Intercourse" of Madison in 1809, increased the price of nails, iron and other necessary materials, so as to discourage its completion. In 1810 money was scarce and Mr. Barber con- cluded, like many others, to wait for better times. But the better times never came for him. The house remained unfinished. He never drove another nail into its timbers. Afterwards when Hiram Barber came into its possesion, comfortable improvements were made. Three generations of Barbers occupied that house, and then it passed into the hands of Charles Day. After his death, the timber was cut off and the land then passed to Israel Sharon. The house burned on the night of the 29th of De- cember, 1891.
Josiah Barber built the big house on the old "Poor Farm" and lived there. It was his boast that he would build a bigger stack of chimneys than any of his neighbors, the big chimneys exhausted his means to such an extent that he never entirely com- pleted the big house. His son, Josiah P. Barber, was called "Black Siah Barber." "Smiling Siah Barber" was the latter's cousin. His father lived in Epping. "Smiling Siah" used to visit his uncle and assist him in his work. The old man gave him
443
How SOME OF OUR HOUSES WERE BUILT.
a piece of land as an inducement to settle here. The young man built the church house next below his uncle's, on the right; got married and lived there many years, when he sold out and moved to Nashua, where he lived to be over eighty years old. Beyond, still stands the old house of Joseph Bartlett, who came here about four years after Josiah Barber and bought out Caleb Clark's heirs. Clark was the first settler in that region. This old house is almost a ruin. It was afterwards occupied by Orrin and George Fales, the former married Bartlett's daughter, Polly.
The old farm where Charles Decato lived was settled by Moses Lawrence and the old house was built by him. Bartlett and Lawrence were Barber's neighbors and each strove to outdo the other in building their houses. Not one of them ever finished the inside of his house. Barber owned a sawmill on the Mascoma River above the bridge on the road from Charles Lashua's. This mill afterwards passed into the hands of Moses Lawrence, who came to Canaan about 1800, lived here about thirty-eight years and died in Ohio. He was an ardent Methodist, believing all other doctrines sinful. He had six daughters and three sons. Two of the sons were John and Richard; Otis Willis, Fardey Norris and his cousin, Joseph Norris of Dorchester, married three of the daughters. One went away unmarried; also the boys. He built the small house near the Swett house for one of his sons. The style of these old houses was much alike. There are many of them standing now. With two stories, square-shaped and large square rooms, with a large hallway in the center, and four rooms on a floor, and two large chimneys, one on either side. Some were built with four-sided roofs, none of them had blinds on the outside, but had shutters inside disappearing into the par- titions on either side of the windows, and when shut, the room was as dark as night. Their style of architecture verged on the colonial, more so as the means of the owner permitted. A little later, the style although still trying to preserve the colonial re- sulted in smaller houses, two stories high, but oblong and only one room deep and two rooms wide, with a hall in the center, but these two rooms were large ones, like the old Barber home- stead. Then came a still further narrowing in width, like John Currier's, the Haggett and Dow houses. To all of these was
444
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
added an ell, of an altogether different style, in fact no style at all, and which for the most part, was the kitchen and living room of the family. Later and along in the thirties, came the story and a half house, some of them built with four rooms on the first floor, and finished rooms on the second floor. The attics of the two-story houses were not finished, nor were all of the rooms on the second floor.
The "Stone house," the only one of its kind in town, was built about 1842 by Edmund Hazen. The stone came from the pasture back of the paper mill. It was built for a blacksmith shop and later Simon Dodge finished it into a house.
Gordon Burley built and kept the store which stood just north of Charles Seavey's house. He sold it in the latter part of December, 1834, to Eleazer and Jesse Martin who came from Grafton. Eleazer came with his family in the early part of January, 1835, and moved in with Mrs. Wallace. He afterwards moved into the house now owned by F. B. L. Porter. Jesse Martin bought the house Thomas H. Pettingill built and which had been occupied by Mr. Foster. It was then a one-story house and Mr. Martin built it over.
