USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > The history of Concord : from its first grant in 1725, to the organization of the city government in 1853, with a history of the ancient Penacooks ; the whole interspersed with numerous interesting incidents and anecdotes, down to the present period, 1885 > Part 45
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Gen. Robert Davis, of this town, sustained serious injury on Monday, October 6, by falling from the roof of his dwelling- house, whither he went to remove leaves and other obstructions in the gutter. He had a hook attached to a pole - being accus- tomed to ascend the roof for a similar purpose - which he ap- plied to the ridge-pole, and descended towards the gutter. The hook became detached from the pole, and Gen. Davis was pre- cipitated to the ground, breaking one thigh and being otherwise injured.
Mr. Stephen Chase, formerly a resident of the East Village, died in Conway a few days since, at the age of 67. Mr. Chase will be remembered by those who were boys in 1812-15, as being the man who had the honor of carrying and beating the first base drum ever seen in the world-renowned Eleventh Regiment of New-Hampshire militia, at a muster which took place on the "lower interval," as it is called, east of Federal bridge .*
The most destructive conflagration ever known in Concord took place on Monday night, August 25, about eleven o'clock. The flames were first discovered issuing from a long, three story wooden building, known as " Mechanics' Row," immediately in rear of the apothecary store of Mr. E. H. Rollins, and which was surrounded by structures as combustible as itself. The fire rapidly spread to the stable of the Eagle coffee-house; thence to a new and elegant brick building, called the " Merchants' Ex- change ;" near the same time enveloping wooden buildings on the south, owned by Mr. Abraham Prescott and Col. Grover, and on the north the Eagle coffee-house and the brick block
* N. H. Statesman, October 25.
490
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
occupied for stores, together with all the wooden buildings in the rear. The fire was finally arrested on the north at the building with briek ends, still standing, owned by Mrs. M. A. Stickney, and on the south by the brick building known as Low's block. All the intermediate buildings - forming the business centre on the east side of Main street - were destroyed, with much of their contents. The buildings were mostly insured. The light of this great fire was seen over nearly every part of New- Hampshire - as far as Franconia ; also in Thetford, Vermont, eighty-four miles ; and in Portland, Maine, one hundred miles from Coneord. At Portsmouth, it is said, it appeared as if only twelve or fifteen miles distant, and at Francestown it shone into sleeping chambers like the light of the waning moon. The owners or occupants of the buildings burnt and principal sufferers were as follows : Benjamin Grover, Abraham Prescott, Prescott & Brothers, Jane Dustin, Allison & Gault, Porter, Rolfe & Brown, William Walker, Jr., E. H. Rollins, Mrs. M. A. Stickney - owners ; John Gibson, of the Eagle hotel ; Jacob Carter & Son, C. W. Gardner, J. & C. Munroe, C. W. Harvey, Nathaniel Evans, Jr., Page & Fay, Johnson & Dewey, Moore & Cilley, C. E. Savory & Co., Brown & Young, G. P. Lyon, Sylvester Dana, Ephraim Eaton, B. W. Sanborn, McFarland & Jenks, J. Prescott & Co., G. D. Abbot, Fogg & Wiggin, Dr. T. Haynes, David Winkley, R. C. Osgood, H. A. & A. H. Bellows, Peaslee & George, C. Ainsworth, James Peverly, Tripp & Osgood, G. Bullock, B. Gage, S. G. Sylvester, Miss A. Hamlin, Reed & Stanley, Norton & Crawford - occupants.
Discourses of a kind naturally suggested by the fire were de- livered to most, if not all of the congregations here, on the fol- lowing Sabbath.
Mr. John F. Brown, of this town, the well known book-seller and publisher, presented us on Wednesday with an apple raised by himself, which weighs seventeen ounces, and the greatest cir- cumference of which is thirteen and a half inches .*
The mansion house of the late Gov. Hill was purchased on Monday, September 22, by Isaac Danforth, Esq., of Boston. The price at which it was bid off was $4.450.
* Statesman, September 27.
