F 
 
 44 
 .HaSfe 
 
 HISTO RY 
 
 OF HAMPSTEAD. N, H. 
 
 FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 
 
 BY ISAAC W. SMITH. 
 
 As contained in a Historical Address delivered J iily 4, iS^O' 
 
 HAVERHILL, MASS.: 
 1884. 
 
Class. 
 Book. 
 
 
HISTORY 
 
 TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD, N. H., 
 
 FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 
 
 BY ISAAC W. SMITH. 
 
 As contained in a Historical Address delivered July 4, 1849. 
 
 HAVERHILL, MASS. 
 1884. 
 

 '01 
 
HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 
 
 Fellow Citizens, and 
 
 Natives of Hampstead : 
 
 By your invitation, I am to speak of our honored fore- 
 fathers ; of men whose Uves were the history of our own 
 homes., — whose characters were indissolubly identified with^ 
 the Revolution of our Independence. 
 
 To us this day is doubly interesting. We have met to 
 celebrate the anniversary of our Nation's birth ; to pay a 
 passing tribute to those who stood up manfully in the strife 
 for freedom, and nobly gave their lives, to lay deep the 
 foundations of that Government, under which we live in 
 such perfect security of life and liberty. 
 
 We have also met to celebi-ate an event in which we are 
 peculiarly interested. A century is just completed, since 
 a handful of hardy settlers were honored with an Act from 
 King George II, incorporating this place with the privi- 
 leges and conveniences of a municipal government. We 
 have met to recount the early history of our town ; to res- 
 cue from oldivion the names, of its settlers; to honor the 
 memoiy of its most worthy inhabitants ; and to show our 
 love and veneration for the spot "where our eyes first saw 
 the light," or to which, from a long residence within its 
 limits, we have become ardently attached. 
 
 Unfortunately for posterit}^ there has been too little care 
 bestowed upon tlie preservation of those legends in our 
 earlier annals, which gave the truest index to the charac- 
 
4 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 ter and habits of our ancestors and make up a valuable 
 part of their eventful lives. Though removed only two 
 centuries from the earliest scenes in New England history, 
 we are yet ignorant of mau}^ of the most interesting par- 
 ticulars of that period. The eventful story of our fore- 
 fathers is yet to be written. "The lore of the fireside is 
 becoming obsolete. With the octogenarian few, who still 
 linger among us, will perish the unwritten history of bor- 
 der life in New England." 
 
 The period of the Trojan war is called the Heroic Age 
 of Greece. The Iliad of Homer, founded upon the inci- 
 dents of that war, represents to us, in startling realit}^ the 
 characteristics of the ancient Grecians ; their indomitable 
 spirit and unyielding courage ; their superstitious awe of 
 divine interference ; their love of country predominating 
 over that of kindred ; their eager desire to be led forth to 
 battle ; their restless inactivity in time of truce ; the mar- 
 tial spirit they infused in youthful breasts ; — all tliose 
 qualities, that made the Grecian's fame reach the most dis- 
 tant shores. The sightless bard has portrayed to us, with 
 matchless skill, the noble impress of the power of the gen- 
 erals of Greece ; the wisdom of her statesmen ; the elo- 
 quence of her orators, surpassing emulation ; the sublimity 
 of her poets, more musical and harmonious than any who 
 lived before them, than all who have Hved since their time. 
 
 England's Heroic Age embraces the darkest and most 
 complex period in her annals. In tracing down events 
 through the Middle Ages, the historian, when near the 
 Age of Chivahy, finds that the poet has woven, out of the 
 doubtful and obscure, dark and mysterious tragedies ; " tliat 
 he has occupied the vacant field, turned to account the dark 
 hint and half-breathed suspicion, and poured into the un- 
 occupied and too credulous ear his thrilling and atti'active 
 tale ; that the genius of Shakspeare seized upon the his- 
 tory of this era as a vacant possession, and peopled it with 
 beings, who had indeed historic names, but whose attrib- 
 uted actions lack the stamp of authenticity." 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAp. 5 
 
 But the Heroic Age of New England, the eventful story 
 of the Puritans, has far more interesting connections. 
 Looking back through a period of little more than two cen- 
 turies, we turn to Old England's shoi-es, to the scenes in 
 which they were "burning and shining lights," to the days 
 of their long persecutions, to their noble confessions of 
 faith before the world, and " sealed with their blood." At 
 Delfthaven we see them kneel on the sea-shore ; commend 
 themselves with fervent prayer to the blessing and protec- 
 tion of Heaven ; part forever from friends, and home, and 
 native land ; embark upon the almost unknown seas, and 
 uncomplainingly encounter the dangers of the deep, to 
 reach a place where they may in security worship the liv- 
 ing God. And when their lone vessel reaches the bleak 
 and barren sands of Cape Cod, — 
 
 " On the deck then the Pilgrims together kneel down, 
 And lift their hands to the source of each blessing, 
 Who supports by his smile, or can blast with his frown, 
 
 To Him their returns of thanksgiving addressing. 
 Ilis arm through the ocean has led to the shores, 
 Where their perils are ended, their wanderings are o'er." 
 
 We admire the enthusiasm which impelled them to emi- 
 grate ; the firm, unshaken spirit with which the}' met the 
 horrors of Indian warfare, endured the extreme privations 
 of the comfortable homes they had left behind, the suffer- 
 ings and death from disease and a cold winter, "■ lamenting 
 that they did not live to see the rising glories of the faith- 
 ful." The memory of these men lives enshrined in our 
 hearts and enthroned upon our affections. Their energ}' 
 and incorruptible integrity prepared the way for the com- 
 plete enjoyment of those blessings which New England 
 people so preeminently possess. Amidst the stirring ex- 
 citement of tlie present day, simple legends of the past 
 have become, many of them, irretrievably lost. No poet 
 has yet sung of the heroism of the Pilgrim Fathers. In 
 coming ages, some Homer may arise, who shall describe in 
 immortal verse, the Heroic Age of the New World ; who 
 shall sins: of the Mav Flower of Plvmouth Rock : of Heroes 
 
O HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 more noble than Achilles or the son of Priam ; of moral 
 conflicts more sublime, of defeats more signal than the 
 battle between Greek and Trojan, than the sight of the 
 ruins of smouldering Ilium ; and of eloquence more sub- 
 lime than the appeals of Trojan Chiefs, or the thrilling 
 harrangues of Grecian Leaders ; who shall sing of a sub- 
 mission to the decrees, and of an obedience of the com- 
 mands, of the living and true God, more humble and yet 
 more beautiful, than the blinding superstitions and imposing 
 ceremonies and sacrifices of the heathen deities. 
 
 An affectionate and respectful remembrance of our 
 worthy ancestors, is a debt of gratitude which we can pay 
 in no other/Way, so appropriately, as by the exercises of 
 to-day. 
 
 If tradition speaks truly, the first inhabitants of this 
 town were two Indians, who lived near Angly Pond. An 
 Indian is also said to have lived near the large oak* in this 
 neighborhood. No further information of the history of 
 these men can be found. But these rumors are undoubt- 
 edly correct ; for the fine facilities for fishing, which the 
 ponds in this town then offered, and the fine linnting 
 grounds the forests then presented, must have rendered it 
 a favoiite resort of the Red Man. 
 
 Our imaginations carr}^ us back to the time, when this 
 land was inhabited by the Indian only, and to scenes wit- 
 nessed or enacted by him alone, in centuries gone by. A 
 wild and roving people once lived in these places, once 
 performed their sacred rites in these beautiful groves, cele- 
 brated their festive days with strange ceremonies, and 
 payed tribute to the memory of their dead, with strange 
 lamentations. Unaccustomed to till the soil, and indepen- 
 dent of the cares of life, they roved in careless indolence 
 through these fields, bathed in these waters, and threaded 
 
 the mazes of these forests, in uninterrupted pleasure. 
 
 1 
 
 *This tree stands in front of the dwelling house of Mr. Benjamin Sawyer, and is 
 the same to which allusion is made by Kev Henrj-True. It measures about 25 leet 
 in circumferei.ce It is hollow, and loimer y, by means of a hole near ihe gr.iund, 
 was a lavorite hiding place for the boys in the neighborhood. This aperture has now 
 grown over. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 7 
 
 To use the language of another,! — " Here, long ago, 
 and perhaps on the very spot where we are assembled, has 
 been held the war dance around their council fires, while 
 the surrounding hills echoed their loud whoop ; here with 
 impassioned words and startling figures have they made 
 the woods resound with their rude but irresistible elo- 
 quence, which, more potent than the peal of the ' stirring 
 drum,' and the shrill fife, aroused them to deeds of daring 
 and of valor. 
 
 '•And when in times of peace, softer passions swayed 
 their hearts, beneath these forest pines, Indian youth have 
 wooed their mates, and with the stars to witness and bless 
 their vows, have pledged perpetual love and constancy. 
 
 " But these scenes are all blotted out. The history of 
 centuries is a blank. Oh I could we roll back the oblivi- 
 ous tide and expose to view what other days have wit- 
 nessed ! could we but catch the sound of some soul-stirring 
 song, or the echo of some strain of their simple and glow- 
 ing eloquence ! But it cannot be. Nor song, nor speech 
 can be gathered up. Like the 
 
 ' flower that's born to blush unseen, 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air,' 
 
 they have died in the breeze that wafted them away." 
 
 There is no record to show the exact time when Hamp- 
 stead was settled. The earliest records of the town com- 
 mence in January, 1749, with the first meeting under the 
 charter. According to tradition, the first settlement was 
 made in 1728. The venerable man, who ministered to this 
 people so many years, and whose recent death we have so 
 much reason to lament, did more than any one else to pre- 
 serve the most interesting events in our history. In his 
 " Sketch of Hampstead,"* published in 1835, he remarks, 
 
 tHev. Stephen T. Allen. Taken from his adflress delivered at the Centennial Cele- 
 bration of the town of Merrimack, April 3, 1846. 
 
 *lt is proper here to say, that I am indebted to his " Sketch" for many of the facta 
 here related; also to the town records. Moat of the remaining. facts were communi- 
 cbted to me by tiie older inhabitants of the town. 
 
O HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 " that three white families, of the name of Ford, Heath 
 and Emerson, moved into the place about the year 1728. 
 Mr. Emerson came fiom Haverhill, and settled near a brook 
 in the south part of the town. Some of his posterity re- 
 main here still, and are among the most respectable in- 
 habitants." 
 
