USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Sutton > The history of Sutton, New Hampshire : consisting of the historical collections of Erastus Wadleigh, Esq., and A. H. Worthen, part 1 > Part 35
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Eliphalet Wadleigh, Luther Wadleigh,
Mary Russell,
Erastus Wadleigh,
James Russell,
Milton Wadleigh,
Grace A. Russell,
Benjamin Wadleigh,
Frank A. Robbins,
Gilbert Wadleigh,
Martha Robertson,
Hannah Wadleigh,
Francis M. Richards,
Julia A. Wadleigh, Lydia Wadleigh,
Henry A. Rowell, Betsey A. Roby,
Jonathan Wheeler, Hosea Wheeler,
Mehitabel Rogers,
Leonard H. Wheeler,
Adelaide Smiley,
Mary F. Wheeler,
Pamelia Smiley,
Emma Wheeler,
Fanny Smiley,
Mary E. Williams,
Susan E. Smiley,
Caroline P. Watson,
Eliza Ann Sanborn,
Cordelia Withes,
Elmer Sawyer,
Augusta S. Watson,
Henry D. Stevens,
Meribah A. Wells,
William M. Stevens, Moses Wadleigh,
Nellie E. Wells,
Minnie Wells.
John D. Wadleigh,
SOME WHO HAVE TAUGHT HIGHER SCHOOLS.
Lydia F. Wadleigh. Gen. John Eaton. Mary D. Andrews. James G. Andrews. Horace E. Andrews.
Joseph W. Russell,
Eva B. Roby,
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SCHOOLS.
James M. Bean. Adelaide Smiley, and the other daughters of Dr. Smiley. James H. Johnson. Gilbert Wadleigh.
COLLEGE GRADUATES.
Matthew Harvey, Dartmouth. 1806.
Nathaniel Eaton, Jr., Bowdoin. Leonard Eaton, Dartmouth.
Horace Eaton, Dartmouth. July 25, 1839.
Jacob Eaton. (Gen.) John Eaton. Gilbert Wadleigh.
Solon Armstrong, Wesleyan Univ., Middletown, Conn. 1856. James G. Andrews.
Horace E. Andrews, Dartmouth.
Jamss M. Bean, Pennsylvania Univ., Philadelphia.
Moses W. Russell, Dartmouth.
Orison L. Gile. James H. Johnson, Bates. 1888.
Elmer Sawyer, Bates. 1888. Joseph W. Russell, Dartmouth.
The following poem was written by Matthew Harvey, of Newport, and addressed to Anthony S. Gile, of Lempster, a few years prior to the death of the former. Both were natives of North Sutton, and school-mates in the North Village school- house. The verses are here introduced as giving a faithful picture of school life at the date and local- ity named.
BACKWARD GLANCES.
Just now, friend Anth, my query is, "To whom shall I indite The thoughts that in my bosom burn With fervent fire to-night?"
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
Why, you, of course ; for you and I Alone, for aught I know, Are all that 's left who classmates were Some fifty years ago.
I've wandered back to Sutton, Anth, Where you and I were born,- You, they say, of a bright spring day, And I one winter's morn ; But none I found to greet me, Anth, Whose hands with mine did row Our boat across old Kezar pond Full fifty years ago.
The waves were splashing at the shore- Their music just the same As when we strolled with shot-guns Along these shores for game ; And frogs were singing merrily. Some high, some wond'rous low, The same old song their grandsires sang Some fifty years ago.
The frogs, you see, did welcome me, So did the whippoorwill- The frogs in chorus from their bog, The bird from Porter hill ; And then chimed in the screech-owl, With night-hawk, thrush, and crow, Because I knew their ancestors Some fifty years ago.
And then, friend Anth, I fancied Myself a boy once more, And swam way round to "rocky point." As oft I'd swam of yore, And plunged and paddled like a duck Where fragrant lilies grow Just as their lovely sisters bloomed Full fifty years ago.
