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 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
Ny
FICHA
Silas Dinsmoor
451
GENEALOGIES . JOHN DINSMOOR'.
of Rev. Mr. Cross married a Mr. Webster, and died leaving two children, who are now residents of Haverhill, Mass,
88. William6, b. Oct. 17, 1796; d. May 16, 1855; in. Ist, Elizabeth, dau. of John and Lucy White, of Pelham, N. H., May 26, 1824; d. July 20, 1848; and 2d, Annie-Maria Merrill, of Haverhill, N. H.
CHILDREN.
1. Eliza-Dinsmoor;, b. April 21, 1828; res. Lawrence, Mass., 1876.
2. Harrison-Whites. b. June 21. 1831; d. June 23, 1874.
3. Lucy-Jeanettes, b. Sept. 16, 1832; d. Nov. 30, 1865.
4. William-Franciss, b. Sept. 5, 1835; d. Dec. 4. 1859; he m. Persis, dan.
of Simon and Laura Brown, of Lawrence.
89. Francis5, b. July 30, 1799; d. in Texas, Feb. 7, 1865.
90. Sarai5, b. July 30, 1801 ; d. Oct. 22, 1803.
91. Sarah5, b. Feb. 24, 1804; d. Springfield, Mass., Nov. 4, 1848. She was a successful teacher near Washington, D. C.
92. Jane5, b. Jan. 25, 1807 ; d. Jan. 9, 1809.
93. Mary+ [19] (John3, Robert2, John1), b. Windham, 1764; m. Daniel Nichols, of Antrim. He d. of spotted fever in 1812. Children : -
94. Mary-Ann5, b. Oct. 29, 1786; d. Concord, 1875; m. 1st, John Emerson, and 2d, Thomas Costello.
95. Martha5, b. May 30, 1788; m. Jonas Maberry ; went West.
96. John5, b. June 20, 1790; graduated Dartmouth College, 1813; m. Elizabeth Shaw, of Beverly, Mass., 1817, and sailed for India, where he was a missionary until his death at the age of 34 years.
97. Mary5, b. Sept. 19, 1793; d. New York, 1823.
98. Samuel5, b. Aug. 17, 1795.
99. Silas6, b. June 21, 1797 ; d. in infancy.
100. Silas4 [20] (John3, Robert2, John1), was b. Sept. 26, 1766, at Windham. At the age of eighteen years he went to Bangor, Me., and spent one year on a farm, working for four dollars a month. On his return home, at the expiration of the year, he began to fit for college with Rev. Simon Williams, who then lived about four miles from his father's, where has since resided Rev. Calvin Cutler. He walked from his father's house to Mr. Williams's every day, and as the roads were then, he had to go up the Range, or over the Pine Hill (so called), past the residence of Jacob-A. Nesmith. We recollect an anecdote he told us, charac- teristie of himself as well as of his teacher.
The late Dr. John Park fitted for college with him under Par- son Williams. He was eight years younger than Dinsmoor, and did not always feel able to make the journey to school ; so one morning the good parson invoked especial blessings on the head of " poor little Johnny Park, who comes to school' one day and stays at home the next, thinking to keep up with his class."
452
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR4.
Silas Dinsmoor entered Dartmouth in the class of 1787. But one college anecdote of him has come to our knowledge, though doubtless many keener ones have perished by the wayside. He was one day being examined by his professor on the subject of electricity. "Dinsmoor, is electricity instantaneous or progres- sive?" "Progressive, sir." " You sit corrected ; you may pass a chain of human beings twenty times around the circumference of the globe, and the last man will receive the shock as soon as the first." "Please excuse me, professor, from believing the experiment has ever been tried." He graduated in the class of 1791, and immediately took charge of Atkinson Academy, which position he held three years, with great satisfaction to the trustees.
In 1794, Congress having provided for the organization of a corps of engineers, he applied for a situation, and was appointed lieutenant. At this time the agency of the Cherokee Indians was vaernt, and President Washington engaged him in conversation on the best methods of treating the Indian tribes, then under the tutelage of the United States Government. He unreservedly entered into the conversation, and stated that the true way was to teach the Indian civilization.
The President urged him to resign his position of lientenant in the army, and take the position of agent to the Cherokees. To him both positions were untried. He was indebted to the Presi- dent for his lieutenantship, and as he had had no military educa- tion, it is not strange he should have deferred to the wishes of President Washington, and resigned what might be considered a life tenure in the army for an office of uncertain tenure among the Cherokees ; but here let us introduce to the reader his son, whose charming narrative shows him to be worthy of such a father.
