USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Derry > The history of Londonderry : comprising the towns of Derry and Londonderry, N.H. > Part 20
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Londonderry > The history of Londonderry : comprising the towns of Derry and Londonderry, N.H. > Part 20
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
shouts of the murderous savage. The husband having escaped, returned in the morning to his dwelling, which, though spared from the flames that had consumed the settlement, was desert- ed by his family. By the aid of neighbors, and the sounding of horns, his wife and children were at length discovered, and returned to their habitation, the snow having afforded them security and a covering. "And now," said the venerable woman, "I am eighty-four years old, and the infant of two weeks, then at my breast, is this my son, Col. Clyde, just returned from the State convention at Albany, and this my elder son, Esquire Clyde, can attest from memory to the truth of the statement."
NOVA SCOTIA.
About the year 1760, a number of families emigrated from Londonderry to Nova Scotia, and settled in Truro, soon after its evacuation by the French. Among these first set- tlers, were James, Thomas, Samuel, and David Archibald (brothers), Matthew Taylor, who married a sister of the Archibalds, and William Fisher ; Samuel Fisher, a nephew of William, joined the company a few years afterwards. Other emigrants followed from time to time. Their descend- ants became numerous and respectable, and settled in the surrounding towns ; as Pictou, Stewiacke, Musquodobit, and St. Mary's. We have been able to obtain no particular information respecting this colony, except it be in reference to the Archibald and Fisher families.
William Fisher, senior, was a highly respectable and useful man. He represented the township of Truro in the General Assembly held in the province. Several of the Archi- balds are somewhat distinguished as having held important public offices. David Archibald, 1st, was magistrate and major in the militia ; while his sons Robert and Samuel surveyed the township, and were the principal managers in its settle- ment ; one of whom was not only a magistrate, but a judge
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EMIGRATION TO NOVA SCOTIA.
of the court. No less than eighteen of this name, descend- ants of the first settlers who went from this town, have held high and responsible situations in the several departments of government ; as magistrates, representatives, judges, and military officers.
Samuel G. W. Archibald, LL. D., son of Samuel, and grandson of David, the first settler, was first Judge of Pro- bate, then member and speaker of the General Assembly, then attorney-general, and governor of King's College, and then Judge of the Court of Admiralty, and Master of the Rolls. He was, without dispute, considered the greatest politician and the most talented public speaker which the province ever produced. He has three sons, who are bar- risters ; one a director of the Commercial Bank, London ; another, attorney-general of Newfoundland.
The Archibalds of Nova Scotia are generally not only people of respectable standing in society, but a very large proportion of the adults are consistent and zealous professors and supporters of religion. The same may be said of most of the emigrants from this town to that place, and of their descendants. More uniformly than almost any other of the colonies from Londonderry, have they adhered, not only to the principles, but to the religious order of their ancestors. They are, almost without an exception, Presbyterian, and maintain in their public worship many of the forms practised in Scotland and Ireland by their fathers. They have never admitted any change in their sacred psalmody. The psalms of David, in their most literal translation, are used in their worship; in the singing of which the congregation unite.
Such has been the influence of this first colony in that province, that a greater portion of the churches in the sev- eral townships are Presbyterian.
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
ANTRIM.
The first settlement within the present limits of Antrim, was made by Philip Rily, in 1744, who in company with his family, after a residence of two years, abandoned their hab- itation through fear of an Indian attack. They did not return till 1761, after an absence of fifteen years. An ad- vertisement by the Masonian proprietors, in 1766, inviting young men to view the lands on Contoocook river, induced six young men from Londonderry to visit the place that year. They were pleased with the lands, and made some small clearings. The next year, August, 1767, James Aiken, afterwards Deacon Aiken, removed his family to that place, into a little cabin, which he had built at the time of his first visit. He was one of the six who had previously visited the place, and expected soon to be followed by his associates ; but on learning that the proprietors would not give them each a lot of land, three of them abandoned the enterprise, and the other two did not come till some years afterwards. Deacon Aiken suffered many privations. His nearest neigh- bor on the west, was at Walpole. William Smith removed his family there in 1771, and was followed the next year by Randal Alexander, John Gordon, and Maurice Lynch. John Duncan, Esq., removed with his family to Antrim, Sept., 1773, making the seventh in the place. Within the three suc- ceeding years the following persons made settlements there : Alexander Jameson, James Duncan, Joseph Boyd, Matthew Templeton, James Dickey, Daniel McFarland, James Mc.Alister, James and Samuel Moor, Thomas Stuart, Robert Burns, and David McClary, all from Londonderry, or its vicinity.
