USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H. : containing the address by Charles Mason, and the proceedings at the centennial celebration, June 17, 1852, with a register of families > Part 16
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After the drawing of the lots, the owners must have been de- sirous of ascertaining the value of their property. Living, as most of them did, in the eastern part of the state, few of them probably ever came, and made a personal examination of the situation and quality of their lots. It may be presumed, how- ever, that Matthew Thornton failed not to go himself to the place where he encouraged his brother to settle. We may be- lieve, too, that, previous to the year 1752, he had begun to purchase shares and lots of the other share-holders. He must have been well acquainted with many of the inhabitants of Peterborough. The lot (number 1, range 6) on which his brother, William Thornton, settled was chosen probably for its prox- imity to Peterborough. As Judge Thornton owned, at one time, more than a third part of all the land in Dublin, he would of course take a deep interest in the settlement of the town and the prosperity of its inhabitants. This he ever did. Some of the early settlers were personally acquainted with him. Captain Andrew Allison said that Judge Thornton used occasionally to call at his father's house in Londonderry and spend an even- ing. He was himself but a boy; but he well remembered the delight with which he was wont to listen to Mr. Thornton's conversation, for he was always telling stories and giving anec- dotes such as a boy loved to hear. This corresponds with what has been said of him in a brief sketch of his life:
"In private life he was one of the most companionable of men. The young and the old were alike sharers in the agreeable versatility of his powers, - in the inexhaustible stock of information which a long and industrious life had accumulated. His memory was well stored with a large fund of entertaining and instructive anecdotes, which he could apply upon any incident, or subject of conversa- tion." -N. H. Historical Collections, vol. I.
The location of William Thornton was on lot 1, range 6. His house was a little to the south-east of, but quite near, the former Isaac Appleton homestead, where the Hannafords were living in 1916. A monument has been placed at the site of the Thornton house, to mark the site of the first settlement (1752)
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in North Monadnock (Dublin).1 Of how many persons Mr. Thornton's family consisted, or how long he remained on his farm, is not known. That he abandoned his farm through fear of the Canadian Indians has ever been a tradition. This is con- firmed by the fact that his residence here was during the war between the French and English, which resulted in the conquest of Canada. It was the course ever pursued by the Indians, upon the renewal of a war between the English and French, to com- mence their attacks upon the frontiers of New Hampshire. In August, 1754, they broke into the house of James Johnson at No. 4 (Charlestown), in the morning, before any of the family were awake, and took him, with his wife and three children, her sister, and two men. The news of such an event, and other events of a similar character, could not have been otherwise than alarming to a family situated as Mr, Thornton's was. When he left, he took all his movable property with him, ex- cept a grindstone and a breaking-up hoe. Some years after Mr. Appleton occupied the farm, he found the said grindstone, while ploughing the field in which it had been buried.
By whom, and in what year, the next settlement was made, there is no authentic account. It is known that some families from Peterborough were residents here before the close of the French war. Alexander Scott resided on the lot where Thad- deus Morse lived, occupied in 1916 by the heirs of Mr. Dwight. He is said to have kept a tavern, or to have furnished enter- tainment for those persons, especially soldiers, who passed from Peterborough to Keene. An old soldier stated that, in 1759, a detachment of colonial troops passed through the town to join the British army on the lakes. William Scott, son of Alexander, lived on the farm. (lot 13, range 6) long owned by John Gleason, which George B. Leighton purchased and called Monandnock No. 1. The Hon. John Scott, son of William, was born there (in
1 The inscription upon this monument is as follows:
The first white settlement in Dublin, N. H., was made here by COL. WILLIAM THORNTON, in 1752, in 6th Range, Lot No. 1. Will each visitor please add a small stone to this monumental pile.
Unfortunately, visitors have so frequently complied with this request that they have nearly buried the monument in the rubbish that has collected about it.
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a house that stood on or near the site of Mr. Leighton's summer residence). He was heard to say, that he well remembered, when quite young, playing with his brothers on the shore of the lake, and that occasionally their play was pushing one an- other from the fallen trees or slippery logs into the water. Rev. Elijah Dunbar, in his description of Peterborough, says that William Scott was a soldier in the war in Canada in 1758 and 1759. He was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Bunker Hill, in 1775. He was carried to Halifax, whence he escaped, and rejoined his regiment at New York. He received a captain's commission in 1777, was a volunteer at the taking of Burgoyne, and remained in the service of his country till the close of the war. - N. H. Historical Collections, vol. I.
