USA > New Hampshire > The history of New-Hampshire > Part 26
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Great inconveniences had arisen for want of a due settlement of the limits of the province. The people who lived near the supposed line, were sometimes taxed in both provinces, and were liable to arrest by the officers of both ; and sometimes the officers themselves were at variance, and imprisoned each other. Several attempts had been made to remove the difficulty, and letters fre- quently passed between the two courts on the subject, in conse- quence of petitions and complaints from the borderers. In 1716, commissioners were appointed by both provinces, to settle the line. The New-Hampshire commissioners were furnished by lieutenant-governor Vaughan, with a copy of the report of the lords chief justices in 1677, and were instructed 'to follow the ' course of the river Merrimack, at the distance of three miles ' north as far as the river extends.'5 The commissioners on the other side complained that this power was not sufficient ; if by sufficient it was meant that they had no power to vary from their
(1) Laws, chap. 94. (2) Assembly Records. (3) Statute of George I. chap 12. (4) MS. Petition . (5) Original MS. instruction. MS. Letter of Lt. Governor Wentworth.
191
PROVINCE. SAMUEL SHUTE.
1719.]
instructions, the objection was true, but why this should have been objected it is not easy to account, since the instructions would have given Massachusetts all which they could claim by virtue of their old charter ; or the judgment upon it, on which they always laid much stress. Three years afterward the affair was agitated again, in obedience to an order from the lords of trade ; who directed a map to be drawn and sent to them, in which the boundaries of the province should be delineated, and the best accounts and vouchers procured to elucidate it.1 Commissioners were again appointed to meet at Newbury ; and those from New-Hampshire were instructed by lieutenant-governor Wentworth to confer with the others ; and if they could agree, in fixing the place where to begin the line, they were to report accordingly ;2 but if not, they were to proceed ex parte, 'setting their compass on the north side ' of the mouth of Merrimack river at high water mark, and from ' thence measuring three miles on a north line, and from the end ' of the first three miles on a west line into the country, till they ' should meet the great river which runs out of Winnipisiogee ' pond.' To this idea of a west line, the Massachusetts commis- sioners objected ; and desired that the commission of the govern- or of New-Hampshire might be sent to Newbury, which was re- fused, and the conference ended without any agreement. How- ever, a plan was drawn agrecably to these instructions, and sent to the lords of trade ; and Newman, the agent was instructed to solicit for a confirmation of it. In these instructions, the ideas of the gentlemen in government are more fully expressed. The due west line on the southern side of the province, they supposed, ought to extend as far as Massachusetts extended.3 The line on the northerly side adjoining to the province of Maine, they sup -. posed, ought to be drawn up the middle of the river Pascataqua, as far as the tide flows in the Newichwannock branch ; and thence northwestward, but whether two or more points westward of north was left for further consideration.
While these things were in agitation, the province unexpected- ly received an accession of inhabitants from the north of Ireland. A colony of Scotch presbyterians had been settled in the province of Ulster, in the reign of James I. They had borne a large share in the sufferings, which the protestants in that unhappy country underwent, in the reign of Charles I. and James II. ; and had thereby conceived an ardent and inextinguishable thirst for civil and religious liberty.4 Notwithstanding the peace which Ireland had enjoyed, since the subjection of the Popish party by King William, some penal laws were still in force ; which, with the in- convenience of rents and tithes, made these people wish for a settlement in America ; where they might be free from these
(1) Original MS. order. (2) Original MS. instructions. (3) Penhallow's MSS. (4) Hume.
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HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1719.
burthens and have full scope for their industry. Onc Holmes, a young man, son of a clergyman, had been here and carried home a favorable report of the country,1 which induced his father, with three other presbyterian ministers, James Macgregore, William Cornwell, and William Boyd, and a large number of their con- gregations, to resolve on an emigration. Having converted their substance into money, they embarked in five ships, and about one Oct. 14. hundred families of them arrived at Boston. Cornwell,
1718. with about twenty families more, arrived at Casco. They immediately petitioned the assembly of Massachusetts for a tract of land ; who gave them leave to look out a settlement of six miles square, in any of the unappropriated lands at the eastward. After a fruitless search along the shore, finding no place that suited them there ; sixteen families, hearing of a tract of good land, above Haverhill, called Nutfield (from the great number of chest- nut and walnut trees there) and being informed that it was not appropriated, determined there to take up their grant ; the others dispersed themselves into various parts of the country.