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SCHOOLS.
The saplings to large trees had grown,- And I a little older ; And that's the reason, I suppose, The water was some colder ; The blood is cooling in our veins, The winds more frigid blow Than those that fan'd our " diving-place" Some fifty years ago.
Then to the village common, Anth, My willing feet did stray, And there came back my youth again, To see the boys at play, As one, perchance, might catch the ball Another boy did throw, Where you and I had done the same Full fifty years ago.
And now our quaint old school-house, Anth, I could n't pass, you see, While thinking of that ancient seat Long filled by you and me. Another seat now holds its place- One of more style and show Than that our Barlow jack-knives spoiled Some fifty years ago.
Now, Anth, do you remember all The barefoot boys and girls- Some whose white hair was all unkempt, And some adorned with curls? With Mahaleth and Matilda (Both pretty girls we know), And few indeed could "spell 'em· down" Some fifty years ago.
Our "master" we respected, some- But oft provoked his ire By "chewing gum" and burning punk When standing round the fire.
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
E'en now I see his dander rise When shiv'ring, to and fro, With Adams' 'rithmetic in hand, Full fifty years ago.
But when he'd say, "The boys may g'wout," All g'wouted with a rush ; And should I tell what then was done, Dear Anth, we both might blush ; But boys, they say, are leaving now (But leaving mighty slow !) The ruder sports of other boys Some fifty years ago.
And, now, do you remember, Anth, A black spot on the wall That shows where was cremated, once, Poor Sally Jackson's shawl? Now that may pass for sample, Anth, Of mischief that did flow From crafty brains and nimble hands Some fifty years ago.
At "spelling-schools" all strove to reach, By force of mental muscle, The point of young ambition's aim- The topmost of the tussle. But still, the last one chosen was The first to fall, and show How soon a dunce his level found, Some fifty years ago.
" Kaleidoscope,' was hard to spell- But more could swallow "physic ;" With "sauerkraut" whole platoons fell, Then all came down with "phthisic." 'T was then our Alma Mater did With light and beauty glow ; O ruby lips ! O tallow dips ! Of fifty years ago.
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SCHOOLS.
Accept these backward glances, Anth, From eyes whose vision fades- Suggestive that our far-spent years Have reached their twilight shades ; Each heart-throb beats an onward march In measur'd steps and slow, With all our fragrant memories Of fifty years ago.
NATURAL FEATURES OF SUTTON.
Surface .- Sutton is a rocky, uneven township, on the height of land between the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. Along Mill brook, from New London to Kezar's pond, except where there are falls, are valuable meadow lands. From Kezar's pond to the falls above Mill Village is a large body of meadow and plain land of even surface, and free from stone. From Mill Village to the falls below the South Village are valuable meadow lands, and also near Roby's Corner. On Stevens's brook are meadows and other natural mowing lands, valuable for the hay they produce. On Fowler's brook and its tributaries are productive intervale and meadow lands.
Streams .- On the east side of the town is Ste- vens's brook, running southerly nearly half the length of the town, entering Warner river a little below Warner village. The main branch of War- ner river from Sutton rises in the north-west part of New London, near Sunapee lake, passing through Harvey's and Minot's or Messer's ponds, and Kezar's mill-ponds, to Kezar's pond or lake; thence by Mill Village and South Village to Roby's Cor- ner, where it joins Warner river. Most of the mills in town are on this stream. Jones's mill, the first made in town, was below the South Village.
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NATURAL FEATURES.
Quimby's mill was next made at Mill Village. Fowler's brook, a branch of the Blackwater, is in the north-east part of the town, where were for- merly Fowler's and Roby's saw-mills. A stream passes from Long pond to Warner river, where have been mills.
Ponds .- Kezar's pond, a beautiful body of water, containing about two hundred acres, is in North Sutton. Early settlers in the vicinity of this pond were Ebenezer Kezar and his son Simon, David Eaton, Matthew Harvey, Samuel Bean, Benjamin Wadleigh, Esq.
