USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Derry > Willey's book of Nutfield; a history of that part of New Hampshire comprised within the limits of the old township of Londonberry, from its settlement in 1719 to the present time > Part 2
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
derry she came up to him one day and. twining He then went to Mississippi, and was a her arms affectionately around his neck. said: tutor in a private family in Natchez in "Well, well, dear John, if it must be a log- house, do make it a log higher than the rest." that State and in New Orleans till ill-health compelled his return north in the fall of 1860. He was admitted to the bar of Middlesex County, Mass., at Lowell, in December, 1862, and has practised law there since. In 1868-69
The chronicles are silent on the point whether the Covenanter rebuked his wife's sin- ful pride, or whether he yielded to the temp- tation.
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD.
-
1
WILLIAM H. ANDERSON'S SUMMER RESIDENCE, WEST WINDHAM.
GENERAL JOHN STARK.
A MONG the sons of Nutfield who have left upon the world the impress of a strong personality none has achieved a more enduring fame than General John Stark. His character combined all the rugged traits of a born war- rior with a patriot's disinter- ested love of country. He possessed in a marked degree those stern qualities which have characterized military heroes in all ages, but in his case they were not tainted by selfishness. Courage, energy, quickness, re- sourcefulness, unbending integ- rity, enabled him to perform distinguished services for his country, and these qualities were softened by gentler graces of the heart. Of all the strik- ing types of character which the Colonial wars and the Rev- olution developed, his was the most original and picturesque. Time has but added to his fame, and to all sons of the Granite State he represents to- day the ideal of military glory. His statue in Monument Hall at the National Capitol will help to perpetuate his memory to all coming generations.
In John Stark's veins coursed the blood of a hardy, intrepid, God-fearing ancestry. His father, Archibald Stark, was a Scotchman by birth who had emigrated to Londonderry, Ire- land, whence in 1720 he em- barked for New Hampshire. Arriving at Boston late in the autumn, many of the immigrants were ill with the small-pox and were not permitted to land. In consequence, they spent the winter on the coast of Maine, and the following spring joined their Scottish friends, who had preceded them, at Nutfield.
STATUE OF GENERAL STARK.
In Monument Hall, Washington, D. C.
Here John Stark was born, Aug. 28, 1728, the second of four sons. In 1736 his father removed to Manchester, then Derryfield, and here John remained until he was twenty-seven years old. He was a strong, athletic youth, self-reliant and fearless, full of the fire and energy which distinguished his later career. Fond of adven- ture, he went deep into the wilderness to the northwestern part of the State on a hunt- ing expedition, with his elder brother William, David Stin- son of Londonderry and Amos Eastman of Concord. Coming upon a trail of ten Indians, they began to make prepara- tions to return, and John, who was collecting the traps a little distance from his companions, was suddenly surrounded and seized by the savages, who demanded to know where the others were. Thinking only of the safety of his friends, he pointed in a wrong direction and succeeded in leading the Indians two miles out of the way. Had it not been for the signal guns of his fellow- hunters, which they, alarmed at his long absence, fired for his return, they would have escaped. Guided by the sound. the savages retraced their steps and came upon them moving down the river, William Stark and Stinson in a boat and East- man on the bank. They im- mediately seized the latter and then ordered John to hail the other two and bring them ashore. He advised them to pull for the oppo- site shore, and they immediately sprang to their oars. Four of the Indians raised their guns and fired, but John, who was watching their move-
16
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
ments, leaped forward and knocked two of the In single file, Rogers ahead and Stark in the guns in the air. The others then fired, but rear, the company of seventy-four men marched back over the snow for more than a mile. Suddenly, on ascending a hill, they found them- selves face to face with two hundred men, drawn up in a semicircle, awaiting their approach. So unexpected was the meeting that the head of the line of rangers was not twenty feet from John again struck the barrels aside from their aim. One shot, however, took effect, and young Stinson fell back in the boat dead. William Stark escaped, and the Indians, maddened at their failure, fell upon John and beat him cruelly. On the return of the party to St. Francis the two prisoners were compelled to run the gaunt- the enemy when they received the first fire. let. Eastman, who passed first through the Staggered by the sudden vollies, they fell back lines, was terribly bruised, but John Stark was down the hill, leaving the snow red with their blood. Stark, who was on a hill about fifteen rods in the rear, opened a fierce fire on the pursuers, which allowed Rogers time to rally his men. Forming their little band in order of battle, and taking the centre themselves, Rogers and Stark repelled every attack of the enemy until sunset. Rogers being wounded, the com- mand devolved on Stark, and he realized that not the man to submit tamely to a flogging. Approaching the fearful lines of warriors, with their uplifted rods and bludgeons, he snatched a club from the nearest one and sprang forward, swinging the club swiftly around his head, deal- ing blows right and left and making a terrible path for himself through the throng. He re- mained three or four months with the Indians who found him a rather unprofitable captive. the safety of his men depended on their hold- When ordered to hoe corn he cut it up and left the weeds standing, and finally threw his hoe into the river. Instead of being exasper- ated at this defiant spirit, his captors were pleased with it, and adopted him as a young chief into their tribe. At length he was ran- somed for one hundred and three dollars, while the savages demanded but sixty for Eastman.