 No additional light has been discovered from a search 
 among the records and papers of the town. Mr. Kelly 
 was always remarkably exact in his statements, and took 
 a commendable degree of pride in collecting such interest- 
 ing portions of history. I have not been able to learn the 
 place where Mr. Emerson, nor where the other two fam- 
 ilies settled. But from the fact, that until recently, families 
 of the name of Heath have lived in the east part of the 
 town, and that that part is known to have been early set- 
 tled, we may conclude that they located in that vicinity. 
 
 But another account, from some of our townsmen, states 
 that the first house in Hampstead was built by Mr. Edmund 
 or Peter Morse, who moved from Newbury, Mass., and was 
 the grandfather of Mr. Joseph Morse, and of Samuel Morse, 
 Esq., recently deceased. The house stood in the pasture, 
 about half a mile north-east of the house of Dr. Samuel 
 Morse. A part of the farm is stiU'owned by his descend- 
 ants. The same account also states that Lieut. Peter 
 Morse was a son of this Mr. Morse, and the first white 
 male person born in town ; and that his daughter Judith 
 was the first white female born in Hampstead. The cellar 
 where this house stood is still to be seen. It is divided 
 into two parts, by the foundation of a large chimney. Four 
 pines, from eight to twelve inches in diameter, now stand 
 in the cellar. Near by these ruins is the first burial place 
 of our fathers. There are over a hundred graves, and not 
 a single monument to tell us the names of those who sleep 
 beneath the sod ! 
 
 Near the eastern shore of this pond* are found the ruins 
 
 *'rhe exercises of this celeliration were held in the "Davis Grove," situated on the 
 western shore of the "Wash Pond,'' and extending to the water's edge The Grove 
 is distant from the ruins of the first settlement, about half a mile, in a direct Imc. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 9 
 
 of the early settlement of the town. It was once the most 
 populous part, the centre of importance. But nothing re- 
 mains, save the few relics which time has spared. The 
 roughly stoned cellars, the half-filled wells, and the beaten 
 paths to favorite springs, mark the spot where our hardy 
 townsmen first began to clear the land of its heavy growth 
 of wood and timber, erected their rude log houses, and be- 
 gan to undergo the privations of a life in a new settle- 
 ment. 
 
 In this age of security and luxury, we are apt to under- 
 rate the hardships which the first settlers of New England 
 had to encounter. Our soil is a stubborn one and yields 
 a good return only to the most persevering toil. To live 
 in those days, when all a family could get was what it 
 alone could raise from the earth, or fashion with its hands ; 
 when neighbors were few and far scattered, and each little 
 household was dependent upon itself almost alone, for 
 help and protection; when the work of years was liable to 
 be destroyed in a single night; when the ruthless savage 
 was continually prowling about each settlement, and in an 
 unguarded moment murdering or carrying into hopeless 
 captivity, women and children ; when no farmer felt secure 
 at work in his field, unless armed with his gun ; and when 
 even the house of God was the scene of constant alarm 
 from the actual or much dreaded attack of the Indian — to 
 live in those days and to contend with such diflficulties, is 
 not the ordinary lot of man. 
 
 In reviewing the history of our town, we would gladly 
 turn to the days of our first settlement, and fix on some 
 bright spot of the past. We would picture to ourselves 
 scenes of rural contentment and quiet ; the humble log 
 house, half concealed from view by tall maples and grace- 
 ful elms, alike protected from the heat of summer, and 
 shut in from the cold storms of winter ; the cheerful fire- 
 side ; the honest-minded farmer and his simple-hearted 
 dame, suriounded by a numerous family of stalwart 3'oung 
 men and coy maidens, training to become efficient actors 
 
lO HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 in the great struggle for American Independence. We 
 follow in imagination the hunter in the excitement of the 
 chase, or in his perilous adventures in the extermination of 
 the wild beasts of the forest ; we hear the happy voice of 
 the farmer toiling in his field, the quick blows of the 
 woodman's axe, the loud crash of the falling tree, or the 
 clear notes of the laughing, merry voices of children ring- 
 ino- throuoh the woods, echoing across the calm surface of 
 this beautiful pond, and dying away in the thick shade of 
 the trees that covered its opposite shores. 
 
 These scenes, we would gladly believe, constituted the 
 routine of their lives. But the reality differs widely 
 from this ideal picture of rural quietness. Toil, severe and 
 unremitting, left them but little lesiure to enjoy the more 
 quiet pleasures of modern life. It was their lot to endure 
 the hardships of pioneers in the wilderness. How they 
 fared, what difficulties they encountered, what efforts they 
 made for the promotion of the moral and benevolent 
 institutions which are so peculiar to New England, history 
 tells us not. The names of the great only are enrolled on 
 the books of fame. The historian records the name of the 
 victorious warrior, the illustrious statesman, the eloquent 
 orator, and the accomplished scholar. But the man whose 
 lot it is to live and die upon the spot of his birth, who lives 
 in ignorance of the ways of the world, honestly performs 
 his part in the drama of life, and "bears love to God and 
 good will to man," — dies lamented in the circle of immedi, 
 ate friends in which he moved ; but when they in turn 
 quit all here below, his memory perishes too. 
 
 With the ruins of the first settlement of this town, fast 
 crumbling to decay, will perish every memento of our ear- 
 liest history. How forcibl}^ we are reminded of the perish- 
 ableness of all earthly things I A century and a quarter 
 ago, this town was a wilderness, uninhabited by the white 
 man, and only the occasional resort of the Indian. To-day 
 it is the abode of civilization, of happiness, of peace and 
 plenty. But its first settlers — where are they ? They 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. II 
 
 sleep in the dust ; their very names, with hardly an excep- 
 tion, are lost, and no record remains of their eventful lives. 
 With a sense of loneliness we ask, " what is the history 
 of man ?" and lienceforth there comes the response, 'born 
 — living — dead." 
 
 "The battle of life is brief,— 
 
 The alarm — the struggle — the relief, 
 
 Then sleep we side by side." 
 
 There is nothing upon the records of the town, or else- 
 where, that I have been able to discover, which reveals to 
 us the history of our earliest ancestors. But from the fact 
 tliat in twenty years from the time of its first settlement, it 
 had become of sufficient importance to be honored with an 
 act of incorporation, we may infer that at least an ordinary 
 deo-ree of success attended the settlement.* No untoward 
 event, probably, interrupted its growth, so that in 1748 
 the people petitioned the Royal Governor for a town char- 
 ter, which was granted on the 19th of January, 1749. 
 This instrument appears to have been regarded by our an- 
 cestors witli a good degi'ee of veneration. It was copied 
 into the first book of Records, and to those at all curious 
 in relies of antiquit}', is a matter of interest. 
 
 From the " Historical Sketch," by Mr. Kelly, we find 
 that Hampstead is made up of two segments, one from 
 the town of Amesbury, and the other from the town of 
 Haverhill, both being cut off from those towns by running 
 the state line in 1741, and were thereby included within 
 the Province of New Hampshire. It was called, original- 
 ly, Timber Lane, " on account of its being an elevated, 
 hard tract of land, and from the abundance of timber of 
 the most valuable kinds, Avhich rendered it a place of con- 
 siderable resort." It was named Hampstead, after a 
 pleasant village of that name in the county of Middlesex, 
 
 *It was a far more difficult thing at that time to plant a small colony, and cause it to flour- 
 ish, than it is at the present day, lo build up a large cilv, or cause thriving villages to spring 
 iii\ by enchantment almost, out of the midst of a ihiiving and industrious people The 
 largest city in this state, 1 1 yenis ago, contained less than a thousand inhabitants; in the com- 
 pnct part of it, where is now found a ihiiving population of 14000 souls, there then stood but 
 three houses and dwelt about a ^core of people. At the present day this wonderful increase 
 is not uncommon. A century ago it required time to lay the foundation of a permanent set- 
 tlement. 
 
12 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 in England, five miles north of London. The town Avas 
 so named by Governor Wentworth. The island in this 
 town was reserved by him for his farm. This Island must 
 formerly have been a place of considerable note. All ac- 
 counts agree in saying that the Governor reserved it for his 
 own use. No such reservation appears in the Charter. It 
 would, perhaps, be more proper to say that he owned the 
 Island in his own right, in the same way that any private 
 individual owned his own farm. The buildings erected 
 upon the Island, must, in their day, have been considered of 
 a superior kind. One of the houses was evidently intended 
 for the occasional residence of the Governor, and the other 
 according to the English custom, was of a poorer kind, and 
 devoted to the use of his domestics. Notwithstanding the 
 buildings have been suffered to go to decay, there are yet 
 enough traces of improvement remaining, to render the 
 spot one of the most beautiful places in the state. It was 
 formerly called "Governor's Island." As it is wanting in 
 a name at this time, a return to the old name would be 
 very appropriate. 
 
 In granting the Charter, the King reserved to himself, 
 his " heirs and successors, forever, all wl)ite pine trees, 
 growing and being, or that shall grow and be, on said tract 
 of land, fit for the use of his Royal Navy." Such a reserva- 
 tion was usual at that time, but it has availed the poor 
 Kino- and his succeesors but little. Since we threw off the 
 yoke of British allegiance, his successors have been forced 
 to look elsewhere for materials for the " Royal Navy," and 
 England, twice humbled in her haughty pride, has found a 
 powerful rival on the shores of America. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of the Charter, the 
 first public meeting was warned to assemble for the pur- 
 pose of organizing under it, by Daniel Little, Esq. The 
 warrant is one of which we ma^^ as townsmen, well be 
 proud. It is so indicative of the character of our New 
 England ancestors, that I cannot forbear copying it. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. I3 
 
 *' These are to warn ye freeholders and other inhabitants of ye town of 
 Harapstead, qualified to vote in ye choice of Town Officers, to meet at ye 
 New Meeting House in Harapstead on ye first Wednesday of February 
 next at 10 of ye clock in ye forenoon for ye following particulars, viz : 
 
 1st. To choose town officers as ye law directs,- 
 
 2d. To see what ye said Town will do in order to make ye Meeting 
 House 7nore comfortable for ye public worship of Grod, and also to choose 
 a committee to take care of ye same. 
 
 3dly. To consider and act what shall be thought best about ye place 
 proposed for six pews in ye new tier in ye front of said Meeting House. 
 
 4thly. To choose a Committee to provide a minister to preach among 
 Tis in order for settling amongst us, or what ye town may think most 
 proper. 
 
 Dated at Hampstead, Jan'y 24, 1749. 
 
 DANIEL LITTLE, Justice of the Peace. 
 
 The people were notified to assemble in the New Meet- 
 ing House. This is the same building which is now used 
 for a town house and occasionally for religious services. It 
 cannot be determined, certainly, when it was built. From 
 the best information, we are led to believe that it was 
 raised about the year 1745. It was probably built at the 
 town's expense, as they seem by the records to have exer- 
 cised exclusive control over it, in selling the pews, making 
 repairs and taking care of it. 
 