Gile's pond is on a level with Kezar's pond, about half its size, and not far distant from it. Appearances indicate that they both at some time formed one body of water. Ephraim Gile, Jona- than Davis, and Daniel Messer early settled near Gile's pond.
Billings's pond is in the south-west part of Sut- ton, also Russell's pond and Peasley's or Long pond, the latter being about a mile and a half long. Isaac Peasley, Hezekiah Blaisdell, and Jonathan Johnson settled near it previous to this century. Russell's pond, near Capt. Aaron Russell's, con- tains but a few acres. There are other smaller ponds in town.
Hills .- King's hill is about two thousand feet high, being the highest land in the town, the very topmost point of Sutton. A part of Kearsarge mountain lies within the limits of the town, but not its highest point, the town line crossing the moun- tain at an altitude lower than two thousand feet. Kezar lake or pond, as it is usually termed, is noted
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
for the beautiful scenery around it. This lake lies west of North Sutton village. Approaching King's hill from North Sutton, the excursionist passes Kezarville, on the north end of the lake. Here is one of the most lovely and picturesque places in central New Hampshire, its natural beauties in- creased, its attractions added to many fold, through the artistic eye and liberal hand of Jonathan Har- vey Kezar, aided by his sons. These men are descendants, in the fourth and fifth generations, of Ebenezar Kezar, who early settled here, and from whom the lake takes its name. From Kezarville the base of King's hill is soon reached by a good carriage-road; thence by the Samuel Kezar and Benjamin Wells farms (anciently so called) to the old school-house of district No. 5; thenee by Kezar's road to the granite ledge near the top of the hill. To accommodate the workers on the ledge, Mr. Kezar has here built a temporary house, which is on a level with the Winslow House on Kearsarge mountain. On the top of King's hill is a large rock of forty or fifty tons' weight resting on the ledge, but not a part of it, so evenly balanced as to be readily moved by the hand. From the top of this balance-rock, as it is termed, the rain that falls there may be conveyed to either the Merrimack or the Connecticut, it being on the height of land between the two rivers. From the top of the hill is an enchanting view of Kezar lake and Gile pond, and the pleasant village of North Sutton on the east, of Sunapee lake on the west, and the Sunapee Mountain range near by, with Aseutney and the Green Mountains in Vermont farther on in the
559
NATURAL FEATURES.
west. On the north are the Grantham, Croydon, and Cardigan mountains, and also on the north and north-east are Bald, Ragged, and Kearsarge mountains. On the south are the Mink Hills in Warner, Lovewell's mountain in Washington, Mo- nadnock, and other mountains and hills.
The western view from King's hill is better than that from Kearsarge, while in another direction may be seen in the distance the White Hills. On the north are Harvey's pond and Messer's pond, and the villages of Scytheville, Low Plains, and Wilmot Flat. King's hill contains an inexhaustible quarry of excellent granite, easily wrought and extensively used in this part of the country. Formerly, near the top, brick were made extensively, and here are numerous living springs of good water.
King's hill was early settled by John King, William Bean, Amos Pressey, Moses Hills, Jo- seph and David Chadwick, and Hugh Jameson.
In the vicinity of the entrance of the stream into Kezar's pond, and along the western shore, were found many Indian relics, among which were hearths of fire-places, skilfully made, arrows, gun- barrels, tomahawks, pestles and mortars, etc. There was also an Indian burial-ground where the orig- inal forest had been cleared. On the road passing over the south-eastern portion of King's hill is a beautiful rivulet and cascade, running over solid rock, through a gorge or ravine and a primeval grove.
It will perhaps be a convenience to the reader if the following table of altitudes above mean tide- water at Boston be inserted here:
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
Ascutney mountain,
3.186 feet.
Kearsarge,
2,942
Croydon,
2,789
..
