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 51
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Charles E. Greenwood was drowned, October 8, 1910, in Connecticut River.
Walter L. E. Robbe was killed, August 12, 1912, by falling from a telephone pole, and dashing his head against the plat- form of the hay-scales a few rods west of Allison's store. He was a lineman. He had reached the summit of the pole, and it was thought that he was suddenly seized with dizziness or heart difficulty.
Herbert L. Fiske, a native of Dublin, and a son of Warren L. Fiske, Esq., was killed almost instantly, June 21, 1913, near the village of Eastondale, in West Bridgewater, Mass. He was riding on a land-roller, and fell or was thrown from it, falling, in some way, between the roller and a fence, and was crushed to death. The burial was in the Dublin cemetery.
Matti Oja, a little son of Herman Oja, living in a shanty on the Keene road, a few rods west of Howe Reservoir, was killed by a passing automobile, September 1, 1915. The car was not rapidly driven, but the child, who was but two and a half years of age, dashed suddenly in front of it, from the side of the road, before the chauffeur could stop it. In trying to avoid the child, the car was ditched and the occupants, consisting of two young ladies, besides the chauffeur, were slightly injured.
The first death by drowning in Monadnock Lake occurred several years ago, in the seventies. It was that of a young man named George Clark from Peterborough, who came up to the lake one Sunday morning with friends and, in some way, got
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into the water. His body came to the surface a few days later and was recovered. We are unable to ascertain exact facts.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
The following persons have been commissioned as justices of the peace for Dublin. Asa H. Fisk, Thomas Fisk, Jonathan K. Smith, Henry C. Piper, Walter J. Greenwood, and Henry Dwight Learned became eventually justices of the peace throughout the state. So also did Aaron Smith. All of the preceding, and also Asa Heald, were justices of the peace and quorum, as was also John Snow. Asa Fisk, Richard Strong, and Nahum Warren were appointed justices, but never took the oath of office. The names are placed in the order of ap- pointment, but the precise dates of appointments are not known to us.
Joseph Greenwood
Milan W. Harris
Reuben Morse
Osgood N. Russell John G. Parker
Samuel Twitchell
John Snow
Ebenezer Greenwood
Asa Fisk (did not qualify)
Cyrus E. Hardy
Thaddeus Morse, Sen.
Franklin J. Ware
John Taggart, Jr.
Joseph Perry Jacob Gleason
Rufus Piper
Henry C. Piper
Cyrus Frost
Walter J. Greenwood
Jonathan K. Smith
James Allison
Asa Heald
Warren L. Fiske
Richard Strong (did not qualify)
Henry Dwight Learned
Nahum Warren (did not qualify) Asa H. Fisk Thomas Fisk
Milton D. Mason Charles J. Ellis
W. A. Whitcomb
Moses Marshall
Wilfred M. Fiske
Aaron Smith
LETTER OF MATTHEW THORNTON
As the first settler of Dublin, Wm. Thornton, was a brother of Hon. Matthew Thornton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, any incident which connects that worthy indi- vidual with Dublin is worthy of preservation. The following is an original letter from MATTHEW THORNTON to Thomas Morse. It shows the scarcity of writing paper in that day; for it is all written on one side of a piece of paper about six inches long and three inches wide, yet folded and directed on the outside: -
Joseph Appleton
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
"To Capt. Thomas Morse in Dublin.
"Londonderry, March 8th, A. D. 1775. "Good Old Friend, -
I Long to hear from you and family; and, as the time that the men which Purchased Land from me in your Town Set to pay is past, take the trouble to let them know that they must Settle Immediately. Mrs. Thornton Joines with me and sends Compliments to your wife and family. From, Sir,
"Your Real friend and H'ble Ser't.,
"MATTHEW THORNTON."
PROVINCE TAX FOR 1770
The following receipt shows that the province tax on Dublin, at that period, was not a light one, considering the small num- ber of inhabitants and the newness of the settlement: -
"Province of New Hampshire.
"April, 1771. Received from Thomas Morse, by Major Willard, seven pounds, five shillings, eightpence, one farthing, the Province tax of Dublin for the [year] 1770.
£7.5.814.
"H. GEO. JAFFREY, Treasurer."
CAESAR FREEMAN. SLAVE IN DUBLIN
In the book which contains the town clerk's record of births is the following: -
"Caesar Freeman, servant to Gardner Town, was twenty- one years of age, July 8, 1790, at which time his said master gave him his freedom."
