USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Windham > The history of Windham in New Hampshire (Rockingham country). 1719-1883. A Scotch settlement (commonly called Scotch-Irish), embracing nearly one third of the ancient settlement and historic township of Londonderry, N.H > Part 32
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SCHOOL-DISTRICT LIBRARIES, OCTOBER, 1839.
In October, 1839, our former follow-citizen, the late Lient .- Gov. John Nesmith, of Lowell, Mass., presented to each school district a district library of fifty volumes, making in all 350 volumes, at an expense of $175, which exist at the present time. It was a generous gift, admirably adapted to the end in view, and accom- plished a good work. Many of Windham's sons and daughters, who have gone far from the place of their nativity, and the scenes and associations of their youth, will recall with unfeigned pleasure and thankfulness the deep satisfaction they experienced while reading these volumes, and the great benefit derived from them. In some of the districts additions were made to the District Library about 1855.
LIBRARY OF REV. LOREN THAYER.
The late Rev. Loren Thayer, the former pastor, had a valuable private library, which he kindly made accessible ; and the author,
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HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
like many others, availed himself of the privilege, and cannot but acknowledge his indebtedness for the kindness.
SECOND TOWN LIBRARY, 1852.
The second public Town Library was established in 1852. It was planned by Miss Harriet Dinsmoor. A subscription list was started Feb. 19, 1851, and circulated through the town. The subscriptions, amounting to nearly ninety dollars, were completed May 8, 1852, and on June 24 of that year, the subscribers had a meeting, at which Rev. Loren Thayer was chosen to buy the books. This he did soon after, with the advice of Dr. S. H. Taylor, principal of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. The library, which numbered about one hundred volumes, was kept in a small room over the store of Mr. Robert Bartley, at the Centre, and Mr. Bartley was librarian. It was intended to add new books from time to time; but on the 7th of April, 1856, less than four years after the library was established, it was entirely destroyed by a fire, which consumed the store and dwelling of Mr. Bartley. After the destruction of this library, and before the establishment of the Nesmith Library, some families in the east part of the town made use of the circulating libraries of Lawrence, Mass.
THE NESMITH FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, ESTABLISHED 1871.
Among those whom Windham remembers with gratitude is one of the sons of her soil, and our former fellow-townsman, the late Col. Thomas Nesmith, of Lowell. Having acquired wealth, in his last days he looked about him to see where he might bestow it. His mind naturally reverted to the town of his nativity and the home of his youth, and he desired to establish a free public library in Windham, for which purpose he left by will a legacy of three thousand dollars.
The town having been notified of this fact by the executors of the will, a meeting of the inhabitants was called on Jan. 19, 1871, when it was " Voted, to accept of the bequest upon the con- ditions for its purposes and upon the plan set forth in the will of said deceased."
It was also " Voted, to authorize the treasurer to receive said legacy from the executors of the said deceased and give a receipt therefor."
" Voted, That the library be kept in the Town house"; and on motion of John D. Emerson, " that the selectmen be anthorized to hire a sum of money not exceeding two hundred dollars, to defray necessary expenses in fitting a room or rooms for said library." The town passed a vote to that effect.
WILL OF COL. THIOS. NESMITH IN RELATION TO NESMITH LIBRARY.
"Second, I do give and bequeath to the town of Windham in the County of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, it being
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my native town, three thousand (3,000) dollars to found and per- petuate a free public library for the use of the citizens of said town of Windham, to be called the Nesmith Library, upon the following conditions :
"First, The town shall, at a legal town-meeting of its inhabitants, duly called for the purpose, vote and make record thereof, with sufficient legal forms to accept the same upon the conditions and for the purposes and upon the plan herein set forth. Second, shall pay to the trustees hereinafter named, or their successors, as soon as the said three thousand dollars shall have been paid over to said town by my executors, two thousand dollars thereof for immediate expenditure by said trustees in books for said library, and shall ever thereafter annually pay to said trustees and their successors, the annual sum of sixty dollars, each and every year forever, being the interest upon the other thousand dollars, which said town may hold. use, loan, or appropriate according to its pleasure, the said town having at said meeting passed a vote and made due record thereof, thus annually forever, thereafter promis- ing to pay said annual sum of sixty dollars to said trustees, each and every successive year, forever, the object being to relieve the trustees from the care of the money, and to make the income of the other $1,000 fixed and certain for the perpetuation of the library ; and third, said town shall provide, support, and furnish continually a suitable room, or rooms, or building with usual and proper accommodations for said library: shall keep suitable insurance upon the library, and shall pay for the services of a librarian, free of expense of all kinds to my said trustees and to the income aforesaid.