Sunapee,
2,683
King's hill,
2,000
Sunapee lake is eleven hundred and three feet above mean tide-water at Boston, and by a survey made in 1816 it was found to be more than eight hundred and twenty feet above Merrimack and Connecticut rivers.
Fellows hill is a little north of King's hill, ad- joining Newbury town line; first settled by Jesse Fellows and Ensign Jacob Bean. Burnt or Chel- lis hill is in the westerly part of the town, south of Mill Village and East of South Village. The early settlers in its vicinity were Lieut. Joseph Wad- leigh, Samuel Andrew, Thomas Wadleigh, Esq., Samuel Peaslee, and Leonard Colburn.
Kimball hill is in the south-east part of the town, and was early settled by Caleb Kimball. The locality is now known as Eaton Grange, being owned by the Eaton descendants of Caleb Kimball, one of the most remarkably honorable and justly successful families Sutton has ever produced.
Birch hill is west of Kimball hill, and was the former residence of Ichabod Roby, James Roby, Jonathan Roby, and other early settlers.
Meeting-House hill, north-east of the South meeting-house, is noted for the large quantity of plumbago found there. The surface of this hill is remarkably rough, steep, and uneven, which is a great hindrance to the obtaining of the plumbago.
Easterly of this last hill is Peaslee or Dresser hill. The early settlers here were John Peaslee,
561
NATURAL FEATURES.
Ezra Jones and son Ezra, and Samuel Dresser. Mr. Dresser and wife both died at great age, ninety-seven and ninety-five years, being with one exception the oldest couple who have died in town.
Nelson hill, on Newbury line, was early settled by Philip and Moses Nelson.
Pound or Hildreth hill is in the centre of the town. Ephraim Hildreth and Jeremiah Davis were early settlers there.
Davis or Wadleigh hill is where Milton B. Wad- leigh lives, and was early settled by Benjamin Wadleigh, Esq., Rev. Samuel Ambrose, Jacob and John Davis.
Kearsarge hill extends more than half the length of the town, adjoining and embracing a part of Kearsarge mountain. The early settlers here were Hezekiah Parker, Jacob Mastin, George Walker, Jonathan Phelps, Nathan Phelps, Aquilla Wilkins.
Gile's hill was formerly owned by Captain Levi Gile. It was once a great impediment to team- sters.
Porter hill, for many years owned by Reuben Porter, Esq., is on the west side of Kezar's pond, and from it may be obtained a beautiful view of North Sutton and surrounding scenery.
Oak hill, east of the North meeting-house, is a noble eminence, almost a mountain, and the views to be obtained by ascending it more than repay the difficulty of the steep ascent.
Many more lofty elevations merit especial men- tion, but enough have been named to convince the reader that Sutton forms, a part of the central ridge of New Hampshire.
36
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
Kearsarge Mountain .- No sketch of Sutton would be complete without some description of Kearsarge, since a large portion of the body and foot of this noted eminence lies within the town limits, though not its head and crown, King's hill, the highest land in town (two thousand feet), whose regal title chances to be so appropriate, being the only representative of royalty in which Sutton claims absolute proprietorship. No munici- pal limitations, however, hold with regard to the landscape view of Kearsarge. From most of our hills, and from many points in the lowlands, can be obtained an unobstructed view of its whole magnifi- cent proportions. No point of observation in Sut- ton, perhaps, is better than Harvey's hill, in the north part of the town.
Both Kearsarge and Sunapee mountains show evidence of glacial action of the ice period, though in different ways. Sunapee, with its broad base and blunted cone, owns up to having lost its crown by the scraping of icebergs over it, while Kear- sarge, which yet holds its bare head nearly three hundred feet higher in the air than the Sunapee of this age, escaped with many scratches, its top being much scarred and striated.
The highest part of Kearsarge is now bare rock, though it was once covered with soil which sup- ported a rather stunted growth of forest trees. In the early part of the present century a fire ran over it, burning not only the woods but the soil itself. Since that time its granite top, forever wind-swept, has been as bare of soil and vegetation as are the sea-shore rocks washed by daily tides.