 The building that first served them for a place of worship 
 must have been small, and of that kind universally erect- 
 ed by the Puritans when the}^ first settled in New England. 
 It was located on the spot where " Spiggot Hall," (re- 
 cently so named,) is now situated. Nothing remains to 
 tell us when it was erected, nor how long it was used. It 
 was probably built of hewn logs, in the simplest manner, 
 without porch or ornament, and without any pretensions 
 to beauty or finish, after the mode of architecture then 
 prevailing in New England. Rough boards or logs consti- 
 tuted the pews, and the pulpit was scarcely any thing 
 better. A galleiy for the choir was unheard of, or at least 
 unthought of, being considered a dangerous innovation 
 upon Puritan simplicity. As was their custom at those 
 times, the hymn was '* deaconed out" a line at a time, (for 
 liymn books were a luxury which they could ill afford,) 
 
14 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAU. 
 
 all the congregation, who chose, joined in the singing ; a 
 mode of praising God, often more in accordance with the 
 real feelings of the heart, than the elegant, finished, but 
 too frequently unmeaning way, in which tiie select choirs 
 of the present day, perforin tliis delightful duty. 
 
 The first Meeting House must have been extremely un- 
 comfortable in tlie winter season ; its walls were unplas- 
 tered, and fires were out of the question, stoves being a 
 thing unheard of, in such a place. The building too, was 
 erected when the population was small in numbers, and 
 would not accommodate tlie increasing wants of the peo- 
 ple. 
 
 From these considerations, they determined to erect a 
 new and more commodious place of worship. The new 
 house, which tliey constructed, reflects great credit upon 
 them, for what must then have been considered an elegant 
 and beautiful structure. It was built of durable materials 
 and for over a centuiy has withstood the ravages of time. 
 In convenience of arrangement, in the simiJicity of its 
 model, and in the beaut}' of its proportions, it stands a mon- 
 ument of Puritan skill and energy and of Puritan faith. 
 
 The house was not put in its present shape, till near the 
 close of the eighteenth century, when the porch and steei)le 
 were added, and the house thoroughly repaired. Even the 
 windows were not all glazed, nor the doors all hung until 
 some years after the frame was covered ; and it was many 
 years before its walls Avere plastered. The limited means 
 of our fathers would not permit them to finish it, as fast 
 as they desired or as convenience demanded. 
 
 The erection of this house was considered by them indis- 
 pensible. It was no mercenary motive that led our fath- 
 ers to leave " Old Enghmd's " shores, encounter the perils 
 of the deep, and endure the privations of a life in the wil- 
 derness. It must have been a strong and enduring love 
 for religion and a perfect faith in God, that induced our 
 Puritan mothers to sever the ties of kindred and nation, 
 to leave parents and friends — all behind — and find in the 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 1$ 
 
 wiltls and severe climate of New England, a place to wor- 
 ship God in security, " according to the dictates of their 
 own consciences;" to find a refuge from pereecution, and 
 an asylnm for the despised Pilgrim. It was a strong and 
 abiding love in God, that could induce our fathers and 
 mothers to leave the luxuries and pleasures of ho7ne — that 
 word, the mention of which, calls up in our memories a 
 thousand pleasing associations, — and to settle in lands 
 which would be continually' harassed by Indian warfare, 
 and attended with such " sure destruction of property, 
 and life, and hope." " There was no face which did not 
 gather paleness, and no heart which did not bleed at ever}^ 
 pore. Everything in life Avas held and enjoyed in fearful 
 uncertainty. The fond motl:er,with her infant in her arms, 
 held him in perpetual fear. She felt that inward terror, 
 that beatina: and throbbing of nature within the heart, 
 which she only can know, who is nursing her infant for 
 slaughter." Hearts that could put their trust in the Lord 
 and brave dangefs like these, more terrible, because uncer- 
 tain, and attended with unheard of barbarity, must have 
 been imbued with a perfect love of God. It no longer, 
 then, excites our wonder, that every infant settlement had 
 its sanctuar}', that New England has become world re- 
 nowned for its religion, its learning, and its enterprise. 
 Its ten thousand church spires, reaching upward toward 
 Heaven, point with unerring accuracy, to the cause of its 
 superiority in morality and prosperity. 
 
 Happily our own town never was the scene of Indian 
 massacre and cruelty. But its vicinity to other places, 
 which in an unsuspecting moment, became scenes of blood- 
 shed, must have kept them in perpetual suspense. " Hus- 
 bands and wives, parents and children, nightly retired to 
 rest in safety, sunk together into silence, doubting ever to 
 rise again." 
 
 The same people came to settle this town, and possessed 
 the same undying love for God, and the same unyielding- 
 spirit to persecution. The strong love for the sanctuary. 
 
I6 * HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 and sanctuary privileges, which they implanted in onr 
 breasts, is the richest legacy they could have bequeathed 
 us. It outshines in splendor and in richness, "the wealth 
 of Ormus and of Ind." It is no mean heritage to be the 
 descendants of such people. Well may we quote with 
 pride the first warrant for the meeting of the free-holders, 
 when every line but one was penned, to take measures for 
 the enjoyment of increased privileges in the worship of 
 God, and to provide a permanent preacher of His word. 
 
 The erection of their new Meeting House, was an im- 
 portant era in their history. It is unfortunate that there 
 is no authentic record of it extant. Allow me to quote the 
 language used upon an occasion similar to this.* 
 
 " It was apparent that it was in their hearts to build a 
 house unto the Lord. At length the work went on. The 
 forest, dense and heavy, that then eutiely surrounded the 
 destined location, resounded with the woodman's axe. The 
 oaks hard by, — venerable with the growth of centuries, — 
 were felled and fitted for their place ;" at length, " the 
 day, so long an object of pious desire on the part of some, 
 and of wakeful interest among all, had arrived. At an 
 early hour in the morning from the remotest borders of 
 the town, the men are gathering. All are prompt and 
 ready to act their several parts in a scene, than which none, 
 perhaps, more joyous had ever before occurred in the his- 
 tory of the town. None of the actors survive to recount 
 what transpired on that memorable day. We kuow, how- 
 ever that the raising of a Meeting House was an event of 
 no ordinary interest. But in these days of progress and 
 rapid execution, when villages rise up like mushrooms, and 
 Meeting Houses, comfortably provided with all fixtures, 
 can be furnished at short notice, we can but imperfectly 
 imaeine the excitement that thrilled the infant settlement 
 on the occasion in question. 
 
 " The morning of the day, we may well suppose, found 
 their domestic matters done up in season, and we seem to 
 
 *Rev. Mr. Allen. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. I7 
 
 see them setting off, — the active and the able bodied, with 
 their implements in hand, — ihe housewives neatly attired 
 in their checkered aprons, on foot or on pillion, — the 
 beardless, vannting young men and coy maidens, in Suii- 
 day dress, — all wending their way to the central point of 
 interest, wliere, doubtless, in due time, were assembed 
 nearly all of the three hundred population in town. 
 
 '' What deeds of strength and agility, in handling beams 
 and rafters, — what skill in tilting and catching pins — what 
 hair-breadth escapes, — what presumtuous adventures in 
 w^alking the giddy ridgepole, — what notes of alarm from 
 prudent mothers and careful wives, — it is not for us to re- 
 port. Nor would it be of interest, at this late period, 
 to speak of the closing scenes of that day. It is enough 
 to remark, that, as after the consecration of the Temple, 
 Solomon held a feast, and all Israel Nvith him, and on the 
 eighth day sent the people away, and they came to their 
 tents joyiully and glad of heart ; so no doubt abundant 
 provision had been made for " all those creature comforts, 
 once — but not now, deemed indispensable at a raising. 
 
 ''The massive frame thus went up, without any accident 
 to mar the happiness of the occasion ; and there it has 
 stood," more than " a century, defying the fierce blasts of 
 winter, and the progress of decay, — and seems even now, 
 capable, with proper care, of lasting a century more. 
 Though it has been taken from sacred, and appropri- 
 ated to secular uses, — though it stands solitar}^ and 
 alone, and seems without and within like one forsaken, 
 — yet, who can pass it b> ," " without emotion ? " It 
 is of New England architecture. " It is a Puritan 
 structure." * * * "Centuries to come will approve 
 and applaud the New England men, who worshipped 
 in square pews, and the New England ministers, who 
 preached with a subduing power from high pulpits." 
 
 The first town meeting was held on the 7th day of 
 February, 1749* Daniel Little was chosen moderator, 
 
 *rhis was in Old Style. According to our chronology, it would be eleven days later. This 
 remark will also apply to the date of our town charter. 
 
l8*- HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 and had the honor of hokling the first elective office in 
 town. Peter Eastman was elected Town Clerk, to which 
 office he was annually elected, with but two exceptions, 
 till 1776. Nathaniel Heath was chosen Constable but not 
 wishing to serve, hired Ebenezer Gile to take his place^ 
 and the town accepted the substitute. A board of five 
 Selectmen was chosen, either because it was the custom 
 to choose that number, or because they thought five would 
 be more prompt to serve the town well, than three. The 
 board consisted of John Johnson, Lieut. Peter Morse, 
 George Little, Jacob Bayley and Stephen Johnson. The 
 other offices were all filled, no doubt, by good men. 
 Joseph Stevens and John Beard were elected Hogreeves. 
 If the custom then prevailed, as at the present time, of 
 choosing the newly married to that office, we are led to 
 infer that Joseph Stevens and John Beard had recently 
 worshipped at the altar of Hymen. It is certainl}'- a cus- 
 tom of long standing. Tlie office was not then, as now, a 
 nominal one ; its duties were often onerous. Perhaps the 
 custom owes its origin to the playful desire upon the part 
 of the community at large, to render this naturally embar- 
 rassing period of the newly wedded couple's life, more em- 
 barrassing by thus drawing to the happ}' groom, the atten- 
 tion of the whole town. There may be something peculiar 
 in matrimony itself, that renders him a suitable person to 
 have charo'e of the swine runninu; at lar<je, and makes 
 him emphatically " master of the ring." Or, by ringing 
 the nose of the unfortunate pig, he may see a foreboding 
 of what is to be his own fate, unless he shall float down 
 the stream of w^edded life more safely than sometimes h<ip- 
 pens. The question will, probably never be settled upon 
 strictly' political principles. 
 
 Some action was taken at this meeting for securing a 
 
 settled minister. But from a defect in the records, it does 
 
 -not appear what action was had. From the fact that a 
 
 minister was settled three years afterward, in 1752, it is 
 
 probable that this meeting prepared the way for future 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. I9 
 
 success, though its action at that time did not result in 
 iinything definite. 
 