When the French war broke out a corps of rangers was raised in New Hampshire and placed under Robert Rogers. Stark joined this corps as lieutenant and marched to Fort Edward. He was at the fort when Colonel Williams fell in the attack on Baron Dieskau and heard the uproar of the after-battle in which General John- son was victorious over the French and Indians. Soon afterward his regiment was disbanded and he returned home, joining soon, however, another company of rangers as first lieutenant and doing service at the garrisons between Lake George and the Hudson River. In the winter of 1757 an expedition commanded by Major Rogers, with Stark as one of the officers, was fitted out to go down Lake George toward Ticonderoga. Learning from prisoners whom they took on the way, that there was a large force of French and Indians at Ticonderoga, Rogers ordered a retreat.
ing their ground until after dark. A bullet struck the lock of his gun and shattered it to pieces, but he cast it aside and springing for- ward on a Frenchman, who was reeling back in the snow, shot through the body, he wrenched the gun from his dying grasp and renewed the fight. Thus he stood and fought in snow four feet deep until night came on and the enemy withdrew. He then ordered a retreat, and the wounded and bleeding company marched all night through the woods and halted in the morning on Lake George. It be- ing impossible for the wounded to proceed further on foot, Stark offered to push on to Fort William Henry, forty miles distant, and get aid. He had marched all the previous forenoon, fought from two o'clock till dark a vastly superior force, retreated on foot all night, and now, in the morning, without rest, he offered to go forty miles on snow-shoes after sleds for the wounded. He accomplished this distance by evening, and without waiting to rest, he started back, travelling all night and reaching his companions the next morning. The wounded were placed on sleds, and Stark returned with them to the fort, which he reached that evening, thus having been two nights without rest and
17
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD.
having travelled on foot a hundred and twenty he said, "and he shall now make them one in miles in less than forty hours.
return." A guard was immediately sent to bring the paymaster to camp, and he was brought in to the tune of the "Rogue's March," the whole regiment receiving him with derisive shouts. A court of inquiry investigated Stark's conduct, but the paymaster having proved untrustworthy, the whole matter was dropped.