" It is my desire and will, and I do appoint the settled and active pastor or minister of the church of said Windham, the selectmen of the Town of Windham ex-officio, for each and every successive year, forever, together with the town clerk thereof, trustees of said library, and of the fund for its perpetnation. They shall receive of the town the said two thousand dollars, and expend the same in the purchase of books to commence and found said library, and shall thereafter annually receive of said town said annual sum of sixty dollars, and shall annually expend the same in the purchase of books for the annual enlargement of the same. They shall also appoint, from time to time, a suitable librarian, and fix the days and hours for taking and returning books, and shall make all needful rules and regulations pertaining to the use and preservation of the books, not, however, thereby to exclude any citizen of said town of suitable responsibility, male or female, of proper education and age, from the use of said library, without charge, other than for damage to books, or fine for detention under the rules and regulations."
By the stipulations of the will, the elective officers who became trustees were the town clerk and selectmen. At the annual meet- ing of the town in March, James Cochran was chosen clerk, Hiram
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HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
S. Reynolds, William D. Cochran, and Leonard A. Morrison, selectmen. These gentlemen, with the Rev. Joseph Lanman, minister of the Presbyterian Church, composed the Board of Trustees. They took the initiatory steps for the establishment of the library in the April following.
A commodious apartment, an anteroom on the upper hall of the Town House, was finished off at an expense of $200, and furnished with well-arranged shelves, easily adjusted to any required capacity, capable of holding between two and three thousand volumes, each compartment having a door of ash, with black-walnut mouldings, which presented a neat and substantial appearance. On the south side of the room, on a panel, in a con- spicuous place, appeared in old English letters the words, " Nes- mith Library, 1871."
While the work of arranging the room was going on, the more important work of selecting a judicious class of books was also in progress. The books were mostly selected by Rev. Joseph Lanman and L. A. Morrison, at the request of the board of trus- tees, and subject to their approval. In May, the first instalment of 741 books was purchased, and prepared with appropriate cover- ings, numbered, and placed upon the shelves in the library, and on the 21st of June the dedicatory exercises took place. This card of invitation was issued by the trustees : -
NESMITH LIBRARY.
FORMAL OPENING.
The pleasure of your company is requested at the public exercises to be held in the
TOWN HALL, WINDHAM, N. H.,
Wednesday, June 21, 1871, at 2 o'clock, P. M.
JOSEPH LANMAN, JAMES COCHRAN, HIRAM S. REYNOLDS, WILLIAM D. COCHRAN, LEONARD A. MORRISON,
Board of Trustees.
It was a gala day in town. The morning of the day which was to inaugurate a new era in the social history of the town, dawned bright and clear, and the close of the day did not disappoint the fair promise of its morning. By two o'clock, p. M., there was gathered in the Town Hall a large and as cultivated and intelli- gent an audience as ever met in Windham. Many were present from surrounding towns, drawn hither by the influence and inter- est in the library itself. Many of the absent sons and daughters
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DEDICATION OF THE NESMITH LIBRARY, JUNE 21, 1871.
of the town were there, drawn by the magic of carly associa- tions and consanguinity. The Rev. JJoseph Lanman, president of the board of trustees, called the meeting to order, and after a few remarks, there was music by the church choir, giving a song of welcome. Prayer was offered by Rev. Augustus Berry, of Pelham, and certain passages were particularly pertinent and applicable. The sentiment, " that this library might be cherished as long as there were homes in Windham," found company in the mental responses of the devout audience, and most beautifully embodied the sentiments of his hearers.
HON. JOHN C. PARK'S ADDRESS.
The address was delivered by Hon. John C. Park, of Boston, a son of Dr. John Park, a native of the town, and one of her prominent sons. It was worthy the occasion and its cultivated author. It is a misfortune that the address was not preserved. I embody an account of it and the other addresses, as they appeared in a published account of the exercises at the time.