 At the annual meeting in 1750, among other things, it 
 was voted to " hire a schoolmaster for six months in ye 
 summer season, to teach ye children, to read and write." 
 We may point to this vote with great pleasure. That a 
 town, which had been settled only twenty-one years, and 
 had, probably, less than three hundred inhabitants, should 
 be at the expense of sustaining the school half the year, 
 was an act which forms one of the brighest spots in our 
 history. The next distinguishing feature, in the polic}' 
 adopted by our fathers, to the noble example they set in 
 the worship of God, is our system of Common Schools. 
 
 The men who settled New England, entertained correct 
 ideas of true glory. They had been schooled in adversity 
 and had learned to estimate truly human greatness and 
 human power. The}' knew that " knowledge is power." 
 In the ignorance and superstition that shrouded the Old 
 World in error, shut out the glad light of liberty, and 
 fastened upon Europe the badges of the most despotic 
 governments, the}' saw the destiny that awited them in 
 their new homes, unless they should lay deep the foun- 
 dations of knowledge. They knew that freedom, with- 
 out knowledge, was but another name for slavery. The 
 arrogant assumption of the Papal authority, the bitter 
 unrelenting cruelty of the Dark Ages, their own persecu- 
 tions by their own firesides, served to make them strive 
 more zealously, to establish what they conceived to be the 
 truth. Our fathers saw the degredation of the masses of 
 the Old World, and resolved that no such heritage should 
 be the lot of their childien. At the same time they erected 
 their own dwellings, they also erected the school house. 
 
 When they established the Common School system, they 
 performed an act, whose influence will reach down through 
 all time. Had it not been for the intelligence of the men 
 of 177G, America had never been free. Had it not been 
 for Common Schools, our enterprise would not whiten 
 
20 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 every sea with the sails of our ships ; our commerce would 
 not extend to the most distant ports ; our fabrics would 
 not compete so successfully with those of more favored 
 climes ; our glorious Union itself would not have stood so 
 long, unshaken by the dangers which threaten it without 
 and within. 
 
 Csesar, the hero of three hundred battles, the subjuga- 
 tor of eight hundi-ed cities, the conqueror of three millions 
 of people, one million of whom he slew in battle, has, in- 
 deed rendered his name immortal. But long after the in- 
 fluence of his deeds shall have ceased to be felt, when his 
 name shall be rememl)ered onl^'to be associated with scenes 
 of cruelty, shall the humble, unpretending acts of the Pil- 
 grims move the might}^ masses that shall come after them. 
 
 The greatest foe to t3'ranny is knowledge. Millions, yet 
 unborn, will unite to bless the men "who broke the magic 
 spell of ignorance and of error." 
 
 We do no feel the full weight of the debt of gratitude, 
 which we owe to the memory of our fathers. Not till we 
 contrast our fortune with that of the millions of Europe, 
 who are now struggling to burst the bonds that have so 
 long held them in ignoiance, and in humiliating depend- 
 ence upon the nobility, can we feel the superiority of our 
 condition. 
 
 How different is the condition of Common Schools at 
 the present day from what it was one hundred years ago I 
 Then the town voted to liire a teacher for six months, to 
 teach only reading and writing. So limited a course of 
 education at this day, would hardly be thought a very 
 great accomplishment. But their effort for the educa- 
 tion of the rising generation will seem a noble one when 
 we consider that then almost the whole world was bur- 
 ied in ignorance, that onl}' here and there did the bright 
 rays of knowledge illumine the face of the earth, that 
 then people considered the possession of knowledge beyond 
 their reach and forbore to strive after it, that one centu- 
 ry ago the world was groping in the dark, — all knowl- 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 21 
 
 edge of the truth effectually shut out from the minds of 
 the people, except when imparted through the medium of 
 men whose interest it was to keep the masses in ignor- 
 ance. Even in 1750 our town, would compare favorably 
 with the condition of many parts of our country at the 
 present time. In our southern and western states, there 
 is many an individual who can neither read nor write. But 
 an hundied years ago, it was not a common thing to find 
 a New Englander who could not do both. 
 
 There are many yet living who can count their whole 
 term of " schooling " by weeks, who traveled miles to 
 school, and thought themselves fortunate to enjoy such 
 privileges. The school houses of that time were want- 
 ing in almost every convenience, and possessed none of 
 the luxuries of modern times. Though often hardly 
 wortliy the name of a school house, often containing 
 only a single room, cold and uncomfortable, amid the 
 miniatin-e snow banks, which crept stealthily in between 
 the crevices of the hewn logs, and through the cheerless 
 days of winter, were educated as brave men and noble 
 hearts as ever lived. 
 
 The Testament was then the only reading and spelling 
 book known, and a copy-book consisted of a few leaves 
 of the roughest paper. To this limited list of studies 
 Arithmetic was soon added. At first no text book was 
 used. Such examples as would come up in the ordinary 
 course of a man's business, were given out by the teacher 
 and the four fundamental rules taught orally. In time, 
 Pike's Arithmetic made its appearance, grew into general 
 favor, and for a long time remained in exclusive use. 
 But that, like everything else, must give place to im- 
 provement. Then followed Welch's, Adams' Old, and 
 New, Colburn's, and lastly, to the honor of our town, 
 the analytical, thorough and concise treatise, by one of 
 Hampstead's most distinguished sons.* The rapidity 
 with which it grew into general favor, the extensive 
 
 *The Norih American Arithmetic, in three parts, by Frederick Emerson, Instructor in Bos- 
 ton. 
 
22 - HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 adoption of it in most of our schools, and the success 
 with which it maintained its favor with the public in 
 face of the most persevering competition, is proof, stronger 
 than words, of its real merits. 
 
 There is not time to notice all the improvements in- 
 troduced into our schools. What distrust accompanied 
 the introduction of new studies, what wry faces were 
 made over the unintelligible pages of Murray, what bit- 
 ter tears were shed over hard, half-learned tasks, and 
 what fear of blistered hands or smarting limbs, — we 
 leave for other pens on different occasions. 
 
 It is proper, however, to allude to the important changes 
 that have taken place in reading books. The New 
 Testament was, at first, the only reading book used. But 
 from the sacredness of the book, and on account of its 
 being ill adapted to the capacities of different ages, it 
 was superseded by other books. The American Precep- 
 tor, and, for a long time also, the English Reader, were 
 favorite text-books. In the improvements of the age, 
 these books gave way to a series well adapted to the dif- 
 ferent ages and capacities of youth, by another distin- 
 guished son of Ilampstead.f For several years the town 
 honored him by the exclusive adoption of his books. But 
 the love for new things is irresistible, and Emerson's 
 Reading books have been partially laid aside, to make 
 room for other candidates for public favor. The same au- 
 thor has furnished to the world a simple, neat, well ar- 
 ranged and correct spelling book,J which has been exclu- 
 sively adopted in the schools in this town for nearl}^ twenty 
 years. The hundreds of editions that have been pub- 
 lished, its almost universal adoption in schools, and the 
 long time it has been in use, are sure guaranties of its 
 worth. The rival, that can supplant it, must present the 
 strongest claims of excellence. 
 
 The man who publishes a book for Common School 
 
 tBenjamin D. Emerson, Esq., Roxbury, Mass. 
 
 JEmerson's National Spelling Book. 
 
- HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 23 
 
 use, wields a mighty influence. The character of his 
 book operates upon the mind when it is most suscept- 
 ible of bias. It is the duty of the people, then, to look 
 into the character of the instruments, which aid in 
 forming the most lasting impressions the youthfid mind 
 ever receives. 
 
 I believe no other town has the honor of being the birth 
 place of men, whose school books have been so univer- 
 sally approved and adopted. This fact, together with the 
 esteem with which we have always regarded tliem, must 
 be ray apology for alluding to what, at first sight, might 
 not seem strictly appropriate to the occasion. 
 
 Our fathers had not the advantages which we enjoy. 
 The town in 1750, contained but one district, and ac- 
 cording to the terms of the vote, the school was to be 
 sustained only in the summer season. Its advantages 
 could not, therefore, have been extensive. The great 
 distance must have excluded most of the smaller cliil- 
 dren, and the duties of the farm and of the dairy, in the 
 busiest season, must have deprived many of the elder chil- 
 dren from attending. The first attempts in other parts, 
 of New England, to establish schools, were attended with 
 similar inconveniences, and produced only the same lim- 
 ited advantages. But from this small germ, has grown 
 up around us our strongest bulwark of defence. It is 
 the cause of our unexampled prosperit}-. In vain will 
 bigotry or infidelity attempt to undermine our security, 
 Avhile our system of Common Schools is cherished as one of 
 the most efficient aids to religion, and national prosperity. 
 The foundation of all prosperity is in an enliglitened com- 
 munity. An ignorant people, though inhabiting the most 
 favored land on earth, soon sinks into insignificance. Our 
 extended sea-coast invites the merchant to traverse the 
 ocean for trade with ever}' clime. Our fertile valleys 
 have given employment to the agriculturalist. Our nu- 
 merous water-falls have attracted the enterprising manu- 
 facturer. " Cities spring up like exhalations, under the 
 
24"- HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 magic touch of his wand, and the hum of machinerj 
 arises out of the midst of a thrift}', industrious and happ}' 
 people." 
 
 The majestic plains and rivers of the West have col- 
 lected adventuiers from every part of the woild. Our 
 country exhibits to other nations the unexampled rise and 
 prosperity of a free, self-governed, and educated people. 
 The Common School system has been one of the most 
 effective means in producing these magic changes. Its 
 benefits and its inevitable results are ai'gnments wliich 
 come directly home to the hearts and understandings 
 of the great body of the peo[)le. To the foresight and wis- 
 dom of the pilgrims, are we indebted for this rich lega- 
 cy. With what care and anxiety, then, should we 
 cherish it, so that we may hand it down to those who 
 shall come after us, not only untarnished, but in our 
 hands made the instrument of increased good. 
 
 Time forbids indulging in any further reflections, to 
 which so fruitful a subject invites our attention. The 
 remaining events in our town's history must be rapidly 
 run over. 
 
