lii^iiiiiP'i;': '^;^>-'' i*i.*iM2ti»i*UM^a^tam^mH^im^m*i.it * j i i*j.t jm* iii*j«z«u!*i«M itm u tm*i . .^^ "- V" .«^ \ .0^ o > • " ,^ - = . o .0 ^' • • ' > -^^0^ ^, \' ,0-r ..0^ '-^--0^ <-.0' .' >> 'l^. ' ^ ■<<■ ay- O ■ft ^^ ■*> ^ ... - . -p O s • " ^ *'t> c> ' . . i * .'\ U^^^ '^\' ^v^^ '-^ ■^.^ "^ ^*^ '\ <*. %/■ '"^"K- \/ :0^-- o V "-^--c.^ s - ' r . /O - •— U . Of -t^ - . . ' ' A o > . .- " • . ' • A° %>^ • . « » ' , V^ O 0^ ■ • • - '^ • V" . • • ■> '\'- '<*'^ T- ■'M^ /'S^/^^^ ,0 ^o" ° - o '^ "^'i^^^ J"\. -^^^^ J""^ °->^^-"-.' /' V . • • • ■■••>.■■•••%'"• /—-V Orr. •^ES^^: .-to. - • ^Ot. ^\^ ^-^^ ^v<^ ^V ^^ ? ,^ ^-^^ t" <-. ■^v^^ '^^ ♦ o . o ' •^'^^ 4 O ■If 4. O * = » o ' , V °» ■ok ■■- V-o^ "if-^ ^oV .f - ^-^0* '" -./ /^f^'-^ %,^^ .^:^m X/ ;^'-- ""-^ v^^ >< -OV^^ o [• .'°X''^^^^ / •*b ■u~ ^o. ^'>^' v^ .^^ ..-' o^'°:#S: • »« * o » o ' <^ ^o. 0^ ..^. ..„. y /^\:^>^^} /^^''m^ Z"^^^^} /"^^'m^^ /^% -^ / *> *■ ° " ° ' ^■?' ^O. ^^i^ 7. V , ' * », ^('^ \/ - ts V-' ■• °^ .-^ ""'^'^o^ O I- t^*- '' V .V -0^ .^' WiLLEY's Book of Nutfield A History of that Part of New Hampshire Comprised within the Limits of the Old Township of Londonderry FROM ITS SETTLEMENT IN 1719 TO THE PRESENT TIME COMPILED FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES AND EDITED BY Gkorgk K. Willky biographical, genealogical, political, anecdotal ILLUSTRATED WITH HALF-TONE AND STEEL ENGRAVINGS 1895: \ OEORGE K. WILLEY, Publisher DERRY DEPOT, N. H. Copyright, 1895, by George F. Willey INTRODUCTORY. In presenting this work to the pubhc, the publisher desires simply to call attention to the fact that no worthy attempt has ever been made to write the histor_y of that large portion of Rockingham County which was originall}' known as Nutfield. The present work is intended to supply this deficiency, by giving a connected and comprehensive account of the original town- ship of Londonderry, from its earliest settlement down to the present day. The editor believes this can best be done, not hx means of a dry catalogue of names and dates, or a lifeless record of the proceedings of town meetings, but by vivid presentations of the lives and characters oi the leading men and women. Here is the material for real histor}'. Back of the so-called pub- lic events behind the acts of public bodies, lie the causes which spring from the character of the people, and alwa3-s in them centres our real interest. In the southwestern part of Rockingham Count}' are many historic places. Many of her citizens have played as prominent a part in the life of State and Nation as those of any other section of New Hampshire. To pay fitting honor to the men and women of the past, and at the same time do adequate justice to those of the present, is the object ot this work. It is no easy task to write history, even of the simplest kind, and be absolutely correct in every detail; so much is missing to make the picture complete. In the present work no attempt is made to give the name and history of every man, woman and child who ever lived within the confines of what was once Nutfield ; but the editor can truly say that no one is omitted who has pla3'ed a prominent part in the histor}- of the old town. From a mass of historical, biograph- ical and genealogical data, a careful selection of the most interesting and significant anecdotes and incidents has been made, and these are more helpful to an understanding ot the past than mere dates and names. The greater part of this material is here published for the first time. The greatest care has been exercised in the choice of illustrations. They are all executed in the best style of the half-tone art, and include portraits of men and women of former genera- tions, as well as of the present; illustrations of old-time homes and of modern residences, churches, schools and public buildings; pictures of historic places, etc. Nothing so complete in a pictorial way was ever before attempted in New Hampshire, and the publisher is confident that his efforts will be appreciated. Illustrations have rightly come to be as necessary nowadays as the printed word in any work of an historical character, and due regard to the prevailing demand has been made in the present book. In the treatment of the multifarious and complex life of the present, all its various factors and phases, material, intellectual, moral and social, have been taken into consideration. Whether or not ample justice has been done to each, the discriminating reader must determine. The editor would only say in his own behalf that he has conscientiously endeavored to giye a faithful 6 INTRODUCTORY. picture of present conditions as they prevail within the borders of the old township of London- derr}-, and believes that the work is a substantial and valuable contribution to the history of New Hampshire. An historical sketch of ever}' church societ}' and of every permanent organization and institution of whatever nature that has ever existed within the territorv covered by the work has been prepared from authentic and hitherto unpublished records. This feature of the book gives it incalculable \alue and interest not alone to the present but to posterity. The biographies of all ministers, teachers and public men who have been identified with the material or spiritual life and growth of the town, or who have left upon it the impress of their personalities, are also given, so that the work is thus a valuable reference book. In the biographies are included the lives of man}' who were natives ol the town, but who have w^on enviable distinction in other States. An invaluable feature of the work is the section map of the old town of Londonderry, here published for the first time. It shows the names and locations of all the original land owners, and thus possesses unique archaeological and antiquarian interest. The work is published in parts, the publisher having become convinced that such an arrangement would be far more satisfactory to the great majority of subscribers than if the book were issued all at once. In the latter case the date of publication could be no earlier than that of the final instalment, so that no time is lost. Bespeaking for the work a generous patronage and an impartial criticism of its merits as well as of its defects, the publisher trusts that the "Book of Nutfield ■" may fill an honorable niche in the historical literature of New Hampshire. George F. Willey. THE DOUBLE RANGE IN NUTFIELD. BY REV. JESSE G. McMURPHY. o N the 25th of December, 17 19, seven rep- resentative men, chosen by the people of the Nutfield settlement for managing the public affairs, David Cargill, James McKeen, James Gregg, Robert Wear, John Morrison, Samuel Graves and John Goffe, decided to reward the earliest settlers for their courage and diligent efforts in occupying a new territory remote from other settlements, and at the same time adopted a method of rewarding that should tend to attract the relatives and friends of those already located along the banks of Westrunning Brook. The plan adopted b_v the committee at that meeting was duly recorded in the Proprie- tors' Book and immediately carried into execu- tion. By this plan each one of the original settlers, to the number of twenty persons, was granted a lot of land suitable for a homestead, upon which relatives or friends might locate at the invitation of the grantee, with a reasonable provision or condition that the person invited should be a desirable neighbor and ready to make an immediate clearing and settlement. It is interesting to pursue the record and observe the list of names, the pioneers of a township that has become rather famous in the production of generations of hardy, enterprising men who have continued building towns and cities from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and are found in ever}' State. As far as it is possible to decipher the writing of a list of names, all but three of which arc on the margin of the page, in a vol- ume that thousands have handled and turned to the sunlight until the ink has nearl}^ faded from sight, the first twenty settlers in Nuttield were: James McKeen, John Barnard, James Gregg, Archibald Clendennen, Samuel Graves, James Clark, David Cargill, James Nesmith, Robert Wear, John Goffe, John Morrison, Elias Ke3'es, James Anderson, Joseph Simonds, Thomas Steele, James Alexander. Allen Anderson, James Sterrat, John Gregg, Samuel Allison. This action of the seven prudential com- mittee-men was not fully acquiesced in b}' the little colony of Nutfield. In fact the divisions that unhappily disturbed the peace of the old country were not all healed by emigration to a new coimtr}'. The colonists were divided in both civil and religious allegiance. While per- petuating the principles of freedom in speech and laith, they found themselves compelled to proceed humbly in asking for grants of land under the protection of the Crown. The rela- tions ot the settlers on the various ranges into which Nutfield was divided were somewhat strained. There were many abuses of privileges and much intolerance, incident to the pioneer period of a new country. The English church- men were in a minority, and greatl}' maligned by the Scotch, who came to America as disaf- fected and aggrieved occupants of confiscated lands in the northern counties of Ireland, de- spising the Irish, whom they had displaced, for WILLETS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. their obedience to a foreign religious potentate, ine tlie thick growth of forests largely com- and hating the English with a national rancor posed of walnut, chestnut, butternut and oak, for having gained authorit}' over them by the and wild game, some of it unpleasantly fierce treachery and baseness of court favorites. Less and dangerous to encounter alone or without than six months after the action of the seven, arms. It required some time for each family or in June, 1720, a large proportion of the col- to clear away timber enough to let in the sun- onists of Nutfield were complaining about the shine and build a log cabin. The cabins dotted character of the men that were being invited to the slopes a little back from the brook, prob- settle upon the late divisions of land. Some of ably concealed from each other by the forests, these new arrivals were deprived of their lots and reached by private paths hastily cut among and forbidden to remain in the town; and on the trees. On a frosty morning the white curl- June 29, 1720, the sentiment of the town ran so ing smoke from the cabins along Westrunning directly against the actions of that immigration Brook rising over the tops of the trees mav committee (or Immigrant Bureau), that a gen- have been a pleasing feature of pioneer life. eral meeting was called for July 25. The oppo- In order to have corn and beans and other gar- sition was strong enough to dismiss the over- den crops before fields could be cleared around zealous friends of the colonization scheme; but each cabin, the settlers combined their strength the}' and their sympathizers, mostly inclined and cleared a tract of land together, and all toward liberal views of the Ro3'al prerogatives, joined in planting and cultivating this tract, and appealed to the General Court, and on the same the name by general consent became the Com- da}', before leaving the place of meeting, the mon Field. It is easily recognized now on the former party outnumbered their opponents and west side of the turnpike about a mile below reversed the late decision against the committee, Derry Lower Village, and just north of the reinstating them in full power to continue the brook. The map will enable the reader to allotment of additional lands to the first twenty locate the Common Field of the early settlers settlers. The Scotch immigrants were often at the south end of the Gregg land. The more wary than wise, but in all the conflicts of engraving is intended to give a view of the the last two thousand years this characteristic homesteads in their position and relative pro- of the race has been manifested, that wherever portions. they have not the requisite arms or force to For convenience in visiting one another, prevail over their adversaries they avoid an these families had their homesteads laid out in open test. They have no very high regard for narrow farms of sixty acres each, arranged in the authorit}^ set up on the turn of a battle or parallel lines so that the cabins, all being at the scratch of a pen. The}' do not think it the ends of the farms, were not over thirty meritorious to stand up against an army to be rods apart, and by placing two ranges together, shot down just to see which party can stand both facing the brook, the cultivated ends the most charges of gunpowder and ball. approaching each other, two rows of rude cabins The English in Nutfield found it conducive were stretched along Westrunning Brook from to their comfort to remain apart from the other the point where it empties into Beaver Brook, settlers, and in the laying out of homesteads then called a river, to the most easterly side of managed to secure a range of fine land that in the settlement, about five hundred rods distant, a short period became known as the English As the farms were three hundred and twenty Range. The Wentworths and many loyal sub- rods in length the Double Range embraced an jects to the Crown formed almost a separate area of two thousand acres. colony in the town. The appearance of the To identify the sites of the original settlers settlement along the banks of the Westrunning a few directions only are requisite. The easiest Brook in 1720 must have been romantic. Imag- method is that of following the record of the WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD. O Ci H w o h O [I. G H U < WILLET'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD. II laying out of a highway, always bearing in mind the dimensions of the original homesteads. The position of the highways will indicate the situ- ation of the cabins, and quite frequentl}- the record indicates on which side of the road one must look for traces of the log cabins and culti- vated fields. A clearer understanding of the situation of the settlers' cabins in the south part of the Double Range is afforded by a quo- tation from the old Proprietors' Book. It will be seen in the record that the name of Nutfield had given place to that of l-^ondonderry as the one finally fixed by the Charter of King George I., June 2 1, 1722 : Loiuloiuleny, June i, 1723. Laid out Isy the Selectmen a highway beginning at the lower side of James Doak's lot and so running easterly across the said lot to John Ander- son's lot, and from thence to Abel Merrill's lot, and from thence to Randall Alexander's lot, and so to the south side of Robert Doak's house, across his lot, and across Alex- ander Walker's lot, and so to John Clark's lot easterly, and so across James Anderson's lot as near easterh' as good ground is convenient, and so across James Alexander's lot as the highway now runs, and from thence across James Morrison's lot, John Mitchell's lot, Archibald Clendennen's lot, and John Barnard's lot, as the highway now runs, and from thence aci-oss until it comes to that road that goes up between Mr. McKeen's lot and John Barnard's lot, and the said highwa\' is to he continued and kept clear four rods wide. James Moore, James Nichols, John Blaui, Bkxjamin Wilson, j Recorded this 20th da^' of Jime, 1723. Per John MacMurphy, To-a:n Clerk. A more satisfactory proof of the relati\-e positions of the early homes of these families could not be found in all the traditions or annals of living descendants, however carefully handed down from generation to generation. The place of beginning as shown in the map is immediately south of the junction of Westrun- ning Brook with Beaver River or brook. As these homesteads were only thirty rods wide, the average distances between the homes must be within that limit, and it appears in the record that no lot was vacant in 1723. Some of these settlers became discontented, and removed to other parts of the town in a few 3'ears from the [■ Selectmen. time of la\'ing out this road, and a few of them joined other colonies. In the allotment of sec- ond di\isions of about forty acres to each inhab- itant, quite a large proportion of them discovered advantages in changing their residences from the homestead to the second division, perhaps in the quality of the soil, the quantity of meadow accessible or the presence of good springs of water. In some instances descendants of the first set- tlers in the Double Range remained upon the same homesteads until the present generation. Sometimes they have returned to their native town to purchase again the old homesteads that passed out of the family some generations ago. The descendants wherever found manifest a livel)' interest in the history of the earlv pio- neer days of a wonderful people that came a long distance to settle in the wilds of America and found a great commonwealth in the Occi- dent. The McKeens lived on their ancestral lands until a comparativel}' recent period. The Clarks remained for inan}- generations on the same homestead allotments, their late residences being- well known bv the present inhabitants of the town. The Greggs have continued the family name for a hundred and seventy-five years on the same lands made notable by reason of cer- tain considerations relating to the privilege of owning and operating sawmill and gristmill upon Beaver River. The McGregors, Nesmiths, Mor- risons, Alexanders and several other families ha\e continued their names in unbroken lines down to the present, either upon original allot- ments for homesteads, second divisions or amend- ments. Some of the pioneers whose naines apj^ear upon the map of the Double Range, although manifestly entitled to a reward of addi- tional land on the da\" of the meeting of the Committee of Seven, are not mentioned in the record, probably for political reasons, and some whose names appear in the list had no home- stead in the section covered by the engraving. The homesteads of those not represented on the map are to be found chiefly in the section called the English Range, of which a map and de- 12 WILLETS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. scription are given in the succeeding part of this History. In the Century sermon delivered b}' the Rev. E. L. Parker, April 27, 1819, is found a list of the tirst sixteen families settled in this town, differing slightly from the former records, but sufliciently identical to establish the fact that the descendants of most of these families were desirous of perpetuating a division of interests, feelings and sentiments that prevailed from the earliest period of the town's corporate existence: James McKeen, James Clai^k, John Barnett, James Nesmith, Archibald Clendennen, Allen Anderson, John INIitchell, Robert Wear, James Sterrat, John Morrison, James Anderson, Samuel Allison, Randall Alexander, Thomas Steele, James Gregg, John Stewart. The apparent discrepanc}' is easily explained by understanding the relationship of persons of the same surnames, or the maiden names of the mothers of the households, or the transfer of homesteads from parent to child, many house- holds being composed of grown up sons and Sclcctmcti. )jfflBniBFiiijBr S3Ri5BCiESE;^!r'™^»n 1 '"^K"' •'-■■'■■" ^mr ^fc" ^U^ ^ff^ ■^^'fe. ■-..- .1^ ^^^^S^ VySm- A^.^'^^fe^q t^cW^'- -' ^L. ^B [BrTW^ '^"^^ -^ p!^^3'^-' inm 1 wn'tfii 1 ^^^■' ^~ --.. u B 9^^^^H£ELJL£»^^^^ ^ SrawP ^ ■ v-j^U^^HbBI iW^B^B liE^m jBoF^* ■ . r _-j-i|S^^ mm^^^^^l ■dBB^iS?!!*-.'^- - ,1^ :^4^*fct ■ ^ AN OLD TlMIi RESIDENCE, NOW STANDING IN DERRY. daughters when the emiorants arrived at the place of settlement. A single description of a homestead lot in the Double Range will enable the reader to understand the plan adopted by the Selectmen in laying out the land and give a specimen of the form of record found in the Proprietors' Book: Nutfield, 1720. Laid out to James Anderson a lot of land in the above said town, containing sixty acres, and is bounded as followeth : beginning at a small red oak tree marked near Westrnnning Brook, from thence running due south three hundred and twenty rods and bounding upon James Alexander's lot unto a stake and stones, from thence running west thirty rods unto a stake and stones, from thence running due north three hundred and twenty rods and bounding upon John Clark's lot unto a small white oak tree marked, standing by the aforesaid brook, from thence running up the brook to the bounds first mentioned, together with an interest in the common or undi\ided lands of the said township equal to other lots in the said town. James McKeen, James Gregg, Samuel ISIoore. James Alexander. John Coghran, James McNeal, Recorded this 2nd da}' of March, 1721. Per John Goffe, Toi.cn Clerk. This James Anderson had five sons and two daughters, which illustrates the method assumed to cover all apparent diflerences in names of proprietors to lots, where the same lots are mentioned as assigned to other and various persons in a short space of time, thus complicating the task of mapping the township. By reference to the position of the first meeting- house on the map it will be seen that the East Village of Derry occupies the upper ends of a few of the farms of the Double Range. The Rev. James McGregor exchanged thirty acres of his homestead for thirty acres of Allen Anderson's homestead prior to March. 1721, gfivins: Allen Anderson the southern half of his land and taking the northern half of his neigh- bor, which arrangement provided for the abun- dant space for common and gravej-ard around the spot chosen for the meeting house. The highwa}' leading southward along the west side of the cemeter}' is readih' identified as the south road of the records, and the position of the adjoin- ing farms identifies the original proprietors so that further notes upon the original occupation of the Double Range would be superfluous in a general review. WILLIAM H. ANDERSON WILLIAM H. ANDERSON'S earliest Amer- ican ancestor was James Anderson, one of the sixteen original proprietors of the town. fames Anderson settled in that part of London- derry now called Deny, and his oldest son received his father's " second division " or "amendment land," which comprised a large tract lying on Beaver Brook in the south- ern part of the town. A portion of this tract has been handed down from father to son for hve generations to the subject of this sketch. Combining as it does so many natural attractions and family associa- tions, Mr. x\nderson has delighted to im- prove it and make it a place of his fre- quent resort. On this farm Mr. Anderson was born, Jan. 12, 1836. He was the son of Francis D. Anderson and Jane Davidson of Wind- ham. He pursued his preparatory stud- ies at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N.H.,and at Phillips Academ}-, Andover, Mass. He entered Yale College in 1855, graduating four years later. He then went to Mississippi, and was a tutor in a private family in Natchez in that State and in New Orleans till ill-health compelled his return north in the fall of i860. He was admitted to the bar of Middlesex County, Mass., at Lowell, in December, 1862, and has practised law there since. In 1868-69 he was a member of the Common Council at Lowell, and during the latter j-ear he was pres- ident of that body. For several years he was a member of the School Committee of Lowell. In 1 87 1 and 1872 he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Since the latter date he has held no public office, but has devoted himself closely to the prac- tice of his profes- sion. Oct. I, 1868, he married Mar}' A., daughter of Joseph H i n e. His o n ly child, Frances W., was born Dec. 20, 'f Wn^LIAM II. AXDERSOX High minded and generous as the early Scotch-Irish settlers of Nutlield were they naturally had some of the defects of their virtues, and it is quite possible that even in their prim- itive surroundings worldl}' pride some- times asserted itself. Illustrative of this is the anecdote related of the wife of the oldest John ^Nlorri- son. When he was building his first rude dwelling in London- derr}' she came up to him one day and, twining her arms affectionately around his neck, said: "Well, well, dear John, if it must be a log- house, do make it a log higher than the rest.'' 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. 18 //■ H W/LZB2''S BOOK OF NUT -FIELD. ^ w ,.. ss o £/} K M Q GENERAL JOHN STARK. AMONG the sons of Nutfield who have left Here John Stark was born, Aug. 28, 1728, the upon the world the impress of a strong second of four sons. In 1736 his father removed personality none has achieved a more enduring to Manchester, then Derryfield, and here John fame than General lohn Stark. His character remained until he was twenty-seven years old. combined all the rugged traits of a born war- He was a strong, athletic youth, self-reliant and 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 tor 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 glor}-. 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 mediately seized the latter and then ordered the immigrants were ill with the small-pox and John to hail the other two and bring them were not permitted to land. In consequence, ashore. He advised them to pull for the oppo- they spent the winter on the coast of Maine, site shore, and they immediately sprang to their and the following spring joined their Scottish oars. Four of the Indians raised their guns and friends, who had preceded them, at Nutfield. fired, but John, who was watching their move- STATUE OF GENERAL STARK. Ill Monument Hall, Washington, D. C. 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. Thev im- WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. ments, leaped forward and knocked two of the guns in the air. The others then tired, but John again struck the barrels aside Irom 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- let. Eastman, who passed first through the lines, was terribly bruised, but John .Stark was not the man to submit tameh* 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 rio'ht 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. 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 3-oung chief into their tribe. At length he was ran- somed for one hundied and three dollars, while the savages demanded but sixt}' 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 Gem^ge 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. In single file, Rogers ahead and Stark in the rear, the company of seventy-four men marched back over the snow for more than a mile. Suddenl}-, 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 iVom the enemy when the}' received the first fire. Staggered by the sudden vollies, the}' fell back 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 enemv until sunset. Rogers being wounded, the com- mand devolved on Stark, and he realized that the safety of his men depended on their hold- 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 Georg-e. 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 toot all night, and now, in the morning, without rest, he ofi'ered 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 nio;hts without rest and WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 17 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 In the attack upon Ticonderoga, in June, the paymaster to camp, and he was brought in 17158, Rogers and Stark led a company of rang- to the tune of the " Rogue's March," the whole ers in advance of Howe's force, and at the close regiment receiving him with derisive shouts, of the war he returned home and again engaged A court of inquiry investigated Stark's conduct, in the pursuits of domestic life. In 1757 he but the paymaster having proved untrustworthy, had been married to Elizabeth Page, daughter the whole matter was dropped, of Captain Page of Dunbarton, and eleven After the evacuation of Boston b}' the Brit- children were born to them. When the news ish. Colonel Stark joined the Northern army, of the battle of Lexington was received, he was and the following year his regiment constituted at work in his sawmill, and within ten minutes a part ot the troops sent to reinforce Washing- he was in the saddle and galloping awa}' toward ton on the Delaware. In the assault on Trenton, Boston. The volunteers he had ordered to Stark commanded the advance guard ot the right assemble at Medford hastened on, and he was wing, and contributed much toward securing elected colonel of one of the regiments. March- the brilliant victory. He was at Washington's ing his men through the British fire that swept side in the short but terrible conflict at Prince- Charlestown Neck, he led them up to the Amer- ton and remained with him until the arm}' retired ican lines. His station was behind a rail fence to winter quarters, when he returned to New filled with hay, between the M3-stic River and Hampshire on a recruiting expedition. While the road. Some one had asked General Gage in here he learned that several junior officers had the morning if he thought the Americans would been promoted and himself left out of the list, stand fire. *' Yes,'' he replied, " if John Stark He threw up his commission and retired from is there, for he is a brave fellow." John Stark the army, declaring that an oflicer who would was there, and his command to his men to submit to such an indignity was not fit to be reserve their fire till they could see the enemy's trusted. He was, however, too much of a pat- gaiters was repeated along the lines. Whole riot to remain indiflerent to his country's welfare, companies of the British fell at every discharge, and so when the General Assembly of New and Stark's regiment was one of the last to Hampshire called upon him to take command of 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 " It is no time for private griefs when the consented to assume the duty, on condition that enemy is in front," was his stern reph'. The he should not be obliged to join the main army, report proved untrue, and this son served as should exercise his own discretion as to his start' ofiicer throughout the war. After the movements and be responsible to none but the battle Stark's command was stationed on Winter authorities of New Hampshire. His conditions Hill, and here an incident occurred which were complied with. Hence, when General showed the manly independence of his charac- Schuyler ordered him to lead his troops to the ter. The paymaster at Medford did not like Hudson, to be placed under general orders, he Stark, and so refused to pay his men, on the flatly refused to do so. His reply was sent to ground of alleged informality in making out the Congress, and that body emphatically con- payrolls. On the following day the soldiers, demned his course, declaring it destructive of supplied as they supposed with correct papers. '' militarv subordination and prejudicial to the went again for their money, but with no better common cause." All this condemnation Stark success. The same was done on the third day, had foreseen and despised. He would not yield and the men demanded redress of Stark. " The trom his purpose, and though in a military regiment has made the paymaster three visits," point of view he was right in the course he 1 8 IVJL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. took, as the result showed, yet it is very doubt- ful whether he would have acted differently had it been otherwise. The famous Battle of Bennington, stubbornly fought and brillianth' 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 victorv 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 Alban}'. Though engaged in no battle, his duties for the next four 3'ears were complicated and onerous, vet he acquitted himself with credit and honor. Washim^ton called him to headquarters in 171S3. 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 arm}-. General Stark returned to his home, and at the age of tiftv-hve became, like Cincinnatus, a quiet farmer, living in retirement until his death, which occurred May 8, 1S22, 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. His favorite hero was Charles XII., whose life he alwaj's carried with him in his campaigns. That stern and resolute king had not a stronger oi" 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 an}' danger. The highest tribute that can be paid him is to say that he was a patriot of unflinching- integrity, and that nothing ever swer^■ed him from the path of duty as he conceived it. l-RANK A. IIARDV S RESIDENCE, LONDONDERRY, THE GREAT WAR MEETING IN LONDONDERRY. ONE of e\'ents i was the gre Londonderry the most stirring and momentous Pleasant View cemetery is now located, the n the history of Rockingham County procession, headed by the Auburn band of at war meeting which was held in twenty pieces, having formed near what is now Aug. 28, 1 86 1. The fires of called CrowelTs Corner. The officers of the day, all of whom are now dead, were Jonathan Savory, chief mai'shal; John Dickey, president; Horace P. Watts, vice-president, and James M. Platts, toastmaster. On an evergreen arch which liad been erected in front of the speakers' stand were the words: "Stand by Your Flag," and on the music stand was the motto, "God Save the Union." The Union Guards and the Lon- donderry Guards escorted the citizens from Colby's store (which was situated near where Washington Colb}' now lives) to the grove. One ot the most conspicuous personages of the day was Mrs. Henry Crowell, who made the lIhNK\ LlIOWLLL patriotism have nowhere burned brighter than in that old town, and on that memorable da}' 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 Londonderr}- an opportunity- to present to the Union Guards a beautiful banner which they had purchased, and in order to awaken still more the patriotic spirit of the people. Such a crowd was ne\er before seen in the town. It seemed as if every man, woman and child had turned out, and the numbers were augmented bv throngs of visitors from Deir}', Auburn, Windham and Mnnchester. It presentation speech. .She spoke without notes, was a grand open-air demonstration, and the' and the eftect of her eloquent words upon the weather being delightful, the success of the aflair vast audience will never be forgotten b}- those was pronounced. The meeting was held in who heard her. She spoke substantially as William Plummer's beautiful grove, near where follows: MRS. IIENliV CltOWELL. WILLETS 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 tiie earth. And now, in iS6i, 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 l)e thrown back upon them with a terrible vengeance. Iii tiie 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 mocker)' 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, luidying 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 Londonderrv 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 soimd 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 \ictory. 