As soon as the spring opened, the men went from Haverhill, Apr. 11. where they left their families, and built some huts near a brook which falls into Beaver river, and which they named West-running brook .* The first evening after their arrival, a
(1) MS. of John Harvey.
* [The sixteen families which first removed to the place were the following.
Randel Alexander, John Barnet, John Mitchell, Thomas Steele,
Samuel Allison, Arch. Clendenin, John Morrison, - Sterrett,
Allen Anderson, James Clark, James McKeen, John Steward,
James Anderson, James Gregg, Jolın Nesmith, Robert Weir.
These were men principally in the middle age of life, robust, persevering, and adventurous ; such as were well suited to encounter the toils, and endure the hardships and self denials of commencing a new settlement. They were soon followed by many of their countrymen, who had emigrated with them to America, so that, before the close of the year, the number of families was considerably increased. Being industrious and frugal in their habits of life, and highly favored with the institutions of the gospel, they very soon became a thriving, wealthy, and respectable settlement. Rev. Edward L. Parker's Century Sermon, 11, 13.
From several petitions of the inhabitants of Londonderry, found among the Waldron papers, deposited two or three years since in the Secretary's office, I have collected the following list of persons who had settled in Londonderry before the year 1738, besides those above named.
The names are given, generally, as found in the petitions, having in many cases the autographs of the first settlers.
James Adams, John Barr,
Ninin Cochran,
John Adams,
Samuel Barr,
Peter Cochran,(2)
James Aiken,
John Bell,
Robert Cochran,
Nathaniel Aiken, James Blair,
William Cochran,(2)
William Aiken, John Blair,
Thomas Cochran,
James Alexander, James Caldwell,
John Conaghie, Hugh Craige,
John Anderson,(2)
James Campbell,
Robert Arbuckel,
David Cargill,(2)
John Craig,
John Archbald,
Benja. Chamberlain,
Jesse Cristi,
John Barnett,
Matthew Clark,
John Cromey,
Moses Barnett,
Andrew Clendenin,
John Dinsmore,
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PROVINCE. SAMUEL SHUTE.
1719.]
sermon was preached to them under a large oak, which, is to this day regarded with a degree of veneration. As soon as they could collect their families, they called Macgregore to be their minister, who since his arrival in the country had preached at Dracut. At the first sacramental occasion, were present two min- isters and sixty-five communicants. Macgregore continued with them till his death ;* and his memory is still precious among them. He was a wise, affectionate and faithful guide to them, both in civil and religious concerns. These people brought with them the necessary materials for the manufacture of linen ; and their spinning wheels, turned by the foot, were a novelty in the country. They also introduced the culture of potatoes, which were first planted in the garden of Nathaniel Walker of Andover. They were an industrious, frugal and consequently thriving people.
They met with some difficulty in obtaining a title to their lands. If the due west line between the provinces had heen established, it would have passed through their settlement and divided it be-
Patrick Douglas,
James Lindsay,
Matthew Reid,
William Eayrs,(2)
Edward Linkfield,
Alexander Renkine,
James Gillmor,
Daniel Macduffie,
Samuel Renkin,
Robert Gillmor,
Robert Mcfarlin,
James Rodgers,
John Goffe,
Nathan Mcfarlin,
Hugh Rogers,
John Goffe, jr.
James Mac Gregore,
John Shields,
Samuel Graves, John Gregg,
Robert Mckean,
Charles Stewart,
Samuel Gregg,
Samuel McKeen,
Thomas Stewart,
William Harper,
Archibald Mackmurphy, James Taggart,
James Harvey,
John Macmurphy,
Jo. Harvey,
Alexander MacNeall,
John Taggart, James Thomson,
William Hogg,
John McNeill
William Thomson,
Abraham Holmes,
William Michell,
Robert Thompson,
Jonathan Hollme,
Hugh Montgomery,
Andrew Todd,
John Hopkins,
John Moor,
Samuel Todd,
Solomon Hopkins,
William Moore,
Alexander Walker,
Thomas Horner,
James Morrison,
James Walles,
Samuel Houston,
Robert Morrison,
Archibald Wear, Robert Weir, Benjamin Willson,
Alexander Kelsey,
James Nesmith,
James Willson,
Robert Kennedy,
Alex. Nickels,
Hugh Wilson,
Benjamin Kidder, James Leslie,
Hugh Ramsey,
Thomas Wilson.
