USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Salisbury > The history of Salisbury, New Hampshire, from date of settlement to the present time > Part 8
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The President replied that such a course would be exceed- ingly agreeable to him, and it would afford him much pleasure to meet the good men, and get more than a glimpse of "the good women," the mothers and daughters, of the good town of Salisbury.
At four o'clock, the President and 'Squire Bowers, arm-in- arm, walked down past the residence of Thomas R. Little to the academy, crossed over to the residence of Moses Clement, and walked up by the "meeting house" to the "tavern ;" and there, on the green, grass-covered lawn of the common, the chief magistrate of the nation was greeted as warmly and as
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
heartily as in any place in the broad land. There was no pomp or parade, no military display, no banners flying, and no
" Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds,"
but a plain, genial, respectful, hearty greeting, which warmed the heart and cheered the spirit of the good President.
For some years the town maintained its ordinary activity, with no events requiring especial notice.
LAND SLIDE.
(1819.) In the spring of this year, a mass of earth and stones, of several tons' weight, became detached from the south- ern declivity of Kearsarge mountain, and was precipitated with great violence into the valley below, sweeping a path of forty rods in width.
OPPOSITION TO A NEW ROAD.
(1824.) February I, the following article was voted upon : "To see what method the Town will adopt respecting a contem- plated Highway through the westerly part of said town of Salis- bury, said highway having been petitioned for to the County Court of Sessions by J. Stark, S. Currier, Roger E. Perkins, and one hundred and fourteen others."
"Voted to leave it to the discretion of the Selectmen to ap- point an agent to attend the Court of Sessions to try to procure a postponement of the petition mentioned."
December 16, "Voted to remonstrate against the road men- tioned in the second article of this warrant."
"Voted the Selectmen be a committee to confer with the Selectmen of Andover, Boscawen and Hopkinton, and use their discretion in opposing said road."
NEW COUNTY PROPOSED.
At the annual March meeting the voters of Salisbury were called upon to vote on the incorporation or formation of a new county, from a part of Hillsborough and Rockingham, to be called Merrimack. The number of votes in favor of the new county was 240; against it, 19.
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
THE GREAT FRESHET, ETC.
This year occurred the "Great Freshet," on the 11th and 12th of February. It rained all of two nights and part of one day, and carried away all the snow. The ground was frozen and the water ran into the streams, which rose rapidly, and carried away two stone piers and part of the body of Concord lower bridge, one wooden pier and about two-thirds of Concord upper bridge, all of Canterbury bridge at Boscawen Plain, the new Republican bridge between Salisbury and Sanbornton, Smith's bridge at New Hampton, four bridges on the Contoo- cook river in Henniker, three in Warner, and four in Weare. Immense quantities of timber which had been prepared and carried to the bank of the Merrimack were swept away by the flood, and it was equally destructive in other parts of the State. Timber at this time was drawn in winter upon the banks of the rivers, and in the spring fastened together in immense " rafts," or "shots," and when the water was at a certain height or "pitch," these rafts -" shots,"-were run by skilled men over Eastman's, or Pemigewasset Great Falls, (at Franklin,) in the Pemigewasset River, and Sewall's Falls, in Concord, on the Merrimack. There were but few men who had prudence, skill, strength and courage to run a raft of logs over Eastman's or Pemigewasset Great Falls, in the river on the eastern boundary of the original town of Salisbury. Previous to 1846, sawmills were erected at Lowell for the manufacture of lumber, and im- mense quantities of timber were cut by Fisk & Norcross, on the Pemigewasset and branches, and drawn upon the ice in the winter, and in the spring were let loose and "driven" by large numbers of river-men over the rocks, sand-bars and falls to the city of Lowell. At the completion of the Concord Railroad, the Middlesex Canal and the locks on the Merrimack below Concord were of no more use, and rafting became at once a glory of the past. Very soon the "driving of logs" must cease, and the Merrimack will be no longer a highway for the lumbermen. Its waters will be entirely monopolized by the manufacturing capitalist, and its reservoirs will hold the power, greater than is possessed by any river in the world. The lakes,
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
the ponds, the brooks and the little rills that swell the current of the Merrimack, furnish treasures of greater value than the mountains and gulches of California and Nevada, or the coal mines of Maryland and Pennsylvania.
NEW TOWN.
In the House of Representatives, December 8th, Mr. Bing- ham, chairman of the Committee on Towns and Parishes, reported that the petition of Ebenezer Eastman and others for a new town, including a part of Salisbury, be postponed to the first Tuesday of the next session. The report was accepted and action postponed.