" Mr. Park's remarks showed an entire absence of studied effort, and exhibited, in a pleasing and gratifying degree, the beauty of extemporaneous speaking. The chief burden of his most inter- esting address consisted of cherished reminiscences of early life in Windham, all told with such a simple and charming expression of feeling as to carry the sympathies and hearts of his people with him.
" His allusion to an incident in home life, picturing the pleas- ures of early boyhood, -the traditional loaf of brown-bread, buttered before being cut, held to his breast with one eager arm and sliced with a generous reference to thickness, the approving favor of his revered grandmother, depicted most delightfully the homely primitive enjoyments that were sufficient to satisfy the gastronomie wants of the hardy boys of . ve olden time.' No one listened to him but that could feel the awakening of similar mein- ories, and every one felt translated to the dear old scenes of youth, and family ties now broken, seemed renewed under the spell of his heart-stirring words. He also spoke of his father's early struggles to obtain an education : of his resolution to be a good penman, contrary to his parents' wishes ; of his learning to write by the use of bark for paper, 'oak balls' and water for ink. and goose-quills for pens; of his success, and the astonish- ment of his father ; of his later triumphs, his collegiate studies, his literary pastimes, of which latter, Mr. Park exhibited to the audience his father's . Literary Diary,' being a record, neatly kept and splendidly written, of such works as he had read during a period of years beginning at 1809 and ending at 1851, in which he had carefully pursued many of the most remarkable works of modern and ancient authors, and including English, French, Ger- man, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew literature. Mr. Park's
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HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
allusions to the Nesmith Library were timely, apt, instructive, and profitable.
" After three fourths of an hour's talk he sat down, leaving his audience wholly in an ecstasy of pleasure, yet seemingly sorry that he had not continued longer.
" William H. Anderson, Esq., of Lowell, made some interesting remarks, followed by Rev. Augustus Berry, of Pelham, in a brief address, earnest, impressive, and to the point. He confined his remarks more to the particular occasion of the meeting, offering practical advice, and exhorting his hearers to keep in view the nature and spirit of the gift of their munificent former towns- man, and by their regard for the same, show their gratitude. The chairman made a speech, referring to the benefits accruing from a library. The morals and virtues of a community are molded and formed largely by the kind of reading it pursues. The ad- vantages arising from this library are great, and must be evinced in the after culture and refinement of its patrons. Dea. Jonathan Cochran, of Melrose, being called for, came upon the stand, and said he was a native of Windham, and was glad to notice the progressive spirit of his neighbors, as shown in the erection of their new hall. He congratulated them on their present and future prospects. The next speaker was L. A. Morrison, Esq., who gave a succinct account of the library enterprise, in a few sentences. He said the library had been selected to meet the tastes and pursuits of the citizens, always bearing in mind to secure none but unexceptionable works, comprising literary, seien- tific, agricultural, biographical, historical, philosophical, and other works."'
The Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Derry, made a short speech, referring to the magnitude of the influence that a well-conducted library exerts over the minds of the young, indeeed over all the com- munity.
Andrew Park, Esq., of Chelmsford, Mass., a native of Wind- ham, and Dea. Rei Hills, of Windham, offered words of congratu- lation and counsel. The services concluded with singing "Auld Lang Syne" by the choir, the audience joining. The entire oc- casion was highly entertaining and profitable, and one remem- bered with a great deal of satisfaction by all present.
The library was opened to the free use of all residents of the town, June 24, 1871. During the fall of 1872, the number of volumes in the library was increased to 1,600, Sheets on which the names of books were written were used in place of a cata- logue till March, 1872, when a well-arranged and neatly-printed catalogue of 73 pages, prepared by two of the trustees, Hiram S. Reynolds and Leonard A. Morrison, was distributed to the citizens at the town's expense, at a cost of $137.25 for 350 copies.
From the commencement of the library to the present, over 4,500 books have annually been taken from the library by citizens. The first supplementary catalogue was prepared by L. A. Morrison ;
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NESMITH FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
the second was compiled and printed by Cassius S. Campbell ; the third was compiled by L. A. Morrison.
