USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Salisbury > The history of Salisbury, New Hampshire, from date of settlement to the present time > Part 5
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But such Proprietors paying the sum due with the Charges arizing at any time before the Execution of such Deed the Collector shall proceed no further therein - and as in such cases it would be next to impossible to sell Land exactly sufficient to raise the sum due, the Collector is directed to come as near to the sum as he can & if the sum should be something more, it shall not Prejudice to sale, but the Collector shall restore the overplush sum (if any) to the Proprietor to whom it
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STEVENSTOWN.
belongs as soon as may be - and in settling the Charge the Cost of the first adver- tisement shall be paid by the proprietors, & the Charge of the advertizement for sale shall be proportioned amongst those whose Lands are advertised & the Charges of sale amongst those Lands are sold
And this act shall be deemed and Continued to extend to such sums already voted to be raised by said Proprietors as are not Paid as well as to those which shall hereafter be agreed on by them and voted
And be it further enacted that the said Proprietors shall have the same remidy against their Collectors or any of them who shall neglect to make such Collection ( after having undertaken it ) or shall neglect to make paymt agreeable to their orders from the Assessors, which the Inhabitants of towns have against Constables Delin- quent in such Cases to be executed in the same manner.
And if the said Proprietors have already chosen Assessors Collectors or any other such Officers necessary for the service herein directed, they are hereby invested with the same power and authority for Carrying this act into Execution as those which shall hereafter be chosen for that purpose by the said Proprietors in conse- quence of this act. Saving the Rights of Female covenants (coverts,) Infants, Persons in Captivity or beyond seas, so far as to allow them six months after their Respective Impediments are removed, they paying the sums due as aforesd with the interest thereof at the rate of £6 pr Centum per annum, & for their Heirs & Assigns respectively to redeem the same l'rovided nevertheless that where any Original Rights shall be owned by two or more persons, in that Case either of them paying his l'roportion according to his Interest & informing what particular Lot or part of the Lot he Owns the Collector shall accept thereof & shall not make sale of such Part.
This act to be in force for three years & no longer
Passed house July 8 1766
Senate July 10 1766
In the year following, 1767, at a meeting of the proprietors, some of whom had become actual residents on the granted lands, it was-
l'oted, "That one half the meetings for the ensuing year be held at John Huntoon's in Kingston, and the other half at Benjamin Sanborn's in Major-Stevens- town."
4
CHAPTER V.
THE MEN OF STEVENSTOWN.
" So the multitude goes, like the flower and the weed, That wither away to let others succeed ; So the multitude comes, even those we behold, To repeat every tale that has often been told."
GRANTEES.
Though but few of the grantees became actual settlers in Stevenstown, or even ever visited the township, they manifested an interest in its prosperity and are deserving of notice in our history. We have been able to gather but scanty information, even of the active ones who did not become actual settlers.
MAJOR EBENEZER STEVENS.
There appear to have been two grantees of the name of Ebenezer Stevens, both of Kingston-"the Major" and "the Colonel." A third one of the same name is mentioned, and is known as "the Captain." - They represent as many different generations. The Major was a prominent man in Kingston, and was the first grantee of the town named in his honor. We are not able to ascertain the date or the place of his birth. It is recorded that he died November 1, 1749. He was for several years a member of the Assembly, and four or five years Speaker of that body, from the year 1743 to 1747. He was a soldier in the Indian wars, and in 1710, when Captain Gilman went with a company in pursuit of the Indians who killed Colonel Hilton's party, Stevens was his guide .*
* Coloner Potter says, " Ebenezer Webster, grandfather of Daniel Webster, was the pilot."
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THE MEN OF STEVENSTOWN.
COLONEL EBENEZER STEVENS.
Colonel Stevens was a son of the Major, born in 1715, and was one of the foremost men in his section of the State. He had command of a company of cavalry in 1750, and in 1758 was Colonel of the 7th Regiment. He was a personal friend of Governor Benning Wentworth, and it is said he made His Ex- cellency very happy by the presentation of a fine pair of oxen. It is believed that Colonel Stevens was a religious man as well as a good soldier, and that he officiated as deacon of the Con- gregational church, in Kingston, from 1765 to the year of his death, 1780.
