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BIRTHPLACE 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 ♦<^ 
 
 Franklin 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
_BIRTH PLACE 
 
 if 
 DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 Franklin, New Hampshire. 
 
 Brikf Story of 'its Rkstoratiox 
 
 AND PkKSENTATION TO THE STATE 
 
 Second Edition 
 
 1922 
 
 TOWNE & ROBIE 
 
 PRINTERS 
 FRANKLIN, N. H. 
 

 
DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 After the peace of 1763, a company 
 from Kingston, N. H., was given a grant 
 of land which they named Stevenstown. 
 It was situated on the west banks of the 
 Merrimack and Pemigewasset rivers. 
 Opposite its eastern boundry this last 
 named river united with the Winnipesau- 
 kee and formed the ^Merrimack. This 
 grant bordered on these rivers for four 
 miles and extended westward to Kear- 
 sarge mountain. Later it was called 
 Salisbury, and the eastern part of the 
 grant was taken in 1826 as a part of the 
 new town of Franklin. 
 
 One of the members of this party was 
 Ebenezer Webster. His ancestors settled 
 in Hampton, N. H., some sixteen years 
 after the landing of the Pilgrims at Ply- 
 mouth. ^Ir. Webster had already dis- 
 tinguished himself in the various conflicts 
 which raged at that time, and had at- 
 tained the rank of Captain. At the time 
 of coming to the new township he was 
 married, but had no children. It fell to 
 the lot of this young couple to draw a 
 
plot of land un the northern boundary of 
 the township, and when Mr. Webster 
 had built his log cabin, there was no 
 white inhabitant to the north until 
 Canada was reached. It was probably 
 in 1764 that Mr. Webster built this cabin 
 beside a brook at the foot of a broad 
 meadow. The land Avas not very fertile, 
 and to assist in obtaining a living a saw 
 mill was built and power obtained by a 
 dam which covered with water a part of 
 the broad meadow. 
 
 Here five children were born, and at 
 the end of ten years the mother suc- 
 cumbed to hard labor, scanty fare and 
 rigorous climate. 'Mr. Webster was 
 much discouraged. He sadly felt the 
 need of a motherly woman to care for his 
 little ones. The story is told that some 
 of his fellow townsmen advised him of a 
 woman living in Newburyport near the 
 mouth of the IMerrimack, who would 
 make him a good wife. Mr. Webster 
 left his children in the care of a good 
 neighbor and mounting his horse went 
 back to his former home. The next 
 morning he called at the home of Miss 
 Abigail Eastman, told her of his home 
 and condition, said he had no time for a 
 courtship, but would she marry him and 
 return to Salisbury at once? She con- 
 sented, and the second morning, riding 
 on the horse behind her husband, she 
 started for her new home. Whether or 
 
 4 
 
not this story is true, it is a matter of 
 record that she made him a good wife, 
 became the mother of five children, one 
 of them the greatest citizen ever born in 
 the Granite state. 
 
 A few years after he built a small, two 
 room, frame house. He did this before 
 the birth of Daniel as we learn from a 
 statement of the latter that it was not his 
 privilege to be born in a log cabin, as it 
 was that of his brother Ezekiel. 
 Ebenezer A\^ebster is described as a man 
 of great power, one who, had he received 
 an education, would have risen high in 
 official position. But he says that he 
 never entered a school house for the pur- 
 pose of study. He was, however, far 
 from beint^: an isfnorant man. Not onlv 
 could he read and write, but he acquired 
 considerable knowledge, understood law, 
 and served for several years as judge of 
 Hillsborough county. 
 
 By his first wife he had five children. 
 Two of these died young. The others 
 were Susannah, who married John Colby 
 and lived in the brick house, the last 
 house in Franklin on the state road to 
 Hill, and now a part of the Golden Rule 
 Farm Homes ; David and Joseph. 
 
 The children of the second wife were 
 also five in number, and named Me- 
 hitable, Abigail. Ezekiel, Daniel and 
 Sarah. All of the children, except the 
 two last, were i)orn in the log cabin. 
 
