USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Lyndeborough > The history of the town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 16
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The daughter, Mary Putnam Rand, was born in New Boston, N. H., in 1811. In 1830 she united with the church, graduated at the New Hampton Seminary, and was sent to Illinois as a teacher, and is said to have been "one of the best known women who ever lived in Illinois. She was a Christian lady and a renowned educator." She became the wife of the Rev. J. G. Lemen, and they were the founders and managers of the
*Vol. XI., p. 185.
615
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
" Christian Home Orphanage " at Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is now conducted by their son, H. R. Lemen .*
NEHEMIAH RAND, ESQ .- Nehemiah Rand was the ninth child of Jonathan and Mellecent (Estabrook) Rand, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, and a brother of Rev. John Rand. Following his father's occupation, he was a hatter by trade, and clearly seems to have been in affluent worldly circum- stances. He was a corporal in Brigden's company in 1757. On the 4th of April, 1766, he bought a tract of land in Lynde- borough, adjoining land owned by his brother. The place which he owned is now the property of Mr. William Clark, whose wife, Abby Kimball Rand, is a great grandchild of Nehemiah Rand, Esq. On this place he built a saw-mill, and here, at a later day, he built for himself a home. He was liv- ing in his native town when the War of the Revolution broke out. When the famous battle of Bunker Hill was fought, he owned land on Bunker Hill. Although the Americans made a splendid and destructive fight, they were finally driven out of their entrenchments and compelled to retreat. The British held possession of the battle-ground and their wrath found vent in the destruction of the town, which they wantonly burned. In the conflagration, Nehemiah Rand's two dwelling-houses and hat-shop were destroyed. Then, with his family, he fled for refuge to our town in the wilderness, where he had already a possession, and where he fixed his permanent home. His family consisted of his wife and two daughters, and "a lad named Nehemiah Frost, who had lived with him from early childhood." He became a prosperous and influential citizen of Lyndeborough, held a prominent place among its proprietors, was appointed a justice of the peace, and was honored by being chosen representative to the Legislature, or General Court of the State of New Hampshire for more than a single term. As one of the old Lyndeborough proprietors, he was especially serviceable to the corporation ; for he was one of the committee appointed to sell the common and undivided lands of Lynde- borough and Greenfield, to prosecute trespassers and to bring · the affairs of the old "propriety " to a successful close, and on that business was very efficient. He was a member of that committee at the time of his death, which occurred July 10, 1794. He was represented in subsequent meetings of the pro-
*Lemen Family History.
616
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
prietors by John Shepherd, Esq., of Amherst, whom he chose to be the executor of his last will and testament.
Nehemiah Rand, Esq., was thrice married. He married first, November 24, 1757, Mary Rand, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Carter) Rand, who was born February 26, 1733 ; second, May 27, 1774, Mary, daughter of Rev. Thomas Prentice, of Charlestown, Mass., and widow of Doctor James Frost of Cambridge, Mass., who died July 2, 1770, aged 38. She died at Lyndeborough, October 20, 1787, in the 49th year of her age; third, was Margaret, daughter of Rev. Thomas Prentice, and sister of his second wife, who was married October 21, 1791. She died at the home of Nehemiah Frost in Temple. Five children of Nehemiah Rand, Esq., lived to a mature age ; namely, Mary, who married Richard Batten, Jr .; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Epps; Irene, who married Nehemiah Frost ; Nehemiah, who married Sarah Batten ; and Margaret, who married Deacon John Clark. For more respecting the families see genealogy of each family above mentioned.