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 Londonderrv, 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 wholl}' glorious. We to-day honor you and this banner. We consider by placing it in such worthy hands that we testifv to the world how highly we prize it. \\'e honor you with our confidence bv entrusting to vou for protection this our highest hope next to oiu' hope in heaven. " Soldiers of the Union Guards, in presenting to vou 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 countrj^'s liberties far from those you hold most dear, look aloft to this banner, and remember that aroimd 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 L'nion Guards, for your gift, and the graceful man- ner in which it has been presented to us this da\'. We pledge ourselves alwavs 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 fonu 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 bv 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. W^e call upon our allies to WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD. respotul 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 obsciue, or one star blotted out ! ' " After the presentation and a repast which was prepared by the htdies of the town, came the post-prandial exercises, with toasts and responses. Among the toasts was one to "The Ladies of Londonderiy: 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. HENRY CROWELL, the son of Samuel Crowell, was born in Londonderry in 1828. His education was received in the common schools of his native town. Mr. Crowell has held man}' important offices of trust, having represented the town in the New Hampshire Legislature in 1S70, '71 and "72. He was tor many years an elder in the Londonderry Pres- byterian Church. In business life Mr. Crowell still holds the position which he has occupied tor a third of a century, that of travelling sales- man for an edge tool company in ^vlaine. In 18^0 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 DERRV, 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 ot Washington in the great struggle for the inde- pendence of the United States. The following letter, written at that time b_y a member of Adams Female Academ}-, describes his visit to Derry and the school: My Dear Friexd : - — I presume you share in the intense interest which has been excited by Lafayette's visit. Have you had the privilege of seeing liim ? Through the kindness of the Trustees of ilie 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 unornamentcd 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. The teachers did not calculate on hearing many reci- tations, but as the time never drags so heavily as when luiLMiiploycd, Miss Grant read extracts from the jSfemoiis of Lafayette, v\hich increased the interest in this noljle minded individual. Eleven o'clock soon arrivetl, fnit we heard nothing of our visitor. The bell told us it was twelve, but still no news. Ladies from the village now came in, hoping to share our chance of seeing the hero. After remaining an hoiu' thev departed, supposing he might have taken some other route, and that it was useless to wait an\ longer. But we were not so ready to relinquish our hopes, and concluded to remain. Hoiu' after hour passed in tedious expectation, fn vain we sought to beguile the time by exercise. At five each eye became languiil. All hope of seeing Lafayette had vanished. As our Academy is retired, we went on the green before the door for air and exercise. A few drops of rain soon drove us into the house. The day had been extremely warm. For some time we had seen the dark thunder clouds rising in the north and follow- ing each other in quick succession toward the south. Now the whole sky became darkened and the yi\id flashes of lightning, and loud and frequent claps of thunder, told a tale of tenor that lilanched many a cheek and moistened many a bright eye. At this moment horsemen coming at full speed approached with the welcome intelligence that Lafayette would soon be with us. In a few moments he came. Miss Grant and the teachers went forward to wel- coine him, and were introtluced by one of the gentlemen present. As he enterctl the teacher's desk I turned to look at the pupils. A magician's hand could not have efl'ected a more sudden transformation. Terror was forgotten. The tempest raging without was no longer heard. Smiles and animation had displaced fatigue and anxiety-. Every eye glistened, but it was with enthusiasm ; every heart swelled with intense interest as we beheld the friend, the defender, the martyr of liberty. Before us stood the man, who fifty years ago left his native country, his noble prospects, his happy home, to embark in the almost shipwrecked cause of American Lulependence. And he, too, it was, who, betrayed by his luigrateful countrymen, immersed in the dungeons of Almonts, deprived of light and air, almost of food and clothing, disdained to sacrifice his honor for his liberty. An almost breathless stillness prevailed while one of the Trustees told him that this Academy was one of a few public institutions in our country designed exclusively for the education of women ; that it was taught wholly by ladies and was designed to give them a solid education, on the same basis as our colleges; and he said, "You will not refuse these young ladies, in common with otheis, the gratification of welcoming to our country the friend of man. and the friend of America." The young ladies simultaneously rose. His reply we did not distinctly hear. He was asked, -'Will you speak to these young ladies.''" He replied, "I should like to," and was immediately going to each individual, one lum- dred in all, but he was told they would come to him. With each lady he shook hands, and to each remarked, " I am happy to see you." After staying fifteen minuter, he departed, expressing much gratification at his visit. His last words, '• Farewell forever," sounded mournfully in our cars. As he left the building, the clouds which had obscured the heavens suddenly became dissipated in the west, and although the rain still fell in torrents, the sun broke forth \yith unusual splendor, forming a magnificent rainbow in the east. The splendid colors of the rainbow beautifully contrasted with the masses of dark clouds that still skirted the horizon. At a distance the deep-toned thunder was resounding, while nearer, the church bell was sending forth its melodious notes. The eH'ect of the scene and its asso- ciations was almost oppre.'sive. Had we been alone we should have relieved our full hearts by a flood of tears. We felt that we that day had seen the most noble of modern heroes, a, being wdio united in his o\vn character all the best qualities of ancient days, pure, magnanimous, disinterested, alike the friend of liberty and the opponent of anarchy. Many a silent prayer ascended for his earthly happiness and eternal felicity. And we retii'ed to our respective abodes with hearts full of gratitude to Him who had disposed Lafayette to assist America in her hour of nee c— ^_ c: ■& -^ 'i'm'y.9 ^'it^00tS^- _**>-***'*■ Tin; HILL (;RA^•EVAKD, LOXDONUEKin'. moval of the meeting house and congregation The graveyard was given to the parish, or that once worshipped near by, the circumstances to the constituency the meeting house was sup- that made the old hill graveyard a fitting burial posed to represent, by Matthew Clark, who held place were altered, and few found occasion to the property as a part of his second division of use these grounds or even visit them. During land, his homestead being situated in the Eng- 34 WILLETS BOOK OF NUT FIELD. lish Range. Many of the English Range people the Bells and the Pinkertons. After locating elected to take their second divisions along this these old worthies the barren features of the s hill, which became another range the next in landscape are forgotten in the fraternal bonds order west of the Eayers Range. A highway of good fellowship that is known to have pre- was laid out through this range, and on the vailed among kindred families in early days, highest point of land a site was selected for the There were some distinguished men in those meeting house of the west parish, supposed to times, and their titles of office generall}' signi- include those people living on the west side of tied a real and appreciated work among men. Beaver Brook. The meeting house stood on the The McCoUoms came from their farm near the east side of the highway, and the graveyard was old Wallace Pond, afterwards called Scobie's just opposite upon the west side. It was a Pond. The Wallaces lived by that pond and grand and sightly place in fact, overlooking the attended the west parish meetings, and some site of the first meeting house and parish on the noted names are found among the stones of the east side of Beaver Brook, for the eye could graveyard. The Scobies that lived b}- the pond see far beyond and around. left manj- traditions long after the name disap- After long jears of desertion the chance peared from the list oi the living. The Scobies visitors to this hallowed ground began to com- too are represented among the tenants of the plain of the neglect and want of proper respect hill graveyard. There are mormments of small for the memory of so many noble and worthy and ancient designs erected to the memory of pioneers there laid awa)' to mingle their dust the Craigs, the Alexanders, and the Oughtter- with the stubborn chi}- of a region that proved sons. There were buried the Thompsons, Camp- itself too hard for reclamation, and ask that bells, Taggarts, Dickeys, Clarks, Aikens, Macks something be done to keep the cattle from pas- and McAllisters. Doubtless hundreds of persons turing and treading over the peaceful and de- were interred there without any marking stones, fenceless tenants of these early graves. The John Barnard gave up his homestead on walls had fallen down, the gravestones were the south side of Westrunning Brook for lands broken and jumbled together promiscuousl3', and in the region known as the Canada Ranges, and the original location of man}' of them was doubt- became a resident of the west parish instead of ful. Something has been done to restore the the east. The Aikens and McKeens took up walls and clear the grounds and straighten a tracts of land there, and the records upon the few of the reclining slabs. grave stones indicate a strong original organiza- Just inside the entrance a row of dark mon- tion of this parish, uments tells a story of nearly a whole genera- There are distinguished names that will never tion of the McColloms, the aged and the j-ounger, be forgotten, for they are bound up in the his- the father and the famil}-. And yet they are torj- of religious societies and the foundations of not dead, but living in the aflections and lives permanent literar}- and social institutions. The of thousands whom they touched in some way, founder and benefactor of Pinkerton Academy or in the other annals and experiences of other lies buried there and the increasing usefulness towns and cities where numerous members of of that school of learning will cause this old the McCoUom family have tried again the exper- graveyard to be cared for and visited more and iment of settlement. more with the lapse of time and the decadence A little farther on one reads of the decease of the Puritan stock that once covered these of generations of Duncans and immediately hills and valle3S and turned the wilderness into recalls the familiar faces of the latest types of fruitful fields and industrious!}' fenced the waste a departed name and the numberless legends of places. the fireside connected with tJie intercourse and It is well to consider the vigor and man- daily conversations bo'tween these families and hood of the pioneers who coined money out of WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 35 stonv rock in the wilderness. A spirit of intense ter when the snow was too deep to tind the rivalr\- was displayed at intervals and it led to stone, and thus with the enjoyment of a few divisions and strife, but seldom does it happen winter terms in the honored old Pinkerton that any great achievement is recorded which Academy he succeeded in obtaining a fair edu- does not have its origin in some form of part}- cation. Like the average New England boy of spirit. Without the strife and rivalry which forty-five years ago he started out at eighteen differences of opinion and strength of conviction years of age as a Yankee schoolmaster. Upon produce, there are invariably indolence, lack of ambition and frequent occasions for intemper- ance and licentiousness. The vigorous fighting for principle and the strife of emulation to excel in good works mark the healthy and prosperous people. That people will undergo so many privations for the sake of defending the relig- ious principles they advocate is a pretty certain evidence of a favoring Providence, and under such circumstances the body ot the faithful in- creases b}' accessions from within and without, whereas in the tranquil and non-militant con- dition faith grows cold and its roots and branches decay and perish for want of vital action. The sun that is setting over the hills and casting long shadows upon the graves of buried ancestors and pleasing memories of busy indus- tries is discovered to be rising upon still vaster industries and grander achievements in more favorable lands conducted and advanced by the settlers and irresistible energies of this same persistent Gaelic or Celtic race that has become dominant as a power wherever the progress of events has opened a pathway. GEORGE WILLARD PERKINS was born in Derry, Oct. 23, 1832, on the old Bell Farm, about one mile north of the West Vil- lage. Flis parents were Deacon John and Mary Searle Perkins. When about ten years of age his father sold the Bell Farm and after livino- in the village a ^-ear or more, bought the Nesmith Farm, two miles south of the West Village. It was on this last farm that Georsre grew to man- hood, wrestled with the fates of hard-working, poor, economical. New England boyhood, wore homespun clothing, picked stone and hauled them out on the highway (where they yet re- main), attended school a few months each win- GEORGE WlLI.AHn PERKIXS. arriving at his majorit}- he made teaching a per- manent business for two years and filled with a reasonable degree of satisfaction the position of grammar school teacher in South Danvers, (now Peabod}') Mass., until the autumn of 1S55. New England society of forty-five years ago being a societ}' of caste almost as much as the Oriental nations are to-da\', the degrees of respectability being conferred according to the kind of house a boy was born in and the amount of bank stock his father owned, the 36 W/LLE7"S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. subject of this sketch, at the age of twenty- three years, decided to leave man}' things dear in his native town and seek a home in the then new West. He secured a position as clerk in a general merchandise store in Wethersheld, 111., at a salary of twenty dollars a month, and began work in September, 1855. In this posi- tion he made a passable tape measurer and molasses drawer, and in consideration of the niggardly sum received as compensation for his work, together with other good and sufficient reasons, he cheated his employer out of his old- est daughter. Miss Ellen E. Little, to whom he was married July 13, 1857, and thus secured with Yankee thrift and ingenuity, not only his first great bargain in the west, but his honored and worth}' companion for these thirty-seven intervening years. The goddess of fortune smiled and frowned alternately on the eastern arrival until at the end of about fifteen years he with his wife and four children " moved west," to Fremont County, Iowa, his present home. Here he engaged in farming, which in that country means grain and stock raising, fattenino- for the market in the past twenty years se\eral thousand head of cattle and hogs. He had been a member of the old First Congregational Church in Derry, and a charter member of the first Sunday school organized there. In his Iowa home he was superintendent of the Congrega- tional Sunday school twentv-one years. Not unlike many other Yankee boys who have become westernized, he mixed a little in politics of the stalwart Republican sort, and after holding some County offices was, in Novem- ber, 1889, elected for four years to the State Senate of Iowa. In November, 1892, he was elected a member of the State Board of Rail- road Commissioners, which office he yet holds, and to fill which he has temporarily removed to Des Moines, the capital of the State. He remembers very kindly the dear old hills of his Derry home and the kind friends who spoke with a smile to cheer his boyish steps and help them up the hill so hard to climb for the boy of fifty years ago who was born poor. TOSIAH GOODWIN, the son of Deacon ^ Joshua and Elizabeth Goodwin, was born, Nov. 28, 1807, in Londonderry, N. H. Nov. 24, 183 1, he was married at Milford, N. H., by Rev. Humphrey Moore, D. D., to Esther, daughter of Abram and Hepzibah Jones, who was born Dec. 5, 1810, in Hillsboro, N. H. \ **t^. JOSIAH GOOUWIX. This union remained unbroken until March 9, 188S, when the wife was called away by death, after fifty-seven peaceful years of continuous life on the old homestead farm, where their journey in wedlock began. Five children were born to them : Daniel. Henry, John, Esther Miranda, and Joseph Stone. The happy golden wedding of the aged couple was celebrated Nov. 24, 1 88 1, and a host of relatives and friends, with greeting, gift and song, came to pay their timely tribute of love and respect and enjoy the hospitality of the old homestead. Per- haps no resident of the town was better known and for so many years more highly esteemed than Mr. Goodwin. He was a man of great physical strength and possessed of exceptional powers of endurance. Applying himself to hard labor as if it were a pastime, he found no need WILLEVS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 37 or time or place for labor-saving devices to saw something of the horrors of war. He was lighten or supplement his oft-tested powers. A strongly opposed to slavery, and supported the kind neighbor and generous to the extent of his war as necessary to save the Union. His plain means, many a wayfaring traveller went forth statement of his views in his sermons produced from his home strengthened and refreshed. Mr. considerable excitement at a time when some Goodwin was thoroughly conversant with the believed that the pulpit should be silent on Bible, which he statedly read and literally inter- preted. With a faith which nothing could shake he put all his trust in Him who became "the end of the law for righteousness." For more than sixt}' years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church and active as superintendent or teacher in the Sabbath school. After a long and painful illness death came to his release Jul}' 29, 1893. REV. JOSHUA W. WELLMAN, D. D.. son of Deacon James Ripley and Phebe (Wyman) Wellman, was born in Cornish, Sulli- van County, N. H., Nov. 2S, 1821. He was fitted for college at Kimball Union Academ}', Meriden N. H., and was graduated from Dart- mouth College in 1846. During his college course he taught one winter in Upton, Mass., a part of one autumn in an academy in Bradford. N. H., and two winters in East Randolph (now Holbrook), Mass. After graduating at Dart- mouth he taught during two terms in Kimball Union Academy, and then was principal for two terms of the academy in Rochester, Mass. In the autumn of 1847 he taught again in the acad- emy at Meriden, N. H., and at the close of the term entered Andover Theological Seminary. He taught again in Kimball Union Academj' in the autumn of 1848, and was graduated from Andover Seminar}' in 1850. After spending one year at Andover as resident licentiate, he was ordained to the Christian ministry and installed as pastor of the historic First Church in Derr}-, N. H., June 18, 185 1, where he labored five 3'ears. He was installed pastor of the Eliot Church. Newton, Mass., June 11, 1856, and was dismissed Oct. 23, 1873. His pastorate here in- cluded the exciting period of the Ci\il War. In the second year of the conflict he visited the army in Virginia, and was at Yorktown during the battle at Williamsburg, and after the battle REV. JOSHITA WYMAN WELLMAN, D. D. such subjects. He continued, however, in ever}' way which seemed to him to be proper, to help forward the cause of justice, liberty and union. The church became eminently patriotic, and twenty-seven men from the congregation enlisted for the war. During this pastorate the small church of hardly a hundred members grew to be one of the largest and most prominent churches in the Commonwealth. March 25, 1874, Dr. Wellman was installed pastor of the ancient First Church in Maiden, Mass., the his- tory of which, written by him, is found in the " History of Middlesex County, Mass." Under 3S WILLET'S BOOK OF NUT FIELD. his care this church also sfrew into a larsje and influential bod}'. He remained in this pastorate until May 6, 1883, since which time he has not been settled, but has continued to preach, sup- plying pulpits in various places, while devoting much of his leisure to literary work. Oct. 24, 1854, he married Miss Ellen M. Holbrook, daughter ot' Caleb Strong and Prudence (Durfee) Holbrook of East Randolph (now Holbrook), Mass. Their children are: Arthur Holbrook, tee of Phillips Academy and Andover Theo- logical Seminar)-; and for about twenty-five years has been a member of the executive committee of the Congregational Board of Ministerial Aid in Massachusetts, of which board he was one of the founders. He has been for many years a director in the American College and Education Society (now the Congregational Education Society), and for several 3'ears has been, and is now, chairman of its Board of Directors. He IIRST CHl'RCH, born Oct. 30, 1855; Edward Wyman, born March 15, 1857; died April 17, 1891; Ellen Holbrook, born Nov. 8, 1858, married Robert Cushman King; and Annie Durfee, born July 5, 1862. Dr. Wellman was elected a corporate member of the American Board of Commission- ers for Foreign Missions in 1867, and he has been one of the managers of the Congregational Sunday School and Publishing Societ}' since 1870. Since the same year he has been a trus- EAST DERRV. is a member of the New England Historic, Genealogical Society, and a corporate member of the General Theological Librar}- of Boston. He was the first to advocate the formation of the Congregational Club of Boston and vicinity. Olivet College in 1868, and Dartmouth College in 1870, honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. H^e has published numerous ser- mons, addresses and articles on educational and religious subjects. WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 39 RAYMOND CHANDLER DRISKO, the eld- boyhood he had felt himself called to the ministry, est son of E. H. and Elizabeth R. Drisko, Before the completion of his seminary work he was born in Columbia Falls, Me., Aug. 22, was invited to become pastor of the First Con- ^ r ^ 1 |M \ ^ M ^^^^^^^^Km^^ ■1 Lri^^B^^^^^^^^^^^ 1 "■■:'■ ''-51 * liv RE\'. R. C. DRISKO. 1852. lie was educated in the schools of his native town, at the high school in Harrington and at the seminary in Bucksport, Me. Mr. Drisko taught school for several vears in his own and adjoining towns, and suc- ceeded, while supervisor of schools of fonesboro, in se- curing the adoption of the town system of schools ten years prior to the com- pulsory sj'stem of the State, marking a new era in the educational interests of that town. In September, 1882, he entered the Bangor The- ological Seminar}' and took the complete course of stud)' of that institution, grad- uating June 3, 1885. From r MRS. R. C. DRISKO. MARGARET XEWCOMR DRISKO. gregational Church of Derbv, Vt., and to this office he was ordained and installed June 25, 1885. During his pastorate of more than five years in Derby he served two years on the School Board of Orleans County. He was called from Derby to become acting pastor of the First Church in Derry, N. H., where he remained a little more than three years, and then accepted the pas- torate of the First Congre- gational Church, Alfred, Me., where he is now laboring. July 27, 1887, he married Miss Laura Isabelle Drisko. They have one child, Mar- garet Newcomb, born in Derby, Vt., June 16, 1890. THE SHOE INDUSTRY OF DERRY DEPOT. THE greatest benefactor of the human race or ot an}' community in minor divisions of a commonwealth is the indi\'idual whose plans of business involve and provide occupation for the largest number of his fellow-citizens; and the organization of skilled and unskilled labor- ers into mutuall}- supporting corporations has marked a wonderful era of development and material prosperit}' in the historv of this coun- try. The time has passed when every man worked on an independent plan, and with his own hands raised, produced and provided for his family every article of food, clothing or fur- niture. Then the indispensable articles of sub- sistence were few, whereas in the present, under the influences of combined activities and the classification of labor, the average condition of the family is much superior to the most thrifty among the people of the generation preceding this. On the last day of November, 1870, there was little sign of prosperity or happiness in that portion of the town commonly called the Depot. The buildings then standing, few in number," were only partially occupied, and the absence of paint and finish, and the untidiness of the 3-ards and surrounding fields indicated the discontent and hopeless condition of the small community. The boot and shoe factor}- which had been built for the firm of Currier & Boyd about fifteen years before this period and the few tenement houses in the rear were participants in the general stagnation of industry. For two }ears there had been no sovmd of belt, wheel, machineiy, engine or laborers in the shop. On the first day of December of that year a new departure was inaugurated, that has proved a blessing to the community and town. Hon. W. fS. Pillsbury had been engaged in the manufacture of shoes for several years in Londonderry, and had felt the necessity for more room and better accom- modations with nearer access to railroad com- munications. The idle shop and tenements at the Depot gave him the advantages he desired. He purchased the boot and shoe factory, one- half ot the eighteen tenement houses and the store, at that time the onlv one at the Depot. The winter that had promised so little comfort to the discouraged families at the Depot sud- denly assumed a kindly aspect in the resump- tion of business and the confidence established at once by one whose reputation and experience had been fairly earned. Previous to this change of location Colonel Pillsbnry had allowed much ot the work upon his boots and shoes to be done at the homes of those employed. The cutting and finishing had been done at the shop, but the binding, fitting and bottoming were done outside. A change was immediately made in the distribution of labor, so that the fitting and bottoming were done at the factory and only the binding allowed to go outside. The work at the factory improved with the introduction ot new patterns and more perfect distribution of the details. The town received an impulse in the disposition of those employed in the factory to remain and purchase land and build houses lor permanent occupation. The office now used by Colonel Pillsbury, for several years, before he purchased it lor the accommodation of his assistants in the correspondence and book- keeping of the factory, was the schoolhouse of District No. 11. At the time when he started anew the lapsed boot and shoe industry at the Depot, the whole number of voters in that district could easily have been crowded into that building, whereas at the present time, the eligible school voters as shown b\' the check list are between twelve and thirteen hundred. This growth of Derry Depot has been steady and permanent, the larger number of houses being owned b}' the occupants, and many of them are substan- tially constructed and not devoid of taste in ornamentation. Great improvements have been made in labor-saving machines from the commencement until the present and the capacity of the factory has been increased from time to time to meet the requirements of the business. An average .^^^^:i^^ii^^^^ vf% \vi/.r.in"s nooK of xttfielp. 43 oulhuof ten dollars a (la\' siiicc Drccnihcr i, 1S70, would not exceed the expense ot all the new ma- chintrv added to lessen the labor in the hands of those employed, and notwithstanding- these labof- savin 'J'HE FIRST SERMON INf NUTFIEI.D, ]r//.L/i}"S /;0()A' OF NIJTFIELD. 53 churches of this denominatidn in New Enijland, directly or indircctl\-, owe their existence. Mr. MacGregor, who was then forty-two \'ears of age, had received a thomugh classical and theological etlueation, anrison commissioners, president ol the West Someryille Co-operati\e Bank, and a director in the Someryille bank. In 1872 Mr. Bailey married for his first wife Miss Emma R. Clark, of Derry, who died in 1884, leaving one charles mcat.i.ister's residence, Londonderry. r^ 56 WlLLHrs JiOOK OF NCTFIELD. IRA H. ADAMS, M. D., the son of Jarvis and him, and who trust that the- impairnu-nt of his Eunice (Mitchell) Adams, was horn Auy-. lo, usefulness is Init temporary. 1S46, in Pomfret, Vt. His earlv education was obtained in the public school of his native town, MENRY PARKINSON, who was General and, later, at Meriden, N. IL, where he was fitted ^ ' Stark's quartermaster and intimate friend, for college. He studied medicine at Bowdoin and came with his ])arents from Londonderry, Ireland, Dartmouth medical colleges, graduating from the to Londonderry in 1744. He received a thorough latter institution. In 1874 he began practice in classical education, graduating in 1765 from Nas- Hooksett, remt)ving later to Derrv Depot, where sau hall, now Princeton college. His parents in- he has since resided. August 31, 1875, '''^' ^^''^^ tended him for the Presbyterian ministry, but he married to Miss Louise S. Perley, of Lempster, N. could not accept the doctrine of "election" held H. Two children have been added to the family: by that church, and so he devoted himself to teach- Richard Herbert, born June 10, 1876, and Jennie ing. When the news came from Lexington in Louise, born Sept. 15,1881. Dr. Adams has attained high honors in Odd Fel- lowship, having unit- ed with the order in 187s, '^t Suncook, and having been pro- m o ted successively through all the de- crees to grand patri- arch, and grand rep- resentative to the sovereign grand lodge. Dr. Adams's pronounced success as a physician has been due not less to his broatl and svmpa- thetic mind than to the many years of hard a n d fait h f u 1 DR. ADAMS S RE.SIDENCE, DERRY DEPOT. April, 1776, Parkin- son immediately en- listed in a company of ninety-nine min- ute men, under Capt. George Reid, and s o o n j o i n e d t h e A m eric a n a r m )'. M arching as a private to the field, Parkin- son was immediately calletl b\- Stark, who was well acquainted with him, to the (|uar- termastership of his regiment, sharing with the hero the honors of Bunker 1 nil and l^-nnington, and continuing in ac- tive service as quar- termaster through- between the oreneral work which he has devoted to the profession, out the war. The intimacy Reali/inti' that medicine is as vet more of an art and his quartermaster lasted throughout life, antl than a science, and that its principles are not all after the old hero, in his great age, was confined summed up in dry formulas, he has carried ever\- at home, Parkinson visited him every year. On where into his practice the indispensable element retiring from the army, he returned at once to his of personal sympathy, which in man\' cases is more former work of teaching, and established a classical efficacious than any drug. The natural conse- school at Concord, which attained a wide reputa- quence of this trait in his character has been over- tion, and which he conducted for many years, work, and the ta.xing of his physical powers to About 1800 he removed to a farm in Canterbury, such an extent as to render necessary a rela.xation and divided his remaining years between farming of his professional labors. Of such a man it is but and teaching. His death occurred in 1820. His scant praise to say that he is " popular," for Dr. wife was Jenett McCurdy, and one of his chil- Adams is loved and respected by all who know dren, Mrs. Daniel Blanchard, born in Concord, WILLED S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 57 DR. ADAMS AND FAMILY, 58 WILLETS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. in 1/88, lived to be nearly lOO years of a.cje. Park- inson was a fine liniiuist, and spoke Latin lUienth'. On a slatestone slal) in the cemetery at Canter- bury Centre is his epita])li, which reads as follows: Hltc Hl' interred the remains of Henry Parkinson. \. M.. long distinguished as an excellent classical scholar. The follow- ing brief epitome of his life was composed by himself: ■■ Hiber- nia me genuit, America nutrivit : docm', militavi, ati|ue manus laboravi : et nunc terra me occii|iat. et ipiiete in pulxere dormio quasi in gremio materno meo: Hue ades, amice mi care, aspice, et memento ut moriendum quocjue certe sit tibi. Ergo vale et cave." Abeit 23d Maie A. I). 