The site of this cabin was marked by 
 a stone claiming to be the real site of 
 Daniel A\'ebster's birth. This stone was 
 set after the death of Judge George W. 
 Xesmith. and by recjuest made before 
 his death. It was set without careful 
 investigation, and the real site was not 
 fully discovered and proved until after 
 the W^ebster Birthplace association was 
 formed, and the work of restoration un- 
 dertaken. 
 
 Soon after the birth of Daniel, the 
 exact date being in doubt and variously 
 stated as from one to three years. Captain 
 ^^^ebster bought a farm at what is no^v 
 called AX'ebster Place, and moved from 
 the hills to the intervale of the Merri- 
 mack river. G. T. Curtis, in his Life of 
 Daniel AA'ebster, gives the date as 1783. 
 However that may be, it is known that 
 the Captain retained the ownership of the 
 original farm for several years and con- 
 ducted there the saw mill which he had 
 built. This saw mill was on the brook 
 easterly of the birth]:)lace. The stone 
 foundation of the mill and of the abut- 
 ments of the dam are now plainly dis- 
 cernable. A part of the old upright saw 
 which was used in this mill has been un- 
 earthed and is now in the restored house. 
 This little sketch will not allow of an 
 extended history of Daniel. Suffice it 
 to say that he learned to read at his 
 mother's knee, and with the aid of older 
 
 6 
 
sisters. He has said that he cannot re- 
 member when he could not read the 
 Bible. He was a great reader, and 
 eagerly devoured the books found in a 
 small circulating library belonging in the 
 town of Salisbury, and later the books in 
 a similar library in Boscawen, where he 
 was prepared for college by Rev. Samuel 
 Wood. Previous to this he had part of 
 two years at Exeter Academy. He 
 entered Dartmouth College in 1797 when 
 he was fifteen years old. He very much 
 wished that his brother, Ezekiel, might 
 have a college education, and after gradu- 
 ation he accepted the position of princi- 
 pal of the academy in Fryeburg, Maine, 
 receiving as salary $350. He paid his 
 living expenses by -copying deeds and 
 other documents, and turned a good part 
 of his year's salary over to his brother. 
 He commenced the study of law and in 
 1804 went to Boston where he entered the 
 law office of Christo])her Gore. Soon he 
 was offered the position as clerk of Hills- 
 borough county, and his father very 
 much desired him to accept, but Daniel 
 wisely decided that he would rather earn 
 his living by making paners than to copy 
 those made by others, and much to the 
 disappointment of his father, he returned 
 to Boston. His father said to him, 
 "Your mother always said you would 
 amount to something or nothing. I 
 think it will be nothing." After admis- 
 
sion to the l)ar in New Hampshire, he 
 opened an office in Boscawen, where for 
 about two years he met with but indif- 
 ferent success and soon went to Ports- 
 mouth. Here he was well matched by 
 another great man, Jeremiah Mason. 
 From Portsmouth he was first elected to 
 Congress and at once took his place 
 among- the leaders of his part3^ 
 
 In 1816 he removed to Boston, deter- 
 mined to give up politics and devote 
 himself to business. But again he was 
 chosen by the peo])le to represent ]\Iassa- 
 chusetts in Congress, and here he com- 
 menced to deliver those remarkable ora- 
 tions which will endure so long as the 
 United States remains a nation. In 1826 
 he was chosen United States Senator and 
 in 1830 he made that speech in reply to 
 Robert Y. .Hayne of South Carolina 
 Avhich was heralded as one of the great- 
 est efforts ever given in the National 
 Ca]:)ital. 
 
 While living in Boston and Washing- 
 ton, Mr. Webster held his home at the 
 W^ebster Place, it being his father's farm. 
 It was not until 1824 that he first saw 
 the Thomas Farm at Marshfield, Mass., 
 which he later procured as his home, 
 and where he died October 24, 1852. 
 Thus we see that over half of his life 
 was passed with his real home in New 
 Hampshire, and after acquiring the home 
 in Marshfield he retained his interest in 
 
the Elms Farm, spent his vacations there 
 and greatly enjoyed fishing in the pretty 
 sheet of water in Franklin, now called 
 after him, Webster lake. 
 
