USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Canaan > The history of Canaan, New Hampshire > Part 43
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BENJ. SPENCER.
(The "Town Plot" referred to is Canaan Street.)
ELDER WHEAT'S REBUKE OF INFIDELITY AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. STEPHEN WORTH.
The following was an incident in the history of the old meet- ing house, related by a person who was an eye witness of the scene. Stephen Worth, about the year 1797, married Molly, the widow of his brother, and settled down upon the farm where Watts Davis worked out his hard and disagreeable life, in what is known as Jerusalem. Stephen loved and cherished his wife all her days, and was a sincere mourner when she died in 1816. The funeral was held in the meeting house one Sunday, which was thronged with sympathizing friends. Elder Wheat preached a
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long sermon on death and the darkness of the grave, taking for his text a whole chapter, and placing special emphasis upon the phrase, "Where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."
For the first hymn the elder requested the choir to sing that screed by Doctor Watts, which is supposed to have been written when the doctor was oppressed by nightmare or indigestion. The verse reads :
"My thoughts on awful subjects roll, Damnation and the dead ! What horrors seize the guilty soul Upon a dying bed."
Abraham Pushee was a young saddler here, a good singer and very skilful upon the violin, which instrument, greatly to the chagrin of Deacon Worth and Richard Clark, he had insisted upon bringing into the choir. When the elder read the hymn, Pushee refused to sing it. The sentiment it expressed was too horrid to be adapted to any music in his books. Turning to the singers, he requested them to sing the next hymn, commencing: "Why do we mourn departing friends," to the grand old tune of "China." When the choir struck at the first line of the hymn, the elder jumped to his feet and exclaimed: "That is not the hymn I wish you to sing!" but the choir kept on singing, paying no attention to the elder's exclamation.
After his sermon he made a general address to the mourners. Then he became personal, and the ludicrous incidents which fol- lowed are related by an eye-witness.
He said he "had always been told that Brother Worth was a courteous man, kind and considerate to everybody, lovin' and honorin' his wife as a true husband; but I learn with sorrow," he continued, raising his voice, "that he is a convert to the hell- damnin', heaven-darin', God-provokin' doctrines of Tom Paine, the infidel author of the 'Age of Reason' Now, my duty to my God and my people, required me, even here in the presence of the remains of his lamented partner, who this day is restin' peacefully in the arms of Jesus, to rebuke the devil and all." And there is no telling what the good elder might not have said,
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had he been permitted to finish his rebuke, but at this point an interruption occurred. Hon. Daniel Blaisdell rose in his pew with great energy and stood leaning forward with one hand ex- tended, and mouth open to speak, with his wife, hanging to his coat tails. But Stephen Worth, the chief mourner, got the start of him, exclaiming, as he rose up that, "the time and place for such unfeeling remarks, even if they were well deserved, were ill chosen." He had never before heard of that awful book; both the "Age of Reason," and Tom Paine were strangers to him. He hoped they were good men and more considerate and charitable to others than the elder was towards him. He had done his duty as a husband and Christian in the fear of the Lord; and this attack upon him looked as if the evil one had en- tered into the -
Another interruption occurred right here. His brother John was so overcome that he was seized with a sudden illness and had to be taken out in a dead faint. Confusion was very great all over the house. Everybody was standing up in astonishment, and talking indignant nonsense. When quiet was restored, Mr. Worth concluded his remarks by saying he would "get those books and read them; for it couldn't be any worse for him to read them than for the elder, and then he could judge for himself if they were bad books."
Captain Wells and John M. Barber were greatly offended at the elder's remarks, and refused ever after to hear him preach. Many others were also very angry, but expended their ill-feeling in talk. The elder, like the rest of them, was in confusion and when the uproar subsided a little, he quite grimly declared that he had spoken from report. He was glad to learn that Brother Worth was not an infidel, and even if he were, perhaps it would not become him to judge him. Then the long services which had occupied nearly all day, were brought to a conclusion and the body laid away in the ground.