In the attack upon Ticonderoga, in June, 1758, Rogers and Stark led a company of rang- ers in advance of Howe's force, and at the close of the war he returned home and again engaged in the pursuits of domestic life. In 1757 he had been married to Elizabeth Page, daughter of Captain Page of Dunbarton, and eleven After the evacuation of Boston by the Brit- ish, Colonel Stark joined the Northern army, and the following year his regiment constituted children were born to them. When the news of the battle of Lexington was received, he was at work in his sawmill, and within ten minutes a part of the troops sent to reinforce Washing- he was in the saddle and galloping away toward ton on the Delaware. In the assault on Trenton. Stark commanded the advance guard of the right wing, and contributed much toward securing the brilliant victory. He was at Washington's side in the short but terrible conflict at Prince- ton and remained with him until the army retired to winter quarters, when he returned to New Hampshire on a recruiting expedition. While here he learned that several junior officers had been promoted and himself left out of the list. He threw up his commission and retired from the army, declaring that an officer who would submit to such an indignity was not fit to be trusted. He was, however, too much of a pat- riot to remain indifferent to his country's welfare. and so when the General Assembly of New Hampshire called upon him to take command of Boston. The volunteers he had ordered to assemble at Medford hastened on, and he was elected colonel of one of the regiments. March- ing his men through the British fire that swept Charlestown Neck, he led them up to the Amer- ican lines. His station was behind a rail fence filled with hay, between the Mystic River and the road. Some one had asked General Gage in the morning if he thought the Americans would stand fire. "Yes," he replied, " if John Stark is there, for he is a brave fellow." John Stark was there, and his command to his men to reserve their fire till they could see the enemy's gaiters was repeated along the lines. Whole companies of the British fell at every discharge, and Stark's regiment was one of the last to leave the field of battle. In the midst of the the troops which were being raised to defend fight Stark was told that his son had been killed. the State against an invasion from Canada, he consented to assume the duty, on condition that he should not be obliged to join the main army, should exercise his own discretion as to his movements and be responsible to none but the authorities of New Hampshire. His conditions were complied with. Hence, when General Schuyler ordered him to lead his troops to the Hudson, to be placed under general orders, he flatly refused to do so. His reply was sent to Congress, and that body emphatically con- demned his course, declaring it destructive of " military subordination and prejudicial to the common cause." All this condemnation Stark had foreseen and despised. He would not yield from his purpose, and though in a military point of view he was right in the course he " It is no time for private griefs when the enemy is in front," was his stern reply. The report proved untrue, and this son served as staff officer throughout the war. After the battle Stark's command was stationed on Winter Hill, and here an incident occurred which showed the manly independence of his charac- ter. The paymaster at Medford did not like Stark, and so refused to pay his men, on the ground of alleged informality in making out the payrolls. On the following day the soldiers, supplied as they supposed with correct papers, went again for their money, but with no better success. The same was done on the third day, and the men demanded redress of Stark. "The regiment has made the paymaster three visits,"
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
took, as the result showed, yet it is very doubt- at the age of fifty-five became, like Cincinnatus, ful whether he would have acted differently had it been otherwise.
The famous Battle of Bennington, stubbornly fought and brilliantly won, the tide of victory turning now to one and now to the other side, marked the zenith of General Stark's military career. That victory infused new life and hope into the American Army. Congress, seeking to atone for its former injustice, made Stark a brigadier general. In 1778 he was appointed over the Northern army and stationed at Albany. Though engaged in no battle, his duties for the next four years were complicated and onerous, yet hc acquitted himself with credit and honor. Washington called him to headquarters in 1783, and here he threw the whole weight of his character against the divi- sions and incipient conspiracies among the officers which threatened to undo the whole work of the Revolution. After the disbanding of the army, General Stark returned to his home, and the path of duty as he conceived it.
a quiet farmer, living in retirement' until his death, which occurred May 8, 1822, in his ninety-fourth year.
Through all his adventurous and tempestu- ous life, as hunter and frontiersman, as soldier and as commander, though exposed to innumer- able perils, he was never wounded or seriously injured. He loved action, and the roar of musketry was music to his ears. Ilis favorite hero was Charles XII., whose life he always carried with him in his campaigns. That stern and resolute king had not a stronger or a nobler character than Stark, and the American general possessed many fine traits that were lacking in the monarch. He had wonderful power over his soldiers, who delighted in his eccentricities and his bluntness, and who would follow him into any danger. The highest tribute that can be paid him is to say that he was a patriot of unflinching integrity, and that nothing ever swerved him from
-
FRANK A. HARDY'S RESIDENCE, LONDONDERRY,
THE GREAT WAR MEETING IN LONDONDERRY.