James Reid,
A few names having become obliterated or not easily decyphered, are omitted. Where (2) is annexed, it shows that there were two persons of the same name, without the addition of any senior or junior. I have been more particular in giving the preceding list on account of the large number of em- igrants Londonderry has furnished for several towns in New-Hampshire, and some in Vermont. Among their descendants might be named those who sustained high military stations in the army of the Revolution ;- ' those who have been members of Congress ;- who have presided in our highest semina- ries of learning ;- who have filled seats in our council and senate,-and who have sustained the chief magistracy of the state ; besides a number of emin- ent and distinguished ministers of the gospel.']
* March 5, 1729, aged 52.
27
William Humphrey, David Hunter,
Samuel Morrison,
David Morrison,
Archibald Stark,
David Mc Gregore,
19.4
HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1719.
tween Massachusetts and New-Hampshire; but the curve line, following the course of Merrimack at three miles distance, would leave them unquestionably in New-Hampshire. This was the idea of the general court of Massachusetts, who, upon applica- tion to them for a confirmation of their former grant, declared them to be out of their jurisdiction. Among the many claimants to these lands, they were informed, that Colonel Wheelwright of Wells had the best Indian title, derived from his ancestors. Sup- posing this to be valid in a moral view, they followed the example of the first settlers of New-England, and obtained a deed of ten miles square, in virtue of the general license granted by the Indian sagamores in 1629. To prevent difficulty from Allen's claim, they applied for leave of settlement to Colonel Usher, who told them that the land was in dispute, and that he could not give them leave, but that he supposed they might settle on it, if they would hold it either of the king or of Allen's heirs, as the case might be determined.1 They also applied to the lieutenant-governor of New-Hampshire, who declined making them a grant in the king's name; but, by advice of council, gave them a protection, and extended the benefit of the law to them; appointing James M'Keen to be a justice of the peace, and Robert Weir, a deputy sheriff.2
Some persons who claimed these lands, by virtue of a deed of about twenty years' date, from Jolın, an Indian sagamore, gave 1720. them some disturbance ; but, having obtained what they judged a superior title, and enjoying the protection of gov- ernment, they went on with their plantation ; receiving frequent additions of their countrymen, as well as others, till in 1722, their town was incorporated by the name of Londonderry, from a city in the north of Ireland, in and near to which most of them had resided ; and in which some of them had endured the hardships of a memorable siege.3 *
(1) Usher's MSS. (2) Council Minutes. (3) Harvey and Macgregore's MSS.
" John Barr, William Caldwell and Abraham Blair, with several others who had suffered in this siege, and came to America, were by King William's special order made free of taxes through all the British dominions.
This, with several other circumstances relating to these people, I took from a manuscript letter written (1729) by Mr. John Harvey, school-master in Londonderry, to Mr. Prince. In the same letter was the following brief ac- count of the siege above mentioned. ' Londonderry was besieged near half a ' year (1689) by King James's army, when he had all Ireland subdued but ' Derry and a little place hard by. The besieged defended the city, most of ' them being presbyterians, till they were very much pinched by famine, that ' a dog's head was sold cheap enough at half a crown ; and yet God supported ' them until King William sent them relief by two ships with men and pro- ' visions from England ; at which sight, before the ships got up to the city ' and landed their men, the besiegers moved their camp and fled to the west ' of Ireland, where afterwards two bloody battles were fought and the papists ' subdued.
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PROVINCE. SAMUEL SHUTE.
1720.]
The settlement of these emigrants, on the waste lands, opened the way for other plantations. Those who had borne the burthens and distresses of war, in defending the country, had long been circumscribed within the limits of the old towns ; but were now multiplied, and required room to make settlements for their chil- dren. They thought it hard to be excluded from the privilege of cultivating the lands, which they and their fathers had defended ; while strangers were admitted to sit down peaceably upon them. These were weighty reasons. At the same time no attempt was making, by any of the claimants, to determine the long contested point of property ; and in fact, no person could give a clear and undisputed title to any of the unsettled lands.
In these circumstances, a company of about one hundred per- sons, inhabitants of Portsmouth, Exeter and Haverhill, petitioned for liberty to begin a plantation, on the northerly part of 1721. the lands called Nutfield. These were soon followed by petitioners from the other towns, for the lands which lay contigu- ous to them. The governor and council kept the petitions sus- pended for a long time, giving public notice to all persons con- cerned to make their objections. In this time, the lands were surveyed, and the limits of four proposed townships determined ; and the people were permitted to build and plant upon the lands ' provided that they did not infringe on, or interfere with,
' any former grants, possessions or properties.'' Some of Apr. 21. these lands were well stocked with pine trees ; which were felled in great abundance ; this occasioned a fresh complaint from the king's surveyor.