Afterwards, when Judge Blaisdell met the elder, he asked him "what evil spirit beset him to attack Stephen Worth at that funeral. It was an unheard of outrage, such as only a crazy or drunken man would commit. Had he - ? " "Well, he had - for his stomach's sake. It was good for him, and gave him
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courage and confidence." "Yes," retorted the judge, "and your courage, as you call it, caused you grievously to afflict a good man, whose heart is heavy with grief at the loss of a wife he loved. You, old man of God! to make a public scandal on such an occasion ! Go, now; commit no more such folly !" .
Elder Wheat preached in Canaan for seventeen years after that event, but never made a similar speech at a funeral. He was a good man, faithful to all the light that shone for him. The good he did will send its influence away down through the ages, and his memory will be green when others are forgotten. To show how important a character he was, the young men and maidens sought his counsel and assistance. The record of the marriages performed during his ministry was 308 in number.
SUIT FOR SLANDER.
In this suit for slander, it will be noticed that the plaintiff re- cived more abuse than cash from the defendant's lawyer. Ben- jamin and Keziah were married in 1820 and toiled happily on life's journey for several years. Then getting a little unsettled, they moved over to South Road, and lived in the same house with James, whose wife was named Rhoda. This was eighty years ago or more. It was pleasant and neighborly between the families for a season, but for all that, the house was never large enough for them. One day a neighbor came in and asked Mrs. Keziah if she had heard of the stories her friend in the other part of the house had been circulating? To be sure, it was none of her business, but it would trouble her to keep it, so she "out with it." It was how Mrs. Keziah had been to Mrs. Rhoda's cream pot, to her soap barrel, to her meal chest, and to her hen's nests and had declared that "she was no better than any other thief."
There were very grievous times under that roof after that neighbor's visit, and then Benjamin, to vindicate the good name of his wife, was persuaded to cite Mrs. Rhoda before a justice, ยท either to prove her stories or acknowledge herself a slanderer. This she persistently declined to do; but in due time obeyed a summons and appeared before Hon. Daniel Blaisdell, who held his court in the hall of Cobb's Tavern. Mrs. Rhoda was there
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represented by Elijah Blaisdell, Esq., who, from a shoemaker, had by hard study and labor, risen to be a lawyer in the village. Mrs. Keziah was represented by C. B. Haydock of Hanover. Mrs. Rhoda had no witnesses to prove her assertions, but she testified very positively as to her losses; and "I know that I have told the truth, for nobody else has had a chance to steal my soap and eggs and things; and if Mrs. Keziah ain't guilty, she wouldn't be so awful touchy about it, there now !"
Mrs. Keziah just as positively denied all the allegations, and declared Rhoda to be a common gossip and slanderer, who wouldn't tell the truth even to keep friendly with the neighbors ; and to prove these charges, she introduced several of the neigh- bors, who swore that Mrs. Rhoda was a common gossip, tattler and liar, and had always made mischief among her acquaintances, and this was no worse than some of her other stories, only she hadn't been brought into court before.
Blaisdell's defence of his client was not an argument, but simply a torrent of abuse and vituperation poured upon Keziah ; and he claimed judgment for his client because she had only spoken the truth. Mrs. Keziah said afterwards she always hated the sight of Blaisdell after that speech. Up to that time she had never believed that for five dollars a man, who pre- tended to be decent, could be so mean a liar. The hall was crowded with men and women, all anxious to hear the outcome of this famous dispute. I was there also, a little boy, standing upon one of the side benches. Suddenly there was a crash, loud shrieks and a rush for the doors and windows. Everybody wanted to get out at once - not everybody either, only the timid and scary ones. The timbers of the flooring had given way, and the middle of the floor had sunk down about two feet, and was only held together by a few nails.
There sat Judge Blaisdell, cool as the north wind, and de- liberate as Stephen Smith, when he begun to tell a story. His legs were crossed and he had slipped down so that his big belly rested against the table. "Men," he said, "don't crowd the door. There is no danger; follow each other out carefully and quickly and in five minutes you will feel better than you do now. And you women, struggling together there - just step back
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upon the bench near that boy, and then watch me! You'll be all right in a minute."