The other settlers from Peterborough were William McNee (now changed to Nay), John Alexander, and James Taggart. These were of Scotch-Irish descent, as was Henry Strongman (family name changed to Strong), who settled on the farm (lot 5, range 6) afterwards the home farm of Augustine Wood and his son, Dr. Curtis A. Wood. William McNee lived on or near the spot once owned by Cyrus Piper, about on the site of the house occupied by John A. Upton in 1916. Mr. McNee was, after moving back to Peterborough, a deacon or ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. His son Robert was the first male child born in Dublin.1 James Taggart had a son named William, and the residence of the family was the site of the Corydon Jones place (lot 8, range 5), occupied in 1916 by Mrs. Abby M. (Jones) Fisk (a daughter of Corydon Jones). Mr. Taggart was a brother-in-law of William McNee, and was a young man when he took this lot. He soon returned to Peter- borough. He came back to Dublin in 1788, and settled upon lot 1, range 3, where Alexander Betz lived in 1916. An account of the Scotts, McNees, and Taggarts will be found in the genealogi- cal portion of Smith's History of Peterborough. John Alexander settled on lot 7, range 5, on or near the site of the brick house where J. W. Powers lived and died, owned and occupied in 1916 by Herman H. Priest. John Alexander was also said to have lived, at one time, on lot 7, range 7, afterwards owned by Luke Richardson, and recently by Louis Cabot. Mr. Alexander was somewhat noted for his extravagant and incredible stories, which he narrated with assumed gravity, amusing himself with the staring wonder of credulous listeners. He removed to the
1 He was born in 1761, according to the History of Peterborough, but we do not find the month and day.
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state of Vermont, where he died. We have no record of his family.
The first permanent English settler in Dublin is believed to have been Thomas Morse. He came from Sherborn, Mass., in the autumn of 1762, and lived on the farm (lot 16, range 5) long owned by his grandson Jesse Morse, now used for golf grounds by summer residents, on which a small clubhouse stands, in 1916, opposite the northern terminus of the road to Troy. It cannot be doubted that Mr. Morse had been in the town, cleared land, and prepared a house for his family, before the year above named. It has been told that, on one of his jour- neys to Dublin, previous to the removal of his family, his dog was with him. This dog was afraid of thunder, and, when at home, was in the habit, during a thunder-shower, of running into the house and retreating beneath a bed. In the afternoon, one day, while Mr. Morse and his dog, accompanied by John Alexander, were in the woods, Mr. Alexander, for the purpose of lighting his pipe, flashed some powder from the pan of his gun. The dog, probably mistaking the flash for lightning, mani- fested his usual signs of fear, and ran away from his master. When the family at Sherborn arose the next morning, the dog was at the door. A bed has often been recommended as a safe place for reclining during a thunder-storm. Whether the dog had an instinctive sagacity which led him to conclude that under the bed was equally safe, may be questioned. We have heard of other dogs, however, who pursued the same course.
William Greenwood was the first settler on the farm (lot 8, range 6) known as the Rufus Piper place, owned and occupied by Dr. A. H. Childs in 1916. He was a carpenter. He was killed by the falling of timbers at the raising of a barn, which was recently standing on the Calvin Learned place, belonging to the grounds of Hon. Franklin MacVeagh.
Samuel Twitchell (father of the celebrated Amos Twitchell, M.D., of Keene) was heard to say, a few weeks before he died, in 1820, that he was the third person who became a settler, and remained permanently in Dublin. He settled on lot 7, range 1, on what was afterwards the Jacob Gleason farm, belonging in 1916 to the estate of Louis Cabot. The first night of his being in town, he slept by the side of a large rock. The rock is still in its old place, and is noted for the circumstances above named. Mr. Twitchell was then a young man without a family. His father, Joseph Twitchell, of Sherborn, Mass., was an agent of
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the Proprietors, or a part of them, for procuring settlers and for the sale of lands.
After the close of the French war, there was a numerous emigration from Massachusetts into New Hampshire. The proprietors of the unsold lands in the southern townships offered strong inducements to young men to purchase farms and re- move thither. As an agent, Capt. Joseph Twitchell of Sherborn was faithful and efficient; and, through his instrumentality, many settlers bought land in Dublin, and became perma- nent residents. Most of his children - five sons and three daughters - became at length inhabitants of Dublin. He took frequent journeys to Portsmouth; and, when he visited his children, he came sometimes with an ox-cart, loaded with pro- visions, furniture, and such articles as new settlers could not procure at home.