Other colored persons lived in Dublin who had been slaves. Whether they were ever held as slaves here is not known. The names of Caesar Lewis and Cato Boston are found in the tax- list of 1793. Their names are not inserted in succeeding tax- lists.
A colored man, whose name was Dupee, lived at one time on lot three, range five.
Fortune Little, who lived on lot three, range ten, had been a slave. He was brought from Africa at an early age, and sold to a Mr. Little of Shirley, Mass., but was liberated, and re- moved to New Hampshire, when slavery ceased in the Bay State.
John FF. mason,
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PRICES OF VARIOUS ARTICLES IN 1768-9
Rye, per bushel, sixty cents; corn, per bushel, forty-five cents; potatoes, per bushel, thirteen cents; oats, per bushel, thirty cents; butter, per pound, nine cents. Beef, two and a half cents per pound; boards, three dollars thirty-three cents per thousand. The foregoing prices are taken from the account- book of Deacon Eli Morse, in which is found the following:
"June the 11th, 1770. Jonathan Knowlton began one year's service.
"June, 1771. For one year's work, old ten., £112.10.0."
This sum was equivalent to fifty dollars in modern money.
June, 1770, John Wight is credited one dollar for three days' work. The credit for two days' work of oxen is fifty-three cents.
In December, 1781, Ebenezer Twitchell was charged fifty- one cents for two bushels of potatoes and "a crowing Biddie."
MILITARY AFFAIRS
The first person who received a military commission in Dublin was Thomas Morse. He was commissioned as captain of the eighth company of the sixteenth regiment. His com- mission was dated at Portsmouth, the second day of June, in the fourteenth year of the reign of George III., Annoque Domini 1774, and signed by J. Wentworth. The next captains were Moses Adams, Samuel Twitchell, and James Chamberlain. Capt. Chamberlain's commission was dated at Portsmouth, February 16, 1786. He served till 1793; when the men, liable for military duty, were, by mutual agreement, divided into two companies. The west half formed the first company of light infantry, and were commanded by John Morse, taking post at the right of the first battalion of the twelfth regiment. The east half formed the fifth company as before, and was commanded by James Adams, who was then a merchant on the Appleton stand. He was succeeded by Abel Wilder, who rose to the post of Colonel. He was followed by Moses Marshall, who served until 1806. The captains of the light infantry, after John Morse, who rose to the post of Major, were Phinehas Gleason, Andrew Allison, and Robert Muzzy. Captain Muzzy signed an agreement in 1806, to divide the regiment east and west, instead of north and south. This brought the company of light infantry to the post of the left of the regiment instead of the right; and so great was the dissatisfaction caused by
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the measure that little was done till 1808, when the legislature incorporated a company of grenadiers, which took post on the right of the regiment, and was commanded by Dr. Samuel Hamilton. The company of grenadiers were dressed in uni- forms of straight scarlet coats, white pantaloons, black gaiters, and white belts. The uniform was afterwards changed to blue. Twenty different persons have commanded this company, of whom Rufus Piper rose to the rank of colonel. It was dis- banded when under the command of Henry C. Piper; and their arms, which had been furnished by the state, were returned to the arsenal at Portsmouth, and their records to the Adjutant- General. The following is a list of the commanders of the grenadier company in the order of their service: -
Samuel Hamilton
Almerin Gowing Dexter Mason
John Crombie Samuel Mason
Luke Knowlton
Joseph Gowing Richard Strong
Joseph Evleth
Bela Morse
Calvin Learned Charles A. Hamiltou
John Taggart, Jr.
Jason Phelps
Rufus Piper
Ebenezer Greenwood
Samuel Allison
Joseph P. Frost
Calvin Mason
Henry C. Piper
Joseph Evleth
The following is a list of the commanders of the infantry company; but the order of service, is not, in all cases, certainly known: -
Joseph Hayward, Jr. Benjamin Wallingford John Jones Jedediah K. Southwick John Wight Moses Adams, 3d (in lineal deseent) Abraham Shattuck Samuel Adams Jona. K. Smith (who became colonel) Joel Hart
Elias Hardy Ebenezer Perry
Asa H. Fisk Jacob Gleason Curtis Smith Thaddeus P. Mason Cyrus E. Hardy Henry Heard, Jr.
Cyrus Piper, Jr. Joseph W. Powers Thomas S. Corey Rufus W. Piper Lewis P. Randolph
A company, or troop, of cavalry was formed, the members of which belonged in part to Dublin and in part to Nelson. We have no information respecting the time when this company was organized or disbanded. The commanders who resided in Dublin were John Warren, Nahum Warren, and Simeon Stanley.