In 1880, additional shelves were furnished for books, The present number of books, Nov. 19, 1882, is 2,411. Miss Clara Hills was the first librarian, and served seven years with much acceptance. Her successors are William S. Harris, William K. Milner, and John Cochran.
The following include most of the gifts to the library, with names of douors : -
Quite a number have been received from the State and United States Governments.
Some ten volumes - Mrs. Lonisa J. Park Hall, Boston.
Eight volumes - Leonard A. Morrison, Windham.
One volume - Hon. John C. Park, Boston.
Upwards of forty volumes, of some seventy-five dollars in value, have been generously donated by George W. Armstrong, Esq., Boston, Mass.
One volume - Gov. Charles H. Bell, Exeter, N. H.
One volume - Dr. James Morison, Quincy, Mass.
The library is well founded, established upon a solid basis. The books have been selected with great care, and upon the shelves can be found many of the choicest and most valuable works in the language. Those who wish can find information on many subjects. Many of those works of a sensational nature were intentionally omitted in the selection.
The library meets and satisfies a want of the young people, and parents should remember that one of the most efficient means of shielding them from evil is to encourage a taste for wholesome and instructive reading, -not the dime novels of the day, but works which will elevate and not degrade.
This library has become a permanent institution in the town, and for its continued success there must be continued interest and effort in its behalf. With the common school, it should be an object of the fostering care of the town. As the former is the source of the rudimentary knowledge of the people, the latter may be the sweet-flowing fountain from which streams of intel- lectual strength and knowledge may be continually derived. "No man liveth to himself." We ourselves cannot reap where we have sown, but others shall enter into and enjoy the fruits of our labors.
" Sow thy seed, O husbandman ! What though others reap : It will burst the shell and rise, Sip the dew and kiss the skies, - Sow thy seed and sleep.
" In thy labors thou shalt live, Dust alone is dead ; - Ever falls the shine and rain, Ever springs the golden grain ; All the worlds are fed."
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HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
CHAPTER
XXX.
DERIVATION OF THE TERM "SCOTCHI-IRISH." - PROMINENT TRAITS OF THE SCOTCH CHARACTER. - LONDONDERRY FAIRS. - EXTRACT FROM ADDRESS OF REV. JOHN H. MORISON, D. D., ON THE CHARACTER- ISTICS OF THE DESCENDANTS OF THE SCOTCH SETTLERS.
IN addition to what appears in the preceding pages, I wish to add a short account of the Scotch character and influence which have appeared in the Windham and Londonderry settlement, which have gone out from these places, and which come forth in striking form in other residences of these people, in other colo- nies sprung from this ancient settlement.
There has been a wide-spread misapprehension in regard to their origin. This appeared upon their first landing upon these then inhospitable shores; this prejudice against them lasted for many years ; and the misapprehension in regard to their origin has not entirely disappeared.
They have generally been known as Scotch-Irish, - the peo- ple were by their English neighbors called " Irish," a term which showed the ignorance of the class using it, and one which the Scotch settlers indignantly resented.
It was formerly common to use the terms Irish as applied to language, and Irishman as applied to race, where now, and prop- erly, we say Gaelic language, and Gael, a Scotch Highlander.
They are to this day called Scotch-Irish, which is not inappro- priate as descriptive of their origin and of a former abode. But this term has given rise to much misapprehension, it being sup- posed by many that the term indicated a mixed nationality of Scottish and Irish descent. In other words, that in the veins of the early settlers here the blood of Scotia and Erin was commin- gled. Never was mistake greater. There was no such com- mingling of blood in the veins of those hardy exiles, who, one hundred and sixty and more years ago, struck for settlement and a home in this wintry land.
They were not Irish; they were not Scotch-Irish (when that term denotes a mixture of blood of the two races) ; but they were Scotch. Let every descendant of the first settlers here distinctly remember that his ancestors were Scotch, that he is of Scotch descent, and that the terms Scotch-English or Scotch-Irish so
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PROMINENT TRAITS OF THE SCOTCH CHARACTER.
far as they imply a different than Scotch origin, are a perversion of truth and false to history. All evidence in this work sustains this assertion.