Some of his friends, hearing of his determination to accept the appointment, opposed it earnestly, told him that old Bloody Knife - a famous Cherokee chief and warrior-would have his scalp in less than a month. My father replied he did not think so, for human nature being much the same everywhere, as people did not often kill their friends, he would be in no danger, for he intended to go as a friend to do them good. It was then replied, " But you will be obliged to come in contact with many of those fire-eating Southerners, and they will be sure to involve you in a duel and kill you." He again thought not, and said he did not believe there was anything in soil and climate to make men brave, and that Southern men were just as averse to dying as other folks, and that he would prepare himself, not with the view of fighting duels, but in order to avoid it. This he did so effectu- ally that he was one of the best shots with rifle, shot-gun, or pistol in that whole country, and had very few egnals in the sword exercise, either broad or short sword; and, after a trial of skill with any of these weapons, his antagonist would often
453
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR ..
remark, " Well, Dinsmoor, I will never challenge you." That my father was right in his conception of human nature, the sequel will show.
When he arrived in the Cherokee country, old Bloody Knife called a meeting and made a speech, which my father's interpre- ter told him ran in this wise: "Friends, here is a young man sent among us by our great father to introduce civilization among us, to make us slaves, and to set our women free." He became greatly excited, and deprecated the whole matter as all wrong and not to be submitted to. After he had taken his seat, my father rose and said, through the interpreter, " Cherokees, in some respects your great chief is right, and in others wrong. He is wrong when he says I have come to make you slaves, for I have no such intention or wish, nor is it the intention or wish of your great father who sent me. I come to do you good, to introduce the arts of civilization among you, to teach you how to make yourselves more comfortable and happy, you and your children after you. But the great chief was right when he said that I came to set your women free, for they have been slaves too long." He got a shout from the women, but the men looked as black as thunder-clouds. The chief called at my father's quarters before sunrise next morning, and said, " Young man, I listened to your talk and have been thinking about it since, and have now come to tell you that such talk may do for the pale-face, but it will not do for the red-man," and fixing his eagle eyes upon him in a man- ner calculated to leave the impression that he was in earnest, said, " I want you to let me alone; I am going on a great hunt beyond the great water [meaning the Mississippi]; I will be gone " -holding up six fingers and pointing to the moon, just then sinking below the western horizon, which meant that he would be gone six months. My father replied, "Go! I have no wish to interfere: 1 did not come for that purpose, but come to talk to the red-man as a friend, to advise him and leave him to do as he thinks best." So the old chief started with three or four pack-ponies laden with such articles as he thought he needed, - jerked venison, parched eorn, etc. My father discovered that this chief and his family had more influence than any dozen families in the tribe, therefore concluded to make this family the base of operations. After the chief had been gone perhaps a week, he had a talk with his family, urging them to engage in growing cotton. "We have no seed," was the reply. "I will furnish you seed," he said, and did. It was planted, and, as the season was unusually good, a fine crop was raised, but complaint was made that they could not sell it. " I do not want you to sell it, but to card, spin, and weave it into clothing for your family." " We've got no cards, or wheel, or loom." "I will get them for you," said he. " But we don't know how." "I will teach you." He soon after employed a blacksmith to come into the nation and work for " Uncle Sam." His wife was very skilful in domestic
454
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR4.
arts, and agreed for a consideration to teach the squaws to spin and weave, and soon they became skilful and fond of the work.