With regard to the precise times at which many of the first settlers came to Dublin, there is no definite information. Some of them came up from Sherborn, began to clear land, worked on the roads, and built log-cabins, before they settled perma- nently. Among the papers left by Eli Morse, there are lists of persons who worked on the roads in North Monadnock No. 3. The following is a copy of one that contains a list for three successive years: -
1760. John Alexander, thirteen days' work.
1761. John Alexander, eight days' work. William McNee, six days' work. James Taggart, one day and a half. 1762. John Alexander, five days' work. William McNee, two days and one half. James Taggart, two days and one half.
William Taggart, one day at the highway. Henry Strongman, four days' work. Samuel Twitchell, three days and one half. Levi Partridge, two days' work. William Greenwood, six days' work. Joseph Twitchell, Jun., two days and a half work.
A list of the persons who worked on the roads in 1763 has not been found, but for the years 1764 and 1765 is as follows: -
Nathaniel Bartlett Benjamin Mason Moses Adams Samuel Twitchell Joseph Twitchell, Jr.
Henry Strongman Thomas Morse Moses Johnson
Micah Morse Joshua Leland
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Amos Fisk
Joseph Twitchell
John Robinson Ebenezer Twitchell
Samuel Eames
Ivory Perry
William McNee John Alexander
Amos Perry
William Greenwood
Daniel Morse
Eli Morse Thomas Morrison
James Taggart
How many of the above-named persons were actually settled in town at the time they worked on the roads, is not known. Thomas Morrison and Joshua Leland did not become perma- nent settlers. In the list of 1766 are the following additional names: Caleb Greenwood, Joseph Adams, Samuel Ames (Eames?), Jr., and Silas Stone. In the list of 1767 are William Beal, John Wight, John Muzzey, Reuben Morse, David Morse, and Thaddeus Mason. In the list of 1768 are Joel Wight, Elea- zer Twitchell, and Ezra Twitchell. In 1769, only three new names were added, - Bat (Bartholomew) Goyer, Isaac Mason, and Moses Mason. The whole number of persons taxed for roads, this year, was forty-five. As in former years, a few were non-residents. In the year 1770, we find the names of William Rider, Elias Knowlton, and Jonathan Knowlton; and, in 1771, the number of tax-payers for a county rate was fifty-five. The names added, this year, were Asa Norcross, Caleb Hill, Simeon Johnson, John Ranstead, David Johnson, Daniel Wood, Rufus Huntley, Nathaniel Bates, Benoni Death, Joseph Drury, John Swan, and Joseph Turner.
In the year 1764, Eli Morse was chosen clerk of the proprie- tors; 1 and the brief records which he kept from that date till 1773 have been preserved. From 1773 to 1783, no meetings appear to have been held. In 1783, the proprietors met, and in 1784. The last meeting was in 1785. Joseph Blanchard of Dun- stable (now Nashua) was clerk till Mr. Morse was chosen; but of his records, little, known to us, remains. Some of the transactions of the proprietors are worthy of notice, as showing what they deemed most important to be done in those early years of the settlement. We shall give such extracts from the records of Deacon Morse as seem to us most interesting: -
"At a meeting of the proprietors of North Monadnock Township, held at the house of William Greenwood in said township, on Tues- day, Sept. 11, 1764, chose Robert Boyes, Esq., moderator. Then chose Eli Morse proprietor's clerk; then chose Moses Adams to join
1 The word proprietors here refers to the grantees of the township and not to the Masonian Proprietors who were the grantors.
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with the former committee chosen to build the bridges over the Mill Brook, and the brook by Mr. Thomas Morse's, in the room of Mr. Samuel Allison. Then voted that Wm. McNee be added to the com- mittee chosen to repair the main road through the town, in the room of Mr. Joseph Twitchell; which road is to be repaired as soon as pos- sible. Then voted that six hundred pounds, old tenor, be raised on the rights of this propriety, subject to the payment of taxes, and collected by Thomas Morse, who is hereby impowered to receive the same, and, in case of any delinquency of payment by any of the owners in said township, as aforesaid, for Matthew Thornton and Joseph Blanchard, Esq., and Mr. Thomas Morse, or the major part of them, to sell so much of such delinquents' interest in said town as will be sufficient to pay the tax and incidental charges; and that four hun- dred pounds of said money be laid out on the main road and the bridges aforesaid; and the remainder be given for the encouragement of the person who shall build a saw-mill in said town. Then chose Justice Boyes, Joseph Blanchard, and William Wallace, to fix on the place where the meetinghouse shall stand; who accordingly pro- ceeded on said business immediately, with a number of the proprie- tors, and viewed the place for the meetinghouse to stand, and fixed the same, by marking a tree and cutting down several small trees, near the east line of the eleventh lot in the sixth range, where the land is to be set off for that purpose, as also for a burying-place and a training-field. Then voted that the work that is to be done on the road and bridges aforesaid be done by the tenth day of November next. Then voted that the committee for roads lay out a road from the main road a little to the east of John Alexander's lot, where he lives, southardly, so as to accommodate Caleb Greenwood and Nathaniel Bartlett, and open the same so as people can pass."