REVEREND JOSEPH SECOMBE.
The Rev. Joseph Secombe was the minister at Kingston, where a majority of the grantees resided, and made one of their number by the liberality of his friends. His grandfather, Rich- ard Secombe, emigrated with his family from the west of Eng- land, about the year 1660. John, the son of Richard, resided in Boston, and November 2, 1702, married Mehitable Simmons. Joseph, their first son, was born in Boston, June 14, 1706, and was baptized in the old North church two days later. He pursued his studies preparatory to entering college, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Wigglesworth, of Ipswich, Mass., and graduated from Harvard in 1731 ; was ordained at Boston, De- cember 12, 1733, in company with Stephen Parker and Ebene- zer Hinsdale, as a missionary, "chosen by the Commissioners to the Honorable Society at Edinburgh for propagating Christ- ian knowledge, to carry the Gospel to the aboriginal nations on the borders of New England." He was installed as minister of Kingston, November 22, 1737, preaching his own installation sermon, from Mark 7:37. He married Mary Thuriel, January 17, 1738, but left no children. He died at Kingston, September 15, 1760. His nephew, Simmons Secombe, lived with him and became his principal heir. Dr. Josiah Bartlett boarded in his family some time after his settlement in Kingston, and had the benefit of his library, a large and valuable one for those times.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
A list of his books, in the hand-writing of Governor Bartlett, is still in existence.
JEDEDIAH PHILBRICK
Was a son of Thomas Philbrick, Jr .; was born at Hampton in 1700, and in 1721 married Mary Taylor; Jeremiah, his son, who was one of the grantees, was born in 1722, and in 1744 married Mary Stevens, by whom he had three children. Mr. Philbrick, the senior, was the second man among the grantees, and after the death of Major Stevens was elected to the Assem- bly for several consecutive years. He was designated in the Journal of the House as Esquire Philbrick, while the represen- tative from Hampton was known as Deacon Philbrick.
OTHER GRANTEES.
Lieutenant Samuel Colcord was born in 1656 and died Octo- ber 5, 1736. He had a son, Samuel B., who was a grantee, born August 22, 1710, and married Mehitable Ladd, December 28, 1732, by whom he had several children. His brother, Peter, was captured by the Indians, in May, 1724.
Ensign Tristram Sanborn was born in 1683 ; married April 2, 1711, Margaret Taylor, and had six children prior to March 3, 1729. He came to Kingston in 1705 or 1706, where he was deacon of the church for many years.
Tristram Sanborn, 3d, son of the preceding, was born Feb- ruary 2, 1719; married Hannah Stevens, September 28, 1742, by whom he had two children, John, born July 30, 1743, and Hannah, born June 7, 1745.
Peter Sanborn, a brother of Tristram, 3d, was born in 1713 and died in 1810.
Abraham Green was a physician, who practiced at Kingston, and died there April 6, 175 -.
Lieutenant Elisha Sweatt, born 1705, was deacon of the church in Kingston, was active in the settlement of Stevens- town, and held various offices of trust. He died in 1788.
Peter Dearborn, the last in the list of grantees, was born November 14, 1710; married Margaret Fifield, of Kingston, December 2, 1736. He resided in Chester, on home lot No. 25. He was an earnest christian, and contributed liberally in
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THE MEN OF STEVENSTOWN.
building the first church in Kingston. He was a large land- owner, and it is recorded that he had "twenty-five head of stock." He died October 28, 1781.
FIRST SETTLERS.
It is traditional that there were eight families residing in the 'township prior to 1754. As nearly as can be ascertained at this remote period they were as follows, and came in the order named.
Ist, Philip Call came previous to October 3, 1748, as appears from old records. Mrs. Call was said to have been the first white woman in the settlement, Mrs. Maloon being the second.
