USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Salisbury > The history of Salisbury, New Hampshire, from date of settlement to the present time > Part 23
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The people of this town, during the period of the revolution- ary war, were in a state of constant anxiety and watchfulness. Those who were not already in the army were in a state of readiness to march whenever danger threatened, and wherev- er the interests of the country called them. Old men, the patriarchs of their day, and the young and brave, all responded with enthusiasm to the summons, when it came.
ANOTHER MODIFICATION.
March 18, 1780, a new military law was enacted, constituting regiments, brigades and divisions, giving the Committee of Safety and the President of the Council great authority in the appointment of officers and the movements of soldiers. The Major General also had a direct voice in the selection of many inferior officers. In short, the control was in a more concen- trated agency, and the force if rightly conducted was the more efficient.
Changes in the statutes were often made under the provin- cial as well as the State government, which it is not our work to record.
279
THE STATE MILITIA.
THE STATE MILITARY FORCE.
In 1767 there were nine regiments in the province, and one of horse-guards; in 1775, there were twelve regiments; in 1788, there were in the State twenty-five regiments, and three of light-horse; 1794, seventeen; in 1800, thirty-one; in 1810, thirty- seven ; in 1820, thirty-eight. In 1842 there were forty-two regi- ments, which that year were organized in six brigades and three divisions. The whole number of enrolled men in 1840 was 32,113. Each regiment was mustered once a year, between the first of September and the fifteenth of October, for inspection and review, and each company was required to meet for inspec- tion and drill on the first Tuesday in May, annually. Each town was required, by a tax, to meet the expense of these military displays.
BATTALIONS AND REGIMENTS.
The companies in the towns of Boscawen, Salisbury, Andover, New London, and Kearsage Gore, afterwards and now Wilmot, and a part of Warner, formed the first battalion. Those at Hop- kinton, Sutton, Warner, Fishersfield, (now Newbury, ) and Brad- ford formed the second battalion; and those two battalions constituted the Twenty-First Regiment, which was at first in- cluded in the Third Brigade and Fourth Division, but was sub- sequently in the Eighth Brigade. The regimental officers of the Twenty-First at this time were Lt. Col. Philip Greely, Com- mander, Maj. Joseph Gerrish, First Battalion, Maj. Timothy Darling, Second Battalion. In 1808 Isaac Chandler was Lt. Col. Commanding, and Moses Jones, Major of the First Battalion.
MILITIA SERVICE IN THE WARS.
The military history of this town is so closely identified with its war history, whether that of the early or later periods, the French and Indian wars, the Revolution, that of 1812-15, or the late civil strife, that we need not repeat its record here.
280
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
MUSTERS.
The autumnal muster marks an eventful period in each year. To the day when it was to occur, thousands of anxious men, and women also, looked forward. It was the theme of conversation for weeks before it took place. Mr. Coffin, in his History of Boscawen, pictures with graphic pen the anticipations and the experiences of the old time muster day. "Everybody," he says, "went to muster ; the soldier to perform his duty and to drink egg-nog ; his wife to admire him, and his children to eat ginger- bread and candy. There was little sleep the night preceding the muster day. Each soldier deemed it his privilege to salute his officers by firing beneath the windows, shattering the glass by his heavy charges. The salute was acknowledged by an invitation to the soldier and everybody else 'to step in and help themselves' to rum, gin, whiskey or brandy, and if the officer was married, to sit down to 'baked Indian pudding and beans.'
These annual parades were held in the towns composing a regiment, Salisbury having the honor of a due proportion of the musters. A muster was held here in 1822, and ever fourth year subsequently. One was held on the Webster farm before Franklin was organized.
The day began with a carouse. By sunrise every road lead- ing toward the muster-field was swarming with men,-soldiers on foot, on horseback, and in wagons, with troops of boys and peddlers of every description.
The volunteer companies took pride in being the first on ยท parade, to display their uniforms and marching, before the regi- mental line was formed. Then began the drum-beat,-the long-roll, the formation of the company by the corporal, the reception of officers, the commands of the Captain, 'By sec- tions, right wheel, march.' Then the fifes and clarinets and bugles began, and the soul-stirring strains floated out on the morning air, and the soldiers, with full stomachs and steady steps, marched across the field, to the delight of the admiring specta- tors. For an hour or more each company marched, counter- marched and wheeled in section, in battalion, filed right and
28I
THE STATE MILITIA.
left, passed defiles and obstacles, changed front, and display- ed itself to the best advantage.
