The history of Weare, New Hampshire, 1735-1888, Part 12

Author: Little, William, 1833-1893. cn
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Lowell, Mass., Printed by S. W. Huse & Co.
Number of Pages: 1240

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Weare > The history of Weare, New Hampshire, 1735-1888 > Part 12

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t Potter's Manchester, p. 252.

JOHN JEWELL.

1751.]

And now, fifteen years after the grant of Halestown there is only a small clearing just made on the Jeremiah Bennett lot, a few open beaver meadows and Nathaniel Martin's cleared acre; all the rest is a howling wilderness. Martin and his young wife are alone in town and their solitude is broken only by the gobbling of wild turkeys, the hoot of owls, the bark of foxes, the cry of wild cats, the hideous howl of wolves and the unearthly, blood-curdling, half- human cry of the panther. It was wild music, weirder than the deepest peals of the grandest organ. But they did not stay here all the winter. Mrs. Martin often went home to her father's in Derry- field where in after years some of her children were born.

Mr. Martin lived on lot twenty-six about ten years, when he moved to the gore and built the second saw-mill in town where the one is now at Oil Mill. In 1764 he sold this mill and his farm to Jonathan Clement and returned to his first residence on twenty-six.

JOHN JEWELL was the second settler. He came from old Derry- field in May, 1751, and built his log cabin on lot thirty-six, range one. The site of his old cellar is still pointed out. It is a little north of the south road from Oil Mill to South Weare, north of the David Gould house and about one-fourth of a mile south-east of Dearborn's tavern .* John Jewell, Jr., Jacob Jewell, his sons, and also his daughter Lydia came with him. Jacob was a " fine speller " and used to write his name with every letter wrong, thus : G-e-k-u-p> Jacob. Lydia Jewell was the bridet of the first wedding of white folks in town. Of course there were Indian weddings before. It is said they made a marriage feast and it was of " bear's steak and Jotham beans." A wild bear from the woods was killed for the occasion and the beans were had of Jotham Tuttle; hence the name " Jotham beans."}

The Jewells were originally from South Hampton and tarried a year or two at the roaring falls of Amoskeag before coming to our town. There they learned to fish ; to love lamper-eels, often called " Derryfield beef," and for years they went from Weare every spring to catch and lay in a large supply. But it could not be said

* Mrs. George Cram says he settled there. She is a connection of the Dustin family who lived near the Jewells.

t Who the bridegroom was we have not been able to learn.

# The first marriage on record in the town books is the following : "This may sar- tify whome it may concerne that I married with lisence from Govener Bening Wint- worth Esqr Mr. Ezra Clement and Mrs Sarah Emerson on October 31st 1765 they being both of Weare.

" JEREMIAH ALLEN Justus peace " A true record. by me JEREMIAH CORLLES Town Clark."

HISTORY OF WEARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

[1752.

of them as it was said of Derryfield folks generally who had nothing else but eels to eat :-

" That the marks of eels were so plain to trace, That the children looked like eels in the face, And before they walked, and it is well confirmed, That the children never erept but squirmed."

Nor could they quite be classed with such Derryfield folks as these for the Jewells were a very pious family :-

" Such a mighty power did the squirmers wield, O'er the goodly men of old Derryfield, It was often said that their only eare, And their only wish and their only prayer For the present world and the world to come, Was a string of eels and a jug of rum." - Stark.

People fished at night at Amoskeag falls. A wild scene; a hun- dred men on the rocks; torn and tattered costumes ; some half hid in the gloom; some standing out in the fire-light; their torches blaz- ing; killing shad and salmon with swift spear-thrusts; throwing out alewives with scoop nets; setting eel pots and handling the squirm- ing, shiny lampers with woollen mittens; some fighting; all shouting ; the water rushing, roaring; a fierce and boisterous scene.

They got all these kinds of fish, and every spring, when the finny tribes came up the river, they had a great feast. They brought their fish home from the falls in bags on their horses' backs .* Their future neighbors, also, were many of them from Derryfield, and they were all very fond of going to Amoskeag to fish.

Mr. Jewell, some years after, moved to lot fifty, range one, just west of the Peacock, where he lived for a long time; then sold out and went to Sandwich, being one of the first settlers in that town.