The chief in the mean time was so successful in his hunt that he was gone twelve moons, instead of six, and came strutting in, not doubting in the least that he would excite the admiration of every member of his tribe by his wonderful success, his ponies being loaded down with furs, as much as they could possibly carry. But great was his astonishment on entering his own cabin to see the amount of cotton cloth all made by members of his own family; for my father, as soon as he could get them fairly interested in the work, excited them to a spirit of emulation to beat the old chief hunting, and they did it; and when he com- menced boasting of his success, they proposed buying him out. He took it all in good part and the trade began. He knew how many arm's-lengths of cotton cloth the traders were in the habit of giving for a beaver skin, etc. They bought all his beaver. He then brought out the furs next in value, and so on, until he finally got down to his raccoon skins; and after all his furs were sold, they had some cloth left. Then, stretching himself up, he exclaimed, "Kay! kay! kay! when my women beat me hunting it is time for me to find some other employment." He went right off and called on my father and told him what had happened. " Well," replied he, " I told you that I had come to do you good, and have I not proved it? You have been away from your family twelve moons instead of six, exposed to all the inelemency of weather, to attacks from hostile tribes, wild beasts, etc .; while your family, remaining quietly at home, exposed to none of these dangers, have out-hunted you." " Yes," replied he, solemnly, "that is true. Now if I had a plow I would go to farming." "I will get you a plow," was the answer, and one was ordered immedi- ately. When it came it was sent over, and a short time after my father rode over and found the chief had already hitched his ponies to the plow and was making his maiden effort at plowing. He was a powerful man, and was putting out all his strength, working much harder than his team, until he was completely ex- hansted. My father got over the fence, and taking hold of the handles of the plow, said, " You are working too hard ; let your horses do the work, while you direct and guide," and then plowed around the land, showing him how, when the plow took too much land, to bear the handles to the left, and when it was not taking land enough, to bear them to the right, to raise the handles up when not running too deep. Suffice it to say, in a very short time he made an expert plowman of him, and with great gratiti- cation said, " That will do." Then, as if suddenly recollecting himself, the chief said, "Cullechote, ulste har!" which means, "Come into the house and eat!" and father said that it was the only time he was ever in the presence of a Cherokee at his own home that this was not the first salutation. He remained with them five years, and claims to have first and successfully intro-
455
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR ..
duced the arts of civilization among them, for which they were duly grateful, as yon will discover before I have done. After leaving the Cherokees, he visited General Washington at Mount Vernon, and spent the last Christmas that he lived with him, at which time Washington presented him with a sword that he had worn in the Revolution, which he said was a small testimony of his appreciation of my father's services among the Indians.
This same sword I have had the distinguished honor of be- striding many times in my boyhood, marshalling my forces in mimic fight against the enemies of my country, and am sorry to say that it was destroyed in the great conflagration at Mobile in 1827 or 1828. My father was in the habit of keeping a memo- randum of all the books he ever bought, and the price paid. He lost a library that had cost him three thousand dollars, but he regretted the loss of that sword more than all his books, for, as he justly said, "Books can be bought; Washington's sword, never!"
The old chief, Bloody Knife, became one of my father's best friends, and did him a very essential service, as follows : He was a close student all his life, but when among the Indians was so thronged with visitors during the day that the only time he had for reading was after night, and frequently he sat up till two and three o'clock for that purpose, consequently got into the habit of sleeping late in the morning. One morning his interpreter came in about daybreak, and said, " Dinsmoor, get up !" " What is the matter?" he asked. "There are half a dozen Indians hiding behind your smoke-house, painted as black as the devil; they are bent on mischief." My father arose and dressed himself, then said, "Go and invite them in." "O, for God's sake, don't do that!" he replied, " for they are all as black as midnight." "Go do as I bid you, and as soon as you have done so, go and tell Bloody Knife what is going on." The interpreter obeyed. The Indians were at first surprised, hesitated a moment, and then marched to the door in Indian file, where my father met them, and, as they entered, took their guns out of their hands and set them up in the corner behind the door. He then invited them to be seated around the fire, and, watching them closely, he took down a pipe which he always kept for such occasions, and filling it with tobacco, lighted it, and taking a few whiffs, passed it to the next, and so it passed on around, amidst the most profound silence, until all had smoked, very much to the relief of my father; for if you can get an Indian to smoke with you, there will be no danger from him at that time. He then entered into con- versation with them, when suddenly the door was thrown open, and Bloody Knife stalked in, and looking sternly upon the black faces before him, said, " What does all this mean ?" One of their number explained that a kinsman of theirs, an old man too feeble to follow the war-path, had gone on a trapping expedi- tion beyond the Ohio, and had come across two of the pale-faced
45€
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR ..
race who were lost, sick, and almost starved, and their clothing all worn out. He took them to his wigwam, fed, clothed, and doctored them until they were well and strong, and then furnish- ing them with ammunition and food, directed them to the white settlements. They started off, and, after travelling some miles, sat down on a log to rest, talked about the old man and what a quantity of furs he had accumulated, and said how easy it would be for them to return, kill the old man, and take all he had. They could do it without risk, as they were seen to leave before the killing would be done, and, as the old man's kindness to them was known to other trappers, no one would suspect them. They returned and committed the deed. The narrator then springing to his feet said, "he wanted pay, and good pay." " What," said the old chief, " suppose a mad dog should bite one of your chil- dren, would you kill all the dogs?" The logic was convincing and they left, looking very sheepish.
