USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Fitzwilliam > The history of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, from 1752-1887 > Part 29
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From 1827 the records of the Fitzwilliam Infantry Com- pany (which was the Second Company in the Twelfth Regi- ment, Fifth Brigade, and Third Division of the New Hamp- shire Militia) are full, and contain much valuable information. This company included all the men of Fitzwilliam liable to military duty, except the members of the Artillery Company and the Fire-Engine Men, who were, while members of the Engine Company, exempt.
Persons between forty and forty-five years of age, by com- plying with certain conditions, became "Conditional Exempts," and physicians came under the same rule ; but the names of all of both these classes were, by law, borne upon the Roll of the Infantry Company.
As a matter of course, the Infantry Company in any town with the population of Fitzwilliam at that period would be
353
CAVALRY-THIE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
large. Naturally it varied considerably during different years, running from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty, of whom ten to twenty were " Conditional Exempts." At a later date the age limit of such exempts was lowered to thirty-five years. In 1827 the captain of the Infantry Company was Ephraim Parker, while Nahum Howe was lieutenant, and Levi Harris, ensign.
It is believed that the following is a complete list of the captains of this company from and after 1827 :
Ephraim Parker, 1827-8. Nahnm Howe, 1829-30. Levi Harris, 1831.
Nathan Whipple, 1832-3. Thomas Sweetser, 1834-3. Morrill Gilman, 1836-9. John Forristall, 1840.
Lewis Moore, 1841-3. Charles C. Carter, 1544-5. Samuel Kendall, 1846.
Thos. W. Whittemore, 1847. Daniel Forristall, Jr., 1548-9. William Brooks, 1850-5.
CAVALRY.
In addition to the infantry companies, the Twelfth New Hampshire Regiment had for perhaps twenty years or more two companies of cavalry. The First Company was made up from Rindge, Jaffrey, and Fitzwilliam, and the Second Com- pany from Dublin, Nelson, and Marlborough. It is not cer- tainly known when these companies were formed, but it was probably several years before the close of the last century. The First Company, in which Fitzwilliam was included, was disbanded about 1820. So far as known no records of this company have been preserved, and the traditions concerning it are very meagre ; but among its commanding officers who re- sided in Fitzwilliam were Thomas Goldsmith, Joseph Winch, Charles Bowker, and Phinehas Reed.
THIE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
That this section of the State was particularly interested in military affairs is shown by the fact that nearly every town in the Twelfth Regiment had a uniformed or independent com- pany, in addition to the militia company or companies which paraded in citizens' dress. The older inhabitants of Fitzwill-
23
354
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
iam will remember the Jaffrey Rifle Company, the Dublin Grenadiers, Rindge Light Infantry, Nelson Riflemen, and Marlborough Light Infantry. The friendly rivalry between these companies as to which should make the best appearance in drill and uniform continued through successive years, and resulted in making the regiment one of the very best in the State.
In 1807 both Fitzwilliam and Dublin made very active efforts to obtain a charter for an artillery company. In this compe- tition Fitzwilliam was the successful town, owing mainly to the skilful management of the ease by Major Jonas Robeson, who took a great interest in the measure, though he was not the representative to the Legislature from Fitzwilliam that year. Dublin, not obtaining the artillery charter, organized at this time the Company of Grenadiers to which reference has been made. The formal organization of the Artillery Company in Fitzwilliam was effected October 1st, 1807, and the record of the proceedings is as follows :
At a meeting of a number of the Inhabitants, assembled at Captain Thomas Goldsmiths', Thursday Evening the 1st day of Oct. 1807 for the purpose of chosing officers and (making) other arrangements to obtain an Artillery Company in this town-transacted the following business, viz.
1. Chose Major Wiliam Farrar, Moderator.
2. Chose Joseph Carter, Clerk.
3. Chose Major Jonas Robeson for Captain.
4. Chose Lieut. Wm. F. Perry, 1st Lieutenant.
5. Chose Dr. Benjamin Bemis 2d
6. Chose a Committee of three to draft an obligation for individuals to assist in the Equipping of said Company. Chose Jonas Roberson, Esqr. Dr. Benjamin Bemis and Phineas Reed Esqr-for said Committee.