THE NEW TOWN AGAIN.
(1825.) At the March meeting it was "Voted to choose an agent to oppose the petition of Ebenezer Eastman and others for a new town."
"Voted that we shall employ council if thought necessary."
Chose Moses Eastman, Esqr., Agent.
"Voted the agent shall draw up a remonstrance and put it into the hands of the Selectmen to obtain signers."
At the June session, the remonstrance against the petition for a new town was referred to the Committee on Towns and Parishes.
Mr. Healey, as chairman of that committee, reported the fol- lowing resolution, which was adopted :
That the petition of Ebenezer Eastman and others, praying for the incorporation of a new town, to be taken from the easterly part of Salisbury and Andover, south-westerly part of Sanbornton and westerly part of Northfield, be referred to a select committee of three, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives ; and that said committee be author- ized to take into consideration the prayer of said petition, and at the petitioners' request, they view all the ground for which the contemplated new town is to be taken, hear all the parties interested, and give due notice to the Selectmen of the hearing, and report at the next session of the Legislature.
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
June 17, the Speaker appointed Caleb Keith, William Plum- mer and Abel Merrill.
GENERAL LAFAYETTE.
During the summer of 1824, upon the invitation of President Monroe, General Lafayette re-visited the United States. Be- tween the time of his leaving this country and his invitation to become the guest of the nation, forty years had elapsed. To the survivors of the Revolution it was the return of a long-loved and long-absent brother, and to the later born generation it was "the second advent" of him who had come to save us when we feared we were lost. He was to us the instrumentality which was all powerful in giving us "a name and a country." In.the dark days of our struggle for existence he came to our assist- ance, lavished his fortune, and spilt his blood for our indepen- dence. In his character as a friend he seemed to combine all the titles to love, admiration, gratitude and enthusiasm, which could operate upon the heart and imagination of the young and ardent. Modest, generous, good and brave, he had little idea of the glow of expectation that was awaiting his arrival upon our shores, or of the enthusiastic reception with which he was to be greeted. As he approached New York harbor he inquired of an acquaintance if he could find a hack to carry him to some hotel! The roaring cannon, as they thundered forth his wel- come, soon told him that his approach to our shores had been her- alded and that the arms of the nation were open to receive him. As he passed from city to city and from State to State-doubled in number since his departure-he received a constant series of ovations. He was made the guest of all the States and of the principal towns and cities, and as he passed on his journey from one end of the Union to the other, the whole population came out to meet and to welcome him.
On the 22d of June, General Lafayette honored Concord with his presence, and was received by the Legislature, then in ses- sion, and by an immense concourse of citizens from all parts of the State. Great preparations were made for his reception, and Concord has never seen another such occasion of universal
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
enthusiasm. Six hundred citizens, including the Governor and his council, the members of the Legislature, and more than two hundred revolutionary officers and soldiers, sat down to a public dinner in the state house yard, with General Lafayette. Two hundred and ten revolutionary soldiers, several from Salisbury, were introduced to Lafayette by General Pierce, the father of President Pierce. Toasts were drank, and original songs com- posed for the occasion were sung. A great many people from Salisbury, of all ages and of both sexes, were present to testify their affection and gratitude to the nation's defender. He was met at the town line between Concord and Pembroke, and was addressed by Hon. William A. Kent, chairman of the committee of arrangements. He was then handed into a carriage, to which were harnessed eight beautiful white horses-six of them from Salisbury-driven by the accomplished and skillful reinsman, Lyman Hawley, of the firm of Hawley & Gilman, who kept the tavern at the South Road. He was driven by Mr. Hawley, with this splendidly caparisoned team, through the entire length of Main street and returned to the gate of the state house yard, where he was received by the Governor and the Legislature, amid the enthusiastic and prolonged cheering of an immense concourse of people. He returned to Concord on the 27th of June, on his way to Windsor, Vermont, when he took his final leave of Concord and of the State.
CELEBRATION.
Fourth of July this year came on Sunday. On the fifth the people of Salisbury celebrated the day at the South Road. An address was delivered in the meeting house, by George W. Nesmith, and a public dinner was partaken of at the "Stage Hotel," with toasts and post-prandial speeches.
THE NEW TOWN AND ROAD MATTERS.
(1826.) At the March meeting, "Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to take all necessary measures to oppose the acceptance of the Report of the Committee on Said road, (viz., the road from Andover to Hopkinton,) and shall remonstrate against it."