491
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
The freight train down over the Northern railroad, last week, consisted of one hundred and ninety-four, and on Tuesday, Oc- tober 7, of two hundred and forty-two loaded cars.
[1852.] On new year's day two of our young men were removed from us by death. Mr. Marshall B. Colby, station agent on the Claremont road at the Mast Yard depot, was crushed to death between two cars, and Mr. Lyman Aldrich died on the same day of inflammation of the lungs, following a course of typhus fever. The funeral services of both were at- tended on the following Sabbath, at the West Parish church. Sermon by Rev. A. P. Tenney.
On Friday morning, January 23, between three and four o'clock, a fire was discovered in a small wooden building on the Free bridge road, within a few feet of a range of wooden build- ings on Main street, owned by Mrs. Mary Ann Stickney, to which the fire was soon communicated, and the whole were de- stroyed. The occupants of the consumed buildings were Daniel A. Hill, furniture ware-house ; David Symonds, harness maker ; Day & Emerson, marble workers ; William Gilman, shoe maker ; Eben Hall, tin-ware manufacturer ; Joel C. Danforth, whip man- ufacturer, and Moore & Jenkins, market house.
On Friday morning, April 23, the interval on both sides of the Merrimack river was completely covered with water, extend- ing from immediately east of Main street to the " Dark plain." There was an unbroken sheet of water from the foot of the hill, near the Walker barn, to the East Village. In the distance Kearsarge mountain was seen white with snow.
John McAlpin, assistant road-master on the Concord Railroad, was instantly killed on Wednesday, April 21, by being thrown from a gravel train, which passed over him. He leaves a wife and four children.
On Wednesday, May 19, Rev. Augustus Woodbury, pastor of the Unitarian church in this town, while examining a jam of logs, owned by Fisk & Norcross, at the Concord lower bridge, having stepped upon the timber, fell into the water; and such was the rapidity of the stream, he was instantly carried beneath the thiekly imbedded logs, to a point some sixty feet from the upper end of the jam. Fortunately he was rescued from his perilous
492
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
situation - when death seemed inevitable-by two of the men in Fisk & Norcross's employ. Their names were John Crawford and Abbot Haynes, both of the State of Maine.
A fire occurred on Saturday, May 29, about five, P. M., in the large house- formerly Washington hotel -owned by Mr. Charles Smart, north end of Main street. It was extinguished without much damage.
The new jail, located about three-fourths of a mile from the Main street, at the intersection of Warren and Pleasant streets, was finished the last of May. The site, including about ten acres of land, was purchased of Mrs. M. A. Stickney for $1.100. The building was erected at an expense of $11.000. The labor was performed mostly by contract. The stone work by John C. and Francis Farnum ; the wood work by Cross and Warren ; the brick work and slating by James C. Whittemore; the copper work and plumbing by J. D. Cooper, and the iron work at the State Prison. The plan was designed by Messrs. George A. Pillsbury, Luther MeCutcheon and John Tennant, committee, in connection with John Miller, architect.
The body of an Irishman, named John Montgomery, was dis- covered floating in the Merrimack river, near the Free bridge, on Wednesday, A. M., June 30. Montgomery, who was lately in the employ of Robinson & Morrill, tanners, of the East Village, was intemperate ; and late on Saturday night was in company with one John Quinn and other Irishmen - the whole company having indulged, in the course of the evening, in frequent pota- tions. An inquest on the body was held by Seth Eastman, Esq., and the following verdict returned : "That said Montgomery came to his death on Sunday morning, 27th June, by the hands of some person or persons unknown ; and that John Quinn was the person last known to have been in company with him before his death."
The fourth of July was celebrated in Concord pretty much as usual. The bells were rung and salutes fired at sunrise, noon and sunset ; chowder parties came off at Long pond and other favorite resorts, and the boys wound up the whole with a little fun in the evening.