7. Voted to choose a Committee of five to obtain signors for the Equip- ping of said Company, according to the report of the above-mentioned Committee ; and chose Major William Farrar, Samuel Patch, Amos Pratt, Thomas Stratton, and Captain Thomas Goldsmith for said Com. William Farrer Moderator.
A true copy. Attest Joseph Carter, Clerk.
Oct. 1. 1807.
It is said that Dr. Bemis received a regimental appointment, in consequence of which Joseph Brigham was commissioned second lientenant in the Artillery. William F. Perry was
355
CAPTAINS OF THE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
lientenant in the Cavalry Company, from which he was trans- ferred to the Artillery Company. Such was the commence- ment of this company, which was so long noted for its excellent discipline and general good appearance. In 1837 the company obtained a new charter and was entirely reorganized. From 1807 to 1838 the full company consisted of three commissioned officers, four musicians, and thirty-two privates. In 1839 the number of privates was increased to sixty-four, of whom thirty- two bore swords and were the proper artillery meu, and thirty-two bore muskets. At the same time the company re- ceived a new cannon, a six-pounder, taking the place of the four-pounder they had previously held.
CAPTAINS OF THE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
Jonas Robeson, 1807.
William F. Perry.
Joseph Brigham. Daniel W. Farrar.
Artemas Felton.
Calvin Coolidge.
Nathaniel S. Stone, 1820-1. Curtis Coolidge, 1822-3.
Dexter Whittemore, 1824-6.
Jonathan S. Adams, 1827-9. Asa Brewer, 1830-2.
Martin Streeter, 1833.
Elijalı Bowker, 1834.
Levi Ilaskell, 1835. Renben B. Pratt, 1836-8. Jonathan S. Adams, 1839. Erastus Brown, 1840.
Nelson Howe, 1841. William Lebourvean, 1842. Matthias B. Felton, 1843. Almond Phillips, 1844. David Perry, 1845-6.
Daniel C. Bissell, 1847.
Jared D. Perkins, 1848. Andrew Parker, 1849-50. Moses Chaplin, Jr., 1851-3.
The last entry in the record book of the company is as fol- lows :
Fitzwilliam Artillery Enrolled according to law on the third Tuesday of May 1853
Moses Chaplin jr Capt Attest William Pratt Clerk
About 1850 the laws of the State were so changed that only a formal enrollment of the persons liable to do military duty was required, and a few years later even this ceased to be obligatory.
356
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
TOWN HALL.
The history of this edifice is so peculiar that it deserves a notice in this record.
Nearly all of the present generation know, and future gen- erations ought to know, that this building was erected not for town purposes, but as a house for divine worship. As has been already stated in this history, it was built in 1817, and stands upon the spot occupied by its predecessor that was erected in 1816, and after being dedicated and used for public religious services nine Sabbaths, was fired by lightning, Janu- ary 17th, 1817, and burned to the ground with all its contents.
A glance at the Town Hall will show that this building was erected before the present style of church architecture had be- come popular, but it is none the worse for that. For nearly seventy years strangers have admired its pleasant and conven- ient location and its harmonious proportions, which are in striking contrast with many church edifices of the present day.
The house that was burned cost about seven thousand dol- lars, the town in its corporate capacity appropriating for its erection the sum of four hundred dollars. After the settle- ment of the bills for building, etc., there remained a debt upon the house amounting to about two thousand dollars. One year and twenty days after the dedication of its predecessor, the house now standing was dedicated and used at once for the usual religious services. Its cost was six thousand and sixty- four dollars, but about one thousand of this was generously contributed by natives of Fitzwilliam and other friends resid- ing elsewhere. At the sale of the pews the large sum of seven thousand six hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-four cents was realized, which was sufficient to meet all the bills incurred by the erection of the new house, and to liquidate the debt contracted in the building of its predecessor. Early in 1817, and soon after the destruction of the first house, the town had voted to build another and had appropriated fifteen hundred dollars for this purpose, but how this appropriation was used, if used at all, the records do not show, possibly in part to pay for the land upon which the churches had been
T
1
THE TOWN HALL.