April, 1775, brought the alarm of the battle at Lexington. Although the whole population amounted to only one hun- dred and seventy-seven souls, yet a company of sixteen men,
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SKETCH OF ANTRIM.
raised and commanded by Captain Duncan, marched the next morning for the scene of action, followed by Captain Smith, with a load of provisions, one man only remaining in town. At Tyngsborough, they were met by General Stark, who warmly commended their patriotism, but informed them that there were men enough under arms near Boston, and advised them to return, plant their corn, and wait till their services became indispensable.
The first sermon preached in the place was delivered September, 1775, by Rev. Mr. Davidson of Londonderry, in Deacon Aiken's barn.
James and Samuel Moor built a grist-mill in 1776, on the North Branch, now known as Wallace Mills. This was a great accommodation to the inhabitants. The same season, James Aiken and Joseph Boyd erected a saw-mill where Johnson's Mills now stand.
The town was incorporated March 22, 1777, in compli- ance with a petition from the inhabitants, and called Antrim, after the county of that name in Ireland, whence the ances- tors of some of the first settlers had emigrated to London- derry. It had at the time twenty-three freeholders, a few of whom were single men, who paid one shilling each toward the expense of the corporation. In the autumn of this year, several of the inhabitants marched at different times to the westward, some of whom fought in the battle of Bennington, under General Stark. A still larger number were present at the surrender of the British army, under General Bur- goyne.
Within three years succeeding the date of the incorpora- tion of the town, a considerable number of additional families established themselves there, among whom were Daniel Nichols, Jonathan Nesmith, Samuel and Benjamin Gregg, Daniel Miltimore, James Carr, Tristram Cheney, James and Samuel Dinsmore, William McDole, William Boyd, John Gilmore, and James Steele.
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
Prior to 1778 there had been no preaching in the town, except for a few Sabbaths by neighboring ministers, gratui- tously. At the March meeting in that year, thirty-two dollars were voted, and in July twenty more, for the support of preaching. From this time the people procured some supply of ministerial service each year, as they felt able. They placed a high value on Christian institutions, and made spirited efforts to sustain them. A school of twelve scholars, the first one kept in town, was taught by John Dinsmore, at Deacon Aiken's, in the winter of 1778-9.
In August, 1780, the town voted an invitation to Mr. James Miltimore, of Londonderry, to become their pastor, with a salary of two hundred and thirty-three dollars and a lot of land. Mr. Miltimore declined the invitation, and afterwards became minister, first of Stratham, and then of a parish in Newbury, Mass. He however continued to preach in Antrim a few Sabbaths each year, till 1783.
The first meeting-house was raised June 28, 1785. Col. William Gregg, of Londonderry, celebrated for the distin- guished part he bore at the battle of Bennington, was the master-workman. The house was not completed till 1791. Prior to this time, religious meetings had been held chiefly in barns, and town meetings in private houses. The first store of foreign goods in the place was opened in 1787, by Ebenezer Kimball.
In 1788, measures were taken for the organization of a church. At a legal town meeting held early this year, the town, in consideration of their destitute state, as to religious ordinances, appointed an agent to attend the next session of the presbytery of Londonderry, at Peterborough, and request them to organize a church here. That body appointed the Rev. William Morrison, of Londonderry, to visit the place for this purpose. He went, accordingly, and organized, August 3, a Presbyterian church, consisting of about sixty- five members. Three persons were then elected ruling
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SKETCH OF ANTRIM.
elders by the congregation. In August following, the sacra- ment of the Lord's supper was administered by the Rev. Mr. Morrison, for the first time in this place.
Several attempts were afterwards made to settle a minis- ter, but unsuccessfully till 1800, when Mr. Walter Little was ordained as pastor of the church. He remained but four years, being dismissed in 1804. The people were then des- titute of a stated minister till September 28, 1808, when the. Rev. John M. Whiton, the present pastor, was ordained. The church consisted at this period of about one hundred and twenty-seven resident members, and had twelve elders, nine having been added to the original number, soon after the ordination of Mr. Little. During thirty years succeed- ing the Rev. Mr. Whiton's connection with the church, three hundred and thirty-eight persons were added.