THOMAS WORTHLEY,t the third settler, came in October, 1751, from Goffstown. He got his deed June 17, 1752, of lots thirty-three and thirty-four, range one, of Joseph Batchelder, the consideration being twenty pounds old tenor "and to settle." He was born in England, sailed to this country at an early age, married Mehitable Yarrow of Worcester, lived at various places, once at Bedford, and was one of Colonel Goffe's friends. He built his log-house on lot thirty-four, range one, in the marshy vale of the Otter, by a cold, never-failing spring of the purest water. There were several beaver

* Jonathan Martin said his ancestors used to go on horseback to Amoskeag falls to fish, and he showed the old leather saddle-bags in which they brought home the " Derryfield beef."

t He worked on " the way " for the proprietors' committee with his cattle in June, 1752. See note (*), p. 91, ante.

THOMAS WORTHLEY.

1751.]

meadows on the slow, winding stream; hunters had killed the beavers; some one had torn down their dams* and let out the water from the soft ground; the grass sprang up luxuriantly; blue joint of excellent quality and as high as a man's head. Worthley came up with some help in the summer, cut it and stacked the hay in a warm, dry place; built a small log-barn; in the fall drove up his cattle and in the winter fed it out to them.t

He was also quite a hunter; caught mink and otter on the streams; sable and fishercats on the hills and sometimes in early winter he got larger game; moose and wolves. To his practised ear, the evening howl of the wolves from the frozen mountains was a wild melody.

Deer were very plenty ; more at that time than there are sheep in town now, and our settler had great luck catching them. The Indians built drives in which they captured them; Worthley found the remains of one. He and his friends profited by the idea; they renewed it and then they could go up near the head of the Otter on Mount William# almost any time, start up several deer, hurry them down into the drive and shoot them as they tried to escape. They got a good supply of meat this way, but one year they had to hang it up in the tops of some great hemlock trees near Worthley's cabin, to keep it from the deer-keepers the town chose. The stumps of those old hemlocks are still to be seen.

In summer, when there were plenty of flowers, Worthley hunted bees. The first year he was here he found them at work on the turf in the rear of his cabin, where the sink-water was thrown. He cut up a piece with a bee on it, carried it in the direction from which they seemed to come, let the bee go back and forth several times and found a large swarm in a great pine. He felled the tree, and when it struck the ground the honey spurted out. He gathered it up as well as he could and got from the tree a large washtub nearly full of the nicest. At another time he found a swarm with an abundance of honey in the top of a pine that two "shingle-weavers" had felled and were making shingles from its butt. They had seen the bees, but did not think they had a home in their tree.

* Benjamin Tuttle said beavers were very plenty, and he had seen a beaver dam many times where afterwards was the Gove mill pond.

t Nearly all the new settlers would first come alone or with help, cut out a path to their lot, clear a few acres, build a cabin and barn, and then move in their family.

į Benjamin Tuttle said that when his grandfather came to Weare deer had yards in winter on Mount William.

HISTORY OF WEARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

[1752.

He had four sons : John, Timothy, Thomas and Jonathan, and several daughters,* all of whom came to Weare with him. His first wife died young and was buried on the west side of the north road from Oil Mill to South Weare. Her grave, paved with pebbles, is under a pine tree and is still plain to be seen. His second wife, Widow Mehitable Ordway, lived to be ninety-five years old. He resided here all the rest of his life, died at the great age of one hundred and six years and was buried in the cemetery at South Weare. His old cellar can now be pointed out and the pure, cold spring near by is often visited .;

MOSES QUIMBY was the fourth settler. He was from the Hamp- ton hive, had his early home in Danville, lived for a while at old Derryfield, where he learned to fish at Amoskeag falls, came to South Weare about April 8, 1752, and built his log-hut on lot fifty- five, range one, near where the South meeting-house now stands. To be more precise, it was south of the road to Mount Misery, just opposite the east line of the present burying-ground and one-half mile west of Meadow brook. He bought his land of John Green of Hampton Falls, one of the town proprietors, and the considera- tion was "that said Quimby has obliged himself and his heirs to settle and dwell on said lot." He came at once; the proprietors may have sent men to aid him, and it is told that the three settlers made a "bee" to build his cabin and clear his land. It was the custom for all the settlers to labor together, first in one field, then in another; it made the work lighter.

It was a hard job to fell the forest and chop and pile and burn the timber. Two men, one chopping on each side, would cut the trees pretty fast, one by one; but often when it was on the hill-side they would drive a piece. This was done by cutting each tree about one-third off on the down-hill side, then felling some huge ones on the up-hill side upon the notched ones, which broke them down, and these in turn broke down their neighbors, and so in a minute, the the whole forest, creaking, groaning, staggering, came thundering to the ground as though a hurricane had swept over it.