The meeting of the proprietors for the year 1765 was held at the house of Thomas Morse, June 4th; Joseph Twitchell, mod- erator. At this meeting, accounts were presented and accepted, and "ten pounds, old tenor, assessed on each right, to be laid out on the roads in said township, including the two hundred pounds that hath been laid out more than hath been granted."
"May 14, 1766. - At a meeting of the proprietors of Monadnock No. 3, held at the house of Mr. Thomas Morse, in said township, - chose Thomas Morse moderator. Then voted four dollars to be raised on each right for repairing roads in said township. ... Then voted one dollar on each right to hire preaching in said township. Then voted one dollar on each right for encouragement of Eli Morse, for , building a grist-mill on the stream near his house [the outlet brook of the lake, near the site of the present mill near the residence of the late Mr. Dwight], provided he shall get said mill completed in a year and a half from this time. . .. Granted a road from Ivory
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
Perry's place northwardly to the main road [probably the same substantially as the one now travelled from Mr. Garfield's directly north to the main road]; also granted a road from Jonas Fisk's house, leading to the middle of the town, where the committee shall think best. Chose Wm. Greenwood, Eli Morse, and Wm. Scott for a com- mittee to measure off the ten acres for the meetinghouse &c., and to make bounds for the same. Also chose Wm. Greenwood to provide a preacher for two or three sabbaths, as soon as may be.
THOMAS MORSE, Moderator."
"At a meeting of the proprietors of Monadnock No. 3, in the prov- ince of New Hampshire, warned by Reuben Kidder, Esq., Justice of Peace, in said province, according to law, and assembled on the 27th day of May, 1767, Reuben Kidder, Esq., was chosen moderator to regulate said meeting.
"Attest: ELI MORSE, Proprietors' Clerk."
"Then voted to build a meetinghouse, fifty feet long and thirty- eight feet wide, and proportionable as to the height. Then voted to choose a committee to take care and effect the work; and chose Moses Adams, Henry Strongman, and William Greenwood for said committee. Then voted to raise money to build said meetinghouse. Then voted to raise four dollars by tax on each right. Then voted to confirm all former votes, excepting the vote to raise money to pay for preaching. Then voted that the dollar granted and taxed to hire preaching be for to pay for clearing the meetinghouse land, and other necessary charges that have or may arise. Then voted that the pro- prietors' meetings be notified and warned by their clerk, when there is need, and application made to him by a sufficient number of said proprietors, by posting up a notification at some public place at Londonderry, Dunstable, and Dublin. Then chose Eli Morse to col- lect the above taxes; also chose the former committee to sell the delinquents' land; also voted that the committee for building the meetinghouse be a committee to see to laying out the money granted to clear the meetinghouse land. Voted to choose a committee to con- sult with Middletown committee and lay out a road to Middletown [Jaffrey, which was first called Middle Monadnock or Middletown]; and chose Samuel Twitchell, Joseph Twitchell, and William McNee for said committee. Then voted that the committee chosen to lay out roads lay out a road or roads to accommodate Moses Johnson and William Taggart to come to the great road. Then voted Doctor Thornton and Reuben Kidder be employed to apply to the lord proprietors [the Masonian Proprietors] to have our charter 1 length- ened to June, 1768. All passed in the affirmative.
REUBEN KIDDER, Moderator."