Pleasant View cemetery is now located. the
O NE of the most stirring and momentous events in the history of Rockingham County procession, headed by the Auburn band of was the great war meeting which was held in Londonderry, Aug. 28, 1861. The fires of twenty pieees, having formed near what is now ealled Crowell's Corner. The officers of the day, all of whom are now dead, were Jonathan Savory, chief marshal; John Diekey, president; Horace P. Watts, viee-president, and James M. Platts, toastmaster. On an evergreen areh which had been erected in front of the speakers' stand were the words: "Stand by Your Flag," and on the musie stand was the motto, "God Save the Union." The Union Guards and the Lon- donderry Guards eseorted the citizens from Colby's store (which was situated near where Washington Colby now lives) to the grove. One of the most eonspieuous personages of the day was Mrs. Henry Crowell, who made the
HENRY CROWELL.
patriotism have nowhere burned brighter than in that old town. and on that memorable day the flood of enthusiasm reached its height. More than forty soldiers had already enlisted from the town, and the meeting was held in order to give the ladies of Londonderry an opportunity to present to the Union Guards a beautiful banner which they had purehased, and in order to awaken still more the patriotie spirit of the people. Such a crowd was never before seen in the town. It seemed as if every man, woman and child had turned out, and the numbers were augmented by throngs of visitors from Derry, Auburn, Windham and Manehester. It was a grand open-air demonstration, and the weather being delightful, the success of the affair was pronounced. The meeting was held in William Plummer's beautiful grove, near where
MRS. HENRY CROWELL.
presentation speech. She spoke without notes. and the effeet of her eloquent words upon the vast audience will never be forgotten by those who heard her. She spoke substantially as follows:
20)
WILLER'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD.
"Gentlemen Members of the Union Guards - Scarce a century has rolled away since the shouts of victory rang through our mountains and our vales. Our fathers fought not for fame, but for freedom, not for ambition, but for love of country. The battles fought and conquest gained, the sages and patriots of the Revolution met and framed a system of government almost perfect in its design, and which has stood a beacon light to all the nations of the earth. And now, in 1861, after years of unparalled prosperity, traitors in our midst, forgetting the teachings of their ancestors, losing sight of their principles, and at last despising their inheritance, viper-like, stinging the bosom from which they have so long gained their nourishment, have done that which no foreign foe would have dared to do. But the effect of their unnatural course will be thrown back upon them with a terrible vengeance. In the words of an ancient philosopher, we may well say, 'Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.'
"Shall monuments which have been reared to perpet- uate our liberties laugh in mockery at our lost patriotism ? Have we degenerated from what our fathers were? While Italy has heard the bugle note of freedom, and Russia is throwing off the tyranny of serfdom, shall America, the boasted land of liberty, take a retrograde step? No! She shall be, as she ever has been, the standard bearer in this grand march for freedom. Love of country with us should not be a mere impulse, but a firm, undying principle which no political aspirations can shake. The man who in this day of his country's peril does not speak and act for his country may rest assured that every drop of ances- tral blood has long since died out of his veins.
"This gathering here to-day tells us that old honored Londonderry is still awake. That she ever has as now been first and foremost to heed her country's calls, we all know. Ours is no war of aggression or subjugation ; we claim no conquest of territory, only that the Constitution, that priceless trust bequeathed to us by our fathers, be defended. Surely if ever war was waged or battles fought in a righteous cause, it is in ours. From the North, the East, the West, we hear the clarion sound of war, and the tread of brave men who bear on their banners the image of the glorious eagle emblem of American union who will yet bear the rattlesnake of secession in his talons, and rend him with his beak. From our midst have gone forth fathers, brothers, husbands, sons and friends, some to meet a soldier's death, others to lead on to victory. Many more will follow, for the contest, though sharp, must be decided now and forever.
"Our hills are steep, rugged and unpolished, yet we love them too well to see them pass from ours to traitor hands. Our homes and firesides are dear to us, and shall we yield them to those who make human beings chattels, and forget that 'all men are born free and equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, lib- erty and the pursuit of happiness!' And though many of our loved ones will sleep in lonely graves, far away from
home and kindred, shall we withhold the offering, the sacrifice which shall bless all future generations?
"Now, in behalf of the ladies of Londonderry, I present to you this banner, to express to you our entire willingness to do what we can to aid you in a struggle which is so wholly glorious. We to-day honor you and this banner. We consider by placing it in such worthy hands that we testify to the world how highly we prize it. We honor you with our confidence by entrusting to you for protection this our highest hope next to our hope in heaven.