PHOTO-GRAVURE CO., N. Y.
357
THE MEETING-HOUSE OF 1817.
erected, although Phinehas Reed, Esq., of whom most of the land had been purchased, appears to have taken his pay largely in the pews of the second honse. In 1815 Mr. Reed had deeded his lot of land to the town for the purpose of erecting a church upon it, and the price which the town was to pay for it was five hundred dollars. About the same time Solomon Alexander conveyed to the town for one hundred dollars some additional land adjoining the lot purchased of Mr. Reed, and Rev. John Sabin gave to the town a part of the land which was afterward used for horse-sheds or stables. Samuel Griffin, David Stone, and Joseph Brigham, being a committee ap- pointed for this purpose, seem to have prepared the ground. erected the sheds, and sold the same to individuals, so that the town acquired no rights in the sheds themselves.
The committee appointed to build the meeting-house now standing, to sell the pews, and to give titles to them consisted of Jonas Robinson, Charles Bowker, Thaddeus Cummings. Luther Chapman, and John Whittemore. and these gentlemen were aided by a "Consulting Committee" consisting of Phinehas Reed, Nahum Parker, Abel Baker, Thomas Richard- son, Samuel Griffin, Joseph Brigham, and John J. Allen. Pew No. 1 was set apart for the minister, and three pews were reserved in the galleries.
For fifteen years after its erection this was the only church edifice in the town, and the town as such paid the salary of its minister, Rev. John Sabin, up to March 5th, 1832. For five years or more before this date (as has been already stated in the chapter upon later ecclesiastical history), an increasing divergence in the religious views of the people had been man- ifesting itself, and this led to the erection of a new meeting- house by the Orthodox Society in 1832. Publie worship was now maintained in two places, in addition to which occasional services were held by the Baptist Society. The pulpit and pews remained in what is now the town house as when they were first built till 1860. Many of those who had withdrawn and formed a new society still owned pews in the building, and the condition of things relating to it was unsatisfactory and embarrassing to all the parties concerned.
358
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
In 1854 the subject of altering the meeting-house and using a part or parts of it for other than religious purposes was dis- cussed in town meeting, and a committee to consider and re- port upon the matter was raised, consisting of Amos A. Par- ker, Jonathan S. Adams, Charles C. Carter, Asa Brewer, and Samuel Kendall. No plan proposed proving acceptable to the town, in 1857 the town offered to sell the church edifice to the Orthodox Society, this society having recently lost its house of worship by fire. The committee appointed to negotiate with that Society for this purpose consisted of Amos A. Parker, David Perry, and A. Stone, Jr. Captain J. S. Adams, in behalf of the Orthodox Society, offered to pay five hundred dollars for the upper part of the church, and to meet one half of the expenses of outside repairs, after the repairs then going on should have been completed. This plan was discussed in town meeting and laid upon the table. Later, the town gave to the Orthodox Society the use of the building and pulpit for one year.
In 1858 the town voted to sell such portions of the lower part of the building as were not needed for town purposes, and to fit up the upper part for a town hall, and appointed as a committee to make a plan for this purpose, estimate expenses, learn how a title to the pews could be obtained, and what amount such a portion of the building as was offered for sale would bring. This committee consisted of Amos A. Parker, Esq., Elijah Bowker, and Josiah E. Carter. No definite re- sults having been reached, the town, in 1858, considered a motion to sell the whole lot, with the building upon it, at auc- tion, but legal difficulties having been suggested, because of the rights of the pew-owners, the matter was indefinitely post- poned, the vote standing fifty-four to eighty-six. In 1858 the town expended for repairs upon the building three hundred and fifty-four dollars and forty-two cents, and a year later paid A. A. Parker, as " a Committee on the Meeting House," the sum of eleven dollars and ninety-two cents.