It may be interesting to know where the farms of the old settlers were, begining from the settlement of the town to 1813. The roads upon which some of them lived have been long since thrown up. Here and there as one traverses the fields and woods, an old cellar hole appears; upon close observation an old road can be found. Beginning at the southeast corner of the town and following the Enfield line along South Road, we first find Samuel Noyes, then Daniel Farnum, afterwards owned by Dudley Noyes and Daniel Hinkson, now Frank Lashua's. Then comes Amos Stevens in 1787, afterwards owned by Timothy Johnson and then by Daniel Davis, Elijah Miner and Reuben Welch. Next came Capt. Charles Walworth and on the oppo- site side of the road was his son George's farm, where the Cobble graveyard is. Then came the farm of Dea. Caleb Welch; on the north side of the road was Jehu Jones. Next was the farm of Theophilus Currier, through which the Potato Road runs. On the north side of the road was the farm of two hundred acres. of Thomas Miner. East of Theophilus Currier was William.
445
HOW SOME OF OUR HOUSES WERE BUILT.
Ayer. On the west side of the Potato Road was James Morse, on the opposite side was Shubael Burdick, who sold to Moody Noyes. Next came Thomas Baldwin, who sold to Samuel Jones and he sold to Micah Porter. Opposite was Richard Otis, who sold to James Doten. Next came Samuel Jones, afterwards the Daniel Pattee farm; next was the farm of John Scofield, extend- ing to Mud Pond Brook, afterward Samuel Jones', then Daniel Pattee, his son James, and beyond him Joshua Pillsbury, who swapped with Warren Wilson. On the opposite side of the road was George Harris and his son Joshua; next was John Scofield, Jr., who sold to Col. Levi George. Next was the farm of Eleazer Scofield, afterwards Simon Blanchard, who sold to Lois Evans. Robert Williams lived on the Blanchard farm also. The Scofield land included the vicinity of West Canaan. On the other side of Mud Pond Brook was the farm of Richard Aldrich, then came Samuel Joslyn, afterwards owned by Judah Wells, also known as the Richard Aldrich farm. Then came Asa Paddleford's farm as far as the governor's right of five hundred acres then from the Mascoma River, north of Asa, came James Paddleford. John Scofield owned the governor's right and his heirs sold to John May, William and Israel Harris, Daniel Dow, Elam Meacham, Joseph and Benjamin Blake to the Hanover line.
Extending along the north line of the town, east of Mascoma River, was Joseph Bartlett, then came Moses Lawrence, Eben- ezer Davis, Nathan Cross, Joseph Randlet, Daniel Lary, Josiah Clark, Amasa Jones, Tristram Sanborn. Then coming down the River Road on the east side of the town was Stephen Worth in Jerusalem. Then Harry Leeds, Ezra Chase. On the Jeru- salem Road, was David Brown, Levi Wilson, John Worth, Jr., Eliphalet Norris, William Wood, Jabez, Job and Jeremiah Wil- son to the Nathaniel Barber farm, afterwards Josiah Clark's. West of David Brown was Peter Pattee.
Beginning on the Turnpike at Grafton line, was Elijah Whit- tier, Daniel Blaisdell and Parrott, his brother, to the bridge over the river at the depot, then following the Turnpike was John Worth, Jr.'s, tavern, and not a house from there to the top of Doten Hill; then on the Bickford Road was Ezekiel Gardner, John Sweet, afterwards Samuel Whittier's, on the Turnpike
446
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
came Joshua Wells, then Robert Barber in the Pinnacle House; next Josiah Clark, William Parkhurst, Dr. Amasa Howard, Jacob Dow, William Atherton, Ezekiel Wells after he moved from Town Hill; above the town house was William Douglass ; towards the west was Jonathan Dustin, extending to the Mas- coma River, then on the Street Moses Dole, Nathaniel Currier in 1816, Daniel Colby and Dr. John Harris opposite the ceme- tery. Thaddeus Lathrop lived opposite J. W. Colburn's. At the corner northerly towards Dorchester, was Ebenezer Eames; afterwards Cyrus Carlton built A. S. Green's house and ran the mill; then John Currier, David Pearson, Wales Dole, Jonathan Carlton, Ensign Colby on the Robitoille place, Jonathan Carl- ton, Jr., lived on the Green place, then came "Smiling Siah Bar- ber," then Josiah who built the poor farm to Joseph Bartlett's. On the road easterly from the corner was Eliphalet Richardson on the Haffenreffer place, Samuel Welch on the Putney place ; then John Worth and John Colcord at the corner of the roads. On the west side of the pond between Wells and Colcord lived Richard Whittier. North of Colcord was Bailey Cross, Joshua Richardson, Jonathan Dustin, Jr., George Flint on the Elijah George place. To the west was Nathaniel Whittier on the Rand- lett place, Eliphalet Clark on the Levi Hamlet place, and off the present road on Gilman Hill, was Nathaniel Gilman, Benoni Tucker and Thomas Beedle, with Charles Greenfield. Then came Nathan Cross on the Murray place.