The spotted fever made its appearance in the town Feb., 1812, and spread with such rapidity that, in two months, there were two hundred cases, and about forty deaths.
In 1816, there was an increased attention to religion. The work was silent and gradual, continued two years, and was lasting and happy in its effects ; more than fifty persons, as the result, were added to the church.
In 1826, a new meeting-house was erected. It was dedi- cated on the fifteenth of November. Several citizens in the east part of the town, dissatisfied with the location of the new house of worship, united with others in Deering and Society Land, and built, the same year, the East meeting- house.
The year 1827 was distinguished by a remarkable atten- tion to religion, and resulted in the addition of one hundred persons to the Presbyterian church.
Several persons, natives of this town, have received a collegiate education, and have been distinguished in their several professions. The first was John Nichols, missionary
18
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
to India. He died near Bombay, 1824, having been for seven years a devoted laborer among the heathen.
The fathers, where are they ? Alas! none of the first settlers, and but few of the first generation, remain. " But few of the countenances," said the beloved pastor of this people, in his anniversary discourse, in 1838, " that appeared in our sanctuary thirty years ago, are now to be seen. There has risen up here, generally speaking, a new church and a new congregation. The exit of our predecessors reminds us that to us death and judgment are approaching. Our only ark of refuge is Christ."
ACWORTH.
The original church, now the Presbyterian church in Derry, formed by the first company of settlers, may be justly regarded as the hive from which have gone forth the swarms which have formed the other churches in the pres- bytery. It also contributed to the organization of other churches, more remote, which in consequence of their situ- ation, became Congregational in their form of government. Among these were Acworth in this State, and Coleraine, Ms.
Acworth received its charter in 1766, being in the sixth year of the reign of George the Third, though it was not permanently settled until the summer of 1768. In this year, three families, Samuel Harper, William Keyes, and John Rodgers, with some other individuals, principally from Lon- donderry, effected a permanent settlement. The year after, some families came in from Windham, and Ashford, Conn. The first town-meeting was held March 12, 1771.
As the settlement of the town took place at the time of the commencement of the difficulties which brought on the Amer- ican Revolution, its advancement in wealth and population was very much retarded. The oppression of those days was felt in every nook and corner of the land. No man at that
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SKETCH OF ACWORTH.
day could for any length of time sit quietly under his own vine and fig-tree. War was in the land, and all the available strength was needed to answer its demands. After the Rev- olution, additional families removed from Londonderry to this town.
The present Congregational church was organized March 12, 1773. On that memorable day, which was observed with fasting and prayer, the little Christian band was formed, consisting of eight souls. The ministers who assisted were Rev. Bulkley Olcott and Rev. George Wheaton. The plan of church government, which was adopted in 1781, and is found highly conducive in its practical results to the inter- ests of the church, combines a mixture of the Congregational and Presbyterian systems.
Rev. Thomas Archibald, of Londonderry, was ordained over this people November 11, 1789. The church at this time contained fifty-eight members. During his ministry, which continued four years, ten were added to the church. He was dismissed June 14, 1794. The town was destitute of a minister at this time just three years. Rev. John Kim- ball became the pastor of this people June 14, 1797. The church then contained about sixty members. During his ministry, which continucd sixteen years, sixty-four were added to the church.' By mutual consent, he was dismissed May 4, 1813.
Rev. Phineas Cook was ordained their pastor September 7, 1814. The church at this time contained about seventy members. At the end of three years, the church increased to two hundred and twelve. In 1821, a new and commodious meeting-house was built in that town. In March, 1829, Rev. Mr. Cook was dismissed from his charge in this place, and soon after installed over the Congregational church in Lebanon, N. H. Rev. Moses Grosvenor was settled over this church and society, October 14, 1829, and was dismissed April 25, 1832. Rev. Joseph Merrill was settled October
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
16, 1833, and was dismissed July 11, 1838. Rev. Thomas Edwards was settled August 19, 1841, and was dismissed February 16, 1843. The present pastor, Rev. E. S. Wright, was settled January 7, 1846. The church now consists of one hundred and eighty-one members.