After leaving the Cherokees, my father applied for and obtained the situation of purser on board the ship " General Washington," Commodore Bainbridge, and made a voyage with him to the Mediterranean to bring home our citizens who had been captured and made slaves of by the Algerines. After releasing the prison- ers, the ship sailed eastward and dropped anchor before the city of Constantinople. While there, a message came inviting the commodore and his officers to dine with some of the notables.
My father not being entitled to an epaulet, was not of course considered as among the invited guests, and the junior officers made themselves merry at his expense, saying, "You can't go, Dinsmoor, you have no epaulet," at the same time complacently touching their own. " Well," replied he, "I will be in as good company as yon before we leave Constantinople, and that too without the help of an epaulet." This assertion was received with a laugh of derision ; but the officers had no sooner departed to fill the appointment, than he, calling aside a seaman on board, who had lived some time in that city, asked if he knew who was considered the most successful and influential merchant in the place. He replied that a Mr. Abbott was at the head of the Levant Company of British merchants, and possessed immense influence and wealth. My father immediately wrote to Mr. Abbott, stating that having just arrived in that city, in the capacity of purser on board the United States ship of war "General Washington," and learning that he stood at the head of the Levant Company of Brit- ish merchants, he took the liberty of addressing him with the view of ascertaining what would be the most profitable mercantile venture from the United States to Constantinople. This letter being dispatched, was answered shortly after, as follows : "Mr. Dinsmoor's polite note received. In answer would say, if he will dine with us to-morrow at 2 o'clock, P. M., we will confer upon the matter in question."
This merchant had married a French lady, lived in fine style,
457
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR ..
and had French servants in livery. When he arrived at the house and knocked for admittance, a servant asked in French, " Who comes there ?" " Dinsmoor," was the reply, when he was requested to enter, and was conducted up an elegant flight of stairs, but before reaching the top another servant gave the same challenge, namely, " Who comes there ? " and was answered by his conductor, who then returned to his post below. Again " Monsieur Dinsmoor " was told to enter, and after being passed through the hands of several more servants, with much pompous ceremony, was finally ushered into the presence of the merchant and his wife. She was playing a game of solitaire, and this was the first time my father ever saw a person playing cards alone. He spent a very pleasant afternoon with Mr. Abbott, dis- cussing matters of interest to both, and Mr. A. promised to make out a list in writing of articles that would certainly pay a handsome profit if shipped from the United States to that port. Just then a bell rang, and the lady approaching, took him by the arm, saying, in French of course, " Allow me, Mon- sieur," and conducted him into the dining-room, where Mr. Ab- bott introduced him to his two beautiful and accomplished daughters. They spoke English fluently, and of course there was a " feast of reason and flow of soul." He returned to the ship well pleased with his venture thus far. Several days after he was suddenly summoned to the presence of the commodore, whom he found dining with his officers, and who presented him with a letter addressed to "Silas Dinsmoor, Purser on board U. S. Ship," etc., which read as follows : -
" Sir, -Mrs. Abbott and her two daughters desire me to say they would be glad to have Mr. Dinsmoor dine with them to- morrow, at 2 o'clock, P. M., and bring with him such of his friends as he may see proper to select. I will then furnish him the list spoken of at our last meeting.
Yours very respectfully, JAMES ABBOTT."
He read this letter aloud, and as by this time all had heard of Mr. A.'s immense wealth and princely style of living, as well as of the beauty and fascinating manners of his daughters, all the younger officers began pleading, " Let me go!" "Let me go !" to which he replied, smiling mischievously, " I believe, gentlemen, you all have epaulets ; you can't go, no, not one of you." Then turning to a friend, he said, " You have no epaulet, sir; I will take you." And he did, but his friend disgraced him, for, after spending a very pleasant afternoon, one of the young ladies asked, " As you appear to have been a great traveller, what part of the world that you are acquainted with furnishes, in your opinion, the most beautiful women ?"
He without the least hesitation, allowing his patriotism to get the better of politeness, replied that in no part of the world that he had ever seen, could the women compare with those of his own country. The ladies looked rather blank at this sweep-
30
458
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR4.
ing assertion, but, turning to my father, asked, "What is your opinion ?" With equal promptness he replied, " I thought as my friend does, until I came to Constantinople." This restored good humor, and the afternoon passed off pleasantly.
After returning to America, he interested some of the wealthy merchants of Philadelphia to send a venture of such articles as were named in the list furnished by Mr. Abbott, with himself as supereargo, and had no doubt of being able to make a fortune out of it, but the war with England broke out about that time, and completely blasted their hopes.