Extending along the Hanover line and on West Farms, north of the governor's right, was Shaker land, then Reuben Gile, who sold to his son Stephen and moved away in 1828. Stephen moved to Morristown, Vt., with Jacob Straw in 1826. Stephen had married Lydia Straw. Afterwards S. B. Morgan owned some of the Gile farm, John Day that upon which Henry H. Wilson lived; north of him was Timothy Clark, afterwards his brother Theodore's, Clement Stoddard lived there first. Next came John Currier, who sold to Jacob Tucker, then Abraham Knowlton. Next was Henry Springer, Elijah Paddleford, and after him William Longfellow. Then came Jacob Straw, afterwards Abram Longfellow. Then came Robert Williams; next William Straw, a brother of Jacob, of Hopkinton. Next came Daniel
447
HOW SOME OF OUR HOUSES WERE BUILT.
Morse, afterwards Robert Williams, who sold to Stephen East- man as well as William Straw, and extended to Hanover line adjoining the Eastman farm in Hanover. Then came common land to the north side of Goose Pond. Then came John Willis; then William Bradbury to the line of Gate's Gore settled by Samuel J. Gates. East of Bradbury was Reynold Gates; east of him for two hundred acres was Caleb Clark; south of Clark and Gates was fifty acres of Adam Pollard and 376 acres of Nathaniel Bartlett. South of him was Matthew Greeley, after- wards Sewell Gleason, at the Hinkson place. South of him was Clark Currier on Sawyer Hill. Then came William Richardson, his brothers, Enoch, John and Eliphalet, then Robert and War- ren Wilson, afterwards Joshua Pillsbury and Moses Shepard. Next south came Jacob Richardson, John Wilson at Edwin Shepard's, then Lewis Lambkin, Richard and David Kimball, Samuel Clough, Moses Chase, afterwards Reuben Puffer and Samuel Chapman, where Lewis Defosse lived, then Samuel Meacham and Ezekiel Wells. East of Ezekiel Wells was William Campbell and east of him was waste land, east of which was the Barber farm to the Street.
Daniel Porter settled the farm now in the possession of Sigis- mond Wolfson. There was an old road which led easterly from Clark Currier's, now Ricard's. On this road east was Amasa Clark, then Ambrose Chase, afterwards John Hoit, and John Fales. Nathaniel Richardson settled the Err Collins place. Richard Clark, 3d, settled on the Delancy King place, Joseph Clark at F. F. Avery's. Levi Cilley on Fred Sharkey's old farm and Luther Kinne on C. H. Sweet's, at the corner of the road from Josiah Barber's. From the switch where Joseph Flint's farm was easterly, afterwards Seth Daniels, was Oliver Smith, Stephen Jenniss, Robert Barber's mill; John Follensbee at the present grist mill. On the road south from the grist mill lived Job Tyler, Moses Hadley, William Ayer, Thomas Cole, Moses Kelley, Jacob Miller, John Bean, Joshua Springer, Joshua Cur- rier, David Currier. Amos Gould lived on the left below the old Hinkson place; Joshua Meacham lived on the Nathaniel Shepard place ; Edwin May lived on the Caleb Jones place ; having pre- viously lived in the Gore.
CHAPTER XXVI. WHEEL CARRIAGES, TANNERIES, POTS AND PEARL ASHES.
Caleb Welch brought a two-wheeled gig wagon into town when he came about 1769. The first four-wheeled vehicle seen here, was owned by Simeon Hadley. The body was roughly con- structed and placed upon the axles without springs. On the rough roads of those days, it was not a great comfort to ride in it. Capt. Joshua Harris owned the first chaise. It was of a deep shining green color. He brought it from Connecticut in the first years of this century. He owned a very staid old horse, whose habits had worn into accord with the old man. It was his custom to leave that horse and chaise unhitched where he could eat grass, whenever he called upon his neighbors. The old man was famously absent-minded. On returning from those calls, he would uniformly forget his team, and would walk home with his head bent down talking to himself. Sometimes he would find his horse standing at his door; at other times he would go back and find him still feeding beside the roadside. The old man kept a diary in which he recorded things concerning town affairs as well as of individuals, doubtless much that would be interest- ing now. In the endeavors to find it, it only served to show that it had been lost forever, gone to rags. It was traced to the family of his son and to his granddaughter, and then it disap- peared.