CHAPTER VI.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. - WILLIAM ADAMS, RUFUS ANDERSON, ROBERT BARTLEY, JOHN BELL, SAMUEL FISHER, WILLIAM GREGG, JARVIS GREGG, SAMUEL LIVERMORE, JOSEPH M'KEEN, JOHN M'MURPHY, JOHN PRENTICE, GEORGE REID, ROBERT ROGERS, JOHN STARK, SAMUEL TAGGART, ISAAC THOM, MATTHEW THORNTON, AND JAMES WILSON. - GENEALOGICAL SKETCHES OF THE FAMILIES OF WILLIAM ADAMS, EDWARD AIKEN, JAMES ANDERSON, JOHN ANDERSON, JOHN BELL, JAMES CLARK, ROBERT CLARK, JOHN CROMBIE, SAMUEL DICKEY, GEORGE DUNCAN, SAMUEL ELA, ROBERT GILMORE, JAMES GREGG, DAVID GREGG, ABRAHAM HOLMES, JOHN MACK, JAMES MACGREGOR, ALEXANDER M'COLLOM, JAMES M'KEEN, JOHN M'KEEN, JOHN MORRISON, JAMES NESMITH, PETER PATTERSON, JOHN PINKERTON, HUGH RANKIN, JAMES REID, MATTHEW TAYLOR, ANDREW TODD, JOHN AND THOMAS WALLACE, THOMAS WALLACE, AND JOHN WOODBURN.
IT was remarked, in a former chapter, that a large number of the early settlers of Londonderry, and of their descendants, have honorably distinguished themselves, and have held high offices of trust. Six of them have filled the gubernatorial chair of New Hampshire, namely, Matthew Thornton, who was president of the Provincial Congress, in 1775, Jeremiah Smith, Samuel Bell, John Bell, Samuel Dinsmoor, and Samuel Dinsmoor, Jr. Nine have been mem- bers of Congress from New Hampshire, namely, Matthew Thornton, member of the Old Congress, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Bell, senator, Jeremiah
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
Smith, Silas Betton, James Wilson, Samuel Dinsmoor, Samuel Smith, James Wilson, Jr., and George W. Morrison, representatives. Five have been appointed justices of the Superior Court of Judicature for New Hampshire, namely, Jeremiah Smith, Chief Justice, Matthew Thornton, Jonathan Steele, Samuel Bell, and Samuel D. Bell. The names of generals John Stark, George Reid, James Miller, and John McNeil, of colonels Andrew Todd, William Gregg, and Daniel Reynolds, and of Major Robert Rogers, sufficiently" prove that they have contributed their full share to the mili- tary achievements and glory of their country. No attempt will be made to enumerate those who have attained dis- tinction in other States, or in professional life.
The following are a few biographical notices of some of the early settlers, or of their descendants, who were prominent, either by reason of their public services, or their influence in the town. They include, however, only those who were residents or natives of the town, as a different course would extend the chapter much beyond its assigned limits. Notices of many distinguished individuals will be found in connection with the genealogical sketches of their respective families.
WILLIAM ADAMS.
IIon. William Adams, the son of James, the eldest son of William Adams, who was one of the early settlers of Lon- donderry, was born February 6, 1755. When a youth, he entered with patriotic zeal the army of the Revolution. On the first alarm, that hostilities had commenced, he enrolled himself in the military company from this town, commanded by Captain George Reid, and was in the battle of Bunker Hill. He served during several campaigns, and was engaged in the battle of Bennington. He there received a severe wound ; a musket-ball entered his body near the shoulder, but did not prove fatal. After leaving the army, he was
18*
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
appointed to the command of a regiment of militia, which office he held several years. In early life he united with the church, and was elected a ruling elder; the duties of which office he faithfully discharged. His judgment and his influ- ence, in all matters touching the discipline and government of the church, were highly valued by his venerated and beloved pastor, Rev. Dr. Morrison.
Colonel Adams took an active and decided part in the "civil and political movements which marked the earlier period of our government. He not only sustained for many years the more important offices of the town, and was influ- ential in the direction of its affairs, but was repeatedly chosen to represent his fellow-townsmen, in General Court; and was for several years a member of the Senate. He was a stern and bold reprover of vice, in all its manifestations, a steadfast supporter of religious institutions, and an intel- ligent and zealous defender of evangelical truth. He pos- sessed strongly-marked traits of intellectual and moral character, was distinguished for strength of mind, firmness of purpose, and unwavering adherence to religious principle, in the discharge of duty. He may be justly regarded as having been one of the fathers of the town.