The hall was soon cleared of the excited crowd and then the judge very deliberately climbed up out of the wreck; and with no unnecessary delay, reorganized his court in another room, where, after the lawyers had each claimed the innocence and virtues of their clients, he proceeded to give judgment, which was that this matter, little in itself, had grown big by being talked about, and it had made several persons unhappy. It was not right for Mrs. Rhoda to charge her neighbor with steal- ing unless she had proof of it, because by so doing, she had placed herself in jeopardy. "She is brought before this court on a charge of wilful and malicious slander. Her answer is, that she stated the truth, - it is not slander, - but she offers no proof in sup- port of this charge; while her neighbors come in here and swear her to a common gossip, liar, and slanderer. Mrs. Rhoda, your case is a bad one. There is a slow-moving finger pointing at you from all around and behind each finger is hissed one poisonous word - 'Slander!' It grieves me to announce my judgment in this case, as between two women who ought to live together in unity; but the evidence of your neighbors is con- clusive that you are a slanderer, that you carry a viperous tongue, which you do not try to rule. You are fined ten dollars and the costs of this court; and when you go home, take this advice along with you, and act upon it: When you find your tongue inclined to utter another slander, sieze upon it and bite it before another word is spoken. And so may you continue to live in peace and in the love and respect of your household. This court is adjourned without date."
THE CRIME OF ISAAC DOLE.
In 1831 Mrs. Mary Wallace was left a widow with seven chil- dren. Her life had been all devoted to her family, and she was unpracticed in the ways of business. James Wallace, her hus- band, had died suddenly, without advising her of the condition of his affairs. She was named executrix of the estate, which she was desirous of settling by paying all demands as soon as pos- sible. Isaac Dole, the chief character in this story, had been for
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several years a deputy sheriff. He lived on the mountain in Lebanon, and was in the practice of loaning money to needy persons. He had accumulated a fortune, all of which, except the farm he occupied, was in cash, which he loaned like a banker. This incident occurred soon after the death of Mr. Wallace, and related to the payment of a note which proved to have been forged, with a long story of the frauds practiced upon lone women by bad men. James Wallace had on more than one occa- sion borrowed money of Dole. These loans, the executrix had reason to believe, were all paid and the notes cancelled. The last one for $200 had been paid a short time before Mr. Wal- lace's last illness, which was sudden and fatal, and the cancelled note was filed among his papers. The spring following his death she received notice from Dole, that he held a note against the es- tate for $200, and desired to know when it would suit her con- venience to pay it. She was a good deal surprised and annoyed, but having no suspicion of the dishonesty on the part of Dole, she invited Mrs. Martha Harris to ride to Lebanon with her in order to pay the note. They started out and had ridden as far as William Campbell's on Town Hill, when they met Dole on his way to visit her. They all stopped at Mr. Campbell's; the note was produced, the money paid, and they returned home. No suspicion of forgery was aroused that day, and had Mr. Dole on receiving the money, asked that he might retain the can- celled paper, she would have given it to him, and this story would never have been written.
After the return of the ladies, the peculiarity of the shape of the paper upon which the note was written was a subject of conversation. The signature, "James Wallace," was genuine. The body of the note was in the handwriting of Dole. But the writing was crowded into a space much too small to correspond with the boldness of the signature, below which there were two inches of blank paper. While talking upon the subject next day, the Rev. Mr. Foster came in and asked that he might examine the note. It was handed to him, and almost immediately he looked up and exclaimed, "Mrs. Wallace, this paper is a for- gery !" and he tapped the paper with considerable energy with his forefinger. "It was cut off from the bottom of a bill of goods
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which your husband had receipted and here," continued he, "are the lower parts of the long letters in the words, 'received payment,' which could not be cut off without leaving the paper too small to write the note upon." Upon close examination, they were all satisfied that Mr. Foster was correct; and George Kimball, lawyer, was called in to advise upon the case. The re- sult was, that that same day Jonas Smith of Canaan arrested Dole in his own house upon the charge of forgery, and at the same time attached the real estate of Dole, upon a civil suit for the recovery of the money paid.