 At this time there appears to have been some troui)le 
 concerning the Parsonage lands. Tlie Propiietors of Hav- 
 erhill granted to the inhaltitants of 'I'imber Lane, a tract 
 of land " for ye use of ye first minister who should set- 
 tle here." At this meeting in 1750, it was voted 'nluit 
 Esq. Little, Capt. Copps and John Webster, should be 
 a committee to agree with Thos. Haynes to go off ye 
 Pai'sonage land, if they can do it on leasonable terms." 
 This committee was unsuccessful in effecting a settlement 
 with Mr. Haynes. It is not easy to ascertain wherein 
 the difficulty consisted. The dispute was about the title. 
 At different meetings the town chose committees to 
 prosecute the trespassers, or to settle with them, cr to 
 refer the matter. So many votes were passed and recon- 
 sidered, that it is not possible to ascertain how the mat- 
 ter was finally adjusted. The last vote upon the town 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 25 
 
 records, is to give it to any one to hold in fee simple, 
 who will take up the case and prosecute it to final judg- 
 ment. Probably some amicable adjustment was made, 
 which secured the lands to the town.* 
 
 An article was inserted in the warrant " to see if ye 
 town would give Mr. Merriam a call to settle as a gos- 
 pel minister in ye town.". From a defect in the records, 
 it cannot be ascertained what was done. 
 
 In August, 1750, at a meeting holden for the purpose, a 
 committee was chosen "to supply ye pulpit, with ye advice 
 of ve neighboring ministers." A similar vote w^as passed in 
 
 1751. " The town thus had preaching most of the time. 
 At a meeting held on the 25th day of February, 1752, the 
 town voted to " choose and elect Mr. Henry True, to 
 settle with us in ye work of ye ministry." " Voted to 
 give Mr. True for his annual salary X450, each of ye 
 two first years, in monej', old tenor, or equal to it in 
 money ; and after ye two first years are expired, then 
 .£500 a year, of 3^e like money, during ye time he con- 
 tinues to carry on ye Avork of ye ministry amongst us, in 
 this town of Hampstead." At an adjourned meeting, 
 they voted, as an additional inducement for him to come, 
 "£1000, o. t., one-half in bills of credit, and ye other 
 half in labor and materials for building — also, twent}"^ cords 
 of wood, annually, after he hath a family. Also, ye peace- 
 able possession of ye land, granted by the proprietors of 
 Haverhill, to ye first minister who should settle in Tim- 
 ber Lane." To the call of the town, and this liberal 
 offer, Mr. True returned a letter of acceptance. 
 
 Mr. True came from Salisbuiy, Mass. He was gi-aduated 
 at Harvard College in 1750, and was ordained June 24, 
 
 1752, and continued in the ministry almost thirty years, 
 till his death. " He always maintained the character of 
 a good man^ (says Rev. Mr. Kell}^) " agreeably to the 
 
 *Since ihe above was delivered, I have learned that the above named lands do not make 
 a part of the present Parsonase. They are situated on the west road leading from Mr. Dan- 
 iel Emerson's to the Wadley < orner. Kev. Henry True, soon after his settlement, sold nut 
 his interest for a mere song, and the purchaser made a very profitable investment of his 
 money. 
 
26 * HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 text, Acts 11 : 24, which Rev. Edward Barnard of Hav- 
 erhill preached from, at his ordination. During the first 
 half of his ministry, no clergyman was moi-e highly es- 
 teemed or better treated by the people than he was. As 
 his family increased, they added to his salary; the whole 
 sum that the people gave him, over his regular salary, 
 was nearly $3000, and this was when the daily wages of se- 
 lectmen were only two shillings. But toward the close of 
 his ministry, they cut down his salary, for several years 
 to $200 a 3'ear. Other ministers came into the place, and 
 by their zealous and loud speaking, produced great com- 
 motion, but no revival among the people, who were 
 very sanguine and versatile in their opinions. This did 
 not unsettle the good minister, nor sully his character 
 in the view of any man, but it reduced his salary and 
 the number of his hearers so that after his decease, the 
 people were in trouble." For many years, in consequence 
 of a division amongst themselves, they attempted, un- 
 successfully, to settle a new minister. 
 
 In 1755, during the old French War, Mr. True went 
 into the army as chaplain ; also, again in 1762. In a let- 
 ter to his wife, dated July 11th, at Crown Point, he 
 gives an interesting account of matters occurring in the 
 camp ; he speaks of the great drought which was so fatal 
 to the crops that year. His connection with the army 
 does not appear to have been marked by any striking 
 events. After remaining there the appointed time, he 
 returned to his family and people. 
 
 Mr. True died suddenly on the 22d of May, 1782, in 
 the fifty-seventh year of his age. It was on the Sabbath, 
 just as he was ready to leave his house for the house of 
 God, to preach as usual, when, with scarcely a moment's 
 Avarning, he was called to " a tabernacle not made with 
 hands," to spend an eternal Sabbath of rest. 
 
 Mr. True was the means of doing much good ; his 
 influence is felt to this day. He left a numerous family 
 of children, who settled in different parts of our land ; 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 2*J 
 
 and carried with them the habits and virtues, which their 
 father instilled into their minds in their youth. 
 
 Dr. Jabez True, his son, was one of the first settlers 
 of Ohio ; he led a life of more than ordinary usefulness. 
 He died in 1823, at the age of sixty-three. His memory 
 is still cherished by the descendants of the early pio- 
 neers of that great state, for his universal charit}-, sim- 
 plicity of manners, and sincere piety. 
 
 Rev. Henry True, another son, was, for many years, 
 settled in the state of Maine, and now, in his old age, is 
 enjoying the consciousness of having lived a useful life, 
 and is commanding the veneration and respect of every 
 one. 
 
 The people of this town can bear testiniony to the 
 life of usefulness, which another of the famil}^ has led. 
 Her visits of mercy to the sick, her sympathy for the 
 poor and distressed, her disinterested zeal in works of 
 charity and benevolence, have endeared her to us with 
 many ties of affection. 
 
 In 1753, the town offered a bounty of four pounds on 
 every wolf killed in the town. An incident which oc- 
 curred about this time, was the cause of the passage of 
 this vote. Lieut. Peter Morse was tending a coal pit 
 upon his land at some distance from his house. At night 
 when ready to return to. his family, he found himself 
 surrounded by several wolves. He was obliged to pass 
 a long and sleepless night in the forest, and saved his 
 life only by continually throwing firebrands at them. 
 
 .Every vestige of the wilderness has long been removed. 
 Among the most vexatious and often calamitous annoy- 
 ances, which were continually harvassing our ancestors^ 
 was the attack of wild beasts upon their ITocks. 
 
 The warrant for the annual meeting in 1756 com- 
 mences with the caption, — '' Province of New Hampshire. 
 In His Majesty's name, you are required to meet," &c. 
 This caption was used this year for the first time, and 
 was continued till the commencement of the Revolution- 
 
28 *. HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 ar}- War, when it was changed to " Colony of New 
 Hampshire. In the name of the Government and Peo- 
 ple, you are notified," &c. After the formation of the 
 Constitution, it was again changed to " State of New 
 Hampshire. In tlie name of said State, you are," &c. 
 These changes of captions, though considered small mat- 
 ters in themselves, serve to show how ready the people 
 were to renounce all allegiance to the King of England. 
 In 1758, a committee was chosen to defend a suit 
 hrouglit by the town of Kingston against Hampstead. 
 The difficulty continued eight years, before it was set- 
 tled. Before the State line was run in 1741, Hampstead, 
 as now constituted, belonged mostly to Haverhill. But 
 a small portion of the eastern part of the town, which 
 went by the name of Amesbury Peak, was claimed, both 
 by Kingston and Amesbury, although the latter town 
 exercised jurisdiction over the territory. Kingston then 
 comprehended all that is now called Kingston, East 
 Kingston, Danville and Sandown, and being incorporated 
 fifty-five years before Hampstead, would also embrace tlie 
 disputed territor}-, after the running of the State line. 
 Thougli that town had slept fifty-five years, before the 
 incorporation of Hampstead, and eleven years after its 
 incorporation, yet in 1760, "they at last waked up, and fell 
 upon this town with redoubled force, with writ after writ." 
 These lawsuits caused the town a good deal of trouble, 
 and many meetings were called for the purpose of set- 
 tling the difficulty, or defending the suits. At one time 
 the town voted to pay Kingston one thousand pounds, 
 old tenor, and costs, which must have amounted to a 
 round sum. There is another vote to pay Kingston 
 twelve hundred pounds, and still another to pay three 
 thousand pounds. But it is difficult to say whether the 
 town ever paid Kingston anything except the costs. At 
 this state of the difficulty, the Governor interfered, and 
 compromised the matter, by a grant to Kingston, of a 
 tract of land near the Connecticut River. The new 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 29 
 
 township was named Unity, because the granting of it 
 made peace between Hampstead and Kingston. The set- 
 tlement was finally effected in 1776. It would be very 
 fortunate if all difficulties arising out of disputed territo- 
 ries, could be settled as amicably as this was,* 
 
 In 1762, the town voted " to keep the meeting house 
 doors shut against all such preachers, whose principles 
 and conduct are such, that neither Congregational nor 
 Presbyterian churches amongst us can hold communion 
 with, or admit as preachers." From the testimony of 
 Mr. Kelly, " almost all tiie followers of the new preach- 
 ers became downright infidels, of which, it is believed, 
 this town had more than any other then know*n in the 
 State. They sowed the seeds of wickedness so much, that 
 their pernicious influence was felt for many years after- 
 wards, b}^ the goodly number of sober people, who then 
 had no minister to speak the word of truth, and break 
 the bread of life to them." 
 
 This account should be taken with some grains of 
 allowance. Mr. Kelly wrote with all the prejudices of a 
 zealous minister of the eighteenth century. The Puritans 
 looked with jealousy upon any sect of Christians other 
 than their own. The people of this town partook fully 
 of that feeling, and very probably, opposed the new 
 creed springing up around them, so bitterly, as to cause 
 those who were indifferent to any particular creed in 
 I'eligion, to sympathise with the persecuted. This is 
 always the result of bitter opposition. Often, the surest 
 wa}^ to put down error, is to leave it unnoticed. If the 
 doctrine has merits of its own, it will stand upon them 
 alone, and if it is really an error, it will fall and des- 
 troy itself in its own ruins. 
 
 The pay of Selectmen, about this time, was two shil- 
 lings per day, lawful money. The town, at the annual 
 meeting voted what compensation the Selectmen for the 
 
 ♦"Historical Sketch of Hampstead." The above account by Mr. Kelly is the only state- 
 ment to be found of the Kingston difficulty. 
 
30 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 year previous should receive. Sometimes they voted to 
 pay them nothing. This was not a very complimentary 
 estimate of the value of their services, but if our public 
 servants at the present day should be paid for the good 
 they actually do perform, they would, undoubtedly, be 
 more active to perform their duties faithfully, and less 
 eager to sustain the burdens of public office. 
 