The early history of some of our families -i. e. the Stuarts and the Greggs-can be traced in the Preliminary Chapter two cen- turies and more ago in Scotland. In the Genealogies, family after family, who located here, can be traced direct to Scotland. And it will not fail of notice, that during the persecutions of Claver- house in Scotland, among the victims of his barbarities many of them bore the family names which are now as familiar as household words in this locality. Among them are David Steele and Isabella Allison, who suffered martyrdom ; while among the first sixteen settlers of Londonderry were Thomas Steele and Samuel Allison, each of whom, it is believed, has descendants in Windham to-day. Others were, Margaret MeLaughlan, Joseph Wilson, John Humphrey, James Campbell, John and Alexander Jameson. The MeLaughlans and the Jamesons are connected with the past history of this town, while the Wilsons, the Hum- phreys, and the Campbells are still with us.
Some of the first residents came direct from Scotland, and even those Scotch who were born in Ireland never considered them- selves Irish, were not known among themselves or their writers as such, and scorned the imputation as justly as an Englishman born in Calcutta would scorn to be called a Hindoo, or an Ameri- can, like General Meade, born in Spain, would scorn to be called a Spaniard. The appellation of Scotch-Irish is distinctively Amer- ican, and is unknown on the other side of the water. In the Scotch settlements in Ireland, the Scotch, after a residence of more than two hundred and fifty years, remain almost as distinct from the native population as when they first settled there, and are called Scotch still.
As the first settlers here were Scotch, I have called them Scotch, and have dropped almost entirely the term Scotch-Irish which has caused so much misapprehension, dispute, and con- fusion.
And what is said of the origin of the people here, is true of the more numerous settlements of the same Scotch race in Penn- sylvania and in other parts of the country. The ancestors of all were residents of Bonnie Scotland, -
" Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, Land of the mountain and the flood, Land of their sires."
All had a hatred, deep and abiding, of the Catholic religion. They did not love the Irish race, with its ignorance, and that unthrift which comes from ignorance. Bitter memories of Irish atrocities on their race and kindred rankled in their breasts; and to be called Irish, a name which they hated, caused them great mortification and disgust, and was liable to be answered by a blow.
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IIISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The Scotch were an original and peculiar people, possessing sharply-defined personal and national characteristics, which were a barrier between them and their English neighbors, not entirely eradicated at the present day.
They, in this town, did not like " the English bodies," were strongly opposed to having any members of their clan become connected by marriage with the English, and such an event ahnost led to social ostracism. One young man, in early days,. was rash enough to wed a lady of English descent, when an elderly lady of the Scotch race indignantly inquired how he could "expect to prosper " under such circumstances.
Their prejudices were strong, and the prejudice against them was strong : and when the opposing people were more numerous, it sometimes led to the expulsion of the Scotch, as it did with the colony which settled in Worcester, Mass., about 1740. But as the history and character of this people became better known, animosity died out, and they were treated with that respect and favor which their sterling merits deserved.
It is estimated that not less than twenty towns have been organized by Londonderrians and their descendants in the differ- ent States and in Nova Scotia. They are scattered throughont this broad land, and their numbers and influence are very great. Their religions history and experience have been dwelt upon largely in the Preliminary Chapter and in the Ecclesiastical His- tory, Chapter XI, pages 122-139.
They were the first to introduce into this country the Irish potato and the spinning-wheel. In 1719, the first field of Irish potatoes ever raised in America was raised in Londonderry. The same year, the first linen wheel was set in operation that was ever started in America. In 1722, Irish potatoes and manufac- tured linen goods, from an American linen or foot wheel, were on exhibition at a Derry fair, for the first time in America.
LONDONDERRY FAIRS.
A late writer says : " It is probable that the first fair ever held in this country was holden in Londonderry, about 1719, or a little later." In 1722 they received their charter, constituting the town of ten miles square ; and among other things, they were allowed to have a market-day every Wednesday, "for the selling of goods, wares, and merchandise," and also to hold their semi-annual fairs, one upon the eighth day of May, and the other upon the eighth day of October, unless either of these dates should come on Sunday, when it was to be on the succeeding Monday. These fairs were held, with increasing interest, for a century. A great advantage accrued to the citizens from these fairs. They were the nucleus around which were formed all other fairs now so common in New England, and which are having such a decided effect npon the products of our country.
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