-
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
"Voted that it be left to the discretion of the Selectmen to employ such council as they shall think necessary to oppose the new town (Franklin ) at the publick hearing at the next session of the General Court."
June 16, the Committee of the House of Representatives, appointed at the previous session, consisting of Messrs. Keith, Plummer and Merrill, reported the following resolution, which was adopted, yeas 122, nays 86:
Resolved, That the whole subject in regard to the new town of Franklin be indefinitely postponed.
THE AUGUST FRESHET.
On the 28th of August of this year the most terrific and destructive rain storm visited New Hampshire that had been known since the settlement of the State. The windows of heaven were literally opened, "the rain descended and the floods came," and the torrents came tumbling from the hills. Roads were completely destroyed, bridges were swept away, and "the hills ~themselves descended into the valleys."
During the night of the 28th, a whole family in the Crawford Notch of the White Mountains were buried beneath a land-slide. A violent tempest raged about the Notch during the night, and a vast amount of rocks and soil on the Willey mountain was precipitated into the valley below, burying Mr. Willey, his wife, five children, and two hired men. Mr. Willey feared a slide and started, as is supposed, with his family for a place of safety, but all were overtaken soon after leaving the house. A large stone in the rear of the dwelling saved that from destruction, and had they remained there they would have been safe. Many of the road-beds in Salisbury were completely destroyed and most of the bridges were carried away.
GRASSHOPPER YEAR.
The summer was very hot and dry, and with the drowth came a vast army of grasshoppers, which destroyed nearly every green thing. This year was referred to for a long time after as "the time of the great drowth," "the year of the great freshet," and "the grasshopper year."
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
REPAIR OF HIGHWAYS.
October 20, "Voted to raise $1,000 to defray the expense of , repairing the highways and bridges that were destroyed by the late freshets." "Voted to raise $300 for the repairs of high- ways."
These extraordinary sums were raised independently of the annual appropriations to rebuild the bridges and repair the highways injured and destroyed by the storm.
DEATH OF TWO EX-PRESIDENTS.
On the 4th of July of this year, just half a century from the birth of American independence, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two of its "bold and fearless advocates," who had long been the "aged and venerable objects of a nation's admir- ation and regard, terminated their illustrious lives and finished their career of earthly renown." Daniel Webster won an im- mortality of fame from his oration upon the lives and services of these distinguished authors of the Declaration of Independence.
PRODUCTIVE SEASON.
(1827.) This year was marked as one of abundant fruitful- ness, when the earth gave forth her increase and made glad the heart of the husbandman.
THE PARSONAGE FUND.
At the March meeting it was "Voted to divide the parsonage interest money among the several religious societies in said town, according to their polls and ratable estate, to be ascer- tained by the Selectmen taking the minds of the inhabitants."
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
(1828.) March 12, agreeably to an Act of the Legislature, passed July 6, 1827, the voters of the town elected the following school committee, one in each school district, for one year :
South Road District, No. I John White.
South Road District, No. 2. Isaac Sawyer.
South Road District, No. 3. John Couch, Jr.
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
Center Road District, No. 1
Thomas H. Pettengill.
Center Road District, No. 2. Thomas Chase.
Blackwater Mills, ..
Stephen Pingree.
Blackwater Center District,
David Pettengill, 2d.
Blackwater Center Road District, David Stevens.
River Road, ( now Franklin,)
Isaac Hale.
Village District, ( now Franklin,) John C'avender.
North Road District, No. I
Samuel Quimby.
North Road District, No. 2
Joshua F'ifield.
Westerly District, ( Kearsarge Gore,)
Daniel Watson.
Raccoon Hill District, .
Greenleaf Cilley.
ACTION ON THE NEW TOWN.
November 3, "Voted that the Representatives be Instructed to oppose the petition of Dea. Sanborn, Caleb Merrill and others for a new town." (Franklin.)
"Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to take the sense of the Town by going to each individual and get his opinion for or against the aforesaid petition, and that the Selectmen notify Caleb Merrill, Esq., of the time they appoint to take the opinion of the individuals aforesaid."