While in the city of Philadelphia, he one day met Commodore Bainbridge and his wife, on Chestunt Street, and they informed him that they expected to have some friends to dine with them, naming the hour, and would be happy to have him among the number. He accepted the invitation, provided he could get through his business in time, but begged they would not wait a moment for him. He hurried through his business, but arriving late, found the guests nearly through their dinner, and busily engaged in conversation, the subject of which proved to be the merits and demerits of the different hams in the market. At length some one turned and asked his opinion, when he replied, "I do not think the quality depends so much on the brand, as on the cooking." He was seated near Mrs. B., who, prid- ing herself on her culinary skill, asked, with a touch of dignity in her manner, " Well, Mr. Dinsmoor, be good enough to favor me with a recipe for cooking a ham ?" Seeing he had placed him- self in an awkward position, he bowed politely, and raising his exceedingly clear and musical voice so that all present could hear, said, "Take a ham of any of the approved brands, wash it clean, put it in a pot and cover with cold water, place it over the fire and bring it nearly to the boiling point, keeping it there until thoroughly tender, then let it boil rapidly a few minutes, take it off the fire, wrap it in a coarse cloth, place it in a knap- sack, bind it upon the shoulder, then march twenty-five miles through the woods, taking a bee-line over logs, brush piles, etc., and you will find the ham possessed of a most exquisite flavor." After he had finished speaking, "silence reigned supreme," until he began to be sorry he had said anything; but in the course of ten or fifteen minutes there was a burst of merriment from all at the table, for they had just begun to understand what it was that gave the ham the exquisite flavor.
After the return of the ship "General Washington" from Constantinople, my father was summoned to Washington, D. C., to answer certain charges that had been made against him. He promptly obeyed the call, and was told that he was charged with cheating the men on board, by charging them exorbitant prices for "slops"; and when asked what he had to say, replied, " that he did not know whether he had charged too much or not ; that the goods had been put on board by the government, but
459
GENEALOGIES : COL. SILAS DINSMOOR ..
he had not been furnished with an inventory and price-list, and was compelled to price the goods according to his discretion. And," said he, "if I did charge too much, it did not go into my pocket, for you will find that the government has full credit for every article left in my charge, at the price I sold it for." And on investigation this proved entirely correct and satisfac- tory, and he was honorably discharged.
The complaint was made, as an act of petty spite, by an indi- vidual who had served on board ship, and who, having been guilty of some aet calling forth a severe reproof from my father, as an act not only unworthy of a gentleman, but a disgrace to the gov- ernment under which he served, undertook to give him a caning on the quarter-deck, in Philadelphia harbor, during the commo- dore's absence on shore, but who came off second-best in the at- tempt.
While in Washington settling up his accounts, my father met a friend on the street, who asked if he had seen the delegation of Cherokees in town. "No," replied he, "I did not know there were any Cherokees in Washington." When he was told they were to have an audience with the President that night, my father attended the meeting to see who the Indians were, when who should be their leader but old Bloody Knife, who made a speech, saying : "Our Great Father at Washington has, at differ- ent times, sent men among us with the intention of doing us good, but mistakes have sometimes been made. In the first place, Long Knife was sent [that was my father's predecessor, a small man, who always wore a long sword that dragged on the ground, which accounts for the Indian nickname]; he married our women and promised us everything we asked for, and we were delighted with him, and looked upon him as one of our own people, but soon found that he was not to be depended on, for his promises he never fulfilled, and finally he left us, deserting his wives and children. Then Yo-ne-a-quar was sent [the meaning of this word is, I believe, Big Bear], but we did not like him, for he would not marry our women, and when we asked favors he would listen, and if he thought our request unreasonable he would tell us so, and say that he would make no effort to have it granted; but if he thought it reasonable, he would look pleased and say, 'Yes, that is all right, but I cannot promise it, for I am only one man, but I think it is just, and will do my best to get it for you'; and we soon learned to know when he made a promise like that we were sure to get what we had asked for, and we learned to love him, for he proved the best friend we ever had, not by giving us every- thing we asked for, but by teaching us how to help ourselves, so as to make us truly independent. He it was who first introduced the arts of civilization among us, taught us to grow cotton, to card, spin, and weave. See!" said the old man, now fully warmed up ou the subject, stretching himself up to his full height, and extending both arms, "I am dressed in cloth manufactured
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.