1820. aet. 79. The Latin \x\a\ be rendered into English thus: Ireland gave me birth. America l)rought me up: I taught. did military service, and labored with my hands: and now the earth embraces me. and 1 sleep ipiietly in the dust as on my ma- ternal bosom. Come hither, my dear friend, and rememlier that you also must surely die. Therefore farewell and beware. Died May 23. 1820. aged 79. CAMILV PR.W'ER was resrularl\ observed ^ every morning and every eveninu m all the rude dwellings of the early settlers, antl the Scrip- tures were devoutly read. If any famdy omitted these daily acts of devotion, there would immedi- ately be an investigation bv the jiastor. It is related that Rev. Mr. MacGregor was one evening informed that a member of his lloek had become neglectful of family worship. He went at once to his house, and finding that the familv hatl retired for the night, called uj) the man and asked if the report was true. The fact was admitted, and the pastor, re])ro\'ing him stern]\' for his fault, refused to leave the house until the backslider had knelt and offered up praver. W. p. .MACKS RKSIDENCK, LONUONDEKKV. VIEW FROM THE SOUTH. THE ENGLISH RANGE IN NUTFIELD, BY REV. JESSE G. McMURPHY. "\An'rHIN twelve months after the arrival of ^ ' the first sixteen families, the population of Nutlield, afterward the incorporated township of Londonderrv, numl)ered several hundred, and simultaneously the alldtinents of homesteads were made to the proprietors under the charter to the number of one hundred and twentv-four and a half shares, exclusive of larsje awards in land ^iven to some particularlv influential persons who had as- sisted the emiorants in securing' a g-rant of land. About seven thousand five hundred acres were laid out in homesteads under the schedule as recorded with the charter, June i, 1722, and on the same dav one thousand eight hundred and fiftv-six acres were allowed as rewards for special services to thirteen persons directlv connected with the pro- curing of clear titles to the land. The largest grants of land for special services were made to the officers of the crown, who acted as mediators between the colonists and the king. These loyal- ists were the Lieutenant Governor of His Ma- jesty's Province of New Hampshire in New Eng- land, and that l)()d\' of followers commonly designated as the governor's suite, with colonels and men of military insignia in the service of the king. These persons received grants of land in proportion to the supposed importance of their rank and services, not alone in Nutfield but in various other settlements over a wide area of land not very clearly defined in early records. Without controversy the section of the town- ship which was called the English Range cm- braced the most pronounced Tory faction, and as Englishmen in sentiment, spirit, and religious 3 opinions the settlers there had a profound con- tempt for the zeal, piety, and learning of the fugi- tive Covenanters by whose pestiferous preaching tlie whole of Great Britain was shaken. The series of parallel homesteads that may properly be designated as the English Range began at the most easterly corner of Beaver pond and extended in the form of a rectangle whose longer side lav in a due northwest line to a point near Shields's upper pond, and the shorter line lay in a due northeast line along the course of the stream above Beaver pond to the limit of Haverhill False Line, so called by reason of a claim that the people of Haverhill made to the part of this town then hing east of a meridional line through that corner of the English Range. The longer side of the rectangle was about six hundred rods in length antl the shorter, the length of a farm or homestead of the common pattern, three hundred and twenty rods. An actual survey of the farms covered by the transcripts of the allotments shows the area of the English Range to have exceeded the amounts indicated in the records. This excess of land area is not peculiar to this range, for examination leads to the conclusion that many allowances were made on general principles for irregularities in the sur- face and especially for poor land, or land already partially pre-empted for hay privileges. The meadows were measured and bounded separately from the uplands, and frequently the meadow pri- vileges of a settler would be staked and bounded within the limits and boundaries of his neighbor's farm. The laying out o{ meadows in the Proprie- tors' Book comprises a large part of the record. 59 WILLErs BOOK OE NUTFIELD. init in a oreneral review of the limits prescribed in these articles, no particular attention can be given to this feature of the original i)lan oi the land division. The Enelish Rano-e embraced a beautiful tract of land, with fine glimpses of Beaver pond from almost everv part, and some of the farms running completelv down to the tirm shores were selected for the more noted persons of the community. The map will show the plan of arrangement. The lirst lot of the series lies just over the stream above Heaver jiond, that is, upon the southeast bank, and was assigned to David Cargill, including the ])rivi- leges of the stream for mill puri)oses. It should be noted that he had a niilldam at either end of this farm, and at a very early period of the town's historv. He operated two or more mills at these points, twice utilizing the same stream for power. The upper mill was called a fulling mill, and the inlay was very near the roadside just south of the house now occupied by Benjamin Adams and upon the east side of the roatl where the stream now crosses the highway to run to his sawmill. Cap- tain Cargill's other mill was called a cornmill or gristmill and was continued until the present gen- eration, having been purchased by John MacMur- piiv pre\ious to 1735, and remaining in the familv for five generations. The second homestead, joining Captain David Cargill's, was laid out or offered to several persons besides Samuel Houston, who do not appear to have cared much for it. It was once laid out to Col. Wainwright, as ma\ be seen by a reference to the ne.xt allotment following. This homestead can easilv be identified as the farm upon which Robert Clark now lives. Note. — "At a general town meeting lul\' 2, 1720, the town then voted that Hugh Montgomery shall be written unto to see whether he will come to this town and make a [jresent settlement u]ion the one half of Capt. Wainwrighl's lot, the said Capt. Wainwright to keep the other half himself " June 19.1721, Hugh Montgomery refusing to settle on the terms offered, the half lot was put to auction and was sold to William Oilmore and James Rogeis. and Samuel Moore advanced 10 shillings earnest money for them. May 21, 1722, the half lot granted to Col. Wainwright for good reasons was given to I )avid Craig. Thi- ne.xt farm abutting handsomely upon Heaver pond was laid out to tlu' representative of the Crown, The following agreement will explain the laving out of some of these lots. It was made at the time when the people of Nutfield had secured a deed of the land, on which they had settled, from Col. John Wheelwright of Wells, Me. : These presents witnesseth that the Rev. James McGregor and .Samuel Graves do in the name of the people of Nutfield and by virtue of being a committee from them agree that the Honor- able Governor John Wentworth of Portsmouth and Col. Wheel- wright of Wells and their heirs forever .should have and possess two lots with them in Nutfield, lying to the northward of and butting upon Beaver pond, to wit : Lt.-Gov. Wentworth to have the thinl and Col, \Vheelwright the fourth in order u]K)n that range, together with what second divisions will fall to the said lots througliout the said town, and each of these gentle- men and their heirs to have besides the said lots five huntlred acres aiiiece forever laid out in farms where they shall think fit in the said town. Recorded this 9th day of January, 1720. Per John Goffe, Town Clerk. As a single description of these homestead lots will suffice to give an idea of all of them, a further quotation from the Proprietors' Book is here given : Nutfield, October 12, 1720. Laid out to the Honorable Lieutenant Governor Wentworth a lot of land in Nutfield con- taining si.xty acres, by order of the committee of said town, bounded as foUoweth : beginning at a small oak tree standing near Beaver pond, thence running a due northeast line three hundred and twenty rods and bounding upon Captain Wain- wright's lot unto a stake, from thence running a northwest line thirty rods and bounding upon Andrew Spalding's lot unto a white oak tree marked, from thence running a southwest line three hundred and twenty rods and bounding upon Col. Wheel- wright's lot unto a pine tree marked, near the pond, from thence running as the ])ond runs to the bounds first mentioned, together with an interest in the common or undivided lands within the said townshij) equal to other lots in said town. — James McKcen, James Gregg, Rol)ert Wear. Samuel Graves, John Morrison, David Cargill, John Gotfe. Recorded this 12th day of October, 1720. Per John Goffe, Town Cldi; The governors of the various i)r()\inces in New England were generally of good birth and highlv respected bv the colonies. The |)olic\' oi Great Britain for se\eral hundred vears has been generallv pacific, antl silentlv a conquest of nations is being accomplished without the assistance of armies. The resolution passed bv the town of Nutfield, in meeting assembled in 17 19, is not without interest : 62 WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. The peojile of Nutfiekl do acknowledge with gratitude the obligation they are under to the above mentioned gentlemen, particularly to the Honorable Col. John Wentworth, Esq., Lieu- tenant-Governor of New Hampshire. They remember with pleasure that his Honor, on all occasions, shewed a great deal of civility and real kindness to them, being strangers in the coun- try, and cherished small beginnings of their settlement and defended them from the encroachment and violence of such as upon unjust ground would disturb their settlement and always i/ %; m SECOND FRAMED HOUSE IN NUTf-IELD. gave them a favorable ear and easy access to the government and procured justice for them, and established order and pro- moted peace and good agreement amongst them and reasonable advice, both with respect to the purity and liberty of the Gospel and the management of their secular affairs, and jnit arms and ammunition into their hands to defend them from the fears and dangers of the Indians, and contributed liberally by his example and experience to the building of a house for the worshi]) of God : so that under God we owe him as the patron and guardian of our settlement, and erect this monument of gratitude to the name and family of A\'entworth to be had in the greatest venera- tion by the present generation and latest posterity. It appears from contemporary evidence that there was scarcely a resident of the English Ransje in 1719 who was not titled and servins: the crovern- ment in some capacity. Their descendants of the next generation were conspicuous leaders in the French and Indian wars. Very familiar are the names of Colonel Thornton, Colonel Barr, Sir James Leslie, Captain Blair, Ensign Blair, Captain Cargill, Colonel Wainwright, Colonel Wheel- wright, and Lieutenant Goffe. In connection with the locating- of some whose names are not on the map, it may be added that between the English Range and Chester line were a few farms not drawn or outlined ; the farm of James Calderwood, between the upper end and the line, at the narrowest place, opposite the lot of John Barr, being a distance of forty rods, and the farm next on the southeast of James Calderwood was laid out to Joshua Thornton and John Mac- Murphy in consideration of their appointment as administrators to the estate of James Hunter of Boston. Continuing along the line, the highway passed through Samuel Penhallow's lot and then through the lots of Samuel Graves, John Goffe, Jr., Stephen Pierce, and Andrew Spalding to the fulling mill. For the clearer apprehension of the neigh- borly condition of the original settlers in respect to their houses, one needs only to know that they tlwelt along the present Range road and in the order given, that road having been laid out very early. The limits of the Range are George W. Dickey's lot at the upper end and Benjamin Adams's at the lower end. George W. Dickey t)wns the lots of John Shields, James Rogers, James Moore, and John Blair. George I. Choate lately occupied the James Blair place. John F. Baker is on the John Anderson lot, James Sefton on the James Leslie lot. The Cheever heirs oc- cupy the two lots of James Lindsay and Matthew Clark. Nat Palmer was owner of the John Crom- bie lot. A. J. Seavey occupies the lot of Samuel Graves. The Chase heirs are on the original John Goffe lot, and the next lot east of Chester road is easily identified. To show this identifica- tion more conclusively, the record of the road mav be consulted : Nutfield, February 13. 1720. A by-way laid out from John Shield's, from thence running about southerly across the lots until it come to the southwest corner of Joseph Kidder's fence, from thence running west and southerly along by Joseph Simond's house and continuing as the path now goes until it comes to John Senter's house, continuing southerly until it goes up a small hill, and then turning more easterly towards Beaver brook on the east side of the great hill until it comes to the mill bridge into the road leading to Mr. Gregg's. Clough is on the Simonds place. Hill owns the Keyes place, and Morrill is on the Robie lot. Palmer comes next on John Senter's lot, Jonathan Clement lately on the Robert McKeen lot, and WIL LEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 63 Walter S. Clement has the lot laid (Hit to Samuel, Jolm, and Janet McKeen. On the road that led up between John Goffe's and Joseph Kidder's lots are now found the resi- dences of the Chases, Horace A. Hill, C. W. True, S. P. Clark, O. S. Bartlett, and Mr. Towle. Returning;: to the southwest corner of Joseph Kidder's fence, and continuing the recoril of the same date as the last : " ^V by-waA^ laid out from the southwest corner of Joseph Kidder's fence, from thence running;; about southeast along bv Beaver pond until it come to the southerlv side of Governor Wentworth's lot, then turnino- more easterlv by marked trees to Samuel Houston's, and so over Beaver brook by Capt. Cargill's gristmill, then running more southerly by marked trees until it come to John MacMurphy's lot and thence run- ning up between the said John MacMurphv and Robert Bovce, the road being equally divided be- tween the two until it come to the said Bovce's house." This road led to the meeting-house and is easilv followed. It is evident from the record that Captain Cargill had a gristmill at the upper end of Beaver pond before Feb. 13, 1720. In following the record the location of several houses is delinitelv fixed, and these incidental allu- sions to the positionsof houses are the onlv reliable evidences of the occupation of the lands at the time, for traditions are vague and contradictory, and almost anv man who has lived on a farm for the greater part of his life has his mind lilled with legends of old settlers, and cellars, and springs, and mvthical personages of various kinds, and will point out the landmarks to in(|uirers much the same as the xA-rabs are said to point out tlie springs and tombs and marvellous foot])rints of the patriarchs. Considering tlie dates assignetl to the allot- ments of land in this town, the records of cer- tain births mav be of particular interest. It is not necessarv to infer from these records that these births actuallv occurred in Nutfield, although recorded in the regular manner and form : "John Croffe was born March 16th, 1700. Han- nah Goffe was born Februarv 4lh, 1705. Sarah Goffe was born August 19th, 1709. Marv GolTe was born April i2lh, 171 i." The most reason- able mterence to be drawn from the record is that John Goffe, being the first clerk officially connected with the historv of this town, placed these births on record. But what can be alleged as the cause of the following that antedates the time of settlement, and is even more precise and formal ? " William Smith, son of James Smith and Jean his wife, was born February 9th, 1715. Rachel Smith, daughter of James Smith and Jean his wife, was born April 19th, 1718." This is a name that does not occur in the schedule and there was no record of an\- land being allowed to any of his famil)- in the Projjrietors' Book, but in the laying out of some land to John Bell, it is incidentally discovered that the adjoining lot has been occupied by James Smith. " Sarah Graves, daughter of Sanuiel Graves and Sarah his wife, was born Dec. 17th. 1709. Samuel Graves, son of Samuel Graves and Sarah his wife, was born April i6th, 1711. James Graves, son of Samuel Graves and Sarah his wife, was born April jjnd, 1714. Anna Graves, daughter of Samuel Graves and Sarah his wife, was born July 26th, 1716." There are other records of births occurring earlier than the organized settle- ment of the colony in Nutiield, but these fuUv establish the surpassing interest attaching to the publishing of the Records of Londonderrv. BEAVER POND, OR TSIEN'NETO LAKE, DERRV. 64 WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. SILAS G. CLIFFORD, the son of BLMijamin S. of the first store at the Depot. Jan. i, 1889, Mr. and Mary J. (Shaw) CHfford, was born Now Clifford received the appointment of postmaster 14, 1862, in Eppinu:, N. H. He attended the com- and entered upon his duties, severino- his relations mon schools and at the ap;e of nineteen entered the office of B. W. Hcjyt's shoe sht)p in Eppinsj, sjoinii' in June, 1884, to Derrv and lindin\- the exertions of and that it was here where Hannah Dustin, with Mr. MacGregor, he was released on bail. His her captors, rested the first night after the Ha- l«>ncl was renewed fr(un time to time, until at verhill massacre in 1697. The Wilson farm was IcMigth his innocence was fullv established by the sold to [oseph 1^-octor, grandfather of .\le.\is Froc- finding of new evidence, and iu' was honorably ac- tor, in 1 789. quitted. RKV. JESSE GIBSON McMURPHV was born .\pril 8. 184s, in Derrv, N. H., on the I) ih /^^^RIME was not bv an\' means unknown in the ^-^ earlv and simpler times of the colonv. There *^ born .\prd 8. 1845 were, however, not so manv laws, and conse(|uentlv l"'^'"! wliere five generations of the same surname not so much law-breaking, as in modern days, and l^^^ve lived. He labored on the farm in summer justice seems occasionally to have miscarried in its ^I'^tl attended Pinkertt)n Academv in winter until old familiar wav. About 1750, Jotham Odiorne, a 'ift*^''' f'"' college. Before and during his course in wealthv resident of Portsmouth, received two Hanover he taught one term in each of ^w^ vears anonvmous letters, threatening his life and the to assist in bearing the expenses of an education, urning of his property unless the sum of five hun- He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1868. The ed pounds should be left "at the westerlv end of following year found him in the state of Wisconsin the long bridge, which is between Kingston and attached to a bodv of engineers with headtpiarters Chester," on a certain night. History records that ^^t Milwaukee, acting under appointment, as United the money was deposited there — though why this States foreman on harbor improxements along the formalitv was necessary is not very clear — and a shores of Lake Michigan. guard stationed close at hand to arrest the black- In the spring of 1870 he returned to New- mailer. Strange coinciilences have fretpientlv Hampshire on a visit and was married to Miss happened, especialh- in connection with criminal Marv L. James, April 23 of that year, bv Rev. matters, and this time it happened that Captain William House of Londonderry. Miss James was Jiihn Mitchell, a reputable citizen of Londonderry, ^i" estimable lady of refinement and culture', who, came along and alighted from his horse near the I'v licr own industr\-, had obtained a thorough spot where the monev had been iilaced. He was. Normal School training at Salem, Mass. She was of course, immediatelv arrested, and committed to the daughter of Cajit. Joseph Warren and Harriet jail at Portsmouth to await trial. He protested Neely (Hoyt) James of Deerfield, N. H. his innocence, but public sentiment seems to have Mr. and Mrs. McMurphy went again to Wis- been very generally against him, and so strong eonsin, where both fell undir tht' inlluence of the was the belief in his guilt that he found it difficult Episcopal Church and united in membership by to secure a lawyer to undertake his defence. Rev. confirmation. Mrs. McMurphy continued teach- Uavid MacGregor. however, pastor of the West ing and Mr. McMuri)hv began to study for Holy parish, and third son of Rev. James MacGregor, Orders at Nashotah Tln'ological Seminarv, l)ecame was convinced of Captain Mitchell's innocence, a candidate May 8, 1871, graduated in 1873, was and although the accused was not a mi'mber of his ordained to the diaconate in Milwaukee June 8, church, and not even friendly to him, the preacher 1873, by the Rt. Rev. William E. Armitage, and 66 WILLETS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. ,-.§ ^ve. Ke ""V- ''\ur:^h\' Home S^lioo! Jmd [vesidence Miss Alice Stevens, Kindergarten. Miss S. M. Morrison, Latin. Greek and German Prof, Bruno Soder, OF Berlitz School, German. Mrs. M. L. McMurphy, Principal, Literature and Art. % ate Haclne. 5ei7 ooi Mrs. I. M. Black. Primary and Intermediate. Miss Alice Abbott, English and Mathematics. Prof. Nicholas C. Bische. OF Berlitz School, French. Rev. J. G. McMurphy, , Rector. (JUiseonsin. WILLET'S BOOK OP NUTFIELD. 67 admitted to the priesthood May 31, 1874, in the same city and diocese, by act of the Rt. Rev. Henry J. Whitehouse. For the next three years Mr. McMurphy was an instructor in Racine Colleov and pastor oi Im- manuel Church in Racine, Wis. He has remained a resident of that city ever since, or more than twenty years. The McMurphy Home School was opened in 1S77 and has been maintained seventeen years (1CS94), during- which period many young ladies have been prepared for college, and in east- ern schools — Vassar, Smith, Wellesley, and in the University of Chicago — have done credit to their former instructors. Other graduates have become worthy citizens and married and their children have grown up to enter the same school. REV. JESSE G. MCMURPHY. Mr. McMurphy has found time to translate in metric stanzas many choice selections from the German, French, Italian, and Spanish authors, some of which have appeared in papers and maga- zines, and lie has not neglected the ancient lan- guages. A more laborit)us and protracted under- taking has been the collection of genealogical tables of his own and kindred families from every state, and records of the settlement and allotment of homesteads and the progressive development in this, his native town. He is a conservative churchman in practice, but has been a member of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament for twenty-two years, allying him strongly with the restoration movement in England and the English colonies, and he also daily unites with the Society for the Promotion of Christian Unity in the works of that order. MRS. J. r,. MCMURPHY AND TWO CHILDREN. In 1875, Mr. McMurphy was elected a mem- ber of the Wisconsin Academy of ^Vrts and Sciences and lectured before the assembly. He is corre- sponding memtier of the New Hampshire State Historical Societ\', iiaving been elected June 13, 1894. Three chiUhen were born to Mr. and Mrs. McMurphy : (i) Sarah Russell, b. Sept. 29, 1871, graduated at the McMurphy Home School 1890, from the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, in 1892, and now teaching her third year in St. Mary's Institute, Dallas, Texas. (2) Alex- ander James, b. Aug. 29, 1875, d. y. (3) Jerome C, b. April 19, 1 88 1, now at Racine College, Wis. IWl OSCULAR CHRISTIANITY is not of re- ^ * * cent origin. Rev. James MacGregor was a muscular Christian, as he proved upon more than one occasion. In the summer after the arrival of the first settlers at Nuttield a large party of men came up from Massachusetts, as hatl been their custom for several years previous, to mow the grass on the fine natural meadows. Their coming was not wholly unexpected, but it was supposed they WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. wiHild refrain from their purpose after being; told that the Nuffield settlers had a claim to the land and grass. They laughed to scorn the claims of the settlers, however, and proceeded to carry out their intention. Then Mr. MacGregor, at the head of his parishioners, went out and ordered them off the ground. This angered the leader of the party, who stepped up to the minister and, shaking his fist in his face, exclaimed in a threatening voice, alluding to his clerical attire, "Nothing saves you, sir, hut vour black coat." " Well, it shan't save yoiL, sir," retorted Mr. MacGregor, and throwing off his coat, was about to smite him hi]) and thigh, when the boasting leader, with his j^arty, beat a hasty retreat. T^HE FIRST BIRTH IN NUTFIELD was •I that of Jonathan Morrison, son of John and Margaret Morrison, who was born Sept. 8, I 719, within less than six months after the settle- ment of tlie colonv. The second child born was James McKeen, Jr. Their i)irths were not (ar apart, and there had lieen much anxious specula- tion which mother's son should obtain the prize of a farm, or lot of land, which was to be assigned to the first-born son of Nutfield. Jonathan Morrison, the winner of the prize, became celebrated as a mechanic, being the first, and for a considerable time the only one in Peterboro, where his father settled. He was not a jack at all trades, but was a really skilfid millwriglit, stonecutter, blacksmith, carpen- ter, house-joiner, and gunmaker. Highly gifted, quick and very ingenious, he was also g^enerous in the extreme. He remo\'ed from Peterboro to Vermont, and died about the year 1778. The rec- ords do not state whether he ever availed himself of the prize which he won by his promptness in arriving at the Nutfield colony. J AMES H. CROMBIE, M. D., the son of James Crombie, M. D., was born in Temple Sept. 2, 1813. His father removed to Francestown in 1820 and continued in the practice of medicine there for many years. After receiving a thorough preparatory education, the son began the study of medicine at Woodstock, Vt., anil continued his studies at Boston and at Keene. His instructor at the latter place was Dr. Twitchel, (jne of the eminent surgeons of his time. Graduating from Dartmouth Medical College in 1837, Dr. Crombie immediately began active practice with his father in Francestown. He soon attained a wide rejnita- tion for skill in surgery, manv of his more impor- tant cases being reported in the medical journals. In 1850 he removed t(j Derrv, where he soon built up an extensive practice. He had alwavs taken great interest in militar\' matters, having been for years surgeon of the old corps of Amoskeag Vet- erans, and immediatelv after the l)attle of Peters- JAMES H. CROMBIE, M. D. burg he entered the army as contract surgeon, serving in that capacity for several months. Upon returning to Derry he resumed the practice of his profession and continued it until his death, which occurred June 30, 1884, from hypertrophy of the heart. He left a widow, but no children. His fellow-members in George E. Upton post, G. A. R., were his faithful attendants during the last days of his distressing illness. Dr. Crombie was widely known and highly respected for his skill as a phy- sician and his personal (jualities. BALLOu- McGregor, EDWARD BALLOl', the son of Jonathan and Feb. 6, 1841. nianied Geora:e A. Seavc}' of Wind- Janet (McGregor) Ballon, was born in Deer- ham, whose slcetch is given elsewhere ; (9) Nanev field, Now 5, 1799, and was employed in his father's R., born May 21, 1S43, married to Caleb Clark of store until he came to Londonderry and settled at Windham, Sept. 6, 1865, by Rev. L. S. Parker of Derry, and had three children : Lilly, died young ; Edward B., born 1872 ; Mary Louise, born 1874, a popular teacher in Windham; (10) Samuel E., born Aug. 29, 1845, unmarried; (11) E.Louisa, born June 25, 1848, took care of her mother's aunt in Boston many years and inherited her fortune, mar- ried Thomas Chapman, and with her husband lives in Windham ; (12) Edwin L. Parker, born April 25, 1851, married Mrs. Sarah Josephine Clay Johnson and lives on the John Bell place at the upper end of the Aiken Range in Derrv. Edward Ballon, the father, was a justice of the peace, served as selectman in Derry several years, was representative in the legislature two years, and died Sept. 19, 1863. James MacGregor Ballon is living (1895). EDWARD BALLOU. the u])i)er end of the Aikens Range, where the familv has since lived. Nov. 13, 1823, he married Isabella D. MacGregor, daughter of James and Rosanna (.\iken) MacGregor, who lived on the Major John Pinkerton place, latelv occupied bv Alexander MacGregor, and now in the possession of Deacon T. T. Moore. This marriage was sol- emnized bv Rev. Daniel Dana of Londonderrv, and twelve children blessed the union : (i) (ieorge W., born Jan. 19, 1825, who was never married and carries on the farm ; (2) Samuel A., born March 3, 1827, died Sept. 16, 1843 ; (3) Jennette McG., l»orn April 19, 1829; (4) Rosanna A., born March 8, 1 83 1, died Feb. 20, 1833 ; (5) Nancy McG., born Aug. 31, 1833, died I-^eb. 10, 1837 ; (6) Sarah W^., born Dec. 21, 1833, a school teacher, married to William S. Baker of Portsnuiuth Sept. 14, 1858, by ISABELLA D. (MACGREGOR) HALLOU. The father of Mrs. Ballon was born in Lon- Rev. E. N. Hidden of Derrv; no children; she donderrv March 28, 1777, and married Rosanna died Sept. 11, 1865 ; (7) Isabella McD., born Sept. .\iken of Chester, Dec. 22. 1803. She was born 26, 1838, died July •''^SS ' {'^) Mary B., born March 2, 1784, the daughter of Samuel and Isa- 69 70 WILLETS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. Londondcrrv, who had previously kept a store in Deertk'ld ; the\- had a son, Thomas, who became a jthysician and settled in Kinoston. (6) Robert, who married Folly Hovens of Rhode Island and lived there some years, until the death of John MacGregor, when he returned to Londonderry and bella (McDole) Aiken. The marriage was per- formed bv Rev. Mr. Ct)lby of Chester, now a part of Auburn. Their children were : (i) Agnes, born Oct. lo, 1804, died July 15, iSii ; (2) Isabella D., married Edward Ballou ; (3) Alexander, born Nov. 6, 1809, married Sarah Wyse ; (4) Lewis A., born Aug. 12, 181 2, married a Whittier and v\u- gusta Blodgett ; (5) Eliza Jane, born Julv 14, 1820 ; (6) John A., born Oct. 14, 1822. After the death of Mr. MacGregor the widow married Dearborn Whittier of Hooksett, Jan. 3, 1827. She died Nov. 23, 1867; he was killed by the cars at Wilson's Crossing, Jan. 26, 1850. Mrs. Ballou had her first child in her arms when she shook hands with Lafavette at East Derrv in 1824. James MacGregor, the second of the name in Londonderry, and father of James 3rtl, married xA-gnes Cochran. Their children were : (i) Jennet, who married Jonathan Ballou of Deerfield and had a familv of children ; (2) Marv .\nn, who ne\er married ; (3) Rev. David, of whom a ])ortrail is herewith given ; he graduated at Dartmouth, studied theologv, became a Presbvterian clergvman and was the first settled ))astor of the societv in Bedford. He married Mary Butterfield of Hano- ver, and after her death he married Marv Orr of REV. DAVm MACGREGOR. settled at the Upper \'illage. He afterward bought the farm where Reed P. Clark latelv lived in Lon- dondcrrv, and lived there, raising a large family of children, and some of the descendants remain there still. (7) Betsey, never married. (8) PoUv, mar- rietl Jonathan Emerson, lived on the Pinkerton [ilace on the turnpike, and hatl one son. (q) James. of whom an account is given elsewhere. Mrs. Ballou remembers this elopement storv of the MacGregors : Rev. James MacGregor, lirst pastor of the church in Lontl()n(lerr\-, had died t ^^'^^^Ij^^tfLl^^!*' '^'^^' '^'^ ^'"^' ^^*-'\'- t)aviil, was then pastor of the ^. ■ ^jEi- -' W "'^^ East Parish church. Alexander, another son, lived on some of the MacGregor lands where the Mor- Bedford ; she died, and his thirtl wife was Rebecca risons recently lived, and where the old MacGregor Merrill of Londonderrv. He left children. (4) house, the first framed house in Londonderrv, was Alexander, who married Pt)llv Pinkertt>n and lived still standing a few vears ago. James, another in Londonderry, and he had one son, John P., brother, had a pew in the meeting-house. Susan, adopted by Major John Pinkerton. (5) Susan, a daughter of Alexander MacGregor, fell in love who married Thomas Bassett, a storekeeper in with one Burnside, who kept a store in the East Willi: }''s hook <>/■' /vr//- //■:/./>. 7t Villairc and was not liked l)v llu- stricter Prcsliy- I>m nsidc, liowcvcr, did not Iicsitatc a moment, and lerians, csi)eciall\ l)\ llie Mac(lreuinside, however, sought to o\'er- I he (nilv children of Alexander, I he son of t he l\ev. come their scru])les by taking her husband to James, Insi pastor of I his town. Alexander married church the following Sundav. With ^C^ IVIL LET'S i300Ii OP NUTFIELD. 