Then came the formation of the regimental line, the inspec- tion and review, and dismissal for dinner, when each man ate as he never ate before. On this one day he gorged himself. Did he not pay for his dinner? Then he was entitled to all he could eat. Did the State furnish him with a dinner? Then he could have all he could get.
Through the forenoon he drinks several glasses of grog. He takes another glass after dinner. In the afternoon comes the sham-fight, when muskets blaze and cannon roar. The soldier's legs are getting weary, and he takes more grog to give him strength.
While the sham-battle is going on there is a crowd upon the field. Peddlers are hawking their wares, showmen exhibiting their curiosities, a sleight-of-hand performer is pulling ribbons out of his mouth, and chewing tow and spitting fire.
The sham-battle is over, the regiment is in line once more, the rear rank has been called before the Colonel, and thanked for the soldierly appearance of the troops, and the regiment is dismissed.
Each company moves away, some with broken ranks, some with soldiers who are unsteady on their legs. The drummer gets his rub-a-dubs mixed, and does not quite know whether he is playing 'common' or 'compound' time, while the fifer gets ' Yankee Doodle' confounded with 'On the road to Boston.' Soldiers are firing their last gun, hucksters disposing of their last sheets of ginger-bread, and the bibulous crowd taking their last drink of grog. The sun goes down through the murky clouds of the sham-battle, the cannon with sulphurous lips is limbered up and taken away, and the field gradually becomes deserted."
The following list comprises Colonels of the 21st Regiment so far as known:
LIST OF OFFICERS.
1786-Henry Gerrish, Boscawen. 1826-32-Moody A. Pilsbury, Boscawen.
1787-Ebenezer Webster, Salisbury. IS33-Joseph Sweat, Andover.
282
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
1788-Joshua Bailey, Hopkinton.
1800-Joseph Gerrish, Boscawen.
IS02-John C. Gale, Salisbury. 1808-10-Isaac Chandler, Boscawen.
1834-Tho. J. Cilley, Andover. 1835-John Rowe, Andover.
1836-38-David F. Kimball, Boscawen. 1839-Ira Darling, Franklin.
1841-Frederick W. Coffin, Boscawen.
1813-Benjamin Swett, Salisbury, 1842-Nathan P. Ames, Boscawen. 1843-44-John S. Pressey, Sutton. .
1815-17-Jonathan Weare, Jr., Andover. 1818-Moses Gerrish, Boscawen. 1819-20-Jonathan Bean, Salisbury. 1847-Enoch Gerrish, Boscawen.
IS21-23-John Greeley, Salisbury. 1848-John C. Smith, Salisbury.
1824-Cyrus Chase, Salisbury, 1849-50-Joseph L. Pillsbury, Boscawen.
1825-Joseph S. Huntoon, Andover. 1851-53-Gustavus V. Webster, Salisbury.
EARLY MILITIA OFFICERS.
The following is a list of early militia officers in the town of Salisbury, as nearly as can be ascertained :
FIRST COMPANY.
Capt. John Webster, Lt. Matthew Pettengill,
Ens. Andrew Bohonon,
1774.
Capt. Ebenezer Webster,
Lt. Robert Smith,
Lt. William Calef,
Lt. Robert Smith,
Ens. Andrew Pettengill, Ens. Joseph Fifield.
Ens. Moses Garland,
Capt. Ebenezer Webster,
Capt. Ebenezer Webster, Lt. Robert Smith,
1784.
Capt. Robert Smith, Lt. Jos. Fifield,
Lt. Samuel Pillsbury, Ens. John C. Gale,
Capt. Robert Smith,
Lt. Samuel Pillsbury,
Lt. John C. Gale, Ens. Abram Fifield, Capt. John C. Gale, Lt. Aquilla Pingrey, Ens. Benjamin Eastman,
Capt. Aquilla Pingrey,
Lt. Samuel Huntoon, Ens. Jabez Smith, Capt. Aquilla Pingry, Lt. Benj. Pettengill, Ens. John Greeley.