 Daniel AVebster was twice married, his 
 first Vv ife being Grace Fletcher, daughter 
 of Rev. Elijah Fletcher of Hopkinton. It 
 does not appear that they made much of 
 courtship, but were married at Salisbury, 
 June 24, 1808. Twenty years later Mrs. 
 \Vebster died, January 21, 1828, and 
 Daniel is said to have made the state- 
 ment that never after could he write her 
 name without tears coming to his eyes. 
 
 It was in 1830 that Daniel Webster 
 came into full possession of the Elms 
 Farm. While he greatly enjoyed the farm 
 and its surroundings, yet there was a 
 tinge of sadness connected with it as here 
 his parents as well as brothers and sisters 
 were buried. The graves of his parents 
 were suitably marked a few years ago 
 \\'ith a huge boulder, through the efforts 
 of Abigail Webster Chapter, D. A. R., of 
 h'ranklin. In December, 1829, ^^Ir. 
 Webster was married a second time to 
 Miss Caroline Le Roy, the daughter of a 
 wealthy merchant in Xew York City. 
 
 According to Curtis, Daniel Webster 
 had five children : Grace Fletcher, born 
 April 29, 1810, died January 23, 1817, 
 aged 7 years. 
 
 Julia, married S. A. Appleton of Bos- 
 ton, born Tanuarv 16, 1818, died April 
 28, 1848. ' ' 
 
Edward, born July 20. 1820. died Janu- 
 iiary 23, 1848, aged 28 years. 
 
 Charles, born December 21, 1822, died 
 December 18, 1824, aged 2 years. 
 
 Fletcher, born July 23, 1813. ^yas the 
 onlv one of his children liyinsf at the time 
 of Mr. A\>bster's death. He had a home 
 near his father's in Alarshheld. 
 
 There are many interesting- anecdotes 
 of Mr. AVebster as a boy and man. 
 Those in his young life \yere connected 
 with his residence in Salisbur}', now 
 Franklin. One of interest is that when 
 about four years old, he went with his 
 father to the farm which was first owned, 
 and \N'hile there his father thought to 
 catch a mess of trout. Just below the 
 bridge is a big rock, and as father and 
 son climbed upon this rock, Daniel asked 
 if he "might catch a fish." The rod was 
 placed in his hands and the bait dropped 
 into the stream. A big trout took the 
 hook, and instead of Daniel pulling the 
 fish out of the water, the fish pulled 
 Daniel in. His father caught him, and 
 pulling him out, found that the little lad 
 still retained his hold upon the pole and 
 at the end of the line was the big trout. 
 
 .Another story is that at the age of 12 
 to 14. it was of fen his task to watch the 
 big up and down saw cut its way through 
 the big logs. It was a slow process and 
 while the saw ate its way along, Daniel 
 passed the time in profitable reading". 
 
 10 
 
The story has often been told of his 
 first plea. At the home on the river road 
 there was a woodchuck Avhich was 
 making havoc of the good things in the 
 familv garden. It was decided that the 
 marauder should be punished, and a box 
 trap was set. The next day the wood- 
 chuck was in the trap, and Ezekiel was 
 for killing the animal at once. Daniel 
 objected, and the father said, he would 
 be the Judge and the boys should argue 
 the case. Ezekiel was first and put up a 
 strong argument, showing the damage 
 done and likely to be repeated, etc. Mr. 
 \\'e]:)ster thought the case well pre- 
 sented, but waited to hear Daniel before 
 rendering a decision. Daniel put up the 
 plea that the animal had as much right 
 to live as we have, that it did not know 
 right from wrong, that it took its food 
 in the natural way, without considering 
 whether or not it was as nature pro- 
 vided, that it was weak, and he called 
 attention to the pleading look in the 
 eyes of the frightened animal. He had 
 hardly concluded when his father shout- 
 ed, "Zeke, you let that woodchuck go !'' 
 