75 of Derry, Roberts of Massachusetts, and, in 1855, while under tiie instruetion of John W. Ray, Har- riet Prescott Spofford, who has attained ])rumi- nence in American literature, and many others. Mr. Hazelton earlv hesjan to participate in the debates in the JNceuin, antl with \Voodlun'\", Poore, Roberts, and others, is still remembered as one of its leading spirits. Tie often recurs to this expe- rience as among the most valuable of his educa- tional ad\antages, to which his success in his profession and in pubhe life is largeh- in(lei)ted. Few of the s(ins ot Pinkerton ^Vcademy have been more devotetl to their alma mater than he. He returned to take part in the dedication'of the new building, erected upon the foundation of the old, around which manv of his tenderest memories clustered, and was at that time elected president of the Alumni Association of the Academ\-. His life has been a most successful one. He was graduated at Union College, was admitted to the bar in the state of New York, practised his profession in Sehenectadv for a time, and in 1863 moved to Wisconsin, to enter u|)on its practice there, which state was his residence until 1S84, when he made his permanent home in Washington. While a citizen of Wisctmsin, her people honored him with such public trusts as district attornev of Grant county, as state senator for four vears, and a^ member of the national Congress for six vears. Since his residence in Washington he has held the ofhce of attornev for the Distri:t of Columbia, under an appointment conferred bv President Harrison. Mr. Hazelton's political career has been so well described in the Encyclopa'dia of Eminent and Representative Men of Virginia and the District of Columbia, a volume of rare merit, published in 1893, that permission has been sought and cjbtained to reproduce herewith an extract from that work. It is as follows : Mr. Hazelton was elected to the Wisconsin state senate in i8j7, and wa.s chosen president pro tempore of that body. He was again elected to the senate in 1869. At the expiration of his last term in the state senate he gave five years of close and d.ligent attention to the ]jract;ce of law in the United States and state courts. Here he sooji became known as one of tlie leading lawyers of W.sconsin. His success as a jury lawyer was most marked, and soon gave him an extensive practice and a wide experience. If lie w;is anything he was an active and ardent reiiublican. Kach recurrhig canvass found him vigorously engaged. 'I'he result was that he was again called upon to represent his fellow-citizens, this time in the national legislature, being elected to the Forty-Fifth Congress in November, 1876. He entered Congress at a time when he found himself numbered among the republican minority, when the democratic majority controlled legislation, and when their sjjeaker denied the new mem- bers of the house a just and fair recognition uijon the floor in de- bate upon pending measures. But he was not thus to be repressed. Wherever op])ortunity offered, his readiness and ability to state a point with rare terseness and force soon began to command the attention of the house. Such was the state of affairs when he was renominated in 1878, and at once took the stump on the republican financial platform. Both greenbackers and democrats united to beat him, and it was only by the most persuasive speeches and untiring labor that he overcame the majority and was re-elected to the Forty-Sixth Congress. In the first session of this Congress he had the first opportunity to show the real quality of his intellect. April 24, 1879, when the majority were threatening the immediate repeal of the reconstruction measures, he delivered a speech in the house of representatives on the " Powers of Government," in which he not only exhibited a thorough knowledge of the legal and ])olitical phases of the ques- tion, but a boldness of thought in applying ])rinciples, that clearly showed that he had been a close student of our political history. And when the majority were attempting to impede the resump- tion of specie payments, at the same session, on Feb. 22. he spoke on the subject of the national banks and their resumption of specie payments. This speech, made in favor of honest money and national good faith, was one of his best eff"orts. It attracted much attention at the time and was widely published and commented uiion in the daily press. His efforts during this session ranked him among the best orators in the house, and in the autumn of that year he was invited to go to California and assist in the canvass in that state. The election was for members of Congress, and it was regarded as a test election of the coming national campaign of i88o. The repub- licans carried the state, and it was conceded that no man from outside of it contributed more to that success than Mr. Hazelton. He delivered an oration at the famous Arlington cemetery on Decoration day. May 29, 1880. This speech was also published in the daily press and in pamphlet form, and the Union soldiers all over the land spoke of it in the warmest terms. He has ever been their energetic and faithful friend. In 1880 he was renom- inated for the third time and was most triumphantly re-elected, his majority ranking among the highest ever given in his con- gressional district f(jr any man since the close of the Rebellion. .... In December, 1890, he was appointed attorney for the District of Columbia, of which office he is still the incumbent. He is admitted to practice in all the New York courts, the United States Supreme court, and the courts of Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. There is, therefore, no doubt that Mr. Hazel- ton, as a representative, student, graduate, and alumnus of Pinkerton Academy, is fairly entitled to the place that has been assigned to him in the present work. TITULARY LITIGATIONS. PRIOR to the arrival of the colony that settled in Nutfield, various grants of land in New England had been issued by the Crown covering the period of a century. In addition to the owner- ship of lands obtained by the possession of royal charters, as some of the settlers were particularly conscientious about depriving the peaceable In- dians of their natural heritage without reasonable compensation, numerous deeds were obtained from the Indian chiefs, so that it became extremely difficult to ascertain the extent of occupied terri- tories, and consequently impossible to assign new territories that should be entirely free from former owners or claimants. There were these two sources of titulary possession and owneiship, royal grants and Indian grants, and those who emigrated to New England on account of alleged persecutions and dis- criminations in the old country, generally preferred to obtain their lands in the new count r\- without seeking farther than was absolutely necessary the assistance of that royal government whose author- ity to them had appeared partial and oppressive. Before arrangements were made for embarking with all their possessions to New England, a large number of men in the north of Ireland signed and forwarded a petition to the governor of these colonies asking preliminary questions relative to the plan of emigration and a portion of unoccu- pied land on which to settle with their families. As this petition may be of interest hereafter in tracing families who came to Londonderry and other parts of New England or this country, a copy is here inserted : To His Excellency the Right Honorable Colonel Samuel Shute, Governor of New England. We, whose names are underwritten, inhabitants of the North of Ireland, do in our own names, and in the names of many others our nei!;hbors, gentlemen, ministers, farmers, and tradesmen, com- missionate and appoint our trusty and well beloved friend, the Rev. William Boyd of Macasky. to His Excellency the Right Honor- able Colonel Samuel Shute. Governor of New England, and to assure His F^xcellency of our sincere and hearty inclination to trans|.)ort ourselves to that very excellent and renowned planta- tion upon our obtaining from His Excellency suitable encourage- ment. And further to act and do in our names as his prudence shall direct. Given under our hands th's 26th day of March, Annoque D.omini 17 18. James Tratte. V. 1). M. : Thomas Cob- bam, V. D. M. : Robert Houston. V. I). M. : William Leech, V. D. M. : Robert Higginbotham, V. D. M. : John Porter, V. 1). M, : Hen. Neille, V. D. M. ; Tho. Elder, V. I). M. : ).,mes Thomson, V. D. M. : William Ker, Will. McAlben, Jahon Anderson, George Greye, Andrew Dean, Alexander Dun- lop, M. A, ; Arch. M. Cook, M. A. : Alex'r Blair, B. Cuclu-an, William Gait, Peter Thompson, Richard McLoughlin, John Muar. William Jeameson. Wm. Agnew, Jeremiah Thompson, John Mitchell, James Paterson, Joseph Curry. David Willson, Patrick Anderson, John Gray, James Grey, Alexander McBride, Bart., Samuel McGivorn, John Hurdock, Geo. Campbell, James Shorswood, John McLoughlin, George McLoughlin, James Hune, Thomas^amsay, Francis Ritchie, James Gregg, Robert Boyd, Hugh Tarbel, David Tarbel, John w^ X .""k Robb. Jeattes Fulltone, Robert Wear, Alexander Donnaldson, Arch'd Duglass, Robert Stivin, Robert Henry, James Pettey, David Bigger, David Patterson, David (illegible), John Wight, Joseph Wight, Robt. Willson, James Ball, Andrew Cord, James Nesmith, John Black, John Thompson, Samuel Boyd, Lawrence McLaughlin, John Heslet, (ieorge McAlester, Thomas Ramadge, James Campbell, David Lindsay, Robert Givern, James Laidlay, Ben- jamin Gait, Daniel Todd, Robert Barr, Hugh Hollmes, Robert King, John Black, Peter Christy, James Smith, James Smith, PauLck Smith, Samuel Ceverelle, James Craig, Samuel Wilson, M.' A, Gawen Jirwen, Robert Miller, Thomas Wilson, William Wilson, James Brice, Ninian Pattison, James Thompson, John Thompson, Robert Thompson, Adam Thompson, Alexander Pattison, Thomas Dunlop, John Willson, David Willson, John Moor. James McKeen, John Lamont, John Smith, Patrick Orr. Bonill Orr, William Orr, John Orr, Jeams Lenox, John Leslie, John Lason. John Calvil, Samuel Wat. James Crawford, David Henderson. Mathew Storah (?), David Widborn, Luk Wat, Robert Hendee, William Walas, Thomas Walas, Thomas Cecoch (?), WiUiam Boyd, William Christy, John Boyd, William Boyd, 76 WILLI-: rs BOOK OF XirTFIELD. 77 Hugh Orr. Robert Johnston. Thomas Black. Peter Murray. John lameson. John Cochran. .Samuel (lonston. Thomas Shadey, William KLer, Thomas Moore, .\ndre\v Watson, John Thonson, James McKerrall. Hugh Stockman, Andrew Cochran. James Carkley, Lawrence Dod, .Sandes Mear, John Jackson, James Curry, James Elder, James Acton, Samuel Smith, Andrew Dody, James Forsaith. Andrew Fleming, Gorge Thomson, James Brouster. Thomas (illegible). James Beverlan, Peter Simpson, Thomas McLoughlin, Robert Boyd, Andrew Agnew. James Ring, Thomas l^lder, Daniel Johnston, Robert Walker, David lonston, James Steuart, John Murray, Thomas Blackwel, Thomas Wilson, John Ross, William Johnston, John King, Andrew Curr}-, John (illegible), Samuel Code. James Blak. Thomas Gro. Thomas Ouston, Jame Gro, John Clark, Thomas McFader, David Hanson, Richard Acton, James Claire, lacob Clark. Abram Baberley, Steven Murdock, Robert Murdock, John Mur- dock. William Jennson. James Rodger. John Buy- ers. Robert Smith, Adam 1 )ean. Randall Alexander, Thomas Boyd. Hugh Rogers. John Craig. Wm. Boyle, Benj. Boyle, Ja. Kenedy, M. Stirling, .Samuel Ross, John Ram- say, John McKeen, James Willsone, Robert McKeen, lohn Boyd, Andrew Dun- lap, James Ramsay, William Park, John Blair, James Thompson, Lawrence McLoughlin, Will. Campibell, James Bankhead, Andrew Pat- rick, James McFee, James Tonson (?), George Anton, George Kairy, Thomas Freeland, Thomas Hunter, Daniel ws X '"■"'< McKer- rell, Horgos !"» X ""irk Ken- edey, John in» X n.u.k Suene, Adam his X mark Ditkoy, Alexander Kid, Thomas Lorie, Thomas Hines, Will w* X ""k Holkins, Cieorge Anton, John Colbreath, Wil- liam Caird, John Ciray, John Woodman (?), AndrewWatson, WiL liam Bleair, Joseph Bleair, Hugh i.i» X -""tk Blare, William Blare, Samuel Anton, James Knox, Robert Hendry, John Knox, William Hendry, William Dunkan, David Duncan, John Muree, James (iill- mor, Samuel Gillmor, Alexander Cochran, Edward McKane, John Morduck, Samuel w. X '""rk McMun, Henry Calual, Thomas Mc- Loughlin, Robert Huoy, John Millar, Hugh Calwell, William Boyd, John Stirling, Samuel Smith, John Lamond, Robert Lamond, Robert Knox, William Wilson, Wm. Patterson, James Alexander, James Nesmith, David Craig, Weall. McNeall, Thomas Orr, Wm. Caldwall, James Moore, Jr., Sam. Gunion, Matthew Lord. Robert Knox. .\lex. McGregore. James Trotter. Robert Roo. Joseph Watson, Robert Miller. John Smeally. James Morieson, James Walker, Robert Walker, William i.isX mark Calwall, William Walker, CRYSTAL AVENUE, DERRY DEPOT (1894). Samuel ins X murk Young. Alexander Richey, James Morieson, Jo- seph i.is X """k Burrlan, Robert \m X m-irk Crage, John Thompson, Hugh Tomson, James Still, James i.is X mmk Hoog, Thomas Han- son, Richard Etone.James Etone, Thomas Etone,Samuell Hanson, James Cochran, James Hulton (?). Thomas Hasetone (?), John Cochran, William Corliran. Samuel i"s X mark Huntor. John Huntor. The accuracy of this list cannot be fully and clearly established, as it is the copy of a copy. The manuscript is very old and illeo-ible in many places, but the value of the document lies largely in the proof it affords of the original spelling of proper names in the signatures, and in this respect it is superior to the authority of the public records where the clerk is responsible for the orthography and is'Jnot always correctly informed. T h e encourage- ment offered by the governor was so fa- vorable that the col- ony of Nutfield was informally organized on the I ith of April, I 7 I Q, under the belief that the territory had not been appropri- ated. As the party arrived, full of hope and ambition, and began to cut timber and erect log cabins along Westrunning brook, it was soon discovered that other civilized white people were scattered through the wilderness, and claim- ing lands by reason of certain deeds and papers. Claims were challenged. The controversy aroused opposition and investigations that led to the find- ing of several Indian deeds, or claims founded on such deeds-, in the possession of earlier settlers. Some of these settlers were easily induced to part witii their lands for small sums of money, being persuaded that these titles were conflicting and doubtful. There was one deed dated March 13, 1 70 1, covering so exactly the territory desired by the new colony, that it was deemed expedient to investigate no further, but proceed immediately to ?8 WIL LET'S BOOK OF XCTFIELD. find the party to whom the original grant had been issued, or his Hving representative with the hirgest chiim. and come to some agreement with him whereby the people of Nutfield might be allowed to remain, and occupy and acquire legal possession of the lantl. The largest owner was located, and the town records, commonlv called the Proprietors' Book, furnish the following [lartieulars ot the Wheelwright purchase : September 23, 17 19. The town ordered James Gregg and Robert Wear to present a petition to the court of New Hamp- shire to obtain a power of government and town privileges. The said petition was presented and the answer of it delayed until the next spring session. The town understanding that it was need- ful to make an agreement with Col. John Wheelwright of Wells about the sale of Nutfield, ordered October, 17 19, Rev. James MacGregor and Samuel Graves to wait upon Col. Wheelwright for that end : they accordingly obtained a deed from Col. Wheel- wright and came to an agreement with him. The copy of the Deed is as foUoweth : These presents witnesselh that I, John Wheelwright, of Wells, in the county of York, in the province of Massachusetts Bay, do for me myself, my heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, by virtue of a deed or grant made to my grandfather, a minister of the Gospel, and others named in said grant, by sundry Indian Sagemores, with the consent of the w'hole tribe of Indians between the rivers of Merrim.'ck and Piscalaqua, to them and their heirs, for- ever, full power for the laying out, bounding and granting these lands into suitable tracts fur townships, unto such nmnbers of people as may from time to lime otTer to settle and improve the same, which deed beareth date May llie seventeenth, one thousand six hundred twenty-and-nine, and is well executed, acknowledged, and approved by the authority, on the day, as may at large more fully appear ; pursuant thereunto I do by these presents give and grant all my right, title, and interest therein contained unto Mr. James MacGregor, Samuel Graves, David Cargill, James MacKeen, James (Jregg, and one hundred more mentioned in a list, to ihem and their heirs, forever, a certain tract of land bounded as fol- lowelh ; not exceeding the quantity of ten miles square, beginning at a pine tree marked which is the southwest corner of Chester, and running to the northwest corner of said Chester, and from the noithwest corner running upon a due west line unto the river Merrimack, and down the river Merrimack until it meet with the line of Dunstable, and then turning eastward upon said Dun- stable line until it meet with the line of Dracut, and continuing eastward upon Dracut line until it meet with the line of Haverhill, and extending northward upon Haverhill line until it meet with the line of Chester, and then turning westward upon the said line of Chester unto the pine tree first mentioned, where it began. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twentieth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and nineteen. JOllM WIIKKLWRIGHT. [1.. s.] Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Daniel Dupee, John Hirst. SvilTolk, ss., Boston, Oct. 20, 1719. John Wheelwright, Esq , personally appearing, acknowledged the above instrument to be his voluntary act and deed. Coraiu Wm. Wl.isrEKIi, Jml. P,;i,t\ In the meanwhile a new discovery was made of more serious import to the little colony at Nut- field, that the grant of ten miles square so much desired by reason of its situation and fertility, was not within the limits of the province of Massa- chusetts Wax. but included in the bountlaries of the province of New Hampshire. While attacked on every side by the indignant possessors of other and older claims, and hustled about, and having their goods damaged in ejectments from the more fierce claimants, the town had informally organized and appointed officers and committees to attend to the yery important matters of title and occupancy. The town had not been incorporated, nor even the right to oceupv fully or legally established. The officers applied to the general court of New Hampshire in the expectation of securing an act of incorporation, Sept. 23, 1719. The petitit)n represents the people of Nutfield, at that time humbled bv the accumulation of obstacles, and quite willing to accept some assistance from King George in furtherance of their plan for permanent settlement, and especially set forth the claim, that they were descended from, and professed the faith and principles of the established church, and were loyal subjects of the British crown. George, l)y the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc., was graciously pleased to grant to his beloved subjects the ten miles square tract of land on certain con- ditions. But the name of Nutfield was sacrificed, and the township really and trulv incorporated by the name of Londonderr\'. The tlate of this royal document was June 21, 1722, and attached to it was the schedule of the names and shares of the proprietors of the township of Londonderry. Nutfield existed in hypothetical anticipation of being legally incorporated either in the province of Massachusetts Bay or the province of New Hampshire, under some delusive titulary conveyance from Indian, adventurer, immigration agent, or pioneer, for three years, and during those three years all the business of town meetings, and actions ot officers and committees were anticipatory of legal justification. After more than three years of struggling against misfortunes and much importunate be- seeching, through the intervention of influential officers of the crown, the precious document was brought to town, not to Nutfield, but to London- derr\-, and not in the province of Massachusetts, but in the province of New Hampshire. The copy WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 83 of the r()\al Liiaiit and sclicdLilc is iK-rcwit li pre- sented to tlie reader : George by the grace of God of Great Britain l-'iance and Ireland King Defender of the Faith, etc. IH all people to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Know ye that we of our especial knowledge and mere mo- tion for the due encouragement of settling new ])lantations. by and with the advice and consent of our council, have given and granted by these presents, as far as in us lies do give and grant, in ecjual shares unto sundry of our beloved subjects, whose names are entered unto a schedule hereunto annexed, that inhal)it, or shall inhabit, within the said grant within our province of New Hampshire, all that tract of land, within the following bounds, being ten miles square, or so much as amounts to ten miles square, and no more, bearing on the northeast angle at a beach tree marked, which is the southeast angle of Chester, and run- ning from thence due south on Kingstown line four miles and a half, and from thence on a west line one mile and three quarters, and from thence south si.x miles and a half and from thence west-north-west nine miles and a half, and from thence north eleven miles and a half, and from thence north-north-east three miles, from thence east-south-east one mile, and from thence south-south-west to the southwest angle of Chester, and from thence on an east-south-east line bounding on Chester ten miles unto the beach tree first mentioned, and that the same be a town corporate by the name of Londonderry, to the persons aforesaid, forever, ]jrovided nevertlieless. and the true intent and mean- ing of these presents is, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, that nothing in this said grant shall extend to, or be understood to extend, to defeat, prejudice, or make null and void any claim, title or ])retence, which our province of the Massachusetts Bay may have to all, or any part of the premises granted as aforesaid, or the right to claim property, or demand of any private jjerson or persons, by reason and means of all or any part of the said granted premises falling within the line or boundaries of our said jjrovince of the Massachusetts Bay, to have and to hold the said land to the grantees, their heirs, and assigns, forever, upon the following conditions, viz : I St. That the |)roprietors of every share build a ilwelling house within three years, and settle a family therein, and break u]i three acres of ground, and plant or sow the same within four years, and pay his or their ])roportion of the town charges, when and so often as occasion shall require the same. 2nd. That upon default of any particular proprietor in com- plying with the conditions of this charter, or his part, such delin- (|uent [jroprietor shall forfeit his share to the other proprietors, to be dis])osed of by vote of the major part of the proprietors, and in case of an Indian war within the said four years, the said grantees shall ha\e four years more, after the said war is ended, for the pert'ormaiice of those conditions. The said men and inhabitants also rendering and l)aying for the same to us and our successors, or to such officer or officers as shall be a]i])ointed to receive the same, the annual quit-rent or acknowledgement of one peck of l^otatoes, on the first day of October yearly forever, reserving also unto us. and our heirs and successors, all mast trees growing on said tract of land, and according to the acts of Parliament in that behalf made and provided, and for the better order, rule and government of the said town, we do by these presents grant, for us and our heirs and successors, unto the said grantees, that yearly and every year, upon the fifth day of March forever, ex- cept the Lord's Day, and then on the Monday next following, they shall meet and elect and choose, by the major part of the electors present, all town officers, according to the laws and usage of the other towns within our said province, for the year ensuing, with such powers, privileges and authorities, as other town officers in our province aforesaid do enjoy, as also that on every Wednesday in the week forever, they may hold, keep and enjoy a market, for the selling and buying of goods, wares, merchandise and all kinds of creatures, endowed with the usual privileges, profits and immunities, as other market towns usually hold, possess and enjoy, and two fairs annually forever the first to be held, or kept, within the said town on the eighth day of October next, and so de anno in annum forever, and the other on the eighth day of May in like manner, provided that it should so hapiien, that if at any time, either of those days fall on the Lord's Day, then the said fair shall be held and kept the day following, and that the said fair shall have, hold and ]jossess the lil.)erties, privileges and immunities, that other fairs in other towns usually possess, hold and enjoy. In witness whereof we have caused the seal of our said province to be hereunto affixed. Witness Samuel .Shute, Esq., our Governor and [1,. s.] Commander in Chief of our said province the twenty- first of June, Anno Domini, seventeen liundred twenty-two, and in the eighth year of our Reign. By advice of the Council, .S.\MUEL SHUTE. RlCH.\RD W.'^LDRON, CliT. Co/I. A schedule of the names of proprietors of Londonderry : John Moore. Robert W illson, James Moore. |ohn .-Xrchibald, James and John Doak, Henry Green, Abel Merrill, Randall Alexander, Robert Doak, Alexander Walker, John Clark, James Anderson. James Alexander. James Morrison, John Mitchell, Archibald Clendennen, John Barnard, James MacKeen and sons (2 shares), Jonathan Tyler, Alexander Nichols, James Nichols, William Nichols, William Humjjhrey, John Barr and sons (2 shares), David Craig and William Gillmore (2 shares), John Stewart, Thomas Steele, Samuel Allison, John Morrison, Robert Wear. Allen Anderson, Mr. MacGregor and sons (3 shares), James Nesmith, James Clark, William Gregg, John Gregg, John Gregg and sons (2 shares), William Willson and John Ritchey, David Cargill, Jr., William Thompson, Hugh Mont- gomery, Robert Morrison, Alexander MacNeal, Rol)ert Boyes, John MacMurphy, John .\lacNeal, William Campbell, Capt. David Cargill, John Archibald, Jr, James MacNeal, Daniel McDuffee (}f share). Samuel Houston, Col. John Wheelwright. Edward Proc- tor. Benjamin Kidder John Gra)-. Joseph Kidder. ]oh\\ ( lofl'e. Sam- uel Grover, John Crombie, Matthew Clark. James Lindsay, James Leslie, John Anderson, James Blair, John Blair, James Moore, John Shields (^ share), James Rodgers (^ share), Joseph Simonds, Elias Keyes, John Robey, John Senter, Robert MacKeen, Janet, Samuel and John MacKeen, William, Coghran, John. Peter, and .Andrew Coghran, David Boyle, James Gregg. 84 WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. Samuel Grover and Robert Boyes, James Aiken, ^^'illiam Aiken, Edward Aiken, John Wallace, Benjamin Willson, Andrew Todd. John Bell, David Morrison, Samuel Morrison, Abram Holmes. John Given, William Eayres, Thomas Boyle, Elizabeth Willson and Mary her daughter {\ share), Samuel Graves, Jr., John Goffe, Jr., Stephen Pierce, Andrew Spalding, Alexander Mac- Murphy and James Liggitt (^ share), James MacGregor for ser- vants {\ share), Capt. Cargill for two servants, George Clark {\ share), Thomas Clark (\ share), Nehemiah Giffin {\ share), James MacGloughlan {\ share). Parsonage lott John Barnard. Jr.. John MacConoghy. John MacClury (^ share), John Woodburn, Banning Wentworth, Richard Waldron, Jr., Lt. Gov. Wentworth, Robert Armstrong, Robert Auchmuty, making a total of \2z\ shares. The full number of ])roprietors in our charter is one hun- dred and twenty-four and a half, parsonage and all. The memo- randum over and above what is already given in this schedule is added to Mr. MacGregor. 250 acres ; Mr. MacKeen, 250 acres ; Mr. David Cargill, 100 acres ; Mr. James (rregg, 150 acres ; John Goffe, 100 acres : total, 850 acres. And to the two last mentioned, viz, Gregg and Goffe, a mill stream within the said town for their good service in promoting the settlement of the town. Richard Waldron, Clcr. Con. New Hampshire, June 22. 1722. Admitted [jro- prietors and commoners in the town of London- derry with the persons mentioned in this schedule: His Excellency Governor Shute a home lot and 500 acres : His Honor Lieut. Guv. ^Vent- worth a home lot and 500 acres : Samuel Penhallow. Mark Hun- kins, George Jaffrey. Shadrack Waldron. Richard Wibbard, Thomas Westbrook, Thomas Parker, Archie MacPheadin, one share each. Richard Waldron, Clerk of Coitniil. It miiilit have been thouo^ht the ritrhts and interests of every person in the new e(ih>nv of Londonderry had been thoroughly secured at the end of three such vexatious years in this liberal charter and kingly favor, but unfortunately there were clauses in the royal grant that left the title to the land no clearer than before, as it was not per- mitted to make void tiie claim of the province of BROADWAY, DERRY DEPOT. I.OOKINO EAST (1894). Massachusetts, to any or all of this tract, nor could it be enforced against the rights of anv private person, and interminable disputes occurred all along the boundaries, especially on the east and south. In some instances the claimants, despairing of receiving justice at the hands of public oflfiCers, attempted to settle the question of occupancy by phvsical force. There was so little currency in the countrv at that period, and very few of the settlers had anv means of defraving the expenses of a law- suit in defence of their homesteads, the suffering was so great, the redress so remote, and delays so disastrous in the cases of ejectment, that the town was obliged to have a warrant article al- tnost annually to see what next should be done for protection, and determine how the cost of suits should be raised. The deeds that have been mentioned hitherto and the charter have been given in this ar- ticle, although thev may be ft)untl in other histories of towns embraced in part in the original boundary of Lontlon- derry. There is no doubt about the va- lidity of another deed of which little has been written in former histories, and a careful examination of the records will con- vince the reader that much more profitable sales were made under the provisions of the Mason grant, than under that of Wheelwright, and it was found practically impossible to expel those who held land under the Mason grant. Ejectments came by the grant, but the people who could be disturbed by reason of the Mason grant finally took measures to forever clear their titles of any claim under it. The deed will give a fair understanding of the situa- tion in this and neighl)oring towns twenty-five years after the arrival of the Nutfield colony. It is said these twelve men of Portsmouth named in WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 8S (he deed below quit claimed to seventeen old towns between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers already settled without e.xactinu more than a nom- inal consideration : To all Peoiile to whom these presents shall come, John Tiifton Mason of Portsmouth within the Province of New Hamp- shire in New England. Esquire, sendeth greeting : Know- ye that Captain John Mason heretofore of London. Esquire, now deceased, by virtue of several grants to him made by and under the Crown and several confirmations and ratifica- tions thereof by the Crown, claimed and held a certain tract of land situated in New England in America, lying upon the sea coast between the river Merrimack and the river of Piscataqua, and running up Piscataqua river to the farthest head thereof, and from thence northwestward until sixty miles are completed, and so running up the river Merrimack sixty miles, and thence across the main land to the end of the sixty miles aforesaid, commonly called and known by the name of New Hamjjshire. which grants and the right, title and inheritance of in and unt(j the same, which did belong to the said Capt. John Mason, is now become the estate in fee of the said John Tufton Mason, as he is heir at law of John Tufton Mason, deceased, who w-as the son and heir of Robert Tufton Mason, deceased, who was grandson and heir at law^ of the said Capt. |ohn Mason, deceased. .And for and in consideration of the sum of fifteen hundred pounds of good and lawful money of the province of New Hamj)- shire. aforesaid, to me the said John Tufton Mason in hand well and truly paid by Theodore Atkinson. Richard VVibird. John Moftatt. Mark Hunking Wentvvorth. Samuel Moore. vjotham Odiorne Junr.. and Joshua Pierce, Esquire, Nathaniel Meserve, George Jafifiey. Junr.. and John Went worth, Junr., gentlemen, all of Portsmouth aforesaid, and Thomas Wallingford of Sommers- worth in said Province. Esquire, and Thomas Packer of Green- land in the Province aforesaid, the receijit whereof, to full content and satisfaction. I hereby acknowledge, and thereof and of every l)art and jjarcel thereof. I do exonerate, accpiit and discharge them, the said Theodore Atkinson. Richard VVibird, John Motl'att. Mark Hunking Wentworth. Samuel Moore, Jotham Odiorne, Junr., Joshua Pierce. Nathaniel Meserve. George JafTrey. Junr.. John Wentworth. Junr., Thomas Wallingford. and Thomas Packer, and all and every of their several and respective heirs, executors and administrators, forever. Have given, granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents do give, giant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeoff, make over, convey, and forever confirm, unto them, the said Theo- dore .