The second "Infantry Company" was formed at the Centre Road Village.
SECOND COMPANY.
Capt. David Pettengill, Lt. Phineas Bean,
Lt. Ananiah Bohonon, Ens. Stephen Webster,
Capt. Iddo Scribner, Lt. Benj. Bean, Ens. - Watkins, Capt. Benj. Bean,
Ens. Jonathan Bean, Capt. Joel Eastman, Lt. Jonathan Bean, Ens. Obadiah P. Fifield,
283
THE STATE MILITIA.
Capt. J. Clement, Lt. Iddo Scribner,
Lt. Stephen Webster,
Ens. Nathaniel Greeley,
Lt. Joel Eastman, Ens. Benj. Thompson,
Capt. Benj. Bean, Lt. Joel Eastman,
Capt. J. Bean, Lt. Obadiah P. Fifield, Ens. Edward Welch.
The third company was formed in what was known as the Blackwater District.
THIRD COMPANY.
Capt. Isaac Blaisdell, Lt. David Pettingill, 2d,
Ens. Stephen George,
Capt. Isaac Blaisdell.
Lt. David Pettengill, 2d, Ens. Nathaniel Ash, Capt. Enoch Fifield, Lt. Samuel Adams,
Capt. William Pingry, Lt. Abram Sanborn, Ens. Jonathan Fifield.
CHAPTER XIX.
COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS.
*
* *
*
"From the sources of the Merrimack To the city's northern walls, From Newbury's old and rocky hills To bright Pittsfield's busy falls," *
*
As the population increased, there arose a demand for better facilities for the transaction of judicial business, and in 1755 a movement was initiated to divide the Province into two counties. An act was passed by the Assembly for their creation, one to be called Rockingham, with Exeter as its shire town, and the other Cumberland, with Dunstable as its county seat. The Mer- rimack river was the general dividing line. The Council refused to concur unless Portsmouth could be made the shire town. The Assembly immediately passed another act constituting three counties, with Portsmouth, Exeter and Dunstable as the locations for the transaction of the county business. The act was amended by the Council; the Assembly refused to concur and the measure again failed. In 1769, after a lapse of fourteen years, an act was passed, dividing the Province into five counties, but no organization took place for two years, it being necessary to await the approval of the home government. Prior to this time the courts and sessions of the Assembly were held at Portsmouth, and people living in the northern and western sections were subjected to great inconvenience in the transaction of public business.
The original counties were Rockingham, Strafford, Hills- borough, Cheshire and Grafton, the shire towns being Exeter, Dover, Amherst, Keene and Haverhill. The county of Coos
285
COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS.
was formed in 1803 from the northern towns of Grafton. Merri- mack, from the northern towns of Hillsborough and Rocking- ham, was organized in 1823; Sullivan, from the northern towns of Cheshire, was instituted in 1827; and in 1840 the old county of Strafford was subdivided and the counties of Belknap and Carroll were added to the number, in accordance with the necessities of that section of the State.
Changes have from time to time been made by the removal of boundary lines, and measures have at intervals been introduced in the General Court, to organize a county from portions of Hillsborough and Rockingham.
Prior to the formation of Merrimack county, the people of the upper towns of Hillsborough were strenuous in their efforts to remove the county seat to some central town, or to establish a half-shire in the northern section. Salisbury, Warner and Hop- kinton, were most interested. All made propositions to induce the Legislature to give them the location. Hopkinton was suc- cessful, and for years had the privilege of accommodating the courts, and on several occasions was honored by sessions of the Legislature and the inauguration of governors. Concord was constituted the shire town of the county in 1823, when Merri- mack was created, and as soon as practicable thereafter the offi- cial business of the county was transacted there.
Merrimack is the interior county of the State; it is the cen- tre in population, and in location nearer central than any other. It is bounded by six of the remaining nine. Its greatest length, from the most northern point in Danbury to the south line of Hooksett, is sixty miles, and its breadth, from Pittsfield to Newbury, fifty-five miles. Its area is 505,000 acres. The population at the time of its organization was about 33,000, and in 1880 was 46,300.