Captain Dole, who bought out Dudley Gilman and kept an "Inn" at the north end of the Street, where is now the Hotel Lucerne, owned a chaise which attracted much attention. It had a nearly closed top and was a grand affair.
TANNERIES.
The first tannery was established by Lieut. Richard Whittier on the north side of Succor Brook. It was discontinued a hun- dred years ago. The remains of it are still to be seen on the site where the steam mill was located that cut off the timber in 1904.
449
WHEEL CARRIAGES, TANNERIES, ETC.
Mr. Whittier left his wife and five children in Methuen, Mass., and came to Canaan in 1788, where several of his neighbors had already settled, and purchased a hundred-acre lot of land on the east side of Hart's Pond, called the first one hundred of the right of William Fox, Jr. He remained long enough to cut over five acres of timberland, that being required by the pro- prietors, and returned to Methuen to close up his affairs and get ready to bring his family into his new home. Various and un- toward events delayed his setting out, and it was more than a year before he was able to return to Canaan.
Capt. Joshua Wells, who lived near the old orchard back on the hill from the present Lovejoy house, was to be his nearest neighbor. On the north side of his land lived John Colcord and Bailey Cross. And still farther on towards Dorchester, Nathan Cross had made a clearing, on the farm since known as the Mur- ray farm. It was in September or October of the year 1789., that he returned alone, for he was not yet prepared to give his family a home. The following letter, which is unique in its con- struction and rather unusual in its orthography, is one of the fragments of those days, which indicates the writer's purpose to make a home in Canaan.
Cap. Wells: Sir, I haveing a opportunity to write a fue lines I would imbrace it. Sir; I should be glad you would git some person or parsons to loope the high limes upon my feel trees and seet them on fire the first opportunity, they be drye, and I will satisfy you and them when I come up. Sir, I expect to set out the first day of September. this from your friend
RICHARD WHITTIER.
methuen, August the 15 Day 1789
Sir, I should be glad to board at your house.
He came and put up a log house, and later in the season his family joined him. He burned over the land he had cleared, and having put in crops of grain, he journeyed back to Methuen with his family, to settle up his affairs for a final move to his new home. But those were slow days, and small events often caused long delays. There is another letter very personal and peculiar which exhibits some of the customs and habits of thought in those days.
29
450
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
Methuen August the 2nd, 1790.
Sir: having a opportunity to send a fue lines, I now imbrace it to let you now of my affairs. that day I left your house it was very warm, but I had the headake very much, so I did not ride in the middle of the day, but I rode in the evening wich made me very late home, and it grew cold and I took cold and have been very sick, so that I have cepte house till a day or two agoe, and now grow some better. my family is all well, and I hope these lines will find you and your fam- ily in good health. mrs. Whittier sends hur regards to you and mrs. Wells, hoping to be better acquainted; my sons gives their Regards to your sons; my daughter gives hur cind regards to your daughters. Sir, I have nothing new to write. it is very weet and worm. we have great shours and heavi thunder. it is somewhat sickly but not many deaths. Sir, I have sent Letter to Daniel peaslee to bring my oxen down and he will bring them to your house the night before he set out with them, and if you will keep them I will Repay you. Sir, I am alike to be disipinted of sum of my stock and lode by Reason of my be- ing sick and sceasness of munney, that I am afraid I shall not get up to Canaan till the eight or teenth of September, and if my grain should warnt Reaping before I come, Sir, if you will git mr. Runnels, or mr. Welch, or mr. Nathaniel Worth, or mr. Gardner or mr. Stickney. or sum of them, or all of them, to Reap it and secure it I will satisfy them, and if they fail anny boddy Els that will do it. but I am in hopes I shall be there before it will want Reaping. This from your affectionate friend,
RICHARD WHITTIER.
plese to give my regards to mr, miller. tell him I should be glad to have him look at that fence that he made if he pleese.
Mr. Miller was Jacob Miller, who came from Methuen with Mr. Whittier and helped him clear the farm. His daughter mar- ried Nathaniel Barber, who lived on the same farm at one time. Mr. Miller built a house on the farm Barak Smith lived on.