CAPTAIN LEVI SPAULDING .- " The Spaulding Me- morial," compiled by Rev. Samuel Jones Spalding, who was born in Lyndeborough, December 11, 1820, furnishes many of the facts of the life of Captain Levi Spaulding. Page 48 of that work gives a brief sketch of his life, under number 1043. He was born in Nottingham West (now Hudson), N. H., Octo- ber 23, 1737, and died in Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., March I, 1825. To the latter place he had removed from Lynde- borough about the year 1800. He was the son of Edward and Elizabeth Spaulding, who came to Lyndeborough in 1766, and bought the second division lots numbered 113 and 122. Two brothers of Edward are also said to have come to Lyndeborough, namely, Reuben and Stephen. "The Spaulding Memorial," however, makes no mention of these as citizens of Lynde- borough. It is probable that Levi came here about the same time as his parents ; and very soon after that the town records show that he became a prominent citizen. He married first, Anna Burns; second, Mrs. Lois Goodridge, of Lyndeborough, December 30, 1778. In 1767, soon after he came into town, he was selected as one of a committee of five persons to forward the important work of " completing the meeting-house." From that time forward, his name frequently occurs in our town rec- ords, an evidence of his active interest in town affairs.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
At the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, Levi Spauld- ing recruited a company of sixty men, with whom he marched as captain, April 23, 1775, four days after the famous fight and flight from Concord and Lexington. Thomas Boffee was his 2nd lieutenant, William Lee and James Hutchinson were ser- geants; and twenty-three others of his neighbors and fellow- townsmen were in the ranks. A list of these is here appended .*
Corporal Benjamin Dike
Nathaniel Batchelder
Corporal Samuel Hutchinson
Phineas Barker
Fifer Jacob Dutton
Edward Bevins
James Campbell
Joseph Ellinwood
Nehemiah Hutchinson
Samuel McMaster
John Johnson
Andrew Thompson
Jesse Lund
Jacob Wellman t
John Rowe
Elisha Wilkins
Ephraim Smith
Josiah Woodbury
Isaac Carkin
Timothy McIntire
David Carlton #
Daniel Cram
Ezra Dutton
Captain Spaulding's company was number three, in the Third Regiment of N. H. Troops, commanded by Col. James Reed. The adjutant general of New Hampshire, in his report for 1866, Vol. 2, page 270, states, that "the New Hampshire troops," at Bunker Hill, " took their position at the rail fence, betwixt the redoubt and the Mystic River. They immediately threw up a sort of breastwork of stone across the beach to the river, and continued the rail fence down to this stone wall or breastwork. This wall served a most excellent purpose, as the sharp-shooters behind it could take the most deadly aim at the advancing foe; and it is a well-established fact that the British troops in front of this wall were almost completely annihilated."
Captain Spaulding's company was under fire in that battle, and doubtless had its share of the fatal work there accomplished. Two of his men suffered as indicated in the preceding note, suf- fusing the soil with their blood. The captain was not only at Bunker Hill, but during the following winter went to Canada, and according to our town records, " Concluded the Same Back to Trenton." Seven of our townsmen accompanied him on that expedition, whose names are preserved. He was also " at Val- ley Forge during the terrible suffering in the winter of 1777 and 1778. He was afterwards transferred, and came under the im- mediate command of Gen. Washington. He served through the
* Rev. Rolls I, pp. 87-89. t See p. 203. # See p. 177.
618
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
war, and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. He received an honorable discharge from the War Department, and drew a captain's pension as long as he lived."*
Captain Spaulding's family consisted of six sons and five daughters. The names of his children were: Betsey, Olive, Edward, George, Martha, Esther, Levi, John, Sewell, Lois Goodrich and Benjamin Goodrich.
After the close of the war, he continued to take an active in- terest in town matters, and was honored with the various offices and responsibilities which his fellow citizens could confer. He was representative to the legislature from 1784 to 1786, inclu- sive ; and the Journal of the Legislature and other State papers testify to his activity in the heroic days of our country's history, and his name holds a most honored place in the annals of our town.
Few, if any, of his descendants now reside in Lyndeborough, though most of his children were born here. Edward Spauld- ing, his eldest son, was born in Lyndeborough, Nov. 19, 1764, and died in Alexander, Genesse Co., N. Y., Sept. 14, 1845. At an early day, he removed to Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y .; thence to Summer Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and thence to Alexander, above mentioned, where both he and his wife died. He was a farmer. He married Mehitabel, the daughter of Rev. Sewall Goodrich of Lyndeborough, Oct. 30, 1788. She was born Sept. 25, 1770, and died July 31, 1838. Four of their children were born in Lyndeborough.