At length, charters being prepared, were signed by the gov-
(1) Council Records.
' Two things further, (says he) I have to relate respecting Derry. 1. The ' church of Derry is so strongly built with stone and lime that in the steeple ' they had a cannon fixed, which did more hurt to the Irish army than six ' upon the walls. 2. There was one Col. Murray in the siege. He and a ' party were out against the enemy, and having got the advantage in an en- ' gagement with them a mile from the walls, the enemy's general, who was a ' Frenchman, and he, met ; and having both fired their pistols, drew their ' swords, and the general having a coat of mail, had the advantage of Murray, ' so that he could not hurt him. At length Murray observing that there was ' no touching him but through the harness in his face, put his sword in through ' the bars of the harness and killed him. They made a great slaughter that ' day.'
Nothing was more offensive to these emigrants than to be called Irish. Macgregore in a letter to Governor Shute, (1720) says : ' We are surprised ' to hear ourselves termed Irish people, when we so frequently ventured our ' all for the British crown and liberties against the Irish papists ; and gave ' all tests of our loyalty, which the government of Ireland required and are ' always ready to do the same when demanded.'
The people of this country did not understand the distinction ; nor in fact did they treat these strangers with common decency on their first arrival .- The grudge subsisted a long time, but is now worn out.
196
HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1722.
ernor ; by which four townships, Chester,* Nottingham, Bar-
1722. ringtont and Rochester were granted and incorporated. May 10. The grants were made in the name of the king, who was considered as the common guardian, both of the people
* [In October, 1719, about 80 persons, chiefly from Hampton and Ports- mouth, associated for the purpose of obtaining a grant of a township in the " Chestnut country ;"-placed three men on the land to keep possession, and petitioned for a grant. After some difficulty, they obtained a grant of a tract of land ten miles square, 26 August, 1720. The settlement was immediately commenced by several persons from Rye and Hampton, of whom Samuel Ingalls, Jonathan Goodhue, Jacob Sargent, Ebenezer Dearborn, Robert Smith, B. and Enoch Colby, John and Samuel Robie seem to have been most active and useful, and by several families from the north of Ireland, of whom John Tolford, afterwards a major, and engaged with Col. Lovewell in 1754, in ex- ploring the Coos territory, and who died in July, 1791, aged 90, Thomas Smith, John Carr, James Wilson, who died in 1739, aged 100, (see vol. iii. 251) William Wilson, Hugh Wilson and James Whiting, seem to have been among the earliest settlers. From 1722 to 1726, the settlement was retarded by an Indian war. The Indians, however, did no injury, except that they took Thomas Smith and John Carr, as related under 1724. Several garrison houses were maintained in this town till after the peace of 1749. In 1726, many new settlers arrived from Hampton, Rye and Bradford, (Mass.) among whom were Samuel Emerson, the first justice of the peace in the town, Fran- cis and Anthony Towle, Sampson Underhill, Nathan Webster, Ephraim Hazeltine, Sylvanus Smith, Ithamar, Benjamin and John Shackford, and in 1728 and 1730, several emigrants from Ireland, among whom were James Campbell, Alexander and Andrew Craige, John Shirela, James Shirela (usu- ally written Shirley) who died in 1754, aged 105, John and Robert Mills, John and Charles Moore, John Dickey, John and Samuel Aiken, Thomas Wason, William Crawford and John Carswell. The first child born in town was a daughter of Samuel Ingalls. She died a few years since in Candia, over 90 years of age. The first male child born in town was John Sargent, who also died in Candia, between 70 and 80 years of age. The charter mentioned in the text included more than 120 square miles of territory. The first meeting under it was holden, 28 March, 1723. Until 1728, the town meetings were usually holden in one of the old towns in the province, and almost all the town officers, though proprietors, were not inhabitants of the town. In 1729, the town voted to build a meeting house, and in 1731, a church was formed, and Rev. Moses Hale, H. C. 1722, was ordained. He was dismissed 4 June, 1735. In 1734, the emigrants from Ireland, who were Presbyterians, formed a soci- ety, and settled Rev. John Wilson after the rules of the kirk of Scotland. He died 1 February, 1779, aged 76. In 1740, the first school house was built. In 1748, Capt. Abel Morse was chosen the first representative. In 1750, the inhabitants voted that the S. W. part of the town, should be set off with a part of Londonderry and the land next to Amuskeag, into a separate parish, which was incorporated 3 September, 1751, by the name of Derryfield, and is now called Manchester. In 1753, the W. part of the town was set off as a distinct parish, aud has been since known as the Long Meadows. In 1762, that part of the town called Charmingfare was set off as a parish, and incor- porated by the name of Candia, 17 December, 1763. In 1763, the N. parish or Freetown was set off as a parish or town, and incorporated 9 May, 1765, by the name of Raymond. In 1822, a part of Chester was disannexed with other tracts to form the town of Hooksett. MS. Letter of Samuel D. Bell, Esq.]