\tkinson. Richard Wibird. John Moffatt, Mark Hunking Wentworth, Samuel Moore, Jotham Odiorne.Junr., Joshua Pierce, Nathaniel Meserve, George Jaffrey. Junr.. John Wentworth, Junr., Thomas Wallingford. and Thomas Packer, their heirs and assigns forever, in the manner and proportion hereafter in these presents mentioned, all that my right, title, interest, estate, inheritance, ])roperty. possession, claim or demand whatsoever, which I now have, of in and unto all that tract or jjarcel of land situated in the Province aforesaid, containing Two Hundred Thousand Acres, more or less, bounded as follows, viz : Beginning at the mouth of the Piscataqua river, thence up the same to the farthest head of Newickewannick river, so called, and to the farthest head thereof, and thence northwestward until sixty miles be completed from the mouth of said Piscataqua river, the place where it _ began, and then from Pis- cataqua river aforesaid along the sea coast towards Merrimack river until it comes to the boundary line between the said Province of New Hamp- shire and the Province of Massachusetts Bay. thence running as the .said bound- ary line runs until sixty miles be completed from the sea, then running from the westerly end of the sixty miles last mentioned acrots the land to the northerly end of the sixty miles first mentioned, to- gether with the southeast half of the Isle of Shoals, with all my right, title, in- terest, estate, inheritance, property, possession, claim and demand whatsoever, I have of in and unto all and every of the towns, parishes, precincts, districts, villages, buildings, woods, rivers, ponds, waters and water courses, stones, mines, quarries and minerals, and all timber trees within the said boundaries with all and every of the privileges and appurtenances, profits, commodities and accommodations to the same and any and every part and jxircel thereof, in any manner belonging, with the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues, and profits, to the same and to any and every part and parcel thereof in any manner belonging, and appurtaining. To have and to hold the said granted and bargained i}remises, with the privileges and appurtenances as aforesaid, in manner and form following, viz : to the said Theodore Atkinson three fif- teenths parts thereof, to him. his heirs and assigns. And to the said Mark Hunking Wentworth his heirs and assigns two fif- teenths parts thereof, and to the said Richard Wibird, John Moftatt, Samuel Moore, Jotham Odiorne, Junr., Joshua Pierce, BRO.'\DW..\V, DERRY DEPOT. LOOKING WEST (1894). ^6 WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. Nathaniel Meserve, George Jaffrey, Junr., John Wentworth, Junr., Thomas Wallingford and Thomas Packer, to each of them and their several and respective heirs and assigns forever, one fifteenth part thereof, forever, so that no person or persons claiming, or that shall or may hereafter claim the said granted and bargained prem- ises, or any part thereof, from by or under me the said John Tiif- ton Mason, shall have any right, interest, inheritance, possession or property whatsoever of in and unto the same, or to any part or parcel thereof, forever, hereafter. Moreover Anna Elizabeth Ma- son, the wife of me the said John Tufton Mason, doth by these presents give, grant and surrender all her right of dower and thirds in the premises, unto them the said Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, John Moffatt, Mai'k Hunking Wentworth. Samuel Moore, Jotham Odiorne, Junr., Joshua Pierce, Nathaniel Meserve, George Jaffrey, Jr., John Wentworth, Jr., Thomas Wallingford and Thomas Packer, their heirs and assigns, forever. In witness whereof the said John Tufton Mason and Anna Elizabeth my said wife, hereunto set our hands and seals, the thir tieth day of July, in the twentieth year of the reign of King George the .Sec- ond, Anno Domini 1746. John Tufton Mason, [s.] Anna Elizabeth Tufton Mason, [s.] Signed sealed and de- livered after the words (all her right of dower and thirds in the premises) were inserted in the last line of second page I n presence of us Joshua Gilman. Noah Emerv. Province of New Hamp- shire, July 30, 1746. Re- ceived of Theodore Atkin- son, Esquire, and others, in the foregoing deed mentioned, fif- teen hundred pounds the full sum of the consideration this deed mentioned. ^1500. John Tufton Mason. Province of New Hamijshire, Portsmouth, July 31, 1746. Then John Tufton Mason, Esquire, above named and Anna F^lizabeth his wife, personally appearing before me the subscriber, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for said Province, acknowledged the foregoing deed to be their free act and deed. Pierce Long. Rec'd. .\ug. 27, 1746, and recorded 2Sth Aug.. 1746. I). Pierce, Rciuiuicr. Province of New Ham])shire. A true ropy from Lib. 31 Fol. 220. E.xamined the 22nd June. 1756. L). Pierce, Recorder. P.IRCH STREET, DERRV DEPOT (1894). The conflictintj of titles sprang; from many causes, chief among them a general ignorance of the geography of the country, and the granting of terri- tory already covered under the supposition that the terms of the former conveyance had been violated to the extent of annulling the grant, or the supposition that an Indian deed was better than a royal grant. There was, even after the purchase under the Mason grant just quoted, abundant cause for an.xietv among the early settlers, and it delayed the development of the town seriously, and led to in- numerable cases of abandonment of homesteads, and removal to other parts of the country. The fol- lowing paper may be of some assistance in understanding more of the situation. It is found in a manu- script of the date Aug. 9, I 766. A brief account of the title of Capt. John Mason- Upon Mr. Allen petition- ing Queen Anne to be put in possession of the waste lands, the assembly passed an act for confirmation of their township grants with- out respect to the Mason Claim. Ui)on Mr. Allen's application the Queen in council repealed that act, the Crown assumed the vacant lands until Mr. Allen can make it appear that Mr. Mason was ever in possession of said lands, as did appear by the cases of Allen against Waldron and Vaughan John Hobby, grandson to Sir Charles Hobby and John Adams of Boston, claiming one half of the INLason grant bought of Col. Allen, Mason's heirs saying the grant was entailed and could not be sold. In 1635 Captain John Mason dies, having willed New Hampshire to John Tufton on condition of his taking the name of Mason. John dying a minor, it fell to Robert Tufton Mason an infant. When Robert came of age he peti- tioned King Charles II to be relieved as to the property of his land, Geoftrey Palmer Attorney General made report that these lands were the undoubted right of Robert Mason. William Housleton and Peter Biickly sent over to answer Mason's com- plaint as attorneys for the Massachusetts Bay province disclaimed said lands before the court of King's Bench. Mr. Mason brought suits of ejectment against William Vaughan and recovered judg- ment. Vaughan appealed Home. His appeal was dismissed ]\ ILLErS BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 89 and the former judgment cohfirmed, the appellant pays cost. Mr. Mason, despairing of any agreement with the people, re- turns to England and dies, leaving two sons John and Robert 'I'ufton Mason, who conveyed the whole of their rights to Samuel Allen of London for 2750^" sterling. An abstract of Mason's deed to Allen may be seen in Doug- lass' History, page 29, vol. II. Col. Allen came over to prose- cute his claims and found 24 or 25 leaves torn out of the records. These leaves contained the former judgment obtained by Mason. Mr. Allen petitioned Queen Anne to be put in possession of the wastelands. The petition was referred to the Board of Trade and Plantation and they consulted with Sir Edward Northey, Attorney General, who reported that Her Majesty might safely put him in possession of the unimproved lands but where the inhabitants had possession he must bring writs of ejectment. Gov. Dudley was ordered to be present when the trial of Wal- dron and Allen came, and Dudley pretended to be indisposed in body and could go no further than Newbjry. The defendant recovered cost. Col. Allen appealed Home but died before the apieal was prosecuted. His son Charles succeeded him in these claims, who brought anew writ of ejectment, was lost in cost, as appeared the verdict being repressed. He appealed Home but likewise died before his case came on, leaving two sons and one daughter ; to cut off Allen's claims the Government lately made agreement of the waste lands to 60 of the inhabitants of New- Hampshire by the name of Kingswood. There is a paragraph in the Massachusetts new charter which favors Allen's claim and reads thus : "Nothing therein contained shall prejudice any right of Samuel Allen claiming under Capt. Mason deceased of any part of the premises." liL* was chosen one (if the directors of the Derry Bank, which at tiiat time was located in the East \"illaeacon George and Leli- cia Duncan) died Nov 5, 1753, aged 2 yrs ; William (son of Capt William and .Vaonii Duncan) died March 29, 1793, aged 55 yrs ; William died Feb 22, 1795, aged 82 yrs 6 mos ; William died Oct 23, 1764, aged 20 yrs. Ela, Sarah (dau of David and Hannah Ela) died Sept 29, 1778, aged 17 mos 22 dys. FiNi.AY, Jenet (wife of Joseph Finlay) died Dec 23, 176S, aged 57 yis. Fisher, Agnes (wife of Samuel Fi-.her) died March 12, 1755, aged 27 yrs; Elder Samuel died April 10, 1S06, aged 84 yrs; .Sarah (wife of Elder Samuel Fisher) died Feb 3, 1813, aged 80 yrs ; William (son of Elder Samuel Fi,her) died Oct 25, 1775, aged 14 yi-s. Ho(;, John died Aug 13, 1755, aged 23 yrs; 'riiomas died Jan 8, 1748, aged 42 yrs Hik;<;, Mary {wife of Thomas Hogg) died May I, 1790, aged 24 years. Mack, John died April 12, 1753, aged 55 yrs. McAi.LESTER, William died March 10, 1755, aged 55 yrs. McCleary, Capt David (son of Thomas and Elizabeth McCleary) died at Bennington Aug 16, 1777, aged 31 yrs; Elizabeth (dau of Thomas and Elizabeth McCleary) dieil Oct 15, 17S2, aged 30 yrs ; John (son ol Thomas and Elizabeth McCleary) died Sept 3, 1751, aged 3 yrs; Mary (dau of Thomas and Elizabeth McCleary) died Apiil 7, 1778, aged 21 yrs; Thomas died (kt 5, 1787, aged 81 yrs. HOME OF MRS. MARY J. TENNKY, GEN. STARk's GRANDDAUGHTER. Situ.ited near the Hill Graveyard, Londonderry. — Winter scene. 117 iiS WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. McClenche, Elizabeth (dau of John and Martha) died Nov 12, 17S8, aged 20 yrs ; John died March 24, 1S20, aged 76 yrs ; Manha (dau of John and Martha McClenche) died May 20, 1787, aged 20 yrs ; Martha (wife of John McClenche) died July 27, 1801, aged 69 yrs. McCoLOM, Alexander died July 4, 1781, aged 79 yrs ; Archibald died Ajjril 10, 1761, aged 23 yrs ; Janet (wife of Alexander McColom) died Oct II, 1773, aged 69 yrs; Jannet, died Aug 27, 1744, aged 12 yrs ; Martha (wife of Lieut Robert McColoni) died Sept 15, 1S22, aged 74 yrs; Lieut Robert died June 13, 1792, aged 56 yrs ; William died Sept 17, 1794, aged 23 yrs. McGregor, Alexander, died June 27, 1S04, aged 37 yrs; John P. died Sept 27, 1819, aged 22 yrs; Mary (wife of Alexander McGregor) died May 24, 1799, aged 31 yrs. Messer, Cyrus died April 2, 1S37, aged 65 yrs; Mary (wife of Cyrus Messer) died June 18, 1866, aged 92 yrs 9 mos; Moses W. died March 10, 1814, aged 18 yrs. Mitchell, Watt (son of Francis and Margaret Mitchell) died Sent 24, 1775, aged 10 mos. Moore, Elizabeth (dau of Capt William and Martha Moore) died March 6, 1775, aged 3 weeks ; Sibbil (dau of Capt William and Martha Moore) died Aug 15, 1776, aged 9 mos; Hugh (son of Capt William and Martha Moore) died March 16, 1775, aged 6 yrs. OuGHTERSON, James died March 3, 1761, aged 64 yrs. Patterson, Elizabeth (wife of Peter Patterson) died June 22, 17S6, aged 23 yrs. PlNKERTON, Elizabeth (dau of Major John and Rachel Pinkerton) died March iS, 1789, aged 17 yrs 6 mos 17 dys ; David died March 8, 1808, aged 75 ys ; John (son of Major John and Rachel Pinkerton) died June 4, 1 795, aged 17 yrs 7 mos 22 dys ; John died Feb 10, 1780, aged 80 yrs ; Major John died May i, 1816, aged 81 yrs ; Mary (wife of Major John Pinkerton) died F'eb Ig, 1S44, aged 94 yrs ; Rachel (wife of Major John Pinkerton) died .Se)it 13, 17S1, aged 36 yrs 3 mos 2 dys ; Rachel (dau of lohn and Mary I'in!ertonl died Nov 17, 1796, aged 47 yrs ; Mary (dau of John and Mary Pinkerton) died Sept 23, 1807, aged 67 yis ; Samuel (son of John and Mary Pinkerton) died March i6, 1780, aged 34 yrs; Mary (wife of John Pinkerton) died SejH 10, 1754, aged 44 yrs ; Naomi (dau of Major John and Rachel Pinkerton) died May 4, 1 790, aged 20 yrs 3 mos 22 dys. ScoBEY, Martha, died CJCt 6, 1754, aged 30 yrs ; Matthew died July 2, 1764, aged 31 yrs ; Samuel died Jan 20, 1737, aged 3 yrs. Smith, Jane (wife of John Smith and dau of Thomas and Elizabeih McCleary) died March 5, 1779, aged 29 yrs. Taggart, James (soi! of James and Jean Taggart) died May 25, 1752, aged 8 yrs ; Jean (wife of James Taggart) died March 6, 1770, aged 60 yrs ; Sarah, a child ; Rose (wife of Niel Taggart) died June 15, 1748, aged 48yr.s. Thi'MPSON, Molly (dau of John and Martha Thompson) died June 9, 1778, aged 2 yrs; Sarah (dau of Robert and Margaret Thompson) died Nov iS, 1776, aged I yr. Wallace, Ann (a child) no dates ; Barbara (wife of Thomas Wallace) died Sept 2, 1771, aged 95 yrs ; Annas (wife of John Wallace) died Jan 6, 1761, aged 63 yrs ; Ann died .Aug 23, 1733, aged 20 yrs ; James died Oct 30, 179I, aged So yrs ; James (a child) no dates ; Elizabeth (a child) no dates ; Capt James died Dec 14, 1792, aged 71 yrs; John (son of lames and Mary Wallace) died Nov 15, 1754, aged 10 dys; John (husband of Annas Wal- lace) died March 29, 1777, aged 82 yrs; (The slone bears the legend that John and Annas Wallace were the first couple married in Londonderry, May 18, 1721.) Mary (dau of James and Mary Wallace) died Oct 10, 1760, aged 8 yrs ; Naomi (wife of Capt Rolert Wallace) died May 10, 1791, aged 80 yrs ; Capt Robert Wallace died Oct 10, 1782, aged 73 yrs; Thomas (husband of Barbara Wallace) died Aug 22, 1754, aged 82 yrs; William, M. A. (son of Thomas and Barbara Wallace) died March 27, 1733, aged 26 yrs (see cut on page 33) ; Thomas dieil May 7, 1789, aged 73 yrs ; Thomas (son of John and Annas Wallace) died Sept 22, 1734, aged 4 yrs i mo 12 dys ; Mrs Rebecca died Sept 22, 1804, aged 81 yrs ; Thomas died Jan 26, 1790, aged 46 yrs ; his wife died April 4, 1785, aged 31 yrs; Samuel died July 29, 1778, aged 41 yrs ; William (a child) no dates. Watts, Peggy (wife of Moses Watts) died May 3, 1795, aged 64 yrs. WlEAR, David (son of Adam and Margaret Wiear) died Feb 15, 1765, aged 25 yrs. Wilson, Joseph ; Rebecca (wife of Joseph Wilson) died May 25, 1770, aged 66 yrs. WooDBURN, David died Oct 9, 1823, aged 85 yrs ; Margaret (wife of David Woodburn) died Oct 17, 1792, aged 39 yrs. The complete inscription on the monument of Major John Pinkerton is appencied as a tribute to the memory of his generosity and a reminder of the locality where his dust reposes : In memory of John Pinkerton, Esq., who died May i. 1816, aged 81 years. He was born in the county of Antrim, North of Ireland, and came with his parents when a child to this country. He was a man of strict integrity, active benevolence and ex- emplary piety. For many years he was a useful member and officer of the Church of Christ and a distinguished benefactor of the town. By prudence and industry he acquired an ample for- tune which he chiefly devoted to objects of public utility. He was the ]jriricipal touiider of the Pinkerton Academy in London- derry, and endowed each of the two religious societies in the place with a fund for the support of the Gospel Ministry. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Also in memory of Mrs. Rachel, first wife of lohn Pinkerton, Esq., who died Sept. 13, 1781. aged 36 years. Note. — The income of the Pinkerton fund given to the West Parish is to be appropriated to the sole purpose of sup- porting an orthodD.K Presbyterian luinister of the Gospel in said parish agreeable to the constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. THE MAMMOTH ROAD, so named in deri- sion by those who opposed its construction, was built in the summer of 1831, and at once became a popular route between Concord and Boston. Large numbers of passengers were carried by the three lines of daily stages that travelled over the road, and the other traffic was also heavy. Great quantities of country produce were taken to Lowell and Boston over the Mammoth road, and the highway continued to be thronged with vehicles until the opening of the Concord & Nashua railroad in 1838. In 1832, the year after the Mammoth road was built. President Jackson and his cabinet passed over it on their way from Boston to Concord, and dined at White's hotel in the northern part of Lon- donderry. PINKERTON ACADEMY. BY REV. E G. PARSONS. BEFORE the founding of Pinkerton Academy, as early as 1 793, a " classical high " school had been maintained in the East Parish of Lon- donderry. (See page 221.) This was partly sup- ported by the voluntary offerings of benevolent individuals, among whom was Major John Pinker- ton. About the year 18 14 it was suggested to him bv Rev. Edward L. Parker that permanent provision be made for the support of the school, and out of this came the endowment and charter of Pinkerton Academy. Major Pinkerton donated in all $13,000 to the school, and his brother. Elder James Pinkerton, added $1,500. A portion of the income of this latter sum was applied to the prin- cipal annually until it was doubled, and the per- manent funds became over $16,000. By careful management this sum was increased to $18,000, and in 18S1 a munificent bequest was received from John Morrison Pinkerton of Boston, son of Elder James Pinkerton. The will of Mr. Pinker- ton provided that the income of this fund should be expended, first, for the payment of certain annuities, and then for the erection and furnishing of a new and improved academy building, costing not more than $50,000; then $500 annually for ten years and longer at the discretion of the trustees for the purchase of books for a library, and the residue of the income for the support of the school. The will further provided that the funds should be used and managed in accordance with the intentions of the original founders. The charter members of the board of trustees were Major John Pinkerton and Elder James Pinkerton, Rev. Edward L.. Parker, Rev. William Morrison, John Burnham, Isaac Thom, John Porter, Alanson Tucker, and Dr. Robert Bartley. These nine men, in 18 14, duly organized the corporation, electing James Pinkerton as presi- dent. Among the first acts of the trustees was a vote directing that tuition be collected of the pupils. It was required to be paid in advance, and was at first $2 a quarter, or $8 a year. This sum, together with $220 from the income of the funds, was appropriated as the compensation of the first preceptor, Samuel Burnham, for one year. Mr. Burnham resigned in 18 18 and was followed by Justin B. Adams for one year. In 18 18 the tuition was raised to $3 per quarter, and was after- ward changed to $7 per term, three terms in a year, and is now $6 per term, or $18 a year. This tuition, merely nommal as compared with that of most other schools of similar grade, has for a long time had but little, if anything, to do with the direct support of the academy. It is used to pay for repairs and improvements, for which no other provision was made by the donors, the con- dition of the trust being such that any surplus income of the fund must, at the end of each year, be added to the principal and become a part thereof. Successive members of the board of trustees, chosen to fill vacancies as they occurred, have been as follows : Rev. Justin Edwards, I). D.. James Thom, Rev. Asa Mc- Farland, I). I)., Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D., George Farrar, M. D., Hon. William M. Richardson. LL. D.. Rev. John H. Church, D. D., William Choate. .Samuel Adams, Thornton Betton, Rev. Pliny B. Day. D. D., Rev. Jonathan Clement. 1). D., Rev. 'limothv G. Brainerd. Samuel H. Taylor, A. M., LL. D., U9 WILLBT'S BOOK OF NUTFTELD. John M. PiTikerton, A. M., Rev. Jofhua W. Wellman, D. D. (see page 37), Rev. E. G. Parsons, A. M., William Anderson, David H. Pinkerton, Rev. William House, A. M., Rev. Leonard S. Parker, D. D., Rev. James T. McCollom, D. D., Rev. Caleb E. Fisher, A. M., Rev. David Bremner, A. M., Rev. Benjamin F. Parsons, A. M., Rev. Robert W. Haskins, A. M., Rev. Charles Tenney, A. M.. Rev. Charles Packard, Nathan B. Prescott, Willard G. Means, Rev. John P. Newell, A. M.. Hon. Edward Spalding, M. D., LL. D., Hon. John W. Noyes, George L. Clarke, John C. Chase. Rev. E. G. Parsons has been president of the board since iSSi. (See page 25.) At first the school received only bo3's. After a year or two, when the room in the academy had been completed for that purpose, it was enlarged by the addition of a female department, and Miss Sarah Fitts, who afterward became the wife of Col. Samuel Adams, was appointed its first pre- ceptress. This department of the school was dis- continued in 182 1. In 1853 Pinkerton Academy was again opened to girls, and they have since formed a good half of its members. The school began its sessions in 18 14, in the new building which had been erected for it by a general sub- scription of the people, especially of the western part of the town of Londonderry, on land contri- buted by William Choate and Peter Paterson. The site was that of the new building of today. and where the main building must always stand, " within two rods of John Porter's land." That old building, which has still its place of honor in the immediate vicinity, has by no means outlived its usefulness, and may yet in good time have a further important relation to the work of the school. The most noted feature of the history of the academy in the distant past is the administration of Abel F. Hildreth, A. M., as its preceptor from 1 8 19 to 1846. (See page 26.) With the valuable assistance of able young men. many of whom afterward became distinguished in other walks of life, the academy attained a wide reputation for its general thorough instruction and as a fitting school for college. Mr. Hildreth was succeeded in 1846 by Caleb Emery, and in 1S48 Rev. Elihu T. Rowe became preceptor, followed in 1850 by Marshall Henshaw, A. M., who resigned in 1853 to take the preceptorship of Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mass. He was afterward for some years a professor in Rutgers College, New Jersey, and was honored with the degree of LL. D. Follow- ing Mr. Henshaw were John W. Ray, and, in 1857, Henry L. Boltwood. Mr. Ray was subse- quently ordained to the ministry and settled in Minnesota. Mr. Boltwood held his position here until 1 86 1, when he was called elsewhere. He has since had a long and honorable connection with the schools in Evanston, 111. The first term of 1862 enjoyed the services of Albert Currier, at that time a student in Andover Seminary. Dr. Currier became prominent as pastor of a Congre- gational church in Lynn, Mass., and has been for many years a professor in the theological seminary at Oberlin, O. John Young Stanton, the ne.xt preceptor, was remarkable for the thorough char- acter of his work. He left in 1864 to accept a professorship in Bates College, Maine. At the centenary of Bowdoin College, in 1894, it con- ferred upon him the degree of LL. D. Hon. John P. Newell succeeded Mr. Young as princi- pal, resigning in 1866. He had been principal of the high school and superintendent of schools in Manchester, and his fellow citizens had also placed him in the mayor's chair. His work in Pinkerton Academy was no less marked and useful than in the neighboring city. He was afterward ordained pastor of the Presbyterian church in Litchfield, and for several years has been a member of the board of trustees. At the beginning of the school year in 1866, Marshman W. Hazen came to the academy as its principal from his graduation at Dartmouth College. He proved a wise and able administrator and instructor, and at the end of three years accepted a more lucrative educa- tional position in Massachusetts. At present he is managing a prosperous business enterprise in New Vork city. Following Mr. Hazen, Rev. E. G. Parsons, A. M., was principal for three years, when he resigned to accept a similar position at Dummer Academy, where he remained ten years, and then returned to his home in Derrv. Suc- ceeding Mr. Parsons, George T. Tuttle was principal two terms. Homer P. Lewis two terms, and Edward A. Greeley one term. In 1876 Edmund R. Angell was chosen principal. He resigned in 1885, and has since rendered valuable service to the public by his scientific acquirements, and in official duties to which he has been WILLET'S 1300K: OP NUTFIELD. 'nistff^, H.v. .lOHN IT. CHMini. U. i' Rev. KDWAUD L. I'ARKl.i; JOHN i'Ori IT.l!, Fs«. t^-lVX. APPX.EX, »•••»»•*» @-#-##-0# 9 I uii:- 'I iKiM. i:,;. 1. 1. "III. I !■ \i;i; \i;. \; ij UIIJ.IAM ; ii') , I ' Tun.- r ( I, 111. . r, 1- F.J.i-orJ P. -"111! J. rl «•. S««r!<, Il,..i.lJi Sireei«cr Aiiios Taylor Samuel 41. TJiom Jnineti Tliom Ceorge Tucker Alan^on TtKkcr W.iliam \Vnke-ficUIIat<*t f. \Vi:t..r, .r'.M,-. Wood- .\oah •/■„#, U'tidi'it:, .\U t:h„l.r ToTAl--- ■#-#•#-#•#•#•###■#■#•##1 ■i-e.^-eAa^i WtLLET'S BOOK OP NUTFIBLD. appointed by his fellow citizens. In 1885 George W. Bingham, A. M., the present incumbent, entered upon his able and useful service as princi- pal of the academy. The school, almost from the beginning, has required one or more assistants. The male assis- tant teachers, and the colleges from which they graduated or obtained their degrees, together with the dates of their service at the academy, are as follows : Hon. Samuel D. Bell. LL. D. (Harvard). 181 7: Rev. Daniel Fitz (Dartmouth), 1818: Jarvis Gregg, A. M. (Dart- mouth), 1826; William Appleton (Bowdoin), 1826-28: David Stowell (Dartmouth), 1829; Rev. W. H. Hoit (Dartmouth), 1831 : Edwaid D. Sanborn (Dartmouth). 1S31 ; F. Furber, 1832 : Charles T. Elliott, M. D. (Dartmouth). 1S32-33 : Henry Blan- chard (Harvard), 1833 ; Theo. H. Jewett, A. M., M. D. (Bou- doin), 1S34: Rev. Samuel Bean. A. M. (Dartmouth), 1834-35 : Rev. Ephraim M. Hidden (Dartmouth), 1S35 : James Aiken, 1836 ; Edward P. Parker (Dartmouth), 1836-37 (see page 137) : Jesse P. Bancroft (Dartmouth >, 1838: Leonard Swain, D. D. (Dartmouth), 1842-44: Rev. John P. Humphrey (Dartmouth) 1844: Henry Day (Yale), 1S45 : ^^'iHiam B. Shute, 1846: Henry C. Parker, A. M. 'Dartmouth). 1S46; Rev. Simon J. Humphrey. D. D., 1848: Rev. James W. Poland, 1S49: Rev. Granville W'ardwell, 1850: Rev. Henry Storrs, D. D. (Amherst), 1S50: Joseph Upton, 185 1; Rev. William Grassie, A. M., (Amherst), 1851: John H. Palmer (Amherst) 1856-57; Solon Albee, A. M. (Middletown), 1857 : George S. Chase, 1S61 : Ira C. Randall, i86t ; James C. D. Pigeon, M. D., 1S80: J. M. Willard, 1887-90: T. C. Craig, 1887: C. H. Dinsmore, 18S8: Alton Cowles, 1892-93; C. W. Smith, 1893-94. The women teachers, with the dates of their service, have been : Sarah Fitz, i8t6 ; Mary Knight, 1817-18; Mary Adams, 1819 ; Eliza E. Carter, 1820-21 ; E. H. Allison. 1S53-56 : Laura F. Esterbrook, 1856-57; Caroline A. Boltuood. 1858; C. B. Williams, 1859-60: L. A. Sartwell, 1860-62; Hannah Hou-, i860; Anna L. Lane, 1S61; Lucinda F. Twichell, 1862-64; Sarah Cummings, 1862; Josephine B. Atkinson, 1S63-69; Mary A. Dearborn, 1864; S. D. McMillan, 1864-65; C. E. Strickland, 1865-66: F. R. Pinkerton, 1865-68; C. F. Chase, 1866; Abby Clement, 1866-6S ; A. C. Hills, 1S67-69; M. G. Carr, 1868-71; L. A. Allen. 1S6.S; F. Strong, 1870: S. D. Bartley, 1871-84; Mrs. William Crawford, 1874; L. P. Greenough, 1S79; Mrs. S. D. Parsons, 1882-83; Helen M. Mead, 1883; Martha T. Learned, 1884; S. G. Frost, 1S91-92. The corps of instructors in 1896 includes: George W. Bingham, A. M., principal: Mary Nesmith Par- sons, preceptress ; Elizabeth Greenleaf Prescott, music ; Cassius S. Campbell. A. B., mathematics and sciences : Anna Catherine Blenker. drawing and elementary studies : Jason G. Miller, A. B., history and mental and moral philosophy ; Mary F. Pinkerton, lecturer on modern history : Mabel C. Snow, instructor in elocu- tion and physical culture. These had all been successful instructors, some of them for many years as principals of boarding and high schools and academies, several of them being graduates of Pinkerton Academy who had received subsequent instruction in col- lege. Under Mr. Bingham's administration, and aided by this especially accomplished staff of instructors, the attendance has been equal to that in the academy's most jnosperous days in the past, and a much more comprehensive curriculum of study has been afforded, as is made necessary bv the enlarged requirements of colleges and advanced scientific institutions. Many of the graduates in the decade, who have been honorably connected with Dartmouth, Amherst, Harvard, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, Trinity, Columbia, Boston Univer- sity, Massachusetts Institute of Technologv, or the normal schools for the special preparation of teachers, are bearing gratifying testimony to the intelligent, broad, and effective mental and moral preparation in this academy for their subsequent careers. The semi-centennial anniversary of the acad- emy was celebrated Sept. 12, 1866. The citizens of Derry and Londonderry engaged in it with zeal and afforded very substantial and acceptable aid to the trustees, providing a band of music and con- tributing bountiful and excellent supplies for the collation, and rendering important personal services, under the efficient superintendence of George F. Adams, assisted by Henry Eastman, marshal of the day. A spacious tent accommodat- ing two thousand persons was erected on the grounds in front of the academy. An interesting feature of the occasion was the presence and parti- cipation of several distinguished gentlemen whose names are among those of the students who were in attendance here in the early years. Among these were Dr. S. H. Taylor, Andover, Mass., president of the board of trustees and president of the day ; the orator. Rev. James T. McCoUom, D. D., Medford, Mass. ; Lieut. Gov. George W. Patterson of the state of New York ; the accom- tV/LLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. \i% plished scholar, Rev. William C. Dana, D. D., Charleston, S. C. ; Hon. George Cochrane, Bos- ton, Mass.; Hon. Daniel Richardson, Lowell, Mass. ; Hon. Elias Hackett Derby of Boston, who afterwards showed a practical interest in his alma mater by a legacy of $i,ooo to the librar)' fund ; Rev. Christopher Cushing, D. D., Boston, Mass. ; Hon. Franklin Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury, Vt., and Zenas Cushing of Boston. It was a memorable dav for Pinkerton Academv, its alumni and friends. In fulfillment of the purpose of John M. Pink- the history of the academy and the influence of such institutions. The prayer of dedication was offered by Rev. H. B. Putnam, pastor of the First Congregational church. Rev. J. P. Newell of Litchfield, in lichalf of the building committee, made his report, and proffered the keys to the president of the board, who, in his turn, committed them to the principal. Prof. G. W. Bingham, as the responsible person for the carrying out of the principles which had been urged, and the aims and purposes of the institution. Mr. Bingham, in accepting the trust, made an appropriate reply for PINKERTON ACADEMY. erton, the trustees proceeded to erect a new build- ing which was completed in the summer of 1887. It is regarded by competent architectural experts to be one of the best of its kind in the country. The services of dedication took place July 27, 1887. The exercises opened with reading of the Scrip- tures and invocation by Rev. David Bremner of Boxford, Mass. Rev. E. G. Parsons, in behalf of the board of trustees, welcomed the alumni and friends of the institution in an address which was responded to by Frank N. Parsons, Franklin. Rev. S. C. Bartlett, LL. D., president of Dart- mouth College, delivered an interesting oration on himself and his associates. The benediction was pronounced by Rev. B. F. Parsons. After the service the company proceeded to Association hall, where a banquet was provided. Hon. G. C. Hazelton of Washington, D. C, presided over the post prandial exercises. In the evening an alumni association was organized. In 1895, under the auspices of this association, the pupils and teachers met Aug. 22 for a reunion, and to celebrate the eighty-first anniversary. The committee who had the business in charge spared no pains to make the day a success, and a large number assembled. After the invocation, John C. Chase, chairman of i44 iVILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. the local committee, made an address of welcome. Then followed the address of the president of the association, Hon. George C. Hazelton, the oration by Henry Goodwin of Boston, Mass., the poem by George Brickett of Lynn, Mass., together with other brief exercises. Dinner was served in the hall of the old academy. Under the direction of the president of the day, more earnest, stirring speeches were made, and with the reception in the evening, closed another interesting and important day for Pinkcrton Academy. THE FOUNDERS OF THE ACADEMy. crowned all his benevolences by the gift of his fortune (subject to some annuities) to the funds of Pinkcrton Academy. Mr. Pinkcrton partook of those qualities of mind which marked his predecessors, — diligence, persistence, prudence, foresight, shrewdness, and economy, as well as their integrity and uprightness, which secured to him similar financial success, and a fortune to bestow upon the work of their hands and in an amount which was equal to, if it did not surpass, the whole accumulation of both his uncle and father. We find the name of John M. Pinker- In 1724, John Pinkcrton, the first of the family in this country, came from the county of Antrim, in the north of Ireland, and established himself among the sixteen families who had a few years before settled in Nutfield. He occupied a farm in the West Parish of Londonderry. Of his sons John was born in Ireland in 1720, and James a few years later, in this town. Each of them began business in early life. For a long period Londonderry and the neighboring towns were supplied principally by the Pinkertons with mer- chandise. They were both men of more than ordinary financial ability. They became bankers as well as merchants and accumulated large properties for the time and were enabled to carry out their benevolent desires for the founding of the Academy in the sum of $16,000, as well as a considerable endowment of the East and West parishes in the town. The two brothers were distinguished by their strict moral and religious principles and habits, were both officers in the church, were employed much in the business of the town, and as representatives in the legislature. John Morrison Pinkerton, the youngest son of Deacon James and Mrs. Sarah (Wallace) Pinkerton , was born Feb. 6, iSiS. He derived from his birth and early home influences the elements of character which marked his career through life. He was one of ten children, all of whom became members of the church. From the beginning of his active life his bestowal of chari- ties was stated and continuous. During the later years his gifts to charitable and benevolent objects exceeded one third of his net income, and he , ■ . It V^ ton on the roll of pupils when he was but a child. From the academy he entered Yale College in 1837. After graduating in 1S41 he spent two years in teaching a school in Lunenburg county, Virginia. He pursued the study of law in the Harvard Law School and in the office of William Gray, and in 1846 was admitted to the bar of Suffolk county, Mass. His pastor, Rev. Dr. Herrick, in his funeral discourse, says of his college days: "There are those living who well remember his boyhood, who have described him to me as he was in those early years, delicate, quiet, WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. "5 thoughtful, fond of his hooks, and of great memorv." The learning, ahility, integrity of his professional career, and the supreme confidence of men who knew him well are best illustrated by the great interests entrusted to him, of which the tangled affairs of the \"ermont Central railroad and the estates of many hundred thousand dollars, if not millions also, which were from time to time put into his hands, are examples. Mr. Pinkerton died on the sixty-third anniversary of his birth, Feb. 6, 1 88 1. He was laid to rest by the side of his kindred in the beautiful cemetery at East Derry. (See page i 15.) ROBERT H. CLARK. (See page 2S4.) J. W. EE.