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NATURAL FEATURES.
Slowly, slowly, in the long ages to come, by imperceptible accumulations, soil will gather again, and the forests that now cover the mountain-sides will creep timorously upward till the top of Kear- sarge shall be again a mass of waving woods. So much will the far remote future accomplish; but that, in past ages, the mountain has been sending down more of value than it has carried up, needs no better evidence than the fact that the lord proprie- tors, when they granted the charter of Perrystown, selected for their own eighteen reserved shares, the lands lying where they get the wash of the moun- tain. These lands have not yet lost their richness. They were often termed the lord proprietors' lots, and were all laid out one mile long and one hun- dred and thirty-five rods wide, containing two hundred and seventy acres.
As to the question of priority of right to the name of Kearsarge, the question that caused some discussion between those who favor the Conway Kearsarge and those who favor the Merrimack county Kearsage, it would seem to be settled by the fact that, in the charter of Perrystown, the date of which was 1749, the tract of land is described as lying to the west of Kearsarge hill, while the claim of the Conway Kearsarge is of a recent date.
Geology of Sutton .- For the convenience of those readers who may not always have at hand Hitch- cock's "Geology of New Hampshire," the follow- ing, descriptive of Sutton's geological characteris- tics, is here copied from that noble work:
Sutton is nearly all underlaid by porphyritic gneiss. Near the north line, by C. A. Fowler's, the dip is 75° N. 45° W. The main
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
road through the hamlets of North Sutton, Sutton Mills, and South Sutton abounds with porphyritic ledges. At the Mills the descent is considerable. Between Kezar and Gile ponds there is an exten- sive meadow, and also below Sutton Mills.
About South Sutton are steep, conical hills,-steepest on their south side, as seen from the north-east. At the head of Long pond is a mass of compact, flinty rock, dipping 80° N. 25° E., girt by the porphyritic rock on both sides. On Stevens's brook this rock begins at the town line, and for two miles the ledges are continuous.
Sand obscures the ledges in the northern half of the town, on the road to Wilmot Flat, from Stevens's brook. It was surprising to us to find such a level road between Warner and Potter Place, through the Stevens's brook valley, in this mountainous region.
MINERAL SPRING.
The following mention of what is now termed Davis's spring, from the fact that for many years Ezekiel Davis owned the meadow where it exists, is copied from an ancient number of the Farmer's Cabinet, dated Oct. 21, 1806. From this it appears that the virtues of this spring had not at that time long been known, at least to white men:
A mineral spring has, lately been discovered in Sutton, which from its medicinal qualities promises to be of great utility. Many persons of respectability have drank of the water, and uniformly experienced very sensible effects. The taste is slightly alkaline, and the water appears to contain a considerable quantity of the sul- phuric and fixed air.
Gentlemen who have visited Stafford springs the present season are decidedly of opinion that the use of this will be attended with similar success. It is situated in a pleasant, shady vale, the prop- erty of Lieut. Hutchins, which with little expense might be made an elegant place of retreat. The writer of this article is experi- mentally acquainted with the effect of the water in removing ob- structions in the stomach, and evacuating the redundant cholera. Its operation is both cathartic and emetic.
565
NATURAL FEATURES.
TREES.