He married Janet Taylor, February 6, 1733. He died in October, 1828, and his widow died in the following Decem- ber. They had three children ; an infant, that lived but a few hours, a daughter Mary, who, in 1821, married elder John Holmes, and a son James, who was born November 7, 1785, and died April 15, 1817. He was a young man of great promise. Possessing an ardent thirst for knowledge, he entered upon a course of education, and graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1813. On leaving college, he took charge of the academy at Hampton, N. H. He there com- menced the study of theology, with Rev. Mr. Webster, then minister of that town. He felt a strong desire to engage in the work of the ministry, had nearly completed his course
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
of preparation, and the time was fixed for his examination and licensure, when he was attacked with sickness, which terminated in consumption, and closed his life and promised usefulness in the church below.
RUFUS ANDERSON.
The ancestors of Rufus Anderson came from the north of Ireland. His grandfather, James Anderson, was one of the sixteen first settlers of Londonderry. He had five sons and two daughters. James, the third son, married Nancy Woodburn for his first wife; and by her he had eight children. His second wife was widow Elizabeth Bar- nett, and by her he had four children. Rufus, a son of Nancy Woodburn, was born March 5, 1765, and was a little more than two years old at the time of his mother's death. His mother, a half-sister of Mrs. George Reid, who was so generally known and highly respected, is reputed to have been a very godly woman, and having devoted Rufus to the ministry of the gospel, she obtained, on her deathbed, a promise from his father, that he should be educated for that work. But his father's second marriage, which added four more children to the family, interposed almost insuperable difficulties in the way of his obtaining a liberal education. In the year 1783, when eighteen years of age, he became a member of the Presbyterian church in Londonderry, then under the care of the Rev. Mr. Morrison. It was with Mr. Morrison he commenced his preparation for college, attend- ing to the secular affairs of his instructor as a return for board and tuition. His preparatory studies were completed, however, with the late Dr. Wood, of Boscawen, N. H., and for that excellent man he ever cherished a grateful affection, as their correspondence of many years doubtless would show.
" My father," says his son, Rev. Rufus Anderson, of Boston, " records in his private journal, that liis available funds, when he entered Dartmouth College, in 1787, were only three-
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HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY.
fourths of a dollar. I infer from letters addressed to him in after life, by Dr. Wheelock, that he secured while in college the respect and esteem of the president. He was graduated in 1791. I suppose my father's pecuniary necessities in col- lege were no worse than those of many of his contempora- ries ; but I am affected to think of him as driving before him, from Londonderry to Hanover, on foot, two cows, which his father had given him towards his college expenses ; or carry- ing homespun cloth to sell in one of the large seaports ; or finding his way, sixty years ago, to the then distant town of Saco, in Maine, to keep school, and receiving his pay in things not easily converted into money. But he appears to have been less in debt when he graduated than is frequently the case with young men of our day, and from this indebted- ness he contrived soon to relieve himself."
After spending a short time in the study of theology, in Beverly, Mass. with his brother-in-law, Rev. Joseph McKeen, he was licensed to preach the gospel some time in 1792. In the following year, he received two invitations to settle in Maine, one from Parsonsfield, which he declined, the other from the second parish in North Yarmouth, which he accepted. The ordination sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. McKeen, from 1 Timothy, 4: 16, "Take heed unto thy- self, and unto the doctrine." Mr. Anderson records in his journal on the occasion, "gratitude for a united parish, a united church, and a united council."
On the 8th of September, 1795, Mr. Anderson was married to Hannah, second daughter of Isaac Parsons, Esq., of New Gloucester, Me. She possessed a cultivated mind, and a truly Christian spirit ; humility, patience, love to the people of God, and rare prudence, are said to have been her prominent graces. She died at North Yarmouth, July 14, 1803, scarcely eight years after her marriage, leaving three sons, Rufus, Isaac, and James. The two younger lived to graduate at Bowdoin College, and both died soon after of
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
consumption ; the former at Beverly, 1818, the latter in Charleston, S. C., 1823. Of Isaac, an interesting memoir was published soon after his death. He was a young man of most promising talents and of devoted piety.
Rufus, the eldest son (Rev. Dr. Anderson, Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M.), has for many years been the only sur- vivor of the family. He also graduated at Bowdoin College, during the presidency of Dr. Appleton. For many years the father was a member of the Board of Overseers of this college.
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