Mr. P. C. Holmes, aged 20, son of Charles Holmes, Esq., of
493
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
Dunbarton, clerk in the store of Mr. B. Plummer Whipple, of Concord, was drowned in the Merrimack river, under the Free bridge, on Sunday morning, between five and six o'clock, where he went to bathe with another young man. His body was found next day about four, P. M., being raised by the firing of cannon on the bank of the river.
Wednesday, August 25, is the anniversary of the great fire in Concord last year. New and elegant buildings have already been erected upon the ruins, and nearly all are tenanted, or ready for occupancy. The hotel, on the site of the old Eagle coffee-house, is to be opened on the first of November, by Maj. John Gibson, and will be the most spacious and elegant in the State .*
An elegant and lofty flag-staff, or liberty pole, near the State House yard, on Main street, was erected in August, by the " Granite Club," at a cost, with the flag, of three hundred dollars. The main pole is ninety-three feet in length. The flag pole about sixty. The pole and staff were cut in Dunbarton.
The flag-staff erected this season in West Concord is one hundred and ten feet high.
Died in this town, September 8, very suddenly, Mr. John Park Gass, aged 58, extensively known as the popular keeper of various public hotels. Mr. Gass was named for his uncle, Stuart J. Park, Esq .¡ His mother was S. J. Park. In 1816 he came to Concord with his uncle, and was the overseer of the State Prison convicts, to learn them to hammer stone for the State House. After the State House was finished, Mr. Gass and Dearborn Johnson hired the prisoners to work for them, up to 1820. He then went to Columbia, South Carolina, and built locks and canals on Saluda river, and made a handsome sum of money. Returning to Concord, he bought the Columbian hotel of Maj. Peter Robertson, kept the hotel until 1826, went to Boston, kept the Back-street house, now called Salem-street, stayed there a few months, then went to New-York, and kept the Broadway house until the fall of 1829. At the request of Isaac Hill he then returned to Concord and took the Eagle coffee-house, and kept it until 1834 - having for about two years
* N. H. Statesman. t See notice of Mr. Park, p. 365, note.
494
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
of the same time the charge also of the Columbian hotel. In 1834, in connection with his son John, he built the American house, where he continued till 1847, when he went into the gro- cery business in a store fitted up in the basement of the old " Emmons house," immediately north of the hotel. Mr. Gass was one of the most agreeable and popular taverners in New- Hampshire. His accommodations were always on a liberal scale, in which he himself participated ; attentive to his guests, socia- ble and witty in his remarks, he rarely failed to give satisfaction. Mr. Gass died suddenly of apoplexy and congestion of the lungs. He left an only son, Mr. John Gass, proprietor of the American house, and three daughters. Susan, the eldest, married George Wood; Jane Park, married Sullivan H. Sanborn; Mary Ann, married Oliver Greeley.
Three hundred and eighty-two cars, loaded with live stock, passed down over the Concord Railroad on Tuesday, September 14, besides the regular freight trains, amounting in all to five hundred and thirty-four cars .*
OMNIBUS. Mr. George Dame, of the Pavilion hotel, has started an omnibus, which runs twice, hourly, between the north end of Main street and the dépôt. Upon the panels are views of the State House, Dépôt, and Main street, and a likeness of Gen. Franklin Pierce, painted by Mr. Wolcott, in the employ of J. S. Abbot & Co. This was the first omnibus started in Concord.
News of the death of Hon. Daniel Webster, at Marshfield, Massachusetts, on Sunday morning, October 24, twenty-two minutes before three o'clock, was received in Concord by tele- graph at nine o'clock the same morning. The bells of the town were immediately tolled, flags that were on public buildings were lowered half-mast, and the several clergymen in their church services made appropriate allusions to the national bereavement.
On Monday morning, at ten o'clock, most of the stores and offices on Main street were closed, and the citizens, as if moved by a spontaneous impulse, assembled in the Representatives' Hall in the State House, to express in an appropriate manner their feelings on the mournful occasion. A large number of ladies were also present. The meeting was called to order by Edward H.