The trees common to northern New England are, or were originally, found in Sutton-the hard woods on the hills and ridges, and the soft woods at home on either hill, plain, or valley. The ash, maple, beech, oak, and elm, also poplar, basswood, alder, hazel, the hemlock, spruce, fir, and pine, are natives. Most of the larger and heavier hemlocks and pines have been cut for timber, so that the greater part of the forest trees now to be seen are of second and third growth. Fortunately a few large pines were left uncut, a mile or two below the North Village, and they yet remain to show to this generation to what great height and size a pine tree can attain, though they are long past their prime, and some of them leun considerably. Many of the old farms had a butternut or oilnut tree growing here and there on the premises, and the oilnuts, the rich products of these trees, were much valued. Cracking these nuts and picking the meat out of the flint-like shells was quite an agreeable entertainment for young people of a long winter's evening. Beechnuts, the fruit of the beech tree, were formerly very abundant here, and held in high estimation. Squirrels, as well as children, are fond of them, and often lay in a good store of them in hollow trees all peeled for their winter sustenance. They can peel them easily before the shells become dry and hard. The acorns of the white oak were formerly abundant here, and much sought for by the children, as were also the hazel-nuts, the product of the nut-hazel, which is more properly a shrub
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HISTORY OF SUTTON.
than a tree. Sassafras was formerly found grow- ing here, much valued for its inner bark, being of a pleasant aromatic taste, and also useful as a medi- cine. And about the same may be said of the inner bark of the slippery elm and the black birch, the latter in taste much like the checkerberry. Both of these trees were formerly more plentiful than they now are. Most of the children of the early years of this town learned to write on strips of the bark of the white birch, while birch twigs were at all times useful to assist in maintaining order in the school or family. Turned wooden ware was chiefly made of ash wood. For lighting the house in long winter evenings, the people used formerly to be so dependent on pitch-pine wood that a piece of it full of pitch was commonly spoken of as "candle- wood."
Among all the arboreal products of this region, so useful to man, there is nothing he appropriates more eagerly or appreciates more highly than the sugar-producing qualities of the rock-maple. Thou- sands of pounds of maple sugar are annually made in this town, which, being manufactured by the modern conveniences and methods, is of a very fine quality.
Wild cherry, black and red, is found here, and also another wild fruit-tree, called the sugar plum, the fruit externally resembling a cherry, but which is really a wild pear, and if cut across into halves will be seen to have its seeds arranged like those of a pear or apple, instead of being a stone fruit like a cherry. It is not impossible that culti- vation may sometime produce something fine from
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NATURAL FEATURES.
this wild fruit, as it has from poorer original stock. Its adaptability to our cold climate being so desira- ble a quality, the idea has been suggested that some richer and more delicate variety of pear might be grafted into this wild root, and a more hardy yield of fruit might result, something in the same way as the delicate flowering almond of the South is made hardy by grafting into the root of a hardy peach-tree.
And now, while speaking of grafted fruit, it may not be out of place to mention here that to Major Enoch Bartlett, the man whose name occurs in this work in connection with the renewal of the charter in 1773, we are indebted for the Bartlett pear. He discovered its merits, and took pains to introduce it in various parts of the country, giving his name to it. The Baldwin apple, another good friend of ours, originated in Billerica, Mass. A man by the name of Baldwin found a tree growing wild in a pasture where it had sprung up from a seed, and admiring the fruit and recognizing the desirable qualities of the tree, took pains to make conditions favorable for it, and the result is what we now enjoy. The same is true of the Concord grape, by many considered the best of all the cultivated varie- ties for our climate. A man in Concord, Mass., by the name of Bull, a fruit culturist, found a wild grape-vine producing superior fruit under condi- tions which chance had made favorable. He improved upon those conditions, and his wild vine also improved, and became the ancestor of all the Concord grape-vines now sold or cultivated. Some ten years ago Mr. Bull and his vine, " the mother
568
HISTORY OF SUTTON.
vine," as he called it, were living in Concord, Mass., and perhaps are so still.
It appears from the History of Dunbarton that to Major Caleb Stark, eldest son of Gen. John Stark, born in Dunbarton, 1759, we are indebted for the introduction into this region of the practice of grafting and budding fruit-trees. He visited every section of Massachusetts where he heard of choice fruit, and obtained scions for his trees, and with his own hands he set grafts and buds in his own orchards and in those of his nearest townsmen who were sufficiently credulous to consider the strange experiment worth trying. In a few years a plenti- ful supply of fruit more than realized their expecta- tions.
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