The Act incorporating Franklin, passed at the fall session, on the 12th of December, 1828. The line between Salisbury and Franklin is as follows :
Beginning on the Merrimack River, where the line between Salisbury and Boscawen commences, thence South about 70 Degrees west, following the line between said Towns to the Southwest corner of lot No. 10 in the first range of lots in Salisbury, thence North six degrees East following the westerly line of said lot to a stone monument at the Northwest corner of said lot, thence North four rods across the first range way in Salisbury, thence South about 73 Degrees west to a stone marked C. B. at the Southwest corner of Lot No. 11 in the second range of lots in Salisbury, thence North six Degrees West on the Westerly line of said lot to the Northwest corner of said lot on the South side of the Centre Road so called, thence South about 73° West 6312 rods, thence North four rods across the road, thence South about 73 Deg. West 6312 rods to a stone marked C. B. at the South- west corner of lot No. 61 in the third range of lots in Salisbury, thence North 14 Deg. East on the Westerly line of said lot, 474 rods to a stone marked C. B. at the South side of the road, thence North about 73 Deg. East following the course of the Range way to the Southwest corner of lot No. 52 in the 4th range of lots in said Salisbury, thence North following the Westerly line of said lot to a Stake and Stone on the line between Salisbury and Andover.
Parker Noyes, John Simonds, Dearborn Sanborn and Edward Leighton or any three were appointed to call first meeting. Aproved Dec. 24, 1828.
7
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
(1829.) March 16, "Voted that the literary fund be added to the school fund, and the interest of said fund and that only be used for the benefit of the District Schools until the town shall otherwise direct."
DEATH OF EZEKIEL WEBSTER.
On Friday afternoon, April 10th, 1829, at about half-past three o'clock, Ezekiel Webster, at the age of forty-nine, in the fullness of apparent health, at the zenith of his intellectual power and the height of his usefulness, when his prospects for fame seemed to be ripening, while addressing a jury in the court house at Concord, received his silent summons and passed in an instant from the court of earth to the court of heaven. While standing before the jury, with the judges, lawyers, and a large audience all listening intently to his words, with his form erect and his arms hanging gracefully by his side, he closed a branch of his argument and instantly closed his eyes in death. The eloquent, "silver-tongued" George Sullivan was to follow him upon the other side of the case, and great interest was felt in the arguments by the friends of both.
Neither tongue nor pen can describe the consternation of the court, the jurors, and the crowded audience, whose eyes were riveted upon the speaker, at the moment when the messenger of death so suddenly summoned him away.
In the opinion of many, Ezekiel Webster was, next to his brother Daniel, the most eminent man that Salisbury has pro- duced. Perhaps fame will divide its honors between him and Ichabod Bartlett.
His funeral took place on Sunday, at the meeting house on Boscawen Plain, and a large concourse of people, including many from his native town, were present to testify their respect for the head of the Merrimack bar.
Saturday morning, Hon. Charles H. Atherton announced to the court the deep feeling which pervaded the bar by this mel- ancholy bereavement, and suitable resolutions were adopted. George Sullivan, in addressing the court and bar, exclaimed, "In the midst of life we are in death ;" "What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue!"
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
The New Hampshire Journal, in referring to his death, said : "Mr. Webster was one of the ablest lawyers in the State-a distinguished legislator-and left a rich inheritance in fame for his orphan children. He stood at the head of the Merrimack bar, by every member of which he was honored and esteemed, for his courtesy, talents and integrity. The void created by his premature death will not soon be filled."
RETRENCHMENT AND REFORM.
(1831.) March 8, Capt. Benjamin Pettengill introduced the following resolution : "Resolved, That the Representative of the Town of Salisbury in the Gen'l Court be instructed to use his utmost efforts to reduce the Salary of the Governor, Secre- tary of State, State treasurer, adjutant General and the pay of the Legislature."
"Voted that an attested copy of these resolutions and vote of the Town be sent by the Town Clerk to each of the printing presses in Concord, for insertion in the several newspapers."
SNOWING STARS.
(1833.) On the 13th day of November of this year occurred the most remarkable phenomenon ever witnessed by the inhab- itants of Salisbury. It was said that "it snowed stars." In the morning, long before daylight began to dawn, meteors began to fall thick and fast, like snow-flakes. There was no wind, and the night was clear and cool; no moon was shining, and the air was thick with the falling meteors. The shower lasted for a considerable time, and was seen by every one who happened to be awake and out of doors at the time. It caused great commotion and, in many cases, among the timid and superstitious, no little alarm. Edwin Booth, in writing an auto- biographical sketch many years ago, spoke of this meteoric shower as happening in Baltimore, Maryland. The phenomenon has since had several satisfactory explanations.