The towns embraced in the county are given below, with brief historical notes :
ALLENSTOWN derived its name from Samuel Allen, the pur- chaser of the Masonian claim. It was first settled by John Walcott, Andrew Smith, Daniel Evans and Robert Bunton, previous to 1748. Incorporated in 1831.
286
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
ANDOVER was granted by the Masonian Proprietors in 1746, was first called Emeristown, or Emery'stown, and afterwards New Breton. The first settler was Joseph Fellows, whose brother, John Fellows, was an early settler in Salisbury. It was incorporated in 1779.
BOSCAWEN was granted in 1733, under the name of Contoo- cook, and in the succeeding year was first settled by Nathaniel Danforth, Andrew Bohonan, (who afterwards settled in Salis- bury,) Moses Burbank and Stephen Gerrish. It was incorpor- ated in 1760, under its present name, in honor of Edward Bos- cawen, an English admiral.
Bow, so named on account of the bow or bend in the river, in that portion once claimed by Bow but which now constitutes a part of Concord. Bow was granted by the Province of New Hampshire in 1727, at the time its first settlement was made.
BRADFORD, an English name, first called New Bradford, was settled in 1771, by Deacon William Presbury, on the reception of the grant from the Masonian Proprietors. Incorporated in 1787.
CANTERBURY, originally embracing Loudon and Northfield, was named for an English town, and was granted by the pro- vincial government in 1727, to Richard Waldron and others.
CONCORD, the county seat and State capital, was granted by Massachusetts in 1725, under the name of Pennacook, to Ben- jamin Stevens, Ebenezer Eastman and others. It was settled in 1727, Capt. Ebenezer Eastman and family, from Haverhill, Mass., being the first residents. This settlement was on the east side of the river, near the present railway station. The town was incorporated in 1733, under the name of Rumford, by authority of Massachusetts, and by New Hampshire in 1765, under the name of Concord. It became a city in 1853.
CHICHESTER originally included Pittsfield. The grant was given in 1727, to Nathaniel Gookin and others. Paul Morrill was the first settler, in 1758.
DANBURY was taken from Alexandria and incorporated as an independent town in 1795. Until 1874 Danbury was in Graf- ton county.
287
COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS.
DUNBARTON, often called Starkstown, was named in com- memoration of the town and castle of Dumbarton, in Scotland, near which was the residence of General Stark's ancestors. It was granted by the Masonian Proprietors, to Archibald Stark and his associates, in 1751. The first settlement was made in 1749, by Joseph and William Putney, James Rogers and Obediah Foster. Incorporated in 1765.
EPSOM was granted in 1727, to Theodore Atkinson, (who was one of the Masonian Proprietors,) and his associates. A settle- ment was commenced prior to the grant.
FRANKLIN was formed from portions of Salisbury, Andover, Sanbornton and Northfield, in 1828, and named for our distin- guished countryman, Benjamin Franklin.
HENNIKER was known as No. 6, in a series of towns granted by Massachusetts. It was also granted by the Masonian Pro- prietors. A settlement was commenced in 1761, by James Peters. Incorporated in 1768 and named for John Henniker, member of Parliament, London.
HOOKSETT, once called Isle la Hooksett, was composed of parts of Dunbarton, Chester and Goffstown, and was incorpor- ated in 1822.
HOPKINTON, originally known as No. 5, was granted by Mas- sachusetts in 1736, and afterwards as New Hopkinton, in re- membrance of Hopkinton, Mass., from which the first settlers came as early as 1740. Incorporated in 1765.
HILL was incorporated in 1778, as New Chester. It origin- ally included Bridgewater and Bristol. The present name was given by the Legislature in 1836, in honor of Governor Isaac Hill. It belonged to Grafton county until 1867.
LOUDON received its name from the Earl of Loudon, a Scot- tish peer. It was settled in 1760, by Abraham and Jethro Batchelder, and was incorporated as an independent town in 1773, having been previously a part of Canterbury.
NEWBURY was first called Dantzick; upon its incorporation in 1778 it was named Fishersfield, from Mr. John Fisher, who was active in securing its charter, but who returned to Eng- land soon after. Its present name was given in 1836, by act of the Legislature.
288
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
NEW LONDON was settled by Nathaniel Merrill and James Lamb, in 1776, and was called Heidleburg. It was incorpor- ated under its present name in 1779.