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At the period when these companies were disbanded, the old militia system of New Hampshire fell to pieces. When the Civil War began, the young men throughout the North were altogether untrained in military tactics and manoeuvres. In most cases, their only knowledge of the use of arms was as hunters and sportsmen. The war would have been of briefer duration if the old militia drill had been maintained, and the men had been accustomed to such exercises. When the emer- gency arose, the young men of the North were intensely loyal, as a rule, and astounded the world by the rapidity with which they acquired a military knowledge, but many costly blunders would have been saved if the old militia drill had not fallen into disuse. Since the Civil War, a few companies of "National Guards," composed of volunteers, compose the militia of the state, which only consists of a single regiment of infantry, com- posed of a band, twelve companies, and a machine gun com- pany; one battery of field artillery; one troop of cavalry; a coast artillery corps, consisting of four companies; a signal corps, and a hospital corps.
In the first half of the last century, there were as many as thirty or forty regiments in the state. All men between certain ages were required to drill. Without wishing any war, it seems desirable that all able-bodied men, within the appropriate age limit, should be thoroughly drilled in military tactics, and supplied with the requisite amount of munitions, that they might be able, in any emergency, which might suddenly come upon the country, to ward off the danger, by the use of force, if need be. At this present time, while the fearful struggle is raging in Europe, many statesmen are considering plans for some reorganization of a compulsory military (or militia) service throughout the entire country. It is highly probable that something of the kind will be done as a protective measure.
An account of the PETERBOROUGH CAVALRY, of which organization many Dublin men have been members, was given in the preceding chapter.
CHAPTER XV
INDUSTRIES
MANUFACTURES
H
ARRISVILLE. What is called Harrisville, previous to 1870, was partly in Nelson, and partly on the thirteenth lot of the tenth range in Dublin. This lot was first settled about 1774 by Abel Twitchell, who built a grist-mill and a saw-mill, im- mediately after settling, both under the same roof. The build- ing was burned down; but how long after its erection, we do not know. It was soon rebuilt. At an early date, Jason Harris built a blacksmith and a trip-hammer shop on the site of the later Wilson stand. On the same stream of water, Jonas Clark, in 1799, built and put in operation a clothing-mill, or a mill for fulling and dressing cloth. In this mill, Mrs. Clark spun linen thread by water power, a single thread at a time. Mr. Clark sold his mill to James Horsley in 1804, and removed with his family to Shipton, Lower Canada, afterwards called Canada East, and now the Province of Quebec, where he re- sided till 1819, when he returned to Dublin. He was the father of Rev. George Faber Clark and of Rev. Samuel Fulton Clark, Unitarian clergymen, both of whom were born in Shipton.
A machine for carding wool was set up in the grist-mill by Bethuel Harris and Abel Twitchell (father of Mrs. Harris), before Mr. Clark sold out. This machine has been supposed to be the second one that was run in the United States. Messrs. Harris and Twitchell purchased the clothing stand of Mr. Horsley, and united the business of carding wool and dressing cloth, in one building, situated on the spot where the mill of Messrs. C. C. P. Harris and A. S. Hutchinson, now a part of the Cheshire Mills plant, stands. It is usually known as the "middle mill."
That mill, once owned by Harris and Hutchinson, was built in 1822, by Bethuel Harris and his son Cyrus Harris, and was first operated in 1823. As soon as it was finished, Milan Harris, another son of Bethuel, put in machinery for manufacturing woollen cloths, which were dressed by B. and C. Harris. Sub-
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sequently a company was formed consisting of Bethuel Harris and his sons Cyrus and Milan. This company was dissolved in 1832, Milan Harris leaving the same.
The first power looms that were started in Harrisville were put in operation by Milan Harris in 1823 or 1824. In 1832 and 1833, Milan Harris and Abner S. Hutchinson built the "upper mill," as it is called, on the site of the old grist-mill and saw- mill. This partnership continued between two and three years. In 1835, Almon Harris, a brother of Milan Harris, re- turned to Harrisville, after living in various places, and the brothers formed a partnership under the firm name of M. & A. Harris, which continued operations in the "upper mill" until 1847, when Almon Harris established himself in business in Pennacook (then Fisherville), N. H. Milan W. Harris, who was connected with this mill, after the removal of Almon Harris, went into business with his father, and was connected with the business at the "upper mill" until his death in 1873. Subsequently, the "upper mill" was sold to the Cheshire Mills Co., and is now altogether disused. For many years, this mill was covered with ivy vines, which gave it an attractive ap- pearance. The solemn stillness, however, which now pervades the building produces a rather gloomy effect. In the days of Milan Harris, this mill had two sets of machinery, doing more than the usual work on account of its capacity. In that mill, from twenty-five to thirty hands were regularly employed in the fifties, and, afterwards, more. The cloth manufactured for many years was called doeskin. In the middle of the last cen- tury, about fifty thousand pounds of wool per year were used in the mill, which made from forty to forty-five thousand yards of very superior black doeskin cloth; outselling in price per yard nearly every other mill in the United States, and even the majority of the German doeskins. In 1852, it was selling at one dollar per yard.