* N. H. Patriot
495
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
Parker, M. D., when prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Bouton. Hon. Ira Perley was chosen chairman, and Dr. Parker secretary. On taking the chair Judge Perley made an appropriate and impressive address. A committee, consisting of W. II. Bartlett, Richard Bradley, N. B. Baker, Ezra Carter, and H. A. Bellows, was then chosen, to report resolutions appropriate to the mourn- ful occasion. On the resolutions being offered, Gen. Franklin Pierce, then in nomination as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, made an address, in which he used the impressive words, " How do mere earthly honors and distinctions fade amid a gloom like this ! How political asperities are chastened -what a lesson to the living ! What an admonition to personal malevo- lence, now awed and subdued, AS THE GREAT HEART OF THE NATION THIROBS HEAVILY AT THE PORTALS OF HIS GRAVE."*
On Monday evening, January 3, as Hon. Henry Hubbard, of Charlestown, was going from the Eagle hotel, in stepping from the sidewalk at the north end of the block his feet slipped, he fell heavily upon the ice, and struck his left arm upon the curb stone, breaking the bone above the elbow. For this accident the gov- ernor sued the town for damages, and obtained a verdict in his favor for about $800.
Benjamin, the only son of Gen. Franklin Pierce, was instantly killed on Thursday, January 6, by a terrible accident to the cars on the Boston and Maine railroad, about one mile from Andover, Mass. In company with his parents he had just left the house of his uncle, John Aiken, Esq., of Andover, for Concord. The cars, running at a rapid rate, were suddenly thrown from the track, and precipitated down a rocky embankment of twenty feet or more. At the time of the occurrence the beautiful boy was standing near his parents, and when the cars went over it was supposed he was thrown forward in such a manner as to fracture his skull and produce instant death. It is remarkable that he was the only one killed, although some were severely and many slightly injured.
His remains were conveyed back to the house of Mr. Aiken, where funeral services were performed on the Monday following, in the presence of a numerous and sorrowing assembly. Rev.
* See report of proceedings, &c., N. H. Patriot, October 27, 1852.
496
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Henry E. Parker, of Concord, officiated. About sixty persons from Concord attended as sympathising friends. Twelve lads, associates and school-mates of " little Benny," attended as pall- bearers. After the services at Andover the remains of the dear boy were brought to Concord and followed by an immense pro- cession from the Dépôt to the ancient burying-ground, at the north end of the village, where they were deposited in the family enclosure, beside those of his deceased brother, Robert, who died November 14, 1843, aged 4 years and 2 months. The silver plate on the coffin of the deceased bears the following inscrip- tion : " Benjamin Pierce, died January 6, 1853, aged 11 years and 9 months."
The dwelling-house of Mr. Isaac F. Williams, opposite the South church, took fire on Sunday, January 16, a little past noon-originating probably from a defect in the chimney. It was soon extinguished. The damage from fire and water is esti -- mated at between two and three hundred dollars.
On the 24th of February, John Virgin," commonly called " Un- cle John," or " Old John," was found dead in a small hut near Sugar Ball, where he had lived alone about three years. He was discovered by Mr. Moses Cass and Mr. True George, upon whose information a coroner's inquest was held by Seth East- man, Esq. When found he was lying on the floor, with only a shirt on, one hand in the stove, (in which was no fire,) and his lower limbs frozen. Virgin was a soldier from Concord in the war of 1812, and was with General Harrison at the battle of " Tippecanoe"-which was a theme for his boasting as long as he lived. He was an invalid, having an ulcerous sore on one of his legs, which was very offensive. Virgin received a pension of $96 a year from the government, and upon this he determined to live independently of every body. Refusing the offer of as- sistance from the town, he lived alone the latter part of his life, in his little hut, in a most wretched and filthy condition, exposed to the severities of winter, and sometimes without sufficient food, or wood to warm him. He would occasionally visit the main village, where his haggard appearance and his loud, patriotic ha- rangues, always excited attention !¡ Virgin was a man of vio-
* See page 47.
t See sketch of Virgin in the Concord Directory, published by Charles H. Wheler, 1853.