t [The settlement of Barrington began in 1732. Fourteen of the first plant- ers were living in 1785, who were between 80 and 90 years of age. A con- gregational church was organized and Rev. Joseph Prince was ordained 18 June, 1755. He was dismissed in 1768. His successors have been Rev. Da- vid Tenney from 1771 to 1778, Rev. Benjamin Balch from 1784 to 1815, and Rev. Cephas H. Kent, from October, 1828 to 1830. The township was divided in 1820 into two nearly equal parts, and the western division was incorporated into a new town by the name of Strafford.]
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PROVINCE. SAMUEL SHUTE.
1722.]
and the claimants ; but with a clause of reservation, 'as far as in us lies,' that there might be no infringement on the claims.
The signing of these grants was the last act of government performed by Shute in New-Hampshire. A violent party in Massachusetts had made such strenuous opposition to him and caused him so much vexation, as rendered it eligible for him to ask leave to return to England. He is said to have been a man of a humane, obliging and friendly disposition ; but having been used to military command, could not bear with patience the col- lision of parties, nor keep his temper when provoked. Fond of ease, and now in the decline of life, he would gladly have spent his days in America if he could have avoided controversy. The people of New-Hampshire were satisfied with his administration, as far as it respected them ; and though they did not settle a sal- ary on him as on his predecessor, yet they made him a grant twice in the year, generally amounting to a hundred pounds, and paid it out of the excise which was voted from year to year.1 This was more in proportion, than he received from his other govern- ment. On his departure for England, which was very 1723. sudden and unexpected, lieutenant-governor Wentworth, June 1. took the chief command, in a time of distress and perplex- ity ; the country being then involved in another war with the natives.
CHAPTER XIV.
The fourth Indian War, commonly called the three years' war, or Lovewell's war.
To account for the frequent wars with the eastern Indians, usually called by the French, the Abenaquis, and their unsteadi- ness both in war and peace ; we must observe, that they were situated between the colonies of two European nations, who were often at war with each other, and who pursued very different measures with regard to them.
As the lands, on which they lived, were comprehended in the patents granted by the crown of England, the natives were con- sidered by the English, as subjects of that crown. In the treaties and conferences held with them, they were styled the king's sub- jects ; when war was declared against them, they were called rebels ; and when they were compelled to make peace, they sub- scribed an acknowledgment of their perfidy, and a declaration of their submission to the government, without any just ideas of the
(1) Assembly Records.
198
HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
meaning of those terms ; and it is a difficult point to determine what kind of subjects they were.
Beside the patents, derived from the crown, the English, in general, were fond of obtaining from the Indians, deeds of sale for those lands, on which they were disposed to make settlements. Some of these deeds were executed with legal formality, and a valuable consideration was paid to the natives for the purchase ; others were of obscure and uncertain original ; but the memory of such transactions was soon lost, among a people who had no written records. Lands had been purchased of the Indian chiefs, on the rivers Kennebeck and St. George, at an early period ; but the succeeding Indians either had no knowledge of the sales made by their ancestors, or had an idea that such bargains were not binding on posterity ; who had as much need of the lands, and could use them to the same purpose as their fathers. At first, the Indians did not know that the European manner of cultivating lands, and erecting mills and dams, would drive away the game and fish, and thereby deprive them of the means of subsistence ; afterward, finding by experience that this was the consequence of admitting foreigners to settle among them, they repented of their hospitality, and were inclined to dispossess their new neigh- bors, as the only way of restoring the country to its pristine state, and of recovering their usual mode of subsistence.
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