 The story of the scythe was one of 
 great interest to all farmers' sons as well 
 as to older people. It was haying time, 
 and in those days there were no mowing 
 machines and all grass was cut with 
 scythes. ]\Ir. AVebster rigged up a scythe 
 and snath and giving it to Daniel sent 
 
 11 
 
him into the field. The day was hot, the 
 grass stout and heavy, and the boy soon 
 tired of the work. Coming to an oak 
 tree that stood l)eside the highway he 
 hooked the scythe over a low liml) and re- 
 clined upon the new mown hay. At noon 
 his father asked him how his scythe hunsf, 
 and the immediate reply was, ''It hangs 
 just right to suit me." 
 
 It is an interesting fact that as a school 
 boy in Exeter, Daniel could never ''speak 
 a piece" before the school. Often he 
 would commit a declamation to memory, 
 but when called upon to stand and de- 
 liver before the school, he could not do it." 
 
 Daniel ^^'ebster was of a strong re- 
 ligious mind. At the age of twenty-five 
 he joined the church in vSalisbury and his 
 pew was retained until his death. Re- 
 cently when the church was remodeled 
 and new pews installed, the AA'ebster 
 pew was carefully taken out. and is now 
 in one of the rooms of the Webster 
 mansion, now the office building of the 
 N. H. Or])hans' Home. John Colby, who 
 married Daniel's half sister, Susannah, 
 was a very profane man. In course of 
 time Mr. Colby became converted. Mr. 
 Webster was greatly interested in this 
 and made a journey to the Colby farm 
 to see and talk with his brother-in-law. 
 The meeting was ideal, and together 
 these two men offered up their prayers 
 to the God of the Universe. 
 
 12 
 
 ) 
 
In the second volume of the Life of 
 Daniel Webster, George T. Curtis gives 
 ^Ir. Webster's creed as follows : — 
 
 *' 'Lord I believe, help Thou my unbe- 
 lief.' 
 
 "Philosophical argument, especially 
 that drawn from the vastness of the uni- 
 verse in comparison with the apparent in- 
 significance of this globe, has sometimes 
 shaken my reason for the faith that is in 
 me; but my heart has assured, and re- 
 assured me, that the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ must be a Divine Reality. 
 
 ''The Sermon on the ]\lount cannot 1)e 
 a merely human production. This belief 
 enters into the very depth of my con- 
 science. The whole history of man 
 
 proves it. • 
 
 Dan'l Webster." 
 
 Mr. Webster was often mentioned as 
 candidate for president, and as often dis- 
 appointed in not receiving the nomina- 
 tion. It is thought that this disappoint- 
 ment may have hastened his death, 
 although he never expected to attain to 
 great age. 
 
 The end came at the home in Marsh- 
 field. He was confined to his bed but for 
 a short time, and his vigorous mind was 
 alert and capable to the last. He 
 realized his condition, but faced the in- 
 evitable with courage and a firm faith 
 in the future. Only one child sur- 
 vived him, Fletcher, and this son with 
 
 13 
 
]\Irs. A\'ebster and a few intimate friends, 
 were with him to the last. His death 
 cast a gloom over the country second 
 only to that which has been caused by 
 the death in office of our highest rulers. 
 
 His will was written by George T. 
 Curtis, and when it was brought to him 
 he asked if Mrs. A\^ebster and Fletcher 
 would read it. Being told that they had. 
 he asked if they were satisfied with it. 
 Being assured by each that they were, he 
 said, "Then let me sign now." He affixed 
 his signature, and returning the pen said, 
 "Thank God for strength to do a sensible 
 act." In a few hours he had passed on. 
 
 According to Curtis his last words 
 were, "I still live." 
 
 Mr. A\'ebster was born in Salisl^ury. 
 N. H., now Franklin, January 18. 1782. 
 and died at Marshfield, Mass., October 
 24, 1852. 
 
 14 
 
ORGANIZATION and WORK 
 
 of the 
 Daniel Webster Birthplace Ass'n. 
 