ELBRIDGE GERRY, the youngest, became one of the fam- ous men of his time as a lawyer and financier. He was born at Summer Hill, Cayuga Co. N. Y., Feb. 24, 1809. He studied and practised law at Batavia and Attica. In 1834 he removed to Buffalo, and there he was soon chosen to fill important offices. I11 1847 he was elected mayor of Buffalo. He was elected mem- ber of Congress in 1848, and again to the same office in 1858 and 1860. He served four years on the committee of Ways and Means, and was the author of the Legal Tender Act, passed during the days of the Rebellion.
In a letter addressed to him under date of Aug. 3, 1869, the Hon. Charles Sumner wrote, " In all our early financial trials, while the war was most menacing, you held a position of great trust, giving you opportunity and knowledge. The first you
*Spaulding Memorial, p. 88.
619
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
used at the time most patriotically, and the second you use now (in preparing a financial history of the war) for the instruction of the country."
Mr. Spalding was not only an eminent lawyer, but was also a successful banker in Buffalo, who by his talents, industry and economy, amassed an ample fortune.
REV. SAMUEL JONES SPALDING. - Of still another branch of the Spalding family was the author of the " Spauld- ing Memorial." The Rev. Samuel Jones Spalding was the son of Abijah Spalding, and was born in Lyndeborough, Dec. 11, 1820. I11 1824 his parents removed to Nashua, where he pre- pared for college under the instruction of David Crosby, Esq. He entered Dartmouth College in 1838, graduating in 1842, and entering Andover Theological Seminary that year, graduated in 1845. He was pastor of the Whitefield Congregational Church in Newburyport, Mass., for many years. On leave of absence from his people, he was commissioned chaplain of the 48th Mass. Regiment, which served under Major General Anger, in the Army of the Gulf. This regiment was "at the siege of Port Hudson, being actively engaged in the first and second assaults on that stronghold, May 27 and June 14, and also in the fight at Donaldsonville, July 13. Was mustered out Aug. 30, 1863."*
Mr. Spalding is a member of "The New England Historic- Genealogical Society," and also corresponding member of the "State Historical Society of Wisconsin." His life and army service are creditable alike to his kindred and his native town.
Memorial, pp. 457, 458.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
PROFESSIONAL MEN, TRADESMEN, AUTHORS AND COLLEGE GRADUATES.
MINISTERS.
The list of natives of Lyndeborough who became ministers here given is in the order arranged by the secretary or librarian of The New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N. H. The record is partly that printed in the pamphlet, "Salem- Canada-Lyndeborough," by Rev. F. G. Clark.
James Boutwell. (See Genealogies.)
William Thurston Boutwell. (See Genealogies.)
David Burroughs was born Aug. 11, 1810. For a brief sketch see page 343. He was the son of Asa and Sarah (Butler) Bur- roughs.
Benjamin Franklin Clark. (See Genealogies and a mention of him on page 417.)
William Clark, brother of Benjamin F. (See Genealogies.)
Frank Gray Clark. (See Genealogies.)
David P. French, born Feb. 1, 1817, was the son of Isaac P. and Clarissa (Barnes) French. He became a Baptist, and for brief notice of him, see page 343 of this history. He had sev- eral pastorates, both in this state and in Illinois, and died in Nashville, Illinois, April 29, 1886.
Eben E. Gardner, born 1807, was brought up from boyhood by David Putnam, deacon of the Baptist Church. Mr. Gardner is reported to have preached in Trumansburg, N. Y.
Ethan Allen Hadley was born Nov. 13, 1809. He was the son of Joshua and Betsey (Williams) Hadley; preached in Jasper, N. Y., and died in Dix, N. Y., Apr. 24, 1867.
William, son of Ebenezer Hutchinson, was born April 4, 1794, and died April 20, 1842. He preached in Plainfield, and other places in New Hampshire.