In the same year, viz., 1858, the Legislature of New Hamp- shire passed an act authorizing towns with meeting-houses in which they had certain rights, and pew-holders had others, to
359
DIVISION OF THE PROCEEDS OF SALE.
sell such houses at auction, the proceeds to be divided among the proprietors, owners, and pew-holders, according to their respective interests in the same, which interests were to be determined by the County Commissioners. The passage of this act removed the legal restraint to the sale of the house, and the town voted one hundred and one to twenty-seven, to sell it at anetion, and appointed an agent to bid it off at the sale. This was done, the town taking it at the bid of one thousand dollars. Previous to this the selectmen of Jaffrey had been selected by the town and the Orthodox Society to appraise the pews in the house. Those in the lower part were appraised by them at from three to fifteen dollars each, six of them only at the highest price. The thirty-eight pews in the gal- lery were deemed worth two dollars each, and the whole amount of the appraisal was six hundred and forty-eight dollars.
April 12th, 1859, the County Commissioners John A. Pres- cott, Lawson Robertson, and Willard Adams met in Fitzwill- iam and made the division of the one thousand dollars which the town paid for the house, as follows : viz., the town to re- ceive six hundred and fifty-one dollars and the pew-owners the remainder, or three hundred and forty-nine dollars. The pews upon the lower floor thus brought to their owners from one dollar to nine dollars each, and those in the galleries from seventy-five cents to one dollar and twenty-five cents each.
The town had already voted that when a clear title to the pews should be secured it would sell a portion of the house to School District No. 5 or any other School District, and this offer was repeated by a vote of the town, May 7th, 1859, the division of the voters present showing forty-four in favor of this plan and seventeen against it. The selectmen were made a committee to effect the sale.
As this plan also miscarried, the town voted in 1860 to ap- propriate the upper part of the house for a town hall, and ap- pointed as a committee to carry this vote into effect Dr. Silas Cummings, Joshua T. Collins, and Asa S. Kendall. Five hundred dollars were appropriated for this object, which sum must have been largely increased after the changes conten-
360
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
plated were entered upon, since the report of the selectmen made March 12th, 1861, shows that there had been paid for the Town Hall repairs and changes during the year closing at that time fourteen hundred and twenty-five dollars and thirty- one cents.
Later, commencing with 1868, varions improvements were made in the lower story, which now furnishes an office for the town clerk, a room for the selectmen, spacions quarters for the town library, and a convenient hall for the smaller gath- erings of the people, all very complete and satisfactory.
The bell upon the Town House has been recently recast and replaced at a cost to the town of three hundred and one dol- lars and five cents. This new bell weighs fifteen hundred and twenty-four pounds. It should be observed in this place that both the original bell and the town clock were purchased and put in position by private subscriptions, the town by vote granting to the individuals specially interested liberty to make these improvements .*
Reference may here be appropriately made to the improve- ments that have taken place upon and around the Common within the last fifty or sixty years. Within the memory of persons hardly threescore years old no house was standing be- tween the dwelling of Miss Dyer and the Richmond Road, but the lots upon which are the houses of Messrs. Blake, Fisher, and Gleason constituted the dooryard of the small house just back of the home of Ainos J. Blake, Esq. The east fence of this yard at that date was about where the stone curbing was recently put down in front of the three houses just named, while farther south the front fence of the garden of Dexter Whittemore, Esq., was about in the middle of the street as it is now used for travel. The ground toward the south-east part of the Common, as it now is, was low, and there a small pond was made by every considerable rain or heavy shower.
In front of an old wood-colored house, north of the Common,
* It is understood that for the clock the town is largely indebted to the public spirit and energy of Miss Ellen Fullam, since the project of procuring it, and the self-denying labor involved in obtaining subscriptions for it, were chiefly her work.
DA.Dunton .
E.A Nuttuto.
O.L.Brock.
W.H. Kinsman.
FITZWILLIAM
· VILLAGE ·
C.s. Drury.
C. Byam
Kendall Place.
L.Lebbic.
Mrs. Hill.
.Frank Lupin .