 Our town has had its share of public calamities. In 
 1737, in the latter part of the winter, large numbers of 
 cattle died from scarcity of hay ; and many families suf- 
 fered extremely from want of bread. In 1738, " there 
 was a remarkable worm, which ate the leaves from the 
 oak trees. Other vegetation also suffered." " In 1741, 
 the winter was colder than almost any man ever before 
 knew in New England." In 1749, was the greatest 
 dronght ever known in the land. One person writes, 
 " that five acies of good land, newly laid down, produced 
 but one load of hay. That he mowed several days, and 
 could not cut two hundred a day." Seme people cut 
 down trees for their cattle to browse, and mau}^ sent to 
 Virginia for hay. The corn ciop yielded well that year, 
 else their sufferings must have been severe. In 1756, a 
 malignant fever prevailed, which swelled the number of 
 deaths to thirty. In a population of three hundred, this 
 was a fearful mortality. These calamities are, however, 
 too well known to require any further notice. 
 
 The circumstances of procuring the bell in this town 
 are attended with some interest. Dea. Thomas Huse, of 
 West Newbury, Mass., in 1809, owned and lived upon 
 the Island. He was a particular friend of Mr. Kelly, and 
 said to him one day, " you have a steeple here, and need 
 a bell. If you will go to Mr. George Holbrook, of Brook- 
 field, and speak for a bell, I will pay for it." The bell 
 was accordingly procured and brought upon the ground 
 before any man in Hampstead knew anything about it, 
 except the two who had been spoken to, to make the 
 frame. It was first suspended from a limb of the old oak 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 31 
 
 tree, in this neighborhood, and rung, much to the sur- 
 prise of all the people, who had not been apprised of the 
 event ;* a very harmless and agreeable way of perpetra- 
 ting a joke.f 
 
 It is worthy of note, that there are seven farms in this 
 town, that have remained in the same families over 
 one hundred years-l It is an old and familiar adage, 
 '' there's no place like home ; " these farms, then, must 
 be doubly dear to their present owners. The reminis- 
 cences of childhood, and the scenes enacted around these 
 heiirth-stones of their fathers, render these places dear 
 to them, with a thousand ties of affection. 
 
 At a special meeting of the town, called on the twen- 
 tieth of December, 1774, it was voted " that the money 
 called for from this town, in order to support the ex- 
 pense of the Delegates of the (jeneral Congress sent by 
 this Province, shall be paid out of the town stock." 
 " Also, that a Committee of Inspection be chosen to re- 
 gard the conduct of the people, touching the association 
 of the General Congress." 
 
 At a special meeting held July fifteenth, 1776, it was 
 voted " to raise a sum of money, sufficient to hire thir- 
 teen men, sent for by Col. Gale, as the proportion of 
 this town, to join the Continental Army under Gen. Sul- 
 livan, at Canada, or at Crown Point." "Voted to set 
 aside and excuse all those persons, who have done a turn 
 in the war the last year, or their proportion of a turn in 
 said war, from paying any part." The town also chose 
 a committee to hire and enlist the thirteen men called 
 
 *Many of the foregoing facts and statements are found in the " Sketch of Hampstead," 
 before alluded to. 
 
 t rhe following extract is taT<en from the deed of conveyance by Dea. Huse : 
 
 " I Thomas Huse of Hanipstearl, &c. in consideraliou of the love and good will, and aflfec- 
 tion which I have and bear to the inhabitants of the town of Hampstead in general, and to 
 ihe Congregational Church and Society in particular, and witli a view and desire to unite a 
 spirit of liberality, and to promote good order, harmony and peace in the said town of Hamp- 
 stead, have given, granted and cmifirmed, and by these presents do give, grant and confirm 
 unto the said town of Hampstead, for the use and benefit of said inhabitants in general, and 
 for the use and benefit of said Chuith and Society in particular, —forever— a certain meeting- 
 house bell now on the meeting house in said Hampstead, made by George Holbrook, at 
 Brookfield, Mass. * *" — Records of Hampxtcnd, Vol. 2, pp. 62-3. 
 
 JTIiese farms are either owned or occupied by the following persons, respectively, viz: Mr. 
 Jonathan Williams; Heirs of John H. Clark, who died the present season ; Mr. Caleb Had- 
 ley; i^Ir. Samuel Wood; Mr. Moses Atwood ; Mr. Amasa Eastman ; and Widow Mary Calef. 
 
32* HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 for, and empowered them to procure money for the pay- 
 ment of the soldiers. 
 
 This meeting was held either immediately upon the 
 reception of the news of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence or a few days prior, and when that instrument 
 was the general subject of tliought and conversation. It 
 shows that onrs was not behind other towns, in respond- 
 ing to the action of Congress. Committees of Inspection 
 were chosen at various times, during the war. 
 
 In 1777, another draft was made upon this town, "for 
 men to join the Continental Army inider Col. Bartlett." 
 The town immediately voted to send the men, and joined 
 the Selectmen with the commissioned officers, to procure 
 them. 
 
 In December, 1777, John Calfe was chosen a " Repre- 
 sentative to act in the General x\ssembly to be holden at 
 Exeter, with full power to transact such measures as the 
 Assembly might judge necessary for the public good ; and 
 also, to choose delegates to the Continental Congress." 
 Mr. Calfe was annually chosen to represent the town, till 
 our present Constitution was adopted. The unlimited 
 power entrusted to him, speaks volumes in favor of his 
 integrity, and of the confidence the people reposed in 
 him. It also shows that this town was ready to perform 
 its share in the great Revolution to be effected on this 
 Continent. Many other towns would not empower their 
 delegates with full authority, from a distrust of the ex- 
 pediency of many of the measures then proposed, but 
 which time has proved to have been wisely enacted. 
 
 In 1778, a Committee was chosen " to provide for the 
 families of those that had gone into the army for the 
 town of Hampstead." At the annual meeting in 1778, 
 it was voted, even in anticipation, "to procure the sol- 
 diers that might be called for during the year." In 
 1779 it was voted " to allow those soldiers that were 
 for and from this town, something for their losses in 
 their retreat from Tianteroga, [Ticonderoga,(?)] in 1777." 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 33 
 
 At a special meeting, in May, 1779, they voted " to pro- 
 cure the men, (five in number,) then called for, and also 
 to raise more men, if called for that year." Again in 
 Jul}^, another meeting was called and new measures taken 
 to procure men to join the New Hampshire battalion ; 
 and also to procure men to go to Rhode Island, to join 
 the army there. At this time the paper currency, issued 
 b}' Congress, had depreciated so much, as to be almost 
 worthless. The people of Portsmouth met to consider 
 what remed}' could best be applied. Their consultation 
 resulted in fixing a price for all articles of merchandise, 
 which should be uniform throughout the state. The 
 Selectmen of Portsmoutli issued Circulars to the differ- 
 ent towns, asking their co-operation. At a special meet- 
 ing this town "voted to come into the plan adopted by 
 Portsmouth, provided three-fourths of the other towns 
 should do the same." The adoption of this plan, neces- 
 sarily resulted in great pecuniary sacrifices. 
 
 There are many other interesting votes passed dur- 
 ing the Revolution,* but enough have been noticed, to 
 show that this town took an active part in that great 
 struggle. There was no time during the war when it 
 did not furnish its full quota of men. Its money was 
 freely given, and its men willingly sent forth to fight * 
 the battles of a common country. In Rhode Island, on 
 the shores of Lake George, and at Crown Point, are 
 entombed the ashes of our townsmen. In common with 
 the rest of our countr}^ our ancestors were aroused by 
 the insults and injuries heaped upon them by Eng- 
 land. They fought against powerful odds. In the 
 darkest periods of the Revolution, the hardy yeomanry 
 flocked around the standard of America, artd wrested 
 from the hands of our mother land, the power which 
 she vainly asserted. In the eloquent language of anotherf 
 " those were times that tried men's souls, and never, in 
 
 * Tliere are other votes recorded in the town books, passed durinp; the difficulty with France , 
 in the presidency of John Adams. Also, similar votes passed during the waro£ 1812. 
 t Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry. 
 
34 HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 any age, or in any countr3^ did there exist a race of 
 men, whose souls were better fitted for the triah Pa- 
 tient in suffering, firm in adversity, calm and collected 
 amid the dangers whicli pressed around them, cool in 
 council and brave in battle, the}^ were worthy of the 
 cause and the cause was worthy of them." In their 
 privations and wrongs, " the sufferers were uplield b}' 
 that kind of holy fortitude, which enabled the christian 
 martyrs to smile amidst the flames, and to triumph, even 
 in the agonies of death." * * * " Every grade of 
 society, all ages, and both sexes, kindled in this sacred 
 competition of patriotism. The Ladies of the Colonies, 
 in the d iwu, and throughout the whole progress of the 
 Revolution, shone with pre-eminent lustre, in this war 
 of fortitude and self-denial. They renounced, without a 
 sigh, the use of the luxuries, and even of the comforts, 
 to which they had been accustomed, and felt a nobler 
 pride in appearing dressed in the simple productions of 
 their own looms, than the}^ liad ever experienced from 
 glittering in the brighest ornaments of the East." 
 
 If our fathers and mothers did not occupy so promi- 
 nent a place in the great drama of the Revolution, as 
 others who lived nearer the scenes of active operations, 
 it was not because they lacked brave and patriotic spir- 
 its. They contributed their full quota of the honest 
 yeomanry, that composed our bravest troops. They 
 freely gave of their fortunes to promote the sacred cause; 
 the}' protected from hunger and danger, the wives and 
 little ones of those who had gone manfully forth to the 
 fight. In that day, America knew no distinction of rank 
 or person. It was a common cause, for tlie common 
 good. The humblest soldier in that war, if animated 
 with the same patriotic feelings, deserves and receives the 
 same grateful remembrance from posterity. What though 
 his name be lost ! What though every trace of his life's 
 history be destroyed ! He performed well his part in life, 
 and the influence of his acts will descend through all 
 
HISTORY OF HAMFSTEAD. 35 
 
 time, and incite other men, in other ages, to the same 
 noble struggles to become free, even as now the cower- 
 ing millions of Europe are striving to break the tyranny 
 of power ; — even as the noble Hungarians are contend- 
 ing for life and liberty against the allied despotic powers 
 of Austria and Russia. 
 
 It is proper to notice, though, from necessity, briefly, 
 the principal men of our town. 
 
 Richard Hazzen came from Haverhill, Mass., and was 
 amonof the first settlers. He was graduated at Harvard 
 College in 1717. In 1741, he was one of the principal 
 Surveyors in running the line between this State and 
 xVIassachusetts. He died suddenly in October 1754. He 
 was a useful and trustworthy citizen and was so esteemed 
 by his fellow townsmen. He was so well known and 
 prominent that he is mentioned on the records simply as 
 Mr. Hazzen, his Christian name being omitted. 
 