The "middle mill," as it was called, at Harrisville, was built in 1822, by Bethuel Harris and his son Cyrus Harris, on the site of the old mill in which Jonas Clark and, later, James Horsley had fulled and dressed cloth. Bethuel and Cyrus Harris dressed cloth in this building, and they were succeeded by the firm of Bethuel, Cyrus, and Milan Harris, which was dissolved in 1832. About 1835, Charles C. P. Harris and Abner S. Hutchinson formed a partnership, under the firm name of Harris and Hutchinson, and purchased this "middle mill." They manufactured woollen goods, principally doeskins and
.
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
cassimeres. They continued the business until the company failed in the great "panic" of 1857. In its palmy days, this mill did about half the business done by the Milan Harris Co. at the "upper mill." After the failure, Mr. Hutchinson con- tinued to work for others at the same business until shortly before his death, which occurred at Harrisville in 1894. Mr. C. C. P. Harris was the first postmaster at Harrisville, and held the office as long as he lived. He died at Harrisville in 1888.
In the years 1846 and 1847, Cyrus Harris formed a company, and, under his superintendence, a large building was erected, which has been called the "lower mill" (although another, but connected with it, was afterwards built below it). The structure built by Cyrus Harris was of granite, brought from the quarry in Marlborough. It is four stories high, one hun- dred eleven feet long, and forty feet wide. The roof was cov- ered with slate. The health of Mr. Harris failed, and he died in 1848. The building was subsequently sold to Messrs. J. Colony and Sons, who, in 1851, put in four sets of machinery and twenty-four looms. A large boarding-house and other buildings were erected by the Messrs. Colony; and the whole plant was then called the Cheshire Mills; which has since been extended by purchases, so as to include all the mills above the stone mill. In the fifties, they were making flannels, at the rate of a thousand yards a day. It was sold by the bale at thirty-two cents per yard. The amount of sales per year was ninety-six thousand dollars. This company is still doing busi- ness and is the most important industry in Harrisville. They make various kinds of woollen cloths, but we have not the exact statistics of their amount and value at the present time.
POTTERSVILLE. This village was in the north-west part of the original township of Dublin, but was included in the town of Harrisville, which was incorporated in 1870. It was then, for a while, called West Harrisville, but has, for many years, been called Chesham, a name which has been given to its post-office and railway station. The name Pottersville was derived from the manufacture of pottery, which, formerly, in that village, consisted of brown earthen-ware. Clay of an excellent quality is found in inexhaustible quantities a few rods south of the schoolhouse. The business was commenced by David Thurston about the year 1795. Jonathan Flood Southwick, from Danvers, Mass., purchased Mr. Thurston's shop, and continued the business till his death, when it passed into the hands of a kinsman, Jedediah Kilburn Southwick, who
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came from that part of Danvers which is now Peabody, Mass., in the early part of the last century. Previous to 1820, he built the brick house on the main street of Pottersville. The non-intercourse and embargo acts and the war with England gave such an impulse to the manufacture of this kind of ware that some eight or ten shops were built in the vicinity. Be- tween the close of the war with England and the middle of the nineteenth century, that business steadily declined. In 1852, there was but one pottery in operation in what was then Dublin. This declension was caused partly by the low duties and large importations of cheap English white-ware, and partly by the low price of tin-ware. In former times, milk was kept in earthen pans, which were very heavy and clumsy, as well as easily broken. The neat, light, and unbreakable tin pans, when they came upon the market, quickly displaced the earthen goods. After this change came about, pottery was mostly confined to the making of large ware and flower-pots, and, in later times, to handsome vases and ornamental goods. The white-ware entirely drove the fancy and brown-ware from the market. There had been a time when brown earthen-ware came near being a kind of currency. Farmers in the vicinity of potteries were glad to exchange their surplus produce for it. They carried the ware to Vermont and to western Massa- chusetts, and exchanged it for cash or grain, or such articles as were needed in their families.