2d, Nathaniel Maloon came to the town about the same time, from Contoocook, and made his residence in the western sec- tion of the town, near the site of the present Union meeting house.
3d, Jacob Morrill is said to have been the third settler. He was a resident in 1752, for at a meeting of the grantees held at Jonathan Greeley's, in Kingston, sometime during that year, it was "Voted and granted to Jacob Morrill, that lives at Major- Stevenstown, so called, all our right to 60 acres of common land in said grant of land, the above said Morrill, carrying on his proportion of charges in making and carrying on the settlement of said grant of land, according to the number of acres, he, the said Morrill, has granted to him, viz: that he, the said Morrill, shall have that piece of common land, that he, the said Morrill, now lives on and so much more as to make up the said sixty acres, where it may be convenient, reserving for the use of said proprietors all such convenient highways through said granted sixty acres of land as shall be found wanting. The true mean- ing of this vote is that the above said Morrill shall have sixty acres of land over and above what said highway shall take out of said piece of land so granted to him." The above sixty acres was what is now a part of the "Orphans' Home" farm, at Franklin Lower Village, and was the third intervale lot. Nov. 28, 1763, Morrill conveyed twenty acres of this land to Elipha- let Gale.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
4th, Ephraim Collins settled half a mile west of the river, on the road leading to Shaw's Corner. He was a man of consid- erable importance in the town and held responsible positions. He was first chosen surveyor of Stevenstown by the grantees at Kingston, in 1759. In 1764 he was a resident in Stevens- town, and conveyed to Benjamin Sanborn two tracts of land and his intervale lot, for £340, O. T. He was buried in the oldest cemetery in the town, near the Orphans' Home, and the grave is marked by the oldest head-stone in the town.
5th, Samuel Scribner.
6th, Robert Barber.
7th, John Bowen.
8th, Jonathan Greeley.
9th, William Silloway.
For further notices of the above, see "Genealogy."
OTHER EARLY SETTLERS.
Henry Morrill married, in Kingston, January 30th, 1739, Susanna Folsome, of Exeter, daughter of John (or Beard ) Fol- some, who was killed by the Indians, at Nottingham, in 1742. This is the same Morrill who aided Peter Bowen in burying Sabattis and Plausawa. Morrill came to Stevenstown and set- tled on Smith's hill. He had five children, a son ( Henry ) and four daughters. All are recorded as baptized between 1742 and 1752.
Tristram Quimby settled opposite the L. D. Stevens farm, where he died in 1813. He was a soldier in the French war and served in the Revolution. His widow survived him many years.
Jacob Quimby was an early settler. He may possibly have been a relative of Edward Quimby. (See Genealogy.)
James Tappan, it is said, was a native of Scotland. He set- tled on the farm now owned by Mr. Caleb T. Roby, on North road, and came here about 1753. February Ist, of that year, he bought one-eighth of the undivided land of Jonathan Greeley, for £64, 12 shillings, O. T.
55
THE MEN OF STEVENSTOWN.
William Newton came from Sandown, previous to 1754, and cleared up the farm now occupied by Elbridge Shaw. He removed to the Captain Josiah Evans farm, in that part of Andover now in Franklin. He was a good soldier, and served at West Point, Bennington, etc.
John Jemson came here from Salem, as early as 1765, set- tling south of the Abraham Shaw farm, on the North road. The Tappans, Newtons, and Jemsons were Scotch-Irish, and probably related to each other.
John Bawley (probably Burleigh) settled just east of George E. Fellows's present residence, in the Eastman pasture. He served throughout the Revolution. His children were John, Hannah, and Sally. John married Sarah, daughter of Moses Fellows; Hannah married - Tucker ; Sally married - Atkinson.
David Hall came here quite early, settling on the Joel East- man farm. Selling the same to David Pettengill, he removed to Raccoon hill. He served at Bunker Hill and throughout the Revolutionary war. Married - Heath, and had Abigail, born October 10, 1775.
Among the other early residents, were the following, who were grantees : John Fifield, Jr., John Huntoon, Joseph Bean, Jr., Benjamin Sanborn, Jabez True, Daniel Greeley, and Tris- tram Sanborn. Their individual history will appear in subse- quent chapters.
PROPRIETARY OFFICERS .*
(1749.) Elisha Sweatt, m .; Jedediah Philbrick, c .; Elisha Sweatt, Benj. Stevens, Samuel Fifield, Peter Sanborn, Jedediah Philbrick, s .; Jeremy Webster, sur.
( 1750.) Lieut. Elisha Sweatt, m .; Capt. Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Jedediah Philbrick, Elisha Sweatt, Ebenezer Stevens, Sam- uel Fifield, Jonathan Greeley, s.
* M. indicates Moderator ; c. Clerk ; s. Committee chosen to call Proprietors' meetings, look after the interests of the grantees, &c., their office being similar to that of the Selectmen of the present day; col. Collector; treas. Treasurer ; sur. Surveyor.
56
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
(1751.) Elisha Sweatt, m .; Jedediah Philbrick, Esqr., c .; Capt. Elisha Sweatt, Samuel Fifield, John Fifield, William Calef, Joshua Woodman, s.
(1752.) Jedediah Philbrick, Esqr., m .; William Calef, c .; Benjamin Stevens, Peter Sanborn, John Webster, Samuel Fi- field, Joshua Woodman, s .; Samuel Fifield, treas .; Jonathan Greeley, col.
(1753.) Jedediah Philbrick, Esqr., m .; Jeremy Webster, c .; Lieut. Elisha Sweatt, Jeremy Webster, Samuel Fifield, Capt. Ebenezer Stevens, Peter Sanborn, s.
(1754.) Joshua Woodman, m .; Peter Sanborn, c .; Capt. Ebenezer Stevens, Peter Sanborn, Samuel Fifield, Jonathan Greeley, William Calef, s .; John Webster, col.
(1755.) Dea. Elisha Sweatt, m .; Peter Sanborn, c .; Capt. John Ladd, William Calef, John Fifield, Benjamin Sanborn, Jacob Gale, s .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, treas .; Benjamin San- born, col.
(1756.) Capt. John Ladd, m .; Peter Sanborn, c .; Capt. Elisha Sweatt, Lieut. John Huntoon, John Fifield, William Calef, Capt. John Ladd, s .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, treas .; Joshua Wood- man, col.
(1757.) Capt. Elisha Sweatt, m .; Peter Sanborn, Esq., c .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, Tristram Sanborn, tertius, Capt. John Ladd, William Calef, Benjamin Sanborn, s .; Capt. Samuel Fi- field, treas .; Nathan Sweatt, col.
(1758.) Elisha Sweatt, m .; Peter Sanborn, Ebenezer Stev- ens, Esqr., Joshua Woodman, John Fifield, Dea. Sweatt, s .; Nathan Sweatt, col.
(1759.) Dea. Elisha Sweatt, m .; Peter Sanborn, Esqr., c .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, Peter Sanborn, Esqr., Dea. Elisha Sweatt, Joseph Greeley, William Calef, s. ; Nathan Sweatt, col .; Ephraim Collins, sur.
(1760.) Jeremy Webster, m .; Jeremy Webster, c .; Capt. John Ladd, William Calef, Lieut. John Huntoon, Nathan Sweatt, Joshua Woodman, s .; Nathan Sweatt, col.
(1761.) Deacon Elisha Sweatt, m .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, c .; William Calef, John Fifield, John Huntoon, Joshua Wood-
57
THE MEN OF STEVENSTOWN.
man, Benj. Sanborn, s .; Ephraim Collins, sur .; Nathan Sweatt, col.
(1762.) Capt. Trueworthy Ladd, m. ; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, c. ; John Huntoon, Trueworthy Ladd, John Fifield, Dea. Elisha Sweatt, Ebenezer Stevens, s .; John Calfe, col .; Benjamin San- born, sur.
(1763.) Capt. Samuel Fifield, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Deacon Elisha Sweatt, Capt. Trueworthy Ladd, Capt. Samuel Fifield, s .; John Calfe, col .; Benjamin Sanborn, sur.
(1764.) Elisha Sweatt, m .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, Capt. Trueworthy Ladd, Samuel Philbrick, s .; John Calfe, col .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, Trueworthy Ladd, Na- than Pettengill, Stephen Call and Ebenezer Webster, sur.
(1765.) Capt. Trueworthy Ladd, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Capt. Samuel Fifield, Capt. Trueworthy Ladd, William Calfe, s .; John Calfe, col .; Capt. Nathan Pettengill, Stephen Call, sur.
(1766.) Deacon Elisha Sweatt, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Dea. Sweatt, Capt. Samuel Fifield, Nathan Sweatt, s .; John Calfe, col.
+ (1767.) Capt. John Webster, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Joshua Woodman, Ebenezer Stevens, Joseph Bean, Dea. Elisha Sweatt, Lieut. Nathan Pettengill, s .; Jacob Gale, Shubael Greeley, col .; Capt. John Webster, Ebenezer Webster, sur.
(1768.) Deacon Elisha Sweatt, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Joshua Woodman, Dea. Elisha Sweatt, s .; Joseph Eastman, William Calef, junior, Sinkler Bean, col.
(1769.) Deacon Elisha Sweatt, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; William Calef, Nathan Sweatt, Ens. John Huntoon, s .; John Calef, col .; Moses Garland, Eliphalet Gale, sur.
(1770.) Capt. John Webster, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Joseph Bean, Ens. Jacob Gale, Joseph Bartlett, s .; John Calfe, col.
(1771.) Jeremy Webster, m .; Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Joshua Woodman, Ebenezer Stevens, Maj. Jacob Gale, s .; Capt. John Calef, col.
(1772.) William Calef, m .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, Joshua Woodman, Esqr., Col. Josiah Bart- lett, Dea. Elisha Sweatt, s .; Capt. John Calfe, col.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
(1775.) Dea. Elisha Sweatt, m .; Col. Ebenezer Stevens, c .; Col. Josiah Bartlett, Ebenezer Stevens, Capt. John Huntoon, s .; John Calfe, col.
(1779.) Capt. John Webster, m .; John Collins, c.
The last record of the Proprietors was made in 1801, when Colonel Ebenezer Webster was Moderator, and Andrew Bowers, Clerk. As the town of Salisbury was organized in 1768, there was no necessity for the Proprietors to continue their organi- zation. It was however done in many towns, and in Concord the practice is still maintained.
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CHAPTER VI.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
" Now from the hurrying train of Life Fly backward, far and fast, The mile-stones of the Fathers, The landmarks of the past."
THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN.
Immediately after the passage of the Act of 1766, to enable the Proprietors of Stevenstown to raise money by a direct tax, to carry on the settlement of the town and defray the necessary expenses, a petition was presented by residents in the township to His Excellency the Governor, for an Act of Incorporation.
(1767.) . The ratable estate in the town at this time was inventoried at £1701; the number of polls was 52, and the population 210. Concord had then 750 inhabitants, Canterbury 500, and Boscawen 285; while the territory to the north, Hav- erhill and Plymouth excepted, was for the most part entirely unsettled.
(1768.) On the first day of March, Governor Wentworth, in the name of King George the Third, declared and ordained the township, called Stevenstown, to be a town corporate, vested and incorporated into a body politic by the name of SALISBURY, as will appear by his hand and the seal of the Province.
In this charter, as in others given under similar circumstan- ces, there are points deserving particular attention. It purports to be given by the king, of his "especial grace" and "certain knowledge," and "with the advice of our trusty and well-beloved Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Hampshire," when in fact the king had no "certain knowledge"
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
about it, and exercised no "especial grace" to the inhabitants of the township; nor did he ever see the petition "humbly" offered, as represented in the preamble to the grant of incor- poration. The introduction to the charter was a mere form to gratify the vanity of the sovereign and to represent the dignity and authority of the British throne. The document was made by the direction of the Governor of the Province, of his "espec- ial grace," and was modestly signed "J. WENTWORTH," with no title or designation of official position attached to the signature.
It was once thought, and is still believed, even by eminent jurists and statesmen, that prior to the Revolution justices of the peace, coroners, notaries-public, and similar officers were commissioned by the king, over his own "sign manual," but we are unable to find any evidence to sustain such belief.
This charter was to continue at the pleasure of the grantor, which proved to be perpetual. The charter of Boscawen, con- ferred in 1762, was to continue but two years, though it was readily renewed at the expiration of that time. Other charters were variously restricted, and but few contained as liberal pro- visions as that of Salisbury.
THE CHARTER.
PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[ L. S.] George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth.
To all to whom these Presents shall come - Greeting.
Whereas our loyal subjects, Inhabitants of a tract of land within our Province of New Hampshire, aforesaid, Known by the name of Stevens-Town lying between Boscawen on the East and New Breton, so called on the West,* and containing by estimate, thirty six square miles, have humbly Petitioned and Requested us, that they may be erected and Incorporated into a Township and Enfranchised with the same Powers and Privileges as other towns within our said Province, by law, have and enjoy; and it appearing unto us conducive to the general good of our Province, as well as of the said Inhabitants, in particular, by maintaining good order and encouraging the culture of the land, that the same should be done,-
Know ye, therefore, That we of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and for the encouragment and promoting the good purposes and ends, aforesaid, by and with the
* This error was probably adopted in consequence of the belief once entertained that the Merrimack river had only an easterly course.
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
advice of our trusty and well beloved John Wentworth Esq. our Governor, and Com- mander in Chief, and, of our Council for our Province of New Hampshire, have crected and ordained, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do will and ordain, that the Inhabitants of a tract of land shall inhabit and improve thereon hereafter - the same being butted and bounded as follows-viz :- Beginning at a White Oak tree, standing on the bank of Merrimack River six rods southerly from a deep gutter running into the River, said tree being marked on four sides; thence running west 17º deg's. south, nine miles; then beginning again at the river at the said White Oak, and running upon the river northerly above "The Croch " upon l'emigewasset river to a large rock in the bank of the river, at the head of Pemige- wasset Great Falls; thence running west 15 degs. south, nine miles; thence on a straight line from the westerly end of this line to the westerly end of the line first mentioned, be and hereby are declared and ordained to be a Town corporate and are hereby erected and incorporated into a body Politic and Corporate, to have continuance during our pleasure, by the name of SALISBURY, with all the Powers and authorities, Privileges, Immunities and franchises, which any other town in the said l'rovince, by law holds; and [ we ] convey to the said Inhabitants, or who shall hereafter Inhabit there, to their successors for said Town, always reserving to us and our successors all white pine trees, that are or shall be found growing and being on the said Tract of Land, fit for the use of our Royal Navy, reserving also to us, our heirs and successors, the l'owers and Rights of dividing said town when it shall appear necessary and convenient for the Inhabitants thereof, Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby declared that this charter and grant is not intended and shall not in any manner be construed to affect the Private Property of the soil, within the limits aforesaid.
And, as the several Towns within our said Province are hereby by the laws thereof enabled and authorized to assemble and by a majority of the voters present, to choose all such officers and transact such affairs as in the said laws are declared.
We do by these presents nominate and appoint Capt Jn. Webster, Esqr. to call the first meeting of said Inhabitants to be held within the said Town, at any time within fifty days from the date hereof, giving legal notice of the time, place and design of holding such meeting ; after which the annual meeting in said town shall be held for the choice of said officers and the purpose aforesaid, on the 2d Tuesday of March annually.
In testimony whereof, we have caused the seal of our Province to be appended, this ist day of March, 176S.
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