There was a young lawyer in Canaan, who never refused a fee and who made a rule of his practice to look well after the interest of his clients - a man who, through long years of suc- cessful practice, was always true to his clients. Dole came to him and stated the trouble that had come upon him, and that if he could not make some arrangement with the widow he would be ruined. "Now," said he, "put your wits to work and the fee shall be ample." The lawyer listened patiently to the story and then waited a moment before speaking. "Mr. Dole, as your counsel, I must ask you to be very candid with me, and tell me in one word, if the charge of forgery be true? If I know the exact truth, it will enable me to change the ground of defence with more confidence." Dole told him to go to work as if the charge was true. "Indeed," said the lawyer, "I suspected as much! and you have got the widow's money in your pocket now! and the question is," continued the lawyer, "how to keep it there !" "Exactly," said Dole, "I see you are good on a trail." "Now," continued the lawyer, "Mrs. Wallace has got that fatal paper. If we could get it into our possession, we would doubtless make terms with her ; suppose we go down and call upon her, perhaps we can persuade her to let us examine it."
They started out down the street, and called upon the widow, whom they found alone. Meantime she had seen them approach- ing, and had sent her little boy, anticipating a visit, to invite Lawyer Kimball to the interview. She greeted her visitors politely, but with a strong feeling of antagonism. The lawyer stated the object of their call, and with great suavity, asked her to allow him to look at the paper which she alleged to be a for-
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gery. She replied to him very quickly: "Do you think, sir, that it would be safe or prudent for me to place that paper in the hands of two such disinterested and honorable men as you and Mr. Dole? Even if I were disposed to gratify you, which I am not, you ought to know that when the complaint was made on that piece of paper, it passed out of my possession." They then changed their plans. Mr. Dole suggested he could make it an object for her to stop the suit, as there was some uncer- tainty in the result of it. He would refund the money with interest and give her a hundred dollars as a bonus. She still declined their offers with some asperity of tone. Then Mr. Dole seeing that smiles and offers of bonus had failed, changed his batteries and made a demand for her dead husband's books and papers, intimating if she did not give them up some unpleasant things might happen. She was a resolute, brave woman, and she was alone, but she began to feel apprehension lest these two strong men, the fate of one of whom lay in her hands, might not possess themselves of those papers, which were in the desk in that same room, and among them the original note, cancelled, which was to be put in evidence whenever the case came to trial.
She had been looking very anxiously up the street for the ap- pearance of her counsel, and was greatly relieved when Mr. Kim- ball at last appeared, accompanied by Mr. Foster, and both swinging hastily down the street. Then, turning to the two men, who stood waiting and hoping their threat might produce a favorable effect, she said, almost trembling with anxiety : "Gentlemen, as this is a matter of great importance, I do not feel brave enough to decide it alone, but as I see some of my friends approaching, I'll consult them, and with their approba- tion, will comply with your manly request." They had not noticed the disappearance of the boy and they supposed they had that lone widow entirely in their power, and were only waiting for her to yield quietly to their threats. The possession of those papers was of the utmost importance to Mr. Dole. His future life hung upon them, and he came prepared to use all means, even force, if necessary, to get them into his hands. They sup- posed Mrs. Wallace was upon the point of yielding; and when she called their attention to the approach of her two friends,
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they were struck into dismay and astonishment. The lawyer glanced out of the window, and turning to his client, said earn- estly : "True enough, Dole ! it's Kimball and Foster! They'll be here in five minutes ! Whatever we do must be done quickly." But there remained nothing for them to do but retreat; their opportunity had passed and did not return. They both turned towards the door, but before they disappeared, stopped, with a sudden courtesy, that contrasted sharply with their previous threat, said: "Mrs. Wallace, the urgency of our case has com- pelled us to be ungentlemanly. You will excuse us, for life and reputation seems at stake ; but if you can decide to accept of our proposal, we shall be glad to hear from you at your earliest con- venience." They then left the house, taking a course that did not bring them into contact with the approaching party.
Mr. Foster and Mr. Kimball did not arrive any too soon, the strain upon the mental faculties of Mrs. Wallace had been so severe that a reaction had begun. They found her suffering from nervous prostration, and it was some minutes before she could describe to them her interview with Mr. Dole and his law- yer. They complimented her upon her prudence and bravery, and were duly grateful to the gentlemen for delaying the use of force until it was too late. After a full consultation, the gentle- men decided that it was not safe to leave those books and papers, upon which so much depended, in a house only guarded by a woman and young children, so they conveyed them to a place of safety and all the plans of the criminal who had come to Canaan, very hopeful of compelling or buying immunity for his bad acts, were frustrated.