"Soldiers of the Union Guards, in presenting to you this banner we have no charge to give. We know that sons, reared on New England soil, descendants of ancestors whose first act was to consecrate themselves, their poster- ity and this land to God, cannot prove recreant to so high a trust. In the train of events should you be called to defend your country's liberties far from those you hold most dear, look aloft to this banner, and remember that around it are clustered the fondest hopes of mothers, sisters, wives and friends."
Captain Sanborn accepted the banner on behalf of the Union Guards, and responded as follows:
"The ladies of Londonderry, ever ready in loyal and humane works, who have presented this beautiful banner, deserve a better response than I am prepared to make. I thank you, kind friends, in behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Union Guards, for your gift, and the graceful man- ner in which it has been presented to us this day. We pledge ourselves always to stand by it with true loyalty, and may it ever be borne in triumph in the cause of republican nationality of the Union, one and inseparable, now and forever; in the cause of Christian civilization, of truth, of justice and of freedom. Could the ladies be engaged in a more laudable and praiseworthy work than presenting to the citizen soldiers of Londonderry, those noble patriots whose love of country has stimulated them to arm themselves in its defence, a flag, the emblem of our nationality, that glorious old flag under whose folds and around whose standard, upon every battlefield from Lexington to Yorktown, our fathers freely poured forth their noblest blood to establish our present form of govern- ment, the best and most liberal by which man was ever governed? Ladies, the history of the past, from creation down to the present period of time, demonstrates that whenever woman unites her efforts in common with man in any laudable and lawful undertaking, whether it be civil, social or religious, that undertaking is invariably crowned with success. Once more we thank you, and pledge our- selves to support the Union and those stars and stripes, the pride and glory of our country, honored and respected by every civilized nation upon the earth. We will not see them dishonored; their foes shall be our foes, and their friends shall be our friends. We call upon our allies to
21
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD.
respond with us in their support, and our motto shall be, 'unfurl for victory or death,' and in the words of the illustrious statesman, ' not one stripe erased or made obscure, or one star blotted out !'"
After the presentation and a repast which was prepared by the ladies of the town, came the post-prandial exercises, with toasts and responses. Among the toasts was one to "The Ladies of Londonderry: They cook pas- try or run bullets, manage the dairy or make blankets for the soldiers, write poetry, or pre- sent a flag most gracefully. May their Consti- tutions always be sound, and their Unions always strong, sure and perpetual." There were responses to the various sentiments by Hon. Fred- erick Smyth, Frank W. Parker and D. S. Russell, of Manchester, and by Mr. Dodge, Rev. Mr. Whitte- more. Captain Gilchrist and Lieutenant A. P. Colby.
ENRY CROWELL, the son of Samuel H Crowell, was born in Londonderry in 1828. Ilis education was received in the common schools of his native town. Mr. Crowell has held many important offices of trust, having represented the town in the New Hampshire Legislature in 1870, '71 and '72. He was for many years an elder in the Londonderry Pres- byterian Church. In business life Mr. Crowell still holds the position which he has occupied for a third of a century, that of travelling sales- man for an edge tool company in Maine. In 1850 he married Miss Judith C. Plummer of Auburn, daughter of Dr. Nathan Plummer. formerly of Londonderry. She was educated in the public schools of Auburn and at Atkinson Academy, after her graduation from which she taught school until her marriage.
MRS. LANE'S RESIDENCE, EAST DERRY, WHERE LAFAYETTE WAS ENTERTAINED.
GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO DERRY.
IN the fall of 1824, General Lafayette visited America. Every man, woman and child seemed to be interested in the great and good man who had been the friend and helper of Washington in the great struggle for the inde- pendence of the United States. The following letter, written at that time by a member of Adams Female Academy, describes his visit to Derry and the school:
MY DEAR FRIEND : - I presume you share in the intense interest which has been excited by Lafayette's visit. Have you had the privilege of seeing him? Through the kindness of the Trustees of the Adams Female Academy, we were recently permitted to behold him. He passed yesterday in town, the guest of General Derby, and he was requested to call at the Academy. We were desired to be in readiness to receive him at eleven o'clock, though he might not come till two. At nine we all assembled. The pupils were all dressed in white with pink sashes and a bouquet of natural flowers. Their heads were unornamented except by their neatly arranged hair and simple combs. Many of the young ladies are very interesting in their appearance, and the whole school looked very pretty.
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.