 January 18, 1904, was a cold winter 
 nig:ht. The writer of this little sketch 
 w^as coming up from Boston on the late 
 train, when at Concord a stranger came 
 in the car and said he had been in Frank- 
 lin and had arranged to purchase the 
 birthplace of Daniel Webster. He 
 wished the deed executed that night, as 
 it was the anniversary of the birth of the 
 great statesman. When the train ar- 
 rived in Franklin the thermometer 
 marked four degrees below zero, but a 
 team was procured and the two men 
 drove to the birthplace, then owned by 
 George H. Hosmer, and the deed was 
 written and executed before midnight. 
 The buyer was Arthur C. Jackson. 
 
 Three days later the Webster Birth- 
 place association was formed in the office 
 of Barron Shirley, in Franklin. There 
 
 15 
 
were present Arthur C. Jackson, Omar 
 A. Towne, Augustine R. Ayers, Barron 
 Shirley and John A\'. Staples. ]\Ir. Jack- 
 son was elected president, Dr. Staples, 
 vice-president, j\lr. Towne, clerk, and 
 ^Ir. Ayers, treasurer. 
 
 It was Mr. Jackson's intention to take 
 the buildings from the Birthplace and 
 carry them to St. Louis to be erected on 
 the grounds of the St. Louis Exposition, 
 which was to be held the following sum- 
 mer. 
 
 There was much opposition to this and 
 as there was a mortgage on the place, 
 held by the Franklin Building & Loan 
 association, which refused to allow the 
 buildings to be moved, the plan was 
 given up. ]\Ir. Jackson did erect a build- 
 ing on the Exposition grounds pat- 
 terned after the large house which was 
 Iniilt about 1796 by Mr. Sawyer. 
 
 Mr. Jackson's venture was not a suc- 
 cess and no payments were made on the 
 mortgage note. The mortgage was 
 finally foreclosed and the publication of 
 that fact in daily and weekly papers of 
 the state awakened an interest in Mr. 
 Webster and his early life. The move- 
 ment relative to forming a permanent or- 
 ganization for the preservation of the 
 buildings and farm originated with the 
 Franklin Board of Trade at its meeting 
 ]\rarch 14. 1910. A resolution Avas offered 
 by Hon. Edward G. Leach and was 
 
C 
 
 a" 
 
 r 
 
 fa 
 
adopted by unanimous vote. After a 
 preamble defining its purposes the resolu- 
 tion directed the President of the Board 
 to appoint a committee. 
 
 The resolution was as follows: "Re- 
 solved — That a committee of nine citi- 
 zens of Franklin and vicinity be selected, 
 of whom the president shall be one, and 
 the others selected by him, as a commit- 
 tee to consider and formulate such plan 
 of action as they may consider most ap- 
 propriate for the accomplishment of the 
 desired object." 
 
 The committee appointed was Chief 
 Justice Frank N. Parsons, ex-Senator 
 William E. Chandler, Senator Jacob H. 
 Gallinger, Hon. John R. Eastman, Hon. 
 Edward G. Leach, Hon. Alvah W. Sullo- 
 way, Hon. Clarence E. Carr, Hon. Omar 
 A. Towne and Dr. John W. Staples, then 
 president of the Board of Trade. 
 
 It was not until October 26, of the 
 same year that a permanent organization 
 was perfected, with articles of association 
 duly drawn and officers elected. The 
 meeting at which this was done was held 
 in the office of Hon. Frank N. Parsons, 
 and the officers were as follows : 
 
 President. Hon. A\'illiam E. Chandler 
 of Concord. 
 
 First Vice-President, Hon. Frank N. 
 Parsons of Franklin. 
 
 Treasurer, Dr. John W. Staples of 
 Franklin. 
 
 17 
 
Secretary, Omar A. Towne of Frank- 
 lin. 
 
 A committee on membership was ap- 
 pointed consisting of Alvah AV. Sullo- 
 way, Edward G. Leach, Augustine R. 
 Ayers, Clarence E. Carr and Omar A. 
 Towne. Steps were immediately taken 
 to raise sufficient funds to purchase the 
 farm, repair the large house and restore 
 the small frame house which was built 
 by Ebenezer A\>bster about 1781. 
 