^N S RESIDENCE, 1)ERR^■ DEPOT. TOWN H.AI.L, LONDONDERRY. J. W. BEAN,' DERRV DEPOT. 126 WIL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. W/LLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 127 HON. REED PAIGE CLARK was the fourth in direct descent from the Clarks who were among the first settlers of Nutfield. He was the third son of Ninian Clark of Hancock, born July 6, 1807, and named for Rev. Reed Paige, the first minister settled in that town. Early developing a taste for mechanics, he became skilled in the use of tools, but, like his ancestors, his inclination was toward agriculture, and to tiiis he bent his energies, keeping abreast with all improvements and encour- aging others to new and better methods. After his majority he lived for a time in New York, and journeyed through the then far West, hut family reasons induced him to return to New Hampshire about 1840, and he purchased the farm in London- derry upon which he lived until his death. He was a man of great industry and endurance, of sound judgment, strong will, and pronounced opinions. His knowledge of men was intuitive and almost unerring, and his frankness, integrity, and genial disposition won for him the esteem and confidence of his townsmen and a wide circle of friends in county and state. He represented his town many times in the state legislature ; was a member of Gov. Goodwin's council ; during the Civil War was in active service in the executive depart- ment of the state ; and for several years was a trustee of the State Reform School. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and it has been said of him that his motives were the purest, and that he desired only the highest good of his country. Mr. Clark married the only daughter of James Perkins of Londonderry, a woman of rare excel- lence of character, cultured, and refined. Retiring in disposition, she gave herself to her family and friends, making her home happy by constant mani- festations of kindness and affection. She died, greatly lamented, July 4, 1880, and Mr. Clark's death occurred April 8, 1882. WILLIAM CLARK, son of Reed Paige and Elizabeth (Perkins) Clark, was born in Londonderry July 22, 1844. He is a descendant in the fifth generation of Robert Clark, who was born in the north of Ireland and settled in Lon- donderry about 1725. Mr. Clark received his education in the common schools of Londonderry and at Pinkerton Academy, where he prepared for college. Instead of entering college, however, he enlisted in the first regiment of heavy artillery and was appointed a corporal. While on duty near Fairfax Seminary, Virginia, in October, 1864, he was taken seriously ill, and Lieut. W. S. Pillsbury of his company rode at night through the rain and mud to Washington and sent a telegram to Mr. Clark's father, who appeared at the hospital two days later with Dr. John Haynes. After an illness of five weeks Mr. Clark obtained a furlough and was removed to his home in Londonderry. Rejoining his company in February, 1865, he remained with it until the close of the war, when, being unable to resume his studies, as a result of his illness, he staid on the farm, and taught school for several winters. In 1868 he was employed in one of the large hide and leather commission houses in Boston, and in 1869 he went West, intending to make his home there. He taught school in Greenfield, a suburb of Detroit, that winter, and later visited the lumber camps and the mines in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The failing health of his father induced him to return to the farm. He became prominent in the Republican party, filled many town offices, twice represented Londonderry in the legislature, and for several years was a member of the Republican state committee. He took the initiative in creat- ing a fund for and in erecting the soldiers' monu- ment in his native town. He early became a member of Nutfield Grange in Derry, and later took an active part in organizing the Londonderry Grange, which he afterward joined and was for two years its master. Mr. Clark was a deputy sheriff for Rockingham county from 1876 to 1887. He is a Past Master of St. Mark's Lodge, F. & A. M., of Derry, and Past Commander of Wesley B. Knight Post, G. A. R., of Londonderry. In August, 1876, he was married to Alice W., daughter of Amos and Mary Mclntire of Reading, Mass., whose portrait appears on page 29. They have had two children : Reed Paige, born Aug. 19, 1 8 78, who was one of the most brilliant students of Pinkerton Academy, and who is now one of the leaders of the sophomore class at Columbian University, Washington, D. C, and Ralph War- ner, born Nov. 27, 1882, and died July 22, 1S87. PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF SYLVANUS BROWN, BY W. W. POOR. FOR more than thirty years Sylvanus Brown was a prominent feature in the public affairs of the town of Derry. Possessed of great command of hanguage, both in conversation and debate, with wit, sarcasm, a good education, and considerable eloquence, he was a great power as friend or foe. Since his death more than seven thousand dollars of income from his estate have been distributed in benevolence in the town of Derry, and it becomes us to speak the best we may of the man. That he was insane on the subject of religion goes without the telling. His nagging of clergymen of every faith, passing of church buildings on the left, and speaking on divine subjects in the most serious and most ribald veins almost in the same breath, were evidences of mental unsoundness. Sylvanus Brown was born ui Hamilton, Mass., March 22, 1807, and was the son of Ammi and Sarah (Fellows) Brown. Soon afterward the family removed to Derry and occupied a farm on the Londonderry turnpike, near the present crossing of the Nashua & Rochester railroad. The district school and Pinkerton Academy fur- nished Sylvanus with his early education, and, graduating at Bowdoin College as doctor of medicine in 1827, he began the practice of his profession in Cohasset, Mass. While at Bowdoin he must have been nearly contemporary with Pierce, Hawthorne, Beecher, Longfellow, and Cheever. Ammi Brown possessed fair property and good standing, but procured a free scholarship at Pinkerton Academv for his son. This was then very unpopular, and Sylvanus expressed regret over his position till his latest days. In 1863 the doctor tendered William Anderson, then treasurer of the institution, the whole amount of tuition with interest to time of tender, and asked him to have his name removed from the list of charity scholars. The tender and request were rudely rejected. There was no love lost between William Anderson and Sylvanus Brown. At Cohasset Brown made the acquaintance of Mary Doane, a most refined and amiable woman, who became his wife in August, 1829, and followed his fortunes for many years. Their only son, Samuel, was the doctor's sole heir at the time of his death. Sometime in 1835 or 1836 he removed to Ipswich, Mass., and became interested in religious subjects. Being a ready speaker, he became an exhorter, consecrated to that position by the laying on of hands by two clergymen of the Free Will Baptist denomination. He made reli- gion his daily conversation to the neglect of his profession, finallv became violent, and at length was lodged in Salem jail, where he remained seven weeks. He could have been released at any time by giving bail to keep the peace, but refused and was at last released by the neglect of the prosecu- tion to pav his board bill. Later he preached a religion of his own, denouncing churches and the religion taught in them. His medical practice dwindled away, and soon after his father's death, which occurred about 1840, he removed to Derry and occupied the home farm till the time of his death in 1870. Thus he returned to Derry with the reputa- tion of a lunatic, a jail bird, and, far worse than all the rest in the belief of those days, a religious come-outer. It is remarkable how much the religious tone of the town has changed in the last fifty-five years. Then nothing could be tolerated but the tenets of John Calvin, and even the mild and otherwise progressive Rev. E. L. Parker refused to read from his pulpit the notices of Methodist prayer meetings that were held in the eastern part of the town. Arminius was not in favor in his theology. Thus Brown was an out- cast from the beginning. Yet he did many noble things; he doctored the poor of his neighborhood without hope of reward, gave to the needy as his means allowed, and many times aided the slave on liis wav to freedom. He early took an active part in public affairs. One of his first acts was to prove the town's ownership to the land where the building of the First church stands. The deed of gift from Robert McGregor to 128 WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIMlD. \2() the town was printed and a copy placed in everv man's hand. For many years articles were put in the annual warrants for town meetinij wherein the town would express its ownership in the property. A pet project of Brown's was the construction of a public tomb ; another project, covering the ground with shade trees, and still another was for permis- sion to bury Brown's bodv, after death, on the town's land, leaving the surface level and free from all encumbrance and open to the passage of men and carriages. After several years' contest on the latter point, permission was granted " pro- vided that he should be buried within the year." Later it was made unconditional. Brown selected ing, declared that it was kept there as a matri- monial advertisement. The charge produced a laugh from the unthinking, but the money was withdrawn at once. The first time I ever saw Dr. Brown was in the summer of 1845. At that time the church building in the East Parish was undergoing repairs and being remodeled. Brown had bought the old shingles from the roof and was on the ground with a wagon to remove them. Resting a moment from his toil, James Thom, who lived in the vicinity, came around the corner of the build- ing with the question, "And what is Dr. Brown thinking of now ? " Without a moment's hesita- a location near the present cemetery gate and tion Brown replied, " I am wondering whether instructed his neighbors to see that he was properly interred at that place. After death the place was examined and solid ledge found near the surface. The project was abandoned, the remains were buried in the old cemetery, and today not ten men in town can tell where he lies. At a town meeting held in the old Parish hall some time in the sixties, in a burst of indignation, Brown said: "I have read of the injustice of republics, of the neglect of friends, and the cruelty of relatives, and I have seen the remains of Jacob Adams, after he had given every dollar of his fortune to benevolent objects in this parish, lie fortv years beneath the soil of Derry, without a stone to mark his last resting place." A citizen this church will hereafter take the form of a dove or a dragon, for then I should know whether I am gathering scales or feathers." Later in the same season, when the work was nearly completed and the pews were in position, Brown was sitting on the front seat watching a painter graining the pulpit base. It was then a new art and attracted much attention. Rev. Mr. Parker came up the aisle, not seeing Brown till they came in contact. Immediately a wordy war ensued, till Mr. Parker exclaimed: "If we cannot agree. Dr. Brown, let us agree to disagree." " I cannot do it," said Brown, " for I may want to change mv mind some time, and that trade would prohibit it." During the war, when Brown was securine of the town has placed a stone over Jacob Adams' monev and men for the service, he was equally grave, but Brown's remains are still unhonored careful in watching expenditures. The writer was and their resting place unknown. His estate pays a selectman at that time, with Isaac H. Jones, still into the town treasury annually more than $300 alive, and Benjamin Merrill, while Brown was for benevolent purposes, and Derry does itself auditor of accounts, and he claimed the privileo-e by right of office to examine and criticise bills as fast as they were incurred. This interference was not resented, as the man was too valuable an ally for us to take offence at his claims. The select- men were not extravagant, and with Brown's drubbing, the town was carried through the war injustice by this neglect. It is, however, by his witty sayings and happv bon mots that he will be best remembered. In his public career his creed was anti-slavery, non- resistant, and non-religious as religion was preached. During the Civil War he would counsel no violence, but if the town needed either money with less per cent of debt than anv other place in or men, he would furnish the former and advise the countv. the latter. And here occurred one of the most ungallant acts ever perpetrated by the man. An unmarried lady, well up in the forties, lent the town several thousand dollars, which remained on interest several years, and Brown, in town meet- I well recollect one call from Brown at that lime made just at the dinner hour. I was then building what is now known as Hildreth Hall, and a dozen workmen were taking dinner at my table. I invited Brown to take a seat with the rest, but 13° WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. he declined. The men continued to eat. Brown continued to talk. I did both. After all were satisfied and had left the table, Brown remarked : " I see that your company have all left, and there is still food. I will accept vour invitation to dinner." A plate was laid and he took his seat at the table. After filling the plate, he, with bowed head and raised hand, asked a most appropriate blessing on his host, the family, and the food. He had eaten but a few bites, when, laying down his knife and fork and rising from the table, he went out doors to his wagon and returned with a quart bottle of cider. Pouring a glass for himself and another for me, he recommenced his dinner. I soon inquired, " How is it, doctor, that vou ask a blessing over the food and take the cider without any ?" The response was, " The cider is so good it don't require blessing." The cider was execrable; perhaps the doctor thought the food was. The doctor's common conversation was con- stantly interlarded with these witty sayings, com- bined with much valuable common sense, which attracted the attention of all unprejudiced persons. One more anecdote and I have done. Joseph Garland of Hooksett, in a trade, had beaten Brown out of a large amount of money. One day Garland was seated on an old-fashioned wooden settle that stood in a store in Derry \"illage, when the doctor entered. Brown saw him at once, and pulling an old clay pipe from one vest pocket and a match from another, he strode along to the stove, struck the match on the funnel, and while it was sputtering remarked : The Garlands can no garlantls wear Until their honest debts are square. Then, seating himself by Garland's side, without appearing to notice the man, poured out a terrible invective against him for his dishonesty. One thing is apparent, that the world lost the benefit of a very powerful mind when Svlvanus Brown became a religious maniac. Returning to the farm in 1S35, he continued to reside there until his death, wliich occurred May ELISHA SMIIH. 26, 1887. He was married Nov. 25, 1830, to Rachel Sanborn of Sandown, who was born Feb. 25, 1810, and died March 23, 1893. Of this union A (A k^ ^HlEl^^^^l^^Sr '-^ -''^'.^^s P LISHA SMITH, son of David and Lois Smith, L-* was born in Londonderry Jan. 25, 1801. During his minority he remained on his father's rachel (sanborx) smith. farm, and then he learned the cloth nianufac- three children were born who still survive : turing trade, which he followed for several years Nathan S., Sherburn D., and Henry C. The last in Pepperell, Mass., and in Sandown and Salem, named still lives on the home farm. WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. t3i 'T^ME RICHARDSON FAMILY, which for •i several generations has resided in the north- western part of Londonderry, and is represented 1)V various engravings and sketches in this history, traces its origin back to one WilHam Richardson, who came to America about 1643 and located at Newbury, Mass. He was of English birth and about twenty-three years of age at the time of his emigration. A brief outline of his descendants is herewith given for the benefit of those who may feel an interest in the earlier generations. William Richardson of Newbury married Elizabeth Wiseman, Aug. 22, 1654. He died March 14, 1658, and left three children : Joseph, born May 18, 1655; Benja- min, March 13 1637, and Eliz- abeth, born March 14,1658. Joseph Rich- ardson of New- bury married M argaret, daughter of Peter Godfrey and Mary Brown e, who was the daugh- ter of Thomas Browne, "wea- ver," who came to this country in 1635. She was born the same year according to the " History of Newbury and Savage's Genealogy " was the first white child born in Newburv. To this marriage were born eight children : Mary, born April 16, 1682 ; William, born March 22, 1684; Joseph, born Dec. 31, 1686; Elizabeth, born Feb. 28, 1689; Daniel, born April 4, 1692; Sarah, born June 19, 1694; Thomas, born Feb. 15, 1697; Caleb, born June 9, 1704. Caleb Richardson settled in Methuen and married Tryphena Bodwell, daughter of Captain Daniel Bodwell and Elizabeth Parker, and to this marriage were born ten children: Mary, born Jan. DR. WILLIAM Richardson's residence, north Londonderry, in which he arrived, and 8, 1736; Parker, born March 7, 1738; Caleb, born Sept. 26, 1 741; Tryphena, born Jan. 13, 1743; Abigail, born Sept. 8, 1746; Samuel, born Feb. 22, 1749; John, born Sept. i, 1751; Abigail, born Feb. 25, 1754; William, born Oct. 21, 1756; Eliphalet ; born July 6, 1759. This William Richardson married Lydia Messer about 1784. She was born about 1767, and died July 14, 1843. He died March 21, 1836. Nine children were born to them as the fruits of this marriage : Caleb, born January 3, 1786, died March 16, 1870; Lydia, born Dec. 14, 1792, died March 18, 1875; William M., born Feb. 12, 1795, died May 19, 1871 ; Sophia S., born April 7, 1797, died Oct. 20 1879; Nathan- iel W., born March 12, i 799, died September 184S ; Thomas J., born June 14, 1 80 1, died Sept. 20, 1873; Elizabeth P., liorn July 25, 1803, died Nov. 13, 1892 ; Sam- uel R., born July 19, 1807, died Feb. 19, 1872 ; Mary H., born Aug. 29, 1809, died Feb. 19, 1839. The above William Richardson of Methuen was the first member of that family who settled in Londonderry, though not the first of the name, as old records mention other Richardsons, arriving there prior to 1812. Some of the younger children came with him, the others remaining at their former home in Methuen. Of those who went to Londonderry with William Richardson not all settled permanentl\^ but after a few years some returned to their native town to spend their strength and energy among friends of longer standing, and others married and went elsewhere to reside. William Richardson followed the occu- pation of a blacksmith, and in that trade his sons i^i II 'ILLErS BOOK OF NUTFIEL D. WILLIAM MKSSER RICHARDSON. elected to work. When he removed from Methuen to Londonderry he went prepared to set up a shop and do business in a newer country. He erected the first ox swing in Londonderry, bringing parts of it from Methuen. Portions of it still exist. In London- derry, both the father and son William Messer worked at their trade. Their black- smith shop was located in the northwestern part of the town. He was one of the committee a p- pointed to locate or build the Lon- donderry Baptist church. The father was a drummer in the Con- tinental Army in the Revolutionary War, and his brothers were also enlisted in that war. He died in Londonderrv, but both he and his wife were buried in Methuen. William Messer Richardson married Betsey Pet- tensfill Dec. 28, 1820. She was born Nov. 28, 1801, and died Jan. 4, 18S9. Five children were born to them: William P., born July 26, 1821, died May 13, 1893; Margaret, born Feb. 5, 1823, died Sept. 4, 1859; Eliza J., born Sept. 7, 1827; Mary A., born Nov. 15, 1837, died March 6, 1885; Samuel, born March 30, 1845. He was a private in a com- pany of cavalry attached to the New Hampshire militia in the War of 1812. His company was composed of men from the towns of Londonderry, Windham, Pelham, and Salem, and though not called into actual service, were for several weeks under orders to be in readiness at a moment's warning. It is related of Mr. Richardson that once when his company was ordered to Ports- mouth, and the order being countermanded before they got there, he was so anxious to return home that he rode faster than his commander. When taken to task for it, Mr. Richardson replied : "I couldn't help it. My horse was bound to go." William Pettengill Richardson, son of the preceding, was a lifelong resident of Londonderry, his birth and death occurring in the same locality in which he lived and conducted his business. His father and grandfather had been blacksmiths, and from them he learned the trade when quite young and continued to follow that occupation for many years. He was a skilful workman, and the plows, wagons, and sleighs manufactured bv him com- manded a ready sale. He married Sarah H. Good- win Dec. 10, 1855. Their children were: Harry, born July 14, 1857, died Jan. 22, 1892; William, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work; Myron, born March 21, 1864; Sarah, born April 10, 1866. In 1863 he built a sawmill on the Little Cohas brook and engaged in lumbering. For a few years he used the old fashioned up-and-down saw, but afterward refitted his mill with modern machinerv. In this mill and in his cider mill he did considerable business for several years, until ill health compelled him to give up active work. The cider mill was destroyed by fire three times, and each time rebuilt. Finally, on Oct. 26, 1893, both mills were burned to the ground and were a total loss. Mr. Richardson was a strong-willed man, self-reliant _ and energetic, h ( ) nest and straightforward in all business relations. He was a self-made man, having been obliged to get his education as best he could. While still young he undertook the task of relieving his parents of their burden of debt, and he not only accom- plished it, but accumulated considerable property in London- derry and Manchester during his lifetime. He held the office of justice of the peace for forty years. A few years before his death he purchased MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM P. RICHARDSON. WJLLEr'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD, »S^ a piece of land in Londonderry, near his home, which he converted into a cemetery. The lot which he chose for his final resting place is marked by a handsome granite monument, erected in 1892. While driving home from Manchester one day in the autumn of 1892, his carriage col- lided with another vehicle, and he was thrown out, sustaining injuries from which he never recovered. He died May 13, 1893. For many years he had for a neighbor one William Plumer, an eccentric man who lived alone much of the time, as he never married. Mr. Plumer was almost miserly in his habits, and by shrewdness and hard work accumu- lated considerable property. Besides farms and other land in Londunderrv, he had several tracts of real estate in Auburn, Ilooksett, and Manchester. He lived for many years on the farm adjoining the Richardson place on the north, formerly called the McAllister farm. He died Oct. 8, 1862, aged eighty years lacking one day, at Ebenezer Colby's, where he lived during his last illness. He and Mr. Richardson were grood neighbors and friends, and in his will, made shortly before his death, he appointed John W. Holmes and William P. Richardson executors. Mr. Holmes declined to serve, thus leaving- to Mr. Richardson the whole responsibility. It was no small task to care for all this property, for by the provisions of the will some of it was to be disposed of immediately, some in ten, fifteen, twenty, and thirty years, and some not for a much longer period. He was liberal in his declining years, willing to the Baptist church and society in Lon- donderry the McAllister farm, to be used as a parsonage, besides other bequest.s. The proper attention and care of this estate took considerable of Mr. Richardson's time, and he did not live to see it all settled. William Richardson, M. D., the son of Wil- liam P. Richardson, was born at the old home- stead in Londonderry, Feb. 26, i860. He was educated in the district school and at the McGaw Normal Institute at Reed's Ferry, N. H. When about twenty years of age he began the study of medicine and received the degree of M. D. at Dartmouth Medical College in November, 1883. He was married Aug. 27, 1884, to Esther F. Whidden of Auburn. For a short time he prac- tised medicine in Lowell, Mass., in Alexandria, Salisbury, and Londonderry, N. H. In June, 1887, he located at Westford, in the town of Ash- ford, Conn., and built up a successful practice. WILLIAM RICHAKDSUN, M. D. On account of the serious illness of his father he returned to Londonderry in 1892. Three children have been added to their family : Florence Edna, born March 28, 1886; Mabel Edith, born Nov. 21, 1S91; William Percy, born Nov. 17, 1894. GREENLEAF C. BARTLETT was born May 7, 1822, in Nottingham. He was a descendant, on both his father's and mother's side, from Revolutionary stock, his grandfather, Judge Thomas Bartlett, being an active participant in that war, and one of the most popular and distin- guished citizens of that town. Gen. Joseph Cilley, of Revolutionary fame, was Mr. Bartlett's great- grandfather, his daughter marrying Judge (then General) Bartlett. Although with the most limited means for obtaining an education, Mr. Bartlett had worked himself up to be one of the best lawyers of the county, and enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice. He located in Derry in 1855, always taking an active part in the welfare 134 WILLE7''S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. of the town. He married Charlotte J. Kelley of Salem and had six children, four of whom are now living. CHARLES BARTLETT established, in 1876, a printing office, stationery store, and after- ward a drugstore, occupying the same location for nearly twenty years. He has built up, from humble beginnings, a very large and successful business. He has now in his employ seven persons. The Derry News, published by Mr. Bartlett, was established in 1880, and was then a four-page sheet, each page measuring (ixi6 inches, with four columns to the page. It has since been many times enlarged, and now contains eight pages 15x22, six columns to the page, enjoying the largest circulation of any newspaper published in a town of like size in the state, numbering 3,000 copies. In 1894 it absorbed the Weekly Mail, its only competitor. (See page 184.) J. p. PALMER, DERRY. WILLIAM NEVINS RESIDENCE, LONDONDEER-i'. J. C. WHiLELER, NORTH LONDONDERRY. WiLLErs BOOK OF NUTFIBLD. m Q < "A W w a O o h w o g o o w H U O z <: THE FIRST CHURCH IN NUTFIELD, THE oldest ora^anization with an unbroken history in what may be termed the Nutfield section of New Hampshire, — older even than the civil orovernment itself — is the First Church in Derry. Before the first settlers had secured the incorporation of their town, or had decided what name to give it, or had even obtained a satisfac- tory title to the land they had selected, and prob- ably within six weeks of the dav when the first log cabin was built, they took measures for the per- manent establishment of religious ordinances. In the month of May, 1719, thev organized them- selves into a Christian church and called the Rev. James MacGregor to become their pastor and religious teacher. The exact date of his installa- tion is unknown, but it was in the month of May, and could therefore have been but a few weeks after the preaching of the first sermon on the shore of the lake, an account of which is given on page 52. There being no presbytery in New England at that time, and it being impossible for them to instal their minister in the regular way, those Scotchmen, who were accustomed to dealing with emergencies, took the matter into their own hands and appointed a day for the solemn service. Where this service was held, whether in some log house or barn on Westrunning brook, or in the open air, we do not know, but Mr. MacGregor himself conducted the services, offering the in- stallation prayer and preaching the installation sermon. His text was from Ezekiel xxxvii. 26: " Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore." During the first year, as Rev. Dr. Wellman has pointed out, no movement seems to have been made by the colonists to build a house of worship. At a public meeting, however, held June 3, 1720, it was voted that a small house should be built " convenient for the inhabitants to meet in for the worship of God," and that it should be placed " as near the senter of the one hundred and five lots as can be with conveniance." The location of the meeting-house was definitely determined at another general meeting, held on the 29th of the same month, the site chosen being a little north of the present house of worship. Six months later, or on Jan. 11, 1721, it was voted that "a meeting- house shall be built in this town as speedily as may be," and that " it shall be fifty feet in length, forty-five feet broad, and as high as may be con- venient for one set of galleryes." For some rea- son, however, probably from lack of means to meet the cost, or because they had not yet ob- tained an altogether satisfactory title to the land selected for their town, the work of building was not begun until the following year. In June, 1722, a charter was obtained, and the town incor- porated. It was thus about three years after the first log house had been erected that the church was completed and dedicated. During these first three years, however, the settlers faithfullv main- tained religious ordinances, holding their services either in one of their log dwellings or in the open air, as the season of the year and the weather might permit. This first house of worship was nut ])uilt witiiout great sacrifice on the part of the settlers, nor without some pecuniary aid from abroad, but it is significant of their conscientious- ness and devotion that in their straitened cir- cumstances they built a framed house of worship^ 136 M'/LLE2''S BOOK OF NirfFIELD. 