He did not arrive until late in the fall, when he found that Mr. Wells had reaped and stored his grain and Mr. Miller had "looked at that fence," and repaired it. It was too late in the season to build a comfortable house, but the neighbors were kind and afforded shelter to his family. There were three sons born in that first log house, Asa, who twenty-five years ago was living in Erie, Pa., and built the old house on the site of Hotel Rand, Abiah and Moses. The labor of clearing the land, the cares of the family, and his duties as a citizen, prevented his building a new house for a time, but in the course of four or five years, with the aid of his boys, he got out the timber, sawed his boards
451
WHEEL CARRIAGES, TANNERIES, ETC.
at Capt. Robert Barber's new sawmill and put up the frame of the new house and covered it in so as to make him a comfortable home. Two more children were born to him: Leonard in 1797 and Rufus in 1800. He was by trade a tanner, and soon after his family was made comfortable, he built his tannery about a hundred rods north of his house. He carried it on for several years, but it was not remunerative and he gave it up. Mr. Whit- tier lived in that house until he died about the year 1812 and was buried in the Wells cemetery, where a broken stone records : "In memory of Richard Whittier," no date, no age.
Several years afterwards it passed into the hands of Lazarus Page, who sold it and moved to Lowell, Mass., in 1827. Since that time it was owned and occupied by a great number of peo- ple and not for long by any one. It had a cheery aspect for sum- mer, but it was a dreary place in winter. When it burned, Au- gust 24, 1879, it was occupied by H. E. Elliott. It was a sad sight to see; it was like assassinating an old friend. For more than two generations we had looked at that house and barn across the pond. The land upon which it stood is now owned by Mary H. Wendelstadt, who has built a cottage nearer the water. The well on the sight of the old house is one of the deepest, being twenty-eight feet, and its water is of the purest and coldest. So perfectly and symmetrically were its sides stoned that in attempting to place a pipe in it, no hole could be found large enough to insert a half-inch pipe below the surface and a crowbar had to be used to dislodge one of the stones, more than a hun- dred and fifteen years after it was built.
Theophilus Sanborn of Dorchester married Fanny Cross and built a tannery on the right bank of Cross Brook and carried on the business six or eight years and then abandoned it for lack of stock. This was about 1805.
About the year 1802 Jacob Dow of Concord married Phebe Wells and built a tannery on the Street, where he carried on the business until his death in 1831.
Daniel Porter came from Danvers, Mass., in 1825 and bought Peggy's Tavern, situated on the old Turnpike. He built a tan- nery in the field opposite his house, but he abandoned the busi- ness many years before his death.
452
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
Franklin P. Swett of Gilmanton built the last tannery in Canaan at the Corner below the present mill. The business was discontinued in 1861. The buildings fell down and were re- moved.
POTS AND PEARL ASHES.
The manufacture of pots and pearl ashes was once an impor- tant business here. It was mostly confined to the vicinity of the Street, where nearly all the business of the town was transacted. The earliest building erected for this purpose was owned by Simeon Arvin, in the southeast corner of the field once owned by Bela B. Whitney and now owned by O. H. Perry at the south end of the Street. Then Joshua Harris put up a factory in the field back of the store of the late Jesse Martin, which stood north of and on land where Charles Seavey now lives, the factory was near the pond.
Nathaniel Currier built a factory in the field back of his store, now occupied by C. P. King, and towards the pond, about 1817. He also carried on the business at the village. Nathaniel Cur- rier came to Canaan in the latter part of 1815, and bought land on the Street January 2, 1816, where he was a successful trader for many years. He was an active Abolitionist during the strenuous years of the town and died in 1863, aged 73 years. His son, Horace S. Currier, father of Hon. Frank D. Currier, was a trader at the village in company with Albert Martin. They sold out to James H. Kelly and William W. George. Martin went to California in 1858. Horace S. Currier was employed in his father's store and afterwards formed a partnership with James B. Wallace, also a clerk in his father's store. They carried on a successful business until the death of Mr. Wallace in 1853. Horace S. Currier died in 1866.
The last factory was erected by James Wallace, in the field opposite the house once owned by Stephen S. Smith, and now by O. H. Perry, about 1822. In 1829 it was pulled down and turned into a cooper's shop, where huge wagonloads of barrels for packing pork were regularly sent to market, by Aaron Quimby's four-horse team. On the death of Mr. Wallace in 1831, the cooperage passed into the hands of Stephen S. Smith. In those days ashes were a commodity, like any other article, and
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.