 A part of this house was standing, 
 being used as a shed, or ell attached to 
 the large two story house built by Mr. 
 Sawyer. 
 
 The first essential was to locate perma- 
 nently the original site of the house in 
 which Daniel Webster was born. To aid 
 in this the association had the statement 
 of Mr. Webster as published in George 
 T. Curtis' Life of Daniel Webster. On 
 page 5 of Volume 1, of said history, it 
 was found stated in a foot note, "A 
 sketch of the house in which Mr. 
 Webster was born, drawn by Charles 
 Lanman, Esq., and sanctioned by Mr. 
 AA ebster, is prefixed to the first volume 
 of his works." 
 
 In excavating for the foundation of the 
 original house it was found that the 
 sketch by Mr. Lanman was practically 
 correct, except that it was made to face 
 the same way as was the large barn, 
 whereas the foundations were found to 
 
 18 
 
run the long way at right angles to those 
 of the barn. 
 
 These foundations were found to have 
 been pried into the cellar around the top, 
 and the cellar filled with debris. The 
 foundations were broken doAvn about two 
 feet below the surface of the ground. 
 The lower part now is exactly as ex- 
 cavated. The stones which had been 
 pried into the cellar Avere found, as were 
 the bricks with which the chimney and 
 fire])lace were remade, and the large 
 hearthstone, showing the effects of fire, 
 now used in front of the fireplace. The 
 door stone was also found in the cellar. 
 
 The original part of the cottage was re- 
 moved from its connection with the large 
 house and the other half restored in ac- 
 cord with the Lanman drawing, and in 
 conformity with the discovered founda- 
 tion. 
 
 The restored house is nearly one-half 
 the original building, and the other half 
 is made to conform in lumber and car- 
 pentry, as nearly as possible with the 
 original building. 
 
 Mr. A\'ebster was born in the south 
 room, and the living room was where the 
 fireplace now is. One can readily see 
 that so small a house could be thoroughly 
 warmed in the coldest weather, when the 
 bricks in the large fireplace were heated. 
 
 When sufficient money had been raised 
 and the buildings restored, x\ugust 28, 
 
 19 
 
1909, was set for due celebration of the 
 Restoration of the Birth Place House of 
 Daniel \\'ebster. Large numbers came 
 from this and other states. Over three 
 thousand people attended the ceremony. 
 
 To the regret of all interested, Mr; 
 Chandler could not ])e present owing to 
 illness. Hon. Frank N. Parsons pre- 
 sided and addresses were made by Ernest 
 Fox Nichols, President of Dartmouth 
 College, Plon. Samuel W. McCall of 
 Massachusetts, Senator Jacob H. Gallin- 
 ger of Concord, Hon. Samuel E. Pingree 
 of Hartford, Vt., Hon. David H. Cross of 
 INlanchester, Hon. Nahum J. Bachelder 
 of Andover, Rev. Arthur Little of New- 
 tonville, Mass., and Hon. Clarence E. 
 Carr of Andover. The address prepared 
 by Hon. William E. Chandler was read 
 by Hon. George H. Moses of Concord. 
 The invocation prayer was by Rev. R. P. 
 Gardner, and the closing benediction by 
 Rev. H. C. McDougall of Franklin. 
 
 The title of the Birthplace remained in 
 the Webster Birth Place association until 
 September 24, 1917, when it was voted to 
 present the same to the state of New 
 Hampshire. The deed of transfer was 
 drawn by Chief Justice Frank N. Par- 
 sons, and the state accepted the gift. 
 
 At the present time, 1922, the represen- 
 tative of the state in the care of the Birth- 
 place is W^arren F. Daniell and the care- 
 taker is Harry E. Merrill. 
 
 20 
 
Ex-Senator William E. Chandler. 
 
 Great credit must be given to ex-Sen- 
 ator William E. Chandler for the success- 
 ful carrying out of plans for the restora- 
 tion and subsequent presentation of the 
 Birth Place to the state. He was inde- 
 fatigable in his efforts to raise the neces- 
 sary funds to have the work well done 
 and to induce the state officials to accept 
 the trust. 
 

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