The last persons who carried on the pottery business in Pottersville were Ebenezer Russell & Son. The son was Os- good N. Russell. This pottery (which has disappeared) was the first building in Pottersville, on the north side of the road, as one approached from Harrisville by the southerly road. It was at the top of the hill, near the junction of the ancient road with the present highway. The house of Osgood N. Rus- sell stood directly opposite the pottery, on the south side of the highway. The next house to the west, on the same side of the road, was that of Ebenezer Russell. This pottery came to an end during the fifties.
The name of the first potter in Pottersville was Felton, who came from Danvers, Mass., in the employ of J. F. Southwick. There was a pottery in the east part of lot sixteen, range nine, carried on by Nathaniel Furber; and some have said that he began the business in Dublin.
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
WOODEN-WARE AND LUMBER
The manufacture of articles of wooden-ware was begun at the mills in the north-east part of the original township of Dublin, at the small hamlet called at first Handyville, from the proprietor of the mill. After the opening of the railroad, it was called East Harrisville. Nearly all of the small village has been burned. The railroad station is now called East- view. The mill was built by George Handy and Nathaniel Greely, in 1838. After a few years, Mr. Greely sold out to Mr. Handy, who continued the business. In the fifties, the annual amount of sales of washboards, clothes-pins, and mop- sticks was stated to be $8,800, besides five hundred dollars' worth of lumber. Mr. Handy continued the business until 1853, when he sold the premises to Asa Fairbanks. The mill continued to be operated by Mr. Fairbanks for many years, and afterwards by the Wares and the Farwells, but is not now in operation.
The first saw-mill in the north-west part of the town was built by Moses Adams, Sr., on lot eighteen, range ten, near the present house of Alfred W. Seaver.
The second saw-mill in that part of the town was built by Eli Greenwood and stood where the recent mill of Percy W. Russell was located, at Pottersville. It was rebuilt several times. In 1826, it was carried off by a freshet, on the same night of the slide at the White Mountains, which destroyed the Willey family. The first grist-mill in this part of the town was built by Moses Whitaker, in 1796, on lot nineteen, range eight, on the brook between the Howe Reservoir and the Rus- sell Reservoir, in a spot not now reached by any highway. It was in operation but a few years. The running portion was bought by Abner Smith and added to the old Greenwood mill.
In 1834, a saw-mill was built by Robert Worsley and Lyman Russell, on land owned by Mr. Worsley, on the brook in lot twenty-one, range eight. It afterwards passed into the hands of Messrs. Needham and Heath, who added a clothes-pin shop. The mill ceased to be used before the middle of the last cen- tury. It has wholly disappeared.
In 1849, Messrs. Bemis, Symonds, & Co. erected a wooden- ware shop on the stream just below the "Great Meadow" (now the bed of the large reservoir east of Chesham station). The next year, they built a saw-mill on the opposite side of
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INDUSTRIES
the stream. This was the mill at what was known as Bemis- ville, near the Chesham station. They manufactured two hundred fifty gross of mop-sticks at five dollars per gross, fifteen hundred dozen of washboards at one dollar per dozen, and they sold one hundred fifty thousand feet of boards at seven dollars per thousand, as a year's business. That mill is now in the township of Harrisville. It is still in operation, with changes of proprietors, and continues to saw a large amount of lumber.
In 1850, George Handy built a large saw-mill and wooden- ware manufactory on the site of that erected by Moses Adams, Sr., in lot eighteen, range ten, near the house of A. W. Seaver. It soon changed owners. It was last operated by the Seavers and has now disappeared.
The old Greenwood mill was rebuilt, in 1842, by Cyrus W. Woodward. As rebuilt, it consisted of a saw-mill, grist-mill, and wheelwright shop, and carpenter's shop. This mill was afterwards purchased by Percy W. Russell, much enlarged, and used for the manufacture of various kinds of wooden- wares. The business became extensive and was very pros- perous, but the destruction of the mill by fire, about three years ago, brought it to an end. The mill has not been rebuilt. Mr. Russell is an enterprising man and was engaged in several® kinds of business, besides operating the mill. He still resides at Chesham.
Luther Carlton, who once owned the old Greenwood mill, previous to its ownership by Mr. Woodward, used a part of his water power for manufacturing starch, and worked up from ten to fifteen thousand bushels of potatoes in a season, pota- toes selling, at that time, from ten to fifteen cents per bushel. Mr. Carlton came to Pottersville from Lunenburg, Mass., and died in 1838.
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