497
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
lent passions. He had no friends, because he would not have them. He lived alone, died alone, and was buried alone. At the order of the selectmen, on the evening of the day that he was found his body was taken by the sexton, Joseph Brown, and carried to the hearse-house, in the burying-ground by the old North Church. Next morning at 11 o'clock he was buried with- out the attendance of a single person, except the sexton.
It is but just to remark, that notwithstanding Virgin spent his last days in so wretched a condition, the selectmen repeatedly offered him assistance, and would gladly have made him comfort- able. Individuals, also, from the main village sent him many little comforts ; and the families near him, at Sugar Ball, partic- larly Mr. Samuel Clifford's and Joseph Lougee's, looked after him, and from their own table often sent him warm food, and in winter provided him with wood. When he came into Main street people treated him kindly, and even with a degree of re- spect. Some were always ready to listen to his eloquent ha- rangues, and to applaud him. He had remarkable fluency and command of large words. The following is a specimen, taken from Wheler's Directory, of 1853 :
" When the ' Old Hero,' as ' Uncle John' called General Harrison, was up for the Presidency, he had no more ardent or sincere sup- porter than John Virgin. We remember him then; and, in imagi- nation, we seem to see him coming down the street with his peculiar gait, staff in hand. Some one accosts him. He halts with military precision and promptness. 'Good morning, Uncle John !' ' Ah ! good morning, my friend -' 'How is the election going, Uncle John ?' And then he brings up the cane from the ground ; he un- consciously assumes an oratorical attitude, and then breaks out in the following style :
' Ah! (rising inflection) the gallant General Harrison ! whose name has always been allied with victory ! illuminating the great American heart like the brilliant meteor, as it madly dashes through the Universe ! The heroic General Harrison ! whose name, that once struck terror to the hearts of his country's enemies, shall cause still greater consternation among his political focs, when, like the deep rumbling earthquake, or the irresistible tornado, he shall ascend to the throne of the people's grateful heart !
'Glory to the noble General William Henry Harrison ! whose fame has already burst upon the distant nations with the swiftness of the comet and the brightness of the lightning's glare ! Ever shall his name glow like the sun at mid-day, and the stars by night ! [Orator- ical pause.] Ah ! what mighty voice is that I hear? It is the
32
498
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
howl of the angry ocean waves, as they madly dash against the earth- bound rocks ! Ah ! 't is the uprising of the glorious American peo- ple in their majesty, speaking in thunder-tones ; reverberating from North to South, from East to West,-The gallant Harrison is our President !'
" At times some wight is hardy enough to disparage the hero of ' Unele John's' laudation-but wo to him ! 'By all the mighty cat- aracts !' begins the enraged orator; and before he is through with hin he drives him into the knot-hole of his insignificance, and then kicks his diminished shadow in after him ! But Uncle John is gene- rally very kindly treated, whatever may be the political complexion of his audience."
On the 5th of March, Benjamin Hazen, child of Mr. Robert P. Kimball, aged 2 years and 9 months, accidentally fell into a pail of hot water, and was scalded to death.
CITY OF CONCORD.
The CITY CHARTER, which, as already stated, was granted by the New-Hampshire Legislature July 6, 1849, has been pub- lished in a permanent form, and distributed generally among the citizens. It is, therefore, deemed unnecessary here to insert it. Strongly attached as many of the people were to the usages of the town organization, and not having experienced personally much inconvenience on account of the increase of population and correspondent changes in the business affairs of the town, they were reluctant to hazard a change from a town to a city govern- ment, especially as it was apprehended that the expenses would thereby be greatly enhanced. One strong argument in favor of a city government was found in the inconvenience of the annual town meeting in one place. The number of voters having in- creased to upwards of two thousand, the annual meeting, in contested elections, was necessarily protracted and tedious - requiring, in repeated instances, four, five and six days to choose officers and transact the ordinary business of the town.
499
INCORPORATED A CITY.