Nothing now remained to him but to take his chances of es- caping conviction in the courts by due course of law. Mr. Dole was advised to make an aggressive defence in the preliminary examination, which must now inevitably take place, and with that idea to retain several eminent lawyers, whose high stand- ing might serve to overawe the justice. A swift messenger was sent to Haverhill to secure the services of Joseph Bell, who was eminent both as a lawyer and for his large presence. William T. Heydock, Esq., brother-in-law of Mr. Bell, and a lawyer, was also retained. Indeed, he had secured a very imposing array of
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counsel, and his last hope was by the mere weight of numbers, with their well-known intelligence and matchless impudence, to crush the prosecution, which was supported by George Kimball, assisted by N. P. Rogers of Plymouth, both of whom entered into the case as if success was vital to their reputations.
The examination took place at Lebanon, before Justice J. Hinds of Hanover. It drew together a large audience, many of whom were friends of Sheriff Dole, and were very demonstrative in the arraignment of a man like Dole, who had long been an ac- tive citizen in the community.
Mr. Dole was arraigned before the justice for the crime of forgery ; and Mr. Kimball moved that, upon the allegations and proofs offered, the prisoner be held to await the action of the grand jury. This motion was vehemently opposed by Mr. Bell, who at the start assumed that no forgery had been committed, for even the prosecution admitted the signature to be genuine, and called the attention of the court especially to the improb- ability of a man with wealth, respected and honored like the respondent, committing such a crime. Two hundred dollars was a paltry sum for such a man to risk his reputation and life upon! Then he went into a bitter invective against the plain- tiff. Among others, he said this was a scheme of hers to extort money ; that she had offered to compromise the suit on refunding the face of the note and one hundred dollars, and that upon the refusal of his client to comply with her demands, she had threatened him with the vengeance of the law. This prosecution was the result of that threat. It was a great outrage upon the rights and liberty of a worthy citizen, and he closed a long speech with the very confident expectation of the discharge of the prisoner. The impudence of that speech, uttered in Mr. Bell's most sonorous tones and crushing style, gave the prosecu- tion some anxiety, and they carefully watched its effect upon the justice ; but they were greatly reassured when, after a moment's pause, he very quietly asked Mr. Bell if he desired to put in testimony in proof of his assertions. Of course he expected to be called upon to prove something ; else, why did he so bravely enter court. But he pretended to be astonished and annoyed at the quiet remark of the judge, as if his word were not of sufficient
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weight to control the action of the court! But over-bearing im- pudence was the ground of his defence, and when this system of defence failed to influence the court, he knew that his case was hopeless. Mr. Bell did not attempt to prove by the lawyer that the plaintiff proposed a compromise for money, but he in- duced two of Dole's children, a son and daughter, to appear and swear that they were witnesses of the transaction between James Wallace and Isaac Dole, their father; that the note was genuine, and the money paid upon it was honestly due their father.
They were sharply cross-examined by Mr. Rogers, who at the moment held in his hands the genuine and the forged notes, can- celled, both of even dates and amounts. His skilful queries pro- duced confusion in their minds, so that they were uncertain whether the money was paid or borrowed by Dole, or received or paid by the executrix. Then followed two speeches by the lawyers, which were variously opposed by the audience, but which produced no visible effect upon the court. Mr. Bell's speech exhibited a slight modification in tone, and was devoted chiefly to shameless slander of the widow, whose money had been stolen, and to panegyrics upon the character of Dole as a citizen and officer, and upon these grounds urged that he be discharged from arrest.
Mr. Kimball spoke last. He reviewed the character of Dole, and noted the hesitation of his witnesses, and closed his argument by eloquently urging upon the court to make an example of a bad man, and save the community from his further depreda- tions by holding him to await the action of the grand jury. The trial occupied all day and was for a long time a theme for dis- cussion in the community. Dole was ordered to recognize in $1,000 for his appearance in Haverhill. He gave the required bond upon the spot and then set himself to work to extricate himself from the certain fate that seemed to await him.
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