Mrs.White.
Miss.S.S.Carter.
Mrs.S.A. Haskell ..
S.Drury.
J.E. Carter.
F.B. Frye's .
CHAPEL.
STORE. E.Cummings
&BPerry.
BLACKSMITH SHOP.
JJ.Tatro.
W.H. Blanchard.
RAIL ROAD STATION. PASSENGER.
P Borce.
.A.Pelkey.
FREIGHT,A
E.L.Stone
Bowen Bros. CHAIR FACTORY
nC.B.Perry's STORE & POST OFFICE.
.L.Lynch .
E.L.Stone's
CD.Bigelow. .
CHESHIRE R.R. ·s.O.Bailey.
D.E.Burbank
M.Wilson .. A.F. Wilson ..
W.o.Carkik ..
3-s.Cummings.
· B S.SHOP. J.E.Bemis.
CONG'L CHURCH.
J.S.Adams. N.V. Caniu .
W. Kuhn.
C.Davis.
Mys. Estabrouk.
·CONG'L PARSONAGE.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
G.W. Wilson.
N. T. Byam. .
John A. Platts.
D.H Reed ..
S.Goddard,
. J.C.Baldwine.
A. N. Hayden. - L.B. Rice. .
Taft.
/Green.
Holman's SAW MILL & PAIL SHOP.
W.M.s.H.W. Stearns.
C.F. Pope's.
BLACK SMITH
F.Pope
NAM. Towrt .
Mrs. Hawkins Heirs.
H. Coolidge
O
.S.N. Hounan .
METHODIST CHAPEL.
*H. M. Gilson.
S.S.Dudley.
Holman's SAW MILL & PAIL SHOP.
WW. R.Vance.
· S.H Wheeler.
D.J.P.Bemis.
"D.C.Bissell.
.O.F.Blanding.
O- TOWN HALL.
Whittemore Estate.
RJ L. Perry. 3.s. Dana Davis. Sam't Whitney.
E.Chaplin.
POST OFFICE. T. B. Burns.
BOS. SHOP. J.K.Rand.
AB F. Cummings.
A. J Blake
Wheelock.
. P.S. & S. Batcheller: DRUGS &c. ·S Batcheller.
Miss Spaulding.
B. M.Fiske.
J. K.Rand.s
Dr.A R. Gleason Miss. Dyar.
Ouinstead Heirs.
N. Stone.
.J.E. Fisher.
E./c). Baker.
C.F.Mitchell.
.
·P.S.Batcheller. Mrs. Milne.
Mrs. s.P. Danton
o. K Wheelock. J.E.Squire.
D.W.Firmin & Co's. Store Mys. Jesse Forristall.
Simonds Place.
Mrs. Kimball J.M. Parker.
+Mrs.E. A Kendall
FITZWILLIAM HOTEL
.C.C.Carter.
M.Chaplin
L.C.Chandler.
DEPOT . ·VILLAGE.
Mrs. Spaulding
W.A.Newton.
Mrs.M. E Spaulding
METHODIST
W. Lebourrem No.5 SCHOOL HOUSE E.offarter. CARRIAGE & B S.SHOP. .Davis.
CHESHIRE HOTEL. O.K. Wheelock.
SAW MILL.
· HOWEVILLE
Mrs. John Forristall.
SHOP. SH
PHOTO-GRAVURE CO NY
E. Lavoice.
-
361
FITZWILLIAM FIRE DEPARTMENT.
where the brick house now stands, were three or four tall Lom- bardy poplars, which were the only trees designed for orna- ment in that part of the village, while two similar trees stood on the side of the road below the other end of the Common, and near the residence of the late Dr. Cummings.
But more than forty years ago a Society for Village Im- provement had been organized, for in November, 1844, the town "Voted that ' the Tree Society ' make such im- provements on the Common as the Selectmen may con- sent to."
Under this vote trees were set out on the Common and the land was somewhat improved to give them a better chance for life and growth.