On the question of the adoption of the city charter, four trials were had, which resulted as follows :
VOTES UPON THE ADOPTION OF THE CITY CHIARTER.
Sept. 22, 1849. May 17, 1851. March 13, 1852.
March 10, 1853.
Whole number of votes cast, 820
721
1072 1387
Nays,
. 637 582
614 559
Yeas, .
183
139
458 828
Majority against adoption, . 454
443
Majority in favor,
The first election under the charter adopted by the town on the 10th of March, took place on Saturday, the 26th of the same month. There were three candidates for mayor,* viz. : Richard Bradley, Joseph Low and Asa Fowler. The result of the vote was as follows :
Bradley.
Low.
Ward 1.
87
42
Fowler. 3
" 2.
59
86
7
" 3.
73
25
5
4.
135
170
25
“ 5.
102
189
46
" 6.
113
157
33
7.
75
80
7
644
749
126
Majority against Low, . 21
At the first election the following gentlemen were chosen to office in the several wards, viz. :
ALDERMEN.
Ward 1. John Batchelder.
Ward 5. Edson Hill.
2. John L. Tallant.
6. Matthew Harvey.
3. Joseph Eastman.
7. Josiah Stevens.
4. Robert Davis.
COMMON COUNCIL.
Ward 1. Jeremiah S. Durgin, Eben F. Elliot.
" 2. Samuel B. Larkin, Heman Sanborn.
" 3. George W. Brown, Moses Humphrey.
" 4. Ezra Carter, George Minot.
* See N. H. Statesman, April 2, 1853.
156 269
500
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Ward 5. William H. H. Bailey, Cyrus Barton.
6. Ebenezer G. Moore, Thomas Bailey.
7. Moses Shute, Giles W. Ordway.
ASSESSORS AND MODERATORS.
Assessors. Moderators.
Ward 1.
Nathan Chandler.
Jeremiah S. Durgin.
( 2.
William Pecker. Timothy W. Emery.
3. Johu Abbot. Daniel Holden.
4. Jonathan E. Lang.
John H. George.
66
5. Nathan Call. . John L. Hadley.
6. William M. Carter. N. B. Baker.
7. Jeremiah S. Noyes. Josiah Stevens.
CLERKS.
Ward 1. James D. Page.
2. John M. Dearborn.
" 3. Elbridge Dimond.
" 4. J. B. Smart.
Ward 5. Mitchell Gilmore.
6. John F. Brown.
7. James M. Otis.
SELECTMEN.
Ward 1. Albert H. Drown, Samuel F. Brown, Rufus D. Scales.
" 2. Thos. D. Potter, Isaac Virgin, Zebulon Smith.
" 3. Simeon Abbot, Hiram Farnum, Jeremiah S. Abbot.
4. Lyman A. Walker, Thos. A. Ambrose, Jas. H. Buswell.
5. Jona. Sargent, Benj. Coffin, Jr., George A. Pillsbury.
6. James F. Lund, Joseph H. Mace, Caleb Parker.
7. Atkinson Webster, Isaac Abbott, James Thompson.
SCHOOL BOARD.
Ward 1. Edmund Worth.
2. Henry A. Kendall.
" 3. Asa P. Tenney.
4. Eleazer Smith.
Ward 5. Chas. P. Gage.
6. Jas. W. Sargent.
7. Josiah Stevens.
On Tuesday, the 5th of April, a second and successful effort was made to elect a mayor, the vote in the several wards being as follows :
Bradley.
Low.
Scat.
Ward 1.
74 60 1
" 2.
69
84
73 31 3
501
INCORPORATED A CITY.
Ward 4. 138
175
" 5.
106
197
" 6.
107
153
4 7.
68 127
635
827
635
Low's majority,
192
Whole vote on the first trial,
1.519
u " " second trial, .
1.466
ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
Agreeably to public notice, a large number of the people of Concord assembled in the Representatives' Hall, on Wednesday afternoon, April 6, at 2 o'clock, to witness the induction to office of the Mayor elect and the two branches of the City Council.
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