NORTHFIELD was originally the north part of Canterbury. It was settled in 1760, by Benjamin Blanchard. Incorporated in 1780.
PEMBROKE, granted by Massachusetts in 1727, as Suncook, was settled in 1729 and incorporated in 1759.
PITTSFIELD was formed from a portion of Chichester and was incorporated in 1782. Its first settler was John Cram.
SALISBURY is derived from the Latin salus, health, or safety, to which bury, a contraction of borough, is added. It has been called by the several names,- Bakers-town, Gerrish-town, Stev- enstown and Salisbury.
SUTTON was named from an English town. The town was granted by the Masonian Proprietors, in 1749, to Obediah Perry and others, from Haverhill, Newbury and Bradford, Massachu- setts. The name of the leading grantee was at first given it. The first settlement was made in 1767, by Daniel Peaslee, and was incorporated in 1784.
WARNER, named for Col. Seth Warner, of the New Hamp- shire Grants, as Gov. Harriman says, or for Daniel Warner, of Gov. Wentworth's Council, according to other authority, was granted by Massachusetts, in 1735, to Dea. Thomas Stevens and sixty-two others, inhabitants of Amesbury and Salisbury, Massachusetts. It was denominated No. I, having been the first in a series of ten towns extending westward, granted by the General Court of Massachusetts. It was afterwards called New Almsbury, then subsequently granted by the Masonian Proprietors and called Jennitown. In 1774, it was incorpora- ted under its present name. That portion of Kearsarge Gore, south of the summit, was added to the territory in 1818.
WEBSTER was taken from Boscawen in 1860, and named for the great statesman.
WILMOT, formed from New London, New Chester, (now Hill,) and the north part of Kearsarge Gore, was incorporated in 1807.
289
COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS.
The accompanying table in the N. H. Hist. Pap., Vol. III, p. 169, gives the statistics of the several towns at the time of the formation of the county, to which has been added the popula- tion of the towns originally constituting the county, as given in the census of 1880:
Meeting-Houses.
School Districts.
School Houses.
Taverns.
Stores.
Saw Mills.
Grain Mills.
Clothing Mills.
Carding Machines.
Bark Mills.
Tanneries.
Population, 1820.
Population, 1880.
ALLENSTOWN,
I
4
4
2
-
5
2
-
-
-
-
433
1708
ANDOVER,
2
15
12
3
4
5
3
2
2
I
3
1642
1204
BOSCAWEN,
2
15
15
9
6
17
5
4
5
-
5 2113
1380
Bow,
I
8
8
3
9
2
I
I
I
I 935
734
BRADFORD,
I
7
7
I
4
3
3
I
2
N
1318
950
CANTERBURY,
3
9
8
3
4
4
3
I
I
2
2
1696
1034
CHICHESTER,
I
6
6
4
3
5
2
I
2
-
-
1010
784
CONCORD,
2
20
20
20
6
7
4
3
2
7 2838 1450 I
13845 711
EPSOM,
I
6
6
6
4
6
7
3
3
4
1336
909
NEWBURY,
I
9
9
6
5
3
3
I
I
3
3
874
590
HENNIKER,
3
IC
IO
3
5
7
6
2
4
3
3
1 900
1326
HOOKSETT,
-
5
5
5
2
4
1
-
-
I
800
1766 1836
LOUDON,
2
9
9
3
8
6
6
2
2
3
3 1694
I221
NEW LONDON,
1
8
8
3
4
3
2
2
2
924
875
NORTHFIELD,
6
8
2
5
2
3
4 4 I304 1256
918 2795
PITTSFIELD,
2
9
9
2
3
7
3
2
2
3
3 1178
1964
SALISBURY,
3
13
13
3
8
IO
5
3
3
2
6
2016
795
SUTTON,
2
IO
9
-
2
8
3
3
3
3
I573
993
WARNER,
2
I7
15
2
4
6
4
2
2
2
2
2246
1537
WILMOT,
8
7
I
I
5
3
-
-
670
1080
TOTAL,
38 228
216
77
142
8
41
40
38
60 32,743
40,955
I
8
7
4
5
6
2
5
5
2
2
6
6 2437
HOPKINTON,
3
I7
16
3
7
6
5
3
1
-
PEMBROKE,
2
8
8
3
-
DUNBARTON,
T
The towns not included in Merrimack county at its organi- zation are as follows: Danbury, with a population of 760 ; Franklin, 3,265 ; Hill, 667; Webster, 647.