John Jones, son of Joseph and Anna (Richardson) Jones, was born September 8, 1812, and was graduated from Dartmouth in 1834. He taught one year at Gloucester, Mass., and gradu- ated at Andover in 1838. He was ordained at Chittenden, Vt., July 1, 1841, and was pastor till 1844. He was agent of the
621
PROFESSIONAL MEN
New Hampshire Bible Society from 1844 to 1846 ; teacher at Sandusky, O., 1848 to 1852 ; acting pastor at Danville, Ind., and Earlville, Il1., 1853 to 1855; agent of American Bible Society, Illinois, 1855 to 1862. Resided at Meriden, Ill., and Colorado Springs, where he died in August, 1889.
James Harvey Merrill, son of Rev. Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Merrill, was born October 16, 1814, and died Octo- ber 28, 1886. He was pastor at Montague and Andover, Mass.
Daniel Putnam, A.M., LL.D. Though not an ordained minister, he is a sound and acceptable preacher of Christ, and frequently assists his ministerial brethren by supplying their pulpits for them. (See Biographical Sketches.)
Samuel Jones Spalding, D.D., born December 11, 1820, long a pastor at Newburyport, Mass. Mr. Spalding was chaplain in the Civil War, and was the compiler of the History of the Spalding Family. He was accounted a very able and excel- lent minister.
Charles Whiting was pastor at Wilton seven years, and died at Fayetteville, Vt., May 5, 1855. (See Genealogies.)
Benjamin Asbury Goodridge was born in Lyndeborough October 5, 1857. He fitted for college at Tilton Seminary, and graduated at Boston University in 1881. He was ordained and ¿ Settled over the Unitarian Church at Harvard, Mass., also served as pastor at Christ Church, Dorchester, Mass., and now at Unity Church, Santa Barbara, California. He has taught extensively, and was teacher of Greek and Latin at Lassell Seminary for two years. He is a great grandson of Rev. Sewall Goodridge, the pastor of Lyndeborough Congregational Church for about forty years.
Willard Harvey Perham, son of Harvey and Abby R. (Par- ker) Perham, was born September 20, 1867. He studied at the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, about a year, and finished his studies at the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, graduating in May, 1905. He settled at Auburn, Indiana, where he was ordained September I, 1905, and is pastor of the Baptist Church.
Students for the ministry who died before completing their studies :
Ira Houston Woodward, born June 15, 1811. He was the son of Eleazer and Rachel (Houston) Woodward. Both he and Benjamin F. Clark went to East Tennessee to some school
622
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
in that state. But Mr. Woodward died in June, 1830, in the 19th year of his age.
Jason, son of Deacon David and Tryphena (Butler) Putnam, was born November 25, 1817. He attended the Hancock Academy, where, in April, 1839, he assisted in forming "a society for the purpose of establishing a library in connection with the Literary and Scientific Institution." * He afterwards acted as private teacher in Virginia. He was said to be a young man of great promise, but died, May 18, 1841, before completing his ministerial studies, in the 24th year of his age.
PHYSICIANS.
Physicians who practiced in town and natives of Lynde- borough who became physicians are as follows :
Dr. "Benjamin Jones (See Genealogies)
Dr. Daniel Wardwell
Dr. Israel Herrick (See Genealogies)
Dr. Nathan Jones
Dr. Moses Atwood (See Genealogies)
Dr. Aaron H. Atwood (See Genealogies)
Dr. William A. Jones (See Genealogies)
Dr. William Butler (See Genealogies)
Dr. Jacob Butler (See Genealogies)
Dr. Nehemiah Rand
Dr. Benjamin F. Hadley
Dr. Willard Parker (See Genealogies)
Dr. Charles P. French (See Genealogies)
Dr. Hervey G. McIntire (See Genealogies) Dr. E. J. Donnell
Dr. Wm. T. Donnell
Dr. Alfred F. Holt (See Genealogies)
Dr. J. Newton Butler (See Genealogies)
Dr. Stephen W. Goodrich (See Genealogies) Dr. J. Milton Rand
Dr. Henry E. Spalding (See Genealogies)
Dr. Henry W. Boutwell (See Genealogies)
Dr. Herbert B. McIntire (See Genealogies)
Dr. George B. French
Dr. George W. Hatch (See Genealogies)
Dr. Alwyn Rose (See Genealogies)
Dr. Perry Joslin (See Genealogies)
Dr. Samuel Joslin (See Genealogies) * History of Hancock, p. 242.
623
TRADESMEN
We give lists of tradesmen discovered, but feel sure that some names have escaped us. No intentional omissions are made. But matters very well known in their day seem to need no rec- ord, and pass out of the memory of a later generation. Some omissions will for such reasons be unavoidable.
SHOEMAKERS.
John Johnson
John Reynolds
Jotham Hildreth
John M. Emery
Jotham Hildreth, Jr.
Joseph H. Ford
Ebenezer Pearson
CARPENTERS.
Capt. Joseph Richardson
Albert S. Conant Albert Cram
Josiah Wheeler
Daniel Putnam
Lorenzo P. Jensen
Israel Putnam
Alfred T. Ford
Luther Odell
Charles L. Clement
S. S. Cummings
George Murch
John Fletcher Holt
Edward D. Smith
Charles Henry Holt
E. K. Warren
David C. Grant
Erwin D. Wilder
BLACKSMITHS.
Josiah Abbott (p. 486, No. 21) Bradt Searles Jonathan Butler Hazen Morse
- Peabody at N. Lyndeboro Henry Stiles Jonathan Thayer George S. Groombridge
Charles Whitmarsh
Ward N. Cheever
Solomon Cram
Herbert A. Cheever
David Perham
W. H. Abbott
Nelson Kidder
George A. Long
AUTHORS.
It is hardly to be expected that a community like ours should produce many authors. The people are mainly farmers. Yet, a few of Lyndeborough's children have accomplished some- thing, perhaps, worthy of a moment's thought and mention, from a literary point of view.
Rufus Blanchard wrote a "History of the State of Illinois" and several other books. (See Genealogies.)
David G. Dickey
James C. Bradford John J. Martin
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HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
Sophia (Blanchard) Olson was the author of pamphlets and magazine articles. (See Blanchard Genealogies.)
The Rev. Frank Gray Clark is the author of a "Historical Sermon," preached at Gloucester, Mass., a treatise entitled "Congregationalism"; a "Sermon at the Dedication of the Congregational Church in Francestown"; a "Manual of the Congregational Church "; and the "Historical Address " at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Lyndeborough, Sept. 4, 1889.
James S. Cram, a native of the town published a "Spelling Book, Designed as an Introduction to Other Spelling Books." It was printed at Concord by Hoag and Atwood, 1831. Mr. Cram was also a famous mathematician in his day. See the brief biographical sketch elsewhere.
William Henry Grant was an author of some note among his fellow-citizens in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the compiler of "Annals of St. Paul Lodge, No. 3, from January 10, 1856 to Sept. 8, 1899." He was also compiler of "The Minnesota Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Year Book, 1889- 1895." A copy of these works presented by him to the library of his native town, will hardly fail to be perused with great in- terest by persons of a historical bias.
David Cram Grant seems also worthy of mention. His au- thorship is largely limited to his published " Sketch of Lynde- borough," in the History of Hillsborough County. To the industry of these brothers in gathering information and collect- ing material the history of Lyndeborough is much indebted.
Daniel Putnam seems among the foremost of our authors. His oration at the 150th anniversary of his native town is certainly 110 discredit to either the town or her son. For his published works see sketch elsewhere.
Dr. Henry E. Spalding has written numerous articles for medical journals. (See Genealogies.)
Samuel Jones Spalding is the compiler of a portly and well wrought history of the " Spalding Family," which has contrib- uted something to the aid of the record of the Spalding families in his native town.
William Lewis Whittemore is the author of many articles upon the scientific method in education, or the "New Educa- tion." These articles have appeared in current publications of the day, in school reports, and in other pamphlets.
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COLLEGE GRADUATES
Harry Weston Whittemore published a few years ago an unpretentious, but very pleasant and readable little book de- scribing an old New England homestead and its neighborhood.
COLLEGE GRADUATES.
Our list of graduates is doubtless incomplete. We give the names of such as have come to our knowledge, who have re- ceived college degrees other than the degree of M.D.
Caleb Houston, Williams, 1812
William Clark
William T. Boutwell, Dartmouth, 1828
John Jones, Dartmouth, 1834
James H. Merrill, Dartmouth, 1834
Benjamin F. Clark, Miami University, 1833
James Boutwell, Dartmouth, 1836
Samuel Jones Spalding, Dartmouth, 1838
Charles Whiting, Dartmouth, 1839
Daniel Putnam, Dartmouth, 1851 Frank Gray Clark, Amherst, 1862 Benjamin Asbury Goodridge, Boston University, 1881
Herbert B. McIntire, Dartmouth, 1881
Harry Weston Whittemore, Tufts, 1886
Algernon Waite Putnam, Brown University, 1895
CHAPTER XXXV. MISCELLANEOUS.
THE POPULATION OF LYNDEBOROUGH.
BY REV. D. DONOVAN.
It is natural enough for us to look back to our origin as a people. Very few of our towns, it is believed, can claim a more homogeneous population than that of Lyndeborough.
We are told that four separate sources contributed to supply the early colonists of New Hampshire.
One of these entered the territory by way of the Piscataqua River and established itself at Cocheco and Strawberry Bank, later Dover and Portsmouth. This consisted of English, Scotch, a few Irish and eight Danes.
Another entered from the Massachusetts colonies and as- cended the Merrimack valley spreading east and west from the river. Exeter and Hampton shared in this overflow which was plainly tinged by Puritan ideas.
Still another tributary started upward along the Connecticut river diffusing itself and reaching as far north as Claremont, Cornish, Lebanon, and over into " the New Hampshire Grants." This was akin to that from Massachusetts.
The fourth inflow came from Ireland, and was said to con- sist of people of Scottish origin who with their ancestors had been sojourning for a time in the Emerald Isle, and were for these causes called Scotch-Irish. They were Presbyterians and settled in Londonderry, and spread into other parts, giving names to Dublin, Antrim and some other towns.
To the second division of these colonists belongs the popula- tion of Lyndeborough. The ancient Gaelic prefixes O' and Mac are seldom found among the names of our early settlers. They were mostly of sturdy Anglo-Saxon stock, and well adapted to cultivate the soil of these rugged hills and sheltered valleys where they patiently toiled and built their homes. To use the words of one of Lyndeborough's distinguished sons, her people have been "intelligent, industrious, temperate and moral, as a whole."
THE CENSUS OF LYNDEBOROUGH IN 1767.
The statistics of population were furnished by W. H. Grant,
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MISCELLANEOUS
Esq., and were probably taken from Farmer & Moore's New Hampshire Gazetteer, published in 1823 :
Males unmarried, between 16 and 60 years of age 26
Males married, between 16 and 60 years of age 43
Males under sixteen years of age 76
Males over sixty years of age
4
Females unmarried
7I
Females married
50
Widows
Slaves, none of either sex
Total
272
The population of Lyndeborough in 1775 was 713
" 1790 was 1280
" 1800 was 976*
" 1810 was 1074
" 1820 was 1163
To the figures above given, Mr. J. H. Goodrich adds the census of the town from 1830 to the present time, as below :
Population of Lyndeborough in 1830 was 1147
1840 was 1032
1850 was 968
‹‹ 1860 was 823
1870 was 820
1880 was 818
1890 was 657
" 1900 was 686
THE SALT AND MOLASSES AFFAIR.
When the Revolutionary War commenced the town judged it wise to secure for its use a liberal supply of such articles as a war would make scarce and difficult to obtain. Consequently at a town meeting, June 19, 1775, it was voted, "that the Selectmen provide 40 hhds. of salt, 5 hhds. of molasses, and I hhd. of rum for the benefit of the town." These articles were procured by Francis Epes, Josiah Woodbury and Nathan Pear- son, selectmen, on the credit of the town ; and were purchased of Mr. Jonathan Ropes, of Salem, Mass. But the bill re- mained unpaid for more than twelve years, when in December, 1787, a committee consisting of Dr. Benjamin Jones, John Rey- nolds and John Savage, was appointed to look into the affair and report at an adjourned meeting. Their report was pre- sented and accepted ; and the town voted to pay the bill. The whole amount was about £80, of which £43 5s and 9d. was
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