Two weeks of the hot summer would dry the foliage well, then it was burned over and the logs cut off in lengths suitable to pile. But this was slow work when the settler had no one to help, and he

* One of his daughters married Jotham Tuttle and another Caleb Emery, both early settlers of Weare.

t " The first settlers of Weare, N. H., were Nathaniel Martin in 1750; John Jewell, May 1751; Thomas Worthley, October 1751." - Joseph Philbrick's Memorandum Book.

SUGAR HILL ROAD.

1752.]

often "niggered " them, as it was called, by building fires at their sides and letting them burn off. The Indians used to do the same way. The land was not generally well cleared the first year, and the seed was hoed in among the stumps and blackened timber.

Moses Quimby was the only settler in 1752. He sold the land for the church where the present one now stands. He lived here till about 1790, when he disposed of his farm and went to Sandwich.

The town proprietors were now on their last year to get the thirty families and as yet only four had moved into town. They would hardly have got these only for the aid of Col. John Goffe. And now when the time was nearly up and there was great danger of incurring a forfeiture, they put forth renewed efforts.

Among other things they tried to sell their lands in the north part of the town. To bring them into the market it was necessary to have "a convenient way" to the lots. At a meeting held in the summer of 1753 they chose a committee, of which Meshech Weare was chairman, to look out one and mark it. Oct. 22d the committee reported that they had done the work. "The way" came into "said tract" on the east side "near ye Center road," then it ran north by the east line to the seventh range of lots, on Sugar hill, then west on the south side of the range across six lots, thence it crossed over southerly to the mill; here it met the road to Center square.

Mr. Benjamin Page, who was present, offered to make it "a good, passable way" for £110. It was agreed that he should have it; but he did not, and then the proprietors at once voted that they would make it a good passable* "cart way" this fall, and they probably did it; but they got no new settlers. Colonel Goffe, who still kept at work for them, procured one.

* " At a meeting of ye Propr at ye house of Benja Swett Inholder Octr. 22. 1753

" 1 Capt. Sam1. Prescutt Chosen moderator

" 2 Mr. Hilyard the Clerk being absent

" Voted that Meshech Weare be Clerk for this present meeting

" 3 The Com :tee Chosen at the Last meeting to look out a way into said tract of Land making Report that they had been and Looked out the most Convenient Place they could find for a way into said tract of land and have found where they think there may be a convenient way to Come into said tract of Land at the Easterly Side near to ye Center Road and then to Run Notherly upon or near ye Easterly line till it Comes to the Northerly Range of Lotts then to Run up wly upon or near ye sly End of sd Nly Range of Lotts about Six Lotts then to Cross over to the mill as they have Spotted & markd out the Same- Voted That said way be Cleared this fall as soon as may be so as to make it passable for a Cart way -

" (And as Mr Benjamin Page of Kensington Appears to undertake to Clear said way so as to make it a good Passable Road for £110-0-0 old Tenr- Voted That he be Imployed to Clear sd way) [The words in parenthesis are erased in the original.] And that Each Proprietor if he see cause have liberty to go or send a hand in order

100

HISTORY OF WEARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

[1753.

TIMOTHY CORLISS * was settler number five. Originally from Haverhill, Mass, he came from Bedford, where he had made the acquaintance of Colonel Goffe, to South Weare about Dec. 6, 1753. He bought lot sixty-three, range three, of William Quimby of Derryfield, who lived near the falls, for £9 old tenor bills of credit.t He built his cabin of logs on the south end of his lot, near the range- way and by the road from South Weare over the hill to Deering.

Tradition has it that his cabin was a better one than the others. It was made of peeled logs, white and clean; roof covered with long, shaved shingles "rived with a froe" and fastened on with wooden pins; two rooms, one on each side of the great chimney that stood in the center; two great open fire-places, that would take in near half a cord of wood at a time in each room; stout floors made of small timbers hewn flat; two lofts or chambers : one for the boys and hired men, the other for the girls and female help, both reached by a ladder from one of the rooms; a window in each room, glass three by five inches in size, and doors of rifted ash pinned on cleats. Then there was a small stoned cellar, which was a great convenience.

Mr. Corliss had several children. His son Timothy, who had hunted on the Peacock and the Piscataquog and was carried captive to Canada by the Indians, came with him. They both lived to a great age and died in town.