 Daniel Little, Esq., also came from Haverhill. By the 
 authority given him in the town charter, he called the 
 first town meeting, for the purpose of organizing. He 
 was often chosen Selectman, and placed upon import- 
 ant committees, and was a valuable and iufluential cit- 
 izen. He died in 1777, at the good old age of 86, 
 lamented by all his fellow townsmen. His descendants- 
 compose a numerous and valuable part of our present 
 population. His son Samuel was a Justice of the Peace, 
 often one the Selectmen, and frequently filled other im- 
 portant offices in town. Another son. Rev. Daniel Little, 
 was the first minister of Kennebunk, Maine ; and j)]eached 
 in this town before the settlement of Mr. True. He was 
 a member of the American Academy of Arts and Scien- 
 ces, and had the honorary degree of A. M. conferred 
 upon him at Harvard College. 
 
 Gen. Jacob Bayle}' resided in this town several years. 
 He came from Newbury, Mass., and was a very enter- 
 prising man. After living here several years he went as 
 a leading man, and settled in Newbury, Vt., which 
 
36 * HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 town he named after his native place. He was distin- 
 guished as an officer in the Revolutionar}' War. 
 
 Capt. John Hazzen, who was born in Haverhill, Mass., 
 and was nephew to Richard Hazzen, also, was a nian of 
 enterprise. After living" in this town several years, he 
 removed to settle in Haverhill of this State, which place 
 he named after the place of his nativity. 
 
 Hon. Charles Johnson was another very worthy man, 
 who went from this place with Capt. Hazzen, as one 
 of the first and most valuable men in that company. 
 
 Hon. John Calfe, born in Newl)ury, Mass., came to this 
 town from Kingston, N. H. He was a descendant of 
 the celebrated Robert Calfe, a meichant of Boston, who 
 so strenuously withstood tlie measures of the government 
 in putting supposed witches to death, in Salem. He was 
 a deacon in the church at Hampstead thirty-five years, — 
 a Justice of the Peace twenty-nine years, and of the 
 Quorum throughout the State thirteen years, — Judge of 
 the Court of Common Pleas twenty-five years, — and 
 Clerk of the House of Representatives twenty-five 3^ears. 
 He annually represented this and two neighboring towns 
 in the General Assembly, during the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, at a time when he was under thirty 3'^ears of age. 
 He was also a member of the Committee of Safety, with 
 diseretionaiy power to ti-ansact all State affairs during 
 the recess of the Assembl}-. At the age of eigliteen he 
 was an under officer on the shores of Lake Champlain, in 
 the war against the French and Indians. He was also an 
 officer in the Revolutionary Army. He was Secretary 
 of the Convention for forming the State Constitution, and 
 of the Convention for ratifying the Federal Constitution, 
 He was once chosen State Treasurer, but did not accept 
 the office. In liis memoir it is said, " that no man ever 
 more sacredly regarded the ivill of the people, than he. 
 In all his public transactions, his conduct was regulated, 
 not by the views of party men, but by what he con- 
 ceived to be the wish of the whole people." He died 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 37 
 
 in 1808, in the 68th year of his age. On tlie meeting 
 of the legislature the next month, it was voted, in tes- 
 timon}'^ of respect for his memory that the members of 
 the House would wear black crape on the left arm dur- 
 ing the session. " To the close of his life, he sustained 
 a fair, unblemished character, which envy or malice 
 would scarce dare impeach."* 
 
 There is Jiot time to notice, at large, other prominent 
 men. A mere mention of their names must suffice. Among 
 those whom we hold in grateful remembrance, are Dea. 
 Peter Eastman, for twenty-five years Town Clerk ; Dea. 
 Benjamin Kimball ; Capt. William Marshall, the first Rep- 
 resentative from this town under the new Constitution ; 
 Dea. Timothy Goodwin ; Lieut. Peter Morse ; Dea. Sam- 
 uel Currier ; Daniel Little, Esq., recently deceased ; Dea. 
 Moses Little ; Dea. Job Kent ; John True, Esq.; Col. Jon- 
 athan Little ; Reuben Harrinian ; Col. Benjamin Emerson ; 
 Dea. John Emei^on ; Bartholomew Heath ; Jonathan 
 Eastman ; Jesse Gordon, Esq. ; and Isaac Noyes, Esq., de- 
 ceased the present year. There are the names of many 
 others, in the history of the town, whom we would like to 
 notice, and who have equal claims upon our remembrance. 
 But time forbids us to delay. Nor is it necessary to recite 
 their histories. We hold their acts in grateful remem- 
 brance. The influence of their well spent lives is felt by 
 us to-day. Their love of order and religion, their vener- 
 ation for things sacred, their [)ublic spirit, worth}^ of imita- 
 tion in these days, their generosity towards objects of char- 
 ity, and their friendly relations in neighborhoods and 
 among each other — all their noble traits of character, com- 
 mand our highest veneration. 
 
 To the memory of the venerable man who so recently 
 left this world, as we trust, for a better one, it is fitting 
 that we pay more than a passing tribute. 
 
 Rev. John Kell}^ was born in Amesbury, Mass., Feb. 22, 
 
 *I'lic ijreceding account of thu prominent citizens is condensed from Mr. Kelly's Sketch 
 ■of Hiinipstead, nnd from the History of Judge Calfe. Information derived from other sources, 
 lias been added. 
 
38"- HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 1763 ; lie wasgraduated at Dartmouth College in 1791 ,and 
 ordained at Hampstead, December .5, 1792. There was no 
 dissenting voice against liis settlement, although for the 
 ten years previous there had been no settled minister here, 
 and many ineffectual attempts had been made to procure 
 one. The salary voted to him was sixty pounds a year, 
 and the use of the parsonage. " Also ten cords of wood a 
 year for ten years, and if he shall not find that sufficient, 
 libert}' to cut more from the Parsonage." When ten years 
 should expire they were to give him fifteen cords a year. 
 They also voted " to give him two cows and six sheep, 
 when called for." To the call and offer of the town, he 
 returned, with his usual frankness, an affirmative answer ; 
 an answer too, which breathes a sph'it of evangelical 
 piety. 
 
 It is worthy of mention, that Mr. Kelly outlived every 
 individual who was a member of his church at the time he 
 became connected with it. Of all the juen that helped 
 settle him, only two survive.* It was his let to see the 
 rest depart, one after another, to tlie spirit land, to find 
 himself left almost alone, to mourn their departuie, and to 
 witness the extinguishment of the "objects of their ardent 
 hopes and high endeavor." 
 
 The result of his labors is known to us all. Scandal 
 never moved its tongue to defame his character, or oppugn 
 his motives. In private life he was distinguished for mild- 
 ness and dignity ; in the discharge of his public duties, for 
 meekness, for practical knowledge in life and in the scrip- 
 tures for sound judgment and correct taste. Although all 
 here present may not have agreed with him in religious 
 belief, yet all will unite in awarding to him the best inten- 
 tions in all his actions. First convinced of the correctness 
 of his opinions, he endeavored mildly, but firmly, to con- 
 vince others. At the bedside of the sick, and in the house 
 of mourning, he was a frequent visitor. Conscious of the 
 duties and responsibilities of his profession, it was his 
 
 *Capt. Jonathan C, Little, and Mr. Hezekiah Ayer. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 39 
 
 highest endeavor to live a fit example of a Godly and a 
 Christian Minister. To the dying, he strove to point out 
 the way to eternal life, — to the afflicted, tlie consolation of 
 religion, — and to all, the importance of obedience, and im- 
 plicit faith in the wisdom of onr Creator. 
 
 To him death Avas a welcome messenger. He was pre- 
 pared to go "through the valley and shadow of death with- 
 out fear." In ripe old age, after almost half a century 
 spent in the work of the ministr}-, he Avent down to the 
 grave, beloved and lamented by all who survived him. 
 
 We have thus, fellow citizens, run rapidly over our his- 
 tory', down to the commencement of the present century. 
 The events that have since transpired, are of so recent 
 occurrence, that tliey need not now be reviewed. 
 
 It is but little more than a century, since the first white 
 man pressed his feet upon our soil ; and yet how little do 
 we know of the eventful lives of our fathers ! The place 
 of their first abode contains hardlv a relic of their habita- 
 tions. In the improvements of the age, and in the prog- 
 ress of the arts, we have lost sight of their customs, and 
 discarded the things so familliarto them. The ruins, yet 
 to be seen, disclose to our minds, scenes of deep and thril- 
 ling interest. In the infancy of this settlement, what in- 
 teresting topics of conversation serve to beguile the weary 
 hours of evening, — what joys and sorrows occurred to 
 break the monotony of their lives, — with what anguish the 
 whole household watched for the return of the absent 
 father or son, — what fear of the prowling wolf, or lurking 
 savage filled their minds wearied with watching, — we have 
 not time to inquire. When, in the long and dark night of 
 the Revolution, so many of their young men had gone forth 
 to battle, with what painful suspense did each family wait 
 for news from the absent ones. And when the painful in- 
 telligence came, that the eldest and favorite son of their 
 beloved pastor, had fallen in battle, Avith what rapidity did 
 the intelligence pass fi'om house to house. What increased 
 iinxiety did parents feel, lest the next messenger should 
 
4(t- HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 announce that a beloved friend had fallen in battle. What 
 sleepless nights did they pass in tearful thought of the ab- 
 sent ones, the bewildered imagination picturing a fond hus- 
 band or son suffering the privations of a life in the camp, 
 perchance, lying wounded upon tlie field of battle, with no 
 friend to bathe his burning temples, or to bring a cup of 
 Vv^ater to cool liis parching thirst. Or again in fiightful 
 dreams, l)eholding his corse, stretched lifeless, upon the 
 battle plains, tlie cold moonbeams shining into his fea- 
 tures, fixed in death. 
 
 For a brief hour, we have attempted to live in the past 
 only. We have followed our ancestors from the earliest 
 period in their history to the latest acts of their lives. 
 We have suffered with them in their troubles, and rejoiced 
 with them in their joys. We liave seen them, a hardy, 
 enterprising and patient race, struggling against want, 
 and .privations, and the calamities of war, and all the 
 evils incident to new settlements ; and we have seen them 
 too, though lacking the luxuries of Avealth, and the refine- 
 ents of polished society, exerting their influence, and labor- 
 ing in the cause of religion and of education, and those 
 benevolent iustitutions so common to New England, that 
 they have made it renowned the world over, for virtue and 
 enterprise. VVe have not found them without their faults. 
 But " their faults were usually virtues carried too far ;" 
 "faults partly belonging to the times, but more the effect 
 of strong feelings without the advantages of early disci- 
 pline. At tlie same time we have seen in tliem the rudi- 
 ments of real refinement, warm, kind, and gentle feelings, 
 — and specimens of politeness worthy of the patriarchal 
 age." 
 