19
CHAPTER XX.
ROADS AND TURNPIKES, ETC.
"From the broad beaten track, when the traveller strays, He may land in a bog, or be lost in a maze ; You had better pay toll when you take to the road, Than attempt through a by-way to reach your abode."
THE IMPORTANCE OF ROADS.
Highways constitute an important element in the civilization of a country. Without them there can be no enterprise, no society, no improvement or progress in any direction.
As a people abandon lines of travel marked by spotted trees, and bridle paths in which they went from place to place, and seek well built highways; as they leave these for the macadam- ized road and the railway, they advance with equal steps to a higher plane of education and refinement.
Our ancestors were only acting upon the teachings of nature when they levied taxes and formed corporate companies to pro- vide roads to important business points. One of the first measures that interested the early proprietors and the pioneers in our New Hampshire towns was that of surveying and build- ing passable roads and bridges in their respective townships. Although something was done towards the construction of roads by provincial or State authority, the burden rested most heavily on the sparse population of the towns.
RANGEWAYS AND ROADS.
The earliest highway in the town of which we have a record was one along the west bank of the Merrimack river, which was intended to open communication with the Coos country. It
291
HIGHWAYS AND RANGEWAYS.
was laid out by a commission appointed by the Assembly, con- sisting of Zebulon Lovewell, of Dunstable, John Talford, of Chester, and Caleb Page, of Starkstown. John Stark was the guide, and the noted ranger, Robert Rogers, was one of the twenty men who accompanied the surveying party. The time occupied was twenty-two days. The road was a mere pathway, made without filling ravines or cutting down hills. The streams were not bridged nor were the heavy rocks and bowlders dis- turbed. It was traversed only on horseback, or by oxen draw- ing the rude sleds of the day. Mr. Coffin, in his History of Boscawen, shows us the probable origin of this highway, as found in the field-book of John Brown, a surveyor of that town :
"May 16, 1740. Joseph Gerrish, Nathaniel Danford, Edward Fitzgerald and myself laid out a highway of four rods broad from King Street in Contoocook to Pemichewassett." Mr. Coffin remarks that this line of road is nearly identical with the present travelled road. If the road extended to the Pemi gewasset it must have passed through Lower Franklin, and reached at least to the centre of that town. On the 3d day of July, 1820, the selectmen of Salisbury legally laid out the River Road so-called, commencing at the Andover line, thence south- erly by courses and distances so far as to intersect with the "Old Road" in Salisbury Village, and near the present centre of Franklin.
When the carly proprietors of Stevenstown had decided to make a settlement in the town, they laid out a portion of the land into lots of 100, 80, 60 and 30 acres, but reserved ample rangeways for public roads. (See map accompanying preface.) Not that roads would be laid out on these precise lines, but that an amount of land equal to these reservations should be appropriated to that purpose. Three of these rangeways ex- tended nearly the entire length of the town. They commenced in the vicinity of the Merrimack river and run in a direction nearly west to the highlands at the base of Kearsarge. Subse- quently roads were constructed over them, so far as the neces- sities of the town required or the nature of the land permitted.
THE SOUTH RANGEWAY extended from a point near the
292
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
old Webster place, westerly through the location of the South Road Village, by the southern extremity of what was formerly known as Cook's pond, and onward in a direct line to the north of Tucker's pond, and continued westerly over the mountain into Warner. A road intersecting the rangeway just west of the pond is the direct route to that town. On the south of this there were thirty consecutive 100-acre lots laid out, the first of which was assigned to Philip Call, who was on the land at the time the grant was given. South of this rangeway there were also other 100-acre lots, and many others, each containing forty, sixty, or eighty acres. The road corresponding to this range- way was surveyed by William Calef, and in 1763 was built un- der the superintendence of Nathaniel Huntoon and Benjamin Sanborn. It commenced at Shaw's Corner, ran south of west, and at a point not far east of the South Road Village it struck the rangeway and followed it substantially westward over the Blackwater.
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