WILLIAM QUIMBY from Derryfield came about the same time as Timothy Corliss, 1753. He also loved to fish at Amoskeag falls. He built his cabin of logs hewed square, pinned together, ends breaking joints, -the best yet, -on lot fifty-five, range one, which he bought of Moses Quimby. He lived in town but a few years, then disposed of his property and perhaps moved to Sandwich.

to Clear said way & if Such as are now in arears for work ye has been already done done if they do not work upon Clearing sd way so as to Discharge what they are be- hind if they immediately pay their arrears so ye Such as do ye work may be paid And That Such as work in Clearing sd way be allowed 40 s old Tenr pr Day

[On the back of the paper is the following :]

his own

James Prescutt 1 Nathan Green

Benja Hilyard 1 liis own

his own

Caleb Bennett 1 his own

Eleazr Quinby 1 Judith Quinby

his own

Peter Cram

1 Jacob Stanyan

Moses Blake 11%

James Pearkins 2 Bancroft

Pain Row -1%

John Tilton -1-Capt Tilton "

-Philbrick Papers.

* There were many droll ways to spell the name Corliss, some of which are Corlles, Corlis, Corllis, Corless, Corlee.

t He also bought one-half of the privilege of the saw-mill which belongs to one right in said tract of land.

Mr Loverin 2 his own Ziri Fuller

" Capt Prescutt 2 & Saml Prescutt

Ensu Nason - 2 Mr Flagg

Henry Robie 2 Daniel Robie Reubin Sanborn Jur

101

AARON QUIMBY.

1754]

These were all who can be claimed to have settled in the first four years, and the township would have been forfeited had not the French and Indian war broken out. It is true, war was not declared between England and France till 1755, but Indian hostilities began a year or more before that time, and the town proprietors claimed that this was a sufficient excuse for not completing the settlement, and the claim was allowed by the Masonian Proprietors. This brought the town proprietors within the exception of their grant, and they had all the years the war lasted to go on with the work.

But they had poor success. With the most strenuous efforts, aided by Colonel Goffe, they only got one man to move into Weare in 1754.

AARON QUIMBY, from Derryfield, March 27th, bought lot thirty- seven, range one, of Jeremiah Bennett, the proprietor who once thought to settle in our town himself, for £100 old tenor bills of credit and " Emediate settlement made on the lot." He was born in Hawke, now Danville, and early in life came to Derryfield, where he resided some time before coming to Weare.

He built a good, substantial, large house of hewed logs and a rough log barn. It was on the north road from Oil Mill to South Weare, one-half mile east of Meadow brook, and the mark of his cellar can now be seen opposite the house of Ezra Eastman. When the town filled up with inhabitants he opened an inn, probably the first one in Weare, and kept it for a long time. It was a busy house and had some exciting scenes. The first barrel of rum ever in town was loaded by him on a "jumper" and drawn by a horse on the rough path up the Piscataquog and over the hills to his inn. How many men got balmy on that first barrel can not now be told. In his bar-room the old loggerhead was always kept at a white heat. With it he warmed the flip made of West India rum with some pieces of pumpkin dried on the " lug pole," apple skins and bran in it. This gave it an excellent flavor, and lips smacked that tasted it. Half a mug of flip was three pence. He also used it to warm the sling and milk toddy and sold each for three pence a mug.

Aaron Quimby was quite a prominent man in town; he held many offices and was once coroner for the county of Hillsborough.

JOHN MARSH came about the same time as Aaron Quimby and settled near Nathaniel Martin on the north end of lot twenty-seven. Where he was from or what family he had is not known. In 1755

102

HISTORY OF WEARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

[1757.

he sold to John Goffe, Jr., forty acres on the north end of his lot. He was in town as late as 1765, for at that time land was bounded against his.

Then for three years not another man moved into town, for the war was going on and the Indians were killing and scalping on the frontier. Men did not like to move into the wilderness where they might all be slain at any moment, or carried into a captivity worse than death. Even the few farmers of our town went about with guns in their hands, carried them into the fields and generally worked together for safety .*

But when the scene of hostilities was removed to a distant point and a feeling of security began to pervade the land, one of our town proprietors succeeded in hiring one more man to come and settle.