 But they are gone forever from these places. Their ashes 
 are entombed in yonder burial place. They are gone, and 
 with them all they loved or feared, the objects so dear to 
 them in life, and the temptations they labored so hard to 
 remove. But they yet speak to us. TJielr example lives, 
 and to-day brightens the sun of our existence with its liv- 
 ing: influence. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 4I 
 
 There comes up the thought, full of meaning, what will 
 be the condition of our beloved town, a century to come ? 
 At the next Centennial Celebration, who will be the 
 actors ? Time alone can disclose the fortune that awaits 
 tliose who shall come after us. But we know who will 
 not be actors then. We shall be " gathered to our fath- 
 eis." The sun will shine as brightly then upon these 
 beautiful places, these waters will sparkle before his pres- 
 ence reflecting a thousand flashing rays, these trees will 
 afford the same delightful shade, and the earth yield its 
 annual return to the toiling husbandman. But another 
 generation will occupy our places. The names of many 
 of us will be no longer known. But the influence of 
 our lives, will be felt though we be forgotten in our 
 graves. 
 
 Nor can we tell what mighty changes will then have been 
 eff'ected. Within the last year and a half, revolution after 
 revolution, in the old world, has taken place in such rapid 
 succession, that the mind awakes to the startling reality, 
 scarcely able to comprehend the sudden change. The 
 King of the French, acknowledged the wealthiest man in 
 the world, the wisest sovereign that ever sat upon the 
 throne of France, and thought to be securely seated upon 
 that throne, the " Citizen King of 1830," is deposed, and 
 in the meanest garb of disguise, flees before an outraged 
 populace to the British Isles for refuge. France, the scene 
 of so much bloodshed, and of so many revolutions, raises 
 the standard of liberty, and other nations, catching the 
 sound of the shouts of freemen, in a day, compel the mon- 
 archs of Europe to loosen the reins of power; and tlirones 
 that had stood firmly for ages, the}" make to tremble upon 
 their foundations. Austria, the land of tyrannj^ and op- 
 pression, compels her Emperor to abdicate. Piince Metter- 
 nich, so long the crafty and subtle Prime Minister to a 
 powerful Monarch, whose iron will and selfish heart had 
 so long directed the affair of a nation, whose every 
 thought and act had been directed to the establishment of 
 
42 ' HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 despotism and the spread of Popery, suddenly finds himself 
 unable to stem the current of popular indignation and is 
 compelled to retire from the high post he had so basely 
 prostituted, to muse in solitude upon his past life, and 
 commune with his own corrupt heart. The Pope, whose 
 election was hailed by the whole civilized world as the har- 
 binger of a better administration of the affairs at Rome, is 
 hardly seated upon his throne, before he " flees in disguise 
 from his pontifical halls, and St. Peter's and the Vatican 
 resound with the triumphal shouts of an awakened na- 
 tion." The seed of liberty, sown by our fathers in the 
 days of the Revolution, is springing up in every part of 
 Europe, and promises to convert tliose despotic powers and 
 monarchies into new and powerful Republics ; the voice of 
 the peoj)le, so long stifled behind the throne is beginning to 
 reach the ears of Kings and Emperors, and will ere long 
 assert their rights in the majesty of their strength. Hun- 
 gary is struggling against the most unholy alliance ever 
 entered into to suppress the efforts of a people to become 
 free. She has nobly flung to the breeze the banner of liberty 
 and is bravely contending against the most powerful odds. 
 We wait with the most intense anxiety for the next news 
 that shall tell us of the fate of a people wlio are imitating 
 our example, and hold in such veneration the memory of 
 our Washington. 
 
 " On the Western Continent, the Saxons conquer and 
 dismember Mexico. California outshines the wealth of 
 India. The disloyal Canadians insult the representative 
 of majesty," and the United States are extending their 
 borders over a whole Continent. 
 
 In the physical world within a score of years, by the 
 discovery of the application of steam to machinery, we are 
 carried across the waters with a speed and safety, until re- 
 cently deemed unattainable. The most distant parts of 
 our country are connected by iron rails reaching out and 
 extending in every direction. The hourly rate of speed has 
 gone up from five miles to thirty, and even in some cases 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 43 
 
 to fifty ; and the most sanguine are not deemed visionary, 
 when they predict that it will soon be increased to an hun- 
 dred. The electric wire, with the wings of the lightning, 
 conveys every moment, from shore to shore, a new subject 
 for thought or action. 
 
 Within the last few years, it has been our fortune to 
 witness these magic changes. Each new year will open 
 to us some new improvement in the world of inventions, 
 and a centur/ hence, the historian of that time will record 
 the discovery of wonders far surpassing any conception 
 which we are able to form. 
 
 The interest with which the annual return of this day is 
 awaited, induces me to ask your indulgence for a few mo- 
 ments longer. 
 
 This day, the joyful shout, America is free^ spreads from 
 State to State, from town to town, and from house to 
 house, till the whole land rings with the glad voice, and 
 echo upon echo comes back from every mountain and hill- 
 side, America is free ! On our mountains and on our 
 plains, on our noble rivers and on the great waters, a thou- 
 sand voices unite in the shouts of liberty and a thou- 
 sand echoes send back the soft notes of the songs of Free- 
 dom. The deep, shady glens, and beautiful groves resound 
 to the merry voices of thoughtless, innocent children. The 
 busy streets are filled with throngs of freemen, self-divested 
 of the cares and occupations of life. " Eloquence, with 
 burning lips and glowing tongue," portrays those magnifi- 
 cent triumphs, which history has already written for pos- 
 terity. 
 
 Its early dawning is awaited Avith scarce restrained im- 
 patience, to be ushered in with firing of cannons, ringing 
 of bells, and every demonstration of joy. It is celebrated 
 by every class of Americans, — by every society and organ- 
 ization, — by civic processions, — by floral gatherings, — by 
 orations, — by military reviews, — each and all, with the joy 
 and enthusiasm which Americans only can feel. The going 
 down of the sun is the signal for the gathering of thou- 
 
44 ' HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 sands, to close the festivities of the day with every exhi- 
 bition of art which the pyrotechnist can display. Amid 
 the blazing of rockets, and the glittering of fire-works, 
 rivaling the stars in splendor and in beauty, end the varied 
 scenes of this Anniversary. 
 
 We seem to linger around the scenes of that dark hour 
 in our nation's history, when every hope of the future was 
 involved in doubt and disappointment. The spirit of the 
 past carries us back a period of seventy-three years. We 
 look upon the devoted, self-denying men who composed 
 the memorable Congress of 1776. We consider the 
 tlioughts which heaved their breasts; mark the alternations 
 of hope and fear, of confidence and doubt, which reveal 
 the agonies within. We note the solemn stillness that 
 rests upon them, — the deep and absorbing interest, grow- 
 ing more intense. The Declaration of Independence is 
 read. Incensed at the wrongs inflicted upon America, 
 they speak of the shedding of their brother's blood at Lex- 
 ington, and Concord, and Bunker Hill, in the language of 
 outraged manhood, and vow to avenge the death of their 
 martyr countrymen. " Eloquence is poured forth from 
 inexhaustible fountains. It assumes every variety of hue, 
 and form and motion, which can delight or persuade, in- 
 struct or astonish. Now it is the limpid rivulet, spark- 
 ling down the mountain's side, and winding its silver 
 course between margins of moss; — anon it is the angry 
 ocean, chafed by the tempest, hanging its billows with 
 deafening clamors among the crackling shrouds, or hurl- 
 ing them in sublime defiance at the storm that frowns 
 above." 
 
 It is finished ; they declare our country free, and in sup- 
 port of that Declaration, "pledge their lives, their for- 
 tunes and their sacred honor." Lives and fortunes were 
 sacrificed in its defence, but our Countiy's honor was sus- 
 tained. 
 
 Now war is raging throughout our native land. Hostile 
 arraies-of one and the same name, blood and language, are 
 
 LofC. 
 
HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 45 
 
 arrayed for battle. Years of darkness and doubt succeed, 
 lighted only by some struggling rays of hope, and the fires 
 of war. But darkness and doubt pass at length away, and 
 day dawns upon the long, dark night of the Revolution. 
 
 More than half a century has rolled away, since the 
 glory of that bright morning broke upon us, and another 
 scene is disclosed. Where swept the tide of war, now all 
 is calm {^nd fresh and still. 
 
 The roll of musketry and the clash of arms are hushed, 
 and the pillow of repose is pressed in quiet. " The busy 
 town and the rural cottage, the lowing herd, the cheerful 
 hearth, the village school, the rising spire, the solemn bell, 
 the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise, brighten and 
 adorn American life and privileges." 
 
 You have had imperfectly sketched to you, fellow-towns- 
 men, the most prominent scenes in the history of our na- 
 tive town ; and the character of this day required that 
 some allusion should be made to our Country's proud 
 career. 
 
 We have performed a grateful duty to the memory of 
 our ancestors. They sought this land when it was a wil- 
 derness. The name of Puritan, which was fastened on 
 them as a term of reproach, the}'^ meekly accepted, and so 
 adorned the even tenor of their lives, and with the recti- 
 tude and consistency of their characters, that it has become 
 more honorable than that of king or ruler. The American 
 traces his descent from the emigrants in the May-Flower, 
 with greater satisfaction, than if he could, with indisputa- 
 ble certainty, trace his ancestral stream back to the proud- 
 est noblemen of the most chivalrous age of England. 
 
 American and New England privileges, have they left 
 us. They struggled long and hard to establish these free 
 institutions or ours. And when they bequeathed them to 
 us, they also enjoined it upon us to preserve and maintain 
 them untarnished, and hand them down to those who shall 
 come after us, increased instruments of good. 
 
 Let us so discharge our duties to our Country, to each 
 
^ HISTORY OF HAMPSTEAD. 
 
 other, to ourselves, and to our God, that when in one 
 hundred years from this day, the people of Hampstead 
 shall again assemble to commemorate the Centennial An- 
 niversary of their Incorporation, and the memory of their 
 fathers, we may have the same grateful remembrance in 
 their hearts, that our ancestors this day occupy in ours. 
 But if through human error, or party strife, we suffer these 
 golden privileges to become lost, — this sacred legacy to 
 become corrupted in our hands, — in the bitter moments 
 of reflection and regret, there will come to our minds the 
 consoling truth that, 
 
 " The spirit cannot always sleep in dust, 
 Whose essence is etherial ; they may try 
 To darken and degrade it ; it may rust 
 Dimly awhile, but cannot wholly die ; 
 And -when it wakens, it will send its fire 
 Intenser forth, and higher." 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS