USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Lancaster > The one hundred & fiftieth anniversary of Lancaster, New Hampshire, 1764-1914; the official report of the celebration held in August, nineteen hundred and fourteen; > Part 7
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In the limited time which I have at my disposal I do not intend to attempt to give a history of the Town even in the form of a summary. Others quite likely may do so; in any case, I am confident that the history to which I
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have referred, which is available to all, would furnish most of the material which would naturally go into such an address, yet I cannot fail to call to your attention some of the things in which the people of this Town have been interested and some of the leading participants in its affairs, and perhaps point out some of the reasons why the results have been so satisfactory to those of us who are receiving the benefits of the foresight and high character of our ancestors.
We should be thankful that we live in a time which, based on such stand- ards as we have, produces the best result in education, temperance, physi- cal comfort, and all of the other conditions which should go with making a happy and contented people, that we are endowed with the faculty of not only appreciating and understanding those things of which we have per- sonal and physical knowledge but we may connect ourselves with the past through history which has more or less truthfully brought to us the happen- ings of other times. That faculty enables us to understand the conditions under which those who preceded us lived. We may imbibe their spirit, understand their sufferings and trials and appreciate the ambitions which controlled them and the rejoicings which came as a result of their efforts- in a way we become their contemporaries. Therefore, it is not difficult for us to understand the trials and hardships and self-sacrifices which in- variably go with the settlement of a new country surrounded, as had generally been the case, with savage foes, an unbroken wilderness, failure in crops, incompetent control of the diseases to which all mankind is subjected and the removal from the centres of refinement and advanced civilization. Considering such conditions we can easily understand the privations and hardships endured by those who came to this Town as charter members.
The first settlement of this Town does not differ materially from similar undertakings during the period when it was made. There was the desire of those who had located in sections which were not particularly adapted to agricultural pursuits to obtain a larger area of better land without material cost, urged on by the ambition of Governor Wentworth to take possession of the indefinite region between the New Hampshire settlements and Crown Point on the one hand and Quebec on the other. This settlement would have been impossible before the successful conclusion of the French and Indian wars in the Fifties because of the raids of the St. Francis Indians, which tribe was practically annihilated by Rogers and his Rangers and other similar bands of hardy frontiersmen during these wars, and the fear of the French who, from their vantage points at Crown Point and Quebec, could very well claim domination over this region. These early settlers undoubtedly considered the possibility of obtaining a temporary living by hunting and fishing, but they were in no sense adventurers; on the contrary, they were home seekers whose first desire was to obtain the best available
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Judge Albert R. Savage
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lands and to found a peaceful, orderly, law-abiding, self-sustaining com- munity.
The first settlers were followed immediately after the end of the Revolu- tionary War by many who had taken part in that conflict who with those who had preceded them exerted an influence on the character of the Town which has been felt down to the present day. Let me refer briefly to these first settlers and what they meant to the settlement and its future activites.
CHARACTER OF FIRST SETTLERS
Frequently one person or at most a few persons have a large influence in moulding the life as well as the future of a community. This is partic- ularly true of those who came to Lancaster in 1764. They included David Page, David Page, Jr., Emmons Stockwell, Ruth Page, Edwards Bucknam, Timothy Nash and George Wheeler. Of these Nash and Wheeler did not become permanent residents, but Nash, at least, left his imprint on this region for he discovered the White Mountain Notch and gave his name to that area in the Notch known at the present day as the Nash and Sawyer grant. David Page did not remain continuously in Lancaster and did not apparently take as active a part in its life as did the young people who came with him, but the other four among these comers became and remained as such for many years the most important factors in the Town's develop- ment. The year following their coming Ruth Page married Emmons Stockwell and they had born to them fifteen children, most of whom grew to manhood and womanhood in this town. Edwards Bucknam married the same year Susanna, the second daughter of David Page, and they had born to them ten children, seven of whom grew to manhood and womanhood in this Town.
We may well look back to Ruth Page with admiration if not with aston- ishment. How easy it is to see in our mind's eye what must have been her life. If her hearing had been sufficiently keen she might have heard the morning gun fired from the French fortification at Crown Point or at Quebec, resounding over the uninhabited and unbroken wilderness between Lancaster and those points. Her memory would take her back to the settle- ment at Charlestown, N. H., the first really permanent settlement to the South, or she might have even imagined that she could hear the surf beat- ing on the rocks of the Maine coast-one hundred miles to the East. We can see her engaged in her daily work, visited as she was on many occasions by savages when there was no one present to protect her, always living in the midst of wild beasts, dependent upon her own resources and strength of character to maintain a condition of contentment and to render the assistance which she alone could do in such a community. And yet it is not taking anything from this woman's accomplishments to assert that even, judged by the test of her endurance and courage, there has probably
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been no deterioration in American womanhood since that time. We see to-day the wives and daughters of American settlers going to the remotest sections of Alaska or taking a residence in the wildest and most uncivilized parts of the Philippines, exhibiting the same courage and same loyalty to those with whom they are connected that Ruth Page did in her day. We are apt to look back to the accomplishments of those who have lived before with a feeling that they were abnormal and yet it is well for us to remember and remember with pride that the women of to-day would, if the test came, come up to the high standards set by the American women of earlier generations.
MEN OF DETERMINATION
David Page, Jr., Emmons Stockwell and Edwards Bucknam were men of determination and high character and they for many years furnished the vigorous stimulus needed to maintain courage in the faint-hearted who at times were disposed to give up the colony. In this respect the Town owes an everlasting debt of gratitude to Emmons Stockwell who, at one time, undoubtedly prevented the collapse of the settlement. Edwards Bucknam was a man of a somewhat different type. He had all the qualities necessary in building up a new community, having a capacity to do well nearly everything which the ordinary citizen undertakes. He was the land surveyor, the justice of the peace, the clerk, the scribe, and performed many other functions admirably. It will therefore be seen that this Town was not only fortunate in the immediate work done by these young people but they became the parents and grandparents of a very considerable portion of the population of the town in the following generation, and their descend- ants are still included in considerable numbers among those who live in this Town and region.
It is a matter of great regret to me, and will be to all of you, that he who bore Emmons Stockwell's name in the third generation did not live to take part in this celebration. But even though he is not present we have with us three grandchildren of the original settlers, Emmons Selden Freeman, a well known and honored resident of this Town; his cousin, Mrs. Temple, of Saint Johnsbury, Vermont; and Mrs. Martha Bucknam Jacobs, the granddaughter of Edwards Bucknam. I am sure you will all join me in extending to them a warm welcome and hope that they may have many more years with us.
The descendants of those who came here during and after the Revolu- tionary War and before 1790 were, for one hundred years at least, im- portant men in the affairs of the town and state and even to-day they are here in considerable numbers, many of them still residents of this Town. Those who came here during that time included Stephen Wilson, Jonas Wilder, Isaac Darby, Dennis Stanley, John Rosebrook, John Weeks, Edward Spaulding, William Moore, Joseph Brackett, John McIntyre,
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Phineas Hodgdon, Coffin Moore, Moses White and others. All of these names are familiar to the present generation. It is true that some of these families have become extinct and one of the subjects which we might properly consider to-day, if there were time, is the passing of this old New England stock, prolific to a degree in those days, but now rapidly degenerat- ing as far as reproduction is concerned. Their places however have been taken in many cases by those connected with other nationalities than the original settlers, some French, many of them Irish but all here for the same purpose that actuated the English stock which originally settled the Town, that is to make for themselves and their families permanent homes and to become good American citizens.
MEN WHO CAME LATER
No town in this community had among the earlier Irish settlers sturdier or manlier men-such as the Monahans, the McCartens, the Connarys, the Sheridans, the Hartleys, the Sullivans, and many others-who have left large families, all of whom are admirable citizens, constituting one of the very best elements in this region; so that whether the old Yankee stock continues or passes and whether those of other lineage take its place or not, we may, I think, look forward to the years to come with hope and confidence that the standards of the past will be maintained, not because they were those of one race but because they were worthy to be emulated and all who wish to become citizens, coming hereafter, will be stimulated to follow the example of these who have gone before and make for themselves a place which those who come later may look back to with an equal feeling of gratitude and pride.
Two of those to whom I have referred as coming here immediately after the Revolutionary War were my immediate ancestors, John Weeks being my great grandfather and Dennis Stanley the father of my grandmother Weeks. While I should not go into family history in detail, I think I may be pardoned if I refer to John Weeks, whose name I bear, for my ancestry and my being a native of the Town give me a right to claim at least an active interest in this family gathering.
John Weeks, of the fourth generation of his family in America, of South- ern New Hampshire birth, a farmer by occupation and soldier in the Revolutionary War, came to this Town in 1786 and was one of the first settlers on the river road to Dalton. His log cabin was built near the fine meadows bordering on the Connecticut River, which have been aptly referred to by the Reverend Thomas Starr King in the "White Hills" in the lines:
"The tasselled maize, full grain or clover, Far o'er the level meadow grows, And through it, like a wayward rover, The noble river gently flows."
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He, as did the first settler, David Page, brought with him his oldest daughter, established his home and was followed later in the long difficult trip through the White Mountain Notch by my great grandmother who brought her remaining children, one of them a babe in arms. From this stock and those related to it have come not only the Weeks family of this town but collateral to it the Bracketts, the Webbs, the Bells, the Spauld- ings, the Emersons, the McIntyres, the Jacobs and others who will be recognized among the honored and good citizens who have been con- nected with these families.
My grandfather settled on the south side of Mount Prospect where were born seven children, including my father who later settled, as the older citizens present know, on the river road on the farm which his grandfather had originally located and to which I have referred. If space allowed, I would like to say much of these men to whom I am so greatly indebted but I think I may not be out of place if I speak particularly of my father in whose memory as soon as I was able-and it was one of the greatest joys of my life-I erected the Memorial Library with which you are familiar. There are a few now living who knew him well, many of you as children remember him, but very few of you can appreciate the filial pride which I take in him and in his modest career. We all feel that our parents have superlative virtues, but after many years of activity in many walks of life, associated with men of all professions, occupations, and character, I am qualified to say to you that I have never known a finer character or one whose manly, gentle, sweet life could furnish a better example for those who were fortunate enough to have him for an ancestor.
Four generations of the Weeks' family have lived in this Town and mingled their bones with its soil, including my great uncle, Major John Wingate Weeks, for whom I was named, a distinguished soldier in the War of 1812 and one of the three members of Congress who have made their home in this Town. Therefore while the earlier Weekses settled in Portsmouth, now Greenland, N. H., which must be looked to as the cradle of our family in this country, yet the members of my immediate family will turn to this Town as the most cherished spot on this continent and it is as a devoted and affectionate son that I extend you my thanks for having this opportunity to acknowledge my debt to those members of my family who have preceded me and also the equal debt, in another form, which I owe to the home of my fathers-my place of nativity.
METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION
Systems of transportation are the arteries which keep in operation our complex industrial life. When these become impaired or are not thoroughly constructed or equipped the effect on the body politic is similar to the action which hardening of the arteries has on the human system. The
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D. A. R. Mr. Freeman Dedicating Memorial Mt. Prospect Observation Tower Baseball Game
ANNIVERSARY
correctness of this statement could not be better illustrated than to note the changes which have come in the last 150 years in local transportation facilities and the resulting effect they have had on the prosperity of this section. If there are those who have not a clear conception of the diffi- culties in traveling from one locality in this part of the country to another when it was originally settled, they can easily obtain the experience which will be a complete demonstration. Go into the uncut spruce forest any- where in Coos County and especially in those places where there is thick undergrowth, and you will find a condition which was practically uniform from Charlestown one hundred miles south on the Connecticut River to this village when Ruth Page came here in 1764.
For many years thereafter the only roads to Lancaster whether the traveler came via the Connecticut River route or by the way of the White Mountain Notch were blazed lines. Most of those who came during this period walked, though, of course, the weaker ones rode horseback. The conditions requiring this form of transportation and the hardships attend- ing it are well illustrated by the trip of Phoebe Dustin Spaulding in 1769. She spent two days and a night on the road from Haverhill to Lancaster carrying her young babe in her arms, sleeping on the ground where night overtook them and reaching the settlement at Lancaster as night closed in on the second day. Mrs. Spaulding was the mother of the well known Spaulding family which has furnished so many excellent citizens to this community.
This rude system of transportation continued many years. the first im- provement, not in the roads, but in the equipment, being the adoption of the pillion used during the first hundred years of the life of the Town. I remember seeing one which had been used by some of the earlier settlers. This luxury, which might be compared with our bicycles built for two or the motor cycle with its side attachment, was an extension saddle, the woman riding on the saddle behind the man.
Twenty-five years after the settlement came the early dirt or corduroy roads, rough and difficult but enabling the use of wheeled vehicles. At first only the two-wheel shay and ox carts could be used, followed in 1822 by the first four-wheel vehicles. These had wooden springs and we can easily imagine the discomforts in traveling over rough roads in a wagon constructed in that way; in fact, wagons of this general character though somewhat improved as time went on continued to be the best the com- munity could afford until about ninety years after the settlement of the Town.
My father has told me that in his younger days he took part in the pung sleigh cavalcades which carried the products of the farmers of this community to Portland, a little more than 100 miles away, and that it generally required five days to make the trip. The type of sleigh used for
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this purpose has disappeared, its peculiarity being that instead of sitting in the front of the sleigh to drive the horses the driver stood on an ex- tension at the rear end.
With the advent of vehicles with leather and metal springs there de- veloped a good road-building spirit similar to that which we have seen in recent years, because it was seen that better roads were necessary in order to insure the adoption and use of the most up-to-date wagons and carriages. The later progressive steps like the coming of the railroad in 1870, the changes in methods of road construction undertaken twenty-five years ago and the State roads of to-day are familiar to most of us.
The end in improvement is not yet. One hundred and fifty years ago it required at least two weeks to communicate with Boston and get a reply; for many years after the construction of telegraph lines, installed in 1866, we could make the same communication in an hour or less, and by tele- phone we do it in a few minutes. Now the wireless towers in Washington pick up the ticking of a clock in the Eifel Tower in Paris and the Naval Observatory by using the wireless sends the time to all sections of the country east of the Rockies and the mariner catches the time as it is sent broadcast, assuring him that his chronometer has not changed since his journey was undertaken and therefore his location can not be mistaken. The airman travels with ease sixty miles an hour and you may confidently look forward to the day when you will breakfast in Lancaster, make the trip to Boston, complete the business which has called you and return to your family at the usual supper hour, or, if occasion requires, communicate with your family on the China Coast, getting a reply in a comparatively few minutes.
A CONTRAST OF METHODS
One hundred and fifty years ago it required at least five days to reach either the Atlantic Coast through the Notch or the Charlestown settlement on the Connecticut. What would Emmons Stockwell, the pioneer, have said if he had been told that in 150 years in traveling by highway one would be able to make the trip from Number 10 to Lancaster in the same number of hours which it took him days to cover the same distance? What would the good citizens of the year 1814 have said if they had been told that the assessed value of the automobiles in this Town in 100 years would be as great or greater than the assessed valuation of all its property at that time. What would the residents of fifty years ago have said if they had been told they could take their breakfast at the usual hour in Boston and reach Lancaster in good time for supper of the same day traveling over highways instead of by railroad.
What changes since the days, which those of us in middle life recall, when those modern Jehus, Free Beede, Jim Pool, and Wat Lindsey, drove
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the stages from Littleton to Lancaster, leaving the former town on the arrival of the train from Boston and reaching Lancaster about midnight, sixteen to eighteen hours from the Metropolis, Beede enlivening the long trip with songs and all of them making the trip seem shorter with their gossip and interesting comment. How many times I have been wakened as the stage passed my father's house by hearing Beede's wonderful voice which all Lancaster loved to hear-even when they had the best talent from Boston taking part in musical conventions-singing that nearly forgotten song, the first lines of which were;
"They tell me of that sunny South They say 'tis passing fair."
Before there were roads this was a community living within itself which necessarily meant restriction to home products and absolute necessities and it was not until the middle of the 19th century that the cost of con- veying the products to market did not practically absorb their value.
LANCASTER'S FIRST MERCHANTS
Until the days of those admirable merchants, Royal Joyslin and Richard P. Kent, no merchant in this Town was financially successful, the reason being that there was little actual money in circulation and that conducting business necessitated barter, it being necessary to accept the products raised by the farmers in exchange for the goods sold to them. These transactions could not be completed until the farm products were sold, so that necessarily the people were poor and the difficulties of transporting to the market at Portland frequently caused material loss in the value of the products shipped on account of delays due to impassable roads.
As late as 1823 the Gazetteer for New Hampshire said of the people of this region :
"They are poor and for aught that appears to the contrary must always remain so, as they may be deemed actual tres- passers on that part of creation destined by its author for the residence of bears, wolves, moose and other animals of the forest."
This exaggerated depreciation of the people of this Town and their poverty is not unlike what we are apt to hear at this time by those pessi- mists who see little good in the times in which they live and the changing conditions which are really improving. I have confidence in the belief that the changes made in the prosperity of this Town due to the advent of the stagecoach and the four-wheel vehicle and later the railroads will be duplicated in the great improvement to the roads resulting from the coming of the automobile, and that where twenty-five years ago one person came to the White Mountain section for pleasure purposes that in
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the immediate future a hundred will come, will spend their money here liberally, will furnish a market for the products of the soil and will give this region renewed and enduring prosperity. These hills and the many reasons which have brought people here for 100 years have not and will not change; these attractions in the future will be the same as in the past. The leisure class increases from year to year and this community will be benefited by its coming and by the reduction in the cost of getting its products to the market-a self evident proposition.
LANCASTER'S PRESENT PROSPERITY
What would the writer of the criticism to which I have referred say if he could have lived to have seen conditions as represented in this Town to- day? I suppose, as has been usually the case in the past, that many will say we have no new industry and that there is not much going on. I have heard that said by my friends for forty years, but let me point out to you what has happened in these forty years as is evidenced by the increase in the surplus wealth of the Town and community. I remember as a boy that there was but one bank in Coos County-the Lancaster Savings Bank-and that it then had about $200,000 in deposits. The population of Coos County with the exception of the city of Berlin has not increased materially in the intervening time and there have not come into the county -again excepting Berlin-industries which would draw to it much wealth, and yet instead of there being just one bank in the county there are now a dozen banks and instead of the total deposits of the county being $200, 000 the total investments in bank shares and deposits of this Town are substantially ten times that amount. In other words, the writer of the criticism which appeared in the New Hampshire Gazetteer, if he could have lived until to-day, would have found a million dollars in the Lancaster Banks for every one hundred thousand dollars found there forty years ago, and I am informed that the banks of other towns in the county have as much or more. I think this is a conclusive argument that there has been thrift and frugality and prosperity among the people of this Town, so that those who are apt to be influenced by the pessimist holding up to them pictures of the prosperity of other sections of our country should dis- count these complaints and reply that the growth in wealth and prosperity, and comforts, which have come to this Town in the last forty years have exceeded many times over those which came in the first 100 years of the Town's existence and this vested wealth has been parallel to and coinci- dent with increased facilities in transportation.
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