And in March, 1860, the town "Voted that leave be granted to ' the Fitzwilliam Association to improve the Public Grounds,' to enclose a portion of the Common with a suitable fence and otherwise improve it under the direction of the Selectmen." Accordingly, in the same year, the fence was built and the land still further improved.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Ever since its settlement Fitzwilliam has suffered more by fires than most towns of its size and population. A full list of the buildings and property consumed in this place within one hundred and twenty years it is impossible to give, but that which is presented in this connection, and is made up from tradition and the memory of some of the older natives and in- habitants of the town, is a long one, and embraces the loss of many valuable buildings.
This sad experience has had a good effect in two particulars, for it has made the owners of property liable to destruction by fire more and more careful about the amounts and safety of their insurance, and it has kept before the minds of the people the necessity of maintaining an efficient fire depart- ment.
The Fitzwilliam Engine Company was incorporated in 1825, and since that date the town has had a better fire
362
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
department and better engines than three fourths of the New England towns of the same size, wealth, and popula- tion.
Fire wardens were first chosen by the town in 1825, and have been annually elected ever since. In general they have had such an organization as they have deemed necessary, and have made such regulations to guard against and extinguish fires as the law has allowed and the public safety required. For a considerable period they do not appear to have made formal reports to the town, but this has been done, as required by law, since 1876.
Fitzwilliam has had three fire-engines, and each of these, when purchased, was considered a very efficient machine for the times. But everything of this kind will grow old and wear out, and so when the wardeus reported in 1876 that the engine company was composed of men " who could be relied on for promptness, and (with proper tools and equipments) efficient," they were compelled to add that the " engine and hose were entirely inadequate for the extinguishment of any considerable fire." The force of this statement being appre- ciated, a committee was appointed for the purchase of a new fire-engine, consisting of Jolm E. Fisher, C. L. Taft, Chauney Davis, Melvin Wilson, and George A. Whittemore, and they reported, a year later, that they had bought a new engine, hose-carriage, hose and other equipments costing the town (exclusive of a donation of freight bills by the Cheshire Rail- road) five hundred and sixty dollars and fifty cents. The freight donation amounted to forty-nine dollars and twenty- five cents. The department was now in a good condition for service.
In 1879 three hundred feet of new hose were purchased.
As no record of the fires in Fitzwilliam has ever been kept, the list that follows is imperfect :
CHURCHES.
Town Meeting-House. Jan. 17, 1817; erected, 1816; cost,
$7000.
Orthodox 66
Jan. 15, 1856 ; erected in 1832.
363
RAVAGES OF FIRE IN FITZWILLIAM.
DWELLINGS WITH OUT-HOUSES, BARNS, ETC.
Samuel Patrick . On east road to Troy ; rebuilt, 1785. Date unknown.
John Mellen, Esq.
Joel Mellen .
A special list of all the houses in town in 1798 above one hundred dollars in value gives the situation of this house as " N. west from the center under the great hill," and states that "this house was burnt the last of Dee'r, 1798." In a list of all the lands in town made at the same time the location is given as on Lot 16 in Range 9.
Jesse Forristall Dec. 19, 1808. Where II. N. Fair- banks now lives.
Caleb Winch May, 1809 ; grandson burned in it ; age 7 years.
Josiah Ingalls 1829. Where Win. Lebourvean now lives.
Wm. S. Whittemore. About 1833. Where Bartlett Hayden lives.
Jacob Felton . About 1839. Where Rev. A. Dunn resides.
Dr. Silas Cummings. . About 1843. Where Mrs. Cummings resides.
Noah Sabin 1863. In the village.
Mrs. Martha Fisher . N. W. corner of town.
Joel Whittemore .. Feb. 4, 1872. In the village, opposite the school-house.
Wm. O. Carkin. March 3, 1876.
Anson G. Beebe.
Aug. 10, 1876.
Josiah Moore.
Philip Boyce
May 19, 1878. 1879 ; rebuilt on same spot.
Amos McGee
1879, in S. E. part of town.
Geo. N. Olmstead Frederick Redwood .. March 28, 1881, with barn, etc .; ins., 87500.
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