137 " convenient and well linisheil," while they con- structed their own dwellings of logs and covered them with hark. For nearly fifty years the people w^orshipped in this first sanctuary, and in 1769, during the ministrv of Rev. William Davidson, a larger and more imposing edifice was erected. Its dimen- sions were si.xty-one by forty-five feet, and it was high enough for the introduction of gal- leries and a lofty sound- ing board suspended over the high i)ulpit. It was also ornamented with a steeple more slender and towering higher than the ])resent one. This house, we are told, was well linished, and equalled, if it tliil not surpass, in its appearance, most of the church edifices of that period. The " raising " of the building was a great event. A large multitude of people as- sembled, and the parts of the huge, heavy-tim- bered frame were lifted into position by hun- dreds of strong arms amidst the thundering of commands and the mighty shoutings of the people. According to the custom of the time, a custom which to our modern ideas seems hardly consistent with earnest piety, into.xicating liijuors were dispensed on the occasion with lavish hand. How our forefathers reconciled drunken- ness with religion we do not know, but they did it successfully. This second house of God, l)uilt in 1769, en- largetl in 1822, remodelled in 1845, and renovated, adorned and rededicated in 1884, is still the home (jf the First Church in Dcrry. In this house Rev. Edward L. Parker preached for forty years. ^:%B53%:^<^%?:iKi5^S:^. RKV. EllWARD L. PAKKKK and during the first twelve years of his ministry it stood unchanged as it had been built in i 769. He has left on record a description of the interior, which is as follows : .\s you approached the pul]jit you first came to the deacons' seat, elevated hke the pews, about six inches from the Hoor of the aisles. In the deacons' narrow slip usually sat two venerable men, one at each end. Back of the deacons' seat, and elevated ten or twelve inches higher, was the pew of the ruling elders, larger than that of the elders and about square. Back of the elders' pew, and two or three feet higher, and against the wall, was the pulpit. There was appended to the puljiit an iron frame for the hour glass that was turned by the minis- ter at the commencement of his discourse, which was ex- pected to continue during the running of the sands. Some- times, when the preacher deemed his subject not suffi- ciently exhausted, the glass would be turned again, and another hour in whole or in part occupied In many of the meeting-houses of that day there were, on each side of the centre aisle and in front of the pulpit, two or three seats of sufficient length to accommodate eight or ten persons. These were designed for the elderly portion of the congregation and for such as had no pews. In these the men and women were seated separately, on opposite sides. On these plain seats our grave and de- vout forefathers would content- edly sit during a service of two hours, without the luxury of cushions or carpets, and in the colder seasons of the year without stoves, and in houses not so thoroughly guarded against the penetration of the cold as those of the present day. The enlargement of the church in 1822 was effected bv cutting the house into two parts and then inserting between the two parts twenty-four feet of new structure, thus making the building, as it is today, eighty-five feet in length. In this first change the general internal arrangement was re- tained. The pulpit remained on the north side, 13^ WILLEY'S BOOK OI^ NUTFIELD. and hiijh galleries on the other three sides, but the old sounding board over the pulpit disappeared. Two new front doors, about twenty-four feet apart, were inserted on the south side, nearly op- posite the pulpit, each opening into an aisle, whereas previously there had been but one door on that side, opening into one central aisle; and there was also a door at each end of the edifice as before. The new seats in the gallery facing the pulpit were reserved for the singers. But the old square pews on either side of the new ones re- mained, so that from 1822 until 1845 there were the old square pews on each end of the church, and between them the new straight and narrow slips, like a piece of new cloth on an old garment. The old and unusually lofty and slender steeple was taken down and a stronger one erected in its place ; and in this new steeple was hung the first church bell ever heard in Derry. It was the gift by legacy of Jacob Adams, who founded Adams Female Academy. In December, 182 1, stoves were used in the church for the first time. A year after the en- largement they were placed in the improved edi- fice, for the record says that on Oct. 27, 1823, it was voted that " one stove should be located near Capt. Redfield's pew, and the other near Dr. Farrar's pew ; and that the stove pipes should extend out of the windows north and south." Thus, for a whole century, lacking one year, the people of Derry worshipped, through the long cold winters, in an unwarmed meeting-house. The women sometimes used foot-stoves and heated hand-stones, but these were scorned by most of the people, even though the church was colder than their barns. In 1845, or twenty-three years after the en- largement of the house, another change was made. This time the interior was entirely reconstructed, by which a town hall and a vestry were provided below, and a spacious audience room above. The pulpit was transferred from the north side to the west end of the house, and the high galleries on three sides disappeared, one gallery on the east end, designed for the choir, taking their i)lacc. Instead of the two great front doors on the south side, two were placed at the east end of the house. All the old square pews, with their hinged and rattling seats, were replaced by the straight and narrow slips. The audience room was painted and frescoed in most excellent taste, and the general appearance of the interior was modernized. Thus the church stood until 1884, when, after being thoroughly repaired, renovated, and beauti- fied, it was rededicated. On that occasion Rev. Dr. J. W. Wellman, who had been pastor of the church from 1 85 1 until 1856, preached a notable sermon, in which he paid these tributes to the benefactors and prominent members of the church : First of all, it is becoming that we should gratefully remem- ber him through whose generous legacy, aided by gifts which his own benevolence prompted, this church edifice has been re- stored to more than its pristine beauty. Mr. David Bassett was the son of Thomas and Susannah ( MacGregor) Bassett. He was born in Deerfield, N. H., in the year :8oo. His mother was a descendant of the Rev. James MacGregor. With such blood flowing through his veins, it is not strange that he cared for the Lord's house. It was worthy of his noble lineage that he should make that bequest, by means of which the exterior of this sanctuary has been thoroughly repaired and the interior elegantly renovated. As I remember Mr. Bassett, he was a man of few words, quiet in his disposition, living an unobtrusive life, but was not unthoughtful of divine and eternal things. For a time he was the se.xton of this church, and the interest he then came to take in the church edifice seems never to have died out. And in his advanced years, when he observed the sad wear of time upon the ancient building, it was not unnatural that he should raise the question of his own duty to repair the house of the Lord. In his early life, if I am correctly informed, he had some reli- gious experience which made an ineffaceable impression upon his mind, but he never made any public profession of Christian faith until the year 1876, when he united with this church by con- fession of Christ. And may we not hope that his gift by will for the repairing and adorning of the Lord's house was designed to be an offering expressive of his own love and gratitude to his redeemer. Mr. Bassett's name is not inscribed upon these walls, but this communion table and this externally and internally reno- vated sanctuary are his fitting memorial. The three men, James C. Taylor, Charles H. Day, and Frank W. Parker, whom he made trustees of his legacy and on whom he placed the responsibility of deciding what repairs should be made. Have had a delicate and difficult task to per- form. With what fidelity and wisdom they have performed their trust, this transformed and beautifully adorned house of worship testifies today. These gentlemen deserve, and, I am sure, will receive, your sincere and grateful acknowledgements. But others have supplemented Mr. Bassett's legacy by timely and noble gifts. This new and tasteful pulpit furniture, presented by the family of Deacon Daniel J. Day, tenderly reminds us of one who loved and faithfully served this church, but has now entered into the communion and service of the church triumphant. WILLErs BOOK OF NUTFIELD. '39 These memorial windows, so ricii in artistic beauty, and tasteful, suggestive symbols, are richer still in the names they bear. To give any just account of the characters and lives which these names represent would require a volume. I can only allude to them. Nothing can be more ajiproiiriate than that the memory of the first pastor of this church, the Rev. James MacGregor, and of his devoted wife, Marion Cargill, should be honored in this house of worship. Tradition represents him as every way a noble man. 'I'all, erect, athletic, he swayed peojile by his commanding personal presence. Distinguished for his mental ability and self-control, for wisdom and goodness, manly energy and courage, for sagacity and ]irudence in secular and civil affairs; a man of sincere and humble piety; thoroughly evan- gelical in his faith ; an able and elocjuent preacher of the gospel ; a devoted pastor, loving his people as he loved his own family, and interested in all that concerned his tlock, he was eminently fitted to be the father of this church, anil the acknowledged leader of that noble band of men who founded this town. The members of this church rejoice toda\- ^ that his name and minis- try are commemorated in this house of worship. But the same radiant window is rich in other historic names. The Rev. David MacGregor, a son of the first pastor of this church, was himself the first pastor of the church in the West Parish, now the Presbyterian church in the modern town of Lon- donderry. He was or- dained in 1737. The son inherited largely the commanding al)ilities and noble s])irit of his fither. His ministry was eminently evangelistic. He preached and labored for the salvation of his people. Sympathizing with the great evangelist, George Whitefield, he invited him to his pulpit : and his own fervid preaching and prayers were rewarded with revivals of religion. He labored with the church in the West Parish until his death, which occurred in 1777. The length of his able and faithful pastorate was forty years. It is fitting that the name of this distinguished son of the first pastor of this church, and also that of his accomplished wife, Mary Boyd, should have an honorable place in this Christian .sanctuary. On this same window is the name of Gen. George Reid who with Gen. John Stark, both of Londonderry, attained high fame in the Revolutionary war. He was the son of James Reid. The father was a native of Scotland and a graduate of the Uni- versity of Edinburgh. He was one of the first settlers of Derrv, VIEW OF DERRY VII.L.^GE, a member of the First Chuich, and (jf its session. Afterward, for many years, he was an elder of the church in the West Parish. His famous son. Gen. Reid, was himself a Christian man, and through all the years of his military service under Gen. Washington, evinced a firm faith in the efficacy of jirayer, as in the potency of arms. His wife, Mary Woodburn, was in every way worthy of her noble husband. She is described as a woman of rare endowments. Gen. Stark, who knew her well, once remarked : '"If there is a woman in New Hampshire fit for gov- ernor, "tis Molly Reid." This church honors itself in receiving her name, with the historic name of her husband, uijon one of its memorial windows. There is likewise recorded upon this window the name of Col. Robert MacGregor. He was the son of Rev. David Mac- fjregor. In the war of the Revolution he was on the staff' of Gen. John Stark. His wife, Elizabeth Reid. whose name is placed with his on this roll of honor, was the daugh- ter of Gen. George Reid. On the lower part of this same window — so brilliant in both its beauty and its names — we find ' commemorated the Rev. John Ripley Adams, D. D., and his wife, Mary Ann MacGregor; also Mrs. .Adams's two sisters, Maria MacGregor Cogswell, and Elizabeth MacGregor Hall. Dr. Adams, born 1802, in Plainfield, Conn., graduat- ing from Yale College in 1 82 1 and from Andover Seminary in 1826, was for seven years — from i S3 1 to 1838 — pastor of the Presbyterian church in Londonderr)'. He was afterward pastor of churches in Great F'alls. Brighton, Mass., Gorham, Me. In the War of the Rebellion he was chaplain for three years of the Fifth Maine Regiment, and for one year of the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York Regiment. He died at Northampton, Mass., in 1866. He was an accomplished man, genial and s}m- ])athetic, an able preacher, and much beloved. Mrs. .\dams and her two sisters, Mrs. Cogswell and Mrs. Hall, were daughters of Col. Robert MacGregor and Elizabeth Reid. Their grandfather on their father's side was Rev. David Macgregor, son of Rev. James MacGregor, and their grandfather on their mother's side was Gen. George Reid. Noble and cultured women were these, and worthy of the honored name they bore. All the grand memories of this town and of this church of their fathers were dear to them, and they themselves are tenderly remembered by many now living. The new memorial windows are five in number. .All of them are costly and beautiful. It is believed that there are uo 140 WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. such windows in any church outside the cities in New England : and probably those in the cities that excel them in magnificence are not numerous. The MacGregor window was given by Mr. James Mac- Gregor Adams of Chicago, 111. On the upper half of it, at the left, is seen the family coat of arms, with the Scotch motto : " E'en do bait spair nocht." Beneath this are the names. Rev. James McGregor ; his wife, Marion Cargil. And below these are the names. Rev. David MacGregor ; his wife, Mary Boyd. On the lower half, at the left, are first a dove as an emblem, and then the names, Maria MacGregor Cogswell, Elizabeth Mac- Gregor Hall. On the upper half of the window, at the right, are seen as emblems the Stars and Stripes and a sword. Beneath these are the names. Gen. George Reid ; his wife, Mary Wood- burn. And below these are the names. Col. Robert Mac- Gregor ; his wife, Elizabeth Reid. On the lower half, at the right, is, first, the emblem of an open Bible with two swords crossed ; and then below the emblem are the names. Rev. John Ripley Adams, D. D.; his wife, Mary Ann MacGregor. A resplendent window has also been placed in these walls, " In loving memory of James and Persis Taylor." These names are too familiar and dear to us all to need any words of praise from me. But permit me to say, that Deacon James Taylor was a member of the church session when I assumed the pas- torate of this church in 1851. I knew him well. He was a good man and true. He had in his character the old-fashioned Scotch honesty and steadfaslneiis. He always made himself understood, and everybody knew where to find him. A man of sound, practical judgment, he was often ajjpointed arbiter in the settlement of disinites. Always calm and self-posse: sed, he was yet a man of deep feeling and had a large and kind heart. He was l)eloved in his own family, a true friend, public-spirited, greatly respected and honored in the town, and always faithful to his trust as an ofiice-bearer in the Church of Christ. He loved this church, and to the jiromotion of its interests he was thoroughly devoted. His beloved wife, Mrs. Persis Taylor, while like her husband possessed of strong and sterling trails of character, was also a woman of tender heart and far-reaching sympathies. The chief arena of her power and life work was her home. There she reigned supreme. And as her reward, she had every right to glory in her children, and her " children rise up and called her blessed." Though the mother of a large family, she was also a mother in Israel. Ardently loving her own household and kin- dred, and always laboring and praying for their highest welfare, she yet took an affectionate interest in her neighbors, in the church of which she was a member, in her pastor, in all Chris- tian institutions and service, and in every person to whom she could be helpful. She never seemed despondent. She carried good cheer with her wherever she went. Never shall I forget the motherly and encouraging words she repeatedly s])oke to me during the first years of my pastorate. Many of the noblest traits of Deacon and Mrs. James Taylor were reproduced in the character of their distinguished son, Samuel Harvey Taylor. LL.D., so long the principal of Phillips Academy, Andover. How pleasant it is to see these two names honored in this house of prayer, wheie they together for so many years, and with such regularity and devoutness, worshipped God. This window was the gift of Mrs. Mary E. (Taylor) Fair- banks of St. Johnsbury, Vt. The symbols in the upper part are, at the left, flowers, and, at the right, the cross and crown. Beneath these, but far down on the window is the inscrijition : " In loving memory of James and Persis Taylor, by their children.'' We read upon another of these memorial windows the name of Deacon Henry Taylor, by the side of the name of one of his own dear kindred. He was a John-like man. It is diffi- cult to believe that he ever had an enemy in the world, so sweet, gentle, and loving was his disposition. Having no family of his own to care for, he took everybody into his capacious heart. All the people in the town fondly called him " Uncle Henry." He greatly loved Christ, and was the true friend of the church and of his pastor. Very tender is the memory of his benignant face and of his reverent, trustful prayers. The donor of this memorial window is Mr. James Calvin Taylor. For placing it in the house of the Lord, in honor of his beloved uncle, he will receive the gratitude of all his kindred and of the many friends of Deacon Henry Taylor. The window bears upon its upper part simply the Greek, symbolic letters. Alpha, Omega. In the lower portion, at the left, we read the name. Deacon Henry Taylor, and at the right. Family of James Calvin Taylor. Two sisters, maiden ladies, Jennette and Sarah Humphrey, sisters of the venerated and beloved Deacon John Humphrey, dwelt together for many yeais quietly and lovingly in their little cottage in this Upper Village. Like Mary and Martha of Bethany, the one silent and thoughtful, the other not less thoughtful but more energetic and demonstrative, they were well mated, each supplying the lack of the other. Little had they to do with the great and wide world. They lived alone in their own loved home, and yet not alone, for the Lord Jesus was with them as with the sisters in Bethany, speaking his words in the'r ears and breathing his spirit into their hearts. They were ac- customed to speak evil of no one, but abounded in kind words and deeds, ready always to minister to the sick and needy, the bereaved and troubled. They were frugal, yet saved not for themselves, but for Christ and his Kingdom. Their names were never sounded abroad in the public prints, but their Christian bepevolence has reached round the globe. Now these two humble disciples, living apart from the world, so contentedly and lovingly, hardly known beyond the limits of this church and parish, were about the last persons to have ever dreamed that their names would be emblazoned at some future day in the midst of indescribable splendors of color in the house of God. And had some prophet told them that this honor awaited them, they would have been as much surprised as they will be when Christ at the last day shall recount before the universe all their little deeds of kind ministration and love, and they shall reply: •' When did we do all these things ? " But this glory which has come to them, as well as that which will be the S])iritual and eternal halo of their names in heaven, is explained by those words of Jesus : " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." This window was presented by Mrs. James Calvin Taylor. On the top, at the left, is the emblem of the dove, and at the right, cf the harp. At the bottom of the window are simply the two UTL LET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. Ut names, Jennette Humphrey, Sarah Humphrey. Deacon John Humphrey, the brother of tliose two Christian women, was the father of Rev. John P. Humphrey of Winchendon, Mafs., and of Rev. Simon J. Humphrey, D. D., of Chicago, 111. Since leaving the pastorate of this church I have known many good people, Cod's saints on earth, the prospect of meet- ing whom beyond this life helps to a better understanding of heaven. But none have I met, who, so far as I can judge, sur- jjassed in unselfishness and kindness, in sincerity and honorable- ness, in unfailing geniality and good will, in Christian simplicity and trustworthiness, in genuine goodness, in unaffected piety, and in all real worth of character, Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Parker. Living in their happy home five years, I yet have no recollection of hearing either of them speak a single angry or improper word. If compelled to listen to hard or uncharitable speech, they either gently demurred or were silent. They knew the worth and sacredness of friendship, and how to be them- selves true friends. I'hey made advances cautiously, but having once given their friendship they would sooner have cut off a right hand than have proved false. Mr. Parker had lived so long in a minister's family, and was so familiar with all the labors and anxieties of a pastor for his people, that he seemed to take the entire care of this church and parish upon his own mind and heart. And his wife had learned to bear her full share of the same burden. They were never tired of thinking, talking, and ])lanning for the good of this people. And had they been my own brother and sister, it is difficult to see how they could have been morean.xious for the success of my ministry, with the parish, and utterly inexperienced in the ministry, their counsels, so kindly and courteously expressed, were invaluable. From whatever mistakes I was saved, and if there was any wis- dom or worth in my pastoral service here, the people were in- debted for it more to them than to me. Their house was a house of prayer. Christ had long made Ills abode there, and all the rooms seemed to be the realms of gentleness and love. It is well that the names of these two friends of Christ and of his church should be made conspicuous in this house of God, that those who worship here may often look upon them, and receive the inspiration that must come from the sweet memory of their Christian kindness and fidelity, their friendship and piety. This memorial window was placed in the church by their son, Frank W. Parker. At the top of the win- dow, on the left, is the representation of an open Bible, and on the right the symbol is the anchor. At the bottom of the ^sws^ MAIN .srRKEl', EASl UliKRV WIN'iliR SCliNE Wholly unacquainted as I was window are the two names, Charles C. Parker, Sarah Taylor Parker. With all these appropriate memorials, now making this place of worship so beautiful, there would still be a sad lack here, were one more name not honorably inscribed upon these walls. True, many are the departed worthies who might fittingly be commemorated in the house of God. I should wish, for instance, as doubtless you all vvould, to see illumined upon some of these windows, instead of the names of two, the names of all the members of that church session which I found here in 1851. They were rare men, and eminently worthy of such honor. Still every one of you will agree with me in saying that no name has any clearer right to have honorable jilace in this sanctuary than that of Rev. Edward L. Parker. I need not speak of him in this presence. Words better than any that I can utter you can read from the tablet of marble placed upon the wall at the right of the pulpit, and which now so appropriately com- memorates his character ai d liis ministry of forty years w ilh this church. The inscription upon the tablet is as follows : " In \ • U '«• ' ' *• K ■^.^iaatsLj niemoriam. The Reverend /V X'fm. * filltij^^^^ Edward L. Parker, born July 28, 1785, graduated at Dart- mouth 1807, died July 14, 1850. For forty years the faithful and beloved pastor of this church. He possessed in a high degree sound judg ment and discretion, remark- able wisdom and piudence, shrewdness and tact, com- bined with kindness of man- ner, humility, perseverance and untiring industry. Plain, ])ractical preaching, crowned by ardent piety, and devo- tion to his work, made him a man of mark and great use- fulness. ' They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.' " Dr. Wcllman narrates an incident of his or- dination which finely illustrates the sturdy charac- ter of the board of deacons in 185 i. He says: Deacon James 'I'aylor and his brother. Deacon Henry Taylor, were for many years members of the church session. Associated wiih them in office were Deacons Matthew Clark, Robert Morse, John Humphrey, Joseph Jenness, the two brothers, James and Humphrey Choate, William Ela, Robert Montgomery, and William Cogswell, eleven in all. When full the session consisted of twelve elders or deacons. In 1851,311 the above named men were living, and enrolled as members of the session. Two of them, however. Deacons Morse and Clark, 142 WILLBY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. by reason of age and infirmity, were not active members. Prac- tically, at that time, the session consisted of nine members. A few years later Deacon Cogswell removed to Manchester, and Mr. George Shute was elected a member of the session. .\11 these deacons, save Deacon Cogswell and Deacon Shute, have now entered into the goodly fellowship of the church triumph- ant. They were noble and godly men. Sturdy in character and honorable in life, wise in counsel and of grave and devout spirit, they were much respected in both the church and the town. Of positive convictions, strong will, and of great decision of character, they were yet remarkable for their Chris- tian gentleness and courtesy. Very beautiful was their treat- ment of one another. Their mutual love and Christian fellow- ship were not demonstrative, but were real and abiding. It is pleasant to bear tlnis testimony, that in all tlie numerous and often protracted meetings of the session during five years, to the best of my recollection, the deacons were never, in a single instance, divided in voting, and not a single unlcind or bitier word was ever spoken. They were not always of the same mind at the outset, and not unfrequently a long debate, or rather ci'nference, preceded their final decision; but wlien they came to the vote and to action, their harmony was per- fect. They were not timid or vacillating men. When need required they acted with great boldness and energy. 'I'his was illustrated by an incident which occurred at the meeting of the ecclesiastical council on the day of my oi-dination. Some of the good Presbyterian brethren on the council erroneously supposed that the ihurch was a strictly Presbyterian church, and under the care of the Londonderry presbyter)'. They therefore made a formal remonstrance against the action of the church in calling a council instead of the ]ircs- bytery, and against the [iroposed examination and ordination of the pastor elect by the council assembled. Rev. .-^mos Klan- chard, D. D., of Lowell, was moderator. A large congregation filled the church. Tlie excitement was intense. .W\ the active members of the session were present, and sitting together in pews at the left of the moderator. When the remonstrants had fullv presented their case the moderator turned to the deacons and said : " You hear the objection which has been made to the action of your church and to the proposed action of this council. What is the desire of the session ?" The deacons, without leav- ing their seats, consulted together for a moment. Instantly they appointed Deacon John Humphrey their spokesman. Deacon Humphrey, a man of great weight of character, of perfect self- command and of imposing presence, being over six feet in height, rising slowly and with solemnity from his seat, and stretching himself u]) to his full length, with a calm, firm voice and great courtesy of manner, said, as nearly as his words can be remem- bered : "Mr. Moderator, — This is not a strictly Presbyterian church. Though governed by a session, it is not under the government of any presbytery. This council has been called in exact accordance with certain 'Articles of Agreement ' by which this church in a few important particulars is governed. Our late pastor, the late Rev. Edward L. Parker, was ordained forty years ago by a council, and not by the presbytery. We have taken the same course that was taken then. A council was called then, a council has been called now. And, Mr. Moder- ator, the desire of the session is, that this council proceed at once to examine the young man whom we have called to be our pastor ; and if he shall be found fitted for the office, we desire that he be ordained and installed. And if this council does not do this, we shall call a council that will." Slowly Deacon Humphrey resumed his seat. Some of the members of the council smiled. The deacons did not smile. They meant business. They knew their rights and liberties, and that such things were sacred, and not to be trifled with by any- body. Nothing more was said upon the question raised by the remonstrants. The council proceeded at once to its appointed work, according to the directions given by the nine venerable men who sat in the corner of the church. This incident discloses, in several particulars, the character of that board of deacons. They had the Scotch staunchness, decision, and energy. It was sometimes said of them that they were slow men, but in emergencies they moved swiftly and with irresistible force. They were not educated in the higher school-, but they were intelligent. The Bible was their study. Some of them were versed in theology, and could define sharply the variances of the New England theology from other systems. The New England theology was accepted by them because they believed it to be scriptural, and also because they believed it to lie substantially that interpretation of the Scriptures which through the ages has stood the test of being judged by its fruits. The Bible they accepted as the Word of God. The modern glib talk about the mistakes of Moses and the prophets, and the blunders of Paul and the Evangelists, would have shocked them beyond measure. The statement now made with such nonchalance 111 limited circles, ihat Christ was either in error in some of his religious teachings, or was incorrectly reported by the Evan- gelists, would have been regarded by them as blasphemous. If even a theological professor had said to them. You must accept my view of the utter untrustworthiness of the Bible in some of its religious teachings, or you must stand convicted of being bent on ignorance, he probably would not have said that to them a second time. But while they were bold and persistent in maintaining the truth, and in standing for what they knew to be right, they were yet men of rare tenderness and kindness of heart. They were also reverent before God. Sincere humility was a prominent ele- ment in their piety. Their prayers abounded in confessions. They had profound convictions of sin. In their view, dis- obedience to God was appalling wickedness. They were always solemn and afraid at the thought of sin. They believed that " God is love," but they also believed that " Our God is a con- suming fire." They accepted without a doubt the scriptural teaching that the just punishment of sin is the abiding wrath of God, death everlasting. These profound views of sin and of its demerit determined their personal relation to Christ. With great joy and gratitude, and with a deep sense of their inex- pressible obligations to him, they believed on the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and for the life everlasting. They hun- gered and thirsted after righteousness, and therefore attached the highest value to all means of grace, especially to the Sabbath and the sanctuary as appointed of God to aid men in the attain- ment of holiness. . . . The farthest possible were they from iV^iLLMT's Hook op NUTFIELD. M;} o Q T44 WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFJELD. being stern and gloomy men. They were delightfully social in disposition and habits. Their words were often playful, and they told and relished good stories. Of despondency they knew little. Their hearts were full of courage. In earlier years they may have had sijiritual conflicts; but now their kindly, cheerful faces, and all their external bearing told of the peace of God that reigned within. They were thoioughly possessed of the spirit of worship. One of them at least seldom or never entered the house of God without pausing for a moment, after passing the door of the auditorium, and lifting his eye heavenward, as if he were saying : "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." And immediately upon entering his pew he bowed his head in silent prayer. The devoutness of those aged and venerable deacons was not official, not assumed nor formal ; it was in the heart, and therefore in the life. They were men of lordly will, but in the presence of God they had the spirit of little children. . . . Those members of that church session did not seek ])ersonal influence, it was theirs before they knew it. But they shrunk from no obligation, were faithful to every trust, and lived in humble but joyful liope of the promised inheritance of the saints in heaven. The First Church has been one of the strong- est in the denomination. At a sacrament in 1734, fifteen years after the settlement of the town, 700 communicants were present. This number, how- ever, must have included manv non-resident mem- bers and friends. Several other congregations have been formed from the parent church. In 1739 a company was dismissed to constitute the West Parish (Presbyterian) in Londonderrv. In 1797 the Third Society (Congregational) was or- ganized in the East Parish, and in 1837 forty more were dismissed to form the First Congregational Church in Derry Village. In 1809, however, the Third Society re-united with the mother church, forming what is now known as the First Church in Derry. June 8, 18 10, the joint society formally adopted articles of faith, which, in spite of all theological upheavals of the last half-century, are still the creed of the church. Their reproduction here, in view of the current discussion of creeds, may not be without interest : I. We believe that there is but one God, the sole creator, preserver, and moral governor of the universe ; a being of infinite power, knowledge, wisdom, justice, goodness, and truth ; the self-existent, independent and unchangeable fountain of good ; that there are in the unity of the Godhead a trinity of persons. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that these three persons are in essence one, and in all divine attributes equal. II. We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God ; that they are profitable for doctrine, contain a complete and harmonious sys- tem of divine truth, and are our only perfect rule of doctrinal belief and religious practice. III. We believe that the first parents of our race were orig- inally holy in the image of God ; that they fell from their original state by voluntarily transgressing the divine command ; and that in conseciuence of this first apostacy the heart of man in his natural state is enmity against God, fully set to do evil, dead in trespasses and sins. IV. We believe that Christ the Son of God, equal with the Father, has by his obedience, suffering, and blood, made infinite atonement for sin ; that he is the only redeemer of sinners, and that all who are saved will be indebted altogether to the sovereign grace of God through this atonement. V. We believe that those who embrace the gospel were chosen in Christ to salvation before the world began ; and that they are saved not by works of righteousness v.hich they have done, but according to the distinguishing mercy of God, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. VI. We believe that for those who once believe in Christ there is no condemnation, but they will be kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation. VII. We believe that there will be a general resurrection of the bodies both of the just and of the unjust ; that all mankind must one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive a sentence of just and final retribution, according to their respective works. VIII. We believe that Christ has a visible church in the world into which believers and their seed are introduced by baptism. During the IOrt\' years' pastorate of Rev. Edward L. Parker (a sketch of whose life is given in this work), the church was unusually jirosper- ous. At the January communion in 1S25, thirty- six were added to the church; in October, 183 1, thirty-three were received, and in May, 1838, ninety-six. Since the death of Mr. Parker, in 1850, the pastorates have been brief, compared with his. Six of the pastors repose in the old graveyard near the meeting-house, surrounded by most of their flocks. The chronological record of pastorates of the first church is as follows: James MacGregor, began May, 1719; died March 5, 1729. Matthew Clark, began 1729; closed 1732. Thomas Thompson, ordained October, 1733; died Sept. 22, 1738. William Davidson, ordained 1739; died Feb. 15, 1 791. Jonathan Brown, ordained 1795; dismissed September, 1804. Edward L. Parker, ordained Sept. 12, 1810; died July 14, 1850. Joshua W. Wellman, ordained June 18, 1851 ; dis- missed Mav 26, 1836. Ephraim N. Hidden (acting pastor), Sept. i, 1857, till Dec. i, 1859. Leonard S. Parker, installed Feb. 20, 1861 ; dismissed June WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 145 10, 1S69. David Brcmncr, installed April 27, 1871 ; dismissed Sept. 10, 1873. Edward S. Hunt- ress, installed Feb. 25, 1875; dismissed Feb. 21, 1877. J. L. Harris, installed Jul\' 8, 1880; dis- missed July 8, 1882. H. M. Fenniman, settled April 8, 1884; dismissed June 19, 1889. R. C. Drisko (acting pastor), Feb. i, 1891, till April i, 1894. The present membership of tiie ehurch is 132 ; Sabbath school, sixty-five ; Christian Endeavor, thirty-five. MRS. MARY J. TF.NNEV, CKN. .STARK S (IRANDDAUGHTER. Photographed at her home in Londonderry, 1^94. DEV. WILLIAM McDONALD, the pioneer ^ ^ Catholic priest of Manchester, who laid well the ft)undations of the present prosperity of Cath- olicity in the Queen City, and whose memory is held in loving regard by thousands, was born in county Leitrim, Ireland, in June, 1813. He was the youngest son of John and Winifred (Reynolds) McDonald, and the first twenty-three years of his life were spent with his parents. In 1836 he went to Quebec, beginning at once his studies at the Laval University. He took the academic and theological courses. He was ordained in 1843 and assigned as assistant to the parish priest at St. John, N. B., having charge subsequentlv of the parishes at Eastport and Calais, Me. In 1847 he went to Boston, and in the following year was assigned to Manchester by Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston, to which diocese New Hampshire then belonged. Father McDonald found on his arrival about five hundred Catholics, almost all of whom were Irish, but lately arrived in the country. They were very poor, but they extended to their " sog- garth " an Irish welcome, sincere and hearty, and pastor and people with a united purpose began their arduous task of building up the Catholic Church of Manchester. W'ithin a year he had l)egun the erection of St. Anne's church, on the site it now occupies, and from that time to his tleath there was scarcely a year that he did not inaugurate some improvement of lasting benefit to the church. He was a man of remarkable fore- sight, and had unlimited confidence in the future of Manchester — so much so that he early began to buv land intended for future use as church propertv, and to this is due the fact that the church is now possessed of so much valuable real estate. In 1853 he purchased St. Joseph's cemetery, and in 1855 he bought the land where the convent stands, l)uilt the beautiful Mt. St. Mary's, and, two years later, installed therein a small band of Sisters of Mercv. In 1859 he secured the property at the northwest corner of Laurel and Union streets, for a parochial school for girls, and established in the same year a school for boys in the church base- ment, over which he placed Frof. Thomas Cor- coran as principal and the Sisters of Mercy as teachers. A few years later he procured the use of the old "south grammar" of the city, and to .46 WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. this building the boys' school was removed and became known as the Park-street grammar school. This was one of the first parochial schools in New England. Father McDonald bought the present site of St. Joseph's Cathedral, established a new^ parish and built St. Joseph's church in 1869. The next year witnessed the purchase of the Harris estate, at the corner of Pine and Hanover streets, and the establishment of St. Patrick's Orphan ■■■\ 3^ .X. 'fv V ■-Z^fSKK, :;i_;.^ij»; REV. WILLIAM MCDON.^LD. Asylum for Girls. A little later he secured the ad- joining property and founded the Old Ladies' Home. He also built St. Agnes school, at the corner of Cedar and Union streets. He was the founder and promoter of the St. John's Temperance Society (since merged in the St. Paul's C. T. A. and M. B. Society), of St. Patrick's M. B. and P. Society, and of numerous church sodalities and associations. In Father McDonald were combined the elements of which the most successful professional and business men are made, and there is little doubt that, had he chosen a mercantile or profes- sional life, he would have become a very wealthy man. As it was, he died poor. He did not care for the wealth he gathered except as it was a means of doing good. He was stricken with apoplexy early Monday morning, Aug. 24, 1885, and died Aug. 26. The mourning at his death was genuine and universal. Protestants and Catholics alike, rich and poor, high and low, recognized that Manchester had lost one whom she could ill afford to lose. Saturday, Aug. 29, the day of his funeral, was a day of public mourning. The mills were closed, and business generally was suspended. The funeral was at- tended by the mayor and city government, judges of the supreme court of New Hampshire and of the United States district court, Protestant minis- ters, bishops and priests from all parts of New England, and business men of every creed and race. Pontifical requiem mass was celebrated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Bradley, assisted by a host of priests in sanctuary and choir. In the course of his sermon Bishop Bradley said : " I have lost one who has been to me from my childhood a father, a model, a wise counselloi'," and he echoed the thoughts and feelings of every Catholic born or bred in Manchester. Father McDonald was buried in the churchyard of old St. Anne's, the church he loved, and wdierein he ministered for nearlv forty vears. Over his grave has been erected a little chapel, and here one may find at any hour of the day some of his people kneeling in silent prayer. His life work was a success. He lived to see the city of his adoption grow from scarcelv more than a hamlet to be the first municipality of north- ern New England. From the poor, struggling little parish of St. Anne's he saw the church in- crease until it had more communicants and main- tained more charitable institutions than all the other churches of the city combined ; and, to crown it all, made a diocesan see, and one of " his own boys" chosen its first bishop. He was the friend and confidant o[ his whole parish. No undertak- ing was entered into without the advice of Father " Mac," and no case was too trivial to enlist his earnest attention and secure his wholesome advice. He was judge, jurv, and advocate in the trial of many a cause, and never was a judgment given with more binding force, or one where the parties WILLErs BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 147 were not satisfied as to the absolute iini)artialitv of the tribunal. His eharity was not " — scrimped and iced, In the name of a cautious, statistical Christ." but was the natural outpourinir of a (renerous, sympathetic heart that knew no creed or race. He saw only needy suffering, and suffered himself if he could not alleviate. Father McDonald is best remembered as a man in declining years, about medium height, slightly stooped, with white hair and a kindly, benevolent face that at once inspired confidence. Through his old-fashioned bowed spectacles gazed a pair of eyes, anxious, one would sa)^ to see nought of sin and niiserv in the world, and vet they saw and appreciated everything within their range, while an occasional twinkle in the corners would indicate that " though a priest, he was an Irishman too," and had all the Irishman's love for bright repartee or good story. The best evidence of his universal acquaintance and popu- larity was to be seen by accompanying him on one of his daily strolls through his parish. With the regulation clerical coat and collar he always wore a soft broad-brimmed hat and carried a cane or umbrella. He walked along with a slow, deliber- ate stride, and scarcely a person would be met but Father " Mac " had a word with him. His intimate acquaintance with the personal affairs of nearly every family made these little talks pertinent and to the point, relative to some matter or other of importance. And all in the sweetest of English, that is, slightly tinctured with the Irish brogue. Father McDonald's memorv will evei' he- dear to the Catholics of Manchester. James A. Bkudkkick. CITY LIBRARY, MANCHESTER. DR. WILLIAM WHITTIER BROWN, WILLIAM WHITTIER BROWN, M. D., was born in Vershire, Vt., in 1805. His education was obtained at the academies of Bradford and Randolph in his native state and at Hudson, N. Y. He taught school for two years in the latter state, and at the age of twenty-three began the study of medicine with Dr. John Poole at Bradford, Vt. After attending lectures at Hanover he was graduated from the New Hamp- shire Medical Institution in 1830, and at once went in Poplin (now Fremont), N. H., remaining there until 1835, when he removed to Chester, where during his ten years' residence he built up an ex- tensive practice and enjoyed the confidence of the people. Desirous of supplementing his early ad- vantages by further study, he went to New York in 1845 and attended a course of lectures and dili- gently followed the best clinical teachers through the hospitals. His fifteen years' practice had revealed to him his deficiencies, and he labored zealously to remove them, finally returning to New Hampshire with his mind well stored with new ideas and all the recent improvements in surgery and practice. In 1846 he moved to Manchester and soon had all he could do, manv of his former patients in Chester and the neighboring towns having- gone to the city before him, and manv more still insisting that he should be their reliance in distress. To meet these demands of his old friends he was obliged to start very earlv in the morning in order to be back in time for his day's work in the city. Very few men could have endured these long journeys in all kinds of weather as he did, uncomplainingly even in advanced life. Dining portions of 1849 and 1850 he was in California for one year practising his profession. He returned with a handsome amount of money, which he invested in Manchester real estate, erect- ing the brick block on Elm street, known as Brown's building. In 1861 he was appointed sur- geon of the Seventh New Hampshire \"olunteers and served until the autumn of 1864, when he was obliged to resign on account of ill health. He was exceedingly popular with officers and men and a camp was named in his honor. He never fully recovered his health, and he also received an injury for which he might easily have obtained a per- manent pension, but he never applied for it. He was appointed pension surgeon, a position which he held only a short time. Dartmouth College conferred upon him the honorary degree of A. M. in recognition of his professional ability. He was a member of the Franklin-Street Congregational church, and always contributed liberally to the support of religion. Dr. Brown was elected a fellow of the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1836, and was chosen its president in 1869. He was a director of the First National liank, a trustee of the Merrimack River Savings bank, a member of the Washington Lodge of Masons and of Louis Bell Post No. 3, G. A. R. He survived all his children, leaving only a widow, Mrs. Martha W. Brown. His death occurred Jan. 6, 1874, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was a man of few words, easily approached, yet retiring; ready to im- part information, yet never volunteering it; modest, vet self-possessed ; dignified in bearing, yet utterly devoid of ostentation in dress or mode of living. He was remarkably even-tempered, never hilarious and never much depressed ; always hopeful and cheerful. His temperament was no doubt saddenetl by the severe domestic afflictions througii whicli he passed. His memory is cherished in affectionate regard by all who knew him, for he left behind him the example of a true Christian physician and upright man. DEER, BEARS, AND WOLVES were abun- dant in the forests of Nutfield. A large moose killed in 1720 in the West Parish gave name to a hill there five hundred feet high, (ranie wardens were elected by the town for more than sixty years, " to prevent the killing of deer out of season." Until after the Revolution, farmers brought their sheep every night to the fold to guard against the tlepredations of wolves, and i)oun- ties were paid on wolves' heads. Tradition says that the last bear seen was in 1807, when theie was a great bear hunt, engaged in by fifty men lor three days, until the animal was finally killed. He is said to have weighed two hundred pounds dressed, and the cajiture was duly celebrated. 148 WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 149 THE MACK FAMILY of the original Scotch- Irish stock was founded in this country by John Mack, who, after his marriage with Isabel, daughter of Sir John Brown, came from London- derry, Ireland, in 1732 and settled in Nutfield. His son Andrew, born in 1748, purchased in 1772 the farm which still remains the family home- stead, a part of which was deeded to him by Matthew Thornton. He enjoyed the highest confidence of his townsmen, as is shown by the record of his continual service in town office. He died in 1820. Of his son, Robert Mack, a sketch is given on page 329. It may be added that he was a justice of the peace for forty-seven years; he also acted as agent for the town in the conduct of numerous lawsuits, one of which was with Derry in relation to the building of the Mammoth road, of which he was one of the projectors, and he was likewise a director of the Manchester & Lawrence railroad at its inception. He was noted for his legal knowledge, social qualities, and ready wit. Robert Clark Mack, his eldest son, was born Dec. 31, 1818. He obtained an academic educa- tion and taught school for a few years. March 6, 1856, he married Jane D. Patterson and settled on the homestead, to a life much devoted to historical and genealogical research, making daily weather observations many years for the Smithsonian Institution. In the Civil War he made the draft enrollment of Londonderry, Derry, Windham, and Salem. In 1870 he was appointed consul to Lon- donderry, Ireland, by President Grant, but was unable to accept. He published a volume on the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the settle- ment of Londonderry, and he contributed the historical sketches of Derry and Londonderry in Hurd's History of Rockingham County. He died Jan. II, 1894, leaving ready for the press an exhaustive history of the Patterson and Wallace families. Andrew Wallace Mack, youngest son of Robert Mack, was born Sept. 13, 1820, and died Feb. 7, 1877. Having attended Greenland and Pembroke academies, the routine life of the scholarly inclined New England boy and man became his vocation, teaching in winter and farm- ing in summer. In i860 he built a house &. M-^-a>^^ S/S^tM. r^M-t J'£«^ OX£*/. .^yn-o-^ja. ^^mBS /Ss^-zPSj ^i^i*25f a,^,*^- ^ T^ H-a-dk^^ ->^_ ..j; /jfe_ 7AAJi— .«^ s.^>^^x^^^ ^ ^»-«x =g the seating capacity was so great, this old house of worship was usually tilled to the doors, old men and women walk- ing eight or ten miles to meeting, and mothers often bringing children in their arms for long distances. No such crowds throng the Pro- testant churches in the country districts today. L door opened into the broad aisle that led to the pulpit on the north side. In front of the pulpit was a single seat for the elder, who was next in dignity to the pastor, the seat being raised upon a platform two steps above the flo7)n~"ln front of the elder's seat were two seats for the deacons, raised one step above the floor. On the ground floor the pews were classed as diamond, cor- ner, or square, and wall pews. The diamond pews occupied the mid- dle of the house and were arranged in four rows, two upon each side of the broad aisle. They were oblong in shape, each having room for three seats and one ence that there be a revision of the table of fees. or two chairs. The seat on the side toward the It appears to us that the attornies' fees should be pulpit could be turned up when not in use. These cut down at least one-half ; they would not then were familv pews capable of seating four persons be so fond of business, and people would find time on each of the longer seats, and two on the seat to breathe." opposite the pew door, which with two chairs would make accommodations for a dozen. The T^HE grave and reverend Matthew Clark ate no backs, sides, and doors of the pews were artistically A meat, but was very fond of eggs. When panelled and decorated by the insertion of lathe dining out, if his hostess apologized for her hard- work in the open spaces, and being unpainted they boiled eggs, he would say : " I'll soften them with acquired a beautiful wood tint with age. In the butter." If the apology was for soft-boiled eggs, his four corners of the meeting-house were eight reply would be : " I'll harden them with butter.'' AWYERS were evi- dently making too much money in Nutfield as long ago as 1778, for the following article is to be found in the town warrant for that year : " To see if the town will instruct their representa- tives to use their influ- THE EAYERS RANGE, BY REV. JESSE G. McMURPHY. THE prominence of the rano^e feature in the two ranges were called the Double Range on the original settlement of the nut country was west side of Beaver river, thus distinguished from largely due to the clannish character of the people, the Double Range on the east side of Beaver Families connected by marriages and common river. sentiments and opinions found it convenient and The headlines of these farms extended north agreeable to dwell together along some fertile of northwest and south of southeast, and the slope or stream, and to facilitate communication longest or side lines extended east of northeast adopted the plan of parallel homesteads, long and and west of southwest. The ranges are never narrow, with a highway only across the common described as touching each other and in many residence ends, while the opposite ends remained places unappropriated land was left to raise inter- uncultivated and covered with forests and swamps minable disputes and claims of ownership. This is still occupied by bears and wolves. notable on the westerly side of the Eayers Range, The Double Range, the English Range, and where there was much swamp, and the next range the Aikens Range were not more prominent than began bevond the swamp. The change of direc- the Eayers Range in respect to the dates of their tion in the westerly headline is the source of end- settlement or the character of the people who less complications in surveying lots, as also the formed and named them. An examination of the merging of the Aikens Range and Eayers Range old Proprietors' Book will convince the reader on the north, their side lines having different that families occupied these lands before any name directions. had been given, or any steps taken to build a town- As this range eventually l)ecame known as ship here, and even the name of Nutfield cannot the Eayers Range by reason of the prominence of be claimed as the earliest applied title to any por- William Eayers and his family here and in other tion of the territory. Dunstable is an older name parts of this township, a copy of the rect)r(l of the that was applied to manv thousand acres including laying out of his homestead is herewith given : all that was afterward known as Nutfield, and only r • 1 1 1 ii u I 1 <- <-i , Nutfield October ii"' 1720. Laid out to William Kayers a relinquished when the boundarv between the . , ., . . ■' . • lot of land in the west range m the said town containing sixty provmces of New Hampshire and Massachusetts ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ .^ ^^^,^^j^j ^^ followeth: beginning at a pine was finally established. The transcript of the t^ee at the northeast corner and a heap of stones, from thence laying out of these homesteads shows the process running a due west-south-west line tiiree hundred and twenty of naming the ranges was less rapid than the rods and bounding all the way upon John Givean's lot. from settlement. Nearly all of the Eayers Range '^ence running eouth-south-east thirty rods and so running two , , / .^ , , . . , ixt'" imrallel lines to these lines first mentioned bounding u])on homestead^ were described as lying in the West ,j.,^^^_^^^^ g^^j^ ^,^^, ^^^^,^^^ ^^i^^,^ j^^,^.^,,^^ ^^-^^ ^^ i,^^^^^^^ i„ Range.'^in^ reference to the fact that the Aikens the common or undivided lands within the said township equal Range joined it on the east, and for a time these to other lots in said town. David Cargill, James McKeen, 159 MAP OK THE EAVERS RANGE. ]]'/LLE2''S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. i6i James Gregg, Robert Wear, John Morrison. John (ioffe, Com- mittee. Recorded this ii"' of Octobor 1720. Pr. John Goffe, Tenon Cletk. The identificatiun of this man's liumcstead and residence may be of interest to the reader and especiallv to a numerous line of descendants who have given their names to many important enter- prises since the settlement of the Eayers Ranoe. Therefore some further comments are made upon the exact location of William Eayers and the house in which he lived. In passing to the means of identification it is also to be noted that the orthography of the surname is original and has since been changed into Ayers. The roads leading by the dwellings of this range were private for several years under the constructive era while the township was still known as Nutfield ; but soon after the charter was granted and the name of Londonderry therein established, corporate action laid out the highways. The following will serve as an example and be recognized as a present thoroughfare : Londonderry November 6''' 1723. Laid out by the select- men a straight road beginning at the northwest side of David Morrison's homestead lot and running southeast across the brook on the south side of said Morrison's field between two great rocks and by marked trees across Samuel Morrison's lot and Abram Holmes' lot and on the west of John ^\'oodburn's field, across the said Woodburn's lot, and then turning a little more easterly over a Httle run and so to the highway that comes from Edward Aikens, and then turning over the bridge and taking the line between William Eayers and James Craig's lots to the cross road that turns by Mr. Eayer's house and David Boyle's and to the east of John McClurg's cellar and through the second divisions, the said straight road to be four rods wide where it crosses their lots and where it runs along lots two rods wide. Samuel Moore, John Blair, Benjamin ^^'ilson, Robert Boyes, Selectmen. Recorded this 13"' day of December 1723. Pr. John MacMurphy, Tinon Clerk. This direct road here recorded began on the north side of the farm lately occupied by James McMurphy and passed by his house and over the Aiken brook, and now over the railroad bridge and across the farm of Alexander McMurphy and over the spring brook between the lots of Daniel Owens and John Duffy into the road that comes from John Folsom's house, and then turning west- ward passes again over the Aiken brook on the line between John Duffy and the Corthells to a cross road that once passed along near the Aiken brook through the Morrisons', Holmes' and Wood- burn's lots, to accommodate several families that lived by the brook, their old cellar walls and cool, clear well springs being still visible. At William Eayers's house the road leads southerly, that is, by Mrs. Corthell's present home, and then by George Ripley's house, the old Boyles lot, and continuing by the late homes of Peter Home and Robert Jeffers. Abram Holmes very early sold his original homestead and settled on other lands where the family continued to occupy without interruption until the present generation. John Woodburn also complained of his land and was granted the privilege of taking a homestead in some other sec- tion of the township, and after several trials located in the western ])art of the town near Dunstable line with others, forming a new range. A reference to the brief genealogical history of the early settlers contained in the work of Rev. Edward L. Parker will show these families along the Aiken brook to have been closely related bv marriages. The Woodburn lot was never fenced off, but came to be common with the Craig lot on the south, and the two lots are united longitudi- nally to be divided transversely into three or more portions owned by Daniel Owens, Joim Duffy, James Madden, and Alexander McMurphy. James Smith was not one of the scheduled proprietors of the town of Londonderrv, but records of births in his family are given and they are previous to the time of alleged settlement, before the date of the royal charter or even the deed of Col. John W^heelwright. The James Smith lot came into the possession of the Pinkerton family; there the worthy founder of Pinkerton Academy and liberal benefactor of the two religious societies of his gen- eration lived and died. Thirty-one thousand dolhuT in those days meant persistent industry and habitual economy, and those endowments signified mature convictions and determination to sacrifice himself and consecrate the fruits of his labors to the highest good of his countrymen. Robert McKeen's lot of forty acres was laid out bounding upon land of James Smith, and men- l62 iriLLErs BOOK OP NUTFIELD. tion is also made in the record of a highway lead- ing from the Aikens Range to Canada and passing through his land. The Robert McKecn lot was not sfranted for a homestead, but a second division was made, the same in amount that was laid out to every proprietor of one full homestead of sixty acres. The stream of water that runs southward through Robert McKeen's second division had together with a piece of meadow in Pole meadow bounded by stakes between the lots of John Woodburn and William Aiken : also a pond lying by the six acre meadow. David Cargill, John Bell, Allen Anderson, John Mitcliell, Committee. Recorded this 28"' of February 1723-24. Pr. John MacMurphy, Town Clerk. This transcript fully illustrates the custom of been reserved for the use of a sawmill. The granting meadows independently of homestead privilege of the stream extended upwards upon the bounds or any right given by the ])lan of allot- banks as far as a spruce s w amp. In this descrip- tion the reader may readily lo- cate the Aiken sawmill at a point recently occupied by Washington Perkins and des- ignated as the Whittier sawmill, and earlier still as the Wilson saw- mill. The forty acres laid out to the Rev. James McGregor as a second division were granted in part for a want of wood upon the lot assigned to him as a home- stead. This is and alwavs has POr.ATO FIELD, DERRY. ment. The mea- dow at Bear hill is still cut annual- ly and why the space remains free from other growths and re- s i s t s the en- croach m e n t of bushes and trees is not easily ex- plained. When David Morrison cut these mea- dows the whole c o u n t r \' was denselv covered with forests and even the high- ways that led from one part of the town to the other parts were through the wil- derness, where it was necessary to mark the course And as in those been a wooded tract of land, but in the years when the Pages and by blazing trees by the roadside the Spinneys lived there much of the land was in days the meeting with bears was a common occur- a good state of cultivation and there were flourish- rence, many traditions of such meetings arc found ing orchards and gardens. in the memories of old people. The Morrisons In order to show the manner of describing remained in possession of their lands in the Eayers meadows granted to the early settlers, the tran- Range for several generations, but finally sold the script of one is here presented : Londonderry July 23'' 1723. Laid out to David Morrison one acre and si.xty rods of meadow, be it more or less, which lieth at Bear hill and is bounded on Samuel Morrison's lot by stakes and running down the creek to the meadow bounds ; homesteads, and either removed to other towns or occupied their second divisions and amendment lands. For a more particular history of these move- ments the reader is referred to the History of the Morrison Family, published by Leonard Morrison. WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD. 163 John McClurg's cellar wall is said to have They appear to liave selected lots with reference been recently visible near the house of Warren to possibilities of constructing dams or raisino- P. Home, a little to the northwest by the upper mill iMivileges on secondary streams where all the road. In other parts of the town John McClurg's really available streams had already been taken, name will be found associated with the possession The lands were not suitable for agricultural pur- of large tracts of land. James Alexander's home- poses by reason of the swamps and stones, and the stead was in the Double Range east of Beaver streams had not sufficient water to supply a pond, river and had a second division allowed to his right All of that swamp at the westerly end of the on the southerly side of the Eayers Range. It Eayers Range was watered by the Boyles brook shortly became a h o m e s t e a d, as n e ar 1 y all the second divisions were needed to satisfy the de- mands for more land. Sons of pioneers reaching the ages of twen- ty-one required homesteads. In reference to the Wilson lot, originally laid out to James Wilson, there is a mar- ginal reading in the Town Rec- o r d s s h o w i n g that James Wil- son died and one half of the lot was sold to John M c C 1 u r g a n d that became his proper half share ^ ■4 ^j^ ?■ 1 BS^^^^^^SHBH^^i^^.t;^' J i SS ^ ss^McA a.-.^'iS •i^-.