JEREMIAH CORLISS, son of Timothy the fifth settler, was the man. He was born in Haverhill, Mass., moved from there to Hopkinton, whence he came to Weare in 1757. He bought lot sixty-two, range two, of one of the proprietors, Benjamin Rowe of Kensington, upon the following terms and conditions : "the consideration of five shillings and for divers other good causes and considerations, particu- larly for forwarding and encouraging the settlement of a place called Hales Town upon the following conditions : that the said J. Corlles his executors and assigns shall clear, settle and improve the said lot according to the terms and conditions of the charter of said Hales Town and that he pay and discharge all the taxes that shall be legally laid on the said whole right from the date hereof until a gospel ministry shall be regularly in said Hales Town, that the said Benj. Rowe may be acquitted and discharged of and from all taxes that may be laid on any other whole right till the settlement of a minister as aforesaid." These were conditions enough, and from their wording we see that the first old name clung to the town. He settled on the south-east corner of his lot at once, and his cabin was one-fourth mile west of Meadow brook, on the road over the hill to Deering and near the house long used by Mr. Thorpe for tailor- ing purposes.

* The Indians took five captives at Stevenstown May 16, 1754, killed a man and wo- man in the same town Ang. 15th, and took eight captives at Number Four, Aug. 29th. In 1755, at Hopkinton, they took a man and boy, at Keene Benjamin Twitchell, and at Walpole they killed Daniel Twitchell and a man named Flint. Colonel Bellows had a fight with fifty of them, killing several, and a few days after they, to the number of one hundred and seventy, attacked the garrison house of John Kilburn and killed John Peak. At Number Four they killed eattle, at Hinsdale they killed two men and took one, and a few days after killed one more and carried fourteen into captivity. No wonder our settlers were afraid of the Indians and carried their guns. - Farmer's Belknap, p. 315.

103

STEPHEN GEORGE.

1758.]

Mr. Corliss' daughter Mary, often called Molly, was the first white child born in town. Her birth occurred June 2, 1759. It is remarkable that no one should have been born till after eight years had elapsed from the first settlement. The date of the first death is still more remarkable. Little Miss Molly when she grew up married Jonathan Howe of Henniker .* Mr. Corliss was the first town clerk of Weare and held the office ten years, when he died.

STEPHEN GEORGE, a roving man from Deerfield, bought, March 9, 1758, part of lot twelve, range two, and soon after moved into town. He built his cabin on the west side of the Piscataquog, on the road from Oil Mill to East Weare. We know very little about him, although he lived in town several years and signed the petition for the incorporation in 1764. Shortly after that he left town and went to parts unknown.

CALEB EMERY was probably born in Haverhill, Mass. He moved to Goffstown and came from there to Weare in 1758 or before. He bought of Col. John Goffe part of lot twenty-six, range one, built a cabin there and lived near Nathaniel Martin, the first settler. He married Thomas Worthley's daughter Susannah, and their son Jesse Emery, whose birthday was July 17, 1759, was the first male child born in town. Soon after he moved upon lot thirty-seven, range one, near his father-in-law, but as no deed to or from him of it can be found it is presumed he was a squatter there.

Then he bought, 1764, lot seventy-four, range seven, of Jere- miah Allen, for £700 old tenor, and moved there, being the first settler on Craney hill in the north-west part of the town. This farm is now owned by Mr. Emery's descendants. The attraction that brought him to Craney hill was a rich beaver meadow of seven or eight acres, on which was a heavy growth of grass. He was a soldier in the French and Indian war and also served in the army of the Revolution. He died on his Craney hill farm.

It is told of him that he used to wear a huge cap of wolf-skin, high and peaked, and that he never went to work in his field with- out putting on, as was the custom in those times, a large leather apron that came down half way from his knees to his feet to keep his trousers from wearing out. He was a very pious man.

SAMUEL BROCKLEBANK of Rowley, Mass., in 1758, bought lot

* " Mary (called Molly) Corliss was born June 2ª 1759, the first English child born in the town of Weare; Daughter of Jeremiah Corliss, who was the first clerk of the town. She married Jonathan Howe of Henniker, N. H."-Joseph Philbrick's Memoran- dum Book.

104

HISTORY OF WEARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

[1758.

ninety-three, range four, of John Loverin for £45 lawful money, and settled there at once. He built his cabin on the east side of the Piscataquog, a short distance below Alexander brook and just north of what is now Everett station. He was a man of fair ability, took part in the Revolution and held several town offices. He lived in Weare about thirty years, then moved to New London.

BENJAMIN SEVERANCE, 1758, settled on the north end of lot twenty-six, range one. He lived there a short time, went down country visiting and there died before Sept. 20, 1760.

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The history of Weare, New Hampshire, 1735-1888, Part 12

Author: Little, William, 1833-1893. cn Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Lowell, Mass., Printed by S. W. Huse & Co. Number of Pages: 1240

Author: Little, William, 1833-1893. cn
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Lowell, Mass., Printed by S. W. Huse & Co.
Number of Pages: 1240