1 More properly the deed of grant. The charter was granted at the incorpora- tion of the town.
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SETTLEMENT OF DUBLIN
"At a meeting of the proprietors of North Monadnock No. 3, held at Joseph Greenwood's, in said township, on Thursday, the 22d day of December, 1768, - chose Thomas Morse moderator. . . Granted a road from John Wight's to John Muzzey's; also a road from Moses Adams's to William Beals's; also from that road to No. 6 line [No. 6 was Packersfield, now Nelson]; also granted a road from Caleb Greenwood's to Samuel Twitchell's mill; also granted a road from the road near Samuel Twitchell's to Middle Town line [Middle Town became Jaffrey]. Then tried a vote to see if the proprietors would reconsider the vote, passed at the last meeting, relating to the dimen- sions of the meetinghouse; passed in the negative. Also voted to build said meetinghouse at the former dimensions. Then voted to raise three dollars on each right to be laid out towards building the meetinghouse. Chose Eli Morse to collect the same. Then adjourned to the 16th day of January next."
If the reader should desire to ascertain the location of the ancient roads to which reference is made in the old records, the names of persons here mentioned should be sought in the table of "The Occupants of Lots," to be found later in this work, from which may be determined, in most cases, the sites of homes of the early inhabitants. Help is also frequently fur- nished by the genealogical tables in the second part of this history.
The old records continue as follows: -
"Jan. 16, 1769, met by adjournment. Then voted a road to be laid out from Isaac Bond's house to the road laid out to Ivory Perry's lot; also accepted Thomas Morse's account of two pound eight shillings for two journeys to Merrimack and one journey to Esq. Kidder's, and cash paid for notifying meetings, &c .; also voted Eli Morse fifteen shillings, cash paid to Esq. Kidder, and going to Londonderry to notify a meeting. Adjourned to the 13th of March next. Then met, and granted a road from Benjamin Learned's lot to the road lead- ing from Samuel Twitchell's to the middle of the town; also accepted the surveyor's accounts then brought in.
THOMAS MORSE, Moderator."
The next meeting of the proprietors was held at the house of Thomas Morse, October 18, 1769; Moses Adams, moderator. After accepting surveyors' accounts, "which were then and before brought in," Eli Morse, Moses Adams, and Joseph Twitchell, were chosen a committee to make bounds to the main road to the width of three rods, and "to lay out or alter any road as shall be for the best of said township."
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
"At a meeting of the proprietors of Monadnock No. 3, held at the house of William Greenwood, January 23, 1770, chose Thomas Morse moderator. Then voted to raise six dollars by tax on each right to repair the roads in said township. Then voted to lay out one half of the money on the main road, and forty-five dollars to be laid out south of the main road, and the other hundred and five to pay the arrearages already worked out, and to repair the roads north of the main road. Then chose Levi Partridge, Eli Morse, and Asa Norcross, for the north side; and chose Joseph Twitchell for the south side."
"Feb. 14, 1771. - The proprietors of Monadnock No. 3, met at the house of Eli Morse, chose William Greenwood moderator. Then granted five dollars on each right to carry on the building of the meet- inghouse in said town. Then chose Joseph Greenwood to collect the above grant. Then chose Eli Morse, Joseph Twitchell, and Levi Partridge assessors for said proprietry; 1 also chose Eli Morse for treasurer. Then chose Moses Adams, William Greenwood, and Eli Morse for a committee to sell the delinquent proprietors' land to pay their taxes."
"At a meeting of the proprietors of Monadnock No. 3, assembled at the meetinghouse in said town on Thursday, the 8th day of April, 1773, chose Mr. Thomas Morse moderator to regulate said meeting. Then chose John Muzzey, Eli Morse, and Benjamin Mason a com- mittee to receive and examine the accounts brought against the pro- prietry. Then voted to not raise any more money at present for the meetinghouse. Then chose William Greenwood, Henry Strongman, and Moses Adams to plan out the pew-ground in the meetinghouse. Then voted that this meeting be adjourned to the 10th day of June next. Then to receive the report of the committee that is chosen to receive and examine the accounts that are outstanding against the proprietry, and to receive from the committee the plan of the pews that are to be builded in the meetinghouse."
"June ye 10th, 1773, met by adjournment. Then voted to accept the plan of the pews made by the committee chosen for that purpose. Then adjourned to the first Monday in July next; but never met."
There is no record of any meeting of the proprietors till that inserted below. The town was incorporated, and the interest of the proprietors did not require meetings as in former days. Many of the lots, however, at this date, had not been purchased by actual settlers. The meetinghouse was still owned by the proprietors; and the occasion of calling the following meeting was, no doubt, for the purpose of offering the meetinghouse to the town. No other business appears to have been transacted at that time, nor at any meeting afterwards.
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