Prof. John Brocklesby, of Trinity College, Hartford, remarks that the wonderful display of meteors, in 1833, drew the atten- tion of philosophers to the subject of shooting stars, and from
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
the results of subsequent researches and observations, there is now reason to believe that certain epochs exist when these luminous bodies appear in greater numbers than usual, and that sometimes, at the return of these periods, they literally descend to the earth in showers. He describes the meteoric shower of the 13th of November, 1833, as "by far the most magnificent display of the kind that has ever occurred. It extended from the northern lakes to the south of Jamaica, and from 61º west longitude, in the Atlantic, to about 150° west longitude, on the Pacific. For the space of seven hours, from 9 P. M. to 4 A. M., the heavens blazed with an incessant discharge of fiery meteors from the cloudless sky. At times they appeared as thick as snow-flakes falling through air, and as brilliant as the stars themselves."
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S VISIT.
On the 28th of June of this year, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, honored New Hampshire with a visit. He was the third President who had favored the State with his presence. The Legislature was in session, and his only stop was at Concord, from whence he returned after his visit direct to Washington. This interesting occasion called forth an immense concourse of people, to do honor to the chief magistrate of the nation, the "hero of New Orleans." Large numbers from Salis- bury went to Concord to pay their respects to the most popular man who had occupied the presidential chair since Washington. He was received at Bow line by eight brilliantly uniformed independent military companies, and left his barouche and mounted an elegant snow-white horse. Though sixty-six years of age, no person ever saw a more exhilarating and inspiring sight than the gallant old hero of three wars, as he rode through the streets of Concord on his beautiful snow-white charger, bowing gracefully right and left in response to the continual shouts and the deafening "hurrahs" of more than ten thousand people.
THE " COLD WEDNESDAY."
(1835.) On the 16th day of December of this year occurred what has been known as the cold Wednesday. The wind was
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
high and boisterous, and the average state of the thermometer, from 71/2 o'clock in the morning till sunset, was 11º below zero. It was 6° below zero at noon. It was the coldest day for more than forty years, or since the notable "cold Friday." On the same day occurred a most destructive fire in New York city. The hose attached to the fire-engines froze up, and the fire was eventually stopped by blowing up buildings. This was the most destructive fire that ever occurred in that city. The intense cold prevailed throughout the United States and the Canadas.
A COLD SEASON.
(1836.) The winter was remarkably cold, and on the 26th of April of this year, Rice Corser went "on runners " from Corser Hill, in Boscawen, to Concord, and found it good sleighing. Fast day there were snow-drifts ten feet deep, on Corser Hill and vicinity, and many places in Salisbury.
ANOTHER FRESHET.
During this winter occurred another great rain, which carried off a large body of snow and broke up the rivers, causing great destruction of bridges. The Canterbury bridge, Boscawen bridge, and four bridges in Concord were swept away.
THE FINANCIAL CRASH.
(1837.) Several of the preceding years had been cold, and the crops had been short ; little corn or wheat was raised. The people of Salisbury began to feel the pinch of short crops. In this year came the great financial crash ; it was "black Friday" throughout the whole of the year, and the blackness did not end with the year. There was little money, except "wild-cat money," but a plenty of that. Banks suspended and issued frac- tional bills, to take the place of specie to make change, and few persons dared to take "a bank bill," for fear the bank which issued it had failed the day before or would fail the next day. The country stood still, or worse, "advanced backward." The
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
causes of this financial distress were many. The great com- plaint was that the United States government had failed in its duty to provide a currency-a circulating medium-for the country. Volumes could be written upon the subject. Previ- ous to 1837, surplus money from duties on imports had accum- ulated in the United States treasury, and had been distributed among the several States ; and this, among other things, caused the duties on imported goods to be reduced ; so that, in 1840, manufactures were languishing or at a stand-still, all public improvements had been abandoned, and the United States treasury was empty. The country has hardly ever seen such a period of financial gloom as culminated in 1837. The hard times continued, and food became scarce as well as money. Rye was imported from Italy and Russia and brought to Salis- bury and sold in considerable quantities at the store of Samuel Greenleaf & Co., at the South Road. There were times during the cold seasons, from 1836 to 1839, when corn was worth $2.50 a bushel, and many farmers raised only the small, Canada corn. About this time India wheat, somewhat resembling buckwheat, was extensively raised, as food for hogs and poultry. It was also used to make bread, which when eaten hot was light and palatable. As a food for man it soon went out of use